Goddess Fish Promotions - Sympathy For The Devil - Alex Stevens

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner.

Four warriors on one hell of a mission.

Lieutenant Colonel Tyler Graven is known as the “Demon of Kyoto,” and he specializes in death. When an assassin attempts to kill pharmaceutical mogul Mortimer Sackler, Tyler becomes the lead suspect and the target of a $100 million dollar hit. To save himself and clear his name, he must hunt down the true killer, a deadly entity known only as The Priest.

Tyler teams up with his former military unit, The Four Horseman, including his brother, crack-shot Corporal Jack Graven, the mysterious Lance Corporal JinXialong, and his one-time flame Colonel Diana Levitas. Once, they were an elite fighting team known for completing two of the most successful campaigns against terrorism ever launched. Now, they’ll find themselves locked in a war with The Church, the most influential organization on the planet--and pitted against the supernatural forces of the Underworld itself.

During their mission, Tyler and Jack learn of the legendary Black Muramasa, the only weapon that can destroy immortals such as demons, angels, vampires, seraphim, and nephilim. As they uncover the secrets of the ancient black blade--and their own heritage--they are faced with unforetold powers and infinite evils. If the Four Horsemen succeed, they may save themselves. If they fail, it’ll cost them their sanity, their lives, and even their souls...

Here comes an action-packed, gun-slinging fantasy adventure that packs the punch of a military thriller combined with high-stakes supernatural intrigue.

Read an Excerpt

This is real. I know it.

An acrid and sour smoke that could only be gunpowder filled my nostrils, caking my mouth with the bitter taste of ammonia. The air sang with an angry chorus of cracking, snapping, and buzzing as tiny projectiles assaulted me in hushed gunfire from every direction. The thuds of pierced wood rang out like hail on a rooftop. My heart raced with pure terror as I cowered beneath the classroom table, hands pressed to my ears.

This is it. They found me.

I had broken one of the rules. I didn’t have a weapon. I had neither Shade, nor a gun, nor a bayonet. Not even a kitchen or pocket knife. I’d even abandoned my eighty-cent mechanical pencil on top of my notebook the moment the shooting began.

They were going to murder me, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. Thunder hammered in my head as pure terror consumed me; each second seemed an eternity. I was expecting to feel pain. Maybe even a part of me was hoping to hear one final gunshot that would be the last sound I would ever hear. Instead, I heard laughter.

Sheepishly, I poked my head above the classroom table. Every pair of eyes in my Beijing University International Business class had settled on me. Merriment filled more than a few, but concern and empathy occupied most. After a few moments of displacement, I realized what had occurred: I’d had another episode. This time it was during class, the attack ultimately spawning from my own imagination. And it was set off by one quiet click of a pen.

It was bad enough that I was the only white student in the classroom, as every other student was Chinese. Now I was the “crazy white guy” in the school. Unspeakable shame quickly replaced my confusion.

About the Author:Alex Stevens is a Marine Corps Veteran with two deployments and a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Interdisciplinary Studies program, a unique undergraduate degree that caters to students with various interests of study. He is also an advent traveler and philosophy enthusiast who has spent a lifetime studying religions, with a focus on Non-denominational Christianity. Alex spends most of his time going for walks, spending time with loved ones, and when the juices are flowing, writing. Fantasy fiction is his great escape from the mundane and he likes to create fantastical realities that are blended with non-fictional people, places, and events.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20740528
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sympathy-Devil-Ballad-Fallen-Angels-ebook/dp/B08JQNJY76/ref=sr_1_1

The author will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner. Enter for a chance to win.
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Pump Up Your Book Blog Tour - Seed of Tamaris By Penni Louise

SEED OF TAMARIS
Penni Louise
Fantasy

In a treacherous world, is it safe to be powerful?

A Brother with a tainted past. A Lord seeking a legacy for his daughters. A Queen in exhile from her ancestral home. For decades, the Lords and Ladies in the land of Tamaris have known peace among their Houses, unlike the Outlanders who face death everyday outside the kingdom’s borders. But when the King, consumed by power, turns against the beloved Queen, she is forced into hiding, and plots brew among the Houses. The threads of peace begin to unravel. From a Lord’s daughters facing the subordinations of womanhood, to the outcast who flees to The Coven of Sacred Sisters for redemption, to the boy in the mines who prefers darkness and worms to the Lightlands, the lives of the people of Tamaris are unknowingly tied to their Queen’s fate. Only the Witch knows to what end their loyalty leads them. They must navigate political ambitions, social expectations, the complexities of relationship, and traitor’s plots to survive in the midst of the building war. But many will forget that the worst peril often comes from those closest to home. SEED OF TAMARIS is an epic fantasy brimming with magik, desire, and wickedness. It is Book One of the Archipelago Series, and Penni Louise’s debut novel.

Amazon → https://amzn.to/30JffUJ

 Barnes & Noble → https://bit.ly/30JH1Az

_____________________

 

Having tired Timber out in the surf, throwing the stick till her arm hurt, the two weary friends rested on a smooth rock, basking in the afternoon sun.
 “I suppose they’ll be looking for us to get dressed and into the carriage,” Solar
sighed to Timber.
In the distance, the fishing boats were beginning to come into view on the
horizon, gulls circling and diving behind them, returning to their home harbor before the
night fell. She had asked Cook once why the boats did not stay out overnight. They seemed as big as castles, and as sturdy. Cook had shaken her head.
“They used to, little one, but not anymore. It’s dangerous to be so…exposed at
night nowadays. That’s why we tuck away in houses at night; there’s no good to be found out in the open in the dark.”
Cook refused to say why but Solar knew she had to be right.
Solar thought of her sister, always ill, and indoors. She felt badly for her, never
getting any fresh air or sunshine. She shook off the thought of stuffy rooms and stuffy carriages and stretched her legs, examining them in the sunlight.
“Look, Timber, I am getting fur like you!”
How splendid, she thought, reclining in the warm sun, and drifted off to sleep.
Sometime later, Solar woke with a pain in her back, disoriented. She was
immediately overwhelmed by the gloom; it seemed to be trying to suffocate her in shadow. She could hear and feel that the tide was coming in; the water was now splashing against the rocks, the spray hitting her feet and legs.
How long have I been asleep? She peered into the dusk and saw the stars starting to emerge overhead. A long time, then.
Something was missing. The spell of the stars suddenly broken, she realized
Timber was not beside her.
“TIMBER!” she called.
She thought she heard an answering woof but couldn’t be sure over the crashing
sound of the waves.
She stood gingerly, twisting to release her muscles, and called again, “Timber!”
She was certain she heard something this time, and slowly, feeling her way, began to climb the rocks.
She called again when she reached the top but instead of the woof she was hoping for, she heard men’s voices, coming from the direction of home. A Border Patrol! If she revealed herself, she would end up in incredible trouble and worse, the men certainly would not come back to search for Timber. He could be hurt, and was surely lost.
What would make him run away without waking me?
Maybe the fear of the dark was a real concern. More scared than ever, she worried herself with thoughts of Timber being injured, stolen, or devoured by an unknown beast.
The voices were coming closer.
Despite the threat of being truly lost, or being eaten herself, Solar ran away from the voices and into the darkness to find her beloved dog.

_____________________

__________

 

As an eager reader from an early age, much of Penni’s life was shaped by Bilbo’s exclamation that “he was going on an adventure!” Originally from Australia, Penni is now an avid storyteller and traveler (both physical and astral), currently located in Denver, Colorado. With a deep love of all things mystical, she also explores the energetic realm through her clairvoyance and channeling abilities.

Website: http://www.pennilouise.com

Twitter Address: http://www.twitter.com/Penni_Louise

Facebook Address: www.facebook.com/PenniLouise.Author

_________________________

GIVEAWAY!

Penni Louise is giving away 2  Kindle copies and 1 paperback copy of SEED OF TAMARIS!

Terms & Conditions:

• By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
• Three winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive either a Kindle or paperback copy
• This giveaway ends midnight September 30.
• Winner will be contacted via email on October 1.
• Winner has 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!

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Goddess Fish Promotions - Dream Phaze - Germination By Matt Watters

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Matt Watters will be awarding a $20 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.

Everyone dreams.

All Saxon Zynn wanted to do was dream, not for himself, but for everyone. Back in 2037, Saxon stated, ‘Dreaming is a reality to be experienced.' A decade of research later and his Dream Immersion technology is poised to become the major entertainment medium of the 21st century, but will unforeseen obstacles prevent him from achieving his purpose?

Dream Phaze is about the inception of engineered dreams and the evolution of indulgence. Set at the crossroads of alternative realities in the near future, it plunges into a world where every human desire, no matter how heroic or evil, can be fulfilled… dreaming just became an adventure.

Read an Excerpt

‘Is that achievable, Saxon?’ Walt asked.

Saxon sat silent for what seemed like minutes. Everyone waited for his response. Responsibility sat heavily upon his face as he wiped sweat from his top lip. His decision would either propel the project at breakneck speed or keep it on the existing timeline. ‘We still have months of testing but…possibly. We’ll have to cut a few corners, increase content production, but we’ll have the bare bones ready for a limited soft launch.’

‘You may not want to hear this, darling, but there are benefits from this unexpected situation. The media gaze has shifted away from Tremaine Group issues and focused on ZynnComm. We can feed this media storm and whip it up into a hurricane of public anticipation. The speculation on social media is nothing short of phenomenal. ZynnComm is trending worldwide; we can’t buy this sort of publicity,’ Margo added.

‘Okay,’ Walt sighed. ‘Then it’s agreed. I know this isn’t how you wanted the project to play out, Saxon, but I agree with Alfred and Margo, we need to move quickly on this and bring the release forward. Alfred, ramp up all unit production, and Margo, instruct PR to organise a few controlled leaks through the usual channels. We need to capitalise on this.’ He turned back to Alfred. ‘Tell Chen from security I want his report on yesterday’s meeting by tomorrow.’

‘Yes, Walt,’ Alfred answered.

‘Saxon, you need to light a fire under your content teams.’

‘Will do.’

‘Have you decided on the name for our retail distribution division?’ Walt asked.

‘Lucid,’ Saxon answered.

‘That was my choice too,’ Walt concurred. ‘The two of you need to stay put for the next week or so while marketing leaks the imminent product launch,’ he suggested to Saxon and Margo. ‘Ah, and Margo, we’re going with Gerber Global Advertising as our exclusive partner for product placement in experiences. Your negotiating and recommendation was spot on, thank you.’

‘GGA will be very lucrative for ZynnComm,’ Margo assured them.

‘Users still have the final choice if they want advertising, correct?’ Saxon asked Margo.

‘Of course. Ad free experiences will attract a slightly higher premium.’

About the Author: Matt lives in Sydney, Australia and works as a course developer and writer in the Community Services sector.

'This narrative began as a short story in 2014. Over subsequent years it evolved through several plot, character and title iterations until Dream Phaze emerged as an episodic series published online in 2018. These episodes, collectively known as Germination, are now an ebook.

Dream Phaze - Imagination, the second ebook in the series, will be released in September 2020.

Matt is a member of the Australian Society of Authors and Alliance of Independent Authors.

Dream Phaze website: http://www.dreamphaze.com
Buy Dream Phaze- Germination here: https://books2read.com/dreamphaze1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dreamphaze/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dreamphaze1
Goodeads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19559598.Matt_Watters

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Goddess Fish Promotions - Diary of a Lost Witch By Reut Barak

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly dawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Visit http://reutbarak.com/diary-of-a-lost-witch-april-10/ to begin the story featured on Reut Barak's new blog



Molly is in trouble. Running away from home to escape the dangers of her coven, she ends up in Edinburgh at a time of Corona. Homeless and running for her life, she must find a new coven and get the help she needs to protect herself, or she is not going to make it back.

Read a Blog Entry:


April 14


Yesterday, I finally met another witch.


Her name is Gemma. She’d just graduated from nursing school and was volunteering to help out with testing patients for the virus.


I had seen her on the street, falling on her knee, while walking a dog, and her body magically heal the wound. I walked to her to ask if she was alright, coming close, but still pretending to keep that two meter distance.


“Just a scratch,” she assured me, and got up without help.


The dog was being difficult and kept pulling even when she was still on the ground. I offered to help and take the leash, but she shook her head. He was a friend’s dog, but they were self-isolating so he was stuck at home all day. She was trying to show patience.


I told her that we had a dog back home and that she was also finding it difficult. She asked where I was from and the conversation flowed from there.


We must have walked together for about half an hour before I felt she could be trusted. I was not about to make the same mistake twice.


She told me that there were many witches in the city, some solitary and others belonging to covens. Luckily for me, she was one of the later, and she invited me to the next coven meeting. We exchanged numbers.


I still couldn’t sleep right at night. Even after that ray of hope.


There was no accommodation anywhere and I must have checked five times. Apartments were difficult too. I could forge the documents for the lease, but I would still have to open a real bank account, and get some sort of job, which was dangerous, because I might have to expose my true identity. Even to Gemma, I gave a different last name. Wood, instead of Evans.


I ended up back in the forest under Arthur’s Seat, in my tent spell, that failed to really make me feel safe, despite the conjured mattress and warmth.


I hate being homeless.


In the morning, I felt I needed to move my legs, after all those nights of troubled sleep. I went up Carlton Hill. That place in the photos where people go to get a view of the whole city.


A message from my moms, from last night, reminded me of the dangers I had ran away from. It came from Sally, my birth-mother, who was usually high spirited, and perhaps one of the happiest people I’d known in my life. But from the tone of her note I could tell that she was worried.


Two witches from May’s coven had been seen outside the house. When my mom, Joe, came out to talk with them they left a message for me. Alice wanted to speak with me. Urgently.


“Keep safe,” was the end of Sally’s message.


I had promised myself that I wouldn’t cry, but the past few days had been so difficult.


When I reached the top and looked down at this beautiful city, the frustration, the fear and the exhaustion of the past few days hit me like a boomerang, and I couldn’t stop the tears anymore.


Molly Evans


About the Author:Following a short stint in the military, Reut graduated as a trained Opera Singer from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, and then worked in Berlin, singing church music by Mozart, Haydn and Bach. While arranging concerts in the city and managing artists, she discovered her passion for business. She joined fellow entrepreneurs in the 2013-2014 class at the University of Oxford, with a scholarship to study business (MBA), where she founds that creativity goes far beyond art. She later had a taste of corporate life, seeing the inside workings of some of the world’s largest finance, energy and manufacturing companies, and wrote for National Geographic. Leaving the world of corporate drama behind, she now pursues her dreams of becoming a fiction novelist, a self-published vegan author, blogger and youtuber. She first arrived in Scotland as a hiker, eager to explore the mysterious highlands, where she got her inspiration for her books and blogs.


Well, no not really… The true story is:


Once upon a time…


Reut was born in Camelot in the year 1201, following the famous explosion of the northern dragon tower. She has a degree in fantasy and science fiction from the University of Atlantis and this record can be found in the central library, now twenty thousand leagues under the sea. She likes phoenix riding, dragon fighting and painting the roses red. And Grimm’s Fairy Tales.


Website: http://www.reuatbarak.com

Lost Witch Blog: http://reutbarak.com/category/lostwitch/

Start reading from the beginning of the diary: http://reutbarak.com/diary-of-a-lost-witch-april-10/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reut.barak/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorReutBarak/?ref=bookmarks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReutBarak



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Goddess Fish Promotions - Carson of Venus By Matt Betts

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Enter to win a physical copy of the paperback of Carson of Venus: The Edge of All Worlds (continental US only). Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Carson of Venus is back in the first novel of groundbreaking Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe series!



When a mysterious enemy attacks his adopted nation of Korva, Earthman Carson Napier discovers his own arrival on Venus years ago may have unknowingly triggered the strike. The invaders' trail of death and destruction leads Carson and his beloved princess Duare headlong into battle against a seemingly invincible, primordial race. But that is not Carson's only challenge, for an uncanny phenomenon has entangled him with two strange individuals from beyond spacetime. Will Carson be able to solve the mysteries of his past and the enigmatic visitors before the entire planet descends into chaos?



Also includes the bonus novelette "Pellucidar: Dark of the Sun" by Christopher Paul Carey, introducing Victory Harben, the ERB Universe's newest heroine:



The very principle of physics behind the Gridley Wave has mysteriously failed, cutting off all communication between the hollow world of Pellucidar and the outer crust, and now inventor Jason Gridley must seek help from his brilliant young protégé, Victory Harben. Together they recover timeworn records from deep in the ruins of a dead Mahar city, hoping to use knowledge of Pellucidar's former reptilian overlords to jumpstart the Gridley Wave. But when their experiment goes terribly wrong, Jason and Victory suddenly find themselves drawn into the inscrutable machinations of an ancient evil.



THE FIRST UNIVERSE OF ITS KIND



A century before the term "crossover" became a buzzword in popular culture, Edgar Rice Burroughs created the first expansive, fully cohesive literary universe. Coexisting in this vast cosmos was a pantheon of immortal heroes and heroines--Tarzan of the Apes, Jane Clayton, John Carter, Dejah Thoris, Carson Napier, and David Innes being only the best known among them. In Burroughs' 80-plus novels, their epic adventures transported them to the strange and exotic worlds of Barsoom, Amtor, Pellucidar, Caspak, and Va-nah, as well as the lost civilizations of Earth and even realms beyond the farthest star. Now the Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe expands in an all-new series of canonical novels written by today's talented authors!

Read an Excerpt



“You should not have come here,” Yron interrupted. He looked over my friends and then opened his mouth repeatedly, as if he were straining for air. “You should turn around now and go back home in that strange flying vessel of yours.” He waited, as if he truly expected us to go.



Duare broke the awkward silence. “We are here to ask for help, or at the very least, some information.”



“I have none of that,” Yron said.



“Help or information?” I asked.



“Neither. Both.” The jong appeared flustered by the request, and by our very presence. I wondered why our appearances here had so obviously upset this usually cunning and devious leader. Had I known that it was Yron we were dealing with, I certainly would have thought twice about meeting with him so far down in his own element.



“What are you doing out here?” I asked. Yron and his people lived thousands of miles to the north in the city of Mypos, so what had prompted them to establish such a far-flung outpost? And who had built it? I had been to Mypos and seen firsthand the fish-people’s poor sense of art and architecture. They certainly hadn’t constructed this outpost on their own.



Before Yron could respond, Ero Shan stepped forward and demanded to hear anything that Yron knew about Nalte and the strange soldiers who had taken her. Duare interjected and described the creatures we had encountered, their craft, and how they had absconded with our companion.



Yron looked anxious, if his rapidly flapping gill slits meant anything, and said, “It sounds like you’ve run afoul of the Linneauns.”



Copyright © Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. All rights reserved. All logos, characters, names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks or registered trademarks of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Used by permission.



About the Author:

Matt Betts worked for years in radio as an on-air personality, anchor and reporter. His fiction and poetry have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. His work includes the steampunk novel, Odd Men Out, urban fantasy crime novel Indelible Ink, and his recent cryptid/horror novel White Anvil: Sasquatch Onslaught. His current release Carson of Venus: The Edge of all Worlds continues a series begun by Edgar Rice Burroughs.







Sales links:



ERB: https://bit.ly/3cmkrAU

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2RFrcGa



Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Betts_Matt

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattbettswrites

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

Website: http://www.mattbetts.com



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Goddess Fish Promotions - Dog Town by Debbie L Richardson

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Debbie L. Richardson will be awarding a $20 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.

Harry loves to race around the streets of Dog Town. When he stumbles upon the lost city of cats, he finds himself in a race against Dog Town’s fastest canine, Grizzly.



The winner of this race will have the power to save Cat World, or destroy it.



Harry wants to win, but there is one small problem. The race is in the ocean, and Harry is terribly afraid of water.



Can Harry overcome his fear of the water and save Cat Town?

Read an Excerpt




HARRY snapped himself out of the trance.



“Run!” he yelled, and every dog did exactly that.



But they took off in a disorderly fashion, like a handful of wound-up toys had been released onto a slippery surface.



Kevin started running first, but he became caught up in chasing his tail. He twirled and twirled, creating a mini tornado.




Teena barked so violently she propelled herself backwards. She only managed to stop when she bumped up against a six-foot-high stack of hubcaps. The metal discs came hurtling toward the dogs at an alarming speed.



Harry saw Teena jump out of the way. Then she reached for Pablo’s collar. She tugged and tugged, but her brother’s feet might as well have been concreted to the ground.



“Pablo!” Harry urged. He cried out again, more urgently this time. “Pablo! Run!”



Pablo stared at the big dogs as though he was hypnotised.




“Pablo!” Teena cried, pulling harder on his collar.



By now, Kevin’s mini tornado had taken on a life of its own. Wispy tendrils clutched madly at anything in reach, but they grasped only air. Seemingly angered by this, the vortex pulled itself into the shape of a bowling ball and made a beeline for Pablo and Teena.

About the Author:

Debbie L. Richardson has published fiction novels as D L Richardson. She has published three young adults supernatural fiction novels, and science fiction and supernatural thrillers for adults. This is her first children’s book.



She was born in Dublin, Ireland and grew up in Australia. It was always crowded and noisy in the family home. At one stage there were also three dogs, a cat, a budgie, and three mice living with seven people the same house.



Debbie learned to find a quiet space within books.



She now lives in the south coast of New South Wales with her husband and a small dog named Teeka.



Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DogTownKidsbook


Website: http://www.dlrichardson.com



Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dog-Town-Debbie-L-Richardson-ebook/dp/B085466GS7/ref=sr_1_1

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dog-town-debbie-richardson/1136477371

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1005300




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Goddess Fish Promotions - Paragon by Shauna Alderson

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Shauna Alderson will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stopson the tour.

Now that high school is over, Randi just wants to live her quiet life in her little town, but it doesn’t feel right without her friends there. Ever the daredevils, they’ve gone to seek adventure in the capital city of Grandin, and Randi can’t help but feel left behind. Not to mention she definitely can’t stop thinking about that kiss she and Eddy shared before he left.



When Randi discovers a mysterious mark on her skin that matches an illustration in “A Handbook on Paragonhood”, she’s thrown into a world of powerful gods and ancient magic that she thought only existed in the myths. She’ll have to step out of her comfort zone—and into the dangerous streets of Grandin—to find a way to protect herself and the people she loves.



Randi’s not the only one with a secret, though, and she finds herself questioning who she can trust. Randi will have to wrestle with what it means to be a Paragon and how far she’s willing to go to do what’s right.



With the fate of the world on the line, can she live up to being one of the chosen?

Read an Excerpt


Louis comes into view as I round the corner of the restaurant into the simple, well-kept yard. He's facing the other way, holding a wooden staff, not even wearing a coat. I'm about to call out and let him know I'm there, but before I can, he spins in a circle, extending the stick as gracefully as if it were a part of his arm. His movements are soft and flowing as he twists around a large cobbled circle in the middle of the yard. It looks like a gentle dance, but it's evident from the way he maneuvers the stick and guards his torso that it's also a fight.



Louis comes back to a neutral position and bows to an invisible adversary before him. “That was the swan,” he says, making me jump. “And this is the dragon.”



He steps aggressively, each strike hard and fierce. He jabs the staff out before him and twirls, nearly horizontal with it. A few stances later, he accidentally whacks himself in the shoulder with the practice weapon.



He bursts out laughing. “It’s not my best form.” He approaches me while massaging his shoulder. “Good thing you’re not my grandma, or you’d make me practice until I got it right.”



“I like the swan better, anyway.”



“Me too.” He blinks as a raindrop falls on his cheek. We both turn to the sky as thunder rumbles in the distance. “Looks like it’ll be a downpour.”



About the AuthorShauna Alderson began writing teen fantasy even before she was a teen. After she “grew up", she completed creative writing courses (and a BA in Development Studies) at the University of Calgary. When not reading or writing, she can usually be found teaching ESL, composing on the piano, creating art, or volunteering abroad. She also enjoys dessert, Studio Ghibli films, and being the silliest person she knows.




Website: https://shaunaalderson.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AldersonShauna




Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Paragon-Shauna-Alderson-ebook/dp/B0851YGGTW/

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/paragon-shauna-alderson/1136514085?ean=9781643901275

Chapters: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/paragon/9990058018816-item.html

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/paragon-8




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Goddess Fish Promotions - Saunders' Choice by Gina Briganti

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Gina Briganti 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.

She lives life below the waves. What will a man sacrifice to discover it’s not a dream?



Mermaid Velvet has always had a special fascination with the World. And studying its two-legged humans has given the aspiring comedian unique skills to make her audiences laugh. But when she saves a human who believes he’s drowning, she’s stunned by the magic that flows between them.



Saunders is trapped between two realities with no memory of his past. Lost in a strange, underwater domain, he comes face-to-face with an alluring goddess of the sea. When he disappears from her realm, he’s desperate to reunite with the entrancing beauty.



As Velvet continues to bring Saunders out of the darkness, her love for him grows along with her fear that his next disappearance might be his last. And as his memories slowly return, Saunders must decide if he’s willing to leave the World permanently for a chance to be with the mermaid he desires.


Can Velvet and Saunders overcome his terrible fate and sink into each other’s perfect arms? Saunders’ Choice is a standalone novella in the enchanting Natural Gifts fantasy romance series. If you like irresistible attraction, mystery, and love against the odds, then you’ll adore Gina Briganti’s tale of the deep.



*An early version of Saunders’ Choice was published in the Changing Worlds anthology. Buy Saunders’ Choice to dive into an ocean of passion today.

Read an Excerpt


Knowing that she had only one more day to explore that part of the Dreaming, Velvet took advantage and swam out into another new part of the ocean. Here the water was bubbly and warm, a natural hot spring. Velvet relaxed and allowed the bubbles to massage her back and neck.



Domino surprised her by approaching her in a blended form of a water snake and a seahorse. He looked like an extra-long, coiled, seahorse. In the absence of his usual black and white clothing, he colored himself in black and white triangles.



Velvet couldn’t hold her curiosity any longer. “Domino, where do you get your ideas? You always surprise me.”



Domino’s seahorse mouth was able to smile. “They come to me, maybe the same way your ideas come to you? Some pop into my head, already formed. Others I work with until I like what I see. The more outrageous I look, the more comfortable I feel. Creatures stare, but this way I know why.”



Velvet nodded because ideas did come to her in a variety of ways. “Would you like some bubbles?” She graciously offered to move over, even though the spot she was in was prime and she was enjoying it. Domino had sought her out for a reason, and having to cancel their show at Shugey’s might have been hard for him. She reasoned that he would benefit from the bubbles more than she could.



About the Author: Gina Briganti writes fantasy and sci-fi romance in north Texas. She also writes holistic health non-fiction because real life can be magic, too. Her credentials in holistic health include certification as a Reiki Master Practitioner and teacher, certification as a nutrition consultant, and a degree in holistic nutrition.



When she's not writing, eating delicious healthy food, reading, or making videos, she is spending time with family and friends. Her constant companion is a special soul who masquerades as a lab and chow mix.



There are exclusives and announcements that she shares only in her newsletter, which you can sign up for right here: http://ginabriganti.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe



Website: http://www.ginabriganti.com

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Buy link: https://books2read.com/u/3nvKDB



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Goddess Fish Promotions - The Eye Of Ra by Ben Gartner

The Eye of Ra

by Ben Gartner

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GENRE:   Middle Grade

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BLURB:

Exploring a mysterious cave in the mountains behind their house, John and his sister Sarah are shocked to discover they’ve time traveled to ancient Egypt!

Now they must work together to find a way back home from an ancient civilization of golden desert sand and a towering new pyramid, without parents to save them. The adventures abound—cobras, scorpions, a tomb robber, and more! The two kids have to trust each other, make friends who can help, and survive the challenges thrown at them . . . or be stuck in ancient Egypt forever.

For readers graduating from the Magic Treehouse series and ready for intense action, dive into this middle grade novel rich with meticulous historical detail.

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EXCERPT:

As soon as her finger finished following the line of the eye, a bright flash illuminated the chamber for nothing more than the blip of a nanosecond, as if an electric bulb had exploded and gone out. John blinked back a sudden headache, wondering if he’d imagined the burst.

“Did you see that? So cool!” Sarah exclaimed.

John’s heart was in his throat. “Can we get outta here now?”

“So cool,” Sarah repeated, shaking her head. “I wish I had my phone to take a picture of this. Dad will love it!”

John tugged on Sarah’s shirt. “Can we please go now, Sarah? Please?” He could feel sweat on his forehead.

“Yes, fine,” Sarah said, pulling her arm away from his tugging. “This is a dead end, anyway. Let’s go.”

She marched off back to the corner and around it, John close behind. John could feel his chest loosening with every step, could almost taste the mountain air again. He plodded along behind her in the tunnel without looking up.

As soon as they were out of the cave, John smashed into the back of Sarah, who’d stopped suddenly.

“What the—” she muttered.

John didn’t smell the fresh mountain air. When he looked around his sister, expecting to see the scree slope and forest and the way back to the trail, instead he dropped his flashlight and his jaw at the same time.

He’d never seen anything like it.

                                                                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Word From The AUTHOR

Why middle grade?

To see the world through a child’s eyes is to see beyond the physical and imagine what could be. A playground slide becomes a waterfall off a cliff. A wagon becomes a rocket ship. A box becomes a portal to another world. I enjoyed the Calvin & Hobbes strip for exactly this reason. Calvin is a classic character and someone for whom my own middle grader has a bit of hero-worship. Heck, so do I! He’s Spaceman Spiff, a dinosaur, he travels through time with his best friend Hobbes, he even has a Transmogrifier that can turn him into…anything. That endless possibility is “why” middle grade.

However, that enormity of imagination doesn’t mean that kids can be easily fooled. In fact, they have a keen sense of character. But they are, typically, more open to fantastical possibilities than adults. For example, in soliciting beta reader feedback on THE EYE OF RA, I had several adults question the mechanism of time travel and the rules of this particular universe in regards to traveling through time (e.g. understanding the language the ancient Egyptians spoke). Yes, this came from a genuine curiosity which I respect and appreciate, but not a single one of the kids who reviewed it had such a question. I mean, adults try to put their own world-view and scientific understanding around how something like time travel might actually work. Whereas kids (and especially middle graders) are much more likely to accept it as a magical force that is un-explainable, so don’t get bogged down in the details about the how since that’s not the point of the story! Roll with it! It’s not so much a suspension of disbelief as it is more just a belief that things are possible outside of what we think we know. No limits. I love that.

Middle grade kids are also at a time of burgeoning possibilities where their own personality is forming more concretely than in any previous era of their lives. They are allowed to swing from one preference to another as they try out and test the world around them. The Walt Whitman quote comes to mind: “Do I contradict myself?Very well then I contradict myself,I am large, I contain multitudes.”

In many ways, I envy this time of life when you’re getting your sea legs on what it is to be human and the possibilities are endless.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Ben Gartner is the author of adventure books for middle graders and thrillers for adults. His writing for both audiences shares an ability to grab readers by their neurons for a thrilling ride, maybe even teaching them something in the meantime. Ben can be found living and writing near the mountains with his wife and two boys.

WEBSITE

https://bengartner.com/

SOCIAL

Twitter: http://twitter.com/bgartnerwriting

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BenGartnerAuthor/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/86465769-ben-gartner

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/2710189959

EBOOKS

All available for pre-order except Amazon, which will be available on publication date.

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1491182528

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-eye-of-ra-ben-gartner/1135492294

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-eye-of-ra-2

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=The%20Eye%20of%20Ra%20by%20Ben%20Gartner&c=books&hl=en_US

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082WS8H4C/

PRINT BOOKS

Will be available February 1, 2020 via Amazon and IngramSpark distributors.

The book is only $2.99.

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ENTER RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

Ben Gartner will be awarding a $30 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

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