Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Book Tour & Guest Blog With Simon Driscoll - Orphan Dani: The Dragons' Bane Chronicles





Picture
Book Genre:    Tween Fantasy Adventure
Publisher:     AZ Publishing Services
Release Date:     June 15, 2015
Buy Link(s):    http://grendelmen.com/  
- Paperback Amazon

Book Description:

Dani is a young orphan girl, living on the streets of a medium-sized border town. Her only friend in the world is a dragon. At fourteen years of age, she should be starting her apprenticeship, but all her schooling has come from a dragon. The same day he promises she can some day become a dragon herself, a Mage finally comes looking for her. But is he there to help her, or control her?




Why Do We Write Genres?

Why do we use Genres?
Some people have a hard time understanding why the publishing industry insists on labeling every book with a genre. There are many to choose from and so many novels that cross genres, such as a love story set in the old west. Is that Historical Fiction, Western, or Romance?
There are two answers, and I’ll give the easy one first. Bookstores, including online sellers like Amazon, want to help readers find the types of books they like by allowing them to browse in certain categories. There is a shelf for Westerns, a shelf for Historical Fiction, and a shelf for Romance. Without a category, the physical bookstore won’t know where to put it, unless you are already a famous bestselling novelist, and then it goes in a big pile where the customers can see it as they walk in. For the rest of us, we need to understand our genre to make the bookstore’s job easier.
Now for the more important answer, and the reason why the easy answer exists at all. If the book is mislabeled as to its genre, then people looking for a Western, who pick up a Romance novel set in the old west are probably going to be very disappointed, if not outraged, and never recommend that book to their friends. Why? Because a Romance novel focuses on the love story, or love life, usually of a woman, and is often told from that woman’s point of view. There are certain keywords and phrases that Romance readers are looking for.
On the other hand, people who read Westerns want to read about the conflict between the sheriff and the outlaw, or the rancher and the cattle rustler. Sure, the main character may have a love interest, and the good guy always gets the right girl at the end, if he isn’t already married. But the focus of the novel isn’t about how they fell in love. It’s about a world where usually the person with the fastest draw makes the law, and how unexpected people stand up to the outlaw, etc.
Think of it like a menu. At any decent restaurant, the menu is broken up into at least three sections. There are appetizers, entrees, and desserts. If a dessert is placed in the appetizers menu, less people are going to order it. Or if a fine dining establishment puts lemonade on their wine list, even if it is hard lemonade, it’s in the wrong spot, and people looking for wine usually won’t order the hard lemonade.
The genre isn’t just about putting your book on a certain shelf. It’s about giving the reader what they want in terms of content, message, and length. No one is going to read a Children’s novel if it’s 1500 pages. But some Science Fiction writers hit that length, as well as some Epic Fantasy authors. Most publishers would encourage that author to break it up into five books, or at least a trilogy.
I’ve said it before, but it’s so important that I’ll say it again. New authors can’t break the rules unless they understand the reasons why the rules exist in the first place. When they do, they only sell books if they are also a good salesman. Personally, I want my readers to be the salesmen by telling their friends how much they enjoyed the book.  




Picture

Author Bio: Simon Driscoll has published several books, including the Dragons’ Bane Chronicles, and the Warriors & Watchmen series. Writing is his passion, as well as his hobby. He studied creative writing in college to learn the mechanics of written stories. He has been influenced in his writing by great authors such as Sir Isaac Asimov, Terry Brooks, and Orson Scott Card, to name only a few.
Simon has been a student of the scriptures all his life, and feels passionately about helping others understand them better. The most difficult aspect of scriptures to comprehend is prophecy. That is why Simon has combined his passions for writing and the scriptures to create a fictional account of the fulfillment of End Times Prophecies. The first book in the Warrior and Watchmen Series was published in 2015.

Website:    http://grendelmen.com/
Blog:        http://driscoll.grendelmen.com/
Facebook:    https://www.facebook.com/Driscoll.Books/
Twitter:    https://twitter.com/AuthorSDriscoll
Pinterest:    https://www.pinterest.com/driscoll0924/
Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10654758.Simon_Driscoll
Amazon:    http://www.amazon.com/Simon-Driscoll/e/B00ZYKDBZ2/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1467414313&sr=8-1

Excerpt:

Smooth stones shifted beneath my feet as I limped toward the dragon’s cave. Anger buzzed in my head with no outlet. Two miles of walking on a sprained ankle hadn’t helped my mood, or the injury. In addition to the ankle, which continued to complain with every step, my left eye felt swollen from a recent blow. The blow itself didn’t bother me so much. Instead, I was concerned by why she hit me and how I got away.

Two miles south lay Barrington, a village sandwiched between the kingdom of Puji and the mountains of Goldoon. Almost five thousand people lived in the village, including the families who had taken me in. Every winter for the past six years one family or another had taken me in as a housekeeper or cook, and shared what little food they had with me; rarely enough to truly satisfy me, or them. Eventually they would start to resent having me there. Thus every year, around the start of spring, I would find some reason to leave.

This year, the reason had reached out and grabbed me by the throat, literally. There was no real love for me there, and hadn’t been since my nanny died almost six years ago. Why should they care about a little orphan girl?

The cave before me wasn’t the adventure others might see. I wasn’t here in a vain attempt to gain treasure or impress someone with my bravery. No one else in the village knew there was a dragon nearby. For me, this was my one escape from the cruelty of the world. The only place left where someone showed me kindness instead of hatred and violence.

The last few feet were the trickiest of all and my injured ankle gave out. I scraped my hand on the cliff in a failed attempt to stop my fall.

“Cortiban’s bones!” The curse escaped my lips. Frustration boiled over and I had to close my eyes to contain the anger. Pulling myself up by grabbing the face of the cliff before me, I put all my anger to the task of overcoming the pain. I kept my eyes shut as I limped through the protective magic hiding the mouth of the cave. If someone watched as I entered, they would see me walk through solid rock. A protective spell hid everything inside. Now the magic hid me as well.


Thursday, November 10, 2016

The After War by Brandon Zenner



Picture
Book Genre: Post Apocalyptic, Dystopian. Can fit in Thriller, Literary, and Science Fiction (not so much on the sci-fi part, but I know Dystopian is usually categorized under Sci-Fi).
Publisher: Brandon Zenner
Release Date: October 20, 2016
BuyLink(s):https://www.amazon.com/After-War-Complete-Novel-ebook/dp/B01JMS9CA4/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Book Description:
Two years have passed since mankind faced extinction. 

Brain Rhodes and his cousin, Steven, are leaving the protection of their underground bunker for the first time, after a cataclysmic war and unrelenting disease ravaged the earth. 
On the other side of the North American continent, young Simon Kalispell is leaving the safety and seclusion of his cabin deep in the woods, traveling with his aging canine companion, Winston. 

For individual reasons, these men are traveling east, where the fragmented lives of a small number of survivors will soon be decided by the choices of a corrupt few. 

Simon Kalispell and Brian Rhodes are not yet aware, but the strength that resides inside them will soon be tested, and destiny will call for their fates to be forever intertwined.




Picture
Author Bio:
Brandon Zenner is an American fiction writer and an Amazon best selling author. His short fiction has been published in both print and online publications, the first being submitted when he was 19 years old. THE EXPERIMENT OF DREAMS, his debut eBook thriller, has reached Amazon's best seller list many times. His second novel, WHISKEY DEVILS, was released in early 2016. THE AFTER WAR, a dystopian thriller, was released in fall 2016. His genres of choice are thrillers, crime, dystopian, and science fiction.

Author Links -
Website http://www.BrandonZenner.com
Blog https://brandonzennerblog.wordpress.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/brandon.zenner/
Twitter https://twitter.com/SlapstickII
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-zenner-28781598?trk=hp-identity-name
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7908718.Brandon_Zenner
​Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Brandon-Zenner/e/B00IQVO1UK






Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Side-Effects: What Candidates Don’t Tell You by Tomas Payne




Picture
​Book Genre: Nonfiction (political)
Publisher: Finlee Augare Books
Release Date: July 1, 2016

Buy Link(s):
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Side-Effects-What-Candidates-Dont-ebook/dp/B01G0KUW0G

Book Description:
The book candidates don’t want us to see.
“A must-read guide to campaign promises.” “Facts everyone should see before they vote.”
Candidates rally for our support and appeal to our anger and frustrations, often offering radical solutions, but what aren’t they telling us? Sure they pitch the good times they’ll bring. What about the side-effects and costs of their medicine.
Side-Effects: What Candidates Don’t Tell You takes you behind the scenes on issues of the day and campaign promises. It focuses on consequences, issues, and options. It also challenges myths such as who are the wealthy, and what is the history of depressed wages. The emphasis is on shedding light, exposing myths, examining consequences, and exploring options, not on personalities. Sorry, no dirt on the people, just on their promises.
Side-Effects will answer questions such as:
  •   Will raising income and estate taxes hurt the billionaires and redistribute wealth?
  •   Why healthcare is broken and what options we have.
  •   Why wages are depressed and what we can do about it.
  •   What are the implications of immigration plans?
Side-Effects cuts through the BS to look at campaign promises on wealth redistribution, taxes, Social Security, healthcare, depressed wages, and many other topics and aims to bring facts to these issues.

Author Bio:
Tomas Payne is a CPA and has an MBA in Finance, BS in Political Science and over 30 years of business experience. He is a longtime student of business, the ever-entertaining field of economics, and of the political shell game.

Author Links - 
 Website/blog: http://www.WhatTheyDontTellU.wordpress.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30251510-side-effects
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Side-Effects-What-Candidates-Dont-ebook/dp/B01G0KUW0G
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tomaspayne76
https://www.facebook.com/PoliticalSideEffects/

Giveaway - 
US Only: 1 signed print book of Side Effects plus $15 Amazon gift card
US Only: 1 signed print book of Side Effects
Worldwide: 2 ebook copies (mobi/epub) of Side Effects


Monday, October 17, 2016

Ungolden Silence by Lydia E. Brew



Picture
Genre: Woman's Fiction
Published: Xilbris Publishing
Released: December 13, 2007
Buy At: Amazon​
Ungolden Silence will explore the world of rape and expose the myths through articles that are based on facts. The main question that needs to be answered is why one human being would rape another human being. These reasons are explored in a compelling story that will make the reader ask questions. Beatrice James wanted to take her co-worker Elaine on her first professional trip, she had to convince her employers and Elaine’s parents that she wanted to take Elaine on the trip. Elaine was in charge of the campaign.

Thomas Paige is a well-respected community leader, however, there is whole other side of side of him. The man can be charming when he needs to be and that is why he can get away with sexually harassing and raping women. He began to harassed Beatrice did not want Elaine to have to deal with it. Beatrice did not want to deal with the fact that she was being sexually harassed.

When any crime takes place, the families of the victims as well as the criminal are involved. Ungolden Silence will illustrate that the criminal is a real person, and rarely does he commit crimes just for the fun of it.

It is important to know that rape is a part of violence. Through the characters of Ungolden Silence it is hoped that society will begin to find a way to eliminate the acceptance of violence, which includes the act of rape.

It is through Beatrice, Elaine, and their colleagues that Ungolden Silence begins to explore the world of rape. Each of the main characters discovers what he has believed about rape and violence is not entirely true. A good example of this is when the firm’s secretary is told what happened on the trip. She discovered that some things that she was told when she was young was a myth.

Through all of the characters, Ungolden Silence offers an alternative to the everyday acceptance of violence. When it comes to rape, it tells us that the rapists are human beings and there is a way to curb the crime.

What does the author wants the reader to take away is that the story is about a woman was rape while she and her business partner was away on a business trip. Her business partner is disabled but that is an important part of the story. However, it is not the main story.

Picture
About Lydia E. Brew:

Lydia E. Brew has Cerebral Palsy and as a child she could not go outside and play with the other children like she wanted to, so she daydreamed about that and other things she felt unreachable instead. This allowed her mind to journey in unimaginable places. With a love for drama, daydreaming and writing, Lydia combined them when she started writing. Her essay, “Why Do You Think They Call It Dope?” was place on the front bulletin board of Roosevelt Elementary School. Lydia had no idea that was the beginning of her writing journey.

When she took literature in Junior and Senior high, Lydia to write composition papers. One in particular was about a talking horse; another one of Lydia’s daydreams put on paper. The teacher would give out the assignments at the beginning of class, and most of the time Lydia would have the story in her head before the end of class. She realized then that being a great storyteller with the written word wasn’t something she had to dream about but she could actually achieve it.

When she turn fourteen years old Lydia met Edith Irby Jones, M.D. When Lydia walked into office and the walls are covered with award and plaques and she knew that there was a story behind the walls. She wanted to tell the story. Lydia attended Texas Southern University and with the help of her Journalism Professor, she wrote Edith, The Story of Edith Irby Jones, M.D.
Lydia, along Mrs. Annie Brew, her mother and Mrs. Helen Lewis, her aunt wrote an activities book, Our Learn Together Book, base on the biography.
Lydia is the author of Ungolden Silence, a thought provoking novel about rape and how it affect not only the victims but the people that surround them. Go to Ungolden Silence.com and Amazon.com.

Author Links:

www.lydiaebrew.com
https://www.facebook.com/Ungoldensilence/
​Twitter - @UngoldenLydia



Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Book Tour: Live Life On Purpost by Rachael L. Thompson





Book Genre: Self-Help/ Career & Business Advice
Publisher: Mind Body & Spirit Entrepreneur
Release Date: September 29, 2016
Buy Link(s): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LDWGNOA

Book Description:

What is Your Life Purpose?

Are you looking to find the answer to the age-old question “What the hell should I do with my life”? Do you want to find work that simply makes you happy? Are you sick of dreading each day and only living for the weekends? If your current job situation does not bring you happiness but you do not know how to fix it, this book will help answer all of your questions. It will not, however, answer these questions in a typical fashion. It is not going to give you a personality test or an aptitude assessment. You're not going to find a list of career or business options that you could try. This book dives much deeper than other typical career or business books you will find. The theory behind this book is that one must unlearn everything he or she has been taught before being able to authentically explore the best business or career choice.

How this book is different than typical career guides or business books: Clothing Analogy

Imagine you are asked to find one outfit to wear the rest of your life. Would you rather choose from a pre-filled closet or have your apparel custom-made? With other books, you are essentially looking in a closet full of different clothes and picking out the best option; it may not be your favorite color or fit just right but it will do. In this book, you will design your perfect ensemble

The book is structured into three parts:

The first section describes and gives examples of psychological concepts to explain how you have been shaped and exactly why you are in your current situation.
The second part is all about relearning how to live and think authentically. This is where you begin to explore and research, with fresh eyes, the best business or career choice for you.
The third part is focused solely on techniques that you can apply to assist in this process. Complex theories are broken down into simple steps, with examples to help explain how to apply these concepts in your own life.
Whether you want to find the perfect job, or start your perfect business, it will guide you through each step necessary to reach a life of happiness and fulfillment.

Sneak Peek at Everything that will be Covered:

Each of the following topics will be broken down into simple, easy-to-understand explanations and steps.

  • Psychological Learning Principals
  • Societal Norms and How They Affect You
  • Understanding Your Underlying Beliefs
  • Subconscious Structuring and Restructuring
  • Psychological Theories (Cognitive Bias, Distortions, Effects of the Ego)
  • Decision-Making Theories
  • Techniques to Explore Ideal Career or Business
  • Research Techniques
  • Goal Setting and Planning Strategies
  • Journaling Techniques
  • Affirmations
  • 6 Powerful Meditation Techniques (Mindfulness, Neuro Linguistic Programming, Imprinting Beliefs)
  • Visualization and Manifesting (Law of Attraction) Techniques
  • How to Find a Support System

Picture




Do you ever wonder your purpose?


Monday, October 10, 2016

Nature Inspired: Animal Edition by Natured Inspired Anthologies




Picture
Book Genre: Non-Fiction, Nature, Art, Animals
Publisher: Falling Leave Press
Release Date: August 25, 2016
Buy Link(s):

http://www.natureinspiredanthologies.com/order.html (to receive discount)50% off the retail of $25.00 for the run of the tour.

On Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Inspired-Animals-Animal-1/dp/0997066059/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1472178085&sr=8-7&keywords=Nature+Inspired%3A+Animals

Wholesale Orders:
Available through Ingram
http://www.ingramcontent.com/retailers/products
Or through Nature Inspired Anthologies
www.natureinspiredanthologies.com (inquire)


Book Description:
Nature Inspired: Animal Edition offers you the opportunity to see animals both big and small through the eyes of different artists. With more than sixty works in this full color edition, it is a treasure trove of touching, charming and curious images.

www.natureinspiredanthologies.com
www.facebook.com/natureinspiredanthologies
@natrureinsprdbks

Follow The Tour Here



Thursday, August 4, 2016

TurboJetslams by Jass Richards

Picture
Book Genre: Fiction, Humor
Publisher: Magenta
Release Date: April 1, 2016
Buy Link(s):

Amazon | BN | Kobo | Smashwords | Indigo iTunes


Book Description:

You ever have a neighbour whose behaviour is so mind-bogglingly inconsiderate and so suicide-inducingly annoying that you just want to ask him, in a polite Canadian way, to please stop?

TurboJetslams isn't like that.

Jass Richards' new novel, TurboJetslams: Proof #29 of the Non-Existence of God, tells the tale of one person's pathetic and hilarious attempts to single-handedly stop the destruction of a little piece of beautiful Canadian wilderness by the increasing numbers of idiots who couldn't care less.

A quick and entertaining summer read. and/or A perfect cottage-warming gift. and/or Boomer lit. and/or Sure to resonate with paddlers everywhere.


Extraordinarily well written with wit, wisdom, and laugh-out- loud ironic recognition, TurboJetslams: Proof #29 of the Non-Existence of God is a highly entertaining and a riveting read that will linger on in the mind and memory long after the little book itself has been finished and set back upon the shelf (or shoved into the hands of friends with an insistence that they drop everything else and read it!). Highly recommended for community library collections. ~Midwest Book Review

Excerpt:

On the Monday, when she and Shiggles went for a walk down the lane—Shiggles liked to say hi to Nutter, Caramel, and Beast, but they didn’t go there on weekends when the Bullerts were up—they saw a new dog at the edge of the road. Right across from Bullerts. A big black one.
Correction. They saw a bear at the edge of the road.
Correction. Three bears.
Ah, she thought. A Teddy Bear Picnic.
Next morning, she saw that Bullert and his buddies had tossed a couple plastic bags of garbage into the bush, into the treed swath of land between the lane and Campbell’s road. The swath was actually Andy’s property, but she didn’t think Bullert realized that. It wasn’t his property, that’s probably all that mattered. Oh well, she thought, looking at the torn plastic bags, the scattered tins, licked clean, the packaging of various materials, torn and scattered, but also licked clean—let Andy deal with it. Problem is, he probably wouldn’t notice it. Since Bullert had dumped it across from his own driveway, not across from Andy’s driveway.
Which, by the way, how stupid is that, she asked Shiggles, safe in her arms just in case. Even you don’t like to shit in your own yard if you can help it.
He probably also left his barbecue grill outside. Yummy bits of meat and fat. What self-respecting wolf within a hundred miles would ignore that?
It happened every time a new seasonal moved in. They’d just toss their leftover food: hamburger buns, pasta, rice, wieners, vegetable soup— She’d seen it all.
Including a car battery. And a bag full of used diapers. But that was along the road, not beside someone’s cottage.
Thing is, would they do that in the city? She didn’t think so.
Then why do it here? Do they really not even consider the possibility that their actions might have consequences for others? Who might not see Mama Bear, or raccoons, in time to grab their Shiggles?
Maybe they figure it’s organic, it’ll decompose. (How slow are city raccoons?)
Maybe, like so many other things, being here, at a lake, in a forest, brings out the primeval in people. They think they’re in the wild. Where there are no dumps.
But where there are bears. And raccoons. And wolves, and martens— Anyone in the wild with an ounce of grey matter, let alone moral responsibility, buries their garbage. Or carries it out.
She put on the pair of gloves she’d brought with her and moved all the leftover garbage back onto Bullert’s property. Maybe he’d get the message.

Or not. The following weekend, late Sunday when the ATVs had gone, she headed out for a walk in the forest, using the entrance, loosely speaking, at the bottom of the hill because Frankie was at his cabin, getting ready for deer season, or duck season, or mastodon season, and although she had the legal right to use the road past his cabin, she wasn’t in the mood for a confrontation. If he was preparing for deer season, or duck season, or mastodon season, he’d be cleaning his rifles.
And she saw right there, just ten feet off the road and just two feet to the left of the path, four bags of garbage. What the fuck. Seriously?
She carried them back where they belonged. To Bullert’s property. Specifically, into Bullert’s screened porch.
The bears did their thing. The raccoons did their thing. There was a lovely mess to clean up when they arrived the following Friday.
And the hardware store was, oddly enough, all out of screen.
Right in the middle of blackfly season.


Picture
Author Bio: Jass Richards has an M.A. in Philosophy and used to be a stand-up comic (now she’s more of a sprawled-out- on-the- couch comic).  Despite these attributes, she has received four Ontario Arts Council grants.

Her most recent novel, TurboJetslams: Proof #29 of the Non-Existence of God has been called “highly entertaining … and a riveting read” (Midwest Book Review).  In addition to her Rev and Dylan series (The Road Trip Dialogues, The Blasphemy Tour, and License to Do That), which has reportedly made people snort root beer out their noses, she has written This Will Not Look Good on My Resume, a collection of short stories described as “a bit of quirky fun that slaps you upside the head,” followed by its sequel Dogs Just Wanna Have Fun.   “The O & D” was published in The Cynic Online Magazine (Sep 2011), two excerpts from This Will Not Look Good on My Resume have been selected for Contemporary Monologues for Young Women (vol.3), and Substitute Teacher from Hell was produced and performed by Ghost Monkey Productions in Winnipeg (2014).

Her worst-ever stand-up moment occurred in Atlanta (at a for-blacks- only club) (apparently). Her best-ever stand-up moment occurred in Toronto (when she made the black guy fall off his stool because he was laughing so hard at her Donovan Bailey joke).