I am thrilled to be hosting a spot
on the SCAVENGER HUNT by Chad Boudreaux Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out
my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
Blake
Hudson just wants to serve his country well as a lawyer for the United States
Justice Department—but when an unknown threat begins plotting his downfall, he
must find who is setting him up before it costs him his life.
Scavenger
Hunt is a
suspense novel chronicling the plight of Blake Hudson, a Justice Department
lawyer assigned to a clandestine counterterrorist group created to bypass
onerous legal requirements. After the group mysteriously disbands, Hudson
becomes the scapegoat and is transformed from hunter to hunted. As he searches
for answers and attempts to piece the puzzle together, people are following
him, trying to kill him.
Written for
fans of fast-paced thrillers, dry humor, political gamesmanship, and Clue-like
twists and turns, Scavenger Hunt carves out a distinct niche
best described as a hybrid of the Robert Ludlum classics and works by Brad
Meltzer. Blake Hudson’s story addresses issues that have shaped recent
elections and continue to frustrate interest groups and government leaders, while
featuring the inner workings of the U.S. Department of Justice
Building—arguably the most important and misunderstood agency in the federal
government. Author Chad Boudreaux’s unique voice and page-turning storytelling
packs a plot-driven punch that readers won’t be able to put down.
About Chad Boudreaux:
Chad Boudreaux has a broad range of government, legal and
corporate experience. Prior to serving as the Executive Vice President and
Chief Legal Officer of the nation’s largest military shipbuilder, he served as
Deputy Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he
advised Secretary Michael Chertoff on almost all significant matters facing the
newly established Department.
Before working for Homeland Security, Boudreaux served in
several high-ranking positions at the U.S. Justice Department, where he was
hired the night before the September 11, 2001 attacks. During his time at the
Justice Department, Boudreaux focused most of his time on matters relating to
terrorism and homeland security.
His career in the government lead him to write his debut
novel, Scavenger Hunt, coming out January 2023.
I am thrilled to be hosting a spot
on the OBSERVER by Robert Lanza & Nancy Kress Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out
my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
A
mind-expanding journey to the very edge of science.
Caro Soames-Watkins, a talented neurosurgeon whose career has been upended by
controversy, is jobless, broke, and the sole supporter of her sister, a single
mother with a severely disabled child.
When she receives a strange job offer from Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sam
Watkins, a great uncle she barely knows, desperation forces her to take it in
spite of serious suspicions.
Watkins has built a mysterious medical facility in the Caribbean to conduct
research into the nature of consciousness, reality, and life after death.
Helped in his mission by his old friend, eminent physicist George Weigert, and
young tech entrepreneur Julian Dey, Sam has gone far beyond curing the body to
develop a technology that could solve the riddle of mortality.
Two obstacles stand in their way: someone on the inside is leaking intel and
Watkins’ failing body must last long enough for the technology to be ready.
As danger mounts, Caro finds more than she bargained for, including murder,
love, and a deeper understanding into the nature of reality.
A mind-expanding journey to the very edges of science, Observer will
thrill you, inspire you, and lead you to think about life and the power of the
imagination in startling new ways.
About Robert Lanza:
Robert Lanza is an American scientist
and author whose research spans the range of natural science, from biology to
theoretical physics. TIME magazine recognized him as one of the “100 Most
Influential People in the World,” and Prospect magazine named him one of the
“Top 50 World Thinkers.”
He has hundreds of scientific
publications and over 30 books, including definitive references in the fields
of stem cells, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine. He is a former
Fulbright Scholar, and studied with polio-pioneer Jonas Salk and Nobel
laureates Gerald Edelman (known for his work on the biological basis of
consciousness) and Rodney Porter. He also worked closely (and co-authored
papers in Science on self-awareness and symbolic communication) with noted
Harvard psychologist BF Skinner. Dr. Lanza received his undergraduate and
medical degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was both a
University Scholar and Benjamin Franklin Scholar.
Lanza was part of the team that
cloned the world’s first human embryo, the first endangered species, and
published the first-ever reports of pluripotent stem cell use in humans.
Lanza and his colleagues were also
the first to demonstrate that nuclear transplantation could be used to reverse
the aging process and to generate immune-compatible tissues, including the
first organ tissue-engineered from cloned cells. One of his early achievements
was his demonstration that techniques used in preimplantation genetic diagnosis
could be used to generate human embryonic stem cells without embryonic
destruction.
He and colleagues have also succeeded
in differentiating human pluripotent stem cells into retinal cells, and has
shown that they provide long-term benefit in animal models of vision loss.
Using this technology some forms of blindness may be curable, including macular
degeneration and Stargardt disease, a currently untreatable form eye disease
that causes blindness in teenagers and young adults. Lanza’s company received
FDA approval to carry out clinical trials in the US using them to treat
degenerative eye diseases, as well approval for the first human pluripotent stem
cell trial in Europe. The first patients reported improved vision in the eyes
treated with the cells, which The Guardian said “represents a huge
scientific achievement.”
Dr. Lanza and his colleagues
published the first-ever report of human pluripotent stem cells transplanted
into human patients. The patients who received the stem cell transplants say
their lives have been transformed by the experimental procedure–they report
that they can use their computers, thread a needle, or even go to the mall or airport
on their own.
Lanza has also been a major player in
the scientific revolution that has led to the documentation that nuclear
transfer/transcription factors can restore developmental potential in a
differentiated cell. One of his successes was showing that it is feasible to
generate functional oxygen-carrying red blood cells from human pluripotent stem
cells. The blood cells were comparable to normal transfusable blood and could
serve as a potentially inexhaustible source of “universal” blood. His
team also discovered how to generate functional hemangioblasts – a population
of “ambulance” cells – from hES cells. In animals, these cells
quickly repaired vascular damage, cutting the death rate after a heart attack
in half and restoring the blood flow to ischemic limbs that might otherwise
have to be amputated.
Lanza and a team lead by Kwang-Soo
Kim at Harvard University have also reported a safe method for generating
induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Human iPS cells were created from skin
cells by direct delivery of proteins, thus eliminating the harmful risks
associated with genetic manipulation. The Editors of the prestigious journal
Nature selected Lanza and Kim’s paper on protein reprogramming as one of five
“Research Highlights.” Discover magazine stated, “Lanza’s
single-minded quest to usher in this new age has paid dividends in scientific
insights and groundbreaking discoveries.” Fortune magazine called him
“the standard-bearer for stem cell research.”
Dr. Lanza has received numerous
awards, including being named one of TIME Magazine’s “100 Most Influential
People in the World”; the 2013 Il Leone di San Marco award in Medicine
(The Italian Heritage and Culture Committee, along with Regis Philbin [in
Entertainment]); including an NIH Director’s Award (2010) for “Translating
Basic Science Discoveries into New and Better Treatments”; the 2010
‘Movers and Shakers’ Who Will Shape Biotech Over the Next 20 Years
(BioWorld)(along with Craig Venter and President Barack Obama); the 2007 100
Most Inspiring People in the Life-Sciences Industry (PharmaVOICE, “For his
discoveries ‘behind the medicines making a significant impact on the pipelines
of today and of the future'”; the 2007 Outstanding Contribution in
Contemporary Biology Award (Brown University, “For his groundbreaking
research and contributions in stem cell science and biology”; the 2006
All-Star Award for Biotechnology (MA High Tech, for “pushing stem cells’
future”); the 2005 Rave Award for Medicine (Wired magazine, “For
eye-opening work on embryonic stem cells”); and Lanza is listed in Who’s
Who in America, Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare,
Who’s Who in Science and Engineering; Who’s Who in American Education, and
Who’s Who in Technology, among others.
Dr. Lanza and his research have been
featured in almost every media outlet in the world, including CNN, TIME,
Newsweek, People, as well as the front pages of the New York Times, Wall Street
Journal, Washington Post, among others (his work has also been the cover story
of US News & World Report, Wired magazine, and Scientific American).
In 2007, Lanza published a feature
article, “A New Theory of the Universe” in The American Scholar, a
leading intellectual journal which has previously published works by Albert
Einstein, Margaret Mead, and Carl Sagan, among others. His theory places
biology above the other sciences in an attempt to solve one of nature’s biggest
puzzles, the theory of everything that other disciplines have been pursuing for
the last century. This new view has become known as Biocentrism. In
biocentrism, space and time are forms of animal sense perception, rather than
external physical objects. Understanding this more fully yields answers to
several major puzzles of mainstream science, and offers a new way of understanding
everything from the microworld (for instance, the reason for Heisenberg’s
uncertainty principle and the double-slit experiment) to the forces, constants,
and laws that shape the universe. Nobel laureate E. Donnall Thomas stated
“Any short statement does not do justice to such a scholarly work. The
work is a scholarly consideration of science and philosophy that brings biology
into the central role in unifying the whole.”
You can read more about Dr. Robert
Lanza’s work at:
Nancy Kress
is the author of thirty-four books, including twenty-six novels, four
collections of short stories, and three books on writing. Her work has won six
Nebulas, two Hugos, a Sturgeon, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. She
writes frequently about genetic engineering; including the acclaimed
science-fiction novel Beggars in Spain. Kress’s fiction has been translated
into Swedish, Danish, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Polish, Croatian,
Chinese, Lithuanian, Romanian, Japanese, Korean, Hebrew, Russian, and Klingon,
none of which she can read. In addition to writing, Kress often teaches at
various venues around the country and abroad, including a visiting lectureship
at the University of Leipzig, a 2017 writing class in Beijing, and the annual intensive
workshop TaosToolbox. Kress lives in Seattle with her husband, writer Jack
Skillingstead, and Pippin, the world’s most spoiled Chihuahua.
In 1715, Lady Blythe Hedley’s father is declared an enemy of the British crown because of his Jacobite sympathies, forcing her to flee her home in northern England. Secreted to the tower of Wedderburn Castle in Scotland, Lady Blythe awaits who will ultimately be crowned king. But in a house with seven sons and numerous servants, her presence soon becomes known.
No sooner has Everard Hume lost his father, Lord Wedderburn, than Lady Hedley arrives with the clothes on her back and her mistress in tow. He has his own problems–a volatile brother with dangerous political leanings, an estate to manage, and a very young brother in need of comfort and direction in the wake of losing his father. It would be best for everyone if he could send this misfit heiress on her way as soon as possible.
Drawn into a whirlwind of intrigue, shifting alliances, and ambitions, Lady Blythe must be careful whom she trusts. Her fortune, her future, and her very life are at stake. Those who appear to be adversaries may turn out to be allies–and those who pretend friendship may be enemies.
“A masterful achievement of historical complexity and scintillating romance sure to thrill readers with its saga of love under siege.”— Booklist, starred review
“A deeply atmospheric story of faith, love, and sacrifice that is as captivating as it is enthralling.”— Sarah E. Ladd, bestselling author of The CornwallNovels
“Marked by majestic Scottish scenery and a memorable trip to Edinburg, The Rose and the Thistle is a delightful historical romance set during a tumultuous time.”— Forward Reviews
Christy Award-winning author, Laura Frantz, is passionate about all things historical, particularly the 18th-century, and writes her manuscripts in longhand first. Her stories often incorporate Scottish themes that reflect her family heritage. She is a direct descendant of George Hume, Wedderburn Castle, Berwickshire, Scotland, who was exiled to the American colonies for his role in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, settled in Virginia, and is credited with teaching George Washington surveying in the years 1748-1750. Proud of her heritage, she is also a Daughter of the American Revolution. When not at home in Kentucky, she and her husband live in Washington State.
I am thrilled to be hosting a spot
on the A CROWN FORGED BY VICTORY’S CONSEQUENCE by Marlayna James & Aaryanna
Abbott Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out
my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About The Book:
Title: A CROWN FORGED BY VICTORY’S CONSEQUENCE (The
Blackened Tablet Series, #1)
The Blackened Tablet Series is an epic fantasy quest story
with corrupt politics, wondrous magic, and illicit encounters in a supernatural
world where no one is safe.
Three hundred years ago, the sacred tablet granted by their
god, Jezabet, turned black, and eight kingdoms broke free, plummeting into the
bottomless sea. There was no warning, and no one knows why.
Now, a strange illness plagues Aldersward. Crowned Prince
Aedyn’s sisters, Achelle and Annora, his father, and countrymen are desperate
and grief-stricken. All hope is lost…
Until someone dreams, and Aedyn leaves behind his mistress
and his betrothed to cure their nation. He enlists his friends; a brazen
playboy, a gentle strongman, and an ancient mentor. Together, they set out on a
perilous journey-few believe they will survive.
This isn’t a fairy tale-s3x becomes currency, murder is
ordinary, and love doesn’t conquer all.
Everyone loves a hero-good triumphs evil. But few dare to
question how victory ripples into consequences. Explore this exciting concept
in the Blackened Tablet Series.
About Marlayna James:
Marlayna
lives in Canada where she writes romance, erotica, women’s fiction, and
fantasy. She loves video games, TV, reading, and writing.
About Aaryanna Abbott:
This is
another of my pen names. For every pen name, I use a different part of who I
am. I imagine this is how she looks.
What’s this
part of me like?
I was a
daddy’s girl. The very epitome of spoilt.
I love to be
wild and crazy—experience everything the world has to offer. I’m adventurous
and my carefree disposition is contagious.
I’m loyal to
a fault and don’t care what expectations or labels society has bestowed upon
me. I believe one’s truth is more valuable than anyone’s perception.
This part of
me writes for escapism—to be free of my mundane day to day and live in a
magical world almost as real to me as earth. Except in my imaginary world, I
control all things and it pleases me to no end.
In the tradition of C. S. Harris and Anne Perry, a fatal disaster on the Thames and a roiling political conflict set the stage for Karen Odden’s second Inspector Corravan historical mystery.September 1878. One night, as the pleasure boat the Princess Alice makes her daily trip up the Thames, she collides with the Bywell Castle, a huge iron-hulled collier. The Princess Alice shears apart, throwing all 600 passengers into the river; only 130 survive. It is the worst maritime disaster London has ever seen, and early clues point to sabotage by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, who believe violence is the path to restoring Irish Home Rule. For Scotland Yard Inspector Michael Corravan, born in Ireland and adopted by the Irish Doyle family, the case presents a challenge. Accused by the Home Office of willfully disregarding the obvious conclusion and berated by his Irish friends for bowing to prejudice, Corravan doggedly pursues the truth, knowing that if the Princess Alice disaster is pinned on the IRB, hopes for Home Rule could be dashed forever. Corrovan’s dilemma is compounded by Colin, the youngest Doyle, who has joined James McCabe’s Irish gang. As violence in Whitechapel rises, Corravan strikes a deal with McCabe to get Colin out of harm’s way. But unbeknownst to Corravan, Colin bears longstanding resentments against his adopted brother and scorns his help. As the newspapers link the IRB to further accidents, London threatens to devolve into terror and chaos. With the help of his young colleague, the loyal Mr. Stiles, and his friend Belinda Gale, Corravan uncovers the harrowing truth—one that will shake his faith in his countrymen, the law, and himself.
ADVANCE PRAISE
“[An] exceptional sequel . . . Fans of Lyndsay Faye’s Gods of Gotham trilogy will be enthralled.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Victorian skulduggery with a heaping side of Irish troubles.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Charismatic police superintendent Michael Corravan is back in a gripping sequel about the mysterious sinking of the Princess Alice. Odden deftly weaves together English and Irish history, along with her detective’s own story, in a way that will keep readers flipping pages long into the night.” —Susan Elia MacNeal, New York Times bestselling author of Mother Daughter Traitor Spy and the Maggie Hope series.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Read an exclusive interview with author Karen Odden
Even as I did so, I heard the twins, Colin and Elsie, their voices raised as they talked over each other—Elsie with a sharp edge of frustration, Colin growling in reply. Odd, I thought as I pushed open the door. Since they were children, they’d baited each other and teased, but I’d never known them to quarrel.
Colin sat in a kitchen chair tilted backward, the heel of one heavy boot hooked over the rung. He glared up at Elsie, who stood across the table, her hand clutching a faded towel at her hip, her chin set in a way I recognized.
“Hullo,” I said. “What’s the matter?”
Both heads swiveled to me, and in unison, they muttered, “Nothing.”
They could have still been five, caught spooning the jam out of the jar Ma hid behind the flour tin. Except that under the stubble of his whiskers, there was a puffiness along Colin’s cheek that appeared to be the remnants of a bruise.
Colin thunked the front legs of the chair onto the floor and pushed away from the table. “I got somethin’ to do.” He took his coat off the rack—not his old faded one, I noticed, but a new one—and stalked out the door, pulling it closed behind him.
I raised my eyebrows and turned to Elsie. She grimaced. “He’s just bein’ an eejit, like most men.” Her voice lacked its usual good humor; she was genuinely angry.
Jaysus, I thought. What’s happened? But I’d give Elsie a moment. “Where’s Ma?”
“Went down to the shop for some tea.” She stepped to the sideboard and moved the kettle to the top of the stove. The handle caught her sleeve, pulling it back far enough that I caught sight of a white bandage.
“Did you hurt your wrist?”
She tugged the sleeve down. “Ach, I just fell on the stairs. Clumsy of me.”
The broken window and Colin’s abrupt departure had been enough to alert me to something amiss. Even without those signs, though, I wouldn’t have believed her. I knew the shape a lie took in her voice.
“No, you didn’t,” I said.
Her back was to me, and she spoke over her shoulder. “It’s nothing, Mickey.”
I approached and took her left elbow gently in mine to turn her. “Let me see.”
Reluctantly, she let me unwrap the flannel. Diagonal across her wrist was a bruise such as a truncheon or a pipe might leave, purple and yellowing at the edges.
I looked up. “Who did this?” My voice was hoarse.
Her eyes, blue as mine, stared back. “Mickey, don’t look like that. It was dark, and I doubt he did it on purpose.”
“Jaysus, Elsie.” I let go of her, so she could rewrap it. “Who?”
“I don’t know! I was walking home from Mary’s house on Wednesday night, and before I knew it, twenty lads were around me, fightin’ and brawlin’, and I jumped out of the way, but one of them hit my wrist, and I fell.”
“What were you doing walking alone after dark? Where was Colin?”
She gave a disparaging “pfft.” “As if I’d know. Some nights he doesn’t come home until late. Or not at all.”
Harry’s words came back to me: “Out . . . as usual.”
I cast my mind back to my own recent visits. Colin had often been absent, partly because he’d been working on the construction of the new embankment, but that had ended in July. So where was he spending his time now? And where had he earned the money for his new coat?
We both heard Ma’s footsteps on the inside stairs.
“Don’t tell Ma,” Elsie said hurriedly, her voice low. The bandage was completely hidden by her sleeve. “She has enough to worry about. Swear, Mickey.”
Even as I promised, I wondered what else was worrying Ma. But as the door at the top of the inner stairs opened, I had my smile ready.
Ma emerged, carrying a packet of tea from the shop. “Ah, Mickey! I’m glad ye came.” Her face shone with genuine warmth, and she smoothed her coppery hair back from her temple. Her eyes flicked around the room, landing on Elsie. “Colin left?” The brightness in her expression dimmed.
“Just now,” Elsie replied. Their gazes held, and with the unfailing instinct that develops in anyone who grew up trying to perceive trouble before it struck, I sensed meaning in that silent exchange. But before I could decipher it, Elsie shrugged, and Ma turned to me, her hazel eyes appraising.
“You look less wraithy than usual.” She reached up to pat my cheek approvingly. “Elsie, fetch the preserves. I’ll put the water on.”
“I’ll do it, Ma.” I went to the stove, tonged in a few lumps of coal from the scuttle and shut the metal door with a clang. As Elsie sliced the bread, I filled the kettle and Ma took down three cups and saucers from the shelf.
The tension I sensed amid my family derived from something drifting in the deep current, not bobbing along the surface, driven by a single day’s wind and sun. Something had changed.
Karen Odden earned her Ph.D. in English from New York University and subsequently taught literature at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has contributed essays to numerous books and journals, written introductions for Victorian novels in the Barnes & Noble classics series and edited for the journal Victorian Literature and Culture (Cambridge UP). Her previous novels, also set in 1870s London, have won awards for historical fiction and mystery. A member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime and the recipient of a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Karen lives in Arizona with her family and her rescue beagle Rosy.
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (December 13, 2022)
Length: (400) pages
Format: Hardcover, Trade paperback, & eBook
ISBN: 978-0764239502
Tour Dates: December 5 – December 19, 2022
BOOK DESCRIPTION
When all of Venice is unmasked, one man’s identity remains a mystery . . . 1807 When a baby is discovered floating in a basket along the quiet canals of Venice, a guild of artisans takes him in and raises him as a son, skilled in each of their trades. Although the boy, Sebastien Trovato, has wrestled with questions of his origins, it isn’t until a woman washes ashore on his lagoon island that answers begin to emerge. In hunting down his story, Sebastien must make a choice that could alter not just his own future, but also that of the beloved floating city.
1904 Daniel Goodman is given a fresh start in life as the century turns. Hoping to redeem a past laden with regrets, he is sent on an assignment from California to Venice to procure and translate a rare book. There, he discovers a city of colliding hope and decay, much like his own life, and a mystery wrapped in the pages of that filigree-covered volume. With the help of Vittoria, a bookshop keeper, Daniel finds himself in a web of shadows, secrets, and discoveries carefully kept within the stones and canals of the ancient city . . . and in the mystery of the man whose story the book does not finish: Sebastien Trovato.
ADVANCE PRAISE
“This lyrical dual-narrative historical from Dykes (Set the Stars Alight) dives into the histories of Venice, Italy, and Venice Beach, California.”— Publisher’s Weekly
“Introspective, surprising, and achingly beautiful.”— Booklist starred review
“Dykes’s pen is fused with magic and poetry. Every word’s a gentle wave building into the splendor that is All the Lost Places, where struggles for identity and a place to belong find hope between the pages of a timeless story.”— J’Nell Ciesielski, bestselling author of The Socialite
“Luscious writing, authentic characters, and an ending that satisfies to the core of the spirit, this novel is another winner from Amanda Dykes.”— Heidi Chiavaroli, Carol Award-winning author of Freedom’s Ring and Hope Beyond the Waves
Amanda Dykes’s debut novel, Whose Waves These Are, is the winner of the prestigious 2020 Christy Award Book of the Year, a Booklist 2019 Top Ten Romance debut, and the winner of an INSPY Award. She’s also the author of Yours Is the Night and Set the Stars Alight, a 2021 Christy Award finalist.
I am thrilled to be hosting a spot
on the ARMADAS IN THE MIST by Christian Klaver Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out
my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About The Book:
Title: ARMADAS IN THE MIST (The Empire of the
House of Thorns #3)
The Black Shuck’s forces gather just
beyond the mist . . .
Captain Justice Kasric knows how
complicated family can be. The escalating Human-Faerie war has scattered and
wounded her siblings and transformed her parents beyond recognition. After
narrowly escaping yet another dangerous clash, fifteen-year-old Justice has had
enough. She’s determined to defeat the Black Shuck, the mysterious leader
controlling the Faerie invasion of London, but if Justice hopes to stand a
chance at victory, she’ll have to do the impossible: reunite her family and
lead them against the looming Faerie Armada.
With her mother and brother at the
helm of the enemy fleet, and the prophesized Seven Virtues slipping out of
reach, Justice more than has her work cut out for her. Even if she can save
England, the cost may be higher than she’s willing to pay.
Christian
Klaver has been writing for over twenty years, with a number of magazine
publications, including Escape Pod, Dark Wisdom Anthology,
and Anti-Matter. He’s the author of The Supernatural Case Files of
Sherlock Holmes series, but has written over a dozen novels, both fantasy and
sci-fi, often with a Noir bent. He’s worked as book-seller, bartender and a
martial-arts instructor before settling into a career in internet security. He
lives just outside the sprawling decay of Detroit, Michigan, with his wife,
Kimberly, his daughter, Kathryn, and a group of animals he refers to as The
Menagerie. He’s also a part of the Untitled Writer’s Group based in Ann Arbor
for the past decade or so with a bunch of equally starry-eyed dreamers and social
misanthropes.
I am thrilled to be hosting a spot
on the MOTHER OF THE RIVER by Emily McPherson Pre-Order Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check
out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
Inspired by traditional Irish
Mythology, Mother of the River tells the story of a 17 year
old girl in search of her missing mother when she stumbles upon a forgotten
legend.
Ianthe was only six years old when her mother vanished and the strange statue
appeared in the river near her home. Now, eleven years later, the statue stands
as a memorial and a place where Ianthe often visits to tell her mother about
her life. But when an old acquaintance returns to town and suggests the statue
isn’t just a statue, the presence of a mythical creature comes into question,
and Ianthe begins to wonder what really happened all those years ago.
With her best friend Fintan by her side, Ianthe searches for a lost legend and
discovers fantastical dangers, family secrets, and the magic of Ireland. But
finding the myth may not be enough to mend the past. And finding the truth just
may threaten her future.
May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been, the foresight to know
where you are going, and the insight to know when you have gone too far- Irish
proverb
Emily
McPherson is an author for young adult readers with several fantasy projects in
the works. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, she strives to normalize
seeing characters of the rainbow on the page without harmful stereotypes. She
is an Irish dancer with a slight obsession with mythological creatures. She
lives in Connecticut with her husband, son, and – the real mythological
creatures – her two rescue pugs.
He’s a refreshingly different hero,
definitely not young and six-packed, but…
Retired reporter Jake Scott knows a
thing or two about exposing the truth and unmasking frauds. Unfortunately, he
walks a fine line between helping and interfering in investigations. Homicide
Detective Dani Perez, with whom Jake has a shaky personal relationship, doesn’t
always appreciate it, but he can’t seem to help himself.
The affable and shrewd, yet old
fashioned, Jake is hot on the trail of a case when a body discovered in a bog
and three suspects lead him to the doorstep of The Guardians of Truth, a shady
organization with an opportunistic and charismatic leader. While the
organization purports to offer everlasting support to its followers, Jake
discovers just the opposite is true.
Now Jake and an insider, Cassie
Wright, want to expose the leader and protect his followers from financial ruin
or worse. Their harrowing quest isn’t without peril, as one will disappear and
the other will be forced to fight for survival.
If you like your heroes to be, well,
like you and I, the second book in the Jake Scott Mystery Series will draw you
in and have you wishing you could dive in to help.
About Barry Finlay:
In 2009, Barry Finlay went up a
mountain as an accountant and came down as a philanthropist. After over thirty
years in various financial roles with the Canadian federal government, he took
his life in a different direction and climbed Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro at age
60 with his son Chris. The climb and their fundraising efforts to help kids in
Tanzania changed his life in a number of ways, including the start of his
writing journey. He wrote his first book, the popular Kilimanjaro and Beyond: A
Life-Changing Journey with his son in 2014.
He followed that up with the
hilarious travel memoir, I Guess We Missed The Boat, and then The Marcie Kane
Thriller Collection was born. Barry completed his debut fiction book, and the
first in the series, The Vanishing Wife, in 2014. His next novel, A Perilous
Question, was released in May 2016. His political thriller, Remote Access, was
released in April 2018. That was followed by a novella, Never So Alone, in May
2019. The fifth book in the Marcie Kane Thriller Collection, The Burden of
Darkness, was released in May 2020.
Each of the thrillers has a
socially relevant theme, and has achieved Kindle bestseller status.
Now, he’s introducing a new
character named Jake Scott in what will undoubtedly be a new mystery series.
The first in the series, Searching For Truth, was released in 2021.
Barry’s books have received
multiple literary awards and he was named to the Authors Show’s list of
“50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading” in 2012. In 2013, he
received the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee medal for his philanthropic work
in Africa. He lives in Ottawa, Canada with his wife Evelyn.
Sign up for Barry’s newsletter at
his website and receive a free download of An Interview With Marcie Kane.
I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE YEAR OF THE BEAR by Douglas
J. Lanzo & Ambassador International Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my
post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
A remarkable story of a bear and the
coming-of-age journey of a teenage boy.
Thirteen-year-old Jason is on the
cusp of manhood, striving to fi nd his place at school and at home—especially
after his mother has abandoned them and his father is left to deal with his own
anger. When Jason and his father encounter a bear while out hunting, they shoot
and kill it, not realizing that they have left a cub without its mother. When
Sasquot of the Penobscot Tribe, a part of the Bear Family, discovers what they
have done, he decides that Jason needs a lesson in caring for God’s creatures.
Thus begins a year that Jason will never forget as he begins to care and train
the cub in order for it to survive. As Jason forms a bond with the bear, he, in
turn, learns valuable lessons for life.
“Fans of classic, enthralling
adventure (and I’m one) are in for a rare treat.”-Josh Lieb New York Times best-selling and Emmy Award-winning author of I am a
Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class
President
About Douglas J. Lanzo:
An award-winning and featured
inspirational author published in Vita Brevis Press’ bestselling 2021 poetry
anthology and Café Haiku’s upcoming 2021 Fifth Poetry Anthology and featured in
WestWard Quarterly’s Winter 2021 issue, since 2020 Douglas’ poetry has found
homes in thirty-eight literary publications across the U.S., Canada, England,
Wales, Austria, Mauritius, India, Australia, and The Caribbean. A graduate of
Harvard College and Law School, where Douglas enjoyed writing editorials for
The Harvard Crimson and articles for various other Harvard publications, he has
published professional legal articles throughout his career. A General Counsel
by day and writer by night, Douglas resides in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with his
wife and twelve-year old identical twin boys, fellow published poets, enjoying
nature, traveling, biking, tennis, and chess.
