Pages

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Author Charity Parkerson



He wants to tame her…
After losing his wife to her wild ways at a young age, Tristan moved on to follow a higher calling. He finds comfort in helping others and has no intention of inviting drama back into his life. That is, until temptation blows into town.

She wants to corrupt him…
Riley is a foul-mouthed, bad-tempered, and bitter soul. Down on her luck and on the run from another terrible decision, the last thing she needs is a soul-saving hottie pushing his way into her life.

But will they end up destroying each other?
Taming Riley becomes an obsession for Tristan. With his reputation on the line and Riley’s heart on the table, can Tristan find a way to keep both? It only takes a dash of desire to ignite a flame when this savior and sinner collide. But this is one inferno that could end up destroying them both.




Charity Parkerson is an award winning and multi-published author with Ellora's Cave Publishing, Indie Publishing House LLC, and Punk & Sissy Publications. Born with no filter from her brain to her mouth, she decided to take this odd quirk and insert it in her characters.

*Winner of 2, 2014 Readers' Favorite Awards
*2014 Golden Ankh Nominee
*2013 Readers' Favorite Award Winner
*2013 Reviewers' Choice Award Winner
*2012 ARRA Finalist for Favorite Paranormal Romance
*Five-time winner of The Mistress of the Darkpath



Saturday, December 6, 2014

Blog Tour with Carolyn Mathews





Transforming Pandora 

We meet Pandora at a crossroads in her life. Mike, her first love and second husband, has just died from a heart attack and she is feeling overwhelmed with grief. He was the love of her life, her soul mate, now she is questioning how she can go on without him. Her former employee talks her into attending a service at a spiritualist chapel where a clairvoyant tells her that Mike didn't suffer and that he loved her. Pandora takes all this with a grain of salt but, towards the end of the evening, a Higher Spirit comes through, instructing her to start meditating so she can connect with him. That evening, she begins to reflect on her past, returning in her thoughts to the 1970s, when her heart was broken for the first time. As with all things in life, particularly Pandora’s, everything happens for a purpose, especially when she has someone like Enoch, the mysterious spirit, leading her towards her ultimate destiny.

Fascinating, interesting, introspective and well written, this could be your story or someone else’s, but regardless, it is a story about coming of age, at whatever age that may be! ~Bluewolf



Squaring Circles
Free spirit Pandora, who has now become a sound healer, is shaken by the sudden death of her mother and puzzled by the appearance of a young stranger at the funeral. When her mother's grave is disturbed, she turns detective and finds herself drawn into a world of intrigue, centring round a devious couple's plot to exploit a healing circle for their own ends. Her partner Jay's collaboration with an attractive singer and her own encounter with an old flame add to the confusion. The twists and turns of her life begin to resemble the beautiful labyrinth in her garden, but will they lead to happiness or heartache?

'Squaring Circles' is a rich and delicious slice of modern British life, topped off with an intriguing dollop of paranormal whipped cream. This is a sequel to 'Transforming Pandora', and, like the first instalment, this is a novel of many characters and almost non-stop conversation, delightfully narrated by the protagonist, Pandora, now dabbling in sound healing. Most interestingly, she has a supernatural friend, Enoch, with whom she occasionally communicates via automatic writing. Pandora’s beautifully complicated modern family is depicted with such realism that the plethora of characters comes fully to life, and we feel happily included in the family. ~Ram Das Batchelder








Carolyn Mathews, who lives in south east England, started her writing career by producing reading books for English language learners. Since retiring from teaching, she's been inspired by an interest in the mystical to create contemporary fiction which she hopes will satisfy both the heart and the soul of the readers. Her husband, an ex-police officer, has no literary ambitions, but her two sons are both creative, the younger being a computer games producer and the older writing plays in his spare time. Her grandson, Henry, is only just learning to read and write, so who knows? She is flying the flag for all latecomers to fiction writing. "Don't let anyone tell you you're too old to start. Follow your dream, but don't expect miracles to fall out of the sky. Miracles happen, but they have to be accompanied by perspiration as well as inspiration!"


 

Friday, December 5, 2014

Blog Tour: Bird of Paradise with Author Claire Amber






Bird of Paradise (full cover)Description Rorschet Salavreech was raised to believe he was unworthy of beauty until he met his student and soul mate Tangora Desjardins, a six-year-old girl who has stolen his bruised heart and brought him to his knees. A delicate flower has been presented to someone who had only heard of it in stories and seen it in his dreams. How could he not gaze at it and wonder what it would feel like to touch it? Until the bud reveals its colorful petals to him, he must keep his trembling claws away from it. But is it not worth the wait? After all, the most beautiful flower is the one you've waited for to bloom before your very eyes.

Blurb A delicate flower has been presented to someone who had only heard of it in stories and seen it in his dreams. How could he not gaze at it and wonder what it would feel like to touch it?









Author Image (Claire Amber)     Author Bio Claire Amber is a young artist and literature enthusiast that seeks to perfect her craft and share her visions with the world. Her out-of-the-box way of thinking and immensely high levels of imagination will leave you wondering how someone was even able to think up the things you will see in her work. Having a thing for monster erotica, mystery and adventure, she mixes all three of those ingredients to bake some weird and high calorie cupcakes of literature and art.
Social Links
Where to buy links
??????  

Excerpt

 

Excerpt 1

Rorschet returned to the sanctuary of his thoughts again. He knew almost everything there was to know about dreams, but he still couldn’t help but feel that maybe both dreams were depicting reality. What if Tangora was the flower? The one tender little thing that didn’t say: “Don’t touch me.”, like she was repulsed by him. No. She said she didn’t want him to die. She let him hold her hand. She wanted to hold his hand. She looked up to him and trusted him to take care of her and not let her fall while they were flying. Then he remembered everyone else. The thorns that had enveloped him in the past. Father. Nina. He was patient with both of them. He sacrificed himself for them. He tried to reach out the first time and all he felt on his palm was a whip of a leather belt. He tried to reach out the second time and felt nothing. Only the cold wind. When his hand had given up and could reach out no more, someone reached out to him and pulled him out of the dark, empty well the world had thrown him in. But there was one other thing to consider. Who was the monster chasing after his dear student in her dreams?
- Dad? - she called out to him and placed her little talons onto his lap, unsure what’s wrong with him and why he’s staring blankly out into space.
Something snapped him out of it. Something… unpleasant.
- What did you just call me? - he looked up at her with disappointment in his eyes.
- Oh! I’m sorry! I mean… Sorry, sir. Are you okay, sir? - she corrected herself and sat back down again, staring at the ground to express her shame.
- Tangora, listen to me. - he raised his voice in frustration and grabbed hold of her shoulders.
Surprised and a bit scared, she looked up at him.
- Don’t ever call me that. Do you understand? Don’t think of me as your father.
- It slipped, sir. I’m sorry. - she stuttered a bit.
- I’m not your father, I’m not your brother and I’m not your master. - he said with anger channeling through him, but then he calmed down, let her go and sighed. - Think of me as your friend. I’m your friend.
- Okay… - she nodded, trying to avoid making eye contact with him.
- I’m sorry. I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean to say it like that. Please, forgive me. - he asked for her forgiveness and contemplated whether he should hold her to make things better or not.
Panic was starting to get to him. Her lips were shaking and her saddened eyes made him feel even worse for speaking to her in such an aggressive tone of voice. Then without a warning, the girl ran into his arms and hugged him. Tears were running down her warm cheeks and he could sense that she was crying because of the sound of her voice. The xarrin was caught off guard and froze for a few moments.
- I’m sorry. I didn’t wanna make you angry. Please don’t be mad at me. - she cried.
Rorschet gently placed his palms onto her back, feeling the softness of her luxuriant, brown and bronze-colored locks with orange tips decorating them. He thus hugged her back and closed his eyes, not knowing and not wanting to stop smiling.
- You did nothing wrong, child. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. I’m the one who should be sorry, not you. - he consoled her. - Don’t cry. When you’re upset, I’m upset too.
- Okay… - she sniffled and wiped the tears off her face. - I’m sorry… Please don’t be sad.
- Can I ask you to promise me one thing? - he pushed her away lightly, but still held her in his arms so that he could face her while he spoke to her.
- Yeah…? - she replied with traces of shiny tear drops still covering her innocent, round face.
- Keep smiling. You have a beautiful smile. It makes me proud to be able to call myself your mentor when others see what a beautiful smile you have. - the xarrin requested and wiped the rest of the water off her face with his sleeve.

Excerpt 2

It is still early, the second day of winter, and the snow has only lightly covered the surface of the earth. Temperatures haven’t dropped too low. As always, Rorschet liked to take this time to stroll around the barren land of the gardens in the early morning and enjoy the cool air against his bare torso while his robes were protecting his legs and keeping them warm. There was something on his mind though. He was thinking about when he should converse with the Divines and his deceased father and wife. Remembering his dream, he is now confident he will be able to conquer the demons within him, but that is not what is bothering him. How should he react when he sees his father and wife after so many years? What should he say? It certainly won’t be easy to start the conversation, but regardless, he needs their help if he is to be worthy of receiving the hand of the princess. And what happens afterward when he is purged of wretch? When Tangora turns twenty, he shall no longer be her master. How should he begin his courtship? He won’t be able to come up to her and simply tell her he loves her right away. Perhaps he should ask her to spend a little more time with him because he shall be too saddened by her departure to let her go. That almost sounds like a plan. Where should he take her? It is the final stretch. The sight of the finish line at the end of a marathon. Everything must be perfect to the very last detail. Though he wishes for much more than her lips, being humble might be his last hope if she rejects him. That way, there will still be a chance for her to change her mind. All of these years he’s had to watch her grow up into something beautiful and breathtaking. For all these years he’s been holding back. With each day it’s getting harder for him to resist the temptation of brushing his fingers against her delicious skin or breathing in the scent of her sweet, luxurious hair. The hunger was painful, yet it was wonderful. Hope was making it all the more delectable. Maybe he should write her a poem and keep it to himself until she knows about his feelings for her. A love song would be best, but anything he did now would be pointless, for it would only sate him for so long. Tangora’s poison has now spread though his veins and contaminated his mind. It’s too warm. Why is it so warm? The air is so thin. Rorschet threw himself onto the cold ground and felt relief as he took a deep breath. Love sort of feels like a fever. A disease that acts like a drug as it spreads through your body. However, once infected, a blow to the heart is usually a fatal one, but Rorschet has no worries. Tangora is the best person a man could trust with his heart. Just thinking about her is making him feel as carefree as a child, talking to himself and pretending to be hallucinating like he doesn’t care if someone sees him and thinks he’s out of his mind. He feels too good to keep silent.
- What are you thinking about, little dove? - he spoke whilst smiling and staring up at the clouds that were floating through the sky. - Who’s on your mind when you look yourself in the mirror and touch your pearly skin? Are your hands still cold? I wish I could hold them and keep them warm for you.

Excerpt 3

Sepulcher Most Divine
Here lies a little boy,
Covered by his sheets in dread and fear.
His heart will beat once more with joy,
When the footsteps he can no longer hear.
An angel came and helped him stand,
Broke his iron mask and bloody chains.
She did not shudder when she touched the hand
Of a corpse that no longer in its grave remains.
Then came a day when his flower they stole,
His waking demons he could not shun.
With no one to keep his spirit whole,
He became his father’s son.
Here lies a blessed man,
Bathed in light that shan’t cease to shine.
Wishing to stay for as long as he can
In the sepulcher most divine.

Book Soundtrack

Angel in Disguise - Musiqq
La La La - Naughty Boy feat. Sam Smith
When We Stand Together - Nickelback
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76RbWuFll0Y]
For the First Time in Forever - Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel
Wonder - Naughty Boy feat. Emeli Sandé
Prayer - Hayley Westenra
A Neverending Dream - Cascada
Into the Night - Chad Kroeger feat. Santana
Lady Marmalade - Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, Pink
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQa7SvVCdZk]
Lullaby - Nickelback
Ghost - Ella Henderson
Euphoria - Loreen

Top Ten Animated Feature Films

1. Beauty and the Beast
My favorite and the most beautiful love story of all time. I really identify with Belle and have always adored the concept of a monster or beast being in a romantic relationship with a human woman. No matter how many times I watch it it still makes me cry when the beast says that he loves Belle. I've even seen the play as a child. No story will ever be as good as this one for me. I love it, I feel it and I breathe it.
2. Kung Fu Panda
The humor was just out of this world. Especially the opening. The animation and all the action is also outstanding. I've watched the first movie and the sequel which is also pretty damn good. Now I can't wait for the 3rd movie to come out!
3. Monster House
As a kid, I've watched the version which was synchronized to my mother tongue and it just blew my mind when I heard people swearing in an animated movie. Also, the kid that did the voice of Chowder was incredible. I can't stress that enough. I adored his performance in that movie.
4. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
A very adult animated movie. Very strong and dark. The voice acting and animation, it was spectacularly good. The only thing I really hated was those comic relief gargoyles. They really ruined the mood of the movie at times and I hate them for trying to" brighten up" such a brilliant, dark story. I found them insulting that way.
5. Wreck-It Ralph
The animation and the story was so captivating that it totally made me miss the most obvious clue that would have revealed to me who the villain was going to end up being. That's how good it was. I'm usually the one to always predict the twist endings in movies, but this movie intrigued me so much that I failed to do that. Well played, Wreck-It Ralph. Well played.
6. The Princess and the Frog
Louisiana voodoo? Oh yeah! The music was pretty darn good and the villain was epic! As a voodoo fan, I've really grown to like him. Also, the dancing scene with Tiana and Naveen was just adorable.
7. Lilo & Stitch
A cherished childhood memory. Also, I used to think Pleakley was kinda hot.
8. Kronk's New Groove
Another cherished childhood memory that made me fall in love with the voice of Patrick Warburton. Amazing voice actor.
9. Monster High: 13 Wishes
The voice actress of Gigi is astounding. The way she portrays her voice is honey for my ears. Plus, I really enjoyed the villain, Gigi's shadow. She was also creepy at times, but in a really good way. This movie was really great because of the psychological observation of the characters such as Gigi, her sister, Cleo and Clawdeen. It's superior compared to... ugh... Welcome to Hauntlywood... They really lowered their standards. I mean really lowered them. From a movie like 13 Wishes that had a great story, great characters that had complexity, they went to a movie with 70% marketing new toys, 20% comic relief and 10% garbage. Compared to the brilliance of 13 Wishes, Welcome to Hauntlywood was simply heinous.
10. The Book of Life
Although I haven't seen it yet, based on the trailer, I gave it 10th place because of the epic animation, awesome voice acting and the fact that I adore Dia de los Muertos.
   
  Sepulcher Most Divine (illustrated poem)    
HTMLcode