BLURB:  
Vault of Secrets is a compelling tale of intrigue, murder, deception and redemption that leads retired Navy SEAL/part-time private investigator Craige Ingram in search of the connection between seemingly random murders and a banking conspiracy.  Working with the local homicide investigator, who just happens to be a former Navy buddy, Craige Ingram's attempts to protect a lonely widow and solve the case before another person dies are only thwarted by a psychotic killer whose motivation is based on pure pleasure.  The instincts and skills Ingram and his buddy acquired as Navy SEALS are tested to their limits.












EXCERPT 
Before the forensic team videoed the kill zone, they took painstaking wide-angle photos and close-ups, made a detailed sweep of the area, packaged possible physical evidence and tagged the zip-locks.  The heavy, thick plastic body bag was zipped shut.  The woman’s remains were then hoisted into the van with County Morgue stenciled on the side—slaughtered meat on a gurney.  It was ready for storage and probably a pauper’s grave.

In one desolate corner of the garage, beyond the yellow marked area and oil splotched parking slots, the two bag ladies tried to be inconspicuous, waiting where they’d been told to stay.  Her drab gray-blond hair twisted into a bun, Sallie Mae Drutherferde darted distrustful glances at the clusters of police.  She squinted a sky blue eye, didn’t like cops one iota, and gave a dubious, all-knowing look at Agatha Ruth.  Together, the two were often pushing their rickety grocery cart with its one lopsided wheel.

Sallie Mae asked, “A’gatha, you not gonna tell ‘em anything?” Her eyes were cocked big and round.  Sallie Mae always called her A’gatha ‘cause that’s the way Agatha Ruth Hutchers said it.  Didn’t matter what others said.  A’gatha nervously adjusted her dumpster-discard, hairbare, blond wig twisted askance, which made her look like she was staring sidewise.

A’gatha shook her head, “Ain’t sayin’ nuthin’ ‘bout nuthin’—‘bout no big, show-off, black see-dan automobile that pulled in here last night.  Right off the bat, they’d be askin’ why we was where we didn’t supposed to be.  We end up havin’ to find us another place to skitter in out of the weather.  No sirree.  Ain’t sayin’ nuthin’.”

“Gonna have to find us another place anyhow,” Sallie Mae muttered as she crooked one finger to scratch her curls.  “‘Sides, I didn’t hear no scuffle.”

“Whole lot of ‘em drunk as hoot owls,” A’gatha said.  “Was all set to have a wing-ding party long ‘fore they showed up here.  Poor thing yonder in that amb’lance wadn’t no innocent church mouse.  She was more’n willin’.” She then added with a snap of her head, “Lordy mercy.  Tsk-tsk.  More’n willin’ and a cagey type, too.  The type who makes sure to be paid ‘fore puttin’ a foot in anyone’s big, long car.  Scandalous tight dress showin’ off her wares, and a skimpy blouse didn’t hide nothin’—poochin’ out her chest for any fancy man long as they brung money.  Even if she was a harlot, ain’t no bizness a ours.” Her face softened.  “Ain’t tellin’ nobody nuthin’.  You know how cops be.”

“The likes a her endin’ up dead in some alley ain’t no surprise t’me one bit,” Sallie Mae said.

“Sallie Mae!” A’gatha eyed her.  “You hush up ‘bout us seein’ them in that alley.  Bankers that works in this building won’t bat nary an eyelash payin’ some low life to dump us off the Fifth Street pier.  We end up gator bait stuffed amongst swamp sycamore tree roots.” Truth glimmered from her eyes like a cornered rabbit.  “Them kind got money to buy their scutwork done.”

The police finally got around to them.  “What were you two doing in here that hour of the night?” the beat cop asked.

“Passin’ through,” Sallie Mae said, her head up proud.

“Passing through …” the cop snorted.  “Up here on the upper deck?”

A’gatha scowled, “We got lost.” Her lips were tight as she glowered, “We ain’t done nuthin’ wrong.”

“This is private property,” he said.  “Nobody’s supposed to be in here unless you got business with the bank, and nobody’s supposed to be in here at night.”

“We didn’t bother nuthin’, didn’t see nothin’.”  Sallie Mae wasn’t about to let no cop push A’gatha around.

He knew he was getting nowhere.  He turned to the lieutenant, “We’ve dealt with these two before.  The only arrests they have is when some owner found them sleeping in his garage or in the back of an unlocked delivery van.”  He knew they were tough, weren’t about to crack, but finding them here meant an extra patrol for him and his partner.  There was no point in pushing further, so he closed his notepad and shoved it in his pocket.  “You two can’t loiter here,” he said.  “The bank don’t like it.”

A’gatha bristled, “Ain’t loiterin’.”  She wasn’t going to put up with being called a bum neither.

“Don’t let me catch you two in here again,” he said and walked away.

“Let’s git.”  They scurried away.  A’gatha knew they didn’t amount to anything to any of these cops.  They were nothing more than dust in a world that passed them without ever seeing them.  “Might be a good time to take us a Florida vacation,” A’gatha said.  “Ain’t never comin’ back near this here place.” She could feel the spirits hovering about.  “Not ever.”

“Cops don’t scare me none,” Sallie Mae said.

“Tain’t the cops,” Agatha said, eyeballin’ the shady darkness ‘round abouts them.  “They be a evil smell to this place.  A hoary breath of death abouts.  I can tetch it.  You best listen t’me.  Be like about that other time when I said things wadn’t safe,” she said, directing a sidewise glance at Sallie Mae and sensing the murky gloom behind the midday brightness.  “I’m rollin’ the bones this night.  Death be here.” Her eyes were big with fear.  “Ain’t stayin’ where demons walk the night mist.”

AUTHOR INFORMATION:
With postgraduate degrees and faculty appointments in several medical universities, Hawk MacKinney has taught graduate courses in both the United States and Jerusalem. In addition to professional articles and texts on chordate neuroembryology, Hawk has authored several works of fiction.

Hawk began writing mysteries for his school newspaper. His works of fiction, historical love stories, science fiction and mystery-thrillers are not genre-centered, but plot-character driven, and reflect his southwest upbringing in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma. Moccasin Trace, a historical novel nominated for the prestigious Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction and the Writers Notes Book Award, details the family bloodlines of his serial protagonist in the Craige Ingram Mystery Series… murder and mayhem with a touch of romance. Vault of Secrets, the first book in the Ingram series, was followed by Nymrod Resurrection, Blood and Gold, and The Lady of Corpsewood Manor. All have received national attention.  Hawk’s latest release in the Ingram series is due out this fall with another mystery-thriller work out in 2014. The Bleikovat Event, the first volume in The Cairns of Sainctuarie science fiction series, was released in 2012.

"Without question, Hawk is one of the most gifted and imaginative writers I have had the pleasure to represent. His reading fans have something special to look forward to in the Craige Ingram Mystery Series. Intrigue, murder, deception and conspiracy--these are the things that take Hawk's main character, Navy ex-SEAL/part-time private investigator Craige Ingram, from his South Carolina ancestral home of Moccasin Hollow to the dirty backrooms of the nation's capital and across Europe and the Middle East."

Barbara Casey, President

Barbara Casey Literary Agency

www.hawkmackinney.net

http://www.amazon.com/Vault-Secrets-Hawk-Mackinney/dp/1933300256/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1384707403&sr=1-4

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vault-of-secrets-hawk-mackinney/1103301288?ean=9781933300252

BLURB:

The Virus changed them, but that was only the beginning…

…death…mutation…insanity…corruption…terror…

…all that remains is hope.

In the wake of destruction left behind by the Virus, it took Dani and Zoe months to find each other. But their reunion was short-lived. Dani has been taken, and though little distance separates them, they might as well be worlds apart.

From the moment she hears Dani’s scream, Zoe’s only goal is to save her best friend. She and her companions scramble to come up with a rescue plan, but when a ghost from Jake’s past reappears, lines are blurred, decisions become harder, and secrets are revealed…and some secrets are best left buried. To keep heartache and fear from consuming her, Zoe must cling to her determination. She will see Dani again.

Dani awakens inside the final hold-out of civilization: the Colony. Remnants of the former world surround her—electricity, safety, social order—but all is not what it seems. As she faces her most manipulative adversary yet, she loses sight of who she is and who she can trust. Friends become enemies, enemies become allies, and allies will betray her.  Dani will have to decide what she’s willing to do and whose lives she’s willing to risk if she is to have any chance of breaking free.

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

Excerpt 1 (Dani): 

“Tell me! Who was I with?”

“Zoe…and Jason.”

“What?” I screeched and scurried away from him to huddle on the edge of the bed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Zoe was in Massachusetts and was probably dead, and Jason…Jason was…I didn’t know. Why would I have been with Jason? Nothing was making sense. Scrunching my eyes closed, I tried to remember, but the harder I tried, the more my head hurt. Panic churned within me, making me feel sick. My heart beat heavily, like my blood was too thick, and my lungs felt constricted.

“Dani,” Gabe said, and I felt the bed shift behind me. He scooted closer, joining me on the edge of the bed and draping his arm over my bare shoulders. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Only when I looked up at him did I realize tears were streaking down my cheeks. “I don’t want to think about them…about any of it,” I told him. “If they’re gone…I just want to forget. I just want to be here, with you.”

“Dani, I think we should…”

I tilted my face up, leaning in closer to the safety and comfort of his body. “What?”

“Probably not be…”

“What?” I asked, raising my hand to his face. I brushed my thumb over his chin, feeling the rough stubble covering it, and angled his face lower.

“In here, doing this.” He breathed in jerkily when my thumb brushed across his full lower lip. It was soft and dry and begging to be kissed.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I whispered, closing the distance between us.

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Lindsey Fairleigh lives her life with one foot in a book—as long as that book transports her to a magical world or bends the rules of science. Her novels, from post-apocalyptic to time travel and historical fantasy, always offer up a hearty dose of unreality, along with plenty of adventure and romance. When she's not working on her next novel, Lindsey spends her time reading and trying out new recipes in the kitchen. She lives in the Napa Valley with her loving husband and confused cats.

Lindsey Pogue has always been a little creative. As a child she established a bug hospital on her elementary school soccer field, compiled books of collages as a teenager, and as an adult, expresses herself through writing. Her novels are inspired by her observations of the world around her--whether she's traveling, people watching, or hiking. When not plotting her next story line or dreaming up new, brooding characters, Lindsey's wrapped in blankets watching her favorite action flicks or going on road trips with her own leading man.

Links:

Website:  http://www.theendingseries.com/

Blog:  http://aftertheending-ae.blogspot.com/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/TheEndingSeries

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

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/series/99139-the-ending

Buy links:

Amazon: 

Into The Fire (The Ending, #2)

After The Ending (The Ending, #1) - http://www.amazon.com/After-Ending-ebook/dp/B00BJDUBLU

Barnes & Noble:

Into The Fire (The Ending, #2) - not available yet

After The Ending (The Ending, #1) - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/after-the-ending-lindsey-fairleigh/1114702967

Smashwords:

Into The Fire (The Ending, #2) - not available yet  

After The Ending (The Ending, #1) – not available yet

Kobo:

Into The Fire (The Ending, #2) - not available yet  

After The Ending (The Ending, #1) – not available yet

THE UNHOLY

By

Paul DeBlassie III

BLURB: 

A young curandera, a medicine woman, intent on uncovering the secrets of her past is forced into a life-and-death battle against an evil Archbishop. Set in the mystic land of Aztlan, The Unholy is a novel of destiny as healer and slayer. Native lore of dreams and visions, shape changing, and natural magic work to spin a neo-gothic web in which sadness and mystery lure the unsuspecting into a twilight realm of discovery and decision.







Excerpt 1

Lightning streaked across a midnight dark sky, making the neck hairs of a five-year-old girl crouched beneath a cluster of twenty-foot pines in the Turquoise Mountains of Aztlan stand on end. The long wavy strands of her auburn mane floated outward with the static charge. It felt as though the world was about to end.

Seconds later, lightning struck a lone tree nearby and a crash of thunder shook the ground. Her body rocked back and forth, trembling with terror. She lost her footing, sandstone crumbling beneath her feet, and then regained it; still, she did not feel safe. There appeared to be reddish eyes watching from behind scrub oaks and mountain pines, scanning her every movement and watching her quick breaths. Then everything became silent.

The girl leaned against the trunk of the nearest tree. The night air wrapped its frigid arms tightly around her, and she wondered if she would freeze to death or, even worse, stay there through the night and by morning be nothing but the blood and bones left by hungry animals. Her breaths became quicker and were so shallow that no air seemed to reach her lungs. The dusty earth gave up quick bursts of sand from gusts of northerly winds that blew so fiercely into her nostrils that she coughed but tried to stifle the sounds because she didn’t want to be noticed.

The Unholy by Paul DeBlassie is a work of the heart as well as fiction. This beautifully described novel shimmers with both mystery and promise. The first page sets the tone with a mammoth battle between good and evil. Claire witnesses her mother, representing the natural world and healing, defeated by a dark force.

As an adult, she both denies her heritage as a healer and is drawn to it. She discovers those closest to her could have the most to gain by her renouncing her legacy. The author reveals using Claire as his tool that all is not as it seems in organized religion. Often the very existence of such is to control the populace not for their greater good, but for a small portion’s benefit.

Mr. DeBlassie tackles this provocative topic with an ease of someone familiar with the material and not afraid to address it. I would have liked the novel to have been longer with more emphasis on Claire’s childhood. All the same, it is a stellar novel.

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Paul DeBlassie III, Ph.D., is a psychologist and writer living in Albuquerque who has treated survivors of the dark side of religion for more than 30 years. His professional consultation practice — SoulCare — is devoted to the tending of the soul. Dr. DeBlassie writes fiction with a healing emphasis. He has been deeply influenced by the mestizo myth of Aztlan, its surreal beauty and natural magic.  He is a member of the Depth Psychology Alliance, the Transpersonal Psychology Association and the International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. 



LINKS

Author Links

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Paul-DeBlassie-III/e/B00E5TBJXY/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Website: http://www.pauldeblassieiii.com/

Blog: http://pauldeblassieiii.blogspot.com/

 

Buy Links

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Unholy-Novel-Paul-DeBlassie/dp/0865349592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379592287&sr=8-1&keywords=the+unholy+paul+deblassie

BN.com: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-unholy-paul-deblassie/1116061527?ean=9780865349599

The Southside Cavaliers Grow Up a Little

by Ken Floro III

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

BLURB:

Every group of friends can laugh about the stupid things they’ve done together. Unfortunately, to enjoy most such stories you ‘had to be there’, or you ‘have to know so-and-so’. Well, have no fear, because these stories were written specifically to take you there and introduce you to so-and-so. That way you can share our misadventures.

My friends and I are the Southside Cavaliers – a crew of misfits and trouble-makers lucky enough to have fallen into each other’s company. In the decades we’ve been kicking around this dusty planet together, we’ve instigated more than a few memorable shenanigans, like attempting to set off a ‘harmless’ little homemade bomb during French class, sharing a light-hearted stabbing, hunting for a legendary long-lost classmate, getting cosmically busted for academic fraud, serving up tainted baked goods, and investigating the mystery of a decades-old defecation. Share a laugh at our expense with this collection of embarrassingly true stories.


 Excerpt One:
The fact that I stood alone on the curb that day, opposite a mob, certainly matched the way I felt when John suddenly bolted out of that crowd during a lull in traffic. I’ll never forget the way he looked as he came charging across the street at me. His arms were pistons of justice, pumping intently, and his trench coat fluttered in his wake – the cape of a superhero rushing to right some dastardly wrong! Behind him, an eager audience thrilled a predictable, “Oooooh!” in anticipation. Everyone knew what was coming.

I couldn’t run. Part of the reason was that I knew I deserved whatever John was about to do to me. Another part was that I’d never been in a real fight and didn’t know how to react. But perhaps the most important part was that my bus stop was in someone’s front yard and the only thing behind me was a residential neighborhood with yards partitioned by endless chain link fences; even if I’d tried to run, I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere fast. So I just stood there and waited.


Review **** ( way good)
   This is the third non-fiction book of detailing the adventures of Southside Cavaliers by Ken Fiero. The series revolves around the neighborhood gang. If a reader could combine the television show Welcome Back Kotter, Twain’s Huck Finn, and about every song, Billy Joel wrote reflective of his misspent youth, you might get Southside Cavaliers.

Mr. Fiero doesn’t pull any punches in his tales, nor does he embellish them. Instead, his tales involve everymen who are picked on by bullies, snubbed by females, and concoct hare-brained schemes and conclude they’re brilliant. The author manages to reach back and explain why indefensible behavior made perfect sense at that time. This is an underrated skill, but Fiero seems to have more than his share.  

All of the Southside Cavaliers tales would delight men of the ages of twelve and over, although it is a book aimed at adults. It helps teens to realize their fathers, brothers, and cousins were (gasp!) like them. It is a nice touch of nostalgia for the boys (men) who did grow up. It would make an excellent Christmas present too.

The Southside Cavaliers Grow Up a Little is a light-hearted memoir that is easy to read. It also has a helpful character list in the front for those who haven’t read the previous two books. Two Thumbs up and Four Stars for Southside Cavaliers.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Ken was born and raised in the Southside of Saint Louis. After earning a degree in World Literature, followed by a degree in Culinary Arts, Ken soon made the obvious career move and went to work in medicine, because a little taste of reality can suddenly turn a healthy paycheck, normal working hours, and long-term job security into sumptuous delicacies. Despite the change in his employment trajectory, Ken never turned away from his dream of writing. He’d nurtured a lifelong creative ambition, which had gained direction when a funny true story he wrote for a high school English class became so popular with his classmates they traded copies of it in the hall and passed them up and down the bus. Ever since that catalytic moment, Ken has been writing as a hobby and a passion. Thus far, he’s published eight books, along with several other tidbits, all of which are available on his website, southsidecavaliers.com.

My website: http://southsidecavaliers.com/

The book on Amazon

And Smashwords

My Amazon Author Page

My Goodreads Author Page

My Facebook Author Page

My Twitter Handle: @SouthsideKen

RINCESS INTERRUPTED is a tale about a fourteen-year-old daughter of a merchant king in the land of Trimoria named Arabelle. Her life of leisure is shattered when she suffers an attack from a poisonous creature that hasn't walked the land in over five centuries. 

Arabelle must learn to overcome the debilitating effects of the poison that courses through her body. All the while, she must resist monstrous foes that threaten her people and the ones she loves. 

She must do this while keeping a dark secret that only she can bear. 








One random commenter will win a $50 Amazon gift card. Follow the tour to improve you chances. Click on cover to find more tour stops.

Excerpt #1:

As I tiptoed through the woods looking for the familiar paths that the elves had left, a high-pitched gurgling roar shattered the silence.

My heart beat quicker as I heard the crack of a twig. A lizard-like creature with green scales, the size of a large dog, was giving me a sinister stare that sent shivers up and down my back. This ominous creature was unlike anything I’d ever seen or heard of in Trimoria. Its yellow and black eyes glared at me as it slowly opened its mouth and growled menacingly. The creature scratched the ground with its claws and unfurled a set of wings. I saw it gather itself for a leap.

I slowly backed away. Then a series of gray blurs flew past me and the creature made a coughing sound and sprouted a pair of arrows.

An elf appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and chopped the monster’s head off. As the elf backed away, the twitching body rhythmically spewed streams of blood from its neck as the decapitated head spasmodically opened its jaws for the last time and its snake-like eyes closed.

The elf turned to me with an appraising look. “Are you hurt?”

I felt a burning sensation near my ribs. The creature must have spit something at me just before the elf killed it. I looked down and saw two steaming holes in my traveling clothes and I suddenly felt nauseated. The world blurred and spun as the ground came rushing up to meet me...



REVIEW
***** (I loved it!)

Princess Interrupted by Michael A. Rothman is a gem of a book. Why you may wonder? Well it includes all the things that make up a good tale include interesting plot line, action, conflict, and well-rounded characters. What makes it even better as a YA book is a strong female lead. Well done, Mr. Rothman.

What makes it different from all the other teenage angsty tales is a character not focused on dating and social cliques. It offers the reader a lesson in growth and personal awareness. Princess Arabelle is a bit of a spoiled diva until a toxic creature bites her changing her world, as she knows it. She not only has the gift of prophecy, but the fate of her people depends on her.

Princess Interrupted is a prequel to Prophecies series. I would highly recommended reading before devouring the series. There is so much to like about this book from its dynamic characters, well-drawn settings, rising action, elves and other magickal creature. It easy to understand why it is a YA treasure.  Like Harry Potter, it is okay if the parents read it too.

Two thumbs up and five stars for Princess Interrupted.

I've been writing throughout my career as an engineer, however my writing had been relegated to technical books and technical magazine articles. Heck, you might even find a couple of those musty tomes still for sale if you look hard enough.

With my foray into epic fantasy, I've shed the shackles of technical writing and created novels that I hope will be attractive to a much wider audience.

I've always admired truly epic tales. You know the ones I mean. The book you crack open, wander through and utterly get immersed in. The story takes you on twists and turns you never expected, run into dead-ends that make you wheel your arms backward to prevent you from falling into an endless abyss. By the time you reach what you think is the end, you've read hundreds of pages and realize the end is really only the beginning of the story.

You close the book and wonder out loud. "Do I have the next book? Is it out yet?"

My goal when I started writing the first book (HEIRS OF PROPHECY) that involved the Riverton family was to make a story that would allow a younger audience access to such a tale. Since then, a second book (TOOLS OF PROPHECY) was released, and now I introduce the third book in the series with LORDS OF PROPHECY. 

As to my other writing activities, I've completed another as of yet unreleased novel in the Prophecies series, and they are scheduled to be released as soon as - well, as soon as the paperwork on them is complete, and the lawyers nod their heads up and down.

I hope you enjoy the novel.

In the meantime, if you want to see my ramblings, I lurk at the following social media portals:

Twitter - @MichaelARothman
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/MichaelARothman
Blog - http://michaelarothman.com/


PRINCESS INTERRUPTED  ON KINDLE (US)