Sparkle's Latest News

Aug, 28: Desperate Housedogs International!

How fun is this? Desperate Housedogs, the first book in our Pampered Pets mystery series, is being offered at the special price of 0.99 (just until 8/28) in the U.K., Canada, Australia, and India.  Check out the options here: Desperate Housedogs Promo

Sparkle says, “Check out this special offer!”

Mar, 08: We’re ready for spring!

How about you? We’ve had a relatively mild winter here in the midwest but we’re still ready for warmer weather and spring flowers. 

We’ve updated our Appearances page so be sure to take a look at where we’re going to be. We’d love to see you in person at any of those events!

We’re currently at work on Books 9 and 10 in the Pampered Pets Mystery series so watch for news on those releases. We’ll let you know as soon as have release dates. 

And if you want to get notified of release dates or when there are specials on the books, just sign up for our mailing list –  Get Updates – that way you won’t miss out!

Dec, 05: Desperate Housedogs Special

Just in time for the holiday season! We’re excited to share Desperate Housedogs is on sale for $1.99 in all ebook formats until December 15th.

If you haven’t read the book that starts the series or if you’d like to gift a friend with the ebook for Christmas, here’s your chance!

We hope the joy and magic of this holiday season stays with you and your family!

Happy reading!

Anita and Mary Lee

aka Sparkle Abbey

Oct, 23: Fall 2016 – Where did summer go?

St. Pete Beach

We don’t know about you but we had a very busy summer. It seemed like it went by in a whoosh! We ended the summer with a wonderful writers’ conference in Florida and now we’re busy working on the next two Sparkle Abbey books. Books 9 & 10 (currently untitled) will be out in 2017.

If you’d like to make sure you are always up-to-date on Sparkle Abbey releases, contests, and special offers, be sure to sign up for our mailing list in the Get Updates box here: Updates  We promise to never share your email address and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Jul, 07: More Summer Appearances

July 9th – Beaverdale Books 10th Anniversary Celebration – Des Moines, Iowa – Noon

July 16th – Meet the Author – Boone County Historical Society – Columbia, Missouri – 10:30 AM

July 18th – Art & Humor – Artisan Gallery 218 – West Des Moines, Iowa, Valley Junction – 6:00 PM

August 13th – Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival – Suffolk, Virginia – 10:00 AM

May, 31: Sparkle Abbey on the Road

Sparkle Abbey has a busy spring and summer planned and would love to see you in person at one of these events!

April 9 – Ankeny Authors Fair – Ankeny, IA – 9:00 AM

April 29-May 1 – Malice Domestic – Bethesda, MD

May 7  – Treats on a Leash – Ames, IA – 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

May 13 – Beaverdale Books – Des Moines, IA – 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

May 21 – Urbandale Public Library – Urbandale, IA – 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

June 11 & 12 – Printer’s Row – Chicago, IL – 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM

June 18 & 19 – Wonder of Words – Des Moines, IA – 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM

July 16 – Boone County Historical Society – Columbia, MO – 10:30 AM

August 13 – Suffolk Mystery Festival – Suffolk, VA

Mar, 03: We’ve got news X 2!

We’re excited to share that Book 8: Raiders of the Lost Bark will be out soon! The book will be out the end of March, but is currently available for pre-order on Amazon and Google sites and should soon be available on all the others. 

And to celebrate the launch of Book 8, our publisher is offering a special deal on Book 1: Desperate Housedogs. For a limited time, March 6-12, the book that started the Pampered Pet mystery series will be on sale at Amazon for only 99 cents!

Dec, 23: Looking for a holiday treat? Here’s one that’s calorie free!

If you’re looking for a holiday treat for yourself or a stocking stuffer for the reader on your list, Desperate Housedogs, the first book in our Pampered Pets series is only $1.99 until December 31st. 

The special is on Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, and Kobo. 

Also for all of our UK readers,  it appears that the special pricing applies to Amazon UK as well. 

Nov, 27: Beaverdale Books Indie’s First

Sparkle Abbey Bookseller for a Day at Beaverdale Books 1:00 – 2:00 PM

Saturday, November 28th Sparkle Abbey will be among several Iowa authors who will support independent bookstores by working as booksellers at local indie, Beaverdale Books.

Indies First is a program of the American Booksellers Association (www.bookweb.org) and is a national campaign of activities and events in support of independent bookstores, first envisioned by author Sherman Alexie in 2013. It kicks off each November, on Small Business Saturday (November 28, 2015), when independent bookstores host authors as honorary booksellers throughout the day to help sell and sign books, share recommendations, give readings, and more.

Cheryl Strayed, the bestselling author of Wild, Tiny Beautiful Things, Torch, and the forthcoming Brave Enough, is the 2015 official spokesperson for Indies First. Other authors who have spearheaded the campaign include Kate DiCamillo, Neil Gaiman, and Amanda Palmer. In 2014 Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) began Upstream, a bookstore-author partnership that connects authors with their local independent booksellers to offer signed books.

More information about the event and the schedule of authors is available via Beaverdale Books website:www.beaverdalebooks.com or by emailing: info@beaverdalebooks.com or calling 515-279-5400

Sep, 30: Fall Has Arrived!

Here in the Midwest, Fall has arrived in all it’s glorious color, Raiders of the Lost Bark (Book 8) has been turned in and we’ve been busy doing author appearances for the most recent book, Downton Tabby (Book 7).

We had a wonderful time in Suffolk, VA at the Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival. Check out some of these newspaper articles about the event. It was a superbly organized event and was a great chance to meet new readers, and to hang out with some fabulous authors. You can read more about it (and see more pictures) here: Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival

We also had a great time at one of our favorite pet stores, Treats on a Leash in Ames, Iowa. It’s such a fun store and, of course, there’s the added bonus that we get to play with the pets who come in.

Next up, we’ll be at Beaverdale Books in Des Moines, Iowa for tea & scones and a book signing for Downton Tabby. It’s a #BuyLocal #ReadLocal event with a drawing for a basket full of treasures from local Beaverdale merchants.

We hope to see you in person sometime soon! Or if we can’t see you in person, we hope to see you on Facebook or Twitter.

Happy Fall!