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Exclusive Excerpt – The Ghost in the Gardens by HL Carpenter

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Welcome the 1-week Virtual Book Tour for The Ghost in the Gardens (A Flower Girl Mystery) by HL Carpenter.
About The Ghost in the Gardens:
Until the first spooky visit, ten year old Chrysantha Howe doesn’t think about ghosts. She thinks about plants.
All.
The.
Time.
She has her future planned out, and that future includes plants. Chrys is going to be a plant scientist like her uncle and her favorite teacher, and she’s determined to find the very rare Coralroot orchid.
The ghost is not in the plan.

But when her teacher disappears and the police suspect her uncle was involved, Chrys has to figure out what the ghost is trying to tell her—before it’s too late.Follow the Book Tour:

Book Details:
 
Genre: Middle Grade Paranormal Mystery
Page Count: 152 pages
Publisher: Mirror World Publishing (http://www.mirrorworldpublishing.com/)
Order Links:
Mirror World Publishing:  Ebook  Paperback
Read an Exclusive Excerpt:

I

Would the pilot be able to keep the helicopter in the air until they reached South Garden?

And what would they do when they got there? South Garden was not a safe landing spot. The ground was marshy and overgrown and too soft to support the heavy helicopter. The chopper might disappear into the mud before the pilot and Uncle Everett were able to get out.

I had walked through the meadow yesterday. I’d sunk to my knees in muck in some spots, and I weighed a lot less than a helicopter.

I darted out of the woods as the helicopter wobbled in a slow circle over South Garden. I waved my arms and pointed to the east. A wide grassy clearing lay beyond the trees that framed South Garden on three sides. The land there was higher and drier.

The chopper moved in the direction I pointed.

I dashed around the edge of South Garden, avoiding the sharp thorns of the wild blackberry bushes that stabbed out of the ground in untidy clumps. Barkley stayed close to my heels, spooked by the noise of the helicopter’s engine.

When I reached the open space on the far side of the field, I stopped. I waved both arms at the pilot to let her know the clearing was safe to use as a landing site.

The pilot waved back, but instead of dropping down to the field, the helicopter continued to hover. Uncle Everett smiled like he had no idea of the danger he was in.

Then the helicopter swept up, shot forward, and sped away.

What the heck was going on?

The engine noise dwindled from muted roar to dull thump and faded into silence as the chopper vanished into the distance.

The engine noise dwindled from muted roar to dull thump and faded into silence as the chopper vanished into the distance.

I rubbed my fingers across the smooth glass of the daisy pendant that dangled from a silver chain around my neck. What was Uncle Everett doing in the helicopter? He was supposed to be in Tampa, working on his latest book. Was he concocting another one of his publicity stunts?

I hoped not. He’d only avoided being hauled off in handcuffs after his last crazy adventure because Mom was a good lawyer.

My life was getting more complicated by the minute.

What else could go wrong?

Barkley bumped my leg and woofed.

“You’re trespassing, you know,” Dalton Dyer said.

Meet the Author:
Florida-based mother/daughter author duo HL Carpenter writes family-friendly fiction. The Carpenters write from their studios in Carpenter Country, a magical place that, like their stories, is unreal but not untrue. When they’re not writing, the Carpenters enjoy exploring the Land of What-If and practicing the fine art of Curiosity. Visit HLCarpenter.com to enjoy gift reads and excerpts and to find out what’s happening in Carpenter Country.
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Exclusive Excerpt from Mirror’s Deceit

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Mirena Calanais is destined to change the world. 
Her rival has made a desperate flight to the past to stop her.



About the Book:

A gifted student of majik, Mirena is on the verge of graduating from a secret college that will give her a leg up in her political career, when her achievements are overshadowed by the arrival of a mysterious woman with an unknown agenda. Desperate to keep what she sees as her rightful place in the spotlight, Mirena goes to astounding lengths including taking it upon herself to pose as a double agent to investigate a rebel force plotting to destabilize the government. Unfortunately, her actions cost her the trust of those around her, so when she is proclaimed the Dark Avatar of the Destroyer, she finds she has nowhere to turn.
In a seeming utopia, Mirena is now a pariah with the force of Destroyer behind her and her once bright dreams have darkened, leaving her a threat not only to herself, but to those she cares about. Can she turn her life around, or will someone need to stop her before she goes too far?

Book Information:

Publisher: Mirror World Publishing; 1 edition
Publication Date: May 17, 2018
ASIN: B07BNY8RVF
Genre(s): Dark Fantasy, Romance, Fantasy
Page count: 240 pages

Read an Exclusive Excerpt: 

Mirena hit the ground hard. Rocks dug into the side of her face and her hands stung fiercely where she’d scraped them by instinctively trying to break her fall, even though there was no way she could have anticipated it. Her stomach lurched with the impact as she tried to fight off a wave of disorientation and nausea that threatened to overwhelm her.

A horn sounded. Two quick blasts. Despite herself, she counted them. I made it! I’m home.

She struggled to sit up. The air around her filled with the sounds of doors and windows being flung open as every person in the Stoa rushed to see who had arrived in the courtyard of their hidden College for talented Magi. Mirena grinned, her expression half grim determination and half hard-won pride. She forced herself the rest of the way to her feet and pushed the remaining nausea aside as nearly sixty students and half a dozen staff members barrelled down on her.

The cheering started as soon as they saw it was her and that she was on her feet and relatively unharmed. Mirena’s grin grew wider. I passed my exam in record time. Only four years study to make it to this moment, where most people take decades. The Mentor is going to be so impressed!

The gathering crowd parted to let the aging Mentor pass uninhibited. With his presence, the noise died down, slightly. The grey-haired Mentor smiled at the sight of her, leaning heavily on his cane as he alone out of all those gathered made his way down the steeply curving steps to stand just outside the sizeable ring of tall standing stones.

“Well done, Mirena.” He very subtly drew upon his majik to enhance the volume of his voice so all could hear him praise her.

Mirena beamed and starting running the minute the words were out of his mouth. She crossed between two stone pillars and flung herself at the Mentor, careful to throw her slight weight at him on the opposite side from where he held his cane, so he’d be able to keep his footing.

There was a collective gasp from the crowd that subsided as they realized the Mentor was still standing. “Whoa, there!” he called out, catching Mirena in one arm. “I know you’re excited, but you’re not done yet!”

“I know, but I’ll do the next part with no problems! You’d expect nothing less from your number one student.” She winked at him.

The Mentor shook his head. “Remember what I told you: rushing into things will only lead to a job half-finished. You have to look before you leap.” He put a hand under her chin to lift her blue eyes up to his before tilting her chin to the right. “I dare say that you wouldn’t have gotten these,” he noted the cuts the rocks had left on her cheek, “if you’d been more prepared to make the trip through the Sentinal Stones.”

“I would’ve been more cautious, but I was being chased by a large winged monster!” she exclaimed, stepping back from him so she could wave her arms emphatically. “I had to think fast and perform under pressure, so a slightly bad landing should be understandable…”

“Tall tales, Mirena?” the Mentor asked, but his tone was light and his words kind.

“No, really. It’s true, it got my back with its claws, see?” She turned slightly to show him the claw marks that marred her left shoulder and the blood that she could now feel running down the length of her simple white dress.

Now it was the Mentor’s turn to gasp. He called back over his shoulder for someone to fetch the Healer.

“It’s okay, I’m fine. Just let me finish my test.”

Order from Amazon
Order Ebook from Mirror World Publishing
Order Paperback from Mirror World Publishing
Add to Your Shelf on Goodreads

Follow the Tour to Read Reviews, Exclusive Excerpts, and Spotlights:

 

Meet the Authors:
Justine Alley Dowsett is the author of eight novels 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 occasionally roleplaying with her friends.
With a background in Drama and Communications from the University of Windsor, Murandy Damodred enjoys fantasy fiction with strong romantic subplots. She is an avid role-player and is happiest when living vicariously through her characters. Though she’d rather think of herself as the heroine of her next novel, in the real world she is a new mom living in Windsor, Ontario, ready to embark on a new career as a medical technician.
Connect with the Authors:
Author Page:

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Spotlight – Fey Spy by Tiffany Shand

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Sapphyria’s Book Promotions presents a 1-week virtual book tour for Fey Spy, Tales of the Ithereal, Part 1, by Tiffany Shand. Follow the tour schedule below to visit spotlights and to read reviews and exclusive excerpts! https://saphsbookpromotions.blogspot.com/2018/05/virtual-book-tour-schedule-fey-spy.html

About Fey Spy:
A fey,
A world that’s against her,
A mission to save her people,
And a lost love.
Serafina Valeon fights to save her people by working in the resistance as a spy, in a world where she could be killed for being a fey. Only a scared artifact, the keystone, can help bring freedom to the fey. Sera must risk her life to recover the stone and venture into the mage city of Elmira.
Once there she stumbles across her childhood sweetheart, Bastian, who now works for the very people that hunt her race. Sera must find a way to work with Bastian, despite their differences and the forbidden desire between them. Will she be able to recover the artifact without revealing who and what she really is? Will Bastian be able to accept her, or will their love be the doom of her?

Book Details:

168 pages

Genres: Adult Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy

This book does not contain any sexual content.

Amazon

Gooreads

Meet the Author:

Tiffany Shand is a writing mentor, professionally trained copy editor and copy writer who has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. Born in East Anglia, Tiffany still lives in the area, constantly guarding her work space from the two cats which she shares her home with.

She began using her pets as a writing inspiration when she was a child, before moving on to write her first novel after successful completion of a creative writing course. Nowadays, Tiffany writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance, as well as nonfiction books for other writers, all available through Amazon and on her own website.

Tiffany’s favourite quote is ‘writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go’ and it is armed with this that she hopes to be able to help, inspire and mentor many more aspiring authors.

When she has time to unwind, Tiffany enjoys photography, reading and watching endless box sets. She also loves to get out and visit the vast number of castles and historic houses that England has to offer.

You can contact Tiffany Shand, or just see what she is writing about at:

Tiffany’s Website

Tiffany’s blog

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Twitter

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Exclusive Excerpt – Ghosts & Exiles by Sandra Unerman

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Spellhaven is no more, but its spirits remain.

 

About the Book:
Tilda Gray hates Spellhaven, the city where her husband was born, even though she has never set foot in the place, and she does not believe in the magic it’s supposed to have held. Now her husband is dead, she would rather avoid any mention of the city. But her sons, Nicholas and James, have befriended Hugo, a young boy threatened by forces none of them understand. When Hugo’s uncle and guardian, Stephen Cole, visits the Gray family to ask for help, Tilda agrees against her better judgement. Between them, as they search for ways to banish or at least help Hugo cope with the ghosts that are driving him mad, they seek out the dubious aid of the exiles from Spellhaven. In doing so they must face new dangers and unknown magic, unlike anything Tilda could have believed possible.

Book Details:
Print Length: 300 pages
Publication Date: April 17, 2018
ASIN: B07B24HY9Z
Genre(s): Magical Realism, Historical Fantasy

Follow the Virtual Book Tour:

 

Read an Excerpt:

When Mrs. Gray came back into the room, two boys followed her. They were about the same height, one dark-haired and solid, the other brown-haired and bony. Both were neatly dressed in flannel shorts, shirts and ties, outfits hardly to be distinguished from their school uniform, except that their jerseys were navy instead of grey. Stephen could not tell which was which until the brown-haired boy said, ‘I’m James, Mr. Cole. I’m in the form below the others but I expect you’ll need me as well as Nick, to explain things.’

Stephen glanced at Mrs. Gray, whose smile was brief.

‘Let’s see how we get on,’ she said and sat down.

The boys ranged themselves one on either side of the fireplace and gazed at Stephen. He would have liked to stand up and roam about but he could not make himself so much at home. He concentrated on the dark-haired boy.

‘The school sent for me last week, Nicholas, because I’m Hugo’s uncle. I’d like to hear his explanation for what happened but he won’t talk to me. Do you know what he did?’

Nicholas thought this over. James said, ‘He set fire to a heap of books in the school library.’

‘So they told me. But why? What drove him to do it? Was it a dare or a quarrel with other boys?’

They looked at him steadily and said nothing.

‘I’m not trying to put the blame on anyone else, but Hugo does not strike me as a mischievous boy or a malicious one,’ Stephen said.

Nicholas looked at his brother, who said, ‘Everyone calls him Howler, not Hugo. That’s what he’s used to.’

‘Howler? Why?’

‘He goes into rages. Sometimes he can keep the lid on but others he works himself into a fit and howls until they cart him off to the sanatorium.’

‘I didn’t know.’ The school had said the boy was subject to nervous attacks but this was worse than Stephen had realised. ‘But the fire?’

Nicholas spoke for the first time. ‘He was angry about the ghost stories.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘He didn’t want to listen when Mr. Fletcher read ghost stories to us after prep, but he wasn’t allowed to leave the room all week. He couldn’t bear any more so he tried to burn all the books with ghosts in them.’

‘It wouldn’t have worked,’ James said, ‘but being haunted makes it hard to think logically, I expect.’

Mrs. Gray’s body tightened but her voice was neutral. ‘What does that mean?’

James looked surprised. ‘It was only a little fire, Mother. But anyway, the books could have been replaced. Old boys are always giving books to the library.’

‘Not that, James.’ Stephen leaned forward. ‘Are you saying Hugo is haunted?’

‘He doesn’t like talking about it.’ James grimaced. ‘That’s why he keeps getting into trouble.’

Stephen looked across to Mrs. Gray, whose face was stiff, and then at Nicholas, who might have been listening to his brother conjugate Latin verbs. ‘Is this a joke, boys? Because I really am worried about Hugo.’

They both shook their heads. Stephen tried to think back to his own schooldays and decided that, if they had been teasing, they would have protested noisily. ‘All right, then. What makes you think he is haunted?’

James looked at Nicholas, who shrugged and said, ‘I can tell.’

Praise:
‘…Spellhaven is an intriguing novel with no easy answers or way out, which means you can keep rereading it and drawing different conclusions every time. Jane is never going to be entirely happy and settled in life – but would she ever have been, even without her magical summons?
Refreshingly, it does not appear to be part of a series: that ending ambiguity is all you’re getting and it will keep buzzing at the back of your mind for days.’ ~ Ben Jeapes, author of Phoenicia’s Worlds and other SF novels, from the BSFA review

 

Purchase from

Add to Your Shelf on Goodreads

Meet the Author:
Sandra Unerman lives in London in the UK. When she retired from a career as a Government lawyer, she undertook an MA in Creative Writing at Middlesex University, specialising in science fiction and fantasy, and graduated in 2013. Since then, she has had a number of short stories published. Her latest stories are in Sword and Sorcery magazine, June 2017, and Fall into Fantasy, an anthology from Cloaked Press. She writes reviews and articles for the British Science Fiction Association and the British Fantasy Society. She is a member of London Clockhouse writers and other writing groups. Her interests include history, folklore and medieval literature.

Connect with Sandra:
Sandra’s Website:
Sandra’s Author Page:
Goodreads Author Page:

 

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Exclusive Excerpt – Shadow Walker by Tiffany Shand

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Shadow Walker
Shadow Walker Trilogy, Book 1
Tiffany Shand

Exclusive Excerpt:

Her body started to reform, her lungs screamed for air as the concrete enveloped her, trapping her beneath the pavement, the darkness swallowing her whole. No light penetrated the inky blackness around her. Charlie took one choking breath and burst back into the world of above, light burning her eyes. She coughed up dust, taking gulps of air.

Her attacker flew at her.

Still coughing, she blocked his blow and raised her hand. Nothing happened. No magic came to her. She hit the ground when she tried to faze, pulled out her clutch piece weapon from her ankle holster and fired. A stream of blue energy shot out, knocking the man to the ground.

His hood fell back, revealing his bald black head, his dark brown eyes widened in shock. It was the man she’d seen that day in the warehouse. The one who haunted her nightmares. She’d recognise his face anywhere.

“You,” she gasped. “What…”

He fired an energy ball at her. It hit her in the stomach, sending shock waves of pain jolting through every nerve ending.

Charlie’s weapon fell from her hand. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think as blackness threatened to drag her down. Blue light flashed through her mind, the roar of the explosion tearing through metal and flesh.

About Shadow Walker:

After her enforcer teammates are killed in a bust gone wrong, Denai witch Charlie McCray struggles to carry on working the job without them. Using her gift of communicating with the dead, she’s determined to get justice and find those responsible no matter what. But her only clue to go on is a mysterious orb with a deadly reputation that everyone wants to get their hands on.
The only one who may be able to help her figure out their deaths, and the connection to the orb is the dark and sexy demon from her past. Convinced she’s his life mate, to her denial, Charlie isn’t happy to see him again. Can they really work together as partners to track down the truth whilst ignoring the ever-growing attraction between them?
Genres: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Length: 111 pgs.
Add to Your Shelf on Goodreads
Purchase Your Copy from Amazon

Meet the Author:

Tiffany Shand started writing short stories when she was a child. She has always done writing in one form or another and started writing novels in her early teens.

Tiffany loves to read books and discovered her love for fantasy and paranormal romance. She writes both non-fiction and fiction, and love helping writers to build their author platforms.

After doing a creative writing course in her early 20s, she is now a freelance writer and professional editor.

Tiffany lives in Essex with her family and two very spoiled cats.

Find Tiffany Online:

Tiffany’s Website

Tiffany’s blog

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Twitter

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Guest Post – The Mystery on Lost Lagoon by Rita Monette – Book Tour

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WHIRLPOOLS, WORMHOLES, AND TIME TRAVEL

What do wormholes, whirlpools, and time travel have in common? In reality, probably nothing. But in Nikki Landry’s historical, yet fictitious world, legend has it that if you go into Lost Lagoon, you may never return, but just might enter into a land where strange creatures live.

A FICTITIOUS WHIRLPOOL

When a mad scientist arrives in Nikki Landry’s home town and hears the legend of the mysterious Lost Lagoon, he decides to build a machine that can traverse a whirlpool—which he calculates just might be a wormhole to a prehistoric time.

Nikki has been warned to stay off Flat Lake due to the frequent whirlpools and strange disappearances. But snooping around Mr. Beekers’ camp boat gets her and her friends kidnapped and taken to a hidden inlet in a swamp off of the large lake. Soon they learn what’s behind the mystery on Lost Lagoon.

A REAL WHIRLPOOL

In reality, in the South Louisiana bayous, there are many, many salt caverns beneath the ground. There are also oil companies drilling for oil. Those two can spell disaster, especially if those caverns are under a lake.

One such disaster occurred in November of 1980, when an oil drilling rig and a salt mine created a whirlpool that became large enough to engulf the rig, eleven barges, and a tugboat, sucking water in from the Gulf of Mexico, and changing the landscape—as well as a once shallow fresh water lake—forever.

While drilling for oil off Lake Peigneur, near New Iberia, Louisiana, a drilling rig owned by Texaco, drilled too far and punctured into an active salt mine. Fishermen on the lake that day saw the whirlpool that began pulling their boat toward it. Luckily they got away before it sucked them into the abyss. Beneath, fifty-five miners, seeing the water rushing in, managed to escape via an elevator. Amazingly, no one lost their life, but it cost Texaco millions of dollars.

Read the story of Lake Peigneur here.  https://www.damninteresting.com/lake-peigneur-the-swirling-vortex-of-doom/

EXCERPT:

Spikes stuffed the papers into his shirt. “I need to finish reading this.”

The three of us dashed for the door. But a shadow covered the opening, and Mr. Beekers stepped into it, blocking our way out.

He looked at the broken door and then glanced around his home. “What have y’all done to my house?” he scowled.

“We didn’t do it,” I said. “Honest we didn’t.”

“Don’t lie to me. You kids have been nosing around here before. What do you want here?”

“Just let us go,” Tim said. “We promise not to come back.”

“No, you’re not going anywhere until I see what you’ve taken…or destroyed.” He stepped in and closed the crooked door behind him. “Now all of you sit.”

Spikes found a chair. Tim and I pushed some newspapers to the side and sat on a tiny sofa with springs poking out.

“Now, which one of you broke my door in?”

Mr. Beekers looked around, then ran to the window. “Where did they go?”“It was some men,” Tim said. “I think they were detectives or something. They had on suits and ties, and drove an official looking car.”

“They’re from Ohio,” I said. “I think they’re coming back. So you better let us go before they get here. Whatever you did, they might get you for kidnapping us too.”

“Oh, no you don’t,” he said. “I’m not letting you go. You brought them here, didn’t you?” His eyes were wild and his mouth turned into a snarl. His whole face turned really evil looking. “I know what they want, and they won’t get it.” He grabbed up some rope and began to tie Spikes to the chair.

 

About The Mystery on Lost Lagoon:

Legend has it… if you go onto Lost Lagoon, you never return.

Nikki Landry and her friends are off on a quest to track down the prehistoric-looking bird that’s been flying around a nearby swamp island. However, their plans get sidetracked when they meet a stranger in their small town who seems to have some secrets to hide.

The sleuthing group soon learns of a legend about a hidden lagoon. Is it all connected? Before they can find out, they are kidnapped by a mysterious scientist on a mission of his own.

Is there any truth to the legend that says if you go onto Lost Lagoon, you will never return? Is the eerie whirlpool that sits waiting to suck you in really a passage to another world?

Join Nikki, her friends, and one neurotic parrot, as they discover the truth behind the Mystery on Lost Lagoon.

Follow the Book Tour:
https://saphsbookpromotions.blogspot.com/2017/11/schedule-mystery-on-lost-lagoon-nikki.html

Book Details:

Age Level: 6-12
Publisher: Mirror World Publishing; 1 edition
Publication Date: November 17, 2017
ASIN: B076TVWSZ7
Purchase from Amazon
Purchase from Mirror World Publishing 

Meet the Author:

Behind Every Legend Lies the Truth!

Rita Monette was born and raised in Southwest Louisiana. After retiring from her “real” job as an administrative assistant for the State of Michigan, Rita began doing what she always wanted to do…write and draw. Her stories are set in the beautiful, yet mysterious, bayous and swamps of her home state. The Mystery on Lost Lagoon is the fourth book in her Nikki Landry Swamp Legend series, which is based on her childhood. Rita now lives with her husband, four lap dogs, and one lap cat, in the mountains of Tennessee.

Connect with Rita:

Website:
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Release Day Book Blitz – The Sun God’s Heir: Redemption Book 3 by Elliott Baker

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The Sun God’s Heir: Redemption
Book 3
Elliott Baker

Book Details:

Print Length: 468 pages
Publisher: Pronoun
Publication Date: October 18, 2017
Sold by: Macmillan
ASIN: B074Y474QB
Genres: Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Add to your shelf on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36181772-the-sun-god-s-heir

Purchase your copy from Amazon:
http://amzn.to/2wXdxO3

About the Book:

Death is not life’s final stop. There are worse ends.

Two brothers, once disciples of the Pharoah Akhenaten, reincarnate in seventeenth century France. From Spain to Morocco to Egypt, one is determined to rule, the other to protect.

Horemheb, driven to destroy his brother and end their ancient rivalry, invites an African shaman to assist in recovering ancient artifacts of power that will ensure his dominance. Twice before, these artifacts have raised and then destroyed civilization.

René Gilbert escapes from the murderous sultan of Morocco, closely followed by the sultan’s personal guard, the Bukhari. Trained from childhood, these assassins live to kill.

Now, in the blockbuster conclusion to the Sun God’s Heir trilogy, René must find a way to fulfill a commitment made lifetimes ago. His long journey across the ages hurtles toward its climax, with the fate of his soul, and perhaps our very world, in the balance.

Meet the Author:

Award winning novelist and international playwright Elliott B. Baker grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. With four musicals and one play published and produced throughout the United States, in New Zealand, Portugal, England, and Canada, Elliott is pleased to offer his first novel, Return, book one of The Sun God’s Heir trilogy. A member of the Authors Guild and the Dramatists Guild, Elliott lives in New Hampshire with his wife Sally Ann.

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Book Tour – Bewitching Hannah by Leigh Goff

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Being
a witch is the last thing she wants…
Bewitching Hannah
Leigh Goff
Publisher: Mirror World Publishing
Publish Date: September 17, 2017
Genre(s): YA, Fantasy, Romance

Follow the tour to read reviews, exclusive excerpts, guest posts, and book spotlights:

https://saphsbookpromotions.blogspot.com/2017/09/virtual-book-tour-schedule-bewitching.html

About Bewitching Hannah:

Sixteen-year-old Hannah Fitzgerald has always known she is descended from a troubled legacy of magic. Although a stranger to her coven in Annapolis, she is no stranger to grief and denial. However, when an ancient prophecy reveals the rise of a young, powerful Chesapeake witch and the impending death of another, she realizes she can no longer afford to suppress the magic that has taken away so much. She seeks out the frighteningly scarred, yet mysterious W, a Calvert descendant who is destined to change her life, but even he cannot prepare her for the danger that lies ahead. Engaged in a deadly game without knowing who her true rival is, Hannah isn’t certain she will survive, and if she loses she may lose everything, including the ones she loves.

Read an Excerpt:

Lightning flashed, followed by a rumble of thunder, jolting me alert. A tempest churned over the Chesapeake Bay and was rolling toward town. I stared at the clouds, ready to calculate how much time we had before the rain hit. Another bright flash of white-hot lightning forked across the purplish-black sky. One, two…twenty.

Boom.

The storm was at least four miles away. I pressed a hand over my chest, feeling the thumping slow.

I glanced at Aunt J, who was no longer bopping her head to the bad music. Instead, she blinked over and over, and rubbed her eyes with one hand.

“If you’re tired, I can drive.” Who needed a license when I’d already mastered a moped along with the Green Briar golf carts?

Her slender fingers searched for me as if I were a ghost she could only hear. She grasped my arm tightly.

“Hannah?” Panic drenched her voice.

My eyes widened. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t see. I mean, I see something, but it’s not the road. What’s wrong with me?”

I peered out the windshield. A distant telephone pole grew bigger as her foot stuck to the accelerator.

A frightening swell of adrenaline flooded my veins, sending my heart into a frenzy. “Stop!” I yelled, but she was frozen with fright. I grabbed the steering wheel and threw my leg over to jam on the brake pedal.

It was too late. Absolute silence fell over us in the grim second before we plowed into the pole. My lower body slammed into the dashboard while the seatbelt squeezed hard against my ribs. Metal groaned. White bubbles deployed. Glass shattered with a scream. Or maybe the scream was mine. The car groaned to a halt with a hiss and clank.

Stillness settled over us. My head was reeling as I checked myself for injuries. Bursts of pain sparked from my chest and leg.

“Hannah?” Aunt J’s quivering voice reached out.

I pried my eyes open. She had escaped her seatbelt. Her lips and hands were trembling, but I saw no blood or broken skin. Inwardly, I sighed with relief.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

I sucked in a shallow breath. “Me? Fine,” I managed, not wanting to stress her out, but I struggled to breathe and my left leg was wedged under the intruding dashboard.

She reached over, wiping her hands across my cheeks and forehead, dusting away crumbs of glass. She touched her trembling fingers to the seatbelt release and pressed on it, over and over. “Come on, dammit. Let go.”

I pushed her hand away, restraining a whimper. “It’s okay. Go get help.”

She nodded and with a hard push, shoved her door open. “I’ll be right back.”

A heavy silence fell over the car’s interior until a hiss sounded from the engine. Within seconds, the smell of burning oil seeped in through the vents.

One toxic breath went deeper than I meant it to. “Ow!” I coughed and writhed beneath the unyielding seatbelt like a five-year-old having a tantrum. Panic swept over me as I struggled for freedom.

Stress vibrated deep in my gut. Self-soothe, self-soothe, I reminded myself. The air grew thicker with burning oil and a starburst of pain wracked my body. I was going to die. Unless…

No. How could I even think it? There had to be another way because what if I couldn’t send it back? What if it took me to the same terrible place it had taken them?

I peered out the windows, searching. There was no one. I turned my focus on the glove box. Maybe Aunt J kept a knife in there or a pair of floral scissors. I pushed the button hard, again and again. Jammed. My heart raced.

A burst of smoke puffed into the car’s interior. I coughed and closed my eyes. The pressure on my leg intensified and the sickening fumes filled me with dread. Eff it. I balled my hands into fists.

I recalled the spell I’d overheard my dad utter once. I recited it in my head before casting, making sure I had it right. “By the power of fire, I do summon and churn, and call thee forth to blaze and burn.”

I stopped breathing, trying to sense any changes. I felt no different. And then it filled my core like a warm sphere of energy. Quickly, the power expanded into a blazing inferno. My back arched, pressing me harder into the seatbelt as my internal fire surged. Every cell jolted awake. My heart pounded out of control as I imagined channeling the smoldering energy. Suddenly, my hands tingled with intense power. I swallowed hard and aimed my fingers at the strap. The fiery threads trickled out in a wiggly pattern until I steadied my hand. The seatbelt burned orange, then cooled to black before separating.

Purchase Links:
Mirror World Publishing eBook:
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Mirror World Publishing Paperback:
https://mirror-world-publishing.myshopify.com/collections/young-adult-fiction/products/bewitching-hannah-paperback

Amazon:
http://amzn.to/2vtH056

Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/bewitching-hannah

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bewitching-hannah-leigh-goff/1126756568?ean=9781987976311

Meet
the Author:
Writing
Enchanting Ever-Afters ♥
Leigh Goff grew up in Maryland where she resides today. Her writing is inspired by an eclectic childhood, a vivid imagination, and compelling historical events. After taking several writing courses in college and attending professional writing workshops after she graduated from the University of Maryland, she joined the Maryland Writers’ Association and Romance Writers of America. 
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Exclusive Excerpt – Spellhaven by Sandra Unerman

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The Unseen Spirits must be entertained, so that the city may prosper……
About the Book:

In the summer of 1914, Jane Fairchild, a young English musician, is kidnapped by magic and sent to Spellhaven, an island city ruled by magicians. Here, peace and prosperity are maintained with the assistance of Unseen Spirits bound to the service of the Lords Magician. The Spirits must be kept in good humour by the performance of all kinds of shows, dance, drama and music. Jane is one of many people kidnapped from the outside world and forced to contribute to these entertainments for a set period of service.

Only Jane is having none of it. She will not perform for her kidnapper, Lucian Palafox, but agrees to undertake an apprenticeship with another magician impresario, provided she is taught magic in return. Jane’s forays into magic lead her deeper within the mysteries of Spellhaven, her rivalry with Lucian escalates and the quarrels between them grow strong enough to shake the city to its foundations.

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure

Release Date:  August 17, 2017
Publisher:  Mirror World Publishing

 

Exclusive Excerpt:

Hours later she was seized with panic. If she kept walking, her legs knew the right way to go and her headache remained bearable, but she had lost all sense of where she was in the countryside. She could not see any landmarks that fitted what she knew of the Chilterns. Her feet were sore and her back ached. But more frightening than being lost was the suspicion that she was not in control of her own movements; that some nameless force was choosing her way and driving her forward. As soon as this thought crystallised in her mind, she decided to test it. She halted and this time she forced herself to turn round. At once the pain in her head tightened so that she could hardly see. As she took one step back the way she had come and then another, cramps twisted her legs and shoulders until she fell to the ground and rolled around, whimpering. She clutched her music bag and cradled it to her breasts.

When she could stand again, she no longer knew which direction she had come from, but it did not matter. She let her mind go blank and plodded onwards. She looked at the mark on her arm, which was dark and seemed to have gathered weight, as though it was growing downwards inside her skin. She was angry and afraid but she did not think she would survive another attempt to break away.

The evening was cool by the time she came to the side of a river and saw a rowing boat, small and battered, pulled up onto a mud slide. She was no oarswoman and in her ordinary state she would not have taken a boat that did not belong to her. She could not even tell how leaky it might be. But these thoughts slipped quickly out of her mind, set against the knowledge that she could not keep still and that her feet would not carry her much further. She inched the boat back into the water and scrambled over the side.

She did not attempt to row; at first she sat upright, one oar gripped between her hands, in case she had to fend off rocks or steer away from weeds, but the boat moved past such hazards faster than she could react to them. She was very tired. The night was clear, more like deep twilight than full darkness. Starlight gleamed on twists in the current, pale scrapes of stone or leaves along the banks, alarmingly close or puzzlingly distant, but all these glimpses rushed past at dizzying speed. Before long, Jane set down the oar and curled herself into the bottom of the boat, which was almost dry. She put her head on the rowing bench and fell asleep.

She never knew how long that journey lasted. She woke now and then to see daylight and black cliffs on either side of the boat or woods of gnarled trees with yellow leaves which belonged nowhere in an English July. And at least once she woke at night to hear owls call and fish splash around her, but the boat swept onwards and sleep was less painful than staying awake.

When the boat stopped, she knew she would have to rouse herself. She sat up stiffly and found she was beached on a gentle slope of sand, surrounded by a thick mist. She could smell the sea and light shone from somewhere above her. She clambered out of the boat and crawled up the slope, her music bag slung at her back.

At the top was a paved causeway and mist in all directions. She could hear the surge of waves and the calls of gulls but she could see nothing except far off down the Causeway. There white walls shone under the sun. She looked around while the mist turned and shifted in gusts of cold wind but nothing else came clearly into sight. At her end of the Causeway loomed dark shapes, which might have been cliffs at the mouth of the river or might not. In any case, she could again feel the pains that had driven her there. They had been quiescent while the boat carried her onwards but now they flared up again and harried her towards those white walls. She stumbled onwards, stiff and slow at first, and then more steadily. Near her destination, she came abruptly out of the mist. She faced a city on an island, where battlemented walls encircled towers of golden brown, grey stone houses, bridges, trees, and fountains in rising layers on a great hill. She halted in admiration and amazement but her fever drove her on before she had time for a proper look.

The Causeway led to an open gate in the city wall, under an arch wide enough for a steam engine. The front bristled with spears from which hung many-coloured banners, flapping in the wind. Jane could not pause to study their devices but hurried desperately on. Then, as soon as she walked under the arch, she stopped. Her fever vanished away, as suddenly as if she had been dragged here in the claws of an invisible lion, which had now released her. And she felt mauled and half-eaten, like a lion’s prey, barely able to remember who she was or what it would mean to take decisions of her own accord.

A man in a cloak with badges came towards her and spoke in a language she did not know. She stared at him and he tried more words. ‘Where is this place? Do you speak English?’ Jane said.

But she fainted before any answer came.

Follow the tour to read guest posts, reviews, and exclusive excerpts!
https://saphsbookpromotions.blogspot.com/2017/08/book-tour-schedule-spellhaven-by-sandra.html

Purchase Links:

Mirror World Publishing eBook:
Mirror World Publishing Paperback:
Amazon US:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spellhaven-sandra-unerman/1126613810?ean=9781987976342
Meet the Author:

Sandra Unerman lives in London in the UK. When she retired from a career as a Government lawyer, she undertook an MA in Creative Writing at Middlesex University, specialising in SF and fantasy, and graduated in 2013. Since then, she has had a number of short stories published. In 2016, these included stories in Three Drops from a Cauldron, the Midwinter issue and Aurora Wolf, the September issue, both available online. She writes reviews and articles for the British Science Fiction Association and the British Fantasy Society. She is a member of London Clockhouse writers and other writing groups. Her interests include history, folklore and medieval literature.

Connect with Sandra :

Website:
https://sandraunermanwriter.com/

Amazon Author Page:
https://www.amazon.com/Sandra-Unerman/e/B0034NS9VM

Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6566116.Sandra_Unerman

Goodreads Book Page:

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Summer Reading Book Tour – Obsession by JoAnne Keltner

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For Two Days Only – Grab Obsession by JoAnne Keltner for only $0.99!!

Some obsessions know no boundary…not even death.

About the Book:

Abby had the perfect life: shopping sprees at the mall, a pool in her backyard, a dream bedroom, a BFF… That is, until her family moved to the backwoods of Wisconsin.

Abby plans to prove this backwoods dump is no place for a thirteen-year-old. So when her parents hire a carpenter and his son, Greg, she hangs out with the older boy to make her parents worry. But Greg turns out to be a total creep, and although Abby tells him she doesn’t like him, he continues to make her life miserable, watching her, trying to get close to her, threatening her.

What’s creepier is the mysterious brown-haired girl that keeps appearing and disappearing without saying a word. When Abby finds the girl’s diary in the outbuilding, she learns that they share a common enemy, Greg.

Will they share the same fate too?

Grab Your Copy for $0.99:

Meet the Author:

JoAnne Keltner is the author of Goth Girl, Virgin Queen (Solstice Publishing, 2015) and Obsession (Musa Publishing, 2013 ed.). As an only child and avid daydreamer, she spent hours alone in her backyard on the South Side of Chicago, which she imagined to be everything from an alien planet to Antarctica. She currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband, four dogs, cat, and three chickens. When she isn’t writing or freelance editing, she’s obsessively streaming popular TV shows.

Social Media Links:

· Website: Joannekeltner.com

· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoAnneKeltnerAuthor/

· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ObsessionYAGhostStoryMystery/

· Twitter: @JoAnneKeltner