Friday, August 30, 2013

PROMO: John Smith by Roland Hughes


Dystopian / Sy Fy
Date Published: 5/3/2013

What if the Mayans got the start of the end correct because they had survived it once before? What if our written history was just as accurate as the old tale about three blind men describing an elephant? What if classic science fiction writing and television shows each got a piece of it correct, would you know which ones? If your eyes can only see a tiny portion of a collage do you know it is a collage?


Fans of Babylon 5, Star Trek TNG, Battle Star Galactica (the new one) and classic science fiction writing will enjoy the bountiful Easter Egg hunt contained within. When you were a child you learned to connect paper clips or thread beads together to make a necklace. Sit back and watch the beads you’ve had all your life form the picture you could not see. Consider for one second the possibility of the story, then hang onto your mind with both hands while you take the ride.






Roland Hughes is the president of Logikal Solutions, a business applications consulting firm

specializing in VMS platforms. Hughes serves as a lead consultant with over two decades of
experience using computers and operating systems originally created by Digital Equipment
Corporation (now owned by Hewlett-Packard).

With a degree in Computer Information Systems, the author's experience is focused on OpenVMS
systems across a variety of diverse industries including heavy equipment manufacturing, pharma-
ceuticals, stock exchanges, tax accounting, and hardware value-added resellers, to name a few. Working throughout these industries 
has strengthened the author's unique skill set and given him a broad perspective on the role and value of OpenVMS in industry.

Mr. Hughes' technical skill sets include the following tools that enable him to master and improve OpenVMS applications: DEC/VAX
C, DEC/VAX C++, DEC BASIC, DCL, ACMS, MQ Series, DEC COBOL, RDB, POWERHOUSE, SQL, CMS/MMS, Oracle 8i, FORTRAN, FMS, and 
Java, among others. Being fluent in so many technical languages enables Hughes to share his knowledge more easily with other 
programmers.  


To read Roland's non-fiction books, please visit www.TheMinimumYouNeedtoKnow.com

To read Roland's blog, please visit logikalblog.com


Buy Links



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Thursday, August 29, 2013

Blog Tour: Blind Allegiance by Violetta Rand


Historical Romance
Date Published: 6/25/2013

It’s a risk of a lifetime loving a man you’re supposed to hate…
Betrayed by a brother she hardly trusted before the bloodthirsty Viking, Jarl Randvior Sigurdsson, attacks her home, Noelle Sinclair is conveniently bartered as a means to save her cowardly sibling’s skin. Forced to leave her homeland and accompany the petulant Viking to the untamed wilderness of central Norway, Noelle is ever-aware of the burgeoning dangers around her—including her weakening resolve to resist Randvior.
Should Noelle surrender to his resplendent charms and seduction, or fight with every ounce of strength she possesses to get home?


My Review

One thing that came to mind after reading this novel.... "Why have I not read about Vikings Before?" Seriously, Randvior gives a whole new meaning to alpha. 

I think the thing I love the most about Historical Novels is how naive and impressionable the women are, but the fact that they are also strong in their own right which defy their generation. I think this is a great description of Noelle

I think I may have been missing a little more of the history lesson (I need a bit since I'm not very good in History) to help me understand everything that went into this period. I was able to understand most of it, but a little more would have made it perfect.

The main characters were of opposite upbringings and temperaments, but they really complemented each other well. I liked how their romance unfolded. It didn't feel rushed at all. 


Violetta Rand holds a bachelor's degree in Environmental Policy and a master's degree in Environmental Management. Serving as an environmental scientist in the state of Alaska for over seven years, she enjoys the privilege of traveling to remote places few people have the opportunity to see.
Violetta has been "in love" with writing since childhood. Struck with an entrepreneurial spirit at a young age, at five, she wrote short stories illustrated by her best friend and sold them in her neighborhood. The only thing she loves more than writing is her wonderful relationship with her husband, Jeff. She enjoys outdoor activities, reading whatever she can get her hands on, music, and losing herself in the ancient worlds she enjoys bringing to life in the pages of her stories.





Blog Tour: Cap 'N Random by Chris DeBrie


Mystery
Date Published: July 2013

When crime scene cleaner Charles 'Yey' Reyes helps a detective friend solve a Roanoke homicide, he shuns the praise. He quickly changes his mind when his friend is killed while on duty. But this time, his offer to help is rejected by the police captain. Meanwhile, homegrown celebrity Sydney Estes buys a house near town. As the citizens swoon, Yey notices a link between Sydney and a flurry of homicides. Harangued by the captain, local media, and Sydney's fans, Yey struggles to connect clues which will prove his theories.


BUY LINK

Excerpt
Floating, but the ride was bumpy. Two jolts shook him. Vision cleared a bit.
"He's up," a voice said. "She only put about thirty minutes' worth on 'im."
"Yep. Hurry up."
Yey was in a wheelchair. His hands were bundled to the arms. Tried to move his legs--his ankles were bound, too. His tongue was fat and dry. Strange aftertastes lingered. Etta's tea had been spiked.
"I'm getting hungry," the first voice said. It was a very angry voice.
Heavy breathing. "Me too. Chinese buffet?"
"Chinee buffayy? I'm sick of that place..."
"What you want, a sandwich?"
" I'll take a P.B. & J. over that alley cat."
"That's a myth."
"You'll never know. Hell. Cheeseburger is just as scary."
"It is?"
The two men pushed him down a hall. The corridor dead-ended with an elevator. Yey was wheeled onboard and neatly swiveled around. He tried several times to look around and see his captors. But his neck was immobilized in some way, too--he could only manage a few inches. All he could tell was that one of them was very fat. His boots were huge, custom-made. Yey heard the heavy breathing, those boots striking the floor. The men snickered at his effort to see their faces. They had clearly done this before.
The elevator dropped one floor. They pushed on, passing no one. It was a fully-finished basement level. Only the ceiling emergencies were on. The innards of large buildings like this could be dark and almost silent, even in full day. The big house had been converted for feeding and housing a large group. The leather restraint straps on the wheelchair, the metal furniture and fixtures--everything appeared very institutional. He caught a glimpse of bunk beds, a sniff of pine cleaner.
Angry voice: "Kibby was looking for you."
"He wasn't looking for me, he was thinking about me. His eyes are too slow to catch up andlook for me."
"I hate talking to you sometimes."
"His mouth is faster than... um... uh... his mind. Heh."
They wheeled him into an empty room. A complicated power outlet hinted at this being a room for the ill. A place where many medical machines were needed.
Etta appeared next to the chair. "Hello," she said, smiling down at Yey.
"He's up," the angry voice said. "He's a quiet one."
"Yea," said the fat one. "No anger, no beggin' or fightin'..."
"I don't imagine he's got much to say," said Etta.
"You good, Etta?"
"Go on, now," she told the men. It sounded like Gone from her mouth. "Go on and let us talk."
Yey heard them clumping away. "Did you turn off that game of Madden?"
"It's on Pause."
"Let's go."
Etta watched the doorway until silence fell.
"I knew somebody would show up asking questions sooner or later," she said.
"That's... that's right," he said. He needed almost a minute to finish his thought. His throat,so dry. The bad tea had nearly swollen him shut. Thirst was a terrible suffering. "I still have more." He coughed and couldn't stop, couldn't...
She waited patiently for the coughing to subside. "Are you thirsty?" she said, when his chest had stop heaving. Her voice was so saccharine, and at the same time mocking.
He nodded as well he could, neck still held by the unseen vice.
"You want some water?"
Yey tried to snarl but he choked on it. White spittle flew from his mouth as he coughed. She giggled.

"I'll assume you don't want any more tea," she said. A small refrigerator was in the corner. She retrieved a bottle of water and uncapped it. He had a suspicion that she would cruelly pour the water down his shirt or all over his face, or maybe guzzle it in front of him. But she very tenderly gave him drink. He could drink a bit at first before losing his breath, and then he accepted larger gulps. Before long the bottle was empty. Not a drop of water spilled from his lips. Yes, they have done this before....



Chris DeBrie is an American publisher, author, and artist. He has written hundreds of news and sports articles for a variety of sources. DeBrie has independently published several novels and comic books. He lives in Roanoke, Virginia.




Blog Tour: The Wysard by Deborah J. Lightfoot


Young Adult/New Adult Literary Fantasy
Book #2 in the Waterspell Series

WATERSPELL Book 1: The Warlock
Drawn into the schemes of an angry wizard, Carin glimpses the place she once called home. It lies upon a shore that seems unreachable. To learn where she belongs and how to get there, the teenage traveler must decipher the words of an alien book, follow the clues in a bewitched poem, conjure a dragon from a pool of magic—and tread carefully around a seductive but volatile, emotionally scarred sorcerer who can’t seem to decide whether to love her or kill her. "Carin and Verek’s well-crafted relationship balances in a tense power struggle … intriguing premise and original characters … Fine fantasy." —KIRKUS

WATERSPELL Book 2: The Wysard
After blundering into the last stronghold of magic, Carin discovers that she is right to fear the wizard Verek. He is using her to seal the ruptures in the void, and she may be nothing more to him than an expendable weapon. What will he do with her—or to her—when his world is again secure? Or has he erred in believing that the last bridge has been broken? The quest may not, in fact, be over … and Lord Verek may find himself not quite as willing to dispose of his fiery water-sylph, Carin, as he once believed himself to be.

My Review

As much as I enjoyed The Warlock I have to admit, this one surpassed it. Not by just a little bit, by a whole lot. I don't know how to explain the differences in the two. The only thing I can think of is that since we weren't having to have too much backstory and descriptions that this one maybe flowed more smoothly? 

This is not to say that the descriptions and imagery were not there, because they totally were. Deborah J. Lightfoot just really has this way of bringing the reader into her world. 

The characters are so believable and lovable. The growth shown in Carin for instance is unbelievable and lovely to see unfold. 

I think that the ending to this one was very well done. The story really surprised me and the author one upped herself.





Castles in the cornfield provided the setting for Deborah J. Lightfoot’s earliest flights of fancy. On her father’s farm in Texas, she grew up reading tales of adventure and reenacting them behind ramparts of sun-drenched grain. She left the farm to earn a degree in journalism and write award-winning books of history and biography. High on her Bucket List was the desire to try her hand at the genre she most admired. The result is WATERSPELL, a multi-layered fantasy trilogy about a girl and the wizard who suspects her of being so dangerous to his world, he believes he'll have to kill her ... which troubles him, since he's fallen in love with her. Waterspell Book 1: The Warlock; Book 2: The Wysard; and Book 3: The Wisewoman

Website
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Blog Tour: Dark Souls by Ketley Allison


New Adult Urban Fantasy
Date Published: July 19, 2013

19-year-old Emily desperately wants a name for what she is. For what is consuming and torturing her. For what is changing her.
But she’s not crazy like her mother. She’s not.
Emily may not be as crazy as she thinks, because her body is no longer her own. Something is stirring inside her. It is soft, seductive, and tells her what to do to survive. As Emily learns that her world has been infected by demons that consume human souls and fit seamlessly into the bodies they empty, she must also accept that she is one of them. Yet, she is different from the rest, because her darkness didn’t inhabit her, it was awakened. And it doesn’t just want the humans.


BUY LINKS


EXCERPT

CHAPTER ONE
I was never supposed to live.
At least, that was what my mother would scream at me during her rages, her face twisted into savage fury as she lunged at me—either to kill me or mutilate me, I could never really tell.  
“You are wrong! You are an abomination!” she cried before charging at me, her right arm raised high as if to slay me in one swift, ferocious plunge.
Yet, for reasons that still escape me, she would never make that one final move. She would always stop mid-leap, her face frozen and twisted for a few terrifying seconds before I would see her body slacken, her tendons snapping and releasing like broken cords as she fell heavily to the floor, just before reaching me. What I remember most clearly was that moment of calm, chilling stillness, just before her legs would collapse beneath her, where her eyes, wide and unblinking, would focus solely on mine. Even when the rage turned into haggard despair and she crumbled before me, she would never look away.  

That memory, that horrifying image of my mother that I could never entirely erase, was the first thing that entered my mind when my world started falling apart.  



Ketley Allison is a twenty-something (maybe almost thirty-something) author who believes that supernatural love shouldn’t stop at eighteen. She began her career by writing books as birthday presents for her friends (with her friend as the main character and opposite a super sexy lead, of course) before ending it in order to walk down a path she thought she was supposed to follow.

The writing bug never left her—and, in fact, would often bleed into the official papers she was supposed to write—so now Ketley’s putting down her suit and finally following her dream. While her friends are no longer the stars of her books, she still throws in bits and pieces of them into each and every one of her characters.

As a result, her books tend to focus a lot on friendships as well as love, because let’s be honest, friends are what really get you through—especially when your epic love turns into epic heartbreak.


Cover Reveal - Forever in Bloom by Jennifer Domenico


Forever In Bloom - Cover Reveal
Jennifer Domenico  
Contemporary Romance
Date to be Published: 9/16/2013
Synopsis: 

A love strong enough to survive even the toughest challenge…or is it?

From the moment he told her, Ava never doubted Enzo’s love for her. How could she? He spent every day of his life making sure she felt it. Through every trial, the couple has only come out stronger for it. She was confident that no matter what challenge life had in store, she and Enzo’s love would endure.

Just as Ava’s dreams for the future fall into place something happens that she never imagined. Still, she knows with Enzo by her side, happiness is always just around the corner. What Ava doesn’t know is a threat she thought was long gone is back and will stop at nothing to take everything that is precious  away from her.

A love, even as strong as theirs, can only be tested so much before it breaks. Can Enzo and Ava’s love survive their toughest challenge yet? Will Enzo’s love be enough to keep Ava safe or is she better off away from the only man she’s ever loved? Will they ever get the happily ever after they deserve?


Book three is the final installment of the Sunflower Trilogy.


EXCERPT

I close my eyes and try to calm my rattled nerves. I can’t believe the fucking nerve of this woman. I know I have to talk to Enzo and find out what he knows about this. I can’t imagine that he saw her and would keep that from me.

I dial his cell phone but my hands are shaky. I wait patiently for him to answer, knowing he had meetings at Girasole that morning, and wondering just what I’m going to say if he tells me he saw her.

“Ciao, amore,” Enzo answers, cheerfully.

“Enzo, Anna called me.” I don’t waste any time on pleasantries.

“What?!”

“Anna fucking called me and said she’s already been in contact with you. Tell me she’s lying.” 

His sudden silence makes my heart sink. “Are you keeping secrets from me, Enzo?” I ask in utter disbelief.

“We need to talk about this when we both get home.”

“You saw her? You fucking saw her and didn’t tell me?!” I yell into the phone.

“Calm down, Ava.”

“Calm down?! Why the fuck haven’t I heard about it until now. Do you know how fucking humiliating this is to me to hear it from her?”

“Ava, stop swearing at me.”

“Don’t fucking tell me what to do!”

Enzo takes a deep breath. “Ava, this is something I wanted to discuss with you but I was waiting for the right time. I refuse to do this over the phone.”

“I can’t even begin to imagine how you’re going to explain this to me. She’s not even supposed to be anywhere near us. Why haven’t you had her arrested yet?”

“I said we’ll discuss it in person.”

“Well then you better stop whatever you are doing right now and meet me at the house.”

I slam down the phone, the only time I’ve ever hung up on my husband. My blood is fucking boiling right now. I know in my heart that I am not going to like what I hear. Suddenly his secretive behavior is starting to make a lot more sense.


 Jennifer Domenico

Author Bio

Jennifer Domenico is the author of The Sunflower Trilogy: Turn Towards the Sun, Turn Towards the Sun: After the Rain, and Turn Towards the Sun: Forever in Bloom. She is also the author of Have my Heart- A Novella, and Beautifully Twisted.
When not writing her next novel, she spends her time devouring the words of other great authors, watching home improvement shows or talent competitions, and sleeping whenever possible. 
She lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with her very Italian husband who provides her with endless material for her next Italian stallion character. She loves connecting with readers so stop by and say hello to her.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

|This Cover reveal is brought to you by Reading Addiction Book Tours

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Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Blog Tour: Rhidauna by Paul E. Horsman


Epic Fantasy Adventure
Date Published: 7/6/2013

The night before his Coming-of-Age, Ghyll and his two friends escaped their castle on a clandestine hunt that would forever change their lives.

They returned just in time to see their island castle destroyed by strange warriors from a dragonboat and flocks of burning birds. 

Ghyll’s birthday turned into a nightmare as they fled into the night.

This begins an epic journey to find out who is trying to kill them... and most importantly, why?

Fortunately, they can count on colorful new friends to assist, including a sometimes overly enthusiastic fire mage, an inexperienced paladin and a female beastmaster who is a ferocious mountain lion.

In a world filled with jealous priests, corrupt magistrates, bored aristocrats and power-hungry magicians, they try to survive dark wizards, murderous golems, and fire bird attacks.It soon becomes apparent that not one but several assassins are after them. Who are these members of an obscure, long-forgotten organization?And whose cold hand reaches across the boundaries of space and time to threaten weakened Rhidauna?

While the time is running the friends undertake a quest that leads them through a large part of Rhidauna. Following them, the reader is carried along on an exciting journey through a colorful world, whose people, culture and atmosphere are described with great attention to detail without the story losing momentum.

My Review: 
I'm glad I gave this one a chance. The Book Cover did not do much to draw me in and I was not really sure what to expect, but Paul E. Horsman's attention to detail has a magical way of making the reader feel like they are a part of the world he has created.

There is action, intrigue, mystery, and suspense in this magical fantasy novel. 




Lives in Roosendaal, The Netherlands.

I was born in Bussum, The Netherlands, in the year 1952. 

After many years in business, I ended up in 1995 in education. My school was specialized in Dutch language and integration courses for foreigners. Unhappily, due to changed legislation this beautiful work stopped in mid-2012. My age, five years from retirement, makes it nigh on impossible to find something else, so now I am building up a career as an independent author.

SF and Fantasy have fascinated me since my high school days, but apart from some juvenile trash, I never seriously tried to write anything. 

It was in 2007, I took the first steps in what is now the fantasy kingdom of Rhidauna. After several false starts and associated discouraged intervals, a spark began to grow and mid-2010, the first two parts of Shadow of the Revenaunt were more or less written. 

With the Revenaunt-series, I had in mind something in the way of days gone by. A heroic tale with sympathetic protagonists and black villains, in which good always triumphs in the end. Something to counterbalance the modern gritty style. 

In 2012 the first book, Rhidauna, was traditionally published in The Netherlands. The second book, Zihaen, followed in March 2013 and book three, Ordelanden, is scheduled for September in NL. Now I’m selfpublishing the international edition, well-translated and edited. The English version of Rhidauna appeared in July. Zihaen is being edited for later this year.

Next to the Revenaunt-series, I’m writing The Shardheld Saga, a trilogy, of which the first, Shardfall, appeared on Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, etc, in May 2013. The second book, Runemaster, is being edited and scheduled for September.


Monday, August 26, 2013

Blog Tour: From Wall Street With Love by Leigh Boyer


Contemporary Fiction/Suspense
Date Published: 1/17/13

This novel is a scandalous tale of the bad behavior that goes on in the world of high finance. In the background, the nation's economic crisis is unveiling as the banks play a central role. It is told through the eyes of 30-something Leigh Boyer, who is thrilled when she is hired as Director of Corporate Citizenship at a major Wall Street firm, Metropolis (Metro) Financial. Leigh feels that she has finally "made it," successfully hiding a provincial inferiority complex by reinventing herself as a "real" New Yorker, replete with Jimmy Choo shoes, full-body aggression on the subway, and a Wall Street job where the everyday madness would shock her polite Midwestern family. Unfortunately, her dream job turns out to be a nightmare, as the Wall Street of Leigh's imaginings is eroded by one eye-opener after another. Leigh quickly learns that she is not alone in harboring secrets—the company is riddled with them. While she is responsible for portraying her employer as a good corporate citizen, in reality, Metro is anything but. Instead she finds herself dealing with infidelity scandals, embezzlement crimes, cad-like behavior, unethical financial schemes, and "accidental" customer deaths. Further complicating matters is her love affair with a hated New York Times business reporter, who publishes the exact secrets Metro is trying so hard to keep hidden. Leigh's escapist James Bond fantasies and a few hard-won allies help her bear the insanity that is business as usual at Metro.


My Review:
What an interesting concept for the backdrop of the book. The Finance World and Corporate Finance is something that is kind of untouchable or unknown in my world, but I really felt like I had the insider guide with this book. 

The plot was fast paced and made it extremely hard to take a break from reading. 

For a subject that does not scream entertainment, I think that Leigh Boyer has made this story very fun! 


BUY LINKS



Leigh Boyer is an accomplished professional with experience in the financial services domain.
She currently is Asia Pacific editor for Entrepreneur Today — a magazine dedicated to helping new entrepreneurs make their dreams become reality. She is the former Director of Metropolis Financial’s Office of Corporate Citizenship and oversaw a global commitment to fund financial education projects. Prior to that, she was accepted into the highly competitive internship program with McLean Investments in New York City.
She is the author of a critically acclaimed personal finance book, The Metropolis Money Guide.
Ms. Boyer received her Bachelor’s degree in Public Affairs from Stanford University and her Master’s in International Finance from the Sorbonne University in Paris, France. She currently resides in Hong Kong.
Her first novel, To Wall Street With Love, is available through Amazon.com and is based very loosely on her experiences working in finance.