A Pilgrimage of Whispered Truths (Tides of Truth Book 1) A Steamy Romantic Whodunit on the Virginia Coast by M. Jayne LaDow Book Tour with Guest Post & Giveaway

 

A PILGRIMAGE OF WHISPERED 

TRUTHS 

by M. Jayne LaDow

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GENRE: Steamy Cozy Mystery

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BLURB:

She set out to solve a mystery, not to fall in love.

In 1997 Virginia Beach, some truths refuse to stay buried…

Dani Jones is used to lesson plans and late-night grading, not murder. But when a student’s uncle confronts her after class and then disappears, her world tilts. Days later, during a Chesapeake Bay cleanup, she is there when his body is found, hidden in the marsh. As the last person to see him alive, Dani is suddenly at the center of a mystery that rattles the quiet coastal town.

Enter Gavin Larkhurst, a sharp-tongued radio newsman with a protective streak. His feelings for Dani make him desperate to keep her safe—even when she refuses to stop digging. But trust is fragile when danger lurks around every corner, and someone will do anything to keep the past buried.

Equal parts mystery and romance, A Pilgrimage of Whispered Truths is a spicy whodunit about uncovering secrets, risking your heart, and the lessons that change everything.

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EXCERPT

The ocean had always been her refuge. Even now, with storm clouds bruising the horizon, Dani walked the shoreline barefoot, the wind tugging strands of hair across her face. The water hissed over the sand like something whispering secrets it could no longer keep.

She tried to quiet her mind—to let the rhythm of the waves wash away the questions still circling like gulls. But the past few days wouldn’t let her rest: Carl Rendell’s fury, the burned church, Brian’s haunted silence. Each memory rose and fell with the tide, reshaping itself into something sharper.

A flash of color caught her eye—a shard of glass half-buried near her foot. She bent to pick it up. Red, warped by heat. A fragment of stained glass.

Her breath hitched.

She turned it over in her palm, the edges cutting faintly into her skin, and for a moment she imagined the flames reflected there, licking at the sky. The wind howled, cold and certain.

Whatever she’d stumbled into, it wasn’t finished with her yet.

She slipped the shard into her pocket, the salt wind stinging her eyes, and kept walking toward the dark line of the pier, where the sea met the secrets she could no longer ignore.

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Guest Post:

Topic: Did you have a minor character who insisted on playing a larger role in the story. If so, please tell us about it. And if not, please tell me how you get the characters in your head to behave. When I began writing A Pilgrimage of Whispered Truths, I had a tidy plan. A sensible plan. A plan in which I, the author, would remain firmly in control of my characters and their behavior. Chanice and Dot Swan took one look at that plan and set it on fire. Originally, they were meant to be simple sounding boards for Dani as she navigated the case and, of course, as she stumbled into a relationship with sexy radio announcer, Gavin Larkhurst. A little supportive friendship, a sprinkle of advice, maybe the occasional nudge toward emotional honesty…that was it. That was their job. I underestimated their appetite for involvement, gossip, and the general art of showing up where they were not invited. Because by Draft Two, these two had muscled their way into scenes I never intended them to enter. Chanice went off-script and fell for Detective Marcus. This was not in the outline. Marcus was supposed to be fully dedicated to law enforcement, not flirting with my heroine's bestie. But there they were, making eyes at each other while I sat at my keyboard wondering how I'd lost control. Dot Swan grew so assertive about gathering clues that I had to add additional characters just to give her someone to talk to. I even had to change Carl Rendell's age, so she could be his teacher. That's right: Dot demanded the manuscript simply rearrange itself to accommodate her. And then we arrive at the girls' night at Rockefeller's. That entire gossip session at the bar, every sip of wine, every snarky aside, every burst of laughter exists solely because Chanice and Dot collectively declared, "We need a night out." Their banter became so unstoppable that removing the scene felt like trying to put glitter back into the bottle. By the time I finished Draft Two, I realized something important: I wasn't writing about Chanice and Dot. They were writing themselves into the story. Loudly. With enthusiasm. And possibly with a group chat I'm not privy to. Do I run this world? In theory. But in practice, I simply follow my characters around and try to keep up.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

M. Jayne LaDow is a playwright and author who leapt into writing romance after thirty-three years wrangling middle school English students. Her rom-coms and spicy cozy mysteries are inspired by her years in education, where she was regularly pied in the face, sang classroom karaoke, and dressed up like characters from novels.

She’s the author of The Marchfield Series — One Night Stands and Lesson Plans, Learning Goals and Dancing Poles, Pop Quizzes and Stolen Kisses, Tardy Pass, No Questions Asked, and the upcoming Budget Cuts and Midnight Lust — and the Tides of Truth Series, beginning with A Pilgrimage of Whispered Truth: A Steamy Cozy Mystery set in 1997 Virginia Beach.

She firmly believes every great story starts with a dash of trouble and a happily ever after. 

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GIVEAWAY

M. Jayne LaDow will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

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