#ReleaseBlitz #RABTBookTours @RABTBookTours / #PromoPost : Agustina de Aragón #AgustinadeAragón – Gail Meath #GailMeath @GailMeathAuthor #BookBuzz @BookBuzznet #HistoricalRomance

– ‘The Magic of Wor(l)ds’ blog is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free. –

Today I’m on the ‘Agustina de Aragón’ blogtour, organized by RABT Book Tours.
To promote this book I have some ‘basic’ information.

About the Author :

Gail Meath is an award-winning author. She writes historical romance fiction with characters who come to life and stay with you long after you’re finished reading. Her subgenres include westerns, murder mysteries and biographies. And her meticulously researched historical facts are sifted throughout each book, educating readers along the way without them even knowing it.

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BookBuzz

Synopsis :

The Spanish beauty who fought Napoleon.
Her story is so more than a tale of war, tremendous courage and loss. It is one of the greatest love stories in history.
Barcelona, Spain, 1803. Agustina Saragossa, the youngest daughter of a bladesmith, sneaks around the military barracks, yet not to snag a husband as everyone thinks. Stubborn, hot-tempered and fiercely devoted to her country, like her grandfather before her, she is far more interested in learning about the ensuing war between Britain and France than the lazy, arrogant Spanish soldiers at the compound.
When Sergeant Juan Roca, a handsome officer with a troubled past, is relocated to the barracks, he is instantly struck by Agustina’s beauty and fiery spirit. Despite her heated rejections and open mistrust, he relentlessly pursues her. Will he ever win her heart?
As the war progresses between their neighboring countries, Napoleon Bonaparte deviously orders the invasion of Spain, thinking it will be an easy task. But Agustina and Juan join the fight first as guerillas then soldiers in their valiant effort to crush the enemy and regain the freedom of their country.
A dynamic and heartfelt story based upon true events that takes place during one of the most devastating wars in Europe. It captures the strength of unity and family and is known as one most powerful love stories in history.

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The Magic of Wor(l)ds

Release Blitz Organized By:

RABT Book Tours

#MiniBlogBlitz #RachelsRandomResources @rararesources / #Excerpt : Willow Weeps – Louise Worthington @louiseworthing9

– ‘The Magic of Wor(l)ds’ blog is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free. –

Today I’m on the ‘Willow Weeps blogtour, organised by Rachel’s Random Resources.
To promote this book I have an excerpt, but before I let you read it first some ‘basic’ information.

About the Author :

Born in Cheshire, England, Louise studied literature at the University of Essex. As a teenager she read until the small hours, enjoying the darker worlds conjured by Stephen King and Daphne du Maurier.
Louise is the author of the bestseller, Rachel’s Garden, another psychological thriller and Distorted Days which Kirkus Review described as ‘a formidable work.’ Her chilling blend of the lyrical and the dark is the most gripping in her thrillers and horror.

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Synopsis :

The promise of a new life together as a family.
A fresh start – or the key to a nightmare?
Willow is about to embark on a new chapter in her life by moving in with her partner and his daughter, but not all is as perfect as it seems. Coping with the grief from her sister dying in a house fire when they were children, Willow believes that her sister can communicate with her from beyond the grave. Inexplicable incidents occur, with warnings of people or places. Could these be a coincidence, or is Willow misinterpreting things with her superstitious overthinking?
Page-turning and emotional, Willow Weeps is the gripping new psychological suspense novel from the author of the bestseller, Rachel’s Garden.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK
Amazon US

Excerpt :

In Willow Weeps, a psychological suspense novel, a young offender’s institute is converted into upmarket apartments called Gallop Ward. Paul, Willow’s boyfriend, buys one and moves into it before she knows anything about it. Another bombshell falls when he asks her to move in with him. Lottie, Willow’s best friend, used to work at the young offender’s institute as a cook before it closed under a cloud
When the two of them visit Gallop Ward, it’s clear that the place has scar tissue and the thumbprint of its stained history is indelible. Gallop Ward becomes an antagonist which drives a wedge between Willow and Paul. Here is an extract from their first visit.

To Lottie, the high sandstone walls hold memories of unhappy children trapped here, fuelled by testosterone, adrenaline, oestrogen, a broken family life, a corrupted childhood, poverty or addiction. Despite being masked with trellis and an abundance of clematis, lilac and roses, it is still a brutal place in her mind. There is no hint of barbed wire or steel bars, yet the shadow of them remains.
Lottie unbuttons her coat and rests in the fresh air before entering the building. She thinks it is unfriendly looking with its many locked doors. Looking up at the sky, the grey clouds don’t help to alleviate her sense of gloom; they are charcoal, like trails of smoke from a burning building. No matter how much money the developers have spent, they can’t make these old buildings feel like a home. If she were in charge, she’d bulldoze the whole bloody place and start again…
Outside, Lottie heads round to the far right of the vast brick building. Borders taper round the new fencing. ‘This was the exercise yard at one time.’ Significant effort has gone into disguising its utilitarian history and creating a colourful communal space.
Her mood drops like a plane without fuel. She careers from one side of the garden to another, along man-made paths and beds amply covered in bark chips to keep the weeds at bay. For all the vast open space, her head feels heavy…
She walks back over to the water feature to listen again and gasps. She looks up to see if Willow hears it, but Willow’s focus is on the surrounding walls. Lottie pushes her ample handbag further up her shoulder, aware that her hands are shaking. Looking around, the walls and stems of the roses seem to grow a foot taller; the water feature and the shrubs and everything else diminish and pale.
An object circling in the water feature catches her eye that surely wasn’t there before: a red hair scrunchie. Something catches in the back of her throat. This place was never a home to children. ‘Institute’ does not begin to communicate the loss a child experiences when they are locked up, sentenced, separated. Many of them never got back on their feet again.

The Magic of Wor(l)ds

#BlogTour #RachelsRandomResources @rararesources / #QandAs : The Hashtag Killer – A. S. French @andrewfrench100

– ‘The Magic of Wor(l)ds’ blog is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free. –

Today I’m on the ‘The Hashtag Killer’ blogtour, organized by Rachel’s Random Resources.
To promote this book I have a Q&As post, but before I let you read it first some ‘basic’ information.

About the Author :

Andrew French is a man of no wealth and little taste. He lives amongst faded seaside glamour on the North East coast of England. He likes gin and cats but not together, new music and old movies, curry and ice cream. Slow bike rides and long walks to the pub are his usual exercise, as well as flicking through the pages of good books and the memoirs of bad people.

Social Media Links:
Website
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Facebook

Synopsis :

Catch a killer or save a child. What would you do?
DI Jen Flowers thought she’d seen it all after fifteen years on the force, but when a vigilante serial killer hits the city and uses social media to gather supporters, she must fight the public and her doubts to catch a murderer and save her daughter.
Suffering from blackouts and abandoned as a child by her father, Ruby Vasquez has been chasing that one scoop to make her an internet star. Living with an alcoholic mother who hates her, Ruby discovers a secret about the vigilante’s first victim, which puts her in the killer and DI Flowers’ sights.
Jen and Ruby have to overcome the secrets in their past while battling each other to discover the Hashtag Killer’s identity. Jen will have to choose between keeping her daughter safe or finding a killer, while Ruby will need to decide if becoming famous is more important than doing the right thing.

Purchase Link:
Amazon UK 
Amazon US

Q&A :

Hi

First of all thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions, I really appreciate it. Here we go! 🙂

Can you, for those who don’t know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
Since my teenage years, I’d thought of writing a book. I started many but never finished anything. That was until about five years ago when I had an idea for the start and the end of a neo-noir science fiction novel. But when I did finish, I didn’t know what to do with it, having no ambition or plan to be published. So I wrote a sequel to that book and two others in different genres.
Eventually, I ended up with The Hashtag Killer, which was shortlisted for the 2019 Big Issue/Avon, HarperCollins crime-writing competition. I was also offered a publishing contract for it but decided to publish independently for various reasons. While organising a cover designer and editor I wrote two more in the series featuring DI Jen Flowers, all three of which will be published this year.

Which books did/do you love to read as a child/now as a grown-up?
The book which probably stared my love of fiction is To Kill a Mockingbird. Science fiction and horror influenced my teenage years, so Dune and Salem’s Lot are firm favourites. My favourite book of the last few years is Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

Is there a writer whose brain you would love to pick for advice? Who would that be and why?
Stephen King because he’s the master at creating believable and engaging characters.

If you could, which fictional character (from your own book(s) or someone else’s) would you like to invite for tea and why?
Henry from The Time Traveler’s Wife so I could ask him what time travel is like.

Do you have some rituals or habits whilst writing?
I work a lot on the move, at least in the early stages of writing. Every day, I cycle when the weather isn’t trying to kill me, so that’s an excellent process for developing ideas. I’m a great believer that, if you can move around, even a little bit, it stimulates the creative parts of the brain.

Where do you come up with your idea(s)? Do people in your life need to be worried? 😉
Inspiration comes from everywhere – real life, the news, something I’m reading, obscure facts from the internet. The people in my life don’t need to be worried yet!

Are you a plotter or do you go with the flow, as a pantser?
I started as a pantser, and it worked for a while, but I found I got better results and could write faster if I plotted even just a little bit. Now, I try and have something for each chapter before I begin the first draft.

Can you give novice writers some tips (do’s/don’ts)?
Read as much as you can, especially in the genre you write in. Don’t edit as you go along. Don’t believe you have to write every day – take a break once in a while.

What are your future plans as an author?
There are two sequels to The Hashtag Killer due soon, one in April, the other in May which can be preordered now. I’ve already got a few things nearly ready to publish – the first in a paranormal trilogy which is part Buffy, part Supernatural. I’ve completed a contemporary fantasy novella which should be released this year, plus some science-fiction titles. There’s also a four-book thriller series just about ready to go.

Last, but not least : Can you give my readers one teaser from your book, which is featured here on my blog, please?
Here is the introduction to the main character in The Hashtag Killer, Detective Inspector Jen Flowers.

If you walk into a room with a fresh lick of paint, then the smell is unavoidable; it’s the same at a murder scene: the aroma of death is everywhere. It’s as if the soul of the dead occupies that space, the whole of a life lingering behind and stinking of rotting flesh. The rain made it worse, catching the death bouquet in its liquid grasp and showering the aroma far and wide; and the forensic evidence would be washed away. It was my first irritation of the day.

Isn’t that a great reason to pick up this book and to find out more?!
Thanks once again for this lovely interview, A. S. French.

The Magic of Wor(l)ds

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P.S. Are you an author (or publisher) who also wants a FREE interview like this? You can always contact me via e-mail!

#BookBlitz #LoveBooksTours @LoveBooksTours / #PromoPost : Bugger Banksy – Roy D Hacksaw @roypdelaney @EIBooksUK

– ‘The Magic of Wor(l)ds’ blog is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free. –

Today I’m on the ‘Bugger Banksy’ Book Blitz, organized by Love Books Tours.
To promote this book I have some ‘basic’ information.

About the Author :

For a council house kid from the middle of nowhere in the early eighties, the only real method of expressing yourself after leaving school was to shout very loud and bash things in a punk rock band. After stints in the nearly successful outfits DATWMF, the Beach Bums and the Cesspit Rebels, Roy remembered that an old English teacher told him he could write a bit and started up the fanzine Xerox Heaven, which was mostly about other fanzines. From there on he stumbled about doing the occasional writing gig before he found himself in London at the turn of the century editing an early student lifestyle website for Jim Kerr out of Simple Minds. That’s when he realised that he could probably start doing this larky for a living. Since then his journalistic highlights have included reviewing a noise festival in Shanghai for Metal Hammer, reporting from every Eurovision Song Contest since 1998, and answering the readers’ letters in Disney Princess magazine in the voice of Jessie The Cowgirl from Toy Story.
More recently he’s turned his hand to documentary filmmaking, and his first short film, The Bard’s Wife, was nominated for a dozen awards at festivals worldwide, and won a runners-up gong in the Whicker’s World Foundation Awards at the Sheffield Doc/Fest in 2017.
On top of that, he’s a retired semi-professional game show contestant, having appeared on shows as varied as The Weakest Link and Fifteen To One, via The Chase and Total Wipeout, to University Challenge and Mastermind, where his specialist subject was the children’s TV series Trumpton. In a case of poacher-turned-gamekeeper he now writes the questions, most notably on Tipping Point where he became the most prolific writer in the show’s history.
But he’s still happiest when he’s making a right old racket on stage in a dirty pub front of a handful of people, and is currently a member of the veteran bogroll-chucking duo Hacksaw, Bristol noise rock merchants GlueHorse, and the newly reformed eighties punk legends Chaotic Dischord.
He has absolutely no idea how he keeps getting away with all this nonsense, and fully expects to get found out for the chancer he is any day soon.
Roy was inspired to write Bugger Banksy after the illusive artist chucked up an artwork opposite his local chippy for Valentine’s Day, and he watched the unwelcome chaos that ensued for the unfortunate souls that lived on the other side of the wall.

Synopsis :

Did you ever wonder what happens to the inhabitants of a building after the artist known as Banksy leaves one of his artworks on their wall? Especially when there’s something slightly less than legal going on inside? Join Glyn and Kevin as they desperately try to keep their clandestine business secret after the world’s most famous graffiti artist makes his mark on the side of their old barn in South Wales, and their solitude is invaded by an endless parade of unlikely visitors…
Read ‘Bugger Banksy’, the hilarious new novel by Roy D. Hacksaw, punk rock drummer, fanzine editor and part-time writer, and you’ll find out!

Buy Link

The Magic of Wor(l)ds

#BlogTour #PumpUpYourBook @pumpupyourbook / #PromoPost : Brushed Off – M. Lee Musgrave @brwpublisher

– ‘The Magic of Wor(l)ds’ blog is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free. –

Today I’m on the ‘Brushed Off’ blogtour, organized by Pump Up Your Book.
To promote this book I have a some ‘basic’ information for you.

About the Author :

Author/Artist, M. Lee Musgrave holds a Master of Art degree from CSU, Los Angeles. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for Arts Fellowship. His artwork has been in solo and group exhibitions world-wide. As a Professor of Art and curator he organized hundreds of exhibitions involving artists, collectors and a variety of related enthusiast. Those many experiences and his ongoing personal art activities inform his writing about LA’s exciting art community.

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Synopsis :

Title: Brushed Off
Author: M. Lee Musgrave
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Pages: 186
Genre: Murder Mystery

Artist James Terra and his married lover Nicole find themselves in a tangled web while searching for the killer of LAs hottest artists. Homicide detective Cisco Rivas ask James for help with LAs zany art community. The case quickly turns into a quagmire of intrigue and vicious jealousy amongst the dazzling talent and wealth of schizophrenic Los Angeles. James wants Nicole to leave her husband. When another artist is murdered, she joins the hunt for the killer. A leading art collector is attacked. Cisco is pressured by influential city movers and shakers. Young emerging socialite Camille is up to her neck in strife so James and Nicole make a deal to protect her. Cisco discovers a smuggled exotic drug used by all the suspects including a stealthy porn star. James keeps everyone from knowing his health is precarious. The killer and a secret accomplice targets James, Nicole and Camille.

Amazon

The Magic of Wor(l)ds

Pump Up Your Book

#BlogTour #RachelsRandomResources @rararesources / #QandAs : Blood Loss – Kerena Swan @KerenaSwan @HobeckBooks

– ‘The Magic of Wor(l)ds’ blog is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free. –

Today I’m on the ‘Blood Loss’ blogtour, organized by Rachel’s Random Resources.
To promote this book I have a Q&As post, but before I let you read it first some ‘basic’ information.

About the Author :

We are thrilled to be introducing DI Dave Paton and his son Tommy, the stars of the first novel in Kerena Swan’s new series, to the world. Before coming to Hobeck, Kerena had published three novels, Dying To See You, Scared to Breathe and Who’s There? and has built a solid fan base around her writing career thus far. She is a juggler extraordinaire: driving forward a successful care business she runs with her husband yet finding time to write. She loves to write, here and there and everywhere when she’s not working. We don’t know how she does it but we are glad that she does! Kerena talks about her writing, her influences and how she came to Hobeck in this video.

Social Media Links:
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Synopsis :

Sarah
With one eye on the rear view mirror and the other on the road ahead, Sarah is desperate to get as far away from the remote Scottish cabin as she can without attracting attention. But being inconspicuous isn’t easy with a black eye and clothes soaked in blood…
… and now the fuel tank is empty.
DI Paton
When a body is discovered in a remote cabin in Scotland, DI Paton feels a pang of guilt as he wonders if this is the career break he has been waiting for. But the victim is unidentifiable and the killer has left few clues.
Jenna
With the death of her father and her mother’s failing health, Jenna accepts her future plans must change but nothing can prepare her for the trauma yet to come.
Fleeing south to rebuild her life Sarah uncovers long-hidden family secrets. Determined to get back what she believes is rightfully hers, Sarah thinks her future looks brighter. But Paton is still pursuing her…
… and he’s getting closer.
Kerena Swan’s brilliant novel explores how honest mistakes and human frailty can have terrifying and long-reaching consequences. It’s a tale of family ties and loyalty, revenge and redemption that you won’t want to put down.

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK 
Blood Loss will be just 99p for a limited time only!

Q&A :

Hi

First of all thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions, I really appreciate it. Here we go! 🙂

Can you, for those who don’t know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
I’ve always enjoyed writing, but throughout my career as a residential care and social work manager I’d only ever written factual documents such as policies and procedures, training courses, assessments, and reports. Sixteen years ago, I left a well-paid and secure senior management role to set up my own care company supporting children with disabilities in the community. This entailed designing all the forms and templates, writing lengthy tender applications, staff handbooks and much more. I currently employ a team of around eighty people and over the years have supported at least 800 families.
Five years ago, I almost lost my eyesight then developed cancer and suddenly realised that if I wanted to achieve my lifelong ambition of getting a book published, I’d better get on with it. I completed a novel writing course with The Writing Magazine and Dying to See You was the result. I was lucky to be given a publishing contract almost straight away. I then went on to write three more novels and a novella and am now on the fifth novel. I would love to write full-time but my care agency takes up most of my time.

Which books did/do you love to read as a child/now as a grown-up?
As a child I loved Enid Blyton and avidly read all the Mystery series – The Mystery of the Missing Cat, The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage – and can still recall the anticipation and smell of a new book after spending all my holiday pocket money on them.
Nowadays, I favour psychological thrillers and love a book that delves into people’s motivations and behaviours. Michael Robotham is a favourite of mine, especially his series featuring the criminal psychologist Jo O’Loughlin. I enjoy books that keep me hooked, teach me something and make me think.

Is there a writer whose brain you would love to pick for advice? Who would that be and why?
As I’m such a fan of Michael Robotham’s, I would like to ask how he obtains the knowledge he needs for his characters. He clearly knows his stuff when it comes to psychology and understanding human behaviours and motivations. He homes in on small details that bring his characters to life and he’s been a real inspiration for my writing. I’d love to know how he plans and writes his novels. Is he a plotter or a panster? My guess is he’s a plotter as his books are so well-structured, detailed and researched.

If you could, which fictional character (from your own book(s) or someone else’s) would you like to invite for tea and why?
I would invite Arnold Eastwood, from my novel Who’s There? for tea as he’s such fun to be with. I’d probably have to cook his favourite pizza but I’m sure he’d make me a cup of tea. Arnold sees the world with the innocence of a child yet can teach us about courage, kindness, and positivity. I managed a residential home for twenty-five adults with learning disabilities for years and the residents there became my extended family. People with Down’s syndrome were great company and I still miss them. Arnold was inspired by Bobby, a fun-loving young man who sadly died far too soon because he panicked when he realised he didn’t have his bus fare and jumped off the bus into an oncoming car. I was away training to be a social worker at the time but I was still devastated.

Do you have some rituals or habits whilst writing?
As I work full-time I have to snatch writing opportunities whenever I can. I can’t indulge in rituals or habits because I have to be totally flexible and seize the moment. Luckily, my business is in a large annexe attached to my house and I have a fantastic team so I can take time off when I have deadlines. The Covid19 pandemic has created a lot of work for me, as I’ve had to write business continuity plans, risk assessments, source PPE (personal protective equipment), testing kits and latterly the vaccines for my team. I’ve had to prioritise work over writing so make the most of every minute of every day. My other hobbies of watercolour painting and playing the piano have been set aside until everything calms down. I can honestly say I am never, ever bored!

Where do you come up with your idea(s)? Do people in your life need to be worried? 😉
A lot of my ideas come from reading news articles. I love stories about people in unusual situations or crimes with a difference. Once I have the kernel of a story I build on it then create my characters. Dying to See You was inspired by the clearances I have to do on new employees yet when we meet people in our personal lives we don’t check their backgrounds and give them access to our loved ones. Who’s There? was inspired by a course I attended about drug gangs cuckooing people with disabilities. Scared to Breathe was created from a desire to set a story in a creepy old mansion and Blood Loss was the result of reading an article about a woman whose life was turned upside down after she did a DNA test. Here She Lies was inspired by a true event in America. If anyone in my life is worried it’s my husband. His eyes widen every time he turns on the iPad to see ’10 ways to dispose of a body’ or ‘how long does it take to suffocate in a fridge.’ What freaked him out the most though was the delivery of my Little Book of Poisons. He hasn’t eaten mushroom soup since!

Are you a plotter or do you go with the flow, as a pantser?
I tried being a panster but it didn’t work for me. I got so far then thought of something else to improve the story so changed it. It then fizzled out and I wasn’t sure where I was going. I need a loose framework to build my story around. I don’t plan out every chapter in advance but if I have a rough idea I can plot three chapters at a time in a few sentences then write it out in full before moving onto the next three chapters. This gives me some freedom to be creative without coming to a blank wall. I constantly edit and re-write but I’m a fast worker and can complete a novel in six months or sooner if I’m determined enough..

Can you give novice writers some tips (do’s/don’ts)?
There is so much to learn and so many dos and don’ts. I’ve read numerous writing advice books and attended a lot of short courses and I’m still learning.
I’d say the most important thing is to build your characters early in the planning stage. What do they want in life? What are their idiosyncrasies, likes and dislikes and speech patterns? People remember characters far longer than they remember plots.
Start with action and stick with it for a while. No reader likes to be thrown out of the here and now for a load of back-story when they’re fully engaged with the present.
Start small – a diary, short stories, and blogs until you gain confidence in your ability. Write about what you know. You may not think it’s interesting but other people love getting a sneaky peak into someone else’s life.
Write for pleasure. What’s the point otherwise? Very few writers actually make a living from it. And finally, read, read, and read some more of whatever it is you plan to write.

What are your future plans as an author?
To write a long series featuring DI Paton and Tommy and to write more psychological thrillers. I’d also like to try writing books for children as I have years of experience, both personal and professional, of working with kids. I might even try specialising in books for children with disabilities. I need to reduce my working week first though.

Last, but not least: Can you give my readers one teaser from your book, which is featured here on my blog, please?

Another photo appeared, this time of the body on the floor. Paton swallowed several times. Raspberry jelly on a fruit flan. That’s what the shiny surface of the blood reminded him of. Bloody hell. Wendy had just made him one of those. When she started to feel better she always baked treats to show she was well again. He’d struggle to eat the flan now.
‘We looked at the pool of blood surrounding the body and how it had solidified at the edges,’ The crime scene manager said.
Paton’s stomach roiled and he swallowed.
‘After checking the ambient temperature of the room and the algor mortis of the deceased we’ve estimated the time of death as between 9am and 11am. We examined the knife for fingerprints but due to the amount of blood on it we were only able to find the victim’s prints and a partial print of another person. This partial is replicated on other kitchen items in the drawers, on the bed frame, coffee table and doors, which suggests the assailant was there for some time.’
That figured. Paton was confident with his theory now.

Isn’t that a great reason to pick up this book and to find out more?!
Thanks once again for this lovely interview, Kerena Swan.

The Magic of Wor(l)ds

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P.S. Are you an author (or publisher) who also wants a FREE interview like this? You can always contact me via e-mail!

#BlogTour #RandomThingsTours @RandomTTours / #Excerpt : How To Betray Your Country #HowToBetrayYourCountry – James Wolff #JamesWolff @bitterlemonpub

– ‘The Magic of Wor(l)ds’ blog is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free. –

Today I’m on the ‘How To Betray Your Country’ blogtour, organized by Random Things Tours.
To promote this book I have an excerpt, but before I let you read it first some ‘basic’ information.

About the Author :

James Wolff is an exciting new voice in literary thriller writing. He grew up in the Middle East and now lives in London. He has worked for the British government for the past ten years.

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Synopsis :

Following on from the acclaimed debut novel Beside the Syrian Sea, this is the second title in a planned trilogy about loyalty and betrayal in the modern world.
An authentic thriller about the thin line between following your conscience and following orders. James Wolff is the pseudonym of a young English novelist who “has been working for the British government for the last ten years”.
Things are looking bad for disgraced spy August Drummond. In emotional free fall after the death of his wife, fired for a series of security breaches… and now his neighbour on the flight to Istanbul won’t stop talking. The only thing keeping August sane is the hunch that there’s something not quite right about the nervous young man several rows ahead – a hunch confirmed when August watches him throw away directions to a European cemetery seconds before being detained by Turkish police. A reckless August decides to go to the cemetery, where he meets a mysterious figure from the dark heart of the Islamic State and quickly finds himself drawn into a shadowy plot to murder an Iranian scientist in Istanbul.
But nothing is what it seems, and before long August realizes he has gone too far to turn back. As he struggles to break free from the clutches of Islamic State and play off British intelligence against their Turkish counterparts, he will find his resourcefulness, ingenuity and courage tested to the very limit of what he can endure.

Amazon

Excerpt :

“You want to keep an eye on your drinking, buddy,” said the man in the seat next to him. “They might call it a bridge between East and West but these days it’s tilting towards Mecca, if you know what I mean.”
Three cups of gin, half a bag of peanuts and two visits to the toilet to get a better look at the young man four rows ahead in 34c and August Drummond still hadn’t finished cataloguing everything that was bothering him. People didn’t understand, his neighbour certainly didn’t understand: drinking wasn’t leisure in this context, drink¬ ing was work. Drinking was making sense of things, it was transformation – of details into observations, of random¬ ness into patterns. 34c’s unfamiliarity with the workings of an overhead locker, for example, or the old socks and the new shoes, or the way he took a copy of Foreign Affairs from his bag, peeled off the plastic and raced through the pages in a matter of minutes, astonished by all those words. Drinking was alchemy and magic was all around him. How else could you explain the fact that he was floating at 35,000 feet?
“Erdogan, now he’s your traditional strongman.” He lowered his voice and leaned towards August. “Locks up journalists, protestors, politicians, even schoolteachers. Make no mistake, he’s turning the clock back.”
August closed his eyes and imagined the scene: 34c waiting until his mum was watching TV downstairs – a comedy, that way he could hear her laughing, if it was EastEnders or Emmerdale he wouldn’t have a clue until she appeared on the landing. Clothes laid out on the bed, duvet ready to pull down like a shutter if the floorboard creaked. His suit still smelled of vomit from those three months working on nightclub doors but everyone knew the only kind of suit that got stopped at airports was a tracksuit. He’d bought it one size too big, had a whole pro¬ gramme of protein shakes and dawn workouts planned, but the job spat him out ten pounds lighter, what with all the fights, the banter about white boy jihadis, the jokes girls make. He’d use his mum’s razor at first light, take the beard off, apply some wax to his new haircut. It’d be a while before it stopped feeling weird putting his hand up and finding nothing there. Lonely Planet, Rough Guide and a second¬hand Fodor’s from 2007 he bought from a market stall for 50p. Look, what’s your problem, the books said, I’m just a tourist. If he’d had the money he would have bought ten, put the matter beyond doubt. I’ve always wanted to visit the Bosphorus, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, the thingy Sophia. Built in AD 537, it was originally a Greek Orthodox patriarchal basilica. Beautiful.
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t drink, buddy, Istanbul’s a party town. I’m just saying you need to be aware of the local customs. I once heard of a fella got chased by a mob for having a couple of Friday beers on the wrong street corner.”

The Magic of Wor(l)ds

#BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @maryanneyarde / #Excerpt : Songbird (The Tudor Court, Book I) #Songbird – Karen Heenan @karen_heenan #HistoricalFiction #Tudor

– ‘The Magic of Wor(l)ds’ blog is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free. –

Today I’m on the ‘Songbird’ blogtour, organized by The Coffee Pot Book Club.
To promote this book I have an excerpt, but before I let you read it first some ‘basic’ information.

About the Author :

Karen Heenan was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. She fell in love with books and stories before she could read, and has wanted to write for nearly as long. After far too many years in a cubicle, she set herself free to follow her dreams—which include gardening, sewing, traveling and, of course, lots of writing.
She lives in Lansdowne, PA, not far from Philadelphia, with two cats and a very patient husband, and is always hard at work on her next book.

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Synopsis :

Book Title: Songbird
Series: The Tudor Court, Book I
Author: Karen Heenan
Narrator: Jennifer Summerfield
Publication Date: November 3, 2019
Publisher: Authors4Authors Publishing Cooperative
Page Length: 300 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction

She has the voice of an angel…
But one false note could send her back to her old life of poverty.
After her father sells her to Henry VIII, ten-year-old Bess builds a new life as a royal minstrel, and earns the nickname “the king’s songbird.”
She comes of age in the dangerous Tudor court, where the stakes are always high, and where politics, heartbreak, and disease threaten everyone from the king to the lowliest musician.
Her world has only one constant: Tom, her first and dearest friend. But when Bess intrigues with Anne Boleyn and strains against the restrictions of life at court, will she discover that the biggest risk of all is listening to her own stubborn heart?

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Excerpt :

Setup: June, 1520. Bess has been with the court for several years. She and her dearest friend, Tom, have been given permission to visit their families prior to the entire court traveling to France for a great summit between the French and English kings. It’s her first significant contact with them since she joined the court, and the day doesn’t begin well—they’ve moved and not told her. After they visit Tom’s mother, they look for Bess’s people.

We found my parents at last in a tall, narrow house in Aldgate, smaller even than the place they left behind, but with no outward signs of disrepair. It was, Da said proudly as we followed him up the stairs, only two streets from the inn where he worked.
He led us into a chamber that seemed small due to the number of things that were crammed into it. In the myriad of coffers, stools, and tables, I saw almost nothing I remembered. Despite the new furnishings, the rushes were sticky underfoot and did not smell clean.
My mother’s appearance was surprising: prosperity took years off her age. She no longer smelled of harsh soap, and her hands were smooth with balm. She was attentive to Tom, and I compared her to his mother and was pleased with Mum’s efforts.
Madlen also showed a great interest in Tom, and I smiled at her wasted coquetry. She was seventeen, and her looks, though similar to mine, were neater and more agreeable. Her black hair was restrained under a clean linen cap, and her figure was likewise restrained by stays so tight that her breasts plumped above her square neckline like risen dough. I saw her note with a frown that my dark skirts, though plain, were of better cloth.
My parents insisted we share a meal with them and, not wanting to admit we’d already eaten, we agreed. It was a way for them to show how their lot had improved, and I was surprised at the quality of the meal my mother brought forth: it was comparable to the plain, savory food at court when there were no banqueting leftovers.
Afterward, Tom and my father stayed around the table to talk, and we cleared up. My mother and I had nothing to say to each other, and Madlen ignored me, her dark eyes on Tom. I warmed with pride that she would think him worthy, for although he had grown tall and manly in the past year, as well as being the kindest boy alive, I could not judge him by his face after knowing him for so long.
My parents asked questions about the king and court, and we tried to satisfy their curiosity. Da gathered much gossip at the inn, and the breadth of his knowledge was surprising.
“Be it true that he has taken another mistress?” my mother asked with a scornful face. “Wasn’t Mistress Blount enough?”
This was very recent news indeed. “Mary Boleyn is her name.”
“A pretty woman,” Tom added, and I looked sharply at him. Mary Boleyn was small and blonde, with soft, complaisant gray eyes.
“We’ll be leaving any day now,” I said into the silence that followed his comment. “To meet with the King of France.”
Cardinal Wolsey’s efforts had not been in vain. He had managed to arrange a face-to-face meeting between King Henry and his French counterpart. Even before it was announced, I had known the Music would accompany him, for how could he hope to properly impress the French without us?
“We’ve heard about that,” Madlen said, looking envious. “I’d love to see France. Tell us about it, Tom.”
“The entire court is upside down with preparations,” he said and told her of some of our plans. “We were fortunate to get away today.”
He did not exaggerate. I was glad to escape the flurry of packing and the fitting of new garments. Even the most menial servants were to have fresh livery for the occasion.
Soon, it was time for my father to go to work. When he rose, I took Tom’s hand, and we followed. I felt no reluctance at leaving. It was good to see them and know their lives were better without me, as mine was better without them. Madlen would be married soon, my mother informed me, her eyes glittering—the son of Forsyth, the wool merchant, had asked for her hand. This was the culmination of my mother’s dreams, and it would not have been possible for my sister to be dowered if I had remained at home.
They embraced me in turn, my father most warmly, wishing me luck in France and in life, my mother with some distraction, for as we left, a boy arrived with a note to announce a visit from Madlen’s intended. My sister embraced me last, with little grace.
“You must come see me once I am married,” she said, smiling at Tom over my head. “We shall have a lovely home.”
“I’m certain you will,” he said and put his hand on my shoulder. “We must go, Bess.”
The expression on her face remained with me on the walk back to Westminster. It looked like envy, but what did I have that Madlen could want?

The Magic of Wor(l)ds

#BookBlitz #RABTBookTours @RABTBookTours / #PromoPost : The Walls of Orion #TheWallsofOrion – T.D. Fox #TDFox @tdfoxauthor @PublishingAcorn #YoungAdult

– ‘The Magic of Wor(l)ds’ blog is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free. –

Today I’m on the ‘The Walls of Orion’ blogtour, organized by RABT Book Tours.
To promote this book I have some ‘basic’ information.

About the Author :

A world-romper from the Pacific Northwest who quite enjoys the label “crazy,” T.D. Fox supplements a hyperactive imagination with real life shenanigans to add pizzazz to her storytelling endeavors.
Armed with a bachelor’s degree in Intercultural Studies, her favorite stories to write usually involve a clash of worldviews, an unflinching reevaluation of one’s own internal compass, and an embrace of the compelling unease that arises when vastly different worlds collide.
When not recklessly exploring inner-city alleyways during midnight thunderstorms in the States, she can be found exploring rainforests without enough bug spray somewhere along the equator.

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Synopsis :

Orion City has been on lockdown for ten years. Courtney Spencer, a disillusioned barista doomed to live a “normal” life in a quarantined fishbowl, is certain she’ll never see over the Wall again.
Until one rainy evening, Courtney unintentionally befriends W, an eccentric customer who leaves a switchblade in the tip jar. The unexpected acquaintance soon opens the door to a frightening string of questions that flips everything she knows upside down. Stumbling into a world of secrets, lies, and disturbing truths, Courtney grapples with a burning temptation to look again at the Wall. Surrounded by citizens trained to ignore its looming shadow, Courtney no longer can.
Intrigued and terrified to expand her world, Courtney finds herself toeing a knife’s edge between the law and justice, learning quickly that the two are not always compatible.
She wants to cling to her morals. She also wants to stay alive. But most of all, she wants to see a certain customer again, despite everything in her whispering W is dangerous.
In a gritty urban clash of hope and fear, passion and survival, The Walls of Orion explores the edges of light, dark, and the gray in between.

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Giveaway :

3 prizes: $20, $10, and $5 Amazon cards.

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The Magic of Wor(l)ds

Book Blitz Organized By:

RABT Book Tours

#BlogTour #RachelsRandomResources @rararesources / #PromoPost : After The Storm – Isabella Muir @SussexMysteries

– ‘The Magic of Wor(l)ds’ blog is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free. –

Today I’m on the ‘After The Storm’ blogtour, organized by Rachel’s Random Resources.
To promote this book I have a some ‘basic’ information for you.

About the Author :

Isabella is never happier than when she is immersing herself in the sights, sounds and experiences of the 1960s. Researching all aspects of family life back then formed the perfect launch pad for her works of fiction. Isabella rediscovered her love of writing fiction during two happy years working on and completing her MA in Professional Writing and since then she has gone on to publish six novels, three novellas and two short story collections.
Her latest novel, After the Storm, is the second novel in a new series of Sussex Crimes, featuring retired Italian detective, Giuseppe Bianchi who is escaping from tragedy in Rome, only to arrive in the quiet seaside town of Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, to come face-to-face with it once more.
Her first Sussex Crime Mystery series features young librarian and amateur sleuth, Janie Juke. Set in the late 1960s, in the fictional seaside town of Tamarisk Bay, we meet Janie, who looks after the mobile library. She is an avid lover of Agatha Christie stories – in particular Hercule Poirot. Janie uses all she has learned from the Queen of Crime to help solve crimes and mysteries. As well as three novels, there are three novellas in the series, which explore some of the back story to the Tamarisk Bay characters.
Isabella’s standalone novel, The Forgotten Children, deals with the emotive subject of the child migrants who were sent to Australia – again focusing on family life in the 1960s, when the child migrant policy was still in force.

Social Media Links:
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Synopsis :

When a violent storm blasts England’s south coast, it’s up to retired Italian detective Giuseppe Bianchi to sift through the devastation and piece together the tragic events left behind in the storm’s wake.
Giuseppe Bianchi’s brief visit to Bexhill-on-Sea has become an extended stay. He is loath to return to his home in Rome because of the haunting images that made him leave in the first place.
During his morning walks along the seafront with Beagle, Max, he meets Edward Swain, who becomes Giuseppe’s walking companion. They form a friendship of sorts and find they have a similar outlook on life.
But the devastating events of a single night lead Giuseppe to question the truth about Edward Swain. Teaming up with young journalist, Christina Rossi – his cousin’s daughter – Giuseppe learns about the brutal reality lurking behind the day-to-day life of families in the local community. And as the story unravels Giuseppe is reminded how anger and revenge can lead to the most dreadful of crimes.
After the Storm is the second novel in the Giuseppe Bianchi mystery series – the much awaited sequel to Crossing the Line.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK 
Amazon US

The Magic of Wor(l)ds