Always Reading: October 2026

Thursday, October 1, 2026

Release Blitz: Rogue Wave by Allison Bettes

ROGUE WAVE

Allison Bettes

Release Date: October 1

Meet Allison Bettes:

Welcome to My World of Romance and Suspense!

I weave stories of mystery, romance, and suspense. Dive in and join me on this heart-pounding journey, where every twist and turn brings new surprises and adventure. If you enjoy characters who are brave, sassy, and beautifully flawed, you’re in the right place.

I’m a meteorologist/science writer by day, but a romantic suspense author at heart. My journey into the world of romance and suspense started when my grandma handed me her well-worn copies of Danielle Steel and Nora Roberts novels—I was hooked.

During Covid times, with time on my hands and a need for catharsis, I dove into writing my own romantic suspense novels. Fast forward several years and four novels later, I'm ready to share my stories with the world. My books are a thrilling blend of romance, mystery, and suspense -- think Cupid Meets Crime Scene.

Connect with Allison Bettes:

https://linktr.ee/allisonbettes

Blurb:

The sexy but grumpy sheriff next door is the last man Hazel ever wanted to ask for help—but when her backyard turns into a crime scene… Hank is her only option.

Hazel:

I’m a marine biologist by day, chaos magnet by night. I get paid to study beach life—not to find evidence from a crime that washed up after a storm. When I accidentally uncovered something that was meant to stay buried, I found myself tangled up in mystery and danger – and increasingly tangled with Hank McAllister, the divorced, decade-older, infuriatingly hot sheriff next door.

Hank:

Hazel O’Hara is my infuriatingly hot neighbor that always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. We shouldn’t work—but when a sudden storm rolls in and things turn dangerous, we’re forced to rely on each other, and my resolve to not get involved with her quickly fades away.

Buy Link:

https://a.co/d/01RdLDxv

Available in KU

Release Blitz: Last Wish Motel by Alicia Hunter Pace

Title: Last Wish Motel

Duet: Angel Bayou #1

Author: Alicia Hunter Pace

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Tropes: Secret Baby, Enemies to Lovers, Matchmakers

Country Music Star, Humorous Small Town Romance

Release Date: October 1, 2026

BLURB

Deep in Cajun country, the dead don’t stay quiet at the Last Wish Motel — and the meddling Soublet ghosts have a habit of matchmaking their descendants, wanted or not.

Reese Soublet LeBlanc traded a basketball scholarship to Duke for single motherhood after one reckless night. Now she paints caskets, orders embalming fluid, and tries to keep her ancestors’ ghosts in line at the family-owned Peaceful Rest Funeral Parlor.

Chase Callahan is a country music star who swore he’d never come back to Angel Bayou. But his aunt’s funeral drags him home — straight into the path of a toddler with his eyes.

Co-parenting? Fine. Falling for each other? Not a chance.

But this is Angel Bayou, where the gumbo is spicy, the ghosts are stubborn, and love has a way of getting the last word.

Secret baby. Enemies to lovers. Matchmakers. Country music star. Humorous small-town paranormal romance with a Southern kick — from USA Today bestselling author Alicia Hunter Pace

ADD TO GOODREADS

PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Read in Kindle Unlimited

COMING SOON

Releasing October 29

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

AUTHOR BIO

USA Bestselling Author

Stephanie Jones and Jean Hovey write together as Alicia Hunter Pace.

Stephanie lives in Tuscaloosa, AL, where she teaches school and wishes for more time to read. She is a native Alabamian who likes football, American history, and people who follow the rules. She is happy to provide a list of said rules to anyone who needs them.

Jean, a former public librarian, lives in Decatur, AL, with her husband in a hundred-year-old house that always wants something from her. She likes to cook but has discovered the joy of Mrs. Paul’s fish fillets since becoming a writer.

Stephanie and Jean are both active members in the romance writing community. They write contemporary romantic comedy. They love to hear from readers.

Their book, Sweet Gone South, reached #6 in overall sales on Amazon

AUTHOR LINKS

INSTAGRAM

FACEBOOK

BOOKBUB

GOODREADS

Book Tour: The Grace of God by Tom Banwart

True Stories of Faith and Hope

Religion Christian Nonfiction

Date Published: August 11, 2026

Publisher: Clay Bridges Press Publishing

The power of prayer is undeniable. The Grace of God repeatedly illustrates how God equipped us to carry His message of love during one of our nation’s darkest times.

Fear had taken root in our hearts. Our ages and health conditions felt like real disadvantages. We found comfort in Christian music, so we shared it with our neighbors. Notecards to healthcare workers and elderly shut-ins were warmly received, so we continued writing them and encouraged others to do the same. Physical nourishment was needed as well, and God provided a way for us to help there too. We prayed over every idea, and in return, God blessed us with inspiration.

We learned that love is an action.

We learned that anyone can be the hands and feet of our Lord.

We witnessed evidence of God’s presence again and again.

Our hope is that these stories encourage you to persistently seek God through prayer. His grace is unending.

Excerpt

As we sat outside the hospital, we got to know some of the staff in many ways. We got to know some of their families and life situations; some shared about their past and their faith; others just shared how they are feeling in the moment. The following are a couple of their stories.

Stephanie: Stephanie is a young student nurse that we saw going in and out of the hospital with the other student nurses. However, as the numbers of COVID-19 cases surged, the hospital reached capacity and the number of deaths climbed to two to six a day, Stephanie lagged behind the other nurses. Finally, one day she was way behind the other students, and she stopped where were sitting. It was obvious that Stephanie had been crying. She stood before us with her shoulders slumping, her head hung low, and her eyes red. We asked her if she was OK, and she began to sob uncontrollably. She lifted her head wiping her tears and simply said, “I don’t know if I can do this. I didn’t become a nurse to watch people die every day. I wanted to try to help them get better, to help heal them. It seems all I do is try to make them comfortable and hold their hands because their families cannot come in before they die. I don’t know if I can do this.” At this point we asked her name, and she said Stephanie. We asked if she would like to pray with us and she said, “Yes . . . please.” We took out our three-strand prayer cords and explained that because we couldn’t hold hands, we were using the cords so we could have some kind of connection. We explained the idea of the three strands comes from Ecclesiastes 4:12, with says that three strands can’t be easily broken. The three strands had a meaning: one strand for her, one for us praying for her, and one for our Lord to whom we were praying. Stephanie smiled and cried softly. Stephanie took one end of the cord, and we took the other and began to pray. We prayed for her peace of mind and heart and for her strength to face this horrible disease. We prayed that she would lean into the Lord and accept the comfort the Lord has for each of us. We said amen, and she thanked us. We told her, “No, thank you for doing so much more than us.” We hoped the prayer helped and that Stephanie would find some comfort.

We continue to go to the hospitals to pray, and we continue to look for Stephanie each time we are there. We watch the student nurses as they walk in and walk out of the hospital. Since that time, many groups of student nurses have come and gone, but no Stephanie. We have prayed for Stephanie often, praying she found peace and the strength to flourish no matter what she chooses to do. We pray that she leans into the Lord and follows His will. We ask ourselves whether Stephanie finished her nursing degree; we don’t know. It doesn’t seem like she finished with the group we saw her with originally, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t finish. Her finishing is not the important thing but rather her finding her place in this world through our Lord. Stephanie gave all she could just as the Lord gives to us.

Hot dog man. While sitting outside a hospital, we don’t always get someone’s name. Sometimes, the staff passes quickly, and sometimes it just never comes up as strange as that may seem. When we don’t find out their names, we give them nicknames as a way of remembering them. “Hot dog man” got his name when we talked with him at the end of one of his shifts; he told us all he wanted was a good Chicago-style hot dog and thus the nickname. If you don’t like that nickname, please know it was much better than his original nickname, which was “angry man.” We called him “angry man” because the first time we met him, he stopped and said, “Why don’t people (expletive) just stay home and wear masks!” He was so angry at people for not doing what they were guided to do and getting sick and making their jobs so hard. We found out later that he was a respiratory therapist, so he encountered the disease up close every day. However as time passed, we became friendly, and he shared the difficulty of seeing so many sick and dying. We would see him at least once a week, but then, he was gone. We were left not knowing what happened to him or whether he was all right. That was the hard part of what we did; sometimes, people would just be gone.

About the Author

Tom Banwart spent most of his life in northern Illinois and graduated summa cum laude from Trinity International University. A promising corporate career was cut short when chronic health issues led him into permanent long-term disability, reshaping both his priorities and his path.

Blessed with creative talents, Tom turned a simple woodburning hobby into a small business and embraced the role of “Mr. Mom” to his three sons, finding purpose and joy in the rhythms of family life.

Though he often sensed a calling to do God’s work, Tom pushed it aside for many years. That changed in 2020. As the pandemic altered daily life and stirred deep questions of faith, he found himself in honest, raw conversations with Christ—dialogues that became a spiritual lifeline. Those reflections and personal experiences evolved into writing, eventually forming the foundation of his first book.

Today, Tom continues to use his creativity and vulnerability to encourage others, sharing stories that point to God’s presence in every season, especially the difficult ones.

Purchase Links

Amazon

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Book Blitz & Giveaway: Crows Calling by Bruce McConnell

An Inspiring Journey into our Better Natures

Literary/Eco-Fiction

Date Published: 10-01-2025

Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press

Earth’s animals are fed up with humanity’s mindless damage to our common home. Will a young girl and her family heed their call?

Ten-year-old Luz sets out on an overnight camping trip, accompanied by her spiritual mentor. Peering through a canopy of California redwoods, Luz witnesses a council of animals confronting the menace of climate change. Led by a lustrous—and talkative—American Crow named Koro, the animals weigh their options. Some, like Koro, want to collaborate with humans. Others doubt humanity’s good intentions. The conversation compels young Luz, innately in tune with the natural world, to fight passionately in its defense.

At once a work of fact-based activism and a moving coming-of-age, Crows Calling immerses the reader in a richly-drawn family and community who, despite their differences, decide to dedicate their lives to the care of Grandmother Earth. They are not alone. Rather, they are accompanied by a colorful cast of savvy planimals—bears, coyotes, trees, and even chickens—with long memories and ancient ways of healing. However, some damage cannot be undone. Natural disasters, public apathy, and greed threaten everything that Luz and her friends are working for. Can the cross-species alliance find unity and resolve the climate crisis?

About the Author

Bruce McConnell is an agile and accomplished shapeshifter, having flourished as a poet, roofer, artist-blacksmith, mechanical engineer, tenor, business consultant, national security official, non-profit executive, and peacemaker. A collection of his poems, Living from Here, was published by Anvil Press (US). He recently moved to Ashland Oregon to feel closer to his relatives in the natural world. Crows Calling is his first novel. He is working on a second novel set in Southern Oregon.

A leading player on global peace and security issues at the intersection of governments, business and civil society for over thirty years, McConnell is the former President and CEO of the EastWest Institute. He serves on the board of The Stimson Center, in support of peace, security, justice, and prosperity for all living beings.

From 2009 to 2013, McConnell served in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he was Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity. He was a member of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team. From 2000-2008, he created, built and sold two consultancies that provided strategic advice to clients in the technology, business and government sectors. In 1999-2000, McConnell led the International Y2K Cooperation Center, which was sponsored by the United Nations and the World Bank.

McConnell holds a Master of Public Administration from the Evans School for Public Policy at the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Sciences from Stanford University. He serves as a business advisor to various technology companies.

Contact Links

Purchase Links

https://mybook.to/CrowsCalling

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