Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 71

Review: SUMMER by Casi McLean

 

The story introducestime-traveling detective sisters and an amulet mystery in Salem with a strongand compelling narrative.

 

One minute, Sydney was mesmerizedby the mystical tour of Salem landscape and history, and the next minute, shewas standing in the middle of a forest. Summer knew another time jump wascoming based on the dreams she was having. Soon, Summer and Sydney findthemselves in the exact same place…in the exact same time…in Salem, MA in1692—during the Salem Witch Trials. Oh no! And, aw, cool! That was afascinating time period and I love that this story was set there.

 

Together, Summer and Sydney save ahanging woman accused of being a witch. Now, they must hide her while keeping alow profile in the hysterical community. Those witch hunters were certainlyfrightening. Can Summer escape time before time runs out?

 

But that wasn’t the only drawbackhere.

 

“In the wrong hands, time travelcould literally alter history and completely erase the past.”

 

There was something magical aboutthat amulet, which seemed to transport the travelers from Salem 1692 to theCeltics 3000 BCE. What was the cause of all these time jumps and how could theyfix it?

 

I enjoyed this exciting timetravel adventure. I kind of wished the author would’ve kept them in Salemthroughout the whole story, but this was still a great read.

 

A thrilling read from start tofinish! Look forward to more from this author.

 

Rating:5 stars

Review: SEPTEMBER SKY by John Heldt

 

If you had a chance to travel tothe 1900’s, would you do it? Personally, I wouldn’t. Evidently, this seemedlike an exciting adventure for a father and son—both of whom seemed to be atcrossroads in life.

 

This starts off as your typicaltime-travel story with how the time-travel came to be. The thing about itthough was this was taking its sweet, snail-pace time to even get going. Theauthor was way too busy describing every nook and cranny before even steppingthrough time. Get to the 1900’s already! For crying out loud, we’re 10 chaptersin and they still haven’t even left yet. I’m dying here.

 

Too slow. Too boring. I justcouldn’t take it anymore.

 

Rating:2 stars

Review: MERCER STREET by John Heldt

 

Three women—a daughter, a mother,and a grandmother—travel to Princeton, NJ, 1938. The girls begin this Americanjourney with a road trip from CA to NJ, seeing the sights before roads andskyscrapers took over. Imagine being the only women in a male-dominatedPrinceton.

 

The overall read was fairly nice.I usually enjoy time-traveling stories as long as something interesting happensat some point. This one just seemed long and uneventful. Yes, the girls gotaway from being spectators and started experiencing the 1930’s, but nothing wasreally happening. We had a lot of descriptions—too much, in fact—but nothingwas happening. Sure, it was a nice, little journey through an American era. Iguess I wasn’t really getting much more than a scenic tour. I mean, I’m surethese women gain some enlightenment here, but this alone wasn’t enough to keepme going for 94 chapters. Yeah, that was too many chapters, too. Of course,this won’t keep me from trying out other books by this author.

 

An okay read.

 

Rating:3 stars

Blog Tour: PECULIAR PEOPLE AND THE PETS WHO LOVE THEM by Justin Moroyan

 

 

Humor

Date Published: May 23, 2024

Publisher: ‎BookBaby

 

"Peculiar People and the Pets Who Love Them"…lovingly written and illustrated by Justin Moroyan, is a darkly-whimsical and addictively-humorous picture book that tells the stories of fantastically weird people and their equally strange and adoring pets

These stories revolve around characters who are gloriously abnormal. They embrace that attribute, and don't shy away from being their unique, spectacular selves. Like Madam Rosette and her poodle, Josette, who only enjoy "bad" smells…or Samurai Megasaki, who is addicted to water but also allergic to it. Each spread welcomes you into wondrous, stunningly detailed, vibrant illustrations, and stories that are guaranteed to capture your imagination and tickle your grey matter. Each time you explore it, you'll discover new secrets and symbolism that delve you deeper into captivating worlds you will inexorably fall in love with.

About the Author

I'm an illustrator and writer, and I've always loved expressing myself on paper...the ability to work within a space where I can make anything happen has always been a form of therapy for me. It's one of the reasons I love the Fantasy and Sci-Fi genres so much.

"That's the wonderful thing about crayons. They can take you to more places than a starship." (Guinan, Star Trek: The Next Generation)

I share an affinity for dark humor with some of my atypical real-life superheroes, like Tim Burton, Charles Addams, Edward Gorey, and Wes Anderson. Of course, I can't leave out the wondrously enchanting worlds created by Dr. Seuss and Disney, which fertilized my drive to invent worlds of my very own growing up, and still, to this day.

I tend to gravitate towards humorous stories about social ineptitude, mad science, the supernatural, and wonderfully addictive, perfectly imperfect, B-movie-like humor and exaggerated characters. I love diving down the rabbit hole of my mind and exploring strange new worlds.

"All we can do, Scully, is pull the thread and see what it unravels." (Fox Mulder, The X-Files) --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Contact Links

Instagram

Facebook Page

Twitter (“X”)

 

Purchase Link

Amazon

Blog Tour: TANGERINE MARMALADE MURDER by Meg Benjamin

TANGERINE MARMALADE MURDER

Meg Benjamin

 

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GENRE:  Cozy Mystery

 

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BLURB:

 

Whena stranger is murdered near Roxy Constantine’s farm, she’s sure it has nothingto do with her. But the investigation turns up surprising links to Roxy’s past.As if that weren’t enough, Roxy’s quarreling with her Significant Other, NateRobicheaux, and facing a possible break-up. Just when the stress begins toease, the murderer strikes again, sending Nate to the hospital. Now Roxy needsto figure out the link between the Constantine Farm and a blackmailer beforeshe becomes the killer’s next target.

 

 

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ExcerptThree:

 

The car racing toward me was a dark shape withoutheadlights, clearly a stranger who didn’t know the drive that well. Andclearly, even though I had my headlights on, the driver of the other car waseither unaware of me and Nate or didn’t care that we were on the road, too. Thepines at the road’s edge made it difficult to get away, but I managed to pullthe truck as far to the side of the road as I could without ending up in adrainage ditch. I made it over just in time to let the other car pass a few inchesaway, with a lot of pinging gravel and spinning wheels. I had only the dimmestimpression of what kind of car it was and no impression at all of the driver.

 

“What the hell…” I began, and then I heard the sound ofcrashing metal behind me.

 

I pulled to a stop on the shoulder, twisting to see what washappening. Nate’s car had been pushed off the road by the impact. The side wassmashed up against one of the pines. Before I could get out of my seatbelt, itslid farther downhill and bumped to a stop, the front tires jammed against theouter edge of the drainage ditch.

 

The other car, whatever and whoever it had been, sped on upthe drive either not knowing or not caring about the accident they’d justcaused.

 

I pushed my truck door open and ran to Nate’s car, my feetsliding on the gravel and dirt. As I got closer, I could see a large dent inthe driver’s side, as if the speeding car had bounced off on its way to thepoint where the drive turned into the county road. Nate’s headlights shone downthe hillside, outlining the groove of the drainage ditch.

 

“Nate,” I yelled as I ran toward him. “Nate, are you okay?”

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

MegBenjamin is an award-winning author of romance and cozy mysteries. Meg’sKonigsburg series is set in the Texas Hill Country and her Salt Box and BrewingLove trilogies are set in the Colorado Rockies (all are available fromEntangled Publishing and from Meg’s indie line). Her new cozy mystery series,Luscious Delights from Wild Rose Press, concerns a jam-making sleuth based inthe mythical small town of Shavano, Colorado. Along with romance and cozies,Meg is also the author of the paranormal Ramos Family trilogy from BerkleyInterMix and the Folk trilogy from Soul Mate. Meg’s books have won numerousawards, including an EPIC Award, a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, theHolt Medallion from Virginia Romance Writers, the Beanpot Award from the NewEngland Romance Writers, and the Award of Excellence from Colorado RomanceWriters.

 

Website:http://www.MegBenjamin.com

Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/meg.benjamin1

Pinterest:http://pinterest.com/megbenjamin/

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

Twitter/X:http://twitter.com/megbenj1

Email:meg@megbenjamin.com

 

BuyLink: https://www.amazon.com/Tangerine-Marmalade-Luscious-Delights-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0CZS9F3VM/ref=sr_1_1

 

 

 

 

 

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GIVEAWAY

MegBenjamin will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

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Blog Tour: PLAYTIME CLOTHES by Kim MacLean

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Kim MacLean will award a randomly drawn winner a $15 Amazon/BN gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The young boy's room is an undeniable mess. Did he actually clean his room, as he is telling his mom? Or do his clothes come to life and play?! They are, after all, playtime clothes. Is he learning a lesson to tell the truth and be accountable, as we all do in life? Or is it a world of make believe? It is for you to enjoy while you decide.

Review: What happens when clothes get inthe mix? KABOOM! Clothes everywhere!

This was a fun and playful storywith cute rhymes about clothes at play. I loved the comical and livelyillustrations. An amusing read that kids will love!

Rating:5 stars

 

 

About the Author: Kim MacLean was inspired to be creative while she and her little girls made their own fun inside their home on long, cold winter days. Her girls sat for hours painting and gluing crafts into works of art on paper. Oh, the rows and rows of finished masterpieces drying on the floor while Kim sat and wrote! And there were the hundreds of books that they read and enjoyed together that further inspired creativity and an adult love of children's books!

Tia Bates is an artist, illustrator, and storyteller from London, Ontario. She is inspired by the beautiful illustrations she grew up looking at in children's books just like Playtime Clothes, the first children's book she has illustrated! Currently pursuing a master's degree in fine art, Tia's personal artwork is all about the stories we tell.

Amazon: https://amazon.com/dp/0228883547
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/playtime-clothes-kim-maclean/1143163085
Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Playtime-Clothes-Kim-Maclean/9780228883548

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Blog Tour: CARGO OF BONES by Z. Lindsey

 

CARGO OF BONES

Z. Lindsey

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GENRE:  Fantasy

 

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BLURB:

 

Devil bureaucrat Essie Darkenchyl and her friends barely survived the jungle, but now they're going straight to Hell--AKA her hometown!

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ExcerptThree:

 

“You nicked me in the dance, remember? The council might bescandalized if we slept in the same tent.”

 

She laughed, remembering how embarrassed she’d been as theother girls gasped and the doctors swarmed him. Her dad said, ‘Essie, if youdidn’t want Vashon to be eligible to marry you, you just had to poke him! Youdidn’t have to stab so deep!’ But she did like him. It wasn’t her fault hecouldn’t block. And it had been nice to think the one boy she liked couldn’tmarry her. There had been more important things than boys. Like Gossen’s Guideto Shipping Law.

 

“Nicked you?” she asked as she stood and walked for thetent. “Sir, I stabbed so deep they had to use medical magic to get the knifeout.”

 

Vashon touched his shoulder where the knife had been.

 

“Yeah, like I said, you nicked me. I’ll sleep outside.”

 

Essie put a hand on her hip.

 

“It’s too cold, Vashon.” She crouched and crawled into thetent. “It’s not like you’re proposing. If you keep your underwear on, I’m surethe council will forgive us.”

 

“I’m not wearing underwear,” he said.

 

“Oh.”

 

Vashon cleared his throat.

 

“It’s not part of the cossetter’s ritual outfit.”

 

Essie bit her lip and looked away.

 

“Of course.”

 

“The first cossetters practiced naked to be closer toessential—”

 

“Okay, I get it!”

 

“So—I should sleep out here?” he asked.

 

“Get in here,” she said, then blurted, “but stay on yourside.”

 

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Topic: What was the biggestchallenge in writing this book and how did you overcome it?

 

CARGO OF BONES, the second book in my trilogyabout devil bureaucrat Essimore Darkenchyl, is a humorous and antics-filledadventure involving a fight with a group of cultists who are trying to kill thegod of death because of undiagnosed PTSD. 

 

If that sounds unexpected, I can tell you thatbalancing that tone was the hardest part of writing the book. I really wantedthis book to be funny and hopeful, but it deals with one of the most profoundsubjects that fantasy can address: the death of a god. Keeping it fun andlighthearted when the stakes are so high was a difficult challenge, but I thinkI did pretty good. 

 

Now, I’ve got a bit of a dark sense of humor, soit would always have had dark jokes. Her people do eat hearts. She does killmultiple villains in the third book by accident. She doesn’t like to be touchedbecause the the god of death touched one of her ancestors on the shoulder yearsago and the psychic impact still lingers with her. 

 

But I don’t want people to take away dark thingsfrom my stories in general. I myself stay away from very dark fantasy like ASong of Ice and Fire or the Broken Earth series, so it’s perhapsironic that I’m attempting to humorously grapple with such intensethemes. 

 

But I wanted to address those themes to create apositive message about how hope thrives even in tragedy. Joy and tragedy worktogether to give our experiences meaning. 

 

All that to say, I was challenged to write a bookthat was dark, but not too dark. These books were always meant to be funny, andthe second one is dark humor. That doesn’t mean it’s not hopeful like the firstand third books, just that the journey of exploration of self that started inthe first book is about to hit some rocky ground. Actually, it’s about to headdeep into a dangerous desert to come face-to-face with the city that guards theentrance to the realm of death. 

In the end, I think of this book somewhat likethe second Star Wars film. The first one established the themes and thecharacters, the second got super dark, and the third one had ewoks. Some fanscomplain about the tone shift from the second to the third movie, but theoriginal Star Wars trilogy is a hopeful story. Luke wins (atleast for the time being) and that means the tone of the third movie shouldbe more light-hearted than the second. 

 

But at the end of the second, the characters havelost in some major ways. If you’d stopped after the second movie, you’dprobably be a little depressed. Luckily, George Lucas knew there would be athird movie, so he was able to subvert the traditional endings of heroicnarratives, knowing we all would get to see the characters experience some formof catharsis in the next movie. 

 

I think something similar happens with the darkerending of this book. The third book is the catharsis, so you have to wait a bitafter the second book. (Just six months, though--the third book will be out inDecember!) I can’t promise every single character you love and care about willmake it through every book, but I can say the heroes are working to make abetter world, and it’s a world that some of them will get to see.

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Zac Lindsey is an anthropologist and a linguist who focuses on theMaya people of Quintana Roo. Since childhood, he's had a not-so-secret love ofweird, silly, and well-structured fantasy. When other people's parents werereading them picture books, his mom was reading him Terry Brooks. He typicallywrites hopeful and character-driven fantasy.

 

Today, he lives in Quintana Roo, Mexico with his wife, daughter,and various stray cats.

 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/z.lindsey_fiction/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550498257222

Amazon link to the first book: https://www.amazon.com/River-Against-Sea-Z-Lindsey-ebook/dp/B0CH3TW3YD/ref=sr_1_1

B&N link to the first book (for paperback): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-river-against-the-sea-z-lindsey/1144077772

 

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GIVEAWAY

Z.Lindsey will award a randomly drawn winner a $25 Amazon/BN gift card + adigital copy of the book via Rafflecopter.

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Book Blast: DUNGEON OF HORRORS by Hawk MacKinney

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. A randomly drawn winner will receive a $20 Amazon/BN GC. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The bank’s newest Trust Officer Terri Stanley prepares the requested department’s internal audit. Finding puzzling inconsistencies and a jumble of misappropriations and unexplained offshore accounts, she follows protocol and immediately punches in the listed number for the Executor-Trustee, Craige Ingram.

Wealthy land owner/parttime PI Craige Ingram reaches the file back to homicide Lt. Grayson MacGerald after finishing a quick read-through of the preliminary forensic report from Coroner Fred Dinkins on the unexpected death of bank President Royce Sedgewicke. Dinkins’ meticulous autopsy findings verify that a massive apparent heart attack was not from natural causes, confirming what these longtime SEAL buddies suspected.

When Ingram gets a call from Terri Stanley, the bank’s attractive, newly-hired Trust Officer, wanting to discuss in confidence possible account irregularities discovered during her audit, he never imagines the twisted world of money and greed that would involve a psychopath’s trail of bloody body parts strewn along Ingram's river property, or that Terri and her son would disappear.

Confronted by a race against time, Ingram fears that Terri might become one more on the list of dead who crossed a twisted mind bent on thrill-kills and retribution.

Read an Excerpt

Death is seldom dignified, even less so if it’s felony murder. There was no such thing, exSEAL-turned private investigator Craige Ingram believed, but he sometimes forgot how personal death could get. This time, however, it blind-sided a lot of people—including him.

For the annual charity event of the Silver Bluff Museum of Southron Art, the master of ceremonies grandious CEO Llewyn Royce Sedgewicke and PI Craige Howelle Graeme Roynane Ingram seldom moved in the same black tie social circle. Chances were slim to none that Royce Sedgewicke would’ve ever been invited to the sprawling riverfront domains that had once been Grannie Ingram’s dogtrot Moccasin Hollow that she left debt-free to her gran’son Craige.

Unlike his collection of mounted big game trophies along the walls of his profligate mancave, portly Royce Sedgewicke’s food-bespattered tuxedoed carcass stretched out like public roadkill amid the crash and smash of food, china, crystal and splayed floral pieces, and very dead. Last-breath gurgles clung around his gagging tongue as smart phones madly clicked, flooding social media before the emergency ambulance arrived. First edition headlines the next morning made big local news and an avid up-tick in morning papers. Purloined forensic photos of his corpse showing Sedgewicke’s swollen tongue and his bare overstuffed derrière grabbed a growing audience for more about his secretive lifestyle, squandering what little decorum he never had. That mess was bad enough. His passing sent more than a few local bigwigs scrambling to cover their backsides—and their offshore accounts.

Complications and felony murder cinched more-snug when Graysen MacGerald, head of Buckingham Parish Metro Law Enforcement, Investigative Support Team, paid an off-the-record visit to his grown-up-together SEAL Commanding Officer Craige `Peadinger’ Ingram. The death certificate said heart attack. It wasn’t.

About the Author


Internationally acclaimed author and public speaker, Hawk MacKinney began writing mysteries for his school newspapers. Following graduation, he served in the US Navy for over 20 years. While serving as a Navy Commander, he also had a career as a full-time faculty member at several major state medical facilities. He earned two postgraduate degrees with studies in languages and history and has taught postgraduate courses in both the United States and Jerusalem, Israel.

In addition to professional articles and texts on fetal and adult anatomy, Hawk has authored several novels that have received national and international recognition. Moccasin Trace, a historical novel, was nominated for the prestigious Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction and the Writers Notes Book Award.

Known for his terrifying suspense and unique “Southron” dialog, Hawk has published five novels in the Moccasin Hollow Mysteries: Hidden Chamber of Death, Westobou Gold, Curse of the Ancients, Dead Gold, and Blood of the Dragonfly.

In a change of direction, Hawk has also published three books in The Cairns of Sainctuarie science fiction series: The Bleikovat Event, Volume I; The Missing Planets, Volume II; and The Inanna Phantom, Volume III.

His latest work is a series called the Moccasin Trace Mysteries. Dungeon of Horrors is the first book in the series, and the second book – Blood in the Shadows – is in development.

Website: https://www.hawkmackinneyauthor.com/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Horrors-Hawk-MacKinney-ebook/dp/B0D6BP1Y27/ref=sr_1_1

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Book Blast: MY SECOND LIFE by Simon Yeats

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Simon Yeats is awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

We all have two lives. We only get to experience living in the second after we realize we only have just one.

I have my first real scare in life when I get attacked by a kangaroo when I am seven. My first brush with the cliff-face edge of death comes when I am 12. My dad drives the family down the dangerous Skipper’s Canyon dirt road in New Zealand in a rented minivan.

Including the occasion I am almost involved in two different plane flight crashes, in the same night, there have been at least a half dozen more occasions when I have been within a moment’s inattention of being killed.

However, none of those frightening incidents compare to what I experience after my son is abducted.

This memoir is the story of how I used the traumatic experiences of my life to give me strength to forge on during a 13 year fight to be a father to my son.

What did it take for me to get to my second life?
It took me to truly understand what fear is.

Read an Excerpt

As I cross the hotel lobby floor towards the elevator, a man approaches me and addresses me by name.

Oh god, not again. I know what this is. Another process server who is going to hand me court documents to tell me I am now being sued for refusing to follow my ex-wife’s demands to buy my son another cell phone.

That would have been far more preferable.

The man leads me over to the couches in the hotel lobby, and we sit. He speaks only Portuguese so that I can only understand some of what he says. So, I use Google translate so I can fully understand what is going on.

His name is Michael.

The man is not from the court.

He is on the direct opposite side of the law, as it turns out.

He is a killer for hire.

My ex-wife has hired his services.

What? Right now, I know I am sitting in bizarro world.

About the Author: Simon Yeats has lived nine lives, and by all estimations, is fast running out of the number he has left. His life of globetrotting the globe was not the one he expected to lead. He grew up a quiet, shy boy teased by other kids on the playgrounds for his red hair. But he developed a keen wit and sense of humor to always see the funnier side of life.

With an overwhelming love of travel, a propensity to find trouble where there was none, and being a passionate advocate of mental health, Simon’s stories will leave a reader either rolling on the floor in tears of laughter, or breathing deeply that the adventures he has led were survived.

No author has laughed longer or cried with less restraint at the travails of life.


Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0CBNQLSPW/about
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@authoryeats
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoryeats

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/My-SECOND-Life-Simon-Yeats-ebook/dp/B0CB4LCCPN/ref=sr_1_1

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Blog Tour: WHICHEVER WAY THE ROAD LEADS by J.A. Boulet

 

WHICHEVER WAY THE ROAD LEADS

J.A. Boulet

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GENRE:  Historical Romance

 

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BLURB:

 

MeetJesse Eastman, a young man from a powerful and wealthy American family. When hejoins a group of rough fur traders on a journey to open up the AmericanNorthwestern Frontier, Jesse thinks his days are numbered.

 

Thelooming War of 1812 and a rugged farm woman from Upper Canada may prove himright.

 

ZeeCollard and her father, George, are half-American, and half-Canadian. They willstop at nothing to protect their livelihoods in Upper Canada. The Collard'sfamily history goes back to the Revolutionary War and their past is notsomething many Americans are keen on.

 

WhicheverWay The Road Leads will pull you into the lives of two American families onboth sides of the border who struggle as war breaks out in 1812. This engagingand graphic first book of The Eastman Saga will take you through ragingmountainous rivers and early Northwestern Frontier landscapes to the bloodyNiagara battlefields of 1812.

 

Becareful which road you take, you never know where it'll lead.

 

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ExcerptTwo:

 

Jesse walked confidently to the group as the man spokecommandingly to him in the Arikaran language. Jesse looked at him inbewilderment.

 

“He said that he would take everyone into the village andsave our lives in exchange for the bear pelt and the canoe,” the womantranslated slowly.

 

The Arikara guard spoke again, quickly, almost jumbling overhis words with passion.

 

“He also says that this is not a free stay. Everyone mustwork once they are healthy enough.” The woman explained the rest of theagreement and looked at Jesse for confirmation.

 

Jesse looked back at the stranded Overland Astorian group.They were probably three more days away from dying, he thought. Losing the bearpelt was nothing, but the canoe would be a huge sacrifice. “Tell him we willgive him what he wants,” Jesse replied, rubbing his long beard. “But he mustallow us to rebuild a new canoe with the surrounding trees. It is our onlysurvival to return to St. Louis.”

 

The woman frowned, turned to the Arikara guard, and relayedthe message in their native tongue.

 

The Arikara man’s mouth frowned in deliberation. Then, ahalf smile graced his face. He spoke rapidly to the woman, then turned to hisgroup of guards, gesturing for them to grab the canoe and bear fur. They beganapproaching the Astorians as the native woman spoke to Jesse. “They haveagreed,” she translated, with a funny grin on her face. “He also said that youare stupid and young.”

 

Jesse laughed and patted her on the shoulder. “Thank you,”he said. “You saved our lives.”

 

“No,” she replied. “You did, Jesse.”

 

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What was your writingritual when it came to writing this book?

I work atmy writing career like a full-time job. I know that isn’t the romanticizedversion that everyone wants to hear but bear with me.

After 25+years of working in the financial accounting industry and raising my family, Ifinally decided to switch professions and focus on my initial career choice ofbeing a novelist.

Since Iwas very young, I had a passion for writing and it never faded. It was not ahobby or a pastime, writing was a deep-seated purpose that I always felttugging in my gut. When I finally made the choice to switch careers, I wasnever going to look back.

I devote2-5 days per week to various aspects of my writing career, including marketing,editing, and writing. My rituals of writing books or guest posts, like this one,is still odd! I cannot write in my office which is adorned with history booksand world maps. For some reason, I need to write on my sofa with a pillowbehind my back and sometimes even a blanket on my shoulders, with my dognapping on my feet. The words just run through me easier that way.

When Iwrite in my office, it generally all comes out too businesslike andprofessional! That is not acceptable for fiction writing!

I onceheard Stephen King say that he aims to write six pages a day and I havefollowed this advice to fit into my own ritual. I always aim to write 2000-3000words per week. Since most of my books are 75,000 words, that means I willfinish the first draft within six months.

Theediting process is more rigorous and I discipline myself to 50-75 pages perweek. The editing, story-edits, and copyedits, take another 2-4 months tocomplete. I aim to have every book released in 9-12 months from the first day Istarted writing.

Thisensures that my readers get to enjoy a new book every year. That is my promiseto my readers and followers. I hope you enjoy Whichever Way The Road Leads!It took me a long hard 9 months to complete. I love being a part of these booktours and I thank every single person for following along on the tour. It givesme a rare once-a-year opportunity to share my insights and what makes me tick,with so many people. Thanks so much and hope everyone enjoys the book and thetour!

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

J.A. Boulet is the passionate author of six historical fiction novels. Raised ina Hungarian refugee family, J. A. was born and grew up in Canada with a strongmoral foundation, which she has stood behind all her life. Ms. Boulet beganwriting poetry at a very young age and progressed to short stories and novelseasily. She quickly became a history geek and became fascinated with ancestryand the rough path of immigration. Her university studies ranged fromphotojournalism to accounting. After decades of working in accounting, J. A.published her first book in 2020 and has since published one to two booksannually.

 

Shelives in the Niagara region of Canada with her two sons, a crested gecko, alarge Doberdor dog, and a small orchard of fruit trees.

 

Followher on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Reddit.

 

Website:https://jaboulet.ca/

Amazonlink: https://www.amazon.com/Whichever-Road-Leads-Eastman-Saga-ebook/dp/B0D4FCQ66D

Twitterlink: https://twitter.com/love_walk_life

Instagramlink: https://www.instagram.com/jabouletauthor/

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