A Remedy in Time

 THE GRIPPING AND THRILLING NEW ADVENTURE ABOUT A VACCINE, A VIRUS AND A JOURNEY INTO PREHISTORY . . .

‘Fascinating . . . Jam-packed with adventure and colour’ Jodi Taylor

***** ‘Fantastic historical adventure‘ – AMAZON REVIEWER
***** ‘I highly recommend it’ – GOODREADS REVIEWER
***** ‘No one blends time travel and history as well as she does.’ – AMAZON REVIEWER
***** ‘Some of my best reading travels this year!’ – GOODREADS REVIEWER
***** ‘You just keep turning those pages to see what’s coming next.’ – AMAZON REVIEWER 

About a year ago, I saw a skull on a blog that I hang out on (yeah, I hang out on those kinds of blogs…) that belonged to an extinct animal known as a sabretooth tiger (or smilodon). I’ve always been a dinosaur geek, but the Paleolithic animals ran a close second – mammoths, giant elk, dire wolves, and sabretooth tigers, among others. And when I saw the skull it made me wonder how exactly the tiger used his huge, over-sized upper canines – did he use them to stab? That would make the most sense. But how? Wouldn’t they break? What kind of stabbing motion would be the most effective? 

I went searching for answers, and came up with a lot of different theories. Looking at the skeleton, I was struck at how stocky and massive the animals forearms were. I leaned towards the theory that the animal would leap on his prey from above, grip tightly with its powerful forelegs, stab it in the neck or as close to the skull as it could, using his huge canines like daggers, and probably leap off the animal and wait until its prey bled to death. I even thought it would explain why so many sabretooth tiger skeletons were recovered from tar pits. Wounded animals head downhill, and downhill is water, and in those days – the water covered the tar pits where the animals bogged down and were trapped.

How could I test my theory? Sabretooth tigers (and actually, they are now referred to as sabretooth cats, but I honestly prefer tigers…) are extinct, and I don’t have the material to clone one and bring it back to life Jurassic Park style. The next best thing would have to be a voyage back into time to see one for myself, so I sat down and wrote “A Remedy in Time”, about a woman who is sent back to the Paleolithic to find out where a deadly virus has originated from. Her hypothesis is that it came from saber tooth tigers. 

When I wrote the book, Covid-19 didn’t exist yet, so I can’t claim it was the idea behind the story. In fact, the idea came from an article I read about typhus in American cities. One type, a feline typhus, is a parvovirus. Now, parvoviruses are very resistant and are able to survive for several months (or even much longer!) in the outside world. Coronaviruses are bigger (relatively speaking) and a little more fragile. They are also not very species-specific, so they mutate from infecting animals to infecting humans (as Covid-19 has) fairly easily. 

Anyhow, back to the parvoviruses – the feline parvo is highly contageous and very deadly. It has never (and most likely never will) mutate to infect humans. But a writer has to do what a writer has to do, and in my book the virus infects humans so my heroine, Robin, goes back in time to get some samples from the best-known feline of the time – the sabertooth tiger. That’s not all of the story, of course – there are bad guys and good guys, a romance, a caveman who learns to love chocolate, and lots of swearing – so fasten your seatbelt and get ready for a wild ride to the Paleolithic!

A Remedy in Time

To save the future, she must turn to the past . . .

San Francisco, Year 3377. A deadly virus has taken the world by storm. Scientists are desperately working to develop a vaccine. And Robin Johnson – genius, high-functioning, and perhaps a little bit single-minded – is delighted. Because, to cure the disease, she’s given the chance to travel back in time.

But when Robin arrives at the last Ice Age hoping to stop the virus at its source, she finds more there than she bargained for. And just as her own chilly exterior is beginning to thaw, she realises it’s not only sabre-toothed tigers that are in danger of extinction . . .

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08H7X6RL9

Link for sample chapters : https://amzn.eu/3KZc66X

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Drifting by Steven M. Cross

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Steven M. Cross will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Drifting brings light into the dark corners of mental health, bullying, and sexual assault.

Dean Knight has struggled against his personal demons for as long as he can remember. He thought he lost that struggle when he felt their knowing grip pull him deeper in the river, but he was saved. Saved for what? His memories are trapped within his mental illness. He hears his sister and father’s voices. The problem is, they’re dead, both killed in the same river that tried to claim Dean. As he struggles to remember, he discovers their voices aren’t pushing him to harm himself, but to discover the truth surrounding both their deaths. One person, Ella, has all the answers, but Dean can’t remember if she loved him or tried to kill him.

Roxanne “Rocky” Rivers struggles against her own demons, not voices, but a past trauma she can’t fully remember. She only knows everyone at school thinks she’s a slut and a head-case. A razor her only release for the pain. Rocky knows no one will believe a crazy girl who tries to kill herself.

Dean and Rocky find a connection. Can they find the strength and trust to help each other when neither can survive alone?

Read an Excerpt

We have walked into another large cave. In one wall, a small chamber is cut.

“I bet there’s treasure in there. Arrgh,” like a pirate, then laughing hysterically, cackling, and releasing my hand. I kneel and see a pocket watch lying at the chamber’s entrance.

A hand, half bone, half decayed skin, creeps from the chamber, grabs my wrist. My heart catches. My eyes bulge. A scream rises in my throat.

Then, I see a bashed in skull emerge from the opening, its jaw set in a gaping grin and then another hand. Behind it on the floor, I see part of a skull, blood, a tooth, and hair. The skeleton crawls out of the chamber. I hear the girl’s crazed laughter. Bones skitter over the ground, click like castanets.

“Dean.” Its voice is thick like it’s filled with sand. I, we, feel like our head is going to explode into pieces of blood and brain and bone.

When I close my eyes, it grabs me and lifts me up, flopping me over its shoulder like an old rug. I can’t move, can’t talk, can’t breathe. The dry, brittle bones click against my skin.

It takes me to another part of the cave on the edge of a high cliff, lifts me off its shoulder, grabs my shirt, dangles me over the edge of the cliff, lets go.

I kick and scream as I fall through the air. I look up, see the face of a beautiful girl, then disappear into a pool of hot, frothy water. As I peer through the churning water, the skeleton’s hand grabs my hair.

I scream, choke on water, but then I’m gulping fresh air and staring into the Rose’s face.

“What the hell?”

“I’m naked,” I say aloud, though I’m only thinking it in my head.

“Next time, I’ll let your skinny ass drown.” She turns, leaves the bathroom.

About the Author:

Steve Cross is an educator/freelance writer who lives in Poplar Bluff, MO. His credits include four young adult novels, two fantasy novels, and seven plays. He has optioned one script and sold another one. Plus, he's finished as a quarterfinalist in Bluecat and in Fresh Voices screenwriting competition. He and his wife have one daughter and two grandchildren with whom they spend a lot of time. Cross loves Cardinals baseball, classic rock music, and character-driven movies. His favorite films are Dead Poets Society and Field of Dreams. Cross also likes to read, everything from Young Adult contemporary novels to screenplays, to horror and fantasy. At 62 and a cancer survivor, he believes his writing career is just now getting into full swing. His favorite type of screenplay to write is a psychological drama.

https://www.facebook.com/steven.cross.56/
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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/987662.Steven_Cross

Amazon Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Drifting-Steven-M-Cross-ebook/dp/B093WRF6FC/ref=sr_1_1

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THIS TALE IS TRUE by Deborah Zenha Adams

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Deborah Adams will be awarding a $25 Visa gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

They don’t make goddesses like they used to….

For eons they ruled, but modern times have been rough on the ancient deities— their temples collapsed, their worshippers wandered off, and their purposes were made redundant by industry and technology. And the Fates aren’t finished with them yet.

Mere days before the annual renewal of their immortality is to occur, the goddess of youth disappears. Without her and her restorative nectar, time and age will catch up with the goddesses. In the blink of an eye, they will shrivel and die, leaving the world to fend for itself, unless a skeptical mortal can find a way to save both worlds.

combines the humor one expects from Adams with magical realism and a dash of literary fiction, resulting in a boisterous read that pushes back against the boundaries of genre.

“Deborah Adams offers goddesses in peril and a protagonist who dares all to save the immortals in a wild, wacky, and wonderful romp. Imaginative, creative, fabulous fiction.” ~ Carolyn Hart, author of the otherworldly Bailey Ruth series

Read an Excerpt

“A squirrel in the toilet is not an omen.” Cybil felt this bore repeating. “It’s just a rodent whose curiosity proved to be more than it could handle.”

Evie, her roommate and current audience, unlocked their apartment door and stepped inside, then closed the door and engaged the deadbolt as soon as Cybil had joined her. Pre-emptive security was important to Cybil, and she’d worked hard to instill good habits in her new roommate. Despite her trusting nature, Evie tried to comply with Cybil’s insistent rule about staying safe, although Evie was certain that the real dangers in this world could not be restrained by man-made mechanisms.

“I never said the squirrel was an omen,” Evie insisted.

“You didn’t disagree when the wacky witches were putting forth that very notion,” Cybil reminded her. “If you don’t speak out against the nonsense, you are in tacit agreement.”

“They have a right to believe whatever they like.” Pushing back the hood of her purple velvet cloak, Evie ran the fingers of one hand through her nut-brown hair. “And surely you can see why they thought it had meaning. It’s hard to believe the squirrel just happened to pop up in Belinda’s toilet at the very moment we invoked the Great Goddess.”

“It’s harder to believe that a goddess of Hera’s standing would send her RSVP through a bushy-tailed rat.”

“You never know,” Evie said with sincerity. “Goddesses don’t think or act like mortals.”

“I daresay you’re right about that,” Cybil conceded.

About the Author:

Deborah Zenha Adams, recipient of the Macavity and Flair Awards, is an author, a naturalist, and a yoga educator. In {This Tale Is True}, a work of magical realism, she unveils the fate of ancient Roman goddesses as they struggle to survive in the 21st century.

The seven novels in her Jesus Creek mystery series were published under her own name, and other works appear under a variety of pseudonyms. She is also the author of numerous short stories and essays.

She has been a guest lecturer at numerous events, including Southern Festival of Books, Appalachian Studies Conference, Warioto Regional Library Board of Trustees Conference, Southeastern Booksellers Association, Georgia Library Association Convention, Emory University, East Tennessee State University Writers Program, and many others. She is a lifetime member of the Southern Literary Coalition.

Deborah-Zenha is available for interviews, speaking, and author events. Her signature workshops include Write Your Memoir (even if you aren’t a writer) and Write Your Yoga Memoir.

Learn more about the author and her books on her website.

Website: http://www.Deborah-Adams.com

{This Tale Is True} is available from your favorite local bookstore, as well as online stores.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0998494097/ref=as_li_tl
BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wanderings-of-a-naturalist-in-india-andrew-leith-adams/1102064407
Books-a-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/this-Tale-True/Deborah-Adams/9780998494098
Indiebound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780998494098
Kobo: http://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/this-tale-is-true

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Justice by Tracy Tappan

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Tracy Tappan will be awarding one "Hero" coffee mug: Keith or Brayden or Pete, winner's choice which one. (US only shipping) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A star athlete with a notorious reputation, Justine “Justice” Hayes is offered the chance to join the United States’ elite Special Operations Forces. SOF is standing up three new units called “Special Missions,” and Justice’s past as a master thief makes her perfect to lead one of these intelligence-gathering teams.

But an impossible condition stands between her and her dream job.

She has to survive the Navy’s most intensive and grueling SPECWAR training program: BUD/S.

Despite opposition, Justice soon finds herself wearing the rank of a Navy ensign and competing with some of America’s toughest men. Two of these SEAL candidates will come to test her mind and her heart, as much as her will to keep business and pleasure firmly separate. Temptations multiply when she crosses swords with the cocky helicopter pilot who commands her Special Missions flight crew.

Her vow to maintain a professional distance is finally shaken when an unorthodox training exercise goes terribly wrong. In the brutal aftermath, she needs a man who cares about her to help her fully heal. But which hero will ultimately win her...?

The gentleman? The leader? The wild one?

YOU CHOOSE!

In this unique Choose A Hero Romance™, the reader decides which hero will earn a happily ever after with Justice Hayes.

Love every hero in his own way?
You can have as many happily-ever-afters as you want!

When you’re finished with one ending, simply choose another and keep reading.

All endings are available NOW

Read an Excerpt

“Do you realize how close I came to a medical rollback today, and all because you couldn’t mind your own damned business?”

Keith crossed his arms and spoke with an edge. “I didn’t realize the welfare of my boat team wasn’t my business.”

There was enough sarcasm in his tone to make her want to rip it out of his larynx. She gave him an acid glare. “You need to learn to pay attention when I say I’m good.”

A muscle jumped in his jaw. “A flap of your skin was hanging down.”

“I don’t give a damn!” she yelled.

“I do!” he thundered back. “It would’ve been grossly negligent of me not to send you to medical.”

She clenched her teeth, nausea bubbling at the back of her throat. The length of her esophagus felt like it was covered in road-rash. How awesome would it be if she puked, then fainted in the middle of this argument?

Keith shook his head. “Look at you, Justice. You’re gray.”

She thrust a tautly knuckled fist against her lips. Get through this…get through this… “Before I lose my mind,” and consciousness, “I need to make sure you understand something. On my completely hosed journey to BUD/S, I almost didn’t make it out of PTRR. If I’m rolled back there a second time for an injury, I might not ever escape. So I need you to stop being an overprotective jerk and treat me like a regular candidate—like we agreed—and I need you to do it right now—like I told you yesterday.”

He regarded her flatly. “No.”

About the Author:

Tracy Tappan is a bestselling and award-winning author and the creator of the Choose A Hero Romance™ reading experience, a brand-new concept in storytelling where the reader controls the ending. You can find out more about this exciting new trend at http://www.chooseahero.com.

Tracy’s books in paranormal and military romance have earned both bronze and gold medals in the Readers’ Favorite contests, have finaled for the USA Book News and Kindle Book Awards, and won both the HOLT Medallion and the Independent Publishers Book Award (IPPY) bronze medal for romance.

Tracy holds a master’s degree in Marriage, Family, Child Counseling (MFCC), loves to play tennis, enjoys a great glass of wine, and talks to her Labrador like he’s a human (admittedly, the wine drinking and the dog talking probably go together).

A native of San Diego, Tracy is married to a former Navy helicopter pilot, who retired after thirty years of service and joined the diplomatic corps. He and Tracy currently live in Rome, Italy.

Visit her website and join the gang on her monthly newsletter for giveaways, publication updates, and other fun and sexy news.

Website: http://www.tracytappan.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TracyTappanRomanceAuthor/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/tracytappan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracytappanauthor/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tracy-tappan
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7579061.Tracy_Tappan
Amazon Author Page: http://tracy.link/amazon-author
Choose A Hero website: https://chooseahero.com/

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Rainbow of Emotions by Djehane Hassouna

 

Rainbow of Emotions

by Djehane Hassouna

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GENRE: Poetry

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BLURB:

Rainbow of Emotions is a culmination of Djehane's life experiences. It is a map guiding the reader through the confusing labyrinth of life, unravelling the complicated pattern of her intricate journey through poetry. Djehane writes poems about nature, events, and feelings, about life as a whole. She expresses her hopes and fears, her triumphs and failures, her gratitude and resentment. Every poem is linked to her soul! Every poem is a masterpiece in its own right!

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EXCERPT

The Sequence of Days

If you think of life as a necklace, where every day is

Represented by a bead, you may be able to understand

The sequence of days! A large bead, a tiny one, a round,

A baroque, an oval, a seed or a carved one: our days are

Similar, succeeding each other, each bringing either sadness

Or joy, at its own monotonous pace until the string breaks,

And the beads scatter, losing the tie holding them together.

The Parca’s job is to cut the string of days,

Thus bringing life to an end…

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Djehane Hassouna grew up in Egypt where she received her formal education in French. Her fascination with French poetry and fairy tales has always inspired her writing. Djehane also speaks Arabic, Italian, and a little Spanish.

Djehane received her BA in French from the Catholic University of America, her MA in Comparative Literature from Vermont College, and her PhD in Romance Languages and Literatures from the University of Pittsburgh. Throughout her life, Djehane has continued to express her feelings through poetry in both French and English. As she writes, and as her emotions take shape into verse, Djehane becomes one with her poetry.

WEBSITE: http://djehane-poetry.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DjehanePoetry

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/djehanepoetry/

Twitter https://twitter.com/DjehanePoetry

Mirakee https://www.mirakee.com/djehanepoetry

Allpoetry https://allpoetry.com/DjehanePoetry

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20994286.Djehane_Hassouna

Buy links:

Amazon

Barnesand Noble

Indigo

Kindle 

Bookshop

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

Djehane Hassouna will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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