Category Archives: Book Tour
VBT – The Amazing, Unfolding World of Machine Civilization
The Amazing Unfolding World of Machine Civilization Series
by Clayton Barnett
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Science Fiction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE: Echoes of Family Lost and The Fourth Law are only $0.99
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURBS:
A history beginning in our near future, these stories are set in a world where the US dollar has been displaced as the world’s reserve currency, prompting its economic and political collapse, with a few areas able to hold onto civilization.
At the same time, across the Pacific, under a resurgent economy brought about by the implementation of new technology and deregulation, three Japanese companies produce breakthroughs in both artificial intelligence and robotics. These newly made people exhibit an odd interest in the goings-on of the former United States.
To-date, my chronicling of this interest of theirs has led to stories that populate five novels, which I would like to share with everyone now!
The Fourth Law – In the near future, 23-year-old apprentice nurse Lily Barrett lives in a shattered time. Following its economic collapse, the US has devolved into a group of a few barely functional smaller states and vast swathes of barbarian badlands. His sister has been missing for years, and her father, after earning the opprobrium of most of the world for running a state terror organization, presumed dead.
Two things keep her going: her live-in job at a small, Catholic orphanage in the city of Waxahachie, Republic of Texas, and Ai, her odd but dear friend, whom she met online; a young woman who only shows herself to Lily as a rendered CG image.
Troubled by her past, haunted by her name, and facing an uncertain future, Lily seems only a quiet, simple life. But, that past and her present conspire against her.
Echoes of Family Lost – Alive! After four years believing her older sister lost and presumed dead in the horrible Breakup of the United States, Lily Barrett gets word from her dear friend, Ai – and Ai’s family of Machine Civilization – that Callie Barrett is very likely alive… but over 900 miles away in Knoxville.
Using the resources of her and Ai’s family, Lily puts together a search party to go find Callie: old, broken, and burnt Orloff – an expert in surviving in the Badlands, Ai’s little sister, Fausta – her machine mind controlling a Combat Android to protect her friend, all together in a cart pulled by their sturdy pony, Clyde.
It’s almost a thousand miles to go, with something very odd trying to limit their ability to communicate over distance and even to cross bridges. A chance meeting along the way in Huntsville, former Alabama, wrecks their plans, and puts all of their lives in danger.
Cursed Hearts – Even with San Diego occupied by the Mexican Army, Katarina Sosabowski pursues her MBA at UCSD, and is happy to welcome and put up her visiting step-cousin from Japan, Christopher Dennou, for a night so he can complete his enrollment the following day.
But a minor earthquake brings a major surprise: Chris’s younger sister, Maya, murders their mother and escapes Neuroi Institute, the research facility that created them.
While Chris and ‘Cat’ grow closer to one another, Maya inexorably crosses an ocean and half a continent to take back her brother, killing anyone who gets in her way.
Friend and Ally – Model 5 is a prototype designed to fit seemlessly into human society. A meeting in Tokyo derails Nichole’s planned training as she is dispatched to Portland, former Oregon; the last working deep water port on the West Coast of the imploding US.
There, under her cover as a Graduate Engineering Student, she is to do her utmost to nurture the people and politics of the City-State into a Friend and Ally of the Japanese Empire. But from the first day in her new home, all of Nichole’s plans go awry.
Beset by those who want this small lamp of Western Civilization snuffed out, Nichole must find within herself the courage and ability to protect her new friends, at whatever consequence to herself.
Foes and Rivals – After residing nearly a year in Portland, Nichole’s life seems to finally settle down: with her classes, friends, and lover. But troubling rumors about secret deals between the City’s master and the savage horsemen to the east reach her ears.
With her own skills augmented by her friends and allies, she sets plans into motion she hopes will thwart those in opposition to her dream of a peaceful future.
Once again denied a quiet, normal life, Nichole is faced to make hard, dangerous choices that will jeopardize her, her friends, and the survival of the City itself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
The Fourth Wall:
~oooOOOOoooo~
“hooo…..hoowwlll!….”
~oooooOOOOOOooooOOOOOoooooo~
“hah…haaawooooollLL!”
“Lily!”
“LILY! You’re not a wolf! Wake up!”
She groggily sat up from her bed. Huh?
“It’s three in the morning… you need to help your kids!” Ai shouted at her from her phone.
The kids!
She flung the cover aside and pushed her glasses onto her face. Now she could hear the siren. What was it this time? Tornado, airstrike, barbarians… the last was almost a year ago when they lost Texarkana. Wait. She shook her head to try to wake up. This time, she’d an unimpeachable information source.
“Ai. Status.” She said into the darkness.
“A fission weapon was detonated outside San Francisco about ten minutes ago; the weather pattern indicates fallout will travel north of you, into parts of former Kansas and Oklahoma. But, winds do change…”
“Right.” She started pulling her clothes on. “Wake up the Fitzhughs; I’ll be there in a minute.”
She walked from her bedroom through her main room, glancing at the monitors. She suddenly bit hard on her lower lip. On the monitors, Ai stood at attention in a Texas Field Forces uniform. For some unknown reason, she forgot to render her pants. Striped green and white panties? Lily worried about her friend sometimes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links
One time engineer, some time pharmacy technician, full time husband and father, Clayton Barnett stumbled into writing a traditional novel November 2014 during National Novel Writing Month. Liking the results, he edited what would become “The Fourth Law” and set about teaching himself self-publishing. In the following four years he has produced four more novels as well as a children’s early reader, all in what is now called Machine Civilization.
Clayton Barnett lives in central Ohio with his wife, two daughters, and two dogs.
Book Links
Website
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Clayton Barnett will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Enter to win a $25 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for being my guest here today. Tell us about you.
Born in Texas, raised in the Mountain West, currently in central Ohio. By degree and temperament a design engineer but currently a pharmacy tech… and writer! Wife of a quarter-century and two teen daughters. And two dogs.
Converted to Christianity when 32 and was rewarded with my wife getting cancer and me finding out I’m a mule. On a whim took up writing books a bit over four years ago; five novels and a children’s book to-date with at least two more novels already in mind.
If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?
Besides the obvious, Jesus, I’d pick Lucius Cornelius Sulla, the Roman Republic’s first true Dictator. A complex, difficult man. I’d like his thoughts about the current death-throes of the United States.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
My latest, The Saga of Nichole 5, comes in two parts: “Friend and Ally” and “Foes and Rivals.” Having explored friendships, families, and lovers over my earlier books, I wanted to take all that experience and try adding a little politics and war. I am, honestly, very pleased with how it turned out!
What is your writing process?
I listen to background music… but often in a foreign language so I do not get distracted. Otherwise, when in ‘serious writer mode,’ I come home from DayJob, change clothes, mix or pour a drink, and sit down for at least an hour. Writing is a job and must be treated as such: professionally.
Tell us about your main characters:
I’ll try to keep this short while still touching on all five novels…
“The Fourth Law” – Lily Barrett, early 20’s, nurse apprentice. Haunted by the loss of her sister and the genocidal acts of her father, she meets another young woman, Ai, online, and comes to love her as her best friend.
“Echoes of Family Lost” – Lily again, with her friend Fausta (Ai’s kid sister) acting as a bodyguard. Also, the Hartmann family (Leslie, Callie, little Gary), part of a team trying to resuscitate a dead world.
“Cursed Hearts” – step-cousins Chris and Cat, students at UC San Diego, who fall in love. He’s a bit more than human and early on we find out that his sister, Maya, is on her way from their ‘home’ in Japan… to kill them.
“The Saga of Nichole 5 (parts 1&2)” – Nichole herself is an android made to fit seamlessly into human society. Although made in Osaka she “looks like a poster-child for Irish Tourism” and is dispatched by her Empress to try to help a tiny remnant of modern civilization, Portland, former Oregon, survive.
If your book was to be turned into a movie, who would play the lead role and why.
Oh… this is a tough one! I don’t know many modern movies so some of these might seem out of left field!
Lily Barrett and Ai: Anna May Wong and Kirsten Dunst (in cosplay).
Fausta: Rosa Salazar (as Alita… and I bet Fausta could take her)
Chris and Cat and Maya: Kazuya Kamenashi and Anna Tsuchiya and Rin Asuka.
Nichole5: Reba McEntire (young)… and Nichole is frequently on horseback
What are you working on next?
I’m about 20k words into “Worlds Without End,” another Machine Civilization story. So far it’s a bit of a love story and science project, but I’m thinking about how to toss a few buckets of blood into the plot!
What advice do you have for other writers who want to get the word out about their book?
Why, take a book tour with Goddess Fish Promotions, of course!
And it also helps to physically get in front of people: I’ve given talks about creative writing and self-publishing at local schools and conventions. I have been to a few ‘local author fairs’… looking someone in the eye, shaking their hand, talking about my stories… you would be surprised at the response!
What is your favorite book on your shelf right now?
[glances left at shelves with about a thousand books on them… errr…]
In the sense of “trapped on a desert island” kind of favorite? Then how about Barzun’s “From Dawn to Decadence.”
Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?
I have in this trainwreck of a culture, by the grace of God, kept my marriage intact for over twenty-five years while raising – to-date – two wonderful GenZyklon daughters.
You are given the choice of one super power. What super power would you have and why?
The answer I wrote, based upon an old pulp SF story, was removed at the request of my wife, mentioned just above, who quipped, “do you want to be ‘disappeared’?”
List 5 things on your bucket list:
In no particular order:
- Visit Comiket and Akihabara
- Visit the Holy Land
- See my daughters marry good men
- Live long enough to see the development of Marie Rose sexbots
- Die before the events in my books come to pass.
Any final thoughts?
Thank you, everyone, for reading and following the tour! Please read and review my books!
VBT – My Darkest Prayer by S.A. Crosby
My Darkest Prayer
by S. A. Cosby
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: mystery/suspense
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Whether it’s working at his cousin’s funeral home or tossing around the local riff raff at his favorite bar, Nathan Waymaker is a man who knows how to handle the bodies. A former Marine and Sheriff’s deputy, Nathan has built a reputation in his small Southern town as a man who can help when all other avenues have been exhausted. When a local minister with grandiose ambitions is found dead, Nathan is approached by his parishioners who feel the local police are dragging their feet with the investigation. What starts out as an easy payday soon descends into a maze of mayhem filled with wannabe gangsters, vicious crime lords, porn stars, crooked police officers and a particularly treacherous preacher and his mysterious wife. Nathan must use all his varied skills and some of his wit to navigate the murky waters of small town corruption even as dark secrets of his own threaten to come to the surface.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
I handle the bodies.
That’s what I say when people ask me what I do for a living. I find that gets one of two responses. They drift away to the other side of the room and give me a sideways glance the rest of the night or they let out a nervous laugh and move the conversation in another, less macabre direction. I could always say I work at a funeral home, but where’s the fun in that?
Every once in a while when I was in the Corps, someone would see me at Starbucks that modern mecca Wal-Mart in my utility uniform. Sometimes they’d catch me in my dress blues after a military ball just trying to grab something before heading back to the base. They would walk up to me and say, “Thank you for your service.” I’d mumble something like “No, thank you for your support” or some other pithy rejoinder, and they would wander away with a nice satisfied look on their faces. Sometimes what I wanted to say was, “I took care of the bodies. The bodies with the legs blown off or the hands shredded. The bodies full of ball bearings and nails and whatever some kid could find to build his IED. I loaded the bodies up and dragged them back to the base, then went back out on another patrol and prayed to a God that seemed to be only half-listening that today wasn’t the day that someone would have to take care of my body.”
But I don’t think that would have given them the same warm and fuzzy feeling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
S.A. Cosby is a writer whose work has been published in numerous magazine and anthologies. His story “Slant-Six” received an honorable mention in Best Mystery Stories of 2016. His life experiences include being a retail manager, a bouncer, a forklift driver, a landscaper, a roadie, a construction worker, a mortuary attendant, and he once wore a cow suit when he worked for Chik Fil-A. He majored in English at Christopher Newport University and now lives in Gloucester, Virginia.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blacklionking73/
Twitter: @blacklionking73
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1940758866/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:
S. A. Cosby 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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
S.A. Tell us about you.
Well I was born in a small southern town. My parents separated when I was five. My mother was disabled when I was seven. We had to move in with my grandparents. It was there I discovered a love for reading and writing. We were very poor. We didn’t have cable or more than one tv. My grandmother would let me read her True Story magazines to keep me occupied. Soon I became a voracious reader. Eventually I began writing my own stories. I had complained to my mother about how some of the books I read ended and she encouraged me to tell my own stories. That way I could end them anyway i wanted to.
If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?
Wow ,that’s a great question. I think if i had a chance to hangout with Walter Mosely that would be a great way to spend a day on this good ol’ space rock. He’s a black crime writer and he is a fascinating person. I would love to pick his brain. Not just about writing but about his life and the inspirations for his great characters.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
MY DARKEST PRAYER was born out of my desire to tell a story that incorporated the traditional noir tropes but tell the story through the prism of a man of color in the South. I felt like it was a story no one else was telling . I had a hard time finding a way into the book though. In my experience a murder in small town is rarely a whodunit. It’a a can we prove it. So I had trouble visualizing a situation where a private investigator would solve a crime in a small town. One day i was talking with my friend Todd Robinson , a great writer and the creator of ThugLit, and he told me i should just make my MC a trouble shooter. My day job is at a funeral home. To paraphrase Todd there are hundreds of ready made stories walking through your door every day. It was like a light bulb went off in my head. After that came to me pretty quickly.
What is your writing process?
First I have to be alone. I sometimes talk to myself when i write and it’s just less awkward if I’m by myself. I usually have some type of music playing. Different songs for different scenes. If i am writing a fight scene then I’m listening to something aggressive. If I’m writing an emotionally wrenching scene I will listen to something more nuanced like jazz or trip hop. I usually will get up and walk around to work through plot points that are giving me trouble. I used to have a writing hat but my dog (RIP Pugsley) ate it. That didn’t kill him but I never replaced the hat.
Tell us about your main character:
The main character of MY DARKEST PRAYER is Nathan Waymaker. Nathan is a biracial man living in a small southern town. A former Marine and ex-sheriff’s deputy Nathan left the force after the police declined to charge the man who killed his parents in a road rage incident. Blackballed and unable to find work Nathan takes a job working for his cousin Walt at Walt’s funeral home. Nathan becomes a bit of a guy Friday at the funeral home. He also moonlights as a troubleshooter. An unlicensed investigator for people who can’t or won’t go to the police. I envisioned Nathan as another iteration of the the traditional noir hero with just a few differences. He is a damaged character but he retains h is sense of humor. He is a man of color living in a state that was once the home of the confederacy. He is a hero but a tarnished one. He is capable of great violence but also great love and caring. The main thing i wanted to accomplish with Nathan was to make him likeable enough a reader wouldn’t mind spending 220 pages with him. I hope i succeeded.
If your book was to be turned into a movie, who would play the lead role and why.
When I first starting writing MY DARKEST PRAYER I had the idea that Nathan looked a lot like Dwayne The Rock Johnson. But upon reflection I think he has more in common with Jason Momoa. They share a self deprecating sense of humor but also embody a strong aura of determination and fierceness.
What are you working on next?
Right now I am in the middle of edits for a rural heist novel. I have also been working on a revenge thriller that would tackle some delicate social issues in the rural community. I am also working on several short stories for various projects. And I am scheduled to read at several NOIR AT THE BAR events. These are events where crime writers read short stories in a an appropriately noir setting, a bar.
What advice do you have for other writers who want to get the word out about their book?
Go to where the people are. Go to conventions. Live reading. Join a writing group. Make people remember your name and the title of your work. Network with other writers. Having friends in the writing community will help you promote your work and will make you a better writer.
What is your favorite book on your shelf right now?
THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME by Daniel Ray Pollock. It is a haunting novel.
Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?
I am a fair chess player. but I still can’t beat my uncle who taught me how to play.
You are given the choice of one super power. What super power would you have and why?
Invincibility so I could stop wearing my seatbelt. I really hate that thing.
List 5 things on your bucket list:
- Go to Paris.
- Swim with dolphins.
- Compete in a sanctioned boxing match.
- Make a perfect pancake and flip it in the pan.
- Meet Barrack Obama.
Any final thoughts?
I just hope people will buy MY DARKEST PRAYER and enjoy it. At the end of the day that’s all any writer really wants. To make people happy. And lots and lots of money LOL. Kidding. (not really)
VBT – PIRACY
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. L. P. Maxa will be awarding a copy of Royalty + Legacy to 2 randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
No one has more fun than Jett Matthews, and he intends to keep it that way, but he has to convince the girl of his dreams, Devin King, that Jett’s brand of fun means forever.
Read an Excerpt
My plan for this upcoming takedown was to wait in the dark until I saw her stumble into the building. And then, I’d follow her stealthily into the classroom. Stalking probably wasn’t the number one way to get a girl, but it was all I had at the moment. I didn’t know her name, which was my bad, so I couldn’t look her up on social media. And I hadn’t seen her around campus that morning, so I hadn’t been able to accidentally “bump” into her.
Thus, the shadows.
I chuckled quietly when I saw her enter the building, instantly dropping her cell phone on the hard laminate flooring. This chick. I shook my head and left my hiding place, falling in step behind her and trailing her into the classroom. Then down the steps and across five people to sit smack-dab in the middle of the row. I had to make people move down so I could get a seat right next to her. And through it all, she never turned and noticed that I was behind her. Not once did she glance over her shoulder. She was completely unaware of her surroundings.
I pulled out my tablet and then watched as she once again set up her desk with more supplies than she’d need for the whole semester. I waited patiently, hiding my smirk behind my hand while she fumbled a pen and sent it sailing two levels down.
“Hi.” I spoke close to her ear, but not so close that it would be considered “rude.”
She jerked away from my lips in surprise and turned to glare at me. “What are you doing here?” I found that I enjoyed the flare of irritation in her eyes as much as I’d enjoyed the blush on her neck the first class we’d shared.
I raised an eyebrow, pointing to my tablet. “I’m in this class.”
Her eyes narrowed even further, and her lips made that straight line for a moment. “Yeah, but why are you here, next to me?”
About the Author
L.P. lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, daughter, three rescue dogs, four chickens, two dwarf goats, and one adopted cat. The fish died. She is a full-time writer, and part time business owner. L.P. says she loves to read as much as she loves to write, and reading a good book is her reward after writing one. In her spare time, she fosters puppies for a rescue organization based in Austin.
Connect with L.P. –
http://www.lpmaxa.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/LP-Maxa/1442560722667127
http://www.instagram.com/lpmaxa
BUY LINKS:
http://www.boroughspublishinggroup.com/books/piracy
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1130013235?ean=2940155910930
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/piracy/id1446963890?mt=11
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LD9D7HW
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/piracy-2
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/912640
L. P. Maxa will be awarding a copy of Royalty + Legacy to 2 randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour.
VBT – THE MOMENT BETWEEN
THE MOMENT BETWEEN
by Gareth Frank
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Psychological Thriller
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB
After four years of mourning, Doctor Hackett Metzger is determined to stop letting his wife’s death control his life. He is finally beginning to live again, but his recovery leads to an unexpected fight for his own survival and startling revelations about what happens to all of us in The Moment Between.
Hackett, a brilliant neurologist, is a skeptic. He doesn’t believe he will one day be reunited with Jean, or dwell with God in heaven. What he does believe is that he should have seen the warning signs of her heart attack; he should have saved her. He also cannot accept the possibility that his clinical study of near death experiences could prove the existence of a conscious afterlife. When Hackett falls for the mother of a patient, grief finally begins to fade. But he has no idea his new love is hiding her dangerous past. Will Hackett’s damaged spirit endure another heartbreak?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
In those first months, he tortured himself with the notion that Jean’s voice had been real. He was sure that she had been present while he tried to save her. He prayed that she lived on in death, hoped that even as he failed, she had a soft landing on the other side. Her voice became his torture.
And so he understood death as he never had before. He understood grieving and pain. He understood what it meant to miss someone and to know that he would never see that person again. He understood loneliness. Most of all he understood the foolish and painful illusion that life might somehow continue. There was no voice. Jean had not talked to him from beyond. He had tortured himself from within. She was dead. He had learned to accept that cold hard reality. Anger had settled into the dark hole that was his memory of that day, poisoning his spirit. For weeks he stayed home from work, for months the blackness held him captive, until slowly he emerged into the world once more. His sanity hinged on his acceptance that Jean’s voice had been an illusion. Death was just death.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Gareth Frank is a former union organizer and administrator. He received a Master’s Degree at the University of Wisconsin and later studied at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The Moment Between is his first published novel. His short stories have been published in various journals and have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize as well as the Silver Pen Write Well Award.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GarethFrankAuthor
https://www.amazon.com/Moment-Between-Gareth-J-Frank/dp/1732294208
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
Gareth Frank will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Enter to win a $50 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gareth, tell us about you as a person.
Some people live life on automatic pilot. They do what comes easy. I like creating new chapters in life and becoming proficient at new things. That’s one of the big reasons I became a writer. When I retired seven years ago, my entire portfolio of creative fiction could be held in a child’s notebook. I knew how much work it was to write a novel, but I also knew that if I challenged myself I could do it. That’s a lesson I learned early in my career as a union organizer and administrator. When I was in my late twenties, I sat in one meeting after another watching people duck new or challenging assignments. Being a little nervous, that’s what I, too, did at first. I quickly learned that gets you nowhere. I decided that I would volunteer as much as I could, especially if it was something new. It has proven to be an invaluable approach to both work and life in general.
If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?
I have always been fascinated by Albert Einstein, for both his intellect and humanity. I have even included a little popular physics in my psychological thriller, The Moment Between. But, it wouldn’t be him. I would be lost if he talked physics, and I think he might be a little boring in person. I’d take another physicist, Richard Feynman. He was brilliant, but also a hoot. He absolutely loved music, played practical jokes on stiff shirts in the academic world, and even liked to think through his theories while sipping orange juice in a strip club. Read his books, especially Surely Your Joking, Mr. Feynman.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
Steven King once said: “(The writer’s) job isn’t to find ideas but to recognize them when they show up.”
For me, the idea for my novel showed up in the mail. I received a Christmas card that mentioned the death of a friend’s brother and alluded to his wife being the murderer. A very strange Christmas card, indeed. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. When I called my friend and asked what had happened, I found out that, as they say, fact was stranger than fiction. I used the woman in question to create one of my characters. Some people think I created a monster. The truth is, real monsters are often real people. That was the genesis of my storyline.
The theme of my book grew out of my fascination with near-death experiences, and what they tell us about the conscious mind. Polling has shown that about 70 percent of Americans believe in some sort of afterlife. We all struggle between two competing natures, the logical and the spiritual. Where we lie between those two points largely defines who were are. That dualism lies at the heart of my book.
The Moment Between is a psychological thriller that brings death to life.
What is your writing process?
I know it’s bad for my posture, but I grab my laptop, get comfortable on my couch and write. Like Albert Einstein who often sat in his bathtub lost in thought hour after hour, I can hang out on the couch writing all day.
Tell us about your main character.
After four years, Doctor Hackett Metzger is a neurologist still recovering from his wife’s death. He is a likeable, brilliant doctor and also a bit of an awkward nerd. His attempts to find romance and companionship are comical at best. He is also a skeptic with respect to the afterlife. For him, death is too painful. To hold out false hope might break him. Even though he considers near-death experiences to be little more than hallucinations, he is talked into supporting a medical study of people who suffer cardiac arrests and are resuscitated. At the same time, he is charmed by a woman with a dangerous past.
If your book was to be turned into a movie, who would play the lead role and why.
Paul Giamatti would be the perfect Hackett.
What are you working on next?
The working title of my next novel is Torn Skin. The name is taken from a song written by Jonny Pirpal, a punk rockin, freight train hoppin loner who attained rock and roll fame in the nineties, only to lose everything in a single day. Syeira, a mystic who quite literally saves lives by being in the right place at the right time, has also become a loner though for very different reasons. They meet as Jonny’s past is catching up with him.
What advice do you have for other writers who want to get the word out about their book?
I read a quote from an Indian businessman. I have no idea why he was being quoted about writing, but his words stuck in my head. “Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, then for a few close friends, then for money.”
I have no idea why he thought prostitution was something you do with a few close friends, or why he thought writer’s write for money. The truth is, one million books are published in America each year, so getting the word out is hard. The most important word in a writer’s vocabulary has to be perseverance. First create a buzz among friends, family, coworkers and other acquaintances, then look for every opportunity to spread out. Who knows when the big break could come.
What is your favorite book on your shelf right now?
It’s a toss-up. The Cemetery Keeper’s Wife, by Maryann McFadden or Beartown by Fredrik Backman.
Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?
I wrote a novel. That should count. 🙂
You are given the choice of one super power. What super power would you have and why?
The ability to make people laugh. Laughter can cure depression, make other illnesses just a little more bearable, lead to a happy marriage and make every day a little better. It’s a lot better than shooting fire from your fingertips.
List 5 things on your bucket list:
- See Petra (Jordan).
- Take a bike tour in Spain.
- Star in one of my son’s movies (Joseph Frank, writer and director of Sweaty Betty).
- Stick around this world for a long time watching my grandchildren grow up.
- SELL MORE BOOKS!
Where can readers find you on the web?
Facebook – @garethfrankauthor
VBT – ON THE COUNT OF THREE
ON THE COUNT OF THREE
by Carolyn Arnold
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Thriller
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
And they thought prison was hell…
When a woman’s disappearance ticks off all the same boxes as two unsolved murders, Miami homicide detective Kelly Marsh is convinced there’s about to be a third. If she’s right and the killer sticks to their previous MO, she only has three days before Jenna Kelter’s decapitated head will show up somewhere in the city. With no time to waste, Kelly reaches out to the one person she knows can help: her former mentor and family friend Jack Harper, who just happens to lead a team with the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit.
BAU special agent and profiler Brandon Fisher easily sees the similarities between Detective Marsh’s missing person case and the two cold cases: all three victims served time for DUI vehicular homicide and disappeared three days after being released from prison. But is that enough to assume Kelter has been abducted by a serial killer? Brandon’s not so sure and fears his boss may have let his personal connection to Marsh cloud his judgment. Surely there isn’t any other explanation for why they jumped into an investigation less than twenty-four hours after Kelter was reported missing. Then again, maybe Brandon is letting his own differences with the detective affect his perspective. He’ll need to move past it, though—and quickly.
After all, this killer has evaded capture for the past six years, and they may be looking at a lot more victims than originally suspected. This serial killer is calling the shots and pulling them into a macabre game of cat and mouse. While the team has no choice but to play, if they don’t make the right moves, one of them may not make it out of Miami alive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt:
“We’ll start on the count of three,” he said in a singsong voice. The Night pulsed beneath his skin with a heartbeat of its own.
“No, no, please!” the woman screamed.
It pierced his ears, but he smiled, moving into position next to her. “One…” He reached out for the chain that suspended the blade. “T—” His phone rang. His body quaked, the tremors of the Night snaking through him.
He grabbed a roll of duct tape from a nearby utility shelf and slapped a piece across her mouth. He normally didn’t have to worry about their screams out there, but he wanted to answer this call. The ringtone told him it was his girlfriend, Roxanne. She fit into his life plan—at least for now—and he didn’t want to mess things up with her.
He kept his eyes on the woman as he answered his phone. “Hey, sweetie.”
He listened as his girlfriend prattled on about their plans for the following evening—dinner, then a movie. Nothing new there. She said maybe dancing afterward, but they’d never make it to a club. She’d be ready for bed by ten, and he’d tuck her in. She was as predictable as drying paint and about as exciting. But she played along with his sexual fantasies without contention, and she’d do anything to make him happy.
“You’ll pick me up? My place at six o’clock?” she asked.
“I can do that. I’m looking forward to spending some time with you.”
“Love you,” Roxanne told him.
“Love you, too.” He hung up, smiling, and let the expression carry for his victim to see. He set up his cell phone to record again and walked toward the woman. “Let’s pick up where we left off, shall we?”
She was screaming behind the tape and bucking her head wildly. She was clearly trying to slide back, as if she could worm her way out of the guillotine.
Yes, fight. It makes it so much more fun…
“One,” he roared above her. “Two…” He wound the chain around his fingers. With a flick of his wrist, he released it. “Three.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
CAROLYN ARNOLD is an international best-selling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has four continuing fiction series—Detective Madison Knight, Brandon Fisher FBI, McKinley Mysteries, and Matthew Connor Adventures—and has written nearly thirty books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from cozy to hard-boiled mysteries, and thrillers to action adventures.
Both her female detective and FBI profiler series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining, leading her to adopt the trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.
Carolyn was born in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and empower.
She currently lives in London, Ontario with her husband and beagle and is a member of Crime Writers of Canada and Sisters in Crime.
Connect with CAROLYN ARNOLD Online:
Website – http://carolynarnold.net/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/Carolyn_Arnold
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolynArnold
And don’t forget to sign up for her newsletter for up-to-date information on release and special offers at http://carolynarnold.net/newsletters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
Carolyn will be giving away a paperback copy of Remnants
Enter to win a print copy of REMNANTS – a Rafflecopter giveaway
VBT – Mistress of Desire & The Orchid Lover ~ The Quest
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. J. A. Jackson 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.
Neither Tiara Blake or Delmar Devereaux has a past to be proud of. With a joint history packed with dishonesty, blackmail—and a juicy, torrid love affair—the pair didn’t expect their paths would cross again.
Can a quest to break an ancient curse give two former lovers a second chance?
After a torrid love affair, shady businessman Delmar Devereaux disappeared from Tiara Blake’s life, leaving her to raise their twin sons on her own. So, when he shows up unannounced one day, her first instinct is to kick him to the curb.
But Delmar has discovered a centuries-old curse placed on the pair by their ancestors—and he needs Tiara’s help to break it. Ending the curse means they will have to learn to trust each other, which won’t be easy when their explosive secrets are revealed.
Once again torn between lust and duty, can Delmar and Tiara discover the true meaning of love in order to break the curse before it’s too late? Or will their complicated past doom them forever?
Join Delmar and Tiara in Book II of the Mistress of Desire and the Orchid Lover on their sensually sizzling action-packed adventure!
Read an Excerpt:
The room was silent except for the echoing sound of Nona’s vintage alligator peep-toed pumps as they slammed across the floor, as she charged in.
“You are late!”
“Now Glenda,” Nona excitedly exhaled. “You know I told you I had to go to Pointe Richmond, today? My favorite store was having their fifty percent off annual sale.”
Surprise and embarrassment ran a swift race across Glenda’s face. “Did you go to Ancient Ways? Oh, I’d forgotten.”
Nona hurried over and thrust a bag in Glenda’s hand. “See, I got you something.”
“Thank you,” Glenda muttered, with an apologetic tone in her voice.
Nona turned and made a beeline across the room. “Oh, and here’s yours Consuelo,” she said excitedly, handing her a bag.
Nona sighed heavily. “For some reason, the traffic on Highway 80 was ridiculous today.”
“Thank you, Nona,” Consuelo smiled and let her eyes settle on Nona’s for a second before she nodded agreement. “It’s true, about the traffic being heavy on Highway 80, today. Just this morning I saw it on the news, something to do with a big rig turning over,” she said, with a heavy Spanish accent.
Nona leaned in close and whispered. “Thanks for having my back Consuelo. By the way, I picked you up some that Herb man’s best sage, the one you like.”
“Excellent,” Consuelo replied with a look of surprise. “You must have read my mind. I was almost out.”
About the Author:
J.A. Jackson is the pseudonym for an author, who loves to write deliciously sultry adult romantic, suspenseful, entertaining novels with a unique twist. She lives in an enchanted little house she calls home in the Northern California foothills.
She spent over ten years working in the non-profit sector where she wrote grants, press releases and contributed many stories to their newsletter. She was their Newsletter editor for over ten years. She loves growing roses, a good pot of hot tea, chocolate, magical stories, suspense stories, ghost stories, and reading Jane Austen again and again in her past time.
https://www.amazon.com/author/jajackson
http://jerreeceannjackson.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jerreece-Ann-Jackson/204377496289139
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01ISNR0B2
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HR1KSHN
J. A. Jackson will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
VBT – FOR HER HONOR
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Holly Bush 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.
1873 –
Adam Gentry, heir to the celebrated Paradise Stables in Virginia, is haunted by the visions of his lost love. Feeling cursed by fate, he slips deeper into grief, shrouded in a cloud of liquor and depression, and neglects his duties and responsibilities. But when Adam is forced to accept that there’s nothing he can do to change his past, he knows he must move on.
And he accepts his own destiny: that he will never love again.
Emmaline Somerset finds herself in the worst possible position any unmarried woman can be in. She will have to abandon all of her plans, hopes, and dreams for an independence using her own talents. The only viable solution is to move to a distant relative’s home and reinvent herself as a widow with an infant. No one will ever be the wiser.
Adam, now determined to secure the Gentry legacy, plans to save longtime family friend Emmaline from her embarrassment with an offer of marriage. But what Adam didn’t plan on was how his unexpected attraction to her would stir something inside of him, something he’s kept locked deep within.
Can love finds its way between two troubled souls, one driven by duty, the other by honor, both determined to find their way home?
Read an Excerpt:
Emmaline Somerset’s bedroom door opened, and her mother poked her head inside.
“Mother, please,” she began but stopped speaking as the door opened wide and Adam Gentry walked into her room.
“I know this is unusual, Mrs. Somerset, but certainly you’ve known me and my family long enough to know that I intend nothing untoward. But I would like to speak to your daughter alone.”
Adam stared at her as he spoke to her mother and she could see Jane and Betsy behind him, eyes wide and their hands over their mouths.
“It’s not p-proper, Adam,” her mother stuttered.
“I’m fine, Mother. Stand outside my door if you wish.”
Emmaline looked at him and noticed that he was thinner than the last time she saw him. He was still very handsome and even intimidating, filling the room with his presence. He was the oldest among her generation of Gentrys and Somersets but had been removed a bit from the rest of them as they grew up together. A bit apart from John and Matthew and Jim, who’d been fast friends growing up, and from Olivia and Nettie and Marabelle Winston, whose family owned the mercantile, and her. He hadn’t been aloof, but he hadn’t gotten into the same type of trouble that John and Matthew had.
Women swooned over him, and he smiled back and tipped his hat in such a way that made a female feel as if she was the only person of her sex in the world. Except right now he wasn’t looking so sure of himself and not particularly happy, either.
About the Author:
Holly Bush writes historical romance set in the U.S.in the late 1800’s, in Victorian England, and an 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.
http://www.hollybushbooks.com
http://www.twitter.com/hollybushbooks
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Holly-Bush/247399131941435
http://www.amazon.com/Holly-Bush/e/B006ZDTQ1A/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
Holly Bush will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
VBT – Wings of the Wicked Boxed Set
Colleen plays many roles. Not only is she a veteran, a mother, and a practicing physician, but she is a writer of science fiction and contemporary romances. Colleen’s dreams include surviving her son’s teenage years, exploring every continent on this planet, except Antarctica, cause that’s way too cold, and winning the Nobel peace prize. Dream BIG! Currently, she is working on Distant Memory, the third in her SciFi Romance series. In the meantime, look for her at https://www.colleensmyers.com
Social Media Links:
https://www.facebook.com/colleensmyers
https://www.twitter.com/colleensmyers
https://www.instagram/com/csmyers3637
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/colleen-s-myers
Seri Therotian lost everything to the E’mani. Her brother, her betrothed, her place among her people. But it turns out there is even more to lose including her life, her father, her people unless she is willing to lead the broken race that had forsaken her to victory.
Buy your copy at any one of these great retailers
Universal Link: books2read.com/47ZQDN
#iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1410452943
#Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/wings-of-the-wicked-1
#Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/wingswicked
Seri’s grip on the sheer mountainside above the wind-swept canyon slipped. But her right claw managed to break the surface of the rock and halt her fall.
Thank goodness for sharp nails.
She scrambled for purchase until she got a more solid hold. Her fingers ached but she maintained her grasp. She had no choice. The pale E’mani clones in their dark gray jumpsuits were patrolling the path beneath her; at least four of them. She couldn’t take that many, even with her father’s help. They had weapons and shields. She had a wooden bow. Even with her magic, if it affected them, that was not much of a match.
She could fly away, but that did not seem like the smartest play either. They might notice a flying fluffy pink girl. She did kind of stand out, even among her own people. Most of whom were grey or brown like her father.
Speaking of her father, she turned to look at Jax hanging on a nearby rock face, his rust colored wings pulled close to his body. He blended with the surface of the mountain on the windswept peak. She on the other hand with her bright red feathers and orange underbelly was screwed. If the clones’ gazes rose, they’d spot her.
This sucked.
She shifted her grip to hang from one hand to the other and flexed her fingers, then repeated the gesture on the other side.
Jax whistled at her in warning and she glared in return.
Yes, she was moving, but that kept her from falling.
She wasn’t as used to hanging as enemies paced below her. She was only twenty after all, barely an adult by Avaresh standards and much less battle-forged than him. What did he expect?
Her mouth twisted. Wait, what was she thinking? Her father expected everything of her, she was after all a Therotian. How could she forget. She had a destiny. What a load of-.
Her clawed fingers dug into the rock causing dirt to rain down in a small waterfall onto the E’mani’s heads.
Shoot.
She didn’t mean to do that.
She shared a startled glance with Jax who swore under his breath.
He pushed off from the wall as the clones gazed straight up at them and fanned his wings to make himself a bigger target. But he was dark to her light. In the dusky sky, she stood out against the horizon.
They raised their weapons.
