Thursday, July 31, 2014

Kristin Wallace teases us with a bit from Imagine That


Imagine That


Back Cover Blurb:
Children’s author Emily Sinclair was supposed to be the next J.K. Rowling… Until her second book flopped and her imagination went on the fritz. So Emily sets out on an epic adventure to find inspiration again. Till a dead car lands her in Covington Falls, Georgia. Soon Emily is taking up her quest, looking for inspiration driving a mobile library van, as a companion to a crotchety old woman and her insomniac dog, and as a very ungraceful baker’s assistant. Of course, what really sparks her romantic fantasies is a valiant hero, though he yields a paint roller instead of a sword.

Rugged, blue-collar Nate Cooper has spent most of his life avoiding the printed page. These days he doesn’t have much use for fancy words and certainly not for a slightly off-center writer on the lam. Not when his mother is battling cancer, his little brother has morphed into a teenaged ogre, and God seems to have taken a vacation.

On paper, these two would seem the least likely pairing, and a happily ever after nothing but fantasy. But with faith and imagination Emily and Nate are about to write a new chapter that will lead to unexpected love.



Excerpt:

Chapter One

A stomach-churning thunk. A disaster-laden chug. A scary, threatening gurgle.
Emily Sinclair’s hands clutched the steering wheel as she guided her how-could-you-give-out-on-me-now convertible to the side of the road. With a last ominous blunk and splutter, the car gave up the ghost.
She switched off the engine, waited a few seconds, and then turned the key again. Nothing.
Not surprising. As if anything glug-glugging like an octogenarian trying to cough up a lung was going to restart with so little effort.
A cranky yowl went up from the passenger seat. Emily glanced over at the pet carrier and sent the fat Persian inside a confident smile. “Don’t worry, Wordsworth. This is why modern man invented cell phones.”
She fished her phone out of her purse. A blank screen stared back at her. Pressing more buttons did nothing.
Dead.
Dead as her car.
With a sound of disgust, Emily tossed the useless phone aside and stared out the windshield at the deserted country road in front of her. The very deserted country road that stretched around a sparkling blue lake and disappeared into the back of beyond. The kind of road featured in all the best horror stories. Emily’s mind conjured up every one, along with the opening line in the newspaper article.
Once-famous children’s author found mangled to death. Quest to locate her lost imagination and revive faded career ends in disaster… as her mother predicted.
Muttering an oath, Emily climbed out of the car and slammed the door as hard as she could. What a fix. And ironic. There were rules about writing. Not grammar rules, like where to put commas or when to use a semicolon. No, the unofficial rules for fiction writing. Chief among them is that an author should never start a novel with the character driving or thinking. No, readers wanted action right off the top, and the car could never break down.
In college, Emily had written a short story where the heroine’s car stalled in a typical these-people-will-murder-you-in-your-sleep town. Emily’s professor had written cliché in bold, red pen across the page. Not satisfied, she’d added boring cliché, underlining the boring with three thick red lines. The critique had stung. The fact that it had come courtesy of Professor Vanessa Sinclair, Emily’s mother, had been like ripping off an old bandage.
Emily was breaking all three cardinal rules of writing at once. Though technically the driving rule didn’t apply. Same for the sitting rule. She was thinking, though. Thinking her entire life had become a cliché, so what did it matter if she broke her mother’s precious writing rules? She was a one-hit writing wonder. A flash in the pan. A big-haired eighties’ rock band that had scored one giant hit and then disappeared into the oblivion of those nostalgic ‘Where are they now?’ music specials.
Emily sighed. If one had to break down somewhere, one could do worse than… what had the sign said back there? Covington something. Covington something, Georgia. Muted afternoon sun shimmered off the surface of the lake. She lifted a hand to ward off the eye-watering glare and focused on the water. In her previous life, the golden flecks of sunlight reflecting off its surface would have transformed into a million different kinds of fantastical creatures. Or maybe something nightmarish would charge out of that bank of oak trees across the lake.
Unfortunately, Emily was stuck in her real life, and her imagination was on the fritz.
Well, at least she wouldn’t die of water deprivation while she waited to be rescued.
Speaking of rescue.
A car had appeared, winding around the curve of the lake. A big ole’ country truck calling to mind hoedowns and hay rides. A big ole’ rusty truck, Emily realized as it drew closer. Burnt red growth spread out across the hood like a marauding band of Vikings overtaking a defenseless village. She imagined rust was the only thing holding the vehicle together.
The truck slowed and Emily tensed, torn between elation at being found and wariness regarding exactly who might be behind the wheel of the ancient rattletrap. The glare off the windshield made it impossible to see inside the cab, however.
The tires veered off to the side of the road and stopped, sending up a cloud of dust. Emily waved her hand, choking on the airborne dirt. Her mouth felt dry as if she had licked the ground. The door opened. Work boots emerged. Brown and roughed-up and covered in… paint. A man stepped out, and Emily steadied her hands against the car to keep from falling over.
Mr. Darcy. No, Heathcliff. Only instead of a cravat and breeches, he was dressed in faded jeans and a black T-shirt, which seemed molded to an impressive chest. Heath stretched up a good six-plus feet, towering over her puny five-foot-two frame. A lock of dark chocolate-brown hair brushed over his forehead. Their eyes met. Since she was already thinking in clichés, Emily’s mind offered up a million of them to describe his eyes. She could start with gray, but no way did such a mundane word do them justice. Slate, storm clouds, a roiling sea, glazed pewter. Devastating, and framed by thick sooty lashes no man had a right to possess.
He stopped a few feet away, and Emily had the fanciful notion he was trying not to frighten her. Like she was a skittish filly about to bolt.
Hi,” he said. “Car trouble?”
His voice was like his eyes. Smooth and deep, like honey in a cup of hot tea.
Emily nodded. How could she speak when every male literary fantasy she’d ever dreamed about had unfolded from a rusted-out pickup?

Buy Links:





About Kristin Wallace
Growing up Kristin devoured books like bags of Dove Dark Chocolate. Her first Golden Book led to Laura Ingalls Wilder, Nancy Drew, C.S. Lewis and the Sweet Valley High series. Later, she discovered romance novels and fell in love all over again. It’s no surprise then that Kristin would one day try her hand at writing them. She writes inspirational romance and women’s fiction filled with love, laughter and a leap of faith. When she’s not writing her next novel, Kristin works as an advertising copywriter. Kristin is the author of the Covington Falls Chronicles, romances set in a quirky Southern town with a character all its own. Be sure to check out the first two books in the series, Marry Me and Acting Up.
Connect with Kristin:


Monday, July 28, 2014

Beverly Ovalle talks about her Inspirations on Penny's Tales


Inspirations

I’m not sure how other authors come up with their stories, but here are a few odd ball inspirations that have come to me.

Touched by the Sandman came to me appropriately enough as I was waking up. The state between waking and sleeping when you feel like you are between two worlds. The warmth of the bed as opposed to the cold air you know you’ll face when you peek your head above the covers. The instinctive snuggle to absorb the heat of your lover, only to find he’s not there. My brain kicked in and that is how Touched by the Sandman came to me, a whisper of an idea as I woke.
So, luckily it was a weekend. My husband was gone, at work already. So I grabbed my computer and started typing away. When I finished I sent it off to my beta readers (I’m always looking for more by the way!)

Dragons’ Mate came to me late at night as I was watching the SyFy channel. It was some alligator vs. crocodile movie. Why two fictional reptile creatures inspired a ménage dragon shifter romance I have no idea, LOL. I just think my brain doesn’t process things in a normal way. But who needs normal?
Lightning Strike. Hmm. I have no idea how that happened! It is about a war veteran and a tree nymph. If I recall correctly I was surfing the internet and started reading about mythology and that led to a page on nymphs. That then led to my story. A magical place, a man and an injured tree nymph just percolated out of my brain and to my fingers.

A Saint’s Salvation was different. Never meant to published, I created a character that had the personality of my son. Don’t say sick, LOL. It wasn’t a love story at first. It was a way to deal with the angst. My son was in Afghanistan and it was hard on him, me and my husband. He would message us weekly or daily, just to touch base with home. I believe it was to touch base with reality and normal life, so he remembered what home was like. He won’t talk about what went on there, but the young men he served with are all really close even though they are all over the world. When he came home, he wasn’t quite the same young man. He had matured, somewhat. He’ll always have a wicked sense of humor. Just having him home safe, I was able to divorce the story from him and it turned into a romance.

I could go on and on. I have two stories currently in the submission process. One another dragon shifter tale, Stealing Hope, which is exciting as it will be my first full length novel so it will eventually be in print! Woo hoo! The other is a short hot erotic western, Triple D Dude Ranch. I was laughing and said I should write a western from a city girls point of view, but it got hot fast and furious. It takes place in Texas and it has a horse. What else does it need? A hot cowboy? Oh yeah!
I have four more stories I’m working on. I don’t always remember how I was inspired, but when I do, as you can see, it just isn’t normal!



Touched by the Sandman
~A lonely woman's torrid sexual dreams and fantasy partner await her as a dominant reality in another dimension~
The sandman visits those that need him, assisting them to sleep. Until one night he meets a woman that he cannot help but return to time after time.
She is lonely. He comes to her as she drifts off to sleep, the man of her dreams. Awake or asleep, which is her reality?
He knows she is the one meant for him. He will find a way to make both of their dreams come true.

Buy Links:



Dragons’ Mate
They had been searching for their mate, but when they find her she is traumatized and scared to be around strange men. They must get her to accept them before they reveal their true natures. Will their love be strong enough to break down her barriers? Could she truly be destined to love two dragons?
Today Annie’s dragons will shift and fulfill her every desire, which means a fiery threesome—and true love.
Buy Links:





Lightning Strike
For generations Levi’s family had guarded a sacred glen in the mountains. Still far from man this isolated area was a favorite spot of his grandfather. Levi grew up listening to his tales and fell in love without ever having stepped foot there.
Now Levi’s family, led by his grandmother, wanted to sell the land. With only his grandfather and Levi against it, Levi has to prove to the rest of the family why they needed to continue their guardianship. Believing in his grandfather’s tales despite himself, Levi went armed with his camera and his well-known expertise behind the lens and headed out for proof.
Providing that proof and protecting the secrets of the glen from the world, Gaia needs to convince Levi to continue that protection. Daphnaie, the embodiment of his every dream, is sent to show him why, stealing his heart in the process to save her world.
Buy Links:



A SAINT’S SALVATION
Corporal Nicholas 'Saint' Santiago needs to go home to reclaim the man he used to be. To be the man he was before Operation Enduring Freedom slowly hardened his heart. He needs to reconnect to the values and the reasons he is doing what he does. Saint also needs to try to forget the courageous woman he knows was meant to be his.
Petty Officer Angelina Jones' life changed the moment Saint saved her life. She survived the blast but now has to deal with the fact that she will never be whole. Knowing Saint received a 'Dear John' letter, Angelina has no intention of being his rebound romance. She needs to be loved for herself. She needs to forget about the one man she knows was meant to be hers.
They each try to find someone to help them forget.
But what does fate have planned for them?
Buy Links:

AUTHOR BIO:
Beverly Ovalle lives in Wisconsin with her husband Edmond of 24 years and two Chinese Water Dragons. Having her own Dragons is expected as she is dragon crazy and anyone that walks in her house can tell. Her son Nicholas visits when he is on leave from the Marines.  Her daughter Susannah visits from time to time to make sure us ‘old’ folks are alive and kicking.

Beverly has traveled around the world thanks to five years in the US Navy and has worked for the government in one capacity or another for the past 30 years. Beverly and her brothers have travelled most of the continental United States as children due to the station wagon from Hell.  Still active with veterans, she is adjutant for her local AMVETS.

Beverly has been reading romances since her Aunt introduced her to the gothic romance in the fourth grade and is still reading every chance she gets.

HERE ARE MY STALKER LINKS:

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Book r3vi3w Tours present Bootie and the Beast on Penny's Tales






Fairytales don't end with True Love's Kiss, they begin with one...

Diya Mathur (aka Beauty), celebrated supermodel and Party Princess of India, is adored by everyone. She works hard, plays hard, and has the biggest shoe fetish on the planet. But after she purchases one baby bootie, Diya's reputation is in ruins. There's only one place to escape the rumours - Texas, under the protection of her lifelong friend, and secret love, Krish Menon (aka the Beast).

Financial whizz-kid, CFO and entrepreneur, Krish is a brooding workaholic with a charisma that still brings Beauty Mathur to her knees. He has no idea, of course! They've shared a bond since childhood - a special friendship that thrives on sparring, teasing and goading - but with Diya back in his life and under his roof, Krish's latent desire for her explodes. And when he finally admits to the secret that has never allowed him to commit to any woman - especially Diya - everything changes. Krish might finally realise how much he wants his Beauty. But he won't get her until Diya has tamed her Beast.


Book links for Bootie and the Beast:
Amazon UK:

Amazon India:

Mills and Boon:

Harlequin India:

Flipkart:

Book links for It’s Your Move, Wordfreak:




Falguni Kothari is a non-traditional homemaker who accidently tripped on a misplaced soccer ball and fell down the writer’s rabbit hole. Having no more experience with the whole writing/publishing shebang than being a voracious reader and movie buff, it more than surprised her that she could, in fact, write a full-length novel.
Now, several manuscripts down, when she is not trying to find a way out of her many domestic duties or cajoling her Latin dance coach to compose a rumba on Bollywood music, she is found embroiled in some or other scandal—sorry, creating stories—on her ever-faithful laptop.
She’s authored Bootie and the Beast, It’s Your Move, Wordfreak! and Scrabbulous Impressions, a short story. She rumbas across a whole smorgasbord of Social Media daily and loves to connect with most living things.

Twitter: @F2tweet https://twitter.com/F2tweet



Top 10 Things to know about Falguni Kothari:

  1. She’s a semi-professional Kathak and Ballroom dancer.
  2. She’s been known to pluck pigeons in mid-flight with her bare hands and pet them.
  3. She abhors flying and prays that some or other astrophysicist invent a “Teleporter” ala Star Trek soon.
  4. She cooks up several excuses a day to not cook every day. No one has yet starved in her household.
  5. She believes cyber-stalking celebs is her birthright.
  6. She suffers from neatness OCD.
  7. She keeps herself intentionally clueless about politics.
  8. Between 1995 and 2000, she’s watched Disney’s Mulan, Hercules and Sleeping Beauty more than 50 times each.
  9. She’s hopeful about an afterlife but skeptical about organized religion.
  10. She plays a mean game of Scrabble.


Tuesday, July 8, 2014

K C Sprayberry presents Inits on Penny's Tales









Excerpt:

Thudding footsteps, a smack on the back as I’m swallowing, and then RAS straddles the chair across from me.
“Don’t gulp. Then I won’t have to keep you from choking.” He fills his plate with enough food to feed the back line of the Atlanta Falcons. “The jerk used all the hot water.” RAS glares at me. “You will so pay later.”
“Yeah, right.” I stuff more pancakes, strawberries, and sausages into my mouth.

I always pay. When will he figure out that I’m not his favorite tackle dummy?



This is a story that was with me for a long time, a story begging to be told more and more each day. Many, many people have been bullied. Most of us survived and went on to have useful lives, but we will always remember those who pushed us around, physically and mentally.


We stood up and walked away. The bruises weren’t always visible, but they were and are there. We remain quiet when harsh words are spoken … walk away when others begin conversations that make us feel uncomfortable. One and all, we dream of the day when bullying will stop.
Some of us are around to share our stories. Others could no longer handle what was said or done to them. How do you stop a bully? Words? Actions? Treat them as they do you? There is no perfect solution, yet we can never stop standing up against these people.

Enter here for a chance to win a copy of Inits!


Blurb:

High school means a whole new world. Yet, for Alex Starkey, pimples, discovering one of his buds is a real girl now, and an older brother using him as his favorite tackle dummy are tiny problems. What gets Alex's temper simmering are his inits. Surviving his freshman year without diving into deep trouble seems impossible. 


Bio:

KC Sprayberry started writing young, first as a diarist, and later through an interest in English and creative writing. Her first experience with publication came when she placed third in The Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge contest while in the Air Force, but her dedication to writing came after she had her youngest child, now preparing to enter college.

Her family lives in Northwest Georgia where she spends her days creating stories about life in the south, and far beyond. More than a dozen of her short stories have appeared in several magazines. Five anthologies feature other short stories. She has three books that are Amazon best sellers: Softly Say Goodbye, Who Am I?, and Mama's Advice. Her other novels available are: Take Chances, Where U @, The Wrong One, Pony Dreams, Evil Eyes, and Starlight.