Aubrey Wynne's Blog, page 24
April 20, 2023
An excerpt from She, You, I by Sally Keeble with a giftcard giveaway
She, You, I
Sally Keeble
Publication date: January 11th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary
An emotional page-turner of a story about a family torn apart by the legacy of war that asks the question: what happens to the hurt we can’t forget?
When Skye Stanhope returns to her grandmother’s childhood home, she’s searching for the roots of her life story. Why her tough-minded granny ran away to war. And why her brilliant mother died.
Behind the women’s successes, lies deep trauma. As Skye strips away the layers of secrecy, she confronts their inner torments: forces that bound the women together, but also tore them apart. It’s a journey from a poverty-stricken tenement block to an airbase in wartime Suffolk, through boom-time London to a coffee cart beside the sea.
Woven into the women’s lives is Tseng Hsiao Ling, a feisty, enigmatic seamstress whose fortunes become inextricably linked with theirs.
It’s a sweeping tale of love, war and family secrets over three generations.
Through each woman’s story, “She, You, I” holds up a mirror to the complexity of family relationships: mothers, sisters, daughters, and the unexpected twists in Skye’s search for closure.
“She”
Maisie’s story
She was safe under the bed. Metal strips above, bare boards below, her father’s tin trunk behind—name, rank, number engraved on its lid. “All you need to know about a man,” her father said. A blanket hung over the edge of the bed. Maisie lay behind it and clenched her fists against her chest to keep in the fear.
Tonight was bad.
“Floozy!”
“No!”
Shouts from the kitchen. Them fighting. She curled up and squeezed her eyes shut, covered her ears to make it stop. Anything to make it stop.
“You’re my wife.”
A scream from the kitchen ran through her body. And then another, and another, until the whole night became a scream. She tried to block it out, but she couldn’t. It was inside her ears, inside her head. She was the scream. And then it stopped. She took her hands from her ears and listened. Nothing. Silence.
Maisie lifted the blanket and peered into the room. Gaslight from the street spilt over the tattered strip of net curtain nailed across the window. It glinted off the broken mirror above the empty fireplace, touched the two best chairs on their square of worn carpet, and lit up the locked front door out to the landing of the tenement.
In the far corner was the door into the other room, the kitchen. A spindly table stood next to the door, with a piece of lacey cloth draped over it, “To hide its legs,” her mother said, and on it was china figurine of a man in a kilt with a lamb around his neck and a dog at his feet.
Beside the figurine was a photograph in a round frame of pleated cloth. Her mother, Flora, her hair swept up into a chignon and set with glittery jewels—only glass, she said—sat on a chair and behind her stood a soldier, uniformed, his face unmarked, handsome, with jet-black hair and a wide moustache that curled up at the ends like a smile. Her father, Simon. One arm was crocked behind him, the other stretched along the back of the chair, cradling her mother, and the greys of their clothes swirled around the whites of their faces and blended into the beige of the fabric that enclosed them.
The night the glass in the frame got broken wasn’t as bad as this.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Author Bio:
Sally writes novels about the things she’s passionate about—the triumphs and tragedies of people’s lives, their families and life stories.
It’s what originally took her into journalism and then politics, in the UK and beyond. She spent her early years in the USA, Switzerland and Australia, returning to the UK after working as a journalist in South Africa. After serving as an MP, she worked in international development and travelled widely, especially in Africa and South Asia.
“She, You, I” is her first novel. She’s written nonfiction previously. Sally splits her time between Northampton and Bawdsey, a village in coastal Suffolk.
Website / Facebook / Instagram
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April 19, 2023
Twelve Hours in Manhattan by Maan Gabriel with a great giftcard giveaway
Twelve Hours in Manhattan
Maan Gabriel
Publication date: April 18th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fairy Tales, Romance
Two worlds. One heart. Twelve hours.
Bianca Maria Curtis is at the brink of losing it all when she meets Eric at a bar in Manhattan. Eric, as it turns out, is the famous Korean drama celebrity Park Hyun Min, and he’s in town for one night to escape the pressures of fame. From walking along Fifth Avenue to eating ice cream at Serendipity to sharing tender moments on top of the Empire State building, sparks fly as Bianca and Eric spend twelve magical hours far away from their respective lives. In that time, they talk about the big stuff: love, life, and happiness, and the freedom they both seek to fully exist and not merely survive.
But real life is more than just a few exhilarating stolen moments in time.
As the clock strikes the twelfth hour, Bianca returns back to the life she detests to face a tragedy that will test her strength and resolve—and the only thing she has to keep going is the memory of a man she loves in secret from a world away.
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo
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Author Bio:
Maan Gabriel is a mom, wife, dreamer, writer, and advocate for women’s stories in literature. She earned her BA in communications from St. Scholastica’s College in Manila and MPS in public relations and corporate communications from Georgetown University. She has lived in Manila, Brussels, Dakar, and Mexico City. During the day, she works in strategic communications. Gabriel, along with her husband and son, currently calls suburban Washington DC home. After Perfect is her first novel.
“I dream of a world full of hope, where believing is as important as life itself, and where love can move mountains. This is in the very core of my stories, and I wish in more ways than one that I can inspire you to see the world as I see it… a fairy tale.”
– Maan
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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April 18, 2023
Assault (Girl with a Knife #1) by James T. Hogg
Welcome to the book tour for Assault, the first novel in the Girl with a Knife series by James T. Hogg! Read on for more details!
An epic historical novel of love and revenge, good and evil, in seventeenth-century America, spanning five volumes.
Assault (Girl with a Knife #1)
Publication Date: March 21st, 2023
Genre: Historical Fiction/ Mystery/ Thriller
Publisher: All Night Books
Faythe Emily Wentworth was taught by her father how to fight, and never shies from a conflict, no matter the odds. In her small settlement town, she must always be on guard. She is especially wary of one of the Downing brothers who taunts her, longing to take her, threatening to do so by force…
Faythe’s little sister Chloe is different. She is sweet-tempered, always seeing the good in others, and never suspecting ill intent.
Chloe’s innocence is shattered in a vicious attack, and Faythe is determined to seek vengeance and justice for her sister, and later, her family. Armed with a knife and a burning obsession, Faythe fights the superstitions and injustices that have led to her family’s destruction.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org
About the Author James T. Hogg is the pseudonym of one of the most prominent New York City real estate attorneys. As a real-life attorney he has published two non-fiction books about real estate and business, one of which was a Wall Street Journal best seller.
Girl With a Knife is his first novel, based on a story he told many times to his now-grown children. His goal was to create a story that the reader simply cannot put down, even when it is midnight and the reader needs to sleep.
In this novel, Hogg has created a world where girls and women of all cultures are equal or superior to the male characters around them, an epic tale that will appeal to women and men of all ages. James T. Hogg
Book Tour ScheduleApril 17th R&R Book Tours (Kick-Off) http://rrbooktours.com
@squeakeysundergroundlibrary (Review) https://www.instagram.com/squeakeysundergroundlibrary/
@mombiebooknerdpa (Review) https://www.tiktok.com/@mombiebooknerdpa?_t=8Ws1kDhHhfC&_r=1
@plungeintobookstours (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/plungeintobookstours/
I Love Books & Stuff (Spotlight) https://ilovebooksandstuffblog.wordpress.com
April 18th @demigodreading19 (Review) https://www.instagram.com/demigodreading19/
Riss Reviews (Review) https://rissreviewsx.wixsite.com/website
The Faerie Review (Review) http://www.thefaeriereview.com
Timeless Romance Blog (Spotlight) https://aubreywynne.com/
April 19th David’s Book Blurg (Review) https://davidsbookblurg.co.uk/
@fathomsamidstthelines (Review) https://www.instagram.com/fathomsamidstthelines
@slowbookworm (Review) https://www.instagram.com/slowbookworm/
Stine Writing (Spotlight) https://christinebialczak.com/
April 20th @jaslikestoread (Review) https://www.instagram.com/jaslikestoread/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D
Rambling Mads (Review) http://ramblingmads.com
Bunny’s Reviews (Review) https://bookwormbunnyreviews.blogspot.com/
@amber.bunch_author (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/amber.bunch_author/
April 21st @ameliaveganreader (Review) https://www.instagram.com/ameliaveganreader/
@creepylilbookworm (Review) https://www.instagram.com/creepylilbookworm/
@paulalearmouth (Review) https://www.instagram.com/paulalearmouth/
@read.em.if.you.got.em (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/read.em.if.you.got.em/
Book Tour Organized By:
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April 17, 2023
Grand Gestures by Lynne Hancock Pearson – read an excerpt and enter the giveaway
Grand Gestures
Lynne Hancock Pearson
Publication date: April 15th 2023
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance
She will grit her teeth and smile at the snobby and suspicious CFO if it means landing the contract. But she won’t put on a dress and definitely not heels.
Event planner Jane Beckett has big dreams for her small company and is bending over backward to accommodate demanding clients. Jane doesn’t have to like them. She doesn’t have to spend her free time with them. But she wants to tease the grumpy pencil-pushing executive who always seems to be in her way, muss up his hair and show him that there’s more to life than boardrooms and bottom lines. That is, when she doesn’t want to yell at him. Or punch him.
Liam Cross believes every woman has a hidden agenda, one that involves taking advantage of big hearted, clueless billionaires like his best friend and co-worker. He’s watching Jane and her sister to ensure that party-planning is all that’s going on. Even though she manages to steal his assistant, he likes what he sees in the smart-mouthed brunette, admires her stubborn independence, and wants to help her fledgling firm succeed despite his misapprehensions.
Paintballs, punches, and sparks fly when inflated egos and miscommunication threaten relationships between friends, family, and partners.
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo
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EXCERPT:
With whiskey warming his belly and muddling his mind, signing up for a paintball session seemed like a great idea, in the light of day and with a pounding headache, not so much. He intended to argue his way out of the non-refundable fee he’d paid in his drunken state. Settling his sunglasses firmly over his eyes, Liam hauled his sorry ass out of the car. His back hurt, his head hurt, and his hands hurt.
Fingering a fresh blister on the palm of his hand, he cursed himself for not wearing gloves at the batting cage the night before. He’d gone directly from the office to the sports field in Magnuson Park. For two hours, he’d slugged away at balls. Personal day. Liam had never taken a personal day. Other than dental and medical checkups, he never took a day off. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done anything fun without Chuck. He’d whacked the ball time and time again, thinking about his best friend potentially getting his heart stomped on. Again. Worn out from swinging the bat, he’d stopped for booze and takeout, then headed home to stalk Jane Beckett online.
Bullseye Paintball was located in an old salvage yard off Aurora. Whooping with glee, kids erupted out of SUVs and mini vans in the parking lot. Wincing at the noise, Liam made his way to the office and pulled open the heavy door.
“What are you doing here?”
Shit!
Wearing black cargo pants tucked into combat boots and a black hooded sweatshirt, Jane Beckett lounged against the registration desk. She flicked her bangs out of her eyes with a toss of her head and smirked at him. “You’re not playing, are you?”
Her dismissive tone rubbed against his raw nerves. “Yes. Why wouldn’t I?”
Sipping from a travel mug, Jane’s gaze roamed up and down his body, taking in his khaki shorts, fresh white collared shirt, and sneakers. Her lips twitched. “Oh, no reason at all.”
The door opened, and the small office filled with kids, backing Liam into a corner and saving him from having to reply. Jane shifted her attention to the kids and raised her arms in the air.
“Who’s ready to have fun?” she yelled.
“Yay!” the kids replied at the top of their lungs.
“Who’s ready to get dirty?”
They yelled louder.
“Who’s ready to plant a garden?”
The kids looked confused.
“I’m just messing with you!” Jane grinned and opened the door to the playing field. “Head out and find Jason. He’s going to fit you with safety equipment and guns.”
The kids stampeded out, leaving two dads dressed in camo-chic, looking both excited and nervous. One of whom wore an air cast on one leg. “Oh dear,” Jane said, “you’re not going to be able to play with that.”
The man in the cast replied, “Stan and I discussed strategy. I figured I’d prop myself up in a corner and shoot from behind cover.”
“Yeah,” Stan said. “You and I can run and juke, draw their fire, and Carl can pick them off. He can as well.” He looked toward Liam. “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name. Whose dad are you?”
Three pairs of inquisitive eyes turned toward him. “Nobody’s. I’m not part of the party.” He felt like a fool. How the hell to get out of this while saving face?
“Liam’s never played before. He’s here to scout the place for a team-building event for his company.”
Carl and Stan nodded at Jane’s remarks. Liam shot her a quick smile of thanks.
Then she cocked one hip, crossed her arms, and threw him under the bus. “We’ve got tactical gear you can borrow for firsthand experience, Mr. Cross. How about it?”
“Yeah,” Carl said. “You’ll be able to see how much fun it is. And help us out. There’s twelve of them, and with my bum leg, they’ll make mincemeat out of us.”
Stan nudged Carl’s shoulder. “Don’t scare him.” He turned to Liam. “It won’t be that bad. The girls are experienced. We’ll tell Jessica, that’s our daughter, to tell them to go easy on you.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Liam caught the grin Jane was attempting to hide behind her hand. Great. She was laughing at him. There was no way he could get out of this and still keep his man card. “I’m in.” He extended his hand to Carl but glared at Jane.
Thirty minutes later, he found himself cowering behind a stack of wooden pallets with a barrage of paintballs coming at him. What the holy hell?! This was not fun. This was terrifying. He looked back and spotted Carl wedged between empty oil drums, cackling maniacally as paintballs pinged off the metal. What was wrong with these people?
Author Bio:
Lynne Hancock Pearson writes fun, flirty, feel-good fiction set in the Pacific Northwest. Stories of people finding their way, even if it takes a while to get there.
She lives near Seattle with two and a half finicky felines and one long-suffering husband. She is a left-handed middle child who grew up in the Great White North.
Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Instagram
GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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April 15, 2023
It’s a #99cents bookfair! Grab books like Deception and Desire now
I’m so excited to be a part of N. N. Light’s Book Heaven April 99c Sale Bookish Event. Deception and Desire is being featured today! Check out all the featured books and enter the giveaway to win a $20 Amazon gift card: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/april-99c-sale-bookish-event #99c #99cents #books #bookish #giveaway
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April 13, 2023
Through the Veneer of Time by Vera Bell with an excerpt and giveaway
Through the Veneer of Time
Vera Bell
Publication date: April 10th 2023
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense, Time-Travel
If not for “The Ghost”—her FBI husband’s gruesome case—Siena Forte’s life would have been perfect. But not when the D.C. serial killer is hunting women like her, and when her husband is so unsettled by this case, he refuses to discuss it. It’s a miracle her art career is thriving at all. And not only her career. When Siena lands a medieval mural commission at the National Gallery of Art, she discovers a bizarre knack for astral projecting to her past life. In a lucky strike, her visions of love and prominence in medieval Ireland are just the creative inspiration she seeks.
What Siena doesn’t know is her vivid depiction of the past exposes her to someone she has met before—the serial killer, reborn in this century just like her. But when a vicious attack from the past reverberates into the present, Siena’s life unravels in a chilling parallel. Silenced and alone, she discovers the true reason for her visions. They’re not the creative inspiration they seemed, but a harbinger of her centuries-old revenge vow, and the killer cannot be stopped until she fulfills it. But there is another person from the past with unfinished business—her husband. And another unwelcome déjà vu—their crumbling marriage, once again precipitated by the serial killer’s crime.
Does Siena have what it takes to carry out her ancient vow?
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo
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EXCERPT:
His words were a blast that made something inside me snap. Why couldn’t I unlock my eyes from his? Unclench my knees despite an unbearable compulsion to run? I dug my fingernails into my sweaty palms to break the paralysis, drove the graphite shards into my flesh.
“Do you ever wonder what becomes of your characters?” His vacuous smile didn’t reach his eyes. “What comes after your painstaking freeze-frame? Your warrior—” He pointed his chin at the mural. “He’s cocky, but he doesn’t know what he’s riding into. Yet hours from now, he could be lying in some field, stripped of his weapons, bleeding out into the ground as the vultures peck at his baby blues.” His eyes widened. “Leaving his beautiful young widow all alone.”
His impossibly soft voice was a ringing blow in my ears. A tremor braced my throat. I drew a frantic breath against it.
“I’m sorry,” I squeezed out, “I’m not sure I follow.”
“I’m sure you do.” He chuckled. “But don’t look so stricken, Siena Forte. It’s only a painting, a fantasy. Nothing more.”
“Excuse me…” I edged past him, cold all over.
I rushed into the nearest restroom, tossed the broken graphite into the trash can, and locked myself in a stall. I hugged myself. Tight. Tighter. Gasped for air, not drawing any. My vision swam at the edges. Flickering. Fading. My heart thudded, and breath came faster in my chest, choking me.
Fragments of his words whirred around me, and I grasped my head to stop the awful cacophony. But it wouldn’t stop. The image he drew cut like a knife, piercing through something soft and vulnerable inside. Something I’d buried deep down and wished to keep that way. But he’d driven it to the surface and laid it out in the open, raw and exposed.
Someone entered the restroom, and I froze at the squeak of the adjoining stall door. But it was only a pair of black pumps through the divider gap. Heartbeat in my ears, I dropped the toilet lid and sat down.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat.
Worgen was a narcissistic egomaniac, pissed off at not getting his way. Certainly, he could neither read my mind nor know anything about my visions. He was messing with me. Of course, he was! Pygmalion was a mythical sculptor, whose ivory creation came to life after he’d fallen in love with her. And here I was, a female artist, painting a man. As for the widow, it wasn’t a big leap to imagine a handsome warrior leaving a young wife at home. Worgen didn’t have to know about me to understand this mental image would upset me.
I couldn’t tell how long I stayed in the restroom, but I emerged more determined than ever to continue with my project. I only needed to go outside and get some fresh air first. But Worgen was still there, talking to a visitor, and the only way out was past him.
I clenched my jaw and went toward them.
Author Bio:
Vera Bell is the author of the time-travel romance trilogy Always & Forever, set in sixteenth-century Ireland and present-day United States. Book One, “Through the Veneer of Time,” is her debut novel. Besides being a writer, she is a wife to her high-school sweetheart, a mother to two teenagers and one fur baby, a former commercial artist and boutique owner, and a member of the Historical Novel Society, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and Romance Writers of America. Her favorite place to write is on her porch, overlooking a pond lined with river birches and magnolias. The topics she never tires of are Ireland, past lives, and love that transcends time and space.
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub
GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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April 11, 2023
Read an excerpt from The Rock at the Bottom by Cynthia Hilston
Welcome to the book tour for The Rock at the Bottom by Cynthia Hilston. Read on for more details!
The Rock at the Bottom (Lorna & Tristan Series Book 3)
Publication Date: March 22nd, 2023
Genre: Historical Romance/ Prohibition Era/ Clean Romance
A big dreamer and successful novelist carries the sins of his father and a secret that leaves him wondering if he is the author or killer of love.
Stephen feels he is marked from day one to lose the ones he loves. His mother dies giving birth to him, and his alcoholic father makes sure Stephen never forgets it. To block out his father’s hate, fists, and belt, young Stephen loses himself in his imagination. Stories become his closest companions and barricades against a family that never wanted him. Once he can look his father in the eye, Stephen swears he will never be the monster his old man is. He vows he will become a published author, if for no other reason than to prove his father wrong.
While his dreams of being a bestselling novelist and falling in love come true, Stephen has much to prove to himself before he can write his own happy ending. Set against the backdrop of Prohibition-era Cleveland, Stephen fights the same alcoholic demons that plagued his father as he tries to begin a life free from his family. He meets equally headstrong Julie and is smitten, but their marriage is as fractured as his career is solid. He can find ten ways to write about being in love, but he has a hard time translating love on the page to love in real life. Julie slips between his fingers like sand, and Stephen sees his father staring back when he looks in the mirror.
Try as he might to rewrite his life, even going so far as to change his name, he has to wonder if he is the author or the killer of love.
Add to Goodreads
Excerpt
At eighteen, I stood taller than my father. No one had come to my graduation ceremony—no big surprise. Afterward, I returned to my house. We’d moved out of the rundown dump along the Cuyahoga River, for with the passing years, Dear Daddy had climbed the career ladder. With the twenties well underway by that point, the auto industry was booming. Mr. George Richardson, Sr. could turn on the charm when needed, and he used it at his job to great effect. That he could devote himself to his work proved he could have devoted himself to his family…to me.
But no matter where I laid my head, no matter which of the three houses I’d been forced to live in while growing up, none had been my home.
We weren’t so wealthy as to live in one of the leftover mansions from Millionaires’ Row along Euclid Avenue or in the esteemed residences of Bratenahl just east of downtown Cleveland along the lakeshore. The Fifth City, as Cleveland was called back then, was changing. The wealthy had shifted east to the so-called “Heights.” Our dilapidated first city home had new construction beside it. Towers that seemed to touch the sky were underway. My pal Ben and I were leaning toward making a buck working with such projects.
The old man and I inhabited an oversized brick home along Liberty Boulevard. He feigned at making a better name for himself to the outside world. A different woman would come over every weekend. He even threw parties with some of his buddies from work, but I knew him better. His parties were as empty as Jay Gatsby’s. I’d read Fitzgerald’s work shortly after its release the previous year and found it mirrored the current times and trends well. As for how I saw my father in that fiction, I guessed from his vacant stares into the bottom of a bottle, where he thought he could somehow erase my mother’s absence.
So, it was no surprise when I entered the living room that second Saturday in June to find my father in his easy chair, a cigarette in one hand and a beer in the other.
“Where’d you get this round of giggle juice?” I motioned toward his empty bottle.
My father scowled, the heavy creases framing his mouth deepening. He dropped the dead soldier, and it rolled until it stopped at my foot. I picked up the bottle, shook my head, and tossed it aside. It gave a satisfying shatter.
Prohibition hadn’t stopped the old guy from getting zozzled whenever the urge hit.
“What d’you want?” He got to his feet.
I stepped up to him, and he recoiled.
“I’m leaving,” I said.
“Then what’re you waitin’ for? Get outta here!” He pointed with a quivering finger toward the front door.
“I have a few things to say first.”
My father gazed up at me and seemed to shrink more. “Well, out with it.”
“I’m a writer. I’ve been writing stories since I was a little kid, and you won’t stop me.”
He snorted. “What do I care about those rags?”
“I thought you’d like to know, Father, that you inspired me.”
He squinted, then raised his eyebrows. “Huh? What’s that?”
“Your hatred inspired me to imagine a life better than this hellhole, and you”—I poked his chest, hard—“are the villain.”
He raised his fist, but I caught it before he struck. As I pushed back with the force of a stronger, younger man, his legs buckled, forcing him into his chair.
“You come to gloat, boy?” His words were the only weapon he had left.
“I came to tell you the truth. I pity you, Father. You’re pathetic.”
His gaze dropped to his lap. The man reached into his pocket and fumbled for another cigarette, then lit it with shuddering hands. Letting out a long plume of smoke, he said, “Maybe, but the fruit don’t fall from the tree.” He jabbed the cigarette at me.
I shook my head. “I’ll never be like you.”
A hollow laugh filled the room. He laughed until coughs overtook him. Then he went quiet, until a sob escaped. “No matter what you think, boy, you can’t change who you are. You were born a killer. No fancy dreamin’ will take away your reality. You think I haven’t tried?”
I turned and took a few steps until I stood on the threshold to the outside. Glancing back at my father, I knew that would be the last time I saw him. “Maybe you should’ve tried harder.”
Maybe you should’ve loved me.
Available on Amazon
About the Author
Cynthia Hilston is a stay-at-home mom of three young kids, happily married, and lives in the Cleveland, Ohio, area. Writing has always been like another child to her. After twenty years of waltzing in the world of fan fiction, she stepped away to do her debut dance with original works of fiction, although she still dabbles in fan fiction.In her spare time – what spare time? – she devours books, shamelessly watches Hallmark movies and When Calls the Heart, pets her orange and black kitties, looks at the stars, drinks wine or coffee with good friends, and dreams of what other stories she wishes to tell.
Cynthia Hilston | Instagram | Facebook Book Tour ScheduleApril 10th R&R Book Tours (Kick-Off) http://rrbooktours.com Rambling Mads (Spotlight) https://ramblingmads.uk/
@shazzierimmelzwaan (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/shazzierimmelzwaan/
Stine Writing (Spotlight) https://christinebialczak.com/ Riss Reviews (Review) https://rissreviewsx.wixsite.com/website
April 11th @countrymamaswithkids (Review) https://www.instagram.com/countrymamaswithkids/
Country Mama with Kids – https://countrymamaswithkids.com/
@booknerd_jen22 (Review) https://www.instagram.com/booknerd_jen22/
I Love Books & Stuff (Spotlight) https://ilovebooksandstuffblog.wordpress.com
Book Reviews by Taylor (Spotlight) https://www.bookreviewsbytaylor.com/
April 12th @booksontheknightbus (Review) https://www.instagram.com/booksontheknightbus/?hl=en
@niveditha_preeth (Review) https://www.instagram.com/niveditha_preeth/
@r.c.thomson (Review) https://www.instagram.com/r.c.thomson/
Books Blog (Spotlight) https://www.booksblog.co.uk/
April 13th @thesleepybookworm (Review) https://www.instagram.com/thesleepybookworm/
Liliyana Shadowlyn (Review) https://lshadowlynauthor.com/
@mulberryreads (Review) https://www.instagram.com/mulberryreads/
Timeless Romance (Spotlight) https://aubreywynne.com/
The Faerie Review (Spotlight) http://www.thefaeriereview.com
Book Tour Organized By:
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April 10, 2023
Love on Target by Shanna Hatfield with an excerpt and giveaway
Love on Target
Shanna Hatfield
(Pink Pistol Sisterhood, #2)
Publication date: April 10th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Will romance hit its mark when true love is the target?
Desperate for a fresh start, Rena Burke journeys from Texas to Oregon with only her father’s pistol and a plodding old mule for company. She takes a job working with explosives at a mine, spends her free time emulating her hero Annie Oakley, and secretly longs to be loved.
Saddle maker Josh Gatlin has one purpose in life and that is his daughter. Gabi is his joy and the sunshine in his days. Then he meets a trouser-wearing woman living life on her own terms. Rena is nothing like his perception of what he wants in a wife and mother for his child, but she might just prove to be everything he needs.
When tragedy strikes, will the two of them be able to release past wounds and embrace the possibilities tomorrow may bring?
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble
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EXCERPT:
To make sure she hadn’t lost the skill, she arranged the cans on fence posts on either side of the heart she’d painted on the bark, took out her pistol, moved back several yards, and loaded rounds into the cylinder.
After widening her stance, she lined up her first shot, released a breath, and pulled the trigger.
The sound of the bullet pinging the target rang out as the can flew backward off the post. Rena shot the remaining cans, then smiled with satisfaction as she climbed over the fence to retrieve them. She set them back up on the posts, and rested for a minute on the top pole of the fence, face turned to the sunshine as she soaked up the warmth. Then she hopped down and riddled the cans full of more holes before she stowed her gun in the gun belt and draped it over a fence post. Reverently, she lifted the pistol with the delicate pink handle from where she’d set it on a stump.
“Promise of true love,” she whispered, rubbing her thumb over the handle before she loaded five shots in the revolver and took aim at the target she’d painted. “True love. What an absurd notion. Laura really should mind her own business and cease meddling in mine. If she thinks this gun will lead me to romance, she needs to have her thinker checked for defects. Instead of dreaming of true love, setting love on a target seems like a much better idea.”
She blasted five holes in the middle of the white circle she’d painted inside the heart on the slab of bark, taking a great deal of satisfaction in blasting holes into something that represented romance and love, at least in her mind.
“Now that’s some fine shooting, Miss Burke.”
Rena yelped in surprise and spun around, the pistol still in her hand, as she pointed it at the intruder who dared to interrupt her target practice.
Author Bio:
USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield writes sweet romances rich with relatable characters, small town settings that feel like home, humor, and hope.
Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”
When this farm girl isn’t writing or indulging in rich, decadent chocolate, Shanna hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller. She also experiments with recipes, snaps photos of her adorable nephew, and caters to the whims of a cranky cat named Drooley.
To learn more about Shanna or the books she writes, visit her website http://shannahatfield.com or find out more about her here: linktr.ee/ShannaHatfield
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April 6, 2023
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April 5, 2023
Men of the 65th by Talia Aikens-Nunez with guest post from the author plus a giveaway
Men of the 65th
by Talia Aikens-Nunez
GENRE: YA Nonfiction
BLURB:
Honor and Fidelity. That is the motto of the 65th Infantry Regiment, also known as the Borinqueneers, the only Puerto Rican unit in the United States Army.
Since the regiment’s creation in 1899, the men of the 65th have proudly served the US through multiple wars, despite facing racial discrimination. Their courage, loyalty, and patriotism earned them hundreds of accolades, including the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014.
But the honor and fidelity of the men of the 65th came into question in 1952, in the midst of the Korean War, when ninety-one Borinqueneers were arrested and tried for desertion and disobeying orders. How could this happen in one of the most distinguished and decorated units of the Army?
In this telling of one of the forgotten stories of the Korean War, author Talia Aikens-Nuñez guides us through the history of the Borinqueneers and the challenges they faced leading up to what was the largest court martial in the entire war. Rediscover the bravery of the men of the 65th through Aikens-Nuñez’s thorough writing and the soldiers’ firsthand accounts of the Korean War.
Excerpt:
“The Borinqueneers successfully defended the 1st Marine Division’s retreat, but they soon realized this was only part of a much larger withdrawal of UNC [United Nations Command] troops. As the retreat continued into mid-December, news came that the enemy buildup had accelerated. Chinese and North Korean forces were gathering and converging on Hungnam. The UNC’s worst fears were coming true: they were losing ground in the war.
They had to accelerate their plans in response to protect their troops and evacuate the Korean refugees that had fled to Hungnam. They ordered troops to board ships, division by division, and sail south to Pusan… Meanwhile, the 65th and the 3rd Infantry Divisions would hold the main line of resistance, providing enough cover for everyone to make it safely out of Hungnam…With each withdrawal, the enemy continued to push the Borinqueneers and the 3rd Infantry Division.
…They were exhausted from several days of fighting…The soldiers of the 65th were some of the last to leave Hungnam. They were hurried and squeezed tightly onto the final boats. Finally, they could rest and relax. Once they left, the military would destroy the port so the enemy could not use the equipment and facilities against them.
…After they loaded onto the final ship and set sail, the dynamite detonated. The soldiers looked back and watched the port explode…everything – erupted in smoke and flame.
Guest Post from the Author:
I am a multicultural children’s book author. Some have asked, ‘why?’ ‘why write mainly multicultural stories?’
I became a multicultural children’s author selfishly for my own kids and family. A couple of years ago, my brown son challenged my statement that “brown boys can be superheroes too.” He said, “no they can’t.” In that moment, I realized that he never saw a brown superhero. Nor had I. A few months later, Black Panther was released. The joy in his eyes for that entire movie will forever be imprinted in my memory. After the movie, I asked him again, “now, can brown boys be superheroes.” With a wide smile, he nodded. And, he wore the Black Panther costume for weeks. Eek! The smell of it was horrid.
Several months later, I took him to see the animated Spiderman movie with Miles Morales (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse). He identified even more with that movie since Miles was half black and half Hispanic. (And, whoa! The smell of that costume was indescribable.) Once it was released, we purchased it and he watched it over, and over, and over again.
Many months later, I read an article that explained the importance of kids seeing themselves in books. Two of the reasons that stood out to me were (1) to provide a mirror to identity and (2) for connections to be built. That is why I write multicultural stories. I hope that my stories provide connections for other young people and encourage them to read more.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Talia Aikens-Nuñez is passionate about sharing with young readers the little known stories, accomplishments, and contributions of people of color from all throughout history. Aikens-Nuñez is the author of Small Nap, Little Dream, a bilingual Spanish/English picture book. She and her husband live in Connecticut with their two children.
Links:
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Men-65th-Borinqueneers-Korean-War/dp/1728479142
Lerner: https://lernerbooks.com/shop/show/22654
Twitter: talia_n
Website: Http://www.kidslitbytalia.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taliaaikensnunezchildrenswriter
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