Monday, May 31, 2021

*Book Tour & Giveaway* False Star by Sasha Marshall-GUEST POST

 


False Start
Second Down Book 1
by Sasha Marshall
Genre: Sports Romance


Football, a kitten, and 14 dates.

Zhanna Hale

THEN

My father is a legend. Some call me football royalty, and in my hometown of Louisiana, I suppose I am. His legacy didn’t prepare me for Bryant Hudson. The quarterback. I swore I’d never date football players. Permanently. Yet Bryant had other plans.
Three dates and a handful of conversations, I handed him my heart without realizing it. But, Bryant shatters my soul. I’m left picking up the pieces. If only erasing him from my heart was as easy.


Bryant Hudson

NOW

I lost at the only game that matters. And it wasn’t even a game. It was and is my forever with Zhanna. I am the best quarterback out there. That should be enough, right? Achieving my dreams. But none of that matters without my woman beside me. When she left, she took my heart with her.
Now I’m back. To remind her of what we had. To see me—the man whose heart she owns, not the quarterback.
Our love is fate. Our lives are forever intertwined. I refuse to let a false start signal our end. I’m ready to repeat the play and show Zhanna she is my everything.





Award-winning author Sasha Marshall, a concert photographer, toured with legendary bands such as The Allman Brothers Band. A self-proclaimed free spirit, she’s most often found outdoors, or painting a canvas, capturing a photograph, people watching, reading a book, or writing a new book. Sasha makes her home in the beautiful state of Georgia and loves to hear from readers.



GUEST POST

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

Hi, I’m Sasha Marshall! I am originally from the rocker world where I was a touring concert photographer for rock bands. It inspired my first rock star romance series, the Guitar Face Series. I self-published the series in 2014, and it was picked up by Belle Bridge Books in 2017. I’m a hybrid author now, self-publishing other works such as False Start, a sports romance, and an upcoming paranormal romance, The Fire Witch.


Describe yourself in 5 words or less!

Emotional. Passionate. Compassionate.


When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Am I? LOL The imposter syndrome is fierce.


Do you have a favorite movie?

I don’t watch a lot of television, but I do have a list of favorite movies.

Fight Club

Interview with the Vampire

Dirty Dancing

Boondocks Saints

Anything with Ryan Reynolds or Cillian Murphy or Jason Momoa


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

I’d love for all of them to be made into movies. It would be a dream come true to see my characters and their stories brought to life. Fingers crossed.


What inspired you to write this book?

Oh, man, I wrote the first chapter of False Start about a year ago, and I had no idea what to write past it. I didn’t know the rest of the story, but I had to get the first chapter out of my head. Zhanna’s character really spoke to me.

I asked a few friends to read it, and they encouraged me to finish it when I was struggling with what to write next.


What can we expect from you in the future?

My next release will be a paranormal romance that really borders the urban fantasy genre line. I also have another rocker series coming this year, and a rocker anthology, Rockstars’ Ball will be released as well. I have a serial small-town romance I’m writing for subscribers to my newsletter.


If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?

I’d definitely spend the day with Leslie from False Start. I’d have him take me shopping to redecorate my home.


Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?

They come entirely from my imagination.


What book do you think everyone should read?

Flowers for Algernon is one of my favorite books ever written.



How long have you been writing?

Since I was a kid. I was a junior newspaper writer in middle school for a time. In college, the English professors asked me to switch majors from History. In hindsight, I wish I would’ve switched.


Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?

Some characters come to me as I write, and some come rushing in with no respect for line rules—the rules we learned in kindergarten about standing in a line and waiting for a turn.


Do you read yourself and if so what is your favorite genre?

Rock star romance and paranormal romance.


Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?

I have to write with music playing in the background. Music is how emotions sounds. I usually find a song to inspire a specific feeling, and then I put it on repeat and write.


Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?

I have several going at one time, but usually only two. I have about eighty gazillion WIP.


Pen or type writer or computer?

Pen and Computer


What are common traps for aspiring writers?

Writing what everyone else is writing. Aspire to be original.


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

Between six-eight weeks.


Do you believe in writer’s block?

Yes, I’ve experienced writer’s block for several years. It’s a terribly real thing.


Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$25 Amazon

*Book Tour & Giveaway* Of Mettle & Magic by L.R. Braden

 


Of Mettle and Magic
The Magicsmith Book 5
by L.R. Braden
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance


L.R. Braden's Magicsmith series conetains the best of all worlds--murder, mayhem, and magic. How can you go wrong?" --Jeanne Stein, best-selling author of The Anna Strong Vampire Chronicles

Part fae, part human, all magic. .

Now it’s time to choose a side

When the Unified Church in Rome is destroyed by rogue sorcerers, tensions explode. Alex Blackwood will do whatever it takes to prevent a war between the humans, fae, and Earth paranaturals--even turn herself over to the PTF. But when a man she thought long dead walks back into her life at the head of a sorcerer army, surrender is no longer an option.

With all the world watching, and half hoping she fails, Alex and her friends scramble to find a peace that won’t cost them everything




Other Books in the Series:
A Drop of Magic
The Magicsmith Book 1
**Only .99 cents!!**

Courting Darkness
The Magicsmith Book 2

Faerie Forged
The Magicsmith Book 3

Casting Shadows
The Magicsmith Book 4


L.R. Braden is the bestselling author of the Magicsmith urban fantasy series. Her work has won the Eric Hoffer Book Award for Sci-fi/Fantasy, the New Horizon Award for debut authors, and the Imadjinn Award for Best Urban Fantasy. She lives in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies with her wonderful husband, precocious daughter, and psychotic cat. To connect online, visit her website and Facebook page.





Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$20 Amazon 

Saturday, May 29, 2021

*Freebie Blitz* Raised in a Bottle

 



Raised in a Bottle:
FREE yourself from a childhood with alcoholism
by Kristina Hermann
Genre: Nonfiction, Self-Help


FREE yourself from a childhood with alcoholism
Growing up in a family with alcohol abuse can leave you significantly scarred as an adult.
The addiction robbed you of a caring, nurturing, secure and playful childhood, forcing you to become an adult too early.
A lack of attention and compassion stifled your ability to grow into a whole person.
As an adult, you might experience personal and professional problems related to feelings of abandonment or loneliness, relationship problems, low self-esteem, unhealthy coping strategies, and lack of clear boundaries.
If you have felt traumatized, anxious, and depressed throughout your life, this is the book for you.

Through in-depth chapters and exercises, you will:
· Understand how families are shaped by alcohol addiction
· Gain insight into how trauma affects your body and your mind
· Learn how to build your self-esteem and become aware of your own feelings
· How to identify unhealthy patterns and relationships and break free of them
· Reshape your thoughts and beliefs about yourself and your future

This book offers extensive insight into the dynamics and consequences of growing up with addiction.
It provides the help and compassion that addiction stole from you when you were a child. In short, Raised in a Bottle offers new hope for reclaiming your own life.


**Get it FREE May 25th – 29th!!!**


Kristina Hermann is a psychotherapist and author with a clinic in Copenhagen, Denmark.
She has worked with families afflicted by alcohol abuse since 2000 and has written extensively about adult children of alcoholics.
In 2015 she published a self-help book in Danish: Du er ikke alene: en opvækst med alkoholproblemer ("You are not alone: An upbringing shaped by alcohol problems"), now in its third printing. Raised in a Bottle: A Workbook for Adult Children of Alcoholics (in progress) is her first book in English.
She received her Master in Psychology from the University of Aarhus, Denmark in 2012. In addition to her work as a psychotherapist, she also teaches seminars, conducts workshops, and is a supervisor of the work of other therapists.





Follow the blitz HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$25 Amazon

Friday, May 28, 2021

*Book Tour & Giveaway* Beautifully Broken by Kira Adams

 


Beautifully Broken
The Infinite Love Series, Book 4
by Kira Adams
Genre: Contemporary Romance


Jacqueline

I’m messed up. I could say it was a result of my childhood, but honestly I blame myself. The medicine made me feel numb; the blood made me feel high. He wasn’t supposed to be mine, but although he was scared in the beginning, he didn’t run from my demons. He found beauty in my flaws, beauty in the cracks that barely held me together.

Lee
I had it good—various girls of the week, my dream job, stability—and even then, I knew deep down something was missing. Madalynne opened a door for me; Jacqueline lit the flame. She wasn’t perfect—far from it—but underneath the pain and the scars, I saw her. Sometimes the ones worth fighting for don’t know their worth. Sometimes being broken is beautiful.

Beautifully Broken is the fourth book in the Infinite Love series.


**Only .99 cents!!**



***Don't miss the other books in the series! ***


Learning to Live
The Infinite Love Series Book 1

Life After
The Infinite Love Series Book 2

My Forever
The Infinite Love Series Book 3


Krista Pakseresht has always been a dreamer, from the first time she opened her eyes, and creating worlds through words is one thing she is truly talented at. She specializes in young adult/new adult romance, horror, action, fantasy, and non-fiction under the pen name Kira Adams. She is the author of the Infinite Love series, the Foundation series, the Darkness Falls series, A Date with the Devil, The Life I Never Asked For, Never Trust a Bad Boy and Ultimate Game Changer.
Want to stay up to date with all the new releases, cover reveals, never-before-seen excerpts, and more? Sign up for the Kira Adams newsletter here.





Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$10 Amazon



*Book Tour & Giveaway* The Adventure of the Deceased Scholar by Liese Sherwood-Fabre-GUEST POST

 

The Adventure of the Deceased Scholar
The Early Case Files of Sherlock Holmes Book 3
by Liese Sherwood-Fabre
Genre: Historical Mystery



Award- winning author and recognized Sherlockian scholar Liese Sherwood-Fabre’s third novel in “The Early Case Files of Sherlock Holmes” follows the young detective to London for the spring holiday. This CIBA first-place mystery and mayhem winner has been described by bestselling author Gemma Halliday as “a classic in the making” and Kirkus Reviews as “a multifaceted and convincing addition to Sherlock-ian lore.”


A tragedy during the 1868 Oxford-Cambridge Boat race puts Mycroft Holmes’ reputation on the line.


When Mycroft Holmes identifies a drowning victim, he is drawn into a situation that could destroy not only Lord Surminster's name, but his own reputation as well. If ruled a suicide, the lord’s assets will be returned to the Crown, leaving his mother and siblings destitute. Should that happen, the victim’s sister has threatened to drag Mycroft’s good name through the mire. Will Sherlock be able determine what happened before more than one family is destroyed?


Goodreads * Books2Read




Liese Sherwood-Fabre has won awards for her thrillers, romance, and literary short stories, and NYT bestselling author Steve Berry describes her writing as "gimmick-free, old-fashioned storytelling."
In the second grade, she knew she was destined to write when she got an A+ for her story about Dick, Jane, and Sally's ruined picnic. After obtaining her PhD from Indiana University, she joined the federal government and had the opportunity to work and live internationally for more than fifteen years. She draws upon these experiences to endow her characters with deep conflicts and emotions.




Sherlock and Scotland Yard



By the time Dr. Watson meets Sherlock Holmes, the consulting detective already had a relationship with Scotland Yard and its inspectors. In the first of Arthur Conan Doyle’s tales, A Study in Scarlet, he introduces two of the detectives—Gregson and Lestrade—who appear in many of the subsequent stories. By the time this adventure appeared in print, Scotland Yard was known as one of the world’s most modern and efficient police forces, and its professional traditions carry on even today.


For many around the world, the name “Scotland Yard” is synonymous with the whole of British law enforcement, but its actual scope is more limited. In 1829, a number of different police patrols and forces were consolidated into a single Metropolitan Police Force, which had responsibility for all London, except for the City of London who maintained its own. The new force’s headquarters were housed at 4 Whitehall Place, but the public entrance for the station was actually in the back and opened onto an area called the “Great Scotland Yard.” Over time, the area and the detective force became synonymous. Even when the force moved out of the building, the name followed them to “New Scotland Yard.”


The “Scotland” of “Scotland Yard” appears to have its origins prior to the 1500s when an English king provided land to a Scottish king to build lodgings for use when visiting London. “Hostilities” between the two prevented any construction, but the land was used as an encampment by Scottish contingencies until the two countries were united under the British monarchy. The street running to the side of this yard came to be known as “Great Scotland Yard,” and was attached to the police force three hundred years later.


The force’s first detectives appeared in 1842. While some resistance appeared in the use of officers in plain clothes (resembling to some an undercover state police), thanks to Charles Dickens, these men soon entered the public’s imagination. Dickens accompanied one detective on his patrol and described some of his cases in newspaper articles. The officer also appeared in fictional form in the novel Bleak House.


In my latest novel, The Adventure of the Deceased Scholar, a young Sherlock Holmes meets his first Scotland Yarder in the character of Inspector Roggens. If you play around with the letters in this name, you might find the name of another from that same force. Can you guess it?






Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!


$15 Gift Card (winner's choice--Amazon or Apple)

Thursday, May 27, 2021

*Book Tour & Giveaway* The Calling by M.D. Neu

 


The Calling
The Calling Book 1
by M.D. Neu
Genre: Urban Fantasy


Being a nobody isn’t Duncan Alexander’s life goal, but it’s worked for him. He has a nondescript job, a few good friends, and overall he’s content. That’s until one fateful trip to San Jose, California, where he is “Called” to meet the mysterious Juliet de Exter. Juliet is a beautiful, wealthy, powerful Immortal who is undertaking The Calling—a search for a human to join her world of Immortals. Inexplicably, Duncan’s calling is more dangerous than any of the Immortals, even Juliet, ever thought it would be.

There is more to this nobody, this only child of long-deceased parents, than anyone thought. When Duncan experiences uncontrollable dreams of people he doesn’t know and places he hasn’t been, Juliet and the other Immortals worry. Soon, his visions point to a coven of long-dead witches. The dreams also lead Duncan to his one true love. How will Duncan navigate a forbidden romance with an outcast Immortal? How will he and the others keep the balance between the Light and Dark, survive vicious attacks, and keep the humans from learning who they truly are? More importantly, who is this implacable foe Duncan keeps seeing in his dreams?


**SPECIAL OFFER!**
Get 25% off of orders $40 or more from the author's website HERE!
Use coupon code THECALLING25
Offer valid May 10th – June 10th, US residents only.




The Called
The Calling Book 2


The world is changing quickly for Chris now that he’s part of the Immortal Community. With the events of his past finally behind him, he’s still having visions and true magic is gradually taking hold in the world. Chris is still new and has no real standing in the Immortal Community, but he is learning that nothing is what he thought.

Old enemies must work together and longtime friends may not be trustworthy. With Juliet, Amanda, and Kirtus by his side, they have to prevent the immortal and witch community from being exposed.
New friendships are made, and longtime alliances are called into question. How will The Called defeat these latest threats, and what does it mean for the world?


**SPECIAL OFFER!**
Get 25% off of orders $40 or more from the author's website HERE!
Use coupon code THECALLING25
Offer valid May 10th – June 10th, US residents only.




M.D. Neu is an award-winning inclusive gay Fiction Writer with a love for writing and travel. Living in the heart of Silicon Valley (San Jose, California) and growing up around technology, he’s always been fascinated with what could be. Specifically drawn to Science Fiction and Paranormal television and novels, M.D. Neu was inspired by the great Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas, Stephen King, Alice Walker, Alfred Hitchcock, Harvey Fierstein, Anne Rice, and Kim Stanley Robinson. An odd combination, but one that has influenced his writing.
Growing up in an accepting family as a gay man he always wondered why there were never stories reflecting who he was. Constantly surrounded by characters that only reflected heterosexual society, M.D. Neu decided he wanted to change that. So, he took to writing, wanting to tell good stories that reflected our diverse world.
When M.D. Neu isn’t writing, he works for a non-profit and travels with his biggest supporter and his harshest critic, Eric his husband of twenty plus years.






Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$15 Amazon 
 

*Book Tour & Giveaway* Seam Keepers by Celaine Charles-GUEST POST

 


Seam Keepers
Seam Keepers Book 1
by Celaine Charles
Genre: Fantasy


Ashton Nichols dreads the changes graduation will bring, most of all, losing her impulsive best friend, Mason. Her world turns upside down when she follows him into the woods and encounters a demon and a destiny beyond what she ever imagined.
Mason Deed seeks freedom from his grief-stricken father. But after his encounter in the woods, he must think about Ashton's safety. Hiding the truth from her about her identity leaves them both vulnerable and caught between good and evil.
Together they uncover the unimaginable. Will they find enough courage and strength to claim their own free will, save their families, and protect human souls?




Celaine Charles lives in the Pacific Northwest where she teaches elementary school, writes fiction and poetry, and blogs about her writing journey on Steps In Between.
Her YA Fantasy, Seam Keepers, debuted May 12, 2021 (The Wild Rose Press). Always busy, Celaine is currently drafting the sequel, Dream Keepers, along with a brand-new YA Contemporary Fantasy, Life Song.
Her poetry book, Colors Collected, debuted in August 2019. This book stemmed from her online poetry series, Colors, hosted on Channillo, and awarded Best Continuing Series, Best New Series, and Best Poetry Series for the 2018 Channillo Awards. In addition, she has poetry published with other various presses.
When Celaine isn’t writing, she is usually with family and friends, or hiking among the trees and the flowers in her beautiful evergreen state.



GUEST POST


Where were you born/grew up at?

I was born on the coast of Florida. When I was quite young, I moved with my Air Force family from the Azores to Texas, until finally settling in the evergreen state of Washington. I love being around bodies of blue water, and especially and always, green forests.


What are you passionate about these days?

I am passionate about nature walks. I have an unusual relationship with trees, and with my plant identification app on my phone, I converse with several favorites along my recurring strolls. They speak to me often, the trees, the wind, and the general sky-talk above. Nature always babbles in a language I don’t fully comprehend…but I smile and open myself up to whatever absorbs into my heart, my soul, my mind. Then I go home and write!


What do you do to unwind and relax?

Unwinding and relaxing is not in my nature. So, to help myself out on a daily basis, I start every morning with Pilates and a little devotional time. It’s the fuel I need to rejuvenate each day. However, my favorite days are the ones when I’m on vacation from my day job, and when my house is already clean, the laundry is already done, and I don’t have any pending deadlines. Then, as long as the rest of my family is busy…I LOVE to spend my mornings snuggled in bed with decaf coffee and a good book, my afternoons writing with a quart-sized Mason jar of ice-water and allergy-free chocolate, and evenings with some cherished Netflix shows and wine. Throw in a good walk on a fair-weather day, and I’m a happy girl!


When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I remember the exact moment when I considered myself a writer. Beforehand, I had been writing for years…in secret. I never told a soul about my unfinished drafts filling journal pages and clandestine-titled Word documents. And I never believed myself to actually be a writer. Quite honestly, I was so fed up with the desire to write, but not knowing exactly what to do, or how to finish drafting anything, I literally prayed about it. Two weeks later, a woman in my son’s karate class saw me grading papers (from my day job as a teacher), and we struck up a conversation. When I asked her about her work, she said, “I’m a writer.” For some insane reason I blurted, “Oh my gosh, I’m a want-to-be-writer!” Without blinking, she simply replied, “Then, you already are one.”


I knew this encounter was divine intervention. After she spoke those five words to me, my world shifted. I was a writer. I was a writer! I was a writer…already.


The best part? She challenged me to write a book in one month. She even outlined the rules:

  1. Choose a new story idea (nothing I had written before).

  2. Write, even if I didn’t know what to write (filling the page with garbage was A-OK).

  3. Don’t stop to edit or revise until I type the words, the end.

  4. GO!


Did I succeed in such a crazy NaNoWriMo-style challenge? No…and yes! No, I did not write a new story in one month. Yes, I wrote a new story in eight months. That meant, for the first time, I had finished a draft. I had something solid to revise and edit and grow (even if it took a few more years to complete). And that’s exactly what I did. My fantasy, Seam Keepers, is a result of that challenge. I was already a writer because I wanted and was working to be, and finally (with humble thanks to my karate-mom friend and you-know-who above), I am a published author. My take-away from such a life-altering event? Believe that you have already achieved what you desire (and a little prayer helps too).




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

My writing mascot or avatar would be a bird. I love all birds, but during the several years it took to perfect my fantasy novel, Seam Keepers, I would surely channel a hawk. No spoilers, but hawks are an important part of my book. When I wasn’t writing, or working my day job as a teacher, I was usually driving my own kids around or taking nature walks. Whether paused at a stoplight, crossing a parking lot, or trekking down a wooded path, when a large bird of prey caught my eye above…my book characters always came to mind. It happened all the time. In fact, it got to the point I would literally speak out to the sky, “I know, I know, time to write! Thank you for the reminder!”


Then, just a month before the 2019 PNWA Writing Conference in Seattle, I was visiting my parents and saw a hawk land on the fence in their backyard. Gleefully, I was able to videotape it for a short while before it flew across the sky. This might be hard to believe, but a few hours before seeing the live hawk, my mom and I had gone shopping. Guess what I purchased to wear to my upcoming writing conference? A flowy button-down top with little hawks. It’s what I wore when my now publisher, The Wild Rose Press, found me at the conference.


Signs! They’re everywhere!


I will continue soaring with a hawk as my mascot or avatar for the next book, Dream Keepers (sequel to Seam Keepers), but after that, I have a new story idea. And for that one I’m thinking more along the lines of a…goat! A sweet little baby goat. You will have to wait to find out why!




Have you published any other books?

I have a poetry book, Colors Collected, that released in 2019. Poetry is a part of my bloodstream and comes out in contemporary free verse, fun forms, and is even woven into my fiction books, as well. I love words and adore my poetry circle of friends and authors, who I constantly surround myself with.



Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$25 Amazon