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Wednesday, May 30, 2018

#NewRelease SOME VERY MESSY MEDIEVAL MAGIC by C. Lee McKenzie

Check out this new book by one of my friends.




SOME VERY MESSY MEDIEVAL MAGIC

By C. Lee McKenzie

Pete’s stuck in medieval England!

Pete and his friend Weasel thought they’d closed the Time Lock. But a young page from medieval times, Peter of Bramwell, goes missing. His absence during a critical moment will forever alter history unless he’s found.

There’s only one solution - fledgling wizard Pete must take the page’s place. Accompanied by Weasel and Fanon, Pete’s alligator familiar, they travel to 1173 England.

But what if the page remains lost - will Pete know what to do when the critical moment arrives? Toss in a grumpy Fanon, the duke’s curious niece, a talking horse, and the Circle of Stones and Pete realizes he’s in over his young wizard head yet again...


Release date – May 15, 2018
Juvenile Fiction - Fantasy & Magic/Boys & Men
$13.95 Print ISBN 9781939844460
$3.99 EBook ISBN 9781939844477




C. Lee McKenzie has a background in Linguistics and Inter-Cultural Communication, but these days her greatest passion is writing for young readers. When she’s not writing she’s hiking or traveling or practicing yoga or asking a lot questions about things she still doesn’t understand. http://cleemckenziebooks.com









Saturday, May 26, 2018

#WeWriWa - THE CHAMELEON: A Fiance?


Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors where authors share an 8 - 10 sentence snippet. Be sure to visit the other authors. You can find them here

I'm sharing snippets from my science fiction romance, THE CHAMELEON (An Outer Rim Novel). In last week's snippet, Jileena's father informed her of a major discovery of a rare mineral. 

Please excuse the wonky punctuation that was done to keep within the guidelines.

“Baby, I’m sending you to Galeria 7 to check out this discovery.”
“To the Outer Rim?” Jileena’s jaw dropped—while her father had sent her on discreet missions before, he’d never sent her that far from the Central Planets.
“You will check the site and do your own analysis. If, indeed, it is high-grade lambidium,” he said, “you will negotiate mining rights with the local tribe.”
“M-Me?”
“I can't send Sindaro--discretion is imperative, no one will suspect you going out to the Rim for anything other than a vacation.”
When he paused, hope began to trickle through her. He’d never had her negotiate anything as important as mining rights, and now he was giving her a chance—a chance to prove herself.
“With your fiancé,” he added.
She groaned, “About this fiancé—tell me it’s someone I know.”


Legally Blond meets Mata Hari

Socialite Jileena Winslott has perfected the image of the spoiled, rich, bubble-headed daughter of an industrial magnate. In reality, she’s a smart, savvy aide to her father in social situations where she is his eyes and ears. She yearns to be her true self and run the family business. When her father sends her on a covert mission to the Outer Rim, she has the chance to prove herself. Big problem. He insists she take along a fake fiancé—the man she’s secretly loved for years.

Security Officer Laning Servary has better things to do than babysit a spoiled rich girl on a tour of the Frontier. If he refuses, he can kiss his career good-by. Then Jileena’s father sweetens the pot. If Laning keeps her safe, his family will receive the land they share-crop. He can’t refuse.

In the close quarters of her ship, Laning and Jileena discover they aren’t who they seem. Pirates, weather, and her recklessness threaten to derail the mission. As Laning and Jileena revise their impressions of each other, they’ll have to make hard choices about their goals. Can their budding love survive?




Final Week: Science fiction and paranormal romance writers are donating 25% of their royalties for the month of May from their special Blue Cover books to the ALS Association, an organization dedicated to providing ALS patients and their families with a multitude of different types of assistance, and continuing research to find a cure for this deadly disease..

I'm donating 25% of my royalties from my sci-fi romance, The Chameleon (An Outer Rim Novel) to ALSA in memory of Stephen Hawking. Despite the debility of ALS, he accomplished so much in the field of physics and cosmology.

Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ Kobo ~ iBooks ~ B&N ~ Smashwords

Back to Weekend Writing Warriors: be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. 




Thursday, May 24, 2018

Meet Author Ronel Janse van Vuuren


Please welcome my guest, Ronel Janse van Vuuren.



Ronel, pleases tell us about yourself.

I’m a Rottweiler pack leader who lives in South Africa with a whole menagerie to inspire me. I’m fascinated by folklore and mythology; researching it and using it in my writing makes me happy. I also spend (a lot of) time on my compost heap while stories are sorted out in my head. Sometimes you can hear me arguing with my characters…

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

When I was twelve. I’ve always loved reading. Writing my own stories to entertain me seemed like the next logical step.

Where do you start when writing? Research, plotting, outline, or...?

An idea will come to me, so I’ll write everything down I know about the story forming in my head. Then the characters will come calling, the story will show itself more – needing research – and an outline will be written before long. I’ll work on the plot before refining things again.

What did you learn from writing your first book?

That a main character can’t just observe or have things happen without them choosing to be part of the adventure. I’m currently rewriting that first book and I’m amazed at how much my writing has developed.

How many hours a day to you spend writing?

If it’s a shiny new story, twelve to fourteen hours. If it’s rewriting and editing… I can’t do more than eight hours before my head wants to explode (or I want to cry because of the death of so many darlings).

If you could give the younger version of yourself advice what would it be?

Patience is a virtue, persistence is divine.

What two authors would we find you reading when taking a break from your own writing?

Holly Black and Rick Riordan.

Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

For folklore and mythology, I rely on several sources (The Poetic Edda; Encyclopedia of Norse and Germanic Folklore, Mythology, and Magic by Clade Lecouteux; The Forest in Folklore and Mythology by Alexander Porteous; Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology by Theresa Bane; Encyclopedia of Giants and Humanoids in Myth, Legend and Folklore by Theresa Bane; The Element Encyclopedia of Fairies by Lucy Cooper; the sacred texts site that archives all ancient folklore and mythology texts; and the folklore and mythology site hosted by the University of Pittsburgh that lists, categorizes and hosts all folk texts imaginable; whatever new resource I can find that will help me).

As for ideas, they sort of just come to me. I have folders and notebooks filled with ideas that I still have to use.

Tell us about your latest release, including its genre. 

I’ll describe my latest book as a mixture of fairy tale retellings and original tales about Faerie with a Dark Fantasy twist.

It’s about the secrets of how Faerie changed, why Faerie changed, who the rulers of Faerie truly are, the secrets of the seasons, and how magic and fae have infiltrated the mortal realm. And it’s also about the characters, their choices and experiences.

Dark fantasy is all about examining the human condition, looking at the consequences of actions and decisions, and how the beliefs we hold can change the way we see our world. I think “Rumour Has It”, “New Divide” and “Castle of Glass” depicts all of this from different points of view about the same moment in Faerie history very well.

“Once…” crosses over to New Adult. New Adult is all about figuring out who you are, who you want to be and what you have to do to get there. Some of my damsels in distress turn into independent women who can take care of themselves…


Once…


Blurb:
Damsels in distress, curses, echoes of faery tales and tragic love affairs swirl together in sixteen stories found in a dragon’s lair by a curious half-fae.

Unexpected changes to reality causes more than one damsel to turn into a strong, independent woman who takes charge of her own life.

A collection of short stories about Faerie and the fae that live in the human realm. A few of the stories had won competitions and all of them had enchanted readers.

Learn their secrets and enter the realm of the fae…

ISBN EPUB: 978-0-6399476-2-4
ISBN Paperback: 978-0-6399476-3-1
Publication date: 23 May 2018
Available on most online retailers.
Also available in Afrikaans as “Eens…”.
Universal Book Links for Afrikaans and English versions of this book:

Universal Book Link (UBL)
UBLs give you one link that leads to every online retailer selling your book.
And when your readers click on that link, they're shown a list of everywhere your book appears online, so that they can choose the retailer or eReader that works best for them

One link. Every bookstore online.



Excerpt:
Mortals cannot perceive the veil unless they are invited to – or extremely gifted. For centuries, Man and Fae have been kept apart, for nothing good ever comes from them mixing. The collection of The Adventures of Saphira the Faery Dog is proof of this.
Still, there are magical creatures that side neither with Man nor Fae.
Dragons are such creatures. They hold the knowledge of both worlds. Some even collect it in the written word, keeping it safe in their lairs.
An inquisitive half-fae once broke into the lair of a dragon known to hoard books. The knowledge she found was too much to keep to herself…
Here are a few tales, myths and legends from Faerie. Some may sound remarkably similar to legends held by mortals, while others are…  well… as otherworldly as the fae themselves.


One last question. Where can readers find you?


Readers can find me across the web.
And on my blog Ronel the Mythmaker: https://ronelthemythmaker.wordpress.com/


Thanks for having me, Diane.



Ronel Janse van Vuuren is the author of New Adult, Young Adult and children’s fiction filled with mythology and folklore. Her dark fantasy stories can be read for free on Wattpad and on her blog Ronel the Mythmaker. She won Fiction Writer of the Year 2016 for her Afrikaans stories on INK: Skryf in Afrikaans. Her published works can be viewed on Goodreads.

Ronel can be found tweeting about writing and other things that interest her, arguing with her characters, researching folklore for her newest story or playing with her Rottweilers when she’s not actually writing.

All of her books are available for purchase on Amazon.



Monday, May 21, 2018

Doctor Mom Blog Hop @ElaineKayeAuthor


Moms have to be everything, don't they? Chauffeurs, cooks, laundresses, psychologists, even doctors. With seven kids--four of them boys--my mom saw plenty of lacerations, contusions, fractures, probably even a concussion or two. But, she weathered all that, and so did the kids. Mom's been gone for over ten years now. I miss her a lot. This is one of my favorite pictures of her. That's me on her lap.

My friend Chrys Fey's mom, Elaine Kaye, has written a book entitled Doctor Mom. Here's more about it.




Title: Doctor Mom
Author: Elaine Kaye
Genre: Picture Story Book
Ages: 5-8 years


BLURB: It’s Saturday, and Gregory Green can’t wait to have fun with his dad on the riding lawnmower, but something is wrong. Sammy, his teddy bear and best friend, won’t get out of bed. Gregory is worried when he sees Sammy’s left leg is torn. This is a case for Doctor Mom! Can they fix Sammy? And just how did Sammy get hurt in the first place?


PRAISE FOR DOCTOR MOM:

"Doctor Mom is an adorable story that shows how Moms can fix anything—even a torn limb on a beloved teddy bear! Children will enjoy the lovable little bear who needs a stitch or two and his boy who plays dress-up as a doctor." – Wanda Luthman, award-winning author of Little Birdie Grows Up

“A sweet and heartfelt tale kids can easily identify with, and all of that with a wonderful touch of magic.” – Tonja Drecker, reviewer at Bookworm for Kids

BUY LINK:




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Elaine Kaye first created Gregory Green after her son, who loved her homemade pea soup, thus inspiring the story Pea Soup Disaster. Doctor Mom is the second book in A Gregory Green Adventure series and highlights something all moms and children can relate to; a beloved stuffed animal in need of a repair.

Kaye has worked as a library assistant and teacher's assistant in elementary schools in the Sunshine State. She currently lives in Florida, but she has called Michigan; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Okinawa, Japan home.

She is a grandmother of three boys.


This is a blog hop, so hippity-hop on over to Chrys Fey's website to find the other participants.



Saturday, May 19, 2018

#WeWriWa - THE CHAMELEON: Important News


Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors where authors share an 8 - 10 sentence snippet. Be sure to visit the other authors. You can find them here

I'm sharing snippets from my science fiction romance, THE CHAMELEON (An Outer Rim Novel). Upon arriving outside her father's office, she runs into Pilad Sindaro (the jerk from the elevator) who recognizes her this time, and asks her for a date. She refuses him, as she's done many times before. She repeats the incident to her father.

“Baby, Baby, would it hurt you to be nice to him?” Daddy's oft-repeated refrain.
She didn’t know why she disliked the man Daddy thought walked on water, but something about Sindaro just didn’t sit well with her.
“Is that what you want?” At the slight flush on her father’s face, she groaned, “Oh, puh-leeze.”
“I’ve never interfered in your life, Baby—”
Oh, right, never interfered—you’ve been running my life since Mother died, turning me into a fluff-brained idiot.
“—I just want to see you happy. Now enough about that, I have important news—Lambidium has been discovered on Galeria 7.”
Holy crazik, what a discovery—Lambidium was such a rare mineral that its worth was measured in micro-grams.

Blurb

Legally Blond meets Mata Hari

Socialite Jileena Winslott has perfected the image of the spoiled, rich, bubble-headed daughter of an industrial magnate. In reality, she’s a smart, savvy aide to her father in social situations where she is his eyes and ears. She yearns to be her true self and run the family business. When her father sends her on a covert mission to the Outer Rim, she has the chance to prove herself. Big problem. He insists she take along a fake fiancé—the man she’s secretly loved for years.

Security Officer Laning Servary has better things to do than babysit a spoiled rich girl on a tour of the Frontier. If he refuses, he can kiss his career good-by. Then Jileena’s father sweetens the pot. If Laning keeps her safe, his family will receive the land they share-crop. He can’t refuse.

In the close quarters of her ship, Laning and Jileena discover they aren’t who they seem. Pirates, weather, and her recklessness threaten to derail the mission. As Laning and Jileena revise their impressions of each other, they’ll have to make hard choices about their goals. Can their budding love survive?




During the month of May, 12 science fiction and paranormal romance writers are donating 25% of their royalties for their special Blue Cover books to the ALS Association, an organization dedicated to providing ALS patients and their families with a multitude of different types of assistance, and continuing research to find a cure for this deadly disease..

I'm donating 25% of my royalties from my sci-fi romance, The Chameleon (An Outer Rim Novel) to ALSA in memory of Stephen Hawking. Despite the debility of ALS, he accomplished so much in the field of physics and cosmology.

Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ Kobo ~ iBooks ~ B&N ~ Smashwords



Monday, May 14, 2018

Monday Morning Musing: Mini-Vacay & a Parade

Did you enjoy Mother's Day? My family made sure I did. Dinner with daughter's family, breakfast with son's, a walk along the channel leading to Lake Michigan. The weather wasn't so great, but at least it wasn't raining.

https://www.bayshore-resort.com/

https://www.bayshore-resort.com/
Last week, Hubs and I took a mini-vacation. A couple of days up in Traverse City. We stayed at the Bayshore Resort right on Grand Traverse Bay. In fact, our room had a balcony with lawn chairs where we could watch the wildlife--a pair of geese and their babies plus plenty of seagulls--and enjoy the quiet lull of the waves. Since Traverse City is about a three-hour drive north of us, I expected the weather to be cooler. On our first day, the sun was shining and the temp reached the high 70s. Delightful. Second day was cooler by a couple of degrees and the sun played hide-and-seek with the clouds. That night the rain came and didn't let up until we were almost home.

It was great getting away for a couple of days. I found the hotel on Groupon, which had a great rate. May is not a heavy tourist month in northern Michigan. Still, we had a fun time. Many shops hadn't opened for the summer yet. My favorite one in Leland called Two Fish Gallery was. 


I found my Mother's Day gift there--from Hubs. He just didn't know it until I told him. He and the clerk had a good laugh over him saying I wasn't his mother so he didn't need to get me a gift. It's called an art pole and goes in garden. I think it will go on my deck instead.


We got home in time to go to the Kinderparade, part of Holland's Tulip Time Festival. Oldest granddaughter marched along with her 5th grade class. The Kinderparade is the only one of the three big parade's during the festival that we attend. On the way back to our car, I found a food truck offering oliebollens. I mentioned them in last week's post. I said the Dutch pastry had about a thousand calories. I was wrong. More like two thousand, with the choice of lemon, Bavarian cream, or chocolate filling. But, oh my, was it good. I did share with Hubs, so maybe I didn't eat all those calories. And doesn't sharing mean all the calories drop off?

This is blog-week. Somehow, the middle of the month always catches me unawares. Besides my regular Weekend Writing Warrior blog, Sunday was the 13th and that meant my monthly blog on Paranormal Romantics. How could I write about anything other than Mother's Day? Wednesday is double-duty day. My 3rd Wednesday of the month Family Life column on Pandora's Box Gazette will be about Date Night, and since it's also the 16th, my regular blogging date on The Roses of Prose. I haven't written that post yet, so it will be a surprise. LOL

In between all that, I'm finishing the first draft for Numbers Never Lie, the romantic suspense that is taking for-ev-er to complete. After the writing retreat I went to a couple of weekends ago, I got so many ideas for that story, thanks to our speaker Jennifer Probst, that will make my story better.

One more thing this week: I'll be at the Saranac (Michigan) Public Library for Ladies Night Out on Thursday. If you're in the mid-Michigan area, I hope you'll stop by and say hi.

I guess that's it for this week's edition of Monday Morning Musing. Have a great week.

PS Don't forget that during the month of May, 25% of the proceeds from my science fiction romance The Chameleon (An Outer Rim Novel) will go to the ALS Association. You can read snippets from The Chameleon on Weekend Writing Warriors this month.




Saturday, May 12, 2018

#WeWriWa - The Chameleon: Quick Change Artist


Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors where authors share an 8 - 10 sentence snippet. Be sure to visit the other authors. You can find them here

I'm sharing snippets from my science fiction romance, THE CHAMELEON (An Outer Rim Novel). While Jileena works undercover in her father's company and he wants her in his office, she races to obey.


Jileena made good time in the sanitary, stripping down to her underwear and ripping off the brown wig. After finger-combing her flattened, blonde hair, she threw on the white shintung outfit and straightened its short shirt. Before picking up her racket, she glanced in the mirror.
Crazik. Hastily, she washed off the heavy makeup that disguised her fair complexion. One more look. Crazik, crazik, crazik. She popped out the brown lenses then blinked her baby greens several times.
Racing out a back door then around to the front of the building made her sweaty enough to look like she really had been racing around a shintung court. Using her racket, she waved to the guard on duty who grinned and waved back.



Legally Blond meets Mata Hari

Socialite Jileena Winslott has perfected the image of the spoiled, rich, bubble-headed daughter of an industrial magnate. In reality, she’s a smart, savvy aide to her father in social situations where she is his eyes and ears. She yearns to be her true self and run the family business. When her father sends her on a covert mission to the Outer Rim, she has the chance to prove herself. Big problem. He insists she take along a fake fiancé—the man she’s secretly loved for years.

Security Officer Laning Servary has better things to do than babysit a spoiled rich girl on a tour of the Frontier. If he refuses, he can kiss his career good-by. Then Jileena’s father sweetens the pot. If Laning keeps her safe, his family will receive the land they share-crop. He can’t refuse.

In the close quarters of her ship, Laning and Jileena discover they aren’t who they seem. Pirates, weather, and her recklessness threaten to derail the mission. As Laning and Jileena revise their impressions of each other, they’ll have to make hard choices about their goals. Can their budding love survive?









During the month of May, 12 science fiction and paranormal romance writers are donating 25% of their royalties for their special Blue Cover books to the ALS Association, an organization dedicated to providing ALS patients and their families with a multitude of different types of assistance, and continuing research to find a cure for this deadly disease..

I'm donating 25% of my royalties from my sci-fi romance, The Chameleon (An Outer Rim Novel) to ALSA in memory of Stephen Hawking. Despite the debility of ALS, he accomplished so much in the field of physics and cosmology.

Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ Kobo ~ iBooks ~ B&N ~ Smashwords



Monday, May 7, 2018

#TulipTime #Authors4ALSA


It's a beautiful Monday morning here in West Michigan. The sun is shining, the temp is in the high 60s, low humidity. And it's Tulip Time. West Michigan was settled by the Dutch in the 1800s. The settlers brought bits of home as a reminder of their origins, including tulips. 


After the winter that was, I didn't think the tulips would be blooming in time for the annual festival. (One year, the tulips bloomed too soon, so they called it Stem Fest.)


Holland, Michigan (on the east coast of Lake Michigan) goes all out for Tulip Time. Parades, Kloppen dancing in the streets, crafts, music, food. OMG, FOOD! Maybe I should've waited until after the festival before joining Weight Watchers. Lots of Dutch specialties--like pigs-in-a-blanket, giant (the size of a baseball) meatballs & mashed potatoes with kale covered with gravy, oliebollen (delicious doughnut-like pastry with about a thousand calories).


At the marktplaats, you can buy Dutch treats, memorabilia, wooden shoes, and many more items that you don't need but are so cute, lovely, unusual you can't resist.


They also have the usual carnival rides and "fair food" like elephant ears, popcorn, etc.

If you want to know more, click here.

www.leakirk.com/supporting-als.html

During the month of May, twelve science fiction and paranormal romance writers are donating 25% of their royalties for their special Blue Cover books to the ALS Association, an organization dedicated to providing ALS patients and their families with a multitude of different types of assistance, and continuing research to find a cure for this deadly disease..

I'm donating 25% of my royalties from my sci-fi romance, The Chameleon (An Outer Rim Novel) to ALSA in memory of Stephen Hawking. Despite the debility of ALS, he accomplished so much in the field of physics and cosmology.

Legally Blond meets Mata Hari

Socialite Jileena Winslott has perfected the image of the spoiled, rich, bubble-headed daughter of an industrial magnate. In reality, she’s a smart, savvy aide to her father in social situations where she is his eyes and ears. She yearns to be her true self and run the family business. When her father sends her on a covert mission to the Outer Rim, she has the chance to prove herself. Big problem. He insists she take along a fake fiancé—the man she’s secretly loved for years.

Security Officer Laning Servary has better things to do than babysit a spoiled rich girl on a tour of the Frontier. If he refuses, he can kiss his career good-by. Then Jileena’s father sweetens the pot. If Laning keeps her safe, his family will receive the land they share-crop. He can’t refuse.

In the close quarters of her ship, Laning and Jileena discover they aren’t who they seem. Pirates, weather, and her recklessness threaten to derail the mission. As Laning and Jileena revise their impressions of each other, they’ll have to make hard choices about their goals. Can their budding love survive?

Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ Kobo ~ iBooks ~ B&N ~ Smashwords

Have a great week!