Tuesday, 10 November 2020

Living Sacrifice




Separated, but still joined, they strive for freedom.

Left behind at the sept son’s compound, Zezilia Ilar struggles with the after effects of her prolonged commisceo-link with Hadrian. She devotes herself to caring for the wounded arriving almost daily from the battlefields. Pressed to perform procedures and make decisions far beyond her training, Zez grows in confidence and skill. All the while, she wonders if she'll see Hadrian again, fearing the worst possible news will arrive any day.

Sept Son Hadrian Aleron fights to bring peace to his home nation. Allied with the new high king, he and a small army of Talented struggle to retake the capital city. Elitists, though scattered, continue to pick off the strongest of his men. As he battles the remnants of the commisceo-link and tries to organize the campaign, he begins losing himself to exhaustion. Only a miracle will keep him alive.

  
  

  Rachel Rossano is a happily married mother of three children. She spends her days teaching, mothering, and keeping the chaos at bay. After the little ones are in bed, she immerses herself in the fantasy worlds of her books. Tales of romance, adventure, and virtue set in a medieval fantasy world are her preference, but she also writes speculative fantasy and a bit of science fiction.





Character Descriptions:

Name – Hadrian Aleron

As the youngest of seven sons, he was given seven names (a cultural tradition): Ilias Durand Fidel Hadrian Krispin Valens Savill Aleron (which mean Jehovah is my God, enduring, faithful, dark one, curly-haired, valiant, from the willow farm, eagle). However, he goes by Hadrian most of the time.

Physical Appearance – Tall, dark brown unruly curls, angular features, and intense dark eyes

Tallest among his siblings, he stands out in many ways. Perhaps it was because of the knowledge that he was going to have to help lead a nation at a young age, but even before he took up the role, he carried an air of purpose and gravity about him.

Hadrian was raised by believing parents to honor, love, and obey the Almighty at all costs. In a nation that worships a goddess, that fidelity could mean persecution and, for a public official, possibly death.

 

Name - Zezilia Ilar

Her parents also followed the tradition of giving a child the same number of names as their placement in the family. More names usually meant more prestige. Her names are Zezilia Septima Calypso Aldyne Dulcia Tulliola Olethea Ilar (which means: gray-eyed, seventh born, she who hides, little winged one, sweet, little quiet one, honest, cheerful). Her parents and friends frequently call her Zez.

Physical Appearance – I envision Gal Godot. She is tall for a young woman, she has a nose a bit too long for beauty according to some, changeable gray eyes, and a thick mane of dark mildly curly hair.

Although she is the youngest of her siblings, all brothers, she holds her own in keeping up with as many of their activities as she can manage to join. Eager to please, she is acutely aware of the fact her parents, especially her father, are deeply disappointed she wasn’t the seventh born son they had hoped to raise. However, she is strong willed and not too remorseful. Instead she focuses on her interests of spending time outdoors and studying.



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Wednesday, 4 November 2020

Millie's Christmas Spirit

 


 

Some say Tina Peterson Scott likes to live life backwards: she got married and had her family first and just recently earned her Bachelor's Degree in University Studies with a minor in English. She does admit to being a life-long learner, but otherwise thinks she got life just right. 

Tina has written numerous articles for a local newspaper and worked as a newspaper editor for a time. She was also a contributor of non-fiction articles for The Beehive, and the Desert Saints Magazine. She is currently doing her best to fill the world with quality fiction that involves sweet romance and happily-ever-afters. 

Tina doesn’t usually enter contests but has won first place in the American Mothers Association for her article titled, Just Call Me Mom, and second place for her poem, A Part of Me. In the LDStorymakers’ First Chapter Contest, she won second place for her novel, Menopausal Fairy Mischief. She is also pleased that one of her children’s picture book reviews was published in the Arizona English Bulletin.



Can former high school sweethearts have a second chance at love? Phoenix property manager Millie Crump returns to her dusty hometown, the week before Christmas to prepare the local haunted hotel for sale. Her boss doesn’t know it, but her secret agenda is to keep her childhood promise to the ghost. Unfortunately, the guy who broke her heart fourteen years ago is the only one who can help with her plans.When his old crush roars into town behind the wheel of a fancy red Miata, Lonny Medina is blindsided by the city girl she’s become. Sure, he’ll help her with hotel cleanup and even dabble in some ghost-hunting, but he can’t risk his heart again. Together, they unravel clues, ward off danger, and fight to uncover the mystery of the old hotel while attempting to help the elusive ghost pass on. In doing so, Lonny and Millie discover the misconceptions that have kept them apart all these years, but both are unsure whether it will be enough to rewrite their futures into a happily ever after.



Snippet:

Her heart raced, and for a second it was like old times. Millie pulled away, the intimacy of their contact surprising her. He had no business hugging her like that. She bit back a less-than-professional retort about their “friendship” and instead raised an eyebrow, challenging his comment. “Who are you calling old?”




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Popcorn



When Monique isn’t writing, you can find her playing taxi driver to one or more of her 12 children, plotting her next novel, scrapbooking, or being the “Mamarazzi” at any number of child-oriented events. 

Even though she realizes there will never be enough hours in any given day, Monique tries very hard to enjoy the journey that is her life. She shares it with a terrific husband, her dozen children, twelve grand-darlings, too many cats, and many real and imaginary friends. She is the author of several books in three series and hopes to write many more.

  
~ Facebook ~ Website ~
~ Twitter ~
  



When hunger wakes little Ginnie from her dreams she sets out to make herself a midnight snack. Hilarity and trouble ensues as she wrecks the kitchen in her attempts to make homemade popcorn balls.

This is a delightful addition to the middle-grade series The Ginnie West Adventures, featuring Ginnie at at age 12.









Fun Facts About POPCORN

 

1)    The story of Popcorn was created when I was a teenager.

2)    I used to babysit for 2 little girls who would help me make up “Ginnie Stories”

3)    Ginnie was a girl version of “Dennis The Menace”

4)    Popcorn was our favorite “Ginnie story”.

5)    Ginnie is the main character in my Ginnie West Adventures.

6)    Each of the Ginnie West Adventure books highlights a “Ginnie Story”

7)    The 4th page of Popcorn features a picture above Ginnie’s head—that is a picture of Ginnie’s mama, Queenie, when she was 12.

8)    Almost every page of Popcorn has a picture of an animal on it.

9)    “Skittered” is one of my favorite words and is in each of my books one time.

10) Ginnie and Toran are twins.




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Tuesday, 3 November 2020

Hope series

 



E. C. Jackson began her writing career with the full-length play Pajama Party. For three and a half years she published the Confidence in Life newsletter for Alpha Production Ministries, in addition to writing tracts and devotionals. Teaching a women’s Bible study at her church for eleven years naturally led to her current endeavor of writing inspirational romance novels and teen and young adult fiction. Her mission: spiritual maturity in the body of Christ through fiction.

“The Write Way: A Real Slice of Life” is the slogan on my website and Facebook author page. If every person reading my book feels connected to the characters, my job is done.

Subscribers to my website can request a free copy of The Certain Hope audiobook and eBook. 



 Twenty-one-year-old Neka is a bit of an introvert, she also happens to be stunningly beautiful. When she discovers her friend James is about to be dumped, she sees the perfect opportunity to escape from her quiet life. Can she summon the courage to leave it all behind?

James Copley comes from a ruthless family. It’s rubbed off. Years ago, he disengaged from his brother’s smear campaign, but now his father has offered him an ultimatum, “Get married or lose your seat at the table.” Plotting to stamp his design on the family business, he proposes to a woman, even though he doesn’t love her. But his carefully laid plans start to unravel when she leaves him on the day she’s due to meet his family. Could years of planning his comeback vanish with her departure?

A possible solution comes in an unexpected form: Neka. She’s not only a friend, but the daughter of his benefactor. And she’s right there, offering to support him. But will her support stretch to marriage?

He attempts to win her over to his plan but collides with her powerful father who wants to leverage the situation for his own gain. In their fight for survival and love, they are forced to face some uncomfortable truths. Can they overcome thwarted dreams and missed chances to find true love, or does forcing destiny’s hand only lead to misery? 


It was a match made in heaven. Or so everyone thought. Sadie Mae Cummings is all set to marry her childhood sweetheart, Kyle, when she is assigned to tutor Lincoln, the new college football running back. This sophomore phenomenon has all the girls on campus knocking on his door. But Sadie isn't interested in his advances. 

Lincoln’s overblown ego doesn't take well to being shunned, and he resolves to make Sadie his own. He pursues her relentlessly, until finally Kyle finds himself shut out of Sadie's life, with their shared future crumbling around him. 

After two years, Sadie’s relationship with Lincoln ends, and she is left having to put the pieces of her life back together. She desires nothing more than to recapture her relationship with Kyle. He has stayed true to the dreams they had planned together, living the vision even without Sadie by his side. 

When she moves back to her hometown, she labors to rekindle their love. But things have changed, and Kyle has moved on. Sadie quickly discovers how hard it is to rebuild burned bridges. Follow Sadie’s story as she fights for a chance to restore broken dreams. Will love endure? 

This inspirational romance by E. C. Jackson is book two of the Hope series and is a standalone book.


Love at first sight. It’s every girl’s dream. But Tara Simpkins is finding out it’s not as easy as it seems. Is this truly the man God sent to be her husband, or is she just desperate to escape her loneliness? The recent loss of both parents has left her reeling, and close friends don’t think she’s in any position to make major life decisions. She and her new-found love are convinced they can live happily ever after in the home of their dreams. His family thinks he’s moving way too fast and might disappoint the kind-hearted woman he’s fallen head over heels for. And then there’s Leah. Leah is supposed to be part of his past, but what if she decides she’s his future? Tara’s match made in Heaven may be over before it truly begins.




Is there hope for this love between friends?

Pamela Hayes is a smart, successful business owner with a supportive family and a thriving bakery. She should be the happiest girl in the world. But she can’t shake the melancholy that accompanies every conversation she has with her best friend, Mark. Pamela doesn’t know how much longer she can hide her true feelings. 

Why can’t Mark see how perfect they would be together? She would make a much better girlfriend than the one he currently has. Pamela prays he’ll come to his senses soon and realize he’s with the wrong girl. But when her dream comes true, it isn’t the fantasy she had envisioned. 

There is trouble in paradise from the start, and all the red flags she’s been ignoring are starting to threaten her confidence…and her relationship with Mark. She’ll have to rely on family and her faith in God to help her secure the hope she so desperately needs.



Snippet:

The Confident Hope


As Pamela reached the front door, she put one eye up to the peephole. “Ack. Ack. Ack. Ahem.” She patted her chest, swallowing the stuck food. Mark Simon, wearing a hoodie and with his hands stuffed inside jean pockets, faced away from the door. He glanced at his car, then at his shoes. When a tremor shook his body, he perused the cloudless sky until concentrating on his feet again.

Pamela knew Mark seldom visited anybody’s house, especially on weekends. He saved his free time for an abominable woman. But today, something had gotten the Saturday late-sleeper out of bed before noon—and over to her house. Pamela bet it wasn’t because of a sudden, unshakeable desire to visit his friend.

She blew air through pursed lips and wrapped her arms around her body.

Here we go. Lights. Camera. Action.




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Friday, 30 October 2020

Beauty and the Wolf

 



Marina Myles studied Creative Writing and English Literature at Southern Methodist University. During her college days, she was fortunate enough to have been a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. Now she lives in Arizona with her family and her adorable Maltese.













A Union Of Curses

Isabella Farrington's marriage was hasty. For all her new husband's riches, Lord Draven Winthrop is whispered about, avoided, and feared. Yet Isabella is drawn to Draven's dark good looks, his strength, the charm he can turn on as easily as she can blink. The impoverished daughter of an Egyptologist, she knows there are rumors about her, too, and the amulet she wears. Nothing more than superstitious babble...

 

But when Isabella returns to Draven's remote coastal manor, she senses there is something more at work in the grim gardens of Thorncliff Towers than superstition. Draven is passionate and seductive, but he has a brutal, uncontrolled side too, and a history of secrets. To live in peace she must discover the reasons behind a gypsy curse and a mother's scorn. Especially when she learns Draven believes his sweet young bride is doomed to a fate even darker than his own...


       


Snippet:

 After drinking in the sight of Draven's narrow hips set off by low-slung breeches and then the fascinating planes of his unshaven face, it dawned on Isabella that his eyes had taken on a strange shade of red. It lent him a look of uncensored madness.




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