readersalley

Author: readersalley

YA Fantasy – Mystic Invisible

Posted on by

YA Fantasy

Date Published: 3/17/21

Publisher: Winter Goose Publishing

Fifteen-year-old Monte moves to the mystically jeopardized Highlands of Scotland and discovers that life as a Celtic wizard is anything but easy. Whisperings of abnormal enchantments and vicious cat siths grip the small town he now calls home. Fear is at the helm and the instigator is unknown. An indefinite moratorium on magic is enforced. In a race against darkness, Monte and his friends must choose who to trust before time runs out, even if it means breaking some rules and facing danger head on.

About the Author

Ryder Hunte Clancy has lived most of her life in the desert but her heart belongs to the sea; her happy place, where brine and mist abound and allusive waves caress expansive stretches of compacted sand. A tried and true stay-at-home mom, she is often found scribbling notes between diaper changes or connecting plot points while everyone else sleeps. She survives off of toddler snacks like apple slices and cheese, and has just as much trouble keeping up with her fictional, teenage characters as she does her three small children. Mystic Invisible is her debut novel, the inspiration of which was gleaned from her husband’s homeland of Scotland, where fantasy, mystery, and folklore are rich and hits of adventure linger around every corner.

Contact Links

Website

Facebook

Twitter (@ryderhclancy)

Goodreads

Instagram (@ryderhclancyauthor)

Purchase Links

Amazon

B&N

iTunes

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cultural Heritage Fiction – An Irish Immigrant Story

Posted on by

Viking Historical Romance

Cultural Heritage Fiction

Date Published: November 19, 2018

Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc

Johanna Cashman and John McCarthy, along with over a million others, immigrated to America to escape a devastating famine. They left behind family members who faced starvation to come to a land that would give them a new opportunity for a good life. They were soon made aware that they were not welcome in this new land and that every day would present a new struggle for survival. Johanna and John got married, determined to raise a family in their adopted country. In spite of all the obstacles they encountered, including John’s untimely death, the family grew and found success. The second generation used their success to lend assistance to the country their parents were forced to leave in Ireland’s drive for independence from its oppressor. This historical novel brings the reader through the heartwarming story of a family that overcomes adversity to thrive in America. At the same time, it details the movement in the country they left to find its own independent place in the world.

About The Author

Jack Cashman’s career has put him in a number of roles, although the title of “author” is a relatively new one. Coming from a background of small business ownership, real estate, and insurance, Cashman was first elected to serve in the Maine House of Representatives in 1982. After five terms in office and some time away from state government, he returned to public service in 2003 in a variety of roles with the administration of Maine Governor John Baldacci. Cashman’s first book, An Irish Immigrant Story, was published in 2018 as a historical novel based on the story of his own family’s journey from Ireland to the United States during the time of the Potato Famine. Cashman’s unique background of business owner, elected office-holder, and government official combine with his creative mind to bring together a collection of stories unlike any author working today. Jack has spent nearly all of his life in Maine, and currently lives in Hampden with his wife of nearly 50 years, Betty. They are the proud parents of two sons and grandparents of five granddaughters.

Contact Links

Purchase Links

Romantic Women’s Fiction – Eat Your Heart Out

Posted on by

Starting Over Series, Book 2

Romantic Women’s Fiction / Romcom / ChickLit

Date Published: March 17, 2021

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

When a tyrant in stilettos replaces her beloved boss, and her ex snags her coveted job, teacher Dana Narvana discovers there are worse things than getting dumped on Facebook. Time for the BFF advice squad. Alex—hunky colleague, quipster, and cooking pal extraordinaire is Dana’s staunchest ally. So what’s with the smooching after hours? And why won’t this grown man make up his mind?

Actor turned teacher Alex Bethany craves a family of his own. Newly hotified, he’s now got the confidence to try online dating. Meanwhile he’s sending Dana mixed messages in the kissing department. After a surprising event rocks his world, Alex panics, certain he’s blown his chances with his special person.

Funny and bittersweet, Dana and Alex’s story will have you rooting for them all the way to dessert.

About the Author

Shirley Goldberg is a writer, novelist, and former ESL and French teacher who’s lived in Paris, Crete, and Casablanca. She writes about men and women of a certain age starting over. Her website http://midagedating.com offers a humorous look at living single and dating in mid life. Eat Your Heart Out is the second book in the series Starting Over. Middle Ageish, the first, is available now and Shirley’s friends like to guess which stories in the book are true. Her characters believe you should never leave home without your sense of humor and Shirley agrees.

Contact Links

Purchase Link

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Literary Short Stories – Jenny on the Street

Posted on by

And Other Tales of Reverence and Revolution by a Very Young Man

Literary Fiction, Short Stories

Published: January 2021

Publisher: Black Rose Writing

“Dark and twisted a bit like Stephen King,” is how one reader recently described “Jenny on the Street: And Other Tales of Reverence and Revolution by a Very Young Man.”

A desperate young woman lost on the drug-infested streets of London, an insane revolutionary holding the devil in a jar, an indifferent truck driver forced to run over cats and a reverent grandmother looking for God in a rock. All of them are among the unforgettable characters inhabiting these 13 short stories set amidst the magic, majesty, mystery, and mayhem of the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was a surreal era of extreme idealism, exaggerated exuberance, ferocious fearlessness, and foolish folly. A period in which the scent of change permeated every tree, town, and tent. A time, in other words, much like our own.

Excerpt

THE SUN’S TRUMPETER

Mornings you could see him from the boardwalk. See him, that is, if you happened to be up that early. A tiny, upright silhouette bathed by the endless orange of the sunrise over the sea. You couldn’t tell what he was doing all alone on the beach at that hour. Probably nothing, you’d think. Perhaps he was just walking. It’d make a nice photo; wish I had my camera, you’d think. And then you’d hurry on your way because it had been a wicked all-nighter and you were eager to get home for some much-needed sleep.

But long after you had gone, long after you lay dreaming comfortably in the mahogany bed next to your wife, the sad silhouette remained on the beach. Remained, outlined by the increasingly brilliant sunrise, like a stubborn matchstick in the corner of a fireplace refusing to be consumed by the fire it had kindled.

The first time Sean ever saw the gleaming trumpet, it had been sitting in the window of George’s Loan & Music Co. on King Street. The boy’s eyes had lit up, but he said nothing. Sean seldom did say anything. But it was enough to catch the attention of his grandfather, who stayed finely attuned to virtually any emotion that clawed its way to the surface of the young boy’s face. “Do you like that trumpet?” the old man asked. “Would you like to take it home?” As usual, nothing erupted from the boy’s mouth. But the light in his eyes seemed to flare for an instant, just long enough to spark a decision on his grandfather’s part. “Let’s go in,” he said. “Let’s take a look.” And that was the beginning of Sean’s obsession with the ancient trumpet someone had hawked, and his grandfather had bought.

About The Author

David Haldane, a former Los Angeles Times staff writer, authored the award-winning 2015 memoir “Nazis & Nudists.” In addition to his journalism, essays and short fiction, Haldane has written and produced radio features for which he was awarded a Golden Mike by the Radio & Television News Assn. of Southern California. He currently divides his time– with his wife and two children–between homes in Joshua Tree, California, and Northern Mindanao, Philippines, where he writes a weekly newspaper column called “Expat Eye.”

Contact Links

Purchase Links

Historical Fiction – Eternal Promise

Posted on by

The Soul of Mary Stuart

Historical Fiction

Date Published: February 2021

Publisher: Churchill Publishing

Eternal Promise, The Soul of Mary Stuart is an intimate version of the story of Mary, Queen of Scots, told with fresh eyes and an open heart. Journey with this Queen as she lives through a breathtakingly pure love, heartbreak, and relentless betrayal. Author Holly-Eloise Walters infuses this telling with warmth, compassion, and love.

About The Author

Holly-Eloise Walters is an author from Bristol, England. She debuted with her first book The Most Happy in October of 2019. Holly grew up in Bristol and dedicates her life and inspiration to her Nan, who raised her and taught her to look beyond the immediate for answers.

Holly has recently joined the Churchill Publishing team as Director in England.

Contact Links

Purchase Links

Poetry – From the Inside

Posted on by

Poetry

Date Published: March 15, 2021

This book of poems is about thoughts, feelings, and emotions we all experience, struggle with, and that have been brought to the forefront by this current pandemic. Losing loved ones, our freedom, and everything taken for granted in our daily lives; while facing sadness, anger, grief, and loneliness, has taught us the importance of our love for nature, gratitude, happiness, cherished memories, and relationships. No feeling or emotion is too small or negligible. Acknowledging and expressing them is my voice from the inside.

About The Author

Thanvi Voruganti is an exuberant ten-year-old living with her parents, Deepika and Mahender in Chandler, AZ. She loves writing short stories and thoughtful poetry and is an avid reader who loves fantasy, fiction, and playing board games. Thanvi however, is no athlete and prefers sitting curled up with an interesting book in her hands. Thanvi is very affable, quiet, and a profound thinker.

Contact Links

Purchase Link

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Crime Mystery – Killer Cocktail

Posted on by

Mystery, Crime

Date Published: January 2021

Publisher: Open Books Press

Chicago TV reporter Emily Winter is drawn into a complicated and challenging investigation when a women’s health clinic is destroyed and a cherished member of the clinic’s staff is killed. While her skill, talent and contacts lead her to many likely suspects — anti-abortion activists, a wealthy donor to that cause, a disgruntled former clinic employee, a real estate broker — she also encounters stone walls and silence. As her investigation moves slowly forward, Emily relies on her husband Ben and Ben’s street-savvy Uncle Max, her news staff colleagues and a group of women, all of whom have shattered glass ceilings. When two sniper attacks threaten her life, Emily grows even more determined to solve the crime until — over-coming multiple obstacles including a sexist police information officer — she solves the murder and brings the killers to justice.

Also by David M. Hamlin

Winter in Chicago

Drugs, death and rock and roll on Chicago’s AM radio dial…

Before dawn in January, 1975, Emily detours from her normal route to work in the newsroom of Chicago’s top pop rock station to investigate a crime scene. The police believe the body on the street is a suicide. Emily is stunned to discover that the dead woman is a dear friend since high school. Unable to fathom why Beni Steinart would take her own life, Emily begins an investigation that leads to a trunk-load of cocaine, Federal narcotics charges, abuse of power and a perplexing mystery – suicide or murder?

Emily’s reporting triggers an explosive battle between two men who tower over their city. Cary Chase is Chicago’s most prominent bachelor, a wealthy entrepreneur whose mansion is the epicenter of Chicago’s elite society. United States Attorney Tommy “Tommy Terrific” Jameson is ambitiously determined to rid his city of corruption on his way up to the Governor’s office and perhaps even higher.

Drawing on an eclectic roster of news sources and WEL colleagues and her own considerable talent and determination, Emily uncovers the full story of her friend’s death in a remarkable confrontation which produces front page headlines and restores one life as it ruins another.

Amazon

Winter Gets Hot

Winter in Chicago journalist Emily Winter is the first reporter on the scene of a gruesome murder in the offices of CARD, a civic organization that investigates corruption in City Hall. Although she has proven herself to be a skilled reporter with at least one headline making story to her credit, her new TV boss assigns her to a more “ladylike” beat—lifestyle and feature stories.

Determined to overcome the sexism that inhibits her career, Emily works her way into hard news coverage, including the story of the murder at CARD, but she faces major obstacles on all fronts as she pursues the killer.

As the case twists and turns, Emily navigates the city she loves, relishing Chicago’s architecture, neighborhood restaurants, culture and her beloved, if hapless, Chicago Cubs.

Will she uncover the murderer and bring justice for those who depend on hard-working journalists to write the stories that define their lives? Find out in Winter Gets Hot!

Amazon

About The Author

David M. Hamlin is the author of three Emily Winter mysteries as well as short fiction which has appeared in Mystery Weekly Magazine and Potato Soup Journal. He is also the author of two non-fiction books (The Nazi/Skokie Conflict, 1980; Los Angeles’s Original Farmers Market, 2009), countless editorial page commentaries, free-lance articles and a political satire column. Mr. Hamlin is a former ACLU executive and partner in a successful Los Angeles PR agency which specialized in social justice campaigns. He lives, writes and plays tennis in Palm Springs California; Mr. Hamlin’s wife, Sydney Weisman, is an accomplished journalist, publicist and cabaret performer.

Contact Links

Purchase Links