K.C. Sprayberry's Blog, page 183

Spotlight: A Pride of Lions by Mark Iles

Today on Out of Control Characters, we welcome fellow Solstice Publishing author, Mark Iles. He's talking about his latest release, A Pride of Lions, and how you can get it free.



Mark works for Southampton University, and also as a freelance writer. His short stories have been published in Back Brain Recluse, Dream, New Moon, Auguries, Haunts, Kalkion, Screaming Dreams, and the anthologies Right To Fight, Escape Velocity and Monk Punk. With an 8th Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo he’s also written non-fiction for Combat, Taekwondo & Korean Martial Arts, Fighters, Junk, Martial Arts Illustrated, profwritingacademy.com and calmzone.net.



His first full length work was ‘Kwak’s Competition Taekwondo’, and he also has a short story collection entitled ‘Distant Shores’. ‘A Pride of Lions’ is the first in ‘The Darkening Stars’ series. Having written features and fiction for over 30 years Mark applied to do an MA in Professional Writing. ‘Pride’ had been bouncing around in his head for some time, and he seized the opportunity of the MA to produce this first novel as part of the course. Mark says it’s without doubt the best choice he’s ever made, as it really focused him, and that getting this novel accepted is the perfect conclusion to a wonderful experience. He’s now focusing on the second book in this series, ‘The Cull of Lions’.



A Pride of Lions will be offered free on Amazon Saturday, August 31, 2013 and Sunday September 1, 2013.
Get your copy of A Pride of Lions here:
Amazon: A Pride of Lions 


Blurb:When Selena Dillon is caught in an assassination attempt on her planets ruler, she finds herself sentenced to 25 years servitude in mankind’s most feared military force, the Penal Regiments. Much to her surprise she enjoys the harsh military life and is quickly selected for officer training.But something’s wrong, worlds are falling silent. There’s no cry for help and no warning, just a sudden eerie silence. When a flotilla of ships is despatched to investigate they exit hyperspace to find themselves facing a massive alien armada. Outnumbered and outgunned the flotilla fight a rearguard action, allowing one of their number to slip away and warn mankind.As worlds fall in battle, and man’s fleets are decimated, Selena is selected to lead a team of the Penal Regiments most battle-hardened veterans, in a last ditch attempt to destroy the aliens’ home world. If she fails then mankind is doomed. But little does Selena know what fate has in store for her, that one of her crew is a psychopathic killer and a second the husband of one of his victims.Can she hold her team together, get them to their target and succeed in the attack? Selena knows that if she fails then there will be nothing at all left to go home to.

Excerpt:Mornings and late afternoons found them on strenuous physical training; which consisted of constant grid-sprints in the drill square with press-ups, sit-ups, burpees and V-sits. The trainees were made to run carrying other team members on their backs, huge wooden poles, or even stretchers with people or weights on them. They shimmied over canyons on single ropes and were taught to roll off the ropes and hang there by their hands, swinging back and forth, until they were told to regain their places and continue on. Once a troublesome recruit, too exhausted to get back on the ropes, simply hung there by his finger tips. The instructors took bets on how long he’d last and stood watching, laughing to themselves, until he could hold on no longer and disappeared with a long echoing scream into the shadowy depths of the canyon. Some days, they were fitted with harnesses and long ropes, that were then attached to vehicles which they had to drag until they couldn’t go on any further and collapsed into the dust while someone else took up their burdens and they were kicked to one side.The corporals constantly screamed and shouted at them, running back and forth between their ranks and reporting to the short and stocky, bulldog-like sergeant, who paced back and forth, eying them as though they were his next meal.Sometimes they just ran for what seemed like the hell of it, the distances gradually increasing, with Grunty and Bones driving them mercilessly and beating them with their batons if they slowed. They leapt over frightening drops to paths on the other side, over raging torrents that splashed constantly, making the places they landed slippery and treacherous, but to Selena’s surprise no one came to grief there. After lunch they usually had weapon handling, unarmed combat or basic infantry theory and tactics. Each day invariably ended on one of the numerous assault courses followed by a long-distance run, more often than not with fully loaded backpacks and weapons. They were beasted and shouted at, driven mercilessly, until they no longer thought about what they did but simply did it like automatons. They got slimmer, fitter, quicker at all they did and found their disappearing fat turning to muscle. After the first week, six had dropped out and had taken advantage of the alleged free tickets on offer to the mineral mines. There was much discussion on whether they actually got there or not, or whether they were simply spaced. But there was no evidence of this, it was simply rumour and they all knew better than to ask. One of their troop died of a heart attack. The instructors could have saved him but instead they just left him there to die in the frosted roadside. After all, Grunty said, what was the point? He might have been lucky enough to be sent to the mines, but it was unlikely he’d be any good there either – so it was more likely the death chamber for him. Whichever way you looked at it, he’d had it, and it was less hassle for everyone this way. He was dead, gone and forgotten. Another trainee had been left where he fell during a run, unconscious on the cold ice-covered ground. When they finished and gathered what little remaining strength they had, they went back for him, but his still and ice-dusted body said it all. Between them they carried their dead to the citadel’s furnace and threw them in without a word, slamming the heavy doors and watching through viewports as their friends were consumed by the flames. It was like looking into the very depths of Hell.
Here’s where you can find Mark on the web:
WebsiteTwitterLinkedInFacebook Fan Page
Want more of Mark Iles' work: Check out these links:
Distant ShoresKwaks Competition Taekwondo
Thanks for stopping by, Mark Iles!        

D.T. Dyllin Birthday Blast!

  
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Dragonfairy Store | GoodreadsBook one of the P.J. Stone Gates Trilogy
New Adult Paranormal Romance  
299 pages  
by D.T. Dyllin

For P.J. Stone, being a “Seer” who has never seen anything is less than fun. And P.J. isn’t known for her patience. To make matters worse, she must choose a suitable mate to continue the Seer bloodline. Duty always comes before her heart…at least that’s what her parents taught her. When she finds herself wanting someone who is considered off-limits, P.J. is forced to question everything she believes. As if navigating her love life isn’t complicated enough, P.J. finally receives a vision—of a threat to her world that only she can perceive. But no one will believe a fledgling Seer’s warnings. With nowhere else to turn, she may decide to trust a stranger with her life, her world, and maybe even her heart.

Amazon | Dragonfairy Store | GoodreadsBook two of the P.J. Stone Gates TrilogyNew Adult Paranormal Romance 241 pagesby D.T. Dyllin

P.J. Stone is a Seer who saw too little, too late. In the past, her biggest worries were boys and school—but war has a way of changing things. Now, the alien Riders are trying to overrun the world. As the last of their kind, P.J. and her friends must find a way to save humanity before there’s nothing left to save. After choosing a mate, P.J. hoped she'd have time to enjoy her love life. But with everything changing so quickly and major secrets revealed, who knows what the future will bring?

 
Amazon | Dragonfairy Store | GoodreadsBook one of the Death Trilogy
Erotic Paranormal Romance 
307 pages
by D.T. Dyllin
Samantha Bevans is having the best sex of her life—but it's not with her husband. Fortunately for her marriage, the affair is all in her mind. Isn't it? As an empath, she senses other people's emotions. But her connection to the man with the the chiseled face and haunting eyes seems so real. There's no time for fantasies with a serial killer loose in Pittsburgh. The killer is targeting dancers at a strip club where Samantha used to bartend, back when drugs were the only cure for the torment of her abilities. As a member of a special task force, Samantha uses her talents to sense the victims’ final thoughts. Just when she thought the case was complex enough, she discovers one of the victims was thinking about her fantasy man when she died. Who can Samantha trust when she can’t trust her own mind? An empath feels the emotional environment around her…and Samantha is surrounded by death

About the Author
Cynical-Optimist. Chocolate-holic. Sarcasm Addict. Paranormal Believer. Self-Imposed Insomniac. Sci-Fi Geek. Animal Lover. Writer…are just a few words to describe D.T. Dyllin. She was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and now lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and two very spoiled GSDs.
  Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

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Cover Reveal - Piercing the Fold by Venessa Kimball

Good Friday morning. Today on Out of Control Characters we're featuring author Venessa Kimball's new cover for the first book in her PtF series, Piercing the Fold! As always, we're going to get to know a little about Venessa first.




In 2010, Venessa Kimball was struck by an idea, a story, that needed telling. Having always been passionate about the written word, Venessa embarked on writing what would become her debut novel, Piercing the Fold: Book 1; a mature young adult/ adult crossover, paranormal, science fiction series. July 2, 2012, Venessa Kimball independently published the first book in the Piercing the Fold series. Book 2, Surfacing the Rim, released March 14, 2013.In August of 2013, Venessa joined the publishing house, Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly. The Piercing the Fold series will be re-published with them beginning with Piercing the Fold: Book 1 on September 3, 2013. Surfacing the Rim: Book 2 will be re-published on September 24. 2013 and Ascending the Veil: Book 3 will be released for the first time on October 18, 2013. The final book in the series, Book 4 (Title TBD) will release in 2014.As for the future, Venessa is already filling her Work-In-Progress folder. Two of her future projects are contemporary fiction and will reflect her diversity as a writer in other genres. When Venessa is not writing, she is keeping active with her husband and three children, chauffeuring said children to extracurricular activities, participating in charitable 5k and 10k races(crazy...but she loves to run), catching a movie with her hubby, and staying up way too late reading.

WebsiteFacebookTwitter   


BLURB: For the average human being, seeing dark auras, hearing ghostly whispers, and witnessing a contortion in the face of a passerby could easily be chalked up to hallucinations, daydreams, nightmares; mere illusions in reality. If we look hard enough, we will find explanations for such paranormal events. However, in this world, there are humans that are not so average. These humans are part of a bigger plan. Jesca Gershon-Sera is entering her sophomore year of college in Marietta Georgia, her hometown. She holds down a part-time job with her best friend, her family is close by, and school is going well. Everything should be perfect. Except, recently Jesca has been experiencing strange things; hallucinations, nightmares, daydreams that she hasn’t experienced in years. Jesca attempts to brush them off as stress from her new semester at school, but the illusions plaguing her reality intensify. Jesca “illusions in reality” begin manifesting within her as supernatural strength and abilities. Could she be losing her mind? Ezra Kahn, a mysterious professor of Jesca’s, happens to be everywhere she is recently; since the illusions intensified. Along with the slight fear that Ezra is stalking her, Jesca fears that he may be the culprit of these illusions. One night, in the heat of one of Jesca’s grand illusions, Ezra approaches her with an unexpected revelation up his sleeve. He reveals that she is not losing her mind, but rather all of the “illusions” in her skewed reality are very real and cause for inconceivable, catastrophic events to come. Ezra explains to her that, by birth, she is part of a fellowship of guardians that have inherited the responsibility to protect our earth and the human race. In Piercing the Fold: Book 1, “illusions in reality” are as real as you and I through the eyes of college student, Jesca Gershon Sera, and a fellowship of guardians predestined to protect humanity. *The Piercing the Fold series is intended for Mature Young Adult and Adult readers due to the the paranormal and unorthodox scientific concepts addressed throughout. This series contains a rich mixture of the paranormal, science fiction, romance, adventure, and suspense.
Here it is, the new cover for this very exciting book!
  

Review - Rachel's Legacy by Lizzy Stevens

Good Monday morning, a rainy one for some of us. Today, we have Lizzy Stevens onboard with her novel, Rachel's Legacy. This is a bittersweet romance, but very real to life. First, let's get to know a bit more about Lizzy!



Lizzy Stevens is an Amazon International Best Selling Author. She writes paranormal/ romance and woman's fiction. She's a wife & mother of 2 boys.Lizzy has been writing most of her life but got her first official contract in 2008. 2013 has been an exciting year for her. She became an International Best Selling author this year and two of her books were optioned for film.

Here's where you can find Lizzy on the web:

Amazon Author PageLinkedInBlogFacebookTwitterGoodreadsYahoo Contributor Page       




Rachel's Legacy is the first book in The Rachel Conners Saga. I found it to be a bittersweet book and very enjoyable. Here's my review:

Rachel Conners returns home, but she's haunted by medical problems and the past. Once there, her life takes a turn she wasn't expecting, and she finds love, a love so intense she knows he's her soul mate. Fate, however, laughs at their affection and leaves Rachel thinking Kyle died in a plane accident for four years. They reunite, yet fate isn't done with them yet.I couldn't put this story down. From beginning to end, it enthralled me. The brevity Lizzy Stevens uses in this romance is a refreshing change from the sometimes constant repetitions other authors use in an effort to draw out momentous events. There were times when I felt the brevity was moving things too fast, but they didn't take away from the overall story.This is an excellent book for those who enjoy a good love story, but don't have months to plod through a larger tome. 
Here's where you can find The Rachel Connors Saga:Rachel's LegacyKyle's New Beginning    Thanks for stopping by today, Lizzy Stevens. I can't wait to see what you come up with next in this interesting series!

Children's Blog Hop - What Am I Up To?

What are you working on right now?
 
A trilogy, Paradox Lost. This is a story about triplets destined to change the world of Travelers, people who move throughout history to ensure things are as they should be. The prediction of an ancestor sets three teens on differing paths, and questioning the way they're acting toward each other.
 


 
The guys, Matt and DJ, treat their little sister as if she doesn't belong. Elisa rebels against their constant harassment. They're smart, talented, and ready to take on the world, or so they think … until they're faced with the ultimate paradox, and then the two who survive an attack have to learn to deal with what the fates have spun out for them … or risk losing even more.
 
How does it differ from other works in its genre?
 
This is a quest type story, similar to The Wheel of Time, but also far different. It's not a reboot of the tale of King Author, but rather a futuristic time travel adventure with elements of magical skills. Twins have often been used in these stories, a yin/yang type of thing, but I'm going with triplets, two brothers and a sister. One was born long before he/she should have been, and the others realizes this deep down, but can't explain how they know.
 
 
All they do know is also something they can't explain … the gateways that have always transported Travelers are sick, possibly dangerous. None of the three can let this stop them as they each go about their duty to protect history.
 
Why do you write what you do?
 
Most of my young adult stories involve a coming of age theme, where teens have to overcome difficulties and mature from them. The lessons aren't always out in the open, but then did any teenager feel as if the worst of what they have to learn is out for all to see?
 
 
Like DJ, Matt, and Elisa, most teens feel as if no one understands what they're experiencing, and they'll keep a lot to themselves, when they should be sharing with those they trust.
 
What is the hardest part about writing?
 
Getting started. For some reason, I have the hardest time getting past the first chapter until it's perfect.
 



 
Oh, I'll continue on, often getting close to the end, before I go back and rewrite the first chapter to fit in with the rest of the book, to add that throat grabbing hook the reader feels to continue on with the story.
 
What is something unique you want readers to learn about you?
 
I was a teen, and not in the dark ages. My coming of age issues often had me by the throat, and I had no clue how to solve them. That's not unique, but how I handled those issues once I became an adult is far different from what most women my age did.
 


 
I joined the military and spent eleven years traveling the world, seeing sights my friends talked about, and learning about many different cultures. Even now, as an adult, I dream of one day returning to those places, of finding new wonders to admire, and reliving some of my experiences.
 
Want to know more about me or my books: Here are the links where you can find all of this:
 
Website
Amazon Author Page
LinkedIn
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads
Blog
Authorgraph
Google +
Shelfari
JacketFlap
Solstice Publishing
 
Books by K.C. Sprayberry
 
Mystery Times Ten 2011
Softly Say Goodbye - Kindle
Softly Say Goodbye - paperback
The Ghost Catcher
Who Am I?
Family Curse ... Times Two
Canoples Investigations - Kindle
Canoples Investigations - paperback
 
Thanks for coming on over today. See you soon!

Son of Corse by KateMarie Collins

Today we host KateMarie Collins, one of my fellow authors at Solstice Publishing. KateMarie writes delightful fantasy that lures you in and captures your heart. I've had the pleasure of reading her work before, and look forward to this adventure with a great deal of anticipation.

First, we're going to get to know a little about KateMarie Collins:




Born in the late 60's, KateMarie has lived most of her life in the Pacific NW. While she's always been creative, she didn't turn towards writing until 2008. She found a love for the craft. With the encouragement of her husband and two daughters, she started submitting her work to publishers. When she's not taking care of her family, KateMarie enjoys attending events for the Society for Creative Anachronism. The SCA has allowed her to combine both a creative nature and love of history. She currently resides with her family and three cats in what she likes to refer to as "Seattle Suburbia". Here's where you can find KateMarie on the web: BlogFacebookTwitterAmazon Author Page Her newest book, Son of Corse, sounds so good that I can't wait to kick back and enjoy it. Here's a teensy look at what you can expect:  It’s been almost two years since Arwenna banished the Demon Corse from her world. Life has been good. Idyllic, almost.
The illusion is shattered in a heartbeat during her sister’s wedding. Not only are once-dead enemies back, but they’ve stolen Arwenna’s only child, Sera.
The price Arwenna will have to pay to save her daughter is high. Can she muster the strength to make a pact that jeopardizes not just her own soul, but that of an entire world?   Teaser!   It was a good week before the priests began to arrive with the items Senyan required them to bring.  He put his time waiting to good use, making the temple once again both habitable and useful.  Using Irini for some of the more mundane and labor intensive tasks, Senyan turned his thoughts to the items he would need to complete the ritual before him.  He fished out the rusted iron sword from the ashes of the fire pit.  Using his magic, he refashioned it to a small cage of cold iron.  Restraints of another kind were fastened to one of the pillars.  The first priest to return brought a small bundle, squirming with life.  A tight smile of satisfaction crossed Senyan’s lips as he placed the struggling fairy into the iron cage.  It was small enough that she could not move much without the cold iron touching her. The acrid odor of singed wings didn’t bother him, but he knew it pained the creature. Which meant that somewhere, Lexi flinched and didn’t know why. Oh, you just have to pick up this book now! Here's where you can go to do just that! Solstice Publishing - Son of CorseSolstice Publishing: Mark of the SuccessorAmazon Kindle - Daughter of HaukAmazon Kindle - Mark of the SuccessorAmazon Kindle - Kick the CanAmazon Paperback - Daughter of HaukAmazon Audio - Daughter of Hauk Thank  you, KateMarie Collins for stopping by today. We really enjoyed having you here!   

Lori Verni-Fogarsi Hop & Win Book Blast!

Welcome to the Hop & Win Book Blast! This is all part of a fun event hosted by author Lori Verni-Fogarsi (LoriTheAuthor) during a special promotion of her novel, "Momnesia."
 Loss of the memory of who you used to be. Caused by pregnancy, play dates, and trying to keep the house cleaner than the Joneses.

"Momnesia," which has been recognized in two awards, is the story of an average suburban mom who, feeling invisible under all the responsibilities of caring for her family, sets about finding balance between her "momminess" and her "sexiness." She does find some adventure pursuing her own interests, but it isn't until she tosses the Invisible Rule Book altogether that she discovers life---and love---have more to offer than she ever imagined!

During this special promotion, there are all sort of fun things going on. (EVENT DATES ARE 8/12 THROUGH 8/19/13) Hope you'll enjoy them all!"Momnesia" is on sale for only $1.99 in Kindle format! Find it here!"Momnesia" is on sale for for only $5 per paperback! Find it here!Treasure Hunt! Visit the blogs in the Linky List below and gather their treasure hunt words. For each one you collect, you'll get an extra entry to win Lori's "Find Yourself... In a Good Book" Prize Pack! By the way my Treasure Hunt Word is: FABULOUS.Buy the book during this promotion and get five extra entries! Send your e-receipt to LoriTheAuthor "at" gmail "dot" com. Put MOMNESIA RECEIPT in subject line.Learn about the author and preview the book below! Enjoy!1. Use this Linky List to visit all the blogs and find their treasure hunt words. 2. Use this Rafflecopter to enter the treasure hunt words to be entered to win the Prize Pack! a Rafflecopter giveaway 3. If you buy the book, don't forget to send your receipt to LoriTheAuthor "at" gmail "dot" com to receive 5 extra entries! 4. About the author, Lori Verni-Fogarsi (LoriTheAuthor) Lori is an author, speaker, and small business consultant. She has two novels: "Momnesia," and its sequel, "Unexpecting,"; and a nonfiction book, "Everything You Need to Know About House Training Puppies and Adult Dogs." Her books have been recognized in the USA Best Book Awards, the National Indie Excellence Book Awards, and Indie Book of the Day Award. Regarding her novels, Lori says, "I like to write about the thoughts and feelings many women have, but are often hesitant to discuss... or even think about! It is my hope that when reading my books, people experience a sense of camaraderie, being understood, or at the very least, good old-fashioned entertainment for a time." Her nonfiction dog training book is among the top bestselling independently published books of all time! Originally released in 2005, it continues to be one of the most highly acclaimed books in its genre, recommended by vets, rescue groups, and pet professionals worldwide. Lori is a happily married mom of two, step mom of two more, and has two cats, both rotten. Originally a native New Yorker, she now divides her time between Raleigh, NC, and Lake Gaston, VA, where she is hard at work on her next books. Because she is also an avid reader, Lori understands that your time is valuable and that selecting a book to read can feel like a commitment! She welcomes you to visit her special "Momnesia Page," which includes the first two chapters free as well as another excerpt, reviews, and more. Enjoy!

Guest Post - Angela Burke

Today, on Out of Control Characters we're hosting fellow Solstice Publishing author, Angela Burke. She'll talk to us about a love story paradox. Definitely interesting.

 
The Love Story Paradox
 
As I finished writing my debut novel, Lucidity, I had difficulty determining what genre the story fit into.  I was stuck.  It certainly didn’t meet the criteria for the traditional romance genre, nor was it an exact fit for the realm of paranormal.  Eventually I was given a bit of advice and it was determined that Lucidity would be categorized as mainstream fiction containing a love story.  Ah…a love story.  Of course.  And what exactly is that?
 I suppose a love story could be considered a new term for the old tragedy. True to its name, a love story must contain, well, yes, love.  But it is the element of misfortune that sets apart this unique sub-genre from most romantic stories.  A love story doesn’t guarantee a happy ending and yet, it is the critical component of tragedy that makes it unforgettable.
 Life is full of contradictions – the night versus the day, the winter cold versus the summer heat, femininity in contrast to masculinity.  To recognize the opposite is to understand the whole.  The love story paradox is simple.   To know love, we must know loss.  And we can only experience loss if we have loved.
 Perhaps this is the appeal of the love story – to seek an understanding, a balance – between idealism and realism.  Tragedy enables us to appreciate the entire circle of human experience…the so-called yin yang of our universe.
 Read any love story – Romeo and Juliet, The Bridges of Madison County, The Notebook – and you will discover the irony in life and death, love and loss, and the darks and lights of life.
 But perhaps the real paradox is what we experience as a reader.  Aristotle believed that tragedy leads to catharsis, or a purging of heartbreaking emotions.  It is through tragedy that we find healing.
 
Angela Burke is the author of LUCIDITY and BENEATH the MAYAN MOON.  She lives in Boulder, Colorado and enjoys running, skiing and taking long hikes in the mountains. A former teacher, she now spends her time building her massage therapy practice, while chasing after her three great kids and daydreaming up new story ideas.
Check out LUCIDITY , and the Three Days Free sale, August 7, 8 and 9, on Amazon!  Angela can be found at Angela Burke Books, and on Facebook , Twitter , and Solstice Publishing website.
LUCIDITY by Angela Burke
Raya Walden doesn’t believe in ghosts…just the thought sends shivers up her spine.  But as she falls in love with Jack Castille during a summer job at the rustic Hideaway Lodge, a resort nestled in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Raya discovers she has an undisclosed paranormal talent.  A talent that she doesn’t want.  Yet it is this gift that will ultimately save her life…
Lucidity is a story about the secrets of the unknown, the essence of the spirit and the endurance of love….will you believe? 
 

Guest Blog: Kiss Me in Paris by Kimberly Kinrade and Dmytry Karpov


Welcome. Today we're having a guest post by Kimberly Kinrade and Dmytry Karpov, authors of the new adult romance, Kiss Me in Paris. Let's get to know a little bit more about our guests and their fabulous book first.



Dmytry and Kimberly are the husband and wife writing team behind theKISS ME Series, Eye of Newt , Sunrise and Nightfall, Wanderlust, and The Fallen Series.
Kimberly is the award-winning, bestselling author of the New Adult paranormal romance series The Seduced Saga , the YA paranormal thriller/romance  The Forbidden Trilogy , and children's fantasy series  The Three Lost Kids.
Dmytry writes fantasy—be it urban, dark or epic—is a musical composer, pianist, and designs books covers (exclusively for his wife's and their co-authored books).
They live with three little girls who think they're ninja princesses with super powers and who are also showing a propensity for telling tall tales and using the written word to weave stories of wonder and magic.This is where you can find this couple on the web:Kimberly websiteKimberly TwitterKimberly FacebookKimberly Amazon Author PageKimberly GoodreadsDmytry websiteDymtry TwitterDmytry FacebookDmytry Google +Dmytry Amazon Author PageDmytry Goodreads  Here's a blurb from this fabulous sounding romance:   Kiss Me in Paris is a standalone novel in the Kiss Me Series. Travel the world with the Deveaux sisters as they find love, and trouble, in all the right places.Blurb:
When the city of love brings two lost souls together, only their darkest secrets can tear them apart.  Winter Deveaux tried love once. It didn't end well. Unable to open herself up to another heartbreak, she hides in her romance novels as she struggles to break out as a real author. She thinks Paris holds the answer to a new start, but when her nightmare follows her across the world, she's forced to face the darkness living like cancer inside her soul. If she doesn't, she might miss her chance to become the kind of writer she's always wanted to be. But more than that, she'll miss out on the greatest love she's ever known.Cade Savage is heir to the largest ranching family in Texas. Part cowboy, part architect, Cade has his feet forever in two worlds. When he receives an acceptance letter from the school of his dreams, he must decide between family and destiny. But ghosts from his past still haunt him, and circumstances beyond his control may decide his fate. When Winter and Cade meet, everything they believe about life, love and what it means to be happy is put to the test.

Will the magic of Paris pull these two lost souls together? Or will their darkest secrets tear them apart?AmazonBarnes & NobleGoodreadsI-BooksKobo     Now for the very special guest post, for what would a romance novel be without the music? We're all lovers at heart, and this should put you in the mood to hop on over to Amazon or Barnes & Noble for your copy:     Top 10 Songs that Inspired Kiss Me in Paris There are songs that inspired the ideas in our book, Kiss Me in Paris, and songs that inspired us as authors while we were writing. For the purposes of this guest post, we've included both kinds of songs. Kiss Me in Paris is the first book we (Kimberly Kinrade & Dmytry Karpov) have co-written. We've worked together on other projects (Dmytry edited and did story consulting for a number of Kimberly's books), but this was a full-on joint project, and was all the more fun because of it.  Music played an important part in this co-authorship. While writing, we'd both blast one song continuously through our headphones, for hours on end, inspiring our work. Dmytry did the bulk of detailed outlining, crafting the story and often much of the dialogue, while Kimberly would fill out the prose, add her own dialogue and scenes and flesh things out.
After, we'd both edit each chapter, adding, changing and tweaking until we couldn't tell who wrote what.   During this process, music inspired us and carried us forward, unlocking that creative part of our minds to let the worlds flow.   For Dmytry that song was Stubborn Love by the Lumineers. For Kimberly it was Demons by Imagine Dragons. We must have listened to those songs at least one hundred times on repeat. But we also listened to a few others, and they all influenced our work. Here are the top ten songs that inspired our novel, Kiss Me in Paris.
 Stubborn Love by The Lumineers
Demons by Imagine Dragons
Gone, Gone, Gone by Philip Philips
Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Ray
Ho Hey by the Lumineers
Wicked Game by Chris Isaak Radioactive by Imagine Dragons Video Games by Lana Del RayRide by Lana Del RayStay by Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko      All of these songs are fantastic in their own way, and each added a certain energy to the work. Some reminded us of the characters in the book (Gone, Gone, Gone for our favorite cowboy, Cade, and Demons for both Winter and Cade as they faced the demons of their own past), and others represented some of the themes of the book—young love, summer love, hope. (Summertime Sadness, Stay and Stubborn Love, to name a few.) We hope you take the time to listen to a few or all of them, and that you enjoy them and are inspired by them as much as we are. As you read Kiss Me in Paris, we'd love to hear which songs resonate for you. We'll respond to any comments posted here!       

Destiny Phoenix Book 2: Cry of the Wolf - Cover Reveal!


What a day! The second Destiny Phoenix book, Cry of the Wolf approaches its release. Today on Out of Control Characters we reveal the cover for the next chapter in this adventure. I had the chance to read and review the first one, and I just can't wait for book two to appear.


First, we'll Meet David R. Bennett!



  David R Bennett is an author from Spring, Texas in the United States of America.
David R Bennett is a pen name that comes the reordering of his initials real initials. He, also, thinks the name has a ring to it.
Not only is he an author, he, also, is an illustrator. His real name is what is credited with the cover art to his novels.
He attended Rocky Mountain Collegeif Art + Design in Denver, Colorado where he earned a Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Advertising Graphic Design. The graphic design techniques he learned in college he uses to design his covers.
He, also, reads a lot of sci-fi / fantasy / paranormal books. Some of his favorite monsters are vampires, mummies, zombies, goblins, ghouls, werewolves, etc. He has plans to write a long string of novels in the Destiny Phoenix series and a series about an alien coming to Earth in the Alien Survivor series. Both of these series are planned as Young Adult novels.
His favorite horror flick is Resident Evil because it is scary to think that biological warfare could one day result in human extinction by undead creatures. And his favorite series of films is Star Wars and is excited about the next film coming out in 2015. Here's where you can find David on the web: Blog TwitterFacebookFacebook Fan PageAmazon Author PageGoodreadsSmashwordsDestiny Phoenix Saga BlogDestiny Phoenix Facebook Fan PageThe Crimson Clan on CreateSpace  Here's a quick look back at the first book in this series!    Destiny's 1st Adventure!

Destiny started out her 16th birthday as an average 16 year old with plans to go get her Driver's License and then relax with friends at her Sweet Sixteen birthday party.

Only hours in to her day, everything changes:
She loses her parents
Learns of a brother she has never met
That she and her friends are prophesied monster slayers
And strange humanoid creatures are trying to kill her and her friends

How will Destiny deal with this?
Will she live to see her 17th birthday? This is where you can get The Crimson Clan:AmazonBarnes & NobleSmashwordsCreateSpaceGoodreads And here it is! The moment you've been waiting for. A drum roll, please ...   Destiny, Brandon, Chris, Michelle, and Sandra enter the town of Jasper Springs, Louisiana on their way to meet some important people out in Atlanta. They are here to stop and get some rest and refuel before continuing on.

But when the full moon rises, the howling begins.
People, then, come up missing as a bloody trail is left throughout town.
This town is used to the unusual, but this werewolf is extraordinarily bloodthirsty even for this town.

Destiny and her friends check it out.
What trouble are they headed for?
Will someone be turned?
Or worse yet, killed?