Reivew: Voodoo on the Bayou by Elle James

Voodoo on the Bayou by Elle James

Amazon Product Description:

“By day a frog, by night a man, ‘til de next full moon...”

At first, lawyer and ladies’ man Craig Thibodeaux thought Madame LeBieu’s chant was a strange bayou joke. But the voodoo worked and Craig is spending his days as...well, a small green frog. Now he has only two weeks to find love, or his new froggy transformation becomes permanent.

When she receives the anonymous toxic water sample from Bayou Miste, research scientist Elaine Smith decides a trip to the bayou is the perfect excuse to escape the lab, and forget about her cheating ex-fiancé. Then she accidentally stumbles upon Craig’s oh-so-fine naked form, and her science-nerd brain is overrun with naughty thoughts about her new gorgeous night-time bayou guide.

But there’s more to Bayou Miste than voodoo curses and sexy late-night trysts. Dark secrets threaten the delicate ecosystem, and there are those who would do anything to keep those secrets hidden. Even murder...  

My Thoughts:
I absolutely loved this book!  Wonderfully written.  You know from the go what will happen, but the journey to the end is fantastic.  This story is filled with emotion.  You get fun, funny, serious, dedicated, passionate, sensual, sweet, endearing and at the same time you have intrique and mystery enough to keep you turning the pages.  Elaine's transformation from mousey scientist to a go-getter is great and Craig's is just as good. 
The setting is perfect.  The characters are carefully, lovingly created and fully developed.  The plot is interesting and entertaining.  The underlying theme of friendship is threaded throughout each character for each other, the animals and the place they call home.
Wonderful read - can't wait to start book two.  Do not miss this one!

Blog Tour: Winged by L.M. Pruitt

This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.

Click HERE for more tour information.

Welcome to The Wormhole and my stop on the tour.

It is my pleasure to feature:

L.M. Pruitt and Winged.

About the Author:

L.M. Pruitt has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember. A native of Florida with a love of New Orleans, she has the uncanny ability to find humor in most things and would probably kill a plastic plant. She knows this because she's killed bamboo. Twice. As a result, she's not allowed to walk in the gardening department of any store without supervision. She's also not allowed in the card aisle of any grocery store without an escort since she'll spend thirty minutes opening cards and laughing for no good reason. She is the author of the best-selling Jude Magdalyn series, the Moon Rising series, and the Frankie Post series. She continues to make her home in Florida in spite of the heat and mosquitos and shares her home with two cats--one of them smart, the other not so much.

Connect with her at:

Facebook:   L.M. Pruitt

Twitter:                lmpruitt

Website:      www.lmpruitt.org

Winged by LM Pruitt

Release Date February 5

Book Two Uprising Coming in April

I fell from the Talmadge Bridge the week before I turned thirty.

I was given a choice: Go to Heaven. Go back to my life in Savannah. Or spend eternity fighting evil under the direction of the archangels.

I chose the demons--and the angels.

I chose the Winged.

BN Print  BN Nook    Amazon Print   Amazon Kindle

My thoughts:

The prologue hooked me; the story kept me.  

Intriguing, well written and entertaining.  L.M. Pruitt has once again brought us great characters.  I love that Joanna has the "perfect" life - before...sometimes enough just isn't enough. 

Fast paced and sexy, this is one story you don't want to miss.

Blog Tour: Fate War: Alliance by E.M. Havens

This virtual book tour is presented by Reading Addiction Blog Tours.

Click HERE for more tour information.

Welcome to The Wormhole and my stop on the tour.

It is with great pleasure that I feature:

E.M. Havens and Fate War: Alliance.

Who is E.M. Havens? I’m a lot of things. The word that seems to define me most at the moment is mom.  It can be all consuming. Not only am I a mom of three (one of them is a teenager…pity me), but I also home-school (pity me more). I share this awesome responsibility with the love of my life, best friend, and soul-mate husband.

Add to that, the twenty-five chickens, twelve turkeys, ten guineas, nine pigs, three barn cats, two

Great Pyrenees guardian dogs, a Chihuahua, a house cat, and a goose, it makes for one crazy, full, and certainly entertaining life.

Somewhere in there I find the time to write. I started out young writing poems, then moved on to

songs. I actually have a Bachelor in Music with a secondary in Science because I can’t stand English. Yes, the writer hates English. I like to read the story for the experience of reading the story, not to nitpick each letter and comma. But I digress.

I eventually found blogging and really enjoyed sharing my life that way. When an unfortunate turn of events separated me from my music equipment, I decided to use my overactive imagination, my love of reading, and my new found hobby, prose writing, to release some of my creative energy. I wrote my first novel and loved the experience. Fate War: Alliance is actually the second novel I wrote and the first to be published. Now I’m working on my third and several sequels to Fate War!

So that’s pretty much me, sitting in the Arbuckle Mountains of Oklahoma, reading, writing, collecting eggs from the coop, and being a schoolmarm. It’s a pretty great life.

facebook.com/thefatewar - twitter: havensem -  www.emhavenswrites.blogspot.com

BUY LINKS - Amazon

Guest Post from the author:

How to Write a Novel

1.       Daydream – It’s very important, if you want to write a novel, to live in your own little world as much as possible.  Walking around with your head in the clouds is a must. This multitasking will make writing flow much easier when you sit down to the keyboard to write.

2.       Listen to the voices – Always listen to the voices in your head.  Unless you’ve been diagnosed schizophrenic, those are just your characters trying to be heard. If you have been diagnosed with multiple personality disorder, use this to your advantage.

3.       Obsess – You will probably have to do some research for your story.  Spend excessive amounts of time googling and reading Wikipedia. Then talk about your findings with everyone who will listen, and some who won’t.  They will all eventually find the subject matter as fascinating as you.  That’s what blank stares and indiscriminate nodding means…I think.

4.       Write – This may seem silly at first glance, but many would-be-authors stay that way because they never make the time to actually sit at the keyboard and start putting words on the page.  Grant it, your first words will probably suck, but that’s ok.  Your brain is a muscle…..no, no…wiki says an organ, but that screws up my analogy so let’s pretend writing is a muscle. The more you work it out, the stronger and faster it will work for you.

5.       Share – Just as you have shared your ideas and research, now it’s time to force…er…allow your family and friends to view your work.  Undoubtedly they will tell you that your novel is good, even amazing. This is not true. They don’t want to hurt your feelings. While sharing with those you know is ego building, you should also join a critique group. Not only will these folks be honest and help you identify problems in your writing, critiquing other’s work will help strengthen that writing muscle even more. You may find a local group to help you or chose from several online communities.

6.       Rewrite – Yes, now it’s time to start over.  Adding new scenes, ditching old ones, and fixing plot holes.  Then you do it again…and again…and probably again.

7.       Rejoice – Celebrate! You’re novel is done. Restart your anti-psych meds and start talking about something different so that your friends can stand to be around you.  You might even decide to try and publish it…but that can get a little crazy.

Fate War: Alliance by E.M. Havens

Amazon product description:

"No!" Sam screamed. A Fate boot slammed into her stomach. It pinned her, leaving her breathless. She tried desperately to push his foot off as the soldier unsheathed his sword. He raised it two handed, the razor sharp point above her throat. He would kill her. She could see it in his black, soulless eyes. "Sam!" Cole's voice was distant. The Fate would end her life if she didn't end his first. 

Prince Cole's first glimpse of his bride-to-be takes place as she walks down the aisle on their wedding day. Though he is reluctant to form this union, the future king knows how much the Arboreal Lands need her dowry that promises air ships and mech defenses. Samantha appears to be the polished woman expected in a princess. However, Cole soon discovers his new wife has secrets that even she has yet to unlock. Can what's hidden in the recesses of her mind be the key to defeating the plans of the Fate Sovereign? 

If you're looking for a steamy romance, a strong, smart heroine and interesting gadgets, this is the book for you! Fate War is a swords and guns, love and war, Steampunk inspired story that is sure to get your pistons pumping.
An Excerpt:

A Gift for Sam

“This is your surprise.” He gestured towards a building a few paces away from the heap of Fate mech.

“A shed?” Sam eyed him warily.

“Open the door, silly.” He placed his hand on the small of her back, and ushered her into the room. The lamp light sparkled off of her wonder filled eyes.

“How…When…” She rushed into the room, investigating in earnest. Tinker tools and supplies filled the shelves lining the walls. A work bench occupied the far end of the shed, outfitted with a large set of magnifiers.

“The Tinker in Sagewood, he wanted to retire so I bought him out and had the shop moved here. It’s yours. Of course you’re still welcome to visit me in my laboratory anytime you wish.” He gave her a courtly bow, and by the time he rose, she was on him.

Caught off guard by her advances he fell back into the workbench, toppling boxes of screws and cogs. He didn’t care because her lips found his. She bit his lip teasingly and he returned the favor. He fleetingly thought he had helped awaken more than her sense of self when her hands began tugging at his shirt.

Cole swept his hand across the work bench clearing it of various tools and boxes, sending a magnifier crashing to the ground. He spun Sam around and lifted her to the table. He stepped into her and she cradled him in her thighs. His hands found the hem of her shirt as well and he barely restrained the urge to rip it off instead of unbuttoning it. Her hands worked feverishly at his, stopping occasionally to pull his lips back to hers.

“Damn,” he cursed, getting stuck on a particularly rebellious button, and realized Sam had stopped her attentions to him. She stared at nothing with her head cocked, listening. He was about to ask her what was the matter when he heard it too, the rhythmic thrumming of an air ship.

Without a word, they quickly made themselves presentable and hurried outside. The airship was just visible, approaching over the treetops, a trail of smoke in its wake. Cole grabbed Sam’s hand and pulled her toward the lawn where they would have a better look as it flew over, on its way to the clearing.

“No.” Sam hissed. The ship’s airbladder was Perspician blue, and the ship itself was ornate enough to belong to only one passenger. “Mother.”

My thoughts:

I was impressed with this book from the first page.  The author makes magnificent word choices.  The story flows seemlessly.  If there had been nothing else I would have still enjoyed the book for that one reason alone, but there is so very much more to this story than the brilliance of the language telling it.  The characters are incredible.  They are well made, vividly described and complete with flawed personalities and emotions that make them real to the reader and easy to invest in.  The story is clever, creative and well paced.   The author doesn't shy from using tough situations or hide the bad.  She lays it all out there while the characters live it so it becomes the readers temporary reality and the pages turn.  I couldn't put it down.  Don't miss this one.

Blog Tour: I Kissed a Dog by Carol Van Atta (Giveaway)

This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.

Welcome to The Wormhole and my stop on the tour.

It is my pleasure to feature:

 Carol Van and her book, I Kissed a Dog.

Carol has stopped by for an interview.

? When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
In grade school. My love for reading translated early on into a desire to write.

? How many jobs did you have before you became a writer?
Well, I still work my “day job.” I’m not yet at the point where writing is my sole income. Hopefully someday!

? How long does it take you to write a book?
My first book, Slaying the Shadows, took five years. About a year is comfortable for me now. I work full time, single parent, and care for my aging mother. So I work in my writing time wherever and whenever I can. I don’t sleep a lot some nights!

? Do you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame of mind to write?
Yes, I always reread what I last completed. I make edits on any glaring mistakes, and then move on. I absolutely have to do that first before I can write.

? Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters?
I find character inspiration everywhere. Real life, books, TV, movies, and my personal history. Often
it’s a mixture of all of the above!


? What books have most influenced your life?
The Bible.

? What is the first book you remember reading by yourself?
Oh my, I just cannot recall. I loved reading the old Nancy Drew and Black Beauty horse books.

? What are you reading right now?
Like four books! James Rollin’s The Doomsday Key (picked up at Dollar Tree for a buck!) Angeloplis, by Danielle Trussoni, Dark House, Karina Halle, Change your Words Change your Life, Joyce Meyer. How’s that for variety?!? I’m eagerly awaiting the final Sookie Stackhouse book from Charlaine
Harris. Who will Sookie choose?

? What do you like to do when you are not writing?
Do you even have to ask … ? (big grin) Read! And play those silly hidden object games on my Kindle. Total time waster.

? What is your favorite comfort food?
Mashed potatoes and gravy.

? What do you think makes a good story?
Great storyline, strong characters,
suspense, a touch of humor … gosh, there are so many ingredients that make a story shine. I enjoy such a wide range of genres that it’s difficult to pinpoint. I’m fairly easy to please, and can find redeeming qualities in most books I read.

Fun random questions:
• dogs or cats? Both.
• Coffee or tea? Both.
• Dark or milk chocolate? Both.
• Rocks or flowers? Flowers.
• Night or day? Night.
• Favorite color? Purple. Black. Red.
• Crayons or markers? Markers.
• Pens or pencils? Pens.

More about the author:

Like most authors, Carol Van Atta is no stranger to the written word. She penned a short novel at age 12 (somewhat frightening illustrations included, and lots of bunnies were involved), and had a creative writing piece published in her high school newspaper (about David Bowie's Diamond Dogs LP). Yes, she's an ex-80's chick.

Devouring books from numerous genres, Carol developed a deep thirst/hunger for more reading material, and could almost always be found with her nose in a book.

She has contributed to several popular inspirational anthologies and devotional books, and lives in the rainy wetland of Oregon with a terrifying teen (another in college) and a small zoo of animals. She is taking an undetermined hiatus away from inspirational writing to delve into her darker side. (Though you can check out her latest spiritual suspense novel, Soul Defenders). It is rumored that this genre-jumping occurred after Carol discovered too suspicious red marks on her neck, and experienced an unquenchable urge to howl at the moon.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Werewolves-of-the-West-I-Kissed-a-Dog/153030771437034

https://www.facebook.com/carol.vanatta.1

http://www.werewolvesofthewest.com/

http://vampswereswhyohmy.blogspot.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1237874.Carol_Van_Atta

I Kissed a Dog

The Werewolves of the West Series Book One

Carol Van Atta

Genre: Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Cambridge Press US under the umbrella of Charles River Press (CRP)

Number of pages: 446

Cover Artist: Ann Falcone

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeuDqevNSXM

Book Description:

Chloe Carpenter isn't like other women. She can communicate with animals. A gift she unwrapped following one of her frequent dances with death.

 In her otherwise wacky life, she's finally found a semblance of sanity working at the Plum Beach Wildlife Park, where her unique talents can make life or death differences for the animals in her care. That semblance is shattered when a new veterinarian roars into the park in his spiffed up sports car and sets his golden gaze on her. If she had her way, he'd roar right back out.

Problem: He's her new coworker and he's saved her life twice - in the past twenty-four hours.

Zane Marshall, Enforcer for the Pacific Pack of purebred werewolves, has a job to do - figure out who or what is mutilating the young men of Plum Beach.

With orders to find the woman who talks to animals, he accepts a position working alongside the fiery Chloe Carpenter, a female who ignites his interest far more than he ever expected. Remarkably, she's the one elusive female with potential to bring meaning and passion to his empty existence.

Problem: She despises him.

Together, they're forced to unravel a mystery of supernatural proportions, a murderous mystery with eternal implications for everyone. In the process, they discover opposites really do attract.

Major Problem: Zane is pledged to another woman, and she'll do anything to keep him from Chloe.

Buy the book   Author Blog   Book Depository   Indie Bound 

Amazon Print   Amazon Ebook  BN   BN Nook  Smashwords

Love is in the air ... Win Big! 9 Books (digital-formats only) with paranormal twists are up for grabs. Carol Van Atta, author of I Kissed a Dog, invites you to enter to win Ebooks and Promo Posters from her publisher. 

1. I Kissed a Dog, book one Werewolves of the West, Carol Van Atta, with one poster

2. Soul Defenders: The Black Orchids, Carol Van Atta, with one poster

3. Black Moon, Jessica McQuay, with one poster 

4. Blood Betrayal, Alison Beightol, with one poster 

5. Morningside, Ashley Madau, with one poster 

6. Drama Queens, Kevin Klher, with one poster 

7. The Dogman Cometh, Jonathan Womack, with one poster 

8. Blood Destiny, Tessa Dawn, with one poster

9. ONE BOOK OF YOUR CHOOSING FROM THE CHARLES RIVER PRESS/CAMBRIDGE PRESS CATALOGUE (EBOOK)

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Don't Forget to grab your ecopy of The Shadow Man for 99 Cents!

The Shadow Man by Mark Murphy
99 cents for one week!

Savannah surgeon Malcolm King had a perfect life—a loving wife, devoted daughter, and a thriving medical practice. And then it all ended. A chance encounter with a reckless driver in an airport parking lot leads to his first brush with the law. The senseless slaughter of a neighbor’s pet soon follows, with Malcolm inexplicably questioned in the matter by the police. An adversary is found decapitated. An acquaintance is chopped into pieces and stuffed into a garbage bag, Malcolm soon finds himself the prime suspect in a serial murder case. But he’s not a killer. Or is he? Who is the Thin Man who lurks at the edges of his vision? Are the flocks of ravens that crowd overhead a warning of impending doom? Or do they exist at all? And how can he protect his family from something—or someone—he knows absolutely nothing about? As Malcolm fights to discover the truth, he learns from a mysterious Seminole tracker that he may not be the first victim of a chameleon-like serial killer known as The Shadow Man. Malcolm’s quest for justice takes him perilously close to the edge of sanity—and perhaps a little bit over it. The Shadow Man is a new breed of psychological thriller, serving up a dark look into the human soul that will have the reader searching for the truth. In Mark Murphy’s debut novel, respectable surgeon Malcolm King becomes entangled in the mind games of a psychopathic serial killer. Malcolm’s home is invaded, his medical practice falls apart, and his family is threatened by a faceless assailant from the world between light and darkness: the Shadow Man. The Shadow Man begins with a killer, identified only as “Q,” dumping a woman’s dismembered body into a Florida swamp filled with hungry alligators. The action then shifts to Savannah, where Malcolm’s car is side-swiped by a dark-tinted SUV which then disappears into the night. The seemingly random hit-and-run is the beginning of a nightmare when the mysterious SUV is found to bear license plates from a stolen vehicle—and the stolen vehicle’s owner is found dead in a Florida hotel. A string of horrific murders follows. Malcolm soon finds himself the prime suspect in a serial murder case, having to convince the police—and himself—that he is not responsible for these crimes. But what is the truth? Can Malcolm save himself and his family? Or will the Shadow Man win out at last, dragging them all into oblivion? The Shadow Man is a unique work. Beautifully written, it is at once evocative and gruesome, an exploration of the intimate bonds of a loving family and the sheer terror of having those things stolen away.

Everyone is talking about Mark Murphy's ebook 
The Shadow Man 
and the price has dropped to 99 cents 
from April 15th-April 22nd. 

Boasting 4 and 5 star reviews on Amazon and GoodReads, The Shadow Man is a quick, deliciously creepy, fun read. Deemed "an enjoyable, well-written and twisty thriller with gruesome aspects balanced by warmth, believable relationships and a likable hero," by Kirkus Reviews, it follows surgeon Dr. Malcolm King, whose “perfect life” is destroyed as he is named the prime suspect in a serial murder case. But he’s not a killer. (Or is he?)

The Seattle Post Intelligencer says The Shadow Man is  “…downright creepy. . .particularly the ending. You will live Dr. Malcolm's physical and mental distress trying to piece together sliced up evidence before you and he are caged behind bars.” 

About Mark Murphy: Murphy is a gastroenterologist by day, author by night, and columnist with the Savannah Morning News in between. His work has also appeared on the Huffington Post. 
You can find the link to The Shadow Man Amazon here.

Book Release! ~ A Privilege - Book 3 of The Angel Chronicles by Amy Lignor

A Privilege:
The Angel Chronicles, Book 3

The beloved Angel/Warrior team face pure evil in their final climactic story!

The first time they were sent down, Irish lives were led. Emily, the angel, ended up embedded in murder and lost in the realm of true love. While Matthew, the warrior, took over a life that left blood on his hands and anger in his soul.

With their second coming, Emily found herself facing an oncoming war that brought her to the shores of America. While Matthew tried desperately to unveil the evil character of a young man who was intent on locking his partner in a ‘gilded’ cage.

Now...Emily and Matthew find that their lives are all their own. Yet, all the memories, hatred, longing and regret have come hand-in-hand with this newfound freedom.

In small town U.S.A., Matthew finds himself loving his new life. From his military school existence to a new, ‘odd’ friend who’s arrived in town, Matthew’s looking forward to graduation and heading off into a brilliant future with Emily by his side.

Emily wants nothing more than to hide. Although doing her best to fit in, she lives a life on the edge, wondering when her past love with reappear to either forgive or seek revenge on the angel who let him down. Battling the shadows that seem to be breaking her soul in two, Emily soon discovers that her small, quiet town has a secret that’s beyond dangerous...

As she and Matthew join forces to help a ‘haunted’ victim, they open the door on a mystery neither of them can believe. A true villain has returned from the past, and not even their heavenly family will be able to save them. This time they’re on their own, as they face a fight that could lead them straight to Hell…and end the angel/warrior team forever.

Kindle * Nook * iBookstore
Smashwords * Google * PDF

Excerpt

Without a word, Matthew reached out, took Emily by the hand and pulled her down beside him. He looked into her eyes and smiled. “I knew my Emily was still in there.”

Out of the blue, the room became incredibly hot, as if Gabriel had entered in order to give a lesson to his favorite students. “What?”

“That spark.” He pulled Emily’s face closer before she could push herself away. “You’ve been acting all this time like you’re just here to sit and wait it out until you’re lucky enough to go Home. But you’re still in there, Emily. You still have all that energy and belief in there and you want to do something. That’s the partner I know.”

Shaking her head, Emily listened to her own breathing intensify as she stared at his full lips and wondered why she felt so completely and utterly strange...vulnerable even. “I want to help this girl. This is a job, maybe my only job down here. She saw a ghost and she wants me to help her out, that’s all.”

“And you will.” Matthew captured Emily’s lips, and she could no longer feel the breath in her lungs. Completely different than the one kiss they’d shared up above so long ago, this one was far more demanding, as if Matthew was a young man determined to kiss his human love for the very first time.

Sitting back, Emily practically jumped off the bed.

“I’m sorry,” she heard him whisper behind her. “I guess I was just excited to see you again.”

Not trusting her voice, she remained silent.

“We have jobs, but we also have a life to live. Our own lives this time around. Maybe you should think about adding that into your angelic plans.” Matthew continued softly, “Jason isn’t here, Emily.”

The name being said out loud sent a chill down Emily’s spine. It reminded her of the vow she’d made a long time ago—a vow that an angel couldn’t break.

She cleared her throat. “It doesn’t matter if he’s here. We were sent to do a job, and maybe helping this little girl prove her story is what I need to begin.”

Standing up, Matthew looked as if he was a man who wanted nothing more than to turn back the clock and erase the name he’d spoken aloud. He walked to the open window. “Well, I hope the job goes well. Good luck with it.”

“Matthew,” Emily took a step toward him. “Don’t leave like this.”

He nodded at the book on the bed. “You have your mission, Emily...your job. Ghosts, goblins, lost souls—knock yourself out.” He took a deep breath. “I wonder when you’re going to figure out that the living souls around you would like some of your attention as well.”

Closing her eyes, Emily shed silent tears as she heard his feet hit the ground beneath her window. A friend, a partner, the one who actually listened, was now just an angry young man racing back to The Armory—a place where warriors reigned.

Emily sighed. She’d done it again. No matter how hard she tried to be good, her mouth always got her into trouble. She needed Matthew to understand. She’d made a promise to a young man a long time ago; a promise that was supposed to last for eternity. How was she to know at the time that their eternity would include death by her hand? Had the second time around broken their vow? Emily had no idea. But whatever happened she could not and would not offer Matthew her heart if payment was still due for her past sins. Above all, Matthew was the last person who deserved to be punished for her mistakes.

Author Amy Lignor

Amy Lignor began her career at Grey House Publishing in northwest Connecticut where she was the Editor-in-Chief of numerous educational and business directories.

Now she is a published author of several works of fiction. The Billy the Kid historical The Heart of a Legend; the thriller, Mind Made; and the adventure novel, Tallent & Lowery 13.

She is also the owner of The Write Companion, a company that offers help and support to writers through a full range of editorial services from proofreading and copyediting to ghostwriting and research. As the daughter of a research librarian, she is also an active book reviewer.

Currently, she lives with her daughter, mother and a rambunctious German Shepherd named Reuben, in the beautiful state of New Mexico.

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads

Books 1 and 2 are now 99 cents on Kindle!
   




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