Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 163
October 30, 2022
Review: ORDERING A WIFE by Scarlett Woods
After spending 2 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, one man just wanted one thing: a wife. Then he finds Milana, an exotic dancer working 2 jobs to help pay a friend’s medical bills.
A sweet and sexy short!
Rating: 4 stars
Review: UNMATCHED by Stephanie Kay
“Was it possible for her virginity to grow back?” That question led her to the world of online dating with Desperate Seeking Desperate. Was it too much to ask for Lexi to find the perfect man? Or, at least, near perfect?
Grant didn’t know what brought him to eMatch since he wasn’t looking for relationships. But he couldn’t help but notice the lovely woman.
Kinda long and slow, but a nice read overall. Okay, but not great.
A typical mismatch romance.
Rating: 3 stars
October 28, 2022
Blog Tour: THE CONTINUING ADVENTURES OF LAUREL PALMER by Pamela McCord
Paranormal Romance/Fiction
Date Published: October 20, 2022
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Is there love after death? Laurel Palmer is about to find out. Thanks to a little shove by her husband, Laurel wakes up dead. And there’s no sign of that white light people are supposed to go into. Now a ghost stuck on earth, Laurel is determined to find out how she can get into heaven. On her search for the light, Laurel meets Teddy Rule, a hunk of a ghost who coincidentally was also murdered by her husband. Turns out, he didn’t get that light either. As they work together to figure out what's keeping them on this earthly plane, feelings develop. Not knowing if heaven will separate them, they must decide whether or not to cross over.
EXCERPT
When I woke up, I was dead. It took a minute to sink in.
When it did, I sat up, immediately shooting toward the ceiling twenty feet above the first-floor landing. Confused, I looked down and saw myself, or what used to be myself, sprawled at the foot of the stairs. I waved my arms, wondering if that’s how I would need to propel myself in my current insubstantial form.
Actually, it only took thinkingto be able to float down, where I hovered a few feet above the empty shell that used to be me, Laurel Palmer. I examined the still figure critically. I had been beautiful, hadn’t I?
My body was lying there picturesquely, almost gracefully, face up, large brown eyes wide in shock, long sable hair spread around my head like a dark halo. Or I could have pulled that off if my arms and legs weren’t bent at strange angles, and a crimson liquid wasn’t pooling on the hardwood floor, with strands of that sable hair soaking in it, and my normal olive complexion wasn’t unusually pasty, with maybe a little gray creeping in.
Floating, both physically and emotionally, I smothered a sob as I scrutinized the body on the floor, fighting to control my skyrocketing anxiety. I had no lingering connection to said body after all, so I should’ve been able to watch it dispassionately. As if. Hand over my mouth, I waited to see if it did anything. Like breathe. I gave a soft, choking laugh. Not likely, since I was here, and I would have been there if any life remained in the corpse.
I settled onto a step a few up from the body previously known as Laurel Palmer, rested my elbows on my knees, and pondered the meaning of life. Being dead and still here, I mean.
A flash of color caught my eye. Glancing down, I noticed a broken fingernail resting on the step beside me, the ragged edge a shredded mess. Torn off, perhaps, as I grabbed for the railing while plummeting down the stairs? I spent a lot of money on those mani-pedis, recently changing the color used on my nails to a light sky blue, a color that perfectly complemented the blue hues in my filmy organza dress. Fearfully, I held up my hand to inspect the damage, and felt a brief joy at seeing that all my manicured fingernails were attached.
I was still wearing the clothes I’d died in. No wispy, billowing shift like you might see on an angel in a movie, thank God. I’d chosen my outfit well, not knowing I would be wearing it for eternity. My designer dress and shoes brought a fleeting smile to my face.
Something nagged at my brain, but for the life of me, or make that the death of me, I couldn’t remember what it might be. I was suddenly so witty. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anyone around to appreciate it.
A worried thought hit me. Where was my husband? Why wasn’t he here sobbing over my body and calling 911?
I tapped a finger on my lips. It wasn’t like me to be clumsy. I’d never missed a step or stumbled on the stairs, despite hundreds of trips up and down. Never once. Before I could contemplate that further, I heard rustling and thumping sounds coming from the second floor. Curious, I floated up the steps and followed the sound to my open bedroom door, where I spotted my husband, Ethan, searching through my underwear drawer, flinging Natori and La Perla over his shoulder and muttering to himself, “Where the hell did she put it?”
What had he done to our beautiful bedroom? The dresser drawers and armoire doors stood open, contents strewn all over the floor or tossed onto my carefully made king-size bed. A passing thought crossed my mind that he never knew how to find anything in the house, unless it was the TV remote or the expensive bottles of Scotch reverently stored in the liquor cabinet in the butler’s pantry.
Narrowing my eyes, I had two thoughts. What was he looking for and, more importantly, why didn’t he care that his wife was sprawled dead at the bottom of the stairs?
Unless…
Yes, it was possible Ethan had pushed me.
* * * * * *
Standing just outside the doorway, reluctant to go in as my heart clenched and tears threatened to fall, I could hear the sounds of them in the kitchen, newspaper rustling, dishes clinking. I pictured the scene in my head and closed my eyes. Overcome with emotion, I could feel the tears running down my cheeks. I didn’t know if I was brave enough to go into that room. All I wanted to do was give up. Let go. Fade into oblivion. But no matter how hard I tried to move on, I was still there.
My mom was bustling, cleaning up the breakfast dishes, and my dad was reading the paper at the table, cup of coffee never far away.
I held my breath and moved into the middle of the kitchen, hopeful that someone would notice me, but no one paid any attention to the apparition in their midst. My mom picked up the coffeepot and passed right through me as she refilled my dad’s cup.
An involuntary Ohslipped out of my mouth, but she neither heard me nor was aware she was standing in the middle of her daughter.
Mom, I sobbed. It was strange. I thought I had distanced myself from the physical world. Emotionally, I mean. But the emotions really hit me when I thought about the phone call they’d be receiving in the not too distant future informing them of the death of their only child. I wished I could protect them from the heartache that was about to shatter their lives.
I moved from one to the other and gave each a soft kiss on the cheek. My father twitched his shoulder, and my mom glanced wistfully out the window, each vaguely aware of something. Mom, I called, and, once again, Mom. Neither she nor my dad looked in my direction.
I heard the tick tick tick of dog claws on the wood floor announcing Beau’s arrival in the kitchen. I smiled and bent down to touch him. He skidded to a halt in the doorway, a low growl rumbling in his throat. My hand flew to my mouth and tears started again in my eyes. Beau, it’s me, I said, my heart breaking that he could see me but viewed me as a threat.
“Stop that, Beau,” my mother said. “What’s gotten into you?” She scooped him up in her arms, but his eyes never left me, and his growl grew louder.
Oh, Beau, I moaned, and fled the kitchen.
About the Author
Pam got a late start in writing but has made up for it with several published novels and a few more on the way. A serendipitous conversation with a writer friend launched her literary career, and the fact that she might never have had that particular conversation is enough to make her believe that fate played a hand in sending her down the path to becoming an author. All four of her published books have won the Mom’s Choice Award Gold Seal, and the first book in her Pekin Dewlap Mystery series was the winner of the American Book Fest Children’s Fiction Award. She’s lived in Southern California most of her life and is thankful to have a loving family and supportive friends. Spending time at home during the COVID pandemic advanced both Pam's writing and her relationship with her My Cat From Hell TV star, Allie, who manages to exude just enough affection to make her scary feral ways tolerable.
Contact Links
Twitter: @Pam805
Instagram: @PamelaMcCordAuthor
Purchase Links
October 26, 2022
Blog Tour: JUST LIKE FAMILY by Barbara Casey
Just Like Family
by Barbara Casey
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GENRE: Contemporary Romance
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BLURB:
All in one day, thirty-five-year-old Hallie Marsh learns that the man she loves, works for, and is living with has found someone else and that she no longer has a job or a place to live. She is also involved in a car accident. She retreats to her parents' home in the northern part of Florida to be consoled and to decide what to do with the rest of her life only to find out that her mother is planning to leave her father for another man. Embittered, filled with anger, and wanting revenge, Hallie decides to take a year's sabbatical and write a novel that would reveal the unethical, if not illegal, real estate business practices of her former boss and lover.
Determined and focused, Hallie buys a house in the neighborhood where her two best friends and former co-workers live: Carol Mathews and Gordon Sebastian Cooney. It is through Gordon and Carol that Hallie comes to know four neighbors, one of whom is Carol's Vietnamese mother who carries a doll and talks into reflective surfaces. These four neighbors--Cora, Suong, Charlie, and Vince--are all elderly, peculiar, and alone at this stage in their lives until Vince comes up with a plan: The four of them will form an alliance, buy the old Braswell estate which is located just down the road, fix it up, and live in it almost like family. Hallie is fascinated by these four people, and rather than write a tell-all book she begins writing about their alliance. With this new focus and the friendship of Carol and Gordon, Hallie overcomes her feelings of rage, she is able to cope with her mother's sudden death, and she finds true love.
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Excerpt One:
Hallie’s heart raced as she walked briskly past the other offices to the executive suite at the end of the corridor. Since Jeff had sent word asking to see her, it must mean that he was finally finished with that project he had been working on day and night for the past several weeks and that he needed her as much as she needed him. She knew his divorce had just been finalized, although he hadn’t told her yet. She had called the courthouse downtown and found out on her own. He was probably just waiting for the right time to tell her. Over a romantic dinner at one of their favorite places. Or maybe he would take her somewhere for the weekend. He enjoyed surprising her. And there was the awards banquet tonight. He hadn’t mentioned that to her either, but naturally he would want her to go with him. In real estate circles, it was the event of the year. Even though it was supposed to be a secret, everyone knew that Jeff was getting the Salesman of the Year Award again. So much to celebrate and what better way than to make love in his office now.
“Mr. Darnell is expecting you, Ms. Marsh.”
Hallie smiled at the secretary, hoping that her demeanor was that of a public relations director going into a meeting with the president of the company and not of a woman who was going to make love to her boss in his office at four o’clock in the afternoon. “Thanks, Mary,” she said shifting her notebook in an exaggerated movement from one hand to the other, feeling slightly self-conscious. She suppressed the urge to giggle, something she frequently did whenever she felt self-conscious, and walked past the secretary’s desk. On the other side of the ornate double doors was Jeff’s office, a large multi-functional room that had both a southern and eastern exposure.
Jeff was standing with his back to her, looking out one of two mullioned, floor-to-ceiling windows, the one facing the intracoastal waterway. Hallie quietly closed the door and locked it. The desire she felt for him was tremendous and had somehow managed to gravitate to an area the size of a baseball between her naval and vulva. Without saying anything she unbuttoned her navy blue coatdress, silently applauding the fact that she had decided to wear it today since it was so easy to take off. Then she walked up behind him, slipped her arms around his waist, and pressed her body into his back. “You can’t imagine how much I have missed you,” she whispered when he turned around. She eagerly sought his lips as she loosened his tie and began unfastening the buttons on his shirt, completely forgetting the self-consciousness she had experienced moments earlier. He did that to her. Things she wouldn’t normally do under any other circumstances, she felt no inhibitions in doing with Jeff.
“Hallie, I need to tell you something.” Jeff held her trembling hands in his but she continued with the buttons, stopping only when she reached the buckle on his belt. She pulled his shirt loose from his trousers and opened it, exposing his bare chest. Then she tenderly kissed his neck, working her way down his chest and stomach with her mouth and tongue.
“Hallie, please. Stop. We have to talk.”
Hallie looked up into Jeff’s face, breathless and flushed with desire. Curiously at that moment she remembered seeing somewhere in a magazine two similar photographs side by side, the caption under one of them reading, “What’s wrong with this picture?”
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Review: In one moment, Hallie lost her lover and her job when the boss she was sleeping with dumps her for someone else. Feeling stupid for having fallen in love with the wrong man, Hallie was forced to start her live over.
The narrative was rather nice—rich with vivid scenery—but it can be lengthy and drawn-out, which can slow down the pace. For a long while, Hallie was hurt and angry, which was understandable, of course, and the author certainly does well at embellishing these emotions. After some time, eventually this turns into a B#ch Fest. Her desire for revenge and all her pent-up energy eventually transitions and gets focused on an old house and these people that turn out to be “just like family.” I saw the direction that this was heading and perhaps the characters achieved some personal development, but it felt like it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. At times, it was hard to sympathize with the main character as she was too consumed with revenge.
I liked the concept and maybe if the characters were fleshed out a bit more, the story could’ve been stronger to evoke more empathy.
A fairly nice read and a good effort by the author.
Rating: 3 stars
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
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Barbara Casey is the author of several award-winning novels and book-length works of nonfiction for both adults and young adults, and numerous articles, poems, and short stories. Several of her books have been optioned for major films and television series.
In addition to her own writing, Barbara is an editorial consultant and president of the Barbara Casey Agency. Established in 1995, she represents authors throughout the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan.
In 2018 Barbara received the prestigious Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award and Top Professional Award for her extensive experience and notable accomplishments in the field of publishing and other areas.
Barbara lives on a mountain in Georgia with three cats who adopted her: Homer, a Southern coon cat; Reese, a black cat; and Earl Gray, a gray cat and Reese’s best friend.
https://www.amazon.com/Just-Like-Family-Barbara-Casey/dp/1645407608
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/just-like-family-barbara-casey/1103301294
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/11413987-just-like-family
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GIVEAWAY
Barbara Casey will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveawayBlog Tour: THE CHASM by Branwen O'Shea
The Chasm
by Branwen OShea
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GENRE: YA Science Fiction/Fantasy
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BLURB:
They thought the biggest problem they faced was each other.
After Bleu, Rana, and their new friends narrowly prevent war between the star beings and humans, they hope the upcoming negotiation will secure the peace. Newly emerged from their subterranean haven, the Northern Haven humans are clearly not suited to Earth’s ice age, and require assistance from the enlightened star beings to survive long term on the Surface. But Commander Savas doesn’t trust the suspiciously kind star beings and their unexplainable abilities. When both sides reluctantly negotiate a joint mission to find the other Havens, Bleu must somehow cooperate with the manipulative commander to keep his friends safe.
As their team confronts unexpected dangers, Bleu and his teammates begin to suspect the star beings don’t know as much about the Surface as they claimed, while Rana is torn between remaining true to her nonviolent ways or becoming more human to survive. When an unnatural predator attacks, even the nearly all-knowing Kalakanya can’t explain it. Now the team must pull together or their new discovery will pull them apart, limb by limb.
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Excerpt One:
As the sun descended behind the mountain and darkness crept across the frozen field, a strange dread seeped into Bleu’s bones. It felt like a warning, an alarm that danger lurked nearby.
He had known safety in Rana’s village, and he’d lost the spatial anxiety caused by the wide-open spaces of the Surface that differed so much from the cozy walls and tunnels of home. No, this unease wasn’t spatial anxiety to the openness of the sky and horizon.
This was different, and perhaps a bit similar to what Kahali feared. Bleu had never faced the possibility of other humans with guns. His team sat out in the open, exposed. The meager light from the cooking fire did nothing against the shroud of blackness surrounding them. No safe walls protected them from physical attacks or bullets. And then, there were the unknown predators of the region.
His earlier excitement of finding the footprints evaporated, leaving behind a gnawing awareness of their vulnerability. The darkness beyond the campfire could be punctured any moment by monstrous claws or gunfire. Childhood tales of the evil Undescended crowded his mind with images so ludicrously terrible that he wanted to laugh at himself.
Instead, he checked that they were all armed and sent Savas and Neviah to make sure the helicopters were locked. Animal calls and crunching footsteps drifted down the mountains as if something were encircling them. Even the confident star beings kept glancing out into the night. They should be comfortable in such wilderness, right?
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What are the key elements in your stories and how are they unique?
My series was inspired by teens who told me they couldn’t imagine a better world. They felt humanity was destined to recreate the same issues over and over, mainly war and destruction of the environment. While my future ice age series is ultimately an epic globe-spanning adventure, it also explores whether or not human society is capable of changing from these millennia-old patterns.
The humans of Northern Haven, the last known survivors of a new ice age, emerge from their underground haven to discover they’re no longer the dominant species. The mystical star beings will not tolerate interpersonal violence and destruction of the environment, but the people of Northern Haven must do something to survive the horrible predators and situations they face. Great care was taken to present both sides (violence/nonviolence and control versus cooperation) so readers can find their own conclusions. As I wrote it, I often found myself agreeing with both sides. It’s structured with five points of view, both human teens and star being teens, exploring how they can possibly create a harmonious existence when the human society as a whole is bent on doing things the way they’ve always done to survive.
All this occurs on a backdrop of tentative friendships between the species, often with humorous results—it’s hard enough to be an awkward teen without struggling to get along with star beings who can read your mind. There’s also betrayals, dangerous sentient predators, morally-grey characters, several expedition team members who have crushes on each other, and missions where enemies must cooperate to survive. So, while it has some common YA tropes, its unique in how directly the story itself explores the issues of control and violence versus cooperation and nonviolence.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
As a young girl, Branwen wanted to become an ambassador for aliens. Since the aliens never hired her, she now writes about them.
Branwen OShea has a Bachelors in Biology from Colgate University, a Bachelors in Psychology, and a Masters in Social Work. She lives in Connecticut with her family and a menagerie of pets, and enjoys hiking, meditating, and star-gazing. Her published works include Silence of the Song Trees, The Calling, The Cords That Bind, and The Chasm.
Website: www.branwenoshea.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/branwenoshea
Instagram: www.instagram.com/branwenoshea
Facebook: www.facebook.com/branwenoshea
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/branwenoshea
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/branwenoshea
The Chasm (Book 2) on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QFPHQVN
The Calling (Book 1) on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735915998
The Cords That Bind (Book 1.1) on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CSK4813
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GIVEAWAY
Branwen OShea will be awarding $30 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveawayOctober 25, 2022
Blog Tour: MY DEAD TRUE LOVE by Kim Pierce
My Dead True Love
by Kim Pierce
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GENRE: Women's literature
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BLURB:
When a newspaper reporter’s fiancé dies abruptly, she questions how he could just cease to be.
Dogged by unbidden thoughts, odd coincidences and unexplained phenomena, Ann Stewart becomes obsessed with finding out what really happens after we die and whether her beloved Gregory is still out there. She finds her answer, which takes her and a close-knit coterie of women to the edge of the cosmos—and the core of their own hearts.
Based on a true story.
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Excerpt One:
“It was definitely Gregory,” Connie declared, forcing herself to return to the vision. “As clear as if he were standing next to me. Smiling.”
“If you saw him”—and I still wasn’t believing—“did he see you? Did he see me?”
It made no sense, but I had to know more.
“I don’t know. I tried to un-see him. I really did,” she said, turning to me, something akin to terror twisting her face. “This ‘seeing’ is a part of me that triggers so much shame—and reactivates the trauma. Like shell shock.” Red mottling crept up Connie’s neck and onto her cheeks.
She saw him. The words slid off my brain as if she were speaking in tongues. What did that mean?
“Could it have been your imagination?” I offered wanly, not wanting that to be the case.
“Yes, I suppose it could.”
Neither of us believed it.
I waited.
“What would it mean for you to ‘see’ him?” I pressed.
Tell me. Even if it makes no sense.
“That there’s something wrong with me,” came her acrid reply. “Deeply, terribly wrong. At least that’s what my father would say. And a lot of other people who make judgments about what I can do.” She slammed the car into park a little too aggressively.
“There’s nothing wrong with you,” I said, getting out of the car.
Connie shut down.
“I need to go home for a while,” she said.
Tell. Me. More.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Kim Pierce is a former Dallas Morning News writer and editor who completed the Writer’s Path fiction program at Southern Methodist University. My Dead True Love is her first novel, inspired by events surrounding the death of her fiancé in 1998. She lives in Dallas, Texas, with her partner and three cats.
Buy Links:
https://www.amazon.com/Dead-True-Love-Kim-Pierce-ebook/dp/B0BGYF2PYR
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-dead-true-love-kim-pierce/1142397885
Other links:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62852735-my-dead-true-love
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085084524074
https://twitter.com/KimPierceauthor
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GIVEAWAY
A randomly drawn winner will receive a $50 Amazon/BN GC.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Blog Tour: SEARCHING: DRAGONS OF NEW YORK by Rachel Graves
Searching (Dragons of New York, Book 1)
by Rachel Graves
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GENRE: Urban Fantasy
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BLURB:
A dragon terrified of being discovered by the government, Ravenna Drake is constantly on the move. When the woman who raised her gets cancer, Ravenna trades her nomadic work restoring black market magical goods for a steady job. But her cautious life ends after her name is found at the scene of a werewolf murder.
Dr. Ian Chen, a sorcerer bonded to a powerful relic, works for the government treating supernatural citizens. He insists on investigating when his patient’s body is discovered completely drained of blood. His search leads him to the beautiful but frustrating Ravenna Drake, who refuses to stay away from the case or follow his instructions.
As more bloodless bodies surface, threats from secret societies and corrupt politicians force the dragon and the sorcerer to work together. If Ravenna and Ian can’t catch the killer, the people they love the most may be the next to die.
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Excerpt One:
His foot reached out to blur the circle and the ghost changed. Agony forced every other emotion aside. He couldn’t breathe, a heavy weight settled on his chest. Panic set in as he wheezed, his heart racing the way hers had raced. Was he experiencing her last minutes or just panicking at the emotions? Could he trust himself? Darkness started to crowd the edges of his vision. Not enough air. Sweat broke out along his back. Somewhere, Cloak was saying something, but he couldn’t hear it over the pounding of blood in his ears. He was going to die here. The blackness got closer.
“No.” The flood of emotions stopped immediately, as Drake stepped in front of him. “That’s not how this works. You don’t get to scream at him.”
His head throbbed, stinging like acid dripping down his face, but he could breathe again. The darkness receded. The first thing he saw was Drake moving into the center of the stain, acting as if the blood wasn’t there.
“I’ll give you enough energy to manifest, but start screaming again and I will end you, even if we haven’t heard a damn thing you’ve got to say. Understand?” She paused, then reached her hand out. A shaft of sunlight came in through the window and her hand seemed to glow. Then the end of it disappeared, replaced with a chest. The shape grew outward, a filmy light turning into a woman. The process took less than a minute, and he heard the sheriff whisper to God.
“Dr. Chen, she can talk to you now.” Drake said it with a very deliberate emphasis on the word talk. Whatever the ghost intended, it wasn’t going to stand up to her. A deep surge of gratitude coursed through him.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
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Rachel Graves writes mysteries that blend the supernatural with steamy, sexy scenes. Her work explores the many shades of gray found between the lines of right and wrong. Rachel's books focus on strong heroines who take charge of their own fate, their friends, and their families. Rachel is a member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and uses research skills honed getting a graduate degree in psychology to seek out rare folklore and magical creatures. Her writing incorporates popular monsters like vampires and werewolves as well as diverse creatures like selkies and yuki onna. Rachel has lived in a cursed town, taken far too many ghost tours, and counts down to every Halloween starting in November. You can read short stories and learn more about her on her website: http://www.rachelgraves.com/.
Amazon.com author page is: https://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Graves/e/B011H977D0
Good reads: https://www.goodreads.com/RachelGraves
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AuthorRachelGraves/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachel.graves.370
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_rachel_graves/
Personal Blog: http://rachelgraves.com/
Amazon buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Searching-Dragons-New-York-Book-ebook/dp/B0BGFGNF7V/ref=sr_1_1
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GIVEAWAY
A randomly drawn winner will be awarded a $50 Amazon/BN GC.
a Rafflecopter giveawayOctober 24, 2022
Blog Tour: VIOLINS PLAYED BEFORE JUNSTAN
Violins Played before Junstan
by Lou Kemp
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GENRE: Fantasy (magical realism)
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BLURB:
While on a mission to avenge the death of his lover, the immortal peyote-eating magician Celwyn is hired to deliver an automat, Professor Kang, to a priest. But Celwyn quickly learns that everything the priest told him was a lie. Now his ship, the Zelda, is stuck in a horrific storm and Celwyn knows he must reconsider his allegiance if he is to steer his vessel in the right direction and continue his quest.
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Excerpt One:
San Francisco, 1865
Late in the evening, thick ribbons of fog moved like a living animal, breathing, then thinning to vapor before revealing the shadows between the wooden barrels that lined the docks. Beyond the Opera House’s silhouette, oily glimmers of the bay cut through the darkness, only to be obscured by the fog again.
As Celwyn neared the docks, he heard virulent cursing above the commotion from a carriage as it charged down the cobblestones toward him. When the coach drew level, the driver raised a whip above his horse. On its descent to the horse’s back, the tip suspended mid-air and snake-like, the whip shimmied out of the coachman’s hand.
The man steered the hackney to a stop. As he slithered out of the high cab, the whip followed him, wrapping around his ankles, lifting him feetfirst into the air. His cursing echoed to screams as he disappeared into the night sky. A moment later, a splash could be heard, and a satisfied smile crossed Celwyn’s lips; he couldn’t stand to see anyone mistreating an animal. The horse trotted down the street, rather jauntily, back toward the stable yard as the magician stepped around a snoring drunk and into Salty’s tattered and dingy atmosphere. Celwyn could have sworn it was the same drunk he stepped over last night.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
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Early work was horror and suspense, later work morphed into a combination of magical realism, mystery and adventure painted with a horrific element as needed.
I’m one of those writers who doesn’t plan ahead, no outlines, no clue, and I sometimes write myself into a corner. Atmospheric music in the background helps. Black by Pearl Jam especially.
More information is available at LouKemp.com. I'd love to hear from you and what you think of Celwyn, Bartholomew, and Professor Xiau Kang.
Milestones:
2009 The anthology story Sherlock’s Opera appeared in Seattle Noir, edited by Curt Colbert, Akashic Books. Available through Amazon or Barnes and Noble online. Booklist published a favorable review of my contribution to the anthology.
2010 My story, In Memory of the Sibylline, was accepted into the best-selling MWA anthology Crimes by Moonlight, edited by Charlaine Harris. The immortal magician Celwyn makes his first appearance in print.
2018 The story, The Violins Played before Junstan is published in the MWA anthology Odd Partners, edited by Anne Perry. The Celwyn series begins.
Book 1, The Violins Played before Junstan reissue with the publisher, the 4 Horsemen on 10-17-22. The 4 Horsemen will publish the remaining books in the series beginning with Music Shall Untune the Sky, The Raven and the Pig, The Pirate Danced and the Automat Died. The companion book, Farm Hall continues the story of Pelaez, another immortal magician and Celwyn's brother will also be available.
https://loukemp.com/the-violins-played-before-junstan/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3452047.Lou_Kemp
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBLLD7WK/ref=sr_1_5
https://www.bookdepository.com/Violins-Played-Before-Junstan/9781644506264
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/violins-played-before-junstan-lou-kemp/1141757454
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GIVEAWAY
Lou Kemp will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveawayOctober 22, 2022
Review: BOLD BEACH BLISS by Lola Jamieson
A woman is on a beach vacation and the handsome stranger has only one night left in his stay. What could they do?
Could one woman have sex on a beach to appease her friends and move up on the sex list?
A married couple spices up their sex life…on the beach.
Hot and sexy shorts!
Rating: 4 stars
Review: DOCTOR DADDY by Sofia Summers
A 42-year-old doctor having the hots for his best friend’s daughter. What could go wrong? Or what could be more right?
Rose knows she shouldn’t lust after Jake, who was completely off-limits, but she couldn’t help it. If she could just have one night with him, she was sure he’d be out of her system for good. The only thing was it had to be an anonymous hook-up. He couldn’t know that it was her. And the costume ball would present the perfect opportunity.
That one-night stand was utterly explosive. It was perfect! Then weeks later, she finds out that she got pregnant from it…with triplets. Can Rose hide the pregnancy from everyone? How long could she keep it a secret? And what would happen when everyone finally found out?
Meanwhile, Rose and Jake still grapple with their growing sexual attraction for each other. How long would they be able to deny it? And what would happen when somebody gets caught with their pants down? Oh man!
A scintillating, sexy, and awesome read!
Rating: 5 stars
