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Monday, August 10, 2020

The Descendant by Melissa Riddell - Book Tour - Book Sale - Guest Post - TWO Giveaways!! - Enter Daily!!


Hey, lovelies!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Melissa Riddell and her new book, “The Descendant”!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card AND YOUR CHOICE of a Signed Copy of the Featured Book, “The Descendant,” Book One OR an ARC of “The Betrayer,” the Second Book in the Baltin Trilogy Book Series!!

PLUS, there is a Special Second Chance giveaway for ONE lucky winner to win an ARC of “The Betrayer,” the Second Book in the Baltin Trilogy Book Series!!  See below for more details.

Also, come back daily to interact with Melissa and to increase your chances of winning!

This eBook is on SALE during the book tour for ONLY $0.99!!!  See below for more details.

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!


The Descendant
by Melissa Riddell

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GENRE: Sci-Fi Romance

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BLURB:

She wants her world back; he wants her heart.

Tilly Morgan and her four-legged companion, Kodiak, are just trying to survive the alien arrival. Two years ago, the visitors unleashed devastation—a world-wide EMP followed by a deadly virus that wiped out more than half of humanity.

Traversing the lonely landscape, she runs into an alien on patrol with one order: eradicate all human life. A mysterious, dark-haired stranger named Jareth comes to her aid, and she reluctantly allows him to join her quest to find her sister. He even persuades her to let the damaged alien tag along against her better judgment.

As her group travels the desolate world and inches closer to her goal, she’s forced to examine her unwanted feelings for Jareth and come to terms with her heart, even if the truth threatens to destroy her and everything she’s come to believe.

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EXCERPT TWO:

His eyes crinkle. “Hmm.” He lets go of my shoulders and continues cleaning the cut, then blows on it to speed up the drying process.

The way his lips open and the feel of warm air—his exhalation—on my skin causes me to clamp my teeth together. His breath smells like cinnamon, and that full bottom lip looks way too enticing.

I hide a shiver. “Would you stop that?”

“Stop what?”

Unable to bring myself to say blowing on me, I flap a hand near his mouth. “That.”

He frowns for a moment, then tips his head back. “Oh, you mean this?” He leans forward, keeping his eyes locked to mine, and pushes air through his lips, as if daring me to say something.

“Yeah. That.” My voice sounds uneven.

His words are pure silk. “Why? Does it turn you on?”

“What?” I push at his chest, but he’s about as movable as Mount Rushmore. “God, no. Your breath smells like you’ve been eating dog food, and it makes me want to hurl.”

Dropping his hands, he pulls back with a frown, and looks like he wants to exhale into a palm and sniff.

I stifle a giggle. Yeah, I’m a butt, but the comment knocks him off his sexy game and gives me a chance to collect my wits.

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GUEST POST:

Fierce Female Lead Characters: How to Create Strong Role Models in Books

When I first began writing The Descendant, I’d had no formal creative writing education or mentorship. From the time I was eleven or twelve, though, I read with a voracious appetite. In 1999, I decided to try my hand at writing. I didn’t know where to start, and back then, I couldn’t afford a computer, so I started on a typewriter. I’m dating myself here, aren’t I?

In 2017, the writing bug bit again. I’d started several stories the year prior only to flounder and give up, worried no one would like them, or worse—they’d laugh and see me as a failure.

But something odd happened the next year. After going through a personal nightmare where I’d worked, I came out stronger. Not only did I learn I had the strength to stand up to those who desperately wanted me to keep my mouth shut, but I realized the things I’d feared in the past, like rejection or other’s opinions, just didn’t matter anymore. Fast forward to 2019 and Tilly Morgan, The Descendant’s main character, was born.

Tilly’s a strong, hard-headed twenty-year-old with no filter. She’s not perfect, and she certainly has no desire to be a hero. Her way of letting off steam is her language. I tried writing her without sentence enhancers, but she lost that extra special spunk. With a raw and filthy mouth, it’s hard not to laugh at some of her expressions. I’ve had several readers tell me it’s one of the things that endeared her to them. There’ve also been a few who were shocked, but I make no apologies. She is who she is.

Tilly’s mission in the book is to make it from Texas to Florida to find her older sister, hoping Sissy (her sibling) also survived the alien virus. Deep inside, where she would never admit it, Tilly needs to connect with others, but most other humans have perished and it’s a lonely, post-apocalyptic world where aliens patrol the skies.

Her character was a blast to develop. She’s intelligent, loyal, and fierce with a big heart and forgiving nature. But she’s also a bit of a hothead and impulsive. Even though she doesn’t realize it, she tends to see the good in others to the point of it blinding her to their ulterior motives.

She’s also not too “girly” and more of a tomboy. I wanted readers to see they don’t have to fit inside society’s “box”, per se. I think strong female leads show one can be true to their nature and embrace who they are. When that happens, those opinions and judgments no longer hold a person from their goals, whatever they may be, because there’s something freeing in letting go of those naysayers.

Another area I wanted to explore with Tilly was balancing her positive traits with those flaws I mentioned above, because no one’s strong all the time. It was important to show imperfection, even in imaginary characters. I think most people have those little voices inside, whispering you’re not good enough, no one will like what you’re doing, who you are, blah blah blah. Her major flaw happens to be asking for help. In her eyes, this makes her weak, and she hates for others to see her as anything less than strong. In the book, she struggles with trusting and accepting help from Jareth (the love interest) and her best friend, the lovable mutt named Kodiak.

Overall, I love how her character grows over the course of the novel, and hopefully the reader will feel like they’ve also grown on her journey. To me, the most important aspect of the story is her growth, and showing the read that no matter how impossible the odds, Tilly’s love for others is her greatest strength.

Oh, and one other thing. Just like Tilly has a best friend in her dog, Kodiak—I have a best friend in my cat, Socks. Here’s a picture of me snuggling him. I’m pretty sure he was dreaming up ways to kill me in my sleep for that cuddly hug.

Melissa and Her Adorable Furbaby/Best Friend, Socks
PC - @ Melissa Riddell

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AUTHOR BIO:


Melissa Riddell is from a small, West Texas town in which she still lives with her husband. Her writing career started as a hobby when she was a teenager, writing poems and short stories. Eventually, she branched out and began constructing novels. When not contemplating new story ideas, she can be found traipsing around Texas State Parks, herding her cats, or reading a book.

You can follow her on several different social media platforms below:

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CONNECT WITH MELISSA:

Website:

Newsletter:

Facebook:

Twitter:

Pinterest:

Instagram:

BookBub Author Page:

BookBub Book Page #1:

BookBub Book Page #2:

Goodreads Author Page:

Goodreads Book Page:

Amazon Author Page:

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AMAZON BOOK BUY LINKS & BOOK SALE INFO:

**The Descendant eBook is on SALE during the book tour for ONLY $0.99!!!**


Amazon Kindle eBook:

Amazon Paperback:

Barnes and Noble Paperback:

The Book Depository Paperback:

BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:

Kobo eBook:

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GIVEAWAY INFO #1:

Melissa will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC and your choice of a Signed Copy of the Featured Book, “The Descendant,” Book One or an ARC of “The Betrayer,” the Second Book in the Baltin Trilogy Book Series to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.


This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.

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GIVEAWAY INFO #2:

Melissa and FAB will be awarding a special second chance giveaway prize of Melissa’s exciting new book – an ARC of “The Betrayer,” the Second Book in the Baltin Trilogy Book Series to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.


**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.

11 comments:

  1. Melissa ~ Good morning! Welcome to FAB! It is so great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! :)

    P.S. ~ Excellent guest post!!! And your furbaby is such a cutie and has such an adorable name!!! Thanks for sharing him with us!!!

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  2. Thanks so much for having me! Yes, I love Socks. I knew the minute I saw him hanging off the cage door at PetSmart, he was the cat for me. Lol! It’s been ten years, and he still gets into all kinds of trouble. Does anyone else have a pet like that—full of mischief?

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  3. Bookbub is the best. Having 100+ reviews also does wonders for a book, you can try https:usbookreviews.com for reviews. 100+ reviews also help with getting accepted with bookbub and other promotion sites.

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  4. Thanks so much, Rita! It was also a lot of fun writing it.

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  5. I appreciate getting to read about your book. With sisters and daughters who love to read, this helps so thank you.

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    1. Thanks so much, James. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did while writing it. :)

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  6. I love giveaways because we readers are introduced to authors whom we don't know and learn a little about them & their books.

    Thank you so very much for the wonderful & generous giveaway!! ❤💖

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    1. Thanks so much, Jessica! I appreciate you taking the time to get to know me and my book a little better, and good luck in the giveaway. :)

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