#RRBC #PIF Week With #Author, A. M. Manay

Please help me welcome A. M. Manay as a special guest in the #RRBC #PIF (“Pay It Forward”) Week.

 

About the Author

ammanayIn addition to her work as an indie author of paranormal new adult fantasy, A.M. Manay is a former inner-city chemistry teacher, a singer, a yoga enthusiast, and a mother through domestic open adoption. She has a passion for increasing diversity in popular culture and for strong heroines who stand up for themselves, make their own decisions, and don’t depend on romance as their reason for being.

Keep up with her latest news on http://www.ammanay.net 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ammanaywrites
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ammanay
Sign up for her email list to get news on releases: http://eepurl.com/bzCa9r

About A. M. Manay’s Books

BookCovers

She Dies at the End (November Snow Book 1)

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November Snow has seen her own burial a thousand times. It is the only thing she knows about her future.

In a war amongst vampires and fairies, a small advantage can mean the difference between victory and defeat. And a psychic who can peer across the globe, unspool the past, and probe the future is more than a small advantage. Everyone wants to use her for his own ends: the ancient king, the black sheep, the dutiful son, the lost boy.

But November Snow wants things, too, before death comes for her. She wants purpose. She wants friendship. She wants love. She wants happiness. She wants respect. And she will not settle for less.

Pulled into the midst of a royal family feud centuries in the making, she must forge her own path through violence, betrayal, first loves, and mortal peril as she struggles to come to terms with her gift and her destiny, even as she knows this for certain:

She dies at the end.

This book contains magic and supernatural creatures aplenty, a smattering of heretical Christianity, and a cast of characters that is diverse in both race and sexual orientation. It also contains scenes of violence and some sexual content and may be triggering to victims of child abuse, human trafficking, or sexual assault.

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Book Trailer

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She Sees in Her Sleep (Three November Snow Shorts)

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These three short stories are set in the universe of A.M. Manay’s paranormal novel, She Dies at the End (November Snow Book 1). These stories have been previously released either via the author’s website or through her mailing list. This is the first time they are available as a collection and in the Kindle format.

“She Forges a Peace” provides a glimpse into the formation of the alliance between fairies and vampires as well as insight into one of the primary characters in the series. “He Worships his Queen” delves into the painful childhood of vampire Luka, the primary villain in She Dies at the End. “She Fears the Dark” focuses on the popular fairy characters Pine and Zinnia as they take a trip to Disneyland that turns into an unexpectedly dangerous adventure.

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She Lights Up The Dark (November Snow Book 2)

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A frightening vision stalks November, even in her grave . . . and things go severely sideways just as soon as she claws her way out of it.

Continuing the story begun in the well-received paranormal romp She Dies at the End, She Lights Up the Dark finds November Snow struggling to adjust to her new life as a vampire with none of the support she’d expected. Her nemesis Luka has plotted to isolate November and scatter her allies as he executes his plan to bring human society under his control. Her loneliness leads her to become emotionally entangled with a charming but likely untrustworthy fellow vampire.

When danger flares, November discovers that her psychic gift has expanded in a powerful and perilous fashion. Coerced into close company with her enemy, she fights to master her power and to uncover the secrets that may help her to save both her friends and the human world from being crushed under Luka’s boot. November is determined to stop Luka as his plan builds toward an unknown and deadly climax, but she may find that lighting up the dark comes with a high price to pay.

This books contains violence, some sexual content, and occasional profanity.

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#EggcerptExchange: One Small Victory by Maryann Miller

I am participating in the Author Helping Authors – Egg-cerpt Exchange.

Today, I am featuring Maryann Miller, author of One Small Victory.

eggs

One Small Victory
by Maryann Miller

BOOK BLURB

Final cover -with border7-12Life can change in just an instant.

That thought wove its way in and around her mind as Jenny fingered the clothes jammed along the wooden rod in the closet. His funny T-shirts promoting the likes of “Prince” and “Dilbert.” His one good shirt, only worn under duress. His leather jacket that still carried a faint aroma reminiscent of saddles and horses.

Sometime soon she’d have to clean out the closet. Isn’t that what usually happens?

Tears burned her eyes and she turned away. She didn’t know what was supposed to happen. No one had ever told her. And a multitude of questions swam through her mind like restless minnows in a pond.

There were books on choosing a college. Books on how to plan a wedding or how to help your child find a job. But no one had ever written one on what to do when your son dies.

Thus begins what is a mother’s worst nightmare, the loss of a child. For most women, that loss would hold them in a grief so pervasive they couldn’t function, but Jenny Jasik doesn’t give in to the paralysis. After discovering how rampant drugs are in her rural Texas town, she bullies her way onto a Drug Task Force and works as a confidential informant to help bring down the main distributor. This isn’t done without considerable risk, not only to her safety but to her sanity and to the sanctity of her family.

EXCERPT

She sank to the edge of her bed, the pain threatening to drag her into the dark abyss. Her blood pounded so loud in her ears it took a minute to realize someone was knocking on the door.

“Mom?” Scott’s voice called from the hallway. “Can I come in?”

Jenny took a deep breath, then rose and opened the door.

“I was wondering . . . uh,” Scott’s eyes had difficulty resting on hers. “Has Dad called back yet?”

She shook her head.

“Well, uh . . . do you want me to call him?”

Again, she shook her head. “It’s something I should do. I’ll try again as soon as I’m finished here.”

Scott hesitated a moment more, then backed out of the doorway. Jenny quickly closed the door. Better that he not see the flush of anger that warmed her cheeks. She’d tried to call Ralph last night, sometime during those hours of agony between leaving the hospital and finally collapsing for a brief period of fitful sleep, but there’d been no answer.

Last night she’d been too numb to care. It was just so typical. He had never been there for her, or the kids. Not while they were married, and not in the years since he’d left. Most of the time she just accepted it and tried to ease the disappointment for the kids as much as possible. But even though little was said, the message was clear. Ralph wasn’t involved with the kids. Not like a father should be.

But the truth was like a kick in the gut this morning.

“You stupid, sorry, son of a bitch,” Jenny said, running a brush through her dark hair with quick, angry strokes. “Why should I care how you find out? I should just clip the obituary and send it to you.”

It gave her a perverse rush of pleasure to consider doing that, but she wouldn’t. She couldn’t. Out of respect for the fact that he was Michael’s father, she would call again.

Jenny crossed the room and picked up the phone on her bedside table. Still no answer after ten rings, and she started to worry. Maybe it wasn’t even his number anymore. He had a penchant for moving and not getting around to giving them the new number for weeks. She could try him at work later, but she wasn’t even sure that number was current.

Longevity, either professional or personal, was never one of his strong suits.

She slammed the phone down. “Couldn’t you be there for me? Just once?”

AUTHOR BIO

newheadshot-3Maryann Miller is a best-selling author of books, screenplays and stage plays. One Small Victory was her first hardcover release. Other books include a police-procedural mystery, Open Season, which is the first   in a new series that features two women homicide detectives. Think “Lethal Weapon” set in Dallas with female leads.  Miller has won numerous awards for her screenplays and short fiction, including the Page Edwards Short Fiction Award, the New York Library Best Books for Teens Award, and first place in the screenwriting competition at the Houston Writer’s Conference.

BUY LINK

One Small Victory is available in paper, electronic, and audio. Links to all formats are on Maryann’s Book Page on her website:
http://maryannwrites.com/books/one-small-victory/

AUTHOR LINKS

Amazon Author Page
http://www.amazon.com/Maryann-Miller/e/B001JP7Y1S/

Facebook Author Page
https://www.facebook.com/Maryann-Miller-176896965725974/

Author Website
http://maryannwrites.com/

Character Questions for Jenny Jasik:

What on earth possessed you to join a drug task force?

If I hadn’t been numb with grief, I might have reconsidered. Everybody kept telling me to, even my best friend, Carol. But I just got so mad when I found out that drug dealers were hanging around the school and other places where kids, even very young kids, were put in danger. People keep saying we need to do something about drugs, so I figured, why not? It took some convincing to get the captain to agree, and I know he was shocked when I passed the tests to work undercover with the task force. I think I was shocked, too.

So what now? Will you do it again?

Are you kidding? I was scared to death most of the time, so I don’t think I’ll do it again. Although, I must say that I liked that Jenny who took no crap from the drug dealers and actually made a huge difference.

Did you have any previous law-enforcement experience?

Heck no. I barely graduated from high school. Like so many young teens, I was madly in love, or so I thought, and couldn’t wait for Ralph and I to get married. Getting pregnant sort of helped that along. And like a silly teenager who believes every word a guy says, I thought we really would live happily ever after.  That didn’t happen. Ralph didn’t want to be a husband any more than he wanted to be a father. I’m only sorry that it took so many years for us to figure that out. However, had it not, I wouldn’t have had my three wonderful kids.

What was the most difficult part of your life?

That’s pretty obvious, I think. Losing Michael was like losing part of myself. I’d heard people say that a parent should never outlive their children, and I’m here to tell you the truth in that. Even thinking back to that horrible day the pain is as strong as it was then. There were days I didn’t know if I even wanted to go on without Michael, but I had the other kids to think of. And then the opportunity to get some vindication. That helped.

Do you see another man in your life in the future?

Funny you should ask. I worked with a detective, Steve. He was the one I reported to and who held my hand through the whole process of applying and then working on the task force. We both recognized that there was some chemistry between us, but his professionalism held him back. Plus, we were both dealing with a lot of emotional pain. He had lost his wife. So we didn’t want to rush into some kind of relationship that would put his job at risk and maybe we weren’t ready for anyway. Now that some time has passed, we are considering trying to make something work for us. Maybe I can convince Maryann to write that story. I’ve been bugging her about it.

FALL INTO GREAT READS TOUR HAS ENDED

I hope you were able to attend one or more of the 31 days of the FALL INTO GREAT READS TOUR. We had lots of fun. I missed a few days myself due to a work conference I had to attend three days this week. But if you missed it, you can still check out the posts at A Word With Traci blog. Just click on the Authors Already Featured where Traci has graciously offered links to the posts. I actually lost count of all the prizes and books I won, but plan to list everything here now as I go back and check through the blog.

And my winnings were:
I won a $15 Amazon Gift Card from Jennifer Hinsman, a 1 year subscription on Jacquie Lawson e-cards from Harmony Kent, 3 autographed print books (I’VE LOVED THESE DAYS by Bethany Turner, RIDDLE by Elizabeth Horton-Newton, & DANCE OF THE LIGHTS by Stephen Geez), and 9 e-books (Amazing Matilda by Bette Stevens, Una Familia & Learning to Fly in the Breaking Free series by Annie Hughes, UNBIND by Sarah Michelle Lynch, EMBER SKIES by Nicky Crawford. JUST TRY by Lisa S. Robinson, I, HERO – NATHAN RETURNS by Jason Zandri, SLICES OF SOUL by Haromony Kent, DANGLED CARAT by Hilary Grossman, and HE’S CAPTURED MY HEART by Karen Frances).

Wow! Did I rack up or what? Some of these wonderful authors gave everyone who commented an e-book. So many gracious and generous authors were guests on this tour. Did I say it was fantabulous? No? Well that’s exactly what it was. I was thinking the other day that we should do something like this in December. We’ll see.

Here is a recap of all the guest authors to Traci’s tour in a wonderful video:

Congratulations to all the winners of the blog tour, and thank you to all of the participating authors for introducing wonderful books, interviews, book trailers, etc., and thank you to Traci Sanders for the GREAT job she did putting it together and making it SO simple for all the authors who participated.

31 DAYS!

October Event Coming Soon: FALL INTO GREAT READS!

31 DAYS!

Each day Traci will feature a new author on her blog whose work she’s personally read and reviewed. There will be a fun mix of interviews, excerpts, book trailers, contests, and more! The featured authors will be from various genres to offer a little bit of something for everyone.

This tour will offer readers a chance to thank and/or interact with their favorite authors … and hopefully find MORE favorites!

If you miss even one day, you might miss something special!

The first author post will begin October 1st.

Here is the lineup!

Is your favorite on this list???

Amy Lynch – Romance/Chick-lit

Anita Kovacevic – Children’s/Urban Fantasy

Annie Hughes – Young Adult

Ava Mallory – Cozy Mysteries

Bethany Turner – Romance

Beth Hale – Romance

Bette Stevens – Children’s/Drama

Bruce Borders – Suspense/Animal Humor

David Adair – Thriller/Suspense/Mystery

David M. Salkin – Thriller Author

Elizabeth Noreen Newton – Romantic Thriller

Emma Scott – New Adult Romance

Gisela Hausmann – Non-fiction/Self-help/Marketing

Harmony Kent – Multi-genre Author

Jason Zandri – Contemporary Romance/Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Jennifer Hinsman – Romantic Suspense/Thriller

John Howell – Suspense/Thriller

Karen Frances – Contemporary Romance

Karen Power – Contemporary Fiction

K.K. Allen – Fantasy/Paranormal

Kim Cox – Paranormal Mysteries (with romantic elements)

Lisa S Robinson – Romance

Mark Fine – Historical Fiction/Romantic Suspense

Michael Lynes – Biography/Memoir

Michelle Abbott – Romantic Suspense

Nadege Nicholl – Elementary Grade Fiction

Rebecca Reilly – Christian Marriage Humor

Sarah Michelle Lynch – Contemporary Romance

Stephen Geez – Contemporary Fiction/ Memoir/How-to

Susan Kotch – Middle Grade Fiction

Tamie Dearen – Romantic Comedy/YA Fantasy                               

PRIZES!!!

Each author may choose to offer prizes on his/her given promotion day, but Traci will also be awarding prizes during this event!

At the end of the tour, Traci will draw a random name from her list of participating guest authors. The winner will receive this coffee mug.

author

In addition, for each visitor who subscribes to Traci’s blog during this event (and/or purchases one of her books), she will enter their name into a drawing to win a $10 Amazon gift card. Her hope is that you will use this card to buy some of the books you see on this tour, and perhaps you will find a new author to add to your favorites list!

gift card

Get ready … the fun begins October 1st!!!