Spotlight & Excerpt: Alejandro by K. Victoria Chase

Alejandro by K. Victoria Chase -

Blurb from author:

Audrey Hughes hasn't heard from her sister Penny in years.  When she receives a letter from her former drug-addicted sister that someone is going to kill her, Audrey believes her sister is being dramatic--until she discovers Penny is dead, and she's left behind a son Audrey never knew existed.It's his fault she's dead. Lana was his source, his responsibility. US Marshal Alejandro Santiago vows to avenge her killer, a drug trafficker who is the key to finding a dangerous fugitive. One problem: Lana's beautiful sister Audrey and her nephew have just become targets. Can he protect them both without his emotions compromising the mission? What will happen when Audrey learns the truth of his involvement in her sister's death?An interracial romantic suspense with a bit of faith weaved in.

Publisher: K. Victoria Chase
Genre: Romance, Suspense
Length: 340 KB, 197 pages 
Format: ebook

Date Published: March 2013
Buying Link:   Amazon

Add to Goodreads

 

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EXCERPT

She backed herself into a corner, keeping her eyes straight ahead, and her chin high. Ale leaned against the opposite wall and hooked his thumbs on his belt loops. The longer he stared at her side profile, the more she fidgeted — checking her watch, gripping her bag, glancing up at the ceiling. If she were going to give him a hard time, he’d at least have a little fun. 

“How do you plan to leave? If I recall, we drove here in my car. Yours is back at your sister’s.” He smiled triumphantly.

She favored him with half a glance before setting her gaze on the control panel. “I’ll call a cab.”

“No one is going to give you the number to a cabbie, on my orders.” She gave him a chagrined smile. “There’s an app for that on my iPhone.”

His eyes fell to her bag and he lifted his brows. “I’ll wrestle it away from you.”

“Ha! After our last fight? You wouldn't dare.”

“ Wouldn't I?” 

Being reminded of his literally crushing defeat at the hands of a woman would've normally irked him, but he remained unbothered. In fact, the thought of another round with the pretty spitfire intrigued him. She gave him a slitted stare, and he responded with a wide grin.

“You have some nerve.”

“Actually, you don’t know the half of it.” 

The memory of their kiss exploded in his brain, his blood pounding in his ears and racing throughout his body, warming muscles stiff after a long day’s work. Her eyes widened a bit, and he wondered whether her thoughts mirrored his own. Maybe they do…

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About the Author:

From childhood, K. Victoria Chase enjoyed writing stories and plays and reading Christian romance. She received degrees in Criminal Justice and Diplomacy and worked as a federal law enforcement officer for several years before deciding to try her hand at writing a complete novel. Today, K. Victoria Chase is an Amazon bestselling author both in the US and the UK. She writes both clean and Christian interracial romance.

Find her online: Website | Twitter | Facebook

Spotlight On: Tin Cat by Misa Buckley

Blurb ~

 A year after the accident that put her in a wheelchair, Amber Gerald has more or less gotten used to living with her impairment. It doesn’t make a difference to running a comic book store anyway, and the customers have been the best support group she could have wished for.

When she rescues an abandoned cat, Amber has no idea that she’s interfering in the mad scheme of a time travelling bank robber. Or that the man that walks into her store dressed like Blade is about to become her bodyguard.

Between being an unwitting owner of an android cat and falling for a cybernetic bounty hunter, Amber finds her life a whole new level of weird as science fiction becomes a very real factual threat.

Publisher: Champagne Books

Genre: Science Fiction, Romance

Format: ebook

Length: 102 pages, 357 KB

Release Date: March 4, 2013

Buying Links:  Amazon   Kobo

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About the author:

Born and raised in Manchester, UK, Misa Buckley grew up watching Doctor Who and Star Trek. She was fascinated by stars and space travel and avidly followed every Shuttle launch. But while TV fed her love of the future, books tapped into a fondness of fantasy, devouring books by Anne McCaffrey and David Eddings.

The extraordinary fascinated her, but growing up she’d rather be out horse-riding or practising her artwork than writing. It wasn’t until she’d married college sweetheart and had their first child that she discovered fanfiction, which offered her the chance to play in the universes she loved to watch.

After failing NaNoWriMo in 2007, Misa found another monthly challenge – JanNo – where she made some very good friends who encouraged her to break away from fanfic and write original. It took her a few years to take the step from writing to submitting, but her first novella was published in July 2011 (IRONHAVEN, Decadent Publishing).

A self-published novella followed almost a year later, after being aired weekly on her blog, with a second small-press contract released in July 2012 (ELEANOR’S HEART, Champagne Books). 2012 saw a further three contracts signed with Champagne, for releasing in 2013.

Though writing a much-needed haven from the crazy of raising five children and a Land Rover-obsessed husband, Misa also enjoys knitting soft toys and doll clothes, baking sweet stuff and cosplaying with the local Steampunk group. She has a motorbike that’s being loving restored and plans to take her test as soon as finances allow.

Find Misa Online:

Website
Twitter
goodreads
facebook 
Google+

The book was released yesterday so if you like what you see, go pick it up now. If you do, please come back and post your thoughts on it. I'm curious about it.

Spotlight on The Middle Aisle by Taylor Dean

"The Middle Aisle", a paranormal romance, is the sequel to "Lancaster House" and was released last month, just in time for the holidays. Author Taylor Dean lives in Texas and is the mother of four grown children. Upon finding herself with an empty nest, she began to write the stories that were always wandering around in her head, quickly finding that she had a passion for writing, specifically romance. Whether it’s paranormal, contemporary, or suspense—you’ll find all sub-genres of romance in her line-up. 

Find Taylor Online:

Facebook

Website

The Middle Aisle

Author: Taylor Dean

Publisher: CreateSpace

ISBN: 9781480082236

Release Date: November 26, 2012

Genre: Fiction, Romance, Paranormal

Length: 356 pages

Format: Paperback

Buying Links:  Barnes & Noble  Amazon  The Book Depository  

Book Blurb (from author):

The sequel to Lancaster House

Zoe Grayson is back in Lancaster House, ordered to bed rest for the duration of her unexpected pregnancy. Doctor Wade Channing, her overzealous psychiatrist, is living in Lancaster House, taking care of her, waiting on her, and tending to her every need. It seems to be the perfect arrangement.

There’s just one catch.

 She has to tell him her story—everything that has happened in her life since the moment she escaped from Serenity Hills. It’s been quite an adventure to include renovating another home and a walk down the middle aisle.

But, that’s all over now. Nothing is real. It never was.

How did she end up in this miserable situation?

 The cover reminds me of something from the early 70's :D and judging by the blurb, this is not a romance with a happy ending. Have you read it yet? What did you think?

Spotlight on Michael Meyer, Mystery Author

              

Suspense/Thriller

Date Published: 10/17/11

COVERT DREAMS synopsis: Imagine waking up remembering intimate details about a country in which you have never traveled and fluently speaking a language that you have never spoken. B.J. is living the ideal life. He has a great wife, a wonderful job. And yet he is experiencing life-like vivid dreams of Munich, a city he has never visited.

Stan Halsey is a professor in Saudi Arabia, who sends for his wife to join him. She arrives, and, in the blink of an eye, she vanishes, leaving no trace of ever being alive in either the United States or in Saudi Arabia.

COVERT DREAMS is a fast-paced international suspense thriller that moves from Munich to the burning sands of Saudi Arabia. What is real, and who is responsible for the terrifying nightmare?

COVERT DREAMS trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9drU4-um_U 

Suspense/Thriller

Date Published: 3/8/12

DEADLY EYES synopsis: James Cuffy, better known as Cuff, is living in paradise with his girlfriend, Rosie, on the small Caribbean island of St. Croix, where the sky is as blue as Cuff's eyes, the ocean as pretty as Rosie's cheeks, where the gentle lapping of the waves is a lullaby, and the swaying of the palm trees is a dance. The sandy beaches are as white as sugar, and the horizon is a world away. St. Croix indeed is paradise, the perfect place for living, laughing, and loving. 

But the sandy beaches and the turquoise sea can provide no cover from the deadly eyes of the unknown stalker pursuing Cuff. Murder leads to murder as he attempts to untangle the terrible web in which he has suddenly become entangled.

The twists and turns are many, the roads of the fast action leading in all directions. Cuff and Rosie are relentlessly pursued by a diabolical force that shows them no mercy. Do these two good people stand a chance against such sheer evil? 

DEADLY EYES trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWLBtVDUdC4&feature=relmfu  

I have resided in and have visited many places in the world, all of which have

contributed in some way to my own published writing. I have literally traveled

throughout the world, on numerous occasions. I have lived in Finland, Germany,

Thailand, Saudi Arabia (where COVERT DREAMS is set), and the U.S. Virgin

Islands (where DEADLY EYES is set). I gained the wanderlust to see the world,

to experience other cultures, at an early age, and this desire has never left

me. If anything, it has only gained in intensity as I have aged. I try to travel

internationally at least once a year. In the interim, I spend lots of time traveling

around both my home state of California and other nearby states.

I spent my early years in the small town of Lone Pine, California, the home of

almost every western movie, in addition to a wide variety of other genres, made

in the 30's, 40's, 50's, and 60's. In fact, Hollywood still films parts of big-time

movies there today. My dad, the town's lifeguard at the time, personally knew

John Wayne, Lloyd Bridges, and Lee Marvin, all of whom came to the town's

pool, the Memorial Plunge, at times to cool off after a hectic day of working

in the sun. I was even an extra in a movie filmed there in 1957, MONOLITH

MONSTERS, a B-cult favorite even today. I was ten years old at the time. Even

though I resided in a small town hours from the big city, I was exposed to the

excitement of action and heroes at a formative age, and, thus, my interest in

writing novels of suspense such as COVERT DREAMS and DEADLY EYES was

born.

As a recent retiree from a forty-year career as a professor of writing, I now live in

Southern California wine country with my wife, Kitty, and our two other cats.

Contact Links

Website

LINKS TO BUY

COVERT DREAMS Amazon 

DEADLY EYES Amazon 

Blog Tour Giveaway & Review of The Burning of Isobel Key by Jen McConnel

Publisher: BrightFish Press
Format Read: Kindle edition
Release Date: September 14, 2012
Buying Links:  Amazon   Barnes & Noble   

Book Blurb (from goodreads):

When Lou travels to Scotland, she’s a mess. She’s twenty-six, unemployed, and unsure of herself. It doesn’t help that she’s traveling with Tammy, her best friend, who is everything Lou is not.

At first, the trip pushes Lou towards the brink of depression, but then she meets Brian, a handsome local tour guide. When Brian tells the tourists about the countless witches burned in Scotland, Lou starts to listen. And when she discovers information about Isobel Key, one of the victims of the seventeenth century, Lou finds renewed purpose.

She sets out to learn the truth of the condemned witch, but she isn’t prepared for the knowledge that waits for her. Lou must face her demons if she has any hope of righting the wrongs of the past.

Quote:

Their memories were as short as the day, from the morning after her terrible deeds were revealed and the witch was brought into town bound in the back of the pony cart. It was suddenly as if none of the villagers knew the poor creature at all. None could recall seeking her help, and none would avow that she had always been kind and ready to bake breads for town feasts or to watch the little ones play while their parents danced together. Kindness lingers less than murder, for it was obvious to all that the woman had murdered at least three souls, if not countless others.  Justice was being served, and her blood would not stain the god fearing hands in St. Andrews. She was not their responsibility, and they wanted to take no claim for her evil.

Reviewed By: Bea

Bea's Thoughts:

I enjoyed Isobel's story very much; I've always had a fascination for the history of witches and Europe, like the US, hunted down women, and some women, who were accused of witchcraft. Often, the guilty were social outcasts, had something that their accuser wanted or had knowledge, such as herbalry and midwifery, that was sometimes looked on suspiciously. The character of Isobel is a midwife and healer and when tragedy strikes, her grief starts her down a path that results in her being charged as a witch. Isobel was engaging and her story was fascinating, even knowing how her story ends.


I was less engaged in Lou's story. Maybe it's been too long since I was that young and that unsure of myself but I had a hard time relating to her. Although, her critical mother reminded me very much of my stepmother; they both mean well but have difficulty showing their love in non-critical ways. I did like that Lou changed and grew during the book; she grew a spine and became more confident. I also appreciated that McConnel didn't rush the romance between Lou and the tour guide, Brian. It developed slowly and realistically.

The story is a fast read despite its length and I didn't at all mind the back and forth between the past and the present and between Isobel and Lou's perspectives. The author is working on a sequel, presumably starring Lou, and Brian so if you read and enjoy this, you shouldn't have long to wait for the next one.

I received a PDF from RABT for review.

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Spotlight On Housetrap by R.J. Hore

The blurb for this sounded interesting and I knew I had to participate in the promo blitz for it. It mixes two of my favorite genres, urban fantasy and mystery. The book was released on December third, so if you like the excerpt below, you can go and purchase it.

The author,R.J. Hore was a reader of genre fiction since a very early age. He got down to serious attempts at writing over thirty years ago, although employment kept getting in the way. He did write a considerable amount of non-fiction during his business career, enough to be listed as a professional writer by the Canadian Authors Association.

His hobbies include trying to keep on the good side of his wife, keeping track of his children and grandchildren, and wrestling the blasted cat off of his keyboard. In his diminishing spare time he sails on Lake Winnipeg and try not to get lost.


He currently reviews science fiction and fantasy genre novels and anthologies for an on-line magazine aimed primarily at school libraries. He's losing track, but has done somewhere over 60 reviews so far.

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 Excerpt

Faith tongued my ear and moved on, leaving me quite damp. I don’t know what some parents think about raising children, but Grizzly’s methods leave something to be seriously reviewed by the Committee of Public Knowledge and Enlightenment. A young lady should definitely not be brought up and educated in an all-night snack and beverage emporium. And she should at the least learn to respect her elders. I dragged my tired carcass onto a pair of flat feet and headed for the exit sign.

The rain had stopped but the early morning air remained chill. I often thought things out clearest while strolling during these purple-grey hours before the sun cleared the buildings. My own little rooms were only blocks away. After the first block I knew I was being followed.

The empty street stretched out ahead, a long mist-clad tunnel of dark shadows and faint gaslight. One or two of the street lamps in the next block had already burned out, leaving gaps of pure blackness not yet touched by the yawning whisper of the dawn. There were at least two of them trailing behind me; I could tell that much by the muffled footsteps. Which two, and why they were not bothering to hide their approach, I could only guess at. But if I were a gambler, I’d wager Bertha’s next pay cheque that they had some connection with our little lost love, dear Rupert. Passing through the pale ring of light on the sidewalk cast by the next lamp, I paused, slipping my left hand into the glass knuckles in my coat pocket, and casually turned around so that my followers would be caught in the glow.

“Good evening gentlemen, taking an early morning stroll? I don’t believe I've seen you in the neighbourhood before.”

The Vampire smiled, fixing his sunken black eyes upon me. The more elderly and taller partner of the pair, he stood motionless, long grasping hands dangling out from the sleeves of his greatcoat, thin fingers twitching. The Demon shimmered silently beside him, the light sparkling on his green scales. Shorter and stockier than his cadaverous companion, he licked his lips.

The bloodsucker spoke first, in a voice that echoed as a cross somewhere between coarse sandpaper and an untuned fiddle. “I believe you know a close acquaintance of ours, a young Master Rupert? We are searching for him.”

“Don't know the lad, I’m afraid.” I recognized the tall Ghoul’s accent though.

The Vampire drifted to the nearer edge of the dim circle of light. The Demon faded toward my right and the deserted street. I loosened the splatter gun with a slight move of my shoulder.

“Oh dear, we just want to speak with the boy. What can you tell us of his whereabouts?”

Not only was this parasite on the ripe side of the last century, but he had a set of bad teeth and nasty breath I could smell from ten feet away.

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Housetrap

Author: R.J. Hore 

Publisher: Champagne Books

Format: ebook

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Mystery

Release Date: December 3, 2012

Excerpt & Giveaway - The Betrayal by Sheila Hendrix

Today I have an excerpt from a paranormal YA book, "The Betrayal", by Sheila Hendrix. Sheila is a native of Alabama and resides there with her husband of seventeen years. Her only children are her six dogs. She works as a nurse for a nursing home and also does reviews for a magazine, although she hasn’t done that in a while because she’s been busy writing her own Young Adult series. Sheila has always wanted to write but never thought she’d be able to. It’s been a dream of hers since she was a little girl. She practically raised her little brother because her parents both had to work. She had to grow up fast and that was where she got the idea of writing about two brothers whose parents abandoned them when they were little. The Dark Circle book series is her paranormal series which she’s working on right now. She got the idea for "The Betrayal" after having a nightmare that stayed with her for days. "The Betrayal" is the first book in the series and is now available where ever books are sold. The second book in the series is "Head Games" and then "Darkness Falls". She doesn’t know how many books will be in the series but there will be several. Her hobbies are reading, writing, gardening, traveling, hiking, camping and swimming. She is currently in school to earn her Associate Degree in Paralegal studies but her dream is to write.

Find Sheila online:

Website

Blog

Facebook

Twitter
 

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Short Excerpt 

He roamed through the cave, listening to the sounds around him.  Water dripped into an underground pool further down, the drops spaced several seconds apart and the splash echoing off the rocks.  Sand and pebbles crunched under his feet, and wind whistled across the cave opening, all of it familiar. He’d walked that cave a million times for a million reasons. His domain — where he drew his strength — also became his weakness at times, for the cave was alive. 

His name, Alanya, meant The Destroyer. He wandered the ages, seeking to slaughter people who held special gifts.  He fed on them for their strength and power, each special power offering a distinctive flavor.  Their cries resonated in the cave’s memory; their blood splattered on its walls and drenched its floors.  If he closed his eyes and concentrated, he could still smell the coppery tang.

Strolling to the mouth of the cave, he looked at but didn’t see the forest.  His mind seethed in his hatred for the brothers Zachariah and Matthew McCannon.

  

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The Betrayal
Author: Sheila Hendrix
Series: The Dark Circle, #1
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 9781466010116
Format: paperback, ebook
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Length: 294 pages, 548 KB
Release Date: December 24, 2011
Buying Links:  
Lulu

Smashwords

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Book Blurb (from the author):

When Zachariah and Matthew McCannon were young, their parents abandoned them, leaving Zack to take care of his little brother, Matt. Though they lived with their grandmother, she was always sick, so Zack was forced to raise him. This was not an easy task.

   Zack had his hands full because of Matt’s unusual powers. He has visions and dreams that come true, and when he gets angry or upset, he can move things with his mind. Because of this, evil seeks him, keeping Zack on his toes as his protector. 

    As the brothers grew older, they became hunters, pursuing evil supernatural forces. After Matthew has a dream, it sends them on a hunt for cave, not knowing why, but realizing it is necessary. When they arrive, Matt finds the vision was a trap.

    A Darkness like no other wants to control Matt and kill Zack. The Darkness is named, Alanya, which means, The Destroyer.

    Alanya hates the brothers. In the past, every time he tried to apprehend Matt, Zack would thwart him by protecting his brother. Alanya is incensed that a mere human boy can beat him, for demons are not to be defied.

    When Alanya asks Zack, “How far will you go to save your brother?” Zack answers, “As far as I have to.”

    Now, the brothers are faced with a deadly force they never had to deal with before. This demon is on a deadly mission to destroy everything the brothers hold dear. If the McCannon’s are not careful, neither of them will be able to escape.

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