Tuesday 28 May 2013

Book Tour and Giveaway - The Wanted Bride by Sylvia McDaniel


Thanks for joining me today. Todays book tour is "The Wanted Bride" by Sylvia McDaniel. A fun short contemporary novel, with a book giveaway too! Enjoy...........

BOOK INFO

Title-The Wanted Bride
By-Sylvia McDaniel
Genre: Short Contemporary
Publisher: Virtual Bookseller
Date of Publication: April 19, 2013
Number of pages: 232 pages
Word Count: 60,000
Cover Artist: Kat Baldwin


Blurb-

She’s a Runaway Bride
Valerie Burrows is running from a wedding, her attorney fiancé and the law. Pampered Valerie takes a bus to nowheresville, where she learns her cash and credit cards have been stolen. Left with only her designer clothes and luggage she takes on a new identity and must learn to be self-reliant. She swears off men, especially attorneys, only to find the one man who refuses a one night stand and wants a relationship.

He’s Looking For A Wife
Matt Jordan, the Colorado Crusher, is the most successful liability lawyer in the state. After the death of his brother-in-law, he realizes he’s ready to settle down with a family of his own. His only requirements are intelligent, great-looking, wants more than a hook-up and doesn’t lie. After witnessing the lies his father told his mother, he demands complete honesty. Yet Valerie Brown shows him sometimes in order to find yourself, you must become someone else. Even if that means lying.


Purchase Links:
Amazon UK -  Click here
Amazon US - Click here
Barnes and Noble - Click here 

Goodreads - Click here 

Excerpt 

Chapter One

“I need a one-way ticket to anywhere,” Valerie Burrows commanded the girl behind the bus counter in downtown Dallas. A charred piece of her wedding veil sagged onto her face.
Impatiently, she flipped the singed lace away, her throat closing off the tears that threatened her vision. On what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life,
she reeked of smoke, not flowers, saw red not white, tasted bile
not cake.

Glancing up from the counter the clerk’s eyes widened, making Valerie acutely aware of her appearance. On what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, she felt
traumatized, not joyous.

“Where do you want to go?” the clerk stammered.

“Anywhere, as long as I leave in the next five minutes,” Valerie insisted, wishing people would stop staring. So she looked like a crazy woman. After this morning maybe she was a
little loco.

“The bus to Amarillo is loading now,” the agent advised, her large brown eyes riveted to Valerie. “I have one seat left. The one-way fare is sixty-five dollars.”

Though she preferred to travel by plane, there was no time or way to get to the airport. She could take the bus or stay and face the consequences of her actions.

Valerie dug the cash out of her Bottega Veneta purse and handed the money to the ticket agent. “I’ll take it.”

Dirty lace from her wedding veil fell onto her face again, so she yanked the offending garment off her head and threw the veil on top of her matching Louis Vuitton luggage. The beautiful lace of her Vera Wang wedding gown was streaked with gray and black. Burn streaks made a crazy pattern on the silk that didn't accessorize the seed pearls.

The heel of one of her Stuart Weitzman pumps had snapped several blocks ago, and her feet were blistered. And yet her heart beat on in spite of her ruined wedding.

The clerk handed her the ticket, sympathy in her dark eyes. “The bus is ready. You’re the last one to board.”

Not even time to change. Head held high, spine locked in place, she limped to the white steel carriage, her suitcases trailing behind.
There, she handed her two suitcases to a gawking young man. He opened his mouth to speak, but she held up her hand. “Just load my luggage.”

She glanced up to see faces pressed against the glass windows of the bus, gaping at her like she was a freak show. Hadn’t these people ever seen a runaway bride in real life before? Julia Roberts may have made the movie, but she didn’t own the copyright to wedding disasters.
With her carry-on bag hanging from her shoulder, Valerie marched up the steps of the waiting bus as if she walked around in a wedding gown every day. The babble of sixty voices ceased
as she handed the driver her ticket.

He mumbled, “Lord, I need to retire.”

Her silk dress pressed against her legs and swished as she made her way to the only empty seat on her getaway bus. Thank God she’d ditched the petticoats in the Corvette.
A gray-haired woman glanced at her as she put her luggage in the overhead bin.

“Hm hm hm, I can’t wait to hear this story,” the elderly Hispanic woman said. “Are you all right?”
Valerie plopped in the seat, her ruined silk gown making a mighty swish. She exhaled loudly, her heart aching, her eyes blurring with unshed tears. For the last hour she’d been holding
her breath while making her escape.

But now, now all the pain she'd carefully controlled broke free and she chuckled. Hysterical laughter rumbled from deep inside her, echoed through the bus. A single tear rolled down
her cheek.
“I am now.”
 

Author Info-

Sylvia McDaniel is a best-selling, award-winning author of historical and contemporary romances. Known for her sweet, funny, family-oriented romances, Sylvia is the author of The Burnett Brides a historical western series, The Cuvier Widows, a Louisiana historical series, and several short contemporary romances.
President of the Dallas Area Romance Authors, a member of the Romance Writers of America®, and a member of Novelists Inc, her novel, A Hero’s Heart was a 1996 Golden Heart Finalist. Several other books have placed or won in the San Antonio Romance Authors Contest, LERA Contest, and was a Golden Network Finalist.
Married for nearly twenty years to her best friend, they have two dachshunds that are beyond spoiled. She loves gardening, shopping, knitting and football, but not necessarily in that order.
Currently she’s written fifteen novels and is hard at work on number sixteen, a Christmas Novella about the Burnett Family. Look for her the first Tuesday of every month at the Plotting Princesses blogspot http://plottingprincesses.blogspot.com/ and twice a week at her own blog Downward Dog Diva With Sass http://sylviamcdaniela.blogspot.com/. She can be found online at: www.sylviamcdaniel.com or https://www.facebook.com/SylviaMcDanielAuthor.

Links-

Amazon- amazon.com/author/sylviamcdaniel
Twitter- @WriterSylvia


The Wanted Bride Tour Schedule
May 26th-
Black Words-White Pages- Excerpt/spotlight, book soundtrack post, playlist post
Recent Reads- Review, excerpt/spotlight, book soundtrack post
May 27th-
The Shadow Realm-Review, Excerpt/Spotlight, Guest Post
TeamNerd Reviews-Excerpt/Spotlight, Book Soundtrack
Reading in Twilight- Excerpt/spotlight, guest post

May 28th-
Bookalicious Traveladdict-Excerpt/Spotlight
May 29th-
Reading Fiction for Life-Review, dream cast, playlist post

May 30th-
Bianca2b-Excerpt/Spotlight, Character Bios
Bookmarks, Spoilers and Happily Ever After-Excerpt/Spotlight, Playlist Post

May 31st-
Sassy Book Lovers- Excerpt/Spotlight
Lost in A Sea of Words -Author Interview
Indy Book Fairy-Top Tens, Excerpt/Spotlight

June 1st-
Book Addict Mumma-Excerpt/Spotlight
Cu’s e Book Give Aways-Excerpt/Spotlight, Character Bios
Big Girls *Heart* Books-Review, Author Interview, Spotlight/Excerpt
Eclipse Reviews- Excerpt/Spotlight, Dream Cast
 



a Rafflecopter giveaway


Monday 27 May 2013

Book Tour & Competition - Luke's Tale by Carol McKibben


Meet the Author: Carol McKibben currently writes from the heart of a dog’s eyes. Often telling her stories to Labradoodles, Basset Hounds and any stray that happens by, it wasn’t long before people stopped to have a listen as well. Now Carol writes for people and speaks to large audiences, dogs included. Carol was a magazine publisher for more than 20 years. She began a new career in freelance writing and editing in 2007, as well as working with other authors to realize their dreams. She also has published a Memoir, Riding Through It. Visit her at www.carolmckibben.com.

Carol McKibben http://www.carolmckibben.com/blog.html


Luke's Tale
by Carol McKibben

 
Genre: Family Drama
Publisher: Troll River Publications
Release Date: January 1, 2013

Book Description:


Luke, an intelligent, 89-pound yellow Labrador retriever, has an odd ability to understand human conversations and actions. When Luke discovers that Sara Colson, his owner’s girlfriend, is hiding a secret and soon disappears, the dog uses all of his skills to help reunite them. Through clues that he provides to his master, Ashlundt Jaynes, Luke is the catalyst bringing the two lovers back together. But this is only the beginning of the challenges the three must face. Ashlundt, who suffers from a tormented past, doesn’t understand how the conditions he places on those around him, prevents him from finding happiness. Luke, knowing how to give unconditional love, helps them stay together and overcome a series of life-changing events.  In the midst of it all, Luke is spiraling into blindness!

At the heart of Luke’s Tale is the story of two lovers and their struggle with unforeseen disillusionment to build a lasting relationship – as told through the eyes of the loving furry creature who is devoted to them beyond all reason.
Excerpt:
Prologue

September 15, 2015


The world is darker today. Not because I’m blind. My world is always black. But this day my heart is broken.
I sit for a very long time next to the door. I long for her smell of fresh cut flowers, her touch and her gentle voice. I visualize her face. I see the fullness of her lips and the deep compassion in her dark eyes. She is the most caring human I’ve ever known. I long for her comforting arms around me.
People come up and pet me. One nurse offers me a bowl of water. I remain aloof, not wanting to be distracted in case… in case there’s some word. She couldn’t possibly be capable of being with me now.
Bay leaf and ocean scent assault my nostrils as I feel Ashlundt pass by into the ER. I stretch my nose toward him, searching for some sort of hope. I feel his desperation as he hurries past me with two words, “Stay, Luke.”
My stomach growls. I suppress the hunger. It doesn’t matter now. In trying to push away the anguish, my mind wanders back to when Sara left us. I was younger and not blind. She wanted to protect Ashlundt from the pain of her cancer. She must have known that he wouldn’t be able to cope with her being sick.
I’m not sure what makes him tick. It has to have something to do with his brother’s surfing accident. He blames himself to this day. Maybe that’s why he can’t cope with illness or imperfection in those he’s supposed to love. I once was his golden boy. We went everywhere together. Now, my blindness has pushed him further away from me.
I still feel Ashlundt’s athletic strength every once and a while. He’ll brush his large hands over me, and I can visualize his big frame and angular face bathed in his long, sun-lightened hair. I wish he knew how to cope with my blindness. It’s hard not to take it personally.
I wish I could cope better with my loss of sight. I’d always been a watcher. It must be part of my Lab nature. What scares me the most is that I can’t observe my humans, or help them now. Sara has always depended upon our unspoken bond. Ashlundt is another story. I’ve been through tough times with each of them, and I’ve had to be more like that human detective, Sherlock Holmes, than a dog for them. I am the product of a broken relationship.
It’s long past my evening meal when I feel Sara’s presence. I hear nothing but the despair in her voice. “Come, Luke.” She takes me by the collar and leads me to the car.
I sit in the backseat and slowly lay down. I know what has happened but can’t bare thinking of it. She is silent, but her pain is unbearable and palpable in the air. I think back to how Ashlundt pushed her away, even when he finally discovered she was sick. I fought so hard to help him try and win her back…
I’m jarred back to reality as the car stops. I hear the door open, then the backseat door. Sara whispers, “Let’s go inside, Luke.”
Slowly, I follow Sara into the house.
She says nothing as she fixes my kibble and leftover chicken, then leaves the room. My greatest fear has been realized.
After sating my hunger, I go to find Sara in her bedroom. She is lying across her bed in silence, tortured and bereft. Even though I’m not usually allowed on the bed, she says nothing as I crawl up next to her and place my head on her hip. I give out a whimpered cry of sorrow.
We lie together in silence for a long, long time. I have to go outside so badly that my bladder hurts, but I don’t dare leave Sara. She is so cold. I move closer to her, wanting her to feel my warmth, the warmth that Ashlundt should have offered. Time passes. My stomach begins to growl and adds to my discomfort, but it doesn’t matter. I will not leave her.
Sometime later the phone starts to ring. It must be morning. All those distraught voices leaving messages of sorrow on the answering machine. I crawl up to her face, pressing my nose on her cheek to see if she is asleep. Her hand softly touches the top of my head. “It’s okay, Lukey. Thank you for staying with me.” A ragged sigh escapes from her and is joined by my own.
Still we remain motionless. I think back to the chain of events until I started going blind. But, I’ve gotten way ahead of myself. I need to go back to the beginning so that you understand how we arrived at our darkest moment in time.


One lucky winner will receive a print or e-book copy of Luke’s Tale: A Story of Unconditional Love FREE! All you have to do is reply to this post and write something about Unconditional Love and what it means to you. Please be sure to include an email address where we can reach you for an address and we will pick one lucky winner at random!
e-book, winners choice of format (open Internationally) Paperbacks (US & Canada only).







Book Blitz - Feeling Death by D T Dyllin - Adult paranormal romance.




Feeling Death #1
Expected publication: May 27th 2013 by Dragonfairy Press 
 ***Genre - Adult Paranormal Romance. 

Samantha Bevans is having the best sex of her life—but it's not with her husband. Fortunately for her marriage, the affair is all in her mind. Isn't it? As an empath, she senses other people's emotions. But her connection to the man with the chiseled face and haunting eyes seems so real.

There's no time for fantasies with a serial killer loose in Pittsburgh. The killer is targeting dancers at a strip club where Samantha used to bartend, back when drugs were the only cure for the torment of her abilities. As a member of a special task force, Samantha uses her talents to sense the victims’ final thoughts. Just when she thought the case was complex enough, she discovers one of the victims was thinking about her fantasy man when she died.


Who can Samantha trust when she can’t trust her own mind? An empath feels the emotional environment around her…and Samantha is surrounded by death.

Buy Links
Amazon
Click here
 
Publisher
 

About the Author
Cynical-Optimist. Chocolate-holic. Sarcasm Addict. Paranormal Believer. Self-Imposed Insomniac. Sci-Fi Geek. Animal Lover. Writer…are just a few words to describe D.T. Dyllin. She was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and now lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and two very spoiled GSDs.

Saturday 25 May 2013

Guest Travel Blog - Summer Travels in Switzerland with Tina Hartas


Welcome to another guest blogger. This time its the turn of Tina Hartas from the great blog site "Trip Fiction". She is showcasing the beautiful, mysterious country of Switzerland. Tina's blog hosts numerous books with a travel theme. If you, like me, loves travel and books, you'll love it.

Hello Tina and thanks for joining us :)
 
SUMMER TRAVELS IN SWITZERLAND

Last Summer we based ourselves in the small resort town of Leukerbad, Valais, just off the Rhone Valley, a couple of hours from Geneva airport and situated at 1300M to over 2000M. We used this is our base to travel around Switzerland, and it proved to be a real eye-opening and positive trip.

To start with, we were amazed by the glorious weather. We discovered that many of the little places dotted around the country have their own little micro-climates and have as many days annual sunshine as resorts along the Mediterranean coast, which is really astounding. In fact, Leukerbad’s tiny neighbouring village, Albinen, is the sunniest place in the whole of Switzerland.  Thus, in the Summer months it can be wonderfully hot during the day, yet cool at night. It might still be snowy on the peaks yet it is truly resplendent with lush meadows at lower altitudes (absolute eye candy).

Leukerbad has year round thermal baths, and believe me, there is nothing more delightful than lying in a bubbling pool, outside, looking at beautiful scenery (of which, of course, there is lots!) and having all the stresses and strains soothed away by hot swirling waters.
Thermal Baths at Leukerbad
From Leukerbad we moseyed down into the valley and picked up the Glacier Express which trundles over to St Moritz, and again, the scenery is stunning, truly chocolate box, and truly Alpine.

During our meanderings across the country, mainly using the Swiss Rail System, we never actually came across an actual Alphorn, but the Swiss are clearly hugely proud of tradition: they use Alphorns and weathered old men in Alpine gear  (yes, Lederhosen and Badger Brush hats and oftentimes sitting alongside huge truckles of cheese) in many of the advertisements up and down the rail system. And the railways are, of course, super efficient, (unless the train originates in Italy, and then it can be a very different story, as the Swiss like to impress upon you!).
Leukerbad
The Italian part of Switzerland is a dream, hot and palm fringed in Lugano, or beautifully olde worlde. with Italianate style in Locarno. Going north, there is Lucerne, with its old bridge, the Kapellbrücke (which incidentally is the most visited monument in Switzerland, and is a delight, particularly when it is garlanded with fragrant flowers and lit up at night); and Zurich, which is a low-key, world city, with a fabulous art gallery and easy living along the lake and river (the Bahnhofstrasse is the most expensive shopping street in the whole of Europe, apparently).

The downside at the moment is, of course, that Switzerland isn’t the cheapest location on the tourist trail. However, the supermarkets are on a par with pricing in other European countries and the rail system offers discounts to tourists, so a visit doesn’t have to break the bank. And for our own trip-planning we found www.SwitzerlandTravelCentre.co.uk to be really helpful with suggestions and booking.

As a really wonderful add-on to any destination - and of course this is the raison d'être for TripFiction www.tripfiction.com -  we always take a couple of books that enhance our trip (in addition to travel guides) that are set in and evocative of location and these books can add a really new and interesting perspective on the locale. This time we took an eclectic selection:

The Chef by Martin Suter, set in Zurich and St Moritz http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/2759
 
 
 
 
Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/223
 



Swisswatching by Diccon Bewes http://www.tripfiction.com/Book/293
Swisswatching is a particularly great book to take with you on a visit to Switzerland, the author has a wonderful style, and he really introduces his readers to his adopted country, with historical, factual and some very quirky and interesting insights (you will note, for example – as we can attest – that a high proportion of women in this small land-locked country wear red shoes…go figure. Is it patriotism to the Swiss red flag, an attempt to escape from conformity, perhaps….? Many theories abound…)
 
Thank you Tina for a great blog post. I'm sure that will have tempted many to want to make the journey to this beautiful country.


Friday 24 May 2013

Book Tour and competition - Epsilon AR by Zackery Humphreys

Epsilon AR
by Zackery Humphreys

About The Author:

Zackery Alexander Humphreys is a Novelist, Actor and Poet who occasionally dabbles in Screen Writing and Play Writing.







Book Description:

Hundreds of years into the future, mankind has gone under ground to relocate to the beautiful city of Epsilon. Epsilon is run by a strong, secretive government that keeps its citizens in check by subtle manipulation and strict schedules. No one questions its authority and no one is unhappy. ALN-896, an average man who is just trying to live a normal life, begins to have dreams; something strange and rare in Epsilon. In his dreams, he meets a man named Harry and everything is fine- until Harry dies. When ALN-896 wakes up, he shrugs it off as if nothing has happened. It was only a dream. But then the next day, he is suddenly arrested and sent to prison for killing Harry, whom ALN-896 assumed was just a figment of his imagination. Now inside prison, ALN-896 begins to learn about everything the government of Epsilon has been doing and he plans on escaping. Not only from prison, but from Epsilon. This one decision turns him against everything he has ever known and forces him to face against centuries of lies. To escape means to live. But what will it cost?

Excerpts:

A black-and-white tie...
----
Thoughts froze within his mind. Spit bubbled through his pursed lips.
ALN-896 finally managed to pull away from the exposed wire. He fell to the ground and wiped away the spit dribbling down his cheek. His heart raced, and sweat poured down his body.
That was the most painful sensation he had ever experienced.
I never should have grabbed that wire...
ALN-896 stood up slowly and looked around. No one saw what had just happened. He was alone on the desolate stretch of Simov Street.
Fortunately, I did not get hurt.
Instead of continuing, he decided to get back into his car and let a nice cup of tea calm him.
From the center console of the car, green tea was automatically dispensed into a cup. He let the liquid slide down his throat, easing every muscle that had tensed. He melted into his plush seat as he let his mind come to a halt. Then the silence was interrupted by a robotic voice. “ALN- 896, your vitals are irregular. Is everything all right?”
Everything is fine. I went to inspect one of the house's trashcans as I was instructed to, but I noticed an exposed wire on the ground. I went to cover it back up when it...”
ALN-896 wasn't quite sure what had actually happened when he touched the wire. He hadn’t been electrocuted, but something strange had occurred. The only thing he could get out of the experience was that he had seen a black-and-white tie floating in the darkness behind his closed eyelids. Nothing surrounded it, but he knew it had been attached to a body. One he hadn’t been able see, but one he knew existed somewhere within the black.
Irrelevant.
When it...,” ALN-896 stumbled. “When it shocked me,” he lied.
Your job still needs to be completed. You still need to inspect the trashcans for Monday's workday. After your tea, you need to continue.”
Yes, I understand.”