Join Michelle Richardson, author of the contemporary romance novel, It’s Simple (iUniverse), as she virtually tours the blogosphere November 1 – 23 2011 on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!

The general consensus is that relationships are easy to start but challenging to maintain. Although we may not think so, our choices ultimately determine the types of relationships we have. It’s truly funny how after we’ve contributed to the chaotic state of the relationship, we hire therapists to fix us, to tell us it’s not our fault when it typically is. The truth? Therapists don’t fix us; they provide tools that guide us. Ultimately, we find the solutions ourselves and, for the most part, we really need to forget what we’ve heard. Relationships can be complicated, littered with challenges and that preventable thing called drama. Just ask Tia and Chase.

They met as teenagers. Upon graduation from college, things got complicated. Chase was drafted to the Los Angeles Lakers; Tia was offered a position in the Obama administration. Despite the geographical distance, Tia and Chase stayed together.

But how easy is it to make love last? It’s simple-if we can be honest, forgiving, and patient with each other. Here’s a unique look at a progressive couple and how their choices impact their journey; providing a truthful and sometimes painful look at real life scenarios and how two fiercelly driven and stubborn lovers choose to handle them. Experience life from a different perspective.

Giveaways, Contests & Prizes!

WIN THIS BEAUTIFUL BASKET!

Would you like to win this gorgeous basket with lots of goodies from Michelle Richardson???

On Friday, November 18, Michelle will be giving this beautiful basket away at the Pump Up Your Book Live! Chat / Book Giveaway Party! Contents include one signed copy of It’s Simple, five (5) It’s Simple bookmarks, one earthenware mug w/Tea for Life packets, one decorative votive candle holder and candle and one Live. Love. Laugh decorative box!

Participate in the chat and you could win!

Click here to find out more details!

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It’s Simple Thanksgiving Giveaway!

To celebrate the release of It’s Simple, Michelle is having a contest!  Share your ideas for establishing and maintaining a fulling relationship, tell us if there is someone from your high school years you regret not developing a relationship with or what you would sacrifice to have a good, loving long-lasting relationship, you could win a “Live Love Laugh It’s Simple Keepsake Box” with a host of delectable goodies inside!

To win, click on Michelle’s It’s Simple Facebook Fan Page here and leave your comment!  You can find out how to win by clicking here!  If you already aren’t a fan, click “Like” at the top of the page to leave your comment.  Good luck!

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Enter to win a copy of It’s Simple at Goodreads!

Win a copy of It’s Simple at Goodreads!  Contest closes November 19.

Click here to enter!

You can visit her official tour page here!

Tags: blog tour, book publicity, It's Simple, Michelle Richardson, Pump Up Your Book, virtual book tour

Join Jason Krumbine, author of The Grym Brothers Series, Two and a Half Dead Men, The Dead Couple and Better off Dead (One Stray Word Books), as he virtually tours the blogosphere November 1 – 23 2011 on his first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!

About Jason Krumbine

Jason Krumbine is the author behind the pulse pounding, wisecracking Alex Cheradon Series, the dead soul hunting Grym Brothers Series (including Two and a Half Dead Men, The Dead Couple and Better Off Dead), and the tongue-in-cheek paranormal romance “A Graveyard Romance.”

You can visit his website at www.jasonkrumbine.com or visit him at Twitter at www.twitter.com/jasonkrumbine and Facebook at www.facebook.com/jmkwriter.

You can also email him at onestrayword@gmail.com.

About The Grym Brothers Series

TWO AND A HALF DEAD MEN

People die every day.

But not all of the souls can or want to move onto the afterlife.

That’s where the brothers Thane and Mort Grym come in.

Thane and Mort are bounty hunters for dead souls. They inherited the job from their father and they’re two of the best in town.

But when there’s a double homicide at the Kirkland Motel the Grym brothers end up with more than they bargained for. In a world without vampires, zombies or the undead, one of their bounties might not be as dead as he’s supposed to be.

THE DEAD COUPLE

Jack and Cindy were a happily married couple. She was an elementary school teacher. He was an aspiring children’s book author. They had the perfect life together, until the day they decided to kill themselves.

Suicides, by their very nature, tend to head directly into the afterlife.

Jack and Cindy’s souls never arrived.

Grim Reapers are real. They are governed by the Council of Reapers. Reapers are responsible for the capture and containment of dead souls that refuse to or cannot move on to the afterlife.

Thane and Mort Grym are two such reapers.

BETTER OFF DEAD

They say dead men tell no tales, but that’s just because they’ve never worked as a Grim Reaper.

Grim Reapers are real. They are governed by the Council of Reapers. Reapers are responsible for the capture and containment of dead souls that refuse to or cannot move on to the afterlife.

Lori Standford’s mother died six months ago. Now she’s back, haunting Lori out of her home. Lori turns to her close friend, Emma Grym, mother of Thane and Mort Grym, for help.

Now Thane and Mort find themselves embroiled in a mystery of dead men that stretches all the way to the top.

Giveaways, Contests & Prizes!

Join Jason Krumbine at the Pump Up Your Book Live! November Author Chat / Book Giveaway Party on Friday, November 18 starting at 8 p.m. eastern!

Jason will be giving away three e-copies of his books in The Grym Brothers Series!  You could win a copy of Two and a Half Dead, The Dead Couple and Better Off Dead simply by attending the  chat and asking Jason a question.  All there is to it!

For details on chat, visit the official chat page for the November authors at Pump Up Your Book Live!

Please show your support for such a talented author by visiting his official tour page at Pump Up Your Book by clicking here!

Tags: Alex Cheradon Series, Better Off Dead, blog tours, book promotions, book publicity, Crime, ghost, Jason Krumbine, One Stray Word, Pump Up Your Book, The Dead Couple, The Grym Brothers Series, Two and a Half Dead Men, urban fantasy, virtual book tours

Join Sheila Roberts, author of the women’s fiction novel, The Nine Lives of Christmas (St. Martin’s Press), as she virtually tours the blogosphere November 1 – 23 2011 on her fifth virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!Bestselling author Sheila Roberts brings us a humorous, heartwarming Christmas novel about a matchmaking cat who brings a couple together just in time for the holidays. When a guy is in trouble, he starts making deals with his Creator…and Ambrose the cat is no exception. In danger of losing his ninth and final life, Ambrose makes a desperate plea. He’ll do anything—anything!—if he can just survive and enjoy a nice long, final life. His prayer is answered when a stranger comes along and saves him, and now it looks like he has to hold up his end of the bargain.

The stranger turns out to be a fire fighter named Zach, the quintessential commitment- phobe who’s in need of some serious romantic help. If Ambrose can just bring Zach together with Merilee, the nice lady who works at Pet Palace, it’s bound to earn him a healthy ninth life. Unfortunately for Ambrose, his mission is a lot harder than he ever anticipated. Now it’s going to take all his feline wiles—and a healthy dose of Christmas magic—to bring them alltogether in time for the holidays.

Tags: blog tours, book marketing, book promotions, book publicity, cats, Christmas, Christmas book, holiday book, Humor, nine lives, online book promotion, online book promotions, online book publicity, online book tour, promote your book, Pump Up Your Book, romance, sell your book, Sheila Roberts, St. Martin's Press, The Nine Lives of Christmas, virtual book tours, women's fiction, women's fiction book, women's fiction novel, women’s fiction

Title: Fabulously Fifty and Reflecting It
Author: Tamara Elizabeth
Genre: Self-Help; Motivational
Paperback: 124 pages
Publisher: Trail Blazing Press
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-0983064800

BOOK SUMMARY

This is my story, a story of a woman who has discovered how through my reflections, the truly fabulously lovable me; the authentic me that I was born to be. I have moxie like the trail blazing women of the 20’s.

Today I am a confident, lovable courageous woman who realizes that fairy-tales don’t always have the ending of children’s books, but they can have the ending and continuation of what we truly want and believe. I have sass, courage, spunk, determination and attitude.

This book is the result of hard work and perseverance on a self love journey. It is the reflection of my life and from these reflections I have created a workbook for you, the readers, to assist you on your own journey to find the most authentic loveable you. I am your voice. I speak as you. I have been where you have traveled. I have finished licking my wounds and jumped back into the ring. I am MOXIMIZED!

My reflections shared are not to place blame on anyone in my path, for I take responsibility for my reactions to every challenge I have come across in my life. I just want you to understand that I have walked in your shoes and have never given up. You can restart your life at any time you want and still succeed in whatever you desire. This is not always easy but if it was then the journey wouldn’t be quite as exciting. “Easy is never fun” – to quote my fabulously delicious self love coach.

So I invite you into my world and to reflect upon your world. Enjoy the journey – I promise you it will be the most fabulously wonderful ride of your life.

BOOK REVIEW

Tamara Elizabeth felt unloved and set out on a journey of self-love and in so doing has written a book aptly titled Fabulously Fifty and Reflecting It to help others learn how to love themselves when they feel no one else did.  Fabulously Fifty is a pep talk and soulful journey all wrapped up in one.  Tamara shows women how to step out of their comfort zone by showing them that rejection often wasn’t about them, but their ideas, actions or opinions.  Tamara tells us to treat rejection as a positive moment because it gives you a chance to reevaluate your decisions and thus are able to grow.

One particular part of the book stood out: Tamara is talking to her inner child and says, “I will not let my ex-husband’s words and actions influence the way I feel about myself.  I left my husband, who never respected me; I have moved on and I have become strong.  I have started a new life in another city – Vancouver. I will not let my happiness depend on how my ex-husband treats me.” I wanted to say, “You go girl!”

Sometimes women (and men) are in relationships for the wrong reason (financial for example) and when that happens, something’s going to give.  These women and men are so afraid to go out and live their own lives, they take abuse for years.  But one day, some wake up and realize that if they were just pushed or pushed themselves to make that jump, their lives will become better.

I also liked a chapter called “The Lemon Tree.”  The Lemon Tree is a group she started on Facebook after fleeing from her bad relationship.  As head lemon sqeezer, she would provide the shade of a tree with plenty of comfortable chairs.  “There would be cold water, sugar and pitchers,” Tamara writes.  “All anyone had to bring for the visit were their own lemons.”  One particular sentence in that chapter says it all, “It’s not the load you carry, it’s how you carry that load.”

Tamara’s words of wisdom comes through as she tells us to look back at our past and turn whatever happened into positives.  It’s a self-help book on finding yourself and discovering self-love what many women may have lacking in their lives.  If you want to get to that place where you can say what you want, when you want and are willing to take responsibilities for your own words, read Fabulously Fifty and Loving It!

Tags: become lovable, blog tours, book publicity, book publicity tours, deal with break-up, discover self-esteem, discover your moxie, discovering my lovable me, Fabulously Fifty and Reflecting It, find your self-worth, forgive yourself, future desires, future reflections, heal your self-esteem, how to forgive, inner beauty, inner child needing to be loved, motivational, motivational author, moximize, online book promotions, past reflections, present reflections, Pump Up Your Book, self-help, self-help author, starting over, stepping out of your comfort zone, Tamara Elizabeth, transition, virtual book tours

One Imperfect Christmas
Myra Johnson

Graphic designer Natalie Pearce faces the most difficult Christmas of her life. For almost a year, her mother has lain in a nursing home, the victim of a massive stroke, and Natalie blames herself for not being there when it happened. Worse, she’s allowed the monstrous load of guilt to drive a wedge between her and everyone she loves—most of all her husband Daniel. Her marriage is on the verge of dissolving, her prayer life is suffering, and she’s one Christmas away from hitting rock bottom.Junior-high basketball coach Daniel Pearce is at his wit’s end. Nothing he’s done has been able to break through the wall Natalie has erected between them. And their daughter Lissa’s adolescent rebellion isn’t helping matters. As Daniel’s hope reaches its lowest ebb, he wonders if this Christmas will spell the end of his marriage and the loss of everything he holds dear.

Click here to get your copy downloaded instantly!

Tags: An Imperfect Christmas, Christmas ebooks, free kindle books list, free Kindle downloads, Myra Johnson

The women of ancient Egypt were the freest of any civilization on earth, until the modern era. In several dynasties of ancient Egypt the God’s Wives of Amun stood tall, priestesses of wealth and power, who represented the pinnacle of female power in the Egyptian state. Many called The God’s Wife of Amun second only to the Pharaoh in dominance. THE GOD’S WIFE follows the adventures of a 16-year-old girl, Neferet, who is thrust into the role of The Gods Wife of Amun without proper training. Surrounded by political intrigue and ensnared by sexual stalking, Neferet navigates the temple, doing her duties, while keeping her family name pristine and not ending up like her predecessor—dead. Meanwhile, a modern-day Chicago dancer, Rebecca, is rehearsing for a role in an ancient Egyptian production and finds herself blacking out and experiencing realistic dreams about life in Egypt. It’s as if she’s coming in contact with Neferet’s world. Are the two parallel worlds on a collision course? They seem to be, for Neferet has just used an old spell to bring protection to her world, and Rebecca meets a mysterious Egyptian man who says he’ll whisk her away to Alexandria. Magic and realism mix for a powerful ending in THE GOD’S WIFE.

Book Excerpt:

“From the primeval nothingness, proceeded Amun,” was the chant. Fewer people waved them on this time, but she sat still, with her back erect on the unforgiving wood sedan chair, balancing the wig with expert grace. In her confusion, she hung on to what the priests had taught her over her weeks of training.

Door after door gave way to the procession until they faced a hut-sized entrance with a red door allowing passage for only one or two persons at a time. She and Nebhotep had permission to touch it. She descended from the litter, aided by the priests, and stood, legs quivering under her linen gown, before the portal. She pounded once upon the wood, and the priests all bent forward prostrate on the floor. The way opened. She drew herself up, steadied her breath and faced the blue icon of the god Amun. He sat, life-sized, on a granite pedestal. His eyes, of the most uncanny stones, followed her every movement, even the shift of her eyes.

As instructed, she placed an armful of flowers at the god’s feet. Priests, bent over and mumbling apologies to the great Amun, handed her food to lay at the icon’s pedestal. Then, at the door, they covered Neferet with a great, gold-flecked robe and crowned her wig with a diadem. They sang a song of matrimony, and Nebhotep joined her hand to that of the great statue. It was as cold as the night waters. The priest read a long statement, detailing the lands and properties that the temple afforded to her, now that she was the bride of Amun. Her mind swam. All through these declarations, the heady incense threatened to knock her out. The sacred drug didi had her head swimming, because now the room was full of blue – the same color as the faience beads on her full collar necklace. She relaxed and couldn’t take her eyes off the Amun effigy.

Lynn Voedisch is a Chicago journalist and fiction writer with many years experience working for newspapers and magazines. She is a member of the America Society of Journalists and Authors and the Society of Midland Authors, where she is one the board of directors. She started out as editor of her college newspaper at Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa, and went on to work for WBBM-TV, Chicago; Pioneer Press in suburban Chicago, the Los Angeles Times, and spent a 17-year stint at the Chicago Sun-Times. She was an entertainment reporter and technology reporter there and helped develop the newspaper’s fledgling Web site. The site and staff won Best Innovation from the Inland Daily Press Association and the Dvorak Award for Web content.

She has been on television (“Chicago Tonight”) and radio (WBEZ-FM) talk shows, discussing arts topics that affect the city. After leaving the Sun-Times, she pursued a freelance career where she was published in the Chicago Tribune and in the Industry Standard, Grok and Connect-Time (all technology magazines). She also did arts stories for Dance Magazine and the Tribune. A short story of hers, “Wili,” was published inFolio literary magazine in Winter, 2001. She is now working on fiction. Her first novel, “Excited Light” (ASJA Press, $14.95) is available at Amazon.com, bn.com,booksamillion.com and can be ordered at any Barnes & Noble store. Her current novel, “The God’s Wife” (Fiction Studio Books, $9.99 e-book, $16.95 paperback) goes on sale Aug. 9.

Visit her website at http://www.lynnvoedisch.com/TheGodsWife-LV.com/Welcome.html

Tags: book spotlight, Lynn Voedisch, The God's Wife

The Literarily Speaking Book Panel talks to authors on different subjects regarding books, book industry topics, book selling, book promotions, and whatever catches our fancy. Today’s topic is book trailers.  I love book trailers.  I feel they are a great promotional tool but it often depends on how professional they are.  Do trailers sell books?  I believe just like any other promotional tool, they enhance a book campaign, but does it actually result in sales?  We’ll never know why someone buys our book unless the person tells us.  We asked our panel today to talk about their experiences with book trailers – do they feel the trailers enhanced their book campaign and whether they know first hand that it actually did sell their book?

Our Distinguished Panel of Authors:

Davis Aujourd’hui is the author of the Sister Mary Olga Fortitude series of hilarious satires. The first book is entitled “The Misadventures of Sister Mary Olga Fortitude.” It was followed by “Babes in Bucksnort.”  Davis possesses a rich life experience that has enabled him to draw from it in order to create a colorful canvas upon which to paint very human lives. He is a retired social worker, having worked for Adult Protective Services in New York State for nearly twenty years. He developed the characters within his series of books in order to entertain a colleague by using the gift of humor. As will be the case with Sister Mary Olga in his third book, he is a recovering alcoholic. He also happens to be gay as are several of the endearing and humorous characters within his novels. He can speak from his own experience. He has possessed all of the foibles of his cast of characters who are naughty, nasty, and nice.  Davis lives in Upstate New York where he is currently sharing his life with his partner of seven years. He is socially-minded and spirituality is the most important ingredient in order for him to maintain a happy and successful life. Visit this blog for information on the series: http://bestsatireseriesofthedecade.blogspot.com.  Visit this blog for information on the author: http://authordavisaujourdhui.blogspot.com.  Connect with him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Davis-Aujourdhui/138584429540046.

Sharon Bially lived for twelve years in Paris and Aix-en-Provence before settling with her family in Massachusetts.  A graduate of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, she’s a public relations professional and leads seminars for the Boston-based, nonprofit literary arts center, Grub Street Writers.  She’s also an adult student of ballet and modern dance. Her latest book is the contemporary women’s fiction novel, Veronica’s Nap. You can visit Sharon’s website and blog at www.veronicas-nap.com. Visit her at Twitter at www.twitter.com/@sharonbially and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sharon.bially AND http://www.facebook.com/pages/Veronicas-Nap/240292619323500.

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MARY CARTER is a freelance writer and novelist.  The Pub Across the Pond is her fifth novel with Kensington. Her other works include:  My Sister’s Voice, Sunnyside Blues, She’ll Take It, and Accidentally Engaged.  In addition to her novels she has written two novellas: A Very Maui Christmas in the best selling anthology Holiday Magic, and The Honeymoon House in the best selling anthology Almost Home. She is currently working on a new novel for Kensington. Readers are welcome to visit her at www.marycarterbooks.com.

Visit her at Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mary-Carter-Books/248226365259.

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Lilian Duval lives with her husband George, a native of Singapore, in a small house in New Jersey overlooking a large county park. They have two sons and a daughter, all independent and ambitious, and several cats. She’s an amateur classical guitarist and enjoys attending concerts and plays in New York City. But writing has always been her calling. In her own words, “The most enjoyable activity I can imagine is to invent some characters, make them a little larger than life, set them bickering and thrashing against each other and their fates, and enact a fictional resolution that makes more sense than the chaos and unpredictability of our complicated lives.” Lilian’s latest book is You Never Know: Tales of Tobias, an Accidental Lottery Winner. You can visit Lilian’s website at www.lilianduval.com. Connect with her on Twitter at @lilianduval and Facebook at Lilian Duval.

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Patty Friedmann’s two latest books are a YA novel called Taken Away [TSP 2010] and a literary e-novel titled Too Jewish [booksBnimble 2010]. She also is the author of six darkly comic literary novels set in New Orleans: The Exact Image of Mother [Viking Penguin 1991]; Eleanor Rushing [1998], Odds [2000], Secondhand Smoke [2002], Side Effects [2006], and A Little Bit Ruined [2007] [all hardback and paperback from Counterpoint except paper edition of Secondhand Smoke from Berkley Penguin]; as well as the humor book Too Smart to Be Rich [New Chapter Press 1988]. Her novels have been chosen as Discover Great New Writers, Original Voices, and Book Sense 76 selections, and her humor book was syndicated by the New York Times. She has published reviews, essays, and short stories in Publishers Weekly, Newsweek, Oxford American, Speakeasy, Horn Gallery, Short Story, LA LIT, Brightleaf, New Orleans Review, and The Times-Picayune and in anthologies The Great New American Writers Cookbook, Above Ground, Christmas Stories from Louisiana, My New Orleans, New Orleans Noir, and Life in the Wake. Her stage pieces have been part of Native Tongues. In a special 2009 edition, Oxford American listed Secondhand Smoke with 29 titles that included Gone with the Wind, Deliverance, and A Lesson Before Dying as the greatest Underrated Southern Books. With slight interruptions for education and natural disasters, she always has lived in New Orleans. You can visit her website at www.pattyfriedmann.com.

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Who would have thought a California girl would grow up to love the magic of a snowy Christmas and the mysteries of the North Pole. The scent of pine needles fills the air as the sleepy eyes of six small children begin to open. Then it begins “The Great Race.” Who will get to the presents first? The sounds of wrapping paper tearing, children laughing, and toys strewn everywhere. This was Christmas Day for Candace Hall’s family in Los Angeles, California. There were no snowflakes and Santa led a parade down Hollywood Blvd. As time passed and growing up continued, sunny California was left behind, Texas became home and there was snow at Christmas. There were no empty hours in a day to begin writing, even though Candace’s pen had touched a page or two, no real stories began to unfold until her health forced me to retire. It was then that real life experiences and her love of Christmas and a special black kitten turned into “A Christmas Secret.” Writing has now become Candace’s passion and with the help of the good Lord there will be more stories and adventures to be shared. Candace’s latest book is a delightful holiday children’s book called A Christmas Secret. You can visit her website at www.candacehallbooks.com.  You can also connect with Candace on Twitter at www.twitter.com/HallCandace.

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Chen Lizra started traveling to Cuba in 2005 in order to train with the island’s best professional dancers. Each year she finds more excuses to visit Cuba, discovering the culture from within and hanging out with her close friends. Chen grew up in Israel and later moved to Canada. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in marketing, which allowed her to turn her passion — Cuban dance and music — into an inspiring lifestyle for others through her company, Latidos Productions®. Chen was selected as the Student Entrepreneur Champion for British Columbia in 2008. The following year, she was nominated as one of the “Women of Distinction in Vancouver,” and in 2010, she was named “Woman of the Month” by Modern Working Woman Magazine. In addition, the Australian government has honoured Chen with a distinguished talent permanent visa. She’s also been featured in numerous newspaper articles and TV shows. Her latest book is My Seductive Cuba – A Unique Travel Guide. Visit her website at www.myseductivecuba.com.  Connect with her via her blog www.chenlizra.com, at Twitter at www.twitter.com/#!/MySeductiveCuba, www.twitter.com/#!/ChenLizra and Facebook at www.facebook.com/MySeductiveCuba.

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Mary Ann Loesch is an award-winning author living in the Austin Area. Teacher by day, writer by night, Ms. Loesch has an extensive background in Theatre Arts and education. In 2009 her novel, Nephilim, won the Writers League of Texas Manuscript contest in the category of Science Fiction/Fantasy. Having published short stories in SNM Horror Magazine, A Side of Grits, and Red Fez, she is also a proud contributor to the blogs All Things Writing and Loesch’s Muse, both guides for beginning writers. Lyrical Press, Inc. published her urban fantasy, Nephilim, July 2011. You can visit her website at www.maryannloesch.com or her blog at http://www.loeschsmuse.blogspot.com.

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Kathi Macias is a multi-award winning writer who has authored more than 30 books and ghostwritten several others. A former newspaper columnist and string reporter, Kathi has taught creative and business writing in various venues and has been a guest on many radio and television programs. Kathi is a popular speaker at churches, women’s clubs and retreats, and writers’ conferences, and won the 2008 Member of the Year award from AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association). Kathi “Easy Writer” Macias lives in Homeland, CA, with her husband, Al, where the two of them spend their free time buzzing around in their new ride: Al’s 2005 sunburst orange Corvette. You can find out more about Kathi’s writing and speaking at www.kathimacias.com.

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Cheryl Malandrinos is a freelance writer, children’s author and editor. Her first children’s book, Little Shepherd, was released in August 2010 by Guardian Angel Publishing. She is also a member of the SCBWI. Cheryl is a Tour Coordinator for Pump Up Your Book, a book reviewer, and blogger. Ms. Malandrinos lives in Western Massachusetts with her husband and two children. She also has a son who is married. Visit Cheryl at her newly redesigned website http://ccmalandrinos.com/ or visit the Little Shepherd book blog at http://littleshepherdchildrensbook.blogspot.com/.

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Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty published novels, many award-winning, including the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series. Her latest is Bears With Us. Writing as F. M. Meredith, her latest Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel is Angel Lost, the third from Oak Tree Press. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, Four chapters of Sisters in Crime, including the Central Coast chapter, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. She’s also a been an instructor at many writing conferences including the Maui Writers Retreat, Central Coast Writing Conference and many others. Visit Marilyn online at http://fictionforyou.com and her blog at http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com.

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Greg Messel has written three novels and three unpublished memoirs. He published his premiere novel “Sunbreaks” in 2009, followed by “Expiation” in 2010 and “The Illusion of Certainty” in 2011. Greg has had a newspaper career as a columnist, sportswriter and news editor. He won a Wyoming Press Association Award as a columnist. Greg also spent many years in the corporate world as a Financial Manager. He now devotes his energies to writing at his home in Edmonds, Washington on the Puget Sound just north of Seattle, where he lives with his wife, Carol. You can visit his website at www.gregmessel.com.  Connect with Greg on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gregmessel or Facebook at www.facebook.com/greg.messel.

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October 2011 Book Panel Book Trailer Discussions:

Davis Aujourd’hui: “I love book trailers. I’ve also had an excellent and very funny one done on my book, The Misadventures of Sister Mary Olga Fortitude. It aptly provides a delicious flavor of what the book will taste like. Unfortunately, my experience has been that it has not made any definitive impact on my book sales. Therefore, I am not convinced that book trailers enhance books sales. This only reflects my own experience.”

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Sharon Bially: “Book trailer? No, thanks.  Don’t watch them, don’t have one, don’t want one.  Which is kind of counter-intuitive since I’m a publicist and know that they can be powerful marketing tools.  And I’d never advise a client to flat-out reject the idea. My reasons boil down simply to personal preference.  First, I don’t watch TV, ever.  Nor do I click on videos when sitting at my computer : I just don’t have the bandwidth to switch to “passive observer” mode for short periods of time.   And even though I do love to catch a good movie, overall I’d much rather read. Second, as a reader and a writer I admit I find it sad that our culture has become so hooked on sound bites and visuals that video has become associated with reading in the first place.  A trailer for a movie makes perfect sense: it’s a snippet of what that movie is.  But books aren’t movies, and I wish the line between them weren’t becoming so painfully thin. People do like watching book trailers though, and they can be a good way to get your book’s title to stick. Like any other single element of a promotion strategy, though, the familiarity it creates with your product doesn’t necessarily lead to an increase in sales.  In the end, the choice comes down to personal preference.  If you love trailers and love the idea of having one for your book, that’ll come through in your trailer.  It will then be more engaging and effective.  On the other hand, if you’re like me I’d say it’s not worth the time or effort: that would be like writing a story that isn’t coming from the heart.”

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Mary Carter: “My first novel to have a book trailer was Accidentally Engaged. I loved it. You can see it on my website. Unfortunately, it was still a pretty new phenomenon then, and I wasn’t even able to post it on You Tube. So I don’t think many people even saw it. I still enjoy watching it myself. My second book to have a trailer was My Sister’s Voice. Again, a few hundred people may have seen it, but I don’t know if it was a deciding factor in a reader’s decision to purchase the book or not. I think word of mouth still reigns supreme when it comes to deciding what books to buy. I wish I had some clear answers on this one, maybe this panel will shed some light. Are we just trying to be like the movies? Are we so afraid of being left behind the digital, technological, television age that we’re trying to disguise our books as little movies? I think we kind of are. But I still like book trailers. And Hollywood still buys books and turns them into movies. I would caution writers on spending too much money on them, however. I think there are a lot of companies out there who recognize how desperate writers are to sell their books, and writers have to be really careful to go with reputable publicizing agencies or persons. Only spend what you can comfortably afford because nobody can offer you a guarantee that it’s going to help sell your book. Or get a video camera and record your own book trailer. Do it for fun, but don’t depend on it. You know what’s really going to sell your book? Writing a really good book.”

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Lilian Duval: “Dorothy Thompson referred me to a GREAT video designer, Alberto Rios Jr., who developed an amazing video for my novel, You Never Know. You can see the video here. Alberto captured the essence of my novel in an unbelievable one minute, fifteen seconds. It’s astonishing how much emotion the video conveys in such a brief time.  He visited my website and took the best ideas for the video from there, plus adding some of his own. One of the first images in the video is a portrait of my four main characters by a gifted art student whom I’d hired to draw this illustration for my website. Alberto featured this picture to great advantage in the video. Alberto also selected the music that accompanies the video. I’m an amateur musician, and I feel that the music he chose suits the video perfectly—it’s just the right mix of warmth and melancholy. The same applies to quotes from reviews that he placed in the video. This was done very professionally. There was hardly anything to modify in the first draft of this video. In a subsequent version, Alberto added quotes from new reviews, making the video still better than before. I cannot tell you whether my book video was responsible for any sales, but I do know that it has received a lot of compliments. Friends have mass-mailed other friends with a link to my book trailer, and that really helps. Adding a video to your author website is a beautiful advantage, and I advise my fellow writers to consider book trailers as part of their publicity.”

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Patty Friedmann: “I had two books come out at the same time last year. Taken Away and Too Jewish. They were different in so many ways, a YA hold-in-your hands book versus a literary historical e-novel: those are the major differences. For purposes here, though, one difference was that Too Jewish went straight into marketing with a pretty powerful (if I may say so myself) book trailer. It was part of its pander-to-technology style. The trailer was simple. It was the kind of trailer I probably could do myself if I tried. I was seated at a book-strewn table and talked, prompted by two or three questions from off-camera. Because the novel was based loosely on the story of my father who left his mother behind in Nazi Germany, I came across as sweet and sympathetic and even a little sadly funny. It was a great trailer.  I know it sold books because I got feedback. I know it affected people.  It even annoyed people: my estranged siblings were heard to say I was effing nuts. It set the right tone.”

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Candace Hall:  “I am a first time published children’s book author.  At this time I do not have a book trailer but am very interested in hearing what others have to say about its efficiency.  I have checked out several sites and they can range from $100 to thousands of dollars investment.  After all I have learned in the publishing process it is clear if you do not have a professional look and know how to get it out to the right sites, you will waste your money. A movie always catches the eye quicker than a short story.  In today’s society we are always in a hurry and have become accustomed to a media advertisement as opposed to the traditional written introduction.  Honestly I have been devoting my time and energy to getting my book out there and have not looked at trailers for other books.  Believe me I am starting to seriously investigate these different companies and choose which one will best fit my book.  I am looking forward to hearing other authors comments on their success or lack after using a book trailer.”

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Chen Lizra: “I think that book trailers are a great promotional tool. As they say, a photo is worth a 1000 words. Well, a moving photo communicates even more. Statistically it shows that especially on the internet the trend will only grow – video! Video! Video! But here is the tricky part, a good book trailer will help support your campaign, and a bad one can hurt it. I have seen only a handful of book trailers myself, and I have to admit that they all lacked that something that excites me – the person was talking too mechanically, the images weren’t interesting, and it was not beautifully shot or professionally edited. They’ve actually put me off and distracted me from the message. But a good presenter with the right presence can captivate me even if shot as a home video. Bottom line, like the book, it’s about storytelling. We do judge a book by its cover, but we also judge it by the promotional material associated with it. My Seductive Cuba’s book trailer came out on August 29^th 2011, the day before the official release date. I can say that it created a great buzz right before the launch. From my experience, in general, anything that has to do with Public Relations is effective when followed by a campaign to encourage buying. People need the message repeated a few times before they act. So the book trailer ca help build that initial interest, but then you need to advertise to remind them to buy. Also, a good book trailer is great for landing TV interviews because it shows interviewers what you will be like on camera. I have produced My Seductive Cuba’s book trailer with a professional team, and I believe it really shows people what is so unique about the book. It’s enticing. I tried not to repeat the very mistakes I saw in other videos, and I hope that it speaks for itself.  Watch mine at http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3AAes7FszGY .”

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Mary Ann Loesch: “As a writer with a book that’s just been released, I’ve look at all avenues of promotions. Book trailers are really beginning to become a popular way to get the word out about your book. I’m not sure if my book trailer has sold books or not, but I do feel it prompts people to learn more about me and my urban fantasy, Nephilim. In addition to my book trailer, I also created one for my personal blog, Loesch’s Muse and my blog traffic has increased since its creation. The thing about book trailers to remember is that you have to understand how to create them and what key things you want to get across to the viewer. Images that relate to your book are important, as well as, choosing music that creates mood. Two great programs to experiment with are iMovie or Animoto. I used Animoto to create my blog trailer and my book trailer. Here is the link to my book trailer for Nephilim (http://youtu.be/yNPzwOIh4bU) and the link for my blog trailer to Loesch’s Muse, http://youtu.be/s413HUCDiKM.”

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Kathi Macias: I’ve been doing book trailers for a few years now, and I feel they are a vital part of my overall promotional package. Do I know if they have directly sold any books? No, I don’t, as there seems to be no accurate way to discern that (short of a book buyer actually telling the author/publisher that was the case). However, I learned long ago that successful promotion isn’t the one big thing we do, but rather the cumulative things that build one upon another. Book trailers are certainly a necessary element of that successful promotional package. And yes, the quality/professionalism of the book trailer is crucial. I tend to pay a bit more for mine, but it’s important to me that they are topnotch.  You can watch my trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy_37Tf54dc.

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Cheryl Malandrinos: “I love book trailers. I’m a visual person. I must learn by doing and visual aids always helped me in the classroom. When I received the interior illustrations for Little Shepherd, one of the first things I did was create a trailer for the book. The music, combined with specific text and the beautiful illustrations created by Eugene Ruble, gives potential readers a chance to “see” my book and learn more about it. I’ve watched dozens of trailers in the years I’ve worked in book promotion. I’ve created over 25 of them. In order to be effective, a trailer needs to capture enough of the book to entice the viewer, while not giving too much away. Great consideration must be given to the words and music. Most of all, the trailer shouldn’t be too long. A minute to a minute and a half works well. If at all possible, they shouldn’t go longer than that. Two minutes doesn’t seem very long, but it can be when you’re watching a trailer. I can’t say I’ve ever purchased a book solely based upon a trailer, but I can say a trailer combined with good book reviews and being able to easily find the author online has led me to purchase several books.”

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Marilyn Meredith: I’ve had a book trailer for each of my last nine books. I love them. Whether or not they actually help sell books, I truly don’t know. What I do know is having a book trailer is another tool in my promotion plan. Of course it is up to me to make sure that I let people know about the trailer. Yes, I have actually been intrigued enough by a trailer to buy a book though I can’t remember which one it was. My trailer for my latest Deputy Tempe Crabtree novel, Bears With Us, can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjaY5GVht5A.  You can check my other book trailers on my website: http://fictionforyou.com/

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Greg Messel:  “It is difficult to know what sells a book. Book buyers are much more visually oriented and the book trailers can have an impact. I can try to analyze the virtues of book trailers however, best analysis comes from the gut. The first time I saw a book trailer I was wowed. The trailer was for a mystery.  It built suspense with music and shadowy visuals. I immediately thought it was one of the coolest things I had ever seen and I also thought “I want to read that book.” So much of marketing is emotional and trailers can amped up the emotional reaction to a book.  Can books be sold without a trailer? Of course. However, as an author I’m willing to try to reach potential readers by any means. I personally love the trailers I have for my books and proudly show them to people. I don’t know how many book they’ve sold but they can’t hurt.”

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Do you have an opinion? Leave your comment!

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Tags: book panel, book teasers, Book Trailers, book videos, Candace Hall, Chen Lizra, Davis Aujourd'hui, Greg Messel, Lilian Duval, literarily speaking, Mary Ann Loesch, Mary Carter, Patty Friedmann, Pump Up Your Book, Sharon Bially

Braxton A. Cosby (Bill Cosby’s nephew!!!) will be touring December 5 – January 13 with his science fiction young adult novel, The Star-Crossed Saga: Protostar at Pump Up Your Book!

It Starts With Choice! What would you choose: love or irrefutable duty?

On the brink of Civil War, the Torrian Alliance continues with its mission to obliterate Star-children across the universe in order to suppress an intergalactic evil. Following the recommendations of his Council, King Gregorio Derry has agreed to send his only son on a mission to restore honor to his family. Bounty Hunter Prince William Derry has crossed thousands of light-years to planet Earth, in order to fulfill this age old prophetic practice. The quiet days of Madisonburg, Tennessee are officially over as Sydney Elaine now knows the full meaning of the phrase Be careful what you wish for when she is confronted by this strange visitor. As an unforeseeable event delays his assassination, William decides to study his target more closely and begins to form a connection with Sydney that challenges his inner being. But this conflict is the least of his problems, as a conspiracy back on his home planet Fabricius threatens the lives of those he loves and his father s royal legacy. Along with that, he must unravel a hidden menace here on Earth that seeks to secure a vested interest that threatens both his and Sydney s safety. Will William be able to complete his mission or will he choose love, sacrificing everything he stands for?

356 pp.

You can visit his website at www.braxtonacosbygodson.com.

If you would like to review Protostar, please fill out the form here.

Tags: blog tour, book for review, Book Reviewers Wanted, Braxton A. Cosby, Protostar, Pump Up Your Book, science fiction, virtual book tours, YA, young adult science fiction

How To Get Published on Amazon Kindle

By Harry Bingham

A client of ours recently sold his book internationally. He got good deals in the UK, Europe, China – and a nice five figure offer in the US, from a top class NY publisher. For various reasons, however, it looks likely that we’re going to turn that US offer down and instead simply publish direct to the Amazon Kindle store. That gives us total control over the timing and the pricing – and we’ll get very attractive royalties too. Here’s what you need to know.

Creating your book

You can write your book in any word-processing document you like, but to get it ready for the Kindle you need to save it as an ‘old’ Word document – that is a.doc file, not a .docx or .pdf or anything else.

You can have basic formatting (bold, italics, etc), but more complex formatting (eg: bullet points) won’t work. It’s fine to insert pictures (as long as you own the copyright, of course). They should be inserted as .jpg files, and make sure they’re centred in the page. Don’t try to wrap text round them, though. That’ll look OK on your screen, but won’t work on the Kindle.

Then you need to create title pages, acknowledgements pages, etc. – insert a page break wherever you want a hard page break to appear on your final Kindle book.

There are a few other, somewhat technical issues, to consider. You can find out about all of them on the Amazon site. If you’re very capable on word-processing, you’ll be fine. If not, then get help. A badly formatted book will look awful. Don’t put your name to something that will let you down.

Also, we won’t let our client upload anything at all to the Kindle, until we’ve copy-edited his manuscript and then proof-read the copy-edits. That’s a time-consuming process and it does cost money if you get it done professionally, but it’s your book. Shoddy spellings, punctuation, grammar, or sentence structure will make your book look bad. If you want to do the job, do it right.

Finally, you need to convert the document you’ve created into a Kindle-ready file. Information on how to do that can also be found on the Amazon site, but it’s not hard and if you’re half-competent with computers you’ll be fine.

Create your cover image

Most self-pub books look bad because they have rubbish covers. A strong cover design may be the first thing that draws a reader to your book, so don’t skimp on it. Once you’ve got your cover design, do road-test it with friends and acquaintances. Don’t decide too soon – give yourself time to figure out what works.

Select your royalty option

This is a strange feature of Kindle publishing and one that’s poorly explained on their site. But here’s the deal. You can choose to take royalties of either 35% or 70% (less a very small amount for delivery, so you’ll get a little less than that 70% in practice). Obviously nearly everyone will figure that they would like the 70% option. Which is fine, but you need to be aware that (1) you have to set your book price at between $2.99 and $9.99, (2) your book can’t consist of mostly public domain content, (3) you have to make sure that the (Kindle price + 15% for VAT) is less than or equal to (the List Price of any physical edition of your book – 20%). Basically, the 70% royalty is used by Amazon as a way to ensure that the digital book is always more attractively priced than any physical book and to make sure that your pricing isn’t either stupidly high or stupidly low.

So price your book sensibly and go for that 70% option.

Upload your book to Amazon

Once you’ve done all that, you upload your book to Amazon and get going. Seek out Amazon’s online video on the topic which is helpful and encouraging.

Making it work

To publish well in the digital era is no different than good publishing has been in any era since Caxton. You need three ingredients and you can’t afford to mess up any one of them.

First, you need a very strong book. That means being incredibly fussy over every little detail of character, plot, sentence construction, etc. Professional authors are perfectionists and you need to be just the same way. Pro authors also use external editors and external copy-editors. We recommend you do the same.

Secondly, you need a very well-chosen cover image.We’ve already spoken about that, but remember most self-pub authors get this wrong. 95% of the time, self-pub books look that way from the first glance. You might only get once glance on the Amazon Kindle store, so don’t mess it up.

Third, you need an excellent marketing strategy in place. Don’t think your book will just sell itself. It won’t. There are millions of books available from Amazon and people aren’t going to navigate their way to yours by chance. You need a proper digital marketing strategy that you’ve put in place months or years before launching your first book. Again, don’t skimp or you won’t achieve any realistic sales.

With our client who’s considering Kindle publishing, we have all the three ingredients either in place or coming together. We’ve got a stunning professionally executed cover design. A really strong and professionally created website (with full social networking and blogging capability, of course). And an excellent text. We still need to do a few additional things – copy-editing, proofing, and lots more investment of time on digital marketing – but the essentials are all there. It’s going to be a heck of an adventure and I’d guess that we’ll make more money via self-pub than we could ever have done by the wrong kind of traditional strategy. It’s a new world out there, and we’re looking forward to setting sail.

Tags: Amazon, Amazon Kindle, create your book, get published, get published on Kindle, Kindle, upload book to amazon

Why Do I Write?

By Dr. Mitchell Gibson

Writing is one of the greatest passions of my life. When I was eight years old, I wrote a two page short story describing the emotions that I experienced during my parents separation and divorce.  My third grade teacher read the piece and was moved to tears.  She drove to our home, read it to my mother, and insisted that she nurture my writing ability as much as possible.  We didn’t have much money at the time, but my mother took what she had and purchased a set of World Book Encyclopedias.  Those books were the greatest gift anyone had ever given me.  They opened the world up to me.  I have been under the unending influence of the writing bug ever since.

Writing is one of the most difficult fields in the world.  Most writers never publish a single piece of literature with a major publishing house.  Most of our work never sees an audience wider than a few supportive eyes that love everything we write, even the schlock that we know is bad.

Writing is a force that grabs you by the soul and shakes you until you can’t see yourself living a single moment in this world without it.

So why pursue it?

Writers are the last of an ancient breed.  In ancient times, we created plays and other productions that entertained audiences before the creation of movies, the internet, and dvds. When a writer feels an emotion, we have the capacity to capture it, focus it onto paper, and whittle it down until it shines like new money.  At least on a good day we can do that.  Without writers, movies, magazines, books, the internet, and hundreds of other forms of information and entertainment would cease to exist.  From Shakespeare to Steinbeck, writers capture the spirit of life and preserve it for future generations.  A real writer recognizes the force of the gift that burns within his/her soul, and realizes that every breath drawn in life adds fuel to the fire of the pen.

All of us would love to become New York Times Bestsellers.  All of us would love to make millions, pen the next great movie, and receive all the fruits of success that come with the acclaim and prosperity of a successful writer.  That power and energy fuels the fire to a certain extent, but it is not the reason that all of us put pen to paper.  We pursue the craft because at the end of the day, when we put the kids to bed, the television goes quiet, and your loving mate says good night, we look forward to capturing the thoughts of the day on pen and page.  Ten pages done by midnight equals a good day. If you have experienced it, there is no feeling like it in the world.  To a writer, that is nirvana.

Dr. Mitchell Gibson is one of the world’s leading authorities on the interface of science and the frontiers of human consciousness.  He is the best-selling author of Your Immortal Body of Light, Signs of Mental Illness, Signs of Psychic and Spiritual Ability, The Living Soul, Nine Insights For A Happy and Successful Life, and Ancient Teaching Stories. Dr. Gibson has been a consultant for Fortune 500 companies, Hollywood celebrities, professional athletes, A&E Network, NBC, ABC, and CBS regional affiliate television stations, newspapers, radio stations.

Visit his website at www.tybro.com

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Tags: Dr. Mitchell Gibson, Nine Insights

5 Things You Should Know About the crazed artist, Caravaggio

By Gregory Earls

1. On April 26th 1604, at a nice restaurant in Rome, Caravaggio ordered a plate of eight artichoke hearts, four fried and four sautéed. He kindly asked the waiter which was which? Yet when the waiter replied with what Caravaggio interpreted as a smart-ass reply, it was on!

The waiter barely finished his sentence, “Why don’t you smell them?” before Caravaggio jumped out of his seat and punched the waiter in the face with the hot plate of artichokes.

Caravaggio was promptly arrested.

2. Caravaggio once pissed off the Vatican by using the bloated corpse of a drowned whore as a model for the Virgin Mary. The painting was ironically entitled, “Death Of A Virgin.” Unfortunately for the Vatican, it wasn’t the first nor the last time the artist would use inappropriate models for a painting with religious subject matter, frequently enlisting prostitutes, thieves and drunkards. However, most of the time they were alive. Thank God for small favors.

3. Caravaggio once murdered a man over a game of Tennis. The two began with beating each other with tennis rackets. The next day the violence escalated with a duel. Caravaggio ran Ranuccio Tomassoni through with a sword, killing him, and then was promptly on the lam. It’s rumored that after the incident, the artist had a hard time finding a tennis partner, ‘cause the dude just didn’t play nice.

4. Unlike renaissance artists, such as Michelangelo, who painted God’s miracles in marvelous sunlight—God’s light—Caravaggio instead plunged the miracles into blackness, painting the events as if they took place in dark back alleys. Caravaggio mastered the lighting technique of chiaroscuro, etching light from darkness—a technique that would later be used centuries later in films like Blade Runner and The Godfather.

5. The protagonist of Empire Of Light, Jason Tisse, (an aspiring cinematographer) idolizes Caravaggio and wishes he had a bit more of Caravaggio’s spirit in his life.

…Be careful what you wish for, Jason.

When Gregory Earls isn’t eating at Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles, he pays the bills by taking up space at 20th Century Fox in the Feature Post Production Department. He’s a proud graduate of Norfolk State University and the American Film Institute, where he studied cinematography. He’s an award-winning director who has amassed a reel of short films, music videos, and (yes) a wedding video or two. Steadfastly butchering the Italian language since 2002, he hopes to someday master the language just enough to inform his in-laws how much he loves their daughter, Stefania, who was born and raised in Milan, Italy. Gregory currently resides in Venice, California where he goes giddy every time he spots that dude who roller skates and plays the electric guitar at the same time. During football season, he can be found at the Stovepiper Lounge, a Cleveland Browns bar in the Valley where he roots for the greatest football team in the history of Cleveland. For more info please visit http://www.gregoryearls.com.

Tags: AFI, American Film Institute, art, Art History, author publicity, Baroque, blog tour, book promotions, book publicity, book tours, Caravaggio, Chiaroscuro, Cinematography, Cleveland, Empire of Light, Empire of Light by Gregory Earls, Film School, Filmmaking, Gregory Earls, Hollywood, Italy, Los Angeles, Naples, online book promotion, Paris, Pump Up Your Book, Rome, Showbiz, virtual blog tour, virtual book tour, Vittorio Storaro

A Home For Christmas
Deborah Grace Staley

Book Two in Deborah Grace Staley’s series about love and life in Angel Ridge, Tennessee. Dr. Janice Thornton has been lonely for too long, especially at Christmas. But Angel Ridge, Tennessee, the one place that holds the key to what family should be, is offering her a chance at a new life. Could she find happiness by taking over her uncle’s small town practice? Local contractor and carpenter Blake Ferguson comes from a big family. He’d like to fill his rambling old Victorian with one of his own. But there’s one problem. He needs a wife! When Janice shows up at his house, Blake sets a course to win her, but soon finds she’s built a wall around her heart this master carpenter finds difficult to dismantle. Can the magic of an Angel Ridge Christmas bring hearts home or will old hurts create an obstacle even the town’s legendary angels can’t overcome?

Click here to get your copy downloaded instantly!

Tags: A Home for Christmas, Christmas ebooks, free kindle books list, free Kindle downloads

A DEATH FOR BEAUTY, by Alberto Rios Arias, Freedom River Books, Kindle Edition, $7.95.

Set during the Civil War, a troubled young woman struggles with her conscience after the suspicious death of her unfaithful husband. When her dreams of a new life seem hopeful, she ventures across the western plains with her sickly daughter in tow and an unscrupulous businessman who promises her a pot of gold. But the seeds of this dangerous venture—sown in blood—yield the unexpected and what she encounters along the fringes of the Oregon Trail in the dark corners of the prairies, will change her life forever.

BOOK EXCERPT:

THE SOUND RUMBLED THROUGH the air like a stampede of wild horses, warning what was yet to come. The winds echoed like an open wound—a wound so deep that only death could heal it.

She could feel the storm approaching from the east, the rising heat, the smell of rain. She saw the natural order of things gathering. Death comes like salvation, unexpectedly. But her life was slow and deliberate. A life bound by swirling untruths—dark, unanswered prayers.

Virginia Mae Mercy always dreamed of starting over somewhere else. Now that her husband died, everything else stood still too, and if she needed a little push to get on with her life, that’s when the whirlwinds seemed imbued with divine purpose.

She tried to lock down the storm shelter, but within seconds, she lay in a cornfield searching for her little girl. The storm tore off the shelter doors, snatching her and the girl in a flash. They landed acres away but somehow survived, almost falling together, bruised and hallucinating.

Two signs from above were enough.

Last month, the first sign had come in the unlikely form of a telegram. She felt it coming. Confederate soldiers killed her husband in battle, or so they thought. That shocker was still under investigation, and the disorienting malaise from this recent storm, was finally beginning to fade.

Virginia never understood life’s storms. Not hers. But if there was one defining moment in her mind that crystallized and spoke to her sensibilities, this was it. She wished she could understand eternal matters too, a lifetime of prayers that until recently had gone unanswered.

Yet it was the earthly things that often made her breathe a little heavier, made her heart beat a little faster. In reflection, she feared the sudden horror of dying alone, her childhood premonitions about a fragile life in Geneva, Kansas. How dangerous life really was.

– Excerpt from A Death for Beauty by Alberto Rios Arias. Visit the author’s website at www.adeathforbeauty.com.

Tags: A Death For Beauty, Alberto Rios Arias

5 Things You Should Know About Promoting Your Book

By Terrell Dunnum

1. Take advantage of online tours. Virtual tours are a way to travel thousands of miles and to meet many cultures of different language.
2. Write out a marketing plan. Just as every business has a business plan you should have a marketing plan. When you are taking a trip to a far away destination, we plan out places we will visit, dine, and travel. You should do the same in promoting your book.
3. Be prepared for anything and everything. One tour may possibly lead to another opportunity to showcase your book via radio or television. You may want to enroll in a toast master’s speaking forum to sharpen your fluency skills.
4. Stay involved in your promotion. Get into the grass roots of your project. There are opportunities to write press releases and advertise book signings through such places as craigslist.
5. Visit your local book store, library, and YouTube video on creative ways to promote your book. Filling out a book mania list on Amazon and including you book on that list is one sure way to promote your book.

Terrell Dunnum is a school teacher and ordained non-denominational minister. He holds a master’s degree in Christian counseling from American Bible College and Seminary. He is the founder of Total Freedom Ministries, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides mentoring, biblical counseling, and basic life skills to troubled youths and families. Terrell is the author of While There Is Still Time, A Book of Prophecy Revealed Through Poetry

WhileThereisStillTime.com

Tags: 5 Things, Guest Blogger, promoting your book, Terrell Dunnum, While There is Still Time

Charles Rosenberg will be touring with Pump Up Your Book on December 5 – 16 with his legal thriller novel, Death on a High Floor!

No one is surprised when Simon Rafer, the much-despised managing partner in the large international law firm, Marbury Marfan, turns up dead – with an ornate dagger buried between his shoulder blades. Rafer, an abusive boss, had many enemies, but the prime suspect becomes firm senior partner Robert Tarza, at least according to one Detective Spritz. With Jenna James, his friend and colleague, Tarza sets out to find the real killer or killers before Spritz assembles enough evidence to put Tarza away for life.

That’s the supercharged premise of attorney-writer-legal analyst Charles “Chuck” Rosenberg’s first novel, DEATH ON A HIGH FLOOR. But wait, there’s more. The plot also revolves around an infamous ancient Roman coin, the “EID MAR” (Ides of March) denarius, which Brutus struck, complete with double daggers on the back, and handed out to his troops to celebrate his assassination of Julius Caesar. The question becomes, is it real or fake? Call it “Presumed Innocent” meets “The Da Vinci Code.”

Rosenberg, who has extensive experience as a legal script consultant to prime-time TV legal dramas, has been inspired by best-selling legal thriller writers like Scott Turow and John Grisham, but equally by TV producers like Stephen Bochco (“L.A. Law,” “Hill Street Blues,” “NYPD Blue”) and David E. Kelley (“The Practice,” “Boston Legal,” “Ally McBeal,” Harry’s Law”), as well as old time detectives like John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee. He also provided full time legal analysis for E! Entertainment Television’s live coverage of the O.J. Simpson criminal trial as well as commentary for E!’s coverage of the Simpson civil trial. He started writing DEATH ON A HIGH FLOOR in the mid-2000s.

“The novel was in some ways an attempt to integrate several parts of my life – working as a lawyer, covering the Simpson trial for TV, consulting on dramatic TV scripts, etc.,” Rosenberg says. “I’ve been involved in trial work, but I’ve also taught a lot of adjunct law courses, including Law and Popular Culture – a course about the image of lawyers in the media and how accurately lawyers are depicted in the movies and on TV. So in writing my own novel I had the special challenge of being as accurate as I could be within the constraints of fiction.”

The novel’s title stems from the fact that glitzy, high-end law firms, such as the one Rosenberg describes, “are always on the high floors of tall buildings,” he says. “In many ways, this is a fall-from-grace novel. Tarza, accused of murder, in a sense falls from high up, socially and financially, because of that. He eventually ends up with an eccentric criminal defense lawyer from what you might call the low-floors.”

The appeal to readers of DEATH ON A HIGH FLOOR is simple, Rosenberg maintains. “There’s a large market for courtroom dramas. Lots of people like them because courtrooms are the perfect place for drama – conflict and resolution, all in one small room.” Rosenberg also hints that there will be a sequel to DEATH ON A HIGH FLOOR.

453 pages

If you would like to review Death on a High Floor, please fill out the form here.

Tags: Book Reviewers Wanted, books for review, Charles Rosenberg, Death on a High Floor, detective, legal thriller, mystery, Pump Up Your Book

The Muse Next Door

By M.E. Patterson

Launching a writing career is a funny thing. You go to a party or a social gathering and, with your book now finally “on the shelf” (albeit maybe only virtual shelves), you finally have the confidence to answer the inevitable “what do you do?” question with the answer, “I’m a published author.”

Man, that is an awesome feeling the first time you say it, though you also feel a bit like a fraud, because you’re really thinking, “well, I’m no J. K. Rowling, but I guess yeah, technically, I’m a published author, okay.”

But then you often get the next question, which is a funny one and always makes me cock my head to one side like a dog confused by the barking sounds coming from the TV:

Where do you get your ideas from?

Which, to me, is a bit like asking someone where they find pants to wear every morning. I want to say, “uh, from the same place you get ideas, buddy.”

But I don’t, because I’m not successful or rich enough to be that level of jerk (yet). But then this question often gets me to thinking a bit. From exactly where do I get some of the ridiculous, terrifying, and sometimes even stupid ideas that end up in my stories. And how is it that I keep getting more of them? And who can I talk to about getting some of those multi-million dollar ones, because I keep getting ideas like, “what if I wrote a series about turtles with superpowers?” and then I realize that’s just a cartoon I used to watch when I was a kid. (and seriously, did it ever bother anyone else that Leonardo carried around a deadly sword, but only ever used it to cut down light fixtures on top of the bad guys?)

And that’s when I realize: you get the best ideas when your brain starts synthesizing all the junk you encounter every day, looking for patterns and connections.

Bear with me, here. Our brains are really just mushy, grey pattern-finding machines. That’s what we’re really, really good at as human beings. We see patterns in things that don’t even matter, like clouds and wallpaper and election results. But we’re always looking for them. Many scientists believe that’s why our dreams are so crazy – our brains are trying to tie a bunch of stuff from our day together to see if it fits; we’re basically running simulations while we sleep to try and better understand our waking world.

So, with this answer in mind, I’ve discovered a great way to seed the brain with new ideas: I leverage my environment.

Austin, Texas is a great place to be creative. We have indie filmmakers, indie musicians, indie writers, comic artists, you name it. The city prides itself on being weird (seriously, there are t-shirts). We have one of the biggest music festivals that features unsigned and lesser-known bands. We have one of the best indie movie theaters in the country, the Alamo Drafthouse.

I spend way too much time at the Drafthouse, and not just because of the food and beer. I love seeing movies. And I love that the Drafthouse shows stuff beyond the often-regurgitated, re-made sequels-of-sequels that the big studios are pumping out these days. The Drafthouse goes out of the way to show smaller pictures, indie films, and old stuff that you might have missed years ago or weren’t even around yet when it was first released. And my favorite time of all (coming up soon!) is Fantastic Fest.

Every year I hit the Fest to fill my eyeballs and brain with the craziest, most off-the-wall, ass-kicking science fiction, fantasy, horror, thrillers, and just plain nutty films from all over the globe. Many are films you’ll never seen anywhere else because they won’t get distribution beyond their home country. Combine this with all the books I’m always reading, the assorted odd magazines like New Scientist, and stuff on my Netflix queue, and I have a rich soup of odd stuff sloshing around in my brain.

Sure, my dreams are often pretty weird. But when I sit down and fire up Word to start in on the next chapter of my latest novel, I have a fresh source of strange synergies and connections, weird patterns and eye-popping visuals to work from.

Now, I’m not meaning to imply that you should run out and steal all your great ideas from someone else’s great ideas (damn you, Ninja Turtles!). Not my point. What I’m saying is that you have to find ways to stretch your brain. Remember, we’re good at patterns, but that also means we’re good at labeling and storing patterns we’ve already found. So if you keep filling your brain with the same books, the same shows, the same studio films with focus group-tested three-act structures, you’re going to get good at regurgitating those kinds of ideas, but maybe not so good at coming up with something really new.

Stretch, stretch! You don’t have to live in Austin (though it helps). Find your stretchy muse. Maybe it’s a coffee shop you’ve never tried because the people in the window don’t look like “your kind of people.” Or maybe it’s a book or movie rental that’s way outside your normal thing. Maybe it’s talking to that gal in the cubicle next to yours that you never talk to because she wears a ton of goth makeup. Maybe it’s as simple as hitting up that bar you always drive past on your way home from work, grabbing a beer, and listening to people’s stories.

All I’m saying is, find ways to get some new flavors into your head. You’ll be surprised at the new patterns you’ll unearth.

M. E. Patterson is an author of sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and thrillers, as well as an information technologist. He received an English/Fiction Writing degree from Virginia Tech, where he studied under nationally-recognized writers and poets. He has published short stories on RevolutionSF and his first manuscript for his book, Devil’s Hand, placed in the top five in the Writers’ League of Texas Manuscript Contest.

You can visit his website at http://devils-hand.com or his blog at http://blog.digimonkey.com.

Connect with him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ mepatterson or Facebook at http://on.fb.me/dhnovel.

Tags: Devil's Hand, Guest Blogger, M.E. Patterson, muse

GLORIFY EACH DAY, by John Banks, 819 Publishing, 286 pp, $12.64 (Kindle $9.99)

Glorify Each Day is a darkly comical novel depicting the consequences of violence in modern American life. It tells many stories. Tommy “Teach” Morrison, the novel’s main character, tells the story of his relationship with his childhood friend Charles – a story of a horrible misunderstanding and a story that Tommy can never retell. It tells the story of Tommy and Cait, a story of shared love and shared jokes, but a story that Tommy has doomed to end unhappily.

Glorify Each Day is the story of how Tommy becomes Teach, a man on a mission and on a quest for redemption – instructor extraordinaire (at least in his own mind) who must become the protector of all the ill-fated youngsters put in his charge. It is the story of Teach and his father, a crusty, foul-mouthed abuser of everyone around him and proof that nuts don’t fall very far from the tree.

Glorify Each Day is a story about storytelling and the many different ways to tell a story – stories about Teach’s students; about superheroes, Jesus, races, raps, rapes; about a young woman who learns how to forgive her father, another young woman who learns how to forgive herself, and another young woman who learns that she doesn’t need anyone’s forgiveness. And these are stories that Teach should be able to learn something from, too, stories that shine a light on lives disfigured by violence and loss.

CHAPTER 1

ONE SUMMER SATURDAY when I was eight, my mom decided she wanted to spend the afternoon visiting with her friend, Mary, who lived about a mile from our house. We lived on a winding country lane, with houses far apart, separated by large tracts of land. My dad was on the road.

“It’s Saturday! Can I just stay here?” I said. Normally, I would spend most of Saturday with Charles, but he was at the beach.

“I’m not leaving you here alone all afternoon. You and Robbie go put on your shoes.”

“I don’t want to!”

“I don’t care if you don’t want to. . . . You two go pick out a couple of games to take with you. You can watch TV.”

As we were getting ready to leave, our Chihuahua, Señor Perro, came running up to us, tail wagging, mouth panting and yapping. Any collective movement within the household would set him off. Mom bent over and vigorously rubbed the dog along both flanks. As was her habit, she started babbling in baby talk. (She had another habit, more unusual – if Señor Perro misbehaved, she would inexplicably translate the dog’s name into English – Mister Dog! Bad Mister Dog! – even though, I suppose, that would have negated any effectiveness of yelling at a Mexican dog.) Although technically belonging to me and Robbie, Señor Perro was most loved by our mom. He, true to his nature, had a tendency to snap at us if we got too rough, which we, true to our natures, usually did.

Robbie and I selected the games we wanted. I chose Monopoly because it took the longest to play. Robbie chose one of his silly kid games called Horsefeathers!, which involved putting strange animal body parts together to create even more unusual creatures.

Mary was an older woman who lived alone, and there wasn’t anything in her house for a kid to get excited about. Robbie and I spent an hour playing Monopoly, arguing incessantly about dice rolls, how to count money, which was the best railroad to land on, what did Water Works mean. At one point Robbie threw all the Community Chest cards at me, and the game was stopped peremptorily by Mom when I lunged at Robbie, grabbed his neck, and tried to make him eat a hotel.

Robbie had a more sedentary disposition than I and seemed satisfied to spend the rest of the afternoon lying on Mary’s living room carpet watching cartoons. But soon after the Monopoly debacle I was desperate to be outside.

My persistent badgering finally paid off.

“Alright, Tommy,” my mom relented. “I’m going to leave in a few minutes anyway. I guess you’ll be okay at home by yourself for a little while. . . . You can go on two conditions. Number one, don’t walk in the road. Stay on the grass. Do you hear me?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Repeat what I just said.”

“Don’twalkintheroad. Stayinthegrass.”

“Okay. And when you get home, stay in the yard. Don’t go into the woods. . . . Now what did I just say?”
“Stayoutofthewoods. Stayoutofthewoods. CanIgonow? CanIgonow?”

Even though Mom had to drive over, it was easy for me to run back home. I stayed on the road all the way. The idea of running on the grass was ridiculous. The ground was uneven and rutted in places; I was much more likely to fall and hurt myself if I followed my mom’s instructions.

The reason I was so eager to leave Mary’s house was because I was excited about practicing my pitching. Dad, a few months ago, had put up a tire swing in the backyard. It didn’t take me long to figure out the swing was also the perfect device to improve my pitching. The tire’s inside circumference was an excellent approximation of the Little League strike zone, and its height off the ground matched the height of most batters my age. Making this development even more exciting, I had finally been able to convince my dad to “ruin” the backyard by building a pretty convincing pitcher’s mound. So far, I had collected five baseballs from various places, which I carried in a toy bucket brought home from the beach. After throwing my five pitches, I would run to the chain-link fence to retrieve them. It was a perfect set-up, though I did wish I had more than five balls to pitch.

When I got back home, after a nearly mile-long sprint, I wasn’t even breathing very hard. I walked around to the side of the house, to where the spare door key was hidden, and let myself in.

Señor Perro was at the door to greet me. In my haste to get my glove and bucket of balls, I ignored the Chihuahua. I tended to ignore the dog anyway, though there were certainly times when both of us were in playful moods and I would wrestle Señor Perro and roll him on the floor – but more often than not this roughhousing would come to an abrupt end when Mister Dog would emerge, turn nasty and snap at me. I had not yet developed a habit of cursing, but would damn the dog in my own little-boy way.

Back outside, I ran to my pitcher’s mound in the backyard. My windup featured a very high left-leg-kick, which allowed me to balance on my right foot and lean the right side of my body backward to the point where I felt almost in danger of toppling over. In this way, I assumed, I would be giving myself the greatest amount of forward momentum possible as I threw the ball toward home plate. My pitches usually made it through the center hole of the tire, although sometimes a ball would ricochet off the inside rubber of the tire before being called a strike by the imaginary umpire.

After a half hour of pitch practice and ball retrieval, I heard Señor Perro barking from inside the house. Señor Perro was impatient and inconsistent when he needed to go outside, so I knew I needed to postpone my fun for a few minutes, if I wanted to prevent Señor Perro from being transformed into bad Mister Dog when Mom returned.

The dog ran outside immediately and scampered into the backyard. We had a high concrete deck with steps leading into the backyard. This side of the deck, facing the back yard, was a formidable concrete wall. And against this wall, which was about as high as I was tall, was Señor Perro’s favorite spot to cock his leg – which he did.

Having done my duty, I was in no mood to play with the dog. I wanted to pick it up and carry it back into the house so I could continue to pitch and to see how many consecutive strikes I could throw. Señor Perro, however, was in no mood to cooperate with me. He ran away when I tried to pick him up. He ran over the top of my pitcher’s mound, under the tire swing and then began running along the perimeter of the fence – with me in full chase. After two laps around the backyard, Mister Dog ran once again under the swing and came to a sudden stop on top of my pitcher’s mound. It was here that the dog started doing the unthinkable. Furious and not believing my eyes, I ran to the dog and picked it up, even though the animal was in full squat, with a long segmented turd hanging halfway to the ground. Señor Perro growled furiously and snapped his jaws at my arms, which were stretched out to full length, as the dog continued to defecate. In my anger, I threw the dog to the ground. Señor Perro once again took off running, this time toward the front of the house.

I wanted to forget about the dog and return to my soiled pitcher’s mound, which would require a bit of excavation before play could resume. But I knew how fearful Mom was about her dog being in the front yard, where there was no protective fence making it safe from traffic. So once again I was forced to postpone my fun in order to be a good son. Señor Perro, however, did not run up the short bank to the front yard. He stopped once more at the bottom of the concrete deck-wall and once more cocked his leg. I took this opportunity to seize the little bandit, and this time I was not going to let go. Still angry at him for desecrating my pitcher’s mound and for taking up so much of my fun-time, I started to squeeze Señor Perro tightly, holding it the way a running back holds a football. The more I squeezed the dog the harder I wanted to squeeze. I felt my arms squeezing tighter and tighter. Tighter still, as my teeth clenched and my arms started to tremble. The dog yelped loudly and struggled to free itself. I was holding it so tightly it could not move its head from side to side in order to bite. Its helpless yelping was muffled beneath my arms.

My anger slowly subsided and I loosened my grip on the dog. Reflexively, Señor Perro snapped viciously at me, grazing my arm with his fangs. I yelled out in pain and all of my anger returned in full force. Señor Perro leaped from my arms, but before the dog could escape, I jumped on it, picked it up with both hands, and with all of my strength hurled the dog toward the concrete wall. Señor Perro howled when he hit the wall and started yelping as he hit the ground. Señor Perro’s pathetic yelps were continuous, metronomic and piercing. Panicked, I could see I had broken the dog’s leg badly. I had no idea what to do. Señor Perro’s yelping was incessant. I reached down toward the dog, but it snapped again, with foam flecking from its mouth. I started running aimlessly around the yard. The dog’s yelping only seemed to be intensifying. I reached the fence at the far end of the yard and reached my fingers through the chain links and began to shake and rattle the fence, to what purpose I don’t remember, except perhaps to drown out the noise of the dog. As I stood shaking the fence, I suddenly thought about Mom and became terrified that she had heard Señor Perro from Mary’s house. I became sure of it. Even more panicked now, I started crying. I released the fence and started walking slowly back toward the dog, which continued to yelp steadily. As I gazed around the yard, I saw a shovel lying against the back of the house – the shovel my dad had used to build my pitcher’s mound. I grabbed the shovel and continued walking toward the dog.

When I got to within a few feet of Señor Perro, his yelping was unbearably loud.

“Shut up!”

The dog continued its crazed yelping.

“Shut up! Shut up!”

I raised the heavy shovel about shoulder-high and brought it down on the dog’s head. There was a metallic clang against the skull, but the dog continued to yelp, now with an even faster cadence.

I raised the shovel again, this time to a full height above my head, and slammed it once again against the dog’s head.

The yelping immediately ceased. Once again I was struck dumb with indecision and fright. I stared down at the dog and threw the shovel behind me; perhaps I was trying to disassociate myself from what I had done. I sat on the ground, cross-legged, still staring at Señor Perro, who lay motionless, a small spot of blood visible on his brown scalp, his hind leg angled grotesquely away from the other three.

I suddenly jumped to my feet and picked up the shovel, as a passing car reminded me Mom would be home soon.

The Chihuahua fit almost perfectly into the blade of the shovel, with only his front leg dangling. It was surprisingly heavy as I carried it across the yard. I slowly lay the shovel aside before I lifted the latch on the gate. When I picked the shovel up again I was careful to keep all the weight properly balanced – especially as I carried the dog along uncertain footing up into the woods. I trudged deeper, deeper, across a soft bed of pine needles, not knowing when to stop – perhaps not wanting to stop, wishing I could continue on forever into a never-ending forest.

Eventually, however, I did stop and slowly began digging through the moist undergrowth until I hit solid dirt. The soil was rocky and the digging became difficult. The grave wasn’t very large, but Señor Perro fit well enough. He would be hidden well by the leaves and needles. Before beginning to cover the dog, I bowed my head and asked God forgiveness. I had stopped crying.

As I finished my short prayer, I was startled to hear my mom shouting my name. The voice was too close to be carrying from the back deck of our house. Once again, I was helpless about what I should do. Mom continued to shout my name, her voice coming closer. I doubted I could finish burying the dog before Mom discovered me. I heard my name called once again, much closer now. I wanted to run away, deeper into the woods, but I must have realized how futile that would have been. Instead, I reached down and picked up the limp body of the dog and began walking slowly toward the sound of my mom’s voice.

As soon as she saw me, and what I was carrying, she ran to me.

“Oh my God.”

I didn’t say anything. She quickly took the dog into her arms.

“Let’s go, Tommy. We’re gonna have to run. We have to get him to the vet.”

“He’s dead, Mama.”

We were running, sticks crunching underfoot.

“No, baby, he’s not dead. He’s not dead. I can feel his heartbeat.”

Robbie started bawling immediately when he saw Señor Perro. On the way to the vet, Señor Perro started to regain consciousness.

“What happened, Tommy?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did you leave the gate open?”

“What?”

“I’ve told you repeatedly to make sure that gate stays closed.”

“I’m sorry, mama.”

“Well, I know, son, but as soon as we get back you have to be punished for this.”

“Is Señor Perro gonna be okay?” Robbie asked, his tears dried now that the dog’s eyes were open again. Señor Perro was, I imagine, in shock, strangely silent considering the agony he had been in.

“He’ll be fine, sweetie. The vet will fix his leg.”

“What happened to him?”

“I don’t know, sweetie. He must have fallen down a hill or into a hole. Tommy, where was he when you picked him up?”

“In a hole.”

Which was the only true statement I have ever made about the incident.

– Excerpt from Glorify Each Day

Tags: book spotlight, Glorify Each Day, John Banks

Today we are honored to be hosting Richard Blunt on his virtual book tour this month with the 1st installment of his 3- day Get to Know My Book series of book excerpts. Get to Know My Book is an ongoing feature between blogs where we post excerpts of an author’s book so that you can get to know the book better, one blog at a time.

About Richard Blunt

Richard Blunt is the author of the fantasy novel, Lucas Trent: Guardian in Magic. He is currently working on his second book in the Lucas Trent series. You can visit his website at www.lucastrent.com.

Visit him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lucas_trent and Facebook at www.facebook.com/people/richard-blunt.

About Lucas Trent: Guardian in Magic

“Guardian in Magic” is a fantasy novel located in a world very similar to the one we live in. It tells the story of 16 year old Lucas Trent, an IT student living in Luton, England. His fascination for the supernatural leads him to take a glimpse at the world from an angle only few others look at. An angle that teaches him the true meaning of friendship, loyalty and trust in ways he had never experienced before.

Journeying through a secret community that is hidden in plain sight, he suddenly finds himself forced into living two lives at once, keeping his true identity even from his close family. In a struggle to handle this situation, he gets pulled deeper and deeper into a swamp of conspiracies and coincidences surrounding a young girl and the very truth about magic in the real world…

Book Excerpt:

From Chapter 1…

It was shortly before 6 p.m. when Lucas entered the TimeStop. The place was divided into five separate rooms, the main one with the bar and four extra rooms for private hire. It didn’t need much more than a single look for Lucas to realize why this place was called TimeStop… All the rooms had the same strange decoration: The walls were filled with clocks of different styles, starting with a modern digital clock like you see on airports or at train stations and ending with some very old clocks that seemed to have been around for decades, perhaps even centuries. And the very strangest thing was that not a single clock was ticking; they were all stopped, each showing a different time. It took Lucas a few seconds to regain his breath and continue into the main room of the bar.

“Welcome to the TimeStop, stranger,” the bartender addressed Lucas in a friendly voice. “What can I get you?”

Lucas stepped up to the bar, ordered an appetizer and started looking around, trying to find out where to go. The bartender seemed to read his mind. “If you are here for the regular meeting of the Pagan group, then just head into the room over there,” he said and pointed towards one of the other rooms.

Lucas nodded, mumbled his thanks and walked towards the room. He started feeling more and more queasy with every step. Was it really a good idea to go there? Would he make a complete fool of himself? Who else would be there? Thoughts were racing through his head as he arrived at the red curtain that blocked the view to the room. He took a deep breath, shook himself a little bit to gain confidence and then entered the room.

The moment he stepped through the curtain his mood began to lighten. The room had eight tables in it, each surrounded by chairs. About 20 to 30 people had already taken their places at some of the tables, chatting and laughing, having a good time. The group was completely mixed, ranging from his age, or even a little bit younger, up to the age of approximately 60 years. He threw a quiet “Hello” into the room, somewhat hoping to remain unheard, as he still did not really feel comfortable around here. His hopes seemed to go unnoticed by the others, as it seemed that everyone had heard his greeting. Many of them just nodded in reply; others answered with a hello themselves. Two of them jumped up and came to him.

One, an approximately 35-year-old man, had a big grin on his face as he said “Cheers mate, welcome to our chat room.” He pounded him on his back and led him to one of the tables.

The other one, a woman in her late twenties, shook her head and said with a laugh, “Jesus, Drow… Don’t chase away our guest before he even arrives…” Then she turned towards Lucas. “Hi there! My name is Angel. I am a regular here, and this guy without manners,” she pointed towards Drow, “is Drow, the initiator of this meeting. Welcome to the Pagan chat room.”

“Thanks,” Lucas replied, still looking around and then as he saw the questioning look on Angel’s face he continued “Oh, sorry… I am Lucas, Lucas Trent.”

“Well, Lucas, Lucas Trent, take a seat and enjoy your stay. If you need anything just ask; no one is going to bite your head off,” Angel answered with a smile on her face pointing toward an empty chair.

Lucas instantly liked her. She was nice, good looking and had something else he just couldn’t explain. He felt sorry that she was at least ten years older than himself, otherwise he perhaps would have tried to talk her into dating him. He took a chair, still looking around as he saw a face he recognized on the table next to him. A very tall, slim guy with glasses was reading a local newspaper. The person was one year older than himself, and somewhat familiar. It took him a minute before he was able to make the connection. “Jesus…” he mumbled as he turned towards him. “Excuse me?” The other one looked up from his newspaper. “Aren’t you Darien Stance?” Lucas continued.

“Yes,” Darien replied seeming a little bit insecure. “Do I know you?”

“No,” Lucas answered with a laugh, “but I definitely know you… You are the scientific genius in my school. I am Lucas Trent, one grade below you.” Stance’s look changed into a nice smile. “Come to think of it…” Lucas continued, “what is Mr. Science from Luton IT College doing at the Pagan chat room?”

“Keeping an open mind,” Stance responded. “And what brings the most promising IT expert of this decade to this location?”

Lucas turned dark red. “So you know me, too?”

“Yes,” Darien laughed. “Everyone in school knows you, Trent. You are certainly more famous than I am.” And after a moment of silence he continued, “Oh, by the way, it’s really nice to meet you, Mr. Trent.” With these words he extended his hand towards Lucas waiting for him to shake it. Lucas didn’t hesitate a second. The most famous student in school, the one everyone just called “The Professor,” was offering his hand to him. In school he would have never even dreamt of that honor.

“More than nice to meet you, Mr. Stance.” he replied, shaking his hand.

“Please call me Darien, or Professor if you like, but let’s stop the formalities.”

Lucas couldn’t believe it. He was offered a first name basis with the Professor… “Lucas…” he replied a bit shyly.

Darien lifted his glass toward him “Cheers. Lucas, to a new friendship.”

“Cheers,” Lucas replied, taking a deep sip. The drink helped him regain a clear mind. He changed his seat to sit next to his new friend and they started chatting about school and computers while Darien was reading the newspaper and Lucas continued checking out the others in the room. The tables were filling up rapidly and Lucas was really amazed how many people around here responded to an invitation like that. It seemed a bit hard for him to talk with the others, as they seemed to know each other so well, so he decided to stay with Darien and see what would happen next.

It was around 7 p.m. when the first person approached Lucas’ table. It was a girl, seemingly a bit younger than Lucas and really good looking. “Excuse me…” she started in a very shy voice, not really looking at them with her big blue eyes. The two boys hadn’t recognized her, even though it seemed that everyone else in the room only had eyes for her at that point. Lucas and Darien looked up at the same moment. “Is this chair taken?” she pointed to an empty chair right across from Darien.

“No, no,” Darien replied. “We would be happy to have such nice company at our table.”

“Thanks, you are sweet,” she said with a smile as she sat down. “I am Stephanie. This is my first time here.”

“The name’s Darien and that’s Lucas. Join the club of newcomers.” Darien took the liberty of performing the formality.

“So you are into magic as well?” Stephanie asked with curiosity in her voice. “I always thought I was the only one that spent her time with it.”

“Join the club, again.” Lucas laughed. “Everyone around me would have thought I am a complete nut job if they knew.”

“Not everyone,” the Professor entered the conversation with a calm voice, “but you are quite right that it is better not to talk about this too much in public.”

“So what are you guys up to? What are you trying to accomplish with magic?”

Stephanie continued her inquiry.

“Well… “ Darien started folding up his newspaper, “I am not trying to accomplish anything with magic. I just want to understand what’s behind it, as it might help me in seeing a clear picture of science at all levels.”

Stephanie nodded emphatically and looked at Lucas.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I really don’t. I always was fascinated by what I read about it but I still don’t think it is possible. It mostly seems like fiction to me, but who knows… Perhaps someone around here is open to proving me wrong… What about you Stephanie?”

She smiled. “I am into healing. I want nothing more than to cure things that no one else can. That’s why I want to learn magic so much. Well, let’s see how far it goes, because so far I haven’t really had much success.”

“What did you try so far?” Darien asked.

“Well, I read many books, and experimented a little on myself, but like I said, no success so far,” she responded.

“Excuse me,” a voice from behind interrupted the discussion. They looked up at another arrival, around the age of the three, kind of a sporty guy. “Most tables are overcrowded–do you mind?”

“Not at all,” Lucas said pointing at a chair.

“Thank you!” the new guy replied, seeming relieved. “You know, I don’t know anyone around here, and most of the others don’t look very inviting. The name is Marcus Gracer, by the way. Nice to meet you all.”

The others introduced themselves, welcoming Marcus and then continued their discussion.

“What kind of experiments did you do, Stephanie?” Lucas was curious.

“Mostly rituals as they are described in books, but I didn’t get that far with it. I also tried spell magic but that came up even worse.” Stephanie was back in the discussion immediately.

“Wow, you seem to have a lot of experience already,” Marcus said, amazed.

Darien started laughing. “Don’t let yourself be misled, Marcus. Looks are often deceiving. What’s your point in the game, anyway?”

Marcus face became thoughtful. “I am into sports and hope that mental training will help me become better.”

“Isn’t that a bit far away from ‘just’ mental training?” Lucas asked.

“Well, yeah, it might be, but I thought if I start it, then I could go the whole way as well. Doesn’t change anything, does it?” Marcus commented. “But again, I am still at the beginning of it all.”

“A table where the topic is actually magic…” Again a voice spoke from behind.

Marcus turned around to face a man and a woman standing right behind him. “Are we allowed to join the circle or is this a private discussion?” the woman asked. She seemed to be near 20, short, a bit pudgy, with long red hair and a nice, friendly grin. The boy beside her was younger, about Lucas’ age, with no smile on his face–actually no feelings at all that one could read from his face.

“If this was a private discussion, the place would be very badly chosen, don’t you think?” Lucas said with a smile as he pointed them toward two chairs, filling the table fully.

The boy nodded his head with a face that might have meant “Thank you” but didn’t say anything. The girl seemed more willing to talk.

“Thanks,” she said, grabbing a chair. “May I introduce myself? Jasmin Kramer, but my friends just call me ‘Psycho’.” She bowed a little bit. “I actually can’t tell you much about my companion, as we just met a minute ago.”

“The name is Mason, Cedric Mason,” the quiet one said in a very calm, almost cold, voice.

“Don’t talk much, do you, Ced?” Jasmin smiled at him while pounding his back.

“No,” was his short reply.

“So let’s get back to the topic, don’t want to spoil the only group that had it…”

Again it was Jasmin talking. “Are any of you any good at magic? Or are you also just beginners as I am?”

The discussion continued for quite a while. Psycho pointed out her interest in manipulating the human mind; Cedric kept a little bit of a low profile by just saying he wanted to learn this stuff for self-defense. They shared their few experiences, talked about books and websites to gain information from and enjoyed their time together. Around 9 p.m. even Cedric eased up a little and started talking a bit more. The atmosphere was good, everyone seemed to get along great with the others and even when the numbers around became lower and lower not one of them thought about leaving. They all enjoyed their time so much that they didn’t think of looking at the clock. Darien was the first to take that look. “Jesus,” he said, “it’s already close to 10 p.m.”

Lucas laughed again. “Now you know why they call the place TimeStop, because you completely forget about time around here.”

“Time is always the problem,” Marcus stated. “I am quite sure that we all could be much further already with our knowledge if we would take more time for studying. But there always seems to be something more important to do…”

“Perhaps you should group up and study together, then,” a friendly female voice said from behind. “It helps the learning and also helps in sorting out priorities.” It was Angel standing behind them with a smile on her face “Mind if I join you?”

Everyone shook his head, so Angel pulled up a chair and sat down with them.

“What do you mean with grouping up, Angel?” Lucas asked.

“I think I know,” Darien responded before Angel could. “I read that magic users even in the real world group up in magic circles–study groups, we would say in academia. I think that is what Angel meant, but Angel, don’t you think that we are all too different to study together? Everyone has completely different approaches, aims and thoughts–how could this ever work?”

“Differences make you stronger, Professor,” Angel replied in a calm, friendly voice. “It is said that if you have two people that do the same, think the same and get the same results, then you have one too many. Every one of you can learn much from all the others because of the differences you have, but you have to keep an open mind all the time; after all, every one of you will bring up a different solution for the same problem and it is imperative that you examine every one of them closely to understand the ways of magic fully.”

“Do you understand the ways of magic fully?” Lucas asked.

“No, Lucas. But I do my best to understand it as much as possible.”

A few seconds of silence followed this statement. Stephanie was the first to break it. “I rather like the idea of the circle. I kind of like all of you and it would really be nice to have you around a bit more often so we can learn together.”

“I agree.” Marcus nodded “But is it worth the while? I still haven’t seen anything that makes me believe much in the things you’ve tried, and I am quite sure that not one of us is in the position to change that any time soon. And quite frankly I do have other things to do as, well.”

Lucas spoke up. “No one can tell you if it’s worth your while, Marcus, because not only don’t we have the answers, we also don’t  know what it would take to make it worth your while in the first place. And believe me, buddy, I have other things to do as well, but I would still be willing to try.”

Tomorrow stop off at As the Pages Turn with Get to Know My Book: Lucas Trent: Guardians in Magic by Richard Blunt – Part II!

Tags: author tour, authors, blog tour, book campaign, book tour, books, England, fantasy, fantasy author, fantasy book, fantasy novel, friendship, Harry Potter, IT, IT student, loyalty, Lucas Trent Guardian in Magic, Luton, magic, Pump Up Your Book, Richard Blunt, supernatural, supernatural fantasy, trust, virtual book tour

Title: You Never Know: Tales of Tobias: An Accidental Lottery Winner
Author: Lilian Duval
Publisher: Wheatmark Press
Paperback: 354 pages
ISBN: 1604945206
Genre: Literary Fiction

What happens when an ordinary person becomes extraordinary?

Tobias starts out in life much the same as any of us—not rich, not poor, with imperfect parents and unlimited ambition. When he’s twenty years old, his future is altered in irreparable ways after a tragic car accident pushes him down a new path. The once-promising anthropology major is forced to abandon his dreams in order to care for his orphaned, brain-damaged younger brother.

In his late thirties, Tobias works in a bookstore, trying desperately to make ends meet to support his family. His daily grind only reinforces the sadness that broken dreams and bad luck bring in their wake.

How many times have you heard someone say, “If only I won the lottery?”

When Tobias finds he has won the Mega Millions lottery, his unimaginable bad luck seems to have changed into unimaginable good luck … or has it?

Over peaks and valleys, this uplifting journey will challenge the limits of luck, life, and what we value most.

Find out more about the complications of Tobias’s friendship and rivalry with his best friend, Martin; the effects of all this bad luck and good luck on his marriage; and the struggles of his brother, Simeon, once a talented cartoonist, in … You Never Know.
Book Excerpt:

Chapter 1
Saturday, December 23, 1989, was the kind of tepid winter day that made people ask, “What winter?” Dark by four in the afternoon, but no wind, no bite, a gray curtain over the sky for most of the day, just barely cold enough to freeze the slush into a treacherous skin of black ice that coated the streets like slime in a dirty shower stall. Tobias skidded on it when he stepped off the New Jersey Transit bus from Port Authority.
He was to call home from the bus station as soon as he arrived. He would wait in Amy’s Coffee House and pop out with his luggage when his father double-tapped the horn.
The bus had pulled into Woodrock, New Jersey, at four-thirty PM, half an hour late in Christmas traffic. Tobias slung his overstuffed book bag over his shoulder and dragged his valise into the crowded restaurant. He bought a giant latte and sat on a bar stool at the end of the counter. Other college students were chatting about ski trips and courses and their current romances. Christmas carols played on an endless loop. The place smelled of cinnamon.
The location of home was debatable. The longer he stayed away, the more separate he became from the family still living in Woodrock, to the point where he could almost forget them. Home was where his life was: Abington College in Maryland and the off-campus apartment he shared with Martin, his tennis partner, a math major planning on business school, who called Tobias a “liberal arts lefty.” They got along fine, were evenly matched on the courts, and took turns abandoning their apartment for a few hours when one or the other had a girlfriend over. They were both twenty, going on twenty-one, seesawing between adolescence and adulthood.
Tobias took a gulp of coffee and scalded his tongue. His father would be sitting in front of the TV now, doing nothing, waiting for the phone to ring. His mother would be delaying dinner preparations, sneaking another glass of wine. His brother, Simeon, would be upstairs in his room, sketching or drawing.
He sipped half the coffee and folded his arms over his book bag. Simeon, age fifteen, was a cartoonist. His pictures had appeared in the high school newspaper, the town newspaper, and the state magazine. Their mother was an art teacher, but no one had taught him cartooning; he just drew all day long–in class, where he was warm in art and cold in every other subject; at home, where he holed up in his room, away from the fighting; and anyplace he went where he had to wait in line. He didn’t talk much.
When Tobias was eleven, Simeon was six, and already attracting attention with his cartoons. He entered the school art contest with a drawing of his first-grade teacher, emphasizing her long earrings and long face, a caricature that was otherwise flattering. The school principal called and demanded to know who, in fact, had drawn a picture too advanced for a first-grader. Their mother huffed off to school, carrying a Grand Union bag crammed with Simeon’s cartoons of the last year or so, mostly of family members, to back him up. Simeon won the prize: a drawing set containing colored pencils, chalk pastels, an eraser, a sharpener, and a blending stump, all in a tin box with compartments like a Swanson frozen dinner.
Watching him sketch at the kitchen table, Tobias told their mother, “He’s talented because he practices so much. He never does anything else.” Simeon went on drawing without seeming to listen.
“No,” their mother said. “He practices so much because he’s talented.”
Tobias first saw his baby brother when he was two weeks old. He’d been sent alone at age five on a plane to his aunt Joyce in Encino, California, hovered over by flight attendants, at the time called stewardesses. Joyce, accustomed to covering for her alcoholic sister, took care of Tobias competently and joylessly for a month. On his return home, his father showed him the baby, asleep in a crib. “Here’s your new brother,” he said. “Just like you, only smaller.”
By the time Tobias was twelve, his mother was drinking in the mornings, her coffee mug filled with wine, and couldn’t get Simeon off to elementary school. Tobias packed his brother’s lunch every day before he left for middle school, taught him to tell time, and made sure he got out the door on time, while their mother went back to bed.
Tobias finished his coffee and asked the girl next to him to watch his stuff while he went to the men’s room. Someone was on the pay phone at the back of the restaurant. He ordered another coffee the same size. He wouldn’t be able to sleep. But rather than making him jittery, the caffeine was calming him, and he cast around for something to look forward to after this visit. He was always thinking, When this or that happens, then I’ll be happy. It was never now; it was always later. Maybe happiness is forever anticipating being happy, he thought. Getting what you want doesn’t equal happiness. His was a life always heading somewhere but never arriving.
At the moment, he was looking forward to three things: One, seeing his brother, his only family member who was not stuck in time or moving backward. Two, perversely, for this visit to be over. And three, his undergraduate anthropology fellowship in the rainforests of the Peruvian Amazon and the Yanomami territories of Brazil and Venezuela.
His father had forbidden Simeon to draw or paint until he raised his grades in school, where he was making As in art and Cs and Ds in all his other tenth-grade subjects. Twice, Tobias had mediated on the phone long-distance, to no avail. Simeon could draw with a fingernail in the dirt, but missed his art supplies, which their father had confiscated for the semester.
The phone at the back was free. Tobias felt in the front zippered flap of his suitcase for his family’s presents, all bought at the last minute from the campus store: an Abington College scarf for his mother, an Abington coffee mug for his father, and the book Best Cartoonists of the 20th Century for his brother. He lugged everything to the phone corner and started fishing for coins in his coat pocket, slowly. At the center table, students he had known in high school were staring at him. He turned his back and plunked a quarter into the phone.
“Toby!” a voice boomed from the open door. A man stepped into the coffee shop. “Tobias Hillyer.” The thirty or so customers all stopped talking at once. “Holly Jolly Christmas” warbled on the soundtrack.
Tobias grabbed his backpack and valise, scattering the coins from the phone shelf onto the floor. “Dad, I just got here. I was just calling you.” They hugged.
“An hour late,” his father said, grinning under his winter hat, the kind with ear flaps. He cuffed Tobias on the head– only playfully. It hurt anyway.
“Thanks for coming, Dad. Come on; let’s go.” Murmurs of conversation sprang up as they shuffled to the door.
“Your mother wants us to stop and get Chinese food. No time to cook.” He put Tobias’s bags in the trunk. “So she said.”
“Dad, please don’t put anything on top of the suitcase.”
“How’s school?”
“Good, fine, Dad. I got a work-study job tutoring. Doing all right. So I’d like to invite you all out to dinner.” Getting the family out in public would at least mitigate their initial meeting.
They got in the car. “You still going down there with those pygmies?”
“Dad, they’re Yanomami. Brazilian Indians, some in Venezuela. It’ll be all right.”
“Yo Mama, that what you call them?” He laughed.
Tobias ignored him the rest of the way to the house. He started to unlock the front door, which gave way before he turned the key. Still broken.
“Hi, sweetie!” His mother embraced him. She reeked of wine, and her enthusiasm alarmed him. There would be a confrontation; he could sense it.
“Good to see you, Mom.” He stepped into the kitchen, ostensibly to get a glass of water, but only to check the barrel of corks behind the kitchen door. The top of the barrel reached his waist, and it was full of corks, some still wet from the bottle.
His mother was following him. “Sorry, honey, I didn’t have time to cook.”
His father said, “Tobias has invited us out. He’s into money now.”
“Mom. Dad. Let’s make this a good one, OK? How about in twenty minutes, we all go out and celebrate the Christmas season?” His head was hurting. If it weren’t for Simeon, he would have stayed on campus with the foreign students who lived too far away to go home on a holiday. He went upstairs to the room he had shared with his brother, who still had not emerged to greet him. Their bedroom door was closed. He knocked and walked in without waiting for an answer.
“Toby!” Simeon grabbed him, laughing and jumping like a little kid.
Tobias hugged him hard and thumped him on the back. “What are you doing, kiddo?”
“Just goofing around.” Simeon’s desk was covered with cartoons drawn on notebook paper with pencil, his other materials still under lock and key. There were caricatures of school friends; drawings of girls he favored, endowed with plus-size breasts and deep cleavage; and one picture of their mother, wine glass in hand, and their father, apparently scolding her.
Simeon was tall and thin like Tobias, but nearsighted. His rectangular glasses were always slipping down his narrow nose. “Toby. I got you something special. For your trip.” He opened his desk drawer. “Open it now.”
“Today’s only the twenty-third.”
“No, I have a regular present for you for Christmas. This is extra.”
“Aw, I feel bad, Simmy. All I have is one gift for you.”
“Doesn’t matter. This is for sticking up for me. Open it,”
Simeon said, handing him a wrapped box.
“Why now?”
“Hey, you never know.”
The present was heavy and solid, the size of a book, but denser. Tobias undid the wrapping paper. “Oh, man, Simmy, these are expensive.” It was a pair of Swarovski binoculars, 10 x 50 power, good enough for ornithologists in the jungle. “Oh, my God, Simmy, how could you do this?”
Simeon took the box from his brother and spilled the accessories out on the bed. “They’re waterproof and fog-proof.” He took out the lens covers, eyepiece covers, carrying case, and neck strap. “I won some art contests.”
“Simmy. Thank you. Thank you so much. I need these.” Tobias fingered the focusing knob. “These are great. Wow.”
Simeon laughed. Someone was starting to climb the stairs. They packed up the binoculars, hid the box under the pillows, and hurried downstairs.
Their father wanted to go to Vinny’s, their usual family restaurant. Tobias imagined the scene that would ensue. His mother would progress from tipsy to downright drunk. His parents would fight over how much she was drinking. Vinny’s had low ceilings, and you could hear every word from table to table.
“Dad, in honor of this special occasion, I’d like to take you all somewhere fancy.” The town’s other Italian restaurant, the upscale one, had no liquor license and poor acoustics, where you could hardly hear a word across the table. “Come on, everybody. I’ll drive.”
His mother was carrying a bottle of wine in a canvas tote bag.
“No, Toby, you never drive at school. Sit in the back.” She opened the door of their Ford Escort.
“He can drive,” his father barked and handed the keys to Tobias, and then sat in the front seat. Tobias wanted his brother to sit with him but didn’t complain. One hurdle cleared, and ten more days to go. He didn’t know how he was going to make it; his head was already throbbing. Simeon sat in the back behind Tobias and kicked the driver’s seat three times. Tobias grinned at him in the rearview mirror.
All during dinner, Simeon drew. On a typewriter pad from his brother’s book bag, he sketched a detailed cartoon of Tobias. In the drawing, Tobias was wearing a safari hat and hip boots and carrying a butterfly net. A pair of binoculars hung from a strap around his neck.
Their father scowled. “Simeon, quit scribbling, and join the family.”
“He’s not scribbling; he’s drawing,” his mother said.
“He’s OK, Dad.”
Simeon was exaggerating his brother’s thick, dark hair in the cartoon, letting it droop over his forehead. In the picture, Tobias’s nose was pointy and slightly bent, but his real-life nose, though aquiline, was fine and straight, its hook scarcely noticeable. His features were so symmetrical that you would have to compare his photo and its mirror image to spot any irregularities. Simeon’s own nose was ineffective in holding up his glasses, which he poked upward every now and then. He printed Toby at the bottom of the picture, signed it SIM, and turned to a new page.
“The food here is great,” Tobias said. He sprinkled some crushed red pepper on his spinach gnocchi in marinara sauce, which was delicious. He was ravenous, having skipped breakfast to catch the Greyhound bus from Baltimore to New York and having had nothing to eat all day but a bag of Fritos at a rest stop.
“Yeah, great,” his father said. “Try this.” He poked a meatball with his fork and dropped it onto Tobias’s plate.
“No thanks, Dad. This is fine.” Tobias returned the meatball and wiped his fork on the side of his plate.
“He’s a vegetarian, remember?” his mother said.
“Oh, sure, I forgot. He’s one of those tree huggers,” his father said. “At least put some cheese on that.”
Tobias was about to explain about being a vegan when he had another idea. He reached out his hands to his father opposite him and his mother on his left. “Mom. Dad. Simmy. I love you all.” His mother clasped his left hand. “It’s Christmastime. We’re together. We’re doing OK.” His father clasped his right hand. “Let’s enjoy this meal and stop bickering.” Simeon stopped drawing and joined the circle of hands. Their mother’s eyes teared.
Tobias paid the bill in cash over the objections of his father, who left a 20 percent tip. Simeon helped his mother with her coat. They got into the car in the same seats as before: Tobias in the driver’s seat, his father next to him, his brother behind him, and their mother next to Simeon.
“Oh, rats! I forgot the sketch pad.” He started to undo his seat belt to run back in for Simeon’s cartoon, dreading the fight that might erupt among the other three at close range.
“I’ll go, Toby. Stay there.” Simeon jumped out and ran into the restaurant before Tobias could open the door.
On the way home, his father asked him about his fellowship and the trip to South America. Tobias, happy to break the tension, explained he’d be living among the Yanomami Indians and sleeping under nets, learning their language, taking notes for his research.
“You’re distracting him,” his mother complained. “It’s icy.”
“Goddamn it, stop interrupting,” his father snarled. “This doesn’t concern you.”
Tobias approached the four-way intersection slowly and put on his left blinker. The light was red.
“Careful,” his father said.
“Let him be,” his mother said.
Tobias checked all the mirrors. The light turned green. In the back seat, his brother was smirking. As he went into the turn, out of nowhere, a larger vehicle ran the light, sped into the intersection, and skidded into the right side and back of the Hillyers’ car. Tobias heard the deafening crack, like a thunderclap in the mountains, before registering the impact.
The Ford spun around 180 degrees on the black ice. There were screams, splintering glass, scraping sounds, the sputtering motor. His hand turned the key and shut off the engine. His neck hurt.
He shouted, “Mom! Dad! Simmy!” No one answered. He jumped out of the car, tried to open the doors on the other side. The entire right side of the car was crushed. His parents weren’t moving. In the street lights, he could see blood oozing out of their mouths. He ran back to the driver’s side, opened the back door. “Simmy. Simeon. No, no!” he screamed.
“Somebody help, please!”
Sirens, police cars, ambulances appeared as if in a nightmare. Paramedics brought something called the jaws of life. By the time his parents had been extricated, they were both dead. They were wheeled to ambulances on covered stretchers.
Simeon was unconscious but alive. No injuries were apparent. They rushed him to the emergency room at Woodrock Hospital. A police officer drove Tobias to the hospital with sirens on and lights flashing.
The emergency room doctor came out of a white-curtained cubicle, holding a clipboard. “Mr. Hillyer?” he asked.
Tobias looked around. The doctor meant him. “Yes.”
“Who’s your next of kin?”
“My parents,” Tobias said. “My brother. Where’s my brother?”
“Your brother has a concussion and possibly some other head injuries. He’s unconscious. Any other family members nearby?”
“My aunt in California. Grandparents in Florida. Can I see my brother?” The pad with Simeon’s drawing was under his arm.
“We’re testing him now. Any other relatives? Other grandparents?”
“One in a nursing home. One dead. That’s all. Please take me to where my brother is. What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s in a coma. We suspect a diffuse axonal injury,” the doctor said. “It’s a type of traumatic brain damage.” He looked behind Tobias, but no one was there besides the police officer who had brought him in. “How old is your brother? How old are you?” he asked.
“He’s fifteen. I’m twenty. Twenty-one in March.”
The doctor put his arm around Tobias. “I’m sorry, son,” he said.

About Lilian Duval
Lilian Duval has been fascinated with lottery winners for years, and they´re the inspiration for her intriguing novel You Never Know, which explores how an ordinary man copes with terrible luck, and later, amazing luck, when he wins the Mega-Millions lottery. Her story collection, Random Acts of Kindness, will be published in 2012.

Lilian and her husband are both survivors of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. They live in a small house in New Jersey overlooking a large county park. She´s an amateur classical guitarist and enjoys attending concerts, plays, and movies in New York City.

You can visit her website at www.lilianduval.com or follow her at Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/lilianduval and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lilian-Duval/121776657899250?sk=wall.

Tags: author tour, authors, blog tour, book marketing, book publicity, book spotlights, book tour, books, how to win lottery, Lilian Duval, literary fiction, literary fiction book, literary fiction novel, lottery book, lottery ticket, lottery ticket winner, online book promotions, online book publicity, publicity tour, Pump Up Your Book, virtual book tour, win lottery, You Never Know

TEN THINGS YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT GREG MESSEL

By Greg Messel

1.  I’m an obsessive movie attender. I love to go by myself. It’s my alone time. Sometimes I sneak out to go to a movie by myself. I attend movies with my wife and friends but I also really like to go by myself. I’m not sure why I like to do that. I could have worst habits I suppose.

2.  I lay awake in bed at 3 a.m. sometimes imagining conversations or chapters in an upcoming book. I get some great ideas. It’s just not too good for logging in your eight hours of sound sleep. If you were normal you wouldn’t be a writer anyway, I guess.

3.  I was once a co-defendant with 60 Minutes and Dan Rather when I worked for a newspaper in Wyoming. They did an expose on corruption in the town. I got grouped in with them. I was later dropped from the lawsuit. However, I still have the court papers that lists me as a co-defendant.

4.  I love to eavesdrop on conversations and watch people in restaurants or coffee shops. I use it to help me with dialogue. The downside is that some young women probably think I’m creepy. I find their real dialogue endlessly fascinating.

5.  I have to be listening to music on iTunes while I write. I don’t know why but it helps a lot. Music invokes feelings and emotions and I find myself tapping into those as I listen to music. During the course of writing a novel, I usually hone in on certain songs which would be a soundtrack for that book . Those songs are ones which really touch the vibe I’m going for in the story.

6.  In “The Illusion of Certainty” I have two of the characters compete in the Hood to Coast relay race. It is 197 miles and begins at Mt. Hood east of Portland, Oregon and ends on the beach in Seaside, Oregon. Participants will each run 15-20 miles in the race. I ran Hood to Coast seven times. I still try to run each day…but not that far.

7.  Peacock Lane, the Christmas street, mentioned in “The Illusion of Certainty” is a real place. I had a good friend who bought a house there. She invited me to her Christmas party each year.

8.  I met my wife in 8th grade. We started getting serious about one another later in high school We been married since 1970 and have known each other since we were 13.

9.  I have always wanted to write a mystery or a detective series. I’m actually working on the first book in the hoped for series right now. I hope I can do it. I find myself think about committing crimes now and clues for solving them. I’m not sure how good a criminal I am yet.

10. Even though I live in Seattle now I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am an avid San Francisco Giant baseball fan. My first game was when I was eight years old. I went to the old Seals Stadium with my dad. There have been good times and bad but the Giants are kind of in my DNA.

I hope you will continue to follow my adventures and writing projects at my blog at www.gregmessel.com. My writing has taken me to places I didn’t think I would go and in directions which surprise even me. Join me for the journey and I would love to discuss it all with you…unless I’m at a movie.

Greg Messel has written three novels and three unpublished memoirs. He published his premiere novel “Sunbreaks” in 2009, followed by “Expiation” in 2010 and “The Illusion of Certainty” in 2011. Greg has had a newspaper career as a columnist, sportswriter and news editor. He won a Wyoming Press Association Award as a columnist. Greg also spent many years in the corporate world as a Financial Manager. He now devotes his energies to writing at his home in Edmonds, Washington on the Puget Sound just north of Seattle, where he lives with his wife, Carol.

You can visit his website at www.gregmessel.com.  Connect with Greg on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gregmessel or Facebook at www.facebook.com/greg.messel.

Tags: Greg Messel, Guest Blogger, The Illusion of Certainty