Take Me to the Willow by Shelly Brimley

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Creating Lily

When I think about what messages I want to convey when I write, I am compelled, for some reason, to write about struggle. The things that result from struggle are the things that make us real and raw, no pretenses, no façade. When you are wading through the mud, you go from wanting designer heals to wanting sturdy, water resistant boots. That’s what I like. I like to see people’s focus shift. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with liking nice shoes, I’m just making the point that necessity changes us. It makes us more aware of what really matters. Struggle forces us to think about necessity, and it motivates us to look for greater insight and answers. What that looks like for me is more sincere prayer and a deeper awareness that I am in need of divine help in order to handle well what comes my way. Lily is a woman who was acquainted with the true essence of struggle from the very beginning, and it left her a woman who craved depth and genuine love. She learned early on that things mean nothing and people mean everything, and what she wants more than anything is to create for her own family what was never provided to her as a child.

I believe that many people, if not most, are the result of their nurturing, or lack thereof. It is exceptional when you meet someone who defies the odds and does what is unexpected, one who decides she wants something different than what the psychology books predicts will happen based on life experiences. This is why I admire Lily. She is exceptional despite the fact that she’s not “supposed” to be. Lily believes that love is the answer to all of life’s problems, and even if it isn’t, it’s at least worth a try.

In defending his life-long friendship with Charlie, Will may have inadvertently had a hand in the growing chaos that leads to the horrifying night when his familiar world is shattered.

When Will Wright, the eighteen year old son of a small-town Arkansas sheep herder in 1905, begins reading his mother’s journal, he is inspired by its startling content to start putting his own experiences to paper for posterity. An unsophisticated but principled young man, Will is becoming increasingly aware of the hatred that exists in the world. When he begins his own journal, Will can’t know what events are to take place in the next five years – from his mother’s battle with a life threatening illness, to his embarrassments of learning how to be in love for the first time, to witnessing Charlie’s fate at the hands of the bigoted townspeople. While part of him wishes the pain in those pages didn’t exist, he knows that the original purpose for keeping the journal has been realized - to show his kin how he became the man he is. He will probably never go back through and read again the pages he’s written, but someday, someone will, and they will see that along with the hurt, Will’s life had been one that knew true joy, absolute love, and undying friendship.

Enjoy an excerpt:

I’ve only been in this cell for three days, but it feels like a might lot longer than that. I know what I did wasn’t considered proper by most folks down here in the South, but I don’t regret doin’ it. And I’d do it again, if I had the chance. Charlie never did anything wrong. He’s just colored. Not much he can do about that, and even if he could, I suppose he wouldn’t want to anyhow. I didn’t feel it right that Charlie be ignored when all he came to do was buy feed and tools like the rest of us. So when Eli Carver said he don’t take no “colored” money, I thought it best to point out that he must be blind as a bat since Charlie’s dollar and my dollar are both the same shade of green. And when I held the two right in front of Mr. Carver’s face and politely asked him to show me the difference, he later told Sheriff Coleman I was threatenin’ and causin’ a disturbance. When I heard that, it just made my blood boil, and I decided Eli Carver needed to be taught a lesson. I went back to that store, although Charlie tried to get me to leave it be, but the next thing I knew, I was holdin’ Eli a foot off the ground against the door to his very own supply store. If Sheriff Coleman hadn’t been right there, I might have been able to argue my side, but there’s no point arguin’ against proof and common sense. Besides that, Sherriff Coleman is known for his feelin’s about colored people, so I knew I was beat before I started. I suppose I just didn’t care.

About the Author:

Shelly Brimley was born in Flagstaff, AZ, where she lived most of her life until moving to Mexico to study abroad. After graduation, Shelly did some volunteer work in Africa and completed her graduate degree while working in an adolescent drug treatment center. After acquiring her Master’s degree, she worked as a counselor at a residential shelter for children who had been smuggled and trafficked into the USA from different countries around the world. She also taught English to adult refugees before resigning to raise her children. Shelly wanted to use her experience working with others as a source of inspiration in her writing, offering a voice for those who are not typically heard or considered.

Website: http://www.shellybrimley.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shellybrimleyauthor
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28183223-take-me-to-the-willow

Amazon.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sudetenland by George T. Chronis - Virtual Book tour and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. George will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

IRB: Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

GTC: History comes easy. I have been reading history books and magazines since I was a kid so the drive to use some of that material has been a strong one. As I have been reading science fiction almost as long, ending Sudetenland with a dash of alternative history was attractive as well. A lot of the history I was reading was told like a great story with tension, drama and conflict. Back in the day a good history magazine article often read like the telling of an epic poem. That kind of stuff was intoxicating for a young kid with a vivid imagination. The tales still hold their power for me and I am at a point in my life where I want to share.

IRB: What research is required?

GTC: For Sudetenland primary research was broken down into three groups. First was the factual research – creating a day-by-day timeline for 1937 and 1938 to build the plot around. Second were first-person observations to get the color of what was happening. Memoirs and news reports from the period were invaluable here. Third there was the contextual research – attempting to get a feel for particular places, cultures and personal motivations. Then during the writing phase there is spot research – those times when you suddenly release you need the name of a hotel or pub, or call up a relief map to check what kind of terrain some reporter was writing about, or track down old postcards to help you with atmosphere.

IRB: Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

GTC: Being rather old fashioned I prefer working with external threat. After living with the characters for a while during writing they begin to reveal their flaws, rough edges, virtues and affectations. It's an ongoing process. The more you tag along with these people the more they show you and the more you learn. By the time the end of the book they have become very rich characters.

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

GTC: Given that I do not come at writing from an English literature background I am sure that my old teachers would intone I am doing everything wrong. My formal training is actually in screenwriting, and my career experience is as a journalist and editor. For the latter, my skillset was not honed as a journalist or English major but from competitive speech and debate during college. Screenwriting and journalism give you a great sense of quick pacing and tight exposition. Whether the work is short or long it has to keep moving. An old film dictum is that motion equals conflict equals drama – in a visceral sense for the audience. My masters thesis advisor drilled a lot into our heads and I can still hear his voice going on about narrative structure. A script is formatted so one page amounts to one minute of screen time. He used to pound into us that no scene should be longer than two pages, and if the scene had to be longer than two pages the characters had to move. Since my stories involve a good deal of tension, this movement and physicality as a style works very well in print too. But you don't want to wear the reader out so I like to add some screwball comedy for tension relief. Since I have a cabal of 1930s reporters in Sudetenland the comedy comes easy. So while the book is long, it doesn't feel long while you are reading it.

IRB Are you a plotter or pantser?

GTC: Honestly, somewhere in-between. A strict outline is a waste of time for me since I will always have to blow it up when, inevitably, I change things. Neither does jumping in with no direction at all work. My system is to know where the story starts, where it ends, and major plot points in the middle. That way I can dash and weave any way I want along the way and the end result is true to itself.

IRB: Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

GTC: Toys on the bookshelf. Some of the highlights... a Maltese Falcon, Talos from Jason and the Argonauts, a metal Lockheed Vega, Foghorn Leghorn about to munch on some corn, and a pewter Mechwarrior Timber Wolf.

IRB: Anything new coming up from you? What?

GTC: Yes indeed. The sequel to Sudetenland is going to take a while to pull off as I am right in the middle of primary research. For those who read the novel and are asking for something new, I am adapting an old Film Noir screenplay I wrote years ago. People really enjoyed reading it at the time and I still really enjoy the story. It is a much more modest affair compared to Sudetenland but there are definite similarities. There are some historical hooks in secret German aeronautics technology that surfaces after the war... and people start dying. Plus there is a fun look at Los Angeles during the late 1940s – hamburgers for 15 cents – have to love it. I hope to have it done and published in three months or so.

IRB: Do you have a question for our readers?

GTC: Sure thing. When it comes to historical fiction what appeals to them?

Sudetenland is the premiere novel by author George T. Chronis. The book delivers suspenseful and sweeping historical fiction set against Central European intrigue during the late 1930s leading up to 1938’s Munich Conference. Having swallowed up Austria, Adolph Hitler now covets Czechoslovakian territory. Only France has the power to stand beside the government in Prague against Germany… but will she? The characters are the smart and sometimes wise-cracking men and women of this era – the foreign correspondents, intelligence officers, diplomats and career military – who are on the front lines of that decade’s most dangerous political crisis. If Czechoslovak president Edvard Beneš ignores the advice of French premier Édouard Daladier and refuses to give up Bohemian territory willingly, then Hitler orders that it be taken by force. The novel takes readers behind the scenes into the deliberations and high drama taking place within major European capitals such as Prague, Paris, Berlin, Vienna and London as the continent hurtles toward the crucible of a shooting war.

Enjoy an excerpt:

So this was how it was to be. Abandoned like a faithful spouse to the vagaries of a cheating scoundrel. Despite all of the warning signs and the advice of good friends, the fleeting hope that the one who you had invested so much history with would not betray that which had taken so long to build, was dashed. What Masaryk had said on the phone was right: screw them!

Štefan Osušky could not remember when he had felt so embittered. The Franco-Czechoslovak Pact was dead. It had been dying for months through the long summer. For the last hour Bonnet had hammered the death certificate onto a public wall. Osušky had been summoned to the Quai d'Orsay to meet with the French foreign minister. Daladier and his cabinet ministers had been meeting since ten-thirty in the morning at the Élysée Palace to approve or reject the Anglo-French plan that Daladier had crawled back to Paris with from London. When they had finished, Osušky was to be waiting at Bonnet's office to hear the results. No audience with the premier was available.

Osušky held no illusions as to what Chamberlain had proposed to Daladier. The newspapers had been shockingly detailed in their presentation of the expected major points. So many leaks to such a plethora of reporters usually suggested a raison d'être behind the disclosures. Osušky calculated there was a chance those ministers in Daladier's cabinet that opposed ceding Czech territory to Hitler might be setting the stage for an uprising against Chamberlain's cravenly acquiescence to the dictator… but a very small chance.

When Bonnet arrived back from Élysée Palace he got right to the point. Daladier's cabinet had unanimously approved the Anglo-French plan. As Bonnet read off the terms it was just as the press reports had purported. The only difference was that Bonnet had the full list while most of the newspapers lacked one component or another. The next hour was a blistering back and forth between the two diplomats. Osušky reminded Bonnet of the last two years of French assurances, to which the Frenchman countered the break-up of Czechoslovakia was, the least unpleasant solution. Osušky went on to reiterate the fullness of France's treaty obligations only to be instructed they were mere words on paper. The British had said in no uncertain terms that if Prague refused the Anglo-French plan then Britain would disassociate itself from the dispute. Without British solidarity the assistance that France could offer Czechoslovakia was of no effectiveness. The Czechs would not be allowed to drag France into a war over three-and-a-half million Sudeten Germans. Osušky's further protests only fed Bonnet's burgeoning hostility. France demanded that Czechoslovakia accept the plan. That was the message Osušky was to take to President Beneš without further argument.

There was nothing more to say to such intransigence so Osušky made his leave. Heading down the hall to the main entrance, Osušky felt his own emotions exploding as he replayed Bonnet's words in his head. The ostiary opened the tall, narrow door Osušky had been through so many times in better days and the Czechoslovak envoy stepped out to overlook a courtyard full of anxious correspondents. He couldn't restrain himself.

"Do you want to see a man condemned without a hearing?" Osušky played to the crowd while descending the stairs. "Here I stand!"

After years as a journalist and magazine editor, George T. Chronis decided to return to his lifelong passion, storytelling. A lover of both 1930s cinema and world history, Chronis is now devoted to bringing life to the mid-20th Century fictional narratives that have been in his thoughts for years. Sudetenland is his first novel. Taking place during turbulent times in Central Europe during the 1930s, the book took eight years to research and write. The author is already hard at work on his second novel.

Chronis is married with two daughters, and lives with his wife in a Southern California mountain community.

Links

www.sudetenland.georgetchronis.com
www.georgetchronis.tumblr.com
www.georgetchronis.com

Buy Links
www.georgetchronis.com/book/381-2/
www.georgetchronis.com/book/112-2

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Love Target by Heidi Loeb Hegerich - Virtual Tour and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $30 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

I have always been a strange mix of shyness and boldness. Perhaps there’s a split personality in most of us; as for me, I am reticent and even bashful in the presence of strangers. I freak out and must settle my nerves before a public appearance such as a book signing or interview with media — even a phone interview, which would seem to be hardly nervewracking compared to a live appearance on a television show.

But as a first-time published author promoting my book — the novel LOVE TARGET — I force myself to control my timid inner child and take a seat at the author’s table or on the couch next to the TV host, or to pick up the phone and respond as articulately as I can to the interviewer’s voice coming through the speaker. I remind myself that they are doing me the favor: helping me let the world know about my book. What helps is that most of the interviewers seem genuinely interested in my story! This is both flattering and reassuring that LOVE TARGET is a good novel, well worth a reader’s time.

It was the bold side of me that spurred me to write LOVE TARGET in the first place. I always have craved new adventures; it’s why — at age 16 — I told my parents I’d had enough of America, and wanted to return to our native Munich, Germany, and I was intent on doing so whether they liked it or not, and I was heading from our Los Angeles apartment to Las Vegas, wherever Las Vegas was, to be a casino showgirl, whatever a showgirl was, because it paid $200 a week and I would earn enough money to get back to Munich alone.

In subsequent years, my adventures were of the type that would have seemed frightening to my 16-year-old self, had I known what lay in store! Not to give away the plot of LOVE TARGET, but these adventures — or misadventures — involved world-famous entertainers, New York mobsters, drug smugglers, crime-ridden ghettos, and more. Like so many first novels, LOVE TARGET is largely autobiographical; in fact, I term LOVE TARGET a memoir novel. Since my mid-20s, friends and family urged me to write my life story. But I resisted and resisted. When I finally took a stab at it, the result was 70 pages so unsatisfying to my eyes that I burned the sheets in my kitchen sink! But I knew deep inside I couldn’t give up just like that; and so I found an editor to help me shape the novel, get started on it again — and then rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, for nearly two years, until the manuscript was finished and polished for publication.

I just needed a bit of a push. In fact, I always have. When I was too struck with stage fright to step out from behind the curtain at the Dunes in the Las Vegas Strip, as a 16-year-old showgirl, I was literally shoved into show businesses (stumbling forward onto the stage) by the showgirl standing behind me. Once the spotlight hit me, I automatically stuck my arms out and smiled brightly as I’d been trained to do in rehearsal, and began my patterned walk — leading the long line of showgirls snaking around the stage, to the audience’s applause.

In the section of my life story that is the basis for the sequel to LOVE TARGET that I am writing, my boldness has prompted me to undertake skydiving and sand railing, fire assault weapons and train with mixed martial artists, and travel to such exotic locales as Teheran, Iran, and Kabul, Afghanistan. (I overcome the jitters thanks to coaches, trainers, and travel agents who supply the necessary “push.”) And yet, I still cringe at the calendar in my smart phone showing a TV, magazine or webzine interview coming up. The butterflies flap fiercely in my belly — just as they did when I was a teenage showgirl. Therein lies a hidden reward of authorship: Not only does it allow you to create something for the world — it forces you out of your comfort cocoon to experience something both frightening and thrilling. It trumps timidy and rewards temerity.

It takes you, the author, on a brave quest just as the book you’ve created takes the reader on a vicarious odyssey.

Teenager Ingrid Liebschreiber is devastated when her parents move the family from their native Munich to Los Angeles in the late 1950s. Homesick, she accepts a neighbor's offer to get her a job as a showgirl in Las Vegas.

Intent on earning enough money to return to Germany, she must grow up quickly in the neon jungle - where she is pursued by high rollers and headliners, including a vacationing Elvis.

Life's twists and turns land Ingrid in New York in the Swinging 1960s - where she is romanced by Armand: a strong, quiet, handsome businessman in "construction." Most girls dream of Mr. Right, and Ingrid's hard-won independence is challenged when she falls in love.

Will she find true romance - a man who can love her as much as she loves him? Or is "happily ever after" just a crazy fairytale?

Enjoy an excerpt:

“Rascal, you sit yourself right down there.” Elvis motioned at the bed.

He picked up a shiny guitar. It was honey yellow, and the face had a rust-red design below the sound hole, decorated with golden orbs and stems like dandelions.

“Oh, it is beautiful, Elvis!”

He held it up proudly. “This is my Gibson. Ain’t she sweet?”

He sat on a chair cradling the expensive guitar. He delicately plucked the top string with his thumb and gently strummed the other strings with his fingers.

Soft strains filled the room.

“This little number is from my first movie.”

As he began singing, I recognized the melody.

“Love me tender . . .”

Elvis gazed at me as he serenaded, his eyes big, brilliantly blue, dreamy. His song sang straight into my heart. I tingled like I’d been caught in a breeze. Could he see my skin quivering? He could definitely see my cheeks reddening.

Elvis finished with a slow downward strum, thumbing each string individually, a sweet arpeggio. He let the last note ring and fade away.

He looked up and smiled.

“Don’t I sound like Bing Crosby?”

He didn’t wait for an answer. He leaned the guitar against the dresser and in the next instant was on the bed, an arm slung around my shoulder. His other hand grasped and turned my chin.

Elvis’ mouth was warm and gentle. Our tongues met. Just as quickly, his retreated.

Our mouths puckered again. Elvis’ lips worked softly against mine. They moved away and began pecking my face with slow, small kisses. My lower lip burned. Elvis had sunk his teeth in with a hard nip.

He released it just as quickly and turned away with a bashful look. It was like he was a nervous teenager. Was this all an act? Or was he just a giant flirt?

Heidi Loeb Hegerich has lived in places as varied as Munich, Las Vegas, Miami Beach, New York, Los Angeles, Squaw Valley and Reno. She has worked variously as a showgirl, business executive, entrepreneur, interior designer and real estate developer. She has traveled to six of the seven continents, and vacationed in spots as different as the French Riviera, the Andes and Afghanistan. She counts among her hobbies weight training, shooting assault rifles, and racing sand rails; she found skydiving entertaining but not as much of a rush as other pursuits. A philanthropist for the arts, among other causes, Hegerich is now embarking on her own artistic quest as an author. The novel Love Target is her first book.

Buy links:

www.lovetarget.com

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Target-Heidi-Loeb-Hegerich-ebook/dp/B00KCS0OCY/

Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4E9UULoZNU

Facebook: www.facebook.com/LoveTargetNovel

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LoveTargetBook

Robin Leach book review in Las Vegas Sun newspaper: http://www.lasvegassun.com/vegasdeluxe/2015/jan/13/love-target-showgirl-reveals-elvis-pregnancy-swing/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Love, Loss and Longing in the Age of Reagan by Iris Dorbian - Virtual Tour and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Iris Dorbian will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

It's the early 1980s, MTV is in its infancy, the Internet does not exist, Ronald Reagan is president and yuppies are ruling Wall Street. Edie is a naïve NYU student desperate to lose her virginity and to experience adventure that will finally make her worldly, setting her further apart from her bland suburban roots. But in her quest to mold herself into an ideal of urban sophistication, the New Jersey-born co-ed gets more than she bargained for, triggering a chain of events that will have lasting repercussions.

Enjoy an excerpt:

It was an era before cell phones, the Internet did not exist, disco was dying, about to be swallowed whole by New Wave and AIDS, which hadn’t yet broken into the mainstream, would soon become a death sentence ending a person’s life within two years of infection. Carter had only one year left of his failed, one-term presidency. Reaganomics—and yuppies—were looming.

Though still heavily ravaged by the urban blight that had nearly decimated it earlier in the decade, New York City was starting to undergo a period of renewal and rebirth thanks to its new feisty mayor Ed Koch.

Into this fray I entered as an NYU student, naïve, curious, not knowing what the future would bring. But then I didn’t care, choosing to live in the present. Willful obliviousness suited me just fine.

Peter, my first real boyfriend (translated into the vernacular: the first guy I slept with), used to always tell me I was an existentialist. But that confused me especially because I knew that underneath this veneer that classmates used to say was so deep and cerebral lurked a fluttery airhead, more influenced by appearances and artifice than she let on.

I had briefly studied existentialism when I was a high school senior taking advanced humanities with Mrs. Stein at Fair Lawn High School, an unusually good public school made possible by the enormous taxes levied against its local citizenry.

Mrs. Stein was very eclectic with the syllabus. We read Thomas Hardy’s “Tess of the D’Urbervilles,” (a book about wronged innocence that resonated strongly with my callow self), Homer’s “The Odyssey,” Somerset Maugham’s “Of Human Bondage” and Albert Camus’ “The Stranger,” the latter considered both a literary classic and a benchmark of the existential movement.

“The Stranger” was about an emotionally impassive Frenchman, Mersault, who experiences all sorts of tragedies—he even murders someone and goes on trial for it—while remaining curiously detached throughout. Was he a sociopath? Did he feel any kind of remorse for his actions? Why didn’t he cry when his mother died?

When Mrs. Stein would describe the protagonist as someone who embodied the existential doctrine of self-determination and assuming responsibilities for one’s choices, all I could think of was a sleek and tall Frenchman, fashionably attired in black from head to toe, wearing a beret and sitting in a Parisian café, sipping lattes and eating croissants while having animated philosophical discourses with friends and borderline foes. It was an image of sophistication I was desperate to emulate ever since my parents took me two years earlier to Café Feenjon on MacDougal Street to hear Israeli musicians play cheesy Middle-Eastern music.

Iris Dorbian is a former actress turned business journalist/blogger. Her articles have appeared in a wide number of outlets that include the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Venture Capital Journal, DMNews, Playbill, Backstage, Theatermania, Live Design, Media Industry Newsletter and PR News. From 1999 to 2007, Iris was the editor-in-chief of Stage Directions. She is the author of “Great Producers: Visionaries of the American Theater," which was published by Allworth Press in August 2008. Her personal essays have been published in Blue Lyra Review, B O D Y, Embodied Effigies, Jewish Literary Journal, Skirt! Diverse Voices Quarterly and Gothesque Magazine.

Twitter | Facebook

Buy the book at Amazon.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Count's Lair by Stephanie Burkhart - Review and Giveaway

This review is in conjunction with a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Stephanie will be awarding a $25 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner via the rafflecopter at the end of this post. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Count Anton Varga is haunted by the curse of the moon. It tugs on his emotions, ravishing his soul. Anton abhors the beast he must learn to tame if he is to find peace.

Lady Amelia Andrassy is an accomplished pianist, but her life in Budapest has been filled with heartache. When Amelia faints in the Duma's bookstore, it's Anton's strong arms that cradle her fall. His unusual eyes spark with hers, replacing their individual loneliness with the promise of feral passion.

After a two-month separation, Anton is ready to walk into Amelia's life again, but is Amelia ready to fan the spark they shared into a flame?


My Revivew:

This is book two in the Budapest Moon series. I haven't read book one, and I did feel like I missed a bit of the story. I was able to catch on, but I think I would recommend that readers start with book one to get the full experience of the story.

The message of this story is all about trust. Both our hero and heroine suffer from trust issues. Unfortunately, Anton has a secret he's loathe to share with Amelia, lest he lose her forever, and she suspects he's hiding something so really struggles with their relationship. There is no denying the physical attraction between them, but both want more. It's two steps forward, one back for many chapters.

The author does a wonderful job with her description of Hungary, its people, setting and many traditions. The setting also made this book have a pretty dark feel, which was a bit atypical of the usual romance. I've read other books by this author, and have always admired her writing skill. This book was a departure from the other in terms of tone. I also suspect this may be one of her first published works as the writing and plot weren't as tight or well created as some of her others. I still enjoyed this, and she certainly did a bang up job with the characters who were so real and clear.

The last portion of the book moved much more quickly than the start, when Amelia finds herself in great danger. I wish the whole book had been more like this! I think it would have made a more "un-put-downable" read.

That said, I liked the book. The setting was a character all its own, and the rest of the ensemble kept me interested. I'm glad I had a chance to read this book and look forward to more from the author.

3.5 flowers - This was a good book. I liked it.

Here's an excerpt:

"Amelia, to be honest about my intentions, I want to court you."

"Court me?" She stepped back.

He grabbed her wrist, as if desperate to keep her near him. His eyes impaled her, making her breathless. Was it too soon to think of always and forever with him? Had he really changed? Her heart believed so. Now, she just had to convince her head.

"I have no one to ask for permission, but you. Search your heart. I care for you deeply. I want to explore this, Amelia, but only if you do. I swear I'm ready for this."

Her lips trembled as she stepped forward, moved by the conviction in his voice. Dare she fall in love again? The chance was worth it. "Yes."

"Thank you." He wrapped his arms around her, infusing her with his warmth. She melted against the length of his body, savoring the contact. It felt right.

He parted from her, placed his hands on her upper arms, and looked at her. "The feelings I have when I'm near you are nothing like I've had before, but--"

"Go on." She prompted when he delayed too long.

"But I have a secret, too -- a secret that chokes me when I think of telling you."

"Anton--" A secret?

He held up his hand. "Let me finish. I promise to tell you, but I can't right now. I can only give you clues." "Really?"

"You must accept this, Amelia. I know it may be unusual, but it's the only way I can think of to be honest with you."

Taken off guard, she faced him. Anton's full lips and smoldering eyes riveted her to him. In fact, his looks were everything she was attracted to in a man, but it all came down to trust. Could she trust him? If she said yes to him right now, then she was giving him her trust, which included his secret.

"How many clues do you have?"

"Three. Once you know my secret, if you want to break our courtship, you can. I'll understand."

Her body shivered. Was his secret dangerous? Even if it was, did she care? A part of her just wanted to throw herself into his arms and let come what may. Another part of her told her to keep her feet firmly on the ground.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. She was born and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire. She served 11 years in the US Army and currently calls Castaic, California her home. Stephanie was married in Denmark in 1991 and has two young sons. She adores chocolate and is addicted to coffee. She writes paranormal, contemporary, and steampunk romance and has two children's books published with 4RV Publishing.

FIND ME ON THE WEB AT:

WEBSITE: http://www.stephanieburkhart.com

TWITTER: http://twitter.com/StephBurkhart

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor

GOOD READS: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart

YOU TUBE CHANNEL: http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee

PINTEREST: http://pinterest.com/sgburkhart/

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Counts-Lair-Budapest-Moon-Book-ebook/dp/B004LLIEMK

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/budapest-moon-book-two-the-counts-lair-stephanie-burkhart/1029218357?ean=9781612529509


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tom's Wife by Alana Cash - Virtual Tour and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Alana will be awarding the winner's choice of a Screenprinted Camisole - "What Happens in the Bedroom Stays in the Bedroom" or a Brass Nuts T-Shirt - screenprinted "Brass" with 2 brass hex-nuts sewn to collar, to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. (US ONLY)

We'll turn the blog over to Alana now...

I have only been in love a couple of times in my life and one of those times was with a drummer in a Latin band. He played with different groups and I got to know all kinds of Latin music – salsa, meringue, cumbia, bosa nova and more. I went to the different venues where he played and made a few friends. From the friends I learned to cook different types of food and learned the different types of dances. I got invited to visit a family in Puerto Rico where I studied Spanish for a week. Returning from my vacation, I decided I wanted to learn play percussion. So I took lessons in bongos and castanets. A few times – very few – I was invited to play with the professional musicians in front of an audience. It was quite unusual to see a female bongo player and the musicians got tips for that and got invited back, but I didn’t think I was good enough, so eventually I stopped accepting the invitations. And the relationship with the drummer didn’t work out very well, but it was a great time in my life. A really great time.

I gave the bongos away, but I kept the castanets and I used to play them sometimes at home listening to the Gypsy Kings. One evening I was playing with the windows open and a man came to my door explaining that his wife was a flamenco dancer in Spain and he asked if I happened to be a flamenco dancer as well. That was pretty flattering since I wasn’t sure I played well at all, but apparently I played well enough to attract strangers off the street. I did play castanets once with a band on my birthday – and once under the table at a restaurant in Serbia. I was in Novi Sad doing some research for a project and the family I was staying with invited me to dinner at the restaurant (steak dinner for five people with wine was a total of $22). A gypsy band was playing and singing. They had five-string guitars and sang in seven different languages. I had the castanets under the table and played along with them. No one complained, but I did stop after a couple of songs.

Honestly, I would have preferred to have music as my art form over writing and when I was a child I begged for a guitar, but didn’t ever get that for Christmas. I took piano lessons for a few weeks, but the teacher moved away, and anyway I didn’t enjoy playing piano.

It’s the Great Depression and 19-year-old Annie Huckaby is almost resigned to marriage with Tom. He works at a coal mine during the week, leaving Annie to take care of the house and their infant son. Tom’s Native American friend Jim takes care of the farm. Her best friend, Twila, visits every day and helps Annie make a little money selling eggs to the café on the highway. And there’s church on Sunday. Annie’s not always alone, but most times she feels like it…until one afternoon a peddler named Jake Stern steps onto the porch, tips his hat, and starts a world of trouble.

Now enjoy an excerpt:

The first time Annie ever saw Jake Stern, she was sitting with Twila on the porch after dinner. They’d been watching the men working on the new barn and they heard Butch growling and turned around and saw him. It was peculiar to see a fellow in a white shirt on a weekday, and she had to look away behind him, at the big oak tree.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alana Cash is an award-winning author and filmmaker who used to spend summers on her grandparents farm at the foot of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. When she was ten, a red-headed stranger rode up on horseback asking her grandfather if there were horses needing to be broken. The cowboy wore spurs and a cowboy hat and was pretty exciting. Decades later, Alana wondered if any of the women living in that farming community got a crush on that wandering cowboy, and intending to write a short story about that romantic day, Alana ended up writing the novel TOM’S WIFE.

Website: www.alanacash.com

Blog: howyoulovetexas.blogspot.com

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/toms-wife-alana-cash/1100486164?ean=9781449996321

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Alana-Cash/e/B0058DLGXO

A Burning Truth by Joyce Proell - Spotlight and Amazon GC giveaway!

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Joyce will be awarding a $20 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

There’s no shortage of deadly deeds in 1881 Chicago as school administrator Cady Delafield and entrepreneur Doyle Flanagan plan their wedding. When one of Doyle’s workers is brutally killed he must use his considerable power to stop a mysterious enemy bent on destroying his reputation and business empire. But as Cady and Doyle struggle to keep their marriage on track, the murder victims might not be the only casualties.

Enjoy an excerpt:

Doyle sat in the carriage, his brain frozen and his limbs unable to move. He watched Cady run up the steps and disappear into Ophelia’s impenetrable stone manor. When the front door boomed shut with the noise of a cannon blast, he jumped. He lurched forward and exploded out of the vehicle. She wasn’t getting rid of him so easily. In fact, she wasn’t getting rid of him at all. He had a voice in the matter. He intended to be heard.

Just as soon as he thought it, his steps faltered and he ground to a stop.

“Damn!”

Now was not the time to try to reason with her, not when she was in a cold fury. He pumped a fist against a thigh and stared at the mansion’s rock façade, aware her current state of mind was as solid and unshakable. Even if he managed to get beyond the front door, she wouldn’t listen. Not now.

His head fell back. A piercing ache tore through him, as if his heart and soul had been shredded and tossed aside. Gunmetal storm clouds reeled over the sky, bleak and threatening. The bite in the air made his cheeks sting. Inside he was hollowed and gutted. His fingers curled and uncurled. Muscles coiled, he pivoted with a fierce twist, snapped an order to Phelps then threw himself back into the carriage. His next move must be deployed with utmost care. The carriage jolted forward and thrust him back against the seat cushion. She needed time to cool. Then he’d be back, and she’d listen to what he had to say.

About the Author:Joyce grew up in Minnesota and attended college and grad school in Chicago. After working in mental health, she retired at a young age to write full-time. Her first book, Eliza, was published in 2012. A Burning Truth is the second in the Cady Delafield series. When she isn’t writing mysteries or historical romances, she loves to travel, walk, read, and do crossword puzzles. She and her husband make their home in rural Minnesota in her very own little house on the prairie.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads ~ Champagne Books
Buy the book at Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, or Barnes and Noble.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dreaming of Laughing Hawk by Linda Katmarian - virtual tour and giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour sponsored by Goddess Fish Promotions. Linda will be awarding a digital copy of her book to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

In 1964 Elizabeth Leigh is looking forward to college, escape from her unhappy home, and the fulfillment of her dreams. Adventure. Love. Her place in the sun. On a restless afternoon, she leaves school early and discovers her mother is packing to run off with a lover, abandoning Elizabeth and her stepfather. Worse, she learns her mother has squandered the college money her grandfather left her.

A fortuitous invitation from her cousin Melina to come to Los Angeles rescues her from an uncertain future. In Los Angeles, Elizabeth finds security in the embrace of her aunt’s family and is introduced to the man who soon becomes her fiancé, Collin Greenslade, an ambitious, up-and-coming real estate developer. Life could not be more perfect.

When her cousin’s boyfriend, a civil rights activist, has his Thunderbird vandalized in Mississippi, he enlists his roommate, Mark Laughing Hawk, to tow his car back home. Melina insists that she and Elizabeth should come along for the ride, but what starts as a fun romp across the country becomes a journey of the soul that complicates love and endangers lives.

Dreaming of Laughing Hawk explores the desire for love, power, and sense of purpose and the lengths we will go to attain them.

Enjoy an excerpt:

Elizabeth

At her insistence, James had driven her by Grandfather's old farm one day. She had claimed curiosity, but she had gone expecting to rediscover something. The place had been burnt to the ground, her childhood memories reduced to a blackened foundation and a dingy clutter of outer buildings.

The image of leaving that spectacle of ruin was burnt in her mind—she and James driving down the gravel road. Weeds and the low-hanging branches of unpruned trees swooshed and thumped against the car while gravel popped loudly under the car's tires. As the car had bumped along, a flock of startled black birds exploded out of the brush. For a moment, they fluttered and swirled about like pieces of charred paper in the draft of a flame and then they were gone. The mind could play such tricks.

Author Linda Katmarian grew up in the Midwest and graduated with a Master’s Degree in French literature from Illinois State University. She has studied under Sol Stein, prolific author and former owner of Stein & Day publishing company in New York, and Louella Nelson, an experienced romance writer and teacher of fiction writing. In 2012, after a long career as a technical writer, Linda committed herself to writing fiction full time. She lives in Southern California. DREAMING OF LAUGHING HAWK is her debut novel.

Author page: http://amazon.com/author/lindakatmarian
Website: http://www.lindakatmarian.com
Blog: http://www.scheherazade-thewritinglife.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/LindaKatmarian
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorlindakatmarian
Link to ebook: http://www.amazon.com/Dreaming-of-Laughing-Hawk-ebook/dp/B00B2NWZRK/
Link to print book: http://www.amazon.com/Dreaming-Laughing-Hawk-Linda-Katmarian/dp/0988297205/

A Matter of Circumstance and Celludrones by Claire Robyns - Virtual tour and giveaway

Today author Claire Robyns visits on her tour with Goddess Fish Promotions for the Victorian Steampunk/Paranormal adventure novel, "A Matter of Circumstance and Celludrones".

Claire will be awarding a $50 Amazon gift card to two randomly drawn commenters during the tour, so leave a comment today and follow the rest of her tour by clicking on the banner above.

Lady Lily d'Bulier is prim, proper, and prefers to think of herself as pragmatic rather than timid. And avoiding life-threatening situations at all costs is just plain practical. But everything changes when Lord Adair tracks her down in London; searching for answers he seems to think she has.

Greyston Adair is a blackguard and a smuggler, although British Customs will have to catch him red-handed to prove the latter. Fortunately, the dirigibles they float around in have never been able to get near his air dust.

Hell is rising, One Demon at a Time...

With Lady Ostrich hunting them, and the mystery of how their lives tie back to Cragloden Castle and the powerful McAllister clan, Lily has no option but to throw propriety to the wind and run off with Greyston to Scotland, away from the immediate danger and toward possible answers.

Now enjoy an excerpt:

She glanced across to find him staring out of his window.

In profile, silky brown hair stroked the hollow below his cheekbone and his clenched jaw formed a rigid line. His trousers were a dark grey, matched with a waistcoat worn over a crisp white shirt. Broad shoulders filled a meticulously tailored jacket that was left unbuttoned. He’d crossed one leg over the other and rested an elbow on the door ledge.

He looked every inch the well-groomed gentleman who’d been admitted to Lady Cheshire’s Mummy ball.

Every inch the heart-stopping Lord Dashing.

Her gaze settled on the ruined neck cloth and loose ties hanging down his front. A blush heated her throat as she recalled the unfamiliar hardness of lean muscle and his particular scent of pine forest and ash and something altogether male. She’d danced her share of waltzes, but this took intimacy to an entirely new extreme.

He brought his attention from outside to meet her brazen stare with a quirked brow. “At least you haven’t leapt to your death yet.”

The heat drained from her skin. Lily lowered her eyes, clasping her fingers in her lap to hide the trembling.

I’m not dead.

She lifted her gaze to him. “What do you want with me, Lord Adair?”

The ghost of that exact question, asked as she’d served him tea in her drawing room, answered. I knew Lady d’Bulier. Lily held her breath.

Lord Adair grimaced. “I knew your mother, Lady d’Bulier.”

She let that breath out on a trembling sigh. “You mentioned something about keeping me safe. From what?”

In response, he half-rose and rapped hard up against the roof with his fist. A moment later, the carriage drew to a halt in a clearing alongside the road.

Lily’s hand quickly went to the door handle on her side. She hesitated. There was no urge to run for her life. She was more afraid of her memories, of what might or might not be real, than of Lord Adair.

When Lord Adair alighted and offered her a hand, she shifted along the seat and allowed him to help her out. Neither of them wore gloves. Skin touched skin as she stepped from the carriage.

One more intimate social transgression; she was beginning to lose count.

She slid her hand from his as soon as her feet touched the ground. Her slippers were no protection from the mulch of fallen leaves and damp soil as she walked beneath a cluster of trees.

She spun about, determined to get some answers, but her gaze stalled on the large man in the driver’s box. “He’s the celludrone,” she gasped. “He’s the one who fought that woman.”

She’d only caught snatches of him before Lord Adair had pushed her out of sight behind the settee. The aftermath, however, was burned into her skull. This man, and Ana, torn apart at their seams, nothing left but mechanical pieces strewn across her drawing room. Dear Lord, had these spells she suffered from evolved into some type of visionary premonition? Had she witnessed her imminent death?

Claire Robyns lives in Berkshire, England, with her husband and twin boys. For so long as she has memories, she was either reading, dreaming about reading, or planning what she'd be reading next. Then one day she started dreaming about writing and that was the beginning of an amazing journey.

When Claire isn't thigh-deep in laundry, shopping, cooking and general crowd control, you'll find her head-and-heart-deep in the tangled lives of her characters.

Visit Claire at her website www.clairerobyns.com or on twitter @clairerobyns or on facebook www.facebook.com/clairerobyns

Buy Links

Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Matter-Circumstance-Celludrones-Matters-ebook/dp/B009GNHRAS/ref=sr_1_3_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361907276&sr=1-3&keywords=claire+robyns

B&N:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-matter-of-circumstance-and-celludrones-claire-robyns/1114044426?ean=2940044191365

Kobo:

http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/-Matter-Circumstance-Celludrones-Dark-Matters/book-EvMg7ZSEv0mvjJR5XN1Ifg/page1.html?s=qIHw5UWUNUyia42VfIIoug&r=1

Summerset Abbey: A Bloom in Winter by T. J. Brown - virtual book tour and giveaway

Today we're spotlighting TJ Brown on her tour with Goddess Fish Promotions for the historical women's fiction novel, "A Bloom in Winter", the second book in the Summerset Abbey series.

T. J. will be awarding to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour a 4 piece Whimsical Butterfly Tea set. The tea set is handcrafted by artist April Cook of white stoneware slip and painted with a unique whimsical design of a butterfly in lime green and plum glaze. It is both dishwasher and microwave safe. The set includes a 32 oz. tea pot with lid, creamer and sugar bowl (To see more of April's designs, see www.etsy.com/shop/speeglecreations). This contest is US only. So comment today AND follow her tour (if you click on the banner above, it'll take you to a list of tour stops)! The more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win a really cool prize!

After Prudence’s desperate marriage and move to London, sisters Rowena and Victoria fear they have lost their beloved friend forever. Guilt-ridden and remorseful, Rowena seeks comfort from a daring flyboy and embraces the most dangerous activity the world has ever seen, and Victoria defies her family and her illness to make her own dream occupation as a botanist come true. As England and the world step closer to conflict, the two young women flout their family, their upbringing, and their heritage to seize a modern future of their own making.

Victoria Buxton

With her delicate constitution but strong, unflappable spirit, Victoria has never followed societal conventions, the rules of fashion, or the pursuit of a husband. Instead, she finds herself drawn to the controversial—and dangerous—fight for women’s suffrage. But her dream is compromised, and her heart divided, when her struggles for equal rights collide with unexpected love.

Rowena Buxton

After yearning to no avail for a certain young pilot to fly back into her life, Rowena fears her chances for happiness have been jeopardized by recklessness and scandal. Burdened with guilt for bringing her sister Prudence to Summerset Abbey as a lady’s maid while she herself led a life of privilege, Rowena hopes to one day make amends. But her desire to set things right is complicated by her passion for flight and a sudden engagement…to the wrong man.

Prudence Tate

Raised like a sister to Victoria and Rowena, then banished to the servants’ quarters when their father passed away, Prudence has seen both sides of life, upstairs and down. But once the truth about her parentage was revealed, Prudence forged a new life for herself, married to a penniless veterinary student. Living in poverty in a shabby London flat, she wonders if she’s made a terrible mistake—and there’s no turning back...

Victoria sat impatiently, her fingers skittering across the shining top of her lovely round desk, once used by an ancestor who would no doubt be completely scandalized by the plan she had just proposed to Kit.

“Let me get this straight,” he frowned at her, his dark red brows furrowing like caterpillars. “You want me to help you to sneak into London for a week?”

She glared at the mocking tone of his voice. “You know, you’re usually quite handsome, but right now, you look more like an ogre from a Grimms’ fairy tale than a human, so you can stop glowering at me.”

His head came up and he looked at her, his eyebrows unfurrowing and shooting up on his forehead in such a comical way, she couldn’t help but giggle.

“You think I’m handsome?”

Victoria shrugged. “Yes. Sort of like a fox, with your ginger hair and sharp eyes. But don’t let it go to your head; Sebastian and Colin are far better looking than you. Now back to my plan.”

He rolled his eyes at that and got back to the matter at hand. “The only way it would work would be to bring Elaine into it. There is no way your aunt would approve of your traveling to London on your own, and she certainly would never let you drive off alone with me.”

Victoria shook her head, frustrated by the fuss. “These people do know I’m of age, right? Why may Cousin Colin come and go as he pleases, yet Elaine and I are required to inform everyone where we are at every moment of every day? How is that fair?”

“Do you know you’re rather lovable when you act like a suffragette?” he teased.

She threw a fountain pen at him and missed. It exploded on the mantel. “Oh blast! Now see what you made me do.”

He laughed. “Made you do? No, leave it,” he said when she stood to clean it. “No one comes back here and we’ll call it art, much as that crazy art nouveau crowd calls their stuff art.”

“Oh!” She stamped her foot. He knew she loved art nouveau.

“Now don’t get your petticoats in a bundle, kitten, and let’s figure out how to get you to London so you can meet with…whom?”

“Harold L. Herbert, the managing editor for the Botanist’s Quarterly,” she said, sitting back down.

“Ah yes, so you can meet with Hairy Herbert. And what do you hope to gain from this meeting?”

For a moment, Victoria drew a blank. “Well, he said he wanted to meet with me. He finds my writing thought-provoking. He not only paid me for an article, but is also interested in more of my work. So, more assignments, I suppose.” She tilted her nose up in the air, waiting for him to make fun of her.

To her surprise he didn’t. “So you’ve never met Hairy Herbert. Have you spoken to him on the telephone?” He took the seat across from the desk and crossed his long legs. His eyes regarded her gravely.

Victoria shifted uneasily. “No.”

“So he doesn’t know that the author of the scientific article he paid ten pounds for is, in fact, an eighteen-year-old girl?”

Victoria opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

TJ Brown is passionate about books, writing, history, dachshunds and mojitos. If she could go back in time, she would have traveled back to England, 1910, Paris, 1927 or Haight-Ashbury, 1967. She resides in the burbs of Portlandia, where she appreciates the weirdness, the microbreweries, hoodies, Voodoo Donuts and the rain.

www.tjbrownbooks.com
Twitter - @teribrownwrites
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/teri.foremanbrown

Buy Links:

S&S: http://books.simonandschuster.com/buy/Summerset-Abbey-A-Bloom-in-Winter/9781451699050/from-other-retailers#book_retailers

AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1451699050/simonsayscom

B&N: http://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?mid=36889&id=PwUJvmDcu1U&murl=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.barnesandnoble.com%2FbookSearch%2FisbnInquiry.asp%3Fr%3D1%26ISBN%3D9781451699050

BAM: http://www.booksamillion.com/ncom/books?isbn=1451699050

INDIEBOUND: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781451699050

Minotaur Revisited by David Gelber - Review tour and giveaway

Full length historical fantasy

This review is done in conjunction with the author's virtual tour with Goddess Fish Promotions.

David will be awarding a $100 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, so comment today AND follow the tour (if you click on the tour banner above, it'll take you to a list of his tour stops) -- the more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win an awesome prize!



Legend states that the Minotaur was confined to the Labyrinth, slain by Theseus and then laid to rest by thousands of years of Greek mythology. But, the truth is far different. Read the Minotaur’s own words as he recounts his full life as god, king, warrior, matchmaker, midwife, monk, sage, father, mother, husband and, most of all, witness. The fierce Minotaur lived to see and be a part of the best and worst of humanity during a life spanning thousands of years. Part bull, part human, the Minotaur struggled to find his place in this world and, in the end, left his unique mark on history.



Minotaur Revisited is a retelling of the Greek myth of the Minotaur--only this time it's told from the Minotaur's POV. His name is actually Quinton Arbus Taurus Aegus Minos, but he prefers Minotaur because that name commands respect--at least more than Quint or even Mini as one of his lady friends likes to call him.

According to the legend, the Minotaur devours seven youth and seven virgins every year and was killed by Theseus. According to Minotaur Revisited, the Minotaur is a vegetarian and made a deal with Theseus--the Minotaur would pretend to be dead and would leave the country and Theseus would have the honor of having slain the Minotaur. Even though Theseus tried to double-cross the Minotaur, Quint had been too clever for him and managed to escape anyway.

Then he began his travels around the world and through the ages, taking part in some of the most important episodes in history: the Israelites escaping Egypt, raising the Queen of Sheba, the crucifiction and resurrection of Jesus-- and meeting people in history and fiction. Each of these vignettes just go to show him, however, that he is still not free even though he is out of the Labyrinth. People still want to use him for their own purposes (if you ever wondered why vampires live so long, this book will let you know).

Parts of the book are laugh-out-loud funny, while other parts will make you want to cry. The only drawback I found in the book is that, because of the format (the Minotaur is telling the story of his life to a group of students), there is a lot of "telling." The "show, don't tell" rule is thrown out the window, so the reader might not get as drawn up in the story as they might be. Even with that, however, this is a fun read and would be a fun movie... hmmm.. who could we get to play the Minotaur??

4.5 flowers - This was a very good book! I'd recommend it to my friends.

David Gelber, a New York native, is the seventh of nine sons and one of three to pursue medicine. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1980 and went on to graduate medical school in 1984 from the University of Rochester. He completed his residency at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, followed by three years as attending surgeon at Nassau County Medical Center in Long Island, N.Y. Gelber has since joined Coastal Surgical Group in Houston, Texas.

Gelber has been a surgeon for more than 20 years, but over the last few years he began to pursue his passion for writing, initially with his debut novel, "Future Hope" (Emerald Book Company, January 2010). The novel speculates about future Earth and what the world might have been like if man had not succumbed to temptation in the Garden of Eden. "Joshua and Aaron" is a sequel to "Future Hope" and follows the battle of wills that transpires between unsung hero Joshua Smith and satanic Aaron Diblonski.

Dr. Gelber has added two books about surgery, "Behind the Mask" and "Under the Drapes", both of which provide the reader with a view of the world of surgery rarely seen by those outside the medical professions. "Last Light" is an apocalyptic short story which starts off asking the question: "What would happen if nobody ever was sick or injured?"

"Minotaur Revisited" is an entertaining romp through history seen through the eyes of Quint, the famed half bull half man monster of Greek Mythology. It was in October 2012. Gelber was raised in reformed Judaism, but joined the Presbyterian Church 15 years ago. He is married with three teenage children, four dogs and 24 birds of various species. His interests include horse racing, mechanical Swiss watches and, of course, writing.

http://www.davidgelber.com/

Uneasy Lies the Crown, A Novel of Owain Glyndwr by N. Gemini Sasson - Virtual tour and giveaway

Today we're visiting with author N. Gemini Sasson on her tour with Goddess Fish Promotions for the historical fiction novel, "Uneasy Lies the Crown, A Novel of Owain Glyndwr".

The author will award a $20 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during her tour, so comment today AND follow her tour (if you click on the banner above, it'll take you to a list of her tour stops)! The more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win a really cool prize!

For centuries, the bards have sung of King Arthur’s return, but is this reluctant warrior prince the answer to those prophecies?

In the year 1399, Welsh nobleman Owain Glyndwr is living out a peaceful gentleman’s life in the Dee Valley of Wales with his wife Margaret and their eleven children. But when Henry of Bolingbroke, the Duke of Lancaster, usurps the throne of England from his cousin Richard II, that tranquility is forever shattered. What starts as a feud with a neighboring English lord over a strip of land evolves into something greater—a fight for the very independence of Wales.

Leading his crude army of Welshmen against armor-clad columns of English, Owain wins key victories over his enemies. After a harrowing encounter on the misty slopes of Cadair Idris, the English knight Harry Hotspur offers Owain a pact he cannot resist.

Peace, however, comes with a price. As tragedies mount, Owain questions whether he can find the strength within himself not only to challenge the most powerful monarch of his time, but to fulfill the prophecies and lead his people to freedom without destroying those around him.

Owain leaned against the bedpost, gazing at Margaret, who was swept away in a sea of exhaustion. For a long time he studied her, worshipful of her, thankful and yet gripped with a fear that paralyzed him. Lamplight flickered upon her face, pale and sparkling with perspiration like a fine dusting of crystal. He glanced at the physician, who was packing his instruments and washing his hands as if there were nothing more he could do.

His voice tremulous, Owain probed, “Will she... will she be well soon?”

“More likely so than not,” the physician said. He was a Jew named Abraham that Owain had brought to Sycharth from London to attend to his large family. He wiped his hands on a cloth and then gathered the bag that contained his mysterious tools. “But there were complications. If she were to deliver another child, she could die. Do you understand?”

The strong cries of his new son and daughter filled his ears with the assurance that they had gained their place in the world and were not letting go.

Owain nodded dully. Then he knelt beside his love and wrapped his large hands around one of hers. He kissed her knuckles, and then pressed them to his whiskered cheek. “Marged, the children need you. I need you.” And he buried his face in the sea of down coverings that surrounded her and wept more tears than he had ever in his life shed.

N. Gemini Sasson is the author of six historical novels set in 14th and 15th century Scotland, England and Wales, including The Bruce Trilogy and Isabeau, A Novel of Queen Isabella and Sir Roger Mortimer (2011 IPPY Silver Medalist in Historical Fiction). Her latest release is Uneasy Lies the Crown, A Novel of Owain Glyndwr. Long after writing about Robert the Bruce and Queen Isabella, Sasson learned she is a descendant of both.

Links:

Amazon.com – http://www.amazon.com/Uneasy-Crown-Novel-Glyndwr-ebook/dp/B00A27A1UA

Amazon.co.uk - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Uneasy-Crown-Novel-Glyndwr-ebook/dp/B00A27A1UA

Barnes and Noble – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/uneasy-lies-the-crown-n-gemini-sasson/1113730727?ean=2940015940381

Smashwords – http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/252017

Web site – http://www.ngeminisasson.com

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/NGeminiSasson

Blog – http://ngeminisasson.blogspot.com

Review: Louisa and the Missing Heir by Anna MacLean

(Full length, historical cozy mystery)

Long before she will achieve fame as the author of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott is writing stories of a more dark and mysterious nature. But nothing prepares her for the role of amateur detective she assumes when the body of her dear friend, wealthy newlywed Dorothy Wortham, is found floating in Boston's harbor.

It's well known that Dorothy's family didn't approve of her husband, a confirmed fortune hunter, but Louisa suspects that some deeper secret lies behind her friend's tragic murder...



This is a fun read for all ages especially if any of you have read Little Women or any other of Louisa May Alcott stories. The many details of her life, those around her, her family and her friends are wonderfully shown in great detail. Then in addition, she adds in a wonderfully complex mystery. It was very enjoyable.

That she would take up sleuthing is a foregone conclusion. Her mind is extremely clever and as the story progresses, you will find yourself, along with her, trying to solve the mystery. Every time I thought I had solved it, I was proven wrong, as was she. However she was much ahead of me in figuring out what was going on. As she discovered something new, I would think, “Oh of course.” The fact is, I would not have been able to figure it out, although I was given the same clues as she was.

This is a tale of dark secrets, mysterious men, and a family torn apart with secrets. Louisa dares to confront the mores of the day, and does things that absolutely horrify many of the leading citizens. Her story includes so many facts about Boston in 1854 that I would swear that the author had actually lived there. As she pursues her hunt for the murderer, she is also in danger many times, but is able to handle each situation as it happens.

When she finally finds the murderer, I was surprised. I hadn’t even considered this person. What a cleverly written and fascinating mystery. It makes me want to read more of this series.

5 Flowers -- I loved this book! It's on my keeper shelf! I highly recommend it.