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Tuesday, April 30, 2019

#Giveaway Last Day - RESCUING MARA'S FATHER



The giveaway for a $10 Amazon Gift Card ends tonight at midnight. I hope you entered--many times. 

Have you joined D.M. Burton's Sci-Fi Adventure group on Facebook? Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/244763419770536/

Each week, I'll post questions about the story to get a discussion going. Pop over and check it out.

Thank you to everyone who purchased Rescuing Mara's Father. I hope you (or your favorite child) are enjoying the story.


One more time, here's the Rafflecopter.


GIVEAWAY

A $10 AMAZON e-GIFT CARD

Many chances to win.




Stop by tomorrow to see if you won.


Saturday, April 27, 2019

#WeWriWa RESCUING MARA'S FATHER - The Coalition Is Closer Than Mara Thinks

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

I'm sharing snippets from my Middle Grade/YA science fiction adventure, Rescuing Mara's Father. The narrator is Mara, an almost 15-year-old girl who lives in a mining outpost on the Outer Rim. This snippet takes place right after last week's, which ended with Mara saying, “You don’t understand--I want to learn about starships and how to fly them.”

Please excuse the creative punctuation, necessary to keep this within the guidelines. It's also edited from the original.

“Are you not learning about starships from Basco, does he not allow you to pilot them?”
“He only lets me move them from one section of ‘port to another, but it’s not enough—I want to fly in space.”
“As I recall, you have,” He would bring that up—on our last trip away from Raythos, Father let me take the controls of our rented starship. Though it was only for a brief time, I was thrilled beyond belief—he even praised how quickly I learned to control the ship.
“Mara, child, you must learn about the universe that exists outside our little village. The Coalition is an ever-expanding entity, more planets are finding it economically advantageous to become part of the Coalition.”
“The only reason the Coalition has anything to do with us out here on the Rim is because of the brilium mines.”
“Of course, they need brilium to heat their homes, run their factories, and fuel their starships, and with that need comes regulations and governance,” He’s back in lecture mode, “The Coalition is getting closer, Mara—there’s a contingent of peacekeepers on Pamyria.”
On Pamyria, the nearest planet?


Rescuing Mara's Father is available in digital format at:




Available in Print: Amazon


3 friends, a hidden starship, a quest

Her father is gone! Taken by the Queen of Compara’s agents. Mara has to rescue him before the Queen tortures and kills him.
Instead of the kind, loving father she’s always known, he’s become demanding, critical, with impossible expectations—not just as Father but also as the only teacher in their frontier outpost. Mara would rather scoop zircan poop than listen to another boring lecture about governments on Central Planets. Give her a starship engine to take apart or better yet, fly, and she’s happy. Now, he's gone.
Never mind, they’ve had a rocky road lately. 
Never mind, Father promised she could go off planet to Tech Institute next month when she turns fifteen, where she’ll learn to fly starships.
Never mind, she ran away because she’s furious with him because he reneged on that promise. Father is her only parent. She has to save him.
Along with her best friend, eleven-year-old Jako, and his brother 15-year-old Lukus, Mara sets off to find her father. An old spaceport mechanic and her mentor seems to know why the Queen captured Father. In fact, he seems to know her father well. But, does he tell her everything? Of course not. He dribbles out info like a mush-eating baby. Worse, he indicates he’ll be leaving them soon. And Lukus can’t wait to get off our planet. Mara’s afraid they will all leave her, and she’ll be on her own. Despite her fears, she has to rescue her father.

GIVEAWAY

A $10 AMAZON e-GIFT CARD

Only 2 days left, many opportunities to win

Thursday, April 25, 2019

GUEST: Judy Ann Davis WILLIE MY LOVE #NewRelease #WesternRomance #Giveaway

Author Judy Ann Davis, a friend and fellow member of Authors Helping Authors, and I are doing a blog swap. I was on her blog yesterday, and she's here to tell us about her newest release.




Willie, My love
by Judy Ann Davis
Data Sheet


TAGLINE:
Can two stubborn hearts find love under the tall white pines?

BLURB:

       The year is 1856. White pine is king of the forest.
       The last thing Jonathan Wain wants to do is ride miles through Pennsylvania’s wilderness to help his father’s logging partner in the small settlement of Clearfield. His family owns clipper ships in the Chesapeake Bay that carry the coveted logs to the markets each spring, and they can’t afford a loss.
       The last thing Wilhelmina Wydcliffe wants is a handsome sea captain from Maryland meddling in her father’s logging operations under attack by unknown enemies. A feisty tomboy and better known as Willie to her crews, she has a dream to be the largest logging operator east of the Mississippi River.
       When both Willie’s and Jonathan’s lives are threatened, they are forced to work together to find their enemies before both of their companies are in shambles.
       But as their attraction to each other escalates, can they set aside their differences, unearth the truth and troublemakers, and discover contentment in each other’s arms?


EXCERPT:
Smiling, Jonathan took Willie’s proffered hand and shook it, without releasing it. “To show you I bargain in good faith, I offer your pistol as well.” With his free hand, he pulled her small, single shot, dueling pistol from his waistcoat and placed it in her open palm.
“But I have absolutely nothing to trade,” she said with a haughty theatrical voice.
“Ah, ha,” he whispered, pulling her close to him. “A kiss, perhaps?”
Her voice exploded as she tried to push him away. “Why you arrogant scoundrel, I ought to shoot you with this gun.”
His face moved closer. She gasped in surprise before his mouth swooped down on her lips. The kiss was brief, but soft and bewitching, and when he released her, she skidded safely backward.
“Now tell me,” he crooned in a velvet voice. “Why do you carry a loaded pistol?”
“For rattlesnakes.” Her hand fell to her side, the pistol enclosed in the folds of her dress.
“And the knife?”
“To cut off their rattles.”
He laughed, his hearty chuckles filling up the room and silence around them. “I'd rather sit naked with the rattlesnake than with you so heavily armed.”


Print and Digital Link:



AUTHOR BIO:

Judy Ann Davis began her career in writing as a copy and continuity writer for radio and television in Scranton, PA. She holds a degree in Journalism and Communications and has written for industry and education throughout her career.

Over a dozen of her short stories have appeared in various literary and small magazines, and anthologies, and have received numerous awards. To date, she was written five novels, a collection of short stories, and a novella. Her works encompass romance, mystery, western, and paranormal in the historical as well as the contemporary arena. Her last novel, Four White Roses, was a finalist in the Book Excellence and Georgia Romance Writers’ Maggie awards.   

When Judy Ann is not behind a computer, you can find her looking for anything humorous to make her laugh or swinging a golf club where the chuckles are few.

She is a member of Pennwriters, Inc. and Romance Writers of America, and lives in Central Pennsylvania.

VISIT HER ON:

Facebook: Judy Ann Davis Author
Twitter: @JudyAnnDavis4


TIDBIT OF INFORMATION:
“Willie, My Love” developed from my curiosity of the logging industry in the 1880s in my town of Clearfield, Pennsylvania. The manuscript was so large, I had to cut it from 114,000 words to 96,000. That was the most difficult part of the entire process.

 GIVEAWAY


Saturday, April 20, 2019

#WeWriWa - RESCUING MARA'S FATHER Mara Wants To Fly Starships #sf #MG

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

I'm sharing snippets from my Middle Grade/YA science fiction adventure, Rescuing Mara's Father. The narrator is Mara, an almost 15-year-old girl who lives in a mining outpost on the Outer Rim. This snippet takes place right after last week's, which ended with her father saying, "She [Mara's mother] would not have been pleased with your attitude in the classroom."

Please excuse the creative punctuation, necessary to keep this within the guidelines. It's also edited from the original.

I jump up, “I knew it, you just can’t be nice to me for more than a minute. Why can’t you be my father instead of Teacher all the time?”
“Mara,” He sounds weary, “You don’t understand.”
“No, you don’t understand--I hate school.”
“And yet you want to go to Pamyria Technological Institute,” I’ve heard him use that tone on adults, right before he zings them with reason, “Which, by the way, is a type of school.”
“That’s different, I would learn what I want to learn--not the history and governments of Central Planets, like Compara. I’ll never use that planetary poop.”
“Planetary poop?” He arches his eyebrow in such a haughty way I cringe, “I am certain your vocabulary is advanced enough to find a more appropriate description,” There he goes again, correcting me, never giving me credit for what I do know.

“You don’t understand--I want to learn about starships and how to fly them.”

Rescuing Mara's Father is available in digital format at:




Available in Print: Amazon


3 friends, a hidden starship, a quest

Her father is gone! Taken by the Queen of Compara’s agents. Mara has to rescue him before the Queen tortures and kills him.
Instead of the kind, loving father she’s always known, he’s become demanding, critical, with impossible expectations—not just as Father but also as the only teacher in their frontier outpost. Mara would rather scoop zircan poop than listen to another boring lecture about governments on Central Planets. Give her a starship engine to take apart or better yet, fly, and she’s happy. Now, he's gone.
Never mind, they’ve had a rocky road lately. 
Never mind, Father promised she could go off planet to Tech Institute next month when she turns fifteen, where she’ll learn to fly starships.
Never mind, she ran away because she’s furious with him because he reneged on that promise. Father is her only parent. She has to save him.
Along with her best friend, eleven-year-old Jako, and his brother 15-year-old Lukus, Mara sets off to find her father. An old spaceport mechanic and her mentor seems to know why the Queen captured Father. In fact, he seems to know her father well. But, does he tell her everything? Of course not. He dribbles out info like a mush-eating baby. Worse, he indicates he’ll be leaving them soon. And Lukus can’t wait to get off our planet. Mara’s afraid they will all leave her, and she’ll be on her own. Despite her fears, she has to rescue her father.

GIVEAWAY

A $10 AMAZON e-GIFT CARD

Many opportunities to win




Thursday, April 18, 2019

GUEST: Jean Davis and her #NewRelease TRUST #scifi

My guest today is Jean Davis, my cohort in book events. I've learned more from Jean about setting up book displays and finding occasions where I can offer my books for sale. I'm excited to share her new release. See my review at the bottom of the post. Here's Jean.


Thanks, Diane, for having me on your blog. I'm excited to share my new release, Trust. This is the first book in my new space opera series, The Narvan.

Vayen trains to fight a war that ends before he ever sees action. He's not very happy about it. His family lost their lives to Artor's war with Jal and he'd had his sights returning those loses. Instead, he's stuck in a going nowhere factory security job.

The reason for this peace is a human woman, one Anastassia Kazan, advisor to the Narvan System. Now, years later, she's offering him a job as her bodyguard. His training qualifies him for the duty and all the zeros in the paycheck will offer him the kind of future he'd only dreamt of. If he can gain her favor, he just might have some influence on the lives of his people and those of the damned Jalvians.

But why him?

Anastassia was engaged to his much older brother, the one who died fighting beside her in the war. That he happens to look just like. That she trusted to have her back.

Will she ever see Vayen or is he only the living ghost of his brother?


Excerpt:
She grabbed her glass and gripped it tight. “Killing me isn’t quite that simple. My contacts have their orders should I disappear.”

Her partners had turned on her. But she knew me. She knew my brother. “You have to know I’d never—”

“Save your breath. You all do it eventually.”

My heart dropped. Did she really think I was just another partner waiting to betray her?
A slight slur edged her words. “Quit with the sad face already and get me another drink. While you’re at it, get yourself another too. Enough with nursing that lukewarm thing.”

I found myself in true need of a drink to wash down her accusation.

When I returned to the table, her chair sat closer to mine.

“You need to relax more. Smile once in awhile. Go out and enjoy an off-shift with some friends,” she said.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I’d given up the few friends I had when I’d hired on. Training and learning all I could to help her filled my off-shift hours. The only person I had left to relax with was Merkief, which we did manage to do from time to time.

While I did sip more avidly at my second drink, I didn’t plan on having another in our current surroundings. “We should get back soon. Jey is already ticked that I took most of his shift.”

“In a while. You need a couple shots first.”

“Jey and I have enough issues without him catching me drunk with you.” Not to mention, getting drunk with my boss screamed bad idea.


Trust : The Narvan (Book 1)
Science Fiction / Space Opera
Released April 2019   •  Published by Caffeinated Press

War has torn Vayen Ta'set's homeworld apart. It took away his parents and then his brother, leaving him alone. He's spent his life training to join the fight, to do his part, to bring peace to Artor. But the war ends before he's able to join in, quietly brought about by a human, Anastassia Kazan. When she offers him a job as her bodyguard, he's sure he's finally found his place. He's wrong. She's not who he thought she was. The peace she brought to Artor, to his entire star system, comes with a cost. One he's now helping her pay. There are bigger enemies out in the known universe than he ever imagined. Without Kazan, deals and truces will crumble. War is just a death away. Neck deep in Kazan’s world of bribes, blackmail, and assassins, Vayen must eliminate the threats to his boss and his homeworld without becoming a target himself. It’s hard to make your mark on the universe if you’re dead.

Amazon  /  Amazon UK   /  Barnes & Noble  /  Kobo  / Direct from the publisher
Add it on Goodreads  


Jean Davis lives in West Michigan with her musical husband, two attention-craving terriers and a small flock of chickens. When not ruining fictional lives from the comfort of her writing chair, she can be found devouring books and sushi, weeding her flower garden, or picking up hundreds of sticks while attempting to avoid her yard’s abundant snake population. Her focus is bringing strong, capable women to speculative fiction.

Follow her here: Blog / Amazon / Facebook



Diane's Review: 5 Stars

Trust. How much do we trust each other? Do we trust our lover/spouse unconditionally? What about our bosses? Their bosses?

Everybody has secrets, their own agenda. In Jean Davis’s new release, Vayen starts out rather naïve. People are who they say they are. Wrong. He learns the hard way that what people say isn’t always the truth. When Anastassia hires him as her bodyguard, she says it’s to keep the peace in Artor. But is it really? Is it the only reason? That’s where trust comes in.

Anastassia trusted the wrong person once. Now, he’s out to kill her. Can she trust Vayen to protect her?

Fantastic world building and complex characters make Ms. Davis’s story compelling. Just when you think you’ve figured out where the story is going, a twist surprises you. Get ready for an out-of-this-world adventure.



Tuesday, April 16, 2019

And the Blog Tour continues - RESCUING MARA'S FATHER #sf #mg



Pamela S. Thibodeaux invited me to stop by her blog on my tour for Tuesday Treasure. I share some thoughts on one of my favorite treasures.

https://pamswildroseblog.blogspot.com/2019/04/tuesdaytreasures-with-diane-burton.html

Stop by and enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card.





Saturday, April 13, 2019

#WeWriWa RESCUING MARA'S FATHER She looks like her mother. #sf #MG

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

I'm sharing snippets from my Middle Grade/YA science fiction adventure, Rescuing Mara's Father. The narrator is Mara, an almost 15-year-old girl who lives in a mining outpost on the Outer Rim. This snippet takes place right after last week's, which ended with: He rarely talks about my mother, who died giving me birth. When I used to ask about her, he would get such a pained look in his eyes I always backed off. This time, I can’t let the opportunity pass. “Please, Father, tell me about her.”

Please excuse the creative punctuation, necessary to keep this within the guidelines. It's also edited from the original.
 
He doesn’t say anything, and disappointment settles over me—just like before. Then, he turns around, “She was tall and slender with hair as dark as midnight and eyes as green as a mountain meadow. You look very much like her—your skin is not as fair as hers, though. She would not go outdoors without covering up for fear of burning,” He smiles, warmth and love shining from his eyes, “She hated freckles.”
“I hate them, too.”
He chuckles, “Not enough to stay indoors. Your mother cared deeply for others, as you do, but she would not have risked her life in combat. Learning was important to her. She would not have been pleased with your attitude in the classroom.”

Rescuing Mara's Father is available in digital format at:




Available in Print: Amazon


3 friends, a hidden starship, a quest

Her father is gone! Taken by the Queen of Compara’s agents. Mara has to rescue him before the Queen tortures and kills him.
Instead of the kind, loving father she’s always known, he’s become demanding, critical, with impossible expectations—not just as Father but also as the only teacher in their frontier outpost. Mara would rather scoop zircan poop than listen to another boring lecture about governments on Central Planets. Give her a starship engine to take apart or better yet, fly, and she’s happy. Now, he's gone.
Never mind, they’ve had a rocky road lately. 
Never mind, Father promised she could go off planet to Tech Institute next month when she turns fifteen, where she’ll learn to fly starships.
Never mind, she ran away because she’s furious with him because he reneged on that promise. Father is her only parent. She has to save him.
Along with her best friend, eleven-year-old Jako, and his brother 15-year-old Lukus, Mara sets off to find her father. An old spaceport mechanic and her mentor seems to know why the Queen captured Father. In fact, he seems to know her father well. But, does he tell her everything? Of course not. He dribbles out info like a mush-eating baby. Worse, he indicates he’ll be leaving them soon. And Lukus can’t wait to get off our planet. Mara’s afraid they will all leave her, and she’ll be on her own. Despite her fears, she has to rescue her father.

GIVEAWAY

A $10 AMAZON e-GIFT CARD

Many chances to win.



Friday, April 12, 2019

GUEST: Jessica E. Subject #NewRelease #shifter #Giveaway @jsubject

It's my pleasure to welcome my friend from Canada, Jessica E. Subject. Jess has posted snippets from her new release on Weekend Writing Warrior (#WeWriWa). I've read some shifter stories but never a shifter who turned into a bunny. Don't laugh. Okay, I admit. I think bunnies are cute. I'd better not give anymore away. Here's Jessica to tell you about Bunny Omega on the Run.





Two Truths and a Lie



Thank you so much to Diane for having me back as a guest! I’m super excited about my new release, Bunny Omega on the Run, a story about a sexy tiger alpha and a cute bunny omega. For this post, I decided to try something I’ve never done before. I’m going to tell you two truths and a lie about my story. It’s up to you to decide which one is the lie. I’m curious to see who gets it and who doesn’t.

1. The two cities mentioned in the story are Saramto, where the story is set, and Torago. These cities don’t exist that I’m aware of, and I created them by combining words.

Saramto = Saram (Korean for person) + (Toron)to
Torago = Tor(onto) + (Chic)ago

2. I named TK, the alpha hero of the story, using those initials for his stage name, as they mean to kum, a printer’s expression meaning there is more material to come. He is always writing new music, so there is always more music (material) to come.

3. This story is about a tiger shifter and a bunny shifter. While I’ve always loved tigers, I’ve also had several rabbits as pets. Their names were Eric, Matthew, Jenna, Sebastian, and Hop.

Okay, so which one is the lie?


BUNNY OMEGA ON THE RUN


Shifter Towers #1

by Jessica E. Subject

Release date: March 29, 2019

Genres: Romance, Paranormal (shifter), LGBTQ, MPreg

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-68361-321-3
Print ISBN: 978-1-68361-324-4

Published with Decadent Publishing Company, LLC
Cover artist: Fantasia Frog Designs

# of words: 46,500
pages: 227 (print)

BLURB:

As a pop star, I never expected to find true love. 

Not in a world where everything is temporary and often fake. But then he ran into me. Not once, but twice. My tiger instantly recognized him as my mate. Now, I just have to convince Kish that what we have is real.

The oldest of ten kids, I saw what my mother went through after my father left. After that, I started taking blockers so I would never go into heat, never have kids. Because love was for the weak. And I was doing just fine on my own.

Then I met TK. Literally smacked right into him. But no matter how much I wanted it to be true, I refused to believe that he could love a bunny shifter from the wrong part of town.

Bunny Omega on the Run is a super sweet with knotty heat MM mpreg shifter popstar romance. It is book 1 of the Shifter Towers series but can be read as a standalone.

AUTHOR ENDORSEMENT:

A triumphant and heartfelt first foray into mpreg by one of our favorite authors Lorelei M. Hart


PG EXCERPT:

I eyed the barrel of the 9mm pointed at my face. Clutching my hands behind me, I tried to hide the excessive shaking throughout my body. “It’s okay. You can pay me later. I’ll...I’ll just be going.” Anything to get away from there alive.

The lanky, bald man in the black suit clicked the safety off. “There won’t be another time.”

Without waiting for a shot to be fired, I spun around and bolted down the street. I had no time to shift. I simply ran. Over fences. Through yards. Down one alley after another. I didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. My mom and siblings depended on me. I couldn’t help them if I was dead.

After what felt like forever, my thighs burned and chest ached. I had to stop. Or at least slow down. But I didn’t know if I was still being pursued. I dared a glance behind me. No one. Thank fuck! It was time to slow down. Shift and find a place to hide.

Smack!

I slammed into something hard. Someone hard. Liquid terror filled my veins. Somehow the guy in the suit had outsmarted me. I was dead. Gone. No chance to say goodbye to my family. My knees gave out, and I crumpled toward the ground. But strong arms caught me, lifted me back up. Did the man want to stare in my face when he killed me?

“Whoa, whoa. It’s okay, little omega. I won’t hurt you.” The man pulled me closer. Tight into his broad chest.

And that’s when I smelled the wild, rugged scent. A predator. Not the human who had been chasing me, but a tiger. I was in the arms of one of the most dangerous types of shifters in the world. But when I dared a glance up into his eyes, I only saw a concerned alpha. One whom I instantly recognized. TK. The pop star dominating all of the music charts. I’d had no idea he wasn’t human.

Filled with a new fear, I slowly backed away. Being anywhere near the star, I’d have more than one man with a gun after me. If he didn’t take me out, someone else would.

But TK didn’t let go so easily. He cupped my elbows, keeping me steady. “What were you running from?”

I didn’t answer. Behind TK, men in black suits—not cheap knockoffs like my pursuer had
worn, but actual designer brands—eyed me, waiting for me to do something stupid.

Needing to prove I offered no harm, I shifted. In my shifted form, there was no way I could harm their charge.

I expected to fall to the ground and hop away. But TK didn’t let go of me. He held my scruff. “Oh my! You are the most gorgeous bunny I have ever seen. Just as beautiful as when you were in your human form.” He released his grip and stroked behind my shoulders. Then in between my ears. “You are just adorable with one ear up and one ear down.”

EBOOK BUY LINKS:

Universal Book Link: https://books2read.com/bunny-omega

PRINT BUY LINK:


GOODREADS:


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jessica E. Subject is the author of science fiction romance, mostly alien romances, ranging from sweet to super hot. Sometimes she dabbles in paranormal and contemporary as well, bringing to life a wide variety of characters. In her stories, you could not only meet a sexy alien or two, but also clones and androids. You may be transported to a dystopian world where rebels are fighting to live and love, or to another planet for a romantic rendezvous.

When Jessica is not reading, writing, or doing dreaded housework, she likes to go to fitness class, listen to BTS, and walk her Great Pyrenees/Retriever her family adopted from the local animal shelter.

Jessica lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and two energetic children. And she loves to hear from her readers. You can find her at jessicasubject.com.

AUTHOR LINKS:




BUNNY OMEGA ON THE RUN RELEASE CONTEST*


Enter to WIN a print copy of Alien Next Door: The Complete Series and Cosmic Desires by Jessica E. Subject. Plus, Map of the Soul: Persona, the next album from BTS, the boy band that has a permanent place on Jessica's writing and life playlist.

*Contest is international except where prohibited by law. Must be 18 or older to enter. No substitutions will be made. Contest ends April 15, 2019. Prizes will come directly from the author and are not sponsored by anyone else. Good luck!
  

WHERE TO ENTER: