AMAZON COUNTDOWN DEAL!!!! 9/15-9/19

Just a quick note to let you know that in celebration of the release of MURDER IN THE ARBORETUM (Cold Creek #2) earlier this month, MURDER AT COLD CREEK COLLEGE  (Cold Creek #1) will be on sale (Amazon Countdown Deal) beginning 9/15 through the morning of 9/19! Now's your chance to pick up the first one in the series (with hints of the second)!

In MURDER AT COLD CREEK COLLEGE, a faculty member, Adam Millberg, is murdered.  Who killed him?  Sheridan Hendley is a professor and psychologist.  She gets pulled into the investigation to help the State Police Detective.  She’s not a sleuth, but when her best friend becomes the prime suspect, Sheridan is motivated to help prove Kim isn’t guilty.  As she finds out more about Adam, she finds that many have a motive.  Slashed tires are the first sign that Sheridan may be asking all the right questions.  Now she's in danger.

AMAZON

Overall, I am pleased with the sales and reviews so far for MURDER IN THE ARBORETUM. Another murder in small town Cold Creek has tensions rising. Clive Johnson, the groundskeeper at Cold Creek College, is a convenient scapegoat for a police chief who seeks an easy solution. Convinced Chief Pfeiffe has it all wrong, professor and psychologist Sheridan Hendley sets out to help prove Clive's innocence. But not everyone is pleased by her enthusiastic search for the truth. Just as her life is looking up personally, it looks like she might be the next victim.  Many of the same characters return, but you could easily read these out of order. 

AMAZON

RELEASE DAY: MURDER IN THE ARBORETUM (Cold Creek #2)

MURDER IN THE ARBORETUM (Cold Creek #2)

Synopsis:

Another murder in small town Cold Creek has tensions rising. Clive Johnson, the groundskeeper at Cold Creek College, is a convenient scapegoat for a police chief who seeks an easy solution. Convinced Chief Pfeiffe has it all wrong, professor and psychologist Sheridan Hendley sets out to help prove Clive's innocence. But not everyone is pleased by her enthusiastic search for the truth. Just as her life is looking up personally, it looks like she might be the next victim. 

Excerpt:

    As we rounded the curve, I first spotted an older man in work clothes. He was black, balding and sported a beer gut not quite camouflaged by the support wrap to protect his back. Some gardening and lawn tools were on the ground by his feet. His gaze was down and his arms just hung by his side. He didn’t look up as we came into view. I assumed that he was Johnson.
   A few feet away, a young man sat on the bench. His body doubled over with his head between his knees. Even from a distance, I could see his body shaking. A man in uniform crouched by his side and talked to him. I left Hirsch’s side and walked over to the two of them. I introduced myself and in my calmest voice, I asked, “How are we doing over here?”
   “Ma’am, this here is Nick Davidson. He’s still pretty upset, but doing better minute by minute,” the paramedic commented, also in a quiet voice. “Isn’t that right, Nick?”
    Nick’s head bobbed as if in agreement, but he didn’t say a word. “Do you still feel dizzy, Nick?” asked the paramedic. Nick shook his head and raised his eyes to look at me. His face communicated a lot. Emotions, from fear to shock to dismay to embarrassment, flitted across his face.
   “Nick, can you tell me what happened here this morning?” I asked when I had eye contact. He hesitated, then mixed with deep breaths and tears, Nick told me he had been working with Johnson. He moved in between a cluster of azaleas to get a piece of trash he saw. As he talked about the body and how he tripped over it, he broke down again. I placed my hand on his shoulder and waited for him to gain control. He started to hyperventilate.
   The paramedic stepped in and directed him to monitor his breathing. When he was breathing normally, I asked him whom we could notify to come get him. Many of the students at Cold Creek College had family locally. I was hoping he was one of them. He answered and managed to get out his cell phone and hand it to me. He was shaking too badly to make the call himself.
   I was able to find the number, call, and advise his mother that there had been an incident on campus. I reassured them that Nick was okay but in shock. He would be transported to the Physician’s Center. They agreed to meet him at the small local hospital. A second paramedic showed up and the two managed to get Nick to stand and walked him toward the cart. The cart took him to the quad and a waiting ambulance.
   I turned toward Johnson and hesitated. He looked at me with something akin to hostility. Hirsch must have caught the glare. He took a step closer, looked at me, and waited for my next move. I took another step and Johnson’s glare faded. Again I introduced myself and asked what had happened. He related that he and Nick were cleaning out the beds. He explained that Nick was in the azaleas to pick up what looked like trash. One minute he was standing and the next he was on the ground and screaming and kicking.
   Johnson shook his head. He explained he was afraid Nick was hurt, maybe bit by a snake. When he got in there, looking out for a snake, he saw the leg and then body. The shirt sleeve was what they had seen from the path.
   He shook his head again and just looked away. After a minute or two, he looked back at me. He said he grabbed Nick and shook him, but Nick was just hysterical. Nick fainted. Johnson pulled him out and radioed it in to dispatch.

AMAZON

This is the second in the Cold Creek series.  Missed the first one?  Click here for MURDER AT COLD CREEK COLLEGE  

(stay tuned for more excerpts!)

Blog Tour for Murder at Cold Creek College Jul 28-Aug 8

Here's the full schedule!  Be sure to check out these great blogs!!!!  

Tour Participants

July 29 – Kaisy Daisy's Corner - Review
July 30 – readalot blog - Review
July 31 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too! - Review
August 1 – Back Porchervations - Review
August 2 – Deal Sharing Aunt - Review
August 3 – Queen of All She Reads - Review
August 4 – Cicero's Children - Review
August 5 – Shelley's Book Case - Review, Interview
August 6 – The Book Junkie - Review
August 7 – Brooke Blogs - Review
August 8 – A Blue Million Books - Interview

MURDER IN THE ARBORETUM - Excerpt

The writing process is not always linear, and Sheridan is still trying to solve the murder of Justin Blake in the second book in the Cold Creek series, MURDER IN THE ARBORETUM.   Here is an excerpt from the working draft:

As Charlie and I walked toward the quad, a couple of students came over to meet Charlie.  She was thrilled and ate up the attention until they moved on.  There were some students playing ball in the quad.  I spotted some coeds grabbing some sun on blankets and others reading in the shade of the trees.  I skirted around the ball players with Charlie in tow and headed for the arboretum.  The crime scene tape was gone and without any hesitation I started us down the black path.

I could see the Virginia bluebells already and some of the other spring bloomers.  Soon along the arboretum paths would be combinations of bluebells, anemones, lady slippers, and azaleas.  Surprising how deadly some of these beautiful plants are and I kept a good watch over Charlie to be sure she didn’t eat any. I stopped to look at some buds and tried to identify them before starting to jog again.  I could hear some voices up ahead and assumed others were enjoying the flora and spring weather as well.

Charlie barked as we turned the corner.  We walked into a small clearing and stumbled on a group.  All conversation stopped, replaced with intense silence. Four males and one female stared at us.  The way they stood, they effectively blocked the path ahead.  They looked a bit tense and that tension was contagious.

“Hi! Nice day for a walk, don’t you think?” I offered as a friendly gesture though the tension wasn’t exactly conducive to friendliness.

The others looked to the oldest looking male who responded with a glare and snarled, “What are you doing here?”  His snarl and tone drew growls from Charlie.

Soothing Charlie, I answered, “Just taking my dog for a run and checking out the flowers. With all the excitement this week, I didn’t get to come see what was blooming.”

I hoped that my increased discomfort and distrust of this group wasn’t obvious.  I concentrated on appearing calm.  I soothed Charlie some more rather than make eye contact.  I certainly didn’t want to appear to be a threat.  Besides, while I soothed Charlie, I could observe them.

The leader of the pack looked to be in his early thirties, average height, on the muscular side.  He had a heavy beard. His hair was long and messy, falling into his face.  It looked coarse and he was definitely in need of a good barber. All in all his piercing blue eyes amidst all the dark hair were intimidating. 

The other three males seemed younger, maybe mid-twenties.  Still, none of them looked like the typical Cold Creek students I saw every day.  A little too rough around the edges for the private college.  Although they also sported facial hair, they didn’t look quite as rough and scruffy as the lead man though.  They stayed quiet, fidgeted some, and kept their eyes down.  

Only the female, also probably in her twenties, made even fleeting eye contact with me.  She had a tattoo of a rose on her wrist and her cropped black hair was frosted with hot pink and chartreuse stripes.  Not the norm at this college for sure.  She shifted her weight from one foot to another, the only sign that she too was nervous.

With what I hoped was a non-threatening expression, I stepped forward.  “Well, Charlie and I are going to be on our way.  I hope you enjoy your visit to the arboretum.”

I held my breath and focused on the trail straight ahead. The two guys blocking it moved slightly and I rushed Charlie through.  She still emitted a low growl and I kept up with comforting words.  I never looked back, but Charlie did a couple times.  That and the occasional twig snap suggested to me that one of them followed us at least for a few minutes. 

Thankfully, there was another curve in the path and another cutout about ten minutes later.  I sat down on the bench and pulled Charlie into my lap.  Although she’s a miniature sheltie, Charlie weighs about 35 pounds.  I held her in my arms and took some deep breaths.  I was aware that my heart raced. I was drenched from sweat and Charlie licked the sweat from my neck.  Realizing now how scared I was, I was glad I hadn’t wet my pants.

Charlie panted and I pulled out my water bottle and her collapsible bowl.  We both drank and I tried to calm down.  I didn’t hear any noises to suggest anyone was on the trail behind us.  The silence made me feel better.  Unfortunately, I had to figure out how to get back to the quad without using the path behind me. 

GOODREADS GIVEAWAY!!!

It has been a busy week, with 3 reviews posted in the past week and more to come in the next weeks.  In the meantime, Murder in the Cold Creek Arboretum is coming together slowly but surely.  If you haven't had a chance to get a copy of Murder at Cold Creek College, here's another giveaway opportunity!

One week left!  3 copies of Murder at Cold Creek College will be given away on a Goodreads Giveaway!!!  Better hurry!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Murder at Cold Creek College

by Christa Nardi

Giveaway ends February 28, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

GIVE-AWAY, Excerpt, and Update!

So hard to believe that January is almost at an end! Almost as hard to believe that it has now been 3 months since the release of Murder at Cold Creek College!!!

To celebrate, I'm having a GIVE-AWAY! From 1/26-1/31, anyone who comments on this blog will be entered into a random drawing for a copy of Murder at Cold Creek College - 5 copies (kindle or print) will be gifted through Amazon (so I will need your email and preferred format, please!)! Your comment can be on this post or the review being posted on 1/29 of Murder in the Neighborhood (Janis Lane) --- but it must be posted by 1/31/2014 - winners will be notified and posted on 2/1. Sorry US only!

Please remember that whenever you read a book it is helpful if you take the time to post an honest review on Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, Booklikes, or anywhere else.

Synopsis:

Sheridan Hendley is a professor and psychologist, not a sleuth. As the person charged with handling crises on campus, though, she gets pulled into the investigation when her colleague, Adam, is murdered. Her department head gives her the chore of helping the State Police Detective, Brett McMann, find faculty members and generally help him get the information he needs. Unfortunately, her good friend, Kim, had just renewed her relationship with Adam and was in the Rec Center working out when his body was found. As a result, she becomes the prime suspect and Sheridan is further motivated to help solve the case and prove Kim isn’t guilty. That she finds the Detective rather attractive is an added bonus. Sheridan’s curiosity and logical mind, along with her love of mysteries have her putting pieces together. The Detective’s questions lead her to ask more questions. In fact, as Sheridan tries to connect all the people in Adam’s life, she finds that many women have a motive for Adam’s murder.

Here is a brief excerpt (Chapter 1):

I nodded and then checked the next open door. Unfortunately, it was Max’s office. I knocked. He swiveled around, his black hair somewhat uncontrolled and in need of a cut. I must have startled him.  His brown eyes opened wide.

“Sheridan, you wouldn’t believe. I ‘m trying to get this experiment going, and somehow the materials I ordered haven’t come in. Terra told me I didn’t have enough money in my account, and that’s not right! I don’t know what her problem is,” was his opening tirade. Max was the other experimental psychologist and the most interested in research of the faculty in the department.

“Yeah, well, Terra and Ali do the books. They would know. Maybe you didn’t figure right what you had in your lab account. I bet they can give you a full accounting,” I suggested. Max tended to have these tantrums a lot. He was relatively young and had come to Cold Creek straight from graduation the year after me. He had big dreams of doing enough research to get to a better university.

“You doing okay otherwise – you know with the rec center and all,” I asked.

“Oh, I gave up on the rec center last year. Too crowded. I joined a private club where I don’t have to deal with the students. At the rec center, they always tried to talk to me. Are you looking for a place to work out?” he asked, oblivious to the excitement on campus. But that was not unusual for Max. Unless it was going to directly affect him, he didn’t seem to know about it. Now, if he had wanted to work out today, he might have been more interested.

“Uh, Max, someone died at the rec center this morning,” I offered as gently as I could.

Jumping out of his seat, he proclaimed, “I knew it, I knew there were safety problems. I knew those students would wreck something! See what I mean?”

“Max, someone was murdered. It wasn’t an accident,” I added. I wondered that he hadn’t asked the obvious question of who?  It was certainly the question I wanted answered.

“Oh. Well, it better not get in the way of my lab work. I’d love to chat with you Sheridan, but I have work to do,” he responded. With that, he sat back down and turned back to his computer. Good thing or he would have seen me shake my head in disbelief. 

Update
Max is one of my favorite characters with his own unique perspective on work, life, and people. Max, Mitch, Brett, and Kim continue to have prominent roles in the second in the series - yes, there is a second!  Almost 7 chapters are now drafted and I am working on fleshing out the "villain".  In his guest post earlier this month (1/13/2014), R. Michael Phillips talked about the importance of names...  Any suggestions for a name for the villain?  

Remember to leave a comment between 1/26 and 1/31 for the Give-Away!!!  Don't want to wait for the Give-Away?  Amazon