Susan Sloate is here to tell us about Scenes From A Song, music fiction.
There's also a great giveaway.
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Music Fiction
Date Published: 09-30-2025
Publisher: Covfefe Press
For anyone who's ever said, "They're playing my song!"
On
Halloween Eve, 1961, in his dingy Bronx walkup apartment, seventeen-year-old
Jimmy Welton hears the opening notes of a song in his head. Jimmy’s
still mourning his firefighter father, who taught him to play the guitar but
recently died in a house fire, leaving his family destitute. Jimmy takes this
song, about all he misses from his life now, to the New York amusement park
where he works after school. There, he meets Mark Morgan, a rebellious teen
with his own band, who eventually invites Jimmy to join them. And the rest is
rock'n roll history...
The GooseBumps become a worldwide phenomenon, and
the songs they write and sing together become the backbone of rock musical
history. And the song Jimmy first heard on Halloween, "Wrapped in Gauze",
becomes the song that not only comforts him in that terrible time but also
comforts others: Victoria, recently divorced and dealing with an unthinkable
family tragedy; Carolyn, whose final flippant words to someone in pain can't
be taken back; and Jack, battling back from unimaginable loss with the help of
his cheeky therapist and a song he thinks he hates.
SCENES
FROM A SONG is the story of a song that makes us smile, that breaks our
hearts, that stays with us forever, and the very special band that started it
all.
About the Author
SUSAN SLOATE is the author or co-author of
more than 25 published books. This includes 3 editions of Forward to Camelot,
a time-travel thriller about the JFK assassination that became a #6 Amazon
bestseller, was honored in 3 literary competitions and was optioned by a
Hollywood company for film production. She also wrote the autobiographical
Broadway novel Stealing Fire, which became a #2 Amazon bestseller and Hot New
Release, and Realizing You (with Ron Doades), for which she invented a new
genre: the self-help novel.
Susan has also written young-adult fiction
and non-fiction, including the children’s biography Ray Charles: Find
Another Way, which won the silver medal in the 2007 Children’s Moonbeam
Awards. Mysteries Unwrapped: The Secrets of Alcatraz led to her 2009
appearance on the TV series MysteryQuest for The History Channel. She has also
been a sportswriter and a screenwriter, edited the popular Kyle & Corey
young-adult book series, managed two political campaigns and founded an
author’s festival to promote student literacy in her hometown outside
Charleston, SC. She has appeared in multiple volumes of WHO’S WHO IN
AMERICA, WHO’S WHO IN ENTERTAINMENT and WHO’S WHO AMONG AMERICAN
WOMEN.
Mary Ruth Barnes is here to tell us about Where Birds Land, Native American women's fiction.
There's also a great giveaway..
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An inspiring story
of determination and grit . . .
Where Birds Land
by Mary Ruth Barnes
Genre: Native American Women’s Fiction
An inspiring story of
determination and grit . . .
Ella McSwain is a Chickasaw woman
raising her family amidst evolving turmoil within the budding state of
Oklahoma. After Ella is left with an unusable plot of land, she finds herself
fighting for her family’s rightful allotment. Faced with crooked businessmen,
land grifters, and grueling court battles, can she summon the strength to
persevere against all odds?
In this stand-alone companion to Little Bird, Mary Ruth Barnes crafts an
engaging family saga that spans from Indian Territory to Oklahoma statehood
against the backdrop of the state’s changing landscape.
Mary Ruth Barnes
graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree from North Carolina State with high honors
and a Master’s Degree from Montana State. After college, Barnes taught high
school and college English, Art and Computer Science for 14 years. Barnes has
received numerous awards for her art and writing on the state and national
level from 2011-2022. Barnes recently published her first novel “Little Bird”
with the Chickasaw Press about her great-great-Grandmother’s journey in Indian
Territory. “Little Bird” won two 2022 Ippy awards, receiving gold for the cover
design and silver for best Midwest regional fiction. Barnes is extremely active
in her community through Rotary (a member since 1996), P.E.O. (Philanthropic
Educational Organization), and Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumni Association. She is
also a current member of the National Watercolor Society.
In 2022, Barnes was inducted into the Chickasaw Hall of Fame and
Capitol Hill High School Hall of Fame for leadership in her community. She also
won the 2022 “55 Over 55 Inspiring Oklahomans” award for making a difference in
the lives of others. In 2019, Barnes won the Women in the Arts Recognition
award from the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
And in 2015, Barnes was selected as the Chickasaw Dynamic Woman of the year.
Barnes has had many short stories and watercolors featured in several
issues of the journal of Chickasaw History and Culture, Ishtunowa. She was also
honored as a Chickasaw Artist in the July 2015 issue of the Distinctly Oklahoma
magazine. Her story of inspiration leading to painting and drawing was featured
in a book by Allison Fields, Chickasaw Artisans. In 2017, Barnes was selected
for the registry of Native American Artists located at the Heard Museum in
Scottsdale, AZ. While traveling and vacationing in South Texas with her art,
Barnes was interviewed and featured in the RV Wheel Life Magazine for the 2017
issue. Barnes retired from a career as the Director of Planned Giving for
American Cancer Society in 2017, where she raised over 35 million dollars for
cancer research. Her artwork “Fight of Hope” is currently featured in the
Cancer Journal of Native American Research and is on display in the surgery
waiting room of the Chickasaw Nation Medical Center. Her watercolors can also
be found at several locations across the State of Oklahoma, including the
Artesian and the Welcome Center located in Davis.
She has been a long-time equestrian, Barnes and her husband, Mike live
on a ranch in south central Oklahoma. They have two sons, Wiley and Selby
Barnes, and six grandchildren. Both sons work for the Chickasaw Nation. Mrs.
Barnes enjoys traveling with her husband in retirement.
Positions as an instructor and rodeo coach at the local university in South Carolina aren’t enough to keep Jensen Strader in town after he’s abandoned at the altar, so he grabs a trailer and his horses and heads out on the rodeo circuit. Buckles? Sure, he’d love a few. Buckle bunnies? Not interested.
That changes when he meets Shyanna Owens. She’s been picked on, spat on, cussed out, slapped, and punched by people who were supposed to love her, and by male competitors who feel threatened by her. All she wants to do is ride bulls and broncs, and she’s made it clear that no one will run her off. She’s never been tossed one scrap of respect as a human being. Fortunately, she finds a different kind of cowboy in the kind, gentlemanly Jensen. Together, they form the perfect team … and the perfect couple. It’s an alliance that buys Shyanna friends and camaraderie within the rodeo association, safety, and a love that’s true and deep.
But just as Shyanna begins to get the recognition and respect she deserves, one of them stumbles into something dangerous and sinister within the association. It’s no longer about competition. It’s about bitterness and corruption on a collision course with death, and it could stop the beating heart of their relationship unless a determined rough stock rider has her way.
Well, you know what they say: Cowgirl up, ladies—the rodeo is coming to town.
The Small Town Southern Boys series is a collection of independent novels, each in a different southern state with its own flavor and designed so you can jump in anywhere. Discover a world of hunky home-town sexiness that just won’t quit and see for yourself why the temperature’s always hellahot when there’s a drawl coming from those lips with a slow, charming smile.
“Hey,” he said, using his friendliest tone, “I haven’t seen you around. My name’s Jensen Strader.” He extended his hand and waited.
She glanced at his gesture and ignored it as she growled, “Whaddya want?”
Jensen pulled his hand back, afraid she might slap at it. “Just wanted to say hello. I try to get to know as many of the guys on the circuit as I can.”
“Do I look like a fucking guy to you?” she snapped, then took another sip of whiskey.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like … Look, I just wanted to come and say hello, welcome you to the circuit, that’s all. Sorry if I bothered you,” he said. The bartender brought his bottle and he decided maybe it was time to give up and move away. She obviously wasn’t interested in getting to know anyone, and he couldn’t blame her after some of the stories he’d heard.
Just as he turned to go, he heard her say, “Yeah. Run. Just like all the rest of these fucking yellow-bellied cowards.”
A frisson of fury bolted through Jensen’s body as he spun back toward her. “I’m anything but a coward, but if you’ve got to be so god damn rude, I’m leaving. I’ve learned over the years that there are some people you just can’t be nice to because they’re such assholes.”
“So now I’m an asshole?” she asked, but there was a different quality to her voice. It almost sounded like she found it funny.
“I dunno. Do you wanna be an asshole? Because if you don’t, there are some things you should change pretty fucking fast,” he pointed out.
“Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t. You know who I am. Why the hell would you come over here? Do your little friends over there know where you are?” she asked, tossing her head toward the other guys.
“Oh, yeah. They told me not to come over here but, of course, I ignored them. I’m my own dog. I don’t usually take cues from the people around me, especially if they’re fucking yellow-bellied cowards,” Jensen quipped.
To his shock, a tiny smile turned up the corners of her mouth. “How would they take to you calling them that?”
“If it’s true? Don’t see that they’d have a say in it,” he said, trying hard not to chuckle.
“And you’d take a punch for that?”
“Fuck yeah,” he answered. The only thing he couldn’t fight was the grin that spread across his face.
For the first time since he’d been standing there, she looked up at him and grinned herself. He was shocked again when she held out her hand. “Shyanna Owens.”
The grip she gave him when he took it was a surprise―firm and yet soft. “Nice to meet you.”
About Deanndra:
Deanndra Hall is a working author living in the far western end of the beautiful Bluegrass State with her husband of over 35 years and small menagerie of weird little dogs. When she’s not writing, she’s editing. When she’s doing neither of those two things, she’s having dinner with friends, spending time with family, kayaking, eating chocolate, drinking beer or moonshine, or looking for something that she put in the wrong place and can’t seem to find (which is pretty much everything she owns).
Jane Loeb Rubin is here to tell us about A Gilded City Series, historical fiction trilogy.
There's also a great giveaway.
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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jane Loeb Rubin will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
In the Hands of Women, (June 2023) takes the reader on an electrifying ride through the dawn of the 20th century, delving into the restrictive state of women’s rights, backroom abortions, the plight of immigrants to the Lower East Side of NYC and the prison system at Blackwell’s Island, all through the voice of a young OB/Gyn, Tillie’s younger sister, Hannah.
Threadbare, (June 2024) is a historical novel written as a tribute to Jane Rubin’s great-grandmother, Mathilda (Tillie), who died from a ‘woman’s disease’ in the early years of the twentieth century. It explores the ultra-conservative late Victorian era through a Jewish female character living among the poor, struggling to build a garment company and pushing back against antisemitic and misogynistic values dominating the time. She acquired wealth, only to have life upended by a cruel, unexpected challenge.
Over There (June 2025) brings four family members of Threadbare and In the Hands of Women, all doctors and nurses, into The Great War, each facing down authentic challenges of the period. Meticulously researched and crafted on four stages, the reader experiences the jarring reality of trench warfare, magnificent rise of the American Hospital in Paris, unimagined medical innovations owed to the dedication of healthcare workers, and the universal, frightening impact war has on children.
Read an Excerpt from IN THE HANDS OF WOMEN
I glanced at Nurse Hammond. Her head was bent to the wood floor, hands squeezed so tightly, I could see the white in her knuckles. The navy muslin dress worn beneath her white apron matched the dark circles under her eyes. I held back from the pack of students as they left the ward.
Nurse Hammond was at the end of her night shift, little time left to hear the full story.
“Nurse, were you in delivery during the twins’ births?” I whispered.
“I was.” She straightened her back, darting her eyes to the nursery.
I took a step closer to her. “Did anything unusual happen?”
After a lengthy pause, she rubbed her fingers, eyes downcast.
“Nurse Hammond, what happened?” I persisted.
“You know Adams, always impatient.” She turned her eyes from the floor then to mine. “He couldn’t stand the mother’s screaming and knocked her out cold with ether. Then he went in deep with the forceps, taking forever. I think he would have had more luck if he kept her awake and changed her position.” She took in a sharp breath. “But who am I to say? You can’t utter a word. I need my job. I’ve four children at home.”
I nodded, understanding. “You can trust me. Go home and get some rest.” I scurried down the hall to the nursery.
“Where’ve you been, Isaacson?” Dr. Adams barked as I walked through the doorway.
“My apology doctor, lavatory.”
Dr. Adams crossed his arms on his chest, haughtily shaking his head at the ring of men standing around the twins’ bassinettes. “See there, gentlemen? That’s what happens when women are allowed into the profession. Always needing to fix their hair.”
Blood shot to my face. How long would he get away with his negligence? I stifled my annoyance, while studying the infants. The smaller baby’s hand began to tremor.
About the Author: Author, Jane Loeb Rubin has won numerous awards including the Historical Novel Society's First Chapters short list for Over There, released May, 2025 by Level Best Books. She will be speaking at numerous Florida events as listed on her website.
With an extensive healthcare background Ms. Rubin began writing in 2009 after a serious cancer diagnosis. She now has a four-book deal with Level Best Books (Threadbare-2024, In the Hands of Women-2023, Over There-2025, The Hat Trick-2026), following the fictional life of her great-grandmother’s family.
In the Hands of Women, (June 2023) takes the reader on an electrifying ride through the dawn of the 20th century, delving into the restrictive state of women’s rights, backroom abortions, the plight of immigrants to the Lower East Side of NYC and the prison system at Blackwell’s Island, all through the voice of a young OB/Gyn, Tillie’s younger sister, Hannah.
Threadbare, (June 2024) is a historical novel written as a tribute to Jane Rubin’s great-grandmother, Mathilda (Tillie), who died from a ‘woman’s disease’ in the early years of the twentieth century. It explores the ultra-conservative late Victorian era through a Jewish female character living among the poor, struggling to build a garment company and pushing back against antisemitic and misogynistic values dominating the time. She acquired wealth, only to have life upended by a cruel, unexpected challenge.
Over There (June 2025) brings four family members of Threadbare and In the Hands of Women, all doctors and nurses, into The Great War, each facing down authentic challenges of the period. Meticulously researched and crafted on four stages, the reader experiences the jarring reality of trench warfare, magnificent rise of the American Hospital in Paris, unimagined medical innovations owed to the dedication of healthcare workers, and the universal, frightening impact war has on children.
The Hat Trick, Ms. Rubin’s work in process (May 2026) transports her family characters into the mid-1920’s in the years before the Borscht Belt in Sullivan County, NY.
Ms. Rubin, a graduate of the University of Michigan (BS, MS) and Washington University (MBA), retired from a 30-year career as a healthcare executive to begin writing full-time. She lives with her husband, David, an attorney, in Northern New Jersey. Between them, they have five adult children and seven grandchildren. Ms. Rubin’s work is available at all on-line retailers, Indigo Books, select Barnes and Noble Book stores and upon request from Level Best Books.
Lisa Towles is here to tell us about Switch, E&A Investigations book 3, mystery crime thriller-suspense.
There's also a great giveaway.
________________________
A fast-paced techno thriller that brings a gripping
conclusion to the E&A Investigations series as Mari Ellwyn faces her past,
her nemesis, and a web of high-stakes crimes.
Switch
E&A Investigations Book 3
by Lisa Towles
Genre: Mystery Crime Thriller, Suspense
A body vanished
from the morgue. A coastal town gripped by bank heists.
The only link is a
past that someone will kill to keep buried.
In Book 3 of the E&A Investigations series, Mari Ellwyn
and Derek Abernathy return to track a string of unsettling bank robberies.
Their case takes a dark turn with the bizarre disappearance of a body from the
local morgue, a mystery connected to the vanishing of the previous Medical
Examiner, Dr. Camille Bota. Their investigation plunges them into the dangerous
world of a multi-national organization involved in suspected fraud and fringe
technology research. For Mari, the case ignites a personal quest, forcing her
to confront the long-unresolved disappearance of her father, CIA operative
Richard Ellwyn.
The deeper she digs, the more Mari realizes that both she
and her father are inextricably linked to their lifelong nemesis, the notorious
international crime boss Jacques Martel. The missing body and the secrets
surrounding Dr. Bota become entangled with her father's shadowy past and
Martel's deadly machinations. In a high-stakes collision of family secrets and
criminal enterprise, Mari must confront her father and their shared enemy
before they both become casualties in Martel's lethal game.
REVIEWS:
“A taut, high-intelligence thriller with real emotional
teeth…” - The Prairies Book Review
Fast-paced, smart, and full of twists, this is a thriller
that delivers both heart and heat." —Scott Olsen, San Francisco
Book Review
“A breakneck techno-thriller that crackles with smart dialogue, raw emotion,
and relentless tension.” – Literary Titan
This exhilarating, action-infused crime thriller deftly incorporates suspense
with harrowing drama to keep readers turning the pages. – The Book
Commentary
"This
book is an intricate, immersive, and riveting thriller, with plenty of
surprising twists and turns." — Readers' Choice
In the heart-pounding international thriller Salt Island, Mari
Ellwyn, a former-CIA private investigator, finds herself thrust into a perilous
world of high-stakes corporate espionage and ecoterrorism. As her newly formed
partnership with Derek Abernathy is put to the ultimate test, Mari faces a
daunting challenge that forces her to confront powerful ghosts from her past.
When billionaire CEO Jack Darcy's reputation and IPO deal are under threat,
Mari finds herself entangled in a web of secrets, lies and corporate fraud. The
disappearance of Jack's glamorous wife, coupled with the unraveling of a dark
secret within his esteemed environmental startup, leaves Mari with unanswered
question and a thirst for Justice.
While Mari's partner Derek goes undercover to investigate a series of
suspicious deaths on a local farm in California's Central Valley, Mari grapples
with the haunting truth about her missing father—a man with a double identity
and secret agenda. Determined to uncover the depths of her father's involvement
with her case, Mari embarks on a solo journey to the British Virgin Islands, a
hidden Caribbean refuge that holds the key to her own identity and future.
With Derek gone and time running out, Mari must decide whether to risk
everything to uncover the truth or succumb to the powerful forces that seek to
bury it forever. Get your copy of Salt Island now and brace
yourself of a relentless rollercoaster. Secrets can't stay buried forever, but
now Mari is alone, exposed and fighting for her survival.
What readers are saying about the
award-winning Salt Island:
"An often engaging tale of money, danger, and family." - Kirkus
"An intricate, gorgeously written, character-driven page-turner with some
shocking twists." - Prairies Book Reviews
"An intoxicating read, hugely entertaining." - The Book Commentary
"An exceptional thriller and a riveting work of espionage, wrongdoing, and
discovery." - Midwest Book Review
Who killed Sophie Michaud? Stay up all night reading
this award-winning psychological thriller that has readers obsessed.
Shot in the line of duty, ex
CIA operative Mari Ellwyn is again chasing adrenaline, when she reinvents
herself as a private investigator on a quest to find the killer of college
student Sophie Michaud. Every door Mari opens proves to be more perilous than
the last, but she’s hell bent on bringing the killer to justice—for Sophie,
students, and all women.
Teaming up with seasoned
investigator and former detective, Derek Abernathy, the crime-savvy pair
discover Sophie’s journal, which is filled with names and controversial
secrets—listed among them is Mari’s own father.
What secrets was Sophie
hiding?
As they connect the dots
leading to Sophie’s death, the blackmailing of a federal judge, and Mari’s own
family, Sophie’s murderer is closing in for the next kill. Facing an adversary
like none she’s ever experienced before, Mari must find her missing father and
reconcile her broken past before she becomes the killer’s next victim.
A multiple award-winning
novel, Hot House is a page-turning psychological thriller
packed with tension, secrets, suspense, and surprises. If you like Blake
Crouch, Harlan Coben, and Lisa Gardner, discover Lisa Towles’ E&A Series
today.
·First Place Winner of The Book Fest 2022 Literary Award, Mystery &
Crime category
·Literary Titan Gold Award for Fiction
Escape into this devious mind
mystery by getting your copy of Hot House now, so you can
solve the puzzle of who killed Sophie Michaud.
“Memorable characters make for a winsome, absorbing detective tale.” - Kirkus
Reviews
“Towles does a fantastic job of pacing the
storyline so that the reader hangs on to every clue... I recommend this for
fans of crime fiction writers
Baldacci, Slaughter, and Gardner.” San Francisco Book Review
“Award-winning author Lisa Towles delivers again and again with
her gripping thrillers…” Sarah
Lovett, Bestselling author
“The plot is propelled
forward by the clever use of suspense,
measured action, and ingeniously written conflict. It is a
moving and delightful read with cinematic
scenes and characters that will stick with readers for a long after
they turn the last page.” - The Book Commentary
“Hot House is an intricate
maze of blackmail, surprise and suspense delivered by
quirky characters, pithy dialog and LOL humor. Another hit by my favorite thriller writer, Lisa Towles.”
- Ana Manwaring
“Fans of investigative thrillers and mysteries will be the audience for
Hot House, but its ability to craft a sassy, fun series of dialogues and
inspections... creates an exceptional
read with a powerfully unexpected
conclusion... This will attract audiences both within and beyond the thriller and mystery genres." -
Midwest Book Review
“Towles has produced a
knockout novel with Hot House. Towles’s plot is as twisted and unpredictable... Nowhere will thriller fans find a more
engaging keep-you-on-your-toes read.” -
Literary Titan
“This meticulously
constructed, remarkable mystery deftly
explores people’s darkest flaws while revealing hard truths about the hidden
workings of the world. A fast-paced
and psychologically astute thriller.” Prairies Book Review
“Hot House is one of those books that pries your eyelids open and
doesn't relent until you've reached the end. Good luck getting Mari out of your head!” - Benjamin Bradley
Lisa Towles is an
award-winning, Amazon bestselling crime novelist and a passionate speaker on
the topics of fiction writing, creativity, and Strategic Self Care. Lisa has 11
crime novels in print with her newest title Specimen freshly released in
November 2024. The first two books of her E&A Investigations Series (Hot
House and Salt Island) were both #1 Amazon Kindle Bestsellers. Lisa also writes
standalone thrillers, such as her 2022 political thriller, The Ridders, which
won an American Fiction Award. Lisa is an active member and frequent
panelist/speaker of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and
International Thriller Writers. She has an MBA in IT Management and works
full-time in the tech industry.
Sara Wright is here to tell us about Rising Ember, The Ember Crown book 1, YA dystopian fantasy.
There's also a great giveaway.
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A kingdom divided will burn
Rising Ember
The Ember Crown Book 1
by Sara Wright
Genre: YA Dystopian Fantasy
Dangerous games. Kill or be killed. Can she
survive a king's ruthless arena?
Clarissa craves an escape. An orphan forced
into criminal acts with other kids by their caretaker, she longs to break free
and become a healer. But when an archenemy provokes a deadly confrontation, the
seventeen-year-old awakens hidden powers in an explosive and fiery defense.
Seized by soldiers and taken to the capital
along with her only friend, Clarissa trains alongside other slaves to fight in
the royal army. But surrounded by mysterious strangers and running low on
trust, the desperate captive fears graduation day will be her last.
Is Clarissa destined to die in chains?
Rising Ember
is the thrilling first book in the Forbidden Chronicles YA dystopian fantasy
series. If you like strong-willed heroines, nail-biting drama, and clean
slow-burn romance, then you’ll love Sara Wright’s action-packed adventure.
Buy Rising Ember to ignite destiny
today!
**Get signed
& special editions with maps, bookmarks & sprayed edges at Sara’s Store!**
Sara Wright is
the author of The Progenitor Chronicles and Forbidden Chronicles,
a YA dystopian fantasy series packed with rebellion, elemental powers, and
clean slow-burn romance.
She currently
lives on Earth, her favorite vacation planet, with her husband and their very
opinionated fur baby. But most days, she’s off exploring shattered kingdoms,
star-spanning civilizations, and the occasional multiverse with her lifelong
companions: Imagination and Creativity.
Raised on bedtime
stories and fueled by a steady diet of fantasy, sci-fi, and a sweet topping of
romance, Sara now writes tales for readers who crave action, heart, and hope.
When she’s not writing, you’ll find her cycling, hiking, or singing dramatically
to songs she swears are soundtracks to her books.
