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D.E. Haggerty's Blog, page 74
June 30, 2016
Check out IndieLove Magazine, Issue 2 @IndieLoveMag
IndieLove Magazine, Issue 2
IndieLove Magazine is a publication promoting independent Authors, Musicians, Crafters, Artists, Film etc. Issue 2 has some of the best, Authors Mia Sheridan and Amy Harmon grace the pages as well as Goddessfish promotions. Artist Kim Walker, Actor Shawn Hawkins, Derek Webb, Co Founder of Noisetrade etc.
~ Get a Taste of IndieLove ~
About Kelly Oliver:
Kelly Oliver- recently enchanted assembled music lovers around the country on her 18 date second album tour. Kelly is a guitarist/ harmonicist, with influences ranging from the song style of Bob Dylan, the intense lyrics of Alanis Morissette and a touch of Kate Bush around the vocals. Her album Bedlam, which was released, March 6th, has been carefully crafted to show off Kelly’s strengths to full advantage. BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris is a fan and says she has a ‘beautiful, pure voice and is ‘a vital voice in British Folk’ and Chris Hawkins, who has played her on BBC 6 Music said she is ‘fabulously gifted, something special’.
Kelly Oliver is one of the new breed of bright young musicians who stands out from the crowd with her ‘golden vocals’. Bedlam features a range of songs with themes ranging from war to migration, and social injustice to love in all its guises as well as the ever tempting eternal triangle.
Interview with Mia Sheridan:
Question 1. Are you a planner or pantster kind of writer?
Sort of both!
Miss bacon? Not going to happen…. Oops! Wrong again #expatlife
When I told people I was moving to Istanbul, one of the standard responses – to my utter surprise – was: “Oh no, you’re going to miss bacon.” Seriously, miss bacon? I’m moving half a continent away to a country with an entirely different cultural and religious background and you’re worried about me missing bacon? Not going to happen. Unfortunately, I now have to eat my words. Sort of.
The hubby and I were convinced we wouldn’t miss pork in Turkey. We giggled at people’s concern about the lack of bacon. We don’t eat bacon, anyway, was our normal response. Bacon is an American thing and we’re Europeans, darn it! Okay, not really. I mean, yeah, my husband is Dutch born and bred, but I grew up in the Midwest, home of the free and the brave and bacon-filled.
And we were moving to Turkey from Germany. In case you don’t know, Germans love pork. Like, really, really, really love pork. The variety and amount of pork products at the grocery store butcher absolutely astounded me when we first arrived. I’m pretty sure my actual response was to tell the butcher: “Oh my god, that’s a lot of pork!”
We headed off to Istanbul thinking we wouldn’t be feeling the loss of pork products whatsoever. And initially, we didn’t – not much, at least. The first thing that somewhat bothered us was the lack of pork lunch meat. I love ham on my lunch sandwiches. One thing most people don’t realize about Muslim countries, however, is that they have tons of ‘fake’ pork products. Ham and salami made from beef products instead of pork. We can totally deal with this.
Until we couldn’t. Sure, it’s great to have an alternative for typical pork products, but they’re just not the same. Pork is greasy but beef? Not so much. Just try substituting a beef sausage for bratwurst. Mmm… bratwurst with a bit of spicy mustard. Sorry, got a bit distracted there.
It started with me ordering saté whenever I was in the Netherlands visiting family and friends. In case you don’t know saté is a ‘Dutch’ food which originated from Indonesia.
As the months turned into years, ordering saté once during a four-day break turned into demanding “anything you have with pork” at every meal. In fact, I just finished traveling for three weeks and I nearly got sick from eating so much pork – demanding a pork product at least once a day. So yeah, I have to eat my words about not missing pork. SPOILER ALERT: The Turkey portion of my expat life is nearly over and I won’t be missing pork where we’re headed. Stay tuned…
June 29, 2016
Cover Reveal of Her Legacy by @wickedcoolflght #suspense #giveaway
Most people inherit money; Alexis inherited Hell…
Out July 26th – Her Legacy by Teresa Crumpton
Follow the tour and enter to #win a $20.00 gift card to Amazon!
Title: Her Legacy
Series: Foster House Legacy #1
Author: Teresa Crumpton
Genre: Suspense
Release Date: July 26, 2016
Length: 99k words
Format: Digital
Digital ISBN: 978-0-692-74841-1
Cover Artist: Danielle Barclay of Barclay Creative
Synopsis:
The Foster House
The house is important, and so are you, hexe. The ancient ones foretold this. Yet, we’re still not sure. But we won’t kill you. We have killed before, those that didn’t have the blood. Your ancestors want to protect you; they need to. Blood is the key. He wants your blood.
Peace and harmony must be restored.
A house’s thirst for blood and a family secret are revealed when Alexis, a young empathetic law student, inherits her family’s long forgotten estate, The Foster House.
An empathetic law student is the key.
When Alexis moves in to The Foster House, she is surrounded by ghosts and a mysterious history. A history that is her legacy. But it’s not just the house she needs to worry about. An evil entity has enlisted the help of an ex-special ops Captain, Brenton Young, to manipulate Alexis’s life for his own dark purposes.
A family legacy will be revealed.
As the FBI, NSA, and local police close in on Brenton Young, Alexis enlists the help of her boss and secret crush, District Attorney, Josh Hampton. Together, can they solve the mysteries of the house and discover what her true legacy really is or will the answers they find lead to more questions & mysteries?
Pre-orders available soon!
Add to Goodreads today!
About Teresa Crumpton:
Teresa Crumpton writes dark supernatural thrillers along with poetry, non-fiction and short stories. She started writing when she was young, never thinking one day she’d turn her passion into a career. She started writing her novel in eight-grade, though it’s changed over the years. Teresa’s first novel, Her Legacy, is a haunting ghost story with a little rumored family history within the pages.
Teresa obtained two degrees, Government with an Emphasis in Legal Studies, and English Lit, hoping to get into law school. In 2004 she married the man of her dreams. As they moved around the country her dreams changed. She once again went back to school, this time obtaining a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, and her writing became not only her passion, but also the fulfilment of a promise to her father before he passed.
Teresa Crumpton grew up in Cincinnati and Dallas/Ft. Worth, making her a hybrid midwest and southern girl. She has five siblings (all half or step), which always made for a boisterous Christmas while traveling.
Visit her online at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest
June 27, 2016
Review of Chaos Bound by @sarah_castille #MCRomance
CHAOS BOUND
by SARAH CASTILLE
What happens when the power of love eclipses the need for revenge? Chaos Bound, the fourth novel in the Sinner’s Motorcycle Club series is a vivid and powerful MC romance from Sarah Castille. Fans of Joanna Wylde and Kristen Ashley’s biker romances will love this intense, rough and raw addition to the Sinner’s Motorcycle Club series .
Title: Chaos Bound
Author: Sarah Castille
Series: Sinner’s Tribe
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: June 28, 2016
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Print Length: 384 pages
Love is a wild ride.
After enduring months of torture at the hands of the Black Jacks MC, and betrayed by his own club, Holt “T-Rex” Savage, a junior member of the Sinner’s Tribe Motorcycle Club, will stop at nothing to get revenge. But falling for a beautiful woman with dangerous ties to his sworn enemy was never part of the plan…
Raised by the Black Jacks, Naiya Kelly grew up fast, furiously, and with little to lose. But now that she’s put her MC days behind her, she is free to do what she wants—until she meets a man who imprisons her, body and soul. She swore she’d never give her heart to a biker, but Holt is the most passionate, protective man she’s ever known. But will Holt be forced to betray his one true love to exact his revenge?
See where it all began with book 1 of the Sinner’s Tribe series, Rough Justice.
Get More information at: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes
Book 1, Rough Justice:
Goodreads | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes |
Book 2, Beyond the Cut:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes
Book 3, Sinner’s Steel:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes
Review:
I love a good motorcycle romance with a hot, alpha hero. Obviously, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book. Chaos Bound didn’t disappoint. If you’ve read the previous books in the series, you’re not going to recognize T-Rex. He’s Holt now and a completely different person. The character growth was well written and a delight to read. I just wished he would make up his frickin’ mind. Because he changed his mind about his relationship with Naiya more times than a toddler in an ice cream shop.
I absolutely, positively adored Naiya. I want to be her best friend. I love me some nerd and Naiya has got nerd in spades. But she’s not a wimpy nerd who hides behind her Game Boy. Nope. Naiya has spunk and a backbone as well. Loved her.
But Chaos Bound is more than just watching Holt and Naiya fall in love. There’s suspense, mystery, and more than a smidgeon of violence. Connections are unveiled and mysteries revealed. A great story wrapped up in a smoldering package.
It’s rare to read an MC romance that is actually well-written and properly edited. I can’t wait to get my paws on the next read from Castille. *Taps foot with impatience*
Excerpt:
“Is this because of what happened last night?” Holt wasn’t usually so direct. He had never been a confrontational kind of guy. Usually, he would go with the flow, but right now he was seized by an urgent sense of desperation. He couldn’t let her go, and it wasn’t just because he needed her to lure Viper.
“No, of course not.” She turned away, tightening her grip on the bag, her hair swinging over her cheek, hiding her face.
Yes.
“It was good you . . . stopped.” She stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows over the valley spread out below them. “I mean, you have things you have to do, and I have things I have to do, and they aren’t things we need to do . . . together.”
Together. Fuck. She’d thought about them together. Although he was pretty damn sure she hadn’t thought of them together the way he had all fucking night long.
“Naiya.”
“I made breakfast. It’s on the stove.” She slung the bag over her shoulder. “Happy revenge.”
No fucking way. “It’s not safe out there.”
“It’s not safe in here.”
“I couldn’t be gentle with you,” he said. “I’m a hard man, Naiya, and the shit I just went through just made me harder. I don’t have sex. I don’t make love. I fuck. And when I do, it’s hard and it’s rough, and that’s not what you need.”
“You don’t know me.” Her face tightened. “You don’t know what I need.”
The hell he didn’t. He could read the longing on her face; he could hear it in her voice. It was the same longing that had gripped him since he met her. The old Holt would have let her walk out the door because it’s what she wanted to do, and who was he to rock the boat? He didn’t know where that Holt had gone, but the man he was now was not letting her get away.
Without taking his gaze off her, he ripped the bag from her fingers and tossed it on the couch. Then he cupped her face between his hands and covered her mouth with his.
Ah God. Her lips were as soft as he imagined, her mouth as lush. Her lips parted on a sigh, and he touched her with his tongue. She tasted of honey and coffee, warm and sweet. He wanted her, wanted this woman with the broken soul, wanted to fix her, show her the beauty of trust and surrender, open her up and fill her with joy. Yeah, he wanted to fuck her bad.
“Holt.” She pulled back, her chest heaving. “I don’t want this. I just broke up with Maurice. We were together two years. It just feels . . . wrong.”
Didn’t feel wrong to him. In fact, nothing had ever felt so right. He tagged her with an arm around her waist and crushed her against him, the way he’d seen Jagger and Cade do with their women, the way he’d seen Tank with Connie. Dominant. Controlling. And damn it felt good. Taking what he wanted. Being in charge.
And yet at the back of his mind, he was assessing her responses, the way she leaned into him, her soft sigh, the flutter of her lashes, and the little hints that told him she was on board and that he wasn’t stepping over the line. He had a strong feeling Viper had crossed that line, and if he caught her, he would cross it again.
Naiya leaned in, melted against him. Pleasure rippled through his body, and his cock hardened in an instant. He dipped his head, drank her down, delighting when she moaned and tangled her tongue with his.
She broke away again, her lips plump and swollen from his kiss. “I should go . . . I was just leaving . . .”
Deeper. Rougher. He slid one hand through her hair, tugged her head back, and held her still as he fed off her hidden desire. Her hands came up, pressed against his chest. Holt tensed, thinking she would push him away. Instead, her arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled him closer, straining upward as she kissed him back with a passion that belied her words. She wasn’t leaving. Not now.
Not ever.
About the author:
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Sarah Castille, writes contemporary erotic romance and romantic suspense featuring blazingly hot alpha heroes and the women who tame them. A recovering lawyer and caffeine addict, she worked and traveled abroad before trading her briefcase and stilettos for a handful of magic beans and a home near the Canadian Rockies.
Connect with Sarah at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Amazon | Instagram |Pinterest
Giveaway:
June 22, 2016
Excerpt Reveal ~ Chaos Bound by @sarah_castille
What happens when the power of love eclipses the need for revenge? Chaos Bound, the fourth novel in the Sinner’s Motorcycle Club series is a vivid and powerful MC romance from Sarah Castille. Fans of Joanna Wylde and Kristen Ashley’s biker romances will love this intense, rough and raw addition to the Sinner’s Motorcycle Club series .
Title: Chaos Bound
Author: Sarah Castille
Series: Sinner’s Tribe
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: June 28, 2016
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Print Length: 384 pages
Love is a wild ride.
After enduring months of torture at the hands of the Black Jacks MC, and betrayed by his own club, Holt “T-Rex” Savage, a junior member of the Sinner’s Tribe Motorcycle Club, will stop at nothing to get revenge. But falling for a beautiful woman with dangerous ties to his sworn enemy was never part of the plan…
Raised by the Black Jacks, Naiya Kelly grew up fast, furiously, and with little to lose. But now that she’s put her MC days behind her, she is free to do what she wants―until she meets a man who imprisons her, body and soul. She swore she’d never give her heart to a biker, but Holt is the most passionate, protective man she’s ever known. But will Holt be forced to betray his one true love to exact his revenge?
See where it all began with book 1 of the Sinner’s Tribe series, Rough Justice.
Get More information at: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes
~ Excerpt ~
“Is this because of what happened last night?” Holt wasn’t usually so direct. He had never been a confrontational kind of guy. Usually, he would go with the flow, but right now he was seized by an urgent sense of desperation. He couldn’t let her go, and it wasn’t just because he needed her to lure Viper.
“No, of course not.” She turned away, tightening her grip on the bag, her hair swinging over her cheek, hiding her face.
Yes.
“It was good you . . . stopped.” She stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows over the valley spread out below them. “I mean, you have things you have to do, and I have things I have to do, and they aren’t things we need to do . . . together.”
Together. Fuck. She’d thought about them together. Although he was pretty damn sure she hadn’t thought of them together the way he had all fucking night long.
“Naiya.”
“I made breakfast. It’s on the stove.” She slung the bag over her shoulder. “Happy revenge.”
No fucking way. “It’s not safe out there.”
“It’s not safe in here.”
“I couldn’t be gentle with you,” he said. “I’m a hard man, Naiya, and the shit I just went through just made me harder. I don’t have sex. I don’t make love. I fuck. And when I do, it’s hard and it’s rough, and that’s not what you need.”
“You don’t know me.” Her face tightened. “You don’t know what I need.”
The hell he didn’t. He could read the longing on her face; he could hear it in her voice. It was the same longing that had gripped him since he met her. The old Holt would have let her walk out the door because it’s what she wanted to do, and who was he to rock the boat? He didn’t know where that Holt had gone, but the man he was now was not letting her get away.
Without taking his gaze off her, he ripped the bag from her fingers and tossed it on the couch. Then he cupped her face between his hands and covered her mouth with his.
Ah God. Her lips were as soft as he imagined, her mouth as lush. Her lips parted on a sigh, and he touched her with his tongue. She tasted of honey and coffee, warm and sweet. He wanted her, wanted this woman with the broken soul, wanted to fix her, show her the beauty of trust and surrender, open her up and fill her with joy. Yeah, he wanted to fuck her bad.
“Holt.” She pulled back, her chest heaving. “I don’t want this. I just broke up with Maurice. We were together two years. It just feels . . . wrong.”
Didn’t feel wrong to him. In fact, nothing had ever felt so right. He tagged her with an arm around her waist and crushed her against him, the way he’d seen Jagger and Cade do with their women, the way he’d seen Tank with Connie. Dominant. Controlling. And damn it felt good. Taking what he wanted. Being in charge.
And yet at the back of his mind, he was assessing her responses, the way she leaned into him, her soft sigh, the flutter of her lashes, and the little hints that told him she was on board and that he wasn’t stepping over the line. He had a strong feeling Viper had crossed that line, and if he caught her, he would cross it again.
Naiya leaned in, melted against him. Pleasure rippled through his body, and his cock hardened in an instant. He dipped his head, drank her down, delighting when she moaned and tangled her tongue with his.
She broke away again, her lips plump and swollen from his kiss. “I should go . . . I was just leaving . . .”
Deeper. Rougher. He slid one hand through her hair, tugged her head back, and held her still as he fed off her hidden desire. Her hands came up, pressed against his chest. Holt tensed, thinking she would push him away. Instead, her arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled him closer, straining upward as she kissed him back with a passion that belied her words. She wasn’t leaving. Not now.
Not ever.
Grab your copy of CHAOS BOUND before June 27 to receive a bonus Sinner’s Tribe story featuring Jagger and Arianne from ROUGH JUSTICE and a surprise trip to Las Vegas where they meet mafia boss, Nico, from my new mafia romance series, Ruin & Revenge.
➤ Pre-order your copy of CHAOS BOUND now!
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1NRJtbo
iTunes: http://apple.co/1QmMUH5
B&N: http://bit.ly/1Sty2IE
Google Play: http://bit.ly/1pocEdg
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1RinRWy
➤ Submit your details here to get your bonus story (prior pre-orders count): http://bit.ly/28i4x3Q
~ About the Author ~
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Sarah Castille, writes contemporary erotic romance and romantic suspense featuring blazingly hot alpha heroes and the women who tame them. A recovering lawyer and caffeine addict, she worked and traveled abroad before trading her briefcase and stilettos for a handful of magic beans and a home near the Canadian Rockies.
Connect with Sarah at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Amazon | Instagram |Pinterest
June 21, 2016
Summer Dreaming ~ $250 Cash #Giveaway
Summer Dreaming
$250 Cash Giveaway
June 21st to July 15th
An awesome group of bloggers and authors have joined with me to bring you one fabulous prize!
One lucky winner will receive…
$250 Amazon.com Gift Code or $250 in Paypal Cash
Thanks to these fabulous Sponsors!!
I Am A Reader
Suzi Love
Kimber Leigh Wheaton
Glistering Bs Blog
Lori’s Reading Corner
Bonnie Blythe Faith Based Romance
Bella Street Time Travel Romance
Laurie Here – Cont Fiction and More
KellysLuckyYou
Deb Atwood Author
Kindle and Me
Melanie McFarlane, YA Author
Heather Gray, Author
Everly Frost, YA Author
Author Pauline Creeden
Subtitled Books
The Page Unbound
LeahSay’s Views
Joshua David Bellin
Crystal Marcos
The Candid Cover
LOVE. WITHOUT YOU
Here We Go Again…Ready?
Helen Smith
Jennifer Faye ~ Romance Author
B. Kristin McMichael
Cool Cat Mysteries
The Lovely Books
Author Elisa Dane
Simple Wyrdings
D.E. Haggerty, author
Why Not? Because I Said So! (Sheila Staley)
Diana’s Book Reviews
Stones of Gilgal Novels
AuggieTalk
Author Dorothy Dreyer
Giveaway Details
$250 in Paypal Cash or a $250 Amazon.com eGift Card
Ends 7/15/16
Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use money sent via Paypal. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the authors, bloggers and publishers on the sponsor list. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
June 20, 2016
Book Blast ~ The Royal Nanny by Karen Harper #historicalfiction
THE ROYAL NANNY
by Karen Harper
GENRE: historical fiction
BLURB
In 1897, a young cockney nursemaid takes her first train ride, leaving London for the lush and sprawling Sandringham Estate, private home to Britain’s royal family. Hired by the Duke and Duchess of York to help rear their royal children, Charlotte Bill is about to become privy to all the secrets families hide, and caught between the upstairs and downstairs worlds.
EXCERPT
Truth was, I used to wish the widowed Dr. Edwin Lockwood, my former employer, would marry me, though I knew that as quite out of the question. But when I first went to work at his house as nursemaid, I was only thirteen and such a dreamer. People think I’m a no-nonsense person, but I still harbor flights of fancy in my head and heart, and to mean something to someone else is one of them.
But in the nearly ten years I worked in London, I knew it was not that I loved the doctor, but that I did love his two little daughters and hated to leave them, especially after I’d been promoted to nurse after five years there. Now his new wife didn’t want me about because her stepchildren doted on me. But the doctor gave me a good character, which the Duchess of York’s friend, Lady Eva Dugdale, had somehow seen. So here I was, headed to the Duke and Duchess of York’s country house to help the head nurse of two royal lads, one called David, nearly four years of age, the other, Bertie, a year-and-a-half; and a new baby to be born soon.
Beat down the butterflies in my belly and practiced saying, “Your Grace, milord, milady, sir, ma’am,” and all that. What if Queen Victoria herself ever popped in for a visit, for the duke was her grandson—well, there were many of her offspring scattered across Europe in ruling houses, but he was in direct line to the British throne after his father, the Prince of Wales. And since the Prince and Princess of Wales often lived on the same Sandringham Estate, so Lady Dugdale said, I wager I’d see them, right regular too, that is if the head nurse, name of Mary Peters, let me help her with the royal children when their kin came calling.
“Ticket, please, miss,” the conductor said as he came through the carriage. I had a moment’s scramble but handed it to him and had it marked. When he passed on, I put it as a keepsake in my wooden box of worldly goods, which sat on the floor next to my seat. The carriage wasn’t too full, not to Norfolk with its marshy fens and the windy Wash my papa had described to me. Oh, I was so excited I could barely sit still. I was to disembark at a place called Wolferton Station where someone was to meet me. I was just so certain everything would be lovely, and fine and grandly, royally perfect.
AUTHOR Bio and Links
NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling author Karen Harper is a former university (Ohio State) and high school English teacher. Published since 1982, she writes contemporary suspense and historical novels about real British women. Two of her recent Tudor era books were bestsellers in the UK and Russia. A rabid Anglophile, she likes nothing more than to research her novels on site in the British Isles. Harper won the Mary Higgins Clark Award for DARK ANGEL, and her novel SHATTERED SECRETS was judged one of the Best Books of 2014 by Suspense Magazine. The author and her husband divide their time between Ohio and Florida. For more information please visit: http://www.karenharperauthor.com
GIVEAWAY
A randomly drawn commenter will receive a digital copy of the book.
June 19, 2016
Book Blast ~ His Lass Wears Tartan by @NWAuthor #paranormalromance
Title: HIS LASS WEARS TARTAN
Author: Kathleen Shaputis
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Pages: 270
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Independent and dedicatedly single, Rogue Bruce enjoys running Castle Baillie with her Aunt Baillie from America. They specialize in romantic Elizabethan-themed weddings, complete with resident ghost, Lord Kai (nothing like a haunted castle to set the mood for love). But love is something Rogue is not the least bit interested in. Content with her work and stable of horses, no man is necessary for her happiness.
Matchmaking is in the air, though, focusing on Bruce MacKenzie, a Thor in plaid and jeans from town, and Jonathan Olson, a snobbish Rhett Butler type. With two men after her heart (she’d thought safely locked away), Rogue is torn with confusion. Murder and a psychic yank the soundtrack of Rogue’s life from romantic to scary, while she has choices to make in this sizzling triangle.
You can pick up your copy at Amazon.
Book Excerpt:
“Who created these torture devices for women?” Rogue muttered as the high-heeled ankle boots her glittery Seattle friend, Rafael, had picked out for her squeezed her toes. Dashing around the white-silk-draped chairs inside the reception tent set up on the castle grounds, she lifted her floor-length emerald skirt of fluff and ribbons and screamed internally about her aching feet. Her steps made soft clicks on the temporary polished flooring. “Spike heels make my legs look better, she tells me. Heels? Seriously? Buried under twenty yards of bloody material, no one will notice, I swear, and this dress weighs a ton.”
Why must my bloody underwear be authentic if no one knows or sees it? Seriously, another full day of endless agony in this restrictive Elizabethan costume of layered torture. You know an evil man must have created the corset. No woman would have designed something so miserable and called it fashionable. How many times had she pleaded with Aunt Baillie to let her wear something soft, something comfortable like pants and a jacket? Her aunt’s normally sweet face would transform into a stony glare, forcing Rogue to relent and don one of the many costumes made specifically for her.
“The Baillie Castle Bed and Breakfast promises a fairy-tale environment for couples in love and bridal parties and a stop-time fantasy for families and guests,” Rogue mimicked her American aunt and business partner. “These expensive weddings pay the taxes and daily upkeep of your renovated castle.”
Rogue could barely breathe in the tightly wrapped bodice as she rounded out of the heated white tent, her eyes on the temporary stone path placed in the soggy Scottish mud. Plowing into something solid, Rogue cursed and frantically reached out, wobbling on the spiked heels. Grabbing at anything, her fingers found soft, crushable flannel before warm, strong hands wrapped around her wrists. Staring at the manly fingers holding her steady, Rogue’s eyes traveled up the long, chiseled arms of a young man to his concerned face, locking eyes with her.
“Ya be all right, miss?”
His baritone voice tickled her ears, causing the breath to catch in her throat as the heat from his grasp flushed in a wave across her face. All she could handle was a weak nod while staring at his serious face framed with shaggy blond hair, a chill breeze lifting the bangs from his ruddy forehead. His oddly green eyes blinked above a well-freckled nose and broke the spell.
About the Author
Kathleen Shaputis, author/ghostwriter, lives in the glorious Pacific Northwest with her husband, Bob, a clowder of cats and two pompously protective Pomeranians with little social aptitude, Brugh and Bouncer. If not writing, she’s busy reading and watching romantic comedies, her ultimate paradise.
Visit Kathleen’s website or connect with her on Twitter or Facebook.
June 16, 2016
Interview with Sean Dow (@sbdow), Author of A Leafy World
I’m excited to welcome Sean Dow, author, to the Readsalot blog this morning. He’s talking to us about his latest release, A Leafy World.
From critical care physician to thriller writer. That seems like a big leap. What inspired you to write thrillers? Your day job is an intensive one. Where do you manage to find the time to write?
I love to read, and have long wished to be a writer, myself. I love a story that involves me so much that I feel as if I am living it, not just turning the pages. Thrillers do this for me more than any other genre, and it seemed only right that when I started my writing career to stay with what I loved.
One of your titles, Debridement, is being made into a feature film. Who would you pick to play Dr. Brent Holcomb in a Hollywood adaptation of A Leafy Green World?
Tough question, as I don’t follow the current actors closely. I have asked about, and the answers vary quite widely. Christian Bale is probably one of the better choices.
Describe A Leafy Green World in 140 characters (also known as a tweet).
Physician at end of downhill slide meets girl of his dreams. Soon he is enmeshed in domestic and international terrorism, America’s fate in hand.
A Leafy Green World is set in the Pacific Northwest and has a physician as its main protagonist. How much of your own life did you use as inspiration for the story (domestic terrorists notwithstanding)?
Unfortunately, some of the events that place Dr. Holcomb on his downward spiral are true (names changes to protect the guilty) and of course, the medical references come from my years in practice, but the vast majority of the story is pure fiction, the product of an over active imagination.
What’s the most amusing thing that happened to you while writing A Leafy Green World?
As I was researching the domestic terrorists I mentioned to a friend that I was probably putting myself on the government’s watch list. It was only a week or so later that the Edward Snowden affair came to light.
What’s your favorite part about the writing process?
When I am actively writing I find that I think better, more sharply, and that basically, all things are better. The writing process is for the mind like going to the gym is for the body-I find that simple things such as bumper stickers or a casual joke will often fit perfectly into my story line, supplying just the right touch that I was needing, at just the right time.
Tell us about your next release. And when can we expect it?
I am torn between a crime thriller that has been at the back of my mind, and another terrorism story. Have started both, but my new puppy, Bailey, seems to think she is more important than my keyboard, and since she will soon outweigh me (Mastiff) I am trying to stay on her good side!
Title: A Leafy Green World
Author: Sean Dow
Publisher: Two Harbors Press
Pages: 449
Genre: Thriller
A Leafy Green World is a fast paced, action packed thriller set in the Pacific Northwest. Dr. Brent Holcomb has moved to Portland in hopes of resurrecting his life and his career. There, he meets Robyn-the girl from his dreams. All is going smoothly until he realizes Robyn and her friends are not what they seem. Now, wrapped up in the murder of an innocent man, and with nowhere to turn, Brent forms a bold plan-a plan that will put him on a dangerous course, aligning himself with domestic terrorists and ultimately, a deeply hidden cell of Islamic terrorists.
For More Information
A Leafy Green World is available at Amazon.
Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.
Book Excerpt:
Upper Dir valley, Pakistan
“How well do you trust him?” asked the voice over the encrypted satellite phone.
Farouk was always amazed at the technology that allowed him to have a clear conversation with someone halfway across the world. It was an honor to have been put through—he was speaking to Saadullah Abul Ka-beir himself, the imam who was guiding the war against the great Satan. He was a merciless warrior, a genius, and a master of planning—the best hope Islam had ever had of ridding the world of the Jews and of bringing in the glorious caliphate, and Farouk was actually being allowed to speak directly to him!
Even with the encryption, he had been instructed not to mention names or give any salutations that could be used to identify the man on the other end. The Americans were always finding ways to listen in on their conversations. The only truly secure communication was by courier, and the time delay involved in that was often unacceptable. Going in person to see the imam was out of the question. It would take almost two days to fly to Peshawar, and from there it was another grueling six hours to reach the blessed valley in Upper Dir where the council was sheltered.
“Six hours, that is, in the daylight,” thought Farouk. Travel now had to be at night. The daytime skies were filled with silent death. So many heroes had died before their appointed time and with nothing to show for their deaths. The Americans struck wherever they pleased; there was no sovereignty, no shelter. Even in his own country, his leaders were forced to live like animals, cowering in damp caves and afraid to show their faces, lest the devils strike from the sky. It was an abomination, but it was also reality—Farouk prayed on a daily basis that he would live long enough to dance upon the graves of the infidels who forced the great leaders to live in such a demeaning manner.
In the meantime, satellite phones had become a necessary risk. They were effective, but information still had to be kept to a minimum, conversations as short as possible, and specifics avoided. No one knew if the enemy could listen in, but even if not, it would probably be only a short time until they could.
“I trust him completely, Sheikh,” Farouk said. “Enough to insist on a chance to bring this information to you. We have the opportunity to achieve the dreams of our people, and in our lifetime. This man is high in the ranks of a group that has lived for years amongst the devils, fighting them constantly, and they have never been penetrated.
“I also worked with his father, a man of great integrity whose efforts are largely responsible for my financial independence. I can say with certainty that this man can be trusted.”
“You realize what will happen to you and your family if you have been deceived?”
“Yes, Sheikh. As always, I put my life in your hands. We are searching his past and will watch everything he does, but I sense the beneficence of Allah in this man.”
“Very well. We will discuss this. In the meantime, continue your vigilance but do not go any further. You have already taken a great chance talking to him. You will find the fires of hell to be a welcome relief if your actions bring any damage to our cause.”
The call ended. No Salam alaikum, no Allah ysalmak, just silence. Silence and a feeling of dread. What if I have let pride interfere with my judgment? Farouk worried. Have I let the lion in the door?
Title: Al-thar
Author: Sean Dow
Publisher: Two Harbors Press
Pages: 466
Genre: Thriller
In Al-thar, (Arabic:revenge) Brent is living a tranquil life on the peaceful Philippine island of Masbate. But the FBI’s witness protection plan is not enough when you have destroyed the plans of the world’s most feared terrorist group-an assassin is on the way, and his plans are far worse than a simple bullet in the head. With the violent destruction of his new island home, Dr. Holcomb is once again thrust into danger, this time on an international level. There are only two outcomes in this new high-stakes match, Brent’s painful and public death and the destruction of America’s, or the death of Saadullah Abul Ka-beir, and his council. Brent brings together his cast of memorable friends from A Leafy Green World as he devises the greatest deception ever imagined. The action goes at a break-neck pace from the Philippines to Washington, D.C., and from a remote valley in Pakistan to the jungles of Sierra Leone in this novel that has been described as almost too real, and too timely.
For More Information
Al-thar is available at Amazon.
Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads
~ About the Author ~
Sean Dow is a pulmonary and critical care physician in Great Falls, Montana. He started writing thriller novels in 2011, and has three titles, one of which, Debridement, is in its second printing and is being made into a feature film.
Sean was born in Iowa City, but was raised on a small farm in Kansas before leaving for medical school, and the adventures beyond. His career was largely in Klamath Falls, Oregon, a town that still feels like home. He did a brief stent in Las Vegas before moving to the paradise of Montana. When not working or writing, Sean can be found in the kitchen perfecting his New York cheesecake, or on the mountain streams with Bailey, his beloved (and perfectly behaved) Mastiff and his favorite 2 weight fly rod-a parting gift from a dear friend and patient.
His latest books are A Leafy Green World and Al-thar.
For More Information
Visit Sean Dow’s website.
Connect with Sean on Facebook and Twitter.
June 14, 2016
Blog tour stop ~ Gone Wild by @karenmbryson #bookreview #romance
Title: Gone Wild
Author: Dakota Madison
Published: May 15, 2016
Genre: Romantic Comedy
~ Synopsis ~
Go BACK TO BOOKMAN with USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR Dakota Madison’s new #LoveinMidlife #ComingofMiddleAge romantic comedy series.
Tenured English professor Bly Daniels believes the short walk from her campus office to the university library is too much exposure to the harsh elements of the outdoors. She would prefer to spend her days (and nights) comfortably seated indoors reading classic literature.
When Bly is arrested for reading one of the great books while driving home, a judge sentences her to thirty days of community service with The Wild Way, a therapeutic wilderness program for troubled teens.
There she meets Turner Wild, the owner and operate of the wilderness program. Turner is everything Bly despises: rugged, unrefined and outdoorsy. For Bly a trip to hell sounds more desirable than spending an entire month with Turner and his band of hooligans as they traverse the woods of rural northwest New Jersey communing with nature.
Bly certainly never expects to form a bond with the troubled teens she’s been assigned to mentor and forge an unlikely relationship with their fearless leader, Turner Wild.
~ Book Review~
An older heroine in a romantic comedy? I couldn’t get my hands on this book fast enough. And I wasn’t disappointed. I could totally relate to Bly. The love of books, even that new book smell; I fell in love with her. She was completely out of touch with reality and somewhat of a witch (go ahead and substitute a b for that w there), but she had her reasons. Bly grew as a character in this quick read. The growth sometimes felt rushed, but then again, she was completely out of her element and it was literally sink or swim time.
I liked Turner as well. He was a bit of a jerk at the start, but I can only imagine his eye roll when he was forced to take on Bly as part of her community service. The kids in the camp were awesome, too. I nearly had to stop myself from signing up to volunteer at a camp for troubled teens (which would have been a complete disaster). The love story between Turner and Bly was well-paced and believable despite the insta-love element (I am biased here, though, because I love stories with insta-love.)
I like to think that I laugh more than the average person, but I didn’t find this romantic comedy funny. Cute? Definitely. But funny? Not really.
Overall, a fun quick read that I would recommend
~ About the Author ~
USA TODAY Bestselling author Dakota Madison is known for writing new adult, love in midlife, and contemporary romance with a little spice and lots of heart. Dakota is a winner of the prestigious RONE Award for Excellence in the Indie and Small Publishing Industry. When she’s not at her computer creating spicy stories Dakota likes to spend time with her husband and their bloodhounds. Dakota also writes under the pen names SAVANNAH YOUNG, SIERRA AVALON and REN MONTERREY.
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