Lady Wild Fowl by Ivana Hoxha – Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Ivana Hoxha will award a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Lady Wild Fowl is an unusual, self-developing story, that analyzes the deepest repressed feelings and emotions, narrated from the romantic mindset of a twenty-six years old lady, who has never had a man in her life.

Nicole has been raised in a society that teaches her nothing about the value of the woman and her feelings, and she leaves home to accept a job offer in China, where she meets Benjamin. In the messy, unpredictable, and, at the same time, exciting Shanghai, Nicole and Benjamin see life from another perspective. While Nicole is facing the lies on which she based her life, revealing secrets she had kept hidden, embracing all the new unknown feelings blooming in her heart; Benjamin has to face the loss of important relationships and fight not to lose himself along with them, as he discovers how stubborn and deep love can be.

Discovering other perceptions of life and love, facing the unknown feelings that come along with them, and fighting the patterns of the social definitions on relationships, will they be able to discover who they really are? And maybe, experience love on the way?

Enjoy an Excerpt

“We realize time after time, – I spoke to fill that deafening silence, – how small and powerless we are. When we think we have it all figured out, something happens to change everything we know. And we lose balance and we lose control, and there is nothing we can do, but surrender. And this is what hurts the most. Knowing that you would be able to do anything for that love, but seeing that the other person doesn’t have the same intention with you. And you realize that this is your battle only, because the feeling is only yours.”

I wiped a tear off my cheek because that period still hurt, and I got the pillow he handed me. This had become a ritual. It was our therapy session; his understanding and my healing.

“Oh my God, Nicole, – I saw his eyes were filled with tears as well, and I hated witnessing his vulnerability. – How can you find the words for everything?”

His hand was trembling as he put it above his heart. I had never wished to see him like that.

“Because I’ve felt it Gem,” – I had no courage to look him in the eye because I didn’t want to make him feel guilty, but it was true.

I knew it all because of him.

About the Author My name is Ivana and I am from Albania, but I am a citizen of the world. I have studied languages and literature, and I currently speak 5 languages.

3 years ago, I decided to move to China and I lived there until Covid started. After that, I transferred to Bali, where I lived for almost another year. Currently, I am traveling around Europe.

As you can see, I love traveling, and this is where I find my inspiration to write. I write about experiences, people I meet, and everything that impresses me. People become my characters, and places I live in, become the book’s environment because there is nothing more beautiful than finding meaning in the everyday life. I have combined my love for writing with my experiences and brought to life “Lady Wild Fowl” which is the book I am publishing right now in the women fiction genre.

I have also published two books in the Albanian language some years ago, titled “Nje mengjes ndryshe” (A Different Morning) and “Nen shiun e vjeshtes” (Under the Autumn Rain) both of them in the genre of teenage fiction.

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Buy the book at Amazon.


What I Would Tell a New Author by Seyoum Nigussie – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Seyoum Nigussie will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

What I Would Tell a New Author

Everybody knows writing is not easy, and a new author is no different. But every author would have his or her mindset to accomplish something with writing and that mindset is the driving force for writing what you intend to write. When writing any genre of literature, there are prior considerations. The subject matter on what to write is the main consideration.
After identifying the story’s aim in question, identifying the extent of the story is the second consideration. At this stage, visualizing the story’s scope and dimensions is of vital importance. Once the scope of the story is determined, getting geared to writing begins. Once writing started, the nature of the story becomes to get shape. While writing, there will be moments of unease and doubts about the work underway.

A new writer should relax during the writing, and visualize more and more substances for the ideal subject story at hand. At some points, the writing becomes tiresome, and the flow of ideas from the brain onto the paper or screen gets stuck. But most of the time, the flow of ideas becomes natural and fluent. Adequately writing at the time of good flow of ideas is very crucial. When stuck somewhere down the road of writing, it is time to go back and refresh the story from the beginning. A new author should consider his or her work seriously and fondly. Working through and thoroughly, writing becomes so much more enjoyable. If there is no enjoyment in writing it will be futile for a new author to accomplish the desired goal.

World of Stars is a collection of poetry that portrays the beauties of nature and human experiences in the world. The poems enumerate various places, events, personas, notions and conditions that deserve poetic attention. A portion of the poems are made for tributes and gratitude to great personas who make this world as adorable as it is.

The poems are on varied topics and distinct from each other. Abstract and subjective ideas are woven into the poems to highlight the degree of transcendence. All the poems are metrical composition. By illustrating the good side of the world and nature within it, the poems aim to elevate people to a good way of looking at life as beautiful and meaningful.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Stars Every Where

Countless heavenly stars rock in the cosmos
Glamorous stars walk the earth for good cause.
Every where they reach for social worth
Stars every where delight of human growth
Through infinite universe that exists forever
Up in skies brighter and on earth glimmer,
To mark human lives for better and better
Gracious they are, stars appear every where.
As mysterious universe is subtle and endless
There could be time for galaxies to impress.
Leading human world into new progress
Fathoms of spirit generate legends to redress.
As microcosmic creatures inhibit on earth
Star lights come forth to unleash sound health.
Striving and tackling renewal of ethical wealth
Invincible stars would show up for moral rebirth.
As fountain of all lives and blossom of love
Stars reinvigorate themselves further to live.
As images of dreams and homages to believe
Stars every where shine out cures to relieve.

About the Author The world and life in general was promising to me until I was 17 years in my native country of Ethiopia. While a high school student in 1974, the world around me came crashing down when communist military Junta took state power and soon started a killing spree, at times committing mass murder. This was very traumatizing and the start of Stalinist ‘Red Terror’ on the ground. It was bad enough to hate being in life. From this, I quickly learnt life in the world is about taking on adventures.

With six of my school friends and one of our teachers, we formed an alliance to take action against the Junta. With 2 years of preparation we had managed to inform the public and get the local police headquarters on our side. Then, in April 1976 we staged a rebellion without violence in Nekempte, provincial capital of Welega. The revolt was short-lived, nothing lost with little gain. Amidst media control of the Junta, the news of rebellion was heard across the country. After that, my friends and I vowed to individually take on challenges for democracy as a life-long mission. We split apart and I went underground. When the security situation became harsh, I left the country for Sudan.

Despite traumatizing news and the realities around me with the ‘Periods of Gloom and Doom’, I took refuge in reading classical poetry which became my long time passion.

After a long journey through ups and downs, I suffered a car accident in Sudan, and left Africa all together – migrating to Canada in 1990. Through my journey in life, I looked around for a drug of relief from grief and nostalgia. Poetry reading had become my choice for entertainment and to delete bad memories and traumas. Soon after I realized that positive poetry is as good as drugs, music and paintings are, I decided to write one and here I begin with World of Stars.

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Buy the book at Amazon, Bookshop, Indigo Chapters, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository, Kobo, Smashwords, or iBooks.


My Take on Critique Groups by Tabitha Biel Luak – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Tabitha Biel Luak will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

My Take on Critique Groups

Knowing my mistakes and having a chance to improve on them before my work gets in the hand of the public is worth every fear I may have about someone in a group criticizing it. And that is my take on critique groups. But I understand there more than one way to look at critiques since difference experiences add up to different definitions. It is true that sometimes acknowledging that some area of one’s work needs more work may not feel as pleasant as someone’s applause on the work one has done. However, though the reward on their applause may be an immediate feeling of proudness about oneself, the reward on an improved work via the critique of a group is much more extensive. Therefore, I believe critique groups are essential.

Firstly, when someone work is criticized, it is like handing garden tools to a gardener. Writers are like gardeners and gardens are their minds. A garden may look promising by looking at the type of soil it has but just as its soil has greater potential of fertilization, anything which the gardener may not need can grow in the same soil. The mind of the writer is the garden; however, when it comes to growing one kind of plant, the gardener chooses what to grow in the garden, comes out of it, or how it will look like once it is out. Sometime the gardener lacks the tools to plow away other grasses she does not need to make her plant distinct and grow to its potential and that is when another gardener comes to rescue by giving her the tools she may have had and had worked for her in her gardening experience. In the same way, critique may sound harsh depending on how a person receive it but if the person can reverse how it sounds, the critique can only be a tool to improve one’s way of gardening. In other words, it can only enable an individual to look at their work and improve the lacking. There are always areas of improvements.

Secondly, critique can be informative. Sometime, some works look simply great because not a lot of work has been put to them. In other words, if a writer only ends up writing a shorter version of what he intended to, the writing part may look neat. However, when someone else points out areas of weaknesses, it may not only result in it being improved but expanded beyond its original length. Sometime writers need an outsider to look at what they have emotionally been involved in, and when they step out of how they have been viewing their work, and allow other opinions, their work may really change after all. The critique may only leave them desiring more than they may have thought they really need.

On the other hand, however, some people within a group may have the intention to bring down the work someone does leading to crashing the spirit of the person. At the end of the day however, nobody knows your work as a writer more than you do. Nobody knows the message you are trying to convey more than you do, and nobody knows your characters more than you do. People may help you with your character development, but it is up to you to have them reach their destination. You are the mastermind behind their actions. Being crashed by critique only prove you have more work to do. It is the writer choice to work on the areas which have been critically pointed out. The uncomfortable feeling that comes after knowing your work may lack something sucks but to have known that prior, that is the key to your work’s success.

This book is inspired by true events.

Chosen from among the mob of her boyfriend’s girlfriends, married in the most secure, respectful, and honourable way known to the people, Nyayang Jock, a girl born without a brother, won the race, defeating her top co-girlfriend, Sarah, by being the youngest over Sarah born with brothers. At the least, unlike ninety-nine percent of the girls of her generation and how they were married, it is safe for Nyayang to say she was married for love to Chuol Malual, a businessman who was born into a big, rich family.

Nonetheless, unlike the expectation of her in-laws, the unattended attitude of the nature secretly stabbed Nyayang in the back, leaving her to fail and creating the family Chuol and his family fundamentally paid the forty cows for. After waiting for what seemed like a decade for her to get pregnant, she gave birth to a girl, a thing that only fueled the resultant ager. Taking a long time to get pregnant and only giving birth to a girl when she should have birthed a boy called for a quick search for another wife. For Chuol’s parents, this was a search for a working womb, but for Chuol it was just a search for wife number two, which he found hard now that he realized most girls showed many of the characteristics Nyayang had shown; however, eventually all displayed some problem.

But that all changed when he accidentally stumbled upon Sarah again, who instantly restored his manhood. Sarah not only filled Chuol’s life with the boys he had been looking for, but she had her chance one more time to not only show Nyayang that it is the woman born with brothers who wins, but that the woman who has the ability to birth boys is the ultimate winner. But values-setting, worth-determining, and love are all weaknesses in society. There is only one true winner, and that is the neighbor, the seasonal enemy, the chaff buyer, the Murlen man.

Enjoy an Excerpt

There is a famous saying among the Nuer people which goes a little like this: “Every family has its way of talking and eating.” I don’t know what thoughts may pop into your mind upon hearing this saying. Personally? I see it as a universal family description—or perhaps the nature of these two things, “talking and eating,” are indeed that which differentiate us, the human race, universally
.
Of course, there are other differences amongst people. And although one of the obvious differences is the colour of skin, there are also things formed with conscious intentions for the purpose of them becoming our ways of life. In most cases, although this can’t really be said about skin colour, there are persuasive goals set prior to forming a way to live. For instance, we teach children how to do well behaviourally so tomorrow is a bit clearer for them. However, within a formation, a tendency is developed. Sometimes, these tendencies come in the form of beliefs, which influence what and how we teach them.

Take this belief from the place I call home. Where I come from, in South Sudan, it is overwhelmingly believed that there is a difference between a male child and a female child. Of course, there is a difference. And so this difference is often exhausted and exploited to identify potential inequalities between the two. Unfortunately, the further this persists, the more limits we place on what we consider males and females to be capable of.

Nevertheless, humans are known to loathe dwelling in a valley of non-competitive spirit. Therefore, the only way forward is still to lean iii strongly toward one side and confidently unwrap the other side as if someone was there when she was all assembled.

It has always been the belief here at home, exhaustedly theorized and relentlessly practised, that one thing must be different from another. Often, to roll out one thing is enough but the other is not. In a remote way, this perception unconsciously brings us to inherently believe one is the product while the other is the producer. In other families, this way of reasoning may look a bit different; nonetheless, the derivation of the tendentious tendency in this family walks its way persistently from a claimed, precise understanding of fullness that can only be explained in four ways.

These involve precise understanding of the structural beauty of appearance, the strength of the structural body, the enormity of the group to which one belongs, and the sophistication or smoothness of the tongue. As a result, every response, every act and every performance revolves around these four things. Therefore, how each family teaches the two is different, for each family believes the two exist for different, unbalanced reasons. And that, unlike other families, this family eats and talks differently.

The stories you are about to read, with the exception of names and certain places, are real people’s stories, which, to this day, are still happening. As you flip through the pages, I urge you to ask yourself the following questions: What, then, is human? Who is human? And what does it mean to be one?

About the Author:Tabitha Biel Luak is a South Sudanese-Canadian author. Tabitha was born in South Sudan, Africa. She relocated to Edmonton, Canada in 2011. Tabitha is a mother of two beautiful girls. She is currently taking her bachelor degree in Psychology. She is very passionate about helping her community grow. She is involved with youth in helping them reconnect to their roots by learning about where they come from. Tabitha is a gospel singer who also writes and sings songs about social issues.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Twitter | YouTube

Buy the book at Amazon, Amazon Ca, Barnes and Noble, or Smashwords.

World of Stars by Seyoum Nigussie – Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Seyoum Nigussie will be awarding a 15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

World of Stars is a collection of poetry that portrays the beauties of nature and human experiences in the world. The poems enumerate various places, events, personas, notions and conditions that deserve poetic attention. A portion of the poems are made for tributes and gratitude to great personas who make this world as adorable as it is.

The poems are on varied topics and distinct from each other. Abstract and subjective ideas are woven into the poems to highlight the degree of transcendence. All the poems are metrical composition. By illustrating the good side of the world and nature within it, the poems aim to elevate people to a good way of looking at life as beautiful and meaningful.

 

 

Enjoy an Excerpt

Big Apple Tree

There will always be big apple tree

Big apple tree heralds of being free.

Greatest city where fortunes redouble

Graceful city where everybody is noble,

And also a city where doves are humble.

New York City is the one of Big Apple.

People so far use cars or planes to travel

When next generation begins to shuffle,

Visits to New York is by space shuttle

And create centre of galaxy if possible.

As humans grow to feel a living glory

Instincts will remerge just as in priory.

To chant on around Big Apple Tree

The world will convene so as to agree.

Big Apple Tree as City of New York

And there is much stamina on every dock.

There are persons with stripes of zebra

And there are varieties in every single aura.

When musicians play pulling their strings

Big Apple Tree contents behave like kings.

About the Author: The world and life in general was promising to me until I was 17 years in my native country of Ethiopia. While a high school student in 1974, the world around me came crashing down when communist military Junta took state power and soon started a killing spree, at times committing mass murder. This was very traumatizing and the start of Stalinist ‘Red Terror’ on the ground. It was bad enough to hate being in life. From this, I quickly learnt life in the world is about taking on adventures.

With six of my school friends and one of our teachers, we formed an alliance to take action against the Junta. With 2 years of preparation we had managed to inform the public and get the local police headquarters on our side. Then, in April 1976 we staged a rebellion without violence in Nekempte, provincial capital of Welega. The revolt was short-lived, nothing lost with little gain. Amidst media control of the Junta, the news of rebellion was heard across the country. After that, my friends and I vowed to individually take on challenges for democracy as a life-long mission. We split apart and I went underground. When the security situation became harsh, I left the country for Sudan.

Despite traumatizing news and the realities around me with the ‘Periods of Gloom and Doom’, I took refuge in reading classical poetry which became my long time passion.

After a long journey through ups and downs, I suffered a car accident in Sudan, and left Africa all together – migrating to Canada in 1990. Through my journey in life, I looked around for a drug of relief from grief and nostalgia. Poetry reading had become my choice for entertainment and to delete bad memories and traumas. Soon after I realized that positive poetry is as good as drugs, music and paintings are, I decided to write one and here I begin with World of Stars.

Website | Facebook
Buy the book at Amazon, , Chapters Indigo, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository, Kobo, Smashwords, or iBooks.


Pondering the Muse by Susan Merson – Guest Blog and Giveway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Susan Merson will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

PONDERING THE MUSE

Oh boy. I’ve been at this art thing a long time. I got the tickle very early on when, as a little one, I used to hug the barking elm in front of our house and lean into the stories that the sap chattered. “Come closer! Listen!” As the gush and babble flowed up and around its magical network.

Then, there were the lily of the valleys that hid under the spreading evergreen on our front lawn. If I crawled under the branches, I could see an entire village of perfectly shaped wonders, little clanging bells, announcing my arrival to the other occupants of the secret village.

Theatre came naturally. And classes at the Detroit Institute of Arts, where I wandered before and after, through the galleries, getting lost in the depth of Mark Rothko’s layers of color or Diego Rivera’s murals of the working men and women who I knew. They lived all around me and their stories were mine, too.

Years of letting the stories and the characters run through me. That’s been the journey so far. And, getting clearer and clearer at how and when to bring them from my internal creation chamber to the world.

Sometimes they show up as characters I inhabit, or maybe as plays or poems, even sometimes in the quilts and clothing that come together from scraps of this and that seeking seams to make them whole.

The muse runs through me. And all of us. If I had to say what I wished most for the planet right now, at this time of extraordinary change, it would be my grand and embracing hope that everyone can begin to feel the tickle of larger understanding, the nuance of color and character, the cratering of self-serving systems that cannot be sustained.

I am blessed with a direct connection with dimensions up and down, and I am practiced now in the bringing of that word to the world. So, too, is that gift there for everyone. And the more we all embrace more than ourselves, the more we understand that our concept of ourselves alone in a dead landscape just won’t stand.

Starting over is hard enough but when ghosts decide to hitch a ride into the future—things can get complicated.

Widowed Vivi leaves California for a new start back east landing in a college town near her old friend Vikram, now the local ‘spiritual’ leader and disappointing lover. But the two have old business which leads them to uncovering the ghosts they conjured long before and the ones that are haunting them now. Vivi reclaims her life, — with the help of a couple different dimensions– saying hi to the ghosts who choose to hang around, and growing a new garden and a new life.

Enjoy an Excerpt

They have settled into their chairs and Tara is tossing some cards, shuffling them and getting a feel. She flips over three cards.

“Oh, my dear. Some bleak times, past, yes?”

Vivi is startled by this pronouncement. “Well, it’s been a time of change, I’d say.”

“Change?” says Tara. “You betcha. This Tower card is about the whole thing coming crashing down. But it’s in the past position. See here? This is the present,” she shows Vivi the 7 of cups. It’s a picture of a man taking a look at a whole gallery of possibilities. “Look at him”, Tara says. “He’s got lots of things to choose from.”

“Well, that sounds good,” says Vivi tentatively.

“Not bad. Don’t get over infatuated with the possibilities. And the last one… here. The Hermit. Yep.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Oh it’s fine. Just a time to go inside and let things percolate. Inner wisdom and all that. Not a bad sentence!” Tara laughs again. “Now. Anything specific on your mind?” Tara continues to flip cards. “So,” she says. “Who is this guy? This King keeps showing up. King of Cups? He fell out of the deck twice while I was shuffling. “Who is this guy who won’t leave you alone?”

Vivi is mystified. “How did you…?’

“Oh, it’s not magic. The cards just know, that’s all. They pick up what you bring. Who is this guy?”

About the Author: Susan Merson began her career as an actress on and off Broadway, in television and film. Co-founding the LA Writers Bloc in 1985 with award winning writer Jane Anderson, she has mentored writers through the Bloc and through her private and university classes in Playwriting, Life Stories, Writing as a Spiritual Practice, Tarot for Writers and the popular VOICING Series. Her short fiction has been featured in The Jew in America, Nice Jewish Girls (Penguin), The Worcester Review, the Chicken Soup series and several other online platforms. As a playwright, her award-winning plays have been performed internationally, including her 8 solo plays featured and used as example in YOUT NAME HERE: An Actor Writers Guide to Solo Performance. (Amazon). Long form fiction available on Amazon is her award-winning blog, WHEN THEY GO AND YOU DO NOT and her first novel DREAMING IN DAYLIGHT. OH GOOD NOW THIS, her newest novel launches 12/1/21. She is a tarot reader and counselor, a maker of quilts, clothing and whimsy. Susan is a humble mother and a proud resident of New York City.

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Buy the book at Barnes and Noble, iBooks, or Amazon.

The author has also done a series of five videos regarding the use of Tarot for writers (for more information, visit her website):

1: Author/ teacher Susan Merson (OH GOOD NOW THIS/ Amazon) explores Tarot to jump start your writing. TAROT FOR WRITERS #1: INTRODUCTION

An introduction to using your own intuitive powers to tap into the resonance of Tarot images, packed with archetypes and symbols, to jumpstart inspiration for your artistic projects.

**CORRECTION: The Raziel Tarot Deck is designed by artist Robert Place with commentary by Rachel Pollack.

2: Author/teacher Susan Merson (OH GOOD NOW THIS/Amazon), explores TAROT cards to jumpstart your writing, TAROT FOR WRITERS #2: LANDSCAPE

Explore the landscape of story. Entering the world of the card offers visceral clues to the landscape of your writing.

3: Author/ teacher Susan Merson (OH GOOD NOW THIS/ Amazon) explores TAROT cards to jump start your writing. TAROT FOR WRITERS #3: CHARACTER.

A brief exploration of character and how to find their first basic journey. Look deeply at the character clues in the cards and throw three cards to begin their adventure.

4: Author/teacher Susan Merson (OH GOOD NOW THIS/AMAZON) explores TAROT cards to jump start your writing. TAROT FOR WRITERS #4: WHAT STORY SHOULD I WRITE TODAY

On pulling cards to intuitively discover the story, the genre, the themes and the major turning points of a new story.

5: Author/teacher Susan Merson (OH GOOD NOW THIS/AMAZON) explores TAROT to jumpstart your writing. TAROT FOR WRITERS/ #5 TIMELINES AND DEEPER DIVE INTO RELATIONSHIPS

Timelines and going deeper into relationships with pro and antagonists. The more cards you draw the more information you can gather.

Addiction to Poetry by Trevor Muir – Exclusive Excerpt and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Trevor Muir will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

This book is a compilation of all the poems I have written in my life. Each one comes from a very personal place within me. Some of the poems truly show me at my most fearful, sad, and lonely moments in my life, and others are examples of how I was feeling at a time when I was desperate and lost all hope.

Some are of love, hope, a general wonder or curiosity, and accomplishment, and others came from the experiences of people closest to me.

I have added a page that briefly describes where the inspiration for the poem(s) came from, to help better tell the story. For me, poems and writing became a personal outlet. They have given me a safe way to express my thoughts and feelings.

I hope you enjoy them. If they are at all relatable than that’s even better. I hope that those who read these, and identify with them, will see that no matter how rough life may seem at any given time, it can get better if you just keep going.

Although the poems within these pages may be a bit random and unorganized, as is my life sometimes, they are raw and real. They are as I wrote them at that time.

I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read any or all of them, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I am sure my Mom will.

Enjoy an Exclusive Excerpt

When you look into a mirror

This was a bit random. I was reflecting on a time in my life when I couldn’t bear to look at my own reflection. I just had such low self-esteem. I was full of fear and shame, and guilt had become my norm. I did some things to change my life and overcome those feelings, and one day I realized I was looking into my own eyes in the mirror without the negative emotions I had felt most of my life. This prompted me to write the poem. – Trev

When you look into a mirror, do you see your face?

Or has someone unfamiliar seemed to take its place?

Can you look the person in the

mirror directly in the eyes?

Or do you have to look away because

they know your lies?

Does the person in the mirror look

at you with disrespect?

Is there shame and sadness in their

face that you seem to detect?

Do you ever turn the lights off when

you’re looking in the mirror?

With the hope that when they’re on

again, the face will disappear?

Do you ever fear the morning most and feel quite

insane, because the person in the mirror

wants to haunt you once again?

If you look into a mirror and do not see

your face, because someone unfamiliar

has seemed to take its place,

Just stare at the reflection, and say I’m proud of you,

And I’ll always love you very much,

no matter what you do!

Say this every morning and every afternoon,

Then the face that’s unfamiliar

will disappear quite soon.

Just focus on becoming who you really want

to be, and the face that’s in the mirror

will be the one you want to see.

About the Author Trevor Muir grew up in Elmworth, a small farming community in Northern Alberta. He learned at an early age the importance of family, friends, and community.

He also learned that working hard and being kind were essential to getting ahead but giving back to others was truly what life was about.

His life has led him down many paths that he could have never imagined, and he has had the opportunity to meet some of the most amazing people on the planet.

He strongly believes in sharing experiences in the hopes that it will help others to see they are not alone, and inspire them to become the best version of themselves.

Website
Buy the book at Amazon, Amazon CA , Bookshop, Chapters Indigo, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository, Kobo, Smashwords, or iBooks.


Goodreads Book Giveaway

Addiction to Poetry by Trevor Muir

Addiction to Poetry

by Trevor Muir

Giveaway ends July 04, 2021.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

High Country Justice by Nik James – Spotlight and Giveaway

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Nik James who is celebrating the recent release of High Country Justice. Enter for a chance to win the May releases from Sourcebooks Casablanca.

Fans of William Johnstone will love this unique and riveting historical western series. A perfect gift for Father’s Day, birthdays, and holidays for the men in your life.

It will take all this lone frontiersman’s skills to save his only friend from murderous outlaws.

Caleb Marlowe carved out his own legend as a frontier scout and lawman before arriving in the Colorado boomtown of Elkhorn. Famous for a lightning-quick draw and nerves of steel, he is mysterious, guarded, and unpredictable. Now, he wants to leave the past behind. But the past has a way of dogging a man…

When Doc Burnett, Caleb’s only friend in town, goes missing, his daughter Sheila comes seeking Caleb’s help. Newly arrived from the East, she hotly condemns the bloody frontier justice of the rifle and the six-gun. But this is outlaw country.

Murderous road agents have Doc trapped in their mountain hideaway. To free Doc, Marlowe tracks his kidnappers through wild, uncharted territory, battling animals and bushwhackers. But when Sheila is captured by the ruthless gunhawks with a score to settle, Marlowe will have to take them down one by one, until no outlaw remains standing.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Elkhorn, Colorado, May 1878

Caleb Marlowe watched the embers of the fire throw flickering shadows on his new cabin walls. Outside, a muffled sound drew his attention, and Caleb focused on the door at the same time Bear lifted his great head. The thick, golden fur on the neck of the dog rose, and the low growl told Caleb that his own instincts were not wrong.

In an instant, both man and dog were on their feet.

Caleb signaled for the big, yellow animal to stay and reached for his Winchester ’73. The .44–caliber rifle was leaning, dark and deadly, against the new pine boards he’d nailed up not two hours before. If he’d had time to hang the door, whoever was out there might have gotten the drop on him.

Moving with the stealth of a cougar, Caleb crossed quickly to one side of the door and looked out, holding his gun. The broad fields gleamed like undulating waves of silver under the May moon between the wooded ridges that formed the east and west boundaries of his property. Down the slope from the cabin, by a bend in the shallow river, he could see the newly purchased cattle settled for the night. From this distance, the herd looked black as a pool of dried blood in the wide meadow.

He could see nothing amiss there. Nice and quiet. No wolves or mountain lions harrying the herd and stirring them up. The only sound was a pair of hunting owls hooting at each other in the distant pines. Still, something was wrong. His instincts were rarely off, and he had a prickling feeling on the back of his neck. He levered a cartridge into the chamber.

Caleb slipped outside into the cool, mountain air and moved silently along the wall of the nearly finished cabin. Bear moved ahead of him and disappeared into the shadow cast by the building blocking moonlight. The crisp breeze was light and coming out of the north, from the direction of Elkhorn, three miles away as the crow flies.

When Caleb peered around the corner, he was aware of the large, yellow smudge of dog standing alert at his feet. Bear was focused on the dark edge of the woods a couple hundred yards beyond Caleb’s wagon and the staked areas where the barn, corral, and Henry’s house would eventually set. Bear growled low again.

Caleb smelled them before he saw them. Six riders came out of the tall pines, moving slowly along the eastern edge of the meadow, and he felt six pairs of eyes fixed on the cabin.
He had no doubt as to their intentions. They were rustlers, and they were after his cattle. But this was his property—¬his and Henry’s—¬and that included those steers.

If they’d been smart enough to come down from Elkhorn on the southwestern road, these dolts could have forded the river far below here and had a damn good chance of making off with the herd. It must have surprised the shit out of them, seeing the cabin.

“Bad luck, fellas,” Caleb murmured, assessing the situation.

He needed to get a little closer to these snakes. Standing a couple of inches over six feet, with broad shoulders and solid muscles, he was hardly an insignificant target, even at night. His wagon was fifty yards nearer to them, but with this moon, they’d spot him and come at him before he got halfway there. It’d take a damn good shot on horseback from a hundred and fifty yards, but they could close that distance in a hurry. And Caleb would have no cover at all. Beyond the wagon, there were half a dozen stone outcroppings, but nothing else to stop a bullet.
Just then, the cattle must have smelled them too, because they started grunting and moving restlessly. That was all the distraction he needed.

Staying low, Caleb ran hard, angling his path to get the wagon between him and the rustlers as quickly as he could.

He nearly made it.

The flash from the lead rider’s rifle was accompanied by the crack of wood and an explosion of splinters above the sideboard of the wagon. A second shot thudded dead into the ground a few yards to Caleb’s right. Immediately, with shouts and guns blazing, they were all coming hard.

About the Author: Nik James is a pseudonym for award-winning, USA Today bestselling authors Nikoo and Jim McGoldrick. They are the writing team behind over four dozen conflict-filled historical and contemporary novels and two works of nonfiction under various pseudonyms. They make their home in California.

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Lessons I Learned from my Villain by Michael Ross – Guest Blog and Giveaeway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Michael Ross will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Lessons I Learned from my Villain

As the first story in my anthology, “A Nice Easy Steal”, evolved I found myself more and more judgemental about my main character.

It was one of those stories with no pre planning, just a vague idea about a likeable rogue going about his day to day business. He was modelled on quite a few characters I had met during my business life; people living on the edge, fairly decent humans overall but always willing to push open the envelope a bit further than they should. People who had done me no harm, but people I would rather keep at arm’s length.

So in the story, by a stroke of good fortune, he comes across a once in a lifetime opportunity and within the context of the story no-one got hurt, no-one lost out; just a bit of good luck that came his way and he took advantage. I typed ‘The End,’ and got on with other bits and pieces. However, over the months it niggled away at me and I felt a guilt for letting get away with ‘one.’ I started thinking about him and the more I thought the more I disliked him – taking advantage of a poor old lady and her family. What was I thinking? He needed to be taught a lesson; so I tried to imagine a different outcome, a way for him to get his due rewards. When I realised the truth behind the story; that he was not as bright as he thought, I had to go back and play around very slightly with some of the previous scenes. But in the end I got him and taught him a lesson he will never forget.

Why can time consumed reliving memories provide enough motivation to carry on? Why keep a diary if you don’t want people to read it? Why let prejudice cloud your judgement? Why do the most simple of smells bring memories back to life? Why is it possible to believe the impossible? What does it feel like to take another person’s life? Will the good deeds we do come back to us in different forms?

These are of some of the questions posed in this imaginative collection of short stories involving, amongst others; a private detective with super powers, a loveable car salesman, a dour public health inspector, a vicar’s daughter with a dark secret, a sculptor with a destructive obsession, a young man with a passion for language, a reluctant public executioner, two sisters whose petty disputes hide something deeper, a job hunter with an unusual skill.

There are so many diverse characters and in this intriguing and imaginative collection of stories everyone has a tale to tell.

A collection of stories that will surely leave its mark on the reader.

Enjoy an Excerpt

From my window, I spot my fellow students grouped in excited conversation, circling around, probing each other with thoughts and words, questions and answers. After two years, we know each other well. I know they all wish they could play the violin as well as me, and in my turn, I wish I could be as happy as them. I wind down by running through scales for twenty minutes, and then I hear the old grandfather clock in the hall strike eleven—my other life beckons.

In Chinatown, it is easy to find a restaurant where you can spend £100 a head on a meal. At my parent’s place, six people can eat like kings for less money.

The walk from the rehearsal rooms takes the best part of an hour. I cast aside my musical mantle as I walk, so that by the time I reach Uncle Wong’s, I am prepared for my twice-weekly four-hour shift. This is the only payment my father and mother have ever asked of me. It is nothing.

Two years ago, my parents ushered me into the tiny lounge area above their restaurant, and wordlessly, my mother passed me my gift. My eyes moved to my father and then back to my mother. I could not speak. It was beautiful. Feeling its dark ebony grain, I turned it tentatively through my fingers, tilting, and twisting—gazing, unsure of my breath.

“Baba. Mamma. It’s beautiful, but you cannot afford it.”

“Shush, my son.” The look on my mother’s face said that my joy was all they required.

About the Author:Born and raised in Bristol, England. I spent my adult life in business, the majority of that time marketing cars. I eventually owned the largest Saab specialist in the world, before a divorce put an end to that part of my life.

This led me to leave Bristol to live halfway up a mountain in the Welsh Valleys; start a part-time six year English Literature course at Bristol University, and attend creative writing classes in Cardiff. My interest in English literature flourished and I have since won several prizes for my short stories. My first book, ‘Twenty Short Stories – Settling a score,” reached No 1 in the Short Stories Best Sellers and is still available, as is “Twenty-One (more) Short Stories,” and “Another Twenty-Two Short Stories.”

Also available are the first 5***** crime thrillers in the Tanner and Pin-up series:

Hand over Fist
Hand in Glove

Plus a 5***** light hearted rom-com “Chasing What’s Already Gone.”

I still live very happily halfway up that mountain in the Welsh Valleys with my wonderful partner, Mari, and our two rescue dogs, Wavy and Wenna.

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The book will be free.


Rainbow of Emotions by Djehane Hassouna – Exclusive Excerpt and Giveaway

 

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Djehane Hassouna will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Rainbow of Emotions is a culmination of Djehane’s life experiences. It is a map guiding the reader through the confusing labyrinth of life, unravelling the complicated pattern of her intricate journey through poetry. Djehane writes poems about nature, events, and feelings, about life as a whole. She expresses her hopes and fears, her triumphs and failures, her gratitude and resentment. Every poem is linked to her soul! Every poem is a masterpiece in its own right!

 

 

 

Enjoy an Exclusive Excerpt

Merging with Nature

The Desert beckons and I respond! Sifting the golden
Sand through my fingers, I go from mirage to mirage,
Imagining an oasis in the parched landscape, dreaming
Of green trees with lush foliage, contemplating fields
Of red hibiscus flowers and golden wheat, envisioning
An abundant and inexhaustible source of water
Green gardens beckon and I respond! I follow butterflies,
Fluttering my wings, going from one flower to the next,
Pleading for more sweet nectar… My dance is a rainbow:
Cherry, tangerine, lemon, emerald, sapphire, amethyst…
Birds beckon and I respond! I interpret the meaning of
Their chirpings, becoming their herald or their spokeswoman.
As their sweet songs reach my ears, I imagine what
They’re trying to say what they’re wishing to convey…
The blue sky beckons and I respond! Flying like a bird
In the firmament, I flap my newly acquired wings among
The stars and the bright crescent, whether navigating
Up and down the clouds or riding on golden sunbeams!
The clouds beckon and I respond! “What do I see?
I see a ship, a camel, a rabbit and a duck; perhaps
I also see an elephant.” And I float in the sea of clouds,
Bathed in sunlight, and listening to the music of Angels…
The rain beckons and I respond! I remain covered
With droplets, unable to move in the stillness.
Of the humid weather, I savor the raindrops,
Quenching my thirst for the taste of Heaven.
The snow beckons and I respond! Mesmerized by a continuous
Flow of snowflakes descending from the sky above and
Covering the ground with a soft, immaculate carpet.
I tightly shut my eyes and my mouth to keep the cold,
Fine, white particles out of my freezing soul…
The sea beckons and I respond! I float endlessly,
On the crystal-clear surface, embracing the waves,
Pushed by the wind as I become salt and sea foam or
Even fish, shrimp and seashell, scattered on the shore…

About the Author:Djehane Hassouna grew up in Egypt where she received her formal education in French. Her fascination with French poetry and fairy tales has always inspired her writing. Djehane also speaks Arabic, Italian, and a little Spanish.

Djehane received her BA in French from the Catholic University of America, her MA in Comparative Literature from Vermont College, and her PhD in Romance Languages and Literatures from the University of Pittsburgh. Throughout her life, Djehane has continued to express her feelings through poetry in both French and English. As she writes, and as her emotions take shape into verse, Djehane becomes one with her poetry.

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If I’d never heard of me, would I read my book? by Cheryl Holt – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Cheryl Holt will be awarding an autographed print copy of the book (US ONLY) to 10 randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

If I’d never heard of me, would I read my book?

I’ve written over sixty novels now, so I think I’ve finally got novel “writing” figured out. I was actually at maybe Novel #15 or so before I actually felt I knew what I was doing when I started writing the first page of the rough draft. It’s a complex artform that eluded me for a long time.

I’m a very slow learner, so it took me forever to get competent at it. I wrote constantly for four years before I got my writing into a condition where I could actually sell a manuscript to a publisher. I had wanted to be a suspense writer, but that market has always been so competitive, and for a very long time, I wasn’t very good and I couldn’t sell any of my pathetic attempts. After several fruitless tries, I switched to writing historical romances.

I wasn’t much of a romance reader, but it’s such a massive market. So I thought I’d write a couple of romances, sell them quickly and easily, make a name for myself, then I’d go back to writing “real” books once I got famous. Life has a funny way of whacking us alongside the head though.

For some bizarre reason, the universe has given me an incredible knack for writing some of the world’s greatest love stories. Who knew? All these years later, I’m still stunned by this turn of events! So I was originally published in historical romance, and I’ve mostly stayed there since then.

I write dramatic, fun stories filled with drama, heartache, betrayal, and everlasting love. I’m renowned as the “International Queen of Villains” too, so I always have the best (or the worst) villains—depending on your point of view. My plots are very involved, with complex issues and gripping action scenes. But mostly, I’m hailed for my snappy dialogue and marvelously-crafted characters. When you read one of my books, you feel as if you’re “there” in the story.

In my new book, A Summer Wedding at Cross Creek Inn, I actually wrote something different for a change. I had time in my writing schedule last year to add another book to my rotation, so I decided to try a contemporary women’s novel—and to shoot for readers who like authors like Elin Hilderbrand and Jennifer Weiner.

I used the techniques for which I’m renowned: fast-pacing, devious villains, breezy dialogue, and fascinating characters. And of course, I write love stories, so everyone who should fall in love by the end does fall in love by the end.

My books are can’t-put-it-down reads, so don’t start it at 10:00 at night and think you’ll just read for a few minutes before you fall asleep. If you try that, you’ll be up all night!

From New York Times bestselling author, Cheryl Holt, comes a sparkling, fast-paced novel about the complexity of family—and all the ways they can drive us crazy.

The lavish Layton-Benjamin wedding promises to be an event to remember, and the groom’s wealthy parents have spared no expense to impress their guests by hosting it at the exclusive Cross Creek Inn, a private mountain retreat tucked away in the heart of the Colorado Rockies. But the bride and groom are from completely different backgrounds, and they’ve only known each other for a few months, so it’s been a ‘hurry-up’ engagement that has everyone worried.

When the groom arrives late and tempers start to flare, it’s clear the wedding is a minefield that has to be carefully navigated. As parents and friends begin taking bets over whether the happy couple will make it to the altar, secrets are revealed, new loves emerge, and true happiness is finally found.

Book your visit to the Cross Creek Inn! A witty, fun summertime story about family, friendship, and finding out what matters most—that only Cheryl Holt could tell.

Enjoy an Excerpt

“It’s so beautiful here!”

Jennifer Layton spun away from the stunning scenery out the window of her hotel room, and she smiled at her father, Greg.

“I suppose it’s all right,” he replied.

“You suppose?” she asked. “Don’t injure yourself by exhibiting too much enthusiasm.”

She had three siblings, but she’d always been his favorite. It was an open and established family fact about which they all joked. On hearing her remark, he was instantly chastened.

“I’m sorry, peanut. It’s marvelous, and I’m delighted by it too.”

She grinned. “That’s more like it.”

From the minute she’d phoned to tell him she’d gotten engaged and was planning a quick wedding, he’d been slow to exhibit the attitude a girl ought to expect from her only parent. He was a widower and carpenter whose wife died of cancer when his four children were very small. Jennifer had just been eight at the time.

He’d spent his life providing for them as best he could. He was sensible and pragmatic, with strong views about the world and his place in it. He’d never been the type to reach out and grab for more than he’d been given, but he’d wanted more for her and her siblings than he’d ever been able to supply. In that, he’d been very generous.

He’d encouraged her to spread her wings, to go to college and move on to a great future, and she’d done exactly that. She’d fled their home in Portland, Oregon, to attend college in Eugene, then she’d flitted off to sunny, exciting Los Angeles.

In the process, she’d fallen in love with Eric Benjamin. He was disgustingly rich and had grown up in an environment so different from hers that he might have been raised on the moon.

About the Author:CHERYL HOLT is a New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon “Top 100” bestselling author who has published over fifty novels.

She’s also a lawyer and mom, and at age forty, with two babies at home, she started a new career as a commercial fiction writer. She’d hoped to be a suspense novelist, but couldn’t sell any of her manuscripts, so she ended up taking a detour into romance where she was stunned to discover that she has a knack for writing some of the world’s greatest love stories.

Her books have been released to wide acclaim, and she has won or been nominated for many national awards. She is considered to be one of the masters of the romance genre. For many years, she was hailed as “The Queen of Erotic Romance”, and she’s also revered as “The International Queen of Villains.” She is particularly proud to have been named “Best Storyteller of the Year” by the trade magazine Romantic Times BOOK Reviews.

She lives and writes in Hollywood, California, and she loves to hear from fans. Visit her website.

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