Month: November 2015

Meet author Jean Shorney.

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jmshorney

JEAN SHORNEY.

 

Jean Shorney is a writer in the South of England. Jean’s books cover a wide range of topics, from horror to gangland, while experimenting with other genres. She is a member of the RRBC book club and today is day three of Pay it Forward week, where authors and readers showcase other authors on their blogs. The book club is a fantastic way to discover new books to read and meet some really interesting people.

The modern phenomena of self-publishing has given Jean the opportunity to show her work to a wide audience. Her work has already drawn favourable interest from readers voraciously enjoying the exploits of her characters.

Jean grew up in rural West Berkshire, which is a place rife with tales of folklore and lurid ghost stories. These tales ignited the writer’s passion for writing, allowing her to weave her own tales while absorbing books from classics to science fiction.

Classics such as Dickens’ works were often given as presents by her family, while Jean sought out writers like Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov, which were sourced from places such as the nearby American airbase.  Along with these authors, other influences such as Jack Higgins’ thrillers, and classic TV like The Outer Limits and Gunsmoke, really piqued Jean’s interest in different styles or storytelling.

Now, following a happy marriage and raising two children, Jean has thrown herself back into her writing, exploring the platforms the Internet is offering, such asTwitter. Jean’s account is @jmshorney if you have a moment to pop by and give her a Twitter follow.

Buy Jean’s books here: Click on the book cover.

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Book description:

1969′, Anton Krieger witnesses his best friend savaged and killed by a vampire.
Now, over 40 years later, Anton has become obsessed with telling the world that vampires live and work amongst us. An obsession which has led him to be institutionalised again and again. Married to Victoria a psychiatrist they have a beautiful 22 year old daughter Cassie where they live in the London Suburb of Highgate home to the dark and brooding Highgate Cemetery. But unseen eyes are watching them , and soon Cassie is caught in circle of death that will seem hopeless in every way. How will she survive the onslaught of some of London’s oldest and most powerful Vampires.
Attraction runs deep , does Blood run deeper ?

 

Review:  5 star! 

I stumbled across Jean Shorney as a but of a happy accident, and enjoyed some of her short stories and extracts from her website. As a fan of horror, I thought that this could be an entertaining read, and I was right. I couldn’t put it down — I read it in under a day! The structure of the story is interesting, with the first few chapters telling the back story of several key players at different points in time, and different locations. We are transported from revolutionary France to rural Ireland to WW2 France, then onto London for the story proper. There’s an interesting retelling of Gabriel Rosetti’s love affair with his wife, Lizzie, to add an air of authenticity, beautifully evocative descriptions and lots of action; but unlike many vampire books on the market, it’s neither gory or twee. It feels like a very contemporary story, the literary equivalent of the TV show Being Human. I’d recommend it to anyone, and certainly for those who don’t necessarily see themselves as fans of the genre…. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

 

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 Contact Jean: 

You can buy all Jean’s books at Amazon, including The Aidan McRaney Trilogy: ‘Stalking Aidan’, ‘The Devil in Soho’ and ‘Progeny Of A Killer’. I hope you have enjoyed learning more about Jean. Please leave a like on her Facebook page or an RT on Twitter if you can. Thank you!   🙂

Check out Jean’s blog: http://jmshorney.wordpress.com

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/people/Jean-Shorney/100005205918913
Twitter Handle: @jmshorney

 

Meet author Marc Estes

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Marc Estes

Accomplished writer, Marc Estes, is the award winning author of the Vendicatori Series, Four Pieces For Power and Rekindle the Flame.

He is a two-time winner of the Vermont Playwright’s Award for his plays and also won the Pickering Award for Playwriting Excellence. His play, Gumbo (adapted from the short story by Charles Huckelbury) was a finalist in the 2011 Safe Streets Arts Foundation Short Play Competition and was presented at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

His play, The Practice of Killing (co-written with Robert Johnson, and adapted from the short story by Mr. Johnson) has been published in the Spring 2013 edition of Tacenda Literary Magazine. In 2013 he was also awarded the Robert Chesley Award from the Chesley/Bumbalow Foundation in Los Angeles and selected to receive the Artist in Residence Grant from the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, New Mexico.

His play Going Home was presented  at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the Fall of 2014. Mr. Estes is currently at work on the third installment in the Vendicatori Series, The Dragon and the Phoenix, as well as developing his new 33 series (expected early 2016). Estes is a native of New England and graduate of the University of New Hampshire.

Four Pieces For Power

                    Book 1 of the Vendicatori

When mysterious strangers arrive at the home of Andrew Correo, they provide him with life changing news. He learns of the Vedicatori, a secret organization established by his ancestors, an organization he now has the chance to inherit control over. In order to gain this control, he needs to compete with Robert Stavero in a global scavenger hunt. They must search for four illusive crystals that, when brought together, will tell them their final destination. Also in Edson, Monica Correo is planning a wedding to her love, John Weaver. With the wedding so close to Halloween, the pair decide to have a masquerade ball for the wedding reception. It will be an event no one in Edson will ever forget. With just a clue and limited guidance, both Andrew and Robert set out on their secretive journey. For both, the path leads to mystery, suspense, and self-discovery. As Andrew looks forward to his future, while putting parts of his past behind him, Robert grows greedy and develops a love for deception and hate. The hunt brings them through the ruins of Teotihuacan to the Eternal City and its history, but who will have the cunning to come out on top?

Buy Four Pieces for Power here: Book Link

Praise for Book 1 of the Vendicatori: Four Pieces For Power

Aside of the constant influx of juxtaposed scenes, Estes not only draws readers into the plot’s action, but also into the lives of a well-developed cast that goes beyond Andrew, Estes’ principal character. Good examples are Brad whose mother and sister were brutally murdered and Jenna who has a thing for Andrew. Estes’ thriller closes with a mind-boggling cliffhanger. Earmarked to be a best-seller, there is no doubt that Four Pieces For Power will keep readers on edge till the very end.

                                                                        – Anita Lock, US REVIEW OF BOOKS

“You know it’s a great read when you get up earlier and go to bed later because you want to see what happens next. I loved the fast pace and the intrigue. Great plot with engaging characters.”

                                                          -Lena McCoy, Author of Special Run

“…an adrenaline-filled adventure, wrought with danger and deception at every turn.”

                                                         -Kelly Smith Reviews

Rekindle The Flame

 Book Two of the Vendicatori

     Picking up where Four Pieces For Power leaves off, Andrew continues to delve deeper into the world of the Vendicatori, more secrets from his past shake his present. A mysterious woman has somehow escaped the Vendicatori compound. But were they holding her as a prisoner, or for her own safety?

     The Stavero family is now even more focused on revenge and the downfall of the Correos. Magda Stavero takes the reigns and is ready to be more evil than Robert ever dreamed of being. With her granddaughter, Kayla, at her side, she is given the chance to infiltrate Edson from afar and begins to unravel her plan for vengeance.

     Now John, a newly added member to the Correo family, is starting to ask questions as Andrew becomes more elusive.  A recent clue leads him down a path he cannot return from. A path that may provide more questions than answers.

     As Dominic and Ramos scramble to find their missing guest, she is about to arrive in Edson, and become a revelation that no one saw coming. Is she a friend or a foe? Will Dominic and Ramos find her before she reveals herself? Are the Staveros behind her “escape”, or are they merely using it to their advantage?

Buy Rekindle The Flame: Book Link.
Buy other books by Marc Estes: Book Link.

Contact MARC ESTES:

Blog or Website: http://estesmarcw.wix.com/author-page
Twitter Handle: @vendicatori33

 

Breakfast meeting.

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GeeseI’m fortunate enough to live near enough to the sea, to be able to drive to  it whenever I can. I often arrange breakfast meetings in a coffee shop by the water. Today there was a flock of friendly Geese enjoying the fact that the wind had blown a new layer of debris onto the beach and they were feasting in the shallow waters.

I’m sure I should have got more work done, but the view kept distracting me. Sitting at my desk and thinking of the scene now, characters are popping into my mind, from friendly dog walkers to a man mending a broken roof. Luckily I always take a notebook with me, so I scribble finer details of things I notice when I’m out. My children say my handwriting is appalling, but I can generally work out what I meant when I get home. Placing a book on the table when I’m drinking tea in a coffee shop, makes me feel like I’m doing some work, instead of what I’m actually doing, which is enjoying the view!

Heart pebble

 

 

Introducing author Misha Elliott.

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I would love to introduce you to the work of author Misha Elliott. Misha is part of a book club I belong to and this week we are supporting each others work. There are around 500-600 authors and readers in the group, so this is a wonderful opportunity to discover more about some fabulous writers.

About Misha Elliott:

Misha Elliott is a romance author who uses writing as a way to entertain, release, and educate. Her books have given her the opportunity to discuss and release emotions that run deep. She is a lover of life and reading. Once a northerner she now calls the sweet state of Alabama her home. Where she lives with her husband, two cats, and two dogs. When she isn’t at the beach reading a book with her toes in the sand, you can find her at book events wooing the readers.

Misha’s books: 

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Flying Series

Learning to Fly

Typical isn’t the word you would use to describe Sophia Ann Marshall’s life. Is she the parent? The daughter? The caretaker? Or the one who ruined it all? Is there really a white knight that could come rescue her? Sophia’s not so sure anymore. When her mom’s latest breakup and firing causes them to move the summer before her senior year, Sophie is devastated. Until she meets star QB, Alexander Matthews. Alex is the beginning of all the firsts Sophie has been dreaming of. Moving has turned her life, and the life of her mom around to exactly where she wanted it to be. Everything is great but will the price of happiness be too high? Can she really give up her dream? Why is life always filled with choices? But he wants her to choose….Will she give him up to follow to dreams, or give up her dreams to follow him…

Come Fly With Me

If there were two lessons, Sophie learned from her mother they were: To run away when things got tough and if you didn’t talk about it, nothing happened.She has spent her life ignoring the issues she has with her mother, her absent boyfriend, and the unknown father. Sophie must confront these things, when a college class assignment makes her think about the path she has taken, and she discovers that you cannot love others when hate consumes you.

You have to forgive and love yourself first.

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Fearless

Leah Campbell and Asher Sky are two fractured souls.Each carry painful scars of a past they can’t make peace with. When an accident causes their paths to intertwine, they are given a chance to start over. Together they must find the one thing that is stronger than any fear ~ hope.

They need hope, without it they will remain broken.

This isn’t your typical love story of girl-meets-boy, love at first sight. It’s about healing, hope, and finding the ultimate strength that comes from within ~ pushing forward to become fearless.

Contact Misha here: 

Email: Me@mishaelliott.com
Blog or Website: http://www.mishaelliott.com
Twitter Handle: @cphoenixrising
Facebook Page URL: www.facebook.com/elliottmisha​

 

Finding inspiration where you can.

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I’ve been working towards finishing my latest novel recently and it is finally on it’s way to my editor. Completing a book is such a wonderful feeling, then ideas crowd into my mind for a new story and the whole process begins again!

I’ve been going on long walks recently, with my cousin. He’s had a triple stroke but it helps him to have a change of scenery and I am trying to get a bit fitter, so we stroll by the sea. We walk and chat, but often comment on the shoreline and the inspiration we feel from being near the water. Some days children are playing in the sand, but on others the beaches are empty apart from a solitary jogger or a warmly wrapped up dog walker.

These breaks from our routine inspire us both in different ways, not only from the time we spend together, but in the changing scenery and the people and wildlife around us. I often find myself happily pulling a chair up to my desk, full of fresh ideas and inspirations after staring at the ever changing sea and feeling the salty air invigorate me. It really has got to be the best way to start the day and a great prompt for creativity.

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