Wednesday, January 8, 2020

FEATURED AUTHOR: TONY DiGEROLAMO





ABOUT THE BOOKS


The Pineys: Book 1:  My Cousin, The Piney

From the creator of the Jersey Devil comic book comes a story about four cousins cursed by their ancestors, brought together by destiny and trying to keep South Jersey from going to Hell.



In 1732, Mother Leeds gave birth to the infamous Jersey Devil, which has roamed the Pine Barrens ever since.



Or so the story goes . . .

The truth is, Mother Leeds was a witch and opened the portals to Hell unleashing hundreds of devils into woods. But the villagers next door in Abe’s Hat noticed and formed a secret hunting society to track down the fiends and send them back to the Abyss. Their descendants continue the Hunt in secret to this day.



So grab your pork roll, put on your Piney Power hat and join the hunt, because the Galloway cousins are coming to save you whether you like it or not.


The Pineys: Book 2:  Witch Piney Are You?

For centuries, the South Jersey Pine Barrens has been the home of not just the Jersey Devil, but the witches of legend and lore. When the devil-hunting Galloway clan is confronted by a coven of old crones, all Hell breaks out—literally.



In the next gun-toting episode of the Pineys, we reveal the origins of Hemingway's undead mother, who and what the Witch Boy is and we burn down part of the Pine Barrens (which pretty much happens every year in South Jersey). Shelly goes to college, Milton and Lewis go to work and Hemingway engages in his, er, uh, "hobby".



So down a pint of blueberries, load up your silver bullets and get ready for the Hunt because while devils are hard to kill, witches don't die!



From the creator of the Jersey Devil comic book comes a story of four cousins brought together by destiny, cursed by their ancestors and trying to keep South Jersey from going to Hell.



The Pineys:  Book 3:  The Third Grade Piney

Before he was the world's greatest hunter, Hemingway Galloway was a rambunctious third grader in Abe's Hat Elementary. A devil that lived in an old well by the school lured children to their doom, but the Galloway cousins thought they killed it Forty years later and Hemingway is a substitute teacher at the school. When the hunter starts reliving his nightmare from the past, he soon realizes something dark still lives in the old well.


And when cousins Lewis and Milton take a trip to South Philly, Lewis must confront his own past in the form of mobster debts and his dead father.

So grab yourself a deep-fried pizza turnover, load up your silver bullets and get ready for the most intense Piney adventure yet!



From the creator of the Jersey Devil comic book, comes a story about four cousins, cursed by their ancestors, brought together by destiny and trying to keep South Jersey from going to Hell.



Wokeistan: A Novel

President Trump has just been inaugurated for the second time. The students at Upstate College are not happy. Led by one charismatic person of color, of African, Indigenous, Pan Asian descent who is a differently-abled Muslim-Atheist, they obliterate the college experience forever.



Wokeistan (co-written by Christian Beranek) is a satire: Politics, media, corporations, feminism and the relationships between men and women. In a world where anyone to the right of Fidel Castro is considered a fascist, one college professor will try to save his school.



Read this book before it’s banned, because nothing escapes Wokeistan.



LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH TONY DiGEROLAMO 



A few of your favorite things: currently, it’s my computer and the accessories I’ve added to make YouTube videos.

Things you need to throw out: there’s an old fence in my backyard that I am slowly throwing out a few pieces at a time.

Things you need in order to write: iced tea, the computer, music and/or silence.

Things that hamper your writing: everything else.

Things you love about writing: I like creating worlds and exploring them in my head and on the written page. I like the idea of transferring thoughts from my brain to the reader. I like the feeling of discovering something about a character, even though it’s only in my head.

Things you hate about writing: nothing really. Just wish I made slightly more money on it.

Easiest thing about being a writer: coming up with new ideas. I am a font of creativeness.

Hardest thing about being a writer: for me, it’s always been the money.

Things you love about where you live: it’s a small town and just a few doors down from The Whitman-Stafford House where Walt Whitman summered.

Things that make you want to move: probably the taxes.

Proudest moment: I guess it was when I could finally present a book that I wrote about Italian heritage called F*ck You, I’m Italian: Why Italians Are Awesome to my dad, who I dedicated it to.

Most embarrassing moment: did you ever shit yourself on a camping trip? Yeah, me neither.

Things you never want to run out of: money, iced tea, new restaurants.

Things you wish you’d never bought: I try to live with no regrets. Whatever it was, I’m sure it was small.

Words that describe you: odd, relentless, positive, positively charming, hilarious, handsome and too much.

Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t: fat, old.

Favorite foods: sushi, potato chips, iced tea, cheesesteak hoagies, pizza, stromboli, General Tso’s chicken, and many more. Bit of a foodie.

Things that make you want to throw up: asparagas.

Favorite song: “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys
.
Music that make your ears bleed: bad country music.

Favorite beverage: iced tea.

Something that gives you a pickle face: most alcohol.

Favorite smell: garlic.

Something that makes you hold your nose: shit.

Something you’re really good at: annoying people with my comedy.

Something you’re really bad at: trying to explain later it was a joke.

Something you wish you could do: time travel.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: use dating apps.

Something you like to do: play video games.

Something you wish you’d never done: got married.

People you consider as heroes: George Washington, Hunter S. Thompson, Mark Twain.

People with a big L on their foreheads: anyone that treats Twitter as being even remotely serious.



Last best thing you ate: Stromboli.

Last thing you regret eating: Chipotle.

Things you’d walk a mile for: a burrito served by a waitress in a bikini, who sits on my lap and feeds me that and an iced tea.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: someone who calls themselves “woke” unironically.


Things you always put in your books: a lot of myself.

Things you never put in your books: hypocrisy.

Things to say to an author: Can I buy a copy of your book?

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book:  Can I give you suggestions for your next book?

Favorite places you’ve been: Toronto, Dragon Con, Old Atlantic City.

Places you never want to go to again: Los Angeles.

Favorite things to do: write, play video games, watch TV.

Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: going to a wedding.

Things that make you happy: my dog, days off, hits on my website, sales on my books, and subscribers to my YouTube videos.

Things that drive you crazy: oh, just the worry of my own mistakes I suppose.

Biggest lie you’ve ever told: guess I told myself marriage would be a good idea.

A lie you wish you’d told: I wish I had told my first wife the wrong address for our first date.

Best thing you’ve ever done: I quit my day job to write comics after my car accident.

Biggest mistake: getting married.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: that is an incredibly sleazy story which I’ll keep to myself.

Something you chickened out from doing: I tend not to like heights or skiing. I’m not afraid, I just don’t think the risk is worth the reward.

The last thing you did for the first time: tried Ethiopian food
.
Something you’ll never do again: that’s an incredibly sleazy story which I’ll keep to myself.






ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tony DiGerolamo is a New Jersey screenwriter, novelist, comic book writer, game designer and comedian. He is best known for his work on The Simpsons and Bart Simpson comic books. He has also been a joke writer for Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, a scriptwriter for Space Ghost: Coast to Coast and a blogger for Comedy Central’s Indecision website. He has written the screenplays including Mafioso: The Father, The Son starring Leo Rossi. His novels, Fix in Overtime and The Undercover Dragon are available through Padwolf Publishing. After publishing his own comic books (Jersey Devil, The Travelers and The Fix) with SJRP, he eventually got a publishing deal with Kenzer & Company. Kenzer published The Travelers. Tony also wrote Everknights (another Kenzer comic book), as well as the Hacklopedia of Beasts (Volumes 1 thru 8) and Slaughterhouse Indigo (an adventure for the Hackmaster RPG). He also adapted Mark Twain's Personal Reflections of Joan of Arc for Campfire.  Performing in the Philly comedy scene for over ten years, Tony performed and directed such improv groups as Next Line Improv, The Cabal, The Ninjas and Bulletproof Giraffe.

Besides writing for various comedy websites, he had a long running comics review column in Knights of the Dinner Table magazine. He was the marketing director for comics publisher, Silent Devil. He is creator of Tony DiGerolamo’s Complete Mafia for d20, creator/biographer for the online webcomic, Super Frat, the co-creator of the Webcomic Factory and writer for the over two dozen webcomics on the Webcomic Factory site including Lester Crenshaw is Dead, Miserable Comedians and Weird Biker Tales.  Look for his book, F*ck You, I’m Italian: Why We Italians Are Awesome, from Ulysses Press.  He recently finished a political satire, Wokeistan: A Novel, with Christian Beranek.  His current project is a comedy/horror novella series about the hunters of the Jersey Devil called The Pineys.




Connect with Tony:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Brighteon Channel  |  Bitchute Channel  |  YouTube Channel



Buy the books:

Amazon 

Monday, January 6, 2020

FEATURED AUTHOR: SHELLIE BOWDOIN





ABOUT THE BOOK


Does God really care about your weight? He cares a lot, but not in the way you might think.

Galatians 5:11 says, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free."

Actually, God is not concerned with how much you weigh. Author, Shellie Bowdoin discovered that even when her thoughts and attention were consumed by her outer appearance, God was primarily interested in the condition of her heart. She found that God was most concerned when the "weight" of her weight robbed her from living out the joy and freedom that Jesus secured for her, once and for all, on the cross.

The Find Your Weigh: Walk In Freedom Bible Study Guide is a companion guide for the book, Find Your Weigh by Shellie Bowdoin. This 9-Session Bible Study is designed to reveal many of the common misconceptions we have about food and to show you how to implement God's word and His promises to yield lasting change.

Free video content is available for use with each of the nine Bible study sessions.

This study helps you integrate the spiritual and physical aspects of weight loss by offering biblical weight-loss strategies to renew your mind and transform your thinking about food. God can speak strength into your weakness and temptation with food.

You will learn that God's Word does speak directly to your need; that you can approach food with confidence and that God really does care about your weight... Why? Because you care about it! And, He wants to speak into your life in an authentic, personal way.

Suggestion: The study guide discusses principles and practices from Find Your Weigh and study participants are asked to refer to book pages in each session. For this reason, the study guide is best used with a print version of the book for the best user experience.



Book Details:  

Title: Find Your Weigh

Author’s name: Shellie Bowdoin

Genre: health & fitness, Christian, non-fiction 

Published: Source Publishing, January 6, 2020

Page count: 239 pages







LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH SHELLIE BOWDOIN


Something you’re really good at: I am really good at grabbing the bull by the horns and trying something myself, if I want it badly enough. And, that’s what I’ve done with a lot of elements of this book.

Something you’re really bad at: I really don’t like asking someone else to do things for me. This whole book-writing thing has been a real growth experience for me, because there are just things you’ve got to ask others to help you with. 


Something you wish you could do: I really wish I could actually understand all the code that it takes to make a website run. When things go wrong, I can just feel the wash of anxiety because I know I am out of my league to fix it if there’s not a button marked, “Fix Here.”
Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Sometimes, I wish I wasn’t an editor . . . that I was ignorant of active and passive voice and the correct uses of the there, they’re, and their. It could really free me up from the inner editor voice.

People you consider as heroes: I have immense admiration for people who own up to their mistakes, their difficult upbringings or unfair circumstance and just chose to do better.

People with a big L on their foreheads: I lack patience for people who wholeheartedly believe something just because someone else told them to. I am not a big fan of the celebrity culture and the growing penchant for opinions. It’s not enough for someone to say something; instead, you’ve got “experts” telling people what to believe about what the person just said and what he/she really meant by what they said . . . ???



Things you always put in your books: I always try to leave the reader with a sense of hopefulness. Today’s choices fashion tomorrow’s reality, so I encourage my readers to make them great ones.
Things you never put in your books: I never want to come off like I have all the answers they will ever need. Only God holds the answers to every question.

Favorite places you’ve been: I have lived most of the last two and half decades in Asia, so I have seen some pretty fabulous things. You can’t beat the sunset in Boracay, Philippines and authentic Thai food is out of this world!
Places you never want to go to again: I would love it if I never had to step foot into another jet for a 13+ hour pan-Pacific flight! But, I know this is the stuff of dreams, so I just wear comfy clothing and hope for an empty seat beside me.








ABOUT THE AUTHOR 


Shellie Bowdoin is a writer and speaker with a graduate degree in ministry/counseling. She also writes at her website: The FABulous Journey; encouraging women to make good choices and live fulfilling, God-inspired lives. She’s a southern gal through and through, but she’s lived and served as a missionary for over half of her life in Asia; picking up two additional languages along the way. Shellie, and her husband Sam, have two grown kids, Jay and Mary Kate.

Connect with Shellie:
Website Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  Goodreads

Buy the book:
Amazon


Friday, December 20, 2019

FEATURED AUTHORS: BRENT PARROTT & BRYAN RENFRO





ABOUT THE BOOK


In 1960, on the front lawn of an elementary school in North East Dallas, a tradition was born. A group of seventh-grade boys captured the free time before Thanksgiving dinner to engage in a game of touch football. It was a good day to play. So good, in fact, that the game would resume each year at the same time in the same place.


The last game was held on November 26, 2009, marking 50 years of the Reilly Thanksgiving Invitational. You are invited to celebrate the RTI’s 60-year mark with us on Thanksgiving 2019 as we release our book, The Reilly Thanksgiving Invitational Story.



Book Details:

Title: The Reilly Thanksgiving Invitational Story


Authors: Brent Parrott, Bryan Renfro


Genre: non-fiction, memoir 


Published: November 14, 2019


Print length: 410 pages









LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH BRENT PARROTT & BRYAN RENFRO


A few of your favorite things:

Brent: spending time with my grandkids, traveling, my work, working out, being with friends and family.
Bryan: building relationships, weekend getaways, Bible study, sports.

Things you need to throw out:

Brent: not sure of the question, but I pretty much throw out things I don’t need.
Bryan: too many tools!


Things you need in order to write:

Brent: comfort and silence and the internet and my PC.
Bryan: time only.

Things that hamper your writing:

Brent: work, not enough hours in the day, normal distractions.
Bryan: forcing it into a time slot; an impending appointment
.

Things you love about writing:

Brent: the creative process, the rush when your on a role, a finished perfection
Bryan: getting it right the first draft

Things you hate about writing:

Brent: writer’s paralysis, brain fog, loss for the right word or sentence.
Bryan: getting it wrong the first time, second, third, fourth…..

Easiest thing about being a writer:

Brent: again, getting on a roll and it just flows.
Bryan: getting the ideas out and on the page
.

Hardest thing about being a writer:

Brent: not sure but critiques can be hell.
Bryan: self expectations, discouragement; using the proper words, creating metaphor
.

Things you love about where you live:

Brent: born and raised in Dallas, close to family and lots of friends.
Bryan: I live in the house I grew up in, so little change.

Things that make you want to move:

Brent : weather, traffic.
Bryan: August and September.


Things you never want to run out of:

Brent: family, friends, toilet paper.
Bryan: relationships, health, faith, golf balls.

Things you wish you’d never bought:

Brent: couple of timeshares, a 1972 Audi.
Bryan: a swimming pool installation, a motorcycle.


Words that describe you:

Brent: my wife says I’m sarcastic, but I claim I’m creatively sharp and witty; a devoted husband, father and friend; competitive but fair.
Bryan: loyal, diligent, creative, sensitive.

Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t:

Brent: always having to be right; sarcastic; argumentative.
Bryan: too competitive, poor storyteller, poor listener.

Favorite foods:

Brent: a good steak; Mexican food; breakfast food.
Bryan: Pad Tai, enchiladas, cheeseburgers, salad.


Things that make you want to throw up: 

Brent: politics; all the hate; beets.
Bryan: politics, financial advisors, afternoon television.


Favorite music or song:

Brent: love my music which is immense.
Bryan: “Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain.”

Music that make your ears bleed:

Brent: most rap and most heavy metal.
Bryan: rap, warbly vocals, Christmas music after the second week.

Favorite beverage:

Brent: iced tea and beer.
Bryan: Dr Pepper, iced tea, water.


Something that gives you a pickle face:

Brent: my wife’s comments sometimes; political analysts.

Favorite smell:

Brent: my wife’s aroma; fresh baked bread.
Bryan: mown grass on the golf course.


Something that makes you hold your nose:

Brent: some bathroom smells; brussels sprouts.

Something you’re really good at:

Brent: I think I’m good at making my point; swimming; being creative; my work whatever it is.
Bryan: maintaining relationships; Bible study; furniture building and repair.


Something you’re really bad at:

Brent: skiing, drawing, showing my feelings.
Bryan: coming prepared, research, remembering.

Something you wish you could do:

Brent: travel more, fly a plane, turn back time.
Bryan: write books that challenge and inspire; run as fast and as far as I used to; plumbing and electrical repairs.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do:

Brent: not sure of this question; I love to learn.
Bryan: say, “Yes, of course I will help you with that.”

Something you like to do:

Brent: workout, time with family and friends, work, get a good night’s sleep.
Bryan: church, relationships, garage sales, wood working projects.


Something you wish you’d never done:

Brent: married my first wife; not taking early school years more serious.
Bryan: I still wince at actions or words I did or said many years ago.




Last best thing you ate:

Brent: a protein shake.
Bryan: a bowl of my wife’s chili on a cold grey day.


Last thing you regret eating:

Brent: old enough to know what not to eat.
Bryan: my promise to help.



Things you’d walk a mile for:

Brent: glad I can walk a mile, so I’d walk a mile to anything I needed to walk a mile to.
Bryan: a two-hour travel time for an important fifteen minute conversation.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room:

Brent: never would go screaming from the room I’d just leave before it got that bad.
Bryan: my dog threw-up on the sofa.


Things you always put in your books:

Brent: another question not sure what to say, I guess my name and a title.
Bryan: attempts at wisdom, humor, and truth but they never make the conversation.


Things you never put in your books:

Brent: not sure, how bout self-promotion
Bryan: though I try yet always fail, I never achieve wisdom, humor, and truth.


Things to say to an author:

Brent: a successful author or a struggling author? What’s the secret to your success; don’t give up, keep writing if you love it.
Bryan: “How do you write dialogue?”


Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book:

Brent: Brent Parrott would be a great name for your next victim you kill off in your next book.
Bryan: in no manner worthy of Lonesome Dove.

Favorite places you’ve been:

Brent: Carmel, California; Italy; Costa Rica.
Bryan: a remote cabin in Montana on honeymoon. “Let’s go again, Babes!” 


Places you never want to go to again:

Brent: India.
Bryan: U. S. Army.

People you’d like to invite to dinner:

Brent: any of my good friends; Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi – I could make it work.
Bryan: my house, my table could not accommodate all the deceased friends and family members that I wish I could enjoy one last time.


People you’d cancel dinner on:

Brent: Trump and Pelosi if they did not agree with the agenda.

Favorite things to do:

Brent: watch a great movie, a great sporting event; exercise; and time with the grandkids.
Bryan: working wood in my shop; watching my wife at an antique mall; hearing my daughter and granddaughters laugh till it hurts; hearing my wife pray; having lunch with old friends; a DYI project that went well; bringing a good bible study lesson on Sunday mornings;  a good day on the golf course; reading.


Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing:

Brent: literally I’d never do that, figuratively getting my hands dirty; doing this questionnaire again. Editor’s note: the instructions advised not to answer every question!
Bryan: a Christmas party.



Things that make you happy:

Brent: life.
Bryan: getting out of running through a fire wearing gasoline pants; old cars, old airplanes, old friends; a good morning devotional time; a weekend getaway with surprisingly good food, accommodations, and activities; coffee in the den with my wife.


Things that drive you crazy:

Brent: life and sometimes my wife.
Bryan: being no longer able to make simple repairs on an automobile.



Proudest moment:

Brent: when my daughter and when my grandkids were born.
Bryan: watching my children achieve what they perceive as goals.


Most embarrassing moment:

Brent: really don’t get embarrassed, I just roll with it; although I was really embarrassed at my first date when my dad had to tell me to walk her to the door.

Biggest lie you’ve ever told:

Brent: not answering for self-incrimination reasons
Bryan: that I am intelligent, honest, and fearless.


A lie you wish you’d told:

Brent: that I couldn’t afford those timeshares.
Bryan: “I wish I could help you with that but . . .”

Best thing you’ve ever done:

Bryan: respond to God’s calling in my life to trust/receive/believe in Jesus Christ.  


Biggest mistake:

Brent: I’ve learned from my mistakes, so no regrets.
Bryan: Going my own way instead of following God’s leading.


Most daring thing you’ve ever done:

Brent: too many to tell.
Bryan: embraced Brent Parrott as a friend.


Something you chickened out from doing:

Brent: riding out a hurricane in Miami.
Bryan: at one time in my life I thought there was no dare I wouldn’t own but then I sat in the first row at a rodeo and watched bull riding.



The last thing you did for the first time:

Brent: write this book with Bryan.


Something you’ll never do again:

Brent: buy a timeshare; get married.
Bryan: spend so much time answering a questionnaire.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brent Parrott is a writer, former technology executive and teacher, and currently serves as Board Chairman for the charter schools of Pioneer Technology & Arts Academy. With his life-long friend, Bryan Renfro, he is co-author of The Reilly Thanksgiving Invitational Story, a memoir about a group of friends who kept an annual touch football game going for 50 straight years.



He is also the author of two new books scheduled for publication in 2020, Jackpot: The Summer of ’69 and What Would You Do? What Would You Not Do? Brent and his wife Robyn (that’s right, two bird names) spend as much time as possible with their daughter Brynn, son-in-law Jacob, and two amazing grandsons. He has always lived, worked, and played in Dallas, Texas.



Bryan Renfro graduated in 1970 from the University of Texas at Arlington and was drafted into the Army the following year during the Vietnam war. He was the editor and sports writer for Sound Off, the base’s newspaper in Fort Meade, Maryland. His work life followed an untraditional path for the times as he experienced a mix of endeavors through the years, including the furniture importing business.



For five decades, he served as the organizer and “Commissioner” of an annual Thanksgiving touch football game in Dallas, Texas. Known locally as the Turkey Bowl, Bryan chronicled his experiences in the book, The Reilly Thanksgiving Invitational Story, with co-author Brent Parrott. The 400-page memoir was published for the game’s 60th anniversary in 2019. Today, Bryan lives in Dallas with his wife LaDonna and enjoys bible study, photography, his woodshop, and nurturing long-time friendships.




Connect with the authors:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Goodreads  


Buy the book:


Amazon

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

FEATURED AUTHOR: KATHY HOLMES




ABOUT THE BOOK


Nikki Durrance escaped the worst nightmare of her life when she fled Las Vegas for San Francisco, leaving her abusive husband Jeff behind at the Blue Diamond Saloon. Rebuilding her life in San Francisco with the help of her closest friend Sally, Nikki draws the line with one thing: men. But when she accompanies Sally on a business trip back in Las Vegas, Nikki meets Dr. Mike Fischer, a sexy and desirable pediatrician also from San Francisco.

After a whirlwind courtship followed by a proposal, Nikki panics and jumps on the nearest cruise ship to Mexico. Realizing she must face her fears rather than run from them, she returns home and accepts Mike’s proposal. Life picks up even more speed with Mike’s plans and Nikki panics once again, imagining that everything Mike does mirrors her ex-husband Jeff. Attempting to sort out what’s real and what’s not, Nikki begins to question everything, including her sanity when everything with Mike feels like déjà vu.



Book Details:


Title: Déjà Vu at the Blue Diamond Saloon

Author: Kathy Holmes


Genre: psychological suspense


Published: Screamie Birds Studios 2017 (Kindle) 2019 (Paperback)


Print length: 241 pages


On tour with: Pump Up Your Book








LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH KATHY HOLMES



Things you love about writing: Spending time with people who don’t exist, going along for the ride, experiencing things I in my daily routine I wouldn’t otherwise
.
Things you hate about writing: I’m not sure I hate it, but anything outside of the writing process feels like work.

Easiest thing about being a writer: so many stories waiting to be told.

Hardest thing about being a writer: waiting for readers to discover what I hold so dear.

Things you love about where you live:
I love living in Las Vegas because it’s home and only a 4-hour drive to where I grew up in Southern California, close to Disneyland and the beach.

Things that make you want to move: I’ve left Las Vegas twice to live in Florida to have closer access to Disney and the beach, but Las Vegas keeps calling me home.

Things you never want to run out of: bottled water, coffee, and wine.

Things you wish you’d never bought: tickets to concerts I never made it to.

Words that describe you: strong, feisty.

Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t: feisty.

Favorite foods: ice cream, anything Mexican, Noodles/pasta.

Things that make you want to throw up: cooked oatmeal.

Favorite music: as a music producer, I love almost all music.

Music that make your ears bleed: this current trend of long/awkward phrasing hitting both pop and country.

Things you always put in your books: a character who was adopted or raised by a single mother or step parent.

Things you never put in your books: a character from a place or culture I didn’t know personally.

Favorite places you’ve been: a cruise anywhere and maybe why many of my books are set totally/partially on a cruise.

Places you never want to go to again: probably Asia because it’s such a long flight and I’ve been there and done that, although I might consider cruising there.

Favorite books: I read in many genres, but one book that made a big impression on me was Oriental Hotel and the motivation for the trip to Asia.

Books you would ban: I don’t believe in banning books.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: meeting my father for the first time.

Something you chickened out from doing: pursuing music as a career when I was younger.

The last thing you did for the first time: participated in Rocktober, a music challenge where you post rock song covers in your own style.

Something you’ll never do again: move to Florida (did it three times, loved it, but it’s not home).




ABOUT THE AUTHOR 


Kathy grew up in Southern California near Disneyland and the beach with a book in one hand and a transistor radio in the other. She began writing stories about family and wrote her first song with a childhood friend. They called themselves the “Screamie Birds.”

When she met her father later in life, she discovered a musical and poetic family and started writing poems, much to her surprise.

After an exciting career in Silicon Valley, she is now combining her love for both books and music at Screamie Birds Studios.


Connect with Kathy:


Website  |  Blog  |  Twitter Youtube  |   Amazon

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

Friday, December 13, 2019

FEATURED AUTHOR: ANNABELLE HUNTER











Too many suspects can be as bad as no suspects at all . . .

Lark Davis, horse trainer and reluctant amateur sleuth, is sure that her crime-solving days are behind her. At least that’s what she told her grandmother. However, when her Homeowners Association President and owner of the local hardware store is found dead the day after she had a public fight with him, Lark is back in the last place she wants to be — the middle of a murder case.

But this is Barrow Bay, and things are never as they seem. Gerald Pratchett had a list of enemies a mile long, and each one had a very real reason for wanting to see him gone. When the police get overwhelmed with too many suspects, including herself, Lark realizes that it is up to her to bring his killer to justice.
Nothing can stop Lark from finding out the truth — and getting her man.



Book Details:


Title: Load Up


Author: Annabelle Hunter


Genre: cozy mystery


Series: Lark Davis Mysteries, book 3


Publish date: October 29, 2019


Print length: 200 pages











 

A few of your favorite things: my family, my animals, my books.
Things you need to throw out: catalogs. I keep too many catalogs.


Things you need in order to write: people not bothering me and an electronic devise that’s connected to the internet. Everything else is optional.
Things that hamper your writing: children; husbands, my need for sleep. 


Things you love about writing: creating a story, meeting the new characters.
Things you hate about writing: editing. Nothing like thinking it’s great and then paying for someone to tell you it’s not. And then realizing that they’re right and you need to change it. Then you get to rinse and repeat until you publish.

Easiest thing about being a writer: writing. I love to write. Too much. 

Hardest thing about being a writer: editing and taking other people’s advice.


Things you love about where you live: sunshine.
Things that make you want to move: sunshine.

Things you never want to run out of: chocolate.
Things you wish you’d never bought: chocolate.


Words that describe you: awkward.
Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t: awkward.

Favorite foods: bread pudding.
Things that make you want to throw up: broccoli.

Favorite music: I like too much! Umm… anything popular is a good bet.
Music that make your ears bleed: I’m not a huge fan of mariachi, but I can enjoy it. I like music.

Favorite beverage: coffee
.
Something that gives you a pickle face: Lemons. Lemons in water.

Favorite smell: orange blossoms.

Something that makes you hold your nose: broccoli.

Something you’re really good at: reading. 

Something you’re really bad at: riding horses. Doesn’t stop me though. 


Something you like to do: go to Ireland.
Something you wish you’d never done: I don’t regret much, mostly because that would be too much. 

Last best thing you ate: sushi

Last thing you regret eating: hamburger, but mostly because it was fattening, and I should have made a better life choice.

Things you’d walk a mile for: books, author signings, comic con, my horse.
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room:
politics.

Things to say to an author: I loved your books.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: traditionally published authors are better and have less typos. It’s not true. Typos are amazing. They are persistent. They plague us all. It’s just trying to put people down.

Favorite places you’ve been: London.

Places you never want to go to again: the grocery store.

People you’d like to invite to dinner: everyone. Then panic, freak out, hide in my room, and not want to talk to anyone. 

People you’d cancel dinner on: see answer above.

Favorite things to do: read, write, ride. 

Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: cleaning.

Things that make you happy: my children, my husband and my animals. 
Things that drive you crazy: see the above.
Most embarrassing moment: too many to come up with only one.
Proudest moment: publishing my fourth book

Biggest lie you’ve ever told: I’m going to sleep after this chapter (reading and writing)

A lie you wish you’d told: no, that dress looks great. I’ve learned it’s better to say the truth, and help them find an actually good dress.

Best thing you’ve ever done: had children.
Biggest mistake: had children.
Most daring thing you’ve ever done: publish a book.
Something you chickened out from doing: showing my horse. I have the worst show anxiety.

The last thing you did for the first time: ate crawfish. 

Something you’ll never do again: try and watch a live action movie with a two toddlers. 













Annabelle Hunter is a stay-a-home mother of two precious little girls and too many animals. She had written four books, three in the Lark Davis Mysteries series. She reads too many books, writes any second her daughters let her, and rides in her spare time. 



Connect with Annabelle:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Bookbub

Buy the book:
Amazon




Thursday, December 12, 2019

2019 CHRISTMAS CHARITY APPEAL


The 2019 Christmas Charity Appeal – Help Raise £250 For Battersea Dogs & Cats Home By Leaving Links To Your Blogs and Books


For this year’s Christmas charity appeal, Hugh Roberts is asking for help raising money for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

Since 1860, Battersea has been there for every dog and cat that finds themselves homeless. From the moment they welcomed their first stray dog, they have been placing animals at the centre of everything they do.

More than three million animals later, they’re still working hard to achieve the vision that every dog and cat should live in a home where they are treated with love, care and respect.

They believe that every dog and cat deserves the best. That’s why Battersea Dogs and Cats home have always helped every dog and cat in need.

Click here for information on Battersea Dogs and Cats Home Website.

Want to get involved? Here’s what you need to do.

   
    1.    Go to Hugh’s website and scroll down to the comments section.

    2.    Leave your name, the name of your blog, and a link to your blog. This can be a link to your ‘about me’ page, a favourite blog post you’ve published, or the home page of your blog.

    3.    If you’re an author, you’re also welcome to leave a link to any books you have published. So, for example, leave a link to your author or Goodreads page so that people visiting this post can view your books.

    4.    Please consider donating to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home by visiting their website and clicking on the ‘Donate’ button.

For every link left under the Christmas tree, Hugh will donate £1 until he reaches a target of 200 links.

To help him achieve his target, if you reblog or share this post via ‘Press This,’ he will donate an extra £1 to the total (up to another £50).

If you do share this post via a reblog or ‘Press This,’ he should receive a pingback to your post. However, he recommends that you also leave a link to the reblog in the comments section.

This charity appeal will run until 23:59 on Saturday, January 4th, 2020 when the Christmas tree will be taken down. Hugh hopes this will give everyone plenty of time to leave a link to their blog and/or books over the busy Christmas and New Year period.

At the end of the appeal, Hugh will create a heading entitled ‘Blogs To Follow in 2020‘ on the menu bar of his blog. Anyone clicking on the link will be taken to a page where they can view all the links left to the blogs in this post. The link will remain on his blog until the end of 2020.