Archive for the ‘Action/Adventure’ Category

The Liars Treasure By Connie Mann ~ Spotlight And Giveaway

Posted: March 30, 2026 in Action/Adventure, giveaways
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 THE LIAR’S TREASURE

(A Speranza Team Novel) by Connie Mann

Category:  Adult Fiction (18+), 360 pages
Genre:  Action-Adventure
Publisher:  Tyndale House Publishers
Release date:   March 10, 2026
Content Rating:  G/PG

Book Description:

Camille Abernathy ignored rumors of The Liar’s Treasure and her family’s connection to it . . . until someone put a target on her daughter’s back. Growing up in New Orleans, such tall tales were as common as beignets and gumbo. But when Camille’s teenage daughter, Cass, posts pictures of a centuries-old diary her uncle gave her, she unwittingly attracts dozens of treasure hunting fanatics who are convinced Cass and the diary can lead them to a valuable cache.

To keep her daughter safe, Camille enlists the help of Speranza, a secret society always ready to help women in need. Together, they set out on a globe-trotting journey to find The Liar’s Treasure while also investigating a suspicious death related to Camille’s childhood friend. The deeper they dig, the more they suspect it’s all connected.

Chasing clues from New Orleans to Italy to the Bahamas, Camille and her friends receive unexpected assistance—and unwanted competition—from a handsome treasure hunter from Camille’s past. Then Cass is kidnapped, and finding the treasure truly becomes a matter of life and death.
Camille Abernathy ignored rumors of The Liar’s Treasure and her family’s connection to it . . . until someone put a target on her daughter’s back. Growing up in New Orleans, such tall tales were as common as beignets and gumbo. But when Camille’s teenage daughter, Cass, posts pictures of a centuries-old diary her uncle gave her, she unwittingly attracts dozens of treasure hunting fanatics who are convinced Cass and the diary can lead them to a valuable cache.

To keep her daughter safe, Camille enlists the help of Speranza, a secret society always ready to help women in need. Together, they set out on a globe-trotting journey to find The Liar’s Treasure while also investigating a suspicious death related to Camille’s childhood friend. The deeper they dig, the more they suspect it’s all connected.

Chasing clues from New Orleans to Italy to the Bahamas, Camille and her friends receive unexpected assistance—and unwanted competition—from a handsome treasure hunter from Camille’s past. Then Cass is kidnapped, and finding the treasure truly becomes a matter of life and deathCamille Abernathy ignored rumors of The Liar’s Treasure and her family’s connection to it . . . until someone put a target on her daughter’s back. Growing up in New Orleans, such tall tales were as common as beignets and gumbo. But when Camille’s teenage daughter, Cass, posts pictures of a centuries-old diary her uncle gave her, she unwittingly attracts dozens of treasure hunting fanatics who are convinced Cass and the diary can lead them to a valuable cache.

To keep her daughter safe, Camille enlists the help of Speranza, a secret society always ready to help women in need. Together, they set out on a globe-trotting journey to find The Liar’s Treasure while also investigating a suspicious death related to Camille’s childhood friend. The deeper they dig, the more they suspect it’s all connected.

Chasing clues from New Orleans to Italy to the Bahamas, Camille and her friends receive unexpected assistance—and unwanted competition—from a handsome treasure hunter from Camille’s past. Then Cass is kidnapped, and finding the treasure truly becomes a matter of life and death.

Buy the Book:
Tyndale
Amazon ~ B&N ~ BAM
Bookshop ~ IndieBound
add to Goodreads
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Meet Author Connie Mann:

Connie Mann loves taking readers on heart-pounding, suspense-filled adventures featuring strong, determined women who fight for what they believe—and for those they love. When those stories take place in exciting locales and include a tempting hero, so much the better. Her Speranza Team novels center around a modern-day secret society of resourceful, talented women who travel the globe helping other women, especially those trying to make the world a better place. Connie is also the author of the Florida Wildlife Warriors series, the Safe Harbor series, Angel Falls, and Trapped. She has won several writing awards, and Amazon declared Beyond Risk an Editors’ Pick. Through mentoring and teaching writing workshops, Connie is delighted to encourage other writers on their journey.

Connie has been a USCG-licensed boat captain for almost twenty years, and when she’s not writing, “Captain Connie” gets to introduce Florida visitors to dolphins, manatees, and other coastal creatures, which is as much fun as it sounds. She is also passionate about helping women and children in developing countries break the poverty cycle through education and entrepreneurship so they can build a better future for themselves and their families.
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She and her husband love spending time with family and friends and heading off to explore new places, especially if they involve water and boats. Visit Connie online at conniemann.com and sign up for her newsletter for all the latest news.

​connect with the author: website ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ goodreads
Enter the Giveaway:
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GIVEAWAY

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liar’s treasure Spotlight Book Tour Giveaway

 

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For a list of my reviews go HERE.

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Who’s Out There By Westley Smith ~ Review And Giveaway

Posted: March 22, 2026 in Action/Adventure, Excerpt, giveaways, reviews
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WHO'S OUT THERE by Westley Smith Banner

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WHO’S OUT THERE
by Westley Smith
March 9 – April 3, 2026 Virtual Book Tour

 

 

Synopsis:

Inside Marburg State Park lies the remains of Camp Southwoods, where four counselors were slain twenty-six years ago. Their murderer, Douglas Lee Carver, has become a local boogieman with a chilling nursery rhyme attributed to his name. Locals believe the now-abandoned camp is haunted.

Ranger Colt Mitcham, leader of the Ranger Rescue Unit for Marburg State Park, ignores the ghost stories of Camp South Woods. He has real-world problems to worry about, like apprehending the person who’s been vandalizing the grounds, finding a missing local man who’s disappeared inside the park, and making sure that his team secures the park before the rapidly approaching blizzard – the worst storm in years – unleashes hell across the land.

But when a member of Colt’s team is found murdered, Colt begins to wonder if the tales about Camp Southwoods are true. Has Douglas Lee Carver returned? Or is there someone else out there? Someone with a personal axe to grind against Colt and his team, hoping to use the urban legends as a cover for their crimes and keep what happened at Camp Southwoods three decades ago from being exposed.

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Praise for Who’s Out There:

“An abandoned summer camp with a dark history, a brutal winter storm, and a group of park rangers fighting for their lives are the core of Westley Smith’s WHO’S OUT THERE. With no help coming from the outside, Colt Mitcham has to figure out how to protect his crew as a relentless killer strikes again and again. This intense, blood-spattered page-turner had me in its grip from the beginning and kept me guessing until the end. Westley Smith is the real deal.” ~ Joshua Moehling, USA TODAY bestselling author of AND THERE HE KEPT HER and A LONG TIME GONE

“Taut. Relentless… a plot careening to the brink and you’re clinging on the edge all the way. Move over Voorhees. Step back Myers. Smith’s WHO’S OUT THERE sends you both packing. Don’t read this book until your feet are up, your blinds are drawn, and your glass is full-you’re in it till the end!” ~ Tj O’Connor, Award Winning Author of THE WHISPER LEGACY and THE DEAD DETECTIVE FILES

Book Details:

Genre: Thriller, Action Adventure

Published by: Manta Press, Ltd Publication Date: February 19, 2026 Number of Pages: 324 ISBN: 9781958370322 (ISBN10: 1958370320)

Book Links: Amazon | Kindle | Goodreads | BookBub

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MY REVIEW

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Ooh, this was a plot I could sink my teeth into. The synopsis read like a combination of Friday The 13th, A Nightmare On Elm Street and a modern mystery. I’d read other books by Westley Smith and loved them so I was rubbing my hands together excitedly.

Ranger Colt Mitcham, cool name, was centered in the real world. His focus was on what’s happening at Camp Southwoods, which used to operate in Marburg State Park. Someone had been vandalizing the old campground, a man had gone missing in the park and a life threatening blizzard was approaching fast. Colt gathered his team and raced to get things sorted out before the storm hit. Then a member of his team was murdered and he began to think maybe the myth was tied to some or all of the instances.

I read this at blistering speed. Only took a couple of short breaks. The plot was so good, my excitement had me laser focused and the character development had me connected. And the ending…. brace yourself. I should have. I was so off the mark, in the best way possible.

5 STARS

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Enjoy this peek inside:

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Chapter 1

God, it’s cold. Rumor Shoff checks his digital watch. 10:45 p.m. The Marburg State Park ranger won’t start his nightly rounds for another fifteen minutes. It will take him at least half an hour to forty-five minutes, to reach this end of the park. Rumor has plenty of time to accomplish his task. Perfect.

At the bed of his Ford F-150, he lifts a duffel bag with R. Shoff sewn into the canvas, and throws the strap over his shoulder. He pulls the trucker’s cap tighter to his balding head, the air rushes through its vented rear and prickles his dome. Chills walk up his skin. He zips his coat to his chin. Christ, it must be near zero with the windchill. The crisp, dry air burns his throat, and the scent of the oncoming snowstorm tickles his nose.

He’s alone in the Serpentine Trail parking lot. Only the forest trees are watching. Silent observers who won’t tell a soul what he is up to—even after killing plenty of their kin. Good. But Rumor needs to move. If caught by the park ranger at a quarter to eleven, he’ll arrest Rumor and charge him with trespassing on state land after dark. That’s the least of Rumor’s concerns. What’s in his duffel bag, however, is. Heaving the strap to a more comfortable position on his shoulder, Rumor starts toward a large ranch-style gate serving as the entryway onto Serpentine Trail. The white moonlight casts the gate’s arch onto the gravel trail winding its way through the forest like a snake, past the Shoff Family Cemetery, and down to the shoreline of Lake Clarke, directly across from the abandoned summer camp. Rumor starts past the gate and into the forest, the moonlight has trouble penetrating the leafless trees; the branches so thick and interwoven they block all but a few streaks of white light cutting through the bare canopy. But Rumor doesn’t need a flashlight to guide him; he’s taken this trail many times to get to the cemetery—day and night—before the land was stolen from his father. Rumor’s face grows warm even in the bitter cold at the thought of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) stealing his father’s land. The DCNR came to his father a year and a half ago with an offer to buy thirty-two acres of woodlands that made up the southwestern shore of Lake Clarke, excluding the small plot of land on which the Shoff Family Cemetery rests. No sir! Uncle Sam won’t pick up the tab to take care of that. They planned to add to Marburg State Park’s already sizable acreage. With his father’s refusal to sell, the DCNR made an eminent domain claim—the right of the government or its agencies to expropriate private property for public use. His father sued. But it was a losing battle from the start, and the courts ruled in favor of the DCNR, forcing his father to surrender the land with zero compensation. The DCNR can claim eminent domain or whatever fancy legal jargon the lawyers invented to sugarcoat the truth, but to Rumor, it was theft—plain and simple. The trail curves sharply to the right, and the Shoff Family Cemetery appears on the left. Behind an old wrought iron fence, fifteen tombstones jut from the forest floor like crooked white teeth. The wind blows with a haunting whistle. The bare branches sway back and forth, casting long shadows across the front of the tombstones that look like skeleton fingers caressing the grave markers. Rumor pauses by the gate. Even in the shadowy darkness, he spots his mother’s tombstone. Feels his heart ache. Fuck cancer. Rumor starts again. The gravel trail fades away and turns to dirt, worn-down over time by hikers making their way to the lakebed on the backside of the hill. He hasn’t been past the cemetery since August 1997 and doesn’t want to go down there now. Still, the DCNR needed to pay for what they had done. And by God, Rumor was going to collect in spades, even if that meant scaring up the memory of that dead girl he and his father discovered the morning of the camp massacre. Along the shoreline, where the cold water of Lake Clarke laps at the rocks and bankside like a soft kiss, Rumor pauses to catch his breath. The smell of mud and fishy water mixes with the crisp night air that smells both clean and repugnant to him. The full white moon is visible above, and its reflection ripples across the water. In the open, the cold wind cuts across the lake bowl. It stings Rumor’s face and makes his nose leak. He slides the sleeve of his jacket under his nose and sniffs back a glob of snot. The last time he stood there was the morning of the massacre at Camp Southwoods, when he was six. Across the inlet of water, the steel cable tinks against the flagpole in the courtyard at Camp Southwoods. It’s a lonely, eerie sound that causes Rumor to shiver, as if a ghostly voice speaks from the past. The moonlight casts an eerie white glow across the rundown mess hall, tucked between two identical shotgun-style buildings—the boys’ and girls’ bunkhouses. The dilapidated structures stand out against the clear northeastern sky—though it’s about to be overtaken by the dark snow clouds rolling in from the South. The ghost-town vibe of Camp Southwoods still resonates with residual energy from the grisly murders in the early morning hours of August 5, 1997. Rumor’s stomach churns as the vivid memory unpacks itself and his eyes drift to where they found the girl, washed up on the shore. She was lying on her side, facing away from them, her brown hair tangled with lake weeds, wet leaves, and interwoven sticks. On the back of her yellow T-shirt was a word in large red letters: COUNSELOR. Rumor thought she was sleeping. But when his father rolled her over to check on her, Rumor saw her pretty face was split from her hairline to her mouth, leaving a fleshy fissure where the axe had struck her. On either side of that gory canyon, two lifeless, milky-white eyes were locked on him in a death stare. An arrow was through the swell of her left breast. Deep lacerations scarred her forearms, and the first two fingers on her right hand were gone. She was from Camp Southwoods, just across the inlet—the torn and bloody yellow T-shirt with the camp’s name and logo affirmed this. Rumor remembers screaming in horror at the sight of the dead camp counselor. Then, his father was next to him, hurrying them back up the trail to call the police. Her name was Alice King, and how she ended up there raises the hackles on Rumor’s neck. He tugs his coat closer. But she wasn’t the only camp counselor found slain. Kurt MacReady, Virginia Steel, and Ted Charno also met their demise at the hands of fifteen-year-old Douglas Lee Carver, who, for reasons unknown, decided to hunt them down with a bow and arrow (taken from the camp’s archery range) before stealing their faces with a violent strike with an axe. Three of the victims, Rumor has learned in his research of the murders, were disposed of quickly. But Alice King had valiantly fought back. Sadly, she fell to Carver’s wrath by the lake before washing up a few feet from where Rumor now stood. Since the murders, a local legend arose of a curse on Lake Clarke and a curse on Marburg State Park itself. Locals claim to see shadow people on the trails or around the camp, hear whispering and laughing, and see lights emanating from the rundown cabins. The lore has grown exponentially over the years. So much so that locals have reimagined an old nursery rhyme, “Bye, Baby Bunting,” to scare the bejesus out of one another for nearly three decades. Rumor knew it well:

Little counselor running, Douggie Carver’s gone a-hunting Gonna catch that counselor, Gonna cleave that counselor, Little counselor done running.

But those campfire tales are just that…tales. You have work to do. Rumor checks his watch. 10:55 p.m. Get your ass moving. He continues to follow the trail south along the lake to an area known as Ice Fisherman’s Cove. It’s a favorite spot for ice fishermen to set up because the water freezes fast and hard in the winter. By a large oak tree leaning dangerously over the trail, Rumor drops the duffel bag and squats beside it. He unzips the bag and pulls out a gardening shovel. A battery-operated DeWalt drill with a three-inch wooden drill bit in its jaws. A 350 ml syringe. And a bottle of Tardon—an herbicide that kills woody plants. He drops to his knees at the oak’s base and begins clearing away a small patch of earth with the shovel. The January ground is frozen and tough to dig up. Perspiration dampens his back even in the cold. But he’s persistent, despite the challenging work, and continues removing the earth until the oak’s root system is bare. He rechecks his watch. 11:10 p.m. Need to hurry this up. With the drill, Rumor bores into the oak’s most prominent root. Once done, he opens the Tardon bottle, takes out the syringe, dips the wide plastic needle into the herbicide, and extracts a barrel full of blue liquid. What was that? Footsteps? Rumor searches the trail ahead but sees no one in the moonlight. It could be an animal. A deer? The legend of Camp Southwoods, and its murderous boogieman, has lit his imagination. Stop it. There ain’t any ghosts in these woods. I’m alone. Rumor shakes the silly thought away, plunges the 350ml of Tardon into the root, and empties the barrel. Drink it up. The Tardon kills the trees slowly over several weeks. He’s poisoned many trees around the park. Some are on trails like this one. Some in parking lots where a tree collapse could damage structures, costing the DCNR a lot of money in time and repairs. That’s just what Rumor wants. He refills the hole with dirt, replaces his equipment in the duffel bag, and stands. Gazing upon the oak leaning precariously over the trail, Rumor knows it’s just a matter of time before it topples. He smiles jovially. Poisoning the trees is only one of the many subterfuges Rumor has committed around the park: clogging the toilets in the guests’ facilities, wrecking the well pumps so the park didn’t have water for drinking and cleaning, dumping trashcans, spray painting obscenities on the public pavilions. He even lit a few fires that burnt some acres on the park’s western side in late September. Maybe I’ll drill holes in the canoes this summer. Or put wasps’ nests in the garbage cans. Or poison the drinking water. He has little concern about someone getting hurt from his shenanigans: people are collateral damage. Pride flows through his veins, pure like holy water, warming him. He’s giving it to the man for stealing his father’s land. But the warmth is quickly blown away as another gust of wind howls across the lake. Rumor shivers and looks at his watch again. 11:22 p.m. Time to get going. He returns to where the trail winds back into the woods, past the Shoff Cemetery, and eventually to the parking lot. The desolate tink, tink, tink of the cable snapping against the flagpole at the abandoned campground cuts across the inlet. Footsteps! On the trail again. Someone is there! Cold fear shoots through him and tightens his chest like a clenched fist. I can’t get caught. Not now. Not when there’s so much more to do. He ducks behind a large white sycamore and checks his watch. 11:29 p.m. The park ranger may be down there, checking for trespassers or even looking for him after finding his pickup in the Serpentine Trail parking lot. Or it might be a few local kids hiking to the abandoned campground to get high, drink, or make out. They might even tell each other ghost stories about Carver’s victims haunting the area. Rumor peers around the tree and scans the trail from which he just came. No one lingers about. The tightness in his chest eases. Still, he tries to tune out the wind and focus on the sounds of approaching footsteps. But if they were there and not a figment of his imagination, they’re gone now. He lets out a slow, grateful breath and feels the tension in his muscles relax. Rumor steps out from behind the tree. He’s about to turn away when he sees a human silhouette step off the trail and duck into the forest about twenty-five yards away. I’m seeing things, he thinks, as his balls shrivel into his pelvis and goose pimples rise from his feet to his scalp. He’s heard stories about hikers seeing shadow people on the trail, ducking in and around trees. Is that what he’s seeing now? A shadow person? No! There’s no one out there. It’s the wind causing the tree branches to swing and the shadows to move, nothing more. He swallows. His throat is dry like dust. But you heard footsteps—twice now—and saw the shadow. Someone or something is out here with you. Maybe one of Carver’s victims? An unseen frozen hand clasps upon his lungs in a powerful, vicelike grip. Fuck this! Rumor turns on his heels to bolt up the trail when a loose rock gives way, and his right foot slips out from underneath him. He loses his grip on the duffel bag, which slides from his shoulder into the dark somewhere, and falls hard on his right elbow. The impact with the unforgiving ground peels the flesh back, and the sting of cold air bites at the raw, bleeding wound. He stifles a scream. He can’t risk someone hearing. Through the discomfort, he pulls himself to his feet and darts up the trail toward the dark, concealing woods where he’ll be safe from…well, whatever it was that he saw duck off the trail. He doesn’t stop or look back until he’s far enough from the shoreline, hidden deep within the woods where no one—man or ghost—can see him. He bends at the waist to catch his breath, to allow his heart rate to slow. It beats in his ears like a sinister drum. He now understands what it must be like for people who say they’ve seen Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster… “A ghost,” Rumor whispers in the dark. Of course, Rumor will never admit ghosts are real. Just like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster are nothing more than stories made up by fringe outliers looking for attention. What he saw tonight were moving shadows, brought on by the wind and an overactive imagination. Rumor feels that the only ghosts down there are memories. Then why were you running? He doesn’t entertain this thought and looks at his watch. 11:40 p.m. Christ! I need to— My duffel bag! It isn’t slung over his shoulder. You must’ve dropped it when you fell. His bloody elbow begins to thump with discomfort at his carelessness. How could you be so stupid! He can’t leave it behind. If found, the Rangers will easily link the tree poisoning and the vandalisms back to him because his damn name is stitched on the side. No. Leaving the duffel bag isn’t an option. Rumor gazes down the trail into the dark hollow and listens for footsteps again. But only the breeze blows through the trees, rustling what leaves remain on the branches. He’s positive that everything he’s experiencing—the footsteps, the shadowy figure—is a manifestation brought on by the camp’s violent history and his memories of that fateful day. His head was full of enough lore about Carver and Camp Southwoods to trick anyone’s brain into thinking someone was out there, maybe even following him. Steeling himself against his fears—real or imaginary—Rumor takes a step. Then another. Soon he’s heading back toward the lake to find the duffel bag. In his mind, he keeps repeating: They’re only stories. *** Excerpt from Who’s Out There by Westley Smith. Copyright 2026 by Westley Smith. Reproduced with permission from Westley Smith. All rights reserved.

 

 

About Author Westley Smith:

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Westley Smith

Westley Smith is the author of the crime thrillers Some Kind of Truth (Wicked House Publishing) and In the Pale Light (Watertower Hill Publishing). In the Pale Light landed on IngramSpark’s #1 pre-order charts in the mystery, thriller, and hard-boiled detective category. He is also the author of the psychological thriller, They Came at Night (Watertower Hill Publishing). He has two self-published horror novels, Along Came the Tricksters and All Hallows Eve. Writing since he was ten, his first short story, “Off to War,” was published nationally at sixteen. His short stories have recently appeared in On the Premise and Unveiling Nightmares. He was the runner-up contestant in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine’s Mysterious Photograph Contest, and his short story “Winter Reflections” was chosen as a finalist for Crystal Lake Publishing’s Shallow Waters short story contest. He also had a short story, “The Security Guard,” in the horror anthology “Hospital of Haunts,” (Watertower Hill Publishing) which hit #1 on Amazon, and his true encounter with the urban legend of York, PAs, Toad Road and The Seven Gates of Hell, was featured in George Watertower and Other Childhood Terrors (Watertower Hill Publishing).

He lives in southern Pennsylvania with his wife and two dogs.

Catch Up With Westley Smith:

WestleySmithBooks.com Amazon Author Profile Goodreads BookBub – @wssmith100 Instagram – @wsmithbooks Facebook – @westleysmith100

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Tour Participants:

Click through the other tour stops for can’t-miss reviews, insider interviews, exclusive guest posts, and more chances to win! Click here to view the Tour Schedule

 

 

WHO’S OUT THERE? The Winner, That’s Who! 🎉💀
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For a list of my reviews go HERE.

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Living At The Edge Of The World By S. J. Barratt ~ Guest Post And Giveaway

Posted: March 7, 2026 in Action/Adventure, giveaways, Guest Post, middle grade
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Dive into a different world, where nature and friendship are
full of surprises.

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Living at the Edge of the World – Winter

The Papala Island Adventure Series Book 1

written by S. J. Barratt

narrated by Gill Mills

Genre: Middle Grade Eco Adventure

Twins Tabitha and Timothy leave London for a wild Shetland
island — no Wi-Fi, no friends, and a mysterious great-uncle. In Papala, they
discover a new way of life, unexpected friendships, and courage they never knew
they had.

A fun, eco-conscious story for ages 9–12 that the whole
family will love.

When their parents sail the world without them, 12-year-old
twins Tabitha and Timothy are sent to the remote island of Papala, known as the
“Bird Island.” Great Uncle Tamhas becomes their guardian in a world
as strange as the island itself.

Tabitha is frustrated with the island’s isolation and
limited Wi-Fi, but Timothy is delighted to uncover the island’s natural
secrets. The twins soon realise however, they are not the only newcomers to the
island.

Discover a story about courage, friendship and the joy of
embracing the unfamiliar. Dive into a different world, where nature and
friendship are full of surprises.

You’ll love this story of courage and friendship. Buy now
before the price changes!

Check out: https: //www.sjbstories.com to know more!

Get it in Audiobook!

Audible * Amazon ebook * Apple * Kobo * Bookbub * Goodreads

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  1. Can you, for those who don’t know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?

 

“Living at the Edge of the World – Winter, the first audiobook in my Shetland island series, was inspired by my own outdoor childhood and by a desire to encourage today’s children to look up from their screens and rediscover adventure outside.”

I’m a British children’s author and I grew up with mud on my boots, dogs at my heels, and a book never far from reach. Raised in leafy green, Hertfordshire (North East direction from London) my childhood was split between outdoor adventure – riding ponies, building camps in the woods, cycling with friends – and disappearing into stories. Shy and introverted, I was happiest reading, often forming friendships around books, including quiet “reading clubs” where we sat together in companionable silence for hours at a time! As a teenager, reviewing books for my local library felt like a natural next step. Although I briefly considered journalism as a career, the fast pace and relentless deadlines didn’t seem to leave much room for reflection or empathy. I then trained as an actor, which was invaluable for learning how to analyse characters and bring them to life, skills that continue to shape my writing. I loved exploring the depth of roles, but I soon realized that the constant focus on self-promotion and performance wasn’t the right fit for me. Life then led me to France, where I’ve spent many years in corporate communications for agriculture and sustainable development—storytelling with purpose, in a quieter kind of spotlight.

Becoming a writer began as a personal writing project while I was recovering from an operation. I knew I wanted to write for children, inspired by the contrast between my own outdoor upbringing and how much time children today spend indoors, absorbed by screens.

I immersed myself in research and went in search of the perfect agricultural setting, eventually discovering the island of Foula, home to just thirty people who live closely with the land, sea, and animals in Shetland, Scotland. It felt like the ideal place to begin. From there, the real learning started, and the stories grew. Today, my writing aims to offer young readers and listeners a sense of freedom, resilience, and curiosity, while gently encouraging a healthier balance between the digital world and the natural one.

  1. What is something unique/quirky about you? 

Having two nationalities (Born in Pasadena, USA but to British parents) and living today in France, which adds a third culture, means I’ve never fully felt I belong in one place. That outsider perspective has become a strength in my writing, helping me create characters who are finding their footing in unfamiliar worlds and helping readers accept diversity and cultural differences.

  1. When did you first consider yourself a writer? 

I first considered myself a writer the moment my work was recognized beyond my own desk, earning its first placing in a writing competition. That turning point came in 2024, when my book received a Silver Medal at BookFest in the Children’s – Diversity & Multi-cultural category. Soon after, it was awarded a Bronze Medal at the Global Book Awards 2024 for Children’s – Geography & Culture, and in 2025 it became a *Finalist in the Children’s Book Excellence Awards. Those moments shifted my writing from a “project”, to becoming part of my identity as a “writer”.

  1. Which of your novels can you imagine being made into a movie?

I can easily imagine Living at the Edge of the World – Winter and the second book, Spring coming alive on screen, ideally not just as films, but as a gentle, episodic series for middle-grade children aged 9–12. The world of Papala, and the adventures of Tabitha and Timothy, lend themselves naturally to visual storytelling: the changing seasons, the closeness to nature, the quiet bravery of everyday exploration.

What excites me most, though, isn’t the idea of children sitting and watching for long stretches. I would only want a film or series if it actively encouraged them to step away from the screen afterward. Each episode could feel like an invitation. Prompting children to go outside, build a small camp in the woods, invent their own adventures, or take their dog for a walk and really notice the world around them.

  1. What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?

In October 2023 my son and I traveled to Shetland to hunt for the aurora borealis. We explored the mainland and the islands of Yell and Unst, hoping to see the northern lights. We weren’t lucky enough to catch the “pretty dancers,” as they call them in Shetland, but every day brought something beautiful – sunsets, rainbows, and interesting cloud formations. Watching otters play along the coast in Yell or climbing into a Viking boat on Unst was a joy in itself, and a reminder of how travel can spark creativity.

Last year I travelled to Sri Lanka to an Ayurveda retreat. It was a simple, focused holiday: time to care for my health, relax, and edit my third book. Having space to work on my writing while being somewhere special was such a gift to myself.

Both trips reminded me of the joy of discovering new places and the value of taking time for yourself. Whether exploring remote islands or spending quiet days writing, travel and new places can provide a space to refresh, reflect, and find inspiration.

  1. Tell us about your main characters- what makes them tick? 

One of the things I love most about writing this book series is exploring the dynamic between the twins, Tabitha and Timothy. They are so alike in some ways, yet completely different in others, and that contrast drives much of the story.

Tabitha is all about online validation and influencer dreams. She’s deeply connected to the world through screens and social media, and her character reflects the pull of that digital life. Timothy, on the other hand, “Wiki-Tim”, is grounded in curiosity and a love of nature. His fascination with facts and the natural world lets me bring in real-life information about the island and its wildlife without it feeling forced. This dynamic mirrors something I value personally: while I enjoy engaging with my online community, nothing restores the soul quite like a walk in nature.

The twins’ contrasting perspectives also highlight one of the broader themes of the book: adapting to new environments and finding joy in unexpected places. Timothy, with his naturalist mindset, adjusts easily to the remote island life. Tabitha, initially frustrated by the isolation, gradually discovers a niche that allows her to combine her love for social media with the adventure and discoveries the island offers. It’s a journey about embracing change, connecting with the world around you, and finding balance between digital and real-life experiences.

Through these characters, I wanted to show that even when two people, or twins, are very different, mutual respect, curiosity, and openness can lead to growth, adventure, and unexpected joy.

  1. Who designed your book covers? 

The book covers and all the illustrations for Living at the Edge of the World – Winter were created by the incredibly talented young illustrator Jenny Nutbourne, who lives and works in Scotland. https://www.tiktok.com/@nutbourne_ Our connection came through Dundee University, where my son did his degree.

I’m a very visual person, and for me, images are an essential part of the creative process. When I start a project, I often look for pictures that capture the essence of my characters or the world they inhabit. Working with Jenny brought these images to life, enhancing the storytelling in ways that words alone sometimes have limitations. Her illustrations not only complement the text but also provide inspiration and a visual anchor for the story, making the world I’ve written about feel even more real. Working with Jenny is also a a reason why I went the self-publishing route as an author as I wanted full creative control.

  1. Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book? 

One of the biggest challenges in writing my recent book was making sure the children truly drove the story. I wanted the kids to take center stage, shaping the action, while the adults remained in the background, present enough to make the world feel realistic, but never so much that they overshadowed the young characters.

For the main antagonist, Tabitha, I started her as a spoiled, unhappy girl, frustrated at being stuck in Papala, a remote island in Shetland, far from trendy London. In the first book, her character arc showed her learning to adapt to this rugged new life. The second book pushes that growth even further, while also giving her brother, Timothy, a chance to shine. The third book, which hopefully will be published later this year, explores Tabitha’s character even more, teaching her not to rush to act but to speak up with thoughtful action.

Beyond the twins, there are two other key young characters: Fenella, a local girl who offers insight and guidance, and Omar, a newly arrived refugee who immediately connects with the island’s wildlife. Each brings a unique perspective, but the core challenge remains: how to let the children have their own adventures in a believable way.

I drew inspiration from authors like Enid Blyton and Katherine Rundell, who are experts at creating rich, child-led worlds where young characters are fully in charge.

  1. Anything specific you want to tell your readers? 

Yes! I want readers to know that even though my books have an eco-fiction theme and encourage your children, grandchildren, or students to spend more “green time” rather than screen time, the stories are far from dull. They’re modern, full of fun, and packed with adventure.

A recent reviewer described how she and her son “learned by stealth” while reading about the twins, Tabitha and Timothy. They were so caught up in what would happen next in the story, they absorbed all kinds of fascinating facts about Shetland’s wildlife and flora without even noticing!

I also hope readers gain a better understanding of how farming can work in harmony with nature. Agro-ecology is all about balance, which is especially important in crofting in Scotland, where every bit of land matters. The books show that adventure, learning, and environmental awareness can go hand in hand.

  1. How did you come up with the name of this book? 

The inspiration came from reading about the Shetland island of Foula, which I found utterly fascinating. It’s one of the most remote islands in the archipelago, home to just 30 people, and is also famously known as the “Bird Island.” The island’s wild, rugged beauty and sense of isolation perfectly captured the atmosphere I wanted for the book, and it is known as the “End of the World”. This name seemed to fit naturally with the story, even if I based the series on an imaginary island called Papala.

  1. If you could spend time with a character from your book, who would it be? And what would you do during that day? 

I’d love to spend a day with Great Uncle Tamhas, who looks after the twins for three months while their parents are away on a world cruise. I can imagine a day on his croft, helping him with the kale planting, fishing for trout in the stream, and even cutting peat to keep the fires burning.

After a day of hard work, I’d sit down to one of his farmhouse meals, starting with a bowl of soup and fresh homemade bread, followed by his famous mutton stew. There’s something so comforting about the rhythm of croft life, and I can’t think of a better way to spend a day immersed in the island’s traditions, landscape, and food.

 

  1. Convince us why you feel your book is a must read. 

I wrote this book because I wanted to inspire kids to step away from screens and rediscover the joy of the world around them. In a time when phones and tablets seem to rule, my story invites young readers to see that adventure isn’t just something on a screen. Adventure is out there waiting for children in the woods, along a bike path, or even in their own backyard. Through fun, imaginative stories, my book gives kids agency, the exciting knowledge that they can create their own adventures, whether it’s just riding their bike, or exploring with their dog. It’s not just a story; it’s an invitation to play, explore, and connect with nature in a way that will stay with them long after the last page is turned.

A review from Australia said recently: “Books like this are still very important. It should be on every family’s book shelves. Not only will these stories  encourage kids to become readers, Living at the Edge of the World – Winter & Spring help kids learn and realise that living without their phones is also an adventure.”

  1. Have you written any other books that are not published? 

Yes! I’m currently working on the third book in this series: Living at the Edge of the World – Summer, which is shaping up to be an exciting mix of myth and environmental awareness. It follows the same team of characters, alongside selkies – mythical seals that shed their skins to become human on land. Through their story, I explore marine pollution and the importance of protecting our oceans as well as our livelihoods. The selkies act as a symbol of care and responsibility, showing young readers how thoughtful, deliberate actions, rather than rash decisions, can make a real difference. It’s a story full of wonder, adventure, and inspiration, encouraging kids to engage with the world around them and how small voices can make big waves when you speak up for what matters.

  1. If your book had a candle, what scent would it be?

I love this question!  It reminds me of the book – The Storm Keeper’s island by Catherine Doyle, where a different candle was needed for each episode of time travel. If my books were a candle, the scent would shift with the seasons: Winter would be peat fires, the comforting aroma of home-cooked soup, bread and bannocks. Spring would carry sea salt spray and the fresh scent of rain on green grass full of spring flowers. Summer would smell of warm earth, sun-dried fields, berries and rhubarb and the intoxicating smell of outdoor adventures. Autumn? The tang of wind off the waves, hints of the first peat fires and root vegetables roasting in the oven… and a book that is not written yet!

Audiobook Questions:

  1. What made you decide to get the book made into an audiobook?

I realised that so many people are busy and don’t always have time to sit down and read, and having studied acting myself, I know how much a good narrator can bring a story to life – just as an illustrator does for a printed book. So creating an audiobook felt like a natural and complementary way to share my stories. Also a great way for a family to share the story during a road trip!

https://canopyaudiobooks.com/

  1. Who did the narration on the audiobook and what made you choose them?

When it came to choosing the narrator, I was lucky to find Gill Mills at Canopybooks. Gill is the owner of the company and auditioned for the narration alongside other actresses who could narrate with a light Scottish accent. From the start, it was clear she was the perfect fit. She threw herself into the work, shutting herself away for days at a time to ensure the voices of each character stayed consistent. Every character has their own unique intonation and accent, and she brings them all vividly to life.

Because I’m a trained actor, the idea of narrating the audiobook did cross my mind, but I quickly realised I wouldn’t even come close to her ankles, let alone fill her shoes! I feel incredibly fortunate to have found Gill and Canopybooks. I honestly cannot recommend them highly enough to authors considering an audiobook. Gill will bring your stories to life in a way that is truly magical at a very reasonable price.

  1. How many audiobooks do you currently have and are there any more on the horizon?

I have two audiobooks published: Living at the Edge of the World – Winter & Spring and when the third book is published, I will of course ask Gill if she wants to narrate the third!  I just hope she will say, “Yes! I would like another trip to the island of Papala!”

  1. Do you have a favorite scene from the audiobook? What makes it special?

The final chapter is definitely my favorite. It’s where the themes of courage, friendship, and embracing the unfamiliar come together in a thrilling way. The three children face a pivotal moment that tests their bravery. Tabitha, the protagonist, takes a bold risk that puts herself and her brother and friend Fenella in real danger.

I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say this: there are Vikings involved… and a burning viking boat! It’s a scene full of tension, teamwork, and adventure, and it perfectly captures the heart of the story. It also reflects my own belief that true friendship and courage often shine brightest when we step into the unknown and we accept cultural differences.

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S. J. Barratt is a self-published, professionally edited
children’s author whose eco-themed stories celebrate the connection between
people and the natural world. Rooted in an English countryside upbringing and
shaped by a career in agriculture, she blends a gardener’s curiosity with a
storyteller’s warmth to her writing. Now based in Lyon, France, Suzanne creates
tales that inspire middle-grade readers to swap screen time for green time—and
rediscover the wonders waiting just outside their door.

Website * Facebook *Instagram * TikTok * Bookbub * Goodreads

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A former BBC broadcaster and journalist, Gill Mills brings
over 20 years of experience in entertainment to her narration. Known for her
warm, resonant voice, she began her voice career while DJing on BBC Radio 1 and
has since voiced numerous TV and audio productions. She now runs a content
company specialising in podcast and film production from her studio in East
London.

LinkedIn* Instagram

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

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Enter the Living at the Edge of the World – Winter Giveaway Here

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Land Of Two Moons By D. L. Gardner ~ Guest Post And Giveaway

Posted: March 4, 2026 in Action/Adventure, giveaways, Guest Post, YA
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Political unrest, war over valuable mines, forbidden love,
and a homesick dragon bound in chains threaten the land of two moons.

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Land of Two Moons

by D.L. Gardner

Genre: YA Epic SciFi Fantasy Adventure

“The gritty
reality of trench warfare and the smoky chaos of riots is striking in D. L.
Gardner’s Land of Two Moons…a rich and ambitious fantasy novel that
successfully builds a world trembling on the brink of magical and political
upheaval. This is a delicate, intricate novel that rewards patient
reading.” – Independent Book Review

Arthur and Hallie are twin siblings, son and daughter of the
Duke of Lodesmoor. Humble teenagers who befriend the village people and
sympathize with their grievances. Their father, Lord Balmier, whose duchy is
approaching financial collapse, uses his subjects as pawns in a battle over a
string of valuable mines.

Lord Balmier sees his son’s sympathy toward the serfs as an
alliance against him and soon acts to squelch Arthur’s sedition.

Hallie clings to a forbidden love, and both siblings must
resist their father’s harsh rule.

All the while they are unaware that their mother keeps a
mystical dragon named Killian, bound in chains by a spell, whose fate will
affect them all.

As the twin moons approach a rare and magical eclipse,
alliances shift, secrets unravel, and Arthur and Hallie must choose between
loyalty, freedom, and sacrifice to save their people and themselves.

 

“With strong
pacing and a cast of memorable characters – including a homesick dragon, this
is the perfect book for fans of the ‘fantasy’ genre. Highly recommended!” – The
Wishing Shelf

***Check
out the kickstarter campaign!**

Amazon * B&N * Books2Read

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Land of Two Moons will be a limited edition leather
hardcover signed and numbered, a special edition case laminate hardcover, an
eBook, and a paperback with printed edges. A rigid slip case is available for
the hardcovers.

***Check out the kickstarter campaign!**

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Prologue

     Pattin didn’t know what they were fighting for. All he
knew was that when their commander yelled the order he was to let loose his
arrows toward another trench opposite theirs somewhere in the Red Sands desert.
Rumor was they were fighting over mines, dukes, power, and money. Nothing he’d
ever be privy to. It didn’t matter. He was here because he’d been conscripted.

He’d been in this trench for nine days straight. Hot,
drenched in sweat, sick to his stomach, and with little to eat or drink. Tired
of swatting flies and stepping over the bodies of his comrades, he was ready to
leave. No one wanted to be here, especially not the lads from Bidsworth, and
especially not on the front lines.

He spat the dust out of his mouth and bit another piece
of jerky.

“When is she going to come for us?” he asked his
friend.

“Tonight, they said. Maybe,” Ivan whispered.

“What do you mean, maybe? She promised.”

“She can only take five at a time.”

“Bloody Marks, she’s been here every night for a week.
What’s she going to do, get everyone but us? The more people who leave, the
less chance of survival for those who stay. I’m too young to die in this rat
hole.”

Ivan shrugged—a hint that he wasn’t happy about the
situation either.

“We could try and make a run for it on our own,” Pattin
whispered, his lips barely moving, glancing around the desolate countryside.

Over the sand, the heat waves danced, crafting a mirage
of water, a deceptive illusion that only a fool would pursue. Bait for the
enemy. Pattin licked his lips, wishing for a drink of cool water from the
springs in Bidsworth, his homeland, a wealthy duchy whose stone structures
mirrored the color of the red earth. Here in the wasteland, iron ore poisoned
the vegetation, and there was nothing but dust as far as the horizon. The
soldiers hated this place, and rumors of desertion were burning the ears of the
agents at base. The officers were watching the troops like hawks.

“Fool. We’d have bolts in our backs, dead. Is that what
you want? If I’m going to desert, I’m doing it with Kezia.” Ivan wiped the
sweat from his brow; his face caked with red earth. Even his eyelashes were
laden with dirt.

“What makes her so special that she can get us out with
no one noticing?”

Ivan snickered and glared at him. “She’s the duke’s
daughter, remember? Plus, she’s smart, crafty, and wicked.”

“Duke sabotages his own army through his daughter!”
Pattin mumbled.

“Stop complaining or she’ll never come and get you.”

Pattin wiped his brow, his mouth fixed in a frown. She
might not come for him at all. It’s everyone else’s luck to be saved by a
duchess.

“Heads up!” The dreaded warning arrived just
as a flurry of bolts blotted out the sun.

Pattin covered his head with his shield. Ivan lifted
his own targe to cover his body while the plummeting projectiles thundered on
it.

“Move!” came the command.

Like a terrified beetle, Pattin crouched on the ground
and joined the others, locking his shield with Ivan’s as the company crawled
through the trench, hands and knees bleeding, while avoiding the corpses of
friends who didn’t survive. Away from the onslaught they moved, abandoning
their supplies. Someone would be sent back for them when the sun settled on the
horizon and the two moons rose.

Soon everyone here would have to leave the trenches and
charge at the enemy. That was a standard maneuver, and it was just a matter of
time. Hand to hand combat would kill him, Pattin was certain. With practiced
ease, he could loose an arrow, always striking the mark. But his end would come
by the cold steel of a sword. He hoped it would be tomorrow. He wasn’t ready to
die today.

Maybe Kezia would draw his name and come for him
tonight. Maybe he would live through this bloody war, after all.

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What kind of world ruler would you be?

Ha! This is a loaded question. Thank you, Silver Dagger Blog Tour for posing it to me.

Shall I start my campaign now? Or should I wait until the deep freeze?

In all honesty, I would probably be the worst world leader ever. But then, you can’t be a leader unless someone follows you and I was never very successful at having more than a cluster of children running along behind me.

Why wouldn’t I be a good leader?

  • I can’t hear very well. My husband and I spend more time saying “What?” than having a real conversation.
  • My voice doesn’t carry. I’ve been to book events and said “Hello” to a dozen people and they walk on by.
  • I hate talking in front of an audience. So much, I stutter. I was in a play in high school once. I was the Countess in You Can’t Take it With You. I looked really pretty in this gorgeous dress with a shiny tiara in my hair. I was so nervous I forgot all my lines. It was embarrassing and everyone was mad at me. I never got cast in another part again, thank goodness.
  • I find it difficult making a decision. Just the other day I was ordering something from a home-based business, and I changed my mind so many times I flooded them with emails. No one knew what I was ordering.
  • When I do make a decision, I think about it afterwards until I conclude I made the wrong decision. Then it’s too late and then I feel guilty.
  • I don’t fly. If I had to go to a country overseas, I’d have to take a cruise boat. That would hold up a few meetings, I think.
  • As far as the campaign? I detest competition. Once they started slandering me, I’d drop out. I’m not much of a soldier. I am certainly not officer material. I can think of having a backbone. I give my characters in my stories plenty of valor and honor. It’s all wannabe for me. I have inner strength, but rarely does it show outwardly. Unless I’m mad. Then everyone hides.

So. In conclusion, please do not nominate me for world leader. I don’t even want to tell them how to do their job!

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D.L. Gardner is an
award-winning author, artist, filmmaker, and screenwriter with over 28
published works to her credit. Writing and painting are her passions and
fantasy her forte. When she’s not pounding keys on the computer, she’s canning
salsa, picking apples, listening to the voices of critters in the woods, or
watching flowers grow. She loves visiting far-off lands through books by both
reading and writing.

Her genres include all fantasy, historical, and mystery.

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Get to know D.L. through her websites and blogs or send her a message her on Kickstarter.

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Currently a FINALIST (2025 March) in
the Cannes World Wide Film Festival for her screen adaption of her book An
Unconventional Mr. Peadlebody.

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Other awards include Wishing
Shelf book Award 2023 for audio, B.R.A.G. Award 2022 for the Cho Nisi series,
Book Excellence Award 2019 and 2015 for Ian’s Realm and Cassandra’s Castle.
Best Screenplay adaptation from her book Dylan at the Paris Screenplay Awards,
Mile Hill International Screenplay Awards, L.A. Edge Awards, European
Cinematography Awards, and Moondance Film Festival. Best Screenplay Award for
adaptation from her book An Unconventional Mr. Peadlebody at Veers Film
Festival, Best Screenplay Award for adaptation of Ian’s Realm at the Twin Falls
Sandwiches Film Festival and many more.

  

Website * Newsletter * Facebook * Instagram * Bookbub * Goodreads

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a $20 giveaway!

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Enter the Land of Two Moons Giveaway Here

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~~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Mild Mannered Men By Walter Horsting ~ Peek Inside And Giveaway

Posted: September 8, 2025 in Action/Adventure, Excerpt, giveaways
Tags: , ,
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Mild Mannered Men by Walter Horsting Banner

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MILD MANNERED MEN
by Walter Horsting
September 1-26, 2025 Virtual Book Tour

 

 

Synopsis:
The Rain Will Wash Away The Blood

An action-packed thriller, Mild Mannered Men explores how a simple mistake can change the lives of countless people. An honest mistake leads to the accidental exchange of a disc that holds top-secret information which can threaten the socioeconomic fate of the world as we know it.

The novel follows Sergei, an ex-KGB freelancer who’s dealing with the Cartel and China’s technology leader. Happy Camper, sister of George Camper, a cybersecurity expert, is putting together a venture deal of her own during a VTC. John Nord is the man helping set up the international video teleconference with Sergei and Happy, unaware of how a simple meeting could change his life and the lives of many.

As the Russian kidnaps John’s fiancée for a barter, an FBI agent is hot on the trail, desperate to find closure of his own. Peter Holland, a reporter chasing a story, finds himself in the middle of the chaos after having accidentally left his phone in Happy’s car.

Murder, espionage, and an international conspiracy bring together five people from different walks of life who find themselves entrapped in an adventure beyond their grasp.

How much could possibly go wrong in just four days?

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Praise for Mild Mannered Men:

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“Don’t let the title fool you. Mild Mannered Men is a fast-paced thriller in the tradition of John Le Carré and Tom Clancy. Horsting’s first novel weaves multiple characters into a spiraling narrative, picking up the pace as the main characters are drawn into the intrigue of hi-tech international espionage. Mild Mannered Men deftly juxtaposes seemingly divergent plot lines in a cleverly-constructed cat-and-mouse game of Who Has It, rather than Who Done It. If you like car chases and snappy dialogue then give this shape-shifting page-turner a spot on your bookshelf.” ~ Ken Nicholson Emmy Winning Editor

“Mild Mannered Men is a fantasy come true: who hasn’t wondered what would happen if you suddenly became involved in a high tech international conspiracy with Russian hit men, drug cartel death squads and FBI agents all converging on you? How would you do in a high-stakes, high-speed chase through the mountains of northern California? All of you Ian Fleming, Tom Clancy enthusiasts can stop wondering—here’s the novel for you. Horsting’s hero is a regular guy who thinks his way out of dire situations, using his with and cunning to get out of tight scrapes that lead into worse situations. With the help of a big cast of characters, his fianceé and some well-monied friends, John Nord follows the tech trail to navigate this wide-ranging, fast-paced thriller. It’s not everyday you get a chance to save the world.” ~ Max Rebeaux, Publisher

“Bob and I just finished reading your book and thoroughly enjoyed it! I brought it with me on our 5 day trip to Cabo. I liked the spacing (layout) in the book, pictures, list of characters and their roles for reference during the early part of my read. The many places are a tribute to Sacto and SF! I need to revisit Frank Fat and Boulevard in 2025. I typically read nonfiction but loved it! Very clever in the time frames and most visual descriptions ❤️ throughout. Congrats and THANK YOU for this signed copy. It took me quite a while to read the book in order to fully absorb the story but it was a faster read for Bob. I will lend it to a couple of friends in the coming months.” ~ Bob and Carol Tetz

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Mild Mannered Men Trailer:

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Book Details:

Genre: Spy Action Adventure

Published by: Self Published Publication Date: October 4th 2024 Number of Pages: 298 ISBN: 9798337680613

Book Links: Amazon | KindleUnlimited | Goodreads | BookBub | Audible

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Enjoy this peek inside:

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The monsoon gale was relentless, tearing apart the redwood trees that dotted the sweeping curves of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. Traffic was minimal, with only a few drivers braving the hundred-year storm that assailed the Santa Cruz Mountains that day.

Mount Herman Road

The storm was brutal. John Nord squinted through the moving windshield wipers; his brows drawn with tension. The visibility was close to zero. He was clenching his jaw, angry at how the wipers were not quick enough, even at their fastest.

The rain came down in sheets, thundering on the roof of John’s faded blue Taurus Wagon. His car swerved on the deserted but slick curves of the road, the winding asphalt reflecting the wagon’s headlights at him. The midday sky was heavy with dark clouds, the torrential rain blinding every driver on the road. The world beyond the shelter of John’s car was pure chaos. The noise of the storm hemorrhaging through the car’s windows. Even though the windows muffled the sound, John was fully aware of the creaking as the redwoods bent under the pressure of the wind.
Felton Empire Grade Curve
The roadbed spiraled around consecutive two hundred and seventy degree turns while clawing another one hundred feet of altitude; sheets of rain pelted the road and hillside. The wind whipped redwoods side to side, and the raging gale edged up in pitch and fury. Massive trees groaned in protest. Branches snapped in the wind, the redwood needles adding to the hell that poured down the Felton Empire Road curve. The sound of heavy wind in an evergreen forest had its own fierceness. The high-pitched growl of trillions of needles scratching the air mixed with the guttural low-frequency strain of heavy timber, stretching to survive, foretold doom. A large branch slashed across the road and down the cliff along the side of Felton-Empire Grade. The roadway rose two thousand tortuous feet from the foot of the grade. Hurricane-force winds lashed and moaned from the forest above the pavement as it twistingly ascended through a nasty corner. No one should be out driving, but John had no choice.
Mount Herman Road
“This is Santa Cruz classic rock. It is a wonderful day to stay indoors with another classic from Yes, Owner of a Lonely Heart. The DJ’s voice crackled through the radio. The song’s instrumental began to bleed through the speakers of John’s car. The riff of the electric guitars was easy to hear, even over the noise of the heavy rain. The blue wagon sped away from the Highway 17 exit. Mount Herman Road wedged itself between the competing strip malls of Scotts Valley. John ignored the discordant symphony of horns behind him, protesting his driving. John focused on another vehicle that zoomed in and out of the midday traffic ahead of him. The black sedan he followed sped past cars on the four-lane highway, snaking through the rush of traffic as John stepped on the accelerator in anxious pursuit. The DJ’s voice broke into the song’s flow. “Folks, we have a breaking story. A national weather alert for the Santa Cruz Mountains, torrential rain for the next six hours, and a landslide warning. Back to Yes.” “Move yourself,” the singer belted. John’s eyes darted to the signboard above, making a mental note of how soon Mount Herman Road would leave Scotts Valley behind. The sedan sped forward smoothly, unaffected by the torrential rain. John’s faded blue wagon whizzed past five more cars, jumping ahead of traffic before the stoplight turned green. The road began to narrow as the chase continued, the four lanes shrinking to one going uphill. John scanned ahead for the sedan, squinting through the downpour. He spotted the dark sedan pulling past a fuel tanker truck beginning its slow ascent uphill. John gritted his teeth in frustration, staring at the sedan fast disappearing in the rain. “Never thinking of the future. Prove yourself,” the song continued. In his rush to catch up with the sedan, John almost missed the tanker changing lanes. He winced at the wrenching sound of metal against metal. The scrape was a sickening contrast to the rock song. Still, his car sped forward. John straightened up in his seat checking the damage his wagon had sustained. The hauler had clipped the Taurus, taking the right turn signal with it. John veered right, narrowly escaping a collision with an oncoming logging truck. As he returned to his lane, the logger angrily sounded his air horn. The headlights behind him were blinding, the truck’s beam set high. “You are the move you make. Take your chances, win, or lose. See yourself. You are the steps you take. You and you, and that’s the only way.” The downpour got heavier as the road narrowed. The wind and rain had increased to hurricane strength. Branches snapped, and mud oozed over the road. Sludge began covering the inside lane as the howling wind increased. Inside the Taurus, John, a rough handsome man in his thirties, ran a hand through his blonde hair, puffing out his cheeks as he exhaled. His gaze darted frantically to the mirrors, checking his position on the hill. His heart still thundered from the near-death experience of almost totaling his wagon into a logging truck. He was feeling the strain of the high-speed chase. John sped after the dark sedan. It was the only thing he could do. His hand fell for his phone as he kept his gaze on the road, glancing down in time to see that it would not turn on no matter how many times he pressed the button on the side. “Shake…” The car veered sideways again as John’s eyes darted around for the car phone charger. The charger he kept on the dashboard slid off onto the passenger side floor, out of reach. John grunted, annoyed. The charger thumped against the soft makeup case his fiancée had kept there. He glanced down to see a nail file and cuticle clippers peeking out from the case. The passenger side was a mess of clutter, as if the woman who sat there would return any moment, gather her things, and pass John a smile and a wave as she headed off to work. A Sutter Healthcare security pass slid out from her purse on the floor beside the case. John’s throat tightened at the sight of the face staring back at him from the badge. The sound of the truck horn faded into the downpour. John swallowed sharply, dropping the phone in his lap while pressing down on the gas, willing his car to speed up. “Shake yourself…” The rain hammered down on his windshield. John turned up the wipers’ speed, clearing the windshield for a millisecond before the view returned to a blur of rain and the heavy wind. The redwoods bent whichever way the wind pleased, and the thunderous crackle of smaller trees falling and branches snapping leaked into the safe shell of John’s car. The redwood trees moaned as the rain blew sideways, cracking as nature continued its violent assault. Muddy rivulets trailed down into the roadway. “You’re every move you make. So, the story goes, owner of a lonely heart.” The narrow path had turned into a steep incline. As John urged his car up the slope, the faded Taurus battled against the wind and rain. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, knuckles white as his jaw ached, his fiancée’s face flashing before his eyes. He had to make it. “Owner of a broken heart. Owner of a lonely heart.” John let out a heavy breath as his faithful Taurus pulled through. The windshield cleared again momentarily, and John’s eyes widened at the sharp curve ahead. The slick roadways would make it impossible to make it through in one piece. John clenched his jaw, determined as he turned the wheel, whispering a silent prayer as he felt the rear wheels slide on the turn slewing off the road entirely for a moment. John held his breath, his heart stammering as the wheels floundered, barely staying on the road as he entered the town of Felton. “You’ve been hurt so before; watch it now. The eagle in the sky. How he dancin’ one and only, you, lose yourself. No, not for pity’s sake; there’s no real reason to be lonely. Be yourself.” The blue wagon slid to a rolling stop at Gramhill Road as he caught his breath. The chase had started taking a toll on him, but it was up to him. John’s head whipped toward the right, gaze zeroing in on his target. The dark sedan was speeding away, unaffected by the storm. John stepped on the gas, shaking his head, his car rocketing away in pursuit. “Give your free will a chance. You’ve got to want to succeed—owner of a lonely heart.” The blue wagon crossed Highway 9 onto Felton Empire Grade at a breakneck speed. The car veered left and right; John was understeering to get his vehicle under control. John caught his breath as his car straightened. He felt the tension in his shoulders, the steady ache that increased with every passing moment. A battered green pickup truck on Highway 9 spun out of control at the light. Most drivers were pulling their cars onto the side of the road at awkward angles, not wanting to drive in blinding dangerous conditions. John slammed his fist on the steering wheel, willing the car’s exhausted, faded, battered remnants to push its limits for one more charge. He fought to steer left, the road both turning and rising as it curved uphill and steepened. John felt like he may as well have been chasing that sedan on foot. Steering the distressed Taurus was no less than a marathon. The faithful wagon journeyed onward, the song’s chorus continuing as the trees on either side had started to canopy the road John was on, supplying a temporary respite from the assaulting rain. John exhaled; his relief was short-lived as he took in the approaching hairpin curve. “After my own indecision, they confused me so. Owner of a lonely heart. My love said never question your will at all. In the end, you’ve got to go.” The rock song continued as John sped forward. No turn could scare him enough to stop his pursuit. Just then, a giant redwood branch fell onto the road. Spotting it in time, John avoided it, but the road ahead now seemed impassable. The wind whipped branches off strong redwood trees and laid them out crossways on the road. But John refused to slow down. He pushed the Taurus to its last limits, sweat beading on his forehead. John muttered a silent curse as a branch landed heavily on the roof of his car. Up ahead was a sharp turn that veered left, then right, with fifteen miles an hour posted. “Look before you leap—owner of a lonely heart.br>And don’t you hesitate at all – no, no.” As the song faded into a guitar solo, John stared at his next challenge: the hairpin corner. The roadway snaked through a series of turns. The rain softened the shoulder of the mountain opened to a ravine below. He steered a centerline through the extreme right hairpin as the pavement descended into the Redwoods. The water poured down the hillside in torrents that became gushing creeks. John Nord nodded to himself, determined. He slammed his foot down on the pedal as the dark sedan sped seamlessly toward the turn, disappearing around the turn raising wakes of road water. “Owner of a lonely heart. Owner of a lonely heart. Much better than a Owner of a broken heart. Owner of a lonely heart.” The road straightened slightly out into rhythmic curves. The wagon strained against the weather, the rasping sounds from the engine a sure sign of the price the chase cost the wagon. The straining engine mirrored John’s mental state, the faded Taurus manifesting the intensity of its driver’s panic, fear, and determination. John floored it. The chorus of the song repeated, inching toward the end. “Sooner or later, each conclusion, Will decide the lonely heart. Owner of a lonely heart. It will excite; it will delight.” The song faded into silence as John approached another yellow fifteen-mile-per-hour sign leaning to the left. The storm bent the pole planted into the ground. The road spiraling up to the left, the slick road ahead had large cracks across the surface, promising him a harrowing experience. “It will give a better start. Owner of a lonely heart.” The music faded, John’s panic winning out as he braked hard for the hairpin turn. The wagon dropped into the large crack in the road, jerking his body as the sun visor popped down. John felt the jolt run through him, his head slamming back against the headrest. “Don’t deceive your free will at all. Don’t deceive your free will—owner of a lonely heart. Don’t deceive your free will at all, Just receive it—” John sighed, gritting his teeth, reaching over, switching off the radio. The blue wagon drifted through the hairpin curve and raced around the sweeping blind turn as the rain saturated hillside mud slipped down into the valley. The dark sedan disappeared while John, caught in the unforgiving road collapse, slid into the abyss. In defeat, John pounded the steering wheel. “And I thought I had it made. *** Excerpt from MILD MANNERED MEN by Walter Horsting. Copyright 2025 by Walter Horsting. Reproduced with permission from Walter Horsting. All rights reserved.

 

 

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About Author Walter Horsting:

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Walter Horsting

At age nineteen, Walter Horsting started his first career as a teenage soundman in the music industry and formed a concert audio company. He engineered over three thousand live shows in ten years. Walter branched into media systems integration of government hearing rooms, military command rooms, entertainment complexes, and Fortune 500 headquarters. He has developed national and international business for leading media and technology providers for airports, smart cities control rooms, network control centers, and global briefing centers. Walter lives with his wife, Sherry, in Sacramento, California. .  

Catch Up With Walter Horsting:

MildManneredMen.com Amazon Author Profile Goodreads Instagram – @mildmanneredmen YouTube – @MildManneredMen-r1o X – @WalterHorsting Facebook – @Walter Man

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MILD MANNERED MEN by Walter Horsting

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Stranger Still By George Ochoa ~ Peek Inside And Giveaway

Posted: August 19, 2025 in Action/Adventure, Excerpt, giveaways, thriller
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6

 

Stranger Still

by George Ochoa

 

Publication date: August 19th 2025
Genres: Adult, Literary Fiction, Thriller

Paul Inster, a brilliant, insane Columbia college student majoring in English with an undisclosed minor in knives, is in love with graduate student, Tracy Iridio. Seeing her in the library every day, he mistakenly believes she is in love with him and that she is a goddess, Teresa. In fact, the two have never met, and she does not know who he is. When, for the first time, he sees her with her boyfriend, classical history professor Larry Post, Paul sets out to destroy Larry via a campaign of terror. As the campaign mounts, Larry, mystified, tries to figure out who is attacking him and why. Through a series of surprises and confusions, the campaign escalates to murder.

Stranger Still is both a thriller and a literary novel, combining suspense and violence with rich language, webs of cultural allusions, and themes of love and madness.

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Teresa and I often made love, though never in the flesh. To this day the psychiatrists will scrutinize such a statement as if it meant something other than what it plainly says, as if it were the telltale boil of some rare mental pox that might explain the blood spills photographed by the police. But these doctors do not understand love, optics, metaphysics, error, or even good taste. As far as flesh went, I never touched or even talked to Teresa, not until our moral decline had already begun. Before then, seeing the chaste tables that divided us in the Columbia library less than a decade ago, in the middle years of the 1990s, you might have thought Teresa and I were strangers, that she didn’t know I was alive.

I first saw her early in my junior year, a new female sitting several tables away in the Burgess-Carpenter reading room on the fourth floor of Butler Library. She seemed at first like any other of the pretty women on campus whom I liked to ogle and who regarded me as if I were invisible. But the more I stared at her, the more she particularly interested me. A pile of books rested near her elbow on the blond pine table, her head bent with rapt attention over her open book. Hazy September sunlight from the tall windows bathed her small breasts in her magenta top, made the white skin of her forearms glow. Her dark-brown hair was long and luxuriant, her neck long, her face shaped like that of a Raphael Madonna. But what captured me most were her eyes—large, sad eyes, ringed with mauve circles as if she hadn’t slept well. Why was she sad? Was there something I could do to make her happier?

We sat like that for a long time, she near the east end of a table in the back, never noticing me, while I shot frequent glances at her from near the west end of the second table from the door. About twenty feet diagonally divided us, too far for me to discern her eye color, though I tried. Finally, she got up, gathering her books into a white canvas tote bag and walking toward the door. As her gangly frame passed me, I gave her eyes a good look and saw they were hazel, flickering elusively under their long lashes from green to brown to gold.

The thought of her big, sad, long-lashed hazel eyes kept me happy for the rest of my day at Columbia. Even when I boarded the downtown Number One train, the first of the three trains that every evening buried me back in Jamaica, Queens, I was still thinking of those eyes. But an hour and fifteen minutes in the subways will discourage anyone. By the time I left the second leg, the D train, for the final and longest leg, the F, my thoughts were turning dark. The train was crowded with smelly, loam-colored laborers imported from faraway continents, and me just one of the horde.

Most students at Columbia boarded, but because my family was poorer than that of the standard Ivy Leaguer, I was a commuter. Combined with my natural tendency toward solitude, this meant I had no friends either on campus or anywhere else. I longed to make contact with someone, anyone, but did not know how. Sometimes I just wanted to pet them—the young secretary sitting before me on the subway in vinyl jacket and glittery eyeliner—to touch her shoulder, her pulsing throat, and say, “I am here. I am lonely. Help me.” Sometimes I wanted to hit them—the goon in the Yankees cap. When I felt particularly desperate, I wanted to stab them. I had knives that would have fit that purpose, but I never took them out of the house.

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About Author George Ochoa:

George Ochoa’s first novel is the thriller Stranger Still. In addition, he has written or cowritten thirty-five nonfiction books, including The Book of Answers, The Writer’s Guide to Creating a Science Fiction Universe, The American Film Institute Desk Reference, and Deformed and Destructive Beings: The Purpose of Horror Films. His short fiction has been published in North American Review, Eureka Literary Magazine, Eunoia Review, Bangalore Review, and elsewhere. He is also the author of published poems and essays.

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Embedded By John Lansing ~ Peek Inside And Giveaway

Posted: August 18, 2025 in Action/Adventure, Excerpt, giveaways, thriller
Tags: ,
1

 

Embedded by John Lansing Banner

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EMBEDDED
by John Lansing
July 14 – August 29, 2025 Virtual Book Tour

   

Synopsis:
DAKOTA JUDD THRILLER SERIES

  Jailed Army Ranger Dakota Judd is offered a life-altering deal from Jean Steele, an ambitious and attractive Black FBI agent. Infiltrate a White Supremacist prison gang while he’s incarcerated, then embed himself into their militia on the outside. Become the eyes and ears of the FBI. If successful, his record will be expunged and he can live a normal life. If he fails, he’ll wind up dead.

Embedded, the first book in the new Dakota Judd thriller series, features John Lansing’s trademark propulsive, page-turning writing style, with a tough but sympathetic protagonist. Accompanying Dakota are two powerful women: Aunt Billie, his tough-as-nails wingman, a retired female detective who makes sure Dakota stays alive as he rotates back to civilian life where peril awaits, and Jean Steele, Dakota’s FBI handler, who must thwart her romantic impulses towards Dakota, as one false move can cost her a career in the male-dominated FBI.

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Praise for Embedded:

“Embedded hooked me from the start and it never let up. It’s a thriller brimming with unexpected twists, convincing characters and dialogue that rings true. And Lansing created one absolutely badass protagonist in his hero Dakota Judd.” ~ Dietrich Kalteis, award-winning author of Dirty Little War

“John Lansing is the king of page-turning thrillers and his new novel, Embedded, is a crown jewel. The book should come with a warning: Don’t expect to sleep until you finish the last page. It’s that good!” ~ Steven Manchester, #1 bestselling author, Ashes

“Dakota Judd is a fantastic addition to the pantheon of thriller heroes. Smart, resourceful, and realistic, he’s also a man of ethics. Lansing writes action scenes as if he’s been there himself, and the plot is straight out of the headlines. I highly recommend Embedded for readers who like a clever, action-packed read.” ~ Terry Shames, Macavity Award-winning Author of Deep Dive, second in The Jessie Madison Series.

“With Embedded, John Lansing launches his new Dakota Judd thriller series like an Atlas rocket. The story takes off with a bang yet still manages to accelerate all the way to the nail-biting climax. The characters are fully fleshed and nuanced, and the wild ride has more twists than a licorice stick. A must read.” ~ Craig Faustus Buck, award-winning author of Go Down Hard

“John Lansing’s brilliant new thriller, Embedded, showcases his razor-sharp prose and masterful plotting in a tense crucible of trust and deception. Dakota Judd is a riveting new hero I’ll gladly follow through this new series.” ~ Lisa Towles, Award winning author of Specimen and other thrillers

Book Details:

Genre: Thriller

Published by: White Street Press Publication Date: July 8, 2025 Number of Pages: 317 Series: Dakota Judd Thriller Series, Book 1

Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple | Kobo | Goodreads | BookBub

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Enjoy this peek inside:

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Chapter 1

Dakota Judd wasn’t a man who questioned decisions once made. He’d had more than enough time to dissect every moment of the incursion. He could’ve turned a blind eye; after all, it was war. But reliving the raid, in fractured dreams that continued to insinuate themselves into his waking moments, was a burden he’d carry for life. His action sure as shit created an unexpected detour. But with disciplined daily pushups, chin-ups, and laps, his body was still intimidating. He lived by the Ranger credo, “Further, Faster, Harder.” That much he could control. Life behind bars, he took one day at a time. Rangers were trained to expect the unexpected, but nothing could prepare him for what was in store from the woman who sat across the metal table from Dakota.

Jean Steele was an African American FBI Agent with high cheek- bones, chestnut skin, shoulder-length brown hair, who wore a professional navy pantsuit. She was an attractive woman, something not lost on Dakota. They were in the Greeley Federal Penitentiary’s visiting room designated for cops and lawyers. No cameras or recorders allowed. Steele removed her sunglasses before starting the interview, revealing sharp, intelligent, brown eyes that locked on Dakota’s. “So, Mister Judd…you’ve served six years of a seven-year sentence,” she said, glancing up from her notes. Dakota picked up the light scent of J’adore. The perfume his ex- fiancé wore. “And three months before your early discharge, having been granted early release for exemplary compliance with institutional regulations, you blow it all by stabbing a Black inmate in the thigh, severing his deep femoral vein, leaving him to bleed out in the weight- room, almost killing him. Dakota…you don’t look like a foolish man.” “Is that a question, or an answer?” Dakota’s eyes creased into an easy smile. He hadn’t had a conversation with a good-looking woman for a very long time, and was intrigued by her visit and up to the challenge. “In this case, it was kill or be killed,” he said matter-of-factly. “The man was out of his league, and I had no choice.” “They didn’t find a weapon on the victim.” “I left it in his leg. I’m sure it’s all in your report.” “The Federal paperwork is in process to rescind your early release.” Dakota was aware they weren’t only going to rescind, they were going to add two years to his original sentence, bringing the life-killing number to nine. “Why are you here, Agent Steele?” Dakota asked, cutting to the chase. “What did I do to deserve a visit from the Feds?” Steele held his gaze. “The government needs your help.” “Why the interest?” “You’ve had no gang affiliations since your arrest and conviction. That couldn’t have been an easy ride.” Dakota leaned back in the metal chair and let her talk. “The OC Wolf Pack are an anti-government white supremacist militia operating out of Orange County. We’ve been picking up chatter on the dark web and social media. The Wolf Pack may have a link to California Senator Jack Bradley, who’s up for re-election. “Bradley’s constituency leans heavily to the extreme right. He hides their bias like a momma bear protects her cubs. The Wolf Pack are crude. And even though they share similar philosophies with the senator they are to be seen and not heard. That’s where Blackfox Elite Protection fits in. We think Blackfox is providing the money used to fund Bradley’s re-election and a growing list of homegrown militias.” “What’s their MO?” “Blackfox recruits ex-military, retired cops, FBI, and guns for hire. It’s an elite private security force that has no compunction employing known felons. They’re supported by a group of wealthy right-wing patriots…their description. Blackfox is getting fat on government contracts, assisted in part by the CEO’s tight relationship with the senator who’s the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, to the tune of forty-five million in the last quarter.” Agent Steele had definitely piqued his interest. “Aren’t you gonna ask where I stand?” “If I thought you stood with them, I wouldn’t be sitting here. Neither would you.” Dakota didn’t argue the point. “Where do I fit in?” “We need someone outside local law enforcement.” “And outside of the FBI,” Dakota intuited. Steele nodded. “A few of our retired agents still have friends in high places. We’re aware of leaks. We need to shore them up. You’ve got the bona fides. Your skill set, your attack on a commanding officer while serving in Afghanistan. Your exemplary record before the assault charges, your silver medal. That, and now, stabbing a Black inmate three months before your release, should make you a rock star with the skinheads in quadrant-D. “We need someone to cozy up to the supremacists who have ties to the Wolf Pack in Orange County and a probable link to Blackfox, our main target. Best-case scenario, you infiltrate Blackfox upon your release, and deliver their plans.” “Why?” “The Alt-right’s first armed insurrection on the U.S. Capital failed, but shook the world. We want to shut these militia groups down before there’s a second attempt that succeeds.” “Why would I sign on?” “That’s up to you. The Army is about to rescind your pardon and add time to your release date for attempted manslaughter. When you get out…you’ll be handed over to the United States Probation Office, where they’ll dog you with years of probation and a host of rules that if not followed, will stack on more prison time. You’ll be living in purgatory.” “I don’t respond to threats,” he said without attitude. “We’re offering you a lifeline.” “I’m sure you’ll understand, Agent Steele. I’ve got trust issues with the government.” “I understand, and Blackfox will understand. I’ll be your handler. You won’t have to deal with the suits.” “You’re wearing a suit.” “I’ll have your back. Infiltrate Blackfox. Become our eyes and ears, and you walk away a free man. Your conviction, expunged. Pension reinstated. You can work, vote, get married, have kids. A normal life.” Steele pulled a contract out of her attaché case and slid it across the table. “How do I explain you?” “I work at your law firm.” Steele hands him a contact card. It read, Jean Clarkson. Associate at Peluso, Costa, and Litto, Attorneys at Law. “It passes the sniff test.” Not the way Dakota thought his day was going to unfold. “Take some time,” she continued. “Read the fine print. I already had a conversation with your representative, Joseph Peluso, and sent him a copy of the contract. It guarantees your future for services rendered.” “What did he say?” “He was inclined to accept, but wouldn’t give me a definitive answer until we spoke. Said it was your call.” “Sounds like Peluso.” Dakota Judd lifted the paperwork, maintaining eye contact, trying to get a read on this federal agent before diving into the contract that might just be the answer to his prayers. He held the life-changing document in his hands, but his mind drifted on the scent of J’adore. The contract was fifteen pages of legalese that protected the government from any liability in the execution of said agreement. Shorthand for: If Dakota signed the contract, he was agreeing to risk his life in service to the government. If successful in the mission, he’d have his life back. He’d be a free man with no one looking over his shoulder. If he failed, well, he’d be back in the slammer, or he’d be dead. Dakota straightened the pages, looked deep into Steele’s eyes, and nodded his assent. Steele handed him a pen. Dakota signed on the dotted line. “Good,” Agent Steele said. She slid the contract into her attaché case and pushed away from the table. “I’ll be in touch.” Steele started toward the door and then turned on her heel. “And Dakota…try and stay alive for the next eight weeks.” *** Excerpt from Embedded by John Lansing. Copyright 2025 by John Lansing. Reproduced with permission from John Lansing. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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About Author John Lansing:

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John Lansing

John Lansing is the author of six thrillers featuring Jack Bertolino—The Devil’s Necktie, Blond Cargo, Dead Is Dead, The Fourth Gunman, 25 to Life, and MIA, the prequel—as well as the true-crime non-fiction book Good Cop Bad Money, written with former NYPD Inspector Glen Morisano. Embedded is John’s first thriller in the Dakota Judd series. He’s been a writer and supervising producer on network television, and the co-executive producer of the ABC series Scoundrels, and co-wrote two MOWs for CBS. The Devil’s Necktie is in development at Andria Litto’s Amuse Entertainment, with Barbara DeFina attached as a producer.

A native of Long Island, John now resides in Los Angeles.

Catch Up With John Lansing:

JohnLansing.com Amazon Author Profile Goodreads BookBub – @JohnLansing Instagram – @johnlansingauthor Threads – @johnlansingauthor Facebook – @devilsnecktie

 

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EMBEDDED by John Lansing

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Time Lock Series By Howard Berk & Peter Berk ~ Guest Post And Giveaway

Posted: August 5, 2025 in Action/Adventure, giveaways, Science Fiction
Tags: , ,
10

 

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A sci-fi-tinged
action-adventure with heart and humor, the TimeLock series is
set in the crime-ridden near future where a bold new technology transforms the
justice system and challenges America’s moral compass. Only one problem—what
happens if you’re innocent? 
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The Millennium Paradox

Time Lock Book 3

by Howard Berk & Peter Berk

Genre: SciFi Action Adventure

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The
Award-Winning series co-written by award-winning writer Howard Berk
(“Columbo,” “Mission: Impossible”) and Peter Berk. 

Newly relocated to the charming Alaskan town of Caribou Bay
after bidding farewell to his best friends Morgan and Janine Eberly, Yoshi Ito
inadvertently prompts his boss, geneticist Dr. Emory Layton, to try a new
genetic acceleration protocol in a local prison. Using technology from the
TimeLock process, the experiment goes awry.

Instead of yielding the desired medical benefits, it generates a terrifying
outcome that infuses a convicted killer with superhuman powers.
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As the killer begins to exact revenge upon his enemies, local helicopter pilot
Tom Brooks recruits the Eberlys’ help to stop the unstoppable force before the
residents of Caribou Bay—and possibly the whole world—are forever at the
killer’s mercy.

**NEW RELEASE!!**

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The Kyoto Conspiracy

Time Lock Series Book 2

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TimeLock stole
twenty years from Morgan Eberly’s life. A terrifying new version of the radical
technology might just end it. 

Two years after the events of TimeLock, a new and unhinged
president of the United States approves an immoral and illegal plan to develop
a weaponized form of the TimeLock process for use on the battlefield.
But only one man, geneticist Dr. Lionel Garvey, can execute the program. When
both he and his wife Kiyoko are kidnapped in Kyoto, Japan, Morgan and FBI Agent
Janine Price receive a frantic text from Kiyoko’s brother, Yoshi.
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Realizing they can’t trust anyone in their own government, Morgan and Janine
fly to Japan and team up with Yoshi for an unauthorized rescue mission. After a
daring raid of a research facility in Japan, the trio realize they have only
delayed the president’s insane plan. They must now execute a dangerous assault
on a frozen corner of Siberia to accomplish their mission. Can Morgan and
Janine stop the president from unleashing a newly weaponized version
of TimeLock before it’s too late?

“A deftly crafted dystopian style science fiction
suspense thriller of a novel, “TimeLock” by the team of Howard and
Peter Berk is a compulsive page turner of a read from cover to cover and
unreservedly recommended . . .”​  —Midwest
Book Review (TimeLock)

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Time Lock

Time Lock Series Book 1

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When everyman Morgan Eberly is arrested for a murder he
didn’t commit, he’s subjected to an experimental new technology that instantly
ages prisoners the number of years of their sentence. Now 43 and on the run,
can Morgan and rogue FBI agent Janine Price unlock the truth about TimeLock
before it’s too late to turn back?

An innocent man. A radical punishment.
The clock is ticking . . .

With crime rampant, the President authorizes a hugely controversial
program: TimeLock, a cellular acceleration process whereby select
prisoners are instantly aged the total number of years of their
sentence. In other words – three strikes and you’re old…very old.
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A sci-fi-tinged action-adventure with heart and humor, TimeLock is
the first in a new series of novellas set in the crime-ridden near future where
a bold new technology transforms the justice system and challenges America’s
moral compass. Only one problem—what happens if you’re innocent? 

  

What Readers
are saying about the series:

 

TimeLock is a
high-octane action thriller with a classic feel, reminiscent of Michael
Crichton or Tom Clancy. It’s familiar, but in all the right ways. 

​The central concept is brilliant . . . The novella is tightly paced,
and there’s not a dull moment. . . .The introduction is particularly engaging,
with an absolutely killer prologue that sucks you in right from the
start. Reading TimeLock, I felt like I was watching a movie . . . It’s a crowd-pleasing blockbuster of a
novella, with all the thrills you’d hope for, and a cracking start to a
series.  – Read
the full review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Whoa!! Okay so this was awesome and I have to say first off- I hope like hell
someone picks this up to make a movie or a show out of it!! This was a
super interesting premise so I was hooked. It moved at a great pace and I was
on the edge of my seat the whole time.  -Book Blogger @gryffindorbookishnerd

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I vastly enjoyed this quick read . . .  The writing was keenly honed and
smartly detailed  . . . In sum, was a well-plotted and shrewdly paced
action-packed thriller featuring slightly frayed characters and storylines that
were cleverly laced together with wry humor and witty snark.
–Empress DJ/Honolulubelle, Books
and Binding Book Reviews

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Author Interview – Q&A

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Author Peter Berk reflects on working with his father & the inspiration for the new action
thriller series,
TimeLock.
Peter and his father, Howard, shared more than DNA—they shared a love of film and television
and a talent for writing. Indeed, Howard was an award-winning film and TV writer and book
author whose credits included such classic series as Columbo, Mission: Impossible, and The
Rockford Files.
Over the years, Peter and Howard worked on numerous projects together, but one screenplay
stood out among the rest. It was a clever idea about the future of the justice system in America.
In a country burdened with rampant crime and prison overcrowding, ambitious politicians roll
out an innovative, but controversial technology called ‘TimeLock’ that instantly ages prisoners
the number of years of their sentence—the ultimate punishment for inmates and the ultimate
deterrent for potential criminals. Just one problem, though: what happens . . . if you happen to
be innocent?
These and other questions about morals, politics, and the danger of power are brilliantly
addressed by the authors in this story, along with a plucky hero, a little romance, and lots of
action and humor.
Although Peter lost his father, Howard, before translating this exciting story into a novel, the
father-son spirit of family and creativity is fully present in this work. And the circle continues as
Peter now collaborates with his own sons, Jordan and Daniel, on various creative endeavors.
Author Interview Q&A
We caught up with co-author Peter Berk ahead of the TimeLock book release on September 22
and learned more about the origins of this utterly unique story and the authors who created it.
Why did you pick this particular subject matter to write about?
I always thought the premise of TimeLock was one of my father’s cleverest ideas, so when
COVID hit and I was stuck at home day after day like most people, I was inspired to translate
the original screenplay we wrote into a novel. Beyond the action and sci-fi elements of the story,
©2022 IngramElliott, Inc.
however, I always felt the most interesting aspect of the premise was how a young man with his
whole future ahead of him is forced to adjust to sudden middle age when he becomes one of
the first to undergo the radical and terrifying process that is TimeLock.
What makes you the happiest?
Corny as it is–family, of course, friends, writing (both fiction and music) and tennis–the one
sport I’m fairly good at (for my age!).
What fact about yourself would really surprise people?
I can’t say this would qualify as surprising info to anyone, but I actually originally planned on
becoming a film composer and songwriter. Inspired by such movie composers as John Barry,
Jerry Goldsmith, and John Williams, I locked onto writing music as a career as young as 13
years old and thought I’d have my first Oscar by 25. It obviously didn’t exactly work out that
way, but to my great pleasure, both of my sons, Jordan and Daniel, are excellent composers and
Daniel has already amassed some 75 film, TV and commercial music scoring credits–about 73
more than I ever did!
What is your favorite scene in your book? Why?
I have two favorite scenes, actually. The first is an early lighthearted scene at Morgan’s
workplace when he and two of his fellow programmers hack into their horrible boss’s car and
take over its spoken navigation system. It’s a silly scene that doesn’t advance the plot in any way,
but I think it provides some levity before the action kicks in shortly thereafter. It also, I hope,
depicts Morgan as the young and slightly immature man he is before TimeLock changes
everything. My other favorite scene is in the prison auditorium when Morgan, his fellow
inmates and we the readers first truly become aware of what TimeLock is and the horrifying
future these prisoners are about to face.
What books did you love growing up?
Like many young people of my generation, I devoured the Ian Fleming/James Bond novels, but
also gravitated toward sci-fi authors such as Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov, while also taking in
such classics as Catcher in The Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird. As I got older, I tended to alternate
between “fun” reads like some of the ones mentioned above and books about WWII and world
history. And of course I can’t leave out my father’s first two novels, The Hero Machine and The
Sun Grows Cold.
Please tell us something about your book that is not in the summary.
TimeLock actually began life as a screenplay I wrote with my father—and two more of the five
novellas planned for the series also originated as movie scripts. In tandem with IngramElliott
Publishing, I very much hope to bring some or all of these stories to the big or little screen in
the future.
©2022 IngramElliott, Inc.
What motivates you to write?
The never-ending inspiration of my father, Howard–the best writer I’ve ever known. I’ll cherish
the countless hours we spent writing together and now I can honestly say that thanks to
IngramElliott, bringing the projects my dad and I wrote together to life in this series of novellas
is easily the most gratifying work I’ve ever done in my life.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
TimeLock is available September 22, 2022, in print and e-Book. Follow @timelocknovel on
Facebook and Instagram. Learn more at www.ingramelliott.com/timelock.
Media inquiries: Email pecalvert@ingramelliott.com.

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An award-winning novelist and screenwriter, Howard Berk’s
credits include memorable episodes of such classic TV series as “Columbo,”
(including “By Dawn’s Early Light,” for which guest star Patrick McGoohan won
an Emmy), “Mission: Impossible,” “The Rockford Files,” “The Fall Guy,” “The New
Mike Hammer” and “The Contender,” starring “V” and “The Beastmaster” lead Marc
Singer. Howard Berk also wrote the feature film, “Target,” starring Gene
Hackman and Matt Dillon.

Peter Berk has
written six novels, three TV pilots and a dozen screenplays, including several
with his father, Howard Berk, which became the basis for the TimeLock series
of novels. IE also published Peter’s political murder mystery, First
Line of Defense and will publish his forthcoming novel, Fireline. Peter and his
family live in Southern California.

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Beyond The Light Of The Willow Tree By Daniel E. Chambrello ~ Author Interview And Giveaway

Posted: June 30, 2025 in Action/Adventure, Fantasy, giveaways
Tags: ,
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Book Details:

 BEYOND THE LIGHT OF THE WILLOW TREE by Daniel E. Chambrello
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 268 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Inspirational, Action & Adventure
Publisher:  The boy. The dragon. & the cherry tree swing.
Release date:  April 2025
Content Rating: PG: There are approximately ten violent scenes in the Roman timeline but not they are not graphic at all, and one kiss between characters.

Book Description:

​In the deepest dark, there is only light.

With each new generation, precious souls are called upon to serve a higher purpose. But each calling is forged in challenge and fear, and every journey hinges upon the choices made.

In present-day North Carolina, Gabriel is devoted to his wife, Jennifer, and their five rambunctious kids… until the day tragedy strikes the Connor household, setting in motion a chai of events that will transform humanity.

In ancient Rome, young Gabrielus leaves his humble village to become a protector of the emperor. He dreams of bringing glory and wealth to his family and returning a hero to his love, Jennamine. But the path ahead is steeped in grief and vengeance, and Gabrielus will be forced to make a choice that echoes through the ages.

One soul. Infinite journeys. A universe of possibilities.

Buy the Book:
Amazon
add to Goodreads
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Author Interview:

When did you come up with the idea for Beyond the Light of the Willow Tree?

When I was a little kid, on the playground of my elementary school. It was a general, very high-level idea at that point, and I certainly didn’t understand metaphysics and universal law anywhere near to the depths that I do now (and I’m still growing each moment in my understanding), but I very clearly had the idea to share universal truth through fiction storytelling.

Even back then, I saw in my mind’s eye that I would use loss as the platform to tell my story, and I also knew the finale of the story. I also knew that I wouldn’t actually write it until much later in life—there were many other things I wanted to do and accomplish first, and I knew that I would need a lot of life experience, seeking answers to deep philosophical questions, before I’d be prepared to tell the story as it needed to be told.

What is the significance of the title of your book?

The original title was Fearless. That title had been in my heart long before I started writing. I knew it wasn’t particularly creative, and I was aware that there were some other books with that title, but my primary goal with this story was always to explain to readers why there is nothing in life to fear, so the title resonated.

I had been writing the story for a few years when I started to feel called to title it something else. I had already written willow trees into my story, as I had always intended, and I started to feel called to change the title. I wanted to shine “light” on the truth as a way to show readers there was nothing to fear. Additionally, the vision for my cover always centered on a willow tree, so my mind started to move in that direction.

Willow trees have represented many important spiritual concepts throughout history and across cultures, including resilience and renewal, healing and support through times of grief, inspiration for personal growth, and a connection to the moon and water. They symbolize a connection to earth and the spiritual realms.

My most creative ideas often come to me while in nature. One day, while I was hiking the trails on the mountain through the woods in our backyard, the title came to me: Beyond the Light of the Willow Tree. As soon as I got home I wrote it in my writing notebook, and I loved the way it looked. I tried a number of variations to see if I liked anything better, but that was my clear choice.

There are many books out there about religion, spirituality, and the purpose of life. What makes yours different? 

As I was pitching my book to literary agents, I was fortunate enough to have a meeting with a very successful agent at a major agency. One of the things he said to me was, “there’s nothing like this.”

There are a number of things that make my book unique. First, there are many non-fiction books that share universal truth and metaphysical understandings, but there aren’t a lot of fiction novels that do the same. The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield is an example of a similar approach, but there aren’t many others.

Second, my story has two timelines. There are of course other books with multiple timelines, but they’re usually either across a single lifetime or a family saga, or they include time travel. My timelines are accomplished through the Buddhist principle of the wheel of samsara—the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. In other words, reincarnation.

Another thing that is interesting and unique about my book is that there are multiple storylines in the ancient Rome timeline. This makes the adventure even more fun and interesting.

Do you have a favorite book?

My favorite classic is Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. My favorite line from the book is “The knight’s sole responsibility is to succor them as people in need, having eyes only for their sufferings, not for their misdeeds.” In other words, and as I understand the message, let’s not think about why a person needs help, support, and love; let’s just help, support, and love them.

Just yesterday I received my quarterly alumni magazine from my alma mater. I never read  them, but as I was I flipping through it as I walked from my mailbox to the recycle barrel, something caught my eye. In big type was a quote that said “Just help people. Just help people that say they need help.” It made me think of Don Quixote. It seems like it should be that simple—imagine the results if we all followed that advice.

What do you hope readers will remember most about your book?

I hope readers will remember that they are eternal and infinite, that there is deep and great purpose to life, and that there’s more going on around us than we can discern with our physical senses. Ultimately though, what I hope readers will remember most is not only that there is nothing to fear, but why there is nothing to fear—and that is the path to inner peace and a world of equity and oneness.

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~~~~~
 

Meet  Author Daniel E. Chambrello:

At the base of a mountain in Connecticut sits a peach orchard in a quiet neighborhood. Here, hawks soar high as coyotes slink among the trees, leaving trails of wisdom and mystery. In the early hours, the veil between worlds is as thin as the morning mist. This is where Daniel E. Chambrello sits and thinks. As the youngest of five, Daniel is a born observer, preferring solitude as he questions everything from consciousness to Catholic doctrine. While journeying and experiencing love, heartbreak, and so much in between, Daniel’s knowing has expanded, and his questions have grown deeper. When a good friend handed him a book by a spiritual teacher, it was a life-defining moment, confirming all Daniel had known as truth and further kindling a story that he’d felt called to write since childhood. In this ethos, Daniel’s first novel sprung forth—a spiritual guidebook weaving together love, adventure, and truths that are best felt rather than described.​

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BEYOND THE LIGHT OF THE WILLOW TREE Book Tour Giveaway

 

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To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Rose Island By Zander Hatch ~ Spotlight And Giveaway

Posted: May 10, 2025 in Action/Adventure, giveaways, thriller
Tags: , ,
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Uncover the Secrets. Survive the Island.

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Rose Island

A Team Novel #1

by Zander Hatch

Genre: Military Action Thriller

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Uncover the Secrets.
Survive the Island.

In the high-octane realm of military thrillers,Rose Island stands
out with its masterful blend of espionage and covert warfare. Set against the
backdrop of a forgotten Cold War bastion that harbors earth-shattering secrets,
former Marine turned clandestine operator Jake Harper is drawn back into action
when a top-secret rescue mission calls him to an island erased from every map—a
place steeped in mystery and guarded by deadly forces.

Charged with leading a special operations team amidst the threat of a looming
hurricane, Harper and his team, with their unwavering courage and resilience,
must navigate the treacherous mysteries of Rose Island. As they unearth hidden
bunkers and tangled alliances, each revelation plunges them deeper into a
whirlpool of political intrigue and betrayal. The island, a forgotten relic of
Cold War experiments, holds secrets that some will kill to protect.
Their mission escalates in complexity when they cross paths with a renegade
unit of mercenaries with connections to enigmatic international powers. These
well-trained, heavily armed adversaries are resolute in their intent to exploit
the island’s secrets for their own sinister ends.

With time running out, their mission evolves from a covert infiltration to a
desperate fight for survival. Harper’s resolve is tested as past emotional
entanglements with a team member add layers of complexity to his leadership. As
the storm bears down, they face the natural elements and a formidable enemy in
a climactic showdown that promises to blend their fates with the island’s dark
history.

Dive into Rose Island, where survival clashes with the ghosts of
history, crafting a narrative so tense and gripping that it will leave readers
breathless until the last page is turned.

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,

 

Zander Hatch, a US Marine veteran, blends his extensive
military experience with a talent for storytelling to create thrilling,
authentic narratives. Drawing from global deployments, Hatch’s writing in Rose
Island offers an immersive experience in tactical expertise and unyielding
suspense. Dive into his books for a gripping journey through the realms of
action and adventure, where courage meets the climax of military strategy.

Website * Instagram * Amazon * Goodreads

.

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a $20 giveaway!

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~~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

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