College student Sara Donovan is in the homestretch of graduating when a mysterious package arrives with an invitation to an exclusive contest. One that will drastically change the winner’s life.
Welcome to the June 25th stop on the blog tour for Lucky Secrets by B.T. Polcari with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.
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Author Guest Post
Things That Inspire You, and Why
As an author, trying to narrow down what exactly inspires me feels like an unanswerable question because the range of possibilities is so vast! We’re all influenced by our surroundings or what media we take in, whether we realize it or not.
So, what inspires me? I’ll answer this two-fold. What inspires me when I’m plotting out a new book, and what inspires me to keep writing.
For plots, I simply pay attention. I look around my surroundings as so many interesting things happen in the world. The world is a never-ending source of inspiration. I’ve discussed before that I keep extensive paper files for book research, and that applies to book ideas too. As I peruse various news outlets each morning, if I come across a particularly intriguing story that catches my attention and gets the creative gears moving, I print the story off and into my “Book Ideas” folder it goes. Now don’t think I take these stories and turn them directly into books. Where’s the fun in that? Nah, it usually acts as a steppingstone to a different “what if” scenario, or I jot down notes on how I can use a detail or angle from the periodical in a future novel.
After decades of doing this, my file is overflowing with ideas. Will every single idea make its way into a book? Heck no! But it’s my very own curated box of inspiration, and that’s pretty great.
Another source of plot inspiration happens when I’m sleeping. I will wake up in the middle of the night with an idea that was bouncing around in my head while I slept. This happens if I’ve been poking around the aforementioned inspiration file, but it actually also happens when I’m working on a book! Typically, it’s during the plotting phase of a new book and I can’t shut my mind off. In the early days of this happening, I made the rookie mistake of “oh I’ll remember this in the morning, no need to write it down” and I’d roll back over and fall asleep. Learn from my mistakes and write the dang idea down. Whether you keep a small notepad next to your bed and scrawl the idea out, or you text yourself a nearly nonsensical text – find something that works. (Bonus side effect: with the idea out of your head, you’ll sleep well the rest of the night.)
As for what inspires me to keep writing. It’s super cliché but hear me out. My biggest inspiration is my readers. There’s nothing quite like putting a well-crafted mystery into their hands. The positive feedback and wonderful support inspire me to continue to writing Mauzzy & Me mysteries (I’m looking at you, Makinsey Hardcastle, Micky Collins, Ann Harmon, and Emily Lilley and Audrey DeWild and all the insightful regulars in their Book & Cover Thursday Murder Book Club www.thebookandcover.com).
I invest so much time and effort into researching and laying out a book before I ever start writing, so knowing I have these dedicated readers patiently waiting to dive into the next Mauzzy & Me book gives me the energy boost I need on the more trickier of writing days.
There will always be ebbs and flows during the writing process, and when I’m ebbing, knowing my readers are out there supporting me is my own personal “rising tide” that lifts me up when I’m about ready to throw in the towel.
One such example actually has to do with my newest release, Lucky Secrets. Long story short, I had an entirely different book, plot, title, everything completely researched and plotted out. Until I had to accept the fact that the main character, Sara Donovan, wasn’t emotionally ready for such a dark set of challenges. I felt like giving up because I had to start over. But then I saw the comments on social media, I spoke to my Thursday Murder Book Club, and I realized that the readers are invested in the Mauzzy & Me Mystery series regardless of timeline, and I wanted to give them the best that I had.
After two long brainstorming sessions with my daughter, and the knowledge that I had an army of supportive readers behind me, I could begin to see the new plot for what would become Lucky Secrets.
And I can’t wait for you to read it.
Thank you Westveil Publishing and Goddess Fish Promotions for allowing me to share my rambling thoughts on inspiration and the importance of amazing supportive readers!
About the Book
Lucky Secrets
Mauzzy and Me Mystery Book Three
by B.T. Polcari
Published 23 June 2025
The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
Genre: YA Cozy Mystery
Page Count: 367
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!
College student Sara Donovan is in the homestretch of graduating when a mysterious package arrives with an invitation to an exclusive contest. One that will drastically change the winner’s life. Included are unsettling photographs from forgettable chapters in her life and a threatening note strongly suggesting she participate.
With no good options, Sara enters the contest and finds herself at a fabulous mansion up against eight formidable opponents, each with a dark secret and all racing to solve seven levels of riddles and puzzles.
After a contestant’s body is discovered, Sara contemplates dropping out when another package arrives, its chilling contents making clear she’s at the center of a dangerous game with deadly consequences if she quits. But what it doesn’t say is—what happens if she wins?
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Excerpt
Winston forced a smile. “The founder imparted to me that every contestant was personally selected because each of you has a secret that absolutely must remain—a secret. Especially from law enforcement.” He glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. “Since the winner of the contest will become fabulously wealthy, it would seem, everyone is here because of a potentially—lucky secret.”
Zoe’s head whipped toward me. With eyes wide, she mouthed law enforcement. I threw her a little headshake, even as my body exploded in tingles. I have no such secrets—anymore. I think. A picture popped in my head of the open safe-deposit box with the gold artifact, gold bar, and emeralds. With my name on the signature card. Somebody obviously manufactured a secret for me. But why? And is it the same for all the contestants? Were they also blackmailed into coming for something they didn’t do? Or were they…
About the Author
B.T. Polcari is a graduate of Rutgers College of Rutgers University, an award-winning mystery author, and a proud father of two wonderful children. He’s a champion of rescue pups (Mauzzy is a rescue), craves watching football and basketball, and, of course, loves reading mysteries. Among his favorite authors are Richard Osman, D.P. Lyle, Frederick Forsyth, and Michael Connelly. He is also an unapologetic fantasy football addict. He lives with his wife in scenic Chattanooga, Tennessee.
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Giveaway Alert!
B.T. Polcari will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveawayJune 16: Sarandipity’s
June 17: Sandra’s Book Club
June 18: Long and Short Reviews
June 19: Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
June 20: Sarcastically Yours, Jen
June 23: Always Reading & Sapphyria’s Books
June 24: The Avid Reader
June 25: Westveil Publishing
June 26: Fabulous and Brunette
June 27: Boys’ Mom Reads!
July 7: Candlelight Reading
July 8: Karen J. Mossman – World Of Stories
July 9: A Wonderful World of Words
July 10: Country Mamas With Kids
July 11: Joanne Guidoccio
July 14: Read Your Writes Book Reviews
July 15: It’s Raining Books
July 16: Ellwyn’s Blog
July 17: The Faerie Review
July 18: Straight From the Library
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Thank you so much for featuring today’s book.
Thank you for dropping by and checking it out!
The book sounds very intriguing. Great cover! Sure sets the mood.
I’m with you – I LOVE the cover and was so darn excited when I saw the final product. It is so perfect for the story. I’m giddy just thinking about it all over again!! 😉 Thanks for checking out the book.
A HUGE thank you to Westveil Books for featuring my book, Lucky Secrets!!
I think this sounds like a good book. Thanks for sharing.
Great excerpt and giveaway. 🙂
I’m glad you liked the excerpt! I had so many to choose from. 😉
This sounds like an interesting book and I also like the cover.
Thank you!! I LOVE the cover.
This looks like an amazing book for Young Adults! I love the cover!
Thank you for the wonderful comments!!! The cover really captures the book. 🙂
Can you describe your typical writing routine?
I’ll describe my typical day, that starts with coffee and news. Then I head downstairs to my writing office with our three rescue pups. I tackle admin tasks first—emails, marketing, etc.—then dive into the writing process (it could be researching, plotting, or actual writing). To kickstart and sustain the process each day, I play the same CD on repeat until it becomes white noise. I’ll ride that CD for weeks until I’m no longer productive or a song starts playing in my head at night. Then I switch it out. Around 3:30 or 4PM, I go for a 3–4 mile walk in a nearby park to decompress and reset. Even on weekends I will do some work, more on Saturday than Sunday, but if I’m heavy into the actual writing of the book, I’m going at it hard on both days because it reaches a point when I HAVE to get the story out of my head and onto virtual paper.
What do you enjoy most about being a writer?