At 2:30 in the morning the Elf On The Shelf woke me up when he came flying into our home from the North Pole. He was obviously irritated. Usually he is quieter when he returns and doesn’t wake me up. This time he was knocking things around and definitely wasn’t trying as hard as he usually does to be stealthy. It was the sound of the refrigerator opening the slamming shut, that woke me. I made my way to the kitchen and found him sitting on the counter next to a half eaten chunk of salami. I really hope he washed his little elf hands before he shoved them into the package. I didn’t hear the water run at all, so I doubt it. He was smiling as he always does, but it seemed a bit… fake. I decided not to mention the hand washing thing. I wonder what had him so pissed off. I didn’t ask him. He wouldn’t tell me anyway. Plus it was 2:30 in the morning and I really don’t want to have deep discussions in the middle of the night. I left him with the half eaten chunk of salami, and went to sleep on the couch. I woke up this morning to the bright lights of the Christmas tree. They are on a timer, and they come on automatically at 5 am. It was a nice site to see first thing. Today I will have a ham sandwich for lunch.
If you would like the recipes for the Christmas cookies I made this year for my friends and family, you can get all the details on my other blog Pollen Patch by clicking here. It is still a work in progress, but I thought it would be fun to share with my Book Basset friends. Happy Tuesday!
Enemy (River Sunday Romance Mysteries Book 10)
by Thomas Hollyday
Genre: Romance | Mystery
FREE for a limited time
DUE TO C02 CLIMATE CRISIS HUNGRY ANTS DEVOUR HUMANS WORLDWIDE, Two people, an idealistic woman and a pragmatic man, must compromise between saving nature or humanity. Along with everyone in River Sunday, Maryland, they face ravenous creatures appearing all over the world from a sudden climate catastrophe. Will they survive the next attack?
Enemy is the tenth book of the acclaimed River Sunday Romance Mystery series by Thomas Hollyday. The author’s unique Chesapeake voice once again gives us an exciting read about the people, their beliefs and legends, and the grasping mud and black water wetlands of this mysterious American region. His other critically acclaimed novels include Slave Graves, Gold, Magnolia Gods, Terror Flower, China Jewel, Easter Sunday, Power, Powerboat Racer, and War Boat.
Each book, introducing new memorable characters, retains the simple and beautiful lifestyle, history and beauty of the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Powerful subjects such as freedom, atomic war, racism, religion, terror, sailing, and family love, are approached. Stories are insightful and well researched with technical expertise, humor, and fast moving action.
River Sunday Romance Mysteries are suitable for teen and older readers. They have no strong language and romantic descriptions are clean and suitable for family reading and enjoyment.
Thomas Hollyday has spent years working for animals rights. Part of the proceeds of his books goes to financing the research and maintenance of fresh drinking water resources for wildlife.
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Bad Luck Charlie: The Dragon Mage Book 1
by Scott Baron
Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy | Science & Math | Science Fiction | Fantasy
FREE for a limited time
Charlie had all the luck. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the good kind.
It was looking like Lady Luck had quite a grudge against him. In fact, at this point merely crashing the multi-billion-dollar spacecraft would have felt like winning the lottery compared to his current dilemma. If only he were so lucky.
Things had started off all right–that is, until a freak wormhole unexpectedly swallowed his ship, leaving him stranded on an unknown planet far, far from home. With the crew’s lives at stake, Charlie had no choice but to stop his whining, put on his big boy pants, and step up to save them all, and much to his surprise, it actually looked like he might succeed. Of course, that was when things really went sideways in ways that made merely crashing on an uncharted planet seem like a walk in the park.
Suddenly faced with alien space pirates, talking dragons, and something that seemed very much like magic, Charlie found himself adrift, feeling like a space age Robinson Crusoe–only his man Friday was a blue-skinned alien, and this wasn’t just a desert island. It was a whole new galaxy.
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Shadow Soldier: A Military Thriller
by Roni Eliav
Genre: Literature & Fiction | World Literature | Thrillers | Action & Adventure
FREE for a limited time
He does not relish killing, but in a world of wars every fighter knows it is the only way to survive.
Erez Eliav, an Israeli soldier in an elite unit, leads his life according to the code of warriors — morality, loyalty, responsibility, respect for others and the enemy, and cruelty alongside generosity.
Like many warriors, he has no desire to kill, but in a country that is fighting for its existence, he has no choice. Nothing, however, has prepared him for the moment when terrorism reaches him, turning his life into scorched earth. He returns to the place he knows best, but this time motivated only by revenge.
In a poignant, uninhibited and sometimes even crude style, the author, who served in a secret unit of the Israel Defense Forces, tells an enlightening story spanning forty years. From his childhood to his enlistment, through to his experience as a soldier who becomes an officer and a leader. The impossible operations, some of which succeed and some of which fail. The fascinating women. The passion surrounding life as a fighter.
Roni Eliav still serves in the reserve forces with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was part of an elite unit during his mandatory service and stayed on as a career officer. Today he lives in Ashkelon, Israel with his partner.
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Vanilla Bean Vengeance (Claire’s Candles Cozy Mystery Book 1)
by Agatha Frost
Genre: Mystery | Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
FREE for a limited time
Claire Harris loves nothing more than crafting homemade candles. She has always dreamed of one day opening a quaint candle shop in her home village of Northash, but at thirty-five, she still can’t afford to take the risk. Stuck in a dead-end job at the local candle factory, and back living with her parents, Claire knows her life needs a shakeup.
The last place she expected change to come from was the factory itself, but when the owner is shockingly pushed to her death, Claire’s life is flipped upside down. She isn’t the only person in the village depending on the factory, so when the murder plunges the business’s future into uncertainty, Claire feels compelled to solve the crime.
With the help of her retired-detective father and closest friends, Claire uncovers a tangled web of conspiracies, cover-ups, secrets, and lies, but can she uncover the truth before her candle shop dream slips through her fingers forever?
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Barrack Five: A Holocaust Story (Book 1 of the Barracks Series)
by Elyse Hoffman
Genre: Historical Fiction | World Literature
FREE for a limited time
The ghosts of the past don’t always stay silent…
When Vilém Rehor takes a security job at a former concentration camp, he assumes it will be dreary, but uneventful. But when someone starts carving their name onto the walls of Barrack Five, his supposedly boring job becomes more than he bargained for.
Though he tries to catch the culprit and stop them from vandalizing the historic landmark, Vilém can’t figure out how they’re doing it — he never sees anyone, but that doesn’t mean he’s alone…
As he delves deeper into the mystery of the vandal, he realizes that the Holocaust isn’t over for everyone. The spirit of a girl long gone reveals herself, desperate to be heard.
Can Vilém help this restless soul?
Barrack Five is a historical fiction novelette filled to the brim with emotion and mystery.
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