Marlow Kelly's Blog, page 22
February 13, 2015
Announcing the Release Date for A Woman of Love
In three Saturdays and a bit, that’s two and a half weeks for normal people, my latest novella - A Woman of Love - will be released. On 4th March to be exact.
I’m so excited that just dancing around my living room isn’t enough, to celebrate I’ve decided to do two things.
First – A Woman of Honour is now on sale for 99c. This is a limited time offer so get your copy today.
Second – Each Saturday before the release date, 4th March, I will share a different excerpt from A Woman of Love, starting today…
And so without further ado here's the first excerpt from
A Woman of Love
Lady Annabel Peters sat in the open-top carriage and realized she had left it too late. She should have escaped yesterday.
“Really, Annabel, I don’t want you to give your left eye. All I’m asking is that you go in there and do what comes naturally.” Lord Elliott Peters, her husband of two months, sat opposite her, smoothing his waistcoat against his flat, toned abdomen. A lock of blond hair fell across his brow, accentuating his startling blue eyes. He claimed all he had to do was crook his finger, and besotted society women swooned, but she couldn’t imagine it. His grotesque personality obliterated any physical beauty he possessed.
The warm summer breeze touched her face. She inhaled the scent of grass and honeysuckle. Frogs sang somewhere in the distance, and crickets chirped, a sure sign it was going to be a warm night. She looked out at the passing Berkshire countryside, and wondered how anything this ugly could happen on such a perfect summer evening.
“It is not natural for a married woman to bed a man who is not her husband.” She struggled to breathe; a vise tightened around her chest.
“You must be joking. Women do it all the time. That’s how they entertain themselves. You didn’t believe we would be faithful to each other for the rest of our lives, did you? What a ridiculous notion.”
The thought of copulating with Elliott was horrific enough. Now he wanted her to sleep with his friends, too. Bile rose in her throat at the idea of having to endure another man like her husband. He was totally amoral, and thought nothing of sleeping with a friend’s wife. He undoubtedly took pleasure in it. He never controlled his lust. If he saw a woman he wanted, he took her by any means possible.
Available 4th March from
The Wild Rose Press
When her dissolute husband insists that Lady Annabel Peters bed one of his villainous cohorts to repay a gambling debt, she is scandalized. But she is forced to agree because he controls every aspect of her life.
A physically and emotionally crippled war hero, James Drake has retreated from society. At the request of his brother, he manipulates events so he can interrogate Annabel, a woman he thinks may be part of a ring of thieves.
Neither of them count on an instant and overwhelming attraction. James may now believe Annabel but she suspects her husband plans to kill her. As one of her husband’s friends, James is not to be trusted.
Yet how can she escape a man who has the ability to control her with a gentle kiss?
I’m so excited that just dancing around my living room isn’t enough, to celebrate I’ve decided to do two things.
First – A Woman of Honour is now on sale for 99c. This is a limited time offer so get your copy today.
Second – Each Saturday before the release date, 4th March, I will share a different excerpt from A Woman of Love, starting today…
And so without further ado here's the first excerpt from
A Woman of Love
Lady Annabel Peters sat in the open-top carriage and realized she had left it too late. She should have escaped yesterday.
“Really, Annabel, I don’t want you to give your left eye. All I’m asking is that you go in there and do what comes naturally.” Lord Elliott Peters, her husband of two months, sat opposite her, smoothing his waistcoat against his flat, toned abdomen. A lock of blond hair fell across his brow, accentuating his startling blue eyes. He claimed all he had to do was crook his finger, and besotted society women swooned, but she couldn’t imagine it. His grotesque personality obliterated any physical beauty he possessed.
The warm summer breeze touched her face. She inhaled the scent of grass and honeysuckle. Frogs sang somewhere in the distance, and crickets chirped, a sure sign it was going to be a warm night. She looked out at the passing Berkshire countryside, and wondered how anything this ugly could happen on such a perfect summer evening.
“It is not natural for a married woman to bed a man who is not her husband.” She struggled to breathe; a vise tightened around her chest.
“You must be joking. Women do it all the time. That’s how they entertain themselves. You didn’t believe we would be faithful to each other for the rest of our lives, did you? What a ridiculous notion.”
The thought of copulating with Elliott was horrific enough. Now he wanted her to sleep with his friends, too. Bile rose in her throat at the idea of having to endure another man like her husband. He was totally amoral, and thought nothing of sleeping with a friend’s wife. He undoubtedly took pleasure in it. He never controlled his lust. If he saw a woman he wanted, he took her by any means possible.
Available 4th March from
The Wild Rose Press
When her dissolute husband insists that Lady Annabel Peters bed one of his villainous cohorts to repay a gambling debt, she is scandalized. But she is forced to agree because he controls every aspect of her life.
A physically and emotionally crippled war hero, James Drake has retreated from society. At the request of his brother, he manipulates events so he can interrogate Annabel, a woman he thinks may be part of a ring of thieves.
Neither of them count on an instant and overwhelming attraction. James may now believe Annabel but she suspects her husband plans to kill her. As one of her husband’s friends, James is not to be trusted.
Yet how can she escape a man who has the ability to control her with a gentle kiss?
February 12, 2015
On the Money by Tariq Saleim
Available at:
Amazon Everything in life comes at the cost of something else. The more you have of something, the more you have to let go of something else, and this applies to money, too. There is no exception to this, and therefore it is important to know the true cost of your achievements. The more money you accumulate, the less you have of something else (often health, time, relationships, dignity, respect, etc.). Most of us are not able to fathom these costs up front, and when we finally understand, it is usually too late.
A banker by profession, Tariq Saleim has been the confidant of many successful individuals across his international career. He is a believer that true happiness comes from knowing what you want in life -and what you are willing to sacrifice to get it. 'On the money' is his first romantic novel that discusses time-tested moneymaking concepts and reflects on the hidden costs of our decisions in the process.
Excerpt:
She was intrigued by her visitor, who had not bothered to call and then decided to wait. Slowly she walked toward the hall, and then she saw him. He was seated on the sofa facing the hallway, looking haggard and tired. His suitcase was next to him. He looked up as soon as he heard her footsteps and stood up to welcome her.
She quickly walked to him, and before he could say a word, she slapped him hard on his face.
“This is for not replying to my calls and messages,” she said furiously.
He did not say a word. Instead, he took her face in his hands and kissed her lips. Half-heartedly she tried to free herself from his grip and then pretended she could not. As she kissed him back, he released her face and embraced her in his arms.
“I thought I would deliver my message in person,” he replied lovingly, his lips still on hers.
“What took you so long?” she questioned, breathing heavily, struggling to talk and kiss at the same time.
“I had to be set free before I could,” he replied quickly, also breathing heavily now.
“And you are free now?” she questioned, holding her lips to his.
He pushed her back gently so that he could say his next words in no uncertain terms.
“I have paid for my commitments through my blood and sweat. There are no more commitments today. There is only love, there is only you, and nothing else matters.”
She looked into his eyes affectionately and said, “You are not going to disappear tomorrow?”
“Never again, my love; never again,” he replied with a smile.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Tariq Saleim was born in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1972 and currently resides in Singapore. He is a banker by profession and has been associated with the industry for over two decades. He is a law graduate and also holds an MBA in finance. His first book, A Chronicle of Amends, was published in 2013 and received encouraging reviews from critics and fans. His second book, On the Money, discusses time-tested moneymaking concepts and reflects on the hidden costs of our decisions in the process.
Tariq will be giving away a $25 Amazon or B&N gift card to a randomly drawn winner.Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
February 10, 2015
Devil To Pay by Renee Bernard
I have to admit to being more than a little envious of today’s guest. Why? Because she’s funny, and there’s nothing I like more than a good laugh. So today I’m happy to introduce Renee Bernard. Over to you Renee…
Hello! Thank you so much for having me here! It’s always fun to stop on a tour and meet other authors and new readers especially stepping out of my comfort zone with historicals and now trying paranormal romantic comedy. (By the way, try saying ‘paranormal romantic comedy’ ten times really fast. It turns into Klingon sweet nothings really fast.) DEVIL TO PAY is the first book in my new Eternity Gambit series and I’m very excited about it. Don’t get me wrong! I love writing historical romances and I’m not giving them up but it was nice to take off the corset and touch my toes again…
For four years, I’ve been hosting a weekly internet radio show called “The Romance Bookmark” (formerly “Canned Laughter and Coffee”) which Ms. Marlow Kelly needs to come on as a guest by the way… Anyhooo! Every Tuesday night, a different author comes on the show to hang out with me for fifteen minutes of non-professional, non-marketing, unrehearsed conversation. We laugh, we chat, we pretend it isn’t live radio and say things we shouldn’t. It’s a lot of fun and so far, no one has complained.
I mention it because I think it’s important not to take ourselves too seriously out there. And promoting yourself is always hard. Whatever insecurities we have, we have to put them aside, raise our hands in a class of thousands and hope that someone calls on you and that when they do, you don’t pass out. It’s a joy ride.
Not that I’m shy. The opportunity to host “The Romance Bookmark” was tailor-made for me but I don’t ever, ever shove my books in people’s faces with the platform. I see it more as a chance to help other authors, debut and veteran, to have more of a voice and presence with their fans. I think readers want to connect with us and hearing us laugh and be able to relate to our ordinary lives is a great way to do it. I want them to hear a person who reminds them of themselves or someone they know and then when they are looking for the next book to pick up for their TBR piles, they see a name that means more than an author in a genre. They remember how her radiator overheated in July with an ice cream cake in her back seat and how she let her giant black lab “clean it out” only to learn that large dogs aren’t meant to consume that much sugared frozen milk products before having a different crisis on the upholstery…
See? Pure magic.
Humor is my greatest personal asset, defense, weapon, party accessory and mediation tool in a crisis. I don’t think I could have survived this long without it. I have always consciously made it a part of my life. I did open amateur mike nights at local comedy clubs after college and let’s face it, if your brain works a certain way, a trip to the grocery store can provide you enough comic material to keep you afloat for months.
So the jump to romantic comedy was fairly obvious. I needed an outlet. The nearest comedy club is over two hours away and I have two young children. Mama needs to sleep and she’s too old to pretend she doesn’t. But every Tuesday night, Mama gets to relax, hang out with better, brilliant minds and make the most of a simple truth: We’re stronger when we laugh.
Available at:
Amazon
Smashwords
B&N
Workplace comedy is always fun but when the company in question in H.E.LLc (Hades Enterprises LLc) and your job is being Lucifer, let's just say, there are some unique challenges beyond Casual Fridays and who keeps taking your lunch out of the break room. Even if Hell really is just a place where evil is tracked and analyzed in endless cubicles-no brimstone and not a human soul in sight-there's no room for error. This Lucifer (who is the seventh unlucky archangel to get the position behind the black onyx desk) is about to have his entire world rattled when a very sweet and likable mortal woman crosses his path.
After all, angels can't lie. And when Jayne Hamilton wants to know what he does for a living, all bets are off. Because "dating" isn't exactly in the cosmic scheme of the Eternity Gambit, but Love... Well, Love is never really off the table.
Now, if Lucifer can just figure out how to win the girl and get himself fired, he'll be one very very happy angel.
"Filled with sparkling wit and devilish charm, DEVIL TO PAY is a delightful visit to the Shangri-La of Hell!" -- Erin Quinn, The Three Fates of Ryan Love, NYT Bestselling Author.
"Only Renee Bernard could make dating Satan sexy as sin! Funny, fresh, irreverent and utterly adorable!" - Dakota Cassidy, National Bestselling Author
First book in the new Eternity Gambit series from USA Today bestselling author Renee Bernard. This is a romantic comedy series with an original paranormal twist that defies categorization and turns every notion of Heaven and Hell on its ear.
Excerpt
“Jayne!” He shook his head. “I didn’t expect to see you—ever again.”
“Didn’t you?” She decided to jump in full steam ahead before her courage evaporated. “You deliberately drop a bombshell of an announcement on a woman about being some mythical ruler of Hell, play with her sense of reality and then what? Did you expect me to just laugh it off and go on with my life?”
Luke froze. “I don’t think I had any expectations and I don’t think I proclaimed to be mythical, Jayne. But perhaps we should let Malcolm leave before we finish our conversation.”
“I don’t mind staying!” Malcolm protested. “I can be very quiet over here in the corner and you won’t even know I’m in the room.”
Jayne blushed furiously. “I…I apologize. I shouldn’t have…started in…”
“Oh, don’t apologize.” Malcolm’s look was nothing short of incendiary admiration. “This is priceless.”
Lucifer came around the desk effectively rescuing her from the smoldering look Malcolm was giving her. “Jayne, I was about to introduce you to Malcolm, but I’m starting to think that that would be a mistake.”
“Not at all!” Malcolm protested. “I’m the soul of courtesy, Miss Hamilton.”
Lucifer began again. “Jayne, this is Malcolm. My right hand, so to speak.”
“How do you do?” Jayne held out her hand, determined hold her own in the world of weird she’d just reinvaded. “Are you an angel, too?”
Malcolm’s warm hand enveloped hers, his smile brightening at the question, amping up his charm to an almost bone-melting level. “Oh, I’m no angel! But I’m flattered you would think so.” He gave Lucifer a preening look and a wink of a challenge. “I like her.”
“I like her more. Behave, Malcolm. And let go of her hand.”
“I apologize.” Malcolm released his grip, stepping back to defer to his boss. “I forgot myself in the moment.
“Okay, that’ll be all, Malcolm.” Lucifer dismissed him more firmly, and Malcolm bowed and obeyed, retreating to the elevator and disappearing behind its doors. “You were saying, Miss Hamilton?”
“I…” Jayne took a deep breath. “I believe you.”
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
What in the world is a retired Navy chaplain’s daughter doing writing scorching hot historical romances and paranormal romantic comedies and even comic books? Renee Bernard is applying a great education from traveling all over the world to story telling and doing her best to keep her father proud. Truthfully, her father is her number one fan, even though he has sworn never to read a single word of her books (a vow he has kept to this day!) Nothing stops him from telling everyone he knows that his daughter is now a USA Today Bestselling author or from handing out bookmarks on the golf course. Love can make even a minister do strange things!
Renee Bernard is a freelance writer and host of “The Romance Bookmark” on Readers Entertainment, as well as a contributor to Romantic Times BookReviews magazine. Renee currently lives in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California. (Note an interesting proximity to great wineries!)
DEVIL TO PAY is available now online wherever books are sold and is coming soon to Audio! The Eternity Gambit series is a fun departure from her well-known Victorian set historical romances and creates a new world for readers unlike any other. DEVIL TO PAY is the first book in this new series and is gathering up 5-Star reviews and momentum as more readers discover that office politics can hit a whole new level of crazy when you work at Hades Enterprises, LLc (or H.E.LLc).
For more information, please visit her website at http://www.reneebernardauthor.com or http://www.eternitygambit.com .
You can also find her at:
FaceBook at Renee Bernard Fan Page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Renee-...
Twitter: @ReneeBernard
Renee will be giving a $50 B&N or Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn commenter.
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/12/vbt-devil-to-pay.html
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Hello! Thank you so much for having me here! It’s always fun to stop on a tour and meet other authors and new readers especially stepping out of my comfort zone with historicals and now trying paranormal romantic comedy. (By the way, try saying ‘paranormal romantic comedy’ ten times really fast. It turns into Klingon sweet nothings really fast.) DEVIL TO PAY is the first book in my new Eternity Gambit series and I’m very excited about it. Don’t get me wrong! I love writing historical romances and I’m not giving them up but it was nice to take off the corset and touch my toes again…
For four years, I’ve been hosting a weekly internet radio show called “The Romance Bookmark” (formerly “Canned Laughter and Coffee”) which Ms. Marlow Kelly needs to come on as a guest by the way… Anyhooo! Every Tuesday night, a different author comes on the show to hang out with me for fifteen minutes of non-professional, non-marketing, unrehearsed conversation. We laugh, we chat, we pretend it isn’t live radio and say things we shouldn’t. It’s a lot of fun and so far, no one has complained.
I mention it because I think it’s important not to take ourselves too seriously out there. And promoting yourself is always hard. Whatever insecurities we have, we have to put them aside, raise our hands in a class of thousands and hope that someone calls on you and that when they do, you don’t pass out. It’s a joy ride.
Not that I’m shy. The opportunity to host “The Romance Bookmark” was tailor-made for me but I don’t ever, ever shove my books in people’s faces with the platform. I see it more as a chance to help other authors, debut and veteran, to have more of a voice and presence with their fans. I think readers want to connect with us and hearing us laugh and be able to relate to our ordinary lives is a great way to do it. I want them to hear a person who reminds them of themselves or someone they know and then when they are looking for the next book to pick up for their TBR piles, they see a name that means more than an author in a genre. They remember how her radiator overheated in July with an ice cream cake in her back seat and how she let her giant black lab “clean it out” only to learn that large dogs aren’t meant to consume that much sugared frozen milk products before having a different crisis on the upholstery…
See? Pure magic.
Humor is my greatest personal asset, defense, weapon, party accessory and mediation tool in a crisis. I don’t think I could have survived this long without it. I have always consciously made it a part of my life. I did open amateur mike nights at local comedy clubs after college and let’s face it, if your brain works a certain way, a trip to the grocery store can provide you enough comic material to keep you afloat for months.
So the jump to romantic comedy was fairly obvious. I needed an outlet. The nearest comedy club is over two hours away and I have two young children. Mama needs to sleep and she’s too old to pretend she doesn’t. But every Tuesday night, Mama gets to relax, hang out with better, brilliant minds and make the most of a simple truth: We’re stronger when we laugh.
Available at:
Amazon
Smashwords
B&N
Workplace comedy is always fun but when the company in question in H.E.LLc (Hades Enterprises LLc) and your job is being Lucifer, let's just say, there are some unique challenges beyond Casual Fridays and who keeps taking your lunch out of the break room. Even if Hell really is just a place where evil is tracked and analyzed in endless cubicles-no brimstone and not a human soul in sight-there's no room for error. This Lucifer (who is the seventh unlucky archangel to get the position behind the black onyx desk) is about to have his entire world rattled when a very sweet and likable mortal woman crosses his path.
After all, angels can't lie. And when Jayne Hamilton wants to know what he does for a living, all bets are off. Because "dating" isn't exactly in the cosmic scheme of the Eternity Gambit, but Love... Well, Love is never really off the table.
Now, if Lucifer can just figure out how to win the girl and get himself fired, he'll be one very very happy angel.
"Filled with sparkling wit and devilish charm, DEVIL TO PAY is a delightful visit to the Shangri-La of Hell!" -- Erin Quinn, The Three Fates of Ryan Love, NYT Bestselling Author.
"Only Renee Bernard could make dating Satan sexy as sin! Funny, fresh, irreverent and utterly adorable!" - Dakota Cassidy, National Bestselling Author
First book in the new Eternity Gambit series from USA Today bestselling author Renee Bernard. This is a romantic comedy series with an original paranormal twist that defies categorization and turns every notion of Heaven and Hell on its ear.
Excerpt
“Jayne!” He shook his head. “I didn’t expect to see you—ever again.”
“Didn’t you?” She decided to jump in full steam ahead before her courage evaporated. “You deliberately drop a bombshell of an announcement on a woman about being some mythical ruler of Hell, play with her sense of reality and then what? Did you expect me to just laugh it off and go on with my life?”
Luke froze. “I don’t think I had any expectations and I don’t think I proclaimed to be mythical, Jayne. But perhaps we should let Malcolm leave before we finish our conversation.”
“I don’t mind staying!” Malcolm protested. “I can be very quiet over here in the corner and you won’t even know I’m in the room.”
Jayne blushed furiously. “I…I apologize. I shouldn’t have…started in…”
“Oh, don’t apologize.” Malcolm’s look was nothing short of incendiary admiration. “This is priceless.”
Lucifer came around the desk effectively rescuing her from the smoldering look Malcolm was giving her. “Jayne, I was about to introduce you to Malcolm, but I’m starting to think that that would be a mistake.”
“Not at all!” Malcolm protested. “I’m the soul of courtesy, Miss Hamilton.”
Lucifer began again. “Jayne, this is Malcolm. My right hand, so to speak.”
“How do you do?” Jayne held out her hand, determined hold her own in the world of weird she’d just reinvaded. “Are you an angel, too?”
Malcolm’s warm hand enveloped hers, his smile brightening at the question, amping up his charm to an almost bone-melting level. “Oh, I’m no angel! But I’m flattered you would think so.” He gave Lucifer a preening look and a wink of a challenge. “I like her.”
“I like her more. Behave, Malcolm. And let go of her hand.”
“I apologize.” Malcolm released his grip, stepping back to defer to his boss. “I forgot myself in the moment.
“Okay, that’ll be all, Malcolm.” Lucifer dismissed him more firmly, and Malcolm bowed and obeyed, retreating to the elevator and disappearing behind its doors. “You were saying, Miss Hamilton?”
“I…” Jayne took a deep breath. “I believe you.”
AUTHOR Bio and Links: What in the world is a retired Navy chaplain’s daughter doing writing scorching hot historical romances and paranormal romantic comedies and even comic books? Renee Bernard is applying a great education from traveling all over the world to story telling and doing her best to keep her father proud. Truthfully, her father is her number one fan, even though he has sworn never to read a single word of her books (a vow he has kept to this day!) Nothing stops him from telling everyone he knows that his daughter is now a USA Today Bestselling author or from handing out bookmarks on the golf course. Love can make even a minister do strange things!
Renee Bernard is a freelance writer and host of “The Romance Bookmark” on Readers Entertainment, as well as a contributor to Romantic Times BookReviews magazine. Renee currently lives in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California. (Note an interesting proximity to great wineries!)
DEVIL TO PAY is available now online wherever books are sold and is coming soon to Audio! The Eternity Gambit series is a fun departure from her well-known Victorian set historical romances and creates a new world for readers unlike any other. DEVIL TO PAY is the first book in this new series and is gathering up 5-Star reviews and momentum as more readers discover that office politics can hit a whole new level of crazy when you work at Hades Enterprises, LLc (or H.E.LLc).
For more information, please visit her website at http://www.reneebernardauthor.com or http://www.eternitygambit.com .
You can also find her at:
FaceBook at Renee Bernard Fan Page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Renee-...
Twitter: @ReneeBernard
Renee will be giving a $50 B&N or Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn commenter.Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/12/vbt-devil-to-pay.html
a Rafflecopter giveaway
February 8, 2015
OF Love and Vengeance by Louise Lyndon
Which came first? The chicken or the egg? Or in this context, the research or the story?
OK, I have a confession to make. I kind of fell into the medieval time period. I didn’t intentionally set out to write a historical story set in the year 1070. So, how was it that I ended up towards the end of the Norman invasion of England?
Simple. I blame England! I lived there for sixteen years. And if you have ever been to England it’s pretty hard to avoid anything historical. Even the university I worked at has some impressive history. In 1829, the Duke of Wellington dueled with the Earl of Winchilsea in defence of his role in the foundation of King's College, which then led to King George IV signing the royal charter of King's College London. As I said, it’s pretty hard to escape history in England.
It was while I was on a weekend trip to York, in the North of England, escaping the hustle and bustle of London, I came across this (I should point out, I am a writer, NOT a photographer!):
It’s the ruins of a medieval Monastery, destroyed by Henry VIII when he destroyed Catholicism in Britain.
It’s pretty impressive in its own right. After hundreds of years it is still standing. It has stood the test of time – even the effects of modern Britain! But, this is what started it for me.
I must have wondered around this ruin for many hours. I walked along side it. I touched the cold stones and marveled at the fact that I was touching stone that someone had touched hundreds and hundreds of years ago. I started to think of the battle that must have taken place between Henry VIII men and those who defended the Monastery. What were their lives like? What were the lives like of those who lived in York and the nearby villages?
After three hours, I had to drag myself away. But those questions, and many more, still bounced around in my head. I tried to quiet the ‘what if’ questions by siting in the park for more than an hour. I focused my attention on this little cutie - a 21st Century Squirrel (I thought he had gone on the attack as he was running straight for me!):
Yet, would you believe, that only made things worse because I started to think – would have they eaten such a squirrel in medieval times?
I was getting hungry and I needed food. It was while I was heading out of the park the following piece of dialogue entered my head… “Will you at least wait until Carac arrives before you betray me to Diggory?”
What? Where did that come from? Who was Carac and Diggory and what had ‘he’ done? Who were these people and why were they talking to me?
Well, as a writer it’s not my place to question when imaginary people start talking to me! It’s my job to get their story down on paper. And that is exactly what I started to do as soon as I got back to the B&B I was staying at.
But the characters that had invaded my head weren’t from Henry VIII time period. No, they went way back to the Norman invasion. Which was perfect because what does every story need? Conflict. And that period was rife with conflict.
Because I had accidently stumbled into this period I really didn’t know much about it. I didn’t fancy the idea of spending endless hours doing research, all I wanted to do was write. And that’s what I did. When I got to a point in the story say, how did they amputate a limb in medieval times? I went and researched medieval surgeons.
Yet, while doing research, it can actually trigger some ideas for a story. For example, it was while I was reading about King William’s father, Robert I, Duke of Normandy, that I got the backstory for Aymon – the hero in my latest release, Of Love and Vengeance.
So, to answer the question, which comes first, the research or the story? Well, it depends…
Happy writing! Happy reading!
OF Love and Vengeance by Louise Lyndon
Available at:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Publisher
Forced to marry Lord Aymon to ensure her young nephew’s survival, English Lady Laila vows undying hatred for the Norman she holds responsible for the deaths of so many innocents. Discovering Aymon has committed an act of treason gives her the chance to seek vengeance he deserves. But can Laila let Aymon die at the hands of the king once she learns the truth?
A hardened Norman warrior, Lord Aymon has lived through atrocities no man ever should. With the invasion of England over, all he wants is a quiet life and a wife who will give him heirs and obey his every command. Instead, he finds himself wed to feisty and outspoken Laila. But when she learns the truth of his treasonous act, can Aymon count on her to keep his secret?
Excerpt:
Laila heard them long before she saw them. Their angry, frenzied shouts and thunderous roars filled her ears. With her hands tied securely behind her, she was dragged up the lane toward Tyburn Gallows, where she was to be hanged for a crime she did not commit. The mob sounded blood thirsty. Large. Frightening.
There was no sign of Aymon. Or Hugh. Had they left her alone to die?
Her chin trembled and her nails dug into her palms.
She suddenly fell to her knees and screamed until she tasted blood at the back of her throat. She kicked out and tried to crawl free as her hair was almost torn from the roots as she was pulled up and shoved along the lane.
Her eyes burned with her tears.
“I am innocent!” Laila screamed.
They came around a corner, and that’s when she saw them. There must have been a least two thousand men, women, and children, hungry for her blood. And when they saw her, they erupted into a wild fever of roars and cries for a slow and painful death. Their thirst had been piqued, and now it must be sated.
Laila was shoved into the center of the clearing.
She glanced wildly around in a desperate search for Aymon’s towering, bulky frame. She could not see him.
But what she could see was the Tyburn Tree. The gallows she was to be hanged from. The executioner, hooded, stood beside the tree as he waited patiently for her. Laila’s mouth suddenly went dry.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Louise grew up in country Victoria, Australia, before moving to England, where for sixteen years she soaked up the vibrancy of London and the medieval history of England. She has since returned to Australia and now lives in Melbourne.
She has been writing the moment she picked up a copy of Diana Gabaldon's first Outlander novel twenty something years ago. She thought to herself, 'this is what I want to do' - not travel back in time, but become a novelist! She has always had snippets of dialogue and scenes floating around in her head with characters screaming at her to bring them to life.
In 2013, Louise won first prize in the Crested Butte Sandy Writing contest – Historical category for her story, The Promise, which is now called, Of Love and Vengeance.
When not writing, she can be found covered in mud, crawling under barbed wire and hoisting herself over twelve foot walls - under the guise of competing in Spartan races all over Australia.
AUTHOR LINKS:
EMAIL: louise_lyndon@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.LouiseLyndon.com
Blog: http://www.LouiseLyndon.com/blog
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Louise-...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LouiseLyndon1
Pinterest: llyndon3513
Louise will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn host.
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/11/nbtm-tour-of-love-and-vengeance-by.html
a Rafflecopter giveaway
OK, I have a confession to make. I kind of fell into the medieval time period. I didn’t intentionally set out to write a historical story set in the year 1070. So, how was it that I ended up towards the end of the Norman invasion of England?
Simple. I blame England! I lived there for sixteen years. And if you have ever been to England it’s pretty hard to avoid anything historical. Even the university I worked at has some impressive history. In 1829, the Duke of Wellington dueled with the Earl of Winchilsea in defence of his role in the foundation of King's College, which then led to King George IV signing the royal charter of King's College London. As I said, it’s pretty hard to escape history in England.
It was while I was on a weekend trip to York, in the North of England, escaping the hustle and bustle of London, I came across this (I should point out, I am a writer, NOT a photographer!):
It’s the ruins of a medieval Monastery, destroyed by Henry VIII when he destroyed Catholicism in Britain.It’s pretty impressive in its own right. After hundreds of years it is still standing. It has stood the test of time – even the effects of modern Britain! But, this is what started it for me.
I must have wondered around this ruin for many hours. I walked along side it. I touched the cold stones and marveled at the fact that I was touching stone that someone had touched hundreds and hundreds of years ago. I started to think of the battle that must have taken place between Henry VIII men and those who defended the Monastery. What were their lives like? What were the lives like of those who lived in York and the nearby villages?
After three hours, I had to drag myself away. But those questions, and many more, still bounced around in my head. I tried to quiet the ‘what if’ questions by siting in the park for more than an hour. I focused my attention on this little cutie - a 21st Century Squirrel (I thought he had gone on the attack as he was running straight for me!):
Yet, would you believe, that only made things worse because I started to think – would have they eaten such a squirrel in medieval times?I was getting hungry and I needed food. It was while I was heading out of the park the following piece of dialogue entered my head… “Will you at least wait until Carac arrives before you betray me to Diggory?”
What? Where did that come from? Who was Carac and Diggory and what had ‘he’ done? Who were these people and why were they talking to me?
Well, as a writer it’s not my place to question when imaginary people start talking to me! It’s my job to get their story down on paper. And that is exactly what I started to do as soon as I got back to the B&B I was staying at.
But the characters that had invaded my head weren’t from Henry VIII time period. No, they went way back to the Norman invasion. Which was perfect because what does every story need? Conflict. And that period was rife with conflict.
Because I had accidently stumbled into this period I really didn’t know much about it. I didn’t fancy the idea of spending endless hours doing research, all I wanted to do was write. And that’s what I did. When I got to a point in the story say, how did they amputate a limb in medieval times? I went and researched medieval surgeons.
Yet, while doing research, it can actually trigger some ideas for a story. For example, it was while I was reading about King William’s father, Robert I, Duke of Normandy, that I got the backstory for Aymon – the hero in my latest release, Of Love and Vengeance.
So, to answer the question, which comes first, the research or the story? Well, it depends…
Happy writing! Happy reading!
OF Love and Vengeance by Louise Lyndon
Available at:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Publisher
Forced to marry Lord Aymon to ensure her young nephew’s survival, English Lady Laila vows undying hatred for the Norman she holds responsible for the deaths of so many innocents. Discovering Aymon has committed an act of treason gives her the chance to seek vengeance he deserves. But can Laila let Aymon die at the hands of the king once she learns the truth?
A hardened Norman warrior, Lord Aymon has lived through atrocities no man ever should. With the invasion of England over, all he wants is a quiet life and a wife who will give him heirs and obey his every command. Instead, he finds himself wed to feisty and outspoken Laila. But when she learns the truth of his treasonous act, can Aymon count on her to keep his secret?
Excerpt:
Laila heard them long before she saw them. Their angry, frenzied shouts and thunderous roars filled her ears. With her hands tied securely behind her, she was dragged up the lane toward Tyburn Gallows, where she was to be hanged for a crime she did not commit. The mob sounded blood thirsty. Large. Frightening.
There was no sign of Aymon. Or Hugh. Had they left her alone to die?
Her chin trembled and her nails dug into her palms.
She suddenly fell to her knees and screamed until she tasted blood at the back of her throat. She kicked out and tried to crawl free as her hair was almost torn from the roots as she was pulled up and shoved along the lane.
Her eyes burned with her tears.
“I am innocent!” Laila screamed.
They came around a corner, and that’s when she saw them. There must have been a least two thousand men, women, and children, hungry for her blood. And when they saw her, they erupted into a wild fever of roars and cries for a slow and painful death. Their thirst had been piqued, and now it must be sated.
Laila was shoved into the center of the clearing.
She glanced wildly around in a desperate search for Aymon’s towering, bulky frame. She could not see him.
But what she could see was the Tyburn Tree. The gallows she was to be hanged from. The executioner, hooded, stood beside the tree as he waited patiently for her. Laila’s mouth suddenly went dry.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Louise grew up in country Victoria, Australia, before moving to England, where for sixteen years she soaked up the vibrancy of London and the medieval history of England. She has since returned to Australia and now lives in Melbourne.
She has been writing the moment she picked up a copy of Diana Gabaldon's first Outlander novel twenty something years ago. She thought to herself, 'this is what I want to do' - not travel back in time, but become a novelist! She has always had snippets of dialogue and scenes floating around in her head with characters screaming at her to bring them to life.
In 2013, Louise won first prize in the Crested Butte Sandy Writing contest – Historical category for her story, The Promise, which is now called, Of Love and Vengeance.
When not writing, she can be found covered in mud, crawling under barbed wire and hoisting herself over twelve foot walls - under the guise of competing in Spartan races all over Australia.
AUTHOR LINKS:
EMAIL: louise_lyndon@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.LouiseLyndon.com
Blog: http://www.LouiseLyndon.com/blog
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Louise-...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LouiseLyndon1
Pinterest: llyndon3513
Louise will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn host.Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/11/nbtm-tour-of-love-and-vengeance-by.html
a Rafflecopter giveaway
February 4, 2015
Writer's Honorarium
I’m always humbled and amazed at the generosity of my fellow authors. I’m also grateful to those who read our books. It’s these readers who make a writers life worthwhile. So when Lynda Coker, author of Stormee Waters, came up with the idea of a writer’s Honorarium I jumped at the chance to be involved. What is a writer’s honorarium? It is a giveaway where authors show their appreciation to their readers by donating books and gifts throughout the year.
I have to admit as an emerging writer I don’t have much to offer, but I am awarding a free copy of a woman of Honour. I will also give away a free copy of A Woman of Love once it is released.
Here is a list of participating authors:
Lynda Coker
(Lynda will be sending a gift to everyone who enters this giveaway)
Stormee Waters
Between The Pages Blog
Pinerest
Debra Doggett
(Debra will be sending gifts to 12 of our entries)
Ghost of a Clue
Debra Doggett's Blog
Marlow Kelly
(Marlow will be sending gifts to 2 of our entries)
A Woman of Honour
Website
Laura Strickland
(Laura will be sending gifts to 6 of our entries)
Daughter of Sherwood
Website
Vicki Batman
(Vicki will be sending gifts to 6 of our entries)
Man Theory...and Other Stories
Website
Andrea Downing
(Andrea will be sending gifts to 2 of our entries)
Dances of the Heart
Website
Amazon Author Page
Tessa Berkley
(Tessa will be sending gifts to 6 of our entries)
Castillo's Fiery Texas Rose
Website
Barbara Bettis
(Barbara will be sending gifts to 6 of our entries)
The Heart of the Phoenix
Website
To enter to win just click on the button below, and login to the rafflecopter giveaway using Facebook or enter your email address.
No purchase is necessary. This is a thank you to all our readers. I will also leave the link in the sidebar of this page.
Good Luck
February 3, 2015
Great & Unfortunate Desires by Gina Danna
Available at:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Victorian England c. 1870
Operating as a British spy, Tristan St.James, the new Marquis of Wrenworth, barely escapes Afghanistan with his life in the spring of 1869. He plans to seek vengeance against the traitor who exposed him and for the agent he’s forced to kill. Returning to England, as a lord, he must marry. Haunted by guilt from the horrors of war, he avoids love at all costs, but finds himself drawn to the only woman who is disinterested in him.
Lady Evelyn Hurstine has waited over two years for the return of her love, a man who left for war in the East. But during that time, she suffered a brutal assault, resulting in a child and fear of any man touching her except for the man she once knew. The pursuit by the marquis scares her but her excuses against his proposal dwindle.
Their marriage strengthens into love until she discovers her husband isn’t the safety she believed but the one who killed the man she once loved. Caught in a world of intrigue and mayhem, Tristan must prove his love to her before the traitor destroys them both.
Excerpt
“I shall talk to him shortly.”
Evelyn raised her brows, eyeing over his shoulder. “Shortly may be now, my lord.”
Tristan turned. Barreling down the lawn, creating a wake in in his path, Evelyn’s father stormed toward them. Not far behind him was Huntington and his son. Tristan gauged their pace and the distance. He had a few seconds and could hear Evelyn’s foot tapping against the grass. Frankly, he was surprised she hadn’t crossed her arms in anger or left him. With every second, her behavior and decision to stay put only made him more interested in her. Damn! Her dowry and position made her exactly what he needed his English bride to be like, with a ramrod backbone and a defiance of societal rules. As Evelyn’s father got closer, there was only one thing Tristan could think of to ensure she become his. In one swift move, he turned, pulled her close, bent her backward, and pressed his cheek to hers. She gasped.
“Considering the situation, you need me as much as I need you. We are the perfect match,” he whispered, smiling and gesturing as if to kiss her.
They both knew in that moment she became his forever. The compromising position between two single people in a public setting was shocking to the ton.
Tristan heard the grass crunching under the footsteps of the Baron and his party. He didn’t look in their direction but eased back from Evelyn, watching her reaction. Suppressed fury blazed in her eyes, and her body was rigid.
“Naught, naught, naught,” he murmured. “To slap me would be appropriate but would serve you no purpose.”
Despite the fire in her gaze, she relaxed a little within his arms. “But it would give me satisfaction nevertheless,” she whispered defiantly, although she didn’t move.
AUTHOR Bio and Links
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Gina Danna has spent the better part of her life reading. History has been her love and she spent numerous hours devouring historical romance stories, dreaming of writing one of her own. Years later, after receiving undergraduate and graduate degrees in History, writing academic research papers and writing for museum programs and events, she finally found the time to write her own stories of historical romantic fiction.
Now, under the supervision of her three dogs and three cats, she writes amid a library of research books, with her only true break away is to spend time with her other life long dream – her Arabian horse – with him, her muse can play.
www.ginadanna.com
FB: www.facebook.com/GinaDannaAuthor
Tweet: @GinaDanna1
Gina will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/12/blurb-blitz-great-unfortunate-desires.html
a Rafflecopter giveaway
February 2, 2015
Book Blast - I Will Be the One by Larry Farmer
Available at:
Amazon
The Wild Rose Press
Barnes and Noble
Following his stint as a Marine during the Vietnam war, James needs something beyond the mundane conformity of his life in Vicksburg, Mississippi. As he enters the Peace Corps, a political reformer named Benigno Aquino is gunned down in the turbulent Philippines, half a world away. James has no idea fate will interweave events for him to witness the overthrow of a dictatorship and the miracle of a bloodless revolution.
Lois has joined the Peace Corps to explore the world outside her staid Ohio upbringing. As a teacher in a remote village she totes her own household water from a distant source, learns to accept locals wandering through her hut at all hours, and even becomes accustomed to gunfire in the jungle night. But when the visit of a suspected spy to her village threatens their lives, she and her friend James must make a decision of lasting import.
Excerpt:
Lois rubbed my hand softly and affectionately as we lay in the dark. “We’re genetically geared to compete, but also to cooperate,” she said as if in a review session. “For survival of the species. Remember that time we rode the jeepney together going to Midsayap? Where I tried to ride the bumper with you?”
“They wouldn’t let you,” I reminisced with her. "You’re a woman. Women tire more easily, but also, women fall off more easily. Or if there’s an accident or ambush, no one wants to see a woman suffer.”
“Exactly,” Lois said. “Survival of the fittest includes gallantry of the strong to protect the weak. Remember what that man said to me to get me to go inside? He tapped me on the shoulder. That’s what they do. They tap on the shoulder and say, I will be the one. I will be the one to take the hardship and danger. That is so beautiful, so touching.” She turned fully on her side as if to look at me, even though we were in total darkness. “When we get married someday, Mississippi, that’s going to be our wedding vow. Before you kiss the bride to seal our marriage, we’re going to face each other, look each other in the eyes, hold both hands, and say to each other—” She placed her hand on my cheek for emphasis. “Let’s say it now. I want to vow it right now. Let’s do it.”
“I will be the one,” we said to one another.
“Whenever one of us is weak,” she continued, “the other will be there. We will always be there for each other. We will always survive.” We sealed our vow with a kiss.
About the Author:
Born in Harlingen, Texas, on October 7, 1948, where I grew up and worked on a cotton farm, I graduated from Harlingen High School in 1966. I attended Texas A&M beginning in Summer 1966. In January 1970 I dropped out to enlist in the United States Marine Corps, where I served as an enlisted man, attaining the rank of Sergeant, with an honorable discharge after three years. I worked as a computer programmer afterwards in Houston and as a civil servant for a US Air Force Base in Frankfurt, Germany. I traveled and worked in Europe for two years, which included flying to Israel in October 1973 to aid the Jewish State in the Yom Kippur War. I was also in Greece in the summer of 1974 when the war between Greece and Turkey erupted over Cyprus. I was stuck on the Greek Island of Ios for part of that war, until I managed to catch a boat to Athens just in time to watch the Greek military dictatorship fold. I returned to Texas A&M in the Fall of 1976 to finish my Bachelor's degree in Business Management and returned to Europe afterwards, then also to Israel, where I lived for almost a year. I later taught English in Taiwan before returning home to get a Master's degree in Agricultural Economics in 1980, which I received in 1982. I joined the US Peace Corps in 1984 and served for three years in the Philippines. In 1987 I began work for the Swiss government as a computer programmer until 1998. I have worked in the IT department of Texas A&M since 1998. I have three children, am presently divorced, and am Jewish.
Links are:
facebook - facebook.com/larryfarmerwrites
twitter - @LFarmerWrites
webpage - larryfarmerwrites.com
My buy links are inside of my webpage
January 29, 2015
Just the Way You Aren’t by Lynda Simmons
Available at Amazon
What happens when an everyday Cinderella makes a play for the prince?
A moment of madness. That’s all muralist Sunny Anderson expected when she donned a glittering mask and a fabulous gown to crash the gala at Manhattan’s newest boutique hotel. Project manager Michael Wolfe has no idea that the beauty staring up at the mural on the ballroom ceiling is also the artist who painted it. He’s captivated and she’s willing, but when their moment of madness on the sofa in his suite comes to an abrupt end, his princess is off and running, leaving nothing behind but a pair of earrings. He’s determined to find her again, but all he has to do is look closer at the woman painting the mural in his office to see that the one he needs is standing right in front of him.
Excerpt
Sunny’s feet moved of their own accord and she stared straight ahead, horrified and thrilled at the same time. Wondering what she was playing at and not at all surprised when he fell into step beside her.
This was why she wasn’t ready to leave, she realized. She was enjoying herself too much. Enjoying the fact that as Sonja she could do anything or say anything. Be shocking and sexy, and make Michael Wolfe sit up and take notice.
She glanced over at him as they walked, feeling beautiful, powerful, but most of all desirable. Because if that wasn’t hunger she saw in those dark eyes, then she’d been out of circulation for far too long.
Which was a distinct possibility given that her last sexual encounter had been almost a year ago in the back of Vince Cerqua’s convertible when the top wasn’t the only thing that wouldn’t go up. She’d spent the drive home assuring him that it happened to men all the time; at least that was what she heard in the tearoom.
She felt her face warm, knowing instinctively that Michael’s top would never let him down. Not that she wanted to find out. Not really. Not now, at any rate.
“Where will you be going in the morning?” he asked.
“New Jersey.”
He drew his head back and she laughed. “There’s a theater group I’m rather fond of. After that, it’s anyone’s guess. I’m just a wanderer. Never in one place long enough to plant a garden as they say.”
“Is that what you’d like to do? Plant a garden?”
“Yes,” she said, slipping in a touch of Sunny, but staying true to Sonja. “Of course, with so many emerging artists, I’m not thinking about that right now.”
He stopped and took her hand. “What are you thinking about?”
Trouble. And sex. Mostly sex. For all the good it did her.
Truth to tell, Sunny wasn’t the kind to have a one-night stand. She was conservative in her thinking and cautious when it came to matters of the heart. She was the kind who delivered hampers at Christmas, painted faces at the community center on Halloween, and made sure her organ-donor card was signed. No question about it, she was Sunny the good: Balanced. Friendly. And utterly predictable.
But Sonja? Now there was a real vixen. A woman who traveled the world, took risks every day, and was never, ever predictable. It seemed a shame to make her leave the ball so early when she was only in town for one night. And Sunny had the rest of her life to spend being good.
Michael ran his thumb across hers and the pull was stronger than ever, bringing her back a step. After all, it wasn’t as though he was a total stranger, some masked man she picked up at the sushi bar. This was Michael Wolfe, Beast of Brighton, Terror of the Tradesmen. And she already knew he looked good without a shirt.
Maybe Hugh was right. Maybe a moment of madness was good for the soul.
The music changed again, the singer launching into a slow, sultry torch song that begged an answer to the question women had been asking for centuries: what is it with men and commitment?
Sunny had wrestled with that issue herself for years, convinced that the boy she’d loved too much would come back for her one day. Pale and contrite, wanting nothing more than to love her the way he should have all along. But commitment wasn’t on her mind at all when she twined her fingers with Michael’s and gave him Sonja’s best come-hither smile. “I’m thinking we should go to your place,” she said, and was sure she was floating as they headed for the door.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Lynda Simmons is a writer by day, college instructor by night and a late sleeper on weekends. She grew up in Toronto reading Greek mythology, bringing home stray cats and making up stories about bodies in the basement. From an early age, her family knew she would either end up as a writer or the old lady with a hundred cats. As luck would have it, she married a man with allergies so writing it was.
With two daughters to raise, Lynda and her husband moved into a lovely two storey mortgage in Burlington, a small city on the water just outside Toronto. While the girls are grown and gone, Lynda and her husband are still there. And yes, there is a cat - a beautiful, if spoiled, Birman.
When she's not writing or teaching, Lynda gives serious thought to using the treadmill in her basement. Fortunately, she's found that if she waits long enough, something urgent will pop up and save her - like a phone call or an e-mail or a whistling kettle. Or even that cat just looking for a little more attention!
Amazon Author Page
www.lyndasimmons.com
Goodreads
Linda will be awarding one randomly chosen winner, via rafflecopter, a $50 Amazon/BN.comgift card.
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/11/vbt-just-way-you-arent-by-lynda-simmons.html
a Rafflecopter giveaway
January 27, 2015
Elf Hills by S.S. Dudley
Story for Two
Was Pixar’s Monster University for the kids—or their thirty-something parents, nostalgic for their college days? I know I enjoyed it… and I think my daughter did. I know my nephews did (not in small part because they liked watching their dad roll around on the floor in hysterics), even though they didn’t understand all of the background.
My wife and I read a lot with our kids. Even to our toddler before bed (when immobilized with a bottle—don’t tell our pediatrician). At some point we got into a rhythm of reading three books a night. This isn’t so bad when the picture books are short, but when we advanced to chapter books and novels…? So we went to three chapters. About a half-hour every night.
One bonus of our daughter growing older is the opportunity to read books that are more interesting to us. That half-hour a night is, for the most part, our only time to sit and read for ourselves, too. Once done, there are dishes to wash, toys to pick up, lunches to make, yada yada. And then we collapse in bed to get a half-decent night’s sleep before having to get up early to prepare for the day. So we want to read something fun and enjoyable for both us and our daughter. Dora the Explorer has its niche, but I don’t want Boots dancing in my dreams at night.
We started searching for good novels to share each night. The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum was one of the first. I was trepidatious initially, recalling dark memories of the movie. Yet the book proved charming and enchanting (with only a few dark bits to gloss over). From there we moved on to others. I soon discovered that the sweet-spot where a book charmed me and my sensitive daughter was very hard to find. Harry Potter and Narnia (The Magician’s Nephew) are too dark and violent still. Also, Narnia had to be translated to contemporary American English for her to understand and even then it was slow going. It was even worse for my wife, who reads books in Spanish (many end up being translations from English).
A disclaimer: my daughter is one of those children who can’t see Disney’s A Little Mermaid because she will have nightmares. We have to be very careful about the movies and books we read. I think this is perfectly okay. Too much material ostensibly for children is too violent and too dark—in my opinion. And these elements aren’t needed to have a good, popular story. Anyone not heard of Frozen?
Aspiring authors are coached to write for a specific, ideal reader. Don’t write to the masses, don’t try to appease differing tastes. No person is truly unique. If Bob likes it, odds are good a few hundred thousand other people will, too. Very well. What about writing for two? As in, for a child and her adult minion? Isn’t that what Pixar does on the big screen to great success?
It should be doable. It seems to me that kids enjoy something more, a story in this case, when their parents or older people, in general, also enjoy the story. So long as it is suitable for them.
This, writing a story for two, was what I set out to accomplish when I started writing the first version of Elf Hills. My daughter was barely four when I started, six and a half when finished. The story grew and changed with her, but I never let go of my initial goal. And she loved it. My wife loved it, too. Certainly they are biased (although my daughter can be brutally honest), but they were my target audience. Success!
I could have just tried harder to find good books to read together. I know there are many. In my own defense, I did. Sheesh, in the time it took me to write one, we read hundreds (counting all types of books). One novel that surprised me (because I thought it might be too mature for my daughter) was Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo. It hit the sweet-spot; we both loved it. And so there you go, it is definitely doable.
I cherish story time and, as an author, want to continue to write books—novels—that can be enjoyed by adult and child together. It is fun to talk about the story during the day and imagine what is going to happen next in that night’s reading time. In my experience, young children can and will follow novels that are engaging and relevant for them. They may squirm, but elements of the story will stick in surprising ways.
Elf Hills by S.S. Dudley
Available at
Amazon
· The ebook price is $0.99, paperback $8.99.
· Kindle version and paperback are available from Amazon.
· ePub, PDF, Kindle and other versions are available from Smashwords here: Smashwords
iBooks
B&N
Scribd
· Folks who sign up for the author’s newsletter at his web-site can have the ebook free.
· Folks who purchase through the author’s web-site (Kindle, ePub, PDF; via payhip.com) and share their purchase via social media can have it 50% off.
· iBooks and B&N coming soon.
Blurb:
Something strange, something magical, is going on in the dusty hills behind the small town of Villaloma. Yet each time Linda Peters puts on her running shoes and sets out to find the enchanted kingdom she imagines—full of dancing elves, unicorns, and more—something stops her. And with school starting soon, she only has a few more chances to really search the hills.
While Linda’s frustration and doubt grow, her cousin, Nugu, looks for answers in his books and wonders if maybe, just maybe, Linda’s stories are for real.
The day finally arrives when Linda can run far, the day she is sure she will find her magic city. But when she and Nugu feel their goal must lie just beyond the next hill, they only find more hill.
Is it all a figment of an over-active imagination; a wistful fantasy?
Or is there truly something magical in those hills that only the strong of heart—and leg—can discover?
Excerpt
Excerpt from Elf Hills © 2014 by S. S. Dudley
From the Prologue:
This fairy tale, as you might have guessed already, takes place on a hill. Or, rather, on many hills and a mountain or two in Northern California, near what people call the Great Valley. One hill in particular stands out, though, because that is where everything started. It was a nice hill; well rounded, not too high, not too low. It was distinctly a hill, snuggled up against a mountain like a nursing cub to its resting mother. For the most part this hill was well-dressed with dark green oak trees and tall grasses, usually yellowed and dry except for the four or five wet months of the year. Along one side, a seasonal creek slipped out and down into the plain. Here the vegetation—red-stemmed manzanita, prickly blackberry bushes, and other shrubs—was thick and difficult to move through.
From afar, the hill was not remarkable; it had many siblings stretching to the north and south as far as the eye could see. This hill was special, though. For one, a strange—some said magical—copse of trees stood near the base of the hill where the creek emerged. These trees were short, had long, dark-green leaves, and bore bright yellow fruit that, if eaten, were said to imbue a person with the strength of ten men. For another, the hill was haunted. On certain nights of the year a white light would shine from the very top of the hill. It was brighter than the brightest star; brighter even than a full moon, perhaps, and it cast long shadows across the plain. The first people that lived in the area told many stories about that hill, the light, and the spirits that lived there.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
S. S. Dudley grew up in Wyoming, USA, an avid reader and lover of the outdoors. He studied at the University of Wyoming and the University of Illinois. He started his first book (an epic fantasy hand-written in with a blue fountain pen…) when he was 13, but never finished it. At some point (as his mother recently reminded him), he decided that he needed to go do something (like get a job) for a while before he could, or should, write. He did, and spent time in Colombia, Panamá, Antarctica and the dark recesses of large science buildings on college campuses. That done, he now writes, lives and runs in Northern California with his wife and two children. He can be found at http://www.ssdudley.com http://www.facebook.com/author.ssdudley and on twitter at @SS_dudley.
a Rafflecopter giveaway The author will be giving one randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter a $50 Amazon/BN.comgift card.
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/12/vbt-elf-hills-by-ss-dudley.html
Was Pixar’s Monster University for the kids—or their thirty-something parents, nostalgic for their college days? I know I enjoyed it… and I think my daughter did. I know my nephews did (not in small part because they liked watching their dad roll around on the floor in hysterics), even though they didn’t understand all of the background.
My wife and I read a lot with our kids. Even to our toddler before bed (when immobilized with a bottle—don’t tell our pediatrician). At some point we got into a rhythm of reading three books a night. This isn’t so bad when the picture books are short, but when we advanced to chapter books and novels…? So we went to three chapters. About a half-hour every night.
One bonus of our daughter growing older is the opportunity to read books that are more interesting to us. That half-hour a night is, for the most part, our only time to sit and read for ourselves, too. Once done, there are dishes to wash, toys to pick up, lunches to make, yada yada. And then we collapse in bed to get a half-decent night’s sleep before having to get up early to prepare for the day. So we want to read something fun and enjoyable for both us and our daughter. Dora the Explorer has its niche, but I don’t want Boots dancing in my dreams at night.
We started searching for good novels to share each night. The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum was one of the first. I was trepidatious initially, recalling dark memories of the movie. Yet the book proved charming and enchanting (with only a few dark bits to gloss over). From there we moved on to others. I soon discovered that the sweet-spot where a book charmed me and my sensitive daughter was very hard to find. Harry Potter and Narnia (The Magician’s Nephew) are too dark and violent still. Also, Narnia had to be translated to contemporary American English for her to understand and even then it was slow going. It was even worse for my wife, who reads books in Spanish (many end up being translations from English).
A disclaimer: my daughter is one of those children who can’t see Disney’s A Little Mermaid because she will have nightmares. We have to be very careful about the movies and books we read. I think this is perfectly okay. Too much material ostensibly for children is too violent and too dark—in my opinion. And these elements aren’t needed to have a good, popular story. Anyone not heard of Frozen?
Aspiring authors are coached to write for a specific, ideal reader. Don’t write to the masses, don’t try to appease differing tastes. No person is truly unique. If Bob likes it, odds are good a few hundred thousand other people will, too. Very well. What about writing for two? As in, for a child and her adult minion? Isn’t that what Pixar does on the big screen to great success?
It should be doable. It seems to me that kids enjoy something more, a story in this case, when their parents or older people, in general, also enjoy the story. So long as it is suitable for them.
This, writing a story for two, was what I set out to accomplish when I started writing the first version of Elf Hills. My daughter was barely four when I started, six and a half when finished. The story grew and changed with her, but I never let go of my initial goal. And she loved it. My wife loved it, too. Certainly they are biased (although my daughter can be brutally honest), but they were my target audience. Success!
I could have just tried harder to find good books to read together. I know there are many. In my own defense, I did. Sheesh, in the time it took me to write one, we read hundreds (counting all types of books). One novel that surprised me (because I thought it might be too mature for my daughter) was Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo. It hit the sweet-spot; we both loved it. And so there you go, it is definitely doable.
I cherish story time and, as an author, want to continue to write books—novels—that can be enjoyed by adult and child together. It is fun to talk about the story during the day and imagine what is going to happen next in that night’s reading time. In my experience, young children can and will follow novels that are engaging and relevant for them. They may squirm, but elements of the story will stick in surprising ways.
Elf Hills by S.S. Dudley
Available at
Amazon
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iBooks
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· iBooks and B&N coming soon.
Blurb:
Something strange, something magical, is going on in the dusty hills behind the small town of Villaloma. Yet each time Linda Peters puts on her running shoes and sets out to find the enchanted kingdom she imagines—full of dancing elves, unicorns, and more—something stops her. And with school starting soon, she only has a few more chances to really search the hills.
While Linda’s frustration and doubt grow, her cousin, Nugu, looks for answers in his books and wonders if maybe, just maybe, Linda’s stories are for real.
The day finally arrives when Linda can run far, the day she is sure she will find her magic city. But when she and Nugu feel their goal must lie just beyond the next hill, they only find more hill.
Is it all a figment of an over-active imagination; a wistful fantasy?
Or is there truly something magical in those hills that only the strong of heart—and leg—can discover?
Excerpt
Excerpt from Elf Hills © 2014 by S. S. Dudley
From the Prologue:
This fairy tale, as you might have guessed already, takes place on a hill. Or, rather, on many hills and a mountain or two in Northern California, near what people call the Great Valley. One hill in particular stands out, though, because that is where everything started. It was a nice hill; well rounded, not too high, not too low. It was distinctly a hill, snuggled up against a mountain like a nursing cub to its resting mother. For the most part this hill was well-dressed with dark green oak trees and tall grasses, usually yellowed and dry except for the four or five wet months of the year. Along one side, a seasonal creek slipped out and down into the plain. Here the vegetation—red-stemmed manzanita, prickly blackberry bushes, and other shrubs—was thick and difficult to move through.
From afar, the hill was not remarkable; it had many siblings stretching to the north and south as far as the eye could see. This hill was special, though. For one, a strange—some said magical—copse of trees stood near the base of the hill where the creek emerged. These trees were short, had long, dark-green leaves, and bore bright yellow fruit that, if eaten, were said to imbue a person with the strength of ten men. For another, the hill was haunted. On certain nights of the year a white light would shine from the very top of the hill. It was brighter than the brightest star; brighter even than a full moon, perhaps, and it cast long shadows across the plain. The first people that lived in the area told many stories about that hill, the light, and the spirits that lived there.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
S. S. Dudley grew up in Wyoming, USA, an avid reader and lover of the outdoors. He studied at the University of Wyoming and the University of Illinois. He started his first book (an epic fantasy hand-written in with a blue fountain pen…) when he was 13, but never finished it. At some point (as his mother recently reminded him), he decided that he needed to go do something (like get a job) for a while before he could, or should, write. He did, and spent time in Colombia, Panamá, Antarctica and the dark recesses of large science buildings on college campuses. That done, he now writes, lives and runs in Northern California with his wife and two children. He can be found at http://www.ssdudley.com http://www.facebook.com/author.ssdudley and on twitter at @SS_dudley.
a Rafflecopter giveaway The author will be giving one randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter a $50 Amazon/BN.comgift card.Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/12/vbt-elf-hills-by-ss-dudley.html
January 22, 2015
A Man to Waste Time On by Nina Barrett
Cinnamon Smith looks up from the counter of SpecialTeas, the teashop she operates with her college roommate. Heading her way is the heartbreaker who dated, dumped and deserted her sister years ago. But now Tom Marco is the general manager of the Imperial Hotel-Casino and a standing order from them could save their struggling business. The upscale property is up for a major industry award and Tom needs a lady to escort to the awards banquet.
It’s only one night, right? And he is so good-looking . . .
Fate has brought the hometown girl Tom fell for years ago back into his life and this time the former Army Ranger is determined their story will end differently.
Criminal activity at the Imperial and the storm of the century put their lives in danger. Someone is playing for keeps and Tom and Cinnamon are in his crosshairs.
Available at
The Wild Rose Press
Amazon
Excerpt:
“Yeah, I know. Not a couple, not interested. Right?”
Cinnamon caught her breath as Magdalena held the door for her and Tom turned to greet her. She fiddled with her skirt, buying a moment to compose herself.
The midnight-black tux hung on him like it had been custom-tailored. Maybe it had. He probably had any number of black-tie events to attend. And she was wearing a dress from a secondhand shop. Automatically she extended her hand as he held out his.
He tilted his head, regarding her as he drew her to him, a smile deepening at the corner of his mouth. The green glint in his eyes that had once haunted her dreams was back.
“You look wonderful.”
“So do you.” She flushed and bit her lip. “I mean . . .”
“Yeah, it’s a little like prom, isn’t it?”
“I wish I had a camera to take a picture of you two.” Magdalena was grinning. “But the photographers at the banquet should love you.”
Damn, it wasn’t fair how the tuxedo accentuated the dark line of his brows and lashes, the intensity of his eyes. She needed to get out of the apartment. Maybe on the street she could grab a breath of fresh air.
Oh, hell! He was watching her fan herself.
About the author:
Hi, I grew up enjoying the novels of such queens of romantic suspense as Mary Stewart and Daphne du Maurier. I tried my hand at storytelling while teaching in an elementary school. Musa Publishing published my romance Marriage Made in Haven in 2012. Last year the Wild Rose Press released my second novel Return of the Dixie Deb. A Man to Waste Time on is available for purchase now. I hope you enjoy it. I love hearing from readers!
Social medial Links:
Author links: facebook.com/nina.barrett.315
E-mail: nina@ninabarrett.net
It’s only one night, right? And he is so good-looking . . .
Fate has brought the hometown girl Tom fell for years ago back into his life and this time the former Army Ranger is determined their story will end differently.
Criminal activity at the Imperial and the storm of the century put their lives in danger. Someone is playing for keeps and Tom and Cinnamon are in his crosshairs.
Available at The Wild Rose Press
Amazon
Excerpt:
“Yeah, I know. Not a couple, not interested. Right?”
Cinnamon caught her breath as Magdalena held the door for her and Tom turned to greet her. She fiddled with her skirt, buying a moment to compose herself.
The midnight-black tux hung on him like it had been custom-tailored. Maybe it had. He probably had any number of black-tie events to attend. And she was wearing a dress from a secondhand shop. Automatically she extended her hand as he held out his.
He tilted his head, regarding her as he drew her to him, a smile deepening at the corner of his mouth. The green glint in his eyes that had once haunted her dreams was back.
“You look wonderful.”
“So do you.” She flushed and bit her lip. “I mean . . .”
“Yeah, it’s a little like prom, isn’t it?”
“I wish I had a camera to take a picture of you two.” Magdalena was grinning. “But the photographers at the banquet should love you.”
Damn, it wasn’t fair how the tuxedo accentuated the dark line of his brows and lashes, the intensity of his eyes. She needed to get out of the apartment. Maybe on the street she could grab a breath of fresh air.
Oh, hell! He was watching her fan herself.
About the author:
Hi, I grew up enjoying the novels of such queens of romantic suspense as Mary Stewart and Daphne du Maurier. I tried my hand at storytelling while teaching in an elementary school. Musa Publishing published my romance Marriage Made in Haven in 2012. Last year the Wild Rose Press released my second novel Return of the Dixie Deb. A Man to Waste Time on is available for purchase now. I hope you enjoy it. I love hearing from readers!
Social medial Links:
Author links: facebook.com/nina.barrett.315
E-mail: nina@ninabarrett.net
