Monthly Archives: March 2018
VBT – Lie to Her
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Mehrisa Mex will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Despite years of treatment, twenty-one year old Lydia still struggles with trauma from being attacked as a teenager. House-bound with anxieties and haunted by ghostly visions, she soon comes to suspect her psychiatrist husband, Myles, of sabotaging her recovery.
Her pursuit of the truth uncovers secrets more terrible than she ever imagined and it soon becomes clear that nothing is as it seems and no one can be trusted – not even herself.
Read an Excerpt:
The room was spinning and she realized in surprise that she was on her feet in the kitchen. She looked around in a panic. What was she doing there?
The time on the microwave read 2.23am. She looked down at her hands and found them smeared with blood. Her breath knotted up in her throat. She staggered to the kitchen sink and washed the blood off her hands. Her face felt wet and she reached up to touch it. More blood.
She rushed to the bathroom and, in the mirror, she found a streak of blood going down her face. She washed it off, and found the source – a cut in her hair line. It was only then, when she tried to calm herself a bit, that the pain at the site of the injury grew into her awareness.
With her heart thumping in her ears, she thought of the video Myles had shown her where she had tried to stab him with a knife. She hurried out the bathroom to Joanie who raised her head as Lydia crouched down beside her. She didn’t seem to be hurt or afraid of her, but Lydia ran her hands over her body anyway to make sure she wasn’t injured and bleeding. She wasn’t. She was fine.
Lydia looked up at Zach’s bedroom door. She had no recollection of trying to harm Myles, but there was clear proof that she had. Had she also tried to do something to Zach?
She didn’t know how she had cut herself, but the blood on her hands may not have been all hers.
About the Author: Mehrisa Mex writes mystery-thrillers, neo-noir and international crime. She often appears in her own imagination lit in the chiaroscuro style of film noir and narrating thoughts to herself in moody, hard-boiled tones.
Amazon link for book purchase: http://www.amazon.com/author/mehrisamex
Info links: https://twitter.com/mehrisa_mex
http://www.facebook.com/mehrisamex
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2018/03/blurb-blitz-lie-to-her-by-mehrisa-mex.html
Free Today https://www.amazon.com/Lie-Her-Mehrisa-Mex-ebook/dp/B079WPTGNZ/
Book Spotlight – Eating From The Cherry Tree
Title: Eating From The Cherry Tree
Author: Vivien Ella Walden
Pages: 290
About The Book
EATING FROM THE CHERRY TREE is a dynamic, unique and totally revealing memoir of one of the most notorious and successful ‘madams’ the UK has seen in recent years. The book is inspired by Vivien Ella Walden’s unique life experiences that lead up to and behind her brothel doors. Within a short time she becomes famous for her skills and able to afford whatever she desires within a world of scandal and naughtiness, corruption and suffering, sadness and exhilarating happiness. Images of a complex girl emerge from this incredibly frank account. An account of a girl raised in a loving working class Jewish family who ran from her heritage, bared her perfectly formed derriere and partied with the elite and famous. She takes on many guises and titles, while mixing with gangsters, politicians, film stars, musicians and artists. Names of the rich and famous sprinkle this book. They all knew of her industry, it was not unlike theirs. This is an amazing book, telling a story of prostitution that has never been told in such explicit detail before. It will reach inside the heart of all those who admire absolute honesty on a subject many consider taboo.
Blurb:
“Good sex is the ultimate life experience. An orgasm felt deep inside that can be held on to until your quivering body and brain explode is an art in itself. Does this ultimate pleasure have a price? Of course, but doesn’t everyone in some way pay it?
There are lessons I have learnt that I have a need to share. Of how it is possible to descend into the abyss of sexual exploitation and emerge smelling of roses.
Reliving the truth has proved harder than I had thought, the flood of imagery amazing. I am swamped by visions, swept away and catapulted backwards into memories of childlike innocence. Did I delve into things I shouldn’t have as a child? Indeed I did.
Images of a complex girl have emerged, who ran from her heritage, bared her perfectly formed derriere and partied with the elite and famous. Gangsters, politicians, film stars, musicians and artists, they all knew of her industry. Being a stripper, call girl, hooker, or madam, you have to know how to dance to the music, be a good actress, stand up to the toughest, deal with the law and paint your own picture for all to see.
Entering into a life of ‘commercial sex’, be it on the stage, a brothel or bedroom, the most important skills are learning the art of negotiation, self esteem, and know how to seduce a man completely, keeping him intrigued, before and after the clothes come off.
Every woman has different roles to play in pleasuring a man. But the ‘working girl’ who is skilled in her art is the one to be held on a pedestal. For she is the one who makes it possible to keep those home fires burning.”
The theory of the Cherry Tree:
- Dreaming that you see a cherry, indicates that you are to find love.
- To dream that you eat cherries, predicts that you have damages ahead or that you will be involved in intrigue and competition.
- To dream of unripe cherries, is a sign of problems ahead.
- To dream that you picked cherries, predicts that you have profits ahead, joy and happiness in the family will also come.
- A cherry blossom is a sign of hopes realized.
- The cherry blossom symbolism is a very significant symbol of power, typically it represents a feminine beauty and sexuality and often holds an idea of power or feminine dominance.
About The Author:
Vivien Ella Walden was born in Salford Manchester UK. Raised in a loving working class Jewish family she ran from her heritage, bared her perfectly formed derriere and partied with the elite and famous while taking on many guises and titles.
With the death of her first husband she took on his mantle and grew to become one of the UK’s most successful ‘madams’ within a world of scandal and naughtiness, corruption and suffering, sadness and exhilarating happiness.
‘After all these years, I am still involved in the process of self-discovery. It’s better to explore life and make mistakes than to play it safe. Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life’.
Links:
Amazon. MyBook.to/CherryTree
Visit Amazon’s Vivien Ella Walden Page.
Twitter. Vivien Ella Walden @vivienwalden
Goodreads Book Page
Goodreads Author Page
You Tube:
VBT – Point of Contact
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Melanie will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
There’d forever been a thread running through Trevor Estes’s life—his son Riley, strong and constant like heartbeat. But when Riley is killed in combat, everything in Trevor’s life unravels into a mess he doesn’t know how to mourn.
Until Jesse Byrne, Riley’s friend and platoon mate, arrives on his doorstep with a box of Riley’s things. Jesse’s all-too-familiar grief provides an unlikely source of comfort for Trevor; knowing he’s not alone is exactly what he needs. Trevor never imagined he’d find someone who fills his heart with hope again. As the pair celebrate Riley’s memory, their unique bond deepens into something irreplaceable—and something neither man can live without.
But diving into a relationship can’t be so simple. Being together means Trevor risking the last link he has to his son…leaving Jesse to wonder if he’ll ever be enough, or if Trevor will always be haunted by the past.
Read an Excerpt:
Trevor reached up to brush Jesse’s tears away, letting his thumb linger along his cheek. “So thank you. Thanks for letting me see my son through you.”
Jesse’s lips trembled. “I miss him. I miss him so much.”
Trevor slid his hand to the back of Jesse’s neck. “I know.”
With a small sob, Jesse reached out to wrap his arms around Trevor, pulling him close. His body was shaking, tremors of grief Trevor knew only too well wracking him from head to toe. All around them the world ebbed and flowed, oblivious to the fact a twenty-year-old boy had been torn from it, leaving behind two people who’d loved him and who now clung together, their shared pain a strange sort of comfort.
Trevor stroked Jesse’s hair as he shuddered against him, biting his own lip against the tears that stung his eyes. This was Jesse’s fight, and Trevor marshaled every ounce of composure he could, determined to be strong in return for this man who’d given him so much.
“It’s okay,” he murmured over and over. “It’s okay to miss him. I miss him, too.”About the Author:
Melanie Hansen likes to consider herself a cynic, but at heart she’s a hopeless romantic. Every morning she gets up before dawn to spend time with her characters, creating stories that are deeply emotional, sometimes heartbreaking, but in the end where love always wins. Melanie’s proud of the fact that two of her books have been named as RT Book Reviews Top Picks.
She grew up with an Air Force dad, ended up marrying a Navy man, and has lived and worked all over the country. Melanie hopes to bring these rich and varied life experiences to her stories about people finding love amidst real-life struggles.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009084006829
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelJoyAZ
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13505006.Melanie_Hansen
Website: https://melaniehansenbooks.com
Book Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Point-Contact-Melanie-Hansen-ebook/dp/B076ZQR4F9/ref=sr_1_1
VBT – White Witch
WHITE WITCH by Larry D. Thompson, Thriller, 291 pp., $14.95 (Paperback) $5.95
(Kindle edition)
Author: Larry D. Thompson
Publisher: Story Merchant Books
Pages: 291
Genre: Thriller
fought and died for their land then, and are more than willing to do so now, whether it’s the British or the Americans who threaten them this time around.Upon Will’s arrival, a series of inexplicable murders begin, some carried out with deadly snake daggers that were owned and used by Annie Palmer, a voodoo priestess better known as the White Witch. She was killed 200 years prior, but is said to still haunt the island at night,
and the local Jamaicans are certain she’s responsible for the gruesome murders, her form of retaliation against the new turmoil taking place in the rainforest. And Will has been forced directly into the middle of it. After a few close calls, he’s finally convinced to leave his company and join forces with the Maroons, headed by Vertise Broderick, a Maroon who resigned from her position at the New York Times to return to Jamaica tostop the mining. Together they hire a Jamaican attorney to prove that the Maroon/British treaty is still valid to stop the mining, and they take it upon themselves to solve the White Witch murders, because the legend of the White Witch can’t possibly be true…
Order Your Copy!
Sylvester Stallone. Having lived that life for a few years, he never passed up the opportunity to watch it again. He settled back and had drifted off to sleep when his cell
chimed. He glanced at the television to make sure it was not coming from there and
found Fred Astaire waltzing Ginger Rogers around a ballroom. He turned off the
television and reached for his phone.
officer stood watch. The officer came to attention as Will approached.
there?”
At the top of the handle was the snake’s head. The snake’s eyes were two bright
rubies.
“Looks like he’s been dead a couple of hours. I last saw him about ten last night. Who found him?”
“I was just in this room yesterday evening during the storm.”
using a snake dagger to kill an overseer. Evening during the storm.”
years ago. One of his jobs is to make sure they are not stolen.”
that comes to mind is that the Maroons are trying to send a message to Global.
They tried to kill Tillman in Accompong and failed. Maybe the message is that
they finish what they start. Either way, someone is trying to make trouble for
your company. I have another problem that may not be apparent.”
spent the first half of his professional life as a trial lawyer. He
tried well over 300 cases and won more than 95% of them. Although he had
not taken a writing class since freshman English (back when they wrote
on stone tablets), he figured that he had read enough novels and knew
enough about trials, lawyers, judges, and courtrooms that he could do
it. Besides, his late, older brother, Thomas Thompson, was one of the
best true crime writers to ever set a pen to paper; so, just maybe,
there was something in the T hompson gene pool that would be guide him
into this new career. He started writing his first novel about a dozen
years ago and published it a couple of years thereafter. He has now
written five highly acclaimed legal thrillers. White Witch is number six with many more to come.Larry is married to his wife, Vicki. He has three children scattered
from Colorado to Austin to Boca Raton, and four grandchildren. He has
been trying to retire from the law practice to devote full time to
writing. Hopefully, that will occur by the end of 2018. He still lives
in Houston, but spends his summers in Vail CO, high on a mountain where
he is inspired by the beauty of the Rocky Mountains.His latest book is the captivating thriller, WHITE WITCH.
WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK
Researching The White Witch
My son, Kel, who lives in South Florida, returned from a business trip to Montego Bay, Jamaica, talking about the legend of the WHITE WITCH. His story interested me enough that a few months later we both went to Jamaica to learn more about Annie Palmer, the White Witch, and, also, about the Maroons. Kel had not stumbled across the Maroon story while he was there, but I did a little research about the area and learned about them. That trip let me to combine the Maroons with the White Witch to create what is certainly my best thriller to date (bear in mind that I’ll probably say the same thing about my next thriller; such is the nature of a novelist.).
We stayed at the Ritz, which was built on what was once part of the Rose Hall Plantation. We golfed at the hotel course, aptly named “The White Witch.” We toured the Rose Hall Great House where Annie Palmer lived two hundred years before and where she tortured and murdered three husbands and many more slave lovers. We learned that even today the staff in the mansion insists on leaving before dark every evening; for they fear that the White Witch may be out roaming the grounds of her old plantation. However, let me hasten to add that Annie Palmer is only a supporting character in this drama. After all, she died two hundred years ago. Still her legend is strong enough that in my story when a series of murders occur in the Montego Bay area, some with snake knives said to have belonged to the White Witch, it’s only a small leap for the locals to believe, true or not, that the White Witch must be responsible.
The real story and the conflict that created it is up in the mountains above Montego Bay, a small village called Accompong, the ancestral home of the Maroons (short for Cimarron, or “wild and untamed.). The original Maroons started escaping from their Spanish captors in the early fifteen hundreds, following game trails up into the mountains where they formed villages and lived off the land. When the Spaniards tried to re-capture them, they fought back and soon were going down from the mountains in the dead of night to attack the Spaniards as they slept. They fought for about a hundred years before the British drove the Spaniards to Cuba. The British could not understand how a band of ex-slaves could so consistently beat back the Spaniards until they tried to capture the Maroons. After another hundred or so years, they asked for a cease fire and signed a treaty with Cudjoe, the leader of the Maroons, giving them dominion over the rainforest up in the mountains, provided they would allow the British to raise sugar cane and bananas along the coast. That treaty exists to this day. Only, an American corporation was threatening to mine bauxite in the Maroons’ rainforest when Kel and I were there. To get to the bottom of the conflict, we drove up a pothole filled road to Accompong and asked for an audience with the Colonel of the Maroons. Surprisingly, he talked to us. Only later did we learn that they did not like strangers in their village, particularly white men. Still, what we didn’t know didn’t hurt us. But it did give me the idea for the story which is really about the Maroons willingness to fight once again for their rain forest. Of course, the White Witch does make cameo appearances throughout the tale, but usually only in the imagination of some other character.
It was fascinating research that led to a very good thriller. And if you want to see the Maroon/British treaty that Cudjoe signed (with his X because he could neither read nor write), just go on line. The treaty is still there and is validity is still being debated by scholars.
VBT – For This Moment
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Holly Bush will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
1871 – Born to privilege and duty in Virginia, Olivia Gentry comes of age as women begin to find their social and political independence. She has been raised and educated to carry on the Gentry family’s successful horse breeding stables with her brothers at Paradise, their family home. Having been deceived in love as a young woman and unsure of her instincts, she is wary to commit to a marriage, but she cannot deny her long-buried feelings for a family friend.
Jim Somerset has been in love with Olivia Gentry from the moment she gazed up at him as a young girl. A farrier by trade like his father before him, he and his business’s future are inexorably entwined with the Gentry family. He has watched her be courted by statesmen, and considers her and her goals out of the reach of a common workman, like himself. But he is fearful that he will never rid Olivia from his mind and from his heart. Has the moment come for him to reveal his passions for her? Find out in the third installment of the Gentrys of Paradise.
Enjoy an Excerpt:
“You must tell me,” Jim Somerset said finally when he could no longer be silent. “Has someone hurt you? What has happened? Shall I take you to Matt or Adam?”
Olivia’s face reddened and she shook her head. But her eyes stopped and widened at something over his shoulder. He looked back and saw Richard Armsworth staring at her.
“Do not bow your head. Look up at me and smile even though it’s not what you wish to do,” he said softly.
She responded to him with a tentative smile, her hand quivering against his palm. She was a singularly beautiful woman. She was dressed in a gown the color of honey, accentuating her dark red hair and matching the pale freckles across her nose. It was then he noticed a tear in the fabric of her dress, a few threads sticking out at odd angles, at the corner of her squared neckline. She looked down to where he was looking and peered up at him with panicked eyes. He danced her right out of the large, open double doors at the back of the hall, and to the deserted side of the building.
“Why is your dress torn? What has happened?”
“Nothing . . . I can’t . . . nothing.” But she was gulping for breath and did not finish her words.
“Armsworth? It’s Armsworth, isn’t it. Has he hurt you?”
She grabbed his forearms. “Don’t do anything. Please.”
His skin itched with the desire to do violence. His heart was beating hard in his ears and his fists were clenched. But she was pleading with him, and he didn’t have the heart to deny her anything, especially when she was in such a state.
About the Author:
Holly Bush writes historical romance set in the U.S.in the late 1800’s, in Victorian England, and and occasional Women’s Fiction title. Her books are described as emotional, with heartfelt, sexy romance. She makes her home with her husband in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Connect with Holly at www.hollybushbooks.com and on Twitter @hollybushbooks and on Facebook at Holly Bush.
http://www.twitter.com/hollybushbooks
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Holly-Bush/247399131941435
http://www.amazon.com/Holly-Bush/e/B006ZDTQ1A/
Buy the book at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
Spotlight – Into the Moonless Night
A. E. Decker hails from Pennsylvania. A former doll-maker and ESL tutor, she earned a master’s degree in history, where she developed a love of turning old stories upside-down to see what fell out of them.
This led in turn to the writing of her YA novel, The Falling of the Moon. A graduate of Odyssey 2011, her short fiction has appeared in such venues as Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Fireside Magazine, and elsewhere.
Like all writers, she is owned by three cats.
Come visit her, her cats, and her fur Daleks at www.wordsmeetworld.com or catch up with her on Twitter @moonfallmayhem
Catch Starthorne has spent a lifetime running from the prophecy that names him as the one who will save the shifter race, but now that he has returned to his home in Clawcrags, he may have to face his destiny. Determined to slip through fate’s fingers, Catch sows confusion, making friends from foes, mixing up the occasional sleeping death potion, and matching wits with an overbearing lion-shifter, who appears to have plans of his own.
While Catch schemes, Ascot works to retrieve him with the help of a witch and a pair of madcap shifter rebels. But every attempt to reach him earns her fresh enemies and embroils her ever deeper in the conspiracies surrounding the prophecy. After five hundred years of repressed tension and social strife, the Clawcrags are ready to explode—and it sometimes seems someone’s working hard to see that they do!
Grab your copy here! Goodreads Amazon World Weaver Press Kobo iBookstore
“What’s the Moonless Night?” asked Dmitri. Beside him, Moony had worked up to a rude place in his washing, tail slapping the ground hard enough to raise dust.
“Supposedly, it’s when Magden Le Fou’s prophecy will be fulfilled,” Jolt replied. “It’s a lunar eclipse occurring three nights after the vernal equinox.”
The prophecy, thought Ascot. The frabjacketing prophecy. Something about a golden star and—well, Catch hadn’t elected to tell her much else, save that the shifters of the Clawcrawgs thought he was the golden star. Which was ridiculous. Had any of them ever looked at scruffy, roguish Catch? Heard him lie with a straight face, or seen him guzzle more coffee than anyone’s kidneys could stand?
Frabjacket, how she missed him.
Dipping his head, Dmitri scratched the ground. Abruptly, his nostrils flared. “That’s only nine days from now.”
Ascot’s throat turned into a stretch of dust. “Nine days?” It came out as a dry squeak. She worked some saliva into her mouth and swallowed. “What will become of Catch if nothing happens on the Moonless Night?”
She didn’t want to hear it: the confirmation of her worst fears. Had to hear it, just so she’d know. Jolt lifted a brow, seeming surprised that she’d even ask. “If he’s not the golden star, then he’s just another slipskin. There’s only one penalty for slipping your skin in the Clawcrags.” Jolt gave his earlobe a final tug. “Execution.”
Ascot fell away inside herself. The world, shadowed and dark, floated at a distance, as if she stared at it through the cavern of her own skull. Every sound droned and echoed. Only the bloc, bloc of yet another cicada came to her, crisp as the ticking of some mocking clock.
She almost didn’t hear Jolt speak again. “Want us to help rescue him?”
Some praise for the series…
“Falling of the Moon is a fantasy fairytale like nothing I have read before. Mystery and secrets take you to a fantastic mystical world sure to have a book two. It is Pirates of the Caribbean meets Cinderella. Looking forward to Ascot’s next adventure. Strong and determined with her loyal friends she will certainly make the Moonfall Mayhem a great series of books. I am ecstatic that this is just the start to what will be a truly great trilogy.”
— Girl + Book
“I’d say it’s like Shrek meets The Wizard of Oz if Dorothy were Wednesday Addams and Toto a talking cat with bat wings. Fun and funny with many laugh-out- loud moments. Can’t wait for the next book in the series!”
— Susan Abel Sullivan, author of the Cleo Tidwell Paranormal Mystery series
“A unique and clever fantasy, The Falling of the Moon is a thoroughly entertaining read from first page to last. Very highly recommended and certain to be an enduring favorite.”
—Midwest Book Review
“If you’re looking for a great Autumn and Halloween read then look no further, this series has everything you need for a cozy fall evening spent reading. This one is 5/5 stars for me, it’s absolutely perfect and a must read!”
—Hollie Ohs Book Reviews
Interview With …
Thanks for being here today. Tell our readers about you
In no particular order, I’m a history buff, an amateur cook, a cephalopod enthusiast, a gamer, a cat-lover, a knitter, a dreamer, a reader, and, of course, a writer.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
Optimism. Every day, there’s a chance for something wonderful to happen. This could be the day you get the story idea that will become a bestseller. You could win an award, get on the bestseller list. Even barring such extreme examples, there’s always chocolate to eat and cats to pet. They keep discovering new facts about octopuses! The world’s full of treasures, if you just put your mind to looking for them.
If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?
Neil Gaiman. I think I’d feel intimidated hanging out with most famous people, but at least with Neil, I could at talk writing. Also, I could ask him a lot of questions about Terry Pratchett.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
My latest novel is Into the Moonless Night, and it’s the third book of the YA fantasy Moonfall Mayhem series. Each book in the series inverts tropes from a different variety of fantasy literature. The first book tackled fairy tales, the second one, Gothic literature. Into the Moonless Night is a twist on Tolkien tropes, which means there’s a grand quest, a significant ring, lots of songs, and a reluctant hero.
Tell us your writing process
I stick to a schedule of writing every single morning from about eight or nine o’ clock to twelve-thirty or one o’ clock. So, I get three to four solid hours of writing in every day. I believe keeping a routine helps establish good writing habits; a day doesn’t seem entirely complete unless I’ve written something.
As for “how I write,” I’m a bit of a terrible re-writer. I can put down a lot of words in a single session—I’ve written as many as two thousand words in an hour—but the next time I sit down to write, I’ll often find myself editing and re-writing what I have rather than forging ahead. This is my bad habit, which I’m trying to break. It’s best to finish the story and revise afterwards.
What tips can you give other authors who are looking to get the word out about their book?
Actually, I wouldn’t mind some tips myself! No, seriously, there’s no formula that I’ve discovered that produces guaranteed results. Definitely contact blogs, like this one, and ask if they’ll do an interview. Do Goodreads and Amazon giveaways, tweet, put out the word on Facebook. Contact friends. If you’re willing to put money into advertising, try Bookbub. If you’re good with videos, put something together on Youtube.
But the most important thing is to keep writing. Sometimes, it’s just a game of numbers, and the more books you have, the more likely it is that people will pick one up and read it. And, if they read and like one, they’ll go back and read your others as well as tell their friends about your work. I suppose my best advice would be: don’t get so caught up in social media you neglect your stories.
When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
I first attempted to write a novel when I was five years old. I didn’t have the attention span to stick it out, but I figured I would, one day. Turned out I was right. How about that?
Tell us about your main character:
The Moonfall Mayhem series’ main protagonist is Ascot Abberdorf, a young woman from the dark country of Shadowvale, but each individual book’s perspective is split between her and one of the other characters. Into the Moonless Night features Catch Starthorne, rogue and Smilodon-shifter. All his life, he’s been running from a prophecy that names him the saviour of the shifter race. In this book, the hour of the prophecy is coming due, and he’s finally been dragged back to his home country to either face his destiny, or prove that such a thing doesn’t exist.
What are you working on next?
I just completed a draft of book four, A Trick of the Moonlight, and handed it in to my editor, Laura Harvey. After she finishes looking at it, it will require rewriting. In the meantime, I’m working on the third book in my yet-unpublished urban fantasy series featuring a tomato-obsessed hitman of the supernatural. I also have a few short stories in the works.
Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?
I can recite the entirety of The Pirates of Penzance. Also Les Miserables. Probably The Mikado as well, and definitely several Shakespeare monologues.
Don’t ask me to get started. It’s very tiresome.
Who are your favorite authors?
Terry Pratchett is my favorite author. I love his thoughtful brand of humor. I also enjoy V. E. Schwab’s writing, Neil Gaiman, of course, Susannah Clarke, Kim Newman, Hilary Mantel, and Brian Kesinger’s delightful Otto and Victoria picture books.
There’s also quite a few classic writers I go back to, such as Austen, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and the Bronte sisters.
What do you like to do with your free time?
I enjoy cooking and reading, but perhaps my favorite way to waste time is playing video games. The ones I like best are Bloodborne, the Dragon Age series, the Dark Souls series, and Don’t Starve.
Tell us about your plans for upcoming books.
Mostly, finish the Moonfall Mayhem series for World Weaver Press. That’s still one and a half books away. I’ve also started/outlined another stand-alone YA novel as well as a more adult steampunk book, and wrote a few stories in a dark fantasy Weird Western world that might develop into a novel.
Where can people find you on the web?
Website: http://www.wordsmeetworld.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoonfallMayhem
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6461875.A_E_Decker
Any final thoughts?
Thank you for having me on your blog. To all my readers, thank you. And, to all the writers out there, keep working and persevere. Someone wants to read your stories.
VBT – One for the Price of Two
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Howard Weiner will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Fraternal twins are raised by an ambivalent aunt who provides an unusual childhood experience. One twin leaves home to join the armed forces and is ultimately assigned to a Special Forces unit conducting clandestine operations in North Korea. The death of one his unit members produces an introduction to an organized crime family specializing in murder for hire. The funeral for the family’s son and an interest in their daughter brings new blood and methods to the family business.
Enjoy an Excerpt
Opening the leather bag, he removed a smaller explosive device and a metal strap designed to hold it firmly in place beneath the bottom of the tank. The thick, blast-proof strap had tightening bolts at each end. By turning the bolts clockwise, Bell removed what little slack there was. When he could turn the bolts no further, the taut metal straps pushed the device firmly against the metal shell of the gas tank.
When he was finished and the leather bag much lighter, he paused before sliding out from underneath the vehicle. His intent was to exit from the same side he entered. But then he heard DeFaeo’s unmistakable voice.
He was trapped.
Bell could hear DeFaeo and Lenny disagreeing about some aspect of the new office. They came to a stop directly behind the rear liftgate.
“Boss, I’m only telling you what you already know.”
“Which is?” DeFaeo asked.
“The car is a safer place to work—all things considered.
“Lenny, you’ve already made that argument. Let me see if I can recall? Oh yeah, we have a 360-degree field of vision. We can see anyone come and go. Right?”
DeFaeo was no more impressed with this argument now than when he first heard it. The irony wasn’t lost on Bell as he lay prone beneath the SUV and only feet away from both of them.
“Look, I’m hungry. We’re late as it is. Let’s go, now, please?”
Lenny lead the way to the rear passenger door. The car floor above Bell’s head crept an inch or so closer as DeFaeo’s weight was transferred to the thick, upholstered seat. Lenny closed the door and moved to the back of the vehicle on his way to the driver’s side.
Bell knew he had to make his move now, or risk being discovered—and worse.
As quietly as he could, Bell slithered to his right side—away from the garage’s exterior wall and in the direction of the Honda in the adjacent parking stall. Lenny opened his door and took his seat, starting the engine.
The engine noise prevented Bell from hearing the conversation inside the car. Lenny took the opportunity to look at his employer in the rearview mirror to continue his arguments against the new office space, but not before placing the transmission in reverse. The car lurched rearward for a foot, trapping Bell’s pant leg at the cuff beneath the tire.
About the Author:
Howard Weiner is a recent addition to the literary genre of fiction. Writing mysteries, thrillers, crimes—with a touch of romance—an approach described by one reader as “one bubble off.” Many authors sharing the genre have characters whose fortune is determined by others. They literally have dodged the bullet that otherwise would have killed them. Weiner’s characters make their own fortune—good or bad—and they live with the results.
Weiner’s own experiences are blessed with no small number of noteworthy characters and events. He brings these slightly off-kilter individuals to life, complete with their own stories and dramas. Like the child prodigy in his first novel, “It Is Las Vegas After All”, who comes to the starting edge of adulthood and then loses the approval of his doting parents, the sponsorship of one of America’s great institutions of higher education, and gains the enmity of his girlfriend’s father—an international arms dealer—to become a home-grown terrorist operating on U.S. Soil.
A survivor of rich, nuanced bureaucracies in the public and private sector, Weiner writes about characters whose career choices and decisions are morally questionable. A student of personal behavior in complex circumstances, Weiner brings these often cringe-worthy characters to life. Some are amoral, others immoral in a narrow slice of their lives, yet they otherwise look and act like people we all know from work or even childhood. Like one of the female leads in his novel, “Serendipity Opportunity”, an out-of-the-box thinker who flunks most of life’s basic relationship tests, yet she is someone you never want pursuing you in the cause of justice. There’s a former foreign security official who uses his protected status as a witness for federal prosecutors to provide cover for his own mayhem and murder in Weiner’s third novel, “Bad Money”.
Many of Weiner’s stories are born out of real life events: The mix-up in luggage claim at the airport in, “Bad Money”, the chronic high school slacker in “Serendipity Opportunity” whose one stroke of good fortune creates his opportunity to perpetrate a complex series of frauds, or the brilliant student in “It Is Las Vegas After All” who uses his prodigious talents toward an evil end.
As a former federal official, Weiner can neither confirm nor deny having the highest security clearances in classified security programs. Yet, his knowledge of the dark web, criminal organizations, and security organizations takes stories from the popular press to the next level.
Amazon Author Central Web Site: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KE771A
Author Web Site: https://www.hdweiner.com
The book will be $0.99 during the tour. https://www.amazon.com/One-Price-Blood-Relations-Book-ebook/dp/B07BC6GHDW/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
VBT – Guarding Her Heart
Guarding Her Heart
by Jade Webb
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GENRE: Contemporary Romance
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BLURB
Trust me, even though I’ve had a silver spoon in my mouth since I was a fetus and have a world-famous pop diva as a sister, there is nothing I want more in the world than to fade into the background and live out my Law & Order fantasy of becoming a public defender.
The only problem is my dad won’t bankroll law school unless I spend the summer following my older sister on her arena tour, keeping her out of trouble and making sure she doesn’t have yet another embarrassing public meltdown. Now relegated to a glorified babysitter, I am stuck lugging my ten-pound LSAT prep books through hotel lobbies and taking practice tests in my sister’s dressing rooms.
Then I find myself caught in a love triangle with my sister’s arch nemesis, bad boy popstar Jordan James and Liam, my sister’s confusing and irritatingly gorgeous Scottish bodyguard. Too bad I’ve sworn off love after seeing my own parent’s train wreck of marriage end with heartache and misery.
I’m tired of living under my family’s careful rules and law school is my way out. I won’t let anything get in my way. I won’t let anyone close enough to break down my walls. I have to guard my heart.
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Excerpt:
The sound of the door opening behind me sends a shiver of fear down my spine. I drop the hairbrush and fumble to hang the dress back with the others on the clothing rack. I step backward and let out a loud gasp as I feel a hard, thick wall hit me from behind. Turning slowly, I take a nervous step back, sweeping my eyes up and down the giant man looming in front of me.
I feel my breath catch as I take him in. He easily towers over me, and is definitely over six feet tall. His body is literally radiating heat, and a quick glance up to his face reveals that it is not the good kind: he looks pissed. His eyes are narrowed into an intimidating glare, and his brow is deeply furrowed as his steel-grey eyes pin me in my place. We stare at each other for a few long moments, neither one of us uttering a word. His eyes flicker up and down my body and I swear I can feel my skin scorch under his assessment. I am so overwhelmed by his presence that I take another staggering step backward. My tactic doesn’t work and only seems to annoy him further.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?” His voice is loud, authoritative, and surprisingly, unmistakably Scottish. Although I try to fight it, my mind instantly travels to my secret stash of Scottish highlander romance novels I read when I need to unwind after a long day. God, this guy would look amazing in a kilt.
At that thought, I feel heat instantly rush to my cheeks. God, why am I so awkward? Just calmly explain who you are and send him on his merry way. I open my mouth and inwardly cringe at how high-pitched and mousy I sound. “I- I’m here to see Daphni.” He stares at me blankly, his eyes narrowing even more in annoyance.
“My sister,” I clarify, my voice a bit more even.
He rolls his eyes at me and swears under his breath. “Great,” he mutters, “Another crazy fan.”
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AUTHOR Bio and Links
I am a lover of romance novels that feature strong heroines who know that the loves that may come into their lives are always the icing, and never the cake.
I have loved romance novels since I was a teen, sneaking them into my Bible studies at my all-girls Catholic school. I love strong heroines who know that the men that may come into their lives are always the icing, and never the cake.
Thanks to my own marriage, I have learned that the challenges of life can only help to make love stronger and I am grateful to my partner for embodying all the magic that love can offer.
When I am not writing or dreaming up new love stories, I am working in a retirement community outside of Boston that provides me with enough writing material for ten lifetimes.
You can find me at:
JadeWebb.com
Twitter http://twitter.com/authorjadewebb
Facebook http://facebook.com/authorjadewebb
Instagram http://instagram.com/authorjadewebb
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17629762.Jade_Webb
Guarding Her Heart is available exclusively on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.
$0.99 during the tour
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0796JHS2W/ref=as_li_tl
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RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
Jade will be awarding a $30 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Enter to win a $30 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jade will be awarding a $30 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Trust me, even though I’ve had a silver spoon in my mouth since I was a fetus and have a world-famous pop diva as a sister, there is nothing I want more in the world than to fade into the background and live out my Law & Order fantasy of becoming a public defender.
The only problem is my dad won’t bankroll law school unless I spend the summer following my older sister on her arena tour, keeping her out of trouble and making sure she doesn’t have yet another embarrassing public meltdown. Now relegated to a glorified babysitter, I am stuck lugging my ten-pound LSAT prep books through hotel lobbies and taking practice tests in my sister’s dressing rooms.
Then I find myself caught in a love triangle with my sister’s arch nemesis, bad boy popstar Jordan James and Liam, my sister’s confusing and irritatingly gorgeous Scottish bodyguard. Too bad I’ve sworn off love after seeing my own parent’s train wreck of marriage end with heartache and misery.
I’m tired of living under my family’s careful rules and law school is my way out. I won’t let anything get in my way. I won’t let anyone close enough to break down my walls. I have to guard my heart.
C.A. Milson 