Jambu Shoe Review

Click here for my lateset review for Jambu Shoes.

The Curse Breaker of Cairo

The Curse Breaker of Cairo, my new paranormal romance, will soon be available on Amazon. (Both in paperback & Kindle.)

From the back cover:

There’s a curse at Club Cairene and it’s killing people. Tangerine, the renowned Freelance Curse Breaker, is in Cairo to sort it out. What at first appears to be just another routine job quickly becomes more complicated and more dangerous than even she had ever expected. Unfamiliar earth energies and shadowy characters block her every attempt to combat the curse.


And then there’s that strikingly handsome man seen leaving the club after the latest victim falls prey to the curse. Tangerine cannot understand the peculiar sensual tingling that ripples through her body when he gazes into her eyes. Curse breakers don’t have to deal with purveyors of sexual energy, do they?

With the help of Club Cairene owner Leila, Tangerine sets off through the neighborhoods of exotic Cairo to track the origins of the curse and figure out a way to disarm it. Also on her agenda is hunting down that very attractive, and possibly very evil, man.

Could the answer be found within the walls of the Cairo Museum? Or in a more pedestrian locale like a coffee shop? Where ever the solution lies, Tangerine must act quickly before the curse destroys a great deal more than just Club Cairene and the people around it.



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Release updates will be posted
Kate

Mystery Books 5 Star Review

"For me, there isn’t anything much better than combining a mystery with exotic travel.  “Murder, Jaz and Tel Aviv” by Kate McVaugh offers a fascinating story of a young single woman from the United States living in Tel Aviv."

So starts the review by Lynn Farris of Mystery Books Examiner. She goes on to say,

"I strongly recommend this book. It is fast paced and full of romance and intrigue. I really enjoyed learning more about Tel Aviv and the culture there. Reading about the difficulty that one faces not knowing the language or the culture and trying to survive is always fascinating. The book would have been wonderful even without the intriguing mystery. I am hoping that Jaz reappears in a series as she is a compelling character."

Read Lynn's full review at: http://exm.nr/pm1Njw
Follow her on twitter @MysteryReview

Thank you Lynn for the wonderful review!

Murder, Jaz, & Tel Aviv  is available from Amazon on Kindle  for $.99.

Peace Corps 50th Anniversary

On the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, I was asked to submit a story of my experiences to the Monterey Institute of International Studies where I had done a graduate degree upon my return from the PC.

I served in the Peace Corps at a time that no longer exists. In the late 70’s, there was no internet, no CNN. Telephones were not standard apartment equipment and overseas calls, made from an office at the phone company, were prohibitively expensive. If friends or family did write, it could take months for a letter to arrive. International and US news was limited to the weekly Time magazines that were delivered to the Peace Corps offices. Often they did not turn up, or had pages blacked out by the censors. For all these little things that I could now not live without, I am eternally grateful they were not around when I was a volunteer in Brazil.

Those of us who served before modern technology arrived learned what it was to be completely immersed in a new culture where almost no one spoke English. We learned the language and customs of our host nations. We forged friendships with colleagues and neighbors. We grew accustomed to the lack of supermarkets and department stores and got along perfectly well with very limited consumer goods.

Serving in Brazil meant that I became an ardent fan of The Beautiful Game: football/soccer. I learned how to samba and make Carnaval attire. I dove into the magnificent rhythms and melodies of Brazilian music which I still consider to be some of the best in the world.

Although I entered the graduate program of education at MIIS the year before an MA in TESOL became a degree program I, nevertheless, fell into that field. I have been a TESOL/TEFL educator in many countries around the world as well as in public education in California. And now, after over thirty years as an educator, I have left the profession to devote my time to writing.

I write stories about the places I have lived and the people I have met. I write fiction that takes place in foreign lands.

The Peace Corps and Brazil will always remain as an incredibly important part of my life. I came away from my time as a volunteer with much more than I ever gave. I believe that the lessons learned in relation to communication, understanding, and life in a different culture, have greatly enriched my life. Further, it sent me on an insatiable quest for knowledge of other lands and people. It is my hope that this, in some way, has helped  me to become a better person and perhaps to have been able to pass on some of what I have learned.

Kate
PCV Brazil 77-79

Jaz's Tel Aviv Tale

I'm at it again - trying to promote my mystery, Murder, Jaz, & Tel Aviv.
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Published through CreateSpace 2 years ago,  It's now been Kindle-ized and available for $.99.  It's funny, it's a quick read, and it gives you a taste of life in Tel Aviv, which is one heck of a great city.
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From the back cover:
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Ahhh…Tel Aviv in the summer: hot sun, beautiful beaches and a popping nightlife! Just the answer to Jazmine's dead-end life as an English teacher in cold and foggy San Francisco. Cousin Sara, up on the kibbutz, is thrilled to hear that Jaz has finally decided to give Israel a chance and plans for her arrival. But since kibbutz living might entail living in tents and washing her own clothes, Jaz opts to try and find work in Tel Aviv. Before long she gets her first private student and is on the road to living the life. Or at least she thought she was.
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A dead student? The mob? A cute cop? The CIA? Or is it the Mossad? Jaz finds herself in an insane world being interrogated by the police and assaulted by strangers, all of who seem to think she knows something she doesn’t, and all of it in a language she doesn’t understand even when they speak English.
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Frantic calls from Cousin Sara, faxes from the psychic aunt in California, questionable men in questionable professions …Will Jaz be able to put all the pieces together before she herself is taken apart?
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There is also a very cool book trailer which is in the right hand column of this page or on YouTube.

I would appreciate any comments, suggestions, even criticisms..
Thank you
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Kate
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(the pic is from my recent trip to Vietnam. I don't have any Tel Aviv beach pictures. More VN pics are on my travel blog. http://katerambles.blogspot.com/

Murder, Jaz, & Tel Aviv

Murder, Jaz, & Tel Aviv is now available as a Kindle edition.

Much cheaper than the print edition. Just as funny.

http://amzn.to/mQ2rQ3