Mindcraft by Darryl Vidal – Spotlight and Giveaway

December 13, 2024 By 2 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Darryl Vidal 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.

On the eve of the Global MindCraft Universe Challenge, Justin Turner, a teenage master of the titular virtual reality game, and his friends (known online as the Digital Mavericks) discover a sinister underbelly within the MindCraft Universe that may use artificial intelligence and virtual manipulation to end the world as we know it.

Enjoy an Excerpt

A neon blue sky with puffy white cumuli-nimbus clouds provided the background for a grassy landscape speckled with pastel flowers. Eucalyptus trees lined the sides of some sort of football or soccer field. In the distance, hundreds of armored medieval warriors came thundering down the hills, shields and swords in hand.

They were storming toward a massive medieval castle of limestone and granite stretching across the near end of the playing field; a vast mote surrounding it. The massive walls stretched twenty to thirty feet high, which normally provided sanctuary from siege. But in this instance, a large hole had been blown through the castle walls with granite boulders, near the gates and bridge that secured entry into the castle.

A closer group of workers and warriors, commanded by the screaming artillery master and aided with oxen, moved giant catapults away from the castle walls to expose the holes for the armored warriors coming down the hill. Next, they started loading giant balls of pitch, a thick black tarry substance, to be set on fire and launched over the castle walls.

Justin Turner, in full VR regalia, used his hand controllers to assemble 3D blocks to repair the wall before the hordes of warriors arrived. The glow of the forty-two-inch curved gaming monitor cast an illuminating light on his determined expression. In the virtual realm of MindCraft, Justin went by the handle ByteMaster, due to countless strategic victories and an uncanny ability to outsmart opponents.

About the Author:

Darryl Vidal is an accomplished entrepreneur, author and education technology consultant with over 30 years of experience working with the largest school districts in Southern California. He is a futurist and fan of Artificial Intelligence, and an avid reader of the sciences, philosophy, and techno-thrillers.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Information Management and a Master’s Degree (MA Ed) in Education (Instructional Technology) from California State University, San Bernardino. He has also published eight critically acclaimed books on Educational Technology, Ed Tech Strategic Planning and Digital Transformation, and has developed the formal strategic planning and project management methodology known as MapIT.

Darryl has been a student and teacher of the art of Kenpo Karate for over 50 years. He has been teaching Karate in Murrieta for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department for the past 30+ years. He also founded and heads the Murrieta Stick Fighting Club (Filipino Martial Arts). This has led to him earning the highest honor given in martial arts when he was promoted to Grandmaster – Ju Dan, 10th Degree Black Belt in 2012.

He is widely known for his appearance in 1984’s The Karate Kid, playing himself in the tournament semi-finals, as well as acting as a stunt-double for Pat Morita (Mr. Miyagi). He is also credited with inventing the iconic Crane Kick.

MindCraft: The Educational Singularity is Darryl’s second novel in over twenty years and his first science fiction endeavor.

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My Top Five Embarrassing Moments by April Farlow

December 12, 2024 By 1 Comment

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author 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.

Top Five Embarrassing Moments

I absolutely love this topic! My top five embarrassing situations – let’s go!

• I’ll start by going way back to Christmas when I think I was 7. I guess I have always loved a stage, but it helps if you know what you are doing when you perform. Without telling my mom, my best friend and I made up invitations for all of the neighbors on our road to come to a “Christmas Pageant.” We dreamed up costumes and finally my mom figured out our plans, but the invitations were out! We wrote out programs and all of the kids had a part. That would have been cute, but I decided we should have music to follow. I had taken a few piano lessons but could not play a note. Even still, I was the pianist and lead singer taking it all seriously and “playing the piano” for everyone to sing along. This went on and on until my mom had to encourage me to let some of the other kids play songs too.

It is the laugh of every Christmas over 30 years later!

• Keeping on stage, I teach communication classes for business leaders. In one class, I was teaching about being expressive with your hands and body language and all of the participants had to act out skits. I was at the front of the room demonstrating their assignment for a skit called “Marvelous Martha.” It started, “Come one, come all to see Marvelous Martha jump from a fifty-foot ladder into one tiny pool of water.” For this skit, you raise your hands really high to demonstrate the fifty-foot ladder and then squat down to show the tiny pool of water. Just as I squatted, I could hear my pants splitting. There were 12 police officers on the front rows and the look of shock and laughter made it very clear we all knew what happened.

I kept my back to the front of the room, invited the other instructor up to keep the session going and went to the bathroom with my back facing the wall. When I got to the bathroom, it turned out it was just the lining inside my pants, but everyone in the room knew what had happened. They were as surprised as I was when I returned to the room in the same outfit. We laughed about it and moved on, but I feel sure if you ask anyone who attended that class they remember that moment above anything else they learned!

• One of my girls went to a Birthday party and I was “regifting” our present. The problem, I didn’t realize they had put their name inside the tag on the ear. I was standing at the back of the party when the mom said, “who is this from, we can’t find a name?” When I saw what she was holding up and then saw her get really quiet I just slipped to the bathroom and acted like I didn’t know anything about it. So embarrassing!

• Years ago, I was in a tanning bed. It was one where there were a lot of small rooms lined up with thin walls that didn’t go all the way to the floor or ceiling. I was laying in the bed with the timer on when I heard someone open the door to my room and come inside. I was horrified because I knew I would have to get out to get my clothes, so I was loud when I said, “get out!” “I am in here, please get out.” “I am not dressed, please leave.” You don’t need me to finish the story because you already know what I missed. It was the next room over and there were a bunch of guys there working on the bed next door. They just looked at me and smiled as I walked out the door.

• When I started dating my husband, I heard about his family sing-a-longs and was excited to hear all of the music. We went to my in-law’s cabin, and it was the second time I had met everyone and so I wanted to get everything right. When the music started, I could tell that not everyone knew the words to the song I requested and so I started singing along with gusto. My husband is the best and always positive, so he didn’t mean it mean when he said it, but he turned around and whispered, “give us just a minute baby, we are trying to get the chords.” The problem, I wasn’t the only one sitting right behind him and so we all heard. It is still a joke every Saturday night that I have the words but never the notes!

I’d love for you to share your embarrassing moments, and if you want to hear more real, vulnerable stories from my life, I hope you will read “Pieces of You.” The book is written to help you discover who you are in light of Whose you are and there is plenty I have learned about myself through laughter and some hard along the way!

Knowing who you are has always been challenging, and in today’s world, more and more voices are coming from more and more places telling us who we should be. The result? A broken sense of identity that we’re struggling to put back together.

In Pieces of You, April Farlow shares how she discovered her identity is formed by the God who made her. Along the way, she’s learned that if we want to put the pieces of who we are together in a real, lasting way, we have to look to Whose we are for help.

It’s time to take a look at the unique pieces that make up who you are …

The pieces you compare …
The pieces informed by the father figure in your life …
The painful pieces …
The pieces of your relationships …
The pieces on which you’ve built your beliefs …
The pieces that give you rules and boundaries …
The pieces that show what you value …
The pieces that give you purpose …
The pieces that help you build a vision for what’s to come.

As we work to put those pieces together, we’ll look to the God who made us, knows us, and loves us to guide us. Because when you take all your pieces—the good, the bad, the broken, and the beautiful—and place them in your Heavenly Father’s hands, there, you’ll find peace. There, you’ll find security. There, you’ll find a real sense of who you are and Whose you are.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Over just a few hours, my Kaleidoscopes began to lean into each other’s stories. Things got real fast. And I think that’s because we took a break from measuring ourselves against each other. Instead of comparing, we chose to share.

And that’s a great place to start.

To stand confidently in both who you are and Whose you are, you must first learn to avoid the temptation to compare. Staying out of the comparison trap is an essential piece of the puzzle that is discovering and embracing our identity.

After our meeting, my friend Angela went home and looked in her daughter’s school folder. There, she found a worksheet her seven-year-old, Elle, had filled out. “Color yourself and then write words to describe yourself in the circles,” the instructions said across the top. That’s precisely what Elle did. She colored her hair and eyes to match hers and wrote six words to describe herself.

Funny
Artistic
Pretty
Love
Kind
Smart

For Angela, her daughter’s list was not only accurate, but it was also a stark contrast to the list she and the other women had made. Angela told me about it later: “I wonder at what age we stop believing the good? I wonder what happens to cause us to begin seeing the negative before the positive?”

I wonder the same for all of us.

About the Author: April Farlow has spent the last 20 years motivating audiences to get out of their comfort zone, speak up, and represent their values. In corporate environments, one piece is missed—the ability to talk about forming your identity in God. Today, as a speaker, author, coach, and non-profit leader, April is changing this by sharing her faith journey and helping others do the same with clarity and conviction.

In 2017, after speaking to a group of foster youth, April founded Lydia’s Place, a ministry serving young adults who have experienced foster care or homelessness. April and her husband have four girls and live on a mini-farm outside of Athens, Georgia.

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Pondering the Muse: Or the Care and Feeding of the Elf in Your Attic by Dorothy Rosby – Guest Blog and Giveaway

December 9, 2024 By 7 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author 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.

Pondering the Muse: Or the Care and Feeding of the Elf in Your Attic

A presenter at a creativity workshop I attended described her muse with a word that would have been bleeped if she’d said it on television. I was stunned. Not about the word. I’ve heard it before. I may have even said it before.

No, I was shocked that she’d speak about her muse that way and still expect it to come back. But she said her source of inspiration is spoiled and has to be reminded who’s boss.

Another presenter described her muse more kindly. She said hers was like a beautiful angel. Mine isn’t nearly that elegant. I think of my muse as sort of an elf in my attic. She’s playful, mischievous and a little unreliable. And taking good care of her is important because I’m not only an author, I’m a columnist with regular deadlines. I can’t afford to run out of ideas.

I think we all have a muse of some sort, whatever type of work we do. We’re driving somewhere or dozing off at night and suddenly we have a brilliant idea for a poem or a new casserole or an invention that will not only fold our laundry but put it away too. The muse has just visited. And it’s so magical that we wish our elf or angel or BLEEPED would come bearing gifts more often. Unfortunately, we can’t just snap our fingers and get them to show up. But I do think there are things we can do to encourage them.

For one thing, while my elf only comes down from the attic when she’s darn good and ready to, she expects me to work every day whether I’m feeling inspired or not. She won’t just waltz in with a good idea if I sit on the couch eating corn chips and watching Monk reruns all day. I know. I’ve tried that.

And she doesn’t want to be around me when I’m tired and grumpy either. I can’t blame her for that. Nobody else does either.

But I think everyone’s muse is like that. They’re more likely to bring us ideas when we’re well rested, but they still get a kick out of stopping by just as we’re dozing off. Then we have to fumble for a pen and paper or our phone to write down the brilliant idea they brought us. And when our spouse complains, we mumble something about elves or angels or worse and then they’re as inspired as we are. Not really.

But we do have to make a note of the big ideas when our muse brings them, which she does at the most inconvenient times—when we’re showering, having our teeth cleaned or rappelling off a cliff. She expects us to stop whatever we’re doing and make a note. And if we don’t, she takes the idea away and it’s gone, maybe forever. That explains why there still isn’t a gizmo that will fold and put away our laundry.

Sometimes I wonder if our muses may even give their big ideas to someone else if we ignore them. Or worse, maybe they stop visiting altogether if we snub them too often. We have to welcome them, let them in every time they knock. We need to keep a notebook by the bed, in our purse and in our shower. No maybe not there.

Sometimes I make a note in my phone, but I used the notebook I carry in my purse the strangest time my muse showed up. I was parked by the side of the road, not because the muse had arrived while I’d been driving but because I’d been pulled over by a highway patrolman.. An idea came to me as I was waiting for him to come back from checking my outstanding warrants or whatever they do back there. I didn’t have any, by the way.

Anyway, while I was waiting I had the brilliant idea to write a column about being stopped for speeding. Thank you elf! I took out my notebook and started jotting down every memory I had of being pulled over. I had…several. I didn’t even notice the patrolman when he came back to my car. When I finally looked up, he was standing by my window looking at me strangely. I guess he couldn’t see the elf sitting in my passenger seat.

Christmas comes but once a year; chaos never ends! Happy Halloween, merry Christmas and joyful Lumpy Rug Day. That’s real, by the way. Lumpy Rug Day is celebrated every May 3, though “celebrated” might be too strong a word. It’s the American way to create a celebration for everything, then turn it into a chore or worse, a nightmare. ’Tis the Season to Feel Inadequate is a collection of humorous essays about how we let our expectations steal the joy out of Christmas and other holidays and special events. It’s understanding for those who think Christmas form letters can be honest—or they can be interesting. And it’s empathy for anyone who’s ever gotten poison ivy during Nude Recreation Week or eaten all their Halloween candy and had to hand out instant oatmeal packets to their trick-or-treaters.

Enjoy an Excerpt

from the essay “Merry Christmas from the Envyofall Family”

There are two things that make me feel like a boring person. Actually there are more than two, but the ones that come to mind this time of year are writing a Christmas letter and reading everyone else’s.

When I write a letter I come to the painful realization that the year has flown by and I’ve been terribly busy but I haven’t done a thing worth mentioning. Worse, when I read all the newsy holiday letters I receive I think the writers must have had more days since last Christmas than I had, and apparently more money, energy and ambition as well.

I don’t think I’m alone in my feelings of inadequacy either. Consider the following actual letter I made up. You’ll see in brackets what an unfortunate reader might be thinking as she reads this holiday greeting from the Envyofall family.

Merry Christmas from the Envyofalls!

We hope your year was as wonderful as ours was! [I’m pretty sure it wasn’t.] We started the year with a January vacation in Hawaii. [Now I know it wasn’t.] Since the children are both doing so well in school we decided taking them out for two weeks would be acceptable, and they enjoyed themselves thoroughly. [I’ll bet their teachers did too.]

In June Maxwell and I celebrated our twentieth anniversary with a month in Italy. [What a coincidence! My husband and I celebrated our anniversary in June too—at the Olive Garden.] You can see photos of both vacations on our family website. [You can see our vacation photos too—if my phone is working.]

About the Author
Dorothy Rosby is an author humor columnist whose work regularly appears in publications throughout the West and Midwest. Her humor writing has been recognized by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, the National Federation of Press Women and the South Dakota Newspaper Association. In 2022 she was named the global winner in the Erma Bombeck Writers Competition in the humor writing category. She’s the author of four books of humorous essays.

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One Night Stands and Lesson Plans by M. Jayne LaDow – Spotlight and Giveaway

December 9, 2024 By 3 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. M. Jayne LaDow 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.

In the close-knit town of Marchfield, where gossip spreads faster than a teenager’s texts, English teacher Audrey Fremont and Algebra instructor Oz Taylor find themselves at the center of a scandal—and a romance neither saw coming.

A few too many drinks at Happy Hour and a glimpse of his infuriatingly sexy shoulders lead to a one-night stand that should have ended there—but didn’t. Relentlessly organized and a bit of a perfectionist, Audrey is horrified to discover that Oz is one of her new coworkers. Yet, stolen glances in the hallway, moments in the copy room, and snarky banter make keeping it “no strings attached” nearly impossible to maintain.

With meddling friends and nosy colleagues already placing bets on their romance, Audrey and Oz can’t ignore the chemistry simmering between them. But just when Audrey thinks she’s got everything under control, a surprise confession from Oz leaves her questioning everything she thought she knew about love.

In a town where everyone’s watching, Audrey and Oz must decide: will they keep playing it safe, or risk their hearts on a love that could change everything?

Enjoy an Excerpt

“I picked up a guy, Val, and I took him home,” I said into the machine without daring to look at her.

A minute passed in silence. Sammy Kershaw twanged Third Rate Romance in my head while I pushed and prodded the levers and buttons, searching fruitlessly for the jammed paper.

Seconds ticked by slowly, and my anxiety grew until I couldn’t stand it anymore. I ducked my head out to look at her.

Val was gaping at me. Her mouth moved as if she tried to breathe air underwater. Finally, she managed, “WHAT?!”

I snorted at her expression. “It was irrational and completely unlike me. But I was blindsided, Val. He came into the bar, and he had these shoulders. Massive shoulders!”

Val gasped dramatically. “Oh no! Not SHOULDERS?!”

I glared at her. “You know my weakness.”

“I do,” Val nodded solemnly for a moment. “So what happened?”

“I asked him to drive Green Lightning to my apartment.”

“You never let anyone drive her! Not even me,” Val pouted.

“He didn’t even like her! He said she was ugly!”

Val’s hands fisted, and she hit the table. “Outrageous! What a jerk. I can’t believe you let a jerk drive her!”

“I’ll say it again. I was both wasted and irrational.”

“And hot for a bologna pony, apparently,” Val responded wryly.

I wiggled my eyebrows. “I may have offered to ride his stick shift.”

About the Author: M. Jayne LaDow is a playwright and author who leapt into writing romance after spending thirty-three years wrangling middle school English students. Her rom-coms are hilariously inspired by her years in education, where she was regularly pied in the face, sang classroom karaoke, and dressed up like characters from novels. She resides with her very patient husband, two brilliant yet snarky children, three cuddly rescue cats, a toe-biting tortoise, and a bearded dragon who judges her life choices from his terrarium.

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The Angel Scroll by Penelope Holt – Spotlight and Giveaway

December 5, 2024 By 7 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.

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ONE ANCIENT PROPHECY, TWO HEARTBROKEN LOVERS, AND A WORLDWIDE SCAVENGER HUNT FOR THREE MIRACULOUS PAINTINGS.

After her husband’s death, New York artist Claire Lucas has baffling dreams and waking visions as she channels an enigmatic and healing painting of a holy man in India at the deathbed of a young woman. When widowed antiquarian Richard Markson announces that Claire’s canvas is one-third of three paintings prophesied by the Angel Scroll, a recently discovered Dead Sea parchment, she is pulled into an international scavenger hunt to find the stolen scroll and the paintings it predicts.

As she pursues the paintings with Richard across historic and holy sites in America, Israel, and Europe, Claire encounters a series of remarkable teachers. A Buddhist, a Benedictine monk, and a professor of early goddess worship all provide rich explanations for the artist’s compelling and perplexing psychic experiences — until she assembles the incredible triptych and deciphers its inspirational message for the modern world.

Enjoy an Excerpt

In Benares, India, the sweltering night dragged on. Moonlight slid through the bedroom window and bathed the young, Christlike figure who sat cross-legged on the floor. Only a loincloth covered his slender hips, and his long, coarse hair was coiled in a topknot on his crown. He’d been watching the young woman on the low bed for hours. She was feverish, her breathing shallow, as she squinted at him now through half- closed lids. Her husband held her hand and shot the young man a pleading look. “Please let her live. I’m a rich man. I can pay you. I can help the poor of Benares, the poor of India.”

“To thwart death is not to conquer it,” the young master said, and the husband buried his head in the bed’s embroidered cover. In a single, fluid movement, the holy man rose and stroked his host’s bent head, His long, graceful fingers raking the dark hair, slick with perfumed oil, revealing a channel of pale, moist scalp.

Beyond the bedroom, in the narrow hallway, the master found his three companions propped against a wall and dozing. He tapped the closest with a calloused foot, and one by one the sleeping men awoke. “Is she well now?” the tall one asked, stretching.

“She will be dead come dawn,” his master whispered, as the four men stepped into the dusty and deserted Indian night.

The phone rang. Claire woke up and realized her face was wet. She’d been crying again. She eyed the clock—9 a.m. She cleared her throat, picked up the phone, and tried to sound awake. “Hello?”

“You still sleeping?” Claire held the phone away from her ear to stop Deirdre Vetch’s whine from piercing her brain. “You’re coming to the gallery to talk about the painting, right? We must talk.” Deirdre’s verbal pummeling began.

About the Author:

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Penelope Holt was born and educated in England and now lives in New York. She is a novelist, playwright, business writer, and marketing executive, whose work has been performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, York Arts Center, and New York’s American Folk Theater. In addition to writing fiction, The Angel Scroll, and The Apple, based on the controversial Herman Rosenblat Holocaust romance, Holt is a prolific writer, editor, and co-author of non-fiction, including Business Intelligence at Work A Personal Operating System for Career Success, Singing God’s Work, the story of the Harlem Gospel Choir, and many other works. She is married with two children.

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Character Creation by D.W. Thompson – Guest Post and Giveaway

December 5, 2024 By 3 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author 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.

Character Creation

Like most authors, I’m always asked how I create characters. Several related queries usually follow the first one:

How do I come up with their names?
How do I “know” what they look like?

The answers to these questions depend on how the story comes to be. If I’m starting with a story concept, I wonder what type of person would do, what I want them to do, and how I want it to happen. Psych 101 is handy here (yes, a little knowledge is dangerous). My characters seldom do precisely what I wish them to and are known for going off on a tangent of their own making, but I have a starting point, at least. Then comes damage control or patching plot holes! But that’s another blog post.

Some stories start with the character defined due to the character’s quirks. For instance, I might ask myself what happens when the manager of an event venue with coulrophobia (the fear of clowns (and don’t we all?)) is forced to spearhead a rowdy clown convention. Again, I have my starting point.

As for names, that’s something I agonize over and spend ridiculous amounts of time on. I research names’ origins and their meanings to match the characters. Does it sound right? Would the character like the name? Do I know anyone well with the same name? Do they have any qualities like the character? If so, I keep looking…

Eventually, I do get there. I have a name and the character’s personality down. But how do I know what they look like? This is a conjecture and only comes when I’ve been with the character for a while. At some point, I see the person I’m talking about, the “who” I’m talking for and through. It’s not a very scientific or precise method, but it works for me. I hope it works for you and helps you know your characters.

Emma Love never thought she’d return to her hometown after years away from her estranged family. But when her sister-in-law is kidnapped, Emma puts her life on hold to help an old flame, Deputy Sam Mattingley, solve the case and bring Gwen home. With a degree in Criminal Justice and part-time experience working at a detective agency, Emma’s skills are tested. As the layers of secrecy are peeled back, Emma realizes the mystery shrouding Love’s Manor and her brother’s marriage is more intricate than anyone could have fathomed. Can she navigate the convoluted trail of clues and locate Gwen before it’s too late? And what of her long-suppressed feelings for Sam Mattingley…are they merely a product of nostalgia…or something more?

Enjoy an Excerpt

Sliding my feet into cheap imitation fur-lined slippers, I set the book on my nightstand and made my way to the kitchen, and the coffee pot. The old-fashioned percolator began its flirtatious dance, and the scent of the fresh ground coffee teased my nostrils. I glanced around the room, noticing all the work needing to be done. The condition of the place made it affordable for me. The paint was chipping from the walls, and the kitchen cabinets were stained with decades of accumulated grease. The sink’s constant drip kept time with the ticking of the kitchen clock, a throwback black cat with rolling eyes and a swishing tail. But it was home, and it was mine. Well, mine and Old Joseph’s—the name I gave to the source of falling objects and bumps in the night. What I only somewhat jokingly referred to as my resident ghost. I wasn’t sure I believed in ghosts, but I was a firm believer in my vivid imagination.

About the Author: D.W. Thompson is the mystery genre pen name for award-winning author David W. Thompson. As a multi-genre author, he’s been awarded membership in the Horror Writer’s Association, The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association and the Mystery Writers of America. David lives in picturesque Southern Maryland with nearby family and dear old friends.

When he isn’t writing, Dave enjoys time with his family, kayaking (flat water, please), fishing, hiking, archery, gardening, winemaking, and pursuing his other “creative passion”- woodcarving.

He’d love to hear your thoughts on his tales that he describes as occasionally twisted, but always honest and original!

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The Vicious and the Vile VII by Luki Belle – Spotlight and Giveaway

December 4, 2024 By 6 Comments

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

A collection of short horror stories, The Vicious and The Virile VII offers a captivating combination of unique and varied short stories emblematic of the dark fantasy genre.

Karan Lloyd Hamilton: when touring a fictitious national park in India a wealthy American couple, Judas and Priscilla Hamilton are attacked by tigers and get physically separated. The mortally wounded wife, pregnant with male twin, dies giving birth in the wilderness to healthy babies. Only one twin is found and returned to Judas who survived the attack. The grieving father returns to America with his newborn and the corpse of Priscilla. The boy, Karan Lloyd Hamilton, grows up to be a Wall Street investment banker. He bears a physical scar from his traumatic birth which has transformed Karan into a predator by night in the streets of Manhattan.

Kartik Shiv Yuvarajan: the second twin boy of Judas and Priscilla Hamilton did not die but was taken by the mystical tribe of the national park. The tribe hides the baby until he is stolen and given to a tour guide of the park, Arjun. Afraid of the consequences of taking the baby to the American embassy, Arjun adopts the child, gives him the name Kartik Shiv Yuvarajan and then returns to his ancestral village. Kartik bears a similar mark upon his body like his twin Karan. This mark brings about strange physiological changes in Kartik and leads to unexpected events that threatens his life in the village. Arjun must now decide whether to let Kartik know of his identity or whether to flee once again with the teenager.

Hounds of the Monks: a warrior flees with his family to save his daughter from the lustful, cruel king of the land. When the king’s army gives chase to bring back the young girl, the warrior separates from his wife and daughter to protect them. Mother and her girl seek shelter in a monastery only to realize that the holy surroundings may be equally dangerous.

Desert Frogs: a film producer with her adolescent twin sons and a film crew travel to a fictitious nation, Gapharkh, to shoot a few scenes in the country’s legendary desert. A civil war is imminent in Gapharkh between the military regime and the nomadic tribe of the desert. Unexpected connections quickly form between the twin boys and the nomads while the war heats up in the backdrop as the film crew rushes to complete their work. Discovering that there was a dark motive behind allowing the foreign film crew to shoot in the desert, the producer desperately tries to escape Gapharkh with her sons and her crew.

Stolen Princess: Rosemarie, a young woman rescued from prostitution, finds herself alone and homeless when her husband is lost at sea and her in-laws throw her out of her husband’s home. Rosemarie’s fate momentarily worsens when she is raped and almost killed but, miraculously, she is saved by strange old women who take Rosemarie to a secluded, enchanting island. The heavenly place seems like freedom until Rosemarie realizes that there are sinister forces around her who intend to keep her captive in the isle. Rosemarie’s past may be her only salvation.

Bastard of the Mist: Angeline a young widow, arrives at a remote and beautiful rehabilitation center for veterans to work as the assistant of the institution’s co-founder. Angeline is supernaturally gifted. Her dark powers clash with evil forces that exist in the forests surrounding the institution when she discovers a sinister plot by her employer Professor Kvalish, a man with a mysterious past. An unraveling thus begins and threatens the existence of everyone at the rehabilitation center.

Nature’s Call Girl: in a futuristic Earth a global war is ongoing between humankind and nature. Here, a fictitious country Parakrytheon, has built a nation devoid of plant and animals with artificially created weather to protect its humans from natural predators. On a fictitious island Kamin, humans live harmoniously with nature and beast. This place has the resources that Parakrytheon needs to defeat its natural enemy. Twin brothers Hagaath and Laksha, and their sister Kamina, are the means to this end.

Enjoy an Excerpt

“I have been an accomplice to many crimes, Mr. Croft” Karan said in a breathless tone with sweat dripping from the wet strands of his hair, arched over his forehead. His muscular chest heaved as he took in the cold, dry air, looking intensely at Dev.

The butler stood a few feet away from him in snow boots, a long woolen uniform coat and a thick winter hat. Hands in mittens, Mr. Croft unfolded them from his formal posture and frowned with concern, shocked to hear this disclosure.

“Young master, this cannot be! How do you mean?”

“People have been killed, violated, robbed, beaten and I heard everything without doing anything!”

“Did Master Hamilton hear these things?”

Karan gravely shook his head “I…I wanted to call the police but I…I did not know how to tell them who these people were and what I did not see…I only heard…I heard the pain!” his voice was grave.

“Is this from your gift, young master?”

“IT IS A CURSE!!” Karan raised his voice in anger and turned away from Dev with an exasperated sigh. He paced for a moment shaking his head repeatedly, his palms clenched.

“I called you here this morning Mr. Croft, not for a confession but to ask you a very direct question which you must answer!” he sharply turned around and looked piercingly at the butler.

“I will do my best…” Dev started to say.

“I don’t want your best! I want the TRUTH!”

Mr. Croft immediately anticipated the nature of the young adult’s question and reservedly nodded.

“Did my father witness my mother’s death by the tigers?”

Dev swallowed, he knew there was no escaping this moment “Yes, young master.”

Karan pressed in his lips and looked down momentarily “And did he lose his arm during the attack?” he looked up with a saddened gaze.

The butler gravely nodded.

About the Author: Luki Belle works in the media industry. In addition to The Vicious and the Virile VII, she is the author of three other novels: The Delicate Affair of Colonel Baquiste, The Sexy Seven Supernaturals, and Shakti of the Illuminated Lotus. Storytelling has been a fixture since Luki’s childhood when she would listen to stories told by her grandparents, parents, sisters, and cousins reading to her from diverse cultural fiction books. Paranormal characters existing as and amongst humans-while exalting in their mystical powers-have always fascinated Luki. She loves to explore magical, futuristic, fantastical, and ancient realms in her stories where her human and supernatural characters are thrust together, and their conflicted and tormented natures collide.

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Curveballs by Gail Taylor – Spotlight and Giveaway

December 4, 2024 By 1 Comment

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Gail Taylor 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.

Here you are on the brink of a journey all about self-discovery and chasing dreams. With personal stories and tools that shaped the author’s path, she focuses on embracing authenticity. You’ll explore how living with purpose and passion is achievable. This personal-growth book combines cutting-edge technology and music interaction, reflecting the author’s belief that music can transform and positively impact individuals and communities.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Many people spend years—decades, even—in jobs that are safe, but not challenging. Stable, but far from rewarding. I refer to that choice as settling.

If you are in this situation, you might tell yourself you are staying in this role for your family or for their future. Sometimes you plan to leave these unfulfilling positions as soon as you have saved a certain amount of money, or have paid for your home or schooling.

I have seen firsthand when opportunities present themselves to folks in these situations whereby they pass on the new challenges and the chance to chase their dreams. You may convince yourself to stay where you are because the field you want to join is too competitive, your skills and talents are rusty and insufficient, or you are too old for a new career . . . a refrain many of us have heard, or uttered. I am so thankful I never believed any of these falsehoods.

When I decided to come out of retirement, three years into it, it was to start my own business: Gail Taylor Music. My goal was to become a keynote speaker, using my stories and music to help others become their best selves. When I mentioned this to my new entertainment lawyer, his first reaction was, “Write a book.” And so here we are.

If you have read the introduction to this book, you know something about my rather tumultuous early life and how I turned things around. For twenty-five years as a financial advisor, I helped clients with investments and with building retirement plans. I absolutely adored my job and imagined staying in this role until I retired, sometime in my seventies. Things might have worked out that way, but when I was fifty-eight, I started taking piano lessons.

The lessons were meant to be a hobby, a diversion from days spent neck-deep in numbers, analytical thinking, and playing it safe with clients’ nest eggs. Instead of just learning an instrument and having a bit of fun, I fell in love with music as it flooded back into my life. After spending two years with my new passion, I decided to retire sooner than planned and dedicate my time to studying this incredible art form. I was financially independent, so I made the decision, at sixty-one, to sell my business and turn over a new leaf.

It was not just an affair I was having with this new interest. I realized I wanted to spend as many hours in the day as possible learning all aspects of music. For someone with no musical background, I was in for an exciting journey and lots of new experiences. Due to advancements in technology, I was able to study online with the Berklee School of Music. It was so exciting. They did not require me to audition. The curriculum was worth every penny of the tuition I paid. I studied bass guitar, piano, keyboard, ear training, and songwriting. After a few years, I began to toy with the idea of reinventing myself as a musician.

When I shared my new passion with people, I was pleasantly surprised by their supportive reactions. “Oh, that is so inspiring,” they would say. I heard this often, from people I knew well and strangers sitting next to me on an airplane. It was as if I was suddenly in the same category as mountain climbers and long-distance swimmers. It felt so amazing to know I could inspire others to pursue their dreams.

About the Author: Gail Taylor, a Canadian songwriter, keynote speaker, entrepreneur, and author, is celebrated for inspiring others to take charge of their lives. With forty years of studying personal growth and peak performance, she proves that designing your own life is possible, regardless of your beginnings. Her expertise has made her a sought-after guest on numerous podcasts.

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Jury Duty is Murder by Kate Damon – Spotlight and Giveaway

December 3, 2024 By 6 Comments

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

The verdict is in; a famed athlete is headed for prison. The jurors have done their job and are free to go back to their lives.

But after being sequestered for four months, life as some knew it no longer exists.

HAROLD ASHMAN’s house is almost destroyed by a careless driver. Exotic dancer, CEECEE LAINE, discovers that her boyfriend is two-timing her, and she no longer has a job. Actor ALEX MANNING learns his career is down the tubes, and 72-year-old, HELEN RYDER, discovers her family is plotting to put her in an old folks home.

Then things take a turn for the worse. When former jurors start dropping like flies, CeeCee, Helen, Harold, and Alex are convinced there’s a killer on the loose. Now the feuding foursome must find him before he kills them—or before they save him the trouble by killing each other.

Enjoy an Excerpt

While Helen kept the salesman occupied, we untied the rope that the CHP officer helped tie. Nervous, I glanced around. Sweat poured down my temples. My mouth felt dry. Any moment, I expected a black and white to come shooting toward us, sirens blaring. Only Helen and the salesman were inside the roped off area and they both had their backs toward us. A trailer truck marked Mattress Sale in big bold letters hid us from the street. Mattresses were piled high, creating a barrier between us and the furniture store behind us. After making sure that no one could see us and no security cameras were present, we reached into the bed of Harold’s truck and grabbed hold of Carter. Lifting him by the ankles, I was surprised at how cold he felt given
the hot day, how heavy. By the time we laid him out on top of the most expensive mattress we could find, we were both out of breath.

About the Author When Kate Damon is not writing, she and her husband enjoy RVing, spending time with family and friends, raising Monarch butterflies, and playing a wicked game of bridge.

Writing as Margaret Brownley, she has published more than 40 novels and is a New York Times bestselling author. Known for her memorable characters and humor, she is a two-time Romance Writers of America Rita finalist.

Not counting the book she wrote in sixth grade, and the puzzle of the missing socks, this is her first mystery.

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Secrets about My Favorite Genre by Pamela Spradlin Mahajan – Guest Blog and Giveaway

December 2, 2024 By 10 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Pamela Spradlin Mahajan 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.

Secrets about My Favorite Genre

One thing I have learned as I make my way along this writing journey is that, no matter the genre, giving the reader a question they want answered is an important part of keeping someone invested in the story.

Initially it may seem plausible that only mysteries or thrillers need a compelling question—but that’s not really true. I first noted this truth while watching some particular series with my husband (I don’t remember which one and it doesn’t particularly matter for the sake of this argument). I asked a question out loud, something along the lines of, “But if she is in a relationship with that guy, why is she acting as if she is single?”

It wasn’t a particularly interesting or vital concern, but the character’s behavior created a sense of incongruence within me that I wanted to correct. One plus two equals three so why is this coming out to four? Setting up even a small question your readers want answered, whether the genre you write in is romance, historical, or mystery, is a great way to hook them.

I took this idea for A VERY RETRO CHRISTMAS and ran with it. While there is a heartwarming romance at the center of my story, there is also a bit of mystery and scandal. I set this up early by demonstrating conflict between two characters. Why don’t they get along? Why does she treat her daughter-in-law so poorly? This question is answered later in the book.

So one of the secrets of any genre is to confuse your readers a bit, knock them off balance, and give them a question—even the smallest one—that they want answered. Then drag it out a bit and deliver the payoff of an answer at the climax of your book. It’s a surefire way to keep them turning the page.

What if the future you always dreamed of, was actually in the past?

Social worker Cat has no intention of falling in love or getting married—much to her mother’s chagrin. While mourning her paternal grandmother’s passing, Cat opens an heirloom left by the matriarch—a coveted Christmas ornament—and finds herself transported to December 1936.

Handyman Eli spends his days doing odd jobs around town and his nights hammering away on his house—whatever it takes to keep his mind off the awful year he’s had. When a mysterious young woman drops into his life seemingly overnight and wants to rent his guest house, he is at first annoyed and then more than a little intrigued.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Cat stared into the young face of what was certainly her Grandma Lana. How was this possible? Minutes ago, Cat had been unpacking the contents of what remained of her grandmother’s Christmas decorations—the grandmother who passed away a few months ago.

And now here she was sitting in what was supposedly her hometown with a young version of Lana—a version who looked to be in her late teens.

Had Cat finally lost her mind? Was that the explanation for all this? Had her grandmother’s death been too much for her to bear? Or had she contracted some sort of virus that a sturdy dose of pills could fix?

“Won’t your mother and daddy be expecting you home soon?” Maribel asked Lana.

“They’ll understand, once I explain what’s happened.”

Lana laid a hand on Cat’s shoulder and a feeling of warmth permeated Cat’s entire body. Cat studied her grandmother. She had clear, warm-toned skin without a wrinkle in sight. Her eyes were a clear blue, her cheeks were round, and her yellow-blonde hair was styled into a soft wave.

Lana’s dress was delightfully retro—a floral print number with a collar, buttons at the chest, and a matching fabric belt at her waist.

“What were you doing here with Eli earlier, Mar?” Lana said.

Maribel, who had vivid red lipstick and some kind of undergarment that made her chest look like two grenades ready to strike, pursed her lips. “Just trying to ease the man back into the dating pool.”

About the Author: Pamela Spradlin Mahajan is the author of women’s fiction and romance. Her debut novel, “Skye, Revised,” was released in early 2024. Pamela has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and creative writing from Missouri State University and a Masters from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Her recent short stories have appeared in the online literary journal “They Call Us” and she has been honored in the WOW! Women on Writing Flash Fiction Contest. A native of Springfield, Mo., Pamela lives with her family in Kansas City, where in addition to writing women’s fiction and romance, she also works as a copywriter, journalist, and reseller.

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