Showing posts with label Livia J. Washburn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Livia J. Washburn. Show all posts

Monday, March 04, 2024

Now Available: Kingfisher #3: Tourist Trap - James Reasoner and Livia J. Washburn


The search for one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, a swindler who is rumored to have stashed away close to a billion dollars in ill-gotten gains, leads brother and sister private investigators Callista and Joseph Kingfisher to a fabulous, luxurious resort in Mexico. But deep in the jungles of the Yucatan, they discover another secret hidden away, a secret that may mean death for both Kingfishers!

TOURIST TRAP is another lightning-paced, colorful adventure from bestselling authors James Reasoner and Livia J. Washburn featuring plenty of thrills, humor, and excitement, with suspense and plot twists that will leave readers breathless.

Working on these books with Livia has been great fun, and I think this is my favorite so far. It's available on Amazon in e-book and print editions and as an e-book on Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, and Smashwords.


Monday, January 08, 2024

Now Available: Kingfisher P.I. #2: Dark Ride - James Reasoner and Livia J. Washburn


Hired to find out who’s been threatening a Texas state senator’s granddaughter, the two triplet sleuths Callista and Joseph Kingfisher find themselves in more trouble than they bargained for as Callie goes undercover at a therapeutic riding center and becomes involved in a dangerous conspiracy with roots on the other side of the world.

Between international criminals who want them dead, an enigmatic former Special Forces operator who can’t be trusted, federal agents who would like to make the Kingfishers disappear in some black site prison, and the shadowy menace who started the whole thing, Callie and Joseph will have their work cut out just trying to survive this case!

KINGFISHER P.I.: DARK RIDE is the second in a new series of thrilling mystery novels from New York Times bestselling author James Reasoner and the creator of the popular Fresh Baked Mystery series Livia J. Washburn. Mount up for these exciting and entertaining tales from two of today’s best storytellers!

(The second novel in the Kingfisher P.I. series is now available on Amazon in trade paperback and e-book editions. You can also find e-book editions on Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, and Smashwords. These books are a little different from anything Livia and I have done before, and considering how many books we've written, that's not easy! But I'm having a great time working on them and I hope the readers enjoy them.)

Monday, November 06, 2023

Now Available: Kingfisher P.I. - James Reasoner and Livia J. Washburn


Callista Kingfisher is a former mixed martial arts fighter and one of the top stunt performers in Hollywood. But when an accident on a movie set leaves her badly injured, she goes home to Corpus Christi, Texas, to recuperate.

Callie’s triplet brother Joseph is a top private investigator, and when he lands the job of tracking down a fugitive who has disappeared into the thick Piney Woods of East Texas, Callie decides she’ll give her brother a hand with the case. Both Kingfishers are plunged into the middle of a deadly feud between rival crime families, and Callie quickly discovers that the real thing is even more dangerous than making action movies.

New York Times bestseller James Reasoner and critically acclaimed mystery author Livia J. Washburn team up for KINGFISHER P.I., the first in a new series of exciting, action-packed mystery novels that will leave you breathless with their suspense, adventure, and humor.

We're excited about this series and have had a lot of fun working on it so far. It's available from Amazon in e-book and trade paperback editions, as well as at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Scribd, and Smashwords. The second book should be out after the first of the year and the third one sometime next spring. If you like fast-paced private detective yarns, you'll enjoy them.

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Coming Soon: Kingfisher P.I. -- James Reasoner and Livia J. Washburn


Callista Kingfisher is a former mixed martial arts fighter and one of the top stunt performers in Hollywood. But when an accident on a movie set leaves her badly injured, she goes home to Corpus Christi, Texas, to recuperate.

Callie’s triplet brother Joseph is a top private investigator, and when he lands the job of tracking down a fugitive who has disappeared into the thick Piney Woods of East Texas, Callie decides she’ll give her brother a hand with the case. Both Kingfishers are plunged into the middle of a deadly feud between rival crime families, and Callie quickly discovers that the real thing is even more dangerous than making action movies.

New York Times bestseller James Reasoner and critically acclaimed mystery author Livia J. Washburn team up for KINGFISHER P.I., the first in a new series of exciting, action-packed mystery novels that will leave you breathless with their suspense, adventure, and humor.

(This is the first book in a brand-new series that Livia and I have had a great time writing. It'll be out next month, and the e-book edition is available for pre-order on Amazon now. There'll be a trade paperback later on. I hope some of you will check it out and enjoy it.)

Friday, June 18, 2021

Now Available: Never Trifle With Murder - Livia J. Washburn


It’s early summer in Weatherford, Texas, and retired teacher/amateur sleuth Phyllis Newsom and fellow retiree Carolyn Wilbarger are taking British cooking classes at the local senior center in this suspenseful Fresh-Baked mystery.

In the latest from Livia J. Washburn, the nationally bestselling author of the Fresh Baked Mystery Series, Phyllis Newsom learns to make a trifle that’s to die for…

While Sam Fletcher is playing dominoes with the guys, Eve Turner is busy flirting with the English chef since she has a fascination for English accents and handsome men who can cook. This puts her in competition with a couple of other ladies from the senior center, who also have their caps set for Chef Alfred Dorrington.

The third and final class features desserts, and more than the stove heats up when the trifle is poisoned! Once again Phyllis finds herself involved in a murder case filled with hidden motives and colorful characters.

Includes recipes!

(I love these books because I always get to read them before anybody else. And, of course, because they're funny and well-plotted and full of great characters, surprises, and poignant moments. I get to sample the recipes, too! The trade paperback of this one also includes the Fresh Baked Mystery short story "The Coconut Bunny Butt Caper", which was only available digitally until now. NEVER TRIFLE WITH MURDER is also available at Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.)

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Now Available: Death Bakes a Pecan Pie - Livia J. Washburn


It’s time for the Harvest Festival again, and Phyllis is determined to bake a killer pecan pie.

Hollywood comes to Weatherford, Texas, as a movie company arrives to shoot scenes for a film based on the novel by Phyllis Newsom’s friend Eve. But movie fantasy turns to deadly reality as a murder recreated for film turns out to be the genuine article, and once more Phyllis has to track down a cunning killer to see that justice is done.

DEATH BAKES A PECAN PIE is the fourteenth novel in the critically acclaimed and best-selling Fresh Baked Mystery series. Phyllis and her friends tackle another complex case with all the humor, camaraderie, good-hearted warmth, and delicious recipes that have made readers around the world fall in love with this series.

Recipes included!

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Now Available: Best of the West


Grab a cup of coffee and settle down into your easy chair to ride the range with some of the most exciting tales of the Old West you’ll find anywhere! This collection is called BEST OF THE WEST for a very good reason—IT IS!

These fourteen stories will have you standing beside lawmen and outlaws as the bullets fly, saddling up some of the best horseflesh to be found West of the Mississippi, and wagering your livelihood on the turn of a card. Tales that include savvy swindles, gunfights, loves lost (and found!), the making of an outlaw and the secret protection of a president will draw you in and hang on tight.

This anthology is bustin’ with acclaimed Western authors such as James Reasoner, Livia J. Washburn, Jackson Lowry, Kit Prate, Charlie Steel, Richard Prosch, Big Jim Williams, Cheryl Pierson, J.L. Guin, Clay More, and David Amendola.

What are you waitin’ for, pardner? You’re burnin’ daylight! Happy trails!

(I think my contribution to this anthology, "The Way to Cheyenne", is my favorite of all the short stories I've written, and it's been out of print for years. This is a really good collection of Western yarns from some top authors. I'd urge all of you to check it out.)

Monday, June 05, 2017

Now Available: The Great Chili Kill-Off - Livia J. Washburn


The chili in Texas is red-hot . . . and so is murder! Phyllis, Sam, Carolyn, and Eve head for West Texas to compete in a Fourth of July chili cookoff. Thousands of people have descended on a sleepy little ghost town, turning it into a boomtown for chili mavens, gamblers, musicians, and media. Raucous excitement fills the air, but so does chili when a sabotaged propane cooker explodes, killing the much-hated current champion. The victim leaves behind a tangled trail of sleeping with other men’s wives, cheating at cards – and maybe at chili cooking – and deadly anger. With Sam a possible suspect in the murder, emotions run hot as a bowl of Texas red as Phyllis has to untangle these threads in order to put her finger on the killer! Livia J. Washburn's beloved Fresh Baked Mystery series is back with another novel full of tasty recipes, dastardly doings, and brilliant sleuthing by Phyllis Newsom and her friends. THE GREAT CHILI KILL-OFF is a delicious dish of murder and detection.

Livia's Fresh Baked Mystery series continues with another funny, twisty, fast-paced yarn. I'm hardly an unbiased reader, but I really enjoy these books.

Tuesday, November 03, 2015

Now Available: The Candy Cane Cupcake Killer - Livia J. Washburn


In the latest from the national bestselling author of Trick or Deadly Treat, Phyllis Newsom returns with a festive Christmas recipe that’s to die for…

‘Tis the season in Weatherford, Texas, and everyone in town is gearing up for the annual holiday parade and tree-lighting ceremony in the town square, where Phyllis Newsom will be serving her much-anticipated candy cane cupcakes. Local rancher Barney McCrory manages to charm one away from her before the ceremony begins. But unfortunately, when the minty confection is finished, so is he.

This isn’t the first time someone has dropped dead after eating one of Phyllis’s treats. But when the paramedics determine the rancher was shot, suspicion swiftly falls on McCrory’s daughter and her husband—who both stand to reap some sweet rewards from his death. Though Phyllis doesn’t want to get mixed up in another murder investigation, something about this case doesn’t sit right with her. With a little help from a tabloid TV news crew, Phyllis must unwrap the truth and restore good cheer to Weatherford before it’s too late…

Includes recipes!

(And on a personal note, while I'm hardly unbiased, I think this is one of the best in the series, with some great characters and really funny dialogue, not to mention a fine mystery.) 

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Coming Soon: Guarding Her Heart - Livia J. Washburn


Julia Courtland was on her way west to marry a man she had never met. Henry Everett, the marshal of Flat Rock, Texas, was the grandson of her uncle's best friend. It seemed like a good match for both of them, and the wedding was scheduled to take place on Valentine's Day. 

Grant Stafford thought the young woman who got on the stagecoach at Buffalo Springs was the prettiest thing he had seen in a long time. She wasn't too friendly, mind you, but she was sure easy on the eyes. Not that Grant had time to worry much about such things. He was the shotgun guard on this run, but more than that, he was an undercover Texas Ranger on the trail of the vicious outlaw gang responsible for a string of stagecoach robberies. 

Fate threw Julia Courtland and Grant Stafford together on a cold February day in West Texas, but it also threw deadly obstacles in their path. A runaway team, a terrible crash, and bullets flying through the air threaten to steal not only their lives but also any chance they have for happiness. If they're going to survive, they will have to learn to trust each other . . . and maybe steal their hearts back from fate.

(This is actually my favorite of the stories Livia's written for Prairie Rose Publications because it has a lot of action in it, including a scene right out of a Republic Pictures B-Western. It'll be out later this month, but it's available for pre-order now.)

Friday, July 25, 2014

Now Available: Charlie's Pie - Livia J. Washburn

Lauralee Brannam just wants to bake her son's favorite pie for his birthday, which happens to fall on Christmas Eve. But then a wounded stranger shows up on her Texas ranch, and his fateful visit leads to violence, tragedy, and redemption in this stirring Western tale.

Livia's 12,000 word novella "Charlie's Pie", which won the Peacemaker Award for Best Short Fiction from the Western Fictioneers this year, is now available individually at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords, as are the other stories from the Prairie Rose Publications anthology WISHING FOR A COWBOY. I'm biased, of course, but I really like "Charlie's Pie" and when I read it my first thought was that it would have been right at home in a 1950s issue of RANCH ROMANCES, when the magazine had gotten considerably more hardboiled than it was in its early days. Check it out! (Yeah, there's a half-naked cowboy on the cover, but it's one tough yarn, let me tell you.)


Monday, June 16, 2014

Now Available From Rough Edges Press: The Healer's Road - James Reasoner and Livia J. Washburn


For more than thirty years, bestselling authors James Reasoner and Livia J. Washburn have chronicled the story of America in their award-winning historical novels. THE HEALER'S ROAD is one of their greatest sagas, the sweeping story of a family dedicated to the practice of medicine and caught up in the violence and heartbreak of America's bloodiest war. 

Thomas Black rose from poverty, superstition, and tragedy to become a respected physician. His son John is reluctant to follow in those footsteps but is forced to do so by the madness of war. And Thomas's daughter Sara is the most devoted of all to healing the sick and injured, despite living in a world that opposes her every ambition. 

From Boston to Washington D.C. to the battlefields of the Civil War, THE HEALER'S ROAD is a tale of triumph and loss, of courage and despair, of life and death and love and hate vividly portrayed by a pair of master storytellers. Long out of print, THE HEALER'S ROAD is now available again in this newly revised e-book edition. (Also available at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble.)

(And the sequel, HEALER'S CALLING, is coming soon.)

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

New Publishing Company Open for Submissions

Welcome to PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS, a new publishing company for WOMEN AUTHORS ONLY!

We are now accepting HISTORICAL WESTERN and HISTORICAL WESTERN ROMANCE submissions of all lengths. Do you have a manuscript to submit? We'd love to take a look!

For more information, please contact Livia J. Washburn or Cheryl Pierson at our          PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS website!   http://prairierosepublications.yolasite.com/

Livia:     livia@flash.net
Cheryl:   fabkat_edit@yahoo.com
 
On November 1, 2013, our debut anthology, WISHING FOR A COWBOY, will be released in both digital and print formats. We have a great lineup of heartwarming Christmas stories by some wonderful authors for you in this collection.

What do these stories have in common besides romance, the old west, and Christmas? A wonderful Christmas dish of some kind, complete with recipes in the back  of the book! Each story features a particular food that you'll be able to make for your own Christmas dinner with the delicious recipes our heroines use to cook up pies, cookies, springerle and other holiday treats for their sweethearts. Mark your calendar for November 1!


Saturday, April 13, 2013

Now Available: Look You on Beauty and Death - James Reasoner and Livia J. Washburn


Despite my love for the genre, Livia and I haven't made many forays into sword and sorcery. This short story is one of them, and I think it's a pretty good one. We wrote it a while back for an anthology called NEW AMAZONS, which was edited by Margaret Weis. "Look You on Beauty and Death" has got swordplay, an evil wizard, a little humor, and a few plot twists. We've gone through it, revising it and expanding it some from its original version. I hope those of you who like heroic fantasy will check it out. It's only 99 cents for 7,000 words of action.

I have an unpublished fantasy novel sitting in my files, but it's going to take a considerable amount of work before it's ready to see the light of day. I expect to have it available as an e-book, too, sooner or later.

Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Now Available: Wedding Cake Killer - Livia J. Washburn

Wedding bells will be ringing in Weatherford, Texas, this Christmas when Phyllis Newsom opens up her home for her best friend’s wedding. And although the bride is wearing white, no one suspects that she’ll soon be wearing black…

After all the planning—and the cake tasting—the big day has arrived. Eve Turner, one of Phyllis’s boarders—and her best friend—is moving out and getting married to the affable Roy Porter. While she’s sad to see Eve go, Phyllis is more than happy to host the event in her house and to bake the bride and groom a delicious three-tiered coconut wedding cake. Even though a snowstorm in the forecast seems like a recipe for disaster, the day runs as smoothly as butter cream.

But the marriage doesn’t last long past the honeymoon. When Roy’s found dead at a Weatherford bed-and-breakfast, Eve’s the top suspect. Now Phyllis must find out who iced Roy before her friend finds herself behind bars…

(As always, this is hardly an unbiased opinion, but I think this is an excellent novel and that Livia does a great job of developing the characters and moving this series along. It's available in print, Kindle, and Nook editions.)

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Now Free for Kindle: Witch Got Your Tongue - Livia J. Washburn

Livia's urban fantasy novel WITCH GOT YOUR TONGUE is now free for the Kindle for a limited time, in celebration of Halloween. Also the sequel A PECK OF PICKLED WARLOCKS has been reduced in price to $2.99. I'm not exactly an unbiased reader, of course, but I think these books are fast, funny, and very entertaining. If you've been meaning to check them out but haven't gotten around to it yet, now's the perfect time.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Big News from Livia



Not only has the second book in Livia's Tongue-Tied Witch series, A PECK OF PICKLED WARLOCKS, just been published for both the Kindle and the Nook (with a trade paperback edition on the way), but the first book in the series, WITCH GOT YOUR TONGUE, is now on sale for only 99 cents. I really like these books. They're pretty funny and have a lot of action, and I hope she continues writing them.


Here are the Nook links: A PECK OF PICKLED WARLOCKS, WITCH GOT YOUR TONGUE.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Now Available: For Whom the Funeral Bell Tolls - Livia J. Washburn


Livia's fourth Delilah Dickinson Literary Tour mystery is now available for the Kindle, the Nook, and as a handsome trade paperback. This one finds Delilah leading a tour group to Key West to visit Ernest Hemingway's home there. Of course it's not long before murder crops up and Delilah has to become a detective again. Being a long-time Hemingway fan, I was really looking forward to editing this one. I wasn't disappointed. It's really fast-paced and funny and solidly in the amateur sleuth tradition. Check it out.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Livia's New Novel: For Whom the Funeral Bell Tolls (Literary Tour Mystery #4)

This one should be available sometime next week. In my absolutely unbiased opinion, I think it's a fine book. I always enjoy reading about Delilah.

Friday, December 02, 2011

Blatant Spousal Promotion



Livia's work pops up in a couple of places today. You can read about "A Day in the Life of Phyllis Newsom" (the protagonist from the Fresh-Baked Mystery series) here. And Scott Cupp blogs about the urban fantasy novel WITCH GOT YOUR TONGUE on the Missions Unknown website. Check 'em out!