with John W. Howell
(1) Kindle Reader Winner
(2) Winners of eBook “Gift Baskets” of ALL ebooks
Other Winners of individual ebooks or paperbacks (randomly selected)
I am so pleased to be featured on Sally’s blog today. She has a feature that gives an author the opportunity to share an excerpt for one of their books. The Last Drive is being featured with an excerpt starring the one and only Lucifer and the antagonist.
A visit to Sally’s place is a treat and worth the time to look around and experience all that Sally has to offer. Sally is a big supporter of Indie authors and a fabulous author too. Thank you Sally for your kind support.
Today I am at Teri Polen’s place, participating in her Bad Moon Rising feature. This feature is an annual event bringing together authors for the entire month. Teri has a set of questions that the authors can select to answer. The results are fun and often surprising. Come visit at https://teripolen.com/2023/10/11/badmoonrising-the-last-drive-by-john-w-howell-supernatural-thriller-historical/
Teri Polen reads and watches horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. The Walking Dead, Harry Potter, and anything Marvel-related are likely to cause fangirl delirium. She lives in Bowling Green, KY, with her husband, sons, and black cat. Sarah, her debut novel, was named a horror finalist in the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
Her Books
Thanks for hosting, Teri.
I just returned from the family outing and want to share that Sally G. Cronin is featuring The Last Drive on her Share An Excerpt series of her Smorgasbord Book Promotions 2023.
Sally is the most supportive person of indie authors currently on the planet. A regular visit to her blog will keep you thoroughly updated on what is going on with health, humor, and all things authorly. She also has terrific books to check out as well.
So, head over and wander around her place. Here is the link.
I have disabled comments, but Sally would be delighted to hear from you at her place.
I am delighted to welcome Craig Boyack to my blog. Craig is a highly creative and talented writer. He can create stories out of totally fictional situations and character types. The hallmark of his books is the reader will find unusual circumstances wrapped in a plausible yet outrageous story and served up with humor and excitement. Craig has written a four-book series that is called The Hat series. I have read The Hat and Viral Blues. In addition, I have Mrs. Malony and Lunar Boogie on my Kindle. I wondered why I haven’t read them yet but put it down to a large TBR pile. I think I’ll move them up.
Craig and I have known each other for a while, and we are both members of the Story Empire crew. I looked up the first time Craig visited my blog, and it was October 2015. He was promoting his book titled Will ‘O Wisp. (You should get that one, too.). Enough of my blather. Here’s Craig to tell us about what he is planning. Oh yes. My regular post is delayed for two hours to give Craig some breathing room for his message.
Thanks for having me back, John. I’m trying something different this month. I’ve never had a series to promote before, and with four volumes now, it seems like The Hat Series qualifies. There are four weeks this month, so I’m talking about a volume per week.
There’s a blurb down below that covers the whole series for now. This week’s title is Lunar Boogie. This is the newest volume of the series, but your readers shouldn’t worry about that. Each volume is capable of standing alone, and it’s as good an entry point into the series as any other.
Lizzie and the hat form a symbiotic relationship that allows them to do more than either of them could accomplish alone. This allows them to form a small cover band to make a living, and to fight monsters at night. This time they’re on the trail of a werewolf.
The werewolf really is one of the most tragic monsters, because the human has no idea what he/she does a couple of nights per month. Because it’s more animalistic, getting the wolf to come to one of their musical events isn’t likely to happen.
This puts Lizzie and the hat into some dark and dangerous corners of the city. The police think they’re chasing a serial killer, so some effort has to go into keeping them alive and not getting arrested at the same time. Getting the werewolf to stalk Lizzie might be a better solution than wandering around and trying to find it.
There is an urban legend that keeps growing around their adventures. The creature known as Hellpox doesn’t exist, but gets credit for everything our heroes do. The legend grows via a program called Night Bump Radio. It adds a fun dimension to the tales in an era when everyone has a cell phone and even some intersections have cameras.
This series has Halloween written all over it, and it’s October. It’s designed to be dark humor, and shorter novels for quick, fun reading. If you think chasing a werewolf is what Halloween is all about, this might be the story for you.
Universal link for the series: http://mybook.to/The-Hat-Series
Blurb: The Hat Series is my opportunity to have a little fun, and readers seem to be enjoying themselves, too. The series fits into a variety of pigeonholes as all stories do. If you’re looking for supernatural, paranormal, or urban fantasy, with a dose of dark humor, this might be the series you’re looking for.
Lizzie St. Laurent is a hard-working twenty-something. She’s struggling with the issues of being a young adult, but also dealing with the supernatural world. After her grandmother died, she tried to get a memento from the estate. Her greedy uncle refused to share, so in desperation, she stole a box from the moving van.
Her treasure turned out to be an old hat that belonged to her grandfather. Not exactly the knickknack she was hoping for. This isn’t any ordinary hat. He’s actually a being from another dimension who was brought here by witchcraft. He has a few magical skills, but also some more ordinary ones. He can transport her to a cabin, deep in the forest, among other things. A bit more ordinary is his ability to play the upright bass, but only if he has a human host to manipulate. He’s also a shapeshifter, but is limited to always being a hat of some kind.
The hat has been in Lizzie’s family for centuries, and all of his partners have been monster hunters. Their symbiotic relationship also created an additional income stream for Lizzie. They formed a small cover band, which tends to get them out at night when monster hunting is more productive.
I put all kinds of strange things into these stories to make them fun. My section breaks have all been replaced with a series of bass clefs. I also include silly graphics in various locations to enhance the tales. You’ll find tons of snark mixed in with your blood and adventure.
These are short novels, designed for a single afternoon. While it is a series, they can be read as stand-alone tales. If one of the other volumes is your entry-point, I don’t think you’ll feel lost.
If this sounds like something to make your October complete, I’d appreciate you checking it out.
Thank you Craig for making the trip to Texas. I wish you much success with your promotion. Now here is a little about Craig and where you can find him
Blog My Novels Twitter Goodreads Facebook Pinterest BookBub
In case you missed the announcement, Eternal Road – The final stop e-book is on sale on US Amazon through Wednesday, March 24 at midnight Eastern Time. Here is the link
Eternal Road – The final stop has 26 ratings for an average of 4.8.
This special is being featured on Ereader News Today. You can also go here to take a look at other books being featured.
The blurb.
James Wainwright picks up a hitchhiker and discovers two things 1. The woman he picks up is his childhood sweetheart, only Seventeen years older. 2. He is no longer of this world.
James began a road trip alone in his 1956 Oldsmobile. He stops for a hitchhiker to discover she is his childhood sweetheart, Sam, who disappeared seventeen years before. James learns from Sam falling asleep miles back caused him to perish in a one-car accident. He also comes to understand that Sam was taken and murdered all those years ago, and now she has come back to help him find his eternal home.
The pair visit several times and places and are witness to several historical events. The rules dictate that they do no harm to the time continuum. Trying to be careful, they inadvertently come to the attention of Lucifer, who would love to have their souls as his subjects. They also find a threat to human survival and desperately need to put in place the fix necessary to save mankind.
The question becomes, will James find his eternal home in grace or lose the battle with Satan for his immortal soul and the future of human life with it? If you like time-travel, adventure, mystery, justice, and the supernatural, this story is for you.
I am so pleased to have Harmony Kent visit Fiction Favorites. I have known Harmony for a number of years and it gives me great pleasure to see her with me today. So, Harmony the post is all yours.
Thanks so much for having me over at your place today, John.
Hi everyone. It’s great to be visiting with you all.
While I’m here, I’d like to talk about my latest book, Interludes 2. This is a book of short erotic romance fiction. As with the original Interludes (which you can find HERE), the book contains 10 short stories, with the first tale totalling 1,000 words, the second one totalling 2,000, and so on up to 10,000 words in the final story.
For each story, I used prompt cards from a great creative tool called Storymatic. Here’s what the set gave me to work with:
conflict = hiding spot is discovered
A and B relate to the main character. C relates to the secondary character. And the final prompt gives us the conflict.
From the above set of prompts, I came up with Nudist Camp—a contemporary romance in 5000 words.
An older woman. A younger man. A gossip discovers their secret tryst. What will happen when it all gets laid bare?
Excerpt from Nudist Camp:
Too soon, it was finished. Too quickly, the guilt sprang upon her. ‘Jordan …’
He sat up with her and held a finger to her lips. ‘Let’s not.’
She nodded. Whatever it was they had just shared, it was fine with her to keep it in its own little bubble. They didn’t have to dissect it or repeat it. A moment of madness, that’s all. Awkwardness filled the air between them, and the inch or so of space between them felt like a mile.
Jordan rubbed at his eyes and then jumped to his feet. He held out a hand and helped her to stand too. Then he rested his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. ‘You’re sure you’re okay?’
Chloe nodded. ‘Maybe too okay.’
Jordan nodded and planted a soft kiss on her mouth, then he turned and loped off into the trees in the direction from which he’d come. Not sure what to do with herself or how to be, she stood there for a few seconds. And then another bee bumbled along and brought her back to her senses.
Aware of the dirt and debris that clung to her sweaty skin, Chloe brushed herself off with the flats of her palms. Around her, the forest lay quiet, as if holding its breath. Probably, their amorous yells had startled the wildlife. Nervous and wanting to get to her cabin so that she could shower off, Chloe followed the trail back to the camp. Her foot smarted, and she limped to favour it.
Happily, she made it back without seeing anyone else. Chloe let herself into her cabin and headed straight for the shower room, but no amount of steam or hot water could make her feel clean or whole. While, of course, she’d enjoyed herself, she shouldn’t have gone there, not with Jordan. God, even hairy Harry would have been better. The thought made her shudder and reconsider. No, she wouldn’t go that far. Hairy Harry was the lech of the camp and known for his loose tongue. If you had a secret to keep, he was not the man to confide in. He loved to gossip. Oh, God … imagine if he’d seen them. Another shudder rattled her, and she turned up the heat on the spray.
I had so much fun writing this one, and I hope you’ve enjoyed this little teaser. I’d love to hear what you think via the comments at the bottom of the page. Thanks for stopping by.
Interludes 2 Blurb
From author, Harmony Kent, another best-selling collection of short erotic fiction that will tickle more than your taste buds and wet [sic] more than your appetite.
With a range of genres and styles, this book has enough steam for everyone.
WIGGING OUT—contemporary romance in 1000 words. Two strangers. A crowded platform. A collision. And a wig on the floor.
STORM CHASER—ménage à trois in 2000 words. A sabotaged tire. A raging storm. Passion mounts.
MOON-STRUCK—shifter romance in 3000 words. Trapped on a ship orbiting the moon, a horny astronaut falls for a hunky author who has a secret.
THE CLUB—contemporary romance in 4000 words. An invitation and a host, who is so much more than he seems, bring excitement, enticement, and a choice to make.
NUDIST CAMP—contemporary romance in 5000 words. An older woman. A younger man. A gossip discovers their secret tryst. What will happen when it all gets laid bare?
INITIATION—contemporary romance in 6000 words. A pretty daydreamer arrives for her first day at university. A brutal initiation, and a man with an unusual issue, leave her reeling. Strange, the places you find true love.
THE INCOMER—contemporary romance in 7000 words. A divorced beekeeper has spent her whole life in or around her local village. Then a city-slicker architect comes to town. When two worlds collide, a big bang is sure to follow. Can you have a frenemy with benefits?
DOWN AND DIRTY—contemporary romance in 8000 words. On the run from a sadistic ex-husband, Ellie flees to a remote mountain town and takes a job in the mines. Wary of men, she resolves to keep herself aloof, but mother nature has a way of having the last word and will, quite literally, make the earth move if she has to.
REUNION—contemporary romance in 9000 words. A school reunion looms. Not wanting to arrive sad and single, Molly talks her long-time friend Adam into going with her. While the music plays, the sparks fly.
SOUL MATES—supernatural romance in 10,000 words. A bereaved woman seeks solace in remote woodland. All too soon, she discovers that she’s not as alone as she’d expected. And her heart isn’t the only one that needs to mend.
READER ADVISORY: This book contains explicit sex scenes and language hot enough to melt your book. For mature readers only.
Author Bio
After spending around thirteen years as an ordained Buddhist monk, living in a Zen Buddhist temple, and six years after a life-changing injury following a surgical error, Harmony Kent returned to the world at the tender age of forty.
Now, she 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’s even won a few awards. Harmony lives in rural Cornwall with her adorable husband, ever-present sense of humour, and quirky neighbours.
Harmony is passionate about supporting her fellow authors.
Links
Website: https://harmonykent.co.uk/
Story Empire (co-authored): https://storyempirecom.wordpress.com/
Amazon Author Page: author.to/HarmonysBooks
Twitter: @harmony_kent
LinkedIn: Harmony
Goodreads: Author Page
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/harmony-kent
Interludes 2 Pre-order Link: mybook.to/Interludes2
Gwen and I are with Mary Adler today. Mary is hosting us to bring the news of The Contract to her readers. Mary is a writer and very supportive of Indie authors. A visit to her site will give you an idea of just how. Here is the link to her blog.
About Mary in her words.
I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, quite a long time ago. When I was six or seven, I moved to northern California, where my dog and I disobeyed orders and spent afternoons exploring the bay. We found rocks and shells, crabs and fish. I touched the sandpaper skin of a dead shark and popped the bulbs on the ends of the kelp washed up on the shore. An afternoon at the bay was usually followed by an afternoon of
confinement – if only we could have avoided the tell-tale tar from the Standard Oil Refinery that matted her fur together or ruined yet another pair of my shorts.
When I was fourteen, I returned to Pittsburgh and spent the next decades yearning to live in California again. I yearned through college, teaching in Head Start, marrying, having children, going to law school, practicing law, becoming an associate dean at a medical school, and pursuing photography. During the yearning years, I returned to California for visits to renew my spirit and research the mystery book I was going to write one day.
Finally, my dreams have come true. Sonoma County is home, and In the Shadow of Lies is the book I began researching so long ago.
Thank you, Mary.
I am so proud to have Circumstances of Childhood featured on N.N.Light’s Book Heaven. Here is some information about the site and the services offered as explained by the Lights.
Welcome to N. N. Light’s Book Heaven, the home of N. N. Light Author Promotions, a family run PR firm who caters to busy authors. We’ve been in business since 2015 and pride ourselves on our literary matchmaking abilities. Our followers trust our opinion and if we tell them a book is great, they will often check it out. Many readers discover new authors via word of mouth, especially quality honest book reviews and author interviews. We have the social media reach of over sixty-nine million. We love promoting authors and this is a great way to get exposure for you and your book. Getting people talking about your book is an important step to success as an author. We will create enormous buzz about your book, offer advice and our expertise for your benefit
The specific link for the Circumstances of Childhood promo is here. A visit to the site will give you a lot of useful information about how you can promote your book as well.
