Marie Lavender is celebrating a year of guests on her blog with best selling author giveaways!

A Year of Guest Authors! (plus a multi-author book giveaway)

We’re reaching a real milestone today on Writing in the Modern Age.  It’s been a year since I’ve invited guest authors to appear on the blog.  A year of guest authors!

Since then, we have seen authors from many walks of life and from every genre.  From the first guest article, “Practical Advice for Beginning Fiction Writers” by Stefan Vucak, to the most recent interview with Doc Krinberg, it has been very interesting to watch the blog grow. 

First of all, I want to thank all of the guest authors who appeared on the blog this year (well, last year and this year…LOL).  It’s been a real treat to have you all visit.  I have enjoyed getting to know you and seeing samples of your work.  A lot of you have offered really good advice, advice I hope aspiring writers use in their journeys.  That, after all, was the real aim of Writing in the Modern Age – to not only show what the writing journey is like these days, but to help writers at any stage in their careers.  With our guest articles, writing tips in interviews, even comments given about the steps they took to be successful, I think there is a lot to offer for anyone browsing through the blog.  And with the launch of poetry spotlights, we suddenly got a flash into the minds of poets from time to time.  Take a moment to browse through our interviews, guest articles and poetry.  You won’t be sorry and you may find a new favorite author.  I am proud to call these Writing in the Modern Age authors, or #WritModAge as our hashtag says on Twitter.

It has been a really exciting ride.  And the success of the Writing in the Modern Age blog would be nothing without its readers.  Whether they came as loyal followers or to simply check it out from a social networking link, we have had over 36,000 page views, and numerous followers by Google and by email.  I am still surprised by the comments on the blog posts.  Sometimes they are directly on the blog, thanking the author for their insights, or just a comment on Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn.  Either way, I feel blessed by the wonderful participation from our readers.  So, thank you all for making this a great year of having guest authors on the blog!

As a thank you, we’ve all put together a big multi-author book giveaway.  We have 38 participating authors and 54 books to give away.  We have something for everyone, encompassing many different genres such as science fiction, mysteries, thrillers, paranormal/urban fantasy, romance, non-fiction, women's fiction, fantasy, new adult, erotica, literary fiction, drama, and young adult or children's books.  Below you will see each book listed under the author as well as a blurb and buy link for more information.  Also included are the genre, format and number of copies available.  To make this giveaway more interesting, we’re ONLY picking winners based on their comments on this post.  

If you’d like to be considered in the giveaway and get the chance to win a book or books, please comment below.  Instead of telling us which book you want, please give us a range of different of genres you’re willing to accept.  The same goes for a genre you absolutely don't want to read.  Please say so.  We want this giveaway to be as fair and random as possible, but if you don’t give us a range of genres you like or are willing to read, then some of those books won’t be given out and that would be a real shame for the authors involved.  These talented writers have given us their time and copies of their books.  And please don’t be shy.  If you like erotica, just say so.  If you’d like to remain anonymous in that case, just leave your first name and your email in the comments and we will contact you with further details.  Oh, that reminds me.  Although the blog does allow anonymous comments, please do give us contact details.  It is a lot of work to hunt down winners on various social networks.  And we want to locate the right person.  At least give your email so that we can find you to send your book along.

Our participating authors for the giveaway are Stefan Vucak, D.J. Swykert, Sarah Baethge, Rebecca L. Frencl, Kathryn Elizabeth Jones, Jessica Tornese, Robert Fanshaw, Paula Hrbacek, Susan Mac Nicol, Elaine C. Pereira, Lois W. Stern, Linda Lee Williams, Rita Plush, Shannon MacLeod, Renee Novelle, Maxine Flam, Mark Conte, Caryl McAdoo, Margo Bond Collins, S.C. Rhyne, Jean Erhardt, Belinda Y. Hughes, Liza O’Connor, L E Barrett, KC Sprayberry, Nancy Wood, L. Anne Carrington, Kristal McKerrington, Ann Morris, Annie Edmonds, KateMarie Collins, Doug Bolton, Laura Graham, Nina Soden, Penny Estelle, T.J. Banks, Adra Young and LaRae Parry. 

 

So, readers, let’s make this anniversary of Writing in the Modern Age great.  Get your comments posted and we’ll do a random drawing for winners next week.  You have the chance to win a book or, in some cases, lots of books!  As always, happy reading and thanks for being a part of this milestone on Writing in the Modern Age! 
 This is a fabulous giveaway but to win you must go to the link below and leave a comment.  Also, when you go to this link you will see all the books, complete with blurbs!

http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2014/03/a-year-of-guest-authors-plus-multi_5836.html

Sizzling PR presents Welcome to Paradise by Jennifer MaCaire

WELCOME TO PARADISE

JENNIFER MACAIRE

Blurb: Growing up on an island paradise isn’t as easy as one might think. Sugar is infatuated with the boy next door, worried she won't make the cheerleading squad, and even more worried that she will. She is paranoid that because of the horrendous scar on her face, no one really expects her to succeed at anything. Her sister is smart, her mother is a legendary model, and her father is a famous artist. Her family’s success sets a high bar for her to live up to.

Everything changes for Sugar when a plastic surgeon removes her scar. The surgery makes her beautiful, but she makes the shocking discovery that being beautiful can be awful. When she finally discovers who she is, and what she wants from life, it nearly destroys her tightly knit family. She must confront abuse, an elopement, loss, and a secret her father has kept from her all her life. Sugar is struggling to pull everything together and find her own version of 'Happily Ever After'.

Author Bio: Jennifer Macaire lives in France with her husband, three children, & various dogs & horses. She grew up in upstate New York, Samoa, and the Virgin Islands. She graduated from St. Peter and Paul highschool in St. Thomas and moved to NYC where she modelled for five years for Elite. She went to France and met her husband at the polo club. All that is true. But she mostly likes to make up stories.

 http://www.jennifermacaire.com/

Sizzling PR Presents Bear With Me by Miranda Stowe

 

Bear with me

(Book 5 in the Half-Breed Shifter Series)

By Miranda Stowe

Blurb: Being only one-fourth shape shifter, jaguar-human Rhea Griffin hopes to skip her mating heat altogether. But no such luck. It's coming, and it's coming soon. Good news is that advancements in technology have made it so she doesn't have to turn into a total ho-bag and want sex from every male within a fifty-mile radius. She can take a nifty little injection for a couple of weeks to quell the "urges." But bad news is the nifty little injection ends up being a dud. And Rhea needs sex. Lots of it. Bear shifter, Brick Lowery was only supposed to come over to the Griffin house to keep his best good buddy Rhea company during her confinement time. But when everything goes south and Rhea needs a man to satisfy her mating heat before she suffers in agony, maybe even to the point of death, it's suddenly up to him to make sure she gets exactly what she needs. Except Brick's secretly been in love with Rhea since he was thirteen and this is not at all how he planned to win her over.   Excerpt: Brick sauntered forward, his large muscle-packed body surprisingly graceful for a bear. Brick had always been attractive. After he’d grown into some of his body parts, he’d probably become the best-looking boy in their class. But his looks had never made her want to reach out and just stroke his skin before...not like they did now.   An intense tingling spread up the insides of her legs as he drew close and knelt beside her, setting his gaming system between them. With his head bent slightly and his attention in the cardboard box as he fished around for the right cables he needed, she studied the side of his face, suddenly wanting to just...lick him.   “Okay, we need to plug this one in first, into the...” His words drifted off as he lifted his face. Nostrils flaring, he gazed at her for a moment before his eyes fell to her lips.   When heat flooded her from head to toe, her sex cramped and went moist. He dropped his attention even lower to her breasts where they strained against her shirt, the nipples poking out the front of the pale cotton.   A hoarse groan left his throat. Lifting his hand slowly, he reached out a single digit and barely brushed the back of his index finger over the thin material. If he’d have licked her bare, straining nipple and then bitten it, Rhea didn’t think she would’ve felt the impact of his touch any more intensely than she did now. With a moan, she threw back her head and squeezed her eyes shut. Heat pulsed between her legs. She wanted him there. Right now. Inside her. Deep, so deep inside her.   As if reading her mind, Brick asked, “Have you ever wondered what my cock would feel like buried in your pussy?” His voice was low and raspy. It shot another sizzling current of electricity through her.   Meeting his gaze, she opened her mouth to tell him—beg, demand, whatever it took—to take off his clothes and get inside of her that very instant. But her mother’s voice at the top of the stairs made her jolt and wrench herself away from him.   He stepped back too and glanced away guiltily, just as Riley Griffin popped her head out of the stairwell and joined them in the den. “Rhea, dinner’s ready if you’re—oh! Brick, you’re already here. Good. You’re welcome to dinner too, dear.”   He cleared his throat and bowed his head. “Thanks, Mrs. G. I’d love some. Can’t feed a bear like me enough, you know.”   “Well, both of you come on up.”   When Brick moved to follow her as Rhea’s mother started back up the stairs, Rhea hesitated, glancing at Brick’s perfect form. Now that he was all the way across the room, she didn’t want him quite as badly.   And it struck her what had just happened. Shit. Her mating heat really was starting.   “Mom?” she called, her voice trembling slightly. “I think...I think I should have my first injection now.”   Brick tensed and paused, but he didn’t turn to look at her.   Eyes wide with surprise, her mother did turn around, though. “Oh! Really? Damn, I wish females could smell another female’s heat. I would’ve already known that. I’m sorry, honey. Let’s get you taken care of, then.” As she came back down the steps, she glanced at Brick.   He refused to meet her gaze as he shrugged. “I must be too diluted of a shifter to notice it yet.”   Rhea knew he was lying; he’d definitely felt something. He’d been just as ready to get kinky as she’d been. She waited a second before her mother entered the back room before meeting Brick’s dark gaze and mouthing the word, “Liar.”   “I want to fuck you. Hard,” he mouthed right back, lifting his eyebrows in direct challenge.   For a moment, she was tempted. Two weeks of constant sex with Brick sounded pretty damn good right about now. She could almost feel his hands on her breasts, cupping her and squeezing, his hot open mouth on her throat and his cock shoved deep, pumping through her sex and bumping against her g-spot, over and over again, until—   “Rhea? Are you coming?” her mother called.

Buy links :

AllRomance Ebooks - Amazon - B & N 

  Author Bio: Miranda lives with her wonderful, Brad-Pitt-lookalike husband (hey, they're both blond-haired and blue-eyed) and adorable still-needs-to-learn-the-meaning-of-NO toddler daughter on their spacious corn-field-and-cow-pasture-front property in Kansas. Librarian by day and author by night, she is also published in YA and contemporary mainstream romance under a different pen name.

Author Links : Website Twitter Goodreads

S S Hampton remembers an Irish tragedy!

            It’s Saint Patrick’s Day! Be sure to wear green, or get pinched. Eat green-tinted food. Say “Top o’ the morning to you!” (Actually, an Irish woman once told me no one in Ireland says that; seems it is something of a foreign invention.) Go out tonight, have a few drinks with friends, enjoy Irish food, have a good time, and enjoy all things Irish.

            There is nothing wrong with all of the above. Everyone deserves to have a little fun from time to time.

            But in the midst of all of this fun, take a moment to consider what “all things Irish” includes.

            It includes “An Gorta Mor”—The Great Hunger of 1845-1852, when potato blight swept across Ireland, destroying a staple of Irish diet. One million Irish men, women, and children died of starvation and disease, and another two million emigrated from Ireland. It was an unprecedented disaster for those times, worsened by greed and political bungling. There were many people and organizations who tried to help, but sometimes help is little more than a drop in a bucket.

            Among those who sent aid in 1847 was a people who only 16 years before were uprooted from their own homes and marched across a wilderness to an unknown, hostile land. Hundreds, if not thousands, of men, women, and children died during their portion of the Trail of Tears in America.

            At a tribal gathering in Indian Territory the Choctaws learned of The Great Hunger and the dying in Ireland. Remembering what they experienced, the Choctaws dug into their pockets and gathered $170.00 to send to a relief society in Memphis for the Irish. The $170.00 was a drop in the bucket but it was a gift from the heart, from one devastated people to another.

            It was a gift that was never forgotten.

            In the generations since, the Irish and the Choctaws have maintained a private and governmental relationship. Choctaws have walked in famine memorial walks held in Ireland, and Irish have walked in Trail of Tears memorial walks in America.

            In 1995 Mary Robinson, President of Ireland (1990-1997), visited the Choctaw Nation to say thank you. In 1996, during an exchange of toasts with President Bill Clinton, she recalled the Choctaw and Irish connection:

            “…The connection with the Choctaw people goes back to just over 150 years ago – the worst year of the great potato famine, 1847. It had begun in 1845, and the potato crop failed. It failed again in 1846. And in 1847, that was the worst year of starvation and emigration. And the Choctaw people who had been displaced from their tribal lands learned about this people far away on an island that were starving and destitute. And they raised $173.00 and sent it for the relief of the Irish famine victims. And that has never been forgotten in Ireland.

            “And I must say, it was for me a special moment just over a year ago to go to Oklahoma and to specifically thank and pay that tribute to the Choctaw people for the connection that they had made with the people of Ireland…” (Gifts of Speech – Mary Robinson)

            I cannot explain it, but I feel a special pride about the Choctaw and Irish connection. When I lived in Colorado Springs, a good friend of Irish descent and I used to meet for beer and dinner on Saint Patrick’s Day. When I moved to Las Vegas, we stayed in touch, especially sending greetings on Saint Patrick’s Day. Unfortunately, we have lost touch. I miss Teresa. She Is a good person.

            So, on this day take a moment to consider all things Irish. Especially consider how one people can reach out to another and thereby forge a lasting friendship.

            And consider the many “Great Hungers” and other disasters happening around the world today. The need for one people to reach out to another continues. And fortunately, for all of us, there are many who do reach out to others even in the most dangerous lands, and sometimes at the risk or loss of their lives. That says something about our humanity, and our future.

            Happy Saint Patrick’s Day, everyone!

“Better Than a Rabbit’s Foot.” Ed. Joelle Walker. MuseItUp Publishing, June 2012.

ISBN: 978-1-77127-078-6

BLURB: Sergeant Jerry Stanton is a young soldier serving in the War in Iraq. He is a gunner on a gun truck nicknamed “Lucky Bear,” one of those tireless workhorses that escort supply convoys from camps in Kuwait to destinations scattered throughout the war-torn country. In the early morning hours before a scheduled mission, a dust storm howls across his camp and threatens to bring convoy operations to a halt. Worse, the camp receives word that a gunner from his company was killed by an IED while on a convoy mission. Unlike most soldiers, Jerry doesn’t carry a lucky charm, but upon receiving news of the death of the gunner, he begins to mull over/ponder the merit/virtue of a good luck charm—only, what would work for him? Perhaps mail call will provide the answer.

EXCERPT: “People like a happy ending.”

Sergeant Jerry Stanton, an M4 Carbine slung across his chest, glanced at the dark form that trudged alongside him in the hot, early morning darkness. It was all the darker for the dust storm howling across the small camp, a dusty and sandy convoy support center, CSC, a mile south of the Iraqi border. He placed his hand over the tall styrofoam coffee cup from the messhall that was open at all hours to serve those about to head out on a mission. He felt the itchy dust filtering down his back, along his arms, and coating his fingers.

In spite of his short time deployed to Kuwait, he had learned that dust storms were worse than sand storms; they were hot and itchy while the sand storms stung exposed skin and chilled the air. Breakfast was good but tasted flat, more due to the question of whether their mission would be a go or no-go because of the storm that roared out of the midnight darkness hours before.

“What?”

“People like a happy ending,” the soldier repeated. He was a gunner from another gun truck as the squat, venerable M1114 HMMWVs, which were never meant to be combat vehicles, were called. He held up a rabbit foot that spun frantically in the wind and added, “I like a happy ending.  Especially now.” They rounded the corner of a small building, actually a renovated mobile home trailer with a covered wooden porch lit by a bare electric bulb. The gunner pointed to a small black flag, suspended from a log overhang, flapping furiously in the wind.

“Oh shit.” Jerry sighed as a cold chill raced through him.

“It’s been there for an hour or so,” the soldier said as he enclosed the rabbit’s foot within both hands and brought it up to his lips as if to kiss it. He glanced at Jerry. “I’m not superstitious, but still, I mean, there’s nothing wrong with having a lucky charm. You know?”

“Yeah.” Jerry nodded as he watched the twisting flag. “I know.”

The soldier looked once more at the black flag and then walked toward the shower and restroom trailers beyond which were the air-conditioned sleeping tents they called home…

https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/museitup/mainstream/better-than-a-rabbit-s-foot-detail

BIOGRAPHY

SS Hampton, Sr. is a full-blood Choctaw of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, a divorced grandfather to 13 wonderful grandchildren, a published photographer and photojournalist, and a member of the Military Writers Society of America. He retired on 1 July 2013 from the Army National Guard with the rank of Sergeant First Class; he previously served in the active duty Army (1974-1985), the Army Individual Ready Reserve (1985-1995) (mobilized for the Persian Gulf War), and enlisted in the Army National Guard in October 2004, after which he was mobilized for Federal active duty for almost three years. Hampton is a veteran of Operations Noble Eagle (2004-2006) and Iraqi Freedom (2006-2007). His writings have appeared as stand-alone stories and in anthologies from Dark Opus Press, Edge Science Fiction & Fantasy, Melange Books, Musa Publishing, MuseItUp Publishing, Ravenous Romance, and as stand-alone stories in Horror Bound Magazine, The Harrow, and River Walk Journal, among others. Second-career goals include becoming a painter and studying for a degree in photography and anthropology—hopefully to someday work in and photograph underwater archaeology. After 12 years of brown desert in the Southwest and overseas, he misses the Rocky Mountains, yellow aspens in the fall, running rivers, and a warm fireplace during snowy winters. As of December 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Hampton officially became a homeless Iraq War veteran.

Melange Books

http://www.melange-books.com/authors/sshampton/index.html

Musa Publishing

http://www.musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=50

MuseItUp Publishing

https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/museitup/mainstream/better-than-a-rabbit-s-foot-detail

Amazon.com Author Page

http://www.amazon.com/SS-Hampton-Sr/e/B00BJ9EVKQ

Amazon.com. UK Author Page

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SS-Hampton-Sr/e/B00BJ9EVKQ

Goodreads Author Page

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6888342.S_S_Hampton_Sr_

Rachel's Legacy has herself a new look!

Amazon Best Seller

#35  in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Anthologies 


Rachel Connors loved her life, and her job as a manager at a ski resort in Aspen Colorado, but after learning she was ill, she decided to take a long needed vacation to her parent's home. This was when she met Kyle Landers, who in her absence had moved into her parent's lives, and before he'd even met Rachel, Kyle had decided not to like her. Kyle had been alone in the world when Rachel's parents had taken him in; and he couldn't understand why their ungrateful daughter had chosen to distance herself from them. 



Rachel and Kyle grew closer, and she knew she was falling for him. Everything changed when Rachel was scheduled to meet Kyle, but a call from her doctor summoned her back to Aspen, telling her parents there was a problem at work. When Kyle hears of this, he boards a plane to find her, learning the truth of her condition. Their love blossomed but it was to be short lived when on their flight back to the ranch the plane crashed. Despite an extensive search, Kyle was never found, and Rachel was forced to go on without him.

 Four years had passed, and Rachel's relationship with Marcus, her new boyfriend, was moving to a different level, but at the same time, the thought dead Kyle had come out of his coma; his mind lost in the events four years earlier. After Rachel accepted Marcus' proposal, Kyle returns, leaving Rachel with a dilemma. For four years Marcus had been by her side, but now Kyle was back, wanting her just as much as he had the day of the crash. She needed to get away to make her decision, so she left for Aspen, only Kyle followed her to try to convince her that they belonged together. 

Who will Rachel Chose? Is Kyle's love enough to bring her back to him?

http://www.amazon.com/Rachels-Legacy-Rachel-Connors-Saga-ebook/dp/B0056NTYIK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393258563&sr=8-1&keywords=rachel%27s+legacy+by+lizzy+stevens 

2nd Edition

Revised 8-14-13