ON THE THRESHOLD

On the Threshold
by M. Laszlo

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GENRE: Historical Science Fiction

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BLURB:

Obsessed with learning the origins of the cosmos, the actual meaning of life, and the true purpose of civilization, a fine Scotsman named Fingal T. Smyth dedicates himself to the study of Plato’s most extraordinary ideas. Convinced of Plato’s belief that humankind possesses any and all innate knowledge deep within the collective unconscious mind, Fingal soon conducts a series of bold, pioneering occult-science experiments by which to resolve the riddle of the universe once and for all. However, Fingal forgets how violent and perilous the animal impulses that reside in the deepest recesses of the unconscious mind. And when Fingal unleashes a mysterious avatar of his innate knowledge, the entity appears as a burning man and immediately seeks to manipulate innocent and unsuspecting people everywhere into immolating themselves. Now, with little hope of returning the fiery figure into his being, Fingal must capture his nemesis before it destroys the world.

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EXCERPT

Autumn, 1907: late one morning, some kind of torrid, invisible beast seemed to wrap itself all around Fingal T. Smyth’s body. Each one of his toes twitching fiercely, he exited the castle and scanned the distant, Scottish Highlands. Go back where you came from. As the entity wrapped itself tighter all about his person, Fingal blinked back his tears. I’m melting, I am. Aye, it’s the heat of fusion.

Gradually, the beast’s heartbeat became audible—each pulsation. At the same time, too, the illusory heat of transformation emitted an odor as of oven-roasted peppercorns dissolving in a cup of burnt coffee.

Over by the gatehouse, Fräulein Wunderwaffe appeared—the little German girl wearing a plain-sewn robe and square-crown bowler. In that moment, she no longer seemed to be a sickly child of seven years: her inscrutable expression resembled that of a wise, indifferent cat.

Perhaps even some kind of lioness. Fingal cringed, and he recalled a fragment of conversation from three weeks earlier.

“She suffers from a most unnatural pathology, an anguished, maniacal obsession with cats,” Doktor Hubertus Pflug had explained. “Ever since the poor girl was a baby, she has always regarded it her fate to one day metamorphose into a glorious panther, for she believes herself to be ein Gestaltwandler. Do you know this word? It means shapeshifter and refers to someone who possesses the power to take the form of anything in nature.”

The heat radiated up and down Fingal’s spine now, and his thoughts turned back to the present. Aye, it’s a change of phase. I’m melting into a chemical compound. Despite all, he greeted the girl and willed himself to flash a grin.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

M. Laszlo is an aging recluse who lives in Bath, Ohio. Rumor holds that his pseudonym is a reference to Victor Laszlo, a character in the classic film Casablanca. On the Threshold is his first release with the acclaimed, Australian hybrid house AIA Publishing. Oddly, M. Laszlo insists that his latest work, On the Threshold, does in fact provide the correct answer to the riddle of the universe.

Buy link: https://aiapublishing.com/product/on-the-threshold-m-laszlo/

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RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

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

Enter to win a $25 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Q & A With …

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Vanilla is best because you can microwave a candy bar and pour the melted remains over the vanilla—and in the end, it almost always tastes great.

Which mythological creature are you most like?
A humble, aged, philosophical, talking tree.

First book you remember making an indelible impression on you.
Dr. No by Ian Fleming. He was the author who made me realize that there is more to life than comic books. Thank God for Ian Fleming. And here’s a fun fact: his books are thousands of times better than the film adaptations.

How do you develop your plot and characters?
A storyteller must develop the plot with the kinds of structural elements found in all storytelling; however, character development is impossible to outline. As the story develops, the character will decide what he or she wants to do. It’s hard to describe that process, but the storyteller will just know. The character asks for certain things in the same way that a manual-transmission automobile has a way of telling the driver when to shift gears.

Describe your writing space.
It’s an empty room with a hardwood floor and three big windows. There is no furniture other than the writing table, where the computer rests. Thankfully, though, there is a great deal of built-in shelving—and because the shelves are empty, my cat always has places to climb about and to sit and to sleep and to sometimes just lay there and stare at me. The windows have big enough sills, too, so the cat can sit in the window when the sash is up. Everything works well except for when the cat leaps onto the writing table and disturbs the modem and knocks things over. That happens from time to time, but so what? Life is for living.

Heroes, Holidays, and Hope

They fought courageously on the battlefield; now they’re fighting for love.

Heroes Holidays and Hope

Volume 1

Genre: Military Romance Anthology

with stories by

Dania Voss, Laura M. Baird, Laurie Ryan, Sadira Stone & Lynn Spangler

Sacrifice. Valor. Patriotism.

They fought courageously on the battlefield, now they’re fighting for love.

We are a group of Veterans and Veterans’ family members who are also bestselling and award-winning romance authors! We put our group together to publish a yearly limited edition, military holiday romance collection that also supports military / veteran related charities.

Heroes, Holidays, and Hope Volume 1 supports Fisher House (comfort homes where military & veteran families can stay free of charge, while a loved one is in the hospital).

Our goal is to raise $3000 (or more) during our yearlong campaign.

The stories in Volume1 are contemporary military romance, taking place during the cold weather holiday months. Various tropes and steam levels are part of this “must have” collection and it’s only available for 6 months after launch day, then it’s gone for good as we prepare for Volume 2!

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Find us online and get all the details about the Heroes, Holidays, and Hope project!

Stories included in the set are:

Imperfectly Perfect by Dania Voss ~

A runaway bride, scarred from a horrible accident when she was a girl and disillusioned with love.

A former US Navy fighter pilot who had his heart broken years ago and is untrusting of women.

Resigned to interact for business reasons, can these two find their way in Cascade Springs – the wedding capital of Texas Hill County, or are they destined to remain alone forever?

Passion and Duty Forever by Laura M. Baird ~

Spontaneous combustion. That’s how Navy SEAL, Antonio Vega, felt when he first bumped into Coronado animal shelter manager, Leesa Colburn. But a fiery night of fun doesn’t ignite as hoped when he’s called away for a mission.

Each yearns for the other, and when Antonio returns from a tough deployment, he has a life-altering decision to make.

Can Antonio picture a future beyond duty which includes rekindling the passion between him and Leesa, and committing to forever?

The Unexpected Gifts by Lynn Spangler ~

Cyndra “Cyn” Hart hardly ever left her house. After a stint in the US Army involving a child suicide bomber, she spiraled into PTSD-induced isolation, not wanting to be part of a world she didn’t understand.

Brady Jacobs, the local package delivery guy, stirred feelings in her that she had no idea what to do about. Gradually, he begins to pull her out of her shell until a misunderstanding sends him into the cold night air and to the hospital.

Can she find the strength to fight for the life she could only have imagined before Brady?

Saved by Her Marine by Laurie Ryan ~

A single mom. A wounded veteran.

How can Kaedon Powell say no to a woman five thousand miles away from her daughter?

He’s had enough responsibility to last a lifetime, so when the eight-year-old next door asks for help, he’s reluctant to step in, especially since her grandmother doesn’t like him on sight. But the girl’s mother is in Germany as part of her tour. As a vet, he knows what it means to be military. He steps up.

Neurosurgical nurse Holly Miller has no choice but to rely on the stranger next door until a single phone call turns worry into a yearning destined to become more. Their long-distance connection turns personal as they discover how much they have in common.

Can her love help him accept that sometimes, commitment is worth the reward?

The One You Can’t Keep by Sadira Stone ~

Forbidden love is the sweetest Christmas treat.

Stationed in Germany, a lonely teacher and a divorced military dad share a hot holiday liaison. Both crave more, but she’s his troubled son’s teacher! Unless they can untangle this mess, their passionate connection fizzles with the new year.

**On Sale for only $3.49 – Get it now!**

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Dania Voss and Laura M. Baird co-founded the Heroes, Holidays, and Hope project to share their love of writing military romances, but to also use a portion of the sales to help military and veteran charities. Laura served in the US Army, and Dania’s husband served in the Navy. They invite authors who are also veterans or veterans’ family member to participate.

Each year, a different holiday theme is written about, with volume one all about stories at Christmastime. Each story is unique to the author, ranging from sweet and heartwarming to steamy and sensual. The anthologies will be available for six months, always releasing on December 6^th. Volume I benefits Fisher House, an organization which provides comfort homes throughout the nation (with some even overseas) to military and veteran family members where they can stay for free while a loved one is in the hospital. Https://fisherhouse.org

We’re looking forward to giving readers captivating stories that also support a terrific cause. We also have a merchandise shop that offers a wide variety of items, from clothes to bags to drink ware, all with our project logo. https://bit.ly/HHHmerch

Website * Merch Store* Facebook

Find the Authors:

Laura M. Baird * Dania Voss * Laurie Ryan * Sadira Stone * Lynn Spangler

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

A Surprise Swag Bag (US only),

$10 Amazon giftcard – 1 winner each!

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