Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 165

Blog Tour: SOPHIA FREEMAN series by T.X. Troan

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. T.X. Troan will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

EARTH AWAKENED ... SEED PLANTED ... PATH REVEALED.

What begins as a special trip for eleven-year-old Sophia Freeman and her father, leaves her trapped on a mysterious island with a tree boy and fantastical creatures. Later, she learns she is dying from an eternal curse and the only way to prolong her life is to drink the island’s sacred water. Can Sophia and her companions reach the fountain and defeat the guardian before time runs out?

THEY MUST RISK IT ALL TO REGAIN THEIR FREEDOM ... OR BE SEALED AWAY FOREVER.

Sophia Freeman and her best friend, Tim Charnal, must beat all contestants in a three-round Beyond Event organized by the mighty arbiters to free him from the penalty of murder and gain the islanders' trust. Entering the hologram and surviving environments filled with everything from hammer-throwing cave giants to a slimy tentacled sea monster, they will need all their courage, wits, and skills. But how are they going to win when magic is forbidden?

EVIL RISING ... ISLANDERS MISSING ... AND FRIENDS BETRAYING.

With the increase in deaths of Pandilone Islanders, the arbiters devise a strategy to free the god demon within five days to lift the Eternal Curse. All goes as planned until iron-masked creatures kidnap magic users, weakening the army. To gain reinforcements, Sophia Freeman, Tim Charnal, and rescued Allen Chan must gather all six items to cast the Dream Spell, connecting them with Sophia’s father and his air force. But how can the trio succeed in time while surrounded by enemies and traitors aiming to stop them at any cost?

Read an Excerpt from SOPHIA FREEMAN AND THE MYSTERIOUS FOUNTAIN (book 1 )

“So, what’s on your agenda today, my dear?” Grandma asked.

“Dad and I are going to explore his new island after this, “she replied, sitting on the edge of her seat.

“Oh, yes, your father told me about that on the phone last night,” said Grandpa, then gave Sophia a serious look. “My girl, do you know why all the previous owners vanished?”

Sophia shook her head slightly, but kept watching him without blinking.

“Rumors say the place possesses some sort of magical energy. As dusk arrives, the island comes to life: boulders begin to quake, monstrous trees uproot themselves, and mysterious creatures crawl out of their homes. They will do anything to protect their island … especially from humans.”

Sophia’s eyes widened and her hands began to sweat.

“Joe, that’s enough!” Dad ordered. “You’re scaring her.”

“That was very mean of you, Joe,” Grandma added.

Grandpa chuckled. “Well, it looks like I haven’t loss my touch. You’re still that innocent girl that I used to know.”

Sophia sighed with relief. He must have been teasing.

When she was a lot younger, Grandpa used to tell her ghost stories and it would frighten her every time. The all-time best story was about an invisible spirit that watches us from behind since the day we were born. It would one day transfer our soul to a magical place when we are ready to go. He told the little girl it was time for him to go and would never return. She burst into tears and tried to convince him it wasn’t time yet. She stayed with him that whole night and never let him out of her sight.

About the Author: Thuan Doan was born in Indonesia, and grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.

Thuan has been fascinated by art from a young age, especially fantasy. He would wake up hours before school, sit outside the classroom, and scribble in his sketch book.

After college, he worked on a series of jobs, including: an advergaming association as a storyboard/concept artist, gaming company as lead concept artist, and graphic designer for various clients.

Thuan conceived his first middle-grade fantasy novel, Sophia Freeman and the Mysterious Fountain, during a trip to Gabriola Island, British Columbia in the summer of 2013. Then he took his work and settled in a small town of Enderby, where it’s peaceful and quiet. 4 years later, the story is complete. While book 1, 2 and 3 are being shared with the world, he's writing and illustrating book 4 of the Sophia Freeman series.

Thuan is writing under a pen name of T.X. Troan. “X” stands for Xu, his grandmother’s name who passed away. And “Troan” is a combination of his parents' names.

“No matter how this turns out, I want my family to be a part of this wonderful journey.”

T.X. Troan married Sarah, his original fan and longtime love, in 2016. They live in Enderby with their pack dogs and school of fish!

AWARDS

★ Entrada Publishing Incipere Award, 2020
★ Readers' Favorite 5 star Badge, 2019, 2021 and 2022
★ Literary Titan Badge, 2020

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Blog Tour: ROCK GODS AND MESSY MONSTERS by Diane Hatz

 

Rock Gods & Messy Monsters

by Diane Hatz

 

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GENRE:   satire, humor, absurdist, contemporary fiction

 

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BLURB:

 

Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is one woman's search for herself among the blood-soaked walls, dangling body parts, and alien-hatched explosions inside Acht Records.

It’s the 1990s. Alex arrives to work at Acht, her improbable blonde hair streaked stress magenta and anger black. Her first duty is to wipe blood off her boss’s walls, to clean up his blood vessel explosion. It goes downhill from there.


On the surface, Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is a story about life inside an entertainment company. A cast of comedic characters exemplifies the inner workings of Acht, where power and greed mask incompetence.

A series of escapades involve Alex, a hard-working, lower-level employee desperately trying to get promoted. When she does, she realizes her dream is a nightmare. Corporate executives are busy working with aliens to manufacture a half-human, half-robot superstar. At the same time, one of the doubly-named Senior Senior Executive Presidents attempts to overthrow the Deity in charge.

Underneath and between the lines of exploding body parts and brain extractions, Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is a cautionary tale. It reminds us that our dreams can be illusions, and learning who we really are takes courage and a commitment to self-love.

For more information - www.rockgodsandmessymonsters.com  

 

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Excerpt One:

 

The blood didn't bother Alex but cleaning it up made her angry.

           

"Damn it," she cursed aloud as she surveyed the red stained walls and coagulated mounds of Langley ooze around her boss' corner office.

           

Alex returned to her desk, her wildly improbable blonde hair already streaked stress magenta and anger black. It was coming to an end; Alex had to get out of her job. But with the worldwide recession and lines of job applicants she saw every day on her way into the building, she was lucky to have a job, especially in a major record company.

           

Alex put her backpack on the floor and unzipped the side of her head. She reached in and pulled out her brain, placing the throbbing gray matter in the customized, faux crystal cerebrum urn Acht Records had supplied her with her first day at the company. She had fought the procedure at first, refused to sign the Cerebrum Extraction Release form, but with times being as hard as they were, and with the knowledge that she had spent over six months unemployed before being offered this job, Alex knew she had no choice.

           

And after wandering through the homogenous maze of Acht, up and down forty floors of identical gray hallways and glaring fluorescent lights, she had realized she would be better off if she removed all traces of thought and intelligence before commencing employment at the company.

 

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 GUEST POST

Topic:  What are the most important things you've learned as a published author?

 

As a first-time indie author of Rock Gods & Messy Monsters, I've learned so much—some things I did correctly and some so wrong. My next book will be a guide on how to indie publish. I hope to help others avoid my mistakes in publishing and promoting the novel.

 

Three things I've learned are:

 

●       You will make mistakes. This is so important that I have to repeat myself. You will make mistakes. The best thing you can do is understand this, breathe deep, and remember that errors are part of the process.

 

One of my biggest blunders was using a print-on-demand company and thinking I didn't care about royalties. I wanted to get the book online and move on to the one I'm currently writing. After I realized how much work was involved in publishing a book, I changed my mind. And the $1.50 royalty from this company was appalling when I discovered I could make over $5 a book if I went directly to Amazon.

 

I left the company I had started to use. The problem was the book had gotten up on Amazon's site, which meant I had to get a new ISBN. That meant I had to publish it like it was a new book. Even though I was now publishing directly to Amazon's KDP, they refused to remove the first listing. So, if you search for me on Amazon, you'll see two listings for my book. That was the biggest mistake I made.

 

What does that mean for you? Whether you like Amazon or not, consider publishing directly to them. Then publish to IngramSpark if you want to go onto other sites like Barnes and Noble or Bookshop.org.

 

●       Everything takes longer than you think. For me, it was months and months longer. Understand that and give yourself double the time you think you'll need to get your book out.

 

I submitted my book to IngramSpark a few days before a holiday. Little did I know it would take two weeks for it to get approved by them. I needed the book as soon as possible. I spent some sleepless nights wondering if I'd have it for sale in time for book promotions I had lined up.

 

Rock Gods is starting to go for sale online now, so I think I might have just made it in time. You don't need that kind of stress.

 

●       There is a lot of misinformation online. I read articles on indie publishing and watched hours upon hours of YouTube videos on book promotion. A lot of it is good; some of it is confusing, and some of the information is wrong. And it's incredibly confusing when you start.

 

I highly recommend the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi). It costs about $130 a year, but you can use IngramSpark for free through them. Most importantly, you get access to their private Facebook group. I so wish I'd found the group while I was angsting over how to publish my book.

 

ALLi is the most helpful group I've found. A moderator or fellow member will answer your questions quickly and thoroughly. I can't recommend them enough.

 

If you're working on a book, I wish you all the best in your writing endeavors. Being an indie author is not for the faint of heart, but it's worth every moment of angst and stress. Write on!

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Diane Hatz worked at major and indie record companies, managed a band, and freelanced as a music publicist. She is co-founder of The Relay, a fanzine on The Who, which is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She’s attended thousands of concerts.

 

Diane has a Masters in Creative Writing and is currently focused on writing fiction. Her book Rock Gods & Messy Monsters is currently available from most online retailers.  Her substack “Next Draft with Diane Hatz” is a newsletter for creatives looking inward. And some writing stuff. 

 

During her sometimes-surreal career, Diane founded the nonprofit Change Food, worked to shut down factory farms, organized & spoke at major TED/TEDx events, and executive produced The Meatrix, a Webby Award winner. She has studied with many spiritual teachers, including The Dalai Lama.

 

In late 2020, after 30 years living in downtown Manhattan and the East Village, Diane moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. When not at her computer creating, you can find her hiking, road tripping, or breathing in all the beauty the Southwest has to offer.

 

Buy the book: https://mybook.to/rockgods-hatz

 

For more information:

 

www.rockgodsandmessymonsters.com

https://dianehatz.substack.com/

 

Facebook Author page - https://fb.me/dianehatz.author

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wholehealthygroup/

Ko-fi (for donations) - https://ko-fi.com/dianehatz

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wholehealthygroup

Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/dianemhatz

TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@wholehealthygroup

Twitter - https://twitter.com/dianehatz

YouTube - https://bit.ly/YT-RGMM

 

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GIVEAWAY :

 

Diane Hatz will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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Review: ONE LAST BREATH by Adam Nicholls

Jessie Talbot was a homicide detective that was devoted to her job. Some called it dedication, a gift, but she called it a curse. When a dead body shows up in the woods, she immediately rushes to the scene. The gruesome murder seemed to be ritualistic. The work of a sadistic cult?

He called himself “Zeus,” a messenger to the gods. He heard voices in his head and always obeyed them. His job was to follow the order and annihilate the sinners, which included his sick mother.

The investigation by the smart and bold lady detective was very interesting. 12 gods. 2 down and 1 more to go.

Will the detective be able to stop this grisly string of murders? With a surprising twist, this is a gripping read to the end. An interesting thriller with a kick-a$$ heroine!

 

Rating: 5 stars

Review: HARD PRESS by Adam Nicholls

These are the Evie Black case files. Evie Black was the sister of hardcore P.I. Mason Black.

Case 1: Black Out= Evie Black was back on the journalism gig, if she could prove herself. Her first story is of a man suspected of murdering his wife and kid, but he swore that he blacked out. Could he have done it? It was up to Evie to prove his innocence for the story.

Case 2: Black Widow= Hunting down the story of the Black Widow Killer with a handsome stranger she dubbed Cocky McCharming. Turns out the string of deaths were part of a larger crime syndicate.

Case 3: Black Magic= A case at the circus. This one was a little slow to begin with. It takes several chapters for Evie to witness a tragic accident in a circus act. But Evie doesn’t really think much of it. Instead, she focuses on the rude gypsy witch that almost tried to kill her. This one clearly wasn’t that great. I mean, putting Evie in the circus act? Kind of dumb and boring.

The best one in this collection was Black Widow. With the exception of the last story, these were pretty interesting mystery thrillers.

 

Rating: 4 stars

Review: BETWEEN TWO EVILS by Adam Nicholls

Detective Jessie Talbot was back!

The body of a young girl was strapped angel-style on the college football field. The second murder was at a skate park. Two girls. Two murders.

This time, Homicide was caught between two killers known as The Homecoming King and The Teacher.

This was another good one with twists and thrills. Jessie deals with the confusion of chasing 2 killers while trying to discover her true sexual preference and identity.

A good read!

 

Rating: 4 stars

Review: MOONLIGHT BECOMES YOU by Mary Higgins Clark

Maggie was a photographer reunited with her former stepmother, Nuala. When she arrived at Nuala’s for a dinner party, Maggie found her on the floor, dead. Murdered. Nuala willed the house to Maggie, which was upsetting to everyone.

The different parts of the story were a little slow to set the plot in this one. There’s a lot of talk and description about architecture on Latham Manor with names and fancy words that’s hard to comprehend. It made reading this a little difficult.

The pace was rather slow, which, ordinarily is typical of an MHC book as she usually likes to set the scene, the tone, and the characters, but this was too slow. It was kind of disappointing as I didn’t quite get into this as I usually do.

It still reads well, but I just felt that it wasn’t exciting enough.

 

Rating: 3 stars

Review: DEATH ON HIGHWAY 13 by Joe Vannicola

Story begins with the death on Hwy 13 with the body of Dave Lomas, a former high school classmate of private investigator Gary Bennett, who worked mostly cheating cases among married clients.

Story had that snappy, witty repartee in the narrative, but I ran into a lot of typos, which, let’s face it, could’ve been fixed. Instead of diving into the death of Hwy 13, the P.I gets sidetracked with following 3 men at a sex club. This whole thing was really slow with long narratives. We then start to learn about the Lomas family and the restaurant in chapter 4. Who cares, right?

This is just a very slow P.I. story that doesn’t focus well enough or fast enough of what the main title entails—the death on Hwy 13.

Not a good read.

 

Rating: 2 stars

Review: ONE WISH by Leah Orr

Was looking forward to reading this story, but it just wasn’t possible. The font was REALLY SMALL, there was no proper FORMATTING, and the font styles it offered made this so DIFFICULT to read. Hate it when you can’t change the font to something readable.

Very disappointed in this book. If I only had one wish, it would be to stop myself from downloading this book.

 

Rating: 1 star

Blog Tour: DAUGHTER OF BELIAL by Jennifer Juvenelle

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jennifer will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Some Family Trees Should Be Burned. . .

Greer Girls are special. Greer Girls are rare. Greer Girls are central to the secret Order of Belial.

Sophie Greer knows none of this. All she knows is that her now ex-boyfriend cheated on her, she’s alone working in Paris, and her mysterious billionaire boss, Edward Hughes, is way too interested in her life.

But when Sophie is kidnapped in Moscow while on a business trip, she’s plunged into the dark underbelly of the global elite and a sinister secret society with deep ties to her family; ties that lead to revelations darker than anything Sophie could have imagined.

Betrayed by the man who raised her, and targeted by the illustrious Hughes family, only one thing is certain—family history can be deadly. If Sophie is to survive, she must decide who to trust and what to believe, or risk being crushed beneath the weight of the all-powerful secret Order of Belial.

Read an Excerpt

Smoke from the other vehicle’s engine fills the back seat. Coughing, I cover my nose and mouth as I desperately search for a solution. The whole right side of the vehicle is smashed in. There’s no getting out that way. I’m considering trying to break the back left window when I spy the dividing curtain swinging in the cool fall breeze.

Tugging the makeshift divider aside, I peek into the front to see the driver hunched over the steering wheel, unconscious. If I move carefully, I might be able to climb around him to get out the driver’s side. I’m about to make my move when the back door squawks open. A large gust of fresh air rushes into the banged-up vehicle. My head swivels to assess the new arrival.

No. It can’t be. A trillion queries rise and fall as I look upon my assailant—my savior? It’s too much. Between the plane ride, the abduction, and being left alone to rot for a week in a gaudy prison then carted out like a virgin for sacrifice, I’m spent. Where does it end?

There’s a popping sound as my mouth forms a tiny O in stunned surprise. Edward, looking like James Bond in a classic European-cut suit (probably Armani) and a light-grey dress shirt, unbuttoned at the top, is standing in the open doorway, hand outstretched in a gesture of chivalry as if these were the most natural circumstances under the Russian moon. I give him a blank stare.

“I told you I’d find you.” His silky voice floats past my ears, rattles around in my brain and down to my chest, where it nuzzles itself snugly into my heart.

About the Author JENNIFER JUVENELLE is a Native American/French author born in Hollywood, raised in Detroit, and fashioned in France. Formerly an actress and model, Jennifer now splits her time between crafting psychological thrillers and the magic of motherhood. A survivor of childhood sexual abuse, Jennifer made healing from trauma a priority when her life became untenable. Daughter of Belial is the unexpected product of her journey from trauma to triumph. An eager explorer, she currently lives in a remote Mexican seaside-jungle village with her debonair Aussie author husband and their young son.

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Blog Tour: JUS BREATHE by B. Lynn Carter

 

Jus Breathe

by B. Lynn Carter

 

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GENRE: Women’s (speculative) commercial fiction

 

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BLURB:

 

Their seesaw love affair started when she was five, even though they didn’t meet until she was eighteen. It started the day she heard Daddy slur, “She ain’t mine. You had the nerve to name her Dawn. Look at her! You shudda named her Midnight!” Then Daddy left . . . for good. And the loving music that had filled Dawn’s life went silent.

           

That was the day that a “Midnight” Duckling invaded the mirror, took up residence in her chest, and controlled her ability to breathe. That was the day she learned to recognize “leaving time” . . . her superpower.

 

Couched in speculation, Jus Breathe is the tale of a young Black woman’s struggle to defy her inner “Duckling” and embrace her true self. Set in New York City during the turbulent sixties, it’s an improbable love story with precarious impulses, secret pasts, and inner demons.

 

Dawn, a survivor, flees her stepfather’s violent home. While struggling to attend college, she perfects sofa-surfing and hones her superpower, her ability to leave a  situation in an instant.

 

But in the mist of the chaotic uprising that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, serendipity spins Dawn into beautiful Danny’s rollercoaster world.

           

Toxically in love, no longer a “leaver,” Dawn realizes that in order to survive, she must break free of Danny’s dominance. But that Duckling, who has allied with Danny, threatens to squeeze the life-breath from her if she dares to leave . . . that ugly, midnight-black Duckling, she has to kill.

 

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Excerpt One:

 

There was pain. It shot up from my jaw to my brain and back down again. Ghostly figures were, moving fast, a blur of white overalls, the smell of wall paint, shuffling feet, a scuffle.

 

That voice was rolling through my brain—one word, an echo from far away.

 

“Attack . . .”

 

It’s summer. It’s always summer when I slip into those childhood days. The boys have hijacked my Spalding ball, again. I chase them. I sic Sigfried on them. She does her most ferocious growl and a playful tug of war on their shoestrings as I yell, “Attack!! Attack!!”

 

“Attack!!”

 

A voice was shrieking that word. It occurred to me that it was my own voice, gradually returning me to the stark reality of the situation; back to ‘moving-in day,’ to what just happened, to the moment that my mother’s new husband’s fist impacted my face; back to Sigfreid lunging at his neck, taking him down, to the painters trying to free him from her grip, trying to get me to call her off.

 

Dazed, I remained in my head, lingered in the fantasy that my big-boned shepherd could take a man down like that, fascinated that she even had it in her. I think I did call her off or maybe she relented of her own accord. That’s when “that thing” took possession of my lungs, again. Gasping for air, I think maybe all of them, the painters . . . my mother’s husband, were franticly yelling.

 

 

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 GUEST POST

Topic:  What elements do you think go into a good women's fiction story?

 

            Of course the most important element of good women’s fiction is a compelling protagonist. You have to show your reader who your protagonist is; what her backstory is and how that backstory shapes who she is.

            In “Jus Breathe,” Dawn, my protagonist is a young, Black woman whose father traumatized her into a “dark-skinned complex.” She was five when she heard him yell at her mother, “She ain’t mine. Look at her! You had the nerve to name her Dawn. You shudda named her Midnight!” Then he was gone. Because of her, Daddy left…for good. Her guilt was profound.

            That one incident had a strong impact on Dawn. That very day an Ugly Midnight Duckling invaded Dawn’s mirror and took up residency in her chest. It ruled her by controlling her ability to breathe. Depending on your basic stance, the mirror creature is a metaphor for Dawn’s feelings of unworthiness, shame, and guilt…or it’s a real nemesis that she has to defeat.

            A protagonist in a women’s book should have some strengths. In my book Dawn’s strength is her ability to pick up and leave, just like Daddy, and never look back. Despite herself, this is her resilience. Fleeing a violent stepfather, Dawn left home at sixteen. She ‘sofa surfed’  for two years. She’d leave one place after another when, as it always did, ‘leaving time’ came around. This is her superpower. At least it was, until she met Danny.

            A protagonist needs to have a goal, something that she desperately wants; something that she thinks will solve her problems and make her whole. Dawn had thought about trying to go to college, but she doubted that a nomad like her belonged in a college. Instead, she decides that her life won’t be complete until she finds, what she thinks of as, ‘the music,’ It’s the harmony that was missing in her discordant, dysfunctional childhood home. Obsessed, she’s convinced that beautiful Danny, no matter how menacing and condescending, is the only one who can bring the music, banish the Midnight Duckling and make her beautiful too.

            But like all protagonist, what Dawn wants is not necessarily what she needs. There are things she needs to change, or change back. If she is to survive, Dawn needs to realize that she is “enough,” that she is worthy and deserving of unconditional love. And yes, she needs to go to college. But Danny mocks that idea. Dawn knows she has to reclaim her superpower and leave Danny. But she fears the Duckling. It threatens to squeeze the life breath from her if she dares to leave. She comes to the conclusion that she must confront that Midnight Duckling in the mirror…alone. Yes, she must kill that creature before it finds a way to kill her.

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Born and raised in the Bronx, NYC, B. Lynn Carter graduated The City College of New York with a degree in creative writing. She’s also studied at the Writing Institute of Sarah Lawrence College.

 

Her short story "One Wild Ride," published in Aaduna magazine, was nominated for the Pushcart Award in 2014. She’s had short stories and poetry published in the Blue Lake Review, Drunk Monkeys, Ascent Aspirations, Enhance Magazine, The Story Shack and the Bronx Memoir Project, among others. Besides “Jus Breathe,” Ms. Carter has written two additional full-length novels. She is also listed in Poets & Writers directory of writers.

 

Social Media:

Website: lynncarterbxwriter.com

Twitter: iLynzee2u 

Tik Tok: iLynzee        

Instagram; ilyncee

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lynn.carter.1004

 

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GIVEAWAY:

 

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

a Rafflecopter giveaway