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Monday, January 31, 2022

Blog Tour- THE SUN CASTS NO SHADOW by @RchrdsnMark With An Excerpt & $10 Amazon GC #Giveaway!

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE SUN CASTS NO SHADOW by Mark Richardson Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About the Book:

Title: THE SUN CASTS NO SHADOW

Author: Mark Richardson

Pub. Date: February 9, 2020

Publisher: Whiz Bang

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 178

Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, Kindle, B&N, Kobo

Wellington Thorneycroft is content picking pockets, taking Ambrosia, screwing prostitutes, and simply surviving in the hellish, walled City. But everything changes when he spots a spectral woman who wordlessly conveys the message: We’ll escape together. Suddenly, Thorneycroft’s life is turned upside down as he’s pulled along a circuitous path to an unknowable freedom: a path marked by violence, sex, and metaphysical dread.

Reviews:

"The Sun Casts No Shadow by Mark Richardson is a dark and twisted tale of a city's underbelly...A fascinating yarn that will captivate readers, The Sun Casts No Shadow easily earns five stars. Richardson has produced an exceptional work that readers will relish and avidly share for years to come."Portland Book Review



"A lowly man searches for a way out of a seemingly inescapable City in the dystopian noir...Richardson coats his short, engaging novel in a gleefully dense atmosphere...A dark, stylish tale that revels in its ambiguity."Kirkus Reviews

 

 

Excerpt:

Strangely, when I think of the City, the trains are what first come to mind. Grimy and hulking, each evening a fleet would carry a small army of workers from the Factory to bleak neighbors and shanty towns where they lived out their dreary lives. 

I think of other things as well, such as: oppressive and unavoidable heat, heat so heavy it became a struggle just to walk. Troopers clearing the streets, bloodening heads with their billy clubs. Also, the red-light girls who would let me shoot my load on their tits, or wherever else I wanted, for a price. And there were the mansions on the crest of the ridge that circled high above the City; palatial estates that seemed to gaze down and lord over the rest of us. Legend had it that those mansions were the first structures built in the City, soon after its creation. For a time, they had served as homes for the Founding Fathers, but long ago had been commandeered by friends of Felix. 

Once, while I still lived at the orphanage, I scaled up the hill, past the mansions, until I made it to the Wall that circled the City. Looking up, I could see no end. The Wall climbed into the thick, oppressive layer of smog. I spent the entire day slowly walking along the circumference, searching for an opening, a way out, an escape hatch. No luck, there was no way out—not even a crack. I never returned. What was the point? We were all prisoners, scurrying rats fighting to survive. 

At the time that I spotted the woman with the black bangs, I’d been eking out a living as a thief and a robber. I stole from the high-end department stores where the wives and mistresses of Felix’s henchmen shopped, late-night convenience shops that peppered hardscrabble residential blocks, liquor stores and bars, and even private homes—you name it, I took from it. But mostly I picked pockets. And the pickings were easy. 

 

 

About Mark Richardson:

Mark Richardson is the author of the novels The Sun Casts No Shadow, and Hunt for the Troll.

 His short stories have appeared in numerous crime and literary publications, including HobartFugueSegueCrime FactorySwitchback, and Nth Position.

Born in the Chicago area, he graduated from the University of Iowa, and promptly escaped the midwestern winters for sunny California, first living in Los Angeles and then San Francisco. He spent thirty years working as a writer and marketer for tech companies in Silicon Valley.

Mark now lives in the East Bay with his wife, two children, and the world’s cutest dog. He spends his time writing fiction, obsessing about the Chicago Cubs, attending his daughter’s softball games, and reading stacks of books. He loves genre-bending fiction, especially speculative writing with a noir flavor. In 2019, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and supports the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon


Giveaway Details:

1 winner will win a $10 Amazon GC courtesy of Rockstar Book Tours, International.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/31/2022

Rockstar Book Tours

Kickoff Post

1/31/2022

Writer of Wrongs

Excerpt

2/1/2022

YABooksCentral

Guest Post

2/1/2022

Mythical Books

Excerpt/IG Post

2/2/2022

BookHounds

Guest Post

2/2/2022

@jaimerockstarbooktours

IG Post

2/3/2022

Rajiv's Reviews

Review/IG Post

2/3/2022

#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog

Review

2/4/2022

Jazzy Book Reviews

Review

2/4/2022

Sadie's Spotlight

Excerpt/IG Post

Week Two:

2/7/2022

Two Chicks on Books

Excerpt

2/7/2022

Jaime's Book World

Excerpt

2/8/2022

The Girl Who Reads

Review/IG Post

2/8/2022

Prison Wife Reviews

Review/IG Post

2/9/2022

Wottaread

Excerpt

2/9/2022

Coffee and Wander Book Reviews

Review/IG Post

2/10/2022

@jypsylynn

Review/IG Post

2/10/2022

Two Points of Interest

Review

2/11/2022

The Momma Spot

Review

2/11/2022

OneMoreExclamation

Review/IG Post


Blog Tour: BFF: A STORY ABOUT BULLYCIDE by Lindsey G. P. Bell With An Excerpt & $10 Amazon GC #Giveaway!

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the BFF: A STORY ABOUT BULLYCIDE by Lindsey G. P. Bell Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About the Book:

Title: BFF: A STORY ABOUT BULLYCIDE

Author: Lindsey G. P. Bell, Katena Utena (Illustrator)

Pub. Date: July 23, 2020

Publisher: Lindsey G. P. Bell

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

Pages: 256

Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, Kindle, B&N, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

Thirteen-year-old Abby and her father have just moved from a leaky old sailboat in California to an inherited mansion in South Carolina, and Abby does not fit in. This is the story of the summer adventures she shares with new best friend, Hollis, and two boys from their class rescuing an injured heron. But when school begins, Abby is shocked to learn that Hollis is a bullied outcast…who, pushed to the limit, takes her own life—a phenomenon known as bullycide. BFF attempts to portray that being targeted doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you, suicide is NOT the answer, and if you’re struggling, tell as many people as necessary until you get help. You are interesting and worth it.

Reviews:

"Both adult and teen readers will be moved by this poignant story and find it a valuable resource in discussing and countering bullying. Great for fans of Jennifer Niven's All the Bright Places, Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why."- BookLife by Publishers Weekly

“5 Stars!”- Readers’ Favorite

BFF: A Story About Bullycide touches on the perils of teen depression, bullying, and suicide. Told in Bell’s lyrical and unique voice, this story is a compelling read for teens and parents of teens.”- Leigh Medeiros, Author of The 1-Minute Writer

“As a mom I was concerned about the appropriateness for my children, but upon completion of BFF found myself wanting all kids to read this to understand the gravity of their actions. Bell takes a subject that can be controversial and weaves a beautiful story. You will fall in love with the main character and be immersed in every page. I would recommend this book to everyone—adults and children alike!”- Anneliese Tomlinson, CFI and mother of two teenagers

Book Trailer:


Excerpt:

250ish-word excerpt from BFF: A Story About Bullycide

By Lindsey G. P. Bell

 

 

Excerpt from Abby’s reflecting on Hollis’ suicide from the end of the Epilogue/book:

I never had another friend like Hollis. Though I think I sensed I never would on the first day when we shook hands. And when I think back, all I see in people like Lexie Cross, Ava Finn, and Leah Montgomery is the fear and emptiness that they were desperately trying to fight off by coming after us. There was nothing wrong with Hollis or me. We were the lucky ones, the ones who could have the time of our lives sitting up all night in the middle of nowhere waiting for a bird. And even if people thought we were ugly, fat, weird, disabled, too smart, too slow, too short, too tall, too poor, too freckled, too skinny, the “wrong” religion, the “wrong” color, the “wrong” sexual preference, the “wrong” gender, flat-chested, too booby, sexually active, hyperactive, or just plain annoying, we had each other. And if we had just stuck together, things might have ended differently.

There’s so much I wish I could go back and tell Hollis on that fateful night. At thirteen, school and Lexie felt like they would go on forever, but the older I got, the faster the days passed. I’ve been out of school now much longer than I ever had to be in it, and I’ve been able to fill my orbit with some really kind, adventurous, creative, funny people who understand and appreciate me.

There really have been countless thrill-and-three-quarters moments peppered into these many years, but the thing I’m most grateful for is the opportunity to share my story. I can’t undo the painful things that happened to me, but maybe by choosing to stick around I can use them to help somebody struggling down Hollis’s and my old path see that suicide is a mistake.

If only Hollis had told someone that she was considering it….

She would have loved all of this.

 

About Lindsey G. P. Bell:

Lindsey G. P. Bell’s life has been as exciting and full of adventure as one of her books.  Born to a father named Peter and a mother called Wendy, she was very nearly named Tinker Bell. It was the first of many bullets she would go on to dodge. 

 

As a young child in Washington, D.C., her great loves were the Smithsonian Institution’s museums of Natural History and Air and Space. Ms. Bell’s earliest life dreams were to someday live in a natural history museum and fly airplanes. 

 

Ms. Bell attended Pepperdine University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts.

 

While working in wildlife rescue, a friend introduced her to the now-late Grizzly Man, Timothy Treadwell. Tim and Ms. Bell began dating, and he invited her to join him camping with the wild brown bears, foxes, weasels, wolves and moose in the remote Alaskan wilderness. There, her love of seaplanes and all things natural shone. She was blessed to swim with wild bears, have mother bears (sows) nurse their cubs nearby (they purr!), and play something akin to Capture the Flag with red foxes. After spending portions of two summers in the wilderness with Tim, she embarked on three solo expeditions whereupon she’d spend her nights copiously journaling the day’s adventures. This felt like living in a natural history museum, and the discipline of writing daily led to penning her first children’s book.

 

Ms. Bell went on to earn her pilot’s license and sea-plane rating, and soon realized her true love lay in flying aerobatics (spins, loops, rolls…). 

 

After dabbling in weathercasting, acting, and improv, Ms. Bell began poking the stand-up comedy bear. Though she enjoys writing the material more than performing it, she can still occasionally be found around Los Angeles at open mics.

 

In addition to BFF: A Story About Bullycide, she’s completed drafts of seven children’s books, a novella, and three non-fiction volumes detailing her Alaska expeditions.  Between 2004 – 2006 she co-wrote a screenplay about the late Grizzly Man with Rebecca Dmytryk. An article about it appeared in the November 16, 2006 edition of the Malibu Surfside News. Her spoof essay on The Lorax was published in the October 2013 edition of Writer’s Digest. And in 2019, her short story The Call, The Call of Duty, and The Call Home placed ninth (out of fifty finalists) in the Inspirational category of the Writer’s Digest Annual Contest. She is currently working on a thriller.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a $10 Amazon GC, International.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/31/2022

Rockstar Book Tours

Kickoff Post

1/31/2022

Two Chicks on Books

Excerpt

2/1/2022

YABooksCentral

Guest Post

2/1/2022

@meetcuteromancebooks

Excerpt/IG Post

2/2/2022

Mythical Books

Guest Post/IG Post

2/2/2022

Log Cabin Library

Excerpt

2/3/2022

BookHounds

Guest Post/IG Post

2/3/2022

The Momma Spot

Excerpt

2/4/2022

Rajiv's Reviews

Review/IG Post

2/4/2022

@jaimerockstarbooktour

IG Post

Week Two:

2/7/2022

More Books Please blog

Review/IG Post

2/7/2022

Thoughts on Books

Review/IG Post

2/8/2022

@coffeesipsandreads

Review/IG Post

2/8/2022

#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog

Review/IG Post

2/9/2022

Coffee and Wander Book Reviews

Review/IG Post

2/9/2022

Wottaread

Excerpt

2/10/2022

@enjoyingbooksagain

Review/IG Post

2/10/2022

Prison Wife Reviews

Review/IG Post

2/11/2022

Fire and Ice

Review

2/11/2022

Jaime's Book World

Excerpt


Thursday, January 27, 2022

Tour Announcement: THE GIRL IN THE '67 BEETLE by @LindaLatt



Hey everyone! We are super excited to announce a Blog/Bookstagram Tour we're hosting for the paperback release of Linda Lenhoff's THE GIRL IN THE '67 BEETLE which release on September 26, 2021! This one is the perfect read for Valentine's Day! 

The tour will run for two weeks - from February 7th-11th & 14th-18th will have one or two stops per day on a blog or Instagram and will consist of a mix of reviews, interviews, pre-made guest posts, excerpts, & spotlights. 

Review copies eBooks only will be provided by the author.

Details on a giveaway are TK.

If you'd like to be considered to be a stop on this tour, please first sign up as a tour host and then fill out the sign-up form HERE.

***Sign-ups open until January 31st noon PST***

Once the blog hosts have been chosen and the tour schedule finalized we will email all the tour hosts who have been chosen with a confirmation email.

Please note: Signing up for the tour does not guarantee you will be selected. We will reach out to all hosts that have been chosen once the sign-ups have closed.

We are totally stoked for the tour for THE GIRL IN THE '67 BEETLE in February! We can't wait for everyone to read it or re-read it!

About the Book



Title:
 
THE GIRL IN THE '67 BEETLE
Author: Linda Lenhoff
Paperback Pub. Date: January 26, 2021
Publisher: Laurel Canyon Press 
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 284

Amy Shepherd greets the one-year anniversary of her divorce by throwing herself a celebratory dinner of once-forbidden foods (frozen dinner from Trader Joe’s, no salad at all, and lots of dessert) and giving away all of her married-life possessions. The art director of Kids Press, Amy has been assigned to revise the story of Goldilocks, and she finds her own life reflecting a similar tale. Will she fall for a man who’s a little too old (but exciting), a man who’s a little too young (but awfully exciting looking), or a man who’s just right, at least as far as her friends are concerned? Or will she bring Goldilocks’ story—and her own—up to date with a little help from high-technology and the Goldilocks Planet theory? Can Amy resolve issues with her ex, her failing publishing company, plus her best friend’s quandary about working in a museum that’s been universally panned? Amy will have to decide how her own tale will end, all the while driving her beloved powder blue convertible through the streets of Santa Monica, where she has become known as the Girl in the ’67 Beetle, the only thing in her life that, so far at least, feels just right.

Linda Lenhoff is the author of Life a la Mode and Latte Lessons.

Praise for The Girl in the '67 Beetle:
“I am so happy to keep company with smart, witty, and lovable characters. I rooted for all involved and applauded every romantic and professional payoff that The Girl in the ’67 Beetle delivered.
Elinor Lipman, author of Good Riddance, On Turpentine Lane, and The Family Man

I enjoyed this book so much I realized I wanted to start dating again and joined an online dating site! The Girl in the '67 Beetle is an utterly charming novel that zips along at a fun, brisk pace. You'll love the wide range of funny, quirky characters and the witty dialogue throughout will make you laugh out loud time and again. What a delight!
Renee Swindle, author of Shake Down the Stars, A Pinch of Ooh La La, and Please Please Please


Monday, January 24, 2022

Blog Tour: AUR CHILD by I.S. Lee With An Excerpt & #Giveaway!

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the AUR CHILD by I.S. Lee Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: AUR CHILD

Author: I.S. Lee

Pub. Date: January 25, 2022

Publisher: I.S. Lee

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 757

Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, Kindle

Nordic noir meets hard science fiction in debut author I.S. Lee's deep, twisting Aur Child.

Prepare to be lured into a multi-faceted, uncertain futurescape where the boundaries between right and wrong, good and evil, and heroes and villains are blurred by the complexities of that reality.

When a fisherman unwittingly discovers clues about other people wielding great technologies, fear and uncertainty of exposure throws both societies into conflict, and forces a clutch of artificial intelligence stewards to confront their own shortcomings. As real and virtual worlds collide, so too do the worldviews that have caused this centuries-long stand-off.

Portrayed through the eyes of its cast of flawed characters, Aur Child challenges the contemporary conventions of shallow, whiz-bang entertainment and the status quo reliance on sex and violence for uninspired storytelling. It delivers a slow-burn epic adventure that eschews the worn-out tropes of the post-apocalyptic genre and sends you on a journey through time and contemplation like nothing you've ever read before.

"Meddle not with what we do not understand." Future-primitive Tellurians have enjoyed a peaceful coexistence with nature for centuries after the moment of technological collapse, described in ancient texts as Cloudburst. Only the studied elders are aware of a diaspora virtual civilization who secretly covets their energy ...and their bodies.

Will you meddle?

 

Excerpt:

Her body had felt strange, yes. But now, so did her mind. Just as soon as she had shaken off the seasickness and felt she could join the others to carry on her duties, these new attacks started to interfere with her concentration, and then her ability to function at all. It was almost like the seasickness triggered this new feeling. To Digambar, it was especially worrying because she hadn’t felt this way during other exoports. Moreover, the other crew didn’t feel this way at all. The rest of them had recovered from the grueling pangs of seasickness. They were carrying out their responsibilities – and hers – without complaint.

They had already begun practicing with the sextant to master the celestial navigation so critical to an event where the ship’s systems were damaged. Beyond that, they were indulging in their exposure to earthsense. They shared these moments together and struggled to tamp down all the urges that bubbled up inside their teeming bodies. It was a special time of discovery and pleasure. The exosouls reveled in experiential bliss, indulging the nuances of an uncanny physic obscured from their lives, manipulating a life abandoned by their people in a fleeting present categorically foreign from their own.

Both Calliope and Arman had explained to her that sometimes, exosouls can require longer adjustment periods. “Each body is different,” Arman had told her. “The soul and the body are at odds in the beginning, but eventually they get along.”

Digambar knew that the sensations had been growing since her training began at Yellow Reserve, but they were subtle before, and she had attributed them to the earlier afflictions that were expected to have dissipated by now. She thought they were simply aftereffects from the initial shock of exoporting, like sore muscles after an extended hike. The ringing in her ears, the stiffness in her spine, the aching in the roots of her teeth. She had been so eager to get underway, that she rebuffed these signals. She refused to raise them to Arman during the daily check-ins. At night, when she lay on the thin mattress of the Yellow Reserve exosoul quarters, she was only slightly fearful that those early struggles might worsen at sea. Now, those worries were realized.

 


About I.S. Lee:


I.S. Lee has been writing as a hobby all his life, but only published his first fiction novel, Aur Child, after his fourth decade on Earth. He is a lover of nature and a practitioner of civil engineering. Born in the United States, he now lives with his wife and sons in Finland.

Facebook Page | Goodreads | Amazon

 




Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive an eBook of AUR CHILD, International.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/24/2022

Rockstar Book Tours

Kickoff Post

1/24/2022

Mythical Books

Guest Post/IG Post

1/25/2022

Writer of Wrongs

Guest Post

1/25/2022

YABooksCentral

Excerpt

1/26/2022

Two Chicks on Books

Excerpt

1/26/2022

@jaimerockstarbooktour

IG Post

1/27/2022

BookHounds

Guest Post

1/27/2022

Jaime's Book World

Excerpt

1/28/2022

Rajiv's Reviews

Review/IG Post

1/28/2022

Sadie's Spotlight

Excerpt/IG Post

Week Two:

1/31/2022

Wottaread

Guest Post

1/31/2022

Pick A Good Book

Review

2/1/2022

#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog

Review

2/1/2022

Prison Wife Reviews

Review

2/2/2022

@jypsylynn

Review/IG Post

2/2/2022

Books a Plenty Book Reviews

Review

2/3/2022

The Momma Spot

Excerpt

2/3/2022

Coffee and Wander Book Reviews

Review/IG Post

2/4/2022

Fire and Ice

Review

2/4/2022

OneMoreExclamation

Review/IG Post