My Books!

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Fashionista Friday: Cocktail Party

Party Style



Valentino high heel shoes
neimanmarcus.com


Valentino purse
mytheresa.com


White gold jewellery
diamondere.com


Engraved jewelry
diamondere.com


14k jewelry
diamondere.com

The Button Legacy: Emily's Inheritance

The Button Legacy: Emily’s Inheritance
by Ginger Marcinkowski

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Based on the true story of one family’s spiritual saga revealed through buttons that have been secreted away in an antique box, and that ultimately hold the key to each generation’s salvation.

Ginger Marcinkowski’s first novel, Run, River Currents featured Emily Evans, who as a girl shared a special understanding with her grandfather, John Polk. Despite the scars of her father's abuse John taught her to look to the future in faith, promising Emily God's grace can be seen even in the simplest thing—a button.

Years after her grandfather John's death, the unexpected delivery of a decorated tin, still brimming with odd-colored buttons is delivered to Emily. The reappearance of the family buttons unlocks joyous memories and guides Emily to realize a secret her grandfather promised lay within the stories of that worn button box; the healing power of prayer. In The Button Legacy: Emily’s Inheritance each button connects one generation to the next as their interrelated stories unfold across the timeless landscape of their spiritual journey.

EXCERPT:


“Grampy!” The girl’s thin figure stood in the living room doorway, her hands placed firmly on her hips. Her face was stern, crinkled, as though she were about to give the old man a scolding. “Look!” she said, uncapping her hand to reveal a white button that looked like it came from the blouse she was wearing. “Someone nailed my windows shut! I tore the button off my blouse trying to open them. Look!”

She walked toward John, hand open. He plucked the small, pink, pearl-like button from her palm, rose from the chair, and moved toward the oak hutch. Retrieving the button box, he opened the tin container and dropped the button inside.

“Then I guess we won’t have to worry about you going to the Legion anymore, will we?” John watched his granddaughter’s face as it soured. But in seconds, her eyes began to smile and her head tilted back. A laugh unlike any he had heard come from her in years warmed the air around him. The wrinkles in his face turned upward, and he, too, began to laugh.

“That will be a good story someday, Grampy!” Emily said between her giggles. He opened his arms and enveloped her, closing his eyes tightly. He praised God in a whisper for moments like these. He had held his own daughter this way many years before she’d left home and married. He often prayed that Maureen would finally humble herself and give the remainder of her days to the Lord. He knew he might never see that day arrive, but holding his granddaughter, he prayed that she might someday remember this moment and realize that God had been there with her all along.
  

Ginger Marcinkowski was born as one of eight siblings in northern Maine along the Canadian border, a setting that plays a prominent role in her novels, Run, River Currents and The Button Legacy-Emily’s Inheritance.

Her debut novel, Run, River Currents, was published in August 2012, was a 2012 semi-finalist in the ACFW Genesis Awards and a 2013 Kindle Book Award Finalist. The Button Legacy-Emily's Inheritance, will be released in July 2014. An interesting fact about Ginger is that she is a million-mile flier with United Airlines and had been a multi-million dollar travel agent in the past. Her travel experience will be the catalyst for a new series of mysteries whose main characters are travel agents.

www.GingerMarcinkowski.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/writer.Ginger.Marcinkowski

AMAZON Author Page - http://www.amazon.com/Ginger-Marcinkowski/e/B008S1BFYI

Twitter - https://twitter.com/Grm55Grm

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18088798-the-button-legacy?ac=1

Ginger will be awarding a $10 Starbucks Card + eBook copy of The Button Legacy: Emily’s Inheritance to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Follow the link below to enter.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can find Ginger's schedule at http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/07/virtual-book-tour-button-legacy-emilys.html

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

The Curvies

Curve My Song
by Sarah Gai

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:


Follow the amazing plus size trio, The Curvies, as they find love, drama, tears, laughs and a song to match every situation. Bree Carson loves her life, friends and little town, but something is missing. Taylor Cole returns home after ten years and old flames reignite. Can he break through Bree’s walls? This book is the first in a three novella set following the lives of three curvy best friends: Bree, Elise and Skyla. The first book follows Bree and her life as she fumbles her way through letting down walls and letting love in. This novella has a lot of laughs and a little drama and introduces the readers to the rest of the characters leading into the second book, which builds up suspense for the third and final installment. These novellas will appeal to plus size or curvy women everywhere, especially those who enjoy books in the BBW (big, beautiful women), chicklit and women’s fiction genres. It’s just one of those reads that busy women of today can enjoy while they relate to the curvy ladies who aren’t super models but representative of your average everyday beauty.

EXCERPT:

“Chapter One ~ Bree

“Okay, okay,” I grumble, reaching my arm out, blindly trying to locate my phone, my head still nestled beneath the covers, with no intention of surfacing any time soon.

Whoever is trying to call me better have a damn good reason for doing so. I’m enjoying my sleep in, knowing I don’t have to start work until seven o’clock tonight. The phone ringing is beginning to drive me insane.

‘Ah ha!’ I finally find it hidden amongst last night’s clothes haphazardly thrown on the floor. Pulling my hand back under the covers, I answer the phone. “What?” I grumble.

“Bree, tell me you’re not still in bed?”

“Of course I’m still in bed, it’s still morning,” I snap at Elise. I’m not a morning person, never have been. It takes at least two cups of coffee to get me going and, of all people, Elise should know that. Especially if she wants me to be a little nicer right now.

“No, honey, it’s one o’clock, and would you like me to remind you that it’s Friday?”

“Of course I know it’s Friday, I’m singing at Skyla’s tonight. Now, let me get back to sleep.” She’s still on the other end of the phone, but there’s only silence, and I know she’s waiting for something. But what?

Then it hits me.”

Excerpt From: Sarah Gai. “Curve My Song.” iBooks. https://itun.es/au/WSUw0.lExcerpt From: Sarah Gai. “Curve My Song.” iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewBook?id=878373680

Sarah Gai is the author of The Curvies series. Living in Victoria Australia. As a devoted wife and mother of three, when Sarah is not writing she will be found reading in a quiet corner somewhere or out for coffee with her own real life Curvies. Being a busy mum she was always trying to find a quick and fun read to squeeze in and that is when the idea for the three novella set sparked into her mind. Wanting to write for all the women out there who want a good short read about strong friendships, romance and body positive, love the skin you're in kind of fiction.

website- http://www.sarahgai.com

facebook- http://www.facebook.com/sarahgaiauthor

twitter- http://www.twitter.com/sarahgaicurvy

goodreads -https://www.goodreads.com/Sarahgai

buy links-

amazon-http://amzn.com/B00KB1DF3M

smashwords- https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/437632

itunes- https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/curve-my-song/id878373680?mt=11

Sarah is giving away a $25 Amazon gift certificate so be sure to use the link below to enter.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Book Review Moccasin Trace

If you came for Beyond the Book, scroll on down, but why not take a look at this post too? I wrote a book review for this one.

Moccasin Trace
by Hawk MacKinney

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

… it was about the land…a tale of love and loss and hope…


“The most engaging and brilliantly crafted historical work since Margaret Mitchell’s great classic.”
Barbara Casey
Author, The Gospel According to Prissy

Hamilton Ingram looked out across the fertile Georgia bottomlands that were Moccasin Hollows, seeing holdings it had taken generations of Ingrams to build.  No drop of slave sweat ever shed in its creation.  It was about the land…his trust, his duty to preserve it for the generation of Ingrams to come…

It is July of 1859, a month of sweltering dog days and feverish emotional bombast.  Life is good for widower Rundell Ingram and his Hazel-eyed, roan-haired son, Hamilton.  Between the two of them, they take care of Moccasin Hollows, their rustic dogtrot ancestral home, a sprawling non-slave plantation in the rolling farming country outside Queensborough Towne in east Georgia.  Adjoining Ingram lands is Wisteria Bend, the vast slave-holding plantation of Andrew and Corinthia Greer, their daughter Sarah, and son Benjamin.

Both families share generations of long-accepted traditions, and childhood playmates are no longer children.  The rangy, even-tempered Norman-Scottish young Hamilton is smitten with Sarah, who has become an enticing capricious beauty—the young lovers more in love with each passing day, and only pleasant times ahead of them.


But a blood tide of war is sweeping across the South, a tide that might be impossible to stand before.

EXCERPT:
Bessie's head jerked around, "...them gun shots."
           
A stooped-over Sarah looked up, "What?"
           
"Gun shots..."  Bessie put down the box of jars and headed toward the cellar door.  "From the direction where the men be.  We gittin' upstairs, an' gittin' now."
           
Sarah's heart pounded as they came up out of the cellar and looked in the direction of more shots.
           
"Come on..."  Bessie hurried into the pantry where she reached down the powder horn from the top shelf, then the rifle and pistols. "Git 'em ready with all that shootin'.  Till we know different, we make sure two-legged low-downs don't sneak to the house."
           
Sarah rushed to the window and murmured, "Hamilton..."  She feared  for him, for their child, for all of them.  "Surely you don't suppose it's Federals?"
           
"Might be better if'n it is 'stead of what else be skulkin' in them woods.  Stay away from the winder, an' finish rammin' this powder."
           
Sarah poured the ball and powder firm, rammed it, pulled the rammer out, and whispered, "Bessie listen...birds stopped singing."
           
"Except that cawin' crow seein' somethin' what don't belong."
           
Sarah took another quick peek, "There's several horses, but I don't see any riders.  Mules are still hitched.  I don't see anyone at the plow, but there's men on among the trees."
           
"You watch the front door."  Bessie snugged the pistol in her apron pocket.  "I cover the back.  Anybody tries comin' through the dogtrot door or through the parlor, we back into here, keep 'em from circlin' us."
           
"What about Papa Rundell?"  Sarah's stomach was queasy.
           
"He keep his rifle ready.  Anyone bust in his room be dead 'fore they twitch a hair."
           
With a crash the kitchen door flew open.  Sarah brought her rifle up and fired, the shot splintering door and jamb.  The sound thundered through the house.  Bessie's rifle steadied dead-on.
           
The silhouetted head and shoulders ducked into a hunch and Hamilton yelled, "Sarah!"  His hand smeared at stinging blood-speckled splinters of wood along his cheek.


AUTHOR Bio and Links:

With postgraduate degrees and faculty appointments in several medical universities, Hawk MacKinney has taught graduate courses in both the United States and Jerusalem. In addition to professional articles and texts on chordate neuroembryology, Hawk has authored several works of fiction.

Hawk began writing mysteries for his school newspaper. His works of fiction, historical love stories, science fiction and mystery-thrillers are not genre-centered, but plot-character driven, and reflect his southwest upbringing in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma. Moccasin Trace, a historical novel nominated for the prestigious Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction and the Writers Notes Book Award, details the family bloodlines of his serial protagonist in the Craige Ingram Mystery Series… murder and mayhem with a touch of romance. Vault of Secrets, the first book in the Ingram series, was followed by Nymrod Resurrection, Blood and Gold, and The Lady of Corpsewood Manor. All have received national attention.  Hawk’s latest release in the Ingram series is due out this fall with another mystery-thriller work out in 2014. The Bleikovat Event, the first volume in The Cairns of Sainctuarie science fiction series, was released in 2012.

"Without question, Hawk is one of the most gifted and imaginative writers I have had the pleasure to represent. His reading fans have something special to look forward to in the Craige Ingram Mystery Series. Intrigue, murder, deception and conspiracy--these are the things that take Hawk's main character, Navy ex-SEAL/part-time private investigator Craige Ingram, from his South Carolina ancestral home of Moccasin Hollow to the dirty backrooms of the nation's capital and across Europe and the Middle East."

Barbara Casey, President
Barbara Casey Literary Agency


www.hawkmackinney.net

http://www.amazon.com/Moccasin-Trace-Hawk-MacKinney/dp/1595072608/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400172529&sr=8-1&keywords=moccasin+trace

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/moccasin-trace-hawk-mackinney/1008084042?ean=9781595072603


a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Review:


Things I Liked:

I enjoyed a glimpse into everyday life in another century. We get to see the South both before and after the war. MacKinney carries readers to balls, masquerades, hunts, and other social events, even a honeymoon. We take a lot of things for granted today, but he showed how bad transportation was, and of course people couldn't listen to daily news to find out how the war was going. I was also interested in his description of the ladies' clothes. Making them by hand was much harder than going to the department store. 

Some things don't change, though. People still love their families, hold political opinions, and try to be true to their principles. 

I was interested in the characters' take on the war. They decided that slavery was not the real issue of the war, but it was a good excuse to rile people to action. 

And speaking of slavery, I'm not sure what to think about that. One of the slaves said she loved the white children of her masters as much as she did her own son, and when her son ran away, the master didn't put out any runaway slave notices. I'm just not sure that's realistic in most cases.

A couple of things irritated me. The dialect slowed the book down for me, and since presumably the rich plantation owners were educated people, I found their vocabulary to be somewhat lacking. I also don't know how closely young ladies of wealthy families were chaperoned, but these characters had the freedom to sneak off and share intimacy before marriage. 

Overall, though, I enjoyed this look into a vanished world and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. This little snippet is a good example of what I'm talking about.

In the muggy morning bright sun Hamilton made his
way through the fragrance of steamy horse manure,
leaky turpentine kegs, open bales of mildewed cotton,
and the rankness of where dockhands and vagrants had
relieved themselves. The docks were one milling multitude
of shirtless, cussin’ teamsters off-loading cargo from
wagons onto several steamers, while a company of uniforms

boarded through one forward gangway.

Beautiful, isn't it?


Monday, July 28, 2014

The Marquesa's Necklace.



This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding free ecopy of The Marquesa's Necklace and a $10 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner via the rafflecopter at the end of this post during the tour. Please click on the banner to see the other stops on this tour.

Harmony Duprie enjoyed her well-ordered life in the quiet little town of Oak Grove—until her arrest for drug trafficking. Cleared of all charges, she wants nothing more than to return to the uneventful lifestyle of a historical researcher she once savored.

But when her beloved old car “George” is stolen and explodes into a ball of flames, it sets off a series of events that throws her plans into turmoil. Toss in a police detective that may or may not be interested in her, an attractive but mysterious stranger on her trail, and an ex-boyfriend doing time, and Harmony’s life freefalls into a downward spiral of chaos.

Now she has to use her research skills to figure out who is behind the sinister incidents plaguing her, and why. And she better take it seriously, like her life depends upon finding the right answers.

Because it might.

Now enjoy an excerpt:

The bus ride home seemed longer than the morning’s trip as I studied each person getting on for a potential threat. Was the little gray-haired lady with the oversize purse and shopping bag packing a handgun? Did the teenage boy wearing a long black coat keep ninja stars in his pockets? And the woman in her mid-twenties holding a little girl’s hand? Was the child was just a prop, borrowed for the afternoon, solely to throw off suspicion? In reality, was the woman a super spy waiting for a chance to drug me and cart me off to her remote hideaway?

Or not. Buying a new car became a priority. I toyed with the idea of a Harley. I envisioned it—me, dressed out in a black cat suit, wearing black boots with five-inch heels, striding into the biker bar across town. But it’s awfully hard to haul a laptop and scanner around on one of those things, let alone bring home the groceries. Maybe I would settle for a screaming red Corvette or Ferrari. My funds manager would think I‘d gone off my rocker.


P.J. MacLayne is a computer geek by day and a writer by night. She grew up among the rolling hills of Pennsylvania and uses that as the setting for many of her stories. She currently makes her home in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains.

Facebook: https://facebook.com/pjmaclayne

Twitter https://twitter.com/pjmaclayne

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-marquesas-necklace-pj-maclayne/1119886265

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LF11HB4

Inktera: http://www.inktera.com/store/title/8e689860-d163-4a5a-ac42-47ace09b4690

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id894246916

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-marquesa-s-necklace

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Beyond the Book

Welcome to Beyond the Book. I'm Elizabeth Lane. You probably remember me from Christmas. Every year my cousin  and I take over Elaine's blog. I thought I'd share my video trailer with you today. I don't want you to forget me!




Meet My Character Blog Tour

Welcome to the Meet My Character Blog Tour. I was invited to participate by Teresa Cypher, one of my favorite authors. Teresa loves writing, reading, gardening, glass sculpture (garden art) and walking. You can find Teresa at http://dreamersloversandstarvoyagers.blogspot.com/  or at http://www.wewriwa.com She's also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/teresa.cypher?fref=ts

I'm supposed to introduce a character to you, so I might as well use a character from my book that's coming out on September 23. The title of the book is Rest Thy Head, and the character I'm introducing is Jake, one of the owners of the inn. I'd love to show you a cover, but I don't have one yet.

1.What is the name of your character?
Jake Douglas.

2.When and where is the story set?
Rest Thy Head is set in the present in the Laramie Mountains of Wyoming.

3.What should we know about him/her?
Jake served in the marines until Afghan insurgents poured gas on him and set him on fire. He survived, but he's scarred pretty badly on the left side of his body. His fiancee rejected him when she saw the scars, and he now lives at Rest Thy Head as an embittered hermit. His brother Patrick does most of the duties that require face to face interaction with guests, but Jake has turned into a great chef, so he manages the kitchen.

4.What is the main conflict?
The main conflict is between Jake and Peyton O'Malley who takes a job in Rest Thy Head's kitchen after she leaves her cheating fiance at the altar. Peyton knows that Jake loves her, and she loves him, but no matter what she does, she can't make him believe that the scars don't matter.

5.What is the personal goal of the character?
Jake's personal goal is to be selfless enough to let Peyton go even though he loves her. As he said, "I'm virtually a prisoner, and you have the entire world at your feet. It wouldn't take long for you to get tired of me and my limitations."  (Men!  They can be so silly.  Will he really throw away their love over a few scars?)

6.Is there a working title and can we read more about it?
The title is Rest Thy Head, and it's published by Astraea Press. Beginning in September you can read excerpts and learn more right here at my blog. For now, here's a blurb:

Running away from a fiancé who betrayed her, Peyton O’Malley finds employment at a beautiful bed and breakfast inn called Rest Thy Head.  She didn’t expect to live in the haunted room or to fall for the inn’s owner, a fire-scarred, war veteran who uses the inn to hide away from the world.  She didn’t expect her sister to show up at Rest Thy Head either, much less her formidable mother.

Now, thanks to the aid of a friendly ghost, Peyton has a shot at true love, and so does her sister Ashley, provided the guys cooperate of course!  Can Peyton convince Jake that they belong together, or will he turn his back on her and the future that she offers?

7.When can we expect the book to be published?
September 23, 2014. 

Next week your hosts for the Character Blog Tour will be:
Jennifer Gravely at http://www.jenniferraegravely.blogspot.com/

Jillian Jenkins at https://www.facebook.com/jenkinsjf?fref=ts


Krysten Lindsay Hager at http://www.krystenlindsay.com/


Stephanie Smith at  https://www.facebook.com/authorstephysmith?ref=hl



            
Kimberly Troutt at http://www.kimberleytroutte.blogspot.com

Strangers on a Bus




How far can they get on a bus ride anyway?


Publication Date: March 29, 2011
Genre: Romantic Comedy/Memoir

If you liked When Harry Met Sally, you'll fall in love with Robb and Gertrude from Strangers on a Bus...

Robb is crushed by a failed relationship with the love of his life and finds himself unexpectedly on a long bus trip from his adopted home in the U.S. back to his native Canada.

At the first stop in NYC, a girl gets on and so begins a contemplation of life, love, and strange events that will bring tears of laughter and heartache streaming down your face.

Is this girl Robb's real true love or just a rebound? How far can they get on a bus ride anyway?

This is a true story.


Purchase the Book at Amazon (US) (UK) (CAN)


Robert Manary is an international playboy and man of mystery, with the charm and sophistication of James Bond shaken not stirred with a couple ounces of Cyrano de Bergerac, a dash of Rasputin, and garnished with the rapier wit of Thurston Howell the Third.

That’s how he sees himself, anyway.

The truth is Robert Manary is a construct created to protect the dubious reputation of his Clark Kent like mild mannered writer/puppeteer/the man pulling the levers and breathing life into the Great and Powerful Oz (don’t look too closely behind the curtain).

Manary is an award winning blogger, an erotic romance novel writer, the author of a pretty decent romantic comedy, and for a brief period in the early nineties served as dictator of a small South American country.

Most of that is true.

Manary is also an experimental artist who has no clue how to write an Author’s Bio, and definitely no idea how to end one.

P.S. He is also a shameless plunderer of pop culture.


Guiding the Blue Flame

Guiding the Blue Flame
By
J.W.Baccaro

BLURB:  

The Elemental Crystals were originally created to protect the earth. However, Abaddon the Demon Lord plans to use them to transform the earth into a realm of haunting darkness and witchery, forever.  In Guiding The Blue Flame, a young but powerful Nasharin Warrior, Darshun Luthais is drawn to one of these magical crystals of immense power. He learns he‟s the fulfillment of the two thousand year old Prophecy of the Guardian. The Wizard Olchemy informs him that he is the protector and guardian the earth has been waiting for.  With Darshun‟s ability to sense the Elemental Crystals, Olchemy devises a plan to obtain them.

Accompanied by a small group of companions the hunt is on, in hopes to retrieve the long lost crystals before the Demon Lord claims them.  During the journey, Darshun encounters Aurora, the sole survivor of a now extinct people. He falls in love for the first time, and now resents the so-called Guardian of the Prophecy role. Due to Darshun‟s naïve spirit he‟s caught off guard by Nayland, a mysterious dark warrior who confronts him about his abandonment of the quest. He reveals that he too, is a Nasharin warrior, though far exceeding Darshun in skill and power. Darshun‟s father, Mirabel saves him from death at the hands of Nayland. 


Outmatched and in bewilderment from the attack, a fire awakens in Darshun. He plans on reaching his father's level of power with a journey to Shajin Island, where Nasharin Warriors train. He‟ll be gone for only one day in Earth realm time, but due to the magic of the rigorous island, it will be seven long years for him. Entering the mystical realm of Shajin, he eagerly awaits its life threatening challenges.

EXCERPT:

Before dinner was served, Aurora left to change into some fresh clothes she’d taken from her hut, which fortunately remained intact. Upon her return, all eyes shifted to her, especially Darshun’s. She’d donned a reddish-brown and orange gown, tight to her hips which fell in folds at her feet. A long carnelian necklace adorned her neck, the stones polished to perfection, and two striking earrings of diamonds and rubies, the rubies hung within a diamond border. She slowly walked over to Darshun's area, the overwhelming scent of lilacs and roses following, her strawberry-blonde hair smoothly combed and capturing the firelight.
She nearly pranced around the men, with all taking at least a slight interest—all except Nayland. For a moment, he cast a glare her way, and in response she sent one back…twice as piercing.
He turned his head and with a sort of victorious smile.
She smugly seated herself beside Darshun.
Nearly drooling and lost in a daze, he said nothing.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I’m fine. It’s just I have never...never—”
“Dar’s never seen someone so beautiful,” Mythaen said, cracking a smirk.
Darshun blushed and wanted to hit him.
“Aww, thank you, Darshun.”
Feeling too embarrassed, he didn’t say a word, only smiled ridiculously, like a child lost in dreamland. Not to mention his stomach was in knots, or at least, that’s what it felt like.
“Boy you are beginning to stray,” Nayland growled.
Darshun fixed his eyes on him, the expression on his face changing to anger. He sat directly across the fire while the dancing flames in between Darshun and Nayland seemed fitting for the moment. “What are you talking about, Nayland?”
Glancing at Aurora and then back to him, he answered, “You know of what I speak.”
“I know nothing of you! Only that your company has been an irritation from the start.”


AUTHOR INFORMATION:

J.W.Baccaro is the author of the Guardian Series. In his free time he enjoys literature—fiction and non-fiction, playing electric guitar in the heavy metal band Rigor Hill, Consciousness and NDE studies, and thinking how to intertwine his thoughts about the world’s myths, legends and distinct truths into his novels. He lives in upstate NY with his wife Melissa, his son Alexander, his two German Shepherds and his three cats.

Book Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df-L6u1zvpo
http://jwforbiddenrealm.blogspot.com/

J.W. is giving away a $15 gift certificate to one lucky winner so don't forget to use the link below to enter.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Snippet Sunday and Weekend Writing Warriors



Welcome to Snippet Sunday and Weekend Writing Warriors. This is your chance to sample snippets from the work of some great authors. My excerpt today is from my unnamed WIP. To explain, my hero had a one night stand got a woman pregnant. She never told him, but after she died of cancer, her parents called him to come and get the boy. Naturally, my heroine is not a happy camper. In this excerpt, she recalls a conversation with her husband before they got married.

“I don’t think I could stand it if my husband cheated on me; I’ve seen what it did to my mother, and I promised myself I’d never end up that way. I want the whole nine yards for myself, and that includes a faithful husband.” She laughed and threw her arms around him. “I want a fairy tale marriage that everyone envies. I want to love and be loved in return. I want to grow old alongside the man I spent my life with. I want to sit on the porch and kiss when I’m young because I can’t keep my hands off him, and when I’m old… I still want that! I want to be as much in love on the day I die as I am on my wedding day.”


For more snippets go to

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/
http://www.wewriwa.com

Saturday Sample

Today's sample is from Never Trust a Pretty Wolf. If you marry a mobster, you can expect some nasty things to happen.

They pulled the black limo up in front of the warehouse. It
was a crumbling structure with boarded up windows and peeling
paint. Water stood in puddles from the recent near-­hurricane that
had downed trees and knocked out power all over the city. A beer
can rolled in front of the car, its tinny sound grating on her ears.

William stopped the car and opened Liesel’s door for her.
The wind pushed and pulled on her coat, blowing her hair across
her face the moment she stepped out of the car. He took her arm
and led her into the decrepit building. Sheer terror assailed her.
Something awful was inside that warehouse. She could feel it.

Blurb:
Liesel Wolf has a secret, a dangerous secret she’ll go to any lengths to conceal.  When she’s paired in a charity game with sexy marshal Andy Bryce, a man with secrets of his own, her carefully constructed world comes crashing down, and Liesel’s on a collision course with her past.

buy link: 
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/never-trust-a-pretty-wolf

Friday, July 25, 2014

Different

If you came for Fashionista Friday, scroll on down, but why not enjoy this post first?

DIFFERENT
Media Kit


Tag line:

Anything can happen when the rules change.

Back Cover Blurb:

Jezebel Smith is different. She can’t talk, she doesn’t look like anyone in her family, and no matter what she does it’s always the wrong thing. God accepts her for who she is, but He’s the only one who does. Then she finds an unconscious man in her favorite cave, and her life is turned upside down. New people and new rules collide with the old, leaving Jezebel unsure of which set of rules apply to her life. When the strangers in town attempt to help her out of the nightmare she’s grown up in, it promises to change her life forever.

Excerpt:

The distant drip of water echoed off the rocky walls as Jezebel Smith wandered through her cave. Pungent fumes from her kerosene lantern stung her nose, and she wished for a flashlight. But her family would miss a flashlight. They never noticed when she took the old lantern from the barn.

Turning her face away from the lantern, she caught a whiff of the familiar scent of the rocks around her. She loved the fresh, earthy smell of her cave. Through countless hours of careful practice, her hiking boots barely produced a whisper on the bumpy path leading to her special cavern. If she swung the lantern on its creaky handle, however, she could fill the cave with a creepy echo that reminded her of Halloween.

She passed through an opening in the wall and entered a large cavern with several ledges in one end. As she approached the lowest ledge, the glow from her lantern touched an unfamiliar lump on the floor below the rocky shelf and she froze. She knew every inch of this cavern — every rock, ledge, and bump in the floor. No one ever came here. Nothing ever changed unless she changed it. The cave was the only thing she could count on to always stay the same.

This time, however, there was something new. The cave had broken its own rules, adding a boulder where one didn’t belong. She crept toward it, fighting tears of hurt that the cave would trick her like everyone else, and the golden light of her lantern revealed it wasn’t a boulder after all — it was the still form of a man. Her pulse pounded in her ears, so loud it threatened to drown out her own thoughts. Where had he come from? Why wasn’t he moving? Her heart skipped a beat. Was he dead?

Buy links:


Thursday, July 24, 2014

Fashionista Friday: Pencil Skirts for Curvy Ladies


Harajuku Kiss

About Harajuku Kiss
At times, life can be so depressing. She is walking her usual recovery tour in Harajuku, finishing with a crepe, trying to forget that her boyfriend dumped her once again for the week-end... When the unthinkable happens... A boy stops in front of her in the street and kisses her, in the middle of the street, before running away.

Trying to discover more about him, she is dragged into a dangerous game of mystery. A biologist has been murdered and a deadly virus is on the loose. First suspect: the mysterious Harajuku's stranger. 


Author bio:

Born in November 1983 in Brittany, France, Linda Hamonou spent a lot of time lost in Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novels. She entered university to study physics and obtained her PdH at Queen's University Belfast in 2009. Here studies allowed her to travel to Europe and America. She then moved to Japan and after three years doing research in Tokyo, she is currently doing a new postdoc in Sendai, Japan. 

Excerpt:


He didn’t dump you!” was Christa’s greetings when I entered our common office the next morning.
She was the most direct American girl I had ever met in my life. Generally, American people would at least say good morning first or something.

I remembered once when I was sitting at the café with her, she told me that a guy was staring at us. I turned around and he actually seemed to be staring at us. That was not so uncommon. From time to time people would stare at you, I mean, we are foreigners and it shows, especially when out with Christa chatting full speed in English and pretty loudly on the top of that.

He is cute,” she had said.

I turned around once more but that was one time too many. Christa was up and walking to his table.
What are you doing?” I whispered, but she was already too far to hear me.

I concentrated hard on my melon soda, playing with my straw and wishing not to turn as green as the gasified liquid. I could see Christa's vague shape reflecting on the window in front of me.

Hi.”

I heard as she pulled the chair and sat in front of the poor guy who probably didn’t know what was happening to him. The last thing I know, after some times listening to her without saying a word, he stood up and left, his sandwiches not even half eaten.

I think I scared him. Japanese guys are really strange,” Christa had said, sitting back on her chair.



Of course, she had scared him. Almost everyone in their right mind would be intimidated by a girl sitting at their table and chatting to them in a language that they most likely didn’t understand. I would be scared if a guy was to do that to me.