Jack Canon's American Destiny

Broken Pieces

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Rare Disease Day 2013 - Info & G!veaways

On this day, millions of patients and their families will share their stories to focus a spotlight on rare diseases as an important global public health concern.

“There are nearly 30 million Americans—and millions more around the world—affected by rare diseases,” said Peter L. Saltonstall, president and CEO of NORD.  “Everyone knows someone with a rare disease.  But, while many of these diseases are serious and lifelong, most have no treatment and many are not even being studied by researchers.  This leaves patients and families without hope for a better future.”

On Rare Disease Day, people with rare diseases around the world promote awareness of the challenges of living with a rare disease.  The global theme for 2013 is “Rare Disorders Without Borders.” 

World Rare Disease Day was launched in Europe in 2008 and last year was observed in more than 60 nations.  It is always observed on the last day of February.  On that day, patients and patient organizations will post stories, videos and blogs online and host events to raise awareness of these diseases, which are often called “orphans”.

This year, the observance has special significance in the U.S. because 1983 is also the 30th anniversary of the Orphan Drug Act, which provides incentives to encourage companies to develop treatments for rare diseases, and of NORD, which was established by patient advocates in 1983.

“More than half of the people who have rare diseases are children,” Saltonstall said.  “Challenges faced by patients and their families include delayed diagnosis, few treatment options, and difficulty finding medical experts.  Many rare diseases have no approved treatment.  Insurance may not cover treatments that aren’t approved.  Also, treatments for rare diseases tend to be more expensive than those for common diseases.”

In 1983, the Orphan Drug Act was passed by Congress to create financial incentives for companies to develop treatments for rare diseases.  Since then, more than 400 orphan drugs and biologics have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  It is estimated that approximately 15 million Americans benefit from these products, but that still leaves millions more with diseases for which there is no approved treatment.

For more information about Rare Disease Day activities in the U.S., go to www.rarediseaseday.us.  For information about global activities, go to www.rarediseaseday.org).

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In conjunction with Rare Disease Day, Pandora Poikilos' books will be free from 28th February 2013 till 15th March 2013. To download your free copy, please click on the links below.

Excuse Me, My Brains Have Stepped Out is free via KDP Select (Kindle) from now till 3rd March.
Dora's Essentials - Examining Anxiety is free via Smashwords from now till 15th March.
Genetically Modified Foods vs. Sustainability is free via Smashwords from now till 15th March.
Pandora's Reading Room (Short Story compilation) is free via Smashwords from now till 15th March.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Orangeberry Book of the Day – Birds of A Feather by Kara Stefanowich

birds of a feather

When Shiloh Lashley, an International Assassin, breaks all the rules and falls in love with Monty Wright, her latest target, she finds herself in a conspiracy with her own name on the hit list — and a deep, dark secret surfacing in the fight to save her love, her life and a past she’s hidden for so long.

Birds of a Feather is a sexy tail spin of murder, money and conspiracy that gets blown to bits when Monty Wright and Shiloh Lashley are both hired by opposing agencies to kill each other. When the assassins finally meet the sparks fly, along with a hail of bullets which lead them straight into each others arms. But when their agencies discover their affair, cities crumble and a barrage of car chases, explosions and gun fights stalk the lovers around the globe, from Berlin, Germany to Tijuana, Mexico. Even as their affair blossoms, the shock still grips the pair as there are secrets a plenty in the world of spies and contract killers.

Can their love withstand the smoke of gunfire, or will their secrets tear them apart and take their lives?

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Suspense / Thriller

Rating – R

More details about the author

Connect with  Kara Stefanowich on Facebook & Twitter

Monday, February 25, 2013

Orangeberry Book of the Day – No Foolin’ by Lisa Scott

Welcome to Willowdale, North Carolina, a small town where the folks are friendly, the romances are as sweet as the tea, and the biddies at the diner gobble up gossip like it’s peach cobbler. This may be their biggest scoop ever.

When sexy Hollywood bad-boy Teague “T-Rex” Reynolds comes to this quiet Southern town, he needs a fake girlfriend to hide the secret that brought him there. School nurse Kate Riley takes the job, but she won’t fall for a movie star, no ma’am. That’s fine with Teague. He hung a closed sign on his heart years ago.
Convincing the press they’re in love is one thing. Fooling each other they’re not is getting harder each day. Despite scandal, heartache, and misunderstandings galore, they might just find the sweet thrill of true love. Book one of The Willowdale Romances.

Lisa Scott is a former TV news anchor who now makes up stories instead of sticking to the facts. Learn more about where her ideas come from and what’s on the way at ReadLisaScott.com

Buy now @ Amazon

Genre – Contemporary Romance

Rating – PG15

More details about the author

Connect with Lisa Scott on Facebook & Twitter

Friday, February 22, 2013

Orangeberry Book of the Day - Kaleidoscope World - Tomica Scavina

Tomica Scavina

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Psychological Thriller

Rating – PG

More details about the author & the book

Connect with Tomica Scavina on GoodReads & Twitter

Website http://www.tomicascavina.com/

 

A collector of kaleidoscopes and lousy relationships, Dahlia Kasper leaves her possessive alcoholic mother and moves from New York to Barcelona. In search of lost bits of her childhood, she starts living in an apartment where her father was murdered when she was four. As soon as she enters the apartment, strange things begin to happen.
Her favorite kaleidoscope becomes a gateway to another dimension where she encounters a ghost of a famous physicist from the 19th century who tries to persuade her that reality is like a moth-eaten sweater - full of holes. He needs her to help him plug up these holes and save the world from vanishing, while the only thing Dahlia really wants to save is her sanity.
This is just a part of Dahlia's problems. An elderly cello-playing neighbor turns her emotional world upside down and her longing for lost home takes her further than she ever imagined she could go. To collect all the scattered kaleidoscope-bits of her life together, Dahlia needs to go through an intense inner transformation that takes courage and a sharp sense of humor.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Orangeberry Book of the Day – Undertow by Elle Chardou

undertow

Five years ago, Evie Sandstrom and Finn Reilly were best friends and each other’s first love. Although neither has forgotten this time of their lives, they have moved on from one another and the secrets that continue to haunt them from the past.

Evie, now a college student, has decided to transfer for her junior year to Boston University to be closer to her family…and Finn Reilly is still there — waiting for her — in Charlestown.

During part of a gorgeous summer, the beauty of their love is rekindled again only to be torn apart by Evie’s mother, the beautiful and untouchable superstar, Athena Donahue.

Evie, angry and humiliated, is determined to avenge her mother for what she has done. Athena’s recently married Etienne Fournier, a thirty-year-old French model, and he is dangerously attracted to Evie.

Love and lust collide in the cruelest ways and now Evie finds herself conflicted, swept in the undertow and caught in the crossfire of temptation and desire for Etienne though she desperately wants to maintain the loyalty and fidelity she has promised to Finn.

Evie learns the most valuable lesson of all: falling in love is easy but for a young woman who doesn’t like to commit, maintaining a relationship is the hard part.

Publisher’s Note: Due to mature behavior, sexual references, drug references and language, this novel is recommended for those 17+.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Contemporary Romance

Rating – R

More details about the author

Connect with Elle Chardou on Facebook & Twitter

Blog http://thebeautifulpeopleawritersjourney.blogspot.com/

Chloe Carstairs – What Makes the Perfect Book Blog?

What makes the perfect book blog?

by Chloe Carstairs

Use your blog to promote your book – and vice versa – by finding the right hooks.

If you’ve written a book, by now you know that “The End” is only the beginning. You now have to be a brilliant blogger, not to mention a Facebook aficionada and a Twitter buff, to let the world know your book even exists. Daunting, right? Well, the blogging part doesn’t have to be. In fact you’ve already done the hardest part – the writing the book part. And if you’ve done that properly, you’re well on your way to building a successful blog around it. Forget scratching your head for content.  (That’s a word bloggers toss around a lot, by the way, “content”. Sounds very official.) You’re just 3 steps away from having all the ideas you need to generate content for several posts a week. Let’s get started.

Step 1: List your book’s hooks:

What are some cool things about your book’s main character, setting, time period or theme that you used to hook your reader. For my book, Murder on the First Day of Christmas, my hooks would include: hilarious main character, decorating , mother-daughter relationships, Christmas, amateur detectives, humor, dating disasters, mystery, Birmingham. Don’t forget themes too. My friend wrote a book about a girl who is disfigured in a fire, so her hooks might include alienation, leaps-of-faith and self-discovery. Oh, and since you’re a writer, you get two freebies. “Writing craft” is automatically one of your hooks. “Author” is another. If you’ve already made a name for yourself or lead an interesting life, you should definitely be the subject of your own blog, but knowing your hooks can still be helpful.

Step 2: Choose the hooks with the biggest crooks

By that I mean, look over your list and decide which of those hooks can generate the most content. On my list, decorators, mother-daughter relationships and mystery immediately jump out. There are entire channels, magazines and blogs dedicated to decorating but, small confession here, my author, Billie Thomas, isn’t an expert. She’s also pretty shy, so I’m going to replace decorator with hilarious main character. Billie turned this blog over to me, figuring that I’d be more fun. (I love an author that knows her limitations.) Mysteries and being an amateur detective are definitely two more angles worth pursuing, since I’m starring in a mystery series. Finally, while mother-daughter relationships are rich with content possibilities, dating disasters are funnier. So my hooks with the biggest crooks are: hilarious main character, mystery/amateur detective and dating disasters. Note: While my blog will be mostly about these things, I’m not losing the other hooks just yet. Which brings me to…

Step 3: Blog with baited hooks

Ready to use your hooks to generate content? Good, because this is the fun part. As a ‘hilarious main character’, on my blog I can do interviews with other author’s characters and there have been a lot of them on chloegetsaclue.com. I can also blab Billie’s writing tips like they’re my own, write about decorating without being an expert and talk about my fictional mother-daughter relationship rather than Billie’s real one. Mystery is probably my biggest hook and I’m having fun creating mini mysteries or giving tips on being a savvy – not to mention stylish– amateur detective. Oh, and I’m dating, often with disastrous results, so I can easily dish the dirt on those. Notice how I haven’t abandoned my minor hooks, like decorating and mother-daughter relationships? I just use them as a fresh angle for my bigger hooks.

Now if you’re books aren’t a series, can this exercise still work for you? Sure. If you’re blogging as yourself, find hooks about your life, your expertise or your writing that you can blog about. Using your minor hooks to give a fresh take on your major ones will keep the content coming. It’s still your writing – both in your book and in your blog – that will win over readers.

Hope these tips help take some of the mystery out of creating a book blog. And, hey, speaking of mysteries, I hope you’ll check our mine, Murder on the First Day of Christmas. Here’s how:

Links to books

http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Christmas-Carstairs-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B00APPOR40/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_2

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-on-the-first-day-of-christmas-billie-thomas/1113992722?ean=2940016095981

About Murder on the First Day of Christmas

Finding a severed hand at a client’s house might throw lesser decorators off their games. But Chloe Carstairs and her mother, Amanda, won’t let a little thing like murder keep them from decking the halls. With a body under the partridge’s pear tree and a dead Santa in a sleigh, they have to crack the case before the killer strikes again – this time much too close to home.

Filled with laugh-out-loud humor, romance and a delightfully difficult mother-daughter relationship, this new series from Billie Thomas offers a fast-paced caper as these two southern ladies try to keep their very merry Christmas from turning into the Noel from hell.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Mystery

Rating – PG

More details about the book

Connect with Chloe Carstairs on Facebook & Twitter & GoodReads

Orangeberry Book Tours – Murder on the First Day of Christmas by Billie Thomas

It’s beginning to look a lot like murder.

Finding a severed hand at a client’s house might throw lesser decorators off their games. But Chloe Carstairs and her mother, Amanda, won’t let a little thing like murder keep them from decking the halls. With a body under the partridge’s pear tree and a dead Santa in a sleigh, they have to crack the case before the killer strikes again – this time much too close to home.

Filled with laugh-out-loud humor, romance and a delightfully difficult mother-daughter relationship, this new series from Billie Thomas offers a fast-paced caper as these two southern ladies try to keep their very merry Christmas from turning into the Noel from hell.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Mystery

Rating – PG

Connect with Chloe Carstairs on Facebook & Twitter & GoodReads

Orangeberry Book Tours – Murder on the First Day of Christmas by Billie Thomas

It’s beginning to look a lot like murder.

Finding a severed hand at a client’s house might throw lesser decorators off their games. But Chloe Carstairs and her mother, Amanda, won’t let a little thing like murder keep them from decking the halls. With a body under the partridge’s pear tree and a dead Santa in a sleigh, they have to crack the case before the killer strikes again – this time much too close to home.

Filled with laugh-out-loud humor, romance and a delightfully difficult mother-daughter relationship, this new series from Billie Thomas offers a fast-paced caper as these two southern ladies try to keep their very merry Christmas from turning into the Noel from hell.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Mystery

Rating – PG

Connect with Chloe Carstairs on Facebook & Twitter & GoodReads

Billie Thomas – Character References

Character References

by Billie Thomas

5 tips for creating credible characters

I’ve never fully bought into the notion that characters talk to their author. I’ve always felt it’s just something writers tell themselves to explain the voices in their head. I do, however, believe that the better writer knows their character before they even sit down to write, the more well-rounded and believable they’ll be. Here are my five go-to tips for coaxing characters out of your head and on to the page.

Give them backstory:

A wise person once said (or maybe just posted on Pinterest) that the best way to know where you’re going in life it to look at where you’ve been. That applies to characters too. Whether you include it your novel or not, giving your characters a fully realized past will make their present more believable, and help guide their future actions.

Have them write you letters:

This is my actually a technique shared with me by one of my mentors and I have to admit it works. Sit down and have, not just your main character, but your supporting characters write you a letter to explain themselves, their motivations, their side of the story. You’ll be surprised at how much better you understand them when you…write a mile in their shoes? Something like that.

Use the five senses.

Defining how a character smells immediately gives the readers a visceral sense of who they are. Likewise, the pitch of their voice, the sound of their laughter helps bring a character in sharp focus. How they taste? Yep, that too, and not just in love scenes or serial killer thrillers.

Think about how and where they live.

Yes, my main character is a decorator so maybe I’m a little biased about this one, but giving readers a glimpse of a character’s living space is like a visual Myers Briggs Test. But take it a step further and show how they live too. Eating a microwave dinner in front of the television every night? Bringing home a different lover every weekend? Compulsively polishing a ceramic kitty collection? You get the picture and so will your readers.

Give them a quirk

Perfect is boring. Letting your character’s freak flag fly a little can help endear them to the reader.  Does your character like looking in other people’s medicine cabinets, shoplift, have 100 red lipsticks, cyberstalk on the first date? If that quirk can get them in – or out of –trouble, all the better!

Hope these tips help take some of the mystery out of creating believable characters. And speaking of mysteries, I hope you’ll check our mine, Murder on the First Day of Christmas.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Mystery

Rating – PG

More details about the book

Connect with Chloe Carstairs on Facebook & Twitter & GoodReads

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Murder on the First Day of Christmas by Billie Thomas

Murder on the First Day of ChristmasMurder on the First Day of Christmas by Billie Thomas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Favourite character(s) … This is a draw between Chloe and Amanda.

Favourite location / setting … Chloe and Amanda eating at Tony’s the restaurant owned by Tony Trianos. Everyone suspects he is a mob boss or connected somehow.

Favourite scene … I really enjoyed the little tiff with Amanda and Alex. He says no, she say yes. They talk and settle everything.

Favourite quote … “Says the woman who puts the ‘hor’ in ‘horticulture,’” Mom murmured, again eyeing the smaller kissing balls.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the author.

View all my reviews

Orangeberry Book of the Day - Secrets by Liz Schulte

Secrets by Liz Schulte

While Olivia Martin observed life through her camera, the Abyss gazed back at her. She discovers mysterious men follow her around, people close to her are dying, and her dreams are no longer her own as she falls head over heels for a perfect stranger. A chance encounter leads to an obsession that could destroy everything she has ever known or loved. Olivia is about to find out there is a lot she doesn’t know and sometimes what you don’t know can kill you.

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – Paranormal Romance

Rating – PG13

Connect with Liz Schulte on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.lizschulte.com/

Monday, February 18, 2013

Orangeberry Book Tours – The Lucky Escape by Dr. Heather Manley

Merrin and Pearl’s little brother Robbie has swallowed a penny. Now through magic and imagination they find themselves on an adventure through his digestive system where they must grab the penny, save Robbie, and narrowly escape his poopy diaper.

Buy now @ Amazon

Genre – Children’s Book

Rating – G

Connect with Dr. Heather Manley on Facebook & Twitter

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Orangeberry Book of the Day – Genetically Modified Foods vs. Sustainability – Bruno McGrath

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“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein
This ebook points out the surrounding issues of genetically modified fruit and vegetables that consumers are unaware of. While several parties defend the use of technology to create food, there seems to be little being done to increase awareness about this matter to the end consumer. It also points out alternative food sustainability options such as organic farming and land management.
This ebook will indicate that although some parties agree that genetically modified food items are cost effective and considered safe, its long-term results have not been adequately researched and the use of pesticides on these items are far higher than for other types farming or food products.
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Food & Cooking (PG)
Connect with Bruno McGrath on Facebook

Orangeberry Book Tours – The Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy

A loud, hissing sound filled the air. The unicorns looked up, their eyes filled with horror.

Azaria, a unicorn colt, is intrigued when the young clairvoyant dinosaur, Darius, foresees a terrifying change in the world. When a giant fireball smashes into the earth, the unicorns struggle to survive the hurricanes and starvation that follow. Danger of a more sinister nature threatens when the creatures-that-walk-on-two-legs settle in the valley and their leader, Ishmael, discovers the healing power of the unicorns’ horns. Azaria, now a young stallion, must use his wits to save the herd from complete extinction.

 

 

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Middle Grade Fantasy

Rating – G

Connect with Suzanne De Montigny on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.suzannedemontigny.com/

Suzanne Montigny – A World Without Books

A World Without Books

by Suzanne de Montigny

A world without books is really scary. I look at my own two boys and how much time they spend playing computer games if I let them. I’ve explained to them that those games are an addiction and are preventing them from developing their talents. While they vegetate in front of the computer screen, someone else is getting rich. It reminds me of the old opium dens that ruined families. The opium lords became very wealthy while patrons sat around in a stupor, throwing their families into a state of poverty.

My younger son used to be an avid reader. Now he can’t even finish a book because it doesn’t move as fast as his games. Even watching tv is too slow for my boys. They oftentimes try to game while watching a movie until I catch them. I can’t begin to tell you how often I’ve locked iPads, iPods, and MacBooks in our safe.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Middle Grade Fantasy

Rating – G

More details about the book

Connect with Suzanne De Montigny on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.suzannedemontigny.com/

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Review: The Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy (The Shadow of the Unicorn, #1) by Suzanne de Montigny

The Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy (The Shadow of the Unicorn, #1)The Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy by Suzanne de Montigny
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

List the characters and describe them. Azaria – young unicorn; Polaris – father to Azaria; Saul – great chief dinosaur; Gaelan – friend to Azaria; Elizza – mother to Gaelan; Maresa – mother to Darius; Darius – son to Maresa, a seer; Aurora – mother to Azaria; Ishmael – human, wants the unicorns horns; Adiva – wife to Ishmael; Ali – daughter to Ishmael and Adiva

Where did the story take place? Beginning of time or almost.

What have you read that is similar to this book? This book reminds me of a movie “The Land Before Time”

Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the author.

View all my reviews

Orangeberry Book of the Day - Excuse Me, My Brains Have Stepped Out - Pandora Poikilos

Anya Michaels is having the time of her life. She has the man of her dreams by her side. She has graduated at the top of her class. She has the job others were lining up for. Between late night drinks at her favourite bar and fancy dinners at the most expensive restaurants, she has a string of adoring friends. Everything changes when she hears the dreaded words, “You are sick.”
Being diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder, her world starts to fall apart, one piece at a time. Now dumped, her four year relationship is nothing but a memory filled with pictures, thoughts and a very broken heart. Her job becomes an even further challenge as she tries to hide her condition. Her friends suddenly have more important things to do, what is a party without a party girl? Perfect could not crumble any faster.
Soon, caught between situations, people and pieces of life that she never dreamed of planning for herself, Anya begins to wonder if her brain condition is all that bad. As she absorbs the changes in her life and realization sets in, she begins to wonder if she is the only one saying: Excuse Me, My Brains Have Stepped Out.
Buy Now @ Amazon Kindle
Genre – Women’s Fiction
Rating – PG
Connect with Pandora Poikilos on Twitter

Friday, February 15, 2013

Quality Reads UK - Special Feature

HOT STUFF

This is a monthly feature where we will share our top reads of the month.

Books are picked by our book club members and we do not receive any compensation for the books listed on this page.

PRAISE FOR BROKEN PIECES:

‘So ridiculously amazing, I can’t take it’ ~ Gabe Berman, Author ‘Live LIke A Fruit Fly

‘Engrossed. It is a grippingly brilliant work’ ~ Frank Feather, author and blogger

‘Any woman who has had a former lover (or two or three) will be able to relate to this. Her writing is very poetic.’ ~ LS Hullinger, reader, writer

‘A brilliant and intense must read’ ~ Jeffery Rowan, reader

Out less than three weeks, Broken Pieces already hit the Paid Top 10 list on Women’s Studies!

Welcome to bestselling author Rachel Thompson’s newest nonfiction work! Vastly different in tone from her previous essay collections A Walk In The Snark and The Mancode: Exposed, BROKEN PIECES is a collection of pieces inspired by one woman’s life: love, loss, abuse, trust, grief, and ultimately, love again.

This is NOT a humor book! It IS a book about relationships, a study of women, a book with heart.Want to see why people love it? Why they call it ‘riveting, powerful, insightful?’

Read it and see why Broken Pieces is tearing up the lists for Nonfiction, Women’s Studies, and books for women!

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Non Fiction

Rating – PG13

More details about the author

Connect with Rachel Thompson on Twitter & Facebook

Marching With Caesar-Conquest of Gaul is a first-person narrative, written in the form of a memoir as dictated to a scribe of Titus Pullus, Legionary, Optio, First Spear Centurion of Caesar’s 6th and 10th Legion. The memoir is written three years after his retirement as Camp Prefect, when Titus is 61 years old.

Titus, along with his boyhood friend Vibius Domitius, joins the 10th Legion in the draft of 61 BC, when Gaius Julius Caesar is the governor of Spain. Titus and Vibius are assigned to a tent group, with seven other men who will become their closest friends during their times in the legion. Titus, Vibius and their comrades endure the harsh training regimen that made the legions the most feared military force in the ancient world. The 10th Legion is blooded in a series of actions in Spain, led by Caesar in a campaign that was the true beginning of one of the most brilliant military careers in history.

Three years after joining the legions, the 10th is called on again, this time to be part of the subjugation of Gaul, one of the greatest feats of arms in any period of history. During the subsequent campaigns, the 10th cements its reputation as Caesar’s most favored and trusted legion, and is involved in most of the major actions during this period.

This first book of a completed trilogy closes with Caesar crossing the Rubicon, and the 10th preparing to march to war, this time against fellow Romans.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Historical Fiction

Rating – PG

Connect with RW Peake on Twitter

Website http://www.marchingwithcaesar.com/

In the second book of the critically acclaimed Marching With Caesar series, Titus Pullus and his friends in the 10th Legion are called on to serve as the agents of change as their general, Gaius Julius Caesar singlehandedly changes the Roman Republic to Empire. From Spain and the dusty plains of Pharsalus, to the streets of Rome itself, Titus must survive the battlefield and navigate the treacherous world of Roman politics.

Helping Titus are his surviving tentmates, including his best friend Vibius Domitius, but like the rest of the Republic, their friendship is tested by the strife and fratricide that comes with civil war. At the same time, Titus has to deal with the challenges that have confronted career military members throughout the ages as he tries to balance the demands and heartache created by the long absences from his young family.

Nevertheless, through it all Titus and the men of the 10th Legion continue Marching With Caesar.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Historical Fiction

Rating – PG13

Connect with RW Peake on Facebook & Twitter

Blog http://blog.rwpeake.com/

Evolved Publishing presents a wild journey to a sister planet of Earth, in “The Silver Sphere” by Michael Dadich. [YA Fantasy/Sci-Fi]

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Shelby Pardow never imagined she could kill someone. All she wants to do is hide from her troubled father… when she is teleported to awaiting soldiers on the planet Azimuth. Here she is not a child, but Kin to one of the six Aulic Assembly members whom Malefic Cacoethes has drugged and imprisoned. He seeks to become dictator of this world (and then Earth by proxy).

His father, Biskara, is an evil celestial entity, tracked by the Assembly with an armillary device, The Silver Sphere. With the Assembly now deposed, Biskara directs Malefic and the Nightlanders to their strategic targets. Unless….

Can Shelby find the other Kin, and develop courage and combat skills? Can the Kin reassemble in time to release or replace the Assembly, overthrowing Malefic and restraining Biskara?

~~~~~

This eBook is DRM-Free.

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – YA / Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Rating – PG

Connect with Michael Dadich on Facebook & Twitter

Orangeberry Book of the Day - Perception & Volition by Lee Strauss





Eternal Life is To Die

For seventeen year old Zoe Vanderveen is a GAP—a genetically altered person. She lives in the security of a walled city on prime water-front property along side other equally beautiful people with extended life spans. Her brother Liam is missing.

Noah Brody is a natural who lives on the outside. He leads protests against the GAPs and detests the widening chasm they’ve created between those who have and those who don’t. He doesn’t like girls like Zoe and he has good reason not to like her specifically.

Zoe’s carefree life takes a traumatic turn. She’s in trouble and it turns out that Noah, the last guy on earth she should trust, is the only one who can help her.

Want to read PERCEPTION? It's FREE on Kobo itunes B&N Smashwords
and .99 on Amazon!

VOLITION is the exciting continuation of Noah and Zoe's story from Perception.



What doesn't kill you ...

Zoe Vanderveen is on the run with her captor turned rescuer, Noah Brody.

They're in love.

Or at least that’s what he tells her. Her memories have returned but her feelings are dreamlike—thin and fleeting. Her heart can’t be trusted. Just look at what happened with Taylor Blake.

Senator Vanderveen’s new team of cyborg agents are in hot pursuit, and a reward for their capture is broadcast nationwide. Record breaking cold and snow hinder their escape. Someone dies helping them.

And their fight for survival has only begun.

Mark to read on goodreads.


To celebrate Lee Strauss is giving away a $200.00 Amazon, Nook or itunes gift card!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

About the author
Lee Strauss writes historical and science fiction/romance for upper YA and adult readers. She also writes light and fun stuff under the name Elle Strauss. To find out more about Lee and her books check out her facebook page. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/elle_strauss To find out about new releases sign up for her newsletter at www.ellestraussbooks.com


Thursday, February 14, 2013

Orangeberry Book Tours – Fighting the Effects of Gravity by James Robinson Jr.

fighting the effects of gravity

Fighting the Effects of Gravity is an Indie Excellence Award Finalist and recipient of a Readers Favorite 5 Star Review.

James Robinson, Jr. had it all: three beautiful children, a loving wife, a new home, a good job. But at age 36, the bottom would literally fall out of his life. He would watch his once firm deriere fall overnight never to rise again–succumbing to the evil forces of gravity.

Fighting the Effects of Gravity is a humorous, midlife, memoir full of anecdotes and life lessons. You’ll find yourself laughing out loud at the author’s experiences and how much they relate to your own. Life is short; don’t let gravity get you down.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – NonFiction Memoir

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with James Robinson Jr. on Facebook & Twitter

James Robinson Jr – 10 Things You Didn’t Know

Ten things you didn’t know about Fighting the Effects of Gravity

by James Robinson Jr.

  1. There are illustrations carefully placed throughout the book.
  2. The book took 15 years to get to its present form and underwent at least 5 paid ($6,000 worth) edits.
  3. I hired three agents to represent me to publishers before getting into digital publishing.
  4. I was offered a contract with an e-book reader called a “Rocket Book” about 8 years ago when there were no other e-book readers on the market.
  5. The book is a humorous memoir in essay form.
  6. The book speaks in a humorous way of subjects of death, old age, and failing health.
  7. The book is divided into two sections: the first section dealing with the physical manifestations and the second half the mental signs.
  8. Part of the book centers around the original symptoms of my midlife ailments: my falling butt. This problem is summed up on in a blurb on the cover of book: “My butt fell and it couldn’t get up!”
  9. One chapter deals with middle-age sex.
  10. The final chapter of the book ends in inspirational fashion.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – NonFiction Memoir

Rating – PG

More details about the author & the book

Connect with James Robinson Jr. on Facebook & Twitter

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Orangeberry Book of the Day - A Stairway To Danger - Ben Woodard

Ben Woodard

1923. An eyeless body. A menacing stranger. And a tangled mystery.

If Clive Cussler and Lee Child wrote a teen book featuring a deadly gang, resourceful boys, and nonstop excitement it would be A STAIRWAY TO DANGER.

Fourteen-year-old Tom is learning farm life from his older cousin, Will, when they stumble on a deserted barge—or is it? The boys smell a mystery and snoop around, but what they find is bigger and more dangerous than anything they could have imagined.

A STAIRWAY TO DANGER is a fun, page-turning thriller with a dark side.

Buy now @ Amazon

Genre – YA / Mystery

Rating – PG

Connect with Ben Woodard on Twitter

Orangeberry Book of the Day - Ethan Justice: Origins by Simon Jenner

He’s a new kind of hero. Join him for his very first adventure.

John Smith’s life is dull and uneventful. Despite a privileged upbringing and education, he is an underachiever of the highest calibre. When Smith wakes up with Savannah Jones, an escort provided by his best friend, Mark Bradshaw, his life is changed forever. Eager to pay Jones, to avoid her pimp breaking his legs, he confronts his friend for the money – but there is one small problem – Bradshaw is dead. But what was the murderer after?

Fisher has lost his job and wants payback. Bradshaw had the one weapon that could grant him the ultimate revenge but torture hadn’t loosened his tongue. Smith and Jones are dragged into Fisher’s grand plot to destroy the bureaucrats responsible for taking the one job where his lust for murder was an asset. No longer part of the elite SAS, Fisher’s licence to kill is revoked. With only vengeance and an unnatural lust for his sister on his mind, Fisher will relish the destruction of anyone that stands in his way.

Jones, an escort for less than a day, must pay her pimp a thousand pounds or be sold to an interested third party with highly unsavoury tastes. Jones needs Smith to pay the money and Smith needs Jones to… well he’s not quite sure, but he clearly likes having her around. Together, armed with nothing but their wits, they become the pawns of an anti-terrorist agency in a plan to capture Fisher before he exacts a revenge that will take thousands of innocent lives.

Can the underachiever become the hero, save the day and get the girl? Find out in this dark story of murder, deceit, lust and revenge. It’s a fun and wild ride into a disturbing world.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Action / Adventure

Rating – PG15

Connect with Simon Jenner on Facebook

Website http://simonjenner.com/

Monday, February 11, 2013

Orangeberry Book of the Day – Grimm End by ST Cameron

Grimm end

Sara Cross never knew that her great-grandfather was still alive until an evil creature sent by his enemies burns down their house and sends her family to seek refuge at his estate on the shores of Lake Superior in northern Minnesota.

Arriving in the small, isolated town of Shadow Bluffs in the valley below his estate, they find that they have stepped into a strange world filled with magic wielders, shape shifters, and the living dead. It is also home to the Moira Sisters, three dark wielders who want to use Sara and her family to steal from her great-grandfather a centuries-old chest containing a dangerous power.

Sara’s family, already fragile after the disappearance of her father several years earlier, is brought to the breaking point as Sara, trying her best to hold her family together, sees them torn apart one-by-one by the strange creatures that inhabit the dangerous town.

When Sara learns that she too has an ability to wield magic, will it be enough combined with the developing talents of her two brothers to fight back against the Sisters? Can she rebuild what is left of her family and keep them together and, more importantly, alive?

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Paranormal Horror

Rating – PG15

Connect with ST Cameron on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://stcameron.com/

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Author Interview – Marti MacGibbon

 

 

What is your favorite quality about yourself? – I’m resilient, and my sense of humor is a big part of that. Not only can I look back at the past and laugh, but I can also inspire others as a professional speaker.

What is your least favorite quality about yourself? – I have a tendency to push myself too hard, or take on too many things at once. So I practice a program of daily self-care, to keep things balanced.

What is your favorite quote, by whom, and why? – “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as if nothing is a miracle, the other is as if everything is.” — Albert Einstein said that, and I love it, because whenever I say it, Einstein and I have got something in common. And the quote is uplifting.

What are you most proud of accomplishing so far in your life? – I’ve come a long way — rebounded from hard-core drug addiction, domestic violence, homelessness, and being sold into human trafficking in Japan. I can now let others know that no matter how low your low point, you can create positive transformation by changing the way you think about yourself, the world and other people.

What is your favorite color? — Red. Except at a stoplight, and then it’s green.

What is your favorite food? – That’s a tough one. I love so many foods! Cookies. Guacamole. Blueberries.

 

 

Never Give in to Fear: Laughing All the Way Up from Rock Bottom, the enhanced edition of this darkly funny, dramatic memoir, describes an emerging standup comic’s drug-fueled descent into the underworld, escape from human traffickers, homelessness, and ultimate redemption. With brutal honesty, humor, and clarity, the author vividly describes her experiences as she rides her downward spiral: a near-miss with a notorious serial killer, a series of tragically hilarious misadventures in the California drug world, and a terrifying account of imprisonment at the hands of Japanese organized crime, to name a few.

This revised and re-edited version contains three additional chapters that introduce readers to quirky characters, insights into standup comedy, resilience and recovery, and deliver an inspiring message about healing, hope, and courage to change.

What readers are saying …

“Marti MacGibbon shows readers just how rough the road to redemption is in her gritty memoir of addiction… Her raw, honest, casual, funny voice permeates every page… A dark yet inspiring look at conquering addiction and regaining hope.” –Kirkus Reviews

“Marti’s natural humor and storytelling help balance out the book into a symmetrical tale of both hurt and healing. Never Give in to Fear is a book everyone needs to read. This is not only a book about the danger of drugs, but about the power of the human spirit.” –San Francisco Book Review

“Her narration is funny—she can laugh at her old self, even as she shows the reader the terror and loss she felt in the past… Honest to a fault… captivating from the very first sentence. A memoir that offers hope, even in the worst of times, Never Give in to Fear is a terrific read.” –Claire Foster, Foreword Clarion Reviews

“It’s amazing that Marti MacGibbon survived her harrowing life and had the guts to recount it… not too preachy, the author’s candor and sense of humor keep the pages turning.” –Suzanne Daly, the bohemian.com

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Biographies & Memoirs

Rating – R

Connect with Marti MacGibbon on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://martimacgibbon.com/

Orangeberry Blast Off - Cargon: Duty & Sacrifice by Kimberly Gould

In a post-apocalyptic world, Eve has discovered power of more than one nature. In Honour and Privilege, Eve became heir to the throne. In Duty and Sacrifice, she explores and defines the power of the elite. At the same time, electricity is being harnessed for the first time in centuries, providing the first glimpse into the ancient people who left the world as it exists. The horror of this revelation could shake their society as much or more than a servant becoming monarch.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – YA / Sci-Fi Fantasy

Rating – PG13

About the author

In 2009 Kimberly returned to writing beginning by expanding on the work of others, filling in scenes left out of books she enjoyed, elaborating back stories of lesser known characters, and in some cases, writing beyond the end of a book or series.

With these stories, she learned how to craft a novel of her own and finally saw the opportunity to explore ideas she had jotted down, not expecting to return to again. She also found she enjoyed the endeavour so much that the need to write and create filled her. Now she can’t imagine going a week without writing a short story or a chapter for a novel.

Kim and Allen still live in Edmonton with their daughter Delilah, born at the end of 2006.

Connect with Kimberly Gould on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://kimmydonn.com/

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Friday, February 8, 2013

Book Blast: Wildflowers by Schledia Benefield

From the author of Plain Jane comes a new young adult novel by Schledia Benefield
 


Have you ever feared what may be hiding deep within you?

Darkness often skulks in the blood of unsuspecting victims, but Aster McGrath is acutely aware of the violence coursing through his veins. After all, he is the son of a murderer, and everyone in the town of Bayville, Mississippi says he will end up just like his father.

When Susan Blackman moves into town, Aster has already embraced his brutal nature, but her gentle spirit draws him in and slowly melts the icy exterior of his heart. Taming his savagery, she professes her love, but will the good within him be able to overcome the evil lurking deep inside? Or will the fiend break free of its fetters and seek blood?
Fans of Nicholas Sparks' A Walk to Remember will fall in love with the young love, tough choices, sacrifice and redemption found within the pages of WILDFLOWERS.
Buy it TODAY in ebook & paperback at Amazon
 
 
 
About the Author:

imageSchledia Benefield is the author of Plain Jane, Pretty Boy, and her soon to be released novel, Wildflowers. She attended Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College but chose to be a stay-at-home mom for many years. She devoted eight years of her life to working with youth as a youth minister and has been invited to speak in a rehab to hurting and wounded women, giving them hope for a better future. She was the Keynote Speaker for Division 14 of the Key Club International’s divisional rally.
Born and raised on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Schledia holds a sense of pride in her southern heritage. She presently lives in Big Point, Mississippi with her husband and four of her five children. On top of writing novels, she writes youth and children’s church curriculum, and she works as a substitute teacher at East Central Middle School. In her spare time, she reads, sews, and spends time with her family.

Social Media Links:
http://schlediabenefield.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/Schledia

Buy Link:
Amazon (ebook & paperback) http://amzn.to/WPszMD

Thursday, February 7, 2013

February Authors Only Kindle Fire Giveaway

 

February Authors Only Kindle Fire Giveaway

 

Kindle Fire HD Giveaway!

The winner will have the option of receiving a Kindle Fire HD (US Only)

Or $199 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)

Or $199 in Paypal Cash (International)

This giveaway is sponsored by these Authors:
The Reluctant Bachelorette by Rachael Anderson

One Classic Latin Lover, Please by Marcia Lynn McClure

Betrayal by Anne Patrick

Belleyache by Crystal Marcos

Ethan Justice: Origins by Simon Jenner

I Have People by Taylor Dean

For What It's Worth by Karey White

A Kiss of Ashen Twilight by Rae Lori

The Unraveling by Holly Barbo

Fateful by Cheri Schmidt

Dracian Legacy by Priya Kanaparti

Cascade Brides by Bonnie Blythe
A World Apart by Camelia Miron Skiba
Reality Bites, Tales of a Half-Vampire by Shaunda Wenger
Face-Off by Stacy Juba
Two Equals by Marta Szemik

The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw by Suzy Turner
One for Kami by Charlene A. Wilson

Freak of Nature by Julia Crane

Grace Doll by Jennifer Laurens

The Secret of the Scarlet Stone by T.L. Clarke

Gallagher's Hope by M.K. McClintock

The Spy Lover & Prize Winning Pacific Stories by Kiana Davenport

Rejected by Heather Bixler
Rapunzel Untangled by Cindy Bennett

A Hard Act to Follow by Henry Bushkin

Starseed by Liz Gruder

One Classic Latin Lover, PleaseThe Reluctant BacheloretteBetrayal (Wounded Heroes, #3)Bellyache: A Delicious Tale Ethan Justice: OriginsI Have PeopleFor What It's WorthA Kiss of Ashen Twilight (Ashen Twilight #1)The Unraveling (Sage Seed Chronicles, #3)Fateful (Fateful, #1) Dracian Legacy (Dracian, # 1)Cascade Brides: The Complete SeriesA World ApartReality Bites: Tales of a Half-VampireFace-Off (Book One)Two EqualsThe Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw (Morgan Sisters, #1)One for KamiFreak of NatureGrace DollThe Secret of the Scarlet Stone (Gabby Girls Adventure, #1)Gallagher's Hope (Gallagher, #2)The Spy LoverPRIZE-WINNING PACIFIC STORIES  (SPECIAL EDITION, BOXED SET VOL I-III)RejectedRapunzel UntangledA Hard Act to FollowStarseed
Giveaway Details
1 winner will receive their choice of a Kindle Fire HD (US Only), $199 Amazon Gift Card or $199 in Paypal Cash (Internaitonal).
Ends 2/28/13
Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the authors. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. 

 

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