Book Excerpt

Maya went to her mother’s private file cabinet and gave the top drawer a little tug.  It was locked.  Of course.  It was always locked.  Her mother was a lock freak.  Maya grabbed the foot stool, stood, reached and felt the dusty top closet shelf until she found the key, where she’d found it last Christmas, when her mother had gone out Christmas shopping.

Back at the file cabinet, she opened it.  She pulled out the lower drawer and searched for the file that was labeled PERSONAL.  Maya snaked her hand into the file and drew out an old yellow envelope that had JOANNA written on it in very skillful script.

She extracted the yellow creased letter, shook it open and read it again, just as she had done several times the previous Christmas.  The handwriting was clear, the letters carefully formed.

Dearest Joanna:

I am not a poet or a writer of sonnets.  I’m a practical man who has had his foundation shaken to the core.  If there were truths I once held as true, they are now questioned.  If there were absolutes, they have been shattered.  If life held promise and clear pathways to success and achievement, they have been obscured and lost.

My darling, I have simply fallen in love with you.  It is frightening and wonderful.  I sometimes think that when God created heaven and earth—if he did—that love was the one thing that he kept a secret, deep within the hearts of the blessed and the deserving.  I think he probably placed the diamond of it in very few hearts.  But he placed it in yours, Joanna, and I have benefited from your prodigious intelligence and your astounding beauty.

I will come back to you, Joanna.  I have to.  I have no other choice.  Wait for me, my darling.  Wait for me. We have many wonderful years together.

With deepest love,

 —I, Robert Zachary Harrison, vow to return to you.

Maya carefully replaced the letter into the envelope and returned it to the file. She stared at nothing, her eyes unfocused and filled with gloomy thoughts. She wanted the father she’d never met to pay for his sins.  She’d wanted him to pay dearly for his lies.  But he would become the next president of the United States and nothing could stop him… or could she?

About the Book

Title: The Other Side of Summer

Author: Elyse Douglas

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Joanna Halloran, a best selling writer and astrologer, lives in a beach house overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. After a violent storm, she roams the beach, glances seaward and spots a man clinging to a piece of wreckage, being tossed helplessly. She dives in and pulls him to safety. Robert Zachary Harrison is from a wealthy, political family. As he slowly recovers from a private plane crash, he and Joanna fall in love and spend passionate and secluded weeks together. But because of family duty, Robert departs, not knowing Joanna is pregnant.

Twenty five years later, Senator Robert Harrison is running for President of the United States.  In the midst of a contentious presidential campaign, Joanna’s beautiful daughter, who has a passion to expose secrets, seeks revenge on the father she has never met.  She also begins a passionate relationship with her father’s adopted son.

Joanna and Robert must confront the past and present.  While the world watches, they struggle with old passions and new secrets that could destroy them both.

Author Bio

Elyse Douglas is the pen name for the married writing team Elyse Parmentier and Douglas Pennington.  Elyse grew up near the sea, roaming the beaches, reading and writing stories and poetry, receiving a degree in English Literature.  She has enjoyed careers as an English teacher, an actress and a  speech-language pathologist.  Douglas has been a musician, a graphic designer and an equity trader.

Elyse Douglas, have completed seven novels: The Summer Diary, Christmas for Juliet, Wanting Rita, Christmas Ever After, The Christmas Town, The Christmas Diary and The Other Side of Summer.

Links

Website: www.elysedouglas.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/elyse.authorsdouglas

Twitter: https://twitter.com/douglaselyse

Blog: http://www.elysedouglas.com/blog-index

Amazon Link: http://amzn.to/1KdVjvg

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R90y3L6eC_U

About the Book

Title: The Stones of Caron

Author: R. Ann. Greene

Genre: Fantasy

Earia, queen of the elves, has long fought against an enemy she believed she created: a man, Niren, who she raised as her son, over four hundred years ago and he will see every man, elf, and dwarf killed unless they bend a knee to him. The dragons already have, willing or not, and Earia is forced to fight them as well as Niren’s soldiers.

            Fillip is a seventeen year old, raised in the woods and seashores of the small country of Niss, and he has managed to find the one thing which can give the elves hope against Niren and his dragons.

            Pursued by assassins, Earia is desperate for Fillip’s help and he is aching for adventure, even danger. Fillip’s younger brother is not so inclined, but what is a brother for, if not to help chase monsters and throw down kings?

            Earia’s age old companions are quick to accept the youngsters and teach them a thing or two. Fillip soon discovers that he is not the farmer he thought, but a bold adventurer, willing to take mighty risks to see the world and to fight for his new friends.

Author Bio

R. Ann. Greene grew up in Idaho with four siblings. She was home-schooled all twelve grades and was thirteen when she began writing, inspired by such fantasies as C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien could weave. She was a little closer to fifteen when she started working to make writing her career. It took five more years, endless refining edits, and a lot of will-power to reach her first publication of The Stones of Caron.

Now, she lives in the Boise Mountains of Idaho and volunteers as a firefighter in her community. She spends her days writing, blogging, and splitting firewood to keep the house warm in the winter time, but mostly writing.

Links

Website

Createspace

Amazon

Title: Blue Wide Sky

Author: Inglath Cooper

Genre: Contemporary Romance

First love. . . forever love.

Sixteen-year old Gabby Hayden wasn’t the kind of girl who gave a hoot about boys. She had a few real loves. Water-skiing, going out on Smith Mountain Lake with her dad and her dog. Anything else ranked a distant second. Until the summer smart, caring, gorgeous Sam Tatum gave her his heart. It had been the most wonderful time of her life, lazy days hanging out at the dock, skinny-dipping at midnight, staring up at the stars from the back of Sam’s truck.

They are planning their future together when Sam’s father is transferred to South Africa. Devastated, Gabby and Sam promise to wait for each other during the two years before he returns for college. But lonely and angry, Sam makes a mistake that will change the course of both their lives.

Years later, an unexpected diagnosis brings Sam home to his parents’ house on Smith Mountain Lake where he believes he can find peace and acceptance. What he finds, however, is the girl he once loved, now a woman unwilling to lose him again, a woman who will make him realize that both love and life are worth fighting for.

Review: A heart-warming contemporary romance. Sixteen-year-old Gabby and her boyfriend Sam spent the most wonderful summer of their lives together. But when Sam's father is transferred to Africa, and a night full of mistakes makes Sam lose Gabby. He fears it might be forever but when years later an unexpected dianogsis brings Sam back home to his parent's house and Sam and Gabby meet again. Their old love rekindles and they reunite again, but they're not the same people anymore as they were years ago.

It's an intriguing book, the characters are engaging, and I loved Gabby. If you like contemporary romance that isn't just about lust but focuses on so much more, then I'd recommend this one.

Book Excerpt

In the privacy of my bed, I thought about all the quirky occurrences that had invaded my life; the faceless woman, the rains, the quick but forceful storm tonight and in Chesterville. This brought my attention to the little hospital of horrors. What happened there followed me to Chesterville and happened again and my betrayal with Jay. The pictures too!

They say that brain injuries can alter a person’s brain waves, make things possible that might not be possible otherwise; like seeing ghosts. Is this cryptic woman a ghost? My imagination ran wild but it made sense. The only other options were traumatic brain injury or a tumor. Paranormal activity made so much sense.

Outside my windows, the wind growled and groaned and the deluge was back. It came down in cycles, downpour and calm, downpour and calm. My need for slumber overcame the chill that traced up and down my spine.

My sleep returned me to the grey and mushy, spongy ground that sank under my feet. The song was much closer this time. More audible, I could tell it was a woman’s voice. Through the thick air, I was able to make out movement and a shadow.

Instead of following the voice I pursued the shadow. I continued my journey towards it. I felt if I could just reach it the ferocious storm outside would subside and I would be out of harm’s way. The rain falling faster and harder, I was sopping and my visibility was more and more limited. Through the rivulets invading my eyes the shadow appeared to be large and oval. I grew closer and closer finally able to identify the soft form of a face.

The image before me was fuzzy but I could see outlines of the eyes and a nose but not the mouth. Under the nose was still something indefinable. Soaked to the bone I continued. Somewhere inside my soul I had heard the lullaby before. A memory flooded back in disjointed pieces; being held and rocked, a storm and a man.

Suddenly, to my right, he came out of the fog towards me. “There you are,” he said. His voice sent a sharp pang echoing through me. As a reaction, I ran. My feet driving hard into the sinking ground beneath them. The rain turned to blood and a wooden chest, the kind a woman would use to preserve her wedding dress in, materialized before me. Scrambling to reach it and close the lid I jolted awoke.

Tears covered my face. Outside, the lightning illuminated the sky and water pounded my window. The dream had unleashed a very real terror inside me. My body shivered and I yanked the covers up under my chin and curled myself into a ball. I could hear my own heart beat.

After what seemed like an eternity I remembered I wasn’t alone, my soon to be mother-in-law was in the extra room. At the moment I wanted nothing more than a mother’s comforting loving arms. I rushed out of bed to find her shaken from sleep as well. Together we went to the living room and sat on the couch. Not a word was said, but soon we both fell asleep in each other’s arms.

drenched, unsteady, and cold, I half stumbled, half crawled back towards my car.

About the Book

Title: Eye of the Storm: Eilida’s Tragedy (Book 1 in the Ruthless Storm Trilogy)

Author: Elle Klass

Genre: Paranormal Suspense

A disturbance at her neighbor’s house piques Eilida’s curiosity. What she discovers is so shocking it sends her running through the mountainous woods during a thunderstorm. She slips on the wet ground, plummets down Mount Wilde, and slams into a large boulder beside River Freedom. Eilida is transported to Lyden, where Sunshine, a receptionist at the local paper becomes engrossed in her story. The further Sunshine delves into Eilida’s life the more entangled their lives become. Paranormal events, frightening dreams, and terror filled memories draw the women together into an unthinkable web of horror.

 

What the Reviewers Say: Youtube Review: https://youtu.be/nEKTKJHMwQI

“It is a well written and compelling tale with an amazing concept that is worth the read. Great for young adults and adults as well.”

Michelle Randall for Readers’ Favorite

https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/eye-of-the-storm

“This psychological paranormal thriller, reminiscent of the “Twilight Zone,” is a chilling tale with mystery and intrigue saturating every page.”

Marcha Fox, author of the Star Trails Tetralogy

“It’s a Hitchcockian plunge by Ms. Klass, who is once again exploring the world of amnesiac episodes, violent deaths and childhood trauma.”

John Reinhard Dizon author of The Triad, Transplant, and Nightcrawler

Author Bio

Elle was born into this world in Redwood City, California and spent her childhood growing in and around the San Francisco Bay Area. She graduated from the University of North Florida. To date she has published two novels As Snow Falls and Eye of the Storm Eilida’s Tragedy (Volume 1 Ruthless Storm Trilogy) along with a short story series titled Baby Girl.For fun she reads, spends time at the beach, travels, and enjoys time with her favorite friends, and family. She is a night-owl known to be a hermit during rainy days, as she loves the sun, and is mostly found poolside over the hot, humid summer months.

 

Links

Social media links

http://thetroubledoyster.blogspot.com/
http://elleklass.weebly.com/
https://twitter.com/ElleKlass
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7216745.Elle_Klass

https://www.facebook.com/ElleKlass

Sunshine’s Pinterest Board- http://www.pinterest.com/elleklass/sunshine/

Eilida’s Pinterest Board- http://www.pinterest.com/elleklass/eilida/

Sign up for monthly newsletter here- http://elleklass.weebly.com/contact-mailing-list.html

Eye of the Storm Eilida’s Tragedy

Amazon

Amazon (UK)

B&N

 Kobo

Smashwords

iBooks

 Google Play

Giveaway

There is a tour-wide giveaway for two signed paperback copies and swag (two wrist bands and a keychain). Giveaway is international.

Title: Why Women Cheat: Confessions of a Pickup Artist

Author: Daniel Gray

Genre: Non-Fiction / Relationships

Why do women keep falling for pickup artists?  I’ve seen it with my own eyes many times.  I’ve witnessed the inner transformation take place right in front of their significant others; unbeknownst to them.  it’s as if I, and people like me, exist in an alternate universe; like the Matrix.

This book is about:

*Lifting the veil of pickup artistry.

*Informing women about the most popular tactics.

*Teaching attached men how to use these tactics on their own women.

In truth, such a subject is difficult to explain in words.  Many guys, including myself, spend thousands of dollars to learn directly from someone who knows.  I attempt to bridge that gap with three anonymous female writers from around the world.  They are informative and entertaining.

After reading this book, women will have a clearer understanding about what motivates them, and men will recognize that unknown thing that has escaped them their entire lives.  Men and women, single or attached will find this book eye opening.

What are you waiting for?  Don’t you want to know why women cheat?

Buy the Book on Amazon

Review: Interesting read, about what makes a pick-up artist, the tricks they use and how women can fall into their traps. I did enjoy the book and it shed some lights on things that surprised me when I first heard about this phenomenon.

I'm interviewing Inglath Cooper, author of contemporary romance "Blue Wide Sky". Enjoy the interview!

Q: Please tell us about yourself. 

I’ve loved reading for as long as I can remember. My mom read to my sister and me when we were little, a chapter before bed each night from books like Little House on the Prairie and Black Stallion. We looked forward to those stories at bedtime, and I believe that’s what fostered my love for reading.

Q: Tell us about your book. 

Blue Wide Sky is a story about two people who fell in love early in life and were forced apart by circumstances out of their control as teenagers. I’ve always loved to read first-love, reunion stories, and I really enjoyed writing this one.

Q: What inspired you to write Blue Wide Sky?

Blue Wide Sky is set on Smith Mountain Lake, one of my favorite places in the world, and the place where I happened to spend a lot of time growing up. I decided to set my next series here and Blue Wide Sky is the first book in the series. It’s a place of incredible beauty, and I hope to inspire some readers to want to visit.

Q: How much time per week do you spend writing/editing your work?

I work on my writing in some capacity every day. I’m also raising four teenagers, so I’ve learned to write in Starbucks and in the car while waiting for the end of horseback riding lessons. Flexibility has been an important part of accomplishing my writing goals!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?   

I am finishing up Book Two in the Smith Mountain Lake series - Dragonfly Summer. Each of the books can be read as stand-alone stories, but characters from the previous book make an appearance in the ongoing series. 

Thank you for the opportunity to connect with your readers!

About the Book

Title: Blue Wide Sky

Author: Inglath Cooper

Genre: Contemporary Romance

First love. . . forever love.

Sixteen-year old Gabby Hayden wasn’t the kind of girl who gave a hoot about boys. She had a few real loves. Water-skiing, going out on Smith Mountain Lake with her dad and her dog. Anything else ranked a distant second. Until the summer smart, caring, gorgeous Sam Tatum gave her his heart. It had been the most wonderful time of her life, lazy days hanging out at the dock, skinny-dipping at midnight, staring up at the stars from the back of Sam’s truck.

They are planning their future together when Sam’s father is transferred to South Africa. Devastated, Gabby and Sam promise to wait for each other during the two years before he returns for college. But lonely and angry, Sam makes a mistake that will change the course of both their lives.

Years later, an unexpected diagnosis brings Sam home to his parents’ house on Smith Mountain Lake where he believes he can find peace and acceptance. What he finds, however, is the girl he once loved, now a woman unwilling to lose him again, a woman who will make him realize that both love and life are worth fighting for.

Author Bio

RITA AWARD WINNING AUTHOR INGLATH COOPER writes books that aim to give her readers a mini-vacation. A stretch of time during which they can visit other places and other people’s lives. Her books have reached the top 100 Amazon Kindle Bestseller list, with Truths and Roses hitting #11.

Inglath Cooper’s Nashville series became a reality after she spent time in Music City, writing lyrics with other songwriters. She fell in love with the community and gets to revisit regularly through her characters.

Readers on the Nashville series:

“The characters are great, and so is the story line.” – Catherine Emmons, Amazon.com Reader

“The way the story started and the way it has ended makes me want more.” – Robin Ostrowski, Amazon.com Reader

“I was hooked from the first chapter and can’t wait to read Part Two!” – MomLovestoRead – Amazon.com Reader

Visit her website at: www.inglathcooper.com

Follow her on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/inglathcooperbooks. She loves to engage with readers there!

Subscribe to her mailing list and get a FREE book at:
http://inglathcooper.com/good-guys-love-dogs-free-gift

Buy the Book on Amazon

Book Excerpt

I arrive back at the office to a lot of excitement. There is a strange buzz circling around—an energy that is infecting the halls of the normally docile office to the point of drawing me over into the conference room. The first look I get is from Lincoln and it is full of concern. It’s a strange glare, considering the positive energy circling all around.  

            Bob, Charles, and James are all hovering over someone—something. As they applaud and step back, I see with my own eyes their new toy. Taylor Diamond. Taylor is an incredibly aggressive young attorney with a long list of clients and an even longer list of success. He looks like he just fell out of a Yale fraternity magazine; the ideal stunner of a man. His face maintains the perfect jaw structure, his blue eyes and perfect wavy, black hair only further compliment his broad shoulders and, near perfect, six-foot physique. Oh, my God. He’s incredible. For a moment, I forget that I am a partner in my law firm and not a school girl, staring at the shockingly handsome, cool senior at Liberty High.

            Taylor slowly stands up, his body and height safely rising above and encompassing my own shadow. He even smiles like an all-star. It’s all too much and I fall victim again, disappearing into his blue eyes. I quickly recover as his hand was left extended for a good three seconds before my brown eyes could even recognize his hand existed.

            “Oh, sorry,” I reply, shaking it. I awkwardly clasp my other hand on top of his as if I were an eighty-year-old man, consoling a youngster. What the hell is wrong with you, Nicki? Pull it together!

            “Nice to meet you. I’m Taylor Diamond.” He smiles and seems kind. He isn’t cocky. “I’ve actually heard a lot about you, Nicki. You’re an amazing attorney. I’m very excited to be here,” Taylor’s words roll of his tongue with ease and are like a secret potion, drawing me further and further into everything that is him.

 

About the Book

Title: The Connolly Affair

Author: Brett Scott Ermilio

Genre: Romance / Suspense

Award-winning writer, Brett Scott Ermilio, delivers his highly anticipated romance/suspense series, The Connolly Affair.

Nicki Connolly’s life has flat lined. Nicki’s dull marriage to her husband, Aiden, flounders further and further into a hopeless abyss. Despite the setbacks, Nicki attempts to balance being a working mother, a successful attorney and relishes the distractions of a budding romance with a man named Taylor Diamond. Nicki has been assigned lead attorney in a massive class-action lawsuit that will make or break her career at the firm of Rapture and Myers. That is when the handsome Taylor Diamond appears in her life.

Taylor Diamond has been named second chair for the big case. Taylor has it all: looks, brains, a strong family name and many connections. But dark forces loom and converge upon Nicki and Taylor. As obstacles grow, the two form a fiery bond just as the case and her life reach an epic breaking point.

The Connolly Affair delivers a suspense-filled thrill ride that will have readers on the edge of their seats.

Author Bio

Award winning writer Brett Scott Ermilio currently resides on the Jersey Shore with his nine colorful roommates: his loving wife, four beautifully chaotic children, three small yapping dogs and one moody fish.

The nephew of Neil Scott Bogart (The Disco King and founder of Casablanca Records), Brett has been writing stories since he was sixteen. His first completed screenplay was written at age seventeen. He won a screenwriting award for his move script, “Jacob.”

Over the years, Brett has written, directed and produced a feature film and worked on numerous screenplays. He had his first book published through Lyons Press, Going Platinum: KISS, Donna Summer and How Neil Bogart Built Casablanca Records, a biography highlighting the meteoric rise of Neil Bogart from birth to death.

Over the next year, Brett is releasing his highly anticipated romance/suspense trilogy, The Connolly Affair. He plans to continue writing enthralling stories and looks forward to sharing his thrilling adventures with the world.

Links

WEBSITE: www.brettscottermilio.webs.com

EMAIL: [email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/BrettScottErmilio

Twitter: @BrettErmilio

Link to Book: Amazon

About The Book

Title: Friends’ Experience

Author: Simone Freier

Genre: Erotic Romance

Beyond 50 Shades … Way Beyond!

 FRIENDS’ EXPERIENCE is an intimate exploration of kinks and fetishes by an unlikely couple, with thoughtful and philosophical discussion by the characters, and graphic descriptions of their erotic adventures.

 Kelly and Sam continue to expand their sexual horizons by including Kelly’s open-­‐minded friends in their fetish play. As Kelly learns more about her past and sets her sights on the future, Sam grows in his acceptance of gay and bisexual relationships. After Kelly and her friends give Sam a memorable birthday party, Sam designs a submission challenge for them. The friends bring their own spirit and enthusiasm to the session, surprising Sam and Kelly with their openness. The event becomes a competition, as Kelly’s friends cope with more and more outrageous experiences. The group learns that each of Kelly’s friends has her limits.

The Experiences series is an epic love story of erotic relationships and sexual desires. Written in a ‘literary realism’ style, the series introduces Sam in the prequel, and the blossoming of his intimate relationship with Kelly as the series progresses. Fantasies and real-­‐world adventures coalesce to mold a unique bond between unlikely lovers.   Where needs are mutually satisfied in an open, creative and trusting environment.   Where physical and mental boundaries are pushed. Where the concepts of love and sex are never confused, but sometimes confusing. Where openness is required and intimacy is expected. And where fair-­‐is-­‐fair, regarding the punishment of transgressions.

Contemporary erotic romance: Suitable for mature readers, aged 18+ years.

Experiences: Book 6 is 120,000 words, 15 chapters, 390 print pages

Acclaim for Simone Freier and the EXPERIENCES series:

“Fun, intense, sexually erotic”

“It is quite a tale and a very good read that explores an intimate topic” “The writing is well-­‐done, engaging, and erotic”

“The characters are rich & believable, while the eroticism is thick & lush” “Freier writes some incredibly powerful scenes”

“I have enjoyed this whole series and don’t want it to end” “The desire crawls out of the pages and into my mind” “Steams up the pages -­‐ very sensual and erotic” “Unexpectedly thoughtful and intensely passionate” “Simone Freier has an intoxicating way with words”

“Fifty shades greyer in this deep look at sexual explorations” “I have enjoyed this whole series and don’t want it to end” “Fine writing from an author who knows her genre”

WARNING!

This work contains mature content, including graphic sexual descriptions and scenes, and is provided for adults only. The Experiences series contains scenes of psychological and physical submission, discipline, and medical fetish. The characters explore various fetishes, which evolve throughout the series. ALL CHARACTERS IN THE BOOK ARE 21 YEARS OLD OR OLDER, and all activities are consensual.

 

About The Author

An adventuress and traveler, Simone is a sensual being who loves to read stories that excite her.  She takes exception to authors who promote their works as ‘dirty’, ‘filthy’, or ‘smutty’:  She believes that sex is wonderful in all of its incarnations, and doesn’t shy away from graphic descriptions of realistic sexual experiences, no matter how messy.  Her writing is mainly in the ‘literary realism’ style – i.e., it is wild (even outrageous) … but could really happen to you!  She values openness in relationships, and demonstrates this through her characters.

Prior to becoming an author, Simone was a nurse.  One of her pet peeves is reading erotica that gets simple anatomy wrong!  She is continually bewildered by women who haven’t explored their own bodies.  Another pet peeve is the mostly hung-up Victorian society prevalent in the U.S. and U.K., and she tries to do her part to change that by introducing people to new sexual and sensual experiences through her erotic writing.  The activities in Simone’s books are quite realistic, as she has participated in most of these in ‘real life’, as surreal as it may seem.

Simone is currently completing the Experiences series, which will run an estimated 1,000,000 words!  That is why she refers to it as an ‘epic’ romance, although each volume is intended to stand on its own, with a ‘happy for now’ ending.  Experiences combines literary style and philosophical discussion by the characters with graphic portrayal of sex in all of its kinks and fetishes.  You may not like all of the things Simone’s characters do … but neither do they.  Their exploration of new experiences will hopefully motivate some readers to explore their own sexuality to a greater extent.

Simone loves to hear from her readers, so feel free to contact her.   In fact, she hopes you will feel ‘free’ sexually and spiritually, as well.  Please follow her on social media and her blog.  On her website, you may interact directly with the main characters in her books, including asking them questions in order to understand their perspectives in more depth.

You can sign up to her mailing list to learn about new releases, and take advantage of promotions.  All readers on the mailing list will be sent an excerpt from each of her next novels, prior to publication.

You can contact Simone at [email protected]

Visit Simone’s website:  http://simonefreier.com

Friend Simone on her Facebook page:  http://facebook.com/SimoneFreierAuthor

Or, tweet Simone at:  http://twitter.com/simonefreier



Links

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Friends-Experience-Learning-Submission-Experiences-ebook/dp/B00XF4AKQ2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1432498792&sr=8-4&keywords=friends%27+experience

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/friends-experience-simone-freier/1121906436?ean=2940151913515

About the Book

Title: Earclaw and Eddie

Author: Daniel Jude Miller

Genre: Children’s Books

Eddie is just a regular guy trying to get by in his boring life, when out of nowhere he finds himself underneath a very unwelcome visitor. Earclaw is the unwelcome visitor and exists as nothing more than a crushing weight on Eddie’s head. Faced with this permanent guest, Eddie must learn to endure, accept and possibly trick Earclaw in leaving once and for all.

Author Bio

Dan’s story is a simple story. He grew up in a rugged logging camp of the great northwest. His father wished him to be a skilled tree-splitter but Dan didn’t have the stomach for it. Instead he headed east at age 9 with a pad of paper and 12,000 fresh, wooden pencils. The next 30 some odd years were mostly uneventful, filled with family, growth and other uninteresting stuff. Then, recently, those 12,000 pencils finally started getting put to good use.

Links

Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/djudemiller

Website: www.djudemiller.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/djudemiller

Book Excerpt

Kit paused in front of the door to John’s cabin and tried the knob. Like every other door on board ship except the one guarding the grog, it remained unlocked. After looking left and right, to make sure he wasn’t being observed, he stepped inside.

Immediately the foul odor of decay hit him. He fought the urge to gag and squinted through the darkness. John’s cabin looked the same as the last time he’d seen it: dirty clothes, an unmade bunk, maps and charts scattered everywhere, and bureau drawers standing half open.

Grimacing at the smell, Kit worked his way around the clutter until he’d drawn close to the window. He lifted the oilcloth blocking one of the portholes, just enough to let a few more rays of light stream into the room, and began his search for the red pearl. The smell, he realized, was coming from a half-eaten dinner sitting on the desk. The meat portion, he saw, appeared to be a rotting ham roast, with a large bone in the middle. A napkin covered part of the roast.

He wondered where John had gotten the ham from.  The rest of them had been eating salt beef for weeks.

Frowning, he steered clear of the dinner and looked through books on the shelves. He opened burlap sacks and pushed clothes aside. He found a lot of strange items, including a shriveled monkey’s paw and a half-eaten apple. But he saw no sign of the red pearl.

He wrinkled his nose. The smell coming from the dinner seemed to be growing worse. Curious, he turned around to examine it more closely. He picked up a food-encrusted fork and poked at it. It had a squishy skin on it, dark tan like cooked pig hide, and the meat in the middle appeared very light in color. He pushed the napkin back a little and saw that the roast seemed to stretch further out than it should. Kit assessed it through the gloom in the cabin.

No pig he knew of had a leg that long.

He leaned forward to grab the napkin and pull it off the roast entirely, then hesitated when something caught his attention. He thought he heard a very faint scratching sound. Like mice. It seemed to be coming from John’s sea chest.

He swiveled back around and walked over to the sea chest. Gently, he laid his hands on its wood-and-iron lid. The lid felt warm beneath his palms. And pleasant, somehow. Enjoying the sensation, he pressed his palms harder against it. The scratching in the chest became a vibration that communicated itself up through his nerves like a strange kind of music. He realized he was swaying a little on his feet, but he didn’t let go. There was no chance of him letting go. Not when it felt like this.

He cocked his head to one side, listening. If he tried hard enough, he almost heard whispers in the scratching. A little drool ran down from the side of his mouth, but he paid it no attention. He was trying to understand what the whispers were saying. His gaze was fixed on nothing, but in his mind’s eye, he saw the sea, and the flash of silver-bellied fish beneath its surface, and deeper in, where the water became very dark and heavy, something else, something big and monstrous and tentacled, with a gleaming slick surface and intelligent, purposeful movements. Not blinking at all, he focused on it. And yet, the image of it didn’t scare him. It only made him curious.

“Croatoan,” he whispered.

He saw the tentacled being slowly moving up from the depths, and he knew if he stayed still long enough, it would find him. Still, he couldn’t move, he hadn’t the will...and then the darkness sluggishly rose from the depths to invade his mind—gently, carefully, like a lover embracing his heart’s desire for the first time. It twined through his head with caressing tentacles that sought his core, that wanted his soul. He felt its need. Its curiosity. Without knowing why, he turned from the sea chest and shuffled back to the half-eaten, decayed ham.

He looked at the roast through a reddish-black sheen that seemed to veil his eyes, and breathed its putrid odor deep into his lungs. But it wasn’t enough, this sight and this smell. His curiosity flared, until it felt almost painful. He needed more to understand.

“Croatoan,” he whispered again.

He picked up the knife and fork. Handled them clumsily...they felt so odd in these appendages called fingers. Using the fork in an awkward way, he pushed the napkin fully from the meat and then slid the knife into the flesh. His eyes flickered to the end of the meat. He saw the foot there, still shod in a shoe. Something inside him recognized that foot and screamed in terror and disgust, but the tentacled darkness in his mind held the scream down, smothered it.

He sliced a piece of the meat off with the knife, speared it with the tip of its blade, and lifted it to his lips. With great anticipation he slid the meat between his lips and placed it on that other sensing device, his tongue. The taste buds in his mouth reacted to the meat with a myriad of various impressions—bitter, sweet, mellow, sharp--and the darkness explored. It remembered. When it felt satisfied, he put the knife down, swallowed the meat, and moved back to the sea chest.

One of the books on the shelves began to quiver.

“Croatoan,” he said again, his voice reverent this time.

The wicker chair and the desk started trembling, too, their legs banging gently against the floor. He was only half-aware of it. His mind was still with the tentacled darkness. He was diving with the creature to the bottom of the sea, where it was cold, and black.

A thump intruded on his daydream. He half-heard, half-saw compasses and maps shaking around on the shelves. The blankets on the bunk started whipping around, too. Clothes rose up a foot from the floor and then twisted back down. Another thump sounded and he understood the bunk had jumped up off the floor. A jolt went through him at the idea of it. The dream of the deep sea creature faded.

He pulled his hands off the sea chest, startled, and everything immediately became still. He stared around him, his chin wet with his own spit, and tried to understand what had just happened. He recalled putting his hands on the sea chest, and then...and then, he seemed to have fallen asleep. And had a strange dream, about a sea creature and things bumping around in his uncle’s cabin.

He didn’t like how he’d fallen asleep standing like that. It didn’t make any sense. And now he felt sick to his stomach, too, though he hadn’t the faintest idea what had made him ill. Recoiling from the sea chest as if it were a pit viper, backed out of John’s cabin and returned to the weather deck, where the sailors finally slid Jonesy’s body from the wooden plank, into the sea.

About The Book

Title: Stowaway: Curse of the Red Pearl

Author: Tracy Fobes

Genre: Horror/Thriller

Set on stormy seas during the early nineteenth century, Stowaway: Curse of the Red Pearl features a unique plot revolving around a classic adventure that quickly becomes supernatural horror.

In Stowaway: Curse of the Red Pearl, Kit Cabot is being groomed to take over his family’s shipping fortune in 1808 Boston, Massachusetts.  While Kit yearns for the approval of his father, he finds the day-to-day operations of the family business incredibly boring.

Determined to do something more with his life, and attracted to the seafaring life of his uncle, Kit decides to stowaway on his uncle’s ship.  But instead of being swept up in the life of adventure and romance he always imagined, Kit finds himself subjected to harsh 1800’s maritime conditions and another stowaway with a sinister mission of its own.

Stowaway: Curse of the Red Pearl combines high sea adventure with dark horror, and paints a world filled with both mundane and otherworldly dangers.  It builds a claustrophobic sense of supernatural terror as Kit and his friends are forced to deal with the dangers of nature and an unknown horror possessing the ship.

Kirkus Review:


https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/clyde-edwards/the-stowaway-rYKrHCsH/

 

Horror Palace Review:


https://www.horrorpalace.com/stowaway-book-review/

Author Bio

 Pennsylvania author Tracy Fobes is an award-winning writer of ten novels in the categories of romance, paranormal, and horror. Prior to deciding that a literary career was her passion, Tracy gained a BS in Computer Science (minor in mathematics) from the University of Scranton and followed that path working as a computer systems analyst for the Fortune-500 conglomerate Johnson & Johnson. She now devotes herself to writing novels.

As she states, “The inspiration for a new story comes from many places: art, music, old movies, books, newspapers. Occasionally, when I’m listening to a song or looking at a painting, I feel an intuitive jolt, an unexpected click. An idea about that painting or song sets my creative impulses to bubbling. I can always tell when I’m on the right track because excitement grabs hold of me and the skin at the back of my neck tightens. The ideas that give me some sort of visceral reaction are the ones that usually end up as my stories. Stories about women and men who come together to love have always been my favorites.”

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