Secrets Laid to Rest (A Ladies of SPI Mystery) by Catherine C. Hall Review

On October 24, 2023 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.

A newly minted paranormal investigation group must work through their small town life and a local mystery to get their newly formed group out into the world in author Catherine C. Hall’s “Secrets Laid to Rest”, the first book in the A Ladies of SPI Mystery series!.

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The Synopsis

But not just any business. It’s the Golden Girls meet the Ghostbusters when four women find themselves in an unlikely career: Southeastern Paranormal Investigations. Ree Lane, a stylish widow, is more cynic than true believer, while her childhood chum Elle Harper has a knack for getting sensitive info with the help of her homemade pies. The preacher’s wife, Betsy Jones, can’t be seen with SPI unless she’s in her disguise as Nora, a psychic-in-training with a gift for Tarot. And the recently-returned-home Gillian Buchanan is a whiz at technology, especially of the supernatural sort.

Their first case lands on the doorstep when neighbor Doris Tucker is sure her prized vintage dolls are haunted. But there’s hardly time for ghost-hunting when the bank director’s wife mistakes SPI for a private eye venture. Now they’re also hot on the trail of a misbehaving husband. It’s a wild ride as the sixty-something sleuths start digging into the past. But have the Ladies of SPI gone too far? And how far will Sutter go to keep its secrets dead and buried?

The Review

This was an absolutely compelling read. As a paranormal investigator myself, it was a compelling look into the world of paranormal investigations. The detail the author provided for the techniques, the tools, and the thought process behind hauntings, ghosts, and the paranormal field as a whole was so engaging and mesmerizing that you felt transported into the high-stakes world of paranormal television we all know and love.

Yet it was the small-town life aspect of the narrative, as well as the thoughtful character development, that really made this story shine. The chemistry between the women of SPI and the different walks of life they hail from helped elevate the mystery and intrigue of the small town, and the powerful imagery and atmosphere that layered this story made the book feel alive on the page.

The Verdict

Heartfelt, mysterious, and entertaining, author Catherine C. Hall’s “Secrets Laid to Rest” is a fantastic ghost thriller and mystery read. The twists and turns in the narrative and the attention to detail surrounding both small-town life and the paranormal field as a whole made this a compelling read you won’t want to put down. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

About the Author

There’s a great song, “I’ve Been Everywhere,” made popular by Johnny Cash (and a couple commercials). If you put the song in Georgia, it would be about Catherine C. Hall, starting when she moved to the Peach State at eight-years-old.

She grew up in Savannah, Georgia, where you can’t throw a stick without hitting a ghost. Even when she was a little girl, Savannah was known for its haunted history and she was hooked!

Broadcast Journalism hooked her as well, so she studied at Valdosta State University way down in South Georgia where it is the heat and the humidity. She worked in a few radio stations but it was WNEX Radio in Macon that turned out to be life-changing. She met a cute deejay from Sandersville, Georgia, and married him a year later.

They moved above the Gnat Line (Oh, it’s real) to the Atlanta area, where they grew their family to two boys and a girl, and she took a turn in the teaching world. And then whoosh! She met the half-century mark wondering what to do? Maybe it was the merlot talking but after years of reading mysteries, Catherine thought it was high time she write one. And she did; it was awful. (And way too short. Who knew readers expected 70, 000 words?)

So she learned her craft, starting with flash fiction, then moving on to short fiction, where she won a few awards. She wrote essays that ended up in books like Chicken Soup for the Soul. She penned assorted humor columns and continued to freelance. And then one day, she wrote another story that wasn’t exactly novel-length but it wasn’t a short story, either. It was a children’s book.

She joined SCBWI, the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and had a wonderful career in children’s writing, including publishing six books. But in the midst of her last two book contracts, life changed unexpectedly when Catherine’s favorite deejay up and died.

When at last she wanted to write again, she heard four women of a certain age, each seeking purpose and joy in where they found themselves. Which for them was a small town in Georgia called Sutter. For Catherine, it was at home, still in the Atlanta suburbs, revisiting the ghost stories of her youth, and finally getting that mystery written. All 70,000 words of it!

You can find Catherine online at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551890907288

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathychall/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/cathyhall55/

Website (Psst! Sign up for Cathy’s Spirited Newsletter and get in on secret giveaways!): https://catherine-c-hall.com/

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Blog Tour Calendar

October 13th @ The Muffin

Join us as we celebrate the launch of Secrets Laid to Rest by Catherine C. Hall. Read an interview with the author and win a copy of the book for yourself.

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com

October 13th @ Just Katherine

Join Katherine today as she shares an excerpt from Secrets Laid to Rest by Catherine C. Hall.

https://justkatherineblog.wordpress.com

October 15th @ Book Divas Reads

Join Vivian for a spotlight of Secrets Laid to Rest.

https://thebookdivasreads.com/

October 20th @ The Forgotten Books

Join Heather as she features a review of Secrets Laid to Rest.

https://www.instagram.com/The_forgotten_books_/

October 20th @ Author Anthony Avina’s blog

Join Anthony for his review of Secrets Laid to Rest.

https://atomic-temporary-124910902.wpcomstaging.com/category/blog-tours/

October 21st @ A Storybook World

Visit Deirdra’s blog for her spotlight of Secrets Laid to Rest.

https://www.astorybookworld.com/

October 25th @ Candid Canine

Join Chris for a review of Secrets Laid to Rest.

https://candidcanine.blogspot.com

October 26th @ The Faerie Review

Visit Lily’s blog for her review of Secrets Laid to Rest.

https://www.thefaeriereview.com/

October 27th @ Musings of a Literary Wanderer

Join Angela as she reviews Secrets Laid to Rest by Catherine C. Hall. She shares an excerpt of the book as well!

http://musingsofaliterarywanderer.blogspot.com/

October 30th @ Finished Pages

Join Renee as she reviews Secrets Laid to Rest by Catherine C. Hall.

https://finishedpages.com/

November 1st @ Chapter Break

Don’t miss a guest post by Catherine C. Hall about how to develop a cast of characters over at Julie’s blog today. She also reviews Catherine’s book Secrets Laid to Rest.

https://chapterbreak.net/

November 2nd @ One Writer’s Journey

Join Sue for her review of Secrets Laid to Rest by Catherine C. Hall.

https://suebe.wordpress.com/

November 4th @ A Wonderful World of Books

Visit Joy’s blog for her review of Secrets Laid to Rest.

https://awonderfulworldofwordsa.blogspot.com/

November 6th @ Lisa Haselton’s Reviews & Interviews

Visit Lisa’s blog for her interview with Catherine C. Hall.

https://lisahaselton.com/blog/

November 7th @ Pick a Good Book

Join Debbie over her blog for a review of Secrets Laid to Rest.

https://instagram.com/pickagoodbook

November 8th @ A Lit Life

Join Stephanie for a guest post by Catherine C. Hall about the cozy mystery food connection.

Classic Home 2

November 9th @ Deborah-Zenha Adams’ blog

Join Deborah as she features a guest post by Catherine C. Hall about why it’s never too late to achieve your dreams.

http://www.deborah-adams.com/blog/

November 9th @ Knotty Needle

Visit Judy’s blog for her review of Secrets Laid to Rest.https://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com/

http://knottyneedle.blogspot.com/

November 10th @ StoreyBook Reviews

Visit Leslie’s blog for a review of Secrets Laid to Rest.

https://storeybookreviews.com/

November 12th @ Jill Sheets’ blog

Visit Jill’s blog for an interview with author, Catherine C. Hall.

http://jillsheets.blogspot.com/

November 13th @ Word Magic

Join Fiona’s blog for a guest post by Catherine C. Hall about what’s a nice catholic like her writing paranormal like this.

https://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com/

November 15th @ Jamie Wong

Visit Jamie’s blog for her review of Secrets Laid to Rest.

https://lifeaccordingtojamie.com/

November 16th @ A Lit Life

Visit Stephanie’s blog for her review of Secrets Laid to Rest.

Classic Home 2

November 17th @ Just Katherine

Visit Katherine’s blog again as she shares a guest post by Catherine C. Hall about why you need an editor and how to find one you can afford.

https://justkatherineblog.wordpress.com

November 17th @ Live, Love, and Laugh for a Healthy Lifestyle

Nicole shares her thoughts about Secrets Laid to Rest by Catherine C. Hall.

https://liveloveandlaughforahealthylifestyle.wordpress.com/

Blog Tour: Song of Flames (Sisters of Song Book 1) by M.D. Grimm

On October 14, 2023 By authoranthonyavinablogIn Blog Tours, Book EventsLeave 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 Flames (Sisters of Song 1). This is the first book in a duology about two sisters, their adventures, growth, and romances with magical beings. This story is about Venya, the eldest sister, and her unexpected romance with two special dragons who want her for a mate. This is my second MMF romance, and it was a hoot to write. The characters came alive for me, and it was one of the easier projects I’ve worked on. I enjoyed diving into the sister dynamic, their friendship, love, and how they supported and encouraged each other to be better people and find their happiness. I don’t think there’s enough depictions of positive women relationships, and I was satisfied with the results of my own attempts.

Question: Do you have a playlist as you write?

Not as I’m writing. But since music plays a large role within the story, I definitely had songs I’d use for inspiration for scenes. This especially helped if I hit a dry spell or a hard point, and I needed to move from scene to scene. I use music to imagine certain types of scenes, specifically action or love scenes. I think this comes from me watching Disney’s Fantasia a lot. I still adore that movie. I’m able to put images to music in my mind, and that has helped me work out many plot problems over the years.

Though, of course, I took it a step further and actually “put music” into my story. It’s a tough prospect, for obvious reasons. Describing music is never the same as actually hearing it, but I hope I did a sufficient job in conveying what it might sound like. I definitely had certain songs or singers in my mind when I was describing those moments. And yes, Abyss, my large, tough, onyx dragon, is absolutely a guttural, harsh vocalist singer, ala Will Ramos from Lorna Shore or Tomi Mykkänen from Battlelore (if you want great music inspired by Prof. Tolkien’s works, definitely check out Battlelore, most of their discography is filled with it!). Ray, my sweet golden dragon, has a gentle and harmonious voice. I didn’t have a specific singer for him in mind, but he’s in stark contrast to Abyss. I always imagined Venya’s as either Kaisa Jouhki from Battlelore, Sigrid Hausen from Qntal, or Loreena McKennitt for the ballads.

To get super specific, the individual songs that inspired me the most were: “Tenacious Love” by Qntal, “Daughter of the Sun,” by Battlelore, and “Bonny Swans,” by Loreena McKennitt. Check them out if you’re curious!

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

I am continually challenging myself to include diverse folks in my stories, and to represent them respectfully and with the same amount of love that I put into every part of my books.

Venya and Alaiya are black women who live in a Medieval-adjacent world. I firmly believe we need more diversity in fantasy stories, as well as stories not always modeled after Medieval Europe. While that setting is most familiar to me, I hope in the future I can do enough research to branch out and be more inclusive with characters, settings, themes, and any other underrepresented aspect of cultures. It’s ambitious, I know, but human cultures and histories are rich with stories, folklore, folktales, mythology, and rituals, and they are all fascinating and deserve attention.

Alaiya, Venya’s younger sister, is a lesbian and will be getting her own story in the sequel, Song of Howls. Her forced betrothal to a brutish lord triggers the events of the story and prompts Venya to do anything to protect her sister. Both of them are strong women in their own right, and once they are given the freedom to explore who they are together and apart, they turn into iron-willed warriors who protect those important to them.

As for the dragons, they are pansexual. They have mating seasons but that is the only time males and females congregate. Otherwise, lifelong pairings are always same-sex. But, as Abyss and Ray prove, they can also have desire for humans. (Lucky Venya!)

Watch out for the sequel, Song of Howls, due out October 2024.

For my next projects, I’ll be jumping into the next Stones of Power book, Opal: Master and Puppet later this year, and then I shall finally return to the On Wings saga with the great dragon Asagoroth and his beloved angel, in On Wings of Shadow.

My next release should be Blood of the Whirlwind (The Shifter Chronicles 16) due out in January 2024.

Until next time, stay safe, stay sane, and may dragons guard your dreams,

M.D. Grimm

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M.D. Grimm has a new MMF fantasy romance out, Sisters of Song book 1: Song of Flames.

She tried to steal treasure from the dragons’ hoard… and stole their hearts instead.

To save her sister from a lascivious lord, Venya must steal a piece of treasure from a legendary dragon’s hoard. Dragons haven’t been seen in several generations, so imagine her surprise when she wakes not one, but two dragons from their hibernation. While the battle-honed Onyx is intent on having her for lunch, the graceful Gold appears more curious than angered by the theft.

Abyss and Ray have very different ideas about what to do with the thief when they catch her. Abyss wants to punish her while Ray is intrigued by her audacity. After Ray turns his mate’s anger to desire, the dragons set out on a rescue mission, intent on capturing the brazen thief and learning more about her. And to see if her Song matches theirs.

Neglected and discarded by her parents, Venya has never bonded with anyone except her sister. Now she has two mighty dragons wanting to woo her and take her as their mate. While she finds delight in their company, she must reassess her own self-worth before she can trust them enough to love them.

But the dragons have exposed themselves to the outside world, and many covet not only their hoard but Ray’s golden scales. And when Venya’s closely held secret is revealed, she becomes a prize worth killing for.

Warnings: abusive parents, childhood trauma.

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.

Amazon | Universal Buy Link | Liminal Fiction | QueeRomance Ink | Goodreads

Excerpt

“Venya!” Alaiya could barely be heard over the cacophony. “Ven!”

“I’m here.” Relief choked her. “I’m here, baby sister.”

“Get me out! Is there a war?”

“Can’t explain.” She yanked off much of the armor before rifling through her secret pockets to find her lock picks. Then she crouched and worked the lock. It was the fastest break-in of her career.

The door ripped open as she stood and then Alaiya was in her arms. Sobbing, clinging.

“I knew you’d come,” she whispered, her voice thick. “I knew you’d save me.”

Venya squeezed her for a moment before pulling away and grabbing her hand.

“We have to run. Now.”

“What is going on?”

“Dragons!”

Alaiya gasped. She picked up her skirt with her other hand and didn’t ask any more questions. They raced down the corridor, following the other residents. As much as Venya wanted to escape, she knew she had to make amends. Despite knowing the futility of the act, she had to make it right. There were good people in this city, and they didn’t deserve to be dragon food.

But stranger things had happened. Maybe they’d take the goblet and just leave. A fantasy most likely but there was always chance.

Regardless, she had a debt to pay. And if that meant her life… well…..

“Where are we going?”

“Great hall.”

“Why?”

Venya didn’t explain. They shoved open the doors and entered the room. Lord Salazem was gone and so was the goblet.

“Dammit to the nine hells.” Venya kicked his ostentatious chair.

Alaiya panted beside her, still holding her hand, and clutching her chest with the other. “What happened to you? Why are there dragons? Why are you wearing armor?”

“I found the treasure and the dragons. I stole from the dragons. And this is a disguise.”

Alaiya stared.

“We should run while we—”

“The treasury,” Alaiya said. This time she dragged Venya along. “Whatever you took from the dragons should be there. You want to return it, don’t you?”

Venya couldn’t help but grin. Alaiya was as intelligent as she was beautiful. And, truly, even out of breath, sweaty, and with circles under her eyes, Alaiya was stunning. Her dress of deep burgundy highlighted her skin and eyes, and the rich fabric, stylish flair, and low cut of the bosom told Venya that it had been a gift from the bastard lord.

“He took me there as he gloated about his wealth. He thought he could win me over that way.”

“Idiot.”

No man would ever win Alaiya’s heart. But a woman? Most definitely.

It felt like ages but was only a minute or two before they stood in front of the unguarded treasury.

Venya once again picked the lock, and Alaiya shoved the door open. Compared to the wealth of the dragons, this was pitiful. At least she spotted the goblet easily, sitting on its own table—a trophy. It struck Venya that the dragons also had the goblet on a pedestal, and yet it hadn’t felt like a trophy.

There’d been more reverence in the placement of it. She couldn’t shake the feeling she’d stolen something precious to them, not just another fancy piece of treasure. That deepened her guilt and hardened her resolve to return it.

Venya took vindictive pleasure from snatching the goblet. As an afterthought, she grabbed a few coins and plopped them into the cup.

“What are you—?”

“Interest.”

Alaiya snorted. “Only you, my sister.”

They hurried out of the treasury, down the corridors, and then outside. Venya’s legs were wooden, and she wanted to collapse and sleep for a week. She was hungry, thirsty, but determined to finish what she started.

She looked up. It was easy to spot the giant beasts flying and diving as citizens screamed and jostled and stampeded each other. Except for a few towers of the manor being slightly singed, there had been little damage done to the city. Venya didn’t have time to examine why they were restraining themselves. Their fury must be unrivaled. They must be searching for her.

Terror trembled in her gut but she clenched her jaw and would face her fate with eyes wide open. She would not be a coward.

“Run, Alaiya. Run to the forest. Hide. They won’t come after you.”

Alaiya gaped. “What are you…? I’m not leaving you! Don’t be crazy. We run together.”

“No. Dammit, Allie. I have to face them. They won’t stop hunting me, and I can’t have them destroy this place. Or other cities to pursue me. This must stop now.”

“You risked your life to save mine.” Alaiya grabbed her hand. “You won’t be getting rid of me that easily. I’m with you until the end.”

“This isn’t your fight!”

“Yes, it is! You are my sister. I am no more a coward than you are.”

Venya glared at her.

Alaiya glared back.

In desperation, Venya shoved Alaiya away before running toward the dragons. Alaiya screamed curses and ran after her. Venya was going to collapse at any moment. Her vision tunneled a bit as she stumbled.

“Dragons!” Then she added a short tune infused with her siren voice. Directed right at them.

Both of their heads whipped around.

She held up the goblet, the gold and silver coins clinking inside. “Here is your property. Take it and leave this place. Take me if you must and consider my debt repaid.”

“No!” Alaiya caught up with her and clutched her around the waist.

“Nine hells, Allie!”

“Nine hells yourself, Ven!”

“They’re going to eat me!”

“Then I guess they just have to make room for one more. I bet we cause them indigestion.”

Venya struggled but Alaiya was stronger than she looked. The dragons dove at her words, and she barely had time to tear away from her sister before the Onyx scooped her up in his claws. Alaiya tried to grab her, screaming her name. For a split second, Venya felt relief and sadness so profound she grew dizzy. But then the Gold scooped up her sister, and she shrieked at them.

“Leave her be! She has nothing to do with this! I’m the one you want. Don’t hurt her!”

All the while, she kept the goblet and the few coins safely held against her chest. The Onyx angled his head down so that one silver eye gazed at her. The dragons banked to the south, heading back to their mountains.

“Settle, little thief,” he said, his voice cavernous and little more than a growl. “We have much to discuss.”

Author Bio

Author Bio: 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/profile.php?id=100001710645622

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/

Guest Blog Post: The Trick To A Great Interview: Interviewer And Interviewee by Claudine Wolk

On October 4, 2023 By authoranthonyavinablogIn Blog Tours, Book EventsLeave a comment

The Interviewer

Interviews are so much fun. The opportunity to chat with an expert or an author and to share what they know with your audience is exhilarating and can be great fun. A few tricks will polish your interview to keep your listeners coming back for more.

Be Prepared and Pay Attention. Consider what you would want to learn from this guest as a listener when preparing questions but understand also that the interview can veer in a completely different direction. Many times, that new direction is exactly where the interview was meant to go.

Prepare A Great Intro. Make sure the information in your prepared intro is up to date by sharing it with your guest before recording.

Keep YOUR talking to a minimum. The interview is not about you, it’s about imparting the guest’s wisdom to your listeners. Let your guest talk. You brought them in for an interview for a reason. Consider yourself the bumpers in a bowling lane where you nudge the conversation this way and that to keep it on point.

Finally, most guests are more than happy to talk and your job will be to keep them on track but rarely you may have a guest who simply does not like to talk. Keep them moving by getting them comfortable with your questions… start a statement and then pause… give them a chance to pick up the thread and show their stuff.

The Interviewee

Interviews are a great way for you to promote your book or your business. The trick as the interviewee is to remember to avoid a “hard-sell” of your product or service. Instead, provide valuable expertise/entertainment to the audience. Resist the urge to openly sell. i.e., “buy my book!” Here are a few more tips for a well-rounded, informative and entertaining interview.

Offer great content to the audience so they take away fun, helpful nuggets that show off your expertise. If you are the author of a fiction book and are asked to describe it, give a quick synopsis that doesn’t give away the ending.

Answer the interviewer’s questions thoughtfully and succinctly. Many interviewers have a whole list of questions with which to relay valuable information to their audience and if you pontificate on one question, they won’t get the chance to ask any others.

Some interviewers are more than happy to let you chat away. If you pause and the interviewer is encouraging you to continue with your train of thought, oblige them. Having a list of interesting points that you curate before the interview is a great idea to keep you on point.

Finally, make sure that you remember to let people know where to find you on social media for more information. One social media channel that is easy to remember is the best bet because people are listening and could be in a car on a walk. Off air, you may ask the interviewer to add your social media links and a link to your book, of course, in their show notes. Most likely, the interviewer will ask where to find your book on air!

Remember to thank the interviewer and off-air, ask for a copy of the audio so that you can promote it across your social media and website.

Most of all, have fun and consider the interview a conversation for the most enjoyable experience for you, the interviewer and the audience. Good Luck!

Claudine Wolk is the co-author, with Julie Murkette, of Get Your Book Seen and Sold: The Essential Book Marketing and Publishing Guide and a book marketing coach. Find her writing/podcast at claudinewolk.substack.com.

Book Summary

It is easier than ever to publish a book, but many authors find out too late about the actual work-the book marketing-that needs to be done to achieve sizable book sales. Instead of embracing the opportunities to promote their books, authors are intimidated and shut down. Those days are over. This is the book authors MUST HAVE to give their books the best chance to be seen and sold.

In this essential, easy-to-read, and easy-to-understand guide, the author will work through the graphs, examples, and exercises in the book and learn:

The fundamentals of book marketing: Message, Audience, and Hook
How the book marketing fundamentals effortlessly feed into every aspect of book marketing
The breadth of book marketing options and how book marketing works, with examples
How book distribution IS a crucial part of book marketing
To develop an elevator pitch and a formal pitch to media contacts
To develop with a doable book marketing plan
To develop media kit items for their book publicity efforts: Press Release, Author Bio, etc.
The types of book reviews and how to get them
To create a list of media contacts and how to use them
To organize their new entrepreneurial business as book marketer/author
Ideas to “shake their tree” to develop unique book marketing opportunities
To examine the best social media channels to promote their books
Where to put their book promotion dollars
Most importantly, authors will learn something priceless…the correct starting point!

Authors, You CAN do right by your book! Go on and reach the book buyers that you had in mind when wrote your treasured manuscript and Get Your Book Seen and Sold today.

Publisher: Lost Valley Press (September 2023)

ISBN-10: 1935874446

ISBN-13: 978-1935874446

Print length: 122 pages

Purchase your copy on Amazon, Bookshop.org, or Barnes and Noble. Make sure you add it to your GoodReads list too.

About the Author

Claudine Wolk and Julie Murkette are experienced in sharing their knowledge of the publishing industry to give books the BEST chance to be sold. Julie is the long-time owner of Satya House Publications, which published and marketed the award-winning I See the Sun series of books, among others. Claudine Wolk is a published author, journalist, podcast host and book marketing consultant. You can find her writing in her weekly newsletter on Substack: Get Your Book Seen and Sold. Her book, It Gets Easier and Other Lies We Tell New Mothers, (Harper Collins) is translated into three languages and was released as an audiobook (Nov. 2022).

Find Claudine online at:

Substack: https://ClaudineWolk.Substack.com

Website: ClaudineWolk.com

Instagram: @ClaudineWolk

Facebook: Facebook.com/ClaudineWolk

Twitter: @help4newmoms

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Blog Tour Calendar

September 18th @ The Muffin

Join us on The Muffin as we celebrate the launch of Claudine Wolk and Julie Murkette’s book Get Your Book Seen and Sold. You can also enter to win a copy for yourself!

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com

September 19th @ Karen Brown Tyson’s blog

Join Karen as she reviews Get Your Book Seen and Sold. You can also win a copy for yourself!

https://karenbrowntyson.com/blog/

September 20th @ My Beauty, My Books

Join Nikki for her review of Get Your Book Seen and Sold.

https://mybeautymybooks.com/

September 21st @ Knotty Needle

Join Judy for her review of Get Your Book Seen and Sold.

https://knottyneedle.blogspot.com

September 22nd @ Word Magic

Visit Fiona’s blog for a guest post by Claudine about creating a list of media contacts and how to use them.

https://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com

September 23rd @ Chapter Break

Visit Julie’s blog for a guest post by Claudine about how to pick and choose where to focus your book marketing.

https://chapterbreak.net/

September 25th @ My Heart is Booked

Don’t miss Danielle’s book review of Get Your Book Seen and Sold. You can also win a copy for yourself!

Home

September 28th @ Deborah Zenha-Adams’ blog

Deborah shares an excerpt from Get Your Book Seen and Sold. You also have a chance to win a copy of the book, too!

http://www.deborah-adams.com/blog/

September 29th @ Margay Leah Justice

Join Margay as she reviews Get Your Book Seen and Sold.

https://margayleahjustice.blogspot.com/

October 1st @ Balance and Joy

Join Sheri for her review of Get Your Book Seen and Sold.

https://www.balanceandjoy.com/

October 4th @ Author Anthony Avina’s blog

Join Anthony for a guest post by Claudine about the trick to a great interview.

https://atomic-temporary-124910902.wpcomstaging.com/category/blog-tours/

October 6th @ Carole Writes

Join Carole for her review of Get Your Book Seen and Sold.

https://carolemertz.com/

October 7th @ A Wonderful World of Books

Visit Joy’s blog for a guest post by Claudine Wolk about a popular book marketing roadmap.

https://awonderfulworldofwordsa.blogspot.com/

October 7th @ Of History and Kings

Join Hellen for her review of Get Your Book Seen and Sold.

https://ofhistoryandkings.blogspot.com/

October 10th @ What is That Book About

Visit Michelle’s blog for an excerpt from Get Your Book Seen and Sold.

https://www.whatisthatbookabout.com

October 13th @ CK Sorens

Visit Carrie’s page for her insights into Get Your Book Seen and Sold. You can also win a copy for yourself too.

https://www.instagram.com/ck_sorens/

October 15th @ Madeline Sharples’ blog

Join Madeline for a guest post by Claudine about how you can’t do everything. Don’t miss it!

https://www.madelinesharples.com/

October 15th @ The Mommies Review

Visit Glenda’s blog for her review of Get Your Book Seen and Sold.

http://www.themommiesreviews.com/

October 17th @ One Writer’s Journey

Join Sue for her review of Get Your Book Seen and Sold.

https://suebe.wordpress.com/

October 17th @ Just Katherine

Visit Katherine’s blog for a guest post by Claudine Wolk about how writing and book marketing are related.

https://justkatherineblog.wordpress.com/

October 18th @ A Storybook World

Visit Deirdra’s blog for a spotlight of Get Your Book Seen and Sold.

https://www.astorybookworld.com/

October 19th @ Pick a Good Book

Join Debbie for her review of Get Your Book Seen and Sold.

https://instagram.com/pickagoodbook

October 19th @ Book Reviews from an Avid Reader

Visit Joan’s blog for her review of Get Your Book Seen and Sold.

http://bookwomanjoan.blogspot.com/

October 20th @ Beverley A. Baird’s Blog

Join Beverley for her review of Get Your Book Seen and Sold by Claudine Wolk and Julie Murkette.

https://beverleyabaird.wordpress.com/

October 21st @ Free to be Me

Join Leslie for her review of Get Your Book Seen and Sold.

https://lesliesvoice.com/

October 21st @ Editor 911

Visit Margo’s blog for a review of Get Your Book Seen and Sold.

https://www.editor-911.com

October 22nd @ Beverley A. Baird’s Blog

Visit Beverley’s blog again for a guest post by Claudine Wolk about the top ten insider tips for self-publishing and book promotion.

https://beverleyabaird.wordpress.com/

October 22nd @ Jill Sheets’ blog

Visit Jill’s blog for her interview with author Claudine Wolk about her book Get Your Book Seen and Sold.

https://jillsheets.blogspot.com/

Blog Tour: You Can Do Magic by R.L. Merrill

On October 2, 2023 By authoranthonyavinablogIn Blog Tours, Book EventsLeave a comment

R.L. Merrill has a new MM rock ‘n roll fantasy/paranormal romance (bi, gay) out in the Carnival of Mysteries shared universe: You Can Do Magic. This is also book three in Merrill’s Summer of Hush series. And there’s a giveaway.

From the author of Foreword Indies Finalist Summer of Hush and BookLife Prize Quarterfinalist Brains and Brawn comes a new installment in the series, a contemporary gay romance with a side of time travel and magic.

Musical prodigy Kallos Alexandrou has played his calliope for countless visitors at Errante Ame’s Carnival of Mysteries, but his one-year residency has come to an end. Scars from a terrible tragedy in his past are the only explanation he has for his loss of speech and memory, but it’s time to move on, so when a music festival sets up next to the carnival, Mr. Ame sends him off with identification, a bottomless billfold, and a set of new clothes. Outside the carnival’s perimeter, Kal finds himself in an unfamiliar world surrounded by strange instruments and vibrant people like nothing he’s ever seen.

Ryan Wells is the troubled and celebrated lead singer of the metal band Backdrop Silhouette. He’s brought more than his share of baggage on the last cross-country Warped Tour, including harsh restrictions placed on him by his parole officer and the band’s label, but it’s the treatment from his bandmates that have him feeling unsettled. After a tough morning, he spots a strange young man playing carnival music on a keyboard backstage, and the sound takes him back to a particularly vulnerable time in his youth. Intrigued, Ryan asks the young man’s name, but he flees only to appear later as a replacement stagehand for the tour.

An invitation from the band Hush to ride on their bus gives Ryan and Kal a welcome distraction. They find the camaraderie and support they’ve both been craving…as well as a little magic and a fresh new romance. But the music business makes personal relationships difficult to maintain, and when the tour ends, Ryan and Kal will have to make a choice: move forward together on an uncertain path, or let fear keep them from trusting that sometimes you really can have everything you desire.

You Can Do Magic is part of the multi-author Carnival of Mysteries Series. Each book stands alone, but each one includes at least one visit to Errante Ame’s Carnival of Mysteries, a magical, multiverse traveling show full of unusual acts, games, and rides. The Carnival changes to suit the world it’s on, so each visit is unique and special. This book contains a Depression-era calliaphone, a Ouija board with a purpose, and tour bus hijinks that will warm your heart and make you gigglesnort. Reading Summer of Hush and Brains and Brawn before this book will give you the full Warped Tour experience, but You Can Do Magic can be read as a standalone as well as the other books in the shared universe. Recommended 18+.

Warnings: Mention of prior sexual abuse, off-page, no descriptions

About the Series

Welcome, everyone, to the Carnival of Mysteries! In this shared element multiverse, we invite you to partake of an array of stories by an eclectic group of authors. You’ll find action, intrigue, mystery, danger, sweetness, and sorrow, but, above all, true love! So grab your ticket, indulge in some treats, experience a few thrills, maybe have your fortune read… there is something for everyone at the Carnival!

Get It On Amazon

Giveaway

R.L. is giving away a $30 Spotify gift card with this tour:

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

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47298/?

Excerpt

Chapter One
Kal

A new day breaks
Under the blue skies above
A new crowd waits
All they need is a little shove
The Carnival is here
With mysteries galore
To satisfy your cravings
To leave you wanting more
We’re here today, gone the next,
Taking along our magic and song.
Come inside, take a peek
Surprises like these won’t wait long
Here we have the fantastical calliope,
come dance with our talented Kal
His music will delight and seduce you
With the power of the siren’s call
So step right up, and don’t be shy
For his time is coming to a close
Come shimmy and shake with this talented guy
And celebrate the last of his shows…

I’d memorized the ringmaster’s introduction, though it was more sensational than I deserved. And last night’s version had a new ending, one I’d been expecting, but hearing it brought a sliver of anxiety to my bones.

The instrument I played was actually a calliaphone—a more efficient and portable version of the forced-air organ—and I’d built it myself, that much I knew. It was my voice. It spoke all I knew to say, my own words lacking. I possessed the ability to speak, but I’d mostly forgotten how, therefore I preferred to let my music speak for me. I played for the crowds. I smiled for them, but I was transparent to the onlooker.

One year had passed in this way, one year of my life, and I had nothing of my own. No friends to help, no family to love, and no safe place to lay my head away from the carnival. What would I do, where would I go, and would someone see me for me?

The boss, Mr. Ame, told me soon it would be time to move on to the next phase. I’d no clue what that meant other than I would no longer travel with the carnival. There was nothing to pack, nothing to carry, only the clothes—and the scars—I wore on my body. I would miss my calliaphone and the crowds, but I knew it was time. My stay had been healing, educational. My time taught me plenty. The carnival would go on without me and my music, on to the next place to entertain…and seduce the locals. They’d fall under the spell of my fellow travelers. Some might even be chosen to come along.

I remembered little from my time before I, too, had joined the carnival. Humiliation and regret reverberated within the structures of my cells, but I didn’t recall more than that, much less the reason for the debt that forced me into servitude. The boss took me away from the darkness, and promised to set me free one day. But what was free, what would it mean, who would I be? A musician, a man, alone? I’d forgotten my past. I’d learned all I could in this place. Would I survive what lay ahead?

I took my questions to the man in charge, the one they call Errante Ame, and he confirmed that my time with the carnival was at an end.

“My dear, Kallos,” the boss said to me. “The world has done you wrong, not the other way around. You have been a part of something important here, and we shall never forget the joy your music has brought to our clan and our guests. But now it is time for you to move on, as all in the crew must do.

It is your choice where you’ll go once you leave the perimeter, what you will do with the time you have left.

“You have been invisible to our guests for so long, adored for your playing, of course, but who you are remains unseen, unspoken. A blank canvas, a puzzle. Only you can solve the riddle of your life. The time is near when you will set out on your greatest adventure, the journey to find your purpose. Being reborn can be frightening. You will have questions, but the answers you seek can be found within yourself. All you must do is follow your instincts, and your heart’s desire. Do what you feel is right and true. Be good to yourself and your fellow creatures, and walk the path of least harm.

“When the next sun rises, you will step outside the bounds of the carnival. You will have all that you need to begin anew. By the following sunrise, our carnival will have moved on. A traveling music festival will share these grounds with us tomorrow. Perhaps you can start there.”

I knew down deep in my bones that he was correct, that something momentous was about to occur.

Author Bio

Whether she’s writing swoon-worthy contemporary romance featuring quirky, queer, and relatable characters or diving deep into the supernatural to give readers a shiver, R.L. Merrill loves creating compelling stories that will stay with readers long after closing the book. Ro writes inclusive romance for the Happily Ever After collective, contributes paranormal hilarity to Robyn Peterman’s Magic and Mayhem Universe, and pens horror-inspired tales and music reviews for HorrorAddicts.net. A mom, wife, daughter, and former educator, you can find her rocking out in her Bronco with Great Dane pup Velma, being terrorized by feline twins Dracula and Frankenstein, or headbanging at a rock show near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area! Stay Tuned for more…

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

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

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

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

Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9828914.R_L_Merrill

Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/r-l-merrill/

Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/R.L.-Merrill/author/B00PI6Q1LI

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Why I Love Ryan Wells…

Greetings and thanks for stopping by the blog tour for You Can Do Magic: Carnival of Mysteries. My story features a troubled rock star who meets a mysterious musical prodigy on the last cross-country Warped Tour. It’s a contemporary romance with a little magic and woo woo, which I think is becoming my brand! I’ve written both contemporary and paranormal stories, but several of my recent books have blurred that line a little more than usual. While I love vampires and shifters immensely, I’m also fascinated by the everyday magic that occurs when ordinary folks meet the extraordinary. When people are faced with the unexplained phenomenon such as spiritual intervention or the manifesting of the things in life you desire, that’s the magic I love to explore.

Enter Ryan Wells, lead singer of metalcore band Backdrop Silhouette. Ryan is a conglomeration of several different real-life musicians I enjoy listening to and reading about. He’s the embodiment of sexuality, so naughty he can’t help himself. Never intentionally hateful, but never the best decision-maker, Ryan struggled through a childhood of neglect and abuse to become a star, only to plummet to earth after a series of bad decisions land him in prison. He’s out on parole and trying to make things better by following his 12-step program, going to therapy, and making amends to those he’s hurt. Through all of this, he’s taken responsibility for his misdeeds and is attempting to live a life in service to the people he cares about. But doing the right thing isn’t always met with acceptance, and Ryan is tired and on the verge of hopelessness when he meets carnival musician Kallos Alexandrou. Whose got secrets. Big ones.

Ryan first appeared in my book Summer of Hush where he is a sort of playful rival of Silas Franklin, the lead singer of metalcore band Hush. The two have a mutual respect for each other, but Ryan tends to keep to himself. We soon learn that Ryan and the former guitarist for Hush—Gavin West, who committed suicide two years prior to the start of the books—became close friends and even wrote an album together after Ryan got out of prison, however Ryan’s label put the kibosh on their plans to produce it together. Ryan grieves with his acquaintances in Hush, and throughout the two books, he appears at times to commiserate with the members of Hush. I loved him from the start in all of his black-leather-wearing, ass-shaking, crotch-grabbing, sex-on-a-stick persona. This collaboration with the authors in the Carnival of Mysteries shared world was the perfect opportunity for me to give him his own book and show a bit more about his connection to Hush as well as to bring those characters back for more tour bus hijinks and backstage tomfoolery.

Here’s a little bit from Ryan’s POV:

I stood in the bathroom of my band’s tour bus applying the day’s sunscreen, foundation, and eyeliner while I listened to the new guy bitch.

Getting ready for a performance, putting on makeup, was a ritual that helped me focus. I liked to get a little creative with the corners of my eyes and tops of my cheekbones, but I wasn’t good at makeup like Brains from Hush, or Chris Motionless from Motionless in White. I was more old school, like Scott Weiland maybe. He’d been one of my role models growing up. Same with Chester Bennington, Chris Cornell, Layne Staley. Notice anything those guys had in common?

Yeah, me too.

Every day I woke up was a gift. I had to remember that, especially when I was trapped on a tour bus with my closest friends and biggest detractors. Those two characterizations fit all the members of my band at one point or another. Over the course of a day they’d love or hate me within minutes. This was our fifth Warped Tour, and though I was sad it was going to be the last one, I was also ready for a break from touring. We’d only been on the road together about six weeks at this point, but that was enough.

They were all on my last nerve, and I wasn’t their favorite person either.

That should all be par for the course in a rock band, but we had some extra baggage thrown in there, namely my prison term, my parole requirements, oh, and my sobriety.

I guess it was fair to say I was the baggage in this scenario.

Someone pounded much louder than was called for on the bathroom door. “You almost done in there?”

I opened the door to find TJ, one of the two newest members of Backdrop Silhouette. When I got locked up, our previous rhythm guitarist and bass player quit the band. They weren’t original members either.

Burke, Parker, and I founded the band seven years ago and were used to each other’s quirks. We didn’t have a lot of tolerance for assholes, and yet we kept ending up with them on the payroll. After my little “fuck up,” I guess I’d become one of them myself. Parker and Burke hadn’t come out and said it, but there was a deep, dark crevice between us that hadn’t existed previously. They’d tried to have me fired, but the label assured them they could hang up their instruments if they chose to do so. My face, my ass, my sparkling personality, my stage antics, and my voice were our moneymakers. Probably those five traits could be a band on their own.

That thought had me chuckling to the point that I forgot TJ wanted something.

“What’s so fucking funny?”

TJ was four years younger than me, and damn he had a chip on his shoulder bigger than he had any right to have. I don’t think he’d always hated me this much, but lately he looked as if he wanted to throat punch me every other minute. For that reason, I delighted in fucking with him.

“Your face. Oh, come on. What did you think I was going to say?” I pushed past him, being sure to knock him off his unplanted feet. Dude should have been on his toes. I was always on mine. Prison will do that to you.

He stumbled over his words, scoffed, and told me to fuck off before slamming the door.

“You’re going to pay for that when it breaks,” I said in my sing-songiest voice.

“Do you have to start with him every morning?” Parker sat at the booth in the kitchen drinking coffee with Burke. My other big fan, Oscar, was out jogging. He ran every morning, which I admired. Fitness was important in this life we led, a fact some of the guys could stand to get on board with. I had my own routine that I’d done every day for the past three years save two days: the first full day I had out of Soledad, and the day my best friend died.

I hope you fall in love with Ryan as much as I have. I spent 27 years of my life as an educator, most of which working with kids in alternative education programs, and I have a soft spot for the ones who work hard to make that second chance count for something. It’s for them that I wrote this book.

Thanks for checking out You Can Do Magic: Carnival of Mysteries. I hope you enjoy! For more fun, check out the other stops on the blog tour and pick up the books in my adjacent series, Summer of Hush and Brains and Brawn, both in KU for a limited time. And Stay Tuned for More…

Blog Tour: The Magic Users of Greenford by Lisa Oliver + Exclusive Excerpt

On October 1, 2023 By authoranthonyavinablogIn Blog Tours, Book EventsLeave a comment

The Magic Users of Greenford Trilogy - Lisa Oliver

Lisa Oliver has a new MM paranormal romance trilogy out: The Magic Users of Greenford. And there’s a giveaway.

Lucifer Fireborn is a high magic user with a taste for the high life. He spends his days, along with his anchor brother Darwin, chasing the rogue magic users who don’t follow the rules all magic users live by. When his brother claims his own fated mate, and can’t anchor for Lucifer anymore, Lucifer has to find someone else to anchor for him, or risk setting everything and everyone around him on fire. But there’s a problem… Lucifer really doesn’t want anyone drooling over him, because that’s what people do.

Stefan de Marco is homeless again. Ranking as one of the highest scoring anchors in the country doesn’t count for anything when a man leaves his employ just so he can keep his pants on. It’s not the first time he’s been in that situation, and with his familiar Garrick, Stefan gets by. He was raised in the Trades Sector and he knows the value of hard work. When his path crosses with a desperate Lucifer, sparks fly, but not the ones Lucifer was hoping for.

Underneath it all is the insidious Brethren who believe high magic users should be able to use their magic without the grounding effects of an anchor. They seek to enslave or kill anchors in their bid to gain attention. Lucifer and Stefan have to find a way to work together to bring down the organization, but it’s not an easy thing to do when the two men come from different sides of the track.

The Magic Users of Greenford Trilogy should be read in order. It follows the one couple, Lucifer and Stefan, as they learn to manage their magic, and their love for each other in the face of adversity.

Warnings: Some violence.

Get Them on Amazon

Giveaway

Lisa is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour:

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

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47299/?

Excerpt

“Why would I be angry with you?” Stefan was looking steadfastly out of the passenger window. They were on their way to the airport, as planned. It was just their destination that had changed.

“You have to admit the situation with Foster was unusual. His anchor, Ethan was never found.”

“I doubt anyone ever looked for him. Ethan was just an anchor after all.” Stefan sniffed. “As for Foster, we got told, once we dropped him off at the facility Monty recommended, that the hexing case was under New York’s jurisdiction and therefore not our concern.”

“You weren’t curious about where his new anchor Helen got the hex?” Lucifer checked the traffic, and then risked a quick look at Stefan. Who still wasn’t looking at him. Catching Creed’s glance in the rear-view mirror, Lucifer got the impression the dog was judging him, too.

“I might have been, under different circumstances.”

Yep, Stefan was still angry.

“I mean, if my mate was still working as a Wielder of the Magic Sword, which was his occupation when I met him, and Foster’s case came across our desk as an authorized case, I would’ve jumped right on it with you. But, no, my mate told his boss, Ben, in no uncertain terms that he wouldn’t be doing that job anymore. I believe you told him that after our holiday, we were going to work at the Anchor Division.”

Stefan had an amazing memory. “Yes, I did say that.” Lucifer flicked on his indicator and took the turning for the airport. “But this case isn’t being investigated by the Council.”

“No. No, it’s not.” Stefan turned to face him then, and even out of the corner of his eye, Lucifer could see the hurt and anger on his face. “You’ve taken a case, on our behalf, from the one group of people who want to see people like me either subjugated, or completely wiped off the face of the earth.”

“If this is about the holiday…”

“What holiday?” Stefan didn’t have to raise his voice. He could snap out a sentence and make Lucifer feel as though he’d been whipped. “Are you talking about the holiday that you promised me nothing would get in the way of? That holiday?”

“I’m sure this won’t take long…”

“What the hell difference does it make how long this case takes? I’m not some spoiled society brat you have to appease with holidays and gifts. I’m from the Trades sector. I’m not afraid of hard work.”

“Then what…?”

“You really don’t get it. I can’t believe it, but you honestly don’t get it. Fine. Seeing as you clearly left your brain in your suitcase, I can tell you there are two things I’m upset about.” Stefan never used strong language, or interrupted Lucifer for any reason. But he was on a roll. “One. There’s the fact you didn’t consult me at all before you took the case. You reverted to Lucifer the arrogant ass, and made decisions for both of us, never once considering my feelings on the matter.

“And secondly, and by far the most important to my mind, did you miss the part when I said you’ve been employed by people who want to see me dead? Did you hear what they said about Technic? Council propaganda? Bad press? Excuse me? And that’s without the derogatory tones they used when they referred to me. How could you?”

Author Bio

Lisa Oliver lives in the wilds of New Zealand, although her beautiful dogs Hades and Zeus are now living somewhere else far more remote than she is. Reports indicate they truly enjoy chasing possums although they still can’t catch them.

In the meantime, Lisa is living a lot closer to all her adult kids and grandchildren which means she gets a lot more visitors. However, it doesn’t look like she’s ever going to stop writing – with over one hundred paranormal MM (and MMM) titles to her name so far, she shows no signs of slowing down.

When Lisa is not writing, she is usually reading with a cup of tea always at hand. Her grown children and grandchildren sometimes try and pry her away from the computer and have found that the best way to do it is to promise her chocolate. Lisa will do anything for chocolate… and occasionally crackers. She has also started working out, because of the chocolate and the crackers.

Lisa loves to hear from her readers and other writers (I really do, lol). You can catch up with her on any of the social media links below.

Author Website: http://www.paranormalgayromance.com

Author Facebook (Personal): http://www.facebook.com/lisaoliverauthor

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

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

Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Lisa-Oliver/author/B004WH4ZEE

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Exclusive Excerpt

Hello and thank you so much to Author Anthony Avina and your wonderful blog readers, for letting me share an exclusive excerpt with you today from my Magic Users of Greenford Trilogy. This excerpt is from book three in the trilogy – Validate – and Lucifer has put his foot in it again. I do hope you enjoy it.

“You’re angry with me, aren’t you?” The question was a conversation opener and nothing more. Lucifer didn’t need to be a rocket scientist, or use his powers as a high magic user to realize his mate was furious. His mate’s anger throbbed through their bond like a boil on the point of exploding.

“Why would I be angry with you?” Stefan was looking steadfastly out of the passenger window. They were on their way to the airport, as planned. It was just their destination that had changed.

“You have to admit the situation with Foster was unusual. His anchor, Ethan was never found.”

“I might have been, under different circumstances.”

Yep, Stefan was still angry.

Stefan had an amazing memory. “Yes, I did say that.” Lucifer flicked on his indicator and took the turning for the airport. “But this case isn’t being investigated by the Council.”

“If this is about the holiday…”

“I’m sure this won’t take long…”

“Then what…?”

End excerpt.

Have a wonderful day everyone, and a huge thank you again to Anthony Avina for allowing me to share my work here today.

The Unshakeable Road to Love by Dr. Brenda Shoshanna Blog Tour + Excerpts

On September 20, 2023October 14, 2024 By authoranthonyavinablogIn Blog Tours, Book Events1 Comment

Book Summary

The Unshakeable Road to Love (Value Centered Relationships) is based upon Eternal Principles from all world scriptures, including Zen. These tried and true Eternal Principles, the Pillars of Love, show how to build foundations for relationships where happiness and well-being are inevitable. And where pain and conflict can dissolve on the spot.

A radically different approach to love and psychology, the book offers a completely new perspective on fulfillment and what is truly needed to thrive. For example, one of the Pillars of Love upon which the book is based is:

To Be Happy, You Do Not Have To Be Loved, You Have to Learn What It Means to Be Loving.

The book explores the difference between Real and Counterfeit Love. We discover how all suffering in relationships is due to being caught in the trap of Counterfeit Love. And how easy it is to break free from bondage and leave that trap behind.

This is a book of practice, filled with Turning Points, Pillars of Love, Interventions, and many enjoyable exercises so the reader can practice these principles in all their relationships and in their everyday lives.

Written by a psychologist, Interfaith Counselor, and long-term Zen practitioner, the book combines the practices and principles of both East and West, helping us to discover and celebrate the best in ourselves and others.

Publisher: Brenda Shoshanna (October 2022)

ISBN-10: 1094378046

ISBN-13: 978-1094378046

Print length: 208 pages

Purchase a copy of The Unshakeable Road to Love on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. You can also add this to your GoodReads reading list.

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About the Author

Brenda Shoshanna is an award-winning author, psychologist, Interfaith counselor, and long-term Zen practitioner and speaker. Her work is dedicated to integrating the teachings of East and West and making them real in our everyday lives. Brenda has offered over five hundred talks and workshops on all aspects of personal and spiritual development, relationships, and living an authentic, meaningful life.

You can find her online at:

Author Website: http://www.brendashoshanna.com

Book Website: https://www.totalrelationshipsnow.com/

Her Plays: https://www.allmyplays.com/

Her Podcast: https://www.zenwisdomtoday.com/

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Blog Tour Calendar

August 28th @ The Muffin

Join us as we celebrate the launch of The Unshakeable Road to Love by Dr. Brenda Shoshanna. We interview the author and give you a chance to win a copy of the book for yourself.

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com

August 30th @ Create Write Now

Visit Mari’s blog for a guest post by Dr. Brenda Shoshanna about what is a true conversation.

https://www.createwritenow.com/journal-writing-blog

August 30th @ Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews

Lisa interviews author Dr. Brenda Shoshanna about her book The Unshakeable Road to Love.

https://lisahaselton.com/blog

September 1st @ Word Magic

Join Fiona who shares a guest post by Dr. Brenda Shoshanna about the simple laws of love.

https://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com/

September 5th @ Choices

Madeline shares a guest post by Dr. Brenda Shoshanna about the end of loneliness.

https://www.madelinesharples.com/

September 10th @ A Storybook World

Join Deirdra’s blog for a guest post by Dr. Brenda Shoshanna about the difference between real love and counterfeit love.

https://www.astorybookworld.com/

September 10th @ Just Katherine

Join Katherine’s blog featuring an excerpt from Dr. Shoshanna’s book The Unshakeable Road to Love.

https://justkatherineblog.wordpress.com/

September 13th @ Katherine Itacy’s blog

Join Katherine for her review of The Unshakeable Road to Love by Dr. Brenda Shoshanna.

https://katherineitacy.com/

September 15th @ The Faerie Review

Don’t miss Lily’s review of The Unshakeable Road to Love by Dr. Brenda Shoshanna.

https://www.thefaeriereview.com/

September 18th @ Thoughts of Maddness

Visit Maddie’s blog for her review of The Unshakeable Road to Love by Dr. Brenda Shoshanna.

https://maddiegudenkauf.com/thoughts-of-maddness

September 19th @ Just Katherine

Join Katherine again for a guest post by Dr. Brenda Shoshanna about how to dissolve conflict and pain in relationships on the spot.

https://justkatherineblog.wordpress.com/

September 20th @ Author Anthony Avina’s blog

Join Anthony for his feature of an excerpt from The Unshakeable Road to Love by Dr. Brenda Shoshanna.

https://authoranthonyavinablog.wordpress.com/category/blog-tours/

September 22nd @ My Beauty, My Books

Join Nikki for her review of The Unshakeable Road to Love and the chance to read an excerpt of the book.

https://mybeautymybooks.com/

September 25th @ School Librarian In Action

Join Zarah for her review of The Unshakeable Road to Love by Dr. Brenda Shoshanna.

https://lovealibrarian.blogspot.com/

September 29th @ The Frugalista Mom

Join Rochie’s blog for her review of The Unshakeable Road to Love by Dr. Brenda Shoshanna.

https://thefrugalistamom.com/

September 30th@ Jill Sheets’ blog

Visit Jill’s blog for her review of The Unshakeable Road to Love by Dr. Brenda Shoshanna.

http://jillsheets.blogspot.com/

October 1st @ Jill Sheets’ blog

Jill interviews author Dr. Brenda Shoshanna about her book The Unshakeable Road to Love.

http://jillsheets.blogspot.com/

October 1st @ Boots, Shoes and Fashion

Join Linda for her fascinating interview with Dr. Brenda Shoshanna about her book The Unshakeable Road to Love.

https://bootsshoesandfashion.com/

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Take in These Exclusive Excerpts

EXCERPT ONE

We are all treasure hunters, looking for the secret to fulfilling relationships. Usually, we believe the secret lies in finding the right person, acquiring the best relationship skills and learning to communicate our needs more clearly. Our relationships are usually dedicated to finding happiness, getting our needs met, being powerful or in charge. Basically, we are using our relationships to feel good about ourselves.

However, despite all our efforts, relationships often become a source of pain and suffering. And when a partner stops meeting our needs, love often turns into rejection. Conflict, anger and loneliness arise endlessly.

When our thoughts are primarily absorbed with what we are needing and receiving, or how to build up our self esteem, we live in a prison without bars. It becomes impossible to truly see the person we are with, or what is really happening. The harder we try to make things right, the more complicated they can become. How can we ever find fulfillment in this manner?

A Completely New Perspective

It is time to offer a completely new perspective on psychological and spiritual suffering and the road to unfailing happiness. As we turn to the world’s Eternal Scriptures we see that suffering has been dealt with throughout the centuries. Profound relationship insights along with powerful forms of healing have been offered again and again. However, this fundamental, eternal wisdom has not been recognized or invited into our relationships. That is why we suffer so.

A Radical Alternative

These eternal truths present a radical alternative to the ways we function in relationships and what we expect of them. They also present a radical view into what it means to truly love. Like the laws of gravity, these principles are infallible, cannot fail.

An Unshakable Road To Love (Value-Centered Relationships) is based upon these eternal truths found in all world scriptures. They are the perfect medicine for what is truly ailing us. Not only are these principles fundamental to our happiness, they are also simple, easy to understand and enjoyable to perform. And when we apply these principles to our relationships, pain and conflict often disappear on the spot.

This book and program are dedicated to sharing a new form of psychology based upon these Eternal Principles. This is a Book of Practice, simple, direct and filled with specific insights, exercises and interventions, which carefully guide us in ways of applying these truths with whomever we meet, including ourselves.

EXCERPT TWO

Relationship Koans

All relationships can be thought of as koans, teachings coming to us from the world of Zen. A koan is a question given to a student by a teacher that has no logical or rational answer. And yet an answer must be made. The same is true of relationships.

In the beginning we try to figure our koans out, strategize, demand certain outcomes. That never works. Before long, we find new ways of handling koans, or so called problems. We learn to enjoy them and let the answer reveal itself. When we approach our relationships the same way as we do our koans, it is easy to see many of the illusions we have been living with, and how they have destroyed our joy.

Relationship Myths and Mirages

These illusions, or relationship myths and mirages steal our trust, hope and love. Once they are dissolved, and the truth bubbles up, our entire perspective changes and new horizons open.

Ultimately, we do not work on our koans, they work on us. Koans wake us up, alter what our view and present possibilities we never imagined were there. This is true in our relationships as well. Relationships, truly understood and practiced, are an incredible gateway into the heart of our lives.

Here is a wonderful instruction given to students working with a koan. It is wonderful

instruction for being in a relationship as well.

Be With Your Koan as if You Were a Mother Hen Sitting On Her Nest, Keeping Her Eggs Warm. (Do the Same with Your Relationship.)

Don’t leave the nest or desert the chicks. And don’t interfere with their growth, or constantly peek in to see how they’re doing. When the perfect moment comes the chicks will peck out of their shells and be born. Do the same with your relationship! Then the relationship will naturally become fully alive.

“Kabir says, Fantastic!

Don’t let an opportunity

Like this go by.”

Blog Tour + Interview with Timoteo Tong, author of Magic, Monsters and Me

On August 22, 2023August 22, 2023 By authoranthonyavinablogIn Blog Tours, Book Events, InterviewsLeave a comment

1.When you got your very first manuscript acceptance letter, what was your initial reaction and who was the first person you told?

I was so nervous about being rejected that when I got the email, I made my husband read it watching his face carefully. Well, he has poker face so he kept me on edge until he said, “Wow, they love it and want to offer a contract! I immediately told my brother because he was the one who pushed me to write down the stories I’d dream up with my legos as a kid.

2.Post on how you came up with the plot and/or character(s) and/or worldbuilding:

I grew up on welfare as a kid. And I remember worrying where our next meal would come from and if we’d have enough money to meet rent. I dreamed up the fantastically wealthy Delomary family as a coping mechanism, shrinking myself into their world so I could escape the reality I was living in. For the worldbuilding, I was inspired by the works of L. Frank Baum and Tolkien. I created this fantasy world growing up during the Reagan years and imagined a world that was similar to ours only better, there was no crime or hunger or violence, and especially, free of racism and bigotry.

3. Have the character share a favorite recipe.

Elijah loves his Mom’s Roast Beef, slow roasted with onions, mushrooms and simmering in red wine (My mom put wine in almost every dish, I think it’s a Sicilian thing) served with mashed potatoes and peas.

4. If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?

I would definitely want to fly. In my books, I feature a lot of characters flying, floating and walking on air. I was inspired by Wu Xia movies from Hong Kong, where the characters can fly while they fight. I think this is so cool!

5: What is your favorite food.

Cheese, hands down,I love it sliced, in cubes or chunks, melted down and dipped with bread, stuffed into lasagna and shells and especially cheese pizza. I can’t get enough of cheese, to the chagrin of my doctor.

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Timoteo Tong has a new MM YA sci-fi/fantasy/paranormal romance out: Magic, Monsters, and Me. And there’s a giveaway.

Sixteen-year-old Elijah Delomary loves the City of Angels. The sunshine, the palm trees, the ocean. He especially enjoys battling the monsters infesting the dark corners of the vast metropolis.

As he starts his junior year at Burbank High School he meets a new friend, Austin who also fights monsters to keep Angelenos safe. As their friendship develops and love blooms, Elijah’s arch nemesis Devlina reappears, threatening to use magic to destroy the world.

Elijah must now juggle pursuing his feelings for Austin, meeting the lofty expectations of his affluent and influential family, and fulfilling his destiny to combat the forces of evil and save his hometown.

Warnings: Bullying, racism, homophobia no HEA cliffhanger

Publisher | Amazon

Giveaway

Timoteo is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour:

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

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47295/?

Excerpt

Fifteen-year-old Austin Kang Jr., well over six feet tall, lean and lanky with a mop of black hair falling over his eyes, adjusted the thick black glasses on his face. He studied the white stone and glass mansion jutting out over a hillside on North Sunset Canyon Drive. The house appeared to have good feng shui, with a Southern exposure to allow absorption of positive chi, a panoramic view of the Valley below, and a clear path to the front door.

Feng shui was important to Austin and his parents. They believed it helped center their family and keep them grounded and safe. Austin and his parents were descended from a long line of Magicals called Glimmerers who could tap into a glimmer of magic and twist, turn, and manipulate it as if it were hot ore being turned into a sword.

Coaugelus, as they were known in the Old Language, the mother tongue of the Magicals, were a class of warriors. They defended Magicals and Ordinaries, or humans without magic, from dark forces, creatures, and monsters that lived in the dark shadows of Earth—a place called the Gloom.

Coaugelus, Magicals, and Ordinaries lived in the light in our world, also known as the Shimmering. Everywhere that the sun touched was part of the Shimmering. Austin, his parents, even the people driving by in cars, walking their dogs, and watering their lawns shimmered and lived in the light.

Long ago, the Gloom and the Shimmering met face-to-face in a great war that killed and destroyed countless Ordinaries, Magicals, and monsters. The war raged on and reached a crescendo. A Pàcifimenta, a treaty among Ordinaries, Magicals, and the Gloom was signed. The war ended. Peace settled over the Shimmering and the Gloom.

Still, many in the Coven, the collective of monsters in the Gloom, did not agree with the Pàcifimenta. They didn’t like that they had to sacrifice feeding on Ordinaries or haunting, possessing, or simply terrorizing them. Others wanted power to control the Coven, and to defeat the peace created by the Pàcifimenta. Some creatures didn’t like peace as part of their nature. These monsters were fought by Coaugelus like Austin and his family.

Austin loved three things in life: playing soccer (known as football back home in Hong Kong), listening to grunge music like his dad, and fighting the Coven. For Austin, being a Coaugelo gave him a purpose in life and a place where he felt like he belonged. He particularly enjoyed kicking, punching, and using Xem Sen Ou, the ancient martial art from Minerva in Old Earth in the Seventh Dimension where all Magicals came from.

He also fancied his PlasmX, a purple plasma staff that folded into nondescript metal object akin to a lighter that he always carried with him. He had used it only last night while hunting down a group of rather angry werewolves, or Malloupus, that were attacking tourists at the night market in Kowloon. Austin enjoyed watching the pure purple plasma slice through the heads and arms of werewolves that were in the middle of reaping the souls of innocent Ordinaries.

Austin loved saving Ordinaries from monsters.

“What’s our assignment?” Austin asked his parents.

“Trouble is breaking out within the Coven here in Los Angeles,” said Austin Sr.

Austin and his family spoke with posh accents, a holdover from when Hong Kong was a colony of the UK. “We’re here to investigate and report back to XAQ2,” continued Austin Sr.

“Bleedin’ hell,” Austin complained. “XAQ2 are wankers. Full of rules. Can’t we simply report to the Anti-Coven League and be done with it?”

“Xutactiendo Allégansa Qu’elicallen Duzo have moved more operations of the League from the clandestine to the legal,” said Austin Sr.

“What does that mean?” Austin asked.

“The Alliance is strained and weakened. As leaders of the Alliance, the Còngréhassa are trying to placate their counterparts in the Coven and maintain the Pàcifimenta. Part of that entails relying more on formal procedures. The League works in secret, whereas XAQ2 works through formal channels as the official body of the Alliance.”

“Tossers,” Austin said. “XAQ2 can all go to hell as far as I’m concerned.”

Austin glanced at his parents, who were standing beside him holding hands. His parents were madly in love, even all these years later. He wanted to be in love. He was going to find it—here in Burbank where he’d have four passions: soccer, grunge, being a Coaugelo, and being in love with a cute, wonderful, and smart boy. That was Austin’s secret.

Coaugelos shouldn’t kiss other boys, or so some said—at least, the old-timers in the Alliance. He didn’t care what they thought, but he worried what his parents would think. They were his best friends.

Austin fought and traveled all over the world with his parents. He was worried that if he told them his secret, they wouldn’t understand or accept him anymore. Losing the closeness with, and love of, his parents would hurt more than the bite of a Qu’muqa, a monster with green scales and ten mouths on two heads.

His parents worked as agents for the Anti-Coven League. When they got a new assignment from the League, they took on new day jobs for cover.

“What jobs are you supposed to be doing?” asked Austin.

“This time around, I manage a highly profitable import-export business specializing in Chinese antiquities,” responded his mother.

“Jolly right you are,” Austin quipped. “How many bloomin’ vases do we have?”

Austin Sr. frowned. “Too many,” he observed.

“What about you, Dad?”

“I run a gas station somewhere called Van Nuys,” Austin Sr. said.

Austin glanced at his mom and dad. “Looks like you got the shit job this time, eh Dad?” he said.

They all laughed.

“I ran a nail salon in Bangkok last time for six months,” Austin’s mother said. “I hate salons.”

“Yeah,” his father said. “I had to collect garbage in Berlin for a year. Remember?”

“How could I forget the smell? I had to be a maid in Buenos Aires.”

Austin tuned them out. This was one of his parents’ games: try to top each other in who had the worst fake job while they were out in the field fighting monsters for the League.

Austin caught sight of his cousin Barnhard “Barn” Wong strutting up the street toward him and his family.

Barn was Austin’s best mate. His father was Austin’s uncle. Austin was an only child, as was Barn. When they were together, they acted like brothers.

Barn waved, jumping up and down. Barn was always full of life and energy. Austin loved being around him. Life was better around his cousin.

“Oi, Kangs!” Barn shouted in Cantonese.

Austin noticed a red-haired boy with brown eyes and a band of freckles on his nose walking next to Barn.

Austin’s heart melted. He was the most beautiful boy Austin had ever seen—from Mumbai to London to New York and Tokyo and Sydney. He felt the universe shift inside him. He could feel the boy pulling him in as if Austin were a satellite circling the Earth.

Austin liked that feeling. His parents orbited each other, and like them, he wanted to circle this boy—forever.

Barn and the red-haired boy parted ways. Austin watched the boy walk across the street under the canopy of jacaranda trees, disappearing into a four-story white stucco Spanish colonial mansion.

“What’s my assignment?” Austin asked as Barn arrived, pausing to hug his uncle, aunt, and Austin.

Barn was affectionate and loved hugs and kisses, or smooches, as he called them. “Reconnaissance with my mate here? Hunting down Àzmadus? Orgmas?” Austin continued.

Barn high-fived Austin. “Let’s destroy monsters!” Barn exclaimed.

Barn was a Coaugelo like Austin. Barn’s extended family owned the Wong Aero-Magicals Corporation that made the PlasmX in factories in Chicago, Tokyo, and Bangkok as well as other equipment used by the Alliance to fight the Coven.

“You’re just a high school junior,” Austin’s mother said. “You need a break from hunting and fighting. You need to have fun!”

“You need to be a boy,” his father echoed.

“Killing monsters is fun,” Austin responded.

“Really fun, Auntie!” Barn added. “Austin can train at the Dáu Xhà, the dojo with Dáumo Máurso, the sensei.”

“Who?” asked Austin.

“He’s an Immortal—Mars, the God of War. He runs the best Dáu Xhà in the world. You’ll learn the most powerful Xem Sen Ou with him,” explained Barn.

“Oi,” Austin said, “training with an Immortal. That’s amazing.”

“He’s amazing,” Barn said. “He’s nearly ten feet tall, a knot of muscle, and his voice makes the earth tremble.”

“Sounds a tad frightening,” Austin admitted.

“He’s the God of War, mate,” Barn explained, nudging Austin in the side with his elbow.

“Fair enough,” Austin replied.

“He likes cats—he has a dozen at his home. He also likes hot dogs—a lot—and slushies,” Barn said.

“Yuck,” Austin said, rolling his eyes. “I hate slushies.”

“Let’s go to the Dáu Xhà after you drop your stuff off,” Barn said, “So I can introduce you to Máurso.”

Austin glanced expectantly at the moving truck, the boxes on the sidewalk, and his parents.

“Go,” his mother said in Cantonese. “Have fun, boys! And no killing monsters!”

“Oi,” Barn said, already ignoring his aunt. “There’s a poltergeist at Dirk Delomary’s department store in the mall—third floor, women’s hosiery. We can destroy it after we get hot dogs and hang with Máurso,” he said. “And I know a cute girl at Chicken on a Stick who’s an Encantreina. She can turn satay into powerful silver daggers that will kill any monster.”

Austin grinned. He loved Burbank already.

Author Bio

Timoteo Tong grew up on a quiet street in Burbank, a suburb of Los Angeles located in the San Fernando Valley. He dreamed of one day living in a Victorian mansion with many rooms filled with antiques and artwork. He imagined himself fighting monsters.Timoteo grew up and began writing stories of a family of fighters battling monsters to save humanity.

Timoteo currently lives with his husband and a plethora of houseplants in San Francisco. He enjoys reading, writing, drawing, naps and binge watching TV. He loves cheese pizza, Pepsi and Vans.

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

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

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

Blog Tour: A Riff of Retribution by Amir Lane (Heavy Metal Hunters Book 1)

On August 17, 2023August 17, 2023 By authoranthonyavinablogIn Book EventsLeave a comment

Amir Lane has a new gay paranormal vampire book out, Heavy Metal Hunters book 1: A Riff of Retribution. And there’s a giveaway.

Dead men are filled with life.

Eleven years ago, world-renowned guitarists Hale and Aleksandr learned that monsters were real. Hale lost the love of his life, and Aleksandr lost his brother.

When the carnage was over, they vowed to make sure no one else had to go through what they did.

But since then, another band’s bassist has been killed at a festival, and she wasn’t the only one. Hale suspects a vampire was responsible, and that their drummer — the singer of his new band — knows more about it than she’s letting on. When a member of their new act is also attacked by a vampire, everything Hale has tried to keep in the shadows comes to light.

Hale has made a bargain with the gods for the power to heal. But he can’t save everyone.

The dead are rising. The gods are angry. And even they won’t be Hale’s biggest problem.

From USAT Bestselling Author Amir Lane comes a story of music, magic, and mayhem.

Warning: Substance abuse, self-harm, mentions of attempted suicide.

Get It On Amazon

Giveaway

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

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47294/?

Excerpt

A woman’s voice cried out in the darkness.

“Help me! Help me!”

Hale ground his teeth against the instinct to find her. He didn’t know if this tactic was something they learned or if it was ingrained into them. The nearest cabins were all empty right now. They had checked before sundown and found no sign of human life.

That had been several hours ago. Somebody very well could have wandered up into the mountains and gotten hurt or lost in that time.

Hale doubted it.

The same cry came from behind him. This time, it was a man’s voice.

“Help me! Help me!”

Hale stood and raised his crossbow with both hands. Though it was fairly light, he was mindful of the way the weight tugged at the scars behind his left shoulder. In his periphery, Aleksandr sheathed the dagger and raised his own crossbow instead.

This wasn’t right.

Draug weren’t like European or North American vampires. They didn’t move in pairs. It was likely why Hale and Aleksandr had survived doing this so long. It was always two against one.

They had a strategy. His job was to slow the bastards down so Aleksandr could finish them off. Two of them coming from different directions complicated things.

“Hale,” Aleksandr said.

Hale knew that tone.

“Don’t,” he warned.

“You’ve been a good brother.”

“Fuck off.”

Aleksandr laughed softly.

“I love you too, Hale.”

Hale’s lip twitched into a smile despite himself.

“Come on, you fucks,” he muttered.

The silence was worse than the noise. Had they seen the weapons and retreated?

No—

From his left—

“Hale!”

Hale spun.

Eyes glowed yellow in the light of the fire. His finger twitched on the trigger. The bolt went wide.

Dammit!

The draug moved fast, too fast for Hale to follow. There was no point trying to see it. He allowed instinct to take over. He turned in the direction of the hairs prickling on the back of his neck as he released the bolt without letting himself think about it. A howl of pain rang through his eardrums. The draug paused long enough that Hale could see the bolt sticking from her thigh. She stared at him with sharp teeth bared and wide eyes a blue so pale, they were nearly white. She was thin enough that he could make out the bones of her skull and collarbones where her torn and bloody clothes hung loose from her body. It was impossible to tell how old she’d been as human.

Jeans and a t-shirt.

Had she been killed in the summer?

Hale smothered down the guilt before it could distract him. One week a year. That was the agreement. Anything outside that week wasn’t his responsibility. All he could do was put the poor thing out of her misery and keep her from killing anybody else.

His weak shoulder gave out a little as he pulled the trigger again. The bolt stuck between the draug’s ribs instead of her heart.

“How are you doing, Aleksandr?” he shouted.

The lack of verbal response wasn’t encouraging.

“Aleksandr!”

“I’m fine!”

Hale slipped his shoulder to the side, narrowly avoiding the woman’s claws aimed for his face. The ash poisoning was slowing her down already. She was too close for the crossbow. He let it fall to the ground and moved his right leg back.

A sharp cry rang out behind him.

“Aleksandr?”

Hale made the mistake of looking back. He didn’t see Aleksandr or the other draug.

“Aleksandr!”

Gods, where was he? Where—

The woman slammed into him. The snow broke his fall, and the pain was muffled by the spike of adrenaline in his veins. He braced his left hand against her rotting throat to keep her teeth from his face. Cold pain pulled at the scars behind his shoulder. The weak muscles quivered with the effort of holding her back against gravity. Her ugly snarl looked even more inhuman in the firelight.

Hale’s pendants were hot where they’d fallen back against his skin.

Protect him, you bastards, not me. He’s not a fighter!

Hale could handle himself, but Aleksandr—

Aleksandr could hold his own. He wasn’t as soft as he looked. Hale couldn’t think of him while the woman’s short claws raked at his arms. She was clearly young enough they hadn’t had a chance to grow long yet. The sleeves of his jacket kept them from breaking his skin.

Hale shifted to push the woman back a few inches with his good arm. He wedged his knee up between them. His fingers scrambled over his thigh until they found the hilt of his dagger.

Blood splattered on his face as he drove the blade into the underside of her jaw. She howled and screamed around the metal. He kept his grip on the hilt as she jerked back, dislocating her jaw. She fell back, and Hale was on her in a less than a breath. He dropped his weight onto the dagger. It took two tries to get it between the ribs and into her heart.

It was concern for Aleksandr that made him stand as the draug woman thrashed on the snow, not the sick feeling that came with watching her die.

This never did get easier.

Author Bio

Amir Lane writes supernatural and fantasy with LGBT+ characters. From the frigid and mysterious land of Northern Canada, Amir is obsessed with loud music and black magic. They spend most of their writing time in a small home office or doing the circuit of local coffee shops. They live in a world where magic is an everyday occurrence, and they strive to bring that world to paper.

When not figuring out what kind of day job an incubus would have or what a necromancer would go to school for, Amir enjoys visiting the nearest Dairy Queen, getting killed in video games, and watching cat videos.

Author Website: https://amirlane.com

Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/amir.lane.7

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

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

Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Amir-Lane/author/B01M673SHE

Jade: First and Last by M.D. Grimm Blog Tour + Excerpt

On July 30, 2023 By authoranthonyavinablogIn Blog Tours, Book EventsLeave a comment

Good day lovely readers! Thank you for joining me. I am M.D. Grimm and I am here to promote my newest release, “Jade: First and Last.” This is the latest entry in The Stones of Power, and the structure became a quest story, much the same as the first book in the series. I kept making it worse for my guys as they searched for the jade stone of power. And I had a bit too much fun doing so. I only have four books left before I wrap things up for Lord Morgorth and Aishe, and I am both excited and saddened. They’ve been with me for a decade, and it will be an end of an era when I let them go. If you like magic, surly, anti-hero mages (wizards), their loyal, long-suffering mates, and a fun setting with quirky supporting characters, this series might be for you!

Enjoy this exclusive excerpt!

I stared in fascination as Morgorth’s skin rippled and the air around him shimmered. He’d confirmed how agonizing the change was, and I gritted my teeth at the sounds of breaking bones and snapping tendons. His proportions shrank, his skin erupted in feathers, and his face grew a beak. His low moan turned into a ruckus caw.

A long moment later a large black bird stood on the floor, ruffling his feathers, and clicking his beak. He flapped his wings and cocked his head, familiarizing himself with his new form.

I knelt in front of him and slipped the small cord over his head. The thumbnail-size crystal lay against his chest. “You are beautiful.”

He let out a soft sound, almost a coo, and flapped his wings hard, gaining lift. I stood and he fluttered over to land on my shoulder.

“Are you ready?”

He nipped at my hair.

I hid him under my cloak as we snuck out. Once outside, I drew up my hood, since Morgorth advised against using the same disguise potion as yesterday. He didn’t want to make me sick. I stepped around the corner once outside, and Morgorth took flight, wheeling a bit unsteadily through the air. I watched for a moment, anxious before following him on foot. The city was far busier in the early afternoon. Everyone moved with a purpose and rarely made eye contact or even greeted each other. I didn’t sense unfriendliness, more unease and a bit of fear.

As I followed Morgorth down a few side streets we’d tried the other night, I noticed the graffiti on the walls and spots of vandalism. I hadn’t spotted them in the dark. The words were in the local dialect, but I could understand the meaning well enough. Calls for revolution or for someone to depose the king.

I got a bit distracted, trying to decipher a few of the words and graphic pictures, and wondering if the current state of the city, and the kingdom as a whole, could have an impact on the thief’s actions. A group of children, none at puberty yet, ran past me, screaming and hollering in manic glee. I flinched at the noise but found myself smiling. Even in this devastated city, the perseverance of children couldn’t be dampened. But their ragged clothing, dirty faces, and bare feet, concerned me. They were far too skinny, and their body odor lingered in their wake.

“What’s all this noise?” an old man bellowed as he stuck his head out of his door. “You get out of here, you little maggots! None of us wants to hear you carrying on.”

The kids jeered and called him names, making the old man red in the face.

I was moving forward before I knew it, hoping to stop an altercation. But then the swooping of wings, and the brush of feathers against my hood brought me back to our mission. Morgorth cawed as he soared higher. I gritted my teeth against the instinctive urge to interfere. But the kids had already run away, and the old man turned his attention to me.

He glared. “What you looking at, you davish?”

I stiffened, the insult burning. “Nothing.”

He snorted. “Get back to your own country and out of our city, tree whore. We don’t want your kind here.”

I gaped as he shut the door.

Did he just…? Was that a derogatory name for dialen? Had to be. And how dare he call me a davish! The nerve of accusing a perfect stranger of rutting with animals. The old man’s vitriol staggered me. He hated me for even existing in his presence. It appeared that generations of war turned some bitter and hateful, and irrationally bigoted.

How had he known I was a dialen, though? My hood was still in place, and the cloak was big enough to cover my clothing. Could it be my bow? Perhaps. It wasn’t the same shape and style as the bows of the city.

I sighed and tried to shake it off as I turned and followed Morgorth again. The encounter shook me despite my best efforts. The despair permeating the city was even worse in the daytime when I could see the faces of the citizens and the resignation in their eyes.

I lifted the crystal to my lips. “We have to do something about this war, Morgorth. After we find the jade, we have to… I don’t know. This place, it… we have to help if we can.”

He gave two clicks.

I sighed.

The afternoon wore on, and I witnessed a half dozen thefts, and it sickened me to turn away. But when I spotted three men harassing a woman, I couldn’t stand by. They had her backed into the end of an alley and were tugging at her arms, her clothes. I didn’t want the attention of the patrols or soldiers, so I kept my arrows and sword sheathed and used my bow as a club instead.

“Hey, you should leave her alone if you know what’s good for you!”

They all turned to me. I kept my hood up, bow at the ready.

“Who are you?” one of them asked, the one gripping her arm.

“And if you know what’s good for you, you won’t interfere,” another said.

The two speakers were rather scrawny, underfed, and their clothes were more patches than fabric. The third was a wide, short stump of a man who scowled and said nothing.

“Please help me!” the woman said, struggling against the first man’s hold.

“I won’t offer another warning,” I said, wondering where in the underworld the patrols were.

“Neither will we. Ander!”

The stump of a man charged me.

I braced and lifted my bow.

The Stones of Power 1-9 are available for purchase at Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. I have a newsletter that I send out monthly with all the goodies you can expect in the future. That’s the best way to find out about my current and future projects.

I’m currently working on the next Shifter Chronicles book, as well as the first book in a duology concerning two sisters and their love lives with dragons and wolves.

More information on my catalog can be found at my website.

I hope you stay safe and healthy, and may dragons guard your dreams,

M.D. Grimm

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M.D. Grimm has a new MM fantasy book out, Stones of Power book 9 – Jade: First and Last.

Morgorth and Aishe must contend with a deadly threat that could spell disaster for their world.

Payshthas were the first of the Mother’s intelligent children. It is rare for true friendship to form between them and another species—which makes Morgorth’s bond with Enfernlo unique. And it is due to their friendship that Morgorth doesn’t hesitate to answer Enfernlo’s plea for help.

A thief has stolen something vital from Enfernlo’s colony—a stone of power.

Their hunt for the stone leads them to a war torn kingdom, and Aishe can hardly stomach what he sees. The devastation urges him to assist however he can, no matter the risk. Meanwhile, Morgorth is faced with reminders of the monster he used to be, and contemplates how far he’s come, and yet how far he still has to go. And when his estranged mentor joins them on their search, Morgorth is forced to confront his resentment and sense of betrayal, and use Master Ulezander as a tool to save the payshthas.

Forced into a deadly quest where trust is in short supply, and faced with challengers for the stone, Morgorth must put his faith in those he loves and in himself… and become a champion not just of the Mother but for Karishian itself.

Warnings: magic violence, dragon violence, war-torn country

About the Series:

Lord Morgorth is a dark mage on the planet Karishian. His peers consider him a villain, but there is more to him than they choose to understand. Cursed by a dark destiny and tormented by painful memories of the past, Morgorth struggles to find his place in the world. Far from innocent, Morgorth has teetered between embracing his destiny and fighting against it his entire life. A decision that is made easier when Aishe comes into his life.

Aishe is a creature of the forest, a warrior and healer. He has the moral compass that Morgorth needs, and Morgorth gives Aishe the companionship he craves. Together, they forge ahead, weathering the storms and fighting the enemies fate puts into their paths.

However, their greatest enemy is not a living being, but gemstones infused with deadly power. They are addictive, seductive, and completely treacherous. Morgorth hates them and is determined to find and imprison all of them. But he soon realizes they are keys to a greater power. He learns his destiny is not all he thought it was. And an even greater enemy stirs in the darkness.

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Excerpt

Morgorth snarled a word, and his magick speed shot him like an arrow into the tunnels. I followed in his wake, focusing on the eight gVattaren who were running away. The hard sand didn’t hinder us, and I caught up with their shorter strides. I shot two in the neck before those remaining reeled around and attacked. They cursed and squealed as their blades blinded me when the sun broke the horizon. I dropped my bow and grabbed my short sword.

With my own snarl, I barreled into them. My blade sang as I swung at their arms and heads while also dodging and swerving as they tried to stick me with their knives. The six surrounded me, and while a few broke through my defenses and slashed at my legs, their blades glanced off my armored clothing. It didn’t take long for the gVattaren to realize they couldn’t puncture through the cloth to my flesh.

One sneaky fellow sliced the back of my uncovered hand while another threw a blade at my face. I ducked and hissed at the sting on my hand. I cut off their arm while slashing at the one who’d flung the knife.

“What do you hope to accomplish?” I asked, spitting mad. “Do you not see the payshtha over there? He can burn you to a crisp in an instant!”

“Then why hasn’t he?” one of them said, voice raspy and filled with dark amusement.

I turned to the mocker and found an opening to kick them in the head. They dropped like a stone and the other five hissed and snarled.

“I’m not done having fun yet,” I said.

I trusted Morgorth to recover whatever they’d thrown into the tunnel as I gradually moved them farther away from the Jesllan. The small group was vicious and quick, fueled by rage. I would have been bleeding from many shallow wounds if Morgorth hadn’t enchanted my clothing. But then they surged toward me all at once, and one leapt upon my back, trying to stab my face. I gripped their wrist and twisted sharply. With a snap and a scream, they fell off me, dropping the blade. Unfortunately, with their other hand, the stabber grabbed my wrist and used their weight to force me to drop my sword arm. Then they clung and bit my hand, turning the previous slice into torn and mangled flesh that gushed blood.

I screamed, unable to shake them off.

I dropped my sword.

Seizing the opportunity, the other four attempted to saw their way through my clothing. They clung like leeches, and their combined weight made it hard for me to move.

“Get off me!” I punched at their heads with my free hand and struggled to keep my face beyond their reach.

“Close your eyes!” Enfernlo bellowed.

I snapped them shut an instant before hot air slammed into my back and engulfed me. The gVattaren shrieked in agony as the five spasmed against me. Then all the weight vanished, and it was silent except for the roar of the wind. Then that, too, dissipated.

I swayed and fell to one knee, panting. When I opened my eyes, I grimaced. The streaks of ash against the crystallized sand told me it hadn’t been hot wind, but payshtha fire. He’d disintegrated the gVattaren, just as I’d warned them he’d do.

Payshthas, like mages, could control their fire and who it harmed. To some extent, at least. But while mages needed to retain the connection to their fire, payshthas could direct it even when the bond was severed.

I tucked my mangled hand to my chest and grabbed my sword with the other. It was no worse for the wear, much to my relief. I turned and jolted. Enfernlo stood just behind, towering over me, his teeth bared, his eyes glimmering dark with rage. His wings were unfurled to their full span, and his posture reminded me of a striking snake or diving bird.

I was grateful my bowels didn’t betray me.

“Aishe!”

I turned and Morgorth engulfed me in his arms.

“Careful,” I said, grunting.

He jerked back and swept his gaze over me before focusing on my hand. His mouth twisted and his magick flared. “I’m sorry. Right after I retrieved that bomb they threw in, another group leapt out of the sand and attacked.”

I cupped his cheek with my good hand and met his gaze. “I’m all right.”

“Show me your hand,” Enfernlo said.

He no longer looked about to attack, and I breathed easier as I held out my hand. A gentle stream of fire blew out of his mouth and landed on my wound. It seeped into the torn flesh, glowed yellow, and then vanished. The pain stopped, my hand as good as new.

“Thank you.” I touched his snout.

Then I turned to Morgorth and cupped his cheek again. “And thank you for the clothes.”

He grunted. He covered my hand on his cheek and kissed my palm.

Author Bio

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

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