Welcome to FAB Lovelies!

A Lifestyle blog that focuses on all things from fashion to beauty; fitness to weight loss; recipes to coupons; books to movies; travels to entertainment; and everything in between.

Showing posts with label #printcopy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #printcopy. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Haunting in Old Tailem by Janice Tremayne - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!


Hello, lovelies!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Janice Tremayne and her new book, “Haunting in Old Tailem”!  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 Print Copy of the featured book!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Janice and to increase your chances of winning!

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

Haunting in Old Tailem

by Janice Tremayne

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Supernatural Suspense, Horror

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

An Australian Ghost town. A resident demon and a local Shaman. A confrontation with evil awaits.

Clarisse realizes that running from evil is not a bad idea until you figure out you can't hide. When some ghosts get tired of hanging around, they latch onto you. At the centre of the war on evil is a historic Church that carries dark secrets within its walls. After she meets with the local Shaman, Clarisse discovers secrets with evil consequences by digging too deep into the town’s past. When matters become complicated, she visits a circus of young performers on the outskirts of town triggering unexpected paranormal events and unleashing memories of a one-hundred-year curse. After being caught in the crossfire of a battle for evil supremacy, Clarisse confronts Little Charlie as he rallies the town's ghosts into an impeccable evil stronghold.

Can the local Shaman and townsfolk rally in her quest to defeat the evil incarnate or will the town succumb to Little Charlie and his evil crew?

Haunting in Old Tailem is the third book of the Haunting Clarisse Series. If you like spine-tingling, chilling, creepy and spooky supernatural thrillers, then you will love this story by 2020 USA Readers' Favorite International Book Awards Finalist in Supernatural Fiction, Janice Tremayne.

Pick up your copy today and follow Clarisse through her battles with evil!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT ONE:

He hung with the rope around his neck, his tongue sticking out with a red-starved oxygen face. At the same time, he was smiling as though he was only having fun. Death was a reenactment that he had become accustomed to, to the point he thought it funny; a way of horrifying others and making them pay attention. He had a young mind—innocent and conditioned to get the attention of others. Little Charlie didn’t know whether he was dead or alive; far too young to understand. As far as he was concerned, tying a loop around his neck, jumping, and choking to death made him realize he felt no pain. He could do it over and over again.

Clarisse knew from her encounter in Hartley that Little Charlie was an attention seeker and someone who liked to cling onto you. That could explain how he had ended up in Old Tailem Town. Running away from evil might seem like a good idea at the time, but you could not hide.

“Come over here, Little Charlie. There is nothing to be afraid of,” she said.

He replied with a cheeky grin on his boyish face. His mousy brown hair thrown from side to side, he signaled with his right index finger, waving it left to right many times.

“Nuh-uh,” he mimed, his way of saying no.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GUEST POST:

Describe Your Book Cover and How It Came About:

When I first started the Haunting Clarisse Series, I was on the look out for an illustrator that could read my mind. I know that makes no sense, but in a way, they need to transfer your creative thoughts onto an illustration that conveys the genre, the storyline, and the mood of the book. There is always an emotion we a trying to convey in the book cover and it needs to impress the reader first time. Most authors have a picture imprint in their mind of what a cover will look like, and believe me, after a couple of samples from the designer, the right one will resonate.

If I am writing a series, the cover must have a theme—like branding in away where readers recognize its your book.

I usually ask for a couple of samples initially and then I refine the cover before I select the one, I want. Sometimes you may go back and refine it again, after you have tested it with readers or loaded it online to Amazon to check the impact. If you have the right designer this process should not take long unless you are pedantic and particular—it depends on the author.

My illustrator works in Eastern Europe and I am Australian—the point here is there are no boundaries in finding the right designer for your book cover these days.

Also, price can be important. Not all authors can afford the hefty price tag of a great cover. There are places where you can get a great cover but because the illustrator may come from a country where the exchange rate on currency is more effective—you can get the same quality of book cover for half the price.

I also avoided third party sites like 99Designs because they get a cut from the illustrator and you pay more. The illustrator must cover the costs of the third-party provider.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR BIO:

Janice Tremayne is an Amazon bestselling and award-winning ghost and supernatural writer. Janice is a finalist in the Readers' Favorite 2020 International Book Awards in Fiction-Supernatural.

She is an emerging Australian author who lives with her family in Melbourne. Her recent publication, Haunting in Hartley, reached number one on the Amazon kindle ranking for Occult, Supernatural, and Ghosts and Haunted Houses categories, for hot new releases and bestsellers.

Janice is well-versed in her cultural superstitions and how they influence daily life and customs. She has developed a passion and style for writing ghost and supernatural novels for new adult readers.

The concept of writing the Haunting Clarisse series was spawned over a cup of coffee many years ago, and she has not looked back since. Her books contain heart-thumping, bone-chilling, and thought-provoking ghost and paranormal experiences that deliver a new twist to every tale.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONNECT WITH JANICE:

Website:

https://www.janicetremayne.com

Newsletter:

https://www.janicetremayne.com/newsletter

Email:

author@janicetremayne.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/hauntingclarisse

BookBub Author Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/janice-tremayne

BookBub Book Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/books/haunting-in-old-tailem-haunting-clarisse-book-3-by-janice-tremayne

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19471383.Janice_Tremayne

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55304181-haunting-in-old-tailem

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/30NT27a

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/30NDm3W

Amazon Paperback:

https://amzn.to/30NTsdK

The Book Depository Paperback:

https://www.bookdepository.com/Haunting-in-Old-Tailem-Janice-Tremayne-Momir-Borocki/9780648961505

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY INFO:

Janice will be awarding a Print Copy of the featured book, “Haunting in Old Tailem,” to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**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.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Stealing Kisses in the Snow by Jo McNally - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!


Hi, lovelies!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Jo McNally and her new book, “Stealing Kisses in the Snow”!  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 Print Copy of Jo’s other book “Slow Dancing at Sunrise,” AND a Print Copy of Jo’s featured book, “Stealing Kisses in the Snow,” – ALL to ONE lucky winner!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Jo and to increase your chances of winning!

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

Please note that this giveaway is ONLY open to USA and CA residents.  Sorry INTL – please check out the other giveaways on this blog!


Stealing Kisses in the Snow
by Jo McNally

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Contemporary Romance

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Maybe "perfect" is over-rated...

Between juggling two kids, two jobs, and a fixer-upper house, single mom Piper Montgomery is so busy she can hardly see straight.  But when rugged biker Logan Taggert strolls into the B&B where she’s working, she can’t help but stare.  He has bad boy written all over him. She’s promised her kids a “perfect Christmas” this year, and bad boys aren’t part of the plan. But how can she resist?

Once his grandmother is back on her feet, Logan can leave her Victorian B&B get back on the road.  It’s where he belongs after all, even if his grandmother’s matchmaking book club biddies try to convince him otherwise.  But there’s something about beautiful, spitfire Piper that makes him wonder if kids and commitment might be just what he needs after all.

As Christmas draws ever closer, so do Piper and Logan.  Could these two opposites find all they want this Christmas is each other?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT TWO:

Logan Taggart had been thrown out of plenty of places in his lifetime, but never by a pretty little ponytailed momma wearing a ruffled yellow apron. He managed to squelch his smile, knowing it would be a mistake to laugh.

The golden-haired munchkin clutching his fingers right now was clearly the woman’s daughter, and he probably looked like an ax murderer. He gently freed himself from the child and stepped back, raising both hands and modulating his voice carefully.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry. The little girl said she wanted me to go to the kitchen, and I was heading here anyway…”

The woman seemed flummoxed. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her blue eyes wild as she stepped closer. She raised the mop higher with one hand, then dropped her phone on the counter with the other so she could snatch her daughter’s hand, tugging her to safety behind her. She waved the mop again, as if that would really protect her if he posed a threat. He was a foot taller and a good seventy pounds heavier than she was. The biggest danger to him was in her other hand—the cell phone she’d picked up again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GUEST POST:

Making It Believable – Writing Romantic and Intimate Scenes:

I am one of those authors who loves writing romantic and intimate scenes. It’s not the scintillating idea that “oh, they’re kissing!” or “oh, they’re naked!” Scenes of intimacy expose so much more than skin.

It’s in the scenes of intimacy that I dig deep into my characters and help them discover something they may not have known about themselves. After all, we’re never more vulnerable than when we’re willingly making physical contact with another person for the first time. We hope to be accepted. To be loved.

One of my favorite scenes to write is the Almost Kiss. That accidental brush against each other that creates a sudden adrenaline spike. The switch that gets flipped from boredom to “holy smokes, I want to kiss this guy.” I get into the character’s heads and follow their thoughts as they get closer and closer to falling. They’re terrified, and that’s some fun stuff to write. That’s what makes an intimate scene feel so intimate. And realistic. It’s not in the physical description—there are only so many ways lips can connect, after all. What makes a kiss scene believable is the emotion behind it.

In Stealing Kisses in the Snow, the Almost Kiss happens on Halloween night. Logan Taggart carries Piper Montgomery’s sleeping little girl, Lily, into her house and up to bed. In the upstairs hallway, Logan and Piper are talking quietly and closely when the switch flips from planning the next day to fighting the inexplicable urge to kiss. It’s only broken when Piper’s teenage son comes home, and Piper has to sneak Logan downstairs and out the door before Ethan sees him. That touch of humor is another way to keep intimate scenes approachable for the reader.

One way to make love scenes believable is to offer a surprise to the reader. Maybe humor, or just a twist that sets it apart. The first love scene in Stealing Kisses in the Snow takes place in the attic (beds schmeds!), and they both remain fully clothed. But Piper ends up quite...um...satisfied with the experience. She and Logan each let down their defenses and realize there’s no stopping where this relationship is headed (ahem...a bed!). It’s sexy, but also very tender.

I mentioned “willingly” earlier, and I want to be clear: consent and protection are realistic and sexy. Some guy who grabs a woman and kisses her without knowing if she wants that kiss is a predator, not a hero. So yes, I make sure my heroes have consent before a kiss. It can be as simple and tender as a whispered “are you sure, baby?” Or as emotional as a pleading “God, I want to kiss you right now...please let me kiss you…” Those simple requests (and the consent) don’t spoil or slow down a scene. They make it real. And even more importantly, they portray a healthy relationship to the reader.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR BIO:


Jo McNally lives in coastal North Carolina with 100 pounds of dog and 200 pounds of husband – her slice of the bed is very small. When she's not writing or reading romance novels (or clinging to the edge of the bed...), she can often be found on the back porch sipping wine with friends, listening to great music. If the weather is absolutely perfect, she'll occasionally join her husband on the golf course, where she always feels far more competitive than her actual skill-level would suggest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONNECT WITH JO:


Jo’s Super Adorable Furbaby and Ghost Writer, Tully
PC: IG - @jo.mcnally

Website:

Newsletter:

Email:
jomcnallyromance@gmail.com

Facebook:

Twitter:

Pinterest:

Instagram:

BookBub Author Page:

BookBub Book Page:

Goodreads Author Page:

Goodreads Book Page:

Amazon Author Page:


Jo’s Very Sweet Furbaby, Tully, Cuddling with Her Toys
PC: IG - @jo.mcnally

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle eBook:

Amazon Mass Market Paperback:

Amazon Audiobook:

Amazon Audio CD:

Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:

Barnes and Noble Paperback:

Barnes and Noble Audio CD:

Barnes and Noble Audio MP3 on CD:

Kobo eBook:

Kobo Audiobook:

Apple iBook eBook:

Google Play eBook:

Google Play Audiobook:

The Book Depository Paperback:

The Book Depository Audio CD:

BAM! Books-A-Million Mass Market Paperback:

BAM! Books-A-Million Audio CD:

BAM! Books-A-Million Audio MP3 on CD:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY INFO:

Jo will be awarding one print copy of Slow Dancing at Sunrise and one print copy of Stealing Kisses in the Snow (US and CA Only) 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.

Friday, October 27, 2017

All Inclusive by Farzana Doctor - Book Tour - Book Trailer - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!


Hi lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Farzana Doctor and her new book, “All Inclusive”!  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 exciting prizes like a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card or ONE of TEN print copies of the featured book!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Farzana and to increase your chances of winning!

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


All Inclusive
by Farzana Doctor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Literary Fiction, LGBT, Magical Realism, Multicultural

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

A story about an all-inclusive resort, the ghost of an unknown father, and the tragedies we can’t forget.

What’s it like when everyone’s dream vacation is your job? Ameera works at a Mexican all-inclusive resort, where every day is paradise — if “paradise” means endless paperwork, quotas to meet, and entitled tourists. But it’s not all bad: Ameera’s pastime of choice is the swingers scene, and the resort is the perfect place to hook up with like-minded couples without all the hassle of having to see them again.

Despite Ameera’s best efforts to keep her sideline a secret, someone is spreading scandalous rumours about her around the resort, and her job might be at stake. Meanwhile, she’s being plagued by her other secret, the big unknown of her existence: the identity of her father and why he disappeared. Unbeknownst to Ameera, her father, Azeez, is looking for her, and they both must come to terms with the reason why he abandoned her.

A moving new work from award-winning author Farzana Doctor, All Inclusive blurs the lines between the real world and paradise, and life and death, and reminds us that love is neither easily lost nor found.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT TWO:

Azeez

June 21, 1985, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

I’d been watching her for a full ten minutes. She sat at the table next to mine, reading a textbook
entitled Understanding World Religions. It was the first day of summer and my second last in
Canada.

She absent-mindedly played with her long auburn hair, her fingers moving like a magician’s, conjuring it into a single braid. She didn’t tie off the end, and her hair eventually resisted the arrangement and pulled itself free. I nibbled my honey cruller, and waited for her to notice me. For another ten minutes, I scripted my words. I was a chatty fellow back then, but it took immense bravery to speak to a woman I didn’t know. I chided myself: what did it matter if I sounded like a fool?

“That looks like interesting reading.”

She glanced up, and her cheeks blushed crimson. I loved when white girls did that. It just
isn’t the same with brown girls; their pigment allows them to mute their embarrassment. The girl
smiled and nodded and returned to her textbook, her lavender highlighter squeaking across the
page. But I could tell she was no longer concentrating on the material.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOOK TRAILER:


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GUEST POST:

5 Tips for Finishing Your Novel

In 2001, during a writing course, the instructor told a story about how a writer he knew—someone with a full-time job and kids—managed to write a novel in 4 years by carving out 3 forty-five minute slots each week. I don’t have kids, but at the time I was a very harried manager of two addiction programs at a mental health hospital, and so I followed this example, very literally.

It took me 4 years, but I managed to write my first novel, Stealing Nasreen.

I quit that job, and started a part-time private practice in order to have more time and flexibility to write. It’s taken years, but I’ve settled into a pretty good routine. Here are 5 writing practices that work for me:

1.     Set page count goals
•       Goals must be SMART (specific, measurable, realistic, attainable, time-based). For example, it works for me to set a weekly goal of 10 pages for new writing, or 100 pages when in the revision stage. Your page count goals might be less or more, depending on your schedule.

2.     Schedule writing time
•       This helps me to make writing a priority. I write for an hour each morning, then take my dog for a walk, and then write again for another hour. Then I switch gears and see my psychotherapy clients. When I am really busy (for example, when promoting a new book), sometimes all I get is 15 minutes with my morning coffee. It’s amazing how much can get done in short, intentional writing sprints.

3.     Don’t worry about your writing space
•       I write in a notebook or use my laptop and so I can write in bed, at my kitchen table, in a coffee shop or at my psychotherapy office. I know people who write on the subway. Just find any place that works and don’t let your imperfect environment be a distraction.

4.     Allow for fallow time
•       Writers need lots of quiet time to process, fantasize and imagine. Allow yourself to zone out, to take time off, to meditate. While drifting off to sleep on my acupuncturist’s table last week, I solved a puzzle in my novel that I’d been working on for days. Also, I don’t write on my vacations, because I see writing as my job, and we all need a holiday from work.

5.     Give yourself deadlines
•       Except when near the end of a project, when I’m working with an agent or editor, no one is setting deadlines for me, so I have to set them myself. I mark due dates in my calendar. Sometime I’ll work with external deadlines by applying for a grant or submitting work to a contest to help myself finish on time.

What are your tips for finishing a novel? Leave a comment below!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR BIO:


Farzana Doctor is the author of three novels: Stealing Nasreen, Six Metres of Pavement (which was a 2012 Lambda Literary Award and the 2017 One Book One Brampton winner) and the recently released All Inclusive which was a Kobo and National Post Best Book of the Year. Farzana was named one of CBC Books’ “Ten Canadian Women Writers You Need to Read Now”. She is also a Registered Social Worker with a part-time psychotherapy practice. She curates the Brockton Writers Series.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONNECT WITH FARZANA:

Website:

Facebook:

Twitter:

Instagram:

Goodreads Author Page:

Goodreads Book Page:

Amazon Authors Page:

Book Club Guide:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle:

Amazon Paperback:

Barnes and Noble:

Kobo:

Apple iBooks:

Google Play:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY INFO:

Farzana will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner and a print copy of the book to 10 randomly drawn winners (US Only) via Rafflecopter during the tour.


**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase 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.