Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 77
February 29, 2024
Blog Tour: RED PLANET LANCERS by Brian H. Roberts
RED PLANET LANCERS
by Brian H. Roberts
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GENRE: Science Fiction Thriller
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BLURB:
Howfar will you go to save a friend?
Aftersweeping Dallas Gordon and the American base from Earth’s moon, Emperor ZhangAiguo launches an armada to conquer Ep City and control Mars.
RuthlessColonel Song Dajing leads his Emperor’s flotilla to defeat EPSILON’s isolatedMars colony. He brings the same armaments he used to defeat Dallas Gordon onthe moon, plus a high yield missile to annihilate Ep City and its occupants.The US Space Force, occupied with plans to take back the moon, refuses tointervene.
Ina race against time, Dallas Gordon must organize a mercenary squadron andpursue Song before he can deploy his weapons on the defenseless colony. Ep Citycommander Genady Antonov must prepare his civilian workforce for the cominginvasion and plan for the unthinkable should Gordon fail to reach Mars beforeSong does.
Taughtand fast-paced, Red Planet Lancers builds tension until the exciting climax.Once you start this Earth-to-Mars rocket ride, you won’t want to stop. Orderyour copy today!
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ExcerptThree:
As the squadron squeezed in on the rovers, a dense cloud ofdust erupted, obscuring the wheeled transports from view.
Dallas said, “The rovers are using rotating brushes. PangXianjing used them to erase his tracks. Song is using them to generate a dustscreen.
“Fire into the cloud,” barked the exasperated commander.
As they did, rovers nosed out of the dense screen. An orangeglow announced missile launches. The transports backed into the cloud.Brilliant green beams lanced across the distance, but to no effect.
“Missiles away!” shouted Dallas. Streaks of orange leapt inall directions. The ASSETs’ AI briefly disengaged from their primary targetsand attacked any missiles within their thirty-degree field of fire. Missilesthat escaped, suddenly veered toward the nearest Water Bug.
The hair on Dallas’s neck stood on end. “Evasive, evasive!”he screamed. He jerked his Bug up and away from two missiles, barelymaintaining control.
Six klicks away, Sake’ rolled her Bug just as a missilestreaked by. The rocket’s scream was deafening as it passed. She turned and theprojectile disappeared in a green flash.
Her echelon was not so lucky. Both Dusty and Big Seal tookdirect hits before they could react. “Big Seal!” shouted the wing leader. “He’shit!”
“NO, NO, NO!” Dallas tracked the smoking ruin of theNavajo’s water Bug as it tumbled to the ground, raising a rusty cloud of duston impact.
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What was the mostchallenging thing about writing this book and how did you overcome it?
I’m a plotter. When I writea book, I don’t just sit down at my keyboard and bang away. I like to buildthings from the bottom up. I use an excel workbook to detail the backstory formy main characters and outline the plot, determining what happens when. Once Isit down, I know what each chapter will contain, making the writing effortless.
Red Planet Lancers has anumber of plot lines, each weaving through the others, coming to theirconclusions at the end. Normally it takes me about a month to flesh out mycharacters and lay out the plot. But I had a number of plotlines that weredead-ending for me. For the first time in my career, I experienced writer’sblock. Or more accurately, plotter’s block.
The months began to tickby—two, three, four. I was getting frustrated. Then one night I woke up at 3AM. Seeing the entire book in my mind’s eye, I rushed out to my desk—afterputting some clothes on, it’s cold in Central Oregon in January—grabbed a stackof scratch paper and started writing down my thoughts. I ended up with aboutfive pages of hand-written notes. When I dotted my last “i” and crossed my last“t”, I headed back to bed. It was the best I’d slept in weeks.
The next day I typed mynotes into my outline. After that the writing flowed. My characters faced asuperior adversary, fell in love, squabbled, problem-solved and betrayed oneanother. How did it end? You’ll have to read Red Planet Lancers to find out!
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
In his first life, BRIAN H. ROBERTS worked asa contractor and civil engineer in bustling Seattle. In his spare time he readnovels by the greatest names in science fiction: Andy Weir, Frank Herbert,Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and so many others. As he readthese authors’ works, he was inspired to write Sci-Fi Thrillers to engage andentertain readers like him.
As with so many of us, life intervened. Raising afamily, work, remarriage and finally retirement all placed demands on his time.Desiring a change – and time to write – he and his wife traded big city lifefor the outdoor adventures of Central Oregon. His writing draws deeply on hislifelong loves of science/technology and adventure sports. The EPSILON Sci-FiThrillers is Brian’s first series.
Subscribe to Brian H. Roberts's newsletter – Just Over theHorizon - for regular updates including preorders, new releases, sales, coverreveals, giveaways, and more! https://brianhroberts.com/sign-up
Follow him on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/bhrauthor/
Follow him on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-h-roberts-792b15212/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/RED-PLANET-LANCERS-EPSILON-Thriller-ebook/dp/B0CQTJ848W/ref=sr_1_1
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GIVEAWAY
BrianH. Roberts will award a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
February 28, 2024
Blog Tour: THE SOPHIA FREEMAN series by T.X. Troan
THE SOPHIA FREEMAN SERIES
by T.X. Troan
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GENRE: Middle-Grade Fantasy Mystery
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BLURB:
Whatbegins as a special trip for eleven-year-old SOPHIA FREEMAN and her billionairefather, leaves her trapped on a mysterious island with a tree boy and otherfantastical creatures.
Themoment Sophia thinks her situation can’t get any crazier, she is shocked tolearn the island is under a deadly eternal curse. All living things are rapidlydecaying and soon nothing and no one—including herself—will be left alive.
Fromcompeting in a three-round yearly held competition to reviving a long-lostmagical spell, Sophia and her new companions must gather every ounce ofcourage, wit and skill as they are stepping closer to breaking the 150-year-oldcurse. But will they make it in time while surrounded by enemies and traitorsaiming to stop them at any cost?
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Excerpt from Book One:
“So, what’s onyour agenda today, my dear?” Grandma asked.
“Dad and I aregoing to explore his new island after this,” she replied, sitting on the edgeof her seat.
“Oh, yes, yourfather told me about that on the phone last night,” said Grandpa, then gaveSophia a serious look. “My girl, do you know why all the previous ownersvanished?”
Sophia shookher head slightly, but kept watching him without blinking.
“Rumors say theplace possesses some sort of magical energy. As dusk arrives, the island comesto life: boulders begin to quake, monstrous trees uproot themselves, andmysterious creatures crawl out of their homes. They will do
anything toprotect their island … especially from humans.”
Sophia’s eyeswidened and her hands began to sweat.
“Joe, that’senough!” Dad ordered. “You’re scaring her.”
“That was verymean of you, Joe,” Grandma added.
Grandpachuckled. “Well, it looks like I haven’t loss my touch. You’re still thatinnocent girl that I used to know.”
Sophia sighedwith relief. He must have been teasing.
When she was alot younger, Grandpa used to tell her ghost stories and it would frighten herevery time. The all-time best story was about an invisible spirit that watchesus from behind since the day we were born. It would one day transfer our soulto a magical place when
we are ready togo. 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 stayedwith him that whole night and never let him out of her sight.
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What was your greatest challenge inwriting this series and how did you overcome it?
I havealways been an illustrator/graphic designer (and always will be), but at onepoint I realized that my artwork alone can never tell a full story. In 2013, Ihave decided to become an author and worked on a story that followed me foryears.
Mygreatest challenge on this journey was actually writing itself. From finding mywriting style to getting used to all the rules, it was a huge learning curvefor me. To overcome it, I had to read books—and most importantly, I have a verystrong and picky editor, who was not afraid to tear my manuscripts apart to takethe stories to the next level (very grateful for that). I learnt so much fromher!
Afterfive years of patience and hard work, my first middle-grade fantasy novel, SophiaFreeman and the Mysterious Fountain, was finally published and had won fewawards from multiple categories.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Thuan Doan is an award-winning author of the Sophia Freemanseries. He conceived his first middle-grade fantasy novel, Sophia Freeman andthe Mysterious Fountain, during a trip to Gabriola Island, British Columbia inthe summer of 2013. Then he took his work and settled in a small town ofEnderby, where it’s peaceful and quiet.
Thuan is writing under a pen name of T.X. Troan. “X” stands forXu, his grandmother’s name who passed away. And “Troan” is a combination of hisparents' names.
“No matter how this turns out, I want my family to be a part ofthis wonderful journey.”
T.X. Troan married Sarah, his original fan and longtime love, in2016. They live in Enderby with their pack dogs!
Book Links:
Author Website: www.txtroan.com
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B5M559C1
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/t.x.%20troan
BookShop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/sophia-freeman-and-the-mysterious-fountain-book-1-t-x-troan/9222735
Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TXTroan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/txtroan/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18815756.T_X_Troan
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GIVEAWAY
T.X.Troan will award a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveawayFebruary 27, 2024
Blog Tour: OUR LIVES IN BETWEEN by Billie Kowalewski
OUR LIVES IN BETWEEN
by Billie Kowalewski
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GENRE: Young Adult Fantasy
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BLURB:
Ithad been five years since the accident that derailed Veronica’s life, whichleft her suffering from a strange flu-like illness ever since. Thanks to abarrier set in her mind at birth, she can’t remember her name is Harmony andthat this is not her real life. She has no memory of the many lives she hadlived before this one and how several of those lives had been cut short. Howshe must uncover the reason why those lives had ended so early, and how thismoment may hold the key, or she risks losing herself and Earth forever.
AsHarmony, she wants to uncover the reason why her lives keep ending so soon. AsVeronica, she wonders how much longer she has to live like this? What couldpossibly be left for her? Little did she know, she was about to get heranswers...
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Excerpt One:
My world isyour world—only you can’t remember any of it. A barrier exists between what youthink is real and what you know to be. It had been put in place during thetransition into the world you currently know and will be removed upon yourreturn.
In other words,this is not your real life.
My name isHarmony, and I am going to let you in on a little secret. I am a student at thebiggest, most famous school ever known. And so are you! It’s called Earth.
Yep. Earth is aschool. Are you shocked? If you are, it’s okay. That is the most common andexpected reaction to this news. I will give you a moment to let that sink in…
Just kidding!Based on the fact you’ve chosen to read this; I am going to bet that you’re alot like me. You’re probably fine, and not shocked by this at all. If you do,however, find this news to be at all surprising, perhaps it would be best ifyou stopped here. This story may not be for everyone, and I am not looking toupset anyone’s beliefs. Our extreme diversity is an important part of whatmakes us who we are. So, this may be where we will agree to disagree andpossibly part ways. Hopefully as friends.
For everyoneelse, I will move on.
Yes, life isabout learning, and Earth is our school. I’m sure you have heard someone onEarth say this before. I know when I am there, I hear this often. Some peopleknow, but it’s not because they remember it is. They know because people cannotget through a single day there without learning something, somehow. On Earth,learning is unavoidable.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Billie Kowalewski grew up in a small town along the Connecticutshoreline. She’s always had a wild imagination and spent her childhood dreamingup stories. This would often lead her to the library or whatever bookstorewhere she would be combing the shelves for books that closely resembled whatwas in her head at the time. A lot of the time she would come close and wouldbe satisfied with what she found. However, there was always this one story shecould never find. It was in 2010 that she decided to write it herself. Inwhatever spare time she has left, she enjoys listening to pretty much anythingthat rocks, like 80's hair bands, metal, etc. She also has a gift for findingthe strangest movies and shows ever (according to her children) and lovesspending time with her family.
Links to Our Lives In Between:
iTunes: http://books.apple.com/us/book/id1212458275
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/our-lives-in-between
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1143953733?ean=9781535604505
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=WMrREAAAQBAJ
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CG3PFJKD
My Socials:
https://www.billiekowalewski.com
https://www.instagram.com/kowalewskibillie
https://www.youtube.com/@billiekowalewski9288
https://www.facebook.com/authorbilliek
https://www.facebook.com/enlightenedbookofficialpage
https://www.twitter.com/enlightened31
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/billie-kowalewski
https://www.goodreads.com/harmony31
https://www.tiktok.com/@billiekowalewski3
Buy the book for only $0.99 on Amazon.
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GIVEAWAY
Onerandomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $25 Amazon/BN.com gift card.
a Rafflecopter giveawayFebruary 24, 2024
Review: ROMANCE QUICKIES #8 by Monique Dubois
An ESL teacher in desperate needof a new place to live aims to seduce her French student. Do Frenchmen reallymake excellent lovers? Well, Brooke was about to find out. The only problemwith the French guy was his lame butchering of the English language, which, nodoubt, killed the mood a bit. She’d have to find a way to keep him fromspeaking too much. Well, no problem there.
But Frenchmen don’t have one-nightstands; they fall in love. That could be a problem for the playgirl Brooke. Butthat wasn’t the shocking revelation of this close encounter.
Oooh, a great read with tensionand loads of action!
Rating:5 stars
Review: ROMANCE QUICKIES #7 by Monique Dubois
How could overworked Ella possiblycompete with the rest of her promiscuous friends on who can sleep with the mostguys? After all, she spends all her time at the bakery? Perhaps a hotconstruction worker can take her to the top…literally? A good quickie!
Rating:4 stars
Review: ROMANCE QUICKIES #9 by Monique Dubois
Malia just had awesome sex at thepark. Then the cops showing up could ruin everything for her and her lover.Crushed at never capturing the heart of the ex-con, Malia aimed to win the betto give money to him to rebuild his life.
Her 2nd quickie was seton her sexy, new neighbor, who had a dangerous side. How about a lesson in painand pleasure? Things were going great until the guy gets too scary andcontrolling. Did he just threaten her? Oh no!
Wow, what a mysterious ending! Agreat story with sex and drama.
Rating:5 stars
Review: CHEER UP by Crystal Frasier
The best test scores, but no extracurricular activities. But you don’t need to throw a ball to get a computer science degree. If only Annie got along better with people. Hey, what about cheerleading? Cue the stunned expressions, which I loved.
Turns out that Annie was pretty good with the flips, but the other girls hated her for it. Could she get her own cheerleader in the form of a trans-person?
The cheerleaders were full of drama. At times, it was a little chaotic, but I liked the friendship that develops. Some of the text was hard to read and some of the dialogue was too trivial. But I liked the illustrations and the genuine story of friendship.
A decent read.
Rating: 3 stars
Review: ELLERY’S MAGIC BICYCLE by Maria Monte
This was a sweet story of Ellenand a bicycle. Basically, it relays the growing adventures of a girl and abike. Of course, there really wasn’t anything magical about this bike. It wasall sentimental, which was sweet.
But the circle of life continues.As we grow older into adulthood, it’s, unfortunately, when we begin to forgetabout treasured objects.
The illustrations were so vibrantand colorful—reminiscent of the adorable classic doodles of Matilda.
A nice,heartfelt story!
Rating: 4 stars
Review: BREAK by Kayla Miller
It’s Spring Break and the wholeclass has plans. Except Olive was stuck spending the week with her estrangeddad. Perhaps a new smartphone from her parents will bring a smile to her face.Although she tries, she doesn’t really have a good time as she’s so mad at herdad for leaving. Of course, she spends a lot of time on her new phone. Can shelearn to forgive her dad so that she can salvage her Spring Break?
The graphics were cute andcolorful, but some of the text was too small and hard to read.
It’s a pretty good read.
Rating:3 stars
February 23, 2024
Blog Tour: MALEVOLENCE: THE CURSE OF CARTER'S GROVE by Robert Hazelton
Discover the enigmatic secrets of Carter's Grove, a seeminglyordinary logging town that harbors extraordinary mysteries.
Malevolence: The Curse of Carter’s Grove
The Curse ofCarter’s Grove Book 1
by Robert Hazelton
Genre: ParanormalHorror
Discover the enigmatic secrets of Carter's Grove, a seeminglyordinary logging town that harbors extraordinary mysteries.
GabrielCarter arrives to attend the funeral of his estranged father. He leftas a child, though the call of home has always piqued hiscuriosity.
Special Agent Teagan Walsh arrives to assistthe local police in unraveling a perplexing murder investigation thathas left the town in turmoil. But Carter's Grove has many darksecrets, and she's only scratched the surface.
Meanwhile,Joe "Spontaneous" Santino seeks to uncover the truth behindthe small town horrors. Armed with a successful ghost hunting YouTubechannel, he fully intends to unearth mysteries better left alone.
Asthe Curse of Carter's Grove takes hold, these visitors will findtheir lives changed forever.
Join us on this journey ofsuspense, intrigue, and revelation, where the boundaries between theordinary and the extraordinary blur, and the destinies of theseindividuals intertwine in ways they could never have imagined.
**Getit for Only .99cents!!**
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Cassivale took my breath away from afar. The splendor changedwhen we started up the drive, leading to a dilapidated fountain forming aroundabout. A statue of a cavalryman took up the center of the fixture, aheroic figure holding up a saber over his head with the steed rearing in aclassical pose.
Iassumed the water normally came from the beast’s mouth though it clearly hadn’tproduced anything but mold and moss for several years. The murky water took ona green hue, the stonework cracked and brutalized by Pacific Northwest storms.Despite the fact it stood more than twenty feet tall, it seemed diminished.Diminutive even.
Thefact I could not remember it at all bothered me. I wanted to have some visionof it in full glory. Sun beaming down from behind the head of the horseman,water cascading out into the crystal clear pool. As we drove around it, Idoubted it had been cleaned since long before I was born.
Maybemy parents kept me away from the thing.
Thefront of the estate loomed over us nearly four stories. A flight of wide stairsled up to a porch stretching around the house with Greek style pillars holdingit up. Those looked sturdy enough, though time definitely had a go at them.Cracks in the wood were apparent long before I got out of the car.
Rodneystopped directly beside the steps. I hopped out, taking the full brunt of astiff breeze from the left. I drew my coat tight about me, taking a moment tolook over the arched windows dotting the surface of Cassivale, some lit whileothers remained dark. Like the upper stories, none of them appeared to bebroken, which surprised me.
Consideringthe state of the fountain at least.
Thehouse boasted twenty-five bedrooms. It sprawled to the left and right, at leasta block in each direction. How had I been allowed to roam freely through thosehalls as a child? Getting lost in the labyrinthine corridors, the secretpassages and dusty spaces no longer occupied.
Itseemed like a fantastic dream.
RobertHazelton has been writing short fiction, novels and music his entirelife. As the founding member of Deadly Nightshade Botanical Societyand a long time member of the band Abney Park, he has traveledextensively and performed countless shows in exotic locales.
Robert writes in a variety of genres but keeps drifting back tomodern fantasy/horror. He considers Elizabeth Moon, Frank Herbert,and Steven Pressfield to be his biggest influences.
Website* Facebook *Instagram* Bookbub* Amazon* Goodreads
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