Louis J. Ambrosio is here to tell us about Exiles, literary fiction - coming of age.
There's also a great giveaway.
_____________________
Welcome to the Launch Day Book Blast for EXILES, a Literary Fiction/Coming of Age by L.J. Ambrosio, organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $20 Amazon/BN GC, an autographed copy of the book, or a dragonfly necklace to three randomly drawn winners. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
In this final chapter, Ron's story concludes from Reflections on the Boulevard (2023). Michael's wish was for Ron to exile himself in the heart of Paris with its beautiful culture and citizens as they protest and fight for the soul of the city. Ron's journey is met with life-affirming friendships and lessons along the way. The final book in the Reflections of Michael Trilogy, which started with A Reservoir Man (2022).
Read an Excerpt
Ron, weak in the legs from forgetting the spirit of his youth, had been managing bookstores more than living life. His legs pumped forward. but with the awkwardness of an old man who had forgotten how to walk. In a few seconds he was up to speed and ran faster to catch the thief.
Near the corner, Ron had missed his opportunity to slow and check for other people walking, so he slammed into a group of women. He especially blasted into an old lady whose groceries flew into the sky, and a yogurt splattered against a wall and the faces of the other women. She turned to condemn her assailant, but he was already on the next block in pursuit of the thief.
He spotted the thief at the Notre Dame Hotel, out of breath, leaning against a pillar. Surprised at the thief’s choice to stop here, he slowed down and let his feet pound the street into a halt.
Ron grabbed at him but still missed his shoulder.
“Give me the book back!” he said, very loudly.
The thief just shrugged his shoulder, a mocking smile. His smile made the act of chasing him through the streets feel silly, as if this were a game that had been played and he took it too seriously.
The thief looked at Ron and asked, sarcastically, “What language are you speaking?”
“What do you mean? I am speaking French!”
Our thief laughed, turned to a random man who walked down the street, and said, "This young man thinks he is speaking French Go ahead say something to this stranger; he will tell you are speaking some other language other than French!”
“I will call the police,” Ron said firmly.
About the Author:
Louis J. Ambrosio ran one of the most nurturing bi-coastal talent agencies in Los Angeles and New York. He started his career as a theatrical producer, running two major regional theaters for eight seasons. Ambrosio taught at 7 Universities. Ambrosio also distinguished himself as an award-winning film producer and novelist over the course of his impressive career.
K.T. George is here to tell us about Conjoined, a psychological thriller.
There's also a great giveaway.
______________________
At their relationship’s core lies
a convergence of secrets and deception, while their heart showcases
the unbreakable bond that binds two souls in a twisted dance of
deceit.
Conjoined
by
K.T. George
Genre:
Psychological Thriller
Allyson Marta is a celebrated
mixed-media artist dwelling in the shadows of Seattle's gritty
underbelly. She struggles with Borderline Personality Disorder while
grappling with the jagged edges of self-harm and past suicide
attempts. Her identical twin, Andrea, is a hedonist at heart. She
thrives as the vibrant art director of the cult-favorite "The
Caretaker" horror movie series, which ensnares devotees in its
macabre embrace. When H0rr Studios, the go-to streaming service of
horror fans worldwide and Andrea's employer, reports her missing,
Allyson finds herself torn between her ongoing recovery and helping
to unravel the mystery shrouding her histrionic twin's whereabouts
After
Roger Wotke, the star of The Caretaker, also disappears, Allyson is
thrust into a perilous crossroads where the twin demons of mental
anguish and familial duty collide. In a descent into the abyss of
society's dark appetite for what goes bump in the night, Allyson
grapples with safeguarding her tenuous sanity or delving deeper into
the labyrinth of depravity that threatens to expose not just her own
darkest secrets, but also those of her family.
Early reviews:
“Creepy…Addictive…”
– Goodreads reviewer.
“…draws
the reader in quickly and the plot, characters, dialogue…make it
hard to put down.” – ARC review.
“…an
especially fascinating read.” – Bookbaby Editor
“That
twist at the end! Seriously freaking great! the very last page 😲 ”
– Goodreads reviewer.
K.T. George resides in the heart of
Chicago with their family of four and their beloved fluffer, Lincoln.
They draw inspiration from the vibrant cityscape that surrounds them
and the people who live there. Formerly an esteemed I.T. Executive
and cybersecurity expert, their unique ability to seamlessly
transition from science to art has cemented their status as a
formidable force in the literary realm. Learn more at
www.ktgeorge.com.
Mike Murphey is here to tell us about Quantum Consequence, Physics, Lust and Greed Series book 5, science fiction.
There's also a great giveaway.
__________________
Physic, Lust and Greed Series, Book 5
Sci-Fi
Date Published: 05-16-2024
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
After foiling the political ambitions of a would-be American dictator,
time-traveling lovers Marta Hamilton and Marshall Grissom return to their
life in the Caribbean only to confront the murder of a friend and inherit
responsibility for a gutsy 10-year old boy. Throughout their unlikely and
tumultuous relationship, Marta has harbored suspicions that her
time-traveling companion is not being honest with her. Is Marshall really
the bumbling, good-hearted klutz she has come to love and trust? Or is he
the cunning, cold-blooded assassin Gillis Kerg suspects him to be? In this
fifth tale of physics, lust and greed, a bizarre parallel universe and a
monstrous product of artificial intelligence will impose a costly
consequence requiring both Marta and Marshall to face the truth of her most
haunting question: “Who are you, Marshall Grissom?”
About the Author
Mike Murphey is a native of eastern New Mexico and spent almost thirty
years as an award-winning newspaper journalist in the Southwest and Pacific
Northwest. His debut novel, Section Roads, has been recognized by Indie
Reader Discovery Awards, Reader Views Reviewers Choice Awards, The IAN Book
of the Year Awards, the Somerset Contemporary Fiction Awards, and the
Independent Publishers Book Awards. His novel, The Conman has been
recognized by the International Book Awards, the eLit Awards and the
Manhattan Book Awards. His award-winning Physics, Lust and Greed Series
includes Taking Time, Wasting Time, Killing Time and The Outlaw
Gillis Kerg. “We Never Knew Just What It Was… The Story of the
Chad Mitchell Trio” is his first non-fiction work. Mike loves fiction,
cats, baseball and sailing. He splits his time between Spokane, Washington,
and Phoenix, Arizona.
Anika Jones has her future carefully plotted out and is checking the boxes, one by one, despite the bumps thrown in her path. This last one is a challenge, but she manages to stay on track; her salon is thriving, and she just bought a house. Unfortunately, when one of her employees runs into trouble, she inevitably gets sucked in, throwing her carefully paced life off-balance. It doesn’t help a friend, who’s been ghosting her for a year, suddenly makes an appearance.
He was born to pig farming, but for Noah (Hog) Hodgekins fighting fires is his calling. He wasted too many years honoring a legacy he wants no part of. But now that he’s finally free from family obligations, there’s nothing holding him back from pursuing the life he’s been dreaming of. The first step is mending bridges with the one person who is central to that future, but she comes with her own challenges, family and otherwise.
Instead of treading carefully to gain her heart, he ends up throwing caution to the wind when her recent string of bad luck lands the FBI on her doorstep.
USA Today bestselling author Freya Barker loves writing about ordinary people with extraordinary stories.
With forty-plus books already published, she continues to create characters who are perhaps less than perfect, each struggling to find their own slice of happy.
Recipient of the ReadFREE.ly 2019 Best Book We've Read All Year Award for "Covering Ollie, the 2015 RomCon “Reader’s Choice” Award for Best First Book, “Slim To None”, Finalist for the 2017 Kindle Book Award with “From Dust”, and Finalist for the 2020 Kindle Book Award with “When Hope Ends”, Freya spins story after story with an endless supply of bruised and dented characters, vying for attention!
Thanks so much for reading today's post. Hope
you enjoyed it!
L. L. Ash and Pax Sinclair are here to tell us about their contemporary romance Riot, Hard Rock Girls series #1.
They're also hosting a great giveaway.
____________________
Riot
L. L. Ash, Pax Sinclair
(Hard Rock Girls Series, #1)
Publication date: May 12th 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
“He saved me in that group home when everything I’d ever loved was stripped away. He saved me with his smile, his kindness, and his guitar.”
Tayler
I’m the leftovers that nobody wanted; a casualty of the foster system. Now that I’m 18, I have nowhere to go. No job, no home, but I have my bestie Haze by my side, and together we’re going to make it. I love music. Yeah, everybody says that, but I know I have what it takes. We’re going to find a way to reach the top. Kind of like Dakota, the front man for Kings of Ash, except not as a-hole-ish and muscley as him. Ugh, the muscles. We were in foster care together, me, Dakota, and Haze. That’s where I fell in love with him. But, he was older than me and got kicked out of the group home when I was only fifteen. The guy ripped my effing heart out as he walked out that door. It’s a shame, really. He’s the only person in the world who ever really understood my love and need for music. He saved me in that group home when everything I’d ever loved was stripped away. He saved me with his smile, his kindness, and with his guitar. Since then, Dakota has changed and hardened in more ways than one. I’ve been trying my best to avoid him, but our paths have crossed and now he’s back, famous and hotter than ever.
Dakota
I gaze at Tayler for the last time while my mind repeats the same mantra: she’s your foster sister, you can’t be in love with her. But every part of me screams otherwise as I walk out of that group home. Aging out of the foster system at 18, I left behind a 15-year-old girl who knew I couldn’t stay. It broke her heart, but it’s better to be hated than to be in jail for loving her. Letting go of her was the toughest thing I’ve ever done, but I had to chase my music and put her behind me. Plenty of women came and went in my life, but none could fill the void that she left behind. It was always the music that drove me forward, pushing me to become a part of the punk Seattle music scene as the front man for Kings of Ash. Just when I thought I had moved on from Tayler for good, she blows back into my life–smoking hot and determined to make her mark. Even though she despises me for abandoning her all those years ago, I can’t help but admit to myself that I still want her. No, I don’t just want. I need.
I fell in love with a girl who’s way too young for me, and now that I’m eighteen, she’s my ticket to jail if I ever tried following through with any of the twisted debauchery I really want to do.
When she’s eighteen though? All bets are fucking off.
When the song she’s singing for me is over, I listen to her husky, alto voice trail off and close my eyes. I can’t even explain what it does to me, other than it feels kind of the same as cool aloe over a sunburn. I can’t get enough of it.
The sun is setting and we’ve got to go inside. Dinner is over and curfew will set in pretty soon, so I walk her into the house and to the room she shares with Haze.
“Will I get to see you tomorrow before you leave?” she asks.
I shrug.
“I don’t know. I’ll be leaving pretty early. Got the first shift.”
She frowns, a lone tear sliding down her cheek.
“I’ll wake up early to say goodbye. I really want you to have this. So, when you’re lonely, you still have a little piece of me with you.”
Tayler presses her locket into my hand and my heart fucking breaks.
I can’t take it.
This piece of nickel and tin is her most precious possession in the world. The pictures inside are all she has left of her family after her asshole aunt sent her to rot in foster care while she took in her other, younger two siblings. I still can’t get that to make sense to me. What kind of a selfish prick would you have to be to abandon your niece because she’s ‘too old’ and take in her siblings because they’re, what, cuter? Easier to mold?
I’m angry for her.
It’s too late. She puts the locket in my hand and closes my fist around it, then pulls me in for another hug.
“I’m going to get a job so I can have a cell phone, then we can talk at night and stuff even if we can’t see each other every day.”
I nod, squeezing her hard because I know I won’t be able to see her much. Not often enough anyway.
I press a kiss to the top of her head and take in the generic scent of something chemically and fruity in her hair. She might smell like all the other girls in the place, but there’s something special about the scent on her.
She pulls back and looks me in the face.
“I love you,” she whispers.
I smile, even though those words mean something completely different to her than they do to me. She loves me like a brother, I love her like a woman.
“Take care, kid,” I tell her, unable to reciprocate the words through my suddenly swollen throat.
She nods, tears pooling in her eyes before they go crashing down her cheeks.
I need to leave her soon, or I won’t be able to at all.
Tearing myself away, I feel a legitimate piece of me going with her as I turn my back, heading straight to my shared room.
The next couple years are going to be some of the hardest of my life, waiting for her. Then again, which is harder, having her but not being able to have her, or not having her at all?
I lay on my bed for a few hours, watching time slip by, knowing she’s just in the other room. It would be so much easier to just curl up with her and spend my last hours cuddling, but I can’t.I fucking can’t!
Four o’clock approaches and I growl, giving up on sleep. Ain’t no rest for the wicked, they say.
I gather my duffel bag and the paperwork that my advocate gave me days ago, including my Social Security card and a birth certificate.
Holy shit, I’m on my own.
I heft my bag over my shoulder, positive that I won’t be able to last another goodbye with Tayler without breaking down and sobbing like a baby, telling her all the things I’m fucking scared of. I need to be strong for her and, right now, that means leaving.
Looking at the locket that I’d kept in my hand as I laid there, unable to sleep, I press a kiss to it the same way Tayler had so many times when she was missing her family more than usual.
With one last surge of strength, I drop the necklace on my pillow and turn, leaving it all behind.
My future awaits me, and as scary as it is, I have to face it head-on if I’m going to make something of myself. My parents fucked up their chance at life, but I’m not going to. I’m going to work hard, make a name for myself, and eventually, I’m going to be on a stage, playing and singing for tens of thousands of people.
First things first… I have to put one foot in front of the other, until I’m walking out of this group home’s front door forever.
Author Bio:
L.L. Ash is a Washington-born writer who has traveled and lived across the western coast of the US. Ash has been writing fiction since she was a pre-teen, and while her writing has improved since then, her love for literature has not changed.
Oftentimes you can find Ash reading an indie romance or enjoying a historical fiction. Dabbling in culinary arts and music, Ash has been an artist for decades but found her true love and passion in romances.
Pax is a contemporary romance author who writes the kind of hot, twisty, drama-filled romances that she loves to read. Her novels are about biracial women in interracial relationships that will have you turning pages until the end.
Her current series, Love@work, takes you into the world of Silicon Valley’s billionaire tech moguls. These are powerful men and women who are driven by the changing landscape of business and their seductions in the bedroom.
Come along for a ride in Pax’s world, where it’s always steamy, captivating, and sometimes erotic.
Pax lives and works in Silicon Valley. She’s a California native.
Willow Rose is here to tell us about Rest in Peace, an Eva Rae Thomas mystery #15. suspense-thriller-mystery.
There's also a great giveaway.
_____________________
Lies and secrets pile up in this
chilling next installment of Willow Rose’s bestselling series about
FBI profiler Eva Rae Thomas.
Rest in Peace
An
Eva Rae Thomas Mystery #15
by
Willow Rose
Genre:
Suspense, Thriller, Mystery
Sarah
Chapman is angry at her husband. She’s also drunk… very drunk as
she drives down their street, ready to face him.
When
a neighbor hears the commotion and rushes to help, he finds her
inside, gun still in her hand, and her husband, Steven, dead in the
bed.
Sarah
is arrested and taken away but claims to be innocent.
The
only one who believes her is FBI profiler, Eva Rae
Thomas.
She knows Sarah personally, and as she looks at the
evidence in the case, she is convinced that Sarah is telling the
truth, even though she was highly intoxicated when the event
occurred.
But
the detective on the case is determined to have her convicted for the
murder.
As
more bodies turn up, only Eva Rae Thomas sees the
connections and soon starts a race against time to prove Sarah is
innocent and to catch the real murderer before it’s too late and
her own family is targeted.
Lies
and secrets pile up in this chilling next installment of Willow
Rose’s bestselling series about FBI profiler Eva Rae Thomas.
Willow
Rose is a multi-million-copy best-selling Author and an ALL-star
Author of more than 90 novels.
She
has sold more than six million books that are translated into many
languages.
Willow's
books are fast-paced, nail-biting pageturners with twists you won't
see coming.
That's
why her fans call her The Queen of Plot Twists.
Willow
lives on Florida's Space Coast with her kids, two cats and her
Goldendoodle. When she is not writing or reading, you will find her
surfing and watching the dolphins play in the waves of the Atlantic
Ocean.
Isabella Jordan is here to tell us about Obedience, paranormal women's fiction-romantic comedy.
Read on for details...
______________________
Paranormal Women’s Fiction, Romantic Comedy
Date Published: May 10, 2024
A princess with a problem...
Meela must marry a prince from another planet in order to ensure the
security of her people. Trouble is Meela's known to be a bit feisty, and
sometimes that gets her into trouble. It's bad enough she has no say in who
she'll marry. Worse still, the queen places an obedience curse on Meela to
thwart her errant ways.
As a result of the curse, Meela finds herself in plenty of predicaments not
exactly fit for a princess. But what's a princess to do when two gorgeous
hunks come along and place sensual demands on her Meela's not sure she can
-- or even wants to -- deny?
EXCERPT
Meela stared into the flowing red river before kneeling on the grassy bank
to sulk. The red colored water rushing by her looked like blood. There were
so many red rivers on the planet that they'd looked like veins on its
surface to Meela when the star cruiser she'd traveled in approached it
earlier.
Now that she was here, she wished that someone had told her to throw
herself in the river. Her nurse had only told her to take a walk to calm her
mind. It was a rare freedom for Meela. Probably her last.
Today was the day Meela had been preparing for her whole life. Later today
she would be presented to the queen of this planet along with two other
princesses from neighboring planets. The queen would then allow her sons to
each choose the girl he wanted for his bride beginning with her oldest son,
her heir.
It wasn't that Meela minded the arranged marriage. She was a princess after
all and her duty was to her people. Her marriage to a Prince of Nelot, the
strongest planet with the most powerful army in the system, would ensure the
protection of her people. She'd been promised in marriage since her birth
and all of her teachings were in preparation for fulfilling this
obligation.
Meela accepted that.
But when she was sixteen, the Queen of Nelot, a sorceress she was to find
out, paid a visit to Meela and her family on their home planet, Bano. She
wanted to meet Meela, considering one day she would be the bride of one of
her sons.
The queen was pleased with Meela. A little too pleased in fact. She
explained to Meela's parents that their daughter was indeed beautiful,
cultured and intelligent -- befitting a Princess of Nelot. But she felt
those very virtues put Meela in danger from others and from herself until
the wedding, so she placed an enchantment upon Meela. From that day forward,
Meela would be obedient, would do whatever she was told, until her future
husband arranged her release from the spell.
Her life had been misery ever since.
At first, Meela and her family didn't realize just what curse had been
bestowed upon her. A few nights later Meela became angry at her father for
not allowing her some privilege. She sat complaining in her rooms while her
nurse brushed her hair. Finally her frustrated nurse told her to hold her
tongue.
It had taken several hours for the entire family to discover that someone
had to tell Meela to let go of her tongue before she could pry her fingers
away.
It got worse. While her parents enjoyed their new power over Meela, the
power to make her work at her studies longer and attend royal functions in
their places, soon they learned there was a danger to the curse. Once, one
of Meela's friends at court had dared her to kiss the handsome visiting
ambassador from the planet Dalu. Unable to stop herself, she'd walked right
up to the man and kissed him full on the mouth.
Her parents had been so alarmed by the turn of events that she was placed
under the strictest watch until the time of her wedding. No more fun outings
with her friends. No more boring royal functions even. Meela was only
allowed to attend the most important celebrations on her planet, and then
only for a short time with at least a dozen people watching her every
movement. They might as well have locked her away in a prison.
Perhaps that is what the Queen of Nelot had intended when she'd placed the
enchantment on her.
Years passed while the Princes of Nelot fought off one legion of intruders
to their system after another, the stories of their glorious victories
painting them as great warriors. By the time the Queen of Nelot sent for
Meela for the bridal selection and subsequent wedding, she was twenty-seven,
going out of her mind with boredom, and had taken to finding creative ways
of watching the private activities of guests to the palace. It was as close
as she had ever come to having sex after all.
And now that she was here on Nelot, ready to be selected by one of the
queen's sons and do her duty for her parents and her people, she was pretty
damned unhappy. Wasn't it enough of a sacrifice to have the person she'd
spend her life with, share a bed with and have children for, chosen for her?
Then to have the hateful curse of obedience placed on her, robbing her of
her last years of freedom?
Meela no longer wanted to marry any son of the woman who had done this to
her. Meela didn't even want to meet the princes.
"It's not fair," Meela grumbled at her reflection far below in
the red water.
"What's not fair?"
That deep male voice alerted her to the fact that she was no longer alone.
With as much composure as she could muster, Meela turned her head slowly.
She was unescorted, without any of her attendants who understood her
enchantment, for the first time since she had kissed the ambassador at
court. The pace of her heartbeat grew along with her anxiety.
"That I can't stay and enjoy this beautiful view," Meela said in
her best royal voice with her practiced princess smile.
Yet she forgot all about how she was to speak or smile as she gazed at the
two men standing before her, their dress indicating that they were common
soldiers of the planet. They looked very much alike, both tall men with
bodies of steel, the snug black uniforms they wore revealing that they were
all hard, firm muscles.
About the Author
Isabella Jordan is the alter ego of an otherwise stressed out web designer,
programmer, and internet junkie. When she's not trying to perfect her own
personal caffeine IV drip, she enjoys spending time with her family, doing
volunteer work, and writing. She loves creating new stories of all kinds and
chatting with readers and friends.
