Category: Blog Tours

Song of Howls (Sisters of Song 2) by M.D. Grimm Interview + Blog Tour

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn Blog Tours, Book Events, InterviewsLeave a comment

Good day lovely readers! I’m M.D. Grimm, and I want to thank you for joining me to promote my newest release, Song of Howls (Sisters of Song 2). This is the second and final book in a duology about two sisters, their adventures, growth, and romances with magical beings. This story is about Alaiya, the younger sister, and her unexpected romance with Talla, a she-wolf alpha. This is my first FF romance, and I really enjoyed writing a very woman-centered story. I’ve spoken before about my concern that there aren’t enough positive depictions of relationships between women, whether that be friendship, romance, mentorship, or all of the above. Due to that, it was a treat that the real movers-and-shakers in this story are three women.

So, let’s get to the questions, shall we?

Q1: How long have you been writing?

A1: I hit my ten-year pubiversary in 2022, so going on 12 years now. I am incredibly thankful and amazed that I’ve managed to continue this crazy ride. Although only now do I feel like I’ve hit my stride. I’m focusing more on single titles and moving away from series. It’s interesting that my muse has shifted since she started off so darn insistent on turning everything into a series.

Q2: Are there underrepresented groups or ideas featured in your book? If so, discuss them.

A2: The main protagonists featured in the duology are Black sisters. Venya’s story was in Song of Flames, and Alaiya’s is in Song of Howls. There isn’t enough representation of non-white folks in speculative fiction books, and I wanted to do my part in changing that. Also, Alaiya is a lesbian, and finds her HEA with Talla, her she-wolf alpha mate. I firmly believe in portraying all the different ways love can manifest and blossom between individuals. Venya ended up with two dragons, who could be considered bisexual or maybe even pansexual, if we label them with human terms. I’m really proud of what I managed to accomplish with these two stories, and I might do similar projects in the future. We shall see.

Q3: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

A3: Prepare to spend more than half your time as an author marketing your books. Oh, and maybe don’t bite off so much with all those series! Spread them out and think single titles. Also, don’t put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to publishers. Not everyone can be trusted to follow their own contracts. Ugh… and one other thing! Don’t expect your books to pay for themselves, you will spend more money than you make… because good cover artists and editors aren’t cheap.

Q4: What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?

A4: With both this book and Song of Flames, I wanted to depict a healthy and loving relationship between sisters. They are friends and confidants, and they rely on each other for safety and emotional support since, in their early years, Venya and Alaiya only had each other due to their parents’ emotional abuse. The core of these stories is their friendship as they navigate new relationships and the new chapter in their lives. Along with this is Song of Howls being a very women-centered story, which was not a conscious decision, but a happy result of strong women leads.

Q5: What was the hardest part of writing this book?

A5: While Venya’s story came to me fully formed, Alaiya’s took a bit more time to simmer. Her struggles are different, and her personality is markedly different from her sister’s. Couple that with this being my first FF romance, and the dynamics I’m accustomed to were no longer available. But I enjoyed watching her and Talla find each other, and the more time I spent with the story, the more I molded and shaped it into something really special. So, the hardest part? All of it. But worth every second.

So if you want two fantasy stories involving two strong, fierce, vulnerable, loving, and nurturing Black women who define their own world, please check out Song of Flames and Song of Howls!

If you want more shifter action, please check out my on-going series “The Shifter Chronicles” (contemporary shifters, linked stories but with a different couple each book), as well as On Wings of Passion and On Wings of Thunder (for more dragon and angel spice!).

If fantasy is your jam, please consider “The Stones of Power” on-going series, about an angsty, anti-hero mage and his supportive, long-suffering mate. I also have A Priest, a Plague, and a Prophecy, a single title about Elias, an ace temple priest, and Gurrkk, the fierce, cinnamon-role orc who adores him. My trilogy “A Warrior’s Redemption” also packs a punch with action, danger, love, friendship, and a feisty horse that keeps everyone in line (seriously, Brutus is a gem!).

As for current and future projects, I’m still working on the next “The Stones of Power” book, Opal: Master and Puppet, and I’m almost finished with a single title MMF fantasy story. Later this year I hope to write On Wings of Shadow, and a short story collection from the “A Warrior’s Redemption” universe (yes, there will be a story from Brutus’s POV).

Until next time. May dragons guard your dreams,

M.D. Grimm

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Song of Howls - M.D. Grimm

M.D. Grimm has a new FF fantasy romance out, Sisters of Song book 2: Song of Howls. And there’s a giveaway!

As Alaiya reclaims her life, she never intended to capture the heart of a she-wolf.

Alaiya was trained by her parents to be the perfect wife. Due to her beauty, they knew they could entice a wealthy man to wed her and raise their status. She was a trophy, a prize, brought out to entertain like an obedient dog. Their efforts were rewarded when Lord Salazem claimed her to become his next wife, intent on adding her to his harem. But when two mighty dragons and her sister save her, Alaiya is given a new chance at life.

Determined to stand on her own and discover who she truly is, Alaiya has little interest in relationships. Even when she meets the silver-haired Talla, Alaiya pushes down her desire, unwilling to be caged again.

Talla is the alpha of her large wolf pack in the Firestar Mountains and knows Alaiya is her mate. She is entranced by Alaiya’s strength, courage, and loyalty, and is determined to prove herself as a worthy mate. But first she must overcome Alaiya’s barriers, which might prove to be her greatest challenge.

As Alaiya and her sister adjust to their new lives, they must secure their home from those who would take it from them. Including their parents. As Alaiya struggles to stand on her own, she learns that true strength lies in letting others stand beside her.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Venya and Alaiya are sisters born to greedy and selfish parents. One is neglected and the other exploited. Despite this–or because of it–they cling to each other, best friends as well as family. They find freedom in the mountain range beyond their city of birth… as well as unexpected chances at love with extraordinary beings.

Forging a new future is never easy, but with their unbreakable bond, and lovers and allies at their side, the impossible just might be attainable.

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Giveaway

M.D. is giving away a $10 Amazon gift card with this tour:

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Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47312/?

Excerpt

Song of Howls - M.D. Grimm

For a moment, Alaiya forgot her own troubles and lived in the moment. She’d seen many such beautiful places in the Firestar Mountains but this one beat them all.

Wolves watched them descend, and Alaiya tried not to cower under their piercing stares. The valley was filled with adults, adolescents, and pups. No one approached them, and she had a feeling something significant was happening. Though she couldn’t determine what it was.

The mask she’d learned to wear as a child, that of societal pleasantries, slipped on as they stepped off the trail. Alaiya slid off Talla’s back and inclined her head to those nearby.

“Good evening. I am Alaiya. Thank you for watching over my sister, and for welcoming us into your home. We are in your debt.”

A few of the pups ran up as several adults approached. Tails were tucked, heads were down. Talla stayed beside her, watching them but also glancing at her. If Alaiya allowed herself to indulge in fantasy, she would have sworn she saw pride in Talla’s bright gaze.

Of course she stroked the puppies and offered the adults her hands to sniff. Feeling welcomed and trying not to be overwhelmed, Alaiya resisted reliving the recent dangers again. This was an extraordinary moment that shouldn’t be tarnished by the past. If spending her entire life under the thumb of her parents had taught her anything, it was to savor the good and beautiful for as long as possible.

When Alaiya’s stomach grumbled, Talla nudged the others away and jerked her head, wanting her to follow. Clearly, she was the alpha. Or one of the alphas. Didn’t wolf packs usually have a male and a female leader?

Alaiya tried to decipher if any of the others gave off the alpha vibe but she didn’t sense anything. Talla took her to a pile of fruit that appeared to have been recently picked and washed. There were apples, oranges, and grapes. When she hesitated, Talla nudged her forward lightly. She took a grape, and Talla’s mouth dropped open in a lupine grin.

Alaiya couldn’t resist smiling a little. “Thank you.”

Talla huffed and trotted off. Alaiya sat next to the fruit and munched. She curled into herself, feeling a bit chilled. Her clothes had seen better days, they were dirty and torn. She mourned the state of them. They were ones she’d found in the palace, and she liked the style. She was grateful for the variety of clothing for ladies in the palace, and since she was handy with needle and thread, it was a simple thing to make modifications as needed to fit her, and her sister’s, shapes better. Her parents had insisted she be adept at all manner of womanly tasks and pursuits, including how to sew her own clothing. She’d needed to be a prize catch after all.

She scowled at the memories.

The adult wolves left her alone, though a few pups crept closer, curious. She coaxed them nearer and ended up with four pups draped over her lap and cuddled at her sides. Their fluffy, warm bodies and playful squeaks calmed her. But despite her best efforts, recent events wouldn’t let her settle.

“What disturbs you?”

She jerked and looked up. Talla stood there, naked, hair like silver silk draped over her. Alaiya quickly turned away and cleared her throat. She flushed hot when Talla sat beside her. Though she didn’t touch her or draw closer, Alaiya felt her gaze like a touch. It itched. It burned.

“I… I’ve been through a lot.”

“I gathered that from what Venya said. Do you wish to speak about it?”

“No.”

Talla nodded and when one of the pups nuzzled her hand, she plucked him up and rubbed her face against his. Alaiya softened at the adoration.

“Is he yours?”

Talla smiled. “No. All my pups are grown with pups of their own. I have no desire for more.”

Alaiya frowned. “How old…? Never mind.”

Rude. Very rude question. All those weeks away from society had made her social skills rusty. She used to be far better at small talk and charming all she met.

Talla chuckled. The sound danced pleasantly along Alaiya’s skin. Damn.

“We age differently than humans. Though I can still have children, I have chosen to stop. Let the younger, stronger of my pack produce the next generations. This way, I get to enjoy the pups with little burden.”

So saying, she rubbed the pup’s tummy, and he wiggled with delight.

Alaiya grinned.

“Make sure to drink the water from the falls. It will cleanse you and heal you of any injuries or discomforts.”

“How?”

“This place was blessed by the gods long ago. A hint of their divinity remains.”

Their gazes met and held. Alaiya was struck with the directness of Talla’s stare. She exuded calm and confidence, a steadfastness that encouraged trust and dependency.

And that was a problem. Alaiya needed to stand on her own. She’d obeyed her parents for most of her life. Then she’d depended on Venya to rescue her. But now she had the freedom to be whoever she wanted to be. And she had no clue who that was. So she needed to find out and having a liaison with anyone—even this sexy she-wolf—was not part of the plan.

“That’s amazing. I wouldn’t have believed that a month ago. But after meeting the dragons and… This is a good place to live.”

“Yes. These mountains are sacred and must be protected.”

Alaiya sighed. “And our presence brings danger. If my parents hadn’t sold me to that no good—”

“‘Sold’?” Talla’s voice turned low and menacing.

Author Bio

M.D. Grimm Logo

M.D. Grimm has wanted to write stories since second grade (kind of young to make life decisions, but whatever) and nothing has changed since then (well, plenty of things actually, but not that!). Thankfully, she has indulgent parents who let her dream, but also made sure she understood she’d need a steady job to pay the bills (they never let her forget it!).

After graduating from the University of Oregon and majoring in English, (let’s be honest: useless degree, what else was she going to do with it?) she started on her writing career and couldn’t be happier. Working by day and writing by night (or any spare time she can carve out), she enjoys embarking on romantic quests and daring adventures (living vicariously, you could say) and creating characters that always triumph against the villain, (or else what’s the point?) finding their soul mate in the process.

Author Website: https://www.mdgrimmwrites.com

Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/mdgrimmwrites

Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdgrimmwrites

Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4574220.M_D_Grimm

Author Liminal Fiction (LimFic.com): https://www.limfic.com/mbm-book-author/m-d-grimm/

Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/m-d-grimm/

Author Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/M.D.-Grimm/e/B00I0KZMY6/

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Guest Post: LGBTQIA+ Pride and publishing by Dr. Angela Yarber

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn Blog Tours, Book Events, Guest PostLeave a comment

The queer poet, Sappho, renowned for dubbing the term “lesbian” since she was from the island of Lesbos, is remembered for saying, “Someday, someone will remember us.”

A lot has transpired for queer folx in the two thousand years since Sappho dreamed our possible realities. And with 500 proposed bills against LGBTQ+ rights awaiting rulings across the United States, the world has never needed our wisdom more.

Did you know that LGBTQ+ authors only account for only 16% of published books?

As a queer woman, this isn’t simply a statistic, but my lived reality. And after I had my first seven books published with four different presses, it dawned on me that it didn’t have to be this way. I didn’t have to be the only one my publishers represented, or the one who made it to the final round with a publishing company only for them to respond, “We really believe in this book, but we don’t know how to market to queer audiences.”

I was sick and tired of seeing straight, white men thrive with mediocre books because their advances, royalties, and stories had an advantage from the very start, because when they looked around at the presses that represented their books, they saw a bunch of other straight, white cis dudes staring back at them. What about our queer dreams?

The world was missing out on the precise perspectives and stories we need most.

In writing and publishing Queering the American Dream, I was able to create and imagine a different world, a world where women, queer folx, and BIPOC have equitable access to publishing, to fulfilling our dreams.

Queering the American Dreambegins the day the Supreme Court ruled our marriage legal, my queer little family traversing the American landscape for two years in a camper named Freya, following in the footsteps of revolutionary women from history and myth. Amid our wanderings, I grappled with the loss of faith, addiction, death, and what it means to reimagine the so-called dream promised to so many. With unapologetic grief, humor, and radical imagination, I created a new dream, not just for myself, but for all marginalized people living in America.

One of my favorite writers, Gloria Anzaldúa, inspired this dream. This queer Chicana feminist claimed: “The world I create in my writing compensates for what the real world does not give me.” 

The “real world” has given us, on the whole, an old-school, white, male, predatory publishing industry that, at best, doesn’t understand the nuances of queer and feminist writing, and at worst, preys upon us for capital gain. So, I created Tehom Center Publishing to compensate for what the real world has not given us. Tehom Center Publishing is a press publishing feminist and queer authors, with a commitment to elevate BIPOC writers.

Publishing Queering the American Dreamwith my own press was not only empowering, but it also galvanized me to coach other marginalized authors in the power of living the authorpreneur dream. Yes, Tehom Center publishes authors at absolutely no cost, but we also offer just and equitable coaching programs empowering authors in creating entire businesses aligned with their books, thereby sustaining a financially abundant life.

Traveling throughout the country with my queer little family taught me that the world not only needs queer authors to be published, but we deserve to live abundant lives. This is our iteration of the American dream.

*****

To join us in queering the American dream and stay connected with book and publishing events, visit www.tehomcenter.org/booktour

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Book Summary

Beginning the day the Supreme Court ruled her marriage legal, Angela Yarber’s queer little family traversed the American landscape for two years in a camper named Freya, following in the footsteps of revolutionary women from history and myth. Amid her wanderings, this queer clergywoman grapples with the loss of faith, addiction, death, parenting, and what it means to reimagine the so-called dream promised to so many. With unapologetic grief, humor, and radical imagination, she creates a new dream, not just for herself, but for all marginalized people living in America.

Publisher: Parson’s Porch

ISBN-10: 195558141X

ISBN-13: 978-1955581417

Print Length: 188 pages

Purchase a copy of the book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.org. You can also add it to your list on Goodreads.

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About the Author

Rev. Dr. Angela Yarber is an award-winning author of eight books and a highly sought public speaker. She is the Founder of Tehom Center Publishing, an imprint publishing feminist and queer authors, with a commitment to elevate BIPOC writers. With a Ph.D. in Art and Religion and over a decade serving as a Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, five of her books were listed in QSpirit’s Top LGBTQ Religion Books. Her work has been featured in Forbes, HuffPo, Ms. Magazine, Tiny House Nation, and more at https://angelayarber.org

You can find her online at:

www.angelayarber.org

www.tehomcenter.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angela.yarber

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tehomcenter

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tehomcenter/?hl=en

Blog Tour Calendar

June 3rd @ The Muffin

Join us at WOW’s blog The Muffin as we celebrate the launch of Dr. Angela Yarber’s memoir Queering the American Dream. You can read an interview with the author and enter to win a copy of the book.

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com

June 5th @ Speaking of Spirit

Visit Linda’s blog for her review of Queering the American Dream. You can also win a copy of the book!

https://interfaithmoments.blogspot.com

June 7th @ One Writer’s Journey

Visit Sue’s blog for a review of Queering the American Dream.

https://suebe.wordpress.com

June 10th @ Choices

Visit Madeline’s blog for a guest post by Dr. Angela Yarber about how publishing a book can transform your business and life.

https://www.madelinesharples.com

June 12th @ Speaking of Spirit

Join Linda for a guest post by Rev. Dr. Angela Yarber about the importance of publishing marginalized authors.

https://interfaithmoments.blogspot.com

June 14th @ One Writer’s Journey

Visit Sue’s blog again for an interview with author Dr. Angela Yarber about her memoir.

https://suebe.wordpress.com

June 15th @ Boots, Shoes, and Fashion

Visit Linda’s blog for an in-depth interview with Dr. Angela Yarber. 

https://bootsshoesandfashion.com

June 18th @ Writer Advice

Visit B. Lynn Goodwin’s site for a helpful guest post from Dr. Angela Yarber on the importance of mental health care in launching a book.

https://writeradvice.com

June 21st @ The Faerie Review

Visit Lily’s blog for a review of Queering the American Dream.

https://www.thefaeriereview.com

June 23rd @ A Wonderful World of Words

Visit Joy’s blog for a spotlight of Queering the American Dream. You can also win a copy of the book!

https://awonderfulworldofwordsa.blogspot.com

June 25th @ Editor 911

Visit Margo’s blog for her review of Queering the American Dream.

https://editor-911.com

June 28th @ Author Anthony Avina’s blog

Visit Anthony’s blog for his review of  Queering the American Dream.

https://atomic-temporary-124910902.wpcomstaging.com/

July 2nd @ Author Anthony Avina’s blog

Join Anthony for a guest post by Dr. Angela Yarber about LGBTQIA+ Pride and publishing.

https://atomic-temporary-124910902.wpcomstaging.com/

July 3rd @ Michelle Cornish’ blog

Visit Michelle’s blog for an interview with Dr. Angela Yarber about her memoir.

https://www.michellecornish.com

July 6th @ Coffee & Ink

You can visit Jan’s blog for her review of Queering the American Dream. Plus read a guest post by Dr. Angela Yarber about disenfranchised grief, particularly as it pertains to losing someone to addiction.

https://coffeeandinkbooks.wordpress.com

COVER REVEAL: The Death Bringer (Tharassas Cycle Book 4) by J. Scott Coatsworth

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn Blog Tours, book cover reveal, Book Events, Book PromotionLeave a comment
The Death Bringer - J. Scott Coatsworth

J. Scott Coatsworth has a new queer sci-fantasy book coming out in September, The Tharassas Cycle book four, and we have the cover reveal: The Death Bringer.

AIK WILL NEVER BE THE SAME… AND NEITHER WILL HIS WORLD

War is coming. Aik has become the Progenitor, and the Seed Mother has released him to transform the world for her alien brood. Silya and Raven, Aik’s former friends, are the only ones who can save him and the world. But what if the cure is worse than the invasion?

As Silya rushes to prepare Gullton for the battle to come, she’s determined to save as many people as she can. But new crises emerge that demand her attention.

Raven has his own hands full, keeping the dragon-like verent in line, while helping Silya to save the world. But what if the only way to do so is to sacrifice Aik, the man that he loves?

It’s the end of the world … or could it be the start of something new?

Note: Advance paperback copies will be available at BayCon in Santa Clara in early July.

About the Series:

The Tharassas Cycle is a four book sci-fantasy series set on the recently colonized world of Tharassas. When humans first arrived on planet, they thought they were alone until the hencha mind made itself known. But now a new threat has arisen to challenge both humankind and their new allies on this alien world.

Preorder Now

Excerpt

The Death Bringer meme

Chapter One

Regroup

He floated, weightless and naked, surrounded by a reddish light and suspended in fluid. Something connected to his mouth and wrapped around his head, like a lover’s embrace.

He used to have a name. He searched his mind for some clue to his identity. I exist, so I must be someone. Or something.

That made sense, but got him no closer to an answer. He blinked. Who am I?

There was no immediate reply.

He lifted his hand. It was encased in metal. The gauntlet. That much he remembered, though it meant nothing to him. Except… it seemed different, somehow. Thinner.

He moved his arms in the liquid, and it sparkled around him where his shifting disturbed it. The metal extended down his wrist and along his forearm, like before, but now it went farther, around his elbow and up his bicep. He touched it with his free hand.

I can feel it. It was as if the metal had become a part of him, his nerves growing through it. He held out his metallic hand and flexed his fingers. What is it?

We call it uurcaa. It’s a sacred metal—it will protect you, and if your host dies, it will collect and save your soul.He could feel the emotions she held back from him. It is the last of its kind from our homeworld. Like us.

He blinked. Then what am I?

You are my son, Iihil. The progenitor, the one who has come before and the first of many more like you. The voice was deep and comforting.

Mother. Warmth infused him at her voice, and an eagerness to please her.

Still, something wasn’t right. He was more than that. He searched his mind, running up against that stubborn blankness. Somewhere beyond it were the answers he needed.

He’d been someone else. Before.

Who was I? Memories of a face—dark hair, intense eyes that nevertheless twinkled at him. Raven.

It came flooding back to him. His mother. His life in Gullton. Training to be a guard and meeting Raven for the first time. My name is Aik.

He reached for the mask that covered his face. It was suffocating. Something was stuck in his throat, and he coughed hard, trying to force it out, whipping around and causing the liquid around him to flash red in alarm.

Calm yourself. The voice was as thick and heavy as an ix hide, and just as soft and warm.

Aik pushed back. What are you doing to me? I don’t want this! Let me out! He thrashed about, trying to force his way through the suffocating liquid. The metal crept up his shoulder. If it covered all of him, he would be lost.

Calm yourself! It was more insistent this time.

Aik stiffened as an enforced lethargy settled over him. He lost control of his limbs, falling still in his floating prison. The voice pressed against his mind. You’re safe. Be calm, my little one.

He closed his eyes and thought of Raven, trying to stay fixed on that face. I can’t let myself forget again.

Then the world around him dissolved, and he was swept up in a torrent of memories that weren’t his own.

Author Bio

J. Scott Coatsworth

Scott lives with his husband Mark in a yellow bungalow in Sacramento. He was indoctrinated into fantasy and sci fi by his mother at the tender age of nine. He devoured her library, but as he grew up, he wondered where all the people like him were.

He decided that if there weren’t queer characters in his favorite genres, he would remake them to his own ends.

A Rainbow Award winning author, he runs Queer Sci Fi, QueeRomance Ink, Liminal Fiction, and Other Worlds Ink with Mark, sites that celebrate fiction reflecting queer reality, and was the committee chair for the Indie Authors Committee at the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for almost three years.

Author Website: https://www.jscottcoatsworth.com

Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/jscottcoatsworth/

Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/jscottcoatsworthauthor

Author Mastodon: https://mastodon.otherworldsink.com/@jscottcoatsworth

Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jscottcoatsworth/

Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8392709.J_Scott_Coatsworth

Author Liminal Fiction (LimFic.com): https://www.limfic.com/mbm-book-author/j-scott-coatsworth/

Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/j-scott-coatsworth/

Author Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/J.-Scott-Coatsworth/e/B011AFO4OQ

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Queering the American Dream by Angela Yarber Review

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn Blog Tours, Book Events, reviewsLeave a comment

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Author Angela Yarber seeks to redefine what the American Dream means to marginalized people and the LGBTQ+ community as a whole in the book “Queering the American Dream”.

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The Synopsis

Beginning the day the Supreme Court ruled her marriage legal, Angela Yarber’s queer little family traversed the American landscape for two years in a camper named Freya, following in the footsteps of revolutionary women from history and myth. Amid her wanderings, this queer clergywoman grapples with the loss of faith, addiction, death, parenting, and what it means to reimagine the so-called dream promised to so many. With unapologetic grief, humor, and radical imagination, she creates a new dream, not just for herself, but for all marginalized people living in America.

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The Review

What a compelling and thoughtful read. The author did a fantastic job of highlighting the personal struggles and obstacles she faced in going on this personal journey to find herself and her family in the process while also acknowledging the privilege she was born into, helping to shine a light on other marginalized groups aside from her own, from people of color to people who identify as different genders and so much more. The author’s balance of personal and professional writing in this book allowed the reader to connect with her experiences much deeper.

The heart of this narrative rested in the author’s path that she found herself on. In our current landscape, the need to “define” things like family, love, and society has become a centralized debate worldwide. The reader can see no clear-cut definition of family through the author’s story. Instead, family and love can look like anyone and anything, with white picket fences being equal to living on the road in an RV or having an apartment overlooking a major metropolitan city, as well as a mother and father being equal to two mothers or two fathers. The personal nature of the author’s other struggles, from loved ones struggling with addiction to feelings of self-doubt and more, really kept the reader engaged.

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The Verdict

Memorable, heartfelt, and thoughtful in its delivery, author Angela Yarber’s “Queering the American Dream” is a must-read LGBTQ-driven nonfiction book that readers won’t be able to put down. The book’s relatability for so many LGBTQ readers looking to find their family in this world and the dedication to representing and giving voice to many different cultures and viewpoints allowed for a well-rounded discussion and heartfelt dive into what family truly means. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

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About the Author

Rev. Dr. Angela Yarber is an award-winning author of eight books and a highly sought public speaker. She is the Founder of Tehom Center Publishing, an imprint publishing feminist and queer authors, with a commitment to elevate BIPOC writers. With a Ph.D. in Art and Religion and over a decade serving as a Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, five of her books were listed in QSpirit’s Top LGBTQ Religion Books. Her work has been featured in Forbes, HuffPo, Ms. Magazine, Tiny House Nation, and more at https://angelayarber.org

You can find her online at:

www.angelayarber.org

www.tehomcenter.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angela.yarber

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tehomcenter

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tehomcenter/?hl=en

Purchase a copy of the book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.org. You can also add it to your list on Goodreads.

Blog Tour Calendar

June 3rd @ The Muffin

Join us at WOW’s blog The Muffin as we celebrate the launch of Dr. Angela Yarber’s memoir Queering the American Dream. You can read an interview with the author and enter to win a copy of the book.

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com

June 5th @ Speaking of Spirit

Visit Linda’s blog for her review of Queering the American Dream. You can also win a copy of the book!

https://interfaithmoments.blogspot.com

June 7th @ One Writer’s Journey

Visit Sue’s blog for a review of Queering the American Dream.

https://suebe.wordpress.com

June 10th @ Choices

Visit Madeline’s blog for a guest post by Dr. Angela Yarber about how publishing a book can transform your business and life.

https://www.madelinesharples.com

June 12th @ Speaking of Spirit

Join Linda for a guest post by Rev. Dr. Angela Yarber about the importance of publishing marginalized authors.

https://interfaithmoments.blogspot.com

June 14th @ One Writer’s Journey

Visit Sue’s blog again for an interview with author Dr. Angela Yarber about her memoir.

https://suebe.wordpress.com

June 15th @ Boots, Shoes, and Fashion

Visit Linda’s blog for an in-depth interview with Dr. Angela Yarber. 

https://bootsshoesandfashion.com

June 18th @ Writer Advice

Visit B. Lynn Goodwin’s site for a helpful guest post from Dr. Angela Yarber on the importance of mental health care in launching a book.

https://writeradvice.com

June 21st @ The Faerie Review

Visit Lily’s blog for a review of Queering the American Dream.

https://www.thefaeriereview.com

June 23rd @ A Wonderful World of Words

Visit Joy’s blog for a spotlight of Queering the American Dream. You can also win a copy of the book!

https://awonderfulworldofwordsa.blogspot.com

June 25th @ Editor 911

Visit Margo’s blog for her review of Queering the American Dream.

https://editor-911.com

June 28th @ Author Anthony Avina’s blog

Visit Anthony’s blog for his review of  Queering the American Dream.

https://atomic-temporary-124910902.wpcomstaging.com/

July 2nd @ Author Anthony Avina’s blog

Join Anthony for a guest post by Dr. Angela Yarber about LGBTQIA+ Pride and publishing.

https://atomic-temporary-124910902.wpcomstaging.com/

July 3rd @ Michelle Cornish’ blog

Visit Michelle’s blog for an interview with Dr. Angela Yarber about her memoir.

https://www.michellecornish.com

July 6th @ Coffee & Ink

You can visit Jan’s blog for her review of Queering the American Dream. Plus read a guest post by Dr. Angela Yarber about disenfranchised grief, particularly as it pertains to losing someone to addiction.

https://coffeeandinkbooks.wordpress.com

Blog Tour: This Exquisite Loneliness by Richard Deming

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn Blog Tours, Book EventsLeave a comment

The Synopsis

At an unprecedented rate, loneliness is moving around the globe—from self-isolating technology and political division to community decay and social fragmentation—and yet it is not a feeling to which we readily admit. It is stigmatized, freighted with shame and fear, and easy to dismiss as mere emotional neediness. But what if instead of shying away from loneliness, we embraced it as something we can learn from and as something that will draw us closer to one another?

In This Exquisite Loneliness, Richard Deming turns an eye toward that unwelcome feeling, both in his own experiences and the lives of six groundbreaking figures, to find the context of loneliness and to see what some people have done to navigate this profound sense of discomfort. Within the back stories to Melanie Klein’s contributions to psychoanalysis, Zora Neale Hurston’s literary and ethnographic writing, the philosophical essays of Walter Benjamin, Walker Evans’s photography of urban alienation, Egon Schiele’s revolutionary artwork and Rod Serling’s uncanny narratives in The Twilight Zone, Deming explores how loneliness has served as fuel for an intense creative desire that has forged some of the most original and innovative art and writing of the twentieth century.

This singular meditation on loneliness reveals how we might transform the pain of emotional isolation and become more connected to others and more at home with our often unquiet selves.

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About the Author

Richard Deming’s first collection of poems, LET’S NOT CALL IT CONSEQUENCE (Shearsman Books, 2008), won the Norma Farber Award from the Poetry Society of America and was a finalist for the Connecticut Book Award. He is also the author of Listening on All Sides: Towards an Emersonian Ethics of Reading. In 2012, he was awarded the Berlin Prize by the American Academy in Berlin. He is currently Director of Creative Writing at Yale University.

Visit Richard at his website: https://www.richarddemingbooks.com/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/3KjjgFd

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/75665889-this-exquisite-loneliness

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EXCERPT

From Chapter Four: The Art of Being Invisible

During the worst period of my active addiction, I was a black-out drinker because I wanted to make myself disappear. The loneliness that I have wrestled with since I was a little kid stood at the core of my substance abuse. Where Zora Neale Hurston found visions as a means to navigate the pain of loneliness, I found instead drugs and alcohol. Even before the drinking, I had come to feel that I was a ghost haunting my own life. Looking into a mirror was like seeing a shadowy figure pass by an empty window at midnight, and the drinking and the drugs were a way to either propel myself through that emptiness or to slip inside it, as if stepping into that mirror. 

Many nights during some of my worst, most vulnerable times, I roamed the streets of Boston with a flask of Jack Daniels tucked in my coat sleeve, asking random strangers what time it was. I never asked more than that, never tried to prompt a conversation—it was a form of existential sonar. I sent out waves that people bounced back to me, proving, at least provisionally, that I did exist. Other nights I might sit in the apartment and call random phone numbers.

 “Is Paul there?” I would ask, pleasantly, my tongue slushing the last word around in my mouth like a sloppy peppermint. I didn’t actually know anyone named Paul, but, of course, that wasn’t the point. 

“There’s no one by that name here,” or, more pointedly, “fuck off,” the voice that answered would explain.  Sometimes a Paul would in fact come on the line and I would have to sputter out that I must have had the wrong name. No call lasted more than thirty seconds. I would repeat this process several times in succession, and then I would drink myself into oblivion. 

The pattern was clear: a need for connection, no matter how anemic; a frustration with the transience of that unsatisfying connection; a retreat into a state of radical, profound disconnection between myself and a world that I thought had no interest in me, i.e. blackout drunkenness. That, as became clear to me, as I am reminded all the time, was not sustainable. In the years of my sobriety, I’ve sought out new methods for understanding and reframing that recurring feeling of being outside-it-all.  If I had to live with loneliness, I wanted to, needed to discover what it had to teach me. 

What I have learned about loneliness from Walter Benjamin is, in part, that it can actually heighten one’s sense of attention. Feeling outside of things can offer a widened perspective on what surrounds us all the time. If we try to burrow into the hidden lives of things, for instance, rather than hide out, or pretend to be asleep, or get drunk or high, there’s a chance of uncovering a sheer volume of meaningfulness. That insight can create some sense of connection between a person and his or her or their surroundings, a tether to hold onto, even when it feels like we’re hurtling ever outward. If loneliness is ultimately an affliction of perception, then the task is to find ways to work with perspective. 

+++

 During my nightly journeying across Berlin, from time to time came rushing back to me those evenings years before when, drunk and high, I had stumbled through the streets of Boston, milling around the then shabby (and now stringently gentrified) Kenmore Square, lying in the shadow of Fenway. I’d slip (without ID) into the Rat, the rough-hewn punk/new wave club, hustle past the homeless encampment under the Bowker Overpass, maybe pausing to score some pills or hash, then head up to Tower Records. There were clear differences between these experiences of loneliness, however. In Berlin, later in life, after years of sobriety, I could still feel that keen pang of wanting to belong as I drifted along, but instead of dulled and blurred, objects and people became distinct, vivid, even in their distance.  I felt as if I was seeing the city—the lights, the cars, the people using small spoons to make tight circles in their espresso cups.  It appeared to me with sudden acuity, as if everything was a vehicle for meaningfulness not despite but because of its ordinariness.

Once, just past 1 AM on a brisk night at the end of March, I sat in a fairly empty subway train barreling through the heart of Berlin.  There were small pockets of people, but mostly, here and there, solo riders such as myself. I looked to my left and saw a nattily dressed businessman asleep, his left eye half-open and lolling up and down. The light on the roof of the car flickered and I turned toward a young woman wearing combat boots, her face covered in piercings, talking to a small brown dog at her feet. 

“Blumen, Blumen,” she was saying to the terrier mix, the word for “flowers,” as she dipped her head and stroked the animal’s chin. For a moment, I imagined calling out women’s names, one after another, until she turned her head in acknowledgment. At a stop in Kreuzberg, the more bohemian part of the city, I got off and passed a ground-floor apartment with its wide window opened onto the street. On a table inside sat lemons sitting in a bowl full of water and wafts of cigarette smoke drifting into the folds of the curtains. A few blocks on, in an American-style diner, sat two gray-haired women eating toast and jam, a neon sign trembling above them.

I had no specific place to go, so I just kept walking, and looking. It was while walking the streets of that same city that Walter Benjamin arrived at the conclusion: “Solitude appeared to me as the only fit state of man.” Berlin, Boston, Columbus, London, Buffalo, Cuernavaca, New York, Singapore:  I think of all the cities I have walked deep into the night, all by myself. At night, in the corners, there’s the same thrum of loneliness. Perhaps it isn’t that urban spaces, when empty, create a feeling of palpable absence, but rather, when they are empty, we can catch the hum of the feelings of abandonment and isolation that crisscross like power lines below the paved surfaces and concrete. 

In the mid-1970s, Robert Weiss, a sociologist then on the faculty of Harvard’s Medical School, posited that there are six key social needs that, if unmet, in part or altogether, can lead to feelings of loneliness.  They are attachment; nurturance; a sense of ongoing, dependable relationships; counsel in intense, emotional situations; and a reassurance of one’s value or worth. If we combine what Benjamin and Weiss have said, perhaps the key to navigating loneliness is to look at spaces, and people, the way an artist does—not as beautiful, but as rewarding attention with significance.  The path to that feeling of a sense of worth can come from this: being the one who sees the everyday meaningfulness in that which is perpetually overlooked due to the intensity and buzz of life in a city, no matter its size.  

Coming Full Circle: A Sweeping Saga of Conservation Stewardship Across America by Budd Titlow and Mariah Tinger BLOG TOUR

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn Blog Tours, Book EventsLeave a comment

Long synopsis:

As a career wildlife ecologist and conservationist, I am often asked to recommend a book that tells the full story of our Nation’s land conservation ethic and the environmental movement that it eventually spawned. I can never come up with a good suggestion—mainly because such a book doesn’t exist. Until now, that is. 

Following the fortunes and foibles of a multi-generational American family, this book explains how we took our country to the brink of both the Climate Crash and the Sixth Extinction and then back again. Chock full of tall tales—liberally blended with historic facts—the engaging text provides an entertaining and enlightening description of how our Nation’s natural history unfolded from colonial days through the present. 

As the journey progresses, readers experience a vivid array of frontier vignettes—including wagon-crushing landslides, badlands raiding parties, frontier smack-downs, buffalo killing fields, life-threatening blizzards, deadly avalanches, alpha predator battles, Gold Rush boomtowns, and bounteous wildlife habitats. Along the way, they also witness heart-warming friendships among white settlers and Native Americans while also meeting wildlife slaughtering ne’er do wells, fun-loving nomads, racist ferrymen, grizzled mountain men, trickster trappers, and ambushing poachers.

Then—as the story moves through the Industrial Revolution and into modern times—merchants and developers start to dominate with their tawdry acts of wiping out entire bird rookeries for women’s hats, ditching and draining south Florida’s wilderness, blasting away mountaintops for coal, damming pristine rivers, destroying coastal shorelines, and fracking entire landscapes into oblivion. 

Emphasizing optimism, the last part of the book features the human resiliency that has allowed us to overcome the many existential threats—the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, Nazi Germany, the Cold War, COVID-19—we have faced as a Nation. Strategic resolution begins with making Sustainable Design, Low Impact Development (LID), and Best Management Practices (BMP’s) the catch phrases for achieving world-wide Harmonic Equilibrium Design (HED) and Smart Growth. 

As an aside to the main story, readers will get to know the myriad “natural resource heroes” who spawned and nurtured our Nation’s bold conservation movement. People like John Muir, Harriett Hemenway, Roger Tory Peterson, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Ding Darling, Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, Bob Marshall, David Brower, and Gaylord Nelson—who instilled within us the courage and will power to do the right things. The end of the book will also feature the current leaders of the environmental battles against the climate crisis and biodiversity loss—including such luminaries as Bill McKibben, Al Gore, James Balog, Mark Jacobson, Elizabeth Kolbert, Naomi Klein, Naomi Oreskes, Katherine Hayhoe, Reverend Sally Bingham, and—yes—even Pope Francis.

Short synopsis:

Following the fortunes and foibles of a multi-generational American family, this book explains how we took our country to the brink of both the Climate Crash and the Sixth Extinction and then back again. Chock full of tall tales—liberally blended with historic facts—the engaging text provides an entertaining and enlightening description of how our Nation’s natural history unfolded from colonial days through the present. 

As an aside to the main story, readers will get to know the myriad “natural resource heroes” who spawned and nurtured our Nation’s bold conservation movement. People like John Muir, Harriett Hemenway, Roger Tory Peterson, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Ding Darling, Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, Bob Marshall, David Brower, and Gaylord Nelson—who instilled within us the courage and will power to do the right things. The end of the book will also feature the current leaders of the environmental battles against the climate crisis and biodiversity loss—including such luminaries as Bill McKibben, Al Gore, James Balog, Mark Jacobson, Elizabeth Kolbert, Naomi Klein, Naomi Oreskes, Katherine Hayhoe, Reverend Sally Bingham, and—yes—even Pope Francis.

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Author bio:

For the past 50 years, professional ecologist and conservationist Budd Titlow has used his pen and camera to capture the awe and wonders of our natural world. His goal has always been to inspire others to both appreciate and enjoy what he sees. Now he has one main question: Can we save humankind’s place within nature’s beauty, before it’s too late?

Budd’s two latest books are dedicated to answering this perplexing dilemma. Protecting the Planet, a non-fiction book, examines whether we still have the environmental champions among us needed to accomplish this goal. Next, using fact-filled and entertaining story-telling, his latest book — Coming Full Circle — provides the answers we all seek and need.

Having published five books, more than 500 photo-essays, and 5,000 photographs, Budd Titlow lives with his music educator wife, Debby, in San Diego, California.

Website: https://buddtitlow.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/protectingtheplanetashome/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/budd.titlow/

Amazon: https://amzn.to/49GPaG1

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/201613673-coming-full-circle

Praise:

“An adventurous, passionate historical novel about an eco-friendly balance between humans and nature.” – Kirkus Reviews

“Using a blend of historical fiction and poignant truths, the (book’s) narrative delivers a spirited discourse on conservation, our environment, oneness, and chiefly, the concept of coming full circle. Overall, the authors’ expertise in the topic of conservationism and their knack for storytelling is on full display, making for a highly recommended read.” – US Review of Books

“I recommend Coming Full Circle to fans of issues-focused fiction who also enjoy family sagas and tales of growth, learning, and self-discovery.” – Readers’ Choice

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EXCERPT

PROLOGUE

There is a lot that our U.S. biology and history books don’t tell us.

Tracking the triumphs and travails of a multi-generational American family, this book sets the record straight.

From a biological perspective, many American colonists didn’t care about protecting our native wildlife or conserving our natural resources.

Just think about the once abundant species that are no longer with us — the passenger pigeon, the eastern elk, the Carolina parakeet, the heath hen, the American bison (almost), and the black-footed ferret (almost).

Then consider our native tallgrass and midgrass prairies — most of which were swallowed up by settlers’ plows and then blown away during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Finally, look at our air and water quality — both poisoned by industrialization and still trying to recover.

On the history side of the ledger, no group of U.S. citizens has ever been more disrespected and abused than our Native American tribes.

They respected all species as equals and managed their lands not just in sustainable ways, but in ways that enhanced the flourishing of the ecosystem. Yet they lost both their ancestral lands and their cultural societies to colonial progress.

But — in the end — this book carries a very positive, hopeful message. We can still extract ourselves from our past faux pas. By shedding our polarized viewpoints and working cooperatively, we can still save our planet before it’s too late.

For both of us, this book is a career self-examination. For me (Budd) the text expresses many things I’ve learned about the natural world during my fifty years as a wildlife ecologist and resource conservationist.

For me (Mariah), the book’s content captures the joy of the natural world that my dad (Budd) taught me, how that joy has shaped my career as an educator and science communicator, and how I hope it influences my children’s paths. We both see reflections of our past and visions of our future modeled in the multi-generations of families connected to nature.

Throughout this book, we also emphasize our lifelong beliefs in the sanctity and equality of all living things — both human and non-human.

Our belief system encompasses all races, religions, cultures, and lifestyles — but especially those of the Indigenous (or Native) Peoples of the world.

As expressed in our main title, Coming Full Circle, our book’s central theme revolves around two primary terms — the circle of life and biodiversity.

Many of us — especially those with kids or grandkids — know the first term, the circle of life, as the mega-hit song from the Broadway musical and blockbuster movie, The Lion King. In reality, the circle of life is a symbolic representation of birth, survival, and death — which leads back to birth. For example, an antelope may live for years — grazing peacefully on African grasslands and producing several healthy calves. But — as she nears the end of her life and thus her speediness — a hungry lioness captures and kills her. The antelope dies, but the lioness brings her body back for the nourishment of her hungry cubs. In this way, the antelope’s death sustains the life of the lioness’s pride — or family of lions.

Life is thus represented as a circle because it is a constant loop. The idea of life as a circle exists across multiple religions and philosophies. This belief was prevalent throughout the early Indigenous Peoples of Earth. Unfortunately — owing to what some may term ‘progress’ — this fervent belief in the circle of life is much less common in today’s world.

The second term — biological diversity, or biodiversity for short — is primarily used by biologists and ecologists. Biodiversity means the variety of life — the total number of species, both plants and animals —living on Earth. This includes everything from the tiniest microbial spores to the gargantuan blue whale. Generally speaking, the greater the biodiversity — the total number of species present — the healthier our planet.

As career environmental scientists, we believe that these two terms are very closely related. In fact, they build off of and intensify one another. Picture the diameter of the circle of life as the number of species that participate in that circle. In our antelope-lioness example above, the diameter would include the lioness and her pride, the antelope and her calves, the grass that the antelope eats, the vultures that feed upon the remainder of the antelope’s carcass, the decomposers that help break down what the vultures leave behind — and so on. In this manner, the circle of life is always intricately populated with species and interdependencies. The larger the circle — in terms of its diameter — the greater Earth’s biodiversity and vice versa. Because of this, we use these terms interchangeably throughout this text.

Unfortunately, the circle of life — or biodiversity — of the United States has decreased dramatically since the first European immigrants landed on our shores. By telling this fictional account — partially based on historical facts — of one multi-generational family of American immigrants, this book explores how and why this change has occurred and how we will — eventually — come back around to again achieve closure of the circle of life.

Our story begins with quite different — but keenly interrelated —anecdotes about two American heroes whose lives were separated by more than half a century.

Earth 2100 Anthology (Curated by J. Scott Coatsworth) Blog Tour + Excerpt

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn Blog Tours, Book EventsLeave a comment

Other Worlds Ink has a new near-future sci-fi anthology out: Earth 2100.

Earth on the Cusp of the Twenty-Second Century

How the world has changed in the last seventy-six years. In 1948, scientists ran the first computer program, and “the Ultimate Car of the Future,” the futuristic, three wheeled Davis Divan, debuted. Since then, a succession of inventions—the personal computer, the internet, the World Wide Web, smart phones and social media—have transformed every aspect of our lives.

The next seventy-six years will change things too, in ways we can barely even begin to imagine. Culture, climate change, politics and technology will continue to reshape the world. Earth in 2100 will be as unrecognizable to us as today would be to someone from 1948.

Eighteen writers tackled this challenge, creating an amazing array of sci-fi possibilities. From emotional AI’s to photosynthetic children, from virtual worlds to a post-urban society, our writers serve up compelling slices of life from an Earth that’s just around the corner.

So dive in and take a wild ride into these amazing visions of our collective future.

Universal Buy Link | Amazon | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Kobo | Smashwords | Publisher | Goodreads

 

Earth 2100 meme

Tin Lizzy

Gail Brown

Chaos filled several of the workshop tables. Material overflowed a table with a sewing machine. Some heavy duty, water proof beige fabrics had drifted to the floor.

A thick vegetable and meat soup simmered on the stove in the tiny central kitchen area. Next to the stove was a table set for two. Without any chairs.

Celina rode her power chair over to the counter top stove to stir the soup. The counter was a few inches higher than was comfortable. Today she needed to cook more than her usual single serving. Maybe her height measurements had been off. The counter could be an inch shorter, and not be in her lap.

It was challenging to figure out how to build it low enough to see into a pan, and stir the food, while tall and sturdy enough to not knock it over when Lizzy slid under it.

There was only about a foot of space to work with, if she didn’t want the pan higher than her face, and not able to stir without her elbow at maximum height. Which risked boiling food splashing on her face.

Figuring out how to make furniture the correct height, so she could slip her non-functioning legs under it had consumed her waking hours, and even sleeping hours, for the last year.

The stainless steel pan reflected her face. Down to the pointed lines above her eyebrows. Even the eyebrow she had singed an hour before.

She turned the power chair back to her wood and metal design workstation. Another stainless steel surface. Covered with scars from the many experiments needed to build lowered objects, with a glimpse of personal beauty in their functionality.

What would Henril and Trinkle think of her newest achievement? Her former hiking partners no longer walked the trails as much without her.

Certainly not on the narrow bluff overlooking the river. Henril had avoided out of concern for Trinkle’s safety. Or so he said.

Hopefully, they would soon all be hiking together.

The Authors

  • Tim Newton Anderson

  • nathan bowen

  • Elizabeth Broadbent

  • Gail Brown

  • J. Scott Coatsworth

  • Monica Joyce Evans

  • Isaiah Hunt

  • Blake Jessop

  • E.E. King & Richard Lau

  • Morgan Melhuish

  • Eve Morton

  • Christopher R. Muscato

  • Jennifer R. Povey

  • D.M. Rasch

  • Joseph Sidari

  • Mike Jack Stoumbos

  • Joseph Welch

  • KB Willson

Other Worlds Ink logo

Earth 2100 Excerpt: The Last Human Heart

I run the lipstick over my still-human lips, staring at myself in the creased metal gas station bathroom mirror. The protective balm is a titanium blue, a radiant silver flecked with colors of the rainbow that accents the metallic skin of my cheekbones. Wrinkles line the edge of my lips where skin meets metal. You’re fucking perfect. Like a goddamned Monet.

I snort. I used to care about such things once. Matching my clothes for a night at the clubs with Erik. Choosing our elaborate costumes with care—exposing a bit of muscled stomach or a flash of ass with our tight, waist-hugging jeans. Sometimes bringing another guy home with us for a threesome.

The memories are cracked and faded around the edges. The upload to my quantum brain did something to me, changed me into this Frankenstein of man and machine.

I would have made a hell of a scene on the club circuit.

Crash.

What the hell? Wary, I slip the little jar of the moisturizing lipstick, snagged from an old department store, back into my satchel and swing it over my shoulder. Inside my titanium rib cage, my human heart beats faster—too fast.

I grasp the sides of the old porcelain sink and breathe slowly, calming myself until my heart slows again. Then, silent as a cat, I pull the door open and peer outside through eyes I wasn’t born with.

It’s almost dark, the last bits of evening fleeing across the empty countryside.

Another noise, this time a long, drawn out squeal. My eyes whir and focus. There by the gas pumps.

I breathe a sigh of relief. Just a scavenger bot. Their kind rule the world now, traveling through the rubble and recovering materials on a schedule only they know, stockpiling them for humanity’s return. I laugh bitterly at the thought.

I slip out of the bathroom to watch the little thing. It’s a third the size of my own cyborg body, and it’s working away at one of the old gas pumps, using a laser torch to cut it into pieces.

“They’re not coming back.” It’s a whisper, and an admission. Something I don’t like to think about for too long. You’re being morbid. Erik would tell me that with a flash of his bleached white smile, before leaping at me and pinning me to the bed for a kiss.

I bite my lip with metallic teeth and sigh.

The scavenger stops and turns as if to look at me. I can feel it scanning me for parts. Then it whirs, a disappointed sigh, and turns back to its work.

I’m worthless. I laugh ruefully, a sound more like pistons firing than a human laugh. Even this little metallic vulture has no use for the likes of me.

I consult my map, painstakingly put together from bits and clues found on the neural web. Fifty years after the last human upload, it’s a miracle the network survives at all. It’s a broken, feeble thing, limited to small nodes here and there, but still… a testament to the Remainers like me who maintain it, the humans and machines who survived the climate and the last wars.

Like many of them, I wasn’t “suitable for upload.” One hazard of being an early adopter. I laugh harshly, pistons firing in my throat.

This insignificant speck of humanity’s great accomplishments where I stand was once called Turlock, a tiny town in California’s Central Valley. I wince. I know that name—a friend of mine once lived here. Did she upload, before the end?

The Sacramento trading station is less than a hundred miles away, if it still exists. The last time I’d been there was two decades ago. With luck, I’ll be there in another day or so, and if I’m really lucky, they’ll be able to replace my worn-out ticker with a new one.

My heart beats faster. I close my eyes and urge it to be calm, hoping they will have what I need. Otherwise this might be the end of the line. Still, I’m ready to go, if it comes to that. Erik, I miss you.

Guest Post: Breast Cancer Patient and Awareness Advocate by Lisa Braxton (Blog Tour for Author’s “Dancing Between the Raindrops”

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn Blog Tours, Book Events, Guest PostLeave a comment

I had an appointment for a breast MRI and biopsy on my husband’s birthday, May 1, 2019. We spent that day at the imaging center. It was a cold, drizzly, gunmetal-gray day out. The rain was just spitting. I spent hours in the imaging machine, holding onto the panic button they give you, earplugs in my ears. I was praying the whole time with my eyes pressed shut: Please, please, please, God. Let me not have breast cancer.

The test was grueling. I was in the MRI machine for hours. They’d numbed my breasts; I could hear the biopsy machine making that whirring, drilling sound, and I was thinking, I cannot wait to get out of this thing. When they rolled me out, my back was killing me—you’re in there for so long with your arms stretched out in front of you. The surgeon who did the biopsy said, “I don’t like to let people wait around with false hope. Lisa, I want you to know that the area I saw had jagged edges around it. It looks like it’s cancer.”

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I could not believe it. I’ve been such a health nut my entire life, and I never thought it would happen to me. I work out a lot—tennis, the gym, ice skating. When she told me it looked like breast cancer, I felt like I was floating over myself and the doctor in the exam room, watching the conversation. All I could think about was dying. I wondered how much time I had.

Fast forward to now. After a lumpectomy and being prescribed a pill I take every day to rid my body of the hormone that fed my cancer, I’ve been cancer free for five years. In that time, without intending to, I’ve become a breast cancer awareness advocate. I appeared in a local television commercial celebrating the milestone anniversary of Dana Farber Cancer Institute. I walked in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer fundraiser sponsored by the American Cancer Society, wrote a column for a local magazine about my breast cancer journey, and participated in a photographic exhibit of cancer survivors focused on sharing stories of faith and survivorship to encourage the demystification of cancer. 

One event I reflect upon the most is a “fireside chat” in which another survivor and I spoke to high school and college students who are doing internships at Dana Farber. I spoke about self-care, how I met the challenges of the disease and the importance of empathy on the part of health care providers. The future health care professionals were engaging, had many questions and indicated that they benefited in their learning process by hearing from us.

Now each May 1st I focus on celebrating my husband’s birthday with him and he celebrates me for attending to my breast heath and advocating for awareness.

Summer 2023

Book Summary

Dancing Between the Raindrops: A Daughter’s Reflections on Love and Loss, is a powerful meditation on grief, a deeply personal mosaic of a daughter’s remembrances of beautiful, challenging and heartbreaking moments of life with her family. It speaks to anyone who has lost a loved one and is trying to navigate the world without them while coming to terms with complicated emotions.

Lisa Braxton’s parents died within two years of each other—her mother from ovarian cancer, her father from prostate cancer. While caring for her mother she was stunned to find out that she, herself, had a life-threatening illness—breast cancer.

In this intimate, lyrical memoir-in-essays, Lisa Braxton takes us to the core of her loss and extends a lifeline of comfort to anyone who needs to be reminded that in their grief they are not alone.

Publisher: Sea Crow Press

Print length: 158 pages

Purchase a copy of Dancing Between the Raindrops on

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Dancing-Between-Raindrops-Daughters-Reflections/dp/1961864088/

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dancing-between-the-raindrops-lisa-braxton/1144935014?ean=9781961864085

You can also add this to your GoodReads reading list:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/208947069-dancing-between-the-raindrops?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=WYkO4vLd07&rank=2

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About the Author

Lisa Braxton is the author of the novel, The Talking Drum, winner of a 2021 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Book Awards Gold Medal, overall winner of Shelf Unbound book review magazine’s 2020 Independently Published Book Award, and winner of a 2020 Outstanding Literary Award from the National Association of Black Journalists and a Finalist for the International Book Awards. She is also an Emmy-nominated former television journalist, an essayist, and short story writer. 

She is on the executive board of the Writers Room of Boston and a writing instructor at Grub Street Boston, and currently serves as President of the Greater Boston Section of the National Council of Negro Women and is a member of the Psi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. 

You can follow the author at:

Website: https://lisabraxton.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisa.a.braxton/

Twitter: @Lisaannbraxton  OR @LisaReidbraxton

Instagram: @lisabraxton6186

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisabraxton/

Take a Food Journey Around the World!

Blog Tour Calendar

April 29th @ The Muffin

Join us at WOW as we celebrate the launch of Lisa Braxton’s memoir Dancing Between the Raindrops. Read an interview with the author and enter for a chance to win a copy of the book.

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com

May 1st @ Beverley Baird

Lisa Braxton, author of the memoir Dancing Between the Raindrops, shares the experience of being an adult orphan.

https://beverleyabaird.wordpress.com

May 3rd @ A Storybook World

Start the month with a touching memoir. Read more about Lisa Braxton’s Dancing Between the Raindrops.

https://www.astorybookworld.com

May 3rd @ Beverley Baird

Bev reviews Dancing Between the Raindrops, a memoir by Lisa Braxton.

https://beverleyabaird.wordpress.com

May 5th @ Choices

How important is it to be part of a writing group? Dancing Between the Raindrops author Lisa Braxton gives her opinion on writing groups.

http://madelinesharples.com

May 6th @ Anthony Avina

Stop by for a surprise guest post with Lisa Braxton, author of the memoir Dancing Between the Raindrops.

http://www.authoranthonyavinablog.com

May 8th @ The Shaggy Shepherd

How to answer the question “Do You Have Kids?” with guest post Lisa Braxton, author of the memoir Dancing Between the Raindrops.

https://theshaggyshepherd.wordpress.com

May 9th @ Boys’ Mom Reads!

Find out how a Boys’ Mom feels about the memoir Dancing Between the Raindrops with today’s review.

https://karensiddall.wordpress.com

May 13th @ Word Magic

Stop by for a guest post about growing up in the family business by Lisa Braxton, author of the memoir Dancing Between the Raindrops.

https://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com

May 14th @ What Is That Book About

Looking for a new book for your TBR pile? Stop by for a spotlight on Lisa Braxton’s memoir Dancing Between the Raindrops.

www.whatisthatbookabout.com

May 15th @ From the TBR Pile

Dancing Between the Raindrops author Lisa Braxton will be visiting with a guest post today.

https://fromthetbrpile.blogspot.com

May 16th @ Fancy That!

Lisa Braxton, author of Dancing Between the Raindrops, is at Fancy That today writing about grieving the death of elderly parents.

https://fancythatblog.com

May 23rd at Words by Webb

Read a review of Lisa Braxton’s Dancing Between the Raindrops today.

https://www.jodiwebbwriter.com/blog

May 24th @ World of My Imagination

Enjoy Nicole’s review of Dancing Between the Raindrops, a memoir by Lisa Braxton.

Welcome! I’m Glad You’re Here.

Down the Line (Jake’s Bar #4) by AG Meiers Blog Tour + Guest Post

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn Blog Tours, Book Events, Guest PostLeave a comment

Title: Down The Line (Jake’s Bar #4) by AG Meiers

Guest Post 

The hardest character to write in a romantic suspense? Or the villain conundrum!!

In an era where ‘morally gray’ is celebrated, writing a believable antagonist is tricky. To be contemptuous they need to be bad—like really, really bad, but of course, they can’t just be evil for the sake of evil. They need motivation and complexity.

And, as the author, I struggled—I struggled with the challenge to find the balance of moral ambiguity and flawed humanity. Luckily, my romantic suspense, DOWN THE LINE, is not a battle of good versus evil. So, all my characters can be a hot mess, no heroes required…

DOWN THE LINE is about how to find love and happily-ever-after.

I looked at my two protagonists and had a good laugh, because my characters go about it the wrong way.

Two men meet. Hook up. Spend a weekend together and, yes, it changes the trajectory of their lives, but not for the better.

Dean Hunt – has trust issues! So, all his interactions become tit-for-tat. Love is a transaction. And you better negotiate from a position of strength, or you have nothing to offer…

Noel Conway – judges himself through his father’s eyes and always finds himself lacking. He doesn’t deserve love just for being Noel. So, let’s just go out there and work undercover for the FBI to bring down a dangerous criminal. Well, that should impress any love interest, right?

Dean and Noel get a second chance. The dangerous criminal (yes, my villain!!) from Noel’s past threatens his younger brother and Dean might just be the only one who can help.

Noel is trying to protect the ones he loves, and Dean is chasing front-page news—the line between enemies and lovers gets blurred…

Hey, wait, you might say, what does all that have to do with writing a “good” villain?

Well, in DOWN THE LINE the villain holds up a mirror and forces my heroes to take a good, long look at themselves. Where do they draw the line between ‘morally gray’ and ‘unacceptably evil’?

So, for me, writing a “good” villain is mostly about the characters the villain is coming after.

Down the Line - AG Meiers - Jake's Bar

AG Meiers has a new MM romantic suspense book out: Down the Line. And there’s a giveaway.

Revenge is a Dangerous Obsession.

Dean Hunt needs the story of a lifetime—Since his uncompromising attitude got him fired, the investigative journalist is hell-bent to expose the powerful and corrupt Conway family. It’s a career move, and absolutely not a vendetta against the oldest son Noel, who ghosted Dean after a mind-blowing weekend together.

Noel Conway needs a new start—After years away, Noel has come home to rebuild the bridges he’s burned. Too bad his past caused a ripple effect he can’t outrun. Now, he’s asked to save his family from the one man he never expected to see again but can’t forget.

Dean is chasing front-page news, and Noel is trying to protect the ones he loves. But the line between enemies and lovers gets blurred when a dangerous criminal from Noel’s past resurfaces. Will the truth shatter their tentative trust? Or do they have a shot at happily ever after?

But none of that matters when suddenly Noel disappears…

Down the Line, the final book in the award-winning Jake’s Bar series, is a spicy, M/M romantic suspense featuring a rainbow-colored bar full of quirky characters, and all the romance you can handle. So, download today, and get ready to fall in love with Jake’s Bar.

Warnings: smoking cigarettes and weed in the hot tub, kidnapping (on page scenes restrained), verbally abusive father

About the Series:

The award-winning Jake’s Bar series is a set of steamy, M/M romantic suspense novels, featuring a rainbow- colored bar full of quirky characters, and all the romance you can handle.

Universal Buy Link | Amazon

Giveaway

AG is giving away a $10 Amazon gift card with this tour:

a Rafflecopter giveawayhttps://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47310/?

Excerpt

Jake's Bar banner

As Dean reached the top of the staircase, a man stepped out of the shadows in front of his door. Dean straightened his shoulders. “Detective Conway.”

“Hunt.”

In a parallel universe, they might have been friends. They were fighting the same fight. Had the same enemies. In this world, they weren’t brothers in arms. In this world, Dean had been cast as the villain.

“How can I help you this fine morning?”

“Open the door. We gotta talk.”

“Look, it’s been a long night—”

“Just open the damn door.” Conway snarled, pushing into Dean’s personal space.

Dean stood his ground. “Are you here in an official capacity? Because then, the answer is no, I won’t let you in. You have no warrant, no permission to search my property. I don’t consent—”

“Just shut the fuck up. None of us wants this shitshow to be on the record,” Con growled.

Dean, curious, took a step back and raised his empty hand, palm up. “Okay.”

He fished for his key, pushed open the door, and quickly disarmed his alarm system. Conway didn’t wait to be invited in, just crossed the living room, dropped his shearling coat onto the sofa, then walked over to the large window overlooking the river.

The view was the only redeeming feature of Dean’s otherwise-generic apartment. The mess didn’t help. There were dirty dishes piled up in the sink, a pizza box on the breakfast counter separating the cramped kitchen from the living room, and an unmade bed in the other corner of the room.

“For a guy who anxiously waited at my doorstep, you’re awfully quiet.” Dean smirked. “Coffee?”

“No.” Conway turned his back, now studying the row of framed newspaper front pages Dean had hung on the apartment’s interior wall. His personal collection of historic headlines—headlines that changed the world.

The oldest was from July 6, 1776. The Pennsylvania Evening Post, printing the Declaration of Independence on its front page. Next to it, the Daily Telegram, declaring the end of the Second World War. The two most recent, the New York Times’ “OBAMA: Racial barrier falls in heavy turnout” and, of course, the front page the day after 9/11.

Dean had added a few more personal favorites, like Moneta J. Sleet’s photography of Coretta Scott King at MLK’s funeral. The first Black man to win the Pulitzer for journalism.

Conway took his time examining each framed newspaper. Dean already regretted allowing the intrusion into his space. He felt exposed—vulnerable—under silent scrutiny.

Irritated, he started banging around the kitchen. He was in no mood to explain that looking at those headlines every day fueled his ambitions and inspired his dreams. Dean believed with every fiber of his being in the power of a free and independent press.

He turned on the coffee machine and leaned against the counter. As if Conway felt Dean’s angry glare across the room, he finally turned and stared right back. For a moment, they engaged in a silent standoff.

Unease flittered through Dean. Camille had been right. Her brother was seething with anger. And Dean had no fucking idea what he’d done to piss him off. He sighed and shook his head, then took two mugs out of the cabinet and put them onto the island. “Miguel, have a damn coffee. You look like you need it.”

“Says the man who clearly slept in his party clothes and crept home at sunup.”

“Guilty as charged.” Dean shrugged.

Conway curled his lip. “I do not know what my sister sees in you.”

It wasn’t a question, so Dean didn’t bother with an answer. “You wanted to talk? So, talk.”

Instead of talking, though, Conway pulled out a stack of papers. Pushing aside the coffee cups to make room, he spread them out over the counter.

Dean froze. The first blurry photograph featured Dean in another man’s arms. In the next, the same man was pressing Dean against a white porch railing, his own hands tangled in the man’s messy curls. Conway fanned the stack, revealing nearly a dozen more.

Dean and Noel Conway, kissing.

Suddenly, he was there again, the ocean breeze tugging on his clothes. Noel’s warm skin, tasting like sunshine and a hint of salt, his eyes blown with desire. Goddamn, so fucking beautiful, with that shy smile, whispered promises—

Dean’s throat was desert dry. His ragged breath and the hissing of the coffee machine came together like a fucking symphony. “I—”

“Save it. My sister thinks you’re this hotshot journalist. Full of passion. Braving adversity. Motivated by a noble cause. Yeah, fuck that. You’re after my family because Noel pounded your ass, then dropped you like he does everybody else. Your pride—your precious ego—is hurt because you’re just another notch in my brother’s carved-up bedpost.”

Conway grabbed his jacket and walked to the door. He turned and added, “Watch it, Hunt. You got no job. No friends. No prospects. But if you think you’ve reached rock bottom, think again.”

Dean contained himself until he heard his door close with a soft click. Only then did he allow himself to swipe papers, cups, and the fucking photos off his counter. The cups shattered

on the tile floor.

Author Bio

Eighteen years ago, AG Meiers came to the US for adventure and stayed for love. Currently, she lives in New England with her husband and two awesome kids—balancing work, friends and family, and writing.

When she has some free time, her favorite thing to do is travel and visit new places. Her past trips have already brought her to a variety of countries on four continents. She never passes up an opportunity to experience different cultures, diverse people and amazing locations.

Even though she has been dreaming up stories all her life, she has only recently started to write them down and share them with the world. As a writer she loves to put her characters through a lot of challenges, conflict and heartbreak, before she allows them to find their happy-ever-after.

Author Website: https://www.agmeiers.com

Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/ag.meiers.1/

Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agmeiers/

Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/AG-Meiers/author/B07MCHQH5B

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