Muddy Waters cover reveal, Author Edition

As is the way with books and publishers, from time to time, rights revert to the author. That's what's going on here with the forthcoming Author's Edition release of Muddy Waters, the first book in my Mossy Bog Romantic Suspense series. It will soon be available from all digital venues.

My first priority is to reissue ebooks of the five romances that I just had rights reversion on. After that, I will see if issuing print books are warranted.

Meanwhile, please enjoy this new cover, put together with the loving hands of my friend Polly Iyer. My goal is to use the same font and font placement for all three books in this series to create a series look.

Originally issued in 2010, this book has been edited from front to back to update the content.

Muddy Waters is currently up for pre-order at Amazon, to go live on Tuesday, Feb 5. Other vendors have already pushed the listing through their sales channels so there's no waiting at Nook, Kobo, or iBooks.

Here's the new blurb:

Real estate broker Roxie Whitaker is juggling skittish clients, an anxious bride, and her wayward brother. She’d very much like to sell some property, soothe her friend’s wedding jitters, and knock some sense into her party-boy brother’s head. Meanwhile, she needs a date for the wedding. In walks Sloan Harding, the town’s former bad boy and now an Atlanta security expert, and Roxie believes he’s the answer to her dreams.

Sparks fly as he escorts her to the wedding and asks her advice about his property. While he’s home, Sloan hunts for his missing inheritance. Sloan’s search uncovers family secrets and painful memories. To make matters worse, someone in the shadows is after his inheritance, someone who will do whatever it takes to walk away with the fortune.

Also, reviewers from before loved Roxie and Sloan's story. Here are a few snips from those earlier reviews: 

“Great book, wonderful mystery and a red hot love story underlying it.  Roxie and Sloan really mix it up in and out of the bedroom and that is what makes for a great romance.  You can’t ask for more than that now can you?” –  Mary Gramlich, THE READING REVIEWER

“Toussaint pens a pleasant read for a nice fall afternoon. With its home realty and repair subplot, the author obviously knows her stuff.” – Cindy Himler, ROMANTIC TIMES

Buy Links:

Ready now:   Nook    iBooks    Kobo  

Pre-order for Feb 5 delivery    Kindle

More information at my website, including an excerpt!  Click here for the website listing.

Thanks, readers, for demanding more in this fun series that blends cozy mystery and romantic suspense. Hot Water and Rough Waters will be reissued next.

Happy Reading!
Maggie

 

Maggie is on the Amazing Authors Tour

My moment in the sun as part of the #amazingeventauthors mini-blog tour!

When the water is muddy, you can't tell what's coming downstream, what's under your boat, or where the channel is. Muddy Waters are trouble with a capital T.

In my romantic suspense, Muddy Waters, both Roxie and Sloan are awash with troubles and can't see the future. Both know what they want, but attaining those goals seems insurmountable.

Here's the book blurb:

Roxie Whitaker is struggling to make her grandmother’s real estate business a success. When her coastal home is burglarized, her rosy worldview dims. Atlanta security expert Sloan Harding distracts her from her troubles, but is Mossy Bog’s former bad boy serious about her?

Never one to shy away from trouble, Sloan is determined to find his alleged missing inheritance. Sparks fly as he enters into a business arrangement with Roxie to oversee the restoration of his childhood home. With her help, Sloan resurrects old secrets while a dangerous predator stalks them.

With passion and danger muddying the waters, will love see the light of day?

Available in digital or print format:

Kindle   Wild Rose Press and Amazon     Barnes_and_Noble

Here's an excerpt from the book:

“The lost Harding fortune did have a point of origin," Sloan said. “There was no money banked when my grandfather died. My father insisted granddad hid it from him, and from there the story grew.

“No one else believed my father’s drunken ramblings. Granddad wasn’t a rich man, and he could have had unknown expenses that burnt through his savings. But two things keep me from dismissing this outright.

“First, my father was so sure he’d been scammed. He didn’t hold fast to many things, but he never wavered on this. Second, if there’s any chance at all that my grandfather hid any money, it’s mine to find.”

“That’s why you didn’t sell the house before?” Roxie’s blue green eyes regarded Sloan expectantly. “Because you needed to come home to find the truth? To uphold your granddad’s good name?”

There she went again, putting words in his mouth. He wasn’t a saint. He was a Harding. “I don’t need the money. My company is doing fine. I have questions about the past, that’s all.”

“Questions? What kind of questions?”

Why wouldn’t she let the subject drop? Did she expect him to admit his father had been crazy? Or that he harbored serious doubts about his granddad’s sanity? What sane man hid his estate from his heir?

And if said heir searched for the missing money, was he crazy too?

No way was he admitting all that. 

*     *     *     *

Be sure and visit Patsy's blog tomorrow. Here's her link:
http://plparker.blogspot.com/2012/01/patsys-amazing-author-blog-tour.html  

There will be a giveaway on the last day of the blog mini-tour, and the ebook of Muddy Waters is up for grabs. The question from this blog is: What is Sloan determined to find?
      *  *  *  *

Maggie Toussaint

romance and mystery author

www.maggietoussaint.com

Coming in March:
Death, Island Style .. a little fun, a little sun, and a dead body in the surf
Murder in the Buff ... secrets at the nudist colony lead to murder

Great Reviews for Muddy Waters!!!

I'm delighted to announce that Muddy Waters is launched to great acclaim! It is so heartening when a reviewer (and readers!) "get" what you've put down in book form. I'm honored to have so many excellent reviews to post. Here's an abbreviated snip from each of the reviews I've received on this romantic suspense to date.

Fantastic Read! Maggie Toussaint does an amazing job of foreshadowing as she weaves together a tapestry of suspense, mystery, small community life, and love while bringing into clear focus the overt and covert conflicts both Roxie and Sloan try to resolve. Ms. Toussaint’s writing style with superb imagery, exquisite description, and a touch of humor make Muddy Waters enthralling reading. Muddy Waters satisfies that hunger for a love that promises a happy-ever-after. – Long and Short Reviews, LASR BOOK OF THE WEEK. Full review at Long and Short Reviews


Great book, wonderful mystery and a red hot love story underlying it. Roxie and Sloan really mix it up in and out of the bedroom and that is what makes for a great romance. You can’t ask for more than that now can you? – Mary Gramlich, The Reading Reviewer. Full review at Mary Gramlich Blogspot

Couldn’t stop reading! Five stars! Toussaint’s book is a delightful, contemporary romance spiced with a mystery that keeps you guessing whether the Harding fortune exists or if it was jut a figment of a drunken imagination. Sloan and Roxie’s relationship unfolds in a natural way that draws the reader into their story. And the barriers between them and happily ever after are so organic to their personalities and their past that the reader truly wonders if these two will be able to work it out. – Keena Kincaid, author of Enthralled. Full review posted at Amazon.com

Toussaint pens a pleasant read for a nice fall afternoon. With its home realty and repair subplot, the author obviously knows her stuff. – Cindy Himler, Romantic Times Magazine

5 stars! A great book! I read Muddy Waters in one sitting because I didn’t want to put it down. You’ll feel the same way. The Georgia background rings true, with its small town clannish-ness, everyone knowing everyone else’s business, and never accepting that a leopard can change its spots or a miscreant should be allowed to live down his past. Both Roxie and Sloan are well-done; each is shown to be a strong character in his/her own right, while acting completely opposite to beliefs in relation to the other. The dialogue is smart and realistic, the progression of the story believable. Mac the dog is a delight. – Reviewer Icy Snow Blackstone. Full review at Book Reviews by Icy Snow

Muddy Waters is a fascinating story about Roxie and Sloan who both have ancestral history that intertwines as the story moves on. There are several layers to this story with a mystery surrounding money, Roxie having strange things happen to her, and Sloan whose company stopped a hacker attack with no leads on who did it. I thought Maggie Toussaint wrote the characters with a believability that captures the hearts of readers. – Emily, Single Titles. Full review at SingleTitles.Com

Muddy Waters was a great read and I can’t help but think of it time after time even after I’m done. Toussaint’s writing is crisp and easy to read. The plot is tight, filled with plenty of twists and turns that keep the reader on their toes. One of the most endearing aspects of the story is how Toussaint captures the authenticity of small town America, giving delicious depth to the setting and characters. – Steph Burkhart, author of Romance under the Moonlight. Full review posted at Amazon.com

Five Stars! Muddy Waters is another great read from award winning Maggie Toussaint. Small town setting and attitudes color the story and carry the plot to its conclusion. You won’t want to put it down until you reluctantly turn the last page. – Reviewer JJD as seen at Amazon.com


Maggie Toussaint’s Muddy Waters is a romantic suspense novel that draws the reader into the story from the first page with the pull of the tide against the Georgia coast. This is a fun read and a delightful break from some heavy tomes. – Nash Black, author of Haints. Full review posted at Nash-Black.blogspot.com

Thanks so much for your support and for accompanying me on this publishing odyssey!

Maggie Toussaint
http://www.maggietoussaint.com/

Muddy Waters - successful blog tour

My recent release Muddy Waters is making a great showing. I'm very excited by the reviews that I've received, which I'll recap in a later post.

At my first Muddy Waters signing this past weekend, 40 books were autographed - pretty darned fabulous by my standards!

I mounted a supercharged blog tour to promote the release. I'll provide a recap here for those.

On Oct. 25, Vicki Hinze posted chapter 1 of Muddy Waters at her Chapter1Zone. Elise Stone won a copy of Muddy Waters. Congratulations Elise! http://web.mac.com/vickihinze/Chapter1Zone.com/Home.html



Also on Oct. 25, I was a guest at Long and Short Reviews, where I blogged about heroes who make you go ahhh. http://lasrguest.blogspot.com/2010/10/guest-blog-maggie-toussaint.html



On Oct. 26, I hosted a discussion on the Sisters In Crime yahoo loop about expectations.

That same day, I appeared as a guest on the SOS Aloha Blog, another interview, where I got to dish about the south and what part southern culture and conflict play on the stage of my books. Kim's blog is a great place to visit. http://sosaloha.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-10-27T20%3A28%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7



Oct. 27 found me at Between the Lines, Carol Ann Erhardt's blog, talking about Muddy Waters.
http://carolannerhardt.blogspot.com/2010/10/muddy-waters-by-maggie-toussaint.html

On Nov. 2, I returned to LASR for an interview where I got to talk about handwriting and the south. Joelle won an ebook copy of Muddy Waters. http://longandshortarchives.blogspot.com/2010/11/author-interview-maggie-toussaint.html

I hit Liana's place next and I had a blast talking about the kayaking trip that provided a key story moment for Muddy Waters. There are lots of photos too! http://lianalaverentz.blogspot.com/2010/11/maggie-toussaint-talks-about-muddy.html


Next up was my appearance at Between The Lines hosted by Linda Coker where I wrote a character interview of Sloan Harding, the leading man of Muddy Waters. I had many interesting comments on this one! http://betweenthelinesandmore.blogspot.com/2010/11/author-maggie-toussaint-guest-blogs.html



I blogged all week long from Nov. 7 to 14, that's right, 7 posts, about my writing journey. Allie, the site host, was amazed that I had comments throughout the week. Thanks so much to loyal fans for slogging through my personal history and the nuances for registering at this site! This was at Novelspotters in their Behind the Scenes feature: http://novelspot.net/node/3515 is the first column.



Over at the Lovestruck Novice, I blogged on Nov. 15 about obstacles in writing and the importance of Point of View. http://thelovestrucknovice.blogspot.com/2010/11/lovestruck-novice-welcomes-maggie.html

Whew! That was some marketing campaign. I had a lot of fun and made some new friends who I hope will be along for the entire ride.

Maggie Toussaint

www.maggietoussaint.com

Read Chapter 1 of Muddy Waters

Chapter 1 of my just released book, Muddy Waters is available at Vicki Hinze's Chapter 1 Zone. Share Roxie and Sloan's adventure as they search for lost treasure in a coastal paradise. Here's the link: http://web.me.com/vickihinze/chapter1zone.com/home.html

The book is available in digital and print formats at Amazon (kindle!) and The Wild Rose Press.

http://www.amazon.com/ and http://www.thewildrosepress.com/

Enjoy the read! Let me know what you think!

Maggie Toussaint

A super review of Muddy Waters!

Muddy Waters is out today. In honor of the new release, here's a review for my brand new romantic mystery:

The beauty of small town life is the sense of community and neighborliness that pervades everyday interactions and provides comfort in a time of crisis. The ugly underbelly is everyone knows what you did, what your daddy did, and what your granddaddy did, and those same neighbors are slow to forget or forgive.

Author Maggie Toussaint explores this yin-yang of small communitites in her delightful romance Muddy Waters-a book definitely worth staying up too late to finish.

Heroine Roxie Whitaker has sunk her roots deep in the small Georgia town of Mossy Bog. Despite the lack of eligible men, she loves the slower beat, the complicated interactions of its residents, and the fact that everyone knew and liked her grandmother, and by extension, knows and likes her. Yet she is fearful of missteps and the town's censure.

Sloan Harding grew up the town pariah thanks to his father's constant drunk and disorderly conduct, his grandfather's reputation and his own wayward youth. Yet he found freedom in not having to live up to expectations, and after leaving Mossy Bog, he became a successful Atlanta businessman. Now back to fix up the family home-and hopefully find the rumored Harding fortune-he must face the disapproval of a town that doesn't let go of the past.

And though Sloan and Roxie have to navigate the muddy waters of his past to reach their future, it's clear from the start that Sloan is the perfect complement to Roxie's take-no-risks nature.

Toussaint's book is a delightful, contemporary romance spiced with a mystery that keeps you guessing whether the Harding fortune exists or if it was just a figment of a drunken imagination. Sloan and Roxie's relationship unfolds in a natural way that draws the reader into their story. And the barriers between them and happily ever after are so organic to their personalities and their past that the reader truly wonders if these two will be able to work it out.

-Keena Kincaid, author of Enthralled

MUDDY WATERS IS OUT TODAY. IT'S AVAILABLE IN DIGITAL FORMAT FROM THE WILD ROSE PRESS AND IN PRINT FORMAT FROM THE WILD ROSE PRESS AND AMAZON.COM. If Blogger wasn't being stupid I could paste the direct buy links in here, but I'm on a borrowed computer for now and can't manage to find the right combination of keys. I hope stalwart readers can handle a little internet navigation.

As always, thanks for reading!

Maggie Toussaint

author of mystery and romance

http://www.maggietoussaint.com/