Merlin Raj and the Santa Algorithm by D.G. Priya – Spotlight and Giveaway

April 14, 2020 By 11 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 commenter. Click the link to see the other stops on the tour.

My name is Merlin Raj. Usually, I only have to worry about being the best service dog. I help my boy, Matthew, walk at school. But when my human Mom has to go away for winter break, getting ready for the holiday becomes a mess. I might be a super-smart golden retriever who wears glasses, but could I help my best friend with more than a disability?

Gulp.

Will a class on algorithms get me barking up the right Christmas tree?

***
 

Merlin Raj, The Santa Algorithm is the first installment in the Merlin Raj, Computer Science Service Dog chapter-book series. With a Computer Science degree and a passion for preparing kids for the future, author D. G. Priya blends technology with animal stories to stimulate a desire to read. Each book in the series introduces a new programming skill, complete with study guides for educators. If you or your child like delightful dog tales, practical examples, and accessible learning tools, then you’ll love D. G. Priya’s tail-wagging adventure.

Enjoy an Excerpt

First snow brushed the ground with white. I loved winter. My fur kept me nice and warm on most days. For freezing cold days, my human mother, Mom Raj, had bought me a bright, thermal rain slicker. It was sky blue with a service-animal label.

Blue best matched my golden fur, which I liked to keep well brushed at all times.

Even my glasses were on a stylish athletic band, and they matched Matthew’s glasses. My nose twitched from the cold.

About the Author:

D.G. Priya is the pen name of Bestselling Author Priya Ardis. She obtained her Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin, #6 in the world (Academic Ranking of World Universities, 2014) and #8 (US News, 2020) in Computer Science. Her advocacy of early education in computing and the challenges of childhood disabilities come from her experience as a parent and volunteer. Her love of dog stories comes from the antics of her own golden retriever.

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A look behind VENGEANCE OF GRIMBALD by Richard Hacker – Guest Blog and Giveaway

April 10, 2020 By 9 Comments


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Richard Hacker 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.

A look behind VENGEANCE OF GRIMBALD

Battling evil through time and death.

Six hundred years after a fifteenth century scryer gains the alchemical knowledge to create a dark future in his own image, Addison Shaw inherits a destiny: to fight this ancient war that threatens all he loves with extinction. Using an alchemical pen, he writes himself into past lives, leaving his body in the present. Upon completion of his mission, he must die in order to break the link and return home. Addison, and his inking partner, Jules, are members of the League, a secret alchemist society of Inkers who protect the time continuum. They believe they defeated their enemy, Cuthbert Grimwald, known to them as Kairos. When he resurfaces filled with vengeance, intent on destroying the League, and acquiring the Alchimeia, a book of such power the League has hidden it for millennia, Grimwald leaves a path of destruction across centuries. As he quests for absolute control of reality, Addison and Jules pursue him through time and death in a desperate struggle to save the world from his vengeance.

You might wonder where a story like this comes from. People who know me would say a twisted mind. LOL. But actually, it started with a fountain pen. I was holding a fountain pen one day and my mind wandered to the power of words. Human beings have been naming things since the beginnings of language. It’s how we find our place in the world and in some cases I think, gives us a sense of control. Or at least the illusion of control. So, what would happen if a character had a pen filled with alchemical ink that when he wrote the name and a date for someone living in the past, his consciousness would be transported into that person? What would he do with that astounding capability? And as with most technology, what if someone decided to use the alchemy to acquire power and control time itself? How would the protagonist fend off this attack on the time continuum and reality as he knows it? And then I put the fountain pen down, pulled out the laptop, and started writing.

The story goes all over the world, past, present, and future such as ancient Egypt; 19th century Alexandria; WWII Belgium; an altered present day Seattle and Tokelau Atoll in the Pacific; 1940’s Padang, West Sumatra; 17th century Delft, Dutch Republic; and Cromwell’s England. As the story in Book 2 unfolds the time continuum once again shifts, sometimes with subtle changes and sometimes with radical shifts in culture and technology. And my characters have to play on this multi-dimensional chessboard. So, I’m sure you can imagine, I had to be structured to the point of working from an outline and making notes to myself at the end of each writing session to keep me oriented.

But what drives a story are characters. I think you’ll find the protagonist, Addison Shaw, to be both an interesting and a complicated guy. He has a deep guilt and sense of responsibility for the death of a girlfriend when he rolled their car on a mountain road in a snowstorm. He carries the scars of that night, emotionally and physically with a damaged knee requiring him to use a cane to walk. He went from school athlete to disabled loner. As the story progresses, he will face even greater challenges and will have to find a way to heal himself enough to move forward. He’s also a bit of a smart ass, a little compulsive, more shy than he’d like you to think, and willing to act even when he’s terrified.

His partner, Jules, takes more center-stage in VENGEANCE OF GRIMBALD. She is a strong character, well-grounded, with a burning desire to seek justice for the murder of her parents, who were also inkers in the League, by Kairos. Unknown to her, she has died in one continuum, to exist in another. Given that a relationship can be challenging in one-time dimension, her relationship to Addison, who has known her in each, becomes complicated.

In in the fantasy world, many of the books lean toward fantastical world building far from our own reality. The Alchimeia Series has its feet on the ground, anchored in the actual. There’s a sense that, even though the story is fantasy, the speculative and historical elements feel very possible. I once heard Ken Burns say the attraction of professional baseball is that you can watch in the stands and think you can actually play the game. But of course, it takes tremendous skill to hit a 95 mph fastball. But it sure is fun imagining the possibility! In VENGEANCE OF GRIMBALD, readers can realistically imagine they could do the things these characters are doing. It seems possible. Which I think is an important message in our day and time. When life looks hopeless, when everything seems to be turned upside, the people who make a difference are not superheroes, but people like you and me, people who persevere in spite of the odds and do the best we can.

Thanks for having me on the blog and thanks readers for dropping in today.

BTW, I don’t have a trailer for Vengeance of Grimbald, but I do for Die Back and it’s a good visual introduction to the series. You can find it here.

Addison and Jules, members of the League, a secret alchemist society of Inkers who protect the time continuum, believe they defeated their enemy, Cuthbert Grimwald, known to them as Kairos. When he resurfaces filled with vengeance, intent on destroying the League, and acquiring the Alchimeia, a book of such power the League has hidden it for millennia, Grimwald leaves a path of destruction across centuries. As he quests for absolute control of reality, Addison and Jules pursue him through time and death in a desperate struggle to save the world from his vengeance.

Enjoy an Excerpt

“You’ve done well my friends. A bit of a shaky start, but in the end, I am pleased with the result.”

Jules glanced to Addison, who was also pulling himself up to stand. “What are you talking about? You could have killed us.”

“If I wanted you dead, we wouldn’t be talking.” Boggy raised his hands as if to parry their blows. “Today’s lesson is partnership. Do you see?”

Addison slowly rotated an arm with a grimace. “Keep talking.”

“Inking is a dangerous enterprise. You find yourself in a foreign world in an earlier time, often fighting to survive long enough to complete your mission. But the physical dangers of inking do not hold a candle to the emotional and psychological dangers. Your consciousness, the essence of your being, occupies the mind of another. With each passing moment, a small part of who you are slips out of your grasp unless you master the relationship between Inker and host. You must die to live, right? But all living creatures naturally gravitate toward life and away from death. The world of an Inker is therefore a paradox of conflicting realities. Without a partner, you struggle alone against insurmountable odds. Partners have each other’s backs, keeping the hosts alive and the mission viable. And upon completion, partners ensure their hosts die. Because we never leave an Inker behind. Never.”

About the Author:Richard Hacker, lives and writes in Seattle, Washington after living many years in Austin, Texas. In addition to the science fiction/fantasy novels of The Alchimeía Series, his crime novels ride the thin line between fact and fiction in Texas. Along the way, his writing has been recognized by the Writer’s League of Texas and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association. As a judge in literary contests shuch as PNWA and ChicLit, and as a freelance development editor, he enjoys the opportunity to work with other writers. In addition, he is the Sci-Fi/Fantasy editor for the Del Sol Review. DIE BACK was his first novel in the Alchimeia series.

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Books by Richard Hacker are available at Amazon

The Alchimeía Series

DIEBACK: Book One

VENGEANCE OF GRIMBALD: Book Two

Other books by Richard Hacker:

Nick Sibelius Crime Series

KILL’T DEAD OR WORSE
BUZZARD BAIT
ALL HAT AND NO CATTLE

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False Light by Claudia Riess – Spotlight and Giveaway

April 9, 2020 By 13 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Claudia Riess will be awarding a $50 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner or a set of Art History Mystery Books, Stolen Light and False Light (US only) to three randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour.

Academic sleuths Erika Shawn, art magazine editor, and Harrison Wheatley, a more seasoned art history professor, set out to tackle a brain teaser. This time the couple—married since their encounter in Stolen Light, first in the series—attempt to crack the long un-deciphered code of art forger Eric Hebborn (1934-1996), which promises to reveal the whereabouts of a number of his brilliant Old Master counterfeits. (Hebborn, in real life, was a mischievous sort, who had a fascination with letters and a love-hate relationship with art authenticators. I felt compelled to devise a puzzler on his behalf!) After publication of his memoir, Drawn to Trouble, published in 1991, he encrypts two copies with clues to the treasure hunt. On each of the title pages, he pens a tantalizing explanatory letter. One copy he sends to an art expert; the second, he releases into general circulation. The catch: both books are needed to decipher the code.

When the books are at last united 25 years later, Erik and Harrison are enlisted to help unearth their hidden messages. But when several research aides are brutally murdered, the academic challenge leads to far darker mysteries in the clandestine world of art crime. As the couple navigate this sinister world, both their courage under fire and the stability of their relationship are tested.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Owen Grant was ebullient—“ripped with joy,” his beloved wife might have said. He smiled, remembering the flutter of her eyelids that accompanied her minted phrases. Now that she had died and his arthritis no longer permitted him to jog up a sweat, he satisfied his lust for life—which remained, five years after retirement, as vigorous as it had been in his teens—with voracious reading and clay sculpting. Today, however, he satisfied it with the Art and Antiques article that had set his heart racing when he’d come across it this morning while sifting through his mail. He stole another glance at the newsletter on the kitchen table. In the article, a used and rare book shop owner spoke about having acquired a copy of a memoir by Eric Hebborn, the infamous art forger. “It was in a carton I picked up at an estate sale,” the owner had said. “The author’s handwritten note on the title page literally blew my mind!”

Hebborn’s note was displayed in a photograph. Owen had recognized the handwriting at once. Imagine, after decades of searching for this copy of the book—placing ads in all the art magazines, later in their online versions, finally giving up—proof of it had fallen into his life as he was about to venture another sip of his scalding morning coffee.

Now it was 8:30 p.m., and there was nothing more to prepare for. Owen had contacted the shop owner—how young and breathless she had sounded!—and they had made plans to meet. He had invited his longtime friend and colleague, Randall Gray, to collaborate with him. Randall, twenty years his junior and still in the game, was more current in his knowledge of the world of art crime and eager to have a look at the book as well. Owen was on a skittering high, unable to concentrate on his usual avocations. Rather than wear a hole in the carpet pacing in circles, he opted for a walk in Central Park.

He headed for the nearest pedestrian entrance at Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street, two blocks from his luxury apartment building on 74th. There, he chose the rambling path leading to the Lake and Loeb Boathouse. It was a balmy night, on the warm side for mid-April. He might have stepped out in his shirtsleeves, but his conditioned urbanity, always at odds with his truer self, had held sway, and he had worn his suit jacket.

Aside from the couple strolling up ahead and the sound of laughter coming from somewhere south, Owen was alone. There had been an uptick of muggings lately, but his frisson of fear only piqued his excitement for the adventure shimmering on the horizon. As he walked, he silently chatted with his wife, Dotty, as he often did, so that their separation would not be absolute. He commented on the moonless night and looked up, for both of them, at the rarely visible canopy of stars. For a few seconds he was lost with her, until, without warning, he felt a hard object pressed against the back of his skull—the skull that held all memories, like Dotty’s fluttering eyelids and the smell of new clay. He knew what the object was without ever having touched one. He was a man of reason, not a fighter. He flung up his hands. “I have money. Let me get to it.”

There was no response. He reached into his pocket for his wallet—how warm the leather was against his thigh—and his keys jangled of homecomings, and the child in him whimpered please no, before the explosive pop of a champagne cork ended him and Dotty and all the rest of it.

About the Author:

Claudia Riess, a Vassar graduate, has worked in the editorial departments of The New Yorker and Holt, Rinehart, and Winston and has edited several art history monographs.

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Shakespeare Burning by Charisse Moritz – Exclusive Excerpt and Giveaway

April 9, 2020 By 10 Comments


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Charisse Moritz will be awarding a $20 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.

He’s the boy who wants to disappear.

One mistake and seventeen-year-old Shake LeCasse lost everything. Now there’s no going back and no way to move forward. The once-popular Varsity hockey captain is living in the basement of a grandmother he barely knows, ditching school, avoiding friends and working hard on self-destruction.

She’s the girl nobody sees.

Cleo Lee survives however she can. Lie, cheat, steal, whatever it takes, and saving Mr. Popular isn’t part of the plan. Telling him the truth about the night that destroyed his life is downright dangerous. She needs to keep quiet, be smart and let the guy she’s been half in love with since middle school throw away a future she’d do anything to have. Too bad she sucks at playing it safe.

Enjoy an Excerpt

It’s the end of the world as we know it:

Since I’m about as lucky as Friday the thirteenth, the bell rings as we walk to my locker. The hall floods with shocked bystanders. Teenagers freeze in their tracks and clutch at their hearts. The female population drops to their collective knees and weeps. Might as well wear sealskin boots to a PETA convention. Sing Marilyn Manson in church. Grab a piece of the flag for toilet paper. When Cleo Lee and Shake LeCasse hold hands, it’s the end of the world as we know it. Any second, locusts will fall from the sky, mountains will crumble to dust, the devil will need a wool coat, and wolves will mate with bunnies.

It’s not enough for Shake.

Oh no. The crazy idiot puts on a performance. With all eyes on us, he traps me at my locker, braces his hands on either side and leans over me. He treats me to his legendary grin. He actually finds this amusing. I’m trying hard not to pee myself and consider pinching his nipple, just to wipe the smirk off his face.

“Why?” I beg, poised to run.

“You’re not a secret, Cleo. You’re mine.”

Pittypat goes my heart. Then the universe shifts, because Shakespeare LeCasse dips his blonde curly head and pulls me into his orbit.

About the Author: Emily Award Finalist and Melody Of Love Award Finalist, Charisse M Moritz divides her life between upstate NY and northern Florida. When not barricaded inside her writing cave or enjoying every possible minute with her husband and three kids, you’ll find her listening to 60’s music, singing offkey and looking for new reads.

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The Most Eligible Lord in London by Ella Quinn – Spotlight and Giveaway

April 7, 2020 By 10 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 host. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

In this captivating new Regency trilogy, bestselling author Ella Quinn picks up where her beloved Worthingtons series left off, as three Lords of London discover true love at last . . .

Handsome, rakish, incorrigibly flirtatious—Fredrick, Lord Littleton, is notorious. Lady Adeline Wivenly is resolved to keep him at arm’s length during her first Season—until she overhears another woman’s plot to trick him into marriage. Even a rogue is undeserving of such deception, and Adeline feels obliged to warn him—only to find herself perilously attracted . . .

In the past, Littleton’s charm nearly got him leg-shackled to the wrong woman. Now he’s positive he’s found the right one, for Adeline is everything he wants and needs in a wife. Her sense of justice is so strong she agrees to help him despite her mistrust. But can the ton’s most elusive lord convince the lady he is finally serious about marriage—as long as she will be his bride?

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As the landau moved forward, Frits scanned the verge. He saw the one lady he had not wished to see, Lady Dorie, strolling with four other ladies. He’d behaved badly toward her last Season. Not on purpose. For too long he thought they would be a good match. But the more he grew to know her and her strengths and desires for her life, the more he was convinced marrying her would be a horrible mistake. But instead of finding a way to tell her, he’d fled London and returned to Littlewood, his main estate. And now it was too late to attempt to explain his panic. If he’d even had the words.

After taking a breath, he let it out slowly. He might as well get this over with. Frits just hoped she didn’t give him the cut direct.

Riding over to the group, he gave her his friendly smile. “Lady Dorie, well met.”

The smile she returned was strained, and her eyes were hard. “Lord Littleton, I did not know you were in Town.”

“I arrived yesterday.” If looks could kill, he’d be lying on the ground bleeding. “Have you been in Town long?”

“Long enough.” Her words were clipped. She turned to the other ladies and made an elegant gesture toward him. “On the subject of gentlemen who appear eligible and are not, permit me to introduce to you Lord Littleton.” Damn and blast it. He fought to maintain his amiable countenance. She was obviously going to do her best to ensure he didn’t have an easy time finding a wife. “My lord, Lady Adeline Wivenly, Lady Augusta Vivers, Miss Featherton, and Miss Stern.”

About the Author:

USA Today bestselling author Ella Quinn’s studies and other jobs have always been on the serious side. Reading historical romances, especially Regencies, were her escape. Eventually her love of historical novels led her to start writing them.

She is married to her wonderful husband of over thirty years. They have a son and two beautiful granddaughters, and a Great Dane. After living in the South Pacific, Central America, North Africa, England and Europe, she and her husband decided to make their dreams come true and are now living on a sailboat. After cruising the Caribbean and North America, she completed a transatlantic crossing from St. Martin to Southern Europe. She’s currently living in Germany, happily writing while her husband is back at work, recovering from retirement.

Ella loves when readers connect with her.

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Dog Town by Debbie L. Richardson – Spotlight and Giveaway

April 7, 2020 By 8 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Debbie L. Richardson will be awarding a $20 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.

Harry loves to race around the streets of Dog Town. When he stumbles upon the lost city of cats, he finds himself in a race against Dog Town’s fastest canine, Grizzly.

The winner of this race will have the power to save Cat World, or destroy it.

Harry wants to win, but there is one small problem. The race is in the ocean, and Harry is terribly afraid of water.

Can Harry overcome his fear of the water and save Cat Town?

Enjoy an Excerpt

HARRY was dreaming that a cat fell out of the sky and landed on his head.

He woke at once. It was dark inside his kennel. He was uncertain if it was very late or very early, but he was wide awake and puzzled about the cat in his dream.

Cats were unheard of in Dog Town. The way summers without mosquitoes were unheard of. Or non-fattening chocolate bars were unheard of.

Baffled, Harry tried thinking about something else. Instead, he became consumed by visions of cats. As he struggled to find meaning behind his odd dream, he became convinced it meant something horrible for dog-kind.

The blanket at his feet offered a good place to avoid thinking on his dream any further. He hid under the blanket, until the heat of the summer’s night made it hot enough to cook a roast.

Harry pushed his nose outside his kennel. It was hot and humid tonight, and there wasn’t a breath of wind. Vastly different to that afternoon when the wind’s temper had set every door in the house banging.

Even though it was too hot inside his kennel, he didn’t want to leave it. Outside in his backyard, shadows skipped across the treetops. Shadows that didn’t belong to the moon or to the wind.

About the Author:
Debbie L. Richardson has published fiction novels as D L Richardson. She has published three young adults supernatural fiction novels, and science fiction and supernatural thrillers for adults. This is her first children’s book.

She was born in Dublin, Ireland and grew up in Australia. It was always crowded and noisy in the family home. At one stage there were also three dogs, a cat, a budgie, and three mice living with seven people the same house.

Debbie learned to find a quiet space within books.

She now lives in the south coast of New South Wales with her husband and a small dog named Teeka.

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The Voices Inside our Head by Michelle Davis – Guest Blog and Giveaway

April 3, 2020 By 10 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to one randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The Voices Inside our Head

Practicing yoga impacts me in more ways than I could ever imagine. It assists my stiff body in making baby steps towards being more limber, it quiets my monkey brain, it occasionally helps me enter the state of bliss, and it provides me with a wealth of knowledge that actually transitions into my daily life. Sure, sometimes I don’t want to make that effort to be on my mat, for some reason I believe that more pressing items exist. But whether I go willingly or out of obligation, I know that when the class is over, I will feel better – physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Last week during one of my favorite yoga teacher’s classes, she shared two terms that intrigued me greatly… the street level you and the higher level you. I’ve heard of the second term, but never did I hear anyone mention street level you. At first, I thought she was talking about the bad and the good, the duality that we all possess. But, the more she explained, the better I understood. This is not about purity vs. evil. Rather, this metaphor is meant to show our humanness and our godliness.

As humans, we are not all light or all dark; we possess both qualities, each revealing itself in multiple ways throughout our day. For example, my being human, or my street level self, may entice me to arrive at yoga early so that I can place my mat in my favorite spot. That is not a good or a bad action. One might say that I know where I perform best, so why not secure that space. While another person might view this action differently. Perhaps they see this behavior as competitive or even selfish. Regardless, this conduct represents my street level self in action, not my higher level self. In contrast, my higher level self would arrive in time, but without a care as to what space is available. This higher level self would welcome the opportunities provided by any location in the room, most likely embracing a spot that my street self would never choose.

Street Level You – “If it is in the back and I can’t see anything, I’m going to topple during the balance pose. If it is next to the heater and I start sweating a lot, I’ll slip all over the place.”

Higher Level You – “If it is in the back and I can’t see anything, I’ll learn to trust my inner balance to help me through the poses.” If it is next to the heater and I start sweating a lot, I’ll detox the impurities in my body, allowing me to better assimilate the benefits from the class.”

Do you see the difference?

These two dualities constantly dance back and forth, often creating an internal tango where both partners try to lead. While the higher level you guides your dreams of becoming the best version of yourself, the street level you constantly sends reminders of failed attempts, clinging onto old patterns and behaviors. I like to think of our higher selves as seventy-five year-olds, ripe with wisdom, experience, and perspective while our street level selves act more like nine-year-olds, barging full steam ahead, doing what we want, at that moment, without thinking about the impact it has on us and others.

So, what does this all mean and how is it relevant? Can we dismiss our street level self, telling him or her to go away and let our higher level self rule the show? As appealing as that sounds, I don’t think it’s possible. However, we can become more aware and consciously listen to what’s happening inside. Should we honor the persistent and perhaps belittling voice that nags at us, chipping away our self-confidence… the one that pumps us up, proclaims that we’re right and the other person’s wrong? Or, should we consider the quieter whisper, the voice that proposes another perspective that guides us, but refrains from sharing a road map, forcing us to do the work? Honestly, I’d like to choose the one that tells me what to do and when to do it; but I know that’s usually my street level self, jumping up and down, saying whatever’s necessary to gain my attention. Instead, I need to dig deep, be present, and listen to the soft voice, the one that presents me with the more challenging path, the one that dares me to be a better person. When I am brave enough to listen my higher self, when I can check my ego, trusting in the unknown, that is when I find my biggest growth, my happiest moments. It so much easier not to listen, to give the nine-year-old the attention she craves. But I know in my heart that she does not have the answer… rather, the wise woman, the one how knows the real me, she’s the one I want to follow.

Jenna Moore’s flawlessly orchestrated life and engagement to Ben Kelly, “the perfect man,” vanish when she discovers a controlling side of her fiancé. Confused and unsure of who she is without Ben, Jenna decides to uproot from her safe, predictable life in Boston and move to Bend, Oregon, hoping to find her answers there. It’s when she meets Jackson, a former Navy SEAL who battles demons of his own, that Jenna finds the courage to let go of being perfect and embrace uncomfortable risks, transforming her life through forgiveness, compassion, surrender and acceptance. Yet the rewards from discovering her true self exceed Jenna’s expectations – not only does she find the greatest love of her life, but she also understands what’s kept her from learning to bend.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Yet, at that moment, there is a subtle shift in my being. As devastated and lost as I feel, a small part of me unfolds, almost releases. I can’t describe the feeling as it’s something I’ve never before experienced. I breathe, inhaling Ben’s scent, knowing it’s most likely the last time I am going to be this close to him. Then Ben moves his hand to the back of my head, pulling me towards him, passionately kissing me as we momentarily return to who we were. My body instinctively takes over as I languish in his taste, surrendering to him, if only for a few seconds. But I come to my senses and pull away. We are no longer the Jenna and Ben who are about to be married in two months. No, that couple is gone. It’s then that I do the unavoidable – I slowly remove the ring from my left finger and press it into Ben’s hand. After all, this is a family antique. It no longer belongs to me. I call for Sam, give Ben a final goodbye kiss on the cheek, and leave.

About the Author: Michelle Davis, whose career path includes banking, teaching, and college admissions consulting, holds a B.S. in Finance from Lehigh University and a M.S. in Education from St. Joseph’s University. Through her blog, elevate, Michelle’s goal is to inspire others to shift their perspectives and welcome change as they realize their life purpose. A Pennsylvania native, Michelle and her husband enjoy visiting their sons in Boston and spending time in Bend, Oregon, the settings of her debut novel, Learning to Bend. To learn more about Michelle and how to elevate your life, visit her website.

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Paragon by Shauna Alderson – Spotlight and Giveaway

April 1, 2020 By 9 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Shauna Alderson will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stopson the tour.

Now that high school is over, Randi just wants to live her quiet life in her little town, but it doesn’t feel right without her friends there. Ever the daredevils, they’ve gone to seek adventure in the capital city of Grandin, and Randi can’t help but feel left behind. Not to mention she definitely can’t stop thinking about that kiss she and Eddy shared before he left.

When Randi discovers a mysterious mark on her skin that matches an illustration in “A Handbook on Paragonhood”, she’s thrown into a world of powerful gods and ancient magic that she thought only existed in the myths. She’ll have to step out of her comfort zone—and into the dangerous streets of Grandin—to find a way to protect herself and the people she loves.

Randi’s not the only one with a secret, though, and she finds herself questioning who she can trust. Randi will have to wrestle with what it means to be a Paragon and how far she’s willing to go to do what’s right.

With the fate of the world on the line, can she live up to being one of the chosen?

Enjoy an Excerpt

A rumble downstairs tells me my folks are pulling into the garage. I gently set Barnaby back on the pillow and pick up the lotion I bought earlier. In the bathroom across the hall, I strip off my dress, cringing at the sight of the spider bite, now haloed in red. It looks infected and feels hot when I touch it. What if the spider that bit me was venomous?

I peer closer, stretching the skin on my left ribs. The center’s a bit swollen, although it’s not white, which is a good sign. But there’s something strange about the red ring surrounding it. Wait … no. Not a ring. The red is scratched into my skin in a bunch of tiny lines.

Not a spider bite.

I crane my neck even more, heart hammering as I count seven lines. Seven lines making seven sides.

“Heptagram-shaped … approximately half the size of one’s pinky fingernail, red-brown in color, hot to the touch.”

My knees give and I barely catch myself on the counter. It can’t be. Those are myths. The marks aren’t real. But what if—

Stop. Calm down. Giselle and Howard both mentioned hunters—that’s why I’m jumping to conclusions. And I wouldn’t even be considering it if it weren’t for that book.

I hurry across the hall to my room. I pull a dozen or so hairstyling magazines off my bookshelf, revealing the worn, leather-bound book tucked behind them. A Handbook on Paragonhood. Eddy lent it to me because I’ve always loved the myths. But that’s all they are. No one takes the stories seriously except hunters.  

About the AuthorShauna Alderson began writing teen fantasy even before she was a teen. After she “grew up”, she completed creative writing courses (and a BA in Development Studies) at the University of Calgary. When not reading or writing, she can usually be found teaching ESL, composing on the piano, creating art, or volunteering abroad. She also enjoys dessert, Studio Ghibli films, and being the silliest person she knows.

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The Making of an Epic Fantasy Writer by Paddy Tyrrell – Guest Blog and Giveaway

March 31, 2020 By 10 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Paddy Tyrrell will be awarding a $20 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.  The book is only $0.99! Buy it at the links at the end of this post.

The Making of an Epic Fantasy Writer
Writing an epic fantasy is not for the faint hearted! Your first challenge is the length, with each book the equivalent of 1 ½ to 2 books in other genres. That doesn’t just mean it takes longer to write, but it is more unwieldy to edit and costs considerably more for any external services.

The next challenge is the complexity of the plot, the characters, and the world they live in, but this is also the fun part. Let’s take a look at some of the key elements involved in this type of fantasy writing:

Firstly, there has to be some imaginary system that does not exist in real life. That can be magic and sorcery but also could be fantastical creatures, or perhaps characters, animals, or objects with special powers. For example, in Lumina there are snow-wolves and dragons, a light-star and a golden race created by sorcery. When I created monsters like the Slitherns, I used inspiration from nature. I researched the ugliest fish in the sea, the strangest insects, and the most deadly reptiles in the hope that a few of these would spark ideas for my own fantastical creatures.
Another challenge is building the setting for your story: how the world looks, what the inhabitants are like, how the society and power structure works. The latter is particularly important for upping the stakes and giving depth to the story. There are two conflicting powers and societies in Lumina. One, Lumina itself, is sophisticated and civilised, governed by reason not magic; the other, Kuhla, is brutal, barbaric and controlled through tyranny and sorcery. Some fantasy authors love the other aspects of world-building – what people wear, the flora and fauna, the buildings and so on, but I find this less appealing, partly because I don’t want to slow down the pace of the adventure with too much description.

Of course adventure is key and, like all genres, conflict on many levels is essential to create that adventure and to ensure enough complexity in the plot. Epic fantasies like Lumina normally involve a series, with each book a great read on its own but with a large-scale overarching conflict that runs through the series.

And what about characters? To create an epic you need a large cast of characters and you will normally want to write from multiple points of view. Managing to interweave plot lines and different character viewpoints without confusing the reader is essential. There are three main ‘good’ characters and three ‘evil’ ones in Lumina, but each with their own weaknesses and strengths, as well as minor characters on either side of the equation.

So to be a fantasy writer you need to be comfortable with complexity, to love adventure and to have a strong visual imagination to bring your fantasy world alive.

A generation designed by sorcery to destroy your people. Two races mired in conflict. Can a pair of outcasts unite them against an enemy who would enslave them all?

The birth of ‘bronzite’ babies in Lumina heralds the onset of war. The people take fright at the golden children and banish them from the land. A dangerous move. King Zheldar, commander of the black dragon, is attacking Luman borders. If he wins bronzite support for his army of monsters, Lumina is lost.

Davron Berates cannot share his people’s hatred of the children and, on discovering he has a bronzite brother, sets out to find him. At his side travels Chrystala. A bronzite, she has twice his strength and three times his determination.

When the black dragon kidnaps Chrystala, Davron is faced with a terrible choice: save his friend or save his nation.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Jaldeen strode towards an ancient font at the far side of the tower and opened wooden shutters in the wall behind it. Leaning out, he checked the platform outside for any decay. It looked solid enough and he stepped over the windowsill and walked to the center. He cupped his hands around his mouth and spelled a summons, his voice a rasp of vowels that floated on the damp air. He ducked back inside. There was a thrash of wings and the tower shuddered. Xeralith, black dragon of Kuhla, had answered his call.

Any fleeting sense of power deserted him in the terror of her presence. She was as old as the moss that ate the castle walls. Evil had putrefied her beauty, her once crimson scales stained black by Rach’s corruption. She thrust her head through the opening in the wall. Bony nodules covered her upper jaw and the dark armor plating of her head. Steam belched from her nostrils.

Jaldeen ran and hid behind the font, clinging to the carvings of the demons that served his god, as though they could protect him. He averted his face from the scalding droplets. Xeralith’s breath, heavy with malevolence, contaminated the air with the stench of burning metal and rotten meat. Stomach heaving, Jaldeen forgot to maintain his shield. Her eyes swirled and she locked her gaze on his. Trickles of flame erupted through teeth that could rip him in two. He lost control of his limbs and fell. She lunged at him and he scrambled back, his heels banging on the stone floor. The horns on her sinewy neck snagged against the outer wall and pulled her short. She screeched in frustration.

About the Author:I was raised in Kent, the garden of England, and lived in an Oast House whose round rooms were once used for drying hops. Must be why I’ve enjoyed a drink ever since!

At university, I fell in love with medieval French writing, discovered The Gormenghast Trilogy, and became hooked on fantasy.

I have sailed down the Yangste, survived an earthquake in Cairo, and picnicked in the Serengeti. My travels for work and pleasure have inspired my fantasy world. I now live in France with a naughty Australian Labradoodle, a jealous cat and a squash mad husband. Our two huskies, Ice and Sapphire, are sadly now gone but are transformed into wolves and immortalised in my book. Lumina is my debut novel and the first in a trilogy.

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Writing Tips by Anne Holster – Guest Blog and Giveaway

March 31, 2020 By 20 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Writing Tips

1. Have a story that grabs the reader from the get-go! That means get to the point – fast! Don’t make your readers slough through a bunch of meaningless fluff before getting to the crux of your story. If you get their attention at the start, they’ll stay.

2. Pay attention to detail! Readers are smart and they’ll pick up on the little things you might have missed. If you’re not consistent with details, the reader feels cheated.

3. Take your time! Writing is not a race to the finish line. Take it slow and present a polished product to your readers.

4. Write every day, even if it’s just a few sentences! I know it’s seems like it won’t make a difference, but it does. A few sentences turns into a few paragraphs which turns into a few pages and before you know it, the chapter is done.

5. Write what you love to read! If you’re not interested in reading what you’ve written chances are, no one else will either.

6. Read! The more you read, especially in your genre, the more you’ll learn. You’ll start to see what works and what doesn’t work. If you like it, there’s a good chance other do too and vice versa.

7. Take constructive criticism with grace and accept advice form those who’ve ‘been there’ if you’re lucky enough to get it.

8. And most importantly…DON’T WAIT! Don’t put off writing if it’s always been a passion of yours. It’s never too late to write that first novel – or that second one!

It’s 1977 – Star Wars is breaking records at the box office, Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run tour is taking the country by storm, and born-and-bred Jersey girl Annalise Keller has fallen in love for the first and last time. Hot and charismatic with dreams of making it as a rock star, Keith “Ace” Foxx is everything a teenage girl dreams of. He falls as hard for Anna as she does for him and the two decide to run off to California in search of his big break. Fate has other plans though, and several years and three kids later, Ace has traded in his guitar for a job at the local post office and Anna has become a symbol of all he has given up. Ace spends most nights at the local bar, trying to drink away his anger and resentment.

Flash forward a decade, and their youngest child, Jackson, is headed nowhere fast. In a life filled with meaningless jobs and too much partying, music is his only true escape from the pain of a childhood that abruptly ended one rainy night. The accident had destroyed his family and left him with a slew of unanswered questions.

Everything changes the night Jackson meets Leah. Shy and reserved, she doesn’t smoke and barely drinks; she certainly doesn’t put out. Not exactly the girl from the Bon Jovi videos he watched as a kid. Yet, before he knows it, she has become his world.

Then, just when it looks like his dreams might come true, betrayal and loss once again threaten everything he holds dear. As Jackson struggles to keep his world from spinning out of control, he knows one thing for sure, the choices he makes now will either be the start of a whole new life, or it just might be the end of him.

Enjoy an Excerpt

You hear people talk about this feeling, that once-in-a-lifetime, struck-by-a-thunderbolt feeling; you know, like when two cartoon characters are staring at each other and their eyes look like two big hearts bugging out of their heads. You hear about it but never really believe it could happen in real life. That is until it happens to you and then it completely consumes you, leaving you exhausted and worn out from falling for someone so hard so fast. It’s a high that you never, ever want to come down from. I think they call it love at first sight and, well, that’s exactly how I felt when I saw him. I can’t even explain why I was so taken with him – he definitely wasn’t what you’d call “classically handsome” – I just knew I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

About the Author: Anne Holster resides in Northern New Jersey with her husband and two children. When she’s not writing she enjoys spending time with her family, playing tennis and reading angsty romance novels. She is currently working on her fourth book.

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