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- audiobooks (480)
Thursday, November 19, 2020
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Audio Blog Tour: Lethal Voyage by Kevin G. Chapman
Author: Kevin G. Chapman
Narrator: Kevin G. Chapman
Length: 9 hours 39 minutes
Series: Mike Stoneman, Book 3
Publisher: First Legacy Productions
Released: Nov. 22, 2020
Genre: Thriller
Saturday, November 14, 2020
Audio Blog Tour: The Lost Sentinel by Suzanne Rogerson
Author: Suzanne Rogerson
Narrator: George Ellington
Length: 13 hours 28 minutes
Series: Silent Sea Chronicles, Book 1
Publisher: Suzanne Rogerson
Released: Sep. 22, 2020
Genre: Fantasy
Thursday, November 12, 2020
The Journeys of a Different Necromancer by James J Crofoot
Excerpt
“I was with
Xavier,” Thomas replied. With head bowed, he stared at his stew, sensing he
would not be allowed to eat.
“Who?” His
mother’s voice. Her angry, high-pitched voice.
Thomas looked up
at his father to see a pipe halfway to a gaping mouth. “Xavier, you know, he
lives in the tower. He wants to teach me to read and write. He wants me to be
his apprentice.”
His mother sat
down and stared at him.
“He’s got lots
of books, scores of them. He showed me a book with lots of animals in it.”
His da sat back
in his chair, silent. His mum folded her hands in her lap, also silent.
“Think of it,”
Thomas continued excitedly. “Think of the things I could do if I could read. I
could go and work for the prince in Targon, I could see the whole kingdom.”
“Go to bed,
Thomas,” Da said.
The boy gazed down at his untouched food. It smelled good and looked even better, but his father had spoken. Thomas got up and climbed the ladder to his loft. Deep into the night, even after his parents stopped their whispered arguing, he lay in bed thinking of the map Xavier had shown him of the kingdom. He would find a way. He would be…what word had Xavier used? Necromancer. He would be a necromancer and he would see the whole kingdom.
* * * *
In the morning,
Thomas awoke to the smell of porridge. Having had no dinner the night before,
he hurried down the ladder. There he found his da already eating. His mum
ladled his share into a bowl and then got some for herself.
“We’ve decided
you may learn to read and write. None of that dark stuff, though. You hear? No
digging up of graves,” his da said. “We want more for your life, Thomas. Now
then, what does this friend of yours want in return? We can’t afford to pay
anything. I suppose he mentioned a price.”
Thomas looked at
his mum as she sat down. She folded her hands in her lap and remained quiet.
“He said it
would cost nothing. He just wants someone to teach. Xavier said he’s getting
old and just wants someone to pass on some of ’is…” Thomas paused trying to remember
the word. “…knowledge.”
Da wiped his
mouth with his sleeve. “Then we’ll give it a try. Only til ’arvest, though.
You’ll be needed in the fields then. Anything after that and we’ll see.”
A month and a
half, Thomas thought excitedly. I have a month and a half!
“No good will
come of this,” his mum remarked. “Mark my words, that man never did any good
for anyone.”
Thomas finished his breakfast in a gulp and got up to run from the house. He stopped just outside the door to pick up his favorite stick and heard his da say, “I want better for him, Sonya. This life is no life for my son. He’s smarter than this.”
* * * *
A month passed
and Thomas studied. He studied geography; the world turned out to be a lot
bigger than he imagined. He learned arithmetic, how to count to a thousand.
Then moved on to reading and writing, eight to nine hours a day he went through
the books and scrolls. On the second and third floors of the tower stood
skeletons of various animals, there he learned science, anatomy, and biology.
The fourth
floor, however, Xavier said he needed to learn a good deal more before being
ready for that.
“The villagers
are shunning me,” he said to Xavier one day after learning the word. “They
whisper about me whenever I pass. Even my friends. Yesterday I waved to them
and started walking, to tell them what I was learning, and they turned their
backs and ran away.”
Xavier looked up
from the book he held. “People, for the most part, are very small-minded. They
shun what they do not understand or things that are different.”
“Was that the
way it was with you when you first started studying to be a necromancer?”
“People always
thought me to be a little different. Look, Thomas, you will see more, you will
do more, than they can imagine in their empty heads. You will learn to create
life from death.”
Thomas thought
about these words for some time. He wanted to do more than just plant and
harvest. He wanted to travel this world, especially the sea to the west, to see
more than just this tiny village too small for a name. He decided he liked
being different. He was already learning more than they ever would. Did not that
make him better?
Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?
To tell you the truth, I put a lot of thought into my stories, sometimes being very methodical. I write down what I want to say in one or two tries. And then other times I need to let the characters take over. It depends on how long I’ve been writing. Usually, after an hour of writing, that’s when the character’s take over.
Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.
I have published these books before, about six years ago. I’m just getting back into it and these books are how I’m doing it. the first time I had it on amazon I received over forty-five five-star reviews. “Climax after climax…”, “Plot twist after plot twisted…”. I sold quite a few of these in the past and now they’re fresh again. So, read and enjoy!
Have you written any other books that are not published?
Why, I’m glad you asked. In addition to the two other books published in this series about Thomas’ adventures I have two more waiting to be published. Those I think I’m going to get an agent for. They’re about a Demon princess who starts out avenging her torture at the hands of another demon. In this first part, a fairy kills and a demon lord is banished to Oblivion for a hundred years. The stories go on from there.
Pen or typewriter or computer?
Pen and computer. At first, I write things on paper, sometimes two drafts. Then I’ll go to the computer and type it in. Then, sometimes, just sometimes-I start typing and the words simply start to flow and there it goes. I love these times most of all.
Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?
I write. I write pretty good stories; some say awesome stories. I love to write and know people are enjoying my work because I have been writing since I was about five years old. It’s in my soul. All this said and done. The thing I want the most? For my readers to tell their friends how much they enjoyed my writing. So curl up on that rainy day and get a cup of hot chocolate, or coffee, or tea. Most of all. Enjoy. Enjoy.
Monday, November 9, 2020
VBT New Normal: Resistance by Dexter C. Channing
New Normal: Resistance
by Dexter C. Channing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Medical disaster thriller
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
In New Normal – Resistance, a deadly pandemic
is sweeping across the globe. Country after country is disintegrating into a
lawless, terrified conclusion as it soon becomes apparent that there is a fate
worse than death. Violence and discord stalk the streets; governments are
beginning to introduce martial law and curfews in a futile attempt to regain
control of a world thrown into disarray by a silent, unseen killer.
Jolyon Jones, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,
knows that it is a race against time to find a vaccine for this highly
infectious virus before the consequences wipe out humanity. He also knows that
the virus is not the only killer. Small pockets of resistance are slowly
emerging; survivors ready to fight not only against the virus, but against each
other.
In the midst of the battle for survival, the
faithful know that their wait for the Second Coming is nearly over. They know
that He is here again. But who is He and will He be able to stop the virus
before science reaches an apocalyptic solution?
Resistance is the second in Dexter C. Channing’s
New Normal Trilogy. The first being New Normal – Virus, which was released earlier
in the year. The final instalment is due to be released at Easter 2021.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt One:
Across the Atlantic, early evening sunlight bathed the White
House in an auroral light, shimmering in the gentle breeze which sighed across
the velvet green lawns. Inside the Oval Office, nobody cared for the view,
despite how peaceful and ordinary it looked.
The President was wearing his most mulish look as the
Secretary of State and the Defence Secretary reeled from his latest revelation.
For a moment, only the distant wail of sirens could be heard in the thick
silence which surrounded them following the President’s declaration. The sound
mingled with the groan of despair from the Defence Secretary, an involuntary
reaction to what he had just listened to.
‘Mr President, Sir,’ the Defence Secretary looked at the
other man and felt like smashing his fist into the supercilious expression he
found staring back at him. Did the President not understand what was happening
and how there was a need for unity, not discord within global relationships?
Obviously, he did not! ‘Could I ask you if Professor Benjamin did this without
coercion?’
Spreading his arms out in a gesture that indicated he did not
know or understand, the President replied, ‘All I know is that I have been told
of a call made to Beyler School of Medicine from Professor Benjamin’s office.
Who instructed him to make the call, I don’t know, but I do know that if there
is a second spike, another “mutation”, then Watpharm had better understand it
will need Gileath to bail it out of its fucking mess, pissing about with some
bloody college students and those yellow skinned freaks!’
‘This has been done as retaliation because what, Watpharm didn’t
want to set up shop with an American Company? Jesus fucking Christ!’ The
Defence Secretary’s fist came down on the desk, making the other two men jump.
‘We’re in the middle of a fucking world changing crisis, Mr President, Sir! We
have the threat of extinction and we have got non-humans running amok on the
fucking planet and some idiot professor wants some more business for his
company?’
‘This administration gives Gileath a hell of a lot of
dollars,’ the President glared at his Defence Secretary, ‘and I don’t want
those dollars wasted! Working with Watpharm might also go some way to restoring
America’s credibility on the world stage.’
‘I think what the Defence Secretary is trying to say, Mr
President, is that if there is a second spike or another mutation of this
current outbreak, then the world stage may not have much of an audience left to
play to, Sir.’ The Secretary of State intervened.
The President threw his papers down onto his desk and
stormed out of the office wearing a truculent expression.
The Secretary of State shook his head. ‘Sometimes, the
thought crosses my mind that a couple of cups of disinfectant or bleach
wouldn’t go amiss.’
They were both thinking of a disastrous video link press
conference which had been held towards the end of April. It had been beamed
around the globe, one of the few broadcasts that were made that day and America
still hadn’t recovered from the backlash. Both men looked to the door, which
the President had just slammed.
‘How much is a bottle of Clorax these days?’ Asked the
Defence Secretary and they both burst out laughing, amazed that they still
could.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Dexter
C Channing is something of a mystery to the literary world – and indeed, the
team at Just Jane Publishing has never actually met this author, having been
introduced through another writer during the Covid 19 Lockdown.
The
elusive author prefers to remain an enigma to everyone, simply stating a love
of city life as opposed to the country because “it’s easier to disappear in a
big city where nobody knows your real self”. That real self is “single, not
available” and prefers being alone to the “ruinous pathway of a love affair”.
Fact,
fantasy and science all combine in this author’s often dark writing style,
which takes you through conspiracy theories to conclusions you’d rather not
reach in the real world. Or maybe, as Dexter says, you’re already there.
Is
Dexter C Channing an American? There’s a possibility, but then anything is
possible, if you believe what goes on in Channing’s imagination, often taking
us to places we’d rather not go. It’s clear at some point that Channing did
live in America, and still has some links to Miami and Deerfield Beach.
More
of late, Channing has been residing in England and has actually allowed the
team at Just Jane Publishing access to a list of favourite places which include
Chesterfield in Derbyshire, Liverpool, and a surprising one, given the penchant
for city living – a tiny village called Kettlewell, in Yorkshire.
What
does a mysterious author who nobody really knows do when they’re not writing?
Channing watches. Things. Events. People. Then they get written about. Is
Channing a one trick pony? Far from it. There are links with law, property, and
a love of music, which is always in the background when Channing is writing.
“Virus”
was the first of Dexter C Channing’s world-changing trilogy of novellas.
“Resistance” is the second in the series, and the final, concluding book,
“Resurrection” will be published by Just Jane Publishing around Easter, 2021.
#IsitAVirus?
Links:
Amazon
UK:
Amazon
USA:
Twitter:
@DexterChanning
Facebook:
Dexter C. Channing
Blog:
dextercchanning.wordpress.com
Interview with Dexter C. Channing
I always know what is going to happen because I write ‘faction’ – that means I take a set of real life events and construct a story around it. My characters are all as close to their real life counterparts as I can get away with, so I always have to be in control of them. I’m a control freak anyway, so this works well.
2. Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.
Knowledge is power. You need to read this book, and the others in the trilogy to know what might really be happening. It’s also a pretty good book, even if I say so myself.
3. Have you written any other books that are not published?
I’m currently writing the final part of the ‘New Normal’ trilogy, this is called ‘Resurrection’. I have other topics which I am researching and there are parts of other books already written.
4. Pen or type writer or computer?
Computer. Although, I dig those old fashioned manual typewriters. I imagine myself hunched over one, banging away on the keyboard with carbon paper as my ‘save’ facility.
5. Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?
Question Everything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
Dexter
C. Channing will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn
winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
<a class="rcptr" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3563/" rel="nofollow" data-raflid="28e4345f3563" data-theme="classic" data-template="" id="rcwidget_jg90e82q">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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https://goddessfishpromotions.
Thursday, November 5, 2020
Audio Blog Tour: Stealing Fire by Susan Sloate
Author: Susan Sloate
Narrator: Mapuana Makia
Length: 11 hours 53 minutes
Publisher: Covfefe Press
Released: Sep. 23, 2020
Genre: Romance
Spiritwalker by Tanith Davenport #PNR #eroticromance
Some Like It Haunted
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tuesday, November 3, 2020
A Very Witchy Yuletide by D. Lieber
A Very Witchy Yuletide
by D. Lieber
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Contemporary pagan holiday
romance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
First
love is hard to forget, and even harder to ignore…
Evergreen Pendre wasn’t
planning on going home for Yule. But when her Mom tells her the old coven is
coming for a visit, she wants to see everyone. Well, almost everyone.
After four and a half
years, Sawyer Collins finally has a chance to reconnect with his first love,
Eeva Pendre. He might have been too shy to tell her how he felt before, but
he’s changed. And he’s determined not to let her slip away this time.
As the coven prepares
for Yule, they are reminded that not everyone has the holiday spirit in this
contemporary Pagan holiday romance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt Two:
The pair approached the tree, and Sawyer repeated the process
of communing with the plant. But as he reached up and cut one of the thin
branches, some of the snow from the nearby branches shook off and fell onto
Eeva’s head.
“Oh! That’s cold,” Eeva complained, wiggling to get the snow
off her.
Sawyer laughed at the sight. “Well, why did you stand under
where I was cutting then? You deserve it,” he teased.
“I deserve it, eh?” Eeva asked, grinning. She placed the
basket on the ground and gathered a handful of snow. “Then, I guess you deserve
this!” She threw the snow into his face.
“Oh, it’s on now,” he said, shaking his head, trying to get
the snow out from the inside of his scarf.
Eeva laughed and threw another snowball.
The battle raged on. They each got some good shots in. Eeva
had surprisingly good aim for someone who couldn’t see well. But Sawyer made
sure to make some noise to indicate his position. It wouldn’t be fair
otherwise.
They ran up and down the path, laughter and squeals dampened
by the surrounding trees. Finally, they lay on their backs beside each other on
the ground, breathless and covered in snow.
“Truce?” Sawyer asked, turning his head toward her.
She turned her head and met his eyes. She sat up, gathered a
giant pile of snow between her hands, and dumped it right onto his face.
“Yeah,” she giggled. “Truce.” She collapsed back down beside
him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
D. Lieber is an
urban fantasy author with a wanderlust that would make a butterfly envious.
When she isn’t planning her next physical adventure, she’s recklessly jumping
from one fictional world to another. Her love of reading led her to earn a
Bachelor’s in English from Wright State University.
Beyond her
skeptic and slightly pessimistic mind, Lieber wants to believe. She has been
many places—from Canada to England, France to Italy, Germany to
Russia—believing that a better world comes from putting a face on “other.” She
is a romantic idealist at heart, always fighting to keep her feet on the ground
and her head in the clouds.
Lieber lives in
Wisconsin with her husband (John) and cats (Yin and Nox).
Published
Works:
Conjuring
Zephyr June 2016
The Exiled
Otherkin November 2017
Intended
Bondmates June 2018
In Search of a
Witch’s Soul (Council of Covens Noir, #1) March 2019
Dancing with
Shades (Council of Covens Noir, #0) August 2019
Once in a Black
Moon March 2020
A Very Witchy
Yuletide October 2020
Links
Website: www.dlieber.com
Goodreads:
www.goodreads.com/dlieberwriting
Bookbub:
www.bookbub.com/profile/d-lieber
Interview with D. Lieber
1. Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reins of the story?
I barely have any control over my characters’ shenanigans. They are rowdy…but we have fun together.
2. Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.
A must read? I guess that depends on what you like. But if you want to better understand how (some) modern Pagans celebrate Yule (the winter solstice, our winter holiday), or if you are curious about what it’s like to live your life as someone who is visually impaired, then you’re definitely going to want to read this book. If you like cozy holiday romances that give you the warm fuzzies, this book is for you!
3. Have you written any other books that are not published?
Yes, but they are all forthcoming. The next book readers will see is my dieselpunk sci-fi adventure called The Treason of Robyn Hood. It will be out March 2021.
4. Pen or type writer or computer?
I used to do pen and paper, but then I discovered Scrivener. It changed my writing process for sure. I don’t have a typewriter, but my keyboard is mechanical, so it makes a very satisfying clicking sounds when I type.
5. Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?
Thank you for your continued support, and happy holidays!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER
CODE
D.
Lieber will be awarding a hand carved tree of life tarot/jewelry/keepsake box
(carved by DhewaDecor) to a randomly drawn winner (US ONLY) via rafflecopter
during the tour.
RAFFLECOPTER:
<a
class="rcptr"
href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3455/"
rel="nofollow" data-raflid="28e4345f3455"
data-theme="classic" data-template=""
id="rcwidget_09896yja">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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