#NewBooks ‘Phoenix Rising’ by Hunter S Jones (@HunterSJones101). Anne Boleyn as you’ve never known her

Hi all:

I’ve known Hunter S Jones for quite  a while. She’s one of the authors who belongs to ASMSG and I met her very early on my journey into indie publishing. I read one of her novels at the time and was thoroughly impressed, by her imagination, her mastery of language and her beautifully rendered historical details. I have a few of her novels in my TBR list, that I keep looking longingly at but so far haven’t managed to get through.

But very recently I saw she’s published a novel that has been receiving a lot of attention, and I had to bring it here.

Author Hunter S. Jones

Hunter S. Jones is the author of many award winning books including “September Ends” which won awards for Best Independently Published Novel, based on it’s unique blending of poetry and prose. Her short story “Fortune Calling” received best selling status on Amazon in the Cultural Heritage category and Historical Fiction category. She has been published by H3O Eco mag, LuxeCrush, Chattanooga Times-Free Press, and is now a freelance contributor for the Atlanta Journal Constitution. She has two undergraduate degrees, one in English Literature, the other in History with an emphasis on the English Renaissance and Reformation. Hunter has written “Phoenix Rising”, a historical novel about the final hours of Anne Boleyn’s life. Come on a historical journey through some dark hours…

http://www.amazon.com/Hunter-S.-Jones/e/B009SLNLKS/

And her novel:

Phoenix Rising by Hunter S. Jones

Phoenix Rising

The last hour of Anne Boleyn’s life…

Court intrigue, revenge and all the secrets of the last hour are revealed as one queen falls and another rises to take her place on destiny’s stage.

A young Anne Boleyn arrives at the court of King Henry VIII. She is to be presented at the Shrovetide pageant, le Château Vert. The young and ambitious Anne has no idea that a chance encounter before the pageant will lead to her capturing the heart of the king. What begins as a distraction becomes his obsession and leads to her destruction.

Love, hate, loyalty and betrayal come together in a single dramatic moment… the execution of a queen. The history of England will be changed for ever.

Reviews

“Compelling, captivating and moving.” 

-Claire Ridgway, The Anne Boleyn Files

~~~

“Historically accurate yet suspenseful – although we know the ending, this page-turner has many surprises.” 

-Dr. Beth Lynne, Editor

~~~

“An interesting look at the events of May 19, 1536 from an unexpected angle!”

-Cyndi Williamson, blogger, QueenAnneBoleyn.com

~~~

“Anne Boleyn is unarguably one of history’s most fascinating and controversial women. Temptress, opportunist, witch, adulteress, or martyr? Generations after her death, we’re still intrigued by her rise and fall. In Phoenix Rising, Hunter Jones transforms the legend into flesh and blood. You don’t want to miss this clever and marvelously entertaining account of Anne Boleyn’s last hour.”

-OCMD, Amazon Vine Reviewer

~~~

“Thought provoking, esoteric and heart wrenching.” – 

-R.J.Askew, blogger, reviewer, author and journalist.

And I copy one of the reviews in full:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phoenix Rising! May 19, 2015

By Brenda

Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

“Surely our love is beyond misunderstandings and whispered innuendo.”

Phoenix Rising by Hunter S. Jones is historical fiction but in the most enjoyable, unique way. I love how the author has fun with her stories and gives her characters such unexpected quirks. She has a way of making what could be a rather dry story into something fresh, contemporary and spellbinding.

This tale contemplates the last hour of Anne Boleyn and the rise of Lady Jane Seymour as predicted by an astrologer to the King of England, Henry VIII.

Phoenix Rising shares more than one viewpoint which makes it even more compelling. I relished in discovering the different opinions, outlooks and of course the gossip. Drama-filled and fast-paced this is an easy escape to an earlier time and an extraordinary place.

Quote ~

A tear tumbles down his left cheek. I look into his eyes and see pain. He must be shocked from the resent events. How can he have his wife executed? The mother of his daughter, Elizabeth? But, mine is to do as I am told. I am not to judge a man with ancient and noble blood. A king deemed as divine by his birth and chosen by the hand of God to lead our nation.”

http://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Rising-novel-Anne-Boleyn-ebook/dp/B00X806742/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Phoenix-Rising-novel-Anne-Boleyn-ebook/dp/B00X806742/

Thanks so much Hunter for your new novel, thanks to all of you for reading, and if you know, like, share, comment, and CLICK!

‘The Good Life’ by Genevieve Dewey Heaston. New romantic/erotic novel.

Today is Friday and I bring  you a new novel by an author who, although is a member of one of the groups I belong to and we have known each other for a while has not frequented my blog. When I read that she was publishing a new book I thought this was my chance to bring her here, especially as her new novel is called ‘The Good Life‘ and we can all do with some of that, right?

Genevieve Dewey has kindly offered us some information about herself, the cover of her book, a great teaser/sample and an audio sample of the author reading (that I love. It’s great fun!). I hope you enjoy them all!

Genevieve Dewey Pic

 

Genevieve lives in Nebraska with her husband and three children. She has a Master’s Degree in Anthropology and a passion for reading, writing, and research. Her favorite subjects are organized crime, anthropology, and Chicago where her family is from (she still hasn’t quite forgiven them for leaving). Her books include:

 

The Downey Trilogy

First, I Love You

Second of All

Third Time’s The Charm

 

Dom & Kate

The Bird Day Battalion

The V-Day Aversion

The Good Life

 

Please feel free to connect with Gen online:

www.GenevieveDewey.com

(Get missing scenes and supplemental flash fiction!)

Twitter: @GenevieveDewey

Facebook * Goodreads * Pinterest * Google+ * YouTube

The Good Live by Genevieve Dewey Heaston

The Good Life

Detective Kyle Anderson is a man of simple tastes and reasonably low expectations. Give him a juicy steak and no homicides, and he’d call it good. When his sister Katelyn got engaged to his best friend Dominic, he’d figured the worst of the unnecessary drama in his life was over. But that was before Dom’s free-spirited, twig-eating, exasperating sister Demetria came back to Nebraska and completely hijacked the planning of the wedding, starting with inviting Dom’s ex-wife Isabel. Now Kate’s so determined to prove Isabel is up to no good that she insists Kyle date her to keep her away from Dom. Soon Kyle is so knee deep in Anderson-Valentini dramatics, he’s thinking of changing his name and moving to Tibet. If he could just get Demi the impossibly sexy granola-flake off his mind long enough to do it…

Author’s Note: Contains both Dom and Kate short romances The Bird Day Battalion and The V-Day Aversion as well as the full length novel The Good Life.

 

For further information Genevieve has also offered us the description of the other two romances, here:

 

The Bird Day Battalion

Meet Katelyn Anderson, a play by the rules, temporarily out of work archaeologist desperate to pull off the perfect Thanksgiving dinner for her family. Enter Dominic Valentini, her oldest friend and former neighbor, a take chances, take control, think outside the box kind of man. Kate needs his help. Dom just needs her.

 

The V-Day Aversion

It’s two days from Valentine’s Day, and Dominic is a man with a plan. Katelyn is a woman with her own plan: avoid whatever Dominic’s got planned. When Katelyn’s sister Kandace asks Kate to help catch her estranged husband cheating, Kate jumps at the opportunity because she hates Valentine’s Day. Poor Dom just wants Kate to stand still long enough to give her a Valentine’s Day to remember. Can he offer her something to change her mind?

 

 

 

The Good Life excerpt:

“I can’t stay with you!”

“Why not? It’s not like we didn’t start the evening in bed together. All joking aside, I’m not in the habit of molesting my girlfriends while they sleep.”

“Kyle! That’s not—Err…” Demi growled, flailing her hands as she paced. “How—I mean why—I just…” she stopped and drew in a large breath. “How did you go from thinking I’m an idiot to deciding to hound me for a relationship?”

“Correction, I have never thought you’re an idiot. I think you are the farthest thing from an idiot. You are an intelligent, successful woman with an incomprehensible hatred of bacon who occasionally pretends to be a flake. Hence the nickname granola-flake. Which is way worse than actually being an idiot.”

She huffed.

“That’s my point though. Underneath all this,” she waved her hands again. “…is still that undercurrent of disapproval from you.”

“So change my mind. You’ve already proved me wrong on one major thing. I’m more open minded than you give me credit for. You seem determined to still see me as a narrow-minded bigot. This is a two-way street, woman,” Kyle growled.

“What was that one thing?” she asked, blinking in consternation.

“Let’s put it this way… I can tell when a woman hasn’t had a lot of sexual experience. Either that or you have shitty ass taste in men who are selfish in bed. But you deliberately cultivate this flower child, free love, come-and-get-it, sex goddess persona.”

Her mouth worked for several seconds. “I have too had a lot of sex!” She cringed and looked side to side, then spoke in a lower tone, “I mean, not a lot…but plenty.” Of course, most of it had been in the same calendar year, but he didn’t need to know that.

“So shitty taste, then,” he shrugged. “Alright, fine. Mystery solved.”

“Uh,” she huffed. “What’s that say about you?”

“Nothing, since I picked you.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Yes, I did. I am currently the only person in this relationship who’s done any conscious picking.”

“We are not in a relationship!”

“Says who?”

“You are a maddening man…” she replied, utterly flabbergasted. “It takes two people to be in a relationship. You can’t just wake up one morning and decide you’re going to be with someone.”

“Sure you can. Technically speaking, it was you who made the first move.”

“No, I didn’t!”

“I guess that’s just how us Andersons roll. When we decide to do something, or change our minds about something and go in a different direction we just…” Kyle skipped his hands together, making a clapping sound, “…do it. Some, like Kate, take forever to get to that decision, but there’s no hesitancy on the course of action once the decision’s been made.”

Demi narrowed her eyes, mouth slightly parted. “You wouldn’t be saying that if you’d participated in any of the wedding planning with her.”

“That has never been about doubting her decision to marry Dominic and everything about Kate’s bad habit of trying to please everyone even knowing it is simply not possible to please everyone at the same time,” he said, then stood up and grabbed her again, scooping her off her feet.

She gasped and reflexively grabbed his shoulders. He sat back down on the chair and tucked her head with his again.

She sighed with a sudden realization, “You’re just trying to distract me, aren’t you?”

He smiled at her, “Maybe.  A little bit.”

She reached up and gently traced his swollen lip again then laid her head back against his shoulder.

“That’s what boyfriends do,” he continued.

She laughed and smacked his chest, “Are not.”

“She says while sitting on my lap… hours after having exchanged bodily fluids—”

“Stop!” she laughed and smacked him again.

He chuckled and squeezed her.

“Thank you,” she whispered after a moment.

He answered with another kiss to her head. She was willing to admit the ‘solid, dependable type’ did have its benefits.

She sighed and squeezed him back. “You’re a good man, Kyle Anderson.”

“Eh, I’m alright,” Kyle kissed her again. “I just wanted to let you know… I mean, I try to ease my girlfriends into this, but… my family’s sort of insane. Just so you know.”

She laughed so hard she started crying, and that seemed so silly that it made her laugh some more. He rocked her a bit and it wasn’t long before she dozed off again, held tight in his arms.

–The Good Life © 2014 by Genevieve Dewey, All Rights Reserved.

Here is Genevieve reading an excerpt in You-Tube. Don’t miss it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdr1lLlaxDM 

The Good Life Buy Links

 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-good-life-genevieve-dewey/1119711430?ean=2940045999021

 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-good-life/id887784403?mt=11

 

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/446614

 

 Amazon:

http://smarturl.it/GoodLifeDK

Kobo:

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-good-life-25

 

Kindle reading app:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000493771

 

 Thanks to all of you for reading, to Genevieve for bringing us her new book, and you all know what to do, if you’ve enjoyed it, like, comment, share, and of course, CLICK!

 

Guest author and new book. Yelle Hughes and Triton.

Hi all:

Today, like most Fridays, I bring you a guest. My friend and fellow author, Yelle Hughes (one of the hardest working and most generous presences in social media, and an enthusiastic member of ASMSG, the group of authors I belong to) after toiling long and hard, has published her first novel, and I could not resist and managed to convince her to visit my blog, and be for once the protagonist and star. And she kindly brought us her mythological novel ‘Triton’, an excerpt and an image to illustrate it.

I’m not going to spoil the post by babbling on any more, so I’ll leave the wonderful Yelle!

Author Yelle Hughes

Yelle Hughes, mum of three and now a proud grandparent, is an avid reader as well as author. She enjoys canoeing, studying the Greek myths, watching action and western movies, and is an unpaid movie critic. Her work is written from the heart and from the people who have passed through her life, just as the seasons pass each year.

Links

Website: http://yellehughes.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/YelleHughes

FB Fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/YelleHughes?ref=hl

Triton by Yelle Hughes

What happens when your ancestor, who happens to be a pedophile, a rapist and a cold-blooded killer, tries to kill you? Even stuffs his daughter into a box and throws them into the sea?
Luckily for Ariadne Phillips, Triton, god of the sea, travels across the ocean to protect her. Reluctantly you might add.
Sent by his father to watch a silly mortal, Taz plans to ship her off to No Man’s Land, so he can go back home to max and relax.
When blues eyes meet hazel, it’s a done deal. Taz wants to keep the only mortal who can make him laugh and cry at the same time, while Ari gets a dream trip to Greece, to be a model and finally use her self-defense training to kick some butt.
Happily ever after can’t be reached without Taz discovering his mortal flaw. Gods can and do die. Ari can’t join the immortal ranks without fighting the crockety Fates for her soul.

Triton-Amazon: http://goo.gl/1qkYEq

Taz Ari and Stinray

Excerpt:
Ari pulled back to see they were in a different location and was thrilled to feel the warm water caressing her along with Taz’s arms wrapped around her.
Their hair floated around them as Taz began to twirl her around in the water, diving deep then rising close to the surface.
A giant manta ray swam past and he grabbed a wing to catch a ride. Sending him a command, the manta swam faster, swooping high and diving down.
The thrill of the ride along with her arousal intensified. The sadness from being in her house was placed on the back burner because she could only concentrate on the feeling of exhilaration of being on a natural roller coaster ride.
Upon hearing Taz tell Ari to hold on tight, the manta rose swiftly to break out of the water into the air then sliced perfectly back into the water with hardly a splash, even with two passengers on its back. Performing loops and double hoops and corkscrews had Ari shrieking with delight and terror. He did this several more times, Ari screaming underneath and above the water, holding on for dear life.
Taz made sure that she wouldn’t be able to let go by magically gluing her hands to the manta’s back. He already knew that she was a thrill seeker from her memory of the haunted house and figured this was just as good.
After a few more death defying dives, he instructed the manta to rise to the surface. He was so large they were able to sit on his back comfortably. He produced fruit, bread and cheese for them to snack on and gave her a version of what he and the gods drank…Ambrosia.
She smoothed her wet hair back as she sipped the delicious liquid. “Mmm, this is good. What is it?”
“Oh, just some homemade juice I drink back home.”

Setting the cup aside, she cocked her head at him. “Is this Ambrosia?”

Thanks to Yelle for visiting my blog and for her generosity and support, thanks to you for reading, and if you’ve enjoyed it, like, share, comment, and of course, CLICK!

Dear Blogger, do you know about Triberr? And Networked Blogs?

Net World Network Image courtesy of Vlado / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Hi all:

Like everything else, I got involved in blogging as a bit of an afterthought. I decided to publish one of my books The Man Who Never Was (even then, in October 2012, I had written a few but wasn’t sure if they were ready for publication. Who is ever sure?) and I read about publishing. And selling. You have to have a presence in social  networking sites, I read. And there I went. I signed myself for Facebook, Twitter… I met people and other writers through both, particularly Twitter, and I had interesting exchanges and advice from Magda Olchawska, who among her suggestions told me I should think about having a blog. There were so many suggestions I didn’t know how I’d manage to implement even a quarter of them. And then I was following a link one day and found myself reading somebody’s blog in WordPress. And very kindly the site asked me if I wanted to have a blog and I thought… hey, if you make it that easy… Of course once you start, you learn (a bit) and get going as best you can.

I’ve met wonderful bloggers, I follow many, I read as much as I can. I like (where you can, Blogger is mean and doesn’t allow you to like), I share, I comment when I feel inspired and have time for it…

As I’ve told you many times I’m a member of a group of authors, ASMSG (Authors Social Media Support Group). We share our concerns, technical problems, advice, joy, rants… And we’re blessed with people who keep coming up with new ideas to make us more visible. One of them was to join TRIBERR.

http://www.triberr.com

Triberr calls itself ‘Home of Influencers’ and it’s a place where you can create ‘tribes’ of people with similar interests or different interests, who blog. Then, you can share the blog contents for the member of your tribes in Twitter, in an easy sweep. There is a free version and a professional version. If you want to have a huge tribe, you’ll need the professional one, but the free one allows for tribes of up to 30 people. You can register on the link above, or log in using either Facebook or Twitter (but whichever one you use to log in, try and remember it, as otherwise you’ll create a second profile and will not see your tribes).

You’ll need to link your own blog to your account (depending on the blog it will be the RSS feed or the url/feed for WordPress blogs) and then you’re ready to join in the fun! You can create your own tribe, you can join others (check them and ask to join), you can be invited to tribes, and there is also the possibility of joining some of their publicity campaigns (depending on the content of your blog) and making some money. You can of course read what’s hot, look for blogs, and comment on them (I must say I don’t spend as much time as I’d like there but…).

Once you are a member of a Tribe, you can log in as often as you like (I try and do it at least once a day but it depends on the number of members and how often they blog) and the posts for the members of your tribe will appear in your stream, and you can share them in Twitter by just clicking a button. You can of course read them, comment, etc…That results in the posts being shared exponentially to many more readers.

I belong to one of the Tribes of the group of authors I mentioned but with another author created a Tribe (We really want to share this post) that it’s a bit lonely, so if you want to join us, let us know…

http://triberr.com/pages/stream.php?tribe=46411

Oh, and if you create a new Tribe and want more members, let me know!

Another place I like is Networked Blogs where according to them ‘Great Content Meets Great People’. It’s another site that allows you to join and will add your blog to their network. If somebody you know in a networking site joins you’ll be informed and can follow them (and vice versa). You can rummage through the blogs there and follow any you find interesting, and it offers you a brief summary of the post, with share buttons. This is displayed in a daily panorama that allows you to see if blogging sites you’re interested in have posted anything new. I use them to find content I’m interested in and share in other sites (Pinterest, Google, Twitter, Facebook). It also allows me to share content of blogs for people I know and follow within a single website, without having to log in and out of various places. Have a look and see what you think!

http://www.networkedblogs.com/

I’m exploring Blog Loving at the moment and I’m sure you have your own favourites. Do share!

Thanks for reading, and as usual, if you’ve found it interesting, like, share, comment and CLICK! 

Un regalo de de Navidad. ‘A World of Joy’ (Un mundo de alegría)

Hola a todos:

Os prometí que durante las vacaciones navideñas os traería una selección de mis posts, y hoy os iba a dejar uno de algún clásico para que tengáis algo que leer estos días (aunque sospecho que la mayoría tendréis bastantes lecturas atrasadas y muchas otras cosas que hacer), pero me pareció mejor dejaros información sobre una antología de historias navideñas, en inglés, que ha publicado uno de los grupos con los que estoy asociada, ASMSG (Authors’ Social Media Support Group, Grupo de apoyo de autores en medios sociales) A World of Joy que contiene una de mis historias ‘Christmas On-Call’ (Navidades de guardia), que no es una historia demasiado típica (creo). El libro es gratuito, y hay un montón de historias de autores independientes con mucho talento, así que si leéis inglés, andais practicando, o conocéis a alguien a quién le pueda interesar, les podéis hacer un regalo.

A World of Joy, Christmas stories by Grey Mouse Publications

Aquí está el enlace en Smashwords, desde donde podéis descargar el libro en todos los formatos:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/383338

El grupo lleva un tiempo publicando antologías de lo más variado (de poesía, horror, ciencia-ficción, romance….) todas gratuitas, así que os dejo el enlace al grupo:

http://asmsg.weebly.com/

Y aquí el enlace a la página con sus libros:

http://asmsg.weebly.com/grey-mouse-books.html

Gracias por leer, y si os ha gustado o conocéis a alguien a quién le pueda gustar, dadle al me gusta, comentad, compartid, y sobre todo, haced CLIC!

A Norwegian Christmas, 1846 painting by Adolph Tidemand. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Y por si os apetece algo menos navideño, os dejo el enlace a mi historia ‘Carne de cañón’ en Wattpad. Ahora están las 9 partes disponible. El libro de ‘Una vez psiquiatra…’ del cual esta historia es la primera, con un poco de suerte estará disponible en enero. Espero que os guste!

http://www.wattpad.com/28235987-una-vez-psiquiatra-carne-de-ca%C3%B1%C3%B3n

A Christmas Present. A World of Joy from ASMSG authors

Hi all:

As you know I had promised revisiting some of my old posts over Christmas. I was going to repost some classics so you could enjoy a free read over Christmas, but then I thought maybe you’d fancy a seasonable read, and brand new too.

 

A World of Joy, Christmas stories by Grey Mouse Publications

You might remember I belong and follow a number of authors’ groups. One of them ASMSG (Authors’ Social Media Suppport Group) has been publishing a number of anthologies of stories by their members, including a general mixed-genre short-stories one, a romance one, poetry, science-fiction, horror… and the latest one, ‘A World of Joy’, and anthology of Christmas short stories. My story ‘Christmas On-Call’ is there (yes, it is not your standard Christmas story, you’ve guessed right) and those of many other talented writers. The anthology (and all the others published by the group) are free, so go and get them!

This is the link in Smashwords for ‘A World of Joy’:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/383338

This is the webpage for ASMSG:

http://asmsg.weebly.com/

And here you can find all the FREE anthologies by the group:

http://asmsg.weebly.com/grey-mouse-books.html

Thanks for reading and if you’ve enjoyed it I hope you like, share, comment, and especially CLICK! And Merry Christmas!

A Norwegian Christmas, 1846 painting by Adolph Tidemand. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Related articles

• Knock, knock: it’s just me #Poetry #ASMSG (sueshan123blog.wordpress.com)
• FREE and Beautiful: A World of Romance (raodum.wordpress.com)
• A WORLD OF VERSE by ASMSG authors (andyszpuk.wordpress.com)
• A World of Possibility: A Collection of Short stories by the authors of ASMSG (raodum.wordpress.com)

Two New Reviews: Simon Okill’s ‘Nobody Loves a Bigfoot Like a Bigfoot Babe’ and Mack Payne ‘Vietnam Veteran Memoirs’

Hello:
I bring you two of my recent reviews. One is of Simon Okill’s novel. If you remember he was my guest not too long ago and one of the writers from the group ASMSG. Now I’ve had a chance to read his book and I thought I’d bring you my review and of course a link to his novel. The other is the review of a Vietnam Veteran’s Memoirs. I met Mack Payne through social media a few months back when he was in the process of reviewing his memoirs and he kindly offered to send me a copy when it was ready. Now it’s available in Amazon and I can say that it was worth the wait.

I hope you enjoy the reviews, they convince you to read the books and don’t forget to CLICK!

Nobody Loves a Bigfoot Like a Bigfoot Babe by Simon Okill
Movie waiting to happen
I am not a genre reader. I don’t read a particular type of novel (or even only fiction, although it is my predilection) exclusively and I normally see what tickles my fancy at the time of choosing a book, although once decided I’ll usually stick to it.
I like comedies and humour but rarely buy books that are exclusively humour. I probably watch more comedy films than I read comedy novels.
One thing that struck me as soon as I started reading Simon Okill’s new novel was how much it felt like a film. From the establishing of the setting (‘Big Beaver’) and the characters (female sheriff still pining for the boyfriend of her youth who upped and left for unknown reasons, large donut eating deputies, lascivious female bartender, Native American chief with wise sayings, hunters and crackpots) in the first few pages you feel as if you’d walked into Big Beaver and are an observer (when not a full participant. I must say I sometimes thought I could smell the Bigfoot) in all the shenanigans taking place. It made sense when I read that Mr Okill had written a number of scripts. He has a knack for it, that’s for sure.
You have a mysteriously disappeared youth (that like Peter and the wolf had pretended to be abducted so many times that nobody believes he’s gone missing), bizarre crimes (Bigfoot breaking and entering to have a bath), FBI investigating team (hot female agent and the return of the Big Beaver prodigal son) and some set pieces you’ll never forget (alien abduction by Swedish looking and lusty aliens from the planet Abba).
And of course, you have the Bigfoot. Although narrated in the third person this is an omniscient narrator who gets in the heads of all character, including the Bigfoot. If the human characters keep defeating your expectations (they’re all familiar types but keep surprising you), the Bigfoot are (at least to me) completely unexpected. Loveable and horny, civilised and wild, they are not far from the noble savage ideal…only a bit hairier.
If you like raunchy comedies, don’t mind adult content (with a difference), and long to submerge yourself in an unexpected world you’ll feel right at home in Nobody Loves a Bigfoot. Imagine ‘American Pie’ or ‘There’s something about Mary’ in a small mountain-town setting, with Bigfoot, and you might get a vague idea of what the book is about. If you fancy that image and like cracking endings, what are you waiting for? Go on and buy the book!

Available in Kindle Edition here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AAL9UB4/

And in paperback here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1938985036/

Vietnam Veteran Memoirs. A Book of Miracles. The Adventures of a Florida Flatlander in Vietnam. Mack W. Payne
Genial war adventures without the drama.
I must say from the start that I met the author in a social networking site and he was offering his then work-in-progress novel to people who might be interested. Having completed a degree in American Studies and being fascinated by the US involvement in Vietnam this was an offer I could hardly refuse. When I got the book I can say it was a welcome and refreshing surprise. Although I don’t know Mr Payne personally, after reading his memoirs I felt as if I had met the man himself. What comes across strongly throughout the book is the author. He explains in the introduction that he had not thought about writing a book on that period of his life until he gave a speech at a Toastmasters club and he decided to talk about his experience of his two tours in Vietnam, in part to dispel the myth that everybody who had been in Vietnam had been `screwed’ as he puts it. The speech was a big success and people kept asking him for more.
The origin of the book is clearly reflected in its pages, because you can nearly hear Mr Payne talking. It is written in a straight forward, colloquial style, peppered with anecdotes and full of personality. This is neither a critical in depth analysis of the US intervention in Vietnam, nor a factual and neutral account. This is Mr Payne’s narration of his experience and adventures during his two tours in Vietnam, and he does not shy away from offering his opinion on peers, operations, celebrities, news…You might agree or disagree with him, but I get the sense that although he believes everybody is entitled to an opinion, he won’t change his easily.
Mr Payne thanks his guardian angel (Gabriel) for surviving his two tours, acknowledges the losses with regret, portrays funny and scary episodes that deserve several movies, and tells the story of a tenacious and stubborn young man who knew what he wanted and got it through sheer determination and bloody-mindedness. His eyesight wasn’t fantastic but he managed to get into pilot training. He wanted to fly Cobra helicopters and he did. There are touching (although understated) moments, and instances of self-discovery, but the author does not dwell on them. There is no romanticizing the experience and no dramatization either. You are there to do a job, your duty, and you then move on.
I recommend this book to anybody who is looking for a personal account of the Vietnam experience and is happy to read an unusual, but not less valuable, take on events. `Vietnam Veteran Memoirs’ proved an unexpected read for me. I will never forget some of the vignettes he narrates, and I definitely will never forget Mr Payne.

Available in Kindle Edition here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CG4HREA/

And in Paperback here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1482581957/

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Guest author Diane Major. Fantasy adventure, children and young adult writer.

I met Diane through ASMSG one of the writers groups I belong to. She’s written a number of Young Adult novels and she kindly agreed to come and talk to us about her writing.

My Books:  Enmitus – The Transformation, Enmitus – The Children,  I am Nine, Children of Fury, Like Hell Itself, and Children’s Book – Mason and Bess, The Adventure Begins

Author: Diane Major

Genre: Fantasy

 

 

Author Bio:

I grew up in Horden, a mining village in the North East of England.  I gained my professional qualification in Youth & Community Work, BSc Open Degree (Hons) as a mature student. During my career I worked both in the voluntary sector and then for local government which offered her the opportunity to develop many skills.   I worked with people of all ages and from a wide variety of backgrounds.  I enjoyed watching both staff and service users gain skills and become confident people.

I worked on my first book in the genre of fantasy adventure named “Children of Fury” for almost 2 years and at the same time completed my second novel “I am Nine.”   To date I have published 5 fantasy adventure books, a Children’s Book and am almost ready to publish a young adults story.

Now retired, I enjoy spending time with my family, writing, walking and fundraising for a local voluntary organization.

A little about some of my books:

Children of Fury : Within a period of turmoil for the immortals Heron is born.  A Fury like no other, Heron has a legacy for vengeance which spans thousands of years.  In England during the 1400’s he meets a young woman named Aimee who has already met her soul mate.  As their paths collide with catastrophic results a story of retribution lasting centuries and continents unfolds.

I am Nine:  Is about Naomi’s journey.  Something strikes and almost wipes out the Earth’s population.  Naomi is taken from her parents and grows up with strangers on a ship.  On reaching America Naomi and two other boys are sent on a scouting mission to find out if the land is safe enough for the community to build a new home.  Naomi is separated from her companions and faces danger, until something saves her.  On her journey Naomi faces great wild dogs and cannibals.

Enmitus – The Transformation: People leave a dying Earth and travel for centuries until they find their new home.  As they travel the people on board the individual ships become tribes.  One of the tribes settle on Serenitus and the adventure begins.  Corinna’s hand in marriage is promised to Omar who is already besotted with an evil woman.  Once this arrangement is made Corinna has to leave her home planet for Enmitus where she finds, hatred, deceit, cruelty, lies and love.  I am currently writing the sequel.

found where we expect it least……

How long did it take to write the books?

It took almost two years to write my first book and after that I found it took less time for each book.

What inspired you to write ? 

My interest in writing really started when I read C S Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia as a child.

When I did start writing I wanted to develop stories that would take people away from everyday life for as long as it would take them to read one of my books.

Talk about the writing process. Did you have a writing routine? Did you do any research, and if so, what did that involve?

I write every day but not at any set time.

What do you hope your readers come away with after reading your book?

Having enjoyed an escape from reality.

Where can we go to buy your books?

Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones

Amazon USA

http://www.amazon.com/Diane-Major/e/B008R5S3KO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1363795100&sr=8-1

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Diane-Major/e/B008R5S3KO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1363795057&sr=1-1

Any other links or info you’d like to share?
www.dianemajorauthor.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/DianeMajorBooks

http://dimajor.blogspot.co.uk/

 Thank you for reading and don’t forget to CLICK!

Guest author Mary Meddlemore. Long life to stories

I met my now close friend Mary Meddlemore (well, Mary is a character, who demanded to write her own story and the author […and although I know who she is I won’t reveal it…you can ask her if you want] seeing her determination and her love of stories could but agree) through the group of authors I’ve mentioned quite a few times now, ASMSG (logo and website attached to my blog). We got chatting on Facebook, then started exchanging e-mails, we organised a joint giveaway in January…and keep talking…and exchanging ideas about promotion, and writing….

I’ve loved Mary’s dedication to writing, and particular her love of stories. She makes no secret of the fact that she loves stories and stories possess her to the point where she has to write them as they demand it. In the case of ‘Forever After: A Dimensional Love Story’ one of the characters in the story, Mary Meddlemore (and she is a character and a half) insisted in writing the story. And it is absolutely wonderful. I’ve reviewed the novel (I leave you the link below) and loved every minute of it. And I’m very happy to say that Mary/Martie is working on the continuation of the story. And she has very ambitious plans indeed.

I leave you a sample of the novel, some links (Mary has a wonderful blog and has recently created a Facebook page that everybody who loves stories is welcome to visit and participate in) and my heartfelt recommendation of Mary’s books.

www.amazon.com/dp/B009HXI30A

Sample of ‘Forever After. A Dimensional Love Story’

Andrew slowly got to his feet. He felt ancient.

There was a sudden sense of motion.

She was next to him, next to him, but when he turned his head, she was in front of him and he could only see her hair and the elegant motion of her hips and shoulders. He could have touched her. She walked right through the huge glass pane next to the door and was gone.

“Are you all right, Sir?”

Andrew nodded. His legs moved stiffly through the door the attendant held for him. There was no need to ask if somebody else saw her. It was obvious that nobody did, because she was not real. He could not set a trap for her and he would never be able to talk to her. She was some kind of … apparition.

He walked back to the office. It was overcast and freezing outside and he was completely crazy.

Mary’ s author page in Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Meddlemore/e/B009IAJQ26/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Don’t forget to check her other books: ‘In the Reign of Ilev’ and ‘The Seventh Sheep’!

http://tinyurl.com/bk9pbnq

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AUFMWC4 

Mary’s blog:

marymeddlemore1.wordpress.com/

And this is Mary’s new Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/MaryMeddlemoresILoveStoriesPage?ref=hl

Thank you for reading and don’t forget to CLICK!

Blogs to follow:

http://www.seumasgallacher.wordpress.com

http://escritoresilustradores.wordpress.com/

http://plagueofdissent.wordpress.com/

http://theverybesttop10.com/

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Guest author Simon Okill. Nobody Loves a Bigfoot like a Bigfoot Babe

Today I bring you something pretty special. My friend Simon Okill from ASMSG, the group of writers I belong to, has kindly agreed to be my guest and talk to us about his novel ‘Nobody Loves a Bigfoot Like a Bigfoot Babe’. Yes, it’s about Bigfoots….and if I tell you that the bigfoots are quite tame and normal compared to the rest of the characters in Simon’s novel, you’ll understand why I say it’s pretty special. But don’t take my word for it, read on….

Nobody Loves a Bigfoot Like a Bigfoot Babe by Simon Okill

The Northern California town of Big Beaver has become a haven for Bigfoot, alien sightings and is home to The Phantom Bigfoot Bather. One particularly weird Beaverite, Duane, has kept the Bigfoot a secret, but to his utter dismay, a female Bigfoot abducts a teenager. Duane must use all his guile to stop his secret from getting out, especially now that MB, his close friend and crypto-zoologist, is on the trail, along with Sheriff Lou and the FBI. Can Duane keep his Bigfoot friends a secret? And what does MB discover deep in the forest?

#Adult Humour #Urban Fantasy #Adult Romance

Simon Okill

I live with my wife, Shirlee Anne, in Llantwit Major. My love of Stephen King urged me try writing. It took many years to hone my writing skills. As my book is set in America I decided to contact a publisher over there and was accepted first time.

Fifteen 5* Ratings – Recently on Goodreads I have been voted Best British Fantasy Author – Best Amazon Breakthrough Novel – Best Fantasy Creature Feature Book.

Reviews: Too funny. Well worth the time to read this entertaining tale. A real treasure in my reading library. I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

Nobody Loves a Bigfoot Like a Bigfoot Babe by Simon Okill is a part comedy, part mystery, part who done it novel, that despite laughing at the title, I really enjoyed. I found that once I got into the book I could not put it down. The author did a great job in developing a story that at times seemed a little bizarre, yet at those time I would literally breakout laughing. The storyline was well developed and easy to follow. There were plenty of twist and unexpected turns which kept you glued to the story. I like each of the characters in the story. Simon Okill did a great job in building each character and making them easy to identify with. The characters were down to earth and believable.
I enjoyed Nobody Loves a Bigfoot Like a Bigfoot Babe by Simon Okill and recommend it to adult readers (due to mild sexual content). Read it and have a good laugh.

Links:

Http://www.christophermatthewspub.com/nobody-loves-a-bigfoot/

Http://tassyoneill.wix.com/the-phantom-bigfoot

http://facebook.com/simondokillwriter

http://twitter.com/simonokill

https://www.amazon.com/author/simondokillwriter

http://goodreads.com/tassyoneill

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nobody-Loves-Bigfoot-Like-ebook/dp/B00AAL9UB4

Sample:

With almost unbearable excitement, she stared at him unzipping his jeans to urinate. She saw the steady flow of his pee on the ground and against the tree.  The smell of his manly essence and muskiness aroused her.

She swished her hips suggestively, cooing, “Woooo-woooo-woooo.”

Behind the cover of the thickets, Olaaa placed each big foot to the ground with extreme care and walked towards her unsuspecting plaything. She stopped behind the leak tree and listened to him zip up his fly. Olaaa breathed heavily with excitement. She licked her lips.

An owl screeched, as if to alert Olaaa’s pale one, but the plaything was a little too happy on the juice to heed the warning of the wise old owl. He belched.

The chosen one called out. Olaaa thought he was calling to her. Olaaa sighed on hearing the pretty pale one’s voice. She sniffed the night air then sniffed her own pungent odor. She sniffed her very hairy, excessively damp armpits.

She snorted nasally with disgust. She smelled like a raccoon’s behind. She needed a good dowsing in the river if she was going to attract her pretty boy.

“Woooooo-wooooooo,” she called her plaintive mating call excitedly into the night.

The unfamiliar calling sound—which was so loud it seemed to be inches from his ear—which it actually was, suddenly warned the plaything. He reacted as if in danger. Before he could cry out, a big hairy hand, pink and calloused, came up to his face and covered his mouth, stifling his scream.

Olaaa was so excited she let out her mating call.

What did I tell you?

Thank you for reading and don’t forget to CLICK!

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