Thursday, July 31, 2014
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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Strangers on a Bus
How far can they get on a bus ride anyway?
Publication Date: March 29, 2011
Genre: Romantic Comedy/Memoir
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.
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.
Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/Guiding-Blue-Flame-Guardian-Baccaro-ebook/dp/B00F9UETW6/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1400536115&sr=1-3&keywords=jw+baccaro
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.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Snippet Sunday and Weekend Writing Warriors
“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
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:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Different-E-West-ebook/dp/B00M0E4ZU0
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1119984134?ean=2940149685615
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/460703
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1119984134?ean=2940149685615
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/460703
Thursday, July 24, 2014
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.
