Monthly Archives: April 2018
VBT – Unringing the Bell
Unringing the Bell
by Judy Higgins
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GENRE: Mystery
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BLURB:
In the small town of Goose Bend, Pennsylvania, people don’t forget. Especially something as sensational as 12-year-old Jacob Gillis burning down the town. Nineteen years later, Jacob returns, hoping for redemption. Instead, he finds himself entangled in a murder investigation. The prosecutor, taking advantage of Jacob’s involvement with the victim’s beautiful sister-in-law, threatens Jacob with loss of career and reputation if he doesn’t play by his rules. Only by outwitting the prosecutor can Jacob save his future.
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Excerpt
When Jacob Gillis was twelve years old, he burned down the town of Goose Bend, Pennsylvania. The fire didn’t actually consume the entire town – only two blocks of the four-block business section went up in flames – but when the folks in Goose Bend spoke of the incident, they persisted in saying that Jacob Gillis, abetted by his friend Charlie Garrett, burned down the town.
Jacob watched Laskey walk back to the Sequoia, his limp barely detectable, and for the thousandth time he wondered why his friend kept what had happened to his foot a secret. But there were some places Laskey didn’t go – formidable Laskey with his gruff manner and hard-muscled body. He was a private person and sometimes a grizzly bear, but he had a goose-down heart which he tried like heck to hide. But Jacob knew.
Laskey grasped the arms of his chair and pushed his feet hard against the floor to contain himself. For a brief moment, the thought had rushed through his head that a jail term for assaulting a DA would be worth enduring for the pleasure of smashing Inglehook’s head against his desk.
Laskey squared his shoulders, turned around, and looked Jacob in the eyes. “Don’t get yourself in a mess, Jake. Extrication isn’t always possible.” He started for the door.
“Give back the painting,” he called over his shoulder. “And Jake,” he paused and twisted around. “Don’t ever mistake pretty wrappings for the quality of the gift inside.”
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AUTHOR Bio and Links
Judy Higgins was born in South Georgia where she grew up playing baseball, reading, and taking piano lessons. To pay for her lessons, she raised chickens and sold eggs to neighbors. She attended Mercer University for two years, and then Baylor University from which she graduated with a BA in German. She received her MA in German literature from The University of Michigan. After teaching German for several years, Judy decided to become a librarian and earned an MA in Library Science at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania.
Judy’s life took an exciting turn when she left her teaching job in Pennsylvania to be Head of Library at the Learning Center School of Qatar Foundation. She lived in Qatar for eight years, enjoying the experience of living in a different culture and traveling to exotic places during every vacation. Recently, she returned to the United States and lives in Lexington, KY. Judy has two children, Julia and Stephen, two children-in-law, Jim and Erin, and four grandchildren: Kyle, Jon, Karina, and Addy.
Judy’s first book, The Lady, was a finalist in the 2012 Amazon Break-out Novel Award. The first two novels of her Bucks County Mysteries, Unringing the Bell and Bride of the Wind are available March 1, 2018. The series is set in an imaginary small town in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Call me Mara, the story of Ruth and Naomi, is scheduled for publication in March, 2019.
In addition to writing, Judy’s passions include travel, tennis, elephants, and playing the piano.
http://www.Judyhigginsbooks.com
http://www.Buckscountymysteries.com
http://www.Judyhigginslady.com
https://www.facebook.com/judyhigginsauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudyHBooks
https://www.amazon.com/Unringing-Bell-Bucks-County-Mysteries/dp/0692998853/
Amazon author page URL: https://www.amazon.com/Judy-Higgins/e/B00FZQOZPU
Barnes and Noble Author URL: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unringing-the-bell-judy-higgins/1128014473
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RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.
Enter to win a $50 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Interview With…
INTERVIEW 5
- Favorite ice-cream flavor
Vanilla. When I was growing up, one of my favorite meals was when we’d have something light for supper (e.g.: grilled cheese sandwiches), and then a churn of homemade ice cream for dessert. I loved that homemade ice cream! We’d take turns churning it, and then when it was done, my father would cover the churn with towels to keep it cold while we wolfed down our supper. I also like almost every flavor of Italian ice – the real kind that you get in Italy. I made a wonderful discovery while spending three weeks in northern Italy a few years ago: if you buy the same flavor in the morning and the same flavor in the afternoon, it only counts as one ice cream instead of two! How nice is that?
- Which mythological creature are you most like?
Most of those mythological creatures seem and look pretty awful. I don’t want to think that I’m at all like any of them, so I’m choosing Pegasus. At least he isn’t so grotesque looking. And he flies around, which I do. Say “go,” and I’m ready. I looooove traveling. And Pegasus didn’t have to endure
- 1st book you remember making an indelible impression on you.
The books that were read to me as a young child, the ones that gave me a love for reading, are the ones that made an indelible impression on me. I loved all the fairy tales. “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” was one of my favorite stories. My mother got so tired of reading it to me that she’d hide it. I always managed to find it, however. One story, that really made an impression was a series done in “Jack and Jill” magazine. It was the story of an Eskimo brother and sister who drifted away from their village on an ice floe. They had been standing near the shore in the spring and the floe broke off and they drifted away to an uninhabited island. They had to survive for the remainder of the spring and the summer alone. Only when the seas began to freeze again, were they able to find a floe and paddle back to their village. This story ignited my imagination and fueled a budding love of adventure!
- How do you develop your plot and characters?
Now, that’s a good question! My best answer: With a great deal of struggle, rewriting, and hair-pulling. Getting in backstory is a major headache. I have begun a historical novel based on Naomi in the Bible. The plot is already there, so it’s just a matter of speculating and then expanding and filling in the details. But the details are fun. In my mind, I’m moving past seeing Biblical women as people who have a long, hard day laid out for them and who operate according to preconceived ideas we have about them. Like modern women, I’m sure they had individual interests, dreams, problems with their children and husbands. They had to deal with jealousy, envy, financial ups and downs, bad weather. At least they probably didn’t have to worry about bad hair days! In my book, Naomi will reach a point that might surprise my readers. (See http://www.callmemara.com)
- Describe your writing space.
I lived in the Middle East (Qatar) for eight years before I moved to Kentucky. Because I worked at Qatar Foundation, the Emir’s educational foundation, I earned a salary that allowed me to come home and design a work space that I love. I turned a bedroom into my writing den, had a carpenter construct built-in shelves, a built-in desk, and a space where my printer is hidden from view. The room is the perfect size and has a window that looks out over my backyard which, in the spring and summer, is a nice view. Along with books on writing, I have all my German books here, plus a few knock-knacks I’ve gathered in my world travels: old brass scales from England, a set of monks from Burma, antique school bells. There are built-in cabinets for me to store paper, old manuscripts, pens, envelopes, and all those other things usually found in a writer’s work space. On the bulletin board above my computer, I have a big sign that says “A Writer is a person for whom writing is hard work.”
Book Blast – Restoring His Howl
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Megan will be awarding a bracelet made by the author and a swag pack to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Opposites can attract, but can they make the love last?
Dillon came to the Sanctuary to hide, but also to heal. He’d been abused and needed a safe place to come into his own. He never expected to find a partner, but love came looking for him. Can he accept what he deserves or will he push away a chance at forever because he feels unlovable?
Cinders knows from the moment he sees Dillon that he wants the wolf shifter for his own. But can a jaguar shifter and a wolf shifter really pair up? He doesn’t know, but he’s banking on the attraction to pay off. What he doesn’t expect is how deep Dillon’s scars run. Is he strong enough to see beyond what’s happened to Dillon and help create a future for them together?
Anything’s possible when the jaguar shifter, a former stripper, and the wolf shifter figure out how to restore his howl.
Read an Excerpt:
©Megan Slayer, 2018 – All Rights Reserved
“You can talk. Well, all right. That’s amazing. I thought you could, but since you don’t, I wondered. You’ve got a nice voice,” Cinders said. He grinned, his bright teeth standing out against his mocha skin. “You’re cute, too.”
Dillon longed to taste Cinders’ mouth and kiss him. Would it feel like heaven?
“So we’re supposed to be at a party tomorrow. I’ve got some costumes. Most of it is tear-away stuff, but it’ll work for one night. You’re welcome to try on anything I’ve got and find something that fits. I’ve got dibs on the naughty cop, though.” He laughed. The throaty sound echoed in the room. “Want to?”
Dillon almost asked what Cinders meant but nodded instead.
“What? I got one word out of you, and now, you won’t talk to me?” Cinders frowned. “If you’re going to use my clothes, you’ve got to speak to me.”
The wolf stood up within Dillon and watched Cinders. The animal tensed.
For a split-second, Dillon had thought Cinders meant he’d make Dillon fuck him for the clothes. He fought the urge to shake his head. Fucking to get things was part of his old life. He had a new one here at the Sanctuary.
Cinders smiled, and his shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry.”
“Why?” Dillon managed. Despite his best attempts, he couldn’t get out any other words. He spent most of his time tongue-tied, but around Cinders, something different happened. His wolf took notice, which was unusual. The wolf distrusted more individuals than his human side did. If the wolf cared to pay Cinders attention, then that meant something, right? He needed to keep an eye on the panther shifter.
“I’m being pushy,” Cinders said. “Ryan will tell you I’m good at pushy. Quiet? Not a chance. Look, you don’t have to talk. I can do that for both of us.” He waved to his end of the corridor. “Come over when you’re ready, and pick out a costume. The jaguar and I won’t bite. Promise.”
Dillon nodded. The first step to healing had to be getting out of his comfort zone. Going with Cinders was a leap. God help him, he really wanted to leap.
About the Author:
Megan Slayer, aka Wendi Zwaduk, is a multi-published, award-winning author of more than one-hundred short stories and novels. She’s been writing since 2008 and published since 2009. Her stories range from the contemporary and paranormal to LGBTQ and BDSM themes. No matter what the length, her works are always hot, but with a lot of heart. She enjoys giving her characters a second chance at love, no matter what the form. She’s been the runner up in the Kink Category at Love Romances Café as well as nominated at the LRC for best author, best contemporary, best ménage and best anthology. Her books have made it to the bestseller lists on Amazon.com.
When she’s not writing, Megan spends time with her husband and son as well as three dogs and three cats. She enjoys art, music and racing, but football is her sport of choice.
http://wendizwaduk.com/indexMegan.htm
https://wendizwaduk.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/wendizwaduk.meganslayer/
http://www.amazon.com/Megan-Slayer/e/B008BJCFSC
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/megan-slayer
https://allauthor.com/profile/meganslayer/
https://www.instagram.com/wendizwaduk/
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5330530.Megan_Slayer
https://twitter.com/#!/MeganSlayer
Megan will be awarding a bracelet made by the author and a swag pack to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Book Blast – DEAD GIVEAWAY
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Diane will be awarding a $15 in Boroughs Bucks + a copy of Flash Point to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other tours on the stop.
THE WORST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN
If asked, Gwendolyn Ballard would admit she co-parented her best friend Chloe’s son, Cameron. Now Gwen is all he’s got as they flee from the man who murdered his mother. There’s only one place Cameron will be safe, and that’s with his uncle, Elijah MacElvoy. Arriving on his doorstep at the Broken Arrow Ranch is a desperate decision, and Gwen knows he’d slam the door in her face if she didn’t have his nephew with her. But she’ll do anything for Cam, even if it means putting up with Elijah’s distrust and judgment.
Chloe’s dead. Cam’s orphaned, and Elijah is confronted with the prospect of living with the one woman who’s driven him crazy for the past ten years. He’ll fight to keep her safe. That’s encoded in his DNA. But can he trust her with a little boy who just lost his mother? As Eli watches how Gwen loves and cares for his nephew, he reevaluates his thinking and gives in to the smoldering attraction he felt the first time he saw her. With so much on the line, Eli comes clean about his past, making way for a future that’s all about silver linings.
Enjoy an Excerpt
A quiet sound had him glancing toward the door. Gwen stepped into the room, her gaze fixing on his. As always when she was near, his body tightened and he had to fight back the urge to touch. To touch that glorious hair, the smooth skin, the subtle curves. His reactions to her were visceral and made him crave the impossible. They always had. Acting on the attraction would be suicide. Gwendolyn Ballard was all the things he didn’t need in a woman, and self-preservation demanded he reject the temptation.
She broke their contact and glanced around the room. He took the moment to make a careful survey. Her damp hair spread across her shoulders, hair that when dry curled into a mass that held all the colors of a wheat field in summer, from golden brown to sunny blond. Like her hair, her eyes couldn’t seem to settle on one color. They were a whiskey brown shot through with gold, and right now lit by the warm light of the lamp, they gave away her exhaustion. Finally, her gaze returned to his, and she appeared to tamp down on whatever emotions she felt. He’d seen those eyes glow with a warm light when she looked at Cameron, then turn cool and aloof when she looked at him.
The memory of the first time he’d seen her flashed across his mind. He’d arrived at his mother’s house for the Thanksgiving holiday after the long drive south. And there Gwen had been, his sister’s college roommate standing in front of a window, the sun bringing out the warm tones of her hair. She’d been flirting with a neighbor kid, a young man about her own age, her face alight with fun and laughter. Then she’d caught sight of him, eyes still shining. He’d felt himself scowl, and watched the animation fade, replaced by a carefully blank look that had irked him even more. He shook off the memory.
“Cameron asleep?”
“Yes. Oreo is sleeping with him. Thank you again for taking us in.”
He frowned. “What did you think I’d do? Send you hiking back to your car?”
She lifted a shoulder. “You could have. Honestly, I did think you would give us a safe place to stay for a few days, or else I wouldn’t have risked coming. But I wasn’t one hundred percent sure.”
He moved to the recliner and sat, gesturing to the sofa. “Sit before you fall down, Gwen. Tell me what happened to Chloe.”
She perched at the end of the couch, feet flat on the floor, body rigid. He wondered if she would ever loosen up enough to relax when he was near. She glanced at him, then down at her hands tightly clasped in front of her. She remained silent for so long he thought she wasn’t going to speak. Then, attention resolutely focused on the hands in her lap, she spoke in a quiet voice. He listened carefully, sensing the emotion held tightly in check.
“Cameron and I were going on vacation. Thursday was the last day of school for both of us, so I’d gotten the car packed and we were going to leave early Friday morning.”
“Wait. What do you mean it was the last day of school for both of you? Are you still in college? I thought you’d graduated.”
He caught the confusion in her expression. “Of course I did. I graduated several years ago. I’m a teacher.”
Disbelief had him sitting back in his seat. He couldn’t have been more surprised if she’d told him she made her living as a rodeo clown. “A teacher? With your background?”
She raised her head, whiskey eyes narrowed. “And what background would that be, Eli?”
He decided he’d be better off leaving that one alone. “Never mind. What grade do you teach?”
“Kindergarten.”
He tried to reconcile his memories of her with the kind of person who taught kindergarten. To him a kindergarten teacher meant someone with a sunny personality who could shift from teaching shapes and letters to tying shoelaces and keeping kids from eating paste. Maybe he was stereotyping, but he had a hard time equating party girl with wholesome. “Huh, kindergarten.” He shook his head.
About the Author:
National Readers’ Choice Award winner for her novel, Solitary Man, Diane Benefiel has been an avid reader all her life. She enjoys a wide range of genres, from westerns to fantasy to mysteries, but romance has always been a favorite. She writes what she loves best to read – emotional, heart-gripping romantic suspense novels. She likes writing romantic suspense because she can put the hero and heroine in all sorts of predicaments that they have to work together to overcome.
A native Southern Californian, Diane enjoys nothing better than summer. For a high school history teacher, summer means a break from teenagers, and summer allows her to spend her early mornings immersed in her current writing project. With both kids living out of the house, in addition to writing, she enjoys camping and gardening with her husband. Diane loves hearing from her readers.
Website: http://www.dianebenefiel.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DianeBenefielRomance
Twitter: http://twitter.com/dianebenefiel
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/diane_benefiel
Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/author/show/8075321.Diane_Benefiel
BookBub: http://www.bookbub.com/authors/diane-benefiel
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/diane_benefiel
BUY LINKS:
http://boroughspublishinggroup.com/books/dead-giveaway
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dead-giveaway/id1364342350?mt=11
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1128301685?ean=2940155188841
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dead-giveaway-22
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/807754
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C97NJ64
Diane will be awarding a $15 in Boroughs Bucks + a copy of Flash Point to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Book Blast – COME BACK TO ME
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. One randomly drawn commenter will receive an author selected package which includes a signed copy of the book, mug, water bottle, and other essentials for the avid reader. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Mia West is drawn to Cole Parker and she doesn’t know why but each time he is around, she can’t stop the pull, drawing her into dark secrets and closer to her past. Will she put the pieces of her life back together or just end up in his bed?
When she meets Jack, it’s clear he wants Mia as his own but knows that to keep her means he has to keep her away from Cole. She wants to feel the spark with Jack but something keeps holding her back. Is it Cole or is there more to Jack than meets the eye?
When her past and present intersect, both men will give her reasons to run, the question is…whose arms will she run into.
Come Back to Me is the first book in the Forever series duet. The finale, Forever with Me, releases in June.
Enjoy an Excerpt:
“You have a little bit… right, here.” He uses his thumb to brush a spot of chocolate sauce from my lips. The heat from his thumb on my mouth spreads through my body and right to my center. Before I can help myself, the tip of my tongue licks the pad of his thumb. It happens so fast, but it’s as if we are suspended in time. I watch his eyes, suddenly nervous and yet not at all, and a low growl emerges from the back of his throat. He pulls away quickly, not wanting to call attention to us. All I can think of is that I want to suck on that thumb, just as a preview of what else I can do to him!
About the Author:
Trilina is an author, wife, and mama to three rowdy kiddos. When she isn’t making grilled cheese sandwiches, she can be found writing saucy novels that titillate and excite her readers.
Social Media Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trilinapuccibooks/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trilinapucci
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/trilina_pucci
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39650406
Buy Links
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/come-back-to-me-47
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/come-back-to-me/id1367323240?mt=11
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B07BQFYLKB
Trilina will be giving away an author selected package which includes a signed copy of the book, mug, water bottle, and other essentials for the avid reader
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/2018/04/book-blast-come-back-to-me-by-trilina.html
VBT – Daughter of the Sun
Title: Daughter of the Sun (Cult of the Cat series, Book 1)
Author: Zoe Kalo
Genre: YA contemporary / Egyptian mythological fantasy/paranormal
Word count: 93,000 words / 330 pages
DOWNLOAD FREE at www.ZoeKalo.com
Mystery, adventure, a hint of romance, and the delicious sweep of magic…
16-year-old Trinity leads a quiet life until fate takes her to the Island of Cats.
As Trinity tries to solve the mystery of an ancient papyrus, she’s pulled into a vortex of bloody sacrifices, evil curses, and a prophecy that points to a horrifying destiny.
The author is giving away the first book in the series for FREE to readers who sign up for her mailing list on her website at www.ZoeKalo.com
PRAISE….
“This was an amazing story!” –Hot Off the Shelves
“Wow- this book was a stunning, magnificent adventure!” –The Recipe Fairy
“If you are looking for a Young Adult Fantasy book that is different from the norm, then look no further. Daughter of the Sun is full of Egyptian mythology, with layer upon layer of mystery just waiting to be uncovered.” – Archaeolibrarian
ABOUT ZOE
Storyteller at heart…
A certified bookworm and ailurophile, Zoe Kalo has always been obsessed with books and reading. The pleasure of writing and sharing her fantasy worlds has remained. Today, Zoe passes her stories to you with lots of mystery, adventure, a hint of romance, and the delicious sweep of magic.
Currently, she balances writing with spending time with her family, taking care of her clowder of cats, and searching for the perfect bottle of pinot noir.
Connect with Zoe Kalo on the web: www.ZoeKalo.com / Facebook / Twitter
VBT – Entrance
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. J.J. Sorel will be awarding copies of the entire series (3 books in all) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Clarissa Moone is a young, classy, impoverished art history graduate. Her life transforms when she lands a job working for the enigmatic billionaire, Aidan Thornhill. As the contract stipulates that she reside at his lavish Malibu estate, Clarissa suddenly finds herself surrounded by jaw-dropping art and opulence. A significant step up from the run-down apartment she shares with her best friend.
Aidan Thornhill is a self-made billionaire whose earlier start in life was riddled with poverty and a dysfunctional upbringing. Running away from scandal, he joins the army and works his way up to the Special Forces. Accompanied by haunting memories, Thornhill re-enters civilian life with a million dollars gifted to him by a dying buddy. He travels to Europe where he develops a passion for art. And after many astute investments, he becomes one of LA’s wealthiest bachelors.
Voluptuous, intelligent and sensitive, Clarissa Moone’s beauty makes Aidan gasp for air. But with a reputation that is as much invented as true, he has to convince Clarissa that he is not a heart-breaker. Aidan Thornhill’s movie-star looks, love of art and passionate support for the downtrodden, soon wins Clarissa’s heart, soul, and innocence.
After living a life devoted to intellectual pursuits and art, being new to love, she succumbs to her smoldering hot boss, who stops at nothing to pleasure her, sending Clarissa off into toe-curling ecstasy.
Behind the scenes, however, the claws are out. Determined to stir trouble, three characters, one of whom, a spoilt heiress, do everything to reap revenge.
With mutual burning passion impossible to extinguish, the couple’s chemistry is so potent that their souls implode when Thornhill’s mysterious past threatens to drive a wedge between them. The former soldier goes into battle determined to have Clarissa even if it means losing everything.
Read an Excerpt
“Leave it to me, Clary. We’ll have you looking sexy and professional in no time.” She looped her arm in mine and was all bouncy.
“Not sexy, only professional,” I said.
“Don’t lay that virgin crap on me. You’re working for the hottest guy in town,” she blurted so loudly people’s heads turned.
“Tell the whole of LA, why don’t you?” I snapped.
“You’ve got a figure to die for and a face like Natalie Wood’s,” Tabitha said, dragging me along by my hand.
“Tabs, need I keep reminding you that I’m employed as a PA?”
“I know, I know. But there’s no harm in making the most of your assets,” she said, sounding more like an ambitious mother by the minute.
We passed “Yesterday’s Child” my favorite vintage shop. Instincts fully aroused, I headed for the doorway. Tabitha pulled me back. “No vintage, Clary, only contemporary, stylish, and sexy.”
“Vintage can be super classy and fashionable,” I argued. Although she was right, I had a pathological addiction to 1960s clothes. Tabitha said it was because I was trying to emulate my late mother. I couldn’t disagree. My mother and I were so alike in build that I still wore her clothes. It was an obsession that had caused much trouble at college, at least until vintage became fashion. Then the bullies suddenly regarded my Mondrian-inspired mini worn over white patent-leather boots with envy.
“Let’s go there.” Tabitha pointed to an enormous department store. I followed along submissively.
About the Author:
50 Shades of Grey was the first contemporary romance book I’d ever read. Up to that point, I’d spent my entire reading life buried in literature.
But then, one day, I picked up 50 Shades of Grey and couldn’t put it down. Impressed by their heart-felt, down to earth portrayal of love and sex, I quickly developed a voracious appetite for contemporary romance books. I was so inspired by the genre that I decided to explore that world as a writer.
After completing a certificate in Writing Romance with the Australian College of Journalism I embarked on writing three books. All of which are still sitting on my computer.
Then Aidan Thornhill entered my imagination and came alive on paper. From that moment, like all emotional love stories, nothing else mattered. I fell in love. And was compelled to write, almost in a frenzy, every day without fail. I am presently working on my latest novel – The Importance of Being Wild.
https://www.facebook.com/JJSorel/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36461844-entrance
The book is on sale for only $0.99 at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076K5J11Z.
J.J. Sorel will be awarding copies of the entire series (3 books in all) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
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-entrance-by-jjsorel.html
Spotlight – Snickety Dickety Doo
About the Author
Danica-Lea Larcombe has a B.Sc (Environmental Health), a Grad.Dip in Education and has taken courses in Journalism, Travel Writing, and Photography. She is currently undertaking a thesis in Biodiversity and Human Health, and lives with her Japanese Spitz Bella.
WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK
About the Book
Title: SNICKETY DICKETY DOO
Author: Danica-Lea Larcombe
Publisher: Blurb
Pages: 90
Genre: Children’s Fiction
BOOK BLURB:
George, Fiona and Marni find a tin of bubbles, not just any ordinary bubbles but planets. The planets shrink the children and take them to faraway lands. The children have many exciting adventures and try not to let their secret be discovered. They learn about different cultures, currencies and languages, and are inspired at school.
In Series Two, George, Marni and Fiona continue their adventures around the world in the planet bubbles. They narrowly escape being killed by some monks in Turkey, find a little companion in Paris and visit royalty in Monaco.
ORDER YOUR COPY:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Book Excerpt:
It wasn’t just a small piece of tin. Curiosity got the better of her and Marni decided she better keep digging around. She could see the edges now and it looked like it was a tin box of some sort. Marni suddenly forgot about her wish and dug frantically to get the box out. It was quite a light box of about medium size. It was not painted and there was no writing on it.
“What on earth could be in it?” Marni wondered.
It had a small padlock but this was rusted and broke off easily. She opened the lid carefully to find nine individually wrapped balls, or so she thought. She unwrapped one of the balls to find it was not a ball. In her hand it shone like a bubble, and was soft and tender to touch. It had little feet and hands and was the colour of the sun.
“Oh my”, Marni whispered, “It has got a face!”
The bubble’s eyes were closed and the mouth still. On the other side it had the shape of a door, but there was no door handle. How odd.
Marni looked at her watch quickly. It was six o’clock which was tea time and her parents would be calling her any minute. She hastily re-wrapped the ball and closed the tin. She put her secret wish down the hole and filled it up with the dark brown coloured soil.
Somehow Marni made it back inside the house and into her bedroom without anyone seeing the box. She could not wait to show it to George and Fiona but it would have to wait until after tea. Her hands and knees were filthy dirty now, and her father questioned her.
“What have you been doing? You look like a gypsy”.
“Oh, just helping Fiona in the garden” Marni lied.
Dinner was always a silent occasion in the Dimond household, and you got your knuckles rapped if you spoke. Which Fiona did quite often.
Marni wished tea time would hurry up and finish but she had to wait for the compulsory pudding first. It would either be apple crumble or apple strudel with ice-cream. Her mother baked wonderfully, but never seemed to want to try new recipes. Now they were all allowed to leave the table because everyone had finished but the dishes still had to be dried and put away after her mother had washed them. It was the height of the summer and daylight savings time meant that sunset would not be until about 8.30pm.
“George, Fiona, come into my room. I have something to show you” Marni said. “Quickly then” grumbled George. “I want to finish my hut”.
“Ooh what is it?” asked Fiona.
Spotlight – Sugar and Spice and All Those Lies
About the Author
Evy Journey, SPR (Self Publishing Review) Independent Woman Author awardee, is a writer, a wannabe artist, and a flâneuse who, wishes she lives in Paris where people have perfected the art of aimless roaming. Armed with a Ph.D., she used to research and help develop mental health programs.
She’s a writer because beautiful prose seduces her and existential angst continues to plague her despite such preoccupations having gone out of fashion. She takes occasional refuge by invoking the spirit of Jane Austen to spin tales of love, loss, and finding one’s way—stories into which she weaves mystery or intrigue.
Her latest book is Sugar and Spice and All Those Lies.
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About the Book
Title: SUGAR AND SPICE AND ALL THOSE LIES
Author: Evy Journey
Publisher: Sojourney Books
Pages: 200
Genre: Women’s Fiction/Crime
BOOK BLURB:
Cooking a wonderful meal is an art. An act of love. An act of grace. A gift that affirms and gives life—not only does it nurture those who partake of the meal; it also feeds the soul of the creator. These are lessons Gina learns from her mother, daughter of an unfortunate French chef.
Gina is a young woman born to poor parents, a nobody keen to taste life outside the world she was born into. A world that exposes her to fascinating people gripped by dark motives. Her passion for cooking is all she has to help her navigate it.
She gets lucky when she’s chosen to cook at a Michelin-starred restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area where customers belong to a privileged class with money to spare for a dinner of inventive dishes costing hundreds of dollars. In this heady, scintillating atmosphere, she meets new friends and new challenges—pastry chef Marcia, filthy rich client Leon, and Brent, a brooding homicide detective. This new world, it turns out, is also one of unexpected danger.
Can the lessons Gina learned from her mother about cooking and life help her survive and thrive in this other world of privilege, pleasure, and menace?
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Praise:
By Lee Broom on December 24, 2017
Powerful book! I feel like this story was one that I will have on my mind for a while. Gina is a gourmet chef, and her life is centered around her food and her dreams of owning her own restaurant. She recently got out of a relationship, not wanting to commit because of her passion for her job. Then a charming rich playboy notices her and won’t stop sending her roses. It’s an interesting story that has some crazy twists when jealous women come out of the woodwork. Gina doesn’t want to have a relationship so she ignores Leon’s attentions. Then she meets an intense homicide detective named Brent who catches her heart, but numerous events keep them apart. It’s a compelling story with quite a few ups and downs and sometimes I wanted to say to these people, “What is wrong with you people? Can’t you just admit you love each other and live your life happy already?!” I highly recommend this book and can’t wait to read more by this author.
Book Excerpt:
Prologue
I’m alive. I’m dead. I’m in-between. In that limbo where my vital signs hover just above death. I rise above my body and look down on it, lying on a gurney. Hospital staff are rushing me along the brightly-lit hallway to the operating room. One of them holds an oxygen mask on my face. Another, a bag of intravenous fluid connected to my veins by a tube.
I’m not ready to die yet. These good people anxious to rescue me don’t know that my resolve is the only thing that is keeping me alive. No, I’m not ready to die—I’ve only just begun to live. I have yet to prove to myself, to the world, that I have what it takes to prevail.
My family—now on their way to the hospital—doesn’t know yet exactly what happened to me. And except for one detective, neither do the police. I see him now by the foot of the gurney, keeping pace with the nurses. He’s scowling, his lips pressed into a grim line.
A tall, taut, and solitary man, he has deep-set gray eyes clouded by too many images of violent death and a lower lip that hangs perpetually open in disgust or despair. So much darkness he has already seen in his thirty odd years in this world. He needs to piece together the facts that constitute the attempt on my life, events that may have led to it, and various fragments of my past to understand what brought me to this point.
The first time I met him, I fell in love with him. There was something primal about him, some paternal, animalistic instinct to save hurt or fallen victims. Like me, maybe. It gave him power and it made him irresistible to me.
But fate is fickle. It teases. It entices. One day, something quite ordinary happens to you. Yet, you sense that that ordinary something can change your life. Not necessarily for something better, but for something new. Fate is dangling before you the promise of a world that, before then, was totally out of your reach. How can you not seize it?
Now, of course, I see the end of that promise. And it’s not where I want to be.
It’s tragic, don’t you think, that the end of that promise should be right here on a gurney, with me fighting for my life? It certainly is not what I hoped for.
How could it end this way? I embraced life, took chances, but half-dead on this gurney, I wonder: Am I paying with my life? But, like I said. I’m not ready to die yet.
C.A. Milson 