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Thursday, September 4, 2025

Sound Catchers by Jessica Coriat - Book Tour - Book Blast - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jessica Coriat will be awarding a $10 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner's Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Sound Catchers is about Maddy, a twin girl who experiences hearing loss early in her childhood. Initially, she is fitted with bilateral hearing aids. As her loss progresses, she makes the transition to cochlear implants. The book captures the world in which Maddy lives in a lyrical and loving way. It creates an awareness of children with hearing loss as part of the world around them, enabling the reader a glimpse into that experience through Maddy's journey.

This book contributes to a greater understanding of those who live with hearing loss. It helps the reader to build empathy, and it creates an awareness of differences. As such, it holds a valuable place in the social/emotional curriculum, which is taught in schools nationwide.

AUTHOR BIO & LINKS:

Jessica Coriat completed her bachelor of science in Special Education/Elementary Education and went on to earn two master's degrees, one in Deaf Education and the other in Creative Writing for Children. With over twenty years of experience as a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing, Jessica continues to teach her students alongside their typical hearing peers. As a full-time working mother of three teenagers, Jessica has plenty of free time on her hands. She enjoys spending it in her home in New Jersey, with her son, her twin girls and their cavapoo, Bailey. Jessica is also passionate about living a healthy lifestyle. She is thrilled to have written this book and continues to make time to write each day.

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Wednesday, September 3, 2025

The Goodbyes by Helen Gillespie - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!



The Goodbyes
by Helen Gillespie


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GENRE:   Women’s Fiction


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BOOK BLURB:


Struggling with becoming an adult in a small mid-western town, Dianne must confront family secrets, deception, and discovery during her last year of college. As she cares for her ailing mother, her world begins to unravel and she is challenged to navigate through lies, friendships, love...and murder.

Meeting the wrong person makes it possible for her to recognize the right ones and to find the strength she needs to survive. Realizing that she is responsible for her own destiny, she learns that to say hello to a new life, she must first say goodbye.

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EXCERPT ONE:


All living creatures hold secrets for basic survival. Humans keep secrets to preserve their image, hide their misjudgments, or protect those they care about. Only in the safest conditions, absolute trust or vulnerability, can humans feel safe divulging their secrets, laying bare their hidden selves.

Katrina England and her husband did not keep secrets from Dianne or indulge in the usual childhood fantasies of princesses or fairy godmothers with her daughter. Even Santa Claus was introduced from a historical perspective rather than as a magical elf. The Englands were doting parents who disciplined their daughter when necessary and answered her questions honestly, only withholding information that surpassed Dianne’s maturity. Yet, despite this philosophy, Katrina did hold a few secrets, one very close.

As Dianne approached adulthood, Katrina began to share these secrets. By then, Dianne’s father had died, leaving the two women to navigate life together as a family with no other relatives living close by. Katrina often grappled with the lifelong weight of a childhood secret and her secret of late, a terminal cancer diagnosis. Both became weightier as her cancer took hold. When Dianne began dating the MegaMart store manager, Katrina’s concern of her daughter’s future turned to worry.

Dianne, nearing graduation while dealing with her mother’s illness, found herself facing unexpected challenges. When Michael D. Glossen entered her life, her challenges became problems. Oddly, she met “Michael D” when a cream rinse emergency arose.

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GUEST POST:


Five Ways to Engage Readers – It’s All About the Characters


1.)  Develop a variety of characters, but not too many, and not too similar.
2.)  Dialogue needs to fit the characters' personalities and roles/careers.
3.)  All humans hold secrets; therefore, our characters should hold secrets that they gradually reveal.
4.)  Humans are a product of their experiences. My characters reflect this.
5.)  Each character’s dialogue, personality, and actions need to contribute to the storyline.


I was close to the sin of too many characters. In total, 20 individuals had roles that involved more than a third-person mention. At any given time, two characters carried the story, with the others playing a supporting role, much like a chorus line. To help the reader not feel as though they’re attending a large family reunion for the first time, I tried to keep the characters mentioned in scenes related to their roles, such as school, a restaurant, and the church.

Dianne was always center stage. During the story, her mother, then Ken, then Mel, partnered with Dianne to tell the story through their experiences. JR and Betty were next in prominence, with Texaco John making regular appearances. As was his personality, John only appeared when needed and remained somewhat of a mystery.

Hidden inside each character was a unique personality, career, and set of traits. Smooth and easy exchange of unique dialogue further identified the individuals. Each character was believable, complete with accents, assets, talents, and quirks. They all lived with me for a long time, and I wanted to do them justice on my pages so others could see them as clearly as I had for 20 years.

The main character, Dianne, was raised privileged with two parents who cared, yet were not perfect. Still, Dianne cared for society as a whole and individuals less fortunate than herself. Mel, a little “rough around the edges,” wasn’t so lucky, yet she was with JR and Betty stepping in to parent her. Mel’s limited social exchange with other children while growing up formed her into her adult persona. Other characters who shared the spotlight at intervals in the book also were clearly part of their experience and environment.

The storyline was simple. Two young ladies meet. Each desire more from life than what seemed to be their prescribed destiny. Similar to what happens with many lives, the future we plan is not what ends up happening because unplanned events have taken place.

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AUTHOR BIO:


Throughout grammar school and college, Helen Gillespie loved developing story sketches or full stories but kept them hidden within herself. That creative spark proved valuable in unexpected places, first on assignment as a musician in the US Army, and after leaving the Army, when she earned a degree in elementary education. After reentering the Army in 1981, she put pen to paper, or rather, “fingers to an Olivetti.” She officially learned the art of journalism to serve the Army, but it quickly became a personal passion. Interviewing fellow soldiers, exploring their jobs and personalities, and publishing useful information for the military community formed the basis of her skill and enjoyment. Those years of thought, training, education, and experience laid the foundation for crafting her first novel, The Goodbyes.

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CONNECT WITH HELEN:


Facebook Author Page:

Facebook Personal Page:

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Website:

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GIVEAWAY:


Helen will be awarding a $25 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner's Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter at the end of the tour.





a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

The Rebellious Countess by Helene Matheson - Book Tour - Book Blast - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Helene Matheson will be awarding a $10 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner's Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Society may be run by the men of the ton, but six scandalous sisters are determined to take it by storm one gentleman at a time.

Máira Blair married for love, her honeymoon trip with the Earl of Dorset is a dream come true—until reality turns it into a nightmare. Máira wakes up to discover her husband isn’t an earl, but the captain of a pirate ship and what was supposed to be her honeymoon, is a voyage bound for war-torn France. If that isn’t enough to disparage her husband’s character, he abandons her in the middle of a French port where she must find a way to survive as she defends her virtue and her life. Just when she’s convinced of what kind of rogue she married, the pirate transforms into a hero on a quest to save her and the missing Earl of Astley.

Sir Elias Drake married for convenience, he needed a Scottish bride to complete his mission. He can resist his desire for his beautiful wife, especially after she discovers his true identity. Except Máira Blair was more than he bargained for. He needs her skills, cherishes her compassion, and is tormented by her passion, which only makes him want her and the life their marriage represents more.

It will require both of their talents to rescue the Earl of Astley, and it will take more than a war to defeat their hard-won love—if they can escape.

EXCERPT THREE:


“Máira…” He took a step toward her, wanting to take her into his arms and erase the horrors she’d experienced in the hours since he saw her last. The way she quickly moved to keep distance between them, nearly gutted him and he stopped before he made her run out the door she’d just entered.

“You look as if you fought off the demons of hell and somehow won. Are you alright?” He asked.

The noise she made was decidedly unfeminine and nothing like the woman he knew. Somewhere between a snort and a growl, it was attached to a sneer that only hatred could form. “I’m breathing, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Breathing?” Holy, bloody hell. What had he done? He was going to kill Peter and every one of his crew for not looking out for her. “I meant, do we need to fetch a surgeon?” He spoke softly, as if that would keep their conversation private in the middle of a tavern with every eye and ear observing them with avid curiosity. If he were lucky, only the barkeep and her henchman, and spoke English.

“Are you worried about my reputation? My virtue? My life? Or are you worried that I still stand on this green Earth?” Her hand rose to her chest in a display of mock distress. It succeeded in drawing every eye in the place to her damned feminine curves.

He glared at the men around him, some looked away sheepishly, others didn’t care. They would look their fill unless he challenged each and every one of them.

AUTHOR BIO & LINKS:

Helene Matheson writes steamy regency historical romance novels with intelligent, unstoppable heroines who don’t require an alpha male to save them—having one in their bed is another story.

Helene moved south for fun in the sun after she retired from public service and began pursuing her life-long dream of writing. She wrote the Amazon best-selling mystery series The Book Barn Mysteries for Lyrical Press and has written multiple award-winning romantic suspense novels under Kym Roberts.

In her spare time she can be found woodcarving by the pool or blogging for The Cozy Corner on Fresh Fiction. To contact her on social media, you can find her under KymRoberts911 on FaceBook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. Her books can also be found on her websites.

Helene Matheson:

Thursday, August 14, 2025

Ghosted by Lori Matsourani - Book Tour - Book Blast - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Lori Matsourani will be awarding a $20 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner's Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour. Also, the author has organized a Goodreads giveaway for the book: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/418301-ghosted.
When her fiancé’s infidelity prompts Bethany Hendren to map out a new path forward, her plans are disrupted by an unexpected encounter with Nick Dorsey, who convinces her to help search for the remains of a troubled eighteenth-century ghost. Nick is the handsome summer boyfriend who ghosted her years ago, and now he wants to rekindle their relationship.

Despite her reluctance to trust him, Bethany discovers he’s still the funny, caring person who captured her heart as a teen, but giving him a second chance is risky—it could lead to love and happiness or result in another devastating heartache.

Although Bethany wants a happily ever after with Nick, does she have the courage to trust him with her future?
EXCERPT TWO:

The fountain that night was magical. Spotlights positioned at the edges of the narrow brick patio lit the cast-iron maiden as she filled her goblet from an urn with a never-ending flow of water.

Nick stopped and retrieved his dime. Bethany fished a penny out of her pocket, and they counted to three before flinging their coins into the pool.

After settling on a nearby bench, he drew her into his arms. Was this it? The moment she’d wondered about, waited for? She looked up into his eyes and inhaled, filling her lungs with the scent of sunscreen and salty air. His scent. Then he leaned down, touched her cheek with his index finger, and brushed his mouth against hers. His lips, spiced with traces of red pepper flakes, were softer than she had imagined. Without thinking, she lifted her face to his, hungrily snatching more kisses until she’d spent her last breath.

“My wish came true,” he’d murmured, tightening his arms around her as his mouth rested on hers.

She’d whispered back, “So did mine.”

The memory dredged up the old ache, now muted by time. Nick thought they were still friends, although he’d been the one who ended their relationship. Was it possible he still thought about her, and his heart still pounded with the chemistry that had pulled them together so long ago?

AUTHOR BIO & LINKS:
Author Lori Matsourani is a romance addict. Give her stories with a touch of heartbreak and a spark of joy, and she’s happy. Throw in characters with a huge helping of heart and soul, and she’s up reading all night in romance heaven! While currently a Texas resident, Lori grew up near Baltimore and often draws on the historical flavor of Annapolis and Maryland’s Eastern Shore to inspire her story settings. She authored her first fiction story at twelve and has been hooked on writing ever since. Early on, her writing career focused on articles for magazines and newspapers before shifting to her first writing love—fiction. For Lori, connecting words to tell a story is like assembling a jigsaw puzzle, and she loves the challenge of creating every piece.

Website: https://lorimatsourani.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lori.matsourani
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lori.matsourani/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/lori_matsourani
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/lori-matsourani.bsky.social
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@lori.matsourani
X: https://x.com/LoriMatsourani
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alloriannam

BOOK BUY LINKS:

https://books2read.com/lorimatsourani
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F9XCPLYD/thewildrosepr-20
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ghosted-lori-matsourani/1147463084
https://books.apple.com/us/book/ghosted/id6746414091
https://wildrosepress.com/product/ghosted/

GIVEAWAY:

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Wednesday, August 13, 2025

I Have A Story by Colleen L. Donnelly - Book Tour - Exclusive Excerpt - Giveaway - Enter Daily!


I Have A Story
by Colleen L. Donnelly

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GENRE:   Historical Romance

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BOOK BLURB:

Jim Turner writes crime but doesn’t live it. He respects his grandfather’s tales of heroes but doesn’t believe them. When his failing grandfather sends him to a remote peninsula to write the end of his own heroic love story, Jim includes a war criminal interview to maintain his edge.

Chastity is an anomaly, a misfit in pre-WWII culture as well as in Jim’s life. Her spritely charm and endearing features turn Jim’s world upside down, especially when she reveals his grandfather’s peninsula as the site of her upcoming wedding.

Do good journalists flee when their interviewee is murdered? Do heroes write fiancés out of another’s story and themselves in? “The End” become the hardest words for Jim to write.

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EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT:

Author's Note: Boy meets Girl. Can he set his writing career aside to help plan her wedding…to another man?

“We have so much to do. You know how much work weddings are.” She pinched her lips. “Well, you probably don’t know. But you will.”

Now it was my turn to blush. She probably hadn’t read my books, but she certainly exhibited an uncanny knack for reading me. “If you mean because I’ve never married…” Or even dated with any frequency…

“It’s okay.” She came close. She smelled like her home, a wash of fresh breezes with a swirl of soft color.

I wanted to cup that pretty face in my hands and stare at it forever.

She patted my arm, more maternally than passionately, sending my fantasy out the window. “You can follow my lead. I know what to do. And… Wait. You’re not in the middle of writing a book right now, are you?”

I was. This one. Everything else could wait. “I’m available,” I lied to her worried expression and to myself. “Just tell me what to do.”

“Wonderful!” She bounced on her toes, long legs exposed beneath shorts far too short for current fashions. Pink shorts, instead of the bland fabric most often available due to a predicted war, dangled half hidden below a billowy shirt I could almost see through. “To start with…” Her voice broke my search for what I couldn’t see. “We need to choose a place for the ceremony, design and send invitations, write an announcement for the newspaper, decide on cake and food, pick and arrange loads of flowers, finish my dress…”

“Wait. All of that? In three days?” I didn’t know a thing about weddings, but I knew a well-executed assassination took more than three days to plan and pull off.

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AUTHOR BIO:

Colleen L. Donnelly put her science education to use for years and then put it behind her to pursue other passions. Her first love is writing and her second is hunting—hunting for that next good story, hunting for relics and antiques, hunting for the next good author to read. An avid believer in work hard/play hard, Colleen splits her time between indoors and out, always busy at something.

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CONNECT WITH COLLEEN:

BookBub Author Page:

BookBub Book Page:

Website:

Facebook:

Goodreads Author Page:

Goodreads Book Page:

Instagram:

Amazon:

Twitter:

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Colleen will be awarding a $15 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner's Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter at the end of the tour.




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Blood in the Shadows by Hawk MacKinney - Book Tour - Book Blast - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Hawk MacKinney will be awarding a $20 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner's Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

When marine buddy, Gulfport, Mississippi Sheriff asks Craige Ingram for help, Ingram and Buckingham Parish patrolman ‘Badger’ Thomas Boback find themselves in the summertime dogdays of the humid Gulf Coast. With crowded beaches and an undermanned staff, a routine investigation soon becomes anything but routine when indescribable body parts start showing up along the surf, in beachfront cabins, half-buried in bayou wetlands, stashed under freeway bridges, and across county lines. Craige’s search for answers to identifying victims and killer among the crowds of tourists and skin-and-sun partygoers soon makes it obvious the victims have no connection with one another—until conflicting DNA results and haunting premonitions resembling the warnings Craige’s grannie often had become part of the investigation. The jigsaw of abandoned cross-kin offspring begin a horrifying Gordian Knot tangle that threatens anyone who approaches the shadowy ancient wreck of an old mansion - an asylum from a lost time.

EXCERPT TWO:


Romona Cowan stepped back and looked at her handiwork. Black goop, flaxseed, and smelly oil-based paint dripped from the brush in her hand. With two fingers she gingerly propped the framed sign against the rusty decorative iron corner post. The sign canted off-center on the post, a singular reminder of the elegance of the iron fence that once stood around the small postage-stamp of a front yard. She took another look. Fingers, hands, one sleeve of her work shirt, and yard jeans were paint-smeared. Days ago, when she brushed the leaf litter off the fallen sign, the lettering was hardly visible, and she thought she might have to buy wood for a new sign. Penny-wise Ramona decided on a can of paint instead. The paint had peeled, left the frame bare in spots, but it hadn’t rotted. For someone who’d always been told she could never do nothing right, her Gran’mère Nana’s fixed-up sign come out looking nice and bright. The letters came out wobbly in a couple of places, but from the street no one would notice. She gave it a last here and-there touch-up.

Madame Nana Rowena
PALMISTRY READINGS by appointment

She said to herself, “Nana doesn’t want to do readings anymore. I’ll tell anyone that comes in I’m her granddaughter, Mademoiselle Ra mona.” With a soft mumble, “No point changing what ever’body expects.” She’d put the sign out in the sun and take it inside at night. Let it dry a couple or three days, then stick it out in the front yard where Gran’mère Nana first put it up. Right out there where folks driving along the beach in their fancy cars could see it real clear. The sign looked almost brand new. It would make those prissy rich kids that snobbed her in school because she was different jealous all over again. Besides, school was boring; a good enough reason to drop out.

AUTHOR BIO & LINK:

Hawk MacKinney has authored several award-winning works of fiction that include THE MOCCASIN HOLLOW MYSTERY SERIES and THE CAIRNS OF SAINCTUARIE SCIENCE FICTION SERIES. His historical romance MOCCASIN TRACE was nominated for the prestigious Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction and the Writers Notes Book Award.

Cross-genre character-driven plots reflect Hawk MacKinney’s southwest upbringing along the Texas and Oklahoma borders. With postgraduate faculty positions in several medical universities, Hawk MacKinney has taught graduate courses in both the United States and Jerusalem.

Website:

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

The Grateful Green Dinosaur by Larissa Pemberton - Book Tour - Book Blast - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Larissa Pemberton will be awarding a $10 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner's Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.


Percy the green dinosaur explores practicing gratitude with the help of his friend Custard the unicorn, to turn his bad day around by turning his negative thoughts into positive ones. As a society, we often tend to focus on the negative. Teaching children to practice gratitude and shift their mindset toward the positive can lay the foundation for a happier, more fulfilling life.

EXCERPT THREE:


“Yes, our minds are so much more powerful than you could ever imagine! How about we try and shift your mindset from focusing on the negative things to being grateful for the good things?” suggests Custard.

“We can try that. I don’t like feeling sad,” says Percy.

“What are some things that you love and are grateful for?” asks Custard. “Think of as many things as you can!” they encourage. “When I’m feeling sad, I try and think of all the things that I’m grateful for and what makes me happy, and soon I don’t feel sad anymore! I’m grateful for my pet dog Buddy and that it is summertime. I love summer!”

“Oh, I’m grateful for my mummy and daddy. I’m grateful for the cosy cave that we live in. I’m grateful for my toys, I’m grateful that I’m healthy, and I’m grateful for you!” exclaims Percy excitedly.

AUTHOR BIO & LINKS:

Larissa is a devoted mother to three young boys. Her path of self-discovery, shaped by the challenges and joys of motherhood—led her to discovering and embracing the life changing practice of gratitude. By incorporating it into her daily routine, she experienced a profound shift in her mental health and overall happiness. Now, Larissa is passionate in sharing this practice with her sons and other children, believing that learning gratitude at a young age can set the foundation for a life guided by joy and emotional resilience.

Website: