Background of the Book by Mark A Hill – Guest Blog and Giveaway

November 17, 2025 By 7 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Mark A. Hill will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Background of the Book

I have always written, whether it be poetry, lessons, courseware or angry notes on the fridge to my wife and son. Writing is an emotional release, a way of saying things that you don’t have the time or energy to express during the working day.

I have had my poetry published in several collections and literary journals. I have written two somewhat complex, obscure novels and notwithstanding the many compliments on my style and the kind words received, I’d had difficulty in finding a willing publisher. Besides, I guess you never know if someone is really complimenting you when you receive a selection of rejections. I decided that I needed a more structured approach to writing so I decided I would write a crime novel.

In 2019, I was teaching a group of judges and ex-judges in Bologna. It was a state sponsored courses that certain Italian institutions organise for privileged social groups and during those lessons, we started to talk about the Bologna massacre of 1980. That year, there was a terrorist bombing of Bologna Centrale railway station, which killed 85 people and injured over 200. It was Italy’s most serious terrorist attack. Although several members of the neo-fascist terrorist organization Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari (NAR, Armed Revolutionary Nuclei) were subsequently sentenced for the bombing, there is still a lot of controversy over who was actually responsible. Some commentators accuse the far right, some accuse the far left. The secret services of several countries and many foreign terrorist groups have been investigated.

I did a lot of reading around the subject and decided that the whole incident was so compelling and there were so many conspiracy theories that reverberated around it, that there was probably enough material for a novel.
So, with a little dose of reality and a whole lot of imagination, I set about writing. I created the classic private investigator character, the villain, Carlos the Jackal, the corrupt Italian politician couldn’t go amiss. Who’s not going to identify with that? A little bit of love interest and off I went.

I disciplined myself to recount a straightforward narrative in chronological order, with a basic structure, using simple ideas and style. It is an attempt to narrate events in a more disciplined way than I had used in the past, I tried to eradicate any complex descriptive passages in a more high-flown poetic style. When I edited and it sounded like I was showing off, I just eliminated the offending paragraph and rewrote it as I actually perceived it, like I saw it happening step by step, in front of me.

I remember that year I was free 3 or 4 mornings a week and I just leaned into it. I’d write in streams and just throw the ideas down and then work back through, correcting the dialogues and description, the structure, the punctuation and spelling. It took me about three months to get a first draft. I remember I was quite free at that time in the mornings and able to throw myself into it without any great personal sacrifice. Whenever I am creating something that is fun, I don’t regard the time as ever being wasted.

Finishing the first draft is always a worrying moment because you risk thinking that the hard work is done. Personally, I find it much more difficult to rewrite rather than to write. You have to be relatively harsh on yourself and willing to bin whole chunks if they’re not up to standard. Revise, revise, revise is not bad advice.
I sent the novel to Wallace Publishing and they agreed to take it on. After some intense editing, the COVID years and a series of other bureaucratic setbacks, the book came out in July this year.

As an aside, in September my collected poems were published by Hidden Hand Press so, at the moment, I am promoting both books.

Mitchell Rose and the Bologna Massacre is a crime story that explores the last fifty years of cross-fertilisation between the Italian criminal underworld, its secret services, politics and the judicial system.

When Mitchell Rose is called to Milan by Remo Rhimare, a local judge who wants him to investigate the Bologna bombing of 1980, he knows it would make more sense to turn the job down.

To make things even more complicated, Rhimare also wants Rose to rein in his errant daughter, who is becoming increasingly wayward.

As Rose begins to investigate, the two missions surprisingly become one, culminating in a dreadful dramatic climax.

Enjoy an Excerpt

I twitched nervously. The will to move out of there and toward the action was strong. I wanted to be an integral part of the scene that I could see reflected there in the mobile phone. Alessandra raised a hand and made a gesture that encouraged me to stay put. In doing so, she touched me softly on the left shoulder with her long fingernails. Being discovered there would put me back to square one. Robuyuki was gonna get his from Cambio’s guards, but I had to stay still, I couldn’t move.

“It’s also my favourite drink.” The chef offered.

“But you don’t drink, Robuyuki.”

Robuyuki lifted the glass to his lips and forced the drink down his neck, licking his lips with satisfaction.

Cambio had been silenced and we heard the clumped, mechanical tramping of feet as they exited the restaurant. Alessandra heaved a sigh of relief and we slowly moved apart. I poured a glass of Grand Marnier into the glass that I had seized and we shared it there in the cellar. The sense of relief was overwhelming and we hugged each other, but without the intensity that there had been between us moments before. There was still a layer of fear that lay like a film across the room, and that fear had rendered us sexless siblings. Robuyuki knocked on the cellar door and we climbed back up and thanked him sincerely.

About the Author:

Mark A. Hill has an Economics degree from the University of Lancaster and both CELTA and DELTA qualifications to teach English to second language learners.

In 2005, in Cagliari, Italy, he founded English Teachers, which offers language services such as English courses, translations and interpreting. He collaborates as a translator and interpreter with the Cagliari Law Courts, several universities throughout Europe, and numerous private and public organizations both in the Cagliari area and throughout Italy.

Every summer, he teaches English for Academic Purposes (EAP) to Postgraduate students at Swansea University in the UK.

Mark A. Hill’s poetry has been published in The UK Poetry Library’s Top Writers of 2012 and the Live Canon 2013 Prize Anthology. He was highly commended in the 2015 Segora Poetry Prize and was short-listed for the Canon 2015 First Collection Prize. In 2016, one of his poems was commissioned, published and performed at The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, for the anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.

Mark A. Hill has also published academic courseware in collaboration with Delfis s.r.l.

Facebook | Twitter | Author’s Publilsher’s Page

Buy the book at Amazon UK, Amazon, Amazon De, or Amazon it.

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Mainstream Fiction Tagged With: , , ,

Hippie Mermaid by Joanne Guidoccio – Spotlight and Giveaway

November 10, 2025 By 3 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Joanne Guidoccio will be awarding a $10 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

From sea to shore, betrayal follows her wherever she goes.

On Christmas Eve, psychic Kendra Adams reveals the secret she’s hidden for decades—she was once Rosina, a mermaid torn between sea and shore. Betrayed in her ocean kingdom and desperate to escape banishment, she persuades a politician to smuggle her into the human world. But freedom on land comes at a cost, as she soon finds herself ensnared in another web, this one spun by the politician’s power-hungry sister.

Read an Excerpt

The human laughter startled me. It sounded so foreign, unlike anything I had ever heard before. I followed the sounds and turned my gaze toward four large humans approaching us. Up close, they were frightening, almost menacing, in their dark garments. I took note of their varying appearances. Two had light brown hair and blue eyes, while the other pair sported dark hair and dark eyes. Intent on observing the darker pair, I didn’t notice the other two men eyeing me.

“Hippie mermaid!” yelled one of the men with light-colored features.

All the men glanced in my direction. I felt myself reddening as I met their liquid eyes and wide smiles. There was interest there, and some other emotion or feeling I had never seen before. For a split second, I was flattered by their attention. And then I recalled what Mama had said. I must let Annabella choose first.

Annabella did not give me a chance to react. She beckoned to the man who had spoken, and he reluctantly turned away from me. Rosetta claimed the other light-haired man, and Lisetta chose one of the dark-haired men. I watched as they moved to separate rocks along the shore.

The remaining man approached. As his features came into closer focus, I realized he was older than the others. Not by much, but there were white hairs sprinkled in the darkness, and his face crinkled as he smiled. “I guess I won this mermaid lottery.”

My eyes widened in surprise.

He laughed and shook his head. “You could have had any of us. You didn’t have to end up with me.”

“But I’m not a Bella or an Etta. I’m an Ina.” There was no point in hiding my rank. I had never been embarrassed by it, and after hearing about Aunt Lina’s punishment, I knew my place.

“Honey, I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re the prettiest of the group. You just don’t know it yet.”

About the Author:

Joanne Guidoccio enjoyed a rewarding career teaching mathematics, business, and co-operative education courses before retiring to pursue writing. A member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, she writes paranormal romances, cozy mysteries, and inspirational stories from her home base of Guelph, Ontario.

: Website | Twitter | Bluesky | Pinterest | Facebook | Goodreads | LinkedIn | Amazon Page

Buy the book at Amazon, Amazon CA, Amazon UK, or a href=”https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0FVHQ2T3N”>Amazon AU

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , ,

What Would I Tell a New Author? by p.m. terrell – Guest Blog and Giveaway

November 6, 2025 By 2 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. p.m. terrell will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

What Would I Tell a New Author?

I’ve been in the business of writing for over forty years, and I’ve seen a lot of changes. However, there are a few things that seem to stay the same, including:

Write the best book you can possibly manage, and hire the most capable editor that you can afford. If you are traditionally published, your competition is formidable. If you are self-published, editing is even more important.

If you want a traditional agent or publisher, check out a copy of Writer’s Market at your local library. With over 100 editions since it was first published, it is the best source of publishers, agents, and editors who are most likely to want your book.

Your book is unlikely to hit the national bestseller lists unless you have a dedicated marketing team behind it. This usually means a major imprint has published your book. There are exceptions, but they are rare.

Learn as much as you can about the publishing industry, particularly about book marketing. The industry is complex, and book marketing is a unique skill. If a traditional imprint publishes your book, understanding the industry will help you to become a valuable team member.

If you self-publish, you are taking on the role of a publisher as well as an author. This means you’ll have to wear multiple hats, including sales, marketing, production (editing, formatting, print runs, etc.), and lots more.

Be wary of any emails or advertisements promising you bestseller status. Unfortunately, authors can be easy prey, especially when someone promises you exposure and sales. Do your homework.

Stay in the game. If you love to write, keep writing. Improve your craft. Sometimes, all it takes is to stay in the game.

While researching her next book, historian and author Hayley Hunter rents a lighthouse in Southeastern North Carolina. The modern lighthouse and vacation home replaced an original wood structure that only functioned during the Revolutionary War. The old lighthouse may be long gone, but the lightkeeper’s ghost remains.

Hayley becomes increasingly obsessed with finding why the spirit of Jonathan Corbyn lingers between realms. Joined by her lover Shay MacGregor, her search will take her into a world of spies, double agents, and espionage at the dawn of American democracy.

Enjoy an Excerpt

I bolted upright and tapped on the latest alert. I found myself staring at the lantern room. The security camera encompassed nearly the entire circular room, save for the wall behind it. My eyes skimmed the walls, alighting briefly on each window. The moon was high and full, and for a moment, I thought the camera might have picked up the glow or perhaps even something flying against the window. But as I continued to stare into my phone, I spotted something moving along the top steps as if ascending.

I quietly tossed the covers off me and glided into my slippers as I grabbed my robe. I cautiously strode to the spiral stairs to peer upward into the stairwell. It was not as dark as I had expected, but a muted light from the moon struggled to illuminate it. I glanced downward to discover it was darker beneath me. Turning my attention again to the stairs leading upward, I remembered the curvature in the design prevented me from seeing to the top. How, then, my mind argued, could the moonlight find its way down?

I stepped onto the staircase. My right hand clenched the phone, while my eyes continually moved from the image on my screen to the steps above me. My naked eyes could see nothing out of the ordinary. The steps appeared just as they had a few hours earlier. But my phone displayed a shadow moving upward.

As I reached the uppermost stairs, I realized the image picked up by the security camera was not a human, but rather a human form. It was opaque, but I detected the outline of a man’s broad shoulders, his torso, arms, and legs. His legs were misshapen, as though he were wearing breeches that ballooned slightly from him. There was something else that extended beyond his body, like a waistcoat. I could see the outline of his head, but it was shadowy, with facial details absorbed into the darkness.

I froze on the step. I could see the image clearly on my phone’s security app. But when I used my naked eyes without the benefit of the phone, I could see nothing at all in the spot where it should have appeared. Shakily, I climbed to the next step and then the next.

The figure moved just beyond me as if to entice me to follow him. As my head topped the floor, it turned to me, as if he was looking straight at me, though I could see nothing but darkness where his face should have been.

About the Author My full name is Patricia McClelland Terrell, and I have been writing under the pen name p.m.terrell ever since a publisher presented me with my first fiction book cover. The graphic designer had also entered my name in lower-case letters; my editor hated it, and I loved it. It’s been p.m.terrell ever since.

I began writing when I was nine years old, inspired by a schoolteacher and elementary school principal. Scott-Foresman published my first book, a computer instructional for universities, in 1984. Scott-Foresman, Dow-Jones (Richard D. Irwin branch), Palari Publishing, Paralee Press, and Drake Valley Press have published 26 books to date.

Before embarking on a full-time writing career, I founded McClelland Enterprises, Inc. in the Washington, D.C. area in 1984, specializing in computer instruction for employees in the workplace. I opened another business, Continental Software Development Corporation, in 1994, which focused on custom application development, programming, website design and development, and computer crime.

I was honored to be the first female President of the Chesterfield County/Colonial Heights Crime Solvers. I also served as the Treasurer for the Virginia Crime Stoppers Association. Since moving to North Carolina, I served on the Robeson County Friends of the Library and Robeson County Arts Council.

I launched The Book ‘Em Foundation with Waynesboro, Virginia Police Officer Mark Kearney, and assisted in Virginia, New Hampshire, and South Carolina events before establishing the Annual Book ‘Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair, chairing it for several years before turning it over to Robeson Community College in Lumberton, NC.

Website | Facebook

Buy the book at Apple, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, or Smashwords.

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Mystery/Suspense Tagged With: , , ,

The Martha and Marya Mysteries by Emily Hanlon – Spotlight

November 5, 2025 By 1 Comment

With compassion, wit, and a sharp eye for human contradiction, Emily Hanlon’s The Martha and Marya Mysteries explore the unlikely partnership between two women who use faith, intellect, and intuition to uncover truth in the face of moral ambiguity.

In Who Am I to Judge?, the quiet parish of Saint John of the Cross is rocked when a beloved priest confesses to the murder of a parishioner. Marya Cook, an eccentric octogenarian known for her purple wardrobe and Bible quotes, refuses to believe he’s guilty. Her search for justice draws in Martha Collins, a younger, efficient church volunteer who would rather stay far from gossip—or the strange old woman leading it. Yet together, they peel back layers of deceit in Pequot Bays’ affluent social circles, revealing envy, corruption, and hypocrisy in unexpected corners. A Cloud of Witnesses opens as the town tries to recover from scandal, only to find itself torn apart by a new priest and his cultlike following, Dies Irae. When tragedy strikes again, Marya’s peculiar reasoning and Martha’s practicality clash and converge as they unearth motives rooted in ambition and fear. In The Wagers of Sin, the duo travels beyond Pequot Bays aboard a luxury cruise to the Greek Isles, where an elderly heiress drops dead mid-vow at her own wedding. Surrounded by opportunists, heirs, and hidden resentments, Marya and Martha race to expose the truth before another life is lost. Through these interlocking mysteries, Hanlon examines faith as both compass and test—and friendship as its most steadfast form of grace.

Enjoy an Excerpt from Who Am I to Judge?

Martha craned her neck to see over the Purple Pest and O’Hara, trying to get a glimpse of her first set of suspects to no avail. She would have to squeeze by them.

GET OUT OF MY WAY!

As though the old woman could hear Martha’s screamed thoughts, she looked up. She smiled, exhibiting a missing bottom front tooth, but Martha looked away. The old woman spoke softly to Martha as she brushed past, but Martha ignored her.

Martha’s eyes narrowed in on her first suspect, Monica Byrnes, who sat praying earnestly, looking up at the statue of St Joseph. Monica wouldn’t have the nerve to kill anyone. She’d just worry her own self to death over Matthew, her no-good son. Martha instead eyed Lance, sitting next to his wife, his handsome features unmarked by concerns about anything other than himself. She followed his gaze and saw, with a start, that it was locked on the shapely figure of her third suspect, Cyndi Higginbotham.

Martha looked from Cyndi back to Lance, and then she shook her head. No. They might want to get rid of their spouses but not Enid.

She turned her glance to Higgy. It couldn’t be him. Higgy’s a jerk, a loudmouth, and a blowhard, but no one who’s so generous to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal could be a murderer.

Martha was puzzled for a moment until she recalled there was one more suspect. She slowly turned toward the front of the church and saw the young man—tall, dark and handsome—spotlighted by a ray of light from the large rose window so bright that dust motes danced in its glare. What a shame he became a priest.

Fr. Jim Cartwright , the associate pastor at St John of the Cross, wore a gold embroidered vestment that rustled majestically as he processed down the center aisle.

She looked him over, from his perfectly coiffed hair to his black leather shoes shined to a mirror gloss, as she followed his progress toward the back of the church. It’s him! He’s the murderer.

Martha sat down in a pew and remained in church long after everyone left, drained of energy, her adrenaline spent. She trudged to the door that, as she opened it, was a good deal heavier than when she had entered the church. Walking to her car, the Purple Pest’s comment pushed its way into her consciousness. She stopped short.

Had the old woman really whispered, “It must have been quite a shock for you, my dear. Discovering the body like that.” No. It couldn’t be. I’m exhausted. It must be my imagination.

About the Author: Emily Hanlon is a lifelong storyteller whose journey from the courtroom to fiction has given her writing both precision and heart. Raised in Texas and educated in Boston, she spent years as a personal injury litigator and later as an arbitrator, sifting through contradictory stories to uncover what’s real—a skill that translates seamlessly to her mysteries. A late-life convert to Catholicism inspired by her husband and sons, she now serves as a eucharistic minister and volunteer for the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Her novels reflect her belief that truth and compassion can coexist—and that justice begins with understanding. All profits from her books support charitable causes. Learn more on her website or follow her on Instagram and Facebook

Buy the books on Amazon

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Mystery/Suspense Tagged With:

The Tomato Jam Murder by Meg Benjamin – Spotlight and Giveaway

November 4, 2025 By 2 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Meg Benjamin will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Roxy’s spending her summer with burros and jam, but there’s a murderer in the mountains.

It’s burro racing season in the Rockies, and Roxy Constantine is all for it. Now if she can come up with a good recipe for tomato jam, her summer will be complete. But when Roxy finds a body on the burro race course, she’s suddenly plunged into a murder investigation. And when her innocent friend is accused of killing her ex, Roxy must challenge a corrupt police chief who wants to shut her up. Now she needs to find the real killer and save a neighboring town from a plot to ruin its mountain magic.

Enjoy an Excerpt

“Peggy Sue, don’t you dare!”

Peggy Sue turned soulful brown eyes on my friend Laurel Beacham, who was a few feet behind her. She looked like she really, really wanted to go through the gate leading to Laurel’s front yard.

“Peggy Sue, you listen to me.”

Peggy Sue took another tentative step forward. Clearly, she was weighing just how much trouble she’d be in if she kept going. The gate to the front yard of Laurel’s cabin was slightly ajar and Peggy Sue would likely be able to step through it in just a moment or two. On the other hand, based on her tone of voice, Laurel clearly meant business.

“Peggy Sue, I will lock you in the barn, so help me.”

Peggy Sue gave her another of those tragic looks that conveyed, How can you be considering something so cruel? So inhumane? All I want is some grass. And it’s just sitting there.

Laurel picked up her pace, but she was still a little far away from the gate. I, on the other hand, was right there. I quickly stepped forward just as Peggy Sue started to push the gate open. I gave it a quick shove so that the latch caught, and the gate snapped closed.

Peggy Sue stared up at me, eyes narrowing. I had no idea if donkeys bit people who annoyed them, and I didn’t want to find out. I stepped back. “Sorry, Peggy Sue, but I think you were about to get into a space where you aren’t allowed.”

Laurel moved forward and grabbed the burro’s halter. “Oh, she was definitely heading for a space where she isn’t allowed. And she knows it full well.” She pulled Peggy Sue away from the fence. Shaking her head, the burro gave my friend a look that should have broken the strongest heart. She had some of the longest eyelashes I’d ever seen, along with those great big brown eyes. Puppy eyes are nothing compared to burro eyes.

About the Author: Meg Benjamin is an award-winning author of romance and cozy mysteries. Meg’s cozy mystery series, Luscious Delights from Wild Rose Press, concerns a jam-making sleuth based in the mythical small town of Shavano, Colorado. Her Konigsburg series is set in the Texas Hill Country and her Salt Box and Brewing Love trilogies are set in the Colorado Rockies (all are available from Entangled Publishing and from Meg’s indie line). Along with romance and cozies, Meg is also the author of the paranormal Ramos Family trilogy from Berkley InterMix and the Folk trilogy from Meg’s indie line. Meg’s books have won numerous awards, including an EPIC Award, a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Holt Medallion from Virginia Romance Writers, the Beanpot Award from the New England Romance Writers, the Carly Crown Jewel of Books from the Mid-America Romance Authors, and the Award of Excellence from Colorado Romance Writers.

Facebook | Author Facebook | Instagram | Threads | BlueSky | Goodreads | BookBub | Pinterest | Amazon | YouTube | Website

Buy the book at Amazon.

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Mystery/Suspense Tagged With: , , ,

Extraterrestrial Noir by Rich Leder – Q&A and Giveaway

November 3, 2025 By 2 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $25 Amazon/BN.com gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

What are four things you can’t live without?

Me-time. Mornings belong to me. I do what I want at the pace I’m feeling that particular day. I often get up early but not always. So what? It’s my morning. Belongs to me. Don’t mess with my morning. I spend a lot of the morning thinking about my work. But I don’t usually write anything. I think about what I wrote and what I want to write and how I want to write it.

Work-time. I write in the afternoon. I’ve been thinking about it all morning, so now I’m ready to transport myself into the world I’ve created and spend four or five hours with the people living the adventure I’ve set for them.

Love-time. I’ve been married forty years. My wife and I are best friends. We have three kids (adults now) and get along just great with all of them. And we have close friends. I need to be connected—heart to heart—with these people every day. Not all of them all day every day. But some of them for some of the day every day.

Escape-time. Get me out of here, man. Take me somewhere enthralling. I read like crazy. It’s a drug. And I’m addicted to it. Reading, that is. But after so many decades of filmmaking, I’m also addicted to television and movies. Luckily, my wife is too. So we watch a little bit every day. Films, limited series, standup comedy. There always some show to carry me away. And then I’m ready to do it all over again.

What is your favorite television show?

Let’s answer this one broadly, shall we? I love science fiction and most all things sci-fi. I love mysteries and crime and thrillers and action. I love comedy, often dark, often silly, often obscene-ish. I don’t usually love romantic comedy, but sometimes I do. I love documentaries that don’t soft-shoe the material. I don’t watch news because no one spends more than 60 seconds on an issue that demands two hours. Not no one, actually. “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” is news the way I like to watch it.

If you could be any character, from any literary work, who would you choose to be? Why?

Broadly again, please. I want to be in space, traveling enormous distances, impossible distances, in the blink of an eye. The far-far future suits me. So Bradbury, Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, Wells, Herbert (especially Herbert) … just go ahead and put me in one of their books. I’ll go.

What have you got coming soon for us to look out for?

What I’ve got now is “Extraterrestrial Noir.” My next book is “Money Dog.” Almost done.

What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?

Tom Robbins. Kurt Vonnegut. Chuck Pahalniuk. Phillip Roth. Carl Hiaasen. Richard Ford. Maybe even in that order. Good place to start, anyway.

A PSYCHO-CRIMINAL EXTRATERRESTRIAL ON A SUBURBAN CUL-DE-SAC

A FAMILY ON THE BRINK OF ALL-ENCOMPASSING INSOLVENCY

A TWELVE-YEAR-OLD UBER-GENIUS DAUGHTER IN THE LINE OF FIRE

CAN SHE SAVE THE FAMILY, NOT TO MENTION THE PLANET?

An extraterrestrial crashes into a suburban cul-de-sac Colonial, absorbs every binary bit of information ever chronicled in all of human history, rearranges its molecules and presents itself as a couple of late and legendary film noir superstars, then immediately displays an appetite for debauchery, depravity, decadence, and destruction, seducing the family into its psychopathic criminal orbit with irresistible Hollywood panache, alluring sexual charisma, and inconceivable intergalactic powers.…all in the name of saving the family from their emotional, marital, and financial ruin.

But uber-genius-daughter Mike Devine figures out fast that the extraterrestrial’s principal plan is to employ its unfathomable interplanetary muscle and implode the planet. Which leaves the fate of her family, not to mention the world, in her twelve-year-old hands.

Enjoy an Excerpt

“That’s almost six trillion miles per year—a single light-year,” Mike said.

“So, if they travel at light speed, they should be here pretty soon,” Maggie said.

“Better make extra pancakes,” Connie said.

“That’s lame, Dad,” Danny said.

“It’s witty, son,” Connie said. “You’ll understand when you get older.”

“I hope not,” Danny said.

“Not too soon,” Mike said. “The distance from Earth to the edge of the universe in any direction takes forty-six point five gigalight-years.”

“How many light years in a gigalight-year?” Connie said.

“A billion,” Mike said.

“What does that mean in Earth years?” Maggie said.

“Voyager 1, our most distant space probe, traveled fourteen light-hours, not even one light-day, and that took thirty Earth years. So, it would take about twenty-two thousand Earth years to travel the same distance light travels in one light-year. About one quadrillion and one hundred two trillion Earth years to reach the edge of the universe.”

If that’s a question on the genius test, I wonder which part of the light-speed equation Mike will only get ninety-two percent right, Maggie thought.

“What if they were coming from the closest galaxy?” Maggie said.

“Andromeda,” Mike said. “Twenty-five hundred Earth years.”

“Long time,” Maggie said, and she turned off her flashlight.

“The meteors should have been here by now,” Connie said.

“I saw something up there,” Maggie said.

But something up there had seen her and made a sharp turn toward Earth.

About the Author Rich Leder has been a working writer for more than three decades. His credits include eight novels for Laugh Riot Press and 19 produced movies—television films for CBS, Lifetime, and Hallmark and feature films for Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Tri-Star Pictures, Longridge Productions, and Left Bank Films.

He’s been the lead singer in a Detroit rock band, a restaurateur, a Little League coach, an indie film director, a literacy tutor, a magazine editor, a screenwriting coach, a wedding consultant (it’s true), a PTA board member, a HOA president, a commercial real estate agent, and a visiting artist for the UNCW Film Studies Department, all of which, it turns out, was grist for the mill.

Website
Buy the book at Amazon or Bookshop.org.

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , ,

The Making of a Fantasy Writer by Colin Sephton – Guest Blog and Giveaway

November 3, 2025 By 1 Comment

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Colin Sephton will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The Making of a Fantasy Writer
I never really set out to become a writer, it happened almost by accident, or perhaps more accurately, as a natural extension of another passion. My creative journey began with artwork. From a young age, I loved drawing and painting, and I was especially drawn to fantasy art. At first, I honed my craft by sketching well-known superheroes and established characters created by others. That practice taught me technique and discipline, but after a while I began to feel constrained. I wanted to breathe life into my own creations. That desire for originality slowly grew, and eventually many of the characters that now populate my novels were first born decades ago in the pages of my sketchpads. Over time, I realised that having visual references of these figures gave me an advantage. It allowed me to describe them in greater detail on the page. While not every character I write has an artistic origin, a great many do.

My inspiration for storytelling goes beyond characters, though. I’ve always been fascinated by certain subjects: fantasy, the mysteries of the cosmos, the latest scientific theories, questions of consciousness, and the allure of ancient knowledge and lost civilizations. These passions shape everything I write. In many ways, my novels are the result of blending all these threads into a single creative tapestry. This fascination began in childhood. With my very first library card in hand, I would spend long summer days immersed in books, researching whatever captured my curiosity and creating little projects of my own. That early hunger for knowledge never left me, it simply evolved into stories.

Ignatius and Indigo find themselves struggling mentally to come to terms with the complex nature of the cosmos and their newfound supernatural powers obtained through their prior encounters with gods and demons. In their quest for another relic from the Creation, they are aided by the secretive thirteenth Chapter of the Union Jacks. In search of the secret of the Flaming Celestial Pearl, they must travel to Tibet in the great airship, HM Spirit of the Empire.

Pursued by fanatical knights sworn to protect the relic, they must reluctantly call upon the Charon, the seven merciless demons from the underworld to assist them. Piecing together the map that will lead them to a fabled city hidden deep within the Himalayas, they must defend themselves from air pirates, a previous foe from Oxford, mountain beasts and elementals.

Discovering the correct path through the mountains, Indigo realises her soul may never be the same again. Regardless, they enter the Great Void where using the Sword of Wisdom, they discover the truth about the cosmos.

Enjoy an Excerpt

The desk was large, and made from burr walnut, inlaid with green leather, decorated around the edge in gold. Its golden glow illuminated the office. The room was floored with black and white tiles and all four walls were lined with rich oak panelling, with the same crest carved into one of the panels. Behind the desk hung a large oil painting, a dark portrait of a brooding figure. The desk was otherwise uncluttered, just a brass inkstand and a green banker’s lamp. The only ornamentation was a bronze of a lion like those seen in Trafalgar Square.

“Good morning, Mr Lawrence,” said an aide as he entered the office with a silver tray of tea. Earl Grey, his preferred choice. Hot, no milk.

“The latest reports, sir,” the aide gestured with his head at the stack of Manilla folders. “Some unusual goings on in Oxford,” he said as he raised an eyebrow. The thin weaselly man had been with the Union some twenty years and throughout all that time had spent most of it behind a desk.

Lawrence didn’t rise to his prompting and replied simply, “Very well, Jenkins, I will let you know!”

Sifting through the reports, Lawrence took on a serious brow, mulling over the potential impact on the Empire of each report. The first report told of dangerous shamanic practices in China, disrupting the activities of the East India Company. He picked up the next report and after reading it, then reading it again, his face turned red, his brow furrowing. Significant disturbances in Oxford. His large fist slammed down in a rage onto the green leather, knocking his ink pot over. A book fell off the shelf behind him as he filled his lungs and bellowed, “Jenkins, get me Isambard Ignatius. NOW!”

About the Author Colin was born in Coventry and worked in the automotive industry for over twenty years before becoming an Engineering teacher. Obtaining his first library card at the age of thirteen, he became an avid reader of Fantasy and the mysteries of the Universe. He has an inbuilt curiosity for lost knowledge and ancient texts that may help to unlock the secrets of consciousness and the universe. Living in Oxford for many years, he has now moved back to his home county of Warwickshire where he enjoys creating and working with his wife on their garden in which he writes and entertains their two grandsons. He has always been an artist and writer and is inspired by the worlds created by Robert E Howard and Michael Moorcock, with the artwork of Frank Frazetta.

Instagram | Website
Buy the book at Amazon.

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , ,

Toil and Trouble by various authors – Spotlight and Giveaway

October 30, 2025 By 2 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The authors will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The brew is hot and bubbling over with romance and terror in this twistedly beautiful anthology that welcomes the darkness of horror and the temptation of love’s veiled promises. Six remarkable tales from six incredible authors fill this book of dark shadows and ancient whispers.

Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble – by Jennifer Patricia O’Keeffe: Enchanted pastries and spell-brewed coffee make Esmerelda’s sugar-dusted counter the city’s most coveted haunt—until a dangerously charming newcomer slips into her shop, immune to her magic and unraveling her carefully guarded world. As his witch-hunter heritage threatens to burn her legacy to ash, Esmerelda finds herself torn between the threat of revenge from the witch hunter’s ancestors and the intoxicating truth of the connection that they share.

Silverwood – by Lynn Hubbard: A lonely rancher’s daughter finds her isolated Wyoming homestead upended when an amber-eyed stranger ignites a mud-splattered passion that defies reason—until his supernatural secret and the vengeful ranch hands hunting her force her to choose between the man who saves her and the monster who might destroy her. Torn between fierce protectors and forbidden desire, she must trust the very darkness that could shatter her world to survive the wild frontier’s deadliest threats.

Ivy, Lichens and Wallflowers – by James Ryan: Marketing executive Hilda finds solace from her stifling corporate life and overbearing past in the quiet companionship of Miriam, a mysterious 19th-century marble statue in a city micro-park, only to discover their connection transcends stone when Miriam begins answering her handwritten notes through cryptic poetry left in return. As their forbidden connection deepens into an intoxicating dream-bound romance, Hilda uncovers Miriam’s supernatural secret: she’s a cursed thaumaturge sustained by stolen life force, forcing Hilda to confront whether love can survive the devastating cost of keeping her alive.

A Mirror to Die For – by Cindy Lewis Smith: A desperate woman finds solace in an antique mirror that whisks her nightly to 1880s Arizona, where a charming outlaw named Johnny Ringo fulfills every fantasy—until her jealous fiancé shatters the glass and vanishes, leaving her trapped in an asylum screaming that he is the real monster, a man who shouldn’t exist: Dr. John Henry Holliday, the gambler who killed Ringo a century ago. Now, with “MPR” carved into her cell walls and time itself unraveling, she’ll stop at nothing to prove her sanity by proving time travel is real—even if it means unleashing the very darkness that destroyed her.

Flight 1031: Cosmic Turbulence – by Julian Christian: Diplomatic courier Sarah Martinez boards Flight 1031 expecting routine turbulence, not a Halloween dimensional rift that strands her at Germania International Airport—where the Greater German Reich has ruled since 1943 and perfected technology to harvest souls from parallel realities through consciousness-scanning machinery that pulses with seventeen-beat rhythms. Now trapped in a terminal that breathes like a living organism, Sarah must navigate a world where every passenger hides a secret and her resistance could either save her timeline or doom infinite versions of humanity to eternal enslavement in a Reich that spans all dimensions.

Dream a Little Dream – by Jae El Foster: After a near-death car crash rewires her brain, Sarah’s nightmares bleed into reality: sugar on the counter forms glyphs, bats appear out of nowhere in broad daylight, and her own hands betray her—while the velvet-eyed stranger from her dreams appears in her waking hours, his urgency growing as Halloween’s veil thins. Now, with her reality twisting into something surreal and an ancient language hijacking her voice, she must confront a dark truth: her soul isn’t hers to keep, and the man who saved her in death is the very entity hunting her in life.

Enjoy an Excerpt From ‘A Mirror to Die For’ by Cindy Lewis Smith

“May I have a glass of water?” I asked.

I’m just so uncomfortable. These clothes I am wearing are itchy and stained. I have no recollection of purchasing this outfit. It’s definitely not mine nor my style. My hair feels gritty and needs to be washed and brushed. Any day now my fiancé John Henry, some people call him Doc, will be bringing me my own clothes and makeup, and a new hair brush too. I know he will. I can’t wait to see him. It’s been so long.

In fact, I don’t know where he could be. The last time I saw him we argued, but that was the way it was for us. I’d forgive him and we would go on as if nothing happened. This chair is uncomfortable. The seat is worn out and the softness of the padding has long gone. I have to keep squirming and readjusting my body just to be able to endure the sitting.

I noticed the clock on the wall directly in front of me. It’s one of those large heavy clocks, probably weighing fifty pounds or more. There’s a picture of the Eiffel Tower in the face of the clock. The word Paris is written in a pretty script over the tower. I doubt anyone in this place has ever been to Paris. It’s on my bucket list. John Henry and I may honeymoon in Paris once we’re married, although he’s been talking about going back to Georgia instead.

To distract my thoughts in the silence of this morbidly uncomfortable room, I envision the clock falling and crashing to the floor, leaving a giant hole in the wall where the nail would be. I imagine that the glass in the clock has broken into thousands of tiny pieces. Sharp pointy shards of glass are scattered throughout the room, glittering like diamonds on velvet. Aren’t they so pretty?

“I’m sorry, I lost my train of thought.”

“Go on,” he said, “Tell me more about what happened to John Henry”

I love talking about John Henry. My story, it’s all true, you know. Every single word. I wouldn’t have believed it myself if it didn’t happen to me.

I readjusted myself one more time in the chair and continued.

“It all started the day I purchased the mirror,” I explained.

“You see, I hadn’t slept but maybe four or five restless hours the entire previous week. My life had become mundane and boring. The excitement was gone between me and John Henry. His demeanor had changed. He said it wasn’t him, it was me who had changed. But, I knew he was lying.”

He never told me any truths. Not anything about his past or what he did when he left me. Sometimes, I felt like he was only using me. Like I was a mysterious link or something between what he used to be and what he wanted to be now. It’s hard to explain, it was probably nothing more than my imagination.

John Henry was just so ruggedly handsome, I couldn’t help myself, so I forgave him often when we argued. Maybe because of our fighting and torrent relationship, the headaches were coming more and more frequently. And, more intense.

I refused to take the prescription medication I was given. Those pills… those little pink and red pills! NO! No, not those pills again. I couldn’t take it anymore. I tossed the prescription bottle into the trash can and grabbed the keys to my car on my way out the door. I heard the door slam behind me and I didn’t look back. I was not going to think about John Henry, if only for one day.

“My old Chevy was stuttering and in need of some repairs, but it didn’t stop me from driving wherever I wanted to go. And that day, I wanted to go across the border. It was a warm day in late September, with barely a breeze moving through the dry air. I was wearing a big straw hat, the same kind the Chiquita Banana woman wears on the TV commercials, a pair of dark sunglasses and shoes that flipped back and forth on my feet.”

I was getting low on gas so I coasted into an old, mostly deserted town in southern Arizona. It was just a few miles or so, maybe thirty or forty minutes across the border. I didn’t want to take a chance on stalling out the car. Service stations out there are few and far between. I parked my car on a dust covered side street and strolled to the downtown area of this dusty little town.

Some old-timers were outside sitting on benches that lined the wooden sidewalks of the streets. Their wrinkled cheeks were swollen on one side from a wad of chewing tobacco. A dirty brass spittoon was centered on the sidewalk between them. I could feel them staring at me. You know that kind of stare implying that I didn’t belong there, that I’m out of place.

Buy the book at oAmazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, iBooks or https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/toil-and-trouble-17

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Horror Tagged With: , , ,

Interview with Charity Tahmaseb and giveaway

October 29, 2025 By 19 Comments

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Charity Tahmaseb who is visiting with us today to celebrate the recent release of her newest book THE PANSY PARADOX, the first book in her SFF The Chronicles of King’s End series. Charity will be awarding a $25 bookstore gift card to a randomly drawn commenter on today’s post. EDITED TO ADD: Congratulations to winner Deb B.

 

 

A woman with nothing to hide—except the truth—meets a man with nothing to lose—except his heart. And he’s just arrived in town to fire her.

Meet Pansy Little

Since her mother vanished, Apprentice Field Agent Pansy Little is the sole guardian of King’s End, protecting it from a supernatural force only a select few can see. The arrival of an agent from Enclave headquarters doesn’t bring relief. Instead, it means Pansy’s well-crafted charade is about to collapse.

Meet Henry Darnelle

Principal Field Agent Henry Darnelle doesn’t want to be in King’s End, but he’s been blackmailed into performing Pansy’s field agent evaluation—with explicit instructions to fail her.

Distractedly handsome and unfailingly correct, he surprises Pansy—and himself—by defying orders to fire her. Instead, his curiosity is piqued by both Pansy and King’s End.

Together, they investigate, unearthing intricate ties that bind their families. Together, they might even be falling in love.

But someone with a decades-old obsession is watching, maneuvering behind the scenes, someone won’t rest until blood is spilled.

Welcome to King’s End, where discord falls from the sky and an eccentric twenty-something patrols the streets with her pink polka-dotted umbrella. Where one misstep won’t merely bring disaster—it might spark the end of the world.

The main character, Pansy Little, lives by some explicit, if cryptic rules set down by her mother. They are:

1. Never go into the housing development after dark.
2. Never go to the silo alone.
3. Never go to the covered bridge, period.
4. If the Enclave makes an offer, remember they always require something in return.
5. Trust no one from the Enclave.
6. When someone tells you they’re not betrothed, don’t believe them.
7. The Screamers don’t fight fair; you shouldn’t, either.

During the course of the story, Pansy, along with Henry, end up breaking several of these rules. That first rule in particular has some startling and far-reaching consequences. Although rule six will continue to have repercussions throughout the series.

Charity wants to complete and publish the second book in the series, The Marigold Miracle, next year.

“I’m pretty sure I can do that. However, this is my first year of full-time fiction writing. I quit my tech job in January of this year, and I’m still finding my way when it comes to pacing myself and my publishing schedule,” she said.

Charity grew up in Mankato, Minnesota, the home of Maud Hart Lovelace, author of the Betsy-Tacy series.

“My house was on the other side of the ‘big hill’ of the series,” Charity told me. “For a time in junior high, I had a paper route where I delivered papers to Betsy’s, Tacy’s, and Tib’s house.

“When I wasn’t reading mysteries or the Chronicles of Narnia, I was most likely reading (or re-reading) the Betsy-Tacy series. In her books, Maud called Mankato Deep Valley, and you can feel her deep love of the town. “

This influenced her own work, she said, as she’s done something similar with her own fiction, using elements of places she’s lived to create her own fictional small towns.

We asked Charity, “Could you ever co-author a book with someone?”

“I actually have co-authored two books with one of my best friends, Darcy Vance. We wrote two young adult novels together, The Geek Girl’s Guide to Cheerleading and Dating on the Dork Side. (Do I need to mention they were YA novels? I feel like the titles give that away.)

“Sadly, Darcy passed away in 2018. I still miss her so deeply. The odd thing about losing Darcy is I’ve lost all desire to write young adult stories as well. Even when we wrote our own stories, we were such a big part of the other’s writing process. I still think of Darcy as my ideal reader. She loved the Coffee & Ghosts series, and I wish she could have read book four. I would also love to know what she would have made of The Pansy Paradox.

“After losing Darcy, I had to reinvent myself as a writer. But I know this: she would never want me to stop writing. So I haven’t. “

When she’s not writing, she loves reading, gardening, researching (some topics might never end up in her writing, and researching her family tree.

“I don’t do this too often because it’s such a rabbit hole that I’ll glance up and realize that I’ve been at it for eight hours straight,” she admitted.

This past year, she created a cottage garden and plans to expand that next year and create pockets of pollinator friendly, native plants in other spaces in her yard.

“What did you want to be when you grew up,” I wondered.

“A lot of authors talk about how they always wanted to write. And while I’ve always had stories in my head, I so wanted to be a girl detective when I grew up. Or rather, I wanted to be a girl detective from the moment I started reading mysteries.

“My favorite mysteries were the Trixie Belden ones. In fact, somewhere, I still have my Trixie Belden fan club membership card. I also read Nancy Drew, The Secret Seven, Encyclopedia Brown, and I wandered into the adult mystery section in the library about the time I was ten. I read a lot of Agatha Christie as well.

“I never did find a mystery I could solve. But the mystery genre has had a huge influence on my writing. Most (if not all) of my stories contain a mystery element. For my recent series, both my main characters have mysterious goings-on in their hometown. I suspect this is a form of childhood wish fulfillment on my part.”

“If you could keep a mythical/paranormal creature as a pet, what would you have?”

“I love the magical helper trope, love it. I had so much fun writing the ghosts in my Coffee & Ghosts series. Granted, some of those ghosts were helpful, and some not so much. Then, for The Pansy Paradox, I came up with the notion of sentient umbrellas. (No, don’t ask me how; I have no idea.)

“My first inclination is I’d love a magical cat. Then again, I’m not sure I’d want to be constantly judged. A dragon would be cool. Or a magical fox! I wouldn’t keep them as a pet. But as a friend in the woods outside my house? Absolutely.“

Buy THE PANSY PARADOX at Amazon.

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With:

Look Over Your Shoulder by Sharon Overend – Spotlight and Giveaway

October 27, 2025 By 1 Comment

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Sharon Overend 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.

A haunting, lyrical exploration of family, silence and the secrets we inherit.

Years of avoidance and blame have left the McLaughlin clan fractured and ill-equipped to face the critical illness of one of their own. When long buried memories of a neighborhood child’s death while in their care resurface the family truly begin to unravel.

Told in alternating voices, Look Over Your Shoulder, reveals how secrets ripple through generations, and how healing begins when someone finally dares to speak the truth.

Enjoy an Excerpt

ANNE

I slipped away. In slow motion, I raised one foot after the other, one step at a time, upstairs. My limbs now disconnected from my body, my head bobbing in a black fog, I drifted across the hall and toward my bedroom. I lay on top of the covers but dragged a throw over my hip.

The buzz of distant conversations crawled into the room, and my window shook each time the front door opened or closed. Knuckles rapped, an empty hanger slapped against the door panel, the buzz amplified, feet shuffled forward, a presence lingered, a hand touched my arm, a voice whispered.

“Mom.”

I said nothing until her feet shuffled back toward the door.

“I’m sorry,” I sighed into the pillow seconds before the hanger again rattled, and the hum of voices roared back into the room. I wasn’t sure whether I’d wanted her to hear me or not.

“For what?” She had heard.

“For resenting you.”

The weighty creak of floorboards, a car engine idling, a woman’s laughter, a child’s shriek, a toilet flush.

“You’re tired,” Marilyn said, now close enough to touch me. “Sleep.”

“You scare me,” I said, still telling the pillow, not her. “Your strength and your capacity for forgiveness are things I’ve never experienced before. But I have to know. Have you ever forgotten?” Shame had stalked me my whole life, a shadow dancing across my peripheral vision, now fully in view.

“We’ll talk in the morning.” She lifted the fringed edge of the blanket, pulled it over my shoulder, and tucked it beneath my chin. A blue spark of static electricity sprang between her fingers and my face.

About the Author:

SHARON OVEREND, is an award-winning author whose fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry has appeared in the Canadian, American and British literary journals and anthologies including Antigonish Review, Avalon, Descant, Grain, Matter of Time, Spirit of the Hills, Surfacing, Wild Words, Word Weaver, UK’s Dream Catcher, CafeLit, The Best of CafeLit and A Coup of Owls.

Sharon and her husband live on a 156- rural acre property in Ontario, Canada where she has found inspiration for many of her projects.

Website | Twitter | Instagram

Buy the book at Amazon.

Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Mainstream Fiction, Other Tagged With: , , ,
Next Page »