Tag Archives: Goddess Fish Promotions

Giveaway – Witchslayer’s Scion by L T Getty @GoddessFish

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I love a ‘morally grey protagonist’. I love villains. I think it makes it more interesting…and real. It’s not like we don’t need a little help and redemption at times. Besides, who are we to judge? So, let’s see what L T Getty has to share about her characters.

Morally Grey Protagonists?

               I grew up reading stories about heroes and villains, where things were not clear cut that the hero was perfect but there were definitive light and dark sides. Somewhere along the lines, the stories that claimed that they were for a more adult audience started to blur the lines of hero and villain. I didn’t mind it, because so long as the hero didn’t cross the line and had some redemptive qualities, I could still cheer for them.

               Suddenly reading more ‘mature’ stories meant more nuanced themes and ideas. I didn’t mind unreliable narrators, and even stories where there were no heroes. Perhaps the most honest among these is William Makepeace Thackery’s Vanity Fair. Its subtitle is A Novel without a Hero. It’s satire but not in the way you think.

               But what makes a hero?  I suppose we should define some terms.

               A Hero in the modern sense, is probably a loaded term. For the sake of this article, I will define as someone who at least attempts to do good. We’re not here to talk subversions, so I don’t want to hear about how much Hero A sucks at it. A Villain conversely, is someone who attempts to do bad. There are many, many many subversions of these tropes, and there’s no way I can go over all of them in any brief article. The fact that I had to define these terms speaks volumes, but let’s focus.

               A Protagonist is the center of the story. The antagonist is the person or force that opposes the actions of the protagonist.

               Up until recently, in most stories, we follow a heroic protagonist.  Think of most renditions of Cinderella or The Ugly Duckling. In more modern renditions of stories, we tend to flesh out the characters, or tell the story from a different perspective. My favourite novel, Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis, tells the story from a villain protagonist. Lewis also pinned The Screwtape Letters, which was literally advice from one demon to another, whereas Till We Have Faces paints the character of Orual as incredibly sympathetic, but also completely in the wrong by the end of the tale.

               I’ve done villain protagonists. Dreams of Mariposa, Marie is a villain, and I didn’t want the audience to think she was the victim or somehow loveable, so much as delve into an extremely narcissistic mindset. I’ve written heroic characters; Daphne from The Mermaid and the Unicorns is jealous and stubborn, but she’s also brave and loyal, and grows from her mistakes. I’d say that Marie is a very flawed villain, and Daphne is a flawed heroine.

               What about the morally grey characters?

               When I was doing research for this article, I stumbled across why Heroic Fantasy deviated from Sword and Sorcery. I always assumed that Sword and Sorcery were referring to elements in the story, like sword and sandal (Vaguely historical romanish stories) or Sword and Gun (John Carter Space Opera). Turns out it was to deviate from the legacy of morally compromised protagonists common in sword and sorcery. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroic_fantasy )

               Although comics, movies, and other adaptations didn’t always stay true to the original, I grew up reading Conan the Barbarian shorts, and there’s plenty of stories where Conan gets himself into a situation because he’s blatantly there to steal something or do something that would land him up in the local jail. He takes up with pirates, isn’t shy on killing, and has been attributed to an awful lot of ravishing. He’s still an incredibly iconic hero that has stood the test of time.

               Why the morally grey heroes in Sword and Sorcery tales? In my opinion, sometimes stories lean better towards characters who might not be on the up and up in their society. There are certain situations that have to get pretty convoluted for a Lawful Good Hero go find himself in.

               I found this with my novel Tower of Obsidian. Kale gets betrayed by his lord’s men and they set out to sea to hide from the wrath of said lord, where they are attacked by drougr and Kale’s captors become captive themselves, and thus the adventure truely kicks off. I’m not calling Kale a morally perfect hero, far from it, but he’s also not the sort of person who’d go sailing off into contested waters. The drougr are looking for warriors and rough men to send to the tower; they don’t typically have access to people like Kale.

               I for one don’t like to think of people as morally complex but inherently flawed – even paragons of virtue probably should have a testing point or a weakness, and it’s ultimately their actions, and not their motives, that make them heroes or villains in the story. As a writer, I eventually have to take a side in a conflict, even if it’s “Hey, you’re all awful”. That doesn’t mean that I have to make the answers easy.

               For instance, in Witchslayer’s Scion, one of the major issues in the growing empire of Tenagee is that these conquered territories aren’t happy being ruled by people who aren’t from their island or culture. Yes, the Imperium is conquering the islands and sometimes they treat the natives pretty terribly. BUT they are also bringing in trade between the communities, and establishing a form of law that protects women and children. YES, the islanders are right to want to control their own futures, BUT the people who tend to rise to power tend to be the sort who use people and will sell their own people out to better their own positions.

               To me, the morally grey area is the situation which a given character is faced with making a decision in which there is no right answer. I love well-written characters who are upstanding moral citizens to which I inspire. The problem is that, when I was a younger writer they were difficult to write well. I think it depends on the audience, but in general most readers want a main character who is relatable, and even if they’re not perfect, understandable, and if they’re a villain, motivations that the reader can understand or even sympathize with.

               In short, I don’t think a character has to be capable of stealing but not of murder to be morally grey. I think the vast majority of characters in fiction need to be realized, and that includes flaws. It’s not such a bad thing as the vast majority of characters in modern fiction overcome their flaws and grow as people. An upright person, with a teeny tiny tint of darkness, could still be considered grey by this standard, but it’s ultimately their actions in spite of of these flaws that differentiate the heroes from the villains.

I loved the article and it only makes me want to check out your characters more. Thanks so much, LT.

Witchslayer’s Scion by L.T. Getty

GENRE:   Sword and Sorcery/Fantasy

BLURB

Koth’s life was decided for him since before he was born, for his ability to heal wounds by touch is rare even among his people. When an attempted kidnapping turns to sacrificial murder, he embraces vengeance and the sword. As he journeys far from his small isolated village in the north, he learns the truth as to why his bloodline is targeted by strange magic, in a world still rebuilding from a time when dark sorcerers didn’t bother with secrecy.

Koth thinks his quest is straightforward enough–find the men responsible, and kill them–and any who aid them. He will soon learn that those who have both privilege and power, there are few things they lack–and in the pursuit of godhood, their allies can prove even more sinister as mere mortals seek to advent empires and dynasties.

EXCERPT

“Something’s wrong,” Una said. “Koth, wait here.”

“Why?” If there was a problem, she should be waiting outside for him.

He sensed inside, his aunt’s thoughts remained hidden from him. Una shouted, and he ran inside the building. He thought there were lights on inside, but he saw no candles.

The tea house was very dark, and he felt a sudden dread—he wanted to leave. Baro barked from the outside. ~Una!~  he thought, before something hit his neck.

He knew at once it was a poison dart, and ripping it out he tried to smell what it was. Seeing metal reflect moonlight and he moved his hand, his skin cut. Moving instinctively out of the way, his next reaction was to purge the toxin that coursed through his body and tried to understand the wound. It was mostly his forearm, deep but he could still use it, the bone unaffected. He’d do a better healing later. He focused on something not unlike a burn before going for the knife at his hip. Striking 85 in the next liquid motion, Koth realized he was attacking his aunt.

She grabbed onto his injured flesh and seared it, destroying, weakening the sinew and the cartilage and causing it to age and die, following up the bloodstream, to find the heart and kill. Koth tried to brace; he couldn’t heal and keep her at bay. He was physically stronger and much heavier, but she was weakening his muscles. He tried to wrench the knife from her.

He knocked the blade to the ground then tried to lock minds with her to find nothing short of blinding pain take him over, wrestling him to the ground and making him drop his knife. She took the dagger and when he tried to force himself up, a familiar sense washed over him. Magic, but not coming from Una.

“Do not kill him yet,” Yeshbel said, “we will bleed him first.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links

L.T. Getty is a rural paramedic from Manitoba. She enjoys writing science fiction and fantasy and generally being creative.

Author Links: My Blog: https://ltgetty.ca/

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Giveaway – Descent Into Darkness by Zanne Raby @GoddessFish

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Seeing I am such a cover hound, I thought it would be interesting to get Zanne Raby’s take on the cover for Descent Into Darkness. It sure is colorful and intriguing, making me want to know what is happening. Welcome Zanne.

Subject: Discuss your cover 

Hello All! I’m really excited at being featured as a guest author on the Fundinmental blog and I’d like to thank Cheryl for inviting me to write about the cover of my latest novel, Descent into Darkness, the second book in the sci-fi/ space opera series, “The Chronicles of Deneb”. Since I’m working on a series I’d like to begin with a little background to set the scene.

Let’s jump forward to the year 2080 CE. In the sixty years separating us from the characters in my series, humanity has just about ignored every little bit of science related to our climate catastrophe and allowed our beautiful planet to plunge into decay. Politicians and big multinational companies wore blinders over the decades that resulted in droughts, famine, and mass migration. But rather than own the problem, the developed world manned the guns and doubled down on isolationism. That’s not all folks, because NASA, the European Space Agency and ROSCOSMOS banded together and created the Space Ark Project – three massive shuttles that were built to be the saviors of the human species. Except in 2080, that’s not what’s really going on. When Dr. Daniel Radu, the project manager of the United States of North American’s Space Ark Project, overhears the truth he decides that he’s not going to take it lying down. He didn’t get to be one of the best astronomical engineers on Earth by twiddling his thumbs after all. Daniel arranges for his team to take control of the Space Ark Mayflower and off they go, leaving the rotting planet and the even rottener politicians behind while they rocket through space and on to their destination: Deneb7. Now fast forward three years to 2083 CE and let’s catch up with the crew in the second novel of the series, Descent into Darkness, where they try to integrate into Denebian society. Little did the intrepid space travellers realize that the desert planet was populated until their arrival and by then, it was too late. The war-like denizens of Deneb sent out a greeting party and you can just imagine that things didn’t go so well for the crew. The refugees try their best to integrate with their new neighbours. But what do you know, the humans bring along some unintended guests in the form of a deadly disease that begins to blaze through the local population. With Denebians dying like flies, a lack of communication and a series of misunderstandings spark off a deadly planet-wide conflict. The cover of Descent into Darkness is a reflection of this. The fires of war blaze in the background while one of the powerful warbirds descends through the roiling clouds of smoke to bring battle to the enemy. The entire planet is ablaze and I tried to capture that on the cover bThanky portraying mushrooming clouds of greasy orange smoke billowing up from the ashes of destruction. Above it all, isolated from the carnage, is one of the weapons of annihilation. There, high above the wreckage and safe in their warbird, a pilot is about to make their descent. High above the planet’s ravaged surface they soar, unseeing of the destruction they unleashed on the city below, unaware of the carnage they wrought that extinguished thousands of lives. The title of the novel, “Descent into Darkness”, alludes not only to the actual massacre of the population and destruction of the planet exacted by the war on Deneb, but also of the moral abyss into which the characters find themselves falling. In the novel’s cover, I’ve tried to distill some of the more important elements of the plot to incorporate them into the cover. If you want to dive into the depths of Deneb, why not to pick up a copy of Descent in

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. Happy to have you here, Zanne.

Descent Into Darkness by Zanne Raby

GENRE:   Science-Fiction / Space-Opera

BLURB

Descent into Darkness: Mayhem follows the Mayflower in the second book of The Chronicles of Deneb series. Journey along with the crew of the Space Ark Mayflower as they adapt to their new home on the planet Deneb. But along with their struggle to integrate into an alien culture, a new battle sweeps across the planet with the arrival of the human-transmitted Chimera bactovirus, bringing war and fanning the flames of racial intolerance. With a bloody conflict raging across the planet, the crew of the Mayflower is split between the two factions and embroiled in the chaos and destruction. Descend with the crew into darkness, where the only survivors of a global war will be on the right side of the border.

EXCERPT

“Pallav? You alright?” Tara’s voice broke him from his reverie and he pasted on a phony smile.

“Sorry darling, I was a million light years away. I’ll be fine,” he promised. Sweat trickled down his back in the unrelenting heat of the Denebian day, his disruptive pattern shirt already sticking to his body as he shrugged into his rucksack.

“Daddy, I’m gonna miss you.” The chirpy sing-song voice of little Jolanta gave him cause to smile at the child as she held out her arms to him. Swooping her up, Pallav dropped a kiss on the little girl’s rosy brown cheek, her eyes glistening with tears.

“And I’m going to miss you too, little one.” Hugging the orphaned girl to his chest, he burrowed his face into the cloud of dark hair that was as soft as a feather before pinching her cheek and gently setting her down. Guilt pierced his heart at the sad resigned look on the child’s face. Had it not been for him, Jolanta would be snug as a bug with her biological parents and not in lockdown high above the capital city living with a pair of humans.

Poor little thing… she’s known so much loss in her short life, he thought. Surrounded by death as the human Chimera bactovirus raged across Deneb, Jolanta had been cruelly abandoned by her mother after Tara retrieved the fallen child from the cobblestoned marketplace in the centre of the capital city. He could still picture his wife walking through the door with the tiny tot in tow. Shocked, surprised, but then captivated, Pallav let the child into his heart. It wasn’t like his two teenagers wanted him around anymore. No, Luke and Isabella were busy chartering their own course in the Wessel world with Gomalan insisting that they attend the best boarding school in the nation.

Taking advantage of his position, Pallav had initiated a thorough search for Jolanta’s parents only to get confirmation that they were amongst the thousands in Styria who had succumbed to the pandemic. Since her arrival, the young orphan had been his little shadow, never leaving his side, following the big man’s movements with her luminous opalescent eyes. He smiled inwardly at the thought of Jolanta climbing into her little cot and begging her new daddy for a bedtime story. Guilt-ridden he realized that he’d miss her more than his own children who were so immersed in their new lives that even their weekly holotalks were rushed and awkward. Laughing at himself, Pallav knew he was totally under the child’s spell.

“I promise to be back in time for market day, so no tears, okay?” Taking the little urchin’s chin in his hands, Pallav stared into her eyes. “And you have a promise to make to me too young lady, don’t you?” The little brown head nodded up and down, serious eyes acknowledging the responsibility her adopted father had assigned to her.

AUTHOR Bio and Links

Since the days of the Napoleonic War, there has always been a member of Zanne’s family in uniform. Choosing to follow in the footsteps of her ancestors, Zanne joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1980, and was selected to attend the Royal Military College of Canada – the first year that women were accepted into that prestigious academy of learning. After graduation, she studied to become a Transportation and Movements Officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

During a career spanning 38 years, some of the most memorable experiences involved command of 8 Mission Support Squadron as part of Joint Task Force Afghanistan, leading a study on support to the Canadian Arctic involving several trips to Northern Canada, including Canadian Forces Station Alert (the most northern settlement in the world), a three–year tour with NATO at Joint Force Command Brunssum, a deployment as the NATO Liaison Officer to United States Central Command, and finally a nomination as the Deputy Commander for the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group.

After hanging up the uniform and putting away the combat boots, Zanne bought a small acreage in Central Ontario and designed her own house. With an office overlooking the picturesque shores of Georgian Bay, surrounded by maps and images of alien worlds, she is pursuing her life-long ambition to become an author. Enough of the reports and returns that littered her desk over her career, now she could turn her attention to unleashing the creativity that had taken a back seat to the analytical world of logistics. The time had come to shake the dust off and begin a new career. The winds of change had called.

Zanne is currently crafting The Chronicles of Deneb, a sci-fi series that will take the reader from a dystopian earth on a voyage across the galaxy in search of a safe haven. But the planets the team discover provide anything but the sanctuary they sought. In her spare time, Zanne enjoys travel, photography, hiking, and gardening. And always, a good story to pass the time.

Connect with Zanne Raby

Buy Descent Into Darkness                 

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Giveaway – Shadows Of Time by Jackie Meekums Hales @jackieihales @GoddessFish

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I am happy to be hosting Shadows Of Time and having Jackie here to share her thoughts.

Guest post – The World of Shadows of Time – the significance of the settings

I lived in a village in Yorkshire, so it was natural for me to begin my novel there. Most of the farmers have retired and sold land for building, so when June brings Cathy back to the small-holding or Bob goes in search of the house his mother lived in, new housing reflects what was happening around me. It was somewhere people like June were rooted, generations having lived in the same place.

Wickham Hall needed some explanation. When I wrote the novel, I was an English writer, writing for an English audience. It hadn’t occurred to me that someone from across the Atlantic would be unfamiliar with the label “Hall”. I had to give it a specific name, so that it was more obvious that it was a mansion. To me, it was very familiar. In the next village was one at the centre of the school I taught in. I borrowed the fountain and rose garden, and stags’ heads eyes following Cathy round the reception area. I borrowed the grand staircase, which I’d walked up and down to lessons. Many such buildings have become hotels in this country, but they only exist because of the social hierarchy of the past. The Hall reflects change over time, but the permanence of memories.

I opened the novel in Scarborough, Yorkshire, a typical English seaside, not known for being always sunny and warm! My husband and I visited on a hot day, and the description of the crowds on the beach formed itself in my head, as we rode the open-topped bus along the sea front and ate fish and chips at our favourite seafood restaurant. The original version of what I saw that day wasn’t part of a novel, but I wove it into the beginning and end, as the story began to form itself in my head. It did need some explanation, when my editor couldn’t quite picture the way the fishing boats and pleasure boats are all in the same harbour, and there were definitely no sail boats out on the North Sea on a typical English day. The boats are just opposite the amusement arcade, right next to the sandy beach, and the funfair is at one end of the south bay. We had a Zoom meeting, and I was able to show a photograph that won’t be in the book, but readers from overseas might need to Google Scarborough! The mock pirate ship really does take people out for a pleasure ride, and the lighthouse really is there. Peasholm Park is a real park, visited many times. I wanted to capture a place where people were enjoying themselves, so that the opening hinted at what was to come and the end brought us back there, on a positive note.

Because I was thinking about the ways in which a mother could experience the loss of a child, I included the fact that Cathy emigrated to Australia. My own daughter emigrated, with her family, so this was a loss I knew. I’d visited Australia twice, so the bits of Perth I describe are what I’d seen for myself, for example the children running in and out of the fountain and the seat at Point Walter, with its profound dedication to the “lost generation”. Cathy is not my daughter, but I could use her as a vehicle for the experience of being a mother of a child who emigrates. I wanted to represent all those mothers who, like me, couldn’t tell the world how it felt.

The other location I used in the novel is Cornwall, in the south-west tip of this island. When I created Maggie’s pilot, I was reminded of my own father’s time in the RAF during the Second World War. I went to Cornwall on holiday, so that I could go and pay tribute to those who served where he did, at a place called St Eval. It was during this trip that I was struck by the timelessness of the rocks off the shore, and this gave rise to the photo on the cover of the book. They’d seen so much, including my father standing where I stood. Echoes of the past were all around me. I gathered together ideas for characters and plot over about two years, the places seeming to acquire a significance of their own, as they embodied both timelessness and time passing.

Thanks for sharing, Jackie. Good luck with the tour.

Shadows of Time by Jackie Meekums-Hales

GENRE: Women’s Fiction

BLURB

Maggie’s daughter, Cathy, is a successful business woman in Australia. After the failure of a relationship and her mother’s death, she returns to England for the funeral, hoping to rekindle her childhood sense of carefree life in the Yorkshire countryside. She is confronted by revelations about Maggie’s tragic past, which has a legacy of loss overshadowing her family’s  present and future. As Cathy and her sister June unravel the truth, her mother’s story unfolds in a flashback to 1945. Life for the young Maggie before they were born reflects the world of mid-century attitudes towards women who dared to have a baby out of wedlock. The illusion of the Maggie her daughters knew is dispelled.

Meanwhile, two young women explore family history, and fate takes a hand. Three families are linked through coincidences and circumstances they did not know they shared. Cathy must decide how far, and for what reasons, she allows herself to live in the shadows of the past.

EXCERPT

The wind was roaring down the side of the house and through the chimney, and the daffodils were bending their heads in submission. It might be nearly spring, but that news did not seem to have reached the village yet. The smell of burning wood always brought back memories of bonfires at the bottom of the garden. Cathy’s thoughts lingered on bonfire nights at the farm next door, when the children had ridden down to the middle field on bales of hay on a trailer pulled by an old tractor. How simple everything seemed then.

Cathy sensed that June’s tense shoulders meant she was steeling herself for something unpleasant. Cathy was busy trying to work out how to ask her what was wrong, when suddenly, staring into the flames, June announced, “We may have to sell the house, you know.”

Cathy heard the words but didn’t believe she had. “What?”

“We may have to sell the house. The solicitor phoned today about the reading of Mum’s will. The house may not be ours, Cathy. We may have to move.”

“WHAT?”

“Stop saying what! It seems that someone has appeared out of nowhere since Mum died. Something about someone else being entitled to something. I don’t know the details. I’ve been dreading telling you, and I didn’t want to say anything in front of the twins.”

“How on earth could that be? I don’t believe it! There can’t be anyone else, can there? There must be a mistake!” She felt the cosy, comfy world she had come back to claim crumbling to ashes and dust.

AUTHOR Bio and Links

Jackie is a member of the Society of Authors, whose debut novel Shadows of Time was the fulfilment of an ambition nurtured during her working life as a teacher, inspired by her research into her own and others’ family histories. She has been writing as a hobby since childhood, contributing to poetry anthologies since her undergraduate days and being a Poetry Guild national semi-finalist in the 1990s. She has also written short stories for friends, family and students. Since retiring, she has contributed to Poetry Archive Now (2020), with 20-20 Vision, uploaded to YouTube, and has had poetry and flash fiction published online by Flash Fiction North. One of her flash fictions is to appear in an anthology, having been selected from entries during the Morecambe Festival  2021. She had a creative memoir, Shelf Life, published by Dear Damsels in 2019, a precursor to collaborating with her sister on a creative non-fiction memoir Remnants of War, published in 2021. She writes a blog about her walks and thoughts in the Yorkshire and Somerset countryside.

  • Twitter https://mobile.twitter.com/jackieihales
  • Blog: https://jottingjax.wordpress.com/
  • Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/128512053-jacqueline-hales
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jackie-Meekums-Hales-103410038936426/news_feed
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Giveaway – The Next Witness by Kirstyn Petras @GoddessFish

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I want to welcome Kirstyn Petras to fundinmental to share her thoughts about characters. Love ’em or hate ’em, they need to draw us into their lives.

One of the interesting, and slightly tricky things about writing unreliable/disagreeable narrators is finding enough in them to make readers like them enough to care, but also have a healthy distaste for their flaws. Anti-heroes are very fun to write and create, to have a combination of sympathy and odiousness to keep the story interesting. A mentality of “it’s okay if they’re hurt, but maybe don’t?”

            Balancing Melody in The Next Witness is my best example of this. In the writing process, I had conflicting advice from beta readers – some that wanted to enhance her more asshole characteristics, and others that wanted to enhance her good qualities. But, I enjoyed the discussion because it was a reflection of her role within the story as well. Is she weak, vulnerable, and innocent? Or the leader of a movement that allows its members to die without a second thought? Should readers care about her fate? Absolutely. But with the acknowledgment that she is a deeply flawed human, not wholly good or bad, just a product of a very cold, claustrophobic environment.

            Derek is similar, he is not a genius, he places himself in an environment in which he realizes, too late, he has no control over. Alexander is absolutely responsible for his actions, but he is also attempting to survive and advance in a society that has drilled certain expectations of his behavior into his head.

            It’s so easy to vilify or glorify. Writing this book was a chance to explore the layers in between, and I hope readers feel the same.

Thanks so much for visiting Kirsyan. I love this simple cover. Says so much with so little.

The Next Witness by Kirstyn Petras

GENRE: Thriller

BLURB

Alexander Covington is hunting a traitor: Melody Karsh, a missing girl accused of treason, a Party member who has forsaken her country. But, letters are appearing in mailboxes, being slipped beneath doors, and in the pockets of passersby. “Free Melody” is being spray painted on walls. Her image – cold, shivering, pathetic – has captured the public’s attention and sympathy.

Melody has no idea that her name is being used to start a movement, not until the executions of those demanding her freedom start airing on television.

Derek Lin would feel sympathy, if he didn’t blame Melody for the deaths of those who have disappeared without a trace, caught up in the investigation to find her.

Melody must choose to join the fight or stand aside. Derek will become a leader or break under the pressure. Alexander will decide how many bodies must fall to save his own life.

EXCERPT

“Well, we thank you very much, Detective Covington, for your time and encourage the public to cooperate fully. And now, a word from our sponsors.”

“Clear!” Morgan called, and Covington stood up. He ripped the microphone off his blazer, and, without a word, strode out of the studio. Morgan started screaming the second he was out of earshot.

“Do you want us shut down?! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!”

“Morgan, what is he going to do?” Denise asked, leaning back. “Look, he didn’t want me to ask a question, and I did anyway. They never actually announce stories like this. I wanted to know why – how far she could have gotten – the fact he didn’t answer doesn’t make that look good, does it?”

Morgan gaped at her, before returning to the mixing booth. Derek followed her and peeked over her shoulder to watch the playback.

There, on the screen, were the pictures of the so-called terrorists. And there was her picture. She’d been at the bar, waiting for Sean, however long ago. He’d seen her picture, the background of Sean’s phone, heard Sean talk about her, mope about her, drink himself stupid over her.

“We have a problem.” He muttered to Morgan.

“What?” Morgan jumped, not having seen him following her. “Why?”

AUTHOR Bio and Links

Kirstyn Petras is a fiction writer and commodities reporter but primarily identifies as caffeine in a human suit held together by hair spray and sheer force of will. She currently resides in Texas, though claims home as a combination of New York and Edinburgh. When not writing, she trains contortion and aerial hoop. She has been published in Punk Noir, and is the co-host of Dark Waters, a literary podcast exploring all that is dark, ready, and wonderfully twisted.

Website / Twitter

a Rafflecopter giveaway Follow the tour and comment. The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. Follow the tour HERE.

  • 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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  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Giveaway – The Royal Fifth by James Peyton @GoddessFish

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The Royal Fifth by James Peyton

GENRE: Adventure Thriller

NOTE: The book is on sale for $0.99

BLURB

The Royal Fifth: The amount of stolen treasure Conquistadors were supposed to give to the Spanish Crown.

In a world corrupted by its past, what could turn a sensitive artist into a killer?

Young Santa Fe artist, Martín Cortés, is devastated by the deaths of family members and the loss of a huge emerald that once belonged to Hernán Cortés.

Colin Glendaring, a disgraced archeologist with an insatiable passion for pre-Columbian artifacts, is responsible. Martín learns that another family descended from the Spanish Conqueror lives in Oaxaca. Rather than kill Glendaring, he heads south. He discovers an unconventional household that includes Ilhui, a beautiful young woman with a dangerous political agenda.

Martín is stunned when he learns how the family manages to live so well…then alarmed when he discovers that Glendaring is on his way to Oaxaca. Martín and Ilhui are soon accused of murder. On the run, they are betrayed, and Ilhui is kidnapped by a guerilla leader known for recreating grisly Aztec rituals.

With time running out, Martín makes a pact with a ruthless army officer and a crooked federal policeman. Will it be a deal with the devil, or can he do what has to be done to save his new family and love?

EXCERPT

EL PASO, PRESENT TIME

Martín Cortés stood on the pedestrian approach to the international bridge that would take him into Mexico. Through the pollution that daily turned the high-desert air of Ciudad Juárez into a toxic haze, he focused on the nearby vehicle traffic. The U.S.-bound lanes were choked with line after line of barely moving cars and trucks. Turning to the southbound lanes, he watched the sparse traffic moving fast and free.

He looked back at the new-old skyline of downtown El Paso and dwelled for a moment on the tragic events of the last few months. He knew what had happened. Why they’d happened still eluded him. The inner voice that brought him to this place told him all would soon be revealed. And then he wondered: Is that destiny or some karmic trickster? He shook his head. Only time would tell.

Turning again, he raised his eyes to the smog-shrouded sprawl beyond the border where his trip would begin. He had no idea where it would end. He took a deep breath, fished in his pocket for the bridge toll, and resumed his southbound journey.

AUTHOR Bio and Links

Award-winning Author James Peyton infuses his novels with stranger-than-fiction encounters and true-to-life characters based on his extensive travel and research. Realism in his plots and action comes from that background and his experience in martial arts and tactical firearms.

The Royal Fifth is based loosely on historical events surrounding the Conqueror, Hernán Cortés, brought into the present time. It will be followed by a mystery-thriller series featuring federal policeman, Artemas Salcido. Artemas is the illegitimate son of a Mexican governor and his Yaqui servant. Following his mother’s suspicious death, he was sent to be raised by the village priest. He attended Harvard on a scholarship and returned to Mexico vowing to fight corruption—only to receive his real education, where the grade is often life or death.

  • Website: jameswpeyton.com 
  • Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/216986.James_W_Peyton
  • Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/James-W.-Peyton/e/B001K7XKJA
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Giveaway – The Benevolence of New Ideas by Carmela Cattuti @ccattuti @GoddessFish

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The Benevolence of New Ideas by Carmela Cattuti

GENRE: Historical Fiction

BLURB

The satisfying conclusion to Angela Lanza’s story which began in Between the Cracks when she loses her entire family in the earthquake on Sicily following the 1908 eruption of Mt. Etna and continues in The Ascent as she adjusts to life in the United States as a new bride and Italian American immigrant. Now, in the final installment in the trilogy, The Benevolence of New Ideas, thrusts Angela and her family into the heart of the Vietnam War and the turbulent times of the 1970s. As the family matriarch, Angela guides her niece, Marie, through these challenges and the era’s limiting structures of education and organized religion, helping Marie to embrace new ideas and expand her intuition and relationship with the unseen world. Angela’s compassion and wisdom has an exceptional impact on Marie’s life and those around her. A fulfilling ending that celebrates Angela’s wisdom in all things along with her well lived life from tragedy to triumph and from heartbreak to the enduring love of family.

EXCERPT

Angela had cared for Franco during his long illness, and now she was free. The relief she felt made her cringe. How could she so easily feel relief when Franco had suffered? She grieved but was thankful there would be no more concerns about leaving him home alone, or trips to the doctor, or Franco insisting he could perform a task when he couldn’t. He had emigrated from Sicily at age twelve 12 in the early 20th century full of energy and promise. Now, in 1968, Angela looked back and felt he had been successful in fulfilling that promise. Franco had brought Angela, at age eighteen, from the convent orphanage in Palermo, where she had lived since the 1908 earthquake, to a new life in Nelsonville, New York, about forty-five minutes north of Manhattan. It was not the life she thought she would have in America, but what she had created in America she never would have had the opportunity to experience had she stayed in Sicily.

Angela kissed Franco several times on both cheeks and on the lips. The doctors had said it was a matter of time until he would pass away. She could see death hovering and begin to slowly drape his body from his head to his feet as if giving Angela time to say good-bye.

“Adio mio caro,” whispered Angela. “Grazie di tutto.” Tears rolled down her face onto Franco’s cheek and mouth. His eyes were open and fixed, as if peering into the world beyond. She put her hands on the sides of his face and with her thumbs closed his eyes.

AUTHOR Bio and Links

Carmela Cattuti started her writing career as a journalist for the Somerville News in Boston, MA. After she finished her graduate work in English Literature from Boston College she began to write creatively and taught a journal writing course at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. As fate would have it, she felt compelled to write this homage to her great-aunt, who survived the earthquake and eruption of Mt. Etna and bravely left Sicily to start a new life in America.

Between the Cracks and The Ascent began the story, which now concludes with the final book in the trilogy.

Learn more at: CCattutiCreative.com

  • email: cattutic@gmail.com
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carmelacattuticreative/
  • Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@ccattuti
  • Instagram: https://instagram.com/carmelacattuticreative

Purchase Links: The book is on sale for $0.99 during the tour.

Buy Link: Amazon / Henschelhausbook

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Giveaway – Spider Green Series by Norm Harris @GoddessFish

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Spider Green Series by Norm Harris

GENRE: Mystery/Thriller Legal Military

I love the cover for Fruit of the Poisonous Tree by Norm Harris. And, sometimes the characters are to die for, so let’s check out what Norm has in store for us.

* Fierce Female Lead Characters: How to Create Strong Role Models in fiction.

I will begin with a recent review from the second book in the Spider Green Mystery Thriller Series. Arid Sea. The review validates in my mind that I am on the right track with regards to the craft of creating strong, if not fierce, women.

5.0 out of 5 stars Strong female Protagonist.

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2022

This was my first Spider Green mystery thriller. She has many names. I enjoy reading a tale about a strong woman. This one has an equally powerful sister. Yes, there are charming and evil men in their lives. An intriguing and interesting story that kept me turning the pages. I am eager to read more of her adventures. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley.

Fierce females can be found easily in the movies. The Marvel series alone has many of the badass ladies. And not to forget Wonder Woman. Over the top ladies, the characters in our stories do not have to be extraordinary to be authoritative, credible, or notable.

It may be easier for me, a man, to write fierce women because I add male traits to their fiber. I cannot see the world as a woman does, so I rely on editors to put my ladies in the proper light. I will list each character from my four books Spider Green Mystery Thriller Series, with a bio. It may help to understand how this was done. Keep in mind that all of these characters are military females. A male-dominated career choice.

Faydra Green is a Navy lawyer, a JAG, of Judge Advocate General. Her central conflict is that her dad was President of the United States. Fay wonders if any of her achievements were of her own making or if those doors opened to her because of her celbrity status? She proves to be not only intelligent but fearless as well. The female version of James Bond or Clancy’s Jack Ryan. Not superhuman like a superhero, but the no surrender desire is there.

JP is Faydra’s half-sister. Her half ethnicity is native American. J.P. is smart, she is witty, but she has low self-esteem. It is up to her sister to hold up J.P.’s sense of self-worth. Faydra knows it, and the reader can see it as well. J.P. is tall, a kickboxer, and would like to be a fighter pilot. 

Irishka is fierce simply because she is a Russian espionage agent. 

Yet, when I asked the editor which her favorite series character was, she said Irishka is the most interesting in her opinion. Irishka is a no-nonsense woman who will do what she has to do, including assassination, if it serves to realize her goal.

Katrinka is Irishka’s twenty-three-year-old softer protege. She is a spy who began her career out of necessity at age thirteen. This in itself served to shape Katrinka’s mental and physical fortitude. 

Azrael is a twenty-three-year-old Latino from East LA. And she is a Marine. By nature, Marines are exemplary of mental and physical strength.  Where Azrael grew up sets the stage for her strong female bearing.

When I place these fierce women into their respective scenes they have what is required to accomplish goals that the average man, or woman, would have difficult if not impossible to complete.

All fierce women have to be qualified in the storyline you have set up for them to be believable. For example, Faydra is put in a scene where she must scuba dive on a dangerous op with a SEAL team. As a set up earlier in the story, the reader is told of her passion for scuba diving, so when it comes time for her to dive with the SEALs, we know she has the skill. Still, she must find the courage to complete the mission.  

As I write these scenes, I recall what may well be the single greatest and fierce strength in any female animal. The mother protecting her young. Find that fierceness and then place it into the heart of your powerful female character. If you have read your female-centered scene and if she brings a tear to your eye or if you feel proud of her accomplishment, you have created the character you set out to create.

As a guide, I recommend studying Faydra, who you will find in all four books. J.P. in books one and two. Irishka and Katrinka in books three and four. Or Azrael, the Marine, in book four. I assure you these are fierce women who all have a feminine side.

This is an example of two strong women having a fierce exchange from Fruit of a Poisonous Tree. Senator de la Croix has ordered “Spider” Green to meet with her. To set this up de la Croix wishes to cover up the death Green is investigating. Under normal circumstances, one would expect a military officer to be submissive to a powerful U.S. Senator. Yet Fadra is a fierce warrior, so she deals with the Senator in her own way. 

     “Seaman Rodman’s death, while unfortunate,” de la Croix said, “was accidental and nothin’ more.”

     So, the old bat knew all about this and had decided that an accident was what it was.

    “You’re a bright woman,” de la Croix continued. “In fact, I’ve heard that you’re on a fast track to becomin’ one of the youngest lady admirals in the history of the U.S. Navy. I would hate for your illustrious career path to take an unfortunate wrong turn somewhere along the way.”

     Threaten me!? A basic white girl who has not had her Starbucks fix today!? She nodded and remained silent. She had not liked de la Croix from the first time she met her. She enjoyed her even less now. Ah, what the hell, may as well fire one across the old scow’s bow. “Senator de la Croix, career path or no, I must investigate this incident, regardless of whose toes I may step on.” Something her dad would have said at a time like this.

     Her impertinent response quickly drew the ire of de la Croix. Her nostrils flared; her eyebrows arched. “You listen to me, little lady, and you listen well.” Her open palm smacked the surface of the conference table as she demonstratively drove her point home.

     This woman comes to anger quickly. Maybe this is where she bellows, “Off with her head.” Something the Queen of Hearts would have said at a time like this.

     “I don’t need to hear of your platitudes on duty to God and country. I know duty. I began servin’ your country while you were still in diapers, Missy.”

     One more time with this little lady/Missy bull crap and de la Croix will be missin’ her own damn head, Fay thought. At times, it is hard to remain respectful with one whom you have so much disrespect for.

Thanks so much for diving into the guest post and sharing your thoughts, Norm.

BLURBS

FRUIT OF THE POISONOUS TREE (Book One):

A female lawyer must prove a war hero’s innocence. Navy SEALs hijack a Russian warship to stop a North Korean missile crisis.

“A great read with a stunning finish.” – Advocate, Narayan. “Picturing Justice,” published by the Faculty of Law, University of San Francisco.

Every now and again, a unique story comes our way, a story unlike any we may have read before. Such is “Fruit of the Poisonous Tree,” author Norm Harris’s first critically acclaimed mystery/thriller. The story’s focal point is Faydra “Spider” Green, a dedicated Navy lawyer who has lived her life in the shadows of a great and powerful man: her father, former President of the United States William Green. Green cannot heal the wound in his relationship with his daughter. His former power and influence curse Faydra and cause her to wonder if her accomplishments were her own doing.

Faydra is anxious and excited as she undertakes her first homicide investigation: the murder of a Navy SEAL. She reasons a successful investigation will provide her the opportunity to validate her sense of self-worth. Thanks to her remarkable deductive abilities, Faydra soon realizes the accused man, a Special Ops Marine war hero, may be innocent and the Navy is using her as a pawn in a complex cover-up.

“A sharp, crackling military thriller…, Norm Harris’s ‘Fruit of the Poisonous Tree’ offers a labyrinth of military cover-ups, surprise twists, and insider techno knowledge. Good, exciting, inventive read.” – Wendell Wellman, actor, producer, and screenwriter for Clint Eastwood’s “Firefox” and Producer of “Top Hat,” “Sail Away”, and “House in the Canyon.”

Meanwhile, a seasoned Navy Sea Captain, Egan Fletcher, a single parent, struggles to balance his Navy career with raising a son. When the Navy purposefully pairs him with Faydra in a meeting, the two Navy officers embark on an adrenaline-pumping adventure. It is a top-secret mission-impossible taking them around the world in an attempt to avert a catastrophic act of terrorism in the form of a biological war.

“Norm Harris’s book grabs the reader with its first sentence and holds the reader throughout with its fast-paced action. Dialogue is always the hardest to write, but Harris has captured the art and, with his writing, keeps the reader turning pages. His ability to heighten the intrigue keeps the reader on the edge of his or her seat throughout the story. Strongly recommend the book…” – CAPT David E. Meadows, US Navy, author of numerous (15) military thrillers, such as “Sixth Fleet,” “Seawolf,” and “Tomcat.”

Set against the dramatic backdrop of Washington State’s Puget Sound and the mystique of East Asia, Fadra’s story revolves around a woman who appears to be as pure as the driven snow—yet, she is driven by an insatiable need to complete any assignment, no matter how dangerous. Along the way, she transforms into a symbol of hope, perseverance, and a woman’s ability to overcome life-threatening events.

“This story is complex and well crafted, and you’ll immediately invest your emotions in these vivid characters. The dialogue is some of the freshest I’ve encountered in some time…. As a reader, and as a novelist myself, and now as a fan, my hat goes off to this guy. A wonderful debut.” – Larry Brooks, critically acclaimed author of psychological thrillers (including “Darkness Bound,” “Pressure Points,” “Serpents Dance,” and others), in addition to his work as a freelance writer and writing instructor.

The first novel, “Fruit of the Poisonous Tree,” begins the riveting Spider Green Mystery Thriller series. If you enjoy the razor-sharp dialogue, strong-willed people, twists, and high-octane action, then “Spider” Green, the intrepid female sleuth and unpretentious hero in this taut, fast-paced adventure, will appeal to you.

EXCERPT

Spider Green Series by Norm Harris

 Mystery/Thriller Legal Military

Fay turned and descended the ladder to the waiting boat. She dug deep into her soul to gather what courage she now carried with her to the dark and foreboding place known to all seafarers as “Davy Jones’ Locker.”

The frigid night air slapped her face as the small boat raced across the flat surface of the night water; sea spray soaked her face and hands. She squinted and fixed her gaze on the wall of black now standing before her. I’m going to need severe beauty salon time when I get back to civilization, she thought.

Shortly after, the boat arrived at the prescribed dive location. The dive team donned their facemasks and tested their gear—then, one by one, the divers rolled backward from the boat and into the water. Fay was last to leave the safety of the small boat.

The cold salt water stung her skin momentarily, until the thin layer of water between her skin and her wetsuit warmed to a tolerable temperature. She bobbed on the surface for a moment, then flicked on her underwater torch. Fay then slipped beneath the water’s surface and began her descent toward the bottom.

The wreck was ninety feet below. The Carr came to rest upright on the edge of a reef. The ship had not completely settled and was subject to shifting with each tide change. All good reasons for her to exercise extreme caution.

Nothing could have prepared Fay for the frightening feeling she experienced as she struggled to see and gain some sense of direction. She could tell she was sinking, but only because the luminous dial of her depth gauge so indicated. Following the eerie flickering lights of the three torches preceding her, she suppressed her fear and the feeling of claustrophobia by thinking of those people nearest to her heart.

AUTHOR Bio and Links

Norm Harris’ first novel debuted on an Amazon bestseller list in 2002. It was a one-and-done, but now he’s back with a plan to publish a couple of sequels to that first mystery/thriller of days gone by. Except for time spent in military service, he is a second-generation Seattleite (that’s what they call those who dwell in the shadow of Mt. Rainier), with his legal beagle son, K-K, and five giant tropical fish. His upcoming release, Arid Sea, is the third book in what he hopes to be an award-winning Spider Green Mystery Story series.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/780557.Norm_Harris

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Giveaway – Thunder On The Moor by Andrea Matthews @AMatthewsAuthor @GoddessFish

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Thunder on the Moor by Andrea Matthews

GENRE:   historical time travel romance

BLURB

Maggie Armstrong grew up enchanted by her father’s tales of blood feuds and border raids. In fact, she could have easily fallen for the man portrayed in one particular image in his portrait collection. Yet when her father reveals he was himself an infamous Border reiver, she finds it a bit far-fetched—to say the least—especially when he announces his plans to return to his sixteenth century Scottish home with her in tow.

Suspecting it’s just his way of getting her to accompany him on yet another archaeological dig, Maggie agrees to the expedition, only to find herself transported four hundred and fifty years into the past. Though a bit disoriented at first, she discovers her father’s world to be every bit as exciting as his stories, particularly when she’s introduced to Ian Rutherford, the charming son of a neighboring laird. However, when her uncle announces her betrothal to Ian, Maggie’s twentieth-century sensibilities are outraged. She hardly even knows the man. But a refusal of his affections could ignite a blood feud.

Maggie’s worlds are colliding. Though she’s found the family she always wanted, the sixteenth century is a dangerous place. Betrayal, treachery, and a tragic murder have her questioning whether she should remain or try to make her way back to her own time.

To make matters worse, tensions escalate when she stumbles across Bonnie Will Foster, the dashing young man in her father’s portrait collection, only to learn he is a dreaded Englishman. But could he be the hero she’s always dreamed him to be? Or will his need for revenge against Ian shatter more than her heart?

GUEST POST

What’s in a Name: The Border Reiver

To the Border reiver, surname took precedence over all else, including king and country. Oddly enough, it was my surname that introduced me to their tales. I should first note that Matthews is my pen name, not my actual last name – that would be Foster. In fact, I was in the midst of doing some genealogical research when a friend brought the connection to my attention. Foster, it seemed, was a right riding name, the most notable of all being Sir John Forster, warden of the English Middle March in the last half of the sixteenth century. Now, Sir John was a gentleman, but he was no angel, for he was a Forster above all else.

The story intrigued me. Visions of my husband’s ancestors riding across the moors sparked my imagination. I had to know more about these rugged rogues who placed such value on a sense of honor and loyalty to their families, in spite of their nefarious preoccupation with cattle rustling and blackmail, I started formulating a story in my head, a tale of thunder across the moors and forbidden love, for although family came first, national pride was still a consideration, even if it was somewhere down the pecking order after their surname and allegiances they may have formed with other families. The blood feud, however, was a deadly affair, and an affront to any member of your surname or allied family would be an affront to the whole surname.

And so my plot was taking form. These feuds could go on for years and be sparked by anything from a small slight to a full-blown disagreement. I turned back to my research. And as I learned more riding names, I realized how many famous and infamous people carried border names. Men like Lyndon Johnson and Neil Armstrong and Walter Scott. Which of course led me to the latter’s poetry. I admit, he may have romanticized the period a bit, but then I suppose I did as well. Time and distance gives us that luxury. And there was the final piece to my novel —Time.

Alas, I still haven’t traced the family back far enough to make a direct connection to a specific person, but they were from the North of England, and still today have that strong sense of honor and familial loyalty, so I know it’s there. And so, my quest continues. Who knows there may even be a Will Foster back there somewhere?

AUTHOR Bio and Links

Andrea Matthews is the pseudonym for Inez Foster, a historian and librarian who loves to read and write and search around for her roots, genealogical speaking. She has a BA in History and an MLS in Library Science and enjoys the research almost as much as she does writing the story. In fact, many of her ideas come to her while doing casual research or digging into her family history. She is the author of the Thunder on the Moor series set on the 16th century Anglo-Scottish Border, and the Cross of Ciaran series, where a fifteen-hundred-year-old Celt finds himself in the twentieth century. Andrea is a member of the Romance Writers of America, Long Island Romance Writers, and the Historical Novel Society.

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Giveaway – The Flapper, The Scientist and the Saboteur by Charlene Bell Dietz @GoddessFish

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The Flapper, The Scientist, And The Saboteur by Charlene Bell Dietz

GENRE: Mystery

BLURB

A workaholic bio-medical scientist, Beth Armstrong, is torn between saving her sabotaged ground-breaking multiple sclerosis research or honoring an obligation to care for her chain-smoking, Cuba Libre drinking, ex-flapper aunt. Nursemaid ranks just above catching the plague on Beth’s scale, yet her ex-flapper aunt would prefer anything deadly to losing her independence under the hands of her obsessive compulsive niece. While a murderous culprit runs loose in the science institute, the raucous aunt entertains Beth’s neglected husband with nightly cocktails and stories form the Roaring twenties. The Flapper, the Scientist, and the Saboteur intertwines a corporate espionage mystery with a generational battle-of-wills story between a dedicated professional intent on fighting chaos to restore order and a free-spirited aunt who needs her niece to live in the moment.

EXCERPT

Beth lunged to the bed, snatched the cigarettes out of Kathleen’s hands, crushed them, then flung the pack into the waste basket. She bent close to her aunt and inhaled deeply.

“Beth, what in the world—”

“I don’t know you, but I know people like you. You seriously need help.”

“What on earth are you fretting about?”

“Fretting? Not me, I’m happy as a loon.” Beth’s lungs needed more air.

“Beth, I didn’t start that fire.”

“Now you’re going to say it was Mrs. Harrison?” Beth’s words filled the room. Until today, she never yelled.

“It wasn’t her.” Kathleen said.

The room felt small, dark, smoky—no air. She heard her breath coming in short little bursts.

“Dear, you didn’t mean to, but you started the fire.”

Something snapped in Beth’s brain. She shook her head. But Kathleen, with innocence etched in her wrinkled face, kept looking at her.

AUTHOR Bio and Links

Charlene Bell Dietz writes science and historical-suspense, award-winning mystery novels and short stories.  Her award-winning short stories have been published in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers 2016 Anthology and SouthWest Writers 2019 Anthology.   The Flapper, the Scientist, and the Saboteur combines family saga with corporate espionage. The Flapper, the Impostor, and the Stalker propels readers back into 1923 frenetic Chicago during the Roaring Twenties. Both these novels were named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2018, and each won the coveted Kirkus Starred Review.  Her latest novel, The Scientist, the Psychic, and the Nut, gives readers a frightening Caribbean vacation. Her current work in progress, a biographical historical novel, starts in England in 1638 and ends in precolonial Maryland. Charlene, a retired educator, traveled the United States as a consultant for Houghton Mifflin Publishers after a career of teaching little ones, older ones, and college graduates. Surrounded by forests and meadows, she currently lives in the foothills of the mountains in central NM several miles from the small village of Torreon. Charlene is the current president of Croak & Dagger, New Mexico Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She belongs to Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Rocky Mountain Mystery Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and SouthWest Writers. Connect with Charlene on Facebook

(https://www.facebook.com/charlene.dietz.9), https://inkydancestudios.com/  or chardietzpen@gmail.com

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Giveaway – Find Your Way Back by Javacia Harris Bowser @GoddessFish @seejavaciawrite

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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The Literary Lobbyist will be awarding one $25 and one $50 Amazon or B/N GC to randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Award-winning freelance journalist Javacia Harris Bowser is convinced that writing is a superpower. She sees her life as proof of it since writing has helped her navigate marriage, crisis of faith and body image issues. It also helped her to beat cancer.

As a Black woman from the South, Javacia has used the written word to explore issues of gender and race as well as religion. Find Your Way Back is a collection of essays that demonstrate how Javacia has used writing to achieve some of her wildest dreams such as being a public speaker, having her own column, and being her own boss. The book also explores how writing, self-love, and faith helped her overcome her worst nightmare: a cancer diagnosis in 2020. Javacia’s goal is to show readers how writing can transform their lives as well. The book includes prompts throughout to help readers start their own writing journey.

This book is for the woman who has wanted to write since she was a girl but struggles to find the time or the courage to put her words on paper. Find Your Way Back, shows that instead of putting writing on the back burner when life gets turned upside down, we should turn to it to help life make sense again.

Read an Excerpt

– from I’m Feeling Lucky – and Enraged

When it comes to health care, I’ve always been lucky. My lupus diagnosis in 2008 didn’t come after spending years visiting doctor after doctor, searching for answers to questions of chronic pain. I mentioned my fatigue, achy joints, vitiligo spots, and bouts of Raynaud’s disease to my primary care physician at the time as casually as someone rattling off a grocery list. She looked at me and said, “We need to test you for lupus.”

Years later, in a new state with a new doctor, I once again had a proactive primary care doc who urged me to get a mammogram, even though I was in my thirties. Breast cancer is often diagnosed in its later stages for women under forty, which means the survival rate is lower and the recurrence rate is higher. And while Black women and white women get breast cancer at about the same rate, Black women are more likely to be diagnosed before age 45 and, regardless of age, Black women die from breast cancer at a higher rate than white women.

Even when I was diagnosed with breast cancer at age thirty-eight, I still felt lucky. I felt lucky that I had insurance that covered my treatment. I felt lucky that whenever I said I was in pain, my doctors and nurses believed me and scrambled to do something about it.

I felt lucky because in 2020, thirty million people were uninsured, and about half of those were people of color, according to The Brookings Institution, a research and public policy organization in Washington, DC. I felt lucky because both anecdotal evidence and published studies reveal that many medical professionals don’t take Black people’s pain seriously. According to a 2016 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, half the medical students surveyed had false beliefs such as “black people’s skin is thicker than white people’s.” And trainees who believed that Black people are not as sensitive to pain as white people were less likely to treat Black people’s pain appropriately.

The staggering Black maternal mortality rates show that this type of implicit bias can be deadly. According to the CDC, each year about seven hundred people in the United States die during pregnancy or the year after. Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. I feel lucky, and I feel angry because I shouldn’t feel lucky! Affordable health care and being listened to and taken seriously by your doctors should be the norm for everyone.

I will use my privilege and my platform to try to do something about this. I’ve written stories about the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, which seeks to use legislation to address every aspect of the maternal health crisis in America. And I’ve written about the CDC’s Hear Her campaign, which seeks to improve communication between patients and their doctors and help to make healthcare providers, patients, and their families more aware of the warning signs of potentially life-threatening complications. I’ve had the chance to be a voice for other breast cancer patients of color in sessions with healthcare providers thanks to the work of organizations like the Tigerlily Foundation, which provides breast cancer education, awareness, advocacy and support for women ages 15 to 45, with a focus on women of color.

Even though I’m a writer, sometimes words aren’t enough. So, I will keep writing, but I also will keep fighting.

About the Author
Javacia Harris Bowser is an award-winning essayist and journalist and the founder of See Jane Write. A proud graduate of the journalism programs at the University of Alabama and the University of California at Berkeley, Javacia has written for USA Today, HerMoney.com, and Good Grit magazine. Named one of Birmingham’s Top 40 Under 40, she believes we can all write our way to the life of our dreams.

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