Artist, Lover, Forger, Thief is a riveting, wildly entertaining, complex, and adrenaline-fueled art crime novel that is as intriguing as it is satisfying. Nick McCoy wants out of the art forgery business but not until he exacts revenge on the man who murdered his family years ago. Kate O'Dade, McCoy's former therapist, comes to him for help after mysteriously receiving a painting of Matisse's Open Window from an unknown benefactor. This seemingly innocent meeting to determine its authenticity sets off a chain of events that will take McCoy, O'Dade, Cromwell and his new team of investigators from San Diego to England, and from art forgery to murder.
Rarely do you find such complex characters, intricate plot, compelling subject, and cunning psychological jousting woven throughout such a memorable story like Sharpe does in Artist, Lover, Forger, Thief.
Praise for Artist, Lover, Forger, Thief:
"Sharpe dives headlong into the murky waters of identity, obsession, and deception in her smart, psychologically charged thriller [Artist, Lover, Forger, Thief]. It explores the blurry line between art and artifice, healing and manipulation, love and control. [T]his is a genre-bending literary thriller that lingers long after the final page." ~ Prairies Book Review
"Artist, Lover, Forger, Thief...is a gripping tale set amidst the opulent yet treacherous world of high-end art crime in San Diego...[It explores] the moral dilemmas of art forgery, theft, and deception, with each character caught between their desires and the consequences of their actions. This stellar examination of art, deception, and forgery kept me riveted." ~ Reader's Favorite 5-Star Review
Book Details:
Genre: Mystery, Literary Fiction, Crime Fiction Published by: Redwood Publishing, LLC Publication Date: March 26, 2025 Number of Pages: 332 ISBN: 9781966333142 (ISBN10: 1966333145) Series: A Kate O'Dade Art Crime Novel, Book 1 Book Links:Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub
Read an excerpt:
Author Bio:
Sheila Sharpe has been a therapist for more than forty years, specializing in treating trauma, couples, and artists. Being a detective of sorts to determine patients’ issues and their solutions like she does in The Ways We Love, along with her past history as an artist and fascination with art forgery, led to the creation of her new fiction book series, the Kate O’Dade Art Crime novels.
None. I only read an
admired author extensively or go to a local discussion of his or her work.
2.
What is the first book that made you cry?
I believe it was Lassie Come Home
by Eric Knight.I think I was about
seven or eight
when I read this heart-rending story and cried my eyes out.
3.
Does writing energize or exhaust you?
It does both! When
writing goes well and the ideas and words are flowing, I experience an
intoxicating high. Exhaustion usually follows. When writing is not going well
and I am struggling to get the right words and ideas on the page, it is
exhausting and, at times, demoralizing.
4.
What is your writing Kryptonite?
Loss of confidence
in my writing ability and fear of failure and rejection from the writing world.
5.
Did you ever consider writing under a pseudonym?
Briefly, but I didn’t see any real
advantages to hiding who I really am.
6.
What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a
betterwriter?
My author friends
in my writing group of 25 years have been the most helpful in my becoming a
better writer. Through honest and sensitive critiques, shared understanding of
writing difficulties, and openly expressed support, we have all become very
good writers who are now able to withstand criticism and rejection.
7.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body
ofwork with connections between each book?
When I
particularly like a book and the characters created, I am delighted if there’s
a series that continues their stories. So, I am developing a series in which
the characters continue to develop and face new challenges in the world of art
and music related crimes.
8.
What authors did you dislike at first but grew into?
Henry James. I
came to like his work for the psychological depth and the intriguing original
stories. But now I’d have trouble with his wordiness and mile long sentences.
Kurt Vonegut is another fine writer I didn’t appreciate until I read and
studied his masterpiece, Slaughterhouse Five.
9.
What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel? Can’t think of one.
10.
As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
A loving, inspiring dog like Mickey, my
dear Coton de Tulear.
11.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
My first
unpublished book is a novella written when I was 11yearsold. It is a mystery
with the winsome title Into the Slimy Depths. My second book, Wit’s
End, was a mystery written in my twenties. My third novel¾Locked in a Box¾languished in
oblivion for several years but is now due to be published in March. Hooray!
12.
What did you edit out of this book?
A truckload of unnecessary words and a
couple of dull scenes.
13.
If you didn’t write, what would you do for work?
If I wasn’t
writing I’d still be working as a therapist and doing volunteer work in my
community as well leading Page Turners, a program that invites authors to my
town to discuss their books.
14.
Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
The big secret in
my current book was only discovered by me after its publication. It related to
a forgotten childhood trauma that underlay important aspects of the story. No
one else would be able to see it.
15.
What is your favorite childhood book?
The Black Stallion by Walter
Farley and the Nancy Drew mysteries.
Steal A Moment With ARTIST, LOVER, FORGER, THIEF
This giveaway is hosted by Partners in Crime Tours for Sheila Sharpe. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.
Book Title: MANCALA MOON by Asa Bowers Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 242 pages Genre: Literary fiction with magical realism Publisher: Asa Bowers Release date: December 2025 Content Rating: PG -13 +M: however there is one F - word in the book. So I rated it PG-13.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jana Richards will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Apprentice angel Gabriel Daniel’s first assignment in his quest to become a full-fledged angel is to give WW2 veteran, Frank Brennan, a second chance at love. With help from his mentor, senior angel Thomas, Gabriel takes Frank back to 1944 to Plymouth, England. There, Frank made his biggest mistake with love. His first time in 1944, Frank fell in love with Claire Cartwright, but when he found her kissing another man, he ended their relationship, despite Claire’s insistence that things weren’t as they appeared. This time around, Gabriel’s task is to convince Frank to trust in Claire’s love and fidelity, despite the evidence against her.
At the same time, Thomas takes Gabriel on a journey through his relationship with Sloane, the love of his mortal life. For the first time, Gabriel sees how his jealousy and distrust tainted their love.
Unless Gabriel persuades Frank to trust Claire, his goal of becoming a citizen of Heaven is doomed, along with his desire to watch over his mother and brother back on Earth. Frank has a complicated history that Gabriel must help him confront before either of them gets what they need.
Read an Excerpt
A group of drunken British airmen crowded into the cloakroom just ahead of Frank. Whoops of laughter sounded from inside the room.
“Henderson, you sly boots! And all this time you told us the two of you were only friends! What a lark!”
Frank entered the cloakroom just as Claire passionately kissed Charles Henderson. He stared at them in utter devastation. When Gabriel glanced at old Frank on the bed, he saw the same devastation on his face and, for a moment, Gabriel experienced remorse for making him relive it. But he hardened his heart. He had a job to do, and he couldn’t let sympathy for Frank get in his way.
The drunken airmen stumbled their way out of the cloakroom, laughing and hooting as they went. Frank waited until they were gone before speaking. “Claire, what’s going on?”
She broke free from Henderson. “Frank? What are you doing here? You said you couldn’t get leave.”
“I believed you.” His face was full of pain and incredulity. “You said you loved me, and I believed you. You said Henderson was just a childhood friend, and I believed that, too. But no more.” He turned to leave.
She grabbed his arm and whispered urgently, “No! Frank please! It’s not how it looks!”
Frank shook off her hand. “Really? Because what it looks like right now is that you made a fool of me.”
“Frank, please!”
Frank hurried from the cloakroom and out of the recreation hall.
About the Author:
Jana Richards has tried her hand at many writing projects over the years, from magazine articles and short stories to full-length contemporary romance, paranormal suspense and romantic comedy. She loves to create characters with a sense of humor, but also a serious side. She believes there’s nothing more interesting than peeling back the layers of a character to see what makes them tick.
When not writing up a storm or dealing with dust bunnies, Jana can be found pursuing hobbies such as golf (which she plays very badly) or reading (which she does much better).
Jana lives in Western Canada with her husband Warren and a senior cat named Layla.
The Essence of His Soul Mya Kay Publication date: March 20th 2026 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
When Essence Taylor, owner of Taylor Made Music Group, steps into Mocha Tea & Trends—a new upscale coffee shop in Old City Philadelphia—she’s focused on business, not romance. But when she overhears the manager scrambling after an artist cancels last minute, Essence seizes the opportunity to showcase her newly signed songstress.
That’s when she meets Shane Bishop.
Philadelphia’s basketball sensation and the shop’s owner, Shane is instantly drawn to Essence. Their eyes meet, sparks fly—and Essence immediately shuts it down. A ball player is the last thing she needs distracting her from her purpose. But Shane can’t ignore the connection he feels as he watches her confidently seal the deal for her artist.
Later, one bold DM changes everything.
What begins as a cautious friendship between two preacher’s kids slowly unfolds into a God-ordained romance neither of them expected. But just as their bond deepens, their lives are shaken by family secrets, resurfacing past relationships, and a devastating incident that threatens to destroy both of their careers.
As rumors swirl and pressure mounts within the entertainment and sports industries, Essence and Shane must decide if their love is strong enough to withstand the weight of old wounds, public scrutiny, and painful truths.
Will they be able to hold on to what God brought together—or will the cost be too great?
I looked at his face, then slowly walked over to him.
“Clayton wants to know when you guys can do dinner.”
My heart dropped in my stomach. I had been ignoring Clayton, literally not responding to any of his messages, but I also hadn’t blocked him.
“Babe, it’s not like that.”
He placed my phone down. “What is it like, Essence?”
I raised an eyebrow. Since we’d been dating, he barely called me by my first name.
I walked over to him, grabbing his hands. He let me. “My father thinks Clayton is the guy I should be dating. I told him I was dating but haven’t told him who, but my mother knows. Clayton and I went on a date four years ago and I haven’t talked to him since. My father thought giving him my number when he ran into him was a good idea.”
He stared at me intently. This was the first time he was looking at me, and I didn’t feel the warmth I usually felt. “Baby, I promise, you have nothing to worry about.”
“You know Rayna DM’d me about a week after we started dating. I blocked her because, even though we weren’t that deep yet, I knew we were on to something.”
I swallowed. I knew he was all in when we were on our third date. Shane was a one-woman type of man. I picked up my phone and blocked Clayton in front of him. Then I showed him the text thread.
“You can see I never even responded.”
“Then why not block him sooner?” he said, scrolling through the texts.
I started chewing on my bottom lip. I brushed my hair behind my ears, trying not to speak too soon.
“If I’m honest, this is scary for me. I’m afraid that this thing with you and I won’t work out. That’s not to say Clayton was a backup, because he knows that even if he was the last man standing, there would never be an us. Trust me.”
He smirked, placing the phone back on the counter. “He’s that bad?”
“Horrible.”
I laughed. He was still staring at me, but his smile faded.
“I don’t always feel safe,” I continued, hoping the rest of this would come out making sense, “and some of it has to do with what happened when I was younger. I also feel like my father’s controlling ways plays into how unsafe I feel. It’s like he would never let anyone else hurt me, yet he does it all the time; and then, there’s what my ex did.”
His face scrunched up. “Dixon?”
Author Bio:
Mya K. Douglas (Mya Kay) is an Amazon bestselling author, dynamic speaker, magazine publisher, and literary leader born and raised in North Philadelphia. Since 2012, she has authored and published fifteen books spanning genres from Christian romance to memoir.
In 2017, she co-authored Before Empire with Andria Mayberry, mother of Empire actor Bryshere “Yazz The Greatest,” featured on The Real. In 2022, she was selected as a semi-finalist for America’s Next Great Author, standing out as one of only 100 from over 800 applicants to pitch to judges including Jason Reynolds, Kwame Alexander, and Victoria Christopher Murray.
That same year, Mya made history as the first Christian romance author signed to B. Love Publications. Her work includes The Storms of Love series, Fumbled Your Heart, and The Essence of His Soul. She has earned nominations including Christian Fiction Author of the Year by AAMBC (2023) and Best Christian Book for The Essence of His Soul at the 2024 Literary Gem Awards. She is currently signed to Black Legacy Publishing under B. Love Publications.
Beyond writing, Mya is the founder of Girls Anthem Magazine, a faith-forward media company inspiring girls and women to pursue purpose without compromising their values.
What if one conversation could change your entire life?
In 1979, Jeff Burgess was a 22-year-old college dropout drifting through life in a haze of beer, weed, and dead-end jobs. He was the "town clown" with an undeniable work ethic but no clear direction. Then, on a lazy Sunday afternoon, his father called him home for a talk that would shake him to his core: "You have a gift, and I cannot allow you to waste it anymore. It’s time to get your shit together."
From that moment, everything changed. Armed with a relentless drive, a knack for problem-solving, and a newfound determination to make something of himself, Jeff set out to prove his father right. Within two years, he skyrocketed from warehouse worker to Vice President of Sales at a booming tech company. By the time he retired, he had built a global business supplying surveillance video recording appliances to both the most iconic and the secure sites in the world.
It Worked for Me is the inspiring, no-nonsense story of how an underachiever transformed into an industry leader—one who thrived not by playing it safe, but by embracing risk, trusting his gut, and always finding a way forward.
If you've ever felt stuck, uncertain, or like success was just out of reach, this book will show you how to seize your own turning point.
Are you ready to take charge of your future? Pick up a copy today!
All proceeds for It Worked for Me will go directly to the Wounded Warrior Project.
Praise for It Worked For Me:
"It Worked for Me by Jeff Burgess is a powerful, down-to-earth story about turning life around through hard work and determination. Burgess shares how one tough conversation with his father pushed him to change his path from a drifting 22-year-old to the head of a $100-million company. His writing is straightforward, honest, and full of real lessons about perseverance, courage, and believing in yourself. What makes it even better is that all proceeds go to the Wounded Warrior Project. This is an inspiring read for anyone who feels stuck and needs a reminder that success is always possible." ~ 5-star Library Thing review
"Candid, humorous … He emphasizes the importance of common sense and learning from others. And his integrity is front and center." ~ 5-star review, Audiofile
"This was an interesting account of Jeff Burgess and his incredible journey. He has good advice and anedotes to back it up. Having the author as the narrator adds a special flavor to the audio book. In the very sad parts, it sounds like he gets choked-up, and as a listener, I held back a tear, too. Overall it was a good book." ~ 5-star review, Netgalley
In 1979, I was living in a two-bedroom apartment in my hometown of Skokie, IL with my best friend Gary. I was 22 years old, a few months removed from my sophomore year at Illinois State University--and I say `removed’ literally, since the Dean of Students had strongly pointed out that school wasn’t the best choice for me. Gary and I both had “floater jobs” which basically covered our monthly rent, weed, beer, and food, in that order. The landlord would likely say the rent and weed could be in a reverse order. Basically, I seemed to be following a destiny first noted in my 8th-grade yearbook from Oakview Junior High, where I was dubbed “town clown.” My mom was horrified. Me? I took it as a badge of honor, one that kept wearing through high school and my short stint in college.
It was a typical September Sunday. Gary and I were laying around, recovering from hangovers and planning our next adventure. Around four o’clock, the phone rang. It was my Dad.
“Hey, Jeff, are you busy?”
“Well, a little. Hanging out.”
“I really need to speak with you. Can you come over?”
I was at that age when I didn’t really have anything against my parents. I’d see them for birthdays and holidays and when I wanted to conduct a secret withdrawal from the packed meat freezer they kept in their basement, but I didn’t see the need to spend any time with them. “Is it important?”
His answer was firm. “It’s important enough that I’m asking you to come over—now.”
That was good enough for me. I quickly jumped into the shower to wash off the after-aroma of the previous night’s parties. As the hot water rushed down, my mind began spinning with scenarios. What did he want to talk about? Abruptly it dawned on me that maybe he was going to tell me he was dying. My mind always moved at a mile a minute, and all of a sudden it came to a screeching halt.
Why else would he need to talk to me? My dad was an ordinary man--52-years old, husband, father of four, CEO of an Envelope Company, recovering alcoholic, and my hero. He really was my rock, and more than made up for my distracted mother. How would I survive without him? We always shared this unspoken bond of my inheriting his OCD gene. And while he never appreciated that I was that town clown and high school fuck-up, he admired my work ethic. When I did put my mind to something, I took it to completion, whether it was shoveling neighbor’s sidewalks in those Chicago winters or moving their lawns in the summer. Even as an eight-year-old. And if I had suddenly kicked the bucket at age 20, that would have been the story of my life—a human oxymoron who had a great work ethic yet couldn’t keep a job.
He hugged me when I came through the door and told my mom to let us be. We went upstairs to my parents’ bedroom, which was decorated with a complete Brady Bunch-era motif: matching avocado and orange bedspread and curtains, beige shag carpeting, large imitation Picasso paintings on the walls. We sat together on the bench seat at the bottom of the bed, connected at the hip. He started to put his arm around my shoulder, and almost instantly I began to cry. “Dad, please don’t die on me!” I began to sob.
Startled, he jumped to his feet, then put his hands on my shoulders. “Listen to me! That’s not what this is about. I’m not dying! But now that you mention it, you are killing me.” I started to say something, but he quickly interrupted, “Seriously, I need you to listen to me.”
He started speaking to me, but it was more of a sermon. The tone in his voice was unlike anything I had heard from him before. I had never heard him in such an authoritative voice. I could already tell that I had either upset or disappointed him, but just did not know how or why. I quickly learned. “You are wasting your life,” he said. “You have always had an outstanding work ethic, he told me, along with an incredible quick wit, which I was just throwing away by being a smart ass, just looking for the laugh. “If you were ever able to use that wit in a more “think on your feet” manner instead of just being a comedian, you could have great value to some company one day.” He looked at me directly in the eye. “I didn’t send you to college to be a fuck-up. You have a gift, and I cannot allow you to waste it. You need to get your collective shit together.”
I was stunned, and very upset. Not so much about what he said, but because I knew it was dead-on.
My mind jumped back to a moment two summers before, when I was working in his company warehouse. The combination of my 17-year-old male hormones and the highly Latina warehouse staff were just too much for me to overcome, and I devoted far more time to chasing skirts than my responsibilities. He sat me down then, too, but instead of giving me a sermon, he fired me. I know that conversation was painful for both him to say and me to hear as well. It wasn’t so much that I embarrassed him as the boss’s son getting canned, but what hurt me most was that I had let him down. Here I was, letting him down again. What most upset me was knowing that he was not proud of me.
I drove back to the apartment. The aroma of cannabis greeted my arrival. Gary passed me the loaded a pipe as I entered, saying something to the extent of “you look like you need one.” But what I needed is what I had just received. My dad was my hero, and I had been confronted with the fact that I was failing him. And really, I had also been confronted with the fact that I was failing myself. “No thanks,” I said to Gary, echoing the words my dad had just said to me, “I really need to start getting my shit together.”
The very next day, I started searching the Help Wanted section in the Chicago Tribune. Some company called Tek Aids two towns over was looking for a warehouse worker. I had never heard of them, but I knew I wanted that job. I’m not sure why, but the ad called out to me. Maybe I just wanted a job quickly so I could get back into my dad’s good favor. For the interview, I put my best foot forward, wearing the blue blazer my mother bought me for high school graduation and borrowing a paisley tie I had bought Dad for Father’s Day.
They were a family business about five years old that had set themselves up as a computer peripherals distributor. They sold printers, monitors, and bins full of internal parts. Jud, the founder and CEO, gave me a tour of the 15,000sf facility. I could tell he had great pride in his operation, and I was impressed that he knew every employee on a first-name basis.
The warehouse was sloppy and seemed a little disorganized. I knew I could fix that. What surprised me is that they also had a tech area in the warehouse, run by a guy wearing thick lenses a lab coast – he looked like mad scientist. They were building student tech systems for community colleges, based upon Ohio Scientific’s Challenger 1P single-processor computer systems. “A warehouse and tech?” I said to Jud, without reply.
I did find it interesting that he was already introducing me, and after the tour, we went into his wife Lorrayne’s office and they both told be the job responsibilities. I was trying not to jump the gun, but it sure seemed like I was already hired. And I was really hoping they would, and I knew I was looking into a crystal ball and seeing my future. Perhaps I was willing it to happen by confidently adding “I look forward to hearing from you sometime tomorrow.” She gave me a strange look, perhaps due to my presumptuousness. “The blazer and tie won’t be necessary when you come back,” she said. At that point, I knew the job would be mine. I was already reorganizing the sloppy warehouse in my head.
I started two days later. Two years later, I was promoted to Vice President of Sales. Twenty years and three days after my Dad’s sermon, I founded my own IT server-building company, morphing into the video surveillance recording market in 2009. By the time of my retirement on my 66th birthday on July 21, 2023, I had built a company that is the world’s largest supplier of purpose-built surveillance video recording appliances, with over a quarter-million devices recording the video surveillance from over four million cameras in 91 countries around the globe. And all at the most secure sites or coolest companies in the world.
Here's the story of how that happened.
***
Excerpt from It Worked For Me by Jeff Burgess. Copyright 2026 by Jeff Burgess. Reproduced with permission from Jeff Burgess. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
From outhouse to penthouse.... He’s that guy who started in the embryonic stages of the computer industry way back in 1979 as a non-college graduate warehouse manager, selling his way to the top as the CEO of his own $100M company.
He never cared for the arrogance of the term "rainmaker," since he always thought "mercenary" sounded cooler, especially while selling hundreds of millions of dollars of high-end computer technology to the largest companies and government entities in the world!
His story is about all those bumps and bruises along the way, and the lessons learned honing his uncanny ability to turn opportunities into successes.
My Review:
This is a great book for anyone. It does not matter if you work in the computer industry, sales, have s small business or are involved in politics. There is a lot of good advice in this book. My favorite part is that the author took advice from his dad, and it changed his life. His father reminds me of my dad. Straight forward and always there. If nothing else, then remember this quote "know thy customer and know thy competition" What a great way to approach life! The quotes from famous people also made me think. From retail advice to Covid 19. This book covers all the bases. I am giving this book a 5/5. I was given a copy to review, all opinions are my own.
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