Chris Redding's Blog, page 32

Authorsday: Lee Mavin

1. When did you know you wanted to be a writer? I wanted to be writer when I was in Grade 3 when my teacher said he enjoyed my short story.
2. How long have you been writing? I have been writing short stories since I was seven and moody poetry since I was a know-it-all teenager.
3. How did you pick the genre you write in? I picked the genre of Young Adult fiction because I am a teacher and am constantly surrounded and inspired by teenagers and children.
4. How many rejections have you received? The first came from Penguin Publishers when I sent them a fantasy story titled: The Quest For The Sword Of Fire when I was thirteen, (it really wasn't very good) and many followed after that!
5. Why did you pick the publisher that ultimately published your book? I picked ASJ Publishers because they are giving a lot of newer writers and poets a chance, are a legit publisher and are a fantastic talented team of individuals that work together well.
6. If you have a day job, what is it? I am a grade one teacher in Shanghai.
7. Describe your book. My book deals with the sick and twisted thoughts and actions of young students living in Shanghai. Some of these students are very driven and motivated to get what they want. Some crush everything and everyone in their path! It includes twelve chilling short stories, all set in Shanghai China! Based on the extrememly selfish and at times megalomaniac like tendencies of your average Chinese "one child policy" kid.
8. What’s your writing schedule? Anytime between lessons at work. Anytime my daughter and wife are either asleep or distracted.
9. What authors do you admire? I am currently only reading new authors Dianne Fordham
Krystal McLaughlin
Mike Wells
Elaine White
Roy Huff
Gigi Seldymayer and I am loving there work! But I am also a big time Rick Riordan, JRR Toilken, Haruki Murakami, Stephen King, Darren Shaun and CS Lewis fan.
10. What do you do when you are not writing? Watch NBA games and post comments on yahoo sports forums about the games afterward.
Author Bio

Lee J Mavin previously published a collection of poetry titled Reverse the universe: collected poems and unused lyrics and has also published a childrens novel titled The Diary Of A 7th Grade Hybrid.

He is a Japanese language teacher living in Shanghai. Confused? He gets up every morning and cram in to the subway with 25 million other sad souls, eager to teach all those "One Child Policy" children.

He sneaks as much writing he can in between lessons, it helps to ease the pain. He has already polished off a childrens novel, a collection of poetry and has started a series of stories titled "The Students Sold Us Secrets Volume One" with ASJ Publishers. He is also kept on his toes by his feisty wife and three year old daughter both of whom are Chinese. They like to let him know how bad his Chinese is on a daily basis.

Book Blurb

No one is safe! The school has become a war-zone and the innocent are turning fast! A brave and nameless teacher has collected some awful and disturbing documents from the some ghastly students. These are their stories and they will shock and amaze both teacher and student. But they haven't been given away for free. This terrified individual has paid a hefty price to get the truth and is paying for it, with his freedom. In his report he states, 'If you are considering a career in teaching I would advise against it completely. It has become a profession far more dangerous than a police officer or even an army soldier in open war.' 'I'm risking my life giving you this information, but I feel you need to know the truth. On the surface these children appear innocent and well-mannered but it is inside where their darkness dwells.' The Students sold us secrets volume 1 is the first collection of short stories from the writer that brought you Reverse the Universe, Lee J Mavin and will take you down a path you never thought existed. It's packed with twelve short stories, all equally alarming and unsettling, as well as a secret report written by an undercover teacher. Look Inside to find out the truth!

Blood Destiny

BLOOD DESTINY SERIES
by Helen Harper
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURBS:
Bloodfire

Mackenzie Smith has always known that she was different. Growing up as the only human in a pack of rural shapeshifters will do that to you, but then couple it with some mean fighting skills and a fiery temper and you end up with a woman that few will dare to cross. However, when the only father figure in her life is brutally murdered, and the dangerous Brethren with their predatory Lord Alpha come to investigate, Mack has to not only ensure the physical safety of her adopted family by hiding her apparent humanity, she also has to seek the blood-soaked vengeance that she craves.

Bloodmagic

After escaping the claws of Corrigan, the Lord Alpha of the Brethren, Mack is trying to lead a quiet lonely life in Inverness in rural Scotland, away from anyone who might happen to be a shapeshifter. However, when she lands a job at an old bookstore owned by a mysterious elderly woman who not only has a familiar passion for herbal lore but also seems to know more than she should, Mack ends up caught in a maelstrom between the Ministry of Mages, the Fae and the Brethren.

Now she has to decide between staying hidden and facing the music, as well as confronting her real feelings for the green eyed power of Corrigan himself.

Bloodrage

Mack begins her training at the mages' academy in the hope that, by complying, the stasis spell will be lifted from her old friend, Mrs. Alcoon. However, once there, she finds herself surrounded by unfriendly adults and petulant teenagers, the majority of whom seem determined to see her fail.

Feeling attacked on all fronts, Mack finds it harder and harder to keep a rein on her temper. Forced to attend anger management classes and deal with the predatory attentions of Corrigan, the Lord Alpha of the shapeshifter world, her emotions start to unravel. But when she comes across a familiar text within the walls of the mages' library, which might just provide the clues she needs to unlock the secrets of her background and her dragon blood, she realises that her problems are only just beginning...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT from Bloodfire:

I scanned the bookshelves again, looking for something that might help and was about to pull down a precious gems and magical objects encyclopaedia when I suddenly heard voices and the slamming of doors from outside. Bugger it. Quickly closing down the computer, I stepped back into the outer office. I was just in time because Staines came suddenly striding in with the Lord Alpha. They were in mid conversation and didn’t see me at first.

“My lord, we need to focus on the magic trail before anything else,” Staines was saying.

The Alpha growled. “The mage can do that better than us. It’s the tree markings that interest…” his voice trailed off as he saw me and his green eyes narrowed.

“Hi!” I said brightly. “Found it!” I held up my mug for display.

They both just stared at me silently. I cleared my throat. “Well, I’ll get out your way then.” I moved towards the door but the Alpha was blocking it. I looked up at him, waiting for him to move out my way. He folded his arms and continued to stare.

I felt a flicker of irritation from my bloodfire. This was my keep, not his. I moved to brush past him, registering the hard steely curve of his muscles as my arm touched his. He moved further back, blocking the doorway completely.

“Miss Mackenzie,” he drawled softly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Helen Harper is an English teacher currently living abroad in Malaysia. As a long time reader of urban fantasy, she finally bit the bullet and began to develop her own series of novels.

Helen has always been a book lover, devouring science fiction and fantasy tales when she was a child growing up in Scotland. "I always loved the escapism provided by those genres," states Helen. "No matter how bad life gets, you can always find a route out, even if only temporarily, in the pages of a good book."

The growth of urban fantasy fascinated her - the mix of reality and fantasy along with strong heroic female characters appealed from the very beginning, and inspired her to write her own.

Facebook Author page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Helen-Harper/101590660022586
Twitter: HarperFire
Amazon.com buy links:

Bloodfire
http://www.amazon.com/Bloodfire-Blood-Destiny-1-ebook/dp/B00AU43ZXK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Bloodmagic
http://www.amazon.com/Bloodmagic-Blood-Destiny-2-ebook/dp/B00AU0O00G/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1

Bloodrage
http://www.amazon.com/Bloodrage-Blood-Destiny-3-ebook/dp/B00BQEFTPK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1362894945&sr=1-1&keywords=bloodrage

ExcerpTuesday: Genie Gabriel

Legacy Reborn
by Genie Gabriel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:

An attorney devoted to social causes and a burned out women's advocate help save their home town while struggling not to fall in love. However, an unintended pregnancy and a gift from the heart lead them on a journey to new possibilities and love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT

Once more dressed in jeans and her well-worn cowboy boots, with a jacket thrown on to ward off the chill evening air, Phoenix walked.

Against a backdrop of blue-green mountain peaks and the lightly wooded hillsides closer to the farm, the hens were settling in their coop, with only an occasional soft clucking.

Inside the boldly painted red barn, horses whickered in their stalls. She breathed deeply of the scents of horse and hay as she ambled through the dusty structure, then opened the side door and walked into the llama's pasture.

The male immediately approached her and nuzzled her cheek as she slung her arm around him. "I love you too, Romeo."

She closed her eyes and relaxed against the animal's woolly neck. However, her relaxation ended abruptly when the animal stiffened and emitted a shrill cry.

Following the animal's gaze, Phoenix saw CJ standing on the other side of the corral with his arms folded on the top board. "Will your llama spit in my face?"

"It's alright, Romeo." Phoenix patted the llama, then walked slowly toward the man who had occupied too much of her thoughts lately. "What brings you out this way?"

"You left the Governor's presentation right after you talked to Mitch. I wanted to be sure you were okay."

All the memories she had been trying to walk off slammed into Phoenix once more. "What is okay? I'm not sure I've ever been okay or ever will be. How can I find normal or happy when I don't think I've experienced those things?"

"You come up your own version of what makes you happy."

"A woman is dead because of me. How can I ever be happy knowing that?"

"Mitch said Swaggerty was waiting for Charlene. If it hadn't been that night, he would have killed her another way."

Phoenix let that statement sink in. One part of her brain knew that was true. So why did she cling to the blame for Charlene's death? Maybe she was afraid to move forward.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:

I'm an optimist whose rose-colored glasses have bent frames and cracked lenses. When life kicks me in the teeth, I find miracles and lessons I refused to learn an easier way. In fact, I live with a small herd of miracles in the furry forms of dogs, who are constantly trying to teach me to forgive, to play more, and to love without limits. I write about people who find courage and integrity in the darkest times of their lives, who rescue stray dogs and kittens, who find a person they would willingly give their lives for, and who make their little corners of the world a better place. People have remarked my stories "aren't what they expected." With rose-colored glasses firmly in place, I take that as a compliment. I invite you to share a piece of my world in the pages of a book, and hope you find some surprises, some tears, some laughter, and always a happy ending.

My Web site: http://www.GenieGabriel.com
My blog: http://oshealegacyseries.blogspot.com
NOTE: All nine books in the Halo Legacy Series will be $0.99 the day of the tour!
http://shop.roguephoenixpress.ieasysite.com/category.aspx?categoryid=82

Tara Fox Hall

Excerpt:

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. But I want to be clear that I don’t expect you to give me money because we…because we’re—”

“Intimate?” he supplied with a leer. “Lovers?”

I blushed, glad my back was to him. “Yes,” I said curtly.

“It’s my feelings for you that make me offer. I understand you’re independent and used to taking care of yourself. But I want you to have an easier time of it than you had trying to go it alone. I want to take care of you. It’s your right, as befitting your station.”

“What station?”

“As my lover.” He nibbled the back of my neck, his hands sliding down my arms. “That is, if you still want to be.”

Did I ever. God, his lips felt good. I could feel little pricks where his fangs brushed against me...

Focus! “What about the shirt?”

Danial paused what he was doing. “What about it?”

“Did you take some of my life force? Did you deliberately try to seduce me with a spell to get me to feed you?”

He didn’t reply. I shifted back from the fire and made to get up, but he pulled me off balance and I went down, falling into his waiting arms. I struggled in vain as he rolled me over on the carpet and straddled me, holding both my arms over my head with one hand, while the other caressed my cheek. I fumed as I looked at him above me, his upper half silhouetted by the fire. His eyes sparkled, his face in shadow. “Now, Sarelle,” he purred, “why would I need to seduce you to get you to feed me?”

He stretched down against me. I felt my body betray my anger as my breasts hardened and my breaths came faster.

“You gave me your blood when I was a stranger, willingly.” He leaned in closer as if to kiss me, but remained just out of reach. His dark eyes were locked on mine, filled with desire and familiar arrogance. He bent down to kiss my throat. “You gave yourself to me a night later, with no hesitation.”

His lips moved to the side of my throat. He ran a fang down my neck. I writhed, both in desire and a touch of fear.

Tara Fox Hall-Author

Tara Fox Hall is an OSHA-certified safety and health inspector at a metal fabrication shop in upstate New York. She received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a double minor in chemistry and biology from Binghamton University. Her writing credits include nonfiction short stories, flash, short and novella-length horror stories, and contemporary and historical paranormal romance. Her horror stories have appeared in Deadman’s Tome, Flashes in the Dark, Ghastly Door, The Halloween Alliance, Black Petals, SNM Horror Magazine, Microhorror, Dark Eclipse, Cemetery Moon, and various anthologies, including the recently published charity works Fear (Vol. 1) and Shifters. She also coauthored the essay “The Allure of the Serial Killer,” published in Serial Killers - Philosophy for Everyone: Being and Killing (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010). She is the author of the paranormal fantasy Lash series and the paranormal romantic drama Promise Me series. Tara divides her free time unequally between writing novels and short stories, chainsawing firewood, caring for stray animals, sewing cat and dog beds for donation to animal shelters, and target practice.

Blurb:

When young widow Sarelle McGarran finds the vampire Danial Racklan unconscious and hurt in her woods, intuitive concern quickly becomes passionate love. Together Danial and Sar work to overcome their own past heartbreaks, their vastly different lifestyles, and Danial's relentless enemies. Yet Danial needs more; an Oath of forever. But can Sar give Danial his greatest desire?

Your website? http://www.tarafoxhall.com
Your blog? http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5286654.Tara_Fox_Hall/blog
Other websites? Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/TerrorFoxHall
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tara-Fox-Hall/151813374904903
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/TaraFH
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/tara-fox-hall
Melange Books: http://www.melange-books.com/authors/tarafoxhall/index.html
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tara-Fox-Hall/e/B005YPAA4W/

Where can your book be found?
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Taken-For-His-P...
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Taken-For-His-Promise-ebook/dp/B00CZ4IGC8/
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/319416
Melange/lulu link for Print, PDF and HTML copies: http://www.melange-books.com/authors/tarafoxhall/takenforhisown.html
All Romance E-books: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-takenforhisown-1215939-140.html
Barnes and Noble.com: not there yet

Legacy Reborn

Authorsday: Cynthia Woolf

1. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I never intended to be a writer. When I started writing as more than a hobby, it was very hard to make a living as a writer. You always had to have another job. With the advent of indie self publishing the whole world has been opened up to you. Anyone can buy your book from just about anywhere in the world. I have readers in Indonesia, Japan, Germany, Australia and many other places that would have been unavailable to me before.

2. How long have you been writing?

I wrote my first story at the age of ten. I started writing in earnest as more than a hobby in 1990. I didn’t publish until 2011

3. How did you pick the genre you write in?

I write in two genres, historical western romance and scifi romance. The genre’s picked me. I’d always loved western romance. Then my mother told me the story of how she and Dad met on a ranch in southern Colorado. It fired my imagination and Tame A Wild Heart was born.

The scifi series started as a dream I had when I was a teenager. Like all teenagers, I thought sure I was adopted because I just couldn’t belong to the crazy family I had. I dreamed I was a princess from Alpha Centauri and someday my real family would come back for me. That’s how Centauri Dawn was born.

4. Do you plot or do you write by the seat of your pants?

I’m a definite pantzer. I’ve taken all kinds of classes on plotting and none of them have clicked for me. No matter how much I try, I can’t write the story from a plot outline. I have the beginning and end of each story in my head when I start. I have some of the middle but not all. This causes me to have a ‘sagging middle’ which is something that most pantzers suffer from when they write. But we come out of it and end up with great stories that are as fresh to us as they are to you.

5. What was the name of the first novel you wrote? Did you try to publish it?

My first novel is Tame A Wild Heart and I did publish it. It was the second book I published.

6. If you could ask your readers one question, what would it be?

I would ask them what they liked least about the story.

7. What authors do you admire?

A few of my favorite authors are Johanna Lindsey, Jill Barnett, and Julie Garwood

8. What three things would you want with you on a desert island?

My kindle fire, an unlimited power source for it and my husband

9. What is your favorite word?

My favorite word is ‘can’ because I can do anything I set my mind to.

10. What place that you haven’t visited would you like to go?

I would love to go to Great Britan and visit all the countries it encompasses. Scotland and England especially.

Author Bio

Cynthia Woolf was born in Denver, Colorado and raised in the mountains west of Golden. She spent her early years running wild around the mountain side with her friends.

She was and is an avid reader. Her mother was a librarian and brought new books home each week. This is where young Cynthia first got the storytelling bug. She wrote her first story at the age of ten. A romance about a little boy she liked at the time.

Cynthia credits her wonderfully supportive husband Jim and her critique partners for saving her sanity, allowing her to explore her creativity

Book Blurb

Rosie Stanton climbed on a west-bound train to answer his ad for a wife and mother, everything she wants to be. But Tom Harris lied. He doesn't want a wife, merely a mother for his two abandoned children and a cook and cleaner for his ranch. Betrayed once, he's vowed never to let another woman into his heart. Sexy Rosie upsets all his plans and threatens to invade his scarred heart. How will he maintain his vow to keep his hands off her as she charms his children, his cow hands, his life?

The Esposito Seriesby J.M. Griffin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BLURB: ...

The Esposito Series
by J.M. Griffin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:

The Esposito Series Box Set:

Now you can own the first three books in the sassy and suspenseful Vinnie Esposito Series by J.M. Griffin!

By day, Lavinia (Vinnie) Esposito is a criminal justice instructor at a college in Rhode Island. By night Vinnie is an amateur sleuth, solving murders while trying to avoid getting yelled at by her Italian father, her hunky protective boyfriend Marcus Richmond, and her sexy upstairs tenant, the mysterious Aaron Grant.

For Love of Livvy (Book 1)

Vinnie investigates the death of her beloved aunt, and a mysterious box is left on her doorstep.

Dirty Trouble (Book 2)

Someone is stalking Vinnie and that’s just the beginning of her troubles.

Dead Wrong (Book 3)

Vinnie is out to save her brother from being framed after a valuable painting is stolen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT

The front door knocker rapped twice after the door bell rang. I hustled from the rear deck of the gargantuan house to answer the summons. Someone seemed impatient, and I was curious as to who it was. My watch read just after eight o’ clock. I swung the heavy door open to find my prospective visitor absent.

It was so quiet, the town ghostly in its seemingly deserted state. Sundays were always lazy days in Scituate, once church was over. With a glance up and down the street of the small historic Rhode Island village, neat colonial homes stretched along the sides of the road in both directions. No one came into view.

On the doorstep, a package addressed to my recently deceased Aunt Livvy sat wrapped in brown paper. Again, I gawked up and down the street, but only empty sidewalks and barren roadway appeared in the waning light. The idea of a jaunt along the main drag entered my mind. I figured it would be senseless since the street was visible for about two hundred yards in either direction. Whoever had left the package was gone, long gone.

An eternity passed, or so it seemed, while my gaze locked onto the square, little box. Reluctant to touch it, I decided to call the local fire company to come take a gander. Call me paranoid, but as a criminal justice instructor, a recent audit of a class on bomb components remained fresh in my mind.

I quickly stepped to the living room and grabbed the phone. I dialed the private number of the fire station up the street. A grunt came across the phone line that could only be Bill MacNert.

“Hey Nerd, its Vinnie,” I said. “A package was just left on my doorstep, could you come down and check it out for me?”

“Sure, you got a secret admirer or somethin’?” He cackled, as only senior men can.

“Not likely, but you never know. This package is addressed to Lavinia Ciano, not Lavinia Esposito and is wrapped in brown paper. Nobody’s here to accompany this little surprise either.”

“I’ll be right down, Vinnie, don’t touch it.” He warned.

“Okay.”

Anxious, I paced back and forth across gleaming hard wood floors in the spacious living room of my newly acquired colonial. My fingernails tapped the enamel on my teeth as I wandered to and fro. As irrational as it seemed, I finally leaned against the door jamb inside the entry to wait for MacNert to arrive.

. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:

As a humorous, cozy mystery writer, J.M. adds a touch of romance to every story. She believes in fairies, doesn't believe in coincidence, and feels life is what you make it. Believe in yourself and look at the positive, not the negative, to bring about success. AND. . .never stop trying.

J.M. lives in rural New England with her husband and two very mysterious cats

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/JM-Gri...
Website: http://www.JMGriffin.net
Twitter: mycozymystery
Blog: http://mycozymysteries.blogspot.com
Buy Link:
http://www.lachesispublishing.com/pro...

Fatal Exposure

FATAL EXPOSURE
by Gail Barrett
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:

Cold-case detective Parker McCall has spent fifteen years trying to solve his brother’s murder. Now a chance photo of the killer in the newspaper sets him hard on the woman’s trail. A former teenaged runaway, reclusive, award-winning photojournalist B.K. Elliot chronicles the harsh reality of life on the streets -- until a photo in the paper reveals her identity, blowing the lid off her secret past. With a powerful murderer now dogging her heels, and her police officer step-father determined to silence her permanently, the last person she can afford to trust is a cop. So why does sexy police detective Parker McCall tempt her to break her silence and resurrect ideals she’d lost years ago? As danger closes in, and with more than her own life at stake, Brynn must decide if the duty-bound cop will betray her...or heal her battered heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~


EXCERPT:

His gaze swung back to hers. Several seconds ticked by. His scrutiny made her uneasy, the intensity in his eyes making it impossible to breathe.

And, suddenly, Brynn suspected he knew more than he’d let on—about her relationship to her stepfather, about her troubled childhood, about the horrific abuse that drove her from home. That he was simply biding his time—like the trained interrogator he was—waiting for her to confess the truth.

She couldn’t believe how tempted she was to do just that—to forget that he was a cop, to ignore the danger hounding her footsteps and tell him the unvarnished truth.

But then, Parker’s expression changed. His eyes were just as intense, but hotter, more hypnotic, like whirlpools dragging her under—in a decidedly sensual way.

Her pulse battered her throat. He pushed away from the truck and moved even closer, trapping her against the cab. And that insane attraction rippled between them, that unruly maelstrom of need.

Her breath backed up in her lungs. Her belly tightened, acute tremors of excitement tripping along her nerves. She tore her gaze from his jet black eyes to the black stubble shadowing his granite jaw, and stalled on his gripping mouth. Then he reached out and stroked his finger down her cheek, sending a torrent of pleasure streaming through her veins.

Was he going to kiss her?

His gaze dropped to her mouth. Her heart nearly leaped from her chest.

And for a wild moment she wondered if she should push him away—or pull him close.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:

A former RITA® and Daphne finalist, Gail Barrett has received the Book Buyer’s Best Award, the Holt Medallion, the Booksellers Best, The National Readers’ Choice Award, and numerous other awards. She lives with her husband in Western Maryland. Readers can contact her through her website: www.gailbarrett.com.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gail.barrett.961#!/gail.barrett.961 Links to buy the book:
Amazon Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Exposure-Harlequin-Romantic-Suspense/dp/0373278276/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369410068&sr=8-1&keywords=gail+barrett+fatal+exposure
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Exposure-...
Barnes and Noble paperback and Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fatal-exposure-gail-barrett/1113942081?ean=9780373278275

ExcerpTuesday: Bruce Hartmann

THE RULES OF DREAMING
By
Bruce Hartman

BLURB:

The Rules of Dreaming

A novel of madness, music — and murder.

A beautiful opera singer hangs herself on the eve of her debut at the Met. Seven years later the opera she was rehearsing—Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann—begins to take over the lives of her two schizophrenic children, the doctors who treat them and everyone else who crosses their paths, until all are enmeshed in a world of deception and delusion, of madness and ultimately of evil and death. Onto this shadowy stage steps Nicole P., a graduate student who discovers that she too has been assigned a role in the drama. What strange destiny is being worked out in their lives?

EXCERPT

Nicole was nimble and petite and very pretty. No, I take that back—“pretty” doesn’t come close to doing her justice. She was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen, with cascading red hair and a bold, astonished look in her eyes that made her seem at once wild and angelic. But since my profession has liberated society from all of its taboos save one—that a psychiatrist shall not fall in love with his patient—all I could do was listen sympathetically as she pulled herself back together and prepared to return to her studies. I put her on appropriate medications and she began to make progress immediately.

As it happened, Nicole had been in the lounge when Hunter sat down to play the piano...

“Nicole,” I said, “did you hear Hunter playing the piano this afternoon?”

“Yes I did.” She stopped in the doorway, framed in the shadows that darkened the adjoining hall. “It was impressive, wasn’t it?”

“Impressive isn’t the word, when you realize that he’s never had a lesson or even touched a piano before.”

Her smile faded. “That’s uncanny.”

“Do you know what piece of music he was playing?”

“I think I’ve heard it before. One of the German Romantics, I think, maybe Schumann.”

She started through the door, but just before she disappeared into the shadows she turned back around and her eyes caught a sparkle of the afternoon light. “He went mad, you know.”

“Who went mad?”

“Robert Schumann. The composer. Died in an insane asylum.”

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Bruce Hartman has been a bookseller, pianist, songwriter and attorney. He lives with his wife in Philadelphia. His previous novel, Perfectly Healthy Man Drops Dead, was published by Salvo Press in 2008.

Daddy's Girl by. J. M Kelley

DADDY'S GIRLBy
J.M. Kelley
BLURB:

Sometimes, returning home isn’t about confronting your past; it’s about discovering your future.

Janie McGee, the black sheep of her family, is free-spirited, uninhibited, and never one to stay in the same place for too long. When Janie learns her father, Joe, is gravely ill, she reluctantly returns home to rural Pennsylvania to care for him. Joe’s neighbor, David Harris, sports a pocket protector, collects coins, and is addicted to Antiques Roadshow. Everything about him rubs Janie the wrong way, from his nerdy wardrobe to his enviable friendship with Joe. And to make matters worse, her father thinks they’re perfect for each other, proof positive of how little Joe knows his own daughter…or so Janie thinks.

A shared devotion to the elder McGee begins to close the gulf between Janie and David, but a burgeoning romance opens the door to new problems and unexpected consequences neither could foresee. Joe, however, remains steadfast in his resolve to show Janie that Daddy knows what’s best for his little girl. Can Janie finally open her heart to David while watching the first man she ever truly loved fade away?

EXCERPT:

The interloper entered the room. His eyes widened when he caught sight of Janie, and he raised his hands up in front of him.

“Don’t think I won’t hurt you!” Janie shrieked, holding her ground.

“Joe might need that the next time he buys a pair of shoes,” the man said. His eyebrows arched theatrically while he gave Janie an appraising once over. His eyes lingered on her chest, she noted, which bolstered her resolve to kill him if he made any sudden moves.

Great. Janie tightened her grip on the shoe stretcher. Pervert.

The man stayed where he was and plastered an expression on his face that Janie assumed conveyed harmlessness. “You shouldn’t bean me with that. I doubt they make those anymore. It would be a shame to break it.”

Janie held the stretcher up higher, wincing as it wobbled flaccidly over her head. “If you knew my father, you’d know he only buys shoes once a decade. Who are you, damn it?”

“David Harris.” He slowly lowered his hands and took a step back. “I live next door. For the record, your father bought a pair of shoes last month. Are you Janie?”

Janie narrowed her eyes. “You’re David.”

A bemused smile curved his lips. “Were you expecting someone else?”

Almost certain she wasn’t about to be attacked, Janie dropped the stretcher to the bed. “I figured you’d be an octogenarian like my dad.” /

“Your father is in his seventies.”

“So?”

“That would make him a septuagenarian.”

Janie blinked. “Oh,” she said. “Well, I rounded up. Sue me. What are you, anyway, the vocabulary police?”

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Three years ago, native Pennsylvanian J.M. Kelley packed her bags and moved south. Now, the wannabe Carolina Girl can’t speak a single sentence without adding the word y’all at the end of it, and regards a blast of snow flurries as a doomsday-level event. When the day job allows, and when she can pull herself away from George Takei’s Facebook fanpage, she likes to go on writing jaunts to her favorite lake, or a local coffee shop with delicious shakes and questionable Wi-Fi connections. /

J.M. Kelley is a proud recipient of a Carrie McCray Memorial Literary award, and is a member of The South Carolina Writers Workshop and Romance Writers of America (PAN). Readers interested in more information may visit her website at www.jmkelleywrites.com.

LINKS:
Email: readers@jmkelleywrites.com
Website: http://www.jmkelleywrites.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/JM-Kelley/108021242585994 >br>Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorJMKelley



Daddy’s Girl purchase links:
Turquoise Morning Press: http://www.turquoisemorningpressbookstore.com/products/daddys-girl-by-j-m-kelley
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Daddys-Girl-ebook/dp/B00B76P58S/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359433661&sr=1-1&keywords=daddy%27s+girl+kelley


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