A Life Through Books

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Blog Tour Contemporary Romance

Blog Tour: Amelia's Hope by @candisvargo #interview

Blog Tour: Amelia's Hope by @candisvargo #interview
2:22 PM0 Comments


Contemporary Romance/Women's fiction
Date Published: 11/14/16
Publisher: Fifth Ink Publishing

“Even though I was decaying, Amelia was growing. It was like some beautiful symphony the way both things were happening at once.”
Sacrificing your life for your child is one of the greatest ways a mother can show her love.
For Cara Michaels, that sacrifice was made.
At ten weeks pregnant, Cara was diagnosed with a fast-acting cancer and was faced with the ultimate decision…
That decision, was to forgo life-saving treatment to ensure her child would come into this world unharmed.
Cara shares with us the last months of her life as she prepared to give birth to her child and for her husband, Joel, to parent without her.
But a husband can only handle so much before he breaks…
Grab your tissues because you're in for heartbreak.

Interview

What is the hardest part of writing your books?
I think the hardest part, for me, is telling the love story that breaks all the rules. Falling in love is the easy part, but just like real life, it’s staying in love that’s the tough part. And in Amelia’s Hope, it’s about staying in love through the toughest time of all.


What songs are most played on your Ipod?
There’s not one specific song, but there’s a lot of Bruno Mars, Halestorm, and Five Finger Death Punch that get played.

Do you have critique partners or beta readers?
I do, and they are some of the most brutally honest people I know!

What book are you reading now?
Your Heart to Keep by Amanda Mackey

How did you start your writing career?
I wanted to read something different, and it seemed like every book told the same story. So I wrote a book that was something I would want to read.

Tell us about your next release.
My next release is another love story, but it’s a love story about friendship… the friendship of male best friends. While one is a Veteran who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis and is too broken to let anyone in, except his best friend. And his best friend realizes, some things that are broken, don’t need to be fixed.





Growing up on an old dirt road in the middle of nowhere, as a child Candis used her love for books as a way to escape reality (and her brother constantly trying to kill her--literally). She blames her love of all things Horror on being born on Friday the 13th and will always find joy in scaring her friends. 


You will find a little piece of her in every book she writes. She loves a good happy ending but isn’t afraid to keep her stories real, even if that means telling the side of a story most people are afraid to tell.

Never caring for the norms or boundaries, Candis has written several genres from Horror to Erotica.

When she's not writing or reading, she can usually be found chasing her children around or binge watching Netflix. She currently lives in Rome, Pennsylvania with her husband and three children.



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Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Blog Tour Giveaway

Blog Tour: The Mists of Time by @susansquires #interview #giveaway

Blog Tour: The Mists of Time by @susansquires #interview #giveaway
11:27 AM1 Comments


Paranormal Romance
Date Published: Originally August 31, 2010, New release Nov. 21st


Divided by Centuries
Diana Dearborn knows all about romance, at least in the books she writes. But passion eludes her in real life—until she’s offered the chance to travel back in time to Camelot. The world of King Arthur and Guinevere is nothing like she pictured, and neither is the knight she encounters upon her return to San Francisco: Gawain, the hero of her current project. He’s complicated, mysterious, and sexier than anything her imagination could conjure. And he’s been waiting for her…

Entwined by Desire
Now, joined together in a desperate race, Diana and Gawain must prevent an ancient, evil force from wreaking mayhem in the all-too-real present. Diana must learn to trust Gawain, even while she encounters secrets about her own past. But even if their mission succeeds, does Diana’s destiny lie with this man from another time—and will their love alter history forever?




Interview

What is the hardest part of writing your books?

The hardest part of writing isn’t getting the idea. I have lots of ideas, and I bet you do too. The hardest part is fleshing out that idea until it can seem “real” to readers. What would REALLY happen in this situation? What is this character REALLY like? What kind of past experience would that character have? What are the main turning points of the plot and why? This stuff has to be fleshed out before I can even start writing the book. But then as you write you have to answer questions like “How would the characters REALLY react to that situation?” “What does the setting of the scene look like?” “How does it smell?” “What will make this scene fresh and new?”  It’s hard work to make yourself focus on all the detail that goes into a novel. Even into the editing phase, you must ask yourself questions like “Do the chapters end in the right place?” “How can I start the book faster without losing clarity for the reader?” “Does this scene drag?” Writing a book is an exercise in perseverance, long after the sexy, fun idea part is over. But there is a wonderful satisfaction in hearing from readers that they couldn’t put the book down, that the characters seemed real to them, or that they can’t imagine how I got the idea for the book. That’s what writers really live for. It makes all those hours of sitting at your computer figuring out what living that story would REALLY be like, worth it.


What songs are most played on your Ipod?

I don’t write to music. I prefer quiet. But I do take my music to the weight room at the gym, and right now I’ve been into all those sexy baritone voices in country music. Chris Young? I would walk a mile over broken glass just to hear him say, “Hello.” I also like the hooks in country songs. They can teach you a lot about keeping readers engaged.


Do you have critique partners or beta readers?

I am very fortunate to live with my beta reader. My husband Harry is a writer too, and our marriage has survived years of critiquing each others’ books. We have a rule—you have to say something nice first. But then the gloves are off. We so want to write good books that taking critiques semi-gracefully seems a small price. We used to be in critique groups, but after we got publishing contracts, we were writing faster than we could get critiqued, and it was tough to find partners who had more writing experience than we did. Nevertheless, if I find I am really unsure about a book, I have a writer friend who reads it for me, and tells me the hard truth. I try not to abuse her generosity by sending her every book but she has helped me out of a jam on more than one occasion.


What book are you reading now?

I’m reading The Pale Horseman, the second book in the Saxon series of historical novels by Bernard Cromwell. (The first in the series is The Last Kingdom.) He’s a wonderful writer who works in a period I love. My first book, DANEGELD, and the sequel, DANELAW, were both set in Dark Age Britain in the time of Alfred the Great.


How did you start your writing career?

I decided I wanted to write in one of my many mid-life crises. I was working in the insurance industry and making good money, so I couldn’t just quit to write books. So I wrote as a second job. My first book was much too long, and frankly not very good. So I took classes at UCLA and joined a critique group. My second book (Danegeld) took me four years to write. It got me an agent, who I met at the San Diego Writer’s Conference. She couldn’t sell it though. So while I was writing my third book, BODY ELECTRIC, I joined Romance Writers of America and entered DANEGELD in contests. It placed in 11 regional contests and I got valuable feedback. By the time it won the national RWA contest for unpublished novels, I had sold it to a smaller New York publishing house—Dorchester. They were willing to take a chance on a book that wasn’t just like every other romance. I reworked my first awful book, SACRAMENT (vampires!) into a book I’m very proud of and they published that and BODY ELECTRIC. too. By that time I was getting great reviews and I was on my way. Later, I switched to McMillan at St. Martin’s Press, where I wrote the majority of my books.


Tell us about your next release.


Oooh! I am so excited! What may be the last in my Magic series is  coming out. The Magic series follows the big, loving Tremaine family as they cope with the fact that they have Merlin’s DNA. His magic was lost—dispersed down the ages. But now the magic wants to emerge again. And if you have that gene in your DNA, when you meet another with that gene, you fall in love, irrevocably. Your magic comes alive and you get a magic power. Sounds great, huh? But it’s never that easy. And of course there are those who got their genes from Mordred and Morgan LeFay. They have very different ideas about what to do with it. I have come to love the Tremaine family, and in THIS MAGIC MOMENT I’m writing about the baby of the family, now a woman grown. She’s fallen in love with the worst possible guy, at least so she thinks. Look for THIS MAGIC MOMENT in the spring. If you haven’t dipped your toe into the Magic series, start with Do You Believe In Magic? It’s a series that benefits from reading the books in order.

 Susan Squires grew up among the giant redwoods of California. She thought she was being practical by changing her major in college from theater to English literature. Immersed in a PhD. Program, she slowly realized that none of her graduating friends had work. So she dropped out after receiving a Master’s degree to take an paying job in the business world.
As an executive in a Fortune 500 company, she returned to her love of writing while continuing to hold her day-job, much to the amusement of her fellow executives. Her novel Danegeld, had already been purchased by Dorchester by the time she accepted a Golden Heart for Best Unpublished Paranormal Manuscript from Romance Writers of America. It was the first of an eclectic group of historical and contemporary paranormal stories known for their intensity. Body Electric was named by Publishers Weekly one of the ten most influential paperbacks of 2002, for blending romance and science-fiction. Book List compared No More Lies to the works of Robin Cook and Michael Crichton, but it was also a Rita finalist for Best Published Paranormal Romance by Romance Writers of America.
Susan’s Companion Series for St. Martin’s Press continued to garner attention with admiring reviews and several visits to the New York Times Bestseller List. Publishers Weekly named One with the Shadows a Best Book of the Year, and several of the series received starred reviews. Her books have won the many regional contests for published works of paranormal romantic fiction.
Susan no longer has to use tales of romance and adventure to escape budgets and projects. She finally left her day job, and researches and writes her books at the beach in Southern California, supported by three Belgian Sheepdogs and a wonderful husband named Harry who writes occult mysteries as H.R. Knight


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Friday, December 2, 2016

Blog Tour Contemporary

Blog Tour: The Infertile Heart by @cigardoc #interview

Blog Tour: The Infertile Heart by @cigardoc #interview
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Contemporary Romance - medical and sports
Date Published: May 6, 2016
Publisher: Xlibris


Dr. Lincoln Montgomery is a man who has lost everything but longs to find a connection to someone who he can share his life with, but he fears he will never find the love again that he lost.
The hero of my recently completed novel, The Infertile Heart, has finally found the woman who can complete him, but will their past prevent them from having a future.  Set in Atlanta, GA, this character driven story is a 112,257-word contemporary romance.  Adventuresome and sensual, the book weaves a story of love and loss, lies and truth, and the story of two people learning to love again even though the trials and tribulations they face will stack the cards against them.
An overachiever, Dr. Lincoln Montgomery is a Noble Prize winning billionaire who has spent his life giving others what he could not give to others.  Losing his brother to cystic fibrosis he was driven to find a cure for the gene mutation that took his life.  Even given his success, he could not prevent the death of his wife and unborn child to a drunk driver and spent the last three years mourning their passing and trying to find a way back.  A chance meeting plunges Lincoln back into the dating pool with the one woman he thinks could fertilize his infertile heart.
Dr. Nicole Harris is a physical therapist who has struggled with the decisions she made as a teenager.  Drugged and raped by her date at 14, Nicole ended up pregnant and gave her child up for adoption in order to ensure that she would have a good life.  Finding the perfect family that would keep Nicole abreast of Aubrey’s developments was fear number one priority.  Having given up on love and finding someone who would appreciate her for the woman that she was, Nicole had grown to be.  Feeding her love of golf and football, Nicole meets Dr. Lincoln Montgomery.  Could Lincoln be the one to fertilize her long dormant infertile heart.


Interview

What is the hardest part of writing your books?
I think the hardest part of writing my books is finding the time to put fingers to keyboard.  Being a doctor is not always a 9-5 job plus my family time.  I often find myself writing from 10-1:30 at night.  I usually sit in an empty cigar shop and smoke cigars while I write.

What songs are most played on your Ipod?
Broadway tunes; Finding Neverland and Something Rotten; Tchaikovsky; Luke Bryan and Trace Adkins


Do you have critique partners or beta readers?
I utilize more beta readers but my wife does a lot of the critiquing, wait were we talking about my books.


What book are you reading now?
Rite of Passage by Catherine Gayle, this is the 220th book I’ve read since January 1st.

How did you start your writing career?
I was sitting in the middle of Afghanistan and reading books like crazy and decided that I wanted to put the stories in my head on paper.

Tell us about your next release.
My next release A Heart in Remission is the follow-up to The Infertile Heart.  I also have a novella for the Sapphire Falls series by Erin Nichols at the editor.  Currently working on book 3 in my Doctors series called A Heart Reborn.  Book 3 is the story I have been in love with for a while but chronologically it didn’t fit until Book 3.




BK Harrell is former Navy physician who has had a long love of writing.  He specializes in medical, military and sports romance writing.  He began seriously writing while deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 and has never looked back.  Whether he is teaching, serving his country, educating people about the fine art of cigars, practicing medicine or spending time with friends and family he uses his diverse background to shape the world around him through words.
He uses his unique experiences and love of all things Atlanta, University of Georgia and sports to weave intricately detailed stories focused on Atlanta and the surrounding areas.  His goal is to bring the same joy and excitement he sees in his own city to the readers and to allow them to experience the city through his eyes.
Dr. Harrell is married to his beautiful wife Erin, a proud graduate of Auburn University, which makes multiple appearances in his books, and their wonderful one son.  Dr. Harrell is a native of Augusta, GA and a proud graduate of the University of Georgia, Emory University, and proud to have been a member of the first ever graduating class of Georgia Campus Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.  He currently resides in the Atlanta area where he practices medicine and raises his family.

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Twitter: @cigardoc

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Contemporary Fiction

PROMO Blitz: Ms Money by T.L. Ashton

PROMO Blitz: Ms Money by T.L. Ashton
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Contemporary Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Date Published:  November 2016

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If you’re a serious investor, you’ve seen ‘Ms. Money’ on TV. She’s a regular on Smarter Than The Street, the financial markets broadcast whose Neilsen ratings are off the chart. When she’s not on camera, Margaret M Worth is Chief Investment Strategist for nationwide money manager Traub Securities. Learn how the woman who majored in Holy Orders and planned to work at a mission school in Guatemala became a Wall Street guru.

After making a fortune in merger and acquisitions, losing it on the dot.com blow-up and winning it back with decidedly insider information, she is ultimately victorious in the men-only survival-of-the-fittest world of Wall Street, owing to her mantra--“Sex is the ultimate medium of exchange!” But she becomes disillusioned with the Midas touch, and when a Presidential appointment sends her into the inner sanctum of the monetary blowup at the New York Federal Reserve on Maiden Lane, she gets in touch with the real Maggie, discovering genuine self-worth. Experiencing the Financial Crisis first-hand, she witnesses the titanic conflict between the Kings of the Street and the Feds who want to rule them. Will her new found self-reliance be rewarded?


Excerpt

“Now you’ve seen how I became Ms. Money, a highly paid financial strategist and TV stock market commentator with a bank account to die for. I took off my clothes, so to speak, and bared it all. I have two children who are worth more to me than anything in the world. Even more important you now know that the hero of my story is a woman. She is neither slave girl, nor princess, as central casting would have it. She knows that women can be heroes not heroines. And she knows what she has to do to become one. What I am is a woman who understands the heroism of being a woman. I’m ready now for grueling arduous conflict. But please pay careful attention because my struggle is a woman’s. Fire-breathing dragons have been extinct for centuries.”  ― T.L. Ashton, Ms. Money




About the Author

TL Ashton wrote investment strategy at Prudential Securities, Salomon Brothers, U.S. Trust, TD Ameritrade, and other Wall Street firms before switching to fiction about what goes on in them when financial crisis strikes. The Madonna Model, by the same author will be published early next year.

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Thursday, December 1, 2016

Excerpt Giveaway

Blog Tour: Gravity by @JuliannRich1 #excerpt and #giveaway

Blog Tour: Gravity by @JuliannRich1 #excerpt and #giveaway
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Young Adult Romance (LGBT)
Date Published:  11-15-2016
Publisher:  Bold Strokes Books

Sometimes you fly. Sometimes you fall.

A dream at Olympic gold in ski jumping. It’s a dream that’s been the exclusive property of male Olympic athletes.
Until now.
For seventeen-year-old Ellie Engebretsen, the 2011 decision to include women’s ski jumping in the Olympics is a game changer. She’d love to bring home the gold for her father, a former Olympic hopeful whose dreams were blown along with his knees on an ill-timed landing. But can she defy the pull of gravity that draws her to Kate Moreau, her biggest competition and the girl of her dreams?
How can Ellie soar through the air when all she feels like doing is falling hard?

Advanced Praise for Gravity:

“A spicy novel about two young women daring to fly free in life and love while accurately depicting the thrill of ski jumping!”

~ Sarah Hendrickson, Olympic Ski Jumper and member of the US Ski Team Women’s Ski Jumping Team



Get a Sneak Peek at Gravity!


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Excerpt

Prologue




This is not a story about a girl who found the courage to come out as gay. Wrong girl. Wrong book.
Sorry. (Not really.)

This is a story about a ski jumper—me. And an auburn-haired girl—Kate. And the biggest jump of all.
Ask any ski jumper and they’ll tell you a truth that never airs on ESPN.

None of us jumps for the judges. Or the scores. Or to nail some fucking form.

We jump for those four, five, six seconds of airtime. Against the rush of the wind, despite the hard ground beneath us, we jump.
And in the jumping, we fly free.

So no, this isn’t a story about a girl who found the courage to come out as gay. Wrong girl. Wrong book.
Sorry. (Not really).

This is a story about a girl who found the courage to jump, to fly, and—for a brief, precious time—to be free.
But here’s the thing.

All flights come to an end.

Ask any ski jumper and they’ll tell you that’s another truth that never airs on ESPN. For better. For worse. Gravity always wins.



Juliann Rich 
Minnesota writer Juliann Rich spent her childhood in search of the perfect climbing tree. The taller, the better! A branch thirty feet off the ground and surrounded by leaves, caterpillars, birds, and squirrels was a good perch 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 the author of four young adult novels: CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE, SEARCHING FOR GRACE, TAKING THE STAND, and GRAVITY (forthcoming in November, 2016). She writes character-driven books about young adults who are bound to discover their true selves and the courage to create an authentic life…if the journey doesn’t break them.
Juliann is the 2014 recipient of the Emerging Writer Award from The Saints and Sinners Literary Festival and lives with her husband and an adorable but naughty dachshund named Bella in a 1920’s brownstone she is lovingly restoring to its original beauty.


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Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Blog Tour Giveaway

Blog Tour: Affiliated and Going Pro by @chayilchampion #interview and #giveaway

Blog Tour: Affiliated and Going Pro by @chayilchampion #interview and #giveaway
6:06 PM1 Comments


Teen and Young Adult
Date Published: February 2016


Ever Dance With The Devil? 14 year-old Tajalik Stokes is a member of the 17th Street Serpents, a murderous gang in Chicago. After losing his brother to gang violence, Tajalik becomes defiant and violent in his own right. Nonetheless, Tajalik begins to wrestle with his pride when he is confronted with the gospel of Jesus Christ by his peculiar guidance counselor, Alfred Justice who tries to mentor him. Yet, Tajalik’s egotism and disobedience land him in a “Dante’s Inferno” experience at the gates of hell. Now, in agonizing pain, misery and regret, Tajalik finds himself in a realm of darkness trying to figure out answers as to how he got there. In this Author’s Cut of Affilaited, Champion weaves together the same elements from the previous edition, while streamlining the storyline to fully immerse the reader into the domain of the streets where good and evil are oftentimes hard to discern.



Teen and Young Adult
Date Published: August 2016

Enoch Zoles is an agnostic, egotistical, collegiate football star, primed to make millions of dollars as a professional football player. But a one-night stand with a seductive vixen leads to a downward spiral of devastating events, which cost him his reputation, his promising future, and his freedom. And, after experiencing an unexpected tragedy, Enoch wants nothing to do with the God his coach and mentors keep talking about. After repetitive visits to jail, he meets a mysterious inmate who challenges his humility, integrity, and faith—right down to the core of his spirit. But will it be enough to save him from a dreadful end?



Interview

What is the hardest part of writing your books?

The hardest part about writing my books is searching for that new element that nobody has used in their writing. There are so many good authors out here, so tapping into a new realm of creativity and coming up with something totally off the cuff is challenging. However, it is a challenge I welcome, because we live in a world where people are afraid to “reinvent the wheel” and the world of entertainment seems to be searching for something new and captivating to the reader. As an author, that is my goal; to give the reader something brand new in plot, climax, and character.  



What songs are most played on your Ipod?
Hahaha…I am a huge listener of Gospel Rap. A lot of the artists I listen to aren’t really heard of in the mainstream circuit of music because they don’t get radio play, but their music is positive and high quality. Gospel rappers like Bizzle, Lecrae, Trip Lee, Eshon Burgundy, and Canon stay in heavy rotation on my Iphone.


Do you have critique partners or beta readers?
Yes, I do. I have a team of people who are really meticulous who comb through my books. It wasn’t always this way and you can tell from the first book I wrote up to my latest book the difference in my writing style. My critique partners are critical too. They’re not afraid to tell me, “Yo, Champ, this sucks. Take it out.” Lol; that’s the type of people you need on your writing team.

What book are you reading now?
I am currently reading Destiny Revealed by Cris Pasqueralle. It is awesome! It’s like a Harry Potter feel but more modern and without the use of wands. It’s exciting!


How did you start your writing career?
I was a English/Journalism double major in college, so my love for writing has always been there. Nonetheless, I didn’t start writing books until I moved to Los Angeles, California in 2009. I had jut left the education field as a vice principal and felt inclined to launch my writing career once I moved. The creative itch inside me was dying to get out after being suppressed for so many years after I graduated. I haven’t looked back sense and I love sharing my stories with the world.



Tell us about your next release.
I am so excited about my next release! It is actually a follow-up to my most recent release. Majesties of Canaan: The Secret of the Oramite is the follow up to Majesties of Canaan: The Goliath Project. The book will be dropping in the spring of 2017. The Superhero novel is a new genre in the world of literature and I am definitely having a lot of fun creating new characters and storylines in this ongoing series. If the world likes these types of books, then I will continue to write it. The seven super soldiers that I introduce to you in the first M.O.C. novel continue their quest against supernatural evil and a devious dictatorship government that is threatening the Middle East and ultimately the entire world. 






Chayil Champion is a graduate of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida where he double-majored in both English and Journalism while competing as a two-sport athlete in both football and track. After graduating from UM in 1998, Champion received his masters and doctorate degrees in education from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He embarked on a career in education as an English teacher and vice principal in South Florida’s Dade County and West Palm Beach County public school systems respectively before moving to Los Angeles, California in 2009.
 A native from Evanston, Illinois, a suburb that borders Chicago’s north side, Champion developed a love for writing at a young age which carried well into his adult years. After penning his first book in 2009 upon his arrival to Los Angeles, Champion has gone on to write five more books, which include the Young Adult fiction novels, Affiliated and Going Pro, both from The Lost Souls literary series. Champion also wrote Exiting The Wilderness and But He Said He Was A Christian, two nonfiction Christian self-help books. His latest book, Majesties of Canaan: The Goliath Project is a Young Adult, super hero novel. It is the first book of many within the Majesties of Canaan Superhero Series and the second book of The Dark Spores Series where Champion has partnered with best-selling authors Keshawn Dodds and Braxton Cosby to form the new superhero universe and to collaboratively pen the upcoming superhero novel Infinity 7 due in early 2017.
Outside of his love for writing, Champion, runs his own education consulting company in Los Angeles where he continues to teach and tutor students. In his free time, Champion focuses on fitness as he is a gym rat, frequents movies, and enjoys spending time with his daughter Vanessa.


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Twitter: @chayilchampion

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