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Wild Times at Skidaway Island and Tour Stop

10/27/2013

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Wild Times on Skidaway Island, Georgia's Historic Rain Forest, details life in a unique Audubon-designated, ecologically friendly refuge. There, golfers pitch balls around endangered great blue herons, mama raccoons march their babies across backyard decks where once Guale Indians trapped ancestors of the same raccoons, and residents dodge alligators and rescue snakes.

Even the vegetation is wild. Three hundred-year-old oaks dripping Spanish moss and poison ivy surmount an under-story of wax myrtle and holly. Carolina jasmine, Cherokee roses, and endangered orchids grow wild in the rain forest. The book examines choices residents make when stared down by a bald eagle, when a red-tailed hawk mistakes a golf ball for bird food, when wakened at midnight by deer munching hibiscus. Wild Times on Skidaway Island educates about the species that residents must adapt to on this historic island.

Karen will be awarding a $25 Walmart gift card to FOUR (4) randomly drawn commenters during the tour, and a Grand Prize of an Apple iPad to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Please click on the  book cover to follow the tour and increase your chances of winning.



Exclusive Interview with Karen Dove Barr


WRITER WONDERLAND

What was the hardest thing about creating Wild Times on Skidaway Island?

            The photographs!   The photographs were a real challenge for me.  Many accomplished photographers live on the island.  They are always showing off their work, so I thought it would be a piece of cake to collaborate with one.  But no, they were all doing their own thing.  Some of the best photographers tarted up their photos to be “arty” when I needed realism.  No one wanted to illustrate my book. 

            A few photographers who were really proud of shots of unusual animals agreed to let me use their photos.  Thanks, Daryl Snuggerud and Don Powell.  But not enough to fill the book.  Finally in desperation I went shopping and bought my own camera.  A good camera goes a long way, but learning to use it was a different story.  One teacher told me it was impossible to photograph the big birds in flight.

            At first I thought I would never convince any of the animals to pose.  Finally I learned the great blues, the alligators, and sometimes the raccoons would stand still even when I pointed my oversized lens at them.  But a hundred photos of three species is not nearly enough to fill a book.

            Many of the most interesting and beautiful animals were never caught on film.  The family who owned the bluebird box appropriated by the flying squirrel are particularly good with animals.  Carolyn told me she got many glimpses of the tiny squirrel but the squirrel was way too shy to pose for a photograph.

            Many of the animals are nocturnal.  Deer roam the island in small groups and great herds. Their tracks are visible in my flower beds every morning.  But they mostly show themselves at night.  All my deer photos were taken at dawn or dusk, neither of which are good times to make a photograph come out. 

            I caught the little red fox at dawn with my cell phone.  I’ve seen him several times since, posing just before the sun comes up, but never when I’ve had my camera.  

            I took hundreds of pictures to get the few that are in Wild Times on Skidaway Island. This summer, after the book had gone to publication, I caught a baby owl, an eagle sitting on her eggs, and ospreys frantically trying to keep a nest full of teenagers fed.

            Maybe I’ll have enough for a sequel.

By Karen Dove Barr

Excerpt One:
Thickly needled pine branches intertwined with grapevine and poison ivy shaded the maritime forest on the northwestern prong of Skidaway Island as runners trampled fallen needles, seeking firm footing on soft mud paths, like furtive moonshiners from Modena’s past.          

Skidaway’s isolation by land but accessibility to knowledgeable navigators of the ever-changing marsh made it a perfect hideout for the manufacture of illegal whiskey even before January 16, 1919, when the Volstead Act transformed moonshining from a money-making side line into a get-rich-quick bonanza.  Prohibition began in Savannah in 1908, but by then tax-free alcohol business on Skidaway Island was a long-standing tradition.

Savannah Morning News' July 21, 1925 edition described Skidaway Island as “a veritable nest of moonshine stills.” The newspaper went on to say "agents swooped down on the salt water region Saturday and destroyed three stills in operation of a capacity of 210 gallons and another across the Island of 125 gallon capacity."

I bet the revenuers didn't get them all.


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Karen Dove Barr, Attorney, was recently recognized by the Georgia State Bar for providing legal assistance to military families and service members.  She has practiced in the field of family law in Savannah for 34 years.

http://www.karendovebarr.com/

https://www.facebook.com/karendovebarr

http://amazon.com/Wild-Times-Skidaway-Island-Karen/dp/1939521041

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wild-times-on-skidaway-island-karen-dove-barr/1115227605?ean=9781939521040

http://strategicmediabooks.com/store/books/wild-times-in-skidaway-island/


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Weak at the Knees Tour Stop & Giveaway

10/25/2013

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“We got so busy living life that we forgot to live our dreams.”

Danni Lewis has been playing it safe for twenty-six years, but her sheltered existence is making her feel old ahead of time. When a sudden death plunges her into a spiral of grief, she throws caution to the wind and runs away to France in search of a new beginning.

The moment ski instructor Olivier du Pape enters her shattered world she falls hard, in more ways than one.

Their mutual desire is as powerful and seductive as the mountains around them. His dark gypsy looks and piercing blue eyes are irresistible.

Only she must resist, because he has a wife – and she’d made a pact to never get involved with a married man.

But how do you choose between keeping your word and being true to your soul?

Weak at the Knees is Jo’s debut novel in the new adult, contemporary romance genre – a story about love, loss and relationships, set between London and the heart of the French Alps.

Author Jo Kessel is giving away a $50 Amazon or BN Card to one lucky commenter. Follow the tour by clicking on the book cover to increase your chances.


EXCERPT ONE
Olivier sits next to me on the piano stool. We’re even closer than that day up the mountain and it’s even more intoxicating. His body is so close to mine that the slightest adjustment would have us touching. I can feel his heat, an electrical charge which makes the side of my leg that’s almost brushing his tingle all the way down. He pulls up his woolly, navy sleeves. “Shall we?” I note the gold wedding band on his dark, manly hands as his fingers hover above the keyboard. I nod, not trusting myself to speak, thinking the sooner he starts playing piano the better, to distract me from this powerful attraction. He crashes both hands down with flair and starts playing his version of the Boogie Woogie. It’s slightly jazzier and more sophisticated than mine. I let him play by himself for a while, enjoying watching him, surprised by how good he is.

The rhythm gets to me, my upper torso unconsciously pulsing forward, toes tapping in my shoes. I put my mug down on top of the piano and start trying to improvise a Gerswhin-esque melody line, fluttering my right hand up and down the keyboard in syncopation to Olivier’s beat. For about ten minutes we thump away, cheesy grins on our faces, occasionally catching each others’ eye. We play whatever comes into our heads, changing the mood and key from time to time. Sometimes it works and sometimes it’s a discordant mess, but it doesn’t matter. By the time Olivier eventually tires and crashes a final chord, our bodies are touching all the way from our shoulders to our knees. I don’t want to move, which is exactly why I do. I stand up, to recover my senses and my drink.


WEAK AT THE KNEES just received a 4 out of 5 ratings from a UK national paper, The Sun, which is the UK's most popular paper (2 million readers).  

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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AUTHOR INFORMATION:
When Jo was ten years old she wrote a short story about losing a loved one. Her mother and big sister were so moved by the tale that it made them cry. Having reduced them to tears she vowed that the next time she wrote a story it would make them smile instead. Happily she succeeded and with this success grew an addiction for wanting to reach out and touch people with words. Jo lives in London with her husband and three children where she works as a TV and print journalist. She tells life stories and can often be found travelling the globe researching the next big holiday hotspots for readers to enjoy. Since becoming a mother anything even remotely sad makes her cry. She’s a sucker for a good romance and tear-jerker movies are the worst. She’s that woman in the cinema, struggling to muffle audible wails as everyone else turns round to stare.

P.S Jo’s pretty certain one of her daughters has inherited this gene.          
 



US buy link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E4VC70W

UK buy link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E4VC70W

Jo loves to hear from her readers and they can connect with her on:

Her website: www.jokessel.com

Twitter: @jo_kessel

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kesseljo

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7173167.Jo_Kessel

 

 


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Special Offers/Special Rewards Tours Stop & Giveaway

10/3/2013

20 Comments

 
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Meet Hailey - possessed by an otherworldly being who was trapped in her Kindle.

Hailey Parrish was quick-witted, irreverent, and hadn’t had a date in three years. She only wanted an eBook reader because her collection of paperbacks threatened to take over her small living space. Little did she know that the "special offers" that prompted the purchase included much more than a reduced price in exchange for a few ads. The device came pre-loaded with the essence of Sebastian Kess, an erudite womanizer with magical abilities from a parallel dimension. When she inadvertently releases him and he inhabits her body, she finally has a man inside her, just not in the way she imagined. And soon her predicament introduces her to yet another supernatural, the handsome could-be-the-man-of-her-dreams Alex Sunderland. Can Alex and Hailey find a way to return Sebastian to his own body, stay one step ahead of the criminals who want to keep him where he is, and not lose their sense of humor?

Special Offers, the first book of the Coursodon Dimension Series, combines paranormal romance, urban fantasy, a bit of science fiction and a healthy dose of quirky humor.

M.L. will be awarding a $25 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Follow the tour by clicking on the book cover and improve your chances to win.

 EXCERPT:  
Alex stopped typing on his laptop and gazed at Sebastian.  “I’ve considered that as well, but when you get right down to it, none of the attacks have been particularly sophisticated.”  He pushed his chair away from the small desk he was using and leaned back with his hands behind his head.  “In fact, the first two incidents, the fire in Hailey’s yard and the snake in the fruit basket, couldn’t possibly have been intended to kill.  So why tip your hand?”

“It’s more like the plot of a low-budget slasher movie,” I added.  “First a couple of weird, but seemingly unconnected, things happen, like the pet dog goes missing and then the house is tagged with elaborate graffiti depicting the zombie apocalypse. Next thing you know, people are being lured into the woods and chopped to bits by a chain-saw wielding maniac.”

Alex raised his head and stared at me like I was speaking in tongues. Sebastian simply arched an inquisitive brow.  I could tell they had no clue how anything I had just said related to the topic at hand.  “Come on guys, it’s an allegory.  Or maybe a metaphor, I forget the distinction.  The point is, if someone is nuts, their actions don’t necessarily follow a logical progression.”

“She has a point,” Sebastian conceded.  “We haven’t really considered it could be someone, not with a score to settle, but with a delusional mind.”

Shrugging, Alex countered, “Perhaps.  But if my assailant is just some crazed psychopath without a prior connection, he or she cannot be tracked.  The only way to apprehend such a person is to catch them in the act.  In any event, it is more likely that the perpetrator has a specific grudge.”

“Of course, I’m not suggesting we abandon investigating our prime suspects,” Sebastian responded with a brusque flip of his hand.  “But we shouldn’t ignore the possibility of a more nebulous motivation.”

As long as we were thinking outside the box, or at least outside the list, I decided to speculate a bit more. “You know, if the attacks were aimed at Sebastian, you’d have to factor in a disgruntled former lover.”

Sebastian chuckled.  “What makes you think that Alexander could not be a victim of a relationship gone horribly wrong?”

“Well, it’s hard to picture Alex eliciting that kind of venom from an ex-girlfriend,” I replied.  “You on the other hand, I’ll bet there are plenty of women who’d like to see you dead.”


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AUTHOR INFORMATION:
M.L. Ryan is a profes­sional woman – not that she gave up her amateur status, but rather that she is over-educated with a job in which she spends a lot of time writing dry, science non-Fiction. In an effort to strength­en the less logi­cal side of her brain, she decided to write some of the many stories rolling around in her head.  She lives in Tucson, AZ with her husband, son, four cats, two dogs and an adopt­ed Desert Tortoise.

 

eBook Formats:  SPECIAL OFFERS

Amazon  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0077ZJNRW

Barnes and Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/special-offers-ml-ryan/1109231583?ean=2940033051014

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/131930

iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/special-offers/id507809667?mt=11

Kobo:  http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=special+offers

Trade Paperback: SPECIAL OFFERS

Amazon:   http://www.amazon.com/Special-Offers-Coursodon-Dimension-Series/dp/0615672760

Create Space:   https://www.createspace.com/3940235

 

eBook Formats:  SPECIAL REWARDS

Amazon  http://www.amazon.com/Special-Rewards-Coursodon-Dimension-ebook/dp/B00A7Z8WSK 

Barnes&Noble  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/special-rewards-m-l-ryan/1113842023?ean=2940045095723&itm=1&usri=special+rewards

iPad https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/special-rewards/id582145882?mt=11

Smashwords  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/255353

KoboBooks  http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Special-Rewards/book-fqe3eqjr1UeNoF6HW6oKRg/page1.html?s=Gp_z3kHGnk6spdwxGR6JXw&r=1

Website: http://www.CoursodonDimension.com

Blog: http://CoursodonDimension.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CoursodonDimension

Twitter: @MLRyan1

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3384189.M_L_Ryan

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The Sheik  Retold Tour Stop and Giveaway

10/1/2013

5 Comments

 
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A haughty young heiress for whom the world is a playground…

A savage son of the Sahara who knows no law but his own…

When pride and passion vie for supremacy…

Blistering desert days are nothing compared to the sizzling Sahara nights…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Victoria will be awarding one copy of "A Wild Night's Bride" and one copy of "A Breach of Promise" to randomly drawn commenters at each stop.

Follow the tour by clicking on the cover.









 
Excerpt 
"S'il vous plait." He waved me to a low Turkish divan. "Come and sit, mademoiselle. I shall call for coffee and then you shall recount to me all that is the cause of your great distress." He smiled and settled his girth into a large leather-covered chair. "I wish to know precisely how such a delicate English woman managed to survive alone for months in such inhospitable conditions."

"I am not so delicate, nor was I alone," I replied. "I was abducted and held captive."

"Were you indeed?" He lit a cigarette and then offered his case to me, but I didn't care for the scent of the cheap Gauloises tobacco, having become accustomed to the rich aroma of pure Turkish Murads.

"I suppose these savages demanded a ransom for your release?" he asked and took a long draw on his cigarette.

"No, he did not."

"He?" His brows rose as he blew a wispy cloud of grey smoke.

"Yes. My captor wanted nothing monetarily."

"Is that so?" He was silent for a long moment as his beady black gaze swept over me. The unspoken implication and his lascivious sent a profusion of heat to my face. Nevertheless, I forged on. "It is my belief, monsieur, that my own brother may have intended to kill me."

"You believe your own brother has intrigued against you? And where is he now, this brother?"

"He is in New York or perhaps Newport. He has a perfect alibi, of course, but I have evidence to support my suspicions."

He nodded slowly and then pursed his lips. "Then your abductor was an accomplice in this nefarious plot?"

"No. It is not as simple as that. As it turns out, my captor inadvertently saved my life."

"Alors! This is fascinating indeed. I wish to hear this tale en totalité, but first I shall  summon my scribe to record this story. After which, I intend to send an urgent dispatch to the British Embassy in Paris. I assure you, mademoiselle, justice will be served."

He stubbed out his cigarette. "As to your abductor, I shall deal with this heathen dog, this barbaric bâtard, personally." His gaze suddenly narrowed on me with a disconcerting intensity. "You must tell me now, Mademoiselle Mayo, who was the perpetrator of this…this… outrage to your person?"

And in that moment I knew.

 It was not the details of my intended murder that had captured his interest. No, he didn't care at all about me. He desired only to know what I knew—specifically, the name and location of the force behind the simmering unrest—my captor and my lover— Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan. 


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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Victoria Vane is a multiple award-winning romance novelist, cowboy addict, and history junkie whose collective works of fiction range from wildly comedic romps to emotionally compelling erotic romance. Victoria also writes historical fiction as Emery Lee and is the founder of Goodreads Romantic Historical Fiction Lovers and the Romantic Historical Lovers book review blog. Look for Victoria's sexy new contemporary cowboy series coming from Sourcebooks  summer 2014.


CONTACT:

Email: victoria.vane@hotmail.com

Web: http://www.victoriavane.com

Blog: http://victoriavane.wordpress.com

Twitter: @authorvictoriav

Facebook: Author Victoria Vane
http://youtu.be/CQzbH0A41W4

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