Showing posts with label blog book tours. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog book tours. Show all posts

Monday, December 10, 2012

Common Mistakes Employers Make with B.L. Brown with #Giveaway


Welcome to day 2 with B.L. Brown. I'm so excited as we all know how bosses can be, or how we often perceive them. B.L. is sharing some great information today.


Common Mistakes Employers Make When Dealing With Employees

A heavier workload with low compensation is major driver of low employee morale and dysfunctional employer-employee relations. Yet, this is the number one undisputed common mistakes employers make when dealing with employees. When an employee is in low-salary job role with inadequate benefits, there is no reason to stay especially when a better door of opportunity opens.

Poor employee job comparability is a major mishap in organizations internationally. It is a major driver of unsuccessful organization outcomes. There is no benefit in hiring an employee in a position in which they lack the vital skills to perform. Applicants may look great on paper, but if they cannot perform to the level of their credentials, then they are of little value to an organization’s success. An employee’s ability to perform is what should ultimately decide their fate within an organization. Establishing the necessary credentials and measuring applicants against them is core in the selection of new employees. These primary components are so important and often omitted from the hiring and probationary period process.

The employer is responsible for creating an environment that empowers employees and sparks creativity. It is vital to develop a structure hiring processes, selecting the right candidates for job roles is core. Another common mistakes employer’s make when dealing with employees is lack of training. To many employers fail to provide a training manual to new employees. Instructional as well as hands-on training is key. Employers should provide key trainers, from within the organization for new employees. The training process is critical to the organization, hiring manager, new employee, team, and department. All new hires should be evaluated and properly transitioned into their new role. Each employee must be given the tools and necessary organizational support from other staff members.

These core organizational puzzle pieces fail to exist in many organizations. Why hire new employees if you are not going to provide them with tools to succeed? Employees need to feel valued by their managers. It entails engaging, acknowledging, recognizing, supporting, and spending the valuable time necessary in making new employees feel that they belong from the moment they arrive for work. 

Book Genre: BODY, MIND & SPIRIT / Angels & Spirit Guides / Business & Economics
Publisher: Outskirts PressRelease Date: August 18, 2011


Book Title: Halo-Orangees employer-employee “one accord” Volume I One Mind, One Body, One Team

Book Blurb
Is your work environment infected with the dysfunctional "I" and ME" Team Virus? "I" and "Me" are the driving forces behind dysfunctional organizational employer-employee relationships.
This book embodies the message that all human beings have a purpose and can rise above any situation or circumstance as long as they remain ethically true to themselves.
As you journey through this book, you will experience a multiplicity of real life work encounters such as, "A manager espoused her opinion that lower-paid employees should serve higher-paid employees". In this encounter, the manager also stated, "higher-salaried staff members are not paid to clean coffee pots" (Excerpt~ B.L. Brown). Halo-Orangees book is a movement with encouraging straightforwardness; Author B.L. Brown confronts real-life workplace issues occurring in organizations world-wide (negativity, drama, power struggles, backstabbing, and endless gossip). The Introduction is entitled, "Don't Allow Anyone to Confine You to a Box, Disabling Your Growth".
Halo-Orangees is a nonexclusive on the job survival manual, mindset enhancer, and stress reliever for both employers and employees. This book will change your life both personally and professionally.
“Don’t ever allow anyone to attack your self-esteem, kill your passion, or tell you that someone else is more worthy than you” (Excerpt ~B.L. Brown).
“You are the only one who defines you, so don’t ever allow anyone to tell you who you are, or that you are not good enough” (Excerpt ~B.L. Brown).
Excerpt Quotes
“Your life purpose is to take the totality of your negative experiences, roll them up into one, and use them positively to lay the foundation for your destiny” (Excerpt~ B.L. Brown).

“Don’t ever allow anyone to break your spirit of peace, control your mood, or suppress your workforce existence, making your tenure in the organization a horrible experience” (Excerpt~ B.L. Brown).

Websites: For more information, please visit the author’s corporate website: http://www.halo-orangeesjobs.com/


B.L. Brown is the CEO and Founder of Halo-Orangees', international online job board (halo-orangeesjobs.com). Halo-Orangees’ international job board delivers candidates on time and under budget. Employers can post jobs and search resume database. 

Jobseekers can post resumes and search jobs for free. The genesis of Halo-Orangees Brand: Helping Advocate Longevity of Organizations by Obtaining Objectives through Redefining Above-Board New Generational Guidelines for Employer Employee Standards was inspired, developed, and birthed from her reaction to an unethical manager with whom she had the pleasure of working for and whose style of supervision made her stronger.

In a one-on-one meeting with this executive director, he made the statement that another employee, who held the same title as B.L. Brown, was better than she was. In response, B.L. Brown informed him that this employee was not better than her nor was she better than the employee. From that one statement, she instantly realized her true purpose in life. "Best negative words spoken into my life thus far" (Excerpt~ B.L. Brown). Reckoning her experience with a newfound belief, the foundation of Halo-Orangees emerged.
In 2012 Author B.L. Brown launched Halo-Orangees/h-connect brand, international online dating website h-connect.net. The h-connect.net brand is empowering, motivating singles to find their best friend in love.



Do you have some memorable memories or work stories you'd be willing to share? We'd love to hear them - leave a comment now.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway and come back tomorrow for more great tips and information.

Change your mind...Change Your Life!




Sunday, December 9, 2012

Change Your Mind...Change Your Life with B.L. Brown (#Giveaway)


This week we're starting our week long feature with B.L. Brown, the author of Halo-Orangees employer - employee "One Accord" Volume 1 One Mind, One Body, One Spirit inspirational relationship novel. I hope you will join us as B.L. Brown shares her inspiration, tips, and expertise this week.


Change Your Mind...Change Your Life! 
1 Week with B.L. Brown
BK Walker Books Etc.December 9 - Introduction to B.L. Brown
December 10 - Common Mistakes Employers Make When Dealing With Employees
December 11 - Common Mistakes Employees Make When Dealing With Work & Employers
December 12 - Maintaining Healthy Relationships
December 13 - Tips for a Healthy Mind & To Keep Your Sanity
December 14 - Readers Q&A Day
December 15 - Wrap-Up



BK: What inspired this book?
BB: Halo-Orangees’ employer-employee “one accord” Volume I One Mind, One Body, One Team book (Halo-Orangees: Helping Advocate Longevity of Organizations by Obtaining Objectives through Redefining Above-Board New Generational Guidelines for Employer Employee Standards) book was inspired, developed, and birthed from my reaction to a manager with whom I, B. L. Brown, had the pleasure—that is, in making me stronger—of working for. My executive director had perfected the art of insulting staff members on a daily basis. I could only surmise that this leader saw the entire group of employees as confined to a small shoe box. In a one-on-one meeting with my executive director, he made the statement that another employee, who held the same title, was better than I was. In response, I informed him that this employee was not better than I, nor was I better than she. I also asked him to explain the basis for his statement. He stumbled, stuttered, and finally replied that this employee was better than I, because she held two master’s degrees. “Best negative words spoken into my life thus far”. From that one statement, I instantly realized my true purpose in life. On that day, reckoning my experience with a newfound belief, the foundation of Halo-Orangees emerged. Halo-Orangees employer-employee “one accord” Volume I One Mind, One Body, One Team Introduction is entitled, “Don’t Allow Anyone to Confine You to a Box, Disabling Your Growth”. Your life purpose is to take the totality of your negative experiences, roll them up into one, and use them positively to lay the foundation for your destiny” Excerpt~ B.L. Brown).

 I did have a chance to chat with B.L. earlier during her tour, you can check out the rest of the interview HERE.



B.L. Brown is the CEO and Founder of Halo-Orangees', international online job board (halo-orangeesjobs.com). Halo-Orangees’ international job board delivers candidates on time and under budget. Employers can post jobs and search resume database. Jobseekers can post resumes and search jobs for free. The genesis of Halo-Orangees Brand: Helping Advocate Longevity of Organizations by Obtaining Objectives through Redefining Above-Board New Generational Guidelines for Employer Employee Standards was inspired, developed, and birthed from her reaction to an unethical manager with whom she had the pleasure of working for and whose style of supervision made her stronger.
In a one-on-one meeting with this executive director, he made the statement that another employee, who held the same title as B.L. Brown, was better than she was. In response, B.L. Brown informed him that this employee was not better than her nor was she better than the employee. From that one statement, she instantly realized her true purpose in life. "Best negative words spoken into my life thus far" (Excerpt~ B.L. Brown). Reckoning her experience with a newfound belief, the foundation of Halo-Orangees emerged.
In 2012 Author B.L. Brown launched Halo-Orangees/h-connect brand, international online dating website h-connect.net. The h-connect.net brand is empowering, motivating singles to find their best friend in love.

Progress can also be followed via social media:




Book Genre: BODY, MIND & SPIRIT / Angels & Spirit Guides / Business & Economics

Websites: For more information, please visit the author’s corporate website: http://www.halo-orangeesjobs.com/


Book Synopsis
Is your work environment infected with the dysfunctional "I" and ME" Team Virus? "I" and "Me" are the driving forces behind dysfunctional organizational employer-employee relationships.

This book embodies the message that all human beings have a purpose and can rise above any situation or circumstance as long as they remain ethically true to themselves.

As you journey through this book, you will experience a multiplicity of real life work encounters such as, "A manager espoused her opinion that lower-paid employees should serve higher-paid employees". In this encounter, the manager also stated, "higher-salaried staff members are not paid to clean coffee pots" (Excerpt~ B.L. Brown). Halo-Orangees book is a movement with encouraging straightforwardness; Author B.L. Brown confronts real-life workplace issues occurring in organizations world-wide (negativity, drama, power struggles, backstabbing, and endless gossip). The Introduction is entitled, "Don't Allow Anyone to Confine You to a Box, Disabling Your Growth".

Halo-Orangees is a nonexclusive on the job survival manual, mindset enhancer, and stress reliever for both employers and employees. This book will change your life both personally and professionally.

“Don’t ever allow anyone to attack your self-esteem, kill your passion, or tell you that someone else is more worthy than you” (Excerpt ~B.L. Brown).
“You are the only one who defines you, so don’t ever allow anyone to tell you who you are, or that you are not good enough” (Excerpt ~B.L. Brown).
Excerpt Quotes
“Your life purpose is to take the totality of your negative experiences, roll them up into one, and use them positively to lay the foundation for your destiny” (Excerpt~ B.L. Brown).
“Don’t ever allow anyone to break your spirit of peace, control your mood, or suppress your workforce existence, making your tenure in the organization a horrible experience” (Excerpt~ B.L. Brown).


Check out the Tour




Saturday, November 3, 2012

Lauren Carr Halloween Bash Mystery Virtual Book Tour Wrap Up - It's YOUR day!


We had a fabulous week getting to know Lauren and the characters from the Mac Faraday Mysteries! Thank you so much for stopping in and supporting Lauren while on tour - YOU GUYS ROCK!!!

Today is YOUR DAY!

This is where you get to ask Lauren anything you want! Anything at all! (keep it clean lol)

Comment your question or comments and Lauren will get back to you! Go ahead....I'll wait for you to get your questions in....*humming Love Shack*

Did you get your question in? Did you get to grab your copy of her books Wednesday? You still have time to enter her giveaway for the AWESOME Halloween Gift Basket, we will be closing it down tomorrow! So if you missed it Wednesday...Go GO GOOOO!!

Thank you so much for spending an entire week with us Lauren! I had such a blast and I know readers enjoyed it.

Here's a last look before we say goodbye...



Lauren Carr fell in love with mysteries when her mother read Perry Mason to her at bedtime. The first installment in the Joshua Thornton mysteries, A Small Case of Murder was a finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Award. A Reunion to Die For was released in hardback in June 2007. Both of these books are in re-release.

Lauren is also the author of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, which takes place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. The first two books in her series, It’s Murder, My Son and Old Loves Die Hard have been getting rave reviews from readers and reviewers. The next book in this series, Shades of Murder, will be released May 2012. This will be Lauren’s fifth mystery.

Lauren’s sixth book, Dead on Ice, will be released in Fall 2012. Dead on Ice will introduce a new series entitled Lovers in Crime, in which Joshua Thornton will join forces with homicide detective Cameron Gates.

The owner of Acorn Book Services, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, editor, cover and layout designer, and marketing agent for independent authors. This spring, two books written by independent authors will be released through the management of Acorn Book Services.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She also passes on what she has learned in her years of writing and publishing by conducting workshops and teaching in community education classes.

She lives with her husband, son, and two dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.



Old Loves Die Hard…and in the worst places.

In Old Loves Die Hard, Lauren Carr continues the rags-to-riches story of Mac Faraday, an underpaid homicide detective who inherits two-hundred-and-seventy million dollars and an estate on Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, from his birth mother on the day his divorce becomes final.

Mac is settling nicely into his new life at Spencer Manor when his ex-wife Christine shows up—and she wants him back! Before Mac can send her packing, Christine and her estranged lover are murdered in Mac’s private penthouse suite at the Spencer Inn, the five-star resort built by his ancestors.

The investigation leads to the discovery of cases files for some of Mac’s murder cases in the room of the man responsible for destroying his marriage. Why would his ex-wife’s lover come to Spencer to dig into Mac’s old cases?

With the help of his new friends on Deep Creek Lake, Mac must use all of his detective skills to clear his name and the Spencer Inn’s reputation, before its five-stars—and more bodies—start dropping!


"With it's tight plot, well-crafted and believable characters, and complex mystery, It's Murder, My Son is a thoroughly enjoyable read. I look forward to many more Mac Faraday mysteries."  John J. Lamb, author of the Bear Collector Mysteries

"A most unusual and surprising plot, intriguing characters, snappy dialogue, great settings and a dog named Gnarly are the prime ingredients in Lauren Carr's terrific new mystery, It's Murder, My Son." F.M. Meredith, author of An Axe to Grind

What started out as the worst day of Mac Faraday's life would end up being a new beginning. After a messy divorce hearing, the last person that Mac wanted to see was another lawyer. Yet, this lawyer wore the expression of a child bursting to tell his secret. This secret would reveal Mac as heir to undreamed of fortunes, and lead him to the birthplace of America's Queen of Mystery and an investigation that will unfold like one of her famous mystery novels.

Soon after she moves to her new lakefront home in Spencer, Maryland, multi-millionaire Katrina Singleton learns that life in an exclusive community is not all good. For some unknown reason, a strange man calling himself "Pay Back" begins stalking her. When Katrina is found strangled all evidence points to her terrorist, who is nowhere to be found.


Question: What do you get the man with everything?

Answer: When that man is the heir of the late mystery writer Robin Spencer, retired homicide detective Mac Faraday, you get him cold case to solve.

In Shades of Murder, Mac Faraday is once again the heir to an unbelievable fortune. This time the benefactor is a stolen art collector. But this isn’t just any stolen work-of-art—it’s a masterpiece with a murder attached to it.

Ilysa Ramsay was in the midst of taking the art world by storm with her artistic genius. Hours after unveiling her latest masterpiece—she is found dead in her Deep Creek Lake studio—and her painting is nowhere to be found.
Almost a decade later, the long lost Ilysa Ramsay masterpiece has found its way into Mac Faraday’s hands and he can’t resist the urge to delve into the case.

A world away, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; former JAG lawyer Joshua Thornton agrees to do a favor for the last person he would ever expect to do a favor—a convicted serial killer.

The Favor: Solve the one murder wrongly attributed to him.

 Joshua finds an unexpected ally in Cameron Gates, a spunky detective who has reason to believe the young woman known to the media only as Jane Doe, Victim Number Four, was the victim of a copycat. Together, Joshua and Cameron set out to light a flame under the cold case only to find that someone behind the scenes wants the case to remain cold, and is willing to kill to keep it that way.

Little do these detectives know that the paths of their respective cases are on a collision course when they follow the clues to bring them together in a showdown with a killer who’s got a talent for murder!







Dead on Ice is the first installment of Lauren Carr’s new series (Lovers in Crime) featuring Hancock County Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Thornton and Pennsylvania State Police homicide detective Cameron Gates.

Spunky Cameron Gates is tasked with solving the murder of Cherry Pickens, a legendary star of pornographic films, whose body turns up in an abandoned freezer. The case has a personal connection to her lover, Joshua Thornton, because the freezer was located in his cousin’s basement. It doesn’t take long for their investigation to reveal that the risqué star’s roots were buried in their rural Ohio Valley community, something that Cherry had kept off her show business bio. She should have kept her hometown off her road map, too—because when this starlet came running home from the mob, it proved to be a fatal homecoming.





Thank you again for supporting Indie Authors! I will announce winners Monday!



Thursday, November 1, 2012

Lauren Carr Halloween Bash Mystery Virtual Book Tour & #Giv@way - Music Day


Did you get Lauren's Books yesterday?
Today, we share her Book Trailers!







Lauren Carr fell in love with mysteries when her mother read Perry Mason to her at bedtime. The first installment in the Joshua Thornton mysteries, A Small Case of Murder was a finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Award. A Reunion to Die For was released in hardback in June 2007. Both of these books are in re-release.


Lauren is also the author of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, which takes place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. The first two books in her series, It’s Murder, My Son and Old Loves Die Hard have been getting rave reviews from readers and reviewers. The next book in this series, Shades of Murder, will be released May 2012. This will be Lauren’s fifth mystery.

Lauren’s sixth book, Dead on Ice, will be released in Fall 2012. Dead on Ice will introduce a new series entitled Lovers in Crime, in which Joshua Thornton will join forces with homicide detective Cameron Gates.

The owner of Acorn Book Services, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, editor, cover and layout designer, and marketing agent for independent authors. This spring, two books written by independent authors will be released through the management of Acorn Book Services.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She also passes on what she has learned in her years of writing and publishing by conducting workshops and teaching in community education classes.

She lives with her husband, son, and two dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.



                 http://mysterylady.net/







October 28 - November 3

October 28 - 


October 29 - 


October 30 - 

Interview and Review at Melina The Reader

October 31 - All Books Free on Amazon

Music Day


November 1 - 
Spotlight at MK McClintock's Blog

November 2 -

Guest Blog at Lori's Reading Corner

November 3 - 

Review and Guest Blog at A Book Lover's Library
Reviewed at The-Self-Taught Cook



Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Lauren Carr Halloween Bash Mystery Virtual Book Tour & #Give@way - Mac Faraday Series FREE Today!




ALL Lauren Carr Books FREE Today 
on Amazon




Music Day
Songs related to the characters and playlists that Lauren listened to while writing the 
Mac Faraday Mysteries.

Mac Faraday: Danger Zone (theme song from Top Gun)



For Mac and Archie's relationship: Lady Antebellum: Need You Now: 


Time of My Life:



Archie Monday: Shania Twain:



Gnarly: Axel F., which was composed by Harold Faltermeyer. theme music to Beverly Hills Cop)




Love Shack: B-52's: 



Action Scenes: Hawaii Five-0:



David O'Callaghan: Addicted to Love: Robert Palmer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcATvu5f9vE&feature=related


Lauren Carr fell in love with mysteries when her mother read Perry Mason to her at bedtime. The first installment in the Joshua Thornton mysteries, A Small Case of Murder was a finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Award. A Reunion to Die For was released in hardback in June 2007. Both of these books are in re-release.


Lauren is also the author of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, which takes place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. The first two books in her series, It’s Murder, My Son and Old Loves Die Hard have been getting rave reviews from readers and reviewers. The next book in this series, Shades of Murder, will be released May 2012. This will be Lauren’s fifth mystery.

Lauren’s sixth book, Dead on Ice, will be released in Fall 2012. Dead on Ice will introduce a new series entitled Lovers in Crime, in which Joshua Thornton will join forces with homicide detective Cameron Gates.

The owner of Acorn Book Services, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, editor, cover and layout designer, and marketing agent for independent authors. This spring, two books written by independent authors will be released through the management of Acorn Book Services.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She also passes on what she has learned in her years of writing and publishing by conducting workshops and teaching in community education classes.

She lives with her husband, son, and two dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.






Best Halloween Music


Best Movie for Halloween


What's your favorite movie during Halloween?





October 28 - November 3

October 28 - 


October 29 - 


October 30 - 

Interview and Review at Melina The Reader

October 31 - All Books Free on Amazon

Music Day


November 1 - 
Spotlight at MK McClintock's Blog

November 2 -

Guest Blog at Lori's Reading Corner

November 3 - 

Review and Guest Blog at A Book Lover's Library
Reviewed at The-Self-Taught Cook



Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Lauren Carr Mystery Bash Virtual Book Tour & #Give@way - Meet Mac Faraday


Welcome back for Day 3 in the Lauren Carr Halloween Bash Mystery Tour! We've got some awesome prizes to be won, so don't forget to enter using the Rafflecopter below. If you've filled it out once already this week, you can get extra entries by Tweeting the giveaway right from the Rafflecopter.

Today, we meet Mac Faraday!

Here's Lauren's ideal Mac:


Who wouldn't love this series? I know! Awesome! Let's meet Mac!


Guest Post: Meet Mac Faraday
By Lauren Carr

Archie told me that I had to write this article for some blog (What’s a blog anyway?) for a friend who loves mysteries. So, where do I start?
I guess I should start at the beginning.
It all started two years ago. Truthfully, it started much before that, but for me, it started two years ago.
One day, I came home from working eighteen hours on a case as a homicide detective in Washington, DC, to find that my wife of more than twenty years had thrown my stuff out in the yard. That was when I found out that she was leaving me for her lover, District Attorney Stephen Maguire. The next thing I know, I’m living in a third-floor walk-up apartment while Christine is living in the three-bedroom, two-bath home that we had built together. Through Maguire’s influence, on the day of the divorce, she got it all.
That is why I hate lawyers.
But life is ironic.
Here it is the last divorce hearing. The judge, a good buddy of Maguire, pounds the gavel to end our twenty year marriage. I’m trying to not strangle my divorce lawyer who chose then to wake up to hand me his bill, when this little silver-haired man in a ten-thousand-dollar suit comes through the crowd to grab my arm.
“Mr. Faraday? Mac Faraday? I need to talk to you.”
Seeing yet another lawyer, who had to be another friend of that skunk Maguire, I replied, “No habla English,” and ran in the other direction.
Would you believe he chased me for three blocks? I think he would have continued chasing me if I didn’t start feeling sorry for him and stopped to ask him what he wanted.  I braced for the subpoena notifying me that I was being sued for whatever.
He slipped a business card into my hand and introduced himself as Ben Willingham, the senior partner of Willingham and Associates, only the biggest law firm in DC.
This is not going to be good, I thought.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Ben caught his breath before reaching into his briefcase. “Do you know Robin Spencer?”
“No,” I answered before remembering the name. “Famous writer. She writes murder mysteries. We met a few years ago when she interviewed me for research for a book she was writing. She was creating a new detective.”
He took a folder and a book out of his briefcase. “Do you know that she died six weeks ago?”
Sorrow overtook my anger. I had only spent one day with this woman. I had seen all of the movies based on her detective, Mickey Forsythe, a rich man whose hobby was going around solving murder mysteries in his fancy sports car. I expected to meet a glamorous woman dripping in jewels and furs. Instead, she was dressed in slacks, cracked bawdy jokes, and reminded me of a Sunday school teacher I had as a child.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I told him. “I liked her. She was a very nice lady.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that.” Ben smiled at me. “Because you’re her heir.”
Do you know when people say that they can’t believe their ears? Well, at that moment I could not believe what I heard. I really thought that I was hearing things. This little man in a sweaty ten-thousand dollar suit was telling me something other than what I was hearing because it could not be real. It just didn’t make sense. He had to tell me four times before I believed what I was hearing.
Still, it did not make sense.
“Robin Spencer has left you her entire estate,” he explained. “Roughly, it is valued at four-hundred-and-seventy million dollars.”
“Why me?” I found my voice to ask. “I barely knew her.”
“You were adopted … as a baby.”
I nodded. As numb as I felt, even that was so far in the past I barely remembered that I had been adopted. As a child, it had been a big deal. My adoptive parents wanted to me know that they had chosen me. I was wanted. Otherwise, my childhood was so normal, as normal as it can be for the son of an engineer who worked for the government chucking engineering in favor of being an underpaid homicide detective.
“You are Robin Spencer’s son,” Ben Willingham announced. “She was only seventeen years old when she had you. Her parents, your grandparents, being socially prominent and wealthy, kept your birth a secret and had you put up for adoption. Robin never forgot you. She hunted you down, got a sample of your DNA while interviewing you a few years ago, confirmed that you were her son, and made you her beneficiary. She left you everything.”
He handed me the folder and book, which it turned out to be Robin Spencer’s journal. “Congratulations, Mac Faraday, you are now a very rich man.” He leaned in to whisper to me, “And your EX-wife has no right to any of it.”  
Ben then uttered the same evil chuckle that I think they teach lawyers in law school. Don’t get me wrong. I like Ben. I think it’s because he now works for me.
So, that is how it all began.
Robin, my mother, explained the circumstances of my birth in her journal, even giving me the name of my birth father, who was now deceased.
Patrick O’Callaghan and Robin were teenaged lovers. He had graduated from high school and went off to the police academy when she got pregnant. They wanted to get married, but her parents refused to permit it and sent my mother away to have me in secret.
Years later, after she had become a best-selling mystery author, Robin returned to Spencer where my father was now the chief of police, and married to another woman. He also had another son, David, my half-brother.
Yep, I have a brother. He’s working in law enforcement, too. Now that I know it runs in the blood, I don’t feel so weird. I always wanted a brother and now I had one. I also had a mansion on the shore of Deep Creek Lake in Spencer, Maryland, named after my ancestors.
So, with my newfound wealth, I retired from the police force, packed up my few belongings, and headed out to my new home on Deep Creek Lake.
That was where I met Archie Monday. Who’s Archie Monday? She was my mother’s research assistant and editor. She came with the house. It’s complicated.
I also met Gnarly, another part of my inheritance. My mother’s German shepherd seems to think that the estate is his and he’s only letting me live here. That’s complicated, too.
How was I to know that my move into the life of the rich and famous went launch a roller coaster ride of murder and mayhem? But you know what … I wouldn’t trade it for the world.


All books are just $.99, and don't forget. ALL WILL BE FREE October 31!



Tommorow, ALL LAUREN CARR BOOKS FREE & It's MUSIC DAY!

October 28 - November 3

October 28 - 


October 29 - 


October 30 - 

Interview and Review at Melina The Reader

October 31 - All Books Free on Amazon

Music Day


November 1 - 
Spotlight at MK McClintock's Blog

November 2 -

Guest Blog at Lori's Reading Corner

November 3 - 

Review and Guest Blog at A Book Lover's Library
Reviewed at The-Self-Taught Cook


Lauren Carr fell in love with mysteries when her mother read Perry Mason to her at bedtime. The first installment in the Joshua Thornton mysteries, A Small Case of Murder was a finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Award. A Reunion to Die For was released in hardback in June 2007. Both of these books are in re-release.

Lauren is also the author of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, which takes place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. The first two books in her series, It’s Murder, My Son and Old Loves Die Hard have been getting rave reviews from readers and reviewers. The next book in this series, Shades of Murder, will be released May 2012. This will be Lauren’s fifth mystery.

Lauren’s sixth book, Dead on Ice, will be released in Fall 2012. Dead on Ice will introduce a new series entitled Lovers in Crime, in which Joshua Thornton will join forces with homicide detective Cameron Gates.

The owner of Acorn Book Services, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, editor, cover and layout designer, and marketing agent for independent authors. This spring, two books written by independent authors will be released through the management of Acorn Book Services.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She also passes on what she has learned in her years of writing and publishing by conducting workshops and teaching in community education classes.

She lives with her husband, son, and two dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.