A Day Behind the Scenes by J.A. Boulet – Guest Blog and Giveaway

October 5, 2020 By 6 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. J. A. Boulet will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A Day Behind the Scenes

She smiled sweetly.
He wanted to kiss her.
She immediately looked away shyly.
“Why do you do that?” he asked.
“Do what?”
“Run away, look away, when I want to kiss you,” he replied.

My writing days are beautiful and fulfilling, but also stressful and chaotic at the same time. It is not your typical 9-5 job. I am often immersed in my writing for several hours and fielding multiple sources of media, my kids and emails. And that’s not including my personal responsibilities. It’s akin to being a master juggler.

My routine is to write in the evenings after dinner but this is not always the case when I’m faced with deadlines, YouTube book launches or book signings. These are the most challenging times when I need to be perfect in front of the camera.

I spend at least two hours on my makeup, hair, nails and choosing an outfit. It is a lot more preparation than people think. One loyal Twitter reader said that I looked ridiculously gorgeous on my YouTube book launch. It was wonderful hearing such a flattering compliment! Although, to be honest, I’d rather be in my leggings with messy hair lol, it’s way easier.

At the end of the day, I have to wash all the products out of my hair and remove all the makeup, so by the time my head hits my pillow, I am exhausted. Then what happens at midnight? I remember something I forgot to do that day, of course, lol.

This is my day behind the scenes. It’s not perfect but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Writing makes me whole. The opportunity to share my gift of imagination to my readers and communicating with them is priceless.

I left my career in finance five months ago to pursue my dreams so I’m here to stay. Being an author has changed me in so many ways but learning to be myself has been the greatest gift of all.

Thanks for reading. If you’ve been following me throughout the entire blog tour, I thank you whole-heartedly and invite you to comment. I will do my best to respond as soon as a busy mom can! My heartfelt thanks to Long and Short Reviews for hosting me.

Enjoy a free excerpt on my website: Chapter One Preview

On a stormy day in October 1875, a boatload of Icelandic explorers crash land on a beach paradise called Willow Point on Lake Winnipeg. Except it proves to be anything but paradise.

On that fateful day, young Nathan Olason steps afoot onto the soil of a foreign country, a place that he is determined to claim as his new home. Against a stunning backdrop of Lake Winnipeg, Nath and his relatives struggle to stay alive against all odds in this strange unforgiving new country called Canada. With natural sand beaches and breathtaking sunsets, the lake quickly changes to a menacing force, with massive storm surges and frigid temperatures, claiming lives like flies. Nath soon realizes that to claim this wilderness as New Iceland, he must persevere.

Events soon blow wildly out of control as heavy snowfalls, emerging governments, racism and mass starvation tests Nathan’s limits. With the help of a beautiful local Cree woman named Anwa, they learn vital hunting and ice fishing skills, teaching themselves how to live off the land. Then just when they think they have prevailed, tragedy strikes an ominous blow, a smallpox epidemic that decimates villages, quarantines the town of Gimli, but most of all threatens to claim what he holds dear the most.

With stirring realism, surprising bits of humour and steamy romance scenes, The Strong Amongst Us weaves a rich historical tale of immigration, manhood, immense love and resilience, leaving readers empowered by the sheer will of the human spirit.

About the Author: J. A. Boulet was raised in Western Canada. Both her parents were landed immigrants from Hungary, a direct result of the mass emigration during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. J. A. Boulet was born many years later as a Generation Xer and a first-generation Canadian. She started writing poetry at the age of five and subsequently progressed to short stories and novels. Writing has always maintained a strong current of passion throughout her life. She recently left her career in finance to pursue her dreams of being an author. She currently lives in Canada with her two teenaged sons and a pet crested gecko name Mossio.

The Strong Amongst Us is available on Amazon, Kobo books and Chapters.

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What Would I Tell a New Author? by Lindsay M. Chervinsky

October 5, 2020 By 4 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Lindsay M. Chervinsky will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

What would I tell a new author?

1. Celebrate small victories. Writing is hard and it’s a long, long process. Especially for non-fiction writers who have to submit their work for peer review, it can take years and years. During that time, you rarely get validation or public celebrations. Positive feedback might also be fairly rare. You will need to celebrate every milestone to keep up your moment. Finish a section? Excellent! Have a glass of something special. Finish a chapter? Brilliant! Grab a meal with a friend, get a message, go for an awesome hike, get your nails painted, play a video game. Finish a draft? Huge! Go for a mini trip. Celebrate with a fancy dinner and a special someone. Buy yourself those shoes you’ve been dreaming about. Have a movie marathon.

For what it’s worth, I use this strategy all the time when writing down to the paragraph when I’m struggling. If I get a paragraph done, I get to walk the dog, make lunch, or have another cup of tea. The rewards don’t have to be big, but sometimes you just have set really reasonable goals and find a way to stick with them.

2. Be your own best advocate/promoter. No one can promote your book with as much passion as you can. You will also have more longevity and commitment to the process. Don’t be afraid to pitch podcasts, or ask bookstores, historic sites, or other relevant locations about events. Be respectful, polite, and tailor your pitches to each place and they will be happy to consider it. The worst thing they can say is no. Too many people are afraid to put themselves out there or promote their own work. As long as you promote other people as well, no one will be too upset about it.

3. You never know who will be your biggest fan/supporter. There will be people that you expect to be big supporters and they will disappoint you. Not every one of your friends or colleagues of course, but some. On the other hand, there will be strangers or people that you barely know that will bend over backward to support you. So, be friendly to everyone who expresses interest in your book and never look a gift horse in the mouth! Be sure to ask friends and colleagues for their advice and help. Sometimes people don’t know you need help until you ask!

The US Constitution never established a presidential cabinet―the delegates to the Constitutional Convention explicitly rejected the idea. So how did George Washington create one of the most powerful bodies in the federal government?

On November 26, 1791, George Washington convened his department secretaries―Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Henry Knox, and Edmund Randolph―for the first cabinet meeting. Why did he wait two and a half years into his presidency to call his cabinet? Because the US Constitution did not create or provide for such a body. Washington was on his own.

Faced with diplomatic crises, domestic insurrections, and constitutional challenges―and finding congressional help lacking―Washington decided he needed a group of advisors he could turn to. He modeled his new cabinet on the councils of war he had led as commander of the Continental Army. In the early days, the cabinet served at the president’s pleasure. Washington tinkered with its structure throughout his administration, at times calling regular meetings, at other times preferring written advice and individual discussions.

Lindsay M. Chervinsky reveals the far-reaching consequences of Washington’s choice. The tensions in the cabinet between Hamilton and Jefferson heightened partisanship and contributed to the development of the first party system. And as Washington faced an increasingly recalcitrant Congress, he came to treat the cabinet as a private advisory body to summon as needed, greatly expanding the role of the president and the executive branch.

Enjoy an Excerpt

At eleven thirty in the morning on August 22, 1789, a large cream-colored coach pulled up to the front door of Federal Hall at 26 Wall Street in New York City. Six matching, perfectly groomed horses pulled the elegant carriage with sparkling gold trim. The coachman, outfitted in crisp white- and red-trimmed livery, jumped down from the back of the carriage and opened the door. An elegantly dressed man with powdered hair stepped down with a portfolio of papers under his arm. He towered over his companion, Henry Knox, the acting secretary of war, and his slaves tending to his horses. His ornate coach and his imposing presence drew curious stares from strangers passing by on the street. He walked up to the front door of Federal Hall and was immediately announced to the Senate. George Washington, the first president of the United States, had arrived for his first visit to the United States Senate.

This was no ordinary meeting. Two years earlier, the delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia had agreed that the Senate would “advise and consent” on treaties and other questions of foreign policy. But in practice, how the president and the Senate would interact remained for the first officeholders to work out….

About the Author:Lindsay M. Chervinsky, Ph.D. a historian of Early America, the presidency, and the government – especially the president’s cabinet. She shares her research by writing everything from op-eds to books, speaking on podcasts and other media, and teaching every kind of audience. She is Scholar-in-Residence at the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies and Senior Fellow at the International Center for Jefferson Studies. Previously, she worked as a historian at the White House Historical Association. She received her B.A. in history and political science from the George Washington University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis. She has been featured in the Law and History Review, the Journal of the Early Republic, TIME, and the Washington Post. Her new book, The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution, was published by the Belknap Imprint of Harvard University Press on April 7, 2020.

The New Criterion recently said of her book, “Fantastic…Unlike many works of popular history, The Cabinet never feels like hagiography. It lacks the reverence of works like Joseph J. Ellis’ Founder Brothers or the revisionist obsequiousness that now greets Alexander Hamilton’s name on stage…Chervinsky exemplifies the public-history ethos in her new book. The writing is clear and concise…She takes what could have been a dry institutional and political history of the Early Republic and transforms it into a compelling story of people and places.”

When she isn’t writing, researching, or talking about history, she can be found hiking with her husband and American Foxhound, John Quincy Dog Adams (Quincy for short).

Readers can request a personalized book plate here.

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My Publishing Journey by Bryon Vaughn – Guest Blog and Giveaway

October 2, 2020 By 3 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $50 Amazon/BN GC to one randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

My Publishing Journey

My journey to publishing my first novel, Neurogarden, was long and circuitous. It began in the 90’s while I was studying English Literature at the University of California at Berkeley. I devoured the canon of lit like a wild animal, Chaucer, Dante and Shakespeare to Salinger and Nabokov. I read the deep cuts, too, not just the most popular. I wanted to learn it all, and the vigor of youth does have its benefits.

I studied creative writing under well-renowned professors, poets and authors like Gary Soto, and Maxine Hong Kingston. All the while, I practiced my craft writing short stories in my favorite genres: science fiction, fantasy and horror. Back then, the only way to get published was to print and bundle up your work into a manilla envelope, complete with a return postage if you wanted your manuscript back. Each story would get sent to a magazine editor to spend weeks or months on a slush pile, with a terse, “Thanks, but not for us” typewritten form letter. I would then send it to the next editor. Rinse and repeat.

After nearly a year with no success, I was so starved for something to keep me from scrapping the whole endeavor, the day I received my first hand-written rejection letter was like a gift from the heavens. It still said “no,” but somebody took the time to write it out, and the final word, just above the signature was “Onward!”

This went on for many years, and while I had some success with getting my stories published, it was clear to me that this was not going to be my career. I was paying my bills with a job in technology, raising a child with my wife, and though I can’t remember exactly when it happened, I stopped writing.

I locked the dream of sharing my stories with the world into a box deep inside my brain, and got on with the life that I was building. It wasn’t until one evening in class at Columbia University over twenty years later that the box burst open, and the muse returned. That old feeling of having a story that simply must be told seeped from it, flooding the synapses of my mind and triggering my old creative self. I started Neurogarden the next day.

Nearly one year later I had a polished manuscript ready for the world to love, tear to shreds, or more likely something in the middle. Remembering the traditional road to publication, and the effort it took to get to this point, I knew that self-publication was the route for me. It didn’t hurt that I have spent the last six years helping my wife publish and market over 30 romance novels. I was confident that I could make a go of it in the very competitive indie author publishing space.

We will see how this all turns out, but as I type this, I have regained that optimism that youth and education afforded me back at Berkeley, and I have every reason to believe that this is only the beginning of the next leg of my journey. Onward!

Where can you run when there is no place to hide?

Brenna Patrick is a brilliant technologist specializing in neural-cognitive functions and AI. She has cracked the code to solve one of the most troublesome problems in the field, and turned that into the multi-billion dollar NeuralTech Corporation.

Working quietly with the U.S. Department of Defense, NeuralTech is poised to leapfrog the competition with a revolutionary system for tracking people, starting with the world’s most wanted terrorists. But there are only so many terrorists in the world, so who’s next?

When a pair of Columbia graduate students, Jenny and Leo, stumble on the dark secret of NeuralTech’s success, it kicks off a tense game of cat and mouse. As they fight to defeat the powerful forces arrayed against them, nothing less than the fate of humanity hangs in the balance…

NEUROGARDEN is a roller-coaster ride of a thriller, one that will have readers pondering the nature of memory, and of reality, long after they’ve read the last page.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Every morning for Brenna Patrick began with a hot shower and a hotter cup of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee in the same oversized mug she had stolen from a cabinet while studying at Oxford. Some poor British sod probably spent days looking for his ever so clever black-and-white yin and yang mug, and now, here, it played a part in the daily rituals of the world’s most renowned expert on artificial intelligence.

Halfway through her coffee, Brenna’s usual routine of morning news about the weather or the latest political storm was interrupted by a story on the previous day’s event at NeuralTech.

“According to sources, yesterday, in an impressive display of technical wizardry, the notorious Ethiopian strongman, Azim Dibaba, was eliminated by the U.S. military in partnership with NeuralTech. Stay tuned for exclusive video footage from the NeuralTech facility coming up after the break.”

With a dismissive wave of her hand, the television powered off, and she downed the last of her coffee. Explicit rules about keeping cameras from the Observation Deck were put in place to stop this kind of leaked footage, not so much to keep it a secret, but to control how the message was released. There was no way NeuralTech would have built such an elaborate display of lights and gadgetry if the world was never going to see what they were doing. The fanfare was all a show, a carnival for the masses to distract from the visceral heart of what they were witnessing. Hell, they used to run the ops from a small conference room in the basement of NeuralTech HQ with two laptops and an iPad. The spectacle was created for virality, but she wanted the first glimpses to be better than some shaky cell phone video from a reporter behind glass.

About the Author:Ever since reading Douglas Adams back in my formative years, I have had an interesting relationship with humor, science fiction, and technology. My first computer was a TI-99/4A, so yeah, I’m old, but only until scientists have cracked the code on transplanting our brains into shiny new vessels.

My body may be showing signs of wear, but I’m keeping my brain tight.

When I am not dreaming of far off worlds and writing, I am living a semi-normal life working in New York City, and watching movies with my wife and her spastic cat, Moss.

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Moon in Bastet by E.S. Danon – Spotlight and Giveaway

October 1, 2020 By 4 Comments

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

A memoir turned into thrilling fiction; Moon in Bastet is based on the life of author E. S. Danon. The story follows a fourteen-year-old girl named Eva, an orphan living in the Negev desert of Israel who is working as a custodian of Cirque Du Christianisme. Her life is controlled by a volatile drunk named Bella who favors a group of equally volatile teenage bullies over her and her own safety or sanity.

Bullied, neglected, and alone – Eva’s only friends are an odd, thirteen–year–old Sephardic boy named Jack and a small cohort of Bedouin sister-wives. On the brink of giving up on life, Eva stumbles upon a mysterious cat in the middle of the desert. Or really, did the cat stumble upon her?

Together they must fight to stay alive, win the battles thrown at them, and Eva must learn to not only lean on others but to trust in herself.

Filled with mystery, magic, and symbolism – Moon in Bastet is a story of resilience, survivorship, forgiveness, and women empowerment. This is a work filled with Jewish mysticism that can be enjoyed by people of all races, ages, and religions everywhere.

Enjoy an Excerpt

A mosaic of moonlight drifts over the breaking waves. Designs illustrated in silvers whisper a story by the observant full moon. Anticipation rips through the midnight air as an assortment of shells wash ashore, decoration for the celebration at hand.

Several fawn play inside of a tidal pool, tripping over each other’s hooves, while various crabs scurry to find cover. The does watch from the spartina covered marshes, less willing to get involved in the gambol of their children. A lone buck stands guard near the subtle alchemy of the ocean as the moonlight shimmers off his bone-white rack.

Soft pitter-patter echoes towards the beach: red, brown, gray, and white paws scurry stealthily through the wooded oasis. Streaks of fur can be seen flashing underneath the breaks in the treetops – Evergreens, Oaks, and Pines say their hellos as the creatures of the night began to gather at the shoreline.

A menagerie of insects hurry amongst the mossy forest bottom, following the outlines of fresh animal tracks.

Worker bees open their eyes and groggily buzz from the confines of their honeycombs; each of them carrying a parcel of honey. Together they dance in unison around the honeycomb, mimicking the sound of trumpets with their wings. The Queen Bee abruptly emerges to monitor her brood before inspecting herself: Every bristle is in place, held by honey made gel. Soon, the bees follow a parade of centipedes and worms traveling below.

A white wolf breaks through the trees; his body illuminated against the thick wall of forest at his back. Dozens of wolves emerge from behind him as he lets out a single howl, just before catching sight of the buck standing guard. Both alpha males nod in recognition of each other as an amber painted pup runs excitedly ahead of the pack, all too excited to meet the fawns in the tidal pool. The pup breaks through the water’s edge before tumbling down a small embankment of peat.

Flop!

She yelps with glee as water springs up all around her, turning rocks and snails upside down with her snout. Some of the does prop their heads up to inspect the noise as the fawns cautiously approach the pup.

In no time, the children are engaged in a pretend search and rescue mission with each other.

What will they find in nature’s watercolor tapestry?

The white wolf takes position next to the buck; both creatures now standing guard of their families.

Dolphins jump through the churning waves several feet away as a caravan of sea animals emerge through the crashing surf.

First come the sea turtles: Moving leathery, black boulders covered in mountainous ridges march forward, followed by mini, starburst-colored ovals. A single hawked sea turtle is the last of his kind to emerge, carrying a sand dollar – a token of appreciation – within his beak.

Next the seal pups begin wobbling onto shore, their mothers following close behind. Like watching fireworks in the sky, the pups reflect in awe of the celebration on shore from their discotheque eyes. Their mothers quickly nudge them forward, making way for the rest of the cohort.

Within moments, dozens of horseshoe crabs and whelks begin to make landfall.

Meanwhile, in the forest, Queen Bee flies ahead of her workers until noticing that her soldiers are slowing; she calls out to them, ordering them to keep moving.

The time has almost come.

A group of squirrels overhear the Queen Bee’s calls, prompting a tizzy among lofty tree branches. Mr. Snow Owl comes to attention as they frantically collect acorns. He plucks a feather from underneath his wing before flying past the squirrels and towards the shoreline.

The time is near.

Gifts begin to pile around a mound of mud within the chasms of the tidal zones: a sand dollar, the owl’s feather, and now randomly placed acorns. A garden snake slides through the mess, shedding his skin – followed by the molting of a lobster nearby.

A shadow crosses the moon then, just before various species of birds clatter to the ground below. A swan lands last with a bellow of her song, and in unison, the wolf pack returns the call. The dolphins respond to the melody by becoming more calculated in their movements, smoothing into a perfect rhythm with the songs now being sung by the ever-growing crowd of Mother Nature’s tribe.

It’s as if a drum is being played:
Boom.
Boom Boom.
Boom.
Boom Boom.

A heartbeat.

The expanding mound blooms into a large circle consisting of multiple sections. The inner circle holds the gifts, the middle circle shelters the juvenile animals surrounded by their mothers, and the outer circle consists of the older animals.

The time is almost here.

Queen Bee breaks through the woodlands and is met by a breeze. In response to her arrival, the congregation pauses briefly… only to erupt in song. The guardians at the shoreline bow their heads, kneeling onto their two front legs in order to greet the Queen Bee.

After kissing both guardians on their foreheads, she signals to her crew to make their final descent. A cloud of buzzing wings hums as they approach the middle of the circle with caution, then the inner circle. The Queen Bee ferociously shakes her wings and immediately, her workers dive down to smother the exposed mud in honey.

It is almost done.

The animals steadily move in a counterclockwise circle.
Tick.
Tick.
Tock.
The rhythm of the creatures becomes increasingly sonorous.

Off in the distance, the figure of a goat and her kid can be seen approaching.
Tick.
Tick.
Tock.
Mother goat and her child meticulously walk through the outer circle of churning animals. They are meandering through the middle circle when the wolf pup howls in excitement. Startled, the young kid topples over the hill of trinkets and slides into the patch of honey-soaked mud. Mother goat follows, spilling a drop of milk at her kid’s annoyed squeal.

Everything stops.

Even the air seems to have come to a halt.

Mother goat nudges her kid back over the trench of gifts and into the middle circle where they wait.

Everything waits.

Minutes go by before even the faintest touch of a breeze can be felt. The Queen Bee’s wings twinge at the coolness; she gazes towards the inner circle’s center. The white wolf and the buck move to stand beside the Queen when enervated rumbles suddenly upset the milk and honey-soaked patch. Something is trying to break through the surface…

Without warning, peat erupts from the patch: then two budding leaves climb their way through the film.

Swan sounds her horn, signifying that the deed has been done.

The Moon child has been born.

Finally.

About the Author:

Elizabeth Danon received her B.S. in Marine Science from Stony Brook University before working as a Marine Biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service. She traveled the U.S. Eastern Seaboard and Gulf of Mexico: collecting data aboard commercial fishing vessels and dredges.

When that didn’t pan out to be the glorified job that she expected, finding herself covered in shark snot and fish scales daily, Elizabeth became a technical writer. In her spare time, she began doing standup comedy after taking comedy bootcamp with the Armed Services Arts Partnership. At this time, she married the most wonderful man who also provides most of her joke writing material. Unfortunately, because he’s Indian he has also enabled her Maggi addiction… Like she needed that on top of her already long-standing iced coffee issues.

Her favorite show is Schitt’s Creek, as she feels a special bond to her fellow comedians – and Sephardic brethren. Growing up half-Jewish herself, Elizabeth eventually converted to being full-Jewish with Temple Israel as a student of Rabbi Panitz.

Her enriched, but complicated, heritage has been an inspiration for most of her creative writing. Being an Aries, she has always felt like a leader and has therefore integrated her feminist beliefs into her work, albeit dropping every women’s studies course that she ever elected in college.

Additionally, her writing has an unmistakable international presence. Elizabeth wanted to discover as much as she could about her Sephardic Heritage and went on Birthright, followed by her independent travels to over ten other countries… carrying nothing but a red bookbag.

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My Take on Critique Groups and Beta Readers By Maggie Clare – Guest Blog and Giveaway

September 29, 2020 By 14 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Maggie Clare will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

My Take on Critique Groups and Beta Readers
Your manuscript is finished and you know it’s time to start editing. You’re ready to let other folks have a look at it. You want their feedback, but you’ve also heard conflicting advice about the value of beta readers and critique partners. What if you get contradictory opinions from different readers? What if their advice doesn’t resonate with your vision for your book? What if you get no constructive criticism at all?

When we’ve put the last word on the last page of our manuscript, we’re often too close to the story to see its potential shortcomings. Here’s where beta readers and critique partners can help.

So, who should you ask? With my first manuscript, I invited anyone and everyone who was interested in reading it to give me feedback. I quickly learned that a few good readers were worth far more than a dozen ineffective ones, and I came up with some criteria to determine who might make a good beta reader or critique partner. Remember, these are only guidelines, and no one person has to fit all the criteria, but it’ll give you a place to start.

1. They’re avid readers themselves. The first people I ever asked to read my manuscript, after my husband of course, were the ladies in my book club. From the years I’d spent with them dissecting stories and having lively conversations about what we did and didn’t like about various books, I knew these folks were discerning readers. We actually used my first book as the club choice for a month and discussed it like any other. I took copious notes!

2. They’re willing to take the time and effort to do the job. If you’ve ever critiqued another writer’s manuscript, you know it’s real work. Let the person know that this will be a time commitment and it’s okay if they don’t want to take it on.

3. They’re fellow writers. If they’re published writers, then they’ve been through the editing process themselves. Hopefully, they understand the mechanics of good writing and can give you good advice. Be careful though, they’re also looking from a writer’s perspective and not a reader’s, so you’ll have to consider this when analyzing their feedback.

4. They have a particular expertise. Do you have medical procedures in your story? Maybe ask a health care professional to have a look at that part of the story. Need help with police procedure? Ask a real cop.

5. They enjoy my book’s genre. I read across many genres. Lots of people do. But I definitely have a preference. Therefore, I’m not likely to ask someone who prefers literary fiction to critique my romantic suspense manuscripts. There are always exceptions, of course, but I think readers who enjoy the genre and have some experience reading it give more relevant feedback.

Once you’ve identified folks who’ve agreed to read your manuscript, I find it’s helpful to give them guidance so they understand what kind of feedback you need. Here are some questions I’ve given to my beta readers:

1. Did you orient yourself quickly to the setting and identify the main characters?
2. Were there places where the story dragged and you found yourself skipping pages.
3. Were there places where you were confused?
4. How did you relate to the characters? Were they believable, interesting?
5. Were there any major discrepancies or inconsistencies in timeline, character descriptions, or other major details?
6. What was your overall reading experience?
7. Were you satisfied by the ending?

What to do with the feedback:

1. Pay attention to things you hear more than once. Remember, your intention and a reader’s perception may be different. For example, in one of my science fiction books, a few early readers didn’t like my main male character at all, and I had to figure out what they were seeing in him that I wasn’t. To them, he felt too arrogant and immature to be the hero I needed him to be. In a major edit of his scenes, I was able to give him more depth and maturity.

2. If it’s bothering you already, and someone else points it out, fix it! I knew the first three chapters of one book didn’t have any punch. My beta readers unanimously confirmed this, so I scrapped the intro, started at a different point in the action, and rewrote the first section of the book.

3. Sift through the feedback. Take what resonates. Leave what doesn’t. This is your story. Good beta readers will identify places where something isn’t working for them and why, but what you choose to fix and how you approach the fix is up to you. In considering their feedback, do you see their point? Will working on that particular scene or character make your story stronger? If the answer is yes, it’s probably worth the effort.

Out of the fifteen people who read my first manuscript, I now give my work to only three or four. But they’re readers I trust, who enjoy my writing, commit to the project, and aren’t afraid to give constructive feedback. They’ve become a valuable part of my editing process and my story is much, much better for their efforts.

Dr. Lissa Morgan has had a crush on her best friend’s older brother since they were kids, but handsome, brooding Cam Taylor has never given her a second glance. When Cam unexpectedly shows up on Lissa’s doorstep bleeding and bruised, his personal life in shambles, things between them take a steamy turn.

After an incredible weekend with the sweet, sexy doctor, Cam realizes what he’s been missing. But he’s run from intimacy his whole life, sure he doesn’t deserve a woman like Lissa. He’s doing her a favor by walking away – or so he tells himself.

Frustrated and hurt by Cam’s distance, Lissa must nonetheless rely on his private security firm when an annoying admirer becomes a threat. The more time Cam spends with Lissa, the faster his defenses crumble. When the disturbed stalker finally makes his move, Cam will do whatever it takes to save the woman who’s slowly healing his wounded soul.

Lost and Found is the third book in the Tactical Solutions International series but can be read as a stand-alone.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Cam woke with a splitting headache and no idea where he was. For a few seconds, before his foggy brain cleared, he simply stared at the white ceiling overhead. He ran a hand over the soft blanket covering him, and turned his head carefully to the side. A glass of orange juice, a bottle of pills, and a note sat on a coffee table. His cell phone, keys, and wallet were in a neat pile next to the glass.

Snapshots of memory flashed back into his head, coming in reverse order, like a videotape rewinding. Liss suturing his head. Her friend bringing supplies. Cam sitting outside her door, getting drunk while he waited for her to come home.

He reached for the note, licking his dry lips and squinting past the pounding in his head.

Things you may do: 1. Drink this juice and take some Tylenol. 2. Take off your bloody clothes and leave them in the basket. 3. Shower – the sutures won’t dissolve. 4. Move into my room for more sleep. Things you may not do: 1. Leave – doctor’s orders.

He grinned, hearing Lissa’s voice in his head as he read her instructions. His smile faded when he remembered what had driven him to her doorstep in the first place. He couldn’t think about that right now. He considered sneaking out before Liss returned from wherever she’d gone off to, but he discarded the idea pretty quickly. He needed the pills, the shower, and more sleep.

About the Author Maggie Clare is the pen name of award-winning speculative fiction author Tabitha Lord.

When channeling Maggie, she writes all the naughty things! Her Tactical Solutions International romantic suspense series features hot hunky heroes, smart sexy gals, and nail-biting narratives.
Count on Maggie to pair great story-telling with an erotic edge.

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My Ideal Writing Space by Mark M. Even – Guest Blog and Giveaway

September 28, 2020 By 6 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Mark M. Even will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner for more stops on the tour.

My Ideal Writing Space

My ideal writing space is on my laptop, sitting at my dining room table with 180 degrees of windows around me. To my right, is my deck, adorned with multiple types of bird feeders. The two main feeders contain black oil sunflower seeds that draw cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, and finches. A suet feeder hangs next to one of the main feeders and draws various woodpeckers, but the chickadees and nuthatches are frequent visitors as well. On the other side is a thistle seed feed bringing the bright colors of goldfinches, house finches, and a few purple finches. Hanging by itself, in the middle of the deck is a specialized feeder that holds a half of an orange and a jar of grape jelly. Orioles flock to this feeder. Finally, a hummingbird feeder gets visited by the ruby-throated hummingbird.

In front of me, is the 9th tee of the golf course I live on. Swooping pass the windows are barn swallows, tree swallows, doves, and an occasional bluebird.

On my left, is a pond that welcomes Canadian Geese and various breeds of ducks migrating further north. A family of wood ducks and Mallards paddle around, and the shores are often visited by Great-blue herons and green herons. A belted kingfisher often perches on a nearby tree watching for a frog or a small fish to surface.

When I write, I often just look up to formulate an idea or a turn of a phrase and I’ll catch some avian creature with my peripheral vision, flying past one of the vistas before me. I always watch for a bird that I may not have ever seen from this vantage point and quick jump to the Word doc on my laptop where I keep my list of identified species (my most recent sighting was a Palm Warbler this past April).

Living in Minnesota, my views consist of all four seasons. Stormy days could be full of rain, warnings of tornados, or below zero blizzard conditions. Sunny days have the bluest sky you may ever see and during some parts of the month, the man-in-the-moon in the eastern sky is looking right at me.

Many days, I gaze out those windows more than I write. Some days, I’m inspired by what I see to add that very view to what a character might see as they are walking down a road.

It really is a lovely space.

The Wonders of the Peculiar Parasol is an outstanding fantasy that shows how Mandy discovers her magic under strange circumstances. It focuses on how Mandy will get home and how she’ll discover her real purpose in coming to this land, providing the basics of how this new world operates in a manner that elementary-level readers can readily understand: “The parasol and the dragonstone work together to sense the presence, or lack of presence, of the inner magic of the person holding the parasol. The dragonstone uses the infinite power of the sun to tap or channel or access that magic. And one way it does that is to transport an individual to Storyworld.”

As Mandy harbors a secret, puzzles out how to use the dragonstone, and interacts with her family while battling lizards and building an army, young readers will relish the blend of real-world family dilemmas and fantasy world encounters.
(D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review)

Enjoy an Excerpt

She opened the parasol and placed it on her shoulder. Just as she started twirling it, she heard the creak of the back door to the house open. Grandma rushed out, waving her arms and shouting, “Mandy, wait! Don’t!”

Too late, it’s my turn! Mandy thought.

A blue glow fell across her. Her vision blurred in the blue light. She felt like she was standing still… and spinning at the same time. Indistinct, blurred images appeared and disappeared in front of her, quickly fading away. She felt frustrated; she couldn’t quite make out what the images were.
Finally, she found herself standing on a desolate hillside. Below spread an open vista of hundreds of acres of land covered in boulders. Across this landscape, large and small vents spewed steam, which condensed into shimmering silver, white, and blue water vapor rising into the stark blue sky.

Turning to her right, Mandy saw a large unevenly formed mountain some distance away. On top of the mountain sat what appeared to be an old stone castle with massive parapets and what Mandy thought was… a drawbridge.

There were some… creatures flying around the castle and in between the fortifications and towers.

“I wonder what those are,” Mandy said aloud, squinting her dark hazel eyes to try and make out their shapes.

Behind Mandy, a deep bass voice loudly said, “Oh… no! How did we get to Talon?”

About the AuthorI retired from almost 40 years working for IBM in Mar, 2017. I’ve been married for 43 years to my wife, Joyce and have 3 children and 8 grand-children. I enjoy golfing, fishing, bird-watching and travel.

Shortly after retiring from IBM in 2017, I was at a small-town celebration in northern Wisconsin and noticed that a number of the little vendor booths were people selling children’s books that they created and self-published. I looked at these and told myself that I could write something like that. And I did, but these were the type of books that were targeted at small kids and needed vibrant pictures and artwork.

In the spring of 2018, I was visiting my niece and her family, and she told me of this wonderful idea for a story for a children’s book and after talking with her about it, we agreed to collaborate and I took on the task of writing the story. After many iterations, The Wonders of the Peculiar Parasol became a reality.

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The Light Catcher Murders by Jo Cassie McRae – Spotlight and Giveaway

September 28, 2020 By 21 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jo Cassie McRae will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Nestled in the scenic Texas Hill Country, the cozy town of Wheaton Creek seemed an idyllic place to escape the world’s increasingly harsh realities. At least, that’s what Kate Atherton thought.

Kate once enjoyed a long, successful career with a specialized, highly secret federal intelligence agency. Crises in both her personal and professional life drove her to early retirement and, ultimately, to Wheaton Creek, the perfect place for her and her former-military husband to escape what had come to feel like a world made up of wars, hatred, fear, and untimely death. And, at first, the escape was all Kate had hoped for. Then murder came to Wheaton Creek—a crime that a corrupt county sheriff seems determined to pin on Kate’s photographer friend, Lucy Celek.

Lucy’s work has been chosen to appear at a prestigious photography festival, a festival that could take her from amateur to professional standing. All goes well until the gallery displaying her work is broken into, and one of Lucy’s photographs is vandalized. A week later, the man Lucy suspected of destroying her photograph—a fellow photographer who was angry that his own work was not chosen by the festival committee—is murdered. Faced with a sheriff who shows little interest in expanding his list of suspects beyond Lucy, Kate feels she must dust off her puzzle-solving skills to find the real killer. Murder is just the beginning, though, as Kate’s amateur sleuthing begins to reveal a tangled web of crimes that go beyond anything she could have imagined.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Tessa Boatwright leveled eagle-sharp eyes upon B. D. Jackson as he ambled toward her appointed position near Lucy’s mural-sized photograph, which filled the back wall of the gallery. Ostensibly there to answer questions, Tessa also made it her duty to keep inquisitive children and unthinking adults from touching the expensive photograph. As a painter who had struggled for years before achieving critical and financial success, she was keenly aware of the thin edge between amateur and professional status that Lucy teetered upon. Tessa wanted to help her friend, and she was determined that every visitor appreciate what was special about Lucy Celek’s photographs. And B. D.’s air of indifference to the art around him made Tessa suspect him of needing to be educated.

For his part, B. D. hardly noticed Tessa who—to his boorish young eye—was merely an older woman with graying hair. Though he had no interest in the gallery aside from its convenience as a place to duck the attention of the sheriff’s deputy, the mural, which was scaled so that B. D. almost felt he could step from the gallery into the scene, had captured his interest the moment he had spotted it. The photograph showed an iconic Hill Country scene—a live oak tree, stately and alone on a distant hill that was carpeted with bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, and pink evening primrose. The sun was setting behind the tree, bathing the scene in glorious luminous hues. B. D. removed his sunglasses so he could see the mural more clearly. He stood staring, his frown deepening as the realization dawned that he had been mistaken. The sun had to be rising, not setting. B. D. knew what direction the photographer had been facing because he knew this place.

About the Author: Jo Cassie McRae is a native Texan who has lived near Austin on the edge of the Texas Hill country for over 30 years. In addition to writing, McRae loves to read, garden, and cook. Like Kate Atherton (The Light Catcher Murders), McRae’s bookshelves overflow with history books, biographies, historical fiction, and mystery novels. Unlike Kate, McRae does not have a mysterious, secret former career, having worked instead as a rather ordinary legal assistant at an Austin law firm.

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Character Creation by Ellen W. Martin – Guest Blog and Giveaway

September 21, 2020 By 10 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Ellen W. Martin will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Character Creation
For me, the key ingredient in creating good characters, whether they are the protagonist, villain, or the supporting cast, begins by digging deep into their internal motivations, trying to understand what makes them tick and do the things they do, and do it all within the sphere of the story’s plot.

Once I establish their detailed character traits, more often than not, one or more of the characters in each of the four books I’ve written come “alive” and literally highjack the story from my original plan. I cannot count the times I started a day prepared to write a particular scene a particular way, but when my fingers hit the keyboard, my characters literally took over the story and nudged “me” in the direction “they” wanted to go. When these occasions occur, often the scene, the story, and the characters are actually better. I owe this phenomenon to the laborious efforts of introducing myself to each of my characters, getting to know who they are, what they want to be, and the impact they will have on the overall story.

There are several interesting characters in Book I – SONS OF CUBA – Prelude to Revolution, and the sequel, Book II – SONS OF CUBA – Homecoming, but I do have my favorites, and not necessarily the main character.

In Book I Rafaela Zamá, the Santería priestess (Oloricha) pops in and out of Felipe Cardena’s life endeavoring to control his destiny. He resists her attempts every step of the way, but she perseveres. Rafaela’s character will bleed into Book II – Homecoming as she continues her quest for dominance to control Cuba’s destiny.

In Book II – SONS OF CUBA – Homecoming, Tangi Montolio, hands down, is my favorite character. This stunning and feisty redheaded peasant girl is one of the rebel’s most passionate followers at the beginning of the Revolution. The brief interaction between this mountain girl and the rebel leader affects both her and her family’s future. Tangi’s story is a portrait of Cuban life under the reign of the latest dictator — it isn’t a pretty picture.

Of the four books I have written BOOK I AND BOOK II SONS OF CUBA, are the only historical fictions written to date. These two books were the first to be published, although written twenty years ago. They are my first-born children, so to speak. My true passion and favorite genre to read and write is suspense/thriller.

Why did I change genres? After several years of beating down publisher doors to no avail, I gave up writing for about ten years. When my writing muse eventually returned, the characters who escaped the dusty chambers of my imagination leaned heavily toward the suspense/thriller/murder mystery genre. Thus, INTO THE DEVIL’S DEN – Snared by Their Own Lies was born. This is a suspense thriller about a veteran U.S. Immigration agent who races against time to save his daughter from a jihadist’s sleeper cell. This book will be released late fall 2020.

While we all have been mostly housebound these last several months because of COVID, I completed the first draft of a political suspense/thriller entitled SHATTERED LOYALTIES, the location of this story is in New Orleans, Louisiana.

I sincerely hope that you’ll consider befriending me as a writer and my characters Felipe Cardena, Tangi Montolio, Rafaela Zamá in the SONS OF CUBA series.

Next in line are Agent Sam Steele, his daughter Terry Anne and the terrorist Rashid Maroun in INTO THE DEVIL’S DEN – Snared by Their Own Lies.

Hopefully by spring 2021 you will have the opportunity to meet Penelope “Pepper Mills” in SHATTERED LOYALTIES. Pepper was once an upcoming news journalist in Washington D.C., but is now confined to writing obituaries for a New Orleans newspaper. Journey in 2021 with Pepper while she seeks a second chance as a serious journalist, but may fall victim to her inner demons once again.

Relentless political turmoil streams through the veins of Cuba like lava coursing down the side of a volcano holding the Cuban people hostage to tyranny since Christopher Columbus discovered the Caribbean Island. One wonders if the country’s destiny can ever change.

In BOOK I – SONS OF CUBA – PRELUDE TO REVOLUTION Felipe Cardena, the rebel, endures lost love, the exhilaration of victory, demoralizing disappoints, imprisonment, exile, and an assassination attempt. Nothing will stop Felipe Cardena until he achieves his ultimate goal — free Cuba from tyranny.

 

 

 

 

 

In BOOK II – SONS OF CUBA – HOMECOMING after victory is declared by the Cuban rebels, the plot shifts away from the revolution and centers on Tangi Montolio, a fiery redheaded activist who once was one of the rebel leader’s most passionate supporters. Tangi and her family become a victim and suffers under the hands of Felipe Cardena’s new leadership. The rebel now turned dictator will discover that his brief interaction with Tangi will lead to the destruction of his legacy.

Enjoy an Excerpt from Book One

“FELIPE… Felipe Cardena,” the old man whispered, shaking the young recruit. “Wake up, you must hurry.”

“Wha… what is it?”

“El Presidente is sending the Cuban Navy to intercept this ship. He canceled the invasion of Santo Domingo.”

Felipe yawned and rolled over “So what? Maybe he changed his plans.”

The man dug his fingernails deep into Felipe’s shoulder. “Yes, there’s been a change in plans. A revolution may start any day and you’re on the wrong side.”

Felipe rolled over on the hard steel deck of the frigate’s makeshift dormitory, fought the sleepiness lingering in his head. He grabbed his heavy boots and shoved them on his feet trying not to wake the nearby soldiers.

He looked over at the old man. “Who the hell are you?” he whispered, fumbling with his laces.

“That’s not important. What’s important is Salabarrìa’s police shot and killed Emilio Trò. Fires are burning in the streets of Havana; mobs are overturning cars and buses. The rumor is that the troops on this ship are heading back to Havana to overthrow the Cuban government instead of liberating Santo Domingo. No one on this frigate is to be trusted. That includes you, my young amígo.”

Felipe rolled his sleeping bag, picked up his machine gun and backpack. He waited a moment for his eyes to focus in the darkness. Sounds of snoring and the odor of week-old sweat saturated the stale air in the lower deck.

About the Author:After a lifetime of personal adventures, travel and escapades (a lot of risky escapades), author Ellen Martin, is living her sunset years bouncing around a tennis court or clicking away on her keyboard.

Outrage at social injustices, the thrill for suspense, and unraveling a good mystery are triggers that motivate Ellen to write memorable stories and colorful characters.

Over 30 years as a military wife, she has resided both in the Orient and in Europe where she became no stranger to social injustice and poverty. She and her family have lived in the Philippines, Japan, Italy, and the Netherlands — not to mention both U.S. coasts and Kansas in the winter. She is fascinated by real-life, colorful personalities.

On a more personal note Ellen was a flight attendant for the Charter Airline Saturn in the 1960’s. Her job was escorting United States troops in and out of Viet Nam. Her adventures in the war zone continued until she was swept away by her fighter pilot husband.

After retirement the couple’s travels included Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungry, Spain, Scotland, and Ireland and topped off with a visit to Cuba.

God gifted Ellen with one “perfect” son and three grandchildren.

You wrap all this in a package and Ellen has been rewarded with an endless supply of fodder for her fiction.

In her historical fiction Book-I SONS OF CUBA–PRELUDE TO REVOLUTION she weaves an embellished tale of the most notorious and charismatic Cuban rebel in modern history. There’s a chance you might find him charming, intriguing and actually root for him in his early endeavors to free his beloved Cuba from tyranny.

However, in Book II – SONS OF CUBA – HOMECOMING, the story takes the reader from the rebel’s exile in Mexico to preparation for the revolution from the Mountains of the Sierra Maestra. This is where you will meet the fiery redheaded peasant girl, Tangi. The narrative shifts its focus from the revolution and centers around the fictional character, Tangi, and her family’s struggles, fears and disappointments in the new regime.

How the story in real life ends is no secret. But, in Book II – SONS OF CUBA – HOMECOMING, the characters and the author may just get the last word.

In 2020 Ellen’s new book INTO THE DEVIL’S DEN turns from historical events to present day reality – Terrorism — terrorism in our own backyard.

Check out her website for excerpts from her books.

Website

Buy the books at Amazon: Prelude to Revolution and Homecoming

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Canoodling Up North by Shawn M. Verdoni – Spotlight and Giveaway

September 18, 2020 By 6 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Shawn M. Verdoni will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

At first glance, Damon MacGregor is living his best life as a bachelor and veterinarian in rural Wisconsin. That is until a wounded crane and an enchanted stranger bring his house-of-cards life crashing down. Not exactly where she expected to be at this time in her life, Catrina “Cat” Carneri has left her dreams in Montana to move back to her hometown where she is nursing a broken heart and working for an ungrateful boss.

A chance encounter at a wildlife rescue changes everything. Cat’s calm and organized demeanor impresses Damon. However, it is how her hair reminds him of autumn and is complimented by her curvaceous figure that beckons him to pull Cat into his arms, claiming her as his own. Damon’s compassion and gregarious personality intrigues Cat. Yet it is his cobalt blue eyes that first capture her heart; so infinite in their depth, she knows the moment he touches her, he takes a hold of her soul.

Soon after forging their passionate bond, a secret from Cat’s past has her facing a difficult decision. If she tells Damon the truth, he may leave or give her the chance to rebuild his trust. If she keeps the secret and Damon finds out, he will leave her forever.

Canoodling Up North is a love story about building fulfilling relationships; fostered in traditional values, confronted by modern complex challenges, while being nurtured by Wisconsin’s natural, cultural, and spiritual beauty.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Damon MacGregor was the kind of man people noticed. Towering at 6-feet 6-inches with a shock of red shaggy hair that melded into a closely trimmed beard and mustache, it was easy to see that he would stand out in a crowd. It also helped that his preference of clothing made him look like a lumberjack most of the time; jeans, brown work boots, and a plaid cotton shirt during spring and summer switched to flannel in the fall and winter. Damon took up space when he entered a room because of his broad shoulders and muscular thighs that showed through his jeans. He didn’t deliberately wear tight jeans; it was just that he always found it difficult to find jeans long and wide enough to fit his build, and he wasn’t about to spend an obscene amount of money on clothes that he could easily buy at a big box store.

As much as his appearance screamed, “Notice me!!!” he had other features that were just as intoxicating. Against his creamy white skin and shocking red hair, his ice-blue eyes were striking. A person could look at them and feel like they were looking out into an immense ocean, the color so crystal clear that you could see to the bottom. Just above his beard line lay another surprise. When Damon smiled or laughed, twin dimples appeared in his apple cheeks.

With her eyes still closed, Cat tried to clear her head. However, being a firstborn child, that was hard to do. Always trying to pay attention to the details, always trying to be the best, always trying to be perfect took a toll on her in more ways than one. At least she granted herself this moment to not do anything or be there for anyone else. This was her time and her time alone. She deserved it. She deserved to not do anything at all. Though she was no longer a kid, in Marshall’s eyes she would always be one, and therefore the one and only rule for Loon Lake, “kids rule,” was guaranteed to Cat if she came to the cabin to visit.

After her sun-kissed meditation, Cat squinted her eyes open and looked at the sky. If she had to guess, it was getting close to dinnertime. She felt something prickly on her leg and looked down. A pale-blue dragonfly with black wings had landed on her thigh. For such a beautiful creature, she was surprised at how coarse their legs felt on her skin. Cat smiled, noticing how the dragonfly’s coloring matched her swimsuit. She wondered if the suit attracted it to her. Since no one was around, Cat talked to the dragonfly as if it could understand her. “Hello, Mr. Dragonfly! I want to thank you for eating up the mosquitoes up here.

About the Author:

Shawn M. Verdoni is the author of Canoodling Up North: Book One, Canoodling Out West: Book Two, and is working on her third book. She attended UW Whitewater for her degree in secondary education and is currently attending MSOE to complete her Master’s in Business Administration. Her best days are spent with her husband, two children and two dogs just hanging out. She loves living in Wisconsin, especially in fall when you can find her in a pumpkin patch or an apple orchard collecting tart baking apples for her famous crumble crust apple pie.

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Pairs with Life by John Taylor – Spotlight and Giveaway

September 18, 2020 By 3 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The publisher will be awarding a $10 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter and a signed copy of the book to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Forty-eight-year-old Corbett Thomas, a one-hit wonder of the 90s, now works as the lead sommelier at Napa Valley’s hippest restaurant. Set to become one of the few Master Sommeliers in the world, Corbett self-destructs during his final exam, ruining his last chance at capturing the stardom and adoration he got a taste for in his youth.

When billionaire game designer, Brogan Prescott, asks Corbett to consult on a major vineyard acquisition, Corbett sees it as a shot at redemption, until he learns of Brogan’s ridiculous vision of a virtual-reality, Woke Ant Colony Winery. Disgusted, Corbett decides to buy the vineyard himself and preserve its magic and history. Cashless, clueless, and with his reputation in tatters, Corbett enlists the help of his bass-player-turned-lawyer Seamus O’Flaherty, who may have finally lost his stomach for Corbett’s bad ideas; his uber-rational daughter Remy, who wants Corbett to uncork some family secrets he’d rather leave in the cellar; and Sydney Cameron, whose sudden appearance in Corbett’s life may repair his heart or shatter it forever.

With their help-and sometimes despite it-Corbett discovers what Brogan has known all along: a four-billion-dollar gold deposit lies beneath the vineyard. If Brogan acquires the property, the ensuing gold rush will destroy Napa Valley.

But if Corbett can get out of his own way long enough to purchase the vineyard first, he’ll be faced with the hardest decision of his life: take the fame and fortune he desperately craves, or save the soul of the valley he loves so much.

Read an Excerpt

Let’s get one thing clear – I won that bet fair and square, even though I cheated.

I blame the whole thing on Rick Dornin, who was being particularly douchey that night. I used to be able to choose whichever party I wanted to serve without question. That is, until Dornin arrived at Appellation with his anal-retentive online calendar and industrial-grade Napoleon complex.

Yes, that Appellation. The most coveted dining experience in all of Napa Valley, and one of only nine restaurants in America awarded three Michelin stars. It took a DNA sample and a copy of your credit report to get a table, and then you’d better be ready to cash in your 401(k) when the bill came.

The evening started out normally enough. I arrived at the restaurant an hour before my shift to check reservations, talk to Chef Dan about the evening’s specials, and think of pairings for the prix fixe. Dornin was in his office—a modified broom closet next to the staff bathroom that looked like a hoarder’s den with one, tiny deer trail leading to his desk. In fact, he was always in his office, even when service was slammed, which drove me batshit crazy. I don’t care if you’re General Manager or General Patton—when it’s time to schlep a plate or buff a glass, you step up and do it.

Anyway, I poked my head through the doorway and said, “Hey, Rick,” trying to keep things light and cheery. “What do you know about this Harrison party at eight?”

“Whales,” he replied, not bothering to look up from his purchase orders. “Big whales, like Moby Dick whales.”

“Sweet!” Visions of stockbrokers trying to one-up each other with bottles of Screaming Eagle at five thousand bucks a pop danced in my head. Tips so big they come in a brown paper bag.

“Yes.” Dornin finally looked up at me and grinned like he learned how to do it from an infomercial. “They’ll be in the Veraison Room. With Andrew.”

“What?” I lunged into the tiny office, nearly tripping over a carton of water glasses. “You can’t give it to Andrew!”

“I can give it to whoever I want.” He went back to his purchase orders, feigning a nonchalance that made me want to smack him. “If I want to move Felipe off of bussing and let him pop some corks, I could do that, too.”

Time for a different tack—one that wouldn’t involve me going full-on Hannibal Lecter. “I’m just saying that a party like that comes to a restaurant like this to experience the highest level of service in the world. I’m the guy they’re coming for, not Andrew. I sit for my Master Somm next week, and—”

“You know what you are, Corbett? You’re an overpaid bartender.” Dornin had thin lips and an Adam’s apple the size of Detroit, and it bugged me. “You trained for twenty years to learn how to pull a cork from a bottle and tell people that red wine goes with steak. Whoop-tee-freaking-do. You’ll work the floor tonight, and you can have the Jansen party on the terrace at seven-thirty.”

My left eyebrow started twitching, which happens when I get stressed out. Apparently, no one can see it, but to me, it feels like a two-year-old is digging tiny fingers into my face and stretching it like saltwater taffy. I considered trying the No One Has Experience At Up-Selling Like I Do approach, but this was the third time in as many weeks I’d had such a run-in with Dornin.

I was done.

It was time to talk to Chef Dan.

Most people remember Chef Daniel Foyer from his five seasons on Elite Chef, The Food Channel’s number one show from 1998 to 2002. With a chin so chiseled it could slice a burnt chuck steak and blue eyes that screamed, “Come taste this gazpacho in my bedroom,” he was the prototype celebrity chef. But Father Time had been most inhospitable to Chef Dan, and for the past couple of years the poor soul tried to counteract a rapid aging process by dunking his scalp and Sam Elliott-sized mustache in a fifty-gallon drum of jet-black hair dye. The net effect was so incongruous with the rest of his wrinkled face that I could barely look at him without drowning in the shore break of cognitive dissonance.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the guy. He was a loyal and trusted friend, and straight-up the most amazing culinary artist of my generation. But if I’d had any money, I would have bought stock in Just For Men and eventually retire on my Chef Dan profits alone.

About the Author:

John Taylor has been writing about wine since 2012, but his meanderings on life began way before that. Born and raised in San Diego, California, John moved to Los Angeles in 1982 to pursue dreams of screenwriting and filmmaking. He attended the University of Southern California, where he majored in Shattered Dreams and False Hopes, with a minor in Getting Gut Punched By Reality. After being handed a degree in Journalism in 1987 as a consolation prize, John dove into a career in music. Because getting gut-punched just isn’t painful enough.

By 1996, John and his band, The Uninvited, had produced four independent albums and became one of the most popular acts in the western United States. This lead to a deal on Atlantic Records, which released the band’s self-titled debut album in 1997. The band had two Top 100 hits, and toured nationally with Dave Matthews, Blues Traveller, Third Eye Blind and many other acts. Their music appeared in the TV shows Beverly Hills 90210 and Party of Five, and in the motion pictures The Commandments and North Beach. The band can also be heard in several HBO Documentaries, video games and on that annoying “One Hit Wonders of The 90’s” station your co-worker always plays on Spotify.

In 2001, John’s vast experience in shattered dreams was once again called into play as the band hung up their touring shoes for good. After a brief but horrifying career in real estate, John got wise and made a career out of his favorite hobby – wine – and has held various sales and marketing positions in Napa Valley since 2011. John’s writing career started in earnest at this point, with blogs, essays and short stories appearing in various publications. John is the author of three novels, including the aptly-titled Pairs With: Life, which will be released by Hurn Publications in September 2020.

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Buy the book at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Kobo, AbeBooks, The Book Depository, Alibri, Hurn Publications, or Indiebound.

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