Effrosyni Moschoudi's Blog, page 46
February 23, 2015
An interview with ‘superwoman’, Mary Smith
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February 16, 2015
NEW RELEASE: Born to Magic by David Wind
Today, I’m thrilled to announce the release of Born to Magic by David Wind; I’ve had the pleasure to beta read this gem of sci-fi/fantasy and found it absolutely magical. You can see my 5-star review of this gem on my website, here. David Wind has created an epic, fantastical world in a series that will always leave you thirsty for more on the last page. Trust me, I know what I’m talking about! I recently beta read the sequel too, and I’m still having withdrawal symptoms :)
Make sure to enter the rafflecopter at the end of the post for a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card.
Born To Magic
by David Wind
Series: Tales of Nevaeh: Volume 1
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Release Date: February 15, 2015
Welcome to Nevaeh: a world where technology no longer exists, but magic does.
Long ago, a mythical nation known as ‘America’ died in the violence and radiation of the terrorist wars. Now their descendants dwell in a world of ritual and magic where ten dominions struggle for supremacy while a dark power rises to threaten them all.
In Nevaeh, where men are blessed with great strength and women have both strength and psychic abilities, one woman has been chosen to be Nevaeh’s savior, Areenna���the only daughter of the King of Freemorn.
Barely eighteen, Areenna’s psychic abilities���her magic��� are already stronger than that of most women. But when Areenna is called to The Island, a place where all women of psychic power must go, but from where only some return, she soon learns the fate of her world is in her hands.
Accompanied by Mikaal, the son of the High King of Nevaeh, the two undertake a perilous journey to a place of great power, in an effort to save Nevaeh from the oncoming darkness, and these dark and evil forces will do everything in their power to stop Areenna from reaching her destination.
Areenna���s journey is filled with unimaginable dangers as they cross through three of Nevaeh’s ten dominions, and through the haunted wastelands and badlands filled with the mutated survivors of the nuclear holocaust to fight their way to what will either claim both their lives or give them the powers to save their world.
���There is no choice.��� Cupping the sides of his head, the High King of Nevaeh held himself as if trying to ease a headache of astonishing proportions.
���There is always a choice.��� The High Queens���s voice was as soothing as was the hand stroking his back. While smaller than most men of Nevaeh, the king was broad across the chest and shoulders, narrow at the hips with powerful legs and arms. Yet none would have pictured him a king for his size combined with the delivery of his words served to make him appear slow-witted. He, however, was far from slow-witted. He considered every word he spoke carefully before allowing it to pass his lips.
His special combination of strength and intelligence had allowed him to defeat the sorceresses controlled and led by the Masters of the Circle of Afzal���the leaders of the shadowy empire across the sea. These witches had held Nevaeh in virtual slavery, using the fighting between the ten dominions to keep their Dark Masters��� strength high���for they fed not upon earthly food, but by keeping the rulers of Nevaeh at each other���s throats, living and growing in the power created by the dark energies born from the fighting.
By defeating the Afzaleem, he became the first person to unite the dominions of Nevaeh under a single rule while at the same time denying the Circle their Nevaen puppets.
The king lifted his head to look into the gray eyes of his mate. ���There is no choice,��� he repeated. ���We must keep the trust and willingness of all rulers to allow themselves and their families to be led rather than forced.���
���There are still those who resist what we do to help them,��� she said.
���No, it is because those few have no faith in me,��� he whispered. While his words were simple, they were true.
���Perhaps��� Yet I know there will be one who comes to your aid, when the time is right,��� she whispered. ���I have foreseen it in my dreams, My Lord. You have changed much since you became high king and you ask the people to do the same. And remember, what follows this change is what you seek to guide, not the change itself. The rest will take more time than you and I have, which is why you must wait for the right person.���
���How long is the wait? We both know the situation grows dire. The lords of the ten will start feuding again as the remnants of the Circle try to rise. The Afzaleem are all but dead. But we know the Circle will find new vassals to fill with darkness���if they have not done so already. Soon there will begin fighting. The people will be easily swayed should the dark power find a way to regain a foothold��� and such can only happen when dominion fights dominion. They almost won, and they will try again���they will never stop. How long must the wait be?��� he repeated, not seeking an answer but putting forth the question to the very air itself. ���Days? Weeks? Years?���
In from the window floated the voice of their sixteen year old son, Mikaal, as he trained for combat in the courtyard below. ���This person will come. It will not be��� overly long, my husband, my��� Lord. It will happen���perhaps not in the way you think it should, but it will come about the way it must.���
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I live and write in a small village about thirty miles upstate of NYC, and share my home with my wife, Bonnie and our dog Alfie, an apricot poodle.
When I began writing in 1980, I had no idea where I was headed. Since then, I’ve published thirty-five novels, thirty-three of them with traditional publishers, but I decided I wanted more freedom than the traditional publishers would allow and began a new phase in my life as an Independent Author.
Sci-Fi & fantasy has always been my most favorite genre. �� My first novel in the genre, Queen Of Knights was a medieval / historical fantasy and reached #2 on the Amazon.com bestseller lists for historical fantasy and medieval fantasy, and my sci-fi of parallel worlds, The Others, received wide acclaim.
M first Independent novel,��Angels In Mourning, was my ‘homage’ to the old time private detective books of the late 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. ��I used to love to sneak them from my parents��� night-tables and read them as a young boy. ��Angels��is a modern day take on the old style hardboiled detective. ��Angels In Mourning won the Amazon.com Book of the Month Reader’s Choice Award shortly after it was published.
My most current thriller, The Cured, was written with Terese Ramin. The idea for this Medical Thriller came shortly after the death of a close friend. ��I couldn’t help but wonder about the medication…
My previous suspense thrillers are The Hyte Maneuver, (a Literary guild alternate selection); As Peace Lay Dying, Conspiracy of Mirrors, And Down Will Come Baby, Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep��,and Shadows.
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Email:��dmw@davidwind.com
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Interview with Linda Lee Williams
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February 10, 2015
Book Review: No Perfect Secret by Jackie Weger
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February 9, 2015
A Valentine’s Day treat for you – Hearts and Kisses Boxset
Today, I’m being a proper Greek: that is, I’m here bearing gifts and all! Seeing that Valentine’s Day is upon us, I’m thrilled to present to you an awesome treat for all you romance lovers out there – 12 sweet stories of love from successful writers, including Jackie Weger, Donna Fasano, Mimi Barbour and Traci Hall from my writers’ group, eNovel Authors at Work. If you’ve heard me rant about these authors even once before, then you already know this boxset is unmissable – especially as the price at the moment is only $0.99! Yes, that’s right! As I said, it’s a TREAT!
Also, make sure to enter the rafflecopter at the end of this post for a chance to win a $20 Amazon gift card!
Hearts & Kisses
by Sophia Knightly,�� Ginny Baird,�� Mimi Barbour, Mel Curtis,�� Donna Fasano,�� Mona Risk, Helen Scott Taylor,�� Ari Thatcher,�� �� Patrice Wilton,
Traci Hall,�� Anna J. Stewart, and�� Jackie Weger
Genre: Contemporary/Holiday Romance
Release Date: February 10, 2015
Just in time for Valentine���s Day, twelve New York Times, USA Today, National bestselling and award-winning authors deliver a dozen contemporary romance novels and novellas packed with drama, suspense, love and laughter. From the Highlands of Scotland to the Hollywood hills, twelve strong heroines meet twelve hot heroes in tales that span the globe. Whether you crave big-city adventure or small-town romance, second chance stories, or sexy single dads…this outstanding collection holds something special for you. Come be our Valentine, and snuggle up with these sweet and steamy romances, perfect for reading on a chilly winter���s eve. Happy ever afters guaranteed.
Heart Tamer (Heartthrob Series Novella)
by Sophia Knightly, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author
Fashion designer Kate Hayes must somehow convince her estranged ex-husband, Alec MacLeod, to agree to an unusual request. In this fiery second chance at love, whose heart will be tamed?
The Sometime Bride
by Ginny Baird, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author
Carrie St. John is done with wedding disasters. Third time���s the charm? A jilted bride and a ditched bachelor cut a ���fake fianc����� deal.
The Surrogate���s Secret
by Mimi Barbour, USA Today and National bestselling author
Confirmed bachelor, Miguel, forces his dead brother���s gorgeous, headstrong surrogate to marry him so he can take her and her twins to Chile to cheer his ailing mamita.
Breaking the Rules
by Mel Curtis, USA Today and National bestselling, award-winning author
The Gordon���s marriage has been an emotional rollercoaster, but Jack has the solution���lock them inside a safe room for a cool-down, which turns out to be hot.
Take Me, I���m Yours
by Donna Fasano, USA Today bestselling author
Sexy single dad Derek learned the hard way to never trust a beautiful woman. So although he is indebted to Lainey for thwarting a kidnapping attempt on his daughter, he isn���t about to offer her his heart on a silver platter!
Valentine Babies
by Mona Risk, USA Today and National bestselling author
Getting involved with fearless reporter, Roxanne, involves more complications than Dr. Greg has ever faced in the OR.
The Army Doctor���s Valentine���s Baby
by Helen Scott Taylor, USA Today and National bestselling author
An abandoned baby brings two lonely army doctors together.
The Rock Star���s Wedding
by Ari Thatcher, USA Today and National bestselling author
Kenzie���s vacation in St. Thomas heats up when her high school sweetheart and rock star heartthrob Chaz appears. If only he wasn���t there for his wedding.
Love Struck
by Patrice Wilton, USA Today bestselling author
With the ���love bug myth��� and discovery of gold, Serendipity Falls is no longer safe. Can Samantha and Kyle find a way to end this madness, or will they too be swept away by love?
Ambrosia by the Sea
by Traci Hall, National bestselling and award-winning author
After a bitter betrayal by her late husband, self-taught chef Celia Langdon moves to the sea, where dive shop owner Dax Smith dares her to heal from the heart.
Reading Between the Lines
by Anna J Stewart, National bestselling author
When Ethan Sutherland was in high school, he���d go to any lengths to hide his secret, including betraying the one girl who tried to help him. Now he���s back in town and hoping Cassidy Wells finds it in her heart to forgive him.
No Perfect Destiny
by Jackie Weger, National bestselling and award-winning author
Leah Spencer lives in the present until one sun-drenched day, her troubled past imperils the future and threatens all she holds dear.
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Sophia Knightly
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Sophia Knightly, loves to cook up hot romance and delicious humor in her feel-good stories. Whether it’s romantic suspense, romantic comedy or chick lit, her books are fun and sexy contemporary romances that feature hot alpha heroes and strong, smart women.
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Ginny Baird
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Ginny Baird has published novels in print and online and received screenplay options from Hollywood for her family and romantic comedy scripts. She writes touching, often humorous, contemporary romance about single women facing everyday challenges. Known for featuring holidays and family themes in her work, Ginny frequently portrays the struggles of single parents or others who’ve given up on finding true love.
Ginny has two ongoing novella series, The Holiday Brides Series (holiday romance) and The Summer Grooms Series (summer romance), as well as additional single titles available. She is a��New York Times��and��USA Today��Bestselling Author, a Top 10 Best Seller on Kindle, NOOK and iBooks, and a #1 Best��Seller in several Romance and Women’s Fiction categories. Visit Ginny’s website at www.ginnybairdromance.com to learn more about her and her books.
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Mimi Barbour
Mimi Barbour is an Amazon best-selling author who’s sold over 500,000 copies of her books world-wide. Her five romance series: The Vicarage Bench/ time travel at it’s best, Angels with Attitudes / angels love romance, Vegas / fast-paced plotting, Elvis / make a song a book and her newest, Undercover FBI / with sizzling conflicts and lots of humor.
Mimi’s been heard to say: “I’m an author who loves to read uplifting stories about romance. Add in some time travel, or maybe an angel, or even a little romantic suspense and it makes the story more fascinating because of the incredible possibilities.”
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Melinda Curtis
Award winning, USA Today bestseller Melinda Curtis writes fun, steamy romances as Mel Curtis. Jayne Ann Krentz says of Blue Rules: ���Sharp, sassy, modern version of a screwball comedy from Hollywood’s Golden Age except a lot hotter.��� ��Melinda also writes sweet romances – the Harmony Valley series for Harlequin Heartwarming, and the sweet romantic comedy Bridesmaid series. Brenda Novak says: ���Season of Change has found a place on my keeper shelf.”
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Donna Fasano
USA Today Bestselling Author Donna Fasano is the author of over 30 romance and women’s fiction titles. Her award-winning books have been described as “emotional,” “heartwarming,” and “simply wonderful!” Over the course of her 25 year career, she has sold 4 million books worldwide. BigAl from BooksAndPals.com says, “Donna Fasano is a keen observer of human nature and creates characters that ring true to life.”
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Mona Risk
USA Today Bestselling Author, Mona Risk, recently received an Outstanding Achiever Award from Affaire de Coeur Magazine. Her name has often been posted on the Amazon.com 100 Most Popular Authors in Romance list. She’s a two time winner of Best Contemporary Romance of the Year from Readers Favorite; a winner of Best Romance Novel of the Year from Preditors & Editors Readers Poll; and an EPIC Award finalist.
Her contribution to Valentine Hearts and Kisses is Valentine Babies.
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Helen Scott Taylor
USA Today bestselling author, Helen Scott Taylor, writes sweet contemporary romance set in the UK and Europe. Her contribution to Hearts & Kisses is The Army Doctor’s Valentine’s Baby, part of her Army Doctor’s series.
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Ari Thatcher
Ari Thatcher is the ���naughty name��� of USA Today Bestselling sweet romance author Aileen Fish. Ari has always loved sexy romance where love takes the leading role. Reviews have called her work ���captivating��� and ���compelling���, and her characters ���intelligent, intriguing and realistic.���
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Patrice Wilton
Patrice Wilton is a USA Today and National best selling author of more than 20 books. Her best known series include The Candy Bar Series, Serendipity Falls series, and her returning war hero series, A HERO LIES WITHIN, HANDLE WITH CARE and AT FIRST SIGHT.
She lives in West Palm Beach with her retired PGA golf pro husband, and plays tennis and golf when she’s not writing fun, sexy romance stories. She loves emails and will answer everyone the same day.
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Traci Hall
With an impressive bibliography in an array of genres and boasting #1 bestseller status on Amazon.com, Traci Hall has garnered a notable fan base. She pens stories guaranteed to touch the heart while transporting the reader to another time and place. Her belief in happily ever after shines through, whether it’s a romantic glimpse into history or a love affair for today.
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Anna J. Stewart
National bestselling author Anna J. Stewart can’t remember a time she didn’t have a book in her hands or a story in her head. Early obsessions with Star Wars, Star Trek andWonder Woman set her on the path to creating fun, funny, and family centric romances with happy endings for her independent heroines for both Harlequin and Berkley. Anna lives in Northern California where she deals with a serious Supernatural & Sherlock addiction, surrounds herself with friends and family, and tolerates an overly affectionate cat named Snickers (or perhaps it’s Snickers who tolerates her).
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Jackie Weger
An internationally published author, Jackie Weger has been writing romance novels off and on for thirty years. When not writing Jackie is traveling the good earth by foot, train, boat, plane, mule and pickup. Ports of call include London and Paris, Panama and Costa Rica during which she collects memories, friends, fans and experiences���all of ��which often make appearances in her novels.
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My Corfiot granny and a bunch of strange tourists
Back in the 80s, life for me as a young girl visiting Corfu, used to be simply heaven. Often, I’d spend as long as three whole months there with my grandparents. Just like my heroine Sofia in my trilogy, The Lady of the Pier, I’d spend my days there swimming, sunbathing, enjoying breathtaking surroundings and… thanks to my gran, eating homemade delicacies to my heart’s content too. Basically, I used to live the life of Riley!
Having said that, in a way, I was working as well as holidaying there, although even my working hours were mostly fun too, since they gave me the chance to meet lots of tourists, make friends and polish my English in the process.
You see, for the biggest part of the 80s, my family owned a guesthouse where tourists (mostly Brits) came to stay for 1-2 weeks at a time. My experience cleaning the rooms daily with my younger sister under the supervision of my gran Antigoni, is what brought to being the fictitious guesthouse “Pallada” in my debut novel, The Necklace of Goddess Athena. What’s more, Mrs Sofia, the Corfiot pensioner who runs it in the book, is a character I’ve created with a lot of affection, having modeled her after my Gran Antigoni; a woman of an equally explosive temperament, a melodic, vocal expression, and a kind, giving heart.
Having met a multitude of people from various countries in our Corfiot guesthouse, I have a wealth of memories to treasure from those days. Somehow, my most favorite ones are the most hilarious among them.
Today, I thought I’d blog about it and share a couple with you.
Before I begin though, I should explain first that�� my Gran���s command of English didn���t go much further than ���yes���, ���no���, ���hello���, and ���thank you���. However, she had the incredible ability to communicate anything to the guests effectively, using hand gestures – that is, when I wasn���t around to translate for her. And although she���d often go out of her way to accommodate guests with all their needs, she wouldn���t give an iota to anyone if they broke the house rules!
I remember one morning, all three of us had just arrived to clean the rooms when Gran spotted a young lad she didn���t recognize on one of the first floor balconies. What���s more, his hair was tousled, and he seemed only half-awake. Gran saw red, seeing that this room had been assigned to two girls and no guy. She dashed inside and knocked on the door loudly, conveying the message to the guests inside that they were in big trouble. Through the paper-thin walls, we heard a mighty scuffle while the girls rushed the guy to the balcony. Luckily for him, it was situated very close to the external staircase leading to the yard below. Being young and athletic, the lad managed without much exertion to escape, before my Gran could rush outside again to catch him and give him an earful.
What���s more, the girls then opened the door, engaging into a fiery shouting match with my Gran, which was just too delightful to interrupt, seeing that Gran spoke melodic (yet irate!) Corfiot while they spoke English with a heavy Scottish accent. In the end, they slammed the door on Gran and that was the end of it. I did speak to them at a later point and told them they weren���t allowed guests, and they promised not to do it again.
Yet, Gran kept fuming about the whole affair and finally calmed down about it, but only after their departure. As we prepared the room for the new arrivals, Gran was delighted to find a small film camera under one bed. She saw it as a sign that she was right and they were wrong to treat her so insolently that day. Gran may be quick to start a fight, but she���s got a solid sense of justice. If this is how she thought divine justice had been served, who was I to argue? Besides, the camera had the coolest pink color ever! My sister and I got the full benefit of its use for years to come. The readers of my book will easily spot a nod to this incident in a similar, fictitious episode that takes place in ���Pallada���.
In our Corfu guesthouse, we had mainly British, German and Italian tourists. Some of them became dear friends and although we rarely met any of them again, in many cases, we wound up corresponding back and forth for years to come.
For example, there was this kindly German family that got to be good friends with mine, and it all started with a very funny incident. The father was sitting on his balcony one afternoon while my parents and I just enjoyed the cool breeze, sitting in the front yard below. Suddenly, he started to shout with a heated volley of German, which none of us spoke. The man���s eyes grew huge as he spoke to us, while gesturing with his hands and pointing to the far end of the yard at a flowerbed.
Mystified, we all stared blankly back at him and all the while, he wouldn���t stop shouting and gesturing. He had got all red in the face, and we had started to worry that he was going to have a heart attack.
Thankfully, his son came in from the street then and saved the day by translating. His dad had just spotted a giant rat scurrying away along the cemented ledge by the flowerbed. We started to laugh and the man immediately calmed down and laughed as well. It turned out he wasn���t at all concerned about vermin, just plain frustrated that we couldn���t understand him! As for the rat, we didn���t worry. The village is surrounded by fields and forestland, crawling with snakes (even adders), large lizards and massive rats. No surprise there!
Over the years, some of our guests, especially the young ones, were quite difficult to handle. They drank too much, messed up the rooms badly and managed to cause mischief in various ways. Two Italian boys from Napoli sharing a room at one time certainly stand out in memory for their sheer naughtiness alone. One of the two was particularly vocal and sang love songs in his language all day long. One afternoon, he got out on his balcony over the yard, wrapped in a small towel, put out his hands and started to sing at the top of his lungs, baritone-style: ���La pi�� bella del mondo per meEEEE!!��� (You get the picture!)
My uncle who holidayed at the ground floor was outside at the time with me, my sister and two cousins, who were just small children back then. Uncle stood under the boy���s balcony, looked up and started to scold him irately, while making sharp shooing gestures. He was particularly concerned to protect our eyes, he later explained, seeing that as he saw for himself, the sight of the boy from that angle was far too shocking for innocent young girls. The Napolitano lad didn���t speak any Corfiot, but my uncle���s angry expression surely made him understand, and he scuttled back in his room. Although he never came out on the balcony in the same fashion again, he still managed to cause concern. We suspected for days that he and his roommate had brought a gas cooker and prepared food in the room, but despite our best intentions to catch them in the act, we never succeeded. We only got the proof in the end. After they vacated the room, we found a singed doily on the dresser and stains of tomato sauce in a few places. No doubt, the Napolitano had been singing every evening while cooking all his favorite Italian meals!
February 8, 2015
Interview with Amy Vansant
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February 4, 2015
How to add an RSS feed to your site nice and easy
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February 2, 2015
Interview with Bronwyn Elsmore
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January 31, 2015
Advertise with Amazon: a Step-by-step Tutorial
A handy & highly informative article that offers step-by-step instructions in order to advertize your books on Amazon most effectively! Thank you, Nicholas Rossis!
Originally posted on Nicholas C. Rossis:
I was reading Chris McMullen���s excellent (as usual) post on Amazon���s new advertising service, and thought I���d give it a go. My monthly advertising budget is $100, but I hadn���t spent anything in January. So, I had this month���s and the previous��one���s budget at my disposal ��� which allowed me to place two ads. For my first one, I chose the Pearseus bundle. This was done for two reasons: one, it��offers great value for money. Second, its higher cost of $3.49��will hopefully allow me to cover the ad���s cost.
The second ad was for Runaway Smile. This allowed me to test two very different ways of targeting my audience, as you will see below.
Oh, and I took lots of screenshots, so as to share with you the process. That way, should any of you decide to advertise with Amazon, you���ll know how to do it. And���
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