A Life Through Books

Saturday, September 13, 2014

PROMO: Goodbye John
1:00 AM0 Comments


Goodbye John by Kshitij
Horror
Date Published: September 15, 2014

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Livia’s world falls to pieces when her husband, John, a thriving heart surgeon, mysteriously disappears from a remote motel in Verona on the day of their wedding anniversary. A year has gone by, and it’s the same day again. A hiss in the air, a knock at the door, and a sumptuous cake inside the oven are all promises that John will be back. But what he brings along is a terrifying gift she’d rather not live with.

Goodbye John is an uncanny tale of love, deception, and revenge.


Excerpt

Each tombstone carved in white marble shone barely enough to display the name of the inhabitant. She carefully walked in the sloppy mud, reading the name written on each grave. Her pumps were smeared and the heel of her right shoe was broken due to walking on serrated terrain, but she didn’t stop out of desperation to get the ordeal over with. Eventually, she sighted the headstone with the name of her husband engraved on it. Her nerves hastened. She got the packet out through the pocket stitched in her red skirt and put it beside the stone. She slipped the shovel from her hand, thinking that it would be an abhorrent task to do, to unbury the dead, but then recognized she could not leave his dead heart away from his body. Livia sniveled as her trembling hands again reached towards the tool. She fisted the shovel, tightening her grip.

One last look before I do this.

With a deep grasp, Livia struck the mud with an immense force. Lightening blazed the sky, accompanied by enormous thunder, as she found herself completely drenched in rain. Her mind was abandoned of thoughts, as she relentlessly dug the wet earth, and continued with full vigor till the glimpse of the grey coffin emerged underneath the brown, sticky soil. She smiled and laughed hysterically before bursting into a stream of tears. She did not want to do this but all she craved was to visit or being visited by John. And here she was, standing at his doorstep. The puny tears merged into rain drops while she recalled their first meeting.

It was one vivid afternoon, when the eyes of a chemical assistant met with those of a teenage girl, jazzy and shy at the same time, sashaying towards his shop. His heart pounded with every step she took: her long, fair legs, fluorescent mini with a red tie up around her waist, perfect curves and those curls, barely showing her cat eyes. The funky hat appeared as an unblemished crown on her sleek golden hair. He never thought such a thing existed. He never thought he would ever waste his time falling in love until she came along. She fumbled while asking for the meds, watching him staring at her with an utter sense of curiosity, and then played around with her curls, before offering a smile, the smile that bowled him over. He wanted her that very moment. The naive yet curious teenager felt the same. They just kissed, forgetting everything and everyone, and with that, they started a long, wild, and passionate affair, based on love and carnality.



Author Links

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Friday, September 12, 2014

PROMO: Wounded by @TheShannonMayer #trailer #excerpt #giveaway
6:35 AM1 Comments


Wounded by Shannon Mayer
(A Rylee Adamson Novel, Book 8)
Paranormal Romance
Date Published: September 9, 2014

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"My name is Rylee and I am a Tracker."

When children go missing, and the Humans have no leads, I'm the one they call. I am their last hope in bringing home the lost ones. I salvage what they cannot.

The clock is ticking and I can feel the weight of the final battle with the demon hordes looming over my head. The puzzle pieces are becoming clearer, but the casualty list is growing. And with each name that is added to those we've lost, my confidence cracks a little more.

Yet there is hope.

A child saved.

A life lost.

A prophecy fulfilled.




Trailer





EXCERPT


“You don’t think that all of the disasters that humanity has faced were all natural, do you? The bubonic plague is a good example. It was blamed on a number of things. Rats, the Jewish people, punishment from God. It all led to a cleansing of anything unusual. Mostly supernaturals, who were trying to blend in, and in that process the humans wiped out many of their best defenders against the demon population, which then went on to spread the plague across the world. But that is just one example.”

“What was the point though, wouldn’t the demons have wanted people to be alive so they could possess them?” Liam asked.

Erik gave a ruthful smile. “Yes and no. The bubonic plague wasn’t so much about killing people off, as it was infecting them. Making them weak and easier to possess. The plague compromised their immune systems, allowing them to be taken over. Especially the young.”

Something about what Erik said sent a twang through my brain. I struggled to put the pieces together that floated just out of reach. Damn it. Liam touched my arm. “What?”

I closed my eyes and pressed my palms into them, blocking out any light. “Just let me think for a minute.”

The feel of the night air and the sound of the fountain filled my ears as I looked at the pieces one by one.

Demons escaped in London who bred fast.

Minor supernaturals were being possessed by lesser demons and evil spirits.

Packs of Orion’s demons were free to cause chaos.

The only thing we were missing was a plague and then Orion would have access to all the young people he wanted. The urge to vomit swelled up through my stomach and burned the back of my throat.

“Children are normally hard to possess, aren’t they?” That was why it had taken a full pentagram when the black coven was trying to have India possessed so many months ago. At least, that was what I understood.

Bert bobbed his head. “Yes, it can be very difficult to possess a child. There is a natural protection over the young when it comes to demons, something the elementals put into play.” He grimaced as he said ‘elemental’ and again I wondered at these particular supernaturals that I’d only just been hearing about. “But when the small humans are ill, that protection goes into keeping them alive, rather than keeping them from being possessed.”

Feeling like a bully, but not really caring, I leaned in to Bert. “How did the bubonic plague really start?”

An interesting thing happened. Bert paled and shook his head. “I can’t tell you.”

My eyebrows shot up and I glanced at Erik. “You want to make him talk, or do you want me to make him talk?”

Erik shrugged. “Either way is fine. I haven’t interrogated a demon in years. I’ve missed it.”

Bert paled even more and his lower lip trembled. “I can’t tell you. I can’t. Tracker, Slayer both of you have to trust me. Please.”

“Begging will get you nowhere, little demon.” Erik growled. He had a short, serrated knife in his hand that he’d pulled from somewhere within his robes. It was curved, like a skinning knife, and if it hadn’t been for the rough edges that’s what I would have called it.

“Track demons and evil spirits.” Bert blurted out as he fell to his knees. “Proof I am on your side. Track them; you’ll see it isn’t me fooling you.”

Erik paused and looked over at me. “Up to you. Personally, I’d just as soon dice him up.”

“Fuck, why not, Tracking will take me two seconds.” I grumbled.

I send out a thread to Track demons as a whole, paired with a thread for evil spirits, just to satisfy—

Holy. Fucking. Hell.

I swayed on my feet and went to one knee, the overwhelming wash of pings I got back seriously making me re-think getting out of bed the day before.

We were surrounded by Orion’s minions.

Hundreds of them.





About the Author


Shannon Mayer lives in the southwestern tip of Canada with her husband, dog, cats, horse, and cows. When not writing she spends her time staring at immense amounts of rain, herding old people (similar to herding cats) and attempting to stay out of trouble. Especially that last is difficult for her.

She is the author of the The Rylee Adamson Novels, The Nevermore Trilogy, A Celtic Legacy series and several contemporary romances.  Please visit her website at http://www.shannonmayer.com  for more information on her novels.


Author Links




Buy Link



        


All of the books in The Rylee Adamson Novels series will be on sale from September 9-15th at $0.99 down from $3.99 regular price.



Links to other books in the series:

PRICELESS (THE RYLEE ADAMSON NOVELS, BOOK 1)

IMMUNE (THE RYLEE ADAMSON NOVELS, BOOK 2)
RAISING INNOCENCE (THE RYLEE ADAMSON NOVELS, BOOK 3)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CJJ1SEC/?tag=wrioutwor-20
SHADOWED THREADS (THE RYLEE ADAMSON NOVELS, BOOK 4)

BLIND SALVAGE (THE RYLEE ADAMSON NOVELS, BOOK 5)

TRACKER (THE RYLEE ADAMSON NOVELS, BOOK 6)
GUARDIAN (THE RYLLEE ADAMSON NOVELS, BOOK 6.5)
ALEX (A RYLEE ADAMSON SHORT STORY)
VEILED THREAT (THE RYLEE ADAMSON NOVELS, BOOK 7)


GIVEAWAY

$50 Amazon Gift Card:



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Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Blog Tour: Searching For Grace by @JuliannRich1 #review
6:00 PM0 Comments
Sequel to Caught in the Crossfire

Young Adult GLBTQ
Date Published: 9/16/2014

First it’s a rumor. Then it’s a fact. And then it’s on.

Camp is over and Jonathan Cooper returns home. To life with his mother whose silence is worse than anything she could say…to his varsity soccer teammates at East Bay Christian Academy…to the growing rumors about what he did with a boy last summer at bible camp.

All the important lines blur. Between truth and lies. Between friends and enemies. Between reality and illusion.

Just when Jonathan feels the most alone, help arrives from the unlikeliest of sources: Frances “Sketch” Mallory, the weird girl from his art class, and her equally eccentric friend, Mason. For a short while, thanks to Sketch and Mason, life is almost survivable. Then Ian McGuire comes to town on the night of the homecoming dance and tensions explode. Fists fly, blood flows, and Jonathan—powerless to stop it—does the only thing he believes might save them all: he prays for God’s grace.




BUY LINKS



Review

This novel is very much the coninuation of Caught in the Crossfire. Jonathan's choices at camp and how they translate to his home life. His mother doesn't agree and tries to change him. His life long friends make it clear they no longer want anything to do with him and now he has to try and find a way to cope with reality. This is a very powerful read and will most likely resonate with not only Gay teens, but anyone who has ever wondered about what they must go through. Juliann Rich has created an amazing character in Jonathan. 



Minnesota writer Juliann Rich spent her childhood in search of the perfect climbing tree. The taller the better! Perched on a branch ten to thirty feet off the ground and surrounded by leaves, caterpillars, birds and squirrels was a good place for a young girl to find herself. Seeking truth in nature and finding a unique point of view remain crucial elements in her life as well as her writing.
Juliann is a PFLAG mom who can be found walking Pride parades with her son. She is also the daughter of evangelical Christian parents. As such she has been caught in the crossfire of the most heated topic to challenge our society and our churches today. She is committed to writing stories that shed light on the conflicts that arise when sexual orientation, spirituality, family dynamics and peer relationships collide.
Juliann recently won the Emerging Writer Award at The Saints and Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans.
Juliann lives with her husband and their two chronically disobedient dachshunds in the beautiful Minnesota River Valley.




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Blog Tour: Origin by Emilia I. Rutigliano #review
3:00 PM0 Comments


Contemporary / Women's Fiction
Date Published:February 14, 2014

Alexandra Kamin is everywoman. At 42, she has a loving family, terrific children, a great career with a superlative income, a gorgeous face with a terrific figure, and a loving boyfriend. Most impressive is that she is in complete control of every ambit of her life.

Where do you go when you are at the top?

ORIGIN takes you back to the beginning… the beginning of Alexandra’s life in America, the beginning of the truest of love affairs, and the beginning of an entrepreneurial life. Through a series of flashbacks and conversations, Alexandra explains every nuance that made this beautiful family a dynasty that you want to root for.

Schooling, work, child rearing, and family affairs are all under Alexandra’s Order are all accounted for as the years go by.  GNO, love affairs and the truest of loyalties are best second time around.



BUY LINK

Review
Emilia I. Rutigliano has a way of penning heroines who are strong and know who they are. These are not women who are lost, they are successful and confident and being a part of their journey is just plain fun. I really enjoyed this first installment and can not wait to see what we get next! 


Emilia I. Rutigliano is an attorney who writes about people that she finds interesting.  Although her books are fiction, she weaves in a lot of the events of her own life, practice and travels.  She lives in New York City with her husband and three precocious teenagers (who occasionally acknowledge her existence when the internet is malfunctioning). 
ALEXANDRA’S ORDER is Emilia’s second book series, and is geared toward readers who enjoy a full story about multi-dimensional characters.  Because ORDER takes place in many locations with many different cultures, Emilia doesn’t write it unless she visits each location and meets the people who speak, think and act the same way as the characters in the book.  It’s a tough life, but she perseveres…

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Friday, September 5, 2014

Blog Tour: Life Discarded by @denaehaggerty #interview
1:00 AM1 Comments


Suspense/Thriller
Date Published:September 1, 2014
   
Why would a woman who has it all throw her life away? Morgan has the perfect life. She married the man of her dreams. Daniel is smart, gorgeous and successful. Everything she has always wanted in a husband and the father of her children. But he’s also domineering, overprotective and jealous. Is living with him enough to drive Morgan over the edge? Or does something more treacherous lurk beneath the façade? 



BUY LINKS



Interview


What is the hardest part of writing your books?
 About half-way through each book, there comes a point when the initial excitement wanes and the writing becomes hard work. I start to panic that the story won’t come together. It’s difficult to stuff the panic down and keep writing until the story comes together.

What songs are most played on your Ipod?
The Man by Aloe Blacc
An Ordinary life by Amy McDonald
Like I Roll by Black Stone Cherry
Hi-De-Ho by Blood, Sweat and Tears
Like a Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan
Roll Me Away by Bob Seger
I’m Goin’ Down by Bruce Springsteen
Carousel by Buckcherry
Give Me Love by Ed Sheeran
A Little Less Conversation by Elvis Presley

Do you have critique partners or beta readers?
I have two friends that have generously given me their time as beta readers. I’ve learned to make a list of questions for them to review after reading. This has helped me tremendously in revising the final version of my books.

What book are you reading now?
Island Fog by John Vanderslice. It is a collection of short stories, which all take place on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts

How did you start your writing career?
I had written my first novel, Unforeseen Consequences, but the manuscript was languishing under a foot of dust in the attic. My husband, knowing I was unhappy with my current profession, suggested I self-publish the novel. And that’s all it took to light a fire under me!

 I am currently working on a chick lit novel. It’s about a 40-something widow that discovers her grandmother has been murdered. No one believes that grandma was murdered so my heroine decides to solve the mystery herself.



D.E. Haggerty was born and raised in Wisconsin but thinks she’s a European. After spending her senior year of high school in Germany, she developed a bad case of wanderlust that is yet to be cured. After high school she returned to the U.S. to go to college ending up with a Bachelor’s degree in History at the tender age of 20 while still managing to spend time bouncing back and forth to Europe during her vacations. Unable to find a job after college and still suffering from wanderlust, she joined the U.S. Army as a Military Policewoman for 5 years. While stationed in Heidelberg, Germany, she met her future husband, a flying Dutchman. After being given her freedom from the Army, she went off to law school. She finished law school and moved to the Netherlands with her husband and became a commercial lawyer for more than a decade. During a six month break from the lawyering world, she wrote her first book, Unforeseen Consequences. Although she finished the book, she went back to the law until she could no longer take it and upped stakes and moved to Germany to start a B&B. Three years after starting the B&B, she got the itch and decided to pull the manuscript for Unforeseen Consequences out of the attic and get it published as an e-book. Deciding that she may have indeed finally found what she wanted to do with her life, she went on to write Buried Appearances. After moving to Istanbul, she started on Life: Discarded , her third book. Between tennis, running, traveling, singing off tune and reading books like they are going out of style, she writes articles for a local expat magazine and various websites, reviews other indie authors’ books, writes a blog about whatever comes to mind and is working on her fourth book.

Twitter: @denaehaggerty


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Thursday, September 4, 2014

Blog Tour: The Wizard's Gift by Michael Waller
1:00 AM0 Comments




Fantasy
Date Published: June 30, 2012

The last of an ancient group of wizards leaves a gift to the newly arrived race of men. It is revered and cared for by a line of priests until it is stolen, and the high priest and his sovereign murdered by a king who believes himself destined to be a great wizard. But from ancient writings the high priest had discovered that the gift is not benevolent as was thought. This forces the son of the high priest, unexpectedly elevated to his father's position, and the young prince who is equally suddenly king, into a race to find the gift before it can be used as that may cause the destruction of the world. Accompanied by the retired captain of the palace guard they hope to speed their journey by crossing the Wasteland, a seeming desert, which is fabled to be populated by monsters, and from which no visitor has ever returned. In the course of their adventures they are hunted by dog faced men and captured by slavers, but the young prince truly becomes a king, and the priest discovers that he has a destiny that goes beyond the bounds of his world.



BUY LINK




Review




This was an unexpected read for me. The synopsis was intriguing, but I sure wasn't sure exactly what kind of world I would be taken in. Michael Waller manages to draw the reader in from the very beginning. 

These characters each have their own personalities and depth to them. None of them felt one-dimensional or forced, they all shined through as individuals.



Michael was born in Middlesbrough in the North Riding of Yorkshire, UK in 1951 where he was soon creating havoc as a short trousered rebel. Fortunately as his mother was head cook at police headquarters his numerous run ins with the constabulary were dealt with in the privacy of the family home. A junior school run by nuns, and then an excellent grammar school under the watchful eye of Marist priests educated him to have a love of literature, music and science. Though they did nothing to curb his anti-authority streak.
            An initial ramble through all manner of jobs finally came to a halt in the oil and chemical industry where his love of science and all things technical provided him with gainful employment for almost thirty years. Whilst working he spent several years in the Middle East with visits to India, and around Europe before landing in the USA where he has lived for the past twenty years.
            Retired now he writes, take photographs and restores vintage British motorcycles in upstate New York.



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Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Blog Tour: Fallen Knight by @DanaD_author #review
6:15 AM1 Comments

Historical Romance

Date Published: June 20, 2014

    For breaking the sacred vows of knighthood, Gareth de Mowbrey is banished to the outer realms of the kingdom. He is broken down and is plagued by the demons from his past. He has lost everything, his reputation is in shreds, and he is walking the path of self-destruction. That is, until he meets one woman who may have the power to save him from himself...

Clarisse de Servian knows that her duty is to marry the man that her family chooses for her. But even for the betterment of her people, she cannot bring herself to wed a man she does not love. She does however fall in love with a man who is forbidden to her, and for once she enjoys happiness. But this happiness is only fleeting, for Clarisse possess a dark secret that threatens to destroy her and everyone she loves.

Note: Although part 3 of the Knights of Honor Trilogy, this story can be read as a stand-alone book.


Review
This was my first novel by Dana D'Angelo. This is part of a series, but can be read as a standalone and those are honestly my favorite series to read. 

I liked that both the hero and heroine had things from their past they had to overcome and this romance was their second chance and their happily ever after.

This was a quick read and everything seemed true to the time period. Kudos to Dana.






Dana D'Angelo

Dana is the only girl from a family of nine children. As a teenager, there was a constant battle for the T.V. remote, which she lost so she was forced to find her amusement in books. Soon after she discovered historical romance novels from best selling romance writers like Johanna Lindsay, Judith McNaught and Julie Garwood. She read as many as 10 romance books per week, and spent hours with her nose pressed between the pages, skipping meals and cutting out sleep. Medieval romance and love in the Regency era was just too exciting.
It wasn't until she was married with two young kids that she decided to take a stab at writing her own historical romance books. She is intrigued with the idea of writing romance fiction that could bring hours of enjoyment to readers, help them escape from reality, and perhaps remind them how sweet love is and should be. These are the things that she enjoys as a reader, and these are the things that she wants to give back as a writer.
Dana resides in a city east of Toronto, Canada. When not writing or reading, she's dining at local restaurants with her husband and kids and enjoying the spectacular foods of the world.





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