Gloria Oliver's Blog
August 18, 2025
Aug 2025 Group Promos
See what goodies are in store for you this month!
I hope you are keeping cool! 🧊🍨🍧
Gloria
July 2, 2025
July 2025 Group Promos
Till next time!
Gloria
July 1, 2025
Triple Release Day!
Triple Release Day!
Yes, loads of releases today for the Discoveries of Julia Xero urban fantasy thriller series!
The Secret Countdown – Book 3
The Doomsday Clock is counting down. She has no idea how to stop it. Can our heroine drag humanity’s enemy into the light before time runs out?
Julia Xero is growing increasingly frantic. After barely escaping the jaws of death, the young loner has finally found a place where she belongs. But if she doesn’t find and stop mankind’s unknown nemesis, the future lives of millions of children will be ripped away.
Frustrated by the lack of progress, she feels the pressure rise exponentially when an unknown woman from Julia’s recently discovered secret past chisels her way back into her life. Raging at the added stumbling block of dealing with the nurse’s emotional damage, the stubborn young woman begins juggling in earnest as she careens ever closer to the razor’s edge.
Can she find her elusive enemy and stop their nefarious plot before it’s too late?
The Secret Countdown is the heart-stopping finale of The Discoveries of Julia Xero urban fantasy thriller series. If you like do-or-die heroines, dark worlds, and clock-racing doom, then you’ll love Gloria Oliver’s multi-faceted adventure.
Grab The Secret Countdown to race against disaster today!
Kindle/KindleUnlimited, Paperback, Hardback
Penny – Prequel Short
A jealous rival. A nasty trap. Can she turn things around before her hard-earned career crashes and burns?
Penny Baxter takes pride in being a consummate professional. Her commitment and hard work pay off as her modeling career reaches new and greater heights. Then she’s horrified to discover that what had seemed like a stupid prank played on her could very well bring all her efforts to a devastating, soul-rending end.
Without proof of the setup, she has no choice but to endure the false picture painted of her. Worse, she must now play along and give a humiliating public apology, or she can kiss her agency modeling contract goodbye.
Can Penny rein in her feelings of betrayal and righteous anger long enough to clear her name, or will she explode and flush her years of work in collateral damage?
Penny is a prequel short related to the Discoveries of Julia Xero urban fantasy thriller series. If you like characters that overcome the odds and see what makes supporting characters tick, then you’ll love Gloria Oliver’s peek behind the curtain story.
Grab Penny and find out how a professional digs herself out of a bottomless pit today!
The Secret Aftermath Audiobook Book 2
A twenty-year-old secret lies revealed. Someone wants it reburied at any cost. She’s now marked for termination with extreme prejudice.
Julia Xero is in shock. At twenty-two, the introverted orphan found her dream job cleaning up after the dead and even acquired a family worth staying and fighting for. The semi-stuck-up hidden race she works for doesn’t take the news that she’s not entirely human well, but Julia stubbornly stands her ground despite one of them “shockingly” trying to kill her outright.
Remanded into her employer’s custody, Julia is desperate to skip past these inane distractions so she can concentrate on stopping the true danger—a plot to neuter a large portion of humanity without their consent. More than willing to kick ass and take names, Julia obstinately pushes forward despite the realization that someone can’t abide her very existence.
Can Julia stay alive long enough to discover and stop her new nemesis while keeping her newfound family from becoming collateral damage?
The Secret Aftermath is the fast-paced second book in The Discoveries of Julia Xero urban fantasy thriller series. If you enjoy close calls, digging for secrets, and do-or-die heroines, then you’re in for an unearthed treat in Gloria Oliver’s mystery adventure.
Grab your copy of The Secret Aftermath to uncover more hidden truths today!
Enjoy!
Gloria
June 3, 2025
The Secret Countdown - Chapter 01
An insane nightmare—I was trapped in an insane nightmare with no way out.
I had returned to the new penthouse apartment only a few minutes before. Just long enough to hear the pounding of the storm currently raging over Dallas as it beat against the floor-to-ceiling windows, and to find, on the kitchen island, a lone black feather that soon dissolved into nothing.
All of that I could have dealt with. All of that was nothing when compared to what came next.
As deafening thunder boomed just outside, my spidey sense started tingling. I couldn’t tell what had set it off. My pulse raced while my heart violently pumped in my chest, the dead certainty that something terrible had happened making me feel faint. Then more lightning ripped down from the heavens, showing me that my brief respite was over and things were now worse than ever before.
Lightning forked through the sky outside, once more revealing the impossible. On the other side of the floor-to-ceiling window of my new home was an anomaly, a thing from myth and legend, but oh so very real. A yeti or abominable snowman—a creature about eight to nine feet tall, with white fur, who was said to live high in the Himalayas. It was a sight that would send my roommate Penny out the door in a hair-pulling panic.
But I suspected—no, I knew who this was, and it made my heart feel as if someone had wrapped a hand around it and squeezed.
The yeti didn’t move. He just hung there, his long ape-like arms raised above his head and fettered to metal manacles. His fur was drenched, the water running off him in tiny rivers as the storm that raged over the city continued to pelt him.
I took a couple of manic steps toward him, a scream trying to bubble up my throat, but I clamped my mouth shut to hold it in. Waking up my roommate was the worst thing I could do right now.
The creature trussed up outside my window was an ally, perhaps even a friend, and someone had hung him there as some kind of macabre warning. My hands quivered as I pulled out my phone, my eyes burning. I may not have ever seen him in his secondary form, but I knew this could be no one but Councilor Karki: a Buddhist monk who served on the Council of Purpose, and a member of the race called the Paphal Saĝiga, or the Secret Humankind.
I stared at my phone, a roaring sound pounding in my ears, as my suddenly-numb brain refused to remember how to use it.
Karki had to still be alive—he had to be.
A snippet of a past conversation whispered through my stunned thoughts—one about how, once dead, an SH would no longer keep its secondary form. The words were clear, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember who had told me that. My brain finally shifted into gear, and I opened my contacts list and then hit the call button for Rafael.
“Chica…”
That one word and the warm playfulness behind it almost undid me. For the merest moment, I relived the shivers of delight from our first kiss, which had occurred just minutes before in the elevator. I siphoned whatever strength I could from it before shunting it aside. “We have a situation. Can you come back upstairs? Please?“
I don’t know what he heard in my voice, but a surprised puff echoed from the other end. “Be right there.”
Like me, Detective Rafael Ruiz worked for and with the SH when necessary, as part of our daily lives. Since secrecy was paramount, we each worked the late shift at our respective jobs, even though the need for special services was supposedly few and far between. But with the secret project we were still trying to stop, and all the attempts on my life in the last couple of weeks, Rafael had been neglecting most of his non-SH-involved cases. I’d not been able to do my job at all.
With unsteady steps, I made sure Penny was asleep and that her bedroom door was closed. Fortunately, once she fell asleep, she could stay under through almost anything—one less thing I would need to worry about. I let myself out of the apartment and paced in the hallway. Should I call my boss, Anghelescu? Put a warning into the anonymous chat that Karamel, the company’s receptionist, had rigged for us? I rubbed at my numb face with my hands, drowning in indecision.
Our enemy was surely watching to see what I would do and who would show up once I found his or her little gift—an easy way to find out who was “in the know” about their illicit activities. That our enemy was more than likely a member of the Council of Purpose or someone very close to them was a given. The information they had access to, and the fact that they’d kept an SH child off the register and groomed him into an assassin to better serve their purposes, screamed as much.
With access to the security feeds of Remington Safe and Clean and the other businesses housed inside the same building, our enemy would be aware the moment my boss left her protected rooms on the thirteenth floor. The paranoia of the council and their decision to implant their human allies with a tracker bomb in their necks would make it difficult to ask Stan, my work partner, to help out.
I couldn’t be tracked anymore, my body having rejected the tracker and pushed it out. The reason for that was one I was still battling to wrap my head around. Something inside me had changed—or, more accurately, been fully activated—when I had almost died. A tenuous connection I didn’t even know I’d had to what the SH called the Energy of Life had broadened and given me the power to heal myself. My ‘spidey sense’ had always been with me, but it, too, seemed to be evolving. That, or I was finally started to use it the way it had always been intended. It was only a scant few days ago that Anghelescu and I learned I wasn’t strictly human but rather the result of illegal experiments, putting me in the ‘abomination’ column as far as most of those in the council were concerned. This was something I’d not yet shared with the rest of my friends—not even Rafael.
Especially not Rafael.
And how fair was that to him, when I’d been the one to initiate our first kiss? You’re a selfish one, Xero.
In case I’ve yet to mention it, my name is Julia Xero, the last name having the same pronunciation as ‘zero’—probably someone’s idea of a little joke when picking a name for the foundling.
I shook my head to dislodge the depressing train of thought. Best to stick to the craziness of the present.
The elevator’s ding heralded the detective’s imminent arrival and helped me push everything but the current mess firmly to the back burner.
Seeing his handsome face with its light bronze colored skin, thick dark brows drawn together in concern while his deep brown eyes locked on me, eased the grip of the fist still clenching my heart. Only a little relief, but just enough to remind myself I wasn’t alone in this, that I no longer had to face things on my own.
Rafael’s usually bright blue and green aura had darkened. Have I mentioned yet that I can see auras?
“Chica, what’s going on?” he asked.
I took a deep breath to steel myself for what was coming next. “Someone left me a warning outside my window.” I tried to say the rest, but my mouth wouldn’t do it. Saying it would make it real.
Rafael blinked several times. “Outside? In this storm?”
“Yes.” I grabbed hold of his coat sleeve. “It’ll make the explanation easier if you see it for yourself.” I half-led, half-followed him back to my door, the dread building at having to see that horrid image again. My hand shook so much that I needed his help to get the keycard into the slot. His brow grew more furrowed by the moment.
Having him close gave me the strength to walk in the direction of the open study and the window Karki had been suspended over.
“I… I wouldn’t have even seen him if not for the lightning,” I said. As if to move things along, several bolts flashed nearby, highlighting the suspended body.
“¡Dios mio!” Rafael crossed himself, something I had never seen him do before.
“I think he’s still alive and needs our help.” Watching the dawning horror on his face somehow made mine more palatable. “And we definitely want him down from there before anyone else spots him.” I swallowed hard. “Do you think we can use the Sky Lounge to get to him?”
Rafael dragged his gaze from the now-dark window before slowly shaking his head. “No. I visited up there once, and it’s not open to the outside.” He spoke barely above a whisper, his expression a mix of shock and worry. He looked to be having as bad a time with this as I was. “Is anyone else coming?”
I shook my head. “No. It would take too long, and…” I couldn’t bring myself to voice my suspicions.
Rafael’s brow rose, but he didn’t press me. “Then our best bet is the BMU, the Building Maintenance Unit,” he said.
My confused expression got him to add, “The angled top of the building rises up and has a telescopic crane that can be used to install glass replacements, but mostly to move a window washer gondola up and down so the glass can be kept clean.” He turned his back to the window. “One of my uncles used to work for the maintenance company. He took several of us up to check it out when it was the talk of the town.”
That made sense, especially since Fountain Place was in the shape of a crystal. “Do you know how to get to it?”
“There’s access via the maintenance elevator, though I doubt it’s kept unlocked.” He gave a half-hearted grin. “It’s time to flash my badge around.” His attempt at levity tripped and died, his whole face turning grim. “We’re going to have to be quick.”
Bringing attention to ourselves wasn’t the best idea, but we were low on options. I nodded, and the two of us rushed back to the elevator. And down we went.
***
Book 3 release will be on 7/1/25! You still have time to catch up with Books 1 and 2.
The Secret Countdown is also on pre-order, so reserve your copy today!
September 21, 2024
Sept 2024 Groups Promos and Swaps
Blog posts are now condensed into just the promo stuff or big news.
If you want the full undiluted package, join the newsletter! Then you will get all the goodies. Plus, you get to pick a gift or five when you join!
Sep 2024 Swaps!
Skin White as SnowNewsletter Swap 1 (Freebie)
Snow White is a vampire and she thinks Cinderella’s life is just delicious.
What if Snow White stole Cinderella’s life?
What if the Evil Queen wasn’t so evil?
What if the men are just pawns in a labyrinth game to steal Kingdoms?
What if…
…magic is just a puzzle?
Murder at the Cheese ShopNewsletter Swap 2 (UBL)
The peaceful atmosphere of Los Robles is shattered when a murder takes place at the neighborhood cheese shop, causing chaos among the tight-knit community.
Local innkeeper and vineyard owner, Avery Parker, is shocked to discover that she is implicated in the mysterious death in her small hometown.
As Avery begins to investigate, she encounters a myriad of suspects, each with a convincing motive. She uncovers secrets and betrayals from past and present love interests, a disgruntled ex-employee, and a suspicious resident.
Her captivating journey leads her to hidden agendas in the search to solve the crime. The gossipy residents have their guesses, but who can she really trust?
With twists and turns at every corner, Murder at the Cheese Shopis a thrilling mystery that will keep sleuthing readers on the edge of their seats.
Wine pairings and irresistible recipes included!
Don’t miss out on this thrilling mystery – grab your copy today!
The Devil's OwnNewsletter Swap 3 (UBL)
Delaney Murphy has always known she’s the Devil’s daughter.
And although the title itself is a burden, she never expects to inherit all her father’s infernal abilities. When her newfound magic begins to poison the people closest to her, Laney must make a choice. To protect the world from the worst she can do, she leaves everyone she loves behind and builds a new life for herself, alone, in a place where she can control the urge to give in to the magic living within her. But when she recognizes a familiar pattern in a string of murders, Laney leaves her peaceful, isolated life behind and goes on the hunt, unleashing a threat she never dreamed possible. Confronting this menacing specter could mean giving in to temptation and becoming the one thing she fears most.
Will she use her magic to do the right thing, even if it means hurting the ones she loves?
Apache TomahawkNewsletter Swap 4 (Freebie)
In the pre-dawn silence of the New Mexico desert, Zini, a young Apache girl, awakens to gunshots and discovers her home under attack.
Her grandfather, a tribal elder, had previously warned her about a vision involving mystical artifacts—the tomahawk and Seeing Stone—passed down through their lineage from visitors once described as “men from the stars.”
As the assailant nears the house, Zini recalls her grandfather’s teachings and the importance of these relics. Armed with the tomahawk, which possesses extraordinary abilities when wielded by the chosen, she bursts from her room to find her grandfather confronting the intruder.
Despite her efforts, her grandfather is killed, and Zini uses the tomahawk to avenge him. Overcome with grief yet fueled by purpose, she flees the scene with the artifacts, determined to protect them as her grandfather instructed.
As she drives into the uncertain future, she recalls the lore passed down by her ancestors and realizes that more enemies will come.
With the Seeing Stone growing warm in her pocket, she sets her sights on a new life in Vermont, determined to honor her grandfather’s legacy and stay true to her warrior lineage, knowing the “bad men” will inevitably return.
Sep 2024 Group Promos!
Curious Cozies in Kindle Unlimited Group Promo – Mystery, magic, and more!
Join the Newsletter!Till next time! Wish me luck!
Gloria
August 29, 2024
Aug 2024 Group Promos and Swaps!
Table of Contents
Aug 2024 Group Promos and SwapsAug 2024 Swaps!Aug 2024 Group Promos!Aug 2024 Group Promos and Swaps
It is getting harder and harder to do blog posts after the newsletter goes out. No idea why. But it’s almost as if the powers that be don’t want it. Each spot I put in a blog post is different. So copying and pasting from one to the other is never right, so lots of tweaking, changing, and re-linking ensues. The older I get, the less tolerance I have for some of these always unexpected changes. To make matters worse, it isn’t ever clear how much all the effort put in actually pans out or makes a difference.
so to keep my sanity and not totally have you guys do without, I’m going to start doing condensed versions of things on the blog posts.
Want the full undiluted package? Join the newsletter! Then you will get all the goodies. Plus, you get to pick a gift or five when you join!
Aug 2024 Swaps!
The Levitation GameNewsletter Swap 1
Aspiring magician Esme Wright has a secret: She can levitate objects as effortlessly as humming a tune—no tricks required. But when she lands her first big break on The Morning Show: Live!, defying gravity goes horribly and embarrassingly awry.
After the show, she returns to her New York hotel room a sniveling mess until a mysterious reunion with her childhood friend, Joseph Estrada, instigates a vortex of levitation, both frightening and bizarre. It turns out Joseph has powerful secrets, too. He’s terrified that Diablo possesses him, and after the tornado of toiletries in Esme’s hotel room, he can almost feel the fire consuming his toes.
Esme and Joseph disperse to their old lives, but strange and erratic signs soon draw them deeper into a sinister and supernatural puzzle.
The duo must uncover the truth before a catastrophic levitation mishap leaves them injured or, worse, dead. Esme and Joseph embark on a jungle odyssey to unearth the secrets of their past, reuniting with their archaeologist fathers and following the path of jaguars. They discover that the levitation game might be impossible to win—or survive—without answers from the stars.
Counting CrowsNewsletter Swap 2 )UBL
On a fog-bound hill, the crows are feasting on the body of a dead man. Lorne Turner has seen more than his fair share of corpses, but never one like this. The markings on the body and the position all lead towards ritual sacrifice.
Just what Lorne doesn’t need, another lost soul keeping him company at night. But he can’t ignore the questions this dead man brings in his wake.
Why here, right on the highest point on Exmoor? What do the occult markings mean? And why do the authorities seem so intent on avoiding the obvious ceremonial element?
One thing he knows for sure is that someone in the police will stop at nothing to prevent him from discovering the truth. When those in power are this corrupt, who can he turn to for help? Old friends step up, and new alliances are forged. Lorne and the vicar, Ella Morgan, begin their search for answers by plunging into the evil engulfing their lives.
Driven by the ghosts of his past, Lorne is forced to abandon his new-found peace and follow the trail into a world of occultism, corruption, and greed. Trained for war, he must now fight the darkness of a madman threatening all he holds dear.
What will break first, his mind, or the bodies of his enemies?
Aug 2024 Group Promos!
Free Sci-Fi Reads for Summer 2024 Group Promo – Hey, eager space adventurers! 🌌 Get ready for an epic summer of interstellar proportions! Blast off into the unknown with FREE science fiction books that will blow your mind! Explore new authors, dive into captivating space operas, and boldly go where no reader has gone before! 🚀 #ScienceFiction #FreeBooks
I’m From Where? Group Promo – Multi-genre books/stories with characters who don’t know their past! Grab them before they’re gone!
Take the Darker Path Group Promo – Take a trip into darkness if you dare!
Join the Newsletter!Till next time! Wish me luck!
Gloria
August 13, 2024
The Secret Aftermath is LIVE!
Table of Contents
The Secret Aftermath is LIVE!The Secret Aftermath Book Trailer is also LIVE!Can’t Make Up Your Mind? Check Out the Sample Chapters!The Secret Aftermath is LIVE!
You can now purchase The Secret Aftermath in ebook, paperback, hardback, and also find it in Kindle Unlimited!
The Secret Aftermath Book Trailer is also LIVE!
Can’t Make Up Your Mind? Check Out the Sample Chapters!
Yes! You can get a taste of Book 2 of the Discoveries of Julia Xero – The Secret Aftermath by checking out the sample chapters! You can read them online or download them to read on your favorite device. See all the options here. (A sample is also available at Amazon!)
A twenty-year-old secret lies revealed. Someone wants it reburied at any cost. She’s now marked for termination with extreme prejudice.
Julia Xero is in shock. At twenty-two, the introverted orphan found her dream job cleaning up after the dead and even acquired a family worth staying and fighting for. The semi-stuck-up hidden race she works for doesn’t take the news that she’s not entirely human well, but Julia stubbornly stands her ground despite one of them “shockingly” trying to kill her outright.
Remanded into her employer’s custody, Julia is desperate to skip past these inane distractions so she can concentrate on stopping the true danger—a plot to neuter a large portion of humanity without their consent. More than willing to kick ass and take names, Julia obstinately pushes forward despite the realization that someone can’t abide her very existence.
Can Julia stay alive long enough to discover and stop her new nemesis while keeping her newfound family from becoming collateral damage?
The Secret Aftermath is the fast-paced second book in The Discoveries of Julia Xero urban fantasy thriller series. If you enjoy close calls, digging for secrets, and do-or-die heroines, then you’re in for an unearthed treat in Gloria Oliver’s mystery adventure.
Grab your copy of The Secret Aftermath to uncover more hidden truths today!
Enjoy!
I want The Secret Aftermath!Let me read the Sample Chapters!August 3, 2024
The Secret Humankind Sale and Other News!
Table of Contents
The Secret Humankind Sale!Kara Release!The Secret Aftermath Sample Chapters are up!The Secret Humankind Sale!
From 8/1 to 8/7/24 The Secret Humankind – Book 1 of the Discoveries of Julia Xero will be on SALE! This will get you ready for Book 2’s arrival!
Kara Release!
The prequel novelette called Kara is now available in Kindle and Kindle Unlimited!
She’s part of a hidden race. Her coming-of-age transformation doesn’t go as planned. Lost and alone will she remain trapped forever?
Kara has never felt such panic. She’d always known she was part of the Secret Humankind and now that she is of age that she’d go through the Change and become an adult. But her parents didn’t warn her that it would hurt this much or have her waking up in the middle of a forest all alone.
Kara tries to make her way out of the unfamiliar woods, desperate to get back home to those she loves. That’s when she finds out her very essence has been tied to a tree, and wandering too far from it will mean her death.
Can Kara find a way to reunite with her parents, or will she remain tethered until she rots?
Kara is the heart-wrenching prequel novelette of The Discoveries of Julia Xero urban fantasy series. If you like plucky heroines, difficult choices, and origin stories, then you’ll love Gloria Oliver’s emotional journey.
Grab your copy of Kara to find your way to freedom today!
The Secret Aftermath Sample Chapters are up!
Yes! You can now get a taste of Book 2 of the Discoveries of Julia Xero – The Secret Aftermath! You can read the sample chapters online or download them to read on your favorite device. See all the options here.
The Secret Aftermath’s release date is 8/13/24 for the ebook and paperback! The ebook is on Pre-Order here.
A twenty-year-old secret lies revealed. Someone wants it reburied at any cost. She’s now marked for termination with extreme prejudice.
Julia Xero is in shock. At twenty-two, the introverted orphan found her dream job cleaning up after the dead and even acquired a family worth staying and fighting for. The semi-stuck-up hidden race she works for doesn’t take the news that she’s not entirely human well, but Julia stubbornly stands her ground despite one of them “shockingly” trying to kill her outright.
Remanded into her employer’s custody, Julia is desperate to skip past these inane distractions so she can concentrate on stopping the true danger—a plot to neuter a large portion of humanity without their consent. More than willing to kick ass and take names, Julia obstinately pushes forward despite the realization that someone can’t abide her very existence.
Can Julia stay alive long enough to discover and stop her new nemesis while keeping her newfound family from becoming collateral damage?
The Secret Aftermath is the fast-paced second book in The Discoveries of Julia Xero urban fantasy thriller series. If you enjoy close calls, digging for secrets, and do-or-die heroines, then you’re in for an unearthed treat in Gloria Oliver’s mystery adventure.
Grab your copy of The Secret Aftermath to uncover more hidden truths today!
Enjoy!
July 2, 2024
Vortual Tourist 07/02/24
Virtual Tourist 07/02/24Table of ContentsNews/MusingsStory Origin Swap 1Virtual Tourist – Deliver US MarsStory Origin Swap 2Free Sci-Fi Reads for Summer 2024
Group PromoSo Legend Says Group PromoReviewer’s Corner
Greetings!
Sorry, it’s been so long since I’ve posted. Th newsletter always takes priority and sometimes time/life gets in the way of me posting these at the blog. Though newsletter peeps do get extra goodies. So if you want some free reads and the extra stuff, sign up for it here. (Hurry and join so you can read the new Discoveries of Julia Xero Prequel Novelette—Kara for FREE!)
News/Musings
This last week has been super busy! Lots of stuff coming to a head all at the same time (as per usual!).
The kids were gifted with a kiddie pool, and they filled it up for the dogs, figuring they might enjoy it with all this heat. My daughter splashed them, trying to entice them, but no go. They drank out of it but wouldn’t get in it. I told her if she got in there, at least one of them would follow. She hasn’t tried that yet. I hope her hubby will if she won’t. Stay tuned?
Writing News
I hit the button the other day on the Alien Redemption Audiobook! It should take a few days to go through Audible’s final checks before it goes live. They hedge that it could take 10 days, but I’ve seen them come through sooner.
In the meantime, Zumaya has allowed me to put their books up for a Direct Sales experiment. So the Alien Redemption ebooks are on Special for .99 cents (DS only!) So, if you enjoy reading along with the audiobook, this is your chance to get the ebook at a super low price. Or get it at Smashwords for 25% off for the month of July along with my other ZP titles that you can find here.
Extra content today:
1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (UBL)
2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)
3) Free Sci-Fi Reads for Summer 2024 Group Promo
4) So Legend Says: An All-Genre Book Fair for Stories with Mythological Creatures and Gods Group Promo
Scroll on down to get all the deets. 😉
DividedStoryOrigin Swap 1 (UBL)
Murder rips the veil off her magic…
Caly Cook likes being hidden and alone.
The demons of her long lost family make it easier not to trust people. She’s also living as a human, and the last thing she wants is to advertise her ability to leave her body and roam the world as pure spirit.
But when a series of brutal killings ravage young supernaturals, Caly must use every gift she possesses to track down the murderer. After she teams up with a gorgeous wizard named Knox Alexandru, the irresistible attraction between them shatters her carefully constructed solitude.
As the young victims pile up, the city of Orament teeters on the edge of interspecies chaos. Can Caly accept herself – and face the darkness in her own past – before more lives are lost?
The Thorn Demon series is urban fantasy with a thread of clean but stormy romance. In each book, characters go through hard times and confront their deepest fears. The story builds and builds, taking readers through detective mystery, portal fantasy and psychological suspense – you will not believe where you end up!
Deliver US MarsIt’s kind of funny how I’m talking about this game this time around and one of the swaps is also set on Mars! Weird, right?
From what I understand this is the second game in the Deliver Us series, though you don’t need to have played the first to enjoy the second as you get flashbacks and info.
In a dark future, the Earth is dying. The original ray of hope, a set of three special rockets with top-of-the-line tech, was stolen by those entrusted with their care and implementation.
Years later, Earth receives a call for help originating from Mars. A mission is quickly cobbled together in the hopes they can retrieve the three stolen craft and return them to Earth.
You can see all the currently uploaded pics here.
Name screen for the game with a far-off spaceship in the distance.
Kathy’s bedroom as a young child. I would totally have loved a room like this!
The view from Kathy’s childhood home. A vista no longer to be found on Earth by the time she’s 16+
Academy and training facilities for the WSA – The World Space Agency.
The WSA Museum – portraits on the right are of the Lunar Council – the same three people who orchestrated the theft of the three rockets. The one on the far right is Kathy’s father.
The cute hovering machine next to her is Ayla, a companion AI that you’ll use in solving some of the puzzles and unscramble coded holograms left for Kathy on Mars.
A gorgeous sunrise as Kathy and her teammates head to their spaceship for their mission to Mars.
Kathy on the elevator to the ship’s entry point.
The game’s main menu screen
.
Hard Start: Mars IntrigueStoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)
When forces split them apart, how do they come together?
Space Division spy Cody Greene lies for a living. That’s one of the reasons he looks at every woman he meets with skepticism. He’s single because of his dysfunctional relationship with his pampered, politician mother and the fact that he’s still in love with his high school sweetheart, who died mysteriously years ago.
Cody’s in a tight spot when he’s ordered to marry a naive tech genius named Lisa Shim. She’s part of the elite class and has invented everything that makes Mars amazing. Restricted by his oath, he can’t tell her she’s in danger.
Is Lisa like his mother? Or is she the perfect match he’s been praying for?
Free Sci-Fi Reads for Summer 2024 Group Promo – Hey eager space adventurers! 🌌 Get ready for an epic summer of interstellar proportions! Blast off into the unknown with FREE science fiction books that will blow your mind! Explore new authors, dive into captivating space operas, and boldly go where no reader has gone before! 🚀
So Legend Says: An All-Genre Book Fair for Stories with Mythological Creatures and Gods – Group Promo – mythological creatures, legends, and more!
🌟 Shout out to Reviewers Corner! 🌟Thanks this month go to:
Black Jade – M Walters
Cross-eyed Dragon Troubles – droodles
Music of Death Blues – Alexandra Lugo, Alexandra Reads
The Secret Humankind – Tig Shalina Ozuna, Kindle Customer, Sasha, Ali
A great big THANK YOU to all the reviewers!
(Do you want your name in here, too? All you need is to post a one or two-sentence review at Bookbub, Goodreads, Amazon, or send me a link if it’s posted elsewhere and I will add you here next round!)
I hope this first half of 2024 has treated you well and will continue to do so for the rest of the year!
Until next time!
Gloria
May 25, 2024
I'm Baaack!
I’m baaaaccckkkk!
Table of ContentsNews/MusingsStoryOrigin Swap 1The TripStoryOrigin Swap 2Science Fiction & Fantasy AudiobooksFascinating Historical Fiction
Happy Weekend, y’all!
Yes, I am back! (Do you remember me?) I am trying to catch up on endless emails, pending projects, vacation recuperation, and more~!
News/Musings
It’s funky being home. Though it’s weirder when it occasionally feels like I never left. 😝
Hubby and I went on a 25-day cruise! (More details farther down.) Though we’ve been married a long time, it was rare when we took a vacation together. I usually used my vacation days to go to conventions or to write. He took his to play games on the computer. (He’s a homebody type guy.) 😁
Anyway, about ten-plus years ago, we decided to go somewhere together. He’d heard a lot about ship cruises, so he looked into it (even bought a cruising for dummies book), and we took a short one down to the Caribbean on Disney.
He totally fell in love with the concept of a moving hotel. All he had to worry about was getting up on time to go on excursions, and everything else was taken care of by someone else.
The last cruise we went on was over seven years ago when we went to the Mediterranean. I’d been dying to go back to see Herculaneum now that we’d seen Pompeii (and most of the artifacts had been moved to the Naples Museum).
With all my back issues and not knowing what other health excitement might be in our future, we decided we should go while we still could. I would also use it as a test run to see how my back did and whether or not I could get back into the convention circuit.
An item on hubby’s bucket list was to cross the Atlantic. And he found a different cruise line that would give us both what we wanted.
This was the longest vacation we’ve ever taken! Sadly, homeboy doesn’t want to ever be gone that long ever again. ROFL! 🤣
Writing newsYes, I actually have some! Bwahahahaha!
Right before we left, The Secret Humankind Audiobook went live!
You can find it at Amazon, Audible US, Audible UK, and Apple.
I still have some review copy codes for the US and UK, which you can request here. The narrator, Blues Bunny, did a great job!
I’ve also finished the first draft of Book 2—The Secret Aftermath! For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been going through the manuscript again, and my editor has me slotted for early June to work on it. So 🤞, book 2 could hit the shelves in August 2024!
Extra stuff I’ve shoved in here:
1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Direct)
2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)
3) Science Fiction & Fantasy Audioooks Group Promo
4) Fascinating Historical Fiction Group Promo
More deets on all of these in their sections. 😊
StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Direct)The Unknown SunThe world of Skyfall will die unless Moira finds the lost immortals.
Seventeen-year-old Moira is haunted by the accidents that claimed her family. When she is attacked by a strange boy who seems to know too much about her past, Moira fears death will come for her a third time. Saved by twins Airi and Bel, she is taken to their world and safety.
Or so they thought.
Skyfall is dying, the land destroyed during a supernatural war. Those who had protected it, the lost immortals, have gone missing and the land has decayed beyond redemption unless their magic can restore it. Armed with a mysterious talisman Moira, Airi, and Bel must find a journal left by the twins’ dead mother that will tell them how to find and free the Immortals known as The Unknown Sun.
Deeper, darker, secrets unravel around them when the journal reveals shocking information…because everything has a price and the price just might be Moira.
A rebellion against the Windwalker kingdom stalks them from the shadows until it threatens their quests and the boy who tried to destroy Moira appears and is determined to seek revenge.
The Trip
Our trip was through Holland America. This was our first time with them. Our other three trips were through the Disney Cruiseline, but for longer trips Holland American has you covered.
We liked some things better with Disney and others with Holland America, and a lot of other things were practically the same. Both have great service and good food, so I would travel with either again.
Our ship for this trip was the Oosterdam (pronounced Osterdam) with Captain Wouter in charge. It’s a mid-sized ship with 768 crew and over 1,900 passengers.
Her double smokestack makes her quite easy to spot. 😁 Their logo is everywhere, from the china to the salt and pepper shakers.
Below is a list of the stops and dates. Several of these we had to bail on the excursions as hubby caught a cold and later got food poisoning or a bug. I didn’t catch the cold, but the other hit me our last night on board (after all the luggage had been put outside the rooms. Made for a fun-filled evening and next day. Whee!)
25-Day CruiseDateLocationSkipped4/5/24Ft Lauderdale, FL4/6-4/11Crossing the Atlantic4/12/24Ponta Delgada, Azores4/13-4/14Sea Days4/15/24Cadiz, Spain4/16/24Malaga, SpainX4/17/24Cartagena, SpainX4/18/24Alicante, Spain4/19/24Barcelona, Spain
DateLocationSkipped4/29/24Kusadasi, TurkeyHubby Only4/30/24Piraeus, GreeceEarly Flight 🙁
I have a million (okay, not that many, but a TON) of pictures and short videos of the trip. I’m hoping to eventually add them to my website photo folder. I will also post a picture or video a day on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and MeWe. This should keep me busy for a year or more. LOL.
I should be back to the regular programming soon.
As to the back test – it was mostly a fail. I can walk all I want, but I can’t be carrying anything, or it sets it off. Bad seats aggravate it. By the time we were done with the flight to Florida, the lines out of the airport, the lines at the port, the line to get lunch, etc.—it was mad. I’d brought a laptop so I could write during any free time, so that went mostly out the window. Luckily, aside from being in a little pain and wiggling in the bus seats, excursions were totally doable. I used hubby as a mule. 😝 I also availed myself of the acupuncturist on board—8 plus years of experience and Japanese—he was fab! My back started behaving again just a few days before we were done. By letting hubby continue to be my mule through all the airport mess on the way back, and using the better seats to recline and sleep, I cut it off at the pass on the way home at least. Phew!
StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL)King of Time
A fake princess. A talking horse. A stableboy who pulls a sword out of a stone despite the hovering harpy. And Time falling for a mortal.
What evil hides amongst us?
Grappling with writer’s block Lila wishes for more time and…gets a hot dude who claims he’s just what she ordered and there to help. Next, she is given a kingdom and a first-hand experience of figments of her imagination taking over her life. As Lila keeps unsticking herself from sticky situations Time – who likes to be called Adam – discovers emotions. With a stableboy, a potential deity and the warrior king all vying for her affections, Lila has to navigate how to keep her friendships and her dignity intact.
A quirky pre-Arthurian romp through an imaginary kingdom, which will have you chuckling. No cusswords, sex or profanity in this fairy-tale for adults. Also suitable for young adult readers.
Optimists and pessimists each get their own ending – because there are moments when the decisions we or others take lead to completely different outcomes.
Science Fiction & Fantasy Audiobooks Group Promo – SF and Fantasy stories for your ears.
Fascinating Historical Fiction Group Promo – stories set in all sorts of locals and different time periods.
I’m thrilled to be back! I hope you are, too! 😝
Till next time!
Gloria
