Labels

Saturday, July 13, 2019

The New World Series by Andy Skrzynski


A
Step Backward
The
New World Series Book 1
by
Andy Skrzynski


Genre:
SciFi Action Adventure 

"The
New World" book series, by Andy Skrzynski, is a creative,
science-fiction adventure depicting the life-and-death struggles on
Earth after an apocalyptic period between 2019 and 2025. If you enjoy
a thrilling tale full of suspense, action, a touch of romance, and a
crazy twist here and there, "The New World: A Step Backward"
and the sequel, "The New World: Blue Moon Generation," will
help you escape your current world worries. The action's so real and
descriptive you'll feel as if you're alongside Thoruk, his loyal
friends, and the younger generation as they fight the warriors and
vicious creatures stalking the villagers of Ukkiville in the nearby
forests, lakes, and mountains before the turn of the next
century.


Read
more to get a taste of what's to come in, "The New World: A Step
Backward."

In
2075, following the World Annihilation Period and Earth's 50-year
transformation, the detested Skalag clan periodically pillages
Ukkiville to murder and enslave its inhabitants. Dangers intensify as
vicious, mutant beasts lurk in the shadows, preying on villagers. At
the heart of this evil, the twisted scientist, Zolokt, creates killer
combinations of animals, plants, and insects to inflict his acts of
revenge.

Infuriated
by the savage attacks, a young leader, Thoruk, and his two lifelong
friends pledge their lives to protect Ukkiville. The determined ruler
aims to forever put an end to Zolokt and his followers, for only then
will true freedom reign in The New World.











Blue
Moon Generation
The
New World Series Book 2

Many
peaceful years have passed since the devastating battle of 2075. The
new generation, conceived under a mystical blue moon, is about to
awaken to the vicious attacks unveiled through their parents' tales.
Once, living only in youngsters' nightmares, ferocious mutant beasts
now stir in the shadows of Ukkiville — even during the light of
day. Blood-thirsty predators with glowing eyes, gnashing teeth, and
razor-sharp claws prey on unsuspecting victims.


Caru,
the brave but brash young daughter of Ukkiville's ruler, fears
nothing. Trained by the best and possessing powers of the mind
greater than her father's, she leads her two lifelong friends into
the teeth of intensifying perils.

Meanwhile,
in enemy caverns on the other side of the mountains, descendants of
the evil Zolokt prepare as well, cloning savage creatures from DNA
combinations of animals, insects, and plants. Only time will tell how
many of the deadly muclones get released.










Crimson
Winter
The
New World Series Book 3

On
the verge of winter in 2105, a vicious attack soaks a pasture with
blood and crushes Ukkiville's serenity. Ominous premonitions haunt
Hoot while similar dangers surge across Old North America. Tormented
by nightmares, the courageous young warrior recruits her friends to
join her and hunt the demon of her dreams. Before long, they
encounter a beast far more ferocious than any discovered
before.


Suspicions
fall squarely on the village's nemesis, as Hoot and the leaders of
Ukkiville fear Zo and his Skalags have advanced their DNA process to
create monsters nobody can control. With little choice but to ready
themselves to thwart increasing slaughters, Hoot, her brother,
Skeeter, and a precocious android named Andralec hone their skills
and special powers. Until the inhabitants of Ukkiville and the
surrounding territory halt this growing threat, survival remains all
but uncertain.






**FREE
on June 18th & 19th!!**



While
writing The New World trilogy proved to be one of the most exciting
challenges of my life, if anyone had told me six years ago I'd be
writing science fiction action-adventure novels, I would have
declared them bonkers! For most of my life, I had been an engineering
and programming nerd whose main reading materials included technical
scientific articles and books with little time to read novels of any
sort of fiction.


The
few dreams I experienced during my lengthy career as a Sr. Software
Development Manager at IBM mostly focused on conjuring solutions to
tough technical issues at work. Never did sleep delve into imagining
some fictional adventure. But that all changed after I retired from
IBM in March of 2007 at age 53 with 30 rewarding years of service.
The extra time on my hands provided plenty of hours to devote to more
creative endeavors.


My
initial attempt at writing capitalized on my 30 years of investing in
all sorts of financial assets. I wanted to share my knowledge with
our children to aid their financial planning. After completing more
than 400 pages of the manuscript, I joined a writers' group. The
members liked the technical content but advised me to liven it up to
make in more attractive for my younger target audience of high school
and collage graduates getting a start on life. I came up with an
fictional world and a couple of quirky characters to weave into my
investing lessons.


The
members loved the improvements, but an unexpected problem bared
itself: my brain refused to churn out nightly ideas about
investments. Instead, my dreams gushed with captivating characters
and an intriguing new world with plenty of vicious beasts lurking in
the shadows of my mind. I had no choice but to follow the fate which
unfolded night after night, providing oodles of exciting material to
more than fulfill any writing desires. I provided my financial
manuscript to my daughters, and from that exhilarating change of
direction in 2014, I've been creating a fascinating new world at the
turn of the next century!


I
began writing my first novel, The New World: A Step
Backward
 in June of 2014 and published it on June 28, 2015.
A little over a year later, on October 1, 2016, I published Book 2 of
the series, The New World: Blue Moon Generation. After a
bit of a delay due to the challenges of a serious family illness, I
completed the final novel of the Trilogy, The New World:
Crimson Winter
 and published it on November 6, 2018.






Follow
the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!


























Ocean's Away by Skye McNeil

Title: Ocean's Away
Series: Atlas Book 2
Author: Skye McNeil
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 13, 2019
Cover Designer: Soxational Cover Art
  
When the girl next door returns home as a millionaire to face the farmer who never lost hope, she's caught between the man of her past and the man meant for her future.

Adopted as an infant, Ireland Leighton grew up in the heart of the Midwest. After inheriting millions from her biological parents, she is determined to help others any way she can. The only string is a business engagement with another millionaire. Ireland returns to Iowa years later to plan her brother’s tropical wedding. The festivities would be easier if her sexy ex-boyfriend stayed out of reach and her future wasn’t already planned.

Time suppressed his feelings for the girl next door, but Gideon Taggart isn’t about to let Ireland escape again. Farmer by day, veterinarian by choice, his second chance with his first love is far from easy. He soon discovers that no matter how much he loves Ireland, she’ll always choose her family over a future with him.

Oceans Away is book two in Skye McNeil’s stand-alone contemporary romance series, Atlas. Each book contains a millionaire to envy, snort-worthy comedy, and visits to many beautiful cities in the world. Yes, all of that, plus each novel ends with a fabulous HEA.




After they picked up the winch from the Taggart farm, the two returned to the plot of farmland. They didn’t exchange any words, a fact that perturbed Ireland more than she’d admit. He was never very talkative, but they could always keep a conversation going. 
Guess some things do change.
“You’re sure about this?” he asked for the second time as they reached the stuck four-wheeler. The next set of events would be messy and wet. Doesn’t sound so bad with Gideon involved. She bit her tongue to deter any further thoughts down that rabbit hole.
Ireland snatched the hooded sweatshirt from the back seat and pulled it on. It smelled like Gideon, and she couldn’t help but inhale deeply, memories flooding her mind at the simple act. 
Eventually the rain outside pulled her out of her Gideon stupor and she flipped the hood over her hair. “I may have millions in the bank, but rain won’t melt me.” When he didn’t budge, she added, “Move your ass, Taggart.”
“Okay, you asked for it.” He handed her the keys. “You hop on and I’ll hook it up to my truck.”
They rushed out of the cab’s safety. Mud instantly stuck to Ireland’s boots, but she trudged through until she reached the abandoned machine. Gideon made quick work of the winch and patted the hood.
“All right, when I give you the thumbs-up, floor it,” he hollered from the driver seat.
Ireland started the four-wheeler and waited for her cue. Ironically, she felt completely content, mud-caked and all. Whether it was with Gideon or simply being back in Iowa, she couldn’t pin it down to one thing. She’d stayed away too long. Especially when Gideon looks like a freaking lumberjack model. She tried to stop her line of thought before it got away from her. Fantasizing about him wouldn’t do her any good. 
Gideon held up his thumb and she cranked her wrist backward. Mud splattered from the tires, slapping up and landing on her. She laughed at how horrible she must look.
The four-wheeler slowly wiggled free of the rut, a low groan emitting from the front end. Once it was on level ground, Gideon stopped and ran toward her.
“You good?”
Ireland wiped her hands on the front of the sweatshirt, though it didn’t help much since that was coated in mud too. “Hell yeah.” She grinned. “This reminds me of when we used to go mudding.”
Gideon pulled the ramps from the bed of the truck and lined them up on the ground. “Those were some good times.” She shivered at the steamy memories, and he paused as if he was also thinking of what they used to do after their adrenaline-pumped high. He coughed, then nodded to the newly rescued vehicle. “I’ll drive it up the ramp if you guide me.”
It didn’t take long to get the four-wheeler into the truck bed. Silently, they strapped it down and then jumped back into the truck. They worked well as a team. Something she’d taken for granted years ago.
“Thanks for your help.” He turned on the defroster and rubbed his hands together. “I like this look on you,” he said, surveying the muddy damage. “Less preppy millionaire heir, more country girl having a good time.”
Pushing back a bit of hair that strayed from her ponytail, Ireland eyed her clothes. “I look like I fell in a mud puddle and wrestled a pig.”
Gideon leaned over and wiped off a smudge on her face with his thumb. “I still say you’re beautiful.”
Ireland’s cheeks flushed and she laughed nervously. “Yeah, okay.”
“I’m serious, Ireland.” He tipped up her chin with his index finger. His starry blue eyes clashed with hers at the same time a clap of thunder resounded above them. “You are the most beautiful person I’ve ever met.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’ve never been outside the USA, Gideon. You can’t honestly think—"
Gideon’s lips covered hers, silencing the rest of her rambling. A million fireflies might as well have burned her stomach from the reaction her body demanded. The earthy scent of rain and dirt mingled together on his soft yet determined lips. Her eyes slid shut automatically, senses on high alert. She expected his beard to scratch her face, but it merely enhanced the possessive kiss.
Gideon drew back until a breath was the only thing between them. His heavy lids opened and his blue gaze glued her to the seat. “I don’t need to go anywhere to know how gorgeous you are.” 

He traced her bottom lip with his thumb, and all Ireland wanted to do was dart her tongue out and taste him again. She was rapidly losing all self-control around him. If she had her way, they’d stay right there in the middle of the field and repeat that kiss until it stopped raining.






Skye McNeil began writing at the age of seventeen and has been lost in a love affair ever since. During the day, she moonlights as a paralegal at a law firm favoring criminal law.

Skye enjoys writing romantic comedies and cozy mysteries novels that leave readers wanting more and falling in love over and over. She writes contemporary and historical novels ranging from sweet and sassy to steamy and sultry.

Her constant writing companions are two cats and two dogs. When she’s not writing, Skye enjoys spending time with family, photography, volleyball, traveling, and curling up with a cup of coffee and reading.

 


HOSTED BY:

A DEATH IN DUCK The Mount Moriah Mysteries by Mindy Quigley

The Mount Moriah Mysteries by Mindy Quigley

Author: Mindy Quigley

Narrator: Holly Adams

Length: 9 hours 13 minutes

Series: The Mount Moriah Mysteries, Book 2

Publisher: Mindy Quigley

Release date: Dec. 22, 2015

Genre: Cozy Mystery


With the new year approaching, hospital chaplain Lindsay Harding heads for a much-needed break in the peaceful resort town of Duck on North Carolina's outer banks. Her plan to attend the wedding of her friend, Anna, runs aground when a boatload of trouble washes ashore, and as the old year ticks down, the body count goes up. Thrust into the path of an increasingly desperate killer, Lindsay must uncover a sinister secret before she winds up swimming with the fishes.

Old family scandals, sunken World War II U-boats, obscene desserts, and a stolen Doberman all guarantee a far from restful break for the irreverent reverend, who makes her second appearance in this lively mystery.



Mindy Quigley is the author of the Mount Moriah cozy mystery series, which is based in part on her time working with the chaplains at Duke University Medical Center. Her short stories have won awards including the 2013 Bloody Scotland Short Story Competition and the 2018 Artemis Journal/Lightbringer Prize. Her non-writing career has been stranger than fiction, taking her from the US to the UK, where she worked as the personal assistant to the scientist who cloned Dolly the sheep, and as project manager for a research clinic founded by the author J.K. Rowling.

She now lives in Blacksburg, Virginia, with her Civil War history professor husband, their children, and their idiosyncratic miniature Schnauzer.
WebsiteFacebook
Narrator Bio


An actress and physical theatre performer for many years before becoming a Voice Actor, Holly continues to divide her time between stage, screen, circus, and audiobook narration.

Holly began her VO career doing radioplays and audiobook characters with the amazing Full Cast Audio company. Since then, Holly has voiced radio and web commercials, various e-learning projects, documentary shorts. . . and of course, audiobooks! She has been nominated for Best Fiction and Best Female Narrator. Holly has conservatory training; her attention to tone, energy and rhythm make her work personal and dynamic. Holly’s performance projects abroad (Italy, Afghanistan, Haiti, Russia, the UK, France, and the Middle East!) support her training and skill with dialects and languages.

Holly records for Audible, Deyan Audio, Christian Audiobooks, Tantor, and more. Holly loves telling stories!

When she’s not in the recording studio, she is on stage or screen; favorite projects include Richard II, A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, the films "Here Alone", "Gotham Blue" and "Your Loving, Virginia", working with girls in Kabul for the Afghan Children's Circus and with performers in Balan, Haiti, as well as with her ‘home circus’ Circus Culture. Holly is a SAG-AFTRA performer, a graduate of the International Dell 'Arte School, and holds a Master's in Theatre, Education and Social Change. Https://shearwaterproductions.com/voice-actor and on IMDb as Holly Adams III.



Interview with Mindy Quigley, Author of the Mount Moriah Mysteries
  • Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing? 
    • Not remotely. Audible was still a fairly young company when I started writing the first book, and it wasn’t really on my radar screen. For a while, Amazon had a program where they offered to cover the costs for authors to have their books made into audiobooks using professional actors and production staff. I was lucky enough to be selected for that program.
    • Can I admit something terrible? As an author, you face so much rejection, so it was pretty great to have the tables turned. I got to audition narrators, negotiate terms, and make the ultimate decisions. It was an awesome experience to have the buck stop with me for a change!
  • How did you select your narrator?
    • I received dozens of audition tapes and had started to make a short list of possible narrators. When I heard Holly Adams’ audition, however, it went right to the top of the list. Her command of her voice--tone, accent, humor, diction--just blew away the competition.
  • How closely did you work with your narrator before and during the recording process? Did you give them any pronunciation tips or special insight into the characters? 
    • In my second book, A Death in Duck, there are a few characters who speak with an Outer Banks (of North Carolina) accent. That accent is a trip! It sounds like an Irish accent and a Southern accent had a baby, and that baby was born with a mouth full of marbles. :) Holly and I talked a lot about how to render it accurately, but still make it understandable for the purposes of the recording.
  • Were there any real life inspirations behind your writing? 
    • The fact that my main characters are ministers and chaplains was drawn from real life. Two of my college roommates went on to become ministers, which was strange given that we didn’t go to a religious college and neither of them had particularly religious upbringings. My two roommates now provide wonderful, heartfelt pastoral care, all while taking irreverence to new and hilarious heights—traits I stole for Lindsay.
    • Having been young women in our late teens and early twenties together helped me to see that ministers really are just humans, prone to all the same flaws and worries as anybody else. When you’ve seen someone eating dry pancake mix straight out of the box with a spoon, it really takes them off their pedestal.
    • For the sake of my poor mother, I should take this opportunity to clarify that my main character’s mother, a no-good criminal sleazebag, is NOT based on her.
  • Are you an audiobook listener? What about the audiobook format appeals to you? 
    • I know this is cliche, but OMG the Harry Potter audiobooks narrated by Jim Dale are THE BEST. I also quite liked Eddie Izzard’s reading of Great Expectations. I knew Izzard as a quirky comedian who often performed in drag, so I was extra impressed by his skill as a narrator.
    • For me, a good audiobook is all about the sharpness of the characterizations. With the Dale and Izzard readings, you can tell who’s speaking almost as if you were listening to dozens of actors rather than just one.
  • If you had the power to time travel, would you use it? If yes, when and where would you go? 
    • I’ve seen enough sci-fi movies and TV shows to know that time travel always ends badly. I’ll have to be content with time traveling through books and movies, because I sure as heck am not going to be the one responsible for setting off a catastrophic chain of events by accidentally stepping on a butterfly in 1722.
  • What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?
    • That question is best answered by punching those dumb-dumbs in the face. Seriously, though, whatever way someone chooses to inject narrative content into their brains is okay by me. Some people have long commutes, and audiobooks provide a great companion. Some people, like my grandmother, have vision impairments that prevent them from reading. Audiobooks are her lifeline. Personally, I love reading, listening to audiobooks, and watching movies and TV shows. I even like hearing storytellers at events and festivals. A great story is a great story, no matter how it gets from one person to another.
  • How did you celebrate after finishing this novel?
    • I never really feel like writing projects are finished, so I don’t celebrate. I mean, are you supposed to celebrate when you finish the draft? The corrections? Submit it to your agent? Return the page proofs? See it in print? Register your first sale? Get your first review? I’d be hungover for months, if not years!
    • I just finished a full draft of a middle-grade novel I’m working on, and I’ll tell you exactly how I celebrated. I went into the bathroom, where my husband was brushing his teeth and said, “Well, I think I’m done with that book I’ve been working on for three years.” We high-fived and then went to bed.
  • What's your favorite:

    • Food- Butter. I used to eat sticks of butter like lollipops when I was a kid.

    • Song- Too many to name. I love all kinds of music--rap, country, pop, rock, indie. I’m a musical omnivore. I’m not sure if I have great taste or no taste at all. My teenage daughter is really into Billie Eilish, so one of my current favs is Bury a Friend.

    • Book- Murder on the Orient Express. I first read it when I was eleven. I think people forget how clever and groundbreaking it was.

    • Television show- The Sopranos. I usually don’t go for violent TV shows, but that one really resonated with me. Vivid characters, fabulous acting, riveting tension. My husband and I watched the whole thing on VHS when we first got married. On Saturday night, we rushed to the video store at 8:55pm to rent the next season before the store closed. I also like nerd porn like Star Trek and Dr. Who.

    • Movie- The Princess Bride. As the movie says, it’s got fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles. What more could a person want from a movie?
  • What bits of advice would you give to aspiring authors?
    • Your first draft is probably not good.
    • I’ve also learned that there’s a reason most writers don’t achieve success at a young age. Writing well, for me, involves a deepening of wisdom, a broadening of life experience, a honing of the skills of observation and concision, and a hell of a lot of practice. A few very gifted, very lucky individuals write fantastic first books at an early age, but obviously those people are freaks of nature who should be isolated from society to keep the rest of us from looking bad.
A MURDER IN MOUNT MORIAH
July 4th:


July 5th:



July 6th:


July 7th:


July 8th:




July 9th:




July 10th:



A DEATH IN DUCK
July 11th:


July 12th:


July 13th:



July 14th:


July 15th:




July 16th:



July 17th:




➜Sign up as a host here