Fantastic February Blog Tour - The Rise of the Red Shadow

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Excerpt 

In his shack, Ben woke to the sound of rain. He was pleased to discover that, though they may have 

cared little about the wind, the owners of the plantation knew enough to keep the rain off of their tools. The roof was perhaps the only fully intact part of the entire structure. At least he would be dry. For the most part, anyway. Here and there a gust of wind forced itself through the drafty walls and brought a spritz of water with it. Rather than wake up with a damp blanket, and no doubt catch his death of cold, the old man reluctantly climbed from his cot to shuffle it a bit farther from the wall.

“First thing in the morning, I see where the wind is getting in, and see what I can do to fix it,” he muttered to himself.

Once he was satisfied that he was out of reach of even the most motivated leaks, he rolled himself onto the canvas of the cot and lay his head upon the bundle of cloth that served as a pillow. The instant sleep began to claim him though, a scratch at his door shook him from his doze. For a moment, he dismissed the noise, assuming it was a bit of bramble or an errant tree branch broken free by the wind. When it turned to an insistent hammering on the door, Ben groggily hoisted himself to his feet again.

“What is it? Whoever it is, haven’t you got the sense to stay out of the rain?” he grumbled, removing the brace from the door and easing it open a crack.

Even the whisper of an opening brought a veritable stream of water spattering to the ground by the door. It also brought a sudden pressure as something heaved itself desperately at the opening and scrabbled to get through.

“What in blazes?”

“In! In!” the malthrope squealed, trying his very best to wedge his head through the tiny opening.

“No, no, no! Out you go!” Ben growled, nudging the thing’s nose with his foot as he forced the door shut.

“In you go! In you go!” the creature whined from the other side of the door, ramming against the solid planks with all of the force his spindly frame could muster.

The creature may not have been very large, but he was determined. The rattling had dislodged the brace from where Ben had left it, and as the blind man leaned low to reach for it, one last clash shook the door just enough to rob him of his balance. The old man tumbled down, the door flew open, and the malthrope exploded into the shed. By the time Ben managed to get the door shut and braced again, he was soaked and muttering a fresh batch of profanities from his seemingly bottomless supply of them.

“Where are you, you little devil!?” he hissed.

Author Bio

A native of Bayonne, NJ - the fabled birthplace of George R. R. Martin - Joseph Lallo is an unlikely entry into the world of literature. After a childhood spent daydreaming and reading, he fully intended to pursue a career in the tech sector. He received a Master's Degree in Computer Engineering from NJIT, and subsequently got a job working IT for a large healthcare corporation. Things changed when, in January 2010, his friends finally convinced him to publish the story that had accumulated over the course of a decade of spare time. That story, now known as the Book of Deacon Trilogy, was a surprise hit, and once he got a taste of the world of indie writing, he was hooked. Now he splits his time between crunching numbers at his day job, writing novels at night, and writing articles and reviews for BrainLazy.com, a group blog he helps run. His latest novels are Bypass Gemini and Unstable Prototypes, the first two books of a science fiction series.

Fantastic February Blog Tour - The Hunt for Xanadu

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Twenty-two year old Kelsey Porter has dedicated her life to avenging the death of her parents,murdered in their quest to find the mystical land of Xanadu.

Before she can locate the murderers,she has to discover their motives for the brutal crime and finds herself at the epicenter of a Buddhistmystery as old as time.

With the help of her companion, Detective Desmond Gisborne, she hunts the killers across the globe and discovers a darkness in her spiritual past that tests the very limits of her soul.

Soon she realizes that it is not she who is doing the hunting, but the one being hunted. Kelsey must find a way to survive, while ancient demons attempt to destroy her.

Fantasy Fan Month: Follow Your Fantasy

Fantastic February Blog Tour - Tempest

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We must overcome and prevail ...

King Raemon of Medeisia is slaughtering tattooed scribes and mages, forcing them into hiding. All marked and those associated with them are destroyed. The people are desperate. Months after challenging Raemon, the marked rebels of Medeisia must rise against their bloodthirsty king or chance being annihilated.

Sixteen year-old Drastona Consta-Mayria is the prophesied  phoenix of peace, desperate to be a leader for her people despite her reservations. Following the lead of a scarred and forgotten prince, Drastona will embark on a journey with an unlikely band of rebels and a dragon across a cursed desert to bring down a king and save a kingdom.

Fantastic February Blog Tour - Tolomay's World and The Pool of Light

NEW ADULT/FANTASY/ROMANCE FANTASY 17+

Amazon links:

Tolomay's World and the Pool of Light 

Tolomay's world and the Mountain of Tegi 

Tolomay's world and the Splitting of the Trunk

Excerpt

“Peace of life,” said the chideman as he poured the blue water from the glass urn into the pool. It was surreal.

“Peace of life.” My response was automatic.

My heart pounded. For thirteen years I’d trained for this. Still I was not ready. The machine’s copper pipes gave off a warm smell that drifted to my nostrils as if precious biscuits were baking in the eating room. The calming scent only made it worse. I was leaving.

On display before every citizen in the community, my bare feet stepped the few inches further to the edge of the pool. Fear haunted my mind. Shivering from head to toe caused my short golden dress to tickle at the tops of my thighs. I brushed away the itch. Goose bumps peppered my arms and legs. I was freezing. For a moment, the massive musics and sounds on the stage overwhelmed me. I was small in comparison to everything here, all present and to this wondrous event.

Through dazed thoughts, my focus returned and I remembered to count to three before placing my foot in the shallow liquid.

With eyes watering, my every heartbeat echoed in my ears. Never again would my father’s eyes look upon me.

Never again would I feel his warm embrace. I would so miss his gentle, loving voice. How would I bear it? I fought my great desire to turn and dart to him, or steal a look as he sat in his chair upon the stage. Instead, I kept my step.

There would not be another last goodbye. We already said it, and he wanted just the one. It would be my greatest honor to him to leave with the dignity, respect, and position he bestowed upon me, to act older than my meager thirteen years. I had to be brave and pave the way for the others, as he had instructed.

The tears nearly choked me as I quietly sniffed them back. I could scarcely see, but chose not to rub the wet away. Everyone would notice. More would only follow and my eyes would be closed soon enough. The time had arrived. This was no longer wholly my choice. I was being led by my duty and so had to control my emotions for these last few seconds.

The immaculate stage held static, causing the miniscule hairs on my head to stand on end. They reached toward the beautiful colored glass of the cathedral roof in the pod community’s grandest room, as if they too wanted to stay. The urge to run, to escape, consumed me, yet I betrayed my heart, followed my learned directions, and kept my course.

No matter the logic and knowledge in my head, nothing had prepared me for this feeling of claws tearing me apart from the inside out. I fought off the nausea.I could not be ill, not in front of the community while representing my father.

The crystal and copper Pool of Light lay before the five of us, with solar panels running from floor to ceiling as the toner’s chorus continued to sing behind us. The brilliant round majesty beneath my feet, only six inches deep, held the key to our futures and to what would become the whole of humanity.We were taking these steps for everyone. Once we left, we could never return home.

Tarron had ordered that we space ourselves just two paces separated, one behind the next. The four older candidates followed behind me, the taste of anticipation mingling with the hum of energy that filled the great room. My mind whirled.

‘Keep walking forward… do not turn around,’ father’s words echoed in my head.

I was horrified. Chills took residence up and down my spine, causing me to shake further. How would my days unfold without him by my side? How could I leave him alone? My heart was dying.

Author Bio

Author M.E. Lorde grew up in the rural community of Victor, NY, surrounded by farms, orchards, vineyards in neighboring towns, and beautiful scenic views of lakes, mountains and canyons. Her great grandmother was Iroquois Indian, whose family was deeply rooted in the Great Seneca Nation, upstate New York. The author’s great-great grandfather, whose family was from Great Britain, was a major contributor toward the ‘Statue of Liberty’s’ pedestal in New York City. A man and a woman from two different worlds met, fell in love and married and a family was torn apart. But alas, life goes on. M.E.’s great grandmother and great grandfather married. An interesting tidbit- at one point they became great friends with and then great friends and confidants with author Zane Grey, who from the early to mid 1900’s wrote dozens of books, many Historical and Western. Rumor has it that you will find the author’s great grandmother in at least one.

An avid reader since childhood (as well as an artist), M.E. has been writing since she could hold a pencil. She wrote and bound her own book by hand at the age of ten. Though books have always been a passion, Lorde put writing on hold to raise four children while working in other fields which include a career in law enforcement as well as a director position at a technical college. With much encouragement from friends and family, she finally decided to follow her real passion and pursue writing full-time. With her newest release of the Tolomay’s World series, she has found her audience, hitting Amazon’s best sellers list in adventure/romance and adventure/fantasy in December of 2013 as #1 Action & Adventure/Romanceand #3 Action & Adventure/Fantasy(Tolomay’s World and The Pool of Light- the first novel in the seven Novel series).

Her time is currently divided between quality time with her daughter, writing, and activities with Indie authors, artists and a civic theatre. She loves to travel and has seen thirty nine states up close and personal, and lived in four. While M.E. enjoys the excitement and bustle of city life, she remains a country girl at heart.

twitter @MichaelLorde
facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMichaelLorde.
Tolomay's World Website: http://paperairplanespublis.wix.com/tolomaysworld
Author website: http://paperairplanespublis.wix.com/authormelorde
Blog: http://michaelordeauthor.blogspot.com/
Author central: https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/profile
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6929833-michael-lorde
Publishers website: www.paperairplanespublishing.com

Guest Post: The Battle for Time by Natalie Rivener

As a stay-at-home mom (of a toddler), it’s really a serious challenge to find the time to write. If my (adorable) little girl isn’t awake and demanding time/food/love/a change of diaper, I need to do the laundry, make dinner, pack away toys and projects, feed the cat, feed myself, prepare my dance classes for the week (I teach), get in some exercise…or at least a little yoga, spend a few minutes with my husband (usually, we just lie semi-comatose in front of the TV) and then catch a few winks before the next day comes around.

You’re probably thinking that it can’t be that bad. You do a lot of these things after a full day at work. But, let me tell you this, trying to do everything on that list in the few moments that your little bundle of love actually takes that one golden nap in the afternoon is no picnic. When your child is awake, you have to stop the little monster from maiming themself, you have to get food into them, get them clean, supervise as they eat some dirt in the garden, keep the cat from mauling them, get in some educational time (learning words and all that), play with them and battle with the little squirt to get them down for a nap.

So, how do I get anything done? It’s all about learning how to use the time you’re already using for something else.

While my little toddling disaster is actually playing on her own, I get out my notepad (no, not a little laptop, I mean old school paper and pen – toddlers just love insisting that typing aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa is much more important than whatever you had in mind). I plot, I plan and I try and think through all the brain-twisting logistics of my stories. If I can concentrate for long enough, I even start full on writing. If you use this time effectively, you’re ready to make some serious progress during nap time.

During the golden (aka silent) hour that toddlekins is napping, I have to decide whether I’m doing what I’m supposed to in order to keep the house functional or whether I’m sneaking off to my computer to type as fast as my fingers can go. Right now, I’m not preparing dinner…or watering my garden or taking out that nappy that’s brewing up a smell storm by the front door or tidying up the living room.

At the end of the day, when I put my little girl down for the night, it’s prioritizing, round two. Do I get in some decent sleep for once? Or do I “quickly” update my various social platform statuses/tweets/posts and try and get my word count over 500 for the day? “Quickly” tends to take around two hours. But you’ve got to keep your fans interested, right?

About the author

Natalie Rivener is a member of the Pretoris Writers' Group. She is taking part in the STORM anthology project. Her fantasy story, BEYOND, will be published as part of STORM Vol I in June 2014.

Twitter @NatalieRivener
Natalie's Facebook Page

Fantastic February Blog Tour - Velvet Rain

Remember to enter the give-away! Click here

HE WAS BORN A MIRACLE. IT WILL TAKE ONE TO SAVE THE WORLD.

Velvet Rain is a dark thriller of suspense, horror, and drama.
[Contains graphic violence and profanity.]

Amazon

Kain Richards is the last of his kind--and a man on the run. So when this mysterious drifter falls for a

beautiful and sensible Iowa farmwoman, he knows full well the perils of getting too close. And yet, for the first time in his miserable existence, life feels normal ... feels real. But as those around him soon realize, reality is not what it seems. For when a tragic accident forces Kain's hand, his astonishing secret--and godlike power--changes their lives, and the world, forever.

Excerpt

Now the cheating prick had drawn a knife.

Probably shouldn’t have kicked him in the balls, the drifter thought. Especially since his large friend here had him tied up in the stranglehold of a full nelson. It hurt like hell, but it was nothing compared to that spike of static driving right through that splitting headache he had. It felt as if it were cutting into his brain like some impossible electric blade.

“Hold him, Cal.”

It wasn’t the fat man. One of Cal’s buddies had piped up. All of a sudden, the place was just crawling with rats.

The fat man met him squarely, still wincing from the throb in his jewels. The heady mix of bar smoke and brew had him swaying a little, and just when you thought he might rethink this madness, he returned the favor with one solid shot from his steel-toed boot. Pain rippled through the drifter’s groin and into his skull. Still, he’d endured far worse than these boys could dish out, and he wasn’t about to give them the satisfaction. He swallowed the agony. His lips slid into a cockeyed grin.

Outside the packed roadhouse—this stinking pisshole that stank like all the others—the thunderstorm raged. Somewhere down that cold and lonely road that had brought them here, lightning struck a power line, and the lights flickered.

“No more tricks,” the trucker told him, uncertain as the lamps. Clearly he was rethinking this; trying to get a grip on just what the hell had happened here tonight. Trying not to lose that grip.

An attractive redhead, sculpted nicely in a white top and a flirty black skirt, sat in a booth beside the coin-op pool table. All by her lonesome, the forty-something was ashen, her head down, a hand cupped to her abdomen. She’d been drinking heavily, and while it was possible her bouts of nausea were a result of overindulgence, the drifter knew better; how well he did. She’d fought the good fight twice in the last thirty minutes, first throwing up in the ladies’ room, only to go down in the second round, right here at the edge of her seat. A waitress was on her knees cleaning the mess. The fat man had slipped in it, his cue almost, but not quite, breaking his fall, and when he had hit the floor in that little spiral the way he had, looking like some overweight stripper round a pole, half the place had exploded in drunken laughter. His big butt was slick with vomit. He was ripe.

Sweat beaded the man’s forehead. One tiny bead broke rank and slipped along his sunburned skin. Skin that had, until tonight, been utterly pasty. His puzzled eyes—yellowed and bloodshot, like so many of the others now—lingered on the strange thin scars on the drifter’s temples. You could almost hear the wheels of confusion spinning in his head.

“Cut him,” someone said. It wasn’t Cal, but what did it matter.

The fat man hesitated. He didn’t want to do it, that much was clear. Some guys had it in them. This one didn’t. Returning serve on that swift kick to the nuts was one thing. Any one of these fine gents would have reacted that way. But this? This was lunacy. If Cal hadn’t egged him to pull it, the knife would still be tucked away in his back pocket. No, the poor bastard wasn’t thinking about cutting him. He was all messed up, wondering how things had gotten so crazy, so quickly. Wondering what was real anymore. What was real.

“Do it,” Cal said.

Despite the nelson driving his head down at an insufferable angle, the drifter could see Cal’s bulging forearms plainly enough. Sunburned. Like the fat man’s face; like the fat man’s hands. Like most of the others. He supposed he should have been thankful for dim lights and drink. Either no one noticed, or no one cared.

Still, he should have known better. The bitch of it was, he did.

The fat man looked to Cal and considered his play. Cal, a man of few grunts, drove him to the edge with another Do it. It would take but a nudge to push him over.

The man drew closer. Close enough to suffer the fist of his stale beer-breath. He was breathing laboriously. Trembling. He looked like he might have a heart attack.

Slowly, most unwillingly, he brought the tip of the blade to the drifter’s chin.

The fat man swallowed. “. . . I want what’s mine, sir.”

Author Bio

David C. Cassidy--author, photographer, half-decent juggler--spends his writing life creating dark and touching stories where Bad Things Happen To Good People. Raised by wolves, he grew up with a love of nature, music, science, and history, with thrillers and horror novels feeding the dark side of his seriously disturbed imagination. He talks to his characters, talks often, and most times they listen. But the real fun starts when they tell him to take a hike, and they Open That Door anyway. Idiots.

David lives in Ontario, Canada. From Mozart to Vivaldi, classic jazz to classic rock, he feels naked without his iPod. Suffering from MAD--Multiple Activity Disorder--he divides his time between writing and blogging, photography and photoshop, reading and rollerblading. An avid amateur astronomer, he loves the night sky, chasing the stars with his telescope. Sometimes he eats.

To learn more and connect with David, you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook, or visit his blog:

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