Spotlight: Sandcastle

Sandcastle
by Justin Bog

Synopsis

The Complete Edition of Justin Bog's First Collection of Dark Psychological Suspense Tales.

An award-winning collection, Sandcastle and Other Stories reveals twisted secrets that are mined like plutonium. These twelve literary tales are nothing short of an adventure through a roiling sea of emotion. With authenticity and eloquence, author Justin Bog holds a provocative and compelling mirror on the human condition.

"The stories are those of everyday people who might live next door or in the walk-up across the street . . . A man with a personal crisis takes a singles cruise – a woman leaves her toddler girl at the beach while having a romantic tryst – a B-list actor’s character is killed off – a girl is sucked below the sand into an underwater chamber . . . an old gardener who has dark secrets interacts with the bosses daughter in a most unforeseen way. The only commonality in these tight, little stories is they are unexpected. Having this book is like having a string of black pearls – each one slightly different, but each a perfect, dark, little gem . . . Bog paints pictures with words as Titian did with oil paints – startlingly detailed with deep perspective and rich complexity."

--Rosi Hollenbeck, San Francisco Book Review

About the Author

Justin Bog lives in the Pacific Northwest on Fidalgo Island. Justin Bog was Pop Culture Correspondent and Editor for In Classic Style. He enjoys cooking, lawn mowing not so much, and spends time walking and handing out treats to two long coat German shepherds, Zippy and Kipling, and two barn cats, Ajax The Gray and Eartha Kitt’n.

Sandcastle and Other Stories: The Complete Edition  on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1T2gnHX

*The author will be selling two new stories separately in one bundle under the title: Speak the Word! as an eBook only for $1.99

www.justinbog.com

Justin’s creative writing blog is here.

On Twitter @JustinBog

On Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1FCBVk3

Book Blitz: Flash

Flash

By Donna Ball

Genre: Mystery/suspense (dog mystery)

Publication Date: May 1, 2015

Publisher: Blue Merle Publishing

Don’t miss the first book in an exciting new dog mystery series

Almost two years ago the sleepy little community of Dogleg Island was the scene of one of the most brutal crimes in Florida history.  The only eye witnesses were a border collie  puppy and a police officer. Since that time Flash has grown from a puppy into a vital part of the Dogleg Island Police Department, and has  lived happily with the two people who rescued him on that horrible night: Deputy Sheriff Ryan Grady and Police Chief Aggie Malone.  

Now the trial of the century is about to begin.  The defendant, accused of slaughtering  his parents in their beach home, maintains his innocence.  Aggie and Ryan, the top witnesses for the prosecution,are convinced he is lying.  But only Flash knows the truth.

And with another murder to solve, a tangle of conflicting evidence to sort out, and a brutal storm on the way, the truth may come too late... for all of them.


About the Author

Donna Ball is the author of over a hundred novels under several different pseudonyms in a variety of genres that include romance, mystery, suspense, paranormal, western adventure, historical and women’s fiction. Recent popular series include the Ladybug Farm series by Berkley Books and the Raine Stockton Dog Mystery series. Donna is an avid dog lover and her dogs have won numerous titles for agility, obedience and canine musical freestyle. She divides her time between the Blue Ridge mountains and the east coast of Florida, and lives with a variety of four-footed companions. You can contact her at http://www.donnaball.net, or follow her on Facebook at Donna Ball

Links:

Website: http://www.DonnaBall.net

Facebook: Donna Ball Author Page

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DonnaABall

Amazon link for Flash: http://www.amazon.com/Flash-Donna-Ball/dp/0985774894

Book Spotlight: The Jack of Souls

The Jack of Souls

by Stephen Merlino

Synopsis

Harric is an outcast rogue who must break a curse put on his fate, or die on his nineteenth birthday. To survive, he’ll need more than his usual tricks. He’ll need help. But on the kingdom’s lawless frontier, his only allies are other outcasts. 

One of these is Caris, a mysterious, horse-whispering runaway, intent upon becoming the Queen’s first female knight. The other is Sir Willard—ex-immortal, ex-champion, now addicted to pain-killing herbs and banished from court.

With their help, Harric might keep his curse at bay. But for how long?

And his companions bring troubles of their own: Caris bears the scars of a dark past that still hunts her; Willard is at war with the Old Ones, an order of insane immortal knights who once enslaved the kingdom.

Together, they must overcome fanatical armies, murderous sorcerers, and powerful supernatural foes.

Alone, Harric must face the temptation of forbidden magic that could break his curse, but cost him the only woman he’s ever loved.

“The first volume in Stephen Merlino's 'The Unseen Moon' series, "The Jack of Souls" is a terrific read from beginning to end and clearly establishes Merlino as a master of the fantasy action/adventure genre. Highly recommended for community library Science Fiction & Fantasy collections…” - Midwest Book Review

About the Author

Stephen Merlino lives in Seattle, WA, where he writes, plays, and teaches high school English. He lives with the world's most talented and desirable woman, two fabulous children, and three attack chickens.

Growing up in Seattle drove Stephen indoors for eight months of the year. Before the age of video games, that meant he read a lot. At the age of eleven he discovered the stories of J.R.R. Tolkein and fell in love with fantasy.

Summers and rare sunny days he spent with friends in wooded ravines or on the beaches of Puget Sound, building worlds in the sand, and fighting orcs and wizards with driftwood swords.

About the time a fifth reading of The Lord of the Rings failed to deliver the old magic, Stephen attended the University of Washington and fell in love with Chaucer and Shakespeare and all things English.

Sadly, the closest he got to England back then was The Unicorn Pub on University Way, which wasn't even run by an Englishman: it was run by a Scot named Angus. Still, he studied there, and as he sampled Angus's weird ales, and devoured the Unicorn's steak & kidney pie (with real offal!), he developed a passion for Scotland, too.

In college, he fell in love with writing, and when a kindly professor said of a story he'd written, "You should get that published!" Stephen took the encouragement literally, and spent the next years trying. The story remains unpublished, but the quest to develop it introduced Stephen to the world of agents (the story ultimately had two), and taught him much of craft and the value of what Jay Lake would call, "psychotic persistence."

Add to that his abiding love of nerds--those who, as Sarah Vowel defines it, "go too far and care too much about a subject"--and you have Stephen Merlino in a nutshell.

Stephen is the 2014 PNWA winner for Fantasy.

Book Spotlight: The Lebrus Stone

The Lebrus Stone 
by Miriam Khan 

Genre: Paranormal Romance 

Synopsis

When eighteen-year-old orphan, Crystal Valdez, accepts an invitation to the small town of Blacksville, West Virginia, she hopes to have a summer to remember and a chance learn more about her parents, to also get to know the family she never knew existed. 

But the Lockes begin to act strange and erratic; eerie movements in the night fuel her vivid and gruesome nightmares. To complicate her summer further, she becomes attracted to the menacing yet handsome Cray Locke: her none blood related cousin. He seems determined to keep his distance. The only bonus seems to be the housekeeper and gardener. 

And when a local informs Crystal of the secrets buried at Thorncrest Manor, the kind consisting of a forbidden relationship and war between hidden worlds, and witchcraft, she must decide whom to trust. Even if it means leaving behind those she has come to love. 

About the Author

Miriam is from Cheshire, England and a family of six siblings. Her love for creativity led to acting at her local theatre before being a lead vocalist in rock bands. During those years, she often found solace penning her thoughts and feelings through lyrics or poetry. She chose not to continue singing in 2006, and two years later she woke up with the idea for The Lebrus Stone and began typing. revising and editing it for the next six years. She is now eager to see what readers will think. 

Links 
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007806765011 http://miriamkhannovels.blogspot.co.uk/ http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9793155.

Miriam_Khan Giveaway: The author is giving away a Purple Crystal Wing Heart Necklace.

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Book Spotlight: Homeward Bound

Homeward Bound
by Josh Greenfield

Synopsis

A young man sits alone in a public garden contemplating the big questions; the origins of the Palisades Cliffs, cold sesame noodles and his father's mortality. In the spirit of James Joyce, Josh Greenfield, follows the thought process of Jordan Fineman, where ever it leads.













About the Author

Josh Greenfield is a graduate of both Phillips Andover Academy and Cornell University's College of Arts and Sciences. He holds two masters degrees from the City University of New York, one in History and one in English Literature. He also completed the better part of a doctorate in English at Fordham University. His desire in writing is to tell a entertaining and engaging story, to look for laughs in dark places. He is the author of "The Obsessive Chronicles: a novel."

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1rTvi5J

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1wquLi4

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1vxXrWf

Book Spotlight: Crimson Son

Crimson Son
by Russ Linton

Synopsis

His mother kidnapped, his superhero father absent, powerless Spencer Harrington faces a world of weaponized humans to prove himself and find the truth.

Nineteen-year-old Spencer is the son of the Crimson Mask, the world's most powerful Augment. Since witnessing his mother's abduction by a psychotic super villain two years ago, he's been confined to his father's arctic bunker. When the "Icehole" comes under attack from a rampaging robot, Spencer launches into his father's dangerous world of weaponized human beings known as Augments.

With no superpowers of his own save a multi-tool, a quick wit and a boatload of emotional trauma, Spencer seeks to uncover his mother's fate and confront his absentee superhero father. As he stumbles through a web of conspiracies and top secret facilities, he rallies a team of everyday people and cast-off Augments. But Spencer soon discovers that the Black Beetle isn't his only enemy, nor his worst.

About the Author

In the fourth grade, Russ Linton wrote down the vague goal of becoming a “writer and an artist” when he grew up. After a journey that led him from philosopher to graphic designer to stay at home parent and even a stint as an Investigative Specialist with the FBI, he finally got around to that “writing” part which he now pursues full time.

Russ creates character-driven speculative fiction. His stories drip with blood, magic, and radioactive bugs. He writes for adults who are young at heart and youngsters who are old souls.

a brief excerpt from your book

Social Media:

Website - www.russlinton.com

Facebook - facebook.com/RussLinton

Twitter - twitter.com/Russ_Linton

GoodReads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6587498.Russ_Linton

Purchase Links:

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Crimson-Son-Russ-Linton-ebook/dp/B00KZ87P2S/

Amazon UK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crimson-Son-Russ-Linton-ebook/dp/B00KZ87P2S/

Barnes and Noble

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/crimson-son-russ-linton/1119733467?ean=2940046006636

And here's an excerpt from Crimson Son: 

This part always comes so fast.

I hand the phone back to Mom. “You’ll need to send later, I guess. The signal dropped. Should be in your outbox ready to go.”

As she takes the phone, the wall of the room explodes.

Here. Dream becomes nightmare. For a moment, I feel I can make it stand still, but why would I? Events unfold with the emptiness of the bunker gnawing at my insides. I can identify every stray chunk of plaster and splinter of wood in this time-robbed moment.

Fragments of home spray like a swarm of locusts. Mom screams and the world spins under her protective dive. I struggle to see through a haze of dust. Glimpses of the valley filter past a humanoid silhouette. A long, pincered arm lashes out. The arm clamps tightly around Mom’s waist and retracts, drawing us closer.

“Release the boy and he will live,” the Black Beetle speaks with an unnatural vibration. “He can relay a message for your husband.”

Mom squeezes tighter but her screaming stops.

I search her face, knowing what I’ll find, all the while scrambling to find an anchor as we slide across the room. She’s bleeding from a gash on her forehead and the pincer cinches tighter. Her eyes are full of fear, but focused. She’s calculating, deliberating. A hundred times? A thousand? It always hurts.

“No, Mom, please!” I throw my hands around the leg of a toppled chair which drags uselessly behind us. Countless trips through this nightmare, I know I can’t keep us here, but I reach out anyway. And always, she lets go.

I grab her arm, trying to pull her back, cursing my stunted size, my weak limbs, my feeble grip. Sweaty hands slip as the pincer continues to retract. Her trembling lips form a final smile and she watches me with a sad but determined expression.

She mouths the words, “I love you.”

Book Spotlight: Our Orbit

Our Orbit
by Anesa Miller

Synopsis

In Anesa Miller’s new book, Our Orbit, nine-year-old Miriam Winslow has never worn new clothes, was not permitted to cut her hair, and believes that children must repent their sins with major displays of remorse, or harm will come to their loved ones. Barely half a year after her mother’s death, Miriam is thrust into a different world when her father, a militant tax protester, is jailed on weapons charges.

Miriam finds herself in foster care, her teenage siblings sent to other homes.

College-educated Rick and Deanne Fletcher quickly come to love their “new little girl.” Then they encounter the rest of Miriam’s family: Uncle Dan believes he was abducted by aliens. Sister Rachel, just out of juvenile detention, harbors many painful secrets. Brother Josh is outraged that the Fletchers disrespect Christian teachings. When his plan to remove Miriam from their home fails, Josh reacts with growing hostility to outside interference in their way of life. 

About the Author

A native of Wichita, Kansas, and longtime Ohio resident, Anesa Miller is a writer with training in Russian language and literature. Her work has been published in The Kenyon Review, The California Quarterly, the Southern Humanities Review, and others. Her debut novel, Our Orbit, is a story of cultural conflict set in Appalachia in the 1990s.

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/anesamillerauthor

http://www.anesamiller.com/

https://twitter.com/anesam98

http://www.amazon.com/Anesa-Miller/e/B00HJZP3P6/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1408652500&sr=8-1

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5245348.Anesa_Miller

Book Spotlight: Dark Seed

Dark Seed
by Lawrence Verigin

Synopsis

A disillusioned journalist and the grieving daughter of a murdered scientist uncover an immoral and destructive global plot by the largest developer of genetically engineered seed and its parent pharmaceutical conglomerate.

Nick Barnes and Morgan Elles learn that the goal of the man behind these organizations is the complete control of human existence. He eliminates opposition and interference without hesitation or remorse.

The couple quickly find themselves fighting for their lives. And yours.

Grad hold for a wild ride with this exciting, high concept thriller that tackles one of the big issues of our time.

Author Bio

Lawrence Verigin’s goal is to entertain readers while delving into socially relevant subjects that need more attention brought to them. Since 1999 Lawrence has spent a considerable amount of time and effort learning the writing craft. 

In his spare time Lawrence enjoys cooking good food, rich red wine, travel, running, reading and numerous rounds of golf.

Lawrence and his wife, Diana, live in beautiful North Vancouver, Canada.

Contact

Email: lawrenceverigin@gmail.com

Website: www.lawrenceverigin.com

Facebook: Lawrence Verigin      

Twitter: @lawrenceverigin

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1qsWlJB

The author is giving away 8 digital copies of Dark Seed and 2 signed copies! Below is the Rafflecopter code to include in your blog post:

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Book Spotlight: Brand Legacy

Brand Legacy
by Angela Mayartis Johnson

Synopsis

Brand Legacy is a guide for those who dream of something more than their current occupation, and are considering a change from their present (physical and/or mental) circumstances to their intended future. Through the use of Brandercises (branding exercises), vivid real life stories and key transitional tips, Brand Legacy, educates you on how to understand your value proposition in order to accomplish your dreams. It instructs you on how to live a passion-filled, purpose-driven life that leaves a legacy that communicates your narrative.

About the Author

Angela Mayartis Johnson is a dynamic motivational speaker who successfully redefined her legacy from Marketing Executive to Personal Brand Development Specialist focusing on helping athletes discover their passion, brand their niche and build their legacy. Using clearly defined and applicable techniques in her MBA course work, Angela passionately empowers others to overcome fears and create pathways to their future. Mayartis Brand Academy is a speaking/training forum that was created to develop brands, assist entrepreneurs in realizing their dreams and building their legacy. It is Angela's goal to help individuals define their "Why" and determine their goals, so they can live their dreams and make their mark. 

Links

Facebook.com/brandlegacy

@mayartis

www.mayartis.com

http://www.amazon.com/Angela-Mayartis-Johnson

Book Spotlight: To Hear the Rest More Clearly

To Hear The Rest More Clearly

by Anne Victoria Pyterek 

Synopsis

Calliope Braintree has a lot working against her, but the forces of Nature and Love conspire to make her an instrument in the liberation of her fellow humans and the Wildness they have suppressed and perverted.

Aided by the Muse of Epic Poetry, an urban coyote, and the Chicago River, Calliope saves herself from the ravages of abuse, self-loathing and sexual humiliation. It’s not easy for her to remember the plan she and Muse had made for this life, but memories do come, in confusing fits and starts. A homeless orphan, sure of nothing but her urge to write, she ignores the mind-numbing conventions of civilized society, preferring to listen to her Muse. She follows Coyote, who leads her away from the degrading and harsh brutality of her life, into a haven of safety. Calliope goes to live in a hidden pocket of Wildness alive in the city. Still in the world, she is no longer of it, and she’s glad.

River is a powerful entity, her world a parallel reality existing in the cracks of civilization’s façade. And, polluted and tormented as she is, River is still able to transform the toxins polluting Calliope’s mind, absorbing what is hideous and making it holy. This process climaxes in a Trickster-ized version of Revelations, after which Calliope’s life will never be the same again.

About the Author

Anne Victoria Pyterek is as much the product of her protagonist, Calliope Braintree, as she is her producer.  For in the ten year process of bringing Calliope into being, she ended up completely re-writing the story of her own life.

Very much a daughter of Daniel Burnham, Anne left the City of Big Shoulders—at Calliope’s request—driving off into the sunset in a big blue bus with her then 11 year old son, a managerie of animals and no income.  She did this for the adventure, the learning and to find out about Calliope’s childhood.  She and her son live in Colorado now, still in the bus, on 120 acres with a pack of semi-feral dogs, surrounded by coyotes.

Author Blog: Anne of Blue Bus Books (http://blue-bus-books.com/)

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1qrqkRr

Book Spotlight: The Anonymous Girl + Giveaway!!

The Anonymous Girl (Special Edition)

by Holy Ghost Writer

Synopsis

Unbeknownst to the world, Zaydee is not only the founder of Bitcoin, soon to revolutionize banking, but also a descendant of the real person that inspired The Count of Monte Cristo. As she makes her way through the federal prison and court systems she continues her plans to start her own country that we first learned about in That Girl Started Her Own Country. Will she win her case or make a daring and unique escape as she turns her enemies in real zombies? No, not those silly ones in Walking Dead, but like those that have been made in Haiti for generations.

"This book's author adds mystery to the series by remaining anonymous. Those who like fantasies set in the present day, depicting exaggerated lifestyles and cyberspace intrigue, will be entertained." Margaret Cullison, Foreword Clarion

About the Author

Who is The Holy Ghost Writer?

The identity of the author is part of an international contest, and the first person to correctly name the HG Writer from the clues found in the Count of Monte Cristo sequels will receive a reward of $5000. Visit the Holy Ghost Writer's Amazon Author Page for Details and see if you can discover the real identity of the author being heralded as the new Stieg Larsson for That Girl Started Her Own Country, the successor of Alexander Dumas for The Sultan of Monte Cristo and the next Ray Bradbury for The Boy Who Played With Dark Matter. Contact the author c/o books@illuminatedpublications.com

Amazon - http://amzn.to/1uj5UL7 
Blog - http://holyghostwriterbooks.blogspot.com 
Twitter - http://twitter.com/SultanOfSalem 
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Holy-Ghost-Writer/156425124542924 
Website - http://www.mysteriousauthor.com 

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Book Spotlight: The First Noble Truth

The First Noble Truth

by C Lynn Murphy

Synopsis

Machiko Yamamoto pulls out her hair, picks at her skin, and triple checks the locks to the house behind the school where she works. When a foreigner moves into a neighboring thatched roof cottage, she quickly falls in love with the quiet woman with the mangled hand.

Krista Black does not mind the weekly visits from the local English teacher. The scarred woman seems harmless, but she always wants to talk about travel and language and why Krista has come to the remote, Japanese village. Krista avoids her questions. She has seen much of the world, and she knows what it does to fragile people. Machiko may want to know her, but she could never understand her.

Set in Kyoto, New England, Africa and Kathmandu, THE FIRST NOBLE TRUTH is a story of redemption, interwoven between two protagonists, across two cultures. It peers beneath the comfort of expected storytelling to investigate the dualities of suffering and joy, religion and sex, and cruelty and kindness. 

About the Author

Lynn Murphy was born in New Hampshire, but has since lived in Scotland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, England, Nepal, India, and Mongolia. She also spent a year backpacking across the African continent for kicks.

She is a doctoral candidate in Buddhist Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, as well as a graduate of St Andrews University (M.A.) and Oxford University (MPhil).

Whilst a resident at a Tibetan Buddhist nunnery in the Himalayas, she wrote her first book, 'The First Noble Truth.' 

She currently lives between Mongolia and the UK, where she is conducting fieldwork on post-Soviet economies of the funeral industry and their impact on contemporary Mongolian cultural and religious identity. 

She writes, she knits, she eats mutton.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/First-Noble-Truth-Lynn-Murphy-ebook/dp/B00M4YR0R6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406702696&sr=8-1&keywords=the+first+noble+truth

Book Spotlight: The Dance of the Spirits

The Dance of the Spirits 

by Catherine Aerie

Synopsis

Spring 1951: it is the fiery zenith of the Korean War, a war that the youthful US Army lieutenant Wesley Palm and his men thought that they had won … until the Chinese swept across the Yalu River. Traveling with the million-man army bent on driving back the march of “American imperialism” is Jasmine Young, a Chinese surgeon who has volunteered herself into the war for unspoken, grave reasons. Through a chronicle of merciless battles, freezing winter, and the brutality and hypocrisy of human nature, the two will find themselves weaving through the twist and turns of fate and destiny, where an unquenchable passion, a resilient pursuit of liberty, and an inherent dignity light the darkness against the vast sky of a warring world and of nation and cultures that stand shattered and divided by the same forces that unify them.

About The Author

Catherine Aerie, a graduate from the University of California, Irvine with a master degree in finance. She was inspired to write “The Dance of the Spirits” while researching a family member’s role in the Korean War, deciding to revive an often neglected and overlooked setting in fiction and heighten the universality of resilient pursuit of love and liberty. Her debut novel was finished after about two years of research. She currently resides in southern California. 

Website: www.catherineaerie.com

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/098969092X/?tag=bdsitelogin-20

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-dance-of-the-spirits-catherine-aerie/1117019491?ean=9780989690928&itm=1&usri=9780989690928