Straight Reading from the Library: Beautiful Evil Winter by Kelly K. Lavender

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Kelly K. Lavender will be awarding $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

READ THE BLURB

After the USSR collapses, a time reminiscent of the unforgiving gun-slinging days of the frontier west, mild-mannered Ethan and fiery Sophia board a plane bound for Russia. They hope to prevail with their homespun plan to secure their son's safe passage to America. What can go wrong? Maybe, an innocent ill fated encounter with the Mafia or maybe, being marked as a target for mob revenge. Perhaps, having to rely on a first-time adoption coordinator to complete the process and shelter them from harm. Honestly, what won't go wrong?

Inspired by a true story, Beautiful Evil Winter triumphs as epic historical fiction about the human capacity for hope, the traumas that shape our lives and the hardships we'll endure for love.

READ AN EXCERPT

“I’m too tired to talk.” Turning away from him, I grab a blanket and reposition my entire body as close as possible to Ethan’s seat.

“Okay, well, I’ll get comfortable. Must finish my movie,” he announces as he shifts around in his seat and loosens his tie.

From the corner of my semi-closed eye, I see him push off his shoes and remove his socks. Wiggling his now naked toes, he grabs his iPad and powers it on.

Gathering the blanket closer, I relax and try to drift away.

“Aw, Melissa, moan for me, “ a breathless male pleas as he grunts.

“Yes, yes, that’s it!” A female pants in reply.

A glance reveals more than I want to see, a totally naked couple pleasuring each other.

I feel my cheeks redden with anger. There are children on this flight!

As I glance across the aisle, I see a Mom hugging a toddler acutely aware. Her sour expression says it all as she positions her child’s head in the direction of the seat window. Re-adjusting my body, I turn to face him, carefully choosing my words.

“Look, you may enjoy that movie, but a lot of people wouldn’t—especially the parents of children on this plane. If you’ll angle your screen toward the window and turn the volume down or use your ear plugs, I think several passengers will be grateful.”

“Mind your own business, bitch! I’ll watch whatever I want in the seat I paid for!” His eyes gleam. He enjoys this too much.

In my peripheral vision, I can see slack-jawed Mom across the aisle, her toddler now in the arms of his Dad. Her gripping hand like a talon, flexing as waves of rage engulf her. I see fury fill her eyes and heart—morphing her into a predator and a protector of her young.

Gripping the hand rest, I reach up for the call button. Immediately, his hand covers mine.

“You didn’t say that you don’t like porn,” he says with a smile as his hand squeezes mine.

My eyes glitter with cold, hard hate—hate as tangible as a slab of black marble. Hate that maims and kills, without regret.

“Let me be clear,” I hiss.

“Your movie disgusts me as much as you do! Leave me alone, and don’t talk to me!”

Turning my upper body away from him, I grab a pillow and blanket—positioning myself toward Ethan and away from him.

“And I let my fingers do the walking walking walking—all the way up your back.”

With unbridled fury, I turn and slap him with the force of my pent-up anger—anger at his moronic behavior, anger at having to sit on the tarmac for two hours and anger at having to deal with idiocy all along this journey.

Chuckling, he touches his now red-striped cheek.

I glance over at Ethan for help, but he’s still comatose, only a gunshot wound would wake him up.

Where’s that flight attendant? I did manage to push the button.

Some little kid is crying in the background. The 5-year-old girl adjacent to us is wearing white socks splattered with dirt. She’s picking her nose and staring at us in wide-eyed wonder.

Finally, a tall, heavyset flight attendant hurries down the aisle looking irate.

“What’s going on here?” he demands. 
In a well rehearsed move, he kicks Ethan’s boot to wake him.

“What? Why did you kick me?” Ethan whines as he rubs his eyes, finally looking back and forth between me and Brightly. “Good God, what’s going on here?”


“I was just asking myself the same thing,” says the flight attendant, shooting daggers at me.

Clearly, he thinks this is all my fault.

Rising to his feet and stepping into the aisle, Ethan blinks in disbelief, then grabs my arm and yanks me out of my seat to stand beside him.

“Are you ok?”


I nod, my lips trembling.

READ THE REVIEW   I chose the above excerpt to illustrate an issue I had with this book.  The book takes place shortly after the breakup of the USSR (1991).  However, the iPad, which is mentioned in the excerpt, was first released in 2010.  While the rest of the story appears to largely accurate, the placement of an iPad being used on the plane to stream porn via the plane's internet in the early 1990s was anachronistic. Since it occurred at the beginning of the story, it did color my enjoyment moving forward and perhaps made me even more sensitive to editing issues than I'm already prone to be.

Most of the errors were minor and could have easily been fixed with editing.  For example, run on sentences ("This is your pilot I apologize for the delay." p.10), punctuation errors (“He’s out cold.” Between the screaming baby and me trying to wedge past him, he hasn’t moved an inch.” p. 11), point of view errors (My eyes glitter with cold, hard hate—hate as tangible as a slab
of black marble. p. 13), issues with unnecessary capitals (Vice President, Presidential p. 30),  sentence fragments (Growing up, a repair tech never called and never needed. p. 30).  There were incidents like these throughout the book.

That said, the story itself was enthralling.  The main couple, Sophia and Ethan, were as different as night and day from each other.  She is very strong and aggressive; he is very non-confrontational. There is a lot of growth with them as they go through this adventure together - Ethan begins to get a backbone, and Sophia gentles a bit. 

 The story is told with several flashbacks that explain how they met, an accident that happened to Sophia that made it impossible for her to have children of her own, things leading up to the adoption itself.

The best scene in the book is the bar scene - it's not only the black moment which puts them on the radar of the Russian mafia, it's also where you can best see the growth in Ethan.

The book is based on the author's own trip to Russia to adopt her son. Thankfully, based on the book club questions at the end of the book, her own trip was less eventful than Sophia and Ethan's.  But, the heart of the story, the love the main characters have for their son, and the difficulties they are willing to go through to get him ring true and that is what makes this book worth reading despite the editing issues. 


MEET THE AUTHOR

Kelly’s fascination with fiction began in middle school when she entered a book-reading contest and won. As an ardent fan of the resonating narrative and the cliffhanger, she decided to dedicate herself to becoming a skilled writer. When college professors spotlighted her writing in the classroom, it anchored her interest in becoming a novelist.

After earning a business degree, she continued to pursue her education at UCLA, via the UCLA Writers' Extension Program, where her work earned praise from an Award-Winning Author. A rickety project trip to Russia, to adopt a baby boy, provided the inspiration for her debut novel, Beautiful Evil Winter.

Awards:

READERS’ FAVORITE INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS
Beautiful Evil Winter a 2014 Triple Genre Finalist: Fiction-Suspense, Fiction-Thriller-General and Romance Sizzle! Readers’ Favorite receives entries from small presses, celebrities and New York Times Best-Selling Authors. Beautiful Evil Winter earned more accolades with READERS FAVORITE INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS by securing a place in the Winners' Circle for the mega category—Fiction Suspense.

THE ERIC HOFFER AWARDS honored Beautiful Evil Winter by selecting it for the Winners' Circle-Commercial Fiction! The Hoffer Award honors "...writing of significant merit..."

The NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARDS chose Beautiful Evil Winter as a New Fiction Finalist!

DAN POYNTER'S GLOBAL EBOOK AWARDS placed Beautiful Evil Winter in the Winners' Circle for Fiction-Suspense

Plenty, my second novel, also earned distinction as a DAN POYNTER'S 2016 GLOBAL EBOOK AWARD BRONZE MEDALIST-FICTION SUSPENSE.

Award-Winning Novels:

Beautiful Evil Winter
Plenty

Organizations:

Writers’ League of Texas
UCLA Writers’ Extension Program
Buy the book at Amazon.

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Straight Reading from the Library: Sonar the Cyclone by B. Truly

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a Swag Pack: 1 Sonar The Cyclone e-book, 1 Sonar The Cyclone photo magnet and 1 Sonar pen to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

READ THE BLURB

Is your destiny determined by what the future has foretold? Or is fate deemed in the hands of what you behold?

The Royal 4 are now back on their home territory of Nazari, determined to get things back to normal. Syira’s forbidden love is being held captive. She is hell-bent on fighting for him despite the immense obstacles. She must find a way to convince her race that Kadeem is not dangerous. Their threat lies from deeper within.

Shiray has accepted her past and is moving forward with her life, but it comes back to haunt her tenfold. That all changes when she stumbles across the truth. Now, she must pick up the pieces of her shattered life.

They are in the calm but know when they approach the dirty side of the Cyclone storm, terrible things will unravel. The future is revealed and they get a glimpse of Fate’s course. Time is not on their side. They must attempt to change their destiny or their world will be doomed.

READ THE REVIEW

Sonar the Cyclone follows the events in Sonar the Crashing and parallels some of the events in Melanie's Evanescent Journey (links are to our reviews of those titles). I experienced a sense of deja vu when I got to the parallel action (in fact, I had to go back to my copies of the other books to check it out)-- this time, however, we get Melanie's rescue told in more detail from Kadanan's point of view.

Unfortunately, the same issues are in this book as in the other two--but there is still a good story under those issues and a lot more action in this book than in Sonar the Crashing.

The action picks up from the end of Sonar the Crashing and I think it would be good for people to read the two Sonar books before reading Melanie's Evanescent Journey -- it's not really part of the trilogy, but more of a companion book. The conflict between the Kadanans and the Polars is really heating up and there's actually been a vision that there could be a lot of deaths. We have here the preparations for the war that is to come in the third book of the trilogy, coming this summer. And, I'll need to find out what happens to the characters in these books.

I hope the author fixes some of the issues in the books as she prepares for the release of Sonar The Surge. 3 stars. READ AN EXCERPT

My stomach roiled. I hadn’t been able to sleep well for weeks since I’d seen that glimpse of the future. But Tara told me she hadn’t gotten any more from it. She said that meant we had time. It didn’t provide much comfort. I needed to put that away for later; today I had an important meeting. Kadeem had been locked up for five months, and I finally convinced my father to speak with him. We were going to meet with him in his study. Being honest about Kadeem would be the only way to earn his trust. I knocked on the door to my father’s study.

“Come in,” he bellowed.

I opened the door and strolled inside. “They should be bringing him in shortly,” my father said.

I took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. John, my father’s second in command, was standing to the side of his desk. He was so still you could mistake him for a statue. My mouth was very dry as I tried to swallow. I just wanted to get this meeting over with. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

“Yes,” my father said.

Sharaf and Tazman came through the door, each holding Kadeem by his arm, each arm in handcuffs.

“Sit him in the chair,” my father commanded.

I gave Kadeem a smile, which he returned. Sonar, how I missed him! Then he fidgeted in the chair. Kadeem was nervous too—it surprised me. He rarely was.

“So what is it you wanted to discuss with me, Syira?” my father asked.

I cleared my throat. “Kadeem has been very cooperative for the last several months. I wanted to discuss giving him some form of freedom.”

My father stared at me impassively, but I continued, “Kadeem and I wanted to discuss a secret.”

“And what secret might that be?”

“Kadeem could have escaped at any time. He has not, because he wanted to prove his loyalty to you. He has a great power.” John, Sharaf, and Tazman seemed intrigued now by what I was saying. “He can teleport whenever he pleases.”

“Teleport?” my father asked, raising his brow.

“Kadeem,” I said, glancing over at him.

Kadeem inclined his head to me and vanished.

MEET THE AUTHOR

B Truly has wanted to be an author since she was fifteen years old and is grateful to have accomplished this dream. She has very vivid dreams and a wild imagination. She likes to read, watch tons of TV shows, and movies. She is addicted to romance and gets a thrill out of action and suspense. She writes New Adult, Fantasy, Sci-fi, and Paranormal-Romance.

In the Sonar series, B Truly said, “It was fun to explore different elements of Sci-fi romance and create various realms of powers for my characters. I want to show my readers that Sci-fi can be fun, but also traumatic. I hope you guys enjoy the Sonar Series.”

B Truly has three wonderful children and a husband who defines the person she is today. She works full-time as an Ultrasound technologist in Sugarland, Texas.

Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Sonar-Cyclone-Book-2-ebook/dp/B010KSGID4/ref
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/554705
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25840468-sonar-the-cyclone
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSonarSeries

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Straight Reading from the Library: Melanie's Evanescent Journey by B. Truly

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. B. Truly will be awarding $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner (international winner) and 1 Sonar The Crashing photo magnet, 1 Sonar The Crashing pen, 2 Melanie's Evanescent Journey book marks, and 1 e-book copy of Melanie's Evanescent Journey in PDF, e-pub, or mobi formats to one randomly drawn winner (US only) via Rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

READ THE BLURB

True Love may cost a price, if the greater good preordains that you are the sacrifice.

There are always two sides to a story. Melanie Wilhelm's begins after she moves from Australia and starts her senior year at Cashmere High. On her first day, she bumps into a mysterious guy, and they form an instant connection. They become friends and he shares his deepest secret with her. As they grow closer, their relationship amplifies and becomes binding. Strange things occur, but instead of worrying, Melanie's feelings intensify.

The excitement of New Year's Eve approaches, and so does Jason's most devastating revelation of all. She learns his ultimate truth and is now spun into his chaotic web. The danger rises and hard choices must be made. By being with Jason, Melanie may have to sacrifice more than her heart. It may cost her life.

Melanie's Evanescent Journey ties into books one and two of The Sonar Trilogy. From spiraling twists to devastating plots, her journey will make you question fate and true love.

Is fate something you can control? Some believe it's in the hands of what you behold.

READ THE REVIEW

This is the second book of the Sonar trilogy by B. Truly. The first book, Sonar the Crashing, was reviewed here.

Where Sonar the Crashing tells the story from Shiray/Paige's and Syira/Harmony's points of view, this tells the story from Melanie's POV. Even though it's the second book in the trilogy, it could be read as a stand-alone; however, due to the nature of the book, if the reader is not familiar with the first book, it could be seen that Shiray's appearance and subsequent results might read a little rushed.

It was interesting to get "the other side of the story" and to see the fallout that occurs when the truth is revealed. Then, just when you think the story is over, we jump a few years and Melanie finds herself a pawn in a game she didn't know she was playing. And, the action begins.

Again, I feel the book could have used an editor's touch--especially in the realm of world-building once we are in the second half of the book. Some of the actions and the settings just didn't seem to ring quite true in the realm of science fiction--such as sending a telegram between warring factions. There was a bit too much acceptance on the part of Melanie, especially after what she and Jason had gone through as a couple.

However, it did not take away much from the enjoyment of the book, which I finished in one reading. It was easy to get pulled into the characters' world and to hurt with Melanie as she learns the truth. As with the first book, I could so see this as a graphic novel. It would also translate well to television (although in that case, I would combine book one and two and show the action concurrently).

There's still a third book in the trilogy to come. I'm interested to see what happens next. 3 stars.

READ AN EXCERPT

Work was busy this evening and it was a welcome distraction. I worked as a waitress with Ebony at the Burger Grill. It was a small, family-owned diner. It had been around for over forty years. Ebony had gotten me on a few weeks ago.

“How was your day?” Ebony asked as we were putting our aprons on.

“I’m getting used to the flow of school. How was yours?”

“It will be better once this shift is over. I’m bloated and cramping today.”

“Did you take some medicine?”

“Yes, but it hasn’t kicked in yet. Any luck with J?”

“Not sure. We talked some.”

“At least he is talking with you. It’s a good sign.”

“I hope so.”

“People are getting seated in our sections. We’d better get to our tables,” she said.

We tended to our tables, and around an hour later, Ebony tapped me on my shoulder.

“Look what the cat dragged in. I sat him in your section,” she said and giggled. I saw Jason across the room, sitting with his brother and sister.

“Thanks a lot,” I said, sarcastically. Now I would have to face him again.

“You’re welcome,” she replied still laughing and walked off.

I took in a deep breath and went to their table.

“Hi guys, I’m Melanie. What can I get for you this evening?”

Jason looked up in surprise and blushed slightly, making my stomach do a somersault. Their sister said, “Hi Melanie. We get to formally meet now, I’m Harmony. And I will have a Coke.”

She and her brother did look exactly alike. “Are you guys twins?” I blurted out.

“Yes,” her brother replied. “Nice to meet you, Melanie. I’m Jaden. How do you like Cashmere so far?”

“It’s okay, but slightly different from school in Australia.”

“I love your accent,” Jaden said.

“Thanks.” Jaden was handsome, but his brother was gorgeous.

“Melanie, how long have you been working here? My siblings and I come here often,” Jason interrupted and appeared to give his brother an evil glare.

“For just a few weeks.”

He looked like wanted to ask something else but didn’t.

“What can I get you guys to drink?” I didn’t want to stand there making goo-goo eyes at him.

“I will have a Coke,” Jaden said.

“And I will have a Sprite,” Jason replied.

“Coming right up.”

I brought them back their drinks, took their food order, and took care of my other tables. A little while later Ebony stood next to me, waiting on her order.

“I’ve noticed he keeps staring at you.”

“Who?”

“You know who. Jason.”

“Don’t you have tables to tend to?” I replied playfully.

“I just thought you should know.”

She winked at me and took her food order. He was eating a French fry. Gosh, he even looked sexy doing that. He caught my eye and signaled for me to come over.

“We’d like the check, please,” Harmony said.

“Sure,” I answered, pulling out the bill and placing it on the table.

“So Melanie, are you seeing anyone?” Jaden asked.

Excuse me! He was very direct. I had just met him. Harmony giggled, and Jason turned red. I cleared my throat. “No, not at the moment. Why?”

“Maybe we can hang out sometimes,” he replied with a smile. He leaned back and folded his arms behind his head, waiting for an answer. Harmony was amused, and Jason looked aggravated.

“Um no. Absolutely not.”

“Geez, well why not?”

“Because Ebony’s my friend first off, and second, I have my eye on someone else.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you guys were friends,” he replied, looking remorseful.

“Yeah, we are good friends,” I said, walking off.

I went to the kitchen and glanced back at their table. Harmony and Jason were laughing. Jaden appeared annoyed. Served him right. It was obvious he thought he was Mr. Casanova.

“What was Jaden talking to you about?” Ebony asked.

“Nothing much, the usual. He noticed my accent and wondered where I was from,” I lied. I wasn’t about to tell her he was flirting. He did apologize when he realized we were friends though, so maybe he wasn’t a total douche. I glanced back over to my section, but they were gone.

* * *

After my shift I stopped at the corner store. There were only a few cars in the parking lot, and no one in sight. I headed to my car, and hit the alarm. Before I could get the door open someone grabbed me from behind. I struggled against them, and fought with all my might, but he dragged me into the side alley. Another person charged from the side, and then something hit me in the head. I fell to the ground, and touched my throbbing wound. It was dark with only the side light from the building, so I couldn’t see the blood clearly. But I could feel the liquid stickiness on my fingers. I squinted in the dim light, straining to see my attackers, but I couldn’t see any facial features. They were blurry. They appeared to be males with short hair, and their broad body frame.

“Leave me alone!”

One man’s response was a kick to my stomach. I gasped and cringed in pain. Why was this happening to me? I had been told that burglaries and assault hardly ever happened on this side of town. Me and my rotten luck were going to make the crime rate sky rocket. Taking a deep breath, I gathered my courage, and tried to get up. One of the men pushed me back down. I saw an object in his hand, the silver color bounced off of the light. It was a knife. I had to find a way out of this. Heat pulsed through my body as I glared into his eyes. And fear consumed me with the black depths of them, dark as midnight. The other man held me down, and I fought to get out of his grasp. The one with the blade leaned closer to me. He didn’t have on a mask, but I still couldn’t make out his features. He was faceless. He thrust the blade against my neck. The pain was sharp, and tears sprang into my eyes.

“Please stop! Why are you doing this?”

He snorted. “Because the greater good has preordained it.”

Before I could contemplate his strange explanation he slit the knife against my throat.

MEET THE AUTHOR

I have wanted to be an author since I was fifteen years old and I'm grateful to have accomplished this dream. I have three wonderful children and a husband who defines the person I am today.

I have very vivid dreams and a wild imagination. I like to read and watch tons of TV shows and movies. I’m addicted to romance and get a thrill out of action and suspense. I write New Adult, Fantasy, Sci-fi, and Paranormal-Romance.

In the Sonar series it was fun to explore different elements of Sci-fi romance and create various realms of powers for my characters. I want to show my readers that Sci-fi can be fun, but also traumatic. I hope you guys enjoy the Sonar Series.

Website: http://www.TheSonarTrilogy.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSonarSeries?ref=hl
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19347230-melanie-s-evanescent-journey
Buy the book for only $0.99 at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Smashwords.

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Straight Reading from the Library: The North Country Confessional by Craig C. Charles

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Craig will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

READ THE BLURB

Family roots, teachings, and tradition permeate Darby Weeks’s existence despite a two decades old decision to walk away from a life of privilege. They have given him the courage to survive under impossible conditions, but the most challenging of them all comes from an unexpected place: his return home. As heinous crimes peppered with riddles begin to plague the North Country, Darby's reappearance back home sparks an old rivalry between two families, releasing an evil to wreck vengeance upon everything around them. Darby's proposal of a truce between them not only fails to appease the rival family’s thirst for retribution; it fuels it. And the town of Bretton Woods lies between the two when old passions ignite and set forth new determinations to win an old struggle.

Reunited with an old flame and guided by a pompous blowhard, Darby sets out on a journey to learn the truth about his family’s past and their ancient blood feud with a ruthless industrialist. Darby’s quest leads him all over New England, from the rare books library at Dartmouth College to Author’s Ridge - the final resting place of the literary greats Thoreau, Hawthorne, and Emerson. Darby discovers family he’s never known and an insidious danger lurking in the arms of a rekindled love.

READ THE REVIEW

The North Country Confessional is a romantic suspense/mystery with some really good points and a few points that didn't quite work for me. It had a Da Vinci Code quality with the main characters following clues in the form of riddles that have been left for him.

The main issue was one of characterization. The two main characters, Darby and Emily, are not quite as fully developed as they could be. Even though the book was in Darby's point of view, it was hard to feel like we really got to know him. He didn't seem to really know how he felt himself. Internally, he was dreading going back to Bretton Wood because he was afraid they would make a big deal over him being a war hero. However, he went to dinner wearing his dress uniform plus his medal (and, I might be wrong, but I didn't think that veterans could wear their dress uniform except for specific occasions).

Emily is supposed to be the leader of a multimedia corporation, yet she acts more like a teenager with Darby- sticking her tongue out at him and punching him in the arm. She also blows hot and cold with him emotionally and physically. We find out toward the end of the book what the issue is there, but it's hard to garner any sympathy towards her. She just didn't ring true to me as a character.

On the other hand, and the reason I could not put the book down despite the two characters-- this author has written an excellent mystery. Like I said in the beginning, it reminded me a bit of Dan Brown's works, with the main characters having to figure out what's going on from clues throughout the story. My favorite character, Silas, was instrumental in helping Darby discover what was going on. The action was quick paced and kept me involved in the storyline.

The descriptions in the book were also well done. I could "see" myself in the different locations (and I loved the rare book section!)

The author's writing style is also exceptional. He has a way with phrasing that is almost lyrical and it was a pure pleasure just to read the book because of this. I would be willing to read more from this author. 3 stars.

MEET THE AUTHOR

I'm a native New Englander. I grew up in the sleepy shoreline community of Madison, CT. After graduating from high school in the late 80's, I headed out West and spent a wonderful six years living in, exploring, and getting lost in the deserts of Arizona. After earning my B.S. from Arizona State University, I headed back East trying to find my path in life.

I found myself trying out MANY different careers. I learned the art of audio engineering and worked at a major recording studio in Manhattan for a while. I learned the nuances of fine wine from a wonderful South African man and sold libations in his high-end store. I sold power transmission equipment as a manufacturer's rep in the Northeast. Next I ventured into the publishing world when I signed on with Yankee Magazine working in their Community Partners Program. It was here at Yankee's headquarters in Dublin, NH that I fell in love with the art of writing and beauty of the Great North Woods of New Hampshire. I met tremendous people and embarked on my own quest to write an engaging mystery novel set in New England. However, I couldn't ignore the internal pull I felt to work with young people. I went back to school and earn a Masters of Education degree and embarked on a career as a special education teacher working primarily with autistic children. This has been my main profession for the past 14 years as I continued to write and work towards mastering the craft of writing. I love the creative process of writing and editing.

In short, I'm a life long learner who continues to absorb all I can about the world around me.

Author Website: www.craigccharles.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GraniteWriter
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23792751-the-north-country-confessional?from_search=true

Buy the book at Amazon.

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Straight Reading From the Library: Sonar the Crashing by B. Truly

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding 3 book marks (1Sonar, and 2 different Melanie, the companion novel book marks), 1 Sonar The Crashing pen, $15 Amazon gift card, Sonar The Crashing e-book (e-pub, mobi, or pdf) (US ONLY) to randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour, and 3 book marks (1 Sonar, and 2 different Melanie, the companion novel book marks) and a Sonar The Crashing pen to randomly drawn hosts. Additionally, Goddess Fish Productions will be awarding a $5 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn host.

READ THE BLURB

Is it more than déjà vu? With the Romeland family it may be destined to be true.

Life on Earth is not the only place where devastation occurs and hard choices must be made.

The Royal 4 of Kadan live in the Sonar galaxy three million light years from Earth. They travel to Earth to obtain the resources they need to give their world a fighting chance.

Their mission is compromised and they’re faced with life changing events. They have amnesia and no memory of their past. Strange dreams start to occur. They wonder if it’s more than a dream, or is it déjà vu? The mind is a complex mystery. Amnesia is a secret unknown. The role it manifests in these characters’ lives is a catastrophic cyclone.

Shiray is frantic when she is the first to find out about their true destiny and that the love of her life no longer remembers who she is. She must find a way to restore her family before all is lost.

They must prevail because the fate of their planet lies in their hand.

READ THE REVIEW

This book as an interesting premise:  four teens from another planet crash lands on our planet and have no idea who they are.-- until they start having strange, shared dreams.

The characters were interesting.  The story is told in first person from the point of view of both Shiray/Paige and Syira/Harmony, which at times can get confusing until you realize which is talking. And, they all have a desire to learn who they are.  Syira and her brothers, though, have settled into their new environment well--even to the point of developing friendships and love interests, which leads to some of the conflicts in the story. 

There were some editing issues that I had trouble getting past--misspelled words, awkward phrasing, etc. The prologue, while it told about the crash and the planet these four are from, detracted from the story, in my opinion. As a reader, I would have preferred to jump right into the action and find out along with the characters what was going on.  And, as I have said, the first person POV with more than one character didn't quite work for me.

However, the author does present a well-thought out world to start this new series.  There was a lot of action, especially in the second half of the book  I was invested enough in the characters to want to find out what happened to them. Actually, this book would have made an interesting graphic novel, and I could see it as the premise for a SyFy series.  3 stars.

READ AN EXCERPT

Title: Waking Dream
 

That night I had the scariest dream of them all. I opened my eyes, and I was in a spacecraft going through the atmosphere of a dark planet. I walked into the cock pit and there was my guy. I could feel my cheeks flush. There were also four other women and six other men, all around my age. My guy smiled at me.

“Are you ready? We have to hurry. A storm is on the way,” he said. The huge door to the ship opened. It looked like the opening to the back of a cargo ship. I gasped in disbelief. The sky outside the ship was black, and all we could see was water. The men shined the light in the water and threw down a net.

“Don’t be scared, Sweetheart,” my guy said. “We’re very low on food, and there is no telling how long this storm will last.” I smiled at him. Suddenly the wind started howling, like a wind I had never heard before. It sounded like a freight train. The water started forming huge waves and the ship started rocking.

“We have to hurry! The storm is coming in fast, and it will take us down if we don’t get out of here!” one of the men yelled. A huge wave rose up and washed over the ship. “Everyone grab a hold whole of something!” somebody screamed. “I’m taking off!”

Then another huge wave washed over the ship. I tried to grab a hold of something, but the pressure was too strong. I was too close to the door, and fell out. We were high up, and it took me a while before I hit the water. I went deep under. The water was so cold; it felt like knives were stabbing me all over my body. I tried to swim to the surface, remembering I knew how, but it was like the pressure was keeping me down. I had never felt so scared before. Then I saw him and he grabbed me. He had a rope around his waist. He tugged on it, and it started pulling us up. Before we reached the surface I could no longer hold my breath. Water came gushing into my mouth, and I couldn’t breathe. Oh my God, I can’t breathe! My mind screamed. My body started jerking. I was frantic, and we still had not reached the surface. The next thing I saw was darkness.

I heard voices. “She’s coming to! She’s coming to!” I opened my eyes slowly. I felt pressure on my chest; I turned quickly on my side and started coughing up water and gasping for air. Everyone started laughing and sighing in relief. I looked up, and my guy was leaning over me. He must have revived me. He was crying and laughing. He grabbed me into his arms. “You scared me. I thought I’d lost you,” he said.

“Thank you,” I said, hugging him. I felt relieved to be in his arms.

“We’ve made it out of Hydrocesis atmosphere safely. Let’s head home.” I heard a man say.

Then I jolted awake, and quickly sat up in my bed. I was sweating profusely. This was no regular dream; this was a waking dream. I could still feel the pressure in my lungs and the taste of salt water in my mouth. My skin felt wet, and I was cold. I started sobbing. Who was I? Where did I come from? I needed answers and stayed awake for the rest of the night, my mind astir. Everything was a blur.

MEET THE AUTHOR

I have wanted to be an author since I was fifteen years old and I'm grateful to have accomplished this dream. I have three wonderful children and a husband who defines the person I am today.

I have very vivid dreams and a wild imagination. I like to read and watch tons of TV shows and movies. I’m addicted to romance and get a thrill out of action and suspense. I write New Adult, Fantasy, Sci-fi, and Paranormal-Romance.

In the Sonar series it was fun to explore different elements of Sci-fi romance and create various realms of powers for my characters. I want to show my readers that Sci-fi can be fun, but also traumatic. I hope you guys enjoy the Sonar Series.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22031096-sonar-the-crashing
http://www.amazon.com/Sonar-Crashing-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B00IZ4VNYA/ref=sr_1_1?
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sonar-the-crashing-b-truly/1119170040?
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/427440
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Sonar-Series/284038358428864
http://www.thesonartrilogy.com/
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