Welcome to Christmas, Colorado News with Nell!

Welcome to Christmas, Colorado News with Nell!

Happy Spring from me, Nell McBride, and all my peeps in Christmas, Colorado! I don’t know what’s going on weather-wise in your neck of the woods, but up in the mountains (that’s where Calder and I live) there’s quite a bit of snow still on the ground. Not so much in town though, which is where I am now.

I’ve just turned my window sign to Open, and I’m waiting for the first customer of the day. I’m hoping it will be Sophia, the owner of Naughty and Nice, the women’s clothing store in town, so I can give you guys the inside scoop on her upcoming book, ONE NIGHT IN CHRISTMAS.

I called Sophia on my way into town this morning to tell her I’ve put away a copy of this month’s featured book for her. She’s a huge mystery book lover and one of Femme Fatale’s best customers. That’s the name of my bookstore, by the way.

There she is. She’ll be here any minute now. She’s just parking her SUV across the . . . Oh no, she’s not going to be happy. The driver of a white Ford Escalade cut her off and stole her parking space. Lucky for that driver, the sheriff happened to be pulling into his own parking space in front of the station and caught Sophia’s eye before she gave the driver a piece of her mind. The sheriff’s warning look seemed to work, but I’m thinking the black and tan German shepherd that loped to Sophia’s side gets credit for her smile.

In hopes of keeping the smile on her face, I hold up the book by author Maggie Shayne, SLEEP WITH THE LIGHTS ON, as Sophia reaches for the door to my store. Debbie, my writing partner for the Christmas, Colorado series, highly recommends the Brown & DeLuca series, so I decided we’d feature book one of the series this month.

The books are about Rachel de Luca, a blind woman who is an incredibly successful self-help guru. But when Rachel’s brother goes missing, even she has a hard time buying into her own message of positivity. Which only gets worse when a cornea transplant does more than restore her sight, she starts having terrifying visions of brutal murders that, with the help of Detective Mason Brown, she discovers are all too real.

Sophia and Zeus (the German shepherd) arrive at the counter at almost the same time. I hand Sophia the book and get out a treat for Zeus, who has become one of Christmas’s most popular residents. I can’t tell you anymore about the K9 dog without getting into trouble with Debbie. You’ll just have to read ONE NIGHT IN CHRISTMAS to find out Zeus’s story, and the story of our handsome new sheriff.

Sophia turns the book over, reads the blurb, then nods. This sounds really good. Can you order in the next two?

Sure, I will. Now, I told our readers that I’d get the inside scoop about yours and Adam’s story, so give me something juicy. I know I’m in trouble as soon as Sophia lifts an apologetic shoulder.

Sorry, Nell, I can’t. Debbie had me sign a nondisclosure agreement.

I knew I’d left it too late. Okay, just give me something that you learned from what you and Adam went through last year.

Reading mystery books saves lives.

You know, that’s the perfect slogan for Femme Fatale. I think I’ll use it, if you don’t mind. And while Sophia and I discuss how to use my new slogan, you guys start thinking about your favorite mysteries, thrillers, and romantic suspense books and drop me a line through Debbie’s website. If the book you suggest is picked as a recommended read, we’ll give you credit in News with Nell.

Till next time, happy reading and happy Easter to those who celebrate!

Nell xo