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Friday, December 28, 2018

To See You Again by Ariel MacArran



To See You Again
A Daring Duchess Novel
Ariel MacArran


Book Genre: Regency Romance



ASIN: B07K37BVH4

Print Length: 302 pages

Publisher: Here Be Dragons Publishing

Publication Date: November 1, 2018

Book Description:

Facing ruinous debt, Juliana Seabright's father leaves her at the Duke of Hereford’s door with one order—secure the marriage proposal she once turned down flat. But Juliana's shy seduction of the "Corsair Duke" is shattered when news of her family’s scandal breaks, and Connell Beaumont is not a man to toy with. . .

Connell may have cast her out of his life, but when circumstances land Juliana at his country estate, the duke discovers this bookish beauty is not so easily banished from his heart. A chasm separates a peer from the daughter of a pariah, but love will drive a man to risk everything. . .

To See You Again

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About the Author:

Ariel MacArran has had a lifelong love of books, stories and writing. Nothing makes her happier than the opportunity to give back some of the magic of being swept up into a story that other writers have given her.

Ariel has always loved Jane Austen and is thrilled to offer her 10th Romance and first Regency.




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The Young Adult Writer’s Journey by Elizabeth Fortin-Hinds and Janet Schrader-Post




The Young Adult Writer’s Journey
Elizabeth Fortin-Hinds and Janet Schrader-Post

Genre: Nonfiction Reference

Publisher: Tell-Tale Publishing Group

Date of Publication: November 23, 3018

ISBN:  978-1-944056-98-8
ASIN: B07K3VZ2ZK,

Number of pages: 232
Word Count: 60,000

Tagline: An Encyclopedia for YA Writers

Book Description:

Finally, an all-inclusive book on young adult fiction must-do, don’t do and how-to. If you want to write a young adult novel, you need to read this book first. Coauthored by an award-winning YA author and an acquisitions editor, both experts on kids and what they like to read, this encyclopedia contains all you need to start or improve a career as a YA fiction author.

From an examination of the market, genre and its sub-genres, to mechanics and the business, everything is at your fingertips. This amazing writer’s resource is written in a relaxed and interesting style, with plenty of contemporary references and examples for clear understanding and easier application.


  

Praise:

"The Young Adult Writer's Journey is a 'Must Have' at your fingertip reference for anyone who writes (or wants to write) for or about kids. Engaging text with topical and thought-provoking insights leading from idea to submission . . . and beyond to populate a story with believable characters young readers can relate to."—Nancy Gideon, Award-Winning author of the By Moonlight series

“The trouble with “how to” books on creativity is that they usurp creativity. Not so with this very insightful guide for YA writing. If it doesn’t become a standard or even a classic among reference books, it will be an oversight. Janet Schrader-Post and Elizabeth Fortin-Hinds have all the marinated smarts and credentialed experience to pull this off, and they do! No dictated wisdom from on high here, no grafted creativity, THE YOUNG ADULT WRITER’S JOURNEY is accessible, motivational and a clear map that leaves plenty of room to discover for anyone wanting to explore their creative side.”-Thomas Sullivan, Pulitzer-nominated author of THE PHASES OF HARRY MOON


Excerpt:

When you talk about world-building, many writers think you’re talking about fantasy lands like Narnia, Westeros, Panam or Middle Earth. For most teens, school is their world. What kind of home life they have is their world and these worlds need to be just as complicated as Narnia. Well-developed teen worlds like Hogwarts, North Shore High School, home of the Mean Girls, Rydell High School of Grease, and Panem of Hunger Games are so well-developed they seem real, and you remember them as though they were a place you visited.

To create a real world for teens in our times, you really need to know them: what they do every day, what they like, what motivates them, the environment in high schools and many other details. Home life for kids is very different from twenty or even ten years ago. It takes two incomes now to support a growing family or to succeed, so both parents most likely work. This leaves kids as young as nine or ten at home alone for long periods of time (or even younger, unfortunately). The enemy of these parents is the school holiday, and it seem like there’s more than ever. These parents have no idea what to do with their children. Many can’t afford childcare, so the kids are home alone. It’s a thing you must think about when writing for them.

Children come from all levels of society. Poor kids will view the world through different eyes than kids who have well-off parents. Kids living with a single parent might have a different view of the world as well as different social structures. The kids with single parents or working parents might have to go hungry on weekends, on school holidays and especially during the summer. It’s hard to think about, but true. There are teenagers out there who eat breakfast and lunch at school and their families provide dinner. Sometimes all they get is their school meals some days. When school is out, they scavenge and fend for themselves or they don’t eat.



About the Authors:

Elizabeth Fortin-Hinds knows kids well. She spent decades teaching teens and adults to write and improve their reading skills. As a literacy expert and certified coach, she helped both teachers from elementary to secondary and preservice graduate students learn to improve reading and writing instruction. She has taught at both the secondary and graduate level, everything from rhetoric, essays, and thesis statements, to poetry, short stories, and how to write a novel. She has learned to use both sides of her brain simultaneously, but enjoys the creative side the most, learning to play piano, draw and paint, and find time for her own writing since retiring from her “day” jobs. 

A “true believer” in Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, mythic structures, she uses that lens when considering manuscripts for Tell-Tale Publishing Group, a company she founded with some friends from her critique group a decade ago.

Daughter of a Colonel, Janet lived the military life until she got out of high school. She lived in Hawaii and worked as a polo groom for fifteen years, then moved to Florida where she became a reporter. For ten years she covered kids in high school and middle school. Kids as athletes, kids doing amazing things no matter how hard their circumstances. It impressed her, and it awed her. “How wonderful teens are. They have spirit and courage in the face of the roughest time of their lives. High school is a war zone. Between dodging bullies, school work and after school activities, teens nowadays have a lot on their plate. I wrote stories about them and I photographed them. My goal was to see every kid in their local newspaper before they graduated.”

Janet love kids and horses, and she paints and writes. Now she lives in the swampland of Florida with too many dogs and her fifteen-year-old granddaughter. She started to write young adult fiction with the help of her son, Gabe Thompson, who teaches middle school. Together they have written a number of award-winning YA novels in both science fiction and fantasy.










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Thursday, December 27, 2018

After Christmas .99 Sale - Insatiable Darkness by LM Preston




***** After Christmas Sale .99 *****

Will EmVee survive long enough to find out who is threatening her family?


Insatiable Darkness
The Vigilant
Book 1
LM Preston 

Publisher: Phenomenal One Press

Publication Date: February 18, 2018

ASIN: B0785DY4RT

Genre: YA Fantasy

EmVee didn’t know what to think about this new town her father’s passion for boxing lured them. It was an unlikely location for her to pursue her dream of going semi-pro. Just when she started getting used to the school with gorgeous jocks and strange cheerleaders, the depth of the danger her father’s choices dangled them in front of became clear.

EmVee hoped Silas and Kayson will be able to help her uncover the mystery identity of the person who is threatening her family.

The question is, will she survive to expose the mystery.


#99centsale #YAFantasy #fantasybook #fantasy #mythsandlegends #scififantasy #teenread #ebooksale #LMPreston #TheVigilantSeries

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Holiday Flash Fiction by DK Davis




Oakly’s Christmas Present
By DK Davis

“Oakly, you’ll find someone. Don’t look so down.” Morgan, my twin brother’s soul-mate, patted my shoulder.
Rowan stepped next to her, never leaving her side for long. His arm went possessively around her waist. He punched my arm and grinned, and then led his woman toward the kitchen table.
Watching my brother and Morgan instilled the deep loneliness plaguing my cougar, like a blade stabbing my chest. I needed the forest, an escape from the crowd of family and friends sitting around the table and working on Christmas decorations for the fortress we all called home. The place, for all its space, gave me a fit of claustrophobia.
I snuck out the front door. Brisk air and tufts of falling snow threw my cougar into an adrenaline rush to run. The animal scratched against the inside of my skin. I jogged down the porch steps and into the trees, dropping my clothes next to a giant oak and shifting into my animal.
Four large paws carried me for miles away from home. I crossed a couple of dirt roads and continued through the thick forest, cutting footprints through the snow. The wind picked up, and gray clouds blanketed the rising moon. The cougar’s night vision kicked in, and I stopped to sate my thirst at a babbling brook.
When I raised my head, a force hit my senses so hard it knocked me on my butt. I shook my head to get a bearing of what drew my complete focus. Then a shriek, followed by a snarl somewhere near, across the stream. I launched over the water at full speed.
Snapping jaws, growls, and yips sounded close. I scented wolves.
A cat screamed and snarled in a way to scare off a predator or to defend itself. Another scent filled my olfactory, female cat, not a cougar. I bounded through the dense shrub sounding like an army and blew through the other side with the effect of distraction.
A bobcat surrounded by three wolves. She stood her ground, but red colored the snow around her. All wolves stared my way.
I roared my deepest snarl and charged, the only thought snapping through my mind, save her.
Two of the wolves sprang toward me, leaving one for the she-cat. I caught one by the throat, shook the hell out of him and tossed him against a tree trunk. The other had jumped on my back and snapped his jaws over the back of my neck. Its claws caught my shoulders and my back haunches.
I ran straight at a downed tree, flipping into it, so the wolf caught the sharp branch. The teeth piercing the sides of my neck released and I pulled away from its claws. It fell to the ground, the branch protruding from its back, and then it crawled away.
The she-cat held her own, snarling and clawing, but the wolf clenched his jaws on a front leg. Bones snapped, and the she-cat went into a biting frenzy across the dog-faced snout. I pounced on the wolf’s back, sinking my claws around its neck. The she-cat dropped from its mouth, and I forced the wolf away, and then gave chase until the distance satisfied me.
When I got back to the Bobcat, she lay on her side, panting and looking like a bloody mess. Her head lifted as I stepped closer. I crouched beside her and licked at the wounds. She lapped at the gouges on my neck. After a bit, we both settled together and slept.
* * *
Someone shook me awake. As I opened my eyes and yawned, the morning sun created a glistening coat of mini prisms across the snow.
“What the hell are you doing way out here? You’re miles from our territory.” Rowan eyed me. “It looks like a bloody war zone. You’re covered in blood and a significant amount of another cat’s scent, brother. A shifter. Care to explain?”
I glanced next to me. An imprint of the she-cat’s smaller body had colored the snow dark red. She’d vanished. I jumped onto my four-paws. Sniffing the air, I noticed the smaller-sized paw prints leading the opposite direction of home.
“Come on. Everyone is worried about you. A lot of them are out looking for you.” He huffed. “You didn’t let anyone know you went for a run.”
Everything inside me said to follow the she-cat shifter, but I knew she would come back here as I would.
Rowan pulled a cell phone from his pocket. “Dad, I found him. Let everyone know. It’s going to take us a while to get home.” Then he paused, listening. I heard him explaining where we were and to use the tracking app to find his phone. It sounded like someone would be driving a vehicle to a close location.
My attention faded in and out from his conversation as my head filled with thoughts of the female Bobcat.
“I will come back to see you tonight like you want to do,” a female voice flicked inside my head like a loud whisper.
I instantly shifted into human form. “Hey, tell me why you and Morgan can mind-communicate.”
“Good grief. Your junk’s gonna freeze. I didn’t bring any clothes for you.” Rowan grinned and pointed.
Yea, parts of me wanted to hide from the cold, but most of my body remained hot-blooded. “I gotta know about you and Morgan.”
“Fine, but we gotta jog. Dad’s going to pick us up on a dirt road a few miles away.” Rowan picked up the pace. “Morgan and I exchanged blood, and because she’s my soul-mate, we can mind-communicate. I understand that only happens with a soul-mate.”
“Does your soul-mate need to be the same kind of shifter?” My mind reeled with the thought.
* * *
“You’re not leaving the fortress tonight. Tomorrow’s Christmas and your mother will have my hide if I allow you to go for a run like you did yesterday.” Dad’s eyes narrowed, but his focus wandered. “Unless you drove the truck to the spot where I picked you up. Then I’d know you’d get back here before morning.” His intense gaze landed on me. “The only reason I’m considering this is from the questions you asked Rowan. And you can thank him that he talked about it to me.”
Dad handed me his keys. I ran out the front door before he changed his mind.
Darkness had already settled over the tree line as I parked along a small clearing off the edge of the dirt road.
As I climbed out of the truck, her presence melded into mine and shivered through my body. “Where are you?”
Her scent drew me farther into the forest, and then I saw her. Beautiful long platinum-blond hair drifted down her shoulders. Smoldering blue eyes met mine. She lifted away from the large oak tree she’d leaned against and ambled toward me in a sleek feline two-legged prowl.
My breath left me and then came back in a gasping gulp, leaving me dizzy and drunk on her scent. My legs finally mobilized, and I strode to her, wrapping my arms around her.
She slid her hands around the back of my neck. Her fingers twined into my hair. I leaned down, and she lifted on her toes, lips uniting in a crash of cracking whips and stormy lightning. My whole body blazed in fire for this meek little woman, but then, nothing about her seemed timid.
Her tongue ran across my lips, sending a tremor through me. She giggled. Her hands pushed my chest, and we broke apart.
“My name’s Sky. I believe you’re my Christmas present for life.” Her smile radiated through my chest, stealing my voice.
“I believe you’re my life Christmas present also,” my mind-communication responded.
“Let’s go meet my parents, and then we’ll meet yours. We have a lot to talk about.” Sky reached for my hand, and when our fingers wove together, my cougar agreed we’d both found our most significant other.
I drew her back to me and sealed our moment with a kiss. Sky’s tender lips sent my cougar into purr-mode, something I’d never experienced before tonight. Then, Sky’s bobcat answered with a contented purr. “Merry Christmas,” our mind-communication whispered as one.




Secret: Of Amber Eyes
Secret Series
Book Three 
DK Davis

Genre: YA Paranormal, Romance

Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc.         

Date of Publication:  November 2018 Release

Kindle 978-0-2286-0621-5
Amazon Print 978-0-2286-0623-9
ASIN: B07KGGHG3P


Number of pages: 197
Word Count:  58,500

Cover Artist:  Michelle Lee

Tagline: Instinct draws Morgan and Rowan together, a human and a shifter, until a wildcard wildcat threatens Morgan’s life, changing her forever.

Book Description:

Morgan Redding, a seventeen-year-old high school graduate, gets sent to her aunt and uncle’s wildlife rescue and preserve, a therapeutic place for not only nature.

Rowan Marcus, an eighteen-year-old cougar shifter, helps at the wildlife refuge. He’s part of a secret society of shifters guarding the preserve lands.

Instinct draws Morgan and Rowan together.

Then one wildcard wildcat within the shifter community kills for the needy, but the killing escalates and threatens Morgan’s life, changing her forever…

Each Secrets book has a different story star and a different secret. Each book is a stand-alone.

Amazon      Smashwords

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Excerpt: Morgan’s point of view – 571 words

Uncle Charlie and Aunt Becka appeared to want me around. I twisted around toward the car. Mom had piled my bags on the ground near the porch steps. She stood next to the open driver’s side door, no smile, displaying all the signs of being in a hurry to leave. Her cell phone rang inside the car. 
“Gotta’ run honey,” she said over the glass sunroof of the Cadillac. “Our flight leaves in four hours, and I still have a few things left to pack.”
I immobilized as Mom dove into the car to retrieve her phone. She tapped the screen and started the car.
I didn’t wave as she shifted into gear and drove off with her cell phone stuck to her ear. 
She never even glanced my way. 
From my peripheral, Uncle Charlie and Aunt Becka looked at each other. They weren’t smiling anymore. Mom had never said a word to either of them. She didn’t say goodbye to me, either, unless I counted the trail of dust marking her exit.
Good riddance. Oh, and have a happy life with Jack.
My stomach fluttered, and the inside of my throat tightened like it might collapse in on itself. A load of moisture gathered, blurring my vision. Some trickled alongside my nose. I’m not crying. Extra baggage doesn’t cry; instead, I go to prison.
My body relaxed as if a heavy weight shifted and slipped off. Why not make the best of this crappy situation? I was on the back burner, but not being dumped down the garbage disposal. I wiped away the water littering my face and picked up my two duffle bags. Aunt Becka scooped up my backpack; her thick long blond braid slid over her shoulder.
“This way, dear. You’ve come at a good time with the weather. We’ve got a warm streak going. It isn’t normally nice warm temperatures until much later in the summer.” Aunt Becka led the way into the house. She wore faded denim shorts with a baggy sky-blue T-shirt, short white socks, and high-top hiking boots. She and Uncle Charlie were sun-browned and looked the same age as Mom. The muscles in Aunt Becka’s calves stood out as she climbed the circular stairway.
She continued, “It’s still pretty cool in the mornings and later in the evenings, which makes for great sleeping weather.”
At the top of the stairs, I walked across the open loft to the wall-sized window, dropping my bags mid-way.
Two bright red barns stood off to one side. I recognized the green T-shirt and dark blue baseball cap Uncle Charlie wore. He pushed a wheel-barrow into one of the barns. Another guy walked behind with a huge bag of something balanced on his shoulder. The muscles in his arm bulged. He stopped in mid-step and swung around to look upward, at the window, and then at me.
My stomach suddenly churned into warm pudding as our gazes collided. Rowan’s eyes glowed, amber, a trick of the sun I was sure. My breath sucked in.
Aunt Becka stepped beside me and glanced out. “Oh, that’s Rowan Marcus. He’s here pretty much every day helping with chores and with the other kids that aid us at the refuge.”
Rowan swung around and followed Uncle Charlie into the barn. A tremor slid through me, and then I exhaled, realizing I’d completely stopped my lungs from working. What the heck? Amber eyes?



About the Author:



DK Davis writes YA and NA sci-fi, supernatural, and paranormal romance that includes diverse and mature subject matter.



When she’s not writing, editing, or reading, she’s hiking, RV’ing, fishing, spending time with grandchildren or her favorite muse (her husband) in Southwest Michigan.



She also writes mainstream supernatural, suspense-thriller romance as S. Peters-Davis.




DK Davis - BWL Publishing Inc. Author Page: 

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Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Not So Secret Santa by Susan Mac Nicol - Deck the Halls with Books Holiday Extravaganza



I used to work in the West End of London – the theatre district – which was an amazing experience even if it did take me two hours each day to get to work.

The West End is a magical place to experience the cosmopolitan flavour of London, and a great place for people watching. Especially if you have a yen to try and spot someone famous.



At Christmas, though, it shines brighter than ever. To get home, I walked back to the tube station about half a mile away, through the teeming streets of people, and snapped some shots of London in full Christmas regalia.

The vibe is something to be experienced, an excitement in the sir, coupled with a lot of swearing from fighting couples tired of endless shopping, and tempered with the quickfire conversation of Japanese tourists. And the men in kilts playing the bag pipes were a welcome addition too 😊

It is a city that never sleeps, like a hummingbird that flies on the periphery of your vision and catches your attention. And you fly along with it, caught up in its thrall and soak up the season in all its vibrant and sparkly majesty.



Not So Secret Santa
Men of London
Book 10
Susan Mac Nicol

Genre: Gay Romance, LGBT romance, contemporary


Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group

Date of Publication: 6th December 2018

ISBN: 978-1-948029-42-1

Number of pages:  70
Word Count: 25 000

Cover Artist: Boroughs Publishing Group

Tagline: Leslie's feeling the season in a big way. After the Kissmas Drag Stravaganza at Club Delish, he plans to ask Oliver to marry him, but, as with all things Leslie, nothing goes quite as planned.

Book Description:

Leslie Scott couldn't keep a secret if his life depended on it...and this one's a doozy. After years of blissful co-habbing, Leslie plans to ask the love of his life, Oliver Brown, for his hand in marriage. Leslie agrees to help with the Kissmas Drag Stravaganza at his dear friend's nightclub, Club Delish, which is also the site of the impending proposal.

Every detail is planned with Swiss watch precision: enjoy the show, bring Oliver back to a private room, seduce him then pop the question. But, as with all things Leslie, his scheme goes tits up.

Never one to shy away from drama and public displays of affection, this proposal turns out to be one for the books.
Finally, the door opened to reveal a pink faced and flustered Leslie, hair suspiciously out of shape and with silver glitter on his face. He beamed at Oliver. “I’ll just get my jacket, and my man bag and be with you in a second.”
The door shut in Oliver’s face and he stared at it in disbelief.
What the hell is going on in there?
He opened the door and entered. Leslie looked up with a start and Oliver couldn't help but notice the other man bent over in the corner, covering something up with a piece of fabric. A man who had a very nice arse and when he finally stood up to face him, looked like a Latin wet dream. The man was petite and utterly gorgeous. And looked as guilty as hell.
“What’s up, sweetheart?” Oliver strode over to his boyfriend and pulled him close for a kiss. Leslie melted against him and returned the kiss with fervour. When they finally drew apart, Leslie seemed to realise someone else was in the room with them.
“Uh, honey, this is Chester. He works here with me. Chester, my boyfriend Oliver, if you hadn’t already guessed by that kiss. That very possessive kiss.” Leslie’s eyes glinted dangerously and he brushed a strand of glittered hair back from his face. Oliver didn’t care if he’d overstepped the mark. He wasn’t a jealous man, and trusted Leslie, but this situation was a little weird. If Leslie could embarrass porn stars on his behalf, Oliver could stake a claim.




About the Author:

Bringing lovers together, one book at a time

Susan writes steamy, sexy and fun contemporary romance stories, some suspenseful, some gritty and dark and others that hopefully make you think. She’s also Editor in Chief at Divine Magazine, an online LGBTQ e-zine, and one third of the deadly trio of Cover Thoughts.

Susan attained PAN status with the Romance Writers of America with her first M/M book, Stripped Bare. She’s currently a member of The Society of Authors in the UK and the Authors Guild in the US. She enjoys being a member of Queer Romance Ink, All Author, Book + Main Bites and the Paranormal Romance Guild.

She loves going to the theatre, live music concerts (especially if it’s her man crush Adam Lambert) walks in the countryside, a good G and T, lazing away afternoons reading a good book, and watching re-runs of Silent Witness.

Her chequered past includes stories like being mistaken for a prostitute in the city of Johannesburg, being chased by a rhino on a dusty Kenyan road, getting kicked out of a youth club for being a ‘bad influence’ (she encourages free thinking) and having an aunt who was once engaged to Cliff Richard







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