Saturday 31 October 2020

Christmas Novel Spotlight: About Last Night by A.S. Kelly



About Last Night by A.S. Kelly

Allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Tyler Hayes, and I’m a fireman.

Sorry to already disappoint you, but Im not the person you think I am.

My charming uniform and seductive smile have caused nothing but trouble, and my not-so-honourable reputation, which I used to be so proud of, has kept me away from the one person I wanted to spend the rest of my life baking cookies for; my sweet, beautiful, slightly crazy Miss White.

I guess now I need to tell the whole story.

At forty years old, following years of self-sabotage, Ive suddenly found myself admitting that I know absolutely nothing. Maybe my friend Niall was right when he told me to accept the process and just grow up. And now it's too late; Ill never be able to keep her close to me. All thats left to do is watch helplessly but deservedly as my world comes tumbling down around me.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/31xesqe

Apple Books: https://apple.co/31wmBuY

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3hBfo2m

A. S. Kelly was born in Italy but lives in Ireland with her husband, two children and a cat named Oscar.

Shes passionate about English literature, shes a music lover and addicted to coffee.

She spends her days in a small village North of Dublin, looking for inspiration for her next stories.

Rainy Days is her debut novel.

Website: http://authoraskelly.com

Newsletter: https://bit.ly/2IUnZz0

Twitter: https://bit.ly/2rWVzu3 @ASKelly_Books

Instagram: https://bit.ly/3aXiHNk @askellywrites

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2IxJwtS

BookBub: https://bit.ly/2Is3Wob



Friday 30 October 2020

Book Birthday Blitz: Love Online by Olivia Spring

Love Offline: Looking For Romance In Real Life by Olivia Spring



Emily’s Struggling To Find Romance Online. Will Ditching The Dating Apps Lead To True Love?

Online dating isn’t working for introvert Emily. Although she’s comfortable swiping right at home in her PJs, the idea of going out to meet a guy in person fills her with dread.

So when her best friend challenges her to ditch the apps, attend a load of awkward singles’ events and find love in real life, Emily wants to run for the hills.

Then she meets Josh. He’s handsome, kind and funny, but Emily’s had her heart crushed before and knows he's hiding something…

Is Josh too good to be true? Can Emily learn to trust again and if she does, will it lead to love or more heartache?

Love Offline is a fun, sexy, entertaining story about friendship, stepping outside of your comfort zone and falling in love the old-fashioned way. Ideal for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Lindsey Kelk and Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare.

Amazon UK          Amazon US

Love Offline is available to read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited. It is also available to read for FREE in Prime Reading until late November.

Olivia Spring is a British, London-based writer of contemporary women's fiction, sexy chick lit and romantic comedy. Her uplifting debut novel 'The Middle-Aged Virgin', which was released in July 2018, deals with being newly single in your thirties and beyond, dating, relationships, love, sex and living life to the full.

Olivia published three novels in 2019: 'Only When It's Love', 'Losing My Inhibitions' and 'Love Offline'. ‘The Middle-Aged Virgin in Italy’, the hotly anticipated sequel to ‘The Middle-Aged Virgin’ and Olivia’s fifth novel, was published in July 2020.

When she's not writing, Olivia can be found making regular trips to Italy to indulge in pasta, pizza and gelato and of course, seeking inspiration for her next book!

https://twitter.com/ospringauthor

https://www.facebook.com/ospringauthor/

https://www.instagram.com/ospringauthor/

http://www.oliviaspring.com/

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/olivia-spring


Book Blog Tour Stop With An Author Guest Post: Inside Voices by Sarah Davis



On Naming a Novel 

The naming of my firstborn child took time, and I only carried her 9 months. My husband and I searched for a unique name, uncommon but stylish, that couldn't easily be made into a silly nickname. Websites, the Baby Book of Names, family, and friends presented suggestions. Once we had it, the perfect first name...we needed a middle name. That one didn't surface until a few weeks before stork time. 

Choosing my novel's name took about as much time, even though it took longer for the publishing stork to deliver my book to the world. And my hubby didn't have as much say.

The title of a book is critical. It needs to capture attention. Be unique. Intriguing.

How does one come up with a title? For Inside Voices, this was a painstaking process. I wasn't giving birth to an unknown entity that I would love unconditionally. I was writing a story that lived in my head. I already knew the characters intimately. Listened to their conversations—held conversations with them. I didn't like all my characters. And half the time, I thought the writing should be thrown in the trash. 

It seems to me now that the title should have been obvious. But while I was writing, one didn't come screaming into existence. So I brainstormed...and came up with three pages of options. 

The Journey of Penny Osborn

Polar Bear Watch

The Art of Telepathy

Night of the Polar Bear 

In Spirit

Rise of the Bear

In My Thoughts

Mental Identity 

Penny Osborn, the Polar Bear and the Serial Killer

Penny for Your Thoughts

Inside Voices

Voices Inside

A Tale of Telepathic Twins

 My husband despises the word "telepathy," so it was easy to cross out those options. I guess he had more say than I thought. 

I circled my favorites and said them out loud while alone. Then I shared my top picks with the family, who each gave their vote and opinion. Offered varied options. No one liked Inside Voices at first. Or on the second, third, or fourth go around. But I held on to it. Left it alone and revisited the list from time to time. After a few weeks that included internet searches for books with similar titles, I made my selection.

It was an exciting process. Now that I had a name, my story was OFFICIAL. 

Inside Voices. A story that centers around telepathic identical twins. Doesn't say much about polar bears or serial killers, but then a title can't reveal every plot twist in so few words.

I polled a group of authors to find out how they went about selecting titles. The vast majority of those who responded selected "brainstorm alone." A few chose "brainstorm with others." The sole author/publisher of the group selected "let publisher decide." 

I offered a fourth choice: the use of a random generator. There are many available on the internet, and I was curious if the other authors I polled ever used them. One author commented utilizing a generator for band names and another for character names. None used them for title suggestions. See https://kindlepreneur.com/free-book-title-generator-tools/. I played around with a few for fun and could see possible usefulness. 

Ultimately, the book title should be eye-catching, fitting, unique. Right? I think Inside Voices works. I hope you do too!

Inside Voices by Sarah Davis

The mind is a strange beast...extraordinary, unpredictable, protective.

Penny Osborn's mind is no exception. In High School, Penny witnessed a massacre and lost her father to the same killers. She had seen it unfold before it happened, in a premonition, but could not prevent it.

A college research project at the edge of the Arctic is her chance for a new beginning. Struggling with PTSD, Penny's therapy includes running, dogs, and guitars. Yet her fresh start is plagued by new premonitions, dark and foreboding, that coincide with a rising number of murders in the community. Her visions are vague, offering little to identify the killer.

When confronted with an orphaned polar bear cub, Penny risks everything to save its life. The deepening mystery of the murdered women, coupled with the exhaustive duties of caring for the small cub, draw her closer to her friend, Noah, and further from her sister.

Fearful for the serial killer's next target, Penny discovers where her physical abilities can help her.

Will letting go of the past lead to healing? And can she stop the murders?


 http://mybook.to/insidevoices


Sarah Davis is many things...wife, mother, veterinarian, writer. An avid reader, she enjoys stories that transport her into new and exciting lands. Having read more books than she could ever count, she has considered writing a novel for ages. It wasn't until the idea for "Inside Voices" popped into her mind that she finally started pursuing that dream, with much encouragement from her family. She and her incredible husband share their remote home on the prairie with their three extraordinary children and one mostly human weimaraner.

Blog: www.sarahdavisauthor.com

Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/sarahdavisdvm/

Facebook Personal page: https://www.facebook.com/sarahshoarse

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahDavisAuth1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pennyosborn10/

https://www.instagram.com/sarahdavisdvm/

Giveaway to Win a $15 Amazon Giftcard (Open INT)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.


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Thursday 29 October 2020

Publication Day Spotlight and Author Guest Post: Under the Warrior's Protection by Ella Matthews



I often get asked what I find hardest about writing a novel. Is it coming up with the ideas or dealing with rejections? For me, it’s neither of those.

Hours spent thrashing out a plot and getting it into some semblance of order is a walk in the park in comparison to releasing a novel.

Under the Warrior’s Protection, which was released on 29th October, is my seventh novel, although it’s only my second for Mills & Boon. Before I wrote books I worked in publishing for a long time, producing over sixty books a year. There’s nothing more exciting than holding a glossy, new book and knowing you are somehow responsible for its existence, whether it’s as an author or an editor. You normally get these copies a month or two before they are sent out to the wider world and I have to admit to spending time, more than is probably normal, staring at them (especially my most recent one as the model is delicious).

So you’d think, after all those publication days, I would be a bit more relaxed about them by now. Sadly, that’s not the case. I’m a wobbly bag of nerves each and every time.

The build-up to this one has been particularly nerve-wracking and not just because of my normal worries. While I’ve been sending out promotional copies and answering questions from bloggers, I’ve also started a new job as a literacy support officer in a secondary school. I get to talk about books and punctuation all day, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea (it certainly isn’t my pupils!) but I love it. On top of that, my daughter’s started secondary school, which seems to mean an awful lot of homework for me, something I wasn’t really expecting.

The main characters of my latest novel, Katherine and Jarin, filled my head for over six months. I watched as they fell in love and struggled over the hurdles I threw at them to overcome. I laughed and cried with them and wrote about them late into the night, long after the rest of my family had gone to sleep. In essence they were my world. But it was a very private one, where only the three of us existed. Now I have to introduce them to everyone else and I’m very nervous about it.

Having said that, there is always wine on publication day and, if I’m lucky, cake. So it’s not all bad.

Thank you so much to Ellesea for allowing me to take over the Ellesea Loves Reading blog. This isn’t something I’ve ever done before and I’ve had great fun doing it.

Under the Warrior’s Protection by Ella Matthews

Letting down her guard…

Might save her life…

With their family name in tatters, Katherine Leofric and her sister are headed for a new life at their brother’s estate. They are escorted by the hardened Jarin, Earl of Borwyn, whom Katherine believes is only after her dowry! Then her sister is abducted on their treacherous journey, and Katherine must rely on Jarin’s protection. Now, seeing a different side to the man she's sworn to hate, it’s her heart that’s most at risk!

Amazon UK           Amazon US 

Ella Matthews lives and works in beautiful South Wales. When not thinking about handsome heroes she can be found walking along the coast with her husband and their two children (probably still thinking about heroes but at least pretending to be interested in everyone else).

 https://twitter.com/ellamattauthor

www.ellamatthews.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/ella.matthews.524381



Wednesday 28 October 2020

Book Spotlight and extract: Stonechild by Kevin Albin


Stonechild by Kevin Albin


Where do we go to when we die? Imagine human consciousness embedded in the molecules of a statue. So, when the statues of London come to life, it is a spectacle like non other, and they come with a specific message, and an offer we cannot refuse.

As the world reels in this wonder of science and religion, Molly Hargreaves has other plans and she sets out to prove that things are not as they seem.

Chased, captured and confined, Molly confronts the statues and her own fears. But who can she convince? The people are welcoming, the Government has succumbed, and the police try to act, but how do you shoot stone and metal? Be prepared to be run ragged around London on a mystery worthy of the great Sherlock Holmes.

 https://amzn.to/2BfnoWs

Molly finds herself on the top of Uganda House overlooking Trafalgar Square where large numbers of statues have come together. There are some confrontations with the police, a police car is crushed and it is clear there’s going to be more trouble

Gunshot — two shots, then another two as the armed police officers fired at the statue of Cromwell. He was bullet-proof, and continued to advance on the police. What looked like hundreds of police officers poured out from the lines of parked vans, and moved quickly to strategic points in the square. Statues were shouting, police were shouting, granite blocks being torn up, heavy statues moving; the noise was becoming louder and louder, as everyone tried to make themselves heard over the din, and above it all, two police helicopters. 

Then there came a new sound. A heavy pounding of footsteps that could only have come from a statue. With her hands on the stone balcony, Molly could feel vibrations coming up from street level. Who or whatever it was, was big.

A word puzzle for the readers of Stonechild and with a prize to be drawn on the 10th December, which is Human Rights Day. Here’s the link with all the details https://kevin-albin.com/book-kevin-albin/puzzle-time-for-readers-of-stonechild/ 

I served 25 years with the police in the UK, eight years of which were with a tactical firearms team. In 2002, I took a career change, and retrained as an International Mountain Leader working across the globe guiding on mountaineering trips and expeditions.

I have led many trips to the jungles of Borneo, my favourite destination, an enchanting place that has sadly seen much deforestation. My trips were based on education and conservation.

In 2011, I won the Bronze in the Wanderlust Magazine World Guide Awards for my work..

It was whilst working on a corporate training day in London, when I pictured a statue coming to life to give my clients the answer to the clue they were working on. The rest grew from there.

My hope is that my writing will continue to spread the word on conservation and protection of all species.

I live in France.

Facebook https://bit.ly/32TSbnL

Twitter https://twitter.com/KevAlbin

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sukahutan/

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-albin-628673182/

Website https://kevin-albin.com/kevin-albin/



Tuesday 27 October 2020

Book Spotlight: The Murder Club by Nikki Crutchley


The Murder Club by Nikki Crutchley

Not all evil, on the surface, is ugly and menacing. It doesn’t always lurk in city centres after dark. It mows your lawns, frequents your local pub, takes its kids to school and contributes to communities.’

When the first letter arrives saying that ‘tonight it begins’, journalist Miller Hatcher ignores it. But then the body of a murdered woman is discovered, strangled, a scarf around her neck.

Cassie Hughes has always vowed to find the man who murdered her mother. Cassie knows he’s out there and wants him to pay, and Miller agrees to bring the cold case back into the public’s eye.

Logan Dodds has been obsessed with true crime ever since his sister was murdered thirty years ago. He has turned his obsession into a career and has created the True Crime Enthusiasts Club and his newest venture, True Crime Tours.

The lives of Miller, Cassie and Logan – all affected differently by murder – become entwined as The Scarf Killer, desperate for infamy, and Miller’s attention, makes his mark on the small town of Lentford.


Amazon UK                Amazon US 

After seven years of working as a librarian in New Zealand and overseas, Nikki now works as a freelance proofreader and copy editor. She lives in the small Waikato town of Cambridge in New Zealand with her husband and two girls.
Nikki has been writing on and off her whole life and before she turned to crime writing had success in flash fiction. She has been published in 'Bonsai: Best Small Fictions from Aotearoa New Zealand', and 'Fresh Ink' anthologies.
Crime/thriller/mystery novels are her passion. Her first novel, 'Nothing Bad Happens Here', featuring journalist Miller Hatcher, is set on the Coromandel Coast of New Zealand. It was a finalist in the 2018 Ngaio Marsh Award for best first novel. Her second book, 'No One Can Hear You', was long-listed for the Ngaio Marsh Award for best novel in 2019. ‘
The Murder Club’ is the second in the Miller Hatcher series.

https://www.facebook.com/NikkiCrutchleyAuthor

https://twitter.com/NikkiCAuthor

https://www.instagram.com/nikkicrutchleywrites/