October 2017 - A Life Through Books

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Virtual Book Tour: The Unsavory Critic by Ken Dalton
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Mystery
Date Published: November, 2016
Publisher: Different Drummer Press

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Simon Rand, generally regarded as the least respected restaurant critic in America, dies from a heart attack in San Francisco. Or did he expire from natural causes? The answer kicks off another wild Pinky and Bear mystery that takes the dynamic team to Camden, New Jersey, Copenhagen, Denmark, and Skellefteå, Sweden. During their travels, Pinky becomes personally acquainted with a Mafia Don, his oversized thugs, and a helicopter ride over the Atlantic, while Bear, Flo, and Ettamae visit Sweden where Bear discovers more well-developed blondes than he thought existed in the entire world.


Review

What a great addition to the Crime/Mystery Genre and Pink and Bear Mystery Series. 

Pinky and Bear were very fun to read about. This novel will keep you in suspense and trying to figure out each and every twist and turn as you read. You wont be able to put it down. 
About the Author


Ken Dalton was born in Los Angeles in 1938. In 1943 he contracted polio and spent the next eleven years of his childhood in and out of hospitals.

Fifty-nine years ago he married his childhood sweetheart and is a father of three, a grandfather of four, and the great-grandfather of nine.

After a thirty-eight year management career with Pacific Telephone Company, Ken retired to write golf and travel articles for Golf Digest, Golf Illustrated, Fairways and Greens, and Golf.com.

During two NBC-TV Celebrity Golf Tournaments at Lake Tahoe, he interviewed Olympic Decathlon Champion, Bruce Jenner when he was Bruce, not Caitlyn, the mischievous Chicago Bears quarterback, Jim McMahon, the iconic Vice-President Dan Quail, and NBC Today show anchor, Matt Lauer.

Ken has published six mystery novels. Polio and Me marks his initial foray into the world of non-fiction.

Presently, Ken is working on his seventh mystery, The Heretics Hymnal, and a comedy of manners novel, Casper Potts and the Ladies Casserole club.

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Monday, October 30, 2017

Virtual Book Tour: The Drowned Tower by @NicholasRinth #fantasy #bookreview
5:46 AM1 Comments


Epic Fantasy
Date Published: April 18, 2017

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Freedom is out of the question for practitioners of the Institute, and any supporters otherwise are dealt with violently. A system Sylvie Sirx neither refutes, nor endorses—born from an enviable family, talented in her skills, and entirely too content with her position, her path has always been a straight one… until now.

Her qualifications backfire when an elder from the north descends upon her home for a Choosing. He calls upon the Drowned Tower’s most sought after practitioners for a simple job that ends in blood, and then Sylvie’s blissful world erupts. She finds herself in the company of the Elementalist, Jacques Dace, an insufferable but deadly enthusiast of personal reform. Together, they’re swept into a spiral of powerful magic and ancient grudges. Where truth bends, stones whisper secrets of the past, and their home lies at the heart of what could very well be Ferus Terria’s next recorded war.

And for once, she is forced to choose a side, learning for herself what it means to master fate.


Review

Nicholas Rinth has no problem getting the story started. 

I was surprised several times over the course of this novel. I liked how balanced the characters were, I felt like each one served their own purpose and had a valid place in the novel.

I was very intrigued by the story. Rinth's writing style is very direct. There is no skirting around things. Characters and plot are both well developed. 


About the Author


Nicholas Rinth lives lakeside in the southern graces of Savannah, Georgia. Where he spends his time fantasizing about other worlds and working on his next novel.

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Thursday, October 26, 2017

Virtual Book Tour: Appetite of Envy by Amabel Daniels @amabel_daniels #bookreview and a #giveaway
8:55 AM1 Comments


Romantic Suspense
Date Published: July 8, 2016

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You can’t always get what you want.

Shy and sweet Lia Gardella has only wished to make her father proud. Dropping plates, spilling drinks, and missing orders, she’s never fit in at the family business. And after nearly incinerating the whole building, she ran from the stressful environment.

Want not.

As head chef of one of the city’s best eateries, Finn Newland seems to have it all. He enjoyed a youthful career in the MMA. Women worship him. After years of hard work, he finally has an opportunity to take over the restaurant he’s always considered his own.

Be careful what you wish for.

When Lia’s father summons her to supervise Gardella’s, instead of handing the reins to Finn, no one is happy. They don’t know how to collaborate on running the restaurant. Nor are they confident they can continue to deny their attraction to one another. But before they can attempt a partnership of any kind, they’ll need to find the culprit behind a trend of spiteful sabotage aimed at Gardella’s.


Review

You will definitely want to have plenty of allotted reading time before starting this one. It was hard to put down. I was so engrossed in the story that I put off many of my important things to do. Amabel Daniels does a great job of creating a Romantic Suspense that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. I was anticipating each thing, yet surprised the whole way through. 

The Romantic element helps lighten the mood. I think the Romance was believable and unfolded smoothly which is always important. I don't like when Romances seem forced, this one seemed natural. 







About the Author


Amabel Daniels lives in Northwest Ohio with her patient husband, adventurous toddlers, smiley baby, and a collection of too many cats and dogs. Although she holds a Master’s degree in Ecology, her true love is finding a good book. When she isn’t spending time outdoors, or wondering how to negotiate with her mightily independent two-year-old daughter, she’s busy brewing up her next novel, usually as she lets her mind run off with the addictive words of “what if…”

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Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Virtual Book Tour: There Be Demons by @kaytheod #review #paranormal
5:38 AM1 Comments


Fantasy / Paranormal
Date Published: September 26, 2017

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Heroes come in all shapes.

The war for Andor has lasted a century. Humans and their allies, the Angeli, fight demons from another plane who need a warmer planet to hatch and raise their young. 

Trebridge becomes Ground zero when Abraxas, a minion of the demon Prince Vetis, opens a secret portal into the city. The demons’ goal is to build an army to subjugate the city before the humans realize they are under attack.

Standing in the demons’ way are two disparate groups: the humans of Andor and their Angeli allies who command gargoyle warriors.

Leading the four gargoyles guarding Trebridge is Gillen, a proven war hero who uses Grace to fight demons. But Gillen is an outcast, mocked for his tuft of hair that normal gargoyles lack. It’s up to him to prove once and for all that he’s worthy of his command, in spite of dissention in his ranks. When Gillen asks the Angeli Commanders for reinforcements to fight the growing demon menace in Trebridge, headquarters send four human teens from the projects.

The leader of the humans is Britt, a 14-year-old half-Hispanic girl who is one of the four magic-possessing Chosen. But Britt was never trained in the art of Grace, and like most girls her age, spends her days preoccupied with school and romance. Like Gillen, she must rise above her station in life--if she is to save the ones she loves.

But Gillen and Britt are facing formidable demon foes, Abraxas: a chicken-headed demon who possesses several humans as part of his plan to build the demons’ base in Trebridge and power-hungry Prince Vetis who is his commander. Neither will let the deaths of expendable humans get in their way of the conquest.

At the same time as she is suppose to learn how to fight demons, Britt has to juggle the mundane problems of school and parental custody battles. She doesn’t realize her danger until she confront the demon Prince Vetis in a battle for her soul as a human being.


Review


I loved the way that M.K. combined real life issues with her Fantasy world.

I think the best thing about this novel was that there was quite a bit of suspense that kept me on my toes throughout. This is a book that will keep readers on the edge of their seat. Twists and turns and surprises along the way with great paranormal and fantasy elements weaved in. 

recommend this for anyone who is a fan of the supernatural/paranormal genre. 



About the Author


Who am I? Bottom line: I’m an old lady who amuses herself writing. But, since writing stories is twined up with reading, my journey has been a long one.
My adventures in reading/writing started with comic books. You can blame them for my fascination with the fantastic. I fondly remember spending hours reading and trading them.

But I was weird, too. My favorites were the Classic Comic series. I didn’t trade them. All those pre-Silver Age Supermans, Batmans, and Tales from the Crypt etc. disappeared into the mists. My favorite character? Scrooge McDuck. Swimming in a pile of money intrigued me. But never could figure out the diving thing.

The Oz books by L. Frank Baum introduced me to fantasy proper. My first impression when I saw my first Oz book in fifth grade? I couldn’t imagine reading such a thick book…even though the pictures looked interesting. I didn’t actually read the Wizard of Oz until the city children’s librarian recommended it in seventh grade. I thought Dorothy was a pretty neat character; she had gumption.
I was hooked on fantasy after I discovered A. Merritt’s Ship of Ishtar at the used hardware store. I still have my 25c A. Merritt and Andre Norton paperbacks and read them, even though the paper smells.

The realization that real people could write stories came in the sixth grade. Duh.
The teacher assigned writing a short story to the class. Everyone wrote 2-4 pages. I wrote an unfinished 25-page Nancy Drew clone, The Clue of the Clay Cats. The effort got me a “C” because it was unfinished, but I finished it the next summer on my mother’s typewriter. The children’s librarian said it was pretty good. I’ve been a chronic, if haphazard, writer ever since.

My current “writing career” started after I had heart surgery. I got bored sitting around. While dozing, I had this vision of this girl standing on bluff overlooking the ocean, her long red hair streaming behind her in a gale. She was incredibly lonely, and I wondered why. Discovered she was 400 years old and…

While I dithered around with my Half-Elves, I tried improving my fiction craft skills writing short stories. They ended up with a theme: humans fighting demons. My world of Andor was born [from the country Andorra, if you’re a stamp collector]. One of the stories, Night for the Gargoyles, made me wonder about how Gillen got rid of the demons. Four untrained teens from the projects didn’t seem like effective back up to me.

Writing moves in mysterious ways. Another story, Noticing Jamilla, launched On the Run, though the original main character disappeared. There Be Demons and On the Run did get written. If I get my act together, there should be a third book where Britt and Pillar meet and take care of the demon army Grylerrque gathers to conquer Andor. I keep wondering what will happen when fiery Britt meets cool Pillar.

So, here I sit with a computer full of unedited stories--including novels set in our world--still amusing myself writing. Jotting down notes and bits of dialog and transferring them to my computer.
Oh. Yeah. I’m married, have three adult kids who live away from home, and indulge two cats who sleep a lot. I can be found via my website and on Facebook.

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Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Virtual Book Tour: Dennis & Greer by Molly Gould - Author Interview @mollymgould #historical #romance #interview
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Historical Romance
Date Published: October 3, 2017
Publisher: Belle Reve Press

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Dennis and Greer is a nonfiction love story in letters and journals between 2 college students during the Vietnam era. (This is nonfiction that reads like fiction)

A true story that encapsulates the horrors of war and the innocence of young love.

Buried in a trunk for fifty years, this long-forgotten tale, told through letters and journals from the war-torn Vietnam era, has been resurrected.

College students, Dennis and Greer, met and felt a spark just before moving to different states. Their witty correspondence through letters conjured a desire to meet again, but Dennis tried to keep his distance; duty is more important than love.

As the two embarked on their journey into adulthood and navigated their relationship against the backdrop of war, they were writing a love story that will span the test of time.


Interview

What is the hardest part of writing your books?

Dennis and Greer is a collection of letters and journals. The hardest part was figuring out what to exclude. If I had transcribed every letter and journal entry, the book would have been 1500 pages long.


What songs are most played on your Ipod?

Anything by the Grateful Dead.


Do you have critique partners or beta readers?

Beta readers.


What book are you reading now?

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. I’m love it!


How did you start your writing career?

I inherited a treasure of vintage letters and journals and knew that I had to share the love story contained within those writings.


Tell us about your next release.


I am working on another compilation of long lost letters and journals from the 1800s that also tells a love story.  This one is between a cowboy and a sassy girl who sings and plays guitar.

About the Author


ASU graduate, Molly Gould, lived in the wilderness for 28 days when she was 16 years old (she’s your go-to-girl in the zombie apocalypse). She now confines herself indoors with the AC full-blast in her sunny sate of AZ. Occasionally, she’ll brave the scorching heat with her husband and four children.

When Molly inherited a treasure of vintage journals and letters, she was swept away by the love story contained within those writings. She couldn’t keep Dennis and Greer to herself, so she began transcribing and Dennis and Greer was born.

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Thursday, October 19, 2017

Virtual Book Tour: Famous Stem Inventors by Sumita Mukherjee @wizkidsclub_ #sale #giveaway
8:06 PM1 Comments


Children's Educational
Date Published: Launching 12 October 2017

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Famous STEM Inventors is an exciting collection of stories of young inventors and how they invented new things such as glowing paper, the surfboard, ear muffs, the television, the popsicle and more. It includes the engineering design process behind every invention to encourage children to understand the methods of inventing anything new. The book also contains prompts which inspire kids to design and create their own new gadget or useful thing.

Interview

What is the hardest part of writing your books?

Writing can be a challenging business, fraught with fear and doubt on every side, especially at the beginning. Am I any good? Will I get published? Will I get good reviews? Will I sell any books? These are some of the questions constantly bugging your mind.

At first I wrote a book that agents and publishers all rejected.
I thought the hard part was getting a book accepted—having someone like my work. But this wasn’t the hard part at all. Anyone who is persistent will get that part done. 
Then it dawned on me that “writing” itself was the hardest part. When I was asked by my publisher to write four books, it took me a while to put pen to paper! There it was, staring me in the face—writer's block. This phrase has become a cultural symbol—meaning everything from feeling uninspired, to being creatively distraught and incapable of producing something worthwhile. It's dramatic, to say the least.
However, I soon realized that whatever you put your mind to, always gets going. If you practice again and again, it gets easier down the line. These were the hard parts. But I survived. Being persistent is the key.

What songs are most played on your Ipod?

I am a fervent fan of Katy Perry and Adele. They are, for sure, the queen of pop and have spawned many catchy numbers. My favorite being “Rise” by Katy Perry. Her voice just keeps smoldering with the fire of determination that she kindles in that song.  

Another favorite is: ‘Set Fire to the Rain’ by Adelea strong, passionate song. When she sings “Let it burn” as the song fades out, you will feel flames licking at your heels and a wave of heat rush over your skin. Adele’s voice does that to people. I marvel at strong, powerful and emotional singers.

Do you have critique partners or beta readers?

Beta reading is a subject near and dear to my heart.  Beta readers are an important part of my own writing process and it has two main stages. The first stage is my family and friends. My mother does the initial screening and suggestions while my niece and other friends get back to me with constructive criticism. The thing with family is that they don't pull any punches; they point out what you've done well and what needs modification. I’ve also learned that a professional editor is worth their weight. That’s the second stage. After the initial review I get a professional to edit and get back to me with their input.

What book are you reading now?

Right now I am doing a lot of research and reading on STEM. It’s the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. My latest book is “Make: Start Making!” by Danielle Martin and Alisha Panjwani. It is a book on STEM programs made to engage young people all over the world in Maker-inspired activities. It is led by Boston’s Museum of Science in Collaboration with the MIT Media Lab.


How did you start your writing career?

I think it was my conscience that drove me in this direction. It wasn’t always like this. After years of working in human resources, one day something happened when I arrived at my office and there was a voice inside that kept asking me, “Is this for me? Do I enjoy this corporate job? Do I want to do this my entire life?”  I did not know what would follow, but I knew I had to explore my own path. I took a leap of faith and that was it.

I started by creating a series of travel adventure books for kids and found a publisher who believed in my dreams. Despite my overwhelming nervousness about leaving a stable career to take this step into the unknown, my first book sold over four thousand copies in Malaysia and Singapore.

Kids were hungry for learning and WIZKIDS CLUB was born.
A science club for children aged four to ten.  This club encourages children to imagine, build and play. With the help of online videos tutorials, books, and workshops, children are caught up in the experiments, barely noticing they are learning. It is a perfect combination of learning through play.

As I became caught up in my writing work, I realized that my daughter’s playtime was spent glued to her tablet. “This is no good, use your NASA STEM leader degree to create meaningful books,” was my own call to action. I started working on STEM and created books with DIYs and activities for kids.

WIZKIDS CLUB teaches science and engineering principles, giving children an educational head start. It’s such a relief to see my daughter spend her time in creative play. This fulfilling experience is something all parents should invest in. Creating a stimulating learning environment at home for kids from an early age, can build 21st century leaders. My responsibility is to continue to inspire and keep tinkering on.


Tell us about your next release.

Currently I am working on a STEM storybook due to be released soon. I realized that there are kids who would rather grab a storybook and read it than get messy with hands-on activities and experiments. However, I wish to inspire them as well, with this book, to get up and get inventing…ha-ha!


This storybook features the protagonist as a maker and tinkerer. Amidst thick adversity, she resorts to her ingenuity and maker skills. The book highlights the power of creativity, which is an indomitable magic that every child is born with. Kids need to be encouraged to use it to their potential and they can come up with astounding revelations. My work strives to gear kids towards that and bring out their true potential.

About the Author


Sumita Mukherjee is a NASA STEM certified leader and children’s book author. She has been fortunate enough to travel around the globe, explore many countries and meet different people. Mysteries and adventures have been captured from there in the form of Keiko and Kenzo’s travel adventure series. These books are to inspire young readers to know and appreciate various countries, develop a love for discovery and learn about the world around them. Her series of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) books encourages kids to invent and explore, to empower themselves and see themselves as world leaders and problem solvers. Her books celebrate diversity, spark curiosity and capture children's imaginations! Sumita currently lives in Toronto with her family.
Her website, WizKids.Club was created with a vision to raise the next generation of creative leaders. WizKids.Club offers highly engaging kids activities, educational books, experiments, hands-on projects, DIYs, travel stories and engineering books perfect for children 4-12 years to spark creativity and scientific learning.

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Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Virtual Book Tour: The Stark Divide by @jscoatsworth #interview
6:58 AM 2 Comments


Sci-Fi
Date Published: 10/10/17
Publisher: DSP Publications

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Some stories are epic.

The Earth is in a state of collapse, with wars breaking out over resources and an environment pushed to the edge by human greed.

Three living generation ships have been built with a combination of genetic mastery, artificial intelligence, technology, and raw materials harvested from the asteroid belt. This is the story of one of them—43 Ariadne, or Forever, as her inhabitants call her—a living world that carries the remaining hopes of humanity, and the three generations of scientists, engineers, and explorers working to colonize her.

From her humble beginnings as a seedling saved from disaster to the start of her journey across the void of space toward a new home for the human race, The Stark Divide tells the tales of the world, the people who made her, and the few who will become something altogether beyond human.

Humankind has just taken its first step toward the stars.

Book One of Liminal Sky


Interview

What is the hardest part of writing your books?

Honestly, I think it’s just finding the time. My books run between 85 and 100K, and that’s a lot of words to write, let alone redraft and edit. Sometimes I wish I could do this full-time, but then again, doing it in bits and pieces gives my brain time to run and play in-between, and maybe come up with new ideas and directions for the story. :)

What songs are most played on your Ipod?

Let’s see… here are my top five:

248 times – A Girl, A Boy, and a Graveyard, by Jeremy Messersmith
245 times – World on Fire, by Sara McLachlan
232 times – Frozen Pines, by Lord Huron
217 Times – Audition, from Were the World Mine, by Wendy Robie
191 Times – Wish I Could Fly, by Roxette

All of which are songs I’ve used as inspiration for writing. A Girl, A Boy and a Graveyard was a great inspiration for me for this book – the whole idea of the ships in the story being a Frankenstein combination of living flesh and metal. And Frozen Pines has been instrumental in the writing of the sequel, “The Rising Tide.”

Do you have critique partners or beta readers?

Yes, a number of them. They vary by story type/series, but I have beta readers whom have read many of my works and know the stories and my writer voice.

What book are you reading now?

I’ve been neck deep in writing two books a year now for a couple years, along with some assorted other stories, but the last one I read was “Uncommonly Tidy Poltergeists” by Angel Martinez. I love her writing.

How did you start your writing career?

I actually started in High School, and eventually wrote my first novel, which was then soundly rejected by ten major publishers, which sent me into a twenty-year writing tailspin. But my current writing career started in 2013, when I came back to writing, and picked up steam with the publication of my first published story, “The Bear at the Bar,” by Dreamspinner Publications for the “A Taste of Honey” anthology.

Tell us about your next release.

After “The Stark Divide,” my next planned release is “Lander,” the follow-up to my gay sci fi “Oberon Cycle” series. It’s the story of a half-world and the two kinds of people who live there, and the crisis that envelops them all when the planet’s sun threatens the planet with a massive solar flare.


I also plan to release my Sacramento-based serial tale, “The River City Chronicles,” as a book in both English and Italian in the spring. Finally, “The Rising Tide” should be out next fall.
About the Author


Scott spends his time between the here and now and the what could be. Enticed into fantasy and sci fi by his mom at the tender age of nine, he devoured her Science Fiction Book Club library. But as he grew up, he wondered where all the people like him were in the books he was reading.

He decided that it was time to create the kinds of stories he couldn’t find at his local bookstore. If there weren’t gay characters in his favorite genres, he would remake them to his own ends.

His friends say Scott’s mind works a little differently – he sees relationships between things that others miss, and gets more done in a day than most folks manage in a week. He loves to transform traditional sci fi, fantasy, and contemporary worlds into something unexpected.

Starting in 2014, Scott has published more than 15 works, including two novels and a number of novellas and short stories.

He runs both Queer Sci Fi and QueeRomance Ink with his husband Mark, sites that bring queer people together to promote and celebrate fiction that reflects their own lives.

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Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Virtual Book Tour: Must Love Fashion by @deborah_garland with an #interview
2:30 AM1 Comments


Contemporary Romance
Date Published: August 7, 2017
Publisher: Roane Publishing

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Set in the exciting world of Prada about a former male model turned brand manager and the beautiful small town public relations specialist he doesn’t think he needs.

Go behind the scenes in the fashion industry as Gwendolyn Mallory sets out to prove that she has what it takes to promote a prestigious brand like Prada. Andrew Morgan is already struggling to accept that his PR responsibilities have been taken away from him, but the intense attraction he has for Gwen, is just plain getting in the way of rational thinking—sleeping with a co-worker has always been on his to-don’t list. Follow the sparkling fuse slowly burning with sexual tension as Gwen brings to life a sexy devil…who just happens to wear Prada. Andrew has to have the woman he never knew he needed.


Interview


What is the hardest part of writing your books?

I see this question a lot. And the answer is usually the same…editing. And I’m no exception. But if we remove editing from the choice of answers, I would say tackling the first chapter. I can only describe it as going from Zero to Sixty. I’m a plotter, so all my chapters are carefully planned and I know what’s supposed to happen. But to put those first few words on paper are sometimes torturous. Mostly because so much is riding on those first pages.


What songs are most played on your Ipod?

I love this question. My iPod is a weird mix. But what I started doing is making playlists which would be hypothetical soundtracks to my books. So if I had to answer the question, the songs most played currently are songs I gathered for my upcoming release,
MUST HAVE FAITH.


Do you have critique partners or beta readers?

Yes and no and yes again. I had an amazing critique partner who, without her help, my debut novel, MUST LOVE FASHION may never have been published. She understands so much about the romance genre and what reads not only expect but demand. But she wasn’t available to critique MUST HAVE FAITH. I’d sent it to another critique partner, but I also paid for a professional beta read, which had so much more in-depth comments. I’ve already asked to get on her calendar for the third book, MUST BE CRAZY, which I’m currently writing.


What book are you reading now?

Right now, right now. Nothing. I just finished An Amorous Dance by Jessica Lauryn. And I’m more than likely going to pick up Nancy Herkness’s Second To None novella. Both great writers are in my NJRWA chapter and I like to support my ‘sisters’.


How did you start your writing career?

I’d been writing here and there, drips and drabs my whole life. But I’d never been able to finish anything and I’d never understood the mechanics of a novel. If something interesting hit me, I wrote it down. And that’s probably why nothing ever came of it, because I didn’t know where to go from just a few words or pages. I did, however take classes in Screenwriting and tried to make a go of getting a screenplay purchased. But that didn’t happen.

As far as writing a novel as a career, in August 2010, I began writing what became my first full length novel.


Tell us about your next release.

I am so excited about the upcoming Darling Cove novel, MUST HAVE FAITH, which will be released in June 2018. It’s a reunion story. The tagline: The Runaway Bride Returns, kind of says it all. I introduced the main characters, Gregory Mallory and Faith Copeland in MUST LOVE FASHION and reveal that a few days before their wedding, Faith took off. But why?


And can they put the past behind them to have that happy ever after that got interrupted ten years ago? 


About the Author


Deborah Garland is a versatile author of women’s fiction, contemporary and paranormal romances. Her books are about love and the struggles of complicated relationships, whether set in the music industry, the fashion industry or the world of academics. The heroines are strong and witty and the heroes fall hard for them. She lives on the North Shore of Long Island with her husband and their two pugs, Zoe and Harley.

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Virtual Book Tour: The Fire War Trilogy by @toddthiede
1:00 AM1 Comments


Fiction/Political/Science Fiction/Dystopian
Book 1: Fire War, published 10/3/2015
Book 2: Fire War II: Treason, published 3/31/2016
Book 3: Fire War III: Uprising, published 9/17/2016

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Fire War Book 1

“Man up,” he told himself. “Man up.” It was what his father always told him, and there was nothing more that he wanted than to be a man. So he took a deep breath, filling his nose with the scents of baseball and looked up to the sky, squinting a little.

It was a plane, not far from the blimp he noticed earlier; that was all. Nothing to be afraid of. A tiny sigh of relief escaped his lips as he saw the familiar shape outlined over his head, wings spread out against the sky.

It was the last thing he saw before the explosion ripped his small body apart with the force of a hundred suns. The quiet of thousands of lives extinguished in the blink of a second took over, disturbed only by falling rubble. The sun beat down again, hot and sticky, on what remained of Tom, his father, and all the others who had been unfortunate enough to be at Wrigley Field for the biggest game of the season."

---
Late in the 21st century, the United Continental States of America is running smoothly. 

Unemployment has been eradicated, terrorism is no more, and any internal dissent diminishes by the day. Most give credit to President Meyers, and many can no longer remember the last election, but it is a small price to pay to keep the country safe from the terrorist group Hariq Jihad.

Things aren’t as they seem, however, as Gunnery Sergeant Anthony Jackson is conscripted into the personal security detail of President Meyers. While the only thing he places above his country is his family, he begins to feel that not everyone is content with how things are. Even more, he begins to fear for his oldest daughter’s life as she begins to question the eroding personal freedoms and democratic rights. Considering that entire families have disappeared over the slightest infraction, one cannot be too careful.

Torn between liberty and safety, family and country, can Jackson balance his loyalties, or will he be lead to an explosive collision with the system he has dedicated his life to serving? In this explosive and highly acclaimed dystopian political thriller novel, the world you live in will never look the same again!




Fire War II: Treason

Anthony Jackson, military veteran, member of the Presidential security team, father, husband, patriot and spy. His daughter safely recovered from a government detention centre, Jackson's role as a spy for the anti government Apocolyte group is firmly cemented. All he needs to do is keep his head down, do his job, and get intel back to his rebel handler. But as Jackson's suspicions about President Meyers are proven true, and the tasks he's asked to handle become more and more immoral, his loyalties are becoming strained.

Where is the line between truth and lie? Between loyal citizen and blind follower? Between right and wrong? And who gets to draw that line? The Apocolytes are growing stronger, but Meyers is too, and only one of them can be the bad guy. But which? Jackson needs to choose sides, and he needs to do it fast. But in the end only the biggest tragedy of them all can force his hand.

His life will never be the same, his family will never survive, and his ideals can be shattered or overturned. Assassinations are all part of the job, he's always dealt in lies and secrets. But now there's something much more personal on the line: vengeance. Saving the world from terrorists is no big deal, knowing who the terrorists are is the real trick.

Fire War III: Uprising

Anthony Jackson. Patriot. Spy. Widower. Still reeling after the death of his wife, Jackson is numbly training antigovernment troops. Confident that his role in political affairs has dwindled to being a glorified shooting teacher, Jackson is slowly trying to piece his heart back together. Until the call comes. The rebels are far from done with Jackson, and this time the promised reward is big and juicy: the Presidency.

As the world slowly falls apart, men fight and men die, and Anthony Jackson cannot simply watch. Something has to change, and someone has to change things, and deep down, Jackson knows that he's the only man that can do the job. But as cities fall, the eternal question continues to burn in his mind: just who can he really trust?

In a world of lies and secrets, where even the ones you love can betray you, Jackson must find right and justice. Only then can he lead the country that he loves. If he survives that long.



About the Author


Perhaps you wouldn’t characterize the Finance Manager of your local automobile dealership as an Amazon best-selling author—until you get to know T.T. Michael. He has worked for the past decade at a Toyota Dealership in Illinois, but he is in the driver’s seat as the writer of, Fire War, a political thriller set in the year 2076. See what happens when the United States, Canada, and Mexico all join forces to make one super country. See more about him and his book Fire War at www.ttmichael.com

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