Book Blitz: A Fragile Utopia by Nick Hanson @RABTBookTours

Escaping the Elaborate Facade of Alcoholic Bliss

 

Self-Help

For most of Nick's life, drinking was an integral part of family, friendships, and even professional success. Alcohol was celebrated among his elder millennial peers. Abstinence was not. However, there were breadcrumbs scattered across several decades that a lifestyle in alcoholic bliss was not sustainable. Reckless behavior, relationship woes, declining health, personal tragedy, and dreams unrealized began to fester. Eventually, a life in sobriety became the only option if Nick was to live a life full of meaning and love.

A Fragile Utopia is a turbulent and honest journey into the depths of alcoholism and the path to finding hope and purpose in recovery. The good news is, when we look inward, there is light. If we own our flaws, there can be redemption.

This memoir is a playbook for navigating early sobriety: how it will feel, obstacles encountered, how loved ones will react, insight into treatment, how AA and other fellowship recovery programs work, and examples of how most people fail in early attempts at sobriety.

 

About the Author

 

 Nick Hanson is a passionate recovery enthusiast and advocate for people who are suffering from substance abuse and addiction. He lives in Minnesota with his wife and three children. He enjoys the outdoors, pop culture, reading, music, sports, fitness, cooking and is always up for learning something new.

 

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Teaser + #Giveaway: Navigate Cancer by Teresa Ferreiro-Vilariño @RABTBookTours

Coaching for Resilience

 

Leadership / Self-Help / Health / Business

Date Published: April 29. 2026

Publisher: Serapis Bey Publishing, Arizona, USA

 

This empowering book launches the new Cancer Compass; an essential self-leadership resource for people facing cancer. It extends its reach to caregivers, healthcare professionals, and organisations committed to offering meaningful support to anyone in their workforce dealing with cancer. It encourages us to see cancer not solely as a medical challenge, but as a profound moment to honour the resilience of our human spirit, embrace growth, and reclaim control of our lives for a brighter future.

Teresa Ferreiro-Vilariño challenges her readers to shift their perspective, prioritising personal empowerment, connection and purposeful living. Her insights about resilience coaching and each person’s human potential are uplifting. Her book is deeply rooted in practical application, including thoughtful exercises and tools that prompt us to access our inner resources, engage in self-discovery and cultivate our secure bases. These unique gifts guide us to align our decisions with our values and goals, helping us chart a path forward with choice, clarity and confidence.

Excerpt

Navigate Cancer – Coaching for Resilience is an essential self-leadership resource for people facing cancer. Its reach extends to caregivers, healthcare professionals, and organisations committed to offering meaningful support to anyone in their workforce living with cancer. 

 The book invites us to see cancer beyond a purely medical challenge—to honour the resilience of the human spirit, embrace growth, and reclaim a sense of control, shaping the cancer experience from a place of agency and choice. 

 The Cancer Compass, which the book introduces, offers orientation: a way to move forward without denying fear, to reclaim agency without resisting reality, and to live—not just survive—while walking through illness. Teresa Ferreiro-Vilariño challenges readers to shift their perspective, prioritising personal empowerment, meaningful connection, and purposeful living. 

Grounded in resilience coaching and a deep belief in human potential, the book is both inspiring and practical. It includes thoughtful exercises and tools that invite self-discovery, strengthen inner resources, and cultivate secure bases. These elements guide readers to align their decisions with their values and goals, helping them chart a path forward with choice, clarity, and confidence.

 

About the Author

Teresa Ferreiro-Vilariño is the Founder and CEO of Kimberlite (https://www.kimberlite.es), an innovative organisation dedicated to providing comprehensive support to people navigating cancer—particularly within corporate settings—through professional coaching. A Master Certified Coach (MCC) accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), Teresa brings more than 20 years of experience working with leaders and organisations worldwide.

At the age of 36, a breast cancer diagnosis marked a turning point in her life, redirecting her focus toward empowering people living with cancer. In the years that followed, she authored her first book, I Have Breast Cancer–What Now?, recognised for its inspirational and practical guidance, embraced motherhood, and founded a charitable initiative supporting young women navigating motherhood after cancer. She later earned a PhD focused on applying professional coaching methodologies to the specific needs of people facing serious health challenges. In recognition of her commitment to patient advocacy, she was honoured with the European Patient Champion Award by EyeforPharma in 2019.

Teresa is also an executive coach and coaches across multiple programs at IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland, including the flagship High-Performance Leadership (HPL) Program, supporting leaders in developing resilience, clarity, and sustainable performance.

 

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Book Tour: THE WARS BETWEEN by Lee J. Mavin @pumpupyourbook

A Young Adult Fantasy Novel Exploring Themes of Conflict, Propaganda and Empathy…

For centuries there had been an ongoing war between Asalandia, the proud monarchy of the east and Kastanair the progressive democracy of the west. However, the years of war would end with the most unlikely turn of events.

Outis Everrett, the disappointment of his family, a measly poet, is suddenly thrusted into an epic adventure across the sea, with the King’s blessing. His poem, the poem that somehow won the first annual Asalandian poetry competition, was meant to be taken across the seas, to the enemy island of Kastanair, there, it would be read by the President of Kastanair, the newly elected and very progressive, Penelope Chinwa and she was supposed stop the war after reading those so special words.

So Outis set sail aboard the Golden ship, guided and protected by the Knights of Sunrise and their adventures began. The Knights are led by Bartholemew Aries, the most famous soldier in Asalandia, though when their ship drifts off course to the mysterious island of Aquos Atalantious, the Princess of the island soon lures him to stay. So, the Knights of Sunrise become distracted by the beauties of this foreign island.  After failing to find the prince, who had been taken by a monstrous octopus, the Golden ship sails onto Kastanair, without its leader, who had fallen in love with the Princess. They then sail to Syanthia, where the worlds’ meat was produced. There they meet, the young Kastanairian, Gwenia Xiachung, an enthusiastic vegan on a mission to stop everyone eating meat. Outis is thrown into a pig saving mission with Gwenia and is intrigued by the young girl. After saving the pigs and convincing the head of meat production to change his ways with a beautiful poem about animal empathy, Gwenia falls in love with Outis. She joins him and the Knights of Sunrise on the voyage to back to her country, Kastanair. Once they finally reach the shores of Kastanair, they are attacked on the shores by a small army, led by Caslian Jesper, the tough captain who worked his soldiers to exhaustion. The Knights, Outis and Gwenia are rescued by Nastab and his band of terrorists who take them on horseback through Kastanair to Mount Xian. Nastab and his men come from a rebel group who had been dwelling on the plateau of Mount Xian, plotting to overthrow the government of Kastanair. However, their leader, who had driven their group to crimes and violence, was hoarding their food and treasure.

Caslian Jesper follows the terrorists to Mount Xian, in pursuit of two of his enemies at once, the terrorists and the Asalandians. Outis and Gwenia are suddenly taken off their horses by huge hawks, who fly them up Mount Xian, to a cave opening. There Gwenia and Outis meet The Tall Man, a strange man with huge black eyes who has no name. He takes them into the cave, and they fall more tall people. There they learn that the tall people had been in the caves for hundreds of years and they care not for treasures of war. The tall man collects water from an underground stream and fruits from the cave roofs and they take Outis and Gwenia up to the top of the mountain. There they find Caslian’s army had managed to climb to the top of the mountain in attempt to attack but they were too drained to fight so the tall man shared his fruit with them. Both sides rested as Outis read a poem to the leader of the terrorists.

Outis and Gwenia are then taken to the capital, by an eclectic group including Nastab, The Tall Man and the Knights of Sunrise, they journey through the planes of Kastanair where they are attacked by wolves. The Knights and Nastab fight the wolves off valiantly and they continue. When they finally reach the capital Outis reads his poem to the President, but it is not the words of his poem alone that convince her to stop the war, it is the group he brings with him, a group of once enemies, who had come together with the same goal. 

 

╰┈➤Book Details

• Genre: YA Fantasy
• Language: English
• Pages: 300

To find out how to purchase this book, visit the author’s website at leejmavin.com.

 

╰┈➤Read if you love…

YA

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧Fantasy

Unputdownable

Coming of Age

༄.ೃ࿔*Page Turner

Excerpt:

Outis Everrett was an overthinker. Every night he would toss and turn in his tiny chamber and go over and over the things he had to do the next day. He would plan the next day and things he would say, over and over in his mind, until he slowly became too tired to think and then he would finally fall asleep. He had been like this for a while now and try as he might, he couldn’t change this habit. He became sleepy with this constant worrying and it became difficult to do his day-to-day tasks. During the days, he would mope about with his head down, being of little use to anyone. To anyone else, he was a nobody, a useless man that was easy to forget, but Outis Everrett was much more than that. Outis Everrett was a poet. Outis loved poetry and wrote poetry a lot, but he didn’t consider himself an actual poet at the time. He simply thought very little of himself. One thing he knew for sure, he wasn’t a strong man. He wasn’t a sailor, a guard or a soldier and he didn’t ever want to become one of these.

He sighed and thought of his father’s words, ‘We come from a long line of warriors, long have we held our swords high and defended our lands with pride. It is your destiny, my son, to take up arms and keep fighting.’

But he was no warrior, and he was as thin as limegoat and he had been cursed with his mother’s short stature. He was shorter than the average Asalandian and was a lot weaker. He spoke with a soft, unsure voice and often didn’t say anything at all. He rarely exercised and even his hair was unusually dark for an Asalandian (it was light brown, most Asalandians were blonde). He had avoided any kind of conflict his whole life, running from the bullies that called him Tiny in Sword School. As a child he often hid away in his room and read, he loved the adventure stories of journeys, and he especially loved the poets of the old world. He loved imagining, dreaming of far off lands, tales of monsters and horror. He was intrigued by the notion of destiny and longed for love. He was lonely and hid his thoughts from everyone. He thought nobody would understand him and was scared to look vulnerable. He just read all the time by himself and at times he wrote. He was an amazing poet but poets weren’t really talked about much in Asalandia. In fact, poetry wasn’t read much at all.

To be shunned was uncommon and not talked about. Most children (all able-bodied) trained hard before the test and if they failed, they tried again. Outis was shunned from the warriorship because he failed to take the final test. The reason for this was because he was too scared and couldn’t swing a sword hard enough to even make a sound. He was always a quiet young man, troubled by the weight of society, pressuring young men to fight, leading them to be battle ready. Everyone was constantly hearing about the threat of the enemy, every day they heard about the Kastanarians getting closer or the Kastanarians were preparing for war. The King was announcing it constantly and it was always being proclaimed from the palace. During these frequent announcements, everyone had to stand and listen. This was an unspoken rule and most people wanted to listen to the kings’ announcements. Outis wasn’t one of those people. He stopped listening to the kings’ announcements long ago and decided he would focus on other things. One of those things was poetry. He had read all the old poets over the years and started writing his own poetry out of frustration. He wanted to write poetry about the way things really were. He practiced his style constantly in his room, late at night, all by himself, slowly developing his voice. Then he wrote a very special poem. It was this very poem that changed the course of history in Asalandia. Yes, a poem did that. As absurd as it may seem, Outis managed to write the most amazing words every written. He crafted those words so beautifully that once you read it, your life would be forever different. That poem was such a special sonnet, it led to everything that happened afterward. It was in the lines of that poem that gave birth to the timeless truths, and they all came into view and the men that swayed power became powerless.

You might ask, how did the king manage to come across the poem of such an unimportant commoner like Outis. Well, that is a good question indeed. You see, around about the time Outis was masterfully creating the poem that changed the world forever, the King was actually going through a sort of inner, self-reflective process that had the Queen and the entire royal family particularly worried. It all started with the rain. Now Asalandia, famous for its beautiful sunshine, mostly had perfect weather, warm in the day, cool at night, deep blue skies that reflected the dark blue seas and it normally only rained during the rainy season for one month. However, that particular year, the rainy season stretched on for three months and it wasn’t just the typically light pitter patter, this was drizzle and depressing downpour, nonstop. So, this kept the King off his horses, which he loved dearly, and kept him in his chambers. This was where the King discovered poetry. The King couldn’t sleep well during the rainy season, so he often requested books from the library and read them to the wee hours of the morning. He started with the Histories and became quite depressed reading about all the wars, invasions, death and destruction. This left him feeling empty and alone, so he searched for more books. He was brought poetry and he instantly fell in love with it. He loved the rhyming patterns of the old poets and would sing them in his bed, often waking the poor Queen, who was getting very worried about her husband.

The King read poem after poem and slowly came to the realisation that something was missing. All the poems praised the warriors and gave thanks to all the kings. All the poems depicted Asalandia as heaven on earth, yet when he looked outside his window, all he saw was rain. He craved a poem that spoke the truth, that was as reflective as the water in Lake Asalandian (that is the clearest, cleanest and most beautiful lake in Asalandia), but he didn’t find it in his library. So, he slept less and less and worried with his head down reading, until he came up with it. The first Annual Poem Contest! This was the Contest that started it all and it was the king’s idea. He had signs made up immediately and had them posted all over the city. One sign happened to be posted right under Outis Everrett’s little house. When Outis saw the sign on the way, branded with the Kings sunbeam stamp of approval he was most pleased. It read:

The 1st Annual Poem Contest

Under order of the king, every man willing must enter the first annual poetry contest of Asalandia. The theme to the contest is: Asalandia, the winner receives fame and fortune beyond their wildest dreams and the highest honour, dinner with the king.

– Excerpted from The War Between by Lee J. Mavin, Tellwell Talent, 2026. Reprinted with permission.

About the Author

Lee J Mavin is the author of 11 books. He is also a teacher and father. He has a Masters in Creative Writing and am solely focused on writing fiction (fantasy and horror) and poetry. He is now in collaboration the illustrator Karolina Piotrowski, a Polish artist who has brought many stories to life. He has worked and studied in China and Japan and studied with Dr Xiaohuan Zhao (a master of Chinese poetry) to complete his book Li Bai’s Shadow, at the University of Sydney. He has two children who are both avid readers, so he is always in the loop with trends in children’s fiction. He is married and lives in Sydney, where he teaches English.

His latest book is the YA fantasy, The Wars Between.

Visit his website at leejmavin.com. 

Connect with him on social media at:

╰┈➤ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lee.mavin.925/ 

╰┈➤ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/mavin798 

╰┈➤ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5103759.Lee_J_Mavin

╰┈➤ TikTok ➜ https://www.tiktok.com/@leemavin4  

Sponsored By:

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Week Blast + #Giveaway: Eliza Waite by Ashley E. Sweeney @RABTBookTours

Historical Fiction

Date Published: 05-16-2016

Publisher: She Writes Press

Celebrating the 10th Anniversary

After the tragic death of her husband and son on a remote island in Washington’s San Juan Islands, Eliza Waite joins the throng of miners, fortune hunters, business owners, con men, and prostitutes traveling north to the Klondike in the spring of 1898. When Eliza arrives in Skagway, Alaska, she has less than fifty dollars to her name and not a friend in the world—but with some savvy, and with the help of some unsavory characters, Eliza opens a successful bakery on Skagway’s main street and befriends a madam at a neighboring bordello. Occupying this space—a place somewhere between traditional and nontraditional feminine roles—Eliza awakens emotionally and sexually. But when an unprincipled man from her past turns up in Skagway, Eliza is fearful that she will be unable to conceal her identity and move forward with her new life. Using Gold Rush history, diary entries, and authentic pioneer recipes, Eliza Waite transports readers to the sights sounds, smells, and tastes of a raucous and fleeting era of American history.

Excerpt

September 1, 1896

Cloudy, first fall chill. Deer in garden again. Need to mend fences.
 

“Good fences make good neighbors,” her aunt used to say.

Eliza examines her muddied property and stifles a snort. There are no neighbors, no cheery hellos or help at harvest time, no shared secrets or meals offered at the door when grief steals joy clean away. No, her neighbors are all gone from this windswept island plagued with relentless autumn rains that close in on the coming darkness.

Eliza removes her nightclothes and rushes into her undergarments, woolen skirt, muslin blouse, and thick socks. She gathers up her skirt, and pushes out through the cabin’s rickety door, inhaling wood smoke and counting her memories, both blessings and curses.

I do not know if I can endure another winter here, especially after what happened last year.

Before the epidemic there had been a store, and a post office, and a cannery, and a school. And—of course—a church. On those long ago Sundays, Eliza had squirmed each time Jacob mounted the stairs to the simple wooden pulpit at First Methodist on tiny Cypress Island, his pompousness preceding him. Eliza sat stiffly in the front pew with Jonathan close beside her. Jonathan’s delicate hands held hers and his small brown leather boots dangled over the front lip of the wooden bench. If she tries hard enough, Eliza can still hear Jonathan’s warbling voice stumbling over the words of the ancient hymns.

        After Sunday services, Eliza and Ida Lawson had poured weak coffee into china cups at opposite ends of the cloth-covered table in the basement of the church. They adjusted the china cups, filling in spaces when others were served. They checked the sugar bowls. They rearranged the teaspoons, and placed them symmetrically. They exchanged glances and shared private conversations in between parishioners.

Did you hear the foreman killed a Chinaman over at Atlas Cannery?

Another parishioner would interrupt. Pleasantries. Then another interruption. More pleasantries.

Did you see Sly Chapman walking Adelaide Winters home from school on Wednesday?

There was always scuttlebutt about the townsfolk, or the trappers, or the fishermen, or the loggers. And always about the Chinamen. In the kitchen, Eliza and Ida would mimic the Chinamen, taking small steps and bowing to each other. They stifled their laughter. Only once had they had an awkward and guarded conversation about the intimacies of marriage.

IDA’S COFFEE CAKE

This is one of the best of plain cakes, and is very easily made.

Take one teacup of strong coffee infusion, one teacup molasses, one teacup sugar, one-half teacup butter, one egg, and one teaspoonful saleratus. Add pinch of salt.

Add spice and raisins to suit the taste, and enough flour to make a reasonably thick batter.

Bake rather slowly in tin pans lined with buttered paper. Tops with cinnamon sugar and serve warm.

But those days are long past. Now all Eliza has is a heap of gravestones to visit.
 

 

About the Author

 

 Multi award-winning author Ashley E. Sweeney’s fourth novel, The Irish Girl, released December 2024. Her previous novels, Eliza Waite, Answer Creek, and Hardland, have won a total of 20 awards, including the Nancy Pearl Book Award, Independent Press Award, WILLA Literary Award, and New Mexico-Arizona Book Award. Sweeney, a native New Yorker and graduate of Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, spends winters in Tucson and summers in the Pacific Northwest.

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Teaser: Tales of the Quiet Kitty by Camille Anthony @RABTBookTours @changelingpress

Sci-Fi Fantasy Romance, LGBTQ+

Date Published: May 15, 2026

These futuristic sci-fi tales are anything but quiet.

Board the Quiet Kitty Waveship and travel with Brant Sel, a Sh'Bahkyr Tygyr and his crew: Bevel-leveB, a Medusoid Jenari with a sentient cock, and Willa, a Sprite from the wounded planet Sparkle.

Brought together by fate, these three have common goals -- to rescue and gather their lost peoples so they can take down the corrupt, brutal Corporation, run by the most evil beings in the three Galaxies... Humans.

Publisher's Note: This box setcontains the previously released Quiet Kitty novellas Under the Cat's Paw, Dancing with the Devil, Holiday Dreams, Naked Secrets, and Cat Scratch Fever.

 

 

EXCERPT

 

Excerpt from Under the Cat's Paw

The door opened and the sensor controlled walkway winked out beneath her weighted feet. Almost sorry to reach her destination -- she so rarely had a chance to see daylight -- Willa plodded heavily into the interview room, her small ankles locked into a pair of slaver's cuffs. Head down, neck bowed, she flicked her eyes about in quick, furtive forays, taking in the room's sparse furnishings: a six foot long cushioned slab and a straight-backed, armless chair. Noting the absence of tweezers, whips, electronic probes and other sadistic devices with a thankful sigh and a renewed sense of hope, she dared to sneak a quick glance at the room's other occupant, determined to somehow influence him to take her with him. A harsh, swift breath lifted her full breasts and set her covering plumes to fluttering.

Before her stood a grey-skinned bi-pedal Being lounging at ease, his long slender hands resting on the upper horizontal bar of a tall-backed chair. He faced her, his nude body -- tall, slim and muscular -- displaying a total lack of self-consciousness. A thick mop of unruly platinum hair waved in the brush of an unseen -- and unfelt -- breeze, falling over his forehead to obscure his sightless silver eyes. His mouth hung open, allowing a nineteen-centimeter tongue, coated with cilia, to protrude slightly.

She identified the Being as a Jenari. A member of a race powerful enough to stand up to the Corporation, his kind usually did not travel in Corporate Space. Jenari rarely mingled with other races, remaining a mystery rarely seen among the Corporation's citizenry. Because of this much speculation abounded regarding their peculiar genetic makeup.

She had heard enough about the genetically blind, Medusoid race to know the Jenari's tongues served as their true "eyes." With their tongues, they "tasted" the air, able to sense their environment more accurately than could most sighted persons.

Currently, the naked alien appeared nonchalant and relaxed. His posture broadcast his sense of control, his power over her in this private chamber, obviously unaware how easily that privacy -- his privacy -- had been breached. The so-called secure interrogation cubicle was anything but, her master having ordered it wired for video and sound, rendering it accessible and easily monitored by him.

The Jenari cocked his head toward her now, giving the impression of eyeing her askance, locating her so accurately, she almost doubted his sightlessness.

"Sso... you are Willa. Your masster tellss me he hass had you trained ass a SSexengineer... capable of keeping a Dinyar-classs Wavesship and a medium number of crew in tip-top orgassmic condition."

The male's sibilant words slid from his lips. He framed his sentences oddly, their cadence broken and rendered choppy by the repeated extrusion of his tongue. The cilia laden appendage darted out between every several words, sipping the air in her direction.

"You look much too fragile for ssuch sstrenuous work. A female of your delicassy sshould be cossseted and cared for... your cunt well conditioned with frequent usse... your ssweet cream churned with a long thick sspoon..."

Willa felt the Jenari's thick voice, his dulcet tones, flowing over her, calming her jangling nerves. Her pussy, long denied any easing, dewed in response to the pictures his words painted. A strong compulsion beat at her, making her want nothing so much as to loll at his feet in adoration.

Strange, how clear his words are, given that he speaks using that crowded appendage... Oh, Drasarka -- not so strange when he is attempting to mind-thrall me!

"Sparkle!"

With a negating shake of her head and an inward surge of disgust at the endless power-games of males, she threw up her mind blocks, easily winning free of the subliminal influence. Angered beyond thinking, she verbally blasted the alien, incensed he would try such a trick on her. "Your mind speak will not work on me, Jenari."

She tossed her head, meeting his renewed mental challenge with a sneer. "I am a Sprite. I cannot be compelled by your voice, nor can your honeyed words thrall me."

The alien's wide mouth spread in a practised movement that aped a smile. "You are a fressh ssassy baggage! I can ssee why your masster ssayss you invite beatingss, sslave!" His lips closed in a thin line, concealing his tongue.

She cringed, damning her mouth and her loss of self-control. By Sparkle! When would she learn to keep her comments to herself? What would she do if her unruly anger lost her this chance of escape?

It had taken too long to convince her master she truly wished to serve his plans by spying for him. She had spent the long, grueling years learning about ship propulsion units, drive flux capacitors and other diverse technical entities for just such a chance as this: escape. During that time, she'd swallowed her gorge and taken the physical abuse and so-called sexual cruelties Lord Avron had doled out, never letting on how his milder tortures ignited her carnal hungers. She'd only slipped up once, but that lapse had proven costly.

Avron had somehow learned she needed his release -- any partner's release -- inside her, needed the life-giving fluid of come washing the walls of her sex in order to flourish and grow a healthy set of pinions and fronds. Since that time, he'd kept her at the minimum edge of physical and psionic sexual starvation, taking pleasure in gauging what lengths she would go to, the degradations she would endure in order to receive a few drops of come.

Years of maneuvering, of posturing and subterfuge had paid off. Lately, unrest and political furor had escalated within the Corporation. Due to financial setbacks and personal miscalculations, Lord Avron had lost respect among his peers. The other Corporation Lords, like canker-phish -- more deadly than the great blalor-sharks of Trofu that devoured their own young -- hovered about, sniffing around his weakness, waiting for his failure. Her master had been forced to regroup, jettisoning some of his plans for advancement just to maintain his present lofty position among the powerful despots.

Unwilling to go outside his private power base to obtain help and whatever information he sought, it had been easy to convince him of her willingness to win the position as Sexengineer aboard the Quiet Kitty Waveship and garner information from its crew to transmit back to him. Why he had become obsessed with this vessel, she neither knew nor cared. All that concerned her lately was finding her scattered people. Sparkle called for her and its other children, its summons an imperative she could not ignore. Time was fast running out for her. If she messed this interview up, she knew Avron would kill her.

Belly roiling with resentment, she averted her face to hide her grimace and abased herself before the alien -- probably her last chance at freedom. "I offer apologies to you, Gentle-Being. I beg you to take no offence."

"Be at easse, Ssprite. I tesst all who sseek to sserve aboard my vesssel. No one sso eassily controlled iss welcomed aboard my Quiet Kitty. Let uss begin anew..."

One long arm extended palm up, in the manner of greeting peculiar to her slavers, the alien stepped from behind the chair, unerringly approaching Willa. "I am Bevel, masster of the Quiet Kitty Waveship."

She choked, eyes riveted in desperate immediate hunger to his newly revealed sex. Obviously, her information loop had seriously failed to include some pertinent data...

Standing before her, hands extended, awaiting her acknowledgement of his greeting, the alien was an impressive sight. Or rather, the impressive sight was his more than ten inch penis swaying lazily between his grey muscular thighs. A darker grey than the rest of his skin, the Medusoid cock undulated back and forth, its serpent-like moves hypnotic, compelling, drawing her fascinated gaze.

 

About the Author

A funny thing happened on the way to the grave... In 2006, Cammy was diagnosed with Pulmonary Sarcoidosis and given two weeks to live. She promptly discharged herself AMA -- Against Medical Advice -- since, as she stubbornly informed her doctors, she could die at home far more comfortably than at the hospital. But then... she got an idea for a new story. Then another, and another...

Fifteen years and dozens of fantastic tales later, Cammy passed quietly in her sleep, at home, as was her wish. We miss her. Her work lives on, and we hold her in our hearts. Cammy decided many years ago that upon her passing, she wished to donate her royalties to The Quiet Kitty fund, which helps authors with emergency medical expenses. We do, to keep her in our hearts and minds.

 

Find Camille’s other works at Changeling Press

Publisher on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok: @changelingpress

Preorder Today

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Virtual Book Tour + #Giveaway: RJ's Adventures in Temecula by Eva Legre Zigre @GoddessFish

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Eva Legre Zigre will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Blurb: 

If you've had a chance to visit Temecula, California, you'd be one of many who have had the privilege of watching hot air balloons take flight during sunrise and descend at sunset, walking the grounds of one of the most beautiful rose gardens in California, and visiting a rare and noble tree that looks to have stood the test of time. You will find some of the most popular and heavily visited sights in Temecula, beautifully illustrated and captured in child-like conversation.

RJ’s Adventures in Temecula is a vibrantly colored board book featuring thirteen of Temecula’s most visited attractions. The illustrations jump off the page, offering children fun images to look at while learning more about Temecula, California’s historic sights.

Beware. Your child may ask to visit some of the attractions presented in this 20-page book, such as Professor Pennypickles' Workshop or the Sugarplum Zoo and Chocolates. Come visit for a week, but first, do your research and take this adventure around Temecula, California with RJ.

Read an Excerpt

Hello Friend!

My name is RJ.

Welcome to the beautiful and sunny city of Temecula. Today is a great day to show you around!

Are you ready for an exciting tour?

Interview with Eva Legre

Could you tell us about any research trips you took for this story? Which places did you visit, and what made them essential to your writing?

I made numerous research trips around the City of Temecula, first without my photographer and again with my photographer after I took places off my list.

After the first cut, I still had a list of 30 places I wanted to feature in RJ’s Adventures in Temecula and had to cut it down to 12 to stay within my budget.

I ended up with 13, and I am pleased with them all.

Each place had something unique and extra special to share with children and the family which is why I chose them.

One place in particular is extremely unique. The Great Oak on the Pechenga Band of Indians Reservation is a rare find. In fact, there is a one-year wait for a permit to visit the grand old tree to preserve its roots and structure. I was given a rare opportunity to visit and have my photographer take pictures. It is majestic, and while standing in the shade of its leaves, you can feel the energy of the ages it has been standing. It was an awe-filled moment.

What's the strangest thing you've ever had to research online for your book?

I researched how many ducks might be at the Duck Pond in Temecula during certain times of year so that we had a good chance of getting a shot of the pond with ducks in it. You can’t have a duck pond with no ducks in a children’s book. Of course, my illustrator could draw them in but I wanted my photographer to give the illustrator as close to the finished product as possible.

What research (history, mythology, science) goes into your world-building?

Some of my research is done on the internet, but quite a bit of it involves getting to know the people in a community, having discussions with the visitors’ bureau of each town, and poring over maps and brochures for hours. I research the city’s history, the cultures, founding families, and businesses, as well as family-friendly attractions and places.

Have any of the people you've known, past or present, left a lasting impression on your writing journey? If so, we'd love to hear about a memorable experience that stands out to you.

My son, for both obvious and not-so-obvious reasons, has left a lasting impression on my writing journey. He is the inspiration for RJ’s Adventures in Temecula. Seeing life through his eyes is a blessing and wanting to show him as much of this world as possible is what drives me to have RJ travel around the world.

Do you write in the same genre all the time?

Right now, yes. Since the birth of my son, children’s books have my attention. There are so many subjects that give me new ideas for children’s books. A children’s book series focused on adventures in travel seems endless right now. I have so many places and stories I want to cover, I will be writing children’s books for a long time to come.

If so, have you ever consider writing in another one?

Before my son, I considered writing a self-help book, but that will wait until inspiration hits.

Which character, supernatural or human, do you enjoy writing the most and why?

Right now, it is RJ. I love to hear him laugh and play in my mind. I can hear him gasp with surprise and giggle with delight. He is rambunctious, curious and loves to play hide and seek. He reminds me to think like a child.

About the Author:

Eva Legre-Zigre is a children's book author passionate about writing stories that reflect the beauty of communities. Inspired by years of experience as a nanny and a volunteer teacher, she crafts engaging stories that encourage creativity and wonderment in children. Her passion for community, culture, and finding beautiful differences in various states throughout the country gives her the desire to share those unique and exciting places with children.

A resident of Temecula, California, known for its wineries, Mrs. Legre-Zigre was inspired by her own child to find and highlight family- and child-friendly attractions in her city. Some of these attractions are featured in her debut book.

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Book Tour + #Giveaway: Death and Life in the City of Dreams by Nicholas Deitch @RABTBookTours

 

Literary Fiction

Date Published: April 16th

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

Jaded city planner Townsend Meadows looks out across Evermore Valley with the ghost of his dead friend by his side. “Do you ever wonder,” Fen asks, “what this city will look like five hundred years from now?”

Their city is teetering on the brink of collapse, and the mayor’s answer is a gleaming new auto mall at the valley’s edge. For Townsend, it’s the death of everything a city should be. Struggling to regain his passion and forced to choose between compliance and conviction, he must risk his career to fight for a more hopeful and verdant future.

From an architect’s vision at the dawn of the twentieth century, to a rancher’s dynasty scarred by violence and greed, to a city founder’s hidden message of hope, this story about the rise, fall, and reawakening of an American city reaches far beyond the present. A timely, sweeping novel of memory, corruption, and resilience, Death and Life in the City of Dreams asks, “What legacy will we choose to leave for our children?”

 

 

Interview with Nicholas Deitch
Death and Life in the City of Dreams

Could you tell us about any research trips you took for this story? Which places did you visit, and what made them essential to your writing?

I have been researching for this novel across my career. As an architect and city planner, everywhere I go I see the fruits and mistakes of our efforts, of cities that are glorious and humane, and cities that are choking and bleak. The most inspiring cities I have visited include Los Angeles, where I was born, Boston, which is one of the oldest American cities, and Paris, which embodies a thousand years of urban evolution.

What's the strangest thing you've ever had to research online for your book?

So many strange things . . . Derringer pistols, dime novels, airships, whale-bone corsets, Multiple Scleroses, Parkinson’s, healing qualities of herbal teas. Writing about things unknown is an invitation to its own kind of adventure. The key is to enjoy the ride, and then bring it back home.

What research (history, mythology, science) goes into your world-building?

I love world building. It’s a process of discovery and I often approach it as someone stepping off of the bus in a new place, simply seeing and discovering where I am. As the lens begins to focus, this is a good place to pause and dig a little deeper. What is this place, its era, it’s social construct. In a new story, I’m researching aspects of my own origins, of Jewish ancestry—which I have no present knowledge of. So, I find myself discovering the realm of Jewish mysticism. And it’s fascinating.

Have any of the people you've known, past or present, left a lasting impression on your writing journey? If so, we'd love to hear about a memorable experience that stands out to you.

I attend the Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference each year. It is a wonderful community of passionate writers from all walks, and at all levels. My first few years I worried that I want good enough. I was a novice and still discovering my voice. When I showed up one year, with a collection of short stories to share, I was stunned—and elated—by the response. These were deeply human stories, emerging from places of my own struggle and vulnerability. And I was deeply moved at the end of the conference, to find that one of those stories received the honor of Best Fiction for that year. For someone who came feeling unsure and unqualified, this was a transformational moment.

The lesson learned? Write from your heart, from your difficult places, and your truth will find resonance in others.

Do you write in the same genre all the time?

I write in a literary voice, whether it’s speculative, historical, mystery. I often mix them up to tell stories that are difficult to classify. Magic realism often finds its way into my narratives.

If so, have you ever consider writing in another one?

I don’t focus on genre. I’m not really writing for a ‘marketplace.’ I’m writing to discover who I am. The genre emerges through the story.

Which character, supernatural or human, do you enjoy writing the most and why?

I often write about people who live on the fringes of society, who might not be noticed, or might even be shunned. I am drawn to the timelessness of our predicament, that across the ages we humans have grappled with the same challenges, of fear, love, jealousy, loneliness. My very human characters will sometimes take on ‘supernatural’ characteristics, of vision, insight, the capacity to heal. I enjoy writing about self discovery and transformation, which in themselves can be acts of the supernatural.

Thank you for letting me share of my writing journey.

Nicholas Deitch - nickadeitch@gmail.com

You are welcome. We appreciate your visit with us today!

About the Author

 

Nicholas Deitch is a writer, architect, and advocate for social justice whose fiction explores the intersection of cities, history, and human resilience. His passion for storytelling began when a colleague recognized the emotional depth of his nonfiction work. Since then, he has honed his craft, publishing short stories in Litro Magazine, Club Plum, and Santa Barbara Literary Journal. His short story “Grace Eternal” won Best Fiction at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference (2019).

Death and Life in the City of Dreams, his debut novel, is deeply influenced by his experiences in nonprofit leadership and the design of inclusive communities and urban places.

Originally from Los Angeles, he now lives in Ventura, California, with his wife and creative partner Diana.

 

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Book Blitz: Alive for a Reason by Jaiden Jackson Smith @imalive4areason @RABTBookTours

What You Don’t Know Will Kill You and It’s Not the Pandemic: Julia’s Story

Nonfiction / Biographies / Health

Date Published: December 23, 2024

You don’t have to die… like Julia almost did.

This gripping memoir tells the true story of a sudden, devastating illness—thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)—a rare blood disorder with a 90% mortality rate if left untreated.

Through a deeply personal and conversational narrative, Jaiden Jackson Smith brings readers into Julia’s world:

● A body turning against itself

● A mind navigating fear, confusion, and altered reality

● A spirit clinging to faith and purpose

What You’ll Discover

● The hidden dangers of undiagnosed illness

● The link between stress, trauma, and autoimmune disorders

● The reality of hematological conditions and platelet disorders

● The emotional and spiritual battle of survival

 

About the Author

Jaiden Jackson Smith is an award-winning author, advocate, and storyteller whose work centers on truth, healing, and human resilience.

Her debut memoir earned the 2025 International Impact Book Award, marking her as a powerful new voice in inspirational nonfiction.

Jaiden holds a Master’s degree in Law and Public Policy in Nevada and is committed to continuing her education to advocate for:

● Individuals with intellectual disabilities

● People with disabilities

● Senior adults

Her life is guided by three core values:

Integrity. Loyalty. Determination.

Beyond her professional achievements, Jaiden finds joy in:

● Spending time with her husband

● Enjoying music—especially Earth, Wind & Fire

● Writing and creative expression

● Bringing light into the lives of others through kindness

Her mission is simple yet profound:

To remind people they are seen, valued, and never alone.

 

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Book Blitz: Voyagers: Homeland to Heartland by D. L. Norris @RABTBookTours

Biographical Fiction

Date Published: March 26, 2026

Voyagers: Homeland to Heartland is a sweeping, multi-generational saga inspired by true family history, tracing a Norwegian immigrant family's journey from the rugged valleys of Norway to the windswept prairies of Nebraska.

Rooted in the author's own heritage, the story follows Kittil and Marte Dyrebu as they leave behind everything familiar-family, language, and homeland-to chase the promise of opportunity in America. Their passage across the Atlantic is only the beginning. What follows is a lifetime of perseverance: carving a home from raw prairie, enduring devastating storms, profound loss, quiet joys, and the relentless demands of frontier life.

Told through richly detailed vignettes, Voyagers weaves together the lives of parents and children, siblings and spouses, revealing how love, faith, and tradition are carried forward even as circumstances change. From intimate moments around a family table to life altering crossroads shaped by duty, sacrifice, and longing, each generation faces its own tests-yet remains bound by shared memory and resilience.

At its core, Voyagers is a tribute to storytelling itself: the way stories preserve identity, heal grief, and connect past to present. It is a novel for anyone drawn to historical fiction, immigrant journeys, and the enduring power of family legacy.

Both tender and unflinching, Voyagers honors the courage of those who came before-and the stories that continue to shape who we are.

About the Author

Award-winning author and motivational speaker, D. L. Norris is widely recognized for her insightful contributions to literature and personal development. With a prolific career spanning several decades, Norris has explored themes of health, emotional wellness, family dynamics, and cultural history, earning her a devoted readership. Her acclaimed novels, "The Long Way Home," "Where the Heart Is," "Old Books and Faded Dreams: Collector's Edition," "Field of Memories: A Tapestry of Heartwarming Short Stories," The Intercessors: They Walk Among Us," and "Voyagers: Homeland to Heartland"—are celebrated for their vibrant, oft-humorous stories and authentic portrayal of real-life events and mindsets inspired by her beloved Scandinavian heritage.

Norris's writing is characterized by its warmth, wit, and ability to capture the complexities of human relationships, drawing from her own experiences and family traditions. Through her work, she invites readers to reflect on the importance of resilience, hope, and unconditional love, weaving together narratives that resonate across generations.

She and her husband, Quincy, reside in the picturesque city of Hartford, Connecticut, where they continue to inspire others through their commitment to storytelling and community engagement.

 

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