Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Character Confessions- Ice Floe by Melissa Birling #YAFantasy #YARomance #PNR #Mermaids




Hi Readers, Tucker Denet here. Leading male characterin the young adult fantasy novel, Ice Floe… Actually, the only male character with a major role in Ice Floe. Also the only human.Now that I think about it, I should probably feel lonely and disgruntled about my outlier status. But it’s hard to complain when you’re written into a book full of mythical water goddesses. 

What I can complain about is the author, Melissa. 

For the longest time Melissa could not make up her mind about me. Would you believe that in the very first iterations of the book I was a total tool? A jester of sortsused by the main character, Glacia, solely as a guide to the human world. Thankfully, Melissa got over that train-wreck fast. Trouble is, she overcorrected. Suddenly I was the leading heartthrob in a Hallmark holiday movie. Substitute killer-mermaids and ice pillars for friendly town folk and tree farms.

We finally landed in an ok place. Several hundred revisions later – and ideas negotiated by me that I’m sure Melissa will get all the credit for – my character developed into the guy I am today. Great at sports like rock climbing, Capoeira, and dancing.Still leading male material and handsome, if I do say so myself, but minus the savior-of-the-world complex. I tend toward being more serious in my approach to lifeyet know how to laugh and have a good time. I’ve been told my best qualities are mylove of nature and animals, kindness, and confidence…Glacia calls it arrogance, but look who’s talking.

Melissa and I are on better terms now. I think she likes me more than I like her. That happens a lot. Side effect of being heartthrob-y.Think I’ll stick around for another novel if she wants me. I’m asking for a hefty salary this time, though. My name shows up in Ice Floe 634 times and you know how much I got paid? Nothing. Nada. Not one penny. I was ok with it for this first novel because I was trying to break into show business.Now that all the fans love me? Melissa bettershell out some coin! You can tell her I said that. I’m seeing her later this afternoon anyway. And tomorrow. And probably all day Saturday and Sunday like we haveevery weekend for the last two years. Like I said…she’s into me.


Ice Floe
Ice Floe Series 
Book One
Melissa Birling

Genre: YA Fantasy Romance, YA PNR 
Publisher: Purpance Publishing
Date of Publication: April 28, 2022
Number of pages: 320
Word Count: 87,000
Cover Artist: Thea Magerand

Tagline: Secrecy is safety. Sisterhood is everything.

Book Description:

Seventeen-year-old Glacia didn’t plan to track a kidnapper, stick a middle finger to the government, and fall into a forbidden summer fling. This is simply what happens when you’re the resident odd girl out, in a shoal of all-female mermaids whose values are a little cracked. Or a lot cracked, if you consider government-endorsed murder and the seizure of male infants to be an issue.

When society rules, family, and romance collide, Glacia fights back the best way she knows how: by taking the matter into her own combat-trained hands and kicking some tail. The problem is, no amount of training can prepare Glacia for the crime circle she discovers, secrets she unveils, and human guy she can’t get out of her head. Glacia finds herself at a crossroads where she must decide whose rules to follow. Who she can trust. And ultimately…who lives and who dies.

Amazon      Goodreads

Ice Floe Excerpt: Chapter 6

We’ve been sitting on the ledge a while now, mostly staring at the view. I steal occasional glances at Tucker. I can’t shake the feeling that there’s a force between us. Energy. A pulse. A magnet. Something. Every time I focus my thoughts elsewhere, he pulls me back in. It’s distracting.

“You ready to head down?” he asks.

“You might as well get started. I can’t climb down with all your equipment in the way.” “I have an extra harness. You should come down with me.” He reaches for his pack and
stands up.

I jump up to join him. “No way. I’m not hooking myself into that death trap.”

“Glacia, come on. This cliff is super challenging, and it’s way more difficult to climb down than up,” he says, his voice growing louder. Here we go again.

“I’ll be fine once you get your stuff out of the way.” I raise my volume to match his. “It’s not safe. I would feel horrible if I let you climb down and you got hurt.”

“Let me?”

“Not let you. It’s your choice.” “I choose NO.”
He clenches his jaw tightly and grinds his teeth. I take a few steps back in preparation. There’s enough room up here to land a solid kick to the face. That should knock him out, then I’ll have to figure out a way to climb down his cat’s cradle setup. Tucker crosses one arm over his chest and raises a hand to cover his mouth. We glare at each other – at an impasse.

“Let’s make a deal,” he offers. “You climb down with me using a harness and rope, and I’ll take you on a boat ride.”

This catches my attention.

“That’s right, I saw you light up when I mentioned my dad’s boat shop,” he continues with a cocky air.

He’s more perceptive than I gave him credit for. Volatile and perceptive. A hefty combination.

“Have you ever been on a boat?” he asks.

I shake my head. I would love to go on a boat. Tucker knows how to fix them and can
teach me everything a trainer could, plus more. What am I thinking? This is crazy. I can’t go on a boat with a human. What excuse would I give if I got caught? I can’t pretend I’m seducing.
Everyone knows that’s not high on my priority list, and you’re not supposed to seduce alone. Maybe I could say that I’m collecting information to share with the girls I teach… Hmm. That’s almost believable, given my dedication to the studio.

Tucker can tell I’m on the fence about it and ups the ante. “I’ll teach you to drive the
boat.”

Unfair. Of course, I want to learn how to drive a boat. That’s a beyond useful skill in my
back pocket. I peek down the cliff face to assess the reliability of Tucker’s wedge-rope system. Stupid. Like I know what I’m looking for.

“Fine,” I agree. “We need to be hooked together, so if I die, you die.” “Seems reasonable.”

“AND I get to drive the boat.”

“Deal. Let’s see, today is Monday, and I already have plans tomorrow. Wednesday?”

“What time?”

“Eleven a.m. on the Ula pier.” “I’ll meet you there.”
Tucker flips his pack around, unclips a belt, and offers it to me. “Do you know how to wear a harness?”

I snatch it from him, compare it to his gear, and step into the leg holes. When I have it all clipped in, I throw my hands on my hips.

“Now what?” I ask.

Tucker leans in toward me, rope in hand, then pulls back and reconsiders. “That’s not quite right,” he says haltingly. “Can I fix your harness?”

“I already agreed to this mess, didn’t I?”

He rolls his eyes. “I think that’s a yes. Pull the harness up – it has to sit higher on your
hips.”

I follow his instructions, and he flops the rope over one arm. He moves in closer and
bends down to reposition the harness. His fingers wrap around the loop against my leg as he pulls it up below my hip. My heart beats faster and my insides twists. I evaluate the top of Tucker’s head in an effort to distinguish these sensations from other emotions. He secures the loop and raises his gaze to meet mine.

“Is that too tight?” he asks. His hazel eyes penetrate mine. The edges are a deep brown that blend into a murky green with an amber starburst around the pupil.
I shake my head and look away. I hope he can’t tell how disoriented this is making me. “Pull the tabs on your waist tighter,” he instructs.

I cinch the waist while he rearranges the other loop on my leg. Why is this making me so agitated? He’s only fixing my gear so I don’t fall to my death. Tucker gathers the rope into his hand and reaches out to tie it to the front belt loop. As he does, his fingers brush my skin just below my belly button. A jolt of electricity shoots through my body. I take in a small gasp of air and hold my breath. He freezes, his fingers lingering on my stomach. Did he feel that too?

 

About the Author:

Melissa Birling strives to experience life from a “both and” rather than “either or” perspective. She enjoys living in metropolitan cities and on a small farm. She appreciates burn-your-tongue Mexican cuisine and delicious London pub food. Lately, Melissa spends her time engaging with cyber security professionals and mermaids. Not actual mermaids, although if you know any, she’d love to meet them.

The revelation that one can be both a successful corporate consultant and a fantasy author who writes about mermaids, encouraged Melissa to finish her debut novel, Ice Floe. The emotional high of typing “The End” at the completion of her first draft, triggered a writing spree that hasn’t stopped since. On any given Saturday or Sunday, you will find Melissa writing. She won’t respond to any attempts at human engagement, because she’s “at a good part,” but you’ll find her typing away, nevertheless.

Melissa lives with a ceaselessly supportive husband and their dog who enjoys hunting neighborhood skunks.




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KD Peters Discusses Her Top Ten Favorite Book Series


1. Harry Potter Series. Harry Potter will always be my favorite series as it’s filled with Magic, potions, obstacles, goals and so much more. As a NA I devoured these books and they will always have a special place in my heart. I always believed that if Magic existed, this is the world. 

2. Twilight Saga: This sounds so cheesy, but I absolutely adored this series. It was something completely new at the time and something to swoon over. I also dubbed it my HP series after HP–just with vampires and the magic got replaced with abilities. 

3. The Hunger Games: I’m a huge Katniss fan. I devoured the books, even if it sounded so evil telling people about these books. To sum it up, Kill or be killed and they are just kids. But one of my favorites. The movies were beautiful too. 

4. Divergent Series: Love, love, love Tris. The world was so diverse and filled with complications and finding yourself. I absolutely adored these stories. Sad that we are not going to get the last part of the third book as a movie as these movies were great too. 

5. The Dragonian Series: Give me some dragons please. I love the different species, the bonds, the enemy to love type of trope happening in book three and just overall good vs evil feel. I want to see this in movies. The audios were done to perfection. 

6. The Zodiac Academy: I’m not done with this series yet, but it’s slowly winning a spot under my top ten. I love stories about twins and these girls are strong and sassy. The world is a well developed Paranormal world, filled with fantasy/paranormal creatures. I can’t wait to see where this one is going to end.

7. Supernatural Prison Series: Love this series so much. Love the animation even more. Jaymin created a diverse world with the Supernatural Prison series. Not to mention the Quads. I have no idea which one of the brothers is my favorite. Probably Braxton. 

8. The Grisha Series: I struggled to get into the first one but when I was in, I was in all the way. Such a rich world that Leigh captured with this one, and diverse characters. Oh, man, you fall in love with their flaws. Thoroughly enjoyed it at the end of the day. 

9. The Caraval Trilogy: What is not to love about these magical and whimsical stories. Love Sister bond stories, or sibling bond stories, and this one didn’t disappoint. 

10. Air Awakens Series: Great world, great characters. Love Elise Kova’s ability to tell a story. It keeps you hooked. 


Sphere of Spirit
Legacy Born Series
Book One
KD Peters

Genre: Fantasy, YA 
Date of Publication: 19th April
ISBN: 979-8438038238
ASIN: B09NM82M2F
Number of pages: 370
Word Count: 97 165

Cover Artist: Mars Dragon Designs

Tagline: The Sphere is an ultimate weapon to destroy a world and requires the sacrifice of ten magical kids. Nine are missing and novice fae, Sophie, is the tenth.

Book Description: 

Seventeen-year-old Sophie Emerson struggles to keep her clairvoyance a secret. Seeing the future belongs to the Dark Ones. 

But when Sophie’s visions display the nine missing kids from the village and place herself in the middle of it all, she has a choice to make. 

Reveal her secret and suffer the consequences or end up being the missing segment of a weapon that will bring forth the apocalypse.

 Amazon


Legacy Born Book Two
The Curse of Blood
Coming July 2022
https://amzn.to/3ulB4IF


Excerpt

I dropped one foot back, whipped about, and powered along the path I’d come from. Tree trunks and thickets whizzed past me. Layers of dead leaves and twigs crunched underneath my feet.

I looked over my shoulder to see if he was following me. My foot struck a rotten log. I fell forward, hitting the ground. Pain seared through my palms and knees seconds before biting vines curled around my ankles. A shriek escaped my lips at the same time I got yanked off the ground. I hurtled towards the treetops.

Now the forest is attacking me!
The hauling came to a stop, and a burning sensation exploded from my ankles. Vines slithered around my calves and thighs like a snake, squeezing tighter. “Help!”

Moss slapped over my lips.

Eugh! Dirt spread over my tastebuds.

The vines squeezed harder. I couldn’t breathe. I kept squirming, refusing to give up getting back to my parents.

Drake’s footsteps stumped on the ground.

My heart stammered. I didn’t ask to be different. I didn’t want a life running away from some secret cross organization and I definitely didn’t ask to be this idiot’s prisoner.

I rotated in the air and a guy with floppy dark golden hair and green eyes shored his leaning frame against the tree. He wore the same ops uniform as Drake.

“Drake didn’t kid when he said she was feisty.” A second man with a dark face and dreadlocks came closer as I grunted. He had the bluest eyes and a posh British accent.

“Aye, lose a lass, Drake?” Floppy asked with a drawl.

“I’m done.” Drake’s voice came from behind me. “If she wants to leave, let her leave.”

Hanging upside down, rotating slowly, Drake came into view, walking away with indistinct mumble following him. A migraine brewed, as all the blood flooded to my head. But it didn’t hurt as much as my ankles and body where the vines cut into my skin.

Laughter coming from both men reached my ears as I circled my way back to them.

Floppy came into view first. “There’s nothin’ wrong with a sassy lassy.”

“Get her down, Mav,” Dreadlocks said.

Mav lifted his hand, and the vines cutting into my skin retreated, slithering back to their proper places. I connected hard to the ground. An ache rushed up to my back and head.

“Oops, sorry.” Mav stood over me and smiled. His hand grabbed mine and hauled me to my feet.

A deep, roaring growl behind us shook my core.

The two men looked down the trail and back at each other. Mav lifted his hands again. Angry vines twirled around my wrists and feet, locking them tight against my body. I lost my balance. My eyes closed, ready for the impact, but it didn’t come.

When I opened my eyes, I hovered above the ground. My mouth instantly went dry, as my mind couldn’t process any of this. Drake’s footsteps neared, and then he jumped over my body and kept running.

“Let’s go!” Dreadlocks barked, and I flew behind him and Mav.

“What the hell is this?” Vines twirled around my face, covering my mouth. It tasted like dirty pencil shavings.

I grunted. These men are barbaric.

Trees flew past me as I sailed inches from the ground, barely missing the pine cones dotting the floor like spilled trinkets. I came to a stop.

Mav, Dreadlocks, and I took cover behind the thicket near the colossal tree where Drake hid.

Growling came from my left side. I turned my face and looked through an opening between two bushes.

A group of people wearing camouflage gear with massive black guns dangling from straps around their shoulders paraded the open area behind the thickets. They screamed secret organization and struggled to trap a colossal beast. The hair on my arms raised, and the suffocation pressed against my lungs as I stared at something that looked like a lion. It growled at the guys trying to hold on to the net. Enormous wings tried to flap free. Lions didn’t have wings, and they didn’t have ram horns either. What was that thing?

A tail tried to push itself free, and my eyes grew bigger.

“Pull harder on your end, McGregor. Be careful of the stinger.”

A giant scorpion stinger attached to the lion’s tail tangled itself in the net.

“The griffin is somewhere near. They are always together,” another yelled.

The griffin? The only griffin in my head belonged in a fantasy world.

“There are way too many agents,” Mav said.

“We can’t just leave Lindy. Where is Brooke?” Drake asked.

Who are Lindy and Brooke?

Drake grunted and swooped in my direction with his hands, ready to strangle me.

Mav pulled him back. “Easy, lad.”

Drake jabbed a finger in my direction. “They wouldn’t have trapped Lindy if she stayed put.”

“Hey,” Dreadlocks said, keeping his eyes on the situation in front of us, “you were adamant about saving her life, remember?”

Say what now?

Drake grunted. “And how I regret that.”

“We need a diversion,” Mav said.

“Fine, I’ll create one,” Drake replied. “Don’t wait for me. Just get to the compound.”

He was ready to make a run for it when Dreadlocks pulled him back. “Be careful.”

About the Author:

KD Peters writes stories in multiple genres from Young Adult fantasy to rom-com romance. She loves paranormal romance stories, stories that she can connect with Young Adult Readers and might even have a contemporary romance or two in her. 

She is currently working on two Young Adult series. Legacy Born Series and Beaumond Academy series. Both series are currently WIPs.

If KD isn’t writing, she is learning more about her craft or spend time with her children outdoor. 

You can find out more about KD on her website at 









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Monday, April 11, 2022

Michael J. Bowler's Top Ten Favorite Horror Novels #Horror #YA #SciFi


I’ve always loved horror stories and my new novel, SHIFTER, has a supernatural element animating the storyline, even though it also veers into the dark sci-fi arena. Like most genres, horror has become somewhat derivative, both in book and movie form, and I don’t often find a new novel I love as much as those on the following list. Happy Reading!

1. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The book differs from most of the film adaptations, but it’s a brilliant depiction of human arrogance run amuck. It also touches heavily on the nature vs nurture argument, leaning toward nurture as the Creature himself believes he became a monster because he was abandoned by his creator (read: parent) and then horribly mistreated by nearly every human he met. Way ahead of its time, Frankenstein is brilliant.

2. The Other by Thomas Tryon
This psychological horror book, perhaps more than any other, inspired me to become a writer. Set in 1935, it’s the story of identical twins, one good and the other evil. But it’s so much more than that, with a surprise ending that so shocked me that I immediately re-read the entire book to figure out how Tryon had so fooled me. I was fourteen years old and captivated.

3. Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
I’ve read most of King’s work, but his second published novel remains my favorite. At the time of publication, it being a vampire story was part of the mystery I uncovered as a reader. I loved the vampire, Mr. Barlow, and the characters that made up the town of Jerusalem’s Lot. I liked Mark, the young teen who is one of the heroes, and the fact that the main character, Ben Mears, was a writer, something I aspired to become. The book is long, dark, somewhat bloody, and immensely suspenseful. It’s masterful.

4. Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon
Set in the deep South in the early 60s, this book creates such a living, breathing world for all its characters, filled with local colors and customs, that I couldn’t help but get swept up. On the surface, it’s a murder mystery involving a twelve-year-old boy who, along with his father, finds the murdered body of a man inside a car dumped in a lake. From there the story winds in and around the people of the town and it’s very much a coming-of-age tale, but never outright horror. It’s filled with mysticism and fantasy and quirky subplots, and I love it.

5. Dracula by Bram Stoker
This book is more readable than Frankenstein in terms of style and language. Also, like Frankenstein, no movie adaptation has captured the full story, nor done it justice. The brilliance of the novel, in my view, is in its construction. The story unfolds entirely as a series of journal entries by the various characters, all of which tie together and advance the story as though it were a standard narrative structure. Stoker creates most of the vampire conventions everyone else has copied, and his writing is compelling. 

6. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
This is another vampire tale by the great Matheson, which has never been made into a good movie, sadly. Robert Neville appears to be the only survivor of a nuclear or biological war that has turned the population into vampires. Hiding out in his barricaded home, Neville explores the myths about vampires (starting with Stoker’s book) and attempts to find a biological cause for them, something that he can wrap his mind around, something he can eradicate. It’s a compelling, fascinating take on the genre, walking a fine line between horror and apocalyptic fiction.

7. Ghost Story by Peter Straub
It’s a complex tale of four lifelong friends and their battles with the supernatural. Various plot threads intertwine all involving the ghosts of evil or vengeful people. I’ve read other books by Straub but found this one to be the most memorable.

8. Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin
Ira Levin is a fantastic writer. Most people know the movie version of this story, how young Rosemary is chosen to give birth to the son of Satan. The movie is very straightforward. But what made the book so captivating and so much better was this: even after you’ve finished reading it, you don’t know whether these horrible things actually happened to Rosemary or whether they were all the crazed imaginings of an unstable mind. It’s such a cool conceit because it’s left up to us, the readers, to decide.

9. The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
Blatty creates mood and tension exceptionally well and this classic story, better known from the film version, is unputdownable once you get started. There is more depth to the relationship of the priests to the demon and the reason for the possession is more clearly articulated than in the film. If you’ve only seen the movie, you need to read the book. But keep the lights on.

10. Summer of Night by Dan Simmons
Set in a small town in 1960, this book revolves around a group of middle school friends who battle an ancient evil that wants to be reborn in their old schoolhouse and maybe take over the world. Simmons creates vivid imagery and terrifying sequences of horror, in addition to a likable cast of young characters that readers will root for till the end. The plot is twisty and fun. Check it out.


Shifter 
The Healer Chronicles 
Book Two
Michael J. Bowler

Genre: Teen and Young Adult Horror/Science Fiction
Publisher: Michael J. Bowler, Author
Date of Publication: 4/12/2022
ISBN: 978-1-7333290-5-7
ASIN: B09R2K41L7
Word Count: 105K
Cover Artist: Streetlight Graphics

Tagline: Alex fears his power. Andy craves it.

Book Description:

Fifteen-year-old Alex and his learning-disabled friends barely survived the events of Spinner, but their nightmare has only just begun. 

Alex’s wheelchair has never stopped him from doing what he wants, but his supernatural power to heal every human ailment known to science has put him in the crosshairs of a dangerous doomsday cult that will stop at nothing to capture him and his long-lost twin, Andy, who can shift illness from one person to another. When the boys combine their “gifts,” they unleash the power to control life and death.

Now Alex, Andy, and the others have been kidnapped by the U.S. military. On a creepy Air Force base in the remote Nevada desert, they must decide who to trust and who to fear while uncovering secrets this base wants to hide from the world. Who is the young boy with unusual abilities who’s treated like a soldier? What is hidden in an ultra-secret hangar that no one can access? And what unnatural experiments are conducted in that closed-off laboratory? 

As Alex unravels these mysteries, he strives to bond with his twin, but Andy is distant and detached, trusting no one. He’s also more attracted to the dangerous power they wield than Alex would like. When misplaced faith in science ignites a hidden lust for supremacy, rescue can only come from the most unlikely source, and Alex must confront a terrible truth. 

The Healer Chronicles continue…


Book Trailer:  https://youtu.be/SiHwa4Ml3Ns  

Amazon      Books2Read


Excerpt:

He studied his silent brother, staring upward as though hypnotized.

“You okay, Andy?”

Without dropping his gaze in the slightest, Andy said, “You dreamed about Teacher too, didn’t you?”

Alex flinched, his breath momentarily on hold. “Yeah.”

Now it was Martin who looked confused. He shifted position on the chair and that’s when Alex noticed the gun strapped to his belt. Martin studied them both in the dark, his face hidden in shadow. “What are you guys talking about?”

When Andy remained silent, Alex pulled his gaze from his brother’s back and faced Martin. “A teacher we both had. She’s part of the group that’s trying to get me. She says she’s gonna find me no matter where I go.”

Martin’s expression turned from grim to resolute. “I’ll protect you.” He patted the gun in its holster.

Alex eyed his brother once more. “She…she said you belong to her, Andy.”

Alex thought he saw his brother recoil, but the moon wasn’t completely full, so he couldn’t be sure.

“I won’t be in a cage ever again,” Andy said quietly, his voice almost a whisper, as though talking to himself. “I told that to Teacher and I meant it.”

Martin leaped to his feet, startling the boys.

Alex whirled to face him. “What?”

Martin threw a finger to his lips and reached down, pulling out the gun and pointing it over Alex’s head.

Now Alex heard it. Movement. The sound of people trying hard to be quiet, but a slight crunch of gravel gave them away.

Martin waved the boys behind him and darted in front, gun aimed toward the house.

A red light rounded the corner and before Alex could even think of the red light that had killed Juan back at the church, Martin fired his weapon. One pop, muffled, like he had a heavy sock over the barrel. The red light spun crazily and then toppled to the grass.

Alex glanced at Andy with wide eyes. They’d been found!

After that, everything happened so fast Alex could barely process it. Another figure rounded the corner with a gun and fired. A tiny burst of light accompanied the pop of a gunshot, and then Martin grunted, collapsing to the lawn.

“Martin!” Andy dashed around Alex’s chair and knelt by the unmoving form of their protector.

More figures rounded the corner of the house and bore down on them. Alex backed up, but suddenly Andy grasped his hand. Alex felt the rush of power surging through him—just as it had at the church when they’d brought Roy back to life—heavy floodwaters that meant their combined powers had been activated. He looked down at Andy, still kneeling beside Martin’s body.

Andy whispered, “Death, to me!”

Alex stiffened, his vision growing dim, his mind filled with a gray nothingness that terrified him.

As though from miles away, he heard Andy hiss, “Death to them!”

About the Author:

Michael J. Bowler is an award-winning author of the five-book urban fantasy series The Lance Chronicles, the mystery-thriller The Film Milieu Series, the supernatural-sci-fi The Healer Chronicles, and several standalone books. He also writes screenplays. His horror screenplay, “Healer,” was a Semi-Finalist, and his urban fantasy script, “Like A Hero,” was a Finalist in the Shriekfest Film Festival and Screenplay Competition, and his sci-fi screenplay, “The God Machine,” was the 2017 Scriptapalozza First Place Winner.

He worked as producer, writer, and/or director on several ultra-low-budget horror films, including “Fatal Images,” “Hell Spa,” “Club Dead,” and “Things II.” 

He taught high school in Hawthorne, California, both in general education and to students with learning disabilities, in subjects ranging from English and Strength Training to Algebra, Biology, and Yearbook. 

He has also been a volunteer Big Brother to eight different boys with the Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters program and a long-time volunteer within the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles. 

He has been honored as Probation Volunteer of the Year, YMCA Volunteer of the Year, California Big Brother of the Year, and 2000 National Big Brother of the Year. The “National” honor allowed him and three of his Little Brothers to visit the White House and meet the president in the Oval Office. He also adopted a child in 2020.

His goal as an author is for teens to experience empowerment and hope; to see themselves in his diverse characters; to read about kids who face real-life challenges; and to see how kids like them can remain decent people in an indecent world. The most prevalent theme in his writing and his work with youth is this: as both a society, and as individuals, we’re better off when we do what’s right, rather than what’s easy.













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Cover Reveal - Magic Takes Manhattan by Jade Greenberg #ParanormalWomensFiction #RomCom


Magic Takes Manhattan
Manhattan Magic  
Book One
Jade Greenberg

Genre: Paranormal Women’s Fiction / Romantic Comedy
Date of Publication: 04/26/2022
ISBN: 9781957615004
ASIN: B09WQGRP43
Number of pages: 186
Word Count: 30k
Cover Artist: Jennifer Schatten

Tagline: She always knew New York was a magical city. She had no idea how magical.

Book Description: 

A hilarious, quirky, and enchanting, “riotously funny night of magical mayhem” from USA Today bestselling author, Jade Greenberg.

She always knew New York was a magical city. She had no idea how magical.
What do you do if you tend to attract unfortunate incidents? Make it work for you, that’s what. Take me, Mandi Muscovitz, independent insurance claims adjuster and master of disaster. I’ve made a career out of bad luck. But no matter how good I get, every year on April 30th, my birthday, mayhem always ensues. This year’s no different, and I expected that. What I did not expect was to find myself at the center of a magical apocalypse. 

Lucky for the fate of the universe, I ain’t new to this type of stuff. And it don’t hurt I got a hot wizard to stare at while I save the planet from an eternal winter.

Yeah, alright, I may have caused the problem, but it wasn’t intentional. And I’m going to be the one to fix it, so it’s like it cancels itself out in a way.

But whatever. Don’t worry. I got this… Probably.

Join Mandi on her May Day adventure as she saves the world in Magic Takes Manhattan, a not-to-be-missed, humorous Paranormal Women’s Fiction novella. 


About the Author:

Jade Greenberg is a USA Today bestselling author of Paranormal Women's Fiction with a Rom-Com twist. She lives in New York City with her family and loves finding magic in unexpected places. 











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Monday, March 28, 2022

Four Tips for Polishing Your Work – Without Hiring an Editor by L.S. Johnson #QueerGothicRomance #Queer #Gothic #Horror




Whether you're submitting a story to a magazine or trying to get an agent or publisher for your book, you want to make sure your work is the best it can be. Clunky prose or typos can stop an editor from reading to the end—and keep your amazing story from the consideration it deserves. Here are four ways to polish your work to a shine.

1. Have a friend read your story

Familiarity with your own work can cause you to miss all sorts of little mistakes. Because you know how it should read, your mind corrects spelling errors and puts commas in their proper places—but those corrections don’t make it onto the page. A fresh set of eyes can highlight the errors you’re not seeing.

2. Print out your story

You can also make yourself see your work with fresh eyes by changing the way it looks. If you’ve been writing on a computer, printing out the story will make it look different enough that your mind has to pay closer attention. If you’ve been working from paper copies, try changing the font or the layout. One of my favorite techniques is to move the story into two horizontal columns, similar to a book spread—it really changes how I read it!

3. Read your story out loud

Reading your story out loud can reveal overlong sentences and confusing grammar. For novels and novellas, I read random paragraphs out loud, and I make it a point to read aloud long passages of dialogue—if I can’t say it without getting out of breath or confusing myself, neither can my characters.

4. Use a tool like ProWritingAid

Online writing tools are in no way perfect, but they can help point out grammatical errors, overused words, and clichéd phrases. The trick is to consider each of their suggestions individually: does this change make sense for your story? Perhaps you have a character whose speech is naturally ungrammatical, or you’re trying for a poetic effect with your prose. Tools like ProWritingAid and Grammarly are great helpers, but they can also be blunt instruments. You know best how your story should be told. (Note that these programs also charge for their use, and they’re not cheap. I will freely confess that I will wait until I have several pieces I want to check, then pay for one month and cancel my subscription after I’ve run my stories through. It’s the only way I can afford it!)

How do you get your work ready to go out in the world? I’d love to hear from you—the more tools we can have in our toolkits, the better!


Harkworth Hall
Chase and Daniels
Book One
L.S. Johnson

Genre: Queer Gothic Romance/Horror
Publisher: Traversing Z Press
Date of Publication: 2017
ISBN: 978-0998893617
ASIN: B073QFH8WG 
Number of pages: 166
Word Count: 38k
Cover Artist: Najla Qamber 

Book Description: 

Ask him about his wives.

Caroline Daniels must marry, and marry well. But in her remote corner of England eligible suitors are few and far between, and none hold a candle to her closest friend, Diana Fitzroy.

When Sir Edward Masterson arrives, he seems the answer to Caroline’s financial worries, though she instinctively dislikes the reticent, older merchant. Soon Sir Edward has set his sights on acquiring both Caroline and the decaying Harkworth Hall.

Caroline’s future seems secure, save that Sir Edward’s enigmatic secretary hints at a dark secret, and Sir Edward shows an unusual interest in the nearby bay. To discover Sir Edward’s true purpose, Caroline will have to face the horror beneath Harkworth Hall—and the woman who will change her life.


Excerpt:

I first heard of Edward Masterson the day of the birds, though I forgot about them through much of what happened after. Indeed, in the moment, their strange flight was only a disturbing inconvenience, as it turned my father back from his walk to the village on laundry day.

My father was a gentleman of small, regular habits. He walked to the village twice each week, to gain news of the wider world and have two pints of ale before walking back. In winter, he had Mr. Simmons, who served as our steward as well as sometime butler and valet, drive him. But in the fine weather of late spring he would set off walking, in his plain suit but with his sword polished and ready should he meet any ruffians.

The rest of our little household—myself and Mr. and Mrs. Simmons; my poor mother had passed when I was young—would plan much around this simple outing, for the house was too much work for the Simmonses alone. My father made no objection to my helping with light chores such as dusting, but he had recently been infected with the disease of matchmaking, and he feared for my prospects should I develop a working woman’s hands and complexion. His solution for our overworked staff was to simply hire more help as needed, but I often snuck into his study to review our account books and there was no surplus for such luxuries. Thus, I learned to separate want from necessity, and while other women my age were dancing at assemblies or practicing their needlework, I was scrubbing floors and learning to make pastry. I learned, and I learned as well to not reflect upon my circumstances, lest I fall into melancholy—and many days there was simply no time for such indulgence. As soon as my father left, I put aside my role as Caroline Daniels, landowner’s daughter, and became Caroline Daniels, maid, stableboy, or whatever we needed me to be. Laundry especially was a daylong affair, and more than once we had sent Mr. Simmons out to delay my father so we could get the last damp pieces inside before he returned.

My father left, drawing the door closed behind him. I waited in the hall, seeing in my mind’s eye his stout figure striding down the drive. Now he would pat his pockets, ensuring he had a shilling but little more, for he had once been robbed on his return and had a fine watch and several shillings taken off him. Now he would think about that watch, and touch his sword in reassurance. All was well and nothing was forgotten; he could enjoy his journey in peace, and we could set about our work. I counted to fifty, then with a deep breath seized the first laundry basket and began dragging it back to the yard—

—when I heard the terrible sound of the door swinging open again, and my father bellowing for Mr. Simmons. At once I dropped the basket, smiling brightly. My smile faded, however, when I saw the spatters on his hat and coat, including a red smear on his face.

“Are you all right? Did you fall?” I rushed towards him, thinking to stop any bleeding with my apron.

“Quite all right,” he said. “Only the birds are going mad.”

For a moment I stared at him, believing I misheard him, but then I saw movement in the sky past his shoulder. Birds of all sizes and shapes, flying at odd angles to each other but all heading inland. As I watched two collided, then set at each other with horrific shrieks and bared claws. Feathers drifted down as they fought.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s quite late in the year to be mating, and there are gulls up there. They usually stay close to the shore—” My father suddenly broke off, frowning at the laundry basket. “What are you doing with that laundry?”

“I was looking for a petticoat,” I said quickly. “I cannot find it anywhere.”

He gave me a suspicious look, but I was saved from further inquiry by Mr. Simmons appearing. As he fetched my father a fresh coat, I slipped past him and went out onto the drive. Dozens of birds filled the sky, and save for when their paths provoked a conflict, they were doing so in near silence, as if they needed all their strength to fly. But what were they flying towards—or were they fleeing something? I scanned the horizon: there was not so much as a cloud, not a hint of an incoming storm.

Above me two more birds crossed paths, and the larger one viciously raked the smaller. It tumbled to the ground, then carefully righted itself and began limping forward, still heading unerringly inland.

“Caroline, dear, don’t distress yourself with such sights.” My father took my arm and led me back to the house.

“But what could be causing it?” I asked, still craning my head. “Something has frightened them, something worse than a storm.”

“They were probably startled by an animal—perhaps we have a wolf again. I’ll ask in the village,” he said. “Oh, and I forgot to tell you! I will be stopping at the Fitzroys’ on my way home. I was thinking if Diana spends the season in town again, perhaps you could join her? A stay of some weeks will help you become more comfortable in society, and develop your acquaintanceships further.”

And there were so many replies I wished to make, all at once. The Fitzroys were our closest neighbors, and Diana my oldest friend. Having both lost our mothers early, and without siblings, we had been for a time closer than sisters. The memories of our girlhood, pretending to be the pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read, or the tragic princess Caroline, still filled me with longing. But the Fitzroys’ finances had flourished where ours had declined, and I took no pleasure in the prospect of marriage. A season with Diana promised only embarrassing shortfalls and uncomfortable encounters.

I wanted to say all these things, and that I had seen far worse than a wounded bird in my life, for had I not seen my own mother die in childbirth? But such was not the speech of a dutiful daughter, and I quailed at the thought of disrupting our affectionate relationship. I was still struggling for words when he kissed me on my forehead and shooed me back inside, as if I was still a little girl.


Leviathan
Chase and Daniels 
Book Two
L.S. Johnson

Genre: Queer Gothic Romance/Horror
Publisher: Traversing Z Press
Date of Publication: June 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-0998893624
ASIN: B07DJQZ8GM 
Number of pages: 185
Word Count: 40k
Cover Artist: Najla Qamber 

Book Description:

We will survive this, Caroline.

It has been several months since Harkworth Hall burned, and mere weeks since Joanna Chase came back into Caroline Daniels’ life. But when a stranger arrives in their village and asks to see the damaged bay, they know that word of the creature has spread. With tensions simmering between France and England, they depart in haste for Medby, where Sir Edward’s brother resides. There they hope to discover if Thomas Masterson has stepped into Sir Edward’s shoes, and now wields the monster called Leviathan.

The situation in Medby, however, is far worse than they anticipated. Claiming the French attacked his ships, the younger Masterson seems about to launch an audacious reply. But his true plans are not so straightforward and there is little time for Caroline and Jo to uncover them. 

With the threat of war demanding risks in kind, Caroline and Jo must weigh their deepening affection against the greater good … and learn to trust not only their instincts, but their hearts as well.

The Painter’s Widow
Chase and Daniels 
Book Three
L.S. Johnson

Genre: Queer Gothic Romance/Horror
Publisher: Traversing Z Press
Date of Publication: June 26, 2020
ISBN: 978-0998893655
ASIN: B089QW92YN 
Number of pages: 182
Word Count: 40k
Cover Artist: Najla Qamber of Najla Qamber Designs

Book Description:

You know by now what a woman is capable of.

Caroline is home with her father and the woman she loves—but with the Leviathan still unaccounted for, such peace can only be temporary. Soon, the mysterious Mr. Smith is asking for her aid once more: one of the Mastersons’ conspirators has been murdered, and the only clue lies in a painting that was last seen in Medby. Meanwhile, Jo has worries of her own, as her affianced sister wants assurances she cannot give—not without denying her very self.

With her arrival in London marked by a second murder, Caroline finds herself once more drawn into a world she wanted to forget. Aided by old friends and new, she and Jo search for the painter, while staying out of reach of Jo’s sister’s powerful fiancé. But soon they suspect that darker forces are behind the murders, involving not only the painter but his young, pretty wife … and an imaginary land called Arcadia.

As Caroline and Jo struggle to both stop the murders and protect the life they’ve made for themselves, they find a new conspiracy is just beginning … and their choices will come at a price greater than either imagined.


A Shining Path
Chase and Daniels 
Book Four
L.S. Johnson

Genre: Queer Gothic Romance/Horror
Publisher: Traversing Z Press
Date of Publication: April 2, 2022
ISBN: 979-8985797213
ASIN: B09SY7GJFH 
Number of pages: 198
Word Count: 47k
Cover Artist: Najla Qamber Designs

Book Description:

There is so much evil in the world … but this one thing we can make right.

The island colony of Arcadia promises hope, prosperity, and tolerance to all who settle there … and asks only that they protect it with their lives. For Caroline and Jo, however, this opportunity could spell disaster, for the island’s owner is none other than Mrs. Masterson. Is her invitation an honest offer, or a deadly lure? And what relation does this Arcadia have to the one in the widow’s paintings—a place accessible only by magic, and the last known location of the monster called Leviathan?

To uncover the truth, Caroline and Jo set out for Arcadia, only to find that each of their fellow travelers has personal reasons for accepting Mrs. Masterson’s offer. Caught between this impromptu army and the might of England and France, knowing at any moment the Leviathan might reappear, they race to stave off the impending violence. 

But the further they get, the more they realize that Mrs. Masterson has set herself, and the Leviathan, against a far greater opponent than any one nation. Her success will mean catastrophe for millions, but stopping her may cost Caroline and Jo what they hold most dear: each other.

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About the Author:

L.S. Johnson lives in California with a spouse, a cat, and numerous goldfish. She is the author of the Chase and Daniels quartet of gothic novellas and over 40 short stories. Her first collection, Vacui Magia, won the North Street Book Prize and was a finalist for the World Fantasy Award. Her second collection, Rare Birds, was an IPPY medalist. Her vampire serial, Prima Materia, is happening now. Find her online at traversingz.com.


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