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Wolf Dreams

Synopsis:
A collection of short stories in the sci-fi / fantasy genre. Concepts
like duality, cyber crime in a magical world, forbidden love, dead
Gods, and even Saint Nicholas are explored.

Book Background:

I write a lot. I can’t help it. Storied come to me, and I have to get
them down. For every novel I’ve written, there are dozens of short
stories.

Some of the tales in there are standalone, while others link in with a
larger group of tales in my core writing universe. Those stories are
easily identified due to a couple of characters in common.

My introduction to fiction started with Doctor Who novelisations and
The Hobbit. I’ve been reading since I was four, and writing since I
was eleven. A lot of my writings have been lost, because they were in
paper form, but some of my characters stayed with me, and have evolved
into new, more exciting ones. In some ways, the tales in this book are
an introduction to them.

I’d like to think that my stories provoke a little thought. If not,
then I at least hope they entertain!

I’m now working on the first book of one of my main characters. The
story has been in my head for years, as has the character, and writing
it is like writing the biography of a dear friend.

I’m on the net, always:
http://plus.ayoub.co
http://ayoub.co

Amazon (US) - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KK9ARE
Amazon (UK) - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005KK9ARE
Amazon (DE) - https://www.amazon.de/dp/B005KK9ARE

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Continue reading »]]> Once again, Sibel Hodge has shown her incredible dedication to creative and entertaining mysteries. The release of her third Amber Fox mystery is being celebrated with a gift to her fans – 10 ebook copies of the book.

Here’s a bit about the new book, Voodoo Deadly….

Feisty insurance investigator Amber Fox is back in her deadliest case ever…

When Chantal Langton, the daughter of a famous voodoo high priestess, goes missing, is it a simple case of a rich girl running off for some adventure, or is there something far more sinister going on?

Soon Amber’s slap bang in the middle of voodoo curses, a trail of missing women, and a labyrinth of deceit. And, if that wasn’t enough, to add more distraction to the case, her ex-fiancé-turned boss-turned fiancé again is pressing her to set the wedding date.

Can Amber find Chantal and hunt down a cold-blooded killer before her life comes crashing down around her?

This series has been catching attention and turning heads since it’s inception! Here’s some of the praise for the Amber Fox mystery series thus far:

“If you like Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum I think you will really like Amber Fox – I know I do.” Martha’s Bookshelf

“Amber Fox is a modern, career-driven woman who seems to be a cross between Kinsey Milhone and Gracie Hart (Miss Congeniality). I enjoyed the great mixture of action adventure and slapstick. I found myself chuckling out loud and on one occasion snorting water out my nose.”  Coffee Time Romance & More

Amber Fox was hilarious with her tough as nails outer persona and her hysterical one-liners that were frequently laugh out loud funny. I definitely recommend picking this book up!!” The Caffeinated Diva reads…

“Amber Fox is the kind of strong lead female character with a great sarcastic wit that I love to read.” To Read, Perchance to Dream

“Ms. Hodge has written a funny and suspenseful story much in the style of Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books. The plot is fast moving and the dialogue very witty.” Coffee Time Romance & More

Visit her blog for the chance to win a free copy of the book! Only 10 being given away.

http://www.sibelhodge.com/my-blog/win-a-copy-of-the-new-amber-fox-mystery-voodoo-deadly

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Y.K. Greene does it again! Another fantastic read has been released by the author of Family Picnic and The Uncertainty of Death. This must read novel was released today as the foundation for a new series by the talented horror and suspense author.  Take a moment to check out the details on it below.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0070ORXS6

Rin Tyler is the well off, reclusive oldest daughter of the Tyler family; Ash is a temperamental Cleaner with an unusual penchant for the cleansing effects of fire. When these sides of the same woman collide it can only end in flames…

A word from YK Greene to her fans:

I actually lost the second book in my other series – which inspired me to push forward with “Ash of Ambitions,” the first book in a whole new series from me. “Ash of Ambitions” actually started out as a NaNoWriMo submission. I did have a lot of work left to do after the month was over though! I’m so sorry I lost the next book in the Four Horsemen series, hopefully you’ll enjoy a breather with Rin/Ash while I get up the nerve to do it all again!

Http://thewritingnetwork.com/writetalk

As a fan of this incredible author, I’m excited to hear there will be more stories coming from her in this series.

 
You can learn more about YK Greene at  http://blarglesplect.com/ and http://www.facebook.com/Y.K.Greene  She welcomes fan interaction on her page, so don’t be shy.

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Synopsis:

Life is a journey and our unique experiences define the tapestry of our lives. Some events are extraordinary, others are mundane, but they all sum up who we are. The fabric may be ragged in places, yet each person has their own dazzling patchwork.

Seven short stories illustrate how we are all connected to one another. “The Journey” is a metaphorical journey through life, with all its perils and dangers that come with it. “The Wedding Dress” traces the history of one beautiful gown through three generations. In “Mail Call”, getting junk mail may not be the worst thing that ends up in your mail box. Esme tidies up hotel rooms in “The Making of Beds”  and realizes the smallest clues from a single room reflect its temporary occupants. Who is sending invitations with one single word: “Available”?  A special needs student recalls a very special teacher in “An Apple for Miss Margaret”, and Mei finds the meaning of family in “Food for my Soul.”

Book Background:

Many of these stories grew out of what I call ‘snippets’: single scenes written in my writer’s notebook. Over the years, I expanded these snippets into full-fledged stories. While I was a student at Long Ridge Writers Group, I submitted “The Journey” and “Food for my Soul” for workshopping. My mentor at the time helped me flesh out the main protagonist for each story. I learned how to pace my stories and how to ‘show, not tell’.

My favorite story in this collection is “An Apple for Miss Margaret”. I have two autistic children who have difficulties in speech and reading. Sometimes, it takes a special teacher to get past those walls, and those men and women are few and far between. Art is a vehicle to achieve that goal.

“A Patchwork of Life” is my first e-book.

A Patchwork of Life by A. Dameron

Available for Kindle here at Smashwords.com (link is :http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/96914 )
Also available on Scribd.com (http://www.scribd.com/doc/63746351/Patchwork-of-Life-Collection?view_full=1#

Smashwords site: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/mamajava1

Author Website: http://writermum1.yolasite.com

Continue reading »]]> Be Careful What You Wish For…

Find it here:

Continue reading »]]> Once again the Reader’s Retreat is privileged to be a part of launch day for another fantastic author! This best selling author took the time to drop us some fantastic information, including a portion of the latest release! Her newest book is Children of the Plantation. Here’s the prologue and some information on the fabulous new novel!

Diana Rivers Pulls It Off!

Diana is head over heels in love with life. Not only has she just solved the mysterious murders back home in Cyprus in, ‘The Assassins’ Village’ but she’s also expecting her first child.
Steve decides they both need a holiday after solving the murders and suggests a return visit to Malaysia, where Diana spent some of her childhood. She remembers the lush, velvety tropical nights and agrees it is a delightful idea.
They arrive at their luxurious plantation hotel and things turn out not quite as Steve would perhaps have liked. The hotel was the family home of the Chalcots, a family whose life was steeped and shrouded in mystery. Diana is asked to take a look through some old diaries…there are dark hints and secrets concerning this enigmatic family.
Just what are the mysterious diaries all about? Who was Alex and what did he discover…and what did he really do all those years ago when he was growing up?
Who was Paul, Hermione and the beautiful but selfish Eleanor? Who was responsible for events that shocked the whole family and plunged it into despair? And what is the real story behind all the façade?

Will Diana triumph against all odds yet again in, ‘Children of The Plantation’?

Children Of The Plantation

Prologue

Opening the kitchen door, she spotted a vixen standing near the refuse bin. Hermione clapped her hands, and it shot through the hedge at the bottom of the garden.
Hermione’s heart was thudding in her breast as she considered what next to do. Casting a look around, she gave thanks that the clouds scudding overhead made it a dark night. This had to be done in complete privacy.
Giving herself a mental shake, she crossed the damp grass to the shed and picked up a spade. A clod of earth still clung to the sharp blade from where she had been digging in her vegetable patch earlier that afternoon. It seemed such a long time ago now. She paused, still not completely certain she was doing the right thing. Making up her mind, she walked over to the newly turned earth.
The air smelt fresh after the rain shower, and a light breeze blew the mixed garden scents her way while she dug. The hole was to be small but deep, especially as she had just driven the fox off. Satisfied, she stood back and peered down into the soft loamy material, a sorry place for such a pathetic bundle.
Sick at heart, but knowing they had no choice, Hermione laid down her spade and walked back into the kitchen. She picked up the tightly wrapped package and carried it outside; it weighed no more than a couple of pounds as she gently laid it down into the hole.
Covering it with fresh earth, she scattered pebbles around and knelt on the grass. Had there been any other choice? Whatever were they going to tell him when the time came?

Continue reading »]]> The Choice

by Sydney Song

Synopsis-

 
Helen lost her son and husband in a boating accident; her other child Denise is growing up as well as out of their home. Taking the advice of a girlfriend, Helen reunites with her first boyfriend; Rich is waning rock star. She learns he acquired HIV; Helen must decide whether or not his disease will destroy their chances at love.
Excerpt- Rich is telling the love of his life that he may be HIV positive.
“… I hoped if we came here to talk it over without the flash of paparazzi and glare of my stardom, maybe, we could work something out.”
“Work what out? What do you want from me? Certainly not a lasting relationship!”
“That’s exactly what I want from you!” He stammered. “I want a lasting relationship. I want a deeper commitment. I want you there for me!”
“What about you being there for me!” I slammed his ego. Before my candor continued, my outlandish responses startled me because my hidden thoughts chastised me. My tart remarks not only hurt someone I loved but they hurt my longtime friend, Rich. …
Rich jarred me out of my lingering grief, “I want to be with you in every way possible!” He almost whimpered, “When I informed my parents of the possibility that I am HIV positive, dad told me to enjoy Hell. Mom sobbed adding that there home was off limits because she fears touching me would pass the disease.” Richard paused, sighed, and looked for some compassion in my eyes as he added, “My sister informed me that her husband and children couldn’t risk contact either. Her younger children might kiss me and pick up my sexually transmitted disease.”
His family had other misconceptions and misinformation about this disease as well. The saddest thing came from their emotions labeled as their religious beliefs. His parents rejected Rich while calling themselves Christian. They forgot Jesus’ command, “Hate the sin while loving the sinner.” Even though I wasn’t willing to admit it yet, Richard deserved common decency and respect even if he wasn’t a hero.
Displaying my knowledge more than empathy, my interruption stopped his pity party, “You don’t get HIV from human contact except the sexual kind. Unless you swallow a barrel of spit or have an open sore in your mouth- hugging and kissing can occur when a person has the plague!”
“People’s fear stalls them keeping them from finding out these things. I certainly don’t plan on sexual contact with my blood relatives.”
“I hope not!” My nervous laughter broke the tension. After that statement, my eye brow went up showing my concern. If Rich had HIV or AIDS, even if he is disease free, that man needed to stop having sex period. Hadn’t he learned his lesson?
He looked to me for an ounce of sympathy, “I have no one left to turn to for help; my life is empty.”
“How unfair!” My tone indicated that my outburst really meant that Rich remained a bit self-centered especially in our relationship. Due to his selfish attitude, evident in his whining tone, my question flew from my heart’s pain, “Are you looking for a nursemaid as you die? You can pay for that service!” My tart voice hit him deeply as he looked away in grief.
After a very long bout of silence, he answered, “No, I prefer you to be my best friend while I live.”
Calming down because his eyes reveal that all he really wanted was my platonic companionship, I put my forehead on a hand and sighed. Then, the only thing my soul heard was the crashing of waves. I’m not referring to an old-fashioned literary mechanism to indicate the couple had sex; we didn’t; we wouldn’t. If this man carried that deadly venereal disease- that was NEVER going to happen!
My mind screamed, ‘Leave him!’ My spirit shouted, ‘Comfort this lost soul! Be his friend!’ My heart screeched, ‘You’re killing me!’ Surprisingly, my mouth calmly said, “I need time to digest this news.”
“Take all the time you need,” He added. “I hope you give me a chance. I can give you anything your heart desires including my undying love and gratitude.”
“But if we ever consummate our love, you might give me HIV and future AIDS!” I jabbed him, again. In my mind, he deserved it.
“So, you’re calling what we share love?”
Shaking my head and staring into his soul, confusion reigned. “Not sure what I am calling this whole ordeal or my feelings.” Standing, walking towards the bay, and then seating myself on the shoreline; my mind awaited the alarm clock to sound awakening me from this current nightmare. Then, the tears flowed. Being so out of myself and beside myself in grief, at first, I imagined rain drops appeared in my hands. Then my confused psyche believed the breakers kicked up the salt waters but I knew the real source was my breaking heart. …

Story behind this novel:

As my children grew up under the guidance of my prudishness, they knew my opinion about virginity. “It will be Hell on earth if you contract an incurable STD!” They commonly heard from puberty on. Meanwhile, my four year degree and a temporary teaching certificate helped me gain the position of reading teacher for high school-aged, ‘AT RISK’ students. Too many of these kids were young mothers and fathers; some of my male students populated this earth with multiple partners in the same school year. As some girls mistakenly fought to win back their man from his other companion, I’d wonder aloud about the babies but mostly about the diseases being spread on campus. In those same years, my daughters went on mission trips during their summers to help in Malawi with the growing number of orphans being caused by the AIDS pandemic. When they returned, I asked why the epidemic is so wide spread. They explained that country’s lack of education and cultural taboos about discussing sex allowed for the disease to escalate to almost uncontrollable proportions.
Hashing out this inspiration in my mind for four years, trying to discuss this topic without preaching, I did not want to write a textbook. Instead, I composed The Choice; this true love story unfolds revealing the power of decisions. The novel examines and explores the following statements and questions after the excerpt provided.
What if you fooled around then fell in love but had already contracted HIV or AIDS from a previous sexual encounter? Knowingly having relations with the uninfected partner will result in giving them HIV one hundred percent of the time if the sex is unprotected and twenty percent of the time with a condom! HIV causes AIDS, which results in death. SO- how would you suffer your unrequited love? Or, would you take the chance of killing your best friend and best partner otherwise known as the love of your life? Could you sacrifice your needs and desires for the one you profess to love? BECAUSE- abstinence is the only one hundred percent effective tool in the fight against STDs.

Links to the Author
Author Webpage: http://mchanson714.weebly.com/
Blog: http://mchanson714.blogspot.com/
Book sites:
Kindle & MOST paperback books @ http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=mchanson714
Most e-formats @ http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=mchanson714
Some hardcover & paperback books @ http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/mchanson714

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Meet the Book: GRIMME

Synopsis

In this tale of an alternate history of Europe, human civilization has come out of an age of darkness to stand on the cusp of an era of discovery and enlightenment – yet remains haunted by the sins their forebears committed in the name of survival. Now, out of a forgotten past so old it is little more than myth comes a vengeful force threatening to cast down the upstart humans and spread across the face of Europas once more.
Three centuries ago, the Aquilonian Empire was brought down by internal power struggles and the coming of the dragonscourge, led by the first and greatest of the dragons, the Black Death herself. Out of that dark age came heroes such as Corolas, who dared to stand up and lead their people against the dragonscourge and other dangers. In the region of Europas known as Gothia, legendary figures like Wilhelm Grimme ignited the deadly struggle for survival against the Wood: an indigenous, eldritch sylvan race dwelling in vast primeval forests, from which few humans have returned alive. The struggles and victory of such legendary men and women allowed the peoples of Europas to resurface from that age of darkness and build a civilization: the Corolarian Kingdoms, including the Kingdom of Gothia.
Now, when all seems safely settled for generations and the dangers of that dark age are a distant memory, the descendants of Wilhelm Grimme will be called upon to solve a mystery that grows from a family matter into a spiraling crisis with the potential to rock the foundations of the Kingdom of Gothia and threaten the balance of power in Europas itself.
A tale of two brothers and a kingdom headed either to enlightenment or to ruin, Grimme is a novel of modern Young Adult Fantasy at its most epic.

Book Background

I wrote Grimme for a personal Nanowrimo challenge a few years ago.  Though I have written fiction for years, it was the first full-length fantasy novel I had ever committed to completing, and when it was done I looked back with amazement that I could have accomplished such a tremendous thing!  Then I made the mistake of looking forward and I realized for the first time exactly how much work happens only after a novel written before it can be called “finished.”
But I stuck with it, did my homework, spent the time with some amazingly helpful editors, and after months of sweat equity I had a book I was truly proud of.  And when it was done, I suddenly had another realization:  I’d spent all this time developing skills of composition, plotting, characterization, editing, revision, cover design, formatting, self-promotion, and most important of all, discipline.  Why not put those skills to good use?
That was the start of Kindling Press, and along with my writing cohort Jason Vanhee we have brought half a dozen titles to publication since our start just a few months ago.  Our goal is to bring an imprimatur of quality and significance to epublishing.  We focus on taking the gatekeepers of traditional publishing out of the process so readers are put in control of what they read.  By moving the reader closer to the author,  the economy of reading changes; instead of receiving the smallest share of the profits from the publication of their own work, authors obtain the largest.  And amazingly, the reader pays far less than they would from a traditional publisher!
With an exciting new Steampunk anthologie coming out in September, we are deeply pleased to be able to extend our repertoire with the addition of nine new authors to the ranks of those published by Kindling Press.

Grimme, by Peter A. Smalley
Kindle edition available on Amazon.com
All other formats available on Smashwords.com ]]> http://readersretreat.com/2011/09/meet-the-book-grimme/feed/ 0 http://readersretreat.com/2011/09/new-release-announcement-a-king-in-a-court-of-fools/ http://readersretreat.com/2011/09/new-release-announcement-a-king-in-a-court-of-fools/#comments Sat, 10 Sep 2011 08:32:35 +0000 Catrina http://readers.thewritingnetwork.com/?p=142

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On Dead Tree Paperback or Alive in EBook!

For Having Way too Much Fun

Name: Tom Ryan

Age: 10

Physical Description: Too big for his britches, too tough for his own good

Distinguishing features: a scar in the shape of your nose on his right hand

Aliases: “The King,” “Tom Terrific,” “Hey Ryan,” and “Big Trouble”

Known to frequent: The Cherry Tree Hideout, Isaly’s, The Harris Theater, South Park Drive-In

To report a sighting, to read a sample, or purchase please contact A King in a Court of Fools

 REWARD

Hours of enjoyment reading stories from the Book of Tom

(Tom’s Journal and you might have to watch over your shoulder while you do)

About the Author:

Author Larry Enright has once again created a dynamic book around his most well known character, Tom Ryan. This book was originally published as a free novel series. It is a humorous look at the life of Tom Ryan, the kid, growing up in the 1950s. If you’ve see the free audio and written series Larry created with the this book, you know it needs to be on your book shelf, virtual or real.You are able to see the foundation in Tom Ryan that led to the book Four Years from Home, the first Tom Ryan masterpiece.

As you can see from the wanted poster, the book is enjoyable, and the author is fun. Anyone with that sense of adventure and humor is bound to find this enjoyable and entertaining book at the top of the must read category, again and again.

After you’ve had the time to read A King in a Court of Fools, please take a moment to check out Larry Enright on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. When you do, you’ll find his other masterpiece and Four Years from Home, also a definite must read.