C.A. Milson's Blog, page 189
March 28, 2016
Web Series Trailer – Bogan Bachelor
Thanks to everyone for creating such a buzz around Bogan Bachelor!
Well, today we have a special surprise for you. A hilarious promo for the web series starring Jason Deane, April Gareffa and Robbie Ryde with a whole host of others that we are all massively grateful to.
So check it out, show your friends and get pumped for the series!
Filed under: Movie Trailers Tagged: #asj_publishing, April Garreffa, ASJ Publishing, Bogan Bachelor, Jason Deane, Justin Dalaya, Melly Xanthi, Positive Dynamite, Robbie Ryde, web series
Book Blast – Three Weeks to Wed by Ella Quinn
Three Weeks to Wed
by Ella Quinn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Historical Romance (Regency)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
In the first book of her dazzling new series, bestselling author Ella Quinn introduces the soon-to-be Earl and Countess of Worthington–lovers who have more in common than they yet know. The future promises to be far from boring…
Lady Grace Carpenter is ready to seize the day–or rather, the night–with the most compelling man she’s ever known. Marriage would mean losing guardianship of her beloved siblings, and surely no sane gentleman will take on seven children not his own. But if she can have one anonymous tryst with Mattheus, Earl of Worthington, Grace will be content to live out the rest of her life as a spinster.
Matt had almost given up hope of finding a wife who could engage his mind as well as his body. And now this sensual, intelligent woman is offering herself to him. What could be more perfect? Except that after one wanton night, the mysterious Grace refuses to have anything to do with him. Amid the distractions of the Season he must convince her, one delicious encounter at a time, that no obstacle–or family–is too much for a man who’s discovered his heart’s desire…
“Oh, the tangled webs we weave…especially when our hearts are involved. Three Weeks to Wed is a delightfully heartwarming escape into the sparkling world of the Regency. Ella Quinn weaves magic.” –Cathy Maxwell, New York Times bestselling author
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK EXCERPT
“Yes, my lady.” He nodded, tapping the side of his nose. “You were never here. Don’t expect to see anyone else in this weather. You and your servants will sleep warm and dry tonight.” He pointed to the door next to the stairs and within easy reach of the common room. “I’ll put you in this parlor for dinner.”
She gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you. That will be perfect.”
Susan, one of Brown’s daughters, showed Grace to the large chamber at the back of the inn on the first floor. She handed the girl her cloak to dry, then shook out her skirts. “I’ll call for you when I am ready to retire.”
“Yes, my lady. Anything you need, just pull the bell.” Susan bobbed a curtsey and left.
Grace glanced around. Although she had stopped here any number of times on family outings, she’d never spent the night. The inn had been in the Brown family for several generations. The building was old, but it was clean and well maintained.
She took a book and Norwich shawl from her large muff before descending the stairs to the parlor. Although it was early, not much past two o’clock, Mr. Brown had closed the shutters, and a fire was lit, as well as sufficient candles to brighten the room.
An hour later, warm and dry, she was engrossed in Madelina, the latest romance from the Minerva Press. Over the storm, sounds of another carriage arriving could be heard. Grace lowered the book, wondering who the newcomer could be.
The inn door slammed opened. Moments later, Mr. Brown’s agitated tone and that of another man, a gentleman by his speech, reached her.
Her heart skipped a beat. Worthington? Could it really be him? She hadn’t heard his voice for four years, but she’d never forget it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Bestselling author Ella Quinn’s studies and other jobs have always been on the serious side. Reading historical romances, especially Regencies, were her escape. Eventually her love of historical novels led her to start writing them. She has just finished her first series, The Marriage Game, and her new series will start in April 2016.
She is married to her wonderful husband of over thirty years. They have a son and granddaughter, one cat and a dog. After living in the South Pacific, Central America, North Africa, England and Europe, she and her husband decided to make their dreams come true and are now living on a sailboat cruising the Caribbean and North America.
She loves having readers connect with her.
Website: www.ellaquinnauthor.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EllaQuinnAuthor
Twitter www.twitter.com/ellaquinnauthor
Blog http://ellaquinnauthor.wordpresscom
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
Ella will be awarding signed print ARCs of THREE WEEKS TO WED to five randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. (International)
Enter to win a signed copy of the book – a Rafflecopter giveaway
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2016/03/book-blast-three-weeks-to-wed-by-ella.html
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #ellaquinnauthor, book blast, Ella Quinn, Goddess Fish Promotions, Historical Romance, Rafflecopter giveaway, Three Weeks to Wed
Book Blast – Unloved Again
Inside the Book:
Title: Unloved Again
Author: Elan Golomb
Publisher: iUniverse
Genre: Psychology
Format: Ebook/Paperback
Love can be hell. It is not an accident which moves us to love the wrong person or to hate the right one, over and over again.
Most of us remain unaware of how to escape this perpetual cycle of bad relationships.
• Do you continually fall for the wrong person?
• Do you find yourself driving the right person away?
• Do your relationships quickly switch from blissful to tortured?
• Do you criticize unreasonably or find yourself being criticized disproportionally?
In Unloved Again, Dr. Elan Golomb identifies the crux of emotional and psychological problems which underlie love’s repeated failures.
Only in addressing these deep-seated issues can one escape the dance of romantic folly. With this book you will uncover the secret to enjoying a happy and lasting love life.
Meet the Author:
Elan Golomb earned her doctorate in clinical psychology and her certificate in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy from New York University. She has been in private practice in New York since 1972. She is also the author of Trapped in the Mirror: Adult Children of Narcissistic Parents in Their Struggle for Self.
Giveaway
Elan is giving away a $25 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 to receive one $25 Gift Certificate to the e-retailer of your choice
This giveaway begins March 28 and ends on April 8.
Winners will be contacted via email on April 9.
Winner has 48 hours to reply.
Good luck everyone!
ENTER TO WIN!
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: Elan Golomb, Rafflecopter giveaway, Unloved Again
VBT – The Philistine Gamble
Inside the Book:
Title: The Philistine Gamble
Author: Denis O’Rourke
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Genre: Hard Boiled
Format: Ebook/Paperback
With The Philistine Gamble, O’Rourke adds mystery and a noir style to his mantra of Murder, Menace and Merriment. “Compost happens.” Discount private eye Nick Gamble says that a lot, usually when he opens the mail, but today it’s worse. Our flawed and philandering PI finds his friend and mentor, Bishop Francis Xavier Augustini, dead in the church office. It doesn’t help when one of LAPD’s not-so-finest Lieutenant Hardcastle catches Nick at the murder scene and takes him in for questioning. When Hardcastle asks for the thousandth time why Gamble killed his friend, Nick finally confesses. “It was Amway. The Bishop said I had to hold meetings, invite my friends. I only wanted to sell the soap. We argued.” Nick wants to know who really killed his friend, but the Russian Mafia, the Vatican Police, too many bad cops, and a three thousand-year-old, muscle-bound geezer keep getting in the way. They’re all after the same thing—an ancient manuscript worth millions. Nick’s going to need a lot of help, and he gets it. There’s Leo the massive mailman, a mini fridge with a bum leg and a trick door, a secret underwear gun, and Vera Foxxe, Nick’s able assistant and long-time bride to be—the sexiest woman on earth. If you don’t believe it, ask the Dalai Lama. This double feature will keep you guessing—and laughing—until the last page. Twice. Sorry, you’ll have to bring your own popcorn. Includes a preview of Toxicity. Attorney Riley Scofield returns in Denis O’Rourke’s exciting prequel to Proposition. Read inside: Acclaim for Denis O’Rourke’s stories.
ORDER INFORMATION
The Philistine Gamble is available for order at
Meet the Author:
Denis O’Rourke lives in Arizona with his fabulous wife, Kitty O’Rourke. Before he became psychotic and began plotting bizarre ways to kill people and feel good about it, the author was an aeronautical engineer, a perpetual student, a certifiable public accountant, controller of a couple of Fortune 500 companies, and a congenital troublemaker. Most recently, he’s been a financial consultant, telling unsuspecting clients what they already know and charging them double. If you read his stories and can’t decide whether to cringe, cheer, cry, or chuckle, then he’s done his job, and he’d love to hear from you at http://www.denisorourke.com.
Giveaway
Denis is giving away a $25 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 to receive one $25 Gift Certificate to the e-retailer of your choice
This giveaway begins March 28 and ends on April 8.
Winners will be contacted via email on April 9.
Winner has 48 hours to reply.
Good luck everyone!
ENTER TO WIN!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: book blast, Denis O'Rourke, Rafflecopter giveaway, The Philistine Gamble
March 27, 2016
Book Blast – COLLECTIVE RAMBLINGS
Collective Ramblings: Volume 1
by Various Authors
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Anthology
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
2015’s Twenty Short Story Contest winners assembled in one place. Five stories from each category (Super Powers, Deserted Island, Horror, and Labyrinth), including the top winners of each contest shown below.
The Era of Super Weapons – Roger, America’s super-soldier, embarks on what seemed a routine mission –until his enemies turn to allies against a horde revealing information that will turn the entire world on its head.
Synchronysi – A steampunk masterpiece. After her volunteer operation, a woman awakens to a world made entirely of tine crystals. As she travels the shining island, the product of her surgery reveals much more than she may be able to handle—neither the land of crystals nor the world from which she arrived are exactly what they seem.
Terrors Great and Small – A couple barricades themselves in their home to escape a viral outbreak carried by mosquito bites. As the days of panic and solitude stack up, they battle with both their own crumbling sanity and the terror of what really awaits them beyond their front door.
The Walls Are Alive – in a world where violent offenders are placed in a deadly, automated labyrinth—designed to let no one escape alive—the labyrinth’s caretaker steps inside for a routine maintenance. When the automation turns on him, he’s forced to run the maze like all the criminals he’s sent to their own demise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK EXCERPT
Super Powers
“Too much talk,” she hissed impatiently. “Still prey nearby.”
“How do you know?” I wasn’t picking anything up but there were plenty of other ways to see.
“The forest tells me. How I found you and other prey.” She stalked back into the underbrush, and I fell in behind her.
“Hey, hold up a second! Doc?”
“Project Panthera: human-jaguar hybrid with altered epidermal neural transmission,” he rattled off.
“In English!”
“Right,” he grunted. “The same way your skin picks up vibrations in the air, hers picks up the biochemical signals from plants. It’s like she’s plugged into the forest. She probably feels anything that so much as bends a blade of grass.”
“Great,” I muttered, turning back to Panthera. “Why are you hunting Legion?”
“Man in glasses told me they were prey.” She shrugged. She didn’t seem to have any more intel than I did, assuming she was being straight-up with me.
“So what did he say about me?” I asked. Call me paranoid, but I was a little hesitant to trust a Weapon which had launched itself at me not five minutes before. She stopped and regarded me thoughtfully, blinking her eyes slowly.
“You are different. Strong. Fun. But not prey. Maybe you are hunter like me.”
“If you’re hunting Legion, our enemies are the same.”
For now.
“Be careful, Roger,” warned Dr. Morrison. “I’m not sure how stable she is.”
“I’ve seen worse.” Augmentation was a dangerous game. The human mind could only process so much stimulation. Too much information overwhelmed the brain. That was why the government stuck to basics when they designed me. Enhanced performance in all areas, but still human performance. Weapons like Panthera with abilities no human brain was ever meant to handle…those were the ones liable to snap. Hell, that was probably what happened with Legion. Someone tried to create a god and wound up with a monster.
– The Era of the Super Weapons by David Martin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Just as it says, Collective Ramblings is a collection of various works, an anthology. In 2015, we completed our quarterly writing contests, each with its own theme. For each theme, the five best entries were selected from the contest to have their works published. All twenty stories have been compiled into this book for your reading pleasure. The four contest themes were:
• Super Powers
• Deserted Island
• Horror
• Labyrinth.
We know everyone will love these imagination-stretching stories, that are filled with suspense, bravery, and danger, as much as we did.
http://ramrampublishing.com/index.html
https://www.facebook.com/RamPubInc/
https://twitter.com/rampubinc
http://ramrampublishing.tumblr.com/
https://www.instagram.com/ramrampubinc/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
The authors will be awarding 1 print copy of Collective Ramblings: Volume 1,(international winner) or 2 ebooks (one of Collective Ramblings: Volume 1 and the second winner’s choice) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Enter to win a copy of the book – a Rafflecopter giveaway
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2016/03/book-blast-collective-ramblings-volume.html
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #rampubinc, Anthology, book blast, COLLECTIVE RAMBLINGS, Goddess Fish Promotions
Spotlight – A Pact of Lies by Matthew Siegard
A PACT OF LIES
Fatebreaker Saga, book one
396 pages
Released: February 13, 2016
Cover and map illustration by Christopher Schramm
AMAZON
Synopsis
In a medieval-era world of great men and new nations rising from the ashes of a fallen empire, Raven is a talented pain in the ass. A cynical, arrogant thief and fleecer, he has a dagger and lockpick up his sleeve and a comeback on his lips. He was once the younger brother of a boy who was prophesied to be an invincible warrior, and who was killed for that mistaken belief. Now he has only venom for causes and talk of destiny, happy to be a successful nobody. But when a mysterious job goes bad, he finds that the secrets he holds are vital to the coming war between the republic of High Iyanor and the necromantic dominion of Kishoria.
He is captured and coerced by an Iyan captain into guiding an expedition to find a long-forgotten weapon before the Kishorians can reach it. He joins a team of soldiers and mages, and if the danger were not enough, his party includes not only another fated young warrior but a member of the jotunn race that killed his brother. Bitterly, he leads them beneath the Temple Among Worlds, and they fight through barbaric goblins and cosmic monstrosities, navigate dark mazes, and sabotage horrific traps. Raven is distrusted, but only he knows that he has been courted by the Kishorians with a promise: betray the Iyans, and walk away wealthy.
When plans fail, heroes fall, and deadly secrets are revealed, Raven’s cynicism and self-interest is tested by the valor of his companions. He might lead his allies to ruin… or he might use his dark reputation to lure his enemies into his most daring con yet.
About the Author
Matthew Siegard lives in Gainesville, Florida with his beautiful fiancé, who encouraged him to finally stop editing and take a go at publishing. He works as an analyst during the day, and saves writing about sword and sorcery for after hours (mostly). He reads a great deal of historical non-fiction, along with classic and contemporary genre authors such as JRR Tolkien, HG Wells, George RR Martin, and his favorite, Jules Verne.
Matthew currently organizes the Gainesville Fiction Writers group in his hometown, facilitating discussion of writing approaches and tough critique of each other’s work. He’s happy to write in any genre, but is focusing now on epic fantasy, although the closest he has ever come to actual medieval warfare was fainting while learning about 19th century surgical techniques in a Civil War fortress.
Twitter: @matthewsiegard
Goodreads
Excerpt
The gods must have had stronger throats than Raven’s, because while his burned, the spirits of the desert blew one vast sheet of iron wind across the sand dunes. Raven had long since abandoned his vest and jacket, and wore his smelly old undershirt wrapped around his head, and a kerchief to cover everything under his eyes from the stinging sand. He walked eastward—at least he thought it was eastward, judging by his rare glimpses of the sun through the storm—and doubted that he could have made the journey to the city of Cleon even in fair weather. At least the sandstorm kept the vultures away. They could have their fill after he was dead, but Raven hated the thought of those bastards getting friendly when he was still puttering along.
Climbing a dune and squinting through the rush of a billion flying barbs, Raven found nothing familiar. He could not see far, but there was no sign of any rock formation that might offer a cave and shelter, or a dying animal from which he might carve some sustenance, or a broken-down caravan from which he might “borrow” some water. All he could see apart from sand was a trio of fearsome animal-headed totems, warnings by the desert nomads for the civilized peoples to keep away. Not a problem, he thought.
He pressed on. The skins on his belt were bone dry, and the skin on his arms was red and cracking from the dehydration and barrage. Perhaps there was an upside to dying here, Raven thought. If his body were never found, maybe that little weasel Vaclav would worry from time to time that Raven was still out there, pursuing his revenge. The same went for the dozen or so other people that Raven hoped would suffer for fear of him. Perhaps he could remain on the earth as some kind of wraith; there were tribes in Mongut who made it sound almost like child’s play to remain bound to the world after death, not that he had remembered how they said to actually do it. He had long since conceded that no gods would vouch for his virtue and that the Great Judge would have no part of passing him on to Paradise, but if damnation allowed him to torment all the people who irritated him in life, at least he could keep busy for the first several decades of eternity.
For now at least, Raven was still alive, and he heard something. Something that sounded not at all unlike neighing and muffled galloping along the sand through which he trudged. It took his mind a moment to grind back to his grim reality, but then he immediately dropped prone to the ground, and waited under the blanket of driving sand. Two horsemen flew past, heading… southwest-ish he estimated. They either ignored him or hadn’t seen him, and he raced off after them, his grunts resonating in his own ears. He had no chance of catching up to the galloping steeds, of course, but he quickly came upon the camp to which they rode. He crept up behind a rock formation and peered down into the small valley it overlooked, where a camp was set up.
It was an Iyan military camp… Republican Guard… Ninth Legion, Raven determined by the orange banner bearing the outline of a spotted salamander–not quite Raven’s favorite animal. They must have just been one company, judging by the number of tents; he saw fewer than a hundred men, but there were likely more either in the tents or on patrol. They were dressed appropriately for the weather, their eyes protected by thin gray netting under their helmets to block most of the sand. Considering that all tents were pegged down and horses corralled, they had been here for at least several hours, and judging by the minimal guarding and lack of defensive emplacements, this was a base from which to coordinate a search, not some larger provocation against desert nomad tribes.
Raven produced a short monocular from his satchel and examined the camp more closely. Though his vision was obscured by the flying sand and his necessary distance from the camp, he believed he spotted a saurite among the humans, engaged in some conversation with two other soldiers. The saurite’s form was distinct, and judging by the pattern of conversation, one of the soldiers was there to translate for benefit of the other. This was definitely a search operation. Saurites–lizard-men most often hailing from the swamps in southern Iyanor and river banks throughout the world–were famous for their acute senses and skill as trackers in many environments, and some of the swamp tribes had friendly enough relationships with the Iyan Republic, as they had little use for each other’s land. This saurite was wrapped in a longbow and quiver, a belt and loincloth strapped with basic supplies and a curved knife, and a horribly gaudy bandana covered in bright feathers that identified him as an accomplished hunter. Or maybe a saurite queen; Raven knew little of the ugly skinks.
Raven pulled back the spyglass and surveyed the entirety of the camp once more. Though his throat burned, he could wait until nightfall now that opportunity awaited him. If he were impatient or a notch more desperate, he might have made his move now, attempting to take advantage of the sandstorm to obscure his movements. But now was not the time. Even in the Iyan desert, on the frontier of the civilized world, opportunity was everywhere for those who were patient, and more importantly, unafraid to get their hands a bit dirty.
*
Under cover of night, the desert was cool and calm, the air fresh. A half-mile east of their camp, the saurite and a young Iyan southron soldier patrolled side-by-side, sweeping northward. They were observant but relaxed.
“Gannix kopka se phelam, Kevork?” the Iyan asked.
“Sis por kalesko fu kopka,” the saurite answered, his voice deep, words accompanied by a trilling from the back of his throat.
“Fu kopka seem kalesko wo ne hexlu,” the Iyan joked.
“Sis mug kopka qui bru miga mix sim.”
The Iyan laughed and nodded in agreement.
The saurite stopped short and clasped his hand on his companion’s arm, stopping and silencing him. His bulbous eyes widened and his nostrils flared, sniffing quickly. Saurite smell was not quite as acute as Saurite sight and hearing, but in the uncluttered air of the desert, a stray odor did not evade a veteran hunter. The saurite sniffed and soon settled on a direction for the disturbance.
“Kra human mok,” the saurite said with a tinge of hunter’s excitement, drawing the bladed longbow from his back, along with a trio of slender arrows that he balanced easily in his long, muscular fingers. The bow was a fellfang, its limb carved from the great black klaymer trees of the deep swamp and affixed to a scythe-like blade running parallel to the wood. In close combat, the saurite would grip the wooden limb with both hands and wield the weapon as a kind of sword. It was an elegant weapon, one born from saurite woodwork and the blacksmithing of their human trade partners, and the hunter was fluent in its use, sensitive to the weight of its every component. He kept it ready for use at a blink’s notice as he led his companion toward the unknown quarry.
Just over a dune to their west, a man clad only in frayed pants lay face-down in the sand. The soldier was quick to rush to his aid, while the saurite first studied the surroundings for any indication of an ambush. Satisfied that none awaited them, the beastman too came to the unconscious man’s side, and the soldier held up his head and patted at his cheek, trying to provoke a reaction from his closed eyes and faintly wheezing mouth. The fallen desert traveler had the look of a northern Iyan or a Sade, or perhaps a highland Algostine, judging by his light hair and how easily his fair skin had burned. His lips were dry and cracked, and his eyelids flickered dreamily.
“Come on, friend, we’ve got you taken care of,” the soldier said, tipping his canteen to the man’s lips. The fallen traveler wasn’t lucid, and his eyelids continued to flicker, but his lips opened and sucked in the trickle of water, and when it was done, he slipped a slow moan.
“Kras kleeton jam mericon,” observed the saurite.
“Cimminosha,” said the soldier. Pulling the man to his feet, he said, “Slas humics harak!”
They lifted and carried the man together, holding him between them with his arms wrapped around each of their shoulders, his feet somewhat stumbling along as they carried him back to camp.
“That’s right, friend!” the soldier said. “Keep walking. Get that blood flowing, and we’ll get you up and moving on your own in no time!”
His prediction was immediately fruitful, for the man planted his feet and pulled at his two rescuers’ shoulders to smash their two skulls together at the forehead. The Iyan and the saurite were instantly unconscious, collapsing into the desert sand with simultaneous plops. Raven clapped his hands and shook off the sand caked in his hair.
In his journeys, Raven had seen the river saurites of the eastern lands up close–vicious buggers–but not the swamp-dwellers of southern Iyanor. Bards had made them out to be small dragons, but this was more like a large iguana. The creature’s face was slightly elongated, with a loose sack of skin under its chin that inflated and deflated with each silent breath. The scaly skin was mostly lime green, but with some darker texturing around the cheeks and circling the bulbous eyes. A thin spine ran from its nose to its tail, which waved gently in the creature’s rest. Raven wondered if that was normal, or if the creature was only pretending to be knocked out. Probably involuntary he decided; if he were any less of a gentleman, he would have slit the thing’s throat just to be sure.
It wasn’t the beastman that interested him, but the soldier, who was stirring. As the Iyan’s head began to shift in the sand and his fingers tremble, Raven grabbed the sword from the man’s scabbard and locked his head in a choke hold.
As the soldier gargled for air, Raven stuck the sword to his chest and demanded, “Name!”
Recovering some of his senses, the soldier blurted out, “Ack! Kieron Clame, squadman! Republican Guard of High Iyanor!”
“Commanding officer?”
“Who are you?”
Raven slid the blade lower, to his stomach.
“Ahh! Sergeant Palapanit! Ugh! But he’s returned to the city for the night! Meeting with some Sky Mage! I don’t know why! Corporal Farfax is in charge while he’s gone!”
“How many other companies are stationed out here?”
“I can’t…”
The sword shifted a few more inches down.
“Gaggh! Four companies, the entire second regiment! Epsilon company’s two miles north, Kappa’s eight to the southwest. Sigma…”
“Who’s in charge of Kappa?”
“Captain Dior!”
“Excellent. Now tell me your mother’s maiden name.”
“… What?”
Raven squeezed his arm tighter. Though the soldier flailed, he quickly lost consciousness and sank back onto the sand. After checking the saurite again to verify that he was still out, Raven went to work on the young soldier, starting with his canteen.
Moments later, he was walking toward the camp in a Republican Guard uniform: a blue-painted iron cuirass; bronze greaves, bracers, and a helmet painted with yellow salamander spots; and dark leather gauntlets and skirt. His belt held the xuparia, a mid-length, double-edged sword, and a smaller kurio short sword as an auxiliary; Raven’s spare dagger was strapped inside his boot, above the ankle. The armor was tight around the midsection and a hair short in the arms, but the key to having it look right was to move quickly and confidently, which Raven could do, despite having only skeletal knowledge of the particular military unit he was infiltrating, and despite being within shouting distance of a soldier and a southern swamp-swimmer who would wake up very angry at him soon enough. Most of the troops at the camp were gathered around fires or on watch. He went right for a pair of soldiers–simple armsmen and not landed knights from the looks of their plainer armor–who sat lazily on boxes of grain. They ate scraps of bird meat off the bone and watched over the makeshift corral of ropes and pikes, which enclosed eleven or twelve horses, mostly Wakari Ashen, a fine breed of warhorse.
“Where’s Sergeant Palapanit?” Raven demanded, adopting a reasonable facsimile of a northern Iyan accent.
“In town,” answered the plump soldier with a thick moustache. “Why?”
“Dammit,” Raven said, briefly waving his journal. “Captain Dior has a message for him. Has to get to him immediately. I’ll need to take a horse.”
“Where’s yours?” asked the thinner, older soldier with a glass eye.
“Reared up after seeing a damned snake a few miles back, and fell onto a rock. Broke its leg. Had to put the judgéd thing out of its misery.”
Moustache squinted, seeing with only the light of a campfire and the stars. He said, “You look terrible. You look all…”
“Dried up? Thanks for noticing,” Raven said, helping himself to the small tin of water set beside Moustache. After a long gulp, he explained, “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but we think someone’s been poisoning Kappa’s water supplies. A friend of mine got it bad, and might not make it through the night. It’s gotta be those judgéd sand-drinkin’ nomads if you ask me.”
Glass Eye paused from sipping from his own tin. “Poisoned?”
“Yeah. I’m so damned parched, I’ll trust that you guys haven’t gotten hit yet, but keep an eye out,” said Raven as he loosed the strongest-looking filly, tossed on a saddle, and mounted while Moustache helped to hold it still. “Thanks. Command’s trying to keep this a secret for some reason, so let’s keep what I said between us. Just stay alert. Look out for strange people around the camp.”
“You think they’re coming here?” asked Glass Eye, unnerved.
“We’ll see, but I’d watch those horses. Thieves always go for the horses before anything else. Good luck, my friends. Hi-ya!”
Raven galloped into the darkness to the east.
Tour-Wide Giveaway
Prize: an e-copy (epub, mobi, or pdf) of A PACT OF LIES (open internationally)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #bookexcerpt, #matthewsiegard, @jpschaper, A Pact of Lies, book spotlight, bookloverstours, Fatebreaker Saga, Matthew Siegard
March 24, 2016
New Aussie Sitcom – Coming Soon
Please take a moment to stop by and check out the new web series “The Bogan Bachelor“. A hilarious comedy currently in production by Positive Dynamite and ASJ Publishing.
Like and Follow.
https://www.facebook.com/boganbachelor/
Filed under: Movie Trailers Tagged: Alexandria Page, April Garreffa, ASJ Publishing, Aussie sitcom, Bogan, Bogan Bachelor, Eva Torrkola, Jason Deane, Jess Heiser, Melissa Barlas, Positive Dynamite, VB Beer
March 23, 2016
VBT – The Purse by Julie A. Burns
The Purse
by Julie A. Burns
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GENRE: Mystery Thriller
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BLURB:
When Lydia Blackwell visits her dying father for the last time, he reveals the deeply hidden truth about her mother. After the funeral, the stranger Derek Meade gifts her with a gorgeous antique purse. But before she has the chance to connect with the man who knew her father intimately, Lydia finds Derek murdered in his home.
Lieutenant Sonja MacIntosh is assigned to investigate Mr. Meade’s death, but her career on the force never prepared her for Lydia Blackwell. As Sonja works to solve the murder, Lydia takes the greatest risk of her life in leaving Chicago to search for clues to her mother’s past. Their instant attraction surprises them both, but even through the chaos Lydia can’t deny the intensity of her feelings for the strong willed Lieutenant.
Lydia’s possession of the antique purse throws her already chaotic life into a whirlwind of kidnapping, blackmail, vengeful mob bosses, and mind-numbing revelations. Through it all, Lydia must find the strength to accept herself – and those closest to her – despite their darkest secrets.
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BOOK EXCERPT
At thirty-eight, Lydia Blackwell was a striking woman, taller than most, but not quite six-foot, with long, flowing black hair and hazel eyes in which many men could lose themselves. Many men, however, would not. It took several years for Lydia to realize that men didn’t make her heart beat faster. It wasn’t until college that she discovered her real self, thanks to a beautiful, blonde study-partner. Something in her had captured Lydia’s heart and she was never the same again. To many of her friends, it had just been “experimenting”. But this was Lydia’s life, her soul, and her very being. Still, it wasn’t everything.
For years, Lydia kept her innermost thoughts and her secret life to herself. Her father would never have understood her way of thinking—of being. It was possible he could have made the assumption. After all, there were no men around and no children. There were so many things she couldn’t discuss with her father, nothing resembling emotions, or even people about whom she’d felt emotional. No, nothing like that. Certainly not even Danielle. Oh Danielle. Lydia’s mind drifted away as she traveled the open road closer to her father’s house.
Danielle Baldwin certainly had issues, but issues were Lydia’s specialty. Lydia was a psychotherapist and ran her own practice in a posh suburb of Chicago. Five years had passed since she first saw Danielle smile, and now Lydia held therapy groups out of her home. So much had changed, yet somehow the feelings remained the same.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Julie A. Burns is a native Iowan born in Marshalltown, Iowa and raised in Davenport, Iowa. After her parent’s divorce at age 7, she took to writing, whether it was her diary or poems about people she met or situations that bothered her. After graduating from high school in 1983, she spent time working as a Nurse’s Aide in different nursing homes in Iowa. In 1989, she gave birth to a daughter, Brittany and raised her as a single parent. In the same year, she enrolled at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology in 1994. Since then, Julie has spent time working with developmentally disabled adults and the mentally ill throughout Iowa and also in Wyoming, where she lived for 6 years. Julie currently lives in Waterloo, Iowa with her spouse. When she’s not writing, she enjoys being a grandmother to 3 year old Sophie.
http://amzn.to/1RGUTRq
https://www.facebook.com/JulieABurnsAuthor
https://twitter.com/jadegally48
http://ramrampublishing.com/julie-a-burns.html
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JulieABurns
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RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
Julie will be awarding 1 printed book of The Purse or 2 ebooks (The Purse and a second of their choice) from RRPI to a randomly drawn winner (international) via rafflecopter during the tour.
Enter to win a copy of the book – a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2016/03/book-blast-purse-by-julie-burns.html
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #bookexcerpt, #jadegally48, Book Excerpt, Goddess Fish Promotions, Julie A. Burns, Rafflecopter giveaway, The Purse
March 17, 2016
Book Blast – TALES OF THE SUPERNATURAL AND OTHER ODDITIES by Margaret Pearce
TALES OF THE SUPERNATURAL AND OTHER ODDITIES
by Margaret Pearce
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BLURB:
Of the thirty six stories in this book, some are traditional hauntings or possession of either people or machines. There are also unfortunate bargains done with creatures who don’t always win and aliens sometimes friendly and sometimes not.
The inevitable cats with doubtful backgrounds make an appearance. There are slightly time travel futures both pleasant and unpleasant. Humans will always struggle, scheme and plan to improve themselves or mischief-make to change the world more to their liking. As nobody really believes in magic there are tales of odd coincidences and tales of betterment and worsement.
Only three of the ghost stories are written from versions of solid authenticated cases and to protect the ghosts disseminating this information is prohibited.
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AUTHOR BIO:
Launched on an unsuspecting commercial world as a stenographer, ended up copywriting in an advertising agency. Took to getting published children’s and teenage books while raising children. It’s dead easy. You never run out of material while knee deep in children. Completed an Arts Degree at Monash University as a mature age student, and live in an underground flat in the Dandenongs, still writing.
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Links:
Author Page: http://www.asjpublishing.com/authors/margaret-pearce/
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/TALES-SUPERNATURAL-ODDITIES-Margaret-Pearce-ebook/dp/B01BCXHRKO/
Also available in Paperback
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: Margaret Pearce, TALES OF THE SUPERNATURAL AND OTHER ODDITIES
March 14, 2016
Book Blast – ONCE UPON A LIE
Once Upon A Lie
by Michael French
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GENRE: Fiction / Murder Mystery
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BLURB:
Once Upon a Lie is about a smart, ambitious sixteen year old, Alexandra, who chooses to keep silent when she learns terrible secrets about both her father and her mother, whom she grew up adoring. The price of keeping her “perfect” family together soon unravels her well-planned future, and puts in jeopardy the life of a young stranger whom she befriends and ultimately falls in love with. We learn how your life can end at any time, and it can end more than once. And then it can be saved.
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BOOK EXCERPT
Jaleel began to wonder if running away was the smartest thing. Detective Patterson might have forensic evidence, but he couldn’t have any real proof that Jaleel had killed his father. But what Texas jury would believe the story of a twelve-year-old black kid?
Come on, focus, Jaleel thought as he studied a map from the glove box. His plan was to travel northwest, cross into New Mexico, and ditch the Chevy. He would take a bus to Arizona or California. He would find a place to live, get a job, and go to school. He just hadn’t figured out the details. Maybe he’d have to lie about his age to get work. How expensive were apartments? He had never been completely on his own. He hoped that inside him was a gyroscope, the kind he had read about, with an interior spinning wheel to keep him steady.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links
Michael R. French graduated from Stanford University where he was an English major, focusing on creative writing, and studied under Wallace Stegner. He received a Master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. He later served in the United States Army before marrying Patricia Goodkind, an educator and entrepreneur, and starting a family. In addition to publishing over twenty titles, including award-winning young adult fiction, adult fiction, biographies ad self-help books, he has written or co-written a half-dozen screenplays, including Intersection, which has won awards in over twenty film festivals. He has also had a long business career in real estate, living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His passions include travel, collecting rare books, and hanging with friends and family. He describes his worst traits as impatience and saying “no” too quickly; his best are curiosity, taking risks, and learning from failure.
Once Upon A Lie Amazon Buy/Pre-Order:
http://bit.ly/oualmrf
Michael French Website:
http://bit.ly/michaelrfrench
Michael French Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelRFrenchAuthor
Michael French Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/mfrenchauthor
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RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
Michael will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Enter to win a $10 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2016/03/book-blast-once-upon-lie-by-michael.html
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #bookexcerpt, #mfrenchauthor, book blast, Giveaway, Goddess Fish Promotions, Michael French, ONCE UPON A LIE
