Image Map Image Map

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Official Blog Tour: TRUTH IS RELATIVE by J.J. Lyon @Jensenborger6 Tour Schedule + Giveaway


Just in time to read in front of the fire with a cup of cocoa or your favorite hot beverage, J. J. Lyon's fun private investigator mystery, with a twist, TRUTH is RELATIVE; the first in the A Truth Inducer Mystery series is here. A giveaway, great posts, reviews and best of all? Fun!

About the book:


TRUTH IS RELATIVE
By: J.J. Lyon
Pages: 275
Publisher: Gem Cache Publishing
Genre: Who Dunit-Mystery PI - (Fiction/Mystery)
Anthony Blackwell’s “gift” compels people to confess their deepest secrets.

It corrupts his relationships, derails his career and drives him toward eviction—until he becomes Anthony Bishop, private investigator.

His first case drops him into a deadly family drama that will save him financially, if it doesn't kill him first.

Who can resist a great first line: "The Monday before Thanksgiving, my car disappeared...

From the readers:

"I love the premise of this book, it's like PI Morrow meets Liar Liar."

“This book reminded me of the stone movies Tom Selleck was in. It has the rough feeling of the west but is written smoothly so that it's hard to stop reading. I'm hoping there is/will be more.” Stefanie Andersen - Logan, UT

“A very interesting and innovative plot.” Billie H - Lamesa, TX

From the author:

The world didn't have enough mysteries with a sense of humor, so I wrote one.

From other authors:

"What a fun, great read! I loved the characters and the concept was one I'd never heard of. Reading was an absolute pleasure."
--Rebecca Belliston, author of Sadie and Augustina

"Even though Anthony’s "gift" makes him an effective detective, it is almost impossible for him to establish meaningful relationships. Anthony finds himself in situations fraught with danger, but tinged with humor. His charm and good looks draw people to him, but they quickly regret revealing their darkest secrets. I found myself laughing out loud and reading to find out what happens next. It’s easy to get caught up in the fresh and intriguing story. Lyon has so much imagination and skillful writing, I look forward to reading whatever she comes up with next."
--Carole Warburton, author of A Question of Trust and Poaching Daisies


Amazon | Goodreads 

Excerpt:


Chapter One – Truth is Relativeby J. J. Lyon

The Monday before Thanksgiving, my car disappeared. Or it might have been late Sunday night. The day was half over before I even looked outside. Instead I focused on an ugly painting until I realized I was hungry. I was out of bread and low on groceries in general. I cleaned my brushes, grabbed my keys, opened the front door, and stared at gray asphalt where my Mazda used to be. A few dead cottonwood leaves swirled there before the wind swept them off.

I didn’t bother calling the police. My car hadn’t been stolen, it had been repossessed. 

My cell phone buzzed. It was my brother, Bart. “Hey,” I said.
“Hey, Bro. How’s life in the Big City?” Bart wasn’t being ironic. Compared to our hometown of Jersey, Cheyenne was enormous.
“It’s good!” I stepped back into Sam’s Café and tried to think of something else to say. Something that would back up my lie.
“Great. When are you coming for Thanksgiving?” Bart asked.

My brain scrambled, too busy to pay attention. I didn’t need a car. The abandoned café was a great studio, with north-facing windows and indirect natural light. My work happened right at home.

My work was also stacked against the walls, waiting for a gallery to accept it. The art that was already in a gallery had hung there for months. I needed a day job. A car would help.
“Tony? Hello?”
“Huh?”
“What about Thanksgiving?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Whaddaya mean? I thought you were your own boss.”
“Yeah, but I’m pretty …” I glanced out at the empty parking place. “It’s hard to get away right now.”
Bart was quiet, and when he spoke again he sounded unusually hesitant. “So how are you really?”
“Fine. I’m doing great.”
“Yeah, okay. You know what you need? A night out.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do. I can tell you’re depressed.”
“I’m not depressed.”
“C’mon, Tony. Think of everything we could learn about the beautiful women of Cheyenne.” Bart could afford to be fascinated by my new ability. He didn’t have to live with it.
“I’ve got to go get some groceries,” I said.
“Fine.” Bart sounded annoyed, but he didn’t argue. “Fine, I’ll talk to you later.”

I turned away from the café window and walked to my bedroom, which was actually a converted storage area in the back of the café. A walk-in cooler had once taken up most of the space, but it had been ripped out and sold the last time the place went out of business. There was room for a twin bed and a battered dresser from Goodwill Industries. I pulled my wallet from the top drawer and retrieved my old bike from the back of the building.

It was a cold ride to the store. Cheyenne’s legendary wind pushed against my side and cut across my hands. I’d forgotten my gloves. I zipped my jacket all the way up, stuffed my hands in my pockets, and kept pedaling, glad I had at least one useful talent. God gave me excellent balance.

My mind whirled as fast as my bike wheels, tallying my other useful abilities. I was decent at hanging Sheetrock, and I could tape and texture as long as the customer didn’t mind it a little antique and heavy. As for roofs, I’d done it all—patch, replace, steel, asphalt. If I had a truck I could rent myself out as a handyman. I could work in blissful isolation most of the time.
A gust of wind broadsided me. I went down in slow motion, shifted my weight, scuffed on the pavement with my feet. In the end my shoulder hit the road before I could pull my hands out of my pockets. The car behind me screeched to a stop and a woman got out. “Are you all right?” she asked.

“Fine,” I said. The front bike wheel spun uselessly. My arm hurt. I scrambled out from under the bike, trying to place the woman’s voice.
“Anthony?”
Recognition registered in my gut as much as my ears. I knew that voice. The last time I had heard it, its tone had been much angrier. “Hi, Heather,” I said.
“What are you doing out here in the cold on a bike? I heard you drove a hot Mazda.”
“Not today,” I said.
“I heard you got fired, too. Twice.”
Technically I only got fired once. The other time I quit before the ax fell.

Heather wasn’t in my fan club, but she wasn’t being rude, either. She was just under my influence. After thirty seconds in close proximity, people began confessing to me. I didn’t know why this began happening. For the first year or so, I didn’t realize it was happening at all. But as soon as my “gift” began manifesting itself, my life started rolling down a rocky slope.

“I almost drove by when you fell.” She brushed dirt from my sleeve. “I knew it was you and I don’t want to talk to you, but it looked bad.”
“It’s all right.” I stepped away from her brushing hand.
She didn’t leave. “Can I give you a ride? Please say no. I don’t want to be in a car alone with you, pretending I don’t remember how you—”
“No thanks.” I gripped the handlebars and pressed my weight on them a little. 
She nodded. “You wouldn’t accept help from me anyway. Bart, maybe, but not me.”
“I don’t need it. I’ll see you later, okay?”
“Okay.”

I rode the rest of the way to Safeway with my hands on the handlebars. My fingers numbed in the wind. The pain in my arm faded to a dull ache, and I shook off the encounter with my ex. In the store parking lot, the lights shone in the murky daylight. It was early afternoon, but the thick clouds fooled the light sensors into thinking it was dusk. I went inside the store and found some sandwich meat on sale and a package of rubbery cheese slices. I picked up some day-old wheat bread and waited in line behind a thin, fortyish man with a few days’ beard. He wore dirty jeans and a sweatshirt stained with what looked like motor oil. After thirty seconds, he turned to me.

“My wife left me this morning,” he said.
I nodded. If I didn’t acknowledge him, he would only repeat himself. Louder.
“She put her ring in my hand and said, ‘I’ve got to go to work.’ I said, ‘Can we talk about this?’ and she said, ‘It’s too late.’”
I nodded again.
“How can it be too late? Twelve years, and she can’t even talk about it? Isn’t twelve years worth a little discussion before you throw your husband in the garbage?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“I know I didn’t pay attention before. I mean, when she was going around all mopey and resentful. I just figured she’d work it out. And sometimes she tried to tell me something and I’d change the subject, ’cause I could only hear that her life sucked so many times—”
“They’re ready to ring you up,” I said, nodding to the sales clerk.

The man stepped forward. I stepped back. So far, ten feet looked like the magic distance. More than that, and most people were out of the range of my gift. Less than that and I was in the confessor’s bubble.

“Are you in line?” a young mother asked behind me.
“Yeah. I’m just, uh …” I glanced at the man, who was now deep into an emotional conversation with the salesclerk. Apparently I wasn’t far enough away yet. I took another step back. “That guy needs a little space.”

The mother peered at him. “Is he crying?”
“I think so.”
She shrugged. “It figures. I get it all day from these two.” She nodded to her cart. A baby in the front clung to the push bar and gummed it with a slobbery mouth. A curly-haired toddler sat in the main basket, his fist buried in a box of cereal. “Maybe they never get over it. ‘I need this,’ ‘I want that.’”
I nodded.

“And then their dad comes home and he needs dinner and he wants sex. Everybody’s gotta have something.”
I took a step forward.
“Can’t anybody see that I’m tired? Look at me. I haven’t had a shower in three days, and I’m supposed to be a sex goddess?”
I glanced at her. She was frumpy. “Looks like it’s my turn.” I stepped up to the counter the crying man had just left.
She followed me, closing the space I had opened between us. “I mean, I’m doing good to be conscious at the end of the day.”
“Maybe you should tell this to your mom.” I hoped to deflect her. I didn’t want to hear any more—not today.

“She’s in Alabama,” the young mother said. “Everybody I know has a mom who acts like a built-in babysitter, but I’m stuck here alone in the cold.”
“Ten fifty-four,” the salesclerk said in front of me. I dug my wallet out of my jacket pocket and handed some bills to her.
“You have the most amazing blue eyes.” The clerk leaned forward. This might have been interesting, if she were not sixtyish, wrinkled, and stinking of cigarettes.
I held out my hand. “Can I have my change?” 




Meet the author:



J.J. Lyon is a wife, mom, public relations professional and recovering journalist.

Her passion for prose and love of the American West are so intertwined; she doesn’t think she can separate them. When J.J. runs out of words, she reaches for her camera, takes off on a back road and returns home with a bucketful of inspiration.

She lives in a mountain valley with her husband, three children, some cats, two goats, a bird and a basset hound.

Facebook | Twitter | Website | Goodreads

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Follow the Tour:

September 29th – October 3rd:

September 29th ~ Cabin Goddess ~ Comfort Foods & Reads (Top Ten)
September 29th ~ Jess resides here ~ Advice for Aspiring Writers (Guest Post)
September 29th ~ Laura's Online Interests ~ Promo & Excerpt
September 30th ~ Pinky's Favorite Reads ~ Review & an Interview
September 30th ~ The Road to Nowhere ~ Promo & Excerpt
October 1st ~ Rebecca Belliston ~ Review & Interview
October 1st ~ Bookish ~ Review
October 1st ~ Journeys & Life by Oregonmike ~ Top Ten
October 1st ~ Mohadoha ~ Writer’s Wednesday
October 2nd ~ A Book and a Cup of Coffee ~ Review
October 2nd ~ Library Girl Reads ~ Promo & Excerpt
October 3rd ~ Room With Books ~ Promo & Excerpt
October 3rd ~ Njkinny's World of Books & Stuff ~ Review


Hosted by:

Monday, September 22, 2014

Official Book Tour: ACT ACCORDINGLY by @CynthiaEHansen - Tour Schedule, Playlist + Giveaway!




ACT ACCORDINGLY 
By C.E. Hansen
Release Date: July 16, 2014
Paperback, 472 pages
Genre: Erotic Romance/Adult/Fiction
Twenty-six-year-old Nic Maretta is having a bad year.

She just found out that the man she was in love with and planned to marry is just that, married. So she does what any normal woman would do. She gets drunk, brushes herself off and swears off love forever.

She is thankful to have a best friend that not only loves her, but accepts the new ‘Nic’. This new Nic has decided to live life on her own terms, mocking convention; as well as her own situations. It’s goodbye heartache and hello sexual freedom. After all, what’s good for the goose, is good for the woman who likes sex! Or something along those lines.

Until she accidentally bumps into Brendon…

He is immediately taken in by her beauty and tenacity. She is instantly turned on by his good looks and sex appeal.

One crazy night, one too many champagnes and way too many phone contacts, Nic throws caution to the wind and calls Brendon. To her surprise he comes running.

Game on! 




C.E. Hansen is an American writer who wrote her first romance novel at age fourteen when she discovered writing about boys and girls was way easier than actually having a relationship of her own. Since that time, her communication skills haven't improved, but she likes to think her writing has. After earning an associate’s degree in literature from WC, she worked in a bus company, a law office and a wine/gourmet food shoppe, but she never abandoned writing.

She's a proud mother of a beautiful daughter, lives in New Jersey with her husband and Maltese Zoe, and if she's not working on her latest sexy story, you can find her reading, watching cable television, or indulging in her unhealthy addiction to chocolate.

C.E. Hansen's debut novel IT'S A CRIME was released May 2013, her follow up novel IT'S A SHAME, was released November 11th, 2013.

Her latest, ACT ACCORDINGLY, takes a turn from her normal. Instead of a thriller/suspense, it is a romantic comedy with a healthy injection of spice!  







Lucinda Williams – Are you Alright?
Alanis Morrisette – You Learn
Adele – Turning Tables
Adele – One and Only
Iron and Wine – Flightless Bird, American Mouth
Bruno Mars – It Will Rain
Christina Perri – Jar of Hearts
The Script – Breakeven
Kelly Hogan – I Like to Keep Myself In Pain
Julia Holter – Hello Stranger




September 22ndWriter's Revolution – Spotlight/ Top 10

September 22ndA Book and a Cup of Coffee – Author Interview

September 22ndThe Reader and the Chef – Review/Character Interview

September 23rdAll About Books – Author Interview

September 23rdReads All The Books – Review/Excerpt

September 23rdPenny Write's – Guest Post

September 23rdWriter's Revolution – Author Interview

September 24thAn Open Book – Review/Spotlight/Excerpt

September 24thWriter's Revolution – Excerpt/Teasers

September 25thBookish Debbie – Review/Interview

September 25thWriter's Revolution – Guest Post

September 25thCabin Goddess – Review/This or That

September 25th ~ Offbeat Vagabond – Playlist/Excerpt

September 26thWriter's Revolution – Review

September 26thPBC – Author Interview

September 26th ~ All Things Romance – Guest Post/Excerpt




a Rafflecopter giveaway






Hosted by:

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Official Blog Tour: HARLEY (In The Company of Snipers, #4) by Irish Winters - Tour Schedule + Giveaway @irishwinters1




Sometimes, only the heart remembers…

He’s in the fight of his life…

Suddenly back in Iraq, US Army Corporal Harley Mortimer searches for the men he left behind. He finds himself lost in a world where guilt never lets go and nothing seems real. Dead men talk and die over and over again. There is no peace or rest. Only war. Only despair. Only—didn’t he survive this exact scenario once before?

And who the hell is Judy?

She is a force to be reckoned with… Judy O’Brien’s future is planned and perfect until Harley, the man she intends to marry, goes missing. Mysteriously, Kelsey Stewart disappears the same day. He and Kelsey have a shared history, but do they love each other—that way? Worse, is he the murderer the FBI claims he is? Judy must come to grips with the man she thought she knew. And all of his secrets…




The wife of one handsome husband and the mother of three perfect sons, Irish divides her time between writing at home and travelling the country with her man while - writing. (Seriously, what else?)
She believes in making every day count for something and follows the wise admonition of her mother to, "Look out the window and see something!"
To learn more about Irish and her books, please visit www.IrishWinters.com.
Irish Winters is an award-winning author who dabbles in poetry, grandchildren, and rarely (as in extremely rarely) the kitchen. More prone to be outdoors than in, she grew up the quintessential tomboy on a farm in rural Wisconsin, spent her teenage years in the Pacific Northwest, but calls the Wasatch Mountains of Northern Utah home. For now.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads Twitter


September 15th Kristin Holt – Review/Guest Post
 September 16th The Pleasure of Reading Today – Review

 September 16th PBC – Interview
 September 17th My Secret Bookspot – Review/Top Ten
 September 17th Cabin Goddess – Guest Post on PTSD
 
September 18th Fangirlish – Interview/Guest Post

 September 18th Bookish – Interview
 September 19th Jen's Reading Obsession – Review (Series)
 September 19th Reads All The Books – Review (Series)

a Rafflecopter giveaway





Hosted by: