Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 170

Blog Tour: THE WORLD IS BEAUTIFUL WITH COLORS by Shriyanie Fernando

 

The World is Beautiful with Colors

by Shriyanie Fernando

 

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

 

GENRE:   Children's

 

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

 

BLURB:

 

Nate is a very curious, intelligent and independent little boy who is fascinated and inspired by all the beautiful colors in the world, which sparks his imagination.

This charming and delightful story is about Nate's magical, funny, and colorful adventure on his very first day of school, starting with magically changing colors and figuring it out with his pleasantly surprised mom.

This unique book not only takes young readers on a joyfully exciting adventure, but also inspires and educates them on essential life lessons and conveys a very powerful and positive message.

A must-have book in every school and in every child's hand, this book is a precious gift to all the children in the world.

 

 

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

 

 

Excerpt One:

 

Little Nate was very excited and looking forward to his first day of school. He woke up early in the morning and looked carefully in the big mirror in his room.

 

Then he looked very carefully.

 

He noticed that he was a bit yellow.

 

“This is so strange,” whispered Nate.

 

Then he called his mom.

 

“Mommy, Mommy, Mommyyyyy! I look a bit yellow today, maybe because I ate too much pineapple and too many bananas last night.”

 

“Oh! Nate,” laughed his mom, “that is all your imagination. But that is very creative thinking, Nate.

 

“Now, please take a shower and get ready for school.”

 

 

 

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

 

Review: Little Nate woke up one morning for school and started noticing all the different colors. And it opened up to balloon of imagination. He looked too yellow. Perhaps he ate too many bananas. Ha, ha. Take a ride to see how many other colors Nate notices.

“I am beautiful in any color.”

Then, at school, Nate notices that people were all different colors.

“All of us are beautiful together with different colors…We are all beautiful in our own color, and the world is beautiful with colors.”

With vibrant illustrations, this was a cute and fun story about color and diversity. It’s a good lesson about accepting people for what they are and looking past appearances. A nice read!

Rating: 5 stars

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Shriyanie Fernando lives in Toronto, Canada, near beautiful Lake Ontario, with her three amazing children—a girl and two boys—and her husband. She is also a proud grandmother to a precious little boy from her daughter.

 

She is an AMI Montessori Education consultant and also an AMI Montessori educator working directly with young children for many many years.

 

She was the founder/owner/executive director of two Montessori schools and was the chief executive AMI Montessori education consultant to Green Nest Children's Foundation, working tirelessly for less fortunate children to give them a good education in their formative years. She now writes full time to inspire and educate children around the world. She hopes to touch each and every child's heart by her inspiring, fun and exciting stories with her unique blend of expertise and experiences in the fascinating world of education.

 

She is a lover of nature, beaches and holidays. She is terrified of bees and dogs for no reason. When her son got a Rottweiler puppy, she climbed onto the kitchen table, terrified. After a while she was fascinated and became an extraordinarily loving dog mom. Her family wonders, if they adopt a bee will she be a loving bee mom too?

 

When she is not writing, she spends most of her time reading, gardening and cooking. Her dishes are amazing, fantastic, beautiful, and delicious, just like her writing.

 

If you would love to teach your children life lessons in a fun, beautiful, exciting and enchanting way, this book is a must read for you.

 

 

CONNECT WITH SHRIYANIE FERNANDO

 

WEBSITE - http://www.shriyaniefernandobooks.com/

 

GOODREADS - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22441408.Shriyanie_Fernando

INSTAGRAM -  http://www.instagram.com/shriyaniefernandobooks

 

PURCHASE LINKS The World is Beautiful with Colors              

 

AMAZON.COM - https://amazon.com/dp/0228865417

AMAZON.CA - https://amazon.ca/dp/0228865417

INDIGO CHAPTERS - https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-world-is-beautiful-with/9780228865414-item.html

BARNES & NOBLE - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-world-is-beautiful-with-colors-shriyanie-fernando/1141492071

 

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

 

 

 

 

GIVEAWAY :

 

Shriyanie Fernando will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: SCAREDY BAT AND THE MEGA PARK MYSTERY by Marina Bowman

A fun trip to Mega Adventure Land may turn sour if Scaredy Bat can’t figure out what’s causing all the broken rides. Was someone sabotaging them? Scaredy Bat was on the case as she tracks the mysterious hooded figure through the park.

But that wasn’t all. Something was draining the kids’ transformation powers, too. And the gang was mysteriously disappearing. What was going on? This might be the toughest case ever!

With cute and colorful illustrations, this was a nice, little read!

 

Rating: 4 stars

Review: SCAREDY BAT AND THE ART THIEF by Marina Bowman

Stolen art and a stolen key. Can Scaredy Bat and her sleuthing team find them?

Scaredy Bat also aims to prove that she wasn’t “just a kid.”

With colorful illustrations and inquisitive monster kids, this was fun, little mystery!

 

Rating: 4 stars

Review: SCAREDY BAT AND THE HOLIDAY MYSTERIES by Marina Bowman

Who destroyed the Valentine robot? What had turned all the adults into leprechaun statues? Can Scaredy Bat find out what turned her little sister into a pumpkin head before her parents come home?

Cute, short mysteries featuring your favorite Scaredy Bat. The mysteries were a little too neat and tidy. Some were even solved with a little help from the detective.

Okay little read for the most part.

 

Rating: 3 stars

Blog Tour: SUMMER PEOPLE by Corinne LaBalme

 

Summer People

by Corinne LaBalme

 

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

 

GENRE: Cape Cod Romance

 

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

 

BLURB:

 

Jessica Stratton's long-cherished dream of opening her own Folk Art gallery in an idyllic Cape Cod setting finally comes true. However, her start-up is anything but smooth sailing. Her ten-year marriage hits the rocks and, when the hunk next door to her shop - a brooding ecologist on a mission to save the planet - proves too irresistible to ignore, she's got to relearn the rules of the dating game while working overtime to lure clients to her boutique. Unfortunately, someone's already far too interested in a 19th century example of advertising art in her collection and will go to any means - legal or illegal - to acquire it. Maybe the planet isn't all that needs to be saved...

 

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

 

 

Excerpt One:

 

Why on earth did that woman get under his skin so much? This was the second time he'd stomped off her property. Well, it had a whole lot to do with that chunk of jewelry on her left hand, didn't it? He didn't need anything to do with married women. Never again.

           

Had he said anything to her that would make them both cringe if they ran into each other in the mini-mart?

           

Oh yeah. Smallpox. Well, that was a low blow, considering that she personally hadn't poisoned any of his ancestors. All the fashion stuff was OK.  But he'd added something about French can-can boots, hadn't he? Boots which had absolutely nothing to do with his sister's thesis. No, those kinky, lace-up boots were part of Martine's Halloween costume last year.

           

She hadn't taken those boots off either. Not even when they went to bed.

 

 Just thinking about the sex that ensued made him feel like he needed another shower. But then he'd have to dry all that damn hair again. How did women stand all this stuff hanging around their shoulders? He'd read about hermits who refused to cut their hair until they'd atoned for their sins.

           

Well, Rick Starfire Martell had a helluva lot to atone for.      

 

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

GUEST POST

What are the key elements that you include in your stories?

 

MYSTERY. MYSTERY. and MYSTERY.

When I was a kid, a next door neighbor who was cleaning out her attic came over with six or seven Nancy Drew books. I was hooked in roughly… three chapters. Carolyn Keene became my first and most enduring author crush.

And – in a way that still feels like magic – my best friend in high school turned out to be Carolyn Keene’s grand-daughter. Carolyn Keene, of course, was a nom de plume. (Her real name was Harriet Stratemeyer Adams.) Her father, who laid the groundwork for a mighty YA fiction empire with the Bobbsey Twins books, thwarted his daughter’s desire for higher education. Harriet, however, won the long game and took over the whole syndicate on his death. She wrote the Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames books and quite a few of the Tom Swift and Hardy Boys adventures. The Adams farmhouse in rural New Jersey, with bookshelves crammed with mysteries, was like Ali Baba’s cavern to me. There was a secret to be unwrapped in every single book.

I studied comparative literature in college and while I love Dante Alighieri, Alexandre Dumas and Fyodor Dostoievski, I don’t think there’s been a greater influence on my own writing than Carolyn Keene. I write cozy mysteries most of the time – French Ghost was released last January – but even in a classic romance like Summer People, the plot doesn’t feel like a plot to me without a light sprinkling of mystery.

That’s why – betwixt the soup spoons, samplers and chess sets – Jessica’s Cape Cod gallery simply had to showcase one very problematic example of American Folk Art…  

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Corinne LaBalme lives in France and loves everything about it… except eating snails. Her articles about European fashion, food and fun destinations have appeared in The New York Times Travel section, Diversion, La Belle France and France Revisited. Her favorite place to write? Any Parisian café with a good croissant connection… 

 

The setting for SUMMER PEOPLE is founded on childhood memories of vacations on Cape Cod and based on my mother’s (very real) house in Brewster.

 

The romantic hero of SUMMER PEOPLE -- Rick Martell -- is the kind of guy who exists only in our sweetest & beachiest dreams…. sigh!

 

Twitter: @corinnelabalme

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

Website:  https//corinnelabalme.com/

 

https://www.amazon.com/Summer-People-Corinne-Labalme/dp/1509243275/r

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61449367-summer-people

 

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

 

GIVEAWAY

 

Corinne LaBalme will be awarding $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blast: IMPROBABLE MD by Derek J. Robinson, M.D.

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotoins. The Literary Lobbyist will be awarding a $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

In Improbable MD, Dr. Derek J. Robinson traces his unlikely journey from fishing on the bayous of Louisiana, to an ER and helicopter flight physician in Chicago, to leadership in some of the US’ largest health care organizations.

The grandson of a sharecropper and son of a single mother, Derek grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Shreveport, LA. A graduate of the city’s public schools, he saw first-hand the difference that access to quality education and health care made within his own family. He shares how his dream of being a doctor became a reality, despite the odds, and why he believes mentoring and investing in young people is vital to the health of our nation.

Robinson takes the reader inside the ER, where he has treated victims of gun violence and shares how spilt-second clinical decisions and the trust of his patients, shaped his appreciation for being a doctor, But, even with many years of training, he exposes how it feels to reach the limits of what he can offer patients and even shares the pain and lessons he has learned from the illness and loss of family members. Beyond the walls of the ER, Dr. Robinson explains how we became a business leader in health care and influential voice in boardrooms.

Through sharing his inspirations and tribulations, Dr. Robinson inspires readers to push beyond both self-doubt and external obstacles to pursue their dreams. In telling his story, he shares the roles that faith, friendship, love, and fatherhood have played in his life, and he hopes to motivate readers to chart their own journeys to successful and fulfilling lives.

About the Author: Derek J. Robinson is a board-certified physician in Emergency Medicine. He is vice president and chief medical officer at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, a division of Health Care Service Corporation – the nation’s largest non-investor owned health insurance company. In this role, he leads the care management operations division and serves as the company’s primary health care expert.

Dr. Robinson continues to provide clinical care to patients in the ER at the University of Illinois Chicago where he is a clinical associate professor of emergency medicine. His unique perspective on the complexities of healthcare, including his past service as a health care federal regulator, have enabled him to influence the transformation of health care for Americans. He has been featured on WTTW, WMAQ, WLS-TV, BNC, and other news outlets discussing important health care issues and social topics.

A native of Shreveport, LA. Dr. Robinson resides in Chicago, IL with his wife and two sons. When he is not working, he enjoys swimming, cycling, fishing, and spending time outdoors. For more on Derek Robinson and his memoir Improbable MD visit: http://www.DrDerekRobinson.com

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: GRADY WHILL AND THE TEMPLETON CODEX by Carole P. Roman

 

Grady Whill and the Templeton Codex

by Carole P. Roman

 

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

 

GENRE: YA  adventure

 

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

 

BLURB:

 

Templeton Academy- the superhero high school is finally open!

 

The prestigious academy is recruiting the best of the best to enroll in its student body.

 

The school is as mysterious as it is exclusive.

 

Grady Whill thinks there is nothing special about him to make the grade.

 

However, his best friend, Aarush Patel has been selected and thinks Grady has the right stuff.

 

Even school bully Elwood Bledsoe is attending.

 

If Grady is fortunate enough to be picked, his guardian has forbidden him to attend.

 

Will a family secret prevent Grady from becoming the superhero he was destined to be?

 

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

 

 

Excerpt One:

 

There Whill Be Blood

 

A barely cooled lump of lava hardened under my feet. One of my sneakers was stuck between two small rocks in the solidifying mess. I stared at my foot in disbelief. Instinct told me I should be a human torch, my legs nothing more than toasted stumps. I glanced up, my heart beating wildly. We were trapped on the side of the mountain facing our school, separated by a burning sea of molten rocks.

 

The world around me steamed, the lava staining the sky burnt orange. Trees swallowed by molten rock looked like skeletal hands emerging from a grave that glowed beneath the blackened crust. I saw heat waves shimmering from the earth but felt none of its intensity. I pulled fiercely, feeling my ankle twist. Aarush steadied me as I nearly toppled over. He was shirtless, his back slick with sweat and covered with scrapes. His fingers worked feverishly to free my foot.

 

Overhead two helicopter-sized pterodactyls circled the craggy summit. The wind from their leathery wings buffeted the two of us. I think the air they circulated stopped the patches of lava from cooking us alive, but what do I know?

 

“We better get moving, Grady. Leave your sneaker. We are risking getting burned by staying too long in one spot.” The ever-practical Aarush reasoned as he pulled the velcro releasing my foot. I wobbled, then fell to one knee.

 

“Do you think they’re real?” I hollered to my friend over the noise, pointing upward.

 

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

 

Review: Meet Grady Whill, a smart and witty kid. He was your average middle-schooler struggling with the pitfalls of teachers, homework, and, of course, bullies. If only he could get into the Templeton Academy, an elite and prestigious school known to transform kids and give them “special abilities.”  

The high note of Templeton was that there were no bullies. Well, in this story, the bully gets in, too.

Story had an easy and rather engaging narrative. At times, however, the narrative can get slow and superfluous. The kid sometimes talks about everything and nothing at the same time.  

On the one hand, this is certainly your fascinating YA fantasy tale. On the other hand, you feel like you’ve kind of heard this story before. This is a story just like Harry Potter—you have a poor, bullied orphan boy going off to magic school to learn his superpowers. In Grady’s case, however, what he learns (besides the magic) is far deeper and more significant. Again, it’s kind of like Harry Potter. Personally, I’m not a fan of Harry Potter and this book was just like it. It’s not bad, it’s just not my taste.

This story had some mildly amusing scenes and anecdotes. It’s a fairly nice read. Good for Harry Potter fans.  

Rating: 3 stars

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

 

Carole P. Roman is the award-winning author of over fifty children's books. Whether it's pirates, princesses, spies, or discovering the world around us, her books have enchanted educators, parents, and her diverse audience of children of all ages.

 

Her best-selling book, The Big Book of Silly Jokes for Kids: 800+ Jokes! has reached number one on Amazon in March of 2020 and has remained in the top 200 books since then.

 

She published Mindfulness for Kids with J. Robin Albertson-Wren.

 

Carole has co-authored two self-help books. Navigating Indieworld: A Beginners Guide to Self-Publishing and Marketing with Julie A. Gerber, and Marketing Indieworld with both Julie A. Gerber and Angela Hausman.

 

Roman is the CEO of a global transportation company, as well as a practicing medium.

 

She also writes adult fiction under the name Brit Lunden and has created an anthology of the mythical town of Bulwark, Georgia with a group of indie authors.

 

Writing is her passion and one of her favorite pastimes. Roman reinvents herself frequently, and her family calls her the 'mother of reinvention.' She resides on Long Island, near her children and grandchildren.

 

http://www.caroleproman.com/

https://www.facebook.com/CarolePRomanAwardWinningAuthorAndBooks/

https://twitter.com/caroleproman

http://caroleproman.blogspot.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Carole-P-Roman/e/B008ZOXI0W

 

Buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B4T6PWPH/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i3

 

 

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

 

GIVEAWAY

 

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: HEEL TURN by Kevin R. Doyle

 

Heel Turn

by Kevin R. Doyle

 

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

 

GENRE:   mystery

 

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

 

BLURB:

 

Released from prison for one murder, only to be arrested for a second, Sheila Hampton has no one to turn to save Sam Quinton, local private eye, who sets out to prove her innocence and uncover the knot of corruption that entangled its victim for over two decades.

 

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

 

 

Excerpt One:

 

The do-gooder organization must have found something because they somehow managed to get an emergency hearing in front of the state appeals court and, not too long after, the appellate court overturned her conviction and ordered a new trial, at least nominally setting Sheila free after over two decades of incarceration.

 

Exactly six days later, Bernie Lyman sauntered into my gym and offered me some work.

 

***

 

“What news?” I asked.

 

“You’ve heard of Robert Harris, right?”

 

“Sure. The DA who prosecuted Hampton back when. So what?”

 

“Former prosecutor.” Bernie’s eyes were practically dancing in their sockets. “He got quite the splash for the Hampton trial, eventually made it up to Executive Assistant, then retired a few years back.”

 

“Wasn’t he a sure thing for the top job at some point?” I asked.

 

Bernie shrugged. “Everyone thought so, but he never went for it.”

 

“So what’s your point?”

 

“The point, my boy, is that six days ago Sheila’s conviction was overturned, the conviction brought about, primarily, through the efforts of former ADA Harris.”

 

“Uh huh.” I felt a sinking feeling in my gut that I was about to hear something bad.

 

“And this morning, Sheila was arrested for Harris’s murder.”

 

 

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

 GUEST POST

What’s the best way to keep a reader engaged in a mystery?

 

            Well, I’m tackling this question, but please forgive if this post seems rather rambling. The first thing I thought of, honestly, when I saw the question was “how should I know? I’m not much of a mystery writer.” And I don’t mean that in any kind of self-effacing manner. It’s still kind of odd to think of myself as a mystery writer, primarily because such was never my intention, all the way back in 1983, when I first sat down with my mother’s electric typewriter looking for a way to fill up a boring afternoon.

            I mean, sure, I’ve written some mystery novels. Eight of them, in fact. Six published and two more coming out soon. Actually, I’ve written a total of eleven mystery novels, but the first three have never seen the light of day, which in hindsight is probably just as well.

            And if I wanted to get really self-aggrandizing, I could point out that I’ve not only written eight mystery novels, but that seven of them make up two different series. Then I could really thump my chest and point out that those two series are comprised of two different sub-genres. Kind of like one of my literary idols, Lawrence Block.

            But please do not for one minute that I place myself even remotely in the same galaxy of quality as Block. The man’s a force unto himself.

            The point is, even with all this happening over the last decade or so, even during a two-year period where I managed, through Covid lockdown, to churn out four mystery novels, I’ve never really thought of myself as a mystery writer, let alone a mystery novelist.

            So when given the question, what’s the best way to keep a reader engaged in a mystery, I’ve actually never thought about it before.

            Guess I have to think about it now.

            Looking back over my various works, and with a solid grounding of decades of reading in the genre, I think I can distill a couple of things. I’m not going to go so far as to say these are the “best” ways, so much as to point out that these ways tend to work best for me, both as a writer and a reader. And with that . . .

            First, short chapters. By short, I don’t mean skimpy. Check out Robert B. Parker’s later books. (Again, a person I would never dream of putting myself anywhere near in the same hemisphere as.) I love his early and middle-range works, except for A Catskill Eagle,  but if you look at his later productions, the chapters get almost ridiculously sparse. Sometimes with entire books having chapters of no more than two or three pages max. That’s a bit much.

            No, what I mean is chapters that are fairly concise, focus on one particular event at a time, and don’t go rambling all over the place. This may more than anything have to do with our age and time. It’s not exactly an earth-shattering revelation to point out that folks are busy nowadays and our schedules are hectic. As such, with lots of folks reading in little snatches of time here and there, it’s probably best to have chapters of sufficient length that they move along the plot but at the same time a reader can digest them in fifteen to twenty minutes. The old pattern of stretching a chapter over twenty-five or thirty pages may still work, but it doesn’t quite fit for me.

            This summer, I’ve been going through the works of Jeremiah Healy. (A shame that he had to die so soon.) And while I like his John Cuddy books and the plots are great, every now and then I’ll hit a chapter that stretches thirty pages or more, and I find myself flicking ahead to see where it ends. Fortunately, not all of his chapters are like that, and there’s enough variety in length in his books to keep things on track, but for me, overall, the modest-sized chapters the better.

            Again, the best way to keep readers engaged? Darned if I know for sure, but it’s something I find myself starting to pay attention to more and more, and for me one clear answer is short, punchy chapters that are easy to finish in a sitting.

            It also helps to try to end each chapter with a “huh?” that keeps them coming back. But I’m probably not always as successful in that as I’d like to be. 

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

A high-school teacher, former college instructor, and fiction writer, Kevin R. Doyle is the author of numerous short horror stories. He’s also written three crime thrillers, The Group, When You Have to Go There, and And the Devil Walks Away, and one horror novel, The Litter. In the last few years, he’s begun working on the Sam Quinton private eye series, published by Camel Press. The first Quinton book, Squatter’s Rights, was nominated for the 2021 Shamus award for Best First PI Novel.  The second book, Heel Turn, was released in March of 2021, while the third in the series, Double Frame, came out in March of 2022.

 

Web site: kevindoylefiction.com

Facebook: facebook.com/kevindoylfiction

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6473241.Kevin_R_Doyle

 

Amazon buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Heel-Turn-Kevin-Doyle/dp/1603812954

 

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

 

GIVEAWAY :

 

Kevin R. Doyle will be awarding one physical copy of the book, U.S. only to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: LOCKSMITH'S WAR by Paul Briggs

 

Locksmith's War

The Locksmith Trilogy Book Three

by Paul Briggs

 

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

 

GENRE: YA Sci-fi (Young Adult, Science Fiction_

 

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

 

BLURB:

 

For Lachlan Smith, learning the secret of the apocalypse was the easy part.

 

Ever since Locksmith found the portal to the future, he has been wondering who or what was responsible for the empty, uninhabited world he found.

 

Now he knows—and now he has to fight them.

 

He thought he had fifteen years in which to prevent the extinction of the human species.

 

Now, he has only hours.

 

When the portal is stolen by a cabal of dangerous fanatics, his mother and many of his friends are trapped on the other side. Now the enemy is after him, and the only way to thwart their genocidal plan is to retake the portal and hold it—at both ends.

 

With very little time left, a handful of allies who don't trust each other, almost no chance of success and the survival of humanity itself at stake… Locksmith is going to war.

 

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

  

Excerpt One:

 

Rikki’s first plan of escape

 

Rikki’s first plan of escape was simple — wait for somebody to open the door, then pounce on them, beat them up and start running. She couldn’t act on this plan until the drug wore off.

 

She was still feeling jittery from the drug when the lights went out, leaving her in something very close to pitch darkness. The tags on her ears glowed in the dark. The lights stayed off for a fair stretch of time — it might have been an hour. Before long, even with the drug out of her system her pupils had dilated to the point where the light that leaked in under the doorway looked like a line of yellow-white fire, dimly illuminating the room.

 

Then she heard the footsteps out the in the hall. Someone was headed this way. Rikki pointed herself at the doorway and got herself into a sprinter’s crouch like she’d seen Lock do.

 

The footsteps stopped in front of the door to her cell. She could see the shadows of somebody’s feet. Just one person. Good. Heavier than average, from the sound of the footsteps, but still better than trying to tackle two or more people at once. Her leg muscles were ready to launch her at the enemy. She got her fists into position. A few good blows to the solar plexus and kidneys…

 

 

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

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

In addition to writing books, Paul Briggs has worked as a newspaper editor, court reporter's assistant, and audio transcriber. In his spare time (when he has any) he sometimes performs in community theater, most recently taking on the roles of Bottom, Petruchio, Macbeth, Rosalind, and Richard III in a Shakespeare compilation. An Eastern Shore native who grew up in Chestertown, Maryland, Paul earned a BA in English from Washington College and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland – College Park.

 

He is the author of several short plays, including the award-winning The Worst Super Power Ever and The Picture of Health.  He is also writing the sequel to his 2018 science fiction novel Altered Seasons: Monsoonrise, which vividly imagines the dislocations that follow when the Arctic Sea ice finally melts and the Chesapeake Bay is drowned by the effects of climate change.

 

https://www.paulbriggs.com/thelocksmithtrilogy

 

https://www.facebook.com/paulbriggsauthor/

https://twitter.com/paulproofreader

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/655906.Paul_Briggs/blog

https://lockswriter.deviantart.com/

 

Amazon Author Page

 

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Briggs/e/B00J0GRQFM?

 

Amazon Buy Link: https://smile.amazon.com/Locksmiths-War-Locksmith-Trilogy-Three-ebook/dp/B09ZK98V96/ref=sr_1_1

 

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

 

GIVEAWAY

 

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: MACKENZIE'S LAST RUN by Gayle Rosengren

 

MacKenzie's Last Run

by Gayle Rosengren

 

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

 

GENRE: Middle Grade fiction

 

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

 

BLURB:

 

Thirteen-year-old MacKenzie (Mac) Lawrence secretly blames himself for his father’s death. In his grief and guilt, he has pulled away from everyone, even his twin sister Tessa.  When their mother announces her plans to remarry barely 18 months after Dad’s death, Mac is furious and runs away in an attempt to force her to break off the engagement. 

 

Unfortunately, nothing goes as Mac plans. He ends up seriously injured, miles from home, unable to reach out for help, while clues he inadvertently left behind suggest he’s been kidnapped—possibly by Mom’s fiancé—and set his twin sister Tessa on a desperate search to find him.  But she’d better hurry, because the clock is ticking, and Mac is running out of time.

 

 

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

 

 

Excerpt One:

 

“We’re not keeping anything from you, Mrs. Lawrence,” Sergeant Hernandez said. “I promise. It’s just that Officer Borkowski has been concerned by some of the unusual circumstances surrounding MacKenzie’s disappearance.”

 

Mom’s forehead puckered. “Unusual circumstances?”

 

The sergeant nodded. “The fact that MacKenzie didn’t take any money with him, for example. That’s very unusual for a runaway. And he didn’t take his bike either. Again, this isn’t the norm. Taken together with the bloodstains on the carpet, well, there’s another possible explanation that we can’t entirely rule out.”

 

The back of Tessa’s neck prickled. What was Sergeant Hernandez getting at? She looked at her mother, who was frowning at the police woman, twisting her hands together. “I still don’t understand. What are you trying to say?”

 

Beside her, Simon’s eyebrows snapped together. “Surely you’re not suggesting what I think you are.” He pulled Mom closer.

 

Tessa’s throat tightened.

 

“What is it?” Mom’s eyes were huge green pools of panic.

 

“We need to investigate the possibility that your son may not have run away,” Sergeant Hernandez said. “Someone may have taken him.”

 

Mom shook her head like Tessa did to get water out of her ears after a dive. Her mouth sagged open and she slumped against Simon. “No.”

 

Tessa’s heart cannonballed into her stomach. They thought someone took Mac. They thought someone broke into his room and took him! But that was crazy. Why would anyone want to kidnap Mac?

 

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

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

As a girl, books were among Gayle’s best friends and inspired her dream of writing for children someday. It was a dream that only grew stronger over the years. Gayle majored in Creative Writing in college. Her first book, What the Moon Said (Putnam 2014) was a Jr. Library Guild selection and CCBC title, and her second, Cold War on Maplewood Street (Putnam 2015) won the Tofte-Wright Award for Children’s Literature. She has worked as an advertising copywriter, a pre-school teacher, a youth services assistant in her local public library; and a research assistant in the American Girl library. Gayle is a lover of stories whether she’s writing them or reading them.

 

Visit her website to learn more about Gayle and her books.  http://www.gaylerosengren.com

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1595989048

https://twitter.com/gaylerosengren

 

 

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

 

GIVEAWAY

 

Gayle Rosengren will be awarding a $100 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway