Every year about this time the news is filled with loss. Loss in human kindness. Loss of those we know publicly and privately. So much loss. Our world, this life, is ever changing. One day here and the next day gone.
Our family lost the matriarch who had been the heart and soul of my husband's family, his mother in November. Now her death won't make national headlines and the country won't mourn her but we will. My husband and I have been married for 42 years. Yes, I know that's a long time. We were married at 5! Just kidding. But I've known this woman for almost a half a century.
She opened her heart to me and made me a part of her family from the very beginning. As the years passed, we didn't always see eye to eye but we were still family. She believed in family above everything else. She welcomed everyone. White or black, gay or straight, born of her children or adopted by her children, girlfriends, boyfriends, everyone was family to her. There was always room for one more.
Now you may wonder where I'm going with this, well I'll tell you: why is it so hard for us to be this accepting of those around us? Why are people surprised when we offer a smile and a 'Merry Christmas/Happy Holiday' as we greet them? When did it become acceptable to walk through this life without considering those around us? Where am I going with this - I don't know. I have no answer that would make a change in our world. But...
I can make a change in me. I can greet everyone I meet during my day with a smile and a heartfelt 'Have a great day'. It's not that hard. Even when my heart is breaking from loss or my body is in pain, I can still give someone a smile. I can.
So, I encourage you to evaluate what 'you' can do. The clerk at the checkout counter whose been standing on their feet for six hours, listening to whining/crying children, angry shouting adults, a smile and a little patience will go a long way to make their day easier. The kid at the fast food place who can't figure out how much change to give you, they need a smile. We all need a smile and some compassion.
As we go through another holiday season, one where our country and people are so at odds with each other, can you spare a smile? Many happy thoughts and wishes for you and yours during this special time of year. Let's make it a good one for everyone around us.
I can't believe it but it's almost Christmas. Is it me or has the year flown by for you as well? This has been a year for me like no other. I don't know if I can even begin to tell you what it's been like. There have been high points and low ones too. Just like your year, I'm sure.
One thing I have learned this year, is that don't ever take for granted the people you love. Life is just a fleeting moment. We need to cherish those we count as important in our lives and those we don't even know. Our country has suffered much in the last 12 months and life can be taken so quickly.
I'm sending out a newsletter this week and I wanted to let you all know about something I'm doing with it. Starting with this newsletter and with each one I send out, I will be giving away a free paperback or ebook or gift card or just something special to one lucky reader. All you have to do is let me know you opened the newsletter and be sure to open the next one to see if you won!
In the December newsletter, you'll find the winner from the Glass City Author Event newsletter sign up and the new give-a-way, too! Just respond and then look to see if you won next time. Tell your friends, the more the merrier!
It's that time of the year again! Autumn, fall, Octoberfest, Halloween, whatever you call it... this is my favorite time of year. I know I've been off planet the last few months and I apologize for that. Things are settling down now and winter writing is about to take over. Our daughter has moved into her new place in Tennessee and has begun work at a new job. The book events in Cave City Kentucky and Orlando Florida are all done and the memories put away for another day. Next up is the Glass City Author Event, this Saturday, October 28th in Toledo Ohio at the Seagate Convention Center. It's going to be an amazing time. 90+ authors (I'm at table 89), models, bloggers and lots of readers. General Admission tickets will be $10 at the door. I'm doing a special on the three Warfield Hotel Mysteries books. You can pick up all three paperbacks for $25 and get a ticket for a drawing for this lovely basket of goodies.
Also be on the look out for my newsletter coming in December. I'm planning on making some changes that will give you my readers a chance to win a great prize in every newsletter you receive. If you haven't signed up, click on the box in the right top corner.
Hope you are all having a wonderful autumn filled with lovely walks in the fallen leaves and crisp air. Lots of hot drinks to keep you warm. And a fireside filled with friends and loved ones.
If you live in the Cave City, KY area, I would be thrilled to have you join me at the Pages in the Caves 2.0 Book Event hosted by the amazing Kristine Raymond. We will be located at the Cave City Convention Center with the doors opening at 11:00. The Raffles this year include a throw with covers of signing authors books as well as tote bags with covers and baskets donated by the authors with lovely things inside including signed paperbacks and more. All proceeds from the raffles, will go to the ALS Association.
There is an author for everyone at this event. Paranormal, sci-fi, sweet romance, contemporary romance, and more.
I am so excited to be a stop on the blog tour for Nicki J. Markus and her newest release "Her Majesty's Milken".
Her Majesty’s Milken
Nicki J. Markus
11 August 2017
Fireborn Publishing
Novella/MF/Historical—Victorian/Cogpunk
Heat Level: 1
When
part-time pilferer Sir Wesley Smythe seeks out famous housebreaker the Mayfair
Milken, he little suspects he could soon be using his skills in service of the
crown.
Whitechapel resident Grace is the pluckiest thief in all of London. Her
housebreaking feats in the heart of fashionable Mayfair have earned her the
nickname the Mayfair Milken. All members of high society fear for their
valuables—all except Sir Wesley Smythe.
Sir Wesley, one of London's most eligible bachelors and a keen amateur
mechanist, thrills at each new report of the Milken's exploits. Prone to a
little light pilfering himself, he longs to meet his idol, only to be shocked
at the discovery that the Milken is a woman.
However, they are not the only thieves in the city, and when they
uncover a plot to steal from Queen Victoria, they must work together if they
wish to foil the criminal.
Nicki J. Markus (aka Asta Idonea) was born in
England but now lives in Adelaide, South Australia. She has loved both reading
and writing from a young age and is also a keen linguist, having studied
several foreign languages.
Nicki launched her writing career in 2011 and
divides her efforts not only between MM and mainstream works but also between
traditional and indie publishing. Her works span the genres, from paranormal to
historical and from contemporary to fantasy. It just depends what story and
which characters spring into her mind!
As a day job, Nicki works as a freelance
editor and proofreader, and in her spare time she enjoys music, theatre,
cinema, photography, and sketching. She also loves history, folklore and mythology,
pen-palling, and travel, all of which have provided plenty of inspiration for
her writing.
To say thank you to all of you who have purchased an e-book copy of Roaring Waters in July, I'm going to give a signed paperback copy away.
All you have to do to be entered for a chance to win, is leave a review on the site where you purchased the e-book and come back here and tell me where you reviewed in the comments!
That's it! Simple. Oh and don't forget to leave me an email address so I can contact you for your snail mail address. This is open to anyone who purchased an e-book. (That means even international.)
Thank you so much to all of you. I will keep this open until August 7th.
Hello everyone, This has been quite a month for me. Filled with ups and downs and somethings, I don't want to go through again. I started out the month saddened and depressed at the news of my long time publisher, Bottom Drawer Publication, was closing their doors. I've known these ladies since my Fan Fiction writing days. They helped me grow as a writer in so many ways. I shall truly miss working with them. But, this seemed like another sign telling me "it was time to call it a day". Maybe I just wasn't cut out for this. I was overwhelmed. The 3rd book in the Warfield Hotel Mysteries was not going to be picked up and I had no idea what to do. Fortunately for me, the Indie Author community is a fabulous group of people who gather around their own and cover them with encouragement and help when you need it. That's exactly what happened to me. Another author who is also an editor, stepped up and gave me a price I could afford. Another author who is a cover artist and formatting genius, offered help as well. The result ~~ Roaring Waters was released on July 24th! This is an amazing testament to the group of Indie authors that I know and love. We are family. Now, I know I will never be a famous author who sells millions of books a year, not that wouldn't be lovely but that's okay. I love writing and the fact that there are readers (like you) out there who like what I write ~~ thrills me. It encourages me to continue on. And with the network and community of Indies, how could an author go wrong? So this is my humble thanks to those who helped, to those who read and to those who review. You will truly never know just how much you enrich my life. Sincerely, CJ
Artist Ted Armstrong lives a solitary and eccentric
life. The survivor of child abuse disguised as religion, Ted has cut himself
off from the world.
Then Ted meets Anderson Taylor, and it’s like being
struck by lightning.
Anderson is a cardiac surgeon whose passion for his
work has consumed him. He fears he’ll never find a partner—until he sets eyes
on Ted. It’s happening fast, but both men know what they feel is right.
Confronted with an angry preacher, a scandal, and an
act of God that threatens to destroy everything, their relationship will face
its first true test.
F.E.Feeley Jr
is a poet and the author of six published works - four full length novels, two
short stories featured in anthologies, and a good deal of poetry.
Married to the love of his life, John, he came to the
writing world about four years ago where he fell in love, again, with the written
word.
Damien Fitzgerald has lived through hell and is
determined to never let anyone get close to him again. A fervent reporter, he
throws his life into his work and doesn’t care whose toes he steps on. But
someone else does. He’s got a stalker, and the messages are growing
increasingly threatening. He turns to his best friend, Justin Warfield and his lover,
Private Investigator Marcus Drummond. Seems like a good idea until Robert Wyler
becomes part of the package.
Robert Wyler, the manager of the bar at the Warfield
Inn, has always been misunderstood. Sure he takes care of his body, wears his
hair long and likes tatts, but that doesn’t mean he’s domineering. A cold
exterior hides the more passionate man inside. Men like Damien Fitzgerald get on
his nerves. Too good looking. Too arrogant. But when Justin and Marcus needed
his help to guard the man from a stalker, Robert couldn’t say no.
Damien and Robert have a history. Whenever they are
near each other sparks fly. Can Damien and Robert get past their prejudices to
find the real men hiding underneath. Will they find love before the stalker
gets to Damien and their chance at happiness is destroyed forever…
It is with great pleasure that I share this new release with you today. For those of you who read across all genres, you will find Tawdra Kandle will become a new favorite for your romance reads. Check out her latest release.
Vivian is sick of dating. Sick of the way guys treat her, sick of living and crying by when and if they call . . . she’s just done. When her aunt reminds her that a girl has to kiss a lot of frogs before she finds her prince--Aunt Gail says that number is fifty--Vivian decides she’s taking control of her dating life: she’s going to go on a series of first dates only, and each one must end in a kiss. She begins chronicling each date--the good, the bad and the downright unbelievable--with a plan to turn the stories into an in-depth magazine series about the realities of dating in the twenty-first century. Everything’s going along according to plan until Vivian hits a bump in her road with Frog Number Five, who doesn’t seem to understand his role in this deal. And despite Vivian’s determination to make it all the way to the big five-oh, when fate keeps throwing this same man across her path, she begins to wonder if maybe it’s time to ditch the plan . . . and kiss just one more frog.
Author Bio:Tawdra Kandle writes romance, in just about all its forms. She loves unlikely pairings, strong women, sexy guys, hot love scenes and just enough conflict to make it interesting. Her books include young adult and new adult paranormal romance, new adult and adult contemporary romance and adult paramystery romance. She lives in central Florida with a husband, kids, sweet pup and too many cats. And yeah, she rocks purple hair.
Social media tags: Tawdra Kandle (Facebook) @tawdra (Twitter and Instagram)
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Blog Tour for Layla Dorine's
New Release
...AND All Shall Fade to Black
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Layla Dorine's new release ...And All Shall Fade to Black. I'm excited to share with you an excerpt from the book.
…And All Shall Fade
Heaving a heavy sigh, Jax nodded.
“All right, fine, we’ll do it your way, but when I completely screw it up, we’ll know who to blame.”
“You can’t screw it up, Jax, it’s as simple as picking out the things you like.”
Jax cocked an eyebrow at him and tapped his foot and Callum cringed.
“Okay, I should maybe amend that. It’s a matter of picking out the things you like that would actually work well together to create as space with some harmony and unity,” Callum remarked sheepishly. “So please no two dollar paintings on crushed velvet and framed black light posters. We’re adults now, time to be more sophisticated about things.”
“Yeah, okay, I’ll actually put some effort into it this time.”
From across the room Max laughed. “Hey you’ve had it easy up until now, you’ve had us decorating most of the house for you. Just remember that if you plan to invite Danny or anyone else over to your place, you might want to consider tones besides black and gray. They’re kind of depressing.”
“They are solid colors that go together. Haven’t you guys been stressing that?”
“Yes, and they’re a good start. Now think about adding some additional shades to that.”
Unscrewing the jar, jax pulled out a pickle spear and crunched away, thoughtfully running through different shades in his head and dismissing them. It wasn’t that he was picky, it was just that he wasn’t a fan of bright things. “What about purple?”
“Purple can work,” Callum remarked. “Now if you’re done stalling, can you answer my question?”
Jax scowled, confused. “What question.”
“The one I asked when you walked in here. You asked how Max knew. What did Max know?”
“Oh.”
Silently, Jax headed for a chair and flopped into its overstuffed folds, put his feet up on the Ottoman and started crunching on another pickle.
“Yeah, oh, as in oh come on Jax spill it already. You know I won’t start the game until you do.”
Groaning, Jax glared at the pair, wishing he wasn’t holding the pickles so he could cross his arms. It might have been a little childish but at that point he was in the mood to pout and stubbornly hold his tongue.
“Apparently I interrupted him kissing Danny,” Max finally supplied.
“No shit?”
“No shit,” Jax grumbled. “Him and his bellowing put an end to what was shaping up to be a really nice moment. Then he hits me with a remark about Shiro.”
Jax watched as Callum shot a look between him and Max.
“All I said was that he shouldn’t let what happened with Shiro happen between him and Danny.”
“Ohhh.”
“Yeah, and I wanted to know what the hell he meant by that.”
“Oh come off it Jax, we both knew you were pining after Shiro and too scared to do anything to make it happen. Anyone with eyes could have seen that, just from your moods and body language whenever you two were together. What I don’t get is why you didn’t just ask him out or something.”
Jax shrugged and busied himself with another pickle. It was a good question, it was just a complicated one. The truth was, by the time he figured out that Shiro was as bad at picking up on relationship cues as he was, Nozomi had swooped in and asked Shiro out. He’d never been the type to get in between two people, even at the start of a new relationship, and especially not one to do it to friends. So he’d kept his feelings bottled up, half hoping that maybe it wouldn’t work out between them, though, the signs had all been there that it would.
“Earth to Jax…hey…”
Fingers snapping next to his ear drew Jax’s attention and he turned to see Callum grinning down at him.
“You know what, I think you need to pursue things with Danny, if only so you don’t end up looking like a lovesick puppy every time someone brings Shiro up. That ship has sailed, it’s a new day my friend, and a new city, though there’s one thing that will never change.”
“Yeah, what’s that?”
“Me kicking your ass and leaving you to the zombies,” Callum laughed.
“You’re on!” Jax snapped, reaching for a controlled.
Max just groaned as he reached for one himself. “I can already see how this night is gonna go. You two are going to be so busy trying to throw each other in the path of the zombies or outdo each other that you’re going to end up killing me in the process.”
Jax glanced at Callum, who was staring back at him, smirking.
“That’s been known to happen,” Jax admitted.
“True, it has,” Callum replied with a shrug. “You’d think he’d be used to it now.”
“Yeah really, sheesh, I mean, it isn’t like it’s our fault that he can’t stay out of the way. Maybe if he’d learn to dodge a little better…”
“Or duck,” Jax added, laughing and ducking himself when Max threw a pillow his way.
LAYLA DORINE lives among the sprawling prairies of Midwestern America, in a house with more cats than people. She loves hiking, fishing, swimming, martial arts, camping out, photography, cooking, and dabbling with several artistic mediums. In addition, she loves to travel and visit museums, historic, and haunted places.
Layla got hooked on writing as a child, starting with poetry and then branching out, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. Hard times, troubled times, the lives of her characters are never easy, but then what life is? The story is in the struggle, the journey, the triumphs and the falls. She writes about artists, musicians, loners, drifters, dreamers, hippies, bikers, truckers, hunters and all the other folks that she’s met and fallen in love with over the years. Sometimes she writes urban romance and sometimes its aliens crash landing near a roadside bar. When she isn’t writing, or wandering somewhere outdoors, she can often be found curled up with a good book and a kitty on her lap.
Release Day Blitz-….And All Shall Fade to Black by Layla Dorine
…And All Shall Fade to Black Blurb
Moving into his new apartment, Jax never expected to have to break up a fight between his new neighbors, resulting in a physical altercation and a visit from the cops. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that it would lead to him meeting Danny, the cute theater manager and playwright that lived next door. Unfortunately, his first impression of Danny and the way he’d cowered away in the fight with his ex, wasn’t exactly a favorable one.
Jax already has his own issues to deal with, between his past problems with his mother and the chain of men who’ve floated in and out of her life, his new job as a piercer in his sister’s tattoo shop and his struggles with an eating disorder; the last thing he plans to add to it is a relationship. Yet Danny isn’t so easy to ignore and when they find themselves bonding after Danny shows him around town, and more when Jax offers to help with sets for his latest play, it becomes harder and harder for him to ignore the connection forming between them.
As Jax’s insecurities and food issues grow more and more out of control, he find himself turning to Danny for help, rather than his longtime friends Callum and Max who lives just downstairs. Danny’s mix of patience, stubbornness and tough love make it harder and harder for Jax to keep his distance, and somewhere in the course of their daily lives, they find themselves moving from being friends, to being more.
As he stood under the warm spray from the shower, some of the anger from the night before began to creep back in. Without a doubt, that had to be one of the stupidest things he’d ever done. In fact, if he were to rank a lifetime of insanity and bad decisions, that one was floating somewhere between number two and number five in a very long list.
It wasn’t like it was going to make a difference, the small guy, what the fuck he’d said his name was, Denny, Danny, whatever, had probably bailed the asshole out and was up making him breakfast and laying his shit out for work. Dumbass.
Jax sighed and brushed the water out of his eyes. His sister would tell him he was being a cynic, that not everyone was like their mom had been. Fuck that noise, Steph saw rainbows and sunshine in everything. Even when people pissed her off she just smiled and somehow or another managed to win them over. That wasn’t him, had never been him and never would be. People only showed you good when they wanted something, or when they wanted you to like them. As soon as they’d suckered you in, who they really were tended to emerge and he’d learned early on that it was safer to play with pit bulls then people. At least a dog wasn’t gonna bite you unless you provoked them to.
People on the other hand…
Turning the water off, he shook his head, sending water droplets everywhere before grabbing a towel and quickly drying off. He’d barely pulled on his jeans when someone began knocking on his door. For a moment, he considered ignoring it, but the knocking grew more insistent and with a groan he resigned himself to the fact that whoever it was just wasn’t going to go away.
Muttering curses he stalked to the door and yanked it open, only to see the top of Denny-Danny’s head. The smaller man looked up at him with a sheepish grin, the bruises on his face and neck looking much worse in the light.
“Hi, umm,” Danny stammered, as Jax crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, wondering how long this was going to take.
“I umm, I just wanted to, ummm,” Danny continued, looking around awkwardly. “You didn’t have to help last night, and umm, I just want to thank you.”
“Is that all?” Jax asked abruptly, pushing away from the doorway. “Don’t expect it to happen again.”
Danny took a step back, eyes widening in shock at Jax’s harsh tone. “I-I don’t, I mean, I-I won’t.”
“Good. And do me a favor, try and keep it down the next time you guys decide to fight. No one else needs to hear that shit.”
Jax reached for the door, intent on shutting it, when Danny slammed his hand against the door, stopping him. Jax blinked, glancing from Danny’s hand to his face and back again.
“Do you have a problem?” Jax asked, feeling himself tense, readying for confrontation. He watched the mired of expression that played across Danny’s face, from shock to outrage, to furious indignation, and couldn’t be bothered to worry about where the whole situation might lead. The coward had showed his true colors in the hallway. Nothing he did now would change Jax’s mind about him.
“I didn’t ask for your help last night,” Danny sputtered, weight pressed against the door.
Jax knew he could close it if he truly wanted to, but this was almost amusing.
“I’m grateful to you, f-for what you did, but if you were gonna be an asshole about it, why’d you even bother at all? Or did you think you were coming to help a woman? Sorry to disappoint you.”
“Yeah, I did think it was a woman getting the shit beat outta her,” Jax shot back. “And since you guys were loud as hell, it wasn’t like I could sleep through it or anything.”
Chin trembling, Danny raised his head. It looked to Jax like it was actually taking him some effort to look at him. His one cinnamon colored eye was almost swollen shut, the dark blue bruise around it making the sliver of color stand out even more.
“Look, I didn’t mean to disturb your night. I didn’t ask for him to go off on me like that. He was higher than I’ve ever seen him and to be honest, I’m still not sure exactly what set him off.”
“But you know he uses, and you live with him anyway. Bet you bailed him out too, didn’t you?” Jax shot back, scowling. “Apologized for everything, made him breakfast and even promised to make him a nice dinner tonight when he came home from work, right?”
Danny’s eyes narrowed and his fingers curled into a fist against the door. Jax licked his lips, waiting to see if Danny was actually going to attempt something. Not like he wanted to hurt the guy, he already looked hurt enough, but he seemed to be mustering up more outrage now than he’d shown the night before.
“Actually, I pressed charges against him and left his ass at the precinct when he called me at three in the morning begging me to come bail him out. I even called a moving van to get his shit out of here, rented a storage unit for them to put it in, and planned to invite you over for dinner to thank you, but you can pretty much forget that part of the plan. I don’t invite people into my life who are going to treat me like shit, and I sure as hell aren’t the type to actually forgive them and bail them out after they do. I don’t know what kind of people you’ve been around, but, not everyone likes to play the part of a human punching bag. Anyway, for what it’s worth, thank you for coming to my rescue, trust me when I say there will never be a need for it to happen again.”
About the Author
LAYLA DORINE lives among the sprawling prairies of Midwestern America, in a house with more cats than people. She loves hiking, fishing, swimming, martial arts, camping out, photography, cooking, and dabbling with several artistic mediums. In addition, she loves to travel and visit museums, historic, and haunted places.
Layla got hooked on writing as a child, starting with poetry and then branching out, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. Hard times, troubled times, the lives of her characters are never easy, but then what life is? The story is in the struggle, the journey, the triumphs and the falls. She writes about artists, musicians, loners, drifters, dreamers, hippies, bikers, truckers, hunters and all the other folks that she’s met and fallen in love with over the years. Sometimes she writes urban romance and sometimes its aliens crash landing near a roadside bar. When she isn’t writing, or wandering somewhere outdoors, she can often be found curled up with a good book and a kitty on her lap.
