Archive for July 7, 2014

Wouldn’t it be great if you could help an author write her next story? Well, Anna Simpson needs your help. I’m going to turn my blog over to Anna today and let her tell you her fantabulous news!

Then you can have fun helping her with her next story!

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When a writer gets something published, there are certain expectations. Everyone knows this. But I’m not sure what to do this time and need your help. Roane Publishing has asked me to write a short story as a free read, and your guidance would give me a place to start.

Since my only work to-date with Roane is Mexmur, The Huntress; this will be the story I’m going to promote.

If you’ve not read it yet, take a look at this:

Mexmur, the Huntress by Anna Simpson

 

Long ago a dragonkeeper betrayed his charges. To bring back magic, to set things right, Mexmur is sent through the portal.

Can she succeed armed with only a poem, talon and blade.

Need more? Okay. How about this.

Betrayed, the dragons fled into a portal. Years later, a young huntress and a failure of a prince join together to go after them. Not only are the dragons the only way to fulfill the duos goal, the beasties want revenge. With only an old legend and poem as a guide, and very different ideas on how to succeed, Mexmur and Recser try to return magic to their kingdom.

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Here are some story ideas:

The Hunter – Mexmur was only a huntress in training when her father died. What happened to him? How? Was she there and how did it affect her?

The Legend of The Dragonkeeper – A simple man brought magic to the land by betraying he charges. Want to know more about the old legend and why it happened at all?

The Dragons – Near extinction and depending on the kindness of the kingdom, the last of the dragons trickled magic back into the land. Why so little magic? Why did they need a dragonkeeper? What happened to all the rest?

Or is there something else you’d prefer?

Please put your requests/suggestions into the comments. What would you prefer to read about?

Remember this will be a short short story so please keep this in mind when making your suggestions. I’ll try to go with the majority. Who knows maybe I’ll receive enough suggestions that it will spark a brand new tale.

Which one do you like? What questions would you like answered? What do you want more of? I’m a writer and can make your dreams come true—on paper if nowhere else.

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Portals: A Fantasy Anthology

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Genre: Fantasy Anthology (mixed sub genres)

Keywords: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Urban Fantasy, Steampunk, Short Stories, Picture Prompt

Description: No matter what world you call home, or what your station in life, there are just some paths that weren’t meant to be tread.

Authors:

Christy Thomas | Anna Simpson | Echo Shea | Havva Hurat

Laurie Treacy | Michael Siciliano

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Laura’s thoughts on Anna Simpson’s Mexmur, The Huntress

If you love dragons, this ones for you.

Mexmur is forced to enter the portal to recharge a talisman of magic. The King is willing to sacrifice her and his son in his quest to steal power from the dragons.

Can a spoiled prince and a lowly huntress survive the dragon’s breath? Or will they become a meal?

Mexmur is a huntress so she has skills to hunt the dragon. The spoiled prince has some surprises of his own and I grew to like him. These two both learn a lot once through the portal and the dragons are great teachers.

I really enjoyed the dragon characters. They had their own agenda and played a big part in the story.

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Okay! Are you ready to help Anna? Please leave your suggestions in the comments. You can choose from what Anna has provided or tell her some of your own ideas for the story! We can’t wait for your ideas!

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Image of Anna Simpson

About Anna:
Remember that there may be many an Anna Simpson, but only one emaginette.
Contact me:

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.Purchase Links

PRINT

Roane Publishing | Createspace | Amazon

Digital

Roane Publishing | Amazon | Amazon (UK)

Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Smashwords / Bookstrand

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Michael West
Featured Book Release:
Hades’ Disciples
July 7 to 13 , 2014

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I had to be a part of this tour!

I’d already read Poseidon’s Children and loved it, so I was thrilled to get a chance to showcase Michael West’s series and review the first two books for ya!

Come meet the cast, human and monster. Follow the mystery. Enter the world of The Legacy of the Gods!

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MY REVIEW

I’m trying to think of one thing the author did wrong with this book, and can’t come up with anything.

The setting is great. The island of Colonial Bay reminds me of the movie The Fog. The locals are close-mouthed and secretive. Being isolated from the mainland, life is very different.

The creatures. Michael got very creative. I watched the movie Dagon, and drew from that to picture these fearsome beings. Even the ones that weren’t trying to kill people must have been terrifying to behold. I also remembered some of the characters from Pirates of the Caribbean and came up with some nasty critters.

The characters. So many of them, and that’s a plus for me. I love character driven stories, and the humans aren’t the only ones I connected with.

Artist Larry and his girlfriend Peggy. On the island for a vacation, Larry is awakened by a bad dream and gets up to get a drink. Glancing out the window, he sees something off the beach. A girl is being attacked by a shark near the shoreline. But then he’s not so sure it’s a shark. Something doesn’t look right.

Carol always new Atlantis was real. Now she’s discovered it. When things start pointing to Colonial Bay, her and Alan go to investigate. What they find is beyond belief. But, once they’re drawn into the middle of an ancient myth, when the beings of nightmares attack, they’ll have to believe if they want to survive.

With action and adventure, monsters, characters to love and loathe, and mysteries from the deep, Poseidon’s Children is a blast and I’m anxious to get started on Hades’ Desciples, the next book in this series.

I’m thrilled to give this 5 STARS

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Synopsis

Man no longer worships the old gods; forgotten and forsaken, they have become nothing more than myth and legend. But all that is about to change. After the ruins of a vast, ancient civilization are discovered on the ocean floor, Coast Guard officers find a series of derelict ships drifting in the current-high-priced yachts and leaking fishing boats, all ransacked, splattered in blood, their crews missing and presumed dead. And that’s just the beginning. Vacationing artist Larry Neuhaus has just witnessed a gruesome shark attack, a young couple torn apart right before his eyes….at least, he thinks it was a shark. And when one of these victims turns out to be the only son of Roger Hays, the most powerful man in the country, things go from bad to worse. Now, to stop the carnage, Larry and his new-found friends must work together to unravel a mystery as old as time, and face an enemy as dark as the ocean depths.

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MY REVIEW

This is the second book in this series. Just wanted to warn you if you haven’t read Poseidon’s Children yet. I’ll do my best not to spoil it for you.

The story picks up around two years after Colonial Bay and, while some of my favorite characters aren’t in this story, some are.

Carol and Alan are now living in Japan and settling in nicely when someone from Carol’s past comes calling. Kari is a very close friend from back in her college days. She’s asking for their help in finding her father. He disappeared after heading off to Nepal to find what he believes is the Ark. Not that he thinks it’s Noah’s Ark.

The decision is made for them when a rampaging tiger crashes into their home, bent on obliterating them. Carol and Kari manage to take it out and Alan reluctantly joins them as they prepare to scale the frozen mountain of Makalu, the location of the Ark. Also a place of hidden danger and myth. Even the Sherpa won’t guide anyone up there. Local superstition says it belongs to the Yeti.

Earl, now working for Homeland Security, is back and has a bigger role this time. He barely survives an attack by Hades Desciples. They want the old Gods back. Seems they forgot the bit about being slaves to them. Earl forms an alliance with the creatures that rescued him and they rush to protect his partner, laid up in a hospital.

This second book delves deeper into the history of these creatures. I learned more about how they came to be here and why.

There are three clans.

Poseidon’s Children are water based. They take on the aspect of creatures from the deep.

Zeus’ Warriors are human in appearance.

Hades’ Desciples are beasts of all kinds. Some of nature and some of fantasy.

All were created by someone or something for a reason that will be revealed.

Werewolves, bats, yeti, satyrs, and many more monsters will keep your hair standing on end.

Three clans.

Three agendas

One final outcome.

And one heck of a cliffhanger ending!

Just thought I’d warn ya.

Zeus’ Warriors: Book Three in The Legacy of the Gods Series is coming soon and I’ll be there!

If you love monsters, myths and urban fantasy, you’ll love this series and I recommend you give it a go.

5 STARS

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Synopsis

Terrifying creatures exist all around us, hiding in plain sight. Ancient. Deadly. They gather in secret, conspiring, dreaming of nothing less than humanity’s destruction, and their numbers are growing.

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Earl Preston knows the danger all too well. After tangling with a horde of mythological sea monsters in Colonial Bay, he has been tasked with finding these beasts and exposing their plans whatever they may be.

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But Earl is not the only one with a mystery on their hands. At the very top of the world, Carol Miyagi has stumbled onto an artifact from Earth’s past, something magnificent held captive in a prison of ice and snow. Now, Carol and Earl must work quickly to decipher the will of the gods–a plot that defies imagination–and to stop their followers from carrying it out.

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They thought the nightmare was over, but they are about to discover that the horror has only just begun.

Amazon Links for Hades’ Disciples

Print Version ~ Kindle Version

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About Author Michael West:

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Michael West is the bestselling author of Cinema of Shadows, Skull Full of Kisses, The Wide Game, Spook House, and the critically acclaimed Legacy of the Gods series. He lives and works in the Indianapolis area with his wife, their two children, their turtle, Gamera, and their dog, King Seesar.

West avoids manhole covers and sidewalk grates whenever possible. He just doesn’t know what’s down there, and he’s not sure he wants to find out.

Author Links: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook

Tour Schedule and Activities
7/7 Shells Interviews Guest Post
7/7 Come Selahway With Me Interview
7/7 Beauty in Ruins Guest Post
7/7 Fuonlyknew ~ Laura’s ramblins and reviews Review
7/8 Deal Sharing Aunt Top Tens List
7/8 Jess Resides Here Top Tens List
7/8 I Smell Sheep Guest Post
7/9 SpecMusicMuse Interview
7/10 Coffintree Hill Guest Post
7/10 Armand Rosamilia, Horror Author Guest Post
7/11 Bee’s Knees Reviews Review
7/12 A Haunted Head Top Tens List
7/12 Willow’s Author Love Interview
7/13 The Rage Circus Vs. The Soulless Void Review

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

 

I am so excited to share the new cover in Amy Evan’s series, The Dolphin Prophecy!!! And we have an awesome excerpt and giveaway!!

Title: Breaks (Book 3 in The Dolphin Prophecy)

Author: Amy Evans

Cover Designer – Regina Wamba

Release Date – expected Sept. 9, 2014

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Synopsis:

When the CLICKS and ECHOES have all been ignored, and the universe can take it no more, the pressure builds below the surface until everything breaks.

 

Cami’s invitation to the elite Australian Surf Carnival is a dream come true, but it’s causing tension with Blake, her parents, and her community. Her relationships feel as broken and unsteady as their island home where the pin swims below the water’s surface, symbolizing a total lack of safety and balance. The Elders in The Guard fear for their new generation, so they send Mica and the other twins away with Cami. It maybe for everyone’s protection, but Cami’s angry to not get to break away on her own.

 

On the other side of the ocean, they stay with the fifth set of twins who moved away when they were little, and learn more about the mysteries surrounding their ancestors and previous island homes. When the threats that they faced on Pinhold follow, Cami must trust her instincts to get the secrets from her past and present that are needed to protect her future. If she fails, the breaks will keep getting worse until everywhere on Earth is damaged in a way that can never be reversed.

 

BREAKS is the third book in The Dolphin Prophecy series. CLICKS is available for free and ECHOES is brand new and on sale for 99 cents for a very short time.

 

Exclusive Excerpt:

Sailors call them breaks, those moments when races turn around, when a crazy gust of wind comes along and whip changes your course. Sometimes it’s for better, sometimes it’s for worse. But the only way to know is to race with the break and see where it goes.

This letter was my break. It was the one opportunity is always wanted, my best chance to test myself, to do something on my own. I’d worked my tail off for this and the note offered it right up to me exactly as I’d hoped. A competition spot in the Elite International Surf Carnival on the Gold Coast of Australia. This was my dream come true. And the perfect break exactly when I needed one.

But as I looked around the room I knew. I just knew. From the looks on their faces I could tell they weren’t going to let me go.

Just then Blake pushed open the door with a happy energy I hadn’t seen in weeks. He held a paper in his palm as well. That made sense considering mail only got to us once a week at most right now. But the coincidence put a bad lump in my throat. From across the room I recognized the seal of the National Swim Team and knew it was a tryout invitation. From the look on his face I knew he was going to get to go.

And in that moment I hated him for it. Blake would get a break he never even wanted. While I had to put aside my dream for a stupid prophecy that just had to go ahead and come true.
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About Amy Evans

Amy Evans is the author of CLICKS – book one of The Dolphin Prophecy, nominated for best debut and best sci fi cover at the UtopYA awards.

ECHOES, book two of The Dolphin Prophecy, is7/7/14.!

www.amyevansbooks.com

Facebook * Twitter * Google+ * Tumblr * Email for ARCS

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 Print Copies of Clicks and Echoes

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Tons of swag from UTOPYA2014

Click on the rafflecopter below to enter.

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!

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Every now and then I need some romance. Good clean romance. And, hopefully, a happy ever after.

Check out Anna Sugden’s Super Romance, A Perfect Trade.

Below you’ll find a link to read the entire first chapter by following the tour stops.

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

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A PERFECT TRADE

by Anna Sugden

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BLURB:

A win-win negotiation?

Truman “Tru” Jelinek’s life is pretty much off the rails. With his professional hockey career on thin ice, and his personal life falling apart, he’s ready to implement some serious changes. Helping Jenny Martin—the only girl he’s ever loved—make her dreams a reality is a good place to start.

There’s just one problem: Jenny doesn’t want his help. She barely wants to speak to him. But Tru is prepared to negotiate a deal that even Jenny can’t refuse. As trading favors turns into sharing passion, he has to face the truth that when it comes to Jenny, the game is far from over.

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EXCERPT:

Excerpt 14 – To read the entire first chapter, please visit http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/06/book-blast-perfect-trade-by-anna-sugden.html and visit each blog in order.

 

“I hoped I was wrong.” Her voice hardened. “You’re still in love with someone else.”

“What?” He blinked, surprised. “Who?”

Even as he asked the question, an image of Jenny flashed into his brain. Her shiny, straight blond hair falling past her shoulders to rest against the scooped neckline of her black top. Faded black jeans that clung lovingly to every inch of her knockout legs and black, spiked-heel boots with buckles and studs that could make grown men whimper. Fire shot through his veins.

He tamped down the unwanted desire and scrambled to cover his ass. “I’m not in love with anyone.”

“Come on, Tru. Don’t try to tell me there isn’t unfinished business between you and Jenny.” Her lip curled.

His short laugh was humorless. “What there was between us has been finished for over a decade.” How could it not be, after what he’d done? “We’ve both moved on.”

“Have you?” Her question rang with disbelief.

Jenny sure as hell had. He’d been reminded of that every damn time she’d left the arena with her player of choice. It had taken a while, but he’d moved on, too, even if he’d never learned to ignore her fully.

“There’s nothing left between me and Jenny.” His tone was flat, uncompromising.

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

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Harlequin SuperRomance author, Anna Sugden, loves reading and writing happy endings as much as hockey! When not reading or watching hockey, she loves football, good food & wine, making simple cross-stitch projects, and collecting memorabilia, penguins and fab shoes!

 

A former marketing executive and primary teacher, Anna lives in Cambridge, England, with her husband and two bossy black cats. Learn more about Anna, her heart-warming romances and her shoes at http://www.annasugden.com . You can also follow her on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/annasugden.romanceauthor) , Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/annasugden) Pinterest (http://www.pinterest.com/annasugden) and on the Romance Bandits blog (http://www.romancebandits.com)

Buy Links:

A Perfect Trade:

Amazon ~ Barnes&Noble ~ iBooks ~ The Book Depository

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Anna will award a $15 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter, as well as 3 signed copies of A Perfect Trade, 3 exclusive A Perfect Trade notebooks and 4 exclusive A Perfect Trade key rings to other randomly drawn winners (international giveaway).

Click on the rafflecopter below to enter.

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Follow the tour for more fun posts and remember to comment. The more you comment the more chances to win!

Follow the tour by clicking on the banner below.

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!

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