They survived the Oregon Trail, but claiming a legacy would be their biggest challenge yet… I'm thrilled to be able to help spread the news about Christi Corbett's new release. Her book, Tainted Dreams, is the standalone sequel to her first novel, Along the Way Home, and is available today! Here's a little more about the book: ~~~ Sometimes, the end justifies the means… Kate Davis arrived into Oregon City transformed from a pampered daughter of fortune into a determined woman with a plan--fulfill her father's dream of starting a horse ranch in Oregon Territory. She quickly discovers a harsh truth--even thousands of miles from home, on an unsettled land America doesn't yet own or govern, gender still takes precedence over ability. Refusing to be ruled once again by the stifling laws and societal norms she'd escaped by leaving Virginia, Kate begins creatively claiming what is rightfully hers. Until a visit to the land office changes everything. Jake Fitzpatrick guided Kate across the Oregon Trail, and fell in love with her along the way. Now he wants to marry her and build a life together, but a ruthless man from Jake's past threatens to reveal a dark secret, and destroy everything he's worked so hard to achieve. ~~~ If that doesn't hook you on this historical Western romance novel, maybe an excerpt will do the trick: ~~~ Excerpt: (Jake, Kate, and two people they rescued on the Oregon Trail, William and Margaret, have entered Oregon City. They are looking for the hotel.) At the end of the block a man burst from the saloon and stumbled into the street, stopping mere inches from Jake's horse, Plug. Instead of backing away, the man lurched forward and reached for Jake's saddle horn. "Hey there!" Jake said. Raising his left leg, he ignored the resulting twinge of pain and shoved the stranger aside with his boot heel. "Watch it!" The man drew back and stared at him, his eyes bloodshot and unfocused. He raised an unsteady finger, slurred an unintelligible response, and then fell face-first into a patch of mud. "Drunken fool," Jake muttered, then faced the others. "Let's keep moving." High-pitched squealing foiled his plan. On the upper deck of the saloon a horde of harlots stood clustered together, giggling and shrieking as they pointed toward him. Clenching his jaw, he focused on the street ahead, all the while hoping Kate didn't notice one woman in particular who'd separated herself from the others and was now hanging over the railing, calling him by name. Jake pressed his boot heels into Plug's side, urging him to a steady trot. Thankfully the others followed and they quickly left the saloon behind. Minutes later, Kate motioned to the end of the street. "William, we're running out of road and I still don't see a hotel." William pulled a rumpled paper from his pocket. He studied it briefly and then eyed the surrounding buildings. "My uncle sent me a rough sketch of where it's located, but there are so many new buildings, it's useless. Jake, do you know where it's at?" Jake shook his head. "There wasn't a hotel the last time I was here." "Perhaps one of those men sitting in front of the apothecary would know?" Margaret suggested. "We'll find it ourselves," Jake replied. He led the group around the corner and onto the next street. Buildings, so new their fresh pine scent still hung in the air, lined one side of the street while the other side held only two—an enormous livery and a two-story building with the word Hotel prominently displayed on a white sign with black lettering. A matching sign beside a light-rimmed window read Rooms Available by the Day or Week. They dismounted, secured their horses to the empty hitching posts in front of the hotel, and headed for the door. William reached for the glass knob, then turned to the others with a worried frown. "I haven't seen my uncle in over seven years, so I don't know what to expect. Though from what I've observed so far, living out west doesn't seem to improve manners." He stepped inside and ushered Margaret and Kate through the doorway. Jake followed them, then stopped cold. Behind the hotel's front desk sat Theodore Martin—the one man Jake never wanted to see again as long as he lived. ~~~ I know that this new book and the first one will be going on my TBR list. Speaking of both books, Christi's first novel was featured in USA Today. She won the 2013 RONE Award for Best American Historical novel. They lost everything but their dreams on the Oregon Trail… Kate Davis is intrigued when her father reveals his dream of starting a horse ranch in Oregon Territory. Settlers out west value a strong woman, and though she manages the financials of her father's mercantile her competence earns her ridicule, not respect, from Virginia's elite society. Jake Fitzpatrick, an experienced trail guide, wants land out west to raise cattle and crops. But dreams require money and he's eating dandelion greens for dinner. So when a wealthy businessman offers double wages to guide his family across the Oregon Trail, Jake accepts with one stipulation--he is in complete control. Departure day finds Kate clinging to her possessions as Jake demands she abandon all he deems frivolous, including her deceased mother's heirlooms. Jake stands firm, refusing to let the whims of a headstrong woman jeopardize the wages he so desperately needs--even a beautiful one with fiery green eyes and a temper to match. Trail life is a battle of wills between them until tragedy strikes, leaving Jake with an honor-bound promise to protect her from harm and Kate with a monumental choice--go back to everything she's ever known or toward everything she's ever wanted? ~~~ Christi Corbett, winner of the 2013 RONE Award for Best American Historical novel, lives in a small town in Oregon with her husband and their twin children. The home's location holds a special place in her writing life; it stands just six hundred feet from the original Applegate Trail and the view from her back door is a hill travelers looked upon years ago as they explored the Oregon Territory and beyond.
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Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer’s love story by Marianne Sciucco What if the person who knew you best and loved you most forgot your face, and couldn’t remember your name? A nursing facility is everyone's solution for what to do about Sara, but her husband Jack can't bear to live without her. He is committed to saving his marriage, his wife, and their life together from the devastation of Alzheimer’s disease. He and Sara retired years ago to the house of their dreams and operated it as a Cape Cod bed and breakfast named Blue Hydrangeas. Jack has made an impossible promise: He and Sara will stay together in their beautiful home no matter what the disease brings. However, after nine years of selfless caregiving complicated by her progressing Alzheimer’s and his own failing heart, he finally admits he can no longer care for her at home. With reluctance, he arranges to admit her to an assisted living facility. But on the day of admission, Sara is having one of her few good days and he is unable to follow through. Instead, he takes them on an impulsive journey to confront their past and reclaim their future. In the end, he realizes that staying together at any cost is what truly matters. What inspired you to write a book about Alzheimer’s? One day at work as a hospital case manager, I met a fascinating couple who were in their 80’s. She was a lovely woman, so pretty, and had Alzheimer’s. I’d ask her a question and she’d try to answer, but then say, “Oh, I’m so mixed up,” and laugh, quite charming. Her husband was frail, an amiable sort of guy, and devoted to her. My job was to assist with the discharge plan, which was for her to go to a local nursing home for rehab (she’d broken her pelvis) the next day. I discussed the arrangements with her and her husband. Their son was also present, and he told me to make sure his parents didn’t leave the hospital without him; he planned to drive them to the nursing home and assist with the admissions process. Later on, I couldn’t stop thinking about that couple, wondering what would happen if they left the hospital without their son. Where would they go? What would they do? Thus, the seeds of Blue Hydrangeas were sown, my wild writer’s imagination took off, and the story began to grow. I worked on this book eleven years. It sounds crazy, I know, but after I finished what I thought was the final draft and sent it out into the literary market place with no takers, I continued to tweak it, cutting scenes, adding others. In the midst of all this, I developed repetitive strain injuries from an inappropriate computer workstation at my job, and everything just stopped. I could no longer write. I put everything aside for a couple of years. But the story haunted me, and when I was able to I continued to revise and rework the manuscript. Two years ago a friend suggested I publish on Kindle and I figured I had nothing to lose. It took me a year to prepare and publish the book. My book is unique because there aren’t many novels about Alzheimer’s, although 5.5 million people are suffering from it right now. An interview with Marianne Sciucco, author of Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer's love story http://youtu.be/W4UvTVY4en4 Here’s an excerpt from Blue Hydrangeas. Sara has had an accident and is in the hospital. After dining on the cafeteria’s daily special, Jack returned to his wife, now sleeping peacefully, her face devoid of any stress. Jack stared at her for a long while, seeing vestiges of a young Sara, remembering the first time he had seen her fifty-seven years ago. Sara was nineteen, a blue-eyed beauty with rich auburn hair and tiny freckles splashed across her tiny nose. The face he saw now was older and well seasoned, but at seventy-six she was still a beauty. The auburn hair had turned snow white and covered her shoulders like a silken shawl. Her blue eyes still sparkled like jewels, but now tiny lines framed them. He smiled, thinking of how she lamented those wrinkles, blaming herself, a redhead living her life in the sun. She had taken care, but her love for the outdoors, the ocean, and her gardens had gotten the better of her. Jack thought the wrinkles added character, a testament to a life well lived. Her hands, though, revealed the most about her. Once as soft as rose petals, they had become calloused and worn by her life’s work. As a commercial artist, she had dipped them into oil paint and turpentine for decades. And, when her hands were not commanding a paintbrush they had dug deep into the earth, creating a spectacular garden that reaped awards from gardening groups throughout New England. Jack loved those hands, and held both of them in his own. Over the years, he had lavished her with exquisite jewelry, but these days she wore one simple gold band on her wedding finger, delicately inscribed with the words: “Always, my love. Jack.” He stroked the ring, gazing at her with a mixture of love and grief. The last nine years had been tough and promised to get tougher. He sensed change, and loss, and death ahead and it filled him with fear deeper than he had ever known. The realization that one of them would die, would leave the other, paralyzed him. How could he live without her? What would she do without him? “Oh, Sara,” he whispered, a catch in his throat. Tears formed in his eyes and he brushed them away. He did not know whom he pitied more: Sara or himself. He pulled away from her bedside and went home to call their son. Bio: Marianne Sciucco is not a nurse who writes but a writer who happens to be a nurse. A lover of words and books, she dreamed of becoming an author when she grew up but became a nurse to avoid poverty. She later brought her two passions together and writes about the intricate lives of people struggling with health and family issues. Her debut novel, Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer’s love story, is a Kindle bestseller, IndieReader Approved, a BookWorks Book of the Week, a Reader’s Favorite, and winner of IndieReCon’s Best Indie Novel Award. A native Bostonian, she lives in New York’s Hudson Valley and, when not writing, works as a campus nurse at a community college. She loves books, the beach, and craft beer, and especially enjoys the three of them together. Connect Links: Blog http://mariannesciucco.blogspot.com/ https://www.facebook.com/marianne.sciucco.1 Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18002405-blue-hydrangeas?from_search=true Google+ google.com/+MarianneSciucco http://www.pinterest.com/mariannesciucco/blue-hydrangeas/ https://twitter.com/MarianneSciucco Buy Links: Blue Hydrangeas is available in paperback, audiobook and ebook at these and other online booksellers. Audible http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Blue-Hydrangeas-Audiobook/B00J5RELT0/ref=a_search_c4_1_2_srTtl?qid=1420426871&sr=1-2 Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Hydrangeas-Marianne-Sciucco-ebook/dp/B00CHU571S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1389745973&sr=8-2&keywords=sciucco Barnes and Noble http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=sciucco iBooks https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/blue-hydrangeas/id731472206?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4 Kobo http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/Search?Query=sciucco Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/505150 From the author of The Land Uncharted comes the second book in the Uncharted series, Uncharted Redemption. Written like a historical, set like a scifi, and filled with romance, Uncharted Redemption continues this suspenseful story of life in a hidden land.
Title: Uncharted Redemption Author: Keely Brooke Keith Release Date: February 24, 2015 Publisher: Edenbrooke Press Description: Levi Colburn, resentful of his father, haunted by his mother’s tragic death, and pained by his love for the unattainable Mandy Foster, breaks from the Land’s tradition and begins to build a life of his own. When rebels tear through the village of Good Springs, Levi vows to deliver justice and restore the woman he loves. As tradition stands in the way of redemption and threats from the outside world begin to appear, Levi must learn his greatest battles cannot be fought with his fists. Romantic, suspenseful, and filled with adventure, Uncharted Redemption weaves dramatic new layers into life in the Land. Purchase Links: Amazon Smashwords Barnes and Noble iTunes Pre-order signed paperbacks: Uncharted Redemption Add Uncharted Redemption to your shelf on: Goodreads, Shelfari, FictFact, and LibraryThing Have your ebook of Uncharted Redemption signed via Authorgraph Uncharted Redemption is the second book in the Uncharted series. If you haven’t read The Land Uncharted, it’s best to start here: The Land Uncharted Author Bio: Keely is a bass guitarist and lives on a hilltop south of Nashville. When she isn’t writing stories or playing bass, Keely enjoys dancing, having coffee with friends, and sifting through vintage books at antique stores. Author links: Goodreads COVER REVEAL:DREAMTHIEF by Tamara Grantham We are pleased to reveal the official cover for Dreamthief by Tamara Grantham. This book is amazing on the inside and now the outside is just as awesome! We can't wait to hear what you think of the cover. Make sure to leave a comment and let us know your thoughts. RELEASE DATE: September 1, 2015 GENRE: Fantasy Romance SERIES: Fairy World MD PUBLISHER: Crimson Tree Publishing LEARN MORE ABOUT: Visiting Faythander, a fairy world, is a nasty business. Forget the fairies and unicorns, most people come back with lost memories and mental problems. Olive Kennedy knows. She's the therapist who treats patients suffering from Faythander's side effects. She may have an emotionless mother and an apathetic boyfriend, but she takes pride in her job. She's never failed to cure a client—until now. Traveling back to Faythander wasn't on Olive's to-do list. But she has no choice. The fate of both Earth and Fairy depends on her ability to stop an evil being called the Dreamthief. Saving the world, she can handle. Falling in love—not so much. Now, she'll have to decide between her heart and the future of an entire planet. As if battling the forces of evil wasn't complicated enough… Dreamthief is the first book in the Fairy World MD series. Add Dreamthief to your Goodreads TBR List. ABOUT TAMARA GRANTHAM: Tamara Grantham was born and raised in Southeast Texas. She comes from a family of writers. She took her first writing class from her uncle Larry Franklin, who worked as an author and literary agent at the time. At the age of fifteen, she received her first acceptance letter. Her uncle wrote, “Thank you for letting me read your short story, The Quest for the Spear. I enjoyed it very much, and see that you have a talent that can be developed.” In his Writing Fiction class, he challenged each of his students (which consisted of her two sisters and cousins) to write a novel. The challenge seemed daunting at the time, so daunting that she didn’t do it. Despite her uncle’s praise, writing was not a part of her life until the age of 28, after she was married with three small children. She read a book called Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George. While she loved the novel, the thought occurred to her that she, too, had characters and stories in her head that were just as creative. The standing challenge from her uncle, made fourteen years earlier, finally became a reality. She wrote her first novel in one month. After that, she wrote five more books and several short stories and novellas. In 2013, she signed her first contract with former writing mentor, and New York Times-bestselling author, William Bernhardt, to contribute to his Shine series. The novellas are about young girls with unusual abilities. In November 2014, almost four years to the day that she finished her first book, she signed with Crimson Tree Publishing (the adult imprint of Clean Teen Publishing) for her novel Dreamthief. While she’s not writing, and sometimes while she is, she raises four (soon to be five!) beautiful children, ages one to ten. She lives in Galveston, Texas with her husband and kids, one cat and one dog. Her husband David is her biggest support. For the past ten years he has been in training to become a surgeon. She frequently picks his brain for the sake of her stories, a habit she hopes he’ll forgive. An interview with The Originator, antagonist of the highly anticipated new novel, Aware, by Sara B. Gauldin! Who are you?
I am sometimes called The Master of the Scourge, sometimes the Originator. You may have another name for me. Where do you live? I regret that I am unable to share that information. I can’t have that Guide, Terra dropping by and causing problems! It is better that she waste her time with underlings. So long as they are after her precious Liam she will stay out of my way! Are you the hero of your own story? I have power. That is all that is really important. What is your problem in the story? I have goals. Of course I am very motivated. Creating an army of followers is not an easy task. It turns out that humans are flawed. Once you find that common thread, corrupting them and using them to create mayhem in their little world is not so hard. At least it wasn’t until Terra showed up and started causing trouble. Do you embrace conflict? I can’t think of anything better. In fact conflict is what gives me my power! How do your enemies see you? Terra is my only real obstacle. The rest of the Guides don’t even realize I exist. I am taking over their charges right under their noses and they don’t have a clue! Do you have a goal? Spreading evil and corruption through the mortal world. Taking human bodies for an invasion of the Tweens. Total domination. What do you regret? I regret the untimely destruction of my son The Brazen One. He was useful. Now he is not. Has anyone ever failed you? Brazen, the fool thought he was indestructible. Has anyone ever betrayed you? No How do you envision your future? The recipient of unlimited evil power, the leader of a new and corrupted Earth and Tweens! |
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