P M Terrell is a prolific writer and a favorite of mine. A Struggle for Independence is a walk through the Ireland of yore. I am glad to have you joining us.
I am amazed at how much I love A Struggle for Independence. I love a lot of details and well researched novels, along with fictional characters that make me forget they are not real, but historical fiction never used to be high on my list. I want to thank P M Terrell for changing that and supplying me with many wonderful hours of reading.
Independence saw his carriage approaching and the entire atmosphere of the house, along with her mood, became oppressive. He entered the castle and spit out her name, Independence, with the disdain he felt for the country’s thought of freedom in 1916 Ireland.
Stratford, Independence’s husband, runs his household like a tyrant. I immediately despised him. Her marriage to him had been arranged and happiness was in short supply. She had her secret life and…one night opened her eyes and changed her life forever.
Independence’s growth and development were a joy to read about. The trials and tribulations she goes through during war torn Ireland are frightening, disturbing, and all too familiar. It’s easy to visualize the unrest and reasons for it. Hungry, homeless, nothing to lose, cornered like a cat up a tree, pursued, enslaved, treated as a possession…not surprising they rose up and bit back…harshly. A reminder that history repeats itself.
P M Terrell’s historical novels spring to life with vivid characters and descriptions of the countryside. She is an artist, using words instead of paints to create her masterpieces. Her ability to merge fact and fiction makes reading about history an awesome adventure into the past.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of A Struggle for Independence by P M Terrell.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
It is 1916 Ireland, and Independence Mather has settled into a routine in an arranged and loveless marriage when she meets architect Nicky Bowers. She falls in love with the charming and attentive Irishman, but Nicky holds secrets. When she discovers he is an Irish rebel on the eve of the Easter Rising, events propel her into the midst of the rebellion. From Dublin’s GPO to Saint Stephen’s Green, she races to discover whether he is yet alive or he is one of those cut down by seasoned British forces arriving to put down the rebellion. At a crossroads in her life and in Ireland’s history, she must make a decision that will change her life forever: she can remain the wife of a British loyalist, or she can risk losing everything to be with the man she loves.
Set against the sweeping vistas of Ireland from Dublin to the Wicklow Mountains, terrell brings alive a tumultuous time in Ireland’s history, interweaving historical events and the people that gave their lives to ensure Ireland’s independence.
ABOUT P M TERRELL
p.m.terrell
is the pen name for Patricia McClelland Terrell, the award-winning,
internationally acclaimed author of more than 21 books in four genres:
contemporary suspense, historical adventure/suspense, computer how-to
and non-fiction.
Prior to writing full-time, she founded two computer companies in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area. Among her clients were the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Secret Service, U.S. Information Agency, and Department of Defense. Her specialties were in white collar computer crimes and computer intelligence, themes that have carried forward to her contemporary suspense.
She has been a full-time author since
2002. Vicki’s Key was a top five finalist in the 2012 International Book
Awards and 2012 USA Book Awards nominee, and The Pendulum Files was a
national finalist for the Best Cover of the Year in 2014. The Tempest
Murders was one of four finalists in the 2013 International Book Awards,
cross-genre category.
Her historical suspense, River Passage,
was a 2010 Best Fiction and Drama Winner. It was determined to be so
historically accurate that a copy of the book resides at the Nashville
Government Metropolitan Archives in Nashville, Tennessee.
She is also the co-founder of The Book
‘Em Foundation, an organization committed to raising public awareness of
the correlation between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. She
is the organizer and chairperson of Book ‘Em North Carolina, an annual
event held in Lumberton, North Carolina, to raise funds to increase
literacy and reduce crime. For more information on this event and the
literacy campaigns funded by it, visit www.bookemnc.org. She is also the founder of The Novel Business, mentoring authors in the business end and selling of books.
She sits on the board of the Friends of the Robeson County Public Library. She has also served on the boards of Robeson County Arts Council, Crime Stoppers and Crime Solvers and became the first female president of the Chesterfield County-Colonial Heights Crime Solvers in Virginia.
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.
They found him in the South Ofrann Desert, where everything evil lived. No one knew what he was. Most called him a demon. One leader thought this stranger-without-a-past held the key to tribal peace and prosperity. That leader’s enemies saw an opportunity to gain control of the nation.
I was probably lured into grabbing Moons’ Kiss by Kimberly K Comeau by the colorful cover. I am such a sucker for a pretty one and I do enjoy science fiction. I added Moons’ Kiss by Kimberly K Comeau to my Goodreads TBR on 10.6.20. Do you read science fiction? What is your favorite genre?
Join Us for this Book Series Tour from Jul 7 to Aug 10, 2020!
“A Wrinkle in Time meets The Princess Bride.” – Review by Lee Lee Thompson, The Perpetual You Magazine
“Chute’s novel weaves STAR WARS-like characters with a WONDER-like message to form an enrapturing read for booklovers of all ages.” – US Review of Books
“Fast and bizarre… Never a dull moment.“ – Foreward Reviews
SERIES DETAILS:
Series Title: The 8th Island Trilogy by Alexis Marie Chute Category: Young AdultFiction (13 to 17 yrs) (368 to 448 pages) Genre: fantasy, adventure, coming of age, ya, adult Publisher: SparkPress. Release dates: Jun 2018; Oct 2019; Apr 2020 Content Rating: PG: Battle scenes and death depicted.
Series Description:
The 8th Island Trilogy includes Above the Star, Below the Moon, and Inside the Sun.
Over the three books, we follow the adventures of a quirky family, the
Wellsleys. The main characters are frumpy senior citizen Archie, his
daughter-in-law, Tessa, and his ill fourteen-year-old granddaughter
Ella.
Archie, searching for his missing son, accidentally transports his
family—and a cruise ship full of people—to a magical planet. There, they
uncover the truth: all worlds are dying. Yet hope is not lost. A way to
restore all that will soon be destroyed is revealed, along with the
realization that Ella will play a role no one could have
imagined—especially not her.
On the mysterious island of Jarr-Wya, many races of
creatures battle for dominion and magic lurks around every corner. When
the world falls dark, that is when bravery must shine the brightest, and
the Wellsleys will reveal the strength they never knew they
possessed—as well as the power of love to save the day.
Books in the 8th Island Trilogy:
Book Details:
Book Title: Above the Star by Alexis Marie Chute Category: Young AdultFiction (13 to 17 yrs), 368 pages Genre: fantasy, adventure, coming of age, ya, adult Publisher: SparkPress. Release dates: Jun 2018 Content Rating: PG: Battle scenes and death depicted.
Book Description:
When frumpy senior citizen Archie goes in search of his missing son in
the Spanish Canary Islands, he stumbles upon a higher mission: locating a
magical cure for his ailing fourteen-year-old granddaughter, Ella.
Using a portal-jumping device called the Tillastrion, Archie and a
stone-headed creature named Zeno are transported to Jarr-Wya, a
magnificent yet terrifying island in a connected realm―along with Ella
and her strong-willed mother, Tessa, who accidentally stow away on this
not-so-secret quest.
What they find on Jarr-Wya is an island tortured by a wicked Star
anchored in the sea, and a raging three-way battle for dominion between
the stone-wielding Bangols, the fiery Olearons, and the evil Millia
sands. Ella’s wit and resourcefulness emerge in this new world, while
Tessa is forced to confront her long-buried secrets and a confusing new
love triangle. When Ella is captured, Tessa and Archie―with the help of a
company of peculiar allies―set out to save her and unravel the terrible
mystery of her cure. A mesmerizing, stay-up-all-night adventure of
three unlikely heroes, Above the Star reminds us that even the smallest
act of bravery can transform our lives and the fates of the worlds
around us.
Book Title: Below the Moon by Alexis Marie Chute Category: Young AdultFiction (13 to 17 yrs), 448 pages Genre: fantasy, adventure, coming of age, ya, adult Publisher: SparkPress. Release dates: Oct 2019 Content Rating: PG: Battle scenes and death depicted.
Book Description:
Ella Wellsley is not your typical teenager. Cancer left her mute, but
not powerless. Trapped in a parallel dimension, Ella rallies her
strength to join her family―her mother, Tessa, her grandpa Archie, and
her magical boyfriend―in locating the cure to her illness. This cure is
entangled in the fate of all worlds, and threatened by the presence of
an evil Star anchored in the sea. The Star has thrown life everywhere
into chaos―and it is Ella who holds the key to unlocking its mystery.
Caught in a web of betrayal, mistaken identities, secrets, and love
triangles, Ella, Tessa, and Archie must overcome their troubled pasts to
ensure a future for all worlds. On this journey―armed with unearthly
abilities and unexpected allies―each member of the Wellsley family will
learn the power of love in the face of their greatest fears.
Book Title: Inside the Sun by Alexis Marie Chute Category: Young AdultFiction (13 to 17 yrs), 384 pages Genre: fantasy, adventure, coming of age, ya, adult Publisher: SparkPress. Release dates: April 2020 Content Rating: PG: Battle scenes and death depicted.
Book Description:
All worlds are dying, and it’s up to one broken and dysfunctional family from Earth―the Wellsleys―to save the day.
Cancer-ridden Ella celebrates her fifteenth birthday beneath an
enchanted mountain, but it is what lies even farther below―the
mysterious Star in the sea―that demands she grow up quickly. While Ella
grapples with the sacrifice she must make and the lies she is forced to
tell, her mother, Tessa, is hell-bent on protecting her.
Through bizarre encounters, love-sick Tessa realizes that she is not the
lonely orphan she believes. Her husband, Arden, and father-in-law,
Archie, are not the only ones with magical bloodlines. This revelation
changes everything. As Archie chooses to embody his unexpected ancestry,
he learns that leading the charge in the ultimate battle against evil
won’t be as easy as he thought. He’ll need his family―and the strange
allies he has gained―by his side to give Ella enough time to set things
right.
Can they defeat the unstoppable Millia sands―and another unexpected
foe―before everything they hold dear is destroyed? Or will their
adventure tear them apart for good? The finale to The 8th Island Trilogy
will hold you spellbound until the final page, and long after.
Alexis Marie Chute is an award-winning author, artist,
photographer, art curator, filmmaker, and public speaker. She has
received over 40 noteworthy distinctions for her visual and literary
work. Her award-winning fantasy series The 8th Island Trilogy includes,
Above the Star, Below the Moon, and Inside the Sun. The series has been
described as “A WRINKLE IN TIME meets THE PRINCESS BRIDE” by The
Perpetual You magazine, and “Fast and bizarre… never a dull moment” by
Forward Reviews. The 8th Island Trilogy “weaves STAR WARS-like
characters with a WONDER-like message to form an enrapturing read for
blooklovers of all ages” – US Review of Books. Chute’s bestselling
memoir, Expecting Sunshine: A Journey of Grief, Healing and Pregnancy
After Loss, was a top Kirkus title of 2017 and received a plethora of
other literary distinctions. The memoir was accompanied by the feature
documentary of the same name, which has screened internationally for the
last three years. Chute received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art and
Design from the University of Alberta, Canada, and studied at Media
Design school in Auckland, New Zealand. She graduated valedictorian with
her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Lesley University in
Cambridge, MA, USA. Chute is a highly regarded public speaker. She has
presented on art, writing, bereavement, and the healing capacities of
creativity around the world. Contact the Author/Artist for bookings
info@alexismariechute.com When not in her art/photo studio or at her
computer, Chute loves to spend quality time with her family, read
fiction and non-fiction, watch reality TV, paddleboard, and canoe. She
is not a winter person but lives in frosty Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
with her husband and their three living children.
Kathryn Meyer Griffith is a prolific writer and her Spookie Town Murder Mystery series has been a big hit for her. She is currently working on Book 7. Woo Hoo. Congratulations Kathryn.
Interview with Kathryn Meyer Griffith
What’s
next for you as a writer?
I am in a very different place than most
younger writers. I’m at a different part of my life and my writing career. I’ve
been writing now for over 48 years (that’s not my age…that is how long I have
been actually writing) and I’m slowing down. The feverish obsession to write
has faded some and I am very aware of the preciousness of time in a person’s life.
I’m almost 70 now and I want to enjoy my everyday existence as well as play in
my make-believe worlds. So…will I write my 30th novel, or 14th short story? I
do not know. If God allows me to, I will. I have been writing Dinosaur Lake and
Spookie Town Murder Mysteries now for over 10 years and I do miss my horror.
Perhaps I’ll write one more really scary vampire/witch/demon/ghost book before
my curtain comes down. Perhaps.
What
is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up. Keep writing. Write what you love to read.
Read. But…make time in between your writing to LIVE your life, make friends,
have fun. Believe me, life goes so quickly.
Anne Rice
Stephen King
Dean Koontz
Peter Straub
Michael Crichton
Jane Austen
Ray Bradbury
Robert Heinlein
Do you have
any unusual writing habits?
I love to write on my couch, on my laptop, with the TV on
and a cup of coffee or chocolate coffee to drink, or snacks. Some writers can
write with music playing…I can’t. But TV, yes.
What is the
name of your latest book and what inspired it?
All Those Who Came Before…is my 29th novel and the sixth
of my Spookie Town Murder Mysteries. People seem to love my quirky town cozy
murder mysteries so I just keep writing them, even though I am actually a horror/thriller
writer.
If you were
going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with
you what books would you bring?
The Bible
The newest Stephen King book
The newest/best-selling Murder Mystery
Newest best-selling SF book
What’s next
for you as a writer?
I am in a very different place than most younger writers.
I’m at a different part of my life and my writing career. I’ve been writing now
for over 48 years (that’s not my age…that is how long I have been actually
writing) and I’m slowing down. The feverish obsession to write has faded some
and I am very aware of the preciousness of time in a person’s life. I’m almost
70 now and I want to enjoy my everyday existence as well as play in my
make-believe worlds. So…will I write my 30th novel, or 14th short story? I do
not know. If God allows me to, I will. I have been writing Dinosaur Lake and
Spookie Town Murder Mysteries now for over 10 years and I do miss my horror.
Perhaps I’ll write one more really scary vampire/witch/demon/ghost book before
my curtain comes down. Perhaps.
Do you have
any advice for new authors?
Never give up. Keep writing. Write what you love to read.
Read. These days…advertise, advertise, advertise!
What is the
best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up. Keep writing. Write what you love to read.
Read. But…make time in between your writing to LIVE your life, make friends,
have fun. Believe me, life goes so quickly.
THE HISTORY OF MY 5 BEST-SELLING DINOSAUR LAKE BOOKS:
I started the first DINOSAUR LAKE over 28 years ago and it
(stupidly titled back then as Predator…a title I fought with my publisher to
change, but they wouldn’t) and Zebra Paperbacks was supposed to publish the
first one in 1994. Last minute, though, after it was slated to go on the stands
in 6 weeks, covers printed and final editing done, they dumped it; dumped a lot
of their so-called horror authors and my book (which was to be my seventh
published novel; fourth with Zebra). Zebra said “no one wants to read
about a dinosaur.” Yeah? Jurassic Park came out soon after that. Oh well.
Anyway, disgusted at that time with publishers and everything to
do with writing I stuffed the manuscript into a drawer. Then in 2012 I decided
to try self-publishing and remembered that old manuscript. I took it out, rewrote
it and used it as an experiment in self-publishing. And boy did my readers love
it and buy it. So, over the next eight years I wrote 4 sequels: Dinosaur Lake
II: Dinosaurs Arising, Dinosaur Lake III: Infestation and Dinosaur Lake IV:
Dinosaur Wars, and Dinosaur Lake V: Survivors. They are still among some of my
best-selling and beloved books; second only to my 6 Spookie Town Murder
Mysteries. Want to read more about my dinosaur books, look here: tinyurl.com/ycp5gqb2
The Prologue for All Things Slip Away filled me in on the highlights of the Spookie Town Murder Mystery Series Book I, Scaps of Paper, and thank goodness. It has been a while since I read it, so I needed a refresher. You could begin reading here, but I am loving this series so much, I would highly recommend beginning at the beginning. 🙂
NOW…it’s ten years later and Frank Lester, a Chicago Homicide detective that moved to Spooky town, has found the serial killer he thought he had taken out is back, and he is on the hunt…for revenge.
I read a lot of Young Adult novels, so it is refreshing to be meeting some older characters that carry baggage and memories, and lust does not override their emotions. The romance is a slow burn, but smolders throughout the pages.
There is so much more to the killer than meets the eye. He has his own issues and problems that he cannot overcome. He is driven to seek revenge. The villain is one of those bad guys that can evoke a moment of sympathy for him.
Abigail is Frank’s love interest, but he is not alone in his desire to date her.The sheriff has his eye on her too. Myrtle is a neighbor and she is quite the character. She gave me some laughs and I love some humor with my murder. My heart went out to Laura and Nick, and the rest of their family, two children whose mother is ill and they struggle to even feed themselves. The two kids broke my heart, yet put a smile on my face.
The suspense is ramping up as the pacing takes me to the next event and I am eager, yet apprehensive about HIS and Frank’s next meeting.
Kathryn Meyer Griffith’s has an ability to draw me into the story so deep that I feel like I am walking in Abigail’s shoes, being stalked, feeling like someone is following me, watching me, having me looking over my shoulder, ‘hiding out’, keeping low.
I love that Kathryn can stretch the story, all the while keeping me on edge. It has been months since HE has been seen…life goes on…but, we all know it isn’t over. The tension builds as I wait, wait for the explosion that is about to come.
Well, I guess you can tell how much I loved All Things Slip Away. The story is fabulous and kept me totally engrossed, the characters came to life on the pages through Kathryn’s words and I fell in love with them. The peripheral characters became just as important to me as the main ones. The mystery, yeah, we know who he is, sorta but that does not take away anything from the story.
I highly recommend any of her work. Kathryn has never disappointed me.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of All Things Slip Away by Kathryn Meyer Griffith.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Ten years ago Frank Lester, a Chicago homicide detective, thought he had rid himself forever of the Mud People Killer who’d kidnapped and murdered six people. Frank had shot him as he’d fled through a snowy night; had killed him, he believed, though a body was never found. But the killer wasn’t dead. He’d only been waiting to take his revenge on Frank and those he cares about now…ten years later. Frank retired early and is living back in his hometown of Spookie when the killer resurfaces to take up where he left off. Kidnapping more innocents and tormenting Frank and the people he cares about. Unless Frank and his artist girlfriend, Abigail Sutton, can find and stop him before he kills more people and perhaps both of them.
SPOOKIE TOWN MURDER MYSTERIES: FROM THE AUTHOR for Author Central:
I started writing this SPOOKIE TOWN MURDER MYSTERY (I called the town Spookie as a tip-of-my-hat to my horror roots…I began my career in 1984 as a Leisure & Zebra horror paperback writer) series way back in 2003 (that is why there are no iPhones and laptops in the first few books…I wanted to keep the timeline pure) for Avalon Books as hardcovers and since then, because people loved the stories so much, I have written six more and self-published them all in eBooks everywhere, paperbacks and audio books. Scraps of Paper (The First Spookie Town Murder Mystery), All Things Slip Away (The Second Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Ghosts Beneath Us (The Third Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Witches Among Us (The Fourth Spookie Town Murder Mystery), What Lies Beneath the Graves (The Fifth Spookie Town Murder Mystery), All Those Who Came Before (The Sixth Spookie Town Murder Mystery), When the Fireflies Returned (The Seventh Spookie Town Murder Mystery, which will be out in December 2020). Since 1984, I have published 29 novels (horror, romance, time-travel, paranormal and thrillers)and 13 short stories.
Thank you, the author Kathryn Meyer Griffith
ABOUT KATHRYN MEYER GRIFFITH
Kathryn Meyer Griffith has been a writer
for over forty-nine years now and has had twenty-nine novels and thirteen short
stories published since 1984. She began her writing career as a paperback
horror author in 1984 with Leisure and Zebra Publishing, but has since moved on
to write paranormal horror, romantic historical time-travel, suspense, romance,
thrillers, and murder mysteries. Her horror novel The Last Vampire, and her
thriller Dinosaur Lake (now a best-selling five book series), were both Epic
eBook Awards Finalists in 2012 and 2014. Kathryn Meyer Griffith rdgriff@htc.net
NOVELS: Evil Stalks the Night, The Heart of the Rose, Blood Forged, Vampire Blood, The Last Vampire (2012 Epic eBook Awards Finalists in their Horror category), Witches, Witches II: Apocalypse, Witches plus Witches II: Apocalypse, The Nameless One erotic horror short story, The Calling, Scraps of Paper (1st Spookie Town Murder Mystery), All Things Slip Away (2nd Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Ghosts Beneath Us (3rd Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Witches Among Us (4th Spookie Town Murder Mystery), What Lies Beneath the Graves (5th Spookie Town Murder Mystery), All Those Who Came Before (6th Spookie Town Murder Mystery); soon, a 7th, When the Fireflies Retuned, out in December 2020, Egyptian Heart, Winter’s Journey, The Ice Bridge, Don’t Look Back, Agnes, A Time of Demons and Angels, The Woman in Crimson, Human No Longer, Four Spooky Short Stories Collection, Forever and Always Romantic Novella, Night Carnival Short Story, Dinosaur Lake (2014 Epic eBook Awards Finalists in their Thriller/Adventure category), Dinosaur Lake II: Dinosaurs Arising, Dinosaur Lake III: Infestation and Dinosaur Lake IV: Dinosaur Wars, Dinosaur Lake V: Survivors, Memories of My Childhood, and a biographical short story Christmas Magic 1959.
As the mystery deepens from the peaks of the Andes to the ocean floor off Florida’s Space Coast, Colten X. Burnett, and the Risky Business team are confronted by new perils and discoveries in their extraordinary quest for both treasures and what might be explosive, historical findings.
New friends and new adversaries make their quest a suspense-filled thrill ride.
Will they find the elusive treasure galleon, is the legendary golden library in Ecuador real?
REVELATIONS – Volume 2 of the Risky Business Chronicles will engulf you as a virtual participant in this amazing adventure.
It is the second book in Hep Aldridge’s action and adventure series about Dr. Colten X.
His knowledge can make them all rich… or get them killed.
From the depths of the Atlantic off Cape Canaveral Florida, searching for sunken Spanish treasure, to the Andes mountains of Ecuador chasing the legend of a lost golden library, Dr. Colten X. Burnett and the Risky Business team are on a quixotic adventure.
While trying to make an honest, well sort of honest living, searching for remnants of the lost 1715 fleet, Risky Business Ltd. becomes entangled in a mystery that covers two continents and may rewrite history.
The lure of uncovering a lost civilization, as well as the secrets it holds, motivates the team on their dangerous journey into a cosmological unknown.
-Sunken Treasure Lost Worlds is the first book in Hep Aldridge’s action and adventure series about Dr. Colten X. Burnett and the Risky Business team.
Hep Aldridge is a certified scuba diver, cave diver and amateur archaeologist whose main area of interest is Pre-Columbian cultures of the Americas.
He has led or been part of archaeological expeditions to Mexico and Honduras, making discoveries that have been reported in National Geographic Magazine.
Hep’s related interest in space, and space exploration and “things unknown” was fueled by his father who worked for NASA.
While living in New Mexico, he began to question the many strange and unexplained things he saw in the night sky in the mid 60’s, and also developed an interest in lost treasure that has stayed with him his whole life.
The combination of these diverse interests led to the genesis of the Risky Business Chronicles, Book One, his first novel of a three-part series.
Hep is an Air Force veteran and resides on Florida’s Space Coast
I have been reading Carolyn Arnold’s work for some time now and always enjoy them. I am excited to be on another adventure with Matthew Connor. So…what do you say? Ready for a treasure hunt?
The Legend of Gasparilla and His Treasure by Carolyn Arnold is due for release on 6.16.20, but can be preordered now for $4.99
Matthew Connor is an adventurous archaeologist and treasure hunter, a dreamer. This is not my first adventure with him, and I feel it won’t be my last. We never know where we will be going and what we will be after, but Indiana Jones step aside and make room.
Matthew and his friends search out the answers to legends, such as City of Gold. Feel free to ask Google, because Carolyn Arnold takes ‘true’ stories and makes them her own.
Today, we will be traveling with Gaspar, or Gaspiralla as his friends know him. He is a pirate that sailed the Gulf of Mexico and Spanish Main in the late 18th and 19th century. Is it a myth, a legend? There is an island named after him and Tampa has a festival, so draw your own conclusions.
Carolyn Arnold is not afraid to write in more than one genre, and I am so happy she does. Matthew Connor is one of my favorite series because I love to travel to distant places and she takes me all over the world, yet also writes of events in our neck of the world.
The Legend of Gasparilla and His Treasure is action packed, filled with suspense and danger. The peripheral characters shine with their own talents and uniqueness that adds to this wild adventure where lives are lost and treasure found.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of The Legend of Gasparilla and His Treasure by Carolyn Arnold.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Join the quest for a
pirate’s gold in the anxiously awaited third installment of the
international bestselling Matthew Connor Adventure series!
For
centuries, the existence of Spanish pirate José Gaspar has been
relegated to legend, but archaeologist and adventurer Matthew Connor and
his friends may have just found reason to believe the buccaneer truly
existed.
Rumored to have sailed and plundered the Gulf of
Mexico and the Spanish Main during the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries, Gaspar would have amassed a vast fortune. But can Matthew and
the gang prove myth as fact and find Gaspar’s priceless treasure? It
will take courage and tenacity as the path to gold proves deadly—and
even murderous once they discover the true identity and fate of the man
nicknamed Gasparilla.
The Legend of Gasparilla and His Treasure
is a fast-paced action adventure that’s akin to an Indiana Jones story
set in modern times. It’s light on history and heavy on action,
suspense, and intrigue. Buy this international bestselling book today
and strap yourself in for an action-packed good time!
ABOUT CAROLYN ARNOLD
CAROLYN ARNOLD is an international bestselling and award-winning
author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She
has four continuing fiction series—Detective Madison Knight, Brandon
Fisher FBI, McKinley Mysteries, and Matthew Connor Adventures—and has
written nearly thirty books. Her genre diversity offers her readers
everything from cozy to hard-boiled mysteries, and thrillers to action
adventures.
Both her female detective and FBI profiler series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining, leading her to adopt the trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.
Carolyn was born in a small town and
enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big
city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive
imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to touch
the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and
empower.
She currently lives just west of Toronto
with her husband and beagle and is a member of Crime Writers of Canada
and Sisters in Crime.
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.
Right now, I have 2488 books on my Goodreads TBR. No matter how many books I read, the mountain grows taller and I am going through it…slowly. If I have the book, it stays, no matter what. I’m adding tags that I never even thought about doing at the time I added the book. It would have been so much easier if I had done it then.
The shift is coming. Soon. Dr. David Carter knows this. However, he’s a geologist, so ‘soon’ means anywhere from tomorrow to a thousand years from now. People are dying. Now. Drs. Jordan Abellard and Jillian Brookwood are standing at the edge of SuperAIDS. Or are they? They won’t be able to figure it out if they can’t get some authorization signed – and soon. But they’re peons and no one is paying attention. Whole species died at the last polar shift. 65 million years ago. Right now Dr. Becky Sorenson has some seriously mutated frogs in her lab. In L.A. Bees are making abnormal columns on the side of the freeways. In Georgia, birds are migrating out of season. It all makes a sick kind of sense when the doctors consider that the last magnetic shift is strangely coincidental to the dinosaur die-out. And the only similarity in the problems today is that each is occurring in a ‘hotspot’ – a pocket of reverse polarity tells them all them all the shift is already here.
I added this back on 10.2.12. This Amazon freebie has a cool cover. Reading the blurb again makes me feel this will be a good fit for me and I am really curious about the ‘shift.’
“TURNER BARELY PAUSES FOR BREATH IN THIS EXCITING THRILL RIDE.”
—Publisher’s Weekly
One-and-a-half billion dollars vanishes out of a numbered account into a cyberspace maze. But the thief who stole it lies dead on the tracks of Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway, his access codes having perished with him.
If it were simply a matter of missing money, the United States would not be concerned. But a Hong Kong crime boss named Dragon Head wants the money to fund an army of hackers, one of whom has already penetrated America’s GPS network. The result: a midair collision that kills more than a thousand people.
With national security at stake, the Director of National Intelligence becomes very interested in the whereabouts of that money. He wants the funds to remain lost. But Dragon Head wants them found. And Colonel Aleksandr Talanov is caught in the middle.
Both sides believe Talanov knows where the money is. But Talanov doesn’t have a clue. So both sides threaten to kill his closest friends unless he locates and surrenders the money. It’s an impossible situation when impossible is not an option, because whatever choice Talanov makes, someone will die.
“Snappy dialogue … humor and heart … scenes crackling with life as Talanov races against the clock in this complex spy thriller that delivers charm and thrills.”
–John M. Murray, Foreword Reviews
“Dragon Head is an explosive story packed with plenty of action and excitement. Like all good spy stories, it’s unclear exactly what everyone is up to and who can actually be trusted. Facing threats on all sides, Talanov is a great hero to follow, tough and quick to dive into the action, but also smart and more than capable of outmaneuvering his enemies. Dragon Head is an exhilarating story that tackles contemporary issues … a top-notch thriller.”
–Erin Britton, The Manhattan Book Review
Book Details:
Genre: Action Thriller Published by: Regis Books Publication Date: May 1, 2020 Number of Pages: ISBN: 978-0958666497 Series: Aleksandr Talanov Thriller #4 Purchase Links:Amazon, Goodreads
Read an excerpt:
CHAPTER 1
Wu Chee Ming looked anxiously behind him. Where were they? Who were they? When would they strike? An attack in a crowded street like this would be over in seconds. A silenced pistol. A knife. A needle. Death would be quick and the assassin would vanish. One face in an ocean of faces.
He was not even sure they were onto him. In fact, they probably weren’t. He had taken extreme care over the last few months to make sure his movements went undetected.
One does not seek what one does not see.
It was a proverb that guided his every move.
And yet, in spite of his meticulous planning, he had to proceed as if they had noticed, which was why he had chosen Lan Kwai Fong, a small, bustling tourist district in the heart of Hong Kong, to make his escape. The narrow streets of Lan Kwai Fong were perfect for what he was planning. Flashing neon. Music. Thousands of people surging in and out of nightclubs and restaurants. The perfect place to disappear.
The perfect place to be killed.
The proverb, however, held the secret to his survival; namely, that the best place to hide is often in plain sight. That people usually do not notice what is right in front of them. Hence, his choice to pass through Lan Kwai Fong each night on his way home from work, so his being here tonight would not attract any undue attention.
Suddenly, an elbow caught him in the chest and knocked him into a group of Chinese girls texting one another. They were holding their phones so close their eyes glistened with light from the tiny screens.
“Kàn tā!” one of them barked.
Wu Chee Ming pushed on.
Ahead, the street bent ninety degrees and sloped downhill for a short block before meeting D’Aguilar Street. Wu Chee Ming turned at the corner and threaded his way uphill along another street filled with partygoers. Within minutes, he reached a short flight of steps that branched away from the street. Taking the steps two at a time, he reached the top and began running along a darkened walkway that angled between a pair of highrise office towers. Before long, the sounds and smells of Lan Kwai Fong had receded into the distance.
Wu Chee Ming knew he would miss those sounds and smells. But at least he would be alive to remember them. He glanced behind but saw no one.
One does not seek what one does not see.
His survival hinged on the truth of that proverb, and yet if he truly believed it, why was he running? Why was he not relaxed in the knowledge that he was but another face in an ocean of faces?
Under normal conditions, Hong Kong was the perfect city in which to vanish. But these were not normal conditions. He was running from a crime boss who knew every inch of the island. A crime boss with eyes and ears everywhere. A crime boss so skilled in the art of death that some people considered it an honor to die by his hand. Dexter Moran was his name, although no one dared address him that way. To everyone in Hong Kong and the New Territories, he was known as Dragon Head, and he was the supreme leader of the Shí bèi organized crime society, which was based in the Zhongzhen Martial Arts Academy.
The name “Dragon Head” was actually a title that had been seized by Moran in the same manner a lion becomes the alpha male of his pride: by defeating or killing his rivals. And not just known rivals, but anyone suspected of being a threat. Which was why Wu Chee Ming had chosen to run. He wanted to make sure he was not among them.
Ahead, beside a tree, was an old bicycle. Wu Chee Ming had purchased it from a repair shop with instructions that it be placed beside the tree this afternoon. It had a basket above the front fender and a tiny dome bell on the handlebar. Lifting the bike onto the path, Wu Chee Ming walked it to an intersecting walkway, where he turned left, jumped on, and began pedaling. In less than a minute he emerged onto a busy street.
Like New York, Hong Kong was a city that never slept. Even at this late hour, cars filled the streets and the sidewalks were gorged with people. A few dings on his bell caused pedestrians to stop long enough for him to bicycle across the sidewalk and into the bicycle lane, where he turned left and began pedaling with the flow of traffic. He kept pace for two blocks, then cut across to the other side of the street, where he began pedaling with the flow of traffic in the other direction. He bicycled past noodle bars, restaurants, and retail outlets offering everything from designer clothing to electronics, phone cards, and cosmetics. Before long, he turned down a side street and raced to the next corner, where he turned right and raced to the next corner, where he turned again. The zigzag pattern took him away from the neon madness of the tourist district and into Hong Kong’s shadowed side streets.
Within twenty minutes, Wu Chee Ming had made his way to a four-story apartment building in a rundown part of Wan Chai. Unlike the glamour and polish of the financial precinct where he worked, this part of town was stained with the gloom of poverty. There were no gleaming office towers of tinted glass. No stepped terraces with architectural flourishes. The buildings were rectangular and squat. Rust and soot were the predominant colors.
Leaning his bicycle against a metal roller door, Wu Chee Ming entered a darkened stairwell and dashed up a flight of steps. There were no lights in the stairwell because Wu Chee Ming had broken the bulbs. No one must remember his face to anyone asking questions. And there would be questions, and Dragon Head would be asking them. By that time, however, he would be long gone, which meant Dragon Head would have no choice but to hunt down the only other person who could give him answers. That person was former KGB colonel Aleksandr Talanov. Talanov, of course, would have no answers because he would not know what had happened. Torture would be employed, and Dragon Head would be merciless, but Talanov would not be able to reveal what he did not know. Yes, Talanov was a walking dead man, while he, Wu Chee Ming, was about to become a ghost.
***
***
Excerpt from Dragon Head by James Houston Turner. Copyright 2020 by James Houston Turner. Reproduced with permission from James Houston Turner. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
Winner of numerous awards, including “Best Thriller,” bestselling author James Houston Turner is known for his Aleksandr Talanov series of spy novels. Talanov the fictional character was inspired by the actual KGB agent who once leaked word out of Moscow that James was on a KGB watchlist for his smuggling activities behind the old Iron Curtain. “His act of heroism – he could have been executed for what he did – gave me the idea of a good-guy KGB agent who became a spy for America,” Turner explains.
A native of Kansas, James Houston Turner has been writing since he was ten. After earning his bachelor’s degree from Baker University, he moved to Texas, where he earned his master’s degree from the University of Houston (Clear Lake). He then headed west to California, where his love of writing turned into a profession with publication of The Spud Book: 101 Ways to Cook Potatoes. Publisher’s Weekly called it “A cookbook with ap-peel.” Between TV cooking tours, he worked as a journalist at the famed Los Angeles Union Rescue Mission, where he revised their magazine, Lifeline, from a needs-based ministry appeal to a collection of interviews from the streets about changed lives. Those interviews included numerous victims of human trafficking. The magazine won several awards.
During this time, James also worked as a smuggler into Soviet-occupied Eastern Europe, where he transported tons of food, clothing, Bibles, and medical supplies, to needy hospitals and churches. While there, he interviewed many heroes of death camps, gulags, Siberian exile, persecution, illness, hardship, and torture, including assassination squads.
James is also a cancer survivor after doctors in Australia removed a tumor the size of an orange from his face. “I was told if I lived eighteen months I would probably live to be one hundred. That was in 1991, so I am happy to report I am well on my way toward that goal. These experiences continue to influence my storytelling, whether in novels, or, now, in film. My stories are ‘overcomer stories,’ because that’s what I’ve had to do, and is why I want my stories to leave people with the same hope and faith that strengthened me.”
As a self-published author who made the deliberate choice away from traditional avenues, he has accomplished what he calls “the writer’s dream” with a film option on one of his novels, Greco’s Game. He is also one of a small handful of writers who can function both as a novelist and a screenwriter, with two of his screenplays having also been optioned, with production on his projects scheduled to begin in 2020.
After nearly twenty years in Australia, James and his wife, Wendy, now live in Austin, Texas.
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Enter To Win!:
This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for James Houston Turner. There will be 7 winners. One (1) winner will receive an Amazon.com Gift Card. Six (6) winners will receive DRAGON HEAD by James Houston Turner (print). The giveaway begins on May 1, 2020 and runs through June 2, 2020. Open to U.S. addresses only. Void where prohibited.
Secret societies, hidden tablets, unbreakable codes, remote viewing, immortality…from a crumbling bridge over a deep crevasse in United States to a jungle in Burma, and to Egypt for a magical elixir, this was a wild Indiana Jones type of mystery that kept me ‘flipping pages’.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Maverick archeologist Dr. Sky Wilder has never proven any of his controversial fringe theories — until now. When he breaks what had been an impenetrable code, he unearths a long-buried Egyptian stone tablet in Arizona’s Red Rock country. Whoever possesses all three hidden tablets holds the key to locate an ancient alchemical text containing a formula for physical immortality. The bodies pile up as Wilder finds himself caught between opposing covert agencies and secret brotherhoods that have been warring for centuries. Tasked with keeping Sky Wilder alive at all costs, Diana Hunt, the U.S. military’s most accurate remote viewer – a psychic spy – knows that the players in this deadly game are not what they appear to be. As the trail leads to Asia and with a political assassination looming, Sky and Diana confront powerful forces of Nature and Man as they unravel the conspiracies and expose the true unseen forces behind their opponents – and allies. “A real page-turner rivaling The Da Vinci Code.” — Phenomena Magazine “A spellbinding thriller that will keep you riveted well past midnight” — The St. Louis Post-Dospatch
ABOUT ED KOVACS
ED KOVACS is the author of six novels, including the critically-acclaimed Detective Cliff St. James series set in New Orleans, post-killer hurricane.
LOCKED DOWN, Nicole Grant #1, is now available as an e-book at most of the online retailers.
“When a former NSA analyst is targeted for assassination by rogue elements of the Chinese and U.S. governments, shes forced to team with a renegade CIA spy and fight back using technology to extract the ultimate form of justice. The tension and suspense locks in on the first page and doesnt let up until the last.”
I am new to audiobooks and it took me a very long time to listen to the entire book. I feel my review may not reflect my true feelings about the story, because of my brain wanting to wander all the time. Anyway….
I did spend a lot of time laughing, especially with the dialogue. Jonathon Cook did an awesome job with the narration. He had me laughing my head off with Bob’s accent and made it easy to determine who was talking. Tegon Maus has created an interesting storyline and the missing girl is much more than she seems. Peter Anderson’s search for her leads him on a wild adventure, filled with danger and new friends.
I voluntarily reviewed a free ecopy of the audible for Bob by Tegon Maus.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
After 27 years as a newspaper man, Peter Anderson’s career is slipping away, at least it was, until he stumbled upon the story of a lifetime. Sent to do a fluff piece about lights in the night sky over Arizona, he discovers far more than he ever expected when he comes upon a mysterious young woman held prisoner in a basement. After helping her to escape, she disappears before he can learn the truth about who she is or where she came from. His search for her leads him back to the lights in the sky and leaves him with more questions than answers. The only thing he knows for certain . . . the only thing he can count on are the two words offered repeatedly by his friend and guide . . . “IS BELT.”
ABOUT TEGON MAUS
I was raised pretty much the same as everyone else… devoted mother, strict father and all the imaginary friends I could conjure.
The first thing
I can remember writing was for my wife. For the life of me I can’t remember
what it was about… something about dust bunnies under the bed and monsters in
my closet. It must have been pretty good because she married me shortly after
that. I spent a good number of years chasing other dreams before I got back to
writing.
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