Finding Persephone by P.J. Braley - Book Tour - Book Trailer - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hi, lovelies!!  It gives me great pleasure today to host P.J. Braley and her new book, “Finding Persephone,” here on FAB!!  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 $25 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with P.J. and to increase your chances of winning!!

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

Finding Persephone

by P.J. Braley

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GENRE: Science Fiction, Romance

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BLURB:

Caroline Taylor is very good at pretending.

The polished surface of her life appears perfect until the morning a smitten grad student brings the cracks in her illusions into sharp focus. No longer willing to live a lie, Caroline’s journey of transformation sets her on a collision course with Dr. Grant Gates. Blinded by his quiet power, good looks, and impressive credentials, Caroline fails to see that Grant is also very good at pretending.

Created from flesh and fire, Grant has a past he would like to forget, an assignment he cannot reveal, and a forbidden obsession with his newest client whose beautiful eyes miss nothing. As the enforcer of an underground brotherhood, he must protect their secrets at any cost, but Grant is determined that Caroline will not become his latest victim. Striking a devil’s bargain to keep the woman he has been searching for safe from his brothers’ plans, Grant struggles to hide who–and what–he is until he becomes her only hope of escape...but will he let her go?

There’s not a chance in Hell.

A contemporary retelling of the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone, Finding Persephone is a compelling tale of an alien assassin's search for absolution and the human woman who becomes the catalyst and heart of his redemption.

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BOOK TRAILER:

Check out P.J.’s new book trailer for “Finding Persephone,” below:

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EXCERPT THREE:

“Grant, will you do me a favor?”

“If I can.”

“Tell me when it’s okay to love you,” she said softly, “I don’t want to miss one moment of you.”

He pulled away a bit and looked into her eyes. “Caroline, you love me?”

“Oh, yes.”

“And our child,” he said hesitantly, “do you…could you ever…love him, too?”

Grant grew very still; so much depended on her next words.

“I’ve loved him since the beginning. Even before I knew he existed, he was part of the dream of you.”

As if she were a bubble that if pressed too hard would burst, his hands began to tremble.

Speaking barely above a whisper, he asked humbly, “Caroline…may I touch you?”

She stood up and locked the door.

“Yes, Grant.”

After she left, he held the quilt to his face.

She loved him.

Not as a Lyostian loves from necessity and gratitude, but as a human loves: freely from desire and choice. His analytical side felt vindicated; the experiment worked and now she would obey him—but everything that was human in him rejoiced. For the first time in twenty–eight years, a small sliver of light entered a dark and dusty room that Grant thought was closed to him forever.

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GUEST POST:

Research Adventures in Writing Fiction

I love research. Seriously, researching the internet for answers to any question that pops into my mind and following those answers down a rabbit hole of minute – and sometimes dangerous – knowledge is candy to my brain. It has allowed me to flesh out characters (clothing, food, housing, culture, religious practices, etc. [and there is a LOT of etcetera out there!]), environments – want to know what Cairo looked like in the 1980s? – well, it’s there, and science and all its branches are explained in mind-thrilling detail. Ah, but there is a catch! Google knows all, remembers all, and sells all. Still, despite the hovering all-seeing eye, time is of the essence, and who has room for an encyclopedia these days?

Regrettably, the cost for such convenience is not just receiving unwanted ads in your social media feed; it can also take you in unforeseen directions; good, bad, ugly, and downright dangerous…allow me to share four of my adventures in writing research, and you can judge for yourselves exactly how far down those rabbit holes you are willing to take your readers.

1 – Once, for college credit, I wrote a play about Desiderius Erasmus and Martin Luther. The more I learned about Erasmus, the more I became smitten with him (he was born in 1466, so it seems I definitely have a thing for older men). Slightly obsessed, I followed the play with a website, a poem, and a short story. I consider this a good adventure even though I was tumbling headlong, reading and writing (and talking) about nothing else. Although my um, ardor has cooled somewhat since then, I am still a fan, and there are two small portraits of him in my writing space…for inspiration.

2 – While writing The Fire Slayers, I did so much research on insects that social media picked up on it and started posting ads on my feed recommending everything you ever wanted to know – or buy – regarding butterflies, dragonflies, bees, and ants. This was bad, of course, because it meant that any illusions I harbored of internet privacy were utterly destroyed. But I also learned about raising Arabian horses, currency exchange rates, and life in volcanic deserts allowing me to build an extensive world for my characters based on hours (days, years!) of traveling mentally over the lands south of the Mediterranean.

3 – For my most recent novel, Finding Persephone, I discovered more about human genetics on the internet than I ever learned in Freshman Biology. In biology class, however, they don’t expect you to splice human genomes with alien or insect DNA. At one point during this line of research, I was directed to a couple of short film clips of the original and sequel versions of “The Fly.” That experience was so ugly that it still gives me shivers just writing about it.

4 – Genetics wasn’t the only subject I had to delve deeper into while writing Finding Persephone. I also researched fast-acting poisons, human flesh decomposition rates, and excavation techniques. It was only later, while I was working this information into the narrative, that I realized how dangerous it was to possess such knowledge and be in a position to share it. So, I wrote it as responsibly as possible without giving too much away. The fact that I didn’t have someone in dark glasses and a uniform knocking on my front door is the only evidence I have that occasionally Google sleeps.

The best thing about internet research is that you don’t always get the answer you’re looking for, but you will get an answer…and sometimes you will have an adventure worth writing about. Enjoy.

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AUTHOR BIO:

Deciding that copyediting other writers’ manuscripts was not enough, PJ decided to do something about it. Purchasing a new laptop because new beginnings require new tools, she began transitioning from copy editor to author. Her debut novel, The Fire Slayers, blended science fiction with love, friendship, and horror. Her newest book, Finding Persephone, takes all those genres a step further when an alien assassin charged with keeping the secrets of their underground brotherhood at all costs risks everything when he falls in love.

When PJ isn’t writing novels about aliens saving the planet, you can find her sitting on the sun deck with her husband, Jim, and their rescue corgi, Nymeria. She will be the one with a book in one hand and a glass of sangria in the other. More of her work can be found at http://pjbraley.com.

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CONNECT WITH P.J.:

Website:

http://pjbraley.com

Facebook Fan Page:

https://www.facebook.com/ItsAllAboutTheWords

Facebook Personal Page:

https://www.facebook.com/pjbraley

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/PJBraley

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/pjbraley

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pjbraley

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChAK8KYMJH0GOrsGn1tn-og

All Author Page:

https://allauthor.com/author/pjbraley

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20873208.P_J_Braley

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61423110-finding-persephone

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/3PAXAVD

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/3B4th5N

Amazon US Paperback:

https://amzn.to/3yT9ZO2

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.ca/Finding-Persephone-PJ-Braley-ebook/dp/B0B28CP3MZ

Amazon CA Paperback:

https://www.amazon.ca/Finding-Persephone-Pj-Braley/dp/1950502732

Barnes and Noble Paperback:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/finding-persephone-pj-braley/1141577982

Between the Line Paperback:

https://btwnthelines.com/product/findingpersephone

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

P.J. will be awarding a $25 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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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.