Sorcerer’s Reborn: Earth by Richard B. – Exclusive Excerpt and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Richard B. 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.

Sorcerers Reborn is Book One in a series that begins here on Earth and takes you on a new and exciting journey in the world of Sorcerers, Dragons, Elves and more.

Midnight stops. She feels something she hasn’t felt in three thousand years, something that possesses magic. It’s to the east in the mountains. She runs toward the beacon. She stands in front of a sheer stone wall hundreds of feet tall. There is a cave three quarters of the way up where the magic resides. If she tries to reach whatever is up there, it could potentially kill her. She’s come this far, but her journey isn’t over yet.

Midnight was exiled to earth with six Sorcerers by the evil Sorcerer Tay’Ron. She is a creature of magic, created by magic. She holds the gift of Sorcery from six Sorcerers who have passed on, and she is on a mission to find people on earth who are worthy of possessing this power. Her legacy must continue. Time is of the essence.

She possesses the gift of Sorcery. Midnight is a creature derived from magic, a fairy creature created from magic. She is not a Sorcerer. The six other Sorcerers are the six she carries inside of herself.

Enjoy an Exclusive Excerpt

“Midnight is a creature of magic, and she has the ability to absorb the gift from one who is dying. She was able to store each of their gifts separately inside herself. Perhaps that is why she still lives today, thousands of years later.

“…Midnight found the two of you and decided you were worthy of possessing one of these gifts, so she gave you something others can only dream of having. Midnight gave you the gift of sorcery.”

Susan and Samantha looked at Jason, eyes wide, and then looked across the table at Midnight.

“Do you really think we are going to believe this bullshit? Your story is very touching, but you are a writer. This sounds like it belongs in one of your novels. Come Sam, I think it’s time we left.” Susan said.

“You have good reason to doubt what you hear Susan. On this world, sorcery is considered, by most, to be fantasy fiction. I am Midnight and I converse through telepathy. On my world, magic is a common thing. Jason has told my story truthfully, and I understand that it scares you to think that it might be true. Take some time; think about what you’ve heard, discuss it together.”

Both women stood, glared at Jason and Midnight, and turned toward the door.

“I have a question you should think about before leaving. Why did the two of you come here?” Jason asked.

The twins gave him a sour look before walking out the door.

“That went like you expected. What do we do now? Sit here and wait?”

“They will not leave, trust me. You had doubts about sorcery when I first talked to you didn’t you? They are scared as you were. This knowledge is not easy to comprehend, as you know. Give them time to talk about what they heard here.”

Jason didn’t argue with her as he gathered up the remains of their meal, putting everything on the carts. Once he was finished putting leftovers away, he sat down and concentrated on locating the twins.

Jason found Midnight easily; she was in the other room, probably looking out the window. He detected two more spots of magic outside. The twins were sitting in their truck, and hopefully discussing what they had been told.
…………

“Sue, we can’t just leave,” Samantha said. “He is right to ask, why did we come? We walked away from everything to come here looking for answers to questions we needed answered. We came looking for something new, something different. This is beyond our wildest dreams. At least we can, maybe, look around, and give this some more thought.”

“Sam, I’m scared. Sorcery? Who would have thought that this was even possible? Am I wrong to be skeptical?” Samantha didn’t answer.

She needed more information, and they were not going to get it sitting in the truck.

About the Author: Rick (Richard B.) Ogle was born in 1951 in Northern Ontario. This is his first appearance in the writing world. He worked for forty-five plus years as a journeyman fabricator/welder. In 1978 Rick wrote a short story titled “Storms” that turned into two books. His work always came first, so writing took the back burner. Writing of Sorcerers Reborn began in late 2000, but again work came first, so the book was not revisited until he was force into retirement in 2013.

In 1998 Rick went back to school to learn something that would get him out of his chosen trade as a fabricator/welder. In 1999 he spent six months as an adult literacy tutor and found that was rewarding when he saw the progress each student was making. He currently
holds an Adult Instructors Diploma. He completed a six-month course to obtain an A+ computer technicians’ certification. He has an AutoCAD certificate in drafting and design. He instructed classes for Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access at the North Cariboo Community Skills Center in Quesnel BC.

Rick is self-taught in HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) code and built his website in 1998 while he was in school. He named his website “Poems and Short Stories by Richard B”. That website is still going today.

Home Page | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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


{This Tale is True} by Deborah Adams – Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Deborah Adams will be awarding a $25 Visa gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

They don’t make goddesses like they used to….

For eons they ruled, but modern times have been rough on the ancient deities— their temples collapsed, their worshippers wandered off, and their purposes were made redundant by industry and technology. And the Fates aren’t finished with them yet.

Mere days before the annual renewal of their immortality is to occur, the goddess of youth disappears. Without her and her restorative nectar, time and age will catch up with the goddesses. In the blink of an eye, they will shrivel and die, leaving the world to fend for itself, unless a skeptical mortal can find a way to save both worlds.

combines the humor one expects from Adams with magical realism and a dash of literary fiction, resulting in a boisterous read that pushes back against the boundaries of genre.

“Deborah Adams offers goddesses in peril and a protagonist who dares all to save the immortals in a wild, wacky, and wonderful romp. Imaginative, creative, fabulous fiction.” ~ Carolyn Hart, author of the otherworldly Bailey Ruth series

Enjoy an Excerpt

“A squirrel in the toilet is not an omen.” Cybil felt this bore repeating. “It’s just a rodent whose curiosity proved to be more than it could handle.”

Evie, her roommate and current audience, unlocked their apartment door and stepped inside, then closed the door and engaged the deadbolt as soon as Cybil had joined her. Pre-emptive security was important to Cybil, and she’d worked hard to instill good habits in her new roommate. Despite her trusting nature, Evie tried to comply with Cybil’s insistent rule about staying safe, although Evie was certain that the real dangers in this world could not be restrained by man-made mechanisms.

“I never said the squirrel was an omen,” Evie insisted.

“You didn’t disagree when the wacky witches were putting forth that very notion,” Cybil reminded her. “If you don’t speak out against the nonsense, you are in tacit agreement.”

“They have a right to believe whatever they like.” Pushing back the hood of her purple velvet cloak, Evie ran the fingers of one hand through her nut-brown hair. “And surely you can see why they thought it had meaning. It’s hard to believe the squirrel just happened to pop up in Belinda’s toilet at the very moment we invoked the Great Goddess.”

“It’s harder to believe that a goddess of Hera’s standing would send her RSVP through a bushy-tailed rat.”

“You never know,” Evie said with sincerity. “Goddesses don’t think or act like mortals.”

“I daresay you’re right about that,” Cybil conceded.

About the Author:

Deborah Zenha Adams, recipient of the Macavity and Flair Awards, is an author, a naturalist, and a yoga educator. In {This Tale Is True}, a work of magical realism, she unveils the fate of ancient Roman goddesses as they struggle to survive in the 21st century.

The seven novels in her Jesus Creek mystery series were published under her own name, and other works appear under a variety of pseudonyms. She is also the author of numerous short stories and essays.

She has been a guest lecturer at numerous events, including Southern Festival of Books, Appalachian Studies Conference, Warioto Regional Library Board of Trustees Conference, Southeastern Booksellers Association, Georgia Library Association Convention, Emory University, East Tennessee State University Writers Program, and many others. She is a lifetime member of the Southern Literary Coalition.

Deborah-Zenha is available for interviews, speaking, and author events. Her signature workshops include Write Your Memoir (even if you aren’t a writer) and Write Your Yoga Memoir.

Learn more about the author and her books on her website.

Website

Buy the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, BAM, Indiebound, or Kobo.



My Own Writing Quirks by Claudia Blood – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

My Own Writing Quirks

Everyone has quirks. They are what make us interesting and human.

Let me tell you about two of mine.

First, I am an introvert by nature. Going into the cafeteria or big crowded place is a nightmare for me. Way too many people. I can go to these places, it’s just not comfortable. My imagination is very active. So even though I intellectually know no one is looking at me and judging, because everyone is too wrapped up in their own little worlds. But emotionally they are all watching.

But I am a social writer. I have cultivated a series of writer friends that I sprint with. They cannot be strangers, and I have to have positive feelings about them. It just works because I feel like I am letting them down if I go watch a youtube video. 🙂

Second, I need what I call cheater stories. When I get stuck on a story, my brain needs something else to think about story related or I will wander away and do dishes. So I have at least three stories in various stages of writing. These are stories that I am serious about completing.

But there is another kind of cheater story that sneaks up on me. I could be walking the dog or laying in bed trying to sleep when they pounce. I’ll have a what-if suddenly come to life with a scene. I play the scene out in my head and see what I can do to make it more intense. I hope this is me trying to get better at storytelling instead of an excuse to stop working on my WIPs.

Tell me about some of your quirks.

It’s Duff Roman’s eighteenth birthday, but no one is lighting candles.

Turning eighteen in the orphanage on Kalecca means starvation for those who aren’t hired into a Family. Outside the Family compounds lies the jungle. And in the jungle lies death. And Relics—the only real currency on Planet Kalecca.

The orphans are Duff’s family, and he’s sacrificed everything to keep the orphanage running, even his chance to move on. Now, at eighteen, he has no choice but to leave. Without him to bring in extra money, the orphans will starve under the Company’s control. Duff’s only chance to save them is to find a spot on an independent crew and hopefully find a Relic to sell.

A seemingly chance encounter with Z, leader of the most feared independent crew, offers Duff his opportunity to score a Relic. And offers Z a chance to relieve the guilt he feels over his past.

But a company assassin has plans to lay waste to Duff’s future, and the orphanage as well.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Matilda from Chapter 4

Matilda sat at the table and threaded the needle. The demon alarm still buzzed in the background. She’d given the kids their assignments and tried to act as normal as possible. She didn’t want them worried about Duff or the demons since even the orphanage had company supplied protections. As long as they stayed in the orphanage, they should be fine.

Miss CuddleBug, Sheila’s doll, needed some surgery. Usually this sort of activity would calm Matilda. She checked her nails and saw the distinctive purple at the base that meant her nanites were activated. She took a deep breath and used the mantras her father had taught her.

Peace is within my reach.

Breathe and breathe again.

“Will Miss CuddleBug be well?” Sheila stood on her tip-toes to see her dolly on the table.

“I’ll get her fixed up.” Matilda stroked Sheila’s hair. Sheila’s complexion grayed. Matilda snatched her hand back. She had to be careful with the little ones when she was this worked up.

About the Author:Claudia Blood’s early introduction to Dungeons and Dragons, combined with her training as a scientist and a side trip into the world of IT set her up to become an award-winning author of Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Website | Facebook | Facebook Group | Twitter | Instagram | Newsletter (free short story for signing up)

Buy Company Assassin, Horizon Found, and Time Rift at your favorite online venue.


Realm of Dragons by L.C. Conn – Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. L.C. Conn will be awarding a $25 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.

The Realm of Dragons is in peril from hidden plots and conspirators, which threaten not only the crown, but the dragons that are at the very heart of it.

Teagan Loinsigh, long ago banished from her magical home of dragons now lives on Earth. Her dreams and memories of the great creatures are put down to fantasies and an overactive imagination, until one day she comes across a creature so unlike any other in the land she lives in. A baby dragon.

Muniath Magaoidh, a Dragon Warden fallen so low by a failed mission, must be brought back from his despair to retrieve what is lost.

Scetis Mordha, alone in the world since he was a child. Finds himself in the middle of intrigue and conspiracy against The Realm of Dragons.

Tying them all together is a dragon. Not just a dragon but The King of Dragons.

Can these four save The Realm of Dragons?

Enjoy an Excerpt

The wind tugged at the fur outer edge as it sought to tear the snug fitting hood from his head. Scetis made sure the mouth and nose flap was securely in place as he squinted into the raging blizzard. His only thought was up. As long as he could still feel himself climbing, he knew he was going the right way. He lifted his foot out of the newly fallen soft snow and stepped forwards, only for it to sink down now to his knee. Pulling at his other, he kept moving higher and higher.

A cold chill went up his spine, one that had nothing to do with the bad weather around him. Scetis stumbled a little, feeling his legs go numb and pains race through his chest. He felt like the air was leaving his body and ripped the covering from his face. The freezing air raced into his lungs and chilled him to the bone. Driven down onto his knees he sank into the snow; it gripped at him, almost welcoming him into its embrace. Still gasping for breath, he fumbled with the straps of his bag, hoping to get to the elixir, trying to stop the pain that now ravaged his body as the poison took over. His mind raced, his hands shook, and he could not get the buckles undone. A cry escaped his lips and he pitched forward into the snow. Then all was dark.

About the Author:

L.C. Conn grew up on the outskirts of Upper Hutt, New Zealand. Her backyard encompassed the surrounding farmland, river, hills and mountains which she wandered with her brothers and fed her imagination. After discovering a love for writing in English class at the age of eight, she continued to write in secret. It was not until much later in life that L.C. turned what she thought was a hobby and something fun to do, into her first completed novel. Now married, L.C. moved from New Zealand to Perth, Western Australia, and became a stay at home mum. While caring for her family and after battling breast cancer, a story was born from the kernel of a dream. The first book of The One True Child Series was begun, and just kept blooming into seven completed stories, which have garnered great reviews. She continues her career with more stories waiting in the wings to be released.

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Website | Goodreads

Buy the book at Amazon.



Dragon Queen by Rod Marsden – Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Night to Dawn Magazine and Books LLC will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn commenter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Mixing with your betters can get you killed. Dragons know this as does a certain maverick pilot and his researcher wife. It is possible to get thrown into events not of your own making in which you must do your best to survive. Meanwhile, somewhere not far from mainland Tasmania, there is an island named Green Maiden’s Folly. What’s it like? Is it paradise, or has it been made over into a worse destination hellhole than Devil’s Island used to be like in the 19th and 20th Centuries? On Green Maiden’s Folly, the destiny of the dragon is revealed.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Elanora’s black scales shone in the early morning light. She smiled at the effect the sun had on her spiked tail and also her legs, arms, and claws. The sun came up over the silvery sea. It was always a welcome sight, the start of a new day on her island. In the distance, waves rose and crashed before they could get to shore. A breeze touched her all too human nose, lips, and ears. It should have been unpleasant, but it wasn’t. She found the smell of salt in the air invigorating.

Lizards were bothered by the cold, but despite her lacertilian features, Elanora wasn’t a reptile. She was a dragon, and regardless of the plume of white coming from her mouth, she wasn’t shivering. In fact, she preferred a cool climate. She looked around for company because it was the loneliness that got to her, not the near frozen air.

She picked up a stick and drew a rectangle in the sand. A small blackish-grey crab came out of the rolling surf, and with its eyes on stalks, looked up at her. “These are the dragons,” she told the creature. “They are on the bottom. That’s not a good place to be. They’re mutants like me, but I’m special because I’m a female, and I’m not supposed to exist.”

About the Author:

Author Rod Marsden was born in Sydney, Australia. He has three degrees, all related to writing and history. He spent nine and a half years as a civilian clerk with the Royal Australian Navy. His proudest moments there were in the publications area.

He enjoys wildlife photography and in recent years, joined Illawarra Birders. He went on a birding expedition to the main north island of New Zealand, where he came upon wildlife unique to that country. There he also met up for the first time with correspondent, friend, and novelist Lyn McConchie. He shares his fascination with nature with his entire family, including his niece Jasmine Perala. Her pet, Kiki, is a young, female eclectus parrot and, soggy from a recent shower, is featured on Rod Marsden’s shoulder on the back cover of this book.

His stories have been published in Australia, England, Russia, the USA, and Canada. He has work in the Australian anthology Small Suburban Crimes, the American anthology Cats Do it Better, the American steampunk anthology Break Time, the Canadian anthology Morbid Metamorphosis, and in the Canadian anthology Grey Matter Monsters – Takers of Souls.

Many of his short stories, including “The Antarctic Pineapple,” have been published in Night to Dawn magazine. Undead Reb Down Under and Other Vampire Stories is a collection of his early short fiction on vampirism. Disco Evil is his first venture into the vampire novel. Ghost Dance is his first undertaking into dark fantasy involving a quest plus secret agents out to prevent demonic takeover. It has been reprinted with a new cover. Desk Job is his salute to Lewis Carroll.

His short plays, Zombie Vision, Hyde and Seek, and Smarty were well received at Cronulla Arts Theatre, south coast, New South Wales, Australia. Both his plays Smarty and Hyde and Seek made it into Sydney’s Short and Sweet contest.

He has a short story in The Twofer Compendium edited by Ruth Littner and Ann Stolinsky (2020) in which he mentions the Berry Celtic Festival, which took place every May in a farming community on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. It is a festival that, unfortunately, had to be cancelled in 2020 because of the coronavirus but will hopefully resume in May 2021.

Website | Facebook

Buy the book at Amazon.



In Praise of Research by Bill Zarchy – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Bill Zarchy will be awarding a $50 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.

In Praise of Research

I had the idea for Finding George Washington when I was a kid. I used to challenge myself: how would I explain the workings of modern technology to George Washington, if he were suddenly to appear? Did I understand the basics of photography or the internal combustion engine well enough to explain them to someone from a pre-industrial culture?

Till recently, all my writing was nonfiction. When I finally decided to try my hand at fiction, I wondered if that old idea about George could be the basis for a charming, funny, perhaps exciting novel. Maybe a goofy, fish-out-of-water story.

Only one problem: I knew very little about Washington. Of course, I knew the broad strokes: Revolutionary War General, first president, married to Martha, lived at Mount Vernon. But what else? I recalled old stories of George as a lad chopping down a cherry tree (but confessing his guilt to his father) and throwing a dollar coin across the Potomac. And didn’t he have wooden teeth?

I realized I needed extensive research.

Those old stories were apocryphal. I learned that the cherry tree incident was fabricated by a later biographer, Parson Weems, who also made up the dollar-toss lie (the Potomac is about a mile wide). And no, his dentures were not made of wood, which would be a terrible material to use for chewing.

I consulted many books and a number of movies. I acquired factual knowledge of George and his world. He was scrupulous about saving his letters and other papers. Those documents (and all those of the Founding Fathers) are now available online, which has spurred a new raft of biographies. I learned a lot about George’s deep passion tempered by extreme self-control and stoicism, his rugged bravery and lifelong suffering from dental pain, his role as Father of Our Country despite having no direct offspring, his gracefulness when dancing or on horseback.

And I had to learn about and deal with the fact that he was a slave owner. This was a complicated issue. He led the fight for freedom from the British, even though he possessed human chattel. His manservant, an enslaved person named Billy Lee, rode into battle with George and stayed with him throughout the Revolution.

I learned that, in his will, George freed Billy Lee by name and promised to free his slaves once Martha also died. But George only owned about a third of the 300+ slaves at Mount Vernon. The rest belonged to the estate of Martha’s first husband or were descendants of their intermarried offspring. After her death, George’s slaves were freed, but the others were sold off separately, families tragically torn apart.

Since my other main characters (and my readers!) would be spending so much time with George, I also wanted to know what it was like to be in his presence. I learned that he was quite tall and athletic for his era, was soft-spoken in person, had blue eyes, pale skin, and rosy cheeks. I wondered what he sounded like. He was descended from Virginia colonists who had come from England many decades before his birth. Would he have spoken “the King’s English,” what we now think of as a cultured English accent, like a BBC announcer? Or Scottish or Welsh or Cockney or some other British regional accent? Also, what was his relationship like with Martha? How did they address each other?

I consulted with Mary V. Thompson, the Research Historian at Mount Vernon, who gave me some tips to pursue in these areas. The sad fact is that we don’t really know what accent he had. And Martha burned all George’s letters after his death, so we don’t have a lot of clues about the intimacy of their relationship.

Another research decision I made was not to send my characters anywhere I hadn’t been myself. I knew early on that I wanted them to take a long train trip (there’s a locomotive on the cover of the book), but I had never been on an overnight train ride myself. When I told my wife I was considering taking an Amtrak sleeper train to Oregon from our home near San Francisco, she kindly suggested I go instead to my characters’ eventual destination, several nights on the train. This trip yielded hundreds of photos, dozens of videos, a ton of emotional and practical impressions, and a number of characters for my story. Including several villains!

Besides that Amtrak jaunt, I also visited Valley Forge, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Mount Vernon, Colonial Williamsburg, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the Washington Monument, New York City, Mendocino, the Doe Library at UC Berkeley, Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, and AT&T Park in San Francisco.

Every trip, every visit was valuable. Museums, historical sites, monuments, libraries, cities, and ballparks all yielded unique information, impressions, artifacts, and visuals for further study. I thought often about John Steinbeck’s book Travels with Charley: In Search of America. I was searching, too — for historical context, texture, backstory, modern-day drama, and details to flesh out my story. I got all that, in spades.

On a freezing night in 1778, General George Washington vanishes. Walking away from the Valley Forge encampment, he takes a fall and is knocked unconscious, only to reappear at a dog park on San Francisco Bay—in the summer of 2014.

Washington befriends two Berkeley twenty-somethings who help him cope with the astonishing—and often comical—surprises of the twenty-first century.

Washington’s absence from Valley Forge, however, is not without serious consequences. As the world rapidly devolves around them—and their beloved Giants fight to salvage a disappointing season—George, Tim, and Matt are catapulted on a race across America to find a way to get George back to 1778.

Equal parts time travel tale, thriller, and baseball saga, Finding George Washington is a gripping, humorous, and entertaining look at what happens when past and present collide in the 9th inning, with the bases loaded and no one warming up in the bullpen.

Enjoy an Excerpt

A new freeze gripped the valley, and a few inches of virgin white covered the now-frozen ruts in the roads. When the soldiers first arrived at this winter encampment two months before, rain and cold had compounded the misery of the men. Lately it had been freezing and snowing, making the hardened ground easier to traverse than the sleety, slippery mud had been.

A small farmhouse made of tan and brown fieldstone sat in flat bottomland near the creek. The back door opened and a splash of warm light lit the new snow. From inside came the sounds of a party—a fiddle, laughter, and high-energy conversation. A tall man in a heavy cloak and three-cornered hat stepped off the small porch at the rear of the house and into the cold. A sentry snapped to attention.

“Just getting some air, lad, stand easy,” the General said. “No need to follow.” He trudged off north, away from the house, enjoying the brisk chill.

Ah, he thought, it’s fine to have my dear wife here with me these past couple of weeks! She and the other wives provide such a boost to the morale and hopefulness of the men. It’s worth a wee party to celebrate the difference they make … and my birthday.

The dreadful winter weather and the spread of disease had cost him one-fourth of his army in the early going, but at last there were signs of hope. Foraging for food was still a daily struggle, but now the men were finally housed in hundreds of hastily constructed wooden huts.

The eager effervescence of the Marquis de Lafayette for the past half year; the appearance of the Polish nobleman Pulaski a few months before; the continued loyalty of so many of the troops; the imminent arrival any day now of the Prussian Baron von Steuben; and the General’s wife coming to stay with him during the winter encampment—all these events gave him hope.

About the Author Bill Zarchy filmed projects on six continents during his 40 years as a cinematographer, captured in his first book, Showdown at Shinagawa: Tales of Filming from Bombay to Brazil. Now he writes novels, takes photos, and talks of many things.

Bill’s career includes filming three former presidents for the Emmy-winning West Wing Documentary Special, the Grammy-winning Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em, feature films Conceiving Ada and Read You Like A Book, PBS science series Closer to Truth, musical performances as diverse as the Grateful Dead, Weird Al Yankovic, and Wagner’s Ring Cycle, and countless high-end projects for technology and medical companies.

His tales from the road, personal essays, and technical articles have appeared in Travelers’ Tales and Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies, the San Francisco Chronicle and other newspapers, and American Cinematographer, Emmy, and other trade magazines.

Bill has a BA in Government from Dartmouth and an MA in Film from Stanford. He taught Advanced Cinematography at San Francisco State for twelve years. He is a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area and a graduate of the EPIC Storytelling Program at Stagebridge in Oakland. This is his first novel.

Book Website | Blog | Author Website | Facebook

The eBook will be $0.99 during the tour everywhere it’s sold.

Buy it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, or iBooks.

What Kind of Writer Am I? by Dianne Hartsock – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Dianne Hartsock will be awarding a $20 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 kind of writer am I?
I’ve often been asked if I’m a plotter or a panster when I write. Do I painstakingly plot out my stories? Write elaborate character bios? Know every step my characters will take to reach their goal?

Or am I a panster? Put my characters on the page and let them run nilly willy through the storyline doing anything they like. Let them take control and herd them like cats to the finish line.

The truth is that I’m somewhere in between. Long before I put a word on the page, I’m daydreaming about my story. Anything may have inspired me: lyrics to a song that touched me, someone’s eyes, a laugh heard across the room. A line from a movie or a flower or sunset. What ever it was, it set my imagination off and running. I begin with my characters. Who would be in this scene or feel this emotion or enjoy this sunset? Who are they with? Who would not want them to find happiness?

I muse on these characters, expanding from this initial scene. How did they get here? Where are they going? What do I want this story to be about? I write in many genres: erotic romance, paranormal, fantasy, crime, psychological thriller. What would be the best storyline for these characters? What would be the best way to tell their story?

I ponder these questions for a day or a week, trying out different ideas as I go about my regular day. And then suddenly it comes to me. I have the perfect plot for them. By this time most of the characters have introduced themselves to me, their backstory, names, etc. I’ll have a rough idea of the beginning, middle, and ending, and also the pivotal scene, the one that brings meaning to the whole thing.

At this point I’ll start to write, and probably spend more time writing the first few paragraphs then the whole rest of the book put together. These paragraphs are crucial as they set the tone for the remainder of the story. And that opening scene is probably the one I rewrite the most. If I don’t catch a reader straight off the bat, they’ll probably put the book down and move on to the next one that catches their interest.

Once I have the opening scene down (and yes, I’ve actually thrown the whole first chapter of a story away, once the story was completed. It happens) I write the story in a linear way. Each scene builds on the one before it. I’ve never been able to skip and scene and go back to it later. No, not even a sexy times scene. And once I start writing, I try not to think of the story too much when I’m busy with other things. There’ve been times when I find the perfect words while at work, but once I’m at the computer they’re gone or I don’t write the scene as well.

Once the story is completed I’ll read through it two or three times, fine tuning and finding all the mistakes I can before I send it out to seek its fortune.

Thanks for stopping in! I’m curious, what kind of writer are you?

Luka makes a desperate wish and the earth shifts to his will. Regretting it immediately, he tries to undue the sorcery, but it is too late. He asked for hope, and to his horror, all the hope in the world is given into his keeping. He desires nothing more than to return this gift to the world.

Aethan wants to get his hands on the Well of Hope in Luka’s keeping. If he can ransom out hope to others at his whim, the world will be at his feet. Where it belongs.

With the aid of his lover, Rhys, Luka stays one step ahead of Aethan. But Rhys has his own enemy in Aethan, his estranged father.

Rescued by Luka, his sweet, gentle witch, Rhys now stands with him against Aethan. They have vowed to return the Well of Hope to the earth despite all odds, or die trying. For what is life worth, for anyone, without hope?

Enjoy an Excerpt

He missed his lover, though he’d been the one to send him away. Luka had wanted him to find a better life than he could offer, a solitary witch bartering his potions. And he had wanted Rhys safe from his enemies. But he may as well have cut out his own heart when Rhys had left.

Luka sipped his tea, enjoyed its comfort, then heat flushed his skin as he recalled his dream last night, the feel of Rhys in his bed. Rhys had been tender and passionate and welcoming. Luka had cried in his arms, overwhelmed with the joy of it. Had wept again on waking to find himself alone on the hearth, Rhys across the room, reading a book in the morning light spilling through a window, as far away as the years that had separated them.

A bird fluttered past, calling his attention, and Luka’s spirit flew with it, soaring into the sky. The rush of air exhilarated him, and he dropped with a smile back into his body. After hastily setting aside his tea, he pulled a crystal from a pocket and held it up to the faint winter sunlight. He marveled at the earth reflected in glass. Focusing his gaze, his essence slipped easily into the encapsulated world and flew along the pathways, flitting between trees and brush. He scampered with a family of squirrels along a branch, leaping with wild glee from limb to limb.

About the Author:Dianne is the author of m/m romance, paranormal suspense, fantasy adventure, the occasional thriller, and anything else that comes to mind. She lives in the beautiful Willamette Valley of Oregon with her incredibly patient husband, who puts up with the endless hours she spends hunched over the keyboard letting her characters play. She says Oregon’s raindrops are the perfect setting in which to write. There’s something about being cooped up in the house with a fire crackling on the hearth and a cup of hot coffee warming her hands, which kindles her imagination.

Currently, Dianne works as a floral designer in a locally-owned gift shop. Which is the perfect job for her. When not writing, she can express herself through the rich colors and textures of flowers and foliage.

Website | Facebook | Facebook Author Page | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page
Buy the book at Publisher,
Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon DE, Amazon AUS, Google Books, Kobo, or Smashwords.


She’s the One Who Cares Too Much by S.R. Cronin – Exclusive Excerpt and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. S. R. Cronin 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.

Coral, the second of seven sisters, has been hiding her affair with the perfect man until her older sister can get her life together. But the perfect man is getting impatient and now she’s gotten pregnant. Coral decides it’s time to consider her own happiness.

But what does she want? The perfect husband turns out to be less than ideal. She adores the small children she teaches but the idea of being a mother fills her with joy. Meanwhile, her homeland is gripped by fear of a Mongol invasion and she can’t stop crying about everything now that she’s with child.

Then a friend suggests the ever-caring Coral possesses a power well beyond what she or anyone else imagines. Does she? And why is the idea so appealing?

When Coral’s big sister loses faith in the army and decides to craft a way to use magic to save Ilari from the Mongols, she decides Coral’s formidable talent is what the realm needs. Can Coral raise a baby, placate an absent military husband who thinks he’s stopping the invasion, and help her sister save her homeland?

Enjoy an Exclusive Excerpt

When Ryalgar arrived at the farm a few days before my wedding, I was happy to have someone to talk to about something other than the upcoming ceremony.

I hung up the freshly washed bedding as she rode up with Sulphur. Once she gave Sulphur her horse to tend to, she hurried over to me, standing behind billowing the sheets with me so we could talk privately for a few minutes as the smell of fresh soap surrounded us

“I’ve learned more about luskies for you,” she whispered, even before she greeted me.

“There’s no need for that.” My reply was cold. Of all the things we needed to talk about, this power I didn’t have was low on the list.

“I’m not so sure. There’s a persistent rumor that we Velka can recognize a luski, but it’s not true. It takes another luski to tell. And it takes another to train a new luski, too.”

“Okay. Why would this matter to me?”

“Because your friend could be right. I’ve learned not all luskies are mothers, at least not in the real sense of the word. The rare man has this talent. A few childless women do, too. It has to do with being a nurturer.”

“So ….”

“So one way to know if you have the talent is to examine how you feel about it. If the idea maybe scares but excites you, odds are good your reaction is for a reason. What I’m saying is based on what I’ve learned, I was wrong. You really could be a luski.”

Just hearing Ryalgar admit to me she’d been wrong was quite an event in our relationship. Yet, this was hardly the time to focus on that.

“I’m getting married in three days. I don’t need this now.”

She gave me a sympathetic look. “You don’t have to do anything about it. I’m looking for a luski to talk to you. They’re hard to find; most go to extraordinary pains to hide what they can do. But I’ll find one.”

I didn’t know what to say.

“Thanks. I think.”

About the Author:Sherrie Cronin is the author of a collection of six speculative fiction novels known as 46. Ascending and is now in the process of publishing a historical fantasy series called The War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters. A quick look at the synopses of her books makes it obvious she is fascinated by people achieving the astonishing by developing abilities they barely knew they had.

She’s made a lot of stops along the way to writing these novels. She’s lived in seven cities, visited forty-six countries, and worked as a waitress, technical writer, and geophysicist. Now she answers a hot-line. Along the way, she’s lost several cats but acquired a husband who still loves her and three kids who’ve grown up just fine, both despite how odd she is.

All her life she has wanted to either tell these kinds of stories or be Chief Science Officer on the Starship Enterprise. She now lives and writes in the mountains of Western North Carolina, where she admits to occasionally checking her phone for a message from Captain Picard, just in case.

Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | Blog | Book Searies Blog


Night to Dawn 39 presented by Barbara Custer – Exclusive Excerpt and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Barbara Custer will be awarding a $10 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.

The apocalypse of the movie screen and the printed page has become a reality. A microbe threatens humanity, making Corona seem like the common cold. Innocents die to appease young and hungry gods. A doctor feeds the souls of his patients to a demon. Featuring Marge Simon, Lee Clark Zumpe, Margaret L. Carter, Rod Marsden, Matthew Wilson, and other authors.

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from Lee Clark Zumpe’s “When Shadows Scream”

Durward skulked in the lobby until Byron had disappeared into the parking lot.

Satisfied, he darted back down the corridor and retrieved his harvest from the dirty linen cart. As he plucked the bag from the mound of soiled sheets and sweat-soaked gowns, its contents resumed a fierce struggle, thrashing and clawing at the canvas.

With newly found energy, it vented its plea for freedom in a shrill, bone-chilling screech that echoed throughout the facility.

“Scream all you want. No one here is listening.” Durward slung the wriggling sack over his shoulder.

He started toward the door that led to the tunnels beneath Alameda – toward the old depository he had discovered years ago. He paused outside Room 11. Darnell Jordan waited for him. Durward wondered if he dared perform a second excision in one night. Rarely did he have such an opportunity. Rarely did he have the benefit of complete privacy. It had taken him weeks to collect from the gentleman in Room 13.

Glancing at his wristwatch, he decided to chance it. His Masters would reward him generously. His contributions would accelerate their venture, hasten their arrival.

As the door to Room 11 closed behind Durward, Byron punched in the code on the keypad at the lobby door, waited for the buzzer to sound and crept back in to the building to retrieve his keys. Silence and darkness worked in unison to make the interior atmosphere as unsettling as it had ever seemed.

About the Author: Barbara lives near Phila., PA, retired from her job as a respiratory therapist. Nowadays, she chases Mylar balloons at the supermarket, enjoys a fright flick, or works on horror and science fiction tales. Many of her short stories have appeared in numerous small press magazines. She’s been editor of Night to Dawn Magazine since 2004.

Books by Barbara include When Blood Reigns, Twilight Healer, The Forgotten People, Steel Rose, City of Brotherly Death, Close Liaisons, and Life Raft: Earth. She enjoys bringing her medical background to the printed page and then blending it with supernatural horror. She maintains a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and The Writers Coffeehouse forum. Look for the photos with the Mylar balloons, and you’ll find Barbara.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Buy the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Doylestown Bookshop.


The Background of THE JUICE by Janet Stillson – Guest Blog and Giveaway

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Janet Stilson who is visiting with us to celebrate the recent release of her debut novel The Juice. Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of the book *US only*

*****

Have you ever felt like you’re leading a double existence – living in two worlds at the same time? That’s been my fate for most of my adult years. During the early morning and other stolen hours, I’ve been a creative writer, working on scripts, novels and short stories. And during other periods in the day, I’ve worn the “hat” of a journalist.

As an editor and correspondent, I’ve specialized in chronicling the “adventures” of media companies and their executives for business publications. When chatting with leaders at companies like The Walt Disney Co. or NBCUniversal, I’ve rarely mentioned my passion for fiction. It didn’t seem appropriate, or ethical (from a journalist’s perspective). I had a limited amount of time to talk with high-powered people who had plenty of projects on their plates that I wanted to learn about.

But as the years passed, the wall between my two lives became porous as I started to imagine what big media conglomerates would be like decades from now. And the seeds of my novel, THE JUICE, began to grow.

I started to think about how the ties between government and media might strengthen – and how the public’s sense of the truth could be twisted even more than what we see today.

What if people could order up artificial dreams from large media companies – “dreamisodes” that would be embedded with subliminal marketing messages?

What if women could insert a computer chip under the skin of their arms that would allow them to see holograms of adorable little children that they could conceive with certain potential partners?

What if there was a young genius who invented a chemical cocktail that could make people outrageously charismatic, capable of convincing anyone to do anything – a substance known as The Juice? In the novel, the genius, Thom, is killed, and his secret substance is stolen. This gives the novel its engine, as Thom’s best friend, a tech-head rebel named Jarat, goes on a journey to recover The Juice.

Jarat must control his extraordinary attraction to a girl named Luscious, once a dirt-poor, homely teen who becomes exceedingly powerful when she takes The Juice. She is used by a nefarious media executive who wants to convince a vast segment of the population to vote for a certain presidential candidate and fight in a new world war.

In his quest to stop the destruction, Jarat must win over Luscious as well as a high-ranking executive named Petra, who has a secret agenda all her own.

Writing THE JUICE was like swimming across an ocean, which held mysterious underwater layers of darkness and light. The novel brings my life together in ways I would never have dreamed of years ago. And as I look back on the experience, it’s hard for me to imagine not writing it.

Jarat Ellington is just an exile from Elite society, trying to lead a simple life, when

a genius friend drops an explosive mystery in his lap. The old pal, Thom Tseng, created a priceless chemical substance called the Juice that turns mildly charming people into extraordinarily charismatic beings, known as Charismites. But the Juice is stolen, and Thom killed.

With the help of a secret organization, Jarat goes on an obsessive quest to uncover the deadly adversary who now controls the Juice. He must fight his intense attraction to a Charismite named Luscious Melada—once a dirt-poor, homely teen who, with the help of the Juice, transforms into an extremely magnetic starlet. And he goes up against Petra Cardinale, a powerful, ambitious media executive with a secret agenda.

About the Author:Janet Stilson lives in two worlds. On the one hand, she is a journalist. On the other, she writes scripts, novels and short stories that largely fall in the grounded sci-fi and fantasy genres and illuminate the human condition in provocative ways.

Her work has been selected to be part of the Writers’ Lab for Women, which is funded by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman. And it’s also been published by the esteemed sci-fi literary magazine Asimov’s.

As a journalist, Janet got her “chops” at the storied showbiz bible Variety. She has traveled the world, chronicling the business of media and entertainment.

It afforded her many busman’s holidays in places like Shanghai and Paris, for which she is forever grateful. Along the way, she interviewed lots of executives about many aspects of showbiz—most notably, where the heck we’re all going.

Janet lives in New York City with her husband and two mischievous cats.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

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