Gone Hunting, the prequel that takes us back to Aric Conner and Celia Wird’s first encounter in the mountains of Colorado, has a fresh look. Whether you are a fan of Cecy Robson’s Weird Girl Urban Fantasy series or a new reader, you’ll want to devour their story. Check out the cover, read an excerpt, download your copy and enter to win!

Gone Hunting by Cecy Robson

Cover designed by Dark Wish Designs

Discover Cecy Robson’s sensational Weird Girls series for the first time—or go back to the beginning …—

The rest of the werewolf pack might consider Aric Connor to be omniscient and destined to save the world when evil returns to claim it. But for the most part, fifteen-year-old Aric ignores the confirmations of his powers, taking everything in stride until he meets her.

Celia Wird wasn’t supposed to awaken naked in the mountains of Colorado, not when she was just stalking her prey in a filthy alley several states away. She especially wasn’t supposed to meet Aric, the handsome werewolf who comes to her aid.

As a supernatural tasked with protecting the earth, Aric sympathizes with Celia’s dangerous situation. He’s also struck by her beauty and kindness. Yet, as much as Aric welcomes Celia, her arrival isn’t a peaceful one.

Dark forces stir in Celia’s presence, resolute on killing her. Aric and his inner beast are adamant about keeping Celia safe and with them. But there’s a time and a place for love, and Aric and Celia might not survive long enough to find it.

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Read an Excerpt

About the Author

Cecy Robson is an international and multi-award-winning author of over twenty-five character driven novels.A registered nurse of eighteen years, Cecy spends her free time creating magical worlds, heart-stopping romance, and young adult adventure. After receiving two RITA® nominations, the Maggie Award, the Award of Excellence, and a National Reader’s Choice Award nomination, you can still find Cecy laughing, crying, and cheering on her characters as she pens her next story.  

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Giveaway

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Hi Everyone. We took another impromptu road trip, so I was missing in action for a few days. I did get some reading done, but my addiction to books does not allow me to pass up any chance to read. lol Hope you had a good week and another coming up.

Stay safe and wear a mask..

LAST WEEK ON fundinmental

• Sherry’s Shelves – 7.4 – 7.10.21 #thesundaypost #thesundaysalon
• Music Monday – Tate McRae & Khalid are Working #TateMcRae #Khalid #Working
• Review & Giveaway for The Academy Saga by C J Daly @iReadBookTours @theacademysaga
• Giveaway – The Lady who knew Too Much by Alyson Chase @1AlysonChase @GoddessFish
• Water Monsters – Killing Dragons by Kristie Clark #kristieclark
• Giveaway – If Darkness Takes Us by Brenda Marie Smith @bsmithnovelist @goddessfish
• Books From The Backlog – Cold Comfort by Ellis Vidler @ellisvidler #booksfromthebacklog
• Giveaway – Kill Shot by Blair Denholm @blairdenholm @partnersincr1me
• Tackling The TBR 7.10 – 7.16.21 #tacklingthetbr

COMING UP ON fundinmental

• Sherry’s Shelves
• Music Monday
• Giveaway – Road to the Breaking by Christ Bennett
• Books From The Backlog – Dragon Stones by Kristian Alva
• Giveaway – A Dangerous Man by Raven Stone
• Review – Passerby by Britney King
• Giveaway – The Silence in the Library by Katharine Schellman
• Tackling The TBR

• You can see my Giveaways HERE.
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Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday! Let’s share some songs we’ve been enjoying lately!  If you would like to play, and I really hope you do, please see the rules and link up below HERE

I did the Chevy Chase foot tapping and laughed my way through the You Can Call Me Al video. I love this and it makes me feel sooooo good. How about you? Were you doing the Chevy Chase foot tapping? Do you have a smile on your face? A grin…ear to ear?

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Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I have read numerous books by Elaine Kaye and have found them to by very entertaining. These children’s books are short and sweet, just like the cover. I highly recommend them to everyone, young and old alike.

Bad Fairy got her name because she always seems to get caught when she breaks the rules. I feel for her, because she is just doing what young fairies do, just like human children, and her misdeeds are minor.

I love the cute names Elaine Kaye has given her characters and they drew me in to her fairy world. I enjoyed watching them grow and learn.

The fairy world Elaine Kaye has created gave me many smiles and lessons that can apply to the real world, told in a fun children’s way. Sometimes we all need a little reminder of the simple things in life that we can do to make them better.

I love the fairy world Elaine Kaye has created and I highly recommend her work.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Bad Fairy by Elaine Kaye.

GOODREADS BLURB

Thistle Greenbud is not a bad fairy. She simply doesn’t like rules, and it’s just her luck that her homework is to create a new rule for the fairy handbook. But first, she has more important things to do. Like figure out how to get back at Dusty and Moss for playing tricks on her.

Before she can carry out her plan, though, disaster strikes and she finds herself working alongside the very fairies she wanted revenge on. Can they work together and trust each other, or will things go from bad to worse?

Age Range: 8-12

A Bad Fairy Adventure Series:
Bad Fairy (#1)
Bad Fairy Strikes Again (#2)

ABOUT ELAINE KAYE

Elaine Kaye is the author of A Gregory Green Adventure series. She first created Gregory Green after her son, who loved her homemade pea soup. Kaye has worked as a library assistant and teacher’s assistant in elementary schools in the Sunshine State. She currently lives in Florida, but she has called Michigan; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Okinawa, Japan home. She is a grandmother of three boys.

Website / Goodreads / Amazon / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter

MY REVIEW FOR ELAINE KAYE

• Pea Soup Disaster
• Doctor Mom
• Halloween Ride
• The Missing Alphabet

• You can see my Giveaways HERE.
• You can see my Reviews HERE.
• If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
• Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
• Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
• I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
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Skeletons

(Book #2 of Elephant)

By: Natalie Rodriguez

Genre: YA

Release Date: February 26, 2021 

Blurb:

When was the last time you confronted the skeletons in your closest?

Immediately following book one, “Elephant,” Matthew “Matty” Smith awakens from his coma and discovers that his worst nightmare is all true: his grandmother, Jamie, and Derek have gone missing and his mother murdered his father and grandfather years ago.

With the hospital placing him on lockdown, including no visitation rights by his loved ones such as his best friend, Lisa, Matty finds himself deteriorating into a state of the abyss, consumed with the secrets of his family. Convinced that it was the ‘stranger’ who kidnapped his grandmother and friends, no one believes him. The hospital only believes that Matty is slipping into a toxic mental state, repeating the cycle of his family.

Until one day, Lisa helps Matty escape the hospital.

On the run from Dr. Brown, Officer Barry, and the town of La Crosse, Wisconsin, Matty and Lisa set off to find their friends and Lucia and for answers on who the ‘stranger’ is. Once they unmask who the ‘stranger’ is, Matty continues to unravel the deepest secrets of what was supposed to be forever hidden in the Smith family as well as the town.

This story is for those who feel their voice is unheard and for children, teenagers, and adults who never had the chance to heal from their pain.

Skeleton Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Skeletons-Natalie-Rodriguez/dp/0578849011

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/skeletons-natalie-rodriguez/1138803162

Skeleton Links:

Main Website: https://linktr.ee/elephantbooks

Trailer for Skeletons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhjc5_xcGoQ&feature=youtu.be

Follow on IG: https://www.instagram.com/elephant_bookya/

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/EBookya

NATALIE RODRIGUEZ is an award-winning writer, director, and mental health and anti-violence/trauma advocate based in Los Angeles, CA. In 2014, she graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a Bachelor of Arts in Radio-Television-Film. Her first experience in entertainment was an internship at the Conan O’Brien show and Peter Guber’s Mandalay Pictures, where she worked at the offices of producers, Matthew Rhodes (“Cherry,” “Men in Black: International”) and Academy Award-winner, Cathy Schulman (“Sharp Objects,” “Crash”).

Natalie was also a panelist at events, including Google, Hispanicize, and YouTube, where she has shared her story as a writer, filmmaker, and a female working in the entertainment industry. Some of her previous writing work can be found in publications such as the HuffPost Blog, Thrive Global, Anxiety Resource Center, Opposing Views, NowThis News, Hello Giggles, The Mighty, and more.

In 2017, she founded her production company, Extraordinary Pictures, focusing on both films, television, digital series, and social issue projects. The company has a list of projects in its roaster, including development on a TV sitcom, “The D,” which placed in top-ten for best comedy screenplays at Stage 32. At the moment, Natalie’s second directorial feature film, Howard Original, is in post-production and set for a January 2021 release date. The film is based on the award-winning short film about a washed-up screenwriter named Howard, who encounters more than just selling a story, a studio rejection, and writer’s block when his pet cat comes to life. The film co-stars, Iliyana Apostolova, who has more than one million Tik Tok subscribers.

Natalie’s directorial feature film, “The Extraordinary Ordinary,” which she also wrote, produced, and was the executive producer on, made its rounds through the festival circuit. The film stars John Posey (“How to Get Away With Murder” & “Lucifer”), the great Ricardo Montalban’s grandson, Alex Montalban, in his feature film acting debut (“My Dinner With Herve”), Maddison Bullock (“Ice the Movie” and “Wives of the Sky”), and social influencer, Ana Marte (over 185K IG followers/”Need For Speed” and “Amigos”). The film deals with young adults, mental health awareness, recovery, and the aftermath of trauma. “The Extraordinary Ordinary” also won ‘Best Film About Women’s Empowerment’ at the Glendale International Film Festival and scored nominations in Best Director, Best Female Director, and Best Picture. The film also had a sold-out world premiere screening at the Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival (LADFF) and won ‘Best Performance’ by a leading actor, Maddison Bullock. “The Extraordinary Ordinary” will be available nationwide on streaming platforms, including Amazon, Google Play, and more, on FRI August 28th, 2020 through Indie Rights. The project also premiered on Infobase’s ‘Films On Demand’ and ‘Access Video On Demand,’ available to subscribers of the products for public libraries (Access Video On Demand) and colleges & universities (Films On Demand). Ask your library for details. Further details on the project can be found @theextraordfilm via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Natalie’s other screenplays and films have also been featured and placed in the final rounds at HollyShorts Film Festival, NALIP: Latino Lens Film Festival, ShortsTV, Stage 32: Comedy Screenplay, Beverly Hills Film Festival, Culver City Film Festival, Indie Night Film Festival, Hollywood Screenplay Contest, Table Read My Screenplay – Austin Film Festival, and others.

She was most recently an ambassador for Jen Zeano Designs (JZD), a clothing company in association with USA Networks. While she continues to build her creative background, Natalie is always open to collaborating with other artists and advocates. Her first young adult thriller, fiction novel was published in June 2020, “Elephant,” a story about four childhood best friends who uncover a family secret.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.nataliecrodriguez.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natalie.rodriguez.7315

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NatChrisRod

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natchristinerod/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15053544.Natalie_Rodriguez

When was the last time you were shut down for experiencing a mental health struggle or feeling unheard by others, including those closest to you?

Summer of 2006. Four childhood best friends. A family secret.

After a strange encounter leaves him hospitalized, a timid teenage boy named Matt “Matty” Smith comes home to a continuous series of events met with anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

Under the guardianship of his grandma, Lucia, Matt lives with unspoken questions about his grandfather and parents. The elephant in the room. As Matt develops over the summer, the secrets only grow more profound and complex. Will the answers ever come? While searching for answers, Matt and his three childhood best friends encounter the meanings of love, forgiveness, and fate.

This story is for those who feel their voice is unheard and for children, teenagers, and the adult who never had the chance to heal from their pain.

Book 1, Elephant, Buy Links: 
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085XMDJZP/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/elephant-rodriguez-natalie/1136699825?ean=9780578649740

Blitz created by YA Bound Book Tours 

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It is wonderful to be back in Black Water and I thoroughly enjoyed Jean Nicole Rivers’ To The Moon and Back.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

It is nice to be back in Black Water, or at least I think it is. Ya never know what Jean Nicole Rivers has in store for her characters, but I am always eager to find out. And…Simone is coming home too…home to the house where her entire family had been killed…murdered.

Her husband, Mack, knows her past and doesn’t understand why she feels the need to come back to a place that held such horror for her. The man accused of killing her family is locked up, but that is not the end for her. She wants her house, her memories, her family, back.

Mack has found the perfect business for him to purchase, Watkins Auto. He is a mechanic, so it should be a perfect fit. Simone is pregnant and I am worried about her.

The small town had taken a ghost story mixed with a tragedy and made it an urban legend, questioning how she survived. Is the Sandman true? Can fairy tales be true? If a woman can find her knight in shining armor, why can’t monsters be real?

“You face your fears head on; that’s the only way…”

A sense of impending doom infuses every page. This could go two ways, but I choose my first thought and now I am really curious about Simone and her family. They are in grave danger and I wonder how they will be saved. I am going to have to read straight through, because I have to know.

I felt such a sense of urgency, I wanted to yell at times, telling them NO, don’t do that. HELP HER!

Jean Nicole Rivers just keeps getting better and I loved this fantastic tale. I don’t read enough books by black authors and books with black characters, and I am trying to remedy that, expand my reading horizons.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of To The Moon And Back by Jean Nicole Rivers.

LISTEN TO THE COVER SONG HERE

SUMMARY

Twenty-three years ago, in the white farmhouse at the end of Maple Road, Simone Parker was the sole survivor of a slaughter that took her entire family, their eyes removed from their skulls. Safe in the knowledge that Marcus Sanden, the man responsible for her family’s butchery is locked away, she is eager to move her husband and two daughters to her picturesque hometown of Black Water. The family home offers financial security and the opportunity to break generational curses, but there is still something unsettling within its walls.

Even as her belly swells with baby number three, Simone is determined to rid her house of the ghostly residue of psychiatric patients her father treated in his home office, including Marcus Sanden. Through the years the gruesome details of her family’s case along with the similarity of Sanden’s name mingled with folk fairytale. Inevitably, Black Water’s younger generation created the now infamous town legend that says they were murdered by The Sandman. Traditionally a benevolent creature, but in Black Water he’s a wolf-like beast with razor-sharp sand to remove the eyes of those who lay awake in the night.

The house is alive with subtle signs of unsettled spirits, but the brutal birth of Simone’s son brings the haunting to an undeniable peak that forces her to question whether it was Sanden that killed her family or something much more sinister. Simone will stop at nothing to protect her children and must again face this evil or lose her family to The Sandman’s eternal sleep.

ABOUT JEAN NICOLE

Jean Nicole (@jeannicole19) is a National Black Book Festival award-winner and author of two psychological horror novels, Black Water Tales: The Unwanted and Black Water Tales: The Secret Keepers. She has also garnered awards for her screenplay, If I Die, from multiple film festivals including the Shivers International Film Festival (Canada).

Currently, she is working through the 3rd installment of her Black Water Tales series on a novel currently titled, To the Moon and Back.

In 2016, she launched the only novel writing software founded and owned by a black woman, Simple Stylus (www.SimplyStylus.com) and she teaches an online beginner writing course titled, Simply Writing: An Aspiring Author’s Guide to Developing A Solid Writing Process and FINALLY Writing Their Novel.

She writes because she loves words, she writes because she loves stories, she writes because she has a story to tell.

Author links:  Website  /  Facebook  /  Twitter  /  Goodreads

MY JEAN NICOLE RIVERS REVIEWS

• Black Water Tales: The Unwanted

• You can see my Giveaways HERE.
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I got the idea and the motivation to start doing Tackling The TBR from All The Book Blog Names Are Taken. It has helped me to keep track of my reading shelf as far as current events and I also started doing a post for Books From The Backlog, from Carole’s Random Life in Books, to tidy up my shelves. I feel better about my out of control TBR and have even knocked off a couple of those old ones that had been hanging around for years.

COME ON….JOIN IN.

Previous Total: 2427

Currently Reading

Books Read

I did a ton of reading from my TBR the past two weeks. Some were short stories and novellas, but I did read my share of full length novels too. I was determined to read 300 books for last year, because I doubt I will ever do that again. Covid and a bum arm left me with a LOT of reading time. 2021 is going to be much more active!!!!!!!

There are a few I couldn’t find on Amazon: Hobbes Family, Black Dogs Yellow Butterflies, Warmonger, Marry Me Baby & Ambient Light.

Books Added

Books DNF-ed: 1

Books Deleted: 4

Duplicates Removed: 9

New TBR Total: 2396

• You can see my Giveaways HERE.
• You can see my Reviews HERE.
• If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
• Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
• Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
• I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
• Thanks for visiting fundinmental!