Day 9 ~ Desperate Measures & Our Next Giveaway Recipient

Posted on: June 9, 2022June 8, 2022 by Sandra Orchard

Yesterday, my eldest granddaughter told me she’d just read my entire Port Aster Secrets series. As she recounted the ending and told me how much it surprised her, I realized it surprised me too.

Because I didn’t remember the ending!

I’m not kidding.

I’d forgotten my own ending’s twist! 😳

But it explains, Nora’s reference to “a fresh and unique twist” in her review of this one. 😆

Review and Image of Desperate Measures, Book 3 in Port Aster Secrets by Sandra Orchard

Each book in this series was honoured with a Word Award from The Word Guild, and Desperate Measures was also a top pick from Night Owl Reviews. Their reviewer Arlena Dean said of it:

“…I loved how the author was able to give me a mystery with lots of conspiracy as well as non-stop action. The author’s writing will have you guessing you know the answer but later finding out you didn’t have a clue….”

I hope you enjoy reading this series as much as I enjoyed writing it. And one added note, I highly recommend reading this series in order, as later books are spoilers for the mysteries in prior books.

Also please, please, please…

don’t read the ending first. My granddaughter admitted doing so with Deadly Devotion and I was soooo disappointed. I try very hard to craft plots that will keep readers guessing whodunit right to the end.

And without further ado…

The next book recipient (this one from visitors to my Seekerville post) is Lee-Ann. Lee-Ann please email me to let me know your mailing info and which book you’d like to receive.

BTW, Rochelle, if you missed the announcement a couple of days ago that you won Critical Condition, please be sure to check your bulk/promotions folder in gmail or spam, if you haven’t seen my email in your inbox. I need to hear back from you!

More Goodies for Everyone

I’m hesitant to repeat these everyday, but for those who might be visiting this blog for the first time, this is the list of current deals, giveaways and freebies:

Download Deadly Devotion for Free (before June 11)

Buy Identity Withheld for only $1.99 (before June 14th)

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for 1 of 10 copies of Boughs of Folly before Father’s Day

I will also randomly select recipients from among newsletter subscribers, those who interact with my Facebook page, and commenters on this month’s blog posts.

Many thanks to all who are making this month’s celebration so much fun!

Download Deadly Devotion for Free ~ Day 5

Posted on: June 5, 2022May 30, 2022 by Sandra Orchard

Murder by Marigolds was the working title for what later became my 5th published novel and first mystery trade book–Deadly Devotion.

The idea germinated from a dream about the greenhouse where my children worked. As I researched herbal remedies and gleaned valuable insights from my daughter, a student at the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture at the time, the story blossomed and flourished into a three-book series–Port Aster Secrets.

Admittedly, I received a lot of hate mail after this book released, because while each book tells a stand-alone mystery story, a romantic suspense thread arcs the series. So, the letters all said something along the lines of:

“How could you make me wait a year to find out what happens next?!” 😕

Fortunately, today, readers can read the next two books as soon as they want.

Herbal Remedies

The heroine is a herbal researcher and my own research for the series sparked a growing passion for herbs. It also proved my husband’s steadfast faith in me!

You see, for three years, a Book of Poisons sat on my kitchen counter as I squeezed research in during meal prep time. And my dear hubby never sweated it…much. 😆

Set in Niagara, Canada

I set the series in the fictional town of Port Aster modelled after Niagara, as it existed thirty to forty years ago. Sadly, since then rampant housing developments have overtaken much of the farmland and the borders between towns have blurred. People familiar with the area, however, will recognize my own version of what we once called the experimental farm in Vineland, and of Balls Falls, and the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture.

Download it now for FREE

Did I mention that for a limited time you can download the Ebook version for free?

Check it out on Amazon US, Amazon Canada, Kobo, Nook, Google Play, iBooks, EPub from ChristianBook.com

Tell your friends!

There’s also still time to download Identity Withheld for only $1.99 from your favourite retailer

And there’s still time to enter the rafflecopter giveaway

Signed Copies of Novels in Online Auction

Posted on: August 9, 2021August 9, 2021 by Sandra Orchard

The Niagara Children’s Centre is hosting their Superhero Run as an online fundraising auction, and signed novels from two of my mystery series will soon be open for bids. [Links now updated!]

The Niagara Children’s Centre provides rehabilitation and support services to children and youth with physical, developmental and communicative delays and disabilities. This is where my grandson honed his walking skills after receiving his first prosthetic leg.

Please be aware that most items will need to be picked up by successful bidders at the centre. The auction runs from August 9th, 2021 – October 4th, 2021. My books go on the auction block at 2 pm EDT on August 9th.

Interested in browsing?

Visit: https://www.32auctions.com/SuperheroRun2021

Items include gift cards, various services (such as salon and massage), toys, small appliances and much more.

Interested in acquiring a set of Serena Jones Mysteries?

Click on the picture above or here: to go straight to the action!

Interested in acquiring a set of Port Aster Secrets?

Click on the picture above or here: to go straight to the action!

Visit their website to learn more about what the services the Niagara Children’s Centre has to offer.

Surviving a Series

Posted on: June 6, 2015June 6, 2015 by Sandra Orchard

Join me at the

International Christian Fiction Writers blog

today, where I’m sharing a tongue-in-cheek perspective on

surviving the writing of my Port Aster Secrets series.

Desperate Measures is Almost Here!

Posted on: May 1, 2015April 8, 2015 by Sandra Orchard

Have you been enjoying the Port Aster Secrets series?

If so, you have only one more month to wait to read the final installment.

But…if per chance, you haven’t checked out this series yet, you now have the opportunity to try the first award-winning book, Deadly Devotion, for FREE in Ebook format from now until the end of summer.

Check it out at your favorite retailer and please, tell your friends!

Your Turn: For those who’ve been following the series, how do you hope it will end? (Shh, if you can tell me without any spoilers for those who haven’t started) 😉

Boxing Week Blowout & A Cat Question

Posted on: December 30, 2014 by Sandra Orchard

Just a quick post to let you know that if you haven’t tried the Port Aster Secrets series and would like to read it on a Kobo, from now until January 5th, you can pick up Deadly Devotion, book 1 in the series, for only 99 cents. (Click image or “kobo” above for link)

I’m hard at work on the first book in my next series. My writing cave doesn’t look quite as cool as this:

But I am locked away.

I added a heater to the room yesterday, so maybe I’ll be able to think better now. Although… the book is set in February, so all that shivering was inspiring. 😉

The opening scene happens in Buffalo, so at one point I have:

The chance of scoring a flight home to St. Louis tonight didn’t look good. And the frigid Buffalo temps would be nothing compared to the cold shoulder my cat would give me if he had to spend a second night with only my friend to look in on him. 😀

And here’s my question for you: What kind of cat should I give my heroine?

It is a he–Harold. It came with the apartment she took over from her Great Aunt. She’s never had a cat before so this is a new experience for her.

I snapped this pic of my friend’s cat in St. Louis (it refused to pose!!!), thinking “he’d” make a good model, except…would you say his coat has 3 colors? Because then he’d have to be a she, right?

Blind Trust Blog Tour & Special Deals

Posted on: June 2, 2014June 6, 2014 by Sandra Orchard

Blind Trust is now shipping and I was tickled to already hear from a few readers over the weekend! I’m very excited to be visiting several blogs this week to celebrate the release. Oh, and check out the new cover I found online!

The image on the right is for the large print, hard cover edition that will release in August from Center Point Publishing. Cool, eh?

I’d love for you to pop by one of my blog stops for a visit!

My hero & I will be chatting about all sorts of things.

Today I’m at Trish Perry’s blog, answering questions about Blind Trust and life and if you leave a comment sometime this week, you’ll have a chance to win a copy.

This week, Detective Tom Parker will be answering questions at Margaret Daley’s blog.

Tuesday, I’ll be posting at the Craftie Ladies’ Blog on interesting factoids I learned while researching Blind Trust. 😉

And…here’s the special I learned about from my publisher over the weekend:

This week only, Deadly Devotion will be on sale in Ebook format at most retailers for only $2.99. I highly recommend reading it before Blind Trust, which has a spoiler for the mystery in it.

And… the Ebook format for Blind Trust will be on sale until July 14th for the special price of $6.99!

Introducing Port Aster

Posted on: May 27, 2013May 27, 2013 by Sandra Orchard

Port Aster is the fictional town I’ve created in the heart of the Niagara Peninsula, Canada, for my new mystery series Port Aster Secrets. But I’d like to share some photographs of several of the real places that inspired me, which I then drew together to create my little town.

The heroine, Kate Adams, is a herbal medicine researcher, who works at an agricultural research station outside of Port Aster, a place based loosely on what is still referred to by locals as the Vineland Experimental Farm, but which has now partnered with Guelph University and been renamed the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.

The town itself has a cobbled main street with flower baskets hanging from old-fashioned lamp posts, the smell of cinnamon buns wafting from the bakery, and enticing wares spilling onto the sidewalk from quaint little shops, and was inspired by the main street of historic Niagara-on-the-Lake…although its street isn’t cobbled. 🙂

This is the Old Niagara Bookshop in N-O-T-L, which actually carries copies of Deadly Devotion!

The social hub of Port Aster is the Tea Shop, which I conjured up from my imagination, although while visiting Colorado after writing the story, I found this shop, which has the kind of ambiance I’d envisioned for mine.

Except that in Port Aster’s Tea Shop, there are rows of glass jars lining the counter, filled with herbs of every description that patrons can choose from to create their own tea blend.

The story begins in May as fruit trees in the surrounding countryside are blooming.

Then later, Kate’s situation turns precarious at the top of “Sumptner Falls” inspired by Vineland’s Balls Falls…at least as I wrote the scene, I pictured my heroine hiking the trail to the upper falls (before the new building). But the picture below is of a falls in the heart of Short Hills Conservation Area, because I couldn’t find a good angle to take a picture of the upper falls.