Fun Interview hosted by Steve DeWinter of Old Dog New Trx.

I just had the pleasure of being a guest on Steve DeWinter's YouTube channel. It's called Old Dog New Trx and features authors from all walks of life. I had a blast and the hour just flew by. We talked about my books and the writing process as well as the amount of research that goes into writing a well grounded and accurate story. I won't go on and on about it, I'll just sit back and let you watch the interview and make up your own mind. Although I do think I look like an evil elf, the camera is not my friend. No not at all! LOL

Click here to view the interview.

If you're looking for great Christmas gifts, my books are available at Books We Love. Just scroll down, click on a cover and it will take you to the book store.

Don't forget to pick up the five Christmas novellas which just released on November 1, 2015. My contribution is A Longview Christmas. It's Christmas Eve at Mary and Luke Cassidy's and match making Mary is in fine form. Don't miss out on the hilarious goings on.

Welcome Rave Reviews Book Club Spotlight Author TC Booth!

TC Booth

Rave Reviews Book Club

Spotlight Author

TC Booth


Teen Bullying

I rocked big hair and spandex as a teenager. My vocabulary

contained the phrases like totally, no duh, phsyc, take a chill

pill, and I’m sure. Gotta love the 80’s. Things have changed

since then, but one constant the remains a constant among

generations of teens is bullying.

While writing To Be Honest, I researched how bullying today is

different from the days I remember.  The main difference I found

is that today rumors and nasty comments meant to humiliate you

can be posted online for all to see.

Both boys and girls experience bullying.  There are

differences in the way they're bullied, but the outcome is the

Here’s what I found out:

 Boys are more likely to be bullied physically, but girls

are more likely to be bullied by rumors or being left out.

 Girls bully to feel a sense of importance and control.

 Boys usually get bullied by other boys, whereas girls tend

to get bullied by both boys and girls.

 Girls experience bullying on school property more often

 81% of teens say it’s easier to bully someone online than

 70% see frequent bullying online

 90% of teens who have seen bullying online say they ignore

 Girls are more likely to fall victim to online bullies than

The good news is that there is more of an awareness of the

seriousness of bullying today. Dosomething.org is an excellent

resource for teens who need support. My character Starla had a

good support system otherwise she may have needed to check it

To learn more about TC Booth or to purchase her books, please visit:

Amazon Author Page: http://bit.ly/TCBooth

Website http://www.tcbooth.com

Twitter handle: @BoothTammi

FantasyCon Mini-Interview with Justine Manzano

A FantasyCon Mini-Interview with Justine Manzano, not to be confused with Megan who you all met yesterday. Justine is a Reader, Blogger and Author, and I think these ladies might be sisters. If so, they are a talented family.

Q: Are you a Reader, Author, Blogger, or Artist?

A: Reader, Author, and Blogger. As for art, I'm strictly a stick figure gal.

Q: What first drew you to fantasy?

A: I love to escape. The real world can be difficult. The challenges can wear you down. But in fantasy, the challenges can be overcome with a little bit of magic, a little twist in the way the world is perceived, a little bit of strength you wouldn't normally have. I love fantasy because with it we have the opportunity to explore things we never would have the chance to in our regular lives. Things we couldn't even dream of. I was a fantasy fan before I even understood what it was. I just loved making things up that could never possibly happen.

Q: If you were trapped in a fantasy realm with no escape, where would you want to be and who would you want to be your best friend?

A: Does it have to be an existing realm, or can it be one I've made up? Something with unicorns and phoenixes and elves, where nobody is strange and everybody is accepted. Katniss would be a helpful hunter, I suppose.

Q: Have you written any stories? If so, please tell us about them.

A: The Order of the Key, my YA Contemporary Fantasy is due for release in 2016. It follows a girl, Jacklyn Madison, as she joins an organization designed to defend people from inter-dimensional creatures and close rifts between dimensions. However, that organization is not what it seems, and Jacklyn finds herself becoming a weapon in a battle for leadership between the group's leader and her idealistic son.

The Order of the Key is Book 1 of the Keys & Guardians series. I am currently outlining Book 2 and have plans for the story to span 6 books.

For more information on Keys & Guardians, as well as my other various projects, like my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/justinemanzanoauthor

Welcome to Rave Reviews Book Club's "SPOTLIGHT" Author Blog Tour with"SPOTLIGHT" Author, Peggy Hattendorf!

How Did I Decide To Write My Book?
Blog

The notion of writing a book started about nine years ago with a concept of a beautiful and wealthy young woman who flitted around the world socializing in the circles of the international elite from the worlds of business, politics, sports, fashion etc. She was the “jet setting” consummate “party girl.” As I continued to conceptualize my intended protagonist – the character fell flat and I couldn’t break through and write about her seemingly frivolous existence. She was shallow and one dimensional.

The idea of writing a novel was shelved for a long time, as I surmised if I was bored with the character my potential readers too would lose interest. I still brainstormed ideas – but I couldn’t write through my blockages. Frustrated and fraught with self doubt, I figured the whole book writing process best be left to highly creative individuals.

But I was still motivated and something continued to gnaw at me – providing a glimmer of hope that maybe this wasn’t just a pipe-dream or unrealistic pursuit.

It was still long in coming but finally I had the striking realization - to recast my main character. While not abandoning the idea of a female lead, diligently I set out to craft the character with more depth and substance. She would be armed with a pedigree education starting in Swiss boarding school and culminating with advanced degrees from Harvard and Wharton. A step into the business world brought her to the family founded multi-national worldwide conglomerate, Barrington Holdings International. Groomed for this since she was a small child – it was all she ever knew. As the only child of Elizabeth Matthews Barrington and Jonathan Robert Barrington, she’s the presumed heir apparent. With a defining career in the makings, she labors with the tensions and discord of the contentious relationship with her father. Jonathan as the antagonist provides the perfect counterpoint. This entangled relationship spills over into her personal life as well as she continues not only to meet but exceed all his expectations. For the first time, I gave my character her name - Christiana Lynn Barrington.

This was pivotal in deciding to write – Son of My Father – A Family Dynasty. From that point forward, characters and storyline started to be defined and the book was formulated.

I welcome your comments or questions and am reachable at:
Peggy@peggyhattendorf.com
Author – Son of My Father – A Family Dynasty
Travel Editor – hers Magazine


Author Bio:
Peggy’s earlier careers helped cultivate and enrich her interest in writing. In her executive positions in the non-profit field, she had the opportunity to compose technical and operational handbooks for staff and volunteers for a number of name recognized organizations. Her management experience guided her to a multi-decade second career in the travel industry highlighted with the co-founding of a nationwide marketing consortium and independent contractor network. With over 5000 members, generating $180 million in annual sales, she wrote daily travel updates and news briefs distributed electronically to the membership. Today, she maintains an ambitious travel schedule and is the Travel Editor for hers Magazine where she writes travel feature articles and Hotel Review blog posts. In addition, she still serves on a number on non-profit boards. Her background with upscale and luxury travel products served as cornerstones in the character development and storyline of her first novel – “Son of My Father – A Family Dynasty.” She is currently working on her second book.


Author Contact:
Twitter: @peggyhattendorf
Facebook: www.facebook.com/peggy.hattendorf
Website: www.peggyhattendorf.com

RRBC June Bethany Turner Pay It Forward Week with my guest Harmony Kent by Nancy M Bell

Welcome Harmony! Please share a bit about yourself.

Indie Author Harmony Kent has written a number of books. The Battle for Brisingamen, her first novel, is a work of fantasy fiction and was approved by Awesome Indies within weeks of its release. Her second book, The Glade shows her equally at home in the realms of mystery, suspense and thriller – with a dash of magical realism. This book has also been approved for the Awesome Indies List. The Glade was awarded the IndieBRAG Medallion in July 2014. Harmony’s third book (Elemental Earth) is Young Adult Fantasy Fiction, and was published 31st July 2014. With more books already in progress, she is well on her way to being a firmly established multi genre author. As well as being an avid reader and writer, Harmony also offers editing, proof reading, manuscript appraisal and beta reading services. As well as reviewing and supporting her fellow indie authors, Harmony works hard to promote and protect high standards within the indie publishing arena. She is always on the look out for talent and excellence, and will freely promote any authors or books who she feels have these attributes.

Well, that’s the official biography … Harmony also has violent tendencies and forced me to add a not quite so official version …

Harmony Kent is famous for her laughter, and has made quite the name for herself … she’s also, um, a writer … and fairly well known for that too. She lives in rural Cornwall with her ever present sense of humour and quirky neighbours. She is single and not admitting to her age.

Here are ten things she thinks you ought to know about her …

Born in 2013 (at least the author was …)

Really boring

Has absolutely no sense of humour

Biographer is a compulsive liar

Reads … a lot

Writes … even more

Completely sane(in)

Neighbours are nuts

If you’re feeling extra brave she’s around

Online …

Harmony is the author of some great books. Check them out right here!

Slices of Soul

Slices of Soul is a collection of contemporary poetry from author Harmony Kent that will both delight and call for deeper reflection. ‘Phantoms’ gives a gritty account of pain that you can never catch. ‘Enough’ expresses the contentment of Zen. ‘Diamonds’ shows the beauty to be found on a drab and rainy day. While ‘The Alchemist’ shows you how a guitar can turn lead into gold. This wonderful arrangement of fifty poems takes you from the abstract of Zen to the melody of music, and will reach into your mind, your heart, and your soul.

Finding Katie Check out the trailer!

I killed someone, you see. I killed the girl, who used to be me.

I’m Kate … Kate Charlesworth. I’m seventeen, and self-harming. This time I cut too deep, and I’m in hospital. I hadn’t meant for it to be so bad—it just sort of happened. I needed a lot of distraction that day.

You’ve had bad days, right? Days it hurts too much to think. Days you just wanna stay in bed. Days when the world needs to go away for a while. Right?

What do you do when you’ve hit rock bottom? When there’s nowhere left to turn?

This one little mistake lands me back on a psych unit—the last place I wanna be. Only this time, the nurse I end up with isn’t content to stick on a band-aid and send me home. She wants me to face my demons. But to do that, I’ll have to face who I am … who I used to be … I’ll have to find Katie.

Polish Your Prose

Polish Your Prose is a powerful new guide that gives essential editing tips for authors. Lots of books have been written on the art of writing, and here—at last—is a guide that will teach you the essential techniques of editing your own book. This will help you turn a promising manuscript into a published novel. And, it does this without the jargon. You don’t need to know all the grammatical terms in order to make use of this book. You don’t need to know the definition of a split infinitive, a comma splice, or a ‘to be’ verb, as this manual explains these in detail in easy to understand terms, and a lively and engaging style.

Chapters on Passive Writing, Tense, Point of View, Dialogue, and other techniques take you through the same processes an editor would go through to polish and perfect your manuscript. Good writing is nothing without good editing. Learn the secrets of good editing and writing with this essential author reference, which offers so much more for so much less.
Harmony Kent is an award winning author, and accomplished editor and proofreader. Her passion is helping Indie Authors to successfully achieve their goals and dreams.

The Glade See the trailer!

ou are being arrested for the murder of your husband…You have a secret you can’t tell…The evil is gathering…

The Wenstrops have it all: health, wealth and happiness. But then it all begins to fall apart. Helen is arrested for murder, yet is either unable or unwilling to give a defence. During her detention, vital evidence goes mysteriously missing and tensions are running high. Helen finds herself surrounded and yet alone: not knowing who she can trust or how she can tell her enemies from her friends. Helen has to work through her self-doubts and fears, in order to know whether her suspicions and misgivings are valid or simply products of an overwrought mind. There are those who would like to encourage her confusion, and those who would help her – but how to know one from the other? And then there are those who actively mean her harm. Meanwhile, malignant forces in the forest are gathering power, ready for a final assault. Helen finds herself in a battle of life and death, and faces having to lose everything in her attempts to thwart the evil that has insinuated itself into her very existence – but is she ready to make the ultimate sacrifice?
This sensational second novel by acclaimed author Harmony Kent will have you alternately laughing, crying and gripping the edge of your seat as this roller coaster ride of a plot unfolds. It will keep you guessing through its many twists and turns, and hijack your attention right up until you turn the final page. This book has it all: murder, intrigue, the supernatural, a broken marriage, a love affair, courage against impossible odds, suspense, and high drama.

Elemental Earth

“You turned the god of gnomes into a garden ornament?”
Sarah looked closely, but couldn’t tell if her dad was annoyed or amused—perhaps he was both …
Whilst 15 year old Sarah may be struggling to regain her feet, after being ripped from her everyday mundane life and ending up in a whole new dimension, she still knows how to have a bit of fun along the way. The Earth Elemental isn’t the only one whose feathers she manages to ruffle, and it’s only been four days. Meanwhile, her best friend is missing, and big trouble is brewing. She soon has a lot more to worry about than what happened to her phone or iPod, or even how much of an idiot Caleb obviously thinks she is.
Elemental Earth is the first book in The Mysteries series, and is aimed at Young Adults. Even if you’ve already reached an age where the young ones might call you ‘old enough’, if you’re still young at heart then you’re bound to enjoy these books just as much as the next—err—younger adult.
Age aside, perhaps we should be more worried about what further havoc Sarah’s antics might be about to wreak on the universe as we know it? We’d probably all be sleeping a lot more soundly if she’d only stuck to applied maths and the odd pillow fight. But no, sadly the lure of the proverbial rabbit hole proved just a tad too much. And now she’s taken the plunge, there’s no turning back.

You’ll have to wait until you’re 16 to read Harmony’s other two books: The Battle for Brisingamen and The Glade. In the meantime, you can occupy yourself with the second book in this series: Air-Born (The Mysteries: Book 2). Coming soon.

The Battle For Brisingamen

here is a World not too Far Away …

Beneath the north sea a land of magic lies undetected. The lives of many are drawn inexorably closer together in a race against time, as both energy companies and evil beings attempt to destroy the magic which is protecting not just this land but all worlds. The unwitting protagonists have no idea of how suddenly and irrevocably their lives are about to change.

It is a race against time to try and recover the lost necklace, Brisingamen, which holds the ancient power of the Goddess Freya, and to prevent the undersea drilling from taking place. Are Aart, Matthias, Gemma and Dirck up to the challenges they now must face?

Here there be Dragons, and all manner of Creatures …

You can find Harmony on her website, on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @harmony_kent

RRBC June Bethany Turner Pay It Forward Week with my guest Carl Stevens by Nancy M Bell

Welcome to Come Walk With Me, Carl. It's very nice to have you come and visit. Please tell us a bit about yourself.

Jack London lamented that he had spent his life as a working class intellectual rubbing shoulders with the underprivileged on tramp steamers, in gold mining camps, on wharves and in warehouses while reading extensively and writing books of serious social and philosophical merit only to be renowned for writing about dogs. It irked him yet inspired me decades later. Eighteen-wheelers, psych wards, factory floors and the halls of academia and corporate America may not be perfect matches to London’s, but they have all been part of my own working class adventures. I have lived in numerous careers the fiction that each was intrinsically important while in fact each was merely research for the role of Carl Stevens, Writer.

Professor-in-training (in three fields so far, philosophy, history and psychology), nurse in a psychiatric facility, long-haul truck driver, security guard, waiter, bartender, clerical worker, manual laborer, engineer - they were all facades I presented while my true life’s work went on behind the scenes, reading and writing and incorporating life experience with the scholarly to create the self-identity that is now creating novels.

Four novels speak for the success of this creative self-identity. If a hundred years from now people neglect the layers of substance and only praise my exciting tales of humor and adventure and if I am still alive, then I will be proud to have failed like Jack.

Speaking of his work, Carl says:

I wanted to write a classic regular folks would actually read. I wanted to write an adventure academics would find resonant with meaning. You tell me how well I did.

Below is some information about Carl's books. You can find them on Amazon.com

The Time Travelers Fool

In a dialogue over six days between a psychiatrist and a man claiming to be a time traveler you decide if he is a lunatic, a time traveler, a murderer, a victim, all of the above or none. Start reading convinced that he is insane and end satisfied that you were right all along. Start reading convinced that he travels through time and end satisfied that you were right all along. Then begin the endless discussion with yourself or others about how both readings can be right or must be wrong.
Whoever he may be he is an articulate weaver of tales hilarious and horrible which include writing love poetry in the body of a shepherd boy wooing his first love, leading a small group of would-be legionaries in the body of a commander who has gotten them into a royal mess in the desert, fleeing a lynch mob in the body of a slave who may have been better off before a helping hand (or mind) and much more.
The Time Traveler's Fool is a rollicking good read but the reader who cares to dig deeper will also find serious literary themes of reality, perception, identity and the unintended consequences of good deeds.

The Charging Bull of Terry County

Bicentennial Day for America is going to be a long one for LarryTreegarden. There’s a fifth of Southern Comfort to kill before noon. There’s all the memory other people won’t let the fifth kill off. The woman who’s divorced him three times wants to talk. His older son wants to publish Granddad’s Civil War Journal. Everyone wants to talk war history with a World War II vet. The mayor wants Larry’s crane to lift the statue of a fictional hero into place in time for the fireworks. The only person not bothering him is his younger son shipped home from Viet Nam and resting for five years under a plain flat stone on the edge of town. This day will resonate with history – of one person, of one family, of one nation shaped by war– and all Larry wants is a little peace.

The Call Me Merlin Sherlock


Everything you thought you knew about sex, society and family is wrong and once you’ve stopped laughing at the 182 year old wizard who looks like a 26 year old kid, you might just realize you’ve learned something -- something more than whodunnit in the latest merry mystery of Thaddeus and Melda.
They Call Me Merlin Sherlock is Thaddeus’ lament and an attempt to convert his fellow wizards from mockery of to admiration for his application of wizard’s lore to such mundane endeavors as the recovery of an English baronet’s stolen tea pot valued at half a million pounds. Along the way he acquires a skeptical American assistant and they meet enough English eccentrics to fill a loony bin or a conference of wizard’s, if anyone can tell the difference.

The Canterbury Tales In Neverland

THE CANTERBURY TALES IN NEVERLAND makes a post-apocalyptic detective thriller resonate with literary history and ask what it means to be well-read . . .and to get the joke. This is a post-apocalyptic mystery wherein the detective's need for hard facts clashes with a culture's need to reinvent itself on the ever shifting sands of story telling. There are two main stories. In one, Jackson Thomas, a former mayor of a small town known as The Ville, is trying to avoid being stoned to death on false charges of conspiracy to incite riot and murder. He is hampered by being under arrest and dependent on a friend to wear out shoe leather poking into what really happened. Meanwhile Jackson's son and several of the son's friends have all talked themselves into believing that the wisest solution to Jackson's dilemma is to trek across a hostile landscape in search of angels and a miracle. Both stories work on multiple levels. They are each an adventure on their own, a detective thriller in town, a road trip through chaos in the wilds. They are also each a metaphor for the epistemological quandries of story telling. Jackson is trying to find his way through a dark woods of conflicting witness accounts. His son and fellow travellers are finding their way through a physical wilderness while sharing with each other the stories which make up their culture . . .and enough puns to choke The Bard.

You can find Carl on Facebook and visit his webpage/blog. Follow Carl on Twitter @carlstevenswrit

RRBC June Bethany Turner Play It Forward Week with my guest Rhani D'Chae by Nancy M Bell

Rhani D'Chae lives in Tacoma, Washington, and has set the majority of her writing projects in the Pacific Northwest. Rhani D'Chae has always been an avid reader and began writing in her early teens. Her first 'novel' was a Star Trek adventure that she freely admits was a disaster but she learned from it and never stopped writing. Shadow of the Drill is her first published novel, and is the first in a series that revolves around an unrepentant enforcer and the violent life that he leads.

She enjoys chatting with readers and fellow writers via Social Networking sites, and loves getting comments and other input from those who have read her work. She is on Facebook, and also on Twitter, @rhanidchae. Ms. D'Chae is currently working on Winter of the Drill and hopes to have it completed by early 2015.

Rhani's latest novel, Shadow of the Drill is receiving rave reviews on Amazon. Here's a bit about Shadow of the Drill.

A brutal experience transforms an unproven young tough into a ruthless killing machine. For fifteen years he waited, building his body into an unstoppable weapon so that vengeance would be had through the strength of his will and the power of his hands.

On the bloodstained streets of a northwestern city the enforcer known as the Drill stalks his prey. Judge, jury, and executioner; he seeks out those who target the weak and the vulnerable, condemning them to the kind of justice that has made him a legend.

Here are a few snippets from the reviews to whet your whistle:

There’s only one word I can use to describe Rhani D’Chae’s writing of SHADOW OF THE DRILL and that word is… WOW!!! There was a time when I could honestly say that the majority of the reads I was picking up, were just poorly written pieces of junk. Based on the masterpieces that I now have listed on my page here, I am feeling my luck turn around in the Indie Read department, and it seems, each book gets better and better and better. TruthBTold Amazon.com


Shadow of the Drill had me hooked from the first page, right through to the very last. I hated when I had to put it down.
M Abbott Amazon.com

You can find Rhani D'Chae on Facebook and on her blog.