Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Liz Keel


Enlightenment by Liz Keel







10 Things I Wish I Knew About Being an Author I Didn’t Know Before by Liz Keel


1. Believe in yourself! One of the main challenges is to have confidence in yourself and persevere. It can be quite daunting putting something you have created – your heart and soul – out there for others to view and potentially criticize.

2. Utilize all the help you can get! Use all the help and experience you are offered. Take my illustrator for example - Joemel Requeza who is brilliant! With Enlightenment, he not only took my thoughts and ramblings and made Thea come to life, but designed an intriguing cover that makes the reader want to find out more.

3. My work is done! It’s just about writing a story isn’t it?! Wrong! Just because you have written the story it doesn’t mean your role is now finished. Far from it, as you’ll now enter the world of marketing, social media and keeping up with the demands from your publishing house!

4. Develop a hard shell. You’ve finally done it! After hours, weeks and maybe even years of hard work your book is finally out there ready for people to purchase and it happens…you get a negative review. It can feel soul destroying at first but it’s important to remember not everyone will like what you have to say and it happens to authors all around the world. When it does though, try your hardest not to take it personally or respond negatively to the reviewer and instead focus on all the positives your readers have to say.

4. Have no regrets. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but even so I’m a firm believer you learn from your mistakes and if anything become stronger as an author.

6. The Financial Implications! Unfortunately it can be a long process getting to the stage when you can live purely off the royalties from the books you have written. Publishing one book won’t be enough to live off and you will need to keep your writing momentum going especially if you have built up a fan base – they will be hungry for more!

7. The world of social media! There are so many ways to reach out to your fan base and it is such a rewarding thing to do, not only because they will help get the word out about any of your new releases but they will also become your invaluable support network.

8. The importance of marketing! Whether you decide to go through a publishing house or not, knowing how to market your book can feel overwhelming especially when learning to do this the first time round. Do take the time to research what’s the best path for you.

9. Network! Connect with other authors out there who are in the same position as you on sites such as Goodreads; they can become your rock when needed as well as providing advice and a sounding block for all those questions you may have.

10. Don’t Give Up! Lastly and I think most importantly you have to have faith in yourself and know that you can do this. It won’t be easy and you’ll feel like pulling your hair out half the time, but when you finally do it…see your book out there for people to buy, it’s the most amazing feeling ever and makes all the heart-ache worthwhile.



Enlightenment
The Driel Trilogy
Liz Keel

Publisher: Fire Quill Publishing

Release Date: 21st April 2016

ISBN:  9780996974875
ISBN:  9780994664198

Book Description:

After losing everything, all seventeen-year-old Thea wanted was to be a normal teenager. Instead, she was attacked by a mysterious creature she thought only existed in fairy tales.

Now thrown into the unknown realm of Faey, Thea is forced to determine the difference between reality and fantasy, in a world ruled by a dark elite and a society wracked by intolerance and prejudice. With the support of her new friends and a mysterious dark haired, blue-eyed guardian watching her every move, Thea will discover that when it comes to Faey, nothing is what it seems.

Will her courage and desire to save this new world from darkness be enough? Or will Thea be the next victim to fall to the dark whispers of fate...







About the Author:

I live in Surrey, England, a short walk from the beautiful Windsor Park, with my husband Richard and our two gorgeous children Noah and Olivia. For me, writing is nothing short of an addiction and I often find myself sneaking out to my writing shed for just a few minutes, which can often turn into hours of pure, unadulterated bliss catching up with my characters and continuing their story.

In-between writing, I teach in a primary school where there’s never a dull moment! I will also often be found Kindle in hand, reading a wide variety of genres but with YA fantasy and paranormal romance at the forefront of my reading list. Although I’m currently writing the second book in the Driel trilogy, other characters involving all things fantasy, paranormal and YA romance are jockeying for position, wanting me to write their story next, so watch this space! It is such a privilege to share my stories with you the reader. Thank you enough for taking the time to find out more about me.

To find out more about Liz, visit her website: www.lizkeelauthor.com













Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Sharon Buchbinder



The Haunting of Hotel Labelle by Sharon Buchbinder





The Haunting of Hotel LaBelle
Sharon Buchbinder

Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Fantasy

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Date of Publication: November 16, 2016

Print ISBN 978-1-5092-1153-1
Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-1154-8

Number of pages: 198
Word Count: 48,000

Cover Artist: Rae Monet




Book Description:

The past meets the present when a curse turn-of-the-century man meets a feisty modern day woman.

When hotel inspector, Tallulah Thompson, is called in along with her pug, Franny, to investigate renovation delays, she meets an extremely annoyed and dapper turn-of-the-century innkeeper. The only problem is he’s in limbo, neither dead nor alive, and Tallulah and the pug are the first to see him in a hundred years.

Cursed by a medicine woman, “Love ‘em and Leave ‘em Lucius” Stewart is stuck between worlds until he finds his true love and gives her his heart. When he first sees Tallulah, he doesn’t know what he’s feeling. Yet, her stunning beauty, and feisty attitude pull him in.

With the fate of Hotel LaBelle on the line, Tallulah with the help of a powerful medicine woman turns Lucius back into a flesh and blood man. She and Lucius team up to save the hotel, but Tallulah can't help but wonder if he will ever let go of his past love and learn to love again.






Excerpt:

A book flew at his head—and sailed through him, bouncing off the wall and landing on the floor.

Mouth agape, the woman stared from him to the book and back to him again. “You’re a ghost.”

“Not exactly. Shall we start over?” He leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. “After a hundred years of being invisible to everyone except you, I’d like to know who you are and what you’re doing here.”

“Of course. Why not? Could today get any weirder?” She sank into the desk chair, shook her head, and sighed. “My name is Tallulah Thompson. I’m a hotel inspector, hired by the current owner as a consultant to find out why the renovations are delayed and what he needs to do to fix it. He’s teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.”

“What tribe are you?”

She jerked her head up and those doggone lapis lazuli eyes of hers sparked as if she’d strike him with lightning and kill him with one look. “No one asks that. It’s not politically correct.”

“Well, I guess you haven’t been talking to the right people. And I don’t know what you mean by that last part. I’ve never been involved in politics.”

“Nowadays, it’s considered rude to ask about another person’s national origins.” She threw her hands up. “Why am I giving a ghost an etiquette lesson? What am I thinking?”



About the Author:

Sharon Buchbinder has been writing fiction since middle school and has the rejection slips to prove it. An RN, she provided health care delivery, became a researcher, association executive, and obtained a PhD in Public Health. When not teaching or writing, she can be found fishing, walking her dogs, or breaking bread and laughing with family and friends in Baltimore, MD and Punta Gorda, FL.


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharon.buchbinder.romanceauthor

Twitter ID @sbuchbinder https://twitter.com/sbuchbinder

Instagram: https://instagram.com/sharon_buchbinder/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sbuchbinder/

Blog http://sharonbuchbinder.blogspot.com/

Website http://www.sharonbuchbinder.com/index.html

Goodreads author page https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4417344.Sharon_Buchbinder

Newsletter http://www.sharonbuchbinder.com/contact.html#newsletter


Tour giveaway

10 Ebooks of The Haunting of Hotel LaBelle











Thursday, November 17, 2016

Jayson Livingston

The Harbinger by Jayson Livingston ...



“Just finished it, phenomenal read! Comparable to early Michael Connelly's stuff but darker. I look forward to his next one.”

“An exciting murder mystery with shades of CSI. Once I started to read I could not put it down. Now I have to catch up on some sleep. Authentic sounding dialog, interesting characters, and lots of twists. The accurate descriptions make you feel like you are there in rural northern California. Lots of action, good police work and character development. I look forward to the next novel by this author.”


Excerpt:

“CHP is chasing a light-colored van.”

“Oh, snap!” Harlow followed Lane out of the office and into the unit parked near the front door.

They slammed the doors as Lane gunned the gas, lights and siren wailing, skidding out of the parking lot.

They strapped in and Lane turned up the radio.

It came to life almost immediately. “Plumas two-two-one, I’m with CHP. We’re still east bound seventy.”

“We’re a long ways off,” Lane said. He had the patrol car at over a hundred MPH and gritted his teeth as the unit slid into a turn. He passed two motor homes and a logging truck. “This would be the suck if it was mid July and the road was filled with tourists.”

Harlow nodded as he held onto the dashboard and ceiling watching Lane negotiate the many turns with ease and skill.

“Nine-oh-one, nine-oh-one,” Junior screamed into the radio. “Suspect vehicle ran CHP off the road! Start an ambulance to Highway Seventy, near Top Hat Road.” There was a long pause, and then, “We’re now west bound Highway Seventy.”

Lane nodded. “They’re heading toward us.”

At over a hundred miles an hour, Lane closed the twenty-four miles from Quincy to the Highway 70/89 junction in a mere thirteen minutes.

Lane slid the patrol car sideways to a stop at the junction of 70 and 89. Plumes of white smoke hung in the air like a thick mist. “Plumas two-two-nine I’m set up at the junction.”

“We’ll be there in a minute, Lane,” Junior said, adding, “We’re hitting speeds of over a hundred miles an hour.”

“Two-two-eight, I’m with two-two-nine.”

Lane saw Mitch coming north bound on 89. He slid to a stop near Lane’s unit.

Two CHP units coming in from the west joined the roadblock and Harlow mumbled, “I feel like I’m in a cheap seventies trucker movie.” He pulled the shotgun mounted between the front seats of the patrol car and cranked the beaver tail.

The pursuit crested the hill to the east and started down the quarter mile grade to the junction. Lane could see the flashing light bars and wig-wags of the two units. Sirens screamed in all directions.

For years to come, Lane would explain what happened next as one of the most surreal moments he had ever encountered.

The sound of a big rig’s Jake brake thumped, deafening Lane momentarily. He glanced behind him and saw the logging truck, payload heavy, trying to stop as he rounded the bend in the road. The big rig jackknifed, dropping its load. Sounds of huge pine logs hitting the pavement with thundering force echoed around them. The van was on them as the massive logs bounced down the highway. A log slammed into a CHP unit, pushing it on its side. A second log hit the undercarriage, forcing the car onto its roof. The CHP officers ran for cover on the north shoulder of the highway. A third log, smaller in diameter, punched through the back window of the second CHP car.

Lane and Harlow, close enough to their vehicle, jumped into the car, Lane slamming the gearshift into reverse and backing up into a dirt field to the south, avoiding the herd of rolling, bouncing timber.

The radio was full of chatter, units stepping on each other as each tried to convey what was happening.

Sliding left, trying to make the turn onto Highway 89, the van went onto two wheels as both Junior and the CHP unit slid past the van and into a dirt field, Junior fighting the fishtail.

Clouds of dust made visibility zero. Lane put the car in drive and drove into the wall of dust. Then they were spun; someone clipped the ass end of the patrol car. He hit the gas and cleared the dust cloud. Mitch’s voice came on the radio. “We’re west bound on Little Bear Road, heading for the Ranger Station.”

Junior was slamming through the deeper end of the dirt field, when steam billowed from the unit, rendering Junior out of the pursuit.

Lane saw the van and Mitch drop out of sight down Little Bear Road and punched the unit’s gas, saying, “Hang on!”

He rocketed past Junior’s unit, hitting two large dips, causing them to bang their heads on the roof.

“Jesus Christ!” Harlow yelled as Lane cleared the field, his tires catching traction on the pavement.

“We’re approaching Mohawk Highway,” Mitch said.

Lane was closing fast and saw the van slide into a brick retaining wall, careen off, and rocket toward the intersection.




The Harbinger
Jayson Livingston
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Action,

Print Length: 312 pages
Word Count: 40,000
Publication Date: May 7, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B01FBNA53W









Book Description:

Plumas County Deputy Sheriff Lane Childress has a good life: a host of friends, a loving girlfriend, the respect of his fellow officers, all in the natural beauty of rural Northern California. Having transferred from the tough inner city beat of the Oakland PD only three years ago, his competence and integrity have earned him respect in the peaceful, mountain county. The community's quiet serenity is shattered abruptly when fourteen-year-old Kelly Stockton is found murdered, her body brutally maimed. As tourist season approaches, and another body is discovered, the pressure mounts on Lane, the lead detective. Along with State Investigator Patterson Harlow, Lane races to find the killer before further mayhem strikes the county.







About the Author:

Jayson Livingston was born and raised in Sacramento, CA. He worked 23 years as Director of Security at the Marriott Hotel in Rancho Cordova, leaving in 2007 to pursue a career as a writer. He worked with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department on a daily basis and has made lifelong friends with many deputies ranging from Patrol, SED, Narcotics and Homicide and has logged over 5,000 hours of ride-a-longs with the patrol division. He published is first book Point Blank (St. Martin’s Press) at the age of 25. The Harbinger is his first self-published book. Mourning of Angels, Jayson’s newest book, was just published and introduces Sacramento County Homicide Detective Luke Masters. Jayson is 51 and is married to his beautiful wife Starr.



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