Friday, March 29, 2019

Queen of Hearts by Various Authors - featuring Jae El Foster


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Adesanya, Jennifer Patricia O'Keeffe, Anarie Brady, Jae El Foster will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Greetings and thank you for hosting me today as I work to promote a book that I’m in love with, Queens of Hearts.

Here are a few interesting things about me to make you go hmm.

While visiting with a friend a few weeks ago, I met one of her buddies from Alabama. A very cool guy who was curious about my books. Naturally, I was explaining the genres I dabble in and what I’ve had released, what’s done well, what’s flopped and so on. He asked what I do on downtime to clear my thoughts. I admitted that I like to play Call of Duty to burn off writing frustrations. I’m not sure how he took that, but he seemed surprised by it.

When it comes to writing, I have a tendency to put my foot in my mouth. For years, I swore I would never write in the vampire genre. Then, in 2012, I wrote Restless, a story with a vampire that became a decent seller. I’ve also said that I would never write zombies. Now, here we are with Queens of Hearts, and my contribution is a teenage zombie romance called ‘You Don’t Eat People You Love.’ I’ve decided just to stop saying I won’t write in a particular genre because it seems the opposite always happens.

You know those reoccurring dreams that just get to you sometimes? When I was a child, I was hooked on Nick at Nite and their old black and white repeats. I guess I had binged too many of them, as one night while I slept, I dreamed I was in space on a ship with the casts of The Andy Griffith Show and I Love Lucy. The problem was that, for some unknown reason, they did not like me. So, without a spacesuit on, they threw me out into space and stared at me through the window, laughing and pointing at me as the seconds ticked down and I woke up. I had that nightmare for three nights straight, and to this day, I am still terrified of outer space.

I cannot read books written in first person. I know it’s a weird quirk of mine, but I find it difficult to invest myself fully into the thoughts and actions of a protagonist in a first person narrative. I even have trouble writing in first person. I’ve only penned one story through that point of view – ‘Elisabeth’s Holiday Gift’ in DCL Publications’ winter anthology The Greatest Gift of All. The inclusion is actually a revision from its first appearance in the 2008 DCL anthology When the Snow Lay Round About.

I’m as unsure about my writing as anyone – maybe more so than most. To make sure I don’t deliver crud to my readers, I have a wonderful system set up where I send what I’m writing to my best friend of twenty years, author Adesanya, who reads as I write and lets me know what works or doesn’t work. Naturally, I do the same for her when she needs that extra set of eyes. Then, my work goes to Jean, a wonderful woman who has been my friend and editor with DCL Publications for several years now. Jean tolerates a lot from me. I have dyslexia, and sometimes I switch letters in words, leave letters out, use the wrong words completely, and even invent brand new words. She helps me find all of those little things while further helping me transform the story into the best, most complete piece of fiction it can be. ‘You Don’t Eat People You Love’ in Queens of Hearts is no exception. It went through both of these fabulous women before publication and they are a good part of why the story is as good as it is.

Thank you again to It’s Raining Books for hosting me today on this exciting virtual book tour! Thanks to you, the visitors and readers, for checking us out as we promote our new anthology Queens of Hearts from DCL Publications. If you have any comments or questions, please – ask away! My gratitude to DCL Publications and Goddess Fish Promotions for making this tour possible. And a very special thanks to my co-authors Adesanya, Jennifer Patricia O’Keeffe, and Anarie Brady, to our fabulous editor Jean Watkins, and to our handsome golden lord and cover model CJ Hollenbach, who worked to get us the perfect, sexiest image possible for this cover to represent the animalistic quality of the stories inside.

A romance anthology unlike any other, Queens of Hearts will seduce you, romance you, make you laugh, and make you afraid with four very different stories from four different, talented authors.

‘You Don’t Eat People You Love’ by Jae El Foster

An infection is spreading throughout the town, and it has made its way to the countryside where a party of high school seniors is underway. When the infection spreads through the party in a most savage way, Bethany and Tommy must flee for their lives before they too are either eaten like their friends or they become a part of the living dead. Will sheer determination and the love that bonds their teenage romance be enough to keep them alive, or will they face a fate that is much worse than death?

‘Regina’ by Adesanya

Her name is Queen by definition, and she wears her dreads – dreads she spent half of her life growing – atop her head as her crown. Her name is Regina, and as romance sweeps through the wintry air with promises of Saint Valentine and Cupid’s mighty arrow, she finds herself entangled with a handsome man who knows all the right things to say. As a love affair blooms and romance comes into full blossom, Regina and Clive seem like a match made in Heaven. But is Regina really the woman that Clive believes her to be, or will a dark secret put an end to their cold-weathered fling?

‘All I Want is to be Happy’ by Jennifer Patricia O’Keeffe

Michael is feeling down over his life. He works two jobs, has four roommates, can’t afford a car, and he’s as single as they come. Worse yet, after winning the crown at a local drag competition, he begins comparing himself to his nemesis – Madame Vivian, whom he stole the crown from. Now, as a popular author and a missing wallet come into his life, Michael finds himself on a series of misadventures that will either help him see the silver lining of life or drive him further into his self-despair.

‘On Bended Knee’ by Anarie Brady

As the Greek goddess of Springtime and the queen of the underworld, Kora divides her time equally between her husband, sweet and gentle Aides, god of Hades and her dominant, Grant, a.k.a. Grannus, Celtic god of salt water and spa. This arrangement suited all three of them perfectly for years. However, when Hecate, Kora’s handmaiden and supposed best friend decides she’d make a better paramour for Aides, things could change drastically for everyone.


Read an Excerpt from 'You Don’t Eat People You Love' by Jae El Foster

That thing – that hideous, terrifying being – inside of her house… what was it? She was baffled. It had looked just like a person when it arrived. Someone let it in, believing it to be just another guest. But then… then it went rampant. With the loud music and the celebrating voices to accompany, no one noticed at first. They had all been dancing or drinking… making out, or more. Then, there were screams that blended with the music, blood splattering that blended with the punch, and the deaths of nearly twenty Deerborne High School seniors – a massacre on Saint Valentine’s Day.

Bethany wanted to scream. She knew that she needed to. A scream would be a release, and she was desperate for a release of any sort. She could not unsee everything that she had witnessed. It was burned into her brain and forever etched into her memory.

She had left her home and the carnage within to find help… to stay alive. But Tommy… Tommy was in there, and she didn’t know for sure if he’d been eaten. There was still a chance that he was alive, and it was that chance that – at least for the moment – kept her from further fleeing the scene. Taking a deep but nervous breath, she prepared herself to return to the house and rescue her boyfriend.


About the Authors:

JAE EL FOSTER:

Jae El Foster is an author with whom you question going to bed with at night, but you dare to venture beneath the sheets with him anyway. As the venture concludes, you are perhaps romanced by it, or perhaps you are frightened by it. Don’t worry because you are always satisfied by it. Despite the title or genre of the book, Jae El sets out to please you with climatic and unexpected conclusions that will make you tremble with emotion. Hop aboard the Jae El train and give it a good ride. Follow him on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/jaeelbooks, ‘like’ him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/authorjaeelfoster and visit his website at http://www.jaeelbooks.com. ‘You Don’t Eat People You Love’ from Queens of Hearts is Jae El’s tenth release with DCL Publications.

ADESANYA:

Although born and raised in Chicago, Adesanya often draws inspiration for her writings from her Nigerian heritage. Her love for the written word developed at a young age, and today, she enjoys sharing her own stories with the world. Sometimes the tales are romantic. Sometimes they are frightening. Adesanya believes that these traits and more are what make up Life in all of its pain and glory, and no matter the genre she tackles, it is always Life that she is writing. Currently, Adesanya resides on the West Coast, USA. ‘Regina’ in Queens of Hearts is Adesanya’s first release with DCL Publications. She can be found online by following her on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/theindieauthor or on her Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/adesanyaindieauthor.

JENNIFER PATRICIA O’KEEFFE:

Jennifer Patricia O'Keeffe is an author of romantic comedy and anything quirky. She resides in Tennessee, just outside of Nashville where she shares a home with her cats. Ms. O'Keeffe loves to make the world laugh and to find humor and love in the least likely of places. Readers may keep up with her and her writings by following http://www.twitter.com/authorjpokeeffe on Twitter. She is currently working on her first full-length novel Runaway Heiress, and her short stories ‘We Made Snow Angels’ and ‘All I Want is to Be Happy’ can be found in the anthologies The Greatest Gift of All and Queens of Hearts, respectively.

ANARIE BRADY:

When not dreaming up steamy romance novels, Anarie Brady spends her time cooking delicious meals, sipping beautiful wines, and enjoying her time with her husband of over 30 years. She published her first novel, Conquest of a Fairy, in 2008 and hasn’t stopped writing since. Her novels are available at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. She’d love to hear from readers. You can find her at https://twitter.com/AnarieBrady or on Facebook, Instagram, and https://anariebrady.blog. Her recent DCL Publications releases include ‘As I Follow, So Shall I Lead’ in Kings & Queens and ‘On Bended Knee’ in Queens of Hearts.

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13 comments:

  1. Thank you for hosting these wonderful DCL authors! Good luck to those that entered the contest!

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  2. Happy Friday! Thanks for the wonderful tour, I've enjoyed learning about Queen of Hearts and I'm looking forward to checking it out.

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  3. Which literary character do you most identify with? Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com

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    1. Great question! I am probably most like Gomez Addams. I'm creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky, all rolled into one. :) Thanks for stopping by!

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    1. Thank you, Mary! Thank you also for stopping by today!

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  5. I am so sorry for just now checking in. It's been a day. lol!

    Thank you so much for hosting me today! I'm so proud of this anthology. I get to shine with three other terrific authors and we were able to create four remarkable and very different stories. I sure hope everyone enjoys it!

    Thanks to everyone who's stopped by! Please, if you haven't done so yet, ask any questions!

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