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Friday 29 November 2013

On Writing Horror by D.Melhoff (@dmelhoff) Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway (A @Goddessfish Promotion)

About a year ago I wrote about how the subject of domestic abuse had affected me. As a writer, the end my first novel was the beginning of the worst writers block you could ever imagine. I didn't write a single word for over two months. I also suffered from terrible nightmares. So when the chance to feature D. Melhoff, author of the horror Come Little Children, became available I jumped at the chance. Does it have the same affect?

As you all know, the books I feature here are the books I want to read. However, I'm not a girl who ventures into the world of horror. That said, the blurb of Come Little Children has my spine tingling and will be the first horror I read. My review is coming soon! 

On Writing Horror

By D. Melhoff

The topic I was asked to talk about today is whether or not writing horror has affected my overall psyche. In other words, does the time I spend thinking about dark subject matter give me any more nightmares than the average person?

The short answer is: I don’t think so. Everyone’s scared by something; the only difference is, I write my fears down and try to pass them along to others.

It’s interesting, though, because you can usually tell what terrifies an author by the most vivid—and in some cases, most obscure—scenes in their books. These are the scenes that are so well described, yet sometimes so irrational, that they had to come from a place that still haunts the writer to this very day. The fire hose in The Shining, the clap game in The Conjuring, the girl crawling out of the TV in The Ring. In Come Little Children, there’s a chapter with a mouse puppet that people say is one of the scariest scenes in the book, and that’s probably because I had that mouse puppet when I was little, and I was always terrified it would come to life and bite me.

Which brings me to my ultimate point.

You may have heard some authors say that, for them, writing is a form of therapy. For me, it’s purely entertainment. Any issues that I’ve ever tried to work out by writing down don’t go away merely by banishing them to my word processor, and while it’s satisfying to articulate feelings and assign them to fantastical situations, I don’t believe the page itself holds any power over our inner demons. Those must be faced in reality, and while fiction is good for escapism, the worst nightmares live and die in the world that exists when you close your book and lift up your eyes.

-----------------------------------
D. Melhoff is the author of Come Little Children, a supernatural thriller about a family of morticians who are connected to a string of paranormal murders in the town of Nolan, Yukon.




Come Little Children Book Trailer 


Come Little Children 

The Blurb

The Nolan morgue is more than just an ordinary funeral home. When their newest employee uncovers a supernatural conspiracy connected to a string of child murders, she must use every shred of her intelligence to stop a new breed of serial killer and escape the morgue alive.



Sneak peak inside Come Little Children 

The old hands worked carefully with the added confidence of having done this hundreds of times. Their maneuvers were quick and precise. Fluid. Surgical.
A scalpel touched a point between the nipples on the cadaver’s chest and drifted north, unzipping the skin exactly seven inches along the sternum. Shadows played out the rest on the concrete walls: the worker selected a heavier device and hovered over the outline of the body, flicking a switch and activating a high, screeching vibration that trailed through the air and disappeared into the silhouette’s chest.
Instantly the hum dropped an octave—ggvvrrrrr, ck-ck, ggvvrrrrr—choking and sputtering as it coughed up particles of bone dust.
Ggvvrrrrr! CK-CK! Ggvvrrrr!
The mist made a macabre Tyndall effect in the lamplight.
Beyond these specks, the worker turned off the electric saw and brought up a wooden box the size of a tea chest, then withdrew something from inside.
Something small.
Something odd.
It was too dark to see what the object was, but the worker handled it nimbly and lowered it into the body’s rib cage.



Enter the Giveaway

D. Melhoff is giving you the chance to win a $25 Amazon or BN gift certificate. Just leave your comments below. Remember the more you comment the more chances you have of winning so follow the tour here!

Who is D.Melhoff? 


D. Melhoff was born in a prairie ghost town located an inch above the Canadian-American border. He credits King, Poe, Hitchcock, Harris, Raimi, and his second grade school teacher, Mrs. Lake, for turning him to horror.


Connect with D. Melhoff

Official Website: www.dmelhoff.com
Twitter: @dmelhoff


Erin

Posts You May Have Missed

Tuesday 26 November 2013

Allegories of the Tarot Blog Tour and Giveaway



Allegories of the Tarot Badass Marketing Blog Tour


Get to know Kris Austen Radcliffe, one of the 22 contributors to the recently-released Allegories of the Tarot Anthology (which is already trailblazing its way up the fantasy anthology charts on Amazon!). Kris wrote her tale, Dmitri and the Mad Monk, based on the Emperor card. You can read an excerpt of her story below.


Get the Allegories of the Tarot Anthology in on Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, and everywhere else e-books are sold. Add the Allegories of the Tarot Anthology to your Goodreads to-read shelf!


About Kris


Kris Austen RadcliffeAs a child, Kris took down a pack of hungry wolves with only a hardcover copy of The Dragonriders of Pern and a sharpened toothbrush. That fateful day set her on a path traversing many storytelling worlds—dabbles in film and comic books, time as a talent agent and a textbook photo coordinator, and a foray into nonfiction. But she craved narrative and a richly textured world of Fates, Shifters, and Dragons—and unexpected, true love.

Kris lives in Minnesota with her husband, two daughters, Handsome Cat, and an entire menagerie of suburban wildlife bent on destroying her house. That battered-but-true copy of Dragonriders? She found it yesterday. It’s time to pay a visit to the woodpeckers.

Just a few questions...


What intrigues you about this particular Tarot card? Emperor is the ultimate Alpha Male. He’s a jerk, often a total bastard, but he gets it done. No one messes with the Emperor.

Why did you decide to get roped into this project? I used to read tarot for a talent agency. And Annetta asked. I can’t say no to Annetta. She’s the Emperor.

Have you ever had dealings with the Tarot before? Like I said, I used to read for a talent agency. I also ran a special on my Facebook page last Halloween where I did readings for people. I’m quite good at it.

What other projects do you have planned? Conpulsio, a new Fate ~ Fire ~ Shifter ~ Dragon novella, is slated for release at the end of April. Flux of Skin, the second book in the FFSD series, released in September.

I also have fine art photographs available for purchase (as of the end of May), including several of my Irish landscapes—and a tarot print or two.

An excerpt from Dmitri and the Mad Monk


“You have brains on you, Grand Duke.” The spy sniffed the air and lifted an eyebrow, proud of his vocal inflection.

The Englishman’s need to state the obvious and then pass it off as wry humor annoyed Dmitri more than the gore on his greatcoat. He watched the body on the floor of the prince’s flamboyant estate, ignoring both the spy and the metallic stench of blood mixing with the pathetic notes of fear wafting off the other men. The pistol in his hand, he still aimed. Now was not the time for distractions.

Ten minutes inside the palace and Rasputin had bled out onto the extravagant rug. They’d tempted the vile fornicator with breasts and the promise of a cock sucked by a woman of the royal court. Clubs, a knife strike, and Dmitri now tasted the acrid smoke rising from the English spy’s pistol.

Read the rest of Dmitri and the Mad Monk in the Allegories of the Tarot Anthology!

About Allegories of the Tarot


Allegories of the TarotOnce upon a time, there was an editor with a fascination for the Tarot. She was struck one day by a crazy idea. “Hey,” she said. “What if twenty-two writers each wrote a story about the twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana of the Tarot and were fashioned into an anthology?”

The idea would not leave her alone.

And thus, the Allegories of the Tarot was born.

Crowdfunded by a campaign on Indiegogo with the help and support of an amazing group of writers, twenty-two stories were crafted around the mysteries of the Tarot. The group includes a Pushcart Prize nominee, a Pulp Ark nominee, a former Bigfoot researcher, a journalist, an award-winning YA author, and a Rhysling Award winner. Professional writers, new talent, and a range of genres boggling the mind: Horror, Speculative Fiction, Bizarro Fiction, Erotica, Mystery, Humor, Paranormal, Epic Fantasy, Literary, Romance, and Historical Fantasy.

What has emerged is an outstanding collection of fiction, unique and mysterious. Stories that will make you cry, make you laugh, and make you think. Stories that make you feel the touch of the Universe.

Dare to step through the portal to shadowy realms and emotional journeys.

Get the book!


Allegories of the Tarot is available in e-book and paperback format on Amazon, Kobo, and in multiple e-book formats on Smashwords.

Don’t forget to add Allegories of the Tarot to your to-read shelf on Goodreads.

Connect with the Allegories of the Tarot Anthology on its website, Facebook, and Twitter.




Enter the Giveaway! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Tuesday 19 November 2013

First Position by Prescott Lane




First Position - Promo Blitz

By Prescott Lane

Contemporary Romance
Date Published: May 2013

Emory faces life’s challenges at the one place that’s never failed her, the ballet barre.  But even the barre can’t steady her when fate brings her face-to-face with her old college flame, Mason, who’s hoping to return to the NFL after a career-threatening injury.  Before they can surrender to their sexual desires and find salvation in each other’s arms, they need to come to terms with their past.  Mason must confront the demons that have set him on a path of self-destruction, while Emory must decide whether to keep her painful secrets locked away, or expose them and risk losing the love of her life.  But nothing can prepare Mason for what Emory has kept hidden, or the possibility that he himself may be to blame for the very secrets she keeps – and why they continue to haunt her.



EXCERPT


Wesley opened his biscuit with a knife.  “So, little miss, want to fess up to what you were doing yesterday?”

“Well, it depends,” she said.  “Before or after, I threw my half-naked body at Mason?”

Wesley dropped the knife.  “Excuse me?”

Tomás raised his eyebrows, and gave her a smile.  “It was just for a little while,” she said playfully.

“How little?” Wesley munched on his biscuit.

“Not too long.”

“How naked?”

“I told you -- about half.”

“Which half?”

“A little of both.”

“Both breasts?”

“No.  Top and bottom.”

“Is that so?”  Wesley took a sip of his drink, thoughtfully considering what she had said, like he was some kind of philosopher.  “Any action?”

“I tried.”

“How hard?”

“Pretty hard.”

“Was he?”  Wesley grinned at Tomás, and took another bite of his biscuit.

“Shut up,” she said blushing.  “We decided it was best to take things slow.”

“That’s too bad,” Wesley said, and Tomás slapped his arm.  “In all seriousness, I’m happy for you.”

“Me too,” Emory said, rising from the table with her and Tomás’ plates. 

Wesley grabbed her shoulder, and whispered in her ear, “Did you tell him?”  Emory shook her head walking to the sink, and Wesley shot her a disapproving look.  Tomás eyed them both curiously.  “He deserves to know!”

Tomás mouthed to Wesley, “Know what?”  Wesley shook his head that it was none of his business.

“No lectures, Wesley.”  She scrubbed the plates.  “Let me enjoy myself and Mason before I ruin it.” 

“You need to stop running,” Wesley said.

“I’ll stop when you stop.”

Tomás had no idea what they were bickering about, but whatever it was, he knew that was a great response.  Emory wiped her hands on a kitchen towel, then walked towards her bedroom, yelling back to Wesley, “That means go to your sister’s wedding!”

 


About the Author:


Prescott Lane is originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, and graduated from Centenary College in 1997 with a degree in sociology. She went on to Tulane University to receive her MSW in 1998, after which she worked with developmentally delayed and disabled children. She currently resides in New Orleans with her husband and two children.

Author Links

Buy Link

This Promo Blitz is brought to you by Reading Addiction Book Tours

Reading Addiction Blog Tours
Erin

Posts You May Have Missed

Friday 15 November 2013

Swept Away for Christmas Blog Tour

Swept Away for Christmas

The Deets...

Christmas isn’t always snow-covered with a frosty chill in the air. Sometimes it’s sandy beaches with balmy breezes.

And sometimes we find love in the most unexpected places, a place like Starfish Shores.


Here Comes McBride

Shelby James has only truly loved one man — but Finn McBride broke her heart when emotional baggage from his past came between them. Now, Shelby is serving as maid of honor at a beach wedding where Finn is the best man. Will reuniting with Finn be a Christmas miracle, or the worst mistake she's ever made?

Two Hearts a Leaping

After a break-up with her high school sweetheart, Harley Blume retreats to her brother's home in Starfish Shores to lick her wounds and figure out what she's doing next. But her brother is in the Coast Guard reserves and heading out of town, leaving her in the care of Liam Channing, his best friend since they played college football together. She's never been able to keep her tongue in her mouth when good-looking, easy-going Liam is around. How is she going to find her way if she can't keep her balance?

Cruisin’ for a Kiss

When Avery Phillips loses her magazine job right before Christmas, she heads back home to Starfish Shores to spend the holidays with the grandparents who raised her. The plan is to hit the job search hard so that she has a new position when the New Year arrives. What isn’t part of the plan is heading up a remodeling effort at her family’s beach motel or falling for the man helping to save the business into which her grandparents put a lifetime of work. As Christmas draws closer, will Avery stick to the original plan to leave town again or take a chance with Luke Taylor and a new life she never expected?

Sneak peek inside the cover? 



Here Comes McBride
by Tanya Michaels

She leaned against the door and tried to stem the tears. What was wrong with her? She was happy her closest friends were in love and all settling down. She hated that they might think otherwise—and really hated that Finn McBride had witnessed her reaction in the lobby.


Footsteps sounded in the hallway. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping they’d pass her room.

“Shelby?” Finn called through the door. “Open up, I know you’re in there.”

With a sigh of defeat, she ushered him inside. “If you’re worried about my little breakdown, don’t be. You know me—used to cry at everything, remember? Cartoons, commercials, romance novels.” Getting dumped by the man I love on the middle of the beach. Little things like that. “It’s an emotional weekend with my best friend getting married. You’ve heard of happy tears, right?”

“Those were not happy tears. Now tell me what’s wrong. I want to help.”

She really didn’t mean to squawk in horrified laughter, but she couldn’t help it. The absurdity was too rich—the guy who’d once shattered her heart was going to convince her that her Prince Charming was out there?

“Sorry,” she said when Finn scowled. “I appreciate the offer, but you are the last person… You should go. I’m fine.” That would have been so much more convincing without the tremor in her voice.

Apparently giving up on reasoning with her, he simply reached forward and pulled her into a hug, flattening her against his broad, muscular chest. The embrace was so familiar, almost comforting. But there was an undercurrent of something less soothing, too. The electric pull of memories and chemistry buzzed through her veins. Letting Finn hold her was a bad, bad idea.



The Giveaway
The authors will award a $50 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

The more you comment the better chance you have. Follow the tour here:

 http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/10/blurb-blitz-swept-away-for-christmas-by.html

Who are the authors? 


MJ Fredrick knows about chasing dreams. Twelve years after she completed her first novel, she signed her first publishing contract. Now she divides her days between teaching elementary music, and diving into her own writing—traveling everywhere in her mind, from Belize to Honduras to Africa to the past.

She's a four-time Golden Heart Award finalist, and she won the 2009 Eppie Award with Hot Shot and the 2010 Eppie with Breaking Daylight. She was a 2012 Epic Award finalist with Don’t Look Back.

Connect with MJ online.
Newsletter: http://bit.ly/1hf1goB

Four-time RITA finalist Tanya Michaels is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than thirty books. Her stories incorporate the same elements she values in real life—community, family and a sense of humor. Her current releases include the popular Colorado Cades trilogy for Harlequin American Romance.

She lives in Atlanta, GA with a very patient husband as well as two kids and a dog who are plotting against her. When not writing, reading, or spending time with her family, Tanya watches entirely too much TV. She’s also made Twitter her virtual home. Join her there to hear about her life as a writer and the outrageous things her kids say.
Website: http://www.tanyamichaels.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTanyaMichaels
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tanyamichaels

Trish Milburn is the author of contemporary romance for Harlequin American Romance, paranormal romance for Harlequin Nocturne, young adult fiction for Bell Bridge Books and indie publishes her romantic suspense, women’s fiction and other titles. She’s a two-time Golden Heart award winner, a fan of walks in the woods and road trips, and is a big geek girl, including being a dedicated Whovian and Browncoat.

Twitter: @TrishMilburn
Facebook
Website


Erin


Friday 8 November 2013

Book Review - Negotiation Tactics by Lori Ryan(@Loriryanauthor & @GoddessFish promotion)


Negotiation Tactics
By Lori Ryan


It's with great pleasure that I welcome Lori Ryan back to Beyond My Writing Space. We met Lori earlier this year when the first on the Sutton Capital Series was on tour, (see link at the bottom). Since then the second of the series, Penalty Clause, won first place in the romance category in Lucky Cinda Publishing’s Annual Global Writer’s Contest in 2013.

Lori will be awarding a $50 gift certificate to Amazon to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.


The Deets... 



Fans of the Sutton Capital Series have been waiting for Jennie and Chad’s story for a long time and they won’t be disappointed! And, new readers are sure to fall in love with the series.

After the crushing heartache of losing her husband at a harshly young age, Jennie Evans had finally found a place to call home. She had a job she loved and new friends to support her. With the exception of having to continuously fight off the feelings she had for Chad Thompson, she was happy again. As happy as she could be anyway. When Jennie’s well-meaning friends meddle in her life, they send her world into a tailspin once again. Soon, she’s on the run from some very dangerous people with the one man she doesn’t want to be with.

Chad Thompson has loved Jennie from afar for the last year, but he’s maintained control. Jennie’s made it clear she wants nothing to do with him and he won’t cross the line she’s drawn in the sand. Until she asks him to. And, when that happens, their world is turned upside down. Chad’s left scrambling to keep Jennie safe as he tries to right their world again. Unfortunately, Chad has to accept the fact that his heart is likely to be crushed in the process and nothing will ever be the same again.

My Thoughts... 

Firstly, I'll start with the fact that this the third in the series, and the first I've read. There's always a chance when you join a series a couple of books in that your going to get lost in the story lines gone by. There's no problem with that here, in fact I'm going back to book one to start from the beginning. 
Lori Ryan creates a wonderful cast of characters that make you want to root for them. Unusually, I found myself rooting for Chad, our very buff very tasty hero, more than Jennie, the feisty heroine. Here's a guy who's so totally head over heels for a woman who is incapable of loving him back. 

Their journey begins with a harmless undercover assignment to a romantic getaway which leads them into the path on corrupt city officials and crooked FBI agents. Chad has to rely on his former training to ensure he and Jennie drop of the radar for as long as necessary. But going into hiding means they're confined to each other's company and exposed to their burning attraction twenty-four hours a day. 

I loved their chemistry at the beginning of this story, the playful push and pull of a will they won't they ... The way the author teases the reader until that perfect moment. Poor Jennie is heart broken and guilt ridden over the love she lost, and doesn't want to fall in love again. Chad is dealing with his own demons. Together they get tangled up in a web of want and want nots on the path to healing each other.  

If you're looking for a quick easy read, something to make you smile, laugh out loud, and sigh at the end this is the right book to pick up. 

Sneak Peek inside the cover of Negotiation Tactics..

I chose this particular excerpt because you really get the sense of Chad and Jennie's relationship, and how perfect things will be between them at the end. 

Chad suppressed a grin as he watched Jennie. At the moment, Jennie and Chad were in the pool at Kelly and Jack’s house, where everyone had gathered for one last party before the baby arrived. Chad stood on one side of a volleyball net and Jennie stood on the other. Somewhere along the way, he’d forgotten what Jennie was arguing about, but he didn’t care. Chad loved to see her fiery eyes sparkle as she fisted small hands on her hips and lit into him. She barely reached his chest, but she should get points for trying. Jennie tossed her head, flinging her strawberry-blond curls out behind her and kept right on going.

Chad loved this side of Jennie. She was bold and brash and confident. She was feisty and fun loving and nothing seemed to frighten her. Not many women Jennie’s size – a mere 5’4” and 115 pounds – would try the things she did with Chad. At 6’4” and about 265 pounds of pure muscle, there weren’t many people who treated Chad the way Jennie did. Jennie taunted and teased Chad at every turn, almost as if she were two or three feet taller than him.

Chad knew why she did it. They both felt the wild attraction that sizzled between them and they both worked hard to control it. With so many mutual friends, coupled with the fact that they worked together all day during the week, they couldn’t avoid seeing one another. So Jennie seemed to deal with things by throwing her saucy, cheeky attitude at him all the time. It was almost as if she tried to keep their interactions superficial, never going deeper than the surface. If she was busy yelling at him or taunting him, there wasn’t any room for anything else.




The Giveaway

Lori will be awarding a $50 gift certificate to Amazon to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.


For more chances to win, follow the tour 

blogspot.com/2013/09/virtual-nbtm-tour-negotiation-tactics.html



Who is Lori Ryan?



Lori is an award winning author and stay-at-home mom. Her second book, Penalty Clause, won first place in the romance category in Lcuky Cinda Publishing’s Annual Global Writer’s Contest in 2013.

Lori has had a number of careers before embarking on her newest adventure of writing novels. After graduating from the University of Connecticut School of Law, she practiced law for three years, working primarily in the areas of utilities law and intellectual property litigation.

More recently, Lori owned and operated a dog training business in Austin, Texas, where she specialized in aggression and became an expert in the field of dog bite analysis. Lori sold her dog training business in 2013 and is now a full time writer and mother of two.

Lori still lives in Austin with her husband -- who is endlessly supportive of her changing career paths -- and her two children, one cat, and three dogs.

Connect with Lori?

To follow me on Facebook, visit: http://www.facebook.com/loriryanromance

To visit my website, visit: http://www.loriryanromance.com/

Want to be a part of my online street team? Email me at Loriryanauthor@gmail.com and put the words ‘street team’ in the subject line. I’ll email you back with directions for joining my team.

To join my email list to receive updates and news, including sneak peeks and free giveaways or contest news, visit http://www.loriryanromance.com/#!join-my-mailing-list/cdpp.

To buy my books, visit my author page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/loriryan.


Erin

Posts You May Have Missed

Legal Ease by Lori Ryan (Sutton Capital Book One)

Thursday 7 November 2013

Thursdays with Faith - Darryl Asks about their Parents

Here's a little something you won't find inside Tainted Love.

You were fifteen the first time you asked about Mom and Dad. 


When you were little, sometimes I'd tell you about them instead of reading you bedtime stories. I'd tell you about everyone. Our parents, our grandparents, about the uncle we had who died, when you were old enough to understand what drugs were I even told you he died of an overdose. I didn't tell you that he'd disappeared with all of the inheritance money and the money from the sale of the house after pops died. I don't think I was supposed to know. But it was hard not to listen Into the adults' conversations when you've been sent to your room for no reason. I'm sure you, Georgia and Caleb did the same, don't think I didn't hear you when you scrambled up the stairs as you tried not to get into trouble. 

So anyway, Mom and Dad. 

I was preparing dinner, Georgia and Caleb were with friends and Cal was still at work. it was just you and me and you were pretty mad when you came into the kitchen. I remember because your homework was a specific history project and you had were supposed to ask you parents or grandparents about the Second World War. That was hard for you and me because we didn't have any parents or grandparents to ask. How did you complete an assignment like this? 

I told you what I could remember from pops's stories but I couldn't answer the specifics you  needed. In the end I told you I'd talk to the elderly neighbour across the street, the one offered who baked cookies for you if you did chores for her, like cutting her lawn and trimming her hedges. I said I'd clear it with your teacher too, I never wanted you to feel different from the other kids, or underprivileged somehow because of our unique situation but there were times when you were at a disadvantage and this was one of them. I guess the old lady over the street was a good compromise for the school, for you, and Mrs. Mitchell, who would bake you more cookies while you kept her company doing her favourite past time, reminiscing. 

So then, you hovered around the kitchen, took a sharp knife from the block and began peeling and chopping vegetables for the casserole.

"What were they like Fay?"  You asked and I knew you were talking about mom and dad. So I told you. They were wonderful loving parents who wanted to give you everything. They wanted you to go to college, and play football, but most of all they wanted you to be happy. They would be so proud of you. 

I told you about Dad's dreams of a nationwide psychiatry empire that you'd take over one day. I told you about Mom's garden that I'd restored for her and her amazing apple pie recipe. I think you must have been feeling their loss that night because I'm sure you wouldn't have stayed to cook with me if you weren't. You wanted to know how to make Mom's pie so we had one for dessert. Can you remember? I told you what to do and while I made casserole you made the pie and it was delicious, better than ones I'd ever made.

I know I should have told you about the adoption then but somehow it didn't seem right. You wanted to know what your parents were like it didn't seem fair to tell you they weren't your real parents. I guess I messed a few things up when it came to you because I didn't want for you to feel different to any other kid your age and I lost sight of the fact you were.

"How did they die Faith?" 

I'd been avoiding telling you the truth but I knew this day would come. So I made some hot milky cocoa and we sat down at the table while dinner cooked and I told you they were shot at an incident at work. I told you Cal had been there that day too and after three people were shot he wrestled the patient to the ground with a syringe full of sedatives and put him out cold. It was hard to tell you about their deaths and I think, once I started to cry, you comforted me more than I comforted you. It warmed me to the bottom of my soul when Cal came home from work and you wrapped your scrawny arms around him. You told him 'thank you' and for what we weren't sure. But you left the kitchen and he crossed to where I sat. He bent down to kiss me, same as he did every night. 

"What was that all about?" 

I just looked at him, at the delight in his eyes, and I told him how grateful I was that he'd stayed with me, with you, with our kids, in the life he didn't want. 

"God Fay that was years ago." He sighed and plopped his butt on the same chair you'd left. "What's brought this on?"

"I'm not stupid Calvin, don't think I don't know if you hadn't knocked me up you'd have been gone long before we were married." 

His hand came up and he cupped my cheek in his palm. But he admitted the truth to me. "You and me, Fay, we got real serious real quick and I'm not going to lie. It scared the hell out of me." I knew he was talking about Emma and Evan, about the fact he lost everything when he lost them. I think I'd be too scared to start again if anything happened to him and I had to go on alone, even though I had offered him the chance to get out before. "I'm older and wiser and had way more experienced than you, I should have known better all those years ago." He made it sound like a life time ago, and sometimes when I looked back it feel like one, but most of the time it seemed like only yesterday I was telling him I was pregnant with Georgia when it had actually been ten years. "I made a choice to take you to bed without protection. Just like you gave me a choice before Caleb arrived. Neither one are decisions I've regretted. Not once." I smiled. "Sure life threw a couple of wrenches in the works and sure they drive me crazy. You drive me crazy sometimes too. But whatever life's thrown at us we've dealt with, and we've fixed it. We always do." He pressed his lips against mine. "I love you Faith, I love our children, Our lives, and if I was given the choice I wouldn't change a thing."

A few days later we argued about you. He shouted at me and called you names and he held me so hard it pinched, and the day he amidst his heart felt apology, told me he actually wanted more children. This from the man who wanted to travel the world unhinged by responsilbilities and expectations of a family life.



Wednesday 6 November 2013

Tainted Love Book Trailer

I found a video making app for my mobile phone. So whilst I played around with it I've created a book trailer for Tainted Love.





Tuesday 5 November 2013

#NewRelease - Building Attraction by Monique McDonell



Building Attraction 
By Monique McDonell



The Deets....


Hers has been a life of too many responsibilities and his has been a life of too few. Could the thing that initially repelled them from each other finally be the ultimate source of attraction?

Holly Adams has two jobs in the city, two petulant teenage sisters to support, a farm with a big mortgage and a terrible secret that propels her forward. Brad Winchester has a reputation for being a spoilt playboy who has abandoned his family business but he also has a secret that has finally brought him home.

When they are forced to together at work (Holly works at the cut-throat PR Consultancy that handles his family’s account Winchester Homes – They don’t build homes, they build dreams”)  a series of misunderstandings has them at odds.

Still while working together they learn they have more in common than either might have imagined – common friends, family loyalty and dreams of something different. When life keeps pushing them in each other’s paths they must decide whether this is an attraction that might be worth building on after all.


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About the author – Monique McDonell

I am an Australian author who writes contemporary women's fiction including chick lit and romance. I live on Sydney's Northern Beaches with my husband and daughter, and despite my dog phobia, with a dog called Skip.

I have written all my life especially as a child when I loved to write short stories and poetry. At University I studied Creative Writing as part of my Communication degree. After wards I was busy working in public relations I didn't write for pleasure for quite a few years although I wrote many media releases, brochures and newsletters. (And I still do in my day-job!)

When I began to write again I noticed a trend - writing dark unhappy stories made me unhappy. So I made a decision to write a novel with a happy ending and I have been writing happy stories ever since. 
To learn more about Monique McDonell and her upcoming books please visit her at
www.moniquemcdonell.com.au


Erin

Posts You May Have Missed 

#FridayFeature - Monique McDonell

http://erin-cawood.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/friday-feature-monqiue-mcdonell-author-interview.html



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The Legal Bit

All characters have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation to anyone baring the same name. They are not inspired by an individual known or unknown by the author and all incidents are pure invention.

The articles, excerpts, and other written work published under the pseudonym Erin Cawood are copyright protected by the author. Guest articles are published by arrangement and also copyright protected by the guest author.

Images of Erin Cawood are provided by Paul Miguel Photography.


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