Please help me welcome author Susie Black with the moments that changed her life, and her latest release, Death By Pins and Needles.
10 Moments That Changed My Life
- Getting my driver’s license was the moment I experienced tangible independence for the first time and it shaped the way I approached life. I learned to plan ahead, think proactively, and that with independence comes responsibility and ownership of ones decisions and actions.
- Receiving my college diploma and graduating Magna Cum Laude was the moment that pride and a tremendous sense of accomplishment taught me to always reach for the stars and that nothing is impossible if you believe in yourself.
- Answering the phone call from my apparel sales rep dad asking me to come to Atlanta and take over a trade show when he was called away to deal with a family emergency changed everything in my entire life. It precipitated a challenging and unexpected lifestyle and career change, leaving my friends and comfort zone with a cross-country move from LA to Atlanta to a region that was completely different in every aspect from the one I had lived almost all my life in. But most important, I learned to trust my gut, take chances, and not be afraid to fail.
- My first solo road trip traveling the southern states after accepting the sales rep position my dad offered me was the beginning of a career where I successfully broke every glass ceiling in an historically male-dominated industry.
- The first entry I ever made to my daily journal as a sales exec would someday be the foundation of leveraging my apparel sales career into a successful writing gig. Those journal entries gave me the characters and stories to tell.
- Answering the phone call from my future husband and accepting a blind date with him set up by a mutual friend changed my life. A blind date was not something I was interested in, but my friend was so insistent, that I accepted out of sheer curiosity. By the end of the evening, I was glad I’d taken the call. Forty plus years later, I am still glad.
- My wedding day six months after my husband and I went out on our blind date changed my life in countless, wonderful ways. My mother always said to marry a man who makes you laugh every day. I did, and he still does.
- When the doctor put my newborn son into my arms for the first time, I was certain that my life was never going to be the same. And it wasn’t. Thank goodness. The awesome sense of responsibility and unconditional love that filled my heart was overwhelming and remains there to this day.
- When I left my son at his college dorm, I cried tears of joy mixed with anguish realizing my reward for doing a wonderful job of raising him was that he would not be living under my roof again.
- Signing my first publishing contract and then seeing my debut cozy mystery novel Death by Sample Size posted on Amazon the first time filled me with an unparalleled sense of accomplishment and pride. And proof positive that things happen for a reason, even when I didn’t always understand why. My Nana predicted when I began my career that the reason I became an apparel industry sales exec is because I was destined to write about my experiences. As usual, my wise Nana was right.
FREE GIVEAWAY:
Susie has a giveaway for each of you… CLICK HERE to get your FREE copy of her Swimwear Fit Guidebook.
(Link for Fit Guide: Please insert this link at the end of the post with the instruction to click it for a FREE swimwear fit guide.)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7lerp4cy1al2j0l/CHOOSING%20THE%20RIGHT%20%20SWIMSUIT.pdf?dl=0
She gave ‘skeleton in the closet’ a whole new meaning.
BLURB: Who wanted Lissa Charney dead? The list was as long as your arm….but which one actually killed her? The last thing Mermaid Swimwear sales exec Holly Schlivnik expected to find when she opened the closet door was nasty competitor Lissa Charney’s battered corpse nailed to the wall. When Holly’s colleague is wrongly arrested for Lissa’s murder, the wise-cracking, irreverent amateur sleuth sticks her nose everywhere it doesn’t belong to sniff out the real killer. Nothing turns out the way she thinks it will as Holly matches wits with a heartless killer hellbent for revenge.
Excerpt:
I walked to Lissa’s in case God made a mistake, and by some miracle, she’d hung around. The Royal showroom lights were dark, but the internal ones leading to the offices blazed bright as a beacon. For giggles and squeaks, I pushed on Lissa’s showroom door. Remarkably, it opened. Hot Diggity Dog. Amazingly, the fabric Goddess covered my play. My envelope with the fabric swatches lay on the first workstation table. Now for the key, and I’d be all set.
“Lissa,” I called out, “It’s Holly from Mermaid. I came for my package. Thanks a bunch for accepting it. Listen, Patti left early and I forgot my mart key in my desk drawer at the factory. Can you give me my spare?” Dead silence. Weird. Maybe she’s on the phone with her office door closed?
“Lissa,” I funneled my hands around my mouth into a megaphone and yelled, “It’s Holly Schlivnik from Mermaid.” Still a whole lotta dead air. God short-changed me in the height department at four feet nine inches tall, but the Good Lord compensated for it by blessing me with a strong set of pipes. Unless the woman was deaf as a post, no way she couldn’t hear me.
The clock said eight minutes left. Crap. Buyers in this industry are famous for keeping vendors waiting. My luck, I get the one who’s never late. I stuck my head out in the hall. Hallelujah. Lady Luck smiled down on me. No Sue Ellen. If the congestion goddess loved me, the Queen of Mean sat stuck in Friday night rush hour traffic with the rest of the homebound Angelinos.
Since shouting at the top of my lungs failed to get her attention, I went back to Lissa’s office. Lights on, but nobody home. Her beige leather purse sat on the desk with her keys on top of it. I jangled the chain. Lots of keys, but none of them mine. I slid my fingers over the grainy purse to move it out of the way, and my digits got coated with dust. Weird. I opened all the drawers and rooted around her desk, but no key. Her jacket lay haphazardly draped on her chair behind the desk. She obviously hadn’t left for the day, but I’d combed the place from one end to another and found no sign of Lissa. Where the Sam Hill could she be? Not in the showroom. Not in her office. Not in the kitchen. Not in the copier room. In the ladies’ room? Abducted by aliens? Hiding in a closet? I was out of options and time; so, for giggles and squeaks, I pulled open the doors to the enormous sample closet that stretched across the back wall and peered inside. Good news. I found Lissa Charney. The question was; did she have my key?
Buy link(s):
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/death-by-pins-and-needles-susie-black/1142836329?ean=9781509246779
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/search?search=Death+by+Pins+and+Needles
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Death+by+Pins+and+Needles&qid=GqIgEv6TpY
About Susie:
Named Best US Author of the Year by N. N. Lights Book Heaven, award-winning cozy mystery author Susie Black was born in the Big Apple but now calls sunny Southern California home. Like the protagonist in her Fashion & Foul Play Mystery Series, Susie is a successful apparel sales executive. Susie began telling stories as soon as she learned to talk. Now she’s telling all the stories from her garment industry experiences in humorous mysteries.
She reads, writes, and speaks Spanish, albeit with an accent that sounds like Mildred from Michigan went on a Mexican vacation and is trying to fit in with the locals. Since life without pizza and ice cream as her core food groups wouldn’t be worth living, she’s a dedicated walker to keep her girlish figure. A voracious reader, she’s also an avid stamp collector. Susie lives with a highly intelligent man and has one incredibly brainy but smart-aleck adult son who inexplicably blames his sarcasm on an inherited genetic defect.
Looking for more? Contact Susie at:
Social Media Links: https://linktr.ee/susieblack.com
Website: www.authorsusieblack.com
E-mail: mysteries_@authorsusieblack.com
A gunman’s word is his bond, and a lady’s heart can shatter.
Hi, readers. I’m Belle Hamlin, the heroine from Amber Daulton’s new romantic suspense novel, Arresting Benjamin. I’m excited to talk about my greatest passion—playing music. It’s also my career, but the money I make from it dumps it into the hobby category. Yep, that’s right. I’m a struggling musician with a dreaded day job at an insurance company that is sucking the life out of me.
I live in Denver, Colorado, but I travel all across the state for a paying gig. I mostly play at bars and clubs, but sometimes I perform covers of classic songs for weddings, birthdays, and funerals. I can’t afford to be picky when it comes to a reputable gig. You’ll often find my best friends—Mia, Chanel, and Shea—running the merchandise table for me at a bar. They’re my biggest supporters. (By the way, have you checked out their oh-so-sexy books yet? You can find them 
With enemies at every turn, how will they survive with their lives and love intact?
Blurb
A one-night stand, a surprise baby, and a mysterious stalker.
Mechanic Benjamin Starwell can’t stop thinking about Belle Hamlin, the ballsy musician he slept with and skipped out on months earlier. He never meant to get her pregnant, but he’ll do whatever it takes to win back her trust and be a part of his child’s life. His desire for Belle drives him to be a better man, but he’s worn thin with a garage to run and his estranged sister dumping her troubles on him.
Belle’s juggling impending motherhood, her indie rock career, and a stalker who’s determined to see her fail. Even though she’s desperate to get her priorities straight, she pushes aside her past hurt and welcomes Benji back into her bed. She never expects him to slip into her heart.
When the danger escalates, they face the greatest challenge of all—protecting their unborn child.
Excerpt:
Benji’s heart pounded harder as Belle strutted onto the stage from a rear door. Her hips swayed with a ba-dum beat as her hair flapped behind her shoulders. Was there an air vent above her? Dark eye shadow, mascara, and a dark slash of blush on her cheeks deepened her sultry eyes. Her lips swelled like a juicy plum. God, was her lipstick purple? Burgundy, maybe? She bent over, showing off her fine ass, and plugged her acoustic-electric guitar into the amp.
A baby-faced gopher carried a stool and a water bottle to the middle of the platform.
She patted him on the back and stared out at the crowd.
Several men ogled her, despite the baby bump. Their lady friends laughed, but some frowned and slapped the guys’ arms.
Wow. Benji swallowed hard. What he wouldn’t do to unzip her knee-high leather boots, pull down her stockings, and flip up her short pleated skirt? Her red sleeveless blouse emphasized the breasts he couldn’t wait to suckle.
“Hiya, Tempes lovers! How ya doin’? Thanks for coming out in this cold weather.” Her voice echoed through the speakers. The lights lit Belle and the stage in a soft white glow. She strummed the guitar, testing it, as the audience shouted. “I’m Belle Hamlin, and this badass girl is Matilda.” She held up the sunburst-finished instrument. “We’ll rock you for the next hour, so let’s get started.” She ignored the stool, jumping into a song as her fans applauded. Deep, rumbling chords reverberated from the guitar and speakers.
“She’s starting with ‘Stay True’.” Chanel clapped. “It’s my favorite.”
“This is rock-and-roll. She sang folk and singer/songwriter-type stuff the night we met.” He bit his lip as her friends stood and danced in place.
“What did you expect? She’s a solo female artist sandwiched between testosterone-filled rock bands. She has to up her game.” Shea tapped his CD case and flashed a grin. “Give it a whirl later. Belle is a cross between Melissa Etheridge, Stevie Nicks, and Eric Clapton. Her guy issues and social opinions bleed into her songs.”
Wonderful. Guy issues. He had his work cut out for him.
Buy links:
Only .99 cents until October 18, 2022
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Amber Daulton is the author of the romantic-suspense series Arresting Onyx and several standalone novellas. Her books are published through Daulton Publishing, The Wild Rose Press, and Books to Go Now, and are available in ebook, print on demand, audio, and foreign language formats.
She lives in North Carolina with her husband and demanding cats.
Find out more here: 
Author Alicia Dean 