Book Feature: A SEASON IN HELL by Kenneth W. Cain

Synopsis:

Just one season can change everything.

When Dillon Peterson is honored for his baseball career, he must face a ghost that has long haunted him. He is transported back through his memories to a single season in the nineties that broke his heart. That was the season he met Keisha Green, the first and only woman to play baseball in the minor leagues. He sees what she goes through, what she must endure just to play the game both of them love, and this struggle leads to their friendship. As matters escalate, Dillon finds himself regretting his role in it all, as well as his career in baseball.

PRE-ORDER @ http://mybook.to/ASiH

Blurbs:

“Kenneth W. Cain takes timely social topics and explores them against the backdrop of America’s pastime. What begins as a baseball story quickly delves into something rich, deep, and dark.” – Mercedes M. Yardley, author of Pretty Little Dead Girls

“A Season in Hell is a gut-wrenching, heartbreaking story. You won’t soon forget Dillon or Keisha. Her struggle is as timely today as ever. A Season in Hell is also a love letter to baseball and how, despite everything, the game can still heal and bring people together who seemed impossibly far apart, and can do so through intimidating odds. A timeless story of true humanity.” —John Palisano, Vice President of the Horror Writers Association and Bram Stoker Award-Winning Author of Night of 1,000 Beasts

“Kenneth W. Cain hits a grand slam with this tragic tale of baseball. As a fan of the game and also such a heart-breaking story I can’t wait to see what’s next from the author!” – Armand Rosamilia, author of A View From My Seat: My Baseball Season With the Jumbo Shrimp

“Cain’s ‘Season’ is a powerful microcosm of what’s wrong with our world. And a reminder of how the courage of one can change things.” — Tom Deady, Bram Stoker Award-Winning Author of Haven

About the Author

Kenneth W. Cain is the author of four novels (The Saga of I trilogy and United States of the Dead), four short story collections (These Old Tales, Fresh Cut Tales, Embers, and Darker Days) and the novella, A Season in Hell. He is also the editor for Crystal Lake Publishing’s anthology, Tales From The Lake Volume 5. Early on, shows like The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and One Step Beyond created a sense of wonder for the unknown that continues to fuel his writing today.  Cain resides in Chester County, Pennsylvania with his wife and two children.

Behind the story: One of my first years playing baseball, we had a girl on our team. It was a different world back then; you didn’t have requirements on how many innings a kid had to be played or that you had to get them an at-bat, and girls didn’t play baseball. And what that teammate went through just to play a game she loved always kind of stuck with me. So, while A Season in Hell isn’t her story, it’s very much about what I saw and felt, in those days and now.

Follow Kenneth online @ Website l Facebook l Author Page l Twitter l Instagram l Amazon

On fund-raisers, letting go, and Camp NaNoWriMo

Hi there,

Recent weeks have been hectic and tonight is the first time that I have a chance to gather my thoughts so to speak. Between Camp NaNoWriMo, preparing for an indie author event yesterday (it doubled as a fund-raiser for a library) and doing a course to become an executive coach, some things had to give. The course was the victim. As soon as the second module's study material landed in my inbox, and I read through the first article, I knew this style of coaching was not for me. I withdrew from the course, only to have the fund-raiser take up a lot of my time.

After the author event yesterday I am now solely focused on my writing for the rest of the month.

For once it felt like freedom to sit down and write, even if I had to catch up on my word count target in which I fell behind because of the other commitments.

But July is also a month of promotions at Smashwords. I enrolled my 3rd Gender Series - all five books - so you can get them for FREE.

And now it is back into my writing cave to continue spouting the words on my Camp NaNo target. Is that a spider? I clearly need some more coffee to get my head back in the game.

Until next time!

💜 Linzé

PS: You can read more about the author event here

Book Feature: DANGEROUS PASSIONS by Elise Whyles

About the Book:

Can bitter enemies find love?
Haunted by visions, Calypso sets out to find the man who stalks her dreams. Calypso, an ageless fae, is convinced this man will enslave and torment her just like the one who held her long ago. Determined to track him down and kill him, she's prepared for anything, except for what she finds. The mortal male she encounters stirs embers she thought long dead, making her yearn for his touch.
Lucien has always believed himself to be a mortal slave. The truth, however, is more than he's ever imagined. Born to a fae mother and a warlock father, he is a falock, a being of mixed blood hated by both races. And he's destined for greatness…if he can survive the Roman gladiators' games long enough to grow into his immortality.
When the slim beauty rescues him from the depths of his prison, Lucien comes face to face with the truth of who and what he is. Determined to protect the woman who rescued him, he'll risk everything, including his chance at immortality.
Can a weary, distrustful fae and the falock she's claimed overcome the obstacles in their path?

Book Links:

Goodreads * Amazon

Read an Excerpt:
He leaned forward, her soft whisper echoing in his heart. It seemed she was a slave just as he had been. Heat swirled around him, stirring the embers of want, of need as he traced over her face with the backs of his fingers. Delicately made, she appeared so fragile, yet he knew her strength and her skill. His fingers burned where they touched her skin as he trailed them down her neck to curl around in a loose hold. “I shall protect you.”
The vow fell between them like a stone. He caught the flare of something in her eyes. Fear? Nay, something deeper, something richer.
Leaning forward, he stared into her eyes, her face turned up, lips parted. He could feel the warmth of her breath on his skin, the softness of her hands on his chest as he pulled her into his body. Lucien brushed his lips over Calypso’s, the barest of touches. Soft, moist, her lips yielded beneath his. Again and again, he pressed gentle kisses along her mouth, her nose, her cheeks. The soft whimpers escaping her added fuel to the fire in his blood. Her hands slid around his shoulders, her nails digging in as his fingers tangled in her hair. Tilting her head back, Lucien offered a hint of a smile before he captured her lips in a deep kiss. He licked along the seam, tasting the sweet traces of the fruit she’d eaten. He nipped at her bottom lip, drawing a startled gasp. With a low groan his tongue darted inside, tasting her. Lucien devoured her, claiming her lips repeatedly. Desire licked at him, pushing him closer and closer to the brink.
“We mustn’t.” Calypso’s whisper crept over him even as he felt her move against him. The faint note of fear in her voice like a bucket of water. He pulled back, resting his forehead against hers.
“Aye, we must keep moving. Come, my lady. We’ve a long journey ahead.” He wrapped his fingers around her hand and shot her a quick smile before stepping back. Lucien turned her slightly and fastened her bodice in place. “I will keep you safe.”
“But who will protect me from you?” Her words, spoken so low he knew he wasn’t supposed to hear them, added to the confusion within his mind. What kind of female was the one who even now held his hand as they moved through the growing darkness?

About the Author:

Born in Northern British Columbia, Elise is a small-town girl. She writes in a variety of genres including paranormal, contemporary suspense, m/m in various lengths. Currently, she lives in British Columbia with her husband and son, one dog, one cat, and a gecko. Elise enjoys reading as much as she does writing, with some of her favorite books being read until they fall apart. 

She is currently working on the next book in the Forsaken Series, Burning Rain. As well she has a new contemporary she’s working on. For more information on Elise, or to check out her books you can find her on Facebook, Twitter, and her website.

Contact the Author:

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads

Everything back to...normal?

Francois and I in front of the
Hard Rock Café in Glasgow

It is a month since we returned from Scotland. While my travel journal is almost completed - one or two pages still to go - we have already planned and invited friends and family to come and view the photographs of our trip. The majority of those photographs will be Francois', but he kindly decided to include one or two of my mobile phone pictures to fill in the gaps of our story. He even added Scottish music to the slideshow, thanks to a CD I bought a few years ago.

The point to my story tonight was surprising to me: we are already looking at the destination for our next trip. I did not think that was going to happen so soon. I was reading an email newsletter from an art website I subscribed to when they mentioned an art retreat taking place later this year. I had a look - only out of curiosity since another trip would not be possible - when I browsed around the area where the retreat is planned. I sent a message to Francois, and he happened to mention that it was a destination on his bucket list. And here we are, shopping again. Since we have not decided to go yet, I will keep the destination a secret until we do. What I can say though: it will be a place with awesome photographic opportunities. Where else would a photographer and writer/closet artist/blogger go on holiday anyway?

Back home, I have to apologise for the Scotland competition that didn't happen. MailChimp deleted my account, because I do not spam people!, and I lost all my subscribers as a result. It is a pain, but future events will then only be on the open blog. Again my apologies if you tried to subscribe and the website would not let you.

On a side note: I will be taking part in a library event in Pretoria in July. More news on that later, so keep your eyes open to come and support other authors and libraries.

Until next time!

💜 Linzé

Book Feature: THE WOMAN BEHIND THE WATERFALL by Leonora Meriel

About the Book:

Heartbreak and transformation in the beauty of a Ukrainian village.

For seven-year old Angela, happiness is exploring the lush countryside around her home in western Ukraine. Her wild imagination takes her into birds and flowers, and into the waters of the river.

All that changes when, one morning, she sees her mother crying. As she tries to find out why, she is drawn on an extraordinary journey into the secrets of her family, and her mother's fateful choices.

Can Angela lead her mother back to happiness before her innocence is destroyed by the shadows of a dark past?

Beautiful, poetic and richly sensory, this is a tale that will haunt and lift its readers.

Book Links:

Goodreads * Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Meet the Characters:

The Setting

Ukraine, a village deep in the countryside. A picturesque, verdant landscape. The houses are beautiful but have few amenities: water is gathered from the well, clothes are washed by hand, and the “outhouse” toilet is in the garden. Life is hard work here, and close to nature.

The Language

There are many Ukrainian words in the novel, especially emphasizing the names of endearment Ukrainian people give to each other. Lastivka is “little swallow”; zaika is ‘little rabbit”; harnenka is “my beautiful one.”

Meet Lyudmilla

Lyuda is a beautiful woman in her early twenties who has suffered some hard knocks early on. Pregnant at just sixteen, she left school and the child’s father moved into their house in the village. Her father died, and her mother soon after, and Lyuda found herself a teenager loaded down with the pressures of a baby, looking after a house, and a man who expected her to cook for him and be the light-hearted girl he fell in love with. Eventually, the situation grows intolerable for him and he abandons her. At seventeen, she is entirely alone with a small baby. She falls into a deep cycle of depression and self-blame, feeling that her life is over and that she is at fault. She doesn’t let anyone close to her.

It is only when her daughter Angela is a little older – aged seven – that she starts to notice how sad her mother is.  She decides to do something about it.

Meet Angela

Seven-year-old girl Angela has been left alone to do as she likes for most of her life. Her mother makes sure her dresses are clean and her hair is untangled, but she is free to play as she wishes. She has a wild imagination and she sees no boundaries between her thoughts and the world around her: she flies in the body of a bird, she becomes the wind, she enters a storm – she is pure spirit and possibility.

When she starts to notice her mother crying every time she is alone, Angela is determined to find out why, and to help her mother regain the happiness she herself feels. At the heart of her investigation are questions that now begin to haunt her: Where is her father? Why does no one come to the house? Why does her mother cry when she thinks no one can see her?

When Angela meets the spirit of her grandmother, they come up with a plan to help Lyuda.

Meet Zoryana

The name Zoryana, which comes from the Ukrainian root zorya, means star, dawn, youth, day or spring. Zoryana has returned to the Earth in spirit form after seeing the unhappiness of her daughter and her failure to move past her teenage mistakes.

Zoryana feels that she did not prepare her daughter enough for the real world before she died, and she sees her struggling and unhappy. She wants to show her that life has highs and lows and that she must choose a new path for herself. She connects with her granddaughter Angela, who is not daunted by meeting the spirit of a relative, and together they help Lyuda to understand and see the joy in her life.

Meet Kolya

Nicolai, or Kolya, lives next door to Lyuda and brews home-made vodka in his shed. He sells it to her and catches rabbits for her to eat. He was a childhood friend of her mother, Zoryana, and he hates to see her so unhappy. He’d love to help her, but she pushes him away. When he finally makes a terrible mistake, there is a high price to pay.

Reviews for The Woman Behind the Waterfall

“Readers looking for a classic tale of love and loss will be rewarded with an intoxicating world” ~~ Kirkus Reviews

“The language is lyrical and poetic and, in places, begs to be read repeatedly for the sheer joy of it… A literary work of art.” ~~ Fiona Adams, The Richmond Magazine

“Rich and poetic in detail, it is an often dreamy, oneiric narrative rooted in an exaltation of nature… A lovely novel.” ~~ IndieReader

About the Author:

Leonora Meriel grew up in London and studied literature at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and Queen’s University in Canada. She worked at the United Nations in New York, and then for a multinational law firm.

In 2003 she moved from New York to Kyiv, where she founded and managed Ukraine’s largest Internet company. She studied at Kyiv Mohyla Business School and earned an MBA, which included a study trip around China and Taiwan, and climbing to the top of Hoverla, Ukraine’s highest peak and part of the Carpathian Mountains. She also served as President of the International Women’s Club of Kyiv, a major local charity.

During her years in Ukraine, she learned to speak Ukrainian and Russian, witnessed two revolutions and got to know an extraordinary country at a key period of its development.

In 2008, she decided to return to her dream of being a writer, and to dedicate her career to literature. In 2011, she completed The Woman Behind the Waterfall, set in a village in western Ukraine. While her first novel was with a London agent, Leonora completed her second novel The Unity Game, set in New York City and on a distant planet.

Leonora currently lives in Barcelona and London and has two children. She is working on her third novel.

Contact the Author:

Website * Facebook * Twitter

Book Feature: THE VENOM PROTOCOLS by John Murray McKay

Synopsis
Charlotte Corday, a junkie, trying to survive on the streets of 1980s New York has a chance encounter with a group of five thugs beating a man to death behind a deli in Brooklyn. Through ways unknown to her yet, she manages to subdue the gang members using unheralded skills in combat and weaponry, killing three in the process. The man whose life she saved turns out to be a enforcer for the New York Mafia. Impressed with her skills, Vince takes care of the injured Charlotte and slowly starts dragging her into a life of crime. He recognizes her potential as an assassin for the mob, digging his claws ever deeper into her. To keep her safe, Vince sends her to live with her two uncles in The Village (who also happens to run a clandestine operation above their salon.) She tries to live a normal life but her demons would not let her go, the blood on her hands a constant reminder of what she really is: a weapon.

Charlotte eventually goes looking into her past and discovers that she was part of a secret enhanced soldier program called Venom. She is imbued with the powers of legendary female warriors of history, giving her enhanced strength, recovery time and the fighting prowess of generations of deadly women. Unfortunately, this warps her mind and sends her life out of control in her quest for vengeance.

Determined to find the creators of Venom, Charlotte goes on a journey to find her origins, tearing New York City apart in the process. With the FBI and NYPD closing in on her after fuelled massacre of thirty innocents, Vince offers Charlotte a proposition: A meeting between the creator of Venom and the head of the New York Mafia. With her finger on the sniper trigger, Charlotte has to make a decision: end the life of the man that ruined her entire existence or put a bullet through the most powerful Mafioso on the East Coast. She makes her choice but accidentally kills the mafia boss as he runs in front of her bullet.

With Vince swearing a blood oath of vengeance on her, Charlotte goes on the run. Book one ends where he smuggles Charlotte out of the country in a shipping container. Destination: Northern Ireland in the middle of the sectarian wars. With the knowledge that she can never go home, Charlotte Corday must forge a new path, one that runs straight through the streets of Belfast.

Excerpt:
They kept coming after us, whistling and shouting as they went. It was like time stopped and everything around me grew quiet. I could sense the brick as it left the man’s hand, feel the texture of the rough red grain as it flew through the air. In slow motion I pushed Peter to the side, feeling him fall away as I turned and felt the brick strike my chest. Chest thumping, blood dripping down my breasts, dress torn as I lay on the dirty pavement sucking in deep swathes of breath. I could not hear Richard’s terrified screams or the laughter of the men, just the torrent of blood in my veins racing faster and faster.
And then it stopped.

Buy links:
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-venom-protocols
Google Play: https://goo.gl/CWkN9A
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/781944
Amazon: https://goo.gl/atQQ3v

Author bio
I am a Pretoria, South Africa based writer of historical fiction and science fiction. I am currently a teacher a local primary school. My previous publishing credits include “The N Days” through Night Chaser Ink Publishing in Australia. My second series 'The Venom Protocols' is a Summer Indie awards winner in 2016.

Book Feature: THE BROTHERHOOD OF MERLIN by Rory D Nelson

About the Book:

Merlin returns to Lycenea a hero, victorious over the Visi-Gauls in a gruesome and exhaustive campaign that claimed the life of one of his men and saw the annihilation of the Visi-Gauls’ Southern Army.

Merlin’s peaceful reprieve is cut short however, as he must now find and expose the corrupt Senator who initiated the war in the first place and plots to subvert the Empire for himself. He is aided by the powerful sorceress, Morgana and Felinius, a former disgraced and condemned knight who knows the inner workings of the Brotherhood.

Merlin must also protect two of the captives he rescued during the war with the Visi-Gauls, one of whom is a boy named Dante, whose power has been prophesized to defeat Herod Antipaz, the corrupt Senator, and his deadly allies who threaten to destroy Gilleon.

Herod makes plans of his own for eliminating Dante. The boy’s problems continue to mount precipitously- for not only is he being ruthlessly hunted down by Herod’s minions, but he must also face down a brutal training program in Round Table Academy, where he faces elimination on a daily basis. Should he be eliminated, he will no longer be under the protection of Merlin and his Brotherhood and his death almost a foregone conclusion.

His only hope, his only salvation is Merlin- as is the country of Gilleon.

Book Links:

Goodreads * Amazon

Check Out Book One: Gilleon

Five hundred years after the death of King Arthur, a sadistic tyrant of Visi-Galia, attacks unprotected and vulnerable townships in Gilleon, igniting a deadly chain of events. Because he was unfairly denied a proper chance to compete for valuable mine rights and outbid by a Councilman from Gilleon, he reasons that he can invade Gilleon's vulnerable townships and force the Council to negotiate with him.

Merlin, the lead knight in Lycenea, has foreseen just such a predicament. With the gifts of premonition, telepathy and intelligence, he and 9 of his most formidable knights go into battle against Jason and his force of nine thousand.

At stake is everything. The fate of the prisoners who are awaiting to be sold into slavery rests in the hands of the deadly knights. Specifically, two girls who were attacked in Missalia and are now orphaned, are at the mercy of the sadistic King. Will Merlin and his band of knights be able to rescue them in time?

Adele, the older sister, has plans of her own for escape. Will she prove successful or will her plans be foiled? If she is caught, what will become of her and her sister, Sylvia?

Dante, a boy from Coifen, is also now orphaned. He is the sole survivor of a brutal attack on his family. An unlikely heroine has come to his rescue- a mysterious white wolf. Unfortunately, the attack has left him blind. He and his guardian make their refuge in a remote cave. He clings desperately to the hope that God has spared him for a reason. Every night he goes to bed, he says a prayer to his talisman, the Merlin, a game piece that his father gave him before he was forced to abandon him. It was the last gift he received before all hell broke loose. Will he be rescued? Will he find a permanent haven? His fate also lies in the hands of the Merlin.

Merlin and his troupe lead the Visi-Gauls in a high stakes game of cat and mouse. Jason, though capricious, is not stupid. He uses every means at his disposal to eliminate Merlin. Who will prove the victor? Fighting a severe war of attrition, it seems at times that Jason will inevitably win; but don't count the Merlin out. He is beyond slippery. Every time it seems that Jason has the gifted knight, he is thwarted yet again.

Get Your Copy of Book One: Gilleon for FREE!

Book Links:

Goodreads * Amazon


Character Study - Renault

     Deadly. Volatile. Vengeful. Sadistic. Cruel. Compassionate. Courageous. Heroic. He is a dedicated and loyal brother to the Merlin and a champion to the innocent and defenseless, but he also enjoys killing and watching his targets suffer as he inflicts agony on them before he finishes them off.  He is a walking contradiction and the right hand of the Merlin. When faced with an impossible mission, Merlin knows that he count on Renault to achieve his goals.
  Like Merlin, he is cunning, calculating, manipulative, resourceful and a master at strategy and logistics. He is also a telepath and can glean information from his targets. He should be a Godsend to Merlin but nothing is so simple.
     Living in the relatively peaceful town of Helganon with his family, Renault clings to his peaceful reprieve in between his deadly missions for the Merlin. But with his volatile temper and his urge to protect the innocent at all costs, his demons push him closer to the brink, alienating himself in the process.
     When Renault’s temper pushes him past the threshold of composure, he lashes out and makes enemies not only among his own trusted brethren but also on both sides of a dangerous feud between the Ostra-Gauls and the Sene-Gauls. And so he finds himself in a desperate circumstance with the walls beginning to close around him.
     Will Renault’s demons push him too far, making him a liability among his brethren? Will his dire circumstances invade his own peaceful refuge at home with his beloved family? When Merlin’s own dire circumstances necessitate the need for Renault and his skill set, will he be ready?

About the Author:

Author Rory D Nelson is an accomplished actor and has been seen in several high school productions of “Oedipus Rex,” “My Fair Lady,” and “Little Shop of Horrors.” He owns a window cleaning business in the Sacramento area, enjoys wine tasting, snowboarding, traveling and working out. Rory D Nelson is an eclectic and prolific writer, having written numerous comedy skits, commercial parodies, and ghost-written many humorous t-shirts. He has the most unusual imagination of any fantasy author, since he also brings his deranged sense of humor into play in his books.


Contact the Author:

Website * The Brotherhood of Merlin * Facebook * Twitter