Splendificent by Dacy Alex

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Welcome to It's Raining Books. What is something you’ve lied about?
I told my cousin I love him. I can’t stand that dirty bastard.

Who is the last person you hugged?
My mommy!

What are you reading now?

The divorce papers my wife served me with!

Just kidding, not even married.

I am (re)reading Fangs, Fur, and the Single Girl by Lisabet Sarai as well as Do You Love Your Mom And Her Two-Hit Multi Target Attacks light novel series. Both are radically different, and both are wonderfully entertaining!

How do you come up with the titles to your books?

It’s quite difficult! I’m very bad with titles. My friend came up with the name Splendificent for the Splendificent series. I’m trying to come up with a subtitle for the bikini carwash spinoff with the Splendificent girls. Not having much luck!

Share your dream cast for your book.

Do you mean like a movie, TV show cast? Hmmm, I dunno. I’d guess Chloe Moretz as the plucky main character Giselle, Lili Reinhart as the irresponsible, irreverent elven witch Maggie, Josephine Langford as Maggie’s haughty damsel in distress sister Tristabelle…hmmm…this is hard! I bet Tinashe could play Sofi, our gold digging social media obsessed fox spirit. If she can do a southern accent Brec Bassigner can play Dusty, the pixie deemed too violent by the fairy kingdom to be promoted to full fledged fairy, and finally Alexandra Daddario, placed in a time machine to knock off ten years, can play Fleur, the surly, hard drinking, gambling addictted succubus-vampire hybrid.

Hell on Heels and Death by D Cup
This raw and naughty book brings together the first two Splendificent novels in one ENORMOUS package…

Not that type of enormous package!

I swear.

Splendificent 1:

California cutie Giselle Nyfall arrives at the Big Apple to attend liberal arts college, Hemera University. But, when a computer glitch lands her with four extraordinary young women as roommates Giselle’s sheltered world is blown away.

These Hotties are supernatural aristocracy, the magical one percent: an elf princess who decapitates as well as she pirouettes, the B.B. gun-toting daughter of the Tooth Fairy, a glamorous and gold-digging fox spirit with thickness in all the right places, and a vampire-succubus hybrid with a bad gambling problem and a blood-soaked family tree.

This Hot Squad uncovers a demonic curse threatening New York City’s human elite orchestrated by denizens of the Christian Hell. The only cure? The five stunners themselves!

Splendificent 2:

The Hot Squad members must battle supernatural mercenaries, contend with a portal to the underworld, avoid demonic death traps and thwart a nefarious prince hellbent on fulfilling an ancient prophecy and bringing on the death of one Squad member who happens to be his sister. All difficult assignments when they’re constantly losing their skimpy clothes and falling into the arms of hot studs and each other!

Will Giselle and her voluptuous companions come together to triumph over the forces of evil? Does the family that slays together stay together? Find out in the sexy, hilarious and politically incorrect Splendificent 2!

WARNING:

This book is absolutely not for anyone under the age of 18! You, Mister 17 years and 364 days old? Move along, son, move along.

Enjoy an excerpt:

"That’s it," Dusty declared. "That’s gotta be the 99th Degree. And that there big sucker has gotta be the doorman. And he’s gonna let us in otherwise I’m gonna let my foot go right up his ass."

"Dusty, I do not believe we wish to cause anymore scenes. Delicacy and diplomacy shall win the day," Tristabelle noted.

"Nothing to it, my queen," Dusty responded with a fist pump. "When he gets a shot of my puppies and goes into a trance, we’ll waltz right through the door. Nothing more we gotta do."

With her "puppies" encased in a bright pink high-scoop dress with cut-out side panels to reveal pleasing amounts of skin, Dusty’s plan just had to work. Though Princess Maggie and Princess Tristabelle were left looking around for members of the canine species.

Dusty moseyed up onto the doorman, who had sunglasses on despite the darkness. Tattoos written in Japanese reached from his arms to his knuckles. His beard was forked and his hair was slicked back.

"Howdy there, I’m Dusty Blackwood."

"Not on the list," he retorted without checking any sort of list. In fact, he didn’t even have a list.

Princess Tristabelle and Princess Maggie shot each other worried glances.

"Ya didn’t let me finish. I’m Dusty Blackwood with the Double D’s. Ain’t they great?!"

Dusty lowered her top to reveal a sight that would make any man pant like a puppy. Instead, she got a dismissive wave from the doorman and the comment of, "Girl, I’m gay as hell."

Dusty nodded and cast her doe eyes downward where a rat scurried across her vision. Then, after a good ten seconds, she said, "Son, I just want ya to know my second favorite Fairy Revolution Wrestling tag team after The Music City Gunslingers are the homosexual luchadores Los Diablos De Feugo so this ain’t a homophobia thing."

The man hadn’t a moment to be confused by the statement. Confusion was halted by an overwhelming feeling of agony brought upon by Dusty’s boot to the balls. The Tiny Terror of Nashville reached back, pulled the stunned man’s jaw above her shoulder then fell to a seated position. This second sudden attack forced the man’s jaw to drop down on Dusty’s shoulder. The combo caused havoc for the man’s health and his health insurer as the man was left splayed about the ground, foaming at the mouth.  

<b>About the author: </b> Dacy Alex is an author that has also taken home several screenwriting awards under a different name. Dacy loves the possibilities of the supernatural but also the inherent weirdness of the everyday world and likes to combine the two whenever possible. Dacy likes to focus his stories on new adults, which might explain why he can subsist on a steady diet of classic CW shows. The 100 and The Originals are the best ones don’t argue with me plz k thx bye. Dacy’s an avid video gamer; Dacy’s favorite games are Final Fantasy X-2 and Persona 4: Golden. I’ll be a contrarian and say I’ve never played a Dark Souls like game and I don’t wanna! Oops, I forgot I was doing this in third person

US Amazon: https://kdp.amazon.com/amazon-dp-action/us/dualbookshelf.marketplacelink/B0BC2JY1KX

UK Amazon: https://kdp.amazon.com/amazon-dp-action/uk/dualbookshelf.marketplacelink/B0BC2JY1KX

German Amazon: https://kdp.amazon.com/amazon-dp-action/de/dualbookshelf.marketplacelink/B0BC2JY1KX

Japanese Amazon: https://kdp.amazon.com/amazon-dp-action/jp/dualbookshelf.marketplacelink/B0BC2JY1KX

Canadian Amazon: https://kdp.amazon.com/amazon-dp-action/ca/dualbookshelf.marketplacelink/B0BC2JY1KX

Website: https://dacyalex.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roxy_kitten/

Enter below to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC!

Teardown by William Campbell Powell

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. William Campbell Powell will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Welcome to It's Raining Books. Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

First, let me say thank you for inviting me to contribute to your blog, and for the thoughtful questions.

The first thing for me is always the story I want to tell. I have an ‘Ideas Bucket’ – a folder where I jot one or two lines that might be an ingredient for a story. But ideas aren’t stories – the story happens when a couple of ideas get together – usually an unexpected pairing – and I’ll get a scene that gives me a pointer to what the story is – the characters and the plot. Once I’ve got that, the genre follows.

That’s meant that I end up working in different genres – my first published novel (Expiration Day) was YA/science fiction, whereas Teardown is more LGBT+ romance, with a dash of contemporary/road-trip. I’m currently working on a modern portal fantasy, with witches, loosely inspired by ‘The Wizard of Oz’, and querying a Historical Crime novel.

What research is required?

For Teardown, a lot of the action takes place in Germany, so there was a lot of research into the culture, particularly the culture that the tourist doesn’t get to see. My own experience playing in a band, and also visiting Germany (touring with my band twice, then often for business, and a few times for leisure) helped a lot, but some of those visits were quite a long time ago, so it was important to cross-check with German friends and work colleagues.

Writing about LGBT+ characters was challenging – while I do have LGBT+ friends and work colleagues, I didn’t feel comfortable quizzing them about such personal topics. So I engaged a sensitivity reader to put me right – not just on LGBT+ matters, but also on some of the hazards that women face (for example, when travelling) that men just don’t experience.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

Although Kai shares many characteristics with me, I think there’s one thing that Kai does better than I do – eventually – which is to let go of things that tie me to the past. That’s not the same as letting go of the past itself, but rather to keep in mind that the things aren’t important. The photograph, or the letter is not the person. That’s just clutter. The things that matter about a person are the memories, and the imprints they made on you as a person are the things to be honoured.

Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

I certainly had to develop a slightly quirky set of habits when writing from Kai’s point of view. Kai is non-binary and doesn’t have pronouns. So I had to write Kai without ever using a pronoun – including any comment or action from other characters that might have revealed Kai’s physiology or sexual characteristics. The writing process was like taking dictation from Kai, limited to what Kai was willing to reveal.

Are you a plotter or pantser?

I’m very much a pantser. I have an idea of where a story is going, but my characters do things that are unplanned. Writing is a wild ride.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

A professional musician’s microphone and a music keyboard. Also a music stand and a guitar. I’ve been recording the original songs that I created for Teardown. They’re at a ‘demo’ stage at the moment, which means they’ve got words, chords, a tune and instrumental backing. Such as they are, you’ll find the demos on my website via https://bit.ly/TeardownMusic.

Anything new coming up from you? What?

While there’s nothing committed, I’m hopeful that at least the portal fantasy above, and the historical novel will find a publisher soon.

Do you have a question for our readers?

Indeed I do. When you’re reading a book about bands (such as Daisy Jones & The Six) do you prefer to imagine the music for yourself, or is it helpful to be able to listen to actual recordings?

Growing up in a dead-end, Thames Valley town like Marden Combe, Kai knows there’s no escape without a lot of talent, hard work—and luck.

Two weeks before the Clayton Paul Blues Band plans to set out on tour to Germany, their singer quits, and drummer Kai takes matters in hand. With bandmates Jake and Jamie, they recruit a talented new singer—the enigmatic Dominique—as the new face of the band and set out on the road to Berlin in a rickety white van.

Dogged by mishaps and under-rehearsed, the band stumbles through their first shows, zig-zagging between chaos and brilliance. But as the first gig in Berlin draws near, the band begins to gel. They’re clicking with their audience, and even the stone-hearted Kai starts to crumble under the spell, first of Dom and then…of Lars.

As the end of the tour approaches, Kai must make hard choices. Dom? But she’s keeping a dark secret. Lars? Not after the acrimony of their last parting. The band? Or will that dream crumble too?

Read a Blurb

So I pulled the mic stand around to the side of the kit, set it up so it didn’t get in the way of the hi-hat, and we gave it a go. I picked ‘I Come from the Blues’, which was one of Clay’s compositions. It had fallen out of the set sometime in the last six months, but I loved Clay’s soft, jazzy butterscotch vocals on it. If it had been up to me, it would still be in the set, but Clay had said he wanted to move on.

Where did I come from? I come from the blues.
Where am I going? I’m going to lose.
Where is my future? I’m sure I have none.
Where is my hope? My hope is all gone.

I’ve always sung along—off-mic and under my breath—so I didn’t have any trouble fitting the words in the right places. And I’ve got decent pitch and rhythm. So I think I did all right.

Now, Jamie wouldn’t meet my eye.

“What?” I demanded. “What was wrong with that?”

He mumbled something.

“I can’t hear you, bro. What did he say, Jake?”

Jake looked away. He didn’t want to get involved in any squall between me and my brother. Besides, he’d used up all his words for the day.

“I’m not sure how to put this, Kai. You’ve got a good voice. It’s, well…not very, well, rock’n’roll. No…grit. Too pure. Sorry.”

“I see.”

“Look, we’ll ask around our friends. Social media. There’s got to be something online.”

I didn’t say anything. I was thinking lots though. About how I’d discovered that this was something I really wanted to do.

About the Author:

William lives in a small Buckinghamshire village in England. By night he writes speculative, historical, crime and other fiction. His debut novel, EXPIRATION DAY, was published by Tor Teen in 2014 and won the 2015 Hal Clement Award for better than half-decent science in a YA novel—the citation actually says "Excellence in Children's Science Fiction Literature".

William’s latest novel - TEARDOWN - was published 10th December 2024, by NineStar Press in the US; it is an LGBT+ romance/road-trip.

His short fiction has appeared in DreamForge, Metastellar, Abyss & Apex and other outlets.
By day he writes software for a living and in the twilight he sings tenor, plays guitar and writes songs.

Website: https://williamcampbellpowell.com/
Book Website: https://teardownbook.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WillCamPowell/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/willcampowell
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/willcampowell.bsky.social

Buy Links: https://teardownbook.co.uk/#where The book will be on sale for $0.99

My comps for the book:

The novel combines elements of LGBTQIA+ romance with Road Trip fiction, and - with its focus on music - might sit alongside Taylor Jenkins Reid’s ‘Daisy Jones and the Six’ (2016) or Dawnie Walton’s ‘The Final Revival of Opal & Nev’ (2022), or - with its focus on (Kai's) gender-ambiguity and relationships - near Camille Perry’s ‘When Katie Met Cassidy’ (2018) or Beth O’Leary’s ‘The Road Trip’ (2022).

One USP: The book is about a band and contains original songs, for which I have created demos – see/listen: https://williamcampbellpowell.com/music/music.html

Diving Into the Beloved by Lark Compton

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Lark Compton will be awarding print copies of the book to ten randomly drawn winners. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Diving Into the Beloved is a mesmerizing collection of poetry that plunges into the realms of love, spirituality, and the soul's longing. Each poem is a profound reflection of the sacred dance between the lover and the Beloved, capturing the essence of divine connection and human vulnerability. Compton's words invite readers to explore the depths of their own hearts, making this book not just a literary work but a spiritual experience—an invitation to embrace the love that resides within and around us. With a youthful, modern interpretation of the path to enlightenment, this collection reminds us of the ecstatic poets like Rumi and Hafiz, yet Compton's voice remains distinctly his own, weaving together concrete details and bold imagery that will leave a lasting impression.

Read an Excerpt

Arrow of Not Me
Through the veil of thought

and time

my heart forges an arrow of

not me
not the person

aiming at your feet

I laugh at myself
in the bliss of devotion

when during the blink of an eye I disappear into the vastness

the leaky boat

I Am dissolving

while a "me" clings to the sides of a lifeboat

singing
Jai Gurudev Jai Gurudev

about that arrow of love

I don't even want you to see the archer

who is a phantom

as the arrow of love bounces off of your big toe

and you laugh at yourself

in the mirror

I'm embarrassed to send a love poem to myself

that I may never remember if I read or not

About the Author:

Lark enjoys being a hermit and staying out of the limelight.

He has been known to accidentally bodysurf with turtles at play.

He leaves them alone and they leave him alone.

Everyone's happy.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/53108042.Lark_Compton

The Atrocities of Hope by Michael Olukayode

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Michael Olukayode will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Nigeria is dealing with a level of disorderliness that is neither compatible with functionality nor with long life. Our problems did not start today; they have been with us for as long as we have existed as a country. But just like a disorder left untreated, our problem has incapacitated us, and the rate of deterioration is currently becoming alarming.

The long-term survival of our country is no longer as assured as it used to be. We are on a slippery slope with nothing to hold on to.

This book attempts to answer the 'what', 'why', 'who', and 'what is next' of our problems. As is always the case when truths are discussed, be ready to be offended.

But if you are open-minded enough to be offended and not switch off and open-minded enough to be offended and keep reading – you might learn one or two things at the end of this book.

Read an Excerpt

Nigeria as a country has been on a downward trend for decades, and anyone in touch with reality can see this. Of course, some will cloak wishful thinking with the shawl of patriotism or deny by faith the level of suffering going on in the country today, but it only takes an honest reflection for even the most positive ‘patriot’ to accept that things are not going well for our nation and that the probability of a better tomorrow is non-existent . . . if we continue down the same path.

Like most Nigerians, discussing the problems of Nigeria and praying for its peace, progress, and prosperity have been parts of my life since I have been old enough to think and pray.

But despite all the prayers, Nigeria has maintained its downward journey. Being burdened with an inquisitive mind and the ability to think about thoughts, I have contemplated the Nigeria question from an early age. I have always asked: Why are Nigeria’s better days always in the past?

Why does Nigeria keep going backward despite all the fasting and prayers?

I eventually outgrew fasting and praying for Nigeria to work—because I knew prayer without work is a waste of time and energy—but despite stopping the prayers and the fasting, I could not stop thinking about the ‘whys’ of our problems.

About the Author:

Michael, a self-described realist with a touch of cynicism, is a UK-based, Nigerian-trained psychiatrist and the author of The Atrocities of Hope: An Analysis of the 'Nigeria Problem.'

Michael's lived experience in Nigeria, his inquisitive mind, and his ability to pull back and observe despite being involved combine well with his skills as a mental health expert to create this work.

Michael is a fellow of the West African College of Physicians, the Faculty of Psychiatry, and is an affiliate member of the Royal College of Psychiatry. He plies his trade as a psychiatrist in the Northwest of England. He describes himself as a member of a speciality that helps you in the fight against your worst enemy: yourself.

Michael is a husband, a father, a brother, an uncle, a friend, a neighbour, a member of the public, a lover of music, and a lover of movies and books.

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/drkay18
Twitter: http://www.instagram.com/drkay18
Theads: https://www.threads.com/@drkay18

Amazon: https://amazon.com/dp/1779626762
Better World Books: https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/9781779626769
Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/9781779626769

Surviving the United Nations by Robert Bruce Adolph

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Robert Bruce Adolph will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Five Things You Might Not Know About Robert Bruce Adolph

1 . At last count, and due to my Army and United Nations assignments, I have lived and worked in 17 different countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Today I move between three homes, one in Italy, one in Mexico and one in Washington DC

2. I trained as a Hostage Negotiator not in the Army but at Scotland Yard! The British perspective is… different.

3. Of all the things that I have accomplished in my many years, and aside from saving lives, I am most proud of my writing history. Unlike all I did in my military career, writing I had to figure out all by myself.

4. If I could meet one person throughout all of human history it would be Sir Isaac Newton. He was without question one of the most impactful humans to have ever lived. Today’s science exists in large part due to Newton’s curiosity, focus and determination. His influence will still be felt in a thousand years.

5. I am driven - first as a senior US Army Special Forces soldier and then later as a UN Chief Security Advisor. Now, as an international speaker, commentator, and author. Perhaps it is because I began life in a large poor family. We didn’t have much. If I was to prosper, the work would have to be my own. I had to earn my way. Nobody, ever, gave me anything. Today, I feel grateful that I was able to achieve so much in life. But it was all sweat and toil.

This is the astonishing true story of a US Army Special Forces soldier who became a warrior for peace. In his humanitarian and peacekeeping missions for the United Nations he dealt with child-soldiers, blood diamonds, a double hostage-taking, an invasion by brutal guerrillas, an emergency aerial evacuation, a desperate hostage recovery mission, tribal gunfights, refugee camp violence, suicide bombings, and institutional corruption. His UN career brought him face to face with the best and worst of human nature and he shares it all here.

Read an Excerpt

In 1996 a former UN official, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, was elected President. The new President’s first order of business was to sign a peace treaty with Sankoh that rapidly failed. Sankoh continued to maintain control of the most valuable diamond-producing areas. The following year, the fledgling President was overthrown by Major Johnny Paul Koroma and the Sierra Leone Army. Koroma immediately suspended the Constitution, outlawed demonstrations, and abolished all political parties. President Kabbah beat a hasty retreat to the country of Guinea, immediately to the north and east of Sierra Leone.

Two years later, the Nigerian-led Western African Intervention Force entered Freetown to cheering crowds. The cheers died quickly when the RUF later attempted to take Freetown by force. The UN Military Observer mission in Sierra Leone evacuated its staff northward to Conakry, Guinea. Its headquarters compound was subsequently burned-out by the RUF.

The West African Intervention Force subsequently retook Freetown. The RUF returned to the bush, while maintaining control of the diamond-producing areas in the south and east of the country. The UN then arranged a ceasefire. Later, in Lomé, Togo, an UN-brokered peace agreement was signed between Kabbah’s government and the RUF. Not many in Sierra Leone believed that the peace agreement would hold. Fear was omnipresent. Nobody knew what the future might hold. 

Confirmed reports spoke to many RUF atrocities. Because they had lost the previously held general election, their revenge was to cut off the hands of over 1,000 residents of Freetown. This equated in their minds to punishment for voting the wrong way.

About the Author

Robert Bruce Adolph is a retired UN Chief Security Advisor & US Army Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel. He holds master’s degrees in both International Affairs (Middle East Studies) from American University’s School of International Service and National Security Studies and Strategy from the US Army’s Command and General Staff College.

Adolph served nearly 26-years in multiple Special Forces, Counterterrorism, Psychological Operations, Civil Affairs, Foreign Area Officer, and Military Intelligence command and staff assignments in the US and overseas. He also volunteered to serve on UN peacekeeping missions in Egypt, Israel, Cambodia, Iraq and Kuwait.

After he retired from active military service in 1997, he began a second career as a senior UN Security Advisor. Among his positions he served as the Chief of the Middle East and North Africa in the UN Department of Safety and Security.

Website: https://robertbruceadolph.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-bruce-adolph-904597a/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robert.adolph

 

 

In Search of Recognition by Jim McAllister

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jim McAllister will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

In Search of Recognition: The Story of Search and Rescue in British Columbia provides background on why and how organized volunteer search and rescue became a reality in the province, and how search and rescue evolved over many years to meet the increasing demands of finding lost people and rescuing those injured outdoors. The primary focus of the thousands of volunteers is to save the lives of persons lost or injured outdoors; training and fundraising for equipment and other costs also require time and energy. Through personal involvement and references, the author provides insights into how funding and other support for the volunteer service was achieved, through government, responsible agencies, organizations and individuals working together to find ways to assist those who strive "so others may live."

Read an Excerpt

The 1980s were also an era of leading-edge development in search and rescue equipment and techniques, in British Columbia and elsewhere. Arnor Larson, a mountain guide in Invermere BC, was a leader in developing and testing rope rescue gear and systems. He established Rigging for Rescue in 1986. In addition to providing rescue training, he would test equipment in his facility using drop test towers. Arnor would attend the annual Wildland Rescue Symposium in the US, along with leading workshops in BC testing equipment and systems in local conditions and terrain. Arnor also taught rope rescue to some SAR groups under the PEP banner. As a member of Golden and District Search and Rescue at the time, we were fortunate to have Arnor instruct us.

About the Author: Jim McAllister has been involved in search and rescue for over 45 years, starting as a volunteer member in the Rocky Mountains in 1977 with Golden and District SAR and then Cranbrook SAR. He became the SAR specialist for the Province of B.C. in 2002. In 2008, Jim retired from the provincial government as a director with Emergency Management British Columbia and became a volunteer director for special projects with the British Columbia Search and Rescue Association. Jim has been involved with many major projects: the establishment of Avalanche Canada, the updating of volunteer reimbursement rates, the establishment of health and safety guidelines, the formation of a joint health and safety committee, Swiftwater Rescue standards, sustainable funding for search and rescue and the establishment of the British Columbia Search and Rescue Volunteer Memorial. Jim wrote a book on the last project, titled A Monument to Remember, and one on incidents, titled One Week in August: Stories from Search and Rescue in British Columbia.

Amazon: https://amazon.com/dp/1779627394
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/519145.Jim_McAllister

God and Petroleum by Roberto Aguilero

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Roberto Aguilera will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

It's been many years since God planted in my heart the idea to author this book. To do so I relied on science and engineering, looking deep into the earth a few thousand feet, dreaming of petroleum reservoirs I could not see, and evaluated them using mostly indirect sources of information. Petroleum hydrocarbons in earth are of organic origin (they form from dead plants and animals) and are intimately related with water. I also had to look to a different scale deep into the universe when it was created 13.77 billion years ago to try to understand the origin of hydrogen, the birth of the first hydrogen star (the seed star), its explosion in a supernova, and the repetitive births and explosions of subsequent stars that led eventually to the formation of elements such as carbon and iron and to hydrocarbons in the universe. These are hydrocarbons of inorganic origin.

Then I moved into the micrometer scale of human cells and to top research informing us that we are very close to chimpanzees, and a very persuasive discussion about evolution that I agree with. The book of Genesis tells us that God created man and woman in the sixth day, and that he formed man in the seventh day of the dust of the earth and woman of the rib of man. At first glance all of this seems contradictory, but it is not. This book shows that available science supports Genesis' seven days very well. They do not contradict each other.

Read an Excerpt

Following Monsignor Georges Lemaître’s mathematical demonstration showing that the universe has expanded since the Big Bang, many scientists have produced data from the Hubble telescope corroborating the expansion. The observations by Hubble in 1929, proving galaxies are moving away from the earth at speeds proportional to their distance, has traditionally been known as Hubble law.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) voted in 2018 to recommend amending the name from Hubble law to the Hubble-Lemaître law, and in fact, this is how it is called now by the IAU. This is a recognition of the contributions of both Hubble and Monsignor Lemaître to the development of modern cosmology. The amendment recommendation stemmed from the fact Lemaître was the first to come up with the idea of an expanding universe in 1927, previous to Hubble’s contributions in 1929. Although Lemaître was first, his ideas received little attention at the time.

The galaxies outside of our solar system are moving away from us. One theory indicates that the farthest the galaxies are away from us, the faster they move (Library of Congress, 2019). Another theory based on data collected by the Planck satellite indicates that the cosmos is expanding at a slightly slower rate than was thought, making the universe around 13.82 billion years old rather than the 13.77 billion years formerly given for the age of the universe (Siegel, 2018). For the purpose of this book there is a slight difference.

About the Author: Roberto Aguilera is professor of petroleum engineering at the University of Calgary (Canada) and president of Servipetrol Ltd. He specializes in the evaluation of naturally fractured, tight and shale petroleum reservoirs worldwide. He has authored and co-authored six books dealing with petroleum engineering subjects and over 300 technical papers. He has rendered training and/or consulting services in over 40 countries worldwide. This is his first book linking God, His creation, and the benefits of petroleum to humanity while debunking alarming claims about its use.

Amazon: https://amazon.com/dp/1779622619
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/475304.Roberto_Aguilera

Cowboy Watch by Petie McCarty

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Petie McCarty will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The Watchers Series—Fallen angels cast out of heaven by the archangel Michael for coercing with Satan to gain control. Some of these conspirators—duped late in the game by Satan’s lies—doubled back to seek redemption for their unwitting betrayal. Offered parole in exchange for penance, these Watchers are given the toughest bodyguard missions with little leeway for success.
One last chance.
These are their stories . . .

Cowboy Watch:

Someone—or something—wants Kellen out of town . . .

Kellen Brand’s inheritance comes as a monumental shock—a rundown farm she doesn’t want and one paroled Watcher all her own. Kellen’s eccentric mother believed Watchers to be fallen angels seeking penance by guarding individuals who had lost their way. Seriously? A Watcher? Only her mother . . .

Since Kellen vows no sane woman would choose to live in Riverside, she’s on a mission to dump the old farm fast and to the first buyer who comes along. Unfortunately for her, the only buyer is a resort developer, spurned by a townful of objectors and one handsome cowboy—her neighbor, Luke Thornton. Luke must block Kellen’s farm sale or risk exposure of his own family’s secrets. He can ill afford his immediate and compelling attraction to his new neighbor.

Someone is watching Kellen, but not who she thinks. Someone deadly and intent on scaring her out of town. Or worse. Luke has a hellish choice to make—step in and rescue Kellen from her threats, or to protect his family, stand by and watch . . .

Read an Excerpt

A familiar aroma wafted up from the river, a combination of humus, plant material, microscopic plankton, and a touch of fish. Unable to stop the smile slowly stretching across her face, she untied her sneakers, rolled up her jeans, and slipped into the icy water. She immediately gasped and felt her smile deepen to a grin. Remaining in the soothing current for a long time, she absorbed her surroundings as trout darted in and around the submerged rocks to grab their plankton lunch.

A horse suddenly whickered behind her, followed by the telltale creak of a saddle. Too close for comfort. The back of her neck prickled. Ankle deep in the water, she couldn’t make a decent sprint for the car, and Kellen regretted her impulse to visit this deserted stretch of riverbank.

Easing around, she spied the towering silhouette of a powerfully built man astride a huge black stallion no more than ten yards away. The rider’s face lay shadowed beneath a wide-brimmed Stetson. The cowboy made an impressive and, at this moment, intimidating sight—a throwback from the frontier days of the Wild West.

The horse whickered again and sidestepped away from the edge of the embankment, forcing the cowboy to twist around to keep her in sight. She could feel his dark eyes scanning every inch of her. The intensity in his gaze raised goose bumps on her arms, and a tiny shiver edged up her spine. Trapped here along the edge of the river, she felt vulnerable yet strangely unafraid. Would he come any closer?

A horn blared up on the highway, and she jumped with a yelp. The big horse reared at the sound of her cry, and Kellen caught a brief glimpse of the cowboy’s dark eyes, eyes that could stare right through to a girl’s soul. She scrunched her own eyes shut and forced herself to breathe. When she opened them, the rider was gone. Had she imagined him? Another mild shiver rifled up her spine. No, the fearsome rider was definitely real.

About the Author:

Petie spent a large part of her career working at Walt Disney World—"The Most Magical Place on Earth"—where she enjoyed working in the land of fairy tales by day and creating her own romantic fairy tales by night, including her new series, The Cinderella Romances. She eventually said good-bye to her "day" job to write her stories full-time. These days Petie spends her time writing new Cinderella series tales, her new The Watchers series, sequels to her regency time-travel series, Lords in Time, and more contemporary romance standalones to go along with her two previous releases—Any Fin For Love and Ambush in the Everglades. Petie shares her home on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee with her horticulturist husband and an opinionated Nanday conure named Sassy who will make a cameo appearance in the upcoming Book 2 of The Watchers, Christmas Watch.

Visit Petie's web site or her Facebook page.

http://www.petiemccarty.com
https://www.facebook.com/petie.mccarty
https://x.com/authorpetie
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6094579.Petie_McCarty
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/petie-mccarty
http://www.amazon.com/author/petiemccarty