Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Monster Mash Blitz: Stutter Creek by Ann Swann




Ann Swann was born in the small West Texas town of Lamesa. She grew up much like Stevie-girl in The Phantoms series, though she never got up the nerve to enter the haunted house. 

Ann has done everything from answering 911 Emergency calls to teaching elementary school. She lives in Texas with her husband, Dude, a rescue cat named Oscar, and a part-time box turtle named Piggy. 

When she’s not writing, Ann is reading. Her to-be-read list has grown so large it has taken on a life of its own. She calls it Herman.



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Stutter Creek (book one) is a romance, brilliantly hidden within a suspense-filled tale of a psychotic serial killer with a chip on his shoulder. It is also a classic tale of young love lost, and a life of regrettable what-ifs.


















Snippet:

SNIPPET 1:
Slowly, she raised her face. The top of her head barely grazed his shoulder. She had to stand on her tip-toes even though he was leaning down—then their lips met, and the brilliant rays of sunlight falling through the pines illuminated his face like that of a saint in a stained-glass window. “Saint John,” she laughed.
    He laughed with her.

SNIPPET 2:
He looked up from unloading his truck just as Turk came crashing through the underbrush. The huge Shepherd was so excited to see his master that he stood straight up and placed his giant paws on John’s chest. On anyone else, the paws would have landed on shoulders, but John Stockton stood six feet four inches tall in his stocking feet. With his lug-soled boots on, he was easily six and a half feet.






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Monday, October 22, 2018

Monster Mash blitz- Before by Catina Haverlock and Angela Larkin




Catina worked her way through college as a TV reporter and a dating game show host. She's a sucker for Young Adult romance stories (both real and make-believe). She has a panache for match-making and loves that many of her "set-ups" have resulted in marriages. 

After spending most of her adult life in Las Vegas, Catina traded in tumbleweeds for earthquakes and now lives with her husband and four children near San Diego, California. If she's not home, chances are you can find her at the beach, Disneyland or In-N-Out Burger.

Angela Larkin writes clean teen romance and is a big fan of kissing (in life and in books). She's been a gold miner, a pool cleaner, a mannequin dresser, and a teacher. She's lived a true romance: meeting her husband in a case of mistaken identity. They recently moved with their four children from the sparkling city of Las Vegas to the shade of the North Carolina Pines. Chances are, she's reading past bedtime.





True love doesn't always mean a happy ending. Presley and Landon finally have a chance at a real relationship when they travel back in time, but their leap backward to two months before his accident has altered reality: Landon has no memory of Presley. 

Hurt and lonely, Presley is still determined to save his life, even as Landon's death-date looms. He's alive for now, but nothing is like it was . . . Before.












Snippet:

“Why don’t we just start from the beginning, bud,” my mom says. “But before we do, I just want to say that your dad and I are worried that the pressure is getting to you. You’ve just come off the X Games. The Olympics are around the corner. Nobody would blame you if you need a break. You’re more important to us than any of this.”
          My dad cuts in, “Son, we want you to be happy, so if you want out, we can pull the plug today.”
          A lump swells in my throat. I know how much my career has meant to my dad. He got me my first set of skis when I was two. All of the months and years we’ve spent on the slopes. All the places we’ve traveled. Sacrifices he’s made to make my dreams happen. And now, just like that, he’s willing to let it all go because he’s worried about me.

          Could it be the pressure? Could the stress be causing me to imagine things that aren’t real or forget things that are? That doesn’t feel right.





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Saturday, October 20, 2018

Monster Mash Blitz: The Immundus by Christina Enquist





I grew up in Salinas, California, the same hometown of John Steinbeck, one of America’s greatest writers. I loved to read (and still do) and frequented the John Steinbeck Library as a child. I discovered at an early age that I also enjoyed writing. In sixth grade, my teacher, Mr. Graham gave the class an assignment to write a story for a contest. The contest required that we create our book binding as well, which we did with cardboard, glue, and wallpaper. My book was called “Mully Mully” about a creature who lived in an underwater lake city. I was sad when I didn’t win, but I cherished my book so I kept it all these years. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I decided to put other stories, roaming around in my mind, down on paper again, or actually, in my case, into a computer.
I took a non-traditional route to writing, considering I have a doctorate in Educational Leadership. Aside from writing, I work full-time as a Training & Development Coordinator at Kaweah Delta, a  teaching hospital, and some semesters I also teach at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California, where I currently live. When I’m not at my full-time and part-time job, I enjoy writing, reading, watching TV, and spending time with my husband and pets (cat-Smokey, dog-Princess).
The Immundus is my debut novel.


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Would you sacrifice your humanity to save mankind?

IT’S THE YEAR 2828, and Domus is the last remaining country. Divided into twelve walled cities known as genuses, Domus spans what’s known as the purist lands—lands unaffected by the genetic modifications that killed all other species of mammals. But outside the walls of each genus the Immundus threaten the welfare of those within. From a young age, all citizens of Domus are trained for combat against these intruders.


At sixteen, Nia Luna knows little of the Immundus, except for the citywide alarms that ring any time an Immundus nears the genus walls. What she does know is that her own species is dying—their numbers dwindling as a mysterious disease called allagine kills many before their eleventh birthday. The same disease that ravaged her family when it took her sister.

When Nia is recruited into Genesis, a research company pioneering the path to a cure, she knows that her dream to find a cure for allagine is finally within her grasp. But within weeks of starting at Genesis, Nia witnesses something she shouldn’t have—something that changes everything. As she sets down a dangerous path that uncovers national secrets, Nia will have to decide not only what kind of person she wants to be but also how far she’s willing to go to save humanity.



Snippet:

Just outside the door, a gray-haired but young-looking man, is speaking with Dr. Matus. Derek is by her side.
“Nia.” She puts her hand out to stop me from passing her. “This is Mr. Dyer. He would like to speak to you and Derek for a moment.”
“About?”
“A problem you may have experienced with an elevator this morning.”
“No problem,” Derek responds. “We made it to the lab on time. Didn’t we, Dr. Matus?”
“Yes, they did.” She shoots a concerned look at Mr. Dyer.
“I understand you went to the ostrich floor.”
“No. A man who was in the elevator went there. We were headed here,” I say.
“Nevertheless, I must take you to administration for further questioning.”
“Why can’t you ask them here?” Dr. Matus asks, her tone thick with confusion.
“That is beyond your level.”
She stabs him with a look of disdain. He walks us through the lab to the elevator. All eyes are on us.
On the administration floor, we’re directed to a room at the end of the hall, where the light appears dimmer than the light on the other end. The room is bare, with white walls and a table with chairs in the center.
“What did you hear and see on the ostrich floor?”
“Nothing.” The word bursts from Derek’s and my mouth simultaneously.
“Don’t lie to me.” His words were razor sharp, cutting into my conscience. “I have video.” The room begins to feel more like a cell.
“Then why are you even asking us?” Derek says. “You saw whatever we saw. Why are you questioning us like this?”
“I want to hear from you what you think you saw and heard.”
“I told you. Nothing. I don’t know what I saw or heard,” I say.
His eyes are deep and dark, shaped like pumpkin seeds, but with a
narrow lid.
“Tell me what you saw now!”
“We saw the man. He pressed the ostrich button and scanned his hand and arm. He got out on the floor. We heard a scream. There was a flash of color. That’s it. You know what we saw, and it was nothing, and we did nothing. Why are we here?! Tell us!” Derek explodes before snapping his mouth shut, breathing heavily through his nose.
Sweat forms in a single thin layer on my hands. “Are we in trouble?”
“Depends.”
“On what?” Derek asks.
“On whether you’re both true—” The media light on Mr. Dyer’s
temple flashes. “I need to take this call.” He steps outside and shuts the glass door. My father’s hologram appears. Derek and I watch the interaction. I’m unable to hear the conversation, but I catch one word—Immundus. Mr. Dyer notices we can see him and touches the door, changing it from see-through to white.
“He’s getting chewed out. I wonder who that is.”
“My father,” I admit.
“What floor does he work on?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything.”
“Well, he looks like he has more authority than Mr. Dyer. Maybe he’ll get us out of here.” Derek and I wait impatiently for Mr. Dyer to return.

He walks in, chagrinned, holding the door open. “You’re free to go.” He sends Derek a devious smirk. “For now.”





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Friday, October 19, 2018

Monster Mash Blitz: Stevie-girl and the Phantom Student by Ann Swan






Ann Swann was born in the small West Texas town of Lamesa. She grew up much like Stevie-girl in The Phantoms series, though she never got up the nerve to enter the haunted house. 

Ann has done everything from answering 911 Emergency calls to teaching elementary school. She lives in Texas with her husband, Dude, a rescue cat named Oscar, and a part-time box turtle named Piggy. 

When she’s not writing, Ann is reading. Her to-be-read list has grown so large it has taken on a life of its own. She calls it Herman.



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Stevie asks Jase to help her find out why the ghost of a girl keeps appearing in her mirror. They think it has something to do with the new student at their school, a boy who has Tourette syndrome. Both the boy and the phantom seem to need some kind of help. All is revealed when the new kid falls prey to the school bullies. 

Will Stevie and Jase be too late, or will a tragic moment in their school's history be repeated on Halloween night?












Snippet:

            Mrs. Flint took a deep breath.  She’d tried to prepare us, but maybe that was part of the problem.  We could sense her uncertainty and it transferred to us as if by electrical current.  “Class,” she said.  “This is Derol Pavey.  He is the new student I told you about from The Philippines.” 
            Ahhh, so that explained it.   Not only did the kid suffer from something called Tourette syndrome, he also suffered the dreaded curse of being from “somewhere else.”  His skin was a dusky bronze color and his night-black hair was shiny and razor-straight.
            He peered at us from eyes almost as black as his hair and then the oddest thing happened.  His left arm flew up and he barked like a hoarse dog.  Rarf.  Rarf.
            Mrs. Flint grabbed his arm as if to hold it in place, but that only made his other arm fly up.  His notebook hit the floor and popped open scattering loose-leaf paper everywhere.
            Susan Jansen and Juanita Silva were in their customary front row seats.  They immediately jumped up and began to gather the paper.  They attempted to stuff it back into the sprung clasps of the blue canvas-covered notebook, but Derol, still barking, suddenly began to pirouette like a stout canine ballerina.  Mrs. Flint was dragged around in a circle a time or two before she got wise and turned loose of his arm, but it was too late.  The class was in tatters, some giggled, others gasped in shock, and some of us simply sat in stunned and silent disbelief.
           




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Thursday, October 18, 2018

Where the River Bends by Elsa Winckler





I have been reading love stories for as long as I can remember and when I ‘met’ the classic authors like Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Henry James The Brontë sisters, etc. during my Honours studies, I was hooked for life.

I married my college boyfriend and soul mate and after 43 years, 3 interesting and wonderful children and 3 beautiful grandchildren, he still makes me weak in the knees. We are fortunate to live in the picturesque little seaside village of Betty's Bay, South Africa with the ocean a block away and a beautiful mountain right behind us. And although life so far has not always been an easy ride, it has always been an exiting and interesting one!

I like the heroines in my stories to be beautiful, feisty, independent and headstrong.  And the heroes must be strong but possess a generous amount of sensitivity. They are of course, also gorgeous!  My stories typically incorporate the family background of the characters to better understand where they come from and who they are when we meet them in the story.




"Kalinda Evans works for the Anglo-Boer war foundation in Canada. She's sent to South Africa to make sure everyone who lost their lives in the war will be remembered. On her drive to the guest farm in Kimberley, South Africa, Kalinda picks up a female hitchhiker and is startled when just moments later, the woman vanishes. Kalinda would be convinced she was dreaming…except there’s still a white lace handkerchief on the passenger seat.

Extreme sports enthusiast and computer game designer Zack Carter is always after the next big challenge. He’s far too busy for romance and adheres to a three-date rule, until he meets his parents’ latest guest. When she relays the story of her mysterious experience, Zack’s family shares the local ghost story. Kalinda and Zack work together to solve the puzzle of the ghost and how it all ties in with the war and the work Kalinda is doing.

As their attraction grows, Zack realizes he no longer feels the need to prove anything to himself. He only needs to prove to Kalinda that he’s more than a good time."





Snippet:

This Kalinda intrigued him. She was beautiful, gorgeous really. But he didn't like the odd knot in his tummy when he'd seen her for the first time. And the fist of desire that followed took him by surprise. He wanted to touch her. But when he picked up her hand, a strange thing happened – for the first time in his life, he couldn't talk. Words that usually came easily to him got stuck in his throat, his mouth was dry and for a minute he was completely thrown.

That had never happened before. For once, he couldn't remember one of his usual witty remarks.





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