Archive for January, 2015

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Title: Son of Set

Author: Kelsey Ketch

Series: Descendants of Isis #2

Genre: Upper Young Adult Fantasy

Publication: May 2nd, 2014

“. . . the Sons would never just let him go—alive.”

Seth O’Keefe has broken the laws of his god. He never thought he would sacrifice his own future to protect a Daughter of Isis. But when the Sons of Set discovered Natti is the Secret Keeper, he had no choice. Now, Seth and Natti are on the run from his father, who wants nothing more than to see Seth dead. With no allies, Seth turns to the Daughters of Isis for help, hoping they would protect Natti. But when they meet the Daughters, he discovers a secret that puts both their lives in more danger. Low on options, Seth sees only one possibility for survival. He must help Natti solve an ancient puzzle and find the secret name of Ra.

Natara “Natti” Stone is having a hard time swallowing the truth. She can’t believe what she has learned in the past twenty-four hours: Seth is a Son of Set blessed with charm; she is a Daughter of Isis blessed with a sliver of Ma ‘at; the locket her grandmother gave her holds an ancient Egyptian secret linking to Osiris and Isis. That along with being tortured and brutalized by the Sons of Set, she can hardly hold herself together. Thank God for Seth’s touch! That warm, tingling sensation that drowns it all out. Yet her heart struggles to stay focused. She must quickly embrace her destiny before the secret name of Ra falls into the wrong hands.

*Note: Content for Upper YA*

Purchase

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Excerpt•

Natti awoke and sat bolt upright in the bed, gasping for breath. Her heart raced and a headache flared right between her temples. The nightmare seemed incredibly real, Sean’s eyes and the dagger ingrained in her mind’s eye. Looking around the little hotel room, she pulled the sheets closer to her chest. She felt cold and alone in the queen-size bed, which only heightened her lingering fears. Everything appeared ominous in the dark; the shadows seemed to slither along the walls. These hauntings were eating her alive from the inside out.
 
Her pulse pounding wildly, she glanced at the second bed. Seth’s chest rose and fell under the blankets. He looked so peaceful, and though the idea seemed wrong, she knew she would feel much safer curled up in Seth’s arms, like back in the hospital when her friend, Wanda, had been drugged. She pictured herself resting her head on his chest, his warmth easing her back to sleep.
 
She knew she shouldn’t for a number of reasons, the top being he had the reputation of sleeping with half the girls at Setemple High School. And if it was true he had a power as mind-bending as a drug, then those girls, most likely, weren’t doing it of their own free will. The thought sickened her, yet it didn’t deter her need for his comfort. Was she becoming addicted, just like he had said? The Ma’at feather or whatever “blessing” she had was supposed to protect her, but if it was, she couldn’t tell.
 
If I even have a “blessing” at all.
 
She pulled her knees up to her chest, wishing Seth had brought Anubis, the stuffed jackal he had given her at the Pharaoh’s Festival. It had become her most precious keepsake and a source of comfort when she felt lost and confused. She also wished Seth hadn’t surrendered the locket, which she never finished translating. At least that would have occupied her mind for a while as she tried to piece the family secret together. Except she already knew what the secret was, supposedly: the location of the secret name of Ra. And now it was in the hands of the cult Seth keeps referring to as the “Sons of Set” or the “Sons.”
 
The darkness seemed to continue to press in on Natti, making her restless. Wrestling with her conscience, she slipped out of her bed, lifted Seth’s covers, and crawled in. She was quiet and careful, trying not to wake him. Finally able to place her head on his pillow, she snuggled up next to him.
 
Her body jerked when his arm draped over her. “You have no idea how often I’ve dreamed of this moment,” Seth whispered in a drowsy voice.
He moved closer, slipping one arm under to support her head and shifting the other around her waist. His hand slid down her “Keep Calm and Carry On” nightshirt to massage her spine, his nimble fingers rotating in small circles over her skin. Natti snorted softly, secretly loving his touch and hating herself for it. The feel of his flesh was smooth as silk and every lean muscle flexed steadily while he moved his hand up behind her neck. Her body warmed, completely aware of every place their skin made contact. Thank the lord for her nightshirt and the Calvin Klein pajama bottoms Seth slept in. There was hardly any space between them, and yet, he managed to pull her even closer.
 
“So to what do I owe the pleasure?” Seth asked.
“I couldn’t sleep,” Natti breathed, her galloping heart drummed in her ears.
“Hmm.” A smile pulled at Seth’s perfect lips. “So you crawled in looking for some company?”
“Well, I would have stayed in my own bed, but you forgot to pack Anubis.”
A lagh rumbled in Seth’s throat. “What is it with girls and stuffed animals?”

“Oy, you gave him to me,” Natti shot back while slapping her hand against his chest. “And he’s been providing comfort when I need it ever since. But since you left him behind, you’ll just have to take his place.”

“I guess I can live with that.” Seth stroked the back of her neck, sending goose bumps over her skin.
The room was quiet. With no sight and no sound, Natti was only left with her heightened sense of touch and smell. She memorized Seth’s embrace; every little shift of his muscles and every little movement of his fingertips. The gentle heat that took her breath away slowly radiated through her system. She felt closer to Seth right now than she had ever felt with anyone in her life. Yet she hardly knew him. She knew who he was and even what he was, just nothing really about him. What music did he like? What kind of films did he watch? What was his favorite past time? Well, actually, she already had a sense what his answer would be to that last question just by knowing his reputation. Still, she wanted to know more. Rattling her brain for a conversation starter, she asked the simplest question she could think of.
“What’s your favorite color?”

He groaned in response and crinkled his brow. “Is that what it would have taken to get you into bed with me? Knowing my favorite color? We could have fixed that long ago.”

“No,” Natti hissed. “This is just a conversation. You know, something normal people do.”

“I know what a conversation is.” Seth’s perfect grin glistened in the dark. “There’s just other things I’d rather be doing in the middle of the night, like sleeping or . . .”

Natti’s cheeks burned when his hand moved south. “Bloody hell, Seth!” She pushed his hand back to the small of her back. “I’m talking about things like your favorite class subject, when your birthday is—”

“What’s my favorite color?” Seth mocked with a hidden smile, his exhaustion weighing in his voice.

“What about you? What’s your favorite color then?”

Taken aback by his abrupt turnaround, Natti sputtered her answer. “Red.”

“Hmm.” Seth fell silent, his eyelids drooping a bit. Natti shifted, thinking he had dozed off. She closed her eyes, his warmth gently pulling her into sleep.

“History. March fifteenth. Black,” Seth finally responded.

“Wait—What?” Natti jerked, now fully awake again.

“The answers to your questions.” Seth’s eyes opened, taking her in while they laid together in the dark. His hand skimmed her hair, pulling a lock toward him. “My favorite subject is history. My birthday is March fifteenth. And my favorite color is black, like the color of your hair.”

A smile pulled at Natti’s lips. “Is black even a color?”

“Hey, don’t knock it.” He paused, looking deep into her eyes. “I’ll admit, though, lately I’ve also become enamored with a unique shade of purple.”

Natti swallowed a lump forming in her throat. Seth leaned his forehead to hers, their noses touching. Even in the dark, his gaze captured her, drawing her full attention.

“You know how tempting it is to kiss you right now?” he said, an intense, fiery tingling sensation growing strong throughout her body.

Natti could barely speak as she melted into the sheets. She really wanted to kiss him. He was too tempting with his heat, his eyes, and the feel of his body conforming to hers.
A sudden flashback to the halls of Setemple High caused her to hold back and bite her lower lip. It had been her first kiss with Seth. The very thought of it still coursed fire through her veins. It had only been a distraction. A method he used to pickpocket her grandmother’s letter before abandoning her and leaving her in the hands of his friend, Ky.

“Don’t push it,” Natti mumbled. “Not after you used the last one to pinch from me.”

His eyes searched hers, his voice deep with pain. “You really don’t remember then.”

Natti tried to think of what he was referring to. “Remember what?”

Seth attempted a charming grin, but it faltered. “Never mind. It wasn’t important.”

He lightened his touch, withdrawing a bit. The sensations that were running rapid finally eased. She watched Seth’s expression fill with disappointment, making her wonder what she had forgotten that had been clearly special to him.

She slipped her hand along his well-formed abs and over his chest. She could feel him shiver. Goose bumps appeared over his skin. Her own body also reacted to the touch, her skin prickling with little sparks. She froze when he caught her gaze, desire shining in his eyes like a beacon in the night. Reality struck, and it struck hard. She wanted him too.

“Maybe I made a mistake.” Natti’s body quivered, and she moved back. What had she been thinking, crawling into a guy’s bed? In a freaking hotel no less! What kind of impression does that give? “I shouldn’t have come over here. I’m sorry.”

Seth strengthened his grip, his voice tight with emotion. “No. It’s fine. Stay.”
A strange calm replaced her abrupt urge to run. She looked at Seth, feeling the tingle of magic under her skin. She was scared. She stupidly crawled right into his element, and she knew in her heart she was too weak to resist any advance. His fingers reached up and stroked her cheek. With the warm breeze from his touch, her excitement and fear were whisked away, leaving her to feel only a bliss that affected her very being. She lowered her body back into Seth’s arms. Her muscles relaxed into his embrace. She gave into the power, unsure if she was staying of her own free will or if he was controlling her actions. Either way, it was too late. She had stepped into his web, just like the oracle at the Pharaoh Festival had warned. But maybe if she kept him talking, nothing ominous would come of it.

Natti’s voice came out flustered when she finally spoke. “We used to talk about you. My mates and I, that is. Back in school.”

Seth perked up. “Really? What about?”

“Oh.” Natti tried to be sly with her words while thinking about Jen, Kevin, and Wanda. She missed them all very much. Even more than some of her friends back in London. “Different things.”

Seth raised a brow and smiled. “Like how devilishly handsome and extremely charming I am?”

“Actually, we couldn’t decide if you were a vampire, a werewolf, or a fae.”

“Say what?” Seth jerked. “What plebs have you been talking to?”

Natti rolled her eyes. “Well, you can’t really blame us. With your looks and how you charm most of the teachers and students, Jen figured you had to be paranormal.”

“And what did you think? Did you think I was a vampire or a werewolf?”

“No. I only thought you were a spoiled rotten rich kid whose only charm was his father’s money.” A malicious grin spread on her lips. “And I still stand by it.”

Seth crinkled his nose, smiled, and shoved her back slightly. Natti burst into laughter; her first real laugh since the day of the fire. Her body released all its tension in one fell swoop. The high was addicting, her adrenalin soaring to new heights. Finally, as her body became weary and calmed, she could still hear Seth laughing beside her. A laugh that was as soothing as Big Ben chiming out the time, giving her a sense of home. Natti basked in the sound until Seth abruptly faded from sight and Sean’s cold eyes flashed before her. She gasped and pushed away as the icy cold emptiness burned her insides.“Natti.” She felt Seth pull at her waist. “Natti, stop!”


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About Kelsey
 

 

 

During her high school years,
Kelsey Ketch could always be found tucked away in a little corner of the hall
or classroom, writing her fantasy worlds and creating illustrations and maps.
Today is no different, except now she’s writing in the break room at her office
building or at the tables of the Barnes and Noble Café in Cary, North Carolina.
She is also an avid reader, a part-time book blogger at
Ketch’s Book Nook,
and lives with her two orange tabbies and awesome and humorous flat-mate.

For more information, please
visit her site at
kelseyketch.com.

 

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

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Giveaway

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Hosted by Good Choice Reading Blog Tours
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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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I’m so excited to share The Accidental Alchemist with you.

Come on in.

Read my review.

Meet the characters.

And enter the awesome giveaway!

 

The Accidental Alchemist
(An Accidental Alchemist Mystery)

First in Series
Paperback: 360 pages
Publisher: MIDNIGHT INK (January 8, 2015)
ISBN-10: 0738741841
ISBN-13: 978-0738741840

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My Review

There aren’t a lot of gargoyles books out there and most of those are about shifters. They can be human or gargoyle. This gargoyle is all gargoyle.

Zoe Faust has finally found a place to settle down, tired of her Airstream trailer and moving from place to place. Portland seems to touch something inside her. So she finds a fixer upper and moves into her new home.

Let me introduce you to Zoe. She’s an alchemist, specifically Spagyrics, plant alchemy, albeit a non practicing one now. She’s lived well over 300 years due to accidentally applying The Elixir of Life to herself. That’s why she has to move a lot, as she doesn’t really age, though she can die like normal people.

While unpacking in her new home she notices some things appear to have been broken and there’s a gargoyle statue clutching a book that she knows she didn’t put there.

When it moves, she’s startled to discover it’s a real living gargoyle. His name is Dorian Robert-Houdin and he’s French.

As the two are becoming acquainted they discover a spy. Brixton is a 14 year old neighbor boy who had to see who was moving into the old, supposedly haunted house. The pickle is, he heard and saw it all, so now a bargain must be struck to keep Dorian’s and Zoe’s secrets.

Things get more complicated when Zoe arrives home from a walk to discover her construction contractor dead by her porch. Working with herbs and plants, she smells the taint of poison but is hard pressed to say how she does when questioned by Detective Max Liu.

It becomes harder to keep secrets when she’s thrust into the murder investigation and another person falls victim to the poison, lingering in a coma.

Zoe will have to practice her alchemy again. Get up to speed quick. The killer must be stopped and Dorian’s book, Not True Alchemy, must be decoded to find some answers. Otherwise, more people will be poisoned, Dorian will slowly turn to stone and be trapped in that form for eternity.

Zoe won me over quickly. She’s sassy, smart, brave, loyal, and often inept. She gets herself into some funny situations and can laugh at herself. Her concern and caring for Dorian is so sweet. She’s become fond of him and his gourmet cooking. Yes, gargoyles can cook.

Her friendship and fostering of Brixton brings out the best in him. He’s well on his way to becoming a delinquent, and his new friends are a steady hand and guidance to help him find his way.

And something is just starting to ignite between Max Liu and Zoe Faust. They both feel stirrings of attraction, yet both are keeping some huge secrets.

There’s so much to entertain in this book.

The characters are well written. You’ll come to know them quickly.

The alchemy is very well researched and fascinating. I always thought it was magic but that’s really not so. It’s more of a practice, a trade.

The mystery keeps you guessing. The villain will catch you by surprise. And the suspense will make you crazy, worrying about everything and how it will get resolved.

And Kudos to the author for the cover art. It’s perfect for this story.

Also, check out the yummy recipes at the end. They sound delicious.

I urge you to read The Accidental Alchemist. And I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

5 Stars

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Synopsis

From USA Today bestselling author Gigi Pandian comes a modern tale of ancient intrigue.

Unpacking her belongings in her new hometown of Portland, Oregon, herbalist and reformed alchemist Zoe Faust can’t help but notice she’s picked up a stowaway. Dorian Robert-Houdin is a living, breathing three-and-a-half-foot gargoyle—not to mention a master of French cuisine—and he needs Zoe’s expertise to decipher a centuries-old text. Zoe, who’s trying to put her old life behind her, isn’t so sure she wants to reopen her alchemical past… until the dead man on her porch leaves her no choice.

Includes recipes!

Zoe is a fun character with a witty and great personality. This book will put a spell on you to keep reading until the end.
~Shelley’s Book Case

About This Author

Gigi Pandian b&w headshot 14 webres RGB

Gigi Pandian lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with an overgrown organic vegetable garden in her backyard. A cancer diagnosis in her 30s taught her two important life lessons: healing foods can taste amazing, and life’s too short to waste a single moment. Therefore she writes the Accidental Alchemist mystery series while drinking delectable green smoothies and eating decadent home-cooked meals. Gigi was awarded the Malice Domestic Grant for her debut mystery novel. She does not apologize for loving kale. Find her online at www.gigipandian.com.

Author Links:

Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Pinterest ~ Goodreads ~ Blog ~ Gargoyle photography blog

Purchase Links
Amazon B&N

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Tour Participants

January 8 – Shelley’s Book Case – Review, Giveaway – book

January 9 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too! – Guest Post, Giveaway – mug

January 10 – Libriamorimiei – Review

January 10 – Writers and Readers of Paranormal Mystery – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway – book

January 11 – Mystery Playground – Interview, Giveaway – mug

January 12 – fuonlyknew – Review, Giveaway- book

January 12 – Books-n-Kisses – Review, Giveaway – mug

January 13 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Review, Interview, Giveaway – book

January 13 – Queen of All She Reads – Review, Giveaway – mug

 

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Books and Mugs will be given away!

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here Find Details and Sign Up Today!

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My giveaway is for a print copy of this fun book!

Tour giveaway is US Only. Sorry to my International friends.

Entry is easy.

Leave you email address so I can contact you if you win and answer this question –

“Do you like gargoyles, and why?”

Giveaway ends January 17th.

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

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

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This is my own version of a weekly book haul and all things new on fuonlyknew.

Another fun way to share your book news and enjoy others is The Sunday Post hosted by

Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Head on over and leave a link to your Sunday Post and hop around to visits others.

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It’s been a strange week for me. Nothing stands out but I just felt off.

Maybe it’s the post holiday blues.

One thing that’s helped is reading. A lot of it. I’m into so many different genres right now and found some new authors to follow. I’ve also picked up some new Netgalleys.

There’s something that I’ve been curious about. How do you choose the books you purchase? I mean besides already having read the author.

Do you go by the reviews? If so, do you focus mainly on the 4 and 5 star ones? Or do you like a mixed bag of good and bad ones?

What catches your attention first? Is it the title? The cover art?

Just wondering:)

I’ll be hopping over to check out your Sunday posts so be sure to leave me your link!

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Here are my new books for review.

You can click on the covers to check them out on Goodreads.

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New ones just for me!

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And here are some freebies for ya!

Click on the covers to get yours and remember to make sure they’re still free before you click that buy button.

   

   

   

   

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Books I reviewed this week.

Click on the covers for my reviews.

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Books I’ll be reviewing next week.

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What I won.

865561  Angels Sing

I won the book and the movie from a giveaway on Candace’s Books Blog.

Thanks so much Candace!

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I won a print copy from YA Reads Book Tours.

Thanks so much Nichole and thank you Author Rachel Deagan.

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I won print copies of these fun cozies from the Small Town Christmas giveaway on Stuck In Books.

Thanks so much Valerie!

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I won this eBook from David Englund’s tour  giveaway.

Thanks so much David!

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Other Posts this week.

It’s Zombie Month! Could this be the year they rise?

My 2015 Reading Challenges

Teaser Tuesdays #94 ~ AWOL

Outsider ~ The Flawed Series #2 ~ Release week Sale, Review, and Giveaway

A Trilogy of Horror ~ Just keep running…running…running…

The Devil’s Tombstone ~ Release Event and Giveaway

There’s more than one way to crash ~ Crashers Super Book Blast

Kill ‘Em With Cayenne ~ Piper is at it again! Tour Review and Giveaway

The Friday 56 #47 ~ Dinosaur Lake III : Infestation

Month 9 Books ~ Spring Debuts Blitz and Giveaway

AWOL : A Character Lost by Anthony Renfro

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Have you joined TSU yet?

Click on the widget to friend and follow me!

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For all of my 2014 reviews go HERE

For a list of free books go HERE

For all of my giveaways go HERE

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So, what did you get to read this week?

Got any recommendations?

I’d love to know and thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew.

Anthony Renfro has a new book!

AWOL

A Character Lost

You can read it for free on Screwpulp.

I’ve read his Zombie Holiday Trilology and loved it.

And I’m now working through his other stories.

Come on in.

Check out AWOL.

A Character Lost.

 

AWOL.

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.My Review
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The story begins when the character finds himself in a dark, empty room. Not knowing how he got there, who he is, or where he is, he finally gets the courage to call out for help.

He’s answered, but not by a voice. Words light up on a wall. It’s worse than he imagined.

He’s a character in a book and it appears he’s wandered out of his story and ended up in the room. The author writes his answers and they appear on the wall.

The really bad thing is, the author didn’t write any notes and has no idea which story the character came from, so he needs his help.

This is a story of show and tell and the author guides the character, instructing him and supplying him with scant info on what he should do.

The room has ten doors, each labeled. The character must go through each door in order to find his home story. The author cautions him before entering that what lies behind each door could kill him and he’s not sure if the character will really die or return to the room. It’s an enter at your own risk thing and the character has no choice.

The character approaches the first door labeled Zombies and dives in, as did I.

After the first adventure I didn’t blame the characters hesitancy to go through another. Yet he must and he does. This continues through several more and I was with the character when he got good and mad at the author.

Between each new door, the character returns to the empty room, learns more from the author and goes through the next door. These interludes between each chapter are labeled Interlude.

He encounters many other characters in each story. After a while he learns not to become attached to them. The author’s monsters dispatch them in horrendous fashion.

As for the monsters, the character runs into some werewolves like nothing you could imagine. The werewolves are 8 feet tall, six feet long, with red eyes like lamps and drooling acid. Must not forget the tail of a scorpion that electrocutes you.

The vampires are brown and black spotted things riding black horses. Their eyes gleam yellow, they have no hair and only two fangs, no other teeth. And they have these really wicked whips.

There’s serial killers and these really gross wormy snake things, aliens, and many others. All of them are out to get ya too.

While you know the character goes through all ten doors, otherwise there wouldn’t be that many chapters, that doesn’t mean he finds his home story. It doesn’t mean he survives. The author gives no guarantees.

Half way through, the character is fed up, yet he continues. He must and the author needs him to. Otherwise the character will languish in the room and so will the story.

What kind of author doesn’t keep notes? And what’s with the stories? All of them are horrific. Is the author lying? Does he know which door will lead the character to his home story? Is that what the story really is, him having to jump through the hoops? If so, the author must be a sadist.

Unlike anything I’ve ever read before, the author pulled out all the stops. Monsters beyond imagination. A character lost and guided by his author. An author, frustrated at his own lack of foresight.

This is Anthony Renfro’s best work yet!

5 Stars

Blurb

Imagine that you are a character in a story.

You have a home.

You have a life.

You have it all.

Then suddenly you wake up alone and afraid in a cold, dark place. Somehow you find your courage and your voice. When you ask for help, words light up on a wall in the darkness. You read them and realize you are in the creative center of your author’s mind. Instead of rescuing you, the author asks you for help.

This book is about the journey of that character, as he moves from story to story desperately trying to find his home.

Free Examples:

http://books.noisetrade.com/atothewr/awol-a-character-lost

http://dummy.pressbooks.com/

http://www.wattpad.com/story/27332743-awol-a-character-lost-the-first-two-chapters

Find the novel AWOL here:

Smashwords: 

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/498137

Amazon:

Paperback:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/150533277X

EBook:

US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QJ8DE14

UK: http://buff.ly/1FUrawb

Australia: http://buff.ly/1FUrElX

Canada: http://buff.ly/1vRX4q8

*****

For Free and in MOBI, EPUB, and PDF Files

Screwpulp:

https://www.screwpulp.com/?browse&*=info&id=180

About Screwpulp

Screwpulp has created a new ebook marketplace that gives authors a better way to reach an audience and earn more revenue. We are at the forefront of a publishing renaissance. Not since the screw press has there been so much change in the industry. Change in the way we write, change in the way we read, change in the way we acquire books; what hasn’t changed is the way that many publishers feel that they are the sole guardians at the gate. Thousands of great books are only in existence thanks to authors who had the courage to keep pushing, after tens, hundreds, of rejection letters. What good is writing the next great novel if nobody gets to read it? We created Screwpulp to get books into the hands of readers and let their voices be heard. Everybody has a voice, the author wants to be heard, and if the reader likes it they’ll want to tell their friends.

How Screwpulp works

At Screwpulp, we publish everybody. By giving away the initial copies of the book for free, in exchange for a mention on social media and a star rating, we quickly get your book into the hands of readers. This builds a fan base for the author quickly and this exchange creates buzz around your work. As demand for the book goes up so does the price in one dollar increments. Now new readers have a rating system to show the quality of the work before anyone buys it. Authors keep all of the rights to their works and retain 75 percent of the profit. The only thing we ask of the author is to keep their book on Screwpulp for a minimum of ninety days. We are partnering with different organizations to help authors with cover design, editing and formatting. We will unveil more tools over time.

About our name

Screwpulp? How did you get the name? We get asked this question a lot, so let us explain. The screw press was the first printing method that allowed for books to be made with moveable type in mass. Now that we’re in the digital age, the move away from paper, or pulp, is becoming the new normal. A merging of these two ideas led us to the name we have today, Screwpulp.

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Author Anthony Renfro

Anthony Renfro

Anthony Renfro lives in Apex, North Carolina. He is a reader, writer, runner, husband, father, and stay at home dad – one of the toughest jobs anyone could ever do. He was born in Bristol, Tennessee, and is a graduate of UNC-Greensboro.

You can find him at many spots on the web, but if you really need to find his center in the social media storm it would be at his blog, apoetryjourney.wordpress.com.

Now reach out, just beyond the light, right into that big black space, and let him take your hand on a journey into cold dark places. You will be scared, and you may even be terrified, but in the end you might just find you liked the ride.

Find him on:

Blog ~ Amazon ~ Goodreads

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Follow and visit the other tour stops.

January 5th Michelle Proulx (http://michelleproulx.com/)
January 6th Emily Guido (http://emilyguido.com/)
January 7th Beckisbookblog (https://beckisbookblog.wordpress.com/)
January 8th Kim Tranquil Dreams (https://klling.wordpress.com/)
January 9th Chris Graham (http://thestoryreadingapeblog.com/)
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You find find my reviews of the authors other books by visiting my reviews page at the top of my blog.
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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew

M9B-Friday-Reveal

Hello everyone! Welcome to the Month9Books Spring 2015 Debuts Blitz!

These upcoming M9B books will be ones that you’ll definitely want to add to your TBR list!

You can enter for a chance to win 1 of 4 prize packs of eBooks open Internationally.

Horror Business by Ryan Bradford
Coming February 2015

 

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Armed with a passion for classic B-grade horror movies, a script co-written by his twin brother, and a wicked crush on his death-obsessed neighbor; hardcore horror fan Jason Nightshade must finish his student film.

But his plans are derailed when the children of suburban Silver Creek start disappearing – his twin brother among them. Battling a possessed video camera, a crazy zombie dog, a monstrous bully, and a frighteningly broken down family life, Jason embarks on a mission to find his lost brother so the two can write an ending for his story.

As an any horror fan knows, saving the day won’t be easy, as Jason finds himself forced to face the real world where death isn’t just a splash of fake blood on a camera lens.

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Ryan grew up in Park City, Utah. His fiction has appeared in Quarterly West, Paper Darts, Vice, Monkeybicycle and [PANK]. He currently lives in San Diego where he acts as Creative Director for the nonprofit literary arts organization So Say We All. He’s the co-editor of the anthology Last Night on Earth and founder of the literary horror journal, Black Candies. Find him at ryancbradford.com

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Fingers in the Mist by O’Dell Hutchison
Coming February 2015

 

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Sixteen-year-old Caitlyn Foster never believed in the legend of the Redeemers. That was before the trees started to whisper her name. Before a murder of crows attacked the town. Before she and her family came home to find a bloody handprint on their front door, marking one of them as a sacrifice. As Caitlyn’s friends are ripped from their homes, she knows it’s only a matter of time before the Redeemers come for her. Caitlyn has the power to stop the terror, but she’ll have to decide if she’s willing to sacrifice herself to save those she loves.

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O’Dell was born in a small rural town in Idaho. There were no Redeemers living there (that he knows of). After attending college in the Pacific Northwest, he found his way to the Houston area. By day, he is a Business Systems Analyst and at night you can either find him sitting at home, dreaming of random super powers he wishes he had, or directing plays and musicals at various theaters around Houston.

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Lucas Mackenzie and the London Midnight Ghost Show by Steve Bryant
Coming February 24, 2015

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Lucas Mackenzie has got the best job of any 10 year old boy. He travels from city-to-city as part of the London Midnight Ghost Show, scaring unsuspecting show-goers year round. Performing comes naturally to Lucas and the rest of the troupe, who’ve been doing it for as long as Lucas can remember.

But there’s something Lucas doesn’t know.

Like the rest of Luca’s friends, he’s dead. And for some reason, Lucas can’t remember his former life, his parents or friends. Did he go to school? Have a dog? Brothers and sisters?
If only he could recall his former life, maybe even reach out to his parents, haunt them.

When a ghost hunter determines to shut the show down, Lucas realizes the life he has might soon be over. And without a connection to his family, he will have nothing. There’s little time and Lucas has much to do. Can he win the love of Columbine, the show’s enchanting fifteen-year-old mystic? Can he outwit the forces of life and death that thwart his efforts to find his family?

Keep the lights on! Lucas Mackenzie’s coming to town.

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Purchase HERE!

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Steve Bryant is a new novelist, but a veteran author of books of card tricks. He founded a 40+ page monthly internet magazine for magicians containing news, reviews, magic tricks, humor, and fiction; and he frequently contributes biographical cover articles to the country’s two leading magic journals (his most recent article was about the séance at Hollywood’s Magic Castle).

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The Perilous Journey of the not so Innocuous Girl by Leigh Statham
Coming March 17, 2015

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Lady Marguerite lives a life most 17th century French girls can only dream of: money, designer dresses, suitors and a secure future. Except she suspects she may be falling for her best friend Claude, a common smithie in the family’s steam forge. When Claude leaves for New France in search of a better life, Marguerite decides to follow him and test her suspicions of love. But the trip proves more harrowing than she had anticipated, revealing secrets and testing her strength as well as her heart. Love, adventure and restitution await her in Canada, but only if she can survive the voyage.

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Leigh Statham was raised in the wilds of rural Idaho, but found her heart in New York City. She worked as a waitress, maid, artist, math teacher, nurse, web designer, art director, thirty-foot inflatable pig and mule wrangler before she settled down in the semi-quiet role of wife, mother and writer. She resides in North Carolina with her husband, four children, five chickens and two suspected serial killer cats. If the air is cool and the sun is just coming up over the horizon, you can find her running the streets of her small town, plotting her next novel with the sort of intensity that will one day get her hit by a car.

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I Heart Robot by Suzanne Van Rooyen
Coming March 31, 2015

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Sixteen-year-old Tyri wants to be a musician and wants to be with someone who won’t belittle her musical aspirations.

Q-I-99 aka ‘Quinn’ lives in a scrap metal sanctuary with other rogue droids. While some use violence to make their voices heard, demanding equal rights for AI enhanced robots, Quinn just wants a moment on stage with his violin to show the humans that androids like him have more to offer than their processing power.

Tyri and Quinn’s worlds collide when they’re accepted by the Baldur Junior Philharmonic Orchestra. As the rift between robots and humans deepens, Tyri and Quinn’s love of music brings them closer together, making Tyri question where her loyalties lie and Quinn question his place in the world. With the city on the brink of civil war, Tyri and Quinn make a shocking discovery that turns their world inside out. Will their passion for music be enough to hold them together while everything else crumbles down around them, or will the truth of who they are tear them apart?

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Suzanne is a tattooed storyteller from South Africa. She currently lives in Finland and finds the cold, dark forests nothing if not inspiring. Although she has a Master’s degree in music, Suzanne prefers conjuring strange worlds and creating quirky characters. When not writing, she teaches dance and music to middle schoolers and entertains her shiba inu, Lego. Suzanne is represented by Jordy Albert of the Booker Albert Agency.

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Where the Staircase Ends by Stacy Stokes
Coming April 2015

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After her best friend orchestrates the lie that destroys her reputation, Taylor wants more than anything to disappear from her life. But when an accident turns this unspoken wish into reality, instead of an angel-filled afterlife, Taylor must climb a seemingly endless staircase into the sky.

Instead of going up, the journey plunges her into the past. As she unravels the mystery behind her friend’s betrayal, she must face the truth about life and find the strength to forgive the unforgivable — unless the staircase breaks her first.

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Stacy grew up in Dallas, TX, but has lived all over. After spending time in Austin, Chicago, New York and Philadelphia, she is happy to call San Francisco her home, where she lives with her husband. When she’s not bringing the voices in her head to life, she’s working as a brand and marketing professional in the consumer products industry. She has a slight obsession with puns (they are, in her opinion, the highest form of humor), which might be linked to the three years she spent studying improv comedy at Chicago’s Second City and IO theaters. She holds a BBA from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from The Wharton School of Business. WHERE THE STAIRCASE ENDS is her debut novel.

Nobody’s Goddess by Amy McNulty
Coming April 21, 2015

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In a village of masked men, each loves only one woman and must follow the commands of his “goddess” without question. A woman may reject the only man who will love her if she pleases, but she will be alone forever. And a man must stay masked until his goddess returns his love—and if she can’t or won’t, he remains masked forever.

Where the rest of her village celebrates this mystery that binds men and women together, seventeen year old Noll is just done with it. She’s lost all her childhood friends as they’ve paired off, but the worst blow was when her closest companion, Jurij, finds his goddess in Noll’s own sister. Desperate to find a way to break this ancient spell, Noll instead discovers why no man has ever loved her: she is in fact the goddess of the mysterious lord of the village, a Byronic man who refuses to let Noll have her right as a woman to spurn him and who has the power to fight the curse. Thus begins a dangerous game between the two: the choice of woman versus the magic of man. And the stakes are no less than freedom and happiness, life and death—and neither Noll nor the veiled man is willing to lose.

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Amy McNulty is a freelance writer and editor from Wisconsin with an honors degree in English. She was first published in a national scholarly journal (The Concord Review) while in high school and currently spends her days alternatively writing on business and marketing topics and primarily crafting stories with dastardly villains and antiheroes set in fantastical medieval settings.

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The Artisans by Julie Reece
Coming May 19, 2015

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They say death can be beautiful. But after the death of her mother, seventeen-year-old Raven Weathersby gives up her dream of becoming a fashion designer, barely surviving life in the South Carolina lowlands.

To make ends meet, Raven works after school as a seamstress creating stunning works of fashion that often rival the great names of the day.

Instead of making things easier on the high school senior, her stepdad’s drinking leads to a run in with the highly reclusive heir to the Maddox family fortune, Gideon Maddox.

But Raven’s stepdad’s drying out and in no condition to attend the meeting with Maddox. So Raven volunteers to take his place and offers to repay the debt in order to keep the only father she’s ever known out of jail, or worse.

Gideon Maddox agrees, outlining an outrageous demand: Raven must live in his home for a year while she designs for Maddox Industries’ clothing line, signing over her creative rights.

Her handsome young captor is arrogant and infuriating to the nth degree, and Raven can’t imagine working for him, let alone sharing the same space for more than five minutes.

But nothing is ever as it seems. Is Gideon Maddox the monster the world believes him to be? And can he stand to let the young seamstress see him as he really is?

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Born in Ohio, I lived next to my grandfather’s horse farm until the fourth grade. Summers were about riding, fishing and make-believe, while winter brought sledding and ice-skating on frozen ponds. Most of life was magical, but not all.

I struggled with multiple learning disabilities, did not excel in school. I spent much of my time looking out windows and daydreaming. In the fourth grade (with the help of one very nice teacher) I fought dyslexia for my right to read, like a prince fights a dragon in order to free the princess locked in a tower, and I won.

Afterwards, I read like a fiend. I invented stories where I could be the princess… or a gifted heroine from another world who kicked bad guy butt to win the heart of a charismatic hero. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that? Later, I moved to Florida where I continued to fantasize about superpowers and monsters, fabricating stories (my mother called it lying) and sharing them with my friends.

Then I thought I’d write one down…

Hooked, I’ve been writing ever since. I write historical, contemporary, urban fantasy, adventure, and young adult romances. I love strong heroines, sweeping tales of mystery and epic adventure… which must include a really hot guy. My writing is proof you can work hard to overcome any obstacle. Don’t give up. I say, if you write, write on!

Summer Of The Oak Moon by Laura Templeton
Coming May 5, 2015

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Rejected by the exclusive women’s college she has her heart set on, Tess Seibert dreads the hot, aimless summer ahead. But when a chance encounter with a snake introduces her to Jacob Lane, a black college student home on his summer break, a relationship blooms that challenges the prejudices of her small, north Florida town.

When Jacob confesses that Tess’s uncle is trying to steal his family’s land, Tess comes face to face with the hatred that simmers just below the surface of the bay and marshes she’s loved since birth. With the help of her mentor Lulu, an herbal healer, Tess pieces together clues to the mysterious disappearance of Jacob’s father twenty-two years earlier and uncovers family secrets that shatter her connection to the land she loves.

Tess and Jacob’s bond puts them both in peril, and discontent eventually erupts into violence. Tess is forced to make a decision. Can she right old wrongs and salvage their love? Or will prejudice and hatred kill any chance she and Jacob might have had?

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Laura Templeton lives near Athens, Georgia, with her husband, son, and a menagerie of animals. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, gardening, ice skating with her family, and taking long walks on the quiet country roads near her home. Her previous novel, Something Yellow, was released in 2013 and is set in one her favorite places – the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

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Vessel by Lisa Cresswell
Coming May 26, 2015

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The sun exploded on April 18, 2112. It exploded in a Class X solar storm the likes of which humankind had never seen.

They had nineteen minutes.

Nineteen minutes until the geomagnetic wave washed over the Earth, frying every electrical device created by humans, blacking out entire continents, every satellite in their sky.

Nineteen minutes to say goodbye to the world they knew, forever, and to prepare for a new Earth, a new Sun.

Generations after solar storms have destroyed nearly all human technology on Earth and humans have reverted to a middle ages like existence, all knowledge of the remaining technology is kept hidden by a privileged few called the Reticents and books are burned as heresy.

Alana, a disfigured slave girl, and Recks, a traveling minstrel and sometimes-thief, join forces to bring knowledge and books back to the human race. But when Alana is chosen against her will to be the Vessel, the living repository for all human knowledge, she must find the strength to be what the world needs.

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Lisa, like most writers, began scribbling silly notes, stories, and poems at a very young age. Born in North Carolina, the South proved fertile ground to her imagination with its beautiful white sand beaches and red earth. In fifth grade, she wrote, directed and starred in a play “The Queen of the Nile” at school, despite the fact that she is decidedly un-Egyptian looking. Perhaps that’s why she went on to become a real life archaeologist? Unexpectedly transplanted to Idaho as a teenager, Lisa learned to love the desert and the wide open skies out West. This is where her interest in cultures, both ancient and living, really took root, and she became a Great Basin archaeologist. However, the itch to write never did leave for long. Her first books became the middle grade fantasy trilogy, The Storyteller Series. Her first traditionally published work, Hush Puppy, is coming soon from Featherweight Press. Lisa currently lives and writes in Idaho with her family and a menagerie of furry critters that includes way too many llamas! You can visit her website at www.lisatcresswell.com

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Chapter-by-Chapter-header---Giveaway

  • Three (3) winners will receive eBook prize packs of 5 Month9Books of your choice, upon their release (INT)
  • One (1) winner will receive all these titles, upon their release (INT)

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Welcome to The Friday 56 hosted by Freda’s Voice.

 

This is a really fun meme!

The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader and find a sentence or a few (no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Then go over to Freda’s Voice and leave your link so we can visit your 56!

My 56 for this week is from

Dinosaur Lake III

Infestation

by Kathryn Meyer Griffith

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My 56

 “Chief Chapman, I heard from Ranger Shore about what happened here. Can you give me any more specific information? How large were the dinosaurs, how many? How have people described them?”

The police officer glared at him. “There are NO dinosaurs in my town, Dr. Maltin. I told your father-in-law the same thing. It was straight line winds, a tornado or something. An earthquake. Some people have way too much imagination, that’s all. 

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Synopsis

Chief Park Ranger Henry Shore has dealt with and fought real live dinosaurs at his beloved Crater Lake National Park for over six years. With the help of his rangers, a few brave FBI friends and army soldiers he’d been victorious over a prehistoric lake creature and years later some particularly fiendish, and clever, specimens of the flying variety. He and his newspaper publisher wife, Ann, thought their park was finally rid of the monsters and they could reclaim their tranquil life in a place they cherished. Not so. For suddenly across the park new and even more malevolent mutant species of dinosaur begin to appear and create havoc, attacking the park’s visitors and threatening its peace. And this time the primeval scourge isn’t confined to just their park. The creatures have moved into the nearby towns, across the western United States and up into Canada. They are so much more aggressive, smarter and hungrier than any that have come before and the infestation is spreading further and faster than Henry and Ann can even imagine. This time there’s no easy way to defeat the dinosaurs. There’s too many of them and they’re too devious. This time it’s full out war and the victor will someday claim Earth.

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

Leave your link and I’ll drop by your 56.

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More fun with Piper Prescott and the gang from Brandywine Creek

I read the first book, Rosemary and Crime, and really enjoyed it. I’ve included my review further into this post.

Now, I’m ready to see what the gang has been up to in Kill ’em with Cayenne.

Please, enjoy my review.

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

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Kill ‘Em with Cayenne
(Spice Shop Mystery Series)

2nd in Series
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books (December 16, 2014)
ISBN-13: 978-1250011053

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My Review

I really enjoyed Rosemary & Crime, the first book in the Spice Shop Mystery Series so I knew I had to return to Brandwine Creek and see what Piper Prescott and her gang were up to now.

Piper’s been very busy at her shop, Spice It Up, and now she’ll be even busier. It’s time for the yearly Brandywine Creek BBQ Festival and the town will be filled with strangers coming to compete.  Many of the locals will be competing too.

You can sense trouble brewing when Becca and Maybelle both enter the contest. These too have no fondness for each other and have been bitter enemies since back in middle school.

Trouble boils over when Becca is found dead and Maybelle becomes suspect number 1.

There are many things I look for in a cozy mystery. A fun title. Colorful cover art. Loveable, laughable characters. A well developed location for the story. A dastardly, elusive villain. And sweet, teasing romance.

I wasn’t disappointed with this book.

Kill ’em with Cayenne. How could I resist that title and it connects to Piper and her shop, Spice It Up.

The cover art is simple, yet charming and I’m wondering if the spilled spice represents the murder. Quite creative. I’d pick it up if I happened to spot it on a shelf.

The characters are many, with colorful names, and their personalities are easily distinguished. You have the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The villain is not who you’d expect so the mystery is sustained til the end.

The town of Brandywine Creek is just what you’d expect in a small town. I live in one and felt quite at home. We have a lot of festivals and BBQ and chili cook offs are huge here in the south.

The romance is sweet and just becoming teasing. I do wonder whether Piper and Sheriff Wyatt McBride will spice it up in the next book.

This is a cozy mystery series for all fans of the genre. You’ll love the characters, boo the villain, and become enchanted with the colorful town. It’s all good, clean fun. And there are some yummy recipes included at the end of this book that you might want to try for yourself.

4 Stars

If you found this review helpful, please like it on Amazon HERE.

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Synopsis

A brand new finger-lickin’ good mystery featuring small-town Georgia spice shop owner Piper Prescott, a smart and spunky amateur sleuth…

Spices are flying off the shelves of Spice It Up!, and Piper Prescott couldn’t be happier. It’s that time of year again—time for the annual Brandywine Creek Barbecue Festival. Soon contestants and BBQ aficionados from all over the Southeast will converge on the town. Many of Brandywine Creek’s citizens plan to participate in the week-long festivities and are busily concocting savory rubs and sassy sauces. Among the locals vying for the grand prize are Becca Dapkins and Maybelle Humphries. The women have been arch enemies ever since Buzz Oliver dumped Maybelle after a thirteen-year courtship and started seeing Becca.

When Becca’s body is found near one of the festival booths, bludgeoned by a brisket, Maybelle becomes one of Chief Wyatt McBride’s top suspects. Determined to help clear her friend’s name, Piper begins her own investigation, much to McBride’s consternation. As the festival draws closer, will Piper and Reba Mae be able to find the real killer and clear Maybelle’s name? Will Piper make it to the annual shag contest with Doug Winters, the mild-mannered vet she’s been seeing? And, who will win the BBQ cook-off?

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About This Author

Friends accuse Gail Oust of flunking retirement.  While working as a nurse/vascular technologist, Gail penned nine historical romances under the pseudonym of Elizabeth Turner.  It wasn’t until after she and her husband retired to South Carolina that inspiration struck for a mystery.  Hearing the words “maybe it’s a dead body” while golfing with friends fired her imagination for the Bunco Babe Mystery series published by NAL.  Gail is currently writing the Spice Shop Mysteries published by Minotaur/St. Martin’s Press.  Kill ‘em with Cayenne, the second in the series, was released December 2014.  Her interests include reading, travel, golf, and spending time with friends and family.

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Links:  www.gailoust.com, Gail Oust Author on Facebook, and Goodreads.

Purchase Links
Amazon B&N Book Depository

 

First Book in Series

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My Review

Fresh out of a divorce, Piper decides to go into business for herself, opening a spice shop. When Mario, the chef who was supposed to do a cooking demonstration for her grand opening is murdered, Piper becomes the prime suspect.

She discovered the body. She handled the murder weapon. And she was seen arguing with the victim earlier.

The fun begins when Piper and her best friend Reba Mae, a delightfully colorful gal, decide to do their own sleuthing. They are caught doing a stake out by the hunky Chief of Police, Wyatt.

I’m all for character driven stories. These characters are all flawed, all trying to make their way. This leads to lots of hi-jinx and laughs.

Piper is down to earth but also vulnerable. CJ, her jerk of a husband, dumped her for a woman almost as young as her daughter. Starting over at middle age is never easy and she has to contend with a daughter who is acting out, her butinsky ex, and a sexy policeman, while trying to prove her innocence and get her new business off the ground.

The author sets the stage, introduces her characters, drops in the crime, and sets you off to read and discover the clues, while adding in a budding romance and some very believable life situations.

Trying to solve this mystery was vexing. Each time I thought I had my suspect, I was wrong and had to continue sorting out the clues.

When I reached the end it was just what I wanted.

Anyone looking for a new cozy mystery series with an easy flowing writing style, colorful characters, and a crime to solve, should give Rosemary and Crime a go.

4 Stars

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Crashers banner

I like it when the title of a book can have more than one tie to the story inside.

Come on in and see what I mean.

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway to win an autographed copy!

Crashers

by Lindy S. Hudis

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BLURB:

 

Fraudulent car accidents is a multi-million dollar racket, involving unscrupulous medical providers, personal injury attorneys, and the cooperating passengers involved in the accidents and who also receive a portion of the illegal proceeds. Such is the fate of newly engaged, Nathan and Shari, whose joy is tempered by the dark cloud of mounting debt. A chance encounter with a stranger in whom Shari confides her troubles, proves fortuitous: he tells her of a get-rich-quick scheme that will put her and her fiance on easy street. Seduced by the chance to move from hard times to good times in no time, she finds herself acting as a stuffed passenger the victim in a staged auto accident. Shari gets her payday, but getting out and breaking free of the insurance fraud underworld will take nothing short of a miracle. A modern day cautionary tale that uncovers how the innocent get lured into the scheme of cappers and hammers.

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Excerpt

 

As the blare of the clock radio on the night table jolted her awake, Shari Barnes rubbed her eyes, blew her long brown hair out of her face, and snuggled into Nathan Townsend’s chest. She curled her body around his middle and took a deep whiff of his salty, masculine neck.

But she couldn’t ignore the voice on the radio.

“Monday morning traffic,” she sighed.

Nathan matched the sigh and put his arms around her. “At least you don’t have to drive over the hill.”

“Yeah, I would just die if I had to drive into Beverly Hills every day to work in a beautiful office.”

Shari giggled and disappeared under their thick blue comforter for a few more moments of sleepy-headed bliss. She felt Nathan stretch up, and a moment later the radio shut off. Then he slid down next to her in the single bed they shared in their Studio City apartment, a few blocks north of Ventura Boulevard. The constant drone and rumble of another L.A. morning came clearly through the open window: cars honking, rock music blaring, the frantic scurrying sounds of the film shoot a few blocks away. Shari ran her bare feet up the inside of Nathan’s thigh.

He jumped. “Shit, your feet are cold.” He pushed her legs off of him.

“What time is it?” she murmured between kisses.

“Um, seven.” He nuzzled her neck and she felt him becoming erect against her.

“No time for that!” She threw off the covers. “Gotta be at work on time for once; gotta get my asp out of bed.”

“There’s a snake in the bed?” Nathan grabbed her with both hands and gave her belly gentle nips.

“Yeah, of the one-eyed variety.”

Shari leaped to the floor and padded naked into the bathroom. She turned the hot water in the shower to high and stepped in, filling the small bathroom with steam.

She had just poured a green drop of shampoo into her palm and was running her hands together when the flimsy yellow and white shower curtain flew back and Nathan grinned in at her. She smiled back, surprised by neither his arrival nor the partial hard-on that preceded him.

“Mind if we join you?” he asked.

“There’s enough shampoo for everybody,” Shari said as she rubbed her hands across her scalp.

He stepped into the stall, pulled the curtain closed and began to lather her hair for her. She put her hands on his back, feeling the taut muscles and the water streaming there, but did not reach down between them. It took him about five seconds to realize it and hold her away.

“You okay?”

“Fine….”

“Don’t lie; I can always tell when you have something on your mind.”

“You know me better than I know me,” she said.

“You know it.” He pushed her wet hair over her shoulders. “Come on, give.”

“I was thinking maybe I should get a second job.”

“You’re worrying about money again?”

“Well, I have to shoot my student thesis film this year or I won’t graduate. But where am I going to get the money I need?”

“How much do you need?”

“At least five figures.”

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 Crashers author

 

 

Lindy S. Hudis is a graduate of New York University, where she studied drama at Tisch School of the Arts. She is the author of several titles, including her romance suspense novel, Weekends, her “Hollywood” story City of Toys, and her crime novel, Crashers. She is also the author of an erotic short story series, “The S&M Club” and “The Mile High Club”. Her short film “The Lesson” was screened at the Seattle Underground Film Festival and Cine-Nights in 2000. She is also an actress, having appeared in the television daytime drama “Sunset Beach”. She and her husband, Hollywood stuntman Stephen Hudis, have formed their own production company called Impact Motion Pictures, and have several projects and screenplays in development. She lives in California with her husband and two children.

Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Website ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon

 

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An autographed copy of Crashers

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devils
Today we are celebrating the release of The Devil’s Tombstone by Carolyn J. Rose, A Catskills Mountains Mystery. This is the third book in this mystery series and just released December 21st.
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About the Book:
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The Devil's Tombstone

The Catskill Mountains are rich in folklore, legends, and tales of the supernatural. Once guided by ghosts, Dan Stone doesn’t disbelieve what can’t be explained. And there’s no logical reason for the patch of blighted ground beside a boulder near Hemlock Lake . Known as the Devil’s Tombstone , the rock marks the spot where, two centuries earlier, a man murdered his young wife and then disappeared.

As a part-time investigator assigned to cold cases, Dan is troubled by more recent deaths and disappearances. Reviewing files dating back two decades, he sets out to discover new leads. But it’s slow going. A massive snowstorm socks the mountains. Dan’s infant son disrupts his sleep. And dynamic preacher Wesley Falton pitches his revival tent, challenging Hemlock Lake traditions and the spiritual leadership of Reverend James Balforth.As Dan digs deeper into the past, he suspects his cold cases are linked to a fresh murder. When hard evidence eludes him, he appeals for help from beyond the grave. As he does, he wonders whether ghosts make their presence felt because we believe in them, or because they believe in us.

The answer may lie at the Devil’s Tombstone.

Purchase at Amazon.

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About the Author:

DSC_1223Carolyn J. Rose grew up in New York’s Catskill Mountains, graduated from the University of Arizona, logged two years in Arkansas with Volunteers in Service to America, and spent 25 years as a television news researcher, writer, producer, and assignment editor in Arkansas, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. She lives in Vancouver, Washington, and her interests are reading, gardening, swimming, and NOT cooking. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.deadlyduomysteries.com
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Make sure to check out the first two books!

Hemlock Lake

Amazon

Through a Yellow Wood for Smashwords

Amazon

 

Join us for a live event!
If you live in the PNW (Portland Oregon/Vancouver Washington) area join us for a book celebration for The Devil’s Tombstone by Carolyn J. Rose and Meet Your Baker by Ellie Alexander January 31st 1-3 pm at Vintage Books at 6613 E. Mill Plain Blvd, Vancouver, WA 98661. We will also have giveaways with gift cards, baking supplies and books!

Killers and Cozies—From serial killers stalking their victims in the deep words to a cozy murder at a family bakeshop, come join two Pacific Northwest authors as they chat about crime writing.

Giveaway:

$25 Amazon Gift Card (INT)
Ends Jan. 14, 2015
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Click on the rafflecopter link below to enter.
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This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.
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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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I loved Anthony’s A Zombie Holiday Trilogy and immediately wanted to read more of his stories.

You can read my reviews of those by clicking on my review page at the top of my blog.

Today’s stories don’t have zombies, but they do have a demonic treadmill, a haunted house, and vampires and werewolves that break tradition.

All were fun and all were scary.

Enjoy my reviews!

Killer Treads

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My Review

Hey, look at that. A tread mill, like new, for only twenty bucks. What a steal.

He’s been meaning to get in shape, get rid of that spare tire around his middle.

He should have slowed down, caught the warning signs that something was seriously wrong with the deal. Not been so impulsive.

Alas, it’s too late now, and the deal is going to cost him much more than cold hard cash.

This story teaches you to never buy something when the deal seems too good to be true.

Kind of fun, kind of gory, and I liked it.

3 Stars

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Synopsis

A short story about a man who buys a twenty dollar treadmill and finds out too late that the machine has a taste for blood.

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A Haunted House Tale

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My Review

They must have seen the movies, read the books. Yet these five friends think it won’t happen to them.

Clearly something will and does.

The legend is, if you survive the night, you receive untold riches.

The temptation lures them in.

There’s safety in  numbers, right?

Then it all goes south and everyone is scrambling to get out.

I never get tired of these stories. I was thinking of Scream, the movie, where they go over all of the rules of what not to do.

If these characters had any sense, they’d know not to go in that house, but then I wouldn’t have had such fun reading what happens to them.

3 Stars

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Synopsis

A short story about five students on Halloween night who discover the secrets and terrors of the town’s most infamous haunted house.

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Daylight Vampires and Sunrise Werewolves

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My Review

Three great things in one story.

It’s a supernatural western setting.

There are vampires that hunt by day.

And werewolves that shift at sunrise.

All of these combined to make one rollicking bloody read.

Saltwater Junction, Northern California.

The night of the full moon.

Tomorrow they come. Like they do once every year.

The sheriff gathers the town folk and they get the town ready for the morning.

The werewolves will attack at dawn.

The vampires soon after.

This year will be different.

This year they will win.

No more men lost to the werewolves.

No more women and children bled out by the vampires.

If…. If the people do what the sheriff says. If they stand and fight. If…

I loved this idea. Instead of the moon and darkness being these monsters strengths, it’s sunrise and daylight.

You’d think it would be easier for the people to fight them, easier to survive.

Not so. The werewolves are numerous, mindless, feeding machines. The vampires are cunning, swift, and organized.

Right from the opening scene when the sheriff had a shootout with the Lizard brothers, I knew I was in for something different.

I’d love to see this as a movie. I almost could as the author did an excellent job describing the scenes and characters. My wish is he’d write more about this town and it’s characters. It ended too soon for me.

5 Stars

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Synopsis

A Western short story about a town called Saltwater Junction besieged by creatures of the night who now do their stalking in the bright light of day.

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And this just in! Anthony has a giveaway on Goodreads. You can win a print copy of his brand new release, AWOL, on tour this week. You can catch me review on January 10th.

Go HERE to enter.

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Synopsis

Imagine that you are a character in a story.

You have a home.

You have a life.

You have it all.

Then suddenly you wake up alone and afraid in a cold, dark place. Somehow you find your courage and your voice. When you ask for help, words light up on a wall in the darkness. You read them and realize you are in the creative center of your author’s mind. Instead of rescuing you, the author asks you for help.

This book is about the journey of that character, as he moves from story to story desperately trying to find his home.

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Author Anthony Renfro

Anthony Renfro

Anthony Renfro lives in Apex, North Carolina. He is a reader, writer, runner, husband, father, and stay at home dad – one of the toughest jobs anyone could ever do. He was born in Bristol, Tennessee, and is a graduate of UNC-Greensboro.

You can find him at many spots on the web, but if you really need to find his center in the social media storm it would be at his blog, apoetryjourney.wordpress.com.

Now reach out, just beyond the light, right into that big black space, and let him take your hand on a journey into cold dark places. You will be scared, and you may even be terrified, but in the end you might just find you liked the ride.

Find him on:

Blog ~ Amazon ~ Goodreads

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