Grant’s Crossing Book Files - July 2022

 Hello! I’m making some writing progress! 

Grant’s Crossing Romance #1 - Don’t Call Me Sugar (Tara & Steve) is currently with Beta readers (OMG!!!!) and I’m already getting some great feedback. Tara already loves her hometown when she meets Steve who's figuring his life out now that he found his brother, Nick. Together? Oh, the feels! 

Grant’s Crossing Romance #2 - Title TBD (Logan & Nick) is outlined and I’m writing it now. I just finished an early scene and I’m at about 7700 words. Just getting started, but yeah - it’s good to be writing vs. Editing. I love both, but have been concentrating on editing lately. (P.S. Julie Anne Lindsey’s outlining / book-prep class was a huge help in getting me going on this!) Can Logan find love again and can Nick be the one who inspires him to take that risk?

Grant’s Crossing Romance #3 - End of a New Life (Derek & Callie) is being outlined. This is the first book that I wrote that was a complete, god-awful mess. I’m using some of what I used, but it’ll be a completely different story though - Derek is speeding out of control in a vicious downward spiral, meeting Callie along the way. These two have a great story to tell. 

Grant’s Crossing Romance #4 - Warm Drink on a Cold Day (Kiro and Celeste) is in the notes-to-outline-ish stage. Did we ever think they'd get together?

Grant’s Crossing Romance #5 - Title TBD (Emerson & Aimee) In the works. Not everything is as it seems. 

Grant’s Crossing Romance #6 - Title TBD (Tim & TBD) In the works. I get to write about Tim's love of romance novels in this story. 

Grant’s Crossing Novel #1 - Wayward Guilt is about 85% written. This is a literary fiction novel that serves as a prequel to all my romance novels, ending just before Tara and Steve's story begins. I wanted to tell Joey's story, so this book dives into the lives of Logan, Joey, Derek, and Tank, four men who grew up together through small-town antics, self-discovery, war, and brotherhood. I love them and their story so much, even if it makes me cry. No offense to the readers, but I hope you cry half as much as I did while writing it. It’s fun to write scenes with tears falling down my face. Yeah. I know. Weird. 

I’m excited! 

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Take care and happy reading!

 - Heather 

Instagram - @GrantsCrossing

Goodreads - H.M.S. Brown

Twitter - @GrantsCrossing

Review - 15 Minutes of Flame

Calling all cozy mystery lovers! 15 Minutes of Flame by Christin Brecher is the third Nantucket Candle Maker mystery set, naturally, on Nantucket Island. Like most all cozies, it features an amateur sleuth, Stella, who owns her own business. In her case, the business is a candle shop, hence earlier titles of No Votive Confidence and Murder Makes Scents. 

I seriously love punny titles! 

This is the best one to date, published in 2020. I don't see anything on the horizon with this series, but I hope it's brought back to life for additional books in the series. We need more than three!

From the back cover: 

As Stella Wright's Nantucket candle store thrives, her knack for solving mysteries burns equally bright--especially when a Halloween haunted house uncovers evidence of a centuries-old murder...

When Stella's friend inherits a creaky, abandoned home in Nantucket, she knows it's the perfect setting for the town's annual Halloween fundraiser. A deserted, boarded-up building on the property--once used as a candle-making shop--adds to the creepy ambiance. But as Stella explores the shack's dilapidated walls, she discovers a terrible secret: the skeleton of a Quaker woman, wrapped in blood-soaked clothing and hidden deep within a stone hearth...

While police investigate, Stella wastes no time asking for help from friends with long ties to Nantucket's intricate history. The key to the murder may lie within a scorching 18th century love triangle that pit two best friends against one another over a dubious man. But before the case is solved, another life will be claimed--leaving Stella to wonder who in Nantucket is friend, and who is foe.

From my Goodreads review: 

15 Minutes of Flame is the third Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery by Christin Brecher and it's most definitely my favorite. This book ran a duel murder mystery: one in the present day and one from the past that was currently being investigated, complete with archaeologists, historians, and many interested parties from within the island itself. 

Stella found herself in the middle of another mystery that left me turning the page for more. I thoroughly enjoyed reading a story that focused on the history of the island, even within a fictional setting. Brecher wove a terrific tale set in a wonderful place I would love to visit in real life: Nantucket Island. Someday I'll get there.

In the meantime, I'm left wondering what's going to happen when a certain someone runs off to Iceland. And what about Andy? I truly hope a follow-up book will be written. (Don't worry - it's not a cliffhanger, I promise!)

Read more about Christin Brecher and her books on her official website. Goodreads - Barnes & Noble - Amazon 

Take care and happy reading!

 - Heather 

Instagram - @GrantsCrossing

Goodreads - H.M.S. Brown

Twitter - @GrantsCrossing

Review - Canter With a Killer

Canter With a Killer is a new cozy mystery I’ve just had the pleasure of reading. Published by Crooked Lane Books, debut author, Amber Camp, set her novel in northwest Arkansas at a horse rescue which is a new and different location for a cozy mystery and a welcomed change of pace. 

From the back cover: 

Perfect for fans of Amanda Flower and Mollie Cox Bryan, Amber Camp’s debut novel will have you galloping through the pages, as a horse rescue owner races to find a killer and clear her name.

Mallory Martin left her marriage and her unfulfilling job to move back to her hometown of Hillspring, Arkansas, and start a horse rescue. It’s everything she’s been missing, with paddocks of happy horses and one very quirky donkey. But when her cantankerous neighbor and longtime critic, Albert Cunningham, is found murdered in his fancy show barn, Mallory becomes suspect number one. Since Sheriff Grady Sullivan is ignoring all good sense and focusing only on Mallory, she decides to take matters into her own hands.

Aided by her best friend, Lanie, and rescue volunteer Tanner, Mallory races headlong into the investigation in search of the real killer. But horses and murder aren’t the only thing on her mind when she meets Albert’s handsome son, Braydon. Sparks fly, and soon she’s got a new boyfriend. But there’s a case to be solved, and she redoubles her efforts to learn the truth.

The suspects mount quickly. There’s Albert’s girlfriend, Kathleen, who was on the farm when he was murdered; organic farmer Heather Rogers, who accused Albert of contaminating her creek; and Philip Atwood, who’d been trying for a right-of-way across Albert’s farm. None of the evidence is holding up though, and Mallory learns that she'll need to take the reins on this investigation if she's going to clear her own name

From my Goodreads review: 

Canter with a Killer is the debut novel by Arkansas author Amber Camp. It’s a great whodunnit featuring Mallory, owner of a new horse rescue in NW Arkansas, who is accused of murdering her meddling neighbor who seems to be quite the crotchety old man.

I love starting a new series and getting to know all the various characters that I just know I’ll come to love along the way as new books are released. At her rescue are Ashley and Tanner, two volunteers who are almost loyal to a fault but who share her love for horses.

I also love that this book was set in a more unusual setting - a horse rescue - making it a welcome change of scenery from restaurants and coffee shops (or pet stores) that I often see in cozies. I look forward to reading more books by Camp.


Read more about author Amber Camp at her official website. Find more on Canter With a Killer at Goodreads - Barnes & Noble - Amazon 

Take care and happy reading!

 - Heather 

Instagram - @GrantsCrossing

Goodreads - H.M.S. Brown

Twitter - @GrantsCrossing