.@melissa_keir Liza O'Connor drops by and talks about the Mob! #review

According to Iowa DNR (no, that doesn’t stand for Do Not Resuscitate.  It stands for Dept. of Natural Resources.) there are NO BEARs in Iowa. Okay, there may be two at any time who have wandered in from other states. But that doesn’t make them Iowan bears.  So if you shoot one, you are shooting something that doesn’t exist, so there is no harm no foul. Something that does not exist does not get protected.

But if you see one our non-existent bears, it will be a lone male who has wandered in from another state looking for food and an obliging female. Since there are no females here, he will leave in a few days.

Unless you shoot said non-existent bear. Which you may.

Actual sightings of Non-existent bears in Iowa:
IOWA BEARS: https://youtu.be/DPLbNZ8vQBs

A 100-200 pound bear was spotted in Dubuque.

Another bear was sighted in Mt. Carmel, Iowa
 (BTW, there are no mountains in Iowa either)
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A Black bear with two cubs was seen in Wadena Iowa.
(Remember there is no evidence of females or breeding going on in Iowa.)

Picture taken of non-existent mother & cubs in Iowa

Bear killed on highway near Jesup Iowa. 150 lbs.      
 
A very boring video (by a cop) catches 1-2 yr old cub crossing the road. The poor cub almost gets hit which is pretty hard to do given there are only two vehicles on the road. Seriously, pay attention to how empty this road is and how close the little bear came to being hit.
https://youtu.be/MRRacm41Ji4

In my story, there’s a 600 pound black bear named Grumpy who lives in the Iowa forest that Meg just bought. And yes, black bears can live for 30 years and weigh up to 600 pounds. My dog, Jess, and I have met a giant old black bear on three different occasions. He was benign on two occasions, but once he stood up when I inadvertently woke him up from his nap on a boulder, and while he seemed mostly confused, he was less than eight feet away and considerably taller than me, so I apologized and slowly walked backwards. And for once, Jess did not bark at him. We just quietly eased away.

Blurb
Megan Clarke had a good life until she wins the Mega Times Lottery and discovers the prize comes with a curse. Worse than the many money-hungry suitors, a serial killer has her in his sight. She changes her name and moves to Iowa with plans to buy their last major forest of white oaks and turn it into a State Park. Unfortunately, the Lottery Curse doesn't stop at state lines and someone there wants her dead, as well. Good thing a disturbingly handsome law officer is just as determined to keep her alive.

 Excerpt
The cries of a large variety of birds filled the air in the meadow. “What types of animals live here?”
Tess tilted her head. “We’ve got the usual suspects—raccoon, deer, otters, and mink. Up in the hills, I’ve seen the prints of a mountain lion. It may have been passing through, or it may have decided to make this home. I always look for signs of it when I hike, but mountain lions are extremely cautious of humans and normally keep their distance.
“How about bears?” Meg asked.
“According to Wildlife officials, there are no bears in Iowa.”
“None?” she challenged, remembering Andy telling her about a bear.
Helen snorted. “We’ve got one giant bear in my woods. Must have come down from Minnesota.”
Helen picked up a stick and threw it off the path. “Bears and mountain lions aren’t legally recognized in Iowa, so they have no protection from hunters. I’ve plastered these woods with no hunting warnings, but they show up here anyway. Not much I can do to stop them.”

BUY LINK
A Fortune to Die For
The White Oak-Mafia Series
AMAZON
 
Free with Kindle Unlimited
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About Liza
Liza O’Connor was raised badly by feral cats, left the South/Midwest and wandered off to find nicer people on the east coast. There she worked for the meanest man on Wall Street, while her psychotic husband tried to kill her three times. (So much for finding nicer people.) Then one day she declared enough, got a better job, divorced her husband, and fell in love with her new life where people behaved nicely. But all those bad behaviors has given her lots of fodder for her humorous books. Please buy these books, because otherwise, she’ll become grumpy and write troubled novels instead. They will likely traumatize you.
You have been warned.
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Mostly humorous books by Liza:
Ghost Lover--Two British brothers fall in love with the same young woman. Ancestral ghost is called in to fix the situation. And there’s a ghost cat that roams about the book as well. (Humorous Contemporary Romance)
Saving Casey— Cass wakes up in the body of a troubled teen who has burned every bridge imaginable. Her only choice is to turn this life around, but that’s much harder than she ever imagined.
Untamed & Unabashed--The youngest of the Bennet sisters, Lydia, tells her story. A faithful spinoff from Pride & Prejudice.

A Long Road to Love Series: (Humorous Contemporary odd Romance)
Worst Week Ever — Laugh out loud week of disasters of Epic proportions.
Oh Stupid Heart — The heart wants what it wants, even if it’s impossible.
Coming to Reason — There is a breaking point when even a saint comes to reason.
Climbing out of Hell — The reconstruction of a terrible man into a great one.
The Hardest Love — Is to love oneself. Sam’s story.

The Adventures of Xavier & Vic Sleuth series: (Late Victorian/Mystery/Romance)
The Troublesome Apprentice — The greatest sleuth in Victorian England hires a young man who turns out to be a young woman.
The Missing Partner — Opps! The greatest sleuth in Victorian England goes missing, leaving Vic to rescue him, a suffragette, and about 100 servants. Not to mention an eviscerating cat. Yes, let’s not mention the cat.
A Right to Love — A romantic detour for Jacko. Want to see how amply rewarded Jacko was when he & Vic save an old woman from Bedlam?
The Mesmerist — The Mesmerist can control people from afar and make them murder for her. Worse yet, Xavier Thorn has fallen under her spell.
Well Kept Secrets — The problems with secrets is that they always come to light, no matter how you wish to silence them.
Pack of Trouble — Changes are a part of life, but these changes almost kill Vic.
The Darkest Days — Muddled cases make Vic very grumpy.
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT
LIZA O'CONNOR
Investigate these sites:
Liza's Blog and Website   Facebook   Twitter
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Review:
You would think that winning the lottery would solve any person's problems, but it only causes more problems for Megan Clarke. Now people are trying to kill her and she's not sure who she can trust. 

First you think that money would make you happy but it doesn't. Ms. O'Connor's stories always feature a happy ending though, so I wasn't worried...although I was pretty nervous for Megan many times. And Megan is entirely very likable, no one would wish death on such a nice person who sets out to find a way to rid herself of the cursed money before it kills her. 

If you like your books with mystery, suspense, humor and genuinely nice characters who only want to help others... this is a great read. You will not be able to put it down (I couldn't). And as always with a Ms. O'Connor book, I learned a few things along the way... it didn't keep me from playing the big lottery contest but I now know about the curse and how to get rid of it.

Go on.... buy it!! You'll love it!!
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