C.A. Milson's Blog, page 157
July 10, 2018
Movie Review – Tomb Invader (2018 TV Movie)
[image error]
Stars: Gina Vitori, Andrew J Katers, Samantha Bowling, Evan Sloan, Shawn McConnell, Lindsay Sawyer, Val Victa, Jordan Williams, Kate Watson, John Wusah, Tammy Klein. Written by: Nick Zephyrin
Directed by: James H. Thomas
Tagline: Archaeology just got badass!
Plot: Archaeologist, Alabama Channing, is recruited by a mysterious billionaire to help find an ancient Chinese relic. The same treasure that her mother was in search of before she went missing.
[image error]
Review: This movie has terrible acting and of course rips off movies such as Tomb Raider, Indiana Jones, and several others. There is really not much I can say that is positive about this film. Clearly low budget, SPX were not all that great, and characters were very two dimensional. While the idea itself was good, it failed to deliver any real surprises. If you are expecting a film as good as “Tomb Raider”, then think again.
IMDB Rating: 2.3
My Rating: 1.
July 8, 2018
Movie Review – Get Out (2017)
[image error]
Get Out (2017)
A young African-American visits his white girlfriend’s parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.
Director:
Writer: Jordan Peele
Stars: , , , .
Plot: Chris and his girlfriend Rose go upstate to visit her parents for the weekend. At first, Chris reads the family’s overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter’s interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.
[image error]
Review: Sometimes I get to watch a movie that is sinister right from the start, and this film makes no difference.
Tagline: Just because you’re invited, doesn’t mean you’re welcome.
My Tagline: Guess who’se for dinner!
Get Out is the story of a young interracial couple, Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) and Rose Armitage (Allison Williams), meeting her parents for the first time. By all counts, her parents have no idea that Chris is black. They appear to be friendly and progressive, if not awkward, but everything at their upstate house is not what it seems.
Done in a style that I would put in “true Hitchcock”, Jordan Peele wrote and directed this horror/thriller flick. While Jordan is no stranger to world of film (49 credits as an actor, going back to 2006), this was his first shot at directing a feature film. I will say that his directing debut certainly made the grade.
Imagine this: You go with your girlfriend to meet the folks at their country house. Soon after you arrive, you think you are seeing ghosts, but you are not. People brush off your instincts, and leave you wondering if you are going insane. You know you got to get out of the house and head back to the city, but you cannot leave. Everyone has it in for you, and are “bidding” on your body in a family game of “bingo”. Your girlfriend is the only way out of the madhouse, but then you discover that she is in on the scheme too.
What scheme does Rose and the rest of the Armitage family have in mind for Chris Washington?
That folks, I am not saying. You just need to watch this film for yourself and see the thriller unfold.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
My Rating: 9
July 6, 2018
Movie Review – ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction
[image error]
ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction
ZMD is a movie starring , , and . Life is wonderful for the people in the quiet, island town of Port Gamble….until a zombie virus outbreak!
Director: Kevin Hamedani
Writers: Ramon Isao, Kevin Hamedani
Stars: Janette Armand, Doug Fahl, Cooper Hopkins
Storyline: Life is wonderful for the people in the quiet, island town of Port Gamble….until a zombie virus outbreak!
[image error]
My Review: After seeing this somewhere on Facebook, I thought that this was one movie I wanted to watch. Only because it had (Z Nation) as one of the main roles.
Being a writer of horror, my viewing pleasure often gravitates towards films in the horror genre. Sometimes those films I watch are good, and other times… well… those should be be left on the cutting room floor…. And this film is another example where it should have been left in the editing room …. until the end of time….
In all honesty, and to be brief, this movie was a waste of time, a waste of talent and a waste of budget. For the reported $500K it cost to produce this film, the end result could have (and should have) been a lot better. No offense to the director and writer, but they could have used that half-mill to produce a feature film of substance and quality.
The only redeeming points about this film was the acting ability of Janette Armand and Russell Hodgkinson.
The only other movie that seemed to be similar was the 2003 Aussie film, Undead. If you want a move that will put you to sleep, then go ahead and watch this snoozefest. If you want to watch a film that is similar and much better, then go watch Undead (2003). At least that film was more entertaining.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
My Rating: 3
July 3, 2018
VBT – The Sunwright Chronicles: A New World
[image error]
About the Book
Title: The Sunwright Chronicles: A New World
Author: Kevin Villegas
Genre: Fantasy
[image error]
Join the magical adventures of the Sunwright family as they live, love and defend their high magic home of Alavar. It is the beginning of a new phase in the lives of the Sunwright’s castoff’s from an unloving modern Earth, they seek their fortunes in a brand new world. Enjoy these brand new adventures filled with; romance, intrigue, murder, and revenge! Watch their interactions with the powerful Elves of Alavar, how drama unfolds as a great disease hits the Elven population and all eyes turn to one Sunwright who can save them all. Will the Elves prosper or fall to the disease, and what consequences will the dreaded disease have on the burgeoning Elven civilization?
Author Bio
[image error]
I have been writing for as long as I can remember. My ongoing series “The Sunwright Chronicles.” Is a culmination of fifteen years of creating a unique living world with a rich history. I am currently writing the second book in the series. Besides writing I enjoy computer gaming, reading, watching the history and science channels. My favorite activity is hanging out with my awesome family :).
Links
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2KnpMdT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunwrightchronicles/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sunwrightcron
July 1, 2018
Book Blast – Scornful Scones
About the Author
[image error]
Reading the Cozy Corgi series is pretty much all you need to know about Mildred. In real life, she’s obsessed with everything she writes about: Corgis, Books, Cozy Mountain Towns, and Baked Goods. She’s not obsessed with murder, however. At least not at her own hands (nor paid for… no contract killing here). But since childhood, starting with Nancy Drew, trying to figure out who-dun-it has played a formative role in her personality. Having Fred and Watson stroll into her mind was a touch of kismet.
WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
About the Book:
[image error]
Title: SCORNFUL SCONES
Author: Mildred Abbott
Publisher: Wings of Ink Publications, LLC
Pages: 300
Genre: Cozy Mystery
BOOK BLURB:
With summer approaching, Estes Park is abuzz with flowers, baking, tourists, and… murder.
Tourist season is about to begin, and the lovely weather has Winifred Page and her corgi sidekick, Watson, leaving the comfort of the Cozy Corgi Bookshop and Bakery to reluctantly attend a celebration at the Black Bear Roaster coffee shop. But a chill of uncertainty settles over Fred when a choking death doesn’t seem so accidental—despite the dry, hazardous scones.
As Fred and Police Sergeant Branson Wexler rekindle a possible romance, Fred shares her suspicions. But is she seeing murder at every turn? Learning to trust her gut feelings, Fred risks the ire of the coffee shop owner to investigate not one, but two, deaths.
As suspects and motives abound, old resentments are uncovered, and Fred and Watson build new friendships even as they follow the crumbs to find clues to a killer.
ORDER YOUR COPY:
Amazon
Book Excerpt:
A piercing scream shattered the peaceful ambience of the bookshop. We’d closed the store ten minutes before, and I’d stolen a moment to curl up and read on the Victorian divan. At the sound, I let out a yelp and flung the book from me. Luckily it landed a few feet from the fireplace.
A clatter of claws came from the other room.
I looked over to find Watson scrambling to a standing position as quickly as his little corgi legs would allow. He glared at me as if I was the one who’d disrupted his nap in the sunshine.
Before I could make sense of a scream coming from the bookshop—it had to have come from there, as loud and clear as it had been—there was a pounding above my head followed by a squeal.
Katie?
Must be. Though I’d never heard my best friend and business partner make such a sound before.
Leaving the book on the floor of the mystery room, I hurried to the main portion of the bookshop and rushed up the stairs to the bakery two at a time, having to hike my pea-green broomstick skirt slightly to keep from tripping.
Nails still clicking on the hardwood floor, despite his slow start, Watson passed me on the staircase and entered the Cozy Corgi bakery a few strides ahead of me.
I found Katie instantly, standing behind the marble-topped bakery counter, and the mystery of the pounding was solved as she clenched her fists over her chest, performed a little jig, and let out another squeal.
Okay, apparently she wasn’t in danger of dying. Although, perhaps she was possessed.
Katie caught me watching, and though a blush rose to her round cheeks, she didn’t seem able to stop from giving another excited jig. With her brown curly hair bouncing around her face, she was like a little kid walking in on a surprise birthday party.
I cast a quick glance around the bakery. Atypically, the randomly arranged antique tables, rustic chairs, and overstuffed couches were unoccupied in front of the wall of windows overlooking the downtown of Estes Park. Oh, right, not that atypical, I had to remind myself; we’d closed the shop in the middle of the day.
“I’d accuse you of trying to scare away the customers, if we had any. I know we’ve been slammed and it’s nice to have a break, but I’m pretty sure people probably heard you on the street.”
“Good!” Katie squealed a third time. She literally seemed like she might be on the verge of a seizure. “I want them all to hear. And after this, we’ll have a whole new definition to the word slammed. We’re going to be so packed they’ll be lining up all the way down the block.” Another squeal.
“Katie.” I crossed the bakery and took her hand over the counter. “You screamed like you just discovered zombies were real, and now you’ve squealed four times.” I cocked an eyebrow at her but wasn’t quite able to hold back the grin. “Who are you and what have you done to my best friend?”
She whipped her hand free, grasped the laptop, and spun it in my direction. “Check this out!”
Other Books in the Series:
[image error]
GIVEAWAY!
Mildred Abbott is giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card!
Terms & Conditions:
By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter
This giveaway ends midnight July 27.
Winner will be contacted via email on July 28.
Winner has 48 hours to reply.
Good luck everyone!
ENTER TO WIN!
VBT – The Immortal Seeds: A Tribute to Golden Treasures
[image error]
About the Book
Title: The Immortal Seeds: A Tribute to Golden Treasures
Author: Sambath Meas
Genre: Family Memoir
[image error]
This is a story about a father’s dream of escaping a war-torn country in search of stability and freedom, so that his children can live and thrive.
Sarin Meas, who was born and grew up in a remote village in Trangel, Kampong Chhnang, drifts from one place to another in search of a purpose, and a better life. In Pailin, a small town in western Cambodia known for its richness of gemstones, he meets a poor and uneducated girl whose daily life, from dusk until dawn, is strained by hard work: selling fruits and vegetables at the local market, along with cooking, doing laundry and cleaning up after strangers and relatives whom her aunt has taken in. If she doesn’t do her chores correctly and one of them tells on her, her aunt, a woman whose mood changes like a person suffering from a split personality, hurls foul language at her and beats her with any heavy object in sight. Sarin realizes that this young woman, whom everyone calls Thach, will die if she continues to live like this. So he marries her out of compassion. His compassion turns into love. Sarin and Thach form a family.
Tragically, after fifteen years of peaceful existence and independence from France, Cambodia gets sucked into the war of idealism between the world’s super powers—America, China, and the Soviet Union—by way of the Vietnam War. Cambodian leaders and people take sides. The Khmer Republic (backed by the United States) and the Khmer Rouge (backed by China, the Soviet Union and Vietnam) fight each other acrimoniously. After five years of battle, the relentless Khmer Rouge soldiers emerge victorious. Sarin has an opportunity to escape to Thailand with his family, but chooses to remain behind out of fear of the unknown. Soon he realizes the victors don’t know how to manage the country. Fear, paranoia and revenge turn them and their supporters into a killing machine. Sarin, through cleverness and luck, helps his family navigate the horror of communism. When a second opportunity arrives, like thousands of other surviving Cambodians, he takes the chance to venture to the unknown—to find freedom, opportunity, and a better life for his family.
The Immortal Seeds: A Tribute to Golden Treasures is not only about the continuing of a family’s life cycle; it is also about a father’s idea—a purpose—that gets passed on to his daughter. In turn she hopes to pass it on to people not only within her community but also around the world.
“King Grandfather would like to wish that your memoir The Immortal Seeds will become successful.” — Norodom Sihanouk, King of Cambodia
“The Immortal Seeds is a story of war, love, and the unbreakable bonds of family. Touchingly told, Sambath pays homage to her family across the generations, and shares how they helped the Meases to survive the war and thrive in peace.” — Loung Ung, author of First They Killed My Father and Lucky Child
“The Immortal Seeds exhibits a memoir’s emphasis on highly personalized, if not fully contextualized, experiences.” — The Phnom Penh Post, Cambodia’s Newspaper
Author Bio
[image error]
SAMBATH MEAS was born in Pailin, Cambodia at a time of civil war. Having survived the effects of the Vietnam War, the Khmer Civil War, and the Maoist-inspired Khmer Rouge regime, her parents decided not to stick around for another phase of mass killings. Her family, like thousands of other Khmers, fled to the Cambodian-Thai border in 1979. After being displaced in refugee camps for two years, Chicago became their new home in 1981. Meas graduated from Loyola University of Chicago with a B.A. in political science and is taking writing classes at Northwestern University. She has worked in the legal industry for over 19 years and contributes to the richness that is Chicago literature. In her spare time, she helps novice writers to get started with their stories. Her current projects include self-help, science fiction, graphic novel, and young adult fantasy books. She writes fiction, focusing on murder mystery, fantasy, and science fiction; and nonfiction, focusing on memoir, biography, and self-improvement.
You can follow the author at the following sites:
Website: www.sambathmeas.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sambathmeas1
Twitter: @MissSambathMeas
Instagram: smeasuniverse
Newsletter:
https://mailchi.mp/53478904a49a/thank-you-for-subscribing-to-sambath-meass-author-page-37615
Giveaway
Win an eBook copy of one of the author’s other books, “The Governor’s Daughter, The Mysteries of Colonial Cambodia”:
Book Excerpt
The weather was as it had always been during April— sunny and scorching hot; but against the backdrop of the massive American bombardment and the raging Khmer civil war, it was everything people had imagined hell would be. Pailin was not as stifling as many other parts of the country due to its thick forest and mountain ranges. On April 15, 1975, the biggest and most festive national celebration of Cambodia arrived. Khmer people had always welcomed it by bathing the Gautama Buddha statues, cleaning pagodas, building sand hills, setting off big fireworks displays in the shapes of amazing images of apsaras, lions, nagas, garudas, etc., floating intricately arranged floral lanterns on the riverbanks, attending traditional and modern dances, playing Khmer games, and sharing bountiful food with relatives, friends, and neighbors. Sadly, nothing was festive about it this time.
The fighting throughout the country between the Khmer Rouge and Khmer Republic continued to be intense and acrimonious. Pailin seemed a bit more stable. There were families who celebrated Bonn Chol Chhnam or Entering the New Year quietly at home. A thirty-year old Sarin with prominent eyebrows, his twenty-six-year-old wife Srey Touch with eyes like a bushbaby, and her relatives who live in O Ta Prang, a plantation in Pailin, didn’t celebrate the New Year. The uncertainty brought about by war and anarchy had killed their moods.
In the tug of war between ending capitalism and guarding the country against socialism, the communists emerged victorious on the last of the three days of the Khmer New Year.
A firm yet sad voice echoed from a Phnom Penh radio station, as if he was forced at gunpoint to make the announcement. “Brothers and sisters, we have liberated Phnom Penh. The [Republican] soldiers have dropped their weapons.”
June 25, 2018
VBT – Moments of Disarray
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Megan Hart will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Alex Kennedy knows he’s a rascal. A rogue. An arrogant bastard. He wreaked havoc on his best friend’s marriage by falling in love with his best friend’s wife, and now he’s trying to move on. Sex, drugs, booze, boys, girls and toys. He’s hell-bent on forgetting the past and running toward a future he doesn’t believe he deserves, only to discover the truth in moments of disarray.
Read an Excerpt:
He pulled out the first pair of soft pajama bottoms he could find. They were the Hello Kitty pair he ought to have thrown out long ago, and after he tugged them on, he sat on the bed with his head in hands for a long time.
The pajamas made him think of Anne, which made him think of Jamie, and wouldn’t it have been the perfect hour of the night to call the number of the house on the lake and talk to one or both of them? To ask them if he could come…home, Alex thought, and clapped a hand over his mouth to stop the small cry from leaking out. Anne and Jamie’s house could never again be his home. He’d ruined that the summer he’d stayed there, and if it had been salvageable, he’d ruined it again for good after what had happened later, with Jamie. After seeing Anne in Cleveland, Alex knew there was no way he could ever take that sort of advantage again.
“I hope the thought of never touching me again makes you want to die,” Anne had told him that night, but he would die rather than hurt her again. Of all the things in his life he’d messed up, he would never forgive himself for what he’d done to Anne Kinney. Even if she forgave him for it.
About the Author:
Megan Hart writes books. Some of them use a lot of bad words, but most of the other words are okay. She can’t live without music, the internet, or the ocean, but she and soda have achieved an amicable uncoupling. She can’t stand the feeling of corduroy or velvet, and modern art leaves her cold. She writes a little bit of everything from horror to romance, though she’s best known for writing erotic fiction that sometimes makes you cry. Find out more about her at http://www.meganhart.com, or if you really want to get crazy, follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/megan_hart, Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/readinbed and Instagram at http://instagram.com/readinbed.
Buy link: https://amzn.to/2GpVBAA. The book will be on sale for only $0.99.
Website: http://www.meganhart.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/megan_hart
Facebook: http://wwwfacebook.com/readinbed
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/readinbed
Megan Hart will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Release Blitz – Oak Seer: A Fey Matter Novel
About Oak Seer
Thrust into the public eye as the “Green Lady,” Effie of Glen Coe has become a living legend, the fey woman who saved Scotland from devastation. But to some, she’s a threat to human existence and a traitor to fey-kind.
Determined more than ever to forge a peace between fey and humans, Effie finds herself navigating a realm increasingly divided. The lords of London have other plans, and once again Effie is pulled into a quagmire of politics and greed. She must stand against plots to remove her kind from the shores of the empire and madmen who murder fey without regard.
Even worse, heinous cults have arisen, enthralled by an unseen enemy. With violent thugs and unruly mobs all around, wits and courage are not enough. Effie must become something more than herself, an Oak Seer, a fey mantle long lost. But can she survive long enough to claim it?
Author Bio
Craig Comer is the author of the gaslamp fantasy series A FEY MATTER, which includes THE LAIRD OF DUNCAIRN and OAK SEER. He is a co-author of the mosaic fantasy novel THE ROADS TO BALDAIRN MOTTE. Craig earned a Master’s Degree in Writing from the University of Southern California and enjoys tramping across countries in his spare time, preferably those strewn with pubs and castles. His website is: https://craigcomer.com/
Links
Get your copy on Amazon
An excerpt from Oak Seer – Chapter One
Heavy spring rains flooded the road to Langmire. The village sprouted to the north of Stirling along the River Teith. It smelled old to Effie, full of moldy timbers, damp leaves, and rusting iron. The collection of buildings, crofters’ homes mostly, sagged like the slumped back of a crone. Grey smoke wafted from a few blackened chimneys that sprouted from thatched roofs. Someone baked fresh bread. She caught it on the wind, and another something sweeter. Eager for a warm hearth and a cup of honeyed tea, she licked her parched lips. She’d travelled a full day to reach the village. She’d come because Conall Murray had begged her, because without her an innocent woman would hang.
In the heart of the village grew a stout oak. Muckle Ben the locals called it, Effie had once heard. They’d carved a Green Man into its bark long ago, during a time when such things held power. Now banners pronouncing some celebration hung from its limbs more often than not, but none remained there currently. Its trunk stood as somber as an undertaker. Chickens picked at worms in the upturned soil near its roots, and a lone hound howled at the rustling leaves as the branches creaked above.
Fergus Alpin hacked into his handkerchief, a wet, miserable noise she’d had to contend with the entire journey from Stirling. The Fey Finder sat across from her in the steam carriage’s tight compartment. His wrinkled face was spotted and thin, and he kept tugging his coat tighter about his frail bones. She tried to avoid his gaze, but nothing adorned the compartment for her to study, and she could only stare out the window for so long before feeling rude.
“I’ll do the speaking,” the man said. “You will remain silent.” The quiver at his lip turned into another fit of hacking, yet she still heard his mumbling. “Send a fey to catch a fey, and one with paps at that!”
The steam carriage rocked and bounced, splashing through the flooded road as if fording a stony riverbed. Its benches were worn and hard, the padding flattened from years of service. A lightly stained wood paneling formed its walls, floor, and roof. The boiler at the rear of the carriage warmed the compartment, but at the expense of the coal smoke that clouded the air.
Effie shifted to relieve her sore hips. Her eyes narrowed. “The Fey Finder General bade me accompany you, Mr. Alpin, and not so I would stand and do nothing.” She tried to keep the bite from her tongue. Of Fey Finders, Alpin was a journeyman and not a zealot. At least there was that. He sought not to be bothered rather than possessing the fiery hatred common to his profession.
She pressed her palms into the cushion on either side of her, to steady herself. It still marveled her she could sit so close to a Sniffer, a man the crown tasked with hunting down malevolent fey. Malevolent, as if they knew what the word meant. They hunted all with fey blood, and as a Sithling—one with the ancient blood of the Daoine Sith coursing through her—that included her. But things had changed after Caldwell House, and she had a need to trust where once she dared not. The fierce battle there had forced the lords of the empire to open their eyes. They could not rest on centuries of intolerance any longer. They had to welcome the fey into society’s ranks and accept a permanent treaty. They had witnessed the fate awaiting them if they did not.
Effie’s heart warmed. If the lords of the empire could learn to trust, so could she, and perhaps the Scottish fey would live freely for the first time in millennia.
Alpin’s jaw worked. He’d likely never had someone with paps stand up to him. Most Scots of either gender avoided Sniffers as if they carried the plague. “Look here, Miss Effie,” he snapped. “I’ll not have it. You may dine with the likes of lords, but you’re not in some grand procession here. I know the hearts of these gentle folk better than you ever will, and I will not banter with the mind of a devious hag.”
“When you see one, I’m sure,” said Effie, not knowing whether the man had meant her or the poor Spae Wife they’d come to question.
Heavy spring rains flooded the road to Langmire. The village sprouted to the north of Stirling along the River Teith. It smelled old to Effie, full of moldy timbers, damp leaves, and rusting iron. The collection of buildings, crofters’ homes mostly, sagged like the slumped back of a crone. Grey smoke wafted from a few blackened chimneys that sprouted from thatched roofs. Someone baked fresh bread. She caught it on the wind, and another something sweeter. Eager for a warm hearth and a cup of honeyed tea, she licked her parched lips. She’d travelled a full day to reach the village. She’d come because Conall Murray had begged her, because without her an innocent woman would hang.
In the heart of the village grew a stout oak. Muckle Ben the locals called it, Effie had once heard. They’d carved a Green Man into its bark long ago, during a time when such things held power. Now banners pronouncing some celebration hung from its limbs more often than not, but none remained there currently. Its trunk stood as somber as an undertaker. Chickens picked at worms in the upturned soil near its roots, and a lone hound howled at the rustling leaves as the branches creaked above.
Fergus Alpin hacked into his handkerchief, a wet, miserable noise she’d had to contend with the entire journey from Stirling. The Fey Finder sat across from her in the steam carriage’s tight compartment. His wrinkled face was spotted and thin, and he kept tugging his coat tighter about his frail bones. She tried to avoid his gaze, but nothing adorned the compartment for her to study, and she could only stare out the window for so long before feeling rude.
“I’ll do the speaking,” the man said. “You will remain silent.” The quiver at his lip turned into another fit of hacking, yet she still heard his mumbling. “Send a fey to catch a fey, and one with paps at that!”
The steam carriage rocked and bounced, splashing through the flooded road as if fording a stony riverbed. Its benches were worn and hard, the padding flattened from years of service. A lightly stained wood paneling formed its walls, floor, and roof. The boiler at the rear of the carriage warmed the compartment, but at the expense of the coal smoke that clouded the air.
Effie shifted to relieve her sore hips. Her eyes narrowed. “The Fey Finder General bade me accompany you, Mr. Alpin, and not so I would stand and do nothing.” She tried to keep the bite from her tongue. Of Fey Finders, Alpin was a journeyman and not a zealot. At least there was that. He sought not to be bothered rather than possessing the fiery hatred common to his profession.
She pressed her palms into the cushion on either side of her, to steady herself. It still marveled her she could sit so close to a Sniffer, a man the crown tasked with hunting down malevolent fey. Malevolent, as if they knew what the word meant. They hunted all with fey blood, and as a Sithling—one with the ancient blood of the Daoine Sith coursing through her—that included her. But things had changed after Caldwell House, and she had a need to trust where once she dared not. The fierce battle there had forced the lords of the empire to open their eyes. They could not rest on centuries of intolerance any longer. They had to welcome the fey into society’s ranks and accept a permanent treaty. They had witnessed the fate awaiting them if they did not.
Effie’s heart warmed. If the lords of the empire could learn to trust, so could she, and perhaps the Scottish fey would live freely for the first time in millennia.
Alpin’s jaw worked. He’d likely never had someone with paps stand up to him. Most Scots of either gender avoided Sniffers as if they carried the plague. “Look here, Miss Effie,” he snapped. “I’ll not have it. You may dine with the likes of lords, but you’re not in some grand procession here. I know the hearts of these gentle folk better than you ever will, and I will not banter with the mind of a devious hag.”
“When you see one, I’m sure,” said Effie, not knowing whether the man had meant her or the poor Spae Wife they’d come to question.
June 19, 2018
VBT – Nothing Is Predictable
[image error]
Nothing Is Predictable
by Adalina Mae
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Autobiographical Novel – Memoir – AutoFiction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Zara is eight years old, her father, in a drunken rampage, accidentally shoots himself dead.
Her childhood memories leave her struggling with romantic attachments and hinder her from developing healthy relationships.
Seeking answers, She meets a monk for wisdom, and a gypsy for insight.
The journeys Adalina Mae takes us on are interspersed with heartbreaking moments as well as hilarious escapades.
This is life and nothing is predictable. The story keeps you on your toes and offers mysteries to solve.
Why does Zara have recurrent nightmares of her last night with her father?
Why does she struggle with love?
[image error]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
“Run sweetheart, hurry, run! We will hide in the neighbor’s storeroom, he can’t find us there,” Mom whispered as we ran for our lives away from home hoping Dad would not find us. We entered the storeroom beside our neighbor’s old cottage. It was dark and moldy and infested with rats. From a distance, we could hear him following us and approaching.
I cried silently with my eyes shut, fearful about what was going to happen. That dreadful monster is back, what damage is he going to cause tonight?
“Shhh, don’t cry, he won’t find us here, we’ll be okay darling, don’t worry,” Mom whispered as she held me tight to comfort me, yet I could see in her eyes she was not convinced.
“Where are you? You think you can hide from me! I’ll show you who the man of the house is! You’re taking my daughter away from me, I’ll show you woman!” Dad shouted, his voice approaching closer and closer.
He was so drunk he didn’t realize Mom was only running to safety. He thought she was taking me away from him. How on earth do you come to that conclusion? His footsteps stomped louder, as he walked toward the storeroom where we were hiding.
“Where are you? How dare you run away!” his voice projected from outside the room.
And then, BANG! The wooden door was flung open and it bounced off the wall.
“Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” I screamed so loudly I can still hear the echo of my voice.
I was eight years old.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links
[image error]
Adalina Mae is the author of the published novel Nothing Is Predictable and soon to be released Nothing Can Last Forever.
After leaving the corporate world of management, she decided to pursue her lifelong passion to write.
She’s also a lover of movies and hopes that her novels become a motion picture.
Adalina wrote Nothing Is Predictable to inspire optimism and positive thoughts, reminding us we are strong and can overcome life’s challenges. Particularly those who suffered childhood trauma like she has.
She is determined to spread the inspirational message of her story.
Her life’s incidents have taught her that,
Nothing Is Predictable and Nothing Can Last Forever.
Website: www.adalinamae.com
Book stores Link: http://bit.ly/bookstoreslink
Amazon only link: http://bit.ly/buybookfromamazon
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/goodreadsbooktitle
Book Trailer: http://bit.ly/ILoveThisStorySpecialEdition
Facebook: http://bit.ly/AdalinaMaeAuthorFacebook
Instagram: http://bit.ly/AdalinaMaeAuthorInstagram
Twitter: http://bit.ly/AdalinaMaeAuthorTwitter
[image error]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
Adalina Mae will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
June 18, 2018
VBT – CHASING LACEY
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. January Bain will be awarding $25.00 via Paypal to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Think being a PI is all dull divorce cases? Think again.
Lacey Cameron, private investigator and treasure hunter, takes being headstrong and passionate to a whole new level. It takes exactly one morning in a school teaching young minds for her and her identical twin sister to break the whiteboard pointer in half, throw their keys on the teacher’s desk, and heed the seductive call of wide open spaces and awesome adventures.
William James Thornton III, a renaissance man and warrior poet who defended his country in Iraq and Afghanistan, knows he’s got his hands full trying to get Lacey to see him as more than just a friend. He’s ready to settle down, marry the woman of his dreams, and make his mother a happy grandmother. Hell, he’s got enough treasure in his bank account for two lifetimes.
And then things go from normal craziness to extremely dangerous in a heartbeat as hired killers are sent after Will and Lacey to prevent them from discovering the truth. They stumble on such an unexpected twist to the story that no one in their right mind would believe it or have suspected. If Will can get them out of this mess, he vows to lay all his cards on the table with Lacey. Get her to recognize what they can share as a couple. Passion. Love. And a commitment to blending her wild nature with his own—the perfect spicy blend. Even if it looks like it might just be the death of him.
Read an Excerpt
Grasping the cross like a vampire hunter and mentally crossing herself with a prayer, she kept the leviathan in her sights. A macabre dance with death began. one she was determined to win—had to win. It would have been made a whole lot easier with an outcropping at her back, but she was in shallow waters, close to shore with no hope of that. He lunged without warning, opening his mouth and re-exposing ivories gleaming evilly in case she’d missed them the first time around. Don’t worry, I get the picture. His humongous body moved fast as sheet lightning, preparing to strike.
Steady. Steady.
But instead of grasping the expected flesh and bone of a leg, he got a sharp jab in the eye for his trouble. Her father’s angry face flashed in her mind. She struck out. Harder.
Take that! If only her mother had flattened him just once, had fought back, like she herself did when practicing her karate moves. No man was ever going to get the drop on her. She’d fight tooth and nail, take them down with her, if necessary.
But the big fish didn’t learn his lesson either. Kept coming. Need conformation, eh, that I’m a force to be reckoned with. She struck again, punching him right in the snout, the cross a decent substitute for the spear, if she didn’t mind the close, disgusting quarters of a shark with food stuck in his teeth. The guy needed a good dentist. Pronto.
Breathe.
He backed off. She threatened with a gesture.
He parried again, a shark who obviously practiced evasive sword-fencing techniques. What was his problem? If it was hunger, she was less than sympathetic. Besides, to this gigantic beast, she was just a morsel. Go after something your own size.
A movement in the water to her left drew her attention for a micro-second, but she could ill afford to check out what her peripheral vision hinted at. Keep your eyes on him. Turn from a shark, especially run from a shark, and he thinks he’s found his din-din.
A spear whizzed by her shoulder, but instead of sinking into the sand-paper-like thick hide, it flew on by, entirely missing its target. She groaned and quickly moved her physical body between her sister and the shark, her heart in her throat. Had Lily missed because she couldn’t bear to hurt another living being, or because she was a terrible shot? Because now he was a whole lot more confident, looming larger than life and almost grinning at his prey. Them.
About the Author
January Bain has wished on every falling star, every blown-out birthday candle, and every coin thrown in a fountain to be a storyteller. To share the tales of high adventure, mysteries, and full blown thrillers she has dreamed of all her life. The story you now have in your hands is the compilation of a lot of things manifesting itself for this special series. Hundreds of hours spent researching the unusual and the mundane have come together to create a series that features strong women who don’t take life too seriously, wild adventures full of twists and unforeseen turns, and hot complicated men who aren’t afraid to take risks. She can only hope the stories of her beloved Brass Ringers will capture your imagination as you follow their exploits as much as they did when she wrote them.
If you are looking for January Bain, you can find her hard at work every morning without fail in her office with two furry babies trying to prove who does a better job of guarding the doorway. And, of course, she’s married to the most romantic man! Who once famously remarked to her inquiry about buying fresh flowers for their home every week, “Give me one good reason why not?” Leaving her speechless and knocking her head against the proverbial wall for being so darn foolish. She loves flowers.
If you wish to connect in the virtual world she is easily found on Facebook, twitter and writes a weekly blog about her journey on Blogger. Oh, and she loves to talk books…
Blog Address – http://januarybainjourney.blogspot.ca/
Twitter Name – https://twitter.com/JanuaryBain
Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/january.bain
Goodreads Page – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6437282.January_Bain
Amazon Buy Link – https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Lacey-Brass-Ring-Sorority-ebook/dp/B07CVCPWNL/ref=sr_1_1
January Bain will be awarding $25.00 via Paypal to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
