Giveaway – Spindrifts by A M Mawhiney @XpressoTours

Posted on November 29, 2022 by fundinmental

Spindrifts
A-M Mawhiney
Publication date: November 24th 2021
Genres: Dystopian, Young Adult

Racism, climate change, and violence are in the past. The new world values respect and collaboration with others. But are there secrets lurking in the shadows of the Land of Hope? What truth about the past is being covered up?

When fifteen-year-old Fania returns from Immersion, she is shattered to learn that the next phase of her education is at home with Alicia, her granny. She had hoped for something far grander that would prepare her for an important role with the Earth Project. Their two strong personalities clash as Fania begins to learn more about the past and her family’s role in it.

As Fania grows in confidence and power, she starts to wonder exactly what secrets Alicia is keeping in her underground lab. After Fania discovers the truth, she finds her calling: one that has the power to change everything.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

—

EXCERPT:

I’m supposed to write in my journal every day. Sure. Like that’s the best use of my time. They said it’d be a private place to think, but I’ve wondered about that. I can think in my head without writing my thoughts. Just in case, I always use my disconnected tablet for the real journal, encrypted with three protective codes and in a language I developed myself. I know this might be over the top, but I’ve felt better knowing no one can read my actual journal. So, people can read how excited I am about my apprenticeship, but privately I’m totally dissed. I really want to learn about people From Away, and instead I’m apprenticing with Granny, my great-grandmother, who’s spent most of her life close to home in her research laboratory, two miles down an ancient mine shaft. It used to be where they studied mysteries of the universe! How the heck did that work?

I’ve always loved Granny. I’ve felt as though we’ve had a special relationship, and I’ve missed spending time with her. I just never thought they’d give me a responsibility so far removed from what I really want to be doing.

Ezma told me I’ve many skills and a strong aptitude for analytical thinking. I know what that means. It means sitting in an underground lab every day for the rest of my life. I guess I wasn’t very good at hiding my feelings because Ezma felt she had to remind me what Granny does is very important. Then she asked me a curious question.

“Do you know what she does?”

Well, of course I do! I explained, “Granny is the researcher who found the serum. She said it was a fluke.”

That comment made Ezma laugh, hysterically almost. “Well, Fania, you’ll find there’s a lot you can learn from Alicia. I hope you’ll keep an open mind.”

When I boarded the transport to head home after two years at Immersion, my patch reminded me to change my timer back to the village’s schedule. The health patch is a misnomer; it’s actually an up-to-date example of bio-merged nanotechnology. This latest gen’s so far advanced compared to the primitive models my grandparents used when they were young—those things they wore on their wrists. Now the healer implants the technology at birth where it merges with our brainwaves. It has reciprocal transformational capabilities, but I’ve been told there are limitations so it can’t change the basic personality or natural abilities of anyone. The patch transmits and receives communications, monitors personal health data, and provides all my reading materials. Everyone in our territory has them, so far as I know.

Author Bio:

A-M Mawhiney was deeply moved by the events of 2020 and the cries from advocates fighting for equity and justice for people living precarious lives because of structural barriers and discrimination. As a former social worker and academic she has spent her career seeking ways to improve lives of marginalized learners through inclusive education for all students. Mawhiney has hope for a better future for us all. Her vision of what this might look like inspired her to write Spindrifts.

Anne-Marie lives in Sudbury, Ontario, in the territory of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek in the Robinson-Huron Treaty Area, with Dave McGill and their canine companion, Charlie.

Website / Twitter / Instagram / TikTok

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Review – Born To Magic by David Wind @david_wind

Posted on November 13, 2022 by fundinmental

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I love the cover for the amazing adventure I had with Areena and Mikaal. The world David created is vividly detailed, filled with creatures, magic, evil, love and hope. Taking place in the future, sparks of our possible reality mesh seamlessly with the magical world. The danger is not over, but this adventure finished with a happy ending. I am curious about their next adventure, and hope to be there for it.

GOODREADS BLURB

Welcome to Nevaeh— a world where technology no longer exists, but magic does.

Long ago, the violence and radiation of the terrorist wars killed America. Those left dwell in a world of ritual and magic where ten dominions struggle for supremacy and a dark power rises to claim all.

Areenna, the only daughter of the King of Freemorn, is barely eighteen, yet her psychic ability is strong. She is summoned to ‘The Island’ and learns that the fate of her world is in her hands. She must undertake a perilous journey to save Nevaeh from destruction. But she will not travel alone.

Mikaal, the son of the High King of Nevaeh, has as much at stake as Areenna. Their quest takes them through haunted wastelands filled with mutants while an evil force does everything in its power to stop Areenna and Mikaal—for it wants Nevaeh as its own.

ABOUT DAVID WIND

International award winning author and double B.R.A.G. Honoree, David Wind, has published forty-three novels including Science Fiction, Mystery, and suspense thrillers. He lives in Florida, with his wife Bonnie. David is the past President (2020) of the Florida Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America.

A Hybrid Traditional and Independent Author, David became an independent publisher, author, and writer in 2008 with Angels in Mourning, his ‘homage’ to the old-time private detective’s of the 50’s and the 60’s. (He used to sneak them from his parents’ night tables and read them as a young boy.) Angels is a contemporary take on the old-style noir detective and won the Amazon.com Book of the Month Reader’s Choice Award.

The first book of David’s Epic Sci-Fi Fantasy Series, Tales Of Nevaeh. Born To Magic, is an international Amazon genre Best Seller, a Kindle Review of Books finalist for Fantasy Book of the year, and winner of the Silver Award from Ireland’s Drunken Druid International Awards for Literary excellence. Over 80,000 copies of the Tales of Nevaeh series have been download. The first two books of David’s new series, (a prequel spin-off to Tales of Nevaeh) The Journals of Solomon Roth, is the story of how Roth became the Warlord of Nevaeh.

His mystery, suspense, Police procedurals, and thrillers are The Hyte Maneuver, (a Literary guild alternate selection); The Sokova Convention, The Morrisy Manifest, Out of the Shadows, and, Desperately Killing Suzanne. He wrote the Medical Thriller, The Whistleblower’s Daughter, with Terese Ramin. The idea for this Medical Legal Thriller came shortly after the death of a close friend. David said, “I couldn’t help but wonder about the medication….”

David’s Contemporary Fiction novel, published in December of 2017, and based on the Harry Chapin Song, A Better Place To Be, received the Bronze Award for Literary Excellence, from Ireland’s prestigious DD International Awards; A Better Place To Be was named a B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree, signifying a book of the highest literary quality and written by Independent writers.

David wrote his first nonfiction book, The Indie Writer’s Handbook, to help authors who have completed their manuscripts and want to publish Independently, navigate the online publishing experience. The Indie Writer’s Handbook was David’s second book to be awarded the B.R.A.G. Medallion for literary excellence.

David’s novels have been translated into 11 languages and published in 15 countries.
–Follow David on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/davidwindauthor
–Follow David on Twitter at https://twitter.com/David_Wind
–Visit David’s Website at http://www.davidwind.com

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Giveaway – The Chai House by Priti Srivastava @iReadBookTours @thechaihouse

Posted on October 31, 2022 by fundinmental

Join us for this tour from Oct 17 to Nov 4, 2022!

Book Details:

Book Title: THE CHAI HOUSE by Priti Srivastava
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 123 pages
Genre: Dystopian Thriller, Feminist Fiction, Horror
Publisher: Independently Published
Release date: December 8, 2020
Content Rating: R: The story takes place under fascist rule. There are descriptions of war, violence, rape, and forced birth.

Book Description:

The Chai House is a haunting debut novel that explores the complexity of community when individuals are unaware of their own roles in upholding systems of oppression. Swati has spent her entire life trying to live up to her family’s expectations of her. She has learned it is easiest to just do what is asked of her, without resistance; a skill that has helped her survive in the early years of the Knights, an authoritarian regime. When her mother has a request for Swati, she agrees to it as it is the only way to help her young niece have some sort of future. An emotional page turner, The Chai House examines the desire to be true to yourself in a world where familial, cultural, societal, and political values direct you to stay small and stay silent.

BUY THE BOOK:
AUDIBLE ~ AMAZON
add to goodreads

Meet the Author:

Priti Srivastava lives in Madison, Wisconsin with their best friends. Priti works to create inclusive spaces as they hope that one day everyone will feel as though they belong. When Priti isn’t working or doing chores, they enjoy playing video games, making their friends laugh, eating samosas, and sitting quietly. They also love to read and on the rarest of occasions Priti writes about Priti in the third person. Priti loves to connect with readers. Follow them on social media to request a virtual visit with your book club.

connect with the author: twitter ~ instagram ~ goodreads

Tour Schedule:

Oct 17 – Viviana MacKade – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Oct 18 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Oct 19 – Stephanie Jane – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Oct 20 – Books for Books – book spotlight
Oct 21 – Hall Ways Blog – audiobook review / giveaway
Oct 24 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway
Oct 25 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway
Oct 26 – Literary Flits – book review / giveaway
Oct 27 – Sadie’s Spotlight – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Oct 28 – @shangread_la – book review / giveaway
Oct 31 – fundinmental – book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 1 – @bookqueenbee – audiobook review
Nov 2 – Geaux Get Lit – book review / giveaway
Nov 3 – @onecreativeartist – book review
Nov 4 – Paws.Read.Repeat – book review / giveaway

Enter the Giveaway:

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Long Anticipated Finale for the Wormwood Trilogy – Angel of Ashes and Dust by D H Nevins @dhnevins

Posted on October 24, 2022 by fundinmental

FIRST, I feel bad because I missed the Launch on the 18th. I was under the weather and it got by me. I know how important it is for independent authors who depend on us bloggers to spread the word.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I am going to start by saying I LOVE the gorgeous cover. Once I finished the book, it became even more pertinent to the story inside. I fell in love with this trilogy as soon as I met Kali and Tiamat in the first book, Wormwood. At that time, I had not read very many angel and human novels and was just getting hooked on apocalyptic and dystopian novels. Now, I say bring ’em on. I can’t get enough of them and D H Nevins is part of the reason why.

The first two books of the series, Wormwood and Angel of Shadow, blew me away! The characters came to life on the pages, as the Earth began to die. Just because a character does something horrific, does that make them an evil person?

Kali: I was darkness and death, shadows and pain.

Tiamat commanded the Nephilim, half angels/half humans, who had destroyed the world and most of humanity. Tiamat’s Shadow is a parasite that forces them to stay apart.

Kali is the leader of the encampment, a position that was foisted on her. The Shadow is her weapon, an extension of her, though she refuses to call upon it. It frightens her.

Her father, Richard is a demon. What is his ultimate goal? Is it to destroy them and everything left on Earth?

Bram is a special character, a youngster that I have come to love. He is a ninja, secretive, sneaking up on people, spying on them, now you see him, now you don’t. I can picture him climbing through the rocks and looking around corners.

I am always curious how an author will end a series…and to know the complete story, you need to read the entire Wormwood Trilogy. D H Nevins kept me reading as I tried to figure it out. I had no idea how the story would finish and who would be left standing. It took her telling me to find out.

D H Nevins shocked me. She saddened me. She made me smile. She made me tear up.

I keep mulling over the ending. Yes, I am satisfied. Yes, I am super happy that I was unable to figure out how it would end. Yes, D H Nevins did a fantastic job of wrapping it up.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Angel of Ashes and Dust by D H Nevins.

BACK COVER DESCRIPTION

The end of her people and the death of a planet are looming over her. Kali Michaels must choose between the illusion of safety and the danger of her own power in this anticipated and heart-stopping finale to The Wormwood Trilogy.

Kali learned the hard way that her abilities cannot be trusted if they can be used against her. In an effort to protect those she cares about, she is determined to let the power of her Shadow lie dormant, despite the dangers rising up around her.

Now, tormented by an unstoppable enemy, she and Tiamat Wormwood must try to lead others while doing the impossible—ensuring the survival of humans and half-angels alike.

But how can she partner with Tiamat, when her proximity could kill him?

And how can the Nephilim, Tiamat, be trusted to save a planet, if he is the one who shattered it in the first place?

Little do they know that sometimes, for new beginnings, that which they love must first be destroyed.

Title: Angel of Ashes and Dust, Book 3 in the Wormwood Trilogy
Author: D.H. Nevins
Release date: October 18, 2022
Link to Wormwood (book 1 in the series, which is FREE right now): https://amzn.to/3TqDD6g
Link to Angel of Shadow (book 2 in the series, which is only $2.99): https://amzn.to/3CYfNYR
Link to Angel of Ashes and Dust (special pre-order and release week price is only $2.99):
Author Website: www.dhnevins.com
Newsletter sign-up: https://bit.ly/3xFL6pu

ABOUT D H NEVINS

D.H. Nevins was born in Toronto and currently lives in a quiet area of Ontario, surrounded by forests and lakes. By day, she is a personable, friendly school teacher. By night, she silently chuckles as she writes about destroying the world. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys hiking, camping, flying around on her motorcycle or dabbling in live theatre.

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MY D H NEVINS REVIEWS

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Review – Claws by Ricky Sides #rickysides

Posted on October 13, 2022 by fundinmental

Amazon / KindleUnlimited / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

The fabulous cover speaks horror and I love it! A pet food company messing with Mother Nature…I know that is not going to end well. You may look at your pet a little differently after reading Claws. Is your cute, cuddly little bundle of fur looking at you funny? Is your sweet kitty licking your hand as an appetizer…getting ready to take a chunk out of it? LOL Will that make you sleep better, when kitty curls up on your chest wanting snuggles? The main issue I had was with the ‘romance’. The dialogue did not ring true, but, then, I look at a book like Claws as a B movie, not known for its sophistication, but still a very enjoyable use of my time. Greed and all that comes with it was expected. The head of the ‘operation’ will stop at nothing to get more of that all mighty dollar. Will he get his comeuppance? I loved the ending.

GOODREADS BLURB

I’d like to give special thanks to Jason Merrick for the great cover.

Alcorn Pet Food Corporation is working with an experimental cat food laced with hormones and appetite enhancers. The special food causes cats to add muscle, gain weight, and exhibit extremely aggressive behavior. When an employee threatens to expose the pet food as a threat to public safety, she finds herself out of work, her home ransacked, and all her carefully gathered proof missing. Meanwhile, animal rights activists release the cats involved in the testing because they are scheduled to be euthanized. These bigger, stronger, and more aggressive animals begin to prey on small game in the area. Then the ravenous cats turn their attention to people.

Lovers, runners, hunters, dogs, deer, rabbits, normal cats, and even motorists begin to fall victim to the predations of these enhanced felines. An unemployed scientist, a small special ops team, a grieving father, a chief of security, and a homeless veteran join forces to try to prevent a catastrophe.

When a murderer steals the secret formula that created the menace and sells it to eight foreign enemies of the United States, the stakes suddenly get a lot higher, because the most deadly biological weapon ever created has just been released. The genie is out of the bottle and the world will never be the same.

To make matters worse, the scientist discovers that the first generation offspring will be even bigger and more aggressive, and then they learn that the food also affects dogs and rats.

ABOUT RICKY SIDES (from Amazon)

Ricky Sides was Born in Florence, Alabama in May of 1958. He has a wife named Sue that he married at age 18. He has one adult son named Larry Dale.

The author studied martial arts from 1981 to the mid 1990s. He has been an avid camper and student of survival. The techniques described in his fight sequences are often from his own personal experience and training. He has taught women’s rape prevention seminars in the 1980’s that he conducted free to the public.

The author’s writing experience includes the ” Peacekeeper” series, the “Brimstone” series, “The Ultimate in Women’s Self-Defense,” and “Adventures in Reading,” “Claws,” which is a suspense / horror novel that will ultimately serve as the back story for an epic post apocalyptic novel that he will release in 2011. “Claws 2. After the Apocalypse,” and “Lina’s Story,” which is connected to the peacekeeper series.

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Giveaway – Hungry Business Maria DeBlassie @EnchantmentLL @RoxanneRhoads

Posted on October 10, 2022 by fundinmental

The Terrible Delights of Spooky Stories

I love scary stories. I’m also a total chicken. I grew up telling stories on the playground, huddled around trees or crawling into quiet places with friends to to listen to urban legends and frightening tales, from La Llorona to to Bloody Mary, to strange tales of a woman with the ribbon around her throat that literally held her head on to creepy dolls come to life the moment you closed your eyes to sleep at night…I couldn’t help myself. I devoured them!

In class, we learned more about La Llorona (a figure that inspired my novella, Weep, Woman, Weep), Baba Yaga, and all sorts of spooky stories that gave me a good chill but were rather less terrifying than what I heard on the playground.

Of course, there was no better time to tell and listen to these stories than the fall, as the season slowly ripened into Halloween, the days got shorter, and the cool evenings and turning leaves were the perfect backdrop for stories that reminded us that there is more to this world than meets the eye.

I would come home from school filled up on those terrible tales and, after playing in piles of leaves in my backyard, would feel a growing sense of unease as the sun began to set and darkness took over. I was certainly grateful for the comforting presence of my dogs when darkness stole across the sky. The feelings were pushed away with dinner, in the cozy brightness of the kitchen and the warmth of family, but readily came back when I was tuckedin bed later that night.

Every creek, howl of wind, or cricket chirp sounded like aghostly footstep, theweeping woman, or all manner of supernatural threats. Mirrors were not to be looked in, when the sun went down. Windows must be closed at night, lest La Llorona find a way in. Blankets were to be tucked around you up to your chin to protect you from whatever might be lurking under the bed.

I felt would never fall asleep!

But, of course, I did. And with the coming sun, came the confidence of youth that there was nothing truly scary in this world and I went right back to the playground ready to consume more lurid and horrible tales.

They were terrifying. They were also thrilling. I couldn’t help myself—even when they gave me nightmares and my mom tried to get me to stop listening to these stories—they had this allure to me, pulling me into a world of the strange and gothic.

The feeling didn’t go away as I got older. Take, for example, the time I went trick o’ treating with a friend in middle school, one of the last times I would venture out on that childhood ritual. I was no stranger to haunted houses—there were plenty in my neighborhood. I livednext door to one and there was another a few blocks away that looked like something out of a gothic novel: big, dark, looming, and a story about a murder so strange and unexpected it devolved into its own neighborhood legend with everyone having a slightly different explanation for why the house just felt…off.

My friend and I were alone on the street and were doing our best to casually walk past the house, feeling very brave and very adult in our fairy costumes, proud of the fact that we could trick-or-treating unchaperoned. But once we neared that house, suddenly home felt so very far away, the other groups of Halloween revelers so very far away. There was only the darkness surround us and the specter of that gina those before us.

Then we heard something—a yip, a yell, from someone in the distance—and we screamed, running for the safety of my home.Gone were the bold, brave adults and in their place were two frightened children who wanted nothing more than the warm lights and safety of home. As it turns out, the noise we heard was from a bunch of wildpartiers, but it became so much morefrightening when it was disembodied and the shadows fed my imagination, as did all the terrible tales I’d been coming that season.

As scary as that was, and as silly as my friend and I felt in retrospect, there was no denying the fun we had, nor the deep sense of comfort we felt in returning to my house. That’s what scary stories do for us. They bring us home. We find catharsis in facing the darkness and making it out the other side. We appreciate the light where and when we can find it.

Here I am now—still loving scary stories. Still a total chicken. Still ready for a good tale of terror…in the daylight. Still not looking in mirrors and closing all my windows at night. And I speed up whenever I have to walk by that haunted house, indeed any haunted house, less the specters inside think to invite me in.

That’s the beauty of these early childhood frights. They gave me a solid appreciate of the thrills of a good scary story and a healthy respect for the unseen worlds or even vibes I get that tell me a person or situation is more than meets the eye.

This is why I tell spooky stories today. They reveal so much more about ourselves and the world around us than many an ordinary tale. From writing horror comedy about the terrors of dating in Hungry Business to the haunting wails of La Llorona in Weep, Woman, Weep, all my tales are inspired by the ordinary gothic all around us, pairing catharsis as we face the dark and find the light. What do you love about scary stories?

MY REVIEW

Hungry Business by Maria DeBlassie is a quick read horror story with a little snark on the side. Dating during a zombie apocalypse is not and easy thing to do. Are you eating or being eaten? Do they have a heartbeat, even if half their face is missing? Will she be alone for the rest of her days? Is there any point in leaving the house? The cat in the window….

Hungry Business by Maria DeBlassie is an okay read and the cover does intrigue me.

Hungry Business: A Gothic Story about the Horrors of Dating

Maria DeBlassie

Genre: horror, comedy

Publisher: Kitchen Witch Press

Date of Publication: October 12, 2020

ASIN: B08L48MVHD

Number of pages: 20

Word Count: 4400

Tagline: Dating. It’s hungry business.

Book Description:

Looking for love can be deadly…

A short story on the horrors of dating during a zombie apocalypse by bruja and award-winning writer and educator, Maria DeBlassie.

“Simple yet detailed, unique, and innovative. A brilliantly written little gem that is equal part creepy with the plague of walking dead and equal parts cozy with the hot chocolate and watching the neighbor’s cat.”

“Drawing parallels between the pitfalls of dating and dating in the zombie apocalypse, this short story packs a big world into a few pages.”

“Just the right size to occupy your time while waiting. I hope you find the humor I found.”

You know how it goes.

You go out, hoping to meet someone.

You wade through your fair share of brainless automatons, lifeless bodies, and ravenous undead, good at passing as human.

The more you go out, the less hope you feel and the colder your body gets.

But you keep at it.

All you need is one beating heart to match your own before yours stops pumping altogether.

How hard can it be to find one living, breathing human in a city full of bodies?

Dating.

It’s hungry business.

CW: Assault

Amazon

He said he’d love to have you for dinner—but you are careful.

A woman has to be careful. Never give them your address. Don’t drink too much. Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Carry grave dirt to throw at them if they get too forward. Be ready to run to the nearest safe space if needed. The good news is that the Hungries, while persistent, are dumb as fuck (brain rot, you know) and slower than the sickness overtaking their bodies. Unless, of course, they are well fed, which is rarely the case.

This one looks a little better, you think optimistically.

You sit across from each other at the dinner table. The white tablecloth is as smooth and unblemished as his collared shirt. He has dressed for the occasion, taking care to hide the evidence of his affliction as best he can (though truly there is only so much he can do with a missing ear and half a brain). Still, the tuxedo and carefully applied makeup are enough to create the illusion of pumping blood beneath his pallid, blush-stained cheeks—in the right light. Which is another reason why you chose this place. Candlelight can hide a multitude of sins.

His manners are studied and smooth, as if he has spent a lot of time practicing more human-like movements and behavior. You admire a man who makes that kind of effort. He watches you as much as you do him, as if he is trying to remember what it was like to be alive. When you reach for your wine glass, so does he—only his thick decaying fingers almost crush the stem, whereas your nimble live ones carefully bring the dark red liquid to your mouth. You try not to notice how he stares at your lips—stained now from the wine—wondering, perhaps, how you taste. As it turns out, he does get a taste of you. You’ve been surreptitiously picking at a hangnail on your pinky finger—that’s how scintillating the conversation is—when you looked down and realize it is your whole fingernail that has come off. You stare at it in horror, letting the truth of your situation sink in.

At least he has the decency to wait until you’ve left the table before grabbing your napkin and stuffing your bloodied nail in his mouth. A little color comes back into his face. He groans in ecstasy.

Nice to know you could still have that effect on a man.

About the Author:

Maria DeBlassie, Ph.D. is a native New Mexican mestiza blogger, award-winning writer, and award-winning educator living in the Land of Enchantment. Her first book, Everyday Enchantments: Musings on Ordinary Magic and Daily Conjurings (Moon Books 2018), and her ongoing blog, Enchantment Learning and Living are about everyday magic, ordinary gothic, and the life of a kitchen witch. When she is not practicing her own brand of brujeria, she’s reading, teaching, and writing about bodice rippers and things that go bump in the night. She is forever looking for magic in her life and somehow always finding more than she thought was there.

Find out more about Maria and conjuring everyday magic at www.mariaddeblassie.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/enchantmentll

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/enchantmentll

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdeblassie.writer

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7rY-gLkSH-w8uuVyrhVALA

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You can see my Giveaways HERE.
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If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
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Giveaway – Child Of Etherclaw by Matty Roberts @iReadBookTours @MattyBRoberts

Posted on August 12, 2022 by fundinmental

Join us for this tour from August 2 to August 22, 2022!

Book Details:

Book Title: CHILD OF ETHERCLAW by Matty Roberts
Category: Young Adult Fiction (13-18+), 348 pages
Genre: Sci-Fi/Dystopian
Publisher: Twilight Fox LLC
Release date: August 2, 2022
Formats Available for Review: print (softback) (USA and Canada) and ebook (EPUB and PDF)
Tour dates: August 2 to August 22, 2022
Content Rating: PG-13 PG-13 for some profanity and mild violence.

Book Description:

The bonds of family go well beyond blood.

But can those bonds hold when the blood itself carries a devastating secret?

Fenlee’s opal necklace had always radiated a certain warmth since her mother’s death. But now, at sixteen, her world begins to unravel as the stone sparks to life, revealing itself to be an otherworldly artifact of untold power.

Between her mechatronics studies at the academy and scavenging expeditions beneath the sprawling city of New Cascadia, Fenlee and her adopted brother, Elliot, try to decipher the mysteries of her necklace and its link to events in Fenlee’s past.

But they’re not alone in their search.

Strange undercity dwellers offer cryptic warnings, drones track their movements, and deadly corporate agents lurk in the shadows. When tragedy rips Fenlee’s family apart, she must learn to use the artifact’s power to save those who are deeply precious to her. But nothing can prepare her for the dark truths that she will uncover on that journey…

“Lee,” Elliot mumbled. “I’m not who you think I am.”

BUY THE BOOK:
AMAZON
B&N ~ Indiebound
Bookshop.org ~ Tattered Cover
add to goodreads

Meet the Author:

Matty Roberts began their career in journalism where they earned an Emmy and had the privilege of working on several other award-winning projects. They hold an MS from Johns Hopkins University and are now an engineer in renewable energy in Denver, Colorado where they live with their wonderful partner, two extraordinary kids, and the best doggie ever. In addition to writing, engineering, and parenting, Matty is a vegan enby nerd who is in love with this world and will forever be doing all they can to make it a better place. And they may be known to occasionally play in a punk band here or there.

connect with the author: website ~ twitter ~ instagram ~ goodreads

Tour Schedule:

Aug 2 – Cover Lover Book Review – book spotlight / giveaway
Aug 2 – Olio by Marilyn – book spotlight / author interview
Aug 2 – Olio by Marilyn – book review / giveaway
Aug 3 – Kam’s Place – book spotlight / author interview
Aug 3 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Aug 4 – JB’s Bookworms with Brandy Mulder – book spotlight /guest post / giveaway
Aug 5 – Sadie’s Spotlight – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Aug 8 – Splashes of Joy – book review / giveaway
Aug 8 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – book review / guest post / giveaway
Aug 9 – The Momma Spot – book review / giveaway
Aug 10 – See Sadie Read – book review / giveaway
Aug 10 – Books are a Blessing – book review / giveaway
Aug 11 – Leels Loves Books – book review / giveaway
Aug 12 – fundinmental – book spotlight / giveaway
Aug 12 – Books for Books – book review
Aug 15 – HirlGrend, a Vegan Book Blog – book review / giveaway
Aug 16 – The Page Ladies – book review / giveaway
Aug 16 – Stephanie Jane – book review / giveaway
Aug 17 – She Just Loves Books – book review / giveaway
Aug 17 – 411 ON BOOKS, AUTHORS, AND PUBLISHING NEWS – book spotlight / giveaway
Aug 18 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book review / giveaway
Aug 19 –Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / giveaway
Aug 22 – Literary Flits – book review / giveaway

Enter the Giveaway:

CHILD OF ETHERCLAW by Matty Roberts Book Tour Giveaway

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’.
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The Highly Anticipated Angel Of Ashes And Dust by D H Nevins Is Here @dhnevins

Posted on August 11, 2022 by fundinmental

The highly anticipated release of Angel of Ashes and Dust, Book III of the Wormwood Trilogy is up for preorder! As you can see, the cover will be revealed soon, but if you want to get a jump on the price, it is up for a special preorder price of .99 for three days only, so get it now, and it will automatically be delivered to your ereader upon release.

The end of her people and the death of a planet is looming over her. Kali Michaels must choose between the illusion of safety and the danger of her own power in this anticipated and heart-stopping finale to The Wormwood Trilogy.

Kali has come to fear her abilities because she knows they can be used against her. In an effort to protect those she cares about, she is determined to let the power of her Shadow lie dormant, despite the dangers rising up around her.

Now, tormented by an unstoppable enemy, she and Tiamat Wormwood must try to shield and lead others while doing the impossible—survive in a dying land.

But how can she partner with Tiamat, when her proximity could kill him?

And how can Tiamat be trusted to save a planet, if he is the one who shattered it in the first place?

Little do they know that sometimes, for new beginnings, that which they love must first be destroyed.

*Please note: The title for this book has changed from “And from the Shadow, Light” to “ANGEL OF ASHES AND DUST”

Warning: There are reports of readers flinging their devices (one reader allegedly threw her Kindle three times) and ignoring their lives while reading Wormwood. The author does not assume responsibility for such awesomely reactive responses.

SEE MY 5 STAR REVIEW FOR WORMWOOD HERE

SEE MY 5 STAR REVIEW FOR ANGEL OF SHADOW BY D H NEVINS

ABOUT D H NEVINS

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

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’s 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!

Giveaway – Last Star Standing by Spaulding Taylor @GoddessFish @astmcveigh1

Posted on August 8, 2022 by fundinmental

Last Star Standing by Spaulding Taylor

GENRE: Thriller (speculative)

BLURB

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

Nothing. Clean as a whistle. Until my massive hand grasped hold of something, something which must have blended into its background so perfectly that I hadn’t even spotted it. Something alive, nestling under the co-pilot’s seat. I couldn’t believe it. A live gromeline. Trembling, possibly with fury, and trying in vain to squeeze back. Grabbing my trophy – I could feel its hot little heart throbbing like an injury against my palm – I hopped out of the plane so fast that my wound protested.

‘Bully!’

Bully raised one eyebrow. Two would have been overkill.

‘Bully, you are not going to believe this. I found a gromeline!’ The gromeline – only about fifteen centimetres – bit my finger, hard, even though I could have easily crushed its entire body with my fist – and probably would have, had I been a tester, and not merely disguised as one.

Feisty little gromeline. I flicked it lightly with my sausage-sized finger. When it protested, I growled, ‘Cheese it, munchkin,’ though I could feel it struggling obstreperously against my palm.

Bully was intrigued. ‘Is it genuine?’ ‘Of course it’s genuine. It just bit me, didn’t it?’

Bully probably considered this no proof. But they’re rarer than clean air these days and his fascination was obvious. Now gromelines come from the farthest galaxy so far discovered, can speak any tongue and own enviable mental powers. They are also brave to the point of stupidity and ludicrously small. This one was mouse-coloured – they can be spectacular – with tiny red eyes. Few humans have ever seen one.

AUTHOR Bio and Links

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

Website: 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
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

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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’.
Product images are linked/I am an Amazon affiliate.
Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Giveaway – The Light After The Orange by Beverley J Hall @XpressoTours

Posted on August 5, 2022 by fundinmental

The Light After the Orange
Beverley J. Hall
(The Tundra Stone Series, #1)
Publication date: July 18th 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Post-Apocalyptic

EVEN IN A DYING WORLD, IS SURVIVAL ENOUGH?

After the Orange and the catastrophic devastation of Earth, magic began to seep in—but will it help Alex Chegasa survive?

Hidden and protected by magic, she grew up embracing her gifts. After witnessing the only people she can call family being murdered, eighteen-year-old Alex must choose between her head and her heart in her search for a place to belong. But, her hunt for a home means having to hide her magic.

All the while, in the shadows, eight-hundred-year-old Fae Billey NicNevin, suffering from amnesia, is rediscovering her magic.

Are their fates intertwined?

What if the fantastical stories Alex’s mother told her as a child were true?

ALL MYTHS ARE BASED ON TRUTH

Sales Copy: Eighteen-year-old Alex Chegasa, one of the first generation to be raised on post-apocalyptic Earth, was taught to embrace her magical gifts.

After the Orange, as the planet burned, magic trickled in. The bombs that had wiped out most life ripped open the barrier between worlds. Can the next generation, connected to the magic, be the solution to mankind’s problems or are they destined to repeat the mistakes of their ancestors?

Did the Orange, the very thing that ravaged the planet, also provide the solution? Or is magic more than a coincidence?

While Alex searches for somewhere to belong, in Massachusetts, she questions if survival is enough when she comes to understand that magic, used by the wrong people, could be more dangerous than the power of the generations before her.

Meanwhile, in a parallel story, we meet eight-hundred-year-old Fae, Billey NicNevin. With a past she doesn’t remember, she struggles to fit into Nuadh Caled (New Scotland) as it rebuilds itself. When she meets a woman whose soul calls to her, will she find her missing piece or tumble into insanity?

Are their destinies connected?

WHAT IF THE FANTASTICAL STORIES FROM ALEX’S CHILDHOOD WERE TRUE?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

—

EXCERPT:

Loneliness ate me up from the inside, nibbling away at me and leaving an aching emptiness. I didn.t know what I missed or who I missed but knew, deep in the part of my soul that holds my intuition, there was a person-size hole nobody could fix, except for the one.

The person we all hunt for but so rarely find.
The person we were made to fit with.
The one imperfect, perfect, mismatch our soul longs for. *

The trees gathered around me and protected me from the breeze that grew and took on a new life. I rested against the rough bark of the largest tree, my rear now sitting into the roots that formed a seat in the ground. The tree, I almost believed, was shaped for me. Its branches wrapped around my tiny form as I snuggled among the roots. The wind grazed my cheek and I pulled my scarf around my face, desperate to stay here for every second possible.

The sound of the wind howling through the branches vibrated the leaves and created a voice I longed to understand. I closed my eyes, listening, imagining I could hear the voices of the trees. I felt my soul combine with the tree, and contentment that existed nowhere else in my life melted my anguish and pain.

My eyes shot open and I stared at where Geilis had been moments earlier. Empty space filled my view.
I was, again, alone.

Author Bio:

Beverley J. Hall was born in Kent, England, and raised in Scotland. Most of her childhood was spent with her nose in a book, and her love of stories was born.

While studying Art and Design, she discovered her love of storytelling, whether with paint, sculpture, fabric, or words.

After completing an MA in Creative Writing, she is now living her best life, writing stories at the seaside with her son, her granddaughter, and her cat Bertie.

Head over to TikTok, Instagram, or Twitter to join her overthinking and daydreaming (she’s still hoping for a pet dragon).

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / TikTok