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What if dogs really are angels...
Angels in fur coats.
Statistics for The sniff around town by Gooberella
Number of Readers that added this blog to their MyJacketFlap: 2
My Promotional Tree
C L Enuton author of the Fur Angel Series
Every author’s dream is to publish a book and have it fly off the shelves. Promotion gives your book wings to fly. With millions of books to choose from, how do I get people to pick my book ─ or even see my book? That seems to be a common question among authors. I begin with my website. Right now I have two sites that are linked to one another. My book site:
www.clenuton.com and my fun, everything-else site:
www.Gooberella.comI envision my websites as a tree trunk where all my treasures are waiting to be discovered. I try to keep my sites simple. Book covers are displayed with a short blurb and a buy button that takes you to Amazon.
Each social media outlet I use is a branch of my website (tree) that reaches out to people all over the world. Every promotion I do leads back to my website. I try to make my branches fun and creative. Something people can relate to, makes them smile and laugh. I’ve designed my tree branches to fit my writing genre which is the fantastical world of talking- dogs. Yes, my tree is colorful, magical, and a little nutty and so are my branches.
My first branch is Facebook, and the groups I subscribe to are filled with talking-dogs, dog photos, contests, and a lot of caring people with a love of dogs. My dogs are known as the 3 Goobers. They support dog related charities, auctions with donations of autographed books, as well as host their own dog photo contests where the winners win…you guessed it…signed books.
Other branches are, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I always carry a camera with me and post at least two pictures a day on these outlets followed by a link to my website. Remember, all things posted should lead back to your website. My nuttier branches are Fiverr,
www.Fiverr.com/gooberella where I make talking-dog videos for $5.00 and Youtube,
www.youtube.com/xiagooberella where I post the videos.
Anything related to your writings that could branch off and lead back to your books is a form of promotion. I also sell art work of my books illustrations on a site called society6,
www.society6.com/gooberella. They put my illustrations onto shirts, pillows, bed covers, rugs, shower curtains…basically just about anything. And once again, everything leads back to my main book website.
As far as sales go, Amazon is my biggest outlet. It allows me to share my books all over the world. They have many promotional options for authors. If used in conjunction with independently operated promotional sites, authors can gain good exposure.
And finally, book signings. I love going to schools to give book presentations. It’s fun talking to students about my books, writing techniques, the publishing process, and playing my talking dog videos. The kids love them. Book festivals and book store signings are more for author interaction rather than sales. Festivals usually charge a pricey booth-space fee, and bookstores take up to 50% or more of sales. But it’s always fun talking with customers and autographing books for them and their dogs.
Author Website
A.C. PAPA Literary Journal, Issue #1
Ancient City Poets, Authors, Photographers & Artists (A.C. PAPA)
Fifty-three contributors musing on the subject of the Sunshine State.Editor-In-Chief Chris Bodor; cover by nature photographer Mark Kirwan
An article written by writer Barbara Pyles Barker about issue #1 of A.C. PAPA Florida Literary Journal.
Reading this inaugural issue of A.C. PAPA was a special treat for me, because the many wonderful poems and stories evoke a world from my own memories. Like Robin McClary who wrote the foreword, I grew up in the Sunshine State and know many of the same things: palmettoes; TVs you actually had to cross the room to change; three local (and only) channels; locks not used, because they were not needed. On Vilano Beach, where I was raised, the sand dunes were tall, the ocean gave up the most perfect shells after tropical storms, and August meteor showers were brilliant because there was no competition for the light.
My sister and I walked together between our street and Boating Club Road to visit our grandparents practically daily—no worries about what lay between those two homes. We knew the neighbors, and there weren’t a great many. The beach community is filled now. The world is so connected, and I suppose we’re safer now in a way because of it, but there’s also more we need to be safe from. Something has been lost, and that makes it all the more important to remember these details of our childhoods and family histories here in St. Augustine.
The poems in A.C. PAPA capture Florida in works that celebrate cities such as Saint Augustine and Saint Petersburg, as well as the state’s varied landscape. They share the authors’ own memories, as well as what they love of our state and town in contemporary times. Salt-river views, beach glass, Egrets, sea turtles are all here in verse. “Florida’s Environmental Heritage” speaks of those things that have been lost from Nature, but of our attempts to recapture. Haikus capture slivers of Florida.
My state has always provided inspiration to artists. In this collection Larry Baker recalls his inspirations for The Flamingo Rising, how the A1A coastline provided shape and grounding for the acclaimed novel. Another essay, authored by Susan Bennett Lopez, takes us back to her journey to find Jack Kerouac in Florida. She recounts her search for Jack, her attempt to get to “the core of Kerouac’s psyche.”
Another theme in this volume is the inspiration we writers find in Nature’s most dangerous and awesome forces. There is something about storms that draws us, and lights our imagination. “Fakahatchee Bay Crossing”, by Jim Draper, is a gripping account of a struggle to survive, and the character’s transformation in the stormy bay along a coast of mangrove trees, buoyed above the hazard of razor sharp oyster shells.
In a special section called Coast Lines, three of the poems relate the power of hurricanes; Mother Nature’s signature Florida force. Ann Browning Masters gives us a glimpse into the Oldest City’s history with these storms. “Hurricane Winds”, by Gigi Mischele Miller and Tovah Janovsky’s “Impressions of Arthur” relate beautiful imagery of how we natives dealt with Mother Nature at Her most fearsome and awe inspiring. These poets give all due respect where it is deserved to this stunning and destructive power.
The talented artists in this volume capture the beauty, mystique, and history of this special place, in verse and prose and photos. It is a jewel of a collection.
The inaugural issue of Ancient City Poets, Authors, Photographers and Artists (A.C. PAPA)
To buy on Amazon click
HERE
A.C. PAPA Editor-In-Chief Chris Bodor spreading the message of poetry and spoken word.
CALL For WORK – A.C. PAPA ISSUE #2
The next reading period for Ancient City Poets, Authors, Photographers & Artists (A.C. PAPA) will be April 01, 2015 to June 30. The focus of this Saint Augustine, Florida based journal is to spotlight Florida artists and art that references the Sunshine State. They will accept submissions of poetry, fiction, fine art and photography. A.C. PAPA is looking for writing and artwork that speaks of Florida, from all angles and all perspectives. They would like to hear from locals, tourists, travelers and residents. Special sections in issue #2 will include: “Saint Augustine History—the first 450 Years” and a number of articles on Florida writers such as Harry Crews.
The next issue of A.C. PAPA will appear in November, and will feature the best work from Florida artists as well as national and international writers who have something to say about Florida. Poet Plant Press is best known for their 2014 title Florida Speaks, an anthology featuring more than thirty writers musing on the Sunshine State. Please email your submissions as a RTF Microsoft Word file as an attachment to [email protected]. For more info and guidelines please go to the Poet Plant Press website at www.bodor.org or purchase a copy of issue #1 on Amazon by searching for the title of the publication.
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Stains on the Soul
by Jamie White
About Stains on the Soul:
It’s her last summer before going away to college and Fiona finds herself facing more than she bargained for: A boyfriend she doesn’t want who has a strange hold over her, a friend pushing her to expand her boundaries, and a new guy named Ted whose presence is more than a distraction.
If that isn’t enough, Fiona is being haunted with horrifying nightmares of burning at the stake—nightmares so real, she feels as though she’s losing her mid.
Are they only dreams, or are they trying to warn her about this new guy she can’t help but want?
Guest blog from (the main character) Fiona’s point of view:
“The Dream”
I feel like I’m losing it. Every time I go to sleep, it’s the same thing: I wake up in a cold sweat with all kinds of horrible images fresh in my mind. I’ve been walking around like a zombie and trying not to let anyone know just how exhausted I am, and all because of these dreams.
There’s a girl about to burn at the stake. She looks terrified and I know it’s not just the fact she’s about to die. She’s terrified of what she sees before the men come and light the kindling beneath her. No… actually, I think she looks more sad than anything.
It makes me think of him, and I don’t know why. He’s new is town and he’s been coming on to me. He’s cute, so I really shouldn’t mind but there’s something about him that makes me uncomfortable. I think part of it is the fact I like him too much and I shouldn’t. I’m technically seeing someone, and I’m about to go off to college soon. Why should I bother getting mixed up with someone else? Especially someone who makes my skin crawl.
Every time I see him, I can’t breathe and sometimes I think of that girl in my dreams. She looks so sad, like she wants to tell me something important.
I told you I was losing it.
About the author:
Jamie White is a music addict, book lover, pet servant & NaNoWriMo survivor. When she's not busy writing blog posts, she's taking pictures and spending time with her husband and pets. She released Stains on the Soul and Clutter via Pagan Writers Press in 2013. Stains 2 is set to release February 2015.
Frogs, Hogs, Puppy DogsShakes, Cakes, Frosted FlakesRub, Scrub, Clean the Tub
by
Leslie Halpern
Award-winning poet Leslie C. Halpern wrote her Funny Children’s Poems book series to educate and entertain early readers, ages 5-9. The series includes Frogs, Hogs, Puppy Dogs: Funny Children’s Poems About Animal Friends (2014), Shakes, Cakes, Frosted Flakes: Funny Children’s Poems About Table Manners (2013), and Rub, Scrub, Clean the Tub: Funny Children’s Poems About Self-Image (2012), all published by Cricket Cottage Publishing and illustrated with whimsical watercolor paintings by Oral Nussbaum. Told from a child’s perspective, Frogs, Hogs, Puppy Dogs takes a light-hearted look at our relationships with house pets and zoo animals; Shakes, Cakes, Frosted Flakes humorously studies eating habits, nutrition, and etiquette; and Rub, Scrub, Clean the Tub provides a child’s distorted view of personal hygiene, interpersonal relationships, and self-image. All three books in the Funny Children’s Poems series include parent-teacher resource pages with challenging questions, fun games, and glossaries of unfamiliar words. Find Leslie’s children’s books and adult nonfiction books about the entertainment industry at Amazon.com, on her website at www.LeslieHalpern.com, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/funnychildrenspoems.
How to Make Poetry Fun for Children
By Leslie C. Halpern
When I tell people I write children’s poetry books, perform with a poetry ensemble, and once worked with a Shakespearean acting troupe, they often roll their eyes and tell me they don’t like poetry. That’s usually because as children they never learned to understand the language of poems.
Parents can make poetry fun and educational by introducing age-appropriate poems to young children. Infants will respond to hearing rhymed poems and looking at illustrations. As soon as a child can speak, he or she can explain what the pictures mean and guess what happens next. By being active listeners, children learn to decode language at an early age and may develop a life-long love of words.
Blending Concrete and Abstract
When children become accustomed to the language, they can appreciate one of poetry’s most beautiful elements: blending concrete (what’s experienced through our senses) and abstract (emotional truth without physical proof).
The poem “Chew Chew Train” from my book, Shakes, Cakes, Frosted Flakes: Funny Children’s Poems About Table Manners combines concrete images (strained spinach, ice cream) with abstract ideas (playing tricks, comparing a mouth to a tunnel). This humorous look at parent-child interactions at the dinner table offers a child’s point of view about adult manipulation.
Illustration by Oral Nussbaum, from the book Shakes, Cakes, Frosted Flakes.
Chew Chew Train
“Open wide for the choo choo train,”
my parents sometimes say.
There is no train, just spinach strained,
but I open anyway.
A spoon with spinach doesn’t look
like any kind of choo choo.
It’s the oldest trick in the book,
like kissing someone’s boo boo.
The train still comes and blow its steam,
but now the tunnel shuts.
I wait for spoons of soft ice cream,
caramel, and nuts.
Poetry For Young Children
Most children enjoy figuring out symbols and metaphors, and finding patterns in the poetry. They also find comfort and gain confidence from anticipating rhyme and repeating rhythm of traditional children’s poems. Rhyme and rhythm make memorization easier.
Repetition is a key element in the poem “Snakes on a Bus,” from my book, Frogs, Hogs, Puppy Dogs: Funny Children’s Poems About Animal Friends. Repeating final words in the rhymed couplets helps children remember and recite this short lesson in safety.
Illustration by Oral Nussbaum, from the book Frogs, Hogs, Puppy Dogs.
Snakes on a Bus
Kevin brought three snakes on the bus, bus, bus.
And waved them around at us, us, us.
The snakes stared, but didn’t hiss, hiss, hiss.
Kevin screamed: “Take this, this, this!”
The driver slammed his brakes, brakes, brakes.
But Kevin’s snakes were fakes, fakes, fakes.
Although the drive to school is far, far, far,
Kevin now must come by car, car, car.
Writing Their Own Poetry
Reading and reciting poetry often leads children to write their own pieces. Encourage each child to write in easier forms, such as haiku (17 syllables total with three lines broken into 5, 7, 5 syllables each line), rhymed couplets (two lines with rhyming final words), and free verse (no designated rhyme or rhythm).
To enhance their poetry, children can draw pictures or use artwork and photographs from magazines to illustrate poems. Compile their best written poems or their favorite poems by other poets into a hand-written book, a booklet printed from the computer, or a blank book purchased from the store. Let the child “perform” this poetry in front of family and friends, using silly props and percussion instruments, such as tambourines, bells, and drums, to increase the fun. The important part of this process – and what will be appreciated most – is for parents and children to explore poetry together
Leslie C. Halpern
BIO
Award-winning poet Leslie C. Halpern has a Master’s Degree in Liberal Arts and Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism. In addition to children’s books, she writes nonfiction books about the entertainment industry for adults, and reviews books and movies for several online publications. Find out more about her at www.LeslieHalpern.com and www.facebook.com/LeslieCHalpern.
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Oooooo.....this is one to read with all the lights on and doors locked.
The Revenant
by Elise Abram
Synopsis:
Raised from the dead as a revenant more than a hundred years ago, Zulu possesses superior stealth, superhuman speed, and a keen intellect. His only companion is Morgan the Seer, an old man cursed with longevity and the ability to see the future in his dreams. Zulu has spent the last century working with Morgan in order to save the people in his nightmares from horrible fates. Branded a vigilante by the media, Zulu must live his life in the shadows, traveling by night or in the city's underground unless his quest demands otherwise.
Morgan also has enemies. His twin brother Malchus, a powerful necromancer, is raising an army of undead minions to hunt Morgan down. Will they be able to stop Morgan from raising his army? How will they kill someone as powerful as Malchus? Is there more at stake than just their own lives?
Amazon - To buy click
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Guest Post
Author Elise talks about The Importance of Dialogue
"Conversation #1" by Angus Cameron
https://www.flickr.com/photos/73716058@N04/9291813137
Reading should be an immersive activity in which you experience everything the point of view (POV) character experiences. A good narrative should give the reader a fly-on-the-wall-with-extra-sensory-perception feeling in which everything the POV character sees, hears, feels, and occasionally tastes and smells is related. The ESP comes when we hear the POV character's thoughts. This helps to establish pathos, a sense of empathy, compassion and the ability to put myself into the protagonist's shoes.
What about dialogue?
Every seasoned writer has heard the old adage "Show, don't tell". It's the first thing I teach my Writer's Craft students, repeating it as a mantra to them throughout the semester. Dialogue is the best way to show your audience what motivates your main character.
To demonstrate, consider this:
John said he was mad.
Here the narrator tells the reader what John has said, that John is mad. We know nothing about John's thoughts, or his level of agitation. Rather than tell us what John's said, let your characters speak for themselves.
"I'm mad," John said.
Though this time John is allowed to speak for himself, this excerpt gives the reader nothing more than the first example of telling.
John felt the blood rise in his temples. "I'm so angry I could spit," he said.
Here the author tells us what John's feeling in the moments before he speaks. Something's happened that has clearly agitated him. He's not just mad, he's angry, really angry.
Dialogue doesn't just show detail, it helps advance plot ("Don't follow me," he told her and he climbed into his pick-up, that old Dodge beater he'd bought on Craig's List for a song.), and character ("I hate it when she does that.") to show the characters' thoughts and feelings in a way being told these things (He told her not to follow him and he got into his truck and drove away.) by a disembodied narrator can't.
Author Bio for Elise Abram
Elise Abram is a high school English and Computer Studies teacher, former archaeologist, avid reader and student of the human condition. Everything she does, watches, reads and hears is fodder for her writing. In her spare time she experiments with Paleo cookery, knits badly, and writes.
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Little Pearl's Circus World
by Charmain Zimmerman Brackett
This looks so cool! A non-fiction picture book about the author's great-grandmother, Pearl Clark LaComa (1890-1927). Pearl was the daughter of Mack Loren "M.L." Clark, who owned the M.L. Clark and Son's Combined Shows. Their wagon circus traveled throughout the United States from 1894 until 1945. The family sold the circus after M.L.'s death in 1926. Pearl started off as contortionist but after marrying her husband, Cris LaComa, she took to the air on a trapeze.
How cool is that! The author also shares insight on how the book was made in the article, Circus Roots.
Book Synopsis - Before she was 5 years-old, Little Pearl Clark was performing in her father's circus, the M.L. Clark and Son's Combined Shows. Join Little Pearl behind the scenes of her circus world. Little Pearl's Circus World is based on the true story Pearl Clark LaComa (1890-1927).
Circus Roots
It started as a way to preserve her family heritage, but it resulted in an illustrated children's book based on her great-grandmother's life in the circus.
About three years ago, Charmain Zimmerman Brackett had a chance meeting with some long-lost cousins.
"I grew up in Georgia, and most of my dad's family lived in Las Vegas. I didn't really get to know his side of the family," she said. "One of my cousins moved to Georgia, and I went with my parents to meet her and her sister who was visiting from Las Vegas."
Her cousin, Becky Bagshaw, was interested in genealogy and spent the next few hours telling Brackett about their family's circus history. Their great-grandmother, Pearl Clark LaComa, had been part of a circus owned by LaComa's father, Mack Loren "M.L." Clark. And their grandmother, Juanita LaComa Zimmerman, had wanted to be a writer. She wrote down snippets of her circus memories in spiral-bound notebooks. Bagshaw promised to send photocopies of pictures and these journals when she returned to Las Vegas, and she did.
"The box she sent me was full of my grandmother's writings and copies of photographs. It was fascinating to me, but it saddened me at the same time because I never knew any of this when my grandmother was alive," said Brackett.
Over the next two years, Brackett went on a quest to pull as much circus information together as possible. She traveled to Baraboo, Wis. to research at the Robert L. Parkinson Library and Research Center and to Alexandria, La. where her family's circus had its winter headquarters.
She spent countless hours on the Internet.
She gathered family photos from other relatives in Texas and Washington state.
"At first, I thought I'd do something just for my family. I wanted to put the photographs together in one place in a medium that could be passed down from generation to generation. After posting a few photographs of my grandmother on social media, I discovered other people were as interested in my family as I was," she said.
With her journalistic background, she had hoped to write a non-fiction work about her great-grandparents' lives, but despite her efforts, she couldn't find enough information. So she went to Plan B - write a children's book based on the notes her grandmother had written. There was enough information for that. She enlisted Erica Pastecki, an artist and art teacher, to create paintings which would be used as the basis for the illustrations. Brackett also hired Ashlee Henry to do the design of the book.
In November 2014, Little Pearl's Circus World was published.
And on Jan. 3, readers at The Kindle Hub voted her book as the Best Children's Book of 2014.
"It's really exciting to see people get behind this project. I'm thrilled with the way the book turned out, and I can't wait to see where it leads," she said.
Click HERE to buy at Amazon
Click HERE to buy at Barnes and Noble
Bio - Charmain Zimmerman Brackett started her writing career while still in college joining the sports staff of the local paper as a correspondent taking high school sports stats. She's continued working for that same newspaper for more than 27 years. She published her first novel, The Key of Elyon, in 2012, and it was awarded the 2014 Yerby Award for Fiction at the Augusta Literary Festival.
website/blog - www.charmainzbrackett.coma Rafflecopter giveaway
Belonging
by Ruth O'Neil
Author Ruth O'Neil shares a question and answer interview with us followed by an author biography and where to purchase the ebook, Belonging.
Book Blurb:
After the death of her father, painfully shy and introverted Shelly finds her world turned upside down. She is forced to speak with people and she may even have to move from her comfortable apartment. Sorting through her father’s possessions at his house brings back many memories, including how they would research her mom’s genealogy so that in a way, she could get to know her mother’s family, who are all deceased. Shelly wonders why her dad never researched his own family and she never remembers any family events. Why? She begins a journey that takes her to places she never dreamed. Throughout the entire story, God nudges Shelly to get out of her comfort zone. That’s easy for some, but for Shelly it may almost be impossible.
Q & A
Is Shelly based on you or someone you know from real life?
I think my characters are always a combination of many people I know and then some imagination thrown in for good measure. I don’t want to have any one person think that I was writing specifically about them. I take bits and pieces of real life and made a whole new life.
In your book, your main character, Shelly, decides to do some genealogy. Have you ever researched your family history?
I have not, but my mother did. She did it the old-fashioned way, without using the Internet. She traced both sides of my family way back. It’s interesting to look through the pages and pages she collected and see who some of my ancestors are and what their lives were like.
How much of an inspiration to your literary career was your mother?
My mother was a great influence on my writing career. She always wanted to be a writer ever since she was a little girl and I was the same. I have stories she wrote with her cousin when they were young and she kept stories that I wrote when I was young. She was part of a writer’s group where we lived. When I was in high school and decided that was what I wanted to do as a career, she did everything in her power to help me. I attended conferences with her. I was introduced to “real” writers who gave me a lot of good advice as I was starting out. The information I gleaned then was extremely valuable.
Which author, living or dead, would you want to pen the story of your life?
Oooo, that’s a hard one. Do I have to pick just one? Maybe Julie Campbell, the author of the first Trixie Belden books. I would pretend I was Trixie and solve non-mysteries around my neighborhood. She would be a good author to write about my childhood. Laura Ingalls Wilder would be another good one. She wrote about how things were. She made ordinary life seem unordinary. I had a very ordinary life, maybe she could make it exciting.
Which 3 words best describe how you feel about your literary future?
Positive – because so much has happened thus far and sometimes I just have to smile, especially when I get personal responses from readers. Excited – because of what’s to come. I have a lot of new things on the horizon and I just seem to get busier and busier, which is a good thing for me. Hopeful – that I will reach new readers who will be touched by my writing. I love to make readers laugh or cry or maybe just see a little bit of themselves in my stories.
What kind of response have you received from your readers?
I have received some wonderful responses from my readers. I have received emails from people telling me how the book has touched their lives. I’ve received good reviews on Amazon.
I actually received a message with an order for print copies the other day. This woman had purchased an ecopy and then someone at work had begun reading it. For some reason the co-worker was not able to finish and was upset. The lady who had first purchased the ecopy bought her co-worker a print copy just so she could finish it. She also bought a print copy for herself just to have it.
It makes me feel good that people get excited about my books and that they can’t wait to continue reading.
Bio:Ruth O’Neil has been a freelance writer for 20-plus years. She sees everything as a writing opportunity in disguise, whether it is an interesting character, setting, or situation. When she’s not writing or homeschooling her kids, Ruth spends her time quilting, reading, scrapbooking, camping and hiking with her family.
One of our favorite subjects here at Gooberella is Angels. We are excited to share this new fiction fantasy series. And as a special sneak peek, the author has given us an excerpt that takes the reader into another place and time with an angel.
Rephaim Series
by Cheri Roman
Descent (book 1)
Click HERE to buy book
Sacrifice (book 2)
click HERE to buy book
Fulfilling one’s destiny requires sacrifice…
Escaping a global catastrophe, angel-human hybrid, Shahara, lands safely in Babylon with her beloved Volot, an angel with a sacred mission. But the victory is a hollow one, for the world she knew has been obliterated. Battered by the loss of her family and the denial of her most cherished dreams, Shahara’s new life begins to disintegrate as she is lured by promises of power and fulfillment into the violent, blood-soaked ambitions of a ruthless enemy. With her marriage shattered and countless lives hanging in the balance, Shahara must make a devastating choice. Can she survive her decision, or will victory require the ultimate sacrifice? By turns romantic, suspenseful and terrifying, this epic fantasy treads the knife edge of human frailty and superhuman courage.
Excerpt:
Volot leaned over and kissed her, his lips a promise against hers. He was still watching her as he backed into the front garden and leapt, his wings springing free of the pattern on his back, lifting him into the sky.
Shahara followed him out the door and watched his progress, up through wide-spreading tree branches, to open air. In the distance a thin, gray tracing smudged the horizon like smoke. Shahara shivered in the cold breeze that kicked along the foundation of the house. Hugging her shawl close about her, she went inside to begin the morning’s work. Preparations needed to be made, Danae said, if they were to have any chance of surviving the thing she called a flood. Shahara shook her head as she worked. Sabaoth may have given Danae the gift of prophecy, but her prediction made no sense. Water was to cover the entire Earth? For a year? Impossible. Still, it was better to be busy.
Immersing herself in the work helped to push the pain of loss once more into the distance. It also served to diminish her awareness of her surroundings. The morning was half gone before she realized how dark it had become. Wrapping a strap across the basket she had just filled, Shahara stood and stretched her tired back. Outside, the wind moaned like a living thing and she crossed to the doorway, looking out with dull eyes. The smudge she had noticed earlier had grown into a skein of dark, heavy gauze, covering the sky from horizon to horizon. She stared at it. The wind died and the world stopped in silence. For an instant her vision sharpened and she noted every leaf, every flower and stone within her sight, as if it had been magically painted across her mind’s eye by an iridescent brush; a scene she would be able to recall with instant, awful clarity for the rest of her life. Then, with an ear-splitting roar, the earth rocked beneath her. An ancient oak swayed like a sapling and crevasses ripped across the ground as water poured from the sky in torrents.
“Volot,” Shahara screamed, calling to him with voice and soul. In a blurred rush, Volot scooped her up and vaulted into the sky as the oak fell, crushing their house beneath its colossal branches.
Shahara clung to him as he fought to stay airborne against the furious wind. For an instant, the couple looked over the sudden ruin of their home.
“It’s too soon! We’re not ready.” Shahara shouted her protest over the storm.
Volot shook his head. “We were not promised time. We only hoped.”
“What about the others?”
Their eyes met and she saw the torment in his glance. “We will have to find them after. They will escape the same way we will. Shahara…” he hesitated and lightning streaked across the sky above him, thunder cracking in the same instant. “We have to go into the Shift.”
She stared at him with wide, terrified eyes. “No. We’ll die there.”
“We’ll die here. There is no choice.”
He didn’t wait for a reply but thrust hard with his wings. In a shower of sparks, the pair was gone, leaving chaos to reign behind.
Stepping into the dark in between, the pair shivered in the sudden, intense cold. The rain-wet fabric of Shahara’s dress stiffened and ice crystals formed in her hair. In the distance, she could see pin-pricks of silver light and she shuddered.
“We have a few moments before they get here,” Volot said.
“Before what get here?”
“The lights.” He glanced over his shoulder but she could see no difference yet.
“And then what?” she asked, her teeth tapping together in the jaw tightening cold.
“I don’t —” Volot’s reply was cut off by a brilliant spray of gold sparks as another angel entered the Shift.
“Well met, Volot. I see you have brought your wife along.” The voice echoed hollow and distant in the cold, but the speaker glowed in sharp relief against the dark. Shahara glanced from Volot to the newcomer. He could only be another angel. His topaz eyes gleamed clear and intelligent beneath black brows. His ebony skin shown reddish bronze in the dim light and it took a moment, but she could see from her husband’s expression that Volot recognized him.
“General Bellator.” Volot snapped to attention and pounded a fist to his heart in salute. He glanced at Shahara. “The situation on Earth is dangerous at the moment. I had to —”
Bellator waved his comments aside. “No need to explain. It is well. You will be taking up a new mission now.” The general glanced over Volot’s shoulder and frowned. “We haven’t much time, so listen carefully. You will travel through the light into a city called Babylon.”
Bio:
Cheri Roman is a writer, editor, teacher, wife, mother, grandmother and friend, in whatever order works best in the moment. Most days you can find her on her blog, The Brass Rag, or working on the next novel in her fantasy series, Rephaim. Cheri lives with her husband and Jack, the super Chihuahua.
Amazon author page: http://tinyurl.com/otz5ejp
Catalyst
Author Rhyannon Yates
genre: Steam Punk
Synopsis for Catalyst, a WIP (work in progress)
Two thousand years after the Schism, the borders are beginning to weaken. Wraiths are turning to dust in the streets, people are dropping dead, the chests torn open and inner organs burned away, and all Levi Keats wants to do is deliver a disciplinary summons and go home to the safety of his University office. A simple administrative duty turns perilous with the addition of a suspected murderer, a rogue border patrol agent, and the increasing possibility that prophesies of the Great Cataclysm are slightly less fictitious than previously assumed.
Author Bio
Rhyannon Yates began writing at the age of five with a charming story about a misunderstood girl and her pet hippo. She grew out of her pachyderm-peddling ways, and spends her time now trying to crank out the next great American fantasy novel while binge-watching Netflix.
Rhyannon lives in Florida with her husband, her cat, and her two offspring.
Rhyannon Yates Author Interview
ILBD: What inspired you to write your first book?
RY: I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, but Catalyst grew out of two different writing projects, one of which has early drafts that go back to my thirteen-year-old self. I was working on both projects simultaneously, and had the problem for one that I had a great antagonist, but no real problem, while for the other, I had an awesome conflict, but not defined antagonist. I ended up picking up my antagonist from one story, as well as a few of said story’s key characters, and plunking them into the world of the other.
IMBP: What book are you reading now?
RY: Abhorsen by Garth Nix. I’m rereading it for the first time in years, and I’d forgotten how much I love the Abhorsen Series. Garth Nix combines realism with fantasy so seamlessly, and the idea of stepping through the veil between life and death, and the notion of controlled versus uncontrolled magic influenced me as an author quite a bit. The more I read of his work, the more I see his influence in my own writing, which, on the one hand, is awesome, because Garth Nix is amaze-balls, but on the other, makes me wonder if I’m being too derivative or unoriginal. Reading is so stressful as an author. Sometimes you read something and think “If this nonsense can get published, I can definitely succeed!”, and other times you read things that are just genius and spend the next week in a spiral of booze and self-loathing, researching accounting school because you’ll NEVER succeed as an author.
ILBP: Do you have any advice for other writers?
RY: Not that I’m a great success (YET), but the best advice I’ve found is just to write. Life comes prepackaged with excuses. I have two young children, a nine-to-five job, volunteer responsibilities, and a marriage to maintain. Life is busy, and writing time doesn’t just present itself. Make time, and guard that time. It’s easy to blow it off and see it as expendable, but the Law of Infinite Probability notwithstanding, your novel won’t write itself.
ILBP: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
RY: I feel like that is one of my biggest challenges, is that my work doesn’t really have a message. I remember that I used to get so annoyed in English class when we were supposed to dissect these works of literature to find what the authors message was. To borrow from John Green, books belong to their readers. If you read Catalyst and find a message that impacts you in a profound way, that’s awesome, and I’m glad that the book is able to mean something to you. If you read it and enjoy it and walk away without feeling like any great message was conveyed, I’m great with that, too. I’m much more into the idea of a story that stays with someone than in trying to impart anything deep and philosophical.
ILBP: What are you working on right now?
RY: I’m in the middle of writing a book called “Catalyst”, which will hopefully be ready for publication in June. It’s been a long time coming, and now that the end is in sight, I’m starting to get really excited about the future of the book, whether it will be a series or a standalone, that sort of thing. The book deals a lot with race issues, social hierarchies, and the personal effects of mental illnesses like anxiety, all set against the backdrop of this fractured world that has literally sequestered itself in a bubble, away from the rest of the universe.
ILBP: While you were writing, did you ever feel as if you were one of the characters?
RY: There are definitely pieces of myself in Levi. I’ve dealt with anxiety and panic my entire adult life, and Levi is a particularly anxious hero. Our triggers are different, but the results are the same. Levi fears change and lack of stability, where my triggers tend to fall more into the realm of the irrational. We do share several anxiety coping methods, which you can see when Levi gets really nervous, and which I didn’t really put in as a conscious “Oh yes, let’s give this character a similar anxiety tic”, but which I feel fit him well anyway.
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Today's featured author is Tracie Roberts and the Elan Series. A suspenseful, young adult series, with a twist of the paranormal. Read about the exciting new series here and where to buy it. Tracie has also given us a new version of an interview....instead of an author interview, it is a character interview. Pretty cool, huh?" Derek Williams, one of the main characters of the series, is interviewed.
The Elan Series
by Tracie Roberts
ECHO (book 1)
He’s the one she’s been dreaming of…
Tara McAllister has her life figured out: graduate from college, get a job teaching at her old high school, and find a boyfriend that won’t care that she’s a practicing witch. Everything is falling into place…until the visions begin. Tara’s practice has given her a gift--she sees the future. And for her, it includes a gorgeous man that she’s never met but definitely knows. She can feel it. Now all she has to do is find him.
…but is he the one she’s destined to be with?
Derek Williams just wants to get by. He goes to school, works to help support his family, and enjoys the occasional party with his friends—as long as his gift doesn’t create a ruckus. Derek is an empath, born to feel what others feel and able to change their emotions with a touch. His inherited gift comes with an added benefit—the ability to find his soul mate, the one person he’s meant to be with. And he’s found her; he just has to convince her of their connection.
As their relationship heats up and their abilities grow stronger, Tara and Derek must overcome the objection of family and friends, the advances of former flames, and a secret that could ruin them both—if their love is to survive.
ECHO is available now through Amazon click HERE
BLUR (book 2)
Joined by an ancient magic, their love was predestined. Now, that fragile bond is in danger of being shattered.
Tara McAllister has come to terms with her soul mate being underage and a student in her class. She knows that it’s illegal, but legalities are inconsequential where the heart’s concerned. The soul deep connection that drew them together over the summer has strengthened. Just as she feels comfortable enough to dream about a future with her élan, a tragic accident threatens to rip her happiness from her grasp.
Derek Williams chose to pursue the one woman who made his whole existence worthwhile, despite the fact that she was older and his English teacher. Once he convinces her that they are meant to be with each other, he finally feels at peace planning their future together. Then one night and one misstep jeopardize everything they’ve built and fought for.
Tara and Derek’s love story—the story that explores the balance between what’s right and what matters—continues in BLUR, Book 2 in The Élan Series.
BLUR will be available in February through Amazon
Character Interview with Derek Williams
1. What is your most marked characteristic?
It’s the gray eyes. All the Williams kids have them, but those of us with gifts have eye color that changes. When we use our gifts, our eyes lighten from dark gray to almost white.
2. What is it like having eight brothers and sisters?
It’s a good thing we have a two-story house with lots of rooms or else everybody’d be fighting for space. Really, it hasn’t been too bad having so many brothers and sisters. We’ve had our share of fights, but we all look out for each other for the most part. The only time it was ever rough was when there were just six of us, four boys and two girls. My sisters, Dianne and Doraleigh, would blame everything on us boys and Daddy would believe them because they were his baby girls.
3. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Honesty. Sure, it’s good not to lie, but people put too much value on being honest instead of being a friend. I mean, friends can be honest with you, but usually they don’t want to hurt your feelings, so they don’t tell the truth as it is. Instead, they tell a version of the truth, a version that doesn’t hurt the other person.
4. What makes you laugh out loud?
Watching those guys on Youtube who do stupid shi…Sorry, habit. Watching them do stupid stunts on bikes or skateboards that you know are gonna end with them falling on their faces, or on their…, well, this is a G-rated interview, right? So, yeah, those stupid stunt people.
5. What is your biggest regret?
Lying to Tara. I know it sounds weird, especially after my answer to that virtue question, but I didn’t want to lie to her, I had to. If I’d told her the truth from the get-go, we wouldn’t be together now. We might be linked and all, but I don’t know that she’d be dating me if she’d known how old I was from the beginning.
6. How would you like to die?
That’s sort of a sick question, ain’t it? But I guess if I really thought about it, I’d like to die saving somebody else. Like be a hero or something. Or either go peacefully in my sleep. You should have asked me how I don’t want to die. Now that would be a list long enough to end this interview right now.
7. What three words would other people use to describe you?
Depends. Guys would say goofy, hard-working, loyal. Girls would say cute, playful, easy. Wait, don’t write that; it sounds conceited. Oh, never mind!
8. What is your author Tracie Roberts like?
She’s pretty cool, for an older lady. She probably spends too much time with us, telling our stories, but she tries to make time for her family. I know she’s good at writing lyrics, or poetry, or whatever you want to call it, because she wrote all the poems and spells in the novels. Plus, she’s really fair. I mean, she worked really hard to tell both sides of our story without taking sides or being all judgmental like older people can be sometimes. That’s pretty cool, right?
9. Any teasers for what’s gonna happen in Book 3?
Let’s just say that if, after reading the end of BLUR, you thought that was the end you’re gonna be really surprised. Where we come from, the world we live in, soul mates are forever. Nothing can keep them apart.
Author Biography:
Tracie Roberts is the author of ECHO and BLUR, Books 1 and 2 of The Élan Series. She writes YA and NA novels tinged with the paranormal. Beyond writing, she enjoys family time, stargazing and sea glass searches. Find her at tracieroberts.com
Lily of Peru
by David Edmonds
Markus goes to war-torn Peru for one reason: to take home the woman he's loved since his Peace Corps days—Marisa with the long dark hair and sparkling blue eyes. But when he arrives in Lima, he's confronted by a general with a subpoena, agents with guns, and the startling accusation that she's a key figure in one of the most bizarre terrorist movements in the world.
And they want his help in bringing her to justice.
Markus is stunned. Is she the Marisa of his dreams, or is she the bomb-throwing terrorist on her wanted posters? The truth lies somewhere down the road, and nothing is going to stop him from finding it—not the soldiers who dog his every step, not the terrorists who think he's on their side, and not the hostile natives and witches who chase him through the eastern jungles.
To buy the book click
HERE
About the author::
DAVID C. EDMONDS is a former Marine, Peace Corps Volunteer, Senior Fulbright Professor of Economics, academic dean and U.S. government official with long experience in Latin America. He's the author, editor or ghostwriter of seven other books, including the award-winning Yankee Autumn in Acadiana. Dr. Edmonds grew up in Louisiana and Mississippi and studied at Mississippi Southern, L.S.U., Notre Dame, Georgetown, George Washington and American University. He currently lives in lovely Tarpon Springs, FL with his wife Maria.
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Incognita
A Historical Romanceby Jaima Fixsen
Jilted and faced with returning to the battlefields of Spain, Captain Alistair Beaumaris is quite sure his life can’t get any worse. Then he mistakes a perfectly respectable widow for a female of a much more interesting variety, and discovers he was wrong—on both counts.
Incognita is the second book in the Fairchild series, which chronicles an aristocratic family in Regency England. The first book, Fairchild, tells the story of Sophy, Lord Fairchild’s illegitimate daughter, who must carve her way through a world that has no place for her. Incognita, the second book, follows Sophy’s rejected suitor, a Captain in the British army during the peninsular war: his unconventional love story and the complex web of relationships in the Fairchild family.
Here’s letter from the conflicted and lonely Lady Fairchild, not included in the novel, that she writes (but is too proud to send!) to Sophy, her estranged step-daughter, in the midst of Alistair’s troubles.
From the correspondence of Lady Fairchild
Dear Sophy,
I’ve written you so many letters I can hardly close my desk—they slide over each other, ramming against the top of the drawer—but I never send them so they sit here, getting battered about the corners. I’ve started even more that I can’t finish, and they end up in the fire.
It shouldn’t be this hard. What I want to say is, I’m sorry. For not loving you from the first, when you lost your mother and came to my home, and then, when you became like a daughter to me, for not loving you well. I should have listened, when you told me you loved Tom and couldn’t marry Alistair. I just wanted to keep you close and see you settled happily. Alistair seemed the best chance for both.
Now I’m less certain. He was broken hearted for a week or two, but now he’s tangled up with a Widow with Problems. I don’t see it ending well at all. He feels though, more than you think. It’s a sad tangle.
Are you happy with Tom? Is he good to you? It’s hard, imagining you married to a stranger. I wish I knew how you are faring, that I’d listened, and held your hand as you drove to church for your wedding. The chance for that is gone, but if I could convince you that I only ever had your best interests at heart…I’d like to see you, in your home, with your new husband. I’d like to be your friend, if you will let me. I’m not good at apologies, or at starting over, but I want to try.
Is Tom kind? Does he smile at you and tell you to stay off high-tempered horses? I hope you listen. You’ve had enough scrapes of that kind.
London is empty with you gone. I miss you.
With affection,
Georgiana
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The Dream Series
Author James DiBenedetto
Sara Barnes thought her life was perfectly ordinary – until the night she began stepping into other people’s dreams. Follow Sara as she learns to cope with this extraordinary gift (or curse) in the first three books of the Dream Series:
Click HERE to get book one of the Dream Series
It’s bad enough that, thanks to her supernatural talent, Sara is learning more than she ever needed to know about her friends and classmates, watching their most secret fantasies whether she wants to or not. Much worse are the other dreams, the ones she sees nearly every night, featuring a strange, terrifying man who commits unspeakable crimes. Now Sara wonders if she’s the only witness to a serial killer – and the only one who knows when and where he’s going to strike next.
Medical school and life as a newlywed would be enough by themselves for anybody to handle. But Sara’s got another problem – her dreams have started up again. Almost everyone at the medical school is dreaming about the death of the school’s least popular teacher, Dr. Morris, and once again, Sara finds herself in the role of unwilling witness to a murder before it happens. But this time, there are too many suspects to count, and it doesn’t help matters that she hates Dr. Morris every bit as much as any of his would-be murderers do.
Sara thought she had made peace with her dreaming talent, but she’s got a surprise coming: her four-year-old daughter has inherited it, too.
Author Bio:
J.J. (James) Dibenedetto's fans would swear he's got a sixth sense when it comes to seeing into the minds of others and often wonder if his stories could possibly be fiction. He enjoys suspending disbelief with suspenseful paranormal tales that are a perfect blend of reality meets fantasy.
His popular Dream Series continues to delight readers with each and every exciting installment.
Born in Yonkers, New York, he currently resides in Arlington Virginia with his beautiful wife and a cat he is sure has taken full advantage of its nine lives. When it comes to the cat, he often wonders, but then again it might just be his imagination.
What inspired you to write your first book?
DREAM STUDENT came from asking a simple question. Why, in most mystery stories, do average people try to solve a crime or catch a killer themselves, when most normal people would do the sane thing and just call the police?
I tried to come up with an answer, and what I thought of was: maybe they wouldn’t go to the police if the only evidence was in their heads. If they saw the crime through the eyes of the killer, and that was the only proof they had. If they saw it in the dreams of the killer. So there was the idea: if you could see someone else’s dreams, and that person was committing crimes, what could you do about it? You’d have no physical proof, the police would never believe you. You’d have to start investigating yourself, if you wanted to stop them.
Sara, the main character of DREAM STUDENT, came into being along with that idea, and so did the college setting of the book.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?The actual story of DREAM STUDENT (and the rest of the Dream Series) is not based on real people or events, but the background settings and some of the minor characters definitely are. In DREAM STUDENT, Sara attends a (very thinly) fictionalized version of my college; the apartment building she lives in in book four, DREAM FAMILY, is basically the building I lived in when I moved down to Washington, DC, and so forth.
What book are you reading now?I’m finishing my yearly re-read of my favorite novel ever, “Winter’s Tale” by Mark Helprin.
What are your current projects? I’m working on the latest book in the Dream Series. This is the ninth book, and it’s called SHATTERED DREAM. I hope to have it released by the end of April.
If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?Absolutely. Every time I read my work over, I see things I would change. But I think every author feels that way. Leonardo Da Vinci said it best – “art is never finished, only abandoned.”
Who designed the covers?The original covers for my first six books were hand-painted by a local artist who also was the head graphic designer at my old employer, Ami Low. She did a fantastic job, and gave me exactly what I wanted. But unfortunately, what I wanted was not what readers in my genre were looking for. So I had to change the covers, and the new covers were designed by Emma Michaels (
http://www.emmamichaels.com), who’s also done an amazing job.
While you were writing, did you ever feel as if you were one of the characters?
Not exactly. What I feel like, sometimes, is that the characters are actual people, and I'm only passing on the stories that I've heard from them, rather than creating them myself.
Find the Dream Series at:
Stacy Claflin, author of the book, Gone, joins us today. Sit back and enjoy reading two chilling excerpts from the book.Gone
by Stacy Claflin
Macy Mercer only wants a little independence. Eager to prove herself grown up, she goes to a dark, secluded park. She’s supposed to meet the boy of her dreams who she met online. But the cute fifteen year old was a fantasy, his pictures fake. She finds herself face to face with Chester Woodran, a man capable of murder.
Distraught over his own missing daughter, Chester insists that Macy replace his lost girl. He locks Macy up, withholds food, and roughs her up, demanding that she call him dad. Under duress from his constant threats and mind games, her hold on reality starts to slip. Clinging to her memories is the only way of holding onto her true identity, not believing that she is Chester’s daughter. Otherwise she may never see her family again.
Excerpt #1
Sitting in his warm truck across from the park, Chester Woodran watched her walk across the open field. An overhead light turned on as she passed under it in the dusk. Her long, dark hair swished back and forth behind her. She wandered around the playground, walking between the climbers and slides until she stopped in front of the swings.
He had spent hours watching her. Studying her. He knew her almost better than she knew herself.
The moment of truth would arrive soon. She’d come a few minutes early, but he wouldn’t deviate from the schedule. He would act exactly on time. He’d laid the groundwork. He wasn’t going to let her change a thing.
Chester pulled out his phone and scrolled through the pictures, stopping at his favorite. It was the girl in the park for sure, although he couldn’t see the details of her face up close yet. He would have to wait a few minutes.
From the phone, her light brown eyes shone at him. Her shy, almost insecure face smiled sweetly.
His heart sped up at the thought of many weeks of work coming together at long last. The waiting was about to end.
Clenching the steering wheel with all his might, he took several deep breaths to calm himself. Every precaution had been taken. Prepared with painstaking care. There was no chance of anything going wrong so long as he stayed with the plan.
The alarm on his digital wristwatch beeped. He turned it off and then leaned back into the seat, adjusting his over-sized glasses.
It was time.
Excerpt #2
Macy Mercer sat on the swing, clutching the cold, metal chain. Soon she’d meet Jared, the sweet and adorable boy she met online. She pushed the dirt with her foot, swinging back and forth, listening to the leaves rustle nearby as a breeze picked up. The temperature felt like it had dropped ten degrees, so she zipped up her hoodie as far as it would go. She should have worn a coat, but it was too late to go back home.
A crow cawed in the distance, giving her the chills.
To distract herself, she grabbed the new smart phone she’d received for her fifteenth birthday. She checked the time. Jared still had another five minutes. Macy had been so eager to meet him that she’d sneaked out of her house a little early, eager for her first real date. Her parents had a stupid, outdated rule that she couldn’t date until she turned sixteen. There was no way she would wait an entire year. Not when her friends all went out every weekend.
She looked around the empty park once more, the swing chains groaning as they carried her back and forth listlessly. Jared was supposed to meet her after his baseball practice. He was the star of the team, and sometimes had to stay a little late because the coach expected more from him than anyone else. She scrolled through their latest texting conversation, her excitement building.
The phone buzzed, startling her. Hoping that it was Jared, she scrolled to the bottom of the screen and smiled.
Sorry, coach is keeping me late
Macy sighed, shivering in the cold Washington breeze. How long?
Abt a half hr
The last thing Macy wanted was to put the date off, but it was really cold. U sure 2day still works?
You want my dad to get u?
Macy ran her hands through her freshly-styled hair. Going with a grown man hadn’t been part of the plan. She was just supposed to meet Jared and go the mall, or maybe a movie or to the arcade. They were going to play it by ear.
Is it ok? Or u wanna wait?
It was getting colder, and no way she wanted to sit here that long. The mall was too far to walk to, but with his dad she’d be warmer and see Jared sooner.
They’d talked for so long over computers and texts. Macy didn’t want to wait more. She’d show everyone she wasn’t afraid to go out with a boy, no matter what her parents said.
She texted him back. He’s ok driving me?
He offered
U can’t come now?
No. I have to help
Ok. Your dad can pick me up
K c u soon
Sliding the phone back into her pocket, she looked around again. Something didn’t feel right, but she pushed it aside. She and Jared had known each other for a whole month, and he was sweet and funny. If he thought it was okay for her to go with his dad, it was fine. She wasn’t a little girl anymore. Macy held her chin a little higher.
A green pickup truck with a black canopy pulled into the empty parking lot. Macy squinted, trying to see if the driver looked like an old version Jared’s profile pictures. She couldn’t tell.
Author Bio
I love writing and reading a variety of genres. I've been writing and telling stories as long as I can remember. As a kid, my story telling would get me into trouble when I would try to convince other kids that my stories were real.
When I'm not busy writing, I spend a lot of time with my family. I run a preschool from home and homeschool my kids.
Connect with Stacy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stacy.claflin.author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/growwithstacy
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/growwithstacy
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6591338.Stacy_Claflin
Book Updates/Newsletter: http://bit.ly/10NrfMw
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Today we have author Lisa Buie-Collard of the mystery thriller book, The Seventh Man. Read all about it and where to find it, and then check out the cool mystery riddle she left us. Can you figure out what it is?
When a young writer is kidnapped by a man who can't be seen, her only hope of escape rests on the one London cop who believes in ghosts.
On a cold, white, before-Christmas day, an assassin completes a job only to be pursued by police. Dodging through crowded city streets, the assassin nabs a young woman for cover.
Celia Wight, a reclusive American writer is shopping between engagements during a book tour. When a knife is pressed against her back, she loses her tenuous grasp on her carefully controlled existence.
Assigned to the homicide case, Detective Alban Thain, of the Metropolitan Police, suspects an assassin he calls the Wraith. The problem is, only Thain believes the assassin exists. Disregarding the consequences, Thain, who is the only one who believes there is a connection between the murder and the kidnapping, will do whatever it takes to exploit the Wraith’s first and only mistake: the kidnapping of an innocent bystander—if she is innocent.
About author Lisa Buie-Collard:I am a writer, mother, wife, sister, and daughter. I’ve been a server, dental assistant, teacher, journalist, and gardener. I love to travel and speak French. I’m from north Florida, but now abide in Georgia. I write full time and have completed six novels. Writing is life, life is writing…Where to find the author:
Amazon
I Love To Fly (Can You Guess What I Am?)
I love to fly. Even if there is constantly an element of trust that I must always count on, I will never give up flying. Sometimes flying is harder than other times. Sometimes I can only get a few feet off the ground. But mostly I can fly higher than treetops. I can soar; the only sound is air rushing by my ears. My eyes love the view. My skin loves the wind. My breath loves wicking away with the air flow over my face.
Sometimes I hate landing. When it’s hard and bumpy and parts of me break off, I cry until I’m fixed. Sometimes I land by softly falling into outstretched hands, gentle and always happy to hold me. I prefer those landings.
I am a simple being of simple desires and ideas. I am not grandiose. I am not flamboyant or made of odd and exciting angles, though I know of those who are. I am distinct and useful. I provide hours of entertainment while doing what I love best. I seem to please whomever I am partnered with all over the world, and have for quite some time. I am loved. I never cease to amuse and test limits.
Then comes a time when I sit for years, unused, seemingly forgotten, and it is at this time I am sad, defeated, wondering if my trust and faith will be acknowledged or rewarded.
But it always is. There always comes a moment when darkness turns to light, when kind hands repair and strengthen me, when daylight bursts upon my senses and I excel in that first long awaited jump into the air. I then breathe. I spread myself as far as my perfectly formed body can extend and I laugh, I soar, I dive, I live with every filament of my being. To my utter and profound satisfaction, that is the instant I truly grasp the greatness of happiness.
I love to fly.
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The Gooberella blogspot is getting ready for a month long
Indie Author Book Parade.
Guest authors will be blogging on the Gooberella blog and we'll be blogging on their blogs.
Check back often and see all the different books and their authors.
I had made talking dog videos to promote my books, The Fur Angel Series. People started asking me to make their dogs talk, so now I make talking videos for others at http://www.fiverr.com/gooberella
Happy Birthday to Augie
He got a Freddie's Find Birthday Specialty Package.
Just what he wanted.
It was packed with toys, treats, and fun birthday things
Augie was so happy.
Li Li got a Freddie sticker (her LA boyfriend)
At the end of the night everyone had a pup cake
Augie had two.
Happy 6th Birthday, Augie.
We love you!!!
We're diggin' the new tunes.
School presentation and book signing at
Christ's Church Academy.
There were about 12 authors there.
The kids had a book parade wearing the covers
of some of their favorite books.
There were a lot of dog books favored.
My favorite was the Wag boy.
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