Friday, December 15, 2023
Review: Survive the Conflict (Small Town EMP #3) by Grace Hamilton
Survive the Conflict
Small Town EMP #3
by Grace Hamilton
Published: October 17, 2019
Genre: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic
Blurb Blitz + #Giveaway: Light of the Gods by Miriam Newman @miriamnewman @GoddessFish
Light of the Gods
by Miriam Newman
GENRE: Fantasy Historical Romance
BLURB:
In ages gone by, the gods of the mountains had split the earth in two. Now that passage must form a barrier against invaders. Javrik, clan chieftain’s son, has known his wife for only a month when he must defend her. Arman, soldier from a far-off land, finds himself fighting for people he never knew existed. The lives of nomads, raiders, warriors and lovers are changed forever in the shadow of Grandfather Mountain.
Excerpt:
It was a happy homecoming group at table that night although, inevitably, most people spoke of war.
“These are good,” Javrik acknowledged, sitting next to Sarai with his brother on his other side, both of them eating her sweet rolls. The only rule of the home seemed to be that the men must leave their boots on the porch, to save cleaning for the women. But she could see that her husband had changed into clean clothes, and washed his beard and his hair. They still curled faintly, looking like spun gold as they dried. In a crowd of men coming in, many with wives and children, he stood out.
It was pretty clear, though, that Jerisi held court.
“Sarai‘s father,” he told the assemblage, “returned to prepare stone throwers.”
There was a murmur of approval.
“You have the timber and rope to make them.” He spoke directly to her, but obviously to everyone else as well. “And the rocks. We will harvest rocks from your ground like a crop and shoot them from atop Grandfather Mountain and Little Man on anyone below.”
He rubbed his hands gleefully, provoking a laugh at the table. “That should take out a good number.”
“What else can they throw?” someone asked.
“Oh, pretty much anything. Flaming balls of pitch. Severed heads.”
The laughter this time was robust.
“UGGHHH!” Most of the women protested, but they, too, were laughing.
Jerisi, already well into his cups, raised a tankard. “Drink to their deaths, my friends!”
So, this was war. Unconsciously, Sarai leaned towards Javrik, who was less inebriated than some others—but not much.
“Ugly stuff, isn‘t it?” he commiserated. “And I‘m afraid you haven‘t seen anything yet.”
“And I thought you were the civilized ones,” she teased. “That‘s what they tell us in the mountains.”
“Oh, no.” He leaned back. “We only pretend.”
She had dressed for dinner in the bright colors the other women favored, and worn her hair as Sange suggested, intricately braided and held with rich-looking combs. Well, she had fed him, gotten him drunk, dressed like a woman looking for attention...there was only one thing left to try. If he rejected her again, she didn‘t know what she would do. A woman might have an abusive husband or a drunken one, which was bad enough. But to have one who simply didn‘t care about you was the kiss of death, since you were shackled to him for life.
“Where do we sleep tonight?” she asked, letting her leg touch his beneath the shelter of the table.
“Upstairs,” he said, not moving his leg. “Do you want me to show you?”
At last, she thought. The man was not made of stone, after all. Her fingers curled anxiously inside her palms, but the weight and warmth against her thigh was very real.
“Yes,” she murmured. “Yes, I do want that.”
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Fantasy poetry driven by myths and legends has been my passion for as long as I can remember. I was published in poetry before catching the romance writing bug. I bring that background to my writing along with a lifelong addiction to horses, an 18 year career in various areas of psychiatric social services and many trips to Ireland, where I nurture my muse. My published works range from contemporary fantasy romance to fantasy historical, futuristic, science fiction and historical romance. Currently I live in rural Pennsylvania with a “motley crew” of rescue animals. You can see my books at www.miriamnewman.com.
Connect with Miriam Newman
Website ~ Blog ~ Email ~ Facebook
Twitter ~ BookBub ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon
Blog – The Celtic Rose
Website – Dark Castle Lords
Giveaway:
$20 Amazon/BN GC
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.
Thursday, December 14, 2023
Blog Tour + Review: Sunny's Secrets by Robin Jay @TheKEYmovies @pumpupyourbook
Devastated by the loss of her husband and keenly aware of the fragile nature of life, Sunny, a nurse, is approached by a mysterious Indian doctor with a secretive spiritual method for transferring Life Force Energy between two people. She accepts his intriguing offer to join his elite and clandestine team.
Title: Sunny's Secrets
Author: Robin Jay
Publication Date: July 6, 2023
Pages: 378
Genre: Psychological Suspense/Medical
A suicide bomber changed Sunny’s life forever. A nurse from a military family, she finds herself devastated and alone. At her husband’s funeral, she’s approached by a mysterious Indian doctor, Rohan Ray, who shows her how to switch Life Force Energy between two people – those who are about to end their lives and patients who would give anything to live another day. Playing with fate is not for the faint of heart. Will the crushing responsibility be too much for Sunny to bear?
Buy Link:
Book Excerpt:
Finally, Tuesday had come and it was time for John to leave. Sunny had taken the day off so she could drive him to the base and say goodbye. They almost made it through their goodbyes without breaking down. Sunny apologized for being emotional. She hadn’t wanted to cry, but she loved him so much she couldn’t help herself.
“Even one day without you is more than I can stand,” she said, huge tears spilling out of her eyes.
John wiped them away and kissed her cheeks. He’d never loved her more than when she was declaring her love for him. That vulnerability in this otherwise strong woman melted his heart. For a moment, it was as if his life was flashing before his eyes. He saw her as his angel in the hospital where they’d met, his bride coming down the aisle to marry him, and a quick collage of images of her since they’d been married.
He soon had tears welling up in his own eyes. He promised he’d always be there for her, no matter what. She forced herself to believe him. They kissed, then kissed again. He didn’t pull away one minute before he absolutely had to.
“I love you with all my heart, Sunny. You are the very best thing that has ever happened to me. You make my life worth living, and I can’t imagine not being able to share it with you. Our love has been the greatest blessing God could have ever given me. I love you, angel. You’ll be okay.” He took both her hands in his own and kissed them. “Call Roger and Jen if you need anything. I’ll see you soon.”
And with one final, deep kiss that would have to last her for the rest of her life, he ran to get on the transport plane.
Roger was at the base when John left. He had started to join them to say goodbye to his best friend, but when he got close to them, he saw the couple was having a special moment, so he hung back. After John boarded his flight, Roger approached Sunny.
“Sunny, please don’t hesitate to call if you need anything, anything at all! Jen and I are here for you,” he assured her. “We’ll have fun. In fact, plan on coming to our house for dinner Friday night, okay?” She nodded and gave him a hug. She felt a little better for a moment, talking with Roger. Still, she cried all the way home.
Once home, Sunny immediately sensed how empty the house felt. She caught herself thinking about all the little things that she and John had been through together. If she’d been able to see the memories flashing in John’s mind as he was saying goodbye to her, she wouldn’t have been at all surprised to see that they were the very same images that she had seen in that same moment, only from her perspective. They included him proposing to her in the hospital as he recovered from the critical car wreck that nearly killed him, seeing him waiting for her as she walked down the aisle at their wedding, and countless images of them together, moments that showed how madly in love they were with each other.
It wasn’t long enough. Then again, she realized, a few hundred years with John wouldn’t be enough time for them to express their love for each other.
Sunny plopped down in the big, comfortable chair and thought about what they might be doing now if John was home. She had a great imagination and loved to entertain thoughts of conversations, lovemaking, and even just the quiet times they’d spend at home together.
Her thoughts drifted to John’s deployment to Afghanistan, and how it felt different to her. She wasn’t just afraid. This time, she had a deep, uneasy feeling that he wasn’t going to come back. She tried to quiet the negative thoughts.
Sunny had always been intuitive. In fact, her intuition was a gift she used with her patients. As a nurse, she’d helped countless people when they couldn’t quite explain what was going on in their bodies or where their pain was coming from. Her intuition told her what questions to ask, and their answers would help her zero in on whatever was causing their issues. Whenever she made a suggestion to the doctors, they were always amazed that she was one step ahead of them. Over the years, she’d grown to trust her intuition. Now, she wished it wasn’t so keen.
My Review:
Sunny's Secrets is a very thought-provoking and captivating story. It gives you so much to think about. It will make you stop and question yourself as to what you would do if you were in Sunny’s shoes. Would you do the same thing she did?
Sunny’s Secret is a very beautiful story that will keep you hanging on every word. The moment I read that first word I didn’t want to stop as I was pulled deep into Sunny’s world. My emotions were all over the place. My heart ached for Sunny as she dealt with life and the things she was going through. I can only imagine what she must have felt.
Sunny is dealing with the loss of her husband and has just returned to work as a nurse when she meets an Indian doctor who teaches her about a spiritual method for transferring Life Force Energy between persons. Sunny decides to accept the Indian doctor’s offer.
After doing so she begins to question herself. She wonders if she made the right choice. Was it right or wrong to take someone's life energy and give it to someone else? Sunny has so many questions. She was torn between doing what was right for her patients and what she thought was right.
I would recommend Sunny’s Secrets to anyone looking for a beautiful heart-felt story. Grab a copy of Sunny’s Secrets today!
About the Author
Robin Jay is an award-winning filmmaker and author, speaker, and publisher. She is also a Business Relationship Expert who shares the nuts and bolts of building profitable business relationships with an emphasis on smart ways to network and socialize with clients.
Her clients tagged her “The Queen of the Business Lunch™”. Robin personally hosted more than 3,000 client lunches and saw her sales increase by more than 2,000%! Her sense of humor and candid approach to sharing the principles that helped her to achieve such tremendous success as an Advertising Account Executive in Las Vegas, Nevada, helped to make her first book an international success. Robin’s award-winning business book is “The Art of the Business Lunch ~ Building Relationships Between 12 and 2” (Career Press.) It has been published in twelve languages worldwide. She’s also a contributor to “Chicken Soup for the Wine Lover’s Soul.” She’s been featured internationally on MSNBC-TV, Newsweek Magazine, CNN, the BBC, the New York Times, The London Financial Times, Forbes.com, and other international and national media outlets.
In 2006, Robin founded the Las Vegas Convention Speakers Bureau. As president, she manages the bureau and coaches speakers to success in person and online. She especially enjoys the cache the bureau lends to create and publish intellectual properties. She edited and published “The Power of the Platform,” a series of three anthologies that feature messages from today’s top motivational speakers, including Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy, and Les Brown.
Robin’s passion for storytelling has evolved to presenting messages of empowerment and inspiration in films as writer, producer, and costar of the first funny personal development movies. Her films are collectively known as “The Key Movies.” (see TheKeyMovies.com.) The films star many of today’s top personal development experts, including Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy, don Miguel Ruiz, Rev. Michael Beckwith, John Assaraf, and John Gray. Robin’s writer/producer awards include Best Independent Film, Best Documentary, Best Concept, and Best Original Song for the soundtrack song, “Stronger than Ever.”
Robin took advantage of the recent lockdown to pivot and write her first novel, “Sunny’s Secrets,” a Psychological Suspense story. It follows the life of Sunny Sullivan, a nurse with a special, unorthodox method of healing people.
Most recently, Robin coauthored a memoir with reality TV star Tana Goertz. Robin’s expanded social media reach, including book and movie experts, speakers, and colleagues, has well over 100,000 followers.
Author Links
Sponsored By:
Review: Survive the Aftermath (Small Town EMP #2) by Grace Hamilton
Survive the Aftermath
Small Town EMP #2
by Grace Hamilton
Published: August 8, 2019
Genre: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic
