My Dead True Love by Kim Pierce

 

My Dead True Love

by Kim Pierce

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GENRE: Women's literature

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BLURB:

When a newspaper reporter’s fiancé dies abruptly, she questions how he could just cease to be.

Dogged by unbidden thoughts, odd coincidences and unexplained phenomena, Ann Stewart becomes obsessed with finding out what really happens after we die and whether her beloved Gregory is still out there. She finds her answer, which takes her and a close-knit coterie of women to the edge of the cosmos—and the core of their own hearts.

Based on a true story.

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Excerpt :

“It was definitely Gregory,” Connie declared, forcing herself to return to the vision. “As clear as if he were standing next to me. Smiling.”

“If you saw him”—and I still wasn’t believing—“did he see you? Did he see me?”

It made no sense, but I had to know more.

“I don’t know. I tried to un-see him. I really did,” she said, turning to me, something akin to terror twisting her face. “This ‘seeing’ is a part of me that triggers so much shame—and reactivates the trauma. Like shell shock.” Red mottling crept up Connie’s neck and onto her cheeks.

She saw him. The words slid off my brain as if she were speaking in tongues. What did that mean?

“Could it have been your imagination?” I offered wanly, not wanting that to be the case.

“Yes, I suppose it could.”

Neither of us believed it.

I waited.

“What would it mean for you to ‘see’ him?” I pressed.

Tell me. Even if it makes no sense.

“That there’s something wrong with me,” came her acrid reply. “Deeply, terribly wrong. At least that’s what my father would say. And a lot of other people who make judgments about what I can do.” She slammed the car into park a little too aggressively.

“There’s nothing wrong with you,” I said, getting out of the car.

Connie shut down.

“I need to go home for a while,” she said.

Tell. Me. More.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Kim Pierce is a former Dallas Morning News writer and editor who completed the Writer’s Path fiction program at Southern Methodist University. My Dead True Love is her first novel, inspired by events surrounding the death of her fiancé in 1998. She lives in Dallas, Texas, with her partner and three cats.

https://mydeadtruelove.com/

Buy Links:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Dead-True-Love-Kim-Pierce-ebook/dp/B0BGYF2PYR

 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-dead-true-love-kim-pierce/1142397885

 

Other links:

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62852735-my-dead-true-love

 

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085084524074

 

https://twitter.com/KimPierceauthor

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

A randomly drawn winner will receive a $50 Amazon/BN GC.

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The Adventures of a Southern (Baptist) Buddhist by Pamela McConnell, MSW, LCSW

 The Adventures of a Southern (Baptist) Buddhist

by Pamela McConnell, MSW, LCSW

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GENRE: Non-Fiction, Autobiography

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by 

Goddess FishPromotions. Pamela McConnell will be awarding a $15 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.

This true story is about a girl who is born up north; into a conservative, fundamentalist/evangelical family—but then becomes a Liberal Buddhist. Her family moves back to their roots in the Appalachian south, where Pam is molested by her grandfather. She later owns her sexuality by becoming promiscuous; beginning a pattern of serial dating, marrying, and divorcing. She is first married at 18 to another 18-year-old, who gives her a beautiful son—but he is a redneck and they have nothing else in common. Her second husband is a talented musician but turns out to like sex with men. Her third husband speaks five languages and is a Pakistani, but he beats her up. Her fourth husband is a chef who makes delicious meals but turns out to be a felon and a crackhead. Finally, the love of her life neglects to tell Pam for seven years that he is married. In the meantime, Pam completes two degrees and works as a counselor, and then 20 years as a hospice social worker. She begins her hospice career in Southern California, where she has moved to get away from the DEEP South. That is where she converts to Buddhism. From that point, she begins to look inward for the answers to her questions about life’s meaning.  Pam leaves the country after two failed relationships, some years apart. She spends a year teaching English in South Korea and goes from there to Pakistan with her third husband. In between, her dad dies and Pam reconnects and bonds with her mom, backpacking on the Appalachian Trail. When she leaves the love of her life, she goes on Pilgrimage to India and Nepal. The meaning of her life is coming into focus. At the end of the book, Pam goes on a trek in the Himalayas, on the Annapurna Circuit. Just over the three-mile high pass is a magical Pure Land in Muktinath, with a Buddhist temple that is dedicated to the female Buddha Vajrayogini. With a new perspective, Pam has the realization that her Enlightenment is ensured; she WILL become a Buddha someday.

Excerpt:  

Our fathers worked at farming factories, making things like Farmall and John Deere tractors.

Although we all lived in the suburbs near the Mississippi River, I remember still: mile after mile

of corn fields, as far as the eye could see. The North was flat with black dirt and straight roads,

while the southern mountains were very steep with curvy roads and red dirt.

Corn was the view, as the two families all took the trip every summer, back to the brothers’

beloved mountains in the DEEP South. We stayed with both sets of grandparents. We kids

usually slept on the floor with feather beds that made me sneeze. Mom’s parents still had an

outhouse in those days, with actual Sears & Roebuck catalogs to wipe with.

Mom told a story about how after she got saved, “I was ‘convicted’ about wearing make-up and

jewelry. Because of that, I threw my wedding band down in the outhouse potty. Your dad fished

it out and wouldn’t give it back to me until decades later!”

I inherited that band several years after dad died, and still wear it today, but I’ve promised to

pass it along to my niece.

Author Bio and Links 

Pamela McConnell, MSW, LCSW was raised in a fundamentalist/ evangelical Christian church and family. At age 34 she converted formally to Buddhism. She has recently completed a Pilgrimage in India and Nepal. Earlier, she spent two years in Asia: a year teaching English in S. Korea and a year in Pakistan with her 3rd husband. She worked as a counselor after earning a B.S. in Psychology. She worked as a hospice social worker for the last 20 years of her career after earning an MSW degree and becoming licensed as an LCSW. She is an avid backpacker and trekker, having done 500 miles on the Appalachian Trail and more than half of the Annapurna Circuit in the Himalayas. 

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Rebirth of a Sage by Lani Gonzales

 

Rebirth of a Sage

by Lani Gonzales

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GENRE: Spirituality/Self Help/Memoir

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BLURB:

A TRANSFORMATIONAL MEMOIR OF LOVE AND LIGHT.

In Lani Gonzales' intimate self-help debut, Rebirth of a Sage, readers meet the woman she was when she discovered ayahuasca and commenced her journey toward spiritual rejuvenation. Panicked, fearful, and drained, she hoped for an escape for both her and the lonely little girl she'd buried inside. Guided by the Shamans and supported by friends she made along the way, her cleanse progressed one ceremony at a time, culminating in a state of pure spiritual refinement.

Through eleven soul-stirring chapters enriched with enlightenment and healing, readers experience a kaleidoscope of emotions as they journey with Lani. A heartwarming chronicle ensues, traversing the blissful highs and devastating lows she faced along her way to rebirth. Unburying her darkest demons, she inspires us to do the same, gradually weaving threads of transformation and encouraging us to reconnect and reignite the divine flame within our souls.

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Excerpt :

I will not carry the weight of your sin.

It is yours to carry, and not my own.

When my innocent eyes looked to you,

You took your life, and I slowly lost my own.

But that is your sin to carry, and your sin alone.

I will not carry the weight of your sin.

It is yours to carry, and not my own.

You taught me that life was worthless,

Something that easily comes and goes.

But that is your sin to carry, and your sin alone.

You trespassed on my innocence, the pureness of my soul.

But that is your sin to carry, and your sin alone.

I will not carry the weight of your sin.

It is yours to carry, and not my own.

You told me to be silent. You told me to be still.

But something inside me rotted; something inside me grew cold.

But that is your sin to carry, and your sin alone.

I will not carry the weight of your sin.

It is yours to carry, and not my own.

You violated my body, using it for the needs of your own.

But that is your sin to carry, and your sin alone.

I will not carry the weight of your sin.

It is yours to carry, and not my own.

The weight I’ve tried to shed.

The weight I’ve tried to purge.

Deceived into believing it should be shed from my body, the vessel for my soul.

But the weight that should be lost is that of your original sin, your sin, and yours alone.

I will not carry the weight of your sin.

It is not mine to carry.

It is yours and yours alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Born in the Philippines, Lani Gonzales immigrated to Virginia, USA, with her family when she was only two years old. Determined to emulate her parents' discipline and ambition, Lani worked through college and law school and is now a practicing partner in a successful law firm in Tampa, Florida. A world-traveling, volunteering, energy-healing, aspiring hypnotherapist, Lani is committed to using her light as a beacon to help others find theirs.

Author's website : https://www.lanigonzales.com/

Amazon buy link : https://www.amazon.com/Rebirth-Sage-Lani-Gonzales/dp/B0BGNF1M3B/

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION:

Lani Gonzales will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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AUTHOR Q & A :

Hello and welcome to my blog! Can you tell me a little about yourself, and and your book?

Rebirth of a Sage is about my experience with ayahuasca and how it helped me process rape, trauma and abuse. Our bodies are vessels for our souls, but they are also vessels for every grief and hardship that we do not properly process, and these things ultimately poison us emotionally, mentally and physically if we do not learn to let go and surrender. Rebirth of a Sage is the story of how I found the divine within once I surrendered.

Is your book based on someone in real life?

Rebirth of a Sage is my true story and shares some of the moments in my childhood that caused the deepest wounds. I wrote Rebirth of a Sage to honor the little girl that I once was who suffered in silence and in shame. I know that her story will help others to break their silence and surrender their shame.

What are your favorite times for writing? Morning? Evening?

Morning or night, I write whenever I feel inspired. I love to write in some of my favorite coffee shops with a cup of chai tea.

Who are your favorite authors? Did they influence your writing, and if so, how?

Rudyard Kipling is one of my favorite authors. His poem, “If” is the cornerstone for how I lead my life. Pick any life problem, and the answer to the problem will be in one of the lines of “If.” The power behind his words inspired me to use my words as a messenger for light and love.

Did you have a favorite book as a child? Did it influence your choice to become an author?

My favorite book as a child was The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. On the surface, The Little Prince is a children’s book about how a prince from another planet crashed on Earth. However, The Little Prince is a social commentary that discussed things, such as suicide, that aren’t polite conversation topics.

Editors of Rebirth of a Sage warned me that the book may be controversial or unsettling, but realizing the power behind our words and our stories from authors like Antoine de Saint-Exupery, I was determined to tell my story authentically.

Thank you for answering my questions, and letting readers get to know you better. It sounds like you have turned a horrific experience into a positive outlet. I wish you all the best! 

Silhouette by Paul Swingle

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Paul Swingle will be awarding a $15 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.

On the night of a blue moon, while walking his dog, middle-aged widower Jim sees Gladys on the roof of a neighboring apartment building and is inspired to speak with her. There’s just one problem: she can’t hear him.

Indeed, Jim isn’t even sure that Gladys truly exists—that she isn’t just a rooftop patio umbrella silhouetted against the moon. Hampered by debilitating social anxiety, he cannot work up the courage to even wave.

Yet Jim returns to the same spot night after night, and Gladys—who is indeed real—sees him and becomes equally interested. She even contributes to their “conversation,” though he cannot hear her either. And while Gladys struggles with her own demons—self-loathing and depression—she is lifted by Jim’s attention, even as she describes how difficult her life has been.

Two characters, driven by sadness and a longing to connect. Will they?

Read an Excerpt

Women aren’t jumpers. Did you know that? We don’t use guns either—at least not on ourselves. We’d shoot a prick on a moment’s notice, though. Ha ha. Anyway, John—although I’d love to throw myself off this planet, it ain’t going to happen. But you never know, do you? Sorry. Not trying to fake you out. Are you lonely, John? God, it’s getting cold and miserable out here. Walk Bowser, John, so I can leave my post and get warm. I’m going to stay very still until you leave. Maybe you’ll forget that I’m a real person. We can continue our chat some other night. I’m going to stay very still, so you can drift away.

About the Author:

Dr. Paul G. Swingle can be considered one of the founding fathers of Clinical Psychoneurophysiology, one of a select few, directly responsible for bringing Neurotherapy out of university labs and clinics to the general populace in the 1980’s.

His academic positions include, Professor of Psychology at the University of Ottawa from 1972 to 1997, Lecturer in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School from 1991 to 1998, Associate Attending Psychologist at McLean Hospital (Boston), Head of the Clinical Psychophysiology Service McLean Hospital (Boston). Professor Swingle was also Clinical Supervisor at the University of Ottawa from 1987 to 1997 and Chairman of the Faculty of Child Psychology from 1972 to 1977. Dr. Swingle is a Registered Psychologist in British Columbia and is Board Certified in Biofeedback and Neurotherapy. He is actively involved in research and practice. His numerous publications include nine books and numerous peer reviewed journal publications.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Silhouette-Paul-G-Swingle/dp/B09C3D527K
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Paul-G-Swingle/e/B09F2518KP/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1

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Grady Whill and the Templeton Codex by Carole P. Roman

 

Grady Whill and the Templeton Codex

by Carole P. Roman

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GENRE: YA adventure

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BLURB:

Templeton Academy- the superhero high school is finally open!
The prestigious academy is recruiting the best of the best to enroll in its student body.
The school is as mysterious as it is exclusive.
Grady Whill thinks there is nothing special about him to make the grade.
However, his best friend, Aarush Patel has been selected and thinks Grady has the right stuff.
Even school bully Elwood Bledsoe is attending.
If Grady is fortunate enough to be picked, his guardian has forbidden him to attend.
Will a family secret prevent Grady from becoming the superhero he was destined to be?

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Excerpt :

There Whill Be Blood

A barely cooled lump of lava hardened under my feet. One of my sneakers was stuck between two small rocks in the solidifying mess. I stared at my foot in disbelief. Instinct told me I should be a human torch, my legs nothing more than toasted stumps. I glanced up, my heart beating wildly. We were trapped on the side of the mountain facing our school, separated by a burning sea of molten rocks.

The world around me steamed, the lava staining the sky burnt orange. Trees swallowed by molten rock looked like skeletal hands emerging from a grave that glowed beneath the blackened crust. I saw heat waves shimmering from the earth but felt none of its intensity. I pulled fiercely, feeling my ankle twist. Aarush steadied me as I nearly toppled over. He was shirtless, his back slick with sweat and covered with scrapes. His fingers worked feverishly to free my foot.

Overhead two helicopter-sized pterodactyls circled the craggy summit. The wind from their leathery wings buffeted the two of us. I think the air they circulated stopped the patches of lava from cooking us alive, but what do I know?

“We better get moving, Grady. Leave your sneaker. We are risking getting burned by staying too long in one spot.” The ever-practical Aarush reasoned as he pulled the velcro releasing my foot. I wobbled, then fell to one knee.

“Do you think they’re real?” I hollered to my friend over the noise, pointing upward.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Carole P. Roman is the award-winning author of over fifty children's books. Whether it's pirates, princesses, spies, or discovering the world around us, her books have enchanted educators, parents, and her diverse audience of children of all ages.

Her best-selling book, The Big Book of Silly Jokes for Kids: 800+ Jokes! has reached number one on Amazon in March of 2020 and has remained in the top 200 books since then.

She published Mindfulness for Kids with J. Robin Albertson-Wren.

Carole has co-authored two self-help books. Navigating Indieworld: A Beginners Guide to Self-Publishing and Marketing with Julie A. Gerber, and Marketing Indieworld with both Julie A. Gerber and Angela Hausman.

Roman is the CEO of a global transportation company, as well as a practicing medium.

She also writes adult fiction under the name Brit Lunden and has created an anthology of the mythical town of Bulwark, Georgia with a group of indie authors.

Writing is her passion and one of her favorite pastimes. Roman reinvents herself frequently, and her family calls her the 'mother of reinvention.' She resides on Long Island, near her children and grandchildren.

http://www.caroleproman.com/

https://www.facebook.com/CarolePRomanAwardWinningAuthorAndBooks/

https://twitter.com/caroleproman

http://caroleproman.blogspot.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Carole-P-Roman/e/B008ZOXI0W

Buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B4T6PWPH/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i3

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A QUICK INTERVIEW!

What would we find under your bed? My pet monster.

What was the scariest moment of your life? Waiting to find out biopsy results.

Do you listen to music while writing? If so what? No, but the tv is on without sound.

What is something you'd like to accomplish in your writing career next year? A book that is made into a movie.

How long did it take you to write this book? It took about three months.

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

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Avalon by Vanessa Morgan

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Vanessa Morgan will be awarding a $10 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.

Avalon is now also available in French!

Some cats need nine lives to make a difference. Avalon only needed one.

From Amazon bestselling author Vanessa Morgan, Avalon is the heartwarming and once-in-a-lifetime love story of a girl and her neurotic Turkish Van cat.

With humor, the author details how Avalon made other creatures cringe in distress whenever he was around, how he threw her dates out by means of special techniques, and how he rendered it almost impossible for her to leave the house. Avalon was so incorrigible that even the landlord ordered to get rid of him. But beneath Avalon's demonic boisterousness, Vanessa recognized her own flaws and insecurities, and she understood that abandoning Avalon would be the worst she could do to him. Thanks to her unswerving loyalty, Avalon transformed into a tender feline and even landed a major role in a horror movie. In turn, Avalon made it his mission to be there for his human companion.

Avalon is a memoir for anyone who has ever been obsessively in love with a pet.

Read an Excerpt

Around three o’clock that night, Avalon was fed up with the strange man in his bed. He plonked his rear down on Gilles’ pillow, complaining fretfully in his ear while tapping him on the face.

After nearly an hour of incessant wailing and poking, more drastic measures were required. The new solution: pushing Gilles out of bed.

Avalon succeeded.

Climbing back under the covers wasn’t an option. Unable to sleep, Gilles got up. "I guess I didn't pass the test."

"Give Avalon some time. Maybe he was just irked because you took his side of the bed."

But Gilles had already understood that this wasn't going to be a one-time event.

For several minutes, Gilles and Avalon sized each other up. Then Gilles said, "I’d better leave the two of you alone now. It’s clearly what the little guy wants."

I swear I could see Avalon smirking when Gilles put on his jacket and left.

Instantly, Avalon leapt onto me, and compensated for the evening before. He entered a kiss-induced trance. This cat was all about exclusivity, and when granted that exclusivity, his love was immense.

"Are you really that happy that Gilles is gone?"

In reply, Avalon looked at me with swoony eyes and purred loudly, then swatted out his paw to urge me to continue to pet him, which I did.

A phone call interrupted our tender moment. It was Gilles.

"There won't be any train to Brussels for hours," he said. "Is it okay if I come back to your place for a while?"

"Of course." His return would offend Avalon, but I couldn’t possibly leave Gilles outside in the rain for several hours.

As soon as Gilles appeared at the front door, Avalon’s pupils widened to a pitch black.

Let's see who's the boss here, he seemed to be thinking.

Being a cat of action, Avalon went through his usual attention-seeking routine: making a selection of irritating noises, scratching the wallpaper, and pushing objects to the ground.

When that didn't work, Avalon opened Gilles' overnight bag and threw out a piece of clothing. His eyes so dark and evil they could be gateways to hell, Avalon stared at his adversary and waited for a reaction. He then pulled out a box of gel wax. Again, he looked up at Gilles to make sure he understood that all this bungling was meant to get a message across. A third object followed, then a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, until there was nothing.

Hell-bent on winning the game, Avalon took Gilles' coat in his mouth and towed it toward the front door. There, he used his right paw to tap the keys hanging from the wooden doorframe.

Avalon’s message couldn’t be any clearer: there was room for only one man in my life. A feline one.

About the Author:

Vanessa Morgan is the editor of the movie reference guides When Animals Attack: The 70 Best Horror Movies with Killer Animals, Strange Blood: 71 Essays on Offbeat and Underrated Vampire Movies, and Evil Seeds: The Ultimate Movie Guide to Villainous Children. She also has had one cat book (Avalon) and four supernatural thrillers (Drowned Sorrow, The Strangers Outside, A Good Man, and Clowders) published. Three of her stories have been turned into movies. She has written for myriad Belgian magazines and newspapers and introduces movie screenings at several European film festivals. She is also a programmer for the Offscreen Film Festival in Belgium. When she's not working on her latest book, you can find her reading, watching movies, eating out, or photographing felines for her blog Traveling Cats.

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The French version of the book can be purchased at Amazon for only $0.99.

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Momma Llama's ABC Book of Latin America by Momma Llama & Friends

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Momma Llama & Friends will be awarding a $10 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.

Momma Llama's ABC Book of Latin America is both fun and educational. This multicultural adventure includes people, places, and things from Central and South America - from Mexico to Argentina. The charming illustrations will make you and your child smile. Additionally, each page names the country or region of the subject; parents might learn something too.

About the Author:

Momma Llama envisions a world in which Mom becomes the star and the hero of each fun-filled adventure, giving a new perspective to the way children learn and play.

Each story showcases Momma Llama, a hard-working independent, and adventurous mother, promoting ideas such as teamwork, determination, respect, and the idea that Moms give more than we realize.

Momma Llama aspires to unify the diverse cultures of the Americas by promoting multiculturalism in a fresh new way.

There’s always something new in Momma Llama’s magical world, so join us for more adventures.

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BLACK MAGIC MURDER by Polly Holmes

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Polly Holmes will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Careful what you wish for!

Graduating to a fully-fledged witch on my upcoming birthday should be a momentous occasion, but when a local hairdresser turns up dead, I know it’s going to be one hell of a week.

Saltwater Cove’s resident infuriating fae looks like a good suspect for the murder, but insists she’s innocent and reveals a huge secret too amazing to be a lie. But if she didn’t do it… then who did?

The murder triggers the return of a dark force… dark enough to send even the most experienced witches into panic mode. Harriet, Jordi and Tyler join me as I try to find the culprit, putting my magical abilities to the ultimate test.

When the killer strikes even closer to home, I need to up my game if I’m going to keep evil at bay.…or have I finally met my supernatural match?

Read an Excerpt

I leaned my head against my hand and pushed the last mouthful of meatloaf around my plate. My gaze was focused on the food in front of me, but my mind was a gazillion miles away.

Who would want Misty dead? What did she do that was so bad it would cause someone to murder her? And how did the Licarbre fern fit into the picture?

“…half-naked…” Tyler’s voice murmured in the back of my mind with that one word breaking through the haze.

Wait…half-naked? Who’s half-naked?

I looked up. “What?”

Tyler was watching me from under his lashes. “I said, ‘I think I’m going to run through the main streets of Saltwater Cove half-naked wearing nothing but my Tweety boxer shorts’.”

My back stiffened and my arm dropped to the table. My brain hurt from trying to make sense of his words. “What are you talking about?”

He sighed, placed his knife and fork together on his plate and pushed it to the centre of the table. Tyler’s face dropped, and his shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. I was just trying to get your attention by lightening the mood, but it seems all I’ve done is confuse you.”

“Now I feel bad for letting my mind wander and not paying attention to you,” I said my chest tightening with each word. “It’s just that I keep going back and asking myself why. Why would someone want to kill Misty?”

About the Author:

Polly Holmes is the cheeky, sassy alter ego of Amazon best-selling author, P.L. Harris. When she's not writing her next romantic suspense novel as P.L. Harris, she is planning the next murder in one of Polly’s cozy mysteries. She pens food-themed and paranormal cozy mysteries and publishes her books solely with Gumnut Press.

As Polly Holmes, Cupcakes and Corpses was a finalist in the Oklahoma Romance Writers of America’s 2019 IDA International Digital Awards, short suspense category. Cupcakes and Curses claimed second place and Cupcakes and Cyanide gained third place making it a clean sweep in the category.

She won silver in the 2020 ROAR! National Business Awards in the Writer/Blogger/Author category and for the second year in a row, she was a finalist in the 2021 ROAR! National Business Awards winning bronze in the Writer/Blogger/Author category with Gumnut Press taking out the gold in the Hustle and Heart category.

2022 saw Polly Holmes’ books Muffins & Magic and Mistletoe, Murder & Mayhem long-listed in the Davitt Awards, a prestigious award run by the Sisters of Crime, Australia. Muffins & Magic also placed in the finals of the cozy mystery category in the Nashville Silver Falchion Awards. She lives in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, with her Bichon Frise, Bella.

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SHINING BRIGHTLY by Howard Brown

 

SHINING BRIGHTLY

by Howard Brown

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Memoir

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

In Shining Brightly, Silicon Valley pioneer, cancer survivor and interfaith peacemaker Howard Brown shares keys to resilience for successful entrepreneurs, patient advocates and community leaders. He shows us how to reach out through our families, our communities and around the world to form truly supportive connections and friendships. From Howard’s career as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, to his conquering metastatic stage IV cancer twice, to his compassionate outreach as a peacemaker, to his love of sports—this ultimately is not one man’s story. Shining Brightly is a story shared by countless men and women—and may wind up changing your life as well. With each true story he tells in the pages, Howard invites readers to picture how they might join him in shining more light in our world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt :

Basketball is a lot more than just a game to me. Basketball is a cerebral sport, a community sport, a sport of relationships, respect, chemistry and teamwork. Each time I have been knocked down by a physical disability, a surgery or a chemo series, one of the goals that gets me out of the bed each morning is getting back onto the court as a milestone in the healing of my mind, body and soul. I’ve had a chemo port installed, neuropathy, chronic diarrhea and the fogginess that I call chemo brain—and I’ve played through all of that. I don’t know too many stage IV cancer patients who’ve kept playing before, during and after treatment.

It’s hard playing full-court basketball several times a week with all that running, zigging and zagging. It’s even risky. I sometimes worry that a hard hit to the chest might disturb my chemo port. This is simply a part of my healing journey. The blueprint to my own survivorship. Basketball was the light that got me through some of the darkest periods of my life. And that’s the story behind that little photo caption that keeps bouncing around the internet: “I, Howard Brown, Stage IV Colon Cancer and now No Evidence of Disease (NED), celebrate survivorship by going to my happy place: the basketball court!” No, I’m not trying to convince you that you have go out and shoot hoops. Maybe some people will be prompted to get out on the court again after reading this chapter. Most won’t. The whole point of this chapter is to tell you about my “happy place.” We each need to find at least one of those for ourselves. My happy place is anywhere I’m playing with my hoops with my boyz. What’s your happy place?

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Howard Brown is an author, Silicon Valley entrepreneur, interfaith peacemaker, two-time stage IV cancer survivor and healthcare advocate. For more than three decades, Howard’s business innovations, leadership principles, mentoring and his resilience in beating cancer against long odds have made him a sought-after speaker and consultant for businesses, nonprofits, congregations, and community groups. In his business career, Howard was a pioneer in helping to launch a series of technology startups before he co-founded two social networks that were the first to connect religious communities around the world. He served his alma matter—Babson College, ranked by US News as the nation’s top college for entrepreneurship—as a trustee and president of Babson’s worldwide alumni network. His hard-earned wisdom about resilience after beating cancer twice has led him to become a nationally known patient advocate and “cancer whisperer” to many families. Visit Howard at ShiningBrightly.com to learn more about his ongoing work and contact him. Through that website, you also will find resources to help you shine brightly in your own corner of the world. Howard, his wife Lisa and daughter Emily currently reside in Michigan.

http://www.shiningbrightly.com

Link to buy:

https://www.amazon.com/Shining-Brightly-resilience-entrepreneur-interfaith/dp/1641801476/ref=sr_1_1

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

The author will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Get to know the Author: 

Can you tell me a little about yourself, and how you became an author?

Have you ever stopped to think about your life? I mean, have you ever set aside time to reflect on the meaning and purpose of your life?

I have.

I decided to take stock after years as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, a mentor to college students, an interfaith peace advocate—and a cancer whisperer to other patients after having survived two long-shot bouts with cancer myself. After fully expecting to die more than once in my life, I wondered: Why am I still standing? Who helped me? And then: What can I share to help inspire people to build their own resilience?

As you will learn in the true stories in this book, one key to resilience is not trying to tackle life on your own. We are always at our best when we draw other people around us and, right there, you’ve got a central theme of this book.

That leads to the questions: How do we draw people around us? How do we make and keep friends? How do we build a community? How can each of us contribute to our families, our friends and to the larger world?

Answering those questions will give you hope and will lead you to greater strength, love and joy in your life. Taking those questions to heart will help your light shine brighter in this often very dark world.

I set out on my journey in an unusual way that you will discover in these pages—and may want to try yourself. Over a two-year period, I sought out people who had played a significant role in my life—from camp counselors and basketball coaches I knew as a kid to family and friends to business and community leaders to some of the world’s top faith and health professionals. Because my quest unfolded during the COVID pandemic, I met these more than 100 men and women via Zoom.

And here’s the biggest surprise: Everyone loved the experience. While they were doing me a favor—and I am thankful for everyone who shared stories with me—the truth is: Most of them enjoyed the experience as much as I did.

That’s why I am confident you will enjoy this adventure, too, and you may decide by the end of the book to set out on such a quest yourself. No matter how you choose to reflect on your life’s purpose, I hope this book fans your inner flame so you can shine ever more brightly.

What is your book about?

In Shining Brightly, Silicon Valley pioneer, cancer survivor and interfaith peacemaker Howard Brown shares keys to resilience for successful entrepreneurs, patient advocates and community leaders. He shows us how to reach out through our families, our communities and around the world to form truly supportive connections and friendships. From Howard's career as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, to his conquering metastatic stage IV cancer twice, to his compassionate outreach as a peacemaker, to his love of sports -- this ultimately is not one man's story. Shining Brightly is a story shared by countless men and women -- and may wind up changing your life as well. With each true story he tells in the pages, Howard invites readers to picture how they might join him in shining more light in our world.

Who is your real life hero/heroine?

My mom and wife who were my caregivers are my super-heroes. Also, my infusion nurses administering chemotherapy.

What are your favorite times for writing? Morning? Evening?

I recorded over zoom interviews at all different times of day. Writing and editing in the mornings was best

Who are your favorite authors? Did they influence your writing, and if so, how?

Bounce by Dr. Robert J. Wicks, because it is a book all about keys to resilience from one of the international experts in the field. Dr. Wicks graciously wrote the Foreword to my book Shining Brightly.

Did you have a favorite book as a child? Did it influence your choice to become an author?

Good Night Moon. No, I loved the story.

Thank you for answering my questions! 

Juche 1-4 Box set by Adria Carmichael

 Juche 1-4 Box set

by Adria Carmichael

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GENRE: YA Dystopian

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BLURB:

Just when Areum - daughter of a privileged family in the totalitarian state of Choson (North

Korea) - thought she was free from her personal prison, her world collapses around her as her

family is taken away in the middle of the night to a hell-like camp in the mountains where people

who have strayed from the righteous path are brutally re-educated through blood, sweat, tears,

and starvation.

There she has to fight for survival together with the family she hates and is forced to re-evaluate

every aspect of her life until then: her deep resentment toward her twin sister; her view of her

father in the face of mounting evidence that he is a traitor with the blood of millions of fellow

countrymen on his hands; and even her love and affection for the Great General - the eternal

savior and protector of Choson, whom she had always considered her true father.

Note from the author:

Have you ever wondered what the world looks like when seen through an indoctrinated mind?

This is a topic that has intrigued me for as long as I can remember, so when I came up with the

idea to write a book many years ago, I decided to create it from the viewpoint of a victim of

indoctrination… which in the end became Areum (the protagonist of the story).

What I try to explore in this story is how deep the indoctrination of a 14-year old girl can run and

how much “reality” it can be exposed to before breaking… if it will break at all. As a comparison,

the defectors from North Korea who arrive in South Korea are isolated for three months in a de-

programming facility called Hanawon before they are allowed to join society where they go

through this process in a more controlled (and less brutal) way than Areum.

I hope you will enjoy this slightly different take on the dystopian genre!

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EXCERPT

Cranes sang songs of joy from the mountain tops.

Double rainbows appeared in the sky.

The aggressors from the west were defeated. The invaders from the east were expunged. The

traitors from the south were put at bay.

The people of Choson were finally free to create their own destiny, and so a hermit kingdom of

people’s rule rose from the ashes, and the doors to the enemies of the outside world were

closed, never to be opened again.

The world around them moved on. Years passed. Decades passed. Peace and prosperity

spread throughout the world, and nothing was heard from the secluded hermit paradise.

Then one day, people started emerging from its closed borders. The stories they brought with

them were, however, not of a paradise on earth. Instead, what they depicted were horrors so

vile and cruel that they almost exceeded human comprehension.

Little had the people of the kingdom known when they closed its doors to the outside world, that

the vilest beast of all was still lurking among their midst, and as soon as the curtains had been

drawn, the beast unleashed its reign of terror upon the people, not stopping until it had crushed

and enslaved every soul within its reach.

The beast now rules the kingdom from a throne of human misery and agony.

No one alive has ever encountered this beast, but everybody knows its name.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Adria Carmichael is a writer of dystopian fiction with a twist. When she is not devouring

dystopian and post-apocalyptic content in any format - books, movies, TV-series and

PlayStation games - she is crafting the epic and highly-addictive Juche saga, her 2020 debut

novel series that takes place in the brutal, totalitarian nation of Choson. When the limit of doom

and gloom is reached, a 10K run on a sunny day or binging a silly sitcom on a rainy day is her

go-to way to unwind.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20581191.Adria_Carmichael

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Adria-Carmichael-591550164840779

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adria_carmichael_author/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AdriaCarmichael

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/adria-carmichael

Amazon Buy links:

Juche 1 – The Demon of Yodok:

Juche 2 – The Weeping Masses:

Juche 3 – The Storm of Storms:

Juche 4 – Freedom or Death: 

Juche 1-4 Box Set:

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

Enter to win a $50 Amazon/BN

Rafflecopter giveaway