Life After Covid - Rachel Sharpe

Please welcome my guest blogger Rachel Sharpe.

It’s hard to believe that we are almost to Halloween. Halloween. Somehow, we’re nearing the end of 2020. This year has flown by at light speed while also moving at a snail’s pace. It’s been a year of firsts in many ways, making those simple, routine moments all the more precious.
What I’ve found most precious is having more time with my family. And what I’ve found most inspiring is the true depth of the human spirit. In spite of all the hardships and challenges, people from around the world continue to rise up to the challenges posed in this life after COVID-19 and make the best of situations, for the betterment of their families and their communities. As Mr. Rogers used to call them, “The Helpers.”
From the numerous essential workers like doctors, nurses, and grocery store clerks, to pastors, teachers, and entertainers, people are working together to help others get through this and using creativity to do so.
Years from now, I hope when my children look back on this time, they will not think of the virus and the suffering, but instead on our endless backyard summer days, family movie nights, and Zoom Charades with grandparents and cousins.

Thank you, Rachel. I hope so too. Stay safe. Keep writing. Rachel is giving away one copy of each of her books. I am using Rafflecopter. Happy Reading, my friends.
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Rachel Sharpe is the author of Cold Ambition, Lost Distinction, Bitter Retribution, and Simple Misconception, all part of the Jordan James, PI series, a mystery series with sweet romance. Although born and raised in the South, “Yankee” relatives first led Rachel to historic New England, which she has come to consider her second home and is the setting for the series.

Rachel currently resides with her husband and children in the Greater New Orleans area where she and her children work together to maintain a simple garden.

Check Out Rachel’s Sites to Keep Up with Jordan James!!!

Twitter: twitter.com/RachelCSharpe

When Jordan James decided to embark on a career as a private investigator, she never could have imagined that a chance encounter would lead to her staring down the barrel of a gun on the roof’s edge of a high-rise building. As she begins to investigate her first case, the puzzling murder of a prominent businessman that has left Boston’s finest mystified for more than two decades, she finds herself suddenly immersed in a treacherous underworld brimming with betrayal, raw greed, and political subterfuge of international proportions. In the midst of this, she discovers she is falling for her mysterious client despite the hints of his dark past. Can this feisty Southern girl with a penchant for trouble solve this baffling case, or is she doomed to become another tragic chapter in an international conspiracy? 

COLD AMBITION, Available Now on Amazon!!! http://www.amzn.com/B00L2OLQPG/

"It all started with a favor . . ."

When private investigator Jordan James agreed to search for the missing son of a U.S. Ambassador, she didn’t realize she was walking into a case one hundred years in the making. The deeper she delves into this unusual assignment, the more shocking, and the more dangerous, it becomes. With time running out and lives at stake, Jordan must race to identify the culprit of an elaborate plot while also uncovering a far more personal truth too intimate to ignore . . .



LOST DISTINCTION, Available Now on Amazon!!! http://www.amzn.com/B00Q5OGCS4

"What started out as a star-studded vacation has turned into a sensational avalanche . . ." When private investigator Jordan James decided to join her best friend on the set of her hit television series in the Rocky Mountains, she had no idea she would become a key player in a murder mystery more suited for the big screen than the slopes. With one actor dead and a killer on the loose, can Jordan uncover the culprit before another victim makes headlines on Hollywood Minute?



BITTER RETRIBUTION, Available Now on Amazon!!! http://www.amzn.com/B015YS0O94

A Trip to the Big Easy Turns into a Big Nightmare…”

When private investigator Jordan James returns home to New Orleans for Christmas, she never imagined her holiday could end with kidnapping and death. As she begins to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a childhood friend, she unwittingly stumbles upon a dangerous, international syndicate. With lives at risk and time running short, Jordan must find a connection between these seemingly unrelated events if she ever hopes to find her friend.



SIMPLE MISCONCEPTION, Available Now on Amazon!!! https://www.amazon.com/ B07D6W244X

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Christmas in July! Rachel Sharpe's Latest Jordan James Mystery

Rachel Sharpe has a new Jordan James mystery out. A Simple Misconception released on June 20th.  Rachel is guest posting about it today. And  you can win a copy of the series! Four books, people. I love series'. Enter below. 

It's hard for me to believe it's been four years since the world was first introduced to Jordan James, PI. Much has changed in that time, in both Jordan's life and my own. Since Cold Ambition, my debut novel, was released in 2014, I've had two children. This has given me a new perspective on life and on writing. As each book has been written, Jordan has grown as a character. I feel her experiences in the novels, as well as my own in real life, have helped develop both her character and her storyline. I love writing about Jordan, Jon, and all the characters in her world. While I wouldn't mind writing another story with a different cast of characters someday, right now, I'm happy to continue developing Jordan James. I hope readers will enjoy her latest adventure in Simple Misconception and many more to come in the future.

 Also from Rachel Sharpe:

COLD AMBITION, Available Now on Amazon!!!  http://www.amzn.com/B00L2OLQPG/

LOST DISTINCTION, Available Now on Amazon!!! http://www.amzn.com/B00Q5OGCS4

BITTER RETRIBUTION, Available Now on Amazon!!! http://www.amzn.com/B015YS0O94

SIMPLE MISCONCEPTION BLURB

“A Trip to the Big Easy Turns into a Big Nightmare…”

When private investigator Jordan James returns home to New Orleans for Christmas, she never imagined her holiday could end with kidnapping and death. As she begins to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a childhood friend, she unwittingly stumbles upon a dangerous, international syndicate. With lives at risk and time running short, Jordan must find a connection between these seemingly unrelated events if she ever hopes to find her friend.

SIMPLE MISCONCEPTION, https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Misconception-Jordon-James-PI-ebook/dp/B07D6W244X

SIMPLE MISCONCEPTION EXCERPT:

While I stopped, he kept walking. Thanks in large part to the laws of both physics and gravity, when I stopped moving, but he continued, his sheer mass sent me flying forward. It happened too fast for me to cry out. I sailed forward, landing face first into the back of one of the couches before falling against the wooden floor. Hard. Staring up at the second floor balcony, I rubbed the back of my head. It felt tender right away. I groaned softly. Suddenly, Zane’s face came into view, but his attention was not on me.

Instead, he was staring past me, at the white couch into which I slammed. More accurately, he was staring at something on the couch. Ignoring the protests of agony my muscles and nerves exuded, I rolled onto my stomach. I pulled myself to my feet, using the couch for support. As soon as I leaned over, I saw her. She was dead.

Now that's a teaser! Rachel is graciously giving away a set of Jordan James books to one lucky reader. Enter below, Happy Reading and a Happy week to you.

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Meet Jordan James, PI's Creator, Rachel Sharpe

Like Mystery? Meet Rachel Sharpe. author of The Jordan James PI series. Rachel, please tell us a little about yourself.

I was born to Baby Boomers in the Reagan era when the Cold War was still…cold. I'm an 80s kid raised in the 90s who loves life. I'm married to my best friend and we have the two greatest kids on the planet who just happen to both be under 2 years old. A lot has changed in my life in the past year and a half, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I love firsts, so tell me about the moment when a publisher told you they wanted to publish your book.

 I've been writing ever since I can remember. As a child, I always dreamed of being an author. According to my grandmother, that was one of my three dream jobs, the other two being astronaut and lion tamer. But that's another story. After graduating college and beginning my first real job, I began to write in my spare time. After writing a novella about a murder at a seafood festival set in small-town Louisiana that I couldn't get published, I came up with the concept of a female PI from New Orleans living in Boston taking a chance on her dream job. After two years of query letters and constant rejections, it finally happened - Soul Mate Publishing asked for my manuscript, and in the fall of 2013, I signed my first contract for Cold Ambition.

Nice!!!

What is the most exciting moment, so far, in your writing career?

That would have to be when I was named a finalist in InD'tale Magazine's Rone Awards in the Mystery category for Cold Ambition last year. To be nominated for such an award is an honor, but to reach the level of finalist, thanks to the readers, means a lot. All I've ever wanted to do with my writing is to offer a good story that is well told. That kind of recognition makes me feel like I'm doing my job right.

Congratulations. I was a finalist last year also. Truly a thrilling moment. I'm glad we shared it.

What is your favorite pastime, other than writing?

 Traveling. I love going to new places and trying new things. Oftentimes when I'm somewhere I haven't been before or doing something I've never done, I try to take a mental picture of it so that I can come back to it in my mind's eye and use it somehow in a story.

I love to travel to! But I have to take lots of pictures if I want to use the setting in a story. My mental ones keep getting misfiled.

How do you motivate yourself when inspiration takes a vacation? 

Keep going. Writing is no different than any other muscle and it has to be exercised to stay fit. Some days I really don't feel like writing, but I do it, even if it's just a little bit. Reading is also a very effective way to get the creative juices flowing. If you're stumped, just step away from your story and read another's. That kind of distance helps when you need to think of other ways to continue your story. Rachel walks the walk. Her second novel, Lost Distinction. came out in November 2014. five months after Cold Ambition . I wish I could write that fast. And that well.

Any advice for new writers just starting out? 

Read, read, read. And don't give up. It's hard to find a publisher, even in this digital age. But with every rejection, remind yourself it's all subjective and that was not the right publisher for your book. It's hard in the moment to realize that, but as I look back, I realize Jordan James, PI couldn't have found a better home than with Soul Mate Publishing. And neither could I.

Tell us about your latest release.

Bitter Retribution is the third novel in the Jordan James, PI series. It's set in the Rocky Mountains during the winter when Jordan goes to visit her best friend who is the head writer of the most popular sitcom on TV as they film a holiday episode on location. While she's there, someone is murdered. Jordan must hurry to find the culprit before anyone else gets hurt.

Here's the blurb:

"What started out as a star-studded vacation has turned into a sensational avalanche..."

When private investigator Jordan James decided to join her best friend on the set of her hit television series in the Rocky Mountains, she had no idea she would become a key player in a murder mystery more suited for the big screen than the slopes. With one actor dead and a killer on the loose, can Jordan uncover the culprit before another victim makes headlines on Hollywood Minute?

I want to read it!

What’s your current WIP? 

The working title is Misconception. It's book four in the Jordan James, PI series. Jordan is home in New Orleans for the Christmas holidays and while hanging out in the French Quarter, a friend is kidnapped and another is shot. Jordan knows she has to act fast if she wants her friend to be found alive. Unfortunately, there's more to this situation than she knows and if she isn't careful, the next victim could be her.

Sounds great.

And finally, where can we find  you?
Website: www.rachelsharpe.com

 www.facebook.com/authorrachelsharpe

www.twitter.com/rachelcsharpe

    Rachel is giving away an eBook of the first Jordan James adventure- COLD AMBITION.   

 Blurb:

"It was my life-long dream to become a private eye. Little did I know that with my very first case, that dream would become a life-threatening nightmare..."

When Jordan James decided to embark on a career as a private investigator, she never could have imagined that a chance encounter would lead to her staring down the barrel of a gun on the roof’s edge of a high-rise building. As she begins to investigate her first case, the puzzling murder of a prominent businessman that has left Boston’s finest mystified for more than two decades, she finds herself suddenly immersed in a treacherous underworld brimming with betrayal, raw greed, and political subterfuge of international proportions. In the midst of this, she discovers she is falling for her mysterious client despite the hints of his dark past. Can this feisty Southern girl with a penchant for trouble solve this baffling case or is she doomed to become another tragic chapter in an international conspiracy?
   Thank you for being here. You know the drill, friends. Rafflecopter below. Happy Reading.

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