Ten Things People Don’t Know About Me by Ari Rosenschein – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Ari Rosenschein will be awarding a signed paperback copy of Dr. Z and Matty Take Telegraph (US only) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Ten Things People Don’t Know About Me

I have friends who joke that it seems I’ve lived several different lives when I share anecdotes from my past. Here are ten standout things that most people don’t know about me.

1. I spilled a drink on Henry Winkler. Yes, when I was a baby in Santa Monica, my parents took me to dinner somewhere where I somehow soaked the Fonz. Such is life amongst the stars. This event foreshadowed a life skirting the perimeter of greatness.

2. I have flat feet. “Yup, just as I suspected. Flat as a pancake.” That’s what our family pediatrician informed my mother after a routine physical. He simultaneously shielded me from military duty and heralded a lifelong footwear challenge: I can never find shoes wide enough.

3. Once, I met Yoko Ono. After winning the John Lennon Songwriting Contest along with my collaborator Gaby Moreno and other fine writers, we had the opportunity to meet Yoko at a musical event at the CES show in Las Vegas. We got up ultra-early and zoomed down the freeway to meet the icon. Yoko was lovely, and I have a photo of the three of us to prove it happened.

4. My high school class took an extraordinary trip to Kenya, East Africa, that changed my life. In addition to spending time in a Massai village and various other homestays, I remember listening to Melvins records with my best friend, John. The ’90s were awesome.

5. I possess a degree in Theater Arts, and once played George in a black box theater production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Although one early review lambasted me for having my hair sprayed white like a “high school character actor” (you never forget the bad ones, do you?), we later received some critical nods.

6. I took a writing class at UCLA and dropped out. It was a great course with a great teacher and a fine bunch of students, and I’m embarrassed that I didn’t complete it. However, I didn’t have a car then and was bicycling across town from Silver Lake. Who knows? Maybe I would have started publishing sooner had I stuck it out.

7. There is a trick I can do because I’m double-jointed. I can make my arm go all the way back behind my head at a ninety-degree angle so it looks disconnected. My mother found me asleep like that once and thought I was dead. Nope, just resting.

8. I have gout. That’s right, I am afflicted by the most Dickensian of ailments. I take medication for it now, but for many years, I would unexpectedly get hit by waves of the strangest, most excruciating joint pain localized in my big toe. It’s a genetic thing.

9. I was obsessed with the singer Bryan Adams in junior high, so much so that I scribbled his name all over my notebooks. Once, I must have left my books on the playing field, and a teacher came in yelling, “Bryan Adams? Is Bryan Adams in here?”

10. Astrology is one of my obsessions. I can’t tell you how much I consult astrotheme.com. I know my own chart inside out. Moreover, I can often guess people’s sun and rising signs. I like how it makes everything make sense. Like, “Ah, I can relax because I know someone has a Scorpio moon.”

It’s the late ’90s—the final days before smartphones and the internet changed the teenage landscape forever. Zack and his mother have moved from Tempe to Berkeley for a fresh start, leaving behind Zack’s father after a painful divorce. A natural athlete, Zack makes the water polo team which equals social acceptance at his new school. Yet he’s more drawn to Matthias, a rebellious skater on the fringes, who introduces him to punk rock, record stores, and the legendary Telegraph Avenue.

As their friendship intensifies, Matthias’s behavior reminds Zack of his absent dad, driving a wedge between him and his mother. Complicating matters is Zaylee, a senior who boosts Zack’s confidence but makes him question his new buddy, Matthias. Faced with all these changes, Zack learns that when life gets messy, he might have to become his own best friend.

Dr. Z and Matty Take Telegraph is about how a friendship can challenge who we are, how we fit in, and where we’re going.

Enjoy an Excerpt

My eyes catch the main event: Matthias, shirtless again, owning every inch of the bowl. No matter how little I know about skateboarding mechanics, it’s obvious the dude’s form is immaculate. I stand transfixed as he slides smoothly down one side of the bowl and up the other, like a weight on a pendulum, his head peering back over his shoulder, carefree. After gaining momentum, he hoists his lithe body over the top and holds perfectly still, one hand on his board, the other gripping the lip of the bowl. It’s dazzling.

As soon as he breaks the pose, a small crowd erupts. “Sick handplant, Matthias,” yells a kid in a yellow Carhart jacket.

Everything looks straight out of a movie. Skaters in shirts with blocky logos give each other high fives. Younger kids sit on the sidelines, boards glued to their hands, watching the action but not ready to dive in.

When we read On the Road during freshman year, Dad taught me a term that stuck with me: subculture. I’ve got no desire to ride a skateboard. But this vibe? I want to be a part of it. I’m swept up on a wave of California freedom.

Danny shoves an elbow into my belly. “Matthias is a monster skater, right?”

“Never seen skating like that,” I say. “Except on TV or in a movie.”

“Exactly.”

About the Author:Ari Rosenschein is a Seattle-based author who grew up in the Bay Area. Books and records were a source of childhood solace, leading Ari to a teaching career and decades of writing, recording, and performing music. Along the way, he earned a Grammy shortlist spot, landed film and TV placements, and co-wrote the 2006 John Lennon Songwriting Contest Song of the Year.

In his writing, Ari combines these twin passions. Coasting, his debut short story collection, was praised by Newfound Journal as “introducing us to new West Coast archetypes who follow the tradition of California Dreaming into the 21st century.” Dr. Z and Matty Take Telegraph (Fire & Ice YA) is his first young adult novel.

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My Ideal Writing Space by Heather G. Marshall – Guest Blog and Giveaway

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

My Ideal Writing Space

A little whitewashed cottage on a hillside—hills rise behind it and, below is the sea, not far away. There’s a fire in the fireplace and the desk of my dreams is in front of it. It’s really a sturdy wood table in the kitchen so I’m not far from a steaming pot of tea and a snack when I want them. And the hills outside are there for when I need to get up and away from the desk, stretch my legs, clear out my mind. Often, when I come to a stuck place in writing, movement helps—a walk or run gets the wheels turning again and the solution to the conundrum appears. And I find windswept hillsides and the sway of the sea soothing to the soul, places where I can open to whatever might arrive on the page. I’ve had the great joy of being in, and writing in, such spaces from time to time in my life.

Although I will write whenever time is available, which is far more often now than ever before in my life, and for which I’m grateful, I prefer to write at the edges of day—the very early hours of the morning until the sun rises, or from dusk until dark. I prefer candlelight. Something about the gentle light allows me to dive into whatever I’m writing. My regular writing space has the desk and the candles, and it’s near the kitchen, so I’m almost there. I don’t have the hills, but the sea is a short walk away, and I’m also grateful that my life has brought me to this place.

An email from a stranger tells Alison Earley that her natural father, whom she has known for only six years, has died suddenly. What begins as a short trip back to Scotland for a funeral soon becomes a journey that puts adoption, sexuality, and identity on a collision course as Alison finds herself caught between the life and family she has so carefully constructed on one continent and the family from which she was taken on another.

Shunned by her father’s family, reunited with her natural mother, and reconnected with a long-lost love, Alison finds herself trying to shepherd her youngest child towards college while questioning everything she thought she knew about herself.

When her natural mother uncovers a series of letters written to Alison from the grandmother she never knew, resurrecting stories of generations of women–stories long buried by patriarchal rule–Alison realizes that she must find the courage to face and reveal the secrets of her own past. At what cost, though? And who and what will be left in the aftermath?

When the Ocean Flies explores the pain of separation and abuse, and the power of love to heal even over huge gaps in time and geographical distance.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Blue microfiche, the image yellowed. Alison perched on the edge of the chair. There was her name. Not her name, now. Not Alison. The one she started with: Jayne. Jayne Kerr. The handwriting small and neat. Mother’s name: Mary MacGilavry Kerr.

Jayne.

And Mary.

The tight signature at the bottom: her mother’s signature. She lifted one hand to the screen. Her chest clenched. She pulled her notebook from her bag, copied the name, as though she was likely to forget. Father’s name ______________.

Heat. Red cheeks in this gray basement. She wished she were stoat, or beaver, water creature, able to dive down. Cool, dark water. She held her breath. Held her tears. Who are these people? This Mary? This Jayne? Who am I? Jayne and Alison, like two separate people, with two separate lines of possibility, one body. No father. She couldn’t look at it a second longer.

She pushed the chair back, suddenly taken by the need to burst up, out, back to light and air.

About the Author:Heather G. Marshall is an adoptee, author, speaker, teacher, coach, and traveler. Her short fiction has been published in a variety of journals, including Black Middens: New Writing Scotland, and Quarried, an anthology of the best of three decades of Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel. Her first novel, The Thorn Tree, released in 2014 (MP Publishing). Her TED talk, “Letting Go of Expectations,” centers around her adoption and reunion. Her second novel, When the Ocean Flies, released in February 2024 (Vine Leaves Press). In her writing, Heather explores family, adoption, women (especially older ones), the natural environment, and how these intersect. When she isn’t writing, she likes to hike, travel, practice yoga and meditation, do a wee bit of knitting, and, of course, read. Originally from Scotland, Heather is currently based in Massachusetts.

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Buy the book at Bookshot.org, Amazon, Waterstones, or Barnes and Noble.

My Career Journal by Fatemah Mirza – Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Fatemah Mirza will award a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Are you seeking to enhance your career and significantly increase your salary? ‘My Career Journal’ by CareerTuners is your guide to achieving these goals. This practical workbook, enriched with insights from my 13+ years as a career and salary coach, is tailored for individuals at any career stage – whether you are just starting or looking to make major changes.
In ‘My Career Journal’, you will:

– Set clear, achievable career goals with defined weekly, monthly, and quarterly milestones.
– Track and record your accomplishments, laying the groundwork for salary negotiations.
– Build and refine a professional portfolio that showcases your strengths and achievements.

The strategies in this workbook have been refined through my extensive experience and continual input from over 3,000 recruiter partners. This is how I have empowered marketing leaders to approach their promotion plans with renewed vigor.

‘My Career Journal’ is especially for those:

– Who are deeply creative and have great ideas they are eager to put into motion.
– Committed to changing their job search strategies.
– Who aspire to align their career success with making a meaningful difference in their field, using their work as a platform for positive change.

The workbook encourages you to take action and think creatively to overcome professional challenges. It is designed not just for planning but for doing. By working through ‘My Career Journal,’ you will rediscover the passion that drives your career success and be equipped to double your salary through strategic planning and execution. Dive into this journal to take control of your career journey and propel yourself towards greater achievements.

About the Author:Fatemah Mirza is a Certified Resume Master and a highly sought-after speaker and coach who helps ambitious job seekers find higher-paying, more fulfilling jobs. She’s been helping job seekers since 2010 when she founded CareerTuners, which is a small team of skilled professionals from various industries who specialize in providing professional resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, and many more career-related services to help ambitious people land their dream jobs and achieve career goals.She has created free resources that have seen more than 160,000 downloads, helped hundreds of clients increase their pay, and built a network of more than 3000 recruiters.

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Exiles by L.J. Ambrosio – Cover Reveal and Giveaway

 

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Welcome to the cover reveal of EXILES, a Literary Fiction/Coming of Age novel by L.J. Ambrosio. The author will award a $20 Amazon/BN GC, an autographed copy of the book, or a dragonfly necklace to three randomly drawn winners. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

In this final chapter, Ron’s story concludes from Reflections on the Boulevard (2023). Michael’s wish was for Ron to exile himself in the heart of Paris with its beautiful culture and citizens as they protest and fight for the soul of the city. Ron’s journey is met with life-affirming friendships and lessons along the way. The final book in the Reflections of Michael Trilogy, which started with A Reservoir Man (2022).

About the Author: Louis J. Ambrosio ran one of the most nurturing bi-coastal talent agencies in Los Angeles and New York. He started his career as a theatrical producer, running two major regional theaters for eight seasons. Ambrosio taught at 7 Universities. Ambrosio also distinguished himself as an award-winning film producer and novelist over the course of his impressive career.

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Weston’s Lady by Bobbi Smith – Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Bobbi Smith will award a randomly drawn winner a $10 Amazon/BN GC. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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Come One! Come All!
To Weston’s Wild West Texas Stampede

There were Cowboys and Indians, trick riding, thrills and excitement for everyone. And if Liberty Jones had anything to say about it, she would be a part of the show, too. She had demonstrated her expertise with a gun by shooting a playing card out of Reed Weston’s hand at thirty paces, but the arrogant owner of the stampede wouldn’t even give her a chance.

Disguising herself as a boy, Libby wrangled herself a job with the show, and before she knew it Reed was firing at her—in front of an audience. It seemed an emotional showdown was inevitable whenever they came together, but Libby had set her sights on Reed’s heart and she vowed she would prove her love was every bit as true as her aim.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Reed opened the door to his private wagon and stood back to let Libby enter ahead of him. She swept past him, her manner dignified and ladylike, in spite of her masculine attire.

“Have a seat.” He motioned to one of the chairs at the small table.

“No, thank you. I prefer to stand.”

“Have it your way,” he said sharply. “It seems you don’t listen well, Miss Jones. As I recall, I told you I wasn’t hiring for the show—and I especially wasn’t hiring any women.”

“I hired on as a boy,” she retorted.

Reed’s gaze raked over her. “So I see. How ingenuous of you.”

“You wouldn’t give me a chance! I’m good and I just proved it tonight! The performance would have been a disaster if I hadn’t stopped the runaway team in time! The audience thought it was a regular part of the act.”

“I could tell,” he answered, irritated by the whole situation.

“I can help you with the show,” Libby went on, trying not to sound desperate. If he fired her, she had no money, and nowhere else to go.

“I don’t need your help, Miss Jones.”

“But you wouldn’t want to disappoint the public, would you?”

“You know, you’re right. You are worth a lot of money to me. You wanted a job with Weston’s Wild West Texas Stampede—well, you’ve got one. You’re officially Weston’s Lady.”

“Know this, Reed Weston—I am worth a lot of money to you, and I’ll earn ever cent of it working for the Stampede, but that’s the only place I’m going to be Weston’s Lady.”

“We both know you’re not a lady, and I’m not sure you’re much of a woman.” Even as he said it, Reed knew it was a lie. She looked beautiful as she challenged him. Her hair was a glorious golden mane of curls about her shoulders and high color stained her cheeks.

Libby reacted without thought, swinging out at him.

Reed snared her wrist to stop her when she would have slapped him, and he jerked her to him.

In that instant, his awareness of everything except Libby faded. He drew her near, slowly, deliberately. He wanted this—no, he needed this. He needed to taste her passion.

Libby found herself frozen, held captive by the unfathomable look in Reed’s eyes.

Their lips met, and time seemed suspended as his mouth settled over hers in a possessive brand, claiming her sweetness for his own.

About the Author: After working as a department manager for Famous-Barr, and briefly as a clerk at a bookstore, Bobbi Smith gave up on career security and began writing. She sold her first book to Zebra in 1982. Since then, Bobbi has written over 40 books and several short stories. To date, there are more than five million of her novels in print. She has been awarded the prestigious Romantic Times Storyteller of the Year Award and two Career Achievement Awards. Her books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists. When she’s not working on her novels, she is frequently a guest speaker for writers’ groups. Bobbi is mother of two sons and resides in St. Charles, Missouri with her husband and three dogs.

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Character interview: Author with Boldo, from the Braided Dimensions series by Marie Judson – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Marie Judson will award an epub copy of one of her books to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Character interview: Author with Boldo, from the Braided Dimensions series
Me: So, Boldo, being a Traveler of medieval time—
Boldo: What d’ ye mean by Traveler? And what’s this medieval time ye speak of?”
Me: Well, you happen to be visiting the 21st century, which is a millennium after your time.
Boldo: Am I, now? That’s new t’ me.
Me: You came to this time to visit Kay, bring her boots, and get the cloth she wove.
Boldo: Is that where I be? I followed a spirit path, not knowin’ the exact…ye know…year. Kay be a most enchanting woman. And she saved me. Did ye know that?
Me: I did. As a matter of fact, I wrote that.
Boldo: Wrote it? [His face quirks into a crooked smile, doubt in his eyes.]
Me: Let’s set that aside. So Kay is enchanting and she saved you from a Jutland dungeon. Has she visited you lately?
Boldo: Oh, aye. ‘Course, the boots keep us connected. But she likes to come to our camp. I suspect you’re Kay’s sister, aren’t you, because you tend to write down what happens in her life.
Me: Yes, that’s sort of true. Like Kyna and Talaith are nearly sisters.
Boldo: That they be. You recently wrote down what happened with Kay’s daughter, Sophie. She must be your niece. You called the story, “Sophie the Sylph.” I actually saw some o’ what happened. We’re tellin’ that fine tale around the fire, ye know. She did indeed come to the forest where we were dinin’, for the summer solstice.
Me: You were there at that dinner? Oh, yes, I saw you, playing your fiddle. And did you see Hamelyn walk away into the trees?
Boldo: I did. He followed Bedw and the other sylphs. I was certain Sophie’s spirit was among them and it turns out, I was right. What a treat, Hamelyn carried off by the sylphs. They won’t absorb just anyone, you know.
Me: I suspected that. Well, it’s been wonderful talking with you. Stay out of trouble.
Boldo: I can try. [He winked and stood to leave, giving me a bow.]

Celtic mythology, medieval history, and modern-day mystery blend in this story where past and present collide.

Kay, a professor of ancient languages, finds herself drawn into a hidden realm of magic and danger. Transported to a medieval world on Halloween night, she meets Baird, an enchanging stranger who claims to know her spirit, and Duff, a burly silversmith who welcomes her as Kyna, long-lost kin. Kay joins them in a festive celebration where she discovers she can understand their arcane tongue, as ghostly figures haunt the night.

When dawn comes, she is in her own time, still holding a silver pendant that connects her to Baird and his world. She struggles to return to that time even as Baird is endeavoring to find her and unravel the secret of their connection. Follow Kay and Baird on their journey across dimensions in this novel of intrigue, adventure, and magic.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Franklin Street Café had a lively crowd bathed in the lurid orange glow of gauze-covered lights. A projector flashed images of old Celtic stones onto the wall. A fabric forest hung across the entrance to the next room, the air permeated by yeasty aromas of pizza crust and ale. Shouts of conversations battled to be heard over haunting music and the clatter of dishes.

Where were the nyads and faeries? In place of the figures of enchantment in the email invitation, Kay saw a faux belly dancer who never should have revealed her midriff, and men dressed in bathrobes and tennis shoes attempting, she supposed, to convey Druidic high priests. With absurd disappointment at seeing no apparent magic, she thought she wouldn’t stay long. Then her attention was drawn by a hand-printed sign offering homemade organic mead, and pressed through to the bar. A young waitress, her peachy complexion disturbingly pierced with lead posts, asked for her order.

“Could I taste the Moonlight Mead?” she requested.

“Certainly.” The young woman behind the bar handed over a sample.

Pushing aside glued-on mustache hairs, Kay sipped the tasty brew, then ordered a twelve-ounce, and again surveyed the crowd. She considered making the glass of mead a solo act when she noticed a birdlike creature, tall and hunched like a heron, tattered feathers splaying from head and neck. It stalked, with wild-bird grace, across the projection of ancient stones, through the cloth trees, into the next room. Kay’s drink arrived, and she followed the strange apparition.

About the Author:

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Marie Judson is a schoolteacher on the wild coast of Northern California. Language and the mind are her passions. An ardent fantasy reader since childhood, she also loves singing, dream work, and crashing waves.

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Pursuit of Innocence by Bethany Rosa – Q&A and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. A randomly drawn winner will receive a $25 Amazon/BN gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

What are your favorite TV shows?

I love, love, love Schitt’s Creek and Ted Lasso. I’m not a big laugh-out-loud type of person, but those two shows can certainly get me going. Game of Thrones is also the only other series I’ve watched entirely. I usually get bored. I also like government conspiracy shows like Reacher and Jack Ryan. I don’t watch TV very often. If I have free time, I’m reading.

What is your favorite meal?

I don’t know if I can pick a favorite; I love to eat. Ahi tuna sashimi has been my recent fav. Lasagna, Thai fried rice, steak, and lobster are a few others.

If you were to write a series of novels, what would it be about?

Well, I am. They’re all about pursuing love and exploring passion—two things everyone should have in their life.

Is there a writer you idolize? If so, who?

Too many to name. I idolize the authors who are true to their writing and persevere in the face of criticism. I especially idolize those who do it themselves without the help of a big-name publisher, but I think no less of those who do. I’ll mention two authors because, in my opinion, they deserve it. E L James, because she must have thick skin for some of the horrible things people say. You can dislike a book, but to be downright mean is uncalled for. I love her entire story of success. As well as Stephanie Meyer for many of the same reasons. Plus, their books are some of my favorites.

How did you come up with the title of this book?

It was initially just Innocence, but I discovered the market is saturated with books by that title. I knew I wanted to keep the word innocence in the title, so I brainstormed different possibilities and availability before choosing. Pursuit made sense because that is what these men are doing, pursuing Lily, and she is the embodiment of innocence, so it just worked.

“I’m done waiting around. You’re mine. No more games or pining over someone else when it’s me you want. You won’t remember his name after I get through with you.”

Lily knows exactly what she wants in life. To graduate, land a high-paying job, and forge her own way. Nothing will distract her. Until the ultimate playboy, billionaire Sebastian Dubree, barges in. Not to be overlooked, Lily’s longtime crush, Jackson, decides she’s worth the fight.

Reluctant to succumb to either, she quickly becomes a challenge to conquer.

Lily must decide between the familiarity of her childhood longing or the newly discovered passion ignited by the dominant CEO. But can she surrender without losing herself in the process, or will someone take matters into his own hands?

Boundaries blur between desire and resistance in this gripping coming-of-age romance, leaving readers yearning for more.

Enjoy an Excerpt

I hit a wall. A solid, warm wall that smells dreadfully sinful. Before I have time to process, two firm hands are on my shoulders to steady me. “Hey, watch where you’re going” comes the deepest, sexiest voice imaginable, which would be incredibly hot if the words spoken were anything other than rude and demanding. Looking up, which is crazy, considering I’m one step higher, I freeze as my eyes land on a dark, handsome god of a man who looks like he wants to commit murder. What is it with me and jerks tonight?

His eyes get bigger, and his brows furrow as soon as my shocked gaze meets his. He has short black hair that’s longer on the top and styled perfectly. His menacing eyebrows are folded downward from scowling at me. The dark scruff that shadows his face is so sexy, trimmed razor straight, accentuating his perfectly chiseled jaw. Mentally slapping myself, I apologize.

“Crap, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.” He doesn’t release his hold.

“That’s because your head was down. Your eyes should be looking forward.” His voice is hard and demanding.

Flustered and—I reluctantly admit—slightly turned on by his strong, firm grip and penetrating stare, I stand there frozen in place. After what seems like minutes but I’m sure is only seconds, I snap out of it and apologize again. “Sorry, I’ll watch where I’m going from now on.” The words rush out as I pull away to leave, this time keeping my head up. I think I hear him say something else behind me, but I don’t stop. Running into one of the hottest guys I’ve seen in a while should’ve been the highlight of my night. Instead, I’m more irritated. Do all good-looking men have a license to be an ass?

About the Author: Bethany Rosa raised four amazing daughters before fulfilling her dream to become a writer. Her goal is to ignite passion in readers through her erotically charged stories. When not immersed in writing, Bethany finds joy in life traveling the world alongside her husband of 25 years. Home is divided between the mountains of Montana and the Arizona sunshine.

 

 

 

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A Day in My Life by Kevin R. Doyle – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A Day in My Life

My average day has changed a lot in the last eleven months. Last May, after a little more than a quarter century in front of the classroom, I retired from teaching and took up fiction writing full time. At least, that was the original intention. As often happens, life tends to have other plans, and for the first nine months of my retirement I had to focus on taking care of an ailing parent. A few months ago, she passed on, and things are finally shaking out into what I’d perceived retired life would be.

While one may think that sleeping late is the ultimate joy, most days I wake up around seven, only thirty minutes later than I did while working. Breakfast and the news go together so I can see what happened in the world overnight, and by eight or eight thirty at the latest, I’m ready to hit the computer.

However, I don’t work straight through for any given number of hours or words. While I was teaching and writing on the side, I became accustomed to only doing a page or so at the most at any one time, and I find that now that I have practically unlimited time, I follow pretty much the same pattern. When I first sit down to get to work, I’ll do maybe five hundred words, or a bit more if I’m working on a first draft, then check my e-mail, take a walk, go for a drive, or get some errands done.

Periodically through the day I’ll write another page or so, maybe do a little marketing work, then go off and do something else for a while again. Off and on I’ll be responding to any e-mails I need to, and if the weather’s good maybe go for another walk or two. (All this, keep in mind, before my swimming pool opens up around the end of May. Lord knows how much I’ll be distracted then.)

One of the biggest changes, and one I was most looking forward to, between working and retired life is in the evenings. Even now, nearly a year later, it is so nice to stretch out on the couch and watch TV knowing that there are no lessons to prepare or papers to grade. For example, I taught high-school English, and most years about the time I’m writing this my spare bedroom would be piled with research projects, including outlines, note cards and other miscellaneous materials, that I would have to plow through before May.

This provides me time in the evening, if I wish, to rap out a couple of pages or so, but if there’s something on the tube I want to watch, cramming work in isn’t nearly the priority it was before.

This routine will probably change as the months and a couple of years go by. As I mentioned, though I retired in May of last year, it’s only been since about the first of March, roughly seven weeks ago as I write this, that the parental issue found its natural resolution. As such, I’m only now really able to ease into the retired/writing lifestyle, so I have no doubt I’ll be making some tweaks to my routine as time goes by.

They kept to the shadows so no one would know they existed, and preyed on the nameless who no one would miss. Where did they come from, and who was protecting them? In a city that had seen every kind of savagery, they were something new, something more than murderous. And one woman who had thought she had lost everything there was to lose in life would soon find that nothing could possibly prepare her for what would come when she entered their world.

Please listen to this audio excerpt

About the Author:A retired high-school teacher and former college instructor, Kevin R. Doyle is the author of four novels in the Sam Quinton mystery series, all published by Camel Press. He’s also written four crime thrillers, including And the Devil Walks Away and The Anchor, and one horror novel, The Litter, along with numerous short horror stories published in small magazines over the years. The first Quinton book, Squatter’s Rights, was nominated for the 2021 Shamus award for Best First PI Novel. A lifelong Midwesterner, Doyle currently resides in Missouri and has loosely based the city of Providence in the Quinton books on Columbia.

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Buy the audiobook at Books in Motion, Audible, Barnes and Noble, Chirp Books, Storytel, Overdrive, r Booktopia.


The Hardest Part of Writing…by Kirsten Weiss – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Kirsten Weiss will award a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The Hardest Part of Writing…

The hardest part about writing is what comes afterward. And I’m not talking about the editing.

Unless you hit Steven King or Nora Roberts status, authors today need to do some heavy lifting when it comes to book promotion. Even when I was published through a big NY house, most of the marketing was on me. That’s even more true when I indie publish a mystery like Legacy of the Witch.

I like to think of writing as an art. But it’s a business as well. And if no one knows about your books, then no one’s going to buy them. However, I’m beginning to think that book promotion is an art too. Ads that work amazingly for one author fall flat for another. As soon as you think you’ve figured it out, the algorithm changes and you’re back at square one.

This is not a lament. I actually enjoy marketing. The embarrassing part is I have an MBA with a specialty in international marketing. I got that MBA before the Internet was ubiquitous, but while tactics have changed, strategies remain the same.

Rule #1: Know your reader. Know where they like to hang out online. What tropes and styles of writing do they enjoy? Do they skew young or old? What other books do they like to read?

Rule #2: See Rule #1.

And while that’s sort of a joke, it’s really not, because everything you learn from Rule #1 needs to be applied to your promotions. For example, if your current and potential readership is largely on Facebook, spending a lot of time on Tiktok might not be the best investment. If your readers avert their gaze at sex scenes, throwing a spicy back-of-the-car moment into your novel might end up alienating them. All the tactics in your toolkit—whether be Amazon ads, giveaways, covers, and writing the novel itself—depend on knowing your audience.

Currently, I’m trying to expand my audience. In the past, I’ve written paranormal and witch mysteries, and they’ve always had a certain metaphysical bent. The magical practices I described were rooted in current and historical magical practice and theory.

With my current book, Legacy of the Witch, I’m leaning into the metaphysical fiction side. The book includes not only an UnTarot app for readers to play with, but also the downloadable magical worksheets that the heroine receives from her mystery school.

I’m hoping people interested in personal and spiritual growth will be hooked by my new mystery. I also believe my current readership will enjoy the same small-town vibes, light romance, and strong female characters that are hallmarks of my other books. Now, I have to get to know those potential new readers better. So if you like a page-turning mystery and personal and spiritual growth, tell me a bit about yourself in the comments!

Seeker: As societies grow increasingly fragmented, hopelessness, nihilism, and division are on the rise. But there is another way—a way of mystery and magic, of wholeness and transformation. Do you dare take the first step? Our path is not for the faint-hearted, but for seekers of ancient truths…

All April wants is to start over after her husband’s sudden death. She’s conjuring a new path—finally getting her degree and planning her new business in bucolic Pennsylvania Dutch country. Joining an online mystery school seems like harmless fun.

But when a murdered man leaves her a cryptic message, she catches glimpses of another reality she’s unwilling to acknowledge. A reality where bygone enchantments cast cryptic shadows, and the present brims with unanswered questions.

As April works to unearth the mystery, every step brings her closer to a truth she’s been evading. And to a conspiracy of hexes that may end in her demise.

Legacy of the Witch is a spellbinding, interactive tale of a woman’s midlife quest to understand the complexities of her own heart. A paranormal women’s fiction murder mystery for anyone who’s wondered if there might be more to their own life than meets the eye…

Book 1 in the new Mystery School Series featuring the UnTarot, a deck of cards for meaning making. Start reading now!
UnTarot deck app included!

Enjoy an Excerpt

Of all the life-ruining mistakes I’d ever made, being late was not going to be one of them.

I double checked the campus map. My advisor’s office should have been directly ahead of me. Instead, there was a wide swathe of grass dotted with crimson leaves and way-too-young students.

At least they seemed too young to me. They had to be too young, because the alternative was that at forty-seven, I was too old. Too old to start over. Too old to rid myself of my growing collection of ghosts. Too old to get a degree. Too old to use that degree as a springboard for my dream business and dream life and dream whatever the hell I was doing.

But I couldn’t think that way. I had to have hope or I’d be stuck in the purgatory of widowhood.

I crumpled the campus map in my gloved hand. What was I doing? Everything was shifting—inside and out, above and below, and—

About the Author: I believe in free-will, and that we all can make a difference. I believe that beauty blossoms in the conscious life, particularly with friends, family, and strangers. I believe that genre fiction has become generic, and it doesn’t have to be.

My current focus is my new Mystery School series, starting with Legacy of the Witch. Traditionally, women’s fiction refers to fiction where a woman—usually in her midlife—is going through some sort of dramatic change. A lot of us do go through big transitions in midlife. We get divorced or remarried. The kids leave the nest. Our bodies change. The midlife crisis is real—though it manifests in different ways—as we look back on where we’ve been, where we’re going, and the time we have left.

Now in my mid-fifties, I’ve spent more time thinking about the big “meaning of life” issues. It seemed like approaching those issues through witch fiction, and through a fictional mystery school, would be a fun and a useful way for me to work out some of these ideas in my own head—about change and letting go, faith and fear, and love and longing.

After growing up on a diet of Nancy Drew, Sherlock Holmes, and Agatha Christie, I’ve published over 60 mysteries—from cozies to supernatural suspense, as well as an experimental fiction book on Tarot. Spending over 20 years working overseas in international development, I learned that perception is not reality, and things are often not what they seem—for better or worse.

There isn’t a winter holiday or a type of chocolate I don’t love, and some of my best friends are fictional.

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Buy the book at Amazon.

Ten Things Most People Don’t Know About Vicki-Ann Bush – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Vicki-Ann Bush will award a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Ten Things Most People Don’t Know About Me

When I was fourteen, we moved from New York to California. It was a difficult experience and to add to the anxiety I had a Queens mixed with Long Island accent. When I was called on to speak everyone in the classroom went quiet because they said they wanted to hear me talk—not fun.

I love animals but dogs are my heart.

When my younger brother was born I thought he was my baby and would take him out of the crib and try to play with him. I was three.

When I was fifteen I beat out all the callers on a radio station to be #1 and talk to Leslie McKeown from the Bay City Rollers. I told him I loved him, he said he loved me too. It was a brief romance, about twenty seconds.

My favorite genre to write in is YA Paranormal, but I secretly wish I could write a torrid love story.

I hate wet clothing on me. I mean to the point where I get cranky and irritable.

I don’t like yellow cars.

My favorite drink is an egg cream but I haven’t had in years because I liked my mom’s the best.

I dream of owning a villa in Naples and having open windows with shutters that close and no screens.

I’ve always wanted to learn fluent Italian. Before we moved from New York, my grandma was teaching me, but over the years I lost it. I’ve been practicing on Duolingo, but I can’t seem to pronounce the words as well as when I was learning from Gram.

As the star quarterback for his high school football team and local celebrity in the quaint town of Boulder City, Luke Jacob enjoys a charmed life. Everything’s going according to plan, that is until the night he spots a mysterious and alluring girl in the crowd. Despite his father’s cryptic warning to keep away from her, he’s instantly drawn to Mary.

The team plans a gathering to celebrate their homecoming win, and Luke decides to invite her. The evening turns dark when the demon Abezethibou appears and threatens them. When Mary steps in to save her peers, Luke sees her for what she truly is, forever changing their future and creating a bond between them.

The revelation shatters what Luke believes about himself and forces him to face his destiny.

Will Mary stand by Luke in the face of the coming storm, or will she be swayed by the allure of darkness?

Enjoy an Excerpt

Luke cleaved his chest, his heart dry of blood, he began to shake. A brilliant hue of gold emanated from within, illuminating every inch of his body as it began to rise from the ground. He looked up at his friends, smears of butterscotch glittered across the atmosphere. He shouted out to Jason as their bodies flopped backward like the rag doll Becca carried with her
as a toddler. Floating closer to the heavens, their will was no longer their own.

About the Author:Born Vicki-Ann Guidice, on January 14th, 1962, her journey into the realm of the spiritual and supernatural was initiated at birth. Her early years were spent in Queens, New York known for having more people passed on than alive, as well as having several Gothic cemeteries within walking distance of its communities. At the age of 15, she moved to Los Angeles California taking her fertile imagination with her. After meeting her future husband, Ronald Bush, her new homeland became Las Vegas, Nevada.

As a mother of two, her first published book in 2008, Winslow Willow the Woodland Fairy, took her love of fantasy and spun it into a heartwarming children’s book. The progression to the young adult literary market took root in her novels that captured the haunting qualities of the Las Vegas desert surrounding her, but it was New York that called her home. Alex McKenna, the main character in the book series first published in 2019, is the embodiment of her Italian-American roots, memories of adolescent outsider status, and the strength it takes to live an authentic life.

Ms. Bush is a co-founder of Coffee House Tours, an events-based collaboration between local bookstores and coffee shops allowing authors to represent themselves and their works. Additionally, she is a frequent podcast literary guest and has a special relationship with The Center LGBTQIA+ Las Vegas where Alex McKenna has been an inspirational focus as a transgender Paranormal teen. Now starring in the short film Alex and Margret’s Beginning, inspired by the book series, Ms. Bush is an award winning short screenplay writer and Producer. Bringing her moving and unique storyline and character to a broader audience.

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Buy the book at Amazon.