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Tuesday, June 26, 2018

In the Spotlight: The Sunwright Chronicles: A New World by Kevin M. Villegas @sunwrightcron


THE SUNWRIGHT CHRONICLES: A NEW WORLD by Kevin M. Villegas, Fantasy, 120 pp., $6.00 (paperback) $.99 (kindle)



Title: THE SUNWRIGHT CHRONICLES: A NEW WORLD
Author: Kevin M. Villegas
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 120
Genre: Fantasy
The Sunwright Chronicles : A New World, takes place in the world called Alavar, the Sunwrights a mostly Magical family made up of Paris Sunwright, Suadela Sunwright, Calia Sunwright, Tobias & Jaedus Sunwright and last but not least Pershing Sunwright, have all arrived from a long but bitter stay from modern earth. Alavar is a fresh new world, so the Sunwrights are directed to stay away from the “creators as they work” young Jaedus Sunwright is discovered to be a “necromancer” the most powerful type of mage.

Paris Sunwright the patriarch of the family takes it upon himself to train her before she accidentally kills anyone in the family with her wild powers. Conflict ensues between Suadela, Paris’s wife and young Jaedus before Paris can take Jaedus away to be trained. We skip ahead in time and Jaedus is trained properly, The “Creators” are long done with their work and the Sunwrights decide to reside with the elves of the world. The Sunwrights help teach the Elves many things. It is not long before it is discovered there is a sickness amongst the elves, called the soul disease. Because of her special powers Jaedus Sunwright is the best fitted to help combat this disease, only a few elves succumb to the disease, one being the wife of the second most prominent Elf in the land.

Now we move forward, the Elves are prospering the soul disease is gone, the population boom for the Elves has produced several distinct tribes amongst them. A power struggle ensues, in which the first murder occurs in the land, leading to the breakup of the tribes into separate nations and the very real possibility of war.

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon



It was the first man he brought through the portal. The man had opened his eyes, he sat up. The figure turned to enter the portal and then hesitated. It turned its hooded head back towards the man.
“Michael?” The man asked.
“Paris,” Michael replied.
Paris Sunwright turned around and looked at Michael who was a foot away from the portal. Paris shook his head his vision still a little blurry.
“A debt has been repaid,” Michael said.
“A debt? What are you talking about?”
“You will realize when you regain your wits.”
“My wits,” Paris looked around him.
He took a deep breath of fresh air. The air was cool and fresh. He looked to see his family asleep spread out in a line next to him. Paris frowned and looked at Michael who stood like a statue in front of the portal.
“Where are we?” Paris asked.
“I believe its name is Alavar,” Michael responded.
“Alavar?”
“Yes.”
“So, we escaped.”
“As I said a debt was paid.” Michael moved towards Paris and kneeled next to him. “My time to stay here grows short I must go home, but I must tell you this. This Alavar is a new plane, made to compensate for the loss of your home plane. Proto-Humans will prosper here, the magic level is high here. But I must warn you the progenitors of the species here are still at work.”
“What species?”
“Human, Elf, Troll, Dragon, Gnoll, and all the birds, beasts, insects that you encountered on Earth.”
“It will be familiar then,” Paris said.
“Do not disturb the progenitors, they will return to the soil when their job is done, they cannot be interrupted. Live here in this forest or near it, you are away from the founders.” Michael said.




I have been writing for as long as I can remember. My ongoing series The Sunwright Chronicles is a culmination of fifteen years of creating a unique living world with a rich history. I am currently writing the third book in the series. Besides writing I enjoy computer gaming, reading, playing the guitar and watching the history and science channels. My favorite activity though, is hanging out with my awesome family.

My latest book is the fantasy, The Sunwright Chronicles: A New World.

SOCIAL LINKS:

 TWITTER | FACEBOOK

 


Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Book Blast: The Failed Experiment by Mart Grams





Title: The Failed Experiment
Author: Mart Grams
Publisher: XLibrisUS
Genre: Social Science/Ethnic Studies
Format: Ebook


When the American government was founded, the Founders and Framers assumed a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” That government is dying. It is under the authority of not “we, the people” but rather a small elite that is trying to snuff out the great experiment of man ruling himself, the common man, the man that within the right system of government can attain his purpose to achieve happiness. Were the Framers wrong? Were the ideas of Alexander Hamilton right? Is man incapable of self-rule? Does he need to be taken care of, watched, manipulated? No! It is not a failed experiment! It is time to retake that government.


PURCHASE HERE




Married, two sons, had to endure sons to get granddaughters, 30 years of teaching in northern Wisconsin. Written three previous books: The Great Experiment, Economics for the Remnant, Words My Grandfather Gave Me, a fanatic of the American Dream, lives in small town with his wife Linda and their two cats, Miss Bailey and Stumpy.

GIVEAWAY

MART IS GIVING AWAY A $25 GIFT CARD!

  
Terms & Conditions:
  • By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
  • One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $25 Gift Certificate to the e-retailer of your choice
  • This giveaway begins June 18 and ends on June 29.
  • Winners will be contacted via email on June 30.
  • Winner has 48 hours to reply.
Good luck everyone! 

ENTER TO WIN!

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Tuesday, June 19, 2018

In the Spotlight: The Banished Lands by Benjamin Mester


THE BANISHED LANDS by Benjamin Mester, Fantasy, 384 pp., $9.99 (Paperback) $2.99 (Kindle)


Title: THE BANISHED LANDS (BOOK ONE)
Author: Benjamin Mester
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 384
Genre: Fantasy

A kingdom in danger. A prophecy that will change everything. But will they understand it in time? The old world is gone, and barely even histories remain. But something from that time is returning. The closing lines of a farewell poem, written centuries ago by the last great king of the age to his slain wife, might be more than just a poem:

The world and all its light shall fade,
I’ll stay with her beneath the shade
And wait until the world’s remade…

Join us in this epic fantasy adventure as three friends plunge into the great mystery of their age, twelve centuries in the making. A mysterious fog blankets the forest just outside the sleepy town of Suriya. A dark plot unfolds as Durian and his friends discover ties between a strange wanderer and the warlike barbarian kingdom far to the north. Are the mysterious things happening in the forest a prelude to invasion? What happens next will propel Durian and his curious friends into the middle of the oldest riddle in the history of their kingdom, a dozen centuries old.
Amazon Link:
https://amzn.to/2vVg2Ew

Other Books in The Banished Lands Series

The Banished Lands series

Dismissing hours as they pass
Soft upon the windswept grass.
The hopes of men have come to naught.
Nothing fair for eyes or thought.

For Sheyla lies on golden plain,
Of Cavanah, the fairest slain;
Who met her last and final day
When all was brought to disarray.

Of gladful things now nevermore –
Now bitter wind, now salty shore.
The peaceful world bound to unrest
And darkness looming in the west.

The world and all its light shall fade.
I'll stay with her beneath the shade
And wait until the world's remade...




Benjamin Mester is native of San Diego but can often be found wandering the woods of northern Minnesota.  He fell in love with language at an early age – the eloquence of poetry or the grandeur of an epic story.  Fantasy is his favorite genre, crafting new and magical places of heroism and adventure.  When he isn’t writing, he’s often taking long walks through nature or wondering about his place in the wide world.

Benjamin is the author of The Banished Lands series.

You can visit him on Goodreads.
 


Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Book Feature: Navy SEAL's Match by Amber Leigh Williams



NAVY SEAL'S MATCH by Amber Leigh Williams, Contemporary Romance, 384 pp., $6.99 (paperback) $4.49 (kindle)


Title: NAVY SEAL’S MATCH
Author: Amber Williams
Publisher: Harlequin
Pages: 384
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Former SEAL Gavin Savitt always knew who he was—until his last deployment ended tragically. Now he’s home, his mind hijacked by trauma and the shadow of his once-perfect sight. Yet in this new hazy, unclear world, one person stands out—Mavis Bracken.

There are a million reasons why Gavin shouldn’t be with Mavis, including that she’s his best friend’s little sister. Yet he longs for her touch, her freckles and her special way with wild, skittish beasts like him. He just needs the courage to take his life back. And Mavis won’t let him give up without a fight.
Amazon Link:
https://amzn.to/2rHXLGl






“I know it’d be better for you if I left.”
“You let me be the judge of that,” she advised.
“The moment you’re burdened by me,” he said, slowly, “I’m out of here.”
She didn’t agree. No. Instead, she raised herself onto her toes.
Gavin’s eyes closed and his breath hitched as her kiss washed breathily over his lips and blew him away. Answers cropped up inside him, bright like candles. His hand moved to the back of her head, no more able to snuff them out than he was to convince her to walk away.








Amber Leigh Williams is a romance writer who lives on the US Gulf Coast. She lives for beach days, the smell of real books and spending time with her husband and their two young children. When she’s not keeping up with rambunctious little ones (and two large dogs), she can usually be found reading a good book or indulging her inner foodie. Amber is represented by the D4EO Literary Agency.

Amber’s latest book is the contemporary romance, Navy SEAL’S Watch.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

 


Monday, June 11, 2018

In the Spotlight: Conch Shell Confessions by Dax Marie @conchieconfess


CONCH SHELL CONFESSIONS by Dax Marie, Memoir, 202 pp., $13.99 (paperback) $3.03 (kindle)


Title: CONCH SHELL CONFESSIONS
Author: Dax Marie
Publisher: Author House
Pages: 202
Genre: Memoir

This is a book about love: hunting it, chasing it, losing it, tripping, and falling into it.
And yes, it’s a book about sex: hunting it, chasing it, losing it, tripping from it, and falling onto…ahem…it.

But more than anything, it’s a book about self-discovery, navigating the learning curve of adulting, and learning the kind of tough lessons that only come when you have to pick yourself off the floor, block a guy’s phone number (for the second time), and clean some curious stains off your dress.
I dove headfirst into love and sex, and for better or worse, they have taught me that sometimes you just need to try the world on for size to really understand what it is you want and learn who you are. So here’s my experience in the world of men.
Amazon Link:
https://amzn.to/2kFHA8v

Watch the Trailer!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLzkXLAncx3-tYU- zILk_UQ?view_as=subscriber
(click on YouTube graphic to watch)

Epigraph
Because lord knows I need one.
    Ladies, this is a book about men (or maybe they could be more accurately defined as boys…little boys). So, if you have ever found yourself with the wrong guy (or guys as I have mistakenly done), I am so sorry. If you have ever had to deal with heartbreak, frustration, or immaturity due to boy-kind, I would like to apologize for their actions, too, because lord knows they never will. Can I do that? Just apologize for the inferior gender like that? Oh well, I’m going to anyway.
    The dating struggle is real, and I feel your pain. Know that you don’t stand alone in your dating of dipshits and DEFINITELY know that I understand (and that it’s okay) if sometimes you’re the dipshit because of the men you choose for yourself. As some cliché somewhere once said, you live and you learn. So let’s start making our way towards finding ourselves and learning about love. Oh, the happy struggles of vagina-hood.
    Some of you men out there might be worried that you’re going to show up in these pages. Some of you will be right––but not to worry my sweet boys, I have changed your names to ones that I find more befitting of you. So if you don’t like it, I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t have been so deserving of such colorful nicknames.









Dax Marie was five or so, when the man that she would otherwise call, “father” gave Dax her issues. What’s the medical terminology for that? Oh, Daddy Issues! For nearly the whole of her life she has tried to deny this grave medical condition and up until about seven years ago, she was doing alright. By no means was she swimming through the world with ease, but she did like aight (that’s hood talk for alright).

It was not until sometime in high school when she discovered her self-diagnosed condition. Sigmund Freud (you may have heard of him, he’s like a coke-head genius) told Dax (in a text book) that she has Penis Envy. Poor thing, she was absolutely flabbergasted!

“Me, Dax Marie? Associated with male genitalia?” she thought to herself.

So, it was then and there, her junior year of high school that she knew what
she was destined for…MEN.

Dax’s latest book is the memoir, Conch Shell Confessions.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE CHANNEL

 


Friday, June 8, 2018

Book Review: Twisted Venom by V.W. Raynes








Title: Twisted Venom
Author: V. W. Raynes
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Format: Ebook

When young internist Claudia Ranelli attends a medical conference in San Francisco, she has a sexual encounter so bizarre and frightful it nearly kills her. But that isn't the end of her terror. Claudia and her cousin Dru Salinas must discover the identity of the person terrorizing them both, a quest that leads from pit vipers to modern genetics. Claudia tells a gripping story with sensitivity, a humanly scientific perspective, eroticism and a wry sense of humor.



BOOK REVIEW:

What a fabulous and intriguing tale! This book was a true page turner and left me guessing right until the very end, not an easy feat considering I read a lot of mystery/suspense novels. Add that to the fact that the author weaves a tale that incorporates some unique aspects (genetics and snakes, just to name a few) and you have a unique book that will keep you up waiting to see how it ends. Excellent novel!


V. W. Raynes is the pen name of a physician practiciing in Texas

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

In the Spotlight: What You Don't Learn in Film School by Shane Stanley @shanestanley


WHAT YOU DON'T LEARN IN FILM SCHOOL by Shane Stanley, Nonfiction/Film/HowTo, 199 pp., $19.99 (paperback) $8.99 (kindle)


Title: WHAT YOU DON’T LEARN IN FILM SCHOOL: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO INDEPENDENT FILMMAKING
Author: Shane Stanley
Publisher: Industry Insider, LLC.
Pages: 199
Genre: Nonfiction/Film

Multi Emmy-Award winning filmmaker Shane Stanley, a lifelong entertainment industry insider, has worked in every aspect of the film industry, covering a multitude of movies, television shows, and other projects. In his valuable new book, WHAT YOU DON’T LEARN IN FILM SCHOOL: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO INDEPENDENT FILMMAKING, Stanley takes a candid look at the film business and offers ambitious young filmmakers important information on how to navigate every aspect of making movies, from initial pitch to distributing a finished product. The book “is written for anyone who hopes to have a career in the industry at any position, but (is) geared for (the) total filmmaker,” Stanley says.

Producer Neal H. Moritz (“Fast & Furious,” “S.W.A.T.,” “21 and 22 Jump Street”), says that WHAT YOU DON’T LEARN IN FILM SCHOOL “pulls no punches. It’s one of the most insightful and accurate books ever written on the subject, a master class bridging the gap between school and real-life experience that will save you years of heartache. A must-read for anyone interested in pursuing a career in film.”

Jane Seymour, two-time Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner, actress, producer and founder of the Open Hearts Foundation, declares that Stanley’s “step-by-step guide is a must-read for anyone hoping to break into the world of independent cinema, along with many useful tips for those who desire to work within a studio or network system.”

Jeff Sagansky, former president of Sony Entertainment and CBS Entertainment, notes that “Shane Stanley takes you to a film school that only years of practical experience can teach. He covers both the business of independent filmmaking as well as the hard-earned secrets of a successful production. A must-read for anyone who wants to produce.”

A lifelong veteran of the film world, Stanley has directed and produced hundreds of film and television projects, including the 2006 No. 1 Box Office hit “Gridiron Gang,” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. His clearly-written guide to navigating the shoals of independent filmmaking comes from his hands-on experience, covering such topics as choosing what material to produce, raising independent capital, hiring a production crew and selecting the right cast.

WHAT YOU DON’T LEARN IN FILM SCHOOL is an essential book written by someone who clearly understands the independent film business from the inside.

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble



I always advise new filmmakers to play in an arena they’re not only passionate about but also comfortable in. As you find your legs I think it’s wise to have all the bases covered of your chosen genre, which will aid when executing creative discussions with your filmmaking team and onscreen talent, but more so when pitching your project to potential investors. They’ll appreciate your expertise on the subject and sense the passion you possess as the gibberish naturally rolls off your tongue.

Remember, when you pitch an investor to finance a film, you’re selling something different. You’re selling the magic and the sizzle of Hollywood and most importantly, you’re selling yourself along with the upside (or fallacy) of what their investment might return. If someone is really in the position to write a check to finance a film, they’re probably pretty savvy. Trust me, they have been pitched everything from financing movies, to night clubs, clothing lines and widgets by someone a lot slicker and more qualified than you. Investors know they hold the key to unlocking the door to the dreams that can change your life, so go deep in thought when creating a presentation…because you’re pitching them on a fantasy (smoke and mirrors), not real estate or something they can look, touch or feel at the moment.











Multi-Emmy Award winning filmmaker Shane Stanley has worked in almost every capacity on and off the set starting with hit shows like “Entertainment Tonight” and “Seinfeld.”

Along with his father, Stanley produced “The Desperate Passage Series,” which was nominated for 33 individual Emmy Awards and won 13 statues. In this series, five of the seven specials went No.1 in Nielson Ratings, which included “A Time for Life” and “Gridiron Gang.”

Stanley has produced films starring Marlon Brando, Mira Sorvino, Thomas Hayden Church, Donald Sutherland, Marisa Tomei and Martin Sheen. He co-wrote two of the films and has worked closely with top Hollywood executives.

Stanley has taught workshops at many film schools and universities. He is the founder of Visual Arts Entertainment, a production company based in Los Angeles. He is still active in teaching, working with several schools, film students, and recent grads as a mentor and guide.

His latest book is What You Don’t Learn in Film School: A Complete Guide to Independent Filmmaking.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK