Monday, June 29, 2015

Guest Post: Andrew Joyce and Danny

My name is Andrew Joyce and I write books for a living. Chelsea has been kind enough to allow me a little space on her blog to promote my latest book, MOLLY LEE. It’s averaging 4.9 stars on Amazon. It is also available in paperback. Please check it out. Here’s the link: http://geni.us/molly

I would love to tell you all about it, but instead, I have to turn the writing duties over to my dog whose name is Danny. You see, he can be pretty insistent at times. We recently had some excitement in our lives and he can’t wait to tell you about it. For what it’s worth, this is a true story. And when you are finished reading it, please click on the link to my book and check it out. Danny is not the only genius in our household.



Danny Goes to the Beach

      What a time I had yesterday! I went to the beach with my human.
Good morning, I’m Danny the Dog, teller of tales, bon vivant, all around good dog and lover of hotdogs. And oh yeah, my human’s name is Andrew. Now that you know the players, on to my story.
I like to wake Andrew up early and take him for his walk before it gets too hot. And I like our walks because there’s a whole lotta good sniffing out there. But yesterday it was Andrew that roused me from a sound sleep. I was dreaming of hotdogs. I was about to bite into a big, fat juicy hotdog when he shook me awake. I almost bit him.
Anyway, he told me we were going to the beach to watch the sun come up. When we walk, I lead the way, but when we go to the beach, Andrew drives the car because I don’t have a driver’s license. Can you believe it? Florida doesn’t give dogs driver licenses! I emailed the governor about this injustice, but I haven’t heard back from him yet. I know that not having thumbs would be problematic, how would I grip the steering wheel. But I figure I’ll worry about that after I get my license.
Sunrises, and sunsets for that matter, don’t do much for me; they have no scent, you can’t smell them. So what’s the big deal? But I allow Andrew to take me to the beach because I have my own agenda. I love to bark at other dogs. The beach we go to is secluded, and dogs are not allowed (another email I must send to the governor). However, dogs take their humans there in the early morning and as long as everyone is gone shortly after the sun comes up, there’s no trouble. And it’s a good thing for the human cops because if there was trouble I’d bite them.
So we get to the beach and Andrew sets up his folding beach chair. He’s such a wuss; can’t he just sit on the sand like everyone else? Me, he ties to a palm tree. Then he waits for the sun to come up. What does he think, it’s not going to come up unless he watching?
As I said, I have my own reasons for being there, so I start my nose a twitching. I can smell another dog from a mile away. If I were a super hero, I’d be known as SUPER SNOOT. I would sniff out my nefarious nemeses and bring them to justice. I think I’d look cool with a cape. I look good in blue, so it would be blue with a big red “D” emblazoned right in the middle of it. Danny the Dog, mild-mannered dog by day, SUPER SNOOT by night! I like the sound of that.
I digress, back to my story.
So Andrew’s getting excited because the sun is coming up (what a surprise!). And I’m sniffing for dogs when all of a sudden I detect something good, as in chicken-bone good. So I put my super snoot to the ground and start my search. Of course, being SUPER SNOOT I find the bones right away. They were only a few inches under the sand. But before I take one of those delightful bones into my mouth, I give Andrew a surreptitious glance to make sure he isn’t going to ruin my fun. I needn’t have worried, his attention was on a red ball coming up out of the ocean, turning the clouds a bright pink and orange; some clouds were still purple. So he was engaged. That’s when I bit into the first bone. CRUNCH! At the sound, Andrew turned and saw my find. I didn’t know the old guy could move that fast. He was out of his chair, and before I could do anything about it, he had my whole stash. At least I had half a bone in my mouth and he wasn’t going to get that.
The short of it is, I distracted Andrew from his precious sunrise. He took my bones, and I didn’t get to bark at a single dog. What a bust! On the ride home, I didn’t go over and lick his face as I usually do. I was mad at him and he was mad at me. But when we got home all was forgiven and he gave me a hotdog. That’s why I keep him around.
My next adventure will be published in SUPER SNOOT Comics. Look for it at your local comic book store.

 

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Author Spotlight: Ricky Lee Baxter

Experience a new type of friendship - a new novel, with an eastern twist!

Gideon and the Crimson Samurai is a teen novel, by black British indie-author, Ricky Lee Baxter.

As we live in an age that is becoming more culturally integrated with diverse ways of life and friendships - Gideon and the Crimson Samurai is a fictional novel, made to reflect the unique kinds of relationships we have and resulting obstacles we face, together in this world.

Twelve-year-old Gideon has never felt at home within his city - only displacement, especially following the mysterious departure of his father. Life isn't kind to the young boy, and a series of unfortunate events seems to roll from bad to worse.

His life changes forever, when a foul-mouthed samurai enters his life and the two embark on a grand journey of self-discovery and brotherhood. Along their journey they will meet others from different backgrounds - each sharing a misfortune, yet with a burning desire for belonging.

Gideon and the Crimson Samurai is a unique novel, written in play format, suited for readers aged 12+, and contains relevant themes that mirror our society today. Within the first three weeks, this exciting new novel has acquired five 5 star reviews. Ricky has also appeared on various radio stations: www.artistfirst.com and http://www.wnbnetworkwest.com and attended the Purbeck Literary Festival 2015. Other interviews can be found at:




Gideon and the Crimson Samurai is a self-published work, available online at:

Ricky Baxter is an avid author and blogger, giving advice and thoughts to fellow creators from all walks of life. His most recent work is Mother Gaia, a novella also available on Kindle and audio books worldwide:

You can contact him here: composerricky@gmail.com or here at http://rickybaxter.wordpress.com

Friday, June 19, 2015

Guest Post: Chris Ledbetter

Topic: Setting
by Chris Ledbetter

Setting is an important tool we authors employ. I engage two distinct settings as alluded to on the bottom of the book’s cover. The first, and the one that opens the story, is Wilmington, North Carolina, USA. The second is the world within the cursed sketchbook.It’s based loosely on a Tuscan village circa the Renaissance. I hope that the settings are vivid enough to become characters themselves.

I chose Wilmington as the base setting because I live here. I know it well, and I wanted to drop real-life sights and places into the story. This performs two actions for me. On the one hand, it brings the city to life for those who haven’t been here. They can look up certain places on my Pinterest board or on Google maps and get a three-dimensional representation of the places I describe. Secondly, for those who have been here, I hope to create an in-story nostalgia.

(My Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/chris_ledbetter/drawn-novel-inspiration/ )

The world within the sketchbook, Terra Sempre, is a darker version of a fortified, hilly village in the heart of Tuscany during the Renaissance. I chose Italy as my inspiration because of its obvious link to and influence over art. The Renaissance was one of the most artistically creative times in world history. So, feeding off of that was simply homage. And I loved the research that was involved. I’ve never been to Italy, but now I feel like I have. And while there isn’t a one-to-one direct correlation from Terra Sempre to Italy, because, hey, Terra Sempre is fantasy, after all, there is a strong enough link for Italians to enjoy it as well, I think.

Friday, June 12, 2015

Trailer Reveal + Giveaway: Incarcerated by Inger Iversen

Incarcerated by Inger Iversen
(Love and War #1)
Publication date: September 29th 2014
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:
One of the few white kids in a rural Kentucky town, Logan Whyte always kept to his own kind out of self-preservation. He never considered himself racist, but that didn’t stop him from falling in with the wrong crowd—who celebrated hate as much as he fought it—or from ending up in prison for eight years on an armed robbery charge.

A successful, educated black woman, Katie Andreassen was tired of being accused of betraying her own race. Her lonely isolation, coupled with her grief over losing her mother, inspire her to create a new pen pal program at Capshaw State Penitentiary, where her father is a warden.
The program brings the unlikely pair together, but Logan and Katie soon find themselves forced to overcome past fears and prejudices. Their friendship doesn’t come easily … threatened by a crooked lawyer with a grudge and a best friend who betrays her promise to help.

When faced with a world that forces them apart, Logan and Katie must show everyone else what they have discovered: that love is, in fact, colorblind.


Purchase:


TRAILER

AUTHOR BIO:
Inger Iversen was born in 1982 to Anne and Kaii Iversen. She lives in Virginia Beach with her overweight lap cat, Max and her tree hugging boyfriend Joshua. She spends 90 percent of her time in Barnes and Noble and the other ten pretending not to want to be in Barnes and Noble.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Endless Possibilities Read-A-Thon Day One

Endless Possibilities Read-A-Thon TBR List
June 4th-6th
This post will be updated throughout the day, so if you are interested - keep checking back! 

I ended up starting my Read-A-Thon with a book that wasn't actually on my TBR List, but a book I have been waiting to read for the longest time.

http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1412515274l/22561320.jpg 
Velvet by Temple West - DID NOT FINISH, TOOK A BREAK FROM

I wasn't able to finish reading Velvet today, mostly due to the fact that I just wasn't really into it. Don't get me wrong.... amazing book, but I never actually read the synopsis - which is totally my fault... I just watched the trailers, which made me excited enough. I usually prefer watching trailers over reading synopsizes anyway. What the book is about though, is the kind of book that I have to really be in the mood for.

25245425
Aftermath by Tom Lewis - STARTED, DID NOT FINISH TODAY

So I did start Aftermath also today, but I started in later during the day so I wasn't able to finish it either, but hopefully I will be able to tackle both books and get them finished tomorrow, and start on something new on Sat. (and possibly get in another book tomorrow, but tomorrow is a busy day for me, so I'm no holding out on that).