Barbara Ellen Brink

Barbara's Thin Line Between Truth & Fiction

new release

Come and get it! Potluck Fiction

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The proof is in the smiles! Early beta readers are hooked on Potluck Fiction!

photo by samson katt at Pexels

Available now at all online bookstores!

My newest book is a collection of wholly entertaining short stories. You could call it comfort food for the soul. I like to call it feel-good fiction because it won’t leave you wondering, what the heck did I just read…? You know the sensation when you bite into a handful of peanuts and one of them is rotten, and you can’t get that taste out of your mouth? Don’t worry. There’s none of that.

Much like a church potluck, you will find a variety of story flavors: suspense, historical, romance, literary, young adult, and inspirational. For dessert lovers, I’ve added plenty of sweet, humorous selections to tickle your funny bone. You can read one a day like a special treat, or binge read them all in one sitting.

Potluck Fiction is somewhere between French cuisine and redneck roadkill stew. It may not win The National Book Award, but it will definitely satisfy those pangs of reading hunger while you wait in a paper gown for the doctor to show up, or ride the bus to work, or sit by the pool, or ignore your kids, or while you should be making dinner.

Download your copy now and don’t be left sitting in that cold waiting room without a savory story to fill your wasted minutes.

Thanks for stopping by! Don’t forget to leave a comment and say hello. Have you read Potluck Fiction yet? If so, what was your favorite story?

Barbara

Barbara is the author of The Fredrickson Winery Novels, the Double Barrel Mysteries, the Second Chances series, and more. She lives in Minnesota because she can’t afford Hawaii.
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Life and death and the Port in between

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A Man Can Die but Once is the newest release in my Double Barrel Mysteries series. After three years, local P.I.s Blake and Shelby Gunner have settled into small town life like cream cheese on a toasted bagel. Shelby is ready to give birth to their first child any second now and the biggest homicide case Port Scuttlebutt has ever known has been unceremoniously dropped into their lap. This murder hits way too close to home.

Tiny Port Scuttlebutt has had more than its fair share of murders and mysteries. Set on the banks of Lake Superior, this quiet little port is brimming with quirky characters, secrets, and the potential for many, many more stories.

If you haven’t read any of them yet, I suggest you start with the first, Roadkill. Blake and Shelby Gunner are a young married couple from Minneapolis who move back to Blake’s hometown in the Upper Peninsula after a serious shooting injury puts him on indefinite desk duty.

But once a detective, always a detective. Blake can’t just let a local hit-and-run go unexplained. He needs to find answers for himself and the town. Shelby is all in. She’s a dinner theatre actress who speaks Shakespeare as a second language and loves the challenge of playing Blake’s partner and acting like an investigator. But even with closure in their first case, the Gunners decide to stay in Port Scuttlebutt and open their own P.I. office. Hence the name, Double Barrel Investigations.

Each book is a separate case and mystery, but along the way you learn more about Blake and Shelby, their friends, the townsfolk, and the secrets that have been the bedrock of Port Scuttlebutt for far too long.

If you like a good mystery but don’t particularly care for rough language or graphically depicted sex, violence, or murder scenes, the Double Barrel Mysteries are the books for you. There is always an intriguing and suspenseful mystery/murder, tasteful/sweet romance, and a touch of humor.

So, hop on the mystery bandwagon and pick up a copy today! Here is my author page at Draft2Digital where you can find links to all online stores.

Leave a comment and let me know which Double Barrel Mystery you’ve enjoyed the most so far! And if you haven’t yet, please leave a short review at the online store you shop from. That helps independent authors like myself be found by other readers. Thanks much!

Barbara

Happy Reading!

Barbara is the author of The Fredrickson Winery Novels, the Double Barrel Mysteries, the Second Chances series, and more. She lives in Minnesota because she can’t afford Hawaii.

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Fall… into Winter

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The slippery slide into winter was a headfirst bungie jump this year. I know, technically we aren’t really in winter yet. But according to the temperature, the snowfall, and my scientific analysis from my back window, we are DEEP in it.

The squirrels are still frisky, running about and stealing seed from the birdfeeders. They already broke two of the feeders and knocked one of my solar garden lights off the deck in their frolicking, last ditch effort to enjoy freedom outside the nest.

I have been writing and editing like a fiend, so I think I either missed most of autumn or it missed us. Either way, the global warming trend is definitely over, if it actually ever began. From my personal northern perch, I ain’t seen nothing yet!

Talking heads on cable channel Opinioncasts have been saying we only have approximately twelve years left to live on planet earth before we destroy it by refusing to recycle our protective tinfoil hats or give up our cars in favor of walking everywhere like they do in third world countries.

Twelve years seems very generous to me, given that winter takes up the majority of the year in Minnesota. I don’t think I can take anymore. Slightly editing the lines of character Michael Fitzsimmons from Peggy Sue Got Married, I’m screaming, “I’m going to check out of this winter motel, push myself from the dinner table and say, No more snow for me, Mom!”

My granddaughter enjoying early winter with childlike joy

Now that I’ve had my rant against another way-too-early winter, I have to admit it has been a beautiful week for photos. Hope you enjoy the lovely pictures of our super-fast changing of the seasons. Don’t forget to hop over to your favorite ebook store and PreOrder the new Double Barrel Mystery!

Special Announcement: You can now PreOrder > A Man Can Die But Once

Available for PreOrder NOW! Official release date: December 1st, 2020
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Christmas is coming to Port Scuttlebutt!

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My newest venture in writing is a Christmas novella. This is a holiday addition to the Double Barrel Mysteries. It will be available December 20th 2018! But you can PreOrder it now> CLICK HERE

CHRISTMAS IN PORT SCUTTLEBUTT 

Set two nights before Christmas…

The Gunners and the whole town of Port Scuttlebutt are celebrating the debut of Shelby Gunner’s original Christmas play at the opening of the brand-new Port Playhouse.

Snow is falling, the temperature is dropping, and someone has left a baby outside Shelby’s dressing room door at the end of the night.

A young woman and her newborn are missing, and a suicidal man, found unconscious, may be the only one who can find them before it’s too late.

Problem is… he wished that he had never been born.

~~~

*To get started on the Double Barrel Mysteries, this Thanksgiving week the 1st book in the series, ROADKILL is on sale for just .99¢!

**Don’t forget to pick up your copy of the newest Second Chances novel, TRIAL BY FIRE, as well. Holidays are the perfect time to settle down and read a good book.

Thanks for stopping! Leave a comment and share your favorite Christmas book or movie for a chance to win a free copy of Christmas in Port Scuttlebutt!

Barbara

Barbara is the author of a baker’s dozen novels, the wife of one faithful, supportive husband, the walker of one spoiled dog, the mother of two grown children, grandmother to one sweet baby girl, the rider of one awesome Ducati motorcycle, and a saved by grace child of God.
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Celebrate! TRIAL BY FIRE has been released!

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Today’s the day! TRIAL BY FIRE’s official release day!

Run, don’t walk to buy your #kindle copy of book three in the Second Chances series here, TRIAL BY FIRE! (also available in paperback HERE )

Ivy and Brenna have gone through some rough times in the past, but now they both have so much more to lose. With Lionel and Ace seeking to exact revenge on the two of them and anybody they love, they must find a way to keep their families protected while staying one step ahead of their pursuers.

~If you haven’t yet read the first two Second Chances books, RUNNING HOME and ALIAS RAVEN BLACK, you better pick up your copies of those first.

The Second Chances series is inspirational romantic suspense with kick!

Check out the blurbs below:

RUNNING HOME

Ivy’s husband has always been a cheat and a liar, but when he gets caught up in a game of espionage he flees the country with his latest bimbo, and Ivy has finally had enough. She packs up the kids and moves back to her hometown to escape the fallout. Trouble is – her problems don’t stay behind in California, but follow her all the way to Omaha, Nebraska.

The FBI is tracking her every move, hoping she’ll lead them to her fugitive husband, while evil men threaten her family’s safety if she doesn’t give them what they want.

Agent Samson Sinclair is assigned to keep an eye on Ivy. He is her only ally against threats and suspicions that come from every side. But can he keep their relationship professional when he finds himself falling for the woman he’s supposed to be protecting?

Ivy’s attempt to assemble the broken pieces of her life may prove harder than she anticipated. Especially on her own. When the past intrudes on the present Ivy is forced to deal with why she ran from God in the first place and whether faith, once lost, can ever really be found again.

ALIAS RAVEN BLACK

Brenna has lived most of her life just left of the right side of the law. While on vacation at a secluded ski resort, her past finally catches up with her. Her father, who she hasn’t seen since she ran away at sixteen, suddenly wants to reconcile.
Before she can make sense of that overture, the FBI whisk her off to Minneapolis. In exchange for a clean slate, she is recruited to work as a mole in the home of known mobster and suspected drug lord, Anthony Giordano. Under the alias, Raven Black, she becomes nanny to Giordano’s children.
Brenna’s hands are full just learning to mother two spoiled kids, while her main objective, finding information that would put their father away for life, remains elusively out of reach.
Will the secrets she discovers bring absolution from the past she’s tried so hard to leave behind or simply tear her heart in two?

Thanks for stopping! I hope you enjoy TRIAL BY FIRE. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Have you read the other two? What character in this series is your favorite? Are you excited to find out what has happened to Ivy and Brenna since they last met?

~Barbara

Barbara is an award winning author, wife, mom, and now grandmother to a beautiful little baby girl. She enjoys weekend motorcycle trips, spending time with family and friends, and catching up on all the books and movies she misses when she’s busy writing.

 

 

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MIDSUMMER MADNESS & Double Barrel deals!

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This week the 3rd book in my Double Barrel Mysteries released worldwide. MIDSUMMER MADNESS continues Blake and Shelby Gunner’s story as part-time private eyes and co-owners in the Drunken Sailor Bed & Breakfast.

There is a lot going on in Port Scuttlebutt these days. Double Barrel Investigations is up and running, and Shelby’s dream to direct community theatre is closer than ever as the Port Playhouse is nearly complete, but a life-changing curveball throws both Blake and Shelby for a loop. Add to that the body of a man washed up on the bank of Lake Superior and you’ve got an unforgettable summer!

Pick up a copy today! MIDSUMMER MADNESS

To celebrate the new release, I have discounted the first two books in the series as well. This month you can pick up ROADKILL and MUCH ADO ABOUT MURDER for 40% off the regular price. Just $2.99 each!

While all the crazy people go shopping at the mall, you can relax in your easy chair with a cup of coffee, a piece of pie, and a good book. That’s where I’ll be.

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving, and holiday season!

Thanks for stopping by! Leave a comment and say hi!

Barbara

Barbara is the author of the Fredrickson Winery Novels, the Grace Award winning thriller, Split Sense, The Second Chances series, The Amish Bloodsuckers Trilogy, and The Double Barrel Mysteries. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and pup.

 

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