Book Review: “Babe Driven” by Lizzie Chantree

About The Author

Lizzie is an enthusiastic inventor, businesswoman and artist. She founded her first company at the age of 17 and has been creating products and driving her family mad ever since.

Lizzie has appeared on Sky News, ITV Lunchtime News, This Morning, The Big Breakfast and the BBC’s worldwide radio service, amongst others, for becoming one of Fair Play London’s female innovators.

Lizzie lives in Essex, with her gorgeous husband, two vivacious children and a very unusual dog. In between the school run and baking cakes, (or burning them!) she sits in her rooftop studio daydreaming about gaps in the market and how she can fill them. Babe Driven is her first novel, Love’s Child is her second. She is currently writing her third novel and is collaborating on a children’s book range with her family.

About The Book

Babe Driven

Driving straight out of trouble and into paradise!

Harriet’s crazily successful business idea is under serious threat, and the danger seems to be coming from inside her own family. She whisks her sister and her friends away to an exotic location to try and work out whose side they are on. It’s time to start damage limitation.

When the girls arrive at the glorious villa owned by Harriet’s maverick business partner Nikki, they find a gorgeous band and their sexy lead singer Max staying next door, out to entice their new neighbours into all kinds of trouble.

This isn’t a holiday for Harriet and she can’t afford to be distracted. She has to sell her business idea to the powerful resort owner, the elusive Mr Grant, while she is there, or she may not have a business to go back to. Harriet will have to choose between family and friends, business or pleasure. For someone who stays out of the limelight, even though her new company is the hottest ticket in town, she’s going to have to avoid the front pages of every newspaper if she wants to survive the ride!

My Review

Strong and Fun Characters

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Babe Driven with a strong and fun cast of characters. Each one presented with their own set of problems to overcome. It may be their misconceptions of those around them, either friend or foe, to the realization of those who love them for who they are. You follow the strong personalities on their journey of enlightenment of those they love, even when they’re deeply flawed. They all grow in some way. Some may come to see others as they truly are and some may see themselves as others see them, whether good or bad. But they all grow and learn along the way.

I recommend this book to readers who love well-defined characters, mystery, romance, and humor.

Get your copy of BABE DRIVEN today!!!  Other Books by Lizzie Chantree: LOVE’S CHILD and FINDING GINA.

Next TEN books and short stories on my Review List are:
Cupid’s Quest by Lori Soard (finished)
Return of the Gulls by Maureen McMahon (starting 8/29/2016)
Taken by the Huntsman by Mistral Dawn
Myth and Magic by Mae Clair
Spirit of the Book by D. E. Howard
Waterlillies Over My Grave by Patricia Guthrie
Dragon Fireside Tales by Adam Boustead
Trusting Jack by Beth Hale
Haunting Megan by Rebecca Riley
Trafficking by Bill Ward

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#RRBC Spotlight Author: Micki Peluso

With great pleasure I’d like to introduce to you, Micki Peluso, this week’s Rave Reviews Book Club’s Spotlight Author. Welcome, Micki!

What’s In A Word?

“In the beginning was the word . . .”
John 1:1 King James Bible

Remember the childhood taunt, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me?” (from Robert Fulghum). This is not true. The “pen is mightier than the sword,” and the complexity of language plays upon everyday living. It can be subtle,(my favorite) sarcastic, ironic, menacing, hateful, loving, instructive; the list is long. Ultimately words hurt much more than stones, because the scars from hurtful words do not always heal.

Writing is how I express emotions that cannot be exposed through any other outlet. All the feelings that encompass my psyche, subconscious mind, and yes, even soul, are transposed to a large yellow legal pad with an Erasermate pen. This most sacred experience allows me to examine my feelings from other points of view, vent words that hide from me verbally as I cope with the school of life–hoping to pass the test.

Words make or break relationships, erase the tears of a crying child, soothe an aching heart, cheer on an athlete, or manipulate an enemy. Words are power and it is essential to learn to use them wisely, to understand their strength. As applied to writing, proper word choice is critical to a successful essay, short story or novel. Making an error in word usage can change the tempo and alter the perspective of any given piece of writing.

Years ago, four years of Latin was a required course in High School. Students groaned, but this arcane language was the best example of how the nuance of a word can completely change the meaning of a sentence or story. English, based in part, on Latin, is no different.

The words one uses in narrative or description develop character traits and personality.”He was a tempting, seductive piece of work,” shows the reader much about this character, as does, “She donned her reading glasses and began stamping books the children brought to the library desk.” Words in dialogue express emotions and character behavior. Words are all one has to work with, both in real life and in writing. It is prudent to choose them well. Roget’s Thesaurus should be every writer’s bible, packed as it is with synonyms that shift context and meaning in subtle ways.

Who and what I am or hope to become is evident in my stories. In romance, I am the character searching for love, in paranormal, I am the character facing his/her demons, real or imagined. Humorous stories disguise me in my character’s take on the foibles of daily living. In every story that I write, I am there–in words.

“Words express ideas, name things. They carry you from one place to another. . .  When your words change, you change.” Taken from The World Book Complete Word Power Library. “‘In the Miracle Worker,’ based on the life of Helen Keller, the little blind and deaf girl’s mother asks the child’s teacher what is to be taught first. “Language, I hope, replies the teacher . . . what is she without words?” Taken from the Dictionary of Problems and Expressions,” by Harry Shaw.

My losses, sorrows, joys, loves and dreams are forever etched in print. They cannot exist without me or me without them. Yet, I do not write to live, or live to write. Writing helps me make sense of the drama called life. Writing defines me. 

It is an avenue of escape in an uncertain, sometimes frightening world – where love is fragile, dreams shatter, hope is dashed, then renewed. Writing takes me through the dark tunnel to the awaiting light. I will one day pass on to another realm with writing as my epitaph. Writing is not what I do . . . It is who I am.

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Micki Peluso began writing after a personal tragedy. This lead to a first time publication in Victimology: An International Magazine and a career in Journalism. She’s freelanced and been staff writer for one major newspaper, written for two more and has published short fiction and non-fiction, as well as slice of life stories in colleges, magazines and e-zine editions. Her first book was published in 2012; a funny family memoir of love, loss and survival, called, . . . And THE WHIPPOORWILL SANG which won the Nesta CBC Silver Award for ‘Writing That Builds Character’, won third place in the Predators and Editors Contest and first place for People’s Choice Monthly Award. This book is close to her heart since it’s a deathbed promise to her dying child. It has the humor of ‘Cheaper by the Dozen,’ with the heart of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird. Some reviewers liken her writing to a cross between Erma Bombeck and Harper lee. She has over a dozen short stories in ‘Women’s Memoirs’, ‘Tales2inspire’, and ‘Creature Features’. Two of her short horror stories were recently published in an International Award winning anthology called “Speed of Dark.” She is presently working on a collection of short fiction, and slice of life stories in a book collection called, ‘Don’t Pluck the Duck’, due to be released in late 2017. Her first children’s story, ‘The Cat Who Wanted a Dog’ will be released in June of 2017. Author Peluso is a multi-genre and speculative writer who plans to tackle novels next.

And The Whippoorwill Sang
by Micki Peluso

It is a day like any other, except the intense heat wave has broken and signs of early fall are in the air.

Around the dining room table of her 100 year old farmhouse Micki Peluso’s six children along with three of their friends eagerly gulp down a chicken dinner. As soon as the last morsel is ravished, the lot of them is off in different directions. Except for the one whose turn it is to do the dishes. After offering her mother a buck if she’ll do them, with an impish grin, the child rushes out the front door, too excited for a hug, calling out, “Bye Mom,” as the door slams shut. For the Peluso’s the nightmare begins.

Micki and Butch face the horror every parent fears—awaiting the fate of one of their children. While sitting vigil in the ICU waiting room, Micki traverses the past, as a way of dealing with an inconceivable future.

From the bizarre teenage elopement with her high school sweetheart, Butch, in a double wedding with her own mother, to comical family trips across country in an antiquated camper with six kids and a dog, they leave a path of chaos, antics and destruction in their wake. Micki relives the happy times of raising six children while living in a haunted house, as the young parents grow up with their kids. She bravely attempts to be the man of the house while her husband, Butch is working out of town.

Hearing strange noises, which all the younger kids are sure is the ghosts, Micki tiptoes down to the cellar, shotgun in hand and nearly shoots an Idaho potato that has fallen from the pantry and thumped down the stairs. Of course her children feel obligated to tell the world.

Just when their lives are nearly perfect, tragedy strikes—and the laughter dies. A terrible accident takes place in the placid valley nestled within the Susquehanna Mountains in the town of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. On a country lane just blocks from the family’s hundred year old haunted farmhouse, lives are changed forever.

In a state of shock, Micki muses through their delightful past to avoid confronting an uncertain future—as the family copes with fear and apprehension.

One of her six children is fighting for life in Intensive Care. Both parents are pressured by doctors to disconnect Noelle, their fourteen-year-old daughter. Her beautiful girl, funny and bright, who breathes life into every moment, who does cartwheels in piles of Autumn leaves, who loves to sing and dance down country roads, and above all loves her family with all her soul. How can Micki let this child go?

The family embarks upon yet another journey, to the other side of sorrow and grasps the poignant gift of life as they begin. . .to weep. . .to laugh. . .to grieve. . .to dance—and forgive.

To learn more about Micki Peluso, or to purchase her book, …AND THE WHIPPOORWILL SANG,
please visit:
Twitter: @mickipeluso
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndTheWhippoorwillSang
Website: http://www.mallie1025.blogspot.com/
Email: mallie1025@aol.com
 

#EggcerptExchange: LETHAL DISPOSAL by Kasia Radzka

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

Today, I am featuring Kasia Radzka, author of Lethal Disposal.

Lethal Disposal
by Kasia Radzka

Blurb

Lexi Ryder vowed to never return to the Gold Coast, but after a desperate phone call from an old friend, she returns only to learn her friend is dead.

Was it murder or an accident?

Lexi finds herself embroiled in a game of politics, assassinations and secrets. A world where people are not who they seem.

Detective Matthew Ryan wants Lexi as far away as possible from him and the case. But Lexi knows too much. After a public assassination they discover that whoever is responsible is willing to go to great lengths to dispose of those who get in the way of their plans.

Is Lexi willing to risk her own life to seek the truth?

Money, status, and power. Some people will do anything to get it, others will do whatever it takes to keep it.

Excerpt

He pushed her hard and she slammed into the wall of the building, the rugged bricks cutting her palms as she tried to protect herself from the impact. This couldn’t be the end. She turned to face her attacker. She didn’t recognise him. In the darkness she could just make out his features. He had a face that could easily get lost in a crowd, olive skin, a freckle beside his eye, and brown hair. It’s funny the details you notice when you face your killer.

“I’ll give you whatever you want, please, take my keys, my wallet, there’s two hundred dollars in there, just don’t hurt me, please,” Lexi pleaded as he pushed her against the wall.

He stared at her. No smile. No reaction. Then she noticed the glimmer of a gun in his hand.

He pushed even closer until she felt his lips against her ear. “You’ve been asking too many questions.”

Lexi squeezed her eyes shut and pushed him away with all the strength that she could muster as pain seared through her body. She kicked him but he grabbed her by the neck and pulled her towards him pressing the cold metal barrel against the flesh of her lower back. This was it. She was about to die. And all for nothing. She wondered if Dana had known she was going to die at the exact moment her car had veered off the road and slammed into the tree.

Purchase Links
http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00YAC0NLA/

Author Bio

Kasia Radzka is an author, athlete wannabe, food & wine lover, and blogger, living with her husband and son on the Gold Coast, Australia. A run along the coastline generally gets her muse buzzing. You can contact her at kasiajradzka@gmail.com or stop by her website www.kasiaradzka.com.

Author Links
http://www.kasiaradzka.com

Character Questions:

1. Nickname –
   Lexi

2. Job –
   Freelance Investigative Journalist

3. Level of schooling, or self-taught –
   University Degree and the school of life

4. Birthdate –
   5 May

5. Birthplace –
   Melbourne, Australia

6. Currently residing in…
   Gold Coast, Australia

7. Favorite type of pet –
   Dog, but she has no room for one in her life at the moment

8. Favorite place to visit –
   Europe

9. Significant other –
   It’s complicated

10. Most important goal –
    To figure out who killed her friend

11. Worst fear or nightmare –
    Failing the people she promises to help

12. Favorite food –
    Wine, burgers, and rockmelon – not necessarily in that order.

13. Wealthy, poor, or somewhere in between?
    Wealthy, but doesn’t like to advertise it.

14. Secret desire or fantasy –
    If she told you it wouldn’t be a secret.

15. What would you do if you won the lottery?
    Give half to charity, invest the other half and continue investigating stories.

 

#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.

One Small Victory
by Maryann Miller

BOOK BLURB

Life 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

Maryann 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.

#EggcerptExchange: Warrior Women by Janie Franz

I am participating in the Author Helping Authors – Eggcerpt Exchange.

Today, I am featuring Janie Franz, author of Warrior Women.

Warrior Women
By Janie Franz
MuseItUp Publishing

Jan-nell the bowdancer, now pregnant with her second child, and her daughter, Mira-nell, trek up a mountain where bards’ tales have said a village of warrior women exists. Jan-nell makes this trip in winter—and in her condition—in order to find a place for Mira-nell where the child’s precocious abilities will be accepted. The women on the mountain, though, are not fighters or even man-haters. They have chosen to live apart from the world in a village of only women, led by a sisterhood of hunters. Chandro, a beautiful trackfinder, rescues Jan-nell and her daughter, offering them a home and the promise of love.

EXCERPT

Nearing the bend in the trail, Mira-nell gave out a cry and pulled on her mother’s cloak. Jan-nell looked back at her. The child’s face was rapt as if she had seen the One before her. “Look,” she said, pointing ahead.

On the trail, silhouetted by the morning sun, a tall woman stood with feet spread wide apart, a hand on an upright spear that towered far over her head. The woman’s short red hair was set afire by the golden rays behind her. She wore a cape and woven pants with high boots made of goat hide. Her stance was powerful. No doubt she could bar their way further up the trail since Jan-nell possessed little strength to push past her, much less fight her for the right to pass, if that was her intention.

Before Jan-nell could ask what she wanted, another tightening spread across her belly. She was prepared for it this time, only turning slightly to hold her staff with two hands as she breathed with it.

When Jan-nell finally raised her head, the woman with the spear stood a few paces from them. Reaching into a pouch by her waist, she brought out two small leaves and offered them to Jan-nell. “Chew and swallow the juice but not the leaf.”

Jan-nell examined the leaves, sniffed them, and then raised an eyebrow to question the stranger.

“It will pause your labor,” the woman explained in quiet tones.

“Pause it?” she questioned with suspicion. “I have used plants to speed a birth and to ease it, but not one to make it stop. I know of no such plant. Where did you find it?”

“It grows in the waste places of the mountain near the edge of the snows.” Then she added, “It will not harm the babe.”

Jan-nell crunched on the bitter leaves and nearly retched as the vile fluid filled her mouth. With effort, she managed to swallow it.

The woman offered a rueful smile and put a strong hand on her shoulder in comfort. “‘Tis awful it is true, but it does the work.” Then her brow furrowed. “The pull of the earth hastens the birth. We must get you to shelter and off your feet—and soon….”

BUY LINKS

Museitup Publishing
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

About Janie Franz

Janie Franz comes from a long line of Southern liars and storytellers. She told  other people’s stories as a freelance journalist for many years. With Texas wedding DJ, Bill Cox, she co-wrote The Ultimate Wedding Ceremony Book and The Ultimate Wedding Reception Book, and then self-published a writing manual, Freelance Writing: It’s a Business, Stupid!  She also published an online music publication, was an agent/publicist for a groove/funk band, a radio announcer, and a yoga/relaxation instructor.

Currently, she is writing her tweveth novel and a self-help book, Starting Over: Becoming a Woman of Power.

Character Interview

1. Nickname or Name? My name is Jan-nell. For part of my life I was known only by my title, The Bowdancer.
2. Job? I am the Bowdancer, the keeper of the lore of my people. I am also a midwife and healer. I sing the songs of the One. Though I have left my people and that revered place in their village, I still do the work of the One, trying to find my place within this wild world I have discovered.
3. Most important goal? My most fervent desire at this moment of my life, before the birth of my second child, is to find a home for my clever daughter. Like I was as a child, she is quick-witted. However unlike me, she has no place where that gift is recognized. In the village below this great mountain I am climbing, she was ridiculed by child and adult. And her only future was to be the wife of a dull-witted farmer.
4. Worst fear or nightmare? My worse fear is that there will never be a place for my daughter Mira-nell, nor for me, for I, too, wish to finally belong somewhere again.

#EggcerptExchange: ASSAIE’S GIFT by D. E. Howard

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

Today, I am featuring D. E. Howard, author of Assaie’s Gift.

Book blurb:  Kia Deering is a normal teenage girl looking forward to celebrating her 18th birthday in style. What she didn’t anticipate was the revelation that would change her life beyond recognition.

The Goddess Assaie fell for a human and gave up everything, including her identity, to be with him, sacrificing everything she ever knew in the name of true love.

When Kia discovered she was a descendant of the Goddess she had a year to embrace all that it meant or to turn her back on her destiny forever.

Kia had always believed herself to be ordinary but now she was extraordinary she had no idea if she could handle the potential of the power within her. Perhaps the handsome young man she meets in a nightclub could be the distraction she needed, or perhaps he will open up a whole new set of questions himself.

“A pantheonic love story with several twists on the theme, I can highly recommend this first novel by this author”

“Amazing book from start to end”

“I shall be recommending it to my friends”

Events from the past come together, in this fantastical romance, to change the present and nothing will ever be the same again, for any of them.
Read D E Howard’s début novel Assaie’s Gift and follow a love that began in another era.

Author info: D E Howard was born and raised in the small seaside town of Southport where she still resides. Enjoying writing for most of her adult life she only recently decided to turn her ideas into books. Part time gardener (just at home!), part time dog walker (for a crazy cairn terrier) and part time author she still has time for a full time job. Work pays the bills but writing feeds the soul. Her second book “Spirit of the Book” will be out soon.

Egg-cerpt:

While Sofia fumbled in her bag for her mobile phone Kia raced around to the front of the car. From the back seat she hadn’t been able to see the other vehicle which it appeared they had hit side on, crushing both the driver’s door and the front of the taxi.  The driver, and sole occupant, of the other vehicle was motionless, blood covering his face as it ran freely from a large cut in his forehead.

“Are you all right?” She shouted, the driver’s eyes flickering open in acknowledgement. “It’s okay, we’ve called an ambulance… just stay where you are.”

Racing around to the driver’s side of the taxi Kia stopped dead, the taxi driver was sprawled across the road before the car, his leg at a painfully unnatural angle, his body bloodied from the many cuts he sustained from the windscreen’s glass. The thing that made Kia stop and take a deep breath however were his eyes, they were now wide open and staring up at the sky unblinking, they showed no sign of life.

Approaching him slowly Kia took some deep steadying breaths, she had taken a few first aid courses in college but nothing could have prepared her for this.

“Hello?” She said as she crouched down beside him. “Hello can you hear me?”

Getting no reaction Kia reached out a hand and gently shook the taxi driver’s shoulder.

“Hello?” She said again, already knowing that it was too late for him to ever hear her again but unable to stop trying. “Please be all right… hello?”

Kneeling down closer to the driver Kia leaned over, holding her hair back, as she tried to listen for any sounds of breath but there were none, his eyes still stared lifelessly at the sky.

“What do I do?” Kia said quietly to herself as tears began to fill her eyes. This was not the way her birthday was supposed to end and she was certain that the taxi driver hadn’t anticipated such a final end to his evening either.

Unable to do anything else Kia took hold of the driver’s hand gently and closed her eyes. It didn’t seem right to just leave him.

She didn’t notice the burning sensation in her palm at first as her body was already full of aches from the collision but after a few minutes it was impossible to ignore and her eyes shot open to look down at the hand that held onto that of the driver. Kia wasn’t certain but she thought she could see a strange white glow around their hands and then, as quickly as it started, the pain faded away and seconds later so did the glow.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts Kia decided she was imagining things due to the stress of the accident.

Then the driver began to cough.

“What happened?” He asked, rubbing his free hand over his face as he straightened the leg that moments ago had seemed irrevocably broken.

“Accident,” Kia said, unable to form any more coherent words than that, relief flooding her body at the sound of the ambulance sirens rapidly approaching.

Time to get to know a little more about Kia Deering with this questionnaire:

1. Nickname: My name is a little short to do much with, but friends do sometimes just call me “K”
2. Job: I’m currently a student, I was going to get a part time job to help out but mum wouldn’t hear of it.
3.  Level of schooling, or self-taught: That’s still ongoing!
4. Birthdate: August 19^th – summer birthdays are the best
5. Birthplace: A little town you wouldn’t have heard of – nowhere very exciting I’m afraid
6. Currently residing in: Still living at home with my mum
7. Favourite type of pet: I don’t have one myself, but who can resist a puppy? I have to have a cuddle any

Buying links:
Amazon: myBook.to/Assaie or http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00TJ2Y4YI
CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/4566626

Author Links:
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/DEHAuthor/
Blog:  https://dawndelivers.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @dehauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13529086.D_E_Howard

#EggcerptExchange: JEM by Michelle Abbott

 

Today, I am featuring Michelle Abbott, author of Jem.

Author Michelle Abbott writes new adult romance. She currently has four books published.

JEM

Two injured, stubborn souls meet unexpectedly. Will they save each other from their demons or have they been too damaged for too long to see past the pain?

Growing up, all Jem knew was hatred and the pain from his father’s fists. Taunted by the kids at school, he was alone, until a girl with carrot coloured hair sat next to him.

She smiled.
She listened.
She cared.

She was his angel, and he knew he’d love her forever. But Jem’s father hurts him in a way he never expected by taking him away from her.

Now eighteen, scarred inside and out, Jem trusts no one and has worked hard to ensure he’ll never be helpless again. But then he runs into his angel. The only problem is she doesn’t recognize him. Jem needs her to remember him, to show him that their time together meant to her what it did to him. For once in his life he wants to have mattered to someone, to her.

Devon is attracted to the muscular, tattooed, pierced hottie standing by the pub quiz machine. That is, until he punches a guy clean across the bar for daring to touch him. She’s had her fill of violent men and intends to avoid this one at all costs.

Eggcerpt from JEM

I pull back the duvet and try to make as few movements as possible as I crawl in beside her and let the warmth from her body and the duvet envelop me. Her red hair is splayed across my pillow. I reach out and stroke my fingers through the silken strands. My pillowcase isn’t getting washed again. It can smell of her forever so that whenever I lay my head on it, I can pretend she’s with me. Maybe it will be okay to move a little closer. I’m right on the edge of the mattress. If I fall out of bed I’ll wake her. I scoot closer to her, close my eyes and inhale. She smells of roses. Maybe I should get her some flowers. I picture myself holding a bunch of red roses and chuckle to myself. Nah, I’m not the suave type. Maybe I’ll get a rose tattoo to remind me of her scent.

Buy Links:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U65KU22
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00U65KU22
http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B00U65KU22
 

Interview with Jem

1. Job?

I work at an amusement arcade, fixing the machines when they go wrong, handing out change and that kind of thing. It pays my bills, it’s local and the hours suit me.

2. Currently residing in…?

Hemsby in Norfolk. I’ve got a trailer right by the sea. There’s nothing like walking along the beach every morning. It keeps me calm.

3. Level of schooling, or self-taught?

I had to quit school when I was small because my asshole of a father moved us all at the last minute after someone reported him to social services for child cruelty. He never enrolled me in another school. I taught myself all I need to know.

4. Favorite food?

Don’t have one. I eat to live, I don’t live to eat.

5. Most important goal?

To get Devon to remember me and love me again. To take care of her and show her that I never forgot her and never stopped loving her.

 

Michelle Abbott lives in the UK and hates describing herself in 3rd person.

She  loves to write new adult romance about heroes who begin as the underdog and are protective of their girl.

She’s an avid reader of romance, is addicted to coffee and loves wine and chocolate, so yeah, not the most healthy eating and drinking habits 🙂 She spends way too much time online when she should be writing. She collects teddy bears and occasionally knits a couple of rows on a sweater she started years ago, which she may eventually finish in time to wear for her funeral 🙂

Website http://www.michelleabbott.com/
Twitter   https://twitter.com/michelleabbott4
Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/MichelleAbbottRomanceAuthor
Goodreads  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7034278.Michelle_Abbott

#EggcerptExchange: IN THE CONTEXT OF LOVE by Linda K. Sienkiewicz

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

Throughout the months of February and March, I plan to delight you with exciting information about books and authors who are or could become your favorites. So make sure to check this out and let each amaze you with their ability to write awesome stories.

Today, I am featuring Linda K. Sienkiewicz, author of In The Context of Love.

Author Linda K. Sienkiewicz writes women’s fiction/contemporary romance. Her debut novel is titled In the Context of Love.

What makes us step back to examine the events and people that have shaped our lives? And what happens when what we discover leads to more questions? In the Context of Love, contemporary fiction by Linda K. Sienkiewicz, revolves around the journey of Angelica Schirrick as she reevaluates her life, and its direction.

Returning with her children from their first visit with her now imprisoned husband, she tries to figure out where it all went so wrong. Can she face the failures and secrets of her past and move forward? Can she find love and purpose again? Her future, which once held so much promise, crumbled like dust after the mysterious disappearance of her first love, and the shattering revelation that derailed her life, and divided her parents. Only when she finally learns to accept the violence of her beginning can she be open to life again, and maybe to a second chance at love.

Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of Michigan Notable Book MOTHERS TELL YOUR DAUGHTERS, says “Sienkiewicz’s powerful and richly detailed debut novel is at once a love story, a cautionary tale, and an inspirational journey. It should be required reading for all wayward daughters, and their mothers, too.”

Eggcerpt from In the Context of Love:
I lay, stomach down, on my bed with my head hanging off the edge. I was an analytical person, a conscientious honor roll student, a quick learner. I’d studied literature, ancient history, read Shakespeare and Salinger, yet none of it, nothing, had given me the skills or words to make sense of this.

The following morning, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I had opened my curtains to an ash-filled sky, charred houses, trees burnt to stubs, the ground still smoking. Instead, the sun had risen like a relentless machine, and the sky wafted like a freshly-washed blue sheet above us. My house was the same house, with the same eggshell white ceilings, dark wooden floors and braided rugs. The only difference: I understood reality was a dark beast, capable of shifting under my feet.

I fingered the silk edge of my blanket, trying to reframe my past in light of what I now understood to be the truth. Everything I’d thought about myself had been a falsehood. In many ways, our family operated like any other family. Dad paid the bills, fertilized the lawn, and kept us free from foot pain. Mom knitted and purled, chased after flesh-eating germs, and smothered me until the sound of my own name made me cringe. We played Uncle Wiggly and Chutes and Ladders. I went trick-or-treating on Halloween. I had a sandbox. I pushed my plastic baby doll in her flimsy buggy back and forth along the sidewalk while squirrels scolded me from the trees. We had two cars, one and a half baths, and a color television. Hot and cold water. Electricity. We ate pot roast on Sunday, spaghetti on Wednesday, and tuna casserole every Friday and we weren’t even Catholic.

My friend Becca was terrified to stay in the house alone with her addled grandfather because he would forget who she was and try to kick her out. Lizzy was ashamed to be seen with her mother, who was so obese she couldn’t walk to their mailbox without wheezing. Jessica’s father owned a motel where a man was found shot in the head in room thirty-six. Paige suspected her parents were swingers who went to sex parties. Skip seemed to have been deserted by his folks…

Yet, I was certain no one’s family had a secret as hideous as mine.

In the Context of Love can be purchased in paperback or e-reader on Amazon http://amzn.to/1IiVWEs  or Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/1QFs340

Here’s an interview with Angelica Schirrick, the narrator of In the Context of Love:

1. Do you have a nickname?
   I’ve been called troublemaker, short stuff, hot stuff, cupcake, angel, and hure (by my German grandmother — don’t ask why), but most people call me Angie.
2. What do you do for a living?
   I’m the marketing and community service director for Safe Harbor, a non-profit women’s domestic violence shelter in Cleveland, Ohio. Not too bad for someone with an associate’s degree from a community college.
3. What’s your most important goal?
   To see my two children grow up to be happy and well-adjusted, despite having a crazy activist for a mother and a felon for a father.
4. What’s your worst fear or nightmare?
   That my two children do not grow up to be happy and well-adjusted.
5. What do you do when you can’t sleep at night?
   Not so long ago I had horrible nightmares that left me wide awake and sweating in the sheets. I sleep better now, but if I find myself tossing and turning, I fix myself a glass of warm milk. That usually does it.

Author Linda K. Sienkiewicz attributes her creative drive to her artistic mother, who taught her to sew, and her father, who let her monkey around with the gadgets in his workshop. Her poetry, short stories and art have been published in more than fifty literary journals. She has a poetry chapbook award from Bottom Dog Press and an MFA from The University of Southern Maine.

Website http://lindaksienkiewicz.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/LindaKSienkwicz
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/lindaksienkwicz/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lindaksienkiewicz/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lindasienkiewicz.author

 

#Eggcerpt Exchange: STILL CRAZY by Diana Rubino

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

Throughout the months of February and March, I plan to delight you with exciting information about books and authors who are or could become your favorites. So make sure to check this out and let each amaze you with their ability to write awesome stories.

Today, I am featuring Diana Rubino, author of Still Crazy.

About Diana

My passion for history and travel has taken me to every locale of my books, and short stories, set in Medieval and Renaissance England, Egypt, the Mediterranean, colonial Virginia, New England, and New York. My urban fantasy romance, FAKIN’ IT, won a Top Pick award from Romantic Times. I’m a member of Romance Writers of America, the Richard III Society and the Aaron Burr Association. I live on Cape Cod with my husband Chris. In my spare time, I bicycle, golf, play my piano and devour books of any genre.

About STILL CRAZY…

Can an obsession continue from beyond the grave?

Clay Lynch is obsessed with his ex-girlfriend Alyssa Tyler. Convinced they’re destined for each other, he stalks, pesters and torments her…he creeps up to her bedroom window, he follows her onto planes, he wrecks her wedding by abducting her. His arrest and prison sentence assure her he’s finally out of her life… until his remains are found in the Arizona desert. On the anniversary of the day they met, she receives a haunting text message. Is he now stalking her from beyond the grave?

Where did STILL CRAZY come from?

It went through many incarnations over the last 26 years! In 1989, I took a detour from my romance genre and wrote a thriller about a stalking ex. It was set in the present, then, but I updated and revised it many times. Back then there were no cell phones, no internet, no GPS’s, and none of those songs or bands existed!

An excerpt from STILL CRAZY:

She brought her car in for servicing the next morning, parking in his lot next to a red and white taxi. Her mechanic called her a little after two. “Your car is ready, Alyssa. Hey, do you know you have a GPS tracking device attached underneath it?”

“What?” She shook her head, baffled. “I have a GPS in the dashboard, but not under the car.”

“Oh, yeah, you do. This is a tracking device. Somebody has a GPS and a dot will flash on the screen to show your exact location, as long as you’re within range. You want me to take it out?”

She instantly knew who this ‘somebody’ was. She felt as if a ton of bricks clobbered her square in the face.

Purchase STILL CRAZY:
Amazon Paperback
Kindle
Solstice Publishing
Book Goodies

Contact Diana at:
My Website
My Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
LinkedIn
GooglePlus
Amazon Author Page

How Much Social Media Do Authors Really Need? (Guest Post by Janice Spina)

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

If you are just starting out or contemplating writing a book – here are some tips I learned along the way.

When I first started out as an author over three years ago I had no idea what to do with social media. I spoke with my talented artist friend, Ara Atkinson-Skinner, who I met while on vacation in Aruba and she coached me, a fledgling writer who had dreams of becoming a successful author one day. Boy, did I have some surprises coming and a rude awakening! I remembered becoming so excited and yet anxious anticipating what I needed to put into practice. Ara was a godsend to me and helped me get started on my journey to become an author. I can’t thank her enough. She gave me the tools and the confidence to believe in myself so that I could begin my journey. I didn’t know…

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