Shadow Flight by Christine Feehan Book Trailer

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4 May 2020

Sheltering In With Desiree Holt

Hi, everyone

Hope you all are staying safe and not going stir crazy. I live alone, although my wonderful son made sure I was loaded up with enough supplies to last for two months! Since I live by myself it hasn’t been too big a change, although I do miss getting out and seeing my friends. But I Skype or Facetime with my kids, which helps.

So what have I been doing?

Well, first of all, since my exercise class at the Y is obviously cancelled, I was lucky that Alan, in charge of the classes, made this great video so we can follow along. I set up my iPad every morning and exercise for 45 minutes. At least it gets my blood flowing, right? And my cats love to line up and watch, praying I don’t make them do it with me.

I’ve been getting a lot of writing done. Working on the first book in a new series, Galaxy. I have three cats and my smallest one, Bast, has declared herself my co-author. You can see how she takes her place on the desk! And also giving you a glimpse of my Bast at computer work area, which has a lot of memorabilia on the shelves—souvenirs from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!), gifts from wonderful readers and friends, and copies of all the books I’ve written that made it into print.

I’ve also been binge watching television especially old movies. I’ve seen Sleepless in Seattle seven times, Rear window twice, Clear and Present Danger eight times. (I think I’m in love with Harrison Ford.) Pretty soon I’ll have the dialogue memorized. I also binge watched the first two seasons of Chicago Fire, most of which I somehow missed, and now I am watching twelve seasons of Heartland. Who knew it was such a great series? And with hunky guys, too!

My wonderful friend, former SEAL Jack Carr, released his third best seller so Mitch Rapp the Bear (named after a Vince Flynn character) and I read the book.

Spending a fair amount of time on social media, but love keeping in touch with people.

For the past eleven years I have paid little attention to what I fed myself, opting for the easiest to just shove in my mouth and fill my stomach so I didn’t starve. But now I am actually experimenting with different recipes and finding that I am enjoying it. Well, sort of! LOL!

I also play music on my iPad (I have Amazon Prime as well as iTunes) and I can sing along as loud as I want. Why is this PAKW Tactical Gear Giveaway graphic so special? Because my voice is so offkey, when my kids were very young and I’d sing they’d run around the house with their hands over their ears and say, “Mommy please don’t sing.” You should hear me belt out “Do you know the way to San Jose?”

In the midst of it all, I had a dental emergency. BY the time I was properly dressed to go out I felt like an extra in Outbreak with Dustin Hoffman.

Zero-Hour

Oh, and I also released a new book, ZERO HOUR, Book #2, Heroes Rising. Available on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited.

So stay safe, wash your hands, and know that this, too, shall pass.

Desiree Holt

Holly’s Book Review: Remnants of Zone Four

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3 May 2020

Remnants of Zone Four Chronicles Box Set by N.G. Simsion

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love this entire series! It’s action-packed and full of twists and turns that you don’t see coming. In this story, we meet Zero, Lefty, Root, and a bunch of other characters. Each of them grew up in a secluded town where they lived, worked, and didn’t leave the fence line. Why? because there are Remnants from the old world. The black saliva drooling, neck biting, crazy zombies that will attack you if you leave. There is nothing left of the world before. There are only secluded cities that are run by the Elite. They don’t live in the cities they live outside in their own little towns. However, when Root starts to question certain things, Lefty and Zero become curious. When Root is taken to Exile, things become more exciting. Lefty knows he has to get out of the city and Zero won’t let him go alone. What follows is a nail-biting adventure that you soon won’t forget. Things get turn upside down, not everything is as it seems, and the truth is revealed. What would you do if everything you were taught growing up was a lie? So go grab this book and happy reading my friends!

View all my reviews – Reviews by Holly Irish

Book Summary:
Fans of series like The Maze Runner, The Hunger Games, and Divergent will love N.G. Simsion.

Zero prefers to keep his life simple. Although he is easily one of the largest and cleverest boys in his year, he runs from any sign of confrontation. His best friend—his only friend—is nothing like him. Obsessed with the world outside of the city walls, Lefty is always pushing the boundaries set by society’s Elite. It’s only a matter of time before they have gone too far and they’re forced to face the horrors of the “old world” on their own. Can they survive and learn to coexist with the dangerous Remnants of the old world? Are the Remnants of the old world even the worst of their problems, or do the Elite of their own society pose an even greater threat?

How to Organize Your Books When You Don’t Have Much Space

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3 May 2020

How to Organize Your Books When You Don’t Have Much Space
By Guest Blogger Brooke Chaplan

There is nothing like curling up with a good book to help you relax. However, it is not always easy to store your books when your collection is endless and your space is limited. The following tips can help you organize your books when you do not have much space.

Recliner with Storage Arms

A recliner with storage arms is a great addition to your reading area. You can use the storage arms for small books, book lights and bookmarks. This works for keeping your smaller books and accessories in one spot. The recliner also provides a comfortable place to get lost in your book. Imagine opening your recliner and stretching out for a few chapters.

Bench with Storage

Another option is a bench with storage. The bench may feature a seat that opens into storage or a shelf below the seat. Use the storage area to organize the books you read the most or plan to read soon. You can place them in several stacks if there is enough space in the storage area. When you place a stylish cushion on your bench, it turns into a window seat for your reading area.

Floating Shelves

If you cannot add any extra seating to your home, consider floating shelves. You can install as many floating shelves as you need for your books, which creates more floor space while making it easier to categorize your books. If you are worried about the weight of your books, invest in sturdy shelves with durable floating shelf brackets.

Storage Ottoman

A storage ottoman is a great idea because it comes in several sizes to fit your space. For example, you can invest in a small ottoman to save space while storing books for your child. It is also a multipurpose piece for your living room or reading nook. When you are not opening your ottoman to find a book, it can double as a footstool, seating arrangement or coffee table.

Vintage Crates

If you have unused space throughout your home, make the most of it by storing your books in vintage crates. You can place one vintage crate on your counter for cookbooks, as well as another crate of books in the play area for your child. If you have unused space on a shelf, table or in a corner, you have a place to store a small crate of books.

Whether you are adding a new piece or maximizing unused space, you can easily create storage for your books in a small home.

Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan

Book Review: Wedded to War

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2 May 2020

Wedded to War by Jocelyn Green. Heroines Behind the Lines: Civil War #1.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I finally got the chance to read the first book! I was so excited and I wasn’t disappointed. I wondered how it all started. Now I know where some of the characters come from and what they went through. It all ties together. This story is amazing. I love Charlotte, she’s strong, independent, and walks her own path. She doesn’t want society’s approval of her or her destiny. Even her “beloved” would like her to be more gentile, submissive, and a true lady of society. Yet, Charlotte has other plans. She likes to help, she likes to be part of the action even if it means leaving behind a life of luxury and ease. If you like historical fiction that has some truth to it, this is a great book to read! Happy Reading my friends.

View all my reviews – Reviews by Holly Irish

Book Summary:
A Christy Award-nominated title for best new author.

When war erupted, she gave up a life of privilege for a life of significance.

Tending to the army’s sick and wounded meant leading a life her mother does not understand and giving up a handsome and approved suitor. Yet Charlotte chooses a life of service over privilege, just as her childhood friend had done when he became a military doctor. She soon discovers that she’s combating more than just the rebellion by becoming a nurse.

Will the two men who love her simply stand by and watch as she fights her own battles? Or will their desire for her wage war on her desire to serve God?

Wedded to War is a work of fiction, but the story is inspired by the true life of Civil War nurse Georgeanna Woolsey. Woolsey’s letters and journals, written over 150 years ago, offer a thorough look at what pioneering nurses endured. This is the first in the series Heroines Behind the Lines: Civil War, a collection of novels that highlights the crucial contributions made by women during times of war.

SHELTERING IN WITH JEFFREY CARVER

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2 May 2020

https://www.starrigger.net/books/chaos/the-reefs-of-time/

SHELTERING IN WITH JEFFREY CARVER

Quarantined!

Well, not really—we’re still healthy—but here at the Star Rigger Ranch (named for my stories set in the Star Rigger Universe), we’re taking lockdown seriously. For me, it’s not so different; I work from home, anyway. But now I have a coworker, in the person of my wife Allysen, who has taken up station at her rolling computer desk next to my rolling computer desk, both in the dining room. Technically I could go upstairs to my office, but we like hanging out together, so sometimes I stick with my laptop in the common room with one wife, two dogs, and a dangerously close refrigerator. Today, we’re looking out the window at a dark, blustery, rainy Boston day.

I’m a science fiction writer who tends to write long, and slow. Under the current circumstances, I’m finding it harder than usual to work on my novel-in-progress, but I have plenty of other work to do: getting new audiobooks up, finishing new tree-editions of books out of print in their original editions, writing blog posts, etc. My collaborators are all online, in various parts of the world, and somehow we get the work done.

For some reason, my wife and I have become obsessed with keeping the house stocked with chocolate-chip-oatmeal cookies, based on a recipe I cribbed, and then changed, from a Quaker Oats box. Looks like we picked the wrong week to try to lose weight! Alas, more evenings than I care to admit have found me in front of the oven, scooping out fresh batches of cookies. Wait, here’s a batch now, not unnoticed:

Chocolate-chip-oatmeal cookies

Entertainment is a key component of staying sane, when the only trips out are for groceries or to walk the dogs. We started early bingeing on plague movies: Outbreak, The Andromeda Strain, Cassandra Crossing, Contagion. That last one was too freaking realistic, and we decided to move on.

We segued to finally watching Star Trek Discovery, which we had resisted on account of being too cheap to subscribe just for one program. I picked up DVDs of McDuff and Captain Jack the first two seasons, and as of this writing, we’ve just finished Season One. To be honest, as die-hard Trek fans, we have mixed feelings about Discovery. Visually stunning, with some great actors and characters. I’ll watch Michelle Yeoh in anything, and Sonequa Martin-Green is a wonderful lead. The writing and storytelling we loved somewhat less, with weird-looking Klingons, too many muddled motivations, hard-to-believe elements, and dumb plot points. (My favorite, paraphrased: “Starbase One is a hundred astronomical units from Earth, and over a light-year away, and all we have is warp drive, so I don’t see how we can get there.” Uhhh… did the writer of those lines ever watch Star Trek? Or have any understanding of what those words meant? Sigh. Still, we remember, classic Trek had plenty of bad plots, and Next Generation took three seasons to gel, so… on we boldly go, where no Federation citizen that we’re aware of has gone before!

Star Trek: Picard will be next, when we’re done with Discovery.

Oh, I could easily slip into couch-potato’ing day and night, catching up on all the stuff I’ve been meaning to watch! No, no, that way lies madness. I’ll be really mad at myself if I do that.

What’s been the hardest thing? Besides not seeing friends, except on Zoom? Doing my taxes. Ugh. And I can’t even blame the coronavirus for that. But they’re done now. Better have a margarita and make some cookies to celebrate!

Wait. I already did that.

But look, the sky has cleared! Just in time for the sunset.

Carver-ReefsofTime1400x2100

My newest work is a two-volume novel! The Reefs of Time and Crucible of Time continue the story told in The Chaos Chronicles—after an eleven-year writing odyssey! (I told you I write slowly. But with this, I outdid myself.)

My work explores a realm somewhere between hard science fiction and space opera, with reluctant heroes, interesting aliens and robots, plenty of humor, and believable female and male characters.

ABOUT JEFFREY:
Jeffrey A. Carver is the author of The Chaos Chronicles, including his recently published two-part novel, The Reefs of Time and Crucible of Time. He is also the author of the popular Star Rigger series and the official Battlestar Galactica miniseries novelization. While his work lands somewhere between hard SF and space opera, his greatest love remains character, story, and a healthy sense of wonder. His Eternity’s End was a finalist for the Nebula Award.

Carver has taught writing in a variety of settings, from educational television to conferences to MIT. He lives in the Boston area.
Visit his website and blog, and learn more about his books, at https://www.starrigger.net. Or visit him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jeffrey.a.carver.

Buy his latest two-part novel! Available in print and ebook. Choose your favorite store and format:

https://www.starrigger.net/books/chaos/crucible-of-time/

The Caitlin Strong Series Book Trailer

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1 May 2020

A series by thriller author Jon Land.

Fifth-generation Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong pursues justice the Ranger

way in this mystery thriller series.

Find out more at http://www.jonlandbooks.com/

Strong from the Heart https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765384706

SHELTERING IN WITH ABIGAIL KEAM

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1 May 2020

SHELTERING IN WITH ABIGAIL KEAM

Hello everyone. Like all of you, I am staying inside and working on those projects I have put off for so long. In the mornings, I stay pinned to my computer writing my next 1930s Mona Moon Mystery. I have to write when I am fresh or just forget it, but in the afternoon I am a ferocious cleaner. My floors have never looked so good. Currently I am working on my fifth book in the Mona Moon Mystery Series. I adore writing about the 1930s, which was very similar politically and financially to what is currently happening. I love weaving real events and people into my storylines, and try to make everything in the mysteries as accurate as possible, even down to the food they ate and undergarments they wore during this time period. I based Mona’s looks on the 1930s movie star, Jean Harlow, with her famous platinum hair.

I was very fortunate that Murder Under A Blue Moon was so well received by readers like you. It was even named one of the top ten best mystery reads by Kings River Life Magazine.

Currently, the first Mona Moon Mystery – Murder Under A Blue Moon – is on sale. You can go to my landing page and order from your favorite paysite: http://www.abigailkeam.com/books/murder-under-a-blue-moon/ or straight to Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QBD2NPC

FIVE STARS! – READERS’ FAVORITE

“Murder Under A Blue Moon: 1930s Mona Moon Mysteries Book 1 by Abigail Keam is a most delightful novel. Author Abigail Keam shows off her gift for fantastic descriptions and vivid characterization with the classic setting that revolves around the Moon mansion. Mona is the epitome of strong female characterization as she balances her free-thinking, trouser-wearing independence with the softer side of an alluring woman of fashion and wealth. Readers of this mystery will love this book and eagerly await the next installation of the Mona Moon Mystery series.“

FIVE STARS! – MJB REVIEWS

“The characters are well rounded and well developed. The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The author seems very knowledgeable about this time period and that lent an authenticity to this book and kept me fully engaged. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted mystery. If you enjoy reading about past eras, grab this book.”

Murder Under A Blue Moon

Murder Under A Blood Moon

Murder Under A Bad Moon

Murder Under A Silver Moon

Murder Under A Wolf Moon (Coming Soon)

About Abigail:
Abigail Keam is an award-winning author who writes the Josiah Reynolds Mystery Series about a female beekeeper turned
amateur sleuth, the sweet Last Chance for Love Romance Series, and the Princess Maura Tales series.

The Sweetie Jar Book Trailer

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30 April 2020

The Sweetie Jar a book by Venell Mitchell.

This book is targeted primarily at younger children, but will certainly be enjoyed by

older ones as well, and even parents and guardians alike. This is a book to which most

children could relate, in that, sweets, sweeties or candies – by whichever name they

are known – are well liked by children the world over. As they read the story, or, in

some instances, the story is read to them, their imagination will come alive as they

see their favourite sweets come to life as they speak from within the sweetie jar.

This book is vividly creative, and one that every child would enjoy and treasure.

SHELTERING IN WITH SADIE & SOPHIE CUFFE

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30 April 2020