Spotlight on The Second Lives of Honest Men & Giveaway

The Second Lives of Honest Men Tour & Giveaway!!

A “Philosophical Odyssey touching on Faith, Hope, Love, Morality and Redemption.”

Synopsis

On the evening of April 14th, 1865, a flawless duplicate replaced the 16th President an instant prior to his assassination. Two centuries later, Honest Abe opened his eyes to a world in desperate need of guidance.

THE SECOND LIVES OF HONEST MEN is a prescient vision of where society’s dependence on technology could be taking us. It’s a character driven story about love, redemption, and hope, with deep philosophical underpinnings related to how we think, feel, and reason in a world where it’s ironically easy to feel disconnected.

Purchase The Book

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Apple iTunes

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About The Author

My family often drives me to the brink of madness; not a difficult thing to do, considering how close to the edge I already am. My daughter is a hellion. At the age of six, she’s both bright and bold, obstinate, and pushes every button I have. My wife blames my genetics: “I was never like that,” she claims. I deny it, despite knowing that I was also an uncontrollable child.

I’m a teacher, but I consider myself a modern philosopher. I’m very worried about the current state of education. I’m concerned about the future, in general. I don’t think we all necessarily need to be alarmists, though I do believe that if you look at the world around you and aren’t a little worried, you and I probably aren’t going to agree on much. (I’ll pretend not to look while you navigate elsewhere. There’s plenty of other entertainment on-line. Crushing Candy, and so forth…)

I’m currently working on a couple of new short stories, and on the sequel to The Second Lives of Honest Men, which I’m writing under the working title of The Old Crow.

Visit his site at http://www.embracetheirony.com/

To follow the entire tour and view the schedule, Go HERE

Enter the Giveaway!

US & Canadian Entrants only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This tour is brought to you by Worldwind Virtual Book Tours.

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{Cover Reveal} Pump Up Your Book Presents Romancing the Million $$$ Ghost Cover Reveal – Win Amazon Gift Cards & Ghostie Swag!

About the Book:

Eccentric tobacco tycoon Rodger Hawthorne III can have anything his heart desires except his dead wife, Sarah.  Feeling responsible for the car crash that killed her twenty years earlier, he offers one million dollars to anyone who can find her spirit and bring it to him within one week or the money is forfeited.  Six spiritually-challenged—but highly intuitive—women find his ad over the Internet and accept his challenge only to embark on a journey they didn’t quite expect that covers astral traveling, past life regressions and spiritual encounters of the unworldly kind.  While this book is lightly based on a true story of a real man who is offering one million dollars to anyone who can prove that spirits exist, this story is purely fictional.  Or is it?

Coming October 2013!

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About the Authors:

ABOUT HEIDE AW KAMINSKI

HEIDE AW KAMINSKI is the mom of three very successful children, and she lives in southeast Michigan with her partner, her son and her stepson. She teaches English in a high school for juvenile delinquent boys, as well as co-directs the Sunday school program for an Interfaith Center. She is also the editor-in-chief for the Interfaith Center’s monthly 16-page newsletter.  She is currently the author of five books, ADHD and ME , Get Smart Through Art, The Ability Gang (a novel for upper elementary readers), Von Riesiggross bis Klitzeklein (a German children’s book), and South of Eden (a not so serious novel about life in Heaven). She has also published stories in 15 anthologies, including Chicken Soup for the Divorced Soul.

Kaminski was born and raised in Germany, and after spending a year as an exchange student in the USA, she ended up marrying an American and has been a permanent resident in the U.S. since 1984, as well as a citizen of the U.S. since 2007. After dedicating many years to being there for her children first, she obtained her bachelor’s degree in English communications at the ripe age of 50 and her English teaching certificate two years later.

ABOUT PAM RYAN

Pam Ryan is a writer and professional psychic from Northwestern Ohio. She is the mother of two and has been a widow for the last five years. Her writing career began back in high school where she wrote a column for the Sylvania Sentinel Newspaper in Sylvania, Ohio. Pam was also the first page editor of the high school newspaper as well as doing the public relations for the high school musicals At the University of Toledo she helped to create the Public Relations Department for the Department of Theatre and Speech, worked as a reporter for the college paper, The Collegian, and was assistant to the Public Relation Director of a local Toledo, Ohio, theatre group, Lynro Productions. After college Pam went to work for the United States Government and part of her duties were to write, and publisher a newspaper for the Migrant Opportunity Program in Phoenix, Arizona. Back in Ohio she lent her talents to the local Muscular Dystrophy Association, Make A Wish of Northwestern Ohio, worked on newsletters for Grace Lutheran Church and Christ the King Church, both in Toledo, and did public relations for the Parent Organization of Lake Elementary School. Pamela Ryan, as she is known professionally, began her professional psychic career in 1990. She presently does private readings and parties, and is also available at Lite the Way,Lambertville, Michigan, and The Healing Oasis in Clay Center, Ohio. Pam has recently completed classes and become a Certified Hypnotherapist and has completed the Master’s level for hypnotherapists. Publication is tentatively set for 2013, for her book, “My Dearest Children”, channeled by Mary Magdalene, and is presently working on a biography of world renowned journalist, Ruth Montgomery and a series of books about a fictional psychic medium. The first one is called, “The Macrame Cross”.

ABOUT DOROTHY THOMPSON

Dorothy Thompson is the owner/founder of Pump Up Your Book, an innovative public relations firm specializing in online book promotion and social media marketing for authors.  Pump Up Your Book was voted #1 in the Preditor’s and Editor’s Readers Poll in 2012.  She is also the co-author/compiler of Romancing the Soul, an anthology which proves soul mates exist and has appeared in USA Today, Chicago Times and other publications.  Dorothy loves the paranormal and is spatial clairsentient.  She lives on the beautiful island of Chincoteague, Virginia.

Together, they make the writing team of  Romancing the Million $$$ Ghost.  Visit the official book blog at www.RomancingMillionDollarGhost.com or like them on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/RomancingTheMillionDollarGhost.

 

Heide, Pam & Dorothy are giving away these fabulous prizes!

One Halloween party kit (valued at $49) or Paypal Cash!

Two $25 Amazon Gift Cards or Paypal Cash!

One FREE psychic phone reading from one of the authors, Pam Ryan!

and

One Romancing the Million $$$ Ghost ebook gifted from Amazon Kindle Store!

Terms & Conditions:

• By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old
• One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive a Halloween Party Pack for 18, an eBook copy of Romancing the Million $$$ Ghost gifted via Amazon only, one psychic phone reading from Pam Ryan and two winners will be chosen to receive $25 Amazon Gift Cards (or Paypal Cash)!
• This giveaway begins September 2 and ends September 27.
• Winner will be contacted via email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. EST September 27 2013.
• Winner has 24 hours to reply.
• Each blogger who participates in this promotion is eligible to win.
• Visit each “stop” daily for more entries.

Romancing the Million $$$ Ghost Cover Reveal & Giveaway Page:

http://www.pumpupyourbook.com/2013/06/15/cover-reveal-pump-up-your-book-presents-romancing-the-million-ghost-cover-reveal-win-ghostie-swag/

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Award-winning fantasy trilogy STONEWISER available FREE on Kindle

Dear Romantic Fantasy Fans,

Here it is, Folks! Dora Machado’s entire Stonewiser award-winning fantasy trilogy, published by Mermaid Press, FREE on Kindle.

WHEN?  Starting today, from Saturday August 31 to Monday September 2

To get your free download NOW from the Kindle store, click on each title below. It’s as simple as that!

Stonewiser: The Heart of the Stone 

Winner of the 2009 Benjamin Franklin Award for best Debut Novel

Finalist for 2009 Foreword Book of the Year Award for SFF

Between truth and deception, between justice and abuse, a stonewiser stands alone with the stones. Or so begins the stonewiser’s oath. But what happens when a rebellious stonewiser discovers that lies have tainted the stone tales?

In a world devastated by the rot’s widespread destruction, only the tales preserved in the stones can uphold the truth and defend the Goodlands. In this world, stone truth is valued above anyone’s word, and stonewisers are the only ones capable of retrieving the tales from the stones, the only link between past and present, order and chaos.

Sariah is the most gifted stonewiser of her generation, but her talent does not atone for her shortcomings. A survivor of the Guild’s brutal training, she is curious, willful and disobedient. Yet not even Sariah is prepared for what she finds when she steals into the Guild’s Sacred Vaults: A mayhem of lies and intrigues that shatters her world.

Hunted, persecuted, and betrayed, Sariah must make an unlikely alliance with Kael, a cynical rebel leader pledged to a mysterious quest of his own. The fate of their dying world depends on their courage to overcome centuries of hatred and distrust. But not even the grueling journey has prepared them for what they are about to discover. Because nothing is really as it seems, and the truth is more intricate and devastating than they ever suspected…. 

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Stonewiser: The Call of the Stone

Winner of the 2010 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Gold Medal for SF/F

Finalist for the 2010 ForeWord Book of the Year Award for SF/F

Sariah’s reward for revealing the stone truth: a death sentence.

The executioners have arrived and Sariah, the most powerful and controversial stonewiser of her generation, has been judged and condemned to death. For the last few months, Sariah has been hiding in the Rotten Domain, trying to find the elusive tale capable of uniting a divided people teetering on the brink of a catastrophic war. As she is dragged to the nets, where an eel rave has been stirred to maximize her execution’s gruesome spectacle, Sariah knows she cannot escape her sentence. She is guilty of the crimes for which she’s been condemned and no one, not even Kael, the Domain’s foremost rebel leader, can save her from the executioners’ righteous justice.

But Kael is more than just a formidable warrior; he is also a cunning strategist and Sariah’s steadfast lover. Risking all he has, he bargains with the greedy executioners, bribing them into delaying Sariah’s execution, buying her precious time and a last chance to realize the mysterious legacy that the stones have imposed on her. The agreement is hardly a reprieve. It encourages a mob to hunt Sariah for ransom, banishing her from the Rotten Domain and imposing heavy fines on anyone who tries to help her. Worse, it requires her to wear an irremovable, mysterious bracelet. If she doesn’t return to the executioners with the tale in hand when the allotted time expires, Kael and his kin will be ruined and the bracelet will kill her.

Hunted by the executioners, the Guild and the Shield, Sariah and Kael embark on a desperate search. Their journey will take them to the depths of the Rotten Domain, where Sariah must wise a guiding beam out of the wild tale stored in a stone-carved game. The beam will lead them through the warring Goodlands—where the rot is on the move—to the land beyond the Bastions, where a zealous people guard an ancient stone that could hold the key to their search. Along the way, Sariah and Kael must overcome deadly traps, torture, heartbreak, agonizing defeat and devastating losses in a desperate attempt to avoid war and answer the mysterious call of the stone. 

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Stonewiser: The Lament of the Stone

 

Winner of the 2012 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Silver Medal for SF/F

Finalist for the 2012 ForeWord Book of the Year Award for SF/F

“Do you know why the stones grieve?” the woman said to Kael. “Not for a soul, I’ll tell you that much. The stones don’t grieve for the passing of a lowly woman or the madness of a smitten man. They don’t mourn death, or lost love, or broken dreams, or loneliness or despair. Yet you will make them wail. For you, the stones will weep.”

In their most perilous adventure yet, Sariah, the rogue stonewiser who stunned the world by discovering lies in the stones and defying the all-powerful Guild, and Kael, the rebel leader who against all odds loves her, must find a stolen child, the only one capable of setting rule upon chaos, preserving the future of stonewising, and defeating the rot ravaging the land. The stakes couldn’t be higher. The coveted child they seek is said to be an abomination. He is also their son.

It’s a daunting challenge. Their child is in the hands of a deceitful enemy who has fled to a mysterious ruler, a rival deity with unfathomable powers pledged to destroy the goddess and eradicate stonewising from the world. Worse yet, the land is engulfed in strife, the rot is spreading faster than ever, and Kael is haunted by a malevolent curse compelling him to kill the woman he loves.

In a dangerous journey fraught with shocking twists, Sariah and Kael must do more than defeat their foes, unravel the mystifying forces vying to control their lives, and discover the mysteries of ages past. They must challenge the stones, defy the goddess and confront their cursed fates. Because only by embracing their destinies do they stand a chance to save their child and their world.

 

For those of you audio book lovers, the first book in the series, Stonewiser: The Heart of the Stone is now available from Audible. Be sure to check it out!

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About Dora Machado

Dora Machado is the award winning author of the Stonewiser series and her newest novel, The Curse Giver, from Twilight Times Books, available July 2013. She is one of the few Latinas exploring her heritage and her world through the epic fantasy genre today. She holds a master’s degree in business administration and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Georgetown University. She was born in Michigan and grew up in the Dominican Republic, where she developed a bilingual fascination for writing, a love for history, and a taste for Merengue.

After a lifetime of straddling such compelling but different worlds, fantasy is a natural fit to her stories. She enjoys long walks, traveling, and connecting with the amazing readers who share in her mind’s adventures. She lives in Florida with her indulging husband and three very opinionated cats. Visit her at www.DoraMachado.com.

 

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Author Profile: Anne K. Edwards

Like so many authors, Anne K. Edwards grew up with her nose stuck in a book. “I couldn’t get enough stories,” she says.

In the third grade, she fell in love with Walter Farley’s exciting Black Stallion series. An avid horse lover all her life, she reread the series over the years and still enjoys them. Though no one read to her when she was a child, her mother always encouraged her to read and write. “Books weren’t a necessity when I was a child,” states Edwards, “but Mom taught herself to write music and play the piano which wasn’t bad for a gal who left school at 15. We lived our creative dreams together.”

At 9 years of age, Edwards began writing stories which she was sure would be accepted by top known magazines and she submitted often, with The Post being a favourite target. Now retired, Edwards modestly hesitates to call herself a fulltime writer because of all the “many furry distractions that rule our home. I write while they snooze between meals.”

Today, Edwards is an award-winning, multi-genre author who writes both fiction and nonfiction for adults, as well as children’s picture books. She has penned novels in genres ranging from cozy mysteries, to speculative and fantasy, to suspense thrillers. A reviewer for more than a decade, she also regularly writes short stories and articles for magazines.

Presently, she’s promoting the release of her suspense novel, Shadows Over Paradise, the story of a young woman who travels to the South Pacific Islands to attend a friend’s wedding, but ends up nearly killed because she finds a dead body—none other than the groom’s—on her first day there.

It often takes her a year or more to finish a novel. Some have even taken her ten years due to stops and starts when another story has beckoned. She loves new ideas and often drops what she’s working on to see what would happen with a new one. As for her writing space, “I have a computer in a corner of a room that is cluttered with cats and paper and books,” she says.

Edwards describes her writing process as follows: “It begins with an idea that I want to follow to some sort of conclusion. For instance, I just worked on a new Death and Detective story where Death who is a guide for the souls of those passing over was revealed to have a special problem. Like the other such stories in the series, I wanted to see where the idea that became a plot, then a story, would lead. I usually have my ending for all stories before I begin to write. Following these ideas means I take the side roads that open up, follow false clues, and let the story unwind as I go. Having the ending is a general goal to work toward and has the ability to be changed if necessary and of necessity keeps the story focused on that point.”

After falling victim to a couple of online scams, one that resulted in a book being held by the publisher for a full seven years, and after wasting her time and efforts with agents and large publishers, Edwards is happy to have found Twilight Times Books (www.twilighttimesbooks.com). “Twilight Times Books is a very honest publisher that promotes their name and their authors and I feel lucky to be an author there. It took me several decades to find them as I started submitting at age nine and I’m now older. Lucky for writers in general there are more quality publishers out there than bad ones. One factor about find a publisher, no matter your age, do learn how to write before you submit,” warns the author.

For Edwards, the most rewarding aspect of this business is seeing the finished product of her efforts and having someone read it and say they really enjoyed or understood it.

A native of the Pennsylvania, Edwards resides in Gettysburg, where she keeps herself busy reading and writing. “I have about two million books I want to write and that many new ideas to follow.”

Visit the author at www.annekedwards.com.

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“Vampire Lore of India and the Power of Kali,” by Denise Verrico

I thought it might be fun to share some of the lore that ties in with the world building in my Immortyl Revolution novels.  Although most vampire myths were spawned in Eastern Europe, a lot of evidence points to the legends first arising out of India.  When I was developing my series, I became fascinated with Indian religions, mythology, and folklore.  Indian myths and folklore give us many examples of vampire-like spirits and deities.  In the various regions are found a plethora of demons that inhabit cremation and burial grounds.  These bear a striking resemblance to the vamps of Eastern Europe.  Many of these are said to be the spirits of those who died an unnatural death, or a woman who died in childbirth.  Others are succubus-like creatures that drain men of energy, yet leave them with a feeling of euphoria.  It is likely that traders along the Great Silk Road and the gypsies carried these stories west.  In Greece, the tales gave inspiration to the Lamiae, or female vampire-like spirits.

One deity sometimes associated with vampirism is Kali, a fierce form of the mother goddess (Shakti).  Like her husband, Shiva, she both creates and destroys.  She’s often shown standing on his body, symbolizing that in the scheme of the cosmos the male principle is subordinate to that of the female.  Kali is usually depicted with dark blue or black skin and a third eye.  She wears body parts as jewelry and has a tongue that sticks out in defiance.  Her favorite places are battlefields and burial grounds.

Kali is often misunderstood in the West.  She is the goddess of time, not death as many think.  She slays only evil demons.  Symbolically, she annihilates the selfish impulses and ego that bind us to our material bodies.  Her aspect is fearsome, but she is called Kali Maa (Mother Kali) and is revered in many parts of India.  Kolkata (Calcutta) is sacred to her and named for the goddess.

Tantric cults often focus on Kali.  Tantrism is an older religious tradition than Hinduism, dating back to the time before the Aryan tribes migrated into India.  These groups center on Shakti worship and sometimes use sex and even blood in their rituals.  The idea behind this is to gain control over the body to capture divine energy and gain blessings.  The adepts of the ancient arts in my novels practice a form of tantra.

In my reading, I’ve come across only one group associated with Kali that was violent.  They were known as the Thugees.  This is the root of our word thug.  These devotees would waylay travelers and use them as blood sacrifices to the goddess.  The Thugees inspired the Kali worshipers in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.  They are by no means representative of the vast majority of her devotees.

Kali is the great mother, who protects her earthly children.

***

Denise Verrico is giving away a free ebook of shorts to every commenter at the blogs.  

She is also doing a tour wide grand prize basket consisting of a trade paperback of Servant of the Goddess, a Cara Mia t-shirt (XL), a set of posters (one from each book), a pen, a keychain, vampire notepaper and some other small items US entries only. 

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Guest post and book giveaway by Thomas Kinship, author of Væmpires: Revolution

Hello everyone! I’m Thomas Winship, author of Væmpires: Revolution and Væmpires: White Christmas. Both books are part of a new ongoing vampire series that explores the question: what if vampires evolved?

I’m very excited to be a guest blogger at The Dark Phantom Review! This is my first official blog tour and I’m simply amazed by the support I’ve received from the community of bloggers, reader, and fans—so, thank you very, very much for joining me today.

This is the fourth (and final) week of that tour. Looking back, I realize that I’ve written guest posts about reading, writing, varied opinions about reading & writing, and even random musings … but I have yet to write a post about væmpires. Since it might be prudent to rectify that situation before it goes any further, I’m going to explain more about the world of væmpires than the information collectively offered by book descriptions, promos, and/or reviews.

So, here goes …

The Background:

Væmpires (pronounced “vempires”) takes place several thousand years in the future. Sometime in the late twenty-ninth or early thirtieth centuries, humans triggered WWIII. The resultant nuclear winter lasted for hundreds of years and wiped out the vast majority of the population. Water levels rose. The face of the world changed.

When the world recovered from the Great Devastation (as it’s called), the Atlantic Ocean was gone, creating one immense continent surrounded by water. Antarctica and Australia were uninhabited. The few island groups that existed were in constant danger of being swallowed by the remaining oceans, so efforts to inhabit them were quickly abandoned. The peoples of earth spread throughout the continent and grew roots. The calendar was reset at 1 AD (After Devastation).

The new world recovered at an exponential rate. Scientific and medical advancements eradicated most sickness and disease. In less than a thousand years, the human population soared to an estimated thirty or forty billion people.

But the geography wasn’t the only thing that had changed. Vampires, beautiful beings with an inescapable need for human blood, crawled out of the radioactive miasma to settle in dark places. For years, they hid by day and hunted by night, feeding at the fringes of civilization.

Their discovery, delayed yet inevitable, sparked the H-V (Human-Vampire) Wars. For hundreds of years, neither side gained a decided advantage—vampires were physically superior, but were greatly outnumbered and had difficulty reproducing.

In 1000 AD, the creation of synth-blood (synthetic human blood) changed the world once again. Vampires were no longer slaves to their hunger and humans no longer needed to fear their genetically-superior brethren. Vampires emerged from the shadows and the underworld, cautiously at first, but with increasing enthusiasm as humans welcomed them with open arms.

Understanding that their time as the dominant species was ending, human leaders suggested a series of agreements designed to broker a lasting peace between the two races. Earth was rechristened Tarados (Earth Two) and carved into seven provinces—North & South America, North & South Atlantica, North & South Africa, and Aurasia. Four provinces were placed under vampire rule, a bold concession that nevertheless ushered in a true golden age of peace and prosperity.

The first væmpires appeared around 1500 AD. The creatures—warm-blooded with a hunger for cold vampire blood—were quickly dismissed as anomalies; poor, unfortunate victims of some horrible new mutagen or, perhaps, lingering atomic contamination. As the situation not only persisted, but grew, world leaders stubbornly refused to acknowledge that any problem existed.

Eventually, the truth became clear: væmpires were former vampires. And each væmpire was a bigger, stronger, faster version of its former self. There was no rhyme or reason as to who morphed—male or female, old or young, from one end of the world to another—no vampire was safe.

No one could determine why the mutations occurred or how to avoid them. New synth-blood variants failed to quell væmpire hunger. The væmpire population grew to a point where they demanded rights and representation on a par with humans and vampires. Instead, their leaders were summarily ignored, discredited, or otherwise rendered impotent. Væmpire gangs formed, menacing neighborhoods in major cities.

The gangs became increasingly violent as diplomatic endeavors proved ineffective. With all three races at odds, the largest gangs evolved into terrorist cells intent on fulfilling a new agenda: the eradication of humanity; the enslavement of vampires; and the ascension of væmpires as the new world leaders.

This is where Væmpires: Revolution begins.

Væmpires: Revolution

It is the morning of Princess Cassandra’s sixteenth birthday. Everyone’s attention is focused on the heir to the vampire throne. World leaders, the rich and famous, and VIPs from every corner of the globe have gathered in the nation’s capital to celebrate the momentous event.

Cassandra’s boyfriend, Daniel, is late for the party. He’s still outside the city when all hell breaks loose. What he believes is an act of terrorism proves to be a full-fledged revolution. Væmpires have launched coordinated attacks across the globe.

The vampire and human leaders are killed. Cassandra is missing. Daniel is the acting king. Desperate to find the princess, Daniel and his friends fight their way across the besieged city. With the hopes of the free world resting on the shoulders of four vampire teenagers, væmpires unleash their secret weapons: a new breed of væmpire that is far deadlier than any ever seen before.

What can four teens do against an enemy that can shape-shift, fly, and walk through walls?

Væmpires: White Christmas is set six months prior to the events described above, but was designed to be read after Væmpires: Revolution.

Væmpires: White Christmas

It’s almost Christmas. With the global holiday days away, the people of the world should be turning their attention toward celebrating peace and goodwill, but tension between humans, vampires, and væmpires is at an all-time high. Desperate for solutions, King Brant schedules a secret summit deep in North America’s Northern Forest. Along with Queen Anne, Princess Cassandra, Daniel’s family, and the human president and First Lady, the vampire leader seeks to reaffirm the ties between humans and vampires, while brainstorming ways to respond to the growing hostility among væmpires.

Meanwhile, Daniel and Cassie’s relationship is at an all-time low. The princess is still reeling from her breakup with Vielyn, and Daniel doesn’t know what he should or shouldn’t do to help. Little does he know that the summit will be flooded with surprises—guests, allegations, accusations, proposals, and even Christmas Eve revelations—but not all of the surprises will be pleasant.

So, there you have it—the Væmpires saga in a nutshell. It’s an urban fantasy/dystopian series, combining fantasy, sci-fi, horror, action, and romance in bite-sized chunks for your enjoyment!

I hope you enjoyed my guest blog. I’d love to hear what you think of it. Comment here, stop by my website, or even drop an email. I’d also love to hear from you if you check out Vaempires. Below are some links where you can find me:

Website

Email

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

Goodreads

Books on Amazon.com

Books on Smashwords

Books on iTunes

As a final note: I’d like to thank all of you (one more time) for stopping in and offer a very special “thank you” to Mayra for allowing me to be a guest blogger at The Dark Phantom Review today.

Take care,

Thomas Winship

To win an ebook or print copy of this book, simply leave a comment! (Print copy US shipping only.) Thanks!

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On the Spotlight: Kellyann Zuzulo, author of The Genie Ignites

A former journalist, Kellyann’s interest in Middle Eastern myth and legend stems from her stint as a Managing Editor of Publications for the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C. She is a published author of several genie romance novellas. One book, Angels & Genies, was included in a collection for which Charlaine Harris wrote the foreword. Kellyann lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, three children, and a jaunty terrier named Djin-Djin.

Her latest book is The Genie Ignites.

Visit her website at www.kfzuzulo.com.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Blog | Boroughs Publishing Group | Official Tour Page

Interview:               

Do you have another job besides writing?

I work as a freelance editor when I’m not writing…or promoting a new book (which can turn into a fulltime job.) You could say I’m a language matchmaker: I enjoy putting wandering commas in their place, reuniting split infinitives and, basically, grooming sentences so they make a beautiful story.

How would you describe your creative process while writing this book? Was it stream-of-consciousness writing, or did you first write an outline?

The Genie Ignites, like most books I write, started with an outline. I had a general idea of the story in my head; I knew the beginning and the end. Then I work through chapter by chapter with a glimpse of what I want to happen. Of course, once I dive into the story, the characters frequently have ideas of their own of what they want to happen. I’m flexible.

Did your book require a lot of research?

The Genie Ignites required a lot of research. I wanted to be accurate about the Middle Eastern world where genies are an accepted part of lore, both in the past and in today’s world. I’d read a lot about the legends of the jinn, how they started and how they’re perceived today. I also subscribe to some archaeological magazines, which provide great insight into how the ancient world looked and how the people lived when Zubis first fell in love with the priestess Lina. Then I drew that forward into a modern world, which is where my own experience came in.

What was your goal when writing this book?

I wanted to create a story where a reader could imagine genies and humans living side-by-side. Genies are a very real part of the mythology in many parts of the world. They’re thought to be similar to humans but with abilities we can only imagine. There are even rules about the extent of interaction between the two races. What if a genie and a human tried to make their own way together, in spite of the obstacles? That’s what this story is about.

Who is your target audience?

My audience will be anyone who loves a good story that combines romance, suspense and humor. A tale that travels to exotic locations and dips into unique customs and styles. But, especially, fans of paranormal romance will really love this book.

Describe your working environment.

My office has a lot of windows, bud-green walls, and a tabletop fountain. The sound of gurgling water transports me to the midspace between reality and imagination where a writer lives. I have a small Bose stereo to play my iPod, which is loaded with Middle Eastern music, Enya, Loreena McKennitt, and a bunch of jazz. There’s a collection of clay oil lamps from theMiddle Eastdisplayed on my desk. I’m waiting for the day when a mist begins to seethe from one of the spouts. I won’t run from the room…promise.

Do you write non-stop until you have a first draft, or do you edit as you move along?

I write non-stop, and I mean non-stop, until the book is finished. Up at 5 a.m.for a few hours, take care of the kids and my husband in between, then back to work. When the muse has me by the hand, they are very understanding. Each morning when I check back in with the story, I do a cursory read-through of the previous scene and I’ll make grammatical changes. But the heavy edits wait until that first draft is finished. This is a piece of advice I once got in a writers workshop: Get it out. Then, fix it up.

What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

Find your voice. That is, be who you are as a writer, not who you think you should be. Finding your voice can take years, but it’ll be worth it. 

Do you have a website/blog where readers may learn more about you and your work?

My website is www.kfzuzulo.com with a blog at www.kfzuzulo.com/blog. Readers can also find me on twitter and Facebook at KFZuzulo.

 

 

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Book Review: The Eden Paradox, by Barry Kirwan

The Eden Paradox, by Barry Kirwan, is an enjoyable read that will be relished by fans of science fiction.

Fifty years into the future, the earth has been maimed by war and is near collapse from heat exhaustion. Scientists have already found the vaccine for AIDS and robot soldiers have quelled rebel invasions. The 3-year long World War between the United Secular Nations and the ‘Big Five’ Religious Front countries has left half a billion dead and a shortage of food (beef has hit $300 a kilo), power and fuel.

Then a new planet is discovered: Eden, a green-purple world bathed in blood-orange sunlight, a planet filled with virgin lakes and forests, a place so beautiful it could be compared to pre-war Switzerland.
Now, the Ulysses, a faster-than-light ship carrying a crew of four astronauts, is on its way to Eden. The venture has given one last hope to mankind. If Eden fails, all humanity will see is an abyss.

Then one of the astronauts begins having strange nightmares about a desert-filled Eden and a horrific creature. The nightmares put the astronauts on edge. After all, there’s reason for concern: Ulysses isn’t the first mission to Eden. There were two before which failed miserably under mysterious circumstances. One stopped transmitting after an hour of arrival; the other one exploded five days before landing. Do the nightmares have any substance or in any way predict the future? What, in reality, is going on in Eden?

The Eden Paradox is a well-written, action-packed, suspenseful novel. Told in multiple points of view separated by chapters, the story moves mainly between two characters: Micah, analyst at Eden Mission Control on earth, and Blake, lead astronaut at the Ulysses. Micah feels he’s being thrust into a vortex of murder, deception and conspiracy; he feels coerced into a probably fatal role in a game he doesn’t understand nor cares about. Blake, on the other hand, is intend on protecting his crew, find out what’s really going on in Eden, and return to earth successfully. In spite of all the action, there are a lot of exposition and backstory in the first few chapters. There are also a lot of characters and it took me a while to identify with any one of them.

However, I have to say that the scenes are very film-like in nature and I felt as if I were watching a movie. Although the plotline is different, the pace and tone reminded me of the Alien series, which are one of my favorites. The author uses a lot of detail to bring his fictional world to life, and in this aspect he was quite successful. In short, even though I’m not an avid fan of sci-fi, I enjoyed the novel and would definitely recommend it to readers of the genre.

A native of Farnborough, England, author Barry Kirwan grew up watching planes at the annual air show. Unable to become an astronaut, he did the next best thing—become a science fiction writer. When he’ not working in air traffic safety, he can be found writing his Eden Trilogy and other stories. Visit him at www.barrykirwan.com.

The Eden Paradox
By Barry Kirwan
Summertime Publications Inc
http://www.summertimepublications.com/
summertime.publications@gmail.com
ISBN-10: 0982369840
ISBN-13: 978-0982369845
Science Fiction Thriller
Paperback, 476 pages, $16.99
October 15, 2011

Author’s website: www.barrykirwan.com

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Making Red Hot Sky a Red Hot Read, by Gordon Gumpertz

A report on the rapid buildup of CO2 in our atmosphere over the past 50 years sparked the idea for my new thriller novel Red Hot Sky. After I read the report, I began wondering what would happen if the rapid CO2 increase continues unchecked. In the past, high and low levels of CO2 in our atmosphere have been associated with radical changes in earth’s climate. The CO2 level was very low during the last ice age. And the levels have always risen dramatically during warming periods between ice ages. Could our present CO2 buildup reach another tipping point, and another radical shift in world climate? But instead of an ice age, can it kick earth into a much hotter and more dire kind of climate?

I used that possibility for the setting in Red Hot Sky. But how will people behave when faced with an approaching disaster that could end of human survival? In this scenario, a powerful computer model foretells the looming disaster. The situation brings out the best In some of the characters, the very worst in others.

The characters were developed out of the challenges they faced. Ben Mason and Claudine Manet are co-developers of the secret computer model. They are the ones who are willing to sacrifice everything to save the planet. They are also in love, and sometimes their passions sizzle, and other times their feelings and misunderstandings drive them apart and put their relationship on thin ice.

A disgraced Russian general waits for a chance to regain his power. He learns of the climate threat through a hacker and seizes on this as this opportunity to not only take over Russia, but to ultimately rule the world. Ben Mason, who had started with the CIA in their forensics lab before leaving to take over the development of the national lab computer model, returns to the CIA and is sent on a hazardous mission to block the general’s scheme. His cover is blown and he’s on the run in hostile territory.

Claudine is put in charge of a massive NASA program to hold off the looming disaster. But just when her project is ready to launch, it is stopped dead by bureaucracy. The climate change catastrophe steadily approaches.

I chose a worldwide stage to emphasize the threat to the whole planet, and to speed up the pace of the story. The action moves from Washington to JPL in Pasadena, to Geneva, to Tehran, to Prague, and finally to Moscow. The aim in writing Red Hot Sky was to provide a fast-paced, knuckle biting, and thoroughly enjoyable experience for the reader. I must confess, I also had in mind the hope that in the process, the reader might become more aware of the risks unchecked global warming poses for the future health of our planet.

Gordon Gumpertz brings fiction readers another exciting action/adventure experience in his new novel RED HOT SKY. This is the author’s second book, following his highly acclaimed novel TSUNAMI.

In addition to writing novels, Gordon has won gold and silver awards in national and regional short story competitions. He is a member of the Authors Guild, the Palm Springs Writers Guild, a UCLA graduate, and an instrument-rated private pilot. He keeps his website current by blogging on natural disasters and natural phenomena.

Gordon and his wife Jenny live not far from the San Andreas fault, where the Pacific Plate thrusts into the North American Plate, building increasingly high levels of faultline stress which, the seismologists say, may soon produce the Big One.

Visit his website at www.tsunaminaturaldisaster.com.

Amazon | Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

About Red Hot Sky

CO2 buildup in earth’s atmosphere reaches a tipping point. Global weather destabilizes, turns chaotic. Ice storms, dust storms, floods, blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes pummel the earth nonstop. A secret computer model reveals that the frantic weather will peak out, and transform world climate into an alien environment devastating to human survival.

Scientists Ben Mason, Claudine Manet, and Bertrand Short are developers of the computer model. Ben and Claudine are lovers as well as lab partners. While they work frantically to head off the approaching catastrophe, a disgraced Russian general hacks into their model and sees earth’s bleak future as his opportunity for ultimate world power.

Ben, who had left the CIA to develop the computer model at the national lab, is reactivated by the Agency and sent on a perilous mission to block the rogue general’s plot. Claudine, not realizing that Ben is on a secret mission, misunderstands his absence, putting their relationship on thin ice.

Claudine is placed in charge of a massive NASA project that, if completed on time, could stop the approaching doomsday climate change. But her project is stalled by bureaucracy. Ben is on the run in hostile territory. The climate change calamity steadily approaches.

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“Confessions of a Love Junkie and Chocoholic,” by Nikki Jefford

Between the Sheets

I find kiss scenes more challenging to write than sex. BUT, even more than steamy scenes, I love build-up and playful banter. In addition to paranormal YA and historical romance, I write erotica under a nom de plume.

Real Life Romance

I met my husband, the love of my life, Sébastien, in France while I was a teaching assistant during the 1999-2000 school year (and returned home a married woman). Some people bring back a shot glass – I brought home a husband.

First Kiss

Not till age 21. No wonder I get anxious writing them.

Seven Times a Charm

I wrote six “practice” novels before I felt ready to go live with my first eBook, this month, Entangled. It is the full novel version of Spellbound and will be followed up with two sequels.

Sweet Tooth

Off the charts! I once gained 50 lbs in 3 months because I couldn’t stop baking (and eating) chocolate chip cookies. My favorite cookbook at the moment is “Health by Chocolate” by Victoria Laine. Now I can have my chocolate and eat it too!

About Nikki’s chocolate-covered contribution:

A Resurrection Spell Gone Wrong

Two months after dying, Graylee Perez wakes up in her identical twin sister, Charlene’s body. As the daughter of a witch, can anyone blame her mother for attempting to bring her back to life? Only now Gray’s stuck sharing her sister’s body 50/50 in 24 hour shifts.

The race is on for Gray to find a way back inside her body before Charlene purges her from existence. Warlock Raj McKenna is rumored to meddle in the black arts, not to mention he’s after Gray’s invisibility spell and worse – her heart. But Raj might be the only one powerful enough to save Gray from fading away forever.

About the author:

Nikki Jefford’s novella Spellbound appears in the YA paranormal romance anthology Death By Chocolate, released this week. She is a third generation Alaskan who found paradise in the not-so-tropical San Juans Islands in Washington.

She blogs at: http://www.nikkijefford.blogspot.com/

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