Powered by Blogger.
RSS

The Christmas Cowboy by Shanna Hatfield @ShannaHatfield #thechristmascowboy #romance

Tate surprises Kenzie by showing up on her doorstep late one afternoon… Standing on her front step, he rang the bell and listened to her footsteps hurrying toward the door. The smile on her face forced him to catch his breath.

“Hey! What are you doing here?” Kenzie asked, kissing his cheek then stepping aside so he could come in out of the cold.

Curiosity got the best of her when he stood staring at her, his good hand still behind his back. Trying to look around him, he turned so she couldn’t.

“What are you hiding?” she asked, her eyes warm and inviting when he stepped inside and nudged the door shut behind him with his boot.

“I couldn’t help but notice you’re missing a very important component of proper Christmas décor,” Tate said, sounding all knowing and official.

“What could I possibly be missing?” Kenzie asked, looking behind her and sweeping her arm toward the living room that did look particularly festive, thanks in part to Tate. “I’ve got a poinsettia, a beautiful Christmas tree, garlands, pine boughs, sugary treats, and a blazing fire. Did you bring me some chestnuts to roast? If you did, I’ve got no clue what to do with them, so you’re out of luck.”

Laughing, Tate raised his arm and held a bunch of mistletoe over their heads. “It seems to me this is the most important decoration of all.”

“Possibly,” Kenzie said, reaching out and looping her arms around Tate’s neck, pulling his head down to hers. Teasing and gentle at first, their kiss soon gained momentum until he dropped the mistletoe on the table near the door and she pressed as close against him as his thick coat would allow.

Taking a breath, she quickly unfastened the snaps on his coat and slid it off his shoulders, carefully over his injured arm, until it dropped to the floor. He tossed his hat on the little chair Kenzie kept by the door while a groan escaped his throat. He took in every feature of her face, the mouth-watering summery fragrance surrounding her, and the softness of the hot pink sweater she wore. Her favorite color currently matched the shade of her flushed cheeks.

Lowering his head to hers again, Tate wrapped his good arm around her waist and slowly backed her toward the living room without breaking the connection of their lips.

“I missed you,” he whispered against her mouth as he carefully guided her to the couch. When her knees connected with the edge, she sank down on the soft cushions, still holding onto Tate. He went down with her, ravishing her neck with sizzling kisses that made her whisper his name in a throaty tone, sending blood surging through his veins.

The Christmas Cowboy


Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Romance (Contemporary Western)
Rating – PG
More details about the author
Connect with Shanna Hatfield on Facebook and Twitter

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Cerece Rennie Murphy on Books & Writing #AmReading #SciFi #Fiction


What’s your greatest character strength?
I won’t give up, no matter how bad I feel.  If I believe in something, I will keep on fighting.
What’s your weakest character trait?
Lack of faith in myself, which is criminal because I am the most blessed person that I know.
Why do you write?
I never thought I would be a writer. I have written poetry since I was 10 years old, but I never thought I would share anything I wrote with anyone. In those early days, I wrote because I needed a way to see myself clearly, to see past my own perception and writing, especially when I would go back and read what I wrote later, felt like an out-of-body experience.   Words were the keys that unlocked what I was feeling and made me able to understand it.  When I have a chance to write in my journal, it’s still like that.
For my published work, I write because I’ve been given a story that I feel is worthy of sharing. I write to give the characters life and a voice to speak their truth.
Have you always enjoyed writing?
Absolutely!  I love the way the words become more than the sum of their parts.  If you’re able to combine them skillfully (or truthfully) enough, they come alive.
What motivates you to write?
Getting to the truth of a scene or a character.  If I can do that, then I know I have done a good job.  That is my most sacred measure of success as a writer, my ability to express the truth of the characters that have chosen me.  Whether or not I have given the reader enough evidence of that truth, so that the work resonates with them is my second measure of success.
What writing are you most proud of? (Add a link if you like)
So far, I am most proud of the second book in the Order of the Seers trilogy, titled The Red Order.  I could tell from the first chapter, that I had become a better writer.
What are you most proud of in your personal life?
My marriage and the family life we create for our children.  Up until I met my husband at 31, I never thought I would find the partnership and love that I have with him.  Even when I did find it, I doubted my own ability to sustain the courage it takes to be married.  We’re in our 8th year of marriage and I’m really proud of the wife, mother and woman that I have become.
What books did you love growing up?
Though I read a lot of Judy Blume growing up, I first fell in love with literature after reading Alexander Pope’s poem Rape of the Lock.  I was 12.  It’s about a man so obsessed with a woman that he cuts off a lock of her hair to keep as his own.  It sounds simple, maybe even silly, but what Pope does with that poem is epic and funny and absolutely brilliant.  I ran home and read that poem to everyone in my family.  It opened me up to the magic of words.
Who is your favorite author?
My favorite author is Toni Morrison because I can see, hear, smell, taste and touch everything she writes.
What book genre of books do you adore?
I’ve never been a person who paid attention to book genre.  I would go into a bookstore and just start picking up books and reading the back. If I liked the cover and the description on the back, I’d buy it.  And, as a reader, I am still that way.  If someone recommends a book to me, no matter what genre its in, if it sounds interesting, I’ll read it.  Right now, I am listening to Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly, reading Anne Rice’s The Witching Hour and Trice Hickman’s Looking for Trouble and just finished my first ever graphic novel called Twisted Dark by Neil Gibson.  After that, I hope to start on a submarine warfare account called Blind Man’s Bluff.
What book should everybody read at least once?
The Autobiography of Malcolm X really touched me.  I read it in one sitting while I was in college. To hear one man’s story of how he went from a loathsome, angry person to someone so filled with love and hope for the world was just awe-inspiring.

What would you do if you held infinite power in the palm of your hand? Part One of the thrilling Order of the Seers trilogy poses this question within a story that fuses action, mystery, romance, and adventure in a science fiction novel that keeps you at the edge of your seat. Captured and enslaved for their extraordinary gift, a group of individuals, known as Seers, are forced to serve a ruthless world organization that uses the power of the Seers to exploit the ultimate advantage: knowing the future. While a brother and his Seer sister fight to evade the group that hunts them, an unlikely captured Seer, plots his escape from within the organization and sets off a chain of events that will change the world.
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Science Fiction
Rating – NC-17
More details about the author
Connect with Cerece Rennie Murphy on Facebook & Twitter

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Sunspots by Karen S. Bell @KarenSueBell #Romance #Contemporary #AmReading


As I lie in bed with these thoughts, I finally notice that Marina has quietly come back into my room and is sitting in the armchair watching me. She offers me some more medicine and I shake my head, “no.” I don’t want to sleep, and I don’t want to be awake. There is no comfort in anything. She says, “Come. We’ll have a nice cup of tea.” And I follow her downstairs and into the kitchen, zombie-like. I watch her with dull eyes that do not see her movements as she opens cupboards and finds a teapot, cups, and tea bags. I listen with deaf ears to her hum a Russian tune. I sit patiently with no patience sipping the tea I cannot taste. In silence, we sit. In silence, we speak without speaking. Marina’s life force wills me to feel her love. 

And then she tells me her plan. “Maybe, I’ll stay with you awhile. Nothing back in Brooklyn right now.” I answer, mouthing words that I want to feel and yet cannot feel because I have closed myself off to the emotions of life, “Oh yes, please stay, Marina. I couldn’t bear all this alone.” I’m overwhelmed by her generosity, my loss, and the hidden truths lurking under the surface waiting to be revealed. Then the cordoned off person inside me breaks through all my controls again and unwonted tears erupt in a torrent of suppressed anguish. I am enveloped in her arms and her soothing voice whispers calming words as I try to regain the safety of stoicism.
 
Marina and I, sisters of a sort, sit together in my huge kitchen, in my huge house, sharing the huge hole in my heart as my tears pour down my face, flowing as if someone has turned on a spigot. Two small souls in a too-big kitchen of a too-big house silently wondering about the business problems of which his lawyer spoke using carefully chosen words somberly executed while his eyes burned with deep meaning. Problems that would have to be sorted out after I finished sitting “Shivah.” How can one cope with all of this? When will I wake up from this nightmare?
 
Eventually, it is dawn and I must sit on the wooden bench that signifies my mourning as memories cloud the present and I relive a life that is no more.
 
sunspots

Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Contemporary Romance, Magical Realism
Rating – PG-13
More details about the author

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

The Jonas Trust Deception by A.F.N. Clarke @AFNClarke #Thriller #AmReading #BookClub

The Jonas Trust Deception
by AFN Clarke


AFN CLARKE is the author of 8 books, including the best selling memoir CONTACT, that was serialized in a British newspaper and made into an award winning BBCTV film.  His latest novel, The Jonas Trust Deception, is a Thomas Gunn thriller and follows the success of The Orange Moon Affair.  Readers have called it “classy, complex and cunningly compelling” and a “powerful force in the thriller genre”.  In solving the mystery of an ongoing conspiracy involving his old friend Morgan, Thomas Gunn, ex-Special Forces, takes an action so shocking and bold, that even his team fear he’s lost his mind.  The question is, has he?  To get a taste of things to come, here’s an excerpt from the book.  And for more information visit www.afnclarke.com or the Amazon Kindle store.

**************

There is something so totally desolate about sitting in a prison cell staring at the blank grey walls that, unless you’ve experienced it, you’ll never understand. There is a finality and hopelessness that is almost beyond comprehension. A despair that sucks at your soul. My salvation was that I knew that my stay here was going to be short-lived, but what the future held was one big question mark. I had the distinct feeling somebody had put a ring in my nose and was leading on a mystery tour with more questions than answers.

Left alone with just the usual sounds of dissatisfied inmates, clinking keys and slamming doors for company, I thought back to the frantic last few days.

Confusion would be an apt description of my state of mind.

What facts could I scramble together?

Several dead bodies at Morgan’s ranch.

A small but ruthless Mexican Mafia gangbanger, with the unlikely nickname of ‘El Cobra Poco’, who seemed as if he could be a strange ally.

And the mysterious Robert Sutherland.

What other questions remained?

There were many, starting with who would have wanted to kill Morgan? Everything went back to my request for her to investigate the financial dealings of the Griffin Trust and its Chairman Ted Lieberman.

How was the Mexican Mafia involved if what Sutherland said about Morgan working for him was true?

I could just lie here all night long and create imaginary scenarios, but that wouldn’t supply any answers, so I closed my eyes and concentrated on emptying my mind.

Sleep was what I needed.

It must have been two hours after the jail cell lights went out, that the goons came for me. Dragged me off the bed and frog marched me down the corridor to the back of the jail and down narrow stairs to a basement garage without saying a word. There was a nondescript cream coloured painter’s van waiting with the rear doors open, and I was unceremoniously bundled inside.

THE JONAS TRUST DECEPTION
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Thriller
Rating – PG-13
More details about the author and the book
Connect with A.F.N. Clarke on Facebook & Twitter

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

@Ted_Tayler Has an 'Affair Of The Heart’ from A Sting in the Tale #Fiction #AmReading #TBR

We have shared this Victorian terraced house in the Roman city of Bath for almost eight years. Today it is Sunday and almost every Sunday afternoon since we got together we have left our home at around two o’clock in the afternoon to walk through the almost deserted streets of the suburbs until we reach the centre of the city and the gates of the park that we both enjoy so much.
Many other couples join us throughout the afternoon. In winter they scurry along with coats buttoned up against the cold; hats, gloves and scarves helping to ward off the chill of the air. Booted feet slither here and there on icy pathways and the grass is often hidden under a blanket of snow. We bend into the wind and battle onwards until we reach our goal; that little haven of a café where hot drinks and tasty snacks can be savoured while we warm ourselves, preparing for the journey home.
Autumn sees us kicking up leaves with our feet and if it’s raining we dance under your umbrella. When a watery sun is keeping winter’s claws at bay for just a few more days, people are hardier and brave the conditions with just a jacket, thrusting frozen fingers deep into their pockets to thaw them out before wrapping them around a large mug of tea or coffee, as we all stand outside the café bravely ignoring the cold for just that little bit longer, before maybe next week or the week after relenting and moving back indoors.
In springtime, we are reckless and trip along the paths and across the grass to celebrate the passing of yet another season of dark nights and cold temperatures. Even though we know it’s too early really for an ice cream, we still purchase one from the café, together with a drink. There are several couples like us, coats unbuttoned; savouring the green shoots that signal that summer is around the corner.
In the glorious warmth of summer our companions are tanned, bare legged and laughing; lying in sociable groups as we stroll past them. Some may be reading, some whispering words of love, others arguing, most just wandering across the grass. Here and there men are sat alone drinking, then sleeping.
Every weekend of the year, whatever the weather, we walk through the park, try to find an empty bench and sit alone. We watch the world go by and try to imagine what our fellow visitors are up to. Week in week out we have been comfortable together. I have never wanted to be anywhere else; your love for me and my love for you has been a constant in my life that I have treasured.
Things have not been quite the same between us lately. After almost eight years I sense that your feelings towards me have changed; not dramatically, just subtly. We haven’t had any blazing rows or come to blows, but as we sit in the lounge in the evenings, companionably watching TV or when we’re eating in the kitchen, I catch you staring off into the distance and I am nervous about discovering where you are and who you might be with.

A collection of twelve short stories with an unexpected twist at the end. There are love stories, ghost stories and tales of revenge, all sprinkled with a touch of humour. In fact there’s something for everyone, young or old. There are characters and situations you will readily recognise, but will you identify ‘the sting in the tale’ before you turn the final page?
Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords
Genre - Short Story Collection
Rating – PG
More details about the author
Connect with Ted Tayler through Facebook & Twitter

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

@TheSMBoyce's Thoughts on Book Covers #BookMarketing #WriteTip #Fantasy

Heyo! I’m S. M. Boyce, author of Lichgates, and I’m here to talk about book covers and why it’s important to have a professional one for your book!
So let’s start with a story.
You’re scrolling through Amazon’s top 100 and something catches your eye. It stands out from all the others–a book with a great cover. You click on the thumbnail to bring up a larger image and then you continue to read the blurb and then, once that stellar book description hooks you, you click “Buy now.”
This story is a common one, especially in our fast-paced world where little holds my attention for longer than a few seconds.
You know the old adage: don’t judge a book by its cover. That’s nice and all, but people do it anyway. The cover—the colors, the text, the image, the artwork as a whole—grabs my attention and makes me pause long enough to look deeper.
Okay, one more story.
Let’s say you’re visiting a friend in a new town and you want to do some clothes shopping. You see a strip mall and park in the lot. As you look at the exterior of the shops, you see one that has a gorgeous sign, bright lights, and a door with “Welcome!” painted on it in green script.
Next to that, you see another shop that has a broken sign, flaky two-year-old stickers on the window glass, and a door with multiple pieces of paper taped to it indicating rules and regulations of the shop.
Which shop would you rather go into?
Even though both shops may have the same exact shirt, or the same pair of jeans, you will most likely find yourself visiting the shop that seems more colorful and professional. In fact, this shop might even have higher prices or it may have lower quality clothing, but it was the one that grabbed your attention. You may hate the shopkeeper and walk out in disgust in five minutes, but its appearance made you give it a chance.
A chance is all an author needs to win over a new fan. That’s why you must have a cover that pulls the reader closer to the blurb and the ultimate buy. It gives you as the author a fighting chance among all those other books in the same genre. A cover is the welcome sign for readers.
So let’s open the floor, shall we? What are some of your favorite covers? Why do you like them?

“The writing is flawless. The kingdoms and surrounding landscapes breathtaking. The Grimoire is a piece of imaginative genius that bedazzles from the moment Kara falls into the land of Ourea. – Nikki Jefford, author of the Spellbound Trilogy
Spring 2013 Rankings
#6 Kindle Store | #1 Science Fiction & Fantasy | #1 Epic Fantasy | #1 Sword & Sorcery | #1 Teens
Now an international Amazon bestseller. Fans of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and Eragon will enjoy this contemporary remix of the classic epic fantasy genre.
—————-
Kara Magari is about to discover a beautiful world full of terrifying things: Ourea.
Kara, a college student still reeling from her mother’s recent death, has no idea the hidden world of Ourea even exists until a freak storm traps her in a sunken library. With nothing to do, she opens an ancient book of magic called the Grimoire and unwittingly becomes its master, which means Kara now wields the cursed book’s untamed power. Discovered by Ourea’s royalty, she becomes an unwilling pawn in a generations-old conflict – a war intensified by her arrival. In this world of chilling creatures and betrayal, Kara shouldn’t trust anyone… but she’s being hunted and can’t survive on her own. She drops her guard when Braeden, a native soldier with a dark secret, vows to keep her safe. And though she doesn’t know it, her growing attraction to him may just be her undoing.
For twelve years, Braeden Drakonin has lived a lie. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. Though he begins to care for this human girl, there is something he wants more. He wants the Grimoire.
Welcome to Ourea, where only the cunning survive.
—————-
Novels in the Grimoire Saga:
Lichgates (#1)
Treason (#2)
Heritage (#3) – Available Fall 2013
Illusion (#4) – Available Fall 2014
Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords
Genre – Fantasy
Rating – PG13
More details about the author
 Connect with SM Boyce on Facebook & Twitter & Pinterest

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Lazar’s Mission by Kevin Sterling @ksterlingwriter #Mystery #Suspense #MustRead


It was eleven fifteen, and there was no sign of Melati. She could have been late for a number of reasons, or a complete no-show for that matter, and Jack hoped it was the former. No doubt, fraternizing with the passengers was forbidden, or at least frowned upon. So the question was whether she had been sufficiently lured by Jack’s charm to break the rules. His stomach was in knots from the anticipation of seeing her, and he paced the floor of his suite like a caged animal.

Part of him was over-the-top excited to see her, play with her. But a voice of reason in the depths of his consciousness couldn’t help but speculate whether he was getting himself into trouble again. He just couldn’t see how.

Perhaps Jack was just channeling his Eastern mentor, Tasagi, who had not only been his private jujitsu and karate instructor for several years now, but over time had become a valuable spiritual guide as well. According to Tasagi, Jack was bringing dangerous situations to himself through a process called the Law of Attraction, and it was tied to his internal belief system. That meant Jack consciously believed he had chosen to involve himself with certain people or situations because of their reasonable appearance on the surface, whereas in reality his energy had attracted an underlying issue or conflict, and he didn’t recognize it until it was too late.

The problem was that Tasagi had him questioning everything now, including sweet Balinese girls, and he knew he had finally taken it too far. He knew there was nothing at all wrong with Melati, and he prayed he would soon hear her knock on the door.

In the meantime, he forced himself to stop pacing, and he reclined on the couch with a bottle of water to hydrate himself for what he hoped to be a spirited night.

To get more comfortable, he had changed into a loose-fitting pair of white drawstring linen pants with an aquamarine linen shirt and brown woven leather loafers sans the socks. After all, the ship was traversing the Mediterranean Sea toward the north coast of Africa, so an outfit leaning toward the tropical seemed most fitting.

Also, despite his earlier wine-opening announcement of eleven o’clock, he chose to uncork the bottle of Caymus Special Selection Napa Cab at ten and empty it into a decanter to let it breathe. The wine steward had thoughtfully included a pair of Spiegelau vinovino Cabernet wineglasses, and Jack knew the large, appellation-designed bowls would let the wine open up to its full potential.

Kevin Sterling

Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Action, Mystery, Suspense
Rating – R
More details about the author and the book
Connect with Kevin Sterling on Facebook and Twitter

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

10 Things you Didn’t know About Olga Soaje #Women #Fiction #Contemporary

1.- I studied Finance and Economics.
2.- Our family dog is named “Joy” that is mix between Pekinese and Poodle so we say she is a Poodlenese.
3.- English is my second language.
4.- At some point in my life I read every Danielle Steel novel I could find.
5.- While writing my first novel “Borrowing my mother’s saints” only a few people knew, because I was shy about writing.
6.- I link playlist or songs to the book and constantly hear them while writing. Yes, I even loop them some time.
7.- I always carry pen and paper in my handbag, inspiration hits sometimes in the most unexpected places.
8.- One of the scenes of “Borrowing my mother’s saints” was actually written first on a napkin.
9.- I cried sometimes while writing “Twelve Houses”
10.- After I finish writing a novel I get very sensitive and kind of blue, letting go of the characters I’ve loved for months.
twelveHouses

Can anything good follow the best thing that ever happened to you?

Amelia Weiss loved her husband of thirty-five years very much, but now he’s left her a widow. Without him, she is unable to work in her sculpture studio without crying. She no longer has a bridge to her estranged daughter. And she can’t seem to keep her mind in the present.

But when her daughter reaches out asking for her help and her agent threatens a lawsuit if Amelia doesn’t deliver for an upcoming exhibit, she’s forced to make a choice. Will she reengage with her life and the people in it—allowing room for things to be different than they were before? Or, will she remain stuck in the past, choosing her memories over real-life relationships?

Thrust fully into the present, Amelia stumbles into a surprising journey of self-discovery.

Buy @ Amazon
Genre – Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction
Rating – PG-13
More details about the author
Connect with Olga Soaje on Facebook

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Tales of Mi7: The Kramski Case by J.J. Ward @MI7Ward #Espionage #Thriller #AmReading

Chapter 1: Them Ol’ Paparazzi Blues
Kendal, Cumbria

Someone called Jilly’s name, then the name of her band, Four Girls on Fire. At first, she thought she was dreaming – they’d just won the nation’s biggest talent show all over again, and from now on, life was going to be really amazing! - then her stomach turned over.

She disengaged herself from Rob, got out of bed and went to the window. Bloody hell, yes, down in the narrow cobbled street that fronted the guest-house. Paparazzi, sixteen or seventeen of them, all men, full of last night’s chip fat and strip-club testosterone, leering up at the net curtain like they could see through it. She swallowed.

The other girls had warned her about dating a member of a boy band, but only tongue in cheek. Twice the publicity, babes, sure you can handle that? She couldn’t help herself, though. Two years ago he’d been her hero and she’d been a nobody. Now they were equals.

“They’ve found us,” she told him.

Rob stretched and yawned. He discarded the bedclothes, picked up his boxer shorts and put his foot in one leg. “The press?”

“You don’t seem very bothered.”

“You were bloody brilliant last night, Jilly.”

“How did they know we were here?”

“I mean it. Outstanding.”

She realised she didn’t even like him much. “Did you tell them?”

“Me?”

“Wake up, Rob! It’s the press! I said the press have found us!”

He pulled on his boxers and put his arms round her. She disengaged herself, plonked herself at the dressing table and brushed her long brown hair, pulling halfway down as if it was full of knots. She was trying to stop herself shaking.

“Anyone could have told them,” he said. “It definitely wasn’t me, babe.”

“Put your clothes on. We’re leaving.”

“Why? They can’t get in here.”

She fished her bra from the pile of clothes on the floor and put it on. “We’re in the bloody Lake District, Rob. We’re supposed to be miles from anywhere. How did they find us so quickly?”

She looked round the room: the plaid curtains, the beds with valances, the 1920s lampshades, all the varnished wooden surfaces, so unlike the places she always stayed when she was touring with the girls. She’d fallen in love with it at first sight. She’d been drunk, true, but she’d never wanted to leave.

Rob pulled his socks and T-shirt on then looked at her. “You’re not frightened, are you?”

“They’ve probably got the place surrounded. And yes. Yes, I am frightened.”

“We’ll just call a taxi. We can be downstairs and in the car before anyone knows it.”

“I’m not bothered about us, Rob. I’m bothered about them.” Tights, tights, where were her bloody tights?

“‘Them’?”

“Yeah, ‘them’. The photographers, journalists, whatever they call themselves. Them!”

He laughed. “First time anyone’s cared what happens to paparazzi. Anyway, what could happen to them?”

“Haven’t you been watching the news recently? Are you really that self-obsessed?”

“Hey, now - ”

“Four photographers shot dead in four weeks. Following Bobby Keynes, Zane Cruse, Mikey from Bad Lads Zero, Stallone Laine - ”

“No such thing as bad publicity, from what I hear. Not that you need it, girl, but it won’t hurt. Besides, they’re all douche bags, right?”

She pulled her dress on and smoothed the waist. She’d had enough now. She wanted out. Of everything. “I misjudged you, Rob. They’re still human beings.”

“No, they ain’t. Anyway, what are the chances?”

“I don’t want to think about it.”

He picked up the telephone. “Is that reception? Hi, yeah … Room …”

“Fourteen,” Jilly said.

“Fourteen. Could you get a taxi pronto for me and the shorty? And fetch us the bill for the room? … Yeah, we’re leaving … Yeah, all good things have to come to an end sooner or later … Yeah, we’re disappointed too.” He put his hand over the receiver. “She knows us,” he told Jilly. “It’ll be her that told the reporters.”

“Bitch.”

He put the phone down. “About fifteen minutes. Get your face on, gorgeous.”

“I’m not waiting for her taxi to come, Rob. Not if she’s with them. I’ll get my own. There’s a rank down the road. Come on.”

“What about your make-up?”

She rammed a pair of sunglasses on and picked up her travel bag. He followed her downstairs. They didn’t stop at reception. Rob reached into his wallet, pulled out four fifties and thrust them at Mrs whatever-she-was-called, the proprietress. “Keep the change.”

Suddenly, they were out on the street. Paparazzi to their right, shouting Jilly. Jilly take off your shades, Jilly flick your hair, Jilly wave, Jilly smile, Jilly stop, who’s that with Jilly, that’s Rob from Simply Boyz, Rob give us a smile, Rob –

She took off her glasses, grabbed Rob’s hand and turned left and accelerated. She almost changed direction. There was a loud crack and she jumped like she’d been hit.

Behind them, the paparazzi roared. One of them – a photographer, about twenty-five - lay prostrate and bloody. Four others photographed him, ten or twelve were in full flight, one was trying to get a signal on his mobile. No one was interested in Jilly and Rob any more.

Rob looked at them then at her. “Oh, my God. Oh, my God.”

Jilly started screaming.

Tales of MI7

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords
Genre – Espionage Thriller
Rating – PG
More details about the author and the book
Connect with J.J. Ward on Twitter

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Author Spotlight on @JoshVanBrakle (Dragoon Saga) #AmReading #Fantasy #GoodReads


How do you work through self-doubts and fear?
I think almost every author goes through times when they feel like they’re the best writer since Tolkien, and others where they feel like talentless losers. When those lows hit me, I fall back to my incredible support network of friends and family. They’re great for cheering me on, showing me where I’m doing well, and pitching in to help me improve.

What scares you the most?
You would think that the day The Wings of Dragons hit shelves would have been the happiest of my life, but I was actually terrified. Up to that point, I only had the word of  few close friends that they thought it was good. What if people thought it was terrible? I had never put myself out there like that before. I tend to be introverted, and the exposure made me really uncomfortable. In the end it worked out and people enjoyed it, but I’m sure that paranoia will come back when it comes time to release book two.
What makes you happiest?
I love hearing from fans that my book has made a positive difference in their lives. You work so hard for so long on a novel, put your heart and soul into it, but you always wonder if readers get out of it what you put into it. When you hear that they really enjoyed it, that they encouraged their friends to read it, that it was something that spoke to them or resonated with them, then you know you’ve done your job as an author.
What’s your greatest character strength?
When I decide to do something, I go for it all the way. I love the quote from the TV show Mythbusters that goes, “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing.” That’s me in a nutshell. I don’t do things halfway. I put everything I have into a project, and I think that mindset shows not only in just getting a finished product out there, but having it be something that others will enjoy and share.
What’s your weakest character trait?
I’ve always been introverted, so publishing and marketing The Wings of Dragons has really forced me to come out of my shell. Suddenly I’m communicating with folks I never thought I would meet and interacting with readers from all over the world. When you write a novel, it’s just for you. When you publish a novel, though, it’s for the readers. You’re baring your soul for the world to see, and that visibility is still something I’m coming to grips with.
Why do you write?
Because I love to tell stories! I grew up in a family where storytelling was part of everyday life. In particular, my father lived for stories. We would be having a conversation, and all of a sudden he would say, “That reminds me of a story.” We would all groan, but that was just part of the tradition. He would launch into his story, and at the end we’d all laugh because it was funny even though we’d heard it a hundred times. If you’ve ever seen the movie Lincolnand the way that Lincoln is always using stories to get his point across, you have a sense of how my dad was. With writing, I’m telling stories just like he did, only now I can share those stories with a lot more people.
Have you always enjoyed writing?
I’ve always enjoyed telling stories, whether in written form, around the living room, or around the campfire (especially around the campfire). I grew up in a family where everyone told stories, some real, others made up. My father and his father were famous for it. They were both Lutheran pastors, and they made stories key parts of their sermons. They passed on that love of stories to me.
What motivates you to write?
I have a lot of strange ideas, and I tend to take perspectives that a lot of people don’t have. Sharing those thoughts is a big motivation for my writing. I want to help people see the world in a different way. I want to communicate with others and share my passions. I’ve always been amazed at the ability of a good writer or filmmaker to reach out to an audience they’ve never met and make them laugh, cry, or scream at all the right moments. I want to be able to do that with my writing.
My fans also motivate me. They’ve told me how much they enjoyed The Wings of Dragons and how eager they are for book two of The Dragoon Saga, so I can’t let them down.
What writing are you most proud of?
No question, the piece I’m most proud of is my debut novel, The Wings of Dragons(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FKJKJCA) published by Arboreal Press. I started forming the ideas for it over a decade ago, and its release marks the achievement of a lifelong dream for me to publish a book. I put over two years of sweat, toil, and (I’m not ashamed to admit) tears into that book, and all of that hard work has paid off.
What are you most proud of in your personal life? 
It has nothing to do with my fiction writing, but I’m proud to have earned a Master’s degree in natural resource management from the State University of New York. Much like writing a novel, graduate school for me was a two-year process with a massive research project and an equally massive thesis. Looking back, I still can’t believe I crammed everything I did in grad school into two years. All that work helped when I wrote The Wings of Dragons. It wasn’t necessarily the subject matter, although I use my knowledge of the environment to make my settings more believable. Rather, it’s the skills I learned in how to plan out big projects, to take them one step at a time and to stick with them even when they seem impossible.
From fantasy author Josh VanBrakle comes an epic new trilogy of friendship, betrayal, and explosive magic. Lefthanded teenager Iren Saitosan must uncover a forgotten history, confront monsters inspired by Japanese mythology, and master a serpentine dragon imprisoned inside a katana to stop a revenge one thousand years in the making.
Lodian culture declares lefthanded people dangerous and devil-spawned, and for Iren, the kingdom’s only known Left, that’s meant a life of social isolation. To pass the time and get a little attention, he plays pranks on the residents of Haldessa Castle. It’s harmless fun, until one of his stunts nearly kills Lodia’s charismatic heir to the throne. Now to avoid execution for his crime, Iren must join a covert team and assassinate a bandit lord. It’s a suicide mission, and Iren’s chances aren’t helped when he learns that his new katana contains a dragon’s spirit, one with a magic so powerful it can sink continents and transform Iren into a raging beast.
Adding to his problems, someone on Iren’s team is plotting treason. When a former ally launches a brutal plan to avenge the Lefts, Iren finds himself trapped between competing loyalties. He needs to figure out who – and how – to trust, and the fates of two nations depend on his choice.
“A fast-paced adventure…led by a compelling cast of characters. Josh VanBrakle keeps the mysteries going.” - ForeWord Reviews
Buy @ Amazon & Smashwords
Genre – YA epic fantasy
Rating – PG-13
More details about the author
Connect with Josh VanBrakle on Twitter

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Diane Mulligan's Believable Protagonist @Mulligan_writes #WriteTip #AmWriting #Women

How to Make Your Protagonist Believable
What makes a character believable? In a word: Flaws.
In real life, no one is perfect. We are contradictory human beings whose beliefs and actions are often out of sync with one another. We make mistakes. Sometimes we make the same mistake over and over. With any luck, we learn and grow. With any luck, we become better people. And while we’re improving in some ways, we’re probably picking up new flaws, too.
Our flaws make us not only human but also interesting. Think about it. Would you rather befriend someone who…
practices yoga daily, makes all her family’s meals from scratch, maintains a size-two figure, has a Jon Hamm lookalike for a husband, is on track to be president of the company where she works, and finds time to knit and do other homemade crafts on the weekends;
OR
someone who doesn’t have time to cook between work and getting the kids to and from their activities so she brings home a pizza knowing that it’s bad for her paunchy husband’s cholesterol, but if he wanted to take care of his health maybe he could cook his own damn dinner now and then, and she promises herself she’ll only eat one slice but then she has four despite the fact that she really wants to fit back in her size-ten jeans by the end of February, but work has her stressed because they’re always promoting younger people and she’s afraid she’s becoming obsolete, and all she wants to do this weekend is hit the mall with her gal pals for some retail therapy and maybe some margaritas.
Be honest. You don’t want to befriend Little Miss Perfect. You don’t even want to stand next to her. You might want her life, but you don’t want to be her pal.
Of course, Polly Pizza, for all her flaws, may be believable without being likeable, and that’s a problem, too. Once you have a believable, multidimensional character roaming your story, take her a step further. Make her vulnerable.
How do you make a character vulnerable? Put her in a situation in which something she cares deeply about is in jeopardy. In that context, we see how her flaws shape her actions, her worldview, and her life’s path.
Remember, protagonists don’t have to be “good people.” They have to be believable and likeable. Showing the way a character acts in a moment of vulnerability can go a long way towards both.

What is it about guys with guitars in their hands that makes them so irresistible, even when they are obviously self-centered jerks? If Abby and Maggie could answer that question, maybe they could finally get over Nathaniel. There’s just something about him when he picks up his guitar and gets behind the microphone, something that makes sensible women act like teenyboppers instead of rational, self-respecting adults.
Abby was first sucked in by Nathaniel’s rock ‘n roll swagger four years ago when a drunken fling turned into a series of drunken hook-ups that became something like a relationship. Now, as New Year’s Eve promises a fresh start, she wants to believe he’s finally going to grow up and take their relationship seriously.
What does Nathaniel hope the New Year will bring? An escape from the disappointing realities of his life. He’s thirty-four years old and he’s barely making ends meet as an adjunct philosophy professor, which was always only a backup plan anyway. Nathaniel’s real goal was always to make his living as a musician, but his band, The Latecomers, broke up a couple of years ago, and he hasn’t picked up his guitar in months.
When he decides to spend the holiday with some high school friends instead of hanging out at the bar where Abby works, he gets the happy surprise of reuniting with his long-lost friend Maggie. Newly divorced, Maggie has just moved back to her mother’s house to regroup. Nathaniel and Maggie were supposed to be the ones who left Worcester forever to conquer the world. He was going to be a rock star. She was going to take the world of art by storm. He’s never gotten farther than Boston, and her best efforts only left her broke and heartbroken.
As they ring in the New Year together, Nathaniel decides it’s time to take control of his life and to start making his dreams come true. He thinks the first step will be easy. All he needs to do is break up with Abby and finally admit his feelings for Maggie. But the New Year has more surprises in store, and nothing is ever as simple as it seems.
Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords
Genre – Women’s Literature
Rating – PG-13
More details about the author
Connect with Diane V. Mulligan on Facebook & Twitter

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Shelf Life: The Publicist by Christina George @publicistgal #Romance #Contemporary #AmReading

Mac leaned back in his chair and observed Rebecca, a fellow editor, as she walked in and sat down.

“So how is it to be back?” he smiled, knowing the answer.

“It’s hard to leave a newborn,” she sighed. “It’s even harder when the minute I get back to work, Edward’s insisting we sign nothing but porn.”

Mac laughed, “Well, he tactfully called it ‘erotic romance’ but yeah, same thing.”

Rebecca rolled her eyes, “I hate Fifty Shades. Well, I hate what it’s doing to the industry. This hideously written book is being marked as a game-changer. I have to wonder if anyone who actually read the book said this. It was a repetitive and boring pile of crap. I want more literature. I was hoping to come back and do more children’s books and instead I’m ‘encouraged’ to sign porn.”

Mac spotted Kate walking past his office, “Katie, come in and say hi to Rebecca. She’s back from maternity leave and mad as hell.” Mac’s light blue eyes were on her; as usual, she heated up instantly. A smile rose from his lips, crinkling those eyes set off by his dark, thick hair. She wished she could run her fingers through it.

Pull yourself together, she thought. She took a deep breath, walked in, and sat down.

“Good to see you back. You’re not mad at me, are you? Chelsea did great this morning.” Mac’s eyes were still on her, burning into her. Kate shifted in her seat.

Chelsea was one of Rebecca’s authors, Kate wondered if she should tell her that she had to drug her up. It looked like her coworker had enough on her mind; Kate decided to wait to share Chelsea’s fear of national television.

Rebecca shook her head, “It’s not Chels, though I do appreciate the update. It’s the memo Edward sent around this morning.”

“I didn’t see it.” Kate was puzzled.

“It only went to editors,” Mac began, “encouraging us to sign more erotic books. ‘It’s what the readers want,’ Edward insisted.” Mac tapped a pen on his desk, clearly impatient with his boss.

“Shocker.” Kate threw Rebecca an encouraging smile, “I’m sorry, but you know this will wane. At some point housewives will get tired of reading about red rooms and being tied up.”

Rebecca laughed, “You’re right, I know we need to jump on trends. It was one thing when we were trying to sign young adult after the Potter craze, but this takes the cake.”

“I know,” Mac said supportively, “but you know Kate’s right. Edward will lose interest once something else shiny pops up on his radar screen.”

Rebecca stood, “You’re right, Mac, thanks for listening.” She turned to Kate. “Glad it went well with Chels this morning, I’ll catch her segment online.”

After Rebecca left, Mac turned to Kate. “So,” he smiled a broad sexy smile that drew her in, “how did it really go this morning?”

Mac observed a tiny muscle flicker near her eye. It always happened when she was stressed. She’d smile, her poise never wavering, but Mac knew. He could always tell when she was feeling ready to punch someone.

“I had to drug her to get her to go on. Her manager told me that she gets nervous from time to time, but it’s nothing major. Nothing major my ass! She was in a full-blown meltdown and there I was, shoving a pill under the door.”

Mac laughed so hard, he rocked his chair back. “Katie, world class publicist and author rescuer saves the day, again.”

A tiny smile slipped across her face. Mac was right; she was often less of a publicist and more of an author 911. She shook her head. “I have to call her manager and tell her that she’s either here for the rest of Chelsea’s TV gigs, or I’m pulling them. I barely got her to go on air this morning.”

“I think as a general rule, all authors should be sedated from the moment we sign them.”

Kate stood up. “It sure would make my job easier.”

Mac’s laughter followed her down the hall.

ShelfLife


Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Contemporary Romance
Rating – R
More details about the author and the book
Connect with Christina George on Facebook & Twitter

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Floats The Dark Shadow by Yves Fey @YvesFey

Excerpt from Deleted Chapter at a strange Paris shop.  Fun, but it didn’t further the mystery enough.

Dark gleaming eyes watched her.

Black lips parted to show fearsome fangs.

Mesmerized, Theodora stared at the snarling leopard crouched and ready to spring.

Laughter erupted nearby.  Paused on the threshold, Theo fought the answering smile that quivered at the edge of her lips.  Instead, she pressed one hand to her heart, the other to her brow, and faux swooned against the doorjamb.  “Save me.  I will be devoured.”

“Save you from such a unique death?”  Paul exclaimed.  “Never!”

“Indeed, what poet would spare you such a devastatingly delicious experience?” Casimir  inquired.

“Delicious for the leopard,” Theo scoffed, stepping into Deyrolle’s taxidermist shop.  Underneath bowls of potpourri exuding rosemary, lemon, and lavender, she breathed a musty aroma of fur and feathers, a hint of chemicals.  Kneeling in front of the leopard, she felt its sharp fangs and stroked its rough, spotted pelt.  She wished she could feel the muscle ripple beneath the hide.  How wonderful that would be—to stroke a live leopard.

Despite all the praises Theo had heard, this was her first visit to Deyrolle’s.  She loved living animals and had had little desire to visit a shop full of dead ones, however unusual.  Now that she was here, to her surprise, she felt caught in its spell.  There was a strange blending of cruelty and in love the preservation of these creatures.  Violation and honor.  Still kneeling, she looked about her.  Hovering above the crouching leopard, a crane soared on outstretched wings.  A passageway opened to either side.  In one, a baby elephant lifted its trunk as if sniffing the air.  In the other, a huge king cobra rose, spreading his hood.  Beside the winding staircase stood a mannequin in a dapper suit and striped cravat, topped with the head of a gazelle.  Deyrolle’s managed to be at once charming, sad, and unnerving.

Theo stood and went to join the Revenants who had responded to Averill’s request to meet here.  Casimir, Paul, Jules were gathered around a glass case near the elephant.  They were dressed in descending degrees of elegance, aristocratic, professorial, and shabby country church mouse.  Also present were les trois Traits—the three Hyphens, as Paul had dubbed them—three slim, dark-haired poets named Jean-Jacques, Pierre-Henri, and Louis-LeRoi, professor, student, and fledgling lawyer …
There was a bucket with three bottles of iced champagne on the floor beside them, and a fancy basket held crystal flutes.  An attendant waiting behind the cash register had a towel draped over his arm, as if champagne were de rigueur on such occasions.  Theo looked around for Averill and saw him descend the curving staircase that led to the next floor.  Her heart trip-stepped at the sight of him.  At first he seemed freshly scrubbed, almost boyish.  His hair was smoothly pomaded, his linen gleaming white, and his suit neatly pressed.  When he came close to greet her, she saw dark circles under his eyes.  Too much studying—or too much absinthe?

FLOATS THE DARK SHADOW


Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Historical Mystery
Rating – R
More details about the author and the book
Connect with Yves Fey on Facebook & Twitter

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

The Road to Key West Series #Excerpt by Michael Reisig #Humor #AmReading

The Keys—haven of scoundrels, smugglers, and pirates for over 300 years—a bastion for independent thinkers, benign crazies, adventurers, and visionaries. But the ‘70s brought a new sense of freedom and imagination, and the Florida Keys became magical, like Oz—rife with characters and experiences beyond ordinary vision. Kurt Vonnegut, Joseph Heller, or even Jimmy Buffett would have struggled to match the residents of that distant time.
My name is Kansas T. Stamps and I can say without reservation I have lived, loved, won, and lost with equal fervor in this lifetime, and there’s nothing you could offer me that I would trade for the experience. I’ve been fortunate to have encountered a number of remarkable people with whom I have shared this journey. In my early years there were several notable relationships —first loves, first friends, and a handful of people who taught me the rules of life—but when I look back on the days of my youth, the person I count myself lucky for knowing was a guy named William Baltus Bell. He was my business partner and friend in what became a carnival of extraordinary experiences that lasted for almost a decade in the land of Oz.
Will and I met during our last semester at St. Petersburg Junior College, in English Literature—one of those electives you get when you’re not paying attention to what the guidance counselor is saying. You’re looking through the office window at the backside of the blonde in the hallway, bent over her floor-level locker like a living, breathing, erectile dysfunction test. There are words coming out of the counselor’s mouth and you’re nodding, trying to keep the blonde in focus over his shoulder but the damned guy keeps moving his head. The next thing you know you’re in English Literature.
The year was 1970, but I don’t recall exactly how Will and I became friends—probably because guys are always a little awkward when it comes to establishing bonds. I think I remember us attending a couple of parties with mutual acquaintances and getting fairly snockered—that has a tendency to loosen up a soul and let personality show through. I had taught guitar for the last couple of years.  Will was living in a room at his parents’ motel and working for his father. Both of us were looking for the beef in life. 
We had a mutual penchant for the outdoors, particularly the ocean, and I recall we went fishing off the Sunshine Skyway Bridge one afternoon. As soon as the portable radio was turned on, the baits cast out, and the rods propped securely against the rail of the catwalk, Will lit a crooked cigarette with a sweet, green scent and drew deeply. Jimi Hendrix growled out “All Along The Watchtower” in the background. Will handed it to me. “Here, try this.”

“There must be some kind of way out of here,” said the joker to the thief.

I knew what it was, but somehow I’d never gotten around to trying it.
“There’s so much confusion, I can’t get no relief.”
“Cool,” I said, staring at it with sort of a first sex anticipation.
“No reason to get excited,” the thief he kindly spoke.
(Hey, man, there aren’t many bad reviews on this, just step up to the plate.)
“There are many of us here who feel that life is but a joke.”
On one hand it was a lot less complicated than first sex. But this, was sort of—illegal.
“But you and I, we’ve been through that, and this is not our fate. So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late.”
Then I remembered that sex turned out to be way better than the best of reviews. “Gimme that sucker,” I said.
“Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl. Two riders were approaching and the wind began to howl…”
We didn’t catch much that evening, but it didn’t matter. Everything took on a warm, decidedly amusing glow and I had more fun just trying to grab the baitfish in the bucket than I did at my senior prom. The sun bled into the ocean in a riotous chorus of Degas pastels that left me stunned and agape, and suddenly I could feel the pilings of the bridge come alive, vibrating through the soles of my feet as they fought the churning rush of the new tide. Twilight turned the green waters into frothing obsidian, and as James Taylor crooned about having a friend, we ate two entire buckets of Mr. Chickie’s Charcoal-Baked Chicken under the glow of the yellow bridge lights.


road_to_key_west

The Road to Key West is an adventurous/humorous sojourn that cavorts its way through the 1970s Caribbean, from Key West and the Bahamas, to Cuba and Central America.

In August of 1971, Kansas Stamps and Will Bell set out to become nothing more than commercial divers in the Florida Keys, but adventure, or misadventure, seems to dog them at every turn. They encounter a parade of bizarre characters, from part-time pirates and heartless larcenists, to Voodoo bokors, a wacky Jamaican soothsayer, and a handful of drug smugglers. Adding even more flavor to this Caribbean brew is a complicated romance, a lost Spanish treasure, and a pre antediluvian artifact created by a distant congregation who truly understood the term, “pyramid power.”

Pour yourself a margarita, sit back, and slide into the ‘70s for a while as you follow Kansas and Will through this cocktail of madcap adventures – on The Road To Key West.

IF YOU ENJOY THIS NOVEL BE SURE TO READ THE SEQUEL, "BACK ON THE ROAD TO KEY WEST" (To be released in late August or early September, 2013)
"Jimmy Buffett should set this tropical tale to music! The best Key West stories can only be written by those who have lived here, and Reisig expertly captures the steamy, seedy, beautiful allure of the islands. “The Road to Key West” takes readers on a hysterical journey through the humidity and humanity that only exists in the lower latitudes. And much like the Keys in the 1970s, it’s a hell of a trip.
—Mandy Bolen, The Key West Citizen

"The Road to Key West" combines the dry cleverness of Lewis Grizzard, the wit of Dave Barry, and Reisig's impeccable sense of timing. It's an action-packed, romantic, charming, hilarious take on the ‘70s and its generation. A must-read!
—John Archibald, Ouachita Life Magazine

Buy Now @ Amazon

back_to_key_west

From the best-selling author of “The Road To Key West” comes a sequel guaranteed to take the reader even higher – another rollicking, hilarious Caribbean adventure that will have you ripping at the pages and laughing out loud.

“Back On The Road To Key West” reintroduces the somewhat reluctant adventurers Kansas Stamps and Will Bell, casting them into one bizarre situation after another while capturing the true flavor and feel of Key West and the Caribbean in the early 1980s.

An ancient map and a lost pirate treasure, a larcenous Bahamian scoundrel and his gang of cutthroats, a wild and crazy journey into South America in search of a magical antediluvian device, and perilous/hilarious encounters with outlandish villains and zany friends will keep you locked to your seat and giggling maniacally. (Not to mention headhunters, smugglers, and beautiful women with poisonous pet spiders.) You’ll also welcome back Rufus, the wacky, mystical Jamaican Rastaman, and be captivated by another “complicated romance” as Kansas and Will struggle with finding and keeping “the girls of their dreams.”

So pour yourself a margarita, and get comfortable. You’re in for another rousing medley of madcap adventures in paradise, with “Back On The Road To Key West.”

IF YOU ENJOY THIS BOOK BE SURE TO GET THE THIRD IN MICHAEL’S SERIES; “ALONG THE ROAD TO KEY WEST”!
______________________________________________________

EDITORIAL REVIEWS

Michael Reisig takes us back once again to the Key West I wish I had known – and that others wish they remembered more clearly. Kansas and Will are back in “Back on the Road to Key West,” with their trademark penchant for sultry sarcasm and sun-drenched excitement. Once again Reisig captures the character of the Keys in a way that proves he’s been here – and perhaps done that. No one wraps us in humidity and surrounds us with saltwater like this guy, whose tales of the tropics draw us constantly back to their welcoming, yet provocative shores. -- Mandy Miles, The Key West Citizen

Having lived in Key West in the late '70's and early '80's, at a time when Mel Fisher still hunted the Atocha, shrimp boats filled the harbors, and ‘square grouper’ were still an abundant species, Michael Reisig's Back on the Road to Key West, transports me back in time. Will Bell and Kansas Stamps face an assortment of ruthless antagonists and chase adventure with the abandon of the era, and whether you lived it or not, don't miss the chance to now. Vivid imagery, strong prose and an exciting plot make this trip with the boys worth taking. Enjoy the ride!"
-- John H. Cunningham, author of the Buck Reilly Adventure Series

Stumbling their way in and out of trouble and fortune, Kansas Stamps and Will Bell continue to be the idols of what every true Parrot Head imagines real life in The Keys would be -- full of spontaneous adventure. What a great read!
– Bryan Crews, former president, Tampa Parrot Head Club

Buy @ Amazon

along_key_west

WHAT IF YOU DISCOVERED A DEVICE THAT MADE PEOPLE TELL THE TRUTH?
Fast-paced humor-adventure with wacky pilots, quirky con men, bold women, mad villains, and a gadget to die for…

In the third book of Michael Reisig’s captivating series, Florida Keys adventurers Kansas Stamps and
Will Bell find their lives turned upside down when they discover a truth device hidden in the temple of an ancient civilization. Enthralled by the virtue (and entertainment value) of personally dispensing truth and justice with this unique tool, they take it all a step too far and discover that everyone wants what they have.

Seasoned with outrageous humor and sultry romances, Along The Road To Key West carries you through one wild adventure after another. This time, Kansas and Will are forced to wrest veracity and lies from con artists, divine hustlers, and political power brokers while trying to stay one step ahead of a persistent assembly of very bad guys with guns.
 
In the process, from Key West, into the Caribbean, and back to America’s heartland, our inadvertent heroes gather a bizarre collage of friends and enemies – from a whacked-out, one-eyed pilot, and a mystical Rastaman, to a ruthless problem-solver for a prominent religious sect, a zany flimflamming sociopath, and a Cuban intelligence agent. In the end, it all comes down to a frantic gamble – to save far more than the truth. So pour yourself a margarita and settle back. You’re in for a high intensity Caribbean carnival ride!

NOTE: Much of this book was originally published as a novel of mine called, “The Truthmaker.” But with the growing popularity of my “Road To Key West” series, I decided to rewrite it and publish it as “Along The Road To Key West.” – Michael Reisig

Buy @ Amazon
Genre - Caribbean Humor, Adventure
Rating – PG
More details about the author
Connect with Michael Reisig through Facebook

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS