Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 73
March 20, 2024
Blog Tour: GREYSTONE by B.L. Ryan
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. B L Ryan will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
All Mouse could remember about her father was sitting on his lap while he told her stories. She wished she could remember what he looked like. When she hangs a white pendant that belonged to her father in her bedroom window, this wish becomes the key to great adventure in another world. A gate appears with a dragon twirling in the air above a colourful garden on the other side of the gate. Zeeta, the royal dragon, greets Mouse and invites her into the garden. The garden is part of Sweet Water holding, home to Lady Jane, who is the seer for Prince Ruler Jared.
As Mouse and Zeeta struggle to complete a quest, Mouse searches for her father. Their journey takes them across the plains of Norlanda and south to the Border Mountains.
The seers have foretold that a far traveller will appear and lead Norlanda against its enemies. This does not seem likely, as Norlanda is prosperous and peaceful at this time. Meanwhile, dark forces gathered in the Border Mountains have recognized the presence of Mouse in the lines of destiny and have started to move towards her.
How will the presence of a child, a far traveller from another world, affect the destiny of this world?
Read an Excerpt
Six Turns Later
The sky was cast with bands of pink and yellow as the sun set. It was an exceptionally clear evening, and it was possible to see the Singing Mountains across the horizon to the north. As Jared gazed absently at the fringe of jagged peaks, Lord Ravenstock entered the room silently. He waited for Jared to address him.
Without turning, Jared asked, “What have my esteemed councillors decided?”
Lord Ravenstock’s eyebrows rose briefly. His face became an expressionless mask as he related the decision of the Council of Five.
“It has been six turns since the death of your father, King Henry. The Council has decided that the Prince Ruler must select a woman to be his Lady Consort or they will be obliged to select a suitable woman on your behalf.”
The Prince snorted. “They have already given me a list of women they deem suitable.”
About the Author:Born in Saskatchewan, Betty has lived in several areas across Canada, from Ottawa to Vancouver Island while growing up. Her fondest memory as a child is of her father building a tent trailer and her mother sewing yards and yards of canvas for the tent. The family travelled across Canada and down the eastern seaboard of the United States for several summer vacations.
Betty worked as a drawing office assistant in Oxford, England, for almost two years before returning to Canada to work as a topographical clerk in Edmonton, Alberta. She pursued a BSc. in Agriculture with a major in Horticulture from the University of Alberta. While raising her children, Betty worked as an Office Manager for a non-profit society and took writing courses at night school and from the Institute of Children's Literature, Connecticut.
The garden has always been a source of inspiration and joy for Betty, as are all the beloved cats and dogs who have walked into her life. Betty believes stories are the foundation of our life. The stories we enjoy, the stories we tell ourselves, our children and others, reflect how we view the world around us. She enjoys writing fantasy for the youth genre because she feels there is still so much of the wonder of life, and the attitude that anything is possible, from this age group.
Greystone is her first novel. She is currently working on the sequel, Greystone: A New Beginning.
Free to read on KU: https://www.amazon.com/Greystone-B-L-Ryan-ebook/dp/B0CQK3HB8R/ref=sr_1_1
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March 18, 2024
Blog Tour: CRIMELINE HOLLYWOOD by Thomas Collins
Comic Mystery / Thriller / Humor
Date Published: December 28, 2023
Publisher: Mindstir Media
Whoever thought an astrologer's life could be so dangerous? Especially when you're "Hollywood's Astrologer to the Stars." Yet he once crawled out on a 20-story beam to talk down a suicidal celebrity. And when he gave a Vegas casino owner a costly piece of advice, he found himself the target of a hitman.
Fortunately he escaped only to face another crisis: the kidnapping of Sparklynn James, his most famous client. After the Feds falter on the case, the family asks him to assist Rebecca Fairway, a publicity-seeking P.I. (a.k.a. "The Glamorous Gumshoe) to find her. Not exactly the A Team.
But a coded ransom message from Sparklynn herself points them in the right direction...leading them straight into a web of corporate evil.
***
Chapter 1
Looking back, I suppose you could say I got to NorthCarolina by way of the Hollywood Freeway. Actually, it was all Nigel’s fault.He’s the one who told me to use the Alvarado entrance, which proved a perfectlocation to spy on cars entering this famous roadway.
Nigel was the GPS guide on my mother’s beloved Lincoln TownCar, and just for old times’ sake, I used him instead of my iPhone forguidance. But because of him, I nearly got my temporal and parietal lobesparted by a bullet. Muscle control and memory are governed by these regions, soit’s not something to take lightly.
My mother liked Nigel for his “refined” delivery. And,indeed, he seemed a prince of a fellow—charming, urbane, and of course, veryproper. I imagined him ensconced in a large wingback, clad in a silk smokingjacket and ascot.
“Proceed seven miles to U.S. Highway 101,” he said as Ieased into the flow of traffic. “Smashing idea, Nigel,” I said. “We’ll give ita go.” And just like that the die was cast and, my future was determined bythis little Brit deep inside the dashboard .
The car had served my mom well for years, but now she wasliving in a retirement home, and I finally persuaded her to sell her beloved“Black Beauty” as she called it.
“You will be careful with it, won’t you?” she said.
“Mom…”
“You know what I mean, son.”
Unfortunately, I did: my atrocious driving record as a teen.Before the age of nineteen, I’d managed to mangle, maul or completely totalthree cars, including a rental. But that was years ago. Today I was aresponsible adult, a preferred risk according to my insurance company. I wasperfectly capable of driving Black Beauty the twenty-six miles to a car auctionwhere collectors would get the chance to bid on one of the largest cars in theFree World—the only one with a Rolls Royce-style grill.
So, there I was, tooling down the Hollywood Freeway,enjoying a pleasant fall morning, not particularly aware of the 4Runner thatwas lurking behind me since Alvarado. Suddenly there was a sharp, poppingsound, or maybe a crack. About the same time, I noticed a funny little hole inthe dashboard, perfectly round with a curl of smoke rising out of it.
Holy shit, someone was shooting at me!
Probably a crazy sniper or one of those homegrown terroristsI’m always reading about. I sped into the thickening traffic of the downtownarea, hoping to get out of his range. After several miles I began to feel safe,but when I glanced at my side mirror, there it was again. Worse yet, I spotteda familiar face poking out of the passenger window and my blood froze. Carmine!That bullet wasn’t random. It was meant just for me.
Several months earlier I provided casino owner Milo Karpwith a bad piece of astrological advice, and he apparently took it personally.I gave a thumbs-up on his newest property but not without considerable concern.For one thing, Milo was a Scorpio, and as I tried to explain to him, shithappens to Scorpios this time of year. It’s a period of volatility, thanks to anew moon plus some Mercury-Venus friction. But Milo is a skilled businessmanwith years of experience battling unions, contractors, sub-contractors, andagents. Me? I was just an astrologer.
Well, not just any astrologer. I was, after all, lastmonth’s six across on People magazine’s crossword with the clue “Hollywood’sastrologer for the stars.” I had big name clients like Sparklynn James, one ofthe most talented performers of our generation, and whose career I helped tolaunch. There was also the hulking Rowdy Gold of Too Tough To Kill fame and TVstar Quinella Cardwell, a surgically fortified beauty. Also Mister Pister, arespectable rapper, if there is such a thing.
I knew Milo because Vegas casinos bring in a lot ofHollywood talent to do shows and he eventually became one of my clients. He wasdifficult at times with a bad temper, but I never thought he would send someoneto hunt me down on the freeway like a gazelle on the Serengeti Plains. But huntme he did. Carmine was his strongman and the driver a young guy, an apprenticethug perhaps, and their mission seemed clear.
Death was riding on my rear bumper.
I wondered about the odds of an old parade float outrunninga nimble 4Runner? The SUV could corner on a dime. The Lincoln required bigbills and made you wait for the change. In this kind of situation, it waslittle more than a rolling coffin. Icy terror shot through my veins.
Whap! A second bullet slammed through the car,catching the top of the passenger window. Another hole, perfectly round. Ipressed hard on the accelerator and the 460-cubic-inch engine responded. Thepride of Detroit wouldn’t go down without a fight. Constructed of real,honest-to-God metal and chrome, it was practically an armored panzer. At leastI had that in my favor.
But the freeway, or “the 405” as locals called it, provedtoo confining. Ordinary streets would offer me more maneuverability, so I putmy left blinker on (as if hit men really pay attention to that sort of thing).Then I swerved right, allowing me to shoot off one of the exits, completelyconfusing Nigel. But not Carmine. He kept behind me, tucked in between a Beemerand a Saab convertible, holding steady.
“Recalculating.”
“Yeah, you do that, Nigel. Get us out of this mess!”
I hung a right at the end of the ramp, spotted some openroad and let the big engine do its thing. I continued with a series of randomturns with no idea where I was going.
“Left turn and continue one point five miles onto Whitmire.”
“Not now, Nigel,” I snapped.
Up ahead, a large delivery truck lumbered toward me in lowgear. Carefully timing my speed, I skidded onto a side street. I’d seen SteveMcQueen pull a similar move in Bullitt. The only problem was, when I did it,only about two-thirds of the Lincoln made it. The remaining third hopped thecurb and took out a mailbox.
Nonetheless, the move allowed me to gain some distance frommy pursuer. I took a hard left at the next crossing, this time throwing the carinto a terrifying slide. Centrifugal force took control of the car until it hita stubborn no-parking sign. The wheels continued to spin, shooting out gravelbefore finally catching and rocketing the car forward.
I didn’t seem to be in control of this metal beast. Thebeast was controlling me.
I zipped around the corner of the next street, again jumpingthe sidewalk and sending pedestrians scurrying for their lives. I whipped thecar back and heard a loud snap as a light pole clipped the mirror on thepassenger side, leaving an ugly tangle of wires.
Nigel, meanwhile, continued to spit out conflictinginstructions: “Stay on Arcadia for one point three miles. Turn right onLaSalle. Recalculating.”
“Shut the hell up, Nigel!” I shouted.
“Turn left in one half mile onto Anzarro,” he said, totallyignoring me.
I veered onto a grimy sidewalk, pushing through a row ofmetal newspaper stands. Copies of free tabloids flew across my windshield likea flock of birds.
Still the 4Runner kept behind me.
Ahead I spotted something orange, a sawhorse with trafficcones next to it, blocking off the street ahead. Decision time. What wouldSteve McQueen have done? I gritted my teeth and ploughed through it in a blazeof construction orange.
So much for the Rolls Royce-style grill.
The SUV followed in my wake, flattening whatever was left.All I could do now was to snake through the inner city, hoping for some kind ofmiracle. Nigel, meanwhile, was strangely silent, perhaps from the violentcontact with the barricade. From the corner of my eye, I noticed severalalleyways. They were narrow, but just wide enough for one auto.
I picked one and turned into it. Carmine’s driver did thesame. More gunshots and more panic. If a bullet hit a tire, I could careen outof control and crash. If one hit the gas tank, it would probably explode. Andif it struck the back of my skull…well, that would explode too, and I would diein a Lincoln limo. Just like Kennedy.
A large intersection loomed ahead. The corner of Life andDeath where Destiny crosses Fate. A stoplight hung there, and you can probablyguess what color it was. A city bus lumbered toward the intersection, giving meone last, insane chance. I jammed hard on the gas pedal and the giant engineresponded with every horse still available. I flew across the intersectionamidst a chorus of honks, clearing the bus by inches.
Then, vehicular chaos.
In my rearview mirror, I watched the bus sideswipe the SUVand hit the brakes, setting off a string of other collisions. All of thisseemed to take place in a second. Later I learned the bus catapulted the SUVthrough the front window of a muffler shop. The cars behind it couldn’t brakein time and piled one by one into each other, accordion style.
Meanwhile I kept driving straight ahead. All I wanted to dowas put as much real estate as possible between the Lincoln and the crash site.The terrible cracking sound kept reverberating through my head along with thehorrifying crunch of metal meeting metal.
After traveling several miles through normal traffic, Ibegan to feel a little safer. That’s not to say all the panic was gone. So farthis morning I managed to outrun a pair of hit men, dodge a half dozen bullets,race through some of meanest streets of L.A. and barely escape death. Yet atsome point I would face the most daunting challenge of all.
Explaining to Mom what I’d done to her Black Beauty
About the Author
Thomas Collins wrote his first book, The Adventures of Tom and Rom, at the age of ten. (Now out of print) As an adult he gained valuable knowledge of the inner workings of big business as corporate communications director for a Fortune 500 company. Crimeline Hollywood is his first mystery though not his last, especially since the hitman from Crimeline is still on the loose. Like his hero, Dash Harwood, he is an Aquarian who likes to think outside the box… once he cuts through all the packaging.
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Blog Tour: IN ALL THINGS by Dr. John Neufeld
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotins. The author will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
The issue of control is a central question of life. At work, in family, community clubs and schools, with the economy or international politics, the question is, "Is anyone in charge here?" Dr. John Neufeld demonstrates the Bible teaching of God's providence. We are assured that God's Hand is upon everything and everyone, without exception. Dr. John explores God's sustaining grip through the natural world and human endeavor, in pivotal matters or the seemingly trivial, the things we welcome and those we shun. He teaches the impact of God's sovereign rule upon our hearts, minds, work, worship, homes, and nation. We can live in the confidence that God is unfolding His purpose for time and eternity.
What people are saying about Dr. John Neufeld's teaching:
"This is such an important message for us today. Thank you, Dr. John, for your encouragement to view what is presently concerning us in the world from the perspective of God and His providence. That should take a huge weight off our shoulders!"
Read an Excerpt
Jesus controls the atoms that make up your body, the ground under your feet, the air you breathe, the world upon which you stand and the universe in which you live. All of it is held together and directed by the Son of God. Furthermore, if Jesus were not constantly, moment by moment, sustaining all these things, the forces that hold the atoms in place would fly apart and all things would cease to be. Everything that exists—past, present and future—does so by His will and permission. Everything that goes on does so under His direction. That’s what we mean when we talk about meticulous sovereignty.
About the Author:Dr. John Neufeld, Bible teacher of Back to the Bible Canada, is well known both nationally and internationally for his excellence in expositional Bible teaching. Dr. Neufeld is passionate about bringing the truth of God's Word to life across Canada and beyond.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BacktotheBibleCanada
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BTTBCanada
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/BTTBC
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/backtothebible.ca
Website: http://www.backtothebible.ca
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/All-Things-Gods-Providence-ebook/dp/B0CP8J2Y77/ref=sr_1_1
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March 16, 2024
Review: DON’T LET SISTER-IN-LAW BE SAD Vol 2 (erotic manga)
A man’s sister-in-law offers tohelp him out in the bookstore. Perhaps he could help himself to something else.In this case, the touch was an accident, but good. So good! At last, he getsher in the bookstore. Oh yeah! So hot and sexy!
But how can you be in love withyour brother’s wife?
A good, hot read!
Rating:4 stars
Review: THE YOUNGER WOMAN’S FORBIDDEN LOVE by Jess Winters
An 18-year-old virgin was finallygoing to get what she’s been craving from her much older boss: a hot romp.After a fancy wine n’ dine, she gets it. And she gets it good!
A sweet and sexy short story!
Rating:4 stars
Review: THE ONLY GUY IN THE CYCLING CLUB (erotic manga)
To get close to the girl of hisdreams, a young man joins the cycling club. The bike rides can be treacherous.A fall leads to injury and injury leads to a massage—a very erotic massage.Suddenly, the man gets a different kind of ride.
Very sexy! Loved the funny,awkward scene with the bicycle spandex. A good read!
Rating:4 stars
Review: IOWA INTELLECT by Ann Omasta and Callie Love
A pro hockey player and the teamdoctor. What happens when tending to injuries turns to tending to other urges?But the good doctor wouldn’t hear of crossing that line no matter how bad shewanted to. Besides, there’s no way the big, sporty jock would be interested ina shy, mousy bookworm. One night of passion may prove her wrong.
Will a life-altering injury getthem to see what’s really important?
A sweet and sexy story!
Rating:4 stars
Review: ROMANCE QUICKIES #17 by Monique DuBois
Twin sisters Ashley and Allie arenot speaking to each other over the truth about this guy. On her own tonight,Allie takes an Uber and develops a genuine connection with the handsome driverthat went beyond the bet. She really did like this guy—this normal guy. AndAllie wanted normal.
Matt has always been a one-womanguy. How would he feel when he finds out about Allie’s history with men? Mattjust seemed perfect for her. And their sexual chemistry…WOW!
But a fun, unforgettable night maysour when an ex-fiancé shows up.
Full of drama, suspense, and sweetromance. A great read!
Rating:5 stars
Review: ROMANCE QUICKIES #18 by Monique DuBois
Attorney Nicole was in a bind. Shewas in love with her client, who decided to hire a fellow attorney whom she hada one-night stand with. To top it off, she was being sued by another attorneyshe had sex with. Oh dear! Things were bad and were getting worse with theex-wife and the attorney plotting revenge against her. With how bad thingswere, there was one good: the man she was falling in love with. Man, doeseverything fall apart in the end.
Sweet and dramatic. Loved it!
Rating:5 stars
Review: ROMANCE QUICKIES #16 by Monique DuBois
After her sex tape went viral,Shae was trying to do some damage control. Or she would if her agent would gethis head in the game instead of ignoring her. What starts off as a bad businessmeeting quickly turns to a quarterback’s proposal to whisk her away to aromantic getaway.
It’s Shae vs. the Alpha. Somethingwas clearly off about the scary football player. What was his problem? And howcould Shae escape a boat in the middle of the water? Wow, what an excitingscene in the end! Talk about good action! Happy with the way things turned out.So exciting!
Rating:5 stars
