tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56617078642469673372024-03-13T14:58:25.200-04:00Author R.A. SearsThe musings of author R.A. Sears, paranormal wordslinger and occult fiction writer, and sculptor of molten erotic works that are sure to satisfy. Within you'll find vampires, werewolves, Norse deities reborn, action, suspense, demons, angels, and also pie. RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-38871892778674633612015-09-11T00:30:00.000-04:002015-09-11T00:30:02.174-04:00Authors are People, too<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've been totally stalled in the fiction writing department lately. Probably from the stresses of my infant being nearly ready to walk and having an entire house to pack up before we move across the country in less than two months. Sleeping has been an exercise in frustration, so I'm feeling far from refreshed or overflowing with literary potential.<br />
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However, I'd been doing a good job of writing a little every day and I want to keep up with that habit. So here comes some blogging, y'all!<br /><br />While trying to figure out what I could pop into a post that would be interesting, informative, and not too terribly wordy, I realized why I was having so many issues maintaining this blog in the first place. When you're an author, there's this immense pressure that all things in your life must revolve around the written word. You must sit around daydreaming, sipping expensive lattes, and spend your entire day clickety-clacking away on the keys as you pen your next masterpiece (or scrawling in elegant script in your Moleskine Journal, if you like keepin' it oldschool).<br /><br />But the reality is this: authors are people, too. We have lives outside of our Word documents. We have children, pets, spouses, hobbies, and other interests that have nothing (or at least very little) to do with writing. What are my other life-consuming tasks? Well, my children are at the top of the list. Then I have a house to upkeep. And a dog, cat, and some fish to care for. We also have a vegetable garden that needs occasional tending. My next largest clock-eating activity would be crafting. Sewing, knitting, crocheting... Doesn't matter which. I love them all. I'm the kind of person that likes to make something with my hands, and be able to view my progress.<br /><br />With all this digital technology, I don't get the same kind of satisfaction from a finished or lengthy document that I used to. With a typewriter, you could see each page add to the pile, growing as the story went on. Now, you can scroll from top to bottom with a keystroke, even if your story is 400 plus pages. I'm no George R.R. Martin, so I'm not going to revert to using an ancient piece of machinery to finish my works or anything. However, I found a bit of a middle ground that helps me sometimes when I hit a slump. Rather than getting out a notebook and pen, I have a tablet computer and a stylus for it. Combined with handwriting recognition software, this means that I can physically write the words and have them popped right into text without the added time-suck of having to type up what I've literally penned. I suppose that makes all this new fangled tech both a bane and a boon.<br />
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What's the takeaway from all this? Next time you're chomping at the bit because you just devoured a brand new novel in a day, which took an author a year to perfect for you, remember that--while they DO love and appreciate your fervor--sometimes they've got other things that need to get taken care of before they can shove you into that pool of the glittering fantasy world you've fallen so madly in love with.</div>
RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-89909002241131796712015-09-10T22:47:00.000-04:002015-09-10T22:47:35.903-04:00Classism and Horror Cinema Collide<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I just finished watching the movie <i>"Would you Rather?"</i> From the sudden rash of movies like this, movies where the ridiculously affluent take advantage of the disadvantaged with a "Would you like to play a game?"that's very reminiscent of the <i>Saw</i> franchise, it brings a multitude of questions to my mind. Firstly, why do I keep watching these garbage horror flicks, when I already know the outcome, and it involves nobody winning? Secondly, I feel like maybe these movies are setting us up for some scary shit in the not-too-distant future. For instance, some whacko with endless disposable income really making people of a lower social class compete for a hefty chunk of change. Oh, wait. You mean they already made that a reality show, called <i>"The Briefcase"</i>?*</div>
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You're probably thinking that anyone greedy enough to participate in such a game is deserving of whatever misfortune befalls them. Were it greed just for the sake of money, I'd be inclined to agree with you. However, wanting that money to take care of your family... I find that to be a perfectly legitimate cause. </div>
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Regardless, this brings me back to my point. When it comes to things like this, does life imitate art or vice versa? By making films, shows, and books about these situations, are we perpetuating the idea that it's ok? That this should be socially acceptable? </div>
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As the population of the world grows to ever more unsustainable heights, and the separation between economic classes becomes more pronounced, does it make sense for the social elite to cull the herd? Are they doing the world a favor if they do, or are they committing heinous atrocities against their fellow man? And with the increasing gaps between classes, can you even call someone in the upper and lower class "fellows"? </div>
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Lots of things to ponder on. The movie just got my writer brain working, I suppose.</div>
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*Source: <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/the-hunger-games-new-cbs-reality-show-exploits-poor-families-by-making-them-grovel-for-101000/">http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/the-hunger-games-new-cbs-reality-show-exploits-poor-families-by-making-them-grovel-for-101000/</a></div>
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RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-85807694427225011982015-09-10T21:12:00.001-04:002015-09-10T21:12:37.758-04:00Guess Who's Back?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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If you mentally finished with "Back again. Shady's back. Tell a friend" then you're probably nearing your thirties, or already well into them. I find that my husband and I have a weird tendency to fall into quoting old Eminem songs inadvertently while having totally unrelated conversations. Anyway, rap music that's no longer socially relevant aside... It's been a hot minute since I came around the website, much less actually wrote a blog post. </div>
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Long story short, life with an infant and a toddler is insane. I'm lucky enough to be able to stay home with my children, but all the glorious time to write that I assumed this venture would afford me was clearly some insane fantasy concocted by the midnight unicorns that prance around my sleep deprived brain pan. Apparently they were smart enough to hop on the ark when Noah was ready to set sail. (Bonus points to you if you can name the tune I'm referring to.)<br />
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Coffee-guzzling zombiedom of motherhood aside, I've been getting the urge to put pen back to paper, and let the incessant babblers in my head get their stories out of me so they'll shut the hell up. Silence is golden, unless you have a toddler. Then silence is horrifying and suspicious... </div>
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For those of you just tuning in, meaning you've never read my work or are a recent follower, I'll give you a bit of an intro to me. My name is Randi, but my wordslinging moniker is R.A. I'm a lover of music, and you'll see it often as an element in my writing. I have a bad tendency to get 90 million ideas all at once, start them all, then get so bogged down that I leave them in limbo. I want to teach myself to write shorter fiction pieces, so I'm going to give some anthology submissions a shot. I want to write a full story in 10k words or less, not just send in the start of what will likely be another abandoned series rotting on the shelves of possibility, waiting for that fabled "someday" when my children will be old enough that I get two seconds to hammer out some words while they're awake.</div>
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My primary series is The Ragnarok Legacy, a paranormal saga that throws together werewolves, Norse mythology, the local music scene, vampires, magick, and an unfortunate girl caught up in all of it who has to make a tough decision.</div>
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But in my mental story bank, there's a series with a magically inept witch who runs a cupcake shop and accidentally summons a demon (Sisters Rasputin), another series starring a hunter of supernatural creatures who've overstepped their boundaries(Eater of Hearts), and a steampunk/sci-fi number starring a saloon girl trying to keep her family's ranch from going under (Clockwork Heart). We won't even get into the short story ideas milling around and slamming into each other like bumper cars...</div>
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If any of that seems interesting to you, I hope you'll stick around and check back in frequently. I love conversing with any reader of my work, or fellow writers! If you're an avid reader and want to get insider info, read things before the general public, and have a chance to win swagalicious goodies (now gluten-free!), drop by my <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a dataquery="#txtMedia1rt" href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/darqlingbrigade/" style="cursor: inherit;" target="_blank">street team group</a></span> on Facebook. The Darqling Brigade is in need of some new recruits.</div>
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RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-57715102866665008502014-05-16T21:31:00.000-04:002014-05-16T21:31:00.485-04:00Life is Crazy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've come to the conclusion that this life is full of insanity. Insane schedules, deadlines, bills, social interactions or lack thereof, pets, neighbors, and being a parent. I've had trouble, for a long time, with the fact that my time is no longer my own. Hardly any of it. Maybe one hour daily, and it's not even sixty consecutive minutes, is devoted solely to me. And honestly, in six months, the amount of time will decrease.<br />
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Some of you may know, some may not, but I'm expecting my second child this coming November. Being a stay-at-home mom, there's a silly impression that we just sit around all day watching TV. I get about 25 minutes of TV time before my toddler is asleep, and that's an episode of "Ni Hao, Kai-lan," the only show he really shows any interest in. The rest of my day is spent cleaning, picking up the same toys some fifty odd times so I don't trip on them, entertaining my son, reading him the same book five or more times in a row because he insists, doing my best to guide him when he has a temper tantrum because he wants to communicate and can only say a few words thus far, changing diapers, taking the brief time he's asleep to walk the dog, take out the trash, take care of my flowers and garden, take a shower if I'm lucky... And if it's a day smiled upon by the gods, I might get to sit down and eat a meal without sharing every third bite with my son and have a bit of computer time before he awakens. The afternoon is lather, rinse, repeat, then my husband gets home, we do dinner, then he bathes the mini monster and puts him to bed so I can do the dishes and sometimes walk the dog a second time.<br />
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Regardless, I'm still forcing myself to make time to write. Even if it's just 500 words a day, a page or two is better than nothing. And I know that I feel better on the days when I make that little bit of time for myself. Is it rough, not being able to sit down for hours at a time, just hammering away at the keys while the worlds pour from my brain to the page? Yes. Immensely.<br />
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I guess the point I'm trying to get at is this: no matter how crazy busy and stressful life can get, you have to always make time for yourself. It might not be as much as you want, or how often you wish it could be, but if typing on your phone for ten minutes in the bathroom is what you have to do, do it. If you really want to write, dance, paint, sing, or whatever your dream is, lamenting about not having the time to do so takes up precious time when you could be doing that thing you want to. Quit yer bitchin' and get on it!</div>
RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-50524042133862285302014-04-07T09:30:00.000-04:002014-04-07T09:59:38.525-04:00Sweet Callahan Homecoming by Tina Leonard<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;">Sweet Callahan Homecoming<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">by Tina Leonard<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>Will
Ashlyn Callahan finally find her magic?
The last Callahan rides in the exciting conclusion to the bestselling
series, The Callahan Cowboys!<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>Four
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>Ashlyn
Callahan has always known that her fate can only bring danger to those she
loves. That's why she flees Rancho Diablo—and the ornery cowboy she loves—to
hide out in Texas Hill Country. But all hell breaks loose when Xavier Phillips
finds her…and her four newborn babies.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>Xav
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perfect little boys and two perfect little girls. And he's the father! Now Ash
has to marry him. With the future of Ash's entire clan at stake, Xav is ready
to lay his life on the line to safeguard the family legacy. Not to mention
create a homecoming—and a wedding!—worthy of his Chacon Callahan bride!</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I forgot to call and tell the sheriff it was a false
alarm,” Ash said, apologetic, as he set her gently on the ground. She was
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She gazed up at him, and he caught a funny bit of
desperation from her. “Nope,” he said, still wearing stubborn like a badge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Ash, is there a problem?” the sheriff asked, and Ash looked
at Xav.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Is there a problem?” she asked Xav, and he realized she was
holding him hostage to her demand that he leave.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Well, he’d never been one to go down without a fight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Hell, yeah, there’s a problem, Sheriff. This woman won’t
accept my marriage proposal. I drove all the way from Rancho Diablo in New
Mexico to propose to her. Xav Phillips,” he said, shaking the sheriff’s hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The sheriff and his deputies snickered a little at his
conundrum. Then the sheriff perked up. “Xav Phillips, Gil Phillips’s son, from
Hell’s Colony?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yes, sir,” Xav said politely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I knew your daddy before you were even a twinkle in his
eye,” the sheriff said, drawing a groan from Ash. The sheriff turned to her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Ashlyn Callahan, you hit the panic button because some man
has proposed to you? Again?” The sheriff shook his head. “He drives a nice
truck, comes from a great family, practically Texas royalty. If Santa brings
you a father for those four children of yours, you might treat him a little
nicer than calling the law on him.” He tipped his hat to Ash, shook Xav’s hand
again, and he and his deputies got back in their squad cars. “Good luck,” the
sheriff said to Xav through his open window. “Probably five men in the county
have offered to marry this lady, and she’s turned them all down flat.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He nodded. “Forewarned, Sheriff. Thanks.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Are all of you through enjoying a manly guffaw at my
expense?” Ash demanded. “Because if you are, I need to get back in the house. I
have children who need me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Good night, Sheriff.” He followed Ash back inside, his mind
niggling with discomfort and alarm. Five men had proposed to her? Ash picked up
a baby that was sending up a gentle wail and sat down on the old-fashioned sofa
situated across from the Christmas tree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He sat next to her. “Hey, Ash,” he said, “the sheriff said
something about you needing a father for your children, that Santa had sent you
one for Christmas. It was a figure of speech, right?” He looked at her,
surprised but not displeased in the slightest that she was undoing the pearl
buttons on her white sweater. She tossed a baby blanket over her shoulder,
obscuring the baby’s face—and suddenly, it hit Xav like a thunderclap that Ash
was nursing that baby.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Which would not be the slightest bit possible unless these
were her children. He stared at Ash, and she looked back at him calmly, her
denim-blue eyes unworried and clear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You’re a mother,” he said, feeling light-headed, and not
from the crack Mallory had landed on his skull. “These are your babies?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She nodded, and he got dizzy. The woman he loved was a
mother, and somehow she’d had four children. This perfect four of a kind was
hers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It wasn’t possible. But he could hear gentle sucking sounds
occasionally, and he knew it was as possible as the sun coming up the next day.
He felt weak all over, weak-kneed in a way he’d never been, his heart
splintering like shattered glass.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Damn, Ash, your family…you haven’t told them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No, I haven’t.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A horrible realization sank into him, painful and searing.
“Who’s the father?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She frowned. “A dumb ornery cowboy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“That doesn’t sound like you. You wouldn’t fall for a dumb
ornery cowboy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yes, I would,” Ash said. “I would, and I did.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>About Tina Leonard</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9RzK3sViooWMv7EzT_icCO0YRjWjpHxpVB7aYz70Ad5l1NGvdZ8D0tuXxhNtNLsZMlyCBG8z_WsE5Oy9T2PvN70grUdl4QbUErlAc6Zipw97EzRPjau7OvR7UJjF75-VuVgcxscTbJFYc/s1600/AuthorPic.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9RzK3sViooWMv7EzT_icCO0YRjWjpHxpVB7aYz70Ad5l1NGvdZ8D0tuXxhNtNLsZMlyCBG8z_WsE5Oy9T2PvN70grUdl4QbUErlAc6Zipw97EzRPjau7OvR7UJjF75-VuVgcxscTbJFYc/s1600/AuthorPic.jpeg" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">USA
Today bestselling and award-winning author Tina Leonard writes with humor,
sexiness, and fun. With nearly three million books sold, she plans to keep
writing the stories readers enjoy. Her schedule keeps her very busy creating
independent heroines and the irresistible heroes who love them. Visit Tina at
www.tinaleonard.com, www.twitter.com/Tina_Leonard,
www.facebook.com/authortinaleonard, and www.pinterest.com/tinaleonard1.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Amazon:
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Callahan-Homecoming-Harlequin-American-Romance%5CCallahan/dp/0373755147/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393007443&sr=8-1&keywords=sweet+callahan+homecoming">http://www.amazon.com/Callahan-Homecoming-Harlequin-American-Romance%5CCallahan/dp/0373755147/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393007443&sr=8-1&keywords=sweet+callahan+homecoming</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">BN:
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sweet-callahan-homecoming-tina-leonard/1117056999?ean=9780373755141">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sweet-callahan-homecoming-tina-leonard/1117056999?ean=9780373755141</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-37510697232493619332014-04-03T00:30:00.000-04:002014-04-03T00:30:01.285-04:00The Ballerina and the Revolutionary by Milla V<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhsF9xbE1JPThAgeZN1zBt00bOLaczeMziLRkVQGtv5njmguNLHlc1pH8bo6BunCB-AVbYPT-Cay9xuusT7l_d7M3oWx3_ELfcuYRabHzguSXkeWSjNztPKSIzN_ddJ5o2ZaJBwqxf6ZJE/s1600/961038_658616770869344_615521484_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhsF9xbE1JPThAgeZN1zBt00bOLaczeMziLRkVQGtv5njmguNLHlc1pH8bo6BunCB-AVbYPT-Cay9xuusT7l_d7M3oWx3_ELfcuYRabHzguSXkeWSjNztPKSIzN_ddJ5o2ZaJBwqxf6ZJE/s1600/961038_658616770869344_615521484_n.jpg" height="272" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Title: The Ballerina and the Revolution<br />
Author: Milla V<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i>Vivienne
realises she is dying. All she wants to do is see her daughter Giselle one last
time and apologise. But Giselle no longer exists and it is Crow, a gender-queer
anarchist, who returns to a family home that is plagued by ghosts and violent
memories. Crow unravels terrifying secrets, hoping to find closure at last. But
can anyone survive the shadows that lurk behind the fairy tales?</i></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;">Promo
video - </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #3b5998; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CJ_MXjDjeg&feature=share" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CJ_MXjDjeg&feature=share</a></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqEs10SC6n3tU4CG2ZWQVc4GlpZh8cG4l7rBwI9FS7OTus2pHpBoybVu9w2CBHtdW48HfKYynjGw4OmyfG09tZ_N9jT1Z8vYFaUS30oYFRoe4WZvfXLLl2OKWMA6Gt3Nl1I38rtlC5S4w5/s1600/10150060_658616867536001_147081049_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqEs10SC6n3tU4CG2ZWQVc4GlpZh8cG4l7rBwI9FS7OTus2pHpBoybVu9w2CBHtdW48HfKYynjGw4OmyfG09tZ_N9jT1Z8vYFaUS30oYFRoe4WZvfXLLl2OKWMA6Gt3Nl1I38rtlC5S4w5/s1600/10150060_658616867536001_147081049_n.jpg" height="400" width="283" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><b>EXCERPT</b></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
struggled out of the bathroom, my arms full of what were once white bath towels
and were now covered in blood. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My
brother was shivering outside his bedroom door. His was face so pale and round
that he looked like the full moon as he stared up at me from his seated
position. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‘Sit
with her, Tommy,’ I said, trying to give him my most reassuring smile. ‘Try to
keep her calm while I get cleaned up.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
stared at me then slowly shook his head. I sighed. The bundle was getting heavy
and I didn’t know how much longer I could keep doing this. None of the other
girls at school had to take care of their mothers and their big brothers. The
limit of their responsibilities tended to be tidying their rooms once a week. <i>Why me?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‘Please…’
I begged.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As
he stood up the smell of blood must have hit him full force and his white skin
turned green. He ran, away from me and away from the bathroom, out of the
apartment door, not waiting to close it behind him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‘At
least let Nanny know what’s happened,’ I called after him, not certain whether
he heard or cared what I’d said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
tried to rearrange the bundle so I could shut the front door. I must have
tightened my hold on the sodden cotton; blood oozed onto the skin of my right
forearm. I swallowed hard and told my stomach to behave. Tears rolled down my
face as I made my way towards the kitchen and dropped the towels into the large
aluminium sink. I turned on the tap and water rose above the fabric, strings of
pink swirling through the fluid. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
washed my arms, scrubbing them clean while Vivienne’s wails became louder. I
turned the tap off, grabbed fresh towels, dark ones this time, from the airing
cupboard and returned to the bathroom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Beside
the bath, crouched Vivienne. The dressings I’d wrapped around her wrists had
already reddened. I sat beside her and firmly held clean towels over the
dressings. She stopped crying and stared at me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‘It’s
okay, mummy,’ I assured her. ‘Tom’s gonna get Nanny.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As I gently rocked her body back and
forth she stared at my face. Her eyes were blank and I wasn’t sure she knew who
I was. I could sympathise, half the time I didn’t feel like her seven year old
daughter, either. I guess I had to grow up fast.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsfP6ZVwRwAbjGKz4K1GlOjktDK2GniKQjKgfEf2j5hktPK3S47_GA-gb337WVQ1CSJ7lv-kyLE41t1nQ2adHNncjMPE1lEzUwGMSz-fFSdK73AWJX7g-A8v5w6pvxirn3DKd89VBEN5E/s1600/10157095_658616987535989_955611730_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsfP6ZVwRwAbjGKz4K1GlOjktDK2GniKQjKgfEf2j5hktPK3S47_GA-gb337WVQ1CSJ7lv-kyLE41t1nQ2adHNncjMPE1lEzUwGMSz-fFSdK73AWJX7g-A8v5w6pvxirn3DKd89VBEN5E/s1600/10157095_658616987535989_955611730_n.jpg" height="320" width="283" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>About Milla V</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Milla V is the more
gentle alter ego of Carmilla Voiez. Milla's YA and NA novels have more
universal appeal than her somewhat extreme form of horror writing. The
Ballerina and the Revolutionary, to be released on April 1st, is her first full
length novel that can be regarded as Magic-Realism rather than horror.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;">Carmilla Voiez, a
British horror writer, resides in Scotland and writes from her home in Banff,
where she lives with her daughters and cats. Carmilla sold her Gothic Clothing
business in 2012 and has been writing and releasing top selling books and short
stories since then. A Goth for over 20 years, her books are inspired by the
Gothic subculture, magic and dark desires, exploring sexual obsession and
violence in often hard-hitting ways.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The first book, Starblood, which has been nominated for the Commonwealth
Book Prize, is set partly in the beautiful Cairngorm mountains and partly in
the city where she grew up, in South West England, she finds inspiration in
local beauty, stately homes, the Moray Firth and woodlands around the Scottish
town where she has lived the past 10 years.<br />
Carmilla Voiez won the title Horror Author of the Year 2013 from HFA and
FearVenture Author of the Year 2014. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Links<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://smarturl.it/Ballerina"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">http://smarturl.it/Ballerina</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">http://smarturl.it/CarmillaOn
Amazon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Facebook page
for Milla V - </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Milla-V/151766008361857?ref=hl"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Milla-V/151766008361857?ref=hl</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Blog for Milla V
and Carmilla Voiez – </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://carmillavoiez.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">http://carmillavoiez.wordpress.com</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Readings can be
heard on Room 13 Radio Podcast - </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/carmillavoiez/carmilla-voiezs-room-13-radio"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">https://soundcloud.com/carmillavoiez/carmilla-voiezs-room-13-radio</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-78560421225811169812014-03-23T00:30:00.000-04:002014-03-23T00:30:02.018-04:00Blood Sight by Lynn Townsend<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoCzgO7iK10a2KCZo2Pn0zjt2Vs-H8BPtAhBMIDaZyaS4RPesp66zensdEKVfB727xHa0BA3ERHWIK_OCPhzFPW_Ib-HyWHAAi63xneRl0j6aoTAi4ZB45lIruro7zefGqKEDjCE8xnQjw/s1600/bloodsightcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoCzgO7iK10a2KCZo2Pn0zjt2Vs-H8BPtAhBMIDaZyaS4RPesp66zensdEKVfB727xHa0BA3ERHWIK_OCPhzFPW_Ib-HyWHAAi63xneRl0j6aoTAi4ZB45lIruro7zefGqKEDjCE8xnQjw/s1600/bloodsightcover.jpg" height="400" width="285" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hello! Let me introduce myself; I'm Lynn Townsend, geek and
writer (yes, I self-identify as geek before any and everything else... I was a
geek before being a geek was cool; but I'm not gatekeepery about it. You look
like a PC! Come, join the party!) and this week, we're celebrating the release
of my second novel, Blood Sight, Book One in the Demoniac Codex, released by
Vamptasy Publishing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Which is totally awesome!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The book is awesome! Vamptasy is awesome! I'm pretty dang
awesome myself! And of course, You Are Awesome!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My daughter, who's ten, wants to be a forensic pathologist
when she grows up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I... wanted to be a writer. Although I often said that I
would be a teacher while I waited to make money doing the writer thing... that
last all the way up to my student-teaching days and then I wandered away,
shaking my head, saying, “Wow, I don't know what I was thinking...”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I first knew I wanted to write in fifth grade – before that,
I really didn't know it was a career choice. I thought all writers were dead,
which didn't seem like a good long-term plan for myself. But my teacher that
year had us make books, and I enjoyed it, quite a lot. I wrote a ten page story
– probably five times longer than anyone else in my class, and well above and
beyond what we were supposed to do for the assignment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But I only started writing professionally about 3 years ago.
In between, I have been a warranty coordinator for a trucking company, worked
in fast food and convenience stores, been an insurance collector for a funeral
home, been a copy-editor for a nuclear waste disposal proposal project, a
technical writer's assistant, a research and marketing specialist for an
insurance company, and an office manager for a real-estate firm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A lot – and I do mean quite a few – people have asked me why
the heck did I write another vampire novel? Aren't there enough vampire romance
stories out there?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, yes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But I've always been oddly fascinated with vampires. In high
school, I wrote a ten-page thesis paper on vampire mythology and real-life
vampires (including Elizabeth Batory, who I continue to suspect was framed and
arrested as a land-grab, political maneuvering sort of thing... )<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, I really wanted to try my hand at vampires; but I also
wanted to do it a bit tongue-in-cheek, because we all know that vampires really
are sort of done to death (ha ha, I made a punny!).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thus was born Rachael, my reluctant seer with the vampire
ex-boyfriend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Title: </b>Blood Sight (A Demoniac Codex novel)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Author:</b> Lynn Townsend</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Reluctant oracle and consultant for the Paranormal Police, Rachel Kristoff, has problems, and the vampire at her front door is only the beginning. Threatened by supernatural foes, hampered by her malfunctioning clairvoyance, and betrayed by the only family she has left, Rachael is forced to rely on her former lover. For the sake of both of their souls, she will make the only choice left open to her: Depend on the vampire, or die.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Bound to the bloodline of the Oracles since the fall of the Roman Empire, accused of murder, and betrayed by his own vampire Childe, Marcus Valerius is a relic of past glories better left in a previous era. For centuries, he has protected the children of Delphi against all who would control the future for their own purposes. Now, saving the life of the only woman he has ever loved means destroying the Oracular abilities he's sworn to protect.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In a world of angels and demons, vampires and werewolves, foresight and past lives, what you cannot foresee just might kill you...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>EXCERPT</u></b> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"You are an arrogant bastard,” I said. Millions,
trivial. Vampires and their ivory towers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"And rich. Do not forget that part.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Are you teasing me?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Perhaps. If you need to ask, I am not doing a
particularly good job with it. A curiosity, one that I have never been able to
understand,” Marcus mused. He rested his chin on his long fingers, studying me
with those depthless black eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"What is?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"It is nothing important. Merely that you seem to be
the only person I know who finds me more annoying than fascinating or
terrifying. Your reactions to me, I feel as if I were nothing more than a boy
trying to win the affections of his school-marm.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Um, thanks, I think. And you ain’t so charming as you
think you are. I learned that lesson well, even if it took me a while to do so.
You were a phase, Marcus, and I’m so over it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I didn’t quite meet his gaze; if Marcus wasn’t, as the
phrase went, over it, I didn’t want to see if he was hurt by my words. I had
enough guilt on that shelf already. Our last meeting had not gone nearly so
well as this one - I was still irate that he was here, but I could understand
why he was - and I had been beyond hateful in an attempt to sever our
relationship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"What was that colorful metaphor you used? Ah, I
recall. Get a stepladder and get over yourself. I daily make the effort, my
dear, although I fear it is you -”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Don’t go there, sanguire. We agreed not to speak of
that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>About Lynn Townsend</b> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivI94oJ6p4fBYRaQ1IbY5Cjs2kvQYuLtIPVd6EoFg9gt37Svc0jN5y9yK16Lw6qLCrrf8IOv-e2PgBs1fV6imxdaIpkNAJfAMJrdDlggLQ38-d561ws1mh-UwNPglxaZQq_1Rp2tQ_S3ra/s1600/bloodsightauthorpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivI94oJ6p4fBYRaQ1IbY5Cjs2kvQYuLtIPVd6EoFg9gt37Svc0jN5y9yK16Lw6qLCrrf8IOv-e2PgBs1fV6imxdaIpkNAJfAMJrdDlggLQ38-d561ws1mh-UwNPglxaZQq_1Rp2tQ_S3ra/s1600/bloodsightauthorpic.jpg" height="200" width="162" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lynn Townsend is a geek, a dreamer and an inveterate
punster. When not reading, writing, or editing, she can usually be found
drinking coffee or killing video game villains. Lynn's interests include filk
music, romance novels, octopuses, and movies with more FX than plot. She grew
up half in central Virginia, half in way-upstate New York and went to college
at William & Mary, where she met and later married a guy who grew up half in
Kentucky and half in Utica. They have one child, one murder-death-cat, a
turtle, and two chinchillas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>Links</u></b><br />
Blog <a href="http://paidbytheweird.blogspot.com/">http://paidbytheweird.blogspot.com/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LynnTownsendwriter">https://www.facebook.com/LynnTownsendwriter</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Amazon Author Page <a href="http://www.amazon.com/e/B005OQA0AA/">http://www.amazon.com/e/B005OQA0AA/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/tisfan">https://twitter.com/tisfan</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Goodreads: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5262501.Lynn_Townsend">http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5262501.Lynn_Townsend</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p> </o:p> </span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Links:</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-62551796470568401362014-03-17T00:30:00.000-04:002014-03-17T00:30:00.124-04:00Apocalypticon by Clayton Smith - Goddess Fish Promotions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii7JmqGCTxJPT6f9sO8OSzh4llIEdYDa8hrh5WhgDEqneUkw_UT7-QwMwh-X558hUHTPRAnLBGcISwTjP8rLYEHMR0xK5-RdRq-HXmZukr6aYgoc4v8mPcvNerKZwFRVRlWwrH802hlS7i/s1600/SBB+Apocalypticon+Book+Cover+banner+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii7JmqGCTxJPT6f9sO8OSzh4llIEdYDa8hrh5WhgDEqneUkw_UT7-QwMwh-X558hUHTPRAnLBGcISwTjP8rLYEHMR0xK5-RdRq-HXmZukr6aYgoc4v8mPcvNerKZwFRVRlWwrH802hlS7i/s1600/SBB+Apocalypticon+Book+Cover+banner+copy.jpg" height="400" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;">Apocalypticon<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">by Clayton
Smith<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Three
years have passed since the Jamaicans caused the apocalypse, and things in
post-Armageddon Chicago have settled into a new kind of normal. Unfortunately,
that "normal" includes collapsing skyscrapers, bands of bloodthirsty
maniacs, and a dwindling cache of survival supplies. After watching his family,
friends, and most of the non-sadistic elements of society crumble around him,
Patrick decides it's time to cross one last item off his bucket list.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">He’s
going to Disney World.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This
hilarious, heartfelt, gut-wrenching odyssey through post-apocalyptic America is
a pilgrimage peppered with peril, as fellow survivors Patrick and Ben encounter
a slew of odd characters, from zombie politicians and deranged survivalists to
a milky-eyed oracle who doesn't have a lot of good news. Plus, it looks like
Patrick may be hiding the real reason for their mission to the Magic Kingdom...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">EXCERPT</u>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They stood on the trestles and waved as the train pulled
slowly away. Horace blew the whistle in two short bursts and saluted from the
engine. When the train had cleared the highway, Ben turned to Patrick and said,
“Please tell me you remembered to pack an elevator.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Yeah, I did pack it, originally, but then there wasn’t any
room for my Little Orphan Annie decoder ring, so I took it out. But fear not,
young traveler, for I have the next best thing. Rope!” He pulled the nylon rope
from his bag triumphantly and let it uncoil over the side of the bridge. It
dangled just over the edge of the tracks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Brilliant. You brought a really useful three-foot
rope."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Well, I’m going to find a use for it somewhere,” Patrick
said, hurriedly stuffing it back into the bag. “You just wait.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You think we could jump it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Sure. It’s only twenty feet or so.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Are you being sarcastic right now, or serious? I can never
tell.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“This time, I’m being serious, mostly. Twenty feet isn’t
that many feet. It’ll probably hurt like hell, but we’ll live. Probably.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Words every man wants to hear in a world without doctors,”
Ben muttered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“There are doctors somewhere,” Patrick reminded him.
“They’re just not you or me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b><u>About Clayton Smith</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Clayton
Smith is a sometimes-writer, sometimes-napper based in Chicago, where he uses
neither his bachelor’s in journalism nor his master’s in arts management. He is
often calamitous, and good at bacon. He lives with his impressively tolerant
wife.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Clayton’s
previous works include Pants on Fire: A Collection of Lies and the comedic play
Death and McCootie, which debuted at the 2013 New York International Fringe
Festival.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Links:</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://www.stateofclayton.com/">www.StateOfClayton.com</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://twitter.com/Claytonsaurus">http://twitter.com/Claytonsaurus</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/Claytonsaurus">www.facebook.com/Claytonsaurus</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/author/claytonsmith">www.amazon.com/author/claytonsmith</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Kindle:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Apocalypticon-Clayton-Smith-ebook/dp/B00IRPTRHW/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://www.amazon.com/Apocalypticon-Clayton-Smith-ebook/dp/B00IRPTRHW/</span></a> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Paperback: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Apocalypticon-Clayton-Smith/dp/0989806839/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://www.amazon.com/Apocalypticon-Clayton-Smith/dp/0989806839/</span></a> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-63731752024779649512014-02-25T00:30:00.000-05:002014-02-25T00:30:00.715-05:00Sky’s End (#1 Cassiel Winters Series) by Lesley Young <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Title: Sky’s End (#1 Cassiel Winters Series)<br />Author: Lesley Young<br />Genre: Science Fiction, Romance<br /><br />A secret she must never share. A secret that two warring species are determined to control. A universe’s future at stake.<br /><br />Twenty-year-old Cassiel Winters joins Earth’s new space academy in hopes of finding her brother, one of Command’s top pilots and her only family, who’s been reported MIA. But she quickly realizes she may not be cut out for life in space, where female cadets are outnumbered, competition’s fierce, and she’s already failed her hand-to-hand combat test once.<br /><br />When Cassiel’s manipulated into a perilous mission, she encounters a warrior species bred to protect the universe from an even greater threat. And she learns that her secret visions are at the heart of it all. Now Cassiel must fight to control her own destiny and race to save her brother—even if it means pretending to be the pawn of Prime Or’ic, the cold-as-steel Thell’eon leader. Even if it means risking her life, facing hard truths, and making the ultimate sacrifice.<br /><b><br />Here's a short interview with the author!</b><br />Thanks for inviting me to a Q&A on your fabulous blog. I can’t wait to read one of your books R.A. Sears!<br /><br /><b>When did you first become interested in writing?</b><br />For fiction, it was three years ago. After reading Hunger Games, I realized I could, and wanted, to try to write genre.<br /><br /><b>Where do you get the inspiration for your characters?</b><br />They develop as I write them: I suppose initially they are inspired by the situations I want to put them in. The story’s mood is often influenced by music. And I find movies are a great source of plot possibilities—as in ‘wow’ I never realized you could just switch streams that way.<br /><br /><b>Are you interested in any arts, other than writing?</b><br />I am a movie and (closet) comic book fiend. And while I appreciate all arts as much as anyone, I find the combination of history and arts, e.g., visiting museums and listening to those audiotapes to hear the story behind the painting, a great escape.<br /><br /><b>Do you have a regular job, on top of being an author?</b><br />Yes! I am a full-time journalist. I write lifestyle, business and health stories for a wide array of Canadian magazines. It means my eyes are burning and my fingers numb when I finally get back to fiction at the end of the day.<br /><br /><b>What's on your agenda for 2014?</b><br />I am working on the sequel to Sky’s End, Sky’s Surrender. if you’ve never tried a novel set in space, Sky’s End is the one to ease you in. Its fast-paced plot, balanced world-building and wonderfully quirky heroine on a journey to kick-ass-dom will grip you! It’s available in ebook and paperback at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Skys-End-Lesley-Young/dp/1619352389/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392590994&sr=8-1&keywords=sky%27s+end">http://www.amazon.com/Skys-End-Lesley-Young/dp/1619352389/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392590994&sr=8-1&keywords=sky%27s+end</a><br /><br />Thanks for featuring me! <br /><b><br />EXCERPT:</b><br />“You would understand us,” Prime Or’ic beseeches me, hands out. He places them on the downcore, searching the room, until he spots what he’s looking for. He returns with a stool and sits on it, making him eye level with me. A first. “Our beliefs,” he starts and stops. I’ve never seen him this . . . uncertain. <br /><br />“Kirs spend a lifetime training and fighting Aeon. We strive to achieve a perfect Horde, knowing the likelihood is incredibly small. And still we prevail. To get the chance to have, to fight with a sift,” he corrects himself, “with you, is . . . sacred. Once given, it is understood to be a right that is earned.”<br /><br />“So you think I was, what, given to you?”<br /><br />He rolls his eyes, frustrated. Ah, that’s more familiar. When he focuses back on me, his eyes are different. Earnest, I think.<br /><br />“Think of how you ‘fell’ into our path. ESE sent you to our ship! You! When you took my beacon portal, then I knew for certain. It was our destiny to have a sift. You belong to us!”<br /><br />His vehemence scares me more than the simple deduction. Those things all happened, but not so that I could be his sift. Not even so I could help ESE get the sift (isn’t that ironic?). But so that I could save my brother Daz! I’m certain of this. Being their sift is not my destiny. And even if I believed in that crap, I would never belong to them. Or anyone.<br /><br />“I’m a human being, Or’ic!”<br /><br />“I know, I know,” he says, touching my hand with his.<br /><br />I pull away. I don’t like the way he’s looking at me. Not at all. He doesn’t understand that I wasn’t speaking literally. I meant to say that I’m not an object. But he continues, oblivious to his mistake.<br /><br /><b>And now, for my review! <br />Rating: 5 stars!</b><br />It's been a long time since I enjoyed reading a sci-fi novel. Honestly, they tend to get so engrossed in world-building that their characters take a backseat. That's not the case with "Sky's End"! Cassiel Winters leaps right off the page, and I think we could totally be girls if she were real. Lesley Young's writing style is crisp and, while we're clearly operating in a fictional world, she does it in such a way that disbelief is totally suspended. I love the internal monologue, and watching the way Cassiel grows as a person and changes throughout the duration of the novel. <br /><br />Admittedly, the page count was a bit intimidating when I opened it up on my Kindle and it said 415 pages. But before I knew it, I was 50 pages in and had been up an hour longer than I'd planned. It's very easy to get drawn in to Miss Young's vibrant prose. My only complaint about the whole thing is that it's written in present tense, but that's just a matter of personal taste. It's done well enough that I got used to it after the first few pages. Looking forward to the sequel! <br /><br /><b>About Lesley Young</b><br />Journalist Lesley Young never thought she would delve into the world of writing fiction, but when she sat down for the first time to put pen to paper, ideas for what would become her first novel just poured out naturally. Young’s first book, “Sky’s End,” is a multi-genre tale that showcases her unique style of weaving romance, action and wit into one page-burning story.<br /><br />Young was born in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. She holds an arts degree from the University of Alberta and a journalism degree from the University of Victoria.<br /><br />Young now lives in Loretto, Ontario where she works as a journalist, freelance writer and editor for health, décor and business magazines. Since 2008, Young has written more than 300 articles for print and online media including Profit, Toronto Life, MSN Green, and Elle Canada among others. She is a regular contributor to Reader’s Digest, Best Health, Canadian Living and House and Home Magazine.<br /><br />Young has won three gold honors for feature stories from the National Business Magazine Awards and another top media award from the Canadian Dermatology Association.<br /><br />Soul Mate Publishing released “Sky’s End” on July 15 in paperback and e-book and since its launch, it has remained an Amazon Best Seller. The novel is Young’s first installment in a series about Cassiel Winters, a futuristic heroine, and her outer space escapades.<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://lesleyyoungbooks.com/" target="_blank">LesleyYoungBooks.com</a><br /><a href="http://facebook.com/CassielWintersSeries">Facebook.com/CassielWintersSeries</a><br />@LesleyYoungBks<br /><br /><b>Amazon Buy Link</b><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Skys-Cassiel-Winters-Lesley-Young-ebook/dp/B00DXV8G9K/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1385512973&sr=8-1&keywords=%22sky%27s+end%22">http://www.amazon.com/Skys-Cassiel-Winters-Lesley-Young-ebook/dp/B00DXV8G9K/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1385512973&sr=8-1&keywords=%22sky%27s+end%22</a></span></div>
RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-16487909144415696562014-02-22T12:02:00.000-05:002014-02-22T12:07:15.149-05:00Editing, and how it can make all the difference<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is going to be a big year for me, as far as writing and publishing are concerned. I've just signed the first two books of The Ragnarok Legacy to Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly, and I have my first solo erotica piece hitting digi-shelves March 21st, with it's two following books to come later this year. And, while some people don't find it to be an important part of the process, I've come to discover that editing/revision are just as important as getting the words on the page in the first place.<br />
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Just to give you an idea of how awful editing/revising can be, this final version of my novel <i>Lunacy</i> went through FOUR entire rewrites. Four. I wavered between the book being from first person or third, then I realized that I couldn't relate to Kacea at all anymore because she was so much younger than I was. For some people, the age gap doesn't matter, but I wasn't a sixteen year old kid anymore when I got serious about things. So I made her a senior, wanting to be able to skip those awkward formative years of being an older teenager, and getting into more adult stuff at some point in the book. I completely changed the way she talked, the way she acted, and I think I made her a mature enough character that I didn't want to punch her in the face anymore. I've had people say "Teenagers don't talk like that. They sound too grown up." To be honest, that's exactly how my friends and I talked when we were in high school. If the intelligence level of society at large has dropped so low that all they can chat about now is the Biebs and Jersey Shore, we're in a sorry state indeed...<br />
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I digress. So anyway, I did a total overhaul of the deity and cosmology system. Originally, I'd written the story with some gods I created on my own, but they were half-assed and didn't do it for me. Now, we're totally immersed in Norse mythology, and I've woven it in with my werewolves in a way that I'm proud of and I'm fairly sure is unique to me. Although I've seen a lot of viking-esque tales on the rise, I don't think there's another quite like mine. =]<br />
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I've also been doing a lot of research on things to do to make your story sound more polished, look more professional. The basics of spelling and sentence structure are pretty much a given. Grammar... I feel like it's a fluid concept. You can end a sentence with a prepositional phrase and some people will have an aneurysm, but as long as the words flow together in a way that sort of removes you from the words and draws you into the world... I think you're golden. Stephen King is a master of sentence fragments, as is Laurell K. Hamilton. That's something that would have gotten you shot thirty years ago, but now, with so many books written in first person that run on an internal monologue, I don't think it's that big of a deal. There's a difference between someone being a true grammar nazi, and someone pointing out that you can't spell your way out of a paper bag. =P<br />
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Brevity is a big thing I'm learning to embrace when I write. During my first round of edits with <i>Lunacy</i>, I cut over 5000 words. Five thousand. Some people are publishing stories that are the length of crap I removed from my novel. Then I went through and found what I call my "crutch words". The words/phrases you overuse the most that add nothing to the story. My biggest ones are: suddenly, almost, a little/a bit, and smirk. Sometimes, just changing that one word brought in another paragraph of awesomeness. A change you think is insignificant can produce great effects in the long run.<br />
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So, to give you an example of how much things change for me, I'll give you a paragraph of one of my WIPs. It's a short for an erotica anthology that's centered on steampunk. My title is "Clockwork Heart".<br />
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Here's what the paragraph looked like at first:<br />
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<i>Zylphia Locke had heard all the tall tales. The ones about
the supposedly dashing airship captain, Jasper Colt. Between her two jobs,
working the ranch in the early morn and serving at the saloon once the sun went
down, she heard about him everywhere. His battle against the leader of the
Ratchet gang, which had led to the bandits breaking ranks and disappearing over
the horizon like a distant dream, was the most commonly gabbed about topic
lately.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And here's<i> </i>how it looks now. For now. It'll probably morph again before I'm done. =P<br />
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<i>I’d heard all the ludicrous tall tales. Lately, more and
more of them were about the devilishly handsome airship captain, Jasper Colt. He
was taking down pirates, saving little ol’ ladies, and Gods only knew what
else. His battle against the leader of the Ratchet gang, which had led to the
bandits breaking ranks and disappearing over the horizon like a distant dream,
was the most commonly gabbed about topic, in recent days. Between my two jobs,
working the ranch in the early morn and serving drinks and food at the saloon once
the sun went down, I heard about the scoundrel everywhere I went.</i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, as you can see. Editing can make a HUGE difference. To all my author friends, and those just starting to write!, grab those red pens and go to town!</div>
</div>
RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-18924404453163020862014-02-15T09:30:00.000-05:002014-02-15T09:30:01.150-05:00"From the Top" ~R.A. Sears COVER REVEAL! Hot Ink Press<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
From the Top<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivkT-S2FR2KTyzSR53O6LhP2vTBmi31Fmhdq5TQAHLqwRKO0rK90nSLLwkccwXCWi70jHZ_32THqZ9XnzmSkggJQWtm-RKGCpOAs_gn-RX1uGqQW5apVZC7QXCdD_VPeCMkVY8Rrfgosxi/s1600/rasearssized6-done!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivkT-S2FR2KTyzSR53O6LhP2vTBmi31Fmhdq5TQAHLqwRKO0rK90nSLLwkccwXCWi70jHZ_32THqZ9XnzmSkggJQWtm-RKGCpOAs_gn-RX1uGqQW5apVZC7QXCdD_VPeCMkVY8Rrfgosxi/s1600/rasearssized6-done!.jpg" height="400" width="275" /></a><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Author:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
R.A. Sears<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Series:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
Infernalia Chronicles, Entrance Saga #1<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Hot Ink Press<br />
<b>Genre:</b> Erotic Horror, Dark Fantasy<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> March 21<sup>st</sup>,
2014<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20321729-from-the-top"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Add
to your TBR List</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> on Goodreads<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/743906142305190/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Release Day
Party</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> on FB<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Cira's
just out with her friends, chilling at the mall on a normal weekend, when she
locks eyes with a gorgeous man across the food court. Her heart is set aflame
and the world around them burns to ash. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They've
been experimenting with human genetics since we first came into being; the
Infernals are denizens of a Hellish parallel world, and they've come to claim
Earth as their own. There's no better place to create their ideal being, a
creature with all of their strengths and none of their weaknesses.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<i style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Refusing
to kneel, Cira is taken in by a new master, the very same man she saw in the
food court before the world ended.A halfbreed with eyes full of hellfire and
the patience of a saint, Baxa awakens Cira's urge to dominate, and an
unfamiliar yearning to obey.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<i style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">His
disinterest in the Infernal breeding program puts her at ease, and sets her
nerves on fire. Can Cira resist this caramel skinned temptation, or will she be
consumed by the inferno of desire?</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><u>Excerpt</u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I greeted him at
the door by grabbing handfuls of his shirt and slamming him back against the
door to shut it. As I suspected, the very slight pain I caused him from the
jostling struck me a bit harder, causing me to arch against him, fingers tightening
in the cloth to fight against it. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Cira? What the hell are you doing?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I spun with him,
shoving him hard against the wall, crying out from the jolt it sent through my
body, but enjoying it in a way I’d never been able to admit to anyone. The heat
of the pain brought a gush of fluids between my thighs that I hoped he could
feel as I ground my hips to his, pinning him to the wall. I looked up into his
eyes and asked point blank, “Am I repulsive to you, Baxa?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He turned us
around with inhuman speed so I was trapped between the solid muscle of his
frame and the also immovable wall at my back, the impact knocking a bit of the
breath from my lungs. He gripped a fistful of my hair and tilted my chin up,
bringing his lips down hard onto mine, his tongue caressing every bit of my
mouth in a way that made my knees weak. His other hand, so gentle before, slid
beneath my shirt, wrapping those long fingers around my side and pulling me
against him with it as he fed from my mouth like my lips were an oasis and he
was dying of thirst in the desert. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When he finally
let me up for air, we were both panting, my pulse like thunder in my ears. His
voice trickled out as a growl that made me shiver, not wholly from fear. “I
want to take you until your voice is ragged from screaming and you’ve painted
your passion across my skin with your nails and teeth. Do you really think I
would want the same from someone I found repulsive?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">©
R.A. Sears 2014<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ6BavXymquX9M9IXXoCj50HBEHtiCx9F9GlU-f5AMTelvujU36WBtONQzNS6NCWbru2OYeEBIWK_Fk6DMV8BaEtN1R4bK-IwZr92LELD_DSa-dfrFWefbSF2fix1-epRjnR80XCd7gXTh/s1600/2014-02-09+16.25.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ6BavXymquX9M9IXXoCj50HBEHtiCx9F9GlU-f5AMTelvujU36WBtONQzNS6NCWbru2OYeEBIWK_Fk6DMV8BaEtN1R4bK-IwZr92LELD_DSa-dfrFWefbSF2fix1-epRjnR80XCd7gXTh/s1600/2014-02-09+16.25.21.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
<b>About R.A. Sears</b><br />
<br />
R.A. Sears has a cinematic writing style, heavy on the eclectic and strange. A lover of words, she took classes like anatomy and physiology in college--along with criminalistics--to better her craft. Her interest in mythology shines through in her prose, as well as her background in urban fantasy and the paranormal. A protector of all furry creatures and a NY native, she now lives in Maryland with her black cat Nergal, and a dog rescued from Afghanistan who goes by the name Renegade. She shares her space and time with her loving, supportive husband and her firecracker one year old son. “From the Top” is the first of three books in the Entrance Saga.<br />
<br />
<b>Connect with the Author</b><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0in;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/rasearsfiction" style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0in;">Facebook page</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0in;">
</span><a href="http://twitter.com/mkdarqchylde" style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Twitter</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0in;">
</span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/author/rasears" style="line-height: 115%; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amazon</span></a><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<a href="http://theragnaroklegacy.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Blog</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6474493.R_A_Sears"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Goodreads</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/mkdarqchylde/boards/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Pinterest</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/GothiqueSukkubus"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">YouTube</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
</div>
RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-31432501243831936332014-02-12T00:30:00.000-05:002014-02-12T00:30:01.205-05:00"Blood's Voice" by Áine P Massie - COVER REVEAL CHBB<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<b><span lang="EN-CA">Title:
<i>Blood’s Voice</i></span></b><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
<b>Author:</b> Áine P Massie<br />
<b>Series:</b> <i>House Millar, #1<br />
</i><b>Publisher:</b> Crushing Hearts &
Black Butterfly Publishing<br />
<b>Genre:</b> New Adult, Paranormal Romance<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> March 15th 2014<br />
<b>Add to </b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19473328-blood-s-voice">TBR List</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1374336012822426/">Release Day Party</a>
(March 15<sup>th</sup>)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5lKKTCQhgsdpa8zpDSwgkN6okhWsCUPApnVhg1WEQpoCs9g5l-L5dvCHDHz4ZXZ6V2EMsDDf3xSuM2DFMQRVBXfuXNO-2dL-x8RVQIw5nUNVnSiGel3m1gteS5JlFEhThjXRejWvTi7J/s1600/Blood's+Voice+CHBB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5lKKTCQhgsdpa8zpDSwgkN6okhWsCUPApnVhg1WEQpoCs9g5l-L5dvCHDHz4ZXZ6V2EMsDDf3xSuM2DFMQRVBXfuXNO-2dL-x8RVQIw5nUNVnSiGel3m1gteS5JlFEhThjXRejWvTi7J/s1600/Blood's+Voice+CHBB.jpg" height="640" width="432" /></a></div>
<br />
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<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Anya Millar
had no memory of her life or an instruction manual on how to navigate the
insane world of humans, biting, and reality. Instead, Anya has had to learn to
navigate the world of love, life, and sanity while avoiding those that would
see her dead or enslaved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">This is the
ongoing journey of Anya and Nicholas, human loving vampires and the human they
love, Declán. What makes it all more complicated is that they are abominations
in their own world and Declán is a natural born vampire hunter called a
Guardian.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Anya must come
to terms with who she is and her missing past, Nicholas must win back the
object of his eternal love while dealing with new cravings in his silent heart,
and Declán must learn to destroy the very creatures that he has unequivocally
given his heart and blood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="CSP-ChapterBodyText" style="text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="http://i1050.photobucket.com/albums/s418/apmassie/HM-promo/BloodsVoice-headerbanner_zps8864dd98.jpg"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f">
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<h3>
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #632423;">About the Author <o:p></o:p></span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOj7bfz9PdNVrUiC8JGT8Wlxpj80met_QzeIy6KkTqEFabvjWaFQaFjEy-PMlWAzXlS51Pf0B2m6rgTJD3V2ioqFMdY9x0EUaLLxqPpAf105rb5IerR7ktjB5k0hqdU9u1T3Qhl4R8LVJK/s1600/Aine-white.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOj7bfz9PdNVrUiC8JGT8Wlxpj80met_QzeIy6KkTqEFabvjWaFQaFjEy-PMlWAzXlS51Pf0B2m6rgTJD3V2ioqFMdY9x0EUaLLxqPpAf105rb5IerR7ktjB5k0hqdU9u1T3Qhl4R8LVJK/s1600/Aine-white.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
<h3 style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
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</w:wrap></v:imagedata></v:shape><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Áine P Massie is originally from Florida, she now lives in
Wisconsin where she works on her House Millar series full time while raising
four children (the term herding cats comes to mind). Her major in College was
Childhood Education (specializing in ages zero to five) with a minor study in
Deaf Culture/ASL. She is also a Wiccan priestess dedicated to the gods, family,
and love.<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<h3 style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Áine
is a proud member of the Rom-Critters, the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.rwa.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Romance Writers of
America<sup>®</sup></span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">, </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.celtichearts.org/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Celtic Hearts Romance
Writers</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">, and </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.rainbowromancewriters.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Rainbow
Romance Writers</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">. Áine has always had
a particular fascination with vampires, mythology, and the unusual. When she
can escape from her children and books, she enjoys . . . oh yes, reading,
playing, ritual, a good cappuccino, and working with her healing stones.<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<h3 style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Her
first published work came in high school where she was part of a writing and
drama group. However, she has been reading the likes of Shakespeare and Poe
since late elementary school and enjoys most forms of fiction. <o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<h3>
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #632423;">Social Contact<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> </span>Site – <span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://smarturl.it/apmassie"><span lang="EN-US">http://smarturl.it/apmassie</span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
Blog – <span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://smarturl.it/housemillar"><span lang="EN-US">http://smarturl.it/housemillar</span></a></span> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
Author FB – <span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://smarturl.it/apm-fb"><span lang="EN-US">http://smarturl.it/apm-fb</span></a></span> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
House Millar FB – <span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://smarturl.it/HM-fb"><span lang="EN-US">http://smarturl.it/HM-fb</span></a></span> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
Twitter – <span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://smarturl.it/anya-twitter"><span lang="EN-US">http://smarturl.it/anya-twitter</span></a></span> <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
Google + – <span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://smarturl.it/apm-g"><span lang="EN-US">http://smarturl.it/apm-g</span></a></span> <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-5097562295110428872014-02-09T00:30:00.000-05:002014-02-09T00:30:00.451-05:00NEWS! More goodies coming your way soon!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My erotic horror short "From the Top" will be hitting digital shelves March 21st, 2014! I'm having a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/743906142305190/" target="_blank">cover reveal event on FB</a> on February 15th, and you're more than welcome to attend. We'll have games and prizes(keychains, candles, bookmarks, ebooks, and more!), and you'll get a first look at the very saucy cover. ;)<br />
<br />
"From the Top" is the first novella in a trilogy called the Entrance Saga, set in the Infernalia Chronicles universe. Once all three parts are released, I'd like to put them together into one print version, and a digital box set.<br />
<br />
The story revolves around an average girl named Cira, and how her entire life is turned upside down when all Hell literally breaks loose in the middle of a shopping mall. The Infernals, demonic beings from a realm of fire and brimstone, have invaded. They plan to make our temperate, blue planet their own.<br />
<br />
Cira's never felt a connection with anyone like she does with Baxa, a caramel skinned diavol (an Infernal/human half-breed). With his eyes full of hellfire, intriguing scar, and the patience of a saint, how long can Cira resist her urges towards him? And does she even really want to?<br />
<br />
Erotica news aside, my novel "Lunacy" has been accepted by <a href="http://www.crushingheartsandblackbutterfly.com/" target="_blank">Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing</a>. So expect a new cover, and awesome revisions that fill in the few plot holes some people told me really got to them. Right now, the tentative release date for that is August 8th, so it's a ways off. Just wanted to share the good news with everyone!<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-22031322227088287142014-02-08T00:30:00.000-05:002014-02-08T00:30:01.931-05:00The Flower Box - Elodie Parkes 18+ HOT INK New Release!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmMcxa2VJ_D9qNs6x3hlUN3Pm9IfXxyucEocadj0RbO83boSEFBQxw2Dj5owVqI6JIrIclkk_AOucqpVopu_tDnqF0ZnwcnprUaUQkzGsn38cKLrZGQGaraX-Lg4dkG2wQPQ7cHugVxDN/s1600/TheFlowerBoxbanner1rgb98.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmMcxa2VJ_D9qNs6x3hlUN3Pm9IfXxyucEocadj0RbO83boSEFBQxw2Dj5owVqI6JIrIclkk_AOucqpVopu_tDnqF0ZnwcnprUaUQkzGsn38cKLrZGQGaraX-Lg4dkG2wQPQ7cHugVxDN/s1600/TheFlowerBoxbanner1rgb98.jpg" height="201" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Thank you for inviting me to
the blog today with my new release romance books.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Flower Box</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
and <i>Candy Hearts</i>, are released very
close together, February 7 and 14 by Hot Ink Press.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Contemporary, erotic romance,
and without my usual twist of paranormal, fantasy or magic, I’ve enjoyed
writing these love stories. They are both Valentine’s Day oriented stories, but
can be read anytime. Although they fit into the category of erotic romance,
because the bedroom door is open, they are classic romance stories with happy
endings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Flower Box</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
(February 7) Novella<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Alice longs for love. Oliver
wants to give her flowers and candy until he thinks she has another lover. Will
his jealousy drive him away from Alice or straight into her arms?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDLGkaUoOxYV2UPizTOaekd32dJvjOR3BcUr89CYSHhZUWWPtoGuEg9FsKwOqbK8AGxe5kr61G5rVRDxqqKF7_EAU9KkgkgSJ1XtEDLYPukxoOu_CdFQoj5ciKmVsSVqznCuYUoWzk1ON/s1600/REALflowerboxgreenribboncoverRGB98+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDLGkaUoOxYV2UPizTOaekd32dJvjOR3BcUr89CYSHhZUWWPtoGuEg9FsKwOqbK8AGxe5kr61G5rVRDxqqKF7_EAU9KkgkgSJ1XtEDLYPukxoOu_CdFQoj5ciKmVsSVqznCuYUoWzk1ON/s1600/REALflowerboxgreenribboncoverRGB98+copy.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<b style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Five behind the scenes facts from Elodie about <i>The Flower Box</i> and <i>Candy
Hearts</i></span></b><br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Candy Hearts</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> was originally going to be titled, A
Piece of my Heart. I changed it as I realized the importance of the hearts in
the story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Amber
Tom’s ex in <i>Candy Hearts</i> was
originally called Susie. Then I realized there’s a Susie in my book The Winter
Girl.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The Flower Box</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> was originally titled, A Random act
of Kindness and then I decided it wasn’t a very hot title for an erotic
romance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
very nearly had a male rival for Oliver in, The Flower Box and then decided it
wasn’t much of a twist and I do like my twists so I changed the story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5.<span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
designed five covers for The Flower Box and couldn’t decide which one I liked
best. Even now, I’m not convinced I chose the one with the right color scheme.
I always do that to myself, design heaps of graphics, and then can’t choose.
(laughs) </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Buy "The Flower Box" now for $2.99! <a href="http://a-fwd.com/asin-com=B00IA7OUWO" target="_blank">Click here!</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><u>About the author:</u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Elodie
Parkes</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
is a British author writing romance, erotic, contemporary, and often with a
twist of mystery, paranormal or suspense. Her books are always steamy, cool
stories and hot love scenes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Elodie lives in Canterbury with her two
dogs. She works in an antique shop by day and writes at night, loving the cloak
of silent darkness that descends on the rural countryside around her home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Elodie writes for, <a href="http://www.hotinkbooks.com/hot-ink-authors.html">Hot Ink Press</a>, <a href="http://www.moonrosepublishing.com/#!elodie-parkes/cio5">Moon Rose
Publishing</a>, <a href="http://www.eternalpress.biz/people.php?author=540">Eternal
Press</a>, and <a href="http://www.evernightpublishing.com/">Evernight</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She has also released titles as an
individual indie author.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Find
Elodie online: <a href="http://elodieparkes.blogspot.co.uk/">Blog</a> <a href="http://melodyelodie.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/ElodieParkes">Facebook</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ElodieParkes">Twitter</a> <a href="https://plus.google.com/114681167004175190514/posts">Google +</a> <a href="http://pinterest.com/melodyelodie">Pinterest</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHsKf5cy0pl7QcMmWcYluaA">YouTube</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Elodie-Parkes/e/B00AHBYPO4">Amazon USA</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Elodie-Parkes/e/B00AHBYPO4">Amazon UK</a> <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ElodieP">Smashwords</a> <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/elodie-parkes">Barnes and Noble</a> <a href="https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thelasttime-1213476-356.html">ARe</a> <a href="http://www.bookstrand.com/elodie-parkes">Bookstrand</a> <a href="http://www.evernightpublishing.com/night-of-the-horse-by-elodie-parkes/">Evernight</a> <a href="http://www.manicreaders.com/ElodieParkes/">Manic Readers</a> <a href="http://www.theromancereviews.com/EllieP">The Romance Reviews</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-25554152941188490612014-01-06T00:00:00.000-05:002014-01-06T00:00:06.610-05:00Cover Reveal: Shannon's Law by Emma Calin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6X1UzIjXgwdt9W-YmnKQrnaUqFkL1knJpKhalI04b2qMtGnwkACGwSLFB3TR-EoIaoI7aRDNsNk_4PYca-EwGO0BkE9QimPR1rJCVSFIz-qovKIwgQuKLD33OcKjkWTU-60A-DiYKD4Fr/s1600/Cover+Reveal+Banner+Shannons+Law+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6X1UzIjXgwdt9W-YmnKQrnaUqFkL1knJpKhalI04b2qMtGnwkACGwSLFB3TR-EoIaoI7aRDNsNk_4PYca-EwGO0BkE9QimPR1rJCVSFIz-qovKIwgQuKLD33OcKjkWTU-60A-DiYKD4Fr/s320/Cover+Reveal+Banner+Shannons+Law+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Title: Shannon's Law<br />
Author: Emma Calin<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">This is the second book in the ‘Passion Patrol Series’ - steamy action-romances that feature sassy female cops
who solve crimes, catch crooks and always get their man.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-GB">Shannon’s
Law Cover Reveal Draw<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB">$30/£20
Amazon voucher <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB">A
pair of tickets to her Avington Park Launch Party 2<sup>nd</sup> March (UK only)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">3
Advanced Review Copies of Shannon’s Law<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-GB">EVERY commenter will receive a FREE gift of an audiobook of the short
story Escape to Love. There will also be a $30 Amazon gift card awarded to a randomly drawn commenter. 3 randomly drawn commenters will receive an ARC of Shannon's Law!</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28591018">Enter the drawing for $30 Amazon GC and more!</a>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB">Blurb</span></b> </div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><i>Wild child inner
city cop Shannon Aguerri walks a dangerous line between her methods and
justice. When the bosses lose their nerve, after yet another maverick mission,
she is transferred to green pastures to play out the role of a routine village
cop. When she encounters signs of people and drug trafficking she homes in on
serious millionaire criminals. As a
loner she has attracted men but nothing has stuck. When she meets Spencer, the
hunky and widowed Earl of Bloxington, there is an immediate rapport between
them. Their social differences mean nothing to their passion and need. Already in the mix is an upper class female
rival – who has long plotted her way into the Earl's bed. The jealousy is an evil
shade of green and the anger is a violent scarlet. Often inhibited by a sense of duty and
honour, Spencer is slow to reveal his feelings. When Shannon confronts him with
the need to choose between her word and that of her rival, he does not
immediately support her. All the same, when they are forced together to carry
out a desperate rescue mission, their love is stronger than everything ranged
against them.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shannons-Law-Passion-Patrol-Romance/dp/1494290790/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387538164&sr=1-10">Shannon’s
Law USA</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shannons-Law-Passion-Patrol-Series/dp/1494290790/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1387471936&sr=8-7&keywords=shannon's+Law">Shannon's
Law UK</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">(Pre-order
paperback only at this stage)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">She will be
revealing snippets from the story, photos of places and people that inspired
the venues and characters on Pinterest during her pre-launch book tour. There are already some scrap-book cuttings
posted: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/emmacalin/shannons-law-launch-reveal-on-pinterest/">http://www.pinterest.com/emmacalin/shannons-law-launch-reveal-on-pinterest/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">There
is also news about the book on Facebook: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/ShannonsLaw">http://www.facebook.com/ShannonsLaw</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">(‘Likes’
are always appreciated.....)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">She's having two
launch parties “Afternoon Tea At Bloxington Manor”. The first is online on the
28<sup>th</sup> February on Facebook and the second is LIVE at the English
stately home that inspired the home of the hero on Sunday 2<sup>nd</sup>
March. A local favourite venue for her,
Avington Park in Hampshire is steeped in history and tradition. (Think genuine
Palladian style rather than Downton Abbey neo-Jacobean). The private owners
have kindly agreed to open up for the party with a tour of the house and then tea and
cake – oh, and launch the book of course!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOYNT5cSS434ayGKjcsVFsuwTtFCBBFFRirQKAm6DuQduuHPJ5NqfYm5KzyHSMCam_0OQ4ijrw3HC8ySBLqby9PqDiC9xJZvAXGA2-uF_FA9t1wdpK-jWj50CF2WAtXIk8rMJEZF5GfqNs/s1600/MEDIA+KIT+Emma+Calin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOYNT5cSS434ayGKjcsVFsuwTtFCBBFFRirQKAm6DuQduuHPJ5NqfYm5KzyHSMCam_0OQ4ijrw3HC8ySBLqby9PqDiC9xJZvAXGA2-uF_FA9t1wdpK-jWj50CF2WAtXIk8rMJEZF5GfqNs/s1600/MEDIA+KIT+Emma+Calin.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>About the Author</b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Emma Calin was
born in London in 1962. She currently lives in France and the UK.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">She has been
writing since childhood and has won numerous local, national and international
prizes for poetry and short stories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-GB">"Knockout!"
</span></b><span lang="EN-GB">is the first of the “Passion Patrol Series” a
stand-alone love story set against a backdrop of international gambling
corruption and deception. Interpol cop Anna Leyton finds herself torn between
love and duty when her professional and private life intersects. This book is now available in both paperback
and Kindle formats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB">“The Love
in a Hopeless Place Collection”</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"> is a bargain
anthology of 5 short stories and novelettes, available in paperback and digital
formats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB">"Sub-Prime"</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"> is a prize-winning hard hitting short story about courage,
exploitation and love. It is a raw and brutal exposé of life at the bottom in
the aftermath of recession. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB">"The
Chosen"</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"> is also a short story, set in modern times where working people
struggle to keep their dreams alive. A world where the promise of love
motivates desperate measures. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB">“Escape To
Love”</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"> is a 'novelette' (longer than a short story
but shorter than a novella), a gritty urban romance with suspense and mystery
but a love story at it's core. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB">“Angela” </span></b><span lang="EN-GB">a short story about a late-night taxi journey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> </span><b><span lang="EN-GB">“Love in a
Hopeless Place”</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"> a novelette about a middle-aged
woman striving to find her true identity.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMXWwfzR_qygtxG_3Xow2axwXzsGjzQLC7H_KiNRgkLW8ybJHz7MkT1-Pu8RrjeadwUB8VXFisvrLMUrFqn6kp9gz3Y1IPpUrMILlg7Vf0syHRghAYG7i0UPlxp4yDFjT2U-SN3qffCPUd/s1600/emmaseries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="78" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMXWwfzR_qygtxG_3Xow2axwXzsGjzQLC7H_KiNRgkLW8ybJHz7MkT1-Pu8RrjeadwUB8VXFisvrLMUrFqn6kp9gz3Y1IPpUrMILlg7Vf0syHRghAYG7i0UPlxp4yDFjT2U-SN3qffCPUd/s320/emmaseries.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB">Amazon links to books by Emma Calin<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shannons-Law-Passion-Patrol-Romance/dp/1494290790/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387538164&sr=1-10">Shannon’s
Law USA</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shannons-Law-Passion-Patrol-Series/dp/1494290790/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1387471936&sr=8-7&keywords=shannon's+Law">Shannon's
Law UK</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">(Pre-order
paperback only at this stage)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://bookshow.me/Knockout">Knockout! (Passion Patrol Series)</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.bookshow.me/boxed">The Love in a Hopeless Place Collection</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.bookshow.me/Subprime">Sub-Prime </a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.bookshow.me/Chosen">The Chosen</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.bookshow.me/Escape">Escape To Love</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.bookshow.me/Angela">Angela</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.bookshow.me/LIAHP">Love in a Hopeless Place</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> About.me page: </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://about.me/emmacalin">http://about.me/emmacalin</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Emma
Calin Blog: <a href="http://www.emmacalin.blogspot.com/">http://www.emmacalin.blogspot.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Emma
Calin Website: <a href="http://www.emmacalin.com/">http://www.emmacalin.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Facebook:
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/emma.calin">http://www.facebook.com/emma.calin
</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">and book page:</span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #7030a0;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/ShannonsLaw">http://www.facebook.com/ShannonsLaw</a><i><span style="color: #7030a0;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Twitter:</span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://twitter.com/EmmaCalin">https://twitter.com/EmmaCalin</a><i><span style="color: #7030a0;"><br />
</span></i>Pinterest: <a href="http://pinterest.com/emmacalin/">http://pinterest.com/emmacalin/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Goodreads: </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4915751.Emma_Calin">http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4915751.Emma_Calin</a></span></span></div>
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RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-65018779918538768022013-12-16T08:21:00.003-05:002013-12-16T08:21:50.363-05:00On indie authors & the importance of reviews <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
For a long time now, I've been wanting to do a post about this. Being a self published author myself, I know how important reviews are. However, I feel that many authors look at reviews through a very narrow window.<br />
<br />
The purpose of reviews is to let customers, or readers, know your opinion of a product. In this case, that product is our written work. It doesn't matter if it's a full length novel, a novella, or a short story. What matters is that you, as a reviewer, are giving your <b>honest</b> opinion of said product. But some indie authors are under the impression that the only reason anyone should ever write a review is to give them glowing praise. If you, like many indie authors, also review books, you have great potential for coming under fire by other independent authors.<br />
<br />
Let's say that you come across a novel that is on a freebie weekend through Amazon. Because it doesn't cost you anything, you figure you'll give it a shot. After all you can't go wrong with free, right? So you take your time to read through said novel, and while the plot is engaging and the characters interesting, the editing [or lack thereof] is positively atrocious. It takes you a week to read through a 200 page book, not because you didn't have enough time to read, but because you felt like you were having an aneurysm and your eyes were bleeding every time you read for more than 10 minutes. Because of this, you leave a 3-star review. If you look on Amazon at their definitions of each rating, 3 stars means "It was ok." Not the best thing you've ever laid eyes on, but not the worst either.<br /><br />So, to be diplomatic, you do what any good reviewer should. You give a few positive things about it that you enjoyed, and you also bring to light that someone with better eyesight than a field mole should have edited the piece. And now, if your Amazon reviewer profile states that you're an author, the shitstorm begins. You'll start noticing sudden, nasty reviews or messages on Goodreads, Facebook, and whatever social media you're a part of. Because these indie authors are used to people throwing unwarranted praise at their feet, they don't know what to do with a genuine piece of critique. "It's bashing! Bullying!" etc etc, blah blah blah.<br />
<br />
...Seriously, folks. We're not eight years old on the playground anymore. An intelligent adult just gave their honest opinion of something you wrote. If they said something you didn't agree with, it's probably in your best interest to suck it up, pay more attention to what they did like, and move on. I think I received a 3 star on "Lunacy", and the reviewer wasn't a troll who said "You suxx0rs, u r teh crappiest righter EVAR!" No, she actually pointed out a few things about the work that were bothering ME, the author, so my hopes that readers wouldn't pick up on those things were dashed. It's actually what urged me to do the final revision I'm working on, at the moment. And even though there were some things she didn't like, she still complimented a few parts.<br /><br />My point, through all this rambling, is this: don't be so damned thin-skinned, fellow indie authors. Some people will love you, some people will hate you, some people will only find your work mediocre. A middle of the road, or even BAD, review isn't something to start a war with the reviewer over. Grow up.<br /><br />/rant</div>
RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-79528432724978422982013-12-15T18:03:00.001-05:002013-12-15T18:03:36.437-05:00"Lunacy" revisions, and more<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Been a while since I did an update post, so I thought now would be a good time. We're coming up on the holidays, and life is totally insane. Also, planning a Christmas and first birthday for my son is getting increasingly stressful, but I'll work through it.<br /><br />Anyway, in the writing world, I've had my head buried in my final revisions of Lunacy. I'm about halfway through them now, and I plan to have them completely finished by my birthday (in February). When I hit a block and my eyeballs start bleeding, I've been off writing in naughty land. I've got an erotic short I wrote a while back being considered by an indie press, and I've started fleshing out plans for working on a few more and making it into a series. I actually have a regular novel series formulating in my brain--potentially containing occasional sex, but being centered more around plot--set in the same multiverse. I enjoy world building, a lot, and I actually made everything for this particular world quite a few years back for a roleplaying message board with some friends of mine.<br />
<br />
It's pretty complex, and I have a chart of key characters, along with a lot of numerical figures that are either genius or a bit obsessive. Either way, it's really fun to write in, and I'm looking forward to sharing it with you all. If I don't update again before the big day(s), Merry Christmas and Blessed Yule, and happy every other holiday to everyone!</div>
RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-67398958789984795012013-08-16T00:30:00.000-04:002013-08-16T00:30:02.925-04:00"Taken by the Passion" by Maxine Mansfield (REVIEW)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Title: Taken by the Passion</div>
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Author: Maxine Mansfield</div>
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Genre: Fantasy Romance</div>
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<i>Lizbeth wasn't given a choice whom to marry. She'd been betrothed to the stubborn, arrogant, egotistical, Adan Hammerstrike, barbarian prince, heir to the throne of Alaria, and...and...murderer, since the day she'd been born. But, did that mean she wasn't entitled to follow her own dreams? Especially if those dreams could keep those she cared for safe? And so what if Adan had grown from the troll of a little boy he'd been into a ridiculously handsome, sexy man. Her heart could resist him, couldn't it?</i></div>
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<i>The last thing on Albrath Adan ever wanted was to be saddled for all of eternity to the screeching, boring, lackluster, Lizbeth Soulenticer. Though her beauty's beyond compare, there are only so many turns of the hourglass in a night to enjoy it. The rest of the unbearable time, he'll be forced to contend with her silly hero worship, and her stupid pet choices. But, Adan is a man bound by duty and honor, and he will do what he must, even though he longs for a mate who will challenge him in bed and out. Not that he'll give her his heart, mind you, at least not until they both find themselves Taken by the Passion.</i></div>
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<b><u>EXCERPT</u></b></div>
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He held out a hand toward her. "Spend this one night with me, Lizbeth, and if you still feel the same in the morning, we'll talk about you possibly going to the Academy and taking a few classes now and then. After all, how would it look to my family and friends if my brand new wife took off before the sun rises on her wedding night? I have appearances to uphold, we both do." </div>
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Lizbeth sizzled with anger. "I don't like you, remember? I couldn't care less how this looks to anybody, and...and...and, I won't spend this night or any other with you, until I have to, even on a bet." </div>
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Lizbeth shook her head and turned to leave, yet Adan's next words not only stopped her forward motion but had her turning and facing him once more. </div>
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"I never took you for a coward, Lizbeth, guess I was wrong. You say you know me better than I know myself. I say prove it, Lizard. If you can manage to answer ten...no make that five questions about me correctly, you win." </div>
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His grin grew even bigger. "And if you win, not only will I escort you to the front gate and wave you through the portal on your way to the Academy, I'll be happy to inform my family and friends that you're leaving me. That you find a dusty, old institution more sexually appealing than you do your own husband, and rightly so." </div>
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The grin disappeared from his face. "But, if you don't answer all of the questions correctly, you'll spend this one night, this entire night, willingly in my bed, in my arms, as my wife, in every sense of the word. Deal?" </div>
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He held out his hand again, and Lizbeth stared at it. Her fingers itched with the temptation to take him up on his offer. A life without interference or being under Adan's thumb, even for a short while, was more than a little tempting. Could she trust him, though? Lizbeth hesitated, weighing her options. Other than being a bunny killer, Adan Hammerstrike was </div>
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known far and wide for his word. Once he gave it, he never took it back. She'd spent the majority of every day, for as long as she could remember, learning everything there was to know about the arrogant barbarian prince. She couldn't lose, and this was an opportunity she couldn't afford to pass up. </div>
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Lizbeth smiled as she shook his hand. "Deal."</div>
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<b><u>Author Biography:</u></b><i> </i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJL_2GuChTOmPsJb-kOugtWvyMo_ZQNn4_Ida-AJBbKNKwMTqFo8mYGvFWM_KNSYXHsvPDhy6RCkhyphenhyphen9L0NaiY4bsRkJboaeFuBKN1jvy7ekh_MQQB_gcfpIADTltfZhzxQciR8Z2xm12MJ/s1600/AuthorPic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJL_2GuChTOmPsJb-kOugtWvyMo_ZQNn4_Ida-AJBbKNKwMTqFo8mYGvFWM_KNSYXHsvPDhy6RCkhyphenhyphen9L0NaiY4bsRkJboaeFuBKN1jvy7ekh_MQQB_gcfpIADTltfZhzxQciR8Z2xm12MJ/s320/AuthorPic.jpg" width="320" /></a>Hi, my name is Maxine Mansfield and I write romantic fantasy. I live in the far northern state of Alaska </div>
where the summer days are long and the winter nights even longer. I have one very special man, our three equally special children, and six delightful grandchildren in my life. Not to mention a very bossy African Grey parrot named Gabriel. Oh, and Gnomes! Many, many gnomes.<br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://www.maxinemansfield.com/blog.html">http://www.maxinemansfield.com/blog.html</a><br /><a href="http://www.maxinemansfield.com/default.html">http://www.maxinemansfield.com/default.html</a><br />
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<a href="https://twitter.com/LeekyShortz">https://twitter.com/LeekyShortz</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/authorMaxineMansfield">https://www.facebook.com/authorMaxineMansfield</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Taken-Passion-Academy-Series-ebook">http://www.amazon.com/Taken-Passion-Academy-Series-ebook</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Taken-Passion-Maxine-Mansfield">http://www.amazon.com/Taken-Passion-Maxine-Mansfield</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/wildcatalog_v151">http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/wildcatalog_v151</a></div>
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<b><u>My Review</u></b></div>
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<b>5 Stars</b></div>
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This has to be one of the best romance novels I've ever laid eyes on. The love scenes were passionate, gripping, and hot. The world the story takes place in is complete, a full fantasy world, unlike most books in the genre that gloss over setting while focusing heavily on the relationship aspect. One of my favorite things from this book, which is totally unique in my opinion, was the rambling and vulgar rants of the gnomes. They provided comic relief on a scale I'm totally not used to. I found myself laughing out loud more than once while reading this.</div>
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My only real gripe with the book was that Lizbeth started out as a bit of whiner. As the book progressed, she found her fierce and let her Barbarian genetics show, and that made me happy. I discovered that this is actually the third in Maxine Mansfield's 'Academy' series, and seeing who the characters are in those books (who were secondary characters in this one) I'm seriously considering picking them up, as well.</div>
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I'm definitely going to recommend this to a few friends!</div>
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RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-87331746866851308172013-08-14T00:30:00.000-04:002013-08-14T00:30:01.996-04:00"Doublesight" by Terry Persun (REVIEW)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik0iwDcW3EI5xoyevbPGYdsf_EJiDS1dLNMeLMN5Yr4Lr7k7LaoTIzWuVdi6BC5k2Smo4WzYeuu9-q4ctMGm1KkT4kWXgmZ7lm4Vxkz74Pc0fV4jwRro3dpUYhmyy55Es3iWrJwdrZglKc/s1600/VBT_Doublesight_Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik0iwDcW3EI5xoyevbPGYdsf_EJiDS1dLNMeLMN5Yr4Lr7k7LaoTIzWuVdi6BC5k2Smo4WzYeuu9-q4ctMGm1KkT4kWXgmZ7lm4Vxkz74Pc0fV4jwRro3dpUYhmyy55Es3iWrJwdrZglKc/s320/VBT_Doublesight_Banner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Doublesight</span></b></div>
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Terry Persun</div>
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<i>In a world where shape shifters are feared by humans, and murder appears to be the way to eliminate them, finding and destroying the source of the fear is all the doublesight can do.</i></div>
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<i>After the Doublesight Wars, dangerous and mean-spirited shape shifters were killed off, causing other doublesight to hide their gifts, congregate into their own villages or clans, and avoid most humans.</i></div>
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<i>Zimp and Zora are the twin granddaughters of the crow clan’s sage. The reticent Zimp is relieved that she has not been chosen to take her grandmother’s position, but after Zora is murdered during an attack on the clan, Zimp is forced into her obligations. </i></div>
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<i>Rumors, stemming from Castle Weilk, suggest that dangerous throwbacks have been born—gryphons, harpys, dragons—and, once again the humans decide to hunt down all doublesight. Fear leads to mistrust, and mistrust to murder.</i></div>
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<i>The doublesight council assembles to assess the situation and sends five doublesight to investigate the rumors, placing Zimp in charge of four men. Struggling with her own intuitive abilities, and trying to hold a stable position as leader, Zimp finds herself in the center of a changing world and must decide on her real place within it. </i></div>
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<b>Intro to excerpt: </b></div>
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King Belford (who is human only) arguing with his son, Draklan (who is a doublesight) about the dangers of being a doublesight. The sisters mentioned in this piece are harpies. </div>
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<b>The excerpt: </b></div>
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“Just as the doublesight are a reminder of our sins, The Great Land also reminds us by going through its own changes. War changes the face of all of us. It makes us evil, builds hatred where hatreds never blossomed before. We fear, my son. That is what humans cannot escape from. We fear whatever we cannot do, whatever we cannot see, and whatever lives differently.” King Belford pulled his son closer. “I am tired of fear, yet I feel it rise inside me every day. What am I doing by allowing the sisters to live the way they must live? How long can I be partial to their feedings without losing my own sanity? I grow tired of allowing the killing to go on. I can only imagine what my brother must go through.”</div>
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“I only wish for it all to stop,” Draklan said. He straightened and shrugged to loosen his father’s grip. “As long as the doublesight are alive there will be the potential for horrible beasts like the sisters. The gargoyles of the past are returning. The demons of history will destroy everything unless we stop it. I know that I am a doublesight, but I also know that what I say is true. We do not deserve to live if we are the downfall of The Great Land.”</div>
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“Only some doublesight are dangerous.”</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5WDDaBTLXec3aQuik3dlSLzpWYcYLUnsecZC3HECs7b1gDkZusPJWZN_bGzz1UGiBug04Ds6kvCZIjDtJNpb0aIScaMMoh_51wWmik92m6h7MeT9Mh2ld8pO7T6pYkFO7KxYa60zqeIKX/s1600/Doublesight+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5WDDaBTLXec3aQuik3dlSLzpWYcYLUnsecZC3HECs7b1gDkZusPJWZN_bGzz1UGiBug04Ds6kvCZIjDtJNpb0aIScaMMoh_51wWmik92m6h7MeT9Mh2ld8pO7T6pYkFO7KxYa60zqeIKX/s320/Doublesight+Cover.jpg" width="204" /></a>Draklan leaped from the bench and walked to the center of the chamber before he turned toward King Belford. “I killed my own mother,” he said pounding his fist into his chest. “That is dangerous enough.”</div>
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“You were a child.”</div>
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“Had I killed you in that same moment, your generals would have slain me on the spot. Had they seen me, even now…”</div>
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“Three generals have seen you. My brother, one of them.” His father stood, planting his feet firmly and lifting his chin with bold abandon. </div>
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Draklan glared. “Yes, the father of the sisters. What would he say? That you and he are ruining your lives for the sake of throwbacks?” He spit the words as though they were vile creatures. “The other two are afraid of what I or the sisters might do if they said one word. Talk about fear.” Draklan motioned toward the window behind him. “If your subjects had any idea what I was, what mother was, would they stay outside these walls?”</div>
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“They might.”</div>
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“Out of fear, as you say. Out of fear and nothing more,” Draklan said.</div>
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“Every human longs for what it feels like to shift.”</div>
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Draklan shook his head. “They wouldn’t want to know the pain. The doublesight spend their time battling their own longings, their own hunger. They are tormented, constantly at war with themselves.”</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Biography</span></b>:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_d6kRHzQVqnwig8Q_BsqUDg_Ji0XwHoJIoWhKJVm3LQREzLCKOc_dy2a3Npsw9oR2Bt9ERnn4lm18IatkFLFESDPOp7W51WpKu670EBwBstkeHsKXS0sbF1XSmvELFlWZnDb3zBlWW6lj/s1600/AuthorPic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_d6kRHzQVqnwig8Q_BsqUDg_Ji0XwHoJIoWhKJVm3LQREzLCKOc_dy2a3Npsw9oR2Bt9ERnn4lm18IatkFLFESDPOp7W51WpKu670EBwBstkeHsKXS0sbF1XSmvELFlWZnDb3zBlWW6lj/s320/AuthorPic.jpg" width="320" /></a>Terry Persun is an award winning author and a #1 Amazon bestseller. He is also a Pushcart nominee. His mainstream novel, “Wolf’s Rite”, was a Star of Washington award winner, a POW! Award winner, and a ForeWord magazine Book of the Year finalist. His science fiction novel, “Cathedral of Dreams”, was also a ForeWord magazine Book of the Year finalists. And his historical novel, “Sweet Song”, won a Silver IPPY Award for best regional fiction. His latest novel, “Doublesight”, is Book One of his new epic fantasy series. His latest poetry collection is “And Now This”. Terry writes in many genres, including historical fiction, </div>
mainstream, literary, and science fiction/fantasy.<br />
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AUTHOR CONTACT INFORMATION</div>
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Direct email: TerryPersun@gmail.com </div>
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Website: <a href="http://terrypersun.wix.com/terrypersun">http://terrypersun.wix.com/terrypersun</a> </div>
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Author Magazine Blog: <a href="http://authormagazineonline.wordpress.com/">http://authormagazineonline.wordpress.com/</a> </div>
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Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TerryPersun.Author">https://www.facebook.com/TerryPersun.Author</a> </div>
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Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/tpersun">https://twitter.com/tpersun</a> </div>
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LinkedIn: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=3196367&goback=%2Enmp_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1&trk=spm_pic">http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=3196367&goback=%2Enmp_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1&trk=spm_pic</a> </div>
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Pinterest: <a href="http://pinterest.com/terrypersun/boards/">http://pinterest.com/terrypersun/boards/</a></div>
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Buy Links:</div>
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Amazon Kindle: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Doublesight-ebook/dp/B00BOWTX92">http://www.amazon.com/Doublesight-ebook/dp/B00BOWTX92</a></div>
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Amazon Print: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1620151146">http://www.amazon.com/dp/1620151146</a></div>
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Booktrope Publishing: <a href="http://booktrope.com/book/doublesight/">http://booktrope.com/book/doublesight/</a></div>
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Barnes & Noble: <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/doublesight-terry-persun/1114745892?ean=9781620151143">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/doublesight-terry-persun/1114745892?ean=9781620151143</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">MY REVIEW</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">4 stars</span></b></div>
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Absolutely loved this one! A great fantasy novel with an interesting take on shapeshifters. I like that the main character is a crow shifter, rather than the overdone werewolf/feline type. Filled with the ever-present clash between humans and doublesight(shifters), this is a must-read for any lovers of the fantasy genre.</div>
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RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-73165481604000919982013-08-12T00:30:00.000-04:002013-08-12T00:30:02.220-04:00"Water Dark" - F.T. McKinstry (REVIEW)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Water Dark</span></b><br />
F.T. McKinstry<br />
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<i>In the western-most crumbling halls of a mountain citadel lives a lonely wizard named Urien, a master of his art and a fledgling priest of a primordial goddess of transformation. Though his training is extensive, no training could prepare him for a broken heart. For years he has lived on the fringe after having loved and lost a powerful male wizard on the verge of ascension. But such wounds do not hide well. When he delves into the darker powers at the bidding of a shady priestess, Urien's heart reveals itself as a grim warning from the goddess herself, in the shape of a wolf.</i><br />
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<i>In the wake of this unsettling experience, Urien discovers that his most gifted apprentice, a beautiful, wild-tempered woman—and the partner of his erstwhile lover—is in grave danger. A series of swift-moving mishaps including a second warning and a badly backfired protection spell lands Urien into a love triangle that exposes not only his deepest desires but also the black machinations of the priestess who deceived him. When she wields her full power against him, he must reconcile his heart in order to save his lovers and himself from isolation and death.</i><br />
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Urien stood in his chamber in the West Quadrant, staring out the window as early evening cloaked the mountains. The setting sun cast long shadows and painted the fallen leaves and barren trees in shades of mauve and apricot. Heavy, gray clouds with golden edges moved slowly across the sky. It would be very cold tonight beneath a waning moon.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
He gripped Wilima's poppet tightly in his hand. Over a week had passed since the priestess had breathed life into it. Unsurprisingly, the spell had not worked; she had not been able to penetrate Rosamond's space without interference. Whether this happened because of his unblessed water—as he had hoped—or because Rosamond lived under the protection of a mothos, Urien could not be sure.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But Wilima would not let it be. Not her! Two days ago, under a Wolf Moon, she had put into the poppet a wiry, white lock of her hair, a drop of her own blood and a bit of broken fingernail stained by wine. The coarse doll itched his palm, his fingers. He opened his hand and glowered at it in disgust; his nostrils flared as he studied the underside where the priestess had ripped out the seams to shove in the new ingredients. This will allow me through, she had said, blinking as she snatched the needle back and forth with her little bony fingers. Now all you have to do is throw it into a well.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A well? This did complicate things.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Water, Eaglin had said. She will drown.</div>
<div style="text-decoration: underline;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfEUksrpcXD5LQHMdMw4IN-7iZvrgbLKxyHX94PbqV1uzfdQoiNLwe1G9oem6slFyRuElpWqn117_DMjdlCnDzbMd3EWHlASgtrfoNyFDBy2VOJxoJ1vZvNYNBkm2oamgBLgfo6-pjpTjR/s1600/Faith%2527s+picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfEUksrpcXD5LQHMdMw4IN-7iZvrgbLKxyHX94PbqV1uzfdQoiNLwe1G9oem6slFyRuElpWqn117_DMjdlCnDzbMd3EWHlASgtrfoNyFDBy2VOJxoJ1vZvNYNBkm2oamgBLgfo6-pjpTjR/s1600/Faith%2527s+picture.jpg" /></a></div>
<div>
<b><u>Biography</u></b></div>
<div>
F.T. McKinstry grew up studying music and classical literature, and at a young age acquired a deep love for fantasy and the esoteric, of which she was an avid reader. J.R.R. Tolkien was her most powerful influence. With a background in computer electronics and software development, she wrote and illustrated technical documentation for many years, during which time she created the fantasy world of Ealiron. A lifelong study of plant and animal lore, shamanism, psychology, mysticism and Northern European mythology and folklore provides inspiration and scope for her work. Her published work includes The Chronicles of Ealiron, Wizards, Woods and Gods: Tales of Integration, and Water Dark. Many of her short stories appear in Aoife's Kiss and Tales of the Talisman.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><u>Links</u></b>:</div>
<div>
Website: <a href="http://ftmckinstry.com/">http://ftmckinstry.com/</a></div>
<div>
Blog: <a href="http://ftmckinstry.com/blog/">http://ftmckinstry.com/blog/</a></div>
<div>
Goodreads: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5211061.F_T_McKinstry">http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5211061.F_T_McKinstry</a></div>
<div>
Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ftmckinstry">https://www.facebook.com/ftmckinstry</a></div>
<div>
Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/ftmckinstry">http://twitter.com/ftmckinstry</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><u>Buy links</u></b>:</div>
<div>
Wild Child Publishing: <a href="http://www.wildchildpublishing.com/fantasy-c-77/water-dark-p-427.html">http://www.wildchildpublishing.com/fantasy-c-77/water-dark-p-427.html</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><u>My Review</u></b></div>
<div>
5 stars</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
This is my introduction to the literature of FT McKinstry, and I'm positively in love with their writing style! The work flowed at a perfect pace, we were introduced to several conflicts, and their resolutions.The characters had depth and personality, and the descriptions were vivid and pulled me right in. I also love how magic is treated like a science.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My only complaint was that a lot about their magickal systems and ranking structures hit you all at once, like you should've already known what it meant from a related, or prior,book. Even with that, I'd definitely read more from this author.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-46610109550824924922013-07-31T00:30:00.000-04:002013-07-31T00:30:00.468-04:00"Burn on the Western Slope" by Angela Smith - Super Book Blast<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Title: Burn on the Western Slope<br />
Author: Angela Smith<br />
<br />
<i>On the ski slopes of Montana, deception turns deadly and seduction becomes more hypnotic than jewels.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Reagan McKinney is on a mission to discover more about a deceased uncle who mysteriously left her a sizable inheritance, a condo in the mountains, and a stash of stolen jewels. With both her graphic design career and her love life in shambles, the opportunity to begin a new life couldn’t have come at a better time. When she becomes involved with the sexy FBI agent next door, she finds her struggle is not only to keep her heart intact, but her life.</i><br />
<i> </i><br />
<i>Grief stricken after an undercover investigation ends in the tragic death of his partner, FBI Agent Garret Chambers goes home to find solace in the arms of his mountain home. That is, until his boss assigns him to investigate the spirited brunette staying in the condo next door. He is assigned to investigate Reagan’s involvement with a large jewel fencing organization, but his investigation becomes comprised when his attraction to her heats up. Will his discovery destroy everything he has come to love, including Reagan?</i><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>EXCERPT</b></div>
<div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbl_5o5g44i32IEkHNW12h3YQ_hxzPuqjOvLijbxyNucuanZuqlT0gFLFEC9Q7hvdH2UjVuA7zieBKiRIlZLCgVdHe4HZIjq-hpNhZVdKtwYFibVsTZpG68Zvt8yf6MBWxtoEeNfkGLWnA/s1600/Cover_Burn+on+the+Western+Slope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbl_5o5g44i32IEkHNW12h3YQ_hxzPuqjOvLijbxyNucuanZuqlT0gFLFEC9Q7hvdH2UjVuA7zieBKiRIlZLCgVdHe4HZIjq-hpNhZVdKtwYFibVsTZpG68Zvt8yf6MBWxtoEeNfkGLWnA/s320/Cover_Burn+on+the+Western+Slope.jpg" width="208" /></a>“I’m not sure I’m ready for that,” Reagan said, running her tongue over her lips as she rested her glass on the counter. “Skiing, that is,” she quickly added. He would never know she’d been thinking of kissing him, but she had to force herself to look away from his mouth. Nudging Naomi, she stood. “It’s time for me to go. I need to settle in. I haven’t even unpacked yet.” And she had no intention of doing so now, but it was a good excuse to leave. She wiped her hands on her jeans before extending her hand to his, praying hers weren’t clammy. “It was great to meet you.”</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Garret grasped her proffered hand and nested his other on top, engulfing her hand. She burned. Everywhere. “Meet me on the slopes tomorrow?” </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Reagan bit her lip and glanced at the floor. “Tomorrow? I don’t know. I might need a little more time to get used to this place.” </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
“We’ll start with sledding. You can’t not like sledding.”</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She didn’t know, seeing as how she’d never done it, but cozying up to him at a hundred miles an hour would probably be amazing. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
“I’m safe,” Garret said as he dropped his hand.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
“You’re what?” she asked, meeting his eyes. Maybe he was a good guy in most people’s standards, but he made her heart beat too fast to be anything but dangerous.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
“I’m harmless. Several people in town will vouch for me.”</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
“But I don’t know them either.” </div>
</div>
<div>
<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZ5dFJVcGBqtAgCwWljCJ2idpO-H0d4KVVA3blUHp3fZzD-5O_hFXKajstt_8NHF1HilHGYDjmh8sDsxJuEYLAexkvseNbPLRShAeQoWzYWNY96i-ZpzQv85ES8qc3_yF0zkYr_CLFyJ-/s1600/AuthorPic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZ5dFJVcGBqtAgCwWljCJ2idpO-H0d4KVVA3blUHp3fZzD-5O_hFXKajstt_8NHF1HilHGYDjmh8sDsxJuEYLAexkvseNbPLRShAeQoWzYWNY96i-ZpzQv85ES8qc3_yF0zkYr_CLFyJ-/s320/AuthorPic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<b><u>Author Biography</u></b></div>
<div>
<div>
During my senior year in high school, I was dubbed most likely to write a novel because I always had my nose stuck in a book. I would hide my romance novels under my history book until my teacher called me out on it. Writing has been my dream ever since my mother read Brer Rabbit to my sister and me so often that we were able to recite it back to each other before actually learning to read. I love reading about the adventure of love, and getting involved in the legal field developed my love of suspense. I believe love is a mystery that most people have trouble resolving. While I don’t expect we’ll ever solve that mystery, I love to read and write about characters who work to solve their love’s mystery. See more about me at my website <a href="http://www.loveisamystery.com/">http://www.loveisamystery.com</a> or tweet me <a href="http://twitter.com/angelaswriter" target="_blank">@angelaswriter</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Publisher Website: <a href="http://www.crimsonromance.com/">www.crimsonromance.com</a></div>
</div>
</div>
RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-55491256452916273612013-07-30T00:30:00.000-04:002013-07-30T00:30:01.956-04:00"Demon Within" by Rebecca Royce (REVIEW)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Demon Within</b> by Rebecca Royce</span><br />
Dakota Daniels is an exorcist. Or at least she used to be, until a demon destroyed her life, killing her mother and sending her into hiding. She never knows what’s around the next corner or whether she’ll live through the night.<br />
<br />
Brady Knox, billionaire tech guru and media darling, is a man used to getting what he wants. Except when it comes to his sister Sydney. She is the secret he never tells a soul. After all, how do you tell the world your sister has been possessed since she was ten years old without seeming like a lunatic?<br />
<br />
When Brady seeks out Dakota’s assistance, he expects to get it. When she doesn’t comply, he’s willing to use every resource at his disposal—even if that means seducing her into doing his bidding.<br />
<br />
Dakota’s body yearns for Brady but she isn’t easily fooled, and if she decides to help him it will be on her own terms—assuming they can both make it through the night with their souls intact.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>EXCERPT</b><br />
Her mother would have said hot weather in February meant the devil had come out to play with the humans for a spell. But the newscasters said climate change was causing the balmy winter nights in Queens.<br />
<br />
Maybe they were both right.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSijpAaxjS4ee7SePM94tlKpLq84-bthl0uu9Q3JqIso9CCJQqQlo77CoEIfxgRSlIgMYHQG6Sf2s8GGysBSIRXsyGtC_Hre1C4CKRVY85bI_ATqWSSeebj1iAWEEsvcyhxtUDEgvc70Hb/s680/Cover_DemonWithin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSijpAaxjS4ee7SePM94tlKpLq84-bthl0uu9Q3JqIso9CCJQqQlo77CoEIfxgRSlIgMYHQG6Sf2s8GGysBSIRXsyGtC_Hre1C4CKRVY85bI_ATqWSSeebj1iAWEEsvcyhxtUDEgvc70Hb/s320/Cover_DemonWithin.jpg" width="194" /></a></div>
The long-dead voice of her mama wafted through her tired mind. Come on, Dakota girl, let’s send the demons back to where they belong and tell them not to bother us here. You and me, we’ll send them back.<br />
<br />
“Excuse me.”<br />
<br />
Dakota jumped an inch in the air and whirled around, the keys to the nursery school falling from her hand onto the sidewalk, clanking as they hit the ground. Her heart lodged in her stomach as she automatically reached to cover her throat. She didn’t like surprises and she liked being snuck up on even less.<br />
<br />
Behind her stood a stranger, illuminated by the overhead light that came on at 6 p.m. every evening. She could see him quite well despite the dimming sunlight and the impending darkness. Tall and broad-shouldered, he filled out his gray suit as though it had been tailor-made for him, which she suspected it had been since it looked just like the ones she saw in advertisements with names like Versace and Armani on them. Hours spent reading fashion magazines coupled with her summer job in a department store had taught her to tell the difference between real and fake couture.<br />
<br />
<br />
Not wanting to be surprised by a demon she knew she would be ill-prepared to deal with, she turned on her second sight and took a quick glance at his aura. It hurt to open her third eye—not surprising, since it had been eight years since she’d willingly engaged in the activity.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Biography</span></b></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As a
teenager, Rebecca Royce would hide in her room to read her favorite romance
novels when she was supposed to be doing her homework. She hopes, these days,
that her parents think it was well worth it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Rebecca is
the mother of three adorable boys and is fortunate to be married to her best
friend. They’ve just moved to Texas where Rebecca is discovering a new love for
barbecue!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjymsbjQECKkEAbjqfewqx7Sgy5rJ01wCJ3xJsCxI9JKHXCvLu39t0OqFr2UsF8G3uG2Tmu7fDP1a63LVAhZHMMdlu1pfegZ15CwkUt2dhLFD0kvKP__R1xolhnHfRim4rYDlUt2bGdTNbY/s353/AuthorPic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjymsbjQECKkEAbjqfewqx7Sgy5rJ01wCJ3xJsCxI9JKHXCvLu39t0OqFr2UsF8G3uG2Tmu7fDP1a63LVAhZHMMdlu1pfegZ15CwkUt2dhLFD0kvKP__R1xolhnHfRim4rYDlUt2bGdTNbY/s320/AuthorPic.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She's in love
with science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal and tries to use all of these
elements in her writing. She's been told she's a little bloodthirsty so she
hopes that when you read her work you'll enjoy the action packed ride that always
ends in romance. Rebecca loves to write series because she loves to see
characters develop over time and it always makes her happy to see her favorite
characters make guest appearances in other books.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In Rebecca
Royce's world anything is possible, anything can happen, and you should suspect
that it will.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Website: <a href="http://www.rebeccaroyce.com/books.html">http://www.rebeccaroyce.com/books.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.rebeccaroyce.com/">www.rebeccaroyce.com</a></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://rebeccaroyce.blogspot.com%20/" target="_blank">http://rebeccaroyce.blogspot.com </a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://twitter.com/rebeccaroyce">https://twitter.com/rebeccaroyce</a></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rebecca-Royce/172551376131638?sk=wall">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rebecca-Royce/172551376131638?sk=wall</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy Links:</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Barnes &
Noble: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/demon-within-rebecca-royce/1115474803?ean=9781419943546">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/demon-within-rebecca-royce/1115474803?ean=9781419943546</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ellora’s Cave
Publishing: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.ellorascave.com/demon-within.html">http://www.ellorascave.com/demon-within.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CZBHA50">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CZBHA50</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Current and
Upcoming Works</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Outsiders</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Love Beyond
Time<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Love Beyond
Sanity <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Love Beyond
Loyalty <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Love Beyond
Sight <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Love Beyond
Expectations…coming soon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Westervelt
Wolves<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Her Wolf<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Summer’s Wolf<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Wolf Reborn<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Wolf’s
Valentine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Wolf’s Magic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Alpha Wolf<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Angel’s Wolf<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Darkest Wolf <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lone
Wolf…coming soon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Warrior<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Initiation<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Driven<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Subversive<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The
Conditioned<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Eye Contact<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Embraced<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sexy
Superheroes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Screwing the
Superhero<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Banging the
Superhero<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Other Works<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Behind The
Scenes <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">First
Dimension<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, Captain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Return to the
Sea<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One Night
With A Wolf<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another Chance<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Light Me Up<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I’ll Be Mated
For Christmas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Edge
stories: Unwanted Mate, Bar Mate, Mate by the Music, Out of Place Mate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Love In One
Night<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hexed and
Vexed…coming soon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">February
Lover…coming soon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Finding Her
A-Muse-Ment…coming soon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Forever</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">My Review</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">4 Stars</span><br />
I liked that this novella had an element of horror to it. The premise is that Dakota Daniels is an exorcist who's gone into hiding. Content working at a nursery school, she's propositioned by Brady Knox, a man with more money than God who needs Dakota's help to free his sister from the claws of a demon. Of course, Dakota isn't ready to willingly dive back into her old profession after what happened to her mother. Her resistance leads to a steamy romp and the two of them tackle the monster together.<br />
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I enjoyed the author's style, and my only real complaint was that the story was so short. I feel like the adventures of Dakota and Brady could extend into a full novel, or maybe even a short series. Her imagery is vivid, and Miss Royce sticks to pretty standard creepy-crawlies when it comes to the horror element of the demons. The love scene was engaging, and passionate. I'd read more by this author.</div>
RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-69014820740033193192013-07-23T00:30:00.000-04:002013-07-23T00:30:02.265-04:00A Harbour Falls Mystery series by S.R. Grey REVIEW - Nevermore PR Tour<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKI1RtCHg2ToVutfq3jJ3YMZ2Se7DP2ljcQkeaW5JDyyjCW3cFdWoxy06vccfWcbIlW2RCPd8SQ9ON0Ur-naAyKLM9kBKiPwxD15qsKhYIdbOA9UcZufpe7_uG5s8E29WMNjonblqLrLME/s1600/HARBOUR+FALLS+TOUR+BANNER.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKI1RtCHg2ToVutfq3jJ3YMZ2Se7DP2ljcQkeaW5JDyyjCW3cFdWoxy06vccfWcbIlW2RCPd8SQ9ON0Ur-naAyKLM9kBKiPwxD15qsKhYIdbOA9UcZufpe7_uG5s8E29WMNjonblqLrLME/s400/HARBOUR+FALLS+TOUR+BANNER.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBWBTLzK1gExGqLeDAxSwuKbGJBEbJvwQfDsy9UxbmxBIHlZXw48vb-x5dLJtXgFdurfkbVQYWeVHukYSZJERV86Z3SpKBXer1bpy0HkxqknyUTyrMQHlkBHkdLNjxcD_85DTmJ6rRt6D0/s1600/harbourfalls1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBWBTLzK1gExGqLeDAxSwuKbGJBEbJvwQfDsy9UxbmxBIHlZXw48vb-x5dLJtXgFdurfkbVQYWeVHukYSZJERV86Z3SpKBXer1bpy0HkxqknyUTyrMQHlkBHkdLNjxcD_85DTmJ6rRt6D0/s320/harbourfalls1.jpg" width="207" /></a>Title: Harbour Falls</div>
Author: S.R. Grey<br />
Genre: Mystery & Romance<br />
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<i>Best-selling author Maddy Fitch, researching material for a new novel, returns to her hometown of Harbour Falls to investigate a disappearance that has haunted the tiny Maine coastal town for the past four years. Maddy soon discovers that the case has gone cold, but the prime suspect, Adam Ward, is hotter than ever. Now living on an isolated island, Maddy takes up residence near the sexy Mr. Ward's home. As she begins to seek out answers, the mystery deepens, putting Maddy in jeopardy. </i><i><br />Lies, secrets, deceptions. Nothing is ever what it seems in Harbour Falls.</i><br />
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<i>A steamy novel that immerses the reader in an intricate storyline that will keep them glued till the very last page.</i></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">My Review</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4 Stars</span></div>
The author paints a very vivid picture with descriptive visuals that make everything in "Harbour Falls" come to life and jump off the page. This book was filled with more twists and turns than a labyrinth, but at the end MOST things were wrapped up in a neat little bow. Everything that wasn't meant to lead into book 2, that is. The plot is intricate and winding, and each scene has a purpose. My reason for 4 stars instead of 5? I think that, even for an investigator/mystery writer, miss Maddy Fitch is way too nosy. I feel like her unending need to know things would land her in a lot more trouble in real life. Luckily for her, this is fiction. Also, I'm not a fan of Mr. Adam Ward. I feel like he's a bit too macho for his shorts. I dig the whole Alpha Male thing, (because who doesn't want a guy who's loaded, attractive, and in charge?) but I'm not big on the way he treats Maddy. Maybe some folks like being put down by someone they're interested in. Just not my thing. Overall, the book was decent.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXjDkgwvrsqLG7iYWEfDSHgL5iR_gEjNQoDvVDZ9N38yjoYnNMzBD5QEoOCTSzHPnFTPnY9NgJ3yI3o0ESIpagK3TUIyJqlVyBRIuiFBOFHImEVD3jbbMpjpll8YGgF1o5qazuwQegvM7/s1600/WillowPoint1smallres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXjDkgwvrsqLG7iYWEfDSHgL5iR_gEjNQoDvVDZ9N38yjoYnNMzBD5QEoOCTSzHPnFTPnY9NgJ3yI3o0ESIpagK3TUIyJqlVyBRIuiFBOFHImEVD3jbbMpjpll8YGgF1o5qazuwQegvM7/s320/WillowPoint1smallres.jpg" width="213" /></a>Title: Willow Point<br />
Author: S.R. Grey<br />
Genre: Mystery & Romance<br />
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<i>With the Harbour Falls Mystery solved, author Maddy Fitch hopes secrets and lies are behind her. But a cryptic letter from her former best friend would seem to indicate otherwise. Is the man Maddy fell in love with while solving the Harbour Falls Mystery, the gorgeous and rich Adam Ward, keeping a damning and potentially dangerous secret from her? Only the writer of the letter, Ami Hensley, knows for sure. But Maddy is hesitant to confront her, since the last time they saw one another Ami tried to kill her. </i><i><br />But if Maddy wants answers--ones that could potentially save Adam--then she must face her fears and visit her former friend. Unfortunately for Maddy, Ami is currently locked up in the creepiest place in Maine, an old gothic structure that houses the criminally insane, known simply as Willow Point. </i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>Will this new mystery tear Maddy and Adam apart? </i></div>
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<i>Who else is in on Adam's secret? </i></div>
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<i>And will Maddy find the answers before it's too late? </i></div>
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<i>Another heart-stopping page turner from the author of </i>Harbour Falls<i>. </i>Willow Point<i> promises to keep you on the edge of your seat. </i></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">My Review</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4 Stars</span></div>
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Filled with answers to the questions posed in book 1, "Willow Point" leads Maddy into the heart of an insane asylum, and more danger than she can imagine. Woven together seamlessly, this novel picks up right where "Harbour Falls" left off. Some of the secrets Maddy's lover Adam has been keeping are brought into the light, while even more are still cloaked in shadow.</div>
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I like the way Adam and Maddy got on in this one a bit better, but I still don't think their relationship is healthy. "No more secrets, Maddy." "Scout's honor!" *with her fingers crossed behind her back* *that's ok, because Adam has his crossed, too* I understand that some things need to be hidden, but there's so much suspicion from Maddy's end, it makes me feel like Mr. Ward must be beyond amazing in bed. I know that I wouldn't be able to trust someone who was ok with hiding so much of their life from me "for my own good."<br />
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More answers lead to more questions that make a perfect segue into the upcoming book 3. I'm interested to see how things are resolved in it. </div>
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<b>Purchase the books!</b></div>
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Harbour Falls: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Harbour-Falls-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00A06OMQM/ref=pd_sim_kstore_2">http://www.amazon.com/Harbour-Falls-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00A06OMQM/ref=pd_sim_kstore_2</a></div>
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Willow Point: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Willow-Point-Harbour-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00CF5NU3C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366757499&sr=8-1&keywords=Willow+Point">http://www.amazon.com/Willow-Point-Harbour-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00CF5NU3C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366757499&sr=8-1&keywords=Willow+Point</a></div>
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<b><u>Author Biography</u></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOQ5Jfhk_Wma_Ot6ZGtK_uYsnAKwotngkKeFclibx6ZFmr1ML_i9s3pVa_LaOYqd27K2Liz0Bla84JyfH3UyARbisBdWPKIu5SRa2j82C92YpA7avQLoUCprDSiIXsAO9LRtHA20Y3D7SV/s1600/zzauthorBESTcinematic.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOQ5Jfhk_Wma_Ot6ZGtK_uYsnAKwotngkKeFclibx6ZFmr1ML_i9s3pVa_LaOYqd27K2Liz0Bla84JyfH3UyARbisBdWPKIu5SRa2j82C92YpA7avQLoUCprDSiIXsAO9LRtHA20Y3D7SV/s320/zzauthorBESTcinematic.JPG" width="320" /></a>S.R. Grey is the author of Harbour Falls and Willow Point, first and second books in the A Harbour Falls </div>
Mystery series. She resides in western Pennsylvania. She has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Robert Morris College, as well as an MBA from Duquesne University. Ms. Grey is currently working on a New Adult novel (title not yet determined) due out in the fall of 2013. And she is starting on Wickingham Way, the third novel in A Harbour Falls Mystery series. <br />
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Other interests include reading, traveling, running, and cheering for her hometown sports teams.<br />
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Amazon Author Page: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/S.R.-Grey/e/B00A1ACRBE/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">http://www.amazon.com/S.R.-Grey/e/B00A1ACRBE/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0</a></div>
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Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/SR-Grey/361159217278943">http://www.facebook.com/pages/SR-Grey/361159217278943</a></div>
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Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/AuthorSRGrey">https://twitter.com/AuthorSRGrey</a></div>
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Goodreads (+her blog!): <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6433082.S_R_Grey">http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6433082.S_R_Grey</a></div>
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RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-9750682593912050382013-07-13T00:30:00.000-04:002013-07-13T08:32:25.892-04:00"They Won't Shut Up" by Cindy J. Smith -review & interview<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Title: They Won't Shut Up</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Author: Cindy J. Smith</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Genre: Poetry</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<i style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I had the pleasure of sitting down with Cindy J. Smith to chat with her about her new release today. It's her second collection of poetry titled "They Won't Shut Up."</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Hey there, Cindy! Tell us a bit about yourself and what you’re currently working on or promoting. </i></b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am married and my husband and I drive a semi over-the-road. Currently, I am promoting the release of my second book of poetry, They Won't Shut Up, which is being published by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing on July 13.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">What does your writing space look like? </span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My job keeps me away from home, so my writing space is my lap, lol. I use a voice recorder to write my poems then type them on my laptop. </span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">What do you do when you’re not writing? </span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If I am not writing or working, I love to read and listen to music. I used to garden and bake but my job makes that almost impossible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Has reading a book ever changed your life? Which one was it and why, if yes? </span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I started to really see what the government was doing. It is so scary to realize that, even with the proof of history, we are still repeating the same mistakes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Which poem from "They Won't Shut Up" is the most important to you, and why? </i></b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The most important to me is the set of poems titled Cosmic Conversation. It is written as a message from my daughter telling me to move on and my answer to her explaining my tears. I wrote it at a time I was really having trouble handling the grief.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">What do you do to stay sane as a writer? </span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Stay sane? Is that a requirement? Actually, I use my poems to keep me sane. If something is getting to me, I write it out so that I can look at it from a different perspective.</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Where can readers find you online?</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CindysVoices">https://www.facebook.com/CindysVoices</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Barnes and Noble: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/cu4q7c8">http://tinyurl.com/cu4q7c8</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Amazon Author Page: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/clybzs8">http://tinyurl.com/clybzs8</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Amazon Paperback: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/cv6mcwg">http://tinyurl.com/cv6mcwg</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Amazon Kindle: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/cjt3ka6">http://tinyurl.com/cjt3ka6</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">AmazonUK paperback: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/clbxnbl">http://tinyurl.com/clbxnbl</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">AmazonUK kindle: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/ccnn3bf">http://tinyurl.com/ccnn3bf</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Goodreads: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/cc65z86">http://tinyurl.com/cc65z86</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/cindysvoices">http://twitter.com/cindysvoices</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pinterest: <a href="http://pinterest.com/cindyjsmith1">http://pinterest.com/cindyjsmith1</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's my review of the collection:</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">**** 4 Stars</span></div>
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I'll start off by saying I'm not a huge lover of poetry. I feel like a lot of folks just take whatever comes to their minds, throw it into stanzas, and call it poetry. That's not the case with Cindy Smith's second collection "They Won't Shut Up"! This book covers a lot of very real topics, ranging from everyday occurrences to playboys, dream lovers, children, and the Westboro Baptist Church. </div>
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I have to say that my favorite poem in the collection is "Evil & Twin." It speaks of an optimist who only sees the good in the world, and the polar opposite: someone who sees the reality of the damage mankind does to the planet and themselves. </div>
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My only complaint with the collection is that I wish she had a bit more free verse, or something that broke her usual pattern of four line stanzas. But poetry is unique to each author. I can honestly say there's probably at least one poem in here that will speak to every person, in some way.</div>
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RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661707864246967337.post-50019430586286166672013-07-12T00:30:00.000-04:002013-07-12T00:30:02.884-04:00The Sydney Rye series by Emily Kimelman - Book Blast<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">SYDNEY RYE SERIES</span></b></div>
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by Emily Kimelman</div>
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Books 1-3, The complete Series Box Set (Value Pack)</div>
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The Sydney Rye series of mysteries features a strong female protagonist and her rescue dog, Blue. This series is recommended for the 18+ who enjoy some violence, don't mind dirty language, and are up for a dash of sex. Not to mention an awesome, rollicking good mystery!</div>
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This box set includes all three of the Sydney Rye Books.</div>
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<b>UNLEASHED</b> (A Sydney Rye Novel, #1) </div>
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When the series begins Sydney Rye is named Joy Humbolt. She does not like people telling her what to do, so it comes as no surprise that she was just fired from her last job. When she buys Charlene Miller's dog-walking business on Manhattan's exclusive upper east side, it seems like the perfect fit: Quiet environment, minimal contact with people.</div>
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But then one of her clients turns up dead, and Charlene disappears. Rumors say Charlene was having an affair with the victim--and of course, everyone assumes Joy must know where she is. Joy begins to look into the crime, first out of curiosity then out of anger when there is another murder and threats start to come her way.</div>
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When police detective Mulberry is assigned to the case, Joy finds a kindred spirit--cynical and none-too-fond of the human race. As they dig deep into the secrets of Manhattan's elite, they not only get closer to the killer but also to a point of no return. One last murder sends Joy Humbolt hurtling over the edge. Her only chance of survival is to become Sydney Rye.</div>
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<b>DEATH IN THE DARK</b> (A Sydney Rye Novella, #2)</div>
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At the beginning of Death in the Dark we find Joy Humbolt hiding, not only from the law, but also from her past and the mistakes she's made. Living this isolated life doesn't last long though when a visit from Mulberry brings Joy to accept her new identity as the Private Detective, Sydney Rye. To complete the transformation, Joy must learn to control her emotions as well as her giant aggressive dog, Blue. With the help of an expert trainer, Joy learns to fight with her mind as well as her body. However, when the daughter of a close friend is brutally murdered in the desert, Rye turns away from her mentor to seek revenge. Sydney's quick temper and deadly intentions lead her into a trap that she will need all of her new skills to survive.</div>
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<b>INSATIABLE</b> (A Sydney Rye Novel, #3)</div>
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The third book in the series begins with private detective Sydney Rye living a simple, disciplined life in London, but when a dangerous man from her past calls, Rye finds she cannot turn him away. Robert Maxim explains that the daughter of a powerful friend has gone missing and he wants Rye to find her. In exchange he offers her something she had given up hope of ever having; freedom from her past.</div>
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With her dog, Blue, at her side, Rye meets up with her new partner, a handsome man she's not sure she can trust. Heading for Mexico City, they go undercover, posing as husband and wife. After meeting with the bereaved parents, Rye starts to sense that there is more going on than just a missing girl. But it isn't until they arrive in the Yucatan Peninsula, hot on the girl's trail in Paradise, that all hell breaks loose. Sydney has to reach out for help from old friends and deal with the consequences of her past, if she's going to find the girl and keep them all alive.</div>
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<b><u>Excerpt from "Unleashed"</u></b></div>
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A white fog hung in the dark sky. The mist dulled the glare of the streetlights. Beads of dew covered the parked cars and sparkled in the soft yellow light. Blue led the way into Prospect Park. </div>
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As soon as I let him off leash, he bounced down the paved path. The gently rolling lawn glowed a silver green. The man-made forest was a wall of blackness. The fog hung low above us. We wandered onto smaller trails and roamed through the trees, up steps to the top of the biggest hill, then down and around the lake that glimmered in the night’s light. </div>
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Three men sat on a bench. They wore rags and suckled on bottles in brown paper bags. One stood up, unsteady. He opened his mouth to speak, a naughty smile playing in his rummy eyes. Blue stepped out of the shadows, where he had been investigating an interesting smell, and moved to my side, falling in step with me. Fear twisted the man’s smirk into a grimace. He stumbled back to his friends, whispering, “Devil.” The three men cowered on the bench as Blue and I passed. We walked home with our heads held high, afraid of nothing and nobody.</div>
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<b><u>Biography</u></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxLZ6AbvfAi5abt3WraBf-HEfsNhFbgQwgwQaauybWQ7DLvzCKT5bz-C0Sano-EVD1lnpfQgMvK5FWzRmUH-yinbEbJovq3JrczdWI-UgqLJuGi-QRSi94BQXPBPxDdCyGEsUym0acdDDB/s640/Emily+%2528author+photo%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxLZ6AbvfAi5abt3WraBf-HEfsNhFbgQwgwQaauybWQ7DLvzCKT5bz-C0Sano-EVD1lnpfQgMvK5FWzRmUH-yinbEbJovq3JrczdWI-UgqLJuGi-QRSi94BQXPBPxDdCyGEsUym0acdDDB/s200/Emily+%2528author+photo%2529.jpg" width="133" /></a>Emily Kimelman lives on a boat in the Hudson Valley with her husband, Sean and their dog Kinsey (named after Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone). Kimelman has a passion for traveling and spends as much time as possible in the pursuit of adventure. </div>
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Her "Sydney Rye Series" are dark murder mystery novels which features a strong female protagonist and her rescue dog, Blue. This series is recommended for the 18+ who enjoy some violence, don't mind dirty language, and are up for a dash of sex. Not to mention an awesome, rollicking good mystery!</div>
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The first three books in Kimelman's series, UNLEASHED, DEATH IN THE DARK, and INSATIABLE are available in the Kindle store individually and in a box set. The fourth book in the Sydney Rye series STRINGS OF GLASS is due out Mid-Summer 2013.</div>
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If you've read Emily's work, and enjoyed it, please let Emily know. You can reach her via email ejkimelman@gmail.com </div>
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<a href="http://emilykimelman.wordpress.com/">http://emilykimelman.wordpress.com/</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/EmilyKimelman">https://www.facebook.com/EmilyKimelman</a></div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/ejkimelman">http://twitter.com/ejkimelman</a></div>
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Buy links for all books at Amazon:</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Emily-Kimelman/e/B004YG4PPC/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1">http://www.amazon.com/Emily-Kimelman/e/B004YG4PPC/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1</a></div>
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Barnes and Noble:</div>
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<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/emily-kimelman">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/emily-kimelman</a></div>
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RandomRandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13982357238064536772noreply@blogger.com3