Mr.
With the current world crashing and burning around us, I found this book a refreshing and uplifting view of some ways we might
Link to Amazon
Sunday, April 14, 2019
Book Review: Aquarius - The Book of Lifestyle Design by Court Reinland
Mr.
With the current world crashing and burning around us, I found this book a refreshing and uplifting view of some ways we might
Link to Amazon
New Release: My Favourite Witch by Sharon Booth
It hasn’t been an easy time for Star St Clair. Her father has heaped disgrace on the family, and the man she loves rejected her when he discovered the truth about her powers. But the St Clair family’s magical heritage goes back centuries, and no one could be prouder of that than Star.
Fate, however, has a shock in store for her. Not only is her errant father back in town, along with his new fiancée, but her ex has arrived home with a new girlfriend in tow. Maths teacher Elsie is everything Benedict seems to want – bright, steady, normal. How can Star possibly compete with her? Not that she intends to
Benedict is an anxious man. Bad enough to discover your girlfriend is, in fact, a witch, but running out on her was probably a big mistake. Who knows what she’s plotting in revenge? Taking Elsie home to meet his grandmother is a test of nerve, and Star’s behaviour doesn’t exactly bring him peace of mind. Just what is she up to?
Star couldn’t be sweeter to Elsie, and even presents her with a
But events are about to unfold that will challenge both Star and Benedict, and everything they believe to be true. In an attic room in North Yorkshire and a village hall in Ireland,
Is forgiveness
A story of pride, prejudice, and a
Monday, April 8, 2019
Virtual Book Tour: South Pointe by Dianna Wilks
Mystery & Suspense
Date Published: February 6, 2018
Publisher: RedBird Books
Sheriff Sam Wallace didn’t lose at love. He got kicked to the curb. Hopeful that courting the feisty Paige will end differently, he can't help but feel suspicious about his romantic rival. Is Ben Hampshire the man he seems—or is Sam’s jealousy clouding his perspective?
Sam’s determined to win Paige’s and Jess’s love, but he also has to keep Providence Island safe. More than just Sam’s heart is at risk if he fails to find the killer who walks the streets of PI—a killer with more than one agenda.
About the Author
Dianna Wilkes is an award-winning contemporary romance author, known for the Providence Island mystery series.
Reading has always been an important part of her life. “I learned to read when I was four years old,” she said. “Writing my own stories seemed a natural progression.”
Dianna holds a B.A. in Visual Communication and a M . Ed. in Instructional Technology. She worked as an Education Consultant for a medical technology company before leaving the corporate world to write full time. Despite all that nerdy stuff, she loves creating stories of romance and mystery with touches of humor.
When she isn’t writing, Dianna is deep in researching various twigs and branches on her family tree or fulfilling entries on her travel bucket list.
Contact Links
Purchase Links
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Book Blitz & Giveaway: The Impaler's Wife by Autumn Bardot
Part of a Fearless Women in History series
Historical fiction, Historical Romance, Gothic Romance
Published Date: April 3, 2019
The year is 1464 and young King Matthias controls Hungary, his family, and the fate of the world’s most notorious political prisoner, Prince Vlad Dracula.
This begins Ilona’s journey into the treacherous world of court intrigues, family betrayals, and her husband’s dark desires. Eager to become Vlad’s trusted confidant, Ilona soon discovers that marriage to man tortured by his past comes with a price.
Woven throughout is a peek into the life and times of one of the world’s most enigmatic and maligned rulers… the man before the legend.
With Bardot’s decadent period detail and a cast of gritty evocative characters, The Impaler’s Wife offers a fierce yet sensuous glimpse into the violent 15th century.
Excerpt
Once again, his gaze ensnares me. I cannot look away, his eyes wolf-like with intensity. The green depths convey lust, determination, but also a hidden sorrow. My heart clenches. I want to touch his face, comfort him, understand his grief. And yet I do not move, can barely draw breath. I am captured heart, mind, and soul.
“This is boring. Shall we dance?” Margit offers her arm.
Dracula is slow to loop Margit’s arm through his. But perhaps his seeming reluctance is my own wishful thinking .
As they stroll toward the dance floor, I stand rooted to the ground, controlled breaths doing little to cool my heated annoyance at Margit. Never before have I felt a connection to a man. Never before did a man look at me with such desire . Never before have Margit and I been competitors. It is a rivalry I have no practice at.
With Margit clutching his arm, Prince Vlad stops and makes a slow pivot. “Lady Ilona, will you join us?”
“Happily .”
Though he waits in the shadows beyond the fire basket’s radiance, I feel our connection, like a quivering string or a taut ribbon. I move forward, reeled in by a man with a dark past.
After dancing with Margit, Prince Vlad asks me to take a turn about the floor. We clap in sync with the other dancers and I circle around him, our eyes locked on one another. He makes me feel like I am the only one in the room. I blush and grin, my cheeks fevered under his gaze. Though I know every step of this dance I am unprepared for what happens next.
Prince Vlad takes my hand, his strong warm fingers enclosing mine. The jolt races up my arm and bursts like a dam through my body. My skin is washed with a sparkling sensation, skin and limbs stirred with the thrill of his touch. The next step brings us too close—kissing close—and I smell his scent. Rosemary, leather, forest, and man. Surely, he hears my heart knocking against my bodice. Prince Vlad inhales deeply and bends his head into my neck. I gasp with desire, want to feel the graze of his cheek or tickle of his moustache against my skin.
Instead he shifts about, his brazen move but a momentary disruption in the dance steps.
“Is that how they dance in Wallachia?” I ask when we next clasp hands.
“That is how I dance with a beautiful woman.” His fingers warm around mine.
About the Author
Autumn Bardot writes smart erotica and historical fiction about sassy women, spicy sex, and daring passions!
Her erotica includes Legends of Lust, ( Cleis Press ) and Confessions Of A Sheba Queen ( Cleis Jan 2020). Autumn has a BA in English literature and a MaEd in curriculum and instruction. She’s been teaching writing and literary analysis for fourteen years. Autumn lives in Southern California with her hubby, rescue pooch, and ever-increasing family. Her favorite things include salty French fries, coffee, swimming, and a great book.
Contact Links
Purchase Links
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
New Release: Summer of Incantations by Cruz Asher & Avery Allen
Now On Sale for $.99
This epic first installment of the de Valais Chronicles will cast a spell you’ll never forget.
Kemina and Gabrielle aren’t just cousins, they are members of the illustrious de Valais family of witches.
On
With their impending enrollment in the magical
A sudden trip to Italy will change everything they know and force the girls to confront centuries old secrets.
With the entrance of new friends, they
Will the revelation of a hidden deception change the course of their lives? Or will love truly conquer all, no matter how dysfunctional?
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Release Blitz and Giveaway: The Golden Hour by Malia Zaidi
The Lady Evelyn Mystery Series, Book 4
Mystery, Historical Mystery
Date Published: March 26, 2019
Publisher: BookBaby
Lady Evelyn Carlisle has barely arrived in London when familial duty calls her away again. Her cousin Gemma is desperate for help with her ailing mother before her imminent wedding, which Evelyn knew nothing about! Aunt Agnes in tow, she journeys to Scotland, expecting to find Malmo Manor in turmoil. To her surprise, her Scottish family has been keeping far more secrets than the troubled state of their matriarch. Adding to the tension in the house a neighbor has opened his home, Elderbrooke Park, as a retreat for artistic veterans of the Great War. This development does not sit well with everyone in the community. Is the suspicion towards the residents a catalyst for murder? A tragedy at Elderbrooke Park's May Day celebration awakens Evelyn's sleuthing instinct, which is strengthened when the story of another unsolved death emerges, connected to her own family. What she uncovers on her quest to expose the truth will change several lives forever, including her own.
With the shadow of history looming over her, Evelyn must trust in her instinct and ability to comb through the past to understand the present, before the murderer can stop her and tragedy strikes again.
Other Books in the The Lady Evelyn Mystery Series
A Poisonous Journey
The Lady Evelyn Mystery Series, Book 1
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: August 2015
The year is 1925, a time that hovers between two catastrophic wars, a time of jazz and sparkle, and a time of peace and reflection. For Lady Evelyn, struggling to outrun the ghosts of her tragic past, it is a time of transformation.
Left orphaned after a fire when she was only four, Lady Evelyn Carlisle was raised in London by her stern aunt and uncle. Now, twenty years later she has grown restless and is keen to escape her chaperone's grasp. A letter from her cousin, Briony, living with her husband on Crete, comes at just the right time. Packing what she can, Lady Evelyn makes off for foreign shores.
Welcoming her are not only Briony and her husband, Jeffrey, but also his handsome and mysterious friends, Caspar Ballantine and Daniel Harper. Though the latter carries with him tragic memories of the Great War, Evelyn is glad to be in their company. With the sun warming her back and the dazzling sea in her sights, this fresh start seems destined for happy days ahead. Little does she know . . .
What starts off as a sunny holiday quickly turns into a sinister nightmare, when Evelyn stumbles across the corpse of one of her cousin's houseguests. Drawn into the mystery surrounding the murder, Evelyn embarks on a mission to discover the truth, forcing her to face her own past as well as a cold-hearted killer. With the help of her cousin, the handsome local police detective, and the mysterious Daniel Harper, will she uncover the truth, before another life is claimed ?
A Darker Shore
The Lady Evelyn Mystery Series, Book 2
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: December 2016
1926: A year has passed since the events of "A Poisonous Journey" and Lady Evelyn has made a home for herself in Greece, living with her cousin, Briony, her husband, Jeffrey and Daniel Harper. Disturbing this island idyll is a letter, which arrives from France with troubling information about the Daniel’s long-believed-dead brother, Henry. A new journey awaits! With the shadows of the Great War reaching out, Lady Evelyn and Daniel voyage to Amiens in Northern France with the aim of discovering the truth behind the ominous letter. Upon their arrival, they are met not with clarity but rather with crime. Murder, to be precise . Is it linked to their presence in France, or even worse, to Henry himself? Evelyn and Daniel must confront their history as they try to make sense of the present before the killer can strike again, and the secrets of the past are lost forever .
The Study of Silence
The Lady Evelyn Mystery Series, Book 3
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: February 2018
Lady Evelyn Carlisle has returned home to England, where she is completing her degree at St. Hugh's, a women's college in Oxford. Her days are spent poring over ancient texts and rushing to tutorials. All is well until a fateful morning when her peaceful student life is turned on its head. Stumbling upon the gruesome killing of someone she thought she knew, Evelyn is plunged into a murder investigation once more, much to the chagrin of her friends and family, as well as the intriguing Detective Lucas Stanton. The dreaming spires of Oxford begin to appear decidedly less romantic as she gathers clues, and learns far more than she ever wished to know about the darkness lurking beyond the polished veneer. Can she solve the crime before the killer strikes once more, this time to Evelyn's own detriment?
Excerpt
Prologue
And neither have I the wings to fly.
Build me a boat that can carry two,
And both shall row, my love and I.
There is a ship and she sails the seas.
She's loaded deep, as deep can be;
But not as deep as the love I'm in
And I know not if I sink or swim.
I leaned my back up against a young oak
Thinking it were a trusty tree
But first it bent and then it broke
Thus did my love prove false to me .
O love is sweet and love is kind
The sweetest flow'r when first it's new
But love grows old and waxes cold
And fades away like the morning dew."
A song dances through the valley, bouncing from crag to crag, across the placid surface of the loch. Emerald hills caress the edge of the water as it laps gently against time-worn stones. The day is drawing to a close, the sky a hazy purple where it meets the peaks. The sun's reflection, an orange orb dipping into a western descent sets the water aflame. A sudden burst of ripples, spreading a fire. The tell-tale plop of a sinking stone. A satisfied chuckle. The crunch of feet flattening the dewy grass.
It is the way of the young to walk and laugh and stomp about, beauty taken for granted. But youth is not forever, and the performer of the lilting melody, the thrower of the stone, cheerily, blindly trampling across the green, is not immortal.
A sudden change in the atmosphere, almost imperceptible, the mere beating of a butterfly's wings.
Four feet now move along the path; two leisurely and two slowly, furtively, unrhythmic in their gait, stalking, preying. The rustle of a bush to hide behind, the quick dart towards a tree might tell of this new arrival. However, those who are happy rarely fear. Those who are good, rarely anticipate the evil lurking within another.
The sun touches the lowest peak, resting, it seems, upon that precarious perch.
A sudden start.
Silence.
Two voices.
A Scream.
Only two feet leave the glen. Two feet and their owner with blood dripping from trembling hands.
About the author:
Malia Zaidi is the author of The Lady Evelyn Mysteries. She studied at the University of Pittsburgh and at the University of Oxford. Having grown up in Germany, she currently lives in Washington DC, though through her love of reading, she resides vicariously (if temporarily) in countries around the world.
Contact Links
Purchase Links
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Trad Tuesday: Love let me home to my mother performed by Julie Fowlis
Julie Fowlis is the well-known Scottish singer who often sings in Gaelic. Here we have a song about a young girls’ encounter with the ‘each-
Lyrics:
Love, let me home to my mother Love, let me home to my mother Darling, let me home to my mother Love, let me home to my mother I only came for the cattle. It was only last night That I heard that my love was herding And though you found me at the perimeter of the cattle fold Love, let me home as you found me. I was clambering up the dykes And descending the ridges When a friendly lad met me And he did not enforce his friendship on me. Though you were to give me cattle and sheep Though you were to give me tethered horses Though you were to give me that and men Love, let me home as you found me. My mother and father will chastise you My clan and my relatives will chastise you But my three brothers will kill you If I don’t return home as I came. My mother promised me a gown Decorated with the newest of ribbons And she promised me a new plaid If I return home the way you found me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)