My Book is mentioned at USAtoday.com

I am thrilled to find my latest release,

MY RELUCTANT HIGHLANDER,

mentioned in the

Happy Ever After

section of

USAtoday. com

Scroll down to the Paranormal Historicals section. Toot! Toot!

Nancy Lee Badger

Nancy Lee Badger Interviews Eric R Johnston

Author Eric R. Johnston stopped by and answered a few intimate questions. Welcome Eric.

Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.

Children of Time is a dark fantasy/science fiction novel that is a wild ride, taking place both in the “real” world and a dark, hellish realm. This book is intended as a stand-alone novel, but it can also be considered a third part in a series also comprising of my novels An Inner Darkness and A Light in the Dark. In Children of Time, readers will experience with the characters what it is like to all but lose one’s mind. What is real? What isn’t? Suspense is the name of the game as the reader will be gripping their e-readers so tightly their fingers become embedded in the plastic (or in the cover, assuming one is still reading actual books). Children of Time also takes up the ambiguous fate of the villain from An Inner Darkness and A Light in the Dark to offer readers of those novels an opportunity to see what happens to him, while also offering an entry point for readers unfamiliar with my work.

Describe the genre of this particular title, and is the only genre you write in?

As stated above, I place this book in two different genres, dark fantasy and science fiction. I enjoy mixing genres. My first novel, Harvester: Ascension, is a science fiction thriller, and my next two—An Inner Darkness and A Light in the Dark—are urban fantasy. My fourth, 9111 Sharp Road, is YA horror. With this one, I decided to go much darker than before. I was going for something that had the strangeness of Ray Bradbury with the darkness of Stephen King. Having said that, I believe even if dark novels aren’t necessarily 

Author Eric R. Johnston

your thing, you may find yourself enjoying it immensely. Paranormal romance writer Kathi S. Barton recently read Children of Time and described it as “A book that isn't my usual cup of tea but had me staying up way past my bedtime…. I've never been so drawn in and so captivated by a book in my life.”

When did you start writing toward publication?

My first effort toward writing a publishable novel started in October of 2009 when my friend Andrew Utley and I outlined the idea for what eventually became Harvester: Ascension. While searching for a publisher for that book, I wrote An Inner Darkness.

Why have you become a published author?

For as long as I can remember I wanted to be an author. Not only was writing in the family—Ruth White, author of Belle Prater’s Boy, Sweet Creek Holler, and Little Audrey, among others, is my aunt—but creating stories was something I obsessed over as a kid. I always played stories out in my head, imagining all kinds of interesting scenarios. It also didn’t hurt that I developed a love of reading at young age, getting my first exposure to horror and science fiction from R.L. Stine, Bruce Coville, and Christopher Pike before the age of ten.  

What is your writing routine like?

For most of my books, I handwrite a draft, or portions of a draft, not caring about consistency, grammar, or anything else that can bog you down in this initial effort. Usually during this process, ideas come to me that hadn’t previously, so by the time I’m ready to sit down and type, I have a better idea of where I’m going and what I’m doing. That is when I worry about consistency, grammar, etc. I do my best thinking with a pen and a notebook. Once I have a typed draft, I go over it at least four or five times, usually more, adding in the nuances that make novels fun to read, while fixing any issues.

Please Share three fun facts about you that most people don’t know.

I have a twin brother; in high school I could run a mile in 4 minutes, 20 seconds; I’ve read every novel Stephen King has published.

A twin? Fabulous. A nearly 4 minute mile? Congrats. One of my sons read all SK's books (too scary for me)! What’s next for you?

My current work in progress is called In the Pale Moonlight, a continuation of the YA horror series I started with 9111 Sharp Road. In this story, readers will learn more about the town of Orchard Hills and how it became overrun with vampires and ghosts, as well as getting more background on just what is up with the house at 9111 Sharp Road.

BOOK BLURB

Shawna McCullough is enjoying a quiet evening with a book when her six-year-old daughter, Alexis, awakens and talks of dreaming about her own death, describing it in vivid detail. They fall asleep next to each other, but when Shawna wakes up just after midnight, instead of her daughter, she discovers a strange man in her bed. She also now has two daughters, neither of them Alexis, and she’s nine months pregnant.
 

This is only the beginning of the strangeness as she discovers the man is just as confused as she is. He is Mark LaValley, a police officer who claims to have been killed in this same house years earlier while answering a domestic dispute between her and her husband, a dispute that led to his death. Except in this reality, he is no longer a police officer but a substitute teacher.

It isn’t long before Shawna and Mark realize they have been entrusted with guarding “the children of time,” as a demon known as Zuriz Falcon, who has been exiled to another realm, sends his henchman to kidnap the girls, including the one she’s pregnant with. Only with the powers of these three “children” and that of a collection of unique books can Falcon be released from the dark realm to unleash his evil upon the world.

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eric R. Johnston received a degree in History and English from University of Michigan. He is the author of An Inner Darkness, A Light in the Dark, Harvester: Ascension, 9111 Sharp Road, and Children of Time. When he isn't writing, he is editing and teaching at local high schools and middle schools. He also enjoys running and weight lifting. He lives in Imlay City, Michigan, with his fiancé, daughter, and two step-daughters.

How can my readers buy your book?

AMAZON and Readers can go to the publisher’s HOME PAGE

You can find more information about Eric R. Johnston and Children Time by visiting:

BLOG    TWITTER    FACEBOOK     GOODREADS

Harvester Ascension Facebook Page  

Amazon Author Page  

And you can email him at: ericjohnstonauthor@gmail.com

Nancy Lee Badger's REVIEW of Immortal Eclipse

By Sherry Soule

 

My Thoughts:

The story starts in present day New York City and follows Skylar Blackwell, who loves name brand fashions, and is a major shoe-addict. She claims to be quite insecure about her appearance, which makes her believable.

She loves living in her tiny apartment with closets filled with top-of-the-line outfits (did I mention that she adores shoes?) As a photographer, her life is perfect, until her boss gives her a rather harsh kick in the pants. A change of scenery after the death of an uncle, and a mysterious letter, sends her to the Pacific coast and her inheritance; a ghastly structure. Dark, dank, and far from anywhere, it is jokingly called Summerwind.

She meets several of the staff, who either stare at Skylar, or dismiss her as an inconvenient blip in their living-out-in-the-mysterious-boonies lives.

The exception is Dorian Delacroix, a man who exudes a remarkable likeness to one of the dark portraits that cover the walls at Summerwind.  As caretaker, he is a hunk of brooding male who makes sparks spring to life inside Skylar. She soon learns that Dorian is a collection of imperfections, and she does her best to ignore his smoking-hot body, odd mannerisms, and secrets…even when he kisses her senseless.

The story twists and turns with suicides that could be murders, ghostly apparitions, and horse rides along the cliffs. The characters are quirky, the mansion is weirdly intriguing, and I found the heroine easy to like.

Skylar wants what most of us want; a normal life, a picket fence, and children with a man who adores her. She finds anything but. I lost myself in the budding romance, and the story contained enough spookiness to keep me reading until the very end.

 
IMMORTAL ECLIPSE is by Sherry Soule, released by Disenchanted Publishing in ebook and print.

BOOK BLURB

 

Devoted fashionata and practical New Yorker, Skylar Blackwell doesn't believe in the supernatural--until she inherits Summerwind Mansion. . . .

When her uncle is brutally murdered, and the cops seem uninterested in following up the case, Skylar journeys to California to seek answers. Her search for clues is soon overshadowed by haunting nightmares of a young woman also murdered in the house.

Now the inhabitants of Summerwind are mysteriously dying, leaving no evidence as to how or why, and Skylar finds herself in a deadly race against time to expose the killer--before they strike again.

The problem is . . . whoever it is may not be human.

Armed with only wit and Pradas, Skylar begins questioning the servants, but the growing list of suspects includes the sexy and brooding caretaker, Dorian Delacroix, a man desperately trying to forget his tragic past. And a major distraction for Skylar.

Determined to play detective--instead of the fashion police--and unravel the dark history of the mansion, Skylar is plunged into an otherworldly mystery that not even she can explain away. As the boundaries between reality and dreams blur, Skylar's greatest challenge is to stay alive long enough to learn the truth.

 

IMMORTAL ECLIPSE

 

AMAZON Kindle    Kobo

 

Barnes and Noble    Amazon UK

*Nancy Lee Badger received a free ARC in order to review this book for the benefit of her readers. No other link exists between her and the author, Sherry Soule

Nancy Lee Badger Interviews Summer Kinard

author Summer Kinard

Summer Kinard stopped in to answer a few personal questions and share her book, Can’t Buy Me Love. It is a contemporary romance and was released on June 7, 2013.

Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.  

I have advertised the book as “Romance Gone Green,” because it has a very environmentalist worldview. I think its claim to fame may be that it’s the only romance where tacos save the day!

Vanessa, the heroine, is a freegan whose dumpster exploration puts her face to face with a gorgeous Latino man, Javier. Her zany friends help her meet him in real life at the brewery where she tends bar. They have an intense romance that looks to be shaping up for the long run, when Vanessa is publicly humiliated and loses Javier’s trust. She decides to win his love back in a very unique way, by entering the wrestling ring. There’s a lot of Latin American cultural fusion in the novel, and that comes out in the lucha libre, or Mexican masked wrestling, that helps them reconcile.
 

The book is filled with strong women and female friendships. I wanted to show the way that all kinds of love go together in making a happy ending. For Vanessa, who heals from a really painful past, her female friends are absolutely necessary to her love story with Javier.

Describe the genre of this particular title, and is the only genre you write in? 

Can’t Buy Me Love is a contemporary romance that crosses over into women’s fiction as well. The book features a rather large cast for a romance, but they all develop the love story. My current work in progress is inspirational women’s fiction, but the ones I’ve outlined for next are other contemporary romances.

What I love about romance is how it has space for such a wide range of expression. I will probably alternate a bit between contemporary romance and women’s fiction, but I see the genres as kissing cousins. Sometimes I feel as though a love story needs a village to be successful, and other times the story can be told with the tight relationship focus that defines the romance genre in general.

When did you first consider yourself a writer, and when did you start writing toward publication?  

I first thought of myself as a writer in 7^th Grade, when I won the Promising Young Writers Award for a short story called “River, River.” It was about a woman who tried to elope with her intended, but who met a tragic end when her overbearing father kidnapped her and accidentally dropped her into an icy river when the hero gave chase. The final scene was in the lover’s point of view. He woke with a throbbing head and hoped he had just been drunk and imagined it, but there on the ice was the necklace he had given her the night before. I think we can see from that little summary that I had a flare for melodrama even at the ripe age of 12.

Starting the young? Amazing. What inspired you to write your first book?
A few things. We moved to a new house in the woods, and I think there’s something to that theory that green makes you more creative. Also, at the time, my dad was declining rapidly from late-stage ALS. I think that his failing health and death made me come to terms with a lot of things in life, and I processed it all by writing. Writing has always been my go-to for keeping sane, and I loved that it was there for me when I needed it.

Then, I had this niggling question at the back of my mind: what do women do with the gorgeous scrapbooks they make to chronicle their relationships, after they have moved on to a new love? That question was the push that set the book in motion.

Sorry about your dad, and glad your writing helped you through his passing. How did you get into romance writing?
I think my background in opera probably played a role. There’s always a love story when you’re singing. As an opera singer, you have to find the character’s motivation for her song, and it’s some type of love – love lost, love betrayed, love fulfilled, longing for love.

But I had no idea I was going to write a romance novel until I’d written it! I just sat down in a café one evening and started writing. The characters led the way. By the time I was finished with the revised draft, I had a major love story on my hands! I decided to join Romance Writers of America to help me navigate the new world I’d written myself into, and I haven’t looked back.

My characters are forceful, as well. They yell in my ear until I get them on a page. I happen to know you are a member at least one writing organizations. Have they helped?
Oh, yes! As I mentioned, I was totally ignorant of genre publishing when I found I had written a romance novel. The women at Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, the local chapter of Romance Writers of America, have given invaluable advice and been very patient in answering my questions! My critique group helped me a lot when I needed to rewrite the manuscript in a major overhaul.

At your advice, Nancy, I joined RWA-PRO after I signed my contract, and that group has helped me avoid a lot of pitfalls that typically afflict first-time writers. Besides the local RWA chapter, I am also a member of the RWA Women’s Fiction chapter, which has loads of online resources. They have helped me a great deal with promotions and genre-specific marketing.

Besides these, I am also a member of the North Carolina Writers’ Network, which not only helps us promote our books and appearances, but also has a fall conference that I find helpful in developing the growing edges of my writing.

What’s next for you?

I’m about 37,000 words into a Christian women’s fiction novel I’m calling Tea and Crumples. When that’s done, I have a couple of romances and an edgy mainstream fiction manuscript on line. Tea and Crumples is set in a tea shop/stationery store of the same name. It deals with how to navigate the intense temptations away from our better selves when faced with tremendous grief. Definitely a departure from the light-hearted feel of Can’t Buy Me Love! (Again, I blame opera.)

BOOK BLURB

A tale of love, friendship, and lucha libre...

Hurts from her past keep freegan Vanessa Fauchon stuck in a dead end relationship that feeds her heart about as

much as an unvarying diet of stale bagels feeds her body. When she digs a scrapbook from the dumpster, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with the sexy Latino man in its pages. With the rich friendship and hands-on love of her strong and zany female friends - a luchadora, a yarn-bombing midwife, a professor and foraging partner, a psychic Jewish grandmother, a savvy fellow bartender, and her deeply religious, unofficially adopted mothers - Vanessa heals from her past and begins to build the graceful life she thought was out of her reach. Her love story with Javier seems on course for a happy ending, until Vanessa is publicly humiliated and loses Javier's trust. Faced with losing Javier for good, Vanessa must decide if she's willing to fight for what she loves.

This is a tale of romance, friendship, and healing the hurts of the past. Fans ofThe Sugar Queen (Sarah Addison Allen), The Lost Recipe for Happiness (Barbara O'Neal), or Julia's Chocolates (Cathy Lamb) are sure to wrap themselves around Can't Buy Me Love.

You can find a Free Excerpt HERE

A little bit about the author

Summer Kinard lives in Durham, North Carolina with her husband, their two children, and a garden filled with herbs and squirrels. All four members of the family take it in turns to pour tea each night. Summer received a B.A. in religion from Southwestern University and an M.Div. and Th. M. (early church history and theology) from Duke Divinity School. When she is not writing or homeschooling, Summer sings opera with local companies. Can't Buy Me Loveis her first novel. Visit her at:

WEBSITE    Twitter     

Facebook    Goodreads

How can my readers buy your book?  

Readers can go to the publisher’s HOME PAGE

AMAZON      Barnes and Noble

KOBO    IBOOKS

COVER REVEAL: My Reluctant Highlander

It has been a long time coming, but I am proud to announce the release of my third book in the

Highland Games Through Time series.

 

MY RELUCTANT HIGHLANDER returns five years later to the fictional New England Highland Games and follows Skye Gunn, sister to the Gunn laird, and Jake Jamison, a present day blacksmith. Though this is the final book in the series, I plan to write several novellas using secondary characters, like a TV show spin-off. This is also my first attempt to use my Art Degree to make my own book cover. I hope you like it. The book is a full-length novel, which will be available in print in the near future. 

Book Blurb

Skye has spent the last five years trying to forget the blacksmith who followed her back to 16^th century Scotland, to help fight evil. Sending Jake Jamison home against his will was a disastrous mistake. She risked everything attempting to defeat Andreas Borthwick. Jake might have defeated the evil sorcerer, preventing her husband’s death. When she prevents the sorcerer from grabbing her nephew, he takes her instead. To escape, she defies time to find Jake. 

The last person Jake wants to see is the young woman from ancient Scotland; the same woman who has haunted his dreams since she blackmailed him into traveling back in time. Before he could save Skye Gunn’s people, she had sent him home. Until he met Skye, his life had been normal. Quiet, and uncomplicated. No one knows he is a firebreather, except her. His ancestry is a mystery. When Skye falls into his bed—beaten, bloody and beautiful—Jake must choose to trust her, or turn his back on the only woman he’s loved across time.

Skye encourages Jake to use his ability to help her kill the sorcerer. Stealing his heart was not part of the plan. Jake must share his secret, Skye must give her heart fully, and both must dare to love in the time they have.

AMAZON  

 

SMASHWORDS

 

AllRomancEBooks

 

NOOK (coming soon)

KOBO (coming soon)

ITunes (coming soon)

 

Don't forget to check the other books in the series:

My Honorable Highlander & My Banished Highlander

     

Nancy Lee Badger Presents Dawn Marie Hamilton

Author Dawn Marie Hamilton

My secret: I love a man in a kilt. Okay, maybe it’s not such a secret. When I set out to write the first book in the Highland Gardens series, I ran into a historical problem. I wanted my Highland men in kilts and I wanted the stories to take place before, during, and after the Battle of Flodden.

My problem: The first recorded mention of a possible belted plaid or great kilt was in 1578. The earliest picture from sometime after 1600. The Highland Gardens series of novels begin in 1506/1509, with the Battle of Flodden taking place on September 9, 1513—soon it will be the 500-year anniversary. So, the historical purest would say my Highland men shouldn’t wear kilts.

My solution: Stretch the truth. Use literary license. Who’s to say the kilt wasn’t worn before it was mentioned or pictured in someone’s writings? My Highland men wear kilts. Can you forgive me?

What is a belted plaid or great kilt? A length of tartan material from 4 to 5 yards long. (Possibly 2 lengths of 25” wide fabric sewn together.) The reenactors I’ve seen at Highland gatherings in the US lay the plaid on the ground and fold it into pleats. They lie down on it, wrap the ends around themselves, and fasten it with a wide belt. I’ve seen some young men take a considerable amount of time to fold the material just so, but I doubt the original wearers fussed overmuch.

If you’d like to learn more about the early history of the great kilt and how it’s worn, read Matthew Newsome’s article. 

Do you prefer your Highland men to wear kilts? 

What’s next for you?  

Just Once in a Verra Blue Moon, the second book in the Highland Gardens series, is scheduled to release in September 2013. 

BOOK BLURB

Just Beyond the Garden Gate, a Highland Gardens Novel

The Scottish Highlands—a place where faeries and brownies and other fae creatures dance through time. On occasion, so do mere mortals.

Determined to regain her royal status, a banished faerie princess accepts a challenge from the High-Queen of the Fae to unite an unlikely couple while the clan brownie attempts to thwart her.

Passion ignites when a faerie-shove propels burned-out business consultant Laurie Bernard through the garden gate, back through time, and into the embrace of Patrick MacLachlan. The arrogant clan chief doesn’t know what to make of the lass in his arms, especially when he recognizes the brooch she wears as the one his stepmother wore when she and his father disappeared.

With the fae interfering at every opportunity, the couple must learn to trust one another while they battle an enemy clan, expose a traitor within their midst and discover the true fate of the missing parents. Can they learn the most important truth—love transcends time?

Journey from the lush gardens of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to the Scottish Highlands of 1509 with Just Beyond the Garden Gate. 

Excerpt 

Laurie opened her eyes a crack. Her head pounded, her pulse raced. This wasn’t good. Those couldn’t be two, huge, leather-clad feet inches from her face.

She opened her eyes wider. Raised her gaze higher.

Those feet—the ones that couldn’t be there—was it possible they were attached to two muscular calves wrapped in soft napped animal skins?

Higher still. Bare knees. Plaid wool and saffron linen.

Farther up, she took in all of the man who towered over her. Piercing blue eyes blinked. Crinkles appeared in the corners. He was grinning. Not outwardly. The perfectly shaped lips remained tight and straight, but something within this gorgeous man was pleased.

She gasped with recognition. This was her man, the one from her heated dreams and visions. The man she didn’t believe existed. The man who made her insides flip-flop.

Unsure what had just happened, she gave her head a firm shake. Mistake. Dizziness hit in waves. She swallowed hard. When the nausea passed, she pushed her palms against the ground and rose to her feet. Unsteady, she swayed. The stranger’s image blurred.

Large calloused hands gripped her arms. A strange though familiar jolt of energy coursed through her, causing her heart to beat too fast.

He quickly released her. He must have felt it too.

Again, she swayed. She reached for his support at the same time he took hold of her upper arms.

She blinked to clear her vision and moistened dry lips. The flash of desire in his eyes made her shiver. He smiled for real this time, leaned forward, placed a hand behind her head, and brushed her lips with his. Gentle at first, then with vigor, his tongue delved into her mouth. 

A little bit about the author

Dawn Marie Hamilton dares you to dream. She is a 2013 RWA® Golden Heart® Finalist who pens Scottish-inspired fantasy and paranormal romance. Some of her tales are rife with mischief-making faeries, brownies, and other fae creatures. More tormented souls—shape shifters, vampires, and maybe a zombie or two—stalk across the pages of other stories. She is a member of The Golden Network, Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal, Celtic Hearts, and From the Heart chapters of RWA. When not writing, she’s cooking, gardening, or paddling the local creeks with her husband. 

 

How can my readers buy your book?  

AMAZON       Barnes and Noble

 

How can they find out more about you?

 

WEBSITE     BLOG    TWITTER

 

Amazon Author Page

 

Giveaway: $5 Starbucks e-gift card to one commenter.

****Please leave your name and email address. Winner will be drawn on Tuesday June 18th