Character Creation by N.K. Carlson – Guest Blog and Giveaway

April 17, 2023 By 9 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. N. K. Carlson will be awarding a $10 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.

Character Creation
Thanks for having me on the blog! Today, I’d like to talk a bit about character creation. As a fantasy author, character creation is right up there with world building and plot development in terms of importance. You can create a wonderfully engaging world with great plot devices, but if the characters aren’t realistic or unique, you don’t have a good story.

There are a few things I use to help get inspiration for characters. First, I find personality profiles to be very helpful when crafting a character. Myers-Briggs and the enneagram are two that I have used to shape characters. I have found Myers-Briggs to be helpful when describing the sort of things a character does, while the enneagram is very helpful to identify motivations and the internal life of a character. For main characters, if you’re in their head at all, it’s important to know those motivations and what’s going on in their head, so I always know my main characters’ enneagram numbers. For background and secondary characters, it’s generally fine to simply know how they present to the world, without getting into the nitty gritty of their enneagram, so their Myers-Briggs type is good to know.

Second, dialogue is very important. If every character has similar speech patterns, all of the characters start to blend together. Unless you have a full cast audiobook, it’s hard to get accents to come across, which is one of the ways we differentiate people in real life. As such, on the page, each character needs their own vocabulary and syntax. In a fantasy world, those things need to make sense regionally within the world, so that similar characters from the same place should talk the same, while someone from another part of the world should speak slightly differently. That’s a hard one to get right, and I usually “hear” the characters speaking their dialogue in my head, which helps me as I write.

Third, characters need to have believable character arcs. If a character is a coward all through a series, it doesn’t make sense for them to do something utterly heroic in the climax. There needs to be small steps toward whatever that big character development piece is for their character. Neville Longbottom in “Harry Potter” is a very well developed character for someone who stays in the background for so long. When he stands up to the three main characters in “Sorcerer’s Stone” it’s a natural progression of him becoming more assertive throughout the story.

Thanks again for having me on! Readers, if you’d like to chat more about character creation, I am very findable on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! Talk to you soon!

Clashes on a pirate ship, battles on a castle wall, and an ancient secret unfolds. When life or death is at stake, one side must make a sacrifice to win.

After fleeing the Elven capital, Reith and his friends must race across Terrasohnen to warn the dwarves of the Shadow’s long reach. Each new revelation brings even more questions and Reith has so much to learn about Shadows and his mysterious sword. Time is against Reith. Death stalks him in the desert, mountains, and sea, and the ever present darkness looms large over all.

Will they reach the dwarves in time to prevent more death? Or will the Shadow’s destruction be too great, consuming everyone in the kingdoms of Terrasohnen?

Enjoy an Excerpt

“So, if a fight is coming, what then? What does find me mean?” Reith asked.

“I have no idea,” Romulus said. “I have a suspicion that the Voice belongs to a Guardian of Light, or even the God of Light. You have a destiny, Reith.”

“Why me?”

“All chosen by the God of Light for one task or another ask that question. It is beyond our wisdom. The God of Light has purposes and plans we can know nothing about. He has written the story of Terrasohnen on the world, and we are following along as best we can, though the ending is hidden from our eyes. But as for your question, I do not believe the God of Light calls someone unless he purposes to accomplish something in and through them.”

“So you think I will be successful in whatever this is?”

“I don’t think it, I believe it. I have faith in the God of Light. I think he or someone speaking for him is speaking to you, so I trust that he will be with you.”

“Easy for you to say,” Reith said, “You’re not the one facing fighting and finding.”

“Perhaps not finding, but certainly fighting.”

They rode on in silence for a few minutes.

“You promised to return the favor,” Reith said. “Tell me about you.”

“I am Romulus, firstborn son of King Koinas, heir to the throne of the elves. My mother died seven winters ago. I am the only remaining child of her and my father. He shall be furious that I have gone, but it is for the best. I was raised in the palace of Sardis and had the greatest tutors in history, mathematics, law, military strategy, astronomy, jousting, archery, and swordplay. As prince, I felt a great concern for my people, that all would be treated with fairness and justice. I have taken an interest in hearing the grievances of my people against one another and against the crown, which I did my best to decide equitably. I know rulers do not choose their monikers, but Romulus the Just has a nice ring to it. I hope to live up to it. And now, I am afraid that the greatest threat to the kingdom and my people is my father, and so I am on this quest beside you, fleeing from his wrath to a foreign land to beg for aid.”

“Sounds bleak,” Reith said, not really knowing what to say to the prince.

“It’s not as bleak as one might think. The God of Light is with us. We saw that at the funeral pyre for Kydar. And when the God of Light is with us, who can oppose us?”

About the Author: N. K. Carlson is an author living in Texas. Originally from the Chicago area, he graduated from the University of Illinois before studying at Logsdon Seminary, where he graduated with a master of divinity degree. He has published two books.

The Things that Charm Us and the Smelly Gospel (which was co-written with Drew Doss) both came out in 2020.

His love of writing began in elementary school when each student was given a blank white book to fill with a story. In college, he took an interest in blogging and writing novels.

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A Bold Third Act by Marcia Rosen – Guest Blog and Giveaway

April 13, 2023 By 10 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Marcia Rosen will be awarding a $25 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 BOLD THIRD ACT
NO! I do not want to retire because I’m a senior. Absolutely not!

More than ever, seniors are living full and engaging lives. More than 45 million Americans are over the age of 65 and millions of them still work— some by choice, some by necessity.

In what I consider my BOLD THIRD ACT, I’m writing mysteries. I’m bringing my passion for writing together with my rather unusual upbringing. In doing so, I am writing with more insight and purpose. As seniors, we can use our life experiences—whether failures, challenges or successes—to bring about enjoyable and productive lives filled with doing something we relate to and love. This is why the seniors in the mysteries I write are strong, smart and active main characters.

Mysteries and crime are in probably in my DNA. It never occurred to me my father and his friends were doing anything illegal. The environment I grew up with seemed perfectly natural to me. It’s what I saw everyday: My father was a bookie. He also owned a gambling hall where the men played pool in the front and poker in a private back room. My father and his partners would count the take from sports bets at our kitchen table. Once there was a raid on his partner’s apartment, which was right across from ours!

My father’s close friends had names like The Gig, Gimp and Doc. So, it makes sense that I’m fascinated by slightly shady characters, and crime and mystery stories. Once, I wrote a memoir story and referred to my mother as my father’s “gun moll.” Believe me, she was a character as well!

I’ve been a business owner for more than 40 years, which includes having a successful marketing and public relations agency for more than 20 years. I used to explain to clients that I was a “business detective,” finding solutions to problems that seemed a mystery to them. Of course, people and life in general are often a mystery.

My kids have encouraged me to, “Go for it!” They do not want me to slow down, sit around and dream of days past. They don’t want me to use age and going to doctors as a social outlet as so many elderly people do. They don’t even want me to have grey hair!

To those who do not agree: Sorry! I think I still have much to offer and enjoy. Positive aging is important to me, and writing is my way of showing it.

I used to tell friends that I was too old to see my dreams and ambitions to be a successful author come true. Yet, I refused to give up trying, and now my new mystery series The Gourmet Gangster: Mysteries and Menus has been published and more are on the way with my publisher, Level Best Books.

When I was doing consulting and public speaking, I’d often ask business and professional women to ask themselves: “What voices in your head do you need to eliminate? Get rid of the negative voices that say, ‘Who do you think you are?’ and ‘You can’t do it.’ ”

Now in my senior life, I’m reminded through conversations over a cup of coffee with my friends, my age and some younger, “We all matter.” What you want and who you are matters. We can make a difference at any age. Moreover, as we grow older, we can also share our experience, knowledge and, even at times, a good bit of wisdom.

In my mystery series The Senior Sleuths my senior characters represent my beliefs with energy and enthusiasm. These characters are my voice and reflect my truths.

A body is tossed into the lion’s habitat at the zoo where Miranda Scott is the senior vet. She and Detective Bryan Anderson join forces to unravel that mystery and several more murders. A fan since childhood of Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler, and Sherlock Holmes they seem to live in her head frequently telling her what to do…and not do. Murders, family, deceit, revenge and a gangster father and godfather often get in the way of a fine romance between Miranda and the Detective.

Enjoy an Excerpt

“Miranda, get to the zoo! Visitors are pointing at a human arm in the lions’ enclosure.”

“Hmmm. This is intriguing. A body in the lions’ den. What are the facts?”

“Agatha, Raymond, facts if you please,” Sherlock demanded.

“All of you shut up!”

It was not the first time Miranda shouted to the voices in her head. Sometimes they seemed so real to her. She had read nearly every book of every famous mystery writer and had seen movies made from them many times. She was often absorbed and obsessed by the stories and the characters.

Miranda loved their ways of thinking, analyzing problems, finding solutions, and delving into the dark spaces hidden in humanity: Raymond Chandler’s tough Detective, Philip Marlowe, who always found a dame he could lust after and distrust and Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and her Tommy and Tuppence. Their gossip and ways of finding clues and uncovering secrets swirled in her head, while the famous Sherlock Homes demanded facts and attention to the tiniest of details.

There were other geniuses of mysteries who stopped by to give Miranda their “two cents” at times, especially when Agatha, Raymond, and Sherlock were disagreeing with each other. Miranda was sure they would have plenty to say about the murder at the zoo.

About the AuthorMarcia Rosen (aka M. Glenda Rosen), award winning author of eleven books including The Senior Sleuths and Dying To Be Beautiful Mystery Series and The Gourmet Gangster: Mysteries and Menus (Menus by her son Jory Rosen). She is also author of The Woman’s Business Therapist and award winning My Memoir Workbook. For 25 years she was owner of a successful national marketing and public relations agency, Marcia has frequently been a speaker and/or program moderator at organization meetings and conferences, bookstores, libraries and Zoom Programs. Topics she has taught and presented over the past twenty years include: Encouraging the Writer Within You, Marketing for Authors, Writing Mysteries…Not A Mystery, Writing Your Memoir and recently “Anatomy of Writing A Murder.” Many articles on these topics have been published on mystery reader blogs and in newsletters and magazines including “Mystery Scene Magazine” and “Mystery Reader International Journal.”

She is a member of Sisters in Crime National and New Mexico (Croak & Dagger), Southwest Writers, New Mexico Book Association, Women Writing the West, Public Safety Writer’s Association, and National Association of Independent Writers and Editors—for which she is also a board member.

“Marcia Rosen’s new book is hard to put down! The characters are engaging and you enjoy getting to know them as you read this mystery. I enjoyed discovering the world and people in Murder at the Zoo and can’t wait to read more from this author!”

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What I Would Tell a New Author by Phoenix Blackwood – Guest Blog and Giveaway

April 11, 2023 By 3 Comments

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Phoenix Blackwood will be awarding a $10 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.

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Write your truth. Whether it’s fantasy, sci-fi, or contemporary, there’s a truth inside you waiting to be set free. You can have fun with it, it doesn’t always have to be serious or somber – it can be a truth filled with joy, a truth filled with justice. Whatever feels good to you, that’s what you should write. Don’t write things for the sake of forcing yourself into a box of genre or write away important things for the sake of pleasing other people. If you feel like something really belongs, keep it. If you feel like it might ruffle a few feathers, good. All the best writing has the potential to do so. That’s not to say to completely disregard the opinions of beta readers and editors. No, it just means to write what’s truly inside of you, clawing to be set free.

Your truth can bring you closer to your readers, make them feel seen. It can turn out to be the most important book someone’s ever read in their life, even if only a few read it. If you’re in it for the sheer numbers, you’re going to be disappointed, regardless of how successful you are. There’s always going to be a bigger number, more money that could be made. What’s important is that you get your message across. If you’re too bogged down with writing what you think people will want to read, you’re going to come up with something that you dislike in the end, feeling no connection with it.

Connect with your characters, your story. That’s the most beautiful part of writing, the connection. With the readers, with yourself, with your values. The right people will find your story, and it’ll mean the world to them. My favorite books aren’t all best sellers, in fact, a lot of them are indie. Most of them deserve better recognition, but unfortunately a lot of the best books are gems hidden in a sea of media. Let yourself shine as that gem.

From the outside, Alex has a perfect life. She has a partner who loves her, gets good grades in school, excels at most sports, and has a big heart. From the inside, Alex’s life is anything but perfect. She hasn’t spoken to her father in years. She’s hiding the fact that her once-best-friend now-romantic-partner Theo is trans and nonbinary from her homophobic mother. Bullies are harassing her and Theo at school, taunting and shoving. It’s all becoming too much for Alex to bear.

Things take a surprising turn when Alex’s mother discovers her relationship with Theo. After Alex is thrown out of her house and taken in by Theo’s foster family, Alex can live honestly. For a while, things start to feel manageable. Alex finds a new group of friends. She navigates what “family” means beyond her mother and sister. She even considers forgiving her mother’s past mistakes. But forgiveness requires honesty. Secrets Alex’s mother has been keeping are surfacing, trying to bind Alex to misery. As Alex learns the full truth of her mother’s past mistakes, she will need the love of her chosen family and friends to gently bind her life into a shape that keeps her whole.

Enjoy an Excerpt

I sat on my bed and pulled Theo down to my level, kissing them on the forehead. They sat down with me and kissed me on the lips until they were leaning over me and my hands were wrapped around the back of their neck, pulling them closer. They were so soft, always so tender. I focused all my attention on the kiss, so much so that I didn’t hear the small squeak of my door opening. Theo pulled away suddenly, jarring me and forcing me to look in the direction of their gaze.

Leah had opened the door. She stood there with her mouth open, her face frozen in wonder and confusion. She’d known Theo since we’d become friends, I bet she had never imagined finding us kissing when she opened my door.

Theo and I looked at each other in horror. The secret was out, how were we going to get her to keep quiet? We should’ve been more careful. We’d gotten too comfortable.

I signed for Leah to come sit between us on the bed. My face got hot as she sat and tears brimmed in my eyes. My mom could never, ever find out – Leah knowing was so dangerous. She looked up at me with wide eyes and signed, “Boyfriend?”

Theo must’ve seen the panic rising up in me, because they took over. They gently rested one hand on her shoulder to get her attention and then explained, “We love each other. I’m not a boy, but I’m still her partner. I’m like a boyfriend, just minus the boy part.”

Walking through the threshold of Theo’s house was like a weight lifting off my shoulders, all the tension of home and school falling away. This was what home was supposed to feel like. I flopped down on the couch and Theo joined me a couple minutes later with two mugs of tea, handing me one. I leaned into them as they wrapped an arm around my shoulders after turning the television on to the latest show we’d been binging. This felt so safe, so calm. A feeling I rarely got in my own home. Always on edge, an internal dissonance telling me that I wasn’t good enough. Here, I was everything I was supposed to be.

We watched television until Seth–Theo’s brother–made his way down the stairs and started rummaging through the kitchen to start dinner. The house was quickly filled with smells that made my mouth water – meat searing in a pan, vegetables being chopped, pasta water boiling. I sat in the scents until I couldn’t take it any longer and my stomach growled, causing me to get up and make my way into the kitchen.

Seth shot me a sly smile. “Probably another ten minutes.”

I pouted, staring at the food and willing it to cook faster.

About the Author:Born and raised in New England, Phoenix has always been a creative – whether it’s painting or writing. From a very young age, Phoenix has envisioned and created characters, writing them into existence and exploring them through visual arts. Having graduated to first-time short story author, Phoenix is embarking on a journey towards novel writing as they finally bring characters they’ve known for years into the world. Phoenix is neurodiverse and intersex and hopes to bring more representation to both topics with their writing. They believe in creating relatable characters that people can find themselves in and empathize with.

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Malketh and the Undead by Dave Maruszewski – Q&A and Giveaway

April 11, 2023 By 11 Comments

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

Any weird things you do when you’re alone?

Talk to myself. I come from a long line of self-discussers. I think it is how we relieve our stress or worry. I’ve tried to stop, but finally gave into to my own nature. I just make sure no one is within earshot. Hopefully, no one throws me into an asylum when I get older.

Who is your favorite author and why?

I used to say Dostoyevsky because his ability to bring thoughtful concepts to story. However, now I think I have none. There are so many interesting writers out there, I want to experience more.

What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?

Take this with a grain of salt. I am a writer who tries to engage people who don’t like to read the classics but still want to read. So, I forgo pristine writing in order to get people comfortable in reading. Hence, I elevate storytelling. I’ve read many well written pieces that I found completely boring.

I engage the reader with a range of characters. I prefer putting differing characters together and seeing how they interact. That can be fun. For example, how will a logical character deal with a whimsical one?

I prefer dialogue to word pictures or even world building. I think that I could create entire books of character discussions. In fact, it has been done by others. The rest is gravy and not necessarily needed.

Where did you get the idea for this book?

When I started this book, it was a completely oral. I told it as a bedtime story to my son. As opposed to my first book, I dictated this one directly to text.

My main thought was to have a classic bad guy. This came about as my son watched the Avengers movies. My wife and I liked the Thanos in Infinity War. My son liked the Endgame Thanos better. My wife and I like the complexity of that character in our incantation whereas my son wanted a villain that he could see the Avengers fight without remorse. I decided to take that idea and used Malketh to give our three a reason to fight without remorse. Of course, when my wife edited the work, she got me to soften Malketh a little. I tried to give a little more insight into why he went the way he did and gave him some positive qualities.

My son was also into zombies at the time and suggested a story based on that. I thought it would be neat to involve the undead in an epic fantasy. It might mix the pot a little.

What is your favorite quote that relates to writing?

I think that my favorite one I read went like “When you have too many thoughts, write. When you don’t have enough, read.” That’s a pretty good model.

Raven, Romda and Ravai are settling into their new knightly duties well. With the Dark Beast defeated, their normal tasks almost seem mundane.

Amidst the boredom, Ravai asks, “Why does no one talk about villains from the past?”

Romda reasons, “What would be the point?”

There is a point. Even though villains may have been defeated in the past, they may still be around, waiting in the background ready to resurface once again.

Malketh has returned to the kingdom, but something is different about him this time. He is back with an entire army … an entire army of undead soldiers!

“Whether you want to read this aloud to your little one or let them explore this magical world on their own, parents can rest assured that this second installment in the Raven, Romda, and Ravai series will be a playful, whimsical addition to their bookshelves.” –The Book Review Directory

“… the squires are appealing characters, as is their comical banter.” – Blue Ink Review

A great story for the fantasy loving youth, this adventure will appeal to those who like action and humor in an easy reading environment.

Enjoy an Excerpt

They keep going until they hear a large rumble. A small mass of rocks fall to the ground. The three look up and see a gigantic figurine of a man holding a giant emerald. Romda puts her lantern up to the emerald, and the light refracts and bounces off the many faces such that the whole room is lit. This brings relief to the three.

Unfortunately, they notice something else. When the room comes up from the dark, Raven, Romda and Ravai notice all these eyes staring at them. The undead are here. The three are surrounded.

Perplexed, Raven, Romda and Ravai freeze. They are scared. However, the entire horde of undead does not approach them. What is wrong with them? What do they want?

At last, the undead begin to slowly stir. They begin to walk slowly. At first they seem to move in random directions. Then, a pattern to their motion becomes apparent. They move about, revealing an opening in their numbers in the shape of a small circle. That opening reveals a hooded figure. The hooded figure says…

About the Author: Dave Maruszewski is blessed with a great family. He was originally inspired to write stories by his wife and son.

He strives to develop stories with sound moral values that will be enlightening as well as entertaining to youths and adults. The Raven, Romda and Ravai books are targeted especially for children who shy away from reading. His stories are created from an accumulation of experience from careers/backgrounds as a physicist, engineer, teacher, artist, video game designer and software developer.

In between writing stories and running his own company, Digital Tumult (DigitalTumult.com), Dave enjoys video games, watching internet videos and hanging out with his family.

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The Efficiency Journal by Misha Saidov – Spotlight and Giveaway

April 10, 2023 By Leave a Comment

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

This journal, created by renowned coach and psychotherapist Misha Saidov, will help you become the hero of your own life. It was created to assist you in setting important goals, reaching them, and winning. It will support you along the way, especially when you find yourself lost or confused. The Efficiency Journal will help you stay on track.

You don’t need to schedule your day by the minute. If you want to succeed, you only need to complete three key daily tasks, set goals that fit into 12-week sprints, and honestly reflect on your results once a week.

You will learn to manage your energy and analyze your actions, achievements, and experiences.

The result will be a formed character, created by daily volitional actions.

What’s inside?

– Weekly and daily planning sheets
– Space for summarizing weekly results and for reflection
– Wise thoughts and tips along the way

Any goal reduced to daily tasks will be achieved, no matter what.

FOR WHOM IS THIS JOURNAL?

For those who want to succeed in business, improve themselves, move forward, maintain their motivation and eliminate distractions.

Many of us have meaningful ideas that could change the world. Without embodiment, they will remain just a dream. A dream about the future.

Enjoy an Excerpt

In 1910, in the center of Paris at Sorbonne, the president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, gave a speech.

One of the passages of the speech became known as “The Man in the Arena”:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Do you ever find yourself asking: “Who am I? The one in the arena, or a spectator?”

About the Author:

Misha Saidov, a life performance coach and author, is the founder of IMCP (Institute of Metacognitive Programming) and Think Meta, a coaching company that conducts 4000+ client sessions per month.

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Insider Story with Bo, lover of Victor Raghib and Caden from Battle of a Thousand Deaths by Nina Schluntz – Guest Blog and Giveaway

April 7, 2023 By 5 Comments

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

Insider Story with Bo, lover of Victor Raghib and Caden from Battle of a Thousand Deaths

Host: We’d like to welcome a special guest, Bo, current slave and lover to Victor Raghib from Battle of a Thousand Deaths. Thank you for joining us, Bo.

Bo: Pleasure to be here.

Host: First off, I want to say, are you really as nice as you appear on camera? You seem to have no faults and people can’t help but love you.

Bo: That’s so kind of everyone to say, but I’m really no different than anyone else. I don’t put on a special act for the cameras.

Host: I’m not sure that answered the question, but we’ll move on. How do you feel knowing that Raghib is in love with Caden? Do you think he loves Caden more than you? Fans often say Raghib is using you as a replacement.

Bo: I’ve seen those same fans say Caden was my replacement. Raghib and I formed a bond and were lovers long before Raghib meant Caden. But, as someone who has met Caden, I understand his appeal. He’s a truly great guy.

Host: Um, okay, have you done anything to help the people of Raghib’s Kingdom? You must know the people are being overtaxed and are suffering.

Bo: There are people, specialists, who are addressing those concerns. It’s certainly not something a person with my background as a sex slave would know how to solve.

Host: Is it true Raghib is struggling with addiction?

Bo: He has his demons. Any former slave struggles to adapt to a life of freedom.

Host: Is part of that adapting related to the ecstasy reward most slaves receive from their master? Raghib is addicted to that drug and has been spending his kingdom’s money to buy more in the black market.

Bo: Of course, slaves struggle to adjust to a life without a reward system. I mean, I’m high right now. I gave Raghib a blowjob behind stage before coming out here. I needed the ecstasy reward to calm my nerves. If I was a free man without access to ecstasy, I’m not sure how I’d have the courage to do an interview like this.

Host: Raghib didn’t accompany you to the studio today.

Bo: A reward is a reward. I’m happy to have brightened someone’s day and get rewarded for it.

Host: We can edit that out before it airs, right? No? This is live? Of course, it is. Well, I think this has provided our viewers with some insight into Raghib’s Kingdom. Tune in next month for… I don’t know what, but not this. Can we call someone to get this guy?

Game Wardens rule most of the galaxy by a fierce empire built on enslavement and brokered deals. The only means to earn one’s freedom is by playing in the Alien Games. Two slaves go in the arena, the survivor, if there is one, is given their freedom and crowned a king, earning them a small country to rule and slaves of their own.

To make the battle more fun for spectators, genetically enhanced monsters, sahalias, are given to the combatants, but they must found in a scavenger hunt. Five orbs, each hatching into a lizard that will bond with their keeper, are hidden on a random planet. If the competitor finds all five, they have a great imbalance of power over the other, who will have none. The sahalias are created with one purpose, to battle to the death and destroy the other competitor.

*****

Caden works at an all night diner in a small town near the interstate. When a man comes in late at night, asking for access to the roof, Caden knows the man is a bit off. But his ruffian nature and a small bribe makes Caden decide to let him go up.

“It’s a scavenger hunt,” the man says. Caden thinks he’s being helpful when he finds the item, a black orb, but when he touches it, he unknowingly becomes a competitor in an intergalactic competition that ends in a battle to the death. Manipulated and lied to, drugged by the alien Incubus, Raghib, whom he is now allied with, he must train his lizard battle creatures to fight for him on an unknown planet with rules he barely understands.

He has little chance to survive and although he wants to trust, Raghib, who will earn his freedom if Caden wins the battle, he worries he is simply being used. A bit of truth is revealed when one of the Game Wardens takes a liking to Caden, but his alien species is known to eat humans, so Caden isn’t sure if the desire is that of hunger or true romance.

Either way, Caden is nothing but a slave to their alien games.

***** 

Caden is free. He won his battle and got what he wanted. Sent back to Earth with his won kingdom given to the slave, Raghib. However, life on Earth, back at the diner isn’t the same after living on an alien planet. He still suffers from withdrawals from the Incubus influence and drugs Raghib forced on him, and nightmares from the horrible battle to the death.

When a woman arrives, the latest competitor in the alien games, she offers him a chance to visit Raghib. All he has to do is be her slave during the games and help her find the orbs. He agrees and finds she is a higher level competitor than Raghib was, the hunt is on a deadlier planet, one covered in darkness and monsters.

Caden is eventually reunited with Raghib and gets to see the kingdom he won. Raghib is more broken from the battle and haunted by the brutality of it than Caden. He has a new lover and is driving his country to poverty so he can buy drugs to forget the pain. Caden turns to the Game Wardens for help, offering to go back in the arena again, with the woman he helped in the scavenger hunt. He is a fan favorite and knows their ratings will improve if he goes in again.

He arranged to go in as her pretend slave, in a role that will have safety features turned on so he will be in no real danger. He thinks its his idea to go back in. Confident he’s messing with the structures in place and trying to leverage the Game Wardens to change the deadly games into a nonlethal form.

However, it was their plan for him to go back in from the start. Caden is still nothing but a slave to their alien games.

***** 

Caden’s long-term girlfriend on Earth is pregnant, and Caden is missing. Jenny worries he has been kidnapped and drugged again. A strange woman arrives, saying she knows Caden and where he is. She offers to take Jenny to him, if she helps her… they just need to find some orbs in a scavenger hunt. Jenny agrees, but is careful to not touch the objects. She doesn’t trust this woman.

They find four orbs and encounter the other competitor. The fifth orb is there, and Jenny is forced to pick it up. The other competitor forfeits and Jenny finds herself now in the games, the woman she’d been helping now announced as her deadly competitor.

She is taken to an alien planet and united with a distraught Caden. He confesses that he has a relationship with a man, an alien man, an Incubus named Raghib, and the woman Jenny must fight is Raghib’s daughter.

Caden is in an impossible situation, either his lover’s daughter dies or his childhood sweetheart dies, but there is a rule in the games, a protection for slaves and their offspring, who are viewed as profitable future slaves. A pregnant woman may not enter the arena, instead the sire must.

Caden is again forced to play in the games, but this time he has no sahalias to battle on his behalf, and safety features are not allowed. If Caden is to survive, he must find a way to not be a slave in their alien games.

Enjoy an Excerpt from Book Two

“You were the victor in the arena. You. And you would have made a great leader.” Her face twisted with even more contempt. “But you gave your nobility away to Raghib. You, of all people, should have known better.”

“I don’t understand.”

I saw the flash of rage glimmer in her eyes, then my vision was flooded by the water below us as she thrust me under it. The shock had me inhaling the fluid, which panicked me more than anything. I thrashed and flailed. She pulled me back as I coughed, only vaguely aware that the water had stung my lungs less than water on Earth did.

“I’m from that kingdom you abandoned,” she said. “My people are from there.” She turned my head so I was forced to look at her. “Your Raghib sold our natural resources. Drained our water. Drilled our soil. Left us with nothing but barren land. Not even enough for us to live on, let alone afford the taxes he demanded. We had lush swamps, like this.” She gestured with her free hand while the other still held me, just barely high enough to keep my face from being submerged. “But now, it is a desert. My family sold me, sold their child, to pay Raghib’s tax and buy enough food to keep from starving. So I am here to win my own kingdom so my people can live in a better place. A place not ruled by a drug addict who cares nothing for his people.”

She dunked me again, before I could even consider mustering the air to respond or comprehend what she was telling me. I flailed, swung wildly, and probably hurt myself far more than I did her. She pulled me up again, and I vomited out the water as she tossed me away.

“You don’t even know whose side you are on. Kralasee is a puppet of the Game Wardens. She trains fighters. She is employed by the Game Wardens and works to prepare competitors in the months before they go on their scavenger hunt. And now, they have allowed this, you, their favorite competitor to return. How am I to win?’

“Not killing me would definitely be a good step in the right direction,” I managed to say between coughs.

“Does it matter if I am killed for murdering you rather than murdered in the arena in six days? Death is death.”

“Yes, but one of those options is a guarantee, the other is not.” I regained enough composure to look at her. “I can help you. I will…help you.”

I noticed she didn’t have any of the bands on her arm. She hadn’t found any orbs.

“It doesn’t matter to me which of you wins. I have no intention of going into the arena. So how about I help you find the remaining orbs?’

She did that smiling sneer, and for a moment, I thought it meant she was accepting my offer. She gripped my shoulder and pulled me from the water, pushing my back against a trunk. At least, I hoped it was a tree trunk.

“The more orbs that bitch finds, the better, so don’t offer me your pity.” She gave me a final push, then stepped out of my light, vanishing and leaving me, once again, alone. Only this time, I didn’t have any hope of finding Kralasee’s tracker.

About the Author:

Nina Schluntz is a native to rural Nebraska. In her youth, she often wrote short stories to entertain her friends. Those ideas evolved into the novels she creates today.

Her husband continues to ensure her stories maintain a touch of realism as she delves into the science fiction and fantasy realm. Their three cats are always willing to stay up late to provide inspiration, whether it is a howl from the stray born in the backyard or an encouraging bite from the so called “calming kitten.”

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Book 1 Video ~ Book 2 Video ~ Book 3 Video

Buy the series, Book 1, Book 2, or Book 3on Amazon or check out the serialized version of the series (US only) on Kindle Vella.

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Heart of Stone by January Bain – Spotlight and Giveaway

April 6, 2023 By 7 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.January Bain will be awarding a $25.00 PayPal prize, U.S. money to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Only one wild heart can claim another.

Esme Luceres, poor relation and outsider with the House of Luceres, devotes her free time to exposing fake psychics and charlatans who dupe and exploit a credulous public. She’ll never be anyone’s fool. And she certainly won’t make one of herself over the kilt-wearing, bare-chested Lachlan of the Highland Heathens Clan, even if he does looks like a plundering Viking right out of the mists of history with his magnificent body on proud display. No, she’ll expose his secrets…

Lachlan Creig certainly has a few of those. An illusionist and mind-defying hypnotist, he’s also a wolf shifter. In Vegas to perform at a prestigious venue on the Strip, he’s not above using his were heritage to his advantage. But the Scot has even darker, deeper secrets than most alpha billionaire weres…one which are about to surface.

When ‘ghostly’ events kill a tourist at the Haunted Museum where Esme conducts midnight tours, the feisty blonde and proud Scot are forced to put their heated differences aside and forge an unlikely alliance.

Can they find their way past their deep mistrust issues to solve the murder? If they can’t, Esme might lose her freedom, Lachlan all he holds dear…and both of them their fated mate…

Enjoy an Excerpt

I jumped naked from my bed, the stone floor bracing against my bare feet and the early morning chill raising quick goosebumps on my flesh. The clash of swords and shouts of men I led into battle nightly in my dreams still rang in my ears before I stretched and let the images fade away.

Last night’s full moon still lingered and false dawn approached, that luminal moment when the sun has yet to appear. My ancestors believed it heralded glimpses of the future and great secrets to be shared. Me? I thought it time to be up and about.

Throwing on my shirt, kilt and boots and strapping my claymore to my back, I descended the steep steps from the north tower. Despite myself, I sensed something of import with the night’s Hawthorn moon—a time of masculine power, potency and fertility, even more so than the other eleven months of the year.

Fingers of heavy mist crept across the vast estate toward me, intensifying the fresh woodsy scents of heather and moss. The low-lying fog obscured my long view of forest and hedgerows, but I knew they were there.

Untold numbers of Creigs had carved this land and battlements out of solid rock eons ago on Eilean maddah-allaidh, or Wolf Island as it was known to those from away, creating a legacy that would stand for generations to come. A sanctuary that was mine to oversee and care for…which included being alive to any messages sent my way.

“Okay, fine,” I sighed to whomever or whatever might be listening, and, giving in, stood in the shadow of Castle Creigbourne, awaiting a glimpse of what lay beyond the ken.

An intense flickering in my peripheral vision hit my senses hard before the world disappeared entirely, sending me back to that timeless realm with no name and no season. Then a glimmering of light appeared as my third eye opened, sending flashes of blue and gold to strike my retinas. The blue of eyes and the gold of hair?

About the Author:January Bain has wished on every falling star, every blown-out birthday candle, and every coin thrown in a fountain to be a storyteller. To share the tales of high adventure, mysteries, and full-blown thrillers she has dreamed of all her life. The story you now have in your hands is the compilation of a lot of things manifesting itself for this special series. Hundreds of hours spent researching the unusual and the mundane have come together to create books that features strong women who live life to the fullest, wild adventures full of twists and unforeseen turns, and hot complicated men who aren’t afraid to take risks. She can only hope her stories will capture your imagination and touch your heart.
If you are looking for January Bain, you can find her hard at work every morning without fail in her office with her furry baby, Ling Ling. And, of course, she’s married to the most romantic man! Who once famously remarked to her inquiry about buying fresh flowers for their home every week, “Give me one good reason why not?” Leaving her speechless and knocking her head against the proverbial wall for being so darn foolish. She loves flowers.

If you wish to connect in the virtual world she is easily found on Facebook. Oh, and she loves to talk books…

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Ten Things People May Not Know About Me by Marie McGaha – Guest Blog and Giveaway

April 5, 2023 By 7 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Marie McGaha will be awarding a $10 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.

Ten Things People May Not Know About Me
I’ve been in this business for a long time, so I’ve done many interviews and my bio is all over the internet, so coming up with ten things people don’t know about me might be a tough one!

1 – I just got married on February 4, 2023

I was twice widowed, and my second husband, Nathan, died from a stupid cancer that has a 5-7 year survival rate, but he died seven months after diagnosis. I was totally lost. After twenty-three years of marriage, I was unprepared for the loss. The paperwork alone was unbelievable, and I was almost convinced the heart-wrenching grief would kill me. But through a lot of screaming and crying, and constant prayer and bargaining with God, I was finally able to pull myself together. I visited my youngest son and his family in California and stayed several weeks with my oldest son in Utah, and then went back home to Idaho to get my house ready to sell. It all led me to buying a house back in Oklahoma where my late husband was born and raised, and I had lived there since 1989. And living here was the best thing that ever happened to me. I was able to buy a house outright, found a nice church, and because of that church going to a church in nearby Arkansas, I met the man I would marry, Pastor Dan. For me, it was love at first sight, but it was several months before we actually got together due to his position as pastor. I never thought I’d find love again, but I am head over heels with Dan!

2- I’m a farmer

Yep, I live in a rural area with a 12-acre farm that includes my kids, Charlie, a fila Brasiliero mastiff; Artie, a Schnauweeniehuahua; Lucy Liu a double dapple dachshund; and Boo Boo Baby, a tiny Chihuahua. We also raise pigs, chickens, and I have a horse named Horse. We grow a garden for vegetables, and I cook everything from scratch.

3-I’m a baker

Baking is my hobby. I bake everything from bread to cinnamon rolls, cakes, cupcakes, cheesecakes, and I bake specialty birthday cakes and wedding cakes.

4- I love romance

I love writing romance, but I also love watching romance, especially Christmas romances!

5- I went to 25 schools

My father was part gypsy, or at least that’s my conclusion. He moved us all over the country and in the sixth grade alone I went to 3 different schools! I hated it, but it did prepare me, in a weird way, for being a writer and for trying new things and not being afraid to do anything life presented to me.

6- I gave birth to 7 kids

Yep, I had seven kids naturally, and all the labor added together took only six hours! I am one of those women who didn’t experience labor pains and the longest birth was 45 minutes. That was the first one, so it took a little longer!

7- I know American Sign Language

My father was best friends with a man named Albert who was a deaf/mute. He used to sit around the table with my dad and they signed. I was about 4 years old, and I picked up some of the signs quite easily. In college, I took two semesters of ASL, and now, I use it in church during praise and worship. I use interpretive dance and sign language along with flags to express my love and devotion to the Lord.

8- I was ordained in 1996

I was ordained through the Full Gospel Pentecostal Churches International after diligently studying through the Baptist Bible School, and Derek Prince Ministries. I’ve continued my studies over the years, and I’m also a licensed Chaplain and have worked in hospice.

9- I developed a drug and alcohol program

I’ve worked as a drug and alcohol counselor in many settings, including drug court, probation and parole, and in an all-male prison on a unit with 164 men and me. I often get asked if I was ever afraid, and the answer is no. I treated them with respect, and they treated me the same way. Through this experience with inmates, addicts, and alcoholics, I developed the Free to Live Free of Drugs and Alcohol program that will be released soon as a self-help book.

10- My favorite book I wrote is Cross The Line

This historical romance is set shortly after the American Civil War during the period of time of known as the Indian Wars. It is an interracial romance between a former slave and the daughter of a former slave owner. It’s historically correct and I had so much fun researching this book, that I forgot it wasn’t real!

Life is the journey we take on our way to Heaven. It’s not easy, it’s not pretty, and sometimes, it’s downright difficult. However, we have an Advocate unlike any other, Jesus Christ. In Shine His Light, the author uses scriptures and her own life lessons to help others get through the bumpy spots.

Enjoy an Excerpt

When I was a kid, the series “Star Trek” was the greatest sci-fi show on TV, with the most up-to-date special effects. People disappeared in the transporter, we saw the Enterprise fly through the stars at warp speed, and of course, we saw really strange people and creatures from other planets. Sometimes, the planets were inhospitable and wouldn’t support life as we know it, so the crew moved on.

Of course, it didn’t take long for technology to leap forward and when I watch the old “Star Trek” episodes now, the special effects seem so antiquated, they’re something we laugh about. We can take what is already there and turn it into something better, something brand new and more efficient but we can’t take nothing and turn it into something. Only God can do that.

When God’s Spirit hovered over the face of the waters, He did not think it was inhospitable or that nothing could ever come from it. God looked at the waters and thought, I can make dry land. I can make light. I can take some of that dirt and form a human being. And that is exactly what He did. But He did not stop there, He formed a human being from a pile of dirt and then, He did something remarkable, He breathed His own Spirit into that pile of dirt and gave it life. That pile of dirt became the first man—a living, breathing, moving, thinking person. And God said it was “very good.” Up until then, everything created was called “good,” but man and woman were “very good.”

About the Author Chaplain, author, editor and inspirational speaker, Marie McGaha lives in the beautiful Ozarks of southeast Oklahoma. After losing the love of her life, Nathan, Marie returned from the mountains of Idaho to their native home where she lives with a houseful of yapping furbies, pigs, chickens, and a horse named Horse! She attends Family Praise & Worship and is very grateful for her church family and their support. Shine His Light 4, the final book of the series, is due out next spring.

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Moody Moody Cars by Eileen Kennedy-Moore, PhD – Spotlight and Giveaway

April 5, 2023 By 2 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Freewheeling! Full of feelings! Traveling near and far. HONK if you see me. I’m a moody moody car!

Hop in and ride along as our auto-friends personify the twists and turns of feelings. This rhyming picture book shares various expressive classic cars and invites readers to figure out the emotions, from excited to angry and more, behind the facial expressions. This is a playful, approachable way to teach kids about feelings and emotions and to develop an essential skill as kids travel along in their social world.

An answer key in the back to help readers identify all of these moody, moody cars; included are a 1956 Jaguar XK-0, a 1948 Delahaye, a 1959 Buick Electra, a 1965 A.C. Cobra, a 1938 Delage Coupe, a 1956 Buick Centurion, a 1955 Indianapolis, a 1938 Bugatti 57SC, a 1939 Buick Model 40, and a 1929 DuPont LeMans.

Why Kids Need Moody Moody Cars

Young children deal with many of the same emotions that adults do. Children get angry, sad, frustrated, nervous, happy, or embarrassed, but they often don’t have the words to talk about how they’re feeling. Instead, they sometimes act out these emotions in very physical and inappropriate ways.

Parents and teachers can use Moody Moody Cars to help their children understand and express their emotions in healthy ways.

Being able to read emotions in ourselves and others is like having a GPS for life.

Research tells us that children who are better at understanding facial expressions of emotions are also:

Better liked by their peers
Less likely to act out aggressively, and they
Do better in school.

One study found that children’s ability to interpret facial emotions at five years of age predicts how well they do socially and academically–even four years later (Izard et al. 2001).

Research also shows that talking about feelings, practicing labeling them, and discussing their causes can help children increase their understanding of emotions in themselves and others (Yuill & Little, 2018).

In this quirky, joyful picture book, classic automobiles come alive to express a range of feelings, from excited to angry. Young readers, their parents, and teachers can simply admire some really cool cars, or they can also dive deeper into the engine of emotional understanding that helps drive us all toward personal well-being, healthy relationships, and educational progress.

About the Author:Eileen Kennedy-Moore, PhD, is an author and clinical psychologist, based in Princeton, NJ. Her most recent books for children are Moody Moody Cars and Growing Friendships: A Kids’ Guide to Making and Keeping Friends (co-authored with Christine McLaughlin). She has also written or co-authored four books for parents: Kid Confidence, Smart Parenting for Smart Kids, The Unwritten Rules of Friendship, and What’s My Child Thinking? She is the professor for an audio-video series from The Great Courses, called Raising Emotionally and Socially Healthy Kids.

A trusted expert on parenting and child development, Dr. Kennedy-Moore serves on the advisory board for Parents magazine, and her blog, Growing Friendships on Psychology Today, has over 4 million views.

Dr. Kennedy-Moore has been a featured guest on Live with Kelly and Ryan, The Today Show, Good Day Philadelphia, and dozens of major radio shows and podcasts. She has been interviewed and quoted in numerous newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Parents, Real Simple, Working Mother, and Woman’s Day.

She and her husband have four children.

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Cold Sleep by Luke Hindmarsh – Spotlight and Giveaway

April 4, 2023 By 2 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

It’s the perfect score—stealing valuable data from a VIP in cryo-freeze midway through a decades-long interstellar crossing. If it works, Kara will have enough money to buy what she’s always wanted—a Captaincy.

But with the rest of the crew and the cargo of one hundred thousand colonists still frozen, Kara and her accomplice, Zed, realize they’re not the only ones awake. The murdered woman they find is only the first victim of whoever or whatever has woken from Cold Sleep.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Stretching out the stiffness, my joints pop and crackle. One of the problems with lying in cold-sleep: you wake up feeling like arthritis has set in. With the synthetic dopamine and endorphins fading, I’d probably just want to curl up somewhere but good old synthphenethylamine’s still getting me going. A few seconds more for the upload of the quasi-intelligent virus to the ship’s system to finish.

Speaking of risks, getting caught with QI tech would see me court-martialed and spaced before any appeal notice could reach Earth. But this gig is worth it; it’s not for the thrill, it’s for what the payoff will get me.

Upload complete. And the ship’s systems stop registering our unscheduled revival.

A quick check back through the records shows all evidence of disruption to the normal cold-sleep routine has been erased. My little QI viral hitchhiker is back safe in the link-key, its work done for now.

Of course, a full virtual forensic check, stripping away every level of the programming and examining the source code, will make my tampering as obvious as a cometary impact. But the QI virus has laid the same evidence trail to each of the eighteen crew, four officers, and one hundred thousand passengers on board.

If you can’t hide your crime, make sure the evidence points to someone else. Better yet, everyone else.

For now, we’re ghosts aboard a sleeping ship.

About the Author:

A Brit now living in the Scandinavian wilds of Denmark with his wife and half-Viking kids, Luke worked as a Criminal Barrister in and around London for over a decade dealing with everything from minor theft cases to a real life axe murder and everything in between. Thanks to parents in the military he grew up being dragged around the world–while living in the Far East he picked up a love for the martial arts which continues to this day, as he passes on what he’s learned to a select dojo of students. Cold Sleep is his third novel. His first was Amazon cyberpunk bestseller Mercury’s Son, his second a UK set supernatural suspense novel 3:33 AM.

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