There’s a new kid in town: VALONA JONES. She’s sassy and to the point. Valona Jones tells it like it is. She writes paranormal cozies, particularly The Book and Candle Shop Mysteries for Crooked Lane Publishing. Book 1 of the series, SNUFFED OUT, is tentatively scheduled for a January 2023 release. Book 2 is in the works, and there’s every hope Book 3 will be along soon thereafter. More news as it breaks… Stay tuned to be part of this exciting new adventure!

The Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for SPAWNING SUSPICION is scheduled and ready for launch!

April 13 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

April 13 – Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder – REVIEW, RECIPE

April 13 – Novels Alive – GUEST POST

April 13 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT

April 14 – Author Elena Taylor’s Blog – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 14 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

April 14 – Tea Book Blanket – SPOTLIGHT

April 15 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

April 15 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

April 16 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW

April 16 – Literary Gold – REVIEW

April 17 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

April 17 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

April 17 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

April 18 – I Read What You Write – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 18 – Cozy Up With Kathy – SPOTLIGHT

April 19 – StoreyBook Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST

April 19 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

April 20 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW

April 20 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW

April 21 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – GUEST POST

April 21 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 21 – My Journey Back The Journey Back – CHARACTER GUEST POST

April 22 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST

April 22 – Mysteries with Character – REVIEW

April 23 – BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT

I’m delighted with this unscripted live video interview from Tiffany the Beachbumbookworm. We sat down and talked and talked about cozy mysteries and so much more. I hope you have a few spare moments and can sit in on our conversation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TwI2j56fHs

Spawning Suspicion releases on Monday, Nov. 9, 2020 and its blog tour begins the following day (Nov. 10-19) with 20 whistle stops on the tour. I hope you’ll join me for interesting reveals…and the giveaway!

The book’s tour page is HERE.

 

SPAWNING SUSPICION TOUR PARTICIPANTS

November 10 – Literary Gold – CHARACTER GUEST POST

November 10 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

November 11 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

November 11 – My Journey Back – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

November 12 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

November 12 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

November 13 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

November 13 – Books to the Ceiling – SPOTLIGHT

November 14 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic -CHARACTER GUEST POST

November 14 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

November 15 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – GUEST POST

November 15 – Baroness’ Book Trove – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

November 16 – Diane Reviews Books – GUEST POST

November 16 – Thoughts in Progress – SPOTLIGHT

November 17 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW

November 17 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

November 18 – I Read What You Write – SPOTLIGHT

November 18 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

November 19 – Mysteries with Character – GUEST POST

November 19 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

Spawning Suspicion, book two of my Seafood Caper mystery series, is now available for preorder at all digital channels. It will become available for print preorders soon. Read all about this wonderful culinary cozy set on an island at https://maggietoussaint.com/spawning-suspicion

ALL DONE WITH IT TOUR –AUGUST 12-21, 2020

August 12 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, GUEST POST

August 12 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW

August 13 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

August 13 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST

August 14 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW

August 14 – Books to the Ceiling – CHARACTER GUEST POST

August 15 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

August 15 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT

August 16 – Jane Reads – CHARACTER GUEST POST

August 17 – Gimme The Scoop Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 17 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

August 18 – RUFF DRAFTS – SPOTLIGHT

August 18 – Reading Authors Network – SPOTLIGHT

August 19 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

August 20 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT

August 20 – Mysteries with Character – GUEST POST

August 21 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

August 21 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST

August 21 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

Maggie Toussaint receives international recognition
through Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award

DARIEN, GA — The 13th annual Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award recognized DREAMED IT by MAGGIE TOUSSAINT as a finalist in the 2020 competition.

This international award, based in Franklin, TN is open to any novel published the year prior to the open of the competition. Books must also be readily available to a North American audience. This year, 60 finalists were chosen in nine different categories. There will be one winner per category and an overall winner of Book of the Year. Category winners will receive a medallion and the overall winner will receive a medallion and $500 cash prize.

The 2020 competition is judged by a team comprising of book publicists, professional reviewers, award-winning authors, literary agents and editors, and other industry professionals. Winners will be announced August 22, 2020.

DREAMED IT is a PARANORMAL COZY MYSTERY.

“We appreciate you, we applaud you, and thank you for your great work. Your work raises the bar for mystery, thriller, and suspense literature,” said Clay Stafford, Founder of Killer Nashville, of the finalists.

For more information please visit www.KillerNashville.com.

August 1, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

I am delighted to share that my Great Escapes Book Tour is from April 22-May 1. I hope you’ll meet me at these destinations to learn more about my new series–and there’s a giveaway!

SEAS THE DAY TOUR PARTICIPANTS

April 22 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

April 22 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 23 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

April 23 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 24 – Jane Reads – GUEST POST

April 24 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW

April 25 – Here’s How It Happened – SPOTLIGHT

April 25 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

April 25 – Teresa Trent Author Blog – SPOTLIGHT

April 26 – Literary Gold – CHARACTER GUEST POST

April 26 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

April 27 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, GUEST POST

April 27 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW

April 28 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW 

April 28 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

April 29 – Dee-Scoveries – SPOTLIGHT

April 29 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – SPOTLIGHT

April 30 – Diane Reviews Books – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

April 30 – eBook addicts – SPOTLIGHT

May 1 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 1 – View from the Birdhouse – SPOTLIGHT

1. In Dreamed It, paranormal sleuth and crime consultant Baxley Powell juggles the pressure of two high-profile cases and expanding her limits. Traveling through the afterlife is hard enough, now she has to use her abilities to find a frightened woman. Consider putting yourself in Baxley’s shoes. If you had a certain skill for solving crimes would you become a police crime consultant? Why or why not?
2. A Native American she met on vacation, Deputy Sam Mayes, makes no secret that he wants Baxley in his life. He uses their cultural differences to his advantage, wooing her Cherokee-style. He would consider holding her to the promises she makes by accepting his gifts but there’s no need to be heavy handed. Baxley is also in love with him. Do you think a strong relationship has a place in a mystery?
3. In my early years, my dreams were so vivid upon awakening. Then came marriage and juggling kids, career, marriage, and writing. Guess what? Those vivid sleeping dreams went bye-bye. But there was a time in between where I kept a pad and pen by my bed just in case I remembered any dreams upon waking. Do you remember your nighttime dreams now? Did you ever remember them?
4. Baxley and Mayes awaken someplace different than when they went to sleep. They are wearing someone else’s clothes. Worst of all, they have no memory of where they were or what they did in the dark of the night. There’s a lot of freaking out and unhelpful figuring out. They sneak home and burn the clothes so that there’s nothing physical to link them to whatever happened. They hope. What would you do if this happened to you?
5. Baxley has a true affinity for animals. She has a veritable menagerie at her place with these dogs: Muffin, Elvis, and Maddy; and these cats, Sulay and Ziggy. Muffin is a rescued terrier, while Elvis is a therapy chihuahua. Maddy is Baxley’s daughter’s Labrador retriever and is not pictured here. Little Ziggy, a tabby, is a relatively new addition to the crew. Sulay, the Maine coon cat, is the boss of the pack. Baxley has one more pet: Oliver the ghost dog. Oliver is a Great Dane she rescued from being chained to a haunted house, and he’s incredibly loyal to her. Oliver loves pets and ear rubs, and he’s a darn good tracker too. Do you believe authors add pets to story to increase the number of characters or are you of the belief that pets are people too?
6. The woo-woo factor is a big part of this paranormal series. I have no crystal ball or eyewitness knowledge about the afterlife, but in this series I’ve shown it as something akin to a different reality. It has the attributes we’ve heard about through time, a way to go into the light for the contented souls, and all kinds of in-between places for those souls whose dark emotions, unfinished business, or otherwise detoured trap them in a hell of their own choosing. Trips to the Other Side take a toll in terms of energy and time, and Baxley is fortunate to have a team that helps her recover from her dreamwalks. Is there someone in your family, community, or a historical figure that you might choose to visit in the afterlife if you had the power?
7. My sleuth Baxley Powell is a Dreamwalker. She taps into her extrasensory abilities to learn more about a person, place, or thing in this world or the next. In reality, psychics often have one strong extrasensory skill. In the Dreamwalker Series, I take liberties so that Baxley explores a new paranormal aspect in each book. Dreamed It is book six in this series. Her skill set includes lie detection, touch readings, traveling to the spirit realm, sharing energy, being there for her ghost dog, spontaneous visions, and something new in book six. While fumbling to reach the kidnapped teen, Baxley’s consciousness gets bumped out of her mind and into another’s. If you could have any of Baxley’s paranormal abilities, which would you select and why?
8. Throughout this series Baxley’s Other World mentor has been a plus and a minus. She helps Baxley when she’s asked, but there’s always a price with Rose. She doesn’t do freebies. Consequently, Baxley now owes Rose 3 hours of her life. Dreamed It opens with a chilling scene that is believed to have been engineered by Rose, but all of Baxley’s attempts to contact her go nowhere. Bottom line: Rose is missing. Her absence unnerves Baxley. Though Rose was a pain to work with, Baxley enjoyed having backup. The serial killer and the missing teen cases in Dreamed It could use Rose’s help, but she’s not there. In our lives, friends come and go through marriage, moving, career changes, lifestyle changes, and death. Is there a particular friend you’ve lost track of that you’d dearly love to connect with again?
9. This amateur sleuth series mostly fits in the cozy genre, but there are usually scary moments when Baxley faces down the villain. With the story seed of Dreamed It being ripped from the headlines and the villain being a serial killer, this story leans slightly toward thriller. But it’s still a small town murder solved by deputies and an amateur sleuth. How do you feel about paranormal cozies? Do you like all your cozies to be traditional in style?
10. Dreamed It is the sixth book in a seven book series. Early in the series we learn that Baxley’s soldier husband was declared missing and then dead by the service several years ago. She never believed the finding because she searched for him among the dead and he wasn’t there. Over the first few books we learn more about how she operates in this limbo of not knowing. In book five, readers find out what happened to her husband, and Baxley and Mayes guide his spirit into the light. All of the steps of grieving for her husband get jumbled up but she makes it through the process, feeling much better. And now there’s a new man in her life, one that shares her talents and helps on her Dreamwalks. She wants to take that next step in their relationship but she’s afraid. All of this is given to say that Baxley’s series arc is one of self-discovery and personal growth. Do you prefer this kind of series where the character changes, or do you prefer the mysteries where the main character stays the same and the crimes and/or locations change?

Something amazing happened! CONFOUND IT won a Silver Falchion Award at Killer Nashville 2019. The field was tight, and I honestly didn’t expect to win among such stiff competition. I nearly didn’t hear my name called by category announcer Charley Pearson.

I floated up to the podium to get the award. Gosh, it was so super. Here it is nearly three weeks later, and I still get misty-eyed thinking about that beautiful moment.

So grateful for all the readers, fans, judges, and KN staffers who made this wonderful conference possible. It was a life moment for me and one I will always cherish!

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