Friday, November 23, 2018

Dickensen Academy by Christine Grabowski


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Christine Grabowski will be awarding $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Why do you write juvenile fiction? What draws you to it?

I fell in love with reading as a child, so when my kids began reading, I wanted the same for them. I noticed they loved some books and didn’t like others. That inspired me to want to write books that children and young adults would enjoy, so they would develop the love of reading for a lifetime.

What books were your favorite as a youth and why?

I loved all the Judy Blume books. I started with the Fudge books which were laugh out loud funny. But her older MG books like Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret kept me reading because they were so relatable, and I learned about things I wasn’t comfortable talking about with my mom.

What’s your favorite sweet treat?

Definitely ice cream in a waffle cone, preferable with some sort of chocolate or caramel mix-in… unless it is coffee and that works all by itself.

What book is on your nightstand currently?

Bite Me by Louise Cypress. But I usually have multiple books going. A writing craft book, a book for book club (or 2… I’m a member of two), and a YA.

Hunger Games or Twilight? Why?

This is tough as they are two of my favorite series. But if I have to pick I’d say Twilight. My parents live in Port Angeles (I live closer to Seattle) and so the setting was very real for me. I even read the first book while staying there. One time we took a day trip to Forks and the Quileute Reservation.

Sum up your book for Twitter: 140 characters or less.

When a teen discovers her school is teaching dream telepathy, she must believe in her own powers or risk having her memories destroyed.

Favorite hot beverage. Why?

Coffee with a little (and I mean just a splash) of milk. If I didn’t drink it, I’d be sleeping right now.

What four literary characters would you most like to have over for dinner?

* Laura Ingalls – She was only a little older than me, and I felt that I grew up while she grew up in front of me on screen. I always wanted to be a part of her family.
* Charles Wallace – This kid is so smart, I’m sure we’d never run out of things to talk about.
* Edward – I felt in love with him while reading Twilight.
* Rhett Butler – If I lived during the Civil War, I would have fallen in love with him. He was such a bad boy on the outside but was sweet on the inside.

Who was your teenaged crush? Why?

Simon Le Bon from Duran Duran. I had a group of 5 friends in 8th grade, and we all got to pick one member of the band as our favorite. I loved both Simon and John Taylor—let’s face it, because of their looks. But Danelle picked John, so I went with Simon.

Favorite class in high school. Why?

Arts & Crafts. I went to a religious high school with only six periods. With religion being a required class and with a full pre-college load, it was the only “fun” class I got to take in four years.

Dickensen Academy isn’t a typical boarding school. The faculty is hiding an unbelievable secret within their fine arts program. When Autumn Mattison receives an invitation to attend the high school, she yearns to escape her overbearing father yet remains reluctant to leave her mother and brother. Her doubts fade away when a vivid dream convinces her she belongs there.

Away from home, Autumn discovers a unique school environment that awakens her creative potential, and her new friends become like a second family. However, as she uncovers more about the dark side of the school and struggles with its curriculum, she questions whether Dickensen Academy is truly where she belongs.

When tragedy strikes, Autumn must learn to believe in her own power and stand up to her greatest fear or risk having her memories destroyed to protect the school’s secrets. Caught between secrets and dreams, can she find her true self?

Read an Excerpt

“I feel like there’s something big we don’t know about. Something those students were protecting. I mean, really, why are we here?”

I thought it was just me who was confused. “Well…the recruiters said we’re creative and focused.”

“Yeah, that’s what Principal Locke said too.”

“And we have the right personality.”

Ben looked up at the sky, sighed then turned toward the forest. “What did he say…something about how it will soon become clear why we’re here, and there’s some ultimate purpose for our creativity?”

“I know. That whole creativity part was a bit bizarre.”

He shrugged. “It seems everyone is going with the flow. But I have so many questions.” Then he touched my arm to stop me, so I turned toward him. “I’m thinking they’re isolating us for some special reason,” he admitted in an embarrassed tone.

I tried not to laugh—he was acting paranoid. But I didn’t know Ben well. Maybe he was joking, trying to freak me out. Or was he hitting on me? The flutter in my chest moved to my stomach. I was already anxious about being away from home and whether or not I could hack the academics. I didn’t need to obsess about anything else. But I still had to know about Ben’s dream.

“So…I also had a dream about Dickensen before I accepted the offer.”

Ben’s head snapped toward me. “You did?”

About the Author:
Dickensen Academy is Christine’s debut YA novel. After graduating from the University of Washington, she earned her MBA at the University at Albany. She honed her technical writing skills in marketing and consulting but attributes the creative part of the process to her passion for reading.

When she isn’t reading or writing, Christine can often be found running, skiing, or hiking. She lives in Newcastle, Washington, with her supportive husband, two avid teen readers, and their energetic wheaten terriers.

https://www.christinegrabowski.com
https://facebook.com/christinegrabowskiauthor
https://twitter.com/christinegrabo

Buy Links:

https://amzn.to/2KJ9XgD
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dickensen-academy-christine-grabowski/1129315140
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dickensen-academy/id1419915501
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Christine_Grabowski_Dickensen_Academy?id=3LpsDwAAQBAJ
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dickensen-academy
https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/6044-dickensen-academy.html

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Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Mrs. Murray's Ghost by Emily-Jane Hills Orford


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Emily-Jane Hills Orford will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Why do you write juvenile fiction? What draws you to it?

I am a retired music teacher, who also took time out of my busy weekends to teach creative writing to young people. I have worked with young people all my life. I love listening to their stories and helping them master the art. These are the readers and writers of the future, so I wanted to do all I could to inspire them. In the process, they inspired me. I have written a lot of family stories, memoirs, historical fiction/fantasy, but “Mrs. Murray’s Ghost” and the entire “Piccadilly Street” series is my first adventure in writing for young people. I’m not sure if it was the young people or the inspiration for the story (the haunted house where I grew up) which drew me in. Probably a bit of both. And I’m glad I started this series. It’s really been a lot of fun and I’ve revisited some of my old memories and dreams and fantasies along the way.

What books were your favorite as a youth and why?

I loved Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty – still do. It ignited my fascination for horses. In fact, books 3 and 4 of The Piccadilly Street series has a little bit of riding adventure. Mary Norton’s novel, The Borrowers, came out when I was still in elementary school and I fell in love with the idea of little people living between the walls. Hence the Brownies in my stories, which are Scottish little people, who lived between the walls of houses and, in Scotland, castles, protecting those who live within. We didn’t actually have Brownies living in my haunted house, so that’s pure imagination, something I have a lot of. We did have a ghost, though.

What’s your favorite sweet treat?

Chocolate – pure dark chocolate without any additives. Not easy to find. But if you can, it’s worth the effort. Most chocolate is laden with sugar, dairy, and soy additives, all of which I’m very allergic. Pure chocolate made with cocoa beans and cocoa butter instead of soy and dairy, is so-o-o-o-o delicious. I think I’ll go right now and find myself a chunk of pure chocolate. Just thinking about it makes me crave for it.

What book is on your nightstand currently? Phyllis Bohonis, Margaret McFarland. A wonderful mystery writer and also a personal friend. I just finished her recent novel, The Track and wrote a review on Goodreads. Reviews are important readers. Even if it’s just two sentences. Reviews help writers sell their books.

Sum up your book for Twitter: 140 characters or less.

What does a ghost, a group of Brownies and a ten-year-old girl have in common? And why is there a witch trying to strike them all down? Only Mary knows for sure.

You’re stranded on a desert island—which character from your book do you want with you? Why?

Granny. She’s modelled after my grandmother, whom we called Gran. We were very close and we shared a lot of interests, like reading, storytelling and traveling. I would love to spend another lifetime with her. There isn’t a day goes by that I don’t miss our chats on the phone and our visits. Writing about Gran, weaving her into my stories, keeps her very much alive in my heart. So, stranded on a deserted island with Gran? That would be the best. Only problem: I don’t know who would grumble the most about the inconvenience of the situation: her or me.

Favorite class in high school. Why?

English. Except for Grade 10 when we had to write and give speeches. I don’t like standing up in front of people and talking, so Grade 10 didn’t go so well. But I loved my other English classes: reading and writing, what more could I ask for in a favorite class? What other class allows you to read stories for homework?

Mary’s family has moved into a huge Victorian mansion. She loves her gigantic new house, especially her room. But then she begins to meet the house’s other residents. Mrs. Murray was murdered in Mary’s new house. At first she tries to scare the new residents away, but there seems to be a force connecting the ghost to Mary. Even the stranded Brownies, the little people who live between the walls, feel that connection. When Mary becomes deathly ill, the Brownies and the ghost team up to try to rescue her, only to encounter a witch and her evil minions. Time is running out. They must rescue Mary from a fever-induced dream world before she is trapped there forever. As well as being a fun read for young readers, the story gives an historical perspective to childhood, as it dates to the 1960s. It also deals with some very current issues, specifically bullying.

Read an Excerpt:

“Did you leave any lights on downstairs?” he asked as he seated himself at the table once again.

“No,” Mom answered. “I turned everything off.”

“She did,” Mary added. “I made sure.”

“The lights were all on in the kitchen,” Dad said. “Some of the cupboard doors were wide open. I closed them.” At that, the banging doors started up again.

“I guess it’s official,” David announced. “We have a ghost.” He made his move and passed ‘Go’. Holding out his hand to the banker (who was always Dad to ensure some modicum of fairness in the game), he demanded, “Two hundred dollars, please.”

“Sounds to me like the ghost is checking us out,” Dad said, handing over the Monopoly money. “It’s not hurting anyone, so let it be.”

“Spoooooky!” David howled, laughing.

Mary didn’t laugh. She wasn’t sure why they thought it was funny, but if no one else was afraid, maybe ghosts weren’t scary.

About the Author:
An avid gardener, artist, musician and writer, Emily-Jane Hills Orford has fond memories and lots of stories that evolved from a childhood growing up in a haunted Victorian mansion. Told she had a ‘vivid imagination’, the author used this talent to create stories in her head to pass tedious hours while sick, waiting in a doctor’s office, listening to a teacher drone on about something she already knew, or enduring the long, stuffy family car rides. The author lived her stories in her head, allowing her imagination to lead her into a different world, one of her own making. As the author grew up, these stories, imaginings and fantasies took to the written form and, over the years, she developed a reputation for telling a good story. Emily-Jane can now boast that she is an award-winning author of several books, including Mrs. Murray’s Ghost (Telltale Publishing 2018), Queen Mary’s Daughter (Clean Reads 2018), Gerlinda (CFA 2016) which received an Honorable Mention in the 2016 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards, To Be a Duke (CFA 2014) which was named Finalist and Silver Medalist in the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and received an Honorable Mention in the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards and several other books. A retired teacher of music and creative writing, she writes about the extra-ordinary in life and the fantasies of dreams combined with memories. For more information on the author, check out her website at: http://emilyjanebooks.ca

Author Links:

Website: http://emilyjanebooks.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realpeoplestories
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ejhomusic
Blog: http://beyondtheordinaryincanadianstories.blogspot.ca/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1732544.Emily_Jane_Hills_Orford,br>
https://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Murrays-Ghost-Piccadilly-Street-ebook/dp/B07GNRM659

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Monday, November 19, 2018

Longevity by Caleb Smith


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Caleb Smith will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Noah Thomas is a scrawny seventh grader who is bullied to the brink in his new town. Friendless, except for sassy tomboy Wendy Sherman, who seems to lend him the confidence he needs to stand up to his oppressors. Upon stumbling into a bookshop one afternoon while on the run from some teenaged tyrants, Noah is hurled into an unexplainable adventure. Noah learns that the bookshop does, in fact, lead to the Akashic Records – a place that holds all spirit lives recorded in tablets of light. With this new found knowledge, Noah begins to grow in wisdom and confidence to face his fears. His biggest challenge comes in the form of five demonic spirits that he accidentally lets loose from a lost tablet. Will Noah succeed with the help of his guardian angel cat he calls Keeper, or will all Hell's henchman prevail?

"A spiritual thriller that skillfully celebrates determination and self-discipline - Kirkus Reviews "

Read an Excerpt:

Elijah was busy containing the damned and all the energies he could catch, holding them tightly until their essence spontaneously combusted into cosmic dust as the window shattered. The night wind howled angrily. With the wave of his hand, Elijah repaired the window to its normal state, and Enoch found the metal sleeve to lock this lost Akashic tablet, sliding both book and key into his deep pocket. Elijah then moved to Noah’s aid, ignoring the result of the mayhem that had occurred in this room. He cradled Noah’s head and lifted his torso. Noah awakened to the sight of the two pillars of heaven towering over him and shining light into his peepers. He was not as shocked as he should have been. He quickly remembered what he had done, and then Elijah set him on his feet to stand. He wished he was more surprised to see them, but he knew full well the reason for their visit.

About the Author:
Caleb Smith an author from Bangor Maine, holds a passion for nature, spiritual study, family, poetry, art, strength training and golf. Honesty, simplicity and a hard work ethic are the best things that shape his day.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/calebsmithauthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/calebsmith
Publisher: http://www.blackrosewriting.com
Book Video: https://youtu.be/FmlGJqQ-t4Y
Goodreads Giveaway: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/284681-longevity-the-wardens-of-time

Buy Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Longevity-Wardens-Time-Caleb-Smith/dp/1684331382
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/longevity-caleb-smith/1129584642
http://www.blackrosewriting.com/childrens-booksya/longevity

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Thursday, November 15, 2018

The Storm in our Chests


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Enrique Betancourt will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

After being separated abruptly, best friends Benj and Élan reunite after five years. They are not children anymore, and teenage and experience changed them.

Benj used to be an isolated antisocial child, now he’s popular and outgoing, leaving for college in the following year.

Élan used to be chipper, now he’s sad and insecure after years of being tossed around the foster system and realizing he is gay, crushing on a boy he thinks is unattainable.

Their reunion proves to be a challenge as they are the polar opposites of how they knew each other, the journey to healing and proves to be tough. Bonding again may be the only thing that saves them. Through small moments and swift dramatic turns, Benj and Élan will have to prove they are more than friends - they are buddies, and the epitome of unconditional love.

Read an Excerpt:

ÉLAN

“Please! Don’t take my best friend away!”

I remember. Hurts every time.

Even if it’s been five years, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget that. The day that changed the course of my life, and the moment when I realized everything was lost. He was running behind the car, trying to reach me. I was crying, sobbing real tears that threatened to break my already shattered heart. I remember asking the social workers for leniency, to let me say goodbye to Benj. But they said this was for the better. They said this is what it was meant to be. They said it wouldn’t hurt that bad this way.

It still hurts every day.

I looked through the window and I saw him, crying for me. That was the last time I heard someone who loved me cry out my name. I know it’s stupid, it’s been five years and I should probably try to move on. Sometimes I want to forget, but then I remember that it would be worse. If I forgot Benj, I’d probably be hollow. So I held on to the memory of us as long as I could. He was my light in the darkness.

Every night filled with shadows, he was my anchor to strength. I kept saying that one day we’d meet again and things would be like they used to be, so I try to be strong. Even if I grow hair in unexpected places and my voice deepens, or if I’m taller, he would still like me. Even if I don’t see life the same way as before, he would still love me.

I was not Batman, he was.

He was my Batman.

About the Author:
I am the published writer of a novel called THE IMAGINARIUM OF THE INNOCENT by Austin Macauley Publishers, and also I have been awarded the Rosa Maria Porrúa Award for my Spanish-language novella SOBRE LAS CENIZAS. My books stand out for their literacy excellence that got me an award, and the dramatic and emotional way I handle my characters. I am Mexican who lived 6 years in the United States, I love to read, to write and music is such a powerful inspiring force for me.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7370307.Enrique_A_Betancourt
Twitter: https://twitter.com/enribetan

Purchase Links:

Barnes & Noble (Nook): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1129696264…
Amazon (Kindle): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HMNTR63/
Apple Books / iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/…/the-storm-in-our-c…/id1438271505…
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/ebook/the-storm-in-our-chests

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Monday, November 12, 2018

Can Dreams Come True? by Krysten Lindsay Hager


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Krysten Lindsay Hager will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

What books were your favorite as a youth and why?

My Mother was Never a Kid by Francine Pascal. One of my favorite YA novels of all time. Victoria time travels to see what her mother was like as a kid. The humor in this one is great.

The Great Mom Swap by Betsey Haynes. I was obsessed with this book as a kid. One of the characters, Scottie, wants to be an author, too.

Good-bye, Glamour Girl by Erika Tamar. I read this for the first time the summer after 5th grade. It’s a coming of age story about a girl whose family escaped Europe during WWII and she is trying to assimilate in America.

What did you want to be when you grew up? Why?

I always wanted to be a writer, but I also wanted to write for a soap opera and eventually create my own. I guess the novels I write—in particular the series books—are kind of like a soap in their own way.

What would you write in a letter to your teen self?

I would tell myself not to focus on what other people think and not to worry about keeping up with a certain image. I would also tell myself to enjoy writing without worrying about whether or not I got published.

What book is on your nightstand currently?

Save Me, Kurt Cobain

Favorite TV show from your childhood?

I was obsessed with soaps when I was a kid and I was devastated when they cancelled One Life to Live. I had been watching it since childhood.

Sum up your book for Twitter: 140 characters or less.

The idea of dating your favorite singer is the ultimate dream, but what happens when he likes you back?

Ideal summer vacation.

I love going to cute beach towns on Lake Michigan. I wrote two young adult books set in Grand Haven: Next Door to a Star and the other one is Competing with the Star. It’s such a pretty town and my favorite place in summer.

Which of your characters would you most like to meet IRL? Why?

Andrew Holiday! I’d love to talk to him and find out more about him. He’s so grounded for his age and isn’t caught up in his ego like you’d think he would be.

You’ve just won a million dollars and you’re not allowed to save any of it. What do you spend it on?

Can I buy a lake cottage??? Something really cute and vintage looking.

Playlist for your current book.

Lights Down Low by MAX: The first time I heard this song I thought this is the type of song Andrew Holiday would write and sing. It also addresses how Cecily would feel going into a relationship with someone like him.

Perfect by Ed Sheeran: Ed helped inspire me as I was writing the book. This song came out after the book had been picked up by the publisher, but it really sums up the type of those sweet love songs that Andrew would sing and would make Cecily like him more as an artist.

Everybody Wants To Rule The World performed by Aron Wright: This is the kind of music I imagine Andrew would perform.

I Feel It Coming by The Weekend: I could see Andrew recording a song like this and I listened to this song a lot while doing the final edit of the story.

End Game by Taylor Swift Ft. Ed Sheeran: This song fits the book because Cecily is reeling over having her steady trustworthy boyfriend, Zach, show another side of himself. Plus, her feeling she might fit with Andrew and realizing what a big deal that would be if they started dating.

Faith by George Michael: This is the type of song I can see Andrew singing. George inspired me to write this book, too.

Cecily has always had a huge crush on singer Andrew Holiday and she wants to be an actress, so she tags along when her friend auditions for his new video. However, the director isn’t looking for an actress, but rather the girl next door—and so is Andrew. Cecily gets a part in the video and all of Andrew’s attention on the set. Her friend begins to see red and Cecily’s boyfriend is seeing green—as in major jealousy. A misunderstanding leaves Cecily and her boyfriend on the outs and Andrew hopes to pick up the pieces as he’s looking for someone more stable in his life than the models he’s dated. Soon Cecily begins to realize Andrew understands her more than her small-town boyfriend—but can her perfect love match really be her favorite rock star?

Read the excerpt:

I started to feel anxious after lunch. After all, I had been an Andrew fan for a long time, and even though I had seen him in person, this was a huge deal to get to meet him. What if he wasn’t what I had imagined? I didn’t expect him to fawn over me or anything, but what if he was rude or ignored me? It would kill my fantasy of him as being this sweet, quiet, sensitive songwriter who wore his heart on his sleeve while also being kind of a loner/rebel with just a touch of bad boy in him. Oh man, I would be crushed if he didn’t notice me or worse—if he ended up flirting with Harlow.

In all his magazine interviews Andrew always said looks weren’t important to him, and what he noticed in a girl was if she was true to herself. He said he went for “bright girls who were sweet and easy to be with.” Now that I thought about it, that was the kind of fake crap magazines put out about all the teen celebrities. It was like when I saw Lawrence Claibourne, my favorite actor who claimed to be Mr. I’m-just-looking-for-a-sweetgirl-to-read-poetry-to on a red carpet with a model whose boobs were falling out of her dress and had overdone the lip fillers—I mean, you just knew he wasn’t into her for her personality. But Andrew wasn’t like Lawrence. Andrew seemed so sincere and deep. Lawrence had a smirk and you could tell he was a player, but Andrew seemed like he had been hurt and needed to find the right girl who he could open up to and learn to trust again. . .or at least that’s what he said in his last interview.

The final bell rang and my heart shot up to my throat. This was it. I was on my way to meet my crush. From now on, any dreams of him would be marred by the reality I was about to face.

Was it better to keep wondering what if and keep the fantasy alive or to go and actually meet him?

About the Author:
Krysten Lindsay Hager writes about friendship, self-esteem, fitting in, frenemies, crushes, fame, first loves, and values. She is the author of True Colors, Best Friends...Forever?, Next Door to a Star, Landry in Like, Competing with the Star, Dating the It Guy, and Can Dreams Come True? True Colors, won the Readers Favorite award for best preteen book and the Dayton Book Expo Bestseller Award for children/teens. Competing with the Star is a Readers' Favorite Book Award Finalist.

Krysten's work has been featured in USA Today, The Flint Journal, the Grand Haven Tribune, the Beavercreek Current, the Bellbrook Times, Springfield News-Sun, Grand Blanc View, Dayton Daily News and on the talk show Living Dayton.

WEBSITE: http://www.krystenlindsay.com/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/krystenlindsay/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/KrystenLindsay
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/KrystenLindsayHagerAuthor
PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/krystenlindsay/
AMAZON BIO: https://www.amazon.com/Krysten-Lindsay-Hager/e/B00L2JC9P2/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1

Buy the book at the following venues:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079S3KJSH
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079S3KJSH
Amazon IN: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B079S3KJSH
Amazon Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B079S3KJSH
Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B079S3KJSH
Amazon AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/Dreams-Come-True-Cecily-Taylor-ebook/dp/B079S3KJSH
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/can-dreams-come-true-krysten-lindsay-hager/1128104849?ean=9781621357469

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Friday, November 9, 2018

Wedge of Fear by Eugene M. Gagliano


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Eugene M. Gagliano will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Overshadowed by the death of his brother, Tony is about to encounter the western way of life when his parents move from the East Coast to Wyoming. Starting in a new school as a sixth grader isn’t easy when your controlling mother is fearful of everything. Tony likes his new teacher, Mr. Brunswick, but Regina, the class bully, does her best to makes his life difficult. Jed, the son of a rancher, befriends Tony and helps him adjust to his new environment. Life becomes more complicated when his grandmother dies and a series of unpredictable events causes his father to question his ability to take care of himself and be responsible. In the end, Tony is tested when a tornado rips through his neighborhood.

Read an Excerpt

“Pssst. Pssst,” Regina said, waving a folded piece of paper under her desk. Through the classroom window, the early morning sun turned her hair to gold, as if she wore a halo. It should have given her horns instead. Tony looked at Regina. Why was she giving him a note? He ignored her.

“Come on, take it,” she whispered, pushing the note toward him.

He reached over and took the note. Tony unfolded it and read, MR. BRUNSWICK IS A JERK!

Tony glared at Regina. She gave him an innocent smile and raised her chubby hand.

“Mr. Brunswick. Tony’s passing notes,” she said.

“Tony, let me see the note.” Mr. Brunswick placed a math book down on his desk.

Tony stiffened and clenched his fists. He could feel his face turning red. “But I didn’t…” Tony was afraid to say that Regina wrote the note. Who knew what she might do to him? But he didn’t want Mr. Brunswick to think he didn’t like him. Frustrated, he bit his lip and fidgeted in his chair.

“Just bring it here, please.”

“Yes, sir.”

He brought the note up to Mr. Brunswick. Tony plunged his fists deep into his pockets and glared at Regina. Mr. Brunswick looked puzzled as he read the note.

“Tony, I’m surprised at you.” He frowned. “I want to talk to you after school.”

Tony nodded his head in agreement and hurried back to his desk. He slid into his seat. Regina smiled at him with folded hands, looking innocent as an angel.

About the Author:
Wyoming’s State Poet Laureate, known by many children as the “teacher who dances on his desk,“ Gene Gagliano is a retired elementary school teacher with a great sense of humor, who lives with his wife Carol at the base of the Bighorn Mountains in Buffalo, Wyoming. Gene is the author of: C is for Cowboy, a Wyoming Alphabet; Four Wheels West, a Wyoming Number Book; V is for Venus Flytrap, a Plant Alphabet; My Teacher Dances on the Desk; Little Wyoming; The Magic Box; Angel’s Landing; Booger, Dee and the Mammoth, and Is It True? A collection of humorous poetry. His newest book is a middle grade fiction book titled Wedge of Fear. He enjoys making his educational, entertaining and inspirational school visits, as well as presenting for adults at conferences and library functions. Gene’s hobbies include hiking, canoeing, singing, reading, painting, and gardening.

To learn more about the author go to Gene’s website and to his Facebook page.

http://www.gargene.com/main
https://www.facebook.com/dancingteacher

Wedge of Fear is available on Amazon.com: http://a.co/d/gY2VS8O

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Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Willow Bloom and the Dream Keepers by E.V. Farrell


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. E.V. Farrell will be awarding the use of the winner's name in the sequel to Willow Bloom and the Dream Keepers to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Willow Bloom’s biggest challenge is to organise her thirteenth birthday party. However, a walk in the woods near her home provides some big surprises – a mystical guardian from another world, a magical forest, and the discovery that her parents are part of a secret order that protects dreams. With the discovery comes a calling. A prophecy tells of a young one who can push back the dark forces that threaten to corrupt our hopes and dreams. Is Willow that young one? Can she take on the forces of evil, the Underlord Maliceius, and win?


Read an Excerpt

Willow swallowed uncomfortably at the unexpected sadness in her mother’s words. She held back a few moments. “Mum,” she said softly, “why hasn’t there been a Light Keeper in our family for so long? And what exactly is a Light Keeper?”

Her mother didn’t answer straight away; there was a faraway look in her eyes.

“Those are big questions, Willow, that require big answers.”

Audrey slowly tucked her hair behind her ears then crossed her arms on the table.

“There haven’t been many Light Keepers anywhere for over a century and there are very good reasons as to why, and we will tell you. But just not right now – not all at once. And why I haven’t been Awakened – well, I wasn’t chosen. Simple as that.”

She lowered her eyes.

Willow stared at her mother. She wanted to say something but felt completely lost for words. So she had been chosen and her mother not? Why?

About the Author:
E.V. Farrell lives in rural Victoria with her husband and two sons. This is her first novel.

http://www.hooklinebooks.com/young-adult-novels.php
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ev_farrell
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com
The book is on sale for only $0.99

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Willow-Bloom-Dream-Keepers-Farrell-ebook/dp/B07GDPSRH5/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/willow-bloom-and-the-dream-keepers

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Monday, October 22, 2018

Goddess Fish Tenth Anniversary Month Celebration


Welcome to the Goddess Fish Promotions Tenth Anniversary Month Long Celebration!

Who is Goddess Fish Promotions? And what do we do? We're glad you asked!

We didn't want your visit here to be dry and boring, so we decided to have a poetry competition and put what we do into verse. Here are the initial entries:

Marianne:

Roses are Red.
Violets are Blue.
I'm awful at poetry.
Coffee.

Judy:

You've written a book
And now you say
You want people to look
And hopefully pay.

So come see us
To create a tour for you
Without a fuss
And you won't be blue.

Yeah, for some reason, Judy won!

Even better, her poem is correct. We DO offer virtual book tours as one of our options! Here are a couple of testimonials from clients:

Working with Goddess Fish was such a pleasant and professional experience. Each and every morning, they were on top of the tour stops, thanking the host and engaging the readers. I’ve had such positive feedback on this tour and cannot thank Goddess Fish enough. I look forward to working with them again in the future. – John Feldman, author of Out of Hiding

*

It is a pleasure to work with such a professional company. I am so pleased with everything from start to finish. The tour hosts always do a wonderful job setting up the post and spreading the word. I appreciate the hosts who took the time to read my book and write an honest review. The response from the tour is amazing.

I look forward to working with Goddess Fish Promotions again for my next release. – Kathleen Ann Gallagher, author of Night Magic

We also offer Virtual Book Tours, Graphic Design, Social Media Promotion and more. You can see more testimonials here.

We hope you enjoyed getting to know us a little (more information is below) and we'd like to do the same. We'd LOVE to see a little poem that tells us a bit about you in the comments. We'll be awarding random book giveaways and $5 Amazon GCs to some of the best poetry we find. It might not be at every stop, but when something really makes us smile, we'll reward it! Come on, be daring...

And now, more about us:

About Goddess Fish Promotions
Goddess Fish Promotions was established October 14, 2008. Why? Well, when Marianne became a published author and got her the first taste of trying to promote a book on a budget, there was only one other virtual book tour company in place at the time, and their fees were simply too high for a small press author. After coordinating and running her own tour, she knew other authors could use the same service for a reasonable price. Thus, Goddess Fish Promotions was born.

Because both Judy and Marianne were authors and editors prior to running Goddess Fish Promotions, they approach the business with a unique point of view, and treat their clients how they would expect to be treated.

The people behind the fish

Judy Thomas -- The Goddess

Judy has a college degree in English and she’s worked in retail, education, at her local library as well as an editor for a small press and for the now defunct ShadowKeep Ezine. She’s also a published author so can see things from both sides of the fence. In 2013, she “retired” and now spends her days helping authors make their dream come true—as well as working as much as she can with her local theater group.

Marianne Arkins - Fish

Grammar freak and coffee lover, Marianne wrote her first novel at ten years old, built her first commercial website in 2000, and published for the first time in 2006. She worked as a professional editor for just over a year, and knows what it’s like to write, edit and promote a book on a budget.

One of our interviews during the tour explains our nicknames ... keep visiting daily to find out!

http://www.goddessfish.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoddessFishPromotions
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoddessFish
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/goddessfish/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariannejudy/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+Goddessfish

Now, the goodies ... want to win stuff? Here are the rafflecopters:

Readers: a Rafflecopter giveaway Authors: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, October 18, 2018

The Exene Chronicles by Camille A. Collins


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Camille will be awarding a lovely pen and notebook to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Camille A. Collins's lyrical debut novel speaks to the passionate engagement of adolescent girls—with music, with injustice, with love, with life. This is a courageous coming-of-age story, one that poet Nikki Giovanni recommends "sharing with our teenage sons and daughters."

Collins's 1980s southern California set novel is a literary debut that tackles social inequality with poetic riffs and heart-pounding angst.

Read an Excerpt:

Cobblestones, crisscrossed by scarlet rills…

Away from the clean, wide streets of Coronado, downtown San Diego, with its vagrant hotels, Salvation Army treasures, and errant trash tumbling along the gutters, provided Ryan and Lia some undefined relief. The grit egged on their teething pathos, their emerging view of life through some inverted prism, where on the one hand, they believed that in some far-off distance they would attain a sort of middle-class contentment, but for the present, nothing besides a noncommittal flirtation with the dark, baneful, and untoward, procured in the pedestrian way of most fourteen-year- olds (through books, music, and imaginative musings), could create for them a sense of satisfaction.

In order to feed their insatiable quest for all things bleak on a diet more substantial than what Danielle Steel had to offer, the girls’ eighth grade English teacher introduced them to Baudelaire. Whether or not they had really understood The Fountain of Blood was hard to say.

“Romeo and Juliet isn’t so melodramatic,” Ryan murmured reflectively.

“I mean, who wouldn’t die for love? I would…if it came to that.”

“You’re nuts.”

“It’s just…I think that Prince song is right: the party’s over in the year 2000. Do you realize we’ll be, like, thirty years old, if we even live to see 2000?”

“Wait. What’s that got to do with anything?” Lia frowned.

“I dunno, it’s just … I’d rather die young for love instead of living without it, not knowing what might happen. Have you ever seen those warships down at the end of Palm Avenue? I hate them.”

Lia paused to consider Ryan’s words.

“You’re right. I never thought about it that way … but you’re absolutely right. I guess I’d prefer it that way too.”

Apparently, what Mrs. Buchanan had offered as a cautionary tale had suffered gross misinterpretation.

About the Author: Camille A. Collins has an MFA in Creative Writing from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has been the recipient of the Short Fiction Prize from the South Carolina Arts Commission, and her writing has appeared in The African-American National Biography, published by Harvard University and Oxford University Press; in The Twisted Vine, a literary journal of Western New Mexico University, and other places.

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/entity/author/B07HGLR7FN/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vu00_tkin_p1_i0
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4398269.Camille_Collins
Publisher Author Page: http://www.brainmillpress.com/the-exene-chronicles

Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FB2MHT1/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0

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Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Labors of an Epic Punk by Mark & Sheri Dursin


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Mark and Sheri Dursin will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Why do you write juvenile fiction? What draws you to it?

MARK: I don’t know if I’m “drawn” to YA literature in general. For example, the “dark” and “edgy” subset of YA lit does not really appeal to me at all. Instead, I prefer books that fall into the “John Green” camp—stories that balance humor and insight, populated with likable, relatively normal characters. Voice is really important to me, and my favorite YA books—going all the way back to Catcher in the Rye—have that.

What’s your favorite sweet treat?

SHERI: This one is super easy for me to answer…ice cream! My absolute favorite dessert is Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Sadly, they have a very mean tendency to discontinue some of my favorite flavors (Dublin Mudslide, Fossil Fuel.) But thankfully there are still many great flavors to choose from!

What superpower would you love to have? Why?

MARK: I’ve got to go with teleportation. Think of all the time you’d save. Some technical things will have be worked out, obviously—How do you not teleport INTO something or someone? Are all your molecules being taken apart and then put back together? Do your clothes get teleported along with you? (Because if not, that’s kind of a deal-breaker)? But overall, I think teleportation has all the advantages of flight, without worrying about getting bugs in your eyes.

What book is on your nightstand currently?

SHERI: Right now I’m in the middle of three books: 1) The Mystery of Mercy Close by Marian Keyes. She’s been one of my favorite authors since I first discovered her years ago. She has an amazing way of writing humor but also touching on deep and serious topics. 2) The Caller by Juliet Marillier which is part three of the Shadowfell series, a YA fantasy trilogy. She writes fantasy novels for adults and teens and she’s my favorite! 3) The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. I’ve heard so many great things about this book, and obviously it falls right in my mythology wheel house so I’m excited to finish it!

What reality show would you love to be on? Why?

I would love to be on Survivor because this show has been a family favorite for years. My boys absolutely love it and we haven’t missed a season since they discovered it. Sadly, I think I would be the world’s worst Survivor contestant (I’m not very athletic or outdoorsy) and I would probably be voted off the island on the first episode!

Favorite TV show from your childhood?

MARK: Looking back, I watched a lot of shows in the Happy Day universe—Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Mork and Mindy, even Joanie Loves Chachi. I can’t remember more than a handful of episodes, but those shows were definitely “Must See TV” for me in the late 70s/ early 80s—which seems very quizzical to me now. As an adult, I have some questions about Happy Days: What does it mean to “sit on it”? What made the Fonz so cool, anyway? He hung out with a bunch of nerdy high school kids, and his “office” was the bathroom at Arnold’s.

Mac is an epic punk. No wonder: after his dad went off to fight in the Trojan War and never came back, Mac spent his childhood evading his mom's scumbag suitors—all one-hundred-and-eight of them. Of course, he turned out this way—a moody, friendless sixteen-year-old who blows off work, alienates everyone at school, and pulls pranks. But when he trains a flock of birds to defecate on the headmaster, Mac (short for Telemachus) goes too far. The administrators give him an ultimatum: prove that he's truly the son of Odysseus by doing something heroic—or get out. A school story that just so happens to take place 3,000 years ago, Labors of an Epic Punk is a tale of friendship and transformation, regret and redemption, and a reminder to us all that even heroes need to survive adolescence.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Mac never remembered his name. He only knew him as the short kid with the bad foot and the big mouth who had the distinction of being, almost without peer, the least “cool” kid in school. Not because of his height, exactly (he barely reached Mac’s shoulders), or any other aspect of his physical appearance—his floppy black hair, say, or his ill-fitting school-issued tunic. And not even because of his pronounced limp, caused by a twisted, misshapen left foot. Those things didn’t help, certainly, but he could have been better looking than Adonis himself, and none of that would have mattered. He was just different.

And today, the kid was definitely different. While everyone else had on these goofy battle accessories, this guy was decked out in an obviously homemade furry cape with a hood, a circular mane-kind-of-thing tied around his chin.

“What are you supposed to be?” Mac heard someone ask, as the pitiable sap limped to the front of the group, wearing his weird get-up and clutching a large sack and a bunch of scrolls.

“For your information,” the kid said, disdainfully, “this is an original Nemean lion costume.” Met with silence, he clarified. “Uh, Nemean lion? Heracles had to kill it as one of his labors? You people honestly don’t know the Nemean lion?”

“Why do you have it?” another person asked.

“My mom made this for me when I was in the fifth grade.”

“You can fit into something from the fifth grade?” an anonymous voice asked.

About the Authors:
For many years Mark, a high school English teacher, and Sheri, a freelance writer and blogger, wrote independently. No matter the writing project—newspaper articles, retreat talks, college recommendation letters, fan-fiction, blog posts on spirituality or 80s pop songs—they tended to work alone. Separate rooms, separate computers. But raising their twin sons helped them discover an important truth: All Good Things Come in Twos.

https://epicpunk.com/

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Thursday, July 12, 2018

Freaking Fast by David Pereda


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. David will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The city is Asheville, North Carolina, and the year is 2066. As renowned mathematician Alexandra Martin travels in her self-driving car to assassinate the love of her life, she reminisces about how they met and fell in love fifty years earlier in middle school when she was a thirteen year old poor math whiz and he a wealthy teenager. Alex recounts her struggles to be admitted to the best private school in the county, her happy teenage years running track, and her close relationship with three handsome and charming boys: Xavier, the intellectual; Andrew, the golden boy; and Vitali, the suave foreigner. One by one, she visits the three boys of her youth, now successful professionals in their sixties, one of whom is her intended victim.

Read an Excerpt:

The road curves away but Andrew keeps the car on a straight line, riding on the well-manicured lawn, heading at dizzying speed toward the trees. I glance at the speedometer. We are going at 135 miles an hour already and gaining speed. We’re going to crash. My heart is beating so fast I think it’s going to break through my ribcage.

The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry, I’m thinking. I’m never going to carry out my plan. In a few more seconds I’m going to be dead, together with Andrew.

Fifty meters from the trees, Andrew pulls on the stick shift and, suddenly, we are flying. What? Wings have sprouted from the door panels and a tail has emerged from the rear. Andrew pulls hard on the stick, so we can clear the trees. I quickly calculate the angle of ascension as my head flattens against the back of the seat. Estimating the distance to the tree line and the height of the trees, I use the Pythagorean Theorem to gauge the hypotenuse: the angle of ascension is forty-five degrees, maybe even a tad more. That’s steep.

Are we going to make it?

We do, barely, but we do.

‘Yeah!’ Andrew yells with excitement as he steadies Kitty. ‘Was that a rush, or what?’ He glances at me and starts laughing. ‘You look pale, Alex.’

I don’t remember Andrew being this crazy. He was always a little bit on the wild side, but this is not a little; this is a lot. I gasp for air and try to recover my composure. I can’t talk just yet. We are flying at about 500 feet above the ground. The lake looks beautiful below us. I check the speed – 220 miles an hour. Kitty is slicing through the air with hardly a sound, like a gust of wind.

‘This baby has a cruising speed of 300 miles an hour,’ Andrew says, as if reading my mind. ‘And a top speed of 400. This is the latest prototype.’

My heartbeat has slowed down enough for me to speak.

‘Impressive.’

About the Author:
David Pereda is the award-winning author of nine novels, including Havana Blues and However Long the Night, as well as the Havana Series of thrillers featuring the dashing Doctor Raymond Peters and the beautiful but deadly Cuban assassin Marcela. He has traveled to more than thirty countries and speaks four languages. Before devoting his time solely to writing and teaching, David had a successful international consulting career with global giant Booz Allen Hamilton, where he worked with the governments of Mexico, Venezuela, Peru and Qatar, among others.

A member of MENSA, David earned his MBA from Pepperdine University in California. He earned bachelor degrees in English literature and mathematics at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

He lives in artistic Asheville, North Carolina, with his youngest daughter Sophia, where he teaches mathematics and English at the Asheville-Buncombe Community College. He loves sports and is an accomplished competitor in track and show-jumping equestrian events.

Author’s Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/David-Pereda/e/B002BML17Q
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Freaking-Fast-David-Pereda/dp/198750061X/ref=la_B002BML17Q_1_1

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Friday, March 30, 2018

The Ancient Tripod of Peace by Kalen Cap



This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Kalen Cap will be awarding a $40 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Teens Lexi and Gil face relic-thieving secret societies.

Plagued by loneliness in her Lake Erie Islands community, vegan Lexi hopes to make like-minded friends in high school. But her dad’s job is jeopardized when relics are stolen from his museum, changing her priorities. And she finds her new teachers’ eerie dislike of her troubling.

His dad in jail, cipher enthusiast and bacon-loving Gil hopes freshman year will provide a clean slate. Soon, he discovers secret codes within a Shakespearean play while paired with Lexi, pulling him into an ancient mystery.

With the official museum burglary investigation stalled, the mismatched teen sleuths join forces to try and crack the case. Lexi’s inquiries and Gil’s codes capture their teachers’ attention. But these teachers have the stolen Tripod of Peace, a powerful relic sought by rival secret societies. Caught in these societies’ crossfire as thieves wield an instrument of astounding power, Gil and Lexi are in danger.

The Ancient Tripod of Peace is the first book in novelist Kalen Cap’s Teen Thief-Catchers Series. If you like stories with artifact treasures, fighting secret societies, and spirited protagonists, you’ll enjoy this novel.

Enjoy an Excerpt:

Lexi hadn’t met any vegan guys her age, only girls. “Want to join me and Anita later?”

“Sure. I’ll try it out,” Trevor agreed.

“We only have a day to find our code for this topic,” Gil said. “Let’s focus on the project. I don’t want to start out locked in with something weak.”

The three read the project description again. Lexi felt clueless. She asked the others how to begin.

Gil said the topic related well to his social science fair project the year before on secret codes in writing.

Lexi rolled her eyes. From the way Gil told it, the project was designed for him. Full of yourself maybe?

Trevor said he spent part of a summer in Greece the year before when his father ran workshops there. There, he’d learned about ancient Greek history. Lexi didn’t mind as much when Trevor made it sound like his experiences aligned with the project. Unlike Gil’s, Trevor’s voice soothed her.

Trevor and Gil both stared at her expectantly. She blushed, first believing they were checking her out. But she soon realized they wanted to hear her special connection to the project topic.

“My grandmother usually teaches history here, too. She gave the opening talk at assembly. Oh, and my granddad’s an actor. He used to be a professional and acted in lots of Shakespeare. They can give me pointers,” Lexi said. My grandparents? That’s my “in” on the project? I’m such a loser. She was determined to not be the weakest link in the group.

About the Author:
Kalen Cap is a writer living in Ohio and regularly commutes back and forth between Columbus and Port Clinton residences. Set among the Lake Erie Islands, “TheAncient Tripod of Peace” is his second novel, first of the Teen Thief-Catcher series. His first novel, “Tangled Ties to a Manatee,” was published in 2012.

Author website - http://www.kalencap.com
Amazon Author Page - http://www.amazon.com/Kalen-Cap/e/B007XZEKTC/
Author’s facebook page for the new series - http://www.facebook.com/TeenThiefCatchers/
Buy the book at https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Tripod-Peace-Thief-Catchers-Novel-ebook/dp/B07B29FTBX

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Thursday, March 8, 2018

Nadia's Heart, Part 2 by Wendy Altshuler



This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Wendy will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

*****


In Nadia's Heart, Part One, amnesiac Nadia knew that something was wrong, so she went in search of her missing heart. What she encountered has only brought more questions: about her origins and her ties to the people of the Land of Silence. She learned that her heart was indeed removed, and that her memory was erased by an evil Voice. But why? Now Nadia and her glowing-eyed companion, Georgeonus, must help recover the stolen hearts of the children of the Land of Silence. In Part Two, they will do battle against the evil Voice and travel to frightening places. They receive help from a powerful Witch and Wizard, and Nadia gets her heart back—but it's not at all what she expected. Can they rescue the stolen children's hearts in time?

*****


From Chapter IV: The Silver Witch:

They remembered that her visit had been preceded by a magick dust.

The dust came from above, the air tingled, and miniscule, silver particles glistened as they fell. It was musical, and as they breathed, they smelled fresh air like new spring, and they felt an excitement of imminent magick. She appeared suddenly, and at first no one knew where she had come from or how; she was just there on the road. She came as naturally as if she had approached them from the road. But as the magick dust settled, they realized—remembered—that the Silver Witch had dropped out of the sky.

As she stood there smiling at them, they remembered that they had looked up at the sky at a circling dot which descended. As it approached, it formed the shape of a square, floating quilt. The Witch was soon revealed to be sitting on top in black garb and hat, her silvery skin thick and rubbery. With both hands placed on diagonal corners of the quilt, she jumped off and shook the fabric out like clean laundry and parachuted down to them, the tennis sneakers on her feet ready for the road. Softly she landed, snapping the quilt upward and folding it once, twice, three times, and again and again until it was a small square deposited into one of her pockets.

*****


Wendy Altshuler is a writer-producer who explores myth in new media. She writes fantasy novels and creates works in stop motion animation. Her credits include award-winning screenwriting and WGA-accredited representation. With a degree in psychology and a Master of Arts from Columbia University, Altshuler documented the work of international choreographers and wrote and produced regional programming. Her short plays have been performed at Boston Playwrights' Theatre, at regional schools and most recently, Puppet Showplace Theatre. Altshuler's young adult book series has been hailed as "emotionally moving, uplifting and wholesome," and "spirited and haunting. . .with much symbolism and beauty."

Website: http://arborgate.net
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waltshuler/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sirtwosays

Buy Link: Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Nadias-Heart-Part-Two-Adventures/dp/153972977X

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Thursday, February 1, 2018

Jack Gregson & The Forgotten Portal by Peter Wilson


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Peter Wilson will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Winner of the Bronze medal in the 2017 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards in the Pre-Teen Fiction-Mystery category.

Something has changed at Gregson Manor. An evil force from the family's past has returned to upheave their lives. Jack and his cousins explore the family secrets as they are pulled through a portal into a universe of endless worlds and possibilities. Together, they race to escape and destroy the evil Theorden and his followers who strive to unlock the power of the Forgotten Portal and wreak havoc on Gregson Manor and the World.

Read an Excerpt

They continued down the mud track until reaching a junction where three paths met and the Warden Statue stood before them.

“The Monk,” David said as they looked up at it. Over the years the three of them had named all twenty-three statues of Gregson manor, based purely on what the person looked like. While they knew each represented important Gregson family members from different generations, that hadn’t stopped them inventing some of the more childish names such as The Fat Dwarf, Big Butt Betty and Jack’s personal favorite The Constipated General.

The Monk stood on a small pedestal, the total height of the statue being around two meters. He had bare feet, with long flowing robes closed by a rope tied around his waist. His hands were pressed together at chest height as if praying and his shaved head was bowed with eyes closed.

“What do we do now? There’s no blue emerald here that I can see.” Rosie asked, examining the statue from all angles.

“Don’t know, that nutty woman didn’t say.” David replied, referring to the curator. “She did tell us to the bring the book though, maybe that will tell us something.”

Rosie pulled it out, then dropped the bag to the ground and sat on it. She went to the contents page and read down the list until she came to the chapter on the Rear Garden.

She started to read: The Rear Gardens are situated at the rear of the Gregson Manor…

“Whoever wrote this really spells things out, don’t they? Does it mention that the grass is green and the trees point upwards in a tree like fashion?” David asked sarcastically. “It’s like it’s written by a moron, for morons.”

About the Author: Peter Wilson has been writing for years. He started with short stories (many of them just 55 words long). The storylines and genres he chooses to write in are fantasy, horror & fast paced thrillers, as that is what he enjoys reading.

A number of years ago Peter sat down to write another short story, based on a prompt given in an online writing competition. As the word count rose, he realized that it wasn’t so short and it had turned into a novel: Jack Gregson & the Forgotten Portal, which recently won a Moonbeam award. He’s currently working on the sequel to the book, in what he plans to be a trilogy.

Peter lives in Sydney Australia. When he’s not writing, he works in the digital world, creating content for games, music and movie companies.

Website: https://www.peterwilsonauthor.com/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jgregsonportal/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15155874.Peter_Wilson

Buy the book at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

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