All The Write Stuff: Vengeful CONspiracies

Sadie encounters a nemesis from her past. Is it coincidence or is it something more sinister? Book 2 reveals the truth!

Vengeful CONspiracies

A Sadie Sabatini Mystery Book 2

by Nicole Leiren

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Sadie is settling into her new life in Wilson, Texas. She’s making friends and her business, Tesoro, is starting to thrive. But the past is never far behind. When two former team members come for a visit, they bring trouble in the form of a mutual enemy set on revenge threatening to disrupt Sadie’s fresh start.

She can’t turn her back on her team, though. They’ve been through too much together. The more Sadie tries to help, the more she suspects she might be the target of the con this time. With forces conspiring against her, the outcome of her decisions, both past and present, weigh heavily and make her question the choices she made leading to this point.

When their mutual enemy is found dead, alliances are tested, and wits are matched as the race to the truth reveals who can be trusted and who is running their final con.

Guest Post

Have you written any other books that aren’t published?

The very first book I wrote is still unpublished. I’ve been writing stories for as long as I can remember. At first, it was stories for my little sister, then some fanfic, and finally I wanted to try my hand at my own story. It took a number of years with lots of stops and starts and more name changes than I can remember before I finally typed “The End” Of course, once I’d done that, I had no idea what I should do next. So, I did what anyone would do, Googled it I learned that you had to submit a pitch, hook, and query. I had no idea how to do that so I found an online class, offered by Savvy Authors that taught you how to do those things. The class was being taught by an agent, Dawn Dowdle. We learned how to write the hook and pitch and after submitting mine, she typed in my chat that she would be open to my querying her with this story. Of course, I replied that as soon as she taught me how to do that, I would love to! LOL

She did just that and I used what she taught me to submit my query to her. A week or so later, she offered representation. We went through several edits and finally sent it out to query publishers. Rejection after rejection followed and, I confess, to being a bit disheartened. Ironically, the reason for the rejections weren’t really bad. The mystery publishers said it didn’t have enough mystery, suspense publishers said not enough suspense and romance pubs said not enough romance. I took that to mean it was a well-balanced story.

Thankfully, my story didn’t end there. While that story still hasn’t seen the light of day…yet, I went on to write my first contemporary sweet military romance which was picked up by Gemma Halliday Publishing. From there, I published six full-length novels with Gemma before taking a break for a couple years.

My next book, Murderous CONsequences, was picked up by Harbor Lane Publishing as a 3 book series. I’m excited that Sadie’s story is continuing and you can join her next adventure (along with the gang in Wilson, TX) with Vengeful CONspiracies. Murder and betrayal are the theme of book 2 (along with second guessing decisions we made in the past and making things right in the future!)

Thank you for visiting today!

EXCERPT

I grabbed my laptop and returned to the counter. Since Kelsey didn’t want to talk about the election now, I wouldn’t bother her. I was curious, though, about the candidates. The seats being voted on were currently occupied by Jim Bob (JB) Nester, Alan Knightly, and Ted Birmingham. Ted was the only one not running for re-election. I was a little surprised by this. When it came to the Birminghams and their legacy, both influence and power were important. Since Ted typically did what his father wanted, I had no doubt it was Robert’s idea.

Next, I wanted to take a look at the candidates running to occupy those seats. “Hey, Tessa is running.”

Kelsey looked my way and grinned. “I knew you’d do some research before Sunday.”

I shrugged. “The Boy Scouts and I have that in common–always be prepared. I’ve visited her shop, Tessa’s Treats, many times.”

“She will be a great asset to the board, for sure. One vote down, two to go.” She winked.

Next up was Karen Bizzy, the “Karen” to beat out all other “Karens.” She had definitive plans for the town of Wilson, very few of which I supported. Denise McDowell and Jackie Price were also vying for a seat. I wasn’t sure either was truly qualified, but out of the two, I knew Denise better. Her motivations, at least, were easier to understand. Jackie, on the other hand, was still a mystery.

Since I was familiar with them, I hadn’t selected the hyperlink under their name to see the bio and picture. The new guy, Miles Gentry, needed additional research. I hovered over the blue letters that contained his name and hit enter.

As his picture appeared on a new page, my heart stopped beating for a moment. His hair might no longer be black, and contacts had replaced his glasses, but the face struck a familiar chord from my past. This man was not Miles Gentry. No, I’d recognize the smug look on his narrow face anywhere. This was none other than Miles Grant, a former pharmaceutical executive my team brought down about a year ago due to his use of experimental pesticides which poisoned the workers in the field. He had also skimmed money from the company to fund other experimental programs. In sum, he was a bad actor who had either learned his lesson and was starting a new life, or he had moved from California to Texas to start a new venture where no one knew him or his reputation. At least, he would think no one knew him.

Either way, I didn’t trust him. My gut was rarely, if ever, wrong. Right now, it was screaming at me that his presence in Wilson spelled bad news for the unsuspecting people of this town. Deep down, I also knew it wouldn’t be long before our paths crossed, which undoubtedly would mean nothing but trouble for me.

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Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Vengeful-CONspiracies-Nicole-Leiren-ebook/dp/B0DZ4NXK2X

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/vengeful-conspiracies/id6742751810

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Murderous CONsequences

A Sadie Sabatini Mystery Book 1

Sadie Sabatini thinks of herself as a modern-day Robin Hood who uses her gift as a skilled con artist to help those who have nowhere else to turn. Leading this life is rewarding, but the number of enemies are piling up. Sadie decides to lay low and start over with a new (and legitimate business) in the small town of Wilson, Texas, situated on a small peninsula in beautiful Lake Amore.

Trouble is never far behind though and her past catches up to her in a big way when a friend of a former mark threatens blackmail for his silence. When he turns up dead and Sadie is the prime suspect, she realizes this time she must protect herself. Her skills prove helpful as she digs deeper into the web of revenge, blackmail, and secrets to discover she’s not the only one with a past to hide.

As the threats mount, Sadie knows she’s closing in on the truth. She now worries that the few new friends she’s made in town are in danger because of her. With time running out, can she protect those around her and find the real killer before this new chapter in her life is conned out of a happy ending?

EXCERPT

A few minutes later, we’d managed to get the kayak emptied out and put me back in it. I

met her gaze and offered gratitude again. “Seriously, thank you for your help tonight.”

She shrugged. “Us folks here,” she gestured to the RV park, “believe in helping out our fellow man or woman as the case may be.”

I nodded in acknowledgement, saddened that not everyone felt the same way. “Can I ask you one more question as long as it doesn’t pertain to how you earn your living?”

Her slight smile and nod gave me courage to ask the other burning question in my mind. “Why didn’t you tell the police the whole truth about the altercation between Jonathan and me the night he died? Most importantly, that it was a misunderstanding and that he was very much alive when I left.”

EZ backed away from the edge of the dock where she’d been standing and retrieved another cigarette. “Because, if I had, they would have known I was not just watching from a distance and figured out I was the last person to see him alive.”

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Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D7NN54QV

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/murderous-consequences/id6504638093

Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=DVwcEQAAQBAJ

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Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/murderous-consequences-by-nicole-leiren

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/215139089-murderous-consequences

About the Author

Described by those who know her best as perky, quirky and effervescent, USA Today Best-Selling author Nicole Leiren likes to have fun -- in life, with her characters and, of course, her readers. She admits to being sassy (just ask her mother!) and inspiration for her characters are drawn from the real-world heroes and heroines she meets while traversing the country.

Nicole enjoys sharing the love, laughter, mystery, and occasionally a touch of the mayhem she forces her characters to endure—all for the reader’s pleasure! Her real-world heroes and heroines will keep you turning the pages until you reach the whodunit or happily ever after (usually both!)

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