Cover Reveal: Diamond Rings are Deadly Things by Rachelle J. Christensen (and a giveaway!)

About DIAMOND RINGS ARE DEADLY THINGS: 

Adrielle Pyper knows how to plan a wedding, and she is especially good at pleasing bridezillas. But when her biggest client and best friend is murdered just three days before the wedding, Adri’s world falls apart. She moves to the resort town of Sun Valley, Idaho, and starts from scratch. Thanks to Adri’s impeccable taste and unique style, she lands two celebrity clients, and her business seems headed for success--that is, until someone vandalizes the specialty wedding dresses she imported from overseas. The race is on to uncover a secret hidden within the yards of satin and lace before Adri becomes the next victim. With a delightful blend of mystery, toe-curling kisses, humor, and spine-tingling thrills, Diamond Rings are Deadly Things is a romantic suspense novel that will keep you turning pages long into the night.

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Endorsements:

“I love Rachelle J. Christensen’s stories and characters, and Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things is another thrilling mystery to add to my collection. Don’t be surprised if you have to stay up all night to finish he book!”

--Rachel Ann Nunes, author of Before I Say Goodbye

Diamond Rings are Deadly Things pulled me right in from the first page and held me captive until the very end. Great characters, a compelling plot, a surprising twist at the end ... Rachelle Christensen knows how to craft a great mystery.

 - Tristi Pinkston, author of the Secret Sisters Mysteries

A cunningly crafty mystery with just the right mix of romance. Readers won't be able to get enough of Adrielle Pyper, stunning party-planner turned heroine.

--Nichole Giles, author of Descendant

About Rachelle J. Christensen: 

Rachelle J. Christensen is a stay-at-home mom of four cute kids. She has an amazing husband, three cats, and five chickens. Rachelle was born and raised in the small farming town of Rupert, Idaho which is adjacent to the setting in her latest mystery Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things due out this July. Her new website www.mashedpotatoesandcrafts.compartners with the characters from the novel to bring readers an interactive look into the mystery of crafting and wedding planning.

Rachelle graduated cum laude from Utah State University with a degree in psychology and a music minor. She enjoys singing and songwriting, playing the piano, running, motivational speaking, and of course reading.

Rachelle’s first novel, Wrong Number was awarded Outstanding Book of the Year from the League of Utah Writers and was also a 2010 Whitney Finalist. She is also the author of Caller ID, a nonfiction book Lost Children: Coping with Miscarriage for Latter Day Saints, and a novella with a Timeless Romance Anthology, Fall Collection.

Visit www.rachellechristensen.com to learn more about upcoming books.

Social Media Links:

Facebook Author Page
Twitter
Rachelle's Blog
Author Website

Goodreads Author Page
Craft Website based on the series

a Rafflecopter giveaway

"When the Butterflies Came" by Kimberly Griffiths Little

It’s been way too long since I posted about books I love. Also, it’s been way too long since I read a middle grade book. Because middle grade is just so much fun! I sort of miss having middle grade children, because when mine were a few years younger, I tended to read the same books as them. Now I feel like I’ve been missing out on so many wonderful treasures.

Like When the Butterflies Came, by Kimberly Griffiths Little. What a delightful, beautifully written mystery, full of grief, wonder, and discovery. Middle grade readers should love following Tara as she finds each key to the next clue as she fits together an elaborately created puzzle left behind by her beloved Grammy Claire. I loved getting to know Tara and Riley, and the friends they made throughout their travels, and I especially loved the settings. From the manor near the bayou in Louisiana, to the tree house on the island of Chuuk, the setting came alive for me. As did the butterflies.

And I am a fan of butterflies. Speaking of butterflies, check out this beautiful cover!

Here’s the description:

Everybody thinks Tara Doucet has the perfect life. But in reality, Tara’s life is anything but perfect: Her dear Grammy Claire has just passed away, her mother is depressed and distant, and she and her sister Riley can’t seem to agree on anything. But when mysterious and dazzling butterflies begin to follow her around after Grammy Claire’s funeral, Tara just knows in her heart that her grandmother has left her one final mystery to solve.

A strange butler brings Tara and Riley to Grammy Claire’s house, where Tara finds a stack of keys and detailed letters from Grammy Claire herself. Note by note, Tara learns unexpected truths about her grandmother’s life. As the letters grow more ominous and the clues more difficult to decipher, Tara realizes that the secrets she must uncover could lead to mortal danger. And when Tara and Riley are swept away to the beautiful islands of Chuuk to hear their grandmother’s will, Tara discovers the most shocking truth of all — one that will change her life forever.

From Kimberley Griffiths Little comes a magical, breathtaking mystery full of loss and love, family and faith.

Read more about Kimberly Griffiths Little and her other books or buy When the Butterflies Came on Amazon or Barnes andNoble.  

The Secret Life of Socks

By Nichole Giles

Do you ever wonder where all your kids’ socks go? It seems like I buy new packages of socks every couple of months, and every time one of my kids cries, “Mom, I can’t find any socks!” I wonder if all the socks in the house have escaped to sandal wearing communities. Wouldn’t you if you were forced to be the barrier between feet and shoes? Ick.

So, as we were buying school clothes this year, I—once again—bought everyone several new pairs of socks. But it was no use. Two weeks into the school year, my daughter was putting on her shoes and I heard that all-too-familiar phrase. “Mom, I don’t have any socks!”

“Yes you do,” I told her. “I just bought you ten pairs!”

“But there are none in my drawer and none in the clean laundry.” (I suppose it’s important to mention here that I only fold my never-ending mountains of laundry about once a week—thus at some point, we end up digging through them for odds and ends, like socks.)

I sighed. “Go get some of your sister’s then.” What is a mother to do? I was frustrated enough to rebel against having to buy more new socks, and was even more convinced that the socks have some kind of secret night life in which they escape one-by-one, and occasionally in pairs, to live a better life. After all, they’ve seen what happens to the old ones in our house. Can you say, puppet factory?

Fast-forward another week. The kids are in school, and I’m on a fall cleaning kick. One of the things I have been meaning to do (since last spring) is get my carpet cleaned. So, I had scheduled the cleaning guy to come on a day when everyone was in school and my husband was home to help me move furniture. It turned out to be a fairly busy morning, with a few neighbors stopping by, and the phone constantly ringing. But Gary was still home, so I grabbed him and we hurried into the family room to move the couches and the speakers.

Under the loveseat we found a pile of about ten socks. I shook my head, hauling the socks to the laundry room and vowing to have a chat with the kids after school. Then, we moved the larger couch, and found another pile of twelve to fifteen socks. I set this stack on the stairs (so I could finish moving the furniture before taking them to the laundry room) and grumbled some more.

Then we moved the speakers.

Oh my gosh! Actually, there was nothing behind the speakers. But moving them away from their position next to the entertainment center revealed a space between furniture and wall that was crammed with…you guessed it…more socks. There were two speakers, therefore two openings, and also, two more piles. Both of these piles were larger than either of the other two—meaning in fifteen minutes of moving furniture I had solved the mystery of somewhere around thirty to forty pairs of missing socks.

My grumbling turned into anger as I realized what happened. It wasn’t the socks revolting at all, but the kids who left their socks on the floor, and then when asked to put them away, crammed them in the nearest available hiding space. No wonder no one had any socks! There had to be a year’s worth of missing socks in that room alone.

I consoled myself with the smug knowledge that I had, in fact, solved one of life’s big mysteries. Now, if only I can figure out what keeps happening to the batteries in the remote control…