Today is the kick-off of The Last Drive tour. I’m so pleased to be with Pete today. You can visit his post HERE.
We have been following each other for a little over three years. In that time, I’ve come to know Pete as a community-oriented, family man who is serious about getting his new novel represented and published. He has already published a book about his experiences as a teacher. It is titled They Call me Mom.
Here is a video about his book.
Pete’s book – Click for Amazon
I want to thank Pete for sharing the news about my launch and wish him well with his new Middle-Grade book Second Chance Summer.
I’ve closed the comments to save time, but I will see you at Pete’s place.
If you are looking for the Top Ten Things Not to Do post here normally, I hope I don’t disappoint you. It is time to do recognition work on my latest novel, The Last Drive.
From tomorrow until February 7th, twenty-six bloggers have graciously volunteered to host the tour. Since I only do this every two years, I hope you will support these visits and understand that my weekly posts will be postponed until after the tour is over. I want to give my hosts’ undivided attention. There is one exception. Lucy and Twiggy will still make themselves available on Saturdays instead of Stream of Consciousness Saturday, and Views of the Neighborhood will be on Sundays, as usual. These two days are available because no tour stops are scheduled on weekends.
During the tour, comments here will be closed so that you don’t have to comment in two places.
I hope you find the tour interesting since I’ve included different excerpts at each stop. In fact, if you come to each visit, you will be able to read enough of the book to determine if you like it.
Here is the trailer and blurb as a reminder. Thanks so much for your understanding and support.
Blurb
In the sequel to Eternal Road – The final stop, Sam and James are reunited to look for two souls, Ryan and Eddie. Ryan was killed in Afghanistan, trying to avoid a schoolyard with his crippled plane. Eddie Rickenbacker, Ryan’s hero, is to guide Ryan to his Eternal Home, and now both are missing.
The higher-ups believe that there has been some interference in Ryan and Eddie’s journey by Lucifer, so Sam and James have the task of finding Ryan and Eddie to get them back on the road despite the evil interference. Unfortunately, the machinations designed to prevent Ryan and Eddy from completing their journey take the pair to horrifying testing grounds. The places visited represent the best work of the Devil. They are the trenches of World War I in France, gladiators at the Roman Coliseum, the sinking Titanic in 1912, Hiroshima 45 minutes before the bomb, and the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1943.
This book is for you if you like plenty of action, strong characters, time travel, and a touch of spiritual and historical fiction. So, join Sam and James as they try to find the missing souls while staying one step ahead of the Prince of Darkness, who is determined to destroy all that is good.
I am happy to welcome Fellow Story Empire colleague and friend Jan Sikes to Fiction Favorites. She has a new book and is here to tell us about it. So the blog is yours, Jan.
Thank you, John, for offering your blog to promote my new book, Saddled Hearts. I am excited to be here and share with your followers.
While my story is set on a horse ranch, it is also a horse rescue center. Colt Layne is dedicated to saving horses from slaughter. He had decided to turn the ranch into a sanctuary for abused and neglected animals after he inherited the ranch from his grandfather. It was a tribute to the man who raised him and provided a good life.
There is one scene in the story where Colt receives a delivery—a horse that no one can ride or control. I’ll share a snippet of that scene with you.
Excerpt:
Colt stood in front of the quarantine barn early the next morning with two of his ranch hands. He used hand signals to direct the driver of the horse trailer as he backed it up slowly.
When he came to a stop, the man jumped out of the truck cab. “You Colt Layne?”
“That’s me.” Colt extended his hand.
“Need you to sign here for the delivery.”
As he scribbled his name across the form, angry squeals and neighing from inside the trailer raised the hair on Colt’s neck.
One of the ranch hands unlatched the door, then swung it open.
“Got a mean one in there. Been on the rodeo circuit for a few years.” The driver squinted against the morning sun. “It took five guys to load him. So be careful.”
Colt strode to the back of the trailer. There was no mistaking the angry stamping of hooves against the wooden floor and the high-pitched squealing. “I’ll get that one, boys.” He turned to the driver. “What’s his name?”
The driver looked down at the paper in his hands. “Says here it’s Ghost.”
Colt waited until the other three horses were safely inside the barn before stepping up into the trailer. “Whoa, boy. Easy. Easy, Ghost.” He extended his hand toward the gray stallion.
The horse responded by rearing up on his hind legs as much as the trailer and rope holding him would allow. He tossed his head from side to side, whinnied loud and long, and pounded his hooves hard against the trailer floor.
“It’s okay, boy.” Colt approached one small step at a time. “No one’s going to hurt you. Whoa.”
The stallion laid back his ears and bucked against the rope holding him. The whites of his eyes spoke of fear, anger, and distrust.
Drawing in a slow breath, Colt took another step closer, then dodged as the horse attempted to kick him. Keeping his voice soft and steady, he extended his hand and changed position to approach from the side. “Easy, Ghost. Easy. I’m not going to hurt you.”
The horse flicked his ears and snorted.
The deep-seated distrust of humans that Colt saw in the horse’s eyes sickened him. Someone had been brutal in their treatment of this magnificent animal.
***
It breaks my heart to see any animal abused. My oldest daughter has two rescue dogs. The first one, Ginger, was so terrified of everyone, it was heartbreaking. It has taken a long time, but she’s finally decided no one is going to hurt her and has relaxed a little. I know many of you have rescue animals as well. Do you have any stories you want to share? Let’s chat.
BOOK BLURB:
Colt Layne owns the Layne Horse Sanctuary. He lives an idyllic life between caring for the animals and playing music with his band. That is, until a stranger appears with unreasonable demands. When someone murders the man, Colt is arrested. He’s been framed, but by whom and why?
He needs to talk with his deceased grandfather. But that’s impossible. Or is it?
Sage Coventry is gifted with the ability to communicate with the deceased. Skeptical but desperate, when Colt consults with her, he gets more than messages from beyond the grave as she breezes into his heart with sweet patchouli fragrance and tempting lips he longs to kiss.
The race against time to clear his name and save the ranch launches them on a mission that brings shocking revelations.
“Don’t mind her boss. She has the attention span of a gnat.”
“Well, we are helping to introduce Teagan’s latest book.”
“Gee Lucy. Maybe we can con Teagan into some treats.”
“Well, gang here is Teagan’s latest. It’s called Dead of Winter – Journey 1 Forelorn Peak.”
“I already like the sound of that. How about you, Lucy?
“I think the cover is terrific. What is the book about?”
“Well, here is a little about the book. I’ll read the blurb.”
Dead of Winter takes place in a fantasy world that resembles some countries in the past of our own world. In this monthly series, we travel through many lands, each with a distinct culture. The adventure begins in the Flowing Lands at Forlorn Peak.
The Brethren are fanatics who gradually took over the Flowing Lands. They say all beliefs, but theirs are heresy. Women are little more than property. Emlyn is only twelve, but to the Brethren, she is an abomination. Why? She can see ghosts and other things. That’s a secret she can admit only to her teacher, Osabide.
The stronger Emlyn’s ability gets, the harder it is for her to hide it. Now she has also gotten a supernatural warning that she knows is not about the weather, “Winter is coming!”
As the veil between the world of the living from the realm of the dead deteriorates, the danger accelerates. Journey with Emlyn as she explores her world in Dead of Winter.
“That sounds like a winner. I certainly would put that on my TBR if I had one.”
“You don’t have to worry about a TBR Little One. You can’t read anyway.”
“That is true for sure, Lucy. Where can those who do read find this book?”
“One last thing. Teagan will be releasing the series monthly, so everyone should keep an eye out for future issues.”
“I, for one, want to wish Teagan the best with her series.”
“Me too, Little One. Her stories are always so good.”
“How do you know? You can’t read.”
“The boss reads them to me.”
“Hey, wait a minute. I call it unfair. When’s my turn?”
“When you can stay up past eight o’clock.”
“Oh. Well, okay. Tell us a little about Teagan.”
“Here’s her bio and a short video.”
Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene lives in a “high desert” town in the Southwest of the USA.
Teagan had always devoured fantasy novels of every type. Then one day, there was no new book readily at hand for reading — so she decided to write one. And she hasn’t stopped writing since.
Her work is colored by her experiences from living in the southern states and the desert southwest. Teagan most often writes in the fantasy genre, but she also writes cozy mysteries. Whether it’s a 1920s mystery, a steampunk adventure, or urban fantasy, her stories have a strong element of whimsy.
Founder of the Three Things method of storytelling, her blog “Teagan’s Books” contains serial stories written according to “things” from viewers. http://www.teagansbooks.com
Major influences include Agatha Christie, Terry Brooks, David Eddings, Robert Jordan, and Charlaine Harris.
I am so pleased to have Staci Troilo on Fiction Favorites today. Stacie has a five-book launch going right now and I’m proud to have her with me today. Staci is also a member of Story Empire. Staci the post is yours.
Ciao, John. Many thanks for inviting me here today. I’m super excited to be here. And hello to all your visitors!
I’m here today to talk about my Astral Conspiracy series. It’s technically science fiction, as it’s part of the acclaimed Platt and Truant Invasion Universe, but my saga is as much thriller as it is sci-fi, so I thought I’d have a little fun with my marketing and include pages from the top-secret government files on my main characters.
Today, I’m sharing info on Nixon Beck.
DOSSIERName: Nixon Beck
Occupation: Director, US Government AATIP (Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program)
Of Note: No information found
TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW BETWEEN AUTHOR (Staci Troilo a.k.a. D.L. Cross) AND CHARACTER (AATIP Director Nixon Beck) ON ASTRAL DAY (the day the world is alerted to the approach of alien ships) via video conference. (Video is eyes-only, file #4261918-V, director’s approval required.)
Subject photo available, file #4261918-GStaci: Hello, Director. Thank you for taking a minute to speak with me.
Beck: You have literally one minute. Go.
Staci: Oh. Okay. Well. Can you tell me what AATIP is planning to do when the aliens get here?
Beck: No.
Staci: (blinks a few times) No, you can’t tell me because AATIP doesn’t have a plan? Or, no, you can’t tell me because I don’t have clearance? Because I do have clearance.
Beck: (glances at watch then back into the camera; says nothing)
Staci: Okay. Well, I understand this isn’t the first time aliens have come to Earth. In fact, I have it on good authority that the US government has at least one in custody and has for a long time.
Beck: (stares into camera; says nothing)
Staci: Can you confirm that?
Beck: No.
Staci: No, you can’t confirm that? Or no, you don’t intend to because I don’t have clearance? Because, as I said earlier—
Beck: You do have clearance.
Staci: Yes. I can offer you proof, if you require it.
Beck: Do you honestly think you know something I don’t? I agreed to talk to you because you have clearance.
Staci: But you aren’t talking to me.
Beck: Because I know you’re recording this video interview, and I don’t know who you plan on sharing it with. Let me explain something to you, Ms. Troilo. You may have been cleared to talk to me, and I may have been asked to talk to you, but your audience has zero clearance. So, you’re lucky I said as much as I did.
Staci: But you haven’t said anything.
Beck: (more blinking)
Staci: Okay. Well, can you tell me what your roll is at AATIP, precisely?
Beck: That’s redacted. And your minute is up.
Staci: Director— (but his screen was already dark)
Beck makes his debut in the Astral Conspiracy series in book one, The Gate. You can read a brief synopsis of all five books below, and each one has links to its product page and a purchase link.
The Gate: When the hypotheses of disgraced ancient alien theorist Landon Thorne prove to be true, he travels across the globe in search of a way to communicate with—and perhaps stop—the approaching alien armada.
Full Blurb | Purchase LinkThe Stones: The invasion couldn’t be prevented, but there is a chance the Astrals can be driven away… if Landon Thorne can reach the Georgia Guidestones, unearth its secrets, and decode the mystery before the aliens stop him.
Full Blurb | Purchase LinkThe Nine: Landon Thorne and his team of resistance fighters seek a cipher to decode the message accompanying a cache of alien artifacts they’ve unearthed, but the government, a clandestine cabal, and the Astrals themselves stand in their way and might not only put an end to their plans—they might put an end to their lives.
Full Blurb | Purchase LinkThe Twins: When all factions converge for a human-versus-alien showdown, resistance fighter Reverie Sterling gets help from the least likely source. But even then, it may be too late for everyone she loves to make it out alive.
Full Blurb | Purchase LinkThe Lab: In the final showdown between Earthlings and Astrals, twins Asha and Vonn insist their long-lost grandfather has a plan to save humanity. It’s a long-shot, but the resistance takes it—and no one is prepared for the consequences.
Full Blurb | Purchase LinkAbout Staci Troilo/D.L. Cross
D.L. Cross has loved science fiction ever since she was a young girl and fell for Major Don West on television’s Lost in Space. To this day, she still quotes the show, though her favorite lines were spoken by the robot and the antagonist. Parallel universes or alternate realities, aliens or dinosaurs, superpowers or super viruses, time travel or AI… no sci-fi theme is off limits and all of them fascinate her. D.L. Cross also writes other genre fiction under the name Staci Troilo, and you can find more information about all her identities and all her work at her website: https://stacitroilo.com.
Connect online:
Website | Blog | Troilo Amazon | Cross AmazonTroilo BookBub | Cross BookBub | Troilo Goodreads | Cross GoodreadsSocial Media
Thanks again for hosting me today, John. And thanks to all of your fans for welcoming me. This post was as fun to write as the stories were, and I appreciate you taking the time to read it. Grazie!
I am so pleased to have Fellow Story Empire member and author Marcia Meara with me today. She is here to discuss Book Three of her Emissary Series. Marcia the floor is yours. (Well, the walls too.)
Thanks so much for having me here today, John. I’m pretty excited to be sharing the news of my latest release with you and your followers, and I’d like to take a moment to chat about angels in today’s fiction.
I don’t know how many of you have noticed, but angels on book covers in recent years do not look like they did when I saw pictures of them in Sunday school. Nope. Not at all. For one thing, they aren’t wearing robes and carrying harps. Mostly, they’re bare-chested with those washboard abs that are so admired these days. This always leaves me wondering how they have time for typical angelic duties, what with all those workouts over at the Cloud 9 Gym. (Poor Clarence from “It’s a Wonderful Life” was robbed. 😉 )
And though the term “Nephilim” is mentioned in Genesis, and sometimes defined as the offspring of an angel and a mortal, that was another concept that wasn’t bandied about much in popular fiction decades ago.
Regardless, love affairs between humans and angels, with or without offspring, are themes that have been pretty popular in many of today’s romance and urban fantasy novels. With those trends in mind, I had a lot to think about before beginning my Emissary trilogy. Just how did I want to approach my own angelic-themed tales?
My decision was to go in a very different direction. While this little fantasy doesn’t pretend to be any kind of serious religious work at all, I still wanted my featured angel to be very different from most I’ve seen gracing book covers today.
Is Azrael’s chest finely sculpted and utterly swoon-worthy? I have no idea. He wears a long white robe. Always. Even on the beach. But one thing I know for sure—he doesn’t cavort with mortal women. Ever.
Azrael is the archangel in charge of all things connected to helping souls cross over into Heaven after death, and he has always had far more important things on his mind than any sort of tom-foolery like that—especially in recent years. Due to the drastic over-population of the planet, the constant strife between countries, and the plethora of unsavory temptations everywhere mortals look, Azrael’s current problem is what to do about angels being desperately overworked. In an attempt to ease this impossible situation, the archangel believes hired help is the answer. He decides to form a team of emissaries from Heaven-bound souls he’ll pull directly out of line at the Pearly Gates.
Jake Daughtry is his first choice. Giving him some new powers, including a limited form of immortality and an ability to help humans avoid making very bad choices, Azrael sent his first emissary back to earth on a sort of trial run. It goes better than the angel expected, and before too long, Jake is joined by a second recruit named Dodger. From that point on, the growing Emissarial Team has been Azrael’s main focus. That, and trying to keep the disapproving Council of Angels from ending his experimental program outright.
Over the course of my three novellas, the archangel’s stern and righteous character has expanded to encompass a new understanding of human beings, and his strong connection to his two first emissaries has resulted in some surprising insights on his part. But though he has gained a lot more understanding of mortals and his temperament has mellowed somewhat, Azrael continues to enjoy seeing Jake’s startled reaction when he pops up behind him unexpectedly. And he still has not learned to use contractions.
Azrael’s emissarial program was growing daily, but it still met with stubborn opposition from many on the Council of Angels. Dodger’s request to be allowed to experience what falling in love was all about didn’t help matters, but Azrael thought the boy was onto something. He agreed emissaries who’d shared a loving relationship during their mortal lives would have a deeper understanding of human emotions and motivations, thus enhancing the skills they needed to do their jobs.
With that in mind, Azrael gave Dodger one chance to search for true love. He then laid down a daunting set of stringent rules and guidelines that could not be broken under any circumstances lest dire happenings occur. But while the angel sincerely hoped Dodger would find a way to make this endeavor work, he feared an avalanche of unintended consequences could be in store for his youngest emissary.
Sometimes even angels hate to be right.
Click Image for Amazon
~~~
Will Azrael ever tire of popping up behind Jake just to see his first emissary fall out of his chair in shock? Will sharp-eyed motel owners ever notice a big red and white semi mysteriously appearing and disappearing from their parking lots overnight? And will Dodger be able to track down the mystery girl who caught his eye two weeks earlier to see if she’s really The One?
To find the answers to these and other angelic or emissarial questions, come along on one last adventure with Jake, Dodger, and that ginormous, glowy-eyed archangel, Azrael. They’re waiting for you!
Click Image for Amazon
Bio
Marcia Meara lives in central Florida, just north of Orlando, with her husband of over thirty years and four big, spoiled cats.
When not writing or blogging, she spends her time gardening, and enjoying the surprising amount of wildlife that manages to make a home in her suburban yard. She enjoys nature. Really, really enjoys it. All of it! Well, almost all of it, anyway. From birds, to furry critters, to her very favorites, snakes. The exception would be spiders, which she truly loathes, convinced that anything with eight hairy legs is surely up to no good. She does not, however, kill spiders anymore, since she knows they have their place in the world. Besides, her husband now handles her Arachnid Catch and Release Program, and she’s good with that.
Spiders aside, the one thing Marcia would like to tell each of her readers is that it’s never too late to make your dreams come true. If, at the age of 69, she could write and publish her first book (and thus fulfill 64 years of longing to do that very thing), you can make your own dreams a reality, too. Go for it! What have you got to lose?
Today I’m with Miriam Hurdle at her blog The Showers of Blessings. We have a new, and I might add the last excerpt from Eternal Road – The last stop. Come on over. Miriam also has some food and drinks so there’s no reason not to go. Here is the link.
“Hi, I’m Miriam Hurdle. I grew up in Hong Kong, where I finished college and worked for several years before coming to the United States. While in Hong Kong, I taught Chinese as a Second Language in the Hong Kong Baptist University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. I was also the Director of Children’s Department for Asian Outreach, where I published four Children’s books.
In 1977, I came to the United States for my graduate studies and received three master’s degrees in Education, Counseling, and School Administration, as well as earned a Doctor of Education from La Verne University in California. I worked two years as a rehabilitation counselor, then went into education. After teaching in California public school for fifteen years, I was promoted to a school district administrative position, which kept me busy for ten years before retirement. The retirement made life easier since I survived a stage IV melanoma cancer.
In my retired life, I enjoy volunteer counseling, reading, writing, blogging, singing, drawing, watercolor painting, gardening, photographing, and traveling. I’m married to Lynton Hurdle, have one married daughter, one two and a half years old granddaughter, and the second granddaughter is on her way.
I love writing poetry. Some of my poems have appeared in four anthologies: Letter to Gaia, Whispers & Echoes Issue 2, Whispers & Echoes Issue 3, and Outcast & More Words.
I created my blog in 2011 but only wrote twelve posts from 2011 to 2014. My blogging didn’t take off until July 2016. At that time, I was to write about my cancer and recovery experiences. It has become further and wider than expected. I have been writing short memoir, poetry, short stories, flash fiction, family stories, travel journey, and post photography.
When I gained energy during the recuperation, I joined several writing and publishing groups. The Publishing group has retired professionals help each other to publish. Being around the writers and helpers was an encouragement for me to publish the first Book, Songs of Heartstrings–Poems of Gratitude and Beatitude, published in October 2018. The poems reflect different stages in my life, and it is storytelling in poetry form. I used my photography and watercolor paintings to illustrate the poems. The following watercolor paintings are two of several paintings included in the book.
I took part in an Anthology publication. My article about the cancer was included in the UNDERSTANDING: An Anthology of True and Significant Life Events, compiled by Stevie Turner, which was published in early April 2019.
Today I am with Vashti Q Vega on her blog, The Writer Next Door. We have a new excerpt from Eternal Road – The Final Stop. Come on over. Here is the link.
Vashti Quiroz-Vega is a writer of Fantasy, Horror, and Thriller. Since she was a kid, she’s always had a passion for writing and telling stories. It has always been easier for her to express her thoughts on paper.
She enjoys reading almost as much as she loves to write. Some of her favorite authors are Stephen King, Michael Crichton, Anne Rice, J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, and George R. R. Martin.
She enjoys making people feel an array of emotions with her writing. She likes her audience to laugh one moment, cry the next and clench their jaws after that.
When she isn’t building extraordinary worlds and fleshing out fascinating characters, she enjoys spending time with her husband, JC, and her Pomeranian Scribbles, who is also her writing buddy.
Hello, my name is Robbie, short for Roberta. I am an author with seven published children’s picture books in the Sir Chocolate books series for children aged 2 to 9 years old (co-authored with my son, Michael Cheadle), one published middle grade book in the Silly Willy series and one published preteen/young adult fictionalised biography about my mother’s life as a young girl growing up in an English town in Suffolk during World War II called While the Bombs Fell (co-authored with my mother, Elsie Hancy Eaton). All of my children’s books are written under Robbie Cheadle and are published by TSL Publications.
I have recently branched into adult and young adult horror and supernatural writing and, in order to clearly differential my children’s books from my adult writing, I plan to publish these books under Roberta Eaton Cheadle. My first supernatural book published in that name, Through the Nethergate, is now available.
I have participated in a number of anthologies:
Two short stories in #1 Amazon bestselling anthology, Dark Visions, a collection of horror stories edited by Dan Alatorre;
Three short stories in Death Among Us, an anthology of murder mystery stories, edited by Stephen Bentley;
Three short stories in #1 Amazon bestselling anthology, Nightmareland, a collection of horror stories edited by Dan Alatorre; and
Two short stories in Whispers of the Past, an anthology of paranormal stories, edited by Kaye Lynne Booth.
I also have a book of poetry called Open a new door, with fellow South African poet, Kim Blades.
Today I’m with Lauren Scott at her blog titled, Baydreamer. We have a new excerpt from Eternal Road – The final stop, so come on over. Here is the link.
I can’t say I’m anyone special, except to those in my circle. I’m not a famous actress, singer, comedienne, chef, or entrepreneur. You won’t see my face on the big screen or TV. My name is Lauren, and I’m an ordinary woman on this mysterious planet. I’ve recently turned fifty-nine, am happily married for thirty-one years, and have two amazing adult children, a daughter, and son. Out of our litany of pets, we still play home to our nearly ten-year-old chocolate lab mix, Copper. After typing the last few sentences, my life actually appears to be far from ordinary. It feels extraordinary, even with the many hurdles I’ve jumped over to get to this stage in life – a life that is not devoid of struggles.
I devote most of my free time to writing, and any aspect in life can provide inspiration, not singling out any one emotion. I hope something that I’ve shared resonates with you, maybe even helps in a small way, brings joy, or serves as reassurance that whatever you’re going through, you are not alone.
I have also published two collections of poetry, New Day, New Dreams, and Finding a Balance. More information can be found on the Published Works tab, if you’re interested in purchasing copies.
