Welcome to the release event for TheSoul Summoner by Elicia Hyder. This is an adult contemporary fantasy. The book is now available for sale at Amazon!
The Soul Summoner (The Soul Summoner Series #1)
Publisher – Forge Creek Press
Release Date – November 9th, 2015
Genre – Contemporary Fantasy
Rating – PG13
Length – 290 Pages About the Book:
Blessed–or cursed–with a connection to the souls of others, Sloan Jordan can see the best in people… and the worst. For twenty-seven years, she's kept her ability to judge the innocent from the wicked a secret, but eleven young women have been murdered in the mountains of North Carolina, and Sloan may be the only hope of finding their killer.
She has just agreed to help Detective Nathan McNamara with the case, when a stranger--who is as alluring as he is terrifying--shows up at her doorstep with a dark past and another puzzling mystery: she can't see his soul at all.
Now, Sloan is on the hunt for a deadly psychopath with two irresistible men. One of them would die for her, and the other would kill to keep her safe.
About the Author:
Elicia Hyder is the author of several contemporary fantasy novels such as The Soul Summoner, The Siren, The Angel of Death, and The Daughter of Zion as well as a few contemporary romances, The Bed She Made and To Be Her first. Elicia studied American Literature and Creative Writing at the American Military University. She lives with her husband and five children in central Florida.
Sign up for the newsletter and receive a free ebook of The Detective. ** **************** ** GIVEAWAY:
$25 Amazon Gift Card (INT)
Ends Nov. 27 Prizing provided by the author, hosts are not responsible. Must be 13 or older to enter and have parental permission if under 17. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary to win.
When New Yorker Casey Phillips visits the tiny country of Moritania, she simply wants to see where her ancestors came from. Instead, she's mistaken for a princess.
The real princess has been kidnapped, and Crown Prince Eric von Lieberhaven insists Casey—a dead ringer for the missing royal—step into the princess's shoes until she can be freed.
As Casey upends royal tradition, Eric finds himself hoping the cheeky American never returns home. But can a secretary from Brooklyn really find happiness with a prince?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
The Royal Palace of Moritania, the Alps, 1987
Eric handed her up the steps before him as a silent groom appeared from somewhere and took the Bronco away. Casey half expected him to sweep the cobblestones behind them. When they reached the door, it magically opened, another liveried servant bowing and smiling as he passed them on.
"Rolph," Eric said, easing Casey along when she slowed, "is Her Majesty the queen available for visitors?"
"I shall check for you, Your Highness. Refreshments?"
He stole a look at Casey, who was rubbernecking the paintings on the walls with undisguised astonishment. After a moment he nodded. "Yes, I believe they will be needed. In the Great Hall, if you please."
Rolph dispatched a discreetly questioning look, but bowed and moved away. Casey was still trying to take in the extent of the entryway.
Train stations were smaller. The walls extended up some thirty feet, decorated with what looked suspiciously like old masters and terminating in a high, vaulted ceiling that some brave painter had gotten his hands on. It was all light and froth, cherubs and swirling gold banners swimming around a vault of milky white. The floors were of gleaming dark wood covered in what had to be priceless Oriental rugs. The effect was one of immense space, the inside of the building mirroring the image given by the outside. Quiet, understated grace and wealth.
No need for ostentation here. It only made her want to see more.
"Like your decorator," she finally managed, casting a sidelong glance over to where Eric was enjoying her reaction.
"Moritania might not be big—" he bowed a little in acknowledgment, "—but it is a country rife with good taste. I'd like to show you something, if you don't mind."
"The only thing you could show me to beat this would be the Sistine chapel."
Walking to the right side of the hall, Eric opened a great oak door. Casey walked past him into an even more impressive room. It was long, with six matched sets of crystal chandeliers and floor-to ceiling windows that reflected in the mirrors along the opposite wall.
"Been to Versailles, had they?" she breathed, coming to a stop.
Eric wouldn't let her. Instead, he took her by the elbow and gently propelled her down the parquet flooring. "I'm sure you don't know," he was saying, "but my brother just died recently."
Casey immediately turned to him. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't."
He nodded with a sad little smile. "He was much older than I, and his heart was bad. The upshot of it is that next week his daughter, my niece, will become the new queen of Moritania. She is his only child, and his wife is also dead."
Casey had no idea where the conversation was leading. He seemed so reluctant to tell her that she knew it was something important to him. She couldn't think of anything more to do than nod.
Then he stopped walking. Turning to her, he took hold of both of her arms, his eyes trying to communicate something of import. They had softened. Casey felt even more confused.
"What?"
"The portrait here at the end of the Great Hall has just gone up. It is a painting of the next queen of Moritania, Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess Cassandra."
He turned Casey to face the painting. Casey's jaw dropped. Looking back at her from the canvas was a young woman with delicate features, a gently molded face with deep, wide-set hazel eyes and a small, straight nose. A small mouth curved just at the ends as if she was amusing herself immensely with a private joke. Diamonds and rubies glittered at her throat, and a mane of tawny hair swept back, thick and styled sleekly away from tiny ears where teardrop diamonds hung.
Casey turned to Eric and then back to the picture and then back to Eric again, unable to speak. Then she turned once again to the portrait and finally admitted what he'd been trying to prepare her for. She was staring at a portrait of herself.
"And here I thought losing the car was going to be the high point of my day."
Copyright Eileen Dreyer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links
New York Times bestselling, RWA Hall of Fame author Eileen Dreyer has published 31 romance novels in most genres, 8 medicalforensic suspenses, and 10 short stories.
2015 sees Eileen enjoying critical acclaim for her foray into historical romance, the Drake’s Rakes series, which Eileen labels as Regency Romantic Adventure that follows a group of Regency aristocrats who are willing to sacrifice everything to keep their country safe. She is also working on her first nonfiction book, TRAVELS WITH DAVE, about a journey she's been taking with a friend's ashes.
A retired trauma nurse, Eileen lives in her native St. Louis with her husband, children, and
large and noisy Irish family, of which she is the reluctant matriarch. She has animals but refuses to subject them to the limelight.
Welcome to my stop on the Fall Favorites Giveaway Hop hosted by The Book Liaison (November 9 - 14, 2015). I will be giving away a box of thrillers and mysteries to one United States winner.
Prefunk The Holidays! Be sure to stock your Kindle (or Kindle app) with free
copies of over 200+
Booktrope books. They are available for free on Amazon.com through November 13 - including a number of thrillers and mysteries.
I recommend THE SILENT TREATMENT (mystery) and AWAKE (thriller) by Melanie Surani - book covers link to Amazon.
Welcome to the Book Blast for The King of Average by Gary Schwartz! This is a middle grade fantasy that is available for sale now.
About the Book
James isn’t the world’s greatest kid, but he’s not the worst, either: he’s average! When he decides to become the most average kid who ever lived, James is transported to another world where he meets Mayor Culpa, a well-dressed talking Scapegoat who recruits him to become the new King of Average.
He’s joined on his quest by a professional Optimist and his grouchy companion, an equally professional Pessimist. Together, they set out on a journey of self-discovery that leads them all the way from the Sea of Doubt to Mount Impossible, the highest peak in the Unattainable Mountains. When James stumbles into a Shangri-la called Epiphany, he uncovers the secret of who he really is.
Follow James on his hilarious, adventure-packed journey to find self-worth in this heartfelt middle grade novel The King of Average by debut author Gary Schwartz.
Gary Schwartz began his professional career as a mime at age 13, performing up and down the Hudson River with Pete Seeger and the great folk entertainers of the 1960s. In the 1980s he appeared in numerous film and television projects including the Oscar-winning feature film Quest for Fire. Schwartz has lent his voice to hundreds of film and TV projects and is the voice of several well-known video game characters, including Heavy Weapons Guy and Demoman in Team Fortress 2.
Schwartz has written for two children’s television series in which he co-starred: Zoobilee Zoo, where he played Bravo Fox; and the Disney Channel’s You and Me, Kid.
Schwartz studied with and became the protégé of Viola Spolin, the creator of Theater Games, the basis for improvisational theater in America. He is a passionate, dynamic improv coach and facilitator devoted to carrying on Spolin’s techniques.
The King of Average is his first novel. To learn more visit gary-schwartz.com.
Magic or madness? Can your dreams really take over your life?
Falling Awake is the story of a book and the power of imagination to turn two lives upside down.
When Mary Parker finds an unusual book everything in her life changes. As she reads, she dreams, and the quiet, repressed woman is transformed.
She gives the book and the phenomenon a name, 'falling awake’. The existence of the book seems to make others act out of character too. Joe’s usually dour father gambles with the factory where Mary works, and Joe, the romantic daydreamer, engages in a sexual eternal triangle to keep the dull routine of the accounts department at bay. The dominant partner in the triangle is Clem; dark and dangerous.
Extricating himself from Clem, Joe meets Mary. They fall in love and marry in haste when Mary falls pregnant, but this is no happy ever after tale. Their joy turns to misery when Mary miscarries and she turns inward to her darkening 'falling awake' world. Then Joe's father dies, and he has to fight for control of the factory. He falls into Clem’s clutches again, and to make things worse, he believes Mary is going mad, and the people and places she remembers all just dreams dreamt inside her insanity. But then how can Joe remember them too?
Magic or madness?
For Mary and Joe, the impossible - or the deadly - might only be a breath away.
Falling Awake is a brain teaser, an atmospheric mystery, an exposition of madness; an examination of the impossible, a fantasy, a ghost story, a psychological thriller, a love story, and a story of intrigue and sudden death. It will keep you awake at night, wondering, and pausing during the day, questioning …
One editor has already described it as:
“In the best traditions of Audrey Niffenegger and Carlos Ruiz Zafón…”
And others comment:
“…one of the most original, quirky manuscripts I’ve read for a long time…”
“…I especially like the fairy-tale and myth undertones that creep in from time to time throughout the novel: Sleeping Beauty clutching her book with echoes of Snow White in her glass coffin, the transformative red mac with its Red Riding Hood connotations, Mary’s Cinderella transformation from emotionally abused child to confident woman, the mermaid dress, Mariam’s Scheherazade dance, and especially the gambler as Rumpelstiltskin…”
“…a light, authoritative touch with both …story and characters.”
Debrah Martin is a British author writing under three different pen names and in three very different genres. She plots fast-paced thrillers as D.B. Martin, with the first in the Patchwork trilogy, Patchwork Man, having been recently awarded a coveted B.R.A.G. Medallion. Her YA teen detective series is penned as Lily Stuart – THE teen detective; irreverent, blunt, funny and vulnerable. Webs and Magpies are the first two books in the series. And as Debrah Martin she writes literary fiction. Her first literary fiction, Chained Melodies, a startling transgender story to rival The Danish Girl, and described pre-release as “…a beautiful book about love, acceptance and self-discovery…” was also released earlier this month.
Net Galley reviewers can access an ARC of Falling Awake there from 27th October, and all reviewers can obtain a copy and more information about Debrah’s other works by contacting her at the email address below.
For the first thirty reviewers to post a review of Falling Awake on Amazon, if you email Debrah with a link to the review, she’ll send you a bumper bundle (digital) of her other adult fiction books, including the award-winning Patchwork People series. Reviewers are also invited to contact Debrah for review copies of any of her books.
But apparently she could. It was the unusual challenge to the premise that had brought him here against the inclination to evade responsibility and slip home to his own dreams. She’d slept continuously for days now, without the need for water or sustenance; her only requirement, seemingly, a book. He peered curiously through the viewing panel as the attendant hovered behind him.
‘That’s her,’ the attendant announced as if pulling a rabbit from a hat. ‘Mary Parker.’
‘She’s very pretty,’ the tall young man declared, deep blue eyes narrowing to slits as he studied her. The woman’s long red hair cascaded over the side of the bed like blood streaming to the floor, her face a marble effigy of life. She reminded him of Millais’ Ophelia as she floated downstream on her layette of wild flowers – except this frozen beauty was merely asleep, not dead. He wondered what she was dreaming about. She seemed very familiar in a strange half-forgotten way.
‘Yeah, she is – and quiet now, but she weren’t once. Blimey – you should have seen her then, screaming and hollering. Wasn’t until we found that old book and gave it back to her that she shut up.’ The attendant picked at his nails and watched the tall young man lean in closer still. The corner of a book poked out from under the tightly clasped hands. ‘Then she just slept,’ the attendant added, shrugging his shoulders.
‘What’s its significance?’ the young man asked. He could just make out a title scrawled longhand across its spine. He wondered if the woman had written it on herself. He could only decipher the first word – ‘Falling’.
‘Not a clue, Mister; it’s just an empty book.’ The attendant shifted impatiently, as if tired of waiting, then asked, ‘How’d you know her again?’ He flipped the visitors’ page back to read the tall young man’s entry.
22nd Sept ’92: Time in – 5.45pm. John Hathorne, Director: Geo. Tooley & Sons.
‘I don’t really. She worked at the factory, that’s all. We have to be seen as caring employers so I’m here to check on her before we sign her off the books.’ He paused. Now he came to think of it he might have met her once. There had been a girl with bright red hair like hers the day he’d been shown round the factory. He’d been surprised by her scarlet mac because of the colour clash. He dragged himself from his reverie.
‘You said she had no family?’
‘Nope, apparently the mother died a while back and the neighbours say she’s been a bit odd ever since. Before they brought her in here she was wandering the graveyard down the road babbling about how she couldn’t find herself any more. Shame – when you got no-one.’
‘How do you think she can do it?’
‘What?’
‘Not eat or drink for so long – just sleep.’
‘Beats me. Maybe she’s not really there and we’re just imagining her.’ The young man stared at him. The attendant laughed. ‘Only joking. You done then?’ The attendant looked expectantly at him, and the young man found himself involuntarily offering his business card before collecting his briefcase and coat.
‘I suppose I could see if I can do something to help her if she comes back to the land of the living.’
The attendant turned the card over and read aloud, ‘Bespoke leisure wear and stage costumiers; themed event supplies a speciality.’ He studied the tall young man. ‘Versions of reality, huh? You’ll be getting a lot of custom soon, then.’ He sniggered. Outside the midweek rush hour traffic distantly hooted on its way home. The light had dimmed to the half-dusk of early autumn, but fallen leaves and skeletal trees said winter was already in the air.
The tall young man had spotted the now redundant leather straps on the side of the bed when he’d been trying to decipher the title of the book. The reddening round her wrists indicated where no doubt they’d been clasped until recently. ‘Halloween does tend to be a busy time,’ he agreed, suddenly uneasy. The place was oppressive and the sight of the comatose and confined woman depressed him. ‘Such a waste. Will she ever recover, do you think?’
‘Don’t know, mister. Not sure if she’s actually ill. Probably just the stresses of life – grief and disappointment. They do strange things to us, don’t they? Perhaps if she had someone to look after her, she’d get well again, but then who knows when anyone recovers from life.’ He laughed mirthlessly. ‘Maybe it’s better to just dream?’ The tall young man considered the idea for a while.
‘No, reality is always better, no matter how hard.’
He went back to the viewing window and studied the young woman for a few minutes more before gathering up the Essex County Gazette he’d brought with him and stuffing it under the arm carrying the briefcase. The pages creased and he made to flatten them, but stopped abruptly and tossed the paper back on the table the attendant had been sitting at when he’d arrived. He peered at his hand as if there was something wrong with it before shaking his head. The attendant cleared his throat meaningfully and opened the unit’s outer door.
‘I hope her dreams are sweet,’ the young man added sadly as the attendant ushered him out. The attendant flicked the light off and the room behind them sank back into shadow.
Neither saw the frozen figure thaw, stir, and open her eyes – deep green pools of luminescence. They fixed on the door and she listened intently to the low rumble of the tall young man’s voice as he made his goodbyes. The marble features creased to a frown and the slack body tensed. The book still clutched in her hand shivered.
‘No!’ she murmured. ‘No, no, no!’
------------------------------
GIVEAWAY:
Two (2) print copies of Falling Awake by Debrah Martin (INT)
Ends November 19th
Prizing is provided by the author, hosts are not responsible.
Accused of cyber espionage by the United States government,
ethical hacker Ivy Macpherson is now on the FBI’s most wanted list. Out of options, she
runs, desperate for time to prove her innocence. When fate takes an
unexpected turn, bringing her face-to-face with Tydrin, she must decide—trust
a man more dangerous than the hunters on her trail to keep her safe.
Or risk capture by a covert agency well known for ruthlessness.
Condemned by a past he doesn’t want to remember…
Cursed with a terrible temper, Scottish dragon-warrior
Tydrin struggles to atone for a mistake that took innocent lives. Unable
to forgive himself, he returns to the scene of his crime in hopes of
finding absolution, but discovers a woman in need of his help instead.
Intervening in the nick of time, he whisks Ivy to safety, only to realize
the daughter of the family he wronged is the one destined to steal his
heart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
Feet rooted to the ground, Tydrin stared at the female. He blinked
to clear his vision. Nothing. No change in his visual field and—bloody hell.
It couldn’t be. He must be seeing things. Must be imagining the impossible.
But no matter how many times he forced himself to refocus, nothing changed.
She remained front and center, kneeling in the dirt, head bowed, hands
resting on her thighs. The submissive position drew him tight, messing
with his ability to think for a second.
Tydrin shook his head.
The movement knocked brain cells into motion and…Good Christ. Unbelievable.
She was real. He wasn’t imagining her. Or the radiating warmth frothing
around her like sea foam. Glowing bright blue, the female’s aura lit
up the space around her. Her bio-energy hummed and his dragon half woke,
setting off a dangerous chain reaction. Bone-deep hunger punched through.
His body came alive. His mind dulled, blocking out everything but her.
Long red hair pulled into a messy bun, she shuffled closer to the headstone.
Mumbling another apology, she cleared debris away from the granite base.
The task was one he usually preformed. On this date, every year when
he visited. Right now, though, he didn’t care about his mission.
Or about paying his respects.
Struck stupid by her, only one thought registered—a high-energy
female here…in middle the of Aberdeen.
Tydrin frowned. Holy shite. He was in trouble. Neck deep and sinking
fast without any idea how to control his reaction to her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links
Growing up as the only girl on all-male hockey team, Coreene Callahan
knows a thing or two about tough guys and loves to write characters
inspired by them. Call it kismet. Call it payback after years of locker room talk and
ice rink antics, but whatever you call it, the action better be heart
stopping, the magic electric, and the story wicked, good fun.
After graduating with honors in psychology and working as an interior
designer, she finally gave in and returned to her first love: writing.
Her debut novel, Fury of Fire, was a finalist in the New Jersey Romance
Writers Golden Leaf Contest in two categories: Best First Book and Best
Paranormal. She combines her love of romance, adventure and writing
with her passion for history in her novels. She lives in Canada with
her family, a fun-loving golden retriever, and her wild imaginary world.
The gauntlet is thrown. One must die. Refusal is not
an option.
Arthur the High King of Breatein has fallen captive
of a longtime enemy, the Saxon warrior-princess Camilla, who lusts to
avenge the death of her betrothed at Gyan’s hands and will stop at nothing,
even the black arts, to achieve her goal. Because Gyan and Arthur have
grown estranged, she fears that Arthur may side with Camilla and make
her his new queen.
To meet Camilla’s challenge, Gyan must face
all her demons—public as well as private.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
The guard drew a long breath. “Your Majesty, it is time.”
Time to face all my demons,
private as well as public.
At her nod, he returned to
his post outside—a mite reluctantly, she observed.
“Any last advice?” she
asked Merlin at the tent’s entrance. She barked a mirthless laugh.
“How does one fight a demon?”
“You must not forget your
shield.”
She felt her eyebrows rise. “You know I am no novice warrior.”
“I am not talking of wood
and metal, Your Majesty.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio
and Links: Kim Headlee lives on a farm
in southwestern Virginia with her family, cats, goats, Great Pyrenees
goat guards, and assorted wildlife. People and creatures come and go,
but the cave and the 250-year-old house ruins—the latter having been occupied
as recently as the mid-twentieth century—seem to be sticking around
for a while yet.
Kim is a Seattle native and
a direct descendent of twentieth-century Russian nobility. Her grandmother
was a childhood friend of the doomed Grand Duchess Anastasia, and the
romantic yet tragic story of how Babushka escaped Communist Russia with
the aid of her American husband will most certainly one day fuel one
of Kim’s novels. Another novel in
the queue will involve her husband’s ancestor, the seventh-century
proto-Viking king of the Swedish colony in Russia.
For the time being, however,
Kim has plenty of work to do in creating her projected 8-book Arthurian
series, The Dragon’s Dove Chronicles, and other
novels clamoring for attention. She has been a published novelist since
1999, beginning with the original editions of Dawnflight (Sonnet Books,
Simon & Schuster) and Liberty (writing as Kimberly Iverson, HQN
Books, Harlequin).
NOTE: Attached is a page
from the upcoming graphic novel for this title. Should you choose
to use it in your post, please include the following attribution:
Excerpt from the graphic novel of The Challenge by Kim Iverson Headlee,
forthcoming in full color Kindle and paperback editions. Art and storyboard
copyright 2015 by Wendy Carey.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY
Kim will
be awarding an autographed print copy of DAWNFLIGHT to a randomly drawn
winner (US Only) via rafflecopter during the tour, and a set of autographed
note cards from The Dragon's Dove Chronicles to a randomly drawn (International)
host.
The Soul Summoner (The Soul Summoner Series #1)
