$25 GC – Descendants Of The Big House by C Vanzale Lewis @xpressotours #cvanzalelewis #descendantsofthebighouse

Posted on October 18, 2025 by fundinmental

Descendants of the Big House
C. Vonzale Lewis
(A Horde of Dead Poets)
Publication date: October 14th 2025
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fantasy, Mystery

Beatrice Monroe is still getting used to the knowledge that she was born a champion for Good and Evil. She spends her days combing through her great grandmother’s journals trying to find answers to what this newfound ability means for her as a member of law enforcement.

When a woman walks into her precinct claiming her aunt was murdered, Beatrice discovers a link between their families that may just have the answers she needs. But those answers are not easy to find. Because this mystery’s roots are buried in the past with five young girls and what they gave birth to…in The Big House.

Descendants of the Big House is a standalone installment in A Horde of Dead Poets collection featuring seven authors and their stories inspired by famous literary poems. If you often find yourself steering toward a dark, mysterious, isolated location; if family curses haunt you and unreliable narrators keep you in suspense, you won’t want to miss a single volume in this gripping collection.

Perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, Simone St. James, Stephen King, and Shirley Jackson.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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EXCERPT:

“I think somebody did something,” Mr. Taylor announced suddenly, voice raised. “My wife, my children. Not right. Not right at all.” He started crying. “I can’t convince anybody to listen to me.”

I got up and kneeled by his chair. “I’m listening, Mr. Elijah.” It didn’t dawn on me that I might have overstepped. The pain in his plea just pulled at me. I understood the feeling of being lost so well, growing up in a home filled with abuse and no one listening to my own cries for help.

He looked down at me. “I appreciate that. You find ’em. You find the one that took my Mary. She was the only woman I ever loved. And our children. Godsend. No matter what that man told her at the crossroads.”

“What man?” I asked, my blood running cold. Of course, I knew what man he was referring to, but I didn’t dare say it out loud.

He flapped his hand in the air again.

I looked at Gautier and dipped my head toward my bag. I didn’t want to upset him further, but I needed to confirm what I already suspected. Mary had met Papa Sin at the crossroads.

Gautier pulled out the book Odette gave us, still in an evidence bag, and came over and gave it to me. I pulled it out and Mr. Taylor gasped.

“Get that evil book out of my house!” He tried to get to his feet and ended up falling back in the chair. I straightened and, after thrusting the book at Gautier, helped Mr. Elijah right himself.

“What’s wrong, Daddy?” Cherie asked, rushing over. “What evil?” She looked at the book. “I don’t understand what’s going on, but it’s upsetting my daddy.”

“I’m sorry about that, ma’am. But your sister Natalie sent this book to Odette along with a letter claiming she was going to…” I looked down at Mr. Taylor. His eyes were wild.

“She swore she’d gotten rid of that book. She swore.” He let out a sob. “That man told her she’d birth evil. That twins were broken.” He caved in on himself, chest heaving as he cried.

“I better take him to his room,” Cherie said, her face filled with concern.

Gautier got up and helped her take him in the back. I stood there berating myself for upsetting him. I shouldn’t have asked about the book. But I had to get answers, right?

Author Bio:

Carla Vonzale Lewis likes her martini’s shaken…never stirred. Though she was born in Georgia, please don’t mistake her for a Georgia peach. She’s more like a prickly pear. Speaking of being born, someone asked her recently if she remembered her birth, and all she had to say was, “Yes, I do remember that handsy doctor pulling me out into the cold. Right Bastard!!!”

Despite being born in the South, she grew up in the North. California to be exact. And every once in a great while, she gets to experience all four seasons. But mostly, it’s just heat.

Her debut novel, LINEAGE, was released July 16, 2019 and she fully intends to ride that joy for the rest of her life.

When she’s not concocting her next contemporary fantasy story, she enjoys reading, binge watching shows on Netflix, and trying to convince her husband that getting a dog is a wonderful idea.

Website / Facebook / Instagram / Bookbub / Pinterest

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The Extraordinary Journey of Vivenne Marshall by Shannon Kirk @ShannonCKirk

Posted on December 14, 2016 by fundinmental

Shannon Kirk’s award winning debut novel, Method 15/33, blew me away…so when I saw The Extraordinary Journey of Vivienne Marshall was available on Netgalley, I snagged it. Thank you Shannon Kirk and Reputation Books.

Such a gorgeous cover and I do hope I am walking on clouds when it’s over.

Book Design: Lisa Abellera

Ebook Design: Mary C Moore

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Be careful…when you are texting. Your inattention could be the death of you.

Vivienne lay hovering on the brink of death, one foot in the land of the living and one foot with the dead.

Noah, her dead, dream husband explains it to her. The scene made me think of a Supernatural episode, where Castielle says our Heaven is of our own making.

Is there a Heaven? Does our life pass before our eyes?

What would it look like? Who would you want there with you?

What secrets would be brought to light after your death?

And if there is a Heaven…what about Hell?

The lovely pics sprinkled throughout are a nice touch and I love it.

I am sitting in one of my favorite reading places, my patio and watering the lawn, even as the black clouds roll in, the thunder rumbling, and I am lost in Vivienne’s world, unable to quit reading.

Shannon’s descriptive words draw me into this novel from the opening pages, her poetic words bring to life fantasy worlds full of vibrant colors, beauty and love, but the flowery prose becomes onerous for me, having me starting, stopping and rereading, but that is me. I think there are many readers who will LOVE it and get lost in the story too.

This Heavenly love story is tragic, yet hopeful and very thought provoking.

I voluntarily reviewed a free ARC copy of The Extraordinary Journey of Vivienne Marshall from Shannon Kirk.

4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB: What if you could choose your heaven now? Go on a celestial shopping trip of sorts? Thirty-five-year-old Vivienne does just that, as she lies dying in the ICU; a fatal walk into the path of a truck. In her final week of life, Vivienne treks through the Heavens of a priest, a best friend, a homeless child, and a lover who never was. Vivienne’s guardian angel, Noah, who may just be her soul mate, escorts her through selections of Heavens and through the confusion Vivienne experiences as she flounders between a doubt of life and the certainty of death. Although her visits to varied afterlives provide peace and beauty, choosing proves not so easy: Vivienne’s love for her young son and her earthly father pull her from her colorful journey—and from her divine love of Noah.

The nature of love, the variety and magic of life, unending hope, and the importance of saying goodbye are central to this uplifting tale.

ABOUT SHANNON KIRK

Shannon has been honored three times by the Faulkner Society in the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition for her works The Extraordinary Journey of Vivienne Marshall (2012 finalist), Method 15/33 (2013 finalist), and Impossibility of Interplanetary Love (2014 short-list finalist). When not practicing law, Shannon writes in her free time. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and son.

Shannon writes in several genres: literary fiction, suspense/thriller, and young adult.

Shannon is a member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America.

Website / Twitter

You can see my Giveaways HERE.
You can see my Reviews HERE.
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My review for Method 15/33

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Teaser Tuesday #86 – Christmas Magic by Kathryn Meyer Griffith @KathrynG64

Posted on December 13, 2016 by fundinmental

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday hosted by The Purple Booker, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR, or just share what you are currently reading. It is very easy to play along:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

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I come from a family of six children, so I can relate to Kathryn Meyer Griffith’s tale…to a degree…

I love her writing, so by sharing this with you at this time of year…I think it will show the power of love.

Such a sweet cover…

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Christmas Eve

You know Kathryn Meyer Griffith’s memories and feelings run deep, because her first novel, Evil Stalks The Night, is the story’s setting inspired by her family home.

Christmas Magic brought to mind many memories of my own. As child, I too was fascinated when I would awake in the morning and the world is blanketed in snow. I too loved visiting my Grandmother’s house, which was just down the road. It was like a mini vacation. I remember making paper and popcorn chains for the Christmas tree.

It is no surprise to me that Kathryn Meyer Griffith became a prolific writer, with her smarts, photographic memory and love of reading.

She may not have had much money, but she had lots of love.

What a vision…all nine of the family piling into the car and to Grandma’s house we go. They actually drove over the river and through the woods.

A heartwarming short story, with the highest highs and the lowest lows, love, happiness, sadness, giving and sharing…the human cycle.

4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB: Have you ever wondered what a writer’s early years were like and how it affected their future writing and the stories they would tell later in their lives? Have you ever wondered what their childhood Christmases, their early holidays, were like? Well, wonder no longer. This story is about one of my most cherished childhood Christmases…in 1959 when I was nine years old. After my beloved musician/singer/songwriter brother Jim passed away in 2015 from cancer I felt an intense need to write this short story about that special Christmas Eve I shared with him, my other siblings, mother, father and grandparents, and put it out there for everyone to read as a tribute to him and my family. This is my story, part of my childhood, and some of my fondest memories. Note: in the late 1970’s I did a series of illustrated (by me, because I’m an artist, too) short stories for my local newspaper and I’ve used one of my old drawings from 1978 for the first page of this short story.