Friday, July 31, 2015

The Fall of Icarus by N.R. Bates

N. R. Bates

on Tour

July 31- August 9

with

Fall of Icarus FrontCoverRev

The Fall of Icarus

(Fantasy/Magic Realism/Short Stories)

Release date: March 31, 2015 at NR Bates Publishing

65 pages

ISBN: 978-0-9931905-6-8 (mobi)
ISBN: 978-0-9931905-7-5 (epub)
ISBN: 978-0-9931905-8-2 (print)

Website | Goodreads

***

SYNOPSIS

Three interconnected short-stories set in Paris explore the issue of choice, survival and transformation. In the first story, a young man on his first business trip is waylaid by an aberrant elevator. In the pivotal tale, a young scientist re-imagines the Greek myth of Icarus and his fall to earth. In the final story, a young woman who cannot recall her own name relates the fantastical tale of a girl who can fly.

***




My Review
Four Stars
Copy Received from France Book Tours for an honest review
" The Fall of Icarus" by N.R. Bates was a very gratifying collection of three short stories.  I really enjoyed the lyrical way Bates describes the scenes in the story.  I thought he mixed elements of real and magical realism so gracefully that it felt believable.  Because the stories are short there is a pretty quick ending and conflicts are quickly resolved.  However, I did enjoy all three stories and enjoyed how they had an interlinking theme.  I found each story to be very original and to have very distinctive elements.  I've read magical realism in college so this for me was a great reminder of how beautiful short stories can be and how enjoyable great literary work is.  
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fall of Icarus - Nicholas Bates







NR Bates was born in London, grew up in Wales, and lived in Canada and Bermuda. He shares his life with his wife and his house with seven cats, one dog and the subtropical wildlife of lizards, wolf spiders and ant colonies that seek out a better life indoors. He is an oceanographer and scientist, and has published more than one hundred and thirty scientific papers on ocean chemistry, climate change and ocean acidification. He is a Senior Scientist at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences and Professor of Ocean Biogeochemistry at the University of Southampton, UK. His novels focus on epic fantasy and magic realism, and inspired by his deep love of the ocean and environmental sciences.
Follow him on Twitter | on Facebook

Buy the book | on Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

***

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or on any other book blogs participating in this tour.
Be sure to follow each participant on Twitter/Facebook,
they are listed in the entry form below
.

Entry-Form

Visit each blogger on the tour:
tweeting about the giveaway everyday
of the Tour will give you 5 extra entries each time!
[just follow the directions on the entry-form]

Global giveaway open internationally:
5 participants will each win a digital copy of this book
***

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TO READ OTHER REVIEWS AND AN EXCERPT

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Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Luna Marina and theMcMachina

About the Author
G. A. Costa was born in Pawtucket, RI. He grew up in Seekonk, MA and now resides near Boston.  He attended The Perkins School for the Blind until Junior High, where, as a child, he started learning how to sing and play the keyboard.  After outgrowing Perkins, he attended Junior High in Watertown, MA.  He then came home to Attend High School in Seekonk, MA, where he received High Honors and was inducted into The National Honor Society.  While at Seekonk High, he joined 'The Verdandi Male Choir for Swedish Singers' with whom he traveled the country singing in concerts.  After high school, he was accepted at SMU (now UMASS Dartmouth), and graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science and with a minor in Sociology.  After graduation, he wrote for a computer magazine and designed computer games.  Besides writing, he now plays various instruments, including the guitar and drums, while continuing to sing and write music. Other interests include any and all kinds of science and physics, reading, listening to music, and electric trains.

A. R. Costa was born in Milan, Italy, just before the Second World War, and was raised in Pontecorvo, Italy, in the Province of Frosinone.  She obtained a teaching degree from 'The Fancy School in Town' when she was twenty, and soon after she was married in The San Bartholomew Cathedral, right across from her house.  Since her mother was born in Fall River, Ma, and always talked about her life in America, Alessandra decided to 'come home' to the USA, and her entire family came with her and her husband.  Now the author and her two children, her brother, sister, their children and grandchildren are all spread out very close to their roots, in and around Fall River, Massachusetts, in the Good, Old U.S. of A.  Her parents, Nonno and Nonna, lie peacefully next to each other, near their family and together forever.
Their latest book is the young adult novel, Luna Marina and the McMachina.
About the Author
G. A. Costa was born in Pawtucket, RI. He grew up in Seekonk, MA and now resides near Boston.  He attended The Perkins School for the Blind until Junior High, where, as a child, he started learning how to sing and play the keyboard.  After outgrowing Perkins, he attended Junior High in Watertown, MA.  He then came home to Attend High School in Seekonk, MA, where he received High Honors and was inducted into The National Honor Society.  While at Seekonk High, he joined 'The Verdandi Male Choir for Swedish Singers' with whom he traveled the country singing in concerts.  After high school, he was accepted at SMU (now UMASS Dartmouth), and graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science and with a minor in Sociology.  After graduation, he wrote for a computer magazine and designed computer games.  Besides writing, he now plays various instruments, including the guitar and drums, while continuing to sing and write music. Other interests include any and all kinds of science and physics, reading, listening to music, and electric trains.

A. R. Costa was born in Milan, Italy, just before the Second World War, and was raised in Pontecorvo, Italy, in the Province of Frosinone.  She obtained a teaching degree from 'The Fancy School in Town' when she was twenty, and soon after she was married in The San Bartholomew Cathedral, right across from her house.  Since her mother was born in Fall River, Ma, and always talked about her life in America, Alessandra decided to 'come home' to the USA, and her entire family came with her and her husband.  Now the author and her two children, her brother, sister, their children and grandchildren are all spread out very close to their roots, in and around Fall River, Massachusetts, in the Good, Old U.S. of A.  Her parents, Nonno and Nonna, lie peacefully next to each other, near their family and together forever.
Their latest book is the young adult novel, Luna Marina and the McMachina.
For More Information
Connect with the authors on Facebook and Twitter.
Find out more about the authors at Goodreads.
About the Book:

Title: Luna Marina and the McMachina (The Adventures of Luna Marina Blue Book 1)
AuthorG.A. Costa & A.R. Costa
PublisherG.A. Costa & A.R. Costa
Pages485
GenreYoung Adult
FormatPaperback/Kindle
Fourteen-year-old Luna Marina Blue has the temper and disposition of a sailor (with the language and the manners to match)!

She's mad at everyone and everything around her, but what has her maddest of all is that it's the first day of school and summer vacation is over. Poor Little Luna has had it with all her shallow friends and the stupid grown-ups who make demands and refuse to listen to her. When one of her classmates recounts her 'wonderful'  summer vacation on an Italian farm, an idyllic place right out of the 1950's, where she told of hayrides, dances, parties and stolen kisses, Luna starts daydreaming about going back in time. She
desperately wants to be in Old Italy during the 1950's, and experience all that for herself.

Luna imagines how she would wow and impress all the poor 'backward' farm people with her beauty, modern look and 'new-age' style; she  would be a little queen and the star of everyone's attention, she just knew it! Later that day, after getting suspended from school and punished at home, Luna gets the chance to have her wish come true. Mad at everyone and convinced that no one cared for her or would even notice if she went missing, Luna accepts the offer, thus  beginning her own Grand Odyssey.

Going back in time to the farming community in and around the Italian town of Pontecorvo during the 1950's, Luna Marina Blue embarks on a journey of personal discovery and realizes that the so-called 'backward' farm people are just as educated, intelligent, and capable as she is (if not more so). She also learns some valuable life lessons and family secrets along the way.

Homesick and desperate to get back to her original family, whom she spurned so easily before, yet learning to love an entirely new family in Old Italy, Luna is torn between her old life in modern times, and the new one she found in the 1950’s.

Luna Marina Blue has a choice to make, one which will echo throughout her entire life and beyond ...Will she stay? Will she go back? What a conundrum!

Teens from fourteen to ninety-four will enjoy taking this journey with Luna, watching her grow from an immature child to a thoughtful and  intelligent young woman, all the while sharing the exciting adventures and wonderful surprises that lie ahead ...

This is a wholesome, feel-good and heartwarming tale that the entire family can enjoy together! Not only will teens and preteens love this story, but adults will as well.
For More Information
Luna Marina is available at Amazon.
Visit the book’s Facebook Page.
Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.
Book Excerpt:
Luna Marina Blue is dreaming the most perfect dream ever! On her head she’s wearing a jeweled crown made from solid gold and inlaid with delicate silver designs, passed down through the ages, waiting for the moment it could rest on her pretty head. Her long, dark, and lustrous hair (in real life her hair is short and dark) hangs nearly to her waist beautifully. She’s wearing a long and soft gown of blue velvet which seems to glow with its own inner light, matching her eyes perfectly.  Hundreds of people are there, and they all love, adore and admire her and every last one of them looks at her with great expectation. Luna Marina Blue is celebrating her fourteenth birthday and she’s having the time of her life at this unbelievable party. Her birthday party was organized by her Fairy Godmother, Giselle, and everything was done in pink and blue, Luna’s favorite colors. There are fluffy clouds of pink and white, with red and blue roses growing out of them on long, leafy stems. There are big, bright balloons of bright yellow and green (and of course blue and pink as well).  The multilayered birthday cake is pink, white, and frosted silver, taller than Luna herself, with fourteen bright candles and sugar flowers in all the colors of the rainbow.  Besides her entire family and all her friends, the guests are very famous and important people, all dressed beautifully in every color imaginable and all are happy just to be invited. But the best one would be the secret guest.  Giselle had kept quiet about the biggest surprise of all. She said that his last name was Charming and she had laughed joyfully, her tinkling laugh making everyone smile. Luna doesn’t dare say who she thinks this guest would be, but she’s hoping. Then the secret guest finally reveals himself, and she meets THE PRINCE! She looks up into his beautiful eyes and falls completely in love at first sight. This Gorgeous Prince is humble, charming, tall and dashing. He looks admiringly into her deep blue eyes, kisses her tiny hand, and then he wants to kiss HER.  Luna is anticipating the loveliest kiss in the world, drinking him in eagerly. Then she goes for the kiss slowly, jubilantly, their lips getting closer and closer. Just when their lips start to touch and JUST as they start what Luna knows FOR SURE is the most WONDERFUL kiss ever……….she hears someone yelling in the background:
“LUNA, WAKE UP SWEETHEART! FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!.......”  Somebody is shaking her awake. Her Mom is pretty and petite, with short dark hair and blue eyes, perky and sporty, always wearing white sneakers and white cotton shirts on the outside of her slim, neat tailored jeans.  She’s usually kind, gentle and loving, and today she’s really proud of her Little Luna Blue for graduating to the 9th grade.  While she bustles around Luna’s room, she keeps telling her how much she will enjoy seeing her friends, meeting new teachers and maybe even meeting a nice boy to date. But Luna is grumpy, tired and irritable. Slow to wake up, she just wants to stay in bed, blast her music and forget about everyone and everything. She was in the middle of the most perfect dream ever, when Mom unknowingly woke her up AT THE WORST POSSIBLE MOMENT!! And even if she hadn’t, she would have awoken some time anyway, it was just a dream and not real after all. Bummer!
It’s the First Day of School, and summer vacation is over. How can her Mom be so cheerful, so sweet, so nice, so HAPPY, while Luna is so grumpy?! How can she be that CHIPPER on an awful day like this?  Doesn’t she know that Luna just wants to be left alone and revel in her bad moods? Luna blames everything on her parents, but actually she’s just being her usual grumpy, spoiled, pouty, pissed-off little self. Let’s face it, petite little Luna Marina Blue has the temper and disposition of a sailor (with the manners and the language to match)!  On this particular morning she desperately wants to stay in her rumpled bed and talk to her friends about how bad things are at home and how pissed off she is that Mom makes her clean her room while continuously telling her to be respectful to her elders. Not all of them command respect, as Luna and her friends well know; some of these ELDERS are pretty mean and stupid, like the crossing guard in front of the school.  She’s forty if she’s a day, and she hollers at them to stay put, even when everyone could see that there are no cars coming.  If Mom tells her to do stupid things, dad talks at her like she’s a child.  He demands that she help with chores, while saying:
“No!”  To her spoiled-brat wishes, wants and ravings.  Her brother Kyle is another story all by himself.  The chubby, blondish, spiky-haired eight-years-old is the bane of Luna’s life.  This morning, when she comes down to breakfast, Kyle is already installed at the kitchen table, the smile on his pudgy little face a prelude of things to come.  Luna scrunches her face at the good and nutritious breakfast Mom made: 
“Why can’t we have pastries, brownies, strawberries in clotted cream and other good stuff for breakfast?” She says. And then, with a little snobbish look, she demands:  “I would like a continental breakfast, if you please!  A chocolate croissant and a cappuccino, thank you!” Mom giggles while she serves her a bowl of creamy oatmeal with a bunch of fresh blueberries sprinkled on top, and a fluffy biscuit split and decorated with a pat of butter and a spoon of marmalade.  Mom puts the food on the table with a flourish:
“You are being served, Ms. Blue!”  She snaps the white kitchen towel she carries over her arm, and she says with a smile: “Luna, Honey, please don’t scrunch up your face like that or it will freeze that way!”  Luna’s blue eyes flash in anger, and her black hair sticking up everywhere gives her the look of an angry little Medusa. This morning she wore her tightest cropped jeans full of holes, and she tied her already short shirt around her waist.  Her midriff is bare, and her petite little figure is showing curves she doesn’t even have yet.  She looks much older than fourteen.  Her dad, tall, slim and handsome, with blondish brown hair and brown eyes, an esteemed podiatrist, frowns at her, and sternly says:
“Show your Mom some respect, Luna Marina Blue!  And go change your clothes! You’re going to school, not a beauty contest!” Then he pecks all their collective cheeks quickly, checks his neat suit in the hallway mirror, grabs his leather bag and runs off to work without another word.  While this was going on, Kyle had been trying to kick her under the table the whole time, forcing her to sit sideways.  So, just before she leaves, Luna drops her spoon, bends down to pick it up, and pinches his leg meanly.  Then Luna runs out to the bus (in the same clothes) with a quick:
“Bye!” accompanied by Kyle’s howls and her mother’s soft and reassuring voice.
On the bus, the little Rug Rat Brats, who get dropped off at the kindergarten in the basement of her school, start getting under her skin immediately, and she’s just mean to them, telling them to shut up and disappear.  She gets even madder as the little brats start making fun of her in response to her Stone Face, calling out:
 “Luna-Tic, Luna-Tic, my Big Sister’s a Luna-Tic!” making faces and sticking out their tongues, making her get redder and redder, whereupon they laugh even harder:
“Kyle, you are SOOOO going to be TOAST when I get home! I Promise You!”  Of course that was one of Kyle’s little ditties, Luna figures, as she fumes all the way to school.




Thank you for hosting!

Media Contact:

Dorothy Thompson

Connect with the authors on Facebook and Twitter.
Find out more about the authors at Goodreads.
About the Book:

Title: Luna Marina and the McMachina (The Adventures of Luna Marina Blue Book 1)
AuthorG.A. Costa & A.R. Costa
PublisherG.A. Costa & A.R. Costa
Pages485
GenreYoung Adult
FormatPaperback/Kindle
Fourteen-year-old Luna Marina Blue has the temper and disposition of a sailor (with the language and the manners to match)!

She's mad at everyone and everything around her, but what has her maddest of all is that it's the first day of school and summer vacation is over. Poor Little Luna has had it with all her shallow friends and the stupid grown-ups who make demands and refuse to listen to her. When one of her classmates recounts her 'wonderful'  summer vacation on an Italian farm, an idyllic place right out of the 1950's, where she told of hayrides, dances, parties and stolen kisses, Luna starts daydreaming about going back in time. She
desperately wants to be in Old Italy during the 1950's, and experience all that for herself.

Luna imagines how she would wow and impress all the poor 'backward' farm people with her beauty, modern look and 'new-age' style; she  would be a little queen and the star of everyone's attention, she just knew it! Later that day, after getting suspended from school and punished at home, Luna gets the chance to have her wish come true. Mad at everyone and convinced that no one cared for her or would even notice if she went missing, Luna accepts the offer, thus  beginning her own Grand Odyssey.

Going back in time to the farming community in and around the Italian town of Pontecorvo during the 1950's, Luna Marina Blue embarks on a journey of personal discovery and realizes that the so-called 'backward' farm people are just as educated, intelligent, and capable as she is (if not more so). She also learns some valuable life lessons and family secrets along the way.

Homesick and desperate to get back to her original family, whom she spurned so easily before, yet learning to love an entirely new family in Old Italy, Luna is torn between her old life in modern times, and the new one she found in the 1950’s.

Luna Marina Blue has a choice to make, one which will echo throughout her entire life and beyond ...Will she stay? Will she go back? What a conundrum!

Teens from fourteen to ninety-four will enjoy taking this journey with Luna, watching her grow from an immature child to a thoughtful and  intelligent young woman, all the while sharing the exciting adventures and wonderful surprises that lie ahead ...

This is a wholesome, feel-good and heartwarming tale that the entire family can enjoy together! Not only will teens and preteens love this story, but adults will as well.
For More Information
Luna Marina is available at Amazon.
Visit the book’s Facebook Page.
Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.
Book Excerpt:
Luna Marina Blue is dreaming the most perfect dream ever! On her head she’s wearing a jeweled crown made from solid gold and inlaid with delicate silver designs, passed down through the ages, waiting for the moment it could rest on her pretty head. Her long, dark, and lustrous hair (in real life her hair is short and dark) hangs nearly to her waist beautifully. She’s wearing a long and soft gown of blue velvet which seems to glow with its own inner light, matching her eyes perfectly.  Hundreds of people are there, and they all love, adore and admire her and every last one of them looks at her with great expectation. Luna Marina Blue is celebrating her fourteenth birthday and she’s having the time of her life at this unbelievable party. Her birthday party was organized by her Fairy Godmother, Giselle, and everything was done in pink and blue, Luna’s favorite colors. There are fluffy clouds of pink and white, with red and blue roses growing out of them on long, leafy stems. There are big, bright balloons of bright yellow and green (and of course blue and pink as well).  The multilayered birthday cake is pink, white, and frosted silver, taller than Luna herself, with fourteen bright candles and sugar flowers in all the colors of the rainbow.  Besides her entire family and all her friends, the guests are very famous and important people, all dressed beautifully in every color imaginable and all are happy just to be invited. But the best one would be the secret guest.  Giselle had kept quiet about the biggest surprise of all. She said that his last name was Charming and she had laughed joyfully, her tinkling laugh making everyone smile. Luna doesn’t dare say who she thinks this guest would be, but she’s hoping. Then the secret guest finally reveals himself, and she meets THE PRINCE! She looks up into his beautiful eyes and falls completely in love at first sight. This Gorgeous Prince is humble, charming, tall and dashing. He looks admiringly into her deep blue eyes, kisses her tiny hand, and then he wants to kiss HER.  Luna is anticipating the loveliest kiss in the world, drinking him in eagerly. Then she goes for the kiss slowly, jubilantly, their lips getting closer and closer. Just when their lips start to touch and JUST as they start what Luna knows FOR SURE is the most WONDERFUL kiss ever……….she hears someone yelling in the background:
“LUNA, WAKE UP SWEETHEART! FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!.......”  Somebody is shaking her awake. Her Mom is pretty and petite, with short dark hair and blue eyes, perky and sporty, always wearing white sneakers and white cotton shirts on the outside of her slim, neat tailored jeans.  She’s usually kind, gentle and loving, and today she’s really proud of her Little Luna Blue for graduating to the 9th grade.  While she bustles around Luna’s room, she keeps telling her how much she will enjoy seeing her friends, meeting new teachers and maybe even meeting a nice boy to date. But Luna is grumpy, tired and irritable. Slow to wake up, she just wants to stay in bed, blast her music and forget about everyone and everything. She was in the middle of the most perfect dream ever, when Mom unknowingly woke her up AT THE WORST POSSIBLE MOMENT!! And even if she hadn’t, she would have awoken some time anyway, it was just a dream and not real after all. Bummer!
It’s the First Day of School, and summer vacation is over. How can her Mom be so cheerful, so sweet, so nice, so HAPPY, while Luna is so grumpy?! How can she be that CHIPPER on an awful day like this?  Doesn’t she know that Luna just wants to be left alone and revel in her bad moods? Luna blames everything on her parents, but actually she’s just being her usual grumpy, spoiled, pouty, pissed-off little self. Let’s face it, petite little Luna Marina Blue has the temper and disposition of a sailor (with the manners and the language to match)!  On this particular morning she desperately wants to stay in her rumpled bed and talk to her friends about how bad things are at home and how pissed off she is that Mom makes her clean her room while continuously telling her to be respectful to her elders. Not all of them command respect, as Luna and her friends well know; some of these ELDERS are pretty mean and stupid, like the crossing guard in front of the school.  She’s forty if she’s a day, and she hollers at them to stay put, even when everyone could see that there are no cars coming.  If Mom tells her to do stupid things, dad talks at her like she’s a child.  He demands that she help with chores, while saying:
“No!”  To her spoiled-brat wishes, wants and ravings.  Her brother Kyle is another story all by himself.  The chubby, blondish, spiky-haired eight-years-old is the bane of Luna’s life.  This morning, when she comes down to breakfast, Kyle is already installed at the kitchen table, the smile on his pudgy little face a prelude of things to come.  Luna scrunches her face at the good and nutritious breakfast Mom made: 
“Why can’t we have pastries, brownies, strawberries in clotted cream and other good stuff for breakfast?” She says. And then, with a little snobbish look, she demands:  “I would like a continental breakfast, if you please!  A chocolate croissant and a cappuccino, thank you!” Mom giggles while she serves her a bowl of creamy oatmeal with a bunch of fresh blueberries sprinkled on top, and a fluffy biscuit split and decorated with a pat of butter and a spoon of marmalade.  Mom puts the food on the table with a flourish:
“You are being served, Ms. Blue!”  She snaps the white kitchen towel she carries over her arm, and she says with a smile: “Luna, Honey, please don’t scrunch up your face like that or it will freeze that way!”  Luna’s blue eyes flash in anger, and her black hair sticking up everywhere gives her the look of an angry little Medusa. This morning she wore her tightest cropped jeans full of holes, and she tied her already short shirt around her waist.  Her midriff is bare, and her petite little figure is showing curves she doesn’t even have yet.  She looks much older than fourteen.  Her dad, tall, slim and handsome, with blondish brown hair and brown eyes, an esteemed podiatrist, frowns at her, and sternly says:
“Show your Mom some respect, Luna Marina Blue!  And go change your clothes! You’re going to school, not a beauty contest!” Then he pecks all their collective cheeks quickly, checks his neat suit in the hallway mirror, grabs his leather bag and runs off to work without another word.  While this was going on, Kyle had been trying to kick her under the table the whole time, forcing her to sit sideways.  So, just before she leaves, Luna drops her spoon, bends down to pick it up, and pinches his leg meanly.  Then Luna runs out to the bus (in the same clothes) with a quick:
“Bye!” accompanied by Kyle’s howls and her mother’s soft and reassuring voice.
On the bus, the little Rug Rat Brats, who get dropped off at the kindergarten in the basement of her school, start getting under her skin immediately, and she’s just mean to them, telling them to shut up and disappear.  She gets even madder as the little brats start making fun of her in response to her Stone Face, calling out:
 “Luna-Tic, Luna-Tic, my Big Sister’s a Luna-Tic!” making faces and sticking out their tongues, making her get redder and redder, whereupon they laugh even harder:
“Kyle, you are SOOOO going to be TOAST when I get home! I Promise You!”  Of course that was one of Kyle’s little ditties, Luna figures, as she fumes all the way to school.




Thank you for hosting!

Media Contact:

Dorothy Thompson

Blackwell's Homecoming by V.E. Ulett

02_Blackwell's Homecoming_CoverBlackwell's Homecoming
by V.E. Ulett

Publication Date: December 19, 2014
Publisher: Old Salt Press, LLC
Formats: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 278

Series: Blackwell's Adventures, Book 3
Genre: Historical Fiction

Add to GR Button





“A very satisfying conclusion to the Blackwell's Adventures series, with lusty escapades tempered with amusing side passages, lively characters and a lovely ending.” - Broos Campbell, author of the Matty Graves series

In a multigenerational saga of love, war and betrayal, Captain Blackwell and Mercedes continue their voyage in Volume III of Blackwell's Adventures. The Blackwell family's eventful journey from England to Hawaii, by way of the new and tempestuous nations of Brazil and Chile, provides an intimate portrait of family conflicts and loyalties in the late Georgian Age. Blackwell's Homecoming is an evocation of the dangers and rewards of desire.

PRAISE

"This entire trilogy has lots of adventure, lots of romance, and lots of wonderful settings that will thrill any historical fiction reader." - Meg Wessel, A Bookish Affair

"A real pleasure to read, this book can stand alone, although I recommend reading the previous volumes to see additional development of the main characters." - Jeff Westerhoff, Historical Novels Review

ABOUT THE AUTHOR03_VE Ulett_Author

A long time resident of California, V.E. Ulett is an avid reader as well as writer of historical fiction. Proud to be an Old Salt Press author, V.E. is also a member of the National Books Critics Circle and an active member and reviewer for the Historical Novel Society.

Eighteenth and nineteenth century journals and letters inspired the writing of CAPTAIN BLACKWELL’S PRIZE. The sequels takes Captain Blackwell and Mercedes to the far side of the world, on new personal and cultural adventures. Coming soon from V.E. Ulett, a historical adventure with a fantastic edge.

For more information visit V.E. Ulett's website. You can also find her on Facebook, Amazon, and Goodreads.

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

Monday, July 27
Spotlight & Excerpt at Unshelfish
Spotlight & Excerpt at What Is That Book About

Tuesday, July 28
Review & Excerpt at Oh, For the Hook of a Book

Wednesday, July 29
Review at Book Nerd
Review at Just One More Chapter

Thursday, July 30
Spotlight at A Literary Vacation

Friday, July 31
Spotlight at CelticLady's Reviews

Sunday, August 2
Review at Beth's Book Nook Blog (Blackwell's Paradise Audio Book)

Monday, August 3
Review at Beth's Book Nook Blog (Blackwell's Homecoming)

GIVEAWAY

To enter to win a paperback of Blackwell's Paradise, please enter via the GLEAM form below.

Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on August 3rd. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to residents in the US, UK, Canada & Australia only.
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– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

Blackwell's Homecoming


05_Blackwell's Homecoming_Blog Tour Banner_FINAL

The Lion and the Rose Book Blast

03_Book One_William RisingThe Lion and the Rose (Book One: William Rising)

Publication Date: June 18, 2014
eBook; 338 Pages | ASIN: B00L4K5GKE

Genre: Historical Fiction

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The Lion and the Rose, Part One: William Rising is the first book in an epic historical saga from debut author Hilary Rhodes. Extensively researched and compellingly told, it introduces us to the passionate drama and violent upheaval of eleventh-century Europe. The world as we know it, and the English language, would have been vastly different were it not for the driving ambition of one man: William the Conqueror. But conquerors are made, not born, and William was made in fire and blood. How does a boy become a man, surviving a tumultuous and terrifying childhood? And how does that man become a legend?

William Rising plunges us into this world of danger and betrayal, of choosing sides and dying for absolutes. It follows the creation of a conqueror, as he grows up abandoned, learns to fight at an early age for anything he hopes to keep, and is sculpted into a remorseless, far-sighted, ruthlessly efficient soldier and statesman. From his origins as an orphaned, penniless bastard boy, to his personal and political trials by fire, to the climactic battle with his rebellious barons where he finally comes of age, the young duke increasingly establishes himself as a force to be reckoned with. But as the shadowy intrigues of English politics, and the all-consuming question of an heir for a childless king, begin to draw him into their web, it may just be that William of Normandy has a destiny far greater than even he has ever dreamed.

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | ITUNES | KOBO

03_Book Two_The Gathering StormThe Lion and the Rose (Book Two: The Gathering Storm)

Publication Date: September 29, 2014
eBook; 294 Pages | ASIN: B00O2E30GG

Genre: Historical Fiction

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The Lion and the Rose: William Rising introduced us to the young William, Duke of Normandy, and his treacherous and terrible childhood, beset by battles, betrayals, and heartbreak, as he fought his own barons to survive and claim his birthright. The Gathering Storm plunges us even deeper into the violent upheaval and passionate drama of his unfolding story. Now twenty-two, William has won his most pivotal battle and taken control of his inheritance, but impossible struggles loom as he fights to put Normandy back together -- and very few of his enemies are actually defeated. Furthermore, across the Channel, the question of an heir for a childless king begins to loom large, and the ruthless and scheming Godwin, Earl of Wessex, will stop at nothing to claim it for his family.

Written with the same meticulous historical research and flair by debut author Hilary Rhodes, The Gathering Storm raises the stakes to the utmost level, and a crown and a kingdom hang in the balance. In these pages, lords rise and fall, England and Normandy are drawn into a perilous collision course, bishops, barons, dukes, queens, and earls play a dangerous game of power and glory, and those who are not strong enough are trampled underfoot. The crows circle and the banners are raised, and the last Saxon king and the greatest Norman duke are destined to face each other in a battle that will change the course of history.

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | ITUNES | KOBO

04_The Outlander KingThe Outlander King (The Aetheling's Bride, Book One)

Publication Date: June 1, 2015
eBook; 476 Pages | ASIN: B00XM9QJ1K

Genre: Historical Fiction

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The story of The Lion and the Rose and the Norman Conquest continues in this spellbinding new historical fiction series from author Hilary Rhodes, pulling back the curtain on the lives of two remarkable women connected across centuries: Aislinn, a seventeen-year-old English girl caught up in the advancing army of the “outlander king,” the man who will become known to history as William the Conqueror. Thrust into the center of the new Norman court and a dizzying web of political intrigue and plotting princes, she must choose her alliances carefully in a game of thrones where the stakes are unimaginably high. Embroiled in rebellions and betrayals, Aislinn learns the price of loyalty, struggles to find her home, and save those she loves – and, perhaps, her own soul as well.

Almost nine hundred years later in 1987, Selma Murray, an American graduate student at Oxford University, is researching the mysterious “Aethelinga” manuscript, as Aislinn’s chronicle has come to be known. Trying to work out the riddles of someone else’s past is a way for Selma to dodge her own troubling ghosts – yet the two are becoming inextricably intertwined. She must face her own demons, answer Aislinn’s questions, and find forgiveness – for herself and others – in this epically scaled but intimately examined, extensively researched look at the creation of history, the universality of humanity, and the many faces it has worn no matter the century: loss, grief, guilt, redemption, and love.

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | ITUNES | KOBO

ABOUT THE AUTHOR02_Author Hilary Rhodes

Hilary Rhodes is a scholar, author, blogger, and all-around geek who fell in love with medieval England while spending a year abroad at Oxford University. She holds a B.A. and M.A. in history, and is currently preparing for doctoral studies at the University of Leeds, fulfilling a years-long dream to return to the UK. In what little spare time she has, she enjoys reading, blogging about her favorite TV shows, movies, and books, music, and traveling.

For more information please visit Hilary Rhodes' blog.

BOOK BLAST SCHEDULE

Monday, July 27
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Tuesday, July 28
Book Nerd
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Wednesday, July 29
The Never-Ending Book
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Thursday, July 30
Books and Benches
Historical Fiction Connection

Friday, July 31
The Lit Bitch
Queen of All She Reads

Sunday, August 2
Genre Queen

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The Maiden's Court

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Wednesday, August 5
100 Pages a Day
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Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Lucky's Choice by Jaime Begley


Enter to Win A
Custom LAST RIDERS T-Shirt & Mug, 
$25.00 Amazon eGift Card and Signed Copy of SHADE'S FALL


LUCKY'S CHOICE
The Last Riders #7
Jamie Begley
Releasing July 29th, 2015
Young Ink Press


Life dealt him a dead man’s hand.

Lucky had
always led a life of service, always putting his life on the line for someone
else, managing to survive by pure luck and skill. After bringing an end to a
multi-state drug ring, he was finally able to live the life he had wanted as a
Last Rider.

A good man
would walk away and not touch the curvy woman who had been tugging on his
heartstrings. Lucky wasn’t a good man. Therefore, the bad-ass biker in him had
a choice: once again become the man he had pretended to be and stake his claim
or take the devil’s highway.

Some girls had all the luck.

Willa
wasn’t one of them. All she wanted to do was give a home to the children she
had made orphans. Instead, she found herself needing help from the man who had
left the pulpit behind to embrace a life of sin.

Painfully
shy and withdrawn, she wanted a quiet life, a simple man, and well-behaved
children. The last thing she had ever expected was for Lucky to want her size
twenty body and show her a passion that would lead her straight to hell. 





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"I
was born in a small town in Kentucky. My family began poor, but worked their
way to owning a restaurant. My mother was one of the best cooks I have ever
known, and she instilled in all her children the value of hard work, and
education.
Taking
after my mother, I've always love to cook, and became pretty good if I do say
so myself. I love to experiment and my unfortunate family has suffered through
many. They now have learned to steer clear of those dishes. I absolutely love
the holidays and my family puts up with my zany decorations.
For
now, my days are spent writing, writing, and writing. I have two children who
both graduated this year from college. My daughter does my book covers, and my
son just tries not to blush when someone asks him about my books.
Currently
I am writing five series of books- The Last Riders, The VIP Room, Predators MC,
Biker Bitches, and The Dark Souls.
All
my books are written for one purpose- the enjoyment others find in them, and
the expectations of my fans that inspire me to give it my best.”

FRISK ME BY LAUREN LAYNE


Enter to Win a 
$50.00 Amazon eGift Card


FRISK ME
New York's Finest #1
Lauren Layne
Releasing July 28th,2015
Forever Romance


After a photograph of Luc Moretti saving a tourist hits social media, he instantly becomes New York's most famous and beloved cop. When a major network decides to run a special on the "American Hero," Luc's boss gives him no choice but to cooperate in the name of good exposure for the department. Luc doesn't mind the celebrity status-what he does mind is the gorgeous brunette journalist who's been assigned to follow his every move. Especially since she also happens to be the same knockout that rejected him rather publicly the week before.

Ava Sims is a woman who gets what she wants. And what she wants is to be CBC's lead anchor-but to get there, she'll need to nail the fluff piece on the playboy cop. Luc Moretti is everything Ava knows to stay away from: a stubborn charmer with a hero-complex. But the more Ava gets to know Luc and his oddball family, the more she realizes that beneath the swagger and the blue uniform is a complex man who makes her heart beat too fast. Soon, Ava's doing the unthinkable, and falling for the best of New York's finest ...



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Lauren
Layne is the USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance.
Prior
to becoming an author, Lauren worked in e-commerce and web-marketing. In 2011,
she and her husband moved from Seattle to New York City, where Lauren decided
to pursue a full-time writing career. It took six months to get her first book
deal (despite ardent assurances to her husband that it would only take three).
Since then, Lauren's gone on to publish ten books, including the bestselling
Stiletto series, with several more on the way in 2015.
Lauren
currently lives in Chicago with her husband and spoiled Pomeranian. When not
writing, you'll find her at happy hour, running at a doggedly slow pace, or
trying to straighten her naturally curly hair.




Monday, July 27, 2015

A Time for Everything by Mysti Parker

Historical Romance

Date Published: July 7, 2015




After losing her husband and only child to the ravages of the Civil War, twenty-five-year-old Portia McAllister is drowning in grief. When she sees an ad for a live-in tutor in another town, she leaves everything behind in hopes of making a fresh start. But as a Confederate widow in a Union household, she is met with resentment from her new charge and her employer, war veteran Beau Stanford.

Despite their differences, she and Beau find common ground and the stirrings of a second chance at love—until his late wife’s cousin, Lydia, arrives with her sights set on him. Burdened with a farm on the brink of bankruptcy, Beau is tempted by Lydia’s hefty dowry, though Portia has captured his heart.

In another time and another place, his choice would be easy. But love seems impossible amid the simmering chaos of Reconstruction that could boil over at any moment into an all-out battle for survival. Will Beau and Portia find their way into each other’s arms, or will they be swept away by raging forces beyond their control?




Review Book Tour - July 24 - July 31


July 24 - Reading Addiction Virtual Book Tours -  Kick Off

July 25 - Wanderbook

July 26 - V's Reads

July 27 - Book Nerd

July 28 - Romance Writer and Lover of Books

July 29 - Creative Hodgepodge

July 30 - Second Book to the Right

July 31 - RABT Reviews - Wrap Up




Mysti Parker is a wife, mom, author, and shameless chocoholic. She is the author of the Tallenmere standalone fantasy romance series and The Roche Hotel romantic comedy series. Her short writings have appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines. Her award-winning historical romance, A Time for Everything, will be published this summer by EsKape Press.


Other writing pursuits include serving as a class mentor in Writers Village University's seven week online course, F2K. She has published two children's books (Quentin's Problem & Fuzzy Buzzy's Treasure) as Misty Baker.


When she's not writing fiction,Mysti reviews books for SQ Magazine, an online specfic publication. She resides in Buckner, KY with her husband and three children.



Contact Information

Website: http://www.mystiparker.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mysti-Parker/103786449704221

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MystiParker




Purchase Links

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/A-Time-Everything-Mysti-Parker-ebook/dp/B00ZFUKEC4




<A HREF="https://sites.google.com/a/myaddictionisreading.com/summer-2015/mysti-parker">

Friday, July 24, 2015

Naked by Eliza Regold

02_Naked A Novel of Lady Godiva_CoverNAKED: A NOVEL OF LADY GODIVA
by ELIZA REDGOLD


Publication Date: July 14, 2015
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Formats: Ebook, Paperback
Pages: 320

Genre: Historical Fiction

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We know her name. We know of her naked ride. We don't know her true story.

We all know the legend of Lady Godiva, who famously rode naked through the streets of Coventry, covered only by her long, flowing hair. So the story goes, she begged her husband Lord Leofric of Mercia to lift a high tax on her people, who would starve if forced to pay. Lord Leofric demanded a forfeit: that Godiva ride naked on horseback through the town. There are various endings to Godiva's ride, that all the people of Coventry closed their doors and refused to look upon their liege lady (except for 'peeping Tom') and that her husband, in remorse, lifted the tax.

Naked is an original version of Godiva's tale with a twist that may be closer to the truth: by the end of his life Leofric had fallen deeply in love with Lady Godiva. A tale of legendary courage and extraordinary passion, Naked brings an epic story new voice.

ADVANCE PRAISE

"Redgold's variation on this enticing legend is often lyrical and offers a satisfying blend of history, lore, and romance." (Booklist)

"Breathes new life into the story of the woman who would stop at nothing to protect her land and people." (Romantic Times)

"NAKED delivers far more than the famous ride of Lady Godiva. It's a beautifully woven story of love, loyalty, and the determination of a young woman trying to protect her people and their way of life, no matter the price. Godiva is a wonderfully strong woman in an age of dangerous men, and in NAKED, she certainly meets her match!" (Amalia Carosella, author of HELEN OF SPARTA)

"A wonderful, romantic retelling of the Lady Godiva legend. There is the colorful Anglo-Saxon backdrop, warriors, battles, peacemaking, desire, revenge and love - everything a fan of medieval romance could desire - plus a strong-willed heroin. Written with a lyrical lilt to her prose, Redgold adds realism to the myth and love to the lusty tale, allowing readers a glimpse into what might have been." (RT Book Reviews)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR03_Eliza Redgold_Author

ELIZA REDGOLD is based upon the old, Gaelic meaning of her name, Dr Elizabeth Reid Boyd. English folklore has it that if you help a fairy, you will be rewarded with red gold. She has presented academic papers on women and romance and is a contributor to the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Romance Fiction. As a non-fiction author she is co-author of Body Talk: a Power Guide for Girls and Stay-at-Home Mothers: Dialogues and Debates. She was born in Irvine, Scotland on Marymass Day and currently lives in Australia.

For more information visit Eliza Redgold's website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Google+.

BOOK BLAST SCHEDULE

Tuesday, July 14
Boom Baby Reviews
Let Them Read Books

Wednesday, July 15
Genre Queen
The Maiden's Court
What Is That Book About

Thursday, July 16
Bibliophilia, Please
The Reader's Hollow
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Friday, July 17
100 Pages a Day
The Never-Ending Book

Saturday, July 18
Just One More Chapter

Monday, July 20
To Read, or Not to Read
Oh, for the Hook of a Book!

Tuesday, July 21
A Literary Vacation
Book Lovers Paradise

Wednesday, July 22
Unabridged Chick

Thursday, July 23
So Many Books, So Little Time

Friday, July 24
The Reading Queen

Saturday, July 25
Book Nerd

Sunday, July 26
Passages to the Past

Monday, July 27
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Tuesday, July 28
A Chick Who Reads

GIVEAWAY

To enter to win a copy of Naked: A Novel of Lady Godiva & a $50 Amazon Gift Card, please enter via the GLEAM form below.

Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on July 28th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open internationally.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

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Callum by Sawyer Bennett!

New Release from Sawyer Bennett Callum (Pittsburgh Titans, Book #12) Synopsis: Callum Derringer was hired by the Pittsburgh Titans ...