Monthly Archives: June 2019
VBT – THE PERFECT LAP
The Perfect Lap
by Sedona Hutton
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GENRE: Contemporary Romance
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BLURB:
His job is to drive fast. Hers is to put the brakes on him. When sparks fly, will love cross the finish line?
AJ Ryan is a publicity nightmare. After a questionable photo surfaces and his biggest sponsor threatens to pull out, the NASCAR champion admits it might be time to hit the brakes. Thankfully, his new no-nonsense image consultant knows just where to start… too bad she revs his engine so loudly he can barely think straight.
Ella Fisher’s career is a welcome distraction from her poor taste in men. Fresh off another easily avoidable heartbreak, rehabbing AJ’s career is just the diversion she needs. But when the pulse-pounding client actually listens to her advice, Ella wonders if there’s more to the man behind the hot mess.
When Ella is granted guardianship of three boisterous children under the misconception that she and AJ are a couple, AJ surprises her by going along with the charade. Before long they find themselves in a make-shift family that feels more real than pretend.
As their professional relationship takes a hard turn for the personal, a single overheard conversation could make it all go up in flames. Will Ella and AJ’s romance hit the wall, or will love take the checkered flag?
The Perfect Lap is the second standalone novel in the Racing Hearts of Serenity romance series. If you like bad boys with a heart of gold, strong women, and love stories with a new age twist, then you’ll adore Sedona Hutton’s fun, sexy tale.
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EXCERPT
“I bet you have a beautiful smile,” he drawled, then lowered his mouth to hers.
She should have pulled away—she didn’t know this man from Adam. But everything inside her protested. After gazing into each other’s eyes, she felt like she knew him intimately.
His lips were warm and tingly, his kiss pure perfection…and he drew back way too quickly. He blinked those deep blue eyes and gave her a lazy grin. “I knew it.” He rubbed the pad of his thumb over her lower lip. “Beautiful.”
That’s when she realized she was smiling.
He rose, and she gave him a quick once over, taking in the sexy stubble on his face, the taut muscles of his chest, his lean physique. As good old-fashioned lust rolled through her like a quick-moving thunderstorm, she silently bemoaned her situation. This was a hell of a time to have a newly implemented man-ban.
“Keep smiling.” Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he winked at her. “It suits you,” he added in that low, sexy drawl. Then he sauntered off.
Her breath caught as she spun around to gape at him. He’d just kissed her and now he was leaving? She contemplated calling him back, then reconsidered. She had other fish to fry.
Even so, she couldn’t stop herself from tracking his every move as he swaggered toward the party, his backside looking every bit as fine as the rest of him. Pressing a hand to her chest, she let out a slow exhale. Even though she was one-hundred percent committed to her man-ban, she could admit—at least to herself—that the sexy, charming stranger had intrigued her.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links
Author Sedona Hutton finds inspiration in the beautiful Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, where she lives with her husband and curly-coated retriever. In addition to writing, she’s a Reiki Master and a certified Chopra Center Meditation instructor. She enjoys reading, yoga, gardening, and experiencing the great outdoors on boats, motorcycles, and Jeeps. Sedona pens a “Peace, Love, & Joy” blog on her website. Visit her at http://www.SedonaHutton.com, Twitter @SedonaHutton, Facebook @SedonaHuttonAuthor, and Instagram @SedonaHutton.
Sedona’s debut novel, Cloud Whispers, was a Finalist in the 2018 Readers’ Favorite Contest, an Official Selection in the 2018 Summer eBook Awards for New Apple Literary, and Shortlisted for the Books Go Social Best Book of 2018.
Links:
Website: https://www.sedonahutton.com/
Blog: https://www.sedonahutton.com/blog
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SedonaHutton
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SedonaHuttonAuthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sedonahutton/
Amazon page: www.amazon.com/author/sedonahutton
Goodreads Author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17837575.Sedona_Hutton
Short link to Goodreads Author page: https://bit.ly/2GxDDQ7
Book purchase links:
Amazon Purchase Link for Cloud Whispers: https://goo.gl/N9aC38
Amazon Purchase Link for Nora’s Promise: https://tinyurl.com/y7vqz3t9
Amazon Purchase Link for The Perfect Lap: https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Lap-Racing-Serenity-Romance-ebook/dp/B07R92KSFX
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3057
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INTERVIEW – Sedona Hutton
What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Coconut or banana. I also like Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey and Chubby Hubby, in part because the names amuse me!
Which mythological creature are you most like?
That’s a tough question for a mere mortal! I strive to be like Eirene, the Greek goddess of peace.
First book you remember making an indelible impression on you.
Judy Blume’s, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. I loved this young adult novel with its open and honest discussions on topics near and dear to all pre-teenage girls, like periods, body changes, and boys. Blume’s coming of age story showed me that I could find empathy, excitement, and new worlds through the written page.
How do you develop your plot and characters?
I start with developing my characters. If I complete deep characterization for my main characters, the rest of the process flows from that. I’m a combination plotter and pantser. I like to have a general outline of where I’m headed, but when I sit down to write, I’m open to all possibilities. What I end up writing is almost always different from what I initially outlined.
Describe your writing space.
I have a separate space dedicated to my writing. My writing room has a large desk with plenty of open space to stimulate creativity, walls covered with inspirational pictures and quotes, and a gorgeous mountain view.
VBT – THE BLACK HAND
The Black Hand
by Jonathan Dunne
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GENRE: Crime/Mystery
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BLURB:
In the aftermath of Ireland’s most deadly gang war, Dublin’s ruling family has scattered to the wind.
Into the void steps a criminal genius known only as The Black Hand. His organisation’s powerful grip is ruthless, bloody and barbaric.
With Europe’s biggest crime in play, The Devil needs a distraction. And The Black Hand needs Jacob Boylan to return to Irish shores. He will stop at nothing to provoke Dublin’s most lethal criminal out of hiding.
But has the wily genius misstepped? As all eyes are on Jacob, the Dublin exile carefully plans a gangland wipeout, for he is nobody’s pawn.
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EXCERPT
The Glock was steady in his grasp as he rested it gently under the security guard’s chin. Unloaded, the Glock weighed 660 grams, however this wasn’t empty. A trickle of sweat rolled down the man’s brow as Jacob spoke calmly.
‘Think of your loved ones. It’s only money. It’s replaceable. Take a deep breath and calm yourself.’
The guard’s eyes were wide with fear. His breathing was shallow. He began to urinate down his left leg.
Jacob watched the last bag of cash disappear into the vehicle. ‘Turn around and face the wall,’ he ordered. The guard obeyed without question. Jacob calmly sat in the back seat as they drove away.
The escape route had been planned. The surveillance was disabled. Nobody spoke as they drove. There was no speeding. The getaway was planned and smooth.
Jacob removed the balaclava and ran a hand through his sandy-blond hair. The two passengers in the front seat were giddy with excitement, but they concealed it well; Jacob had no time for juvenile behaviour. Only the passage of time would offer a definite escape, and even then, he wasn’t sure.
For twenty minutes, they drove in silence. The abandoned industrial estate was rare for London, otherwise it was perfect. They stepped from the vehicle, removed their overalls, and placed the weapons on the backseat. They were clean, but Jacob didn’t care; they were to be destroyed. A canister of petrol was removed from the trunk, with a small detonator attached. Jacob flicked the switch and didn’t look back as the car exploded.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links
Jonathan Dunne is a native of Dublin’s north inner city. The Black Hand is his second novel in the crime genre. The Takeover – his first crime novel went on to wide acclaim and regularly featured in Amazon’s bestseller lists.
He is also an avid MMA journalist who has penned articles for some of Ireland’s biggest publications. He holds a Degree from the Dublin Institute of Technology and is a strong advocate of lifelong learning and education. After returning to complete his leaving certificate as an adult in Jonathan has went on to have four novels published.
Social Media Links:
https://www.facebook.com/dublinauthor/
https://www.amazon.com/Jonathan-Dunne/e/B00BEFKHVC%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
http://jonathanwdunne.wordpress.com/
The book is on sale for $0.99.
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RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
Jonathan Dunne will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Enter to win a $20 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Johnathon, thanks for being my guest. Tell us about you as a person.
In these interviews you always try to hold a part of yourself private. But I’ll tell you a story…since you asked. My background is fairly well known at this stage, so I try to avoid the obvious clichés. A person once told me that my back story is a selling point; I should have ignored that advice.
My background may have given me content, but it won’t produce talent. Grit does not emanate from illiteracy and my past owes nothing to my future. I’m an average person with above average productivity. I’ve learned that heartache can offer you gold, provided you put that gold to use. Even in suffering there are lessons. It is hard, especially for men, to face our inner demons and publicly unmask them.
So, in essence, I’m essentially the same as everyone else, I’m truthful about it…I hope that makes my bio a little different😊
If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?
I’m drawn to broken people. They have depth, colour and insights that teach us invaluable lessons. The easy answer would be, to spend that time with someone I like, so I’d like to do a full 360-degree turn. Donald Trump would be my choice.
We’d be at polar opposites of the political spectrum yet he is fascinating. He enraged me at first, until I realised he is running on pure emotion. The people who voted for him were clearly in contempt of the political system and I’d deeply love to know where they found the common ground with him – of all people. For all his flaws (and there are many) he is an outlier like no other.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
At its heart, it’s a mystery. The Black Hand is a good old fashioned whodunnit.
My protagonist is Jacob Boylan and he’s a broken gangster who has lost his daughter during a gang feud. He has settled abroad with a master plan to escape the life of crime. Into the mix steps two billionaire financiers who have drawn the attention of Ireland’s biggest crime boss, the Black Hand. The plan is a heist worth hundreds of millions and Jacob is the distraction to keep the police busy.
The Black Hand runs into an adversary every bit his equal and we have the mother of all wars played out on the streets of Dublin. The book is fast, the action is loud and the suspense is deep. So, enjoy!
What is your writing process?
Morning time is a must for me. I’ll write on public transport, at home, in a café, before the gym…anywhere as long as it’s early. My inner hard drive is wiped every night and fresh every morning.
Tell us about your main character:
Jacob Boylan is a broken vessel. He is utterly shattered subsequent to the death of his young daughter. After a period of adjustment, Jacob rises from the gutters of London to salvage the semblance of a life. When the Black Hand provokes him from hiding, by targeting his family, Jacob resists. The provocation becomes terrifying and It is only when the choices are systematically taken from him, does he return.
Jacob has two terrifying traits: one, he is a master tactician, two, he is prepared to die. What follows is an immovable object in front of an unstoppable force.
What are you working on next?
The Florist is my next project. It is the first time I have written in the first person. My protagonist is a moving character with sorrow, treachery and gangsters dogging his life. It is also the study of a man with no choice but to embrace the darkest parts of himself. Ultimately, it’s the examination of a rise to power and the events that conspired to make this happen.
What advice do you have for other writers who want to get the word out about their book?
Become adept with social media. Build up following on Instagram, Twitter etc. Talk to younger people about social media, they are amazing when it comes to the digital age we live in. Use agencies that run promotions. Talk to your publisher and listen to their advice. Remember it’s a business and you have to hustle. What’s the point in having talent if nobody knows about it? You’re in the space – get seen.
What is your favorite book on your shelf right now?
John Connolly’s Every Dead Thing. Wonderful writer. The story is macabre as it is beautiful. It’s also signed by John, so that’s a bonus.
Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?
Yes, writing😊
You are given the choice of one super power. What super power would you have and why?
Invisibility. Definitely. And it would have to be a seasonal superpower, Ireland in the winter is too cold. But wait…I’d have to have invisible clothes…Oh maybe invisibility is a bad idea. You see how bad I am with a superpower! Probably best to offer it to someone else😊
List 5 things on your bucket list:
- Dance
- Love
- Laugh
- Cry
- Dance again…with a smile.
Where can readers find you on the web?
https://www.facebook.com/dublinauthor/
https://www.instagram.com/jonathandunneauthor/
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Hand-Jonathan-Dunne-ebook/dp/B07CCZW6N5
Any final thoughts?
Please, please, please if you like an author’s work, review it online…social media…anywhere. We live and die by word of mouth.
Book Spotlight – Encounters
ENCOUNTERS by Patrick Stull
Author: Patrick Stull
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 250
Genre: Fine Art Photography Book
his encounters to allow the viewer an opportunity to form a relationship
with his art. While looking within ourselves, exploring our own
feelings, he hopes that he will inspire greater humaneness in response
to his art.ENCOUNTERS is the second in a series of six large-format books in
which artist, photographer and author, Patrick Stull explores a wide
range of experiences. Using light and the physical body, the written
word and his artistry he creates imagery that examines aspects of the
lives of women.
Compiled over the last 18 years, the images in ENCOUNTERS, Stull
says, are meant to “inspire and challenge the observer while always
empowering the subject.”
Stull brings a powerful sense of the surreal and the spiritual to his
work as he plots a course along the many paths of the human experience.
His imagery runs from the ghostly and ephemeral to the flowing and
fiery.
As much as he concentrates on the human form, Stull never forgets to
focus on the humanity of his subjects. His choice of the coffee-table
style book format draws the viewer into an experience both intimate and
universal.
Stull’s first book in his series, titled EVOLVE, was published in
2006. A third book, titled HIDDEN DIMENSIONS, is completed and awaiting
publication. Future titles in the series include DHARMA, BEING
DIFFERENT, and YOGA, A HEALING MOMENT.
Stull hopes that his readers come away from the book with “a love for
art and a respect for the female who gives us life and challenges us to
be better human beings.
is a collection of imagery created and compiled over the last 15 years to
inspire and challenge the observer while always empowering the subject. The
imagery is coupled with text, odes and perspectives about the human experience
and existence itself. The imagery is mostly an explication, an intimate view of
the lives of women and our relationship to them – on an individual and cultural
level. However, there are images of men included in this work. A portion of the
portfolio presents something more than a photographic image. Here the imagery
is developed into contemplative art pieces of the surreal genre, where the
viewer is transported into the depths of their own psyche challenging them to
see something new.
artist Patrick Stull has spent the last eighteen years mostly creating imagery
about the lives of women. He searches for what lies beneath the surface of his
subjects, empowering each one he encounters. He has recently ventured into the
realm of surrealism, creating powerful imagery that reflects on our humanity
while dealing with the meaning and power of art.
say’s, “My work has allowed me to venture past the camera into the realm
of a humanist, an artistic life, delving into the intellectual, a more cerebral
life experience, creating what I call ‘connectivism.'”
ongoing work is based in large-scale digital photography accompanied by
sculpture/body casts, composition art, painting, poetry/prose and drawings.
His art is then integrated, collectively, into exhibitions to provide the
viewer a once in a lifetime experience. The presentation of the work is
delivered to the viewer in a unique and emotionally powerful way.
71, a self-taught artist, works in many artistic disciplines. Educated at San
Diego State University
with degrees in psychology, economics and philosophy during the 1960’s, amidst
the backdrop of the counter-culture revolution and the Viet Nam War, where his
social consciousness and political views were shaped. Stull emerged from a
Catholic Irish/German family, one of five children where work, discipline and
religion took precedence over emotional expressions of the self – a different
kind of loving environment. Being a husband of thirty-plus years and father to
two has taught him the power of kindness, love and commitment.
His latest
book is the fine art photography book, Encounters.
GIVEAWAY!
Patrick Stull is giving away a $50 Amazon Gift Card!
- By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
- One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $50 Amazon Gift Card.
- This giveaway ends midnight August 30.
- Winner will be contacted via email on September 1.
- Winner has 48 hours to reply.
ENTER TO WIN!
Book Blast – LACEWOOD
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jessica James will be awarding a $15 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.
Thrust together by chance. Bound together by destiny. A disillusioned socialite and a special operations veteran find a way to save a small town while healing themselves. A haunting read about the journey to restore an abandoned 200-year-old mansion and the secrets it reveals about a long-lost love.
Read an Excerpt
Turning in a circle, Katie studied the room again. Faded wallpaper curled and peeled above the dusty wainscoting, but the walls themselves appeared sturdy. On the far side of the entryway, and dominating the wall, stood a mammoth fireplace with an ornately carved hearth. Her attention was immediately drawn to a painting of a woman in nineteenth century dress that hung prominently over the mantel.
“Who is she?”
The sheriff turned to the dusty, sun-bleached portrait in the heavy carved guilt frame. “One of the previous owners, they say.” He shrugged. “The family history kind of got lost with the house. Everyone around here calls her the Widow of Lacewood.”
Katie stood spellbound. The woman was clothed completely in black, but the magnificence of the gown gave the impression of sophistication and class. Her chin was slightly elevated as if to project strength, yet there was more than a hint of sorrow and pain in her eyes.
“She looks so sad.” Katie spoke without removing her gaze. “And so young. How could she be a widow?”
The sheriff had already started to walk away, but he turned back and glanced at the painting. “Not sure, but they say she never remarried.”
Katie’s heart suddenly struggled to beat. The anguish in the woman’s eyes kept her riveted. She could see the pain. Feel a heart ripped apart. Something was missing that could never be replaced. Katie had felt such loss before. In a way that’s why she was here.
“You coming?”
Katie heard the sheriff calling from the next room, and turned to follow. With one quick glance back, she noticed particles of dust now swirled and danced in a shaft of light, almost like a living thing. Her breath caught in her throat as the dust seemed to materialize into the form of a woman, her eyes dull with the same tortured despair and disbelief as the one in the portrait.
Katie jerked her head around for a closer look and blinked. The woman was gone.
About the Author:
Jessica James believes in honor, duty, and true love—and that’s what she writes about in her award-winning novels that span the ages from the Revolutionary War to modern day.
She is a two-time winner of the John Esten Cooke Award for Southern Fiction, and has won more than a dozen other literary awards, including a Readers’ Favorite International Book Award and a Gold Medal from the Military Writers Society of America. Her novels have been used in schools and are available in hundreds of libraries including Harvard and the U.S. Naval Academy.
James is a member of the Romance Writers of America, the Historical Novel Society, and the Independent Book Publishers Association.
Website: https://www.jessicajamesbooks.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001IYTXOG
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jessica-james
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/southernromance/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/586216.Jessica_James
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RomanticHistoricalFiction
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/southernromance/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorjessicajames/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jessicajames
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lacewood-Novel-Place-Jessica-James-ebook/dp/B07PW8BQJ4
BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lacewood-jessica-james/1129617849
Jessica James will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Book Trailer
VBT – The American Crusade
The American Crusade
by Mark Spivak
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GENRE: Political Thriller
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BLURB:
A power-hungry vice president, a bad batch of shady intelligence, and a sinister plot to destroy Western civilization.
Just another day in America.
On May 1, 2001, a group of radical Islamic terrorists crash a Boeing 737 jet airliner into the Mall of America—and Vice President Robert Hornsby knows his moment is coming.
The attack kills three thousand American citizens and throws an entire nation into a panic, but all Hornsby sees is an opportunity, a chance to imprint his fanatical values on the soul of the country he loves and become the most powerful vice president in American history.
With the aid of his affable but ineffectual president; the reluctant, conscience-stricken secretary of defense; and a preening, foppish faith leader with more than a few skeletons in his closet; Hornsby declares war on terror—and anyone who stands in his way. But as media scrutiny of the administration’s actions overseas intensifies, Hornby’s one-man campaign against evil begins to unravel—with striking parallels to the thirteenth century’s doomed Fourth Crusade—and sends the nation spiraling toward another deadly tragedy.
The American Crusade paints a grim and often cynical picture of America’s recent past, reflecting the attitudes, politics, and fears that shaped our nation in the new millennium. By sampling the contemporaneous French text on the Fourth Crusade, On the Conquest of Constantinople, author Mark Spivak reminds us of that ever-vital adage: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Fans of The Castle by Jack Pinter, The President Is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson, House of Cards by Michael Dobbs, The Whistler by John Grisham, and the Aaron Sorkin–penned TV drama The West Wing will love this book.
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EXCERPT
Sitting in the White House Situation Room that day, Vice President Hornsby thought he was witnessing the perfect storm. All those years we thought it would end with a nuclear launch from the Soviets, he thought bitterly. Now I have to watch a bunch of jokers in turbans destroy
the world.
FBI Director Edward Gambelli entered the room and approached the head of the table.
“Most of the planes are out of the sky, sir. The airspace is almost secure.”
“What do you mean, almost? For shit’s sake.” The Vice President gesture toward the electronic map on the wall, where aircraft were represented by red dots. “That’s a lot of dots, Eddie.”
“They’re mostly private planes, sir. Joyriders out for a spin. We’re contacting the ones that have radar. The fighters will intercept the others and escort them down.”
“What about the other plane?”
“It’s still heading for Washington, sir. Just passed Wilmington.”
“How long before it gets into rural airspace?”
“Five minutes, sir. Ten at the most.”
“What’s happening on board?”
“We’ve received radio and cell phone communications. The passengers are still fighting. They’ve overcome two of the hijackers, and they’re trying to get into the cockpit.”
Hornsby glanced to his right, to the chair occupied by his protégé, CIA Director Admiral Mike McCardle. McCardle nodded.
“When it gets over unoccupied land, I want you to shoot it down.”
“Sir?”
“Eddie, we have the tapes, correct?”
“Yes, but—”
“These people are dead already. None of them can fly the plane. It’s the least we can do to bring comfort to their loved ones. The public will eat it up. The passengers will be heroes.”
“But”
“Eddie, that’s an order. Shoot it down once it gets over unoccupied land. I’ve got your back.”
“Yes, sir.”
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
In the realm of non-fiction, award-winning author Mark Spivak focuses on wine, spirits, food, restaurants and culinary travel. His first book, Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History, was published by Lyons Press in 2012. He followed this with Moonshine Nation (Lyons Press, 2014), hailed as the definitive book on illegal corn whiskey in America. From 1994-1999 he was the wine writer for the Palm Beach Post, and was honored for excellence in wine criticism “in a graceful and approachable style.” Since 2001 he has been the Wine & Spirits Editor for the Palm Beach Media Group, and contributes to a number of national magazines. He is also the holder of the Certificate and Advanced Diplomas from the Court of Master Sommeliers.
Mark’s first novel, Friend of the Devil, was published by Black Opal Books in May 2016. Set in Palm Beach in 1990, it tells the story of America’s most famous chef, who has sold his soul to the Devil for fame and fortune.
Mark also has an endless fascination with the American political system and is an avid follower of Washington politics. His second novel, The American Crusade (a gripping political thriller set during the invasion of Iraq, which dips into the shadowy world of government conspiracy and political sabotage), will be released by TCK Publishing on April 4. He is currently at work on Impeachment, the sequel to The American Crusade.
Pre-order The American Crusade on Amazon:
https://geni.us/americancrusade
Visit Mark’s website at http://www.markspivakbooks.com, and sign up for his free newsletter and political blog: www.markspivakbooks.com/free
Amazon buy link: https://www.amazon.com/American-Crusade-Political-Thriller/dp/1631610708/
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RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
Mark Spivak will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Enter to win a $25 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Q & A With …
Tell us about you as a person.
I was definitely a bad boy in my youth, but my life now is pretty boring: many people think that being a writer is exciting, but the reality is sitting in front of a computer screen all day. I don’t know if this is unusual, but I love animals, and increasingly prefer them to people.
If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?
Since you don’t specify if the person is alive or dead, I’d have to say Mark Twain. I think one day with him would provide enough amusement, insight and wisdom for the rest of my life.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
The American Crusade is a political thriller set during the invasion of Iraq, with flashbacks to the Fourth Crusade (1200-1202). I was reading about the Crusades some years back, and I was struck by the parallel: the Iraq invasion was the instant replay of the Fourth Crusade, down to some very small details. The novel is a meditation on the follies of history, with the steamy underbelly of Washington politics thrown in for good measure.
What is your writing process?
I’m up very early, about 4 or 4:30am, which is when most of the productive work gets done. I still do a lot of journalism, so the emails and phone calls start around 10am. I work intermittently throughout the day, but I find I do my best with fewer distractions.
Tell us about your main character:
Most of the novel is told through the eyes of Robert Barton Hornsby, the vice president and former CIA director. He’s the puppet master, and the spy who refused to come in from the cold.
If your book was to be turned into a movie, who would play the lead role and why.
That’s a tough question, but I think Robert Duval might be able to do it: he definitely has the gravitas. An even better choice would be Anthony Hopkins, who could infuse the role with an underlying, simmering touch of evil.
What are you working on next?
I’m finishing up the sequel to The American Crusade, tentatively titled Impeachment.
What advice do you have for other writers who want to get the word out about their book?
It’s a long, slow, gradual and grueling process for most people (if you can get on Oprah, this doesn’t apply). I mentor beginning writers through a Meetup group, and they freak out when I tell them that writing the book is the easy part. I think the single best piece of advice for anyone would be to focus on Amazon. That’s where the majority of books are sold now, at least in electronic form. It’s hard to avoid social media, and I indulge in it myself, but you need to understand that it’s a waste of time unless you have a huge promotional budget.
What is your favorite book on your shelf right now?
I just finished reading The Culture Code, by Daniel Coyle. It’s a fascinating study of what successful cultures have in common; he focuses on organizations as diverse as Johnson & Johnson and the Navy Seals. Hint: brutal honesty has something to do with it.
Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?
My extraordinary talent is the ordinary attribute of perseverance. It’s nice to think that the most talented writers are the ones who succeed, but very often it’s the ones who simply refuse to give up. I suspect this is true in most other fields as well.
You are given the choice of one super power. What super power would you have and why?
Here’s where we get into cliché. If I could get away with it without striking a deal with Satan, I’d like to live forever. No, I wouldn’t get bored. Yes, I’d have to outlive some people I loved, but that’s already happened. Yes, I’d know the answers to many of life’s fundamental questions and no one would listen to me, but most of them aren’t listening now. I’d just like to stick around without taking my chances on reincarnation.
List 5 things on your bucket list:
At the moment, they’re all travel-related (even though I’ve traveled pretty widely):
- Asia (first japan, but also Hong Kong and Singapore)
- Vancouver, British Columbia
- Nova Scotia
- Iceland
- I’d love to go back to Australia
Where can readers find you on the web?
Any final thoughts?
Thanks for having me today and listening to my ramblings (assuming people got this far). I hope you enjoy The American Crusade. Does history repeat itself, or are we constantly repeating it? You make the call.
Book Signing – E. Matheson
E. Matheson – author of The Adventures Of Riley & Elfy series, will be having his first book signing on Saturday June 22nd, 2019.
Only at Books On The Hill
Hill Road, Clevedon, North Somerset BS21 7PL.
E. Matheson will also be at Clevedon School Fair, St Nicholas Chantry on June 29th from 2.45PM to 3.30PM.
Book Blast – LOVE CALLS YOU HOME
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Donna will award a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn commenter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Stephanie Williams left skid marks on the road out of Willow Springs, Vermont after she finished high school. She didn’t return until her company sent her to evaluate the town for a massive development project. Back then she thought the town was way too small and too cold. Now the cold isn’t as much of an issue since she’s reconnected with her childhood friend, Donald Flanagan. Stephanie doesn’t remember his eyes being quite so green, or his body quite so built. He’s smart and funny as he ever was, and a forest-fire sized attraction burns between them.
Donald never understood his old friend’s driving need to leave Willow Springs. He loves everything about it. When he learns the truth about Stephanie’s project, and how it will turn his hometown into a theme-park version of itself, will it extinguish the flame that has sparked between them?
Read an Excerpt
It was much darker on this side of the building, without the bright, neon lights around the entrance, and even though they could hear the muffled music through the wall, it felt as though they were all alone in the world. Donald stopped and turned to face her, which placed her between him and the building. He cupped her face in his hands, and Stephanie marveled that she’d never noticed how big his hands were before. He leaned down a little and studied her face. His eyes seemed to be searching for a clue as to what she wanted. There were complications aplenty––putting their lifelong friendship at risk, and her work here in town, which Donald still didn’t know the extent of, being two major hurdles, but Stephanie knew what she wanted right now. She knew it from the bottom of her toes to the top of her head, with a certainty she’d never experienced before. Her blood pounded in her veins, and she felt a little breathless with excitement about the step they were about to take.
“Hurry up and kiss me, Flanagan, before I spontaneously combust.”
One side of the mouth she longed to be kissing quirked up in a sexy half-grin. “There’s no turning back if we take this step, Williams. Are you sure?”
About the Author:
Donna Simonetta writes the kind of books she loves to read–contemporary romances filled with heart, heat, and humor, like the books of her favorite romance writers, Susan Mallery and Jill Shalvis.
A Sweeter Spot is the first book in the Rivers Bend trilogy, which is set in a fictional small town, populated by quirky characters. But if you prefer a big city setting and a little fantasy mixed in with your romance, try Angels Fly. A heartwarming story, set in beautiful San Diego, about getting a second-chance with your first love, with a little help from some unlikely guardian angels.
Writing is Donna’s third career. She has worked in the business world, which she decided wasn’t for her. So she went back to school to get her MLS degree, and worked in a school library, before deciding to pursue writing on a full-time basis. Donna lives in Maryland with her husband, who is her real-life romance hero. They enjoy traveling to visit far-flung family and friends, and spending time on the beach with an umbrella drink and a good book.
https://www.amazon.com/Donna-Simonetta/e/B06X415TWW%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15422407.Donna_Simonetta
https://twitter.com/donna_simonetta
https://www.facebook.com/donnasimonettaauthor
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/donna-simonetta
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R4QD3ZL/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-calls-you-home-donna-simonetta/1131596605
Donna will award a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn commenter.
VBT – Piper Robbin and the American Oz Maker
Piper Robbin and the American Oz Maker
by Warwick Gleeson
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GENRE: Fantasy (Epic)
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BLURB:
WORLD WAR OZ from coast to coast.
An adult fantasy that takes one of America’s favorite tales and transforms it into a dark and epic landscape few can escape much less understand. Imagine Potter meets Avengers in Emerald city and you’re getting close.
After a homicidal alien from Orion arrives on Earth intent on annihilating human life, the 21st century’s greatest sorcerers create a network of seven Oz-like city worlds designed to harbor the human race in a newly formed utopia while also protecting it from the alien entity. But the alien is far more magically powerful than anyone suspected. Piper Robbin, ancient daughter of the Earth’s greatest sorcerer inventor, Edison Godfellow, must sacrifice all to defeat the implacable force that calls itself “The Witch Queen of Oz,” and quickly, before Earth becomes only a cold cinder floating among the stars.
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EXCERPT
THE FORGOTTEN CHILD IN PIPER ROBBIN, for the first time that day in the coffee shop, understood the meaning of true panic. Crushing a stone to powder or throwing a javelin half a mile wouldn’t fix anything (and neither would anyone in New York care) like in the old days of Ulysses. Muttering spells that made deserts bloom or oceans boil meant less than cooking a burger on the grill. Mortality for all, even the gods and greatest sorcerers, might be just around the corner. People think just because you’re a great magical being of some kind you have it made. Nothing could be more wrong. Your hopes and dreams are often spit on, your happiness ruined, your friends killed, and you lose sleep at night, worrying about shit just like everyone else. And besides obligations you really don’t want, you face mega-dangerous freaks way too often because you’re expected to, you know, cause you’re the official bad ass superwoman. By the gods! Really? You crawl in pain and heave up your insides for starters, die in lots of ways, and after all that trouble, sometimes you don’t come back.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Warwick Gleeson is a dedicated writer of screenplays, short stories, novels, and poetry. He has lived in both LA and NYC and worked many different jobs in his life, everything from roofer to waiter to small business owner to government analyst. He was the major writer, creator, and senior story editor for another project published by Del Sol Press called “War of the World Makers” that debuted in 2017. The novel has since won four national novel awards (two first place and two place) for SFF. Warwick is a big fan of great SFF television writing, like the kind you find in Emerald City, Gotham, The Expanse, and Umbrella Academy. He now lives in Tuscon, AZ, with a fat lazy cat and his most wonderful wife who is also a writer.
https://www.amazon.com/Warwick-Gleeson/e/B07QJ8L9BF/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19036873.Warwick_Gleeson
The book is on sale for $0.99 during the tour
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RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3052
C.A. Milson 