THE LILAC CODE -- THE SISTERS TEXAS SERIES CONTINUES

Becki Willis has a Rafflecopter Giveaway at the end of this post!

The Lilac Code

The Sisters, Texas Series Book 7

by
Becki Willis

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Will a case of mistaken identity be the death of her? 

Madison Reynolds is looking forward to a few days of rest and relaxation. Her
best friend Genny is judging a celebrity bake-off near DC, so it’s
the perfect opportunity for a girl’s getaway. With fun-loving
Granny Bert in tow, the trio heads to the very heart of the Intel
community. Deep in alphabet soup territory—surrounded by CIA, NSA,
FBI and more—it takes only moments for things to go awry.

A mix-up at the airport leaves Madison with the wrong luggage, and a

last-minute change in accommodations lands them at The
Columbia Inn at Peralynna. How can they know its ties to the spy world 
will soon spin them into its web?

Designed as a CIA safe house, the inn has a fascinating history. When it seems

a mysterious man in a dark coat is following her, Madison scoffs at
her over-action imagination. She’s listened to too many spy tales,
spun by the innkeeper herself. The stories of espionage and agents
are intriguing, but too incredible to be real. The Texans know
nothing about secret codes and counterintelligence. They’ve never
heard of The Lilac Code, or the illusive agent-for-hire known simply as Kalypso.

Back home in The Sisters, a drama is unfolding that involves Madison’s
precious twins. She’s raised them to do the right thing, no matter
the consequence, but will their quest for justice put them in danger?

Thrust into impossible situations of being in the wrong place at the wrong
time, the twins risk everything to save their school, while deep in
spy territory, Madison and Genny race against the clock—and the
elements—to save Granny Bert’s life.

The award-winning The Sisters, Texas Mystery Series continues

in this exciting Book 7. This is a stand-alone book, but best when
enjoyed as a full series experience.

THE LILAC CODE Excerpt:

Madison lifted their suitcases onto the proffered stands, grunting under the effort of her own bag. “I must have packed in my sleep, because I swear, I don’t remember this being so heavy this morning,” she muttered. She unzipped the basic black rolling bag and gasped. She rifled through the contents, not recognizing a single item. Most of it was folders, books, and ledgers. No wonder it was so heavy!

“I have someone else’s luggage!” she stated with delayed realization.

“What are you mumbling about in here?” Granny Bert asked, returning from the bathroom.

“I have the wrong suitcase! This isn’t mine.”

“How in tarnation did that happen?”

“I have no idea. Wait. The attendant stowed my luggage for me,” she recalled. “I was one of the last people off the plane, which means that someone else mistook my luggage for theirs.” She sank onto the side of the bed with a horrified sigh. “That means that they have mine, and I don’t have a thing to wear!”

“Look on the bright side. You’ve needed a new wardrobe. Derron found you a few new pieces, but you still need a major update.”

“Not like this, I don’t! I don’t even have a pair of underwear to change into.”

“Relax, they have stores up here. There was a mall near the restaurant where we ate.”

Madison continued to bemoan her troubles. “This is terrible, just terrible. My favorite pair of boots were in that bag!”

“So call the airport, explain the mix-up, and see if the other person has already returned your bag. I’ll bet it’s there waiting on you.”

“You’re right. I should call the airport.”

Her grandmother clicked her tongue. “What would you do without me? All this time, I thought I was the beauty and you were the brains, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe I’ve been both, all along.”

In no mood for her grandmother’s shenanigans, Madison already had her phone in her hand.
Three calls and an hour later, the news wasn’t good. No one reported a missing suitcase, nor had they returned a piece of mistaken luggage. Without any identification on the bag in Madison’s possession, they advised that she hang on to it until someone claimed it. Returning it to the airport could result in permanent loss.

“This is crazy. I can’t believe they told me to just keep someone else’s luggage!” Madison fumed.

“For all the good it does you. Nothing but a bunch of papers, from what I can tell. What little I read didn’t even make sense,” Granny Bert groused.

“I’m sure they told the other person to just keep mine, as well!” she continued to rant. “This is ridiculous.”

“Let’s find a store and buy you some new clothes, at least something for tonight and tomorrow,” Genny suggested. “We’ll come back, have a glass of wine, and call it a night. You can call the airport again in the morning. Even if no one has returned your suitcase, at least someone on the morning shift may be more helpful.”

“They certainly can’t be any more inept that the idiots working the phones this evening!”

“Calm down, Maddy. It’s going to be fine.” Genny stroked her friend’s arms in a comforting gesture.

“You were right, you know. Something bad did happen.” Madison threw her hands up in exasperation. “I lost all my underwear!”

Granny Bert snickered. “Somehow, I don’t think Genny had a premonition about you losing your underwear.”

“Go ahead. Laugh. Make a joke. It’s fine for you. You have something to sleep in tonight.”

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Don't miss the other books in The Sisters, Texas series!

Chicken Scratch

The Sisters, Texas Series Book 1

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When The Stars Fall

The Sisters, Texas Series Book 2

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* Amazon

Stipulations and Complications

The Sisters, Texas Series Book 3

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* Amazon

Home Again: Starting Over

The Sisters, Texas Series Book 4

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* Amazon

Genny's Ballad

The Sisters, Texas Series Book 5

Goodreads
* Amazon

Christmas in The Sisters

The Sisters, Texas Series Book 6

Goodreads
* Amazon

Becki Willis, best known for her popular The Sisters, Texas Mystery Series
and Forgotten Boxes, always dreamed of being an author. In November
of '13, that dream became a reality. Since that time, she has
published eleven books, won first place honors for Best Mystery
Series, Best Suspense Fiction and Best Audio Book, and has introduced
her imaginary friends to readers around the world. 

An avid history buff, Becki likes to poke around in old places and learn

about the past. Other addictions include reading, writing, junking,
unraveling a good mystery, and coffee. She loves to travel, but
believes coming home to her family and her Texas ranch is the best
part of any trip. Becki is a member of the Association of Texas
Authors, the National Association of Professional Women, and the
Brazos Writers organization. She attended Texas A&M University
and majored in Journalism.

Website
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The Sisters
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Follow the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

INN THE SPIRIT OF LEGENDS

Inn the Spirit of Legends

Spirits of Texas Book 1

by
Becki Willis

Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery

From the author of The
Sisters, Texas Mystery Series and Forgotten
Boxes, comes an intriguing new book series, the Spirits
of Texas Cozy Mysteries. 

When the tiny hamlet of Hannah, Texas goes up for auction, Hannah Duncan’s
fun-loving uncle sees it as the perfect gift for her thirtieth
birthday. After all, what’s more fun than a town bearing your own name? 

Nestled in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, the ‘town’ isn’t much —
a dozen or less buildings in various stages of disrepair—but it
comes with a dedicated pair of caretakers, a menagerie of farm
animals, a surprisingly generous trust fund, enough stipulations to
make her head spin, and a handsome but maddening attorney to oversee
the handling of the estate.

Originally a stagecoach stop, Hannah, Texas resolves around the historic and
rather charming Spirits of Texas Inn. The old inn
comes with a colorful past, the mystique of hidden treasure, loyal
guests who still book summer vacations there, and three surprise
residents: true spirits of the past, who didn’t cross over as expected. 

Now Hannah has her hands full, coming to terms with her unexpected status
as an innkeeper, adjusting to life in the country, fighting her
attraction to attorney Walker Jacoby, plus dealing with ghosts! 

To top it off, two fortune hunters arrive to search for the hidden
treasure, and they don’t care who stands in their way. They’ll
stoop to any means—including murder—to get their hands on the
legendary stash of gold.

Don’t miss out on the excitement, right from the beginning. Book your visit
to Hannah, Texas today!

INN THE SPIRIT OF LEGENDS Excerpt:

Humming along with the music streaming from her phone, Hannah studied the ledgers scattered in front of her. Fortunately for her, Miss Wilhelmina kept excellent documentation through the years, even though it was all done by hand. With nothing recorded electronically, Hannah had to search through each ledger, one by one. It was a slow process, but she was making progress.

She was buoyed by the totals in the margins. The Spirits of Texas Inn was, indeed, a profitable business, just as Walker reported that first day. It helped that a substantial deposit was made in late 1970, and again the following year. Smaller but still significant amounts followed for the next five years. With a healthy bank account to fall back on, the inn could afford a few lean times.

Most interesting of all was the fact that Miss Wilhelmina, like the innkeepers before her, made side notes throughout the ledgers. In many ways, the notes read like journals.

Some notes were brief and to the point: Raining. Or, Construction on the new highway.
Others gave a brief recap of guests, and events in the area. Sweet couple, here for first anniversary. Or, Trail ride and reunion for Bottoms Family. And, Lecture at library over hidden treasure. Should get their facts straight.

“Hidden treasure!” Hannah read aloud. “Knowing JoeJoe, that’s the whole reason he bid on this crazy place.” She blew away a tendril of dark hair that kept falling into her face. There was a bit of a draft in the room. “As if the man needs any more money,” she grumbled. “He just loves the thrill of the hunt.”

Despite his crazy, impulsive ways, she adored her uncle. He was the only family she had.
True, her mother was still living, but their relationship was hardly described as that of ‘family.’ They were more like polite strangers, exchanging Christmas cards and occasional texts. When was the last time she had heard from her mother in person, anyway? Sometime around husband number five, she thought. The producer who claimed he could revive her career and get her the type of leading roles she deserved. No more achy joint commercials and dowdy grandmotherly-type roles for the talented actress; she was a star, and he would help her shine. When that same husband and producer polished off her bank account a few months later, Jacqueline called her daughter. “Just to talk,” her mother claimed, but Hannah knew the drill. Her mother only called when she needed something.

Back then, Hannah was in a position to help her mother when times got rough. With no one else to spend her hard-earned money on other than herself, Hannah could afford to be generous, in more ways than one. She would graciously overlook her mother’s lack of parenting skills and send a note of encouragement after each hard-luck phone call. She always tucked a check in along with it, something to tide her mother over until her next big break came along.

Jacqueline called Hannah’s father the dreamer, but it was she who lived in a fantasy world. Life in rural East Texas never suited the voluptuous brunette. She wanted something bigger, something better, than a wildcatter husband who worked in the oil fields. Even when it meant leaving her only child behind, Jacqueline could no longer resist the lure of fame and fortune. Terrell could chase his dreams of finding oil; Jacqueline had dreams of her own, and they led her to Hollywood.

Oddly enough, both realized their dreams, at the same exact time. Duncan Drilling hit a huge vein of oil, launching them into the big time, on the very day that Jacqueline landed the roll of Rhonda in Doctors’ General, the most popular soap opera on television. With both of their careers spinning out of control, neither had time for an inquisitive little girl. Hannah bounced between the two of them like a ping-pong game that neither wanted to play. JoeJoe became the bright spot in little Hannah’s life, the only person who ever seemed to have time for her.

Her uncle was just an overgrown kid, himself. Technically, he was a partner in Duncan Drilling, a business the two brothers inherited from their father. Terrell ran the company while JoeJoe finished his education and squandered his share of the profits on things like cheap women and expensive birthday presents for his only niece. By the time Terrell died in a rig explosion, the company was almost broke. Hannah inherited her father’s share, but promptly sold it to her uncle. She wanted no part of the business, blaming it for taking her father’s life and for driving her mother away, all those years ago. One year later, her uncle was daring enough—or foolish enough—to throw in with an innovative new oilfield product coming out of Dubai. It made him an instant millionaire, several times over.

Now her uncle was a very rich overgrown kid, still buying extravagant gifts for his only niece.
Hence, here she sat, queen of her own little sad kingdom, reading over ledgers recorded in longhand.
The music began to cut in and out. Hannah picked up her phone and checked the signal. Something was playing havoc with the connection, causing interference.

Too bad, because the music kept the strange noises at bay.

A building as old and rambling as the inn made all sorts of odd and unexpected sounds. Nights were the worst, when silence settled in, broken only by the creak and groan of shifting seams and aging beams. And when Walker was away, and the house was empty save for her and Leroy, the noises came again, reminding Hannah of her isolation and her vulnerability. It was best to drown out the sounds with the radio, or Leroy’s shuddering snores, or by whatever means she could find.

Television, unfortunately, was not an option. The subscription to the satellite service had lapsed, and new equipment was required before the system could be restored. A technician wasn’t scheduled until early next week.

Curious about the mention of a hidden treasure, Hannah typed it into her phone’s search engine. The slow connection was excruciating. Deciding it was time for a break, she went upstairs to use her laptop. The inn’s computer was password protected, and until the elusive Sadie and Fred returned, there was no getting in.

Hannah was surprised to read that, according to local legend, there was a hidden treasure buried somewhere in the nearby hills. In the late eighteen seventies, notorious outlaw Sam Bass and a ragtag team of bandits perfected their robbery skills, targeting stage coaches before moving on to the more modern—and lucrative—steam-powered locomotive. Most of their hits were smalltime efforts, executed more for experience than for wealth. However, legend had it that one of the stages carried covert cargo: two huge crates of gold and silver.

The Army was transferring a sizable fortune from Fort Worth to San Antonio. The plan was to send a decoy troop of soldiers by rail, armed to the hilt but in fact guarding empty crates. While attention was drawn to the pomp and circumstance of army pageantry, the real gold traveled by stage, protected only by three undercover officers and the usual stage driver. The plan worked so well that two separate teams of bandits held up the train, fifty miles apart, and were taken into custody with minimal loss of life.

All went well until the stage neared the Hannah stop. As the vehicle neared South Grape Creek, a lone rider came up from the south and attempted to flag down the stage. Behind him, the Bass gang rode into view at the top of the hill, intent on overtaking that very same stage.

No one knew exactly what happened next. The only eyewitness left to tell the story was one of the officers, and he was in little shape to tell his tale. Best as anyone knew, fate played a cruel trick upon the men that day. When the officer grabbed his chest during the beginning stages of a heart attack, his fellow officers thought he had been shot. In the confusion, they over-reacted and assumed it was a robbery. Before Sam Bass and his gang made it down the hill and toward the crossing, two officers and the driver were dead, the third officer was mistaken as such, and the lone rider was injured. The crates spilled out on the ground, revealing their fortune.

No one knew for certain how much money was at stake. The Army refused to give details. Some denied the freight was even on the stage to begin with; a blunder such as this did not look good for their reputation. Bass and his gang, now plus one, were smart enough to keep their good fortune quiet. Right there at the creek crossing, they decided to hide the money and lay low. No need in spending a sudden unexplained fortune. When the time was right, they would return to the area and claim their booty.

Sam had success with a similar plan the year before, when he and the Collins Gang robbed a train in South Dakota and got away with sixty thousand dollars in newly minted gold. After that heist, the men broke off in pairs, each with their share of the money. The poor fools who spent their money openly were now dead, while Sam, on the other hand, still rode free.

The lone rider from the stagecoach, injured and in need of care, entrusted his share to Sam. Even a poor farm boy from Kansas had heard of the great Sam Bass. He was known as a fair outlaw, if such a thing existed. To prove his trustworthiness, Bass drew a map, gave the only copy to the injured fellow, and took him to the nearest farmhouse, which just happened to be the stage stop. They concocted a story about the fellow being on the stage and injured when an outlaw rode up and robbed them, single-handed.

It was weeks before anyone knew the real story, or parts of it, at best. The surviving officer tried to set the record straight, but his speech was weak and slurred. He had difficulty relaying the conversation he overheard that day, about a band of outlaws hiding the gold. Eventually, it was determined that the injured man recuperating in Hannah was actually the lone outlaw. Before they could take him into custody, however, he somehow managed to escape. Most believed he had an accomplice, and some thought it was the young girl from the stagecoach stop, young Lina.

According to legend, the treasure was never recovered. While the lone rider recovered from his injuries, too weak to retrieve the gold, Bass and his gang rode into Round Rock, intent on robbing the bank there. The notorious outlaw was injured in a gunfight and died. People spoke of Bass’s other hidden treasure, the money from the Dakota train robbery, but no one knew about the stagecoach heist. Not until the officer told his garbled story and the lone rider escaped in the night, never to be seen again.

Hannah read the story with a sense of mild amusement. Funny, how rumors and legends came into being. If there was ever any hidden gold to begin with, the lone rider probably took it with him when he left the country. She supposed it was more interesting, however, to imagine that it still hid somewhere in the hills, just waiting to be discovered. It was one of those stories people told their kids, in random moments when they had nothing else to talk about, or those times when they wanted to distract them and pull their minds away from current circumstances. It was something to tell visitors to the area, when there was little else to hold their attention. A fun tale to recite around a campfire, or when you ran out of ghost stories.

Hannah could definitely see her uncle falling for such a ruse, caught up in the thrill and romance of the old-west legend.

“So much for that,” she said, closing down the website with a click of her tongue. “If you ask me, legends of hidden treasure just never seem to pan out. Stories like that are for dreamers.” A wicked thought occurred to her, and she giggled aloud. “And if hell freezes over and my mother ever comes to visit, I’ll share the story with her. That might just be her best shot of getting any money out of me these days. Alas, my well—therefore, her well—runneth dry.”

As Hannah descended the stairs, her mind went back to the ledgers. She had spent the past few days studying them. Mention of hidden treasures aside, the books for the old inn boasted a healthy bottom line. If staying captive for the full thirty days meant a generous bonus for improvements and remodeling, she might very well be sitting atop a hidden treasure of a different kind. The sort that required a little imagination, a lot of hard work, and an investment of time and energy. The kind that paid off in the long run.

Was she up to the challenge? Hannah pondered the enormity of the question as her foot hit the last step. This meant making a commitment. This meant no wiggling out of the contract terms. This meant no quitting in a year, even after she earned the second bonus.

And that sound she heard meant someone was in the kitchen…

Hannah picked up the pace.

**Only .99 cents!**

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REVIEW OF INN OF THE SPIRIT OF LEGENDS

This is my first cozy by Becki Willis, but it will not be my last. Hannah Duncan has been ignored by her actress mother unless her mom needs something. The person who has always been there for her is her Uncle Joe Joe, who is now a multi-millionaire determined to share his wealth with his niece. When the small town of Hannah comes up for sale, he buys it for his niece. Hannah the woman is a city girl and the town is in the sticks. When she loses her job, she decides to see what is involved in claiming her gift. Perhaps she can check on it, sell it, and have the money to tide her over.

Nice try, but there are lists of stipulations, and handsome lawyer, Walker Jacoby, is available to fill her in to them. Hannah is appalled to learn she can’t even leave the place. Worse, the care of farm animals is involved. Hannah is so ready to be over this. Only the presence of the gorgeous lawyer restrains her from throwing in the towel.  

She learns from the inn records that a buried treasure is rumored to have been left in the small town. While she doubts the existence of such a cache, villains (some of them humorous) are at work to locate and abscond with the loot. A few ghosts liven up the story as well.

This is a fast-paced and fun paranormal cozy mystery sure to delight most readers. I certainly enjoyed reading it and am eager to read more of this author’s books.

I was given a free ARC of INN OF SPIRITS OF TEXAS for an honest and unbiased review. 

My rating for this novel is 5 of 5 stars.  

Becki Willis, best known for her popular The Sisters, Texas Mystery Series
and Forgotten Boxes, always dreamed of being an author. In November
of '13, that dream became a reality. Since that time, she has
published eleven books, won first place honors for Best Mystery
Series, Best Suspense Fiction and Best Audio Book, and has introduced
her imaginary friends to readers around the world. 

An avid history buff, Becki likes to poke around in old places and learn
about the past. Other addictions include reading, writing, junking,
unraveling a good mystery, and coffee. She loves to travel, but
believes coming home to her family and her Texas ranch is the best
part of any trip. Becki is a member of the Association of Texas
Authors, the National Association of Professional Women, and the
Brazos Writers organization. She attended Texas A&M University
and majored in Journalism.

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A SOLDIER'S ROMANCE AND A COZY MYSTERY SERIES!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

MORE THAN A SOLDIER

by
Irene Onorato

Genre: Inspirational Romance

Pub
Date: 6/6/17

Author Guest Post

By Irene Onorato

Soldiers...

I can’t help but love them. My father, brother, husband, and son all served in the U.S. Army. When I first started writing, it seemed quite natural for the heroes in my stories to be active or former military men.

MORE THAN A SOLDIER, my latest novel, features a wounded hero who was the sole survivor in an RPG attack. Despite losing an eye and the hearing in one ear, Hank Fleming maintains a positive attitude and is determined to live his life to the fullest. Now medically discharged from the Army, Hank meets Cindy Giordano, his foster brother’s biological sister, and falls hard for her.

The road to happily-ever-after is paved with plenty of potholes. For Hank, latent PTSD manifests itself in terrible dreams that make him relive the day of the explosion and mourn the deaths of the men who were killed. And for Cindy, betrayal by a former fiancé keeps her heart locked up tightly. Hank hopes he is the key that will free Cindy and allow her to love again.

MORE THAN A SOLDIER is the second book in the Veteran’s Heart series. Though a stand-alone novel, characters from A SOLDIER FINDS HIS WAY are carried over and several new ones are introduced.

So, what was my inspiration for writing about a wounded warrior with PTSD? As a child my room was next to my parent’s bedroom. Dad worked nights and slept during the day. I would often hear him cry out in his sleep, reliving the horrors of WWII. For him, sleep opened a gateway to a forever war. Lodged in the vertebra in the back of his neck he carried an inoperable piece of shrapnel. While the headaches it initially caused had disappeared over the years, the protruding lump served as a reminder of the battles he’d fought and the men he’d served beside.

MORE THAN A SOLDIER cannot erase the ongoing trauma my father lived, but it serves as a reminder to me—and hopefully others—of the sacrifice of our military. And in some small way as a tribute to my dad and the hero he was.

There’s more than one way to be a
hero . . .

Former Special Forces soldier Hank
Fleming is living a safe, quiet life in upstate New York, but there
are days he isn’t sure he’s going to make it. The sole survivor
of a devastating grenade attack in Afghanistan, he is still scarred,
physically and emotionally. He hangs on to his faith and tries to
keep moving forward, waiting for the day that something—or
someone—can make him feel whole again.

Cindy Giordano is searching too—for
her biological family and a fresh start. When her journey to find her
brother, Edward, leads to Hank’s front door, she is instantly drawn
to Hank . . . and instantly wary. With her ex-fiancé’s betrayal
still fresh in her mind, friendship is about all she can muster.

When shadows from Cindy’s past
threaten, Hank’s protective instincts shift into high gear, and he
realizes everyone has their own battles to fight. But the road to
healing would be much sweeter with the right person by his side . . .

Add
to Goodreads

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Irene Onorato was born and raised in
Bronx, New York. Her father, a first-generation American whose
parents were born in Italy, was an Army veteran who had served with
the 178th combat engineers during WWII. He told numerous stories of
battles, hardships, tragedies and triumphs. The glimpses he gave into
the hearts of many American warriors would later become the
inspiration for much of Irene’s writings.

In 1972, a few months after graduating
high school, Irene met James Onorato, a soldier who had just returned
from Vietnam. After dating two weeks, they married, raised three
children, and are still happily married today.

Irene and James, both radiation
protection technicians, retired from the nuclear power industry in
2014 and now reside in Louisiana. Readers can visit Irene’s website
at www.ireneonorato.com, and find her on Facebook.

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Chicken Scratch

The
Sisters, Texas Series Book 1

by
Becki Willis

Genre:
Cozy Mystery

Guest Post from the 

Author, Becki Willis

Five years ago, my son was married along the Brazos River, at a rustic ranch venue that was once part of a cotton plantation. The simple blacktop road out front squiggles through the river bottom, weaving past old cotton gins, through white fields ripe with cotton, tracing the graceful bends of the Brazos, and crossing over the iron tracks of a railroad.

On one side of the railroad is a hundred-plus-year old ranch, registered with the State of Texas as a historical landmark. Several interesting-looking old buildings are clustered near the railroad, reminiscent of share croppers’ shacks.

On the other side of the tracks is an old train depot, even though the nearest town is miles away. There is also an active feed mill, with its industrial silos and bins, and an entire railroad at its disposal. The cars stop on site to load/unload their burdens.

Something about the railroad sparked an idea for a story, and I could only imagine how things might have been back in the day, when cotton was king and the rails offered the ultimate source of transportation. I imagined a cotton plantation along the river, so big and so important that the railroad came to them. Before long, I had the back-story for my series. Bertram Randolph was the undisputed cotton king of the Brazos Valley, but he was saddled with two spoilt, selfish, impossible-to-deal-with daughters who constantly feuded with one another. The only way to keep peace was to ultimately give each of them their own namesake town; Juliet’s town lay to the south of the tracks, Naomi’s town to the north. Any chance of the sisters reconciling was forever lost when they both fell in love with the same man. To Juliet, Darwin Blakely gave his name; to Naomi, he gave his child. And with Darwin’s untimely death, the rivalry between the two sisters – and their respective towns – exploded.

The Sisters, Texas Mystery Series is set in the modern-day communities of Naomi and Juliet, and revolves around the citizens (all two thousand of them!) determined to keep that rivalry alive and well.

The main character is Madison Reynolds, who finds herself widowed and penniless at the ripe age of thirty-nine. With her teenage twins in tow, she moves home to live with her eighty-year-old grandmother, the patriarch of Juliet. Granny Bert is a live-wire, full of home-grown wisdom, cantankerous charm, witty sayings, and undying devotion toward her family and her home. Genesis Baker, Maddy’s best friend since childhood, has recently moved back, as well, and now owns a popular café in Naomi.

With her support team firmly in place, Maddy tackles the challenges of starting over as a single mom. To make ends meet, she starts In a Pinch, but many of her clients seem to confuse her services for those of a private investigator. No case is too small, or too quirky, for her to turn down, and she soon finds herself embroiled in a variety of unique mysteries and dangerous situations. Good thing she has Chief of Police Brash deCordova looking out for her, as well as Firefighter Cutter Montgomery and, soon, a growing number of friends and supporters.

Please join us in The Sisters, where you’ll find real-life characters, mystery, and intrigue, tossed together with a touch of romance and a dose of laughter.

CHICKEN SCRATCH
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TYV10GY

WHEN THE STARS FALL
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012BGDBKG

STIPULATIONS AND COMPLICATIONS
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FV5F6M0

HOME AGAIN: STARTING OVER
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MSKT1K8

GENNY’S BALLAD
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y5DV38Q

Named
2016 Best Mystery Series by Texas Association of Authors.

When
Madison Reynolds finds herself widowed and penniless before forty,
she does the only thing she knows to do – she packs up her teenage
twins and moves back home with her eighty-year-old grandmother. Life
in The Sisters, Texas has not changed much since she’s been gone,
but at least her best friend Genesis is there to soften the
transition back into small-town life.

To

make ends meet, Madison opens In a Pinch Temporary Services.
Her first real client is Ronny Gleason, but when she shows up for the
first day of work at the Gleason Poultry Farm, Madison makes a
gruesome discovery. The dead body she finds belongs to Mr. Gleason.
When a local man is arrested for murder, Madison takes on the job of
proving his innocence. Even though she is not a private investigator,
both mothers are desperate: Lucy Ngyen to clear her son’s name, and
Madison to pay her bills. But as she begins asking questions around
town, her interference is not welcome.

With

a daughter determined to go back to Dallas, a son settling into small
town life, a feisty grandmother who knows all the town gossip, bill
collectors calling, and now someone trying to keep her silent,
Madison has no time for re-kindling her high school crush with police
chief Brash deCordova. She has her hands full just trying to stay
alive.

If

she survives her amateur investigation, Maddy has a decision to make.
Will she go back to her life in Dallas, or will she build a new life
here in The Sisters?

**99

on Amazon!**

Goodreads
* Amazon

CHICKEN SCRATCH Excerpt:

“You were trespassing on posted property.”

“I didn’t see the sign.”

“Did you happen to notice the fence?”

Madison chose not to comment. With a determined glint in her hazel eyes, she said, “I also overheard them talking about the boss, someone obviously higher up than Ronny Gleason. And I think you’re right. I think this is an organized gambling ring.”

“I’m so glad you approve of my theory. I suppose your years of watching Matlock and CSI qualify you to offer your glowing endorsement?”

With great effort, Madison resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him.

Brash continued. “Of course, the biggest problem I have with all of this is that you were witness to illegal activity, yet failed to call it in. By failing to report it, a smart Assistance District Attorney could argue your silence makes you an accessory to crime.”

Madison had a quick comeback, along with a charming smile. “A smart Chief of Police would recognize I have valuable information to share and would never dream of pressing charges.”

She knew he was having difficulty maintaining his stoic expression. His eyes glittered with appreciation, but his voice remained gruff. “You should have reported it, Maddy. We might could have caught them in the act.”

When The Stars Fall

The
Sisters, Texas Series Book 2

Madison
Reynolds is rebuilding her life, one obstacle at a time. 

But
the building blocks aren’t standard issue: widowed at
thirty-nine…betrayed by her late husband…mother of teenaged
twins…finances in shambles…living with her eighty-year-old
grandmother…still attracted to her teenage crush Brash deCordova,
who just happens to be the Chief of Police in The Sisters…embroiled
in yet another murder mystery… How will she ever get all the blocks
assembled and stacked one upon another, in order to build a future
for herself and her children?

Madison’s
newest client at In a Pinch Temp Service is a
suspicious wife, up against a formidable foe—the lovely Caress
Ellingsworth, former soap opera queen. When the star is murdered and
Madison is eyewitness to the deed, she wonders if the shadowed person
she saw commit the crime might really be her client. Now Madison is
torn between uncovering the truth and keeping her client’s name off
the suspect list.

Caress

is not the only star in town these days. With a little help from
Granny Bert and Madison’s best friend Genesis, the popular
television show Home Again arrives, with some crazy notion about
remodeling the Big House for Maddy and her twins. The problem is,
Madison can’t afford to buy the house, much less pay to have it
renovated. No matter how tempting the offer—or how tempting the
show’s star, Nick Vilardi—Madison sees it as just another block
that will not fit.

Even

if she manages to stack the blocks in a semblance of order, even if
she climbs her way up and reaches for the sky, what happens when the
stars fall?

**FREE

on July 1-2 and July 14 **

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Stipulations and Complications

The Sisters, Texas
Series Book 3

Life
comes with stipulations.

If you want to fit into last year’s
swimsuit, you can’t eat ice cream and a Gennydoodle cookie after
every meal.

If you want to go to Heaven, you can’t raise Hell on
Saturday night and show up in the church pew on Sunday morning,
hungover and reeking of cheap perfume.

And if you want your
hundred-year-old mansion completely updated and remodeled for free,
you have to sacrifice.

Stipulations, my child.

-Granny Bert Cessna

Now

that Madison Reynolds has agreed to be part of a reality-television
home remodeling show, she barely recognizes her own life. The show is
an instant success, bringing cameras and reporters right to her
doorstep, eager to chronicle her every move in the small Texas town.

With In

a Pinch Temporary Services hovering on the thin line between
prosperity and extinction, Madison takes on another quirky case, this
one concerning a property dispute. Complications turn a simple
mission into all-out danger, and once again Madison finds herself
embroiled in an intriguing mystery.

Between

her cantankerous grandmother, a moody teenage daughter, an
ever-starving son, townspeople eager to grab their fifteen minutes of
fame at her expense, and a mother-in-law appalled by her undignified
foray into the public eye, Madison had her hands full, long before
the skeleton was discovered. Now work is interrupted at the Big
House, ghost stories abound, more secret passages have been
unearthed, and someone is trying to scare her away from her new home.

What she needs 
is another session of Brash deCordova’s unique

‘river therapy’… not to mention the kiss that eludes them with
frustrating regularity.

What she gets
 is another round of stipulations and complications.

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Home Again: Starting Over

The
Sisters, Texas Series Book 4

Named
"Best Mystery Series of 2017" by Texas Association of
Authors 

Things in The Sisters are heating up, and Madison
Reynolds is in the hot seat.

When a local woman dies in a most
unconventional way, In a Pinch takes on the quirky case and once
again, Maddy finds herself in the middle of a would-be murder
investigation. Even with the help of her grandmother and best friend
Genny, this case may be too hot to handle. 

As summer
scorches its way across Texas, drama as thick as the August humidity
rolls through the twin towns of Juliet and Naomi. Granny Bert reveals
a secret that rocks Maddy’s foundation. A celebrity designer joins
the renovation crew at the Big House, bringing twice the chaos and
twice the fans. Madison’s estranged mother-in-law convinces the
twins to spend the summer with her in Dallas. As if all of that isn’t
enough to wreak havoc in Madison’s life, Barry Redmond continues to
propagate his ridiculous grudge against her. 

Things really
start smoking when Cutter’s grandfather, rodeo legend Sticker
Pierce, returns to The Sisters and tries to rekindle a romance with
old flame Belle, aka Granny Bert. And Maddy’s latest brush with
death prompts Brash to finally make his move. 

With
renovations almost complete and the love of a good man behind her,
Maddy is ready to tell the world: I’m home again, and starting
over. 

Don’t miss Book Four in the award-winning The
Sisters, Texas Mystery Series.

**On
sale for .99 from July 1st-21^st, then $1.99 until July
28th**

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Genny's Ballad

The
Sisters, Texas Series Book 5

By
all accounts, everyone loves Genny. 

So why does someone want
her dead? 

There’s something
special about Genesis Baker, owner of The Sister’s popular New
Beginnings Café. With her dimpled smile and twinkling blue eyes,
Genny has practically the entire town eating from the palm of her
hand. But Genny is hiding a secret. Despite her sunny disposition and
golden touch, there is heartache in her past, and heartache, they
say, comes in threes. 

Heartache Number One: An
unwelcomed customer shows up at New Beginnings.
Apparently, the restraining order against him has lapsed. 

Heartache
Number Two: Genny’s arch nemesis from high school returns
to town. Twenty years has done nothing to mellow the bitter feud
between these two women. 

Heartache Number Three: As
Genny finally acknowledges her feelings for a younger man—sexy
firefighter Cutter Montgomery—memories of her first love come back
to haunt her.

On top of it all, someone is stalking Genny,
determined to make her life miserable. 

As it turns
out, being kidnapped is only the beginning of her troubles… 

Great
as a stand-alone, but Book Five of the award winning The
Sisters, Texas Mystery Series, voted Best Mystery Series by
the Texas Association of Authors, two years in a row!

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* Amazon

Becki Willis, 
best known for her popular The Sisters, Texas Mystery Series
and Forgotten Boxes, always dreamed of being an author. In November
of '13, that dream became a reality. Since that time, she has
published eleven books, won first place honors for Best Mystery
Series, Best Suspense Fiction and Best Audio Book, and has introduced
her imaginary friends to readers around the world. 

An
avid history buff, Becki likes to poke around in old places and learn
about the past. Other addictions include reading, writing, junking,
unraveling a good mystery, and coffee. She loves to travel, but
believes coming home to her family and her Texas ranch is the best
part of any trip. Becki is a member of the Association of Texas
Authors, the National Association of Professional Women, and the
Brazos Writers organization. She attended Texas A&M University
and majored in Journalism.

Website
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Sisters * Twitter
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Goodreads

Becki Willis
 is having a Christmas in July Sweestakes! Share your favorite
holiday tradition on Facebook and win Fire tablet, signed books, a
$25 Amazon gift card, ornament or ebooks! 

More details can be found
HERE!

Follow the tour HERE

for exclusive excerpts!