Summer Collection Anthology

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The authors will be awarding a $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via the rafflecopter at the end of this post during the tour. Please click on the banner to see the other stops on this tour.

Five complete sweet to sensual stories from five multi-talented authors in settings to make any summer occasion more special. Included are:

Meet Me In Seattle by Markee Anderson

Madysen Duke has been coerced to participate in a reality show with her teacher friends. But little does she know, her high school flame is also along for the ride, with intentions much different from hers. Even though she's out for the money, he's trying to thwart whatever crime is happening right before their eyes.

Arrow Through The Heart by Stephanie Burkhart

Summer vacation and the Fourth of July brings Ella to New Hampshire while participating in a tennis competition. Logan is an innkeeper's son who bumps into Ella and invites her for an ice cream. Attraction flares and they enjoy spending time together, but each has their own plans for their life. Then disaster strikes Ella. Can a summer attraction truly become a lasting relationship?

Taking Liberty by Gerald Costlow

Liberty "Libby" Bell is a waitress at a roadside diner, trying to hide from an abusive ex-boyfriend who refuses to leave her alone. She strikes up a romance with Roger, a hunky local fireman, and seems to be getting her life back into gear. Then her ex-boyfriend tracks her down.

Will she be forced to leave Roger and run away again, or see the ex- boyfriend and risk a violent confrontation?

And if that isn't enough to handle, suddenly there's a serial killer in their midst.

Marcy’s Struggle by Larry Hammersley

Marcy Mason is in her final year of graduate school, pursuing a PhD in chemistry. She has brains and looks, but struggles in the romance department. She met Ross Franklin in undergraduate school when she was a senior; he was a freshman and second-string quarterback. Her problem – she was hung up on Leroy Doyle at the time.

Leroy is married and moved away, but Ross, now star quarterback, isn't convinced she’s over Leroy. When Leroy arrives on campus to give a lecture, Marcy must make all the arrangements. After contact with Leroy, Marcy admits to what she’s known all along—she’s over Leroy and wants Ross in her life. Can she convince Ross to look past their different backgrounds and give love a chance?

The Garden by Jory Sherman

Summer brings forth fresh vegetables in the garden and with them, the ultimate fight against insects and wild critters to protect those vegetables. Harvey enjoys his garden, especially the corn – watching it grow, providing food for his beloved wife Ruth. Then, something unusual happens in the garden and his corn begins to disappear.

Enjoy an excerpt from Arrow Through the Heart:

Ella gnawed on her lower lip. Could she steady herself enough on water skis to allow the parachute to lift her? She stared at the parasailing brochure. The man on the front made it look easy, but if it was one thing she learned about life, it was that nothing came easy.

"Hey, you want to try it?" The deep, masculine voice startled Ella. She placed her hand over her chest to steady her heart.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." He walked around to her side so she could see him. "I'm Logan Donovan."

Ella's breath jammed in her throat. Logan's wide smile and kind sky-blue eyes sparkled in the sun. Tall, broad chested, and well muscled, his stance radiated confidence. Men rarely snuck up on her, only Logan had, and he'd taken her breath away.

"Are you all right?" Concern hinted in his eyes. Ella cleared her throat. "Sorry. I'm Ella Perchekov."

"Welcome to Wolfeboro." He gestured toward the water. "What brings you here? Vacation?"

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Markee Anderson makes her home in northeast Wisconsin, surrounded by Packer fans, snow, and cheese. Along with her husband, they have three adult children and two Boston terrier babies. She writes under different pen names, all at: www.sweettalebooks.com

Come visit her at: http://markeeanderson.com

Stephanie Burkhart was born in Manchester, New Hampshire. After graduating from Central High, she joined the U.S. Army. She spent eleven years in the military, seven stationed in Germany. She left the Army in 1997 and settled in California. Stephanie has been married for over twenty years and has two boys, Andrew and Joseph. She now works for LAPD as a 9-1-1 Dispatcher.

Come visit her at: http://www.stephanieburkhart.com

Gerald Costlow lives in Michigan and has published several novels and numerous short stories and novellas over the years. He's currently publishing a romantic-supernatural series with Publishing by Rebecca Vickery.

Larry Hammersley is 76 and has been married to Sue for 51 years. He has two children and five grandchildren. Larry enjoys jogging, amateur radio, occasional woodworking, and is active in his church. He's been writing for 39 years.

Come visit his blog at: http://larryhammersley.blogspot.com/

Jory Sherman began his literary career as a poet in San Francisco's famed North Beach in the late 1950s, during the heyday of the Beat Generation. He has been published widely in literary journals. His first book of poetry, So Many Rooms, was published by Galley Sail Press in 1959.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jory-Sherman/267712936601703

BOOK BUY LINKS:

AMAZON: http://amzn.com/B00KMJB4NG

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/442711

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/2014-summer-collection-vtp-anthologies/1119633249?ean=2940045974271
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Smart Blondes

Today's special guest is Sonia Koso. Sonia grew up in the eccentricity-filled piney woods of North East Texas.  She has been writing since an early age and considers it her first love. After receiving a B.A. in English Writing, her life took a drastic turn and she went to law school. Sonia practiced law for over a decade but was drawn back to writing in 2012. Sonia's stories feature strong women, good-looking guys, legal dilemmas and a dose of humor.  Smart Blondes borrows many characters from her childhood as well as her legal career.

Sonia does most of her writing at her condo in Austin’s hip SOCO district. It’s in walking distance from landmarks including Lady Bird Lake, the Continental Club, and the Congress Avenue Bat Bridge. When not writing, Sonia divides her time between the live music of Austin and the sunshine of Boca Raton. She loves Tex-Mex food, blue water, cocktails and good friends. Sonia often dreams of a man who can do his own laundry and a walk-in closet with a chandelier…but not necessarily in that order.  

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR

Are you a romantic?

Hell yeah! What’s life without romance?

Do you listen to music when you're writing? 

I do listen to music and, specifically, the kind of music that I think my characters would like. For example, Deane Linley from Smart Blondes likes Nina Simone and Florence and the Machine.

Do you ever read your stories out loud?

All the time. I find that this the best way to edit and the only way to achieve natural dialogue.

What are your future ambitions?

In addition to my evil plans for world domination, I want to continue writing and learn to spend more time on fun and less on work.

What have you got coming soon for us to look out for?

Smart Blondes will be released in July. It’s women’s fiction/contemporary romance with a few legal issues thrown in. The main character, Carrie Pryce, has no idea that her charming, sexy husband is carrying on with another woman…until she returns home unexpectedly, mistakes the sounds of passion for a home-invasion robbery, and accidently shoots him in one of his well-toned buttocks. Shocked and crushed, Carrie drives all night to her quirky hometown and collapses in a near-catatonic state.

A crew of ladies spanning three generations realize it’s up to them to help Carrie get her life out of the ditch. Known as the “Presbyterian Mafia,” these are not sweet old gals. They have a book club that never reads, a garden club that doesn’t garden, and a bible study class that gossips about the Methodists. They’re known around town for antics including catfights, car chases and Voodoo rituals. The women enlist Carrie’s former childhood best friend Portia (now a lawyer) and her flamboyant cousin Eric (recently returned from New York) in their effort. 

While navigating the shark-infested waters of reconciliation or divorce and managing a hair-color disaster, Carrie meets Rhett Richards. He’s a handsome, salt-of-the-earth guy who works in the oil fields and can make women think un-Christian thoughts just by wearing a pair of wranglers. The mutual attraction quickly becomes hotter than the handles on the gates of hell. When a long-forgotten prenuptial agreement surfaces, it appears that Carrie will walk away from her marriage with next to nothing. Carrie’s friends, family, and Rhett soon help her realize that living and loving well may be the best revenge.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Austin socialite Carrie Pryce has no clue her criminally charming husband is carrying on with another woman until she returns home unexpectedly, mistakes the sounds of passion for a home-invasion robbery and accidently shoots him in the backside. Stunned, Carrie drives all night to her quirky hometown and collapses in a near-catatonic state.

A crew of ladies spanning three generations realize it’s up to them to help Carrie get her life out of the ditch. Known as the “Presbyterian Mafia,” these are not sweet old gals. They have a book club that never reads, a garden club that doesn’t garden, and a bible study class that gossips about the Methodists. They’re known around town for antics including catfights, car chases and Voodoo rituals. The women enlist Carrie’s former childhood best friend Portia (now a lawyer) and her flamboyant cousin Eric (recently returned from New York) in their effort. 

While dealing with the after-effects of her imprudent gunplay and managing a hair color disaster, Carrie meets Rhett Richards. He’s an attractive oil field worker who can make women think un-Christian thoughts by the mere act of wearing a pair of tight wranglers. Carrie soon learns that hometowns can be the perfect places to bury old scandals and create new ones.

AN EXCERPT

“Baby, put the gun down,” Jake said in a tone of voice one would use with a naughty three year old. “It’s…it’s not what you think.”

Carrie froze. She couldn’t have lowered her arms if she tried. As she scanned the room, she saw the remnants of a well-planned romantic event including champagne, massage oil, and discarded lingerie.

Jake was slowly moving away from the defiled kitchen island and found a potholder to shield his now deflating manhood.

“I wanted to tell you for a while,” Jake started. “I hate that you had to find out about it this way.” Carrie recognized this as his salesman tone of voice—over-articulated, round tones that were completely full of shit.

“This has been going on for a while?” Carrie asked.  Jake looked down and then nodded his head.

He exhaled slowly and gazed downward, his default action before saying something awful. “We’ve been having problems...I’ve tried, but the excitement is gone.”

Excitement? Carrie immediately knew this was man code for I want to trade you in for a new one.  She’d seen it many times but never thought it would happen to her. The phrase I’ve tried but the excitement is gone would run through her head in a relentless loop a thousand times.

“I need to be on my own for a while,” Jake continued in round tones. “With you and Kayley around, I can’t figure any of this out.  I can’t be a grown man. I need fewer responsibilities…”

“You want me and Kayley to leave so you can figure out how to be a grown man? Jesus H. Christ!” Carrie screamed it more than speaking it. She couldn’t help herself.

“Maybe you need to get a few things,” Jake began, “And I’ll call the Driskill Hotel and get you a suite. We’ll talk in a day or two after we both cool down.”

“Let me get this straight. I walk in on you like this… and you think I need to leave?” She firmed up her grip on the tiny Kel-Tec pistol. “I’m not leaving this house, this room or even that damn Aga!” It was an out-of-body experience. She wasn’t sure why she did it but Carrie fired the pistol at the stove.

 There was bang followed by a ping and a whoosh and Jake’s scream.  The bullet hit the front of the Aga, ricocheted off the cast iron and bounced into Jake’s naked butt cheek.

CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR

 www.soniakoso.com

 www.facebook.com/sonia.koso

www.pinterest.com/soniakoso

 
Readers can enter for a chance to win Sephora gift cards or a Vera Bradley tote if you "like" her Facebook page at ww.facebook.com/sonia.koso. This is in addition to the prize you can win in the Rafflecopter giveaway below.

The book is now LIVE on Amazon!  http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Blondes-Sonia-Koso-ebook/dp/B00LZFHF1G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1405932680&sr=8-3&keywords=smart+blondes

It is part of the Kindle Unlimited file and is free if you subscribe to that service. 

One randomly chosen commenter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

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Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: 

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/06/virtual-book-tour-smart-blondes-by.html

Kedzie: Saint Helena Island Slave

Today's special guest is Bonnie Stanard writes poetry, short stories, and, more recently, historical fiction. Her three novels began as one manuscript based loosely on slave narratives collected 1937-38 by the Federal Writers Project and antebellum diaries.

Stanard’s work has been published in journals such as The MacGuffin, Slipstream, Harpur Palate, and Kestrel. In the 80s while she lived in Brussels, Belgium she edited a magazine for English speakers. On returning to the States, she assisted/edited periodicals in Georgia, Virginia, and South Carolina. She lives in Columbia. Her website: http://www.bonniestanard.com. Her blog: http://writepersona.blogspot.com.

 

Awards Won:

 

Third Place; 2013 Savannah Authors Anthology Contest

Honorable Mention; 2011 USC Sumter’s Medical Humanities Writing Event

Second Place; 2009 Carrie McCray Literary Award

Honorable Mention; 2005 Carrie McCray Literary Award

Finalist; 2008 Del Sol Press Poetry Book Contest

Winner; 2008 River Poets Journal Short Poem Contest

Winner; 2008 Ecolit Contest, Knock magazine

Pushcart Prize nomination 2007

Finalist; 2008 Marsh Hawk Book Contest

ABOUT THE BOOK

Kedzie, Saint Helena Island Slave takes place in 1857 on an island plantation in South Carolina. The history of slavery impacts many Southern stories, and the “facts” are still contentious. If you’re black you’re haunted by Uncle Tom and the ubiquitous “Mammy.” If you’re white, you’re confused, if not embarrassed, that your ancestors fought to preserve a culture of cruelty, ignorance, and white male supremacy.

Wonderful and tragic stories told by former slaves were collected by the Federal Writers’ Project in 1937 and preserved as narratives. These former slaves spoke of how they and their parents struggled to keep their humanity. Many of them were courageous and clever. In large measure, they inspired the writing of Kedzie.

How can a Southern white woman write empathetically and authoritatively of the plight of a young slave girl and her master’s abuse in the years immediately preceding the Civil War?

Stanard’s interest in the conditions and fate of South Carolina slaves grew out of her family’s history of working the land in the early 1900’s when descendants of slaves were still trying to make their way as free men and women. Thoroughly researched, Kedzie, while fiction, is historically based and tells the story of what could have been any number of young slaves girls in the years leading up to the war. 

Kedzie, Saint Helen Island Slave is one of a trilogy of antebellum novels written by Stanard.

Kirkus Reviews says of Kedzie, “Stanard has the remarkable ability to immerse the reader in the unstable times of the antebellum South. The frantic pace of the story gives a palpable sense of urgency to Kedzie's predicament, all while speeding toward its eventual resolution ... A stellar, heart-wrenching chronicle of human bondage.”

AN EXCERPT

 

“Your pretty dresses won’t keep a cat warm. Believe me, Kedzie, when your lips turn blue and you’re like a shivering owl, you won’t worry about cutting a figure. You’ll be glad you got a linsey-woolsey dress.”

“I wouldn’t be caught dead in one of them,” she said.

“Where did you put your dress?”

“I threw it away,” said Kedzie.

“Throwed it away? What you talking about?”

“I threw it away, Granny!”

Kedzie stalked out of the cabin. Her blue dress had faded to gray and the bodice gripped her waist so tight she couldn’t button all the buttons, but it bespoke what she wanted to be.

Kedzie wondered if religion could make a difference. Maybe God could help her. She intercepted Iverson on the street one day and said, “I want to ask about something.”

Iverson paused and waited.

“If I want to get religion, what do I have to do?”

“You got to seek the Lord,” said Iverson.

“How do I seek?”

“Some people call it going to the wilderness, but you can go anywheres away from folks—in an old field or piney woods or by the creek.”

“While I’m by myself, what do I do?”

“You pray, child! Pray to God and seek him with all your heart.”

Kedzie asked Granny how she’d known when she got religion.

“I musta been twelve years old when I started seeking the Lord. I heard people what crossed over the river say different things. ‘God done struck me down,’ or ‘I been blinded.’ My brother said he saw fire in the top of a oak tree. God talks different ways to people.”

“What did you see?”

“I did most of my seeking down by Station Creek. On the night I come through, I was so tired and almost asleep when I seen a white man standing out in the middle of the creek. I tried to look at his face, but his eyes was so powerful I couldn’t look. He come up to the bank and held his hand out to me. When I reached up and taken it, I felt something like a warm river run into my arm. He told me he was my Father and I was his child. He said for me to tell the preacher to baptize me.”

Looking for a place to seek the Lord, Kedzie disallowed the best live oak, which grew by the sick house, for too many people happened by. She wandered in the pasture, but the cows and beefs watched her and she felt spiritual interference. The musty nature of the hay loft irritated her nose. She wandered in the woods, came upon the brush arbor, sat on one of the stumps, and began her journey to cross Jordan.

CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR

http://www.bonniestanard.com

blog: http://writepersona.blogspot.com

books are available at various sites on the internet, e.g., barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com