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Lands of Jade: Crimson Winter, Vol. 2 by Justine Alley Dowsett

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Darkness falls…so I can… see the light of day again 


Mirror World Publishing and Sapphyria's Book Promotions present the 1-week book for Lands of Jade: Crimson Winter, Vol. 2 by Justine Alley Dowsett.
About Lands of Jade:
Darkness falls...
For the first time in eight hundred years, the sun sets on the desert world of Crimson Winter, throwing the planet into unexpected darkness and further chaos. And with the setting of the sun comes the unexpected rise of hordes of undead creatures from the endless Sand Lakes.
...so I can...
Yukari Namikoya, Japanese high school student turned Chosen of Sapphiros, must rise to the occasion and use the powers she has been given to try and protect those she's come to love against overwhelming odds.
...see the light of day again.
But when each night lasts a little longer, Yukari soon realizes that their days might be numbered and a sinister force beyond even the menace of the Vile Emperor might be behind the terrors that are besieging the planet during such a desperate time. The worst part is that Yukari doesn't know if her powers, or even the combined forces of her allies will be enough to protect the Kingdom of Taiyou, let alone the whole world.
Genres:  Young Adult, SciFi, Fantasy, Adventure 
Page Count: Approximately 434
Sale Information:

Buy Lands of Jade and get 50% off any other Mirror World title from their store until the end of April. The discount is automatic for anyone who buys Lands of Jade as an ebook or paperback.


Read an Excerpt:

“So it’s a children’s toy that goes down the stairs?” Rama
asked. “On its own, you say?” 



I listened only half-heartedly as Hotaru tried, once again,
to explain another tidbit of Earth culture to someone who had no frame of
reference for what she was talking about. Hotaru was my best friend, but I was
often exasperated by her lack of good judgment. I prided myself on having a
solid grasp on the facts of any given situation, but it was not lost on me that
my round-faced, dark-haired friend was my complete opposite. It was a wonder we
got along at all. 



Beyond Hotaru, Kaji rolled his eyes to indicate what he
thought of the current topic of conversation and I smiled at him, despite
myself. Like Hotaru, I had known Kaji my entire life. We didn’t talk much, but
when we did we often saw eye to eye, which was refreshing compared to the
arguments I often had with Hotaru. 



Yue, the other one of us who had been chosen by Sapphiros,
was another matter altogether. I looked up as I saw my friend appear at the
base of the staircase and grab a couple of buns from the soldier handing them
out, her impossibly long, chestnut brown hair falling down to cover her face in
shadow. Yue and I had been close enough on Earth, though even then she had been
quiet and generally preferred to be on her own, rather than socialize or study.
Since arriving on this world, she had, if anything, become more distant from
the rest of us. In the last three days she had been mostly silent, using her power
to increase her walking or running speed until she was no longer visible as she
passed from place to place, in order to avoid having to actually encounter
anyone. 



She turned, buns in hand, and made as if to flash-step back
in the direction she had come when she stopped suddenly, her back stiffening. I
sat up straight in alarm before I realized what had caused Yue to pause. A
familiar grating noise filled the air and I looked over my shoulder in
disbelief to see the doors of the temple were opening at last. 



The group of us on the steps hurried to our feet as two at
a time, sorceresses and sorceresses-in-training emerged from the massive
temple, fanning out from the doors themselves and down the sides of the
staircase. Prince Narlhep emerged slowly into the light of day from the dark
confines of the Jade mountain. He walked stiffly, but I was glad to see him
exiting the temple under his own power – after three days of his continued
absence, I had begun to worry he would not emerge at all. The prince took a few
more steps and stopped between Kaji and Rama, but he didn’t make any move to
take his helmet off, nor did he speak. 



“All hail the new King of Taiyou!” Kaji called out, his
voice amplified by his power so everyone could hear him. “All hail King Narlhep!” 



“King Narlhep!” The cheer was repeated by those of us on
the steps, Rama’s troops, and the Roughlanders beyond, though the many
sorceresses remained silent and stony-faced. 



My eyes were trained on Narlhep, who still had not made any
move to remove his helmet – something was amiss here. After a long moment,
Narlhep retrieved his sword from Rama and started making his way down the
stairs. I fell in step beside him as the sorceresses began to disperse and the
others talked excitedly amongst themselves. 



“Narlhep, are you all right?”



He didn’t answer me, confirming my suspicions. I quickened
my pace to keep step with him as he broke free of the crowd at the bottom of
the stairs and continued on away from where we had set up our encampment. Ahead
of us lay the partly-destroyed small village that decorated the one side of the
mountain, where we had commandeered most of our remaining supplies. 



“Narlhep?” I tried again as he marched deliberately toward
a wooden cabin, which was slightly larger than the majority of the huts still
standing in the village. 



I entered the cabin on the heels of the prince – or the
king now, I suppose. The cabin was still not very big, despite being larger
than most of the buildings in this village. The main room – perhaps the only room,
I couldn’t tell – contained only a few rickety chairs facing a wooden desk.
Behind the desk was a woman I had met before, but didn’t much like. She was
small of stature and elderly, with a bun of grayish-white hair held atop her
head by a black net of spider-like webbing. As the armoured King of Taiyou
entered her presence, the matronly sorceress stood and gave a slight bow of her
head in his direction. Narlhep did not wait for the woman to finish
acknowledging him before he removed her head with a single, powerful swipe of
his sword. 



I gasped, my eyes widening in shock. Narlhep, like me, was
only fifteen. I had never killed anyone before, though since coming here I had
seen my share of death. I had read in the museum of Taiyou that Prince Narlhep,
like the other princes of his line before him, had been responsible for the
death of his father, but until now I hadn’t fully believed my friend to be
capable of murder. Her head rolled to the ground as her body crumpled and a
slight green mist, like a gas, wafted from out of her body to dissipate in the
air. 



“She was the last of the Oujou.” Narlhep’s voice sounded
muffled from beneath his helmet, but I could hear him struggling to keep his
voice controlled. “I had no choice.”  



“Narlhep, please, talk to me,” I pleaded with him, wanting
my friend back. “Tell me what happened in there.” 



He gave no response, but stood tightly gripping his bloody
sword a moment in his gauntleted hand before walking past me. I couldn’t let
him just walk away. I tried a different tactic, though it would cost me to do
it. “Your Majesty?”



He stopped with his back to me and he didn’t turn his head.
“Don’t call me that,” he said. “I’m not the King of Taiyou.”



“If you’re not the King of Taiyou, then who is?” 



Narlhep took a deep breath, audible through his helmet.
“The Chosen of Jedeite. I’m to act as Regent until he returns to Taiyou, then
my time is finished.” 

Meet the Author:








Justine Alley Dowsett is the author of ten novels and counting, and one of the founders of Mirror World Publishing. Her books, which she often co-writes with her sister, Murandy Damodred, range from young adult science fiction to dark fantasy/romance. She earned a BA in Drama from the University of Windsor, honed her skills as an entrepreneur by tackling video game production, and now she dedicates her time to writing, publishing, and role-playing with her friends.

Connect with Justine:

Facebook: 
 http://www.facebook.com/mirrorworldpublishing

Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/mirrorworldpub

Amazon: 
http://amzn.to/2obPWUL

Goodreads: 
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/28439132-mirror-world 

Blog: 
http://www.mirrorworldpublishing.wordpress.com/

Publisher Website:
http://www.mirrorworldpublishing.com/


YouTube: 

Enter the Giveaway:

Contest is for a Kindle copy of Ruins of Sapphire, Crimson Winter Vol. 1. Contest is for US and Canada only. 


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The Demons of Chiyoda – book 3. Virtual book tour

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Nora Simeon hates demons.

Mirror World Publishing and Sapphyria’s Book Promotions present the 1-week book tour for The Demons of Chiyoda (Nora Simeon Investigations #3) by Laurence Raphael Brothers.

About The Demons of Chiyoda:

Occult private eye, Nora Simeon, and Eyre, her uncannily pretty boyfriend, are on another case on behalf of the Commission, the secret organization that controls financial sorcery in the Americas. This time they’re hunting down an investment-bank sorcerer who cracked when passed over for promotion and used a summoned demon to commit murder. Finding the murderer is easy, but he’s already dead, assassinated in a locked room.

The case’s ramifications quickly reach far beyond New York. From a murder scene in Queens, Nora and Eyre discover a tangled web of international corruption and sorcery linking crimes in Japan and the US. Traveling to Tokyo at the behest of the mysterious Onmyōdō Group, they run afoul of the even more deadly Ministry of Shadows. In the rural reaches of Fukushima province, Nora and Eyre discover a fateful secret that could shake the foundations of financial sorcery all around the world and come up against an old enemy whose malice poses a greater danger than any they’ve faced before.

Book Information:

ASIN: ‎ B09STVRWSL
Publisher: ‎ Mirror World Publishing; 1st edition (March 17, 2022)
Publication Date: ‎ March 17, 2022
Print Length: ‎ 199 pages

Follow the Book Tour for Spotlights, Exclusive Excerpts, and Reviews:

https://saphsbookpromotions.blogspot.com/2022/03/book-tour-schedule-demons-of-chiyoda.html

Read an Excerpt:

Technically, it was Entering but not Breaking. Eyre had charmed the
superintendent out of the spare key to apartment 4-G, and with the aid of a bit
of machine oil I was working it slowly into the lock to avoid making any noise.
We were in the fourth-floor corridor of a red brick apartment building on
Parsons Boulevard in Flushing, Queens, a pleasant working-class neighborhood
with plenty of trees and quiet side streets. Someone was cooking a pot roast in
a nearby apartment, and the aroma was reminding me I’d skipped lunch tracking
down this address.

“I’m ready, Nora,” Eyre said. My blue-haired assistant was poised,
crouched at my side, waiting for me to get past the lock. I tried turning the
key. Slowly…slowly…I could feel resistance, but it wasn’t stuck. A
millimeter at a time and— something clacked loudly. Fuck. The deadbolt must
have been spring-loaded.

I turned the doorknob to clear the latch and slammed the door open
with my shoulder. No chain. Eyre darted inside as soon as the gap was wide
enough, and I followed an instant later, backing him up with my gun drawn.
There was a time early in my career when I would have called for some
Commission heavies and a staff sorcerer or two for back-up because come on,
there could be an angry demon in there. And a time more recently when I would
have gone in alone because fuck it. But now it was Eyre and me. With his
slender build and boyish face, my assistant didn’t look like much of a fighter,
but I doubted there was any demon who could beat him one-on-one.

This was a renegade sorcerer’s safe house, a VP from Morgan Stanley
who’d cracked and gone on a murder spree when he was passed over for promotion,
using a demon he’d illicitly summoned for his own private use as an assassin. I
was honestly expecting the flat to be empty, the sorcerer not being so stupid
as to hide out in town with the Commission after him, but it was possible he
was there, and it was possible the demon was there, too. As it happened, both
those things were true.

Eyre put the brakes on and didn’t do anything violent immediately,
so I paused behind him to take in the scene. It was a barebones one-bedroom
flat, a dining room nook by the door, a tiny kitchen off to the left, the
dining area opening into a living room, and a short corridor on the right
leading off to a pair of doors, no doubt the bedroom and bathroom. No furniture
at all, except for some kind of collapsible chrome thing at the back of the
living room and— Oh. That was a severed human head on the floor in front of it.

The chrome thing unfolded itself, revealing itself to be a demon
after all. The creature gave an initial impression of a high-end Ikea coffee
table put together by a demented elder god who’d gotten frustrated with the
instructions and never could find a use for half the hex bolts. The demon must
have been summoned recently, as they hadn’t had any time to adapt their form
from the original jointed assembly of polished metal rods and plates to which
their spirit had been bound. Unlimbered, their effect was something like a
skeletal centaur with metal bones, except that for a head they had a hinged
gripper like a two-fingered hand at the end of a long, segmented, prehensile
neck. Instead of hooves or feet their legs ended in sharpened points that made
them teeter precariously as they rose from the floor, and two longer armlike
limbs of the same sort extended from their shoulders. Though they had some
trouble balancing at first, once up on all fours they were stable, even
graceful.

“Well,” Eyre said, “this is messed up.”

Despite his awesome martial skills, Eyre was far more deeply
affected by violence and death than me, so I gave him a glance, but he seemed
okay. He was focused on the situation, prepared to defend himself if necessary.

The demon tensed for a moment, reared back as if about to spring,
but then they brought their two arms up, crossed them like a violinist, and ran
one long chrome limb up and down the other while bowing it back and forth. An
unearthly ringing tone played, a little like the sound when you rub your finger
on the edge of a wine glass, not at all unpleasant. As the sound rose and fell,
sliding smoothly up and down the scale, I realized there was something in the
overtones…oh. They were speaking, an ethereal, shimmering voice arising from
around and behind the varying note they were playing on their arms.

“—come to destroy me?”

“Not unless you make it necessary,” I told them. “Did you kill him?”

“No! Not my master. Only his enemies.”

Eyre advanced cautiously, kneeling beside the decapitated head on
the floor. The demon made as if to protect it, but then subsided. They extended
their long gripper limb and placed it beside the head, caressing its cheek
before withdrawing.

“That’s him,” Eyre said, “I think. Carson. Our subject.”

“If you didn’t kill him,” I asked the demon, “who did?”

“I don’t know!” Throbbing through the overtones of the demon’s
metallic voice, the creature’s agony and sorrow were unmistakable. “I was here,
he was sleeping in the bedroom. He was going to take me with him. He said we
would go to Maru— Maruno— to a place where the Commission could not follow. It
was the morning, time to go, to take the train, he didn’t come out, I waited, I
waited, and then, and then I went in to see, to wake him up. And then…”

The demon collapsed. They just fell to the floor in a heap, looking
once again like a mess of chrome rods haphazardly thrown together, only
stirring a little, making feeble clinking noises to show they were still alive.
Struck down by grief, I guess.

“We’d better check the bedroom.” I nodded at the creature. “What
about the demon?”

“Poor thing.”

I wanted to argue the point—the poor thing had killed two Morgan
Stanley vice presidents and an executive VP to boot—but this wasn’t the time or
the place, so I led Eyre down the hallway to the closed doors.

Purchase Links:
Amazon https://amzn.to/3H7jHi6

Meet the Author:

Laurence Raphael Brothers is a writer and a technologist. He has published over 25 short stories in such magazines as Nature, the New Haven Review, PodCastle, and Galaxy’s Edge. His WWI-era historical fantasy novel Twilight Patrol was just released by Alban Lake. For more of his stories, visit https://laurencebrothers.com/bibliography, or follow him on twitter: @lbrothers.

Visit the Publisher’s Website:

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Cover Reveal: The Demons of Chiyoda (Nora Simeon Investigations #3) by Laurence Raphael Brothers.

1 Comment
Nora Simeon hates demons.


Mirror World Publishing and Sapphyria’s Book Promotions present the cover reveal for The Demons of Chiyoda (Nora Simeon Investigations #3) by Laurence Raphael Brothers.

About The Demons of Chiyoda:

Occult private eye, Nora Simeon, and Eyre, her uncannily pretty boyfriend, are on another case on behalf of the Commission, the secret organization that controls financial sorcery in the Americas. This time they’re hunting down an investment-bank sorcerer who cracked when passed over for promotion and used a summoned demon to commit murder. Finding the murderer is easy, but he’s already dead, assassinated in a locked room.

The case’s ramifications quickly reach far beyond New York. From a murder scene in Queens, Nora and Eyre discover a tangled web of international corruption and sorcery linking crimes in Japan and the US. Traveling to Tokyo at the behest of the mysterious Onmyōdō Group, they run afoul of the even more deadly Ministry of Shadows. In the rural reaches of Fukushima province, Nora and Eyre discover a fateful secret that could shake the foundations of financial sorcery all around the world and come up against an old enemy whose malice poses a greater danger than any they’ve faced before.


Book Information:

ASIN: ‎ B09STVRWSL
Publisher: ‎ Mirror World Publishing; 1st edition (March 17, 2022)
Publication Date: ‎ March 17, 2022
Print Length: ‎ 199 pages

Pre-Order Links:


Amazon https://amzn.to/3H7jHi6

Meet the Author:

Laurence Raphael Brothers is a writer and a technologist. He has published over 25 short stories in such magazines as Nature, the New Haven Review, PodCastle, and Galaxy’s Edge. His WWI-era historical fantasy novel Twilight Patrol was just released by Alban Lake. For more of his stories, visit https://laurencebrothers.com/bibliography, or follow him on twitter: @lbrothers.

Visit the Publisher’s Website:

books

Book Tour: Sloth the Lazy Dragon by Regan W.H. Macaulay and illustrated by Alex Zgud

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Mirror World Publishing and Sapphyria’s Book Promotions present the 1-week book tour for Sloth the Lazy Dragon.
About Sloth the Lazy Dragon:
Join Sloth on his adventure to wellness…
Sloth the Lazy Dragon lives in a mountain atop his hoard of gold and jewels. He believes he has all that a dragon could possibly want, until he meets a brave dwarf named Radish who offers to help him lose weight. With Radish’s guidance, Sloth finds himself eating healthier and getting plenty of exercise. In time, Sloth gains the freedom that his new healthy lifestyle brings, which he discovers is more valuable to him than all the treasure in the world.
Follow the Blog Tour Here:
Book Details:
Page Count: 32
Genre: Children’s Picture Book
Tags: Fantasy, Adventure, Wellness, Exercise, Nutrition, Food, Heath
Publisher: Mirror World Publishing http://www.mirrorworldpublishing.com
Publish Date: October 23, 2021
Purchase Links:
Mirror World Publishing
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Meet the Author:
Regan W.H. Macaulay is an award-winning author of novels, short stories, children’s literature, and scripts. Writing is her passion, but she’s also a producer and director of theatre, film, and television. She is an animal enthusiast as well, which led her to become a Certified Canine and Feline Massage Therapist. Other picture storybooks include Dog Band, Libby the Lobivia Jajoiana, Beverlee Beaz the Brown Burmese, Tamara Turtle’s Life So Far, Mixter Twizzle’s Breakfast, and Merry Myrrh the Christmas Bat. She is also the author of The Trilogy of Horrifically Half-baked Ham, which includes Space Zombies! (based on her film, Space Zombies: 13 Months of Brain-Spinning Mayhem!— available on Amazon Prime and on DVD), They Suck, and Horror at Terror Creek.
Social Media:
Meet the Artist:
Alex Zgud is an artist from rural Ontario, currently living in Calgary. She attended the Ontario College of Art & Design, where she majored in drawing and painting, and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts. After finishing school she went on to begin a tattoo apprenticeship, and has since been developing her skills as a tattoo artist. Her preferred media are inks and watercolours.
 

 

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Exclusive Excerpt: The Last Timekeepers and the Noble Slave by Sharon Ledwith

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Welcome to the 1-week virtual book tour for 
The Last Timekeepers and the Noble Slave
The Last Timekeepers, Book 3
by Sharon Ledwith


About the Book:

Eleven-year-old Drake Bailey is an analytical thinker and the genius of the Timekeeper crew. However, no logic or mathematical acumen can change the color of his skin, or prepare him for this third Timekeeper mission in antebellum Georgia. To survive, Drake must learn to play the role of a plantation slave and when confronted with the brutality, hatred, and racism of the deep south, he’ll have to strategically keep one move ahead of his sadistic captors to ensure his lineage continues.

In a dark world of Voodoo, zombies, and ritualistic sacrifice, the Timekeepers must ensure a royal bloodline survives. Can Drake remove both literal and figurative chains to save both himself and a devout slave girl from a terrible fate? If he can’t summon the necessary courage, humanity could stand to lose one of its greatest leaders.

Book Details:

Genres: Young Adult, Time Travel, Fantasy  

Page Count: 244 Pages

Publisher: Mirror World Publishing

Release Date: September 17, 2021

Follow the Tour to Read Exclusive Excerpts, Guest Posts, Reviews, and Spotlight Posts:


Read an Excerpt:

Drake read over their Timekeeper mission again. Blood. Deep south. Race. Broken. Soul. Red flags waved through his mind like a category five hurricane. He’d seen one too many movies and documentaries to know 1855 was not a great time in history for people with his skin color. Drake shut the Timekeepers’ log, and shook his head vehemently. “There’s no way in hell I’m gonna go on this mission, Lilith!”

Lilith wrinkled her long, narrow nose. “I understand why you have these fearful feelings, Drake, but I do not choose where you go into the past. Belial is the one who holds that power, and seeks to disrupt history whenever he sees a chance.”

“May I see the Timekeepers’ log, Drake?” the Prof asked. 

“Sure, Prof, but I’m still not going,” Drake replied, passing the log over.

“Can he do that?” Ravi asked, glancing at Treena.

“I don’t think so. It’s like signing a contract for a movie. You’re committed to finishing the film or you face the studio lawyers. Case closed, gavel down.”

“Lilith isn’t a judge.” Ravi looked at Lilith. “Right?”

“No, Ravi, I am not your judge, but what Treena said rings true. You were all chosen as Timekeepers for a reason, and are bound by this covenant,” Lilith replied, unclasping her hands. “That is all I can offer you.”

“Fine. I’ll just remove my Babel necklace,” Drake said, digging under his shirt. “Problem solved.”

“Drake, why are you freaking out like this?” Jordan asked, helping Amanda to her feet. “It can’t be as bad as fighting the Nazis in our second mission.”

“Yeah, or being interrogated in the Gestapo Headquarters by Belial’s creepy crony Marcus Crowley,” Ravi added.

“Why don’t you ask Amanda why she puked? It wasn’t because she had warm and fuzzy feelings about this mission,” Drake argued.

Melody wiped Amanda’s chin. “Do you feel well enough to speak?”

“I…I think so.”

Professor Lucas whistled. “Now I see why Amanda was sick to her stomach. Using the words deep south and the date as a clue, this mission puts us in the antebellum era, six years before the American Civil War began. This period was filled with so much hate, racism, turmoil, and political upheaval, I’m willing to bet these emotions went right through her.”

“If Uncle John is right, why would Belial want to change anything back then?” Jordan asked, frowning. “That slithering douche-bag lives for human suffering during those dark times in history.”

“Exactly.” Drake removed his Babel necklace. “So why tempt fate?”

“N-no, Drake, you have to come.” Amanda reached for his hand, and squeezed it. “Trust me, you’re an important part of this mission.”

“Huh? How?”

       “It’s hard to explain. I just know you have to be there.”

Purchase Links:

Mirror World Publishing:








Meet the Author:

Escape to the past and have a blast.

Sharon Ledwith is the author of the middle-grade/young adult time travel adventure series, THE LAST TIMEKEEPERS, and the award-winning teen psychic mystery series, MYSTERIOUS TALES FROM FAIRY FALLS. When not writing, researching, or revising, she enjoys reading, exercising, anything arcane, and an occasional dram of scotch. Sharon lives a serene, yet busy life in a southern tourist region of Ontario, Canada, with her spoiled hubby, and a moody calico cat.

Learn more about Sharon Ledwith on her WEBSITE and BLOG. Look up her AMAZON AUTHOR page for a list of current books. Stay connected on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PINTEREST, LINKEDIN, INSTAGRAM, and GOODREADS. 

Publisher Website:

Mirror World Publishing 

Giveaway Information and Entry Forms:

2 winners!

1 winner will received a signed paperback of The Last Timekeepers and the Noble Slave (International).a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

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Book Tour: Tabitha Won’t sleep by David McLain & Felix Eddy

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Mirror World Publishing and Sapphyria’s Book Promotions Present
the 1-week virtual book tour for Tabitha Won’t Sleep.


About Tabitha Won’t Sleep:

It’s eight bells, and Tabitha Winter doesn’t want to go to sleep.

“Well, it’s time to go to bed,” Mama Kitty says. “Come on, let’s put your pajamas on. Dad will read you a story.”

Tabitha Won’t Sleep is a beautifully illustrated picture book about a young kitten whose parents encourage her to believe that she can do anything she wants to, as long as she goes to sleep first. Children will love exploring the wonderful adventures Tabitha has in mind as she tries to avoid bedtime, and adults will love that in the end, everyone goes to sleep. Seriously, it’s past eight-thirty. Lay down your head and close your eyes.



Release Date: August 17, 2021
Publisher: Mirror World Publishing

Meet the Author:

David McLain is the author of the novels The Life of Thief, Dragonbait, and The Time Travellers Resort and Museum. His stories and poems have appeared in over two dozen magazines, including Harvard’s Dudley Review. He is an occasional contributor to the podcasts The History of England, and Geek Salad. He graduated from Purchase College, where he directed a production of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. He lives in upstate New York.

Meet the Illustrator:

Felix Eddy graduated Magna Cum Laude from Alfred University. She has illustrated over two dozen books for children and young adults, including The Big Red Purse, Dinosaur Boogie, Barks Mulberry Socks*, K-9 Merlin-Police Dog Extraordinaire*, and The Bestiary Alphabet, which she also wrote. You can find out more about her art and embroidery at her website www.felixeddy.com. (* Bark’s Mulberry Socks and K-9 Merlyn are both 2020 TAZ award winners.)

Connect with the Author and Illustrator:



David McLain’s Amazon Profile: https://amzn.to/3hEFuTs




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Cover reveal: Tabitha won’t sleep by David McClain and Felix eddy

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Mirror World Publishing and
Sapphyria’s Book Promotions
 present the cover reveal for Tabitha Won’t Sleep.

About Tabitha Won’t Sleep:

It’s eight bells, and Tabitha Winter doesn’t want to go to sleep.

“Well, it’s time to go to bed,” Mama Kitty says. “Come on, let’s put your pajamas on. Dad will read you a story.”

Tabitha Won’t Sleep is a beautifully illustrated picture book about a young kitten whose parents encourage her to believe that she can do anything she wants to, as long as she goes to sleep first. Children will love exploring the wonderful adventures Tabitha has in mind as she tries to avoid bedtime, and adults will love that in the end, everyone goes to sleep. Seriously, it’s past eight-thirty. Lay down your head and close your eyes.


Release Date: August 17, 2021
Publisher: Mirror World Publishing

Meet the Author:

David McLain is the author of the novels The Life of Thief, Dragonbait, and The Time Travellers Resort and Museum. His stories and poems have appeared in over two dozen magazines, including Harvard’s Dudley Review. He is an occasional contributor to the podcasts The History of England, and Geek Salad. He graduated from Purchase College, where he directed a production of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. He lives in upstate New York.

Meet the Illustrator:

Felix Eddy graduated Magna Cum Laude from Alfred University. She has illustrated over two dozen books for children and young adults, including The Big Red Purse, Dinosaur Boogie, Barks Mulberry Socks*, K-9 Merlin-Police Dog Extraordinaire*, and The Bestiary Alphabet, which she also wrote. You can find out more about her art and embroidery at her website www.felixeddy.com. (* Bark’s Mulberry Socks and K-9 Merlyn are both 2020 TAZ award winners.)

Connect with the Author and Illustrator:



David McLain’s Amazon Profile: https://amzn.to/3hEFuTs


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Exclusive Excerpt: Far, Far Away Anthology

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Piece of Mind by L.R. Braden

Stale, slightly ionized air flooded my lungs, bringing with it the scent of disinfectant and…something else, sharp, sweet. Panic flitted around the edges of my exhilaration. I exhaled. I’d been dead another eighteen months.

The scientists didn’t like us using that term, but what else could I call it? Hibernation? Dormancy? Suspended animation? None of those were strong enough to fit the empty silence of the limbo where we waited.

What piece of myself have I left in that cold, dark place this time?

“Back with us, Mr. Thompson?” A voice floated out of the darkness, but not the inky void of that other place. Not even close.

I opened borrowed eyes, blinked.

Dr. McCarthy perched at the edge of her steel stool, watching me, waiting to see if I remembered how to speak, how to move, who I was. The gray at her temples was more pronounced than I remembered. Skin sagged from her cheeks like deflated balloons, silent testament to the time that hadn’t passed for me, proof of her indispensability.

One hand poised over the tablet in her lap, she leaned closer. “How do you feel?”

I raised one smooth, pale hand, translucent skin bright under the ceiling lights. It tingled as motes of dust brushed against it, asteroids pummeling my senses compared to the nothing that came before. Purplish veins swelled when I made a fist.

“Alive.” My lips snapped closed, cutting off the deep baritone voice I didn’t recognize as my own.

“Do you know where you are?”

I blinked twice, slowly, relishing my control over the flash of light and dark as the room flickered in and out of existence. Medical tools lined the otherwise bare walls. An endless vibration thrummed through me, and I dug into my memory for the cause.

Interstellar thrusters.

“Still on the Ark.” The unfamiliar voice cracked, shattering the last word.

Her mouth twisted to one side. “I’m afraid so. What do you remember about your life on Earth?”

“I lived in…an apartment, in…” I wracked my brain, sorting through labels until I found one that felt right. “New York.”

“Very good.” She smiled and nodded encouragingly.

“I—” More images flitted by, but I couldn’t hold them. “I was a—” My fingers tightened on the chair as I groped for some way to end that sentence, but all I found was a gaping hole where the information should have been.

Liquid trickled down the side of my face, and I was momentarily distracted by the need to identify it.

Tears. Crying.

“It’s all right, Mr. Thompson.” Dr. McCarthy set one cool palm over the back of my clenched fist, and the low moan I hadn’t realized I was making subsided.

“I can’t remember what I did before,” I said, waving my free hand, “this.”

Her smile returned, small and sad. “You were a writer, Mr. Thompson.”


Welcome to the book tour for Far, Far, Away, a new SciFi and Fantasy 7 story anthology.

About Far, Far Away:

In a land far, far away… In a distant galaxy… Once upon a time…

These are all ways to begin fantastical tales of love and adventure. Gateways into the realms of imagination. In this anthology, we bring together authors from all over this world to transport you into the worlds they’ve created.

Travel through space and experience infinity three hours at a time. Explore dangerous caverns for the source of a deadly disturbance. Get stranded on a mysterious island from which no one returns, then learn to survive on a distant planet while you hope for rescue. 

In this far-reaching, magical collection love allows you to see in colour, time is vast but fragile, and changing minds and hearts in Ancient Rome is only one stop on an epic journey across time, space, and reality. 

Stories Included in the Anthology:

“Piece of Mind” by L.R. Braden

“Songs and Superstitions” by Shana Scott

“Black Spire Isles” by Barend Nieuwstraten III

“Field Notes from the Unknown Planet” by Brittni Brinn

“The Colour of Roses” by Kelly D. Holmes

“The Prime Crusade” by Buddy Young
 
“Fatestorm” by Justine Alley Dowsett and Murandy Damodred

Purchase from Amazon https://amzn.to/3cFcfOw

Purchase from Mirror World Publishing https://mirror-world-publishing.myshopify.com/

Read an Excerpt:

It’s 2021. The pandemic drags on and we’re all stuck inside. Blegh. Reality sucks.

So why not take this opportunity to escape into fiction?

A year ago we ran a contest and we asked writers to submit stories set in other times, places, and versions of reality. Then we had our judges pick the best ones to include in this anthology.

Therefore, the seven stories you are about to read are windows into other worlds, but also into the minds of eight extremely creative and talented individuals. We’ve included their bios and a few words from each of them so you can get to know the people who have created such imaginative stories to take us far, far away, if only for a little while.

So pack your bags, or don’t because you won’t be needing them for this journey. Instead, sit back, relax, and turn the page to find distant galaxies, alien cultures, mysterious magical islands, unknown planets, the value of colour, the fragility of time, and the fickle nature of fate.

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Exclusive Excerpt: The Demons of the Square Mile by Laurence Raphael Brothers

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About The Demons of the Square Mile:

The real story behind Brexit.

 

Occult Private Investigator, Nora Simeon, and her uncannily handsome partner Eyre – an elemental given human form – follow a trail of magic, murder, and conspiracy from the luxurious apartment towers of Manhattan’s upper east side to the ancient depths of London’s Inner Temple. Along the way they encounter powerful sorcerers, magisterial barristers, evil templars, and, of course, more demons gone rogue.

With their newly acquired ward, Martha – a rat-demon – in tow, they uncover a secret so profound it could both undermine the world’s financial system and topple the British government.

 
Visit the Tour Hosts:

 

https://saphsbookpromotions.blogspot.com/2021/03/tour-hosts-for-demons-of-square-mile.html

 
 

Book Information:

 
Publisher: Mirror World Publishing (https://www.mirrorworldpublishing.com/)

 

Publish Date: March 17, 2021
Paperback: 114 pages
ISBN-10: 1987976770
ISBN-13: 978-1987976779
 
Read an Exclusive Excerpt:
 

The elevator let me out on the 60th floor, and I hesitated for a moment at the frosted-glass door before opening it, but it was too late to back out now. One of the most powerful people in the western hemisphere was waiting for me.

When I opened the door, though, I was confronted by someone I didn’t expect to see at all. The Commission operative Savarin, a bald man with harsh anger lines grooved in his face, sat at the reception desk in the foyer. I was a little surprised to see him still employed, but on mature reflection I supposed it made sense. He’d turned coat at just the right moment six months ago to join the winning side, and the Commission has never been big on sentiment.

Savarin looked me over carefully for a moment, as if he’d never seen me before, though at one time I’d reported all my case results to him. Maybe he was waiting for a hidden millimeter-wave weapon scan to complete. I wasn’t carrying; it didn’t seem like it would result in a positive outcome.

After that brief pause, he pointed down a carpeted corridor extending away from the entry foyer, which was decorated in a neutral style, tasteful but bland. “The director is ready for you. End of the hall.”

End of the hall wasn’t the sumptuous private office I was expecting, but a standard corporate conference room. Quality furnishings, but not ostentatious. Rosewood table, comfortable padded leather seating for eight, and an enormous video screen for teleconferences. The room was dim, lit only by the mid-morning daylight filtering through translucent beige curtains over picture windows that presented a ghostly view of Central Park stretching off to the north. The elegantly dressed man waiting on the far side of the conference table rose as I entered, waited for me to approach, and extended his hand.

“Mx. Nora Simeon? A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Nguyen.”

I muttered something polite and took his hand, cold and dry as a vampire’s, if there were such things. He looked like the model of an ultra-wealthy executive – but no, that wasn’t quite right. Nguyen had the demeanor and presence of someone who had so much money they didn’t need to take a salary at the pleasure of a corporate board. An owner, that’s what he was. He might have been thirty-five or forty years old. There was something about him that creeped me out, and I felt a surge of irrational fear at the touch of his hand. It was a relief when he let go a moment later and gestured for me to sit down.

“Now then, Mx. Simeon, I’m at your service. I must confess to some curiosity regarding the purpose of this meeting.”

Nguyen didn’t tell me his time was valuable; he didn’t have to. Maybe this half-hour he’d given me was worth more than my annual contract. His outfit might well have been. The senior Commission auditing director was dressed in a bespoke Brioni charcoal-black suit, with an exquisite gray silk tie over a white shirt and jade cufflinks on the sleeves. Mirror shades shielded his eyes even in the dimness of the conference room, a bit of a gauche touch, but still very effective. His jet-black hair and sparkling white teeth were as perfect as I’d ever seen in a human. I would have found his slight French accent charming if he wasn’t so creepy.

After a moment recovering my poise, I brought out my prepared spiel.

“The Commission keeps me on permanent retainer for a hundred grand a year.”

“So I understand,” he said.

“I realize it’s not a lot of money to you,” I said. “But it is to me, and I want to feel like I’m returning some kind of value for pay.”

“Laudable.”

I swallowed. I didn’t want to do myself out of my main source of income. But-

“It’s been six months. Six months since you replaced Oriens on the board, and six months since my last assignment.”

Purchase Your Copy:

 
Mirror World Publishing Paperback
Mirror World Publishing Ebook

 

Amazon Paperback
Amazon Ebook
 

Meet the Author:

Laurence Raphael Brothers is a writer and a
technologist. He has published over 25 short stories in such magazines as
Nature, the New Haven Review, PodCastle, and Galaxy’s Edge. His WWI-era
historical fantasy novel Twilight Patrol was just released by Alban
Lake. For more of his stories, visit https://laurencebrothers.com/bibliography,
or follow him on twitter: @lbrothers.

 

 

 

 

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Cover reveal: The Demons of the Square Mile by Laurence Raphael Brothers

1 Comment

About The Demons of the Square Mile:

The real story behind Brexit

Occult Private Investigator, Nora Simeon, and her uncannily handsome partner Eyre – an elemental given human form – follow a trail of magic, murder, and conspiracy from the luxurious apartment towers of Manhattan’s upper east side to the ancient depths of London’s Inner Temple. Along the way they encounter powerful sorcerers, magisterial barristers, evil templars, and, of course, more demons gone rogue.

With their newly acquired ward, Martha – a rat-demon – in tow, they uncover a secret so profound it could both undermine the world’s financial system and topple the British government.

Book Information:

Publisher: Mirror World Publishing (https://www.mirrorworldpublishing.com/)

Publish Date: March 17, 2021
Paperback: 114 pages
ISBN-10: 1987976770
ISBN-13: 978-1987976779

Visit the Tour Hosts:

https://saphsbooks.blogspot.com/2021/02/cover-reveal-tour-hosts-demons-of.html

Pre-Order:

Mirror World Publishing Paperback
Mirror World Publishing Ebook

Amazon Paperback
Amazon Ebook

Meet the Author:

Laurence Raphael Brothers is a writer and a
technologist. He has published over 25 short stories in such magazines as
Nature, the New Haven Review, PodCastle, and Galaxy’s Edge. His WWI-era
historical fantasy novel Twilight Patrol was just released by Alban
Lake. For more of his stories, visit https://laurencebrothers.com/bibliography,
or follow him on twitter: @lbrothers.