Our Kept Hearts

A heart-warming coming-of-age debut novel where sisters learn that even motherless daughters must grow up and become women one day.

Arkansas, 1953. Nine-year-old Hazel McKay knows little girls need a mother. So, when her mother decides to leave her and her little sister, Ruthie, without any reason except she wants more, Hazel feels like her life is falling apart. With their father working out of town most days, Hazel and Ruthie are left on their own in the little house in the middle of the woods, where they find more than just animals and birds hiding in the forest.

Meanwhile, not far away, ten-year-old Joel lives with his alcoholic father. Caught in a struggle to survive his father’s volatile nature and the desire to satisfy his curiosity about the little girls that live in the house in the woods, Joel finds a world of friendship and love he never knew existed.

Together, the three encounter school dances, heartbreaks, first loves, and a world turned upside down by the threat of nuclear war. With a new beginning on the horizon, Hazel, Ruthie, and Joel find their happiness is in jeopardy when tragedy strikes, and they are forced to make a choice. Bury a secret so deep no one will ever know the truth or lose everything they hold dear.

NetGalley Reviews are in –

“What a story!”

“Can’t wait for the next book.”

“I absolutely loved this coming of age story by Tennille Marie. It was one of those beautiful stories written with so much heart and love. Her characters were so honest and real. I was totally mesmerized right from the beginning.”
Read more

The Road to Delano

“An original and deftly crafted novel that showcases the author’s … impressive flair for originality and … narrative storytelling style that keeps the reader’s total attention from cover to cover…” Midwest Book Review

A high school senior, Jack Duncan dreams of playing college baseball and leaving the political turmoil of the agricultural town of Delano behind. Ever since his father, a grape grower, died ten years earlier, he’s suspected that his mother has been hiding the truth from him about the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

With his family’s property on the verge of a tax sale, Jack drives an old combine into town to sell it. On the road, an old friend of his father shows up with evidence that Jack’s father was murdered. Armed with this new information, Jack embarks on a mission to discover the entire truth, not just about his father but the corruption endemic in the Central Valley.

When Jack’s girlfriend warns him not to do anything to jeopardize their post-graduation plans and refuses to help him, Jack turns to his best friend, Adrian, the son of a boycotting fieldworker who works closely with Cesar Chavez. The boys’ dangerous plan to rescue the Duncan family farm leaves Adrian in a catastrophic situation. Jack must step up to the plate and rescue his family and his friend before he can escape from Delano.

The Road to Delano is the path Jack and Adrian must take to find their strength, duty, and destiny.
Read more

Pulse

The body of a young man is found in a graveyard the night after a wild, drug-fuelled party. At first glance, there doesn’t appear to be anything sinister about his death, despite the shock of Detective Inspector Mark Olbeck realising that he once knew him.Detective Sergeant Kate Redman has other things to worry about, not least her ongoing affair with her superior officer Chief Inspector Anderton. But when a second body is found in suspiciously similar circumstances, Kate, Olbeck and the rest of the Abbeyford police team realise they are up against a devious killer who will stop at nothing to indulge a literal thirst for blood…Praise for Celina Grace from Amazon and Goodreads reviewers:”The gradual crescendo of action and pace remorselessly increases…””Love Kate. She is human, does not always make good choices just like us.”“At last, a mystery that delivers…I found this novel superb because I got all I needed to know and none of what I didn’t.” “…a gripping detective story but the main character engages you, and as well as wanting to know how the mystery turns out you want to learn more about her too.” “…amazing book, read it front to back in one visit, couldn`t help myself…” “…the most enjoyable Kindle book I have so far read since the ‘low cost electronic revolution’ which has been sweeping my reading habits for the last couple of years! Thoroughly recommended.” “This was my introduction to the author, and I’m so glad I discovered the book. Well-written and a real page turner.” “I was awake till the early hours to finish it !! I really enjoyed it and the characters in it so I’m pleased I also have the sequel downloaded to read at some point. I know it should be great.” “Attention to detail and great character building coupled with a mystery that keeps you guessing are all the ingredients that make me keep reading till the early hours of the morning.””Celina Grace has done it again, she compels you from page to page and chapter to chapter, a great, riveting read…” “I found it difficult to put down and was completely distracted from all the other things I should have been doing with my time.” “This is a great series that I couldn’t put down and grabbed the next book right away at 1 a.m. to keep reading.”
Read more

Sunshine State

Serial killer’s message to PI Jake Longly: Two of those seven murders I confessed to are not mine—but I won’t tell you which two

Jake Longly and Nicole Jamison are confronted with the most bizarre case yet. Serial killer Billy Wayne Baker now denies that two of his seven murders were actually his work. An anonymous benefactor, who believes Billy Wayne’s denials, has hired Longly Investigations to prove Billy Wayne right. Billy Wayne had confessed to all seven. Not only did the confessed serial killer have the motive, means, and opportunity for murder, but his DNA was found at each crime scene. Bizarre doesn’t quite cover it.

Jake and Nicole travel to the small Gulf Coast town of Pine Key, Florida, where three of the murders occurred. The local police, FBI, state prosecutor, and crime lab each did their jobs, uncovered overwhelming evidence of Billy Wayne’s guilt—and even extracted a full confession. Is Billy Wayne simply trying to tweak the system to garner another fifteen minutes of fame? It’s likely all a game to him, but, if he’s being truthful—someone out there is getting away with multiple murders. How? Why? And most importantly, who?

Dark clouds loom in the Sunshine State.

Perfect for fans of Carl Hiaasen and Janet Evanovich

While all of the novels in the Jake Longly Thriller Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is:

Deep Six

A-List

Sunshine State

Rigged

The OC (coming October 2021)
Read more

Murder Comes by Mail

A Cozy Mystery Complete with a Small Town Full of Charming, Quirky Characters

Deputy Sheriff Michael Keane doesn’t particularly enjoy being touted as the hero of Hidden Springs after pulling a suicidal man back from the edge of the Eagle River bridge in front of dozens of witnesses–a few of whom caught the breathtaking moments with their cameras. But the media hype doesn’t last long as a new story pushes its way into the public consciousness of Hidden Springs’ concerned citizens.

Photos of a dead girl arrive in the mail, and Michael becomes convinced she was murdered by the man he saved. With a killer one step ahead, things in Hidden Springs begin to unravel. Now Michael must protect the people he loves–because the killer could be targeting one of them next.

Readers will love racing along with Deputy Sheriff Keane as the clock ticks in this page-turning mystery.