One Polar Bear

One Polar Bear

by Crystal Beach

 

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

 

GENRE: Children's Fiction

 

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

 

BLURB:

 

One Polar Bear is a delightful rhyming book filled with lovable animals from the Canadian Arctic. Polar Bear is home sick and alone. His many animal friends drop by to cheer him up. This counting story celebrates individuals with a variety of abilities and disabilities, and the text helps teach the numbers one to ten. Canada is a country made up of many peoples and cultures. This book reflects this diversity by featuring the word "welcome" in different languages amongst its pages. One Polar Bear is a wonderful bedtime story and a beautiful way to educate and celebrate the differences in our world.

 

If you can be anything, be inclusive.

 

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

 

EXCERPT

 

 My Review:

This is one book whose blurb really fits. It promises that children will learn about friendship, diversity, and counting, and the book delivers. The illustrations are good too. If my children were still small I'd gladly read this book to them. We'd count the friends and talk about how good friends treat others. A beginning reader would probably be able to read it himself if he wanted, but this book willl appeal to smaller children too. It's definitely a book I would have bought to read to my children. I think children will like it very much.

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

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Crystal Beach is an adoptive mother and caregiver of two children who have complex medical needs and disabilities. Her children are often represented in her work as strong, caring individuals with special gifts and powers. Her writing projects are intended to ensure financial support for her children's future care.

 

Crystal has a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Her focus is in children's literature, publishing and journalism. She has had many careers including ten years as a MedA with the Canadian Naval Reserve, training as an EMT and continued studies in developmental psychology.

 

Her volunteer work has included Girl Guides of Canada and wildlife rescue and rehab.

 

She and her family live in Regina, Saskatchewan in a simple little house with two giant support dogs.

 

https://www.facebook.com/crystalbeachauthor

 

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

 

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

 

Crystal Beach will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Catawba Falls

 

Catawba Falls

by W.F. Ranew

 

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

 

GENRE:   Mystery

 

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

 

BLURB:

 

PI Red Farlow travels to Camp Ridgemont for Boys for a reunion with his summer camp friends. On arrival, he discovers two camp counselors in the woods, hacked to death. Red’s investigation soon widens with more mysterious deaths, one of them a close friend.

Far-right extremist Troy Unsworthy knows the hills and hollows after a lifetime of growing up in these mountains. Red soon learns all the victims are connected to Unsworthy in the years leading up to a deadly auto accident.

When he learns Unsworthy was released just before the counselors’ deaths, Red goes into the mountains. His trek requires sure-footedness over rocky terrain and old-growth forest as he explores caves with endless tunnels, shafts, and deep-water pools searching for his suspect.

But, did Unsworthy really murder these people, or should Red turn his attention to other suspects?

Red treads a treacherous path on his quest to find the killer and bring him to justice.

 

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

 

EXCERPT:

 

Death visited late in the day. I came upon the human tragedy the following morning.

 

Near Kitsuma’s summit, a steady breeze rustled trees and bushes hugging the mountainside. Spring in North Carolina meant comfortable temperatures during daylight. Standing there, I felt the night’s lingering chill.

 

Years had passed—fifty or more—since I’d tramped the mountain’s footpaths.

 

Two dozen of us searched the area late the previous evening but had gotten nowhere near the summit. We resumed our task along the rigorous trail on the Old Fort side well before dawn. . .

We covered areas unreachable in the previous night’s outing. Two hours later, I came upon the campground, forty yards down a side trail and near a cove of rhododendron and mountain laurel.

 

The scene’s horror struck deep, painted in strokes of surreal hues. The blood, in the dim light, bore a black pigmentation. One young man’s skin tone paled to a faint glow reflecting his orange rain parka.

 

Two light-green pup tents stood side by side. One caved in toward the back; the other seemed undisturbed.

 

I looked around for the second camp counselor. Raking the mountainside, my gaze focused on something resembling a yellow night safety vest. I made my way downhill.

 

Soon enough, I came across another grisly scene. The young man’s head cocked at a strange, unnatural angle as he sprawled belly down in the bushes and leaves. The blood wasn’t as apparent with him as the fluid had seeped into leaves and pine needles beneath him.

 

Something tilted out of his left hand—a cell phone.

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

W.F. Ranew is a former newspaper reporter, editor, and communication executive. He started his journalism career covering sports, police, and city council meetings for his hometown newspaper, The Quitman Free Press. He also worked as a reporter and editor for several regional dailies: The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, The Florida Times-Union, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

 

Ranew has written two previous novels: Schoolhouse Man and Candyman’s Sorrow.

 

He lives with his wife in Atlanta and St. Simons Island, Ga.

 

Amazon buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Catawba-Falls-Red-Farlow-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0C6MPQXPZ/

 

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

 

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

 

W.F. Ranew will be awarding $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Theo and Sprout: A Journey of Growth

 Theo and Sprout: A Journey of Growth

by Joseph Gergen

 

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

 

GENRE: Literary Fiction (YA)

 

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

 

BLURB:

 

While Theo longs for some guidance through the perils of adolescence, the guidance he knew his family wouldn’t give him, he isn’t prepared for Sprout, his inner Divine Feminine, to present herself and offer it to him. In fact, he doesn’t appear to have a choice since Sprout, sassy and confident about her presence, won’t go away.

 

 

 

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

 

EXCERPT

 

SPROUT. My brother had no idea the impact the nickname he derisively gave me would have. Neither of us knew how unwittingly appropriate it would become. Was it destiny or self-fulfilling prophecy? I don’t know. Memories and dreams and possibilities like to mix together. As far as my past is concerned and the makeup of who I am and what shaped me, I can make no distinction between memory and reality and dream. I usually don’t try.

 

While I certainly don’t remember all of my childhood, and many aspects are densely foggy, I remember with clarity the day my life changed. I was preparing for school in the basement bathroom—the small, cramped bathroom that seemed more like a large porta-potty with a shower than an actual bathroom. Wet towels covered the floor and almost all available surfaces. Countless toiletries jumbled themselves wherever space allowed them to balance or stack. Most of these did not belong to me. They belonged to my collection of brothers and sisters. I had a toothbrush. I knew that. Usually, I found toothpaste. If I absolutely needed a less common toiletry, I picked through a baffling array of products, many of which I had no understanding, until I found something useful.

A Word With the Author

 What are four things you can’t live without?

Coffee, I think as much for the routine as for the caffeine. A routine to settle things down.

Chocolate, to boost my mood, to find some comfort in a topsy-turvy world.

Movement, to keep the mind and body healthy and in sync. 

A good Massage, while technically I could live without it, I would really rather not.

Who is your favorite painter?

I think it depends on the mood I am in. I f I want some offbeat vibes, I may want to look at some Dali. If I want some serenity, I might want to look at a Joseph Turner seascape. Or if I am feeling nostalgic, might want to gaze at a Rembrandt. If I need my sprits lifted, I might want a Renoir or a Monet. Which is to skirt the question by saying, it depends.

If you could be any character, from any literary work, who would you choose to be? Why?

Kurtz from the “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad. He went out into the wilderness and let himself be free of society and himself. Except I would be a more benevolent Kurtz. Though perhaps I would suffer the same fate, and maybe I would be okay with that.

What have you got coming soon for us to look out for?

I’m trying to cobble together a book about memories, about having too many or not enough, and perhaps wishing for the opposite and finding out that the grass is not necessarily greener. Which is the blessing and which is the curse. 

What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?

That could be a long list. I suspect everything I read influences in me in some way, even books  I don’t like. But I can say that the narrative style of Joseph Conrad, the characters of Charles Dickens, the craziness of Kurt Vonnegut, the wonderful story lines of John Irving, keep me wanting to craft a story that channels them all.

 

 

 

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

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Author of “Theo and Sprout”. Born and raised on the plains of North Dakota. Moved to Twin Cities because it’s actually warmer. Enjoy creating in whatever form it takes, including writing, painting, and furniture making. The enjoyment is in the doing. Looking to add a little magic to the world through art. 

 

Other books include “Without a Pang” and “Methane Wars.”

 

Social Media:

Website: https://josephgergen.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeGergen  or @joegergen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joegergen/ or @joegergen

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079140443073

 

Book Reviews:

 

https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/theo-and-sprout-a-journey-of-growth-joe-gergen#review

 

https://chicklitcafe.com/?s=theo+and+sprout

 

https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/2022/08/theo-and-sprout-a-journey-of-growth-dedicated-review

 

Books Available at:

 

“Theo and Sprout” available as eBook, paperback and audiobook Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09SMSHF61

 

And Barnes and Noble as ebook and paperback:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/theo-and-sprout-joseph-gergen/1141648672

 

“Without a Pang”

Available at Amazon as ebook and paperback:

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085H7Q3ZN

 

“Methane Wars”

Available at Amazon as ebook and paperback:

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C0EVC8S

 

 

 

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

 

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

 

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $25 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Place Beyond Her Dreams

<

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn host. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

2021 National Indie Excellence Awards Winner for Young Adult Fiction!
2021 Indies Book of the Year Awards Finalist for Young Adult Fiction!
2021 Best Book Awards Finalist for Young Adult Fiction!

“We are most courageous at our weakest; when we believe we have faced what we fear the most and have nothing more to lose.”

Set against the backdrop of two warring towns, Oby Aligwekwe’s Young Adult debut—told from the viewpoint of her main character—is inspired by her West African heritage, fables, and spiritual beliefs. Ona’s journey reveals the power of choice, the true source of happiness, and, most importantly, the transformation one must go through to realize and eventually occupy their purpose.

At the sudden death of her grandfather, Ona’s pain transports her to mystical Luenah—a place of infinite possibilities, free of turf wars and other ills that plague the earthly dimension she lives in. In Luenah, where her grandfather awaits her, Ona learns she is an Eri, one bestowed with unique intuitive and spiritual gifts passed down from generation-to-generation.

On her 18th birthday, she returns to Luenah and is handed a box to deposit her "exchange" for love and happiness—her greatest desires. Burdened by her quest, Ona crosses paths with danger and heartbreak as the two men that love her dearly are viciously pitted against each other. As evil looms, she learns that dreams carry a hefty price, and no one is who they seem. Now, she must unmask the villain and save the one she loves, even at the risk of losing everything she holds dear.

“Young adults and older readers will be enchanted by this fantasy's magic, romance, and life lessons.” (Booklife by Publishers Weekly)

Read an Excerpt

It was right there and then that I entered Luenah for the first time. I’d found myself walking down a narrow path, bordered by trees on both sides that formed a canopy over my head. Orange streaks filtering through the gaps in the trees formed abstract patterns on the ground, which created an optical illusion. I’d felt a gentle breeze blow across my face, tickling my nostrils and forcing a sneeze. As I began to inhale and appreciate the serenity the surroundings offered my aching heart, I saw an orangutan jumping from branch to branch. I followed it with my eyes and lost track of my steps for a moment. Not realizing I had reached the tail end of the path, I continued walking and entered a seemingly different world, landing on a trail near a seashore. My grandfather was right there, waiting to take my hand. Shocked to see him after just hearing he had died, I trembled and remained fixed to the spot.

“Ona, it’s me,” he said, looking down to smile at me.

“Papa,” I cried, hugging him as tears rolled down my cheeks.

We held hands and walked in silence for a few minutes before we came upon the shimmering sea.

“Where is this, Papa?” I had asked, finally garnering the courage to speak. “Where are we? Why did you leave? Answer me, Papa,” I demanded, tugging gently on his robe.

“Good things come to those who wait,” he had responded in a monotone. “You must be patient.”

Surprisingly, I obeyed.

We got to a narrow street, and I realized this world did not belong to only me and my grandfather. There were all kinds of people, in all shades, colors, and sizes. There were people everywhere: on the streets; in the market; in the field; and even in the sky, hovering in large aircrafts. A variety of marine mammals leaped in and out of the ocean.

About the Author:

Oby Aligwekwe is the award-winning author of Nfudu, Hazel House, and The Place Beyond Her Dreams—her third novel and Young Adult debut. In 2021, The Place Beyond Her Dreams won the National Indie Excellence Awards in the Young Adult Fiction Category.

When Oby is not working on her day job or whipping up stories, she enjoys traveling to exotic locations and bringing pieces of her travel with her. She lives in Oakville, Ontario, with her family and supports her community through her charity Éclat Beginnings.

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Amazon
Audible

a Rafflecopter giveaway >

I Can Take It Or Leave It

What is one thing you look forward to in the summer?

In a nutshell I guess I can take summer or leave it. As an adult it’s definitely not my favorite season. I’d love it to be spring the entire year! It’s way too hot in the summer. I live in South Carolina which has extremely high humidity. When you go outside it feels like a hot, wet blanket on your skin. I don’t like insects either. I can’t even walk the dogs without battling gnats and mosquitoes. I always spray a little bug spray on my socks so maybe chiggers won’t get me. Since it’s so hot most restaurants and other public places are cooled to the point that you need a snowsuit to survive the cold. Sometimes it’s so hot that even my dogs don’t want to go out. Just this week my Ginger refused to go walking with us. And forget about your hair. The humidity makes mine go limp, but I guess it could be worse. One of my friends with naturally curly hair said that she looks like a poodle in the summer. She really does, but I didn’t say so.

So, is anything good about summer in South Carolina? Oh yes. When I was a child summer meant freedom. School was out, and there were so many wonderful things to do. The neighborhood kids spent a lot of time playing softball. Sometimes we all went for a long bike ride. We frequently got together with my aunts, uncles, and cousin for impromptu barbecues. The kids would try to catch lightening bugs (fireflies), and when we tired of that we’d hang around the older folks listening to their stories and gossip. I used to love picking blackberries. My grandma made the best blackberry cobbler ever. Aunt Louise who lived in another place always came to visit for two weeks every summer. We loved her to pieces. She told great stories and played games with us. Summers were vacation times too. I have very fair skin, but I loved going to the beach in the summer. Besides Christmas that was the most fun ever. 

From the perspective of a teenager summer freedom was still appealing. There was plenty of time for movies, parties, and talking endlessly on the phone. I was always a reader so that’s another reason I liked summer. There was no schoolwork to eat up my reading time. 

As an adult I do have some issues with summer, but there are still things I like. My grandchildren stayed with me when school was out, and boy did we have a good time. I’d write in the morning, and by lunch time who’d call around to find someone to go to lunch with us. We had tea parties, baked cookies using an old cookie press, and went shopping to find some bargains for when school finally began. I also enjoyed working in my yard. I had some lovely flowers. 

So, what is one thing I’m looking forward to this summer? In August my husband and I are going to spend a week in the North Carolina Mountains. We absolutely love the highland areas around Boone and Grandfather Mountain. Maybe we’ll even see a bear. We have before. It was a mama and three cubs. They came to see us one night, and since there was no way for them to get to us we could look at them all we wanted.We had had some other plans, but they just haven’t worked out. Yet. The year isn’t over either.

What about you? What’s one thing you love about summer?

The Airs of Tillie

<

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Barbara Casey 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.

The small town of Wellington, Florida, has the distinction of playing host to some of the wealthiest people in the world as well as the most prestigious equestrian events. King Charles comes from England to watch polo on the fields where he once played as Prince. The United States Olympics Equestrian team trains and competes there with teams from other countries. In sharp contrast, just down the road, due west, are some of the largest sugarcane fields in the world. The people who work these fields are for the most part poor. They come from many cultures and backgrounds, but they primarily come from Haiti, Jamaica, and the United States. This combination of horse owner and cane worker is an unusual dichotomy, and it is a blend of these things that makes up the world in which my story’s main character, Tillie, the 11-year-old daughter of a sugarcane field foreman, lives.

In The Airs of Tillie, Tillie Turpning lives in an imaginary world that is filled with beautiful horses, polite people, and luxurious homes. Her real world, however, includes living in a cane foreman’s small tenant house with her over-worked mother, an autistic sister, and a rebellious older brother who is searching for answers within a radical Muslim group. When Tillie is unexpectedly forced to assist in the difficult birth of a new foal, she proves that her determination and belief in herself will allow her to accomplish anything she sets out to do.

Read an Excerpt

The soft pastels of yellow, pink, and magenta gently pushed upwards on the horizon. It would be daylight soon. Motionless, Tillie watched through the unshuttered window above her bed. In the distance she could just make out the darkened shape of a large, sprawling, two-story house and its steep-pitched roof. Beyond the house she could see another large structure, and beside it something long and built closer to the ground. It was the barn and stables. Tillie sighed and shifted her weight ever so slightly so as not to disturb her sister sleeping in the bed next to her. She pushed her face closer to the open window and breathed deeply. They had been clearing the cane fields for several weeks now, and the air was filled with the sweet, pungent scent of burnt raw sugar.

Tillie had been awake for what seemed like hours, listening to the night sounds, watching, and waiting. Maybe this was the wrong day. But it had always been the first Thursday in June, she argued with herself. Just then a flicker of light caught her attention, and she saw a car slowly move away from the big house. It turned from the driveway onto the blacktop road that ran between the cane fields and the pastures. Tillie could feel the excitement rising inside her. She had been right after all. It was today. Today the big girl would come home.

Tillie watched the car stop at the end of the blacktop road and then turn east onto the main highway toward Palm Beach. When she could no longer see its taillights, she quietly slipped off her bed. Tillie hadn’t pulled the covers down the night before so she wouldn’t have to waste time making her bed. Besides, it had been a warm night and very little breeze. It would have been too hot with covers. Mabe, her sister, had thought Tillie was playing a game, but she wouldn’t sleep on top of her covers. She always slept under a faded blue spread. It didn’t matter to Mabe how hot it was.

Tillie looked over at Mabe to make sure she was still asleep. She didn’t want to wake her before she normally got up or she would be cross. On the foot of Mabe’s bed was a ratty looking purple and green Easter basket. Its handle was positioned exactly perpendicular to the horizontal floorboards because that was the only way Mabe would go to sleep. In it was a pad of drawing paper, some charcoal pencils, and an assortment of broken crayons and colored chalk. Cardboard had been taped over the bottom and around the sides of the basket so nothing could fall out.

About the Author:

Barbara Casey is the author of over two dozen award-winning novels and book-length works of nonfiction for both adults and young adults, and numerous articles, poems, and short stories. Several of her books have been optioned for major films and television series.

In addition to her own writing, Barbara is an editorial consultant and president of the Barbara Casey Agency. Established in 1995, she represents authors throughout the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan.

In 2018 Barbara received the prestigious Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award and Top Professional Award for her extensive experience and notable accomplishments in the field of publishing and other areas.

Barbara lives on a mountain in Georgia with three cats who adopted her: Homer, a Southern coon cat; Reese, a black cat; and Earl Gray, a gray cat and Reese’s best friend.

http://www.barbaracaseyauthor.com
http://www.barbaracaseyagency.com
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Barbara-Casey/author/B001K7S4IW
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/697572.Barbara_Casey

a Rafflecopter giveaway >

One Pale Reflection

<

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Tycho Dwelis will be awarding a $10 Amazon GC and a signed print copy of the book (US ONLY) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Brenden McCoy and his sister, Lettie, have just lost their parents and are going to live with a distant relative in Ireland. They don’t know him, don’t like him, and - even weirder - strange things keep happening around their new caregiver’s house.

Meanwhile, in a strange world beyond a mirror, a mercenary has been sent by his king to hunt down and kill a fugitive, a powerful and immortal wizard. Time is not on his side.

Athos the Key Thief builds an army, and soon everyone will be just another Thrall.

Will Brenden be able to solve the mystery beyond the mirror, find the truth behind his parents’ disappearance, and put to rest someone who cannot die?

Welcome to MirrorWorld.

Read an Excerpt

Black Knife hesitantly reached out and touched the glass, the shimmering surface sticking to his fingers a little and jiggling, like jelly. Soon, his hand came through, then an arm, then a leg, and, at last, Black Knife stood on the dresser. What Brenden thought only possible in his fantasy novels came true right before his very eyes.

Black Knife jumped off the dresser and started to approach Mr. O’Brien, but something jerked his arms back. The shackles from his cell held fast to his wrists and were now stuck in solid glass. He yanked them, but with no luck, and looked to Mr. O’Brien. “Well?”

“Well, what?” Mr. O’Brien replied coyly, sitting next to Lettie. “There’s no way in the Seven Heavens that I’m going to unchain you yet. We need to come to an agreement first.”

“We shouldn’t talk here, and you should unchain me. This mirror goes right into Athos’ dungeon.”

“Do all mirrors do this?” Brenden asked, running his fingers over the chain that extended through the mirror.

“No,” Mr. O’Brien replied. “Only ones that have been enchanted to be portals. I’ve collected several of them and kept them in my home to… keep an eye on things.”

About the Author:

I’m Tycho (I also use the pen name Cassidy), and I love storytelling! I’m incredibly passionate about writing, art, and anything that allows me to create my own worlds. My goal is to write dreamy fiction for all ages that is unique, inspiring, and imaginative. I like to write about themes that include coming of age, magic realism, identity, relationships, and bullying. My books are intended for readers ages eight to twenty-five, and are meant to connect the world of the fantastical to everyday life.

I currently live in Colorado and have my MA in Publishing.

Website: http://www.tychodorian.com
Linktree (includes all of my newsletter, social media, and projects): https://linktr.ee/tychodorian
TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTRKUVUyS/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tychodorian
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tycho_dorian
Instagram: https://instagram.com/tycho_dorian

Amazon Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/One-Pale-Reflection-Tycho-Dwelis-ebook/dp/B0BZ7QN4KC/ref=sr_1_1

a Rafflecopter giveaway >