BLURB:
 
Over a hundred years have passed since a group of violent killers went on the rampage, murdering innocent victims for fun. But even back then, sorcerer Nate Garrett, aka Hellequin, knew there was more to it than simple savage pleasure—souls were being stolen.

Nate’s discovery of the souls’ use, and of those supporting the group’s plan, made him question everything he believed.

Now the group Nate thought long dead is back. Violent, angry, and hell-bent on revenge, they have Hellequin firmly in their sights. And if he won’t come willingly, they’ll take those closest to him first.

The battle begins again.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt One:
 
I walked over to the second agent, whose back was toward me as he stood a little further into the park, and placed my hand on his shoulder. “That’s enough,” I repeated, but he spun around and all of the breath left my body at once, followed immediately by pain as it exploded across my torso. I glanced down as a shimmering blade of ice was pulled free from my chest. It was covered in my blood. I dropped to my knees and watched as the magical weapon vanished from view. The pain forced me to abandon my night vision, and the darkness once again took control.
 
The overwhelming thought that bounced around my head was that neither of the SOA agents had been sorcerers. My attacker crouched beside me. “They interrupted me and my prey got away,” his accent was from East London, but sounded slightly different from many of those living in the city. As if he’d been away from here for a long time, and had not quite remembered how the accent was meant to sound.
 
I glanced up at him, still unable to breathe; the blade had punctured a lung. It wouldn’t kill me, but it would be a few hours until I was back to normal, and without my night vision I could have been staring into Merlin’s own face and I’d never have known.
 
The man got back to his feet and kicked me onto my back. “I should make sure you remember your time here, but I’m sure your comrades over there will be able to do that better than I could.”
 

Tell us about yourself:
 I’m Steve McHugh. I was born in a small village in South Yorkshire, but live in the Southampton now, with my wife and three daughters.
 
I’m 36 and have been published for three and a half years.
 
I share my office with my bearded dragon, Kaiju, and the family is about to become one bigger as we’re going to be getting a dog.

What was your first book?
My first book was Crimes Against Magic, a book I self published. The first in the Hellequin Chronicles, a series I’m still writing. That was in April 2012.

Describe your first break.
I guess that was when after a year, my current publisher, 47North contacted me and asked if I’d like to worth with them on future books. Since then the books have gone from strength to strength.
 
What is your favorite genre to read? To write?
 I’ll read most anything, but Fantasy and Sci-fi are the ones I enjoy the most. Same to write too. There’s something about world-building I just really enjoy.


Are Happy Endings are must in your stories?
Nope. I’d rather have a satisfying ending than a happy one. That’s not to say all the endings are miserable and depressing, but they’re not usually everyone having a party and celebrating how awesome they are either.


What makes a protagonist interesting?
Lots of things make someone interesting to read about. I think writing characters that people find entertaining, that they see something of themselves in them (or something they wish they had in themselves) is a good way to capture someone’s imagination. Nate Garrett (the hero in my books) is not exactly the whiter-than-white good-guy. He’s capable of horrific acts if he thinks they’re the lesser of evils open to him. I think people like that in a hero.


What is the best thing about being a writer?
Writing. Having a story in my head come alive on the page in front of me. Having people tell me how much they loved something, how it made they laugh or cry. Those things never get old.

What is the worst thing?
The long, lonely hours sat in my office. Even after you’ve finished your story, there’s the editing and more editing, and some more editing. It can mean you forget there’s a world outside.

Pantser or plotter?
In the middle. I tend to plot out the whole story, but let each chapter take me where it may. It’s more fun that way.
 

What do you see the direction of your future writing taking? What can we expect next? Give us a little taste.
Well I’ve got more Hellequin stories to tell, so that’s what’s probably next. I’ve written a sci-fi book, so we’ll see if that gets anywhere, and I’m hoping to have a few more things to tell people in upcoming months. 

Just for fun
Cat or dog person?
Dogs by miles.
 
 Favorite food?
Yorkshire Pudding. Love the stuff.
 
Favorite book?
It changes daily. Today is probably Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett.
 
Favorite movie?
I have no idea. That changes daily too. Maybe the LOTR trilogy.

Favorite holiday?
Halloween. Always loved it.
 
Would you rather be the princess or the villain? Why?
The Villain. I would make a truly awful princess.

Who has more fun, orcs or hobbits?
Hobbits. They seem to spend their entire lives, drunk, stoned and full of food. Doesn’t exactly sound awful.


AUTHOR Bio and Links:
 Steve’s been writing from an early age, his first completed story was done in an English lesson. Unfortunately, after the teacher read it, he had to have a chat with the head of the year about the violent content and bad language. The follow up ‘One boy and his frog’ was less concerning to his teachers and got him an A.
It wasn’t for another decade that he would start work on a full-length novel that was publishable, the results of which was the action-packed Urban Fantasy, Crimes Against Magic.
 
Steve McHugh lives in Southampton on the south coast of England with his wife and three young daughters. When not writing or spending time with his kids, he enjoys watching movies, reading books and comics, and playing video games.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellequinchronicles
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevejMchugh
Website: http://stevejmchugh.wordpress.com/
BUY LINKS:  http://www.amazon.com/Lies-Ripped-Open-Hellequin-Chronicles/dp/1503946401/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438180555&sr=8-1&keywords=Steve+McHugh
 
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lies-ripped-open-steve-mchugh/1121648543?ean=9781503946408

GENRE:  Paranormal Romance
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
 I am going to do something that has never been done before.
 
My name is Telor Conway, and I am going to destroy Death. Bring her to her knees in front of me.
 
I don’t know how and I don’t know when.
 
The only thing I know for certain, is that nothing will come between me and my soul mate ever again.
 
I’ve been given a second chance at life, a life with Catalina. I’ve been given something worth fighting for.
 
I will fight for it, for her… for us. Even if it is the last thing I do.
 
I have thrown the gauntlet.
 
On your marks.
 
Get set.
 
Go.
Excerpt Three:
 
I recognized the house immediately. It wasn’t a place I let my mind wonder to often, it held to many bad memories to think about.  Lost my entirely family in this house. My father and brother to a drunk driving and my mother to a bitter, broken heart. All she had left was me, the daughter who looked like her father and reminded her so much of her other child.
 
I stood frozen in the walk way between the dining room and the living room. It looked so untouched, so abandoned. My mother was no where to be seen.
 
“I took her out of the dreamscape.” An achingly familiar voice said from behind me.
 
I turned to face Oliver. He had the same charming smile on that he always did.
 
“Can you read my mind?” I asked, he answered my exact thought with me saying anything.
 
“I don’t need to.” He came to stand next to me, staring out the large picture window in the dining room. Our backyard looked just as deserted as the rest of the house. Nothing moved, not even the wind. No bird or squirrels. The life outside our house was just as dead as the inside. “It’s written all over your face.”
 
“Are you real?” I asked him. “Is this just a dream.”
 
“It can be both, Kit-Kat.” He said. “I am as real as I can be right now. And this is dream.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:
 Courtney lives in Kentucky with her husband (Mr. Houston), her two boys (Emmett and Ellis), her two cats (Polly and Jed) and her 3 chickens. Legal Assistant by day and writer by night, Courtney enjoys pancakes, coffee, wine and the number 26. She's a Leo, at least that's what the tattoo on her back says.
 
www.facebook.com/authorcourtneyhouston
 
Twitter @courtneyhouson
 
Buy link- http://amzn.to/1K4SHPI

INTERVIEW 4
Any weird things you do when you’re alone?

I can’t sit still. I’m always doing something. Probably the weirdest thing I will do is find something to do instead of taking advantage of the quiet moment.

What is your favorite quote and why?

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor
“Ah! well a-day! what evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung.”
This speaks to me on so many levels. First, we all know when we have done wrong whether anyone else knows it or not and the bird around his neck is the decision to atone for his sins of killing the innocent.

Who is your favorite author and why?

Ken Follett. Every story is unique, no formula writing. And, he started just like the rest of us, struggling to make his creative voice heard, small novels and worked his way into the stories he wanted—needed to tell.

What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?

Being a good listener. Listen to your critique partners, the opinions of your Beta Group, the editor, and most of all to your surroundings and those who inspire the story.

Where did you get the idea for this book?

​The inspiration came from being in a “Hit ‘n Run”, where though I was not at fault, I hit the other vehicle and he fled the scene.

BLURB:

Determined to build a better life, and forget their past, a freak accident crashes Lorna Tymchuk and Mitch Morgan back into each other’s lives.

It’s more than a “Hit ’n Run” that needs to be taken care of at the police station. False identification, miscommunication and a past better left buried surface to plunge these recently reunited lovers into a deadly game of cat and mouse trying to figure out who the bad guys really are.

All threads pulled threaten the very fabric of their fragile relationship. Caught between desire suspicions, each must decide who to trust and how far to go to follow their instincts.


Excerpt:

The long, black hearse sat in the shade of the leafy willows, unnoticed in the quiet, upscale neighbourhood. Like a panther surveying its prey, watchful behind the tinted glass, undercover officer Mitchell Morgan scrutinized the surroundings, ever conscious of the contents in the back.

Mouth parched, complete with a tongue as dry as sand, Mitchell tilted the water bottle slowly and swallowed, enjoying the moist coolness as it trickled down his throat. Satisfied, he slumped farther in the leather seat, aware of the children in the driveway on the corner, the stooped, elderly man picking weeds in the yard nearby, the teen across the street who sat hunched over his DS, on the front concrete step, looking bored.

The holstered cell next to his leg vibrated an insistent stutter, shattering the serene atmosphere. Mitch spared the screen a brief glance.

Blocked.

Without air conditioning, beads of sweat coasted from his brow, under his shades and into his eye, stinging and obscuring his vision. He blinked several times to clear the fog and pressed the accept key.

Three quick, muted tones preceded a double click, to indicate a secure line. A small thrill travelled along his nervous system, leaving a wake of gooseflesh.

“Nine-one-three-Q-R-two-two-E-D-U.” Only after he gave his code would dispatch relay the encrypted message.

“Funeral procession to start,” replied a robotic voice. “All pallbearers to the church.”

A long high-pitched tone pierced his ear. He moved the phone away and severed the connection.

He held the phone level with the steering wheel. His thumb smeared across the face of the cell leaving a greased streak on the screen, while his heart slowed. Within an instant his mind refocused to what was to come next. His left hand moved to smooth his beard. Months of building a case and gathering evidence had come down to this moment.

He turned the engine over and banged the heel of his hand on the steering wheel. “Game on.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Turning passion into words in print is a dream come true for Lori Power.

From Radio host (best job ever!), DJ, news reporter to newspaper journalist, like many author’s, Lori has been writing most of her life.

In writing, Lori has discovered a truism: everyone has a great story to tell. All you need to do is listen. Over the years, with all the people Lori has meet previously and daily, both professionally and personally, with an ear to the ground, readers can often find these ‘character’s’ fictionalized in Lori’s stories.

Lori’s first novel “Storms of Passion” was published by Wild Rose Press under their Champagne line, in 2014 and received a 5-star Author’s Favourite seal of approval in 2015.

Collaboration is important to improving one’s craft and as such, Lori is an active member of the Romance Writers of America, TransCanada Romance Writers, The Alberta Romance Writers Association and belongs to both a Critiquing group and a Beta Reading weekly group.

Lori looks forward to continuing to find the good story; hashing out a scene, having fun with a character and writing the story she would love to read.

Amazon Author Page: http://authorsdb.com/authors-directory/2978-lori-power

Buy Link: Hit’N Run (Under Suspicion Book 1)

BLURB:
Looking back on it now, I can see it was instant. the second we locked eyes. Boom. Just like that. the me I had spent a lifetime perfecting began its disintegration from that moment. And despite the carnage it brought to all our lives, I still don't regret it.

 What would you risk to be with the love of your life? And what if your soul mate is the one who will destroy you?

Mel is living the dream. She's a successful GP, married to a charming anaesthetist and raising a beautiful family in their plush home in Perth. But when she boards a flight to Melbourne, she meets Matt and her picture perfect Stepford life unravels as she falls in love for the first time ever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt One:
I knew within minutes of meeting him I was in deep, deep trouble. The power of my attraction to him blindsided me. For well over a decade I’d seen other men as nothing more than moving shadows, their features indistinct. But the intensity of his coffee-coloured eyes was impossible to ignore.

When he inadvertently confessed he found me beautiful, I felt the guilty pleasure of my stomach sink. His baffling desire for me made it a struggle to maintain my composure. It took all my self-control not to physically respond to him in the way my body yearned to, and that terrified me.

It was his eyes that undid me. Nobody had ever stared into me the way he did, as if he was hungry for me. And I craved him strongly in return.

I was shamefully turned on by how young he was. There was a raw masculine edge to his pale unshaven appearance. His tall, taut and lean body, with wild, curly brown hair that fell over his eyes when he looked down, was so incredibly sexy.

I’d never felt this physical about a man in my life, including Adam. And Adam was no bridge troll. Any woman with a heartbeat could see how handsome Adam was. He was built like a Greek god, thanks to his rigorous daily early morning routine of running, surfing and weight training. His perpetual tan contrasted with his sparkling light blue eyes, his smile was always wide and welcoming, and his wavy blond hair, only just beginning to be speckled with grey.

Adam was the object of much swooning from the staff at the hospital where he worked, mothers at our children’s schools, and our friends alike. His wealth and charming personality didn’t hurt him in that department either.

 I was considered by many far too lucky to have landed him, I was sure. I definitely thought he looked great, especially when I compared him to my friend’s husbands of a similar age who had succumbed to middle age with balding heads and beer bellies. Occasionally, Adam would step out of the shower and it would make me mildly excited, but those moments were few and far between.

 Although I was married to an Adonis, Greek gods had never been my type. On the flight, I had discovered what my type very much was.

 It wasn’t just physically that Matt was the catalyst for my analysing Adam like this.. He was so intense! I loved that. And it made me wish Adam was that intense.

 It never ceased to amaze me how serious Adam was when it came to work and sport. At home his constantly relaxed attitude infuriated me no end. It was something I’d initially found charming about him; his easy jokey manner, so different from my own. And he was a clown who made me laugh a lot. But somewhere on the flight I realised that I wanted a side serve of passion with the pleasant.

 It was as if the blinkers were suddenly off and I realised I didn’t want my husband the way I wanted a stranger on a plane.

 Adam was loud, extroverted, funny and immensely popular, typical of someone so affable. He was gregarious without being obnoxious. Adam was Mr Likeable. His unshakeable self-assurance and magnetism drew people to him. He had more friends than he had time to spend with them. And he was always in a good mood around me or anybody else. Always. If something played on his mind, he would disappear for a few hours to play golf on his own or go run it out in the soft sand, and then come home again, as smiley as ever. Always perfect.

 On occasion it drove me crazy, this perennial cheerfulness of his. But whenever I complained about how unnatural it was, he told me to be grateful I wasn’t married to a grumpy old bastard. And I would laugh and realise he was right. Until now.

 Matt had shown more hurt, anger and frustration in a few hours than I’d seen from Adam in years. And that turned me on more than anything. Everything about Matt that was different to Adam turned me on. Whereas Adam managed to make new friends going to the shops for milk, Matt had admitted he felt misunderstood by most people he met and that, through choice, he could count his friends on one hand. That turned me on.

 Even their voices were different. Adam had a deep and booming baritone with a reassuring smoothness to it. The perfect doctor’s voice. Matt’s voice was low and husky, bordering on raspy. He sounded as though he had either been partying too hard or smoking too many cigarettes. It was the sexiest voice I’d ever heard.

 That a man so dramatically different from my husband elicited such desire from me was wrong. Of course I knew that. But somewhere mid-air between Perth and Melbourne I was honest with myself about my feelings for Adam for the first time. I had experienced niggles of doubt through the years, and sometimes those niggles were annoyingly loud, but I had successfully shut them down. Adam’s perfect, I would tell myself. He’s perfect. Be grateful. And that had worked until I met Matt.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Tess Woods is a health professional who lives in Perth, Australia with one husband, two children, one dog and one cat who rules over all of them. Love at First Flight is her first novel.

 When she isn't working or being a personal assistant to her kids, Tess enjoys reading and all kinds of grannyish pleasures like knitting, baking, drinking tea, watching Downton Abbey and tending to the veggie patch.

 https://www.facebook.com/Tesswoods.harpercollins

http://www.tesswoods.com.au/

Buy Link:   http://www.amazon.com/Love-First-Flight-Tess-Woods-ebook/dp/B00S47T1AG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438032350&sr=8-1&keywords=love+at+first+flight

BLURB:
Aidan Brook has spent months living with the horror of what happened when she lost control of her magic. Now she is searching for a way to manage her immense power, but she only hits one dead end after another.

 On the run from a council intent on her death, Aidan, the bear shifter Mac, and the rest of her friends find themselves on a desperate chase across deserts and oceans in search of answers. Along the way, they encounter a living myth and a dual magic with secrets of his own—and they learn that the cure may be more deadly than the disease.

 To save her own life, Aidan will need to confront the most dangerous foe she’s ever faced…herself.

 LOST CAUSES is the fourth book in the award-winning Elements urban fantasy series.

 




~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt One:
The magic hissed in fear and anger. For a moment it considered attacking, but there wasn’t enough water left to drown her.

Also, it was Sera. I didn’t hurt Sera.

 I stumbled backwards as reason slammed into me. I wrenched the threads of magic toward me. They twisted in my core, displeased, but at least I controlled them. It had so nearly been the other way around.

Sera’s movements were hesitant, as if she approached a wild beast, but her eyes were as determined as ever.

“I’m back,” I said. My face was red and my heart pounded like I’d just sprinted a mile, but I’d come back. This time, at least, I’d come back.

Sera studied my face for a long, silent moment. She returned the syringe to the black case and tucked that into one of the kitchenette’s drawers.

 Carmichael and Vivian watched me as they would a stranger. A stranger who might try to eat their liver with fava beans and a nice Chianti.

 “Really, it’s me. So long as I’m not using the magic, I’m still Aidan. I didn’t slide any further down the sanity slope.”

 They looked unconvinced.

 “We can’t just use the drug every time.” I attempted logic. “It knocks me out for days, and we can’t afford that.”

 “I’m all for knocking you out, but we don’t have enough left to do it whenever you’re an idiot.” That might have been Sera agreeing with me.

 I gave her a shaky smile. She slapped my face.

 “Hey!” It only stung a little, but allowing her to slap me whenever she thought I was stupid wasn’t a precedent I wanted to set.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Mia Marshall is the award-winning author of the Elements urban fantasy series. Before she started writing about imaginary worlds, she worked as a high school teacher, script supervisor, story editor, legal secretary, and day care worker. She has lived all along the US west coast and throughout the UK, where she collected an unnecessary number of degrees in literature, education, and film.

These days, she lives in a small house in the Sierra Nevadas, where she is surrounded by a small but deadly feline army.


Twitter: http://twitter.com/thismiamarshall

Facebook: http://facebook.com/miamarshallwrites

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/Mia_Marshall

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/thismiamarshall

BUY Links:
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Mia-Marshall/e/B00DJWDGXE/

B&N:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/%22Mia%20Marshall%22

Apple:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/mia-marshall/id541399965

Kobo:
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/search?query=Mia%20Marshall

NOTE:  The first book of the series, BROKEN ELEMENTS,  is now FREE!!!

Amazon: http://miamarshall.com/broken-elements-amazon

Apple: http://miamarshall.com/broken-elements-apple

Kobo: http://miamarshall.com/broken-elements-kobo

BLURB:
Wedding planner Tyler Warren left heartbreak behind when she ran away from her small Southern hometown and started a new life in a big city. Years later, she wants to believe in the fairy-tale endings her job promotes, but the clients she meets day after day seem to be more “Crazily Ever After” than “Happily Ever After.”

Meanwhile, her own attempts at romance play out as bizarre comedies rather than love stories, and she’s starting to think Prince Charming either fell off his horse or got eaten by a dragon. When unresolved issues from Tyler’s past complicate things even further, she discovers she may yet have some things to figure out before she can find her own happy ending.

 This delightful first book in the Tales Behind the Veils series chronicles Tyler’s wacky misadventures, both personal and professional. Whether she’s getting insane requests from brides or outlandish requests on dates, you’re sure to be charmed and entertained by the Diary of a Single Wedding Planner.

Excerpt One:
 “Here,” she said, gingerly holding out a pair of pantyhose between her French-manicured fingers. “Put these on.”

 I swear for a minute I thought she meant for me to wear them. Then it dawned on me with sickened recognition that she wanted me to put the pantyhose on her. Ewww.

 I stared at her a bit dumbfounded. I have been asked to do many things in this line of work. It’s definitely not as glamorous as the star-crossed wannabes imagine it. But never in the multitude of weddings have I ever been expected to put on another human being’s pantyhose. I thought surely she was joking. Surely, there was a bridesmaid left hiding in the room to do this. Surely, a meteor could come crashing into the hotel at that moment and create a hole to swallow me up.

 As a girl with abundant thighs myself, it is my personal belief that support pantyhose are a relic left over from some medieval torture chamber. I have never been happier with the fashion world than when they decided pantyhose were out of style and we could all go bare-legged.

Putting on hose is an all-out swearing, sweating, pushing, pulling, aerobic activity that borders on assault. My granny used to say it’s like shoving two pounds of lard in a one-pound sack. To go through this torture against your own thighs within the privacy of your own room with the shades pulled down tight is one thing. But with someone else’s sweaty thighs? I was repulsed. It must have shown.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Violet Howe enjoys writing romance with humor. She lives in Florida with her husband, who is her knight in shining armor, and their two handsome sons. They share their home with three adorable but spoiled dogs. When she’s not writing, Violet is usually watching movies, reading, or planning her next travel adventure. You can follow Violet’s ramblings on her blog, The Goddess Howe.

Author Website:  www.violethowe.com

 Facebook.com/VioletHoweAuthor

@Violet_Howe

Blog:  www.thegoddesshowe.com

Facebook.com/TheGoddessHowe

@TheGoddessHowe

BLURB:
Centuries after the fallen angels left heaven to live among humans, their Nephilim descendants dwell in secret, hidden from the modern world. Once, a charismatic leader known as the Phoenix led their people, but he vanished centuries ago. The few surviving Great Houses are in decline, bickering over petty rivalries while a handful of faithful warriors battle to keep the forces of evil at bay.

 Eighteen-year-old Aiden McLachlan devotes her life to her studies and pursues her lifelong goal to become a full-fledged Watcher. But everything she knows of her life is a lie and everyone a liar. Through a strange twist of fate, she finds herself caught up in an ancient prophecy.

 The stars predict the rebirth of the Nephilim leader, but the mystery must be unraveled or the Phoenix cannot rise. With a soul-eating demon, a coven of ancient vampires, and a hardheaded Celtic warrior competing to subvert the Phoenix, Aiden doesn't know where to turn or who she can trust.

 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt One:
He’d always had the worst of luck, and the day he died was no different.

Thrash stared into the chasm of space between the building roof and city streets, contemplating the eighty-story drop. It was a long way down. The city’s lights glimmered against darkness, millions of fluorescent stars. Surrender did not come easily to him, and it tasted bitter in his mouth. He’d spent his life training to fight, but what could he do against an enemy that could shape shift at will?

Six-foot-six and muscular in the manner of body builders, Thorton David Aston III or Thrash to his friends, was an albino. He was born without skin or hair pigment, his skin perfectly pale, his hair white. He rivaled the city lightscape for its clean brightness. He disliked the attention his condition attracted, so he’d cropped his hair short and dyed it metallic blue.

Thrash’s athletic body thrummed with tension. Perspiration beaded on his pale forehead and made his palms clammy.

The Soul Eater was coming for him.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Melissa Thomas breathes life into her dreams, bringing imaginary characters and fantasy worlds into our reality. She loves her characters so much they become her alter-egos, enacting the exciting adventures she envisions for them. She is a resident of San Francisco, California and adores the picturesque city by the bay. Her hobbies include surfing and scuba diving. 

Phoenix Contract is her debut novel.

You can learn more about Melissa at http://thephoenixascending.blogspot.com/

Email:  MelissaThomas214@gmail.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MThomas_author 

BUY Links – the books will be free on Amazon the day of the blast

Phoenix Contract Part One:  http://goo.gl/6XkZ5P

Phoenix Contract Part Two:  http://goo.gl/Xc0nQg

Phoenix Contract Part Three:  http://goo.gl/0aJaOC

Phoenix Contract Part Four:  http://goo.gl/S3CTf7

Phoenix Contract Part Five:  http://goo.gl/cJSxsk

Buy the boxed set:  $2.99 on Amazon  Kindle:  http://goo.gl/nEBP8o

Welcome 
Melanie Surani


Tell us about yourself:
I am a blogger, hairdresser, and author in New York City. I live with my husband and cat, and when I'm not reading or writing, we're usually watching something unwholesome on TV.



What was your first book?
My first book was a novelette called Emily. My sister said it was stupid because nothing happened in it. Basically, Emily went on teeny tiny adventures, a'la Anne of Green Gables, but set in the present (i.e. the late 80s). I was constantly writing something, re-doing it, starting something new.

Describe your first break.
I sold a short story to a literary magazine back in 2006 or so -- a flash fiction piece about a young girl who realizes all life ends in death.


What is your favorite genre to read? To write?
I love reading mysteries or psychological thrillers. Something with a little suspense and really great characters. It's what I like to write as well.

Are Happy Endings are must in your stories?
Absolutely not. I like my endings to be satisfying, but even as a kid, I often ended a story on a funeral. Kind of like, sure, most of the story wrapped up well, but some of it is still bad, just like real life.

What makes a protagonist interesting?
I love a character I can relate to. If the book is about a rich socialite who has problems with "the help" and her pony is sick, I can't get into it. If the story involves a woman who gets stuck between stations on the subway and the guy next to her smells and she's running late for work, I can get behind that. It's something that makes me nod and shake my head all at the same time. Yup, I feel ya! Keep on going, protagonist!



What is the best thing about being a writer?
The best thing about it is being able to daydream all I want, record those daydreams, and then revisit them as often as I possibly can.

What is the worst thing?
Negative comments about said daydreams. According to some people (my own grandparents included), I'm "going to hell" for some of the things I write about.

Pantser or plotter?
 I'm a big time plotter now, but I wasn't always. I used to start with an idea, type Chapter One, and go until I couldn't figure out what to do next. Then I'd either abandon the story or plot it a little.

What do you see the direction of your future writing taking? What can we expect next? Give us a little taste.
My newest release, The Silent Treatment should be out (or nearly out) as of the release of this interview. There will be two more stories involving the characters in that novel. I'm also writing a modernization of a famous 1920s German Expressionism horror film. And it wouldn't be proper if I didn't write a murder mystery set in a New York City salon.


Just for fun


Cat or dog person?
cats! I love seeing dogs on the street, but cats are so much easier to take care of. They're fluffy and introverted, and say they love me in quiet, subdued ways. No noses in crotches. No drool. Just a rub around the ankles, a kneaded belly, and a nap over my typing arm.

Favorite food?
I love so many types of food -- it's one of my favorite things about travel. In Dubai, I ate tons of Arabic and Indian food. In Scotland, I ate the haggis. In Paris I ate duck in mustard sauce and croissants. Each food has its own merit, and it's so difficult to pick one out as being a favorite. There's almost nothing I won't try at least once. Brain masala, anyone?

Favorite book?
Along with the food question, this one is tricky. I read in many different genres. A few of my favorites have been The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes, and maybe Blankets by Craig Thompson.

Favorite movie?
I think my favorite movie is officially listed as Metropolis (1926, Fritz Lang). Maybe because it's the movie that made me fall in love with silent film. Maybe because I followed the the progress of the plot from the truncated version widely seen in the USA after its release in Germany (re-written and chopped nearly in half), to the novel, to Kino International's restored version including newly found footage from the original, 3 hour release. No other movie has taken me on that kind of journey before.


Favorite holiday?
Christmas was a huge deal for me growing up, but of course it's not the same now that I'm away from my family.

Would you rather be the princess or the villain? Why?
I mean, every day I do think about the best way to murder someone and get away with it, so villain it is!

Who has more fun, orcs or hobbits?
Hobbits, for sure. What do Orcs do? They go to war and have that horrible hand-on-my-face makeup. Hobbits live in a beautiful place, they go to the pub, have parties. Except for Rivendell, Hobbiton was THE place I wanted to live.

 BLURB:
In author Melanie Surani’s edgy thriller novel, opera singer Joshua Gray wakes in an eerie art museum exhibit. He comes to believe he’s been kidnapped and abandoned. And he isn’t the only one…

As Josh and four others struggle to piece together their new reality, they discover the museum’s main building has been razed and the place is boarded with no obvious exit. Who left them in the museum and why? How can they escape? The only link that binds them together is a mysterious woman named Blair, who they each encountered before blacking out. Josh unexpectedly finds himself drawn to one of the other captives, a long-time fan named Sophia. Their attraction plunges the group into a dark pool of suspicion. When allegiances shift and pieces connect, the strangers are forced to reassess their situation. Is the real danger inside or outside of the museum?

Suspenseful, romantic and filled with drama, Awake will keep you up all night.
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Excerpt One:

Blair didn't go to the theater for a night of opera, but to kidnap Sophia Stewart. At the last minute, she bought a ticket and followed cues around the old, gilded theater to her seat in the topmost balcony. The seating sloped straight down, in hopes of giving each ticket holder the best seat in the house, though Blair's spot in the nosebleeds barely made the trip upstairs worth taking, if her goal had been to see anything on stage.

The house lights dimmed and rose again, signaling everyone to take their seats.

Sophia had already taken her spot, smoothed her dress and glanced around with shining, eager eyes. Her hair hung over her shoulders in loose brown waves, pinned over one ear with a peacock feather. The seat beside her was empty.

She's waiting for a date. Two for one if he's good looking.

Despite the suits and pearls and floral ensembles around her, Blair hadn't dressed for a fancy night out. She hadn't been to an opera or symphony in so long she didn't realize dressing up was still a big deal at these things. A blue button-down shirt, dark jeans, and a ponytail were all Blair could muster on her rush to get to the theater.

Everyone's sure to remember Sophia's purple sequined dress, even if they don't remember me.



AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Melanie Surani is a blogger, hair stylist, and author with a heart for international travel. When she isn't cutting hair, Melanie is thinking about ways to kill people (for mystery novels). She lives with her husband and cat in New York City, where she is hard at work on her next book with Booktrope Publishing. Melanie is a member of the International Thriller Writers society. Follow her adventures at: http://melsurani.tumblr.com/

Connect With Melanie

Blog: http://melsurani.tumblr.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/melsurani

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Google+: https://plus.google.com/115191699057372867697

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5404505.Melanie_Surani

Amazon: www.amazon.com/Melanie-Surani/e/B0077442QK

GENRE:  mystery
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BLURB:
Melissa Grant has escaped the clutches of death, not once, not twice, but three times. While she considers this to be divine intervention, her assailant is sure that her luck will run out, and the authorities are suspicious that Melissa isn’t as innocent as she seems. Implicated in the murders of two of her closest friends, and running from both a hit man and the law, Melissa does what is thought to be impossible in the 21st Century – she disappears. Julie Lawson has no family, no friends, and no past. She spends her days photographing the country and her nights tossing and turning as nightmares plague her sleep. While passing through the town of St. Brendan, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Julie finds some things she hasn’t had in a very long time – a home, friends, and love. For the first time in two years, Julie can see her future, but she can attain it only by surviving a predator from her past. Eric West has a past of his own that he is trying to forget. His return to his hometown keeps his demons away until he meets Julie, and she stirs up emotions in him that he hasn’t felt in a long time. As he slowly begins to let go of this past, Eric tries to break down the walls that Julie has so tightly built around herself. Gaining her trust one small act at a time, and hiring the best investigator in DC to dig for answers, Eric opens the Pandora’s Box to Julie’s past which threatens all of their futures.
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Excerpt Two:
            Julie hadn’t thought to bring a flashlight with her and now regretfully acknowledged one of the many pitfalls of no longer owning a smartphone.  As darkness fell, she picked up her pace, unsure of how much farther she had to go until the end of the trail.  Surely it was safe to be out here in the dark at night, right?  This was a small town, after all.  An owl hooted, and the hair on the back of Julie’s neck stood.  Once again, she felt that familiar feeling that jump-started her heart to begin thumping in her chest.  She was not alone.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Amy MacWilliams Schisler, of Bozman, has been writing all of her life for fun and as a freelance writer.  A graduate of University of Maryland College Park with a Masters of Library and Information Science, Amy has resided in Talbot County for 21 years.  She was employed as a school library media specialist at White Marsh Elementary and Chapel District Elementary and a reference librarian at Chesapeake College.  For the past eight years, she has operated her own computer tutoring service working primarily with senior citizens while spending as much time as possible writing. Amy was a contributing editor for the reference series Best Books For Libraries 2004 Edition and is included in Who’s Who Among American Women.

 Schisler’s first children’s book, Crabbing With Granddad, is an autobiographical work about spending a day harvesting the Maryland Blue Crab and is available in local stores and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum as well as on Amazon.  Sarah Book Publishing released Schisler’s novel, A Place to Call Home, in August of 2014.  A revised second edition was released in March 2015. 

 Picture Me, A Mystery was released on August 17, 2015.  The book follows the plight of a young woman as she journeys across the country assuming one identity after another in order to stay alive.  When she lands in a small port town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and meets the man of her dreams, she lets her guard down and puts her heart and her life in danger.

A former librarian and teacher, Amy now lives in Bozman, Maryland with her husband, three daughters, and two dogs where she is very involved in her local community.  Amy is the leader of Girl Scout Troop 453, Director of Summer Roundup Girl Scout Camp, and active in her family’s church and school.

 
contact@amyschislerauthor.com

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Twitter @AmySchislerAuth

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Amy has been featured on:

OmniMystery News

Noisetrade.com

Southern Maryland News

Tea at Trianon Blog

THURSDAY'S CHILD: FAR TO GO

by Polly Becks
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GENRE:  Romance/Mystery/Thriller

NOTE:  A percentage of the sales of this book will be donated to Children's International, a not-for-profit organization very close to the author's family's  heart. Past books in the series have benefited The American Red Cross, The American Cancer Society, Tuesday's Children [a 9/11 charity], and The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption

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

BLURB:
A  mystery is introduced in No Ordinary Day, the first book in the Extraordinary Days series that is carried through all eight volumes and solved in the last book, Sunday's Child: Born on the Sabbath Day, due out in January of 2017.

In the late spring of 1991, a flood and fire of historic proportions tore through the pretty resort town of Obergrande, New York, in the central region of the Adirondack mountains.

The twin disasters destroyed a large part of the east side of the town that bordered the Hudson River and Lake Obergrande.

In the aftermath, a new dam was built, and that damaged part of the town “drowned,” covered by the new, larger lake.

During that terrible flood, five kindergarten girls were trapped in their drowning school, huddled together as the water rose higher, rescued just in the nick of time. The nightmare bonded them, and three others like them, to each other for life.

These are their stories.

International attorney and human rights advocate Elisa Santiago believes she has life under control—an impressive career, a solid group of friends in Obergrande, and a handsome law partner for hot “car action” when she needs release. Little does she know that her entire world is about to burn down when she discovers that nothing she believes she knows about herself and her past is true.  Can the gorgeous former CIA operative, acting as her guide and guard as she returns to Colombia, the land of her birth, looking for answers, set her world on fire in a good way?

THURSDAY’S CHILD: Far to Go is the fifth book in the eight-book series The Extraordinary Days by breakthrough novelist Polly Becks. The first book, No Ordinary Day, tells the tale of an epic tragedy that changes life forever in a small town in the wild, mystic Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, and the mystery surrounding that tragedy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Excerpt One: 

Present day, Sunday, September 8th, 2:11 PM

Le Mille Neuf, 1009 Rue de Bleury, penthouse, Montreal

The young man at the front desk in the luxury apartment building looked up in surprise at the quartet of women making their way across the lobby, carrying what looked like a variety of flowers, sweets, and boxes, chatting happily amongst themselves as every male head in the lobby turned in their direction.

An older man in the uniform of a professional driver or chauffeur was following them, his arms piled high with packages, puffing slightly.

The women, who were carrying on an intense four-way conversation between them, did not notice the attention they were garnering like magnets. They ranged in height from just over five feet to just under six, with a variety of body types, hair and skin colors ranging from alabaster to ebony, and clothing styles, all of which had some sort of bright artistry to them.

They stopped in front of the desk.

The tallest of the group, a fair-skinned beauty with gray eyes and shoulder-length brown hair atop a tall, willowy figure, smiled down at him.

“Penthouse deux, s’il vous plait,” she said politely in a perfect French accent.

The young man slid his swivel chair quickly under the desk to shield his lap from view.

“Qui appelle?” he asked in a French-Canadian accent. “Er—whom shall I say is calling?” He picked up the phone.

“The—uhm—Fivesome,” Briony Windsor, known as Sarah to her friends, said.

The young man waited for an answer, requested permission for entry and, receiving it, directed the four women to the penthouse elevator, only to discover they had started across the back lobby while he was hanging up. 

They already knew where they were going.

“Has anyone heard from Sloane’s father recently?” Dr. Corinne Byrnes, a veterinarian and the second-tallest member of the group asked the others as they entered the elevator and pushed the button for the top floor.

“I spoke to him last night,” said Reverend Grace Fuller, the Associate Pastor of the Obergrande Community Church back in New York State. “He says she seems to be doing better, as long as she rests. Apparently he hasn’t been entirely successful at keeping her in bed.”

“Shocker,” mused Elisa Santiago, esq., a practicing attorney and civil rights advocate who divided her time between law on the international stage and a quiet practice back in Obergrande, the pretty Adirondack hometown of the four young women and the friend they had come to visit. At five-foot-three, she was petite, like Grace, and extraordinarily well put-together, every detail of her wardrobe perfect, just as every detail of her business and personal life seemed to be.

“Well, between us we have plenty of things to keep her amused in bed,” said Briony. “Although that’s like selling ice to penguins; Sloane has made of art of being kept amused in bed most of her life.”

“Truth,” mused Corinne as the elevator doors opened, providing a stunning view of downtown Montreal and its exquisite spires.

The four women hurried down the sunlit hallway of windows to the door where the number 2 was elegantly displayed.

Elisa pushed the doorbell.

A tall, strapping, dark-haired man with a finely-featured, neatly-bearded face opened the door a moment later.

All four women blinked in surprise.

“Dr. Marlowe?” Elisa’s voice broke the silence. 

The man’s dark blue eyes blinked as well.

“Come in, ladies,” he said quickly.

The women looked at each other, then followed him into the penthouse.

“What’s he doing here?” Grace whispered to Briony. “Sloane told me they couldn’t stand each other.” Briony shrugged.

“Perhaps they’re working on the Quadricentennial?” Elisa suggested as they passed through the elegant central foyer into the open living area, a high-ceilinged room ringed with floor-to-ceiling windows.

She turned to Corinne, the only one not to have met Nathan Marlowe. “He’s a world-class history professor here at McGill and in New York at NYU, a specialist in the Adirondack Park area and particularly in Obergrande. Sloane’s mother hired him to do the authentication and other research for the town’s four-hundredth anniversary next May.”

“Well, if her mother likes him, I can see why Sloane can’t stand him,” said Corinne. “Those two can’t agree on whether the sun is up or not.”

Dr. Marlowe was standing at the far left edge of the open sitting area, next to the door that led to Sloane’s bedroom suite.

The women and their driver, still lugging their packages, followed him.

A glorious spicy smell filled the air near the kitchen.

On their way past a recessed alcove in which a towering animal cage stood, Corinne paused and clicked softly at the sweet, melon-sized animal inside it.

“Hiya, Pfeffernusse,” she said. “You’re lookin’ good, gurrl.”

Ed Hillenbrandt, the driver, waited until she was following the other girls again, then paused in front of the cage himself. 

“I still say you would make a nice hat,” he whispered.

Pfeffernusse just stared at him with her big black chinchilla eyes. Then she flicked her large ears and spun around, her white belly disappearing from view as she turned her gray-blue back to him.

“You’re not by any means the first female to give me the cold shoulder, ma’am,” Ed said as he went to join the women.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Polly Becks has been making her living writing for more than twenty years, as well as working as an editor, curriculum developer, and teaching secondary-school Spanish. She has more than 350 books to her credit, mostly educational materials, as well as professionally published fiction in both the adult and YA market in a variety of genres, plus more than 30 Children’s books. She is excited about exploring the digital literature frontier and is honored to be the launch series for GMLTJoseph, LLC. - See more at: http://www.pollybecks.com/author/#sthash.pEZ6f3xO.dpuf
http://www.pollybecks.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PollyBecks

Buy Polly’s books: http://www.amazon.com/Polly-Becks/e/B00QDYJ72Y/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1433266673&sr=8-1

the Rose contest:  http://www.pollybecks.com/the-rose/

blog post on release: http://www.pollybecks.com/meet-elisa-our-next-heroine/

Order link: http://www.pollybecks.com/books/thursdays-child-far-to-go/

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