Sunday, July 31, 2016

Review: Cobra Z by Sean Deville


Cobra Z: A Post Apocalyptic Thriller
by Sean Deville
Published June 15th 2016
Genre: Horror, Zombies


Blurb:


What if one day you find your world suddenly torn apart? Entranced by your daily routine, you hear the terrifying news that makes your blood run cold. A devastating man made virus has been unleashed on the world, a virus so lethal that it rapidly turns everyone it infects into rabid, blood crazed killers. Maniacs so devoid of humanity that their only goal in life is to rip the flesh from your very body, and kill or infect the people you love the most. Would you panic? Would you rush from your desk in a frantic attempt to save your children? Would you hunker down, and hope the infection somehow passes you by, praying to whatever God you think will help? And what if the very people you care for so deeply are the ones clawing at your door, their blood smeared faces screaming for the destruction of your soul?

How would you survive in such a world? And would you want to?




My Review:

A virus has been dropped on London and it is spreading thorough the world like wildfire. People are being infected by the hundreds in an hour’s time.

The zombies in Cobra Z are unlike any zombies I have ever read before. They are faster than a speeding bullet and will be upon you before you can blink an eye.

Most zombie books start somewhere in the middle or right at the beginning of the outbreak not Cobra Z it starts at the very beginning with the creation of the virus.


If you like reading books about zombies and in the mood for something a little different than your average zombie book then this is the book for you. Cobra Z is a very thought out and well written novel. Pick up your copy today!

Saturday, July 30, 2016

Reviews Blast (Spotlight): Benjamin McTish by June M. Pace @TheJuner @GHBTours



Book Info-
Title-Benjamin McTish and the Door Through the Grandfather Tree
Series- Benjamin McTish # 1
By- June M. Pace
Genre- Reviews Blast: Benjamin McTish by June M. Pace 


Blurb-

One day Benjamin watches from behind the Rhododendron as a mysterious little woman steps out of a taxi in front of the cream colored house with the forest green trim next door, and in one synchronistic moment their eyes lock and a series of visual snippets of unfamiliar events unfold in his mind’s vision. His razor sharp sixth sense allows him the freedom to explore the extrasensory messages coming at him like a derailed freight train.
And when Benjamin finds a peculiar relic of a key in his grandmother’s garden shed, he could never know his world was about to change forever.


There is local legend in the small town of Grandlochcheshire that has been passed down for a 100 years about the mysterious disappearance of the Chickering family, that trails on the coat tails of the equally shocking abduction of the children belonging to the owner of the Skeffington Union Rails. The circumstances that follow this notorious tale enter into the modern world of Benjamin and his two best mates.


Annabel and Mathilda, two sisters who have moved from America, have become more than mere friends to Benjamin, they have all become the three Muskydeers (Mathilda’s mispronounced version of Musketeers, which was a huge laugh and of course it stuck), as they are plunged head first into this curious journey.  


In the Gilley Forest they discover that the path they have chosen is inundated with many obstacles as well as intrigue.  Alliances are made with the Forest clan of Gnomes and with the aid of the Vila sisters, the three friends take on the test that is the Grandfather Tree.  They must stay on the pre ordained Path of Prophecy, whose ancestry comes from the home of the oldest living beings on the planet, the Elves of the Darmon.  However, this is no easy task for the Muskydeers as they have the foulest of sorcery hunting their every move, the powerful dark beauty, Tar Vigorn…who will stop at nothing to gain entrance into the Great Tree.


Through the Door and beneath the enchanted Gilley Forest lies the ever magical land of Coranim...a place of insight, thought and possibilities, with wondrous sites and magic galore.   Once in Coranim the children make the acquaintance of the greatest Medicine Elder alive, Esmerelda Fet.  A most powerful Light Sorceress with a brazen in your face attitude and a thick Irish brogue, who guides the trio on their Path of destiny.


However, dear reader, a path can change in the blink of an eye.


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17984619-benjamin-mctish-and-the-door-through-the-grandfather-tree  http://www.amazon.com/Benjamin-McTish-Door-through-Grandfather/dp/0989646408/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465254776&sr=8-1&keywords=June+M.+Pace


PROMO Blitz: The Dragon in the Garden by Erika Gardner @RABTBookTours


Fantasy
Date Published:  February 2016

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On Sale $.99 until the end of July 

There is magic beneath the mundane and in The Dragon in the Garden, Siobhan Orsini witnesses it all. No lie can fool her, no glamour or illusion can cloud her Sight. She sees through them all and wishes she could close her eyes. Returning to face her past, Siobhan inherits her grandparents’ house in California’s wine country. She encounters a talking dragon, a hot fallen angel, a demon lord, a Valkyrie, and, oh yes, her ex-boyfriend. And that is just in the first twenty-four hours.

It’s time to find out why she has this power.

Siobhan seeks out the Oracle and learns that only her Sight can help mankind navigate the travails of an ancient war. Our world is the prize in a battle between the dragons, who would defend us, and Lucifer’s fallen angels, who seek to take the Earth for themselves. Using her gift, she will have to make a choice that will decide humanity’s future.


EXCERPT

Chapter One

The memory has haunted me for years.
In the middle of a bright California summer, dark days came. My mother and grandparents spoke in hushed, serious voice, arguing about my absent father. Was it my fault he left? A soft whimper escaped my throat and my eyes burned. I needed a hug, but no one paid any attention to me that day.  So I ran away to the refuge of my grandparents’ garden where I could hide among its statues and flowers.
My eyes lingered over the familiar garden ornaments. I passed the old birdbath, the statues of gnomes, and a cheerful squirrel. I ran one hand over the stone deer. Its brown paint had faded from years under the sun. Walking with quick steps down the gravel path, I made my way to the center of the garden, my special spot where my favorite statue waited. 
       A gnarled apricot tree grew there.  Right now it was covered with tiny green apricots. Later in the summer the sweet fruit I loved would ripen. I would get to pick them with my parents, no, just with my mother. My lip trembled. My father wouldn’t be here. 
The bright-green dragon lay curled at the foot of the apricot tree, partially covered by vines. My mother called the color jade green—the same shade as my eyes. As a child she talked to all the statues, but I only spoke to the dragon. I named her Daisy. Sitting down next to her now, the tears welled up at last, spilling over my cheeks. I wrapped my arms around my legs, making myself into a little ball of five year old misery.
“Child, why are you sad?” said a woman’s voice.
“Who said that?” I asked, wiping my cheek.
 “I did.”
“Where are you?” I stood and peered at the plants and statues around me.
“Right here.”
“Are not,” I retorted.
A soft laugh filled the air and the woman spoke again. “Perhaps you are right. Easy enough to fix, I suppose.”
The breeze picked up. The space beneath the apricot tree shimmered. Ripples warped the air like the heat over the barbecue when my father cooked. The sweet notes of wind chimes filled the yard. Grandma and Grandpa didn’t have any wind chimes. I whirled around to find the noise. 
Under the branches appeared an enormous green dragon’s head. My mouth opened in a silent O and I held my breath.
 “Now child,” said the woman. “I won’t hurt you.” Her voice came from the dragon’s mouth.
I opened my lips to scream, but no noise came. Backing away, I bumped into the hammock and froze.
“I don’t eat little girls.” The dragon’s huge golden eyes twinkled.
“How did you know what I was thinking?” I whispered.
“I am a good guesser. Besides, I know I must be very big to you.” The voice sounded kind, like my teacher’s.
“As big as Daddy’s car,” I said.
“Oh, I am much bigger than that,” the dragon said, smiling. Her teeth shone white and enormous. “I’m only showing you a bit of me right now.”
“Where is the rest of you?”
“All around us.”
“Why aren’t you smooshing everything?” I gestured around the garden.
The dragon chuckled. “You are a smart little thing.” The jeweled head tilted to one side. “You would be Siobhan, yes?”
“You said it right. Sha-vauhn.” Everyone messed up my name. I wished on every first star, each night, for a different name— a normal name.
“In the old country Siobhan means ‘God is gracious.’”
“Yep, that’s what Mommy says, too,” I said glumly. “What’s your name?”
“Gwyrdd ferch Heulen ferch Caden ap Haydn.”
“Gwyer-eth?” My mouth struggled with the unfamiliar name.
“Not bad,” said the dragon. “I like the name you gave me—Daisy.”
“It’s easier to say,” I said.
“I am not smooshing the garden because I am not quite here. Only part of me is here. What year is it?”
“It’s 1993, Daisy.”
The dragon stirred. “It’s too early, child. The prophecy says I should not be here yet.”
“What’s a prophecy?” My tongue stumbled on the unfamiliar word.
“It’s a prediction of what might happen in the future.”
“You mean like the weather? My daddy says the guys on TV mess up all the time,” I said.
Daisy chuckled, a low rumble deep in her throat. “Your father is not wrong.”
“What does it say will happen?” 
“I am supposed to meet someone, but our appointment is for later,” said Daisy.
“Can’t you stay here until the appointment? I won’t let you be late,” I said.
Daisy frowned. “It’s a secret appointment. There are some people I don’t want to know about the person I’m supposed to meet.”
“Bad people?” I asked. “Is that why you hide and pretend to be a statue?”
 “Have you ever had a friend,” asked Daisy, “a friend who misbehaved and needed a break?”
 I knew all about that. “Sure, Danny hit Carter. They’re friends, but they both wanted the bike, and wouldn’t take turns. Miss Sarah told them to go sit down and have a time out.”
“Miss Sarah must be very smart,” said the dragon. “As it happens, friends and I have been fighting over something and we needed a time out.”
“Are there more dragons?” I asked.
“Yes, many more.”
“Are there dragons hiding in any other statues?”
The jeweled head moved slowly back and forth. “No, just me. The others cannot pass between worlds.”
“Why just you?”
“I have a job to do,” said Daisy. Her voice sounded sad.
 “Are the dragons good guys?” I asked, scooting closer to Daisy and laying a hand on her warm nose. I didn’t want her to be sad. 
Daisy snorted, tickling my hand so I giggled. “Yes, dear one, I think we are good.”
“But, if you come back now it would be bad?” My laughter faded.
“It would be very bad indeed, but later, when it is right, I can return.” Daisy sighed.
“I always knew you were real.” I straightened my shoulders. I had found a dragon in hiding.
“Really?” Daisy asked.
“You’re the only statue I named,” I answered. “Nobody fools me.”
The breeze picked up again. Daisy sniffed the wind. “Siobhan, I’m afraid it’s time for me to leave or the bad things will happen. Will you be all right?”
“My daddy’s not coming back, is he?” My worries returned.
Her scales sparkled in the bright sunshine. “No, he is not coming back to your mother although he will visit you and your brother.”
I sighed. “Daisy, will I ever see you again?”
The golden eyes twinkled. “Yes, I believe you will.”
The air warped again. I tried to watch, but a bird warbled close by, and I turned my head. When I glanced back at the apricot tree, the air shimmered and the small, dragon statue lay where Daisy’s head had been. “But, Daisy, who were you fighting with?”
A whisper floated on the breeze. I bent closer to the statue to listen. “That can’t be right,” I said to the empty garden.
On that day everything changed, especially me.
My name is Siobhan Isabella Orsini. It would be twenty years before I saw my dragon again.



About the Author

Erika is a sixth generation San Franciscan of Irish descent. She attended the University of California at Davis and completed degrees in Medieval History and Biological Sciences. A lifelong lover of books and a scribbler of many tales from a young age (her first story was completed at age five) she turned to writing full-time in 2011.

On a personal level she loves spicy food, twilight, dark chocolate (with sea salt-yum!) and nickel slots at Vegas. Erika lives for time with friends, a nice glass of red wine, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” & “Doctor Who” and good conversation. Her favorite things to do are running, cooking, reading, needlework, gardening… and of course, writing. Erika's music of choice is heavy metal. To pick her out in a lineup you should know that she is very short, fairly loud, and has dark eyebrows. The rest, as her hero Anne McCaffrey once said in her bio, “is subject to change without notice”.

Erika resides in Northern California with her incredibly hot husband, their three amazing kids, and their chocolate Labrador named Selkie. To reach Erika regarding her books, wine recommendations, or to debate which Iron Maiden album is the best (clearly, it’s Brave New World), you can find her online at www.erikagardner.com.


Purchase Links


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Cover Reveal: Forever My Soldier by Alison Mello @alisonmelloauth @XpressoTours


Forever My Soldier
Alison Mello
(Love Conquers Life #3)
Published by: Limitless Publishing
Publication date: August 9th 2016
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance


All Patricia Fitzgerald wants is to live happily ever after with her soldier…

With their relationship finally out in the open, and Carter on the fast track to recovery, Patty spends Black Friday helping him with his charity event. Their attempt to spread Christmas cheer is interrupted, though, when Patty’s ex-boyfriend Ben, who has been harassing her for months, shows up. Fearing for Patty’s life, one of the men on the protection detail springs into action.

Patty finally thinks her worries are over, but the media won’t leave her alone…

The press is everywhere. Patty wants to move on with her life, but they’re relentless in their badgering about the circumstances surrounding Ben. If that isn’t enough stress to endure, someone spikes Patty’s drink during a New Year’s Eve event, and it isn’t her meddling ex. Luckily, Carter is there to save her when she collapses, but this constant threat to her life isn’t going away.

Planning a wedding becomes tedious instead of fun when you’re constantly looking over your shoulder…

A cake tasting is supposed to be one of those days as a future bride when you get to sit back and take a break from the chaos of planning the ceremony. Someone new is out there, though, and they aren’t happy with how Patty handled Ben and her newfound fame in the press. Can Carter manage to keep his fiancĂ© safe long enough to put their ordeal with Ben behind them for good and finally become…

…forever her soldier?


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*Designed by Deranged Doctor Design*


Author Bio:
Alison Mello is a wife and stay at home mom to a wonderful little boy. She lives with her amazing family in Massachusetts. She loves playing soccer, basketball and football with her son. 
After having her son, Alison started reading again and fell in love with Contemporary Romance. Reading made her happy and gave her something to do when she had downtime. As she started to read more, she started to noticed things she really enjoyed in a book and things she didn’t. She began to have ideas for writing one of her own. One day she literally woke up and started writing. She realized that if there was ever a time for her to write, it was now. She had a part time job to give her something to do. The hours at work were slow and she was bored with what she was doing, so while her son was off enjoying his friends over summer vacation she got started. 
Alison finished the first book in two weeks and decided that she really enjoyed writing, so she kept going. She already had ideas in mind for books two and three, so she kept writing. That is how the Learning to Love Series was born. Somewhere along the line, one of my Beta readers convinced me that Michael, a character from Finding Love, needed his own story. That is when Alison added the fourth and final book. Alison hopes you enjoy her books as much as she enjoyed writing them. 
She’s so glad she started this writing journey and hopes you will stay with her for the ride. Chasing Dreams is scheduled to release in April and the first two books of the Love Conquers Life series will be out this summer! 

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Cover Reveal: The Blogger & the Hunk by Jane Matisse @jmatisseauthor @HotTreePromos @hottreepubs

Author: Jane Matisse
Title: The Blogger & the Hunk
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: September 3, 2016
Publisher: Hot Tree Publishing
Cover Designer: Claire Smith
Add to Goodreads
The Blogger

Penelope Luciano, a virginal wallflower who lives the life of a hermit, has always been overlooked. But everything changes when she trades her quiet night with a book for a rare night out with her friends.

The Hunk 

Jack Goodman, a confident skirt chaser, has always been a womanizer. But everything changes when he meets clumsy Penelope, and their first kiss turns into a night of passion.

When Penelope sneaks out the morning after, neither one expects to see each other again until they are thrown together in unexpected circumstances.

When pride and self-doubt get in the way, it's up to both the blogger and the hunk to attain their equal footing and find the strength to chase what they really want.


Jane Matisse is a professional introvert who began reading romance novels at the age of thirteen. She graduated with a BA in English Literature in 2014 and has been working hard ever since to put her degree to good use. Although it took her two years to finally finish her very first rough draft, she is thrilled to be releasing her debut The Blogger and the Hunk soon. Matisse loves all things Jane Austen, will choose tea over coffee any day, is a Phantom of the Opera aficionado, and has been an avid book blogger since 2013. She currently lives in SoCal with her family and three fur babies: Max, Thumper, and Percy. 


Friday, July 29, 2016

Review: Dinosaur Lake III: Infestation by Kathryn Meyer Griffith @KathrynG64


Dinosaur Lake III: Infestation
(Dinosaur Lake #3)
by Kathryn Meyer Griffith
Published December 31st 2014
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Suspense, Fantasy

Blurb:


Chief Park Ranger Henry Shore has dealt with and fought real live dinosaurs at his beloved Crater Lake National Park for over six years. With the help of his rangers, a few brave FBI friends and army soldiers he’d been victorious over a prehistoric lake creature and years later some particularly fiendish, and clever, specimens of the flying variety. He and his newspaper publisher wife, Ann, thought their park was finally rid of the monsters and they could reclaim their tranquil life in a place they cherished. Not so. For suddenly across the park new and even more malevolent mutant species of dinosaur begin to appear and create havoc, attacking the park’s visitors and threatening its peace. And this time the primeval scourge isn’t confined to just their park. The creatures have moved into the nearby towns, across the western United States and up into Canada. They are so much more aggressive, smarter and hungrier than any that have come before and the infestation is spreading further and faster than Henry and Ann can even imagine. This time there’s no easy way to defeat the dinosaurs. There’s too many of them and they’re too devious. This time it’s full out war and the victor will someday claim Earth.

Dinosaur Lake
Goodreads ~ Amazon

Read my review of Dinosaur Lake: HERE!




Dinosaur Lake II: Dinosaurs Arising
Goodreads ~ Amazon

Read my review of Dinosaur Lake: HERE!



Guest Post:

Dinosaur Lake Series Backstory

Of all my 22 novels my Dinosaur Lake series (Dinosaur Lake, Dinosaur Lake II: Dinosaurs Arising, Dinosaur Lake III: Infestation–and coming soon: Dinosaur Lake IV: Dinosaur Wars) has the strangest story attached to its creation, death and rebirth…20 years later…of any of them.

Not so much because, as a few of my books, it took so long to write or publish, but because in 1993 it was contracted, edited and the final galleys had been proofed by me for a 5th paperback book release from Zebra (Kensington Publishing) after 3 earlier novels with Leisure Books. I even had a stack of the full-color, printed and embossed covers; it was only weeks before it was to go to the bookshelves (in those days the brick & mortar stores were still king, no Internet or ebooks). I strongly believed it’d be my breakout book. You know, the book that’d make my career and launch me into the stratosphere with Stephen King and Anne Rice? How wrong I’d be. But, hey, I thought who wouldn’t love a tale of a cunning but malevolent rampaging prehistoric dinosaur living in Crater Lake, Oregon, and the Park Ranger who, along with a ragtag gang of heroes who’d try to stop it? I mean, I’d always loved anything about dinosaurs…dinosaur books, playing with those little plastic figurines and watching old stop-action dinosaur movies of the 1950’s and 60’s…who hadn’t? Apparently someone. My new editor at Zebra.

By 1994, after four novels with them, I’d lost my sweet editor there and a new one took her place…and over the next year he didn’t like anything I wrote for him and later that year Zebra unceremoniously dropped me and my book (Predator…which never came out but still lingers to this very day like some weird ghost book in every computer on the global Internet) only six weeks away from going to the bookstore shelves. When we were editing the book and deciding on the title and the cover, I’d begged the new editor not to call it Predator (his choice as they hadn’t liked my American Loch Ness Monster title), bad title since there was a popular movie out of that name and the movie, with Arnold Schwarzenegger, was nothing about a dinosaur, and the cover was awful, an empty boat on a lake…what!!! Having that book-my first ever-dumped like that was a crushing experience, let me tell you. I had a stack of finished, printed covers and my final edits were done! But nothing my agent or I could say or do would change their minds. They said they were cutting their horror lines and setting adrift a lot of their mid-list horror authors because horror (in 1994) was on the decline. The new editor-that-didn’t-like-my-writing explained: “And no one wants to read a book about a dinosaur.” Yeah, sure. And six months later Jurassic Park the book came out! We all know how that story ended, don’t we? People loved the book, the movies; they loved dinosaurs.

I’ll never know the real reason they cut the book but that male editor never bought another book from me…which was another weird thing because when I’d met him in New York (I went for a Horror Convention) in the summer of 1993 he’d taken my husband and I out to lunch and gushed over me and said how much he’d loved my last release WITCHES. Hmmm.

Anyway, I got to keep my advance but the book was officially dead. It never came out. I grieved. I was so disgusted I stashed it in a drawer somewhere and tried to forget it. Until now. After I’d finished revising and rereleasing all my new/old 15 books (and besides paperbacks they’re in ebooks for the first time ever) from Eternal Press/Damnation Books in June of 2012 I remembered about my American Loch Ness Monster novel, took it out and reread it.

Whoa, like a lot of my older novels now years later I could see what was wrong with it and how to fix it. Back then I hadn’t seen the head-hopping I did or the awkward phrasing, stiff or overly dramatic dialogue, repetitive words and other things I’ve learned since to recognize and stay away from. Of course, computers help make the editing so much easier. I think I’d done the original book on my electric typewriter. Anyway, telling myself the dumping of that book had been a turning point in my writing life-sending me in the wrong direction for a long time apparently…I couldn’t sell a book for eight long years after that-I decided to rewrite and finally release it. In fact, I was going to do something that twenty years ago would have been unheard of and frowned on…self-publish the book myself. With Kindle Direct. For the first time in forty years I was walking away from the traditional publishers and going on my own. Thank you J.A. Konrath’s blog! I figured I could sell the Kindle eBook a lot cheaper and, thus, use it to introduce (as enticement) more readers to my writing and perhaps, if they liked it, they’d buy more of my other novels, novellas and various short stories. It could work, right? So here it is, re-titled, rewritten, updated and with an amazing new cover I love by Dawne Dominque… Dinosaur Lake. I hope my readers will like it.


P.S. July 1, 2016 Update: So far Dinosaur Lake and its two sequels Dinosaur Lake II: Dinosaurs Arising and Dinosaur Lake III: Infestation have outsold ANYTHING I've ever written. Dinosaur Lake has 279 reviews (4.1 star average) at Amazon. Dinosaur Lake IV: Dinosaur Wars is now being written and should be done by Jan. 2017. AND...now I have ALL my 22 novels self-published everywhere. 

Take a look! eBooks here: http://tinyurl.com/ld4jlow

*Audible.com audio books here: http://tinyurl.com/oz7c4or

My Review:

Chief Park Ranger Henry Shore is back and fighting bigger, meaner, and smarter and more dinosaurs. Henry has been a ranger at Crater Lake for thirteen years. He loves his park and hopes to live and work there until he retires. He thought that when he fought dinosaurs six years ago that that would be the end of them but how wrong he was. Yeah six years ago Henry his wife Ann and his rangers fought dinosaurs on land when it was all over they thought their lives would get back to normal but that was not to be the case just ask Ranger Elle Stanton who went over the rim of the crater in a trolley that was pushed by one of the flying variety.

Now just four months later they are back! They were really hoping that their lives would now start getting back to normal but the dinosaurs have other plans for the humans. They are back with a vengeance and they plan on taking over the world. They want to be at the top of the food change and they just might be seeing how they are very smart. They hide from the humans and plan out their attacks. They attack the humans by throwing whatever they can find at the humans.

Henry’s son-in-law Justin a paleontologist who has helped Henry fight dinosaurs on more than one occasion is afraid that Crater Lake may not be the only place that dinosaurs are appearing so he does a little investigating of his own. What he finds out is very scary. What he fears is happening dinosaur sightings are appearing all over the world.

Oh man I have loved reading Dinosaur Lake III: Infestation. I loved reading about all the dinosaurs running around stomping all over the lake and the city planning and attacking the humans not that I want to see anyone get hurt but Kathryn is not of the same mind she sure doesn’t mind killing off any of the characters. While reading Dinosaur Lake you sort of feel as if you have ESP. Why? Well Kathryn paints a picture in your head that makes you forget everything around you and you think you are right there with Henry, Ann, Justin and everyone else fighting dinosaurs and running for your life.

Will their lives ever be back to normal and what is normal exactly? In the end who will win and take over the world? Will the humans prevail or will the dinosaurs rise up and take over and rule the earth once again? I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. I hope I don’t have to wait too long. 


Dinosaur Lake (3 Book Series)



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Since childhood I’ve been an artist and worked as a graphic designer in the corporate world and for newspapers for twenty-three years before I quit to write full time. But I’d already begun writing novels at 21, over forty-four years ago now, and have had twenty-two (ten romantic horror, two horror novels, two romantic SF horror, one romantic suspense, one romantic time travel, one historical romance, two thrillers, and four murder mysteries) previous novels, two novellas and twelve short stories published from Zebra Books, Leisure Books, Avalon Books, The Wild Rose Press, Damnation Books/Eternal Press. But I’ve gone into self-publishing in a big way since 2012; and upon getting all my 22 books’ full rights back for the first time in 33 years, have self-published all of them. My Dinosaur Lake novels and Spookie Town Mysteries (Scraps of Paper, All Things Slip Away and Ghosts Beneath Us) are my best-sellers.

I’ve been married to Russell for thirty-eight years; have a son and two grandchildren and I live in a small quaint town in Illinois. We have a quirky cat, Sasha, and the three of us live happily in an old house in the heart of town. Though I’ve been an artist, and a folk/classic rock singer in my youth with my brother Jim, writing has always been my greatest passion, my butterfly stage, and I’ll probably write stories until the day I die…or until my memory goes.

2012 EPIC EBOOK AWARDS *Finalist* for her horror novel The Last Vampire ~ 2014 EPIC EBOOK AWARDS * Finalist * for her thriller novel Dinosaur Lake.


Novels and short stories:

Evil Stalks the Night, The Heart of the Rose, Blood Forged, Vampire Blood, The Last Vampire (2012 EPIC EBOOK AWARDS*Finalist* in their Horror category), Witches, The Nameless One erotic horror short story, The Calling, Scraps of Paper (The First Spookie Town Murder Mystery), All Things Slip Away (The Second Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Ghosts Beneath Us (The Third Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Egyptian Heart, Winter’s Journey, The Ice Bridge, Don’t Look Back, Agnes, A Time of Demons and Angels, The Woman in Crimson, Human No Longer, Four Spooky Short Stories Collection, Forever and Always Romantic Novella, Night Carnival Short Story, Dinosaur Lake (2014 EPIC EBOOK AWARDS*Finalist* in their Thriller/Adventure category), Dinosaur Lake II: Dinosaurs Arising and Dinosaur Lake III: Infestation.





Release Event + #Giveaway: Ultimate Courage by Piper J. Drake @PiperJDrake @Barclay_PR

Hot military heroes, the women who love them, and the devoted dogs that always have their backs. ULTIMATE COURAGE is the second book in a high adrenaline contemporary suspense series from Piper J. Drake published by Forever Romance. Fans of D.D. Ayres K-9 Rescue series and Cindy Gerard’s One Eyed Jacks, will love this action packed romantic suspense series.



Title: Ultimate Courage
Author: Piper J. Drake
Series: True Heroes #2
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: July 26, 2016
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing- Forever
Print Length:  336 pages
Format: Digital and Mass Market Paperback

Synopsis:

LOVE IS AN ACT OF BRAVERY

Retired Navy SEAL Alex Rojas is putting his life back together, one piece at a time. Being a single dad to his young daughter and working at Hope's Crossing Kennels to help rehab a former guard dog, he struggles every day to control his PTSD. But when Elisa Hall shows up, on the run and way too cautious, she unleashes his every protective instinct.

Elisa's past never stays in her rearview mirror for long, and she refuses to put anyone else in danger. But with Alex guarding her so fiercely yet looking at her so tenderly, she's never felt safer . . . or more terrified that the secrets she keeps could put countless people in grave peril. The only way for both to fully escape their demons will take the ultimate act of courage: letting go and learning to trust each other.

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EXCERPT:

Alex’s hand came up slowly to cradle the side of her face, encouraging her to tilt her head, and she did. He deepened the kiss then, his tongue running across her lips and coaxing them to open for him. She opened with a sigh, and his tongue swept into her mouth, gently tasting. She kissed him back in return, leaning into him until she had one hand braced against his hard chest.

A needy moan escaped her, and he responded in kind. When he lifted his mouth from hers, she almost tipped into him, her knees not holding her upright anymore and her head spinning. Wow.

She took not one, but several long breaths to clear her head, looking down at a black and tan face staring up at her with soulful, dark eyes. Souze wasn’t shy about watching, apparently.

The thought brought her the rest of the way to her senses, because weird. Yeah. Weird.

She took a step back, and Alex let her. He’d done that since the beginning. Letting her go if she wanted. So why was it so hard to leave now even if she kept saying she should?

“Thank you,” she told him, not looking up into his eyes.

“But?” Alex’s voice came cool, deep, and so sexy it just wasn’t fair.

“But I should go. Especially because this is obviously not a professional thing now.”

“No. But none of your previous employers particularly cared if you left, did they?” He sounded reasonable. “Did they bother to try to check on you?”

“Not that I know of.” She said it slowly. She’d had her phone with her, and she’d been checking her e-mail. Both big mistakes, she knew now. But she’d been paid under the table and they didn’t really have a way to contact her after she disappeared.

“I think that’s a little odd.” Rojas lifted his hand, giving her plenty of time to avoid him, and brushed her hair back from her face. “Maybe this time, it wouldn’t hurt to have someone care about whether you disappear.”




Guest Post:

10 favorite places to visit:


1. Japan - I’ve been to Tokyo several times as well as to Hakone and even went to a Mizuki Nana concert at Seibu Dome in Tokorozawa. Every visit is a new adventure. The people, the culture, and especially the food keep me coming back. I’m a fan of anime and many things otaku. I also follow the YouTube vloggers Simon and Martina (https://www.youtube.com/user/simonandmartina) and their adventures living in Japan.

2. Thailand - Both of my parents are from Thailand and I spent summers there in my youth. Most of my family still lives there. My mother retired and decided to build a house just outside Bangkok, though she visits the United States for almost half the year. I have many childhood memories of adventures visiting small islands and temples around Thailand, enjoying Thai street food, and even going to school in the summers - because their schools were still in session even though my school in the US was on summer break.

3. United Kingdom - I’ve travelled to London, Cambridge, Portsmouth, and Basingstoke for my day job. Each business trip, I try to extend a day or two to give me time to visit and explore. Contrary to the frequent commentary about English cuisine, I find traditional English breakfast, pub pies, and other dishes really tasty. Sticky toffee pudding is a favorite! I also can’t resist a wonderful afternoon tea (or high tea, depending on who you ask).

4. Hawaii - I’ve visited the Big Island and OĘ»ahu on different visits and I’ve become enchanted by those islands. The food (always the food!), the culture, and the mythology of Hawaii really attract me.

5. New Zealand - I’ve been to Auckland for day job and I definitely want to go back to see more of the country. I would love to visit the sites related to Lord of the Rings for example. And there’s a steampunk town I really would like to explore. I’d love to learn more about their history and maybe attend a rugby game. A couple close friends of mine are huge fans of the All Blacks.

6. Ireland - I’m very interested in mythology and Ireland has some incredible legends. I’ve never been and I definitely want to visit, explore a castle, stay in a few lovely bed and breakfasts, and get a feel for the place.

7. Scotland - This is another place I’ve never been and would love to go to. There’s something about highlander romances that have me wanting to go and visit. Plus, I’d love to go for Scotch tastings.

8. Cape Town, South Africa - Africa is a very big place and this is only the first of the places I’d like to visit there. Again, there’s so much mythology and folklore here. I want to go, learn, take in the culture, and come out with this place in my heart.

9. Seattle, Washington - With all the travel I do for day job, this is one city I continually love to plan vacations to visit. Downtown Seattle and Pike Place Market never tire me. I want to go back and explore more of downtown, discover new places to eat, and go on adventures both inside and around the city.

10. Orlando, Florida - I love Disney World and Harry Potter World. Enough said.








About Piper J. Drake:

Piper J. Drake (or “PJ”) began her writing career as “PJ Schnyder” writing sci-fi & paranormal romance and steampunk. She has recently received the FF&P PRISM award for her work as well as the NJRW Golden Leaf award and Parsec award.

Now, PJ is exploring the complexity of romantic suspense, incorporating her interests in mixed martial arts and the military into her writing.


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