SHORTS by, Steven Woodford ***Book Feature***

SHORTS
by, Steven Woodford
               

Synopsis:  SHORTS is a collection of  autobiographical short stories, starting in 1915 with the pioneering of the author's grandparents from North Carolina to south Florida.  Covers the years of growing up gay in a conservative southern town, escaping to college only to find more bias, then a move to New York to seek a career in theatre. AT YOUR LEISURE magazine.  Finding the love of his life and suffering the greatest loss of his life.  Finding love again;  being disappointed in love. Rubbing elbows with some of the greatest actors, directors and singers of the 20th century and finally retiring to the paradise of the Florida Keys.

 Steven Woodford was born in the Piedmont district of North Carolina, moved to south Florida with his parents in 1946, graduated from public school and the attended a North Georgia Baptist College before moving to New York City for a life in "show biz."   Those years included 30 years as a music and theatre critic for a newspaper group in NJ and contributor to THEATRE WEEK magazine, STAGES magazine and At Your Leisure Magazine as well and an average of four theatre and/or music reviews weekly.  He found the love of his life in 1966, and it was bliss for 24 years before the loss of that love to cancer.  Several years later another "marriage" and suffering some heartaches and heartbreaks there, and finally retirement in the paradise of the Florida Keys.

Website:    www.stevenwoodfordauthor.com

Facebook: StevenWoodfordAuthor

Twitter:         AuthorWoodford

GoodReads: Steven Woodford

SHORTS is currently available in a Kindle edition and in Paperback from Amazon.com

The Queen of All that Dies is now available!

The Queen of All that Dies is now available! 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R7HDLAU/

In the future, the world is at war. 

For the last decade, King Lazuli of the Eastern Empire has systematically taken over the world. No one knows much about him other than a series of impossible facts: he cannot die, he has not aged since the conflict began, and he wants to rule the world. 

All Serenity Freeman has known is bloodshed. War has taken away her mother, her home, her safety. As the future emissary of the Western United Nations, the last autonomous region of the globe, she is responsible for forging alliances where she can. 

Surrender is on the horizon. The king can taste it; Serenity feels it deep within her bones. There is no other option. Now the two must come face to face. For Serenity, that means confronting the man who’s taken everything from her. For the king, it means meeting the one woman he can’t conquer. But when they meet, something happens. Cruelty finds redemption. 

Only in war, everything comes with a price. Especially love.

The Greatest Sin by, Lee French & Erik Kort Blog Tour

The Greatest Sin Lee French & Erik Kort

Blog Tour

Book Feature

The Fallen 

For hundreds of years, the Blaukenev clan has wandered across Tilzam, from one end to the other and back. Each wagon carries history, love, laughter, pain, sorrow, and secrets. Their greatest secret of all may be Chavali, the clan Seer. 

Spirits claim/use/save/damn her. 

With her gift/curse, nothing surprises her anymore, no one keeps secrets from her. She, on the other hand, has more than enough secrets to keep. Secrets of her own, secrets of her clan, secrets of the world, secrets she even keeps from herself. 

There are always people who want secrets. 

Some will do anything to get what they want. 

The Fallen is the foundation of the story of The Greatest Sin, of a world adrift from its God that desperately wants Her back. Chavali's comfortable, predictable life will be ripped apart and burnt to ashes as she's forced into the middle of that struggle. Change, she hates it passionately. It hates her right back.

Harbinger

Adjusting to her new life as a soul-bound agent of the Fallen has Chavali pushing herself harder than ever before. Between learning to fight, dealing with idiots, and climbing stairs - lots of stairs - she has little time to waste on thoughts of the future. Or the past. 

When another agent fails to report in, Chavali is sent on the mission to discover her fate. Ready or not, she saddles up for a new adventure with new dangers. 

The search takes her to Ket, a coastal city slathered in mystery. There, she faces ghosts from her past and demons of her future as she seeks answers. All she seems to find are more questions. 

Plague, murder, lies, espionage...this city harbors much more than meets the eye, and maybe too much to handle.

Purchase links:

The Fallen  

Harbinger 

Social media links:

Facebook -

 Author Lee French 

 Erik M Kort

Twitter - https://twitter.com/AuthorLeeFrench 

Lee's blog  

About the Author:

 Lee French lives in Olympia, WA with two kids, two bicycles, and too much stuff. She is an avid gamer and active member of the Myth-Weavers online RPG community, where she is known for her fondness for Angry Ninja Squirrels of Doom. In addition to spending much time there, she also trains year-round for the one-week of glorious madness that is RAGBRAI, has a nice flower garden with absolutely no lawn gnomes, and tries in vain every year to grow vegetables that don't get devoured by neighborhood wildlife.

New Release Available for Pre-Order **The Second Captive by, Maggie James**

New Release Available for Pre-Order 

**The Second Captive by, Maggie James** 

Available for pre-order for $0.99/£0.99

Stockholm syndrome: the psychological tendency of a hostage to bond with his or her captor.

What happens when you love the man you should hate?

Beth Sutton is eighteen years old when Dominic Perdue abducts her. Held prisoner in a basement, she’s dependent upon him for food, clothes, her very existence. As the months pass, her hatred changes to compassion. Beth never allows herself to forget, however, that her captor has killed another woman. She has evidence to prove it, not to mention Dominic’s own admission of murder.

Then Beth escapes…

And discovers Dominic Perdue is not a man who lets go easily. Meanwhile, despite being reunited with her family, she spirals into self-destructive behaviour. Release from her prison isn’t enough. Can Beth also break free from the clutches of Stockholm syndrome?

A study of emotional dependency, The Second Captive examines how love can assume strange guises.

Available on Amazon

About the Author

Maggie James is a British author who lives in Bristol. She writes psychological suspense novels.

The first draft of her first novel, entitled His Kidnapper’s Shoes, was written whilst travelling in Bolivia. Maggie was inspired by an impending milestone birthday along with a healthy dose of annoyance at having procrastinated for so long in writing a novel. His Kidnapper’s Shoes was published in both paperback and e-book format in 2013, followed by her second novel, entitled Sister, Psychopath. Her third novel, Guilty Innocence, like her first two, features her home city of Bristol. She has recently published her fourth novel, The Second Captive.

Before turning her hand to writing, Maggie worked mainly as an accountant, with a diversion into practising as a nutritional therapist. Diet and health remain high on her list of interests, along with travel. Accountancy does not, but then it never did. The urge to pack a bag and go off travelling is always lurking in the background! When not writing, going to the gym, practising yoga or travelling, Maggie can be found seeking new four-legged friends to pet; animals are a lifelong love!

Venus Rising by, Celia Kennedy **Book Feature**

Venus RisingBy, Celia Kennedy

Akshaya Bertrand is a Professor of Art History at an elite college in New England. The patina of the ivy league campus is the perfect canvas for the exotic beauty from India. It is also an environment that Akshaya can safely navigate. A small world that she has minimized and made manageable. 

Dr. Jared Harrison, a journalist who has been based in the Middle East, has accepted a position as a guest lecturer at the college where Akshaya teaches. Arriving just in time to attend a faculty mixer, he catches a glimpse of Akshaya Bertrand. Immediately, he learns from those who have tried and failed, that the beautiful professor, compared to Lakshmi, Venus and Aphrodite, is an enigma, a seductive sculpture behind a wall of glass. 

While searching for a way to slip past her armor and into her life, Jared confronts the images and tragedies imprinted on his psyche by those left behind in the war torn world of the Middle East. Akshaya and Jared find themselves drawn to each other, hoping to find compassion, someone they can expose their inner demons to. 

Funding from the college provides an opportunity to combine Akshaya's love of art with Jared's resources as a war correspondent. Together, they travel to Afghanistan and India, where both finally face the past that has shaped them and the present that defines them. 

Amongst beauty and poverty as well as war and friendship they find the answers to their individual truths.

Website

Facebook

Twitter: @KennedyCelia

Google+: Celia Kennedy

Pinterest

Purchase Link: Venus Rising

Reviews: Venus Rising 

Carol Osborne: Venus Rising by Celia Kennedy, 5 Star Review

An extremely enjoyable read, you will instantly be intrigued by the 2 main characters in this novel and the storyline is an enthralling journey. Be prepared for an interestingly captivating and very emotional time.

Akshaya is a gorgeous, intelligent, successful, educated goddess like lady who captivates the attention of every man she comes in contact with. Jared is an intelligent, successful, educated, handsome, athletic, witty, charming, and well-traveled man. Individually these characters seem invincible and perfect, the envy of all those around them. However, under the perfect facade the world sees, they each have their own personal demons to deal with. Both physical and emotional scars that they manage to hide from the outside world, but struggle to come to terms with themselves.

Developing uncontrollable emotions for each other makes things even more complicated. Can they trust each other enough to share and conquer their demons and still continue with their success, including a "business" trip through tumultuous parts of India? You will have to read it to find out! Enjoy...

Edel Rogers: The best book I've read in a long time! 5 Star Review

Venus Rising is a beautiful story, beautifully written and clearly very well researched. It's a love story, but it's much more than that. From the first page on, I was hooked and I didn't want to stop reading till I got to the end.

The more I read, the more I came to know and care about all the characters, not just Akshaya and Jared, and I really wanted them to find happiness. I felt their emotions, and both laughed and cried at times.

Venus Rising is one of those books that makes you want to get to the end quickly so you can find out what happens, but when you get to the end you wish there was more to read.

I'm already looking forward to Celia's next book!

About the Author:

Celia Kennedy was born in Wurzburg, Germany on an American Army base. Her parents' penchant for traveling the world, via a Volkswagen Minibus with a Porsche engine, sparked her imagination. Staring out the window, sometimes through fog and rain, at other times at sunny blue skies, she began to make up stories for the places and spaces they passed by. The in-between time, the most fascinating to her.

The imagined world has always fascinated Celia. She has studied Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Interior Design, and pretty much every other subject matter. Like her childhood, it was the ride that was the most entertaining, arrival at a degree, not anywhere as important.

Mark Twain said, "Write what you know." When combining this concept with her unusual life experiences (working at a nuclear submarine base when Chernobyl blew, testing software Bill Gates kept close tabs on, travelling extensively while quite broke, or falling in love with her boyfriend's close friend) thinking of what to write about isn't challenging; there just needs to be more hours in the day.

Celia published Charlotte's Restrained, The Accidental Stalkerin December of 2012 and Venus Rising in August of 2013. Look for Kathleen's Undressed, The Accidental Enigma, a companion novel to Charlotte's Restrained, to be published in November 2014.

Currently she lives in Washington State with the loves of her life.

Follow the tour!

Enter the Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Passport To Happiness by, Debbie White **Book Feature**

Passport To Happiness Debbie White

To escape the often lonely and boring reality of living in a small rural town, Jessica finds comfort in reading about the many places that exist beyond her small corner of the earth. When she joins the State Department and travels abroad looking for adventure, she gets more than she imagined was ever possible. Passport to happiness is a story of strength and determination, while exploring new places, but it’s also about finding love and happiness – no matter where you hang your hat.

Reviews

 5.0 out of 5 stars

 Passport to Happiness September 11, 2014

By Avid Reader

Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

This novel by Debbie White is a charming read that will reaffirm your love for honest fiction. It tells the story of Jessica, a girl from a dusty little West Texas town with dreams of traveling the world. When the time comes for Jessica to leave her little existence behind and see what the world has to offer, it is through the unrelenting love and dedication of her single mother that helps her along on her road to happiness and self-discovery.
Passport to Happiness was a sweet story full of romance and character, and spoke deeply to the power of love between mother and child and the powers of true friendship. I heartily recommend this one to anyone who knows the strength of single parents everywhere and the ties of friendship that last a lifetime. A darling and life-affirming book

5.0 out of 5 stars Tender and captivating story! September 9, 2014

By Anne Mitchell

Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

Passport to Happiness by Debbie White is a wonderful romantic story.
The main character, Jessica, is very lovely and sympathetic. She lived with her mom in a hot and dusty little town. The relationship between single mother and her daughter is one of the strongest themes of this novel. For me it was a captivating reading, as I was raised in very similar situation. It is interesting that often kids of single parents do much better than kids of married parents. It was a study of hundreds of teenagers that showed single parents were friendlier to their kids than were married parents. Any way in spite of financial difficulties I was a happy child, the same as this lovely character Jessica.
Thank you Debbie White for this sweet and captivating story!

Highlights:

• The main character, Jessica, is very lovely and sympathetic. ”
  Anne Mitchell| 12 reviewers made a similar statement
• “

  This is a charming story of finding your purpose in life, sharing true friendships, and ultimately, discovering love. ”
  Ann Hammons| 9 reviewers made a similar statement
• “

  I read this book in a single sitting - which is a recommendation in itself. ”
  Jake| 4 reviewers made a similar statement

Go on... grab your passport and discover Debbie White's "Passport to Happiness!"

Available on Amazon

Sister, Psychopath by, Maggie James **Book Feature & Review**

A Book Feature & Review of Sister, Psychopath

By, Maggie James

Synopsis 

When they were children, Megan Copeland adored her younger sister Chloe. Now she can hardly bear to be in the same room as her.

Megan believes Chloe to be a psychopath. After all, her sister’s a textbook case: cold, cruel and lacking in empathy. Chloe loves to taunt Megan at every opportunity, as well as manipulating their mentally ill mother, Tilly, a woman blind to Chloe’s sociopathic nature.

Chloe currently has her eye on James Matthews, Tilly’s employer. James, however, is preoccupied with his own conflicts. Both his marriages have been failures. Now Megan’s former lover, Toby Turner, is causing him to question everything in his life.

When Tilly, under Chloe’s malignant influence, becomes dangerously unstable, the consequences turn ugly for everyone.  Megan’s world falls apart, allowing long-buried secrets to rise to the surface.  Her sister’s out of control, and there’s little Megan can do about it. Until she realises Chloe is targeting Toby Turner, and planning to step well beyond the rules…

A study of sibling rivalry and dysfunctional relationships, Sister, Psychopath tells the story of one woman’s struggle to survive the damage inflicted by her sociopathic sister.

 My Review:

Stunning and twisted are the perfect terms to describe Sister, Psychopath. The dysfunctional relationship between Megan and Chloe is like none you've ever seen. Chloe is a troubled woman that will do anything to get what she wants. This is the second novel that I've read by this incredible author, and I cannot help but predict great things from her. Her writing is so engaging and quick paced, that you get lost in the story, and simply cannot put it down until the very last word. This book was such a suspenseful read and I doubt I'll be able to forget it!

'Sister, Psychopath' will be discounted to 99c/99p in the US

 and UK Amazon stores from November 3 to November 6.

The sales link is http://smarturl.it/sisterpsychopath

About the Author:

Maggie James is a British author who lives in Bristol. She writes psychological suspense novels.

The first draft of her first novel, entitled His Kidnapper’s Shoes, was written whilst travelling in Bolivia. Maggie was inspired by an impending milestone birthday along with a healthy dose of annoyance at having procrastinated for so long in writing a novel. His Kidnapper’s Shoes was published in both paperback and e-book format in 2013, followed by her second novel, entitled Sister, Psychopath. Her third novel, Guilty Innocence, has now been published, and like her first two, features her home city of Bristol. She is currently editing her fourth novel, The Second Captive.

Before turning her hand to writing, Maggie worked mainly as an accountant, with a diversion into practising as a nutritional therapist. Diet and health remain high on her list of interests, along with travel. Accountancy does not, but then it never did. The urge to pack a bag and go off travelling is always lurking in the background! When not writing, going to the gym, practising yoga or travelling, Maggie can be found seeking new four-legged friends to pet; animals are a lifelong love!

His Kidnapper's Shoes **Book Feature**

Daniel Bateman is one angry man. He’s just discovered a devastating truth; the woman who calls herself his mother is really his kidnapper. Snatched from his birth family when he was four years old, Daniel’s always been tormented with vague memories from his former life. When he is confronted with a second shattering revelation, his life falls apart; booze and casual sex help numb the pain.

Daniel knows one thing for sure. He’ll never be able to forgive his kidnapper. Never. Because of her, he’s been denied his dream of becoming an artist. More importantly, he’d have grown up with a mother he could love instead of one he can barely tolerate. And the shadow of his controlling stepfather wouldn’t have darkened his life.

Furious, his life in pieces, Daniel needs the answer to just one question. Why did Laura Bateman kidnap him?

He’s not sure he’ll ever find out. The woman now under arrest for his kidnap twenty-two years ago isn't talking. Laura Bateman doesn't believe a crime has been committed; to her, stealing Daniel seemed her only option at the time. Until she receives Daniel’s forgiveness, something he’s sworn she’ll never get, Laura’s staying silent as to what really happened all those years ago.

There’s a saying that you have to walk a mile in someone’s shoes before judging them.  Will Daniel ever be ready to step into Laura Bateman’s shoes?

A tense novel of psychological suspense, His Kidnapper's Shoes weaves one man’s quest for his identity with one woman's need to heal her troubled past.

Psychological Suspense

Available on 

 Amazon

My Review of His Kidnapper's Shoes:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, February 20, 2014

By 

Nycole Lee "Nycole Lee" - See all my reviews

Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: His Kidnapper's Shoes (Kindle Edition)

His Kidnapper's Shoes is a surprising psychological thriller that will keep you gripped in suspense from the beginning to the end. You follow a woman's POV as she deals with her time in prison. You wonder what exactly she did to her son, and if she is truly innocent as she claims. Then, things become really intriguing when you find that she kidnapped the boy! Wow. This book definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. The writing was superb. The plot was well thought out, paced well, and the twists and turns were amazing. I loved this book and cannot wait to read more by this author!

About the Author

Maggie James is a British author who lives in Bristol. She writes psychological suspense novels.

The first draft of her first novel, entitled His Kidnapper’s Shoes, was written whilst travelling in Bolivia. Maggie was inspired by an impending milestone birthday along with a healthy dose of annoyance at having procrastinated for so long in writing a novel. His Kidnapper’s Shoes was published in both paperback and e-book format in 2013, followed by her second novel, entitled Sister, Psychopath. Her third novel, Guilty Innocence, has now been published, and like her first two, features her home city of Bristol. She is currently editing her fourth novel, The Second Captive.

Before turning her hand to writing, Maggie worked mainly as an accountant, with a diversion into practising as a nutritional therapist. Diet and health remain high on her list of interests, along with travel. Accountancy does not, but then it never did. The urge to pack a bag and go off travelling is always lurking in the background! When not writing, going to the gym, practising yoga or travelling, Maggie can be found seeking new four-legged friends to pet; animals are a lifelong love!

A Rough Ride By, C.P. Mandara! **Book Feature**

Who will have the pleasure of training Petal? By rights, the honour should go to Mark Matthews, but the cowboy has other plans. The matter is not settled until the stable owner is brought into the fray. 

It is to be a monumental first week for Albrecht's newest trainee. The pony girl will have two days to find a way of coping with her new latex bodysuit and the rigorous buzzing and pumping of the never-ending 'device' which torments her every waking moment. She will then find herself shipped off as a sex-slave, chained and caged, to the mysterious high-bidder from the auction. 

It doesn't take Petal long to realise that her chances of escaping from Albrecht are slim at best, but her defiant nature won't let her give up hope just yet. There is a way out for her, but she may have to give up more than her sanity in order to achieve it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars

 Can't get enough! September 19, 2014

By Sara D

Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

I am anxiously awaiting the final installment. I love this series and this book did not disappoint. It surprised me quite a few times (I won't spoil it for you by going into detail). Mark's character takes on a softer tone in parts of this book and I can't decide if I like it or not. Whatever happens next, I just hope he doesn't lose his intensity or tone down his sadistic Dom side. It's one of the most defining parts of his character and I'm not sure how I would feel about Mark losing his edge. The plot thickens in this segment and I am left anxiously awaiting the next book to find out how it all ends. I love myself a bit of intrigue! This book offers that, intense BDSM, suspense and a plethora of characters you are sure to find yourself fully engaged with. Great read. Outstanding series. No doubt a book and a series I will read more than once. It's sexy, suspenseful, exciting, thrilling and heart-wrenching. Love me a book that can take you on a rollercoaster ride... especially one so titillating!

Read more of A Rough Ride by downloading today!

Universal Amazon Purchase Link: http://mybook.to/ARR

Social Media Links: 

FB: https://www.facebook.com/CPMandara

Twitter: @cpmandara

Blog: http://christinamandara.wordpress.com/

Author Bio:

Christina Mandara was born in the UK, but has spent most of her life travelling the world. She speaks three languages and has been chiefly employed in the fields of finance and travel. Her favourite city is Sydney and her favourite holiday destination is the south of France.

She loves keeping fit and enjoys running, cycling and water sports. No, not those kinds of water sports; think surfing or sailing. That doesn’t mean that she doesn’t enjoy BDSM in all of its glorious forms, be that pony girls, bondage, edge play, orgasm denial or a damn good spanking. Her favourite item in the toy closet (a box simply isn’t big enough) is her riding crop.

In her spare time she’s usually cuddled up with a good book, exploring the countryside or baking in the kitchen. In fact, she loves her kitchen so much she’s one of few woman who wouldn’t mind being tied to it! Her first and foremost love is writing, however, and more often than not you’ll find her on a laptop spinning tales of romance, erotica or dark, paranormal fantasies.

Those in the BDSM world might wonder whether Ms Mandara is a top or a bottom. Is she currently training a herd of pony boys or is she stabled up, in full leather tack, with the pony girls? It’s a good question. Answers on a postcard please…

Giveaway:

1 x $20 Amazon Gift Card

1 x Complete eBook Series of Pony Tales (5 Books)

20 eBook Copies of Named and Shamed 

a Rafflecopter giveaway