Giveaway – The Lady Raven by Rebecca Henry #RebeccaHenry @XpressoTours

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The Lady Raven: A Dark Cinderella Tale
Rebecca Henry
Publication date: December 5th 2017
Genres: Adult, Fantasy

In The Lady Raven, Rebecca Henry tells the tale of Zezolla, a little princess abandoned by her father into the hands of her evil stepmother and wicked stepsisters. A familiar fairy tale you may think but all is not as it appears. The reader is soon drawn into a web of witchcraft, lies and deceit, and gradually realises that this is no typical fairy tale but a dark and macabre take on one. Zezolla is treated with the utmost cruelty, neglected and vilified, and left to live in the damp cellars of the castle. The only friends Zezolla has are her beloved raven and her pet wolf. Her only comfort lies in the loyalty of the creatures of the forest and her mother’s hazel tree. Will Zezolla have the power to escape her torment and ultimately save herself from the unscrupulous clutches of the king? The Lady Raven is a compelling tale and one that is not for the faint-hearted.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

Baldric bent down, whispering into his wife’s ear. “I am going to drown you in the river, my love. I want you to hear my words and know that it is I who will kill you. Do not think that I do not know what you did.” Before Avelina could protest, her face was plunged into the icy water. She tried pulling her head up, but Baldric was too strong. She began to buck her legs around like a mule, desperate to make contact with Baldric, anything to weaken his grip. Baldric climbed on top of her and pinned her body beneath his. “Die, Avelina.” he growled. Hands were flying all around him as he drowned his wife, the only woman he ever loved. Princess Avelina was a fighter and she determined to stay alive, but it was to no avail.

Baldric kept her head under the water well after her body stopped moving. Avelina’s betrayal caused Baldric’s love to turn to hate, just as water turns to ice in the frozen kiss of winter.

“Die, you lying witch. Die! You do not deserve the life you have. You do not deserve me. You have taken everything I’ve loved away and now I will take everything from you.” Baldric’s hands trembled with rage as he dismounted his wife’s limp body. Baldric arose, looking around the grounds to ensure that no witnesses could testify to his crime. Still, he would not suffer the consequence of murdering his wife. To seal his innocence, he gathered heavy rocks from the bank and shoved them in Avelina’s robes.

“They will think it a suicide and my hands will never be traced to her death.” He bent down to see her face one last time before kicking her corpse into the lake.

“I loved you mind, body, and soul. I would have loved you until my dying breath, but I will never think of you again. From this day forth, you no longer consume my heart. May you rest in hell, my love.” He watched her body sink; he was triumphant, sentencing her to the punishment that fitted the crime: death.

Before her body disappeared into the ultramarine water, he spat on her. One final act of defiance.

Author Bio:

Rebecca Henry is a newly published author. Her debut novel is The Lady Raven, A Dark Cinderella Tale, which was published in 2017. The Lady Raven, is for those who have an affinity for fairy tales retold with a link to witches, magic and the macabre. Her second novel, Louisiana Latte, a chick lit comedy was released February 28th 2019. Louisiana Latte, is a feel good comedy that focuses on the bonds of sisters, and how audacious life can be when you have a diva for one! Both books are available on amazon as well as Barnes & Noble.

Rebecca Henry is a world traveler living abroad in England. Besides being an author of two published books, Rebecca is also a podcast talk host on the show The Latte Talk. The podcast was inspired by her latest novel, Louisiana Latte and her diva sister Deb. She is a serious vegan, gardener, crafter, wife and mom who practices yoga. She loves to laugh, her drug of choice and loves all things witchy with a hint of the macabre. Her favorite holiday is Halloween and her favorite movie of all time is Practical Magic.

Website / Instagram / Goodreads


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Giveaway & Interview – The Soul Mate Tree Series by Mikea Howard @MikeaHowardWrit @GoddessFish

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INTERVIEW

If you could have one paranormal ability, what would it be?

  • Kelly: I think I would most love the ability to shapeshift… into anything or anyone. To be able to experience moments as another person or a pet or wild animal would be amazing. Although, I may spend long periods of time as a cat or dog, sleeping.
  • Mindy: I would love to have the same telepathic and telekinetic powers as Jean Gray/Dark Phoenix from the X-Men. I live in a congested city, so having the power to move people/vehicles out of my way when I’m trying to get somewhere in a hurry.

What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to learn about you?

  • People may be surprised to learn that Mikea Howard is not one person, but to co-writers, and that we happen to be sisters-in-law that live on opposite sides of the country.

When writing descriptions of your hero/ine, what feature do you start with?

  • We tend to start with their stature. Our first book described how large the hero was as he loomed over the heroine.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

  • We started out as pantsers, and would write about ⅔ of each book randomly from our seats, before outlining to fill in the holes. Recently Mindy attempted plotting for our third book, and we are having a difficult time adapting to that process.

Did you learn anything  from writing this book? If so, what?

  • From writing this book we learned that even if we think it’s a standalone, thanks to our expansive world, we have to be careful how many past story details we add. This was hard for us because we love adding cameos of our favorite characters in each book.

SOUL MATE TREE SERIES

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GENRE: Fantasy

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BLURB

Dottie thought she had it all: a successful singing career, a handsome fiancé, and a starlet’s wardrobe. Sudden betrayal brought it all crashing down around her. Those she trusted most played her as nothing more than a pawn. One misstep while fleeing the scene trapped her in another world alone, save a mysterious visitor.

Guatimozin, an eagle shifter, has spent ages assisting people through the realm between life and death, leading them to join loved ones on either side. No one had ever made him want anything for himself until he discovered this city girl.

Forces plot against them and time is short. Soon, their chance for a happily ever after will be too late.

EXCERPT

Dottie wiped the tears from her face. Damn him, and damn his floosy too. She’d do what her mother constantly threatened her stepdad with, and remove his cock to wear it proudly on a chain around her neck.

I jus’ gotta find a way out of this kooky forest first.

Making her way back onto her feet, she dusted off her dress in a mindless motion. The fabric passed beneath her strokes smooth and dirt free. She studied the once vibrant red dress she’d worn on stage. The satin now appeared drab and colorless. Her bare feet peeked from beneath its hem, as clean as the moment she’d dabbed them dry from her bath. The blind sprint from her dressing room, across town, and up the hill, should have left them covered in filth.

In exasperation, she threw her arms in the air. “Swell. I mus’ be dead and I’m . . .”

She moved away from the tree to scrutinize her surroundings. As much as Dottie hoped she’d end up in heaven, her mother always insisted that, as a willful child trying to pass as something she wasn’t, her final destination would be a bit further down.

The sensation of electricity passing through the air made every hair stand on end as a matter-of-fact reply came from behind. “No, you aren’t dead, but you’re not exactly alive either. You’re in a realm known as the in-between.”

Spinning around, Dottie came face to face with a stranger. Like the tree, he appeared in color, only he wasn’t pink and purple. Instead, a tall man with reddish tan skin, swirling silver eyes, and waist length striking black hair, stared at her as though regarding a ghost. Thick muscular arms crossed over his chest as his shocked expression ease into a slow smirk, highlighting the defined beak-like nose, high cheekbones, and strong chin framing his mouth. Nervously licking her lips, she couldn’t help but muse, Di Mi. Well hello, sailor.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Mikea Howard

Writing under Mikea Howard, we are actually Mindy Howard and Kelly Smith, sisters-in-law who share a love for romance, usually paranormal. We have spent the last several years reading and sharing books as well as authors, often making comments about how we’d love to write our own when we ran out of things to read.

While based on our TBR piles, we have not run out of reading material, yet we decided to write when the muse hit Kelly with a dystopian diesel world and an opening scene with the heroine running out into the woods. Mindy then saw her hero step in, and The Diesel War series was born.

Mindy is an IT professional at a telecom company. She is married to a musician and teacher, who also happens to be Kelly’s brother. She has one adult son and is living out west.

Kelly is a Registered Nurse working in maternal-fetal medicine. She has a great husband, who happens to be Mindy’s husband’s best friend. She has one son in high school, one daughter in middle school, and is living on the east coast.

www.mikeahoward.com

www.facebook.com/writermikeahoward

www.twitter.com/mikeahowardwrit

www.amazon.com/author/mikeahoward

www.instagram.com/mikeahoward

www.goodreads.com/author/show/14221209.Mikea_Howard

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SSSSSmokin’ Hot Dragons – The Rookie by Abigail Owen @AOwenBooks

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Love, love, love me some dragons and The Rookie by Abigail Owen continues the Fire’s Edge series, spotlighting another romance with these hot fantasy firefighters.

Cover:  KAM Designs

Publisher:  Entangled Publishing

The Mate, a Fire’s Edge short story and intro to the series, is FREE

The Rookie (Fire's Edge, #2)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Woo Hoo! Back with the smoking hot dragons and I am ready for some romance. I loved The Boss and met Sera. She became a character I wanted to know better and Abigail Owen made it happen.

She has a secret, one even she doesn’t know and I aim to learn it. I may know some of what’s coming, but I can’t wait to learn al the details.

The Rookie is high in suspense with a slow BURNING romance. At times Abigail Owen had me doubting it would happen. Now that’s some great writing, making me question what I know.

Even in the dragon world there is politics and betrayal.

WOW…keeps getting better and better. Can’t wait to see where Abigail Owen will take me next. Keep ’em coming…please.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Rookie by Abigail Owen.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
5 Stars

AMAZON SYNOPSIS

To escape exile, Aidan Paytah has had to prove himself worthy. Every second of every damn day. He fought with everything he had to earn his precarious place on the Huracán team of dragon shifter enforcers. He can’t fail or afford distractions, no matter how temptingly sweet. Total loyalty to the clans and dedication to his team is the only way.

Sera Morrison lost her parents and her husband in short order, leaving her a single mother running her family winery alone. Nothing could ever have prepared her for the discovery that she’s a destined dragon mate. But once she finds out, there’s only one man she wants—the one who walks away.

However, the Alliance Council has its own agenda. They want to use her as a political pawn and force a mating that could ultimately kill her to save the High King. Aidan has no choice but to kidnap her, even if it means their close proximity reinforces their own mating bond. And mating with him could end up being a far worse fate for Sera….

Each book in the Fire’s Edge series is STANDALONE:
* The Mate (prequel)
* The Boss
* The Rookie

ABOUT ABIGAIL OWEN

AbigailOwen

Award-winning paranormal and contemporary romance author, Abigail Owen was born in Greeley, Colorado, and raised in Austin, Texas. She now resides in Northern California with her husband and two adorable children who are the center of her universe.

Abigail grew up consuming books and exploring the world through her writing. A fourth generation graduate of Texas A&M University, she attempted to find a practical career related to her favorite pastime by earning a degree in English Rhetoric (Technical Writing). However, she swiftly discovered that writing without imagination is not nearly as fun as writing with it.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest | YouTube

MY REVIEWS FOR ABIGAIL OWEN

The Shadowcat Nation

Andromeda’s Fall  /  Sarai’s Fortune  /  Tieryns’ Fury  /  Seneca’s Faith

The Svatura Series

Blue Violet  /  Hyacinth  /  Crimson Dahlia  /  Black Orchid

The Fire’s Edge Series

The Mate / The Boss

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Giveaway – The Crown of Stones Series by C L Schneider @cl_schneider @SDSXXTours

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Magic-Price
The Crown of Stones Book 1
by C.L. Schneider
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Ian Troy is one of the Shinree, a fallen people with an inherent addiction to magic. Scorned and reviled for the deadly side of their spells, the Shinree are bred as slaves. Their magic is suppressed by drugs and used only as it serves the purposes of the other races.
Descended from a long line of soldiers, Ian is conscripted into the Rellan army and made to fight in their longstanding conflict against the ruthless Langorian invaders. The downfall of Rella imminent, Ian goes against orders and turns to the Crown of Stones, an ancient Shinree relic of untold power. Ignorant of its true purpose, Ian uses the crown to end the war, and pays a terrible price.
A decade later, still tortured by the aftermath of that day, Ian lives as a bounty hunter in self-imposed exile. Having renounced his magical heritage, he curbs his obsession with a steady stream of wine and regret. He struggles to put it all behind him, until a fateful encounter with a pretty assassin brings Ian’s past crashing into the present.
Targeted by a rogue Shinree, and a ruthless old enemy, Ian is forced to use magic again. His deadly addiction is rekindled and his life of isolation is brought to a swift end. With the land he gave up everything to protect once more in jeopardy, and his people’s future at stake, Ian becomes embroiled in a violent race for control of the Crown of Stones. To save the realms and those he cares for, Ian must embrace the thing he fears most: his own power.
Magic-Scars
The Crown of Stones Book 2
Magic doesn’t wound the same as a sword.
The story of Ian Troy continues in Magic-Scars, the second installment in C. L. Schneider’s riveting epic fantasy trilogy, The Crown of Stones.
Captured by his old enemy, King Draken of Langor, Shinree magic user Ian Troy was sentenced to prison. Tortured and drugged, robbed of his will, his memories, and his magic, Ian was made to do unspeakable things. Rescued, as his body slowly rids itself of the drug, Ian realizes he has returned to an unfamiliar world gripped with fear. In the wake of his fall, those he cared for were left to their own grim fates. Draken has seized control of the realms and named himself High King. His brutal rein has sparked a desperate rebellion that Ian now finds himself a part of. His one task: recover and repair the Crown of Stones, in hopes it will tip the balance in the revolution that is brewing. In pursuit of the reason behind the artifact’s strange loss of magic, Ian is driven to release an explosion of retribution and power that leaves him irrevocably scarred.
Struggling to reconcile the man he has become with the man he once was, Ian strives to understand the growing number of magic-scars adorning his body. He searches for the truth behind his link to the Crown of Stones and uncovers shocking secrets buried for generations beneath the sand. To become the weapon the resistance needs, he must assume responsibility for his magical inheritance. But can he curb the destructive appetite that comes with it?
The price of Ian’s magic and his addiction have never been higher.
Magic-Borne
The Crown of Stones Book 3
No other Shinree has borne as much of magic’s weight, its pleasure, or its guilt.
The fate of Ian Troy is revealed in the final installment of C. L. Schneider’s epic fantasy trilogy, The Crown of Stones.
In one fell swoop, the resistance was shattered. Lives were taken. Hope was lost. Peace slipped like grains of sand through his fingers. So did the Crown of Stones. Now, forced into hiding, Ian Troy grapples for a way to save the realm—and free its people—from the sadistic clutches of Jem Reth; Mirra’kelan’s new self-appointed emperor. Plagued with the knowledge of a tragic future, he strives to influence events and save those he cares for. But his magic has betrayed him, and Fate has other plans.
Marked by the crown, hindered by the transformation spell contained within, each cast brings Ian one step closer to becoming more beast than man. Each move brings the death and destruction foretold in his vision inexplicably nearer. With Langor on the brink of war, and King Malaq’s plan for peace hanging in the balance, Ian returns to the ancient past; seeking an end to the eldring spell and a means to thwart Jem’s growing domination. What he finds there sets off a chain of revelations that leads Ian places he never thought to go.
Entrusted with the future of his race, Ian becomes the linchpin for lasting change. But how much weight can one man carry? And how much is he willing to sacrifice in the name of peace?
Born in a small Kansas town on the Missouri river, C.L. Schneider grew up in a house of avid readers and overflowing bookshelves. Her first full-length novel took shape while she was still in high school, on a typewriter in her parent’s living room. While her main focus is adult epic and urban fantasy, she also pens the occasional science fiction or post-apocalyptic story.
Though she has been writing all of her life, Magic-Price (the first installment in The Crown of Stones Trilogy) was Schneider’s first published novel. With the trilogy complete, she is excited to be embarking on a new path with her urban fantasy series, Nite Fire.
Learn more about C.L. Schneider and her work at clschneiderauthor.com, where you can read reviews, excerpts, sneak peeks and teasers, subscribe to her newsletter, and join her Street Team. Look for book reviews and guest posts, and follow her journey as an indie author, on her blog, “Heading Down The Yellow Brick Road”. An active part of the online indie author community, you can connect with C.L. Schneider on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Google+, where she chats about books, zombies, coffee, and the wonderful roller coaster of a writer’s life.
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#FREE BOOK – Salt by Pauline Creeden @P_Creeden @PromoBookTours

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Salt (a mermaid tale Book 1) by Pauline Creeden A wounded and rejected mermaid. A boy with a volatile past. A love that could cross boundaries. Mermaid life has never been easy for Verona. Her scars give evidence of her abuse. When her day of reckoning arrives, she is determined to endure exile. According to her father’s experience, exile is better than becoming a land-walker and risking her life among the humans. However, when she saves the life of a drowning human boy, she inadvertently sets off a chain of events which force her to choose a path: stay with the humans she has become attached to or return home to a life of scorn. A savage hunter draws closer, threatening even the humans. Her only hope is to keep everyone safe until the next full moon, but those around her devise their own plans. If you love mermaid tales or paranormal romance, buy this coming-of-age story of shifters, first love, and learning what it means to be human, now!

Free on Amazon March 27 – 31

Read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited

Pre-order Surfacing Releases June 23

Pauline Creeden is USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author of inventive and inspirational stories, entwining real-world problems with fantasy characters. She spends most of her day caring for the many animals around the horse farm and mentoring kids in horsemanship. Still, she finds time to play Pokemon and binge on Kdramas. Her debut novel, Sanctuary, won 1st Place Christian YA Title 2013 Dante Rosetti Award and 2014 Reader’s Choice Gold Award for Best YA Horror Novel. Chronicles of Steele Raven won the 2015 Grace Award and IndieBrag Medallion. Unshaken hit #22 on the USA Today Bestseller list as a part of the Murder and Mayhem Limited edition Boxed set in November 2017. Caught in the Current hit #89 on the USA Today Bestseller list as part of the Sirens & Scales Boxed set in January 2018. Last Escape hit #149 on the USA Today Bestseller list as part of the Empires of Shadow and Ash boxed set in June 2018. Of Water and Blood hit #107 on the USA Today Bestseller list as a part of the Shades of Fae boxed set in July 2018.

MY PAULINE CREEDEN REVIEWS

Scales

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Giveaway – For The Reign by Debbie Cassidy @authordcassidy @XpressoTours

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For the Reign
Debbie Cassidy
(For the Blood #3)
Publication date: March 19th 2019
Genres: Adult, Post-Apocalyptic, Reverse Harem, Urban Fantasy

It’s hardly a fair race when you’re racing against time.

The Fangs and I have the answers we were looking for, but for me those answers come with a death sentence. But I’ll be damned if I got out easy. I’ll be damned if I go out before I can see our mission through.

Just as I’m coming to terms with my fate, hope drops into my lap like a succulent fruit. But hope can be deceptive, and I’m not one for putting all my eggs into on basket. The mission must remain my focus, but with obstacles stacking up, getting to the finish line may just take some divine intervention, but the cost…The cost might be more than I’m willing to pay.

The Vampire Diaries meets The Walking Dead in this Post-Apocalyptic Urban Fantasy with a slow burn Whychoose Romance

Goodreads / Amazon


Author Bio:

Debbie Cassidy lives in England, Bedfordshire, with her three kids and very supportive husband. Coffee and chocolate biscuits are her writing fuels of choice, and she is still working on getting that perfect tower of solitude built in her back garden. Obsessed with building new worlds and reading about them, she spends her spare time daydreaming and conversing with the characters in her head – in a totally non psychotic way of course. She writes Urban Fantasy, Fantasy and Reverse Harem Fantasy. All her books contain plenty of action, romance and twisty plots.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter


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A Wonderful Conclusion – The Price of Paradise by C S Johnson @C_S_Johnson13

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The Price of Paradise by C S Johnson is the finale to the Divine Space Pirates trilogy.

The Price of Paradise (The Divine Space Pirates #3)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

The end is near and when the final sentence was read, I was content with the ending of The Divine Space Pirates in The Price of Paradise by C S Johnson.

The clash of family and characters with strong personalities flare and the final battle of the war will be set in motion. I can guess at a lot of what is to come, but the most important thing has me stumped…how will they save Earth from themselves?

Hope. Man’s eternal optimism. Life will go on. And then I thought of a line from Jurassic Park, “Life will find a way,” says Jeff Goldblum. In reality, as in fiction, it reeks of truth.

Can your biggest enemy become your friend? Can hatred be overcome?

The national narrative had focused so much on surviving that it forgot about living. This is one of those stories that give rise to what ifs. So many realistic scenarios spun from our past history that carry a ring of truth, with plenty of fiction so things work out like I want them too.

All the characters grow and develop through each book and many become warm loving people who will stand strong with guns and fists to fight for their freedom. I loved the world created. It is books like The Divine Space Pirates that makes me wonder what the future holds for us. Ecologically, suffering the politicians, big business corruption, greed…I could go on, but you know what I’m talking about.

I am very satisfied with the ending.and love that C S Johnson included an epilogue. Puts the cherry on top.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Price of Paradise by C S Johnson

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Aerie and Exton are still at war with the Revolutionary States, but there is much to celebrate. Now that they are together again, Aerie finally has what she’s always wanted: A loving home. But her past, and her parents, are far from letting her move on with her new life. When Merra further escalates the war with her treachery, Aerie is faced with an impossible choice: Save her mother, or betray Exton.

Years after his father’s murder, Exton finally has the killer at his mercy. But General St. Cloud has a surprise for him—the truth about Silas’s death. While Exton struggles with the ghosts of his past, his allies face dire threats at Panama, where a battle has ensued over a shipment of weapons. The stakes are raised even higher as the dictator of the fair world himself, Grant Osgood, launches the GPI, his Global Planethood Initiative, in hopes of finishing off the Perdition and demolishing the defectors’ hopes for liberty.

With the fate of the planet on the line, Aerie and Exton know each of their decisions could mean the difference between victory and defeat. Can they pay the price that war—and true love—demands?

C.S. Johnson

ABOUT C S JOHNSON

C. S. Johnson is the author of several young adult novels, including sci-fi and fantasy adventures such as the Starlight Chronicles series, the Once Upon a Princess saga, and the Divine Space Pirates trilogy. With a gift for sarcasm and an apologetic heart, she currently lives in Atlanta with her family. Find out more at http://www.csjohnson.me.

Blog  /  Twitter

MY C S JOHNSON REVIEWS

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Giveaway – Bad Luck Charlie by Scott Baron @QuipShot @XpressoTours

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Bad Luck Charlie
Scott Baron
(The Dragon Mage, #1)
Publication date: March 15th 2019
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Charlie Gault had all the luck. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the good kind.

It was looking like Lady Luck had quite a grudge against him. In fact, at this point merely crashing the multi-billion-dollar ship he had helped design would have felt like winning the lottery compared to his current dilemma. If only he were so lucky.

Things had started off all right––that is, until a freak wormhole unexpectedly swallowed his ship, leaving him stranded on an unknown planet far, far from home. With the crew’s lives at stake, Charlie had no choice but to stop his whining, put on his big boy pants, and step up to save them all, and much to his surprise, it actually looked like he might succeed. Of course, that was when things really went sideways in ways that made merely crashing on an uncharted planet seem like a walk in the park.

Suddenly faced with alien space pirates, talking dragons, and something that seemed very much like magic, Charlie found himself adrift, feeling like a space age Robinson Crusoe––only his man Friday was a blue-skinned alien, and this wasn’t just a desert island. It was a whole new galaxy.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

“Starboard heat shield seven is gone!” Charlie called out as calmly as he could over the din of their ship more or less tearing apart. He was going to carry out his duties like a professional if it was the last thing he’d do, and the way things were going, it was starting to look like it might be.

“Copy that.” Captain Reynard bellowed over the noise. “Gaspari, redirect the primary debris shield to cover as much of starboard seven as possible. Pull power from wherever you have to!”

Rika Gaspari, his second-in-command began frantically throwing switches, inverting the power flows, her hands a blur of activity as she carried out her orders. The ship’s rattling lessened, but did not cease.

“Still low on power, Captain. The atmosphere has some powerful radiologic properties that are wreaking havoc with our phase shielding. I don’t know if it’s going to be enough.”

“Then pull power from life support.”

“Sir? Won’t we need that?” Charlie asked as he struggled to keep the engines from redlining into critical and blowing them all to hell.

“Not if we don’t survive atmospheric entry. First things first. Right now, getting down in one piece is the most important one,” the captain replied.

Rika did as she was ordered. A moment later the crew felt the ever-present breeze of recirculating air that moved about them cease. It was something they were so familiar with that they didn’t even notice its presence until it was abruptly gone.

“Done, Captain,” Gaspari announced, her close-cropped hair sticking to her damp forehead. “Twenty seconds until we clear the exosphere.”

“Copy that. Jamal, are you suited up?” the captain asked over internal comms.

“Affirmative, Captain,” he replied. “Prepped and standing by with backup fire suppression.”

The chief of security and emergency services had geared up the moment things began to sway out of parameters, which was just before they were unceremoniously sucked through a massive wormhole and spat out Lord knew where. His foresight was a good thing. It was looking like things were about to get a whole lot worse.

The ship bucked and tossed, its hull glowing bright orange as the edges of the strange world’s atmosphere pummeled it with brutal intensity. It was a rough ride in command. Captain Reynard knew the rest of his crew were being subjected to a vicious beating in their compartments. He just hoped they had strapped in. They launched with twenty-four living crew aboard, and he planned to keep it that way.

The command module’s power flickered and dimmed.

“Losing primary power,” Gaspari said.

“I see it,” Charlie replied, already in motion, rushing from his seat to the door to the adjacent engineering compartment just off the bridge.

His team in main engineering down below would keep the reactors powered up. It was his job to keep that power flowing to the controls during flight.

Smoke greeted him as he manually opened the door with the backup access crank tucked into the wall panel.

“We got a fire?” Reynard asked, sniffing the air.

“Negative, Captain. Just some blown circuits and overloaded wires,” Charlie replied as he stuck his head in and surveyed the damage.

The room was small, just row upon row of circuit racks and relays. A harness chair sat in front of a work bench, never before used. Of course, for the maiden flight of the ship, why would it have been.

“The damage looks relatively minimal,” Charlie informed them. “Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll have it sorted.”

“We don’t have a couple of minutes.”

“I’m on it. Let me know when the main control power surges normalize and level out.”

Without another word, he slid through the narrow gap he’d opened in the door and set to work. The blown circuits were the easiest to repair, and luckily the most vital as well. The smoldering wires nearby––while important––were not crucial to staying aloft.

“Powering off navs and switching your panels to emergency reserve. Nobody touch anything until I say so. We’re already maxing the load,” he yelled out through the door.

Melted circuits went flying, his nimble fingers quickly replacing them with the backups stored in neatly-arranged cases mounted to the wall nearby. A mere thirty seconds after he began, he called out to the others once more.

“Okay, we’re good. It’s powered back up. Test the system.”

Captain Reynard feathered the controls. The ship responded as well as could be expected given the circumstances.

“Controls are functional. Gaspari, how are secondary navs and telemetry?”

“We’re limping, but it should be enough,” she replied.

“Okay, we’re good. Get out of there, Charlie.”

“Just a sec, Captain. I need to swap a few wires and reroute some of this charge so we don’t fry everything if there’s another power surge. It’ll just take me a minute.”

“Can it wait?”

“It can, but it shouldn’t.”

“All right, then. But be quick. We may have to make a much more abrupt landing than would be ideal.”

“Believe me, the last place I want to be is stuck in here,” he replied, setting to work.

He had just replaced the first of the failing wires when the ship bucked and slammed him into the wall, the emergency protocols sealing the re-powered door shut with him inside. He frantically clawed for the crank handle, but the turbulence was too much. Miraculously, he was thrown backwards––right into the harness chair. The back of the chair, that is.

Gotta get strapped in, he realized with a desperate grunt as his body switched from weightless to crushing Gs as the ship lurched and dove.
Charlie slammed into the ceiling with a rude crunch, held weightless a moment, hovering just out of reach of anything from which to push off, then was thrown to the floor, pinned by the G-force.

The pressure relented for a moment, allowing him to breathe. Charlie ignored the pain racking his body and dragged himself into the harness chair and strapped in snugly, and not a moment too soon, as the ship flipped upside down, then dove in a tight spiral.

Stuck in the memory foam chair, Charlie cried out, then fell silent as the pressure of the mounting G-force drove the blood from his head, rendering him unconscious.

He wouldn’t remember the crash. But he would never forget the aftermath, nor the folly that had led up to it.

Author Bio:

A native Californian, Scott Baron was born in Hollywood, which he claims may be the reason for his off-kilter sense of humor. Before taking up residence in Venice Beach, he spent a few years studying abroad before settling into the film and television industry, where he has worked off and on for some time. Scott not only writes, but is also involved in indie film and theater both in the U.S. and abroad.

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Giveaway – The Waking Forest by Alyssa Wees @AlyssaWees @The_FFBC

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I find trees, woods and forest so captivating that I often doodle ‘dead’ tress on napkins, receipts, anything handy. I am so happy to be a part of The Waking Foresst tour. Lovin’ the fabulous cover!

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Waking Forest by Alyssa Wees

Publisher: Delacorte

Release Date: March 12th 2019

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis:

Pan’s Labyrinth meets The Hazel Wood in this novel about a girl with terrifying visions and a wish-granting witch whose lives collide in the most unexpected of ways.

The waking forest has secrets. To Rhea, it appears like a mirage, dark and dense, at the very edge of her backyard. But when she reaches out to touch it, the forest vanishes. She’s desperate to know more–until she finds a peculiar boy who offers to reveal its secrets. If she plays a game.

To the Witch, the forest is her home, where she sits on her throne of carved bone, waiting for dreaming children to beg her to grant their wishes. One night, a mysterious visitor arrives and asks her what she wishes for, but the Witch sends him away. And then the uninvited guest returns.

The strangers are just the beginning. Something is stirring in the forest, and when Rhea’s and the Witch’s paths collide, a truth more treacherous and deadly than either could ever imagine surfaces. But how much are they willing to risk to survive?

BOOK LINKS

TOUR SCHEDULE

Blog tour schedule link: https://fantasticflyingbookclub.blogspot.com/2019/02/tour-schedule-waking-forest-by-alyssa.html

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

In between training in ballet and watching lots of Disney movies, Alyssa grew up writing stories starring her Beanie Babies. She earned a BA in English from Creighton University and an MFA in Fiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago. Currently she works as an assistant librarian in youth services at an awesome public library. She lives in the Chicagoland area with her husband and their two cats.

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Giveaway – Drop Dead Gorgeous by Donald Allen Kirch @Storywriter1967 @SDSXXTours

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Drop Dead Gorgeous
by Donald Allen Kirch
Genre: Horror
1# Wished for High Tech Science Fiction Novel in Japan!
The Sensational #1 All-Star Bestselling Kindle Novel!
“Would you like to hear a story?”
The man couldn’t help himself. His captor was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her powerful eyes held his attention and made him forget that she had him confined in a basement; his hands and feet bound with duct tape. His heart raced as he meekly nodded his head ‘yes’ to the question.
After getting past the terror and discomfort, he reasoned that there was nothing to worry about. He would be missed. He had loved ones who would call the police. All he had to do was wait. Letting this woman tell him a story was as good a stall as any.
The mysterious woman weaved a tale of betrayed love and unwanted, unnatural experiments placed upon her. Of a loving wife, working on a top secret government program. Of a husband searching for love in all the wrong places. The prisoner couldn’t believe what he was being told. A descent into insanity, fueled by a jealous rage, ended with using the tools of science for torture and revenge.
With every blink of her lovely eyes, licking of her full lips, and heaving of her perfect breasts, the captor entertained a story most bizarre. Of a woman bent on teaching her cheating husband a lesson.
The prisoner wondered….”Am I next?”
DONALD ALLEN KIRCH lives in The United States of America. He is an avid reader of history, Sherlock Holmes Mysteries, the paranormal, and is a “hardcore” Doctor Who fan. After spending two weekends in the famous “Sallie House,” a “haunted house” in Atchison, Kansas, he is one of the only authors of his craft who can claim to have been attacked by a ghost!
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  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
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