Wednesday, December 5, 2018

GUEST AUTHOR ~ CIARA BALLINTYNE ~ TANGLED LIGHTS AND SILENT NIGHTS



Meet Alloran – the fantasy equivalent of a mad scientist, whose stock in trade is magic, not science.

I conceived of Alloran after reading The Accidental Sorcerer by K.E. Mills. The main character in that book has a friend, Monk Markham, who is a brilliant wizard constantly dabbling in things he shouldn’t—and getting away with it.

And I thought—but what if he didn’t? What if his hubris had consequences?

Poor Alloran has been plagued with mishaps, and in The Seven Circles of Hell he stumbles from disaster to disaster, in each book trying to put right what he made wrong in the last. Maybe he should just stop. Maybe it’s time to call it quits.

But he has itchy fingers, and he can’t put a puzzle down once he’s picked it up—and what’s a poor wizard to do when his best friend is on the loose, trying to destroy him, and, incidentally, the world?
Events all started a long time ago in a galaxy… I mean, just a long time ago. Alloran is more than a hundred years old, and when we meet him in Confronting the Demon, he’s abandoned his research and has committed himself to a life of carousing. Because if you don’t behave seriously, people can’t expect you to solve serious problems, right?

It seems like a sensible decision—if you are addicted to something bad, the general wisdom is to give it up. But Alloran gets sucked back in when he’s framed for summoning demons and winds up on the run while someone is murdering his friends.

So that’s how he got back into magic. But why did he quit in the first place?

Alloran was the man who discovered how to open gates into hell—which is why everyone thinks he summoned the one in Confronting the Demon. His research was burned and demon summoning banned, so who else could it be?

That first ill-fated foray into the hells, what was to be Alloran’s crowning glory, turned into a disaster that made him the man we meet in Confronting the Demon.

When I was asked to write a Christmas story for Tangled Lights and Silent Nights, my first thought was ‘how do you write a Christmas story in the epic fantasy genre?’ Then when I gave it some more thought, I realised I had a story that needed telling, that some readers had been asking for—the story of that first imp he summoned from hell, that started events in motion.


"Another Bloody Festival" is that story—how it all went terribly wrong for Alloran—set against the backdrop of the winter solstice—because is there a better time of year for a demon to be loose in the halls?



Ciara Ballintyne grew up on a steady diet of adult epic fantasy from the age of nine, leaving her with a rather confused outlook on life – she believes the good guys should always win, but knows they often don’t. She is an oxymoron; an idealistic cynic.

She began her first attempts at the craft of writing in 1992, culminating in the publication of her debut work, Confronting the Demon, in 2013. Her first book to be published with Evolved Publishing is In the Company of the Dead.

She holds degrees in law and accounting, and is a practising financial services lawyer. In her spare time, she speculates about taking over the world – how hard can it really be? If she could be anything, she’d choose a dragon, but if she is honest she shares more in common with Dr. Gregory House of House M.D. – both the good and the bad. She is a browncoat, a saltgunner, a Whedonite, a Sherlockian, a Ringer and a Whovian… OK, most major geek fandoms. Her alignment is chaotic good. She is an INTJ.

Ciara lives in Sydney, Australia, with her two daughters and a growing menagerie of animals that unfortunately includes no dragons.

Links:
Twitter: @CiaraBallintyne

OTHER BOOKS BY CIARA BALLINTYNE

The Seven Circles of Hell
Confronting the Demon
Stalking the Demon
Becoming the Demon
Being the Demon (coming soon)

The Sundered Oath
In the Company of the Dead
On the Edge of Death
To Make the Dead Weep

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

GUEST AUTHOR ~ BRENDA VICARS ~ TANGLED LIGHTS AND SILENT NIGHTS


Can you tell when it’s love and not just a passing crush?

Polarity, the main character in my novel Polarity in Motion, is only 16, and she’s in love with Ethan. He’s the character who helps her figure out how her nude picture showed up on the Internet—a photo that she has no memory of posing for.

Sometimes when teenagers say they’re in love, we think it’s just a crush or hormones.  But Polarity says, nope, it’s not a passing teen thing. She’s in love. 

When I want to get a deeper understanding of a character, I use a writers’ technique of interviewing the character. “Dear Polarity,” I wrote. “Why do you think you’re in love with Ethan?  Possibly you’re just grateful to him. After all, he helped you put your life back together after the nude picture fiasco. Or maybe you just have a crush on him—he is so hot!”

Polarity’s answer surprised me and warmed my heart. She not only explained why she loves him, but she went beyond the question I had posed, and described “the moment I knew I would love Ethan forever.” Her answer became the short story by the same title in Tangled Lights and Silent Nights. And the segment is also in the next Polarity book, Polarity in Love, which will be released in 2019.

What was the moment she knew she’d love him forever?  It happens during Christmas season in south Texas and involves a rattlesnake and a ten-year-old girl’s tears. In an incident that both horrifies and amazes Polarity, she sees deeper dimensions of Ethan.

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Friday, June 8, 2018

SPOTLIGHT ~ OUT OF THE DUSK (NEVER LOSE SIGHT BOOK 3) ~ LEIGH ROBBINS





After many long years as a Marine, Brett Parker knows the meaning of war. Hardened and tired of death and destruction, he prepares for the most important mission of his career: to win back the woman who has his heart. He was certain he would never hold her again—until a promise to his dying mother takes him on a journey to reclaim the love he lost. 

Lauren Terrelli would never forget the boy who broke her heart. Finding happiness after Brett was hard enough; losing it again almost destroyed her. Unexpectedly widowed, Lauren’s sole focus became her bakery, but a voice from the past changes everything. 

Lauren soon learns Brett is not the same man she knew all those years ago. As his world spins out of control, hers begins to right itself for the first time.

Brett is ready to fight for his Beauty, but the demons in his head are far worse than he could ever imagine. Is he strong enough to let Lauren lead him out of the dusk?






MORE BOOKS BY LEIGH






Blinded in Iraq while in the Marines, Matthew Cage never realized the key to unlocking his forever midnight world was within arm’s reach.

Dawn Richards first saw her best friend’s older brother via webcam. For years, she secretly desired him, keeping her fantasies hidden from the rest of the world.

After a downward spiral, Matthew secluded himself in his prison of darkness, but his sister and friends helped him find his way. Having worked hard to become a Master Instructor in Close Quarters Combat, Matthew's world seems normal until tragedy strikes. 

When Dawn’s life is threatened, Matthew refuses to let her deal with it alone. Can Dawn trust him to protect her? Will Matthew finally believe he can have sunshine in his world?



After receiving a call from his commander, Sergeant Brett Parker rushes overseas to the military hospital, where two of his Marine brothers are recovering after an IED explosion decimated the rest of their unit. Struggling with survivor guilt, Brett’s thoughts are dark and tortured until he encounters the beautiful brunette in the cafeteria.

Lauren Cage always dreaded getting “the call” every military family fears. Flying to Landstuhl, Germany to her wounded brother’s bedside, she battles the grief threatening to overtake her. Being in a foreign country is intimidating for a young woman traveling alone, but when she meets one of her brother’s best friends and comrades, her anxiety subsides.

After five emotional days, Brett is forced to return to war and Lauren goes home to New York. For over a year, they secretly burn up the internet with a scorching love affair neither time or distance could deny. When entanglements from the past threaten to pry them apart, Brett is faced with a personal dilemma and is forced to embrace his heart’s desire.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR



A self-proclaimed bookaholic, Leigh Robbins has been rapidly turning pages since she was a child and began her career as a romance author with her first book, Darkness Before Dawn.

A real estate agent by day, she spends her nights writing, with her fur babies—Bella, the Morkie, and Charlee Rose and Mia, the Goldendoodles—nearby. Leigh earned her Master of Science in counseling psychology from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Lucky to have found true love at fifteen, Leigh and her husband live in South Florida near their two amazing daughters and granddaughter.

Leigh’s books are tales of love and lust not written for the faint of heart. Self-published, she seeks your help to spread the word and help like-minded readers find her books. If you enjoy them, Leigh always appreciates your reviews on the bookseller websites, or you can contact her via email.

FOLLOW LEIGH

Friday, March 30, 2018

RELEASE ~ TATTERED ~ BROOKE O'BRIEN

Title: Tattered
Series: A Tattered Heart Duet #2
Author: Brooke O'Brien
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 30, 2018

Maverick Night is bad news. He made me want things I knew I shouldn't but did.
Now my brother's best friend is back, but we are both different people. Time changed us.
I crave the way my heart beat when he used to look at me, how it felt to be in his arms. Nothing good will come from opening myself up to him.
I just hope my tattered heart can take it if he walks away again.
TORN and TATTERED are companion novellas to the Heart's Compass series. You do NOT need to read the Heart's Compass books in order to enjoy the Tattered Heart duet, however, it is highly recommended that you read Torn first.


"With the ending to the last book, Brooke tore my heart out. With this one, she put it back together. Her words flowed together seamlessly in a perfect ending (or beginning) for Ryan and Maverick." - Kacie, Nerdy, Dirty & Flirty
"I loved this second chance romance and how both Ryan and Maverick have grown! Amazing duet and I can’t wait for more from this group of friends!" - Patricia, Words We Love By Blog
"What I really loved about this duet is that love does endure. Love does fight. And the heart, no matter how torn and tattered it was left, will be mended by the one that it calls for." - Suzanne, Goodreads Reviewer


Brooke O’Brien is the author of the Heart’s Compass series. She recently released the second book of the Heart's Compass series, Lost Before You.
Growing up Brooke always had a love of writing; she started out writing poetry when she was young and began journaling her thoughts as she grew older. Diving headfirst into a good book has always been therapeutic for her. Now her two passions have collided.
She believes you can cure any bad day with chocolate. Brooke enjoys going on long drives with no destination in mind. She's found that's when her characters talk to her the most! If she's not reading or writing, you'll probably find her spending time with her family, watching NBA basketball, going to the movies, or collecting signed paperbacks.


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