Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!
So... if you have been a follower for awhile, you know that Halloween is my favorite holiday ~ the only day it is acceptable for me to wear a witch hat and dress in polite society!
On that note ~ I absolutely HAD to share my early trick-or-treating adventure!
My friend Kathy, from Inside of a Dog, let me trick-or-treat her bookshelves yesterday!  
She has been weeding her shelves to try to make room for all her TBR books and much to my delight I got to pick what I wanted before she donated the rest to the Friends of the Library book sale.
I am now about 100 books farther back in my reading and very happy about my new books!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Blog Tour: Open Door by Christine Locke

This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.
Click HERE to see the tour schedule.
Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour.
It is my pleasure to feature:
Christine Locke and Open Door.

About the Author:

Christine Locke was born in California and grew up in various locations around the United States as a Navy brat. She was the oldest of six children and today is mother and step-mother to seven. She attended Texas A&M University, receiving her Master of Arts degree in Comparative Literature in 1995.

Christine has worked as a writing instructor, a salesperson, and an award-winning retail manager and management trainer, among other things. Today, she co-ordinates makeovers for a local magazine. She and her husband, Mike, live with their children, two dogs, and two cats in Arkansas.

For years, Christine has been writing novels around her work and family life. Open Door is her first published novel. Several other manuscripts are almost ready to follow Open Door onto Amazon KDP, including the Open Door sequel, In Time.

Twitter: @wrtrdoll and @CarinsGriffin

christinelockebooks.blogspot.com

carinatmallacemansion.blogspot.com

http://www.goodreads.com/wrtrdoll




Open Door

By Christine Locke

Book Description:

ENTRANCING OPPORTUNITIES BECKON A YOUNG GIRL...

It's 1987, and 16-year-old Carin White desperately needs her first job.  An elegant woman she's never met appears at her door offering employment.  "Aunt" Helen asks Carin to work for her on the family's rambling, enigmatic estate in the tiny resort town of Eureka Springs.

IN A WORLD WHERE NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS...

Carin takes little notice of Rafe Allen, Helen's other hired help.  But a brutal assault forces Carin to confront her own capacity for violence.  Carin learns her mother concealed her identity from her, and the mansion hides horrific secrets of its own.

 AND ONLY LOVE CAN SAVE HER.

Carin exposes the truth about her presence on the estate.  Will she be strong enough to recognize love and redeem her family legacy?  Or will the temptations of power and control lure her to the same dark places where others lost themselves?

Amazon

Notes to Readers:

This novel is NOT about werewolves, vampires, or fallen angels.  It is a story about magic.  The gothic Mallace Mansion lives and breathes as a character, and only one woman controls its Legacy.  Is Carin the one? Read OPEN DOOR to find out.

This novel does NOT have a cliffhanger ending.  The author does not believe in them.  The story is complete in itself, and the ending points the way to a new storyline for IN TIME, the second novel in the Legacy Trilogy due out this Halloween.

OPEN DOOR is a full length novel at over 46,000 words.

An Excerpt:
Miss Anne never left the door ajar.  Given tonight’s weather, it was an unsettling find.  The towering oaks at the front of Mallace Estate’s grounds cracked with the plummeting temperature, groaning with the change.  Matthew lowered his chin, fighting the urge to look up.  He resisted his desire for the driver’s seat of his large black sedan and the quick drive to his own comfortable home.  He was here.  He was invited.  He must go in and find Anne; she was nearly ninety and could have come to harm.
                This thought--and all the courage he could summon—enabled Matthew to cross the threshold of Mallace Mansion.  He grasped the great door handle in his firm grip and swung the door, expecting the squeak of old hinges to announce his presence.  The hard sole of his shoe trod the stone floor of the arched entry sending soft echoes throughout.  He scanned the darkness within.  The hall was very cold, as cold as the veranda.  Matthew, worried now, closed the door and turned up his collar.  He had little light by which to investigate.  His misgivings increased as he found the light came from one small lamp in the front living room, just around the corner to his right.
                Perhaps she is asleep, he thought.  He cleared his throat.  “Miss Anne,” he announced, “It’s Matthew.  I’ve come, just as you asked.”  No one answered.  His throat closed a little and a chill other than the winter’s air rushed up his spine.  It tingled the back of his neck where his hair grew gray.  He stepped into the living room.
                Anne might have slept in the chair where she sat, but he knew this was not the case.  The fire dwindled under the andirons, yet her lamp still burned beside her.  Her left hand, frail and thin, rested on the arm of her chair, stretched gently toward the little table.
                Crouching down so that his head was lower than Anne’s quiet face, Matthew lifted the page of her stationary from the table just beyond her fingers.  His name was etched on the outer fold in her old-fashioned handwriting.
                “Matthew,” it said inside, “You are welcome to invite all you will find necessary to take care of things.”
                This did not surprise him.  His father taught him, years ago, to expect something like it.  “We all do this once, my son,” Mr. Thomas explained at the time, “Pray it is no more than that in your lifetime.”  Yet the second part of Miss Anne’s note gave Matthew unanticipated concern, considering his responsibility and his peculiar situation.
                “As for the other matter,” she wrote, “you will not find her.  Henry will, but you must not ask him.  There is too much danger.  Watch for her.  Watch for her mother.  Come to them when they are together in this house.  I invite you.  Anne Mallace”
                Matthew called the doctor and closed up the mansion.  He filed papers and made certain inquiries.  Always, in the months that followed, Matthew Thomas kept the final words of Anne Mallace in the breast pocket of his suit.  Through all that would happen, he pondered her requests, and he watched.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Blog Tour: Pure and Sinful by Killian McRae

This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.
Click HERE to see the tour schedule.
Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour.
It is my pleasure to feature Killian McRae and her book
Pure and Sinful

About the Author:
Killian McRae would tell you that she is a rather boring lass, an authoress whose characters’ lives are so much more exciting than her own. She would be right. Sadly, this sarcastic lexophile leads a rather mundane existence in the San Francisco Bay Area. She once dreamed of being the female Indiana Jones, and to that end she earned a degree in Middle Eastern History from the University of Michigan. However, when she learned that real archaeologist spend more time lovingly removing dust with toothbrushes from shards of pottery than outrunning intriguing villains with exotic accents, she decided to become a writer instead. She writes across many genres, including science fiction, fantasy, romance, and historical fiction.


Killian has joined us for an interview:
? When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I remember trying to write stories as early as third and fourth grade. I guess you could say that as soon as I had a grasp on basic sentence structure, I was hacking away at it.

? How many jobs did you have before you became a writer?
Define “job.” J  I still have a nine-to-five, as well as second part-time job. Living in the Bay Area is pricey.

? How long does it take you to write a book?
Anywhere from several months to several years. I don’t work on one book exclusively from start to finish. I have several works-in-progress at any time that I’ll braid in and out of my schedule depending on my mood and what’s catching me.

? What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
As a tribute to the events and period in my life that resparked my ability to write, I include the tag “hopeful wager” in all of my novels. It’s usually stuck in inconspicuously, but those who know its significance always mention finding it.

? What books have most influenced your life?
In terms of how I cope with existence, “Pedagogy of the Oppressed.” In terms of my writing, “Les Miserables.”

? What are you reading right now?
This question? (I know, I know. I’m a smart ass.) I usually try to have one non-fiction and one fiction going at a time. At the moment, my non-fiction selection is “Ghost Wave: The Discovery of the Cortes Bank and the Biggest Wave on Earth” by Chris Dixon, and my fiction selection is “Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2)” by Gail Carriger.

? What do you like to do when you are not writing?
Sleep, yet it is so infrequent when I’m able to partake of that.

? What is your favorite comfort food?
Biscuits and gravy. This simple dish is harder to come by now that I live in a halal household, but the white gravy isn’t sooo terrible.

? What do you think makes a good story?
PLOT. I detest self-important character studies or books in which very little happens. I want adventure, high-stakes decisions, passionate love, or explosions.

? Who would you consider your favorite author and why?
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote like he was making love to the dictionary while having as scandalous affair with a Picasso painting. He evokes despair and romance with equal finesse of bitter and sweet.

Fun random questions: 
  • dogs or cats?  dogs
  • Coffee or tea? coffee
  • Dark or milk chocolate? dark
  • Rocks or flowers? I’m confused. Both are … No, I’m confused. What does one with rocks?
  • Night or day? day
  • Favorite color? Dark green
  • Crayons or markers? crayons
  • Pens or pencils? Pens. In bright-colored ink.


Book Description:
Statistician Riona Dade knows all about probabilities. Still, even she'd tell you the chances of discovering you’re a witch, being appointed to the demon-slaying trio known as the Pure Souls, and finding yourself sinfully attracted to a catholic priest who uses amen and other four-lettered words with equal enthusiasm are pretty slim. Also learning your ex was once Hell’s first-round draft pick, and realizing you're a prize catch for Satan’s soul-damning quota leaves a girl feeling like she just won the lottery while being struck by lightning while riding a unicorn across Atlantis. 

Trying to keep her mind off role playing the Thornbirds with Father Angeletti, Riona leads the Pure Souls against a maniacal menagerie of Mephistopheles’s minions plaguing greater Boston. Giving in to lust is a direct flight to damnation for both her and the priest, leading Riona to distract herself by striking up a romance with her new, foxy neighbor, Lucy. But she can't shake her attraction to Marcello, and as the tension between them grows thicker than a lumberjack’s beard, temptation may become too difficult to resist. 

How long can they deny the pull growing between them, knowing there will be Hell to pay? 


Sunday, October 28, 2012

Author Interview and Book Review: Night Sighs by Emma Meade

Welcome to The Wormhole.  Today it is my pleasure to feature:  Emma Meade and Night Sighs.


? When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I was writing since primary school, so probably since the age of nine or ten. I was hooked on the Point Horror series, and as a result, most of my school essays for English class were about monsters and the paranormal, raising a few eyebrows from my teachers.

? How many jobs did you have before you became a writer?
Lots. I’d love to work full-time as a writer, but for the moment I’m in magazine publishing, and write in the evenings and at weekends.  I’ve worked in a pub, art gallery, doctor’s office, and even a butcher’s when I was a teenager.

? How long does it take you to write a book? 
In the past, it’s taken years to produce one novel I’m happy with, but in the last twelve months or so, I’ve gotten serious about my writing career.  Now it can take roughly six to eight months to create a first draft, edit and have it ready for publishing.

? What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
Music can inspire me to write a whole new story and cast of characters.  For instance, Night Sighs developed from a single short story called “The Dead Beats”.  I’d found a powerful, haunting performance by Bruce Springsteen on youtube one day, “Because the Night” live in Paris 1985, and I was mesmerized by the piano sound and his raw magnetism. I created Tristan and Alex as soon as the song ended.

? Do you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame of mind to write?
I don’t have a routine really. It’s mostly about deciding to knuckle down for a few hours or a whole day with the laptop and keep typing until I run out of steam.

? Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters? 
Music, books, TV shows and films that have inspired me over the years.  I met a lot of interesting people during my years at college while I worked in a pub.  I like to incorporate mannerisms, dialogue and personality traits from some of the characters I’ve met in real life.

? How do you decide what you want to write about? 
It’s usually the paranormal genre. I start with a character most of the time, and the story develops from there.

? What books have most influenced your life?
The Forbidden Game trilogy by L.J. Smith, Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, The Stand by Stephen King and the books from the Point Horror and Nightmares series are what have mostly inspired my writing life. 

? What is the first book you remember reading by yourself? 
Probably a book of fairytales my grandparents first read to me at bedtime and then later Enid Blyton’s work.

? What are you reading right now?
I’m re-reading Interview with the Vampire.

? What do you like to do when you are not writing?
Go to the cinema, listen to music, head out dancing with friends, hang out with my family, blog and interact online.

? What is your favorite comfort food? 
Biscuits and cake with tea.

? What do you think makes a good story?
The characters.  Make your characters as real as your best friends, and I think a good story follows.

? Who would you consider your favorite author and why?
I can’t choose just one. Marian Keyes, Maeve Binchy, Anne Rice, Charlaine Harris to name a few. They’ve all written wonderful characters and their stories have captured my heart for one reason or another.

? What book, if any, do you read over and over again?
The Twilight saga books.  I fell in love with Edward Cullen and the rainy town of Forks and read these books once a year.

Fun random questions: 
·        dogs or cats?
I prefer dogs, but I have two stray cats: Puss and Fox! They wandered into my back garden one day and never left.
·        Coffee or tea? Barry’s tea all the way. I drink three or four cups a day.
·        Dark or milk chocolate?  Milk chocolate or white chocolate, especially milky bars.
·        Rocks or flowers? Um, flowers.
·        Night or day? I’m a night owl. That’s when I do most of my writing. I still have trouble getting up for work most mornings.
·        Favorite color? Purple. It’s vibrant.
·        Crayons or markers? Right now, I guess crayons. I use them when I’m drawing with my little niece.
·        Pens or pencils? Pens, though it’s now a rarity when I use them. The computer keyboard has replaced the pen for the most part. 

More About the Author:
Author of Night Sighs and coming soon, Under the Desert Moon.
Emma Meade lives in rainy Ireland and loves all things supernatural: vampires, slayers, witches, ghosts, aliens & shadow men (or at least the youngest of the shadow men), and regular people who live extraordinary lives (think Slayerettes and you're on the right track). One of her favourite authors is L.J. Smith and she's read Stephen King's The Stand more times than she can remember. Books, dvds and tv show boxsets take up lots of space in her home and she collects all the Point Horror books she can get her hands on.
She is not ashamed to admit that Dirty Dancing and Twilight make her top ten movie list but wishes to point out that The Last of the Mohicans, Reality Bites, Dead Poets Society, Stand by Me and The Goonies are in there too.
Writing supernatural short stories, watching marathon re-runs of Buffy and attempting to complete novels are some of her favourite ways of escaping reality. .
Music for Night Sighs Book Trailer provided by http://www.danosongs.com/



      Night Sighs by Emma Meade

It's good to be alive...when you're dead!

Meet Alex and Tristan, modern star-crossed lovers of the supernatural variety.
Alex is running-on-empty, one year on from the death of her fiancé, and the only thing that keeps her going is her romance with the young vampire, Tristan. Tristan, meanwhile has a serious obsession with Bruce Springsteen, and is battling a 'can't live without you' sort of love for Alex. He's trying to persuade her to come over to the dark side, but so far she's resisting his efforts.

So come and sing along to Tristan's band, The Dead Beats, the hottest group in London right now, and walk with Alex as she teeters between this life and the next. Because when you're around Tristan, you'll see, how much fun it is to be alive when you're dead....

Night Sighs is an adult paranormal romance, following the relationship and adventures of Tristan and Alex through five short stories: The Dead Beats, The Ancients, Until My Body Is Dust, Bourbon and Jazz and West of Forever.


Saturday, October 27, 2012

Free Book!!!! Hellfire and Damnation is free!


Hellfire and Damnation II by Connie Corcoran Wilson
Hellfire & Damnation II by Connie (Corcoran) Wilson is another tour of the 9 Circles of Hell described in Dante's Inferno. It picks up where the first collection of short stories (2011, www.HellfireandDamnationTheBook.com) left off, using the framing device of the sins punished at each of the 9 Circles of Hell in Dante's "Inferno."

Winner of the (IWPA) Silver Feather award, sequel to the E-Lit Gold Medal award winner Hellfire & Damnation, Hellfire & Damnation II as a tour of Dante's Inferno doesn't require that you have read the first collection of short stories, which also illustrated the sins punished at each of the 9 Circles of Hell. There are no recurring characters, but there are 11 short stories, accompanying illustrations and a "From the Author" section explaining the inspiration or each story.

Free Kindle Download - October 27 - 31, 2012

Click HERE to go to Amazon to get the free kindle download!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Blog Tour: Moonlight and Mechanicals by Cindy Spencer Pape

This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.
Click HERE to see the tour schedule.
Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour.
It is with great pleasure that I feature:
Cindy Spencer Pape and Moonlight and Mechanicals.
Cindy has stopped by for an interview!
? When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? It was a slow realization for me, but had always been dancing around somewhere in the back of my mind. I decided to give it a serious effort somewhere in my late 30s.

? How many jobs did you have before you became a writer? Let’s see: restaurant hostess, camp counselor, carpenter’s assistant, bank teller, receptionist, teaching assistant, college instructor, zoo educator, museum curator, elected politician, substitute teacher, math tutor, naturalist. There are probably more, but those are the ones that come to mind.

? How long does it take you to write a book? It can vary from years, if I pick it up and put it down repeatedly, to a couple months if the words are flowing.

? What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk? I type faster to faster music.

? Do you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame of mind to write? Other than caffeine? No.

? Where do you write and how do you write ~ on paper, typewriter or computer? I have a desk in our family room with a docking station for my laptop, but I can take it anywhere and still get work done. In a pinch, I’ll write longhand in a spiral notebook, and transcribe it later. All in all, I’m pretty flexible.

? Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters? Everywhere. Like most writers I know, I go through life storing up tidbits of things and then rearrange them into characters and plots.

? How do you decide what you want to write about? Sometimes I’ve already set it up, if it’s a series book, then I have to work with that. Other times, it’s a matter of taking one idea, adding another and another, taking out the ones that don’t work and weaving in more until you’ve got a story that works.

? Where does a book start for you ~ characters, plot, ending? Almost always characters.

? What books have most influenced your life? Sherlock Holmes taught me to be analytical. Roberta Gellis’s Roselynde Chronicles taught me to love history. I devoured the old Harlequins as a kid, which gave me an eternal fondness for love stories. Gordon R. Dickson’s The Dragon and the George introduced me to fantasy while Roger Zelazny introduced me to science fiction.

? What is the first book you remember reading by yourself? Thumbelina

? What are you reading right now? I’m in between. It’s really rare for me not to finish a book the same night I start it.

? What do you like to do when you are not writing? Read. Play board and role-playing games. I love costuming events, like renaissance fairs and steampunk socials.

? What is your favorite comfort food? popcorn

? What do you think makes a good story? Characters you identify with and a world you can lose yourself in, plus a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat all the way to the end. And of course, a happy ending.

? Are you a “plotter” or a “pantser”? Some of each.

Fun random questions: 
  • dogs or cats? Dogs, the bigger the better.
  • Coffee or tea? Diet Coke
  • Dark or milk chocolate? Milk
  • Rocks or flowers? yes
  • Night or day? night
  • Favorite color? pink
  • Crayons or markers? crayons
  • Pens or pencils? pens

More About the Author:
Award-winning author of over forty popular books and novellas in paranormal, historical, and erotic romance, Cindy Spencer Pape is an avid reader. According to The Romance Studio, her plots are “full of twist and turns that keep the reader poised at the edge of their seat.” Joyfully Reviewed said, her “colorful characters and plot building surprises kept me spellbound,” and Romantic Times Magazine says her “characters are appealing, and passionate sex leads to a satisfying romance.”

Cindy firmly believes in happily-ever-after. Married for more than twenty-five years to her own, sometimes-kilted hero, she lives in southern Michigan with him and two college-age sons, along with an ever-changing menagerie of pets.  Cindy has been, among other things, a banker, a teacher, and an elected politician, but mostly an environmental educator, though now she is lucky enough to write full-time. Her degrees in zoology and animal behavior almost help her comprehend the three male humans who share her household.

Find Her: author site - BlogNewsletter group: TwitterFacebook:


Moonlight & Mechanicals: Book 4 in the Gaslight Chronicles by Cindy Spencer Pape

Genre: Steampunk Romance

Book Description:

London, 1859

Engineer Winifred "Wink" Hadrian has been in love with Inspector Liam McCullough for years, but is beginning to lose hope when he swears to be a lifelong bachelor. Faced with a proposal from a Knight of the Round Table and one of her closest friends, Wink reluctantly agrees to consider him instead.

Because of his dark werewolf past, Liam tries to keep his distance, but can't say no when Wink asks him to help find her friend's missing son. They soon discover that London's poorest are disappearing at an alarming rate, after encounters with mysterious "mechanical" men. Even more alarming is the connection the missing people may have with a conspiracy against the Queen.

Fighting against time—and their escalating feelings for each other—Wink and Liam must work together to find the missing people and save the monarchy before it's too late...

Excerpt:

Chapter One

London, June 1859

“Any questions?” Winifred Carter Hadrian looked around the room full of the august gentlemen—and very few ladies—of the Royal Society, and straightened her spine. She’d just finished presenting her paper on the beneficial properties of wind and electric power over coal. The members of the Royal Society remained unimpressed. Whether mustachioed, mutton-chopped or rice-powdered, nearly every face regarded her with a unified disapproving frown.
“What does a young lady like you know about steam engines?” She couldn’t identify the voice—it came from a shadowy corner of the room. Snickers and rude noises erupted in its wake from throughout the so-called genteel membership. The acoustics in the room were impressive. Not only could the audience hear her, but she could hear them more clearly than she’d have liked. The front row, made up of Wink’s family and friends, swiveled and glared at the crowd. Most of the hecklers shut up.
Wink remained polite. “Are there any further questions?” Not a single hand was raised.
“The problem, missy, is that our economy is built on coal. Reducing its use costs jobs.” She couldn’t see the owner of that particularly patronizing tone either, but it obviously met the approval of the audience, because another round of boos and jeers broke out. At least they weren’t throwing anything. Yet. That wasn’t unheard of.
“I’m aware of the monetary value of coal to the empire,” she said. “If you’d read my paper, you’d see I propose to train displaced miners—”
“Go back to your needlework, girl. It’s where you belong.”
Wink’s adoptive father, Sir Merrick Hadrian, Baron Northland, rose and whirled on that voice, fists raised. So did his wife, Caroline, though she lifted her parasol. Merrick’s aunt, Dorothy, simply gave the man a death glare.
“Better yet, on her back. She wouldn’t be too hideous in the dark.” The speaker didn’t shout that remark, but a coincidental lull in the other noise made it stand out like the smell of dead fish. In the back row, Lord Eustace Irons, son of a marquess and a coal heiress, laughed at his own so-called joke. Wink wasn’t surprised. He also had a tendency to grope during waltzes. When he saw that he’d been heard, his pasty skin paled even further and he mumbled an apology as he looked wide-eyed at an angry Lord Northland.
Meanwhile Sir Thomas Devere, Wink’s foster brother, and his closest friend, Sir Connor MacKay, began to bolt from their seats toward Lord Eustace. Another man, one whose presence had caused Wink’s heart to flutter, caught the two younger men by their coat collars and hauled them back into their seats. “Remember, I’d have to arrest you both for assault. Let’s just get the hell out of here.” Inspector Liam McCullough shot Wink an imperious glance as if commanding her to leave the stage.
She seethed at being told what to do, but he was right. Retreat was in order. She gave him a nearly imperceptible nod and then smiled at the audience with exquisite politeness. “Thank you, my lords, ladies and gentlemen, for your time. My thesis is, of course, on file at Lovelace College, Oxford, if you care to refer to it at a future date.” With that, she gave a hint of a curtsey and stepped away from the podium, her spine straight and her starched crinoline petticoat rustling.
As she left the stage, she looked back at Lord Eustace and felt his oily grin skimming over her curves—or lack thereof. Next to him stood another man, one Wink had never seen before. His leer wasn’t as overtly slimy, but somehow, his intense and calculating stare made the back of her neck itch. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tom mutter a quick spell under his breath. Eustace seemed to hit a slick patch on the floor and went flying, landing on his arse on the marble. His friend tripped over him and fell as well.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop!

This giveaway hop is presented by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer 
You can get to the entire linky by clicking HERE.
There are over 400 blogs participating in the hop this time!
This is stop # 218.
The stop before me is: Patricia @ Lady with Books.
The stop after me is: Romance Meets Life (Int)

Welcome to The Wormhole and Happy Halloween!
Halloween is my favorite holiday and I am always thrilled to participate in the festivities!
I am sharing my favorite children's Halloween story as my prize!
The giveaway is International - as long as shipping to your location is free.
The book?
The Rules?
Be a follower of The Wormhole (13+) and fill out the form below.
Good luck to all, Happy reading and Happy Halloween.

Giveaway Winner!


Congrats Brenda C! 

Blog Tour: The Shadow Man by Mark Murphy

This virtual book tour is presented by Tribute Books.
Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour.
It is my pleasure to feature 
Mark Murphy and The Shadow Man.

Mark Murphy's Bio: 
A physician currently living in Savannah, Georgia, Mark Murphy is also a lifelong award-winning writer. In the midst of a busy medical career which included several academic publications, Dr. Murphy’s decision to attend the Iowa Summer Writing Festival led to the inclusion of a short story, "The Funeral," in a 2004 collection of works entitled O! Georgia! A well-received regular newspaper column in the Savannah Morning News followed. The Shadow Man is his first novel.

Formats/Prices: $14.95 paperback, $5.99 ebook
Publisher: Langdon Street Press
ISBN: 9781938296031
Pages: 348
Release: July 20, 2012

Mark Murphy's Web Site:
http://www.mark-e-murphy.com/

Mark Murphy's Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/dr.markmurphy

Mark Murphy's Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/Heeldawg

Mark Murphy's Blog:
http://shadowmanblog.com/

Savannah Book Festival:
http://www.savannahbookfestival.org/authors/mark-murphy/
Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribute-Books-Blog-Tours/242431245775186


The Shadow Man
 blog tour site:
http://the-shadow-man.blogspot.com/


The Shadow Man Book Summary:
There is a devil in the night, silent and invisible, moving in the dream realm between life and death. And he's coming for you.
Savannah surgeon Malcolm King had a perfect life—a loving wife, devoted daughter, and a thriving medical practice. But when a random airport parking lot hit-and-run links him to a dead body in a Florida hotel and an acquaintance is found dismembered and stuffed into a garbage bag, Malcolm finds himself on the run as a suspected serial killer. But he's no murderer.

Or is he?

Who is the mysterious Thin Man who lurks at the edges of his vision? Are the ravens that crowd the skies overhead a warning of impending doom - or do they exist at all?

With the help of Seminole tracker Billy Littlebear, Malcolm tries to untangle the web of clues left behind by a mysterious chameleon-like killer known as the Shadow Man. But will he be too late?

The Shadow Man is a complex, atmospheric thriller in the tradition of Stephen King. Darkly evocative and relentless in its twists and turns, it dares the reader to put it down - even for a minute.

Buy links:

Monday, October 22, 2012

Blog Tour: Mirror of Shadows by T. Lynne Tolles

This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.
Click HERE to see the tour schedule.
Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour.
It is my pleasure to feature:
T. Lynne Tolles and Mirror of Shadows.
She has dropped by for an interview:
? When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I'm not sure I EVER realized I wanted to be a writer. I'd say after I wrote Blood of a Werewolf, I definitely had the writing bug. I had so many ideas in my head of what I wanted the characters to do, I simply had to get them down on paper or go insane.

? How many jobs did you have before you became a writer?
Hmmm. I've been a sales person, a bartender, a production line worker, a receptionist, an engineering secretary, project coordinator and a bookkeeper.

? How long does it take you to write a book?
It can take me anywhere from three months to a year depending on how much life gets in my way.

? What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
I don't sit at a desk. I usually write on my lap top on my bed either sitting Indian style or lying on my back  - very peculiar, indeed.

? Do you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame of mind to write?
No. Not really, aside from getting the family off to school/work and out of the house.

? Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters?
I suppose I use a lot of my life experiences in my writing. In the Blood Series, many of the characters were based on TV/Movie stars for their looks, but the personalities really evolved in my head and in the dialog.

? How do you decide what you want to write about?
Often I come up with a premise I think is cool, add some characters, mix it up in my head and see what comes of it.

? What books have most influenced your life?
Well I grew up reading Anne Rice and Stephen King and watching Creature Features every Friday night, but I suppose if I were to pick a few for influence, I'd say Anne Rice's Witching Hour was an all time favorite and really opened my eyes to the world of witchcraft. Later I became addicted to Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. I love how he blends humor into his writing making it more natural.

? What is the first book you remember reading by yourself?
Charlotte's Web.

? What are you reading right now?
Sheesh! I haven't had any time to read a book in a while, but I have been listening to R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones series when I have the time.

? What do you like to do when you are not writing?
Sleep...Just kidding. Let's see, I'm presently doing a cross stitch stocking, knitting a baby blanket, and I'm addicted to Nancy Drew Games.

? What is your favorite comfort food?
Baked Mac and Cheese

? What do you think makes a good story?
A bit of humor, a fun premise and characters people can relate to.

? Who would you consider your favorite author and why?
I'd have to say Jim Butcher is my favorite, but I really like L.J. Smith's stuff.

? What book, if any, do you read over and over again?
I think the only book I read more than once is the "Witching Hour" by Anne Rice.

Fun random questions: 
  • dogs or cats? Cats, however I have both dogs and cats
  • Coffee or tea? Both depending on the mood, but I suppose coffee might win.
  • Dark or milk chocolate? Milk Chocolate
  • Rocks or flowers? Flowers
  • Night or day? Day
  • Favorite color? Blue
  • Crayons or markers? Depends on the project, but crayons are always fun.
  • Pens or pencils? Pens


More About the Author:

T. Lynne Tolles is a lifelong avid reader of all things paranormal and now is a writer of young adult paranormal romances for readers 15 to 115. She grew up in the sunny California San Francisco bay area. She's the mother of two, wife to one and pet mom to three cats and Newfie dog.

Blood of a Werewolf is the first of five books in a series called, the Blood Series. Other titles include Somber Island and Mirror of Shadows - both unrelated to the series.



Mirror of Shadows
T. Lynne Tolles

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Publisher: Troll Publishing
ISBN: 978-1478398073
ASIN: 1478398078
Number of pages:  200
Word Count: 51,376

Book Description:
Ella McKaye returns home for her grandmother's funeral to find she's inherited a ton of money and a run down mansion she never knew existed, called Grey Manor. Her greedy mother is appalled when the will stipulates specifically that Ella can't give her any of the inheritance.  She quickly throws Ella out of her home forcing her to take up immediate residence in the spooky old mansion.

Within minutes of entering her new home she has a strange interaction with a creepy old mirror in the main hallway and the ghostly inhabitants of the past get more and more agitated the longer Ella's there. Nearly fatal back to back accidents make Ella start to wonder if she's angered some ghost or if there is something more sinister at work.

Will Ella unravel the deadly mystery before she becomes a ghost herself? Or will fate take another one of the Grey ancestors to the grave.

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Short Excerpt:
It was a perfect day for a funeral, if there is such a thing—gloomy, gray, and cold. With steady tears of rain, the heavens seemed to be mourning along with the funeral guests. Though Ella stood strong as the pastor droned on, she would never be consolable for the loss of her beloved grandmother, Rose Grey McKaye. Ella had known for a while this day was coming as her grandmother combatted bouts of cancer, a stroke, and dementia, but all of that was not enough to prepare her for the overwhelming loss she now felt.
Ella heard no voices of condolences from those who one by one took her hand in sympathy. She only heard the rain tapping on the shiny mahogany casket covered in a blanket of chrysanthemums and peonies in front of her. Occasionally she would nod her head to the speaking sympathizer but she never took her eyes off of the coffin. Instead, she watched as a drop of water hung to the tip of a fern frond, gathering more volume until it could no longer hold on and dropped down the curved lid of the casket, and then meandered down the side stopping only for a moment by one of the carrying handles. It continued down to mingle with other drops at the base of the aluminum stand. It lingered and swelled until it could no longer resist the relentless tug of gravity and it fell to the fake green grass carpet laid out to disguise the recently excavated mound of dirt from the grave into which her grandmother would soon be lowered.
The long line of umbrella-toting guests passed before her then scattered among the graveyard to their warm, dry cars to go on with their lives. How odd, Ella thought, that time doesn’t stop for a moment to acknowledge the passing of one so loved. She felt sure that she hadn’t taken a breath since she had received the call two days before, notifying her that her grandmother had died. How would she ever survive life without her grandmother?
Ella’s childhood had been hard and she’d grown up fast and insecure in herself. The only happy memories she’d had as a child were in those blessed, short-lived visits to Grandma Rose’s house where Ella knew without a doubt she was welcome, safe, and loved.
Ella’s mother had not been a bad person, but Ella had learned at an early age that she was an anchor to her mother’s freedom. Patricia had been widowed when Ella was a toddler. She had no family of her own to speak of, and found herself a single mother with no job and no real skills. First the parade of men came, none of which ever seemed to measure up to her late husband, and then came the drugs which made the unhappy, lonely woman lost and unstable. Needless to say, this brought about a rather turbulent life for Ella’s early years.
A warm hand touched Ella from behind, guiding her away from the men now lowering the casket into its new home. They cleared away the fake grass carpet, revealing the reality and finality of what was happening. Goodbye Grandma Rose, Ella said without speaking. I love you so...and the car door shut on Ella’s words and pulled away from the curb as its wipers slapped the sides of the windshield with a squeaky but constant beat.