It’s 2015 and I’m sitting here wondering where 2014 went so
quickly. Also where is my hoverboard? Maybe I’ll get that later, but right now
I’m reflecting on my New Year’s resolutions.
I’m not going to make any promises to go on a diet, start
jogging in the mornings or stay away from chocolate. (That’s just insane!
Chocolate and Lattes make the world go round.) No, I’m going to make 2015 the
year of the book.
This year I’m pledging to read more. I’ve taken up three
reading challenges this year. I’ve pledged to read 50 books for the Goodreads
2015 reading challenge, 36 books for the Library Reading challenge, and 12
books for the Historical Romance Reading Challenge.
It does seem like a lot of books doesn’t it? Thank goodness
the challenges kind of cross over each other! :-)
Why sign up for a reading challenge at all? A reading
challenge can introduce you to a new genre, a new author and inspire you to
pick up a book instead of play couch potato. You can meet new people who have
the same passions as you and most of all… It’s FUN!
So I challenge you to find a reading challenge that fits you
or even create one of your own and sign up. There are challenges for all genres
and types of literature. So discover awesome books this year and join me in the
Year of the Book!
The first book I’m reading this year is The City by Dean
Koontz. What are you reading? Have you joined any reading challenges?
Want to join in on one of the ones I have? Just click here
My 2015 Reading Challenges or click on the tab at the top of the page. You will
find the links to those challenges.
Guarding CEO Alex Blazen during a charity gala was an easy job for Valeska Gorstef...until all hell breaks loose...literally. Forced to face her own darkness, Valeska may lose her only chance to live a human life. Two sides of her soul will be at war. Which HALF will win?
Valeska stood within the darkness of the room and felt it breathe. The dark was a living creature part of what she was. Her darkness, her vampire, and she hated it. A bit of dust and the stain was all that was left of her father. Once she had thought killing him would free her to live a normal life, but that was just a pretty lie.
After all this time, she still had to exist in the twilight between two worlds. Trapped. She was lost in the past when she heard footsteps and smelled Alex’s cologne before he reached the room. Good. He’ll see the darkness and run. It would be that easy to stop this before I want any more than I can have.
Alex didn’t run. Instead, he walked over, embracing her and kissing her blood covered mouth. All he cared about was showing her it didn’t matter. That he loved her human or not. Plying her lips with his tongue, he gently pushed into her mouth and met sharp fangs.
She tasted fresh blood and pushed him away roughly. “Alex stop! I haven’t fed enough.”
He gazed at her and the concern she saw there was more than she could bear. “I couldn’t. I couldn’t take an unwilling victim, not even a four legged one.”
He looked beneath the splatters of blood to the pain her eyes held. What horrors she must have endured to survive over six hundred years of life.
She wanted to push him far away. “Don’t you see me? This is Valeska Gorstef. Alex, I can’t change what I am. I can smell the sweet copper scent of blood in your mouth. I can hear your heart pumping more through your veins and I want it. I want to taste you in ways that have nothing to do with passion.”
The video flashed in his mind. “I see the beautiful woman who walked into my office three days ago. I see the dark desire in your eyes. Blood isn’t all you want.”
She shook her head. “Alex, you don’t know what you’re asking.” Valeska felt her control starting to slip.
“No, I don’t.” Alex unbuttoned her shirt, peeled the blood soaked fabric from her shoulders. He pulled off his own shirt and tossed it in the pile. She was dizzy from bloodlust and need. Need to give in, need to love him.
She stood stiff as he embraced her and kissing, caressing first one lip then the other. He was more careful exploring the warmth of her mouth. He licked her fangs tasting the sweet copper in her mouth.
Weakening with the scent of his body so close, she kissed him back him feeling his warm clean skin. They fell to the floor, she rolled over him. “We can’t do this. I have to feed.”
He grabbed her face as he kissed her again. “Then feed.”
About Don't Touch Dr Ryan Reign has unlocked a gift she calls a curse. Detective Jackson Prince and his partner need her help to stop a serial killer before he murders again. One problem Dr. Reign can't touch or be touched. She's become a recluse, never leaving her home for fear of what she might 'see'. Jackson knows he has to help her accept her gift or there will be more deaths. It takes a woman's touch to catch a killer. 5 Star Review Great book! Couldn't put it down kept me reading the entire book! I wanted to wait and read some later but I couldn't I had to finish. There was enough romance, mystery and intrigue to keep me anxious to finish and make sure they hot the bad guy!!! Can't wait to read more by Elise. 4 Star Review Don't Touch was very enjoyable to read. The writing style, the plot, and the characters are all very good. Elise has quite the imagination! I like a mystery with a "twist". I think the story would be a great series for the future.
Other places to stalk find Elise VanCise on the web
Author Lisa Andrews guests today to tell us a bit about her inspiring true life story A Life Renewed.
An Introduction of "A Life Renewed"
by Lisa Andrews
Lisa Andrews and her husband
A highly-achieving student and athlete, Lisa was in sixth grade when she was diagnosed with AML leukemia. The news shocked her and her family, along with her entire small-town community. Over the next six months, Lisa and her mom basically lived at the hospital. When she wasn’t receiving chemotherapy, Lisa was hospitalized for transfusions or for antibiotics to fight serious infections. She went through a lot of changes. On the outside, most noticeably was her bald head! On the inside, her faith was being challenged as she tried to make sense of her experiences.
Once Lisa completed chemotherapy, she re-entered junior high school. One month into seventh grade, Lisa’s leukemia returned, and after a few more months of chemo she received a bone marrow transplant. After the transplant, Lisa was in remission but continued to face other health challenges, most of them side-effects from chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Almost a year after her bone marrow transplant, a man at Lisa’s hometown church said to her, “You should write a book so that other people can read about all that you have been through.” At the time, Lisa had a very negative reaction to this advice, wanting nothing to do with her story. She wanted to forget about everything and continue on with her life. She had a lot of anger and bitterness that she didn’t want to tell others about. And though her small-town community had offered much support and love, she wanted everyone to forget that she was “the girl that had leukemia.”
It wasn’t until her freshman year of college in 2002, almost six years later, that Lisa was ready to accept
her illness as an important part of her past and to deal with the bitterness and anger head-on. The process involved a lot of journaling and some counseling with a friend. Those journaled thoughts compose much of this book. After receiving healing, she felt comfortable talking about being a cancer survivor and answering people’s questions about what she had been through. Lisa also felt it was time to do as that man had suggested years before: write a book so that others can read about it.
A Life Renewed is suitable for ages 12+ and has three purposes. The first is to give a raw, firsthand perspective from a preteen dealing with cancer. Lisa’s hope that family members and friends might know how to better understand and relate to their sick loved one. Secondly, this book asks hard questions about faith, and it documents Lisa’s own personal journey with God and her attempts to make sense of her experiences. And thirdly, A Life Renewed is meant to inspire readers to realize the value and importance of their own stories and to encourage them to share their journey with others.
Whether stories of greatness, of failure, of love or disappointment, your story is one of the most important and powerful things that you own. There is no story like yours, and no one can take it from you. We must share our stories with one another!
Book Hooks is a new weekly meme hosted by the MFRW Authors Blog. It's a chance each week for authors to hook readers with a few sentences from their current WIP or any preveiously published book.
My 'hook' for this week is a short excerpt from one story, The Rosary, in my flash fiction anthology, Tingle. The story involves a priest who is having trouble sleeping on one hot summer night. what he discovers in the garden during a midnight prayer isn't holy at all. Will a soul be lost or saved in the rectory garden? Here is a bite of The Rosary.
Excerpt
McKenna turned his head to look at her, but his eyes focused on her lips not her eyes. “He has love for you.”
She cackled again, the sound dug painfully inside his ears. “Love for me, an unclean beast? You think I still have a soul to save? Perhaps I don’t want your salvation.”
The edge of her fingernail trailed down his neck. “You have to wait for your rewards in Heaven. I get my rewards when I take them.” The nail turned and sliced into his flesh.
He froze caught by fear and her gaze. Her lip curled into a grin that would haunt his dreams for the rest of his days on earth. She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “My reward tonight shall be you.”
McKenna tried to push her away again but he was powerless held in her gaze, one hand at his throat a razor like nail dug at his skin as the other hand fisted in his hair. His mouth opened to scream, protest, cry for help, but nothing uttered forth. Only a groan of pain as she drew back his head and struck the line of soft flesh she exposed.
What to read the whole story of Father McKenna and other flash to send a tingle though your emotions? To grab your copy of Tingle just click one of the links below:
Don't forget to check out the other Book Hooks blogs on the linky below. If you would like to particpate in next weeks Book Hooks just click on the Book Hooks button at the top of this blog and visit the MFRW Authors Blog. What are you waiting for grab a copy of Tingle then get hooked on another great book! :)
I have had a love of this dark genre for a long time. Noir
is the underbelly of fiction, the place where darker themes are explored. I can
sit and devour hours watching The Maltese Falcon, The Long Goodbye, Casablanca,
Detour, City That Never Sleeps and so many more. (Thank you God for Netflix!) Though,
Noir is much more than film.
There are some fantastic books with hardboiled detectives,
grifters, sexy molls, tragic cops and femme fatales that will fuel your
imagination and make you crave more. So I’m going to challenge you to grab a
book and step into the shadows just out of the streetlamp’s reach and join me
in reading as many of these fantastic stories as we can in 2014.
How it works:
The Challenge begins January
6, 2014 and runs through December
31, 2014. You can join the challenge at any time between those
dates.
1. Sign up with the Inlinkz tool below with a link to your
acceptance/announcement post. Stating the challenge and what goal level (listed
below) you are going for.
2. There will be a new inlinkz tool posted on the challenge page
of Gladiator’s Pen once a week (hopefully up by each Monday) so you can add the
url to the post with your progress, book review, or talk about something
Noirish. Post at least once a month and link back to the challenge page so we
can help each other gain new readers/followers as well. Even better, if you would like to embed the
linky list onto your post there will be a link available so you can pick up the
code.
If you don’t have a blog, that’s okay too. Just post to your
Facebook, G+ or Twitter with a link back to the challenge page for others to
join in and find some great new books and authors too.
Challenge Levels
Read 1-5 books Grifter
Read 5-10 books Cool Cop
Read 11-15 books Hard Boiled Detective.
Read 16-20 books Femme Fatale
Read 20+ books Sam
Spade
Here are a few suggestions
for some great Noir reads to get you started
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
The Black Dahlia (#1 in the L.A. Quartet series) by James
Ellroy
Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell
He Died With His Eyes Open by Derek Raymond
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
Joyland by Stephen King
Gold Coast by Elmore Leonard
Storm Front (Dresden
Files #1) by Jim Butcher
If you can, try to post your reviews to Amazon or Goodreads
also or even give the books you enjoy some stars to support a great author.
Thanks for being a part of our first reading challenge here on Gladiator’s Pen
and I hope you enjoy your journey into the darker side of the streets. :)
Sneak Peek Sunday, created by fellow author Sara Walter
Ellwood, authors post six paragraphs from either a WIP or a published work.
I’ve chosen six paragraphs of my work in
progress, Outlaw Born. I’d
love to know what you think of this short excerpt.
Blurb:
The war forced Ben Mason into long separations from family and set him on the battlefield against brothers. His luck left him more often than it came to him. He fought through it all to rid himself of the tarnished name given to him by his father and return home safe to his family. What he finds forces him to realize his battle has only just begun. When the law fails to offer justice, Ben embraces the legacy he had fought so hard to escape. Blood is the only path when you're Outlaw Born.
Excerpt:
*Scene setup* Ben Mason is recovering in the hospital tent after being wounded in battle. A fellow soldier tries to strike up a conversation with him.
The older man clutched his arm to his chest careful of it as
he sat. Something about the old man put Ben on edge.
The man grinned and offered his only hand. “Jorge Wilson, Boston.”
Ben shook the hand, “Ben Mason, New
Mexico.”
Jorge looked at him for a moment as if he seemed familiar. “New
Mexico… I knew you had a familiarity. Benjamin Alexander
Mason, Johnny’s boy?”
Ben’s expression went blank almost cold. “No. No John’s on
the tree.”
Jorge chuckled. “No sense denyin’. You got your ma’s eyes. I
remember you hidin behind her skirts in the saloon.”
Ben glared at him and forced his weak body upright. He
reached out and gripped the man’s wounded stump. “You remember nothing old man.
The laudanum has you seein things not there. No, John Mason in my tree.”
The old man’s eyes widened with the sharp pain as he gave a
brief nod. Ben let go and leaned back, his breath came in pants with the
effort. He didn’t want to hurt the old man but the past needed to stay as dead
as his father.
I hope you enjoyed this little peek into Outlaw Born. If you want to take a peek at even more novels then click on the Sneak Peek button above and it will take you right to the linky list. Happy peeking :)
Thanks so very much to Mary Ann Bernal for tagging me to take part in the Tag You’re IT blog hop. I get to share a few tid-bits about my current work in progress, and tag three other authors and invite them to answer the same questions for their blogs. They then tag 3 more authors, and so on and so forth till it’s one great big giant Tag-Along! Sound good? Great! Here goes! 1. What are you working on right now? Right now I have more things going on than I have sanity :) First getting ready for NaNoWriMo 2013 whoo hoo I wuv NaNo. It's such a great way to meet fellow writers and encourage newbies to the world of words. I'll be posting more Lake County NaNo News soon :) My current book project is a historic western, Outlaw Born.
When your father was a notorious outlaw, it’s hard to out
run that legacy. Ben tried to live a better life and become the hero his wife
and son had seen in him. When the war is over and his medals won Ben comes home
to find his family and land taken by the greed of the railroad company.
When justice fails him, he finds a man can’t out run his
legacy. He must embrace his lineage of violence to get vengeance if he can’t
have justice. Ben Mason is an outlaw born.
My muses for Ben :)
2. How does it differ from other works in its genre?
I think the difference is in the character and what he is. Most heros run away from the dark past or try to hide it under the rug. Ben is forced to look at it and accept it as part of him. Exploring what happens to a good man when he has to do bad things. Does it really change his white hat to black or just a dark gray? 3. Why do you write what you do? That is actually a hard question. I write so many different things and each one has a different reason or inspiriation. I think I write what I do mostly because that thing or character fasicates me. I want to know more about them, what better way to learn about something than to write about it. Here are the 3 authors I’ve tagged for this hop: Tony Vincent Janet Beasley Janie Little Upchurch Tag you're it :)
How about you? Do you have an exciting project or event coming up? What are your favorite things to see in a western read?
Please enjoy this guest post by David Litwack, author of the gripping contemporary novel, Along the Watchtower, and the deep, dark dystopia, There Comes a Prophet. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including a Kindle Fire, $650 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of each book.
The Virtual World of Gaming and the Plight of War Veterans: A Guest Post by David Litwack
Gaming and war would seem to be as far apart from each other as you can get. But while you’re in the midst of them, they share one thing in common—a sense of being in an alternate reality.
I’ve always been fascinated by how much of what we consider to be reality is subjective, how each of us bring our own experiences and biases into play. But when we’re ripped from our normal lives and placed in extreme circumstances, our reality becomes totally fragmented. Such is the case with hospitals and war.
A couple of years ago, I became engrossed in the online game, World of Warcraft, thanks to my son. I’m on the east coast and he’s on the west, so we’d meet every Wednesday evening in the virtual world of Azeroth, where our avatars would go on quests together. I was struck by how immersed I became in the mood of the game as we wandered through castles and crypts, solving riddles and vanquishing demons, how for a short period of time, I could totally buy in to the alternate reality.
The fantasy gaming experience has a dream-like quality to it, which led me to wonder: how would this Along the Watchtower.
experience affect the dreams of someone whose reality has been fragmented by the trauma of war? These concepts—war, hospitals, and the fantasy world of online gaming—came together in
I began to research the effects of war on returning veterans. I learned that 30% are diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress. That means after six months they’re still dealing with flashbacks, disturbing dreams, depression and difficulty re-assimilating into their former lives. And that doesn't account for the many others who are seemingly able to adjust but continue to deal with inner turmoil. The war experience changes all forever. Many have suicidal thoughts (the suicide rate among veterans is triple that of the general population. More soldiers have died by their own hand than in the war itself). Many struggle with dark thoughts and have difficulty forming relationships, unable to “turn off” the normal flight or fight syndrome, leaving them suspicious in crowds and always on alert.
And then, there are the physical injuries. One of the ironic successes of these recent wars is the advance in battlefield medicine. The result is that far fewer die of wounds than in prior wars. The ratio of wounded to dead in WWII was 1.1/1, in Vietnam 1.7/1. In Iraq, it’s 7/1. More are saved, but more come home with debilitating, lifelong injuries. And 68% of the wounded have some form or brain trauma, penetrating injuries from shrapnel or non-penetrating concussions from the blasts of IEDs.
To learn more about brain injuries, I read In an Instant, the story of Bob Woodruff. The brilliant Woodruff had just been named co-anchor of ABC’s World News Tonight. Then, while embedded with the military in Iraq, an improvised explosive device went off near the tank he was riding in. Bob suffered a traumatic brain injury that nearly killed him. The book describes his recovery and recounts how fragile the human brain can be. At one point, the erudite Woodruff could rattle off the names of all prior U.S. presidents but couldn't remember the names of his own children.
And I read about post traumatic stress. One of the best books is Achilles in Vietnam. Written by Jonathan Shay, a Vietnam War era PTSD counselor, it compares his clinical notes from patients to the text from Homer’s Odyssey, showing how we as human beings have dealt with war trauma across the millennia. He shows how war disrupts our moral compass, leaving re-entry into normal life as a brutal and agonizing experience.
Playing a make-believe fantasy game and going to war both have a surreal quality that takes us out of our normal reality. But for war veterans, the sense of normality doesn't return without a struggle.
The Wounded Warrior Project is a wonderful organization, dedicated to helping veterans adjust. Their stated mission is: “To foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation's history.” How successful we’ll be at achieving that goal will tell a lot about who we are. It’s one of the most important stories of our time.
As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, both Along the Watchtower and There Comes a Prophet by David Litwack are on sale this week. What’s more, by purchasing either or both of these fantastic books at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes.
The prizes include a Kindle Fire, $650 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of each book.
All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment--easy to enter; easy to win!
To win the prizes:
Pick up Along the Watchtower at its discounted price of $2.99 on Amazon
Get There Comes a Prophet at its discounted price of 99 cents
Enter the Rafflecopter contest below
Visit the featured social media events
Leave a comment on my blog for a chance at a $100 prize.
Author David Litwack
Along the Watchtower tells of a tragic warrior lost in two worlds; a woman who may be his only way back from Hell . Get it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or iTunes.There Comes a Prophet A thousand years ago the Darkness came—a time of violence and social collapse. Nathaniel has grown up in their world of limits, longing for something more. For what are we without dreams? Get it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or iTunes.David Litwack, the once and future writer, explores the blurry line between reality and the Visit David on his website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.
Gladiator's Pen welcomes Mark Barry to the ludis today for a conversation about his latest release Hollywood Shakedown. Refill your cuppa, prop up your feet and let's get acquainted with Mark.
We’re talking about
your book Hollywood Shakedown today. Can you tell us what
inspired this story?
I’m a huge fan of Charles Bukowski, and the main character in
Hollywood Shakedown is the mythical son of Bukowski’s alter-ego, Henry
Chinaski. He’s called Buddy and he’s just like his dad! Two friends of mine
inspired the novel. First, my friend in Houston, Paul Vani, challenged me to
write a short story, and at exactly the same time, my much more local friend,
Clive la Court, inspired me to write a fiction novel. I combined the two
challenges and wrote about some of my favourite things. Comics, horse racing,
football, LA, London, women, crime,
food and weirdly named worldwide pubs.
There is a scene that
takes place at HollywoodPark, which is sadly, about to close after
75years. Can you tell us about that and the roll the racetrack plays as a
setting?
I’m really annoyed and feel completely impotent about the
closure of HollywoodPark.
Over here, a place with HollywoodPark’s
kind of history would have a Listed notice slapped on its gates and the
developers clapped in irons. Did you know they’re replacing it with a retail
and residential development??? Like, LA doesn’t have any malls. I have four
months to make enough money to visit – it has been one of my ambitions. In the
first chapter of the book, Buddy is tracked down by two goons who discover him
in the stands of the Park. I try to put across the sounds and smells of the
racetrack (see below) and also the baffling decline of horse racing as a
spectator sport in the US.
The book is full of racing – Bukowski raced there, too.
Was there a chapter,
or scene, or part of the novel that was difficult to write, and if so why?
Most of it was quite tough. I once wrote a novel in eighteen
days. This one took nine months, labouring over
every line for this because it
was my first work of fiction. The last
chapter, which most people like, was very tough. I didn’t want to ruin the
payoff – nothing worse than that, as a reader.
If you had one day to
live inside of this book, how would you spend it?
I actually did! The gang watch an FA Cup match between
Fulham and NottsCounty
on the banks of the River Thames. I support the latter and the chapter is
exactly as it sounds.
Do you have a
favorite part or moment in the book you would like to share?
“The men walked up the stairs and into the
main betting hall. Five bucks a piece found its way into the hands of a stony
faced black woman in a red neckerchief. Like the track, she'd seen better days.
Ramirez said something under his breath but the woman scarcely noticed, de-sensitised to everything but the thought of getting out of
there.
It
was livelier inside than they expected: Bettors milled around the cacophonous
hall, hundreds queuing at the windows, sitting in the carrels, some perusing
the Form, others smoking, scanning the cheat sheets and Indian Charlie. The air
was blue with cigarette smoke and smelled of tobacco, tacos, cheese food, hot dogs and warm beer - all mixed up with the usual gambler's cocktail of sweat, fear, excitement
and anticipation. Yet even a pair of racing agnostics
like Bishop and Ramirez could palpably sense the tradition and the
heritage. The smoky trails of Walter Matthau's Marlboro, or Bing Crosby's briar
pipe; Hollywood was seeped in movie culture. Every
banister, every railing, every corkboard tile was dripping in it.
Despite
the best efforts of the hunched janitors in orange coveralls and their
five-foot brushes
wielded like pikes, dead tickets found the floor with
unerring accuracy. The joint was a firetrap waiting to happen. One reckless
cigarette butt in the bin could see them all go to hell. The crowd's optimistic
chatter and the frenetic pulse of the simulcasted commentaries from tracks
around the country, from Aqueduct and Sunland and Oaklawn, accompanied the two
men as they passed through the betting hall.
“Bet
the ponies, Bishop?” Ramirez asked as they made their way outside into the
sunlight, their brogue heels tapping sharply and noisily on the floor.
The
older man shook his head. His craggy features never moved.
“Stocks.” He replied.” That's the smart boy's
gamble.” (Chapter
One)
What are three things
you must have when you write?
The Inuit hunting cap my friend and reader, Kelly Sherwood,
gave me for Christmas 2010. Music. My writing voice nagging at me.
What element or
elements do you believe make a story great?
Do you write as the
muse hits or do you have a set ‘work day’?
For a year, I wrote full time. Now, I’m working again, so I
have to write when I can. As Paul Auster said,
really early mornings and late
weekend nights. I wrote the bulk of Carla in a weekend, so I am best under
pressure. I suffer from insane bursts of creativity.
How do you avoid or
deal with distractions when in the writing zone?
I’m lucky that I live on my own so I can do my own thing.
The Internet, and particularly Facebook, was once a huge distraction I
struggled to beat, but my addiction to social networks seems to have abated.
Who are some of your
favorite authors to read?
Of name authors, I worship Martin Amis, with the exception
of his latest, which is bemusingly bad. I have also read everything by Paul
Auster, Charles Bukowski, Henry Miller, Liz Jensen and John King. Of Indies,
Suzanne van Rooyen, who writes YA and science fiction, Emma Edwards, who is making
a stir with a quirky vampire novel set in Wales.
Mary Ann Bernal writes innovative historical fiction and Ngaire Elder is a
much-underrated children’s writer who should be much better known than she is.
What can we expect
next from Mark Barry? Is there another tale being spun and/or event coming up
that you can share with us?
I’ve just finished the sequel to my top selling football
book, Ultra Violence. It’s called Violent Disorder and it should be out on
August 1st. I’m also writing
a contemporary fiction novel about the lost generation in Nottingham,
called Keith The Philosopher; a crime
fiction novel called Painful Death
and an anthology about sex, death and food; so, I’m busy.
What would you like
to say to fans or fellow authors?
Try to push the boundaries in anything you do. Don’t listen
to gurus, especially writing gurus, because, invariably, they know much less
than you do. Listen to the voice within you and act on it.
Okay? Thanks Elise.
About Mark Barry:
Mark Barry, author of “Hollywood Shakedown”, “Ultra
Violence” and “Carla”, is a Psychologist and writer whose main interest focuses
on relationships between people. He has
been writing since he was twenty one, having his first piece published in
1986. He has written extensively on a
variety of topics including, horseracing, football, personality disorders and
human relationships. Influenced by the
great playwrights and screenwriters, much of Mark’s work transpires in
dialogue. He deplores exposition and in
his fiction, leaves the reader in a state of nervousness more than he probably
should.
Mark has had an extensive career as a professional project
designer and bid writer, having accrued over £20m for groups and organisations
working with disadvantaged people. An
ex-lecturer, Mark designed and delivered the UK’s first ever course in Criminal
Psychology in 1997. Much of this work
infils his fiction: Psychopathy and
Borderline Personality Disorders are featured heavily in “Carla”, for
example.
Currently, Mark is a full time fiction writer and freelance
blogger. He has been interviewed on
several Radio talk shows where he has given readings of his work. His work has been featured in The Sun and
Daily Mail and he has also been interviewed on Television.
Mark resides in Southwell, Nottinghamshire with
his teenage son.
This week I'm taking part in Sneak Peek Sunday Hosted by Sara Walter Ellwood. The following excerpt is a sneak peek of six paragraphs from the psychic thriller Don't Touch.
Dr Ryan Reign has unlocked a gift she calls a curse. Detective ackson Prince and his partner need her help to stop a serial killer before he murders again.
One problem Dr. Reign can't touch or be touched. She's become a recluse never leaving her home for fear of what she might'see'. Jackson knows he has to help her accept her gift or there will be more deaths.
It takes a woman's touch to catch a killer.
Excerpt:
As
they cleaned up dinner Ryan’s eyes kept going to the folders on the coffee
table. Jackson tugged her shirt sleeve. “Why don’t we give it a rest
tonight?”
Moving to stand looking down at the
crime scene photo of Tina, Ryan shook her head. “That’s the problem, Jack. I’ve
given it a rest for too long.”
Pointing to a photo on the end table of Ryan
and another woman at Disney posing with Tigger.
“That’s my sister, Amber. I’ve lost her; I’ve lost all of who I was. I
gave up.”
Jackson came over and stood next to her. “So what are you going to
do about it?”
Looking at the photos again she took
a deep breath feeling like she was jumping out of a plane without a parachute. “I’m
going to get a life back. It can’t be the same one but I can’t live in these
four walls for the next sixty or so years. Do me a favor, if for some reason I
can’t let go take the picture from me.”
Before he had a chance to protest
she picked up the picture of the murder weapon and touched the two dimensional
knife. There was a blink of the photographer; he was tired, pulling a double
shift. The next was a glimpse of a gloved hand setting the knife beside the
victim. Heavy duty work gloves, not latex. The knife was set down with care so
the blade was pointing at the victim’s feet. Then she was just looking at the
picture again. She opened her fingers and let it fall to the table.
Her hands were trembling as she
processed the visions and what they were. “I did it. I saw him or her. I saw
someone.”
Welcome to the the review tour for The Midwife's Revolt
by Jodi Daynard.
“A charming, unexpected, and decidedly different view of the Revolutionary War.” —Publishers Weekly
Book Description:The Midwife’s Revolt takes the reader on a journey to the founding days of America. It follows one woman’s path, Lizzie Boylston, from her grieving days of widowhood after Bunker Hill, to her deepening friendship with Abigail Adams and midwifery, and finally to her dangerous work as a spy for the Cause. A novel rich in historical detail, The Midwife’s Revolt opens a window onto the real lives of colonial women.
Jodi Daynard’s historical fiction The Midwife’s Revolt has eared a 4.8 out of 5 stars on Amazon and praise from libraries, historical associations and is even featured at The Museum of the American Revolution.
“This humorous, exciting and touching story retells the familiar saga of the Revolutionary War in a stunning new way that feels fresh and alive.” —Kirkus Reviews
Review:
The Midwife's Revolt is a fictional time machine. Jodi Daynard takes you on a journey in time to the beginnings of our nation through the eyes of her fictional character Lizzie Boylston. The reader is drawn in to colonial wife and the life of this fascinating woman and her path from widow to midwife to a revolutionary heroine. I thoroughly enjoyed every page and the rich writing made me feel emerged in the early days of the United States of America with a blending of fiction with history. This book would be a fine edition to any collection of historic fiction. Gladiator's Pen gives a thumbs up to this well written and intriguing tale.
About the Author : Jodi Daynard is a writer of fiction, essays, and criticism. Her work has appeared in numerous periodicals, including The New York Times Book Review, The Village Voice, The Paris Review, Agni, New England Review and in several anthologies. She is the author of The Place Within: Portraits of the American Landscape by 20 Contemporary Writers (W. W. Norton). Ms. Daynard’s essays have been nominated for several prizes and mentioned in Best American Essays. She has taught writing at Harvard University, M.I.T., and in the MFA program at Emerson College, and served for seven years as Fiction Editor at Boston Review. She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, The National Women’s Book Association, and the Author’s Guild. The Midwife’s Revolt is her first novel.
Prizes! And now for the best part, the prizes! Because who doesn't love awesome book themed gifts? Jodi is offering A Kindle Fire to one reader as well as a Artemis Cameo Necklace, an American Flag Folk Art and a $25 Amazon Gift Card. All you have to do is leave a comment and enter the rafflecopter! Of course, there are plenty of other ways to enter to win just by helping spread the word about The Midwife's Revolt.
a Rafflecopter giveawayThe Tour: Follow along and read more reviews of The Midwife's Revolt. You can see the full list of participating reviews HERE.
For the letter W on the A to Z blogging Challenge I'm sharing an excerpt from my work in progress, Worth. Enjoy a little taste of this exciting thriller and please leave a comment and let me know what you think. :)
Blurb:
Dean Cross waited impatiently for his estranged wife to step
off her flight. He has hope that after three years of separation they can put
their marriage back together again. The last passenger disembarked, no Lucinda.
Had she missed the flight, changed her mind?
Kidnapping isn’t just a crime, it’s a multi-million
dollar business. Most believe only rich kids or missionaries in a foreign
country are held for ransom. The Cross’ find out anyone can be taken, it only
matters what your worth.
Excerpt:
Worth
Chapter One
The airport intercom hissed then called out, “United Flight
109 to Los Angeles will be boarding in 20 minutes, at gate six.”
Lucinda sat in the airport there was a thirty-minute delay
boarding, of course. When did she ever get on a flight that left on time..... Never.
She'd drank a soda during the first delay and now it was time to take a break.
She pulled her bag over to the desk. "Excuse me, I'm on
this flight but I need to visit the ladies. Can I leave my bag with you for
just a minute?"
The clerk pulled the bag around the desk and nodded.
"Sure, they should be ready soon so don't be long."
Luce smiled. "Thanks I'll be quick." She hurried
into the restroom and into a stall with a sigh of relief.
When she came out of the stall another woman a bit taller,
with an athletic build came out of the stall next to her. Luce thought the
lovely woman would make a fantastic sports model.
The woman toyed with her skirt and watched Lucinda walk up
to the sink. "Best to go before you get on the plane. I hate those
bathrooms."
Luce glanced up in the mirror and grinned softly.
"Ditto. I have luggage bigger than that.”
Lucinda took a breath as she stood in front of the ladies
room mirror. She washed her hands and wondered if going home was the right
decision. It had been a long time, maybe too long to make things right again.
The stranger stepped over to the sink next to Lucinda. She
glanced over with a friendly grin. “Anxious about flying?”
Lucinda gave her back a slight grin in an attempt to be
polite. “No, anxious about the destination.” She pulled a couple of towels from
the machine, the rough paper echoed as it crinkled as she rubbed her hands dry.
Lucinda turned from the woman to drop the towels in the
trash, when a cloth covered her nose and mouth. She tried to move away, but was
trapped by the woman's body and the sinks. Luce struggled to pull the hand from
her face, but that only made the chloroform work faster.
She tried to scream but the deep breath she took to belt one
out made the room spin. The next second the room turned hazy and her body went
limp in the stranger’s arms.
***
Lucinda felt groggy as she woke. She swallowed and her mouth
felt like dry cotton. The room was dark and the bed uncomfortable and lumpy. “This
is not the five star hotel I booked online.” She must have been tired she can‘t
remember the flight or getting to LA.
She sat up and a lightheaded sensation made her head spin a
bit. Luce rubbed her eyes and remembered Dino was supposed to have met her at
the airport. She tugged at her blouse and paused, she hadn’t changed into bedclothes?
Luce looked down and her clothing was askew. As though she
had been searched. She took a deep breath in an attempt to push back the
grogginess. “What is going on?” She reached to switch on a lamp... there was no
night table.
She squinted and looked around as her eyes adjusted to the
moonlit room. It was not a hotel, she was sure of that. Quickly she swung her
legs off the bed and started to the door. Something cinched her ankle and she
fell hard to the filthy wood floor.
Lucinda looked down her leg, a small chain that reminded her
of something to tie a dog out with was fastened tight around her ankle. The
other end to the bed, she pulled but the bed had been fastened to the floor as
well.
Panic began to set in. Luce looked out the window, there
wasn’t much to see. She was on the second floor of a house maybe... Where was
she? Why was she here?
Memory of the woman in the airport came back to her. “Oh God…
I’ve been kidnapped?”
That couldn’t be right, that kind of thing didn’t happen to
people like her she wasn’t rich or famous.
Her attention snapped back when the doorknob jiggled. Her
breath began to pant as the door creaked open. It wasn’t a movie where Liam
Neeson was going to sweep in and save her from the man who stepped in. It was
real.
****
So what do you think? Do you know what you would be worth?
Part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge for the letter W
: Jodi Daynard is a writer of fiction, essays, and criticism. Her work has appeared in numerous periodicals, including The New York Times Book Review, The Village Voice, The Paris Review, Agni, New England Review and in several anthologies. She is the author of The Place Within: Portraits of the American Landscape by 20 Contemporary Writers (W. W. Norton). Ms. Daynard’s essays have been nominated for several prizes and mentioned in Best American Essays. She has taught writing at Harvard University, M.I.T., and in the MFA program at Emerson College, and served for seven years as Fiction Editor at Boston Review. She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, The National Women’s Book Association, and the Author’s Guild. The Midwife’s Revolt is her first novel.
Prizes! And now for the best part, the prizes! Because who doesn't love awesome book themed gifts? Jodi is offering A Kindle Fire to one reader as well as a Artemis Cameo Necklace, an American Flag Folk Art and a $25 Amazon Gift Card. All you have to do is leave a comment and enter the rafflecopter! Of course, there are plenty of other ways to enter to win just by helping spread the word about 
