[Book Tour- Excerpt] Complicating Roy [GIVEAWAY]

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Megan will be awarding a prize pack featuring a bracelet and necklace made by the author to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway Complication doesn’t always have to be a bad thing.

Duke Charles needs a break. He’s tired of life on the road and never having a place to settle down. He decides to head to Norville for a rest in his childhood home. Once there, he realizes his life isn’t quite so relaxed—he’s not only inherited the house, but a cat to go with it. When his friend from high school sends him on a date, he finds out how complicated life can be…in a good way.

Roy Mars likes his life as an artist. He paints, sells work and takes his cat, Raphael, for walks through Norville. He channels his emotions into his art…until he goes on a date and meets Duke. His uncomplicated life gets thrown into chaos, not least because Duke has rabid fans who insist on knowing every detail of his life.

Can Roy handle a little complication in the form of Duke, or will he quit before he finds his forever?

Read an Excerpt

Roy sighed. “You’re doing well with your side of the equation. I hear you’re good with your side hustle, too.” He had to ask subtly about getting a date. Unfortunately, he had no subtlety.

“My dating thing.” James laughed again. “Oh, doll, yes. I love when I pair people and it works out, but I do have a sixth sense about it. You know?”

“Yeah.” He hated sounding so withdrawn and sad, but why lie about the truth? “Would you know who to hook up with me?”

“You’re looking for a date? I thought you had a boyfriend. Not Mikael, but Donny? No, was it Bernard? Shit. Who were you dating?” James asked.

“No one. That’s why I’m asking for you to help me. I’ll pay.” He needed to do something to get out of his lonely rut.

James stopped cutting. “I don’t charge. I should, but the matchmaking is me strictly trying to find the right guy for you.”

“Do you have any suggestions?”

“I do.” James resumed styling Roy’s hair. “But I want you to trust me.”

“I do. Completely.”

“Good. I want you to go to Club Jester on Tuesday—in five days if you can’t count—at nine in the evening and go to the Viper suites. All you have to do is say you’re there because James directed it and they’ll let you back. I know Amos and he owes me, so it won’t be a problem.”

“Who am I meeting?” He tamped down his excitement. He hated blind dates, but he couldn’t wait to see who James had picked.

“It’s a surprise, but trust me that this is exactly who you need,” James said. “Think you can do that? I can tell you’re tired of being on your own. I couldn’t name your boyfriend, and I know everyone, so that means you haven’t had one for a while.”

“True.”

James spun him around to look at his reflection. “Well? What do you think?”

He never doubted James would make him look good. The cut and style worked with his face. But the date… Did he trust him? “I think I’m excited to go to Club Jester.”

“Perfect.” James removed the cape. “You’ll love him.”

“I hope so.” He didn’t take many leaps of faith, but this felt right—like he was looking at his future. It sure looked rosy.

About the Author:

Megan Slayer, aka Wendi Zwaduk, is a multi-published, award-winning author of more than one-hundred short stories and novels. She’s been writing since 2008 and published since 2009. Her stories range from the contemporary and paranormal to LGBTQ and white hot themes. No matter what the length, her works are always hot, but with a lot of heart. She enjoys giving her characters a second chance at love, no matter what the form. She’s been nominated at the LRC for Best Author, Best Contemporary, Best Ménage, Best BDSM and Best Anthology. Her books have made it to the bestseller lists on Amazon.com.

When she’s not writing, Megan spends time with her husband and son as well as three dogs and three cats. She enjoys art, music and racing, but football is her sport of choice. She’s an active member of the Friends of the Keystone-LaGrange Public library.

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[Book Tour- Interview] Last Star Standing [GIVEAWAY]

 

Last  Star  Standing

by Spaulding Taylor

GENRE: Thriller (speculative)

Aiden has always felt like an outsider. After the rebel assassin is captured and imprisoned by

the world’s galactic overlords, he awaits execution. Then a mole working for the occupying

regime alerts him to a plot that could destroy the entire resistance...

Engineering a daring escape, Aiden’s growing feud with the new rebel leader leaves him out in

the cold and smouldering with resentment. Faced with deceit and betrayals on every side, he

recruits a group of overlooked outcasts and stakes everything on one last mission.

Can the restless, reckless Aiden take a stand long enough to save humanity from enslavement?

EXCERPT

Lips parted, the woman pressed eagerly forward. The target smiled at her but instead selected a

pudgy lad of about six. He passed a skinny guy – who looked, the poor sap, practically broken-

hearted. He was almost upon us. My heart sped until it seemed ready to jerk straight out of my

chest. Choose me. Choose me. CHOOSE ME.

The Enlightened One seemed – or was it only my imagination? – to be gazing directly at me.

Pushing swiftly past Petra I extended my hand. He turned, made a strange gesture, almost of

benediction, then wired the back of my hand with that thick blackened stump. An instant surge

of heat pulsed up my arm and throughout my torso. Then a wild swirl of fuchsia-slashed-with-

orange flashed beneath my eyelids, as if the same stars, fiery and spot-lit against the black, had

been injected into my brain. My every corpuscle felt fired, an almost intoxicating sensation,

especially after the chill of the poison. I half-stumbled, almost squashing a smallish alien, and

only saved myself from falling at the last second.

Through a haze – my eyeballs felt as if they were swimming in flaming waterfalls – I saw Petra

and moved towards her. Of course. She couldn’t risk being stamped, in case the creature died

too fast. As we walked the ornate brand began to swell on my hand – a warming, tightening

feeling. The sense of strangeness accelerated, though this might have been from my borrowed

DNA, the chilled poison in my blood, or the fiery stamp. But nothing could dent my happiness,

because – I’d done it. I’d assassinated The Enlightened One.

Interview with the author

What are four things you can’t live without?

My family, my sausage dogs, my cello and my laptop.

What is your favorite television show?

Depends on my mood. Currently, the French Open tennis, no question!!!!! I adore tennis!!!! I play it at

least three times a week, and have lessons, but I’m really really good at watching it…

If you could be any character, from any literary work, who would you choose to be? Why?

Frankly, most characters end badly… Could I be a character on MasterChef instead? LOVE

MasterChef… OK, if you insist, maybe Bertie Wooster. He generally emerges unscathed, thanks to

Jeeves.

What have you got coming soon for us to look out for?

There is a film company looking at the possibility of filming one of my books. But I’m terrified it’s bad

luck to mention it. I sold the film rights to my first novel, one of the contemporary novels Hachette

published, to Channel 4, and rushed around, all thrilled, thinking this meant – for sure – it was going

to be a TV series. Of course, it was lovely to get the money for the option, but it was an option, that’s

all. And all an options means is that no other company could look at it with a view to possibly filming

it, that particular year. So now that I know about options – I’m more cautious. WAY more cautious!

What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?

Am assuming you mean my speculative thriller writing… I’d love to say le Guin, because I adore her

writing. But probably John le Carre... McCarthy’s The Road just – blew me away. I could read nothing

else – THINK of nothing else – for days, weeks, even. But I would hesitate to suggest that I was

influenced. He’s just TOO good for that.

Alice (Spaulding Taylor) McVeigh has been published by Orion/Hachette in contemporary

fiction, by Unbound Publishing in action/adventure and by Warleigh Hall Press in Austenesque

fiction. Her novels have won Gold Medal/First Place is the Global, eLit and Pencraft Book

Awards, been runner-up in the Independent Press Awards, finalists in the Eric Hoffer, Rone and

Wishing Shelf Book Awards and selected by Shelf Unbound as one of the "top indies" of 2021.

Two of her novels are currently finalists in the CIBA Book Awards (the Cygnus and Goethe

Awards). Her most recent novel (Harriet: A Jane Austen Variation) was just selected as Editors’

Pick “outstanding” on Publishers Weekly.

A professional London cellist, Alice lives in London and Crete with her professor husband: their

only child is completing her Masters in Chinese Literature. They also share two miniature long-

haired dachshunds and an incurable addiction to tennis.

Links:

https://linktr.ee/ASTMcVeigh

Facebook: (me) https://www.facebook.com/alice.mcveigh.5/

(author me) https://www.facebook.com/alicemcveighauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mcveigh.alice/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/astmcveigh1

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Alice-

Mcveigh/e/B07TDKZPVT/ref=aufs_dp_fta_dsk OR

https://www.amazon.com/Spaulding-Taylor/e/B08TRLNW31/ref=aufs_dp_fta_dsk

Amazon.co.uk: www.amazon.co.uk/Alice-

Mcveigh/e/B07TDKZPVT?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1610184384&sr=1-1

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1108881.Alice_McVeigh

Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-mcveigh-59ab1718/

pinterest https://www.pinterest.co.uk/astmcveigh/_saved/

tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alicemcveigh0?lang=en

Video for Last Star Standing:

https://www.tiktok.com/@alicemcveigh0/video/7092364955680279813?is_copy_url=1&is_from_

webapp=v1&lang=en

Sales link: Book will be on sale for $0.99 during the tour.

https://www.amazon.com/Last-Star-Standing-Spaulding-Taylor-ebook/dp/B08PF4ZTZF

GIVEAWAY 

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

[Book Review] In Death We Part by Maggie Bonnet

 In Death We Part

My routine was simple - classes, work, repeat - then an unearthed family secret changed everything. Four mysterious men shattered my life and stomped on the pieces until I had nothing left. They were strangers to me, but I was no stranger to them. They had been watching me… waiting until the time was right to strike. The peculiar, dangerous magic that surrounded them has always been there in the shadows, just out of sight to normal people. I needed to get away from these depraved, alluring monsters. Go somewhere they could never find me.

​​​​​​​They said they would chase me, hunt me down because I belong to them. I may not have been the woman I spent years preparing to be, but I wasn’t their pawn or their property. I didn’t ask for danger to follow me like a shadow over my head, pushing me deeper into a world I am not prepared for. They promised they’d catch me, but they never expected that I was better at disappearing than they thought possible. 

This book was phenomenal! The FMC is sassy, strong and a badass. She is also curvy to boot. I love a sassy and curvy main character. The guys all have completely different personalities, but it all works really well. The characters chemistry together is amazing and I enjoyed all of the spice! There's a bit of humor mixed in with some craziness and a pretty fantastic storyline. I am really excited for the next in the series! That is an epic cliffhanger though, so beware! Overall, I would recommend this to anyone that loves RHs, strong female characters, fantasy and spice. It pretty much has it all, and you can't really go wrong with this book! I was given an ARC copy of this book by the author. I was not obligated to review, and my views are my own. Maggie Bonnet is a Sagittarius who enjoys writing and reading romance. She also enjoys food, fun, and memes. Her debut PNR/RH book, The Siren’s Seduction, comes out December 1st.

[Book Tour- Blitz] Burt Reynolds, Miko, Dinah and THE SLASHER

 

True Crime, Biography, Short Story

Date Published: June 27, 2022

 

The True Story of a Serial Killer Waiting in Burt's Closet

 

On February 3, 1975, movie star Burt Reynolds was awakened by a bloody man crawling on his bedroom floor. Burt jumped up to call an ambulance and came face to face with infamous Skid Row Slasher, bloody machete in hand. What saved Burt from disaster? What woman did he break up with that ultimately saved him, and probably her? A must read for Burt Reynolds fans. From the writer/director of the feature film Forbidden Power.

This is a short read: A true story written dramatically.

About the Author

Paul Kyriazi directed seven feature films, including the award-winning Forbidden Power (2018). He's the writer/producer of five full-cast audio books with Rod Taylor, Robert Culp, David Hedison, James Darren, Henry Silva, Russ Tamblyn & George Chakiris. He created the Live the James Bond Lifestyle seminars.

 

Contact Links

Author Website

Twitter

Facebook

BookBuzz

Purchase Link

Amazon

[Book Tour- Excerpt] Like a Lily Among the Thorns [GIVEAWAY]

 

Like a Lily Among the Thorns

by Karen S. Bell

GENRE:   Cli-fi, șpec. fiction, fantasy

BLURB:

There are those who are born into loving families and then there are the less fortunate who must forge their own families through strong friendships. At a local small library in New York City, one such family was born. And just like so many capricious happenstances in life, this family unit embraced newcomers and grew exponentially. But this clan was also charged with far more than spreading love and joy and a sense of belonging. This clan was formed by divine Providence to help save the planet.

Gabrielle Bernstein, the MC of Like a Lily Among the Thorns, is a woman in her twenties and has started her career as a librarian at a NYC public library. Abandoned by her father as a young girl and now orphaned by her deranged mother, Gabby longs for a family connection. Coincidentally, she finds this connection at the same time she inherits a B&B in Vermont from her estranged and now deceased father. This enchanted inn is under the watchful eye of goddesses of myth and legend who have been tasked to save mankind from destroying itself and this planet. These goddesses will use their powers to try and stall the onslaught of the effects of droughts, floods, and rising temperatures. But as a safety net they have collected human saviors all over the planet to erect safe havens at high altitudes away from flood waters and blistering temperatures.

This one group of saviors are ordinary people who have some extraordinary abilities and enjoy a higher consciousness. They are brought together to join forces in Vermont to create one such refuge. Along the way there is romance, misunderstandings, conflict, and internal growth. Locations are Manhattan, London, Brooklyn, and Rutland, Vermont. Woven through this tale is Gabrielle’s inherent understanding that she must be grateful, mindful, and present in this journey called “life.”  

The impending devastation that will be brought about by the effects of global climate change is the underpinning of this Cli-Fi/speculative fiction novel. Like a Lily Among the Thorns  focuses on how this potential disaster will have dire consequences for us all and is currently becoming more top of mind as people are waking up to strange weather events such as the scorching temperatures that have gripped the Northwestern states and torrential rains in the Northeast.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT

On this ordinary day, we find Gabby Bernstein going about her daily ordinary chores. A lass of modest means, she hummed as she tidied up her small studio apartment. Although bereft of material accoutrements typical of a twenty-something New Yorker, she didn’t dwell on it. Rather, she chose to focus on being grateful for all the kindnesses bestowed upon her by the universe and the miracle of life with the richness and diversity of the flora and fauna that blessed this planet. She was so attuned to the preciousness and beauty of all living creatures that she never was inclined to harm even the smallest insect preferring to capture it and send it out her window to climb down the fire escape or fly away. But most especially, she was grateful for her life, which she never took for granted. In fact, at this very moment, she paused to acknowledge her joy of just being alive and to mark her calendar with the #gratitude entry, giving thanks for each and every day she had her wits and her health.

As she went about her light chores, an unexpected random play on her music app added a spark to her usual sense of wonder and bliss. A coincidental gift from the cosmos of a cherished performance of Luciano Pavarotti singing the aria Addio, fiorito asil from Madama Butterfly, a captivatingly wistful melody that was one of her personal favorites. She gleefully acknowledged this gift and said a silent “thank you.”

All my work is inspired by social issues to which we all can relate. Work/ life stresses, the loss of a spouse and how marriage can sometimes swallow a woman’s identity, and the prevalence of greed in modern society.

Walking with Elephants is my first novel, although I am not new to writing. I was a theater critic and celebrity interviewer for a weekly tabloid in Jacksonville, Fl and I earned a Master’s in Mass Communication from Oklahoma State University. For 15 years I worked in Corporate America as a technical editor/editor/writer. I experienced first hand the politics and intrigue that goes with that territory and the balancing act that comes with being a working mother. I salute all those mothers who are the glue that holds their families together while pursuing the nine to five brass ring and were the inspiration for this work. Audible book is available and narrated by me.

With my second novel, Sunspots, I continue to be in awe of the magical and wondrous phenomenon called life. As an observer and obvious participant in feminine values and approach to our human challenges, I bring this perspective to my work. Fascinated by the mysteries of the unseen forces that perhaps play a role in guiding our choices, I search for answers in the mundane as well as in the cosmic forces that surround us.

Alexa’s pact with the Devil in When a Stranger Comes…is an allegory for the evil lurking in our midst. The social decay of modern society with its excessive greed, the ignorance of our political leaders, and our indifference toward the survival of all species from the effects of climate change, among other environmental pressures, are perhaps brought forth by the darkest forces of human nature. The audible book narrated by me is in production.

The genre of magical realism appeals to me and all my work has elements woven in. My current project is focused on a Bed and Breakfast that becomes a safe haven from the effects of climate change while celebrating the Feminine Divine and is set squarely in that realm.

I am working on my next novel in Ponte Vedra, Fl. where I live with my husband and our two furry kids. Our human kids have flown the nest and are scattered far and wide, alas.

https://karensbell.com

https://twitter.com/karensuebell

https://www.facebook.com/ksbwwe

Buy:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V3FNTCT

The author will award a copy of the book to a randomly chosen winner.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

[Book Tour- Cover Reveal] The Continuing Adventures of Laurel Palmer

Paranormal Romance/Fiction

Date Published: October 20, 2022

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

 

Is there love after death? Laurel Palmer is about to find out. Thanks to a little shove by her husband, Laurel wakes up dead. And there’s no sign of that white light people are supposed to go into. Now a ghost stuck on earth, Laurel is determined to find out how she can get into heaven. On her search for the light, Laurel meets Teddy Rule, a hunk of a ghost who coincidentally was also murdered by her husband. Turns out, he didn’t get that light either. As they work together to figure out what's keeping them on this earthly plane, feelings develop. Not knowing if heaven will separate them, they must decide whether or not to cross over.

About the Author

Pam got a late start in writing but has made up for it with several published novels and a few more on the way. A serendipitous conversation with a writer friend launched her literary career, and the fact that she might never have had that particular conversation is enough to make her believe that fate played a hand in sending her down the path to becoming an author. All four of her published books have won the Mom’s Choice Award Gold Seal, and the first book in her Pekin Dewlap Mystery series was the winner of the American Book Fest Children’s Fiction Award. She’s lived in Southern California most of her life and is thankful to have a loving family and supportive friends. Spending time at home during the COVID pandemic advanced both Pam's writing and her relationship with her My Cat From Hell TV star, Allie, who manages to exude just enough affection to make her scary feral ways tolerable.

Contact Links

Website

Facebook: Pamela McCord

Twitter: @Pam805

Goodreads

Instagram: @PamelaMcCordAuthor