Friday, April 24, 2015

Blitz: Dancing to an Irish Reel by Claire Fullerton

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BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE – Dancing to an Irish Reel AUTHOR – Claire Fullerton GENRE – Literary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE – March 17, 2015 LENGTH (Pages/# Words) - 222 PUBLISHER – Vinspire Publishing COVER ARTIST – Leanne for By the Muse Designs

BOOK SYNOPSIS

Twenty five year old Hailey Crossan takes a trip to Ireland during a sabbatical from her job in the LA record business. While there, she’s offered a job too good to turn down, so she stays.
Although Hailey works in Galway, she lives in the countryside of Connemara, a rural area famous for its Irish traditional music.  When Hailey meets local musician, Liam Hennessey, a confusing relationship begins, which Hailey thinks is the result of differing cultures, for Liam is married to the music, and so unbalanced at the prospect of love, he won't come closer nor completely go away.
And so begins the dance of attraction that Hailey struggles to decipher. Thankfully, a handful of vibrant local friends come to her aid, and Hailey learns to love a land and its people, both with more charm than she ever imagined.
DancingtoanIrishReel2 500x750 (1)[1]

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EXCERPT

There’s an energy that hangs between strangers even in a crowd. Call it interest, or attraction, or the knowledge of things to come. It is awareness, and I was aware to the exclusion of all activity around me that Liam Hennessey was watching me. He was sitting at the corner of the bar by himself, and because I could feel his gaze upon me like an electrical current, I froze. I did not move an inch because I sensed I didn’t have to, that something would come about with little prompting from me. I don’t know how I knew this, but I was right, it came about within the hour. It began as a series of introductions to people near Liam, and drew itself closer until Liam was introduced to me.
Right before Leigh left, claiming she had to get up early the next day to drive to Cork, Kieran pointed out that the Irish traditional musicians playing in the corner were the father and older brother of the lad sitting at the end of the bar.
“That’s Liam Hennessey at the bar there,” Kieran gestured to my right. “He’s the best box player in Connemara – even in the whole of Ireland, many say. His family is long in Connemara; they’re all players, so. That’s Sean Liam, his da, and his brother Anthony there on the guitar.” Kieran seemed proud to know the facts. He next took my arm and led me straight to Liam.
“I’ve the pleasure of knowing this American here, her name is Hailey,” Kieran announced to Liam.
I had an uneasy feeling. It’s one thing to suspect you’ll cross paths with someone again, and quite another to be fully prepared when it actually happens. For some unknown reason, I kept thinking it was strange to see Liam this far out in the country from Galway, but then again, what did I know? I didn’t know anything about him.
Liam looked at me with large dark eyes and smiled brightly. He was different than I had imagined: he was friendlier, more candid. I assumed because he looked so dark and mysterious, there would be a personality to match. I assumed he would be reserved, aloof, perhaps arrogant in an artistic sort of way. I was paying close attention, and there was none of that about Liam. In seconds, I realized he was a nice guy. I moved a step to my right as an older man approached the bar.
“Would ye give us a hand there,” the man said to Liam, and for the next few minutes, Liam handed pints over his head to a group of men too far from the bar’s edge to grab the glasses themselves. Just then, Kieran said something that set off a chain of events and put the rest of the night in motion.
“Liam, will you watch Hailey for me, I’m off to join the sessiun.” With that, Kieran produced a harmonica from his shirt pocket and walked off to join the musicians in the corner.
I stood at the bar and waited for the next thing to happen. The world seemed to operate in slow motion. All the noise in the room subsided, and the only thing I knew was I was looking directly at Liam Hennessey. I searched his face for imperfections. I had never before seen such beauty in the face of a man. I hoped my thoughts didn’t show on my face. He was so good looking, I wondered why other people in the room weren’t staring at him, then I realized most of Hughes’ patrons knew him and were probably used to the way he looked. I was reticent, unsure of how to speak to Liam, unfamiliar with how provincial he may or may not have been. Words tend to get in the way in moments like this, but they lay in wait just the same.
Dancing To An Irish Reel - Author Photo

AUTHOR BIO

Claire Fullerton is the author of “A Portal in Time” and “Dancing to an Irish Reel,” both from Vinspire Publishing. She is an award winning essayist, a contributor to magazines (including “Southern Writers Magazine”) and a five time contributor to the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book series. Claire grew up in Memphis, TN and now divides her time between Malibu and Carmel, CA with her husband, two German shepherds and one black cat. Currently, she is writing her third novel.

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AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE –  WEBSITE / BLOG –  FACEBOOK –  TWITTER –  GOOGLE+ –  PINTEREST –  TUMBLR –  GOODREADS –  SHELFARI –  ABOUT ME
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Thursday, April 16, 2015

Review: Love in a Dangerous Season by Gloria Gay

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BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE – Love In A Dangerous Season AUTHOR – Gloria Gay GENRE – Regency Historical Romance PUBLICATION DATE – January 21, 2015 LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 192 Pages PUBLISHER – Amazon Kindle Direct COVER ARTIST – Killion Group

BOOK SYNOPSIS

For her insulting behavior toward the Earl of Ashcom, on whom her family depends for subsistence, beautiful Fantine Delmere earns for herself an unwanted London season and is forced to leave her beloved Evergreen and venture into the hard glare of the heartless haut ton she abhors. But Fantine’s arrival awakens jealousies and dangerous forces are put into motion…
Love In A Dangerous Season - Medium Cover

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EXCERPT

Fantine struggled in Ashcom’s arms as he pressed his mouth to hers, but to no avail. Her strength pitted against his was but a sigh to a powerful gale. Then even against her will she felt her treacherous lips responding hungrily to his bruising lips that tasted of recently sipped coffee and felt a rush of passion course madly through her limbs as he parted her lips forcibly and thrust his tongue into her mouth.
A thrilling rush of sensation shot out throughout her body, making her listless.
For a while he kissed her, hard and with a desperate hunger answered in measure by Fantine. He tasted the chocolate in her mouth and inhaled the sweet light scent he had chosen for her. He felt a tremor shoot out in sparks throughout his body and a strong response in his loins.
Hating his reaction to her and his weakening resolve, he let go of her suddenly and still holding her by her shoulders looked angrily into her eyes.
"Have you ever been kissed by a moneyed title, Miss Delmere? Well now you have." And with that he turned on his heel and strode out of the breakfast room.
Scandal At Almacks - Author Photo

AUTHOR BIO

From an early age I was drawn to painting and writing. Both have always been linked for me throughout the different stages of my life—studies, work, marriage, children, grand-children. Curiously enough it was a novel given to me as a prize for art excellence at the Catholic nuns’ academy where I studied through sixth grade that I was introduced to literature. Up until that time I only knew books as history, math, etc. Those nuns were very strict: novels only as a prize! I was amazed that a book could open doors into imagined worlds. I probably thought, as a nine-year-old, that movies just appeared on the screen by magic. :)
From that day forth I would make up stories to tell my brothers and my sister. Later on I started to put the stories down on paper. Then among the many novels I read I started one day to read “Rebecca” by Daphne Du Maurier. That first line in the novel: “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…” was the spark that drew me toward serious writing, first the gothic novels popular at the time and then when I searched for more romance than mystery, to the novels of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer.
Regency romance became my genre and I self-published four, then two more with a traditional publisher, Boroughs Publishing Group, and two with Amazon’s Kindle Direct. And although I will probably always write Regencies, I am also branching out to romantic suspense and will soon be publishing two of those and, hopefully, re-write the first gothic novel I wrote and abandoned many years ago.

Review:

I enjoyed the book. The book is full of twists and turns. I think that the main characters were great but could have been so much more with more depth. I have never read a story by this author before but I would do it again. There was enough interaction between the characters to keep me interested.

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Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Blitz: Fly me to the Moon by Bev Elle

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BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE – Fly Me To The Moon SERIES – N/A AUTHOR – Bev Elle GENRE – Contemporary Romance LENGTH (Pages/# Words) - 124 PUBLISHER – Bev Elle Press COVER ARTIST – Amy Queau - Q Designs
Fly Me To The Moon - Book Cover

BOOK SYNOPSIS

Ticketing agent Jessamy Taylor has been in a dating slump exacerbated by moving her sickly mother into her home. The truth is she's never gotten over the quirky Dr. Griffin Sanderson whose Obsessive Compulsive Disorder drives her crazy, despite his excellent bedside manner.
Fly Me To The Moon is a love song covered by many, the most memorable being Frank Sinatra. Griffin whistles this tune incessantly, but that's just one of the many odd quirks Jessamy Taylor either loves or hates about him. Since their ill-fated love affair two years prior, she's found no one to replace the good doctor.
A date with a self-absorbed jerk goes awry for Jessamy, and somehow the night ends with her in Griffin's arms. Will the changes he's made be enough this time, or will secrets tear them apart?
Fly Me To The Moon - Teaser 2

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Fly Me To The Moon - Teaser 1

EXCERPT

“Look!” Kyla said. “Griffin’s holding the Fowlers’ baby. Now doesn’t that make your ovaries want to explode?”
Jessamy turned her head slowly, knowing the sight would slay her. Griffin never held babies. She took it all in as if in slow motion. Mark was holding their toddler in place as Jenny was cleaning up the sticky popsicle he was covered in, while Griffin was holding the four-month old. He cradled her a bit nervously at first, then he seemed to get his baby-holding legs under him and finally began to smile and talk to her.
Jessamy and Kyla could hear her baby giggle from where they stood. “Aww!” They said in tandem.
“Now that right there ought to earn a man another chance,” Kyla said.
Fly Me To The Moon - Teaser 3

AUTHOR BIO

Bev Elle is the author of sweet and spicy, contemporary romance. She's a lover of books - those already written, and those she harbors in her very active imagination. Writing is a passion she's had for many years, but was unable to act upon. Until now. Bev Elle is the mother of three human children and two canines. She is also the lover of one husband. When Bev isn't writing in her spare time after work, she is thinking of doing so.

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Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Blitz: Fifty Shades of Jungle Fever by L.V. Lewis

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BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE – Fifty Shades of Jungle Fever SERIES – The Ghetto Girl Romance Quadrilogy AUTHOR – L. V. Lewis GENRE – Contemporary Romance LENGTH (Pages/# Words) - 286 PUBLISHER – Jungle Fever Press COVER ARTIST – Kristy Charbonneau at http://Covermecreative.com
Fifty Shades of Jungle Fever - Cover

BOOK SYNOPSIS

FIFTY SHADES OF JUNGLE FEVER
Keisha Beale, a street-wise Chicago south-sider two years out of DePaul University, is a quarter million dollars in start-up capital away from realizing her dream of owning a recording studio/record store. She takes the place of her more business-savvy partner in a meeting with Tristan White himself, the venture capitalist they've targeted to fund their business.
A bi-racial--African American and Brazilian--woman with a troubled past, Keisha has been so focused on her business pursuits that her love life has been non-existent. Tristan White is the devastatingly handsome, 32-year old CEO of White Enterprises, the firm he built using only the inheritance his mother left him to prove to his father he had the mettle to do it alone. He comes from a long line of wealth, and lives the life of a "one-percenter" on Chicago's Gold Coast.
Tristan is accustomed to controlling every aspect of his life given his birth into a world of white privilege.
50 Shades to the 2nd Power...
When Keisha and Tristan's worlds collide, sparks fly, and a fever is ignited in them both that they have never experienced before. It turns out they each have secrets, but together, in the unorthodox arrangement Tristan proposes, they discover passions they never knew they had.
... Meets Keisha From The Block!
The Ghetto Girl title is, in all truthfulness, a misnomer. Keisha Beale is a highly-educated young woman who just happens to have been born on the other side of the socio-economic tracks. She embraces all of who she is, and navigates almost effortlessly in both worlds.
Erotic, amusing, and in places hilarious, the Ghetto Girl Romance Quadrilogy is a parody with a new take on a Fifty Shades type story that will take you even further into the BDSM world, and promises to make the vanilla original Fifty Shades more colorful.
Fifty Shades of Jungle - The Block

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Fifty Shades of Jungle - Tristan

EXCERPT

“Speaking of our association, how long are we talking here?”
Tristan leans against the building, folds his arms casually, and props one jean-clad leg behind him. “You anxious to get rid of me, Ms. Beale?” He deflects with questions better than anyone.
I fold my arms, not allowing him to stare me down. “I asked my question first.”
“If I were to answer based on past associations: a year. Two max.”
So, my shelf life was the equivalent of a fiscal year or two if I looked at it from a business perspective. Could I even survive that long?
“And just how do your, er, associations usually end?”
“I or my submissive will allow it to come to a conclusion organically.”
“Meaning, you or she will indicate it’s not working and exercise your right to dump or be dumped?”
“Yes, but it’s usually very amicable.”
Struggling to look impassive, I chew on by bottom lip despite myself. “You’d better be glad you didn’t meet the twenty-one-year-old version of me.”
“Why is that?”
“That Keisha didn’t take forced endings too well. She was fond of super gluing sensitive body parts of ex-boyfriends.” I have no idea why I admit this to him. I suppose it isn’t as much to let him know I’m nobody’s fool but to get a rise out of him.
Tristan doesn’t react. We are both wearing dueling poker faces. “As I’ve said before, you’re not a woman who should ever have to play host to the green-eyed monster. Never let anyone usurp your confidence. Not even me.”
It doesn’t surprise me that Tristan is wholly self-contained and keeps his emotions close to the vest. If I hang around him long enough, I could learn some things. “Thanks for the . . . advice.”
Fifty Shades of Jungle - Keisha and Tristan

AUTHOR BIO

L. V. Lewis is a married, mother of four who lives and works in the Florida Panhandle. Early in her career Lewis decided stories like Fifty Shades of Grey needed a little more diversity and comedy. She penned Fifty Shades of Jungle Fever as a parodied response to those wildly popular books from a woman of color. A voracious reader since kindergarten, Lewis loves nothing more than to curl up with a good book and a glass of wine. Now that Lewis has young adults who think they don't need their parents anymore, she has taken up the second career of writing. Her love for writing is only eclipsed by her love for her family.

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Saturday, April 4, 2015

Review: Dawnflight by Kim Iverson Headlee

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BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE – Dawnflight SERIES – The Dragon’s Dove Chronicles, book 1 AUTHOR – Kim Iverson Headlee GENRE – Myths, Legends, Historical, Spiritual, Romance PUBLICATION DATE – 2013 LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 415 pages/130K words PUBLISHER – Lucky Bat Books COVER ARTIST – Natasha Brown

BOOK SYNOPSIS

Gyan is a Caledonian chieftainess by birth, a warrior and leader of warriors by training, and she is betrothed to Urien, a son of her clan’s deadliest enemy, by right of Arthur the Pendragon’s conquest of her people. For the sake of peace, Gyan is willing to sacrifice everything...perhaps even her very life, if her foreboding about Urien proves true.
 
Roman by his father, Brytoni by his mother, and denied hereditary rulership of his mother's clan because of his mixed blood, Arthur has followed his father's path to become Dux Britanniarum, the Pendragon: supreme commander of the northern Brytoni army. The Caledonians, Scots, Saxons, and Angles keep him too busy to dwell upon his loneliness...most of the time.
 
When Gyan and Arthur meet, each recognize within the other their soul’s mate. The treaty has preserved Gyan’s ancient right to marry any man, providing he is a Brytoni nobleman—but Arthur does not qualify. And the ambitious Urien, Arthur’s greatest political rival, shall not be so easily denied. If Gyan and Arthur cannot prevent Urien from plunging the Caledonians and Brytons back into war, their love will be doomed to remain unfulfilled forever.
 
But there is an even greater threat looming. The Laird of the Scots wants their land and will kill all who stand in his way. Gyan, Arthur, and Urien must unite to defeat this merciless enemy who threatens everyone they hold dear.
 
 
Review: I am always a fan when a author takes a traditional story and put their own spin on things. I loved this book. The characters are very real and connectable. I could not put this book down and read long after bedtime. I cant wait to see where the author takes this story from here.
 
Dawn Flight - Book Cover

 

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EXCERPT: Chapter 1

THE COMBATANTS CIRCLED warily in the churned mud of the practice field, blind to the swelling audience and the chilling autumn rain. One, a giant of a figure, was the teacher. The student was neither as tall nor as well muscled but moved with the speed and agility of youth. The mud splattered on both bodies was mute evidence of the length of the session.
“Keep up your intensity!” Ogryvan swiped at his opponent’s midsection. “Always! Lose your battle frenzy, and you’re dead!”
Neither was fighting in true battle frenzy, but the younger warrior understood. Smiling grimly through the rivulets of sweat, the student danced out of reach, whirled, and made a cut at Ogryvan’s thigh. The blunted practice sword could not penetrate the leather leggings but was sure to leave a bruise precisely over the wound he had taken at Abar-Gleann two months before.
Although the swordmaster gritted his teeth against the pain, his opponent sensed satisfaction in the accompanying nod. The reason for the sign of approval was clear: the student had made an excellent choice of moves. Exploitation of the enemy’s weaknesses was a basic tenet of the warrior’s art. Mastery of this principle would serve Ogryvan’s pupil well in the years to come.
“Strive to outthink your foe. Stay one move ahead,” he advised between feints. The clatter adopted a dancelike rhythm as the opposing blade deftly met each thrust. The onlookers shouted their approval.
The youth answered with a powerful counterattack, silent but for the creak of leather and the hollow thunks as sword met shield. The swordmaster staggered backward. His disciple quickened the attack.
And grew careless. The shield sagged. Ogryvan landed a blow to the unguarded left shoulder. Startled, the youth lost footing in the treacherous mud and fell.
The laughter sparked by the mishap, from teacher and audience alike, was not unkind, yet it did not comfort the mud-painted student.
The Chieftainess of Clan Argyll hated to lose.
The reason rankled like that awful brew Cynda called spring tonic: she’d not done her best. She didn’t need her father to tell her that carelessness had caused the loss.
In battle, such a mistake was fatal.
She began to pick herself up, seething, only to be unceremoniously shoved face-first into the mud. Before she could twitch, her father’s foot pinned her down. His sword at the base of her neck chilled her to the core of her being. It was too easy to imagine what might happen next.
Ogryvan whispered, “Pay attention, Gyan. This is my favorite part.” His rumbling voice poised on the brink of a chuckle. “All hear and beware! The Ogre takes no prisoners!”
Had this been actual combat, her head would have become the newest addition to Ogryvan’s private collection. Such was the Caledonach way. Not only was the foe defeated in death, but to the victor went possession of the soul. Well honored was the warrior who boasted the largest array.
Long years of training had hardened Gyan to this aspect of warfare, yet the prospect of someday ending up on display in an enemy’s feast hall was grisly at best.
By the shifting of his foot on her back, she knew her father was posturing for the crowd. They rewarded his performance with gleeful claps and shouts. The official practice session was over, of course. But she wasn’t quite finished.
Her sword hilt nestled in the palm of her outflung hand. She carefully tightened her grip. In a burst of movement, she writhed and scissored with her legs, twisted free, rolled to her feet, and brought the sword up in both hands. Ogryvan toppled into the mud. The resounding wet thud of his landing was chorused by the guffaws of the audience.
She grinned, holding the point of her sword to his throat. “Neither does the Ogre’s daughter!”
No nectar was as sweet as the joy of winning, and winning before an audience of her clansmen tasted even sweeter. One day, she would lead them into battle; events like today’s added another brick onto the foundation of trust. Their heartfelt adoration warmed her like the summer sun.
She sheathed the sword and offered a hand to her father. “Even?” Her voice was huskier than usual from the exertion of the morning.
Ogryvan took the proffered hand to regain his footing. “Even.”
The crowd drifted back to their various duties around the settlement, but one man remained at the edge of the field. She strode toward him, swatting mud from her thighs and chest.
“Well, Per, how did I look?”
“Like the fen-spirits Cynda used to try to frighten us with.” Her half brother reached for a glob of mud lodged in her braid.
“Ha!” She playfully slapped his hand away. “You know what I mean.”
Per beamed at her. “You did well. I don’t think I could have fooled Father like that. Or held him off for so long.”
She didn’t believe him for an instant. They had sparred with each other often enough to know who was the better swordsman, but she rewarded his flattery with a brilliant smile and a challenge: “Race you to the house!”
She launched herself down the path, bruises forgotten in the autumn mist.

BOOK TRAILER (with older cover by Joe Calkins)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHOESkv-R_c

AUDIOBOOK VIDEO TEASER (Prologue)

 

CHARACTER BIOS

I am Gyanhumara nic Hymar, daughter of Hymar and her consort, Ogryvan. My mother, whose name means “song,” named me her “rarest song,” for I was fated before birth to be the only daughter she would ever bear. Those who do not ken the Caledonach tongue call me by many other names: Vennevria ... Guanhumara ... Ganora … Gwenhwyfar ... Guenevara ... Guinevere. I am none of those women.
 
I am Gyanhumara.
The banner under which I fight is not my own but my clan's: Na Calamaig h’Argaillanaich, which is called in your tongue the Doves of Argyll. Our storytellers tell us of Clan Argyll’s first exalted heir-bearer, who lived countless generations ago. Argaillean was fierce and strong and true to her name, which means “our tempest.” For her valiant battle against those first despised Ròmanach invaders, she chose the doves, for they are the fastest of birds and the strongest for their size. Argaillean and her army had to be fast and strong to defeat the Ròmanaich. She chose two doves to show unity between her and her consort, between her and her clan, and between her clan and Caledon. The silver on the banner represents the natural coloring of doves, but Argaillean also chose it in defiance of the Ròmanaich, who prize silver for their finest armor and adornments. The midnight blue field against which the Doves of Argyll fly represents the vast eternal realm of the Old Ones… or Heaven, as I have learned to call it.
 
I also proudly fight under the Scarlet Dragon of Arthur the Pendragon, but I shall defer to him for the explanation of its meaning, if he so chooses to share it with you.
 
 
Dawn Flight - Author Photo

AUTHOR BIO

Kim Headlee lives on a farm in southwestern Virginia with her family, cats, goats, and assorted wildlife. People & creatures come and go, but the cave and the 250-year-old house ruins -- the latter having been occupied as recently as the mid-20th century -- seem to be sticking around for a while yet.
 
Kim is a Seattle native (when she used to live in the Metro DC area, she loved telling people she was from "the other Washington") and a direct descendent of 20th-century Russian nobility. Her grandmother was a childhood friend of the doomed Grand Duchess Anastasia, and the romantic yet tragic story of how Lydia escaped Communist Russia with the aid of her American husband will most certainly one day fuel one of Kim's novels. Another novel in the queue will involve her husband's ancestor, the 7th-century proto-Viking king of the Swedish colony in Russia.
 
For the time being, however, Kim has plenty of work to do in creating her projected 8-book Arthurian series, The Dragon's Dove Chronicles, and other novels under her new imprint, Pendragon Cove Press.
 
YouTube video interview: http://youtu.be/DV5iKrEIROk

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