Wednesday, September 30, 2020

*Book Tour & giveaway* The Heart's Bidding by Jordan Riley Swan-GUEST POST


The Heart's Bidding
by Jordan Riley Swan
Genre: Clean Contemporary Romance 

Kaylee Heart would rather run through a roaring fire than endure even a minute of public speaking. Put in an eighty-hour work week? No problem. Shut down her grandfather’s gold-digging girlfriend? Easy peasy. Stand in front of an auction crowd and call for bids? Show her the exit.


So she has no idea how Gerald, the golden-voiced auctioneer she’s been crushing on at the local auction house, can find the courage to stand on stage every week, with all those eyes on him. But as cruel fate would have it, she is about to find out.
Her family antique shop, the Vintage at Heart, has tripped over one financial hurdle too many and Kay is propelled, full speed, into her biggest phobia—the spotlight.

With terror chasing her, she’ll have to fight to keep the family business from closing forever. Even if the battle takes place in front of a live crowd.



**Only .99 cents until Sep 14th!!**


Jordan Riley Swan is a wild word hunter living in the far and dangerous reaches of rural Ohio. He spends his nights tracking down big-game stories, capturing them in paper cages, and training them to be better tales.


The Heart's Bidding was the first novel he'd dared to use the keys of his typewriter to release back into the wild.



GUEST POST

Describe your writing style.

Sloppy.

Oh, you meant my story writing not my handwriting. Well, I’d say its linear and plot driven. Sherry Thomas once said, “I like big plots and I cannot lie.” I’d whole heartily agree with her. Sometimes that does put my characters and their emotions in the back seat but I am practicing to do better with that.


What makes a good story?

Did the reader have an emotional reaction (good or bad)? Was the ending satisfying? Yes? Then that’s a good story.


What are they currently reading?

Just finished Giver of Stars. Thinking I might pick up her other work. I loved Giver enough.


What is your writing process? For instance, do you do an outline first? Do you do the chapters first?

Come up with a broad concept first thing. Do some preliminary outlining of the plot over the next few days. Create some characters to fill said plot. Ask how can I make it harder for the characters each chapter (I love the try-fail cycle). Then write chapter by chapter in linear order through to a first draft with exceptionally light revisioning as I go. Come back to the beginning and start the heavy revisions. Send to developmental editor for notes. Talk myself out of strangling her when it comes back covered in red. Rewrite and revise. Resubmit. Then onto line editor. Copy edit. Onto Proofreaders. I don’t use beta readers as I will go into an endless cycle of trying to do appease them and end up rewriting into forever. Publish.


What are common traps for aspiring writers?

That your writing has to be great out of the gate. Nobody’s first draft is great. I fell into that trap for DECADES.


What is your writing Kryptonite?

Character motivation/believability.


Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

Original (at the cost of the genre and good reviews from time to time it seems. I may have to rethink this now. Hahaha)


If you could tell your younger writing-self anything, what would it be?

Keep your butt in the chair and for the love of god revise and polish. When you read other peoples work look for what they did to evoke emotions. Read books on writing instead of assuming you know it all.


What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?

As a guy, I’m deathly scared I’m going to find my work tweeted by the Men Writing Women account. LOL


How long on average does it take you to write a book?

First draft in a month. First revisions one month later. Endless cycle of changes and polishing: months and months. The Heart’s Bidding took a year and a half to write and polish. Anniversary Guy even longer. But I tended to do other projects while I let them rest. I’ve first drafted entire novels in a month and have some that are still not done years later. But I think now that I’m writing full time I’ll be putting out books a lot more frequently. Especially since I have actual deadlines for once.


Do you believe in writer’s block?

Yes and no. I believe we can concentrate on the wrong thing, aiming our self at something other than what we should be trying to accomplish, and lock ourselves up. If you write something that you don’t care about, the words will come. You didn’t lose your ability to write, your mind is just telling you something is wrong with the project you are working on currently and you need to step away from it to figure it out. But then again I may just be full of BS.

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!





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*Book Tour & Giveaway* Sweet Temptations: The Babysitter by L.M. Mountford


Sweet Temptations: The Babysitter
by L.M. Mountford
Genre: Dark Romance, Erotica 


Some temptations are just too sweet to resist...
Richard Martin's life was only just starting to come back together, then she opened the door in that damn little black robe that shows off plenty of leg, and every curve.
She, Rebecca Blaire, the girl from downstairs. His babysitter.
She's every man's fantasy, a big doe-eyed nymph, as beautiful as she is innocent.
Forbidden fruit in every sense of the word.
And she desperately needs his help, before her abusive father comes home and beats her black and blue.
Richard knew he should just walk away. It wasn't any of his business really,  and nothing good could come from going through that door, but then...
Some temptations are just too sweet to resist.



Sweet Temptations: The Babysitter is the original debut from the Lord of Lust, L.M. Mountford, a sizzling tale of lust and temptation that will ignite your ereader and leave you panting for more as it follows a modern man's journey across the Rubicon.
With all the Sylvia Day but only some of the drama of Bridget Jones, Sweet Temptations is one you don't want to miss.

This new edition includes a sneak peek of its long-awaited sequel, The Boss's Daughter. 


**On Sale for only .99 cents!!**




A self-confessed tiger fanatic, L.M. Mountford was born and raised in England, first in the town of Bridgwater, Somerset, before later moving to the city of Gloucester where he currently resides. A fully qualified and experienced scuba diver, he has travelled across Europe and Africa diving wrecks and seeing the wonders of the world.



Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$15 Amazon giftcard, Signed Book of choice from L.M. Mountford – 1 winner each





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*Book Tour & Giveaway* The History of the Small World by Dr. Gerhard Plenert

 


The Siege of the Small World
The History of the Small World Book 1
by Dr. Gerhard Plenert
Genre: Epic Fantasy 

The Southern Plains became dependent on trade with the North Groves. Each had their own areas of expertise and each had come to rely on the other for their survival. But for some unknown reason this vital trade came to an abrupt halt. The Dwarfs no longer came to the south to trade. Most believed the Dwarfs of the north couldn’t be trusted. Were they trying to starve out the south? Were they trying to increase the price for their goods? Where were they? What game were they playing? You'll need to read more than the glimpse provided to you on Amazon to learn the answers. This is a beautifully illustrated novel that is "clean" from start-to-finish while also intriguing and genuinely fantasy mystical!


Add to Goodreads
Amazon * DonnaInk Publications


The Uniting of the Small World
The History of the Small World Book 2 


The Southern Plains became dependent on trade with the North Groves. Each had their own areas of expertise and each had come to rely on the other for their survival. But for some unknown reason this vital trade came to an abrupt halt. The Dwarfs no longer came to the south to trade. Most believed the Dwarfs of the north couldn't be trusted. What was their game? Were they trying to starve out the south? Were they trying to increase the price for their goods? Where were they? What game were they playing? In the first book in the History of Small World series, titled The Siege of the Small World we journeyed with the leprechauns as they organized an expedition to the north in order to find out why trade had stopped. This second book in the series begins with their arrival at the North Groves and continues with their trials and challenges in the hope that the northern and southern trade can be reestablished.




Dr. Gerhard Plenert, former Director of Executive Education at the Utah State University Shingo Institute, has more than 25 years of professional experience in organizational trans-formations helping companies and government agencies strive for enterprise excellence by utilizing the Shingo Model to drive cultural transformations. Dr. Plenert is an internationally recognized expert in supply chain management; Lean/Six Sigma; IT; quality and productivity tools; and in working with leading-edge planning and scheduling methods. He has literally “written the book” on leading-edge supply chain management concepts, such as finite capacity scheduling, advanced planning and scheduling, and world-class management. With 14 years of academic experience, Dr. Plenert has published over 150 articles and 22 books on Lean, supply chain strategy, operations management, and planning. Dr. Plenert previously served as a tenured full professor at California State University, Chico; a professor at BYU, BYU–Hawaii, University of Malaysia, University of San Diego; and has been a visiting professor at numerous universities all over the world. He earned degrees in math, physics, and German; and he holds an MBA, MA in international studies, and PhD in resource economics (oil and gas) and operations management. Dr. Plenert continues to serve as a Shingo examiner and as an Adjunct Faculty member for several universities.
Dr. Plenert’s first effort in the world of fiction was the fantasy Small World Series. Since then he has also ventured into mystery and suspense novels. He looks forward to a career as a fiction author. Gerhard Plenert has proudly served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Philippines and currently resides in California with his wife.




Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$25 Amazon 








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Tuesday, September 29, 2020

*Book Tour & Giveaway* The Jason Davey Mysteries by Winona Kent-GUEST POST


Lost Time
Jason Davey Mysteries Book 2
by Winona Kent
Genre: Mystery, Amateur Detective

In 1974, top UK band Figgis Green was riding high in the charts with their blend of traditional Celtic ballads mixed with catchy, folky pop. One of their biggest fans was sixteen-year old Pippa Gladstone, who mysteriously vanished while she was on holiday with her parents in Spain in March that same year.


Now it's 2018, and founding member Mandy Green has reunited the Figs for their last-ever Lost Time Tour. Her partner, Tony Figgis, passed away in 1995, so his place has been taken by their son, professional jazz guitarist (and amateur sleuth) Jason Davey.

As the band meets in a small village on the south coast of England for pre-tour rehearsals, Jason's approached by Duncan Stopher, a diehard Figs fan, who brings him a photo of the band performing at the Wiltshire Folk Festival. Standing in the foreground is Pippa Gladstone. The only problem is the Wiltshire Folk Festival was held in August 1974, five months after Pippa disappeared. Duncan offers Jason a substantial sum of money to try and find out what really happened to the young woman, whose mother had her declared officially dead in 1981.

When Duncan is murdered, it becomes increasingly clear to Jason that his investigation into Pippa's disappearance is not welcome, especially after he follows a series of clues which lead him straight back to the girl's immediate family.

But nothing can prepare Jason for the truth about Pippa, which he discovers just as Figgis Green is about to take to the stage on opening night—with or without him.





Notes On a Missing G-String
Jason Davey Mysteries Book 1 

"A highly entertaining caper set in a sleazy London underworld...Jason is a well-crafted reluctant hero, and Kent’s writing is slick and engaging throughout." - Kirkus Reviews


The first time we met Jason Davey, he was entertaining passengers aboard the Alaska cruise ship Star Sapphire, Eight ‘til Late in the TopDeck Lounge.

Then he came ashore, got a gig playing lead guitar at London’s Blue Devil jazz club, and gained a certain amount of notoriety tracking down missing musician Ben Quigley in the Canadian north.

Now Jason’s back again, this time investigating the theft of £10,000 from a dancer’s locker at a Soho gentlemen’s club.

Jason initially considers the case unsolvable. But the victim, Holly Medford, owes a lot of money to London crime boss Arthur Braskey and, fearing for her life, has gone into hiding at a posh London hotel.

Jason’s investigation takes him from Cha-Cha’s and Satin & Silk (two Soho lapdancing clubs) to Moonlight Desires (an agency featuring high class escorts) and finally to a charity firewalking event, where he comes face to face with Braskey and discovers not everything Holly’s been telling him is the complete truth.

As he becomes increasingly drawn into the seamy underside of Soho, Jason tries to save Gracie, his band-mate’s 14-year-old runaway daughter, from Holly’s brother Radu, a ruthless pimp, while at the same time protecting Holly herself from a vengeful Braskey—nearly losing his life, and Gracie’s—in the process.

Notes on a Missing G-String is the first novel in a new mystery series featuring jazz musican-turned-sleuth Jason Davey.





Disturbing the Peace
Jason Davey Mysteries Prequel  

Jason Davey's last job was aboard the Star Sapphire cruising from Vancouver to Alaska. Hired as one of the ship's entertainers, he played guitar in the TopDeck Lounge. You can read about those adventures in the novel Cold Play  here .


Now Jason's back on shore, and he has a regular gig at a jazz club in London.

Jason's son, Dominic, is studying film at university. When Dom asks his dad to help track down a missing musician for a documentary he's making, Jason leaps at the chance.

Ben Quigley played rhythm guitar in Jason's parents' folk group Figgis Green in the late 1960s. And he dropped off the face of the earth four years ago.

Jason's search ultimately takes him to Peace River, Alberta - 300 miles from Edmonton in the Canadian north. And what he discovers there is both intriguing - and disturbing.

Disturbing the Peace is a novella which introduces readers to professional musician and amateur sleuth Jason Davey. Jason will soon feature in a new series of full-length mystery novels, beginning with Notes on a Missing G-String.






Winona Kent is an award-winning author who was born in London, England and grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan, where she completed her BA in English at the University of Regina. After moving to Vancouver, she graduated from UBC with an MFA in Creative Writing. More recently, she received her diploma in Writing for Screen and TV from Vancouver Film School.

After a career that's included freelancing for magazines and newspapers, long and short fiction, screenplays and tv scripts, Winona has now returned to her first love, novels. She lives in Vancouver, Canada.
Writing is Winona's passion.




GUEST POST

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I was a writer before I knew I was a writer! When I was very small, before I knew how to read, I told stories to myself and illustrated them with pictures (often drawn on the wall, much to my mother's annoyance). I continued telling stories to myself all through childhood, until I was about 12, when I decided to tackle writing a novel. It was about Lawrence Jenkins-Hennessey who was kidnapped and bundled into the cargo hold of a freighter and transported to England. I never finished it, but it did teach me the rudimentary rules about a) having a well-developed plot and b) knowing in advance what you're going to do with your main character once you've got him involved in a bad situation.


I was writing short stories and more novels all the way through high school, so I guess I was probably about 13 or 14 when I decided that I really really wanted to be a writer. I went to a very progressive high school (for its day) and was allowed to submit a novella as my major project in my Literature class. I had excellent encouragement from a couple of teachers (thank you Mr. Williamson and Mr. Robinson!), so by the time I graduated from high school and went into University, I was pretty much convinced I was on the right track. But I didn't really consider myself a “successful” writer because I hadn't had anything published. I took a Creative Writing course at university where the instructor, Ken Mitchell, made sure that definition was kicked out of the way pretty quickly. He gave us all assignments to write something for the university newspaper – an article, an interview, anything. We all got our stories in print and Ken said, “OK, now you're all successful writers!”


Ken encouraged those of us who wanted to be novelists to try and get ourselves known first on other platforms, in order to build a good CV and also to bolster our confidence. That was the way you did it back in the 1970s, when novelists were reliant on traditional publishers to get their books into print. So I spent a few years as a freelancer, writing nonfiction articles for newspapers and magazines and the occasional short story. One of my short stories ended up winning first prize in a huge fiction competition in a national women's magazine, and I think that, more than anything, convinced me that I was well on my way to becoming a “successful writer.” But in my own mind, I still wasn't there yet!


I'd been working full-time as a travel agent (and writing in my spare time), and after that I took a couple of years off and went back to university to get my MFA in Creative Writing. That was one of the best things I ever did for myself – I was surrounded by other writers and immersed in workshops – and a couple of years after I graduated with my degree, I finally got my first novel published (it was one of the finalists in a major first-novel competition in Canada).


I think it was the publication of that first novel that finally legitimized my idea of myself as a “writer” because that was what I'd always aimed for and that was what had always been my goal, from a very early age. It doesn't dimimish any of the successes I'd had previously with my freelance articles and short stories. But I'd always wanted to be a novelist. And that was the moment when “novelist” and “writer” merged into the same golden ring. And I grabbed it.


Do you have a favorite movie?

I have several favourite movies that I could watch over and over again and never grow tired of.


a. Hope and Glory, about a young boy in suburban London during World War Two. I love the gentle story, the characters, the acting and the direction. It was written, produced and directed by John Boorman and was based on his own experiences of growing up in the Blitz in London.


b. Love Actually. You either love this movie or you hate it. I love it. I think it's one of Richard Curtis's best films. I really enjoy the exploration of the various iterations of “love”. And the acceptance of quirky complications and situations that might generally be considered unacceptable or uncomfortable. Plus I really like Bill Nighy.


c. The Tall Guy. Not a hugely well-known film – but it was Richard Curtis's debut as a screenwriter. The story's based on Curtis's experiences as straight man to his long-time collaborator Rowan Atkinson when they were performing comedy onstage in England. The situations are silly and the characters are all a bit strange (that's what I love about them) but it's an oddly satisfying film and hugely funny. It also features one of Emma Thompson's very very first film appearances, as the love interest of the hero.


What can we expect from you in the future?

I plan on writing a lot more Jason Davey mysteries. In Lost Time, Jason's rehearsing to go on tour with his mum's band, Figgis Green. In the next novel in the series (tentatively called Ticket to Ride), we're actually going to go on tour with Jason and the band, while Jason tries to solve yet another intriguing mystery!



Do you have any “side stories” about the characters?

My main character in Lost Time, Jason Davey, has quite an interesting back story. He first appeared in my novel Cold Play (2012), working as a musician aboard an aging cruise ship in Alaska. First, a frightening, middle-of-the-night fire shatters his sense of security. Then an anonymous and delusional stalker from Twitter starts sending him messages from somewhere on board. Jason's wife was once employed by a beautiful, aging and eccentric actress who is now occupying one of the ship's luxury suites and it soon becomes murderously clear to Jason that she has more on her mind than her favourite stuffed monkey. And hard-drinking ex-rocker Rick Redding (who was once a member of Jason's parents' band Figgis Green) is in the stateroom beside the actress, and may know more about Jason's secret pedigree than anyone suspects. Finally, Jason is guided by his "guardian angel" Jilly - who he only knows as a constructed personality on Twitter. Jason and everyone aboard the ship must survive a trial by fire and ice on the journey to Juneau, Skagway and Glacier Bay.


So that's what Jason was doing before he became an amateur PI!



Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$10 Amazon giftcard, ebook set of the series – 1 winner each 







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*Book Tour & Giveaway* Minute Zero by Chris Jayne


Minute Zero
Stronghold Book 1
by Chris Jayne
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Thriller 


When the world ends in a heartbeat, suddenly old secrets don’t matter anymore.  But new ones still do, and protecting the ones you love is the only thing that still matters.

Two sisters, one a trendy caterer on the run from a vicious killer, the other a country midwife...
Because of a simple mistake, Lori Dovner must flee from the vicious mafioso Raoul Saldata, and her life goes from routine to a terrifying journey with an uncertain outcome in a single moment. On the road with her two children, her only goal is to get to her sister’s Montana farm alive.   But both Lori and Louise have been hiding a secret for years.

Two brothers, one a Navy Seal on leave, the other a good man who wants to do right by his family...
Deacon Hale is taking two weeks to help his brother Roger and his wife Louise on their remote Montana farm.  He loved Lori once, but has finally put her behind him.  Roger Hale just wants to give his pregnant wife and two young children a good life.  He has no idea the about the secrets that have been kept from him for years. 

Dangerous identity...
Angela Jones is an FBI agent with a terrible debt that she knows she will someday have to pay.  And when Raoul Saldata calls in that debt is called in she has no choice but to comply. 

Evil incarnate...
Raoul Saldata as a child in Albania, would pretend he was a dhampir, the child resulting from the mating between a human female and a vampire.  That was a myth of course, but the evil Saldata practices is anything but.  And when he finds Lori Dovner, he intends to do a lot more than just kill her.
“Minute Zero” Stronghold: Book One is a thriller (with a touch of romance) about an ordinary family struggling to stay safe and find each other in the face of insurmountable odds, an abysmal loss of life and the dawn of a new, post-apocalyptic dark age.

Could it happen?  Would you survive?
Chris Jayne is author of the apocalyptic EMP series “Stronghold.” 
Jayne is also the penname of a USA Today bestselling romance and thriller author who is has started asking “what if?”  What if the lights go off?  What if the food supply chain just... stops?   The world could become an unfriendly place in a hurry.
Three years ago, Chris began exploring the “prepper” lifestyle, and hopes that if TEOTWAWKI would actually happen, she would be in a position to protect her family and loved ones. 

She now spends her days  splitting her time between her romance writing and her apocalyptic and dystopian fiction novels. Because what’s more fun than imagining the end of the world from the comfort of your couch?  And if the end of the world has a few sexy Navy Seals in it?  All the better!

She loves writing stories exploring how ordinary people cope with extraordinary circumstances, especially situations where the normal comforts, conveniences, and rules are stripped away.

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!




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*Book Tour & Giveaway* The Cursed Kingdom by Aimee Shaye-GUEST POST


The Broken Daughter
The Cursed Kingdom Book 1
by Aimee Shaye
Genre: New Adult Fantasy 


Long ago, magick filled the land of Dramolux. But one sorceress delved too deep into dark sorcery and tainted the creatures inhabiting the land. In an effort to save all creatures, a noble sentinel locked the dark powers away. For generations, the dark ones were controlled, passed down to those who ruled the sentinel kingdom. All is peaceful until the newest sentinel queen is murdered and all the magick is released back into the world. It is now up to her daughter, Princess Aymeri--who has no knowledge of what she truly is--to recapture it. But another dark sorceress is on the rise. She wants to lay claim to the magick and wield it herself, in an effort to take all of Dramolux under her control. The odds are against Aymeri and the magick the sorceress wants is evil. Aymeri must prepare to battle or die fighting for the survival of her people.


**Only .99cents!! **


The Dead Daughter
The Cursed Kingdom Book 2 

She was born an ill-fated princess. She was destined to be a savior.

Princess Kumud Maudlin of Treoles is a rescued prisoner of her own castle after twenty-three years of seclusion. Now that she has a second chance of life, thanks to her rescuer–and sister-Queen Aymeri, she must learn to speak with her words and control the wayward magick inside of her.

Meanwhile, the evil Empress Dimia is advancing toward Treoles with a vengeance for the magick guarded by Kumud’s sentinel sister, and ruler of Treoles.

Will Princess Kumud control her magick and help Treoles retaliate or will Treoles fall before it even stands a chance?



**Only .99 cents!!**


“I am many things but normal is not one of them,” says Aimee Shaye when asked to describe herself. She is a novelist whose genres include Fantasy and all its subgenres. When asked what drives her, Aimee says, “The world around me. The people I know. The love and support of my family." Aimee is a family-driven person and enjoys meeting and getting to know her readers. She is full of life and down-to-earth. She has a personality that fills the room. More than that, Aimee is someone people easily open up to. Her passion for life, reading, and writing are evident in her novels and she leaves no stone unturned in showcasing real emotions even in a fantasy world.

Readers from all of the world enjoy reading her novels which are suitable for all ages, despite her characters being in their late teens and early twenties




GUEST POST

Can you, for those who don't know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?

This is going to sound cliché but I always wanted to be an author. At an early age, our parents set us up for success in anything we put our mind to. My parents did not allow us to quit at anything unless it was detrimental to our health and well-being. Writing and reading are two of my passions (teaching is a third) and it was always something I practiced at home and in school. I was very much that child who always had a book in my hand. Most students get reminded to stop talking during lessons, I was told to stop reading. There were times when I just couldn’t put the book down so I’d read during math class or science class or even at lunch! But I’m getting off track, haha! I really knew I wanted to become an author in 8th grade. We had to write short stories for class and my 8th grade English teacher told me that I should publish one day. This was something that was reiterated to me in 9th, again in 10th, and all throughout my high school and college career. When I was 21, I took the leap of faith and did it! So to all of my teachers who told me to, THANK YOU!

What is something unique/quirky about you?

What isn’t quirky about me? I’m the typical tom boy who is one of the boys and can dress up when she wants to but I’m also an anomaly. I am very much introverted and have really bad social anxiety but once I get to know someone, I can be extroverted. I love learning and can always be found doing research, reading old textbooks to find answers, and playing trivia games. I own almost every kind of trivia game there is: Game of Knowledge, Jeopardy, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, 1 VS 100, Trivial Pursuit (Genius & Family edition), the list goes on and on. I also march to the beat of my own drum and I’m very independent. I love to sing in the shower. I can recite most of the lines from Titanic, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (a Bollywood film). I know every Backstreet Boy song, every Backstreet Boy member and their birthday (though I’m rusty on the years). I also know every Taylor Swift song. TEST ME ON THESE! I DARE YOU! LOL.

Tell us something really interesting that's happened to you!

This is my favorite story EVER! Okay, so back in 2016, I went to my first ever New York Comic Con with my then-boyfriend, now-husband and we were like 2 minutes late for Tom Mison’s signing. For those of you who do not know who Tom Mison is, he played Ichabod Crane on Fox’s primetime show, Sleepy Hollow (Netflix needs to reboot it!). He was literally packing up. Well, Tom saw the disappointed look my face and called me over to him. I ended up talking to him for about 5 minutes, got a TERRIBLE photo taken with him, but the experience was everything! The best part was my husband could not work my iPhone camera (he has an Android) and at the same time Tom & I were like “Oh, for the love of god, Matthew!” This was literally, the best day ever!

What are some of your pet peeves?

I really dislike when people talk over me when I’m trying to get my point across because I’m so introverted; so if I’m actually answering the question or contributing something it’s because I feel it’s important. I also dislike when people don’t get straight to the point; tell me what you mean in as little words as possible. Don’t fluff it up. Don’t beat around the bush. Just tell me. I also hate, hate, hate name-calling in arguments whether it’s a friend or my significant other. I don’t ever talk to people like that and I refuse to be talked to like that.

Where were you born/grew up at?

I was born and raised in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York. If you don’t know where it is, it’s literally next door to Williamsburg and McCarren park separates the two. If you do know where it is can someone please send me PETER PAN’S DONUTS?!

If you knew you'd die tomorrow, how would you spend your last day?

With my family. Tomorrow is not promised so I try to live every day like it might be my last, which is partly why (even though I’m married) I still live at home. I would hate to spend the whole day in my house and not see my parents ever again. They mean the whole world to me. Family is everything to me.

Who is your hero and why?

My father is my hero because he came to America with nothing in his pocket and really taught us what it was like to live life and take risks. If it weren’t for my father, I wouldn’t do half the things I am doing in life. Who I am is because of him. When I was about 12, my mom had to stop working to take care of me so my father was our only source of income. He worked so hard to make a living: barely took off from work even in the snow and even when he was in pain. If it wasn’t for him sacrificing his well-being for us, I would have never been able to live my dream of going to college, being a writer, and teach as a full-time job.

What kind of world ruler would you be?

A horrible one! I get lost in my emotions and I’m introverted. To rule the world, you would have to engage in conflict and mediate it and I hate doing both! I’m good when I’m talking one-on-one with the person I have conflict with but if I have conflict with more than one person and they’re all in the same room, I’m going to hyperventilate and pass out. I also over-analyze things and think with my heart and my gut and going into a world meeting and being like “I feel in my heart that this is the right thing to do and my gut is saying go for it” is probably not the best way to respond when countries are at war, fighting for peace, or trying to end world-hunger. Like I wouldn’t know where to begin, how to divide the money, how to make everyone equal. I have too many expectations of what this world should be. I have too many things that need to be changed and how to get from point A to point B is probably harder than it sounds.

What are you passionate about these days?

Adventure! I am so passionate about finding a new hobby, a new place to go, exploring another part of town. Being in NYC in the middle of the COVID crisis has really showed me how much I’m missing out on the state that I am in. Every weekend we’d see a movie or go to the city and it’s like I am not doing that after COVID! Too many people and too much risk! So now I kind of just want to hop in the car and explore the rest of my state and see what’s out there because I know there’s so much more to NY than a congested city.

What do you do to unwind and relax?

Writing is my time to unwind and relax, but I probably shouldn’t have this as my answer, right? Okay, fine. So besides writing, I love to watch TV, play board games or card games, play with my dog (Rusty), or sit on the deck and read. I love to watch shows like Supernatural, Reign, Resurrection: Ertugrul really anything fantasy or with royalty. I love to play games like Monopoly, Chess, and Trivial Pursuit. My favorite card game is 500-card Rummy (please please look it up if you don’t know how to play it’s so much fun!). Rusty loves to play fetch, cuddle, and belly rubs! My current read is Midnight Sun!

How to find time to write as a parent?

I’m not a parent yet but we have discussed this and I’m just going to have to find time to write when my kids are sleeping!

Describe yourself in 5 words or less!

Introverted, Personable, Fun, Loving, Caring

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When I was 8 years old and wrote my first story about a girl going to the park with her dogs. I wrote it on that yellow/manilla drawing paper and I was at work with my mom (it was take-your-daughter-to-work day) and she showed me how to make copies on the copy machine. Well, I copied that book for everyone in the bank that day and I have no idea where it is!

Do you have a favorite movie?

YES! Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast are my favorite movies. I love Aladdin because I like the songs and I like Beauty and the Beast because (let’s face it) the LIBRARY!!!! Who else fantasized about being Belle and rummaging through the library?!

Which of your novels can you imagine made into a movie?

I’m going to stick with what’s currently published: The Broken Daughter. Even my father suggested I pitch it to Netflix! If only I knew someone who could write a screenplay for me and not charge me an arm, leg, liver, and my soul!

What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?

None but I would love for some suggestions! Let’s do it!!

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?

Sloth. Man, I get so lazy sometimes! Especially after a long day at work. I’m like a sloth walking into the house. I’ll literally go for a shower and go to bed!

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
Signed Copy of BOTH The Broken Daughter + The Dead Daughter 
and a  Princess Survival Pack with 2 costume grade tiaras,
Princess-style garter & Princess Themed Wine Glass







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