Sunday, September 2, 2018

Welcome guest author Allison Brook + book #giveaway



A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson a.k.a. Allison Brook writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for young readers. DEATH OVERDUE, the first in Marilyn's Haunted Library mystery series, written as Allison Brook, has received many accolades. It was a Library Journal's "Pick of the Month," on Goodreads' list of the "200 Most Popular Books Published in October, 2017," and on Kings River Life's "Best of 2017" list. Most recently, DEATH OVERDUE was nominated for an Agatha as Best Contemporary Novel. www.marilynlevinson.com

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Take it away, Marilyn!
See the giveaway below!

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When summertime comes, I love to eat fruit that’s in season. This is a recipe that lends itself to both blueberries and peaches. The perfect snack to have around three o’clock when I can use a break from writing. Speaking of writing, I’m almost finished with the third book in the Haunted Library mystery series. Writing takes up a good part of my day, but I also am busy writing interviews for my virtual blog tour in September when READ AND GONE comes out. And I spend  time on Facebook communicating with friends, readers, and fellow authors.  So you can see why I need a break and a snack!  Sammy, my cat, is always sleeping near my chair as I’m writing.

He doesn't really like me to take his picture. Can you tell?
Enjoy the cake!  This recipe can also be made with a pint of blueberries or apples and cinnamon.

Easy Peachy Cake


1 stick of butter softened
2 eggs
I cup flour
1 cup sugar (I use sugar in the raw)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
a dash of salt
handful of chocolate chips
4-5 large peaches

Line and grease a 9X9 pan.

Mix together all ingredients except peaches and choc chips and spread dough in pan.

Add chocolate chips, then cover with slices of peaches.( I peel the peaches first)

Bake 350 degrees 40-50 minutes.



 A little blurry. I was getting too excited to eat it!




READ AND GONE, the second book in the Haunted Library mystery series, debuts September 11th.

A devoted dad is as precious as diamonds, but Carrie Singleton wouldn’t know since her dad Jim’s been on the lam most of her life. In an unusual family reunion, she finds Jim breaking into her cottage in the middle of the night. The fun really starts when he begs her to help him recover his half of a twenty-million-dollar gem heist he pulled off with the local jeweler, Benton Parr. When she refuses, Jim takes off again. 

Carrie finds her father again behind bars for the recent murder of Benton Parr. Who made the connection? Unbeknownst to her, Carrie’s boyfriend Dylan, an insurance investigator, has been searching for the gems. Determined to find the jewels herself, she starts examining every facet of Parr’s life. She turns up a treasure trove of suspects, one of whom bashes her on the head as she’s searching the victim’s country cabin.

GIVEAWAY

Today I'm offering a paperback copy of DEATH OVERDUE to one commenter. Leave your email so I can contact you if you win. (It can be cryptic.)  And tell me...this book is set during the holidays. What's your favorite holiday memory?


Visit Allison (Marilyn) here:

website: http://www.marilynlevinson.com
Amazon: http://bit.ly/Amazon_MarilynLevinson
Facebook: http://bit.ly/MarilynLevinson_Facebook
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/Goodreads_MarilynLevinson
Twitter: @MarilynLevinson
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/marilev/

 

95 comments:

  1. My favorite holiday is Christmas. I love the music and decorations. Festive. Scents of cinnamon and ginger fills the house when I bake soft ginger cookies. My mother introduced us to plum pudding and Christmas crackers, and we continue this tradition. I’m looking forward to decorating at our new old house. We live in a 1935 cottage and my antique and Victorian ornaments will look beautiful here. bluedawn95864 at gmail dot com

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    1. Sounds like you have lovely traditions to keep up in your new old house!

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  2. The cover of Death Overdue reminds me of the fall and anticipation of Halloween. My grade school would have a Halloween carnival with every classroom having a booth. After that we would trick or treat, then come home to my mom's caramel apples and fudgy brownies. Great memories.
    browninggloria(at) hotmail(dot) com

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    1. I love this cover, too! Halloween has become a very popular holiday in our country.

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  3. My favorite holiday memory is sneaking out to raid the Christmas tree in the wee hours of Christmas morning. We each grabbed a gift and opened them in the glow of our electric heater. I imagine my parents were just happy we let them sleep in :-) donah42 at aol dot com

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  4. I love all of the holidays! They each have wonderful traditions. I love the decorating, making the food that goes with the holiday and the family and friend activities.
    Thank you for sharing the recipe and the book giveaway. I love finding new series to read!
    debprice60@gmail.com

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    1. I agree. Every holiday has its special traditions. I hope you'll enjoy the Haunted Library mystery series.

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  5. Even though there was not much money when I was growing up, I remember the look of the Christmas tree with so many wrapped gifts under it, lots of cookies, the smells of turkey or ham. We played with our new toys, read our new. Oops and played our new games. It doesn't take much to make a child happy.

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  6. Early one Thanksgiving morning we were invited to a Dallas Cowboy game by some of my parents' friends. Mom, Dad, my husband & I quickly accepted the invitation & spent a few wonderful hours in Texas Stadium watching the Cowboys beat the Cleveland Browns. We had Thanksgiving dinner around 8pm & this is my favorite holiday memory. lnchudej@yahoo.com

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    1. I love Thanksgiving, though most of us eat too much that day.

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  7. This series sounds great. My favorite Christmas memories are always putting up the tree and remembering where each ornament came from. ckmbeg (at) gmail (dot) com

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  8. Holidays weren't such a big deal in my family when I was growing up. I always felt that my mother just didn't care about them. We observed all the religious holidays when my kids were young (they attended religious day schools) and they are passing that on to the grand kids. Myself, I just can't be bothered anymore. I just want to sit and read or spend time with close friends (that happens when you get olde).

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    1. I know. Preparing food, especially for holidays, takes a good deal of time and stamina.

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  9. I enjoyed opening one package Christmas Eve - it was a wonderful time with the family sharing and not being distracted by other things.
    Thanks for the recipe- going to give it a try.
    kckendler at gmail dot com

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  10. Time with family - watching my Dad's slides - still have the slide projector and slides! Now love looking at the pictures from over the years

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  11. So many to choose from! Probably going to grandma's at Christmas...Their house was small, usually crowded due to more people than house, Lol. Some people even went into the bedrooms and set up tv trays. Gma and Gpa made sure everyone had plenty, food, gifts..etc. Grandma always decorated, she had the best little village I had ever seen. Gpa didn't necessarily like all the fuss, but went along because of gma. It was back in the day when everyone smoked, so we always went home smelling of cigarettes...that's an odd memory. If I could go back in time, that's one of the places I'd go. It's been a hard year, I haven't decorated for holidays(been a little depressed or something), I'm going to have to go overboard this year. I want my kiddos to have great memories like I did as a child...Minus the cigarette smoke. Lol. Thank you for the entry. Have a fun and safe holiday weekend all! konecny7(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Sorry you're depressed. I admire you for still wanting your kids to enjoy the holiday. And I agree with you regarding the smoke. My mother smoked and I can't stand the smell or how it affects our health.

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  12. I love all holidays cause it usually means some family time. I'm one who doesn't mind decorations being put out early cause I love them. I also enjoy doing holiday crafts and those you have to start early. jawdance@yahoo.com

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    1. You sure do have to start early to finish all those craft projects.

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  13. Don't you just love to use up the last of season fruit, especially the peaches? My current favorite holiday memory is this past Christmas, because we were lucky enough to have 2 granddaughters, 4 great grandchildren and our favorite dog and cat spend it with us. All those little ones running around, it was wonderful! Thanks for the giveaway.
    sallycootie(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. You're welcome.
      I love using fruit when I bake. And chocolate chips.

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  14. My favorite Christmas memory is Christmas of 2012. It was my Dad's last Christmas and he knew it. It was very emotional because of all the love that was shown and all the memories shared. We tried to keep it upbeat so he would have a good memory to take with him. He left us on January 21, 2015. I miss him everyday. pgenest57@aol.com

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    1. A wonderful memory. Interesting, how celebrating holidays usually comes down to spending special time with loved ones.

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  15. My favorite Christmas memory is really two fold. First it is my Dad who always arrived very early so he could go down the hall saying “Hohoho Santa’s been here!” and waking up my daughter to go see what was under the tree. It was a tradition that we all loved – including his granddaughter. The second part was when our daughter had just turned a teenager. She actually woke up very early to get dressed and fixed up (you know teenagers when it comes to having their photos taken) and then crawled back into bed just so Pappaw could “wake her up” Christmas morning like he always did. I cherish these memories since both Dad and our daughter are together now having Christmas in heaven. <3

    Thank you for the wonderful chance to win a paperback copy of your fabulous book "DEATH OVERDUE". I would love the opportunity to read it.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  16. Christmas 1986 is one of my favorites since I was very pregnant with our first child. Based on the doctor's orders I wasn't able to travel very far from the hospital. My husband and I figured we would just have a small dinner with just the two of us, but up pops my mom and dad and my mother-in-law with our dinner and all the trimmings. It was a wonderful celebration of Jesus's birth and three days later our daughter's birth. robeader53@yahoo.com

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  17. My best ever holiday memory was Chanukah which I loved. The songs, the food, the family celebration. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Yes! I love Chanukah! Lots of singing and potato latkes!

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  18. I don't know that I have a favourite holiday, I like them all with possibly Christmas being a tiny bit in the lead. :) Presents after all. Death Overdue looks to be Halloween themed, if I'm right. That is not really done much the same way here in Germany as in the US. Though kids have adopted the trick-or-treating part - for obvious reasons. ;) What we, at least in our tiny village, have always celebrated is St. Martin on November 11, with kids going from door to door the evening before, singing the various songs that go with it and getting candy. Much nicer to be given sweets without having to resort to threatening people. ;) Thank you for the chance of a winning a book that I haven't read yet. brurasche(dot)aol(dot)com

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    1. In DEATH OVERDUE, Carrie my sleuth arranges a Halloween party in the library, but the book isn't Halloween-themed as such. I think Halloween has gotten to be a very big holiday here in the US. I also think the celebration has spread to other countries.

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  19. My favorite tradition is fried shrimp and Christmas Eve! Love that tradition!! dubecara (at) gmail (dot) com

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  20. My personal favorite holiday is Halloween..but as a family, ours is Christmas Eve..my favorite any holiday tradition is homemade cherry pie. My grandmother made homemade cherry pie, every holiday and for my birthday! We carry on the homemade cherry pie tradition, without fail. nani_geplcs@yahoo.com

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  21. My favorite holiday memory is when I got a car (!) for Christmas when I was 16. The keys were hidden in another present, and when I found them, I ran outside, and it was parked in our neighbor's driveway with a big red ribbon on top of it. Most of our neighbors came out (hearing me scream!), and I didn't even care that I was dressed in an old pair of my Dad's pajamas! It was so wonderful ~ bobandcelia@sbcglobal.net

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  22. I remember when I was a kid we always had the family at our house for dinner - the 5 of us, my grandmother, aunt and uncle and great-aunt and great-uncle. My great-uncle Oscar was an amateur magician and we were always thrilled when he pulled quarters and eggs out from behind our ears (depending on the holiday!).

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    1. I think a magician at holiday time is a great tradition.

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  23. My favorite holiday memory is the year that I got a nutcracker for Christmas. I was obsessed with the music from the Nutcracker when I was a kid, and I wanted my own. They weren't as easy to come by then as they are now. I still have it, and we include it in the decorations every year. Thanks so much for the giveaway! aut1063(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. How nice that you still have the nutcracker to use as a decoration.

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  24. Looks like Sammy prefers to be photographed in your arms!
    What a handsome bruiser.
    libbydodd at comcast dot net

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    1. Sammy is very attached to his mommy. He also has quite a reputation—for biting occasionally, even his mommy.

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  25. I like Thanksgiving. I love sharing a big meal with my friends and family.
    kapw7531(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. I love Thanksgiving. I think of it as the Great American Holiday celebrated with food, family and friends.

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  26. My favorite holiday memories are of my daughter when she was little. I was a single mom (still am but she’s almost 21) so I really loved having the special memories of just my daughter and me at Halloween and Christmas. musiqmom(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  27. I have many holiday memories.. when I was a child we would always go to my grandparents house to celebrate Christmas Eve, and have dinner and open gifts. We would get home late and be excited to go to bed to wake up Christmas morning. The year I was told by my older sister about "the truth".. I remember this was the year Cabbage Patch Kids were really big.. she told me before Christmas that all the letters I sent to Santa never got there.. I just looked at her like she didn't know what she was talking about..
    We opened our gifts and went to my grandparents house for dinner.. my sister was in the truck with me as my mom said she needed to go back in the house to get something she forgot.. (no big deal)
    When we certainly home hours later.. there were 2 gifts in front of the tree and a note from Santa. It said he was sorry he missed these two gifts that fell at the bottom of his bag. I turned to my sister and said "see I told you he was real."
    I believed for a few more years. It was amazing!! 🙂🙂

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  28. My favorite holiday is Christmas. The best memory that stands out is the year that my parents somehow managed to get santa to land on our roof-well we heard his sleigh at least. Not sure how they pulled it off but we saw the shadow and heard the bells as he flew out of sight . lol They never gave up that secret. nvictoria77@yahoo.com

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  29. There are many great holiday memories. One of my favorites was when the kids were old enough to help make Christmas cookies. We were visiting my in-laws. My mother-in-law introduced the kids and me to the joys of Danish Christmas cookies. We had great fun, and the kids looked forward to baking those traditional cookies at Christmas every year after that.
    little lamb lst at yahoo dot com

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  30. Favorite memory of Christmas was the annual visit to the Enchanted Village, a lavish Christmas display, which occupied an entire floor in the Jordan Marsh department store.

    jtcgc at yahoo dot com

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    1. I love seeing Christmas displays. I'll never forget the one I've seen a few times—a house in the Bronx that has many very large figures that move and are beautifully dressed. I was so impressed, I once wrote a short story about two skaters in the display.

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  31. I loved Halloween as a kid. Running around with a flock of kids like a gang of banshees collecting treats. Good times!
    patdupuy@yahoo.com

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  32. Opening the barn door and hearing a horse whinny and it was a Shetland pony for Christmas. I was so surprised. Donamaekutska7@gmail.com

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  33. I love all holidays but especially Christmas. Even with my family gone, I still like to decorate and listen to Christmas music.

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  34. I like the addition of the chocolate chips. Every year we spend Christmas Eve day making treats for Santa & ourselves. We have holiday music playing in the background & spend all day talking & laughing. Always such fun.
    turtle6422(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. I add chocolate chips to many dessert recipes. So do my friends where I live.

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  35. My favorite memory is the year my father gave me a star sapphire ring for Christmas. I was 13. I still have it and it still fits. I will be 69 this month.
    lkish77123 at gmail dot com.

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    1. A wonderful gift. It's rare when you're able to still enjoy something you received all those years ago.

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  36. My favorite holiday memory is the Christmas spent with my parents. They always made Christmas special.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

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  37. This cake looks delicious! My favorite holiday memory would have to be baking cookies with the kids we had visiting a few years ago. We made a mess but had a lot of fun. mbradeen [at] yahoo [dot] com

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    1. I can't wait to bake cookies with my granddaughter when she's a little bit older.

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  38. I love the recipe. I have to make this! When I was a kid, my family and I went to a family friend's house on Christmas Eve, and it started to snow. Thank you for this chance! areewekidding(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  39. I love the Halloween cover!! My favorite memory is making gingerbread cookies with my granddaughters when they were young. Alas, they grow up and move away, but they still come home for Christmas and love to come to Nana's house to bake. Thanks for a chance to win.
    babemomara@att.net

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  40. My favorite holiday memories Are of Halloweens when my two kids were little! So much fun! Lindaherold999@gmail.com

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    1. Yes! I love the tradition of wearing costumes at Halloween. Such fun!

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  41. Favorite holiday is Christmas jcook22@yahoo.com

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  42. As a kid I always loved waking up on Thanksgiving morning and smelling the turkey cooking. Then after dinner, I would go to my room and curl up next to the heat register and read until I fell asleep.
    skforrest1957 at gmail dot com

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  43. All the cousins together. cheetahthecat1986ATgmailDOTcom

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    1. I remember being with my cousins on holidays, too. One of the best parts of the celebration.

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  44. I would have to say anytime I spend with my Son & his family is the best. Thanks for your generosity. lindamay4852@yahoo.com

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    1. You're welcome! I love visiting my kiddies at my son and d-i-l's house! Such fun!!

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  45. greeneyesredhair@gmail.com
    My favorite holiday memory was Christmas dinner with my parents. Every year my dad would make a prime rib roast and Yorkshire pudding. I could eat Yorkshire pudding doused with beef gravy every day!

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  46. I don't remember how old I was, but my favorite Christmas memory as a child, was the year my mom said I scared Santa Claus and left a present in the fireplace for me.

    kvmatlock (at) gmail (dot) com

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  47. The winner of this giveaway, by random selection, is Judy Weaver. Marilyn aka Allison will be in touch. Thanks to all for commenting. ~ Daryl

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