Blog Tour & Giveaway: Teacup Turbulence by Linda O. Johnston

I’m so glad to have Linda here with us today to talk about her new book, Teacup Turbulence.  I adore this series and rescued animals have a special place in my heart because of my little Maddie. She was found on the side of the road with her babies and brought to an animal shelter where she wasn’t adopted for two months. We luckily found her at our local humane society the day she was transferred and it was love at first sight.  She is a wonderful kitty and I’m thankful that we have this lovely lady in our lives. Take it away, Linda.

Hi, I’m Linda O. Johnston, and I’m delighted to be blogging at Books-n-Kisses.  I’m here thanks to a really delightful book tour.  It was set up for me by Great Escapes Book Tours to help me  promote my latest Pet Rescue Mystery, TEACUP TURBULENCE, a January release from Berkley Prime Crime.

My pet rescue mysteries involve both dogs and cats–but I focus on saving dogs. Why? Because I love them! So, I’m sending more kisses in their direction as I blog here.

My own dogs definitely rank high among my writing inspirations.  I have two–or, rather, they have me.  My Cavalier King Charles Spaniels Lexie and Mystie have trained me better than I’ve trained them.

Zoey is the main dog in the Pet Rescue Mysteries.  She is–what else?–a rescue dog adopted by protagonist Lauren Vancouver, the chief administer of HotRescues, a wonderful, fictional no-kill pet shelter in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles.

Of course when I talk about “no-kill” I’m referring to pets, not people.  The Pet Rescue Mysteries are cozy mysteries, so someone is murdered in each of them.  The animals all come out of the stories fine, even if some of them get into danger now and then.

So, kisses to the dogs, both those in my stories and my own.  And kisses to Lauren for saving animals.  She does have a love interest, by the way–Matt Kingston, a captain with Los Angeles Animal Services.  Kisses, as well, to Matt.  And to Dante DeFrancisco, the wealthy benefactor of HotRescues in my stories, since he makes sure HotRescues has enough funds to take care of all the animals it saves.  Yes, it’s fiction, since most real shelters are always in need of funds.  But it’s one less worry for Lauren as she takes care of animals and solves mysteries.

What’s the underlying theme of TEACUP TURBULENCE? It centers on a very special bunch of people who pick up homeless animals from areas where their sort isn’t being adopted particularly quickly, and move them to locations where people will welcome them with open arms…and homes.  I fortunately did not make this up. A bunch of real organizations actually do this, using both private planes and cars.  Private planes are the vehicles of choice in TEACUP TURBULENCE.  And of course, since it’s a cozy mystery, there’s a murder involved that Lauren Vancouver has to solve.  My kisses to the characters in TEACUP TURBULENCE, as well as to those genuine people who do such generous work to save homeless pets.

Let me add my kisses to Books-n-Kisses for hosting me here.  I’d love to see your comments on this blog and my Pet Rescue Mysteries–and I’ll blow you a kiss if you comment!

About the Author:

Linda O. Johnston’s first published fiction appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and won the Robert L. Fish Memorial Award for Best First Mystery Short Story of the year. Since then, Linda, a former lawyer who is now a full-time writer, has published more short stories, novellas, and 35 romance and mystery novels, including Harlequin Romantic Suspense as well as the Alpha Force paranormal romance miniseries for Harlequin Nocturne.

Linda’s Pet Rescue Mysteries, a spinoff from her Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime, feature Lauren Vancouver, a determined pet rescuer who runs a no-kill shelter. In this cozy series, “no-kill” refers to pets, not people!  And watch for Linda’s Superstition Mysteries from Midnight Ink.

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Los Angeles animal shelter manager Lauren Vancouver has a soft spot for animals in need—and a keen eye for crime. . .

Thanks to a savvy ad campaign featuring teacup pups sporting HotPets Bling—a new line of faux jewelry dog collars—small dog adoptions have skyrocketed across the city. So when Lauren discovers a shelter in the Midwest with more toy dogs than it can handle, she arranges a private plane to swoop in and fly the pups back to LA.

But Lauren didn’t count on rescue worker Teresa Kantrim coming along for the ride. Teresa has cared for the dogs since they were found and doesn’t trust anyone from La-La Land to take over the job. Her biting comments clearly haven’t earned Teresa any new friends, but when she turns up murdered, it’s time for Lauren to dig into Teresa’s past and find out who wanted her put down.

Amazon/B&N

Jennifer’s Review of Teacup Turbulence

Review (5 Stars): I have loved this series from the very beginning and Teacup Turbulence is the best in the series for me. Lauren Vancouver, the administer of HotRescues, learns that a shelter in Missouri has more small dogs than they can handle at a time where L.A. residents are clamoring for these dogs as a result of a new dog collar ad campaign.  After Lauren arranges for these adorable dogs to be flown to HotRescues, she learns that a rescue worker has joined the pups and will be monitoring their treatment in L.A.  Teresa isn’t a very nice woman and seems to get in arguments with everyone that she comes into contact with, which leads to Lauren finding another dead body at the shelter.  It’s up to Lauren to find out who is to blame for Teresa’s death and everyone seems to have a reason for wanting this snarky woman dead.

Every time that I read one of Ms. Johnston’s books, I feel like I’m visiting an old friend.  I love her Pet Rescue series and I am always entertained by whatever situations Lauren seems to find herself in to investigate a new murder and protect these adorable animals. I enjoyed catching up with these characters and I loved that I couldn’t figure out the mystery before Lauren did.  Teacup Turbulence is a wonderful addition to a great series and I can’t wait to read the next Pet Rescue mystery.

Giveaway

I’m excited to give away a copy of Teacup Turbulence. This giveaway is for US Residents only.  To be entered in the drawing by Jan 10th, please leave a meaningful comment for Linda: