Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 130

Blog Tour: ELVIA AND THE GIFT OF PASSION by Ruthy Ballard

 

Elvia and the Gift of Passion

by Ruthy Ballard

 

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GENRE: Middle grade sciencefantasy

 

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BLURB:

 

Adventurous ten-year-old Elvia is sick of her dull-as-dishwaterexistence, suffocating under the stifling watch her overprotective parents. Shelongs for a different life, with more freedom and fun. But she gets more thanshe bargains for when she discovers an alarming family secret and is swept awayon an adventure 64,000 light years from Earth. Tanzanian witch doctors,child-eating lions, and submarine exploration on a two-mooned planet enliventhis science fiction fantasy adventure, the third in Ballard’s award-winningTales by Moons-light series.

 

 

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Excerpt One:

 

Alive returned the book back to the shelf and decided toexplore the bedframe next. It was riddled with dozens of small, intriguingdrawers. Each contained a miniature treasure: a colorful seashell, a pebble oftranslucent sea glass, a figurine carved out of driftwood, a button made ofmother of pearl. But the little note she found in the sixth drawer, neatlyprinted in a child’s hand, made her catch her breath: “To the Next Findling: Iwas a findling, too. I hid some loot in the galley. Don’t let Rats get it first!– Immi (London, England).”

 

Alive wondered—only briefly—if she should share the notewith Lacie, but quickly decided against it. The message was for her, afindling, not Lacie, an uppy. It was a private message. A secret message,though she had no idea what it meant. She knew that “the galley” was thesubmarine’s kitchen, but Immi’s use of the word “loot” seemed odd. Wasn’t lootjust for pirates? And were there really rats aboard The Sunken Treasure, thefinest boat in the Cairntip Fleet? It seemed impossible! Surely, Captain Parkerwouldn’t allow it.

 

She folded the note and squirreled it away inside Life inthe Arimana Trench, where it would be safe from Lacie’s prying eyes. The bookwas about mining in the deep ocean. She knew Lacie wouldn’t be the least bitinterested in reading it. “There’s a mystery aboard this submarine,” shethought, as she continued to ponder Immi’s cryptic message. The idea thrilledher, and she couldn’t wait to explore the rest of the boat, to learn more.

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Children’s bookauthor Dr. Ruth (Ruthy) Ballard is a scientist by trade who never thought she’dbe one. Intimidated by science as a kid, she almost gave up on pursuing it as acareer though she found it fascinating. Fortunately, a mentor stepped in and showedher the way. Now, she’s passionate about doing the same for the next generationof science shy, but creative, smart and capable kids. Her award-winning sciencefantasy adventures lure children in with compelling characters andentertaining, twisty plots that incorporate science in fun, accessible ways.

 

When Ruthyisn’t writing, she is “Dr. Ruth Ballard,” a forensic DNA consultant and aprofessor at Sacramento State, where she runs a forensic biology research andtraining program while consulting with attorneys across the country on criminalcases involving DNA evidence. She’s also a folk artist who loves to draw,illustrates her own books, and enjoys hiking and camping with her husband andtheir four dogs near their home on the Oregon coast.

 

Links:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvNsOhYVGUl_5pHLGyLG8NA

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RuthyBallard/

Instagram:  http://www.instagram.com/ruthyballard

Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16577223.Ruthy_Ballard

Amazon authorpage: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Ruthy-Ballard/author/B06Y6KVX5D

 

Buy Link: The Book is on sale for $0.99 during the tour

 

Amazon buylink: https://www.amazon.com/Elvia-Gift-Passion-Tales-Moons-Light/dp/0997853212/ref=sr_1_1

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GIVEAWAY 

The author will be awarding a $25Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: HEART OF DECEPTION by Gayle Feyrer

Heart of Deception

by Gayle Feyrer

 

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GENRE: Historical Romance

 

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BLURB:

 

Intrigue and treachery stalk the grimy streets and the royalcourts of Elizabethan England. Returning from war, Rafe Fletcher finds hisfamily accused of conspiring to murder Elizabeth and place Mary, Queen ofScots, on her throne. His only hope to save them lies in infiltrating thecriminal underworld of nefarious siblings Nick and Vivian Swift.

 

Rafediscovers it’s Viv who is the mastermind of the duo. Bold, clever and ruthless,Viv is also loyal and fiercely passionate. Rafe fights the intense magnetismthat pulls him ever closer to destruction. But desire defies every warning hegives himself and they begin a blazing affair--until murder and betrayal severstheir newly formed trust. Restoring that trust may be the only way Rafe cansave the Queen, his own family, and the woman he’s come to love.

 

Theiradventure takes them from the fledgling theatres of Shakespeare’s London to thedesperate corridors of Bedlam, from the deadly backstreets of the Clink to theglittering court of Queen Elizabeth. It is a world of dark secrets and darkerintrigues. Will the fire of their passion burn bright enough to incinerate thelies, and illuminate the truth?

 

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Excerpt One:

 

Prickling with the awareness of being watched, Rafe lookedup to the house, his search stopping at a shadowy form behind the great bowwindow. He stared up at the window until the shadow moved forward. Circularpanes sparkled in the sun as the central casements opened to reveal a womanwatching. Dark and slender, she looked clothed in flame, her velvet gown ablaze of scarlet slashed with black. A shock went through Rafe as her glitteringgaze met his own, then slowly browsed him from head to toe.

 

Used to seductive appraisal, flirtatious or serious, stillhe flushed at the flagrant assessment, and the heat that flashed through himseemed to ignite in her eyes, bright within their dark. Rafe had never seen alady with so bold a glance, which mocked as it weighed, invited as itchallenged. But no lady would be here among these criminals, though the womangazing down at him knew how to dress the part. Rubies burned at her throat, andropes of sparkling jet draped her vivid scarlet bodice. The distinctive garb,the total presumptuousness of the woman, made him tense with suspicion. Slowly,her gaze swept his body, scanning the breadth of his shoulders and assessingthe strong muscles of his thighs. … The black eyes sought his again, and hestared back defiantly, icy anger running in cold currents against his hotarousal. Rafe felt more than provoked—he felt deliberately tested to see howlong he could stand in the fire.

 

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GUEST POST

Topic: what drivescharacters in your story and how do they develop in the story?

 

    Rafe Fletcher is deeply conflicted, andonly half realizes it. He was indulged and adored by his dashing actor fatherand the mother who’d abandoned a Puritan family to run off with him. But sheread Rafe the bible every night. He is very much the child of both.

    After Rafe is caught stealinggingerbread, his father confronts him: “Raphael, that wide-eyed gaze couldmake the angels believe your innocence. Perform so on stage and you will be agod.” He was whipped, but not as if his father meant it. Rafe was proud of thetheft, his lie, his beating, until he faced his mother’s accusing eyes. It washer shame, her icy reproach, that secured his repentance.

     Then his parents die of the sweatingsickness and Rafe’s sent to a different world. A Puritan world.

Butwhile his grandparents were stern in their judgments, still they offeredrefuge, a stability he’d never known in his vagabond life. Craving theiraffection, he learned to hide the wildness they feared. Slowly, his life flowedinto the narrower channel they set. He learned to swim more deftly, seldomcolliding with the hard walls of their faith. But like sunken treasure, thememories of his childhood glittered just below the surface.

Rafe’sbroken free of that rigid life to a great extent, first with his friendGabriel, and then in integrating himself into Vivian’s world. But there’s stilla bit of the prude mixed with the sensualist. And since he always had to hidethe sensualist from his grandparents, he’s been an actor his whole life. Becomingan undercover agent for the crown is a boon. He’s seeking justice for hisfamily and his murdered friend, but he gets to be bad in service of goodness.

In lovingViv he comes the closest he ever will to integrating those warring facets andsimply being himself. He can define his own moral code and reclaim theglittering treasure.

Viv hasvery little inner conflict. She’s always known who she is and what she wants.The problem is that she’s a woman she’s not allowed to have it and is expectedto want something else. Some women in Elizabethan England were similarpowerhouses who knew how to play the game or had enough power to break therules. Viv might have triumphed in the world she was born into, or she may havebeen, not broken, but imprisoned within its limitations.

    But Viv and herbrother are on the run for murder. That same childhood catastrophe frees her tobecome her most dynamic, her most ruthless self. There remains a lingering fearof discovery and wariness of betrayal. Given the hidden crime in her past, the dailyviolence and treachery of the world she’s slowly mastered, she gives her trustsparingly. There’s only her brother, who’s pulling away from her because he’sfallen in love, Izzy, who rescued them both from the streets, and one or twohenchmen who’ve been tested enough to be trusted.

    And then Rafe, whoshe only meant to play with, not love. Not trust.

    And he breaks herheart.

    Viv’s courageous,even reckless, but always aware, always weighing the odds. She has a violenttemper that she indulges too freely. She likes power, likes controlling others,but it’s less for its own sake than for the sense of security it gives her. Shelikes having wealth but has a generous hand. Life is a game, albeit a deadlygame, and Viv likes to play. A little more over the edge and she could be atrue villain, but has empathy for others, her own sense of justice, and acapacity for love she’s seldom been able to offer. Loving Rafe, forgiving Rafeopens up the generosity of her nature to a depth and height she have been ableto reach on her own.

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Gayle Feyrerbegan drawing as soon as she could hold a crayon and writing when she wastwelve. She holds a Bachelor's in Pictorial Arts from UCLA, and a MFA from theUniversity of Oregon in Creative Writing. In her varied career, she has been atie dye artist, go-go dancer, baker, creator of ceramic beasties, illustrator,fiction teacher, and finally, novelist. A Libra with Scorpio Rising, Gayle’sromantic nature takes on a darker edge. She hopes these shadows bring depth to her romances.

 

A worldtraveler, Gayle has visited Paris, England and Italy numerous times.  She lived for two years in Jakarta,Indonesia, with many trips around Asia. She currently resides across the bridgefrom San Francisco, with her husband and their two rescue cats, Charlotte andEmily, the Flying Bronte sisters, half Siamese and half tabby.

 

TygerbrightPress – Novels of Romance and Mystery: https://tygerbright.com/

https://www.facebook.com/YvesFey

Gayle Feyrer(@yves_fey) • Instagram photos and videos: https://www.instagram.com/yves_fey/

https://www.pinterest.com/yvesfey

 

Book Video: https://youtu.be/zLQ_AydxEyE

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Deception-Gayle-Feyrer-ebook/dp/B0BSP8JMMW/

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heart-of-deception-gayle-feyrer/1143302694

 

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GIVEAWAY 

Gayle Feyrer will be awarding a $25Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: CHILDREN WHO DANCE IN THE RAIN by Susan Justice

 

Book Details:

Book Title:  Children Who Dance in the Rain by Susan Justice
Category:  Children's Fiction (Ages 3-8),  32 pages
Genre:  Children's Picture Book
Publisher:  Compassion Project Press
Release date:   May 2023
Format available for review:  print-hardback (USA), PDF
Tour dates: May 15 to Jun 2, 2023
Content Rating:  G for all kids.Book Description:

Sophie gets bored quickly and won’t even eat her food without looking at her tablet. She’s thrilled to hear of her family’s upcoming trip to a magical place called India, a land she’s only heard of in stories. Once there, she quickly realizes that the underprivileged children living in the mud colony possess a joy and contentment she can’t explain. Sophie sets out on a journey of discovery, but what she finds may change her world forever. This tale about the true meaning of happiness and the power of gratitude is based on true events.Buy the Book
Amazon 
B&N 
(coming soon)
add to goodreads

Review: Meet Sophie, who will take youthrough her day. The day started off with a crabby Sophie. She didn’t want toget up, she didn’t want to eat breakfast, and she certainly didn’t want to goto school. When she got home, her parents told her about their upcoming trip toIndia. Wow, India! Sophie just couldn’t wait. The excitement of the trip soonbecame tapered by the reality of the village. It was just awful.

“Can we go some place nice?”Sophie asked.

“Where else will you see thesemythical creatures?” And they were stunning creatures.

I just loved the vibrant andcolorful illustrations, which just popped from the pages. They were soexpressive and detailed.

Soon, Sophie opens her eyes andsees a whole new world she’s never seen. She saw the grim reality of thechildren’s lifestyle. So poor. So minimal. So downtrodden. The kids here oftenhad no food, no clothes, and no school. These kids had practically nothing.This brought guilt upon Sophie for not appreciating what she had back home.

“Although the children had notoys, during the shadowy nights, they played in the stars.”

Still, the children remained happyand care-free.

“Their mud homes were empty, buttheir hearts were filled with joy.”

A wonderful story about seeinglife in a different part of the world. It encourages gratitude and sharing.After getting through this book, you’ll learn what the word “privilege” reallymeans. The illustrations were just the best! Highly recommend this book.

Rating:5 stars

Meet the Author:

Susan, a legal advocate for children’s rights, has long harbored a dream of crafting a tale that would empower young readers to understand and champion the rights of their peers. Drawing upon her own experiences as a young person comprehending privilege, she was inspired to write a book that would not only entertain but also inspire her readers to consider pressing social issues and to actively strive to make the world a better place for all children.

connect with the author: website ~ instagram ~ instagramEnter the Giveaway:CHILDREN WHO DANCE IN THE RAIN Book Tour Giveaway

Blog Tour: CLARISSA by Jean Jacobsen

Book Details:

Book Title:  Clarissa: A Clean & Wholesome American Historical Romance by Jean Jacobsen
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+) ,  324 pages
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Jean Jacobsen
Release date:   Feb 2020
Content Rating: G: WholesomeBook Description:

Tragedy brings them together. Will love tear them apart?

New York City, 1832. Clarissa Tanner is carefree and lighthearted until the sudden death of her parents. Forced to pay off family debts or lose her horse farm, she's given one choice: auction off her beloved horses or reluctantly enter 1830s New York Society social season to face the dreaded marriage market.

Nicholas is a man on a mission, searching for his missing brother. Fearing Liam may be the victim of foul play, Nicholas needs to keep a low-profile while conducting his search. He takes a position as a dance instructor, providing refresher lessons to the beautiful but distracted Clarissa.

Clarissa and Nicholas find a connection through grief and movement as they fight their attraction to one another. Will they give in to their desires and find true love or will family obligations keep them apart?Buy the Book:
Amazon  
Bookbub

Review: “An orphan and a grandmother lostin a sea of despair.”

In an instant, Clarissa’s parentswere gone, and the control of the manor would be revealed at the will reading.To everyone’s surprise, Clarissa was named as the rightful heir. But was she upfor the full responsibilities of management and finances?

The narrative was nice and simple,certainly relaying the story in fine detail; however, the progress was much tooslow for my taste. It was admirable how Clarissa was willing to put in the timeand effort it took to learn the family business. The premise was interesting,the language was fitting, and the character was certainly strong, but, overall,the read felt long to me. It’s definitely a worthy read for historical romancereaders.

Rating:3 stars

Meet the Author:

Jean Jacobsen is an award-winning storyteller of Sweet, Historical Romance. Featuring strong female characters, roguish heroes, and 19th Century adventure tales. She pens stories that transcend the heart and always have a happy ending. Because of Jean’s deep passion for history, she includes real events from the time period, making her stories come to life as they transport you to a by-gone era. Join her on the next adventure.

connect with the authors: website ~ facebook ~ bookbub ~ goodreads 
Enter the Giveaway:Clarissa by Jean Jacobsen Book Tour Giveaway

Blog Tour: GIRL HIDDEN by Jesse René Gibbs

 

Girl Hidden

by Jesse René Gibbs

 

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GENRE:   Memoir

 

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BLURB:

 

Echoing among the Blue Ridge Mountains werethe cries of newborn babies that disappeared into the night. The screams ofchildren nearly drowned out by the sound of crickets. A girl, hidden andwaiting to be found, terrified, and confused. The fireflies sparkling in thewoods, bringing light to darkled places.

The bulk of Jesse’s memories were of growing up inthe farm country of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. The farm folksstayed pretty much outside of town, except for visits to the feed store causingrandom tractors to travel down Main Street. There were beatings and abuses,manipulation and terror carried out in spaces breathtaking in their beauty. Therewere twenty-seven Baptist churches, three non-denominational churches, and oneCatholic Church.

There were annual Ku Klux Klan rallies on thestreet where they would walk right by all the black families who came out towatch and the white folks who came out for moral support—whether of the blacksor the whites, no one knew for sure. Black people did not marry white people ina civilized society, and so were rarely seen socializing. There was a youngwoman who was pregnant with a black man’s baby, so her parents disowned her.Jesse’s family was accused of killing the child and burying it on theirproperty.

There was the Berkley House Bed and Breakfasttoward the end of town, with gold plated silverware and hardwood floors,rumored to be the local sex worker house. There was a mansion up on a hill thatoverlooked the other humble houses in the town. In the local cemetery, therewas “Will B. Jolly” carved into the graves used by bootleggers back in thetwenties. Everyone had some form of thick southern drawl, though the length ofthe “aw” would extend the further south you went. There was a tiny baseballfield and a tinier fire department. There was an old lady in the foothills thatlet the family raid her garden during the summer. And in exchange, Jesse’s familyhelped her husband bring in the hay for their animals every year.

There was a black snake in the attic—the dooropened inside the closet next to Jesse’s bed. She would find his shed skinsleft behind in the summer months measuring close to seven feet in length. Therewas a creek with crawdads and a moss-covered bridge. There were mulberry andpecan trees that filled her and her siblings’ aching bellies as the weatherturned.

There were hot summer days and freezing coldwinters. There were dogs that were best friends, cats that kept her warm atnight, and a cow that committed suicide. There was red clay instead of dirt,hayfields instead of grass, and a favorite swimming hole: Lenny’s Mill, thelocal grain mill on a glacier-fed creek where you could take a dip if you werebrave enough to challenge the frigid waters.

Girl Hidden is the story of an unwanted child, bornnonetheless and forced into servitude, desperate to protect her siblings andfind her way out from under the vicious, manipulative abuses heaped on her bythe one person who was supposed to love her unconditionally: her mother.

 

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Excerpt One:

 

He was standing with his hands over his face. His back wasshaking. Jesse slowly walked in front of him and stood there, silently watchingas the sobs wracked his body. She reached up and touched his arm, startling himfor a moment. Tears filled her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and heldher tightly. She started weeping, her tears dripping onto his shirt. They heldeach other for a moment as the world seemed to stop turning around them.

 

Jesse pulled away from him and wiped her eyes. Robert lookeddown at her and stuttered a little as he tried to put words to his feelings.

 

She looked up into his eyes. “Poppa,” she said, stopping hisattempts to speak. “I cannot be the grown-up for both of us. I’m not… I’m notstrong enough!” Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks, washing away the last ofthe makeup that she had so meticulously applied earlier that day. “Please,Poppa.”

 

Jesse took a deep breath, pulled herself together, liftedher chin, and walked back into the room with the black-and-white tile floor.Robert stood in the hallway and watched her go. His stepdaughter would neverdepend on him again. His heart broke a little more, but he knew that there wasnothing he could do about it. He forced himself to wipe his eyes again and walkback into the room.

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 Why this is important: 

Upon sharing a personal story on TikTok, a comment was made that made me pause and reconsider how I viewed my mother's actions. The comment suggested that my mother was a human trafficker, which made me question whether this was true. My mother had a specific agenda of collecting young unwed mothers to talk them out of having an abortion or keeping their babies and then gifting the babies to families who wanted them. However, my mother's narcissistic tendencies led her to feed off the pain of others, regardless of whether she believed she was doing the right thing or not. It's important to acknowledge that her actions may have caused harm to the women and children involved, and that even if she believed she was justified in her actions, it doesn't excuse any harm caused.  

Even through all the healing that happened in the course of writing my book, I’m still discovering things that are harmful that I have to walk through. With healing, there’s always more to do. 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Myname is Jesse René Gibbs and I am the author of Girl Hidden. I am an artist,designer, dancer and survivor. I am a stepmother to four, Amma to four more andblessed beyond measure with the family that I chose.

Thisbook is based on the true story of my life, gleaned from years of my mother’swritings, my grandmother’s journals and my own experiences. I did my best toshowcase the depth of damage that growing up with a narcissistic parent canhave on a person, and how hard it is to come to terms with the amount ofgaslighting that comes with that life. My siblings all have their own storiesof being played against each other, bullied and even emotionally tortured byour parents. We were trained to not trust our own intuition, raised in a lifeof poverty, a lack of privacy and the endlessly traumatizing purity culture.

I washunted in my own home by the man my mother married and escaped at nineteen onlyto land in an intentional community in Chicago that did nearly as much damage.My best friend in the book is also real, and she did more to walk me through mytrauma, and she is the main reason that these stories were finally published.

My new life in Seattle didn’t start untilwell into my thirties, and I’m still working on deconstructing my life up tothat point. I wrote this book to organize my life in my own mind and to undoyears of lies. I also wrote it because others need to know that they are notalone.

 


Email: contact@girlhidden.com


Website:
https://www.girlhidden.com/

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/girl_hidden_a_memoir/


Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/girlhidden


Tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@girl_hidden

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Hidden-Jesse-Ren%C3%A9-Gibbs/dp/0578988127/

 

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GIVEAWAY :

Jesse Ren'e Gibbs will be awarding a $25 Amazon orBarnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during thetour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: CALIFORNIA CRUSH by Ann Omasta and Callie Love

Where does a woman that’sliberated and free go to live life? California, of course!

The first thing she wants to do issplash in the Pacific Ocean, where she meets a cocky millionaire. Inspired byher departed friend to “live in the moment,” Vella does what she can to enjoythis fine specimen. It was sweet how the rich guy was entranced by thefun-loving Plain Jane. The two share an explosive night together, but the nextmorning doesn’t seem too bright when it seems the sweet girl might’ve stolenall of Brody’s money. Oh no!

Can Vella show him that she canlove him even without the money?

A nice, sweet read!

 

Rating:4 stars

Review: TANTALIZING TALES by Tory Richards

One hot weekend to settle a debt.Yowza! Could a weekend of mind-blowing sex make two people realize their lovefor each other?

A woman gets the best 50thbirthday gift ever.

Stories were mildly enjoyable. Alittle too long for most of them, but worth a read.

 

Rating:3 stars

Review: FLORIDA FLIRT by Ann Omasta and Callie Love

Can a rich billionaire live like anormal person for a month?  He needs toslum it with a beautiful scuba diver and she needs to convince him to keep thedolphin resort.

This one was a little slow tostart. Interesting premise though. The narrative of each character was a littledry and repetitive. They each talked over how easy it would be to fall for theother. It’s a nice love story, sure, but not the greatest.

 

Rating:3 stars

Blog Tour: BATTLE ANGEL by Colleen Millsteed

 

Battle Angel

by Colleen Millsteed

 

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GENRE:   Poetry

 

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BLURB:

 

Doyou ever feel like life is consistently bashing or bullying you? Extractingevery pound of flesh?

Battle Angel: The Ultimate She Warrior has been written with you in mind. Everyfemale alive has their very own 'She' warrior buried inside. It's just a matterof remembering her and digging deep to find yours.

Find the inspiration and power you need from the poetry written in these pages.Find the one that resonates with you when you're angry, one that brings outyour loving warrior, or the perfect powerful inspiration for when you arefacing a test in this endeavor we call Life.

 

 

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Excerpt One:

 

She Welcomes the Darkness While Wandering the DestructiveHalls of Hell

 

Wrapped in her cloak of skulls and crossbones

 

Look in her eyes, lose yourself in their depths, You’llexperience her long forgotten fights, Her constant battles, but be wary of herstrength, For she battles her demons all through the nights.

 

Look closely and you’ll see her torment swirling thesurface, As the demons write their names, etched into her bones, She welcomesthem into her soul through the darkness, As she is wrapped in her cloak ofskulls and crossbones.

 

Her soul is the blood drenched battleground, trampled Byhaunted ghosts of torment and screaming wiles, A graveyard of broken andforgotten stories of her life, Tales of her gory survival, hidden behindguileless smiles.

 

She is in her element as she wraps herself in midnight,Becoming one with the darkness inside and out, Broken apart by the moon glow,causing her to howl, Listening for her brokenness as she screams her doubt.

 

In turn, she carves her name on certain tombstones, Cradlingthe haunted cries of her past love as it dies, She reduces herself to the ashesfor those who hurt her, Giving the phoenix her wings, allowing it to rise.

 

She knows she has been forgotten, a whim at most, As theyscurry from her path, hiding behind their rock, She is born of starlight,somewhere far from her world, Lost, unable to find her home, pain her stumblingblock.

 

The storm keeps her company, at one with her turmoil, Sheknows it’s the only friend she can ever trust, Its honesty is its owndestructiveness for full disclosure, Forgoing the need to lie, pretension oflove and lust.

 

The more I watch, the more I realise she is broken and lost,As she starts to become one with the darkness, the shadow, Choosing to movefurther from the star that she was born into, Meandering through the halls ofhell, cradling her deathblow.

 

She endeavours to merge with her hellfire demons, Preferringthe numbness, the desire to torture and kill, It calms her eternal fires, herraw and bloody chaos, While she makes love to the evil and depraved at will.

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

COLLEENMILLSTEED has been writing poetry for over 40 years and it is through herextensive portfolio that this Battle Angel collection evolved, drawing from herlife experiences.

 

https://colleenmillsteed.com/

 

Colleen Millsteed (@colleenmillsteed) • Instagramphotos and videos

 

Author : Colleen Millsteed(facebook.com)

 

Colleen Millsteed – Medium

 

Battle Angel: Amazon.com

 

 

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GIVEAWAY :

Colleen Millsteed will be awarding a $10 Amazon orBarnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during thetour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: SECURITY FORCE OF TWO by Tena Stetler

Security Force of Two

by Tena Stetler

 

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GENRE: Paranormal Romance/Mystery

 

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BLURB:

 

Miacoh Zane, a Special Forces veteran, returns toAspen Ridge, Colorado a small town nestled in the Rocky Mountains, to settlehis beloved grandmother’s estate. But the town holds painful memories andfamily secrets he wants to leave behind for good.

 

Candle Bearclaw, a gifted computer analyst recruitedout of college by the CIA, resigns her position after fifteen years. Shereturns to her sleepy hometown only to discover her childhood crush has alsoreturned and a violent crime has been committed.

 

Due to their covert operations experience, Candleand Miacoh are thrown together to assist Homeland Security and her father,former chief of police, with a murder investigation. As they search for theperpetrators, the case takes an unusual twist that could blow the case wideopen.

 

 

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Excerpt One:

 

Candle Bearclawstood in front of Carl's large mahogany desk, laid the unsealed white envelopeface up on the polished desktop, and slid it toward her boss.

 

“What's this?”Carl eyed the offending envelope.

 

“It's what wetalked about last week, my resignation.” Candle swung her briefcase onto theleather chair beside her. Pulling out a laptop computer, a manila file folder,and a memory stick, she sat them on the corner of her boss's desk. “It's allhere, including the passwords necessary to access the sensitive files, my workthus far on the assignment, including my contacts, and it's a good stoppingpoint for me. Someone else should be able to pick up exactly where I left off,seamlessly. I am requesting a no contact status by you and the agency.” Shepulled out a .380 semi-automatic tucked into the waistband of her slacks,ejected the magazine, and racked the slide open. Gingerly setting the gun onthe desk beside the other items, she sighed.

 

He looked acrossthe desk at her, observing her actions. “I understand your position, but thatmay not be possible. How deep were you?”

 

Hands flat onthe desktop, she leaned over and glared at him. “Deep enough to understand theassignment went against every fiber of my being. You knew that when youassigned it to me, and yet, you did it anyway, knowing it would be my final actas a CIA operative.”

 

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

 Review: Candace, a computer geek thatresigned from a special task force agency, was looking for a normal life again.But she wasn’t normal though. Not only did she have a gift for technology, butshe also has the gift of “second sight.”

Candace felt like she needed abreak, and what better place was there to take a break than home? Back to Momand Dad. Things get a little slow as the family gets reacquainted again andCandace hears about what’s been going on with everyone in town. Going aroundtown, we meet several of those characters, which felt numerous to me. Not a fanof a story with too many characters. I wasn’t even sure how to pronounce theleading man’s name: Miacoh. Was it Mee-Eh-Ko? Mya-Ko? Or was the last part aKuh? That was a little confusion. I would’ve preferred an easier name.

The narrative was nice and easy,but the overall progression was slow. It was mostly the characters relating andtalking to each other at first; the murders don’t really happen until muchlater. And, of course, the murders were the best part for me. I liked how theauthor incorporated some paranormal elements along with a key romance andmystery; however, the whole thing was much too long and slow to keep up myinterest. The story was nicely written and it’s definitely worthy of a read.

Rating:3 stars

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Tena Stetler is a best-selling author of awardwinning paranormal tales. Some call her crazy others creative. She deals withthe voices in her head by writing them down and creating a fantasy world andcharacters you won’t soon forget.  Herbooks tell tales of magical kick-ass women and mystical alpha males that dareto love them. Travel, adventure,magic, and a bit of mystery flourish in herbooks along with a few companion animals to round out the tales.

Colorado is home; shared with her husband of manymoons, a brilliant Chow Chow, a spoiled parrot and a fifty-year-old box turtle.When she’s not writing, her time is spent kayaking, camping, hiking, biking orjust relaxing in the great Colorado outdoors.

 

Social Media Links:

 

Website: https://www.tenastetler.com

Authors’ Secret’s Blog - https://www.tenastetler.com/category/authors-secrets-blog/

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Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/tenastetler.author

Twitter Page: https://www.twitter.com/TenaStetler    

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Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tena-stetler-10057978/

 

 

Buy Links

 

https://books2read.com/u/bMN2X5

Universal lInk  

 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Security-Force-Mountain-Town-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0BS4LKSW2

 

Amazon UK https://www.amazon.com/Security-Force-Mountain-Town-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0BS4LKSW2

 

Amazon Au  - https://www.amazon.com.au/Security-Force-Mountain-Town-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0BS4LKSW2

 

Amazon Germany - https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Tena-Stetler/dp/1509247963/

 

Ibooks https://books.apple.com/us/book/security-force-of-two/id6445422924

 

Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/security-force-of-two-tena-stetler/1142958504

 

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