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Hacked & Fractured Lives by Sue Coletta @SueColetta1

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Hacked (Special Forces: Operation Alpha Kindle Worlds Novella)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Shawnee Daniels is an unforgettable character that lives by her own set of rules…so I wouldn’t recommend getting on her bad side. She is a forensic hacker extraordinaire, working for the police. She makes me think of Penelope Garcia on Criminal Minds. She is also a cat burglar, but we’re keeping that on the down low. I love a unique character and Shawnee fits the bill. Her BFF, Nadine, is quite the character in her own right. She is bubbly, effervescent and adds a lighter touch to the inherent danger that follows Shawnee around. I have wondered about this scenario in the real world and to see it play out in fiction is all too frightening. A quick reading novella that only whets my appetite for more.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Hacked by Sue Coletta.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Shawnee Daniels wrongly assumes she’s being punished for innocently hacking the Police Chief’s photos. Okay, maybe not-so-innocently, but someone had to expose him for the dog that he is. When she arrives at the mandatory computer seminar, the FBI enlists her help in stopping a serial killer who’s remotely hacking vehicles while the owners are behind the wheel.

Why he’s targeted these people remains a mystery. None of the victims frequent the same places, some don’t even live in the same state. The only commonality is they all drive Fords.

When Detective Levaughn Samuels is taken hostage—his life teetering on the edge of a high-speed chase—there’s nothing Shawnee won’t do to save him, no line she won’t cross. And when her BFF shows up unannounced with problems of her own, she only complicates matters.

Can Shawnee stop the killer before she loses the only man she’s ever loved? Or will the ride of his life end in death?

HACKED is a Mayhem Series crossover novella.

Fractured Lives (Brotherhood Protectors Kindle Worlds Novella)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

With a caw caw here and a caw caw there, trouble follow Shawnee Daniels everywhere she goes…and this is one wild trip to the lake. The islancd calls to her, but she doesn’t answer the call right away. This may be a novella, but it was chockablock full of creepy mystery with suspenseful moments and unforgettable characters.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Fractured Lives by Sue Coletta.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Three couples, the perfect Maine vacation, and a fateful night that lands one of the women in mortal danger.

Couples are going missing in Sunset Cove at Long Lake, and the authorities seem more concerned with not tarnishing the reputation of their popular tourist destination. Until … while out for a spin on her wave runner, Shawnee Daniels pulls alongside a deserted canoe.

Blood stains the seat.

When retired SEAL Brandon “Boomer” Rayne wakes to an empty bed—his bride-to-be Daphne nowhere inside their rented cabin—he enlists the help of the only people he’s met in the state: the couple next door, Shawnee Daniels and Revere, Massachusetts Detective Levaughn Samuels.

Uncertainty bonds the two neighbors, forced together by tragedy. Their predicament turns even deadlier when the half-nude body of a female washes ashore. No obvious signs of homicide exist. How did she die? Does her death relate to Daphne’s disappearance?

Time’s running out.

Can they piece together the mystery to find Boomer’s fiancé? Or will an elusive serial killer determine their fate?

ABOUT SUE COLETTA

Sue Coletta

ABOUT SUE COLETTA   Member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers, Sue Coletta is an award-winning, multi-published author in numerous anthologies and her forensics articles have appeared in InSinC Quarterly. In addition to her popular crime resource blog, Sue co-hosts the radio show “Partners In Crime” on Writestream Radio Network every third Tuesday of the month from 1 – 3 p.m. EDT/EST (see details at www.suecoletta.com). She’s also the communications manager for the Serial Killer Project and Forensic Science, and founder of #ACrimeChat on Twitter. She runs a popular crime website and blog, where she shares crime tips, police jargon, the mind of serial killers, and anything and everything in between. If you search her achieves, you’ll find posts from guests that work in law enforcement, forensics, coroner, undercover operatives, firearm experts…crime, crime, and more crime.   For readers, she has the Crime Lover’s Lounge, where subscribers will be the first to know about free giveaways, contests, and have inside access to deleted scenes. As an added bonus, members get to play in the lounge. Your secret code will unlock the virtual door. Inside, like-minded folks discuss their favorite crime novels, solve mindbender and mystery puzzles, and/or relax and chat. Most importantly, everyone has a lot of fun.   Sue lives in northern New Hampshire with her husband, where her house is surrounded by wildlife…bear, moose, deer, even mountain lions have been spotted. Course, Sue would love to snuggle with them, but her husband frowns on the idea.  

Website * Facebook Author Page * Facebook * Twitter * PinterestGoogle+ * Youtube * Amazon * Goodreads

MY REVIEWS FOR SUE COLETTA

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The Kelping by Jan Stinchcomb @janstinchcomb

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The Kelping by Jan Stinchcomb is a quick, entertaining read at 67 pages, so let’s jump in and get the skinny.

The Kelping

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

The Kelping by Jan Stinchcomb is a novella, a quick read at 67 pages.

Just looking at the cover made me want it. Who doesn’t love a mermaid and The Kelping reads like a B movie.

Craig Bo wanted to be Sea King, got to be Sea King….and so much more.

The Kelping is a different kind of mermaid story. Not really a romance, not really humorous, not really suspenseful…hard to describe but a mermaid memoir of a wife, husband, two kids and the life in the beach town of Beachside.

I always enjoy a good mermaid story and finding a new to me author. Good job, Jan.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Kelping by Jan Stinchcomb.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
3 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Doctor Craig Bo has everything: a perfect wife and children, a thriving dermatology practice, and a house in a lovely coastal town. Nobody is surprised when he is chosen to be the Sea King of Beachside in his hometown’s annual festival.

But after the festival Craig’s world turns upside down. Something starts growing on his skin. His son tells him a story about a sinister mermaid who lives in the attic of the local history museum. And his beautiful wife, Penelope, can no longer hide her dark connection to the sea.

As Craig grapples with his own secrets and misdeeds, he finally understands the woman he married and the plans she has for him.

Book 9 in the Rewind-or-Die series: imagine your local movie rental store back in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, remember all those fantastic covers. Remember taking those movies home and watching in awe as the stories unfolded in nasty rainbows of gore, remember the atmosphere and textures. Remember the blood.

ABOUT JAN STINCHCOMB

Jan Stinchcomb

Jan Stinchcomb was born in San Francisco. She has a doctorate in Comparative Literature and has taught at the University of Oregon, Austin Community College and the University of Texas Extension Program. Currently living in Santa Monica, she is a story editor for Paper Darts. She has appeared in The Best Small Fictions 2018 and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, the Best of the Net and the Wigleaf Top 50 Longlist. THE KELPING, a horror novella, can be preordered from Unnerving. THE BLOOD TRAIL, a chapbook of dark fairy tales, is out now from Red Bird Chapbooks. Her novella, FIND THE GIRL, is available through Main Street Rag Publishing.

Website / Twitter

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
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Giveaway – Bury Him by Capt Doug Chamberlain @iReadBookTours

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Join us for this tour from April 13 to May 1, 2020!
Book Details:

Book Title:  Bury Him: A Memoir of the Viet Nam War by Captain Doug Chamberlain
Category:  Non-Fiction (18 +),  348 pages
Genre:  Memoir, Biographies of the Marines
Publisher:  Love the West Publications LLC
Release date:   November 2019
Content Rating:  PG + M: Some scenes of the war, no bad language, no sex.

“…His book recounts his agonized response to a direct order to ‘bury’ the remains of a fallen Marine in Vietnam…”
—John E. Brown, III
Past president of JBU, and former AR State Senator


Book Description:

In this frank, engaging memoir, Captain Chamberlain chronicles the missions, personal courage and sacrifice of the Marines he was privileged to command; painfully recalls the unspeakable order he and his Marines were forced to obey; and the cover-up which followed. Nearly four decades later, Captain Chamberlain makes right what was wrong; brings closure to the family of a fallen and abandoned warrior; and attempts to put to rest the guilt which plagued his military career and life. Unlike most books on the Viet Nam War, this book is written at a tactical level by a Marine Company Commander who was there.


 
Meet the Author:

Doug Chamberlain, the grandson of homesteaders in eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska, grew up with the “country values” instilled in him in the rural environment of a very small community. Even though there were only 10 students in his high school graduating class, several of his classmates pursued careers, public service, and military service that took them to various locations around the world. His rural values and the foundational reinforcement of those values at the University of Wyoming and John Brown University proved to be tested in their entirety when he became a Marine Infantry Officer in the Viet Nam War. His life changing experiences in that war proved to haunt him during his search to solve a mystery that spanned 50 years…and Bury Him details the sordid facts and the horrible truth that had eluded him.

Connect with the author:    website ~ facebook

 
Tour Schedule:

Apr 13 – Working Mommy Journal – book review / giveaway
Apr 13 – Adventurous Jessy – book spotlight / giveaway
Apr 14 – T’s Stuff – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Apr 14 – Books,Dreams,Life  – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Apr 15 – StoreyBook Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Apr 15 – Over Coffee Conversations – book review / guest post / giveaway
Apr 16 – Books and Zebras – book review / giveaway
Apr 17 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – book review / guest post / giveaway
Apr 20 – Svetlana’s reads and views – book review
Apr 21 – @momfluenster – book spotlight / giveaway
Apr 22 – Library of Clean Reads – book spotlight / giveaway
Apr 22 – Olio By Marilyn – book review / author interview / giveaway
Apr 23 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book review / giveaway
Apr 23 – Cheryl’s Book Nook – book review / giveaway
Apr 24 –fundinmental – book spotlight / giveaway
Apr 27 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Apr 27 – michellemengsbookblog – book review / giveaway
Apr 28 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / giveaway
Apr 29 – Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway
Apr 29 – Leels Loves Books – book review / giveaway
Apr 30 – She Just Loves Books – book review / giveaway
May 1 – The avid Reader – book spotlight / giveaway

Enter the Giveaway:
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
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  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

The Henrietta and Inspector Howard Mystery Novels by Michelle Cox @michellecox33 @iReadBookTours

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Join Us for this Series Spotlight Tour from Mar 16 to April 3, 2020!
SERIES DETAILS:
Series Title:  Henrietta and Inspector Howard by Michelle Cox
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+)
Genre:  Historical Mystery
Publisher:  She Writes Press
Release dates:   April 2016; April 2017; April 2018; April 2019; April 2020
Tour dates: Mar 16 to April 3, 2020
Content Rating: R: Books 1-2 do not have any sex scenes, though there is sexual reference, Books 3-5 do have explicit sex scenes (tasteful). There is periodic swearing and violence, but not a lot. There are some dark themes (though not graphic examples) of suicide, prostitution, mob involvement, rape, drinking, homosexuality.

SERIES DESCRIPTION:

A GIRL LIKE YOU: Beautiful Henrietta Von Harmon works as a 26 girl at a corner bar, Poor Pete’s, on Chicago’s northwest side. It’s 1935, but things still aren’t looking up since the big crash and her father’s subsequent suicide. Left to care for her antagonistic mother and seven younger siblings, Henrietta is persuaded to take a job as a taxi dancer at a local dance hall. Henrietta is just beginning to enjoy herself, dancing with men for ten cents a dance, when the floor matron suddenly turns up murdered. The aloof Inspector Clive Howard then appears on the scene, and Henrietta unwittingly finds herself involved in unraveling the mystery when she agrees to go undercover for him in a burlesque theater where he believes the killer lurks.

Even as Henrietta is plunged into Chicago’s grittier underworld, she struggles to still play the mother “hen” to her younger siblings and even to the pesky neighborhood boy, Stanley, who believes himself in love with her and continues to pop up in the most unlikely places, determined, ironically, to keep Henrietta safe, even from the Inspector if needs be. Despite his efforts, however, and his penchant for messing up the Inspector’s investigation, the lovely Henrietta and the impenetrable Inspector find themselves drawn to each other in most unsuitable ways. 


A RING OF TRUTH: In this second book of the series, Henrietta and Clive delightfully rewrite Pride and Prejudice―with a hint of mystery!

Newly engaged, Clive and Henrietta now begin the difficult task of meeting each other’s family. “Difficult” because Clive has neglected to tell Henrietta that he is in fact the heir to the Howard estate and fortune, and Henrietta has just discovered that her mother has been hiding secrets about her past as well. When Clive brings Henrietta to the family estate to meet his parents, they are less than enthused about his impoverished intended. Left alone in this extravagant new world when Clive returns to the city, Henrietta finds herself more at home with the servants than his family, much to the disapproval of Mrs. Howard―and soon gets caught up in the disappearance of an elderly servant’s ring, not realizing that in doing so she has become part of a bigger, darker plot.
As Clive and Henrietta attempt to discover the truth in the two very different worlds unraveling around them, they both begin to wonder: Are they meant for each other after all?


A PROMISE GIVEN: This third book in the Henrietta and Inspector Howard series provides a delightful romp through the English countryside and back.

Anxious to be married, Henrietta and Clive push forward with their wedding plans despite their family differences, made worse now by Oldrich Exley’s attempts to control the Von Harmons. When the long-awaited wedding day arrives, there is more unfolding than just Clive and Henrietta’s vows of love. Stanley and Elsie’s relationship is sorely tested by the presence of the dashing Lieutenant Harrison Barnes-Smith and by Henrietta’s friend Rose―a situation that grows increasingly dark and confused as time goes on.

As Clive and Henrietta begin their honeymoon at Castle Linley, the Howards’ ancestral estate in England, they encounter a whole new host of characters, including the eccentric Lord and Lady Linley and Clive’s mysterious cousin, Wallace. When a man is murdered in the village on the night of a house party at the Castle, Wallace comes under suspicion―and Clive and Henrietta are reluctantly drawn into the case, despite Clive’s anxiety at involving his new bride and Henrietta’s distracting news from home.
Delicately attempting to work together for the first time, Clive and Henrietta set out to prove Wallace’s innocence, uncovering as they do so some rather shocking truths that will shake the Linley name and estate forever.
Buy the Book:
Amazon.com~ Barnes & Noble ~ Apple iBooks
IndieBound ~ Kobo ~ Google Store

A VEIL REMOVED: Murder is never far from this sexy couple . . . even during the holidays!

Their honeymoon abruptly ended by the untimely death of Alcott Howard, Clive and Henrietta return to Highbury, where Clive discovers all is not as it should be. Increasingly convinced that his father’s death was not an accident, Clive launches his own investigation, despite his mother’s belief that he has become “mentally disturbed” with grief. Henrietta eventually joins forces with Clive on their first real case, which becomes darker―and deadlier―than they imagined as they get closer to the truth behind Alcott’s troubled affairs.

Meanwhile, Henrietta’s sister, Elsie, begins, at Henrietta’s orchestration, to take classes at a women’s college―an attempt to evade her troubles and prevent any further romantic temptations. When she meets a bookish German custodian at the school, however, he challenges her to think for herself . . . even as she discovers some shocking secrets about his past life.

Buy the Book:
Amazon.com~ Barnes & Noble ~ Apple iBooks
IndieBound ~ Kobo ~ Google Store

A CHILD LOST: A spiritualist, an insane asylum, a lost little girl . . .

When Clive, anxious to distract a depressed Henrietta, begs Sergeant Frank Davis for a case, he is assigned to investigating a seemingly boring affair: a spiritualist woman operating in an abandoned schoolhouse on the edge of town who is suspected of robbing people of their valuables. What begins as an open and shut case becomes more complicated, however, when Henrietta―much to Clive’s dismay―begins to believe the spiritualist’s strange ramblings.
Meanwhile, Elsie begs Clive and Henrietta to help her and the object of her budding love, Gunther, locate the whereabouts of one Liesel Klinkhammer, the German woman Gunther has traveled to America to find and the mother of the little girl, Anna, whom he has brought along with him. The search leads them to Dunning Asylum, where they discover some terrible truths about Liesel. When the child, Anna, is herself mistakenly admitted to the asylum after an epileptic fit, Clive and Henrietta return to Dunning to retrieve her. This time, however, Henrietta begins to suspect that something darker may be happening. When Clive doesn’t believe her, she decides to take matters into her own hands . . . with horrifying results.

Release Date: April 28, 2020!

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Michelle Cox is the author of the multiple award-winning Henrietta and Inspector Howard series as well as “Novel Notes of Local Lore,” a weekly blog dedicated to Chicago’s forgotten residents. She suspects she may have once lived in the 1930s and, having yet to discover a handy time machine lying around, has resorted to writing about the era as a way of getting herself back there. Coincidentally, her books have been praised by Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist and many others, so she might be on to something. Unbeknownst to most, Michelle hoards board games she doesn’t have time to play and is, not surprisingly, addicted to period dramas and big band music. Also marmalade.

Connect with the Author:

website ~ facebook ~twitter ~ instagram ~ goodreads

TOUR SCHEDULE:
Mar 16 – Working Mommy Journal – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 16 – Rainy Day Reviews – series spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Mar 16 – Hall Ways Blog – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 17 – Corinne Rodrigues – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 18 – I’m Into Books – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 18 – Mystery Suspense Reviews – series spotlight / guest post
Mar 19 – Rosepoint Publishing – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 20 – Bookmark and fork – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 23 – Book Corner News and Reviews – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 23 – T’s Stuff – series spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Mar 24 – eBook Addicts – series spotlight
Mar 24 – The avid reader – series spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Mar 25 – Locks, Hooks and Books – series spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Mar 26 – Jazzy Book Reviews – series spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Mar 27 – Cheryl’s Book Nook – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 30 – A Madison Mom – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 31 – @momfluenster – series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 31 – Dab of Darkness Audiobook Reviews – series spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Apr 1 – StoreyBook Reviews – series spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Apr 1 – 411 on Books, Authors, and Publishing News – series spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Apr 2 – Library of Clean Reads – series spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Apr 3 – fundinmental – series spotlight / giveaway
Apr 3 – My Chaotic Ramblings – series spotlight / author interview / giveaway

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Through The Lens – Review – Hollow by Rhonda Parrish @rhondaparrish

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I was inundated with review requests over horror season in 2019. Hollow by Rhonda Parish was one of the ARC’s I chose.

Cover by Guillem Mari

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I love books that involve photography in some way, so when I read the blurb, I had to check out Hollow by Rhonda Parrish.

The accident changed her world.

Her only solace was running…and Sevren.

An abandoned hospital. An evil doctor. A camera. A magpie.

Life is full of ups and downs, good times and bad times, good people and some not so good, but we all have a story to tell.

It’s hard to talk about Hollow without giving too much away, but Morgan faces her fears and tragic events.

I enjoyed Hollow by Rhonda Parish and it kept me curious. This is an easy reading story that I finished in one sitting.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of Hollow by Rhonda Parish.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
3 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

A car accident shattered sixteen-year-old Morgan’s family. Now her brother’s dead, her mom’s paralyzed in more ways than one, her dad lives at work and her seven-year-old sister Amy tries too freaking hard to salvage everything. What’s more, high school is its own special kind of hell, where her ex-boyfriend delights in spreading rumors that shred her reputation and make her feel like a loser.

When she finds an old camera in a creepy abandoned hospital, it seems like her luck is finally changing. And it is changing–from bad to worse. Because of course it is. Each time Morgan photographs one of her classmates they become corrupted versions of themselves. It’s like the camera steals their goodness, their essence, and leaves them hollow.

Then her sister uses the camera to take a selfie.

No matter what the cost, Morgan will find a way to reverse the effects of the cursed camera and save Amy, before her already-fractured family completely self-destructs.

ABOUT RHONDA PARRISH

Rhonda Parrish

Rhonda Parrish is driven by a desire to do All The Things. She founded and ran Niteblade Magazine, is an Assistant Editor at World Weaver Press and is the editor of several anthologies including, most recently, Earth: Giants, Golems and Gargoyles, and Grimm, Grit and Gasoline.

In addition, Rhonda is an award-winning writer whose short work has been in publications such as the Rhysling Anthology and Imaginarium: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing (2012 & 2015).

Her YA Thriller, Hollow and her paranormal non-fiction title, Eerie Edmonton are both coming in 2020.

Her website, updated regularly, is at http://www.rhondaparrish.com

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
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  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
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Giveaway – Between Love and Death by B L Hayse @BreannaHayse @SDSXXTours

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Between Love and Death
by B.L. Hayse
Genre: Supernatural Romance
Inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s Annabelle Lee:
When love is so deep, a man will pursue any path to grant his beloved her greatest desire- even after she’s left the world of the living. Grief leads him to an old Colonial on the cliffs of Maine that holds a secret in its hearth- a secret that will bring peace to one beyond the grave.
This story gives restless entities a voice, allowing others to hear their sorrow as they beg for absolution. It gives power to those whose cursed lives binds them in chains of sorrow and offers fresh hope to the hopeless.
But at what cost?
**Only 99 cents!!**
BDSM/AP lifestyler Breanna Hayse strives to give her readers truth and reality of the BDSM/Age-Play/Total Power and Erotic Exchange lifestyle.
Who am I?
I’m a native Californian gone ‘wild’, and had the opportunity to travel the globe and discover the world through the eyes of both a Marine Intelligence specialist and a BDSM lifestyler. I left the service to go into hospice nursing and grief counseling, eventually working as a marriage and family therapist for those involved in alternative lifestyle development. This experience has allowed me to gain unique inspiration for my books and offer realistic plots and relatable characters.
In 2004, my husband, John, and I joined forces to work with both submissives and dominants- teaching, training, listening and loving. Our goal was to take the mystery and fear out of the lifestyle and mentor people in safe, consensual and healthy relationships.
My first book, The Game Plan, was published in 2012 and opened the door to the now-booming world of Age-Play literature. Since that time, I’ve devoted my ‘spare’ time to writing, researching, community involvement, and private and group pro bono counseling in deviant behavior, alternative lifestyle, and addiction recovery.
I was formally ‘dungeon trained’ as a Domme before discovering my submissive side when I joined the service. My scenarios are pulled primarily from either personal experience or observation, including spending time in BDSM clubs as the safety/medical officer. My multi-faceted background allows me to glean from many avenues and give a unique and intelligent literary experience through elements of fantasy and fiction. I also discuss the questions and psychology of the lifestyle in a manner that is fun and informative, and based on ‘the real deal.’
I live with my husband, musician, and fellow-author, John Hayse, and two border collies in southern California. We practice a 24/7 D&S relationship with speckles of AP (and many trips to Build-A-Bear), and happily spend every moment together that we can. My hobbies include my puppies, hiding my vanilla salt-water taffy where John can’t find it, exotic art, collecting inspirational trinkets, and developing my own paddle line. You can also see me as a featured author/instructor in professional conference settings and as a Sexpert for kinkyliterature.com.
$15 Amazon
Follow the tour HERE for exclusive content and a giveaway!
  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Southern Gothic – White Oaks by Jill Hand @jillhand1_gef @SDSXXTours

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I signed up for the White Oaks tour, but didn’t quite get this finished in time to post with the tour. So….let’s enter the swamps of White Oaks.

Go by the tour page and enter the giveaway for a chance at a $20 Amazon gift card and a Kindle version of the book.

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Everything about White Oaks appeals to me, from the fabulous cover to the wonderful blurb and the southern location. I was hooked from the beginning. Written in a comic style with characters that fit the southern profile, including the family’s three siblings that want to control their father’s fortune.

White Oaks is the Trapnell family’s plantation.

White Oaks starts out with a yellow Lamborghini racing into town and a foxy woman, Aimee, holding a bottle of Southern Comfort getting out. You may draw your own conclusions. lol

We also have Trainor, driving a beat up, rusted truck, feigning poverty because of his divorce from his gold digging third wife

And Marsh, am arms dealer.

Don’t forget Karen, the older sibling by another mother.

Blanton, their father, has no trouble playing them off against each other, sticking the knife in and twisting it. I’m not sure if any of them are worth the paper I am writing my notes on, even the grandchildren, who learn nothing good from their elders.

Blanton is celebrating his 90th birthday, and his wish? “I want to kill a man.”

His children’s bumbling and fumbling to grant his wish lead them on a wild mystery ride of gators, snakes, and treachery, all done with a comically light touch. There is more than meets the eye going on and I loved the twists and turns that Jill Hand came up with.

Humor, mystery, murder and a plot to bring on Ragnarok.

The characters are ones that I love to hate, at times showing some redeeming qualities as they traverse the world on a mission that has so many twists and turn I was constantly surprised.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of White Oaks by Jill Hand.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

ABOUT THE BOOK

“An ingeniously dark comic thriller about greed, gluttony and murder that is destined for the big screen.” –Best Thrillers Aimee Trapnell reluctantly leaves her apartment on Manhattan’s Central Park West to return to her childhood home in Georgia for her father’s ninetieth birthday. Also on hand are her two brothers, wily Marsh and ne’er-do-well Trainor. With a forty-billion-dollar inheritance at stake, they’re willing to do whatever it takes to make the old man happy. To their shock they learn that what their father wants for his birthday is to kill someone. He doesn’t care who it is. He just wants to know what it’s like to commit murder. Betrayal, double-dealing, and fast-paced action set the Trapnells on a collision course with an unexpected villain. Their journey takes them from the swamps of Georgia, to Italy’s glittering Amalfi coast, to rugged Yellowstone National Park.

ABOUT JILL HAND

Jill Hand is a member of the Horror Writers Association and International Thriller Writers. Her Southern Gothic novel, White Oaks is available on Amazon and from the publisher, Black Rose Writing. Advance readers called it a fast-paced, hilarious account of three siblings who are competing for their father’s forty-billion-dollar fortune while trying to prevent the destruction of Planet Earth. Diane Donovan, senior reviewer from Midwest Book Review praised White Oaks, calling it, “an unusually multifaceted tale that holds the ability to prompt laughter from thriller-style tension.” Jill Hand’s novel, Rosina and the Travel Agency, and The Blue Horse, a novella, follow the adventures of a young woman rescued from a railway accident in 1889 by a twenty-fourth-century enterprise in the business of time travel tourism.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

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If This Is Day 1…Dead Meat by Nick Clausen @NickClausen9

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Dead Meat: Day 1 is not my first Nick Clausen story. Just like it says, Dead Meat is only the first day in the series, and I am super excited to see where Nick Clausen takes us.

Dead Meat: Day 1 (Dead Meat #1)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

It’s hot as Hades, as the kids find themselves in the suffocating basement, dodging a zombie that salivates at the thought of taking a bite out of them…

Dead Meat by Nick Clausen gets creepy bad very early and time is of the essence.

OMG! Want bloody, gory, gruesome, sad, tragic, heroic and…?

Read about a day in the life of Dan, a teenager that was only delivering newpapers on a freakishly hot day when all hell broke loose in his world. I love this character!

I am drooling over the thought of reading more of this delicious series.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Dead Meat by Nick Clausen.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Star

GOODREADS BLURB

The end of the world one day at a time

In this new apocalyptic zombie series from the author of They Come at Night and Human Flesh, we follow events day for day as the world slowly but surely decends into mayhem as the zombies take over. Don’t miss the thrilling ride!

For fans of The Walking Dead, The Orphans Book and World War Z.

How it all began:

Three teenagers find themselves trapped in a stuffy, warm basement. The old lady who used to own the house is now dead. She’s also standing right on the other side of the basement door, scraping and moaning, trying to get in. Patiently. Tirelessly.

How did they end up here? Just a few hours ago, all three of of them were sitting in Thomas’ car, sweating and listening to music, not a care in the world. They were almost done with the paper route when they came to the old lady’s house. And that’s when everything turned to chaos.

ABOUT NICK CLAUSEN

Born 1988 in North Jutland, where I still live with my wife, who also happened to be my earliest childhood girlfriend. From 2017 I have lived as a full-time writer. Up until then, I had different jobs beside the writing. I have been studying as a carpenter for three years, and have also read two years of psychology at Aalborg University. It turned out that the writing had a much more powerful pull on me.

Nick Clausen

I decided early on that I would be an author when I grew up. In fact, the decision came to me already when I read my first book, Snevampyren by Dennis Jürgensen. My first “real” stories I wrote at 14-15 years of age. They were rejected by the publisher, but still got praise. There were some years when I was busy with being a teenager and trying to get an education before I suddenly remembered that I should be an author.

That day I made a promise to write 1,000 words a day until I got a book published. I sat down and started writing. I continued to write every single day for a year and a half. I sent the finished manuscripts to different publishers, and the rejections piled up. Twelve of them by the end. But each time I could feel it was a little bit better. The criticism became more positive. The thirteenth story was called Tidevandet, and it was adopted by the publisher and came out a year later.

I have always enjoyed writing, although in the beginning I put a lot of pressure on myself. My approach to the process has become much more free over the years. For example, I no longer plan my stories. That way, I feel that I’m experiencing the story while writing it and the characters feel like real people. I do not know where the ideas come from, but I’ve never had trouble finding them.

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MY NICK CLAUSEN REVIEWS

They Come At Night

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Books From The Backlog – Apart From Love by Uvi Ponansky @UviPoznansky

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Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks.

If you would like to join in, swing by Carole’s Random Life in Books.

Apart From Love

Amazon / Goodreads

GOODREADS BLURB

Apart from Love contains two threads, volume I and II of Still Life with Memories, woven together (along with two new chapters) around the same events in 1980, when Ben returns to meet his father, Lenny, and his new wife, Anita. It is then that he discovers a family secret.

My Own Voice (volume I of Still Life with Memories):
Ten years ago, when she was seventeen, Anita started an affair with Lenny, in spite of knowing that he was a married man. Now married to him and carrying his child, she finds herself condemned to compete with Natasha’s shadow, the memory of her brilliance back in her prime, before she succumbed to early-onset Alzheimer’s. Despite Anita’s lack of education, her rough slang, and what happened to her in the past, Lenny tries to transform her. He wants her to become Natasha.

Faced with his compelling wish, and the way he writes her as a character in his book, how can Anita find a voice of her own? And when his estranged son, Ben, comes back and lives in the same small apartment, can she keep the balance between the two men, whose desire for her is marred by guilt and blame?

The White Piano (volume II of Still Life with Memories):
Coming back to his childhood home after years of absence, Ben is unprepared for the secret, which is now revealed to him: his mother, Natasha, who used to be a brilliant pianist, is losing herself to early-onset Alzheimer’s, which turns the way her mind works into a riddle. His father has remarried, and his new wife, Anita, looks remarkably similar to Natasha—only much younger. In this state of being isolated, being apart from love, how will Ben react when it is so tempting to resort to blame and guilt? “In our family, forgiveness is something you pray for, something you yearn to receive—but so seldom do you give it to others.” 

Behind his father’s back, Ben and Anita find themselves increasingly drawn to each other. They take turns using an old tape recorder to express their most intimate thoughts, not realizing at first that their voices are being captured by him. These tapes, with his eloquent speech and her slang, reveal the story from two opposite viewpoints. 

What emerges in this family is a struggle, a desperate, daring struggle to find a path out of conflicts, out of isolation, from guilt to forgiveness.

What’s in a name:
The title Apart From Love comes from a phrase used in the story:

After a while I whispered, like, “Just say something to me. Anything.” And I thought, Any other word apart from Love, ‘cause that word is diluted, and no one knows what it really means, anyway.
Anita to Lenny, in Apart From Love

Why, why can’t you say nothing? Say any word—but that one, ‘cause you don’t really mean it. Nobody does. Say anything, apart from Love.
Anita to Ben, in The Entertainer

For my own sake I should have been much more careful. Now—even in her absence—I find myself in her hands, which feels strange to me. I am surrounded—and at the same time, isolated. I am alone. I am apart from Love.
Ben, in Nothing Surrendered

I used to enter every giveaway I saw when I first started blogging in 2012. This is another one of those books. It added it to my Kindle on 9.2.12 and added it to my TBR on 7.9.12. I must have won it after the fact.

Goodreads rating: 3.83

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
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  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!