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Book Blitz: Dam Nation

3/24/2018

DAM NATION
Bonnie and Clyde #2
by CLARK HAYS AND KATHLEEN McFALL

Genre: Historical / Alternative History / Romance

Publisher: Pumpjack Press

Date of Publication: March 24, 2018

Number of Pages: 266

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Bonnie and Clyde: Defending the working class from a river of greed.

The year is 1935 and the Great Depression has America in a death grip of poverty, unemployment and starvation. But the New Deal is rekindling hope, with federally funded infrastructure projects, like Hoover Dam, putting folks back to work. So, why is someone trying to blow it up? That’s what Bonnie and Clyde set out to uncover in the novel Dam Nation by Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall, the second book in a provocative speculative fiction series that re-imagines the outlaws’ lives.

"A rollicking good read!" -- Midwest Book Review

EXCERPT
WHAT IF?

The Texas Ranger looked up at Sal, a mixture of fear, respect and revulsion in his eyes. “Let’s pretend for a minute it wasn’t Bonnie and Clyde in that ambush,” he said. “Why? Why would it be different people in that car?”

“How would I know?” Sal asked. “I work for the government. I trust that the government has my best interests at heart. I follow orders. You didn’t.”

“I won’t be quiet about this unless you can tell me why anyone would try to save them outlaws.”

“If they were still alive, I would tell you that everyone has a purpose in life, and perhaps they are fulfilling theirs. And if they were still alive, I would tell you that you don’t use good dogs to guard the junkyard, you use the meanest goddamn dogs you can get a collar around.”

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Clark and Kathleen wrote their first book together in 1999 as a test for marriage. They passed. Dam Nation is their sixth co-authored book.

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BONNIE AND CLYDE: DAM NATION
COMING TO
LONE STAR BOOK BLOG TOURS

MAY 17-26, 2018

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Book Spotlight: Asylum III

3/23/2018

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Asylum III – Crowtree Manor
By Matt Drabble
Genre: Thriller, Horror

Synopsis

The next terrifying chapter in the multi award winning Asylum series. 13 tales of terror and the macabre all linked by a twisting arcing storyline that ties them all together.

It begins with an enticing invitation, a private preview for the first guaranteed haunted house tourist attraction.
Sceptical minds brought together in a building steeped in a bloody history, all with their own dark secrets to protect.

It had been a long time since this building was a private hospital and housed the most dangerous and deranged minds. Now it has a new owner and a new purpose

It is a house that feeds on darkness and only attracts the very worst in humanity. Stone floors and walls that have witnessed the brutality of man and has blood seeped into its very foundations.

The doors are open and the rooms are ready to receive its first guests, welcome to Crowtree Manor.

About the Author

Born in Bath, England in 1974, a self-professed "funny onion", equal parts sport loving jock and comic book geek. I am a lover of horror and character driven stories. I am also an A.S sufferer who took to writing full time two years ago after being forced to give up the day job.

I have a career high position of 5th on Amazon's Horror Author Rank of which I am immensely proud. I was also accepted as a full member of the Horror Writers Association.

"GATED" is the 2015 Readers Favorite Gold Medal Winner. It is also a UK & US Horror Chart Top Ten Best Seller & winner of the Full Moon Awards 2014 Horror Book of the Year.

"ASYLUM - 13 TALES OF TERROR" was a US Horror Chart #5. It was also voted #5 on The Horror Novel Review's Top 10 Books of 2013 & was the Readers Favorite 2014 Gold Medal Winner for Anthology Fiction.

"ASYLUM II" was also a UK & US Horror/Anthology #1 and is the 2016 Readers Favorite Silver Medal winner for Anthology Fiction.

"THE TRAVELLING MAN" won an Indie Book of the Day award.

"ABRA-CADAVER" is the 2017 Readers Favorite Silver Medal Winner for Horror Fiction. It is also a 2015 Kindle Book Review Finalist, an Indie Book of the Day winner and the 2016 Book Excellence Award Winner for Horror Fiction.

Visit me at www.mattdrabble.com to download free short stories and the full length multi award winning novels "Abra-Cadaver" and "Double Visions" for free.

Twitter: MattDrabble01
Facebook: matt.drabble.3
or to sign up for a newsletter: http://mad.ly/signups/95503/join
ON AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079WLTJCQ

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Cover Reveal: Under a Storm-Swept Sky

3/22/2018

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Under a Storm Swept Sky
by Beth Anne Miller

Synopsis

An eighty-mile trek across the rugged, stunning beauty of Scotland’s Isle of Skye isn't something I imagined myself doing. Ever. This isn't a trail for beginners. And I'm not a hiker.

But I have to finish it, even if it kills me. I have no choice.

With the ever-changing weather and relentless terrain, I’m in over my head.

Rory Sutherland, my guide on this adventure, is not happy. We clash with every mile, but we recognize a shared pain. Not only is the journey a struggle, but the tension between us is taut with unsaid words. And hope.

He’s broken. I’m damaged. Together, we’re about to make the perfect storm.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39318829-under-a-storm-swept-sky

Praise for Under a Storm-Swept Sky:

“Beth Anne Miller hits it out of the park with Under a Storm-Swept Sky. Beautifully evocative and romantic, you feel as if you are right there with Rory and Amelia as they hike the treacherous countryside of Skye on a journey of discovery and love.” – Monica McCarty, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of Going Dark

"Beautifully evocative and romantic." - NYT bestseller, Monica McCarty

"It's impossible not to get swept away by this heart-pounding read.” —Kelly Siskind, author of Stud

About Beth Anne Miller:

Beth Anne Miller has a fascination for all things Scottish (including, but not limited to, men in kilts), which has influenced all her writing to date. Her first novel is a time travel called INTO THE SCOTTISH MIST; her second, A STAR TO STEER HER BY, has a Scottish hero; and her newest book, UNDER A STORM-SWEPT SKY, is set on the Isle of Skye, and was inspired by her own long-distance treks in Scotland. A native New Yorker, Beth Anne lives on Long Island and works in the publishing industry. She’s looking forward to her next trip to Scotland.

Beth’s Media Links:

Author Website: https://www.bethannemiller.com/
Author Twitter: http://twitter.com/1bethannemiller
Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1bethannemiller/

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Author Interview: The Fleecing of Fort Griffin plus GIVEAWAY

3/22/2018

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THE FLEECING OF FORT GRIFFIN
by PRESTON LEWIS
Genre: Western Humor
Publisher: Wild Horse Press
Date of Publication: May 19, 2016
Number of Pages: 234

2017 Elmer Kelton Award from the West Texas Historical Association:
Best Creative Work on West Texas

When the young Englishman Baron Jerome Manchester Paget arrives in 1878 Fort Griffin with a satchel full of money to start a buffalo ranch and find a bride, a horde of colorful swindlers from throughout Texas arrive to help themselves to a rich serving of his naiveté to frontier ways.
With a passel of oddball characters and more twists and turns than a stagecoach trail, The Fleecing of Fort Griffin pits the baron against crooked gamblers, a one-eyed gunfighter, a savvy marshal, conniving females, a duplicitous cavalry officer and a worldly stump preacher. To stay rich, the baron must stay alive! And to stay alive, the baron must rely on a fourteen-year-old orphan and a rooster that serves as his guard animal. Even so, the odds and the cards are stacked against the Englishman and his bold vision of becoming the baron of bison in West Texas.
Written by Spur Award-winning author Preston Lewis, a master of western plot twists and humor, The Fleecing of Fort Griffin takes readers on an unconventional and uproarious journey through the Old West and some of its unsavory characters.

PRAISE FOR THE FLEECING OF FORT GRIFFIN:
“...a work of colorful and humorous fiction,”
Albany Review

“The Fleecing of Fort Griffin by Preston Lewis of San Angelo is one of the funniest westerns I’ve ever read.”
Glenn Dromgoole, Texas Reads

“If you're looking for a delightful tale, check out The Fleecing of Fort Griffin.”
Bryan Eagle

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How has being a Texan (or Texas) influenced your writing?

Texas provides a sense of place, history and pride that I haven’t seen in residents of other states. I was a Kiplinger Fellow at Ohio State University and had the opportunity to work closely with a dozen journalists from other states, primarily in the Midwest and Northeast, and they didn’t share the same sense of identity with state that I did. When I graduated from high school, I said West Texas had seen the last of me, but after living in Central and Southeast Texas and then in Ohio and Michigan, I realized I missed West Texas, both the landscape and people, and was glad to get back in West Texas where I have remained ever since.

Why did you choose to write westerns?

I always loved history and growing up in West Texas, the Old West was the history that surrounded me, from old forts to cattle trails to dramatic landscapes. My youth was a heyday for western movies, which my father enjoyed and took us to, so those were the screen stories of my childhood. Perhaps the event that most cemented my fascination with the Old West was a trip my parents took my brother and me to Lincoln County, New Mexico, where I could walk in the footsteps of Billy the Kid. The final impetus was the birth of our first child and I realized I was going to have to ultimately put our son (and later his sister) through college. So, I needed to start making more money to save for their education. Shortly, after our son was born, Bantam had a First Western Contest. I wrote a western and submitted it. Though it didn’t win the contest, it gave me a manuscript to circulate, and it was ultimately published by Tower.

Where did your love of books and reading come from?

Like many writers, I was an introvert as a child and found escape in books and reading. I was born with a vivid imagination and reading helped feed my imagination. On top of that, I came from a family of great storytellers, my father’s folks living through the Great Depression as tenant farmers. For instance, my grandmother, who died before I was born, never lived in a house with indoor plumbing or electricity. Though poor, my aunts and uncles always found humor in their childhoods and would tell such fascinating stories about growing up indigent. Their accounts seemed more akin to life on the frontier than the relatively pampered life I had growing up. I loved to go to family reunions and hear their stories, so much so that I often sat at their feet to listen while my cousins were outside playing.

How long have you been writing?

Forty years, both as a vocation and an avocation. I started out in print journalism, working at newspapers in Waco, Abilene, Orange and Lubbock before moving into higher education communications and marketing for 35 years, first at Texas Tech University and then Angelo State University before retiring in 2014. So, I wrote on the job and at home.

What do you think most characterizes your writing?
An editor once told me I wrote funny. Now that’s not necessarily something a writer wants to hear because you don’t know if it’s funny “ha ha” or funny “odd.” His point was, as he explained it, that I often have an off-center perspective that lends itself to humor. So, it was an editor that first helped me see the possibility of writing humor. I’ve always enjoyed caper mysteries and thought it would be fun to set one in the Old West around Fort Griffin, my favorite town in all of frontier history.

What was the hardest part of writing this book?
The Fleecing of Fort Griffin brings together a bevy of oddball characters trying the swindle the young English baron of his money. It was a challenge to tie up all the varying story threads into a single coherent conclusion. It was hard, but it was also fun. As for the research, the hardest part was trying to understand enough about English nobility in the 1870s to write convincingly that my English baron was indeed English and indeed nobility, but I found a half dozen books that helped me understand the mindset and characteristics of English noblemen at the time.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I always enjoy researching places in the Old West. So, being able to insert my characters in Fort Griffin and weave them into the fabric of that frontier town in West Texas. Too, creating a menagerie of odd characters was fun.

How do you go about your research?
I had an aunt who was an expert quilter. She would cut out pieces of fabric, then arrange them and stitch them together in beautiful patterns and blocks. That’s what I do with research. Keep in mind in my historical novels I am writing about events that have been written about dozens of times. So, I first look for odd or unusual facts that haven’t to my knowledge been utilized in previous novels on this topic. Then I look for facts that intrigue me and facts that I think have some comical potential. Then I try to stitch them together in a narrative that I hope is as enjoyable to read as it was to look at my aunt’s quilts.

How do you approach humor in your novels?
I describe humor as a con game on your expectations or your intellect. So, I’ve developed my six “cons” of humor for novels: convention, contemplation, construction, contrivance (like this list), confluence and, worst of all, constipation. Convention is the parameters, stereotypes or clichés of your genre. Variances on those conventions provide opportunities for humor. Contemplation is a fancy name for research, where I am always looking for odd facts or information that can lend itself to humorous situations. Construction is the setup. Nearly all humor requires a sound setup for effectiveness. Contrivance is the use of plot twists or literary gimmicks to further the action and humor. Confluence is tying it all together into a coherent story rather than just a series of running gags. Then there’s constipation! Like life, sometimes in humor things just don’t come out right for everyone, particularly in these hypersensitive times. What is funny or amusing to one person may be offensive to another. I was once attacked by a reader who was offended by my flippant use of the word “Yankee” because it was demeaning. Seems as a child she moved to the south from the north and was called Yankee by her schoolmates, evidently scarring her emotionally for life. Weird! I happen to know a little bit about Yankees because I married a young lady from Pennsylvania. She is proud to be a Yankee, and we are proud to be parents of two half-Yankees.]

Preston Lewis is the Spur Award-winning author of 30 western, juvenile and historical novels, including The Fleecing of Fort Griffin , a western caper published by Wild Horse Press. Fleecing won the 2017 Elmer Kelton Award from the West Texas Historical Association (WTHA) for best creative work on West Texas.

Lewis is best known for his comic novels in The Memoirs of H.H. Lomax series. Bluster ’ s Last Stand , a novel about Custer and the Battle of Little Bighorn, is the latest volume in the well-received series that began with The Demise of Billy the Kid . Subsequent books in the series — The Redemption of Jesse James and Mix -Up at the O.K. Corral — were both Spur Finalists from Western Writers of America (WWA). Blood of Texas , Lewis ’ s historical novel on the Texas Revolution, received WWA ’ s Spur Award for Best Western Novel. His True West article on the Battle of Yellowhouse Canyon won a Spur Award for Best Nonfiction Article.

In addition to his two Spurs from WWA, Lewis has earned three Elmer Kelton Awards from WTHA. Lewis ’ s novels have appeared under the imprint of national publishing houses such as Bantam, Zebra and HarperCollins and of regional publishing companies like Eakin Press and Wild Horse Press.

His short works have appeared in publications as varied as Louis L ’ Amour Western Magazine, Persimmon Hill, Dallas Morning News, True West, The Roundup, Journal of the Wild West History Association and San Angelo Standard-Times . A native West Texan and current San Angelo resident, Lewis holds bachelor ’ s and master ’ s degrees in journalism from Baylor and Ohio State universities.

He earned a second master ’ s degree in history from Angelo State University. He is a past p resident of WWA and WTHA. Lewis is a longstanding member of the Authors Guild and an a ssociate member of the Dramatists Guild of America.

║Website║Facebook║Goodreads║Amazon Author Page ║

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Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prestonlewisauthor/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Preston-Lewis/e/B001HON7EY/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/561670.Preston_Lewis
Website: http://prestonlewisauthor.com/

VISIT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:

3/20/18 Excerpt 1 Chapter Break Book Blog
3/21/18 Review Hall Ways Blog
3/22/18 Author Interview Book Fidelity
3/23/18 Review Missus Gonzo
3/24/18 Excerpt 2 The Love of a Bibliophile
3/25/18 Author Interview StoreyBook Reviews
3/26/18 Review Reading by Moonlight
3/27/18 Excerpt 3 Books and Broomsticks
3/28/18 Scrapbook Page A Page Before Bedtime
3/29/18 Review Forgotten Winds

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Book Blast: The Backup Plan

3/19/2018

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The Backup Plan
by Jen McLaughlin

Synopsis

I’m beyond help...

I threw a football before I could walk. Everything in my life revolved around football–and I loved every second. I was a star. Until, suddenly...I wasn’t. Now everyone thinks I’m the monster who killed his best friend. I’m an outcast on campus, silent and alone. Then Taylor Selmer walks back into my life. When will she learn–I’m beyond saving.

I need to save him...

Chase and I used to be friends. But after the accident, nothing was the same. We used to have something special–until we didn’t. But he doesn’t smile anymore. Doesn’t talk. Doesn’t play. It hurts me to see him this way, and I will do everything I can to get him back in the game. Whether he likes it or not.

Purchase Link: https://entangledpublishing.com/the-backup-plan.html
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38492056-the-backup-plan

GIVEAWAY!!!

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About the Author

Jen McLaughlin is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of sexy books with Penguin Random House. Under her pen name, Diane Alberts, she is also a USA TODAY bestselling author of Contemporary Romance with Entangled Publishing. Her first release as Jen McLaughlin, Out of Line, hit the New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal lists. She was mentioned in Forbes alongside E. L. James as one of the breakout independent authors to dominate the bestselling lists. She is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency.

Though she lives in the mountains, she really wishes she was surrounded by a hot, sunny beach with crystal-clear water. She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her four kids, a husband, a schnauzer mutt, and three cats. Her goal is to write so many well-crafted romance books that even a non-romance reader will know her name.

Jen’s Media Links:

Author Website: www.dianealberts.com
Author Blog: www.dianealberts.com
Author Twitter: http://twitter.com/DianeAlberts
Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DianeAlberts6/
Author Street Team/Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/501457736573962/
Author Instagram: @jenmclaughlin66

Excerpt

The door opened...making me fall backward into Chase’s pitch-black room. When I landed against something hard and naked, arms closed around me without hesitation.
A palm brushed my right breast, sending a wave of awareness shooting through me. I tried not to think about that, though.
Guys were nothing but trouble.
I had bigger plans than falling for a smooth talker with bright eyes and a fake smile who would do nothing but distract me. Once I managed to regain my balance, I spun on my heel and looked at him.
The room behind him was dark, but the hallway illuminated his hotness. And once it did? I wished I hadn’t looked at all.
He stood in the doorway, looking completely unfazed by the fact that he’d basically just felt me up, and glowered at the guy in the hallway. He was shirtless, and wearing nothing but a pair of black sweats. His chest was hard and chiseled, and his abs...yeah. I wasn’t gonna touch upon those for the sake of my own sanity.
Waxing poetic over his abs wasn’t part of my job description.
“Uh, hey...” the guy in the hallway said, trailing off after a feeble attempt at pretending he hadn’t been talking crap about him moments before.
Chase’s green eyes met mine before focusing on the guy in the hall again. His sharp cheekbones were the same as I remembered, and so was his short brown hair. He used to have dimples in his cheeks when he smiled, which had softened the harsh lines of his face and given him a softer appeal, but I had no idea if they still existed since he hadn’t smiled at me yet. Or...at anyone all day. Had he forgotten how?
He said nothing. Just stared the other guy down.
Even I had to admit his stony silence was impressive.
Of course, he kind of reminded me of his dad right now, something he probably wouldn’t like. Or would he? I had no clue.
“I didn’t mean to...” The guy backed up, his face pale, and looked back at me. “She a friend of yours?”
Chase didn’t answer him. He just motioned me inside, his jaw ticking ever so slightly. When I didn’t move fast enough, he shot me a look with those gorgeous eyes of his, and I jumped slightly. “Um. Yes, I am.” I swallowed hard and inched past him, making sure I didn’t brush against his bare chest in the process.
Chase slammed the door behind me. I blinked across the inky blackness of the room, my heart hammering away in my ears. He’d been sitting here in the dark this early in the night? Had he been napping before hitting the books?
I’d learned college kids napped more than one year olds—and much more enthusiastically.
“Do you have something against lights?” I asked, forcing a little laugh at the end.
Dead silence met my joke. In all fairness, it was a pretty lame attempt. For a second I wondered if he was even in the room with me, but I heard him breathe. I turned my head, trying to figure out where he was. To my left, maybe.
“Okay. No lights, then. That’s fine. It’s cool. I’m not scared of the dark.” I paused. “Were you taking a power nap? I could use one. I got an hour of sleep last night.”
Still nothing.
I sensed him there, right next to me. He wasn’t touching me, but I swore he was thinking about it or something.
That makes no sense, Taylor.
I shivered, anxious and excited, all at the same time. “I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m—”
Without warning, Chase moved close enough for me to feel his heat. I backed against the wall until I couldn’t back up anymore. It wasn’t that he scared me. He didn’t. I just...
I just backed up, okay?
“You’re Taylor Selmer. Of course, I remember you. Why are you in my room?”

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