Posts Tagged ‘excerpt’

Cerys: Valkyrie Earth by Merrin Slade ~ Peek Inside And Giveaway

Posted: January 24, 2024 in giveaways, Science Fiction
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Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Cerys: Valkyrie Earth organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Author Merrin Slade will award a $50 Kobo gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Don’t forget to enter!

And you can click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Cerys: Valkyrie Earth

by Merrin Slade

 

 

Genre: Science Fiction / Space Opera

Synopsis

In a world where perfection is demanded of its citizens, one imperfect woman may be the only person who can save humanity.

One thousand years in the future, humans have developed the ability to alter their genes to create a perfect version of themselves, but not all are so fortunate. Cerys Skye is a Wild Type, genetically unaltered and forced to live in the Refuge—a place for Wild Types and the unlucky citizens whose genetic modifications society has deemed as imperfect.

All the fiery tempered young woman knows is how to fight. Using her wits and skills, Cerys must compete in brutal prize fights if she is to bring food to the table for her younger sister. But, she is always aware that the next fight could her last—she must find a way out of this life.

Leaving behind all that she knows, the last place the tempestuous Cerys expects to find herself is joining the United Planet’s Space Force Academy, where she battles prejudice and intolerance in a world run by genetically modified humans.

As the new recruit discovers, not all is as it seems at the Academy with a shadowy cyber-evil seeking to threaten humanity. But, when loyalties are tested and the stakes are high, can Cerys rely on newfound allies and her unshakeable courage to stop the impending catastrophe?

Contains mature themes.

Enjoy this peek inside:

She felt light-headed. “I need half an hour. To find my sister, that’s all…” Starla would understand this was for both of them. She would ask Gerry to take Starla in. Of course, she would. Gerry had a big heart.

“If you’re joining the Space Force, you leave now. You must decide,” he said.

Panic seized her. “I have to say goodbye. I must make arrangements.”

“Step into the pick-up zone. Or you are free to stay behind.”

Cerys glanced up at the silver disk darting through the clouds towards them. She looked back at the crowd. Inquisitive tourists gathered in a wide circle around her. Standing on the edge of the pick-up zone, their faces flashed: green, white, green, white.

In that moment, a woman shoved to the front of the crowd, the haft of a sword glinting over her shoulder—a Valkyrie.

“Kara,” Cerys shouted. “Over here.”

“Cerys.” Kara strode towards the checkpoint. GMs shrank away. “What’s going on? Did they take you? I heard about it.”

The secofficer scowled, and the crowd whooped.

“Kara, listen.” Cerys tugged her aside. “I’ve been recruited to the Space Force. Tell Gerry to look after Starla, and tell Starla…I love her. I’m getting her out of here. I’ll send money. Promise me.”

Kara blinked. “Now? You’re going now?”

“Just promise.”

“I promise.” She nodded vigorously. “Of course, I promise. Hey, what’s this…?”

Secnoids grabbed Kara from behind, dragging her away. Even the famous Valkyrie were not permitted to say goodbye.

“Tell Starla I’ll message…” Cerys shouted, but Kara was already lost in the crowd.

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About Author Merrin Slade:

Merrin Slade is a science fiction writer who transports readers to alternate futures and faraway universes.

Connect with Merrin Slade: TikTok / Website / Twitter / Instagram

 

The book is discounted for a limited time in NZ, Australia and the UK. https://www.kobo.com/au/en/ebook/cerys-valkyrie-earth

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a Rafflecopter 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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Broadcast Blues by R.G. Belsky ~ Peek Inside And Giveaway

Posted: January 23, 2024 in giveaways, Mystery
Tags: , ,
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BROADCAST BLUES by R.G. Belsky Banner

BROADCAST BLUES
by R.G. Belsky
January 1-26, 2024 Virtual Book Tour

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Synopsis:
Wendy Kyle took secrets to her grave— now, Clare Carlson is digging them up

New York City has no shortage of crime, making for a busy schedule for TV newswoman Clare Carlson. But not all crimes are created equal, and when an explosive planted in a car detonates and kills a woman, Clare knows it’ll be a huge story for her. But it’s not only about the story—Clare also wants justice for the victim, Wendy Kyle. Wendy had sparked controversy as an NYPD officer, ultimately getting kicked off the force after making sexual harassment allegations and getting into a physical altercation with her boss. Then, she started a private investigations business, catering to women who suspected their husbands of cheating. Undoubtedly, Wendy had angered many people with her work, so the list of her suspected murderers is seemingly endless. Despite the daunting investigation, Clare dives in headfirst. As she digs deeper, she attracts the attention of many rich and powerful people who will stop at nothing to keep her from breaking the truth about the death of Wendy Kyle—and exposing their personal secrets that Wendy took to her grave.

Praise for Broadcast Blues:

“Broadcast Blues is a page-turning, meticulously plotted crime novel enriched by a terrific New York sense of place, Dick Belsky’s wicked sense of humor, and his insider’s view of the Machiavellian world that is broadcast news.” ~ Jonathan Kellerman, New York Times best-selling author

 

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery

Published by: Oceanview Publishing Publication Date: January 2, 2024 Number of Pages: 320 ISBN: 9781608095315 (ISBN10: 1608095312) Series: Clare Carlson Mystery Series, 6 | All of the novels in the Clare Carlson Mystery Series stand on their own and can be read in any order

Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | Oceanview Publishing

Enjoy this peek inside:
PROLOGUE
From the Diary of Wendy Kyle….
If you’re reading this, I’m already dead. How’s that for an attention-grabbing opening line? I know, I know…it’s a bit melodramatic. And I’m not normally the melodramatic type. Really. No, Wendy Kyle is the kind of woman who deals in facts for a living, the kind of woman who doesn’t let emotion cloud her judgment and – maybe most importantly of all – the kind of woman who never blindly puts her trust in anyone. Especially a man. Hey, I’m not some man-hating bitch or anything like that, no matter what you may have heard or think about me. I like men. I love men, or at least I’ve loved a few men in my life. It’s just that I don’t trust them anymore. So wouldn’t it be ironic – or maybe a little bit fitting, to look at it completely objectively – if trusting a man this one time was what wound up costing me my own life in the end. Here’s the bottom line for me: If I don’t succeed in what I’m about to do in the Ronald Bannister case, well…then it is important someone knows the truth about what happened to me. And that it was the lies – all of the damn lies men have told – that were the death of me.

—– The contents of this document were among evidence

seized by homicide detectives from the office of

Wendy Kyle Heartbreaker Investigations

218 West 42nd Street

New York City

This entry is listed as: POLICE EXHIBIT A

Opening Credits

THE RULES, ACCORDING TO CLARE

Nora O’Donnell is 50 years old. Samantha Guthrie 51. Hoda Kotb 58, Robin Roberts 62 and Gayle King 68. The point I’m trying to make here is that TV newscasters – specifically women TV newscasters – don’t have to be cute, perky young talking heads to succeed in the media world where I work. We’ve come a long way since the days when a respected newswoman like Jane Pauley was replaced by the younger Deborah Norville on the Today show because some network executive (a middle-aged man, of course!) decided Pauley was getting too old to appeal to a television audience. Or when an anchorwoman named Christine Craft lost her job at a station in Kansas City after a focus group determined she was “too old, too unattractive and not deferential to men.” She was 37. Well, 50 is the new 40 now. Or maybe even the new 30. And let’s get something straight right up front here. I’m not one of those women who normally gets stressed out over every birthday that passes by or every wrinkle on my face or every gray hair or two I spot in the mirror. That is not me. No way. I’m not hung up about age at all. But I am about to turn 50 this year. The big 5-0. The half-century mark. And the truth is I’m having a bit of trouble dealing with that… My name is Clare Carlson, and I’m the news director of Channel 10 News in New York City. I’m also an on-air reporter for our Channel 10 news show, and I’ve broken some pretty big exclusives in recent years that have gotten me a lot of attention and made me kind of a media star. But this whole business of turning 50 still seems odd to me. When I was in my 20s, I was a star reporter at a newspaper and won a Pulitzer Prize. In my 30s, after the newspaper went out of business, I switched to TV news at Channel 10. And in my 40s, I’ve been juggling two jobs: TV executive as the station’s news director and also as an on-air personality breaking big stories. Turning 30 and then 40 never really seemed like that big a deal for me. It was more fun than tragic. Look at me: I’m 40! But 50? I’m not so sure about that one. 50 is something completely different, at least the way I see it at the moment. I’m not sure where I go with my life after 50. It couldn’t be happening at a worse time for me either. Channel 10, the TV station where I work, is being sold to a new owner – and this has left everyone in our newsroom worried about what might happen next. My latest boss and I don’t get along, and I’m afraid she might be looking for a reason to fire me. My personal life situation is even worse. I’ve been married three times (all of them ending in divorce), and right now I’m not in any kind of a relationship. I have a daughter, but she didn’t even know I was her mother for the first 25 years or so of her life – so we don’t exactly have a traditional mother/daughter relationship. The only constant in my life – the one thing that I always turn to for comfort when my life is in turmoil – is the news. This newsroom at Channel 10 where I work is my true home. My sanctuary. And so each day I wrap it – along with all the people in it and the stories we cover – around me like a security blanket to protect myself from everything else that is going on around me. All I needed now was a big story to chase. The bigger the better. That’s what I was looking for right now. But as the old saying goes: Be careful what you wish for – because you just might get it. And that’s what happened to me with the Wendy Kyle murder…  

Part I

THE HONEY TRAP

CHAPTER 1

Susan Endicott, the executive producer of Channel 10 News, walked into my office and sat down on a chair in front of my desk. “What are you doing?” she asked. “Talking to you.” “I mean about tonight’s newscast.” “Oh, that.” “Don’t be impertinent with me, Carlson.” What I was actually doing at the moment was putting together one of those old David Letterman style Top 10 lists. I like to do that sometimes. My topic today was: TOP 10 THINGS AN ASPIRING WOMAN TV NEWSCASTER SHOULD NOT SAY DURING A JOB INTERVIEW. My list went like this. 10. What’s that red light on the camera for? 9. Yes, Mr. Lauer, I’d love to be your intern. 8. I sweat a lot on air. 7. I can name all the Presidents back to Obama. 6. If it helps, I’m willing to get pregnant as a cheap on-air ratings ploy. 5. Katie Couric? Who’s Katie Couric? 4. No makeup, please. I want to let my real beauty shine through. 3. My IQ is almost in three numbers. 2. Can I watch TikTok video during commercial breaks? And the Number One thing an aspiring woman TV newscaster should not say during a job interview… 1. I have a personal recommendation from Harvey Weinstein! I wondered if I should ask Susan Endicott if she had any suggestions for my Top 10 list. Probably not. She might call me impertinent again. “Do you have a lead story yet for the 6 p.m. show?” she asked now. “Well, yes and no.” “What does that mean?” “The lead story is about a controller’s audit raising new questions about the viability of the city’s budget goals.” “That’s not a lead story for us.” “Hence, my yes and no reply to your question.” “Do you have a plan for getting us a good story?” “I do.” “What is it?” “Hope some big news happens before we go on the air at 6.” “That’s your plan?” “Uh, huh. The news gods will give us something before deadline. They always do.” “The news gods?” “You have to always believe in the news gods, Endicott.” Looking out the window of my office, I could see people walking through the midtown streets of Manhattan below on a beautiful spring day. Many of them were coatless or in short sleeves. Spring was finally here in New York City after what seemed like an endless winter of snow and cold and bundling up every time you went out. But now it was spring. Yep, spring – time for hope and new beginnings. The sun shining brightly. Flowers blooming. Birds chirping. All that good stuff. In a few weeks New Yorkers would start streaming out of the city on their way to Long Island or the Jersey Shore or maybe Cape Cod. I thought about how nice it would be to be in a place like that right now. Or maybe on a boat sailing up the New England coast. Anywhere but sitting here at Channel 10 News with this woman. Except I knew that even if I did that, I’d probably wind up sooner or later sitting in another newsroom wherever I went talking about lead stories with some other person like Susan Endicott. Endicott and I had been at war ever since she came to Channel 10. That was after the firing – or, if you prefer, the forced resignation – of Jack Faron, the previous executive producer who had first hired me as a TV journalist from my newspaper career and had been my boss for most of my time here. Jack was a top-notch journalist, a good friend and a truly decent human being. Susan Endicott was none of those things. She was an ambitious career climber who had stepped over a lot of people in her efforts to score big ratings at the stations where she worked before. That’s what had landed her the Channel 10 job here in New York, and she was determined to keep her star rising no matter what it took for her to do that. She had no friends that I was aware of, no hobbies or interests, no outside life of any kind. She was completely focused on the job and on her career advancement. For whatever its worth, I didn’t like the way she looked either. She wasn’t fat or skinny, she wasn’t pretty or unattractive, she was just…well, plain. Like she didn’t care about her appearance. She wore drab clothes, hardy any jewelry, no makeup that I could see. It was like her appearance simply didn’t matter to her. Oh, and she wore her glasses pushed back on top of her head when she wasn’t using them. I disliked people who did that. I know it sounds crazy, but that’s the way I feel. It was the perfect final trait of Susan Endicott though. I detested everything about her. And, as you can see, she wasn’t too fond of me either. There were two things that had prevented her from getting rid of me so far. I’ve broken some exclusive stories that got us big ratings. She did like the fact that I was an on-air media star, even if she didn’t like me. So all I had to do was keep finding exclusives. Also, the owner of Channel 10, media mogul Brendan Kaiser, had backed me in any showdown with Endicott since she arrived here. Always good having the big boss on your side when you’re at odds with your immediate boss. But Kaiser was in the process of selling the station. We weren’t sure yet who the new owner would be. Maybe it would be some great journalist or wonderful human being that would care about more than profits. But people like that don’t generally buy big media properties like a TV station. So I was prepared for the worst once the new owner was in place. That meant I needed to keep on breaking big stories. And I hadn’t done that in a while. I needed to find a big story in a damn hurry. “You better come up with a good lead before we go on the air at 6 tonight,” Endicott said as she stood up and said over her shoulder as she started to leave my office. “Or?” I asked. “Or what?” “That sort of sounds like you were giving me an ultimatum. As in ‘or you’re suspended. Or you’re fired. Or your cafeteria privileges are suspended. Or you need to get a permission slip to go to the bathroom. Or…” Endicott turned around. She glared at me. Then she pushed her eyeglasses – which she’d been wearing – back on top of her head again. A nice touch. Perfect for the moment. “Keep digging that hole for yourself, Carlson,” she said to me. “It will make it so much easier when the time comes to get rid of you.” “You have a nice day too,” I said. As things turned out, it didn’t take very long to find a news lead for the show. After Endicott left, Maggie Lang – the assignment editor and my top assistant – burst in to tell me we had a big murder that had just happened. “Someone blew up a woman’s car!” she said excitedly. “On a busy street in Times Square. The victim’s name is Wendy Kyle, and she’s a former New York City cop and a controversial private investigator who’s been involved in a lot of high-profile divorce cases recently. Involving rich people, important people and catching them in sex scandals. Sounds like someone was out for revenge against her. Sex, money, power. This story has everything, Clare!” Yep, the news gods had saved us again. *** Excerpt from BROADCAST BLUES by R.G. Belsky. Copyright 2023 by R.G. Belsky. Reproduced with permission from R.G. Belsky. All rights reserved.

 

 

About Author R.G. Belsky:

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RG Belsky

R.G. Belsky is an award-winning author of crime fiction and a journalist in New York City. His newest mystery, BROADCAST BLUES, was published on January 2 by Oceanview. It is the sixth in a series featuring Clare Carlson, the news director for a New York City TV station. The first book, Yesterday’s News, was named Best Mystery of 2018 at Deadly Ink. The second, Below the Fold, won the Foreward INDIES award for Best Mystery of 2019. Belsky has published 20 novels—all set in the New York city media world where he has had a long career as a top editor at the New York Post, New York Daily News, Star magazine and NBC News. He also writes thrillers under the name Dana Perry. And he is a contributing writer for The Big Thrill magazine and BookTrib.

Catch Up With RG Belsky: www.rgbelsky.com Goodreads BookBub – @dickbelsky Instagram – @dickbelsky Twitter/X – @DickBel Facebook – @RGBelsky

 

 

Tour Participants:

Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and opportunities to WIN in the giveaway!  

 

JOIN IN ON THE GIVEAWAY

This is a giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Tours for R.G. Belsky. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.

 

 

 

Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Tours

 

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Peek Inside And Giveaway ~ The Selkie’s Daughter by Linda Crotta Bennan

Posted: January 22, 2024 in Fantasy, giveaways, middle grade
Tags: , , , ,
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Welcome to my stop on the THE SELKIE’S DAUGHTER by Linda Crotta Brennan Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours.

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Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

 

THE SELKIE’S DAUGHTER

Author: Linda Crotta Brennan

 

 

Pub. Date: January 2, 2024

Publisher: Holiday House

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 208

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Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/THE-SELKIES-DAUGHTER

 

A cozy, richly imagined fantasy where a young selkie girl must save her
family from a vengeful king.

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Brigit knows all the old fisherman songs and legends by heart: sea goddess,
warriors, and people who are not quite human. But Brigit also knows the truth.
It’s evident in the webbing between her fingers–webbing that must be cut.
She’s the daughter of a selkie. A truth she must keep secret from everyone.

But there is another secret growing in the village. A terrible one that will
invite the wrath of the Great Selkie, bringing storm, sickness, and death. To
protect those she loves, Brigit must find a way to Sule Skerrie, the land of
selkies, to confront the Great Selkie and bring the truth—all of it—into the
light.

Like sitting by a warm fireplace, The Selkie’s Daughter is an
imaginative fantasy, steeped in Celtic mythology and set in Nova Scotia. Debut
Linda Crotta Brennan has crafted a magical portrait of a brave girl coming into
her own. Perfect for fans of mermaids and Studio Ghibli-esque stories.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

 

 

 

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Excerpt from The Selkie’s Daughter / Text copyright © 2024 by Linda Crotta Brennan. Reproduced with permission from Holiday House Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. 

 

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I swim as selkie on the sea.

And when I’m far and far frae land,

My home it is in Sule Skerrie.

 

The wild wind keens across the spruce barrens, rattling the windows of our cottage on Finn’s Point. Shivering, I splay my hand across the cutting board. Newborn veils of skin, blue-­pale and tender, connect my fingers.

 

Cousin Alys sharpens her knife against a stone, tests the edge, then, satisfied, turns to me. I kneel and hide my face in Mum’s woolen lap, breathing its com-forting smokiness.

 

Mum strokes my hair. “Ready, Brigit?”

 

I nod, though my insides roil. Mum’s hands are fully human, why not mine? Why should I be marked and not Mum?

 

At the last second, I try to jerk away, but Alys grips my wrist like a vise. Her blade comes down.

 

Pain sears me. I suck in my breath and my vision narrows. Clinging to consciousness, I focus on the wind, throaty with alien voices. My blood pulses out, a salty sea washing away my otherness, flooding across the cutting board, pinging into the metal basin set on the floor.

 

Mum’s thighs tremble. She could never bear to cut me. “Sorry,” she whispers.

 

That doesn’t stop my dread. We both know that now I’m coming into womanhood, no matter how often Alys cuts the webbing away, it will return. Or at least, that’s what the old tales say.

 

When both hands are done, Mum takes my elbow and guides me into the rocking chair, tucking a blanket over my knees.

 

Alys bandages my hands with a poultice of yarrow and spoons willow tea into my mouth. I lean my head back, weak as a spawned-­out salmon.

 

“Thank you, Alys.” Mum offers her a wooden spoon she carved from driftwood. It has a fish handle with glittering chips of oyster shell for scales.

 

Alys recoils.

 

The spoon clatters to the stone floor. A bit of oyster shell spins out, skidding to rest at my feet. Instinctively I reach to rescue it. Gasping, I pull back, cradling my hands, cringing in agony.

 

Alys’s nostrils flare. “What would I do with such a bauble in my good plain house?”

 

I stiffen. The brittle old barnacle! Her house doesn’t deserve anything so beautiful.

 

Mum picks up the fish spoon and sets it gently on the table, her mouth a tight line. She goes into the keeping room at the back of our cottage and returns with a stiff salted cod from our shoulder-­high stack.

 

The villagers gossip about why Da’s nets are so heavy laden since he married Mum, but he’s just a better fisherman than any of them, certainly better than Alys’s husband. Or her pimple-­nosed son.

 

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About Linda Crotta Brennan:

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Linda Crotta Brennan is the author of many picture books,
including When Rivers Burned, named a
Notable Social Studies Trade Book by the CBC and NCSS and an Outstanding
Science Trade Book by the NSTA and CBC. She holds a master’s degree in Early
Childhood Education and has worked as an instructor for the Institute of
Children’s Literature. Linda is an active member of SCBWI. The Selkie’s Daughter is her debut novel. She lives in New England.

Website | Twitter (X) | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

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1 winner will receive a finished copy of THE SELKIE’S DAUGHTER, US Only.

Ends January 31st, midnight EST.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/15/2024

Kountry Girl Bookaholic

Excerpt/IG Post

1/15/2024

YA Books Central

Excerpt/IG Post

1/16/2024

Two Chicks on Books

Excerpt/IG Post

1/16/2024

Lady Hawkeye

Excerpt/IG Post

1/17/2024

#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog

Excerpt/IG Post

1/17/2024

@dharashahauthor

IG Post/TikTok Post

1/18/2024

GryffindorBookishNerd

Review/IG Post

1/18/2024

Kim’s Book Reviews and Writing Aha’s

Review/IG Post

1/19/2024

@anitralovesbooksanddogs

IG Review

1/19/2024

The Momma Spot

Review

Week Two:

1/22/2024

FUONLYKNEW

Excerpt

1/22/2024

Jaimes_mystical_library

IG Review

1/23/2024

A Blue Box Full of Books

IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post

1/23/2024

One More Exclamation

Review/IG Post

1/24/2024

@froggyreadteach

IG Review

1/24/2024

Lisa-Queen of Random

Review/IG Post

1/25/2024

Country Mamas With Kids

Review/IG Post

1/25/2024

Confessions of the Perfect Mom

Review/IG Post

1/26/2024

two
points of interest

Review

1/26/2024

@enthuse_reader

IG Review/TikTok Post

 

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Guest Post And Giveaway ~ Recruiting Murder by Frank Lazarus

Posted: January 20, 2024 in giveaways, Guest Post, Mytery/Thriller
Tags: , , ,
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Can two Sleuths put these two puzzles together before college starts in September?

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Recruiting Murder

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A Brown & McNeil Murder Mystery Book 3

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by Frank Lazarus

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Genre: Murder Mystery, Crime Thriller

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The third installment in the Brown and McNeil Mystery Series
Lenny Goldstein and his company, Future Stars, evaluate high school and collegiate basketball talent and sell their rankings to colleges and NBA teams.
From its humble beginnings in 1975, Future Stars had grown into a behemoth; with fifteen NBA teams and seventy-eight colleges paying subscriptions for his rankings.
Lenny is semi-retired these days, with his son and son-in-law running the business until he gets a call from an old buddy in Newport News, who wants him to come look at a high school kid, Lincoln Anderson, in Emporia, Virginia. He believes this Anderson kid has been overlooked by everyone, including Future Stars.
Concurrently, Lenny gets a call from an old buddy, the iconic coach of Duke University, to see what he knows about the college decision of Tyler Longenecker, Future Star’s #5 ranked high school senior from a premier prep school in the tony Boston suburbs.
All seems to be going on script until graduation, when both Lincoln and Tyler are involved in a death and a roofie rape. Suddenly, Lenny’s getting calls about both kids.
Lincoln’s family is related to James McNeil in Philly, and they call him for help. James and his buddy, Detective Vernon Brown of the Philly PD, jump into the car and head South on I-95.
Can the two Sleuths from The Murder Gambit and The Phenom put these two puzzles together before college starts in September?
Once again, Author Frank Lazarus has produced a gripping, suspenseful story that will keep you off Netflix for a day or two.
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Amazon * Apple * B&N * Kobo * Bookbub * Goodreads

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The Graduation Party of the Beaver Country Day School was being held at The Country Club in Brookline,
Massachussetts.
The dance had ended and Tyler Longenecker and Katie Reynolds walked off the floor together. Tyler was a
highly recruited basketball player who had recently committed to Duke University in the Fall.
Tyler asked, “How about going outside for some fresh air and a beer? I’ve got two tickets left.”
“Sure!”
They stopped by the bar and picked up two Samuel Adams, and Tyler led her outside. It was still mild
outside, and on a clear night, the stars and half-moon were shining brightly. “Wow, what a gorgeous night,”
he said; girls love that shit!
The headed to the pool area, and Tyler knew the cabanas were unlocked. They could have some privacy
there, at least for a bit. They entered and sat close to each other on a chaise lounge. Tyler raised his beer
bottle and toasted, “To our futures, Katie.”
Katie returned the toast, “To the Class of 2022!”
Tyler reached in and gave her a peck on the cheek. But he pulled back only an inch or two, waiting for her to
glimpse into his eyes. When she did, he looked into hers and slowly inched closer to her lips. Her mouth
opened invitingly, and he accepted the invitation. Their tongues found each other and explored. Tyler’s
arousal was now in full throttle, and it seemed that Katie was keeping pace. Her hand found its way down to
his zipper, but without opening it, she gently massaged it as it continued its growth. “Oh, Katie, that feels so
good; please don’t stop.”
She couldn’t and wouldn’t! She started unbuckling his belt as he reached around and began unzipping her
dress. By the time he had worked it down to her waist,Katie had slumped, and her body fell out of Tyler’s
arms, collapsing onto the chaise lounge.
Tyler froze for a minute, and then Nathan, Billy, and Sheldon entered the cabana.
“She’s out cold,” Tyler said. “Those roofies are quick-acting. Guys, I’m still hard; I’m going first.”
Lincoln Anderson had just dropped off two work friends and was heading home on West End Boulevard in
Emporia, Virginia. Lincoln had recently gone from an unknown basketball player to a full scholarship recruit
to Richmond Commonwealth University, thanks to the discovery by Future Stars, LLC.
BetweenTaylor and Greene Streets, he saw a bike lying on the road. A strange place for an abandoned bike,
he thought. It was a narrow, one-way street, so Lincoln had to pull off onto the grass. He parked and got out.
He walked towards the bike, and as he got within ten feet, he noticed a young girl lying in the drainage ditch.
He ran over to her, knelt down, and gently pushed her to see if she was awake. There was no movement.
He ran back to his car and dialed 9-1-1 on his cell phone.
“This is 9-1-1; what is your emergency?”
“Yes, I am on West End, and a girl has fallen off her bike, and she’s not moving. I think she needs an
ambulance really bad.”
“Where on West End?”
“Right at Taylor and Greene.”
“And your name, sir?”
“Lincoln Anderson.”
“OK, Mr.Anderson, please wait for the ambulance and police, and do not touch the girl.They should be there
within five minutes.”
She hung up. Lincoln thought he should call home; hopefully, his dad could come over. He dialed his dad’s
cell.
“What’s up, Lincoln?”
“Hi,dad, can you get over to West End? I was driving home and saw a bike lying on the ground. When I went
over to it, there was a girl lying in the ditch next to it. I called 9-1-1, and they are on their way, but I hope you
can get here.”
“I’ll be right there, Lincoln. You did the right thing, but do not answer any questions until I get there. Do you
hear me? Is there anyone else there? Other drivers pulled over?”
“Not yet!”
“I’m on my way.”
Ten minutes later, a police car arrived, and Lincoln could hear the ambulance approaching behind them.
Lincoln got out of the car and walked towards the girl. Two uniformed police officers jumped out of their car;
one pulled his gun and said, “Halt right there, young man; put your hands up in the air?”
The other officer walked to the girl’s body and placed his hand on her throat. Heturned and said, “She’s
gone.”
They both walked towards Lincoln and said, “Keep your hands in the air. We just need to search you; do you
have a weapon?”
“No, I don’t have any weapon; what am I a suspect? I just saw the girl’s bike and stopped to see if I could
help.”
The officer frisked Lincoln and then looked into his pockets. Out of his side pocket, he pulled out a small
pouch that contained a white powdery substance.“What’s this?”
“What do you mean? That’s not mine, whatever it is.”
“Turn around, smart Alec. We are taking you into the station for questioning; turn around; cuff him, Buddy.”
“Wait,what the hell is this? I ain’t done nothing.”
The officer grabbed Lincoln and forcibly turned him around. Lincoln stumbled,falling to the ground. One
officer kicked him in the butt, while the other pulled out a club and hit him several times on the shoulder.
“Now, are you going to get in the car peacefully, or do we need more discipline?”
Just then, Lincoln’s father pulled up and jumped out of his car, “What’s going on here? Why is my son on the
ground?”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Lincoln’s father, Dwight Anderson; who are you?”
“I am Officer Jerome Abbott, and this is Officer Buddy Wilkins with the Emporia Police Department. Your
son stumbled when we were putting the handcuffs on him.We are taking your son in for questioning about
this young woman’s death and this substance we found on him,” showing the white pouch to Anderson.
“Dad, whatever that is, it ain’t mine. This guy just reached into my pocket and pulled it out like it was a
magic trick. And they have been kicking and clubbing me.”
“Is this the way you treat all your suspects or only the Black kids? Lincoln let’s just go down the station and
get this sorted out. Don’t say a word. Officers, I’ll follow you, but do not ask my son any questions until I
arrive.”

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The Phenom

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A Brown & McNeil Murder Mystery Book 2

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Even before he has played his first game in high school, it would seem nothing can stop Bo Campbell’s meteoric rise to stardom in the basketball world. In Philadelphia, people are already comparing him to his Overbrook High School predecessor, Wilt Chamberlain.


But his dreams are suddenly shattered when he is arrested for the murder of his best friend, Sherman Claxton.

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Detective Vernon Brown, and James McNeil, his friend and Bo’s grandfather, search for the truth, but James goes rogue, and soon finds himself in the dangerous underbelly of the Philadelphia drug sub-culture, where the stakes are high and it’s hard to tell who’s friend and who’s foe.

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Amazon * Apple * B&N * Kobo *Bookbub * Goodreads

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The Murder Gambit

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A Brown & McNeil Murder Mystery Book 1

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An unexplained death in a nursing home. A man falls from a balcony. A hit and run in the middle of a city street. An execution in a home. A woman collapses dead after a date.

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Five murders. Five methods. Five police jurisdictions.

What’s the connection?

Philadelphia-area detectives are under pressure to solve the murders, while dealing with their own issues.

Speeding like the lead car at Talladega towards a shocking conclusion, is The Murder Gambit a Shakespearean tragedy or a sinister reality?

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Amazon * Apple * B&N * Kobo * Bookbub * Goodreads

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

I spent fifty-three years in the Financial Services and Life Insurance industry, never thinking much about writing a book or becoming a published author.

With possibly a couple of exceptions: thirty or forty years ago, I read that “everyone has a novel in them.” I once started one, and every five years or so, I add a sentence to it. Secondly, twenty years ago, I started writing a blog. It was private and only shared with friends and family. I considered it an outlet for my Seinfeldish sense of humor and titled it A BLOG ABOUT NOTHING.

I am working on a book that will be THE BEST OF THE BLOG; we’ll see if or when that comes to fruition.

I retired at the end of 2021 and kept busy with golf and COVID hibernating. Towards the end of 2021, a friend shared with me a novel that he had written but was unpublished. I decided to try it, and THE MURDER GAMBIT was born.

 

What is your favorite part of this book and why?

 

In THE PHENOM, there is a Lesbian seduction scene that I wasn’t certain I could write with any authority or conviction. It was so out of character for me, and I received a lot of questions about it from those who know me.

It may not be the highlight of the book, but it was the one I think of proudly.

 

 

What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?

I actually do more research WHILE writing than BEFORE.

For example, in my third novel, I have a potential murder in Emporia, Virginia, part of Greensville County. I needed to research how their court system worked.

And I am constantly on Google Maps, looking at streets, parks, churches, restaurants, etc.

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Frank Lazarus was born and raised in West Philadelphia and attended Overbrook High School, as you may have guessed from his writings.

After graduating high school, Frank spent two years in the U.S. Army during the VietNam War. After his service, he completed his

Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration at St. Joseph’s University, in Philadelphia.

He was in the Financial Services and Life Insurance industry for fifty-three years before he retired at the end of 2021.

Frank has three adult children and five grandchildren.

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Website * Facebook * Twitter * Amazon * Goodreads

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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~~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Guest Post And Giveaway ~ Outpassage by Janet Morris & Chris Morris

Posted: January 18, 2024 in giveaways, Guest Post, Science Fiction
Tags: , ,
5

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War and Mystery Beyond the Stars

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Outpassage

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by Janet Morris & Chris Morris

Genre: Science Fiction

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WAR AND MYSTERY BEYOND THE STARS

Sgt. “Det” Cox has just spent three years under psych observation on Earth; now that he’s out-system, he isn’t about to tell anyone he’s seeing aliens again. Paige Barnett has lost everything, even her name, because she knows too much about the rebellion spreading through the Earth-Space mining colonies.

Together Cox and Barnett stumble upon the mystery at the revolution’s heart and learn why the rebels are willing to die for it.

Is their discovery humanity’s worst threat or greatest gift? The authorities are willing to destroy whole planets to keep the revolution’s secret from reaching Earth… What’s to stop them from destroying two people

“The Morrises’ blend of fast-paced narrative and meticulous research into near-space technology makes a novel you can’t put down.”
— C.J. Cherryh

“Action sequences that would make any writer proud. OUTPASSAGE is a wonderful book.”
–David Drake

“OUTPASSAGE might just be the perfect science fiction novel.”
— Jack Williamson

Amazon * B&N * Bookbub * Goodreads

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PROLOGUE

Fourth World Nightmare

The sky was thin and the color of dirty motor oil, except where it exploded above their heads. Concussion was delayed in the thin air but the smell of roasting Rangers got to you right away, even through your air filters. The terraformers hadn’t done much of a job on this classified ball of rock before the corporation workforce moved in, the shit hit the fan, and a request for military assistance followed.

The request wasn’t denied, exactly, but it was rerouted to InterSpace Tasking Corporation’s security division, who sent out a deniable reconnaissance team — thirteen US Rangers sheep-dipped for hazardous duty under the command of Colonel “Mad Jack” Reynolds.

It was Reynolds whose charred flesh was sending up the stink that made Cox gag as he dove for cover. Long recon meant long odds, long distances, and long hitches, but nobody ever wanted to think it meant dying a long way from home.

Overhead, even through his flash-and-blast suppressing helmet, Cox could see the enemy coming in for another strafing run. Nobody ever thought the enemy was going to come at you with airpower, either, because there wasn’t supposed to be any hostile force out here that had airpower.

In Cox’s ear, Locke was screaming over the comm set: “… suggest you form up for extraction, sir, at the beacon.”

Cox huddled under an overhang of silicate, his rifle cradled against his chest and his knees pulled up, shifted enough to turn his head. “Reynolds?” he said into his comm-mic, just to be sure.

But there was no way the barbecued officer lying beside him, charred limbs askew, was going to answer. The airpower came over and Cox covered his head: his helmet’s recon pack had sent plenty of pictures already; he didn’t need to risk his life for one more shot of somebody shooting at him.

He needed to risk his life to get to the extraction point, and that was about all he could handle. “Hey Locke,” he yelled into his mic because the airpower was strafing what was left of Reynolds: “Reynolds is past it. I’m here by my lonesome.” Rock exploded near him. Reflexively, he ducked his head in the shelter of his arms, eyes closed, and said as clearly and calmly as he could, “But I’m real ready for an order to get the fuck out of here.”

“Then give it,” came Locke’s voice, laconic over the static and hard to hear because the sniper aircraft was coming back for another pass. “You’re the only friendly voice I’m hearing.”

“Falling back,” Cox heard his own voice say, and his body followed suit. He knew he was calling the roll as he got to his knees, then his feet, crouched under the overhang, listening hard for even a groan or a grunt in response.

But nobody came back to him over his comm-link. Thirteen guys, and of the twelve on his comm-link, Cox couldn’t raise a single one but Locke. He was poised, his thighs cramping, as he waited for what felt like the right moment to sprint across the scree, a mapping display already enabled on his faceplate that gave routing overlays to his target — the extraction site.

But through the electronics, he could see Reynolds. Behind the colored grid with its pulsing points and alphanumeric displays, Reynolds seemed to be moving.

Sliding along the ground, almost. Cox didn’t want to leave anybody behind that had a breath of life ….

He scuttled toward Reynolds, his pack scraping the ceiling of the overhang — scrambled close enough to see that not only Reynolds’ left arm and leg, but the left side of his skull, was burned away.

“Shit.” The shock of it propelled the Ranger out from cover, along the suggested track on his visor-display, as fast as he’d ever moved in his life.

But in the confines of his helmet, he knew what he’d seen: something moving; Reynolds moving. And he knew he was running from that vision as much as from anything else here.

Because there wasn’t anything else here. There wasn’t anything but some deep-space double-cross having to do with mining rights and racial hatreds spread across the stars.

It was the gang bosses against the cheap labor, was what it was. There wasn’t any alien life here, despite the security classification level of the planet designated X-31A, due to artifactual evidence. There wasn’t any alien life anywhere, not above the vegetable level — a century in space had proved that beyond a reasonable doubt.

Everything that seemed artifactual had, eventually, turned out to be natural, not intelligence-made. There wasn’t any reason for these IST honchos to be afraid of the boondocks on X-31A but the way they treated the contract laborers they’d trucked in here.

If Cox said different, he’d be in psych evaluation for the rest of his life — if he got off this shitball to have one.

It hadn’t been anything, not anything, that he’d seen out of the corner of his eye. It sure as hell hadn’t been a white, human-looking, delicate hand pulling Reynolds toward a wall of solid rock — coming out of a wall of solid rock.

It hadn’t. His lungs were burning despite the augmented oxygen-rich mix his recon pack was feeding him as he sprinted; he was sweating like a pig — sweating worse than his cooling system could handle. And, overhead, he heard a subtle change in volume that wouldn’t be subtle for long: the pursuit aircraft, laying down rivers of flame as it did a one-eighty, had sighted him. It was coming back.

With the bogey on his tail and nobody to answer to, Cox hit his jet-assist. It was a one-time-only, emergency move, but there was no way he could outrun that aircraft, not on foot.

The wrench at his shoulders was immediate, the grab in his crotch comforting. And then he was airborne himself, skimming across the ground toward the extraction point where Locke’s bird was already a dark speck lowering out of the filthy clouds.

Need to touch down before the transport does; got to watch his wash; wind-shear could crash him. You weren’t supposed to do this — it was against every rule in the book to jet toward an extraction point: gave heat-tracking to the enemy; gave random bad luck more of a chance to scratch you from the game-card.

He could still see the charred half of Reynolds’ face, the eye like a lamb’s eye that had popped up in his soup once during a Saudi tour. He saw it so clearly that when the enemy screamed overhead, ignoring him and going after Locke in the pickup craft, it didn’t bother him any.

Not even when Locke’s VTOL exploded in a gout of dirty orange flame, because he could still see Reynolds inching along the rock like he was alive, that hand clamped on him.

And then he couldn’t see anything, not for a long time, because something shorted his helmet’s system and the ground hit him, hard, in the face.

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Love Science Fiction?

For readers that are out of this world and can’t wait to find out what the future holds –

All SciFi books at Perseid Press are discounted for the month of January!

Get them now before they’re light years away…..

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https://bit.ly/3RLP2hs

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GUEST POST

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What is something unique/quirky about you?

 

Together we breed Morgan horses. We consult with Morgan breeders to help them choose crosses to their stock to achieve a desired result.

We are also musicians; Janet plays bass guitar, Chris sings and plays guitar. We have an album on MCA records. Look for Christopher Crosby Morris on Soundcloud or N1M.com

 

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

 

Janet wrote her first novel, High Couch of Silistra in 1975; a friend sent it to an agent who chose to represent her; she had already written the second book in the Silistra Quartet and her agent told her not to disclose that until they finalized the contract for the first one. When the publisher learned of the others, Bantam Books bought the succeeding three. When the fourth book was published, the series already had four million copies in print. Suddenly Janet was a novelist specializing in environmental, gender, historical and political subjects. In the process, Chris started as her editor and ultimately a co-writer. Since then, she and Chris have co-authored many books.

 

Who is your hero and why?

 

Heraclitus of Ephesus, a pre-socratic philosopher, whose Cosmic Fragments foreshadow our knowledge of reality and how to perceive it. Among his precepts is the statement that change alone is unchanging. We’ve worked Heraclitus’ fragments in here and there throughout our books.

 

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

 

All of them. We write cinematically, our books are vivid adventures we undertake without knowing the destination.  I, the Sun, The Sacred Band, and Outpassage are particularly suited to film. The Threshold Series is a feast of opportunities for today’s special effects creators.

 

What inspired you, to write Outpassage?

 

Outpassage — Many wonder if somehow salvation lies in the stars. In Outpassage pawns of industry are kidnapped to work on a distant mining colony. Waking from their long space voyage, they quickly discover strange properties in the surrounding straits of rock being mined for rare minerals needed for advanced tech production on Earth. Mysteriously, some miners die in questionable circumstances and reappear, coming to life and causing rebellion among their fellow contract laborers. Is this the result of natural conditions or supernatural forces? Outpassage takes you there to see for yourself.

 

Who designed your book covers?

 

The cover of Outpassage was created for Perseid Press by Vincent DiFate.

 

Advice to writers?

 

As for advice to writers, here is all we know: write the story you want to read. Start at the beginning, go to the end, and stop. Seriously. From start to finish you must inhabit the construct in a manner that makes the reader choose to continue; if we as writers can’t feel what it’s like being there, our readers can’t either. Close your eyes, look at your feet where they are standing on the story’s ground; tell us what you see. Tell us what you hear. Ask at the end of each paragraph ‘what happens next?’. If you lose touch with it wait until you’re back inside it. Tell the story that comes to you, and from you, to us.

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Best selling author Janet Morris began writing in 1976 and has since published more than 30 novels, many co-authored with her husband Chris Morris or others. Most of her fiction work has been in the fantasy and science fiction genres, although she has also written historical and other novels. Morris has written, contributed to, or edited several book-length works of non-fiction, as well as papers and articles on nonlethal weapons, developmental military technology and other defense and national security topics.

Christopher Crosby Morris (born 1946) is an American author of fiction and non-fiction, as well as a lyricist, musical composer, and singer-songwriter. He is married to author Janet Morris. He is a defense policy and strategy analyst and a principal in M2 Technologies, Inc. He writes primarily as Chris Morris, but occasionally uses pseudonyms.

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Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Bookbub

Amazon * Amazon * Goodreads * Goodreads

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

.

choice of print or ebook copy of Outpassage ,

$10 Amazon giftcard

– 1 winner each!

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a Rafflecopter giveaway
.

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~~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Isn’t She Great Edited By Elizabeth Teets ~ Guest Post And Giveaway

Posted: January 17, 2024 in giveaways, Guest Post
Tags: ,
1

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I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the ISN’T SHE GREAT by Elizabeth
Teets Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours.

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Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

 

ISN’T SHE GREAT: Writers on Women Led
Comedies from 9 to 5 to Booksmart

.Author: Elizabeth Teets (Edited By)

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Pub. Date: January 16, 2024

Publisher: Read Furiously

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 142

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Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Indigo, BAM, Bookshop, Powell’s, Blackwells 

 

A love letter to women-led comedies. 

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Based on Elizabeth Teets’s program series called “Isn’t She Great” at the
Hollywood  Theater, this anthology is a collection of the most beloved
female-centric comedies and the  audiences who adore them. From 9 to 5 to
Romy and Michele to the iconic Elle Woods, the  essays in this
collection build on our devotion to these films and continue the
conversation  around funny women and how these characters have shaped so
many talented writers. 

As Elizabeth Teets reminds us, there is a specific power in a funny
woman. A woman who  dares to laugh at the world and at herself. These
movies made us strong and smart and  sexy (and bend and snap a lot). At
the end of the day, we remind ourselves when the world  only tries to let
us have a little – a little money, a little confidence, a little joy – to go
out and  get the whole enchilada. 

Isn’t She Great is for anyone who loves movies and feels the glamour in pink. Cult
cinema  and film criticism will never be the same. 

 

 

 

 

Guest Post:

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Top 5 favorite books

Weetzie Bat – Francesca Lia Block

My cat is named after this spectacular little novel that changed my life forever. A punk rock fairy tale with all the glitter, magic, and fashion a girl could dream of. The essential Los Angeles novel. Francesca’s prose sticks to my rib cage like toffee. Every year I go back and read it like it’s the first time. It is a literary crème brulée. It just keeps getting better and better.

 

Slow Days, Fast Company: The World, the Flesh, and L.A. – Eve Babitz

Eve Babitz made me a writer, with her honesty and fearless take on the world. Allegedly she wrote this breathtaking collection to impress a guy she wanted but couldn’t pin down. Whoever he was, she was too good for him because this is a masterpiece. But I also love a woman who knows her talent and ambition are tools of seduction.

 

My Life as a Goddess: A Memoir through (Un)Popular Culture – Guy Branum

There are plenty of pop culture essay collections but I truly believe this one is the best. Branum gives his reader so much permission to enjoy life and all its frivolities. It has so much passion and pizzazz and reads like an honest conversation with a friend. I revisit the audiobook often for road trips.

 

Cometbus (Zine) – Aaron Cometbus

Aaron Cometbus is probably the greatest American writer nobody really knows anything about. I collect as many copies of his zine as I can get a hold of and have since I was a teen. I originally started reading for the punk band content and then because of Aaron’s skills as a writer and interviewer, I realized I did want to know about the history of kosher dairy restaurants. A good writer can pull you into any world and make it interesting. I have many copies in my collection but my favorite will always be “The Loneliness of the Electric Menorah.”

 

Valencia – Michelle Tea

Is there anyone better than Michelle Tea? I honestly don’t think so. She may be the most interesting woman alive with the best turn of phrase. Every single sentence on the page stands alone and makes you cry, laugh, or fills you with the desire to set your insides on fire. Valencia has the most powerful prose and is so full of heart. Books should be a moor in the storm and Valencia has gotten me through hurricanes.

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Enjoy this peek inside:

 

“You Must Always Have Faith in Yourself – Legally Blonde, and My Mommy, and Me”

Legally Blonde was the first movie I saw my mother truly love. This was not to say she didn’t love other movies – there were many she did. Growing up, my mother had a small collection of VHS tapes she loved that she would let me watch regularly. But none of them compared for how much she seemed to love Legally Blonde.

Despite her very refined palette for cinema, I don’t think she ever considered film an interest of hers. And although she may not have realized it, my mother had curated in our living room a sophisticated collection of the finest 90s and early aughts cult classics. We had copies of Mermaids, She’s All That, A Very Brady Sequel, and Tommy Boy. But Legally Blonde, oh she loved that movie.

At ten years old, I took notice of how Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods, Legally Blonde’s perky sorority girl, made my mother laugh. I love anything that makes my mother laugh. After seeing my mother latch onto a piece of candy pink cinema filled with outfits, I too became obsessed with the film. As a future comedian, I paid attention to anything that made my favorite person laugh.

I also love Legally Blonde – it is undoubtedly my favorite movie. I know every line, every outfit, and every major decision I have ever made in my life has been while driving in my 2006 Kia Optima while listening to the absolute banger of a soundtrack. Elle Woods is the best character within modern cinema. She is layered, complicated, fabulously styled, unable to be bamboozled and full of grit. I was lucky enough to grow up with my own Elle Woods, my mom..

…At my mother’s beginning, or at least the beginning as it concerns me, her daughter who watched her every move, she was a single mom who had me at nineteen. This meant as a child I got to see her early twenties, her own Elle Woods years. Although she was never a member of a sorority with a tiny dog, I can’t imagine people talked to her that differently. Aren’t all stereotypes we put onto women pretty much the same?

 

“The Whole Enchilada” 

It [Isn’t She Great film series cohosted with Anthony Hudson] has been the project I have been most proud of in my time as an artist. Not only for the opportunity I have been able to give the performers (for many it is the first time they have performed for a sold out theater), but for the connections I have made with the audience. By showing my favorite films, I have been able to connect with them in a new way; I hear the audience howl at a joke I have heard so many times I no longer recognize it and get to laugh again. I often see that the struggles and challenges the women face in the film are the exact same struggles and challenges of the audience. By seeing Elle Woods or Andy Sachs overcome, it feels like we too can carry on, maybe all we just need is to dress a little better and hold our heads up a little higher. Or maybe like Bridget Jones, we are already perfect exactly as we are.

In 2018, prior to the start of my own series I went to the Hollywood Theatre to watch a sold out screening of 9 to 5, the 80s workplace comedy starring Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, and Dolly Parton. In the iconic film, exhausted by their toxic work culture, the women form a plan to get back at their sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot of a boss. Naturally, their original plan goes horribly wrong, and a comedic adventure ensues. Throughout the wacky eighties hijinks, together with their skills, cunningness, gingham blazers, and the power of female friendship, they are able to get back at their boss and make a more pleasant and equitable workplace. And live in corporate capitalism happily ever after.

It is a movie they rarely let women make. Each actress plays a truly unique and fleshed out character, none of them have love interests that are relevant to the main plot, and no one dies or goes to prison or falls in love with someone they originally thought was an asshole. For once women are allowed to go on a journey and this time we can also bring our friends. The movie addresses sexual harassment, the unpaid extra roles women play in the workforce, and the glass ceiling in ways even movies made today shy away from.

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About Elizabeth Teets:

 

 

Elizabeth
Teets is an Oregon born writer, comedian, screenwriter, and  fashionista.
Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York  Times, Repeller,
Catapult, Reductress, and more. She lives in Los Angeles  where she is
waiting for her group chat to respond.

Subscribe to
Elizabeth’s newsletter! (scroll
to the bottom of the page)

Website | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads

 

 

 

 

Isn’t She Great Contributors 

,

Megan J. Kaleita is an essayist and memoirist living in the PAC Northwest. Her debut essay collection,
This  Book is Brought to You By My Student Loans is available through Clash Books. Her work has appeared in  Ravishly, Hello Horror, Daily Drunk Mag, Luna Station Quarterly, and Lady Spike. Do not ask her for coffee. She  won’t get it for you. 

Samantha Mann is a Brooklyn based essayist. She is the author of Putting Out: Essays on Otherness.
She  edited the anthology, I Feel Love: Notes on Queer Joy.  

Meg Walters is a Canadian-British writer currently living in London. Her writing has appeared in
GQ, The  Daily Beast, Vulture, Cosmopolitan, Glamour and others. She is a great lover of classic films, rom-coms,  period dramas, pop culture, books and style and tries to write about them all as often as possible. Find her  on Twitter @wordsbymeg 

Toju Adelaja is a Nigerian-British writer and chick-flick connoisseur. Her work has appeared in
publications  such as Glamour U.K. and Black Ballad.  

Ella Gale is a writer, director, and comedian in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in
McSweeney’s,  Reductress, and the Hard Times. 

Michele Theil is a journalist focusing on culture, race, LGBT+ issues and investigative pieces.
She has been  published in VICE, Insider, Glamour, and others. She watches all the Bring It On movies at least once a  year. 

Lana Schwartz is a writer who was born and raised in New York City, where she continues to live
today.  Her work has been published on The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, Shondaland, Glamour, InStyle, and more. Her  book “Build Your Own Romantic Comedy” was released by Ulysses Press in March 2020. For more about  Lana – as well as instructions on how to pronounce her name – visit www.lanalikebanana.com. 

Yaël Krinsky is writer and comedian based in Boston, where she works in TV and Film Production.
She  holds a writing and performance degree from Bard College. She currently lives with her dog Midge. 

 .

Giveaway contest ribbon promo label prize. Vector giveaway banner badge design template

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1 winner  will receive a finished copy of ISN’T SHE GREAT, US Only.

Ends January 31st, midnight EST.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/15/2024

Two Chicks on Books

Guest Post

1/15/2024

@jaimerockstarbooktours

IG Post

1/16/2024

#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog

Spotlight/IG Post

1/16/2024

Kountry Girl Bookaholic

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1/17/2024

Lady Hawkeye

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1/17/2024

FUONLYKNEW

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1/18/2024

A Dream Within A Dream

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1/18/2024

@fiction._.fuss

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1/19/2024

Rajiv’s
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1/19/2024

GryffindorBookishnerd

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Week Two:

1/22/2024

@callistoscalling

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1/22/2024

Confessions of the Perfect Mom

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1/23/2024

@anitralovesbooksanddogs

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Lisa-Queen of Random

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1/24/2024

Country Mamas With Kids

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Kim’s Book Reviews and Writing Aha’s

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1/25/2024

@enjoyingbooksagain

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1/25/2024

A Blue Box Full of Books

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1/26/2024

Books
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The Momma Spot

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

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Peek Inside And Giveaway ~ Nerd Meets Curvy by A. C. James

Posted: January 17, 2024 in giveaways, Paranormal or fantasy, Romance
Tags: , ,
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Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Nerd Meets Curvy organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

The author will award a winner a book box with the stunning hardback special edition with sprayed and stenciled edges, a dual-sided dust jacket, and custom swag. Don’t forget to enter!

Nerd Meets Curvy

by A. C. James

 

 

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Synopsis

Coralie dreads starting over, but Mystic River beckons her home like a siren’s call. Armed with determination and a toolkit full of DIY magic, Coralie sets out to revive her grandmother’s worn-down house. If anyone can breathe new life into the old walls, it’s her. And with lifelong friendships awaiting her, she has a support system as sturdy as a bear shifter’s embrace.

Little does she know that her homecoming will launch her into the wildest roller coaster ride of midlife dating and a mating bond that makes her head spin faster than a tornado. Coralie certainly hadn’t signed up for this level of excitement, but here she was, courtesy of the enigmatic mastermind herself, Mrs. Wilde. The queen of matchmaking and the architect of the notorious Peculiar Hearts Dating Agency promises Coralie a spicy rebound for her upcoming high school reunion.

Enter Jax, a scorching hot bear shifter haunted by a love that’s gripped him since high school. Just when he finally has a shot at settling down, a pesky ex-harpy swoops in, flapping her wings and causing more drama than a forest full of squawking birds. Tired of the chaos, this bear is ready to throw in the towel and hibernate for good!

But as they say, fate has a wicked sense of humor.

Beneath the surface of his chance to make things right and rewrite history are secrets that could detonate like a ticking time bomb, threatening to shatter their fragile bond. Coralie holds a haunting secret buried deep within her heart. It shapes the choices that molded her into the fierce, curvy woman she is today. As for Jax, his past is a murky labyrinth of pain and darkness. Lives and love swing on a high-stakes pendulum as danger closes in.

Can Coralie and Jax beat the odds, untangle the mystery of the danger stalking them, and build a future that defies the limits of their pasts?

Enjoy this peek inside:

Eleanora settled across from Coralie at the kitchen table, her shrewd gaze sweeping over her with an unapologetic curiosity. Coralie couldn’t help but feel anxious with anticipation. After all, this was the renowned Mrs. Wilde, the matchmaker extraordinaire. If anyone could navigate the treacherous waters of her love life, it would be her.

“So, how’s your sex life?” Eleanora blurted out, her straightforwardness causing Coralie to nearly choke on her tea.

Jessie’s warning about Mrs. Wilde’s blunt nature had been an understatement, to say the least. But Coralie had come to the Peculiar Hearts Dating Agency for a reason—to find love, even if the thought made her stomach twist with uncertainty.

Summoning her courage, Coralie straightened her posture. She met Eleanora’s inquisitive gaze with a defiant spark in her caramel-colored eyes and a touch of humor snarking her voice. “Nonexistent.”

Eleanora nodded, her eyes sparkling with amusement. Her words carried an air of understanding as if she had already seen Coralie’s romantic future unfold. “I figured as much. That’s why you’re here, my dear. Seeking a second chance at love.”

Relief flooded through Coralie, grateful she didn’t have to delve into the messy details of her past relationships. Eleanora seemed to possess an innate sense of what she needed. It brought a flicker of hope to Coralie’s weary heart. Could she truly open herself up to love again? Memories of her disastrous ex still lingered, fresh like an open wound that refused to heal. It had been two long years. She had remained closed off, unwilling to expose herself to the vulnerability that came with dating someone new and opening up to them.

Returning to Mystic River had been her escape, a refuge from the pain she endured. The house she inherited from her grandmother became her project, a labor of love and distraction. For months, she toiled away, dedicating herself to the renovation. It was a way to create her own haven and a means of avoiding the potential heartache that came with opening her heart to another. She had convinced herself that she didn’t need anyone else, not after the wounds inflicted by her ex.

About Author A. C. James:

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New York Times and USA Today bestselling author A.C. James writes paranormal romance and erotica, including Eternal Ever After (rebranded as Eternal Lover), featured in the bestselling Spice Box anthology. Her Ever Dark Immortals Series, which begins with Eternal Lover, has been described as “brimming with sensuality” and “romantic and sizzling hot.” The Isle of the Horse Shifters series starts with Ride: Awakening and is “lighthearted,” that is a “joy ride from beginning to end.”

She resides in the Philadelphia suburbs with her adoring husband Ron (aka Mr. A.C. James), who loves her imaginative yarns and punny sense of humor. She’s also a domestic violence advocate and discusses intimate partner violence and addiction to raise awareness on social media and through her writing. Many of her books include themes like alcoholism or addiction. If you love books that feature underdogs and redemption, her stories will capture your heart.

She spends most of her time drinking large vats of coffee while wrangling kids by day and writing by night. Recovering video game beta tester and tech geek who grew up going to cons and watching SmackDown. There’s probably some cosplay pictures around somewhere of her dressed up as Bloodberry from Saber Marionette J. Just don’t tell anyone.

Connect With Me: Newsletter / Reader Group / Facebook

Facebook Fan Page / TikTok / Instagram / Website

Purchase Link: Amazon

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Giveaway contest ribbon promo label prize. Vector giveaway banner badge design template

Author A. C. James will award a winner a book box with the stunning hardback special edition with sprayed and stenciled edges, a dual-sided dust jacket, and custom swag.

Go HERE to enter.

Giveaway ends January 31st.

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

The Family Man ~ A Rosedale Investigations Mystery by Lyn Farrell

Posted: January 10, 2024 in Cozy Mystery, giveaways
Tags: , ,
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The Family Man (Rosedale Investigations)
by Lyn Farrell

 


The Family Man (Rosedale Investigations)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Setting – Tennessee
Camel Press (January 9, 2024)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1684921376
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1684921379
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CKY7F9VN

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A woman approaches Rosedale Investigations to report her husband missing. Then another woman arrives to report her husband is missing. When the team sees the photographs of James Browning, they realize it’s the same guy; they have a bigamist on their hands. Detective Wayne Nichols locates Browning’s car at the local airport and learns the man’s been subpoenaed to provide evidence in the trial of a decade-old murder of a police officer-a shooting Browning witnessed.

A second client, Hilary Broadchurch-Miller believes her brother, Grant, is being blackmailed by Aimee, his yoga instructor. He had earlier pledged to cover the cost of sending Hilary’s sons to college and she’s afraid he might renege on that promise. When Billy Jo interviews Aimee, she denies having an affair and is shocked when accused of blackmail. However, when Billy Jo checks the Venmo app, she discovers Grant has been giving Aimee money for two months. Something is definitely going on.

This one is a page-turner with two wives who don’t know about each other, a man who may or may not have a daughter, and a final 4th of July party where all the strands of the tale come together.

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Enjoy this peek inside:

“Lucy’s concept for a Street Medicine clinic, spread like wildfire through the hospital and 6 medical students, 2 residents and two nurses signed up. Three cars set off in a convoy and parked near the freeway underpass. Wayne trailed his wife as she led the small band, all wearing lime-green back packs, to the place where the homeless congregated. A big man with a buzz cut who had been sitting on a straw bale smoking a cigarette stood up and walked purposefully toward Lucy. He was dressed in dirty Army fatigues and high boots. Wayne stiffened. If the man reached for a gun, he was braced to throw him to the ground. He felt like an idiot for leaving his gun at home. Having it on his person, even unloaded, helped control such situations.” page 33 & 34

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About Lyn Farrell

Lyn Farrell is the pen name of Lynda Farquhar the author of the Mae December Mystery series as well as the Rosedale Investigations series. She is a former Michigan State University professor in the College of Human Medicine, a mother, and a grandmother. She loves playing with her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and is always on the lookout for her family artist grandfather’s (Eugene Iverd) paintings. He was a Saturday Evening Post cover artist.

Author Links: Website / Facebook

Purchase Link – Amazon 

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

January 10 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

January 10 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

January 11 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

January 11 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW

January 12 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

January 13 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

January 13 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

January 14 – CelticLady Reviews – SPOTLIGHT  

January 15 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

January 15 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW

January 16 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

January 17 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

January 17 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

January 18 – Maureen’s Musings – REVIEW

January 19 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

A Curse Of Magick by Diane Gallagher ~ Peek Inside And Giveaway

Posted: December 19, 2023 in giveaways, Romance, YA
Tags: , ,
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Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for A Curse Of Magick organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Author Diane Gallagher will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B&N Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Don’t forget to enter!

And you can click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A Curse Of Magick

by Diane Gallagher

 

 

Genre: YA Romance

Synopsis

“A desperate princess, a handsome warrior, and an ancient magick to determine their fate.”

As daughter to the High King, love doesn’t come easily to Gráinne. Having turned down hundreds of suitors, she is being forced to marry Finn, an old, ugly yet powerful general. While outside the marriage hall, Gráinne bumps into Diarmuid, Finn’s handsome foster son. From that moment, Gráinne knows if she is to have any chance at love, he is the one she must marry. She begs him to take her away from this unwanted wedding. When Diarmuid refuses, Gráinne, desperate, places a curse on him; help her or die.

Diarmuid is a warrior who only wants to serve loyally, but when the princess sets her sights on him and casts her curse, he must make the most difficult choice of his life. Does he help her, taking their chances with a vengeful Finn, or does her refuse her, leaving her to her fate, and risking his own death?

With both their lives on the line, Gráinne and Diarmuid must fight to use Ireland’s ancient magick to escape from Finn, either bringing them together in passion or in death.

A Curse of Magick is a passionate tale of love, betrayal, revenge, and redemption. A retelling of an ancient Irish myth, A Curse of Magick takes the love and romance of Romeo and Juliet, and the exhilaration of King Arthur, and mixes it together for a satisfying adventure all will love.

Enjoy this peek inside:

“Look, up ahead. It’s the River Shannon.” Sure enough, Gráinne had caught a glimpse of the river sparkling in the distance.

“Then, come on,” Diarmuid shouted as he galloped past her.

Without need of encouragement, Fáelán took off at a gallop close behind Diarmuid.

“Come on, Fáelán, don’t let him beat us,” Gráinne shouted. She felt Fáelán respond beneath her, and they rode as one, hoofbeats hot on the trail of Diarmuid. With each drum of the horse’s hooves on the hardpacked road, Fáelán drew closer and closer until they were even. From the corner of her eye, she saw Diarmuid glance over at her, a grin on his handsome face and one hand holding his cap tight on his head.

“Hyaa!” he shouted, urging his own horse on.

Gráinne grinned. She knew Fáelán was a match for any other beast. As if he knew her thoughts, Fáelán leapt forward in a new burst of energy at Diarmuid’s shout, and pulled ahead, leaving Diarmuid and his horse behind. They rounded a bend and came to a skidding stop right at the edge of the river, with Diarmuid close behind.

Gráinne slid from Fáelán’s back, both of them panting hard. Diarmuid jumped from his horse and landed hard on the grassy bank. He stumbled towards Gráinne, catching his footing just before knocking into her. She watched him struggle to his feet and face her, a breathless grin stretched across his face. She grinned back and they stood, face to face for a few moments, gulping at the cool morning air.

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About Author Diane Gallagher:

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Diane Gallagher is a novelist and Druid priest. She is the author of three novels: A Curse of Magick, Greenwich List, and the Bastard of Saint Genevra. She has long roots stretching into her Celtic past, although she splits her life between two islands—Vancouver Island on the west coast of Canada, and Sicily off the toe of Italy’s boot. She writes young adult romance based on ancient Celtic myths of the powerful women of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. She currently teaches creative writing at Cherry Hill Seminary.
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Giveaway contest ribbon promo label prize. Vector giveaway banner badge design template
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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

Peek Inside And Giveaway ~ Whiskers On Kittens by R.J. Blain

Posted: December 18, 2023 in comedy, giveaways, Magic, Romance
Tags: , , ,
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Whiskers on Kittens

by R.J. Blain

 

(A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count), #22)
Publication date: December 19th 2023
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Urban Fantasy

The next time a friend dared her to steal something, Kelsie would say no. Should the friend also be a succubus, not only would she say no, she would run for the nearest border faster than a bat fleeing the dark depths of hell.

Under normal circumstances, she didn’t even mind serving community service. It added spice to an otherwise boring day and gave her something productive to do.

Hoping to contain her prankster ways, the judge teams her up with a grouchy wolf of a cop with an attitude problem. According to her virus, Kelsie needs to get the good officer out of his pants. According to her common sense, the last thing she needs or wants is a goody-goody hampering her style and getting in her way.

When they’re assigned to help rescue six kidnapped kittens, Kelsie knows one thing for certain: to create a Christmas miracle, she’ll do a lot more than bend the law—she’ll break it over her knee and unleash hell on Earth while she’s at it.

Whiskers on Kittens can be read as a standalone.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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Enjoy this peek inside:

When I became bored, trouble happened. The current flavor of trouble stood a little over five feet with light brown hair and dark eyes, putting him a solid inch taller than me. He wore his uniform well and glared at me as though he’d enjoy escorting me to the next life if given a reason.

The glare I understood.

Cats and dogs did not get along, and my nose informed me I dealt with a single male wolf of the lycanthrope variety. I doubted he’d ever met a clouded leopard lycanthrope in his life, resulting in the divine essence of female feline tormenting him. That I happened to reek of divine single female feline might do him in.

What I didn’t understand was why Judge McMurphy, one of the nicer men I’d dealt with in the Chicago court system, had dragged some poor cop out for my sentencing. I especially didn’t understand why the judge had requested I come along with the poor cop for a private discussion in his office along with the attorneys. Community service was community service, and that I’d only been slapped with six months of community service astonished me.

In the judge’s shoes, I would have gone for two years.

The judge made himself comfortable behind his desk, invited us all to take a seat, and promised we wouldn’t have to wait long before he could get on with why we needed to have a private chat after everything had been said and done.

I pitied my attorney, who would need therapy after dealing with me. It wasn’t that I had gone out of my way to give the man a hard time. I just accepted responsibility for my actions, confessed I’d broken into the home of a wealthy businessman to steal a toy mouse on a double-dog dare, and refused to rat out my succubus friend for being the one to dare me to do it.

When I’d broken into the home, I hadn’t known the mouse was the size of a small dog and wore a diamond-studded collar.

The attorney especially hadn’t appreciated when I’d made use of my legal rights to summon an angel to confirm I hadn’t known about the collar, had done the heist as a prank, and would not be snitching on my friend in this life nor the next, not even if the Devil came calling to drag me into some dungeon to put me through hell. I’d amused the angel, who had assured me I wouldn’t be doing any time in the dungeons unless I wanted to.

The innuendo had caught me so off guard I’d burst into laughter at the sheer thought of leaving the pool of divine single female felines.

The wise men ran the instant they realized I was on the prowl, the smart ones ran soon after, and the dumb ones pissed me off and often received a face full of claws if they didn’t get the hint I didn’t want a dumb man in my life.

Wise and smart men were few and far between.

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About Author RJ Blain:

RJ Blain suffers from a Moleskine journal obsession, a pen fixation, and a terrible tendency to pun without warning.

In her spare time, she daydreams about being a spy. Her contingency plan involves tying her best of enemies to spinning wheels and quoting James Bond villains until satisfied.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

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Giveaway contest ribbon promo label prize. Vector giveaway banner badge design template

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

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