Sara M. Barton's Blog

Cat Ballentine, Scarlet Wilson, Deputy Gabby Grimm, Henry Hartman, and all of the other memorable characters and tales created by Author Sara M. Barton, AKA S. M. Barton, have a new home!

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Books by S. M. Barton

Want a preview of my newest spy thriller? You can take a look at this book trailer!



Best of all, this gripping tale, the first in an exciting new series, is FREE. Coming soon..."The Devil in Belize"!

This one's for the girls....and the guys who make the sacrifices and serve on the front lines in the war on terror....

HOT OFF THE PRESSES! THE DEVIL IN JALALABAD is the first book in the new Cat Ballentine Spy Thriller series! And right now, it's FREE as an eBook!

A gripping, suspenseful thriller that will keep you guessing till the end!....When CIA officer Catherine Ballentine was taken captive in Afghanistan, she endured horrific treatment for months at the hands of an Islamic State terrorist, Walid, but she never gave up on the mission. When the Afghan women and children she was working with were massacred, Cat escaped and brought the answers back with her. There's only one problem. She doesn't realize just how dangerous those high-stakes secrets are!

Extracted from that nightmare by a Navy SEAL team, she is sent to Dubrovnik for debriefing. Shortly after a series of interviews, three CIA officers go missing, apparent victims of yet another massacre. Why is Cat the only survivor yet again? Was Cat turned by Walid or is she being set up?

The CIA needs to know, so Cat is sent to Dr. Mark Hudsucker, an agency psychiatrist. When the shrink she calls Dr. Head Sucker insists on portraying Walid as a product of his unfortunate environment, Cat insists on giving him a blow-by-blow account of the devastating trauma she and the others endured at the Islamic State terrorist's hands. Is she so psychologically damaged that she's gone off the deep end or did Cat find a rat at the CIA?

As her world disintegrates, Cat meets an unlikely cohort. Navy SEAL Lorenzo Rossi is angry about what happened to his buddies who risked their lives that night to save her. That mission quickly went wrong and the SEAL team suffered heavy losses. Renny is determined to find answers about the events that unfolded in Jalalabad, especially when he realizes someone is trying to push Cat Ballentine into his life. But the untrusting female spy is tight-lipped and terrified.

Renny suspects someone has given them a MacGuffin, deliberately leading them on a wild goose chase for some nefarious purpose. Cat, feeling more than a little paranoid, thinks someone has deliberately set her up as the fall girl to cover up the events of that Jalalabad mess.

This wily pair of heroes is pushed to the edge as they follow the trail from Miami to Key West and from Key West to the Bahamas. By the time they get to the Virgin Islands, all hell has broken loose. It's a conspiracy conceived by a devil, fueled by an unspeakable evil that puts CIA personnel in grave danger. The electrifying climax will leave you breathless.


Search Terms: woman protagonist, CIA fiction, espionage, war on terror, terrorism

Available as a digital book through Draft2Digital. Use this universal link to find it at your favorite digital retailer: Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo Books, Playster, Scribd, Tolino....
THE DEVIL IN JALALABAD
Also available as a paperback!

If you haven't yet met "Marigold Flowers", the beleaguered wedding planner targeted by contracted killers, you can read the first book in the series for free!

International intrigue, terror on the run, this series is a hybrid mix of mystery and thriller, very definitely on the cozy side.

That's right, readers. Miz Scarlet, amateur sleuth, is coming to a digital retailer near you on April 19th. Get your sneak peek with this book trailer:

Here's the Scarlet Wilson Mystery Series Book Trailer:

Crime thriller, spy thriller! Peace couldn't get underway in Northern Ireland until Paddy O'Hurley was stopped!

"The Weeping Priest" by S. M. Barton has a book trailer. Check it out:


 You can grab your copy here:

AMAZON
All other digital retailers

“I am not the priest who hears that beast’s confession. He knows better than to mess with me. When Pádraig O’Hurley deliberately chose to unleash his unsavory soul upon the likes of Father James, I decided enough is enough. I made a point of being around the vestry whenever Pádraig showed up, so that I might overhear the conversations between them. I made notes afterward. I want him stopped; of that you can be assured. I just don’t want him to know that it’s me giving him up. One can only imagine the horrors that he would make me suffer if he knew.”

 From "The Weeping Priest", a new thriller by S. M. Barton

KINDLE AND EPUB RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 23, 2017


Mobster...murderer...IRA terrorist....Paddy O’Hurley ruled with an iron fist and no one was safe!

At the height of the Troubles, Irish-American crime boss Pádraig O’Hurley amassed a fortune protecting drug traffickers and smugglers in New England. No one did business without his permission. Nicknamed the Taxman, he insisted on a cut from every deal that went on. And if he caught anyone cheating him, he used torture to deliver a message. Nobody messed with Paddy O’Hurley!

But when he began to seek missile technology for the IRA, he became a serious national security threat. His Irish American contacts in law enforcement were willing to look the other way as the Taxman’s ambitions grew. FBI Special Agent Mike Cox understood just how dangerous O’Hurley was, and as he began the Herculean effort to bring down this vicious monster, he disappeared. He wasn’t the only FBI agent to lose his life, thanks to the mobster. As the body count grew, the FBI Special Investigations team in Washington took a closer look.

And that’s when agents learned that Paddy O’Hurley was tormenting priests, coercing them into compliance with his crime syndicate. When Father James, a man of conscience, refused to bend to Paddy O’Hurley’s will, hitman after hitman was deployed to murder the priest. Why? He knew too much.

Enter Neil Cox, a Navy SEAL and son of missing FBI Agent Mike Cox. Determined to find his father’s remains and bring them home for burial, the determined young man worked with the FBI Special Investigations team and the CIA. The plan? Separate Pádraig O’Hurley from the IRA terrorists, so that peace negotiations could begin in earnest in Northern Ireland and the IRA would stand down. Then, and only then, could investigators crush O’Hurley’s frightening hold on the local population and find the lost souls victimized by the sadistic megalomaniac publicly lauded as a modern day Robin Hood.

Luckily the CIA had a couple of aces up its sleeve overseas. Rand Morgan, a seasoned veteran, agreed to shadow Father James on his pilgrimage through Italy, in hopes of uncovering information that could be used to stop O’Hurley. But Morgan’s mission took a desperate turn at the Sanctuary di Oropa, forcing him to flee in the middle of the night with Father James and another priest. Who would survive this perilous battle of wills?

Purchase your copy today!

EPUB version of THE WEEPING PRIEST

Kindle version of THE WEEPING PRIEST

This book is also available as a paperback!

 Here are the Boxed Set specials I am giving away in July:


 

July 14, July 21 only!

Meet feisty, funny Scarlet Wilson, the innkeeper who just can't resist sticking her nose into trouble. With the help of her high school heartthrob, Kenny "Captain Peacock" Tolliver, brother Bur "Colonel Grey Poupon" Wilson, and the infamous "Googins Girls", our heroine tries to solve the case before some very savvy homicide cops can get it done. Miz Scarlet Saves the Day Boxed Set is free!
 Miz Scarlet Saves the Day Kindle Boxed Set   July 15, July 21, and July 28 only! Formerly in the WitSec program, Marigold Flowers (not her real name) finds she's on somebody's hit list when contract killers keep trying to murder her in a multi-state chase. When Jefferson Cornwall, thriller writer and TV producer takes on the task of protecting her, it's one disaster after another. Can they ever sort out this mess? Reluctant Witness Boxed Set is free! Reluctant Witness Kindle Boxed Set
 




July 28 only!

Meet the only woman in the Latimer Falls, Vermont Sheriff's Department. This good-hearted deputy with gumption tackles big crimes in her effort to protect her community. Whether it's terrorism, a real estate scam, or a chilling kidnapping, she's determined to get the job done. Deputy Gabby Grimm to the Rescue Boxed Set is free!
 Deputy Gabby Grimm to the Rescue Kindle Boxed Set

 One of my favorite things about writing books is that I get to share some of the things I love about life. Whether it's talking about sensible practices, like encouraging pollinator programs (bees, butterflies, and birds who make this glorious world bloom), or what to do when you unexpectedly come upon a wild creature in the woods (FYI, coyotes never hunt alone -- if you see one, look for the other), the great outdoors is a passion of mine.

Innkeeper Scarlet Wilson is a character I created with that in mind. She lives in a house that abuts a nature preserve. In real life, there is a house very similar to the Four Acorns Inn on a small mountain that I used to hike. The ponds are lovely, the scenery is delightful, and you can choose between easy trails and challenging ones.

By the way, you can read Miz Scarlet and the Vanishing Visitor for free at your favorite digital retailer!

Amazon
Apple and other retailers (universal link)
Barnes and Noble

I haven't had much chance lately to go hiking. It's something I miss very much. Ironically, in the past few months, nature has come to me and I am grateful for the backyard adventures of late.

Last week, I gazed out a window in my backyard and spotted a couple of young woodchucks munching on the newly seeded lawn ("Oh, come on! Must you eat that? Hit the clover in the field!")

But just a few feet from the woodchucks was an odd-looking sight. The moment I recognized it, I ran out to snap a photo.

Oh, I know most people would run for the hills, but I'm not most people. Like Scarlet Wilson, I love my critters! In the late spring, the snapping turtles leave their creeks, swamps, and ponds to lay their eggs on dry land. More than once, I've tracked them on their journey, fascinated by the process. When the babies hatch, there is nothing sadder than seeing their little carcasses flattened by tires on the roadside. I admit I root for their survival, especially given that so few of them survive all the predators who eagerly await their births.
 At the moment, there are six or seven circular dirt mounds in my backyard, courtesy of the local snappers. I will have to wait three months before those little beings break through their shells and pop out of their nests. Just imagine hundreds of baby turtles crossing my lawn on their way to their ponds, swamps, and creeks. Boy, that will be something to see! But the snappers aren't the only visitors to my yard. Just the other morning, I heard the crows making a ruckus. Normally, their loud protests are the result of a red-tailed hawk showing up in their territory. They will harass the heck out of the bigger bird. Once in a while, it's the owl who panics them. I love it when the owl sits in the tree outside the dining room window in the early morning.  But this time, much to my surprise, the mob of crows had a different target. It was a beautiful fox trying to flee. The crows were chasing him into the woods, swooping at him as he ran. Talk about drama! I suspect we have a fox den in the nearby woods, and that probably means there are babies tucked safely away. We also have many rabbits and squirrels this year, in addition to the woodchucks. That's probably what has attracted the predators. It's also probably the reason why all the beautiful flowers I planted in the garden have been nibbled, chewed, and in some cases, completely devoured. The trick to co-existing is to plant more than I need. That and using Wave petunias -- the more that animals chew on the stems, the better they grow. But the most baffling sight this spring was the possum who hung around the yard during the day. The animal control officer saw her too, crossing the street into my yard. We had a thoroughly delightful conversation about possum habits. I wondered if she was searching for a place to have her babies, but it turns out she carries them in her pouch. Sadly, I found one of the babies later on a walk. I hope the others are thriving. I haven't seen the possum in a few weeks. I expect she has found a good place in the woods to hunker down. I used to run into a pair of coyotes in my neighborhood during the early evening. They had a path through certain yards that took them back to their den behind the high school. I always err on the side of caution in a case like that and keep a healthy distance from them, especially when they are trying to feed their young. I also make it clear that I am not going to tolerate any nonsense. Like Miz Scarlet, I can be very feisty. We also welcome the neighborhood cats to our yard. They help keep the mole population down as they hunt. For some reason, they like to sit on my side porch and hang out. That's fine with me. I've always been a cat lover. That's how we came to have a feral cat named Kato. He liked to come into the house to get warm during the cold winter nights. He would eat, take a nap, and then want to go out to the barn. The biggest thrill was the day he hopped up on my dad's chest and purred for the first time. Despite being a skittish cat, he was a real sweet guy.  Like Miz Scarlet, I have a Yorkie I adore. His name is Dino and he is an absolute love. He goes everywhere with us, has a car seat (he likes to ride shotgun), and loves his sun naps. He's a very early riser ("Oh, come on! Do you know what time it is?") He is a big fan of belly rubs, alerts me to sounds I don't hear (alarm clock, telephone, timer), and is constantly on the lookout for anything food-related. I found that out one day when I caught him lapping up milk from a glass beside the arm chair. He's also a survivor. We nearly lost him a few years ago, when his immune system shut down on him.

He weighed little more than three pounds and was all skin and bones. It was terrifying to see what he went through. Thanks to the wonderful vets who treated him, he is now pretty healthy at ten pounds.
 My scariest moment in the woods? I was hiking alone several years ago in the fall, climbing a rocky hill trail that was covered in leaves, admiring the fall foliage. A rattling sound captured my attention. Oh, yes. Rattlesnakes love nothing more than a warm rock on a cool day. But where was the sound coming from? All I could see was the leaf-strewn ground. That's when I leapt into action...literally! You'd be amazed at how good I was at high-stepping it out of there as fast as I could scramble. I have a healthy respect for nervous critters. Which brings me to my favorite all-time critter tale. I was out in the garden one day, wearing my rubber boots, when I heard a weird bird call. I couldn't for the life of me figure out where the visitor was hiding. but like Miz Scarlet, I was more than a little curious. As I stood there studying the trees above, trying to spot a little movement, a crazed woodchuck came flying out of the woods and leaped at me. Oh, yeah. He meant business! I screamed and ran. It turned out the poor little being had been infected by a parasite that affected his brain. He traipsed through the woods for a couple of days, screaming, but we just couldn't locate him. Oddly enough, I thought I had been the only person on this planet ever attacked by a crazed woodchuck, but I was swapping stories with a motorcycle aficionado one day and found out I was in good company. He told me that he was sitting on his Harley one day, minding his own business on the side of the road, when out of nowhere, a woodchuck came at him and lunged. Picture a big, burly guy (More than six feet tall and 200 pounds) startled by a furry rodent with sharp teeth. It's really funny after the fact, but I can tell you, a wild animal whose looking to get a piece of you can scare the absolute bejesus out of any sane human being. It's amazing how fast we can run when we're being chased.