Romance – NA, Sports, Urban
Release Date: December 20, 2016
Bailey O'Malley has spent her whole life catering to others. Her introverted and nurturing personality wouldn't allow her to do anything else. She used to enjoy it. Taking care of people made her happy. Until her father died. Nothing mattered after that. In an attempt to protect her, her father gave Connor, her boyfriend, too much leeway and ended up trapping her. Connor was supposed to protect her, be her rock - some rocks need to be tossed as far away as possible. She only has one source of happiness now, her son, and if Connor doesn't get his way he'll take that joy from her as well.
Dominic Prince only has one mission in life: forget his past. Forget the pain, forget the drama, and forget the loss. He's guarded and secretive and that's the way he likes it and he was doing a damn good job of keeping it that way. Until her. Bailey showed up and his life became a minefield. He can't decide if he wants to kiss her or shake her, but he does know that he'll fight to keep her safe. He'll be as savage as he is in the octagon, outside of it.
Neither of them wants to allow cracks in their armor, but the past has a way of sneaking into the present. Their secrets will tear them to shreds. Hearts will be shattered, bonds will be broken, and what was done in the dark will come to light. Will they survive it?
About the Author
LaShanta Charles was born and raised in the small town of Orangeburg, SC. She has always been an avid reader of all genres, but Romance has always been her true love and is what inspired her to pursue a writing career. In high school, she began letting her classmates read the short stories that she would write and based off of their feedback, her passion for writing pushed her to become a published author. She published her debut novel, Lovely Lies, in 2013 and released the sequel, Lovely Lies 2, in February 2014. Her third novel, Splitting Karma, was released in October 2014. Currently, she is preparing to release her fourth novel, Heart of A Savage, with a prospective release date of December 20,2016. In recognition of her work, LaShanta was named National Black Book Festival's 2013 Best New Author and was nominated for 2013 Breakout Author of the Year through the African American Literary Awards Show. Lovely Lies was also awarded Most Underrated Book of 2013 for the Literary Scream Awards.
Currently she lives in Yelm, WA, with her husband and three children. She is pursuing a degree in English at Drury University and also serving in the US Army. Her hobbies include spending time with family, sleeping, reading, eating, and of course, writing. Her motto is “strive to excel, not to equal.”
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About the BookTitle: Don’t Wake Me Up Author: M.E. Rhines Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance He’s charming, funny, and incredibly hot. The only problem is, he’s a ghost. When the chaos of school, her over-reactive mother, and her abusive boyfriend gets to be too much, sixteen-year-old Colleen turns to astral projection to escape it all. In the sanctuary of the astral plane, she mingles with the lost souls of the departed. They all need help to move on to the Summerland, and Colleen never turns down a spirit in need. Until she meets Daemon. With just a glance, Daemon makes her forget all the turmoil back home. The calm is welcome and addictive, but Colleen knows the peace he offers will leave with him once he crosses over, forcing her to make a desperate decision: sever her ties to her physical body, or sabotage his salvation. Author BioME Rhines a southwest Florida native currently living in North Port with her two beautiful children and a third, much larger child whom she affectionately calls husband. She writes young adult paranormal romance to feed her belief that fairy tales are real and nonsense is necessary. She also writes adult romances under her edgier alter-ego, Mary Bernsen. Linkswww.merhines.com www.facebook.com/merhines www.twitter.com/merhines Add on Goodreads Giveawaya Rafflecopter giveaway
Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Date Published: May 27, 2016
The next Superhero adventure installment of the Dark Spores Series from acclaimed author Chayil Champion.
2035. It’s the dawn of a new era where power-hungry war generals are forming a New World Order. The nation of Israel comes under attack by evil Tanwar Terah, a Syrian mastermind in science and politics. Through Terah, five countries are united in order to form The Caste Republic. Under his rule, The Caste Republic uses neoteric technology to create new weapons, genetically altered beasts with super powers, and human giants - a new breed of super villains -wreak havoc and put fear into the hearts of humanity. But seven soldiers, led by Jewish-Italian Lieutenant Peter Carmoni, are released among several military sleeper teams to locate Terah and destroy his campaign before it is too late. In their journey to find the evil dictator, they are detoured and find themselves taking cover in a peculiar cave where they are introduced to Oramite, an element that changes their DNA and renders them with new super powers and abilities. Now, it is up to these seven super heroes to learn to hone their new powers and use it against their enemies in the biggest war the world has ever seen…or all will be lost.
Excerpt
The smoke cloud now appeared in the lobby, growing into a portal. The remaining six jumped out. Both giants stepped forth. Blessed and Aganathin, who stood at six-foot-six and six-foot-eight respectively, looked like dwarfs next to the two twelve-foot giants.
“You’re not one of us, puny people,” said one giant in his deep voice that echoed throughout the lobby.”
“No, you’re right. We’re none of you at all,” said Blessed.
At that moment, Blessed’s fists and arms became coated with the Oramite material. With all his might, he punched the giant in the mid-section, bringing him down on his knees, grunting. The giant’s face was now within reach. Blessed cocked back for another punch and broke the giant’s helmet, sending him flying into the wall, unconscious.
Slaycick saw the other giant draw his weapon and before he could get a shot off, he ran with Mach speed towards the giant slicing through his arm with his Oramite sword. The armored suit of the giants was no match for the Oramite weapons. The giant’s arm fell off with the gun still inside his hand. He screamed, and his yell could be heard throughout the whole building. Slaycick sent one more slice with his sword across the giant’s leg, severing him at both kneecaps. Blood began gushing out onto the lobby floor.
“Let’s get to the elevators!” yelled Blessed. “I’m sure there’ll be more giants and soldiers on their way.”
As they headed to the elevators, the two soldiers from outside came charging in. K’nia spotted them and hit them with two Oramite stars shot from her hands. More soldiers were running into the main lobby only to see the two giants decommissioned and on the floor. The team entered the elevator and rapidly punched in the first code. As the elevator doors were closing, Rekluse took a grenade from her hip and rolled it out the door towards the oncoming soldiers who were now firing towards the team. The doors closed as the grenade exploded.
Once they got to the underground level, the doors opened and the team stepped out with their weapons drawn. The few scientists left in the lab quickly stopped what they were doing and raised their hands. Kasitia’s voice could be heard over the COM links.
“Hey, gang. Someone radioed Tanwar. They know you’re here, and you got giants coming your way. They’re starting to open the hangar now so the aircrafts can leave. I’m going to try to halt them.”
“Be careful,” said Blessed. “We’re coming to you now.”
Slaycick took several plastic handcuffs out of his vest pockets and began tying up the scientists with super speed, then had them sit on the floor. “You all stay put now you hear?” he joked. “Now, which one you know the combination to this door?”
“We don’t need a combination,” said Blessed.
Blessed walked up to the huge, steel-plated door and punched a hole in it with his fist and then pulled it off its hinges. Coming down the corridor were three huge giants with large hydrogen-powered guns aiming straight at Blessed. They fired a few shots, which he managed to dodge as he took cover to the side of the broken doorway.
“I have an idea,” said Tenan as the giants approached. He quickly created a portal in the doorway.
The giants ran through it, thinking it was only black smoke. They stepped out and found themselves falling thousands of feet out of the sky. Tenan quickly closed the portal as the group made its way down to the second elevator door leading to the underground hangar. Blessed typed in the second set of code numbers and they made their way down to assist Kasitia.
When the doors opened, the team stepped out amongst gunfire and panic. Kasitia was going in and out of shadow form, killing Tanwar’s soldiers, who were in a state of confusion. Several of Tanwar’s soldiers started firing towards the team when they entered.
“Split up and let’s finish these boys off!” yelled Blessed.
Two of the aircrafts had already taken off with the giants’ pods attached them.
“We can’t let the other carriers take off, gang!” said Blessed. “Let’s stop them and worry about the other ones later.”
“Tenan, give me three of your timed explosives,” said Slaycick.
Tenan handed Slaycick the bombs, and in a blur, he swiftly placed the three bombs on aircrafts that were preparing to take off. He ran back and hid behind a computer board, undetected. The aircraft carriers exploded and caught on fire, never having a chance to leave the ground. Suddenly, the pods opened and the other giants stepped out running from the planes that just caught fire.
The crew was now split up, fighting off soldiers and giants. Aganathin’s axe ripped through the giants as he swung with one motion. Rekluse and Tenan fought off soldiers with precise shooting and some ballistic, martial art techniques. One soldier swung at Rekluse. She blocked his punch, and while still holding onto his arm, she jumped in the air, wrapped both of her legs around his neck, and brought him to the ground. With her sheer strength, she hyper-extended his arm with a strong twist, causing an extreme fracture to his limb. She then pulled a Desert Eagle handgun from her hip and stuck it in the soldier’s mouth. Squeezing off two rounds, she then moved on, continuing to dominate enemies using hand-to-hand combat.
Soldiers from Tanwar’s army were dying by dozens. The hangar was filling up with bodies as more men kept falling.
Slaycick zoomed around the hangar, slicing down giants and soldiers with his double swords. Blessed went on a rampage with one hand on his gun, and with his free hand, he knocked out anyone who was close enough to him. K’nia shot down giants with her stars, while her sister flashed in and out of shadow form, catching her enemies off guard with deathblows and stabs to the heart. The battle lasted less than ten minutes before every giant and soldier was put down by the seven super soldiers.
“Kasitia, where’s Tanwar?” asked Blessed.
“He’s over there, unconscious. When they heard you people storm the building, he made a run for it with General Selur and the doctors. I snatched him in shadow form, knocked him out, and dragged him back behind the barrels. By that time, his men were shooting at me, so I had to begin the fight without you.”
“We’ve finally come face to face with Tanwar Terah. The dictator and leader of The Caste Republic. Finally, in our hands,” said Aganathin.
“No time to relax now. Two carriers got away, carrying ten giants apiece. They’re headed to Israel where their alliances have already been given orders to attack,” said Kasitia “We need to get to Jerusalem to notify Prime Minister Mashol and let him know we have Tanwar.”
“Good work, Kasitia. You’re getting into a habit of knocking out men. Keep it up and you’ll be single for the rest of your life,” joked Slaycick.
“Very funny,” retorted Kasitia, rolling her eyes.
“All jokes aside, because of your smart thinking, we have our guy. Let’s tie him up before he comes to,” said Tenan.
“You’re right,” acknowledged Blessed. “You did what you had to do, Kasitia. Great job.”
Tenan created a portal leading back to Jerusalem. “Let’s get back. Time is not on our side right now,” he reminded the crew.
“One sec,” said Slaycick. The speedster disappeared and reappeared in one second, carrying two scientists on his shoulder. He ran back and got the other scientists who were tied up. He also unhooked several computers from the lab and brought those back.
“We need them to learn more about these giants that were created,” Slaycick continued. “If one doesn’t talk, we’ll make an example so the other ones will. I’m sure these computers have valuable information on them as well.”
The team entered the portal with the captured dictator, the scientists, and the confiscated computers. A brief victory was won for the moment.
About the Author
Chayil Champion is a graduate of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida where he double-majored in both English and Journalism while competing as a two-sport athlete in both football and track. After graduating from UM in 1998, Champion received his masters and doctorate degrees in education from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He embarked on a career in education as an English teacher and vice principal in South Florida’s Dade County and West Palm Beach County public school systems respectively before moving to Los Angeles, California in 2009.
A native from Evanston, Illinois, a suburb that borders Chicago’s north side, Champion developed a love for writing at a young age which carried well into his adult years. After penning his first book in 2009 upon his arrival to Los Angeles, Champion has gone on to write five more books, which include the Young Adult fiction novels, Affiliated and Going Pro, both from The Lost Souls literary series. Champion also wrote Exiting The Wilderness and But He Said He Was A Christian, two nonfiction Christian self-help books. His latest book, Majesties of Canaan: The Goliath Project is a Young Adult, super hero novel. It is the first book of many within the Majesties of Canaan Superhero Series and the second book of The Dark Spores Series where Champion has partnered with best-selling authors Keshawn Dodds and Braxton Cosby to form the new superhero universe and to collaboratively pen the upcoming superhero novel Infinity 7 due in early 2017.
Outside of his love for writing, Champion, runs his own education consulting company in Los Angeles where he continues to teach and tutor students. In his free time, Champion focuses on fitness as he is a gym rat, frequents movies, and enjoys spending time with his daughter Vanessa.
Contact Links
Twitter: @chayilchampion
Purchase Links
~~~ Cover Reveal ~~~
All Signs Lead Back to You by Aniesha Brahma
2013.
As the final bell for the day rang on their last day in school, Diya Rai, had a chill run down her spine. The chill of not knowing what the future holds for her and her high school sweetheart, Ashwin Chowdhury.
So she does a preemptive strike.
She dumps him before he can hurt her.
2015.
Two years later, Ashwin and Diya, cross paths. Each holds grudges, feelings and only one half of the story that completes them.
Told from alternating points of view, through a non-linear timeline, this is the story about
first love, second chances and ALL the SIGNS THAT LEAD BACK TO YOU.
About the Author
Aniesha Brahma is an author who realized her passion for writing at the tender age of six. She also happens to be the social media manager for BEE Books. Her debut novel, The Secret Proposal (2012) was published by General Press and was followed by When Our Worlds Collide (2015) by the same. She blogs at: www.anieshabrahma.com and runs an online magazine, BUZZ Magazine (www.buzzmagazine.in). She can be contacted at: [email protected]. She lives in Kolkata with her family and her five super adorable cats!
My Own Nightmare
Shatter Lives Series; Book 1
Est. Pub Date: November 29, 2016
Published by: Barb Shuler
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Cover Designed by: MadHat Books
Blurb:
One night a life changed. My life.
I used to write about chaos – about lives turning on a dime. Never once did I think it would ever happen to me. I went from a blossoming career to a prisoner in the span of a single evening. A living nightmare I was determined to escape.
The price of evil was high, but I wasn’t backing down. I knew in my heart the men in my life would be looking. I just had to survive. One day at a time. Minutes turned to hours. Hours turned into days. Then, it was time to make a choice.
Live or Die?
I chose to live.
Hell hath no fury and I had no more time...
Excerpt:
Blinking my eyes, I tried to get my vision clear of the damn spots. I was not passing out again. I’d been trying to lift myself up to peek out of the windows, but it seemed to take all of my energy to be able to pull myself up. The jarring sound of gravel under the tires gave me the push I needed and I sat up. Oh, sitting up was not what my head wanted to do. I cursed internally as I wobbled, blinked a few more times and after a deep breath, I laid against the window.
Finally, I blinked out of my daze and was able to focus. I couldn't see anything for the trees that surrounded us. There were corn and...wheat fields that were off a little ways. Trees completely covered my vision the further she went up the road. Great. This was a fucking horror movie in the making. Girl gets kidnapped, taken to the middle of nowhere and eaten by crazy cannibals... News at eleven. Fuck. Something told me we were no longer in Oz… that ship had sailed. This did not look like Texas. Where in the fuck were we? Sighing, I tried to concentrate on the surroundings. Memorizing every landmark I could distinguish. I was not becoming a late night news story. Fuck that shit.
Copyright © 2016 by Barb Shuler **content subject to change**
~Meet Barb Shuler~
I’m a Carolina Girl by right and a Texan by birth. Best of both worlds. I have the brass sass to keep up with my Texas sized temper. Living and working in both states I’ve learned a lot about hard work, adapting to your surroundings and making the best of the path that you have been led down. My grandma Dollie once told me I would know what I was meant to do when it happened. She was right, as always.
As with most book lovers, I am an avid reader. Reading has always been a hobby - a passion, really and a way to get lost in other people’s lives, their drama and other worlds. It’s a private movie in your imagination that you get to cast and navigate through, at your own pace. Reading helps to expand the perimeters of one's mind. That is what got me into writing. Writing has been something that I have done since I was a kid. If I had paper, I was writing. Nine out of ten times it made no sense but what are words if they are not to be used to your advantage? Words are a part of us all. Why not use them, right?
During the day I work as a ‘desk jockey’ and help the residents of my county navigate themselves around our little, but not too little country town. By night I am either blogging, doing PA work for some of my favorite authors or fighting with the voices in my head. They can be stubborn at times. It’s a blessing and I am cherishing every moment. Tomorrow is never guaranteed so I want to make sure I live the day as fully as possible. For what is my creation, can become someone else's treasure.
~ Connect with Barb ~
About the Book: Ethan Cooke Security and their bodyguard team return to action in Deceiving Bella – book eleven in Cate Beauman’s Bodyguards of L.A. County series. With over 7700 reviews and a 4.4 rating for the entire series, see why the Bodyguards of L.A. County is a multi-award winning series. Buy It Now! Amazon | Kobo | Nook | iBooks New to the series? No problem! Each book in the “Bodyguards” series is a stand-alone title. Although reading the books in order is preferred, it is not necessary. Each title features brand new primary characters and limited overlapping secondary characters. Don’t hesitate to jump right in! Isabella Colby has always yearned for normalcy. Now that she’s settled in LA, she finally has it. Good friends, a pretty home, and her thriving career as the Palisades’ top skincare specialist are a dream come true. Bella is content until she meets her hunky new neighbor, but her attraction to the blue-eyed cutie is the least of her worries when contacting her long-lost father threatens to destroy her happy life. Reed McKinley is more than ready to forget the past. His seven-year stint as an NYPD detective nearly got him killed. His wounds have healed and he’s starting over as Ethan Cooke Security’s latest recruit. With sixty-hour workweeks and little time to himself, the last thing on his mind is a relationship. Then he bumps into the gorgeous woman next door. Reed and Bella become fast friends. Before long, Reed discovers that Bella is keeping dangerous secrets. Bella may have the answers to decades-old questions he’s been searching for. Reed will risk it all to uncover the truth, but he soon realizes that the deeper he digs, the direr the consequences. About the author: International bestselling author Cate Beauman is known for her full-length, action-packed romantic suspense series, The Bodyguards of L.A. County. Her novels have been nominated for the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, National Indie Excellence Award, Golden Quill Award, Writers Touch Award, and have been named Readers Favorite Five Star books. In 2015, JUSTICE FOR ABBY was selected as the Readers' Favorite International Book Award Gold Medalist, while SAVING SOPHIE took the Silver Medal. SAVING SOPHIE was also selected as the 2015 Readers Crown Award winner for Romantic Suspense and FALLING FOR SARAH received the silver medal for the 2014 Readers' Favorite Awards. Cate makes her home in North Carolina with her husband, two boys, and their St. Bernards, Bear and Jack. Currently Cate is working on her twelfth full length romantic suspense novel. DO YOU LIKE FREE EBOOKS? SIGN UP FOR CATE’S NEWSLETTER TO BE NOTIFIED OF OFFERS AND NEW RELEASE INFORMATION http://www.catebeauman.com/getmyfreebooks For a limited time: new subscribers will receive a free copy of Morgan’s Hunter and Falling For Sarah, books one and two in the Bodyguards of L.A. County Series! Follow Cate Amazon Author Page http://www.amazon.com/Cate-Beauman/e/B00A05KHVM/ BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cate-beauman Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/catebeauman Social links: Twitter: @CateBeauman www.catebeauman.com www.facebook.com/CateBeauman www.instagram.com/cate_beauman_author Cate Beauman “Fun Facts!”
Read an excerpt from Deceiving Bella: They kept a slow pace, strolling in silence as the breeze plastered their clothes to their bodies and the constant sound of waves hypnotized, lulling Reed into relaxing by degrees. “Thanks for coming with me tonight. It’s nice having company.” He looked at Bella, staring at the fading light playing off her eyes. “The water smells better than a bunch of sweaty guys.” “Your gym.” Her brow creased ever so slightly as she held his gaze. “What do you do for fun?” “Work and box.” “Sounds…like a good time.” “I like it.” “Do you smile?” He frowned. “Huh?” “I was wondering if you ever smile—or laugh. I haven’t seen you do either since we met.” He sent her an exaggerated grin. She laughed. He smiled for real this time, finding her laughter infectious. “You do smile. I wasn’t sure if you had some sort of facial paralysis we hadn’t discussed yet.” He grinned. “You should do that more often.” She hooked her arm through his. He almost missed a step as the warmth of her skin met his, surprised by her casual gesture. He wasn’t used to people being so touchy-feely. “I do it plenty.” “I’ll have to take your word for it.” How was it possible she smelled even better now that they stood so close? It had to be her hair. “I don’t know what to say to that.” She stopped abruptly. “Are you seeing anyone?” He studied her, not sure that he liked where this was going. “No. You interested?” She shook her head. “You’re not really my type.” He tried to ignore the direct hit to his ego. “You’re not mine either.” Another smile warmed her face. “I think we could be great friends, and I like projects—love them, actually.” His frown returned. “And that means…” “It means I like you. And I love that you don’t seem to have any interest in getting into my pants.” Years of concealing any and all facial expressions kept his eyes from popping wide. “Wow.” He ran his hand through his hair, speechless once again. “Okay.” She laughed. “I’m a big fan of honesty—putting it right out there.” He chuckled as he settled his sunglasses on top of his head. “Clearly.” They started walking again. “There’s something about you that feels…safe.” He raised his brow, taken aback. He’d been called many things, but this was a first. “Safe?” She nodded. “Safe. It’s a good thing, but you’re pretty serious. We need to lighten you up. You need to play more.” “I play plenty. I box.” She scoffed, “Beating someone’s face in can’t lead you down the road to happiness.” Her side brushed his with every step. He imagined he should ease away, break their connection, but he liked the way she felt, that she trusted him. “There’s more to boxing than beating someone’s face in.” She looked at him as if she wasn’t so sure. “I’ll have to show you—” He glanced over his shoulder when he realized they hadn’t seen Lucy for a while and laughed as the dog lay on her back in the sand with her front paws in the air. “What is she doing?” “Sunbathing.” He laughed again, shaking his head. “I’ve never seen anything like that.” His eyes met Bella’s as she stared at him. “What?” “You have a great laugh.” To his surprise, he was having a great time. It shocked him further that he liked Bella as much as she seemed to like him. Being here with her was exactly what he’d needed. “How long do you want to stay?” “The sun sets soon. It’s the best part.” The sand wasn’t bothering him much, and he couldn’t remember the last time his shoulders felt so loose. “I don’t have a blanket.” “We can sit on our shoes.” She tossed hers down. “We can plunk ourselves right here.” Lucy rolled to her side, stood, and ran their way. He shrugged, dropping his flip-flops to the ground. “I guess this is as good a place as any.” “It’ll be spectacular.” She took his hand, pulling him down next to her. “You won’t regret it.” “We’ll have to remember a blanket next time.” She smiled. “You want to come back?” He stared ahead, petting Lucy when she curled up next to him, breathing in Bella with each inhalation. “I could see myself doing this again.” She gave his shoulder a bump. “Good. You can be my beach buddy.” He nodded, liking the idea. “Yeah, sure.” “Great.” “Great.” He crossed his ankles in the sand, his foot brushing Bella’s as they settled in to enjoy the show. It had been too damn long since he watched a sunset. Did you enjoy the excerpt? You can read the first chapter on my website, www.catebeauman.com, or you can finish the whole book with the links below! Amazon | Kobo | Nook | iBooks The Unofficial Deceiving Bella Soundtrack
I love music! I can’t imagine a world without catchy tunes playing, especially when I’m writing. Music is inspiration. Melodies, beats, and the mood of each song help me portray emotions and feelings as I tell a story. It’s a rare day when I don’t have my headphones in place, bopping my head, while my fingers race across the keyboard. You can listen to the “soundtrack” for each book on my website www.catebeauman.com. The soundtrack, of sorts, for Deceiving Bella: Favorite Song by Ben Rector Lay It All On Me by Rudimental w/Ed Sheeran Into You by Ariana Grande Cake by the Ocean by DNCE Truth by Steve Moakler Any Other Name by Thomas Newman Rock Bottom by Hailee Steinfeld All I Want by Kodaline Crash by Usher Stand By You by Rachel Platten
About the Book:
The highly anticipated sequel to the award winning “The Hockey Saint” taking place ten years after “Saint” ends. The legendary Jeremiah “Jake” Jacobson, now thirty two, has been the world’s best hockey player over his fourteen year career because of his out of this world talent level and his smart play. But he can’t stay on top forever, and when he starts making mistakes on the ice, his career and family life start to crumble. At the same time, Tom Leonard, his agent and best friend, is completely overwhelmed by a project that he and Jake were supposed to be working on together. A project that could have a huge impact on people throughout their city in need of a helping hand. As Jake sinks deeper into a funk over his lost status due to his deteriorating play and the emergence of teammate and rookie phenom Barclay Pedersen, Tom realizes he’s on his own. At the same time he rediscovers someone from his past who he never thought he’d see again. In that burgeoning relationship, Tom discovers the importance of taking chances and starts to believe in himself. Can Jake break out of his downward spiral and Tom finally find the courage to step out of Jake’s shadow? AMAZON |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I live in Pittsburgh, PA with my wife and two sons. I am the Controller for the Pittsburgh-based Visual Effects firm, Animal Inc., and I have written four children’s books and "The Stereotypical Freaks" will be my debut Graphic Novel. My 2008 book, "Hockey Player for Life", has been the #1 downloaded children’s hockey e-book on Amazon’s Kindle chart since its arrival as an e-book in November of 2011. My "Hockey Days" book was the only book featured in the December 2007 Sporting News Annual Gift Guide as a Best Buy Gift for Children. Through a corporate sponsorship program I set up (and maintain), since the 2010-11 season, both of my children’s hockey books have been given to NHL teams (over 2,500 copies to date) for use in their community and educational initiatives. Since 2006 my annual charity raffle, which he matches dollar for dollar donated, has raised funds for several hockey-related charities including the Mario Lemieux Foundation, Hockey Fights Cancer and the Keith and Lisa Primeau Scholarship Fund. WEBSITE: http://www.howardshapiro.net/ TWITTER: @hockeyplayer GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6522132.Howard_Shapiro FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/hockeyplayer4life
Fantasy
Date Published: February 16, 2016
He Who Seeks Destruction, Wields Evil...
As the search for the legendary Dragonwand continues, Markus and his trio of travelers find themselves in unfamiliar territory traversing the countryside for clues to its whereabouts, while Hallond persists with his plans to rule the Kingdom. But the closer they get to obtaining it, evil lurks around every corner and even those creatures that seem the most unassuming are a threat to the group. Captain Morris persists in his effort to foil their plans of freeing Gallenor from imminent destruction, aligning himself with the Shlan. As a lighthearted romance between Markus and Crystal blossoms and Markus begins to understand his destiny, they soon learn that love may just be even more powerful than any magic ever foretold. But will their collective efforts be enough to vanquish the wicked for good?
EXCERPT
Markus and Crystal sat in the middle of the town near a stone bridge overlooking the little crystal clear river. They felt like they were in a toy city – with everything being so small – but it was the perfect size for the inhabitants. Several Gnomes had arrived with a pair of the most exquisite shoes Markus had ever seen.
“Wow, these feel great,” Markus said, overlooking the shoes they had made for him with great interest. True, they were his old shoes – refurbished to the T – but he could not recognize them at all. Five old Gnome men fussed around his feet still shinning and dusting them off.
One old man smiled at his own reflection in the polished leather. “Yes, it was fun to work on. I can’t wait to make more.”
“Oh, I’m sure we'll be leaving soon. But, if I can come back I'll certainly make the trip for shoes of this quality,” Markus said with an appreciative grin. He turned his foot from side to side looking at the craftsmanship.
Crystal put on the shoes they brought her out of courtesy, then realized how great they were. “Markus, I’ve never worn shoes before.”
“Well, what do you think?” Markus asked, curious.
“Um, I find it very clever that they made allowances for my extra-long toe claws,” she replied.
“Interesting,” Markus said.
Crystal smiled at the old Gnome checking her shoes. “These are perfect. I do not know how we can thank you.”
Markus added, “I wish I could repay you, but all the money we had was left in the bags of our friends.”
The old Gnome craftsman gave Markus a rather sly grin. “We Gnomes do not use big people money, it would matter little to us. But, we do barter. Perhaps a trade.”
Markus wanted to say something about the fact that the King inferred that this was to be a gift, but since he did not wish to upset them – especially considering the quality of their work – he felt fine with the idea of paying. “Sure. What do you want?”
The old Gnome turned around and looked up at Crystal. “You.”
Crystal stopped admiring her shoes with a shocked expression. “Me?”
The Gnome walked over to her, as did several others including a few that had not been part of the shoe makers. Three woman formed a half circle behind Crystal, petting her tail. The old Gnome nodded. “It has been a long time since any gnome has worked with actual fur. To spin and weave it would be a gift like nothing we have had in generations.”
Crystal swallowed hard. “Uh, do you want to cut some off?”
Markus got up and closed the distance between him and Crystal, noticing that the women were combing through her tail with large toothed combs that he recognized from the spinners back in his village. “Wait, are you preparing her fur already!?”
The gnome smiled wickedly. “We want to cut the fur off and use it.”
Markus called his wand to his hand and raised it waist high. Crystal grabbed his wrist. “Don’t make a mess yet. I'm sure we can talk about this. After all, it is just fur and it will grow back. I have needed to get my tail trimmed for some time and this is a perfect opportunity.”
The Gnomes all got as excited as dogs getting to eat for the first time in days. Two women came out from another shop with large razors and eager eyes. The old Gnome continued to stare at Crystal. “The deal was we make shoes, we get fur. But, that isn’t enough.”
“What deal?” Markus asked, pulling free from Crystal and waving his wand at him.
“The King told us if we waited until sufficient time had passed and we made something important for you, then we could get the fur.” The old Gnome said this as though it was a signed contract.
Markus waved his wand over the women with the razors, “Hold off just a minute, we never agreed to anything like that. You can keep the shoes.”
Crystal stopped him again. “Markus, don’t worry. I'm fine with this.”
Markus shook his head. “I don’t know, there's something strange about this.”
Crystal grinned. “My tail might look odd for a little while, but it will grow back. Besides, these are nice shoes.” She returned to the elder gnome, “I’ll trade.”
“Not enough,” the old Gnome said, shaking his head. “The more we talked about it we realized there would not be enough fur to go around. We don’t want just this one time, we want more. MORE!” He appeared to be getting more demented as the conversion proceeded.
Markus put his hand on her shoulder. “No deal! We don’t trade people for anything in Gallenor. Especially shoes.”
The Gnomes did not like that as evident by the crowd growing more restless and murmuring louder with each word Markus uttered. A rather large mob had now congregated around the couple.
The old Gnome clicked his tongue. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. I was afraid of this.” He pointed at Markus. “We want her… we will have her. You are in our way, so we will just have to kill you and take her.”
“WHAT!” Markus pointed his wand at the old Gnome.
The man seemed unfazed by the sight of the wand and snapped his fingers. “Get them!”
The Gnomes attacked unabandondedly, showing total disregard for their own safety. Crystal cried out as a razor lifted a chunk of the fur from her tail. Markus noticed, and pulled her to her feet before they could take another swipe. He pointed his wand at the two women Gnomes charging. “Hrinda!” A wave of simple force knocked a group of Gnomes over, including the two women. “Run!” Markus yelled and then grabbed Crystal with his free hand, heading for a distant part of the caves.
Gnomes came out of everything, spilling into the valley of the cave like a torrential flood, with all the madness of a stampeding horde of hogs. Their eyes were filled with rage, intent to kill anything in sight. Markus was wary of using any deadly spells on them, seeing as though for all he knew, he could easily set the entire cave on fire or flood it, killing innocent Gnome children in the process; and that would do them little good. So, all he could do was toss them around with shove spells.
“How are we going to get out of here if we can’t walk through stone?” Crystal cried out.
Markus thrust his wand at another group and then continued toward the exit. “I don’t know. I guess we'll just have to blast through.”
“Stop him!” a sea of Gnomes shouted, gathering to block their way. Some wore little bows and arrows and sent a wave of arrows at Markus and Crystal.
“VEDR!” Crystal cried, and used her hand to send a blast of wind at the incoming arrows, deflecting most of them. One hit Markus in the shoulder and another simply dove into edge Crystals clothes. Markus smiled, surprised at her. She shrugged. “Hey, I grew up around arrows, I know how to handle that much.”
“That’s….INCOMING!” He looked back to see more approaching.
“VEDR STORR!” Crystal shouted again. This time, a hurricane appeared and not only deflected the arrows but sent most of the Gnomes sprawling across the ground. Even Markus and Crystal had to brace themselves against the cave walls to keep from being tossed about.
Once the wind died, Markus took Crystal’s hand again and started for a wall in the distance. “We will go out that way, I will make us an exit.”
But the Gnomes were still gathering themselves from the explosion of wind and making up ground quickly. Markus pointed his wand at the wall and was about to use the stone dust spell he used to get out of Stillwater when Crystal stopped him again. “What?”
She looked back to the Kings residence. “The bag, the Codex is in it. We still need that.”
Markus shook his head in disgust. “Seriously! We'll manage without it. I'm not going back that way.” He attempted to cast the spell when she stopped him again.
“We can’t leave it,” Crystal stressed. “It is far too important.” She started to head back when he grabbed her arm and stopped her.
“No, if we go back, they'll get you and I cannot allow that to happen.”
Crystal smiled. “I can handle these Gnomes. Don’t worry.”
Markus did not budge, maintaining a tight grip on her arm. “No, I'm not going to face Treb having to tell him I left you behind for some old book.”
Crystal’s smile had washed away. “But, I'm not worth it. Without that book there is no hope of saving all of Gallenor and that's not an equal exchange. I can live here knowing you were equipped to save Gallenor.”
Markus looked down, ignoring the charging horde. “But, what is it worth saving the world when my world will be gone.”
“What?” Crystal’s eyes were wavering.
“You are my world now,” Markus admitted, a lump forming in his throat. “I wanted to find the Dragonwand and save Gallenor for selfish reasons until I found what I loved. Now, I have a new and just as important reason to save Gallenor, you. If I leave you behind, what will I do then?”
“Yes, what will you do?” Crystal asked.
Before he could answer, the Gnomes arrived, and it appeared that every resident of the cave city was present.
Markus blocked Crystal behind him and pointed his wand at them. “One step toward her and I will set this whole damned cave on fire.”
“No, you won’t. That would kill you and her as well,” the old Gnome said with the confidence of certainty.
Markus gnashed his teeth for a moment, then smiled and pointed his wand at the wall. “Fine, I'll take down this wall and we're going to keep running until we see light.”
“Go right ahead,” the old Gnome dared.
Markus was not sure what to make of that, but it was an opportunity and he had to take it. So he turned on the wall and shouted, “STEINN!” He cast the spell but it bounced off the wall. “STEINN!” he repeated, but it bounced off the wall once more. “What's going on?”
“You do not think we wouldn’t have methods of stopping magic at the walls. We have been hunted by imps for a thousand years, these walls are built to resist all magic. You are trapped in here until we let you leave. Give us the girl, or we will kill you and take her anyway.”
Markus stood in front of Crystal again and pointed his wand at them. “I'll take as many of you with me as I can.”
“Markus look!” Crystal put her hand on his shoulder.
He looked over to see the old King walking up to the wall. He put his hand on it and the surface rippled as if he had tossed a stone into water. “Go, now!”
Markus looked at Crystal and then at the King. Was this a trap, or was it their only chance? He had little time to think and it was the only opportunity left that did not end in a lot of death. So, taking Crystal by the hand, they ran through the wall and vanished from view.
Daniel Peyton is a fresh author whose talents includes, writing, sketching and dreaming out adventures in faraway places that he seeks to bring to paper. He lives in East Tennessee where he draws a great deal of inspiration from the unique landscape. He has been featured in short story e-zines as well as flash fiction blogs. Legacy of Dragonwand: Book I is the first book in the Dragonwand Trilogy. Outside of authoring books, Daniel is an award winning cook, artist, and embroiderer. He is a distinguished member of the Sigma Alpha Iota, and often can be found teaching classes at his church. Before he began seriously devoting himself to becoming a published author, he spent over ten years traveling the country as a member of the Miyagi Ryu Nosho Kai dance school, performing Okinawan classic and modern dances.
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Twitter: @DanPeytonAuthor
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