Saturday, March 31, 2018

Blood and Roses by Jordan Petrarca


Organized Crime Fantasy
Date Published:  June 2017

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Seven organized crime Families, known as the Seven Blessed Families, rule the World of Exodus and its people with the use of their mysterious magical artifacts, called Relics. Relics give powers to the Blessed members of the Families, and they use those powers for corruption and control of everything in Exodus.

Maretto Rose, the patriarch of the Rose Family, celebrates his 50th birthday by attending a performance at the Grand Theater with three of his four sons. The theater is attacked by the heir of the Cicello Family, Zasso Cicello. His mission is to abduct Maretto, but it fails when Maretto's son, Georgiano, fights Zasso to protect his father and family. Georgiano is ultimately slain and Zasso flees and goes into hiding. Now, the Rose Family must find where Zasso is hiding. They want answers. Who gave him the order for the attack, and what do they want with Maretto Rose? And most of all, they want revenge...But who could it be? A leader of a rival Family? Or someone or something else more powerful than they could imagine?

Meanwhile, Maretto's youngest son, Ric, must battle his demons and addictions in order to become a Blessed member of the Family and become the man he was destined to be, before he ends up being another dead junky on the street.

So, sit back and enjoy the ride, because in Exodus, gangsters make the world go round.



Praise for Blood and Roses:

"When I first started reading I thought this was going to be a typical gangster story, and in a lot of ways it was. However, the addition of magical relics, giving the family members magical powers, gives a wonderful twist to the story. The use of modern day technology, including flying cars, adds even more to the unexpected quality of the story. I especially love the scenes where they use magic for a variety of attacks and defences.



The plot, which at first, seemed to be very straight forward, was twisted out of shape by the inclusion of not just one, but several different players. This kept me guessing to the very end of the story about what was happening. Even at the end there are questions left unanswered, leading nicely to the next novel in the series, which I'm dying to read." -Emie Cuevas, OnlineBookClub.com






Excerpt


So far, it had been the perfect birthday for Don Maretto Rose.  Well, maybe not perfect.  His youngest son was not present for the celebration, and it hurt the powerful man very much on the inside.  But it was still as close as it was going to get to being perfect.

But sometimes, when you least expect it, the unexpected happens...And everything goes to hell.



Outside the Grand Theater, two black extended SUVs came flying from around a nearby skyscraper and hovered towards the ground.  They landed on the street directly in front of the red-carpeted entranceway.  As soon as they were grounded, the doors on each SUV flew open, and gangsters came pouring out like water from a spout.  One of the Rose Family guards and two theater security went into immediate action to stop the unwanted guests from entering the theater.  An array of other guards and security lined the stairs and main entrance.

            Now, a lot of the gangsters spilling out of the cars looked pretty much the same, dressed in regular black suits and fedoras, but there were two in particular that were dressed a little nicer and a little weirder.  They both took their good ole time striding towards the main guard as the other gangsters filed behind them.  The one in front was tall and lanky, wearing a royal blue suit with a matching necktie and white dress shirt.  He bore a blue fedora over his silvery black hair that hung down to his cheeks.  His eyes matched his hair, and his face was thin like his body.  He was draped in gold jewelry around his neck and had gemmed rings on almost every finger.  The pride in his walk signified that he was a man of importance.  And he was.  The man was none other than Zasso Cicello, son of Don Xanose Cicello.

            Walking closely behind, was a shorter man dressed in a shiny silver suit and black dress shirt.  His face was round but came to a point at his chin, and he bore a pair of sunglasses that could be mistaken for a couple of round mirrors.  His long and thin hair was shoulder length and was black with a bluish tint.  He, also, had a certain pride to his walk.  And that’s because he was Zasso’s personal protector and assassin, Razo Malvagio.

            As Zasso and Razo approached the main guard, he put up a hand to signal them to stop and said, “I’m sorry gentlemen, but this is a private viewing and you need to show credentials to enter the theater.”

            In the blink of an eye, Razo came whirling around Zasso, holding a pistol-gripped sawed-off shotgun.  It was pointed directly at the guard, and Razo didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.  There was a loud burst, and then the guard’s hand exploded clean off his arm, along with half of his face.  His limp body collapsed on the red carpet.  A puddle of blood formed underneath the other half of his face.

            “There are my credentials,” Zasso said to the corpse.

            The two theater security guards reached for their firearms, but Zasso was too quick for them.  Like a gunslinger, he drew a small pistol from his waist and fired multiple shots.  Blood burst out of their chests, and they perished before they even touched their guns.  Zasso and Razo continued on, with their entourage following behind.

            The Rose Family guards and theater security wasted no time opening fire at the oncoming murderers.  They fired numerous times whether it was with a handgun or semiautomatic rifle.  But it was to no success.  Upon the masquerade of bullet-fire, Zasso raised a hand and magically constructed a transparent yellow force field that deflected the bullets.  Then, all hell broke loose.

            Zasso’s gangsters came storming around him and returned fire upon the guards and security.  Zasso and Razo went on the offensive as well with their short-arm weapons.  Blood started spilling, and bodies were falling everywhere.  When Zasso reached the bottom of the stairs, he extended his left hand and bolts of electricity spewed from his fingertips in the direction of his targets.  And at the same time, he kept on firing shots out of his pistol with his right hand.  His targets were electrocuted and blown away by bullets at the same time.  Zasso was Blessedwith magical powers by his Family’s Relic, which made him a very dangerous killer.

            While a few of his men were taken down, Zasso and Razo came away from the chaotic scene unscathed.  The Rose Family guards and theater security were all dead.  It was now time for them to enter the premises of the theater and accomplish what they came here to do.




About the Author


Jordan Petrarca lives in Erie, Pennsylvania with his wife and twin girls. "Blood and Roses" was inspired by his love for fantasy and organized crime stories.







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Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Survival by Rachel Watts


YA Speculative Fiction
Date Published: March 2018

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Ignorance is cheap. And then it costs you everything.

Perth author Rachel Watts' latest release delivers a devastating vision of a post-climate change world in which governments have collapsed and corporations rule with an iron fist. In this world two young women from different backgrounds find themselves unexpectedly aligned in their pursuit for the truth.

The world has suffered economic collapse and multiple environmental crises. In a flooded city, Ava Murasaki is searching for her activist sister Sophia. Meanwhile, Valerie Newlin lives in the secure complex of the Scylla Corporation, the world's only remaining multinational. There, she finds evidence of something horrifying in the Corporation medical research data. Set in a searingly real near-future, Survival is a story of what people will face for those they love.

Survival is accompanied by four of Watts' previously published dystopian and post-apocalyptic stories.




About the Author


Rachel Watts is an award-winning journalist and a writer of literary and speculative fiction. She holds a Master's Degree in Media and Communication and teaches creative writing to adults and teenagers. Her short stories and non-fiction have been published by Westerly, Island, Kill Your Darlings, Tincture and more.

Rachel Watts lives in Perth, Western Australia.




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Tuesday, March 20, 2018

The Gorilla Picked Me by Michele McAvoy




Children’s Picture Book
Date Published: Spring 2018

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Olive felt ordinary. Always last to be picked for teams at recess and never a Valentine placed on her desk. Olive blended in. Until one day at a daddy-daughter dance, the dancing gorilla picked her from the crowd!

He scooped her up and twirled her around the dance floor. Olive's soul sang! THE GORILLA PICKED ME is a fun, sentimental story that reminds little girls that they are all worthy of attention.  No little girl is ordinary! 


About the Author


Michele McAvoy is an award-winning children's picture book author. Her debut picture book MY SUPERHERO GRANDPA received a 2016 Moonbeam Children's Book Award. Michele grew up in a small town in northern New Jersey until she moved to New York City where she attended NYU and law school. Michele enjoyed the crazy, busy, single life of New York for over 15 years until she got married and had her first child.

With a small one bedroom apartment and a baby that did not sleep, Michele moved back to her small hometown. She settled back to her roots and traded in the noisy city streets of NY and extra dirty martinis at trendy bars for manicured lawns and backyard BBQs. When she's not being a lawyer or a mom, Michele writes uplifting, whimsical stories to help children understand and respect their emotions. You can see more about Michele and her books at www.michelemcavoy.com



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Wednesday, March 14, 2018

One for the Price of Two by Howard Weiner





Fiction, Thriller, Crime
Date Published: March 15, 2018

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He's a special forces operator, a trained assassin. He marries into an organized crime family. Not an ordinary crime family, but one with a tradition and specialty in murder for hire.










About the Author


Howard Weiner is a recent addition to the literary genre of fiction. Writing mysteries, thrillers, crimes—with a touch of romance—an approach described by one reader as “one bubble off.”

Many authors sharing the genre have characters whose fortune is determined by others. They literally have dodged the bullet that otherwise would have killed them. Weiner’s characters make their own fortune—good or bad—and they live with the results.

Weiner’s own experiences are blessed with no small number of noteworthy characters and events. He brings these slightly off-kilter individuals to life, complete with their own stories and dramas. Like the child prodigy in his first novel, "It Is Las Vegas After All", who comes to the starting edge of adulthood and then loses the approval of his doting parents, the sponsorship of one of America’s great institutions of higher education, and gains the enmity of his girlfriend’s father—an international arms dealer—to become a home-grown terrorist operating on U.S. soil.

A survivor of rich, nuanced bureaucracies in the public and private sector, Weiner writes about characters whose career choices and decisions are morally questionable. A student of personal behavior in complex circumstances, Weiner brings these often cringe-worthy characters to life. Some are amoral, others immoral in a narrow slice of their lives, yet they otherwise look and act like people we all know from work or even childhood. Like one of the female leads in his novel, "Serendipity Opportunity", an out-of-the-box thinker who flunks most of life’s basic relationship tests, yet she is someone you never want pursuing you in the cause of justice. There’s a former foreign security official who uses his protected status as a witness for federal prosecutors to provide cover for his own mayhem and murder in Weiner’s third novel, "Bad Money".

Many of Weiner’s stories are born out of real life events: The mix-up in luggage claim at the airport in, "Bad Money", the chronic high school slacker in "Serendipity Opportunity" whose one stroke of good fortune creates his opportunity to perpetrate a complex series of frauds, or the brilliant student in "It Is Las Vegas After All" who uses his prodigious talents toward an evil end.

As a former federal official, Weiner can neither confirm nor deny having the highest security clearances in classified security programs. Yet, his knowledge of the dark web, criminal organizations, and security organizations takes stories from the popular press to the next level.


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Also Available at Barnes and Noble, Kobo, &iBooks upon Release





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Monday, March 12, 2018

Sirius Hidden Truth by A.J.Long



Steamy Romance, Romantic Suspense, Erotic Romance
Date Published:  February 2018

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April Barnes was a simple girl with a simple life. All she wanted was to graduate and help the world. Everything changes when her only friend Vanessa Lewis talks her into covering for her at a catering job. The minute April walked in the door, her curiosity gets the best of her and that curiosity introduced her to a world that would soon be a part of her.

The minute he laid eyes on her, there was only one thing that Dominic Prescott wanted and that was April Barnes. Hidden behind many secrets, the opportunity to get closer to her presented itself when he volunteered to teach an economics class that she was a student of.

Introducing her to his world wasn’t part of his plan. All it took was one taste and she would be forever his, or so he thought until the truth he had kept hidden away is revealed putting them both in danger.

Will she be able to accept his world or will she walk away and leave the only man she ever loved behind…





Excerpt

 She wasn’t sure who this man was, but she was hypnotized by his charm. Never before had she submitted to a man based on his request. With shaky hands she began unbuttoning her shirt. The fact that he was watching her made her feel even more nervous. When her shirt fell to the floor, exposing her light pink demi bra, she looked up to him, aware that the half smile on his face was because he approved. Reaching behind her back, she found the zipper of her skirt and pulled it down. Pushing the material down her legs, she let it drop to the floor before she stepped out of it. With only her bra, matching panties, and black heeled shoes on, she stood in front of him waiting for what would happen next.

When he held his hand out to her, she lowered her honey brown eyes and placed her hand in his. He captured her hand and led her to the open panel. Just inside the hidden door, the mysterious man switched on a light that barely lit the narrow hallway. April tried to see where the hallway led, but it was too dark. Feeling the change in the temperature, she began rubbing her arms to get warm. It wasn’t just the lack of clothing that made her cold; the darkness and the thought of not knowing what was in store had her shivering. Taking in her surroundings, she felt something being draped over her shoulders. As she pulled it around her, she noticed that it was a dark blue velvet cape, just like the ones the guests had worn in the ballroom.

Turning to face the mysterious man, she was about to ask where he was taking her, but before she could get the words out, he stilled her in her spot and placed what felt like a mask over her eyes. As he began securing it behind her head, he spoke in a firm but velvety voice. “One of the requirements to enter the chamber is that you will be covered in velvet. Be assured your identity will never be revealed. Can you accept these rules?’

Nodding her head, she allowed him to finish securing the mask. When he gently placed his hands on her shoulders, she turned at his will. She raised her head to his until their eyes met. The look on his face, although mostly covered, told her everything she needed to know. Placing his hand on her chin, he tilted her head and lowered his lips to hers. His tongue swept gently across her parted lips, never dipping inside. Biting her full bottom lip, he ended the kiss and pulled away, leaving her unfulfilled and disappointed.

April tried to resume where he had left off, but was denied as he placed his finger across her mouth. “We need to go,” he ordered, taking hold of her hand.

Reaching the end of the dark hallway, there was a large wooden door with something written in Latin engraved in the wood. Having taken Greek and Latin in college, she translated the words as she read them, ‘Blood of one’s desire is the root of another’s pleasure.’ She wasn’t quite sure exactly what it meant, but just the thought of finding out had her mind reeling with excitement. April watched as he placed his hand on the handle. Getting ready to pull it open, he suddenly pulled his hand back. She was confused by his movement until he looked down at her and warned, “You are to remain by my side unless you are solicited. You will address me as Sir, and most importantly, you will do as I command. Do you understand?





About the Author


Award winning Author of the Independent Press Award and NYC Big Book Award.

My love for writing began several years ago after an early retirement from a demanding job that I loved, but also hated because it consumed so much of my time. Now, I am able to focus my time on what I love. Writing romance has been a life long dream and to actually say that I am a published author is beyond what I would have ever expected.

Even though some may say I have a little naughtiness in my books, I look at it as an added bonus for my readers. After all what is a romance book without a little spice.

When I am not writing, I enjoy spending time with friends either at home or out on the town. Mostly, I enjoy a relaxing night at home where I can enjoy a glass of wine in the company of a good book.


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Unstrung Series by Kendra C. Highley


YA Sci-Fi Series Blitz

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UNSTRUNG (Book 1)

Lexa Pate, 17-year-old thief extraordinaire, has burned a bridge or two in her life. You don't make a career out of stealing other people's property without making enemies.

When a risky job goes from bad to worse, Lexa and her adopted family find themselves on Precipice Corporation's hit list because they've accidentally stolen the wrong thing - plans for a new model of genetically-engineered super humans. Now every bounty hunter, cop on the take, and snitch in the city is after them.

Lexa's world crumbles around her as she fights to keep her family safe even as someone strolls out of her forgotten past. Quinn claims to know who Lexa really is, but can she trust a stranger she met while robbing his boss?

More importantly, does she really want to know what Quinn has to tell her?



UNFINISHED (Prequel Novella)


In a world where genetically-engineered humans serve as slave labor to “real” humans, ten-year-old Quinn is an anomaly. Designed with superior intelligence and physical attributes, he lives and trains at Maren DeGaul’s lakeside mansion, being readied for some mysterious purpose as dictated by Precipice Corporation. Despite the comfortable surroundings, Quinn is frequently pushed to his limits by his human guardians, often learning lessons in pain and loneliness.

That all changes the day they introduce him to a new artificial, one who is both his equal and his soulmate. But when Maren decides the new artificial is flawed and should be decommissioned, it’s up to Quinn to find a way to save his only friend.



UPRISING (Book 2)


Master thief Lexa Pate always prided herself on never being caught. That changed the night she freed the artificial humans of Triarch City, a people she’s still learning to identify with. Now, imprisoned by the government, she’s separated from her family—and the love of her life—while facing murder charges. What she doesn’t know is something far worse awaits her: the Quad intends to make her pay for her crimes.

After helplessly watching Lexa be captured, Quinn has to place his trust in a group of people he barely knows to save the girl he loves. The rebels outside Triarch City have the equipment—and the information—he needs to rescue Lexa. But, knowing the Quad has sophisticated brainwashing techniques, his biggest worry is who she’ll be even if they do manage to bring her home.

Pawns in a game they barely understand, Lexa and Quinn will have to use all the gifts they possess to fight the powers seeking to control them and find a way back to each other.

Before it’s too late.



UNIFIFED (Book 3)


Lexa Pate has been called many things: thief, artificial, lover, friend. Now, as she faces the biggest crisis of her life, she realizes there’s another title trying to define her: murderer.

After she was freed from the Quad’s clutches, Lexa thought her life would go back to, if not normal, something resembling that. Sure, the band of rebels she’s joined have ideas of freeing the world from the Quad (delusions of grandeur might be more accurate), but Lexa is reunited with the men who’ve become her ragtag family. In her new home, she’s safe, she’s surrounded by people who care for her, and Quinn is always close at hand, ready to show her how much he loves her. So why does she feel like killing him every time they’re together?

Quinn thought rescuing Lexa from the Glass House would be all he needed to find his happy ending. But Lexa’s incarceration has changed things between them, and he fears the Quad altered more about Lexa than anyone suspects. With tensions in the rebel camp rising between the humans and the artificials, Quinn knows the war will reach a boiling point soon, and he may be the only one who can stop it. But if the rebels continue to believe Lexa is dangerous, he could lose more than the war—he could lose the girl he loves.



Excerpt From Book 1


I stare blankly at the wall in my room. My Exeprin high has worn off and I changed back into my pajamas at the first chance, unable to get the chip off my mind. Our little team has ceased being annoying but forgettable and has become a critical target. Everyone from cops to bounty hunters to the Quad’s security team will be after us. All because we stole the wrong thing. Sure, we hadn’t planned to steal that particular chip, but our mistake doesn’t change one simple fact.

We are so dead.

“…run another diagnostic,” Turpin calls from the hallway. He’s been holed up in the lab with Jole, examining the data on the chip. A moment later, he knocks. Unlike Jole, he waits for me to say “come in” before opening the door.

“Hey,” he says, taking a seat on my desk chair. “You okay?”

I drop my pillow over my face. Maybe I should suffocate myself with it. “If I hadn’t tripped and set off the alarm, there’d be no trace of how the chip was taken. Now…they’ll find us.”

“Lexa, there’s no way to plan for the unknown. Besides, anyone else probably would’ve set that security device off sooner and not gotten away.”

A headache starts throbbing behind my eyes. Stars, this is the worst time to be coming off Exeprin. “I’ll remind you how you said it wasn’t my fault when we’re rounded up by Maren’s people.”

“You won’t have to,” Turpin says. “I’m the one who took the job. We go down, you can blame me.”

He sounds so dejected, I sit up, hugging the pillow to my chest. Maybe I should be scared, but a morbid curiosity about Maren’s artificials gets the better of me. “What are the new versions like? Can you tell from the plans?”

“Most of it is over our heads—the genetic engineering data is very complex—and part of the chip is heavily encoded. But I understand enough to know these are the most human-like versions I’ve seen. Circulatory systems that actually regenerate synthetic blood cells, skin cells that scab over when cut, fully functional digestive tracts. Stars, even their hair, fingernails and bodies will grow like a human’s.”

My headache intensifies. “Wait, what do you mean their bodies will grow?”

Turpin goes to my window. “Instead of making adults, like usual, these prototypes appear to be equivalent to six-year-old children. All of them with critical thinking processors akin to a person with a one-forty I.Q. The plans cover maturity cycles and learning rates by age. The only thing I can guess is that her scientists want to mimic the learning capability of a child’s brain.”

My room suddenly feels cold. “We stole the plans for a super-race of fake human beings?”

“It would seem that way. And all of them programmed to think the way the Quad wants them to think. Hyper-intelligent, but without the experience or knowledge to have true free will. I’m wondering about that, though,” he says, coming to sit on the edge of my bed. “If Maren’s playing God to this extent, how will she maintain control of her ‘kids?’ Can you imagine them as teenagers?” He gives me a rueful smile. “You’re hard enough to handle.”

I punch his arm, more out of respect than annoyance. Everything is so topsy-turvy, I wonder if I’m going soft. Soon I’ll be letting Jole off the hook for coming into my room without knocking. “Maybe it’s good we stole those plans. The new K600s are advanced enough that I can hardly tell they’re artificials. These new…things would be an abomination. A crime against nature.” I stand and pace, needing to put my nervous energy into the ground. If I don’t, I’ll blow, and I can’t afford a meltdown. “Bolts shouldn’t be so human. It blurs way too many lines, don’t you think?”

“The bigger question is what we tell our clients,” Turpin says. “Because we can’t give the chip to them. It’s too dangerous.”

He has a point. “I say we tell them the chip self-destructed as we decoded it. Who cares if they get angry. I’m less scared of them than I am of Maren.”


About the Author


Kendra C. Highley lives in north Texas with her husband and two children. She also serves as staff to four self-important and high-powered cats. This, according to the cats, is her most important job. She believes in everyday magic, extraordinary love stories, and the restorative powers of dark chocolate







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Monday, March 5, 2018

The Tea Shop by Bernadette Marie






Bestselling Author Bernadette Marie is known for building families readers want to be part of. Her series The Keller Family has graced bestseller charts since its release in 2011. Since then she has authored and published over thirty books. 

The married mother of five sons promises romances with a Happily Ever After always…and says she can write it because she lives it.



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Seeing the future is a curse that Abigail Weston has carried her entire life. Knowing how and when someone will be hurt, or the whereabouts of missing people, haunts her enough to move away from the town that no longer trusts her.

When real estate developer Carson Stone meets the intuitive Abigail, he can't help but feel the connection to her and wonder if love at first sight is possible, especially since they share a passion for old buildings. She believes they all should remain, while he builds new ones in their place.

No matter Abigail's feelings for Carson, knowing that their future is to be together does not ensure them a happily ever after, especially if she can't figure out what the other side is trying to show her--because in her visions Carson's future is dark and cold.






A Snippet from the Book

"If he weren't a tyrant who tore down old buildings, you'd be head over heels in love with him already, wouldn't you?"
Abigail wasn't even going to consider an answer to that, let alone give it any thought. Because unfortunately, she was sure her cousin was correct.



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