We have a very special guest today, Richard Fierce is a Fantasy and Space Opera author. He has published almost twenty books five of which were released this year!!!
Check out a few of Richard’s books below!
(Click on the image to order your copy)
Check out our interview on YouTube:
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Tainted Truth (The Wolf Riders of Keldarra Book 1) by Nathalie M.L. Römer ~ Genre: Epic Fantasy
Begin your journey in the land of Keldarra…
It’s a land on the brink of war. Who wins it depends on which side is stronger: truth or the lies of thousands of years of deception and manipulation. But whose truth? What lies? That’s for you to find out in the first book of this nine-book series!
When truth and lies have been used as a weapon. When you fight an enemy from the past using lies, and truth becomes the weapon with which you fight that enemy.
The story takes you to an ancient land under siege. The history of Keldarra is long but forgotten. A distant past when someone knew the Wolf Riders would rise. They also knew they would come to an end.
The Truth: Words spoken.
Still spoken to speak a lie.
Marrida. Alagur.
Each individual has a reason for wanting change. But can the reasons co-exist without clashing? Can truth prevail when each of them exists because of lies? When they discover similarity it reveals a hidden past, a past that means so much more than either knew.
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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
Nathalie is a published author, based in Sweden, and born and bred in the Netherlands, with roots squarely planted culturally in Britain and Curaçao. She primarily writes epic fantasy, futuristic science fiction, mysteries, romance with a twist, and is now venturing into fairytale retellings, dystopian stories and much more (just keep visiting to see where stories take you and the author alike). And Nathalie describes her style of writing as unapologetically wordy, because she has discovered that the best part of writing is weaving a world that’s interesting to explore, to discover its back story, to meet its people, and find out what makes them tick. Nathalie weaves each world with her own experiences into the stories, and will touch on various causes and situations that speak to her…
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Books, Writing and More
I guess you’re curious about the books I write so I decided to include an essay about my books, and more specifically TAINTED TRUTH which are featured on blogs participating in the book tour from Silver Dagger Book Tours.
The direct inspiration for writing a “hero’s journey” style of series comes from my gaming background. Before embarking on creating the world you’ll discover with the pages of the books in this series I played (and still play) World of Warcraft (as well as occasionally dabbling in other MMOs). I began playing at the end of 2006 as a direct result of the “lore” of the game, then as I became more familiar it created a sense of urgency to turn an idea of a hero’s journey I had on my mind for over a decade into a story of some sort. Late in November 2014 I sat down and longhand wrote a story that’s now part of Chapter 67 of TAINTED TRUTH. The poem called “The Truth” that you’ll encounter as you read the book evolved a few weeks later. There came a day when I thought, “I can create a big world too.”
Like in the story of the game I wanted a conflicted world with opposite factions, but never wanted an exact copy of the game. The story takes in account the complexity we find in our own twisted world. The question of things being “morally grey” is explored through the reactions from the characters to the world Keldarra they live in. My view is as follows in terms of who I write about – the good guys will have a few bad guys among them as no one is always perfectly good, and the people perceived as the bad guys (in this series it’s the Wolf Riders) will have people in their midst who don’t like what fate threw at them. Not wanting to go political, but to me there’s irony in such words as “There are good guys on both sides” when I wrote about such things long before they were uttered at the media. My world is a reflection of our world; I write about the good things from our world and I write about the bad things. A world such as Keldarra will be as complex as our own, so the people you meet as you read the story is a fraction of who lives in Keldarra, but they reflect the people you never see or meet. Though, on this latter, I have plans for stories beyond The Wolf Riders of Keldarra that will flesh out some of these “other people.”
The two most prominent characters you’ll meet is Marrida and Alagur. Marrida is an Acolyte at the Temple of Ruh’nar under the governance of Elder Sharriba, its leader. When the story begins you’re immediately in the middle of an attack by the Wolf Riders. One Wolf Rider is Alagur, who is wounded and Marrida gives him shelter. When Marrida needs to enlist her uncle’s help in getting Alagur safely from the city she opens a can of worms about who she is, why she goes to the Temple of Ruh’nar and then is entrusted by family secrets her uncle and Elder Sharriba kept from her. She’s thrown in at the deep end when they send her on an errand’s run with Alagur in tow. Initially both Marrida and Alagur believe their just searching for a few answers, but it becomes clear quickly there’s so much more going on, and as their journey progresses the mysteries also deepen. They discover some disturbing realities that causes a turmoil to Marrida’s longheld beliefs about the Order of Truth, and they discover a plot…
And as Dr River Song of Dr Who would say: “Spoilers…” so that’s all you get of the story of the series…
The title TAINTED TRUTH is directly linked to the story in the book, and an explanation will be shown during the story’s evolution. Something tainted is something spoiled, broken, not pure, etc. That’s what the first book begins exploring when Marrida asks: “Why?”
And this question also is one I always ask as an author, “Why should I write it this way?,” “How can I tell the story in the best way?” and “What words describe the scene the best way?” Then I land on trying to imagine the person, and that’s how I end up scouring IMDB at actors and actresses for appearances and such so I have an idea how to describe people.
So yes, if I could choose who should play Marrida, I’d select Shira Haas whose performance in series Unorthodox reminds me of how imagine Marrida as a person. Marrida is a slender person with hair that’s similar to how I’ve seen this actress in the media… except Marrida has distinct blue eyes which is the first thing that Alagur notices when he dreams of an unknown woman. I guess my search goes on…
As for Alagur, they can dye Sam Heughan’s hair a few shades darker but he’s spot on in appearance for Alagur (right eye colour!), right height, and the right physique… Yes, a big fan girling here as I love him in Outlander.
If I could spend time with any character in TAINTED TRUTH I’d love to sit down with Joharan (Marrida’s uncle) who I kind of modelled on my late paternal grandfather who, in life, was someone who was always advising me, guiding me, comforting me. My grandfather could be stern too, but when he was in a good mood he was mellow and loving. If you want to meet my grandfather this is the person to pay attention to…
Right now, I’m closing on on finishing the editing/proofreading process of Book 2 STOLEN TRUTH that’s on pre-order on Amazon, and then will begin the work on Book 3 (that’s also on Amazon but not officially announced – announcement goes out at the end of the book tour). And at the end of June 2020 I completed the first draft of Book 4. There are five further books in the series The Wolf Riders of Keldarra.
A sneak peak spoiler only available to the readers of the blogs this essays appears on: when this series is over (at Book 9) it will not be the end of your journey through this world. I have a few spin series AND standalone books planned… (now the Dr River Song spoiler warning is in effect once more!).
Fun Fact : The wolf of Alagur, called Yalla, is entirely based on a German Shepherd I owned years ago, complete with the personality quirks, so if you see the wolf misbehave remember there was once a dog called Charlie who’d act out similarly.
The Reluctant Wizard by A.A. Warne ~ Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
By day, wizards rule the world. At night, warlocks seek to destroy it. Now, one boy will challenge them both.
Eli never wanted to be a rebel. All he wants is an end to the famine and war threatening his community. To save his mother and baby brother from marauding warlocks, Eli is forced to make a heartbreaking decision. He must travel to Terra Magicae, the mysterious land of the wizards, to study magic. In exchange, the wizards will protect his family, but this protection comes at a price: once Eli enters the Grand Wizardry Academy, he may never come home.
Full of lush landscapes and magical marvels, Terra Magicae is more wondrous than Eli ever imagined… and more dangerous. At first, Eli’s struggles to fit in at the Academy seem ordinary. But the more he questions the wizards, the more he suspects a sinister purpose behind their bizarre rules and tests. For a dark secret lies at the heart of this mystical land, one so terrible it threatens not only the students at the Academy but the lives of everyone Eli loves.
To save them all, Eli must step into the midst of the battle between the wizards and warlocks and defy both sides. He must become the rebel he was always meant to be.
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Would you like a chance to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card? Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
A. A. Warne writes elaborate, strange, dark and twisted stories. In other words, speculative fiction.
Located at the bottom of the Blue Mountains in Sydney, Australia; Amanda was born an artist and grew up a painter before deciding to study pottery.
But it wasn’t until she found the art of the written word that her universe expanded.
A graduate of Western Sydney University in arts, Amanda now spends her time wrestling three kids and writing full time.
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Can you, for those who don’t know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
I was never really interested in books as a child. I had a few stories read to be here and there but nothing grabbed my attention. I loved art and I always believed I was going to grow up and become an artist. I studied painting and pottery after high school and I love creating sculptures.
But as I became a mother, these messy arts were not practical. My baby hated to sleep. She rather stay awake all day and play with me. So I put aside my art while she was young.
For a creative being, this was not a good idea. A creative person MUST create. My friend noticed that I was struggling and she threw a book at me. Twilight. I laughed. I didn’t read! But she made me read all of it. And I did. Then I went out and brought book two, then three and by the time I finished reading book four, I starting brainstorming ideas for my own book.
The best part about writing is there are never ending possibilities.
It started as a way to be creative but it wasn’t until I spoke to a friend about the story I was creating and she encouraged me to keep going. Since then, I haven’t stopped.
I now write everyday and clock forty hours a week, writing, brainstorming, researching and now publishing.
What is something unique/quirky about you?
Even though I have a great life, wonderful family and seriously interesting kids, I often live inside my head. If I’m not researching something strange or wacky, I’m creating it mentally. Stories have been a huge part of my life, especially as a kid. I always had a movie playing in the background while I was painting or creating some time of art. Little did I know, that as I listened, I was developing skills that helped me discover the structure and the composition of a story. Now it has become something natural that ticks over in the back of my mind while I focus on characters, worlds and what’s happening for them.
Tell us something really interesting that’s happened to you!
I met a wonderful author who is just as wild and crazy as I am, Michelle Crow. She lives on the opposite side of the planet and as soon as we met, it was like we had always known each other. In fact, we’ve gone onto writing a book together, she has been my bridesmaid, and we plan on visiting one another so many times in the next couple of years. She is the one who gave me the Madame of Darkness title. Even though we live in two different countries, that hasn’t stopped us from talking everyday, knowing what’s going on in each other’s lives, and supporting one another in writing.
What are some of your pet peeves?
Contradictions! I can see them a mile away. But don’t get me wrong, I do them myself. There’s nothing like saying I’m going to eat clean and healthy but then I buy chocolate… okay, I know that’s a contradiction, but I have weaknesses too!
Where were you born/grew up at?
I live at the bottom of the Blue Mountains, in Western Sydney, Australia. I am third generation in this town and we don’t have plans on moving anytime soon.
Western Sydney is a large place, with the majority of Australia’s population here. I can see the mountains from my home, and yes, they are blue.
Who is your hero and why?
I do love superheroes and anyone super-human. But in real life, it’s the everyday person. Each and everyone does amazing things. Look after sick parents, survive a horrific car accident, go on adventures and to me that is amazing. We live our lives and we’re not amazed by our own steps we take across the planet. So for me, a hero is someone who sets a goal and walks the path until it’s achieved. If we get knocked down, fail, detoured, or sidetrack but get back up and keep going, that’s even more amazing and that’s what I define as a hero – someone who achieves their inner purpose in their life.
What kind of world ruler would you be?
Oh rulers! I actually hate that word. It means to stand over a group of people and dictate their lives. Instead of that position, I prefer leader. Leaders mean so much more. A leader can also be part of the team. If a leader is part of the same team, and not above them, then they can ensure that freedom remains possible so that we can chose how to live our own lives. Leaders can be pushed aside and replaced, questioned and scrutinized – anyone who has that position should always be questioned at the very least. A ruler doesn’t have that same scrutinization which is sad because it trickles traits into a society that will easily diminish the importance of a group. Together humans are strong and we’re even stronger when we work together harmoniously.
We have a very special guest today, A.G. Porter, the author of The Darkness Trilogy, a YA Paranormal Thriller.
This series includes The Shadow, The Forsaken, and The Redeemed.
(Click on the image to order your copy)
She also has two poetry collections (Pieces of My Heart and Pieces of My Soul).
She is very busy right now working on a spin-off of her The Darkness Trilogy characters, as well as a new YA Paranormal series, The Sacrifice of Ava Black, and her next poetry book.
Follow her on Social Media here:
Beyond the Gardens by Sandra C. Lopez ~ Genre: Teen Fiction
At the age of 18, Esperanza Ignacio begins her college years at an upscale Los Angeles art school, where she studies to fulfill her long-term dream in Animation. But she soon learns the truth to the old folktale: “you can take the girl out of the barrio, but you can’t take the barrio out of the girl.” Even though she’s getting financial aid, Esperanza works a part-time job during her break from classes just to make ends meet. Her roommate, Anna, is what she calls a “chicana from Beverly Hills” because of the rich daddy and the new car she got for her quinceañera.
Things get a little confusing for Esperanza when an old friend comes looking for her, hoping to start a meaningful relationship. But is Carlos the right guy for her? She never even considered him to be anything more than a friend since high school. Then comes Jake, a gorgeous mechanic, who shares her passion for books and loves her for who she is. What’s a girl to do?
Strength and determination help pave the way for the future. And, as she approaches her graduation, she is faced with a difficult decision: should she leave Los Angeles and leave behind her family, her home, and everything she’s known? Ever since she was born in the California barrio of Hawaiian Gardens, she’s always had to look over the fence, wondering what she’s been missing. Now she’s taking a flying leap over to see what’s beyond the little barrio. What’s beyond her family, her friends, and her past? What’s beyond the little nothing town, where dreams don’t exist? What’s beyond The Gardens? Is it life, love, a future? The story of Esperanza is finally concluded in this wildly entertaining and heart-warming sequel.
**Only .99 cents!!**
Would you like a chance to win a $15 Amazon Gift Card? Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
Sandra C. López is one of today’s influential Latina authors in Young Adult literature. Her first novel, Esperanza: A Latina Story, was published in March 2008 WHILE she was still in college. Since then she has published several other books, including the Single Chicas series. She was named as one of “2011 Top Ten New Latino Authors to Watch” by Latino Stories, and her book, Beyond the Gardens, was a Silver Medal winner of the 2016 Global Ebook Awards in Multicultural Fiction and won first place in the Int’l Latino Book Awards. She also works as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer. Art, literature, and travel are her passions, and she aims to keep doing them as long as she can. For inquiries regarding events and projects, please contact her directly.
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Q: First, tell us how you came to be a published author and how you came up with the idea to provide reviews to authors.
A: I wrote my first novel, Esperanza: A Latina Story, WHILE I was still in college. The book follows the story of a 14-year old Mexican-American girl trying to get out of the barrio and make something of her life. Full of humor and refreshing dialogue, this book was voted as an inspirational favorite by teen readers. Shortly after that, I wrote the sequel entitled Beyond the Gardens, published in October 2009.
In the second book, the lead heroine gains new confidence and strength as she learns the hard way that “you can take the girl out of the barrio, but you can’t take the barrio out of the girl.”
I write stories with strong and independent female characters that I, myself, would like to read about. When I’m not writing, I get my fill on reading for the enjoyment as well as to improve my craft. Like every published author, I was emailing book bloggers, asking them to please review my book. But, like querying to a publisher, most of them were unresponsive and some weren’t interested. And, of course, I used paid services that would list my book in their newsletters, reaching potential readers that may or may not review my book. That worked out okay. But let’s face it: getting reviews is tough. It’s hard when your book isn’t well publicized and no one is willing to give it chance. That’s what started my book blog. Initially, it started as just a blog for my own personal reviews on books that I read. At that point, I started taking requests from authors and publishers. My own personal review would be free, but, of course, like every other blogger, I only chose the ones that I wanted and rejected those that I didn’t. Yes, my readings tastes are pretty open in a wide variety of genres, but there are some that just don’t really interest me (i.e. westerns, politics sports, etc.) So how do I help those rejected authors get reviews? After all, I couldn’t possibly review them all. That’s when I came up with the idea of starting a book club of readers and a review program to supply authors with more reviews besides the one that I give them. Readers can sign up to get free books from authors, and authors can get reviews for their books. It’s a simple, easy, and convenient program. And it’s working!
Q: How can this review program benefit writers?
A: The review program allows authors to list their books and reach a wide range of readers. It’s been a hit so far! About 85% of participating authors get at least 1 – 2 reviews on Amazon, and we receive over 50 reviews a month from readers. And the best part about it is that we offer free ways for authors to list their book in our program. As an author, I totally understand that budgets can be tight, which makes it harder (maybe even impossible) to promote your books. Most authors shy away to any promo service when there’s a price. What better price is there than FREE?
Q: What do you think is the most important aspect of a book to make it sell?
A: The story itself along with a fabulous cover is definitely important. But probably the most important would have to be reviews. Let’s face it: reviews are the life blood of any book. More reviews equal a greater online exposure and a higher sales ranking, which, could result in sales. My book, Single Chicas, has over 70 reviews, and that has given me more royalties on Kindle sales. The reviews made the difference because before I got no royalties, and now I’m surprised to actually see one come through knowing that I didn’t do any promotion. Book reviews are definitely the key thing here.
Q: How is your author review program unique?
A: My review program is unique because I offer a free option for authors, and I do that because I want authors of all kinds to get a fair chance at getting reviews for their books. Every book deserves a review. These are HONEST and LEGIT reviews. There is no buying reviews here. Readers are free to choose any book and reserve the right in whether or not a review gets posted. It’s all strictly voluntary and 100% honest.
Q: Are you working on any projects at the moment?
A: I am currently working on Book 2 of the Single Chicas series, which is a series of short stories focusing on funny, zany, and wildly entertaining chicas.
Q: How can authors and readers sign up to your review program?
For authors interested in submitting their book to get reviews, please go to: https://sandrasbookclub.blogspot.com/2015/02/submission-guidelines.html
For readers interested in signing up to read free books, please go to: https://sandrasbookclub.blogspot.com/2019/09/read-review-program.html
Resistor: An Eerden Novel (Ellinor Book 1) by C.E. Clayton ~ Genre: New Adult Cyberpunk Fantasy
Ellinor Rask has wanted one thing for the past eight years: vengeance. But when Ellinor is captured, she finds herself dragged back into the world she walked away from, entangled once more with friends she would rather forget.
As if that weren’t humiliating enough, Ellinor learns first hand that her magic can be stripped away by a piece of bio-tech—and her ex-boss is happy to leash her with the technology in order to get what he wants. If Ellinor behaves, the device will be removed. All she has to do is deliver a package. One containing a creature created from raw magical energy and discarded technology. Simple, right?
But when her goals start getting people murdered, Ellinor has to decide if the year’s planning, her honor, and even her own magic, are worth the lives it’s costing. Dodging ruthless gangsters, she finds herself on the run with a creature of immeasurable magical abilities alongside her one-time friends. Now, Ellinor must relearn to trust the people she once abandoned. She must put her faith in technology, and her life in the hands of independent contractors, all while racing to deliver the package before it gets taken by force, or worse, the creature decides to make an appearance itself.
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Would you like a chance to win a $15 Amazon gift card (1 winner) or a Swag Pack (3 winners)? Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
C. E. Clayton was born and raised in the greater Los Angeles area. After going the traditional career route and becoming restless, she went back to her first love–writing–and hasn’t stopped. She is the author of young adult fantasy series, “The Monster of Selkirk”, the creator of the cyberpunk Eerden Novels, and her horror short stories have appeared in anthologies across the country. When she’s not writing you can find her treating her fur-babies like humans, constantly drinking tea, and trying to convince her husband to go to more concerts. And reading. She does read quite a bit.
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Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?
I tend to only write one book at a time, but I have several projects going at once. So I may be writing the first draft of book 2 while I am revising book 1 and vaguely plotting for book 3. But my characters grow and change too much to write two books at once even if it’s for the same series. And I can’t write two completely different genre books at once as flipping my mindset to those two projects and going back and forth tends to not do justice for either of them.
What made you want to become an author and do you feel it was the right decision?
I’ve always enjoyed writing. I love writing long stories, and never cringed at being assigned essays in school. I’ve always loved making people feel things with my words and the characters I’ve crafted. So when the opportunity came for me to be able to turn my passions into a career, of course I jumped on it! Some days are harder than others, but I’ve never regretted walking away from my corporate job for a moment.
Advice they would give new authors?
There are lots of “How To” books out there on how to get your book out there, or how to craft characters etc. Get those only if you want to, because ultimately, the best advice I can give any new author is to write from your heart, and take your time. If you try to write a story you don’t care about, chances are your readers won’t care for it, either. There’s lots of people who say you have to write to market if you ever want to make money as an author. While there is some truth to that, if you don’t want to write a contemporary romance, or a YA fantasy book with shifters in it just so you can have a book out in a genre that’s really popular, then don’t. Readers will always be able to tell if an author is bored by what they are writing, because they will be bored too, and then they won’t want to read any of your other books—even if they are the ones you are most passionate about!
My second piece of advice is: even if you “finish” that book you love and are super proud of (which you should be, that’s a great accomplishment!) there’s often this feeling of “Ok, I’m done! I gotta hurry up and get this into people’s hands!” and that’s how mistakes happen. You tend to settle for “good enough” rather than something you are 100% in love with, and honestly your book may not even be ready for the masses yet. I take a step back from my books when I finish the “last” revision. I don’t touch or even look at my WIP for at least 2 months before going back and doing another final read through before handing the story over to my editor or getting it ready to publish. The reason for this is: I can see the story with fresh eyes and usually catch so many things I would have missed otherwise because I was just so excited to have this completed book and wanting it to get out there as soon as possible. That was, I think, one of the biggest mistakes I made early in my author career as well, so it tends to be what I tell new authors the most as well.
What is your writing process? For instance do you do an outline first? Do you do the chapters first?
I am what you call a plantser, someone who does a little plotting, but otherwise writes by the seat of her pants. I’ve also heard this method called the headlight method which is something that Jay Kristoff uses when he’s writing as well. Basically, I know where the story ends, what the climax is, I know a few big events that have to happen, and not much else!
That’s what I do first though, after my world and character building is done: I figure out where this story ends, or where this series ends and what big things the characters have to do in order to get toward that goal. I put those bullet points down in a word document as potential chapters, but there’s usually only about 5-8 chapters at a time listed out. The characters tend to drive how long it takes to get to those points within a chapter, or new “issues” for them to solve come up in between. I’ve found if I outline everything in a very detailed manner, not only do I get bored with the book before I’ve even written it, but things change and I’d just have to redo the outline anyway. This gives me freedom to explore tangents and subplots, but still staying a bit structured as well.
I do write in order though. I can’t start anywhere but the beginning of my story and then go chapter by chapter to the end. I know some people like to start in the middle where all the action tends to be and then work out to fill in the gaps of how characters got to that point, but my brain just doesn’t operate that way. But I do like this headlight/plantsing method best for me. It fits my writing style best and helps me always stay excited by what I’m writing.
An elemental witch with limited magic falls in love with a human. Standard really.
My story is a typical one. Girl meets boy, drama ensues, and the warlocks try to kill me. Okay, maybe not so typical. And yet, it’s on point. My whole life, I’ve been one of eight members left in the last witch coven. Cursed to continually revisit the earth until all eight of us unite with our soul match in one lifetime, we fight the warlocks in order to reawaken magic before the witches finally die out.
Antony is my hunky bodyguard, assigned to me by the last witch elder. When I’m kidnapped by the warlocks, he stops at nothing to find me, even though he’s in complete denial about our connection. Still, can’t blame a guy for freaking out when he finds out that he’s a witch, destined to be my soul match. Only time will tell if we’re able to fulfil our fate or will magic fade, along with my happiness?
THIS BOOK WAS PREVIOUSLY CALLED PISCES – ZODIAC TWIN FLAME BOOK 1. IT HAS BEEN REWORKED AND EDITED
**Only .99 cents**
Bring magic back to earth? Easy peasy. Until my life gets blown apart. Literally.
With a witch elder missing, and a mission to complete, I’m in the perfect position to plan a counter attack on the warlocks. That’s until a disaster at work rips my world apart, leaving me defenceless against our enemy.
My ex-girlfriend Natalie is determined to get me back on my feet, pushing me to become a better witch in order to fight the warlocks and find my soul-match. If I don’t embrace the new me, my magic will fade along with my chance at being happy.
THIS BOOK USED TO BE CALLED ARIES – BOOK 2 IN THE ZODIAC TWIN FLAME SERIES. IT’S BEEN REWORKED AND EDITED.
**Only .99 cents**
Would you like a chance to win a $20 Amazon gift card? Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
Rachel grew up in South East England. She learnt at a young age that life can be hard work. She now believes that whatever happens to you, you can overcome it.
She writes to help others see that no matter where you come from, you can still achieve your dreams. As a teenager she would never have dreamed of becoming an author.
However, in her twenties, she realised that she was allowing her past to dictate her future. She decided to accept and forgive everything that had happened to her, everyone that had hurt or upset her and she even forgave herself for allowing life to bring her down.
In early 2014 after writing The Deadliners, Rachel decided to self publish. It was one of the best things she’s ever done. Since then, she’s released numerous series’ and really enjoys writing full time.
Rachel will always remember where she came from, but only to see how far she has come.
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Something made my gaze lift to the closed front door. A strong compulsion overtook me, so I followed my instinct and ended up standing at the top of the townhouse steps, just outside the door.
“How did you know I was here?”
Antony sat on the bottom step, his arms resting on his thighs. I looked at the back of his head as my heart played like a drumstick against my ribcage.
“I didn’t, something made me-”
He got up and spun towards me. “I didn’t want to see you.”
I grabbed my chest as pain exploded through me. “Then, why did you come?” I snapped back.
What was his problem?
Antony shook his head and ran up the steps, stopping on the one just below me. I reached out and rested my hand on his chest. His heartbeat was as rapid as mine, his muscular frame unable to hide the thumping. He folded his fingers around mine and looked into my eyes.
“You make me feel…” he whispered, tapping his chest with our entwined hands.
“You make me-”
“Don’t.” He leant forward and rubbed his nose against mine. “When I see you, a rush of emotion overtakes me, and I can’t even think.”
His lips were close to mine. I wanted to lean forward and touch him with my tongue. It was a bizarre urge, and yet, there it was. However, I couldn’t go round poking him with my tongue, we had to talk.
“That’s how I feel, Antony. I want to date you. We can start slow, work out this witch journey together.”
His eyes widened and he started to pull back. Putting my arms around his neck, I tried to comfort him. He took my hands and moved them away.
“This is crazy. It’s not real.”
“Why do you say that? Why are you fighting?”
Moving forward as he backed down the steps, I halted when he put up a hand. “Please don’t run from me,” I whispered as his feet touched the pavement and he turned.
K L. Lamar lives with her family in the South and a dog who is plotting to off her one day. K. L. Lamar writes thrillers, mysteries, and suspense novels. After years of voracious reading, her teacher told her mother when she was younger that she was destined to be a writer.
When she’s not reading, writing, or traveling, you can find her on the ocean somewhere, sailing the high tides.
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Great hitman, devoted brother, and reluctant father.
Jason finds out he’s going to be a dad, so he vows to leave his dangerous job behind, His good intentions evaporate like mist when his brother is murdered. All the clues points to two crime lords, but one wrong move and Jason is next.
He finds his moral compass has shifted when he delves into the underworld of crime during a war between the two biggest drug cartels of the north and south. Things become complicated when he learns that everything, he knows was a lie.
If you like author’s in the vein of James Patterson and Lisa Jackson, then you will love this new series by K.L. Lamar. Buy this exciting crime novel and read it now!
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An assassin who has shed his blood to hide the truth, must trust a crime lord with a hidden agenda but will he survive an invisible enemy bent on revenge.
Jason Wright has shed blood to keep the truth from being revealed. He’s left his past behind and has begun a new lease on life. When his skeletons come out the closet, and he is on verge of losing everything and everyone he holds dear. The past has come knocking on his door. Now the assassin becomes the hunted. Jason finds himself in the crosshairs of life’s confusion. Can Jason vanquish the enemy and save his loved ones, or will he be forced to watch them die before his life is forfeited?
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Konn Lavery is a Canadian author whose work has been recognized by Edmonton’s top five bestseller charts and by reviewers such as Readers’ Favorite, and Literary Titan.
He started writing stories at a young age while being homeschooled. After graduating from graphic design college, he began professionally pursuing his writing with his first release, Reality. He continues to write in the thriller, horror, and fantasy genres.
He balances his literary work along with his own graphic design and website development business, titled Reveal Design (www.revealdesign.ca). His visual communication skills have been transcribed into the formatting and artwork found within his publications supporting his fascination of transmedia storytelling.
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Banished to the Underworld. A Ritual. The Disease.
Enter the rich mythical world of Konn Lavery’s debut novel containing a military dictatorship, cults, and politically-driven gangs.
After Krista’s people were banished from the surface by the humans, they were reduced to violence and hatred.
She and her only friend, Darkwing, survive as street kids as their people’s leaders become crazed from an unknown disease – Mental Damnation. After their infection, the Guardians develop a bizarre interest in her, claiming they must reap her innocence for their newfound master, the Weaver.
Krista has limited options for survival: Does she fend for her life in the City of Renascence, or risk leaving everything behind and enter the uncharted realm of the underworld?
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“Konn Lavery has taken me into his mind and carried me on a richly woven tapestry of metaphors for the human condition.”- Amber, Goodreads Reviewer
“Both well-written and well thought out, Mental Damnation is an instant classic and I can’t wait to see what happens next!”
– Joshua Grant, Goodreads Reviewer
“When I finally got into the actual book, I found myself unable to put it down, even reading it on my break at work”
– Dawn Herbert, Goodreads Reviewer
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A Fallen God. The Marking. Damnation Has Begun.
The ritual set everything in motion for Krista in the continuation of the Mental Damnation series hinting at the afterlife, and a lurkingevil.
Gatekeeper Danil found and used her in an unholy event which completes Krista’s infection of Mental Damnation.
It is the very disease that collapsed her leaders and wreaked havocamong her people, how will she maintain her sanity through the visionsof hell?
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“Lavery writes an extremely good book: captivating, highly descriptive, emotional and hauntingly poignant.”
– G.J. Griffiths, Goodreads Reviewer
“The world Mr. Lavery created is absolutely captivating and the illustrations beautiful!”
– Cassandra Larsen, Goodreads Reviewer
“I’m invested now an will continue to follow this story in the next book.”
– Jenae (Jeni), Goodreads Reviewer
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Krista allies with a fallen paladin as the Weaver sends his deadliest servant after her.
The Mental Damnation series continues in a high fantasy tale of forbidden love, banishment, and fallen warriors.
Krista’s hope of escaping Dreadweave Pass lessens as the Weaver sends a fallen angel to capture her. Will her allegiance with a corrupt paladin be enough to triumph?
——
“Book three in the Mental Damnation series picks up perfectly and continues with Krista’s story. There is a lot of action, drama and suspense”
– Sheri, Goodreads Reviewer
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Damnation ends. The Afterlife is at war. Krista must fend for herself.
Mortal is the concluding novel of the dark fantasy series Mental Damnation. Follow Krista as she descends further into Dreadweave Pass and fulfilling the path of a warrior set by her father, reinforced by her allies. Will Krista manage to escape the land of the damned? She fights to return to Darkwing in the mortal realm, as he struggles to rescue her. Home is no safe haven either, for her people and the humans are on the brink of an all-out-war.
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Mortal was long overdue. The Mental Damnation series has been the burning flame with my writing for 14 years since its conception as a single 190,000-word manuscript. Even then, the story wasn’t complete and a second book was fully outlined, which was scrapped entirely. The book had a ton of revisions applied to it and grew in size. Eventually, the manuscript split into three books.
The first book Reality was the first professional release back in 2012. I’ve taken several detours since then and had also released two more novels in the Mental Damnation series, which concluded the original 190,000-word manuscript from 2006. Still, the ending wasn’t defined.
Fans wanted to know the ending, and I wanted to too. So the inspiration was to give the fans and characters the ending they deserved. All of last year, I thoroughly reviewed the first three books, plotted, wrote, and spent many hours on the book to get it out.
More writing, of course! In the near future, I am compiling a wide range of short stories I have worked on into a transmedia anthology, which includes a musical score, artwork, and a multiverse world of multiple short stories ranging in genres.
The Mental Damnation tetralogy has a ton of subplots going on. I have over a decade’s worth of backstory notes, a lot of it never made it into the series. There are also expanded universe short stories that will appear in the anthology.
Sure. The characters are a continuation of the Mental Damnation series. There are a few new characters and others that have been long foreshadowed since the first book. The protagonist is Krista, a reptilian who is struggling with being imprisoned by humans. They are racist to her people and are using her as a political tool while trying to study the brain disease she has – Mental Damnation. The disease makes her believe she crosses into hell during her dreams, where she is trying to escape. While all of this is occurring, she is dealing with her coming of age struggles. She has conflicts with friends, romance, learning self-defence, making choices on her own, and developing confidence.
The concept came to me from an illustration I sketched out back in 2006. Krista was already a pre-established character to a story I had written. The Mental Damnation series was intended to be an origin story of how she came to be. The sketch was of a younger Krista clutching her head and split between the real world and hell. The hell side would explain who she became in that other story.
A few other characters had been defined as well, such as Darkwing and Malpherities. Other than that, the split reality illustration sprouted the storyline.
I’ll add to the previous question; the name came to me from the initial sketch of the concept I did back in 2006. The sketch which had Krista and the split world also had a title banner, as I thought this sketch would become the book cover. It didn’t. But seeing her head clutched, the ordinary world, and the hell world, the title Mental Damnation was self-explanatory and it stuck.
For the Kingdom of Zingalg and the fantasy aspects of the tetralogy, I pulled influences from naming conventions seen in Brian Jacques’s work such as Redwall and the videogame universe Warcraft by Blizzard. The theory is mashing two words together as a single word or with hyphens describing what it is.
For Dreadweave Pass (see the mashing of words there?), the hellish realm and the afterlife, I used some of the same techniques but also made reference to biblical mythology and Latin names.
For Mortal, I enjoyed writing the conclusion to the Mental Damnation series. It brought a sense of completeness to me on a deeply personal level.
I am a graphic designer by trade and work as a freelancer. Naturally, I designed the cover and interior formatting. For Mental Damnation, the series uses a custom drawn typeface seen in the titles and chapters. There are also glyphs and illustrations within the books that I did too.
For my other novels, I too did the covers and interior formatting and most of the artwork that accompanies them.
Of course! Hindsight is 20/20. I almost did third editions of the Mental Damnation series so I could do more foreshadowing for Mortal. But perfection is the enemy of progress, and these minor details are only things that grew in recent years. Fans love the books as is, and I was more interested in giving them the next book in the series than going back and re-releasing the first three for the third time to make Mortal slightly different.
I did! I learned not to spend 14 years on a series, haha. In seriousness, Mortal was the first book where I wrote the first draft with speech to text software. Other authors I know have talked about how much fun it is to speak your story out, and how much faster it is. I finally tried it out and quite enjoyed the process.
Thank you, sincerely, for all the years of support. Some of you have been a part of the journey since I first released Reality in 2012—others, even longer. Finishing Mortal is for you.
Oh, well, that would be giving spoilers. Let’s just say thematically from the first three, it was bound to be.
Spoilers! Chapters 17 and 24 gave me a real strange hit in the chest with warmth going all the way through, like when you have a crush on someone, or your pet dies.
Short pitch: Lord of the Rings meets twisted Alice in Wonderland.
Long pitch: The Mental Damnation tetralogy brings readers into a dark, surreal, twisted world of Dreadweave Pass and the Kingdom of Zingalg. Necromantic Rituals. Holy spells. Demons, ghouls, angels, and gods. The classic good vs evil is shrouded with uncertainty as moral lines blur from the vast unbiased void of realism.
I have. Two will NEVER see the light of day. One might, it needs some T.L.C., but there’s an excellent foundation to work with. I also have a couple of books fully outlined chapter by chapter, but they too are scrapped.
Author and Co-Founder of ZombieEducationAlliance.com. TS Alan is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, and suspense, but also frequently incorporates elements of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and satire. Alan has published two novels, and six short stories.
Alan was born outside Buffalo, NY. He is the son of divorced parents. He was educated at Williamsville South High School, Niagara Community College and the State University College at Buffalo.
Alan is an author of contemporary horror/fantasy. He is most known for his zombie stories. His first published novel was The Romero Strain (2014), which was published by Books of the Dead Press. His sequel The Romero Strain: The Dead, the Damned, and the Darkness was independently released in November 2017.
As influences on his writing, Alan lists Clive Barker, Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe, and O. Henry, among others.
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World War Dead is a four-part zombie novel, in which military and health organizations around the world battle time and the undead in an attempt to get valuable research data to the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Maryland. There, an antiviral for the Acute Reanimation Syndrome (ARS) virus is being developed.
The novel has main characters from each region, two of which are half-zombies, and all the stories are intertwined with one another.
Part I: War of the Dead
A zombified Marine lieutenant injected with the antiviral is brought back to half-life but finds himself caught between human and zombie, and reconsiders which side he should fight on.
Part II: Escape from the DeadWith time running out, a European CDC security team faces insurmountable odds against zombies and a hostile military faction attempting to get their antiviral to an awaiting military transport plane that will take them to a US military base.
Part III: Call to Arms
A Canadian helicopter team arrives at a US military outpost for an exchange to acquire a batch of antiviral but finds themselves betrayed and stranded. Having learned of High Command’s treacheries, a rogue team of Marines led by a sympathetic master sergeant comes to the Canadians rescue. The master sergeant hopes to enlist the Canadians, along with a brigade of half-zombies, as part of a strike force to overthrow a forced labor camp in Gettysburg run by the military.
Part IV: War of the Dead
A former Army sergeant, who finds her half-zombie condition has left her infertile, leads a discontented group of half-zombies on a war against humanity and zombies alike. Will the remaining military, the work camp survivors, and the lieutenant’s half-mute brigade unite in time to stop the dissident half-mutes from executing their elaborate plan of genocide, or will humankind finally meet extinction?
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TS Alan vs the Pandemic
I am a survivalist. I am a prepper. I have lived through and survived two power outages and a major hurricane that hit New York City. I was fully aware that there was going to be a viral pandemic in my lifetime. I was prepared for it — almost! What I had prepared for and what has actually happened in NYC was underwhelming. That is not to say that COVID-19 hasn’t brought loss of life, tragedy, and heartbreak around the globe, but I wasn’t prepared for anything less than a full out viral apocalypse. One where I would have to hunker down in my apartment for 6 months while the world fell into chaos. That I was prepared for and would have no problem enduring.
However, that’s not how it has unfolded. Millions of people haven’t succumbed to the virus, the world economy hasn’t collapsed, and humankind isn’t fighting to survive in the sense that there is no more food chain and the stores are empty. What happened was people have tragically died, but not in the millions, the food chain though slightly bent, isn’t broken, and society hasn’t collapsed.
What has personally happened is that I’m out of work and still have to pay rent, buy groceries, and pay health insurance and taxes – just like millions of other Americans. The apocalypse didn’t happen the way I imagined. It’s vexing knowing I didn’t think about or prepare for a pandemic that wouldn’t be society ending. So, now I have to rethink the way I prep for the future. If this type of pandemic happens again, and it certainly will, it may be even a worse. Banks could falter from a bad economy and freeze people’s funds. Groceries and sundry items could be harder to attain, far worse than what some parts of the country has already experienced. How then does one pay for goods when your credit cards and ATM bank cards are no longer acceptable? Cash, that old standard will be the fall back currency of exchange. How many of you have a stash of cash in your residence? I mean a significant amount of money. Hell, most of the people I know don’t have enough food or other provisions to last a week, let alone enough cash to get them through 6 months. I learned from the first power outage I experienced that cash on hand is important. Except, $300 – $400 is simply not enough if things get really bad over an extended period of time.
So, I have started tucking away a nest egg and adding more provisions onto my stockpile for the next time. I’m now preparing for an extended horrible scenario along with the world ending one. So, what have you learned about your ability or inability to survive a pandemic. Let me know your thoughts at tsalanauthor@gmail.com.
Nina Soden 