Discussion of a Decent Dream by E. Curtis - Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway

Discussion of a Decent Dream

by E. Curtis 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Dark Fantasy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

In the fall of 1789, on the western edge of the Yorkshire Dales, a dense, persistent fog enshrouds the village of Ingleton. Shadowed spirits hide in the mist and bedevil the townsfolk, heralding a tragedy that has befallen one of their own.

Edmond continues to search for Alexandra, his fiancée, who disappeared the same night that the mist set upon their town. Presumed dead by all others, he visits Alexandra's empty grave, desperate for any hint of what has become of her. Weary from the sleepless nights on his quest, no longer able to stay awake, Edmond falls into a dream before her headstone and there obtains clues from Alexandra as to her whereabouts.

Haunted all the while by a malevolent spirit, Edmond follows the trail that Alexandra left for him and enters the underworld, only to learn that he has been there before, and in fact, quite often. But more, he discovers how he is to blame for Alexandra's disappearance.

A dark literary novel rich in imagery, Discussion of a Decent Dream unearths the consequences of a child's decision to surrender his heart in exchange for unholy power and transcendent knowledge.

Discussion of a Decent Dream is a Finalist in Britain's Wishing Self Book Awards in the Adult category.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT

We ignored the portent that crept into the countryside the day she disappeared. But in the weeks that followed, with no answers as to what had befallen her, with no assurance that she still lived, we came to understand, and most saw the worst in the blanket of mist that stopped time and shut us out from the rest of the world.

I had just turned twenty-one the summer of 1789 when Alexandra went missing. And after all our fruitless searching, in need of some direction, I snuck, under the cover of night, into the yard where her parents had laid their sorrow to rest. Falling to my knees before the stone of her empty grave I spoke with reverence, not for the hallowed ground, but for the call that brought me, as though somehow she could hear me.

To Find Out More about E. Curtis read the interview below: 

What group did you hang out with in high school?

I was an everyman, accepted into and adapted to a variety of groups, from the jocks to the nerds, from artsy groups to the goths.

What are you passionate about these days?

Food, drink, tobaccos, music, and what is revealed in the ether.

If you had to do your journey to publication all over again, what would you do differently?

Get the first draft to an editor more quickly rather than try to fix it on my own.

E-book or print? And why?

I prefer print for the tactile sensual experience of reading. An e-book is cold, lifeless. However, there is great joy in the convenience of taking many books in a small package wherever you want to go. I often use my tablet for final editing, seeing the novel in its final form, looking for typos and the like.

What is your favorite scene in this book?

All of Chapter Five, as it was my own inciting incident, the dream I had from which the chapter is drawn. Chapter Five started it all. In the hall of paintings, Edmond learns more of Alexandra’s fate. Alice in Wonderland blended with Dante’s Inferno. Chapter Eight is also a favorite, for the mood and experience, the first conversation/battle with Edmond’s demon the Figure, it is wicked and mind-bendy.

My favorite line, though, is: Rather I raced through odd fashions of knowing, posed in scratched and discolored celluloid frames, formed in fixed positions, and I remembered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

E. Curtis draws on personal experiences of the otherworldly for his writing. Through dreams, visions, and waking encounters, his exposure to darkness has motivated him to detail what he has come to know of the preternatural. While a few short pieces have been published on an online literary magazine, Discussion of a Decent Dream is his first novel.

Website: http://discussthedream.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/ECurtisBooks/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/discussthedream

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/discussthedream/

The book is on sale for $0.99 during the tour.

Buy link: www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07BTHW1SY/

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Taking a Break

For those of you who follow my blog you may have noticed that there have been very few posts lately.  I am moving and being very ruthless in cleaning out, giving away and throwing away.  My blogging has stopped for now.

My Science Fiction Book collection is one of the big things I had to decide what to do with as I would to have room for them where I am moving.   I did not realize how attached I was to the books until they were gone.  Seems that after living in 10 different locations in four states when I moved here to number eleven I felt I would not move again.   I did what I had always wanted but had not because I knew I would not stay.  I had book shelves built in and I unpacked all my books.  Now I am moving to a smaller place closer to my children.  (I am 76 and realizing some hard truths.  I need to be closer to family.  I could put it off but decided to do this when I was in control.)

The books left yesterday.  I asked the Friends of the Library if they would like some of the books and they said they would like them all.  I pulled out a few and watched as 5 very nice people came and packed the rest up.  I managed not to cry until they left.  Now I can't seem to stop.  Even though I know it was the right thing to do and that they are going to a very good place I am still very sad.  (See photos of before and after.)

I don't know if I will re-start the blog after I move.  However the Goodreads post on the side bar will still be keeping up with what I am reading.

The Soul Mate Tree Series by Addie Jo Ryleigh - Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway

SOUL MATE TREE SERIES

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Fantasy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

An ancient legend spanning eras, continents, and worlds.

To some, it’s nothing more than a dream.

To others, a pretty fairy tale handed down through the generations.

For those in critical need of their own happy ending, a gift.

THE LEGEND OF THE SOUL MATE TREE

I am old, I am ancient, my purpose is clear

To give those who are needy a treasure so dear.

They who come to my roots, touch my bark, stroke my leaves

Find the soul of their lives if they but believe.

When I call and you listen, your prize will be great

If your heart remains open and you don’t hesitate.

Do you yearn? Be you lonely? Is your time yet at hand?

Reach for me and I’ll give to you. I’m yours to command.

For your trust, for your faith, keep my secrets untold

And I’ll gift you forever, to have and to hold.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you’ve ever seen my posts on social media, there are some things about myself that are very transparent. Such as, I’m a Regency romance author. I’m a hockey mom to three amazing boys. And, I drink coffee…a lot. But some things are not as obvious and here are a few.

1.    I’ve been married to my high school sweetheart for 15 years. I’m still trying to figure out where the years have gone.

2.    I grew up on a farm in central Minnesota where we raised first pigs and then calves. My parents still operate the same farm, which is about 10 miles from where I currently live. Yes, I’m a small town girl at heart.

3.    I wanted to be a movie director when I wasn’t thinking of being a marine biologist. But even then, I was “writing” movie scripts so it has always been writing for me.

4.    Before I had kids, I owed a ferret, two sugar gliders, five hedgehogs, and too many chinchillas to count. I’ve since replaced them with three monkeys, also known as my children.

5.    I’ve become rather handy over the years. I’ve remodeled my kitchen, built an outside chicken run, a quail cage, and a desk…hopefully soon a coffee bar for my writing nook. I’ve also fixed the AC in my van and our 4-wheeler a time or two.

6.    I graduated collage with a major in accounting and a minor in computer science and worked in public accounting for 7 years.

7.    I have a day job as a financial coordinator for an orthodontist office.

8.    I haven’t traveled outside of Minnesota much, but other than surrounding states, I’ve visited California twice, Germany once and would love to see to England and Italy.

9.    I paralyzed my vocal cord when I was twelve. While I’ve regained use of my voice by my other vocal cord overcompensating, the nerve never fully healed and is still paralyzed.

10.  Thanks to my middle son, I’ve become a fish hobbyist. We just recently set up a 72 gallon tank after getting a 60 gallon tank last year. We now have a green severum (Serenity), a gold severum (Goldberg), a green terror cichlid (Trout), albino rainbow shark (Whitey), three plecos (Piper, Penelope, Phillip ), a pictus catfish (Whiskers), three gourami fish (Greta, Gilbert, Sunny), and a spotted Raphael catfish (I think his official name is Rafe but we call him Fatty because he is one chunky little guy who is rarely seen). There are also no-named black kuhli loaches, zipper loaches, and a couple danios. I’m rather hooked and would really love to have a flowerhorn cichlid someday.

So, when I’m not creating a new story, reading a book, or drinking coffee, you’ll most likely find me at a hockey rink or a soccer field but there is also a good chance I’ll be building something or cleaning a fish tank.

Addie Jo Ryleigh Bio:

Addie Jo Ryleigh writes historical romances featuring rakish heroes and strong feisty heroines.

Her love and passion for romance books started young and she became hooked on historical romance (particularly Regency) after graduating from Lurlene McDaniel’s young adult books. 

Currently, Addie Jo reads any genre that keeps her reading into the early hours of the morning.

Addie Jo lives in the same cold-winter-hot-summer area of Minnesota she discovered as a child. Sharing in the raising of her three high-energy boys is her very understanding husband who graciously endured being dubbed “The Duke” by his co-workers. Keeping Addie Jo company while she writes is her young at heart yorkipoo, Bella. Meanwhile, her other four-legged family members (a black lab, Max, and a red lab puppy, Cozmo) are usually in cahoots with her children to create endless distractions.

When not playing chauffeur for her hockey-playing boys (and being a soccer mom in the offseason) or writing her next story, you’ll find Addie Jo with an ever-present cup of coffee in one hand and a book in the other.

Social Links:

Website:  www.addiejoryleigh.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/AddieJoRyleigh

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AddieJoRyleigh

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/AddieJoRyleigh

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/addiejoryleigh

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/addiejoryleigh

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AddieJoRyleigh

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/addie-jo-ryleigh

BLURB:

Respectable Lady Katherine Baxton, striving to meet the requirements of her station, has become the ultimate dutiful daughter. And now, the Duke of Blackthorn’s betrothed. Far from a love match, Kate is nevertheless determined to do as expected and marry.


That all changes the night she panics at her impending future and runs, stumbling upon a private grove, a mysterious tree . . . and a half-naked man.


The youngest son of a viscount widely thought to have purchased his title, Jackson Cooper demonstrates his disdain for the aristocracy by affording himself every luxury available—drinking, wenching, and gambling—while eschewing anything representing the ton. Jackson has little care for his reputation and no desire to marry. His escape from London is all but complete.


Until fate—in the form of a beautiful, mysterious lady—interrupts his plans, enticing him with the very thing he never wanted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPTS 

 “Aren’t sprites confined to the trees?” His deep voice washed over her.

She didn’t turn to acknowledge him. “How nice to see you properly dressed for once.”

His chuckle warmed her. “Are you following me?”

An unladylike snort refused to be repressed. “Hardly. You are rather difficult to overlook, being the only unknown face here.”

“That’s not true. You’ve seen my face . . . as well as other, more interesting parts.”

Kate wished she’d listened to her sister and worn a bonnet. Anything to mask the heat flaring in her cheeks.

Thankfully he remained at her side and hadn’t a clear view of her face. “We have not been introduced. I can’t be seen speaking to you.”

“Then let us go where we can't be seen.”

Her heart raced at his boldness. Why was this man so tempting? She was spoken for, though still unofficially. Proper ladies didn’t follow strange men to private locations, regardless of their marital status. “Absolutely not.”

“Even if I have something of yours?”

Blast! Her ring. Given her luck lately, she would have lost it in the grove of all places. Her aunt would toss in her grave knowing Kate had misplaced her gift.

“A true gentleman would return it.”

            

His deep laugh caused her pulse to flutter. “I'm no gentleman. Or haven't you heard?”

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

One randomly drawn commenter will receive a $50 Amazon/BN GC. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Justice Gone by N. Lombardi Jr - Book Blast and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

When a homeless war veteran is beaten to death by the police, stormy protests ensue, engulfing a small New Jersey town. Soon after, three cops are gunned down.

A multi-state manhunt is underway for a cop killer on the loose. And Dr. Tessa Thorpe, a veteran's counselor, is caught up in the chase.

Donald Darfield, an African-American Iraqi war vet, war-time buddy of the beaten man, and one of Tessa's patients, is holed up in a mountain cabin. Tessa, acting on instinct, sets off to find him, but the swarm of law enforcement officers gets there first, leading to Darfield's dramatic capture.

Now, the only people separating him from the lethal needle of state justice are Tessa and ageing blind lawyer, Nathaniel Bodine. Can they untangle the web tightening around Darfield in time, when the press and the justice system are baying for revenge?

Read an Excerpt

“Mr. Bodine, I’m Hamilton Fiske, deputy district attorney. I’ll be prosecuting this case.”

“Didn’t we meet last year at the meeting of the New Jersey Bar Association?” Bodine asked, as his daughter collected their papers and put them in their briefcase.

“Yes, I believe we did.”

“Thought so. I never forget a voice.”

That comment threw Fiske off-center for a moment. “I just wanted to, well, shake hands so to speak, before we come out fighting.”

“Is your hand out there in the air, waiting for mine? Cause if it is, you can put it back wherever you had it. I don’t shake hands these days. And while you’re at it, you can remove that smug smile off your face. I don’t have to see it, I can tell by your tone. You’ve already pissed me off, and this is just the arraignment. So I’m not exactly in a gentlemanly mood. And if you try to set up my client by having him mingle with the others, there’ll be hell to pay. Getting my drift, son?”

Fighting words for sure, but the word that provoked Fiske the most was the condescending “son,” just as Bodine had figured it would. “Is that a threat, Mr. Bodine?”

Emily tugged at her father’s arm with the covert message that he quit this repartee. He turned to leave, but not before saying, “No, Mr. Fiske, just a consequence.”

About the Author:

N. Lombardi Jr, the N for Nicholas, has spent over half his life in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, working as a groundwater geologist. Nick can speak five languages: Swahili, Thai, Lao, Chinese, and Khmer (Cambodian).

In 1997, while visiting Lao People's Democratic Republic, he witnessed the remnants of a secret war that had been waged for nine years, among which were children wounded from leftover cluster bombs. Driven by what he saw, he worked on The Plain of Jars for the next eight years.

Nick maintains a website with content that spans most aspects of the novel: The Secret War, Laotian culture, Buddhism etc.: http://plainofjars.net

His second novel, Journey Towards a Falling Sun, is set in the wild frontier of northern Kenya.

His latest novel, Justice Gone, was inspired by the fatal beating of a homeless man by police.

Nick now lives in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Visit his goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6982373.N_Lombardi_Jr_

Buy links:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Justice-Gone-N-Lombardi-Jr/dp/1785358766
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1785358766/ref=x_gr_w_bb
Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40398725-justice-gone?ac=1&from_search=true
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/justice-gone-n-lombardi-jr/1128875661?ean=9781785358760
Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Justice-Gone-N-Lombardi-Jr/9781785358760
Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/justice-gone/n-lombardi-jr/9781785358760
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/ebook/justice-gone

a Rafflecopter giveaway