Thursday, July 28, 2022

Read an Excerpt of Discovery of the Five Senses: The Urban Boys Book 1 by K.N. Smith

 


A thrill-ride through the senses of five friends on a mysterious adventure…

By K.N. Smith



Welcome or unwelcome. Fate has arrived.

“A captivating and poetic tale of mystery, fantasy, and reality tied together by action!” 5-stars, Lars Jackson, Amazon Customer

A suspenseful incident in a forbidden preserve heightens the senses of five friends. Sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell become super-gifts that forever change the world. But furious battles confront the boys as they try to understand their sensory super powers in a race to save mankind. With light beings and mysterious strangers complicating their plight, can the boys defeat the evil Druth before it’s too late? Get prepared for the twisting and grinding of this award-winning, action-adventure story — an edge-of-your-seat narrative for young and mature readers alike.

“Brilliantly crafted and written!” – Megan King, Indie Book Reviewers

“An energetic adventure debut with stellar action sequences. Smith’s writing is intelligent and often lyrical. Her exuberant prose never fails to dazzle.” – Kirkus Media

“Author K.N. Smith uses her mastery of the written word to weave an entrancing, yet powerful tale of adventure that keeps you turning pages in an unquenchable desire to find out what happens next.” – Publishers Daily Reviews

Book Information

Release Date: September 29, 2015

Publisher: Two Petals Publishing

Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-0989474757; 340 pages; $12.95; E-Book, $2.99

Available for Purchase in Paperback & Kindle at www.books2read.com/knsmith.






FROM CHAPTER 3
 - Soft swirls of light rose, dissipating

as they spoke. 

“The others are capable, but they need our help.

Peace will not come easily. We must give them

strength.”

“Druth will destroy our home. He will hurt the gifted

ones if the nectar finds him.” 

“They will not survive him.”

“The others must seek the will for survival. They   

must understand their own power.”

A transient suspension held the beings in the

preserve. Faint flecks of light dotted the landscape.

“In these two worlds, our ideas converge, yet  

collide.”

“He must be stopped!”

“It is true.”

“Naculea must endure.”

“It is chosen.”

Now resting upon the succulent, running rich with the

life-giving nectar, the beings absorbed its energy,

glowing as bright as the sun. 

Thirst became a distant need yet again.

“We must warn… the one.”

“The one who sees.”

“The one who sees and hears much.”

“It is the only way.”

Final clicks faded into silence.












K.N. Smith, winner of the “Best of” in the category of “Outstanding Young Adult Novel” at the Jessie Redmon Fauset Book Awards, is an author and passionate advocate of literacy and arts programs throughout the world. Her lyrical flair sweeps across pages that twist and grind through action-adventure and urban fantasy in edge-of-your-seat narratives. K.N. has over twenty-five years’ experience in communications and creative design as an award-winning consultant. Reading is still her foremost hobby. K.N. inspires people of all ages to reach their highest potential in their creative, educational, and life pursuits.

Her latest book is the YA Action Adventure/YA Thriller/Urban Fantasy/Mystery/Thriller DISCOVERY OF THE FIVE SENSES (The Urban Boys Book 1).

You can visit her website at www.KNSmith.com or connect with her on Facebook.


GIVEAWAY!

K.N. Smith is giving away 4 ($25) Visa e-Cards!

Terms & Conditions:

  • By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
  • Four winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $25 Visa e-card.
  • This giveaway ends midnight August 31.
  • Winner will be contacted via email on September 1.
  • Winner has 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone!

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Sunday, July 24, 2022

đŸ“–Authors To Watch: Pam Kumpe Author of Summertime Sprinkler #authorstowatch #interview

 


 


Pam Kumpe struggled with confidence due to physical and verbal abuse as a child, and from repeated abuse during high school and college. As she grew older, she hid from the world and didn’t talk to many people. She stayed to herself. 

Pam didn’t know the Lord could use brokenness and turn it into a way to help others. Her books are designed to add strength to your life. To help you find your way. She hopes to remind you that you’re fearfully and wonderfully created in Christ.

Thankfully, God opened her eyes and heart to fight for freedom and to stand for truth, and He gave Pam beauty for ashes, the joy of a new day with peace. She credits the Lord with giving her a voice to encourage others who are broken.

As an author and speaker, she loves to laugh. To read. To write. To talk. Not necessarily in that order. But always in each day.

Pam writes mysteries, devotionals, ministry books, and children’s books. Each book she’s written gives way to hope, and peace, and reminds you to persevere. Her stories will take you on a road trip of the heart as she challenges you to make today count.

Pam has written an inspirational column for newspapers spanning 25 years and she’s volunteered for 11 years, teaching/holding a church service for ladies in drug/alcohol rehab. Before that, Pam served 24 years as a children’s church teacher, where her love for others grew with each lesson she’s taught. And Pam is involved in street ministry with the homeless when she’s not playing with her schnauzer, Shelby, or her grandson, Kade. 

Her latest book is the cozy mystery, Summertime Sprinkler.

You can visit her website at www.PamKumpe.com or connect with her at TwitterFacebook and Instagram.



We welcome you to My Bookish Pleasures! Can you tell us how you got started writing fiction?

Stories allow me the chance to disappear. And for years, I wrote for newspapers, from articles to columns. I wanted to take the reader to places I would go, to small towns, to orphanages, to old jails, to cemeteries, and I wanted the reader to meet my characters and to get to know them and their hearts. I wanted the reader to see what makes them push on, or break down, and what drives them to get up and try once more. I love a surprise too, and fiction allows me that opportunity to make the reader shake his or her head in disbelief at the unexpected. And it allows me a chance to share hope.

Describe your writing process. Do you plot or write by the seat of your pants? When and where do you write? 

Once I research the location and have my protagonist and antagonist, and maybe a couple of others in mind, and the scope of the plot; well, then I write by the seat of my pants. I’m always intrigued by how each chapter takes on a life, where my characters show me what and how the story unfolds. I write in my house, a makeshift office, and when I write the first draft, it’s every day for 90 days straight, to finish the book. Of course, plenty of editing follows, and plenty of excitement at the accomplishment of writing a book. I’m always surprised when I cry or laugh at the re-reading, it’s like I’ve never heard the story. 

Can you tell us about your most recent release? 

Summertime Sprinkler, my new book is for the weary traveler, where a collision of the heart is inevitable for Beth Bender, a talk show radio host. It’s been twenty years since the terrible horrible accident, but each year she gets the email with the reminder from Hudson Hinkle that she is at fault and to blame. Now the reason I’ve written this book is domestic violence awareness could help someone find freedom from abuse or give the rest of us a chance to help someone we know who is trapped. It’s a book of hope, but not without the trials.

How did you get the idea for the book?

With the rise in voices speaking about abuse and suffering, and with the many women, I’ve met who endured domestic violence, my high school journey of dating included physical abuse and control, which could have left me dead more than once. I longed to give women or anyone the strength to find freedom from such a life.

Of all your characters, which one is your favorite? Why?

I love the small boy in the book, Colt, and I’m sure it’s because I’m a grandmother of a boy of near the same age. Plus, some of Colt’s endearing personality at speaking the truth, showing kindness, and being filled with joy reminds me of my grandson’s attributes. Youngsters have a way of capturing our hearts, their innocence, and love at just enjoying the day, well, it’s refreshing. 

What was the most challenging aspect of writing your book?

Writing about domestic violence took me back to those hard days when I dated someone who abused me, left me unconscious, tossed me down the stairs, and tried to run over me in a car. Thankfully, the benefit was knowing I no longer live in fear and haven’t for many years.

What projects are you currently working on?

I have a new Christmas children’s book coming out in November, Cranky Camel and the Candy Cane Caper.

What advice would you offer to new or aspiring fiction authors?

For someone just starting to write, go for it. Type. Encourage someone. Send hope to the page. Write to be a light. Don’t give up. Take courses. Type some more. Finish a story. Then do another one. Read. Type. Persevere. 





Beth Bender, a weary traveler, and radio talk show host, receives the annual email from Hudson Hinkle. It’s been twenty years, and this time, Beth plans to ignore the notification. However, the flashbacks flood her mind like a sprinkler that won’t turn off.

Despite the turmoil, Beth will discover light shining into her future through the eyes of a seven-year-old boy who moves into the neighborhood. And yet, a collision of the heart is inevitable. Will Beth open the email and confront Hudson? Is it time for Beth’s untold story to make a difference in the lives of other women and children who endure domestic violence?

Book Information

Release Date: April 7, 2022

Publisher:  Independent

Soft Cover: ISBN:979-8985590319; 195 pages; $14.99; Free with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3NZD7JX 

You can purchase your book also at the author’s website at www.pamkumpe.com

 

Sunday, July 10, 2022

đŸ“–Authors To Watch: M.N. Grenside Author of Fall Out #authorstowatch #interview

 


 


Mark Grensideborn and raised in London, began his working career straight out of school at Lloyds of London, specializing in Kidnap, Ransom and Extortion Insurance. At 25 it was time for a career change and to dump the suit and tie, so he started his media career working for Jim Henson and The Muppets©. From that moment on he has been involved in Entertainment and nearly every aspect of it.

He went on to create and produce several television series and mini-series. At the same time, he started a music management company launching million seller artist Neneh Cherry.

In 2004 he arranged the US $250 million buy-out of the Hallmark Channel International which was then successfully sold to NBC. He returned to producing a number of movies and mini-series.

He has recently morphed into a serial entrepreneur and is now a co-founder of seed to shelf CBD producer Dragonfly Biosciences (www.dragonflybiosciences.com) and a founder in two separate digital companies.

In addition to his love of cooking, an unhealthy amount of time and money is lavished on a collection of classic cars that he has raced all over the world. He enjoys risk and has parachuted in New Zealand, scuba-dived in the Pacific, hang-glided in the Himalayas and even tobogganed down the Cresta Run. In nearly every case chasing after his wife who is utterly fearless!

He is now writing the follow up to Fall Out, entitled The Bastion. In addition, he writes a humorous blog with subscribers in more than 40 countries. www.andanotherthing.com

He has two grown sons, two daughters’-in-law, three grandchildren and lives in Malta with his wife and two French bulldogs.

Mark’s latest book is the thriller, Fall Out.

You can visit his website at www.MNGrenside.com and his blog at www.AndAnotherThing.com or connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads.




We welcome you to My Bookish Pleasures! Can you tell us how you got started writing fiction?

I have produced movies and mini-series for many years. I love the process of telling a story and despite probably giving numerous screenwriters a hard time during productions, I still desperately wanted to write something myself. I could have written a screenplay but that still relies on so many other factors before seeing the light of day. So, I decided to write a book, a thriller set in the world I knew so well; movie making and Hollywood

Describe your writing process. Do you plot or write by the seat of your pants? When and where do you write? 

Seat of the pants it is! I have no real idea how the story will run. I just have main plot points that are set in my head. In Fall Out there are in fact three timelines. Originally, I wrote each timeline in a linear fashion. Then, as with screen writing, I got out a big board and pinned each chapter up and then began the process of mixing them up, shifting timelines all the while making sure clues and plot points are altered to fit the new sequence.

Can you tell us about your most recent release?

An LA screenwriter is killed shortly after completing his latest script, FALL OUT - a thriller destined to be a blockbuster but written with a secret double purpose.

Echoing events from the past the screenplay is sent to a very specific group of people and will change their lives forever. All are connected to a movie that had abruptly stopped shooting in the jungles of the Philippines years before. FALL OUT exposes the truth about a conspiracy and murder that led to a half-a-billion-dollar fortune for a select few.

Follow the story of Producer Marcus Riley, who sets out on an increasingly dangerous quest to get FALL OUT made. From a powerful Agent's office in Hollywood, hidden treasures in Belgravia and a remote chalet in the Swiss Alps to murder at the Cannes Film Festival, Marcus teams up with designer Melinda (Mako) de Turris as they and the other recipients of the screenplay are pursued by an assassin from the past.

With clues cleverly concealed in the screenplay, Marcus and Mako unravel a lethal puzzle that for some will bring death, others the truth and ends in a cave with a shocking secret...

How did you get the idea for the book?

Outside of movies I have several hobbies and interests. These range from cooking, scuba diving, and parasailing to classic cars as well as some of the deep mysteries of history, especially from events of the last hundred years in Asia. I always knew my book would have the movies as the backdrop, but I did not want the mystery to be about movies. I wanted something else that I could slot in behind. What I discovered is a simply staggering event that is true and documented!

Of all your characters, which one is your favorite? Why? 

Difficult! I love strong independent women. Mako the co-lead character is a complex Chinese European with a flawed and difficult past due to her relationship with her late parents. Hugely successful as a designer of stands in Cannes for all the festivals that take place there as well as organizer of many famous themed parties, everything she does is for the present. There is no legacy of her work and she lives totally for the moment. On meeting the co-lead Producer Marcus Riley, she develops and changes based on the influence he has on her and of course the danger they find themselves in. Equally the loner Marcus develops and changes as a result of the burgeoning relationship with Mako that she brings; so, the book is not only a thriller but their journey of discovery.

What was the most challenging aspect of writing your book? 

Fitting in all the other businesses and interests I have in my life.

What projects are you currently working on?

In writing terms, I have a weekly blog that goes out to 40 countries www.andanotherthing.com and I am writing the follow up to Fall Out with the same lead characters, entitled The Bastion. This will take place in The Aleutian Islands, LA Vancouver and Malta.

What advice would you offer to new or aspiring fiction authors?. 

Don’t give up and edit, edit, edit. Even if what you first write is a stream of consciousness get it down on paper. Gems take time to polish!








“A page-turning, jaw-dropping thriller of action and surprise. A riveting debut.” – Damien Lewis, international bestselling author

An LA screenwriter is killed shortly after completing his latest script, FALL OUT – a thriller destined to be a blockbuster but written with a secret double purpose.  Echoing events from the past, the screenplay is sent to a very specific group of people and will change their lives forever.  All are connected to a movie that had abruptly stopped shooting in the jungles of the Philippines years before.  FALL OUT exposes the truth about a conspiracy and murder that led to a half-a-billion-dollar fortune for a select few.

Follow the story of Producer Marcus Riley, who sets out on an increasingly dangerous quest to get FALL OUT made.  From a powerful agent’s office in Hollywood, hidden treasures in Belgravia and a remote chalet in the Swiss Alps to murder at the Cannes Film Festival, Marcus teams up with designer Melinda (Mako) de Turris as they and the other recipients of the screenplay are pursued by an assassin from the past.

With clues cleverly concealed in the screenplay, Marcus and Mako unravel a lethal puzzle that for some will bring death, others the truth and ends in a cave with a shocking secret…

“If you want a fast-paced stand out different thriller, I can’t recommend Fall Out enough. I loved it.” —Emma Forbes, broadcaster

“Amazing . . . I agree with all the other reviews that have stated if you like Dan Brown or James Patterson, then this book is for you.” —Joyful Antidotes

“And, action! Plenty of it and super nasty bad guys and stories so outrageously crazy they can only be true . . . Fall Out is inventive and, at times intentionally filmic . . . The fun doesn’t stop for 440 pages.” —Booksplainer

Book Information

Release Date: August 27, 2021

Publisher: Bloodhound Books

Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1912666751; 400 pages; $13.46; Kindle: ASIN: B09C1PJNZ4; 480 pages; $4.99; FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED, FREE AUDIOBOOK WITH AUDIBLE TRIAL

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3M133DQ

Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/3Fz1DhI  

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/fall-out-11

Thursday, July 7, 2022

Read an Excerpt of My Thirty-First Year (and Other Calamities) by Emily Wolf

 


On her 30th birthday, Zoe Greene was supposed to be married to her high-school sweetheart, pregnant with their first baby, and practicing law in Chicago; instead, she’s planning an abortion, filing for divorce, and trying to let go of society’s constructs of female happiness, and of her own…


(and Other Calamities)

By Emily Wolf



On her 30th birthday, Zoe Greene was supposed to be married to her high-school sweetheart, pregnant with their first baby, and practicing law in Chicago. Instead, she’s planning an abortion and filing for divorce. Zoe wants to understand why her plans failed—to move on, have sex, and date while there’s still time. As she navigates dysfunctional penises, a paucity of grammatical online dating profiles, and her paralyzing fear of aging alone, she grapples with the pressure women feel to put others first. Her family, friends, incomparable therapist, and diary of never-to-be-sent letters to her first loves, the rock band, U2, help Zoe learn to let go—of society’s constructs of female happiness, and of her own.

Book Information

Release Date: August 3, 2022

Publisher:  She Writes Press

Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1647420826; 416 pages; $17.95; E-Book, $9.95; Audio CD $22.9

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ttf1ip










Emily Wolf
 is an ardent feminist, U2 fan, and native Chicagoan. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Emily now lives in Houston with her husband, children, and dogs. She volunteers with Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast and with her synagogue’s Board of Trustees and Social Justice Core Team. Emily has published several essays in the Houston Chronicle and regularly shares new writing at emilyvwolf.medium.com.

Her latest book is My Thirty-First Year (and Other Calamities).

Visit her website at www.emilywolfbooks.com or connect with her on TwitterFacebook and Instagram.  






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