Monday, February 29, 2016

DARK MONEY BOOK BLAST!



We're thrilled to be hosting Larry D. Thompson's DARK MONEY Book Blast today!  Pick up your copy!





Title: DARK MONEY           
Author: Larry D. Thompson
Publisher: Story Merchant Books
Pages: 420
Genre: Legal Thriller
DARK MONEY is a thriller, a mystery and an expose’ of the corruption of money in politics.

Jackson Bryant, the millionaire plaintiff lawyer who turned to pro bono work in Dead Peasants, is caught up in the collision of money and politics when he receives a call from his old army buddy, Walt Frazier. Walt needs his assistance in evaluating security for Texas Governor Rob Lardner at a Halloween costume fundraiser thrown by one of the nation’s richest Republican billionaires at his mansion in Fort Worth.

Miriam Van Zandt is the best marksman among The Alamo Defenders, an anti-government militia group in West Texas. She attends the fund raiser dressed as a cat burglar---wounds the governor and murders the host’s brother, another Republican billionaire. She is shot in the leg but manages to escape.
Jack is appointed special prosecutor and must call on the Texas DPS SWAT team to track Van Zandt and attack the Alamo Defenders’ compound in a lonely part of West Texas. Van Zandt’s father, founder of the Defenders, is killed in the attack and Miriam is left in a coma. The authorities declare victory and close the case---but Jack knows better. The person behind the Halloween massacre has yet to be caught. When Walt and the protective detail are sued by the fund raiser host and the widow of the dead man, Jack follows the dark money of political contributions from the Cayman Islands to Washington to Eastern Europe, New York and New Orleans to track the real killer and absolve his friend and the Protective Detail of responsibility for the massacre.

For More Information

  • Dark Money is available at Amazon.
  • Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.
Book Excerpt:

Jack Bryant turned his old red Dodge Ram pickup into the driveway of the Greek revival mansion at the end of the cul-de-sac in Westover Hills, an exclusive neighborhood in Fort Worth. He was amused to see Halloween ghosts and goblins hanging from the two enormous live oaks that fronted the house. The driveway led to wrought iron gates that permitted entry to the back. A heavy set Hispanic man with a Poncho Villa mustache in a security guard uniform stood beside the driveway near the gates, clipboard in hand. He was unarmed.

Jack stopped beside him and lowered his window. “Afternoon, officer. Fine autumn day, isn’t it?”

The guard sized up the old pick-up and the man wearing jeans and a white T-shirt. “You here to make a delivery?”

Jack reached into his left rear pocket and retrieved his wallet from which he extracted a laminated card. “No, sir. Name’s Jackson Douglas Bryant. I’m a lawyer and a Tarrant County Reserve Deputy. My friend, Walter Frazier, is part of the Governor’s Protective Detail. Said Governor Lardner is attending some big shindig here tomorrow night and asked me to lend a hand in checking the place out before he hits town. My name
should be on that clipboard.”

The guard took the card, studied it closely and handed it back to Jack. He flipped to the second page. “There it is. Let me open the gates. Park down at the end of the driveway. You’ll see another wall with a gate. Walk on through and you’ll find your way to the ballroom where the party’s being held tomorrow. I’ll radio Sergeant Frazier to let him know you’re on your way.”

The gates silently opened, and Jack drove slowly to the back, admiring the house and grounds. The house had to be half a football field in length. Giant arched windows were spaced every ten feet with smaller ones above, apparently illuminating the second floor. To Jack’s right was an eight foot wall. First security issue. Not very hard to figure out a way to scale it. Fortunately, cameras and lights were mounted on fifteen foot poles that appeared to blanket the area.

Jack parked where he was directed and climbed from his truck. Before shutting the door, he took his cane from behind the driver’s seat. He flexed his left knee. It felt pretty good. He might not even need the cane. Still, he usually carried it since he never knew when he might take a step and have it buckle under him. Better to carry the cane than to fall on his ass.

He found himself in front of another wall. He was studying it when Walt came through the gate. Walt was ten years his junior, six feet, two inches of solid muscle. He bounded across the driveway to greet Jack. They first shook hands and then bear-hugged
each other like the old army buddies that they were.

Walt pulled back and looked at Jack. “Damn, it’s good to see you. Been, what, about three years since you were in Austin for some lawyer meeting?”

“Could have been four. I think I was practicing in Beaumont then.”

“Still carrying the cane. That injury at the barracks causing you more problems?”

“No worse, not any better. Every once in a while the damn knee gives out with no warning. I may have to put an artificial one in some day. Meantime, the cane does just fine. I’ve got a collection of about twenty of them in an old whiskey barrel beside the back door of my house. This one is my Bubba Stick. Picked it up at a service station a while back.”

Walt’s voice dropped to just above a whisper. “Follow me into the garden. There are some tables there. We can sit for a few minutes while I explain what’s coming down.”
They walked through the gate. Beyond it was a garden, obviously tended by loving hands. Cobblestone paths wound their way through fall plantings of Yellow Copper Canyon Daises, Fall Aster, Apricot-colored Angel’s Trumpet, Mexican Marigold and
the like. Walt led the way to a wrought iron table beside a fish pond with a fountain in the middle, spraying water from the mouth of a cherub’s statue. The two friends settled into chairs, facing the pond.

“This is what the help call the little garden. In a minute we’ll go around the house to the big garden and pool that fronts the ballroom. You know whose house this is?”

“No idea.”

“Belongs to Oscar Hale. He and his brother, Edward, are the two richest men in Fort Worth. Their daddy was one of the old Texas wildcatters. The two brothers were worth a few hundred million each, mainly from some old oil holdings down in South Texas and out around Midland. Life must have been pretty good.

Then it got better about ten years ago when the oil boys started fracking and horizontal drilling. Counting proven reserves still in the ground, word is they’re worth eighty billion, well, maybe just a little less now that we have an oil glut.”

“Edward still around?”

One of the servers in the kitchen had seen the two men and brought two bottles of water on a silver tray.

“Thanks…Sorry, I forgot your name.”

“Sarah Jane, Walt. My pleasure. Let me know if you need anything else.”

Walt took a sip from his bottle as Sarah Jane returned to the house. “Yeah. His legal residence is still in Fort Worth, and I understand he and his wife vote in this precinct, only they really live in New York City. He always kept an apartment there. When the oil money started gushing, he upgraded to a twenty room penthouse that I hear overlooks Central Park. He’s big in the arts scene up there, opera, ballet, you name it. He’s also building the Hale Museum of Fine Art here in Fort Worth.”

Jack nodded his head. “Okay, I know who you’re talking about. My girlfriend is thrilled about another museum in Fort Worth. She’s into that kind of thing. When I moved here, she took me to every damn one of them. The western art in the Amon Carter museum was really all that interested me. So, the Hales play with the big boys, and the governor’s coming. From what I read, Governor Lardner travels all over the world. Never seems to have a problem. What’s the big deal here?”


About the Author



Larry D. Thompson was first a trial lawyer. He tried more than 300 cases throughout Texas, winning in excess of 95% of them. When his youngest son graduated from college, he decided to write his first novel. Since his mother was an English teacher and his brother, Thomas Thompson, had been a best-selling author, it seemed the natural thing to do.

Larry writes about what he knows best…lawyers, courtrooms and trials. The legal thriller is his genre. DARK MONEY is his fifth story and the second in the Jack Bryant series.
Larry and his wife, Vicki, call Houston home and spend their summers on a mountain top in Vail, Colorado. He has two daughters, two sons and four grandchildren.
For More Information

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Author Rocco Lo Bosco Talks about the Cover for his Book, 'Ninety Nine'

A writer for over three decades, Rocco Lo Bosco has published poetry, short stories and two novels. His first novel, Buddha Wept (Greycore Press, 2003), about a spiritually gifted matriarch’s experience of the Cambodian genocide, received good reviews (e.g., Publishers Weekly) and much
praise from readers, many of whom called it “life changing.”  His current novel, Ninety Nine, is published by LettersAt3amPress. Lo Bosco also has a nonfiction book in press with Routledge (2016), co-authored with Dr. Danielle Knafo, a practicing psychoanalyst, entitled Love Machines: A Psychoanalytic Perspective on the Age of Techno-perversion. He is currently working on his third novel, Midnight at the Red Flamingo. Additionally, he has edited papers in the fields of psychoanalysis and the philosophy of science and has also worked as a ghost writer.
Check out his book on Amazon
Connect with Rocco on the Web:
Interview:
Tell us about your book! What is it about and what inspired you to write it?
My book is about a poor and mixed––mine, yours and ours–– Italian-American family fighting desperately to survive in Brooklyn in the early 1960s. The story centers on the two (step) brothers living in a family threatened by psychological fragmentation from within, dangerous levels of poverty and two vicious loan sharks who will have no trouble killing the father if he doesn’t find a way to pay their boss. Meanwhile the two boys run with a small gang, The Decatur Street Angels, led by one of the brother’s cousins, a dark-minded genius who invents wild and daring exploits for the group that become progressively more dangerous during the summer of 1963. One of the brothers is involved in his first (and secret) love affair with an older woman while the other is losing his mind over the abandonment of his mother. The event streams of the book culminate at the novel’s end in a stunning and unexpected climax. 
The novel creatively draws on my early years growing up in Brooklyn, but its inspiration emerged from two very specific things: a dream and a book.  When I was five years old I had a dream that has stayed with me my entire life, a dream that in essence predicted the character and quest of my life.  The dream appears in the book, and it will become clear to the reader why that very dream inspired the novel.  The second inspirational element came from finding a book I was never supposed to see. When I was fourteen I found it in the bottom of a box that held my father’s war memorabilia—a
large, government-issued volume about the Second World War. It contained far more pictures than text. I returned to this forbidden book repeatedly and viewed images that literally altered the trajectory of my life and shaped my particular interests in human endeavor. I knew I could not remain silent. Though I did not yet know that I would write, I knew that I would not want to pass through this life quietly, hunkered down in some existential bunker until the danger passed.  At fourteen I already knew the danger never passes. That forbidden book appears in Ninety Nine, but it was also part of the inspiration for Buddha Wept 
Tell us about your publishing process. What was it like? Did you go indie or the traditional way?
I published with an independent small press, LettersAt3amPress, because the publisher, Michael Ventura, whose fiction and nonfiction writing I have followed and greatly admired for decades, read my novel, loved it and wanted to publish it.
How did you choose the title for your book? Did it come to you right away, before you started writing the story, or did it come later?
The title of the book is taken from the dream I mention above.
Tell us about the cover design process. Did you have a basic idea of what your book cover would be like?
The family in the novel lives alongside the Myrtle Avenue Elevated. They can see the faces of the people in the train as it passes their tenement, shaking it and them with a deafening roar. The cover had to feature that El, what else? My daughter is a graphic artists, and she found just the right angle for the shot––beneath the black El that appears to continue infinitely in the distance, everything in the image overlaid in caution yellow. It is a cover that both moves and disturbs the viewer. It captures the spirit of the novel beautifully.
 Who is your cover designer and how did you find him/her?
I helped make her for I am her father.
How was your experience working with the designer?
She knew within minutes what to do. It was easy.
What has been the readers’ response to your cover?
Everyone loves it so far.
What tips would you give to authors who are looking f.or a cover designer?
My daughter did covers for both of my novels. She is an outstanding graphic artist. My advice is to find an outstanding artist and to look at his or her work before you ask them to do a cover. See if their designs vibe with your taste. If so, and they are eager to work with you, have them read your book. Then discuss what might best convey the spirit of your work before they try a cover prototype. Creating a good cover is as important as having a good title. 
Anything else you’d like to say about your book?
Read it. You won’t be sorry.




Thursday, February 25, 2016

The Book of Barkley by L.B. Johnson

Inside the Book:


Title: The Book of Barkley
Author: L.B. Johnson
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Genre: Memoir
Format: Ecopy/Paperback
2015 Indie B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree.  2015 Reader's Favorite International Book Award - Silver Winner.  Gripping Memoir, Hailed "An Instant Classic" by Critics, Shares Journey of Love & Life through the Inspirational Eyes of Man's Best Friend... Crafted from the heart and experiences of L.B. Johnson, 'The Book of Barkley: Love and Life Through the Eyes of a Labrador Retriever' takes readers from the author's depths of grief and personal despair to an empowering new life chock-full of love. But Johnson's radical life change didn't come from finding God or attending a cookie-cutter support group, but instead from a black Labrador called Barkley who taught her the real, innate meaning of love. In a wholly-unique and uplifting new memoir, Johnson tells the deeply-personal story of her life and experiences with a rambunctious Labrador Retriever named Barkley. It's not just a story of one woman and her dog; but a bold journey to discover what love really is, and why learning to live like a dog gives humanity a powerful new meaning.
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Meet the Author

 
A former commercial pilot, LB Johnson grew up out West where she later received a doctorate in a Criminal Justice related field in order to pursue a career in federal service after hanging up her wings. She lives in Chicago with her husband and rescue dog Abby. Mrs. Johnson is active in animal rescue and donates 100% of her writing proceeds to animal rescue organizations across the United States as well as Search Dog Foundation.
Her books include the #1 Amazon Best Sellers "The Book of Barkley" and "Saving Grace - a Story of Adoption". She also has been awarded the Readers Favorite International Silver Book Award for Excellence in Writing.
Check out writing updates and news at her author's webpage http://lbjohnsonauthor.blogspot.com/
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Monday, February 22, 2016

The Humanist Society by Joseph Sassoon



Inside the Book:


Title: The Humanist Society Book Blast 
Author: Joseph Sassoon 
Publisher: iUniverse 
Pages: 174 
Genre: Social Science 
Format: Ebook

What accounts for the rise and fall of so many civilizations—especially when some of them held more political power than their rivals? Author Joseph Sassoon tackles this question and many others in this, his second volume on self-actualization. As a missionary for humanism, he explores the social conditions that are necessary for the greatest number of people to achieve self-actualization.

In presenting his theories, he reviews the work of major thinkers, including Kurt Goldstein and his landmark book, Human Nature in the Light of Psychopathology; Charles Darwin; Buddha; and many others.

Sassoon explores the answers to key questions:
• What is society’s role in helping individuals move toward self-actualization?
• What benefits would society enjoy if more people achieved their potential?
• What are the main characteristics of a humanist code?
• What can we do to promote humanist values?

A third volume in this series will establish the conditions required to bring about a world federalism based on humanism. In a changing world with competing ideologies, it is more important than ever to establish the importance of humanist values. In this study, Sassoon describes a step-by-step social arrangement leading to self-actualization for the greatest number of people in society.
ORDER INFORMATION
The Humanist Society is available for order at
amazon

Meet the Author:

Joseph Sassoon is married with two children and two grandchildren. He is also the author of Self Actualization: Theory and Technology. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Long Island University in New York and is a retired real estate developer. The Humanist Society is the second book in a trilogy on self-actualization.

Giveaway

Joseph is giving away a $25 Gift Card!

 
Terms & Conditions:
  • By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
  • One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $25 Gift Certificate to the e-retailer of your choice
  • This giveaway begins February 15 and ends on February 26.
  • Winners will be contacted via email on February 27.
  • Winner has 48 hours to reply.
Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!

Friday, February 19, 2016

Lawful Deception by Pamela Samuels Young






Title:Lawful Deception
Author: Pamela Samuels Young
Release Date: October 27, 2015
Publisher: Goldman House Publishing
Genre: Legal Thriller
Format: Ebook 

"Pamela Samuels Young has crafted a page-turner that will keep you engrossed until the very last page. If you’re a fan of smart legal thrillers with brisk pacing, crackling dialogue and edgy, intriguing characters, Lawful Deception is for you.” --Dwayne Alexander Smith, Award-winning Author of Forty Acres.

Once again, award-winning author Pamela Samuels Young delivers another captivating legal thriller full of unexpected twists and jaw-dropping moments you never see coming. The beautiful Bliss Fenton won't be winning any awards for Mother of the Year. Truth is, motherhood isn't nearly as important to Bliss as the cottage industry she's created: extorting wealthy men for the hefty child support she can collect.

But Bliss' greed goes too far when she takes on Fletcher McClain. The handsome music industry mogul refuses to accept her conniving conduct lying down. He retains high-profile attorney Vernetta Henderson to sue Bliss for fraud.

Enter Bliss’ unscrupulous attorney, Girlie Cortez, who has a personal score to settle with Vernetta. As the two lawyers once again go head-to-head, their legal battle quickly escalates from merely contentious to downright deadly.

ORDER INFORMATION
Lawful Deception is available for order at  
amazon add-to-goodreads-button3


    photo_3

 When attorney and author Pamela Samuels Young isn’t practicing law, you can usually find her penning her next legal thriller. Described by one reviewer as “John Grisham with a sister’s twist,” Pamela is an award-winning author of six legal thrillers.

The prolific writer has always abided by the philosophy that you create the change you want to see. Fed up with never seeing women or people of color depicted as savvy, hotshot attorneys in the legal thrillers she read, Pamela decided to create her own characters. Despite the demands of a busy legal career, the Compton, California native accomplished her ambitious goal by rising at 4 a.m. to write before work, dedicating her weekends to writing and even spending her vacation time glued to her laptop for ten or more hours a day. In the process, she discovered her passion.

Pamela’s sixth novel, Anybody's Daughter (2013), which tackles the horrific world of child sex trafficking, was the recipient of the 2014 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Fiction. Her debut novel, Every Reasonable Doubt (2006), won the Black Expressions magazine’s Fiction Writing Contest, received an honorable mention in the SEAK Legal Fiction Writing Competition and was a finalist for USA Book News’ Best Books of 2006 award in the mystery, suspense and thriller category. Her second novel, In Firm Pursuit (2007), was honored by Romantic Times magazine as a finalist for Best African-American Novel of 2007. Murder on the Down Low (2008), Pamela’s third release, was an “Editor’s Pick” by Black Expressions magazine and a finalist for the 2009 African-American Literary Awards in the fiction category. The Black Caucus of the American Library Association honored Pamela’s next novel, Buying Time (2009), with its 2010 Fiction Award, calling the book “a captivating, suspenseful thriller.” Attorney-Client Privilege (2012) was a finalist for USA Book News’ Best Books of 2014 award in the multi-cultural fiction category. Her seventh legal thriller, Lawful Deception, goes on sale in October 2015.

Her writing repertoire also includes the short stories Unlawful Greed, featured in the anthology The Funeral (2013), Easy Money, featured in the anthology Scoundrels: Tales of Greed, Murder and Financial Crimes (2012) and The Setup, featured in the Sisters in Crime anthology, LAndmarked for Murder (2006). She also has an essay in the anthology, A Letter for My Mother (2013).

Pamela has achieved a successful writing career while working as Managing Counsel for Labor and Employment Law for Toyota in Southern California, specializing in employment law and social media law. Prior to that, she served as Employment Law Counsel for Raytheon Company and spent several years as an associate with the law firm of O'Melveny & Myers, LLP, in Los Angeles.

A former journalist, Pamela began her broadcasting career at WXYZ-TV in Detroit and later worked as a news writer and associate producer at KCBS-TV in Los Angeles. A graduate of UC Berkeley’s School of Law, Pamela has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from USC and a master’s degree in broadcasting from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She formerly served on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles chapter of Mystery Writers of America and is a diehard member of Sisters in Crime-L.A., an organization dedicated to the advancement of women mystery writers.

A frequent speaker on the topics of sex trafficking, fiction writing and pursuing your passion, Pamela lives in the Los Angeles area and attends Hope in Christ Community Church in Compton.

For More Information

Visit Pamela’s website.
Connect with Pamela on Facebook  and Twitter.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Vasudev Murthy Talks about his Cover for ‘SHERLOCK HOLMES, The Missing Years: Timbuktu’

Vasudev Murthy lives in Bangalore, India and writes on music, humor, management and crime. He has been published by Poisoned Pen Press, Bloomsbury, HarperCollins and Sage. His work has been translated into Portuguese, Korean, Japanese and Kannada. He is otherwise a Management Consultant and violinist with a passion for animal welfare.


Interview:

Tell us about your book! What is it about and what inspired you to write it?
In the Sherlock Holmes Canon,  there is a period between 1891 and 1894 that’s called the Missing Years.  This is a period where Arthur Conan Doyle stopped writing after killing off Holmes at Reichenbach Falls. He resurfaced in 1894 in the story – The Empty House. There is considerable conjecture about where he might have been in the interim.

My first book about this was Sherlock Holmes, the Missing Years: Japan, where I claimed that he was in Japan. In this book, encouraged by my excellent editor, Barbara Peters, I placed him in a mystery in Timbuktu, or more correctly in Africa, with the center point being Timbuktu.

Tell us about your publishing process. What was it like? Did you go indie or the traditional way?
Harper Collins sold the US rights of my Japan book to Poisoned Pen Press. My Timbuktu book was a direct contract with PPP.  I enjoy working with them.

How did you choose the title for your book? Did it come to you right away, before you started writing the story, or did it come later?
My editor and I debated about what would be an interesting locale. We looked at a few choices and zeroed in on Timbuktu. There is considerable history and mystery about the place and it does conjure interest.  I had to do a tremendous amount of research about many places during different historical periods. Slowly the story started making sense and I began to write.

Tell us about the cover design process. Did you have a basic idea of what your book cover would be like?
Yes, I did. The desert was necessary and so was something about the Tuaregs, the people of the Sahara. Their language and culture are unique. An Indigo blue was necessary. Sherlock with his pipe was necessary. This is a complex tale. I believe there were only two iterations, if I recall.

Who is your cover designer and how did you find him/her?
This was handled by Poisoned Pen Press and  I had no hand in selecting and interacting with them.

How was your experience working with the designer?
Smooth and effortless.

What has been the readers’ response to your cover?
It certainly gets more than one glance. People like it.

What tips would you give to authors who are looking for a cover designer?
I wouldn’t give any tips per se. I don’t think we (authors) should presume to additionally be experts in aesthetics. We should state our ideas but defer to the publisher whose interest it is to sell the book and has a better idea of the relevant parameters.

Anything else you’d like to say about your book?
The book is serious with a few doses of irreverence thrown in. It has an unusual motif and an even stranger premise. I’m hoping the reader will enjoy imagining Holmes in Morocco, the Sahara, Timbuktu and the lower Nile. I truly loved writing the book.


Thursday, February 11, 2016

Viral Justice by Julie Rowe


Inside the Book:


Title: Viral Justice 
Author: Julie Rowe 
Publisher: Carina Press 
Genre: Romantic Suspense 
Format: Ecopy

As a general's daughter, Alicia Stone has fought twice as hard for everything she's earned in the military. A Special Forces consultant with black belts in three martial arts, she's as strong as her surname implies. No one dares call her Alicia—no one but Colonel Robert Maxmillian, head of the Biological Response Team.

With Alicia at his side, Max must lead the team into northern Iraq to investigate a virus—or is it a weapon—killing the area's population. Charged with guarding his body, she can't help wanting his hands on her body. Max would be the perfect fling. But he demands more.

The heat builds between them, but danger quickly follows. As the two get closer to the source of the virus, they'll have to risk their future to outsmart a scientist with nothing to lose.  
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Meet the Author

Julie Rowe
Julie Rowe’s first career as a medical lab technologist in Canada took her to the North West Territories and northern Alberta, where she still resides. She loves to include medical details in her romance novels, but admits she’ll never be able to write about all her medical experiences because, “No one would believe them!”.

In addition to writing contemporary and historical medical romance, and fun romantic suspense for Entangled Publishing and Carina Press, Julie has short stories in Fool’s Gold, the Mammoth Book of ER Romance, Timeless Keepsakes and Timeless Escapes anthologies. Her book SAVING THE RIFLEMAN (book #1 WAR GIRLS) won the novella category of the 2013 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence. AIDING THE ENEMY (book #3 WAR GIRLS) won the novella category of the 2014 Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence. Her writing has also appeared in several magazines such as Romantic Times Magazine, Today’s Parent, and Canadian Living.

You can reach Julie at www.julieroweauthor.com , on Twitter @julieroweauthor or at her Facebook page: www.facebook.com/JulieRoweAuthor

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Daughter of Blood by Helen Lowe

Inside the Book:

 
Title: Daughter of Blood
Author: Helen Lowe
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Pages: 768
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Format: Ecopy/Paperback

A Gemmell Award-Winning Series Malian of Night and Kalan, her trusted ally, are returning to the Wall of Night—but already it may be too late. The Wall is dangerously weakened, the Nine Houses of the Derai fractured by rivalry and hate. And now, the Darkswarm is rising . . .

Among Grayharbor backstreets, an orphan boy falls foul of dark forces. On the Wall, a Daughter of Blood must be married off to the Earl of Night, a pawn in the web of her family's ambition. On the Field of Blood, Kalan fights for a place in the bride's honor guard, while Malian dodges deadly pursuers in a hunt against time for the fabled Shield of Heaven. But the Darkswarm is gaining strength, and time is running out—for Malian, for Kalan, and for all of Haarth . . .

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Meet the Author

Helen Lowe
Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, interviewer, and blogger, whose first novel, Thornspell (Knopf), was published to critical praise in 2008. Her second, The Heir of Night (The Wall of Night Series, Book One) won the Gemmell Morningstar Award 2012. The sequel, The Gathering of The Lost, was shortlisted for the Gemmell Legend Award in 2013. Helen has a second-dan black belt in the martial art aikido and represented her university at fencing. She posts regularly on her ". . . on Anything, Really" blog, occasionally on SF Signal, and is also on Twitter: @helenlowe.
   

Giveaway

Helen is giving away print copies of The Gathering of the Lost & The Heir of Night

US ONLY

 
Terms & Conditions:
  • By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
  • One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive both copies - US ONLY
  • This giveaway begins January 18 and ends on February 12.
  • Winners will be contacted via email on February 13.
  • Winner has 48 hours to reply.
Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Time-travel Romance Author Chris Karlsen Talks About her Cover for 'In Time for You'

I have a great editor and publisher who allow me a lot of input on my covers.  When I am about midway in a book, I start visiting the stock image sites and I make my own lightboxes. I pick images that I can see using for either my cover or my trailer for the book. A couple of years ago while putting together a lightbox for Knight Blindness I saw this fiery knight shot. I bought it and then had all my two previous book covers in my Knights in Time series redone with the fiery knight as a banner on the bottom. He is now on all of the books in the series.

With In Time For You, I wanted to convey the time travel element. I wanted to show a modern woman had gone back in time and a knight would come to her rescue. I had the female model from one of my lightboxes I gave my editor who I worked with on the cover. She and I had discussed my concept and I knew she understood what I was going for. I had a castle image for the medieval element. We took several tries to get the knight right. I had a fabulous knight in armour picture where you only saw the armour (the breastplate and his gauntleted hand holding a red rose) but we could not get the sizing right. We tried three or four different positions and foreground and background shots and different shading. It just wasn’t happening. I had the knight on horseback in one of my lightboxes and we decided he would do just as well. I’m very happy with the final result.

I wound up using the knight holding the rose in my trailer.

About the Author

Chris Karlsen is a Chicago native. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was in her late teens where she later studied at UCLA. She graduated with a Business Degree. The daughter of a history professor and a mother who was a voracious reader, she grew up with a love of history and books.
Her parents were also passionate about traveling and passed their passion onto Chris. Once bitten with the travel bug, Chris spent most of her adult life visiting the places she'd read about and that fascinated her. Her travels have taken her Europe, the Near East, and North Africa, in addition to most of the United States. She most frequently visited England and France, where several of her books are set.

After college, Chris spent the next twenty-five years in law enforcement with two agencies. Harboring a strong desire to write since her teens, upon retiring from police work, Chris decided to pursue her writing career. She writes three different series. Her historical romance series is called, Knights in Time. Her romantic thriller series is Dangerous Waters, and he latest book, Silk, is book one in her mystery/suspense series, The Bloodstone series.

She currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and five wild and crazy rescue dogs.

My website is: http://chriskarlsen.com/





ABOUT THE BOOK



While horseback riding in the English countryside, sisters Electra and Emily Crippen find themselves trapped in a tear in time. Thrown back to 1357 England and caught by a local noble, they are in a place that is home but as frightening and unfamiliar as an alien world would be. With no idea how the tear in time came about, the one thing they do know is: they must stay together and stay near to where the event took place in hopes of discovering the way back to their modern life. That certain need to stay together is the first certainty taken from them when one sister is forced to remain in England and one is sent miles away to Wales by royal order.

There is one other hope for help the sisters don’t know exists. It’s Electra’s lover, Roger Marchand. A time traveler himself, he never told her of his past. When he realizes what has happened to the sisters, he enlists the help of a scientist friend to help him open the suspected passageway through time. Any effort to save Electra and Emily will likely cost him his life. This was the time Roger came from, a time when his country, France, was at war with England. If he is discovered on English soil while searching for the sisters, he will either be killed or taken prisoner of war. Any risk is worth saving the life of the woman he loves.