Great Summer Reads: Aeonian Dreams by Morgan J Muir

Morgan J Muir lives in Utah with her fantastic husband, three offspring, and as many cats (but she doesn’t carry them with kits in sacks, and has never been to St. Ives). She grew up riding horses and motorcycles and listening to her grandmother read poetry. She grew up reading any sci-fi/fantasy novel she could get her hands on and so was surprised the day she discovered that she also really enjoyed historical fiction.
Morgan always loved to write and draw and her parents always liked to say that they knew she’d write a book some day.  Ever since she was small she told stories and drew pictures for her tales.  When she got old enough, all of her spare time between classes was spent writing and she always had a notebook with her.
Her first novel was originally written after her first child was born, to help her pass the long, lonely hours as a new stay-at-home mom.  As her kids got older and more came she was too busy to do much with her stories, until one year she was introduced to NaNoWriMo, which finally rekindled the spark that led her to finish what she’d started.

Morgan’s favorite authors are Brandon Sanderson, Kristen Britain and Marion Zimmer Bradley.

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Mariah has chosen to become a vampire, but she can’t remember why.

Upon waking in the labyrinthine caves of Sophus, a centuries-old vampire, Mariah can’t remember all the choices that brought her there, but she does know there are dangerous secrets hidden within her.  As she learns to control her powerful new body— and its bloodthirsty urges— Mariah discovers a unique ability to travel through a world of spirit, the key to remembering her past, and possibly the future. 

At first, it seems her path is simple: learn to control her bloodlust, find her missing husband, and return with him to raise their son. However, things are more complicated than they seem, and neither Sophus nor her husband’s captor is willing to let them go. Mariah must use whatever skills she can to find her husband and protect her still-mortal son, but will it be enough? 

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Snippet:

Lying in Mariah’s hand was a small, brightly woven bag. The colors jumped out at her, like a story begging to be heard. They pulled at her mind, encouraging her to open the bag. She loosened the ties and a small, red stone, carved in the shape of a bird, tumbled onto Mariah’s hand. Tu’uma, the word came to her mind, a sacred, precious stone to the Wayuu. She ran her fingers gently over the bird as memory teased at her. Focusing on the figure in her hand, she allowed her mind to wander.

As before when she’d entered the spirit world, Mariah found herself standing in the field, this time bursting with flowers, as the scent of impending rain and the breeze holding whispering voices washed over her. Raising her hand to inspect the figurine, she found instead a living bird who flitted around her, his black feathers glinting with gold.

Well, hello there, she said, and he trilled at her, dancing in the air. He darted around her head, and as she turned, she saw in the distance a fire burning, like a large campfire. Her stomach knotted at seeing it. It was waiting for her.

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Great Summer Reads: Dark Days of Promise by Shaunna Gonzales

Shaunna Gonzales currently resides with her family in the greater Seattle area. Married

over thirty years, her role as wife and mother of four continue to be her priorities.

A storyteller in her youth, she endevored to extend her love of stories to the written word and in 2005 began to write her first novel. Though that manuscript will remain buried, she has continued to learn.

Once told by her doctors that she would never leave her wheelchair -- due to her Multiple sclerosis. It has been tucked in a closet while she continues on. (In other words muddles on.)

Shaunna has worked as a professional reviewer for InD'Tales eMagazine for three years. In 2012 she also served as the vice president of Moonwriters, the on-line chapter of American Night Writers Association (ANWA She prefers to write romantic fiction and has ventured into the romantic suspense, and time-travel genres. Her debut novel, Dark Day s of Promise was released by Desert Breeze Publishing in 2012 re-released 2015.

Although she prefers to spend her days writing, she is willing to share what she has learned from the school of life and is often found "giving back." 

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Thirty-four year old Vicki Laramie must learn to trust before she can love, but she might die trying.

While Vicki’s children grapple with the death of their father -- a man whom she’s successfully fabricated as loving, a lie her rebellious teenager recognizes -- she must find a way to support her family and find a role model for her boys. 

She never intends to fall for Staff Sergeant Chase, her best friend’s son, who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She’d much rather choose a safer man to love, but her children have a voice in the decision she makes. 

With two deaths to deal with, a suitor after her money, a rebellious son, and Sergeant Chase’s repeated attacks, she can only hope to survive the danger she faces. If she doesn’t, her children will be left without either parent.

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Snippet:

"Um... Janine?" I dropped the letters I'd just tugged out of the mailbox decorated like a big, orange jack-o-lantern, and pointed at the four men in green dress uniforms approaching my front door. My mouth tasted like the Salt Flats.

Janine, my best friend and elderly neighbor, glanced at the house and back at me. "Vicki, it's going to be okay. Even the darkest of days hold a promise of good things. I'll be right here beside you."

I tried to breathe. I thought I had shielded myself from this ever happening to me with the divorce. I was wrong. Dead weight in both legs impeded my instinct to flee. With Janine leaning on her cane at my side, I raced for my front door in slow motion, each step seeming to come slower than the previous one. Struggling with the implications, I willed my feet to move. Step, step…now lift yourfoot. One step... two, you can do it, just one more. I couldn't breathe. I advanced to the porch.

I sidestepped between the army green uniforms, ignoring the need for a polite acknowledgment. My hand, below the frayed sleeve of my faded red shirt, looked old and froze to the doorknob before resorting to automatic pilot. An unconscious reflex spurred me to open the door and usher them inside. The door hung wide, welcoming what I dreaded. I shrank back as though the officers would assault me. Janine came through the door, accompanied by the chaplain.

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Great Summer Reads: The Dragons of Alsace Farm by Laurie Lewis

Laurie (L.C.) Lewis will always be a Marylander at heart—a weather-whining lover of crabs, American history, and the sea. She admits to being craft-challenged, particularly lethal with a glue gun, and a devotee of sappy movies. Her ninth published novel, her first romance novella, Sweet Water, was inspired by a visit to Oregon’s magnificent coastline, and time spent with Mother Eugenie, upon whom the character Mother Thomasine is based. 

Laurie’s women’s fiction novels include The Dragons of Alsace Farm (2016), Awakening Avery (2010), and Unspoken (2004), written as Laurie Lewis. 

Using the pen name L.C. Lewis, she wrote the five volumes of her award-winning FREE MEN and DREAMERS historical fiction series, set against the backdrop of the War of 1812: Dark Sky at Dawn (2007), Twilight’s Last Gleaming (2008), Dawn’s Early Light (2009), Oh, Say Can You See? (2010), and In God is Our Trust, (2011).

She is currently completing a political suspense novel planned for a summer 2017 release, a re -release of a romantic comedy, and she’s working on another historical fiction novel for a 2018 release. She loves to hear from readers.

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Fears and secrets are the dragons we each must face. . . 

In need of his own redemption, Noah Carter finally confronts his childhood hero, the once-beloved uncle who betrayed him. Instead of vengeance, he offers forgiveness, also granting Uncle John a most curious request—for Noah to work on the ramshackle farm of Agnes Deveraux Keller, a French WWII survivor with dementia.

Despite all Agnes has lost, she still has much to teach Noah. But the pair’s unique friendship is threatened when Tayte, Agnes’s estranged granddaughter, arrives to claim a woman whose circumstances and abilities are far different from those of the grandmother she once knew.

Items hidden in Agnes’s attic raise painful questions about Tayte’s dead parents, steeling Tayte’s determination to save Agnes, even if it requires her to betray the very woman she came to save, and the secret her proud grandmother has guarded for seventy years.

The issue strains the fragile trust between Tayte and Noah, who now realizes Tayte is fighting her own secrets, her own dragons. Weighed down by past guilt and failures, he feels ill-equipped to help either woman, until he remembers Agnes’s lessons about courage and love. In order to save Agnes, the student must now become the teacher, helping Tayte heal—for Agnes’s sake, and for his. 

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Snippet:

At the end of the physical exam the doctor praised her, explaining that her cognitive score was twenty-three out of thirty. She discreetly explained that Agnes’s short-term memory was failing despite the medication she’d been given. Agnes was slipping away.

Noah wanted to wrap his friend up in his arms and protect her from the disease, but this was another enemy he couldn’t fight. John’s mind was sharp, but his body was failing. Agnes’s body was strong, but her mind was dying, one cell at a time. He wondered which was worse.

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Great Summer Reads: The Guise of a Gentleman by Donna Hatch

Donna Hatch is the author of the best-selling “Rogue Hearts Series,” and a winner of writing awards such as The Golden Quill and the International Digital Award. A hopeless romantic and adventurer at heart, she discovered her writing passion at the tender age of 8 and has been listening to those voices ever since. She has become a sought-after workshop presenter, and also juggles freelance editing, multiple volunteer positions, and most of all, her six children (seven, counting her husband). A native of Arizona who recently transplanted to the Pacific Northwest, she and her husband of over twenty years are living proof that there really is a happily ever after.

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The widowed Elise is a perfect English lady living within the confines of society for the sake of her impressionable young son. Her quiet world is shattered when she meets the impulsive and scandalous Jared Amesbury. His roguish charm awakens her yearning for adventure. But his irrepressible grin and sea-green eyes hide a secret.

A gentleman by day, a pirate by night, Jared must complete one last assignment from the Secret Service before he can be truly free. Elise gives him hope that he, too, can find love and belonging. His hopes are crushed when his best laid plans go awry and Elise is dragged into his world of violence and deceit. She may not survive the revelation of Jared's past...or still love him when the truth is revealed.

The Guise of a Gentleman is a clean and wholesome Regency Romance, a.k.a. "clean" that explores finding one's true self, loyalty, honor, and trusting loved ones. With plenty of swashbuckling action, it provides a several good twists that play off of familiar situations and proudly proclaims the redemptive power of love.

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Snippet:

Mr. Amesbury moved closer to Elise. Her heart pounded as he neared. His smile turned smug as if he knew her thoughts.

“Despite your earlier refusal, I’m glad to finally learn your name. At least, part of it. What is your Christian name?”

“Missus,” she said through clenched teeth, and turned to leave.

“Wait. Please don’t go.”

The desperation in his softly spoken words arrested her movement. Slowly, she turned back to him. His disconcerting eyes traveled over her face with such intensity it seemed a physical touch. She wondered if he looked at every woman thusly. He probably did. The rake!

“I wanted to thank you again for your assistance in the woods.” A seductive tone rumbled his voice.

“You’re welcome,” she snapped. Her own rudeness shocked her, but this womanizing cad deserved to be brought down a peg or two.

“And to apologize,” he added, unperturbed. “I offended you that day. I do not wish to destroy any chance I might have in the future to become better acquainted.”

“I believe we are too well acquainted already.”

“But I’m in your debt. Please allow me to thank you properly.” His lazy smile and smoldering eyes made her wish she had worn a dress with a higher neckline.

She nervously touched the cameo on the ribbon at her throat. “It’s not necessary to thank me. Besides, I doubt I can trust your definition of ‘properly.’ ”

He laughed softly. “You’re a perceptive woman, Mrs. Berkley. However, I have something less nefarious in mind.” He executed a courtly bow. “I thank you, madam, from the bottom of my heart, for coming to my rescue.”

From an inner coat pocket, he retrieved a velvet drawstring bag, opened it, and inverted it in his hand. A perfect pearl lay in his palm.

He held it out to her. “There is an island in the Pacific where the natives harvest these from the ocean. You can’t see it in this light, but it’s pink. The chief gave this to me to thank me for saving his son. So, to thank you for saving the boy and me, I hope you will accept this token of my gratitude. And, I hope, as an apology.”

She stilled at his unexpected words.

He added, “I offended you with my impulsive behavior, and I humbly beg your forgiveness.” A smile lurked around the corner of his eyes despite the contrition in his tone.

Had a man ever left her so thoroughly confused? He was a muddle of a perfect gentleman and an incorrigible tease. Truly he was a cad. She’d just have to ignore those annoyingly strong elemental stirrings he aroused in her; they would be extremely inconvenient if she, as a mother and widow, followed them.

She indicated the pearl. “Truly, this is not necessary.”

“Please take it.” He grinned with roguish charm. “Otherwise, I’ll be honor-bound to find some other way to thank you.”

Something in his tone dispelled her guard. Laughing softly at his audacity, she picked up the pearl and admired it. “Very well, I accept, lest you become even more outrageous in your expression of gratitude.”

A place in her heart was touched that he’d be so thoughtful as to have brought her a gift that possessed sentimental value, rather than merely one of monetary worth—not that she should be accepting either one from a stranger, but somehow, she could not refuse.

Archly, she said, “And as you were clearly not in your right mind after such a terrible ordeal, I forgive you for your misconduct.” She wrapped the pearl in a lace handkerchief and put it in her reticule.

His smile appeared both wicked and relieved. “I cannot express how much that means to me. I have thought of you often since that day.”

“You, sir, continually breach the boundaries of propriety.” If only she could slow down her traitorous heart and force it to accept her decision to dismiss him as beneath her notice. But she couldn’t simply dismiss someone whose very presence filled the entire garden, and whose thoughtfulness touched her more than she cared to admit.

She almost uttered a sound of disgust. When had she become so easily ensnared by the charms of a libertine? She took another step backward and lost her balance. With a cry, she teetered at the edge of the pond.

His hand shot out to catch her by the arms. Laughter leaped into his eyes while he slowly pulled her closer to his broad chest. His clean and earthy and so very masculine scent crept into her senses. For one brief moment of insanity, she enjoyed his nearness, his arms around her making her feel safe, protected, desirable.

Where had she left her wits?

“Thank you,” she whispered, dropping her eyes and shrugging off his touch.

He dropped his hands to his sides. “Do you really fear me so? Or is it that this isn’t proper, either?”

“Of course this isn’t proper. And I’m wise to mistrust a man whose conduct and intentions are questionable, at best. Unless I have my gun, of course.”

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Great Summer Reads: Zenobia - Challenging a Legend (book 2) by Russ Wallace

Russ Wallace is long-time student of history and religion. He employs a vivid imagination to fill in the life of Zenobia, a real historical figure and one of the most fascinating women who ever lived. 

He is working on future books in the Zenobia Book Series. Zenobia - Birth of a Legend won a 2012 IPPY award in Historical Fiction.

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Sequel to the award-winning Zenobia - Birth of a Legend.

The continuing saga of the deadly young warrior who will one day challenge Rome for the supremacy of her world. As the dynamic girl continues her education in Egypt, for a time she is diverted from her warrior path. Complicating Zenobia's life is a budding romance with her brilliant and charismatic instructor. The challenge - he is the scholar, she the warrior. Can they blend their worlds to become the most exciting couple in Alexandria?

Learning of a slave trade is kidnapped young women, Zenobia determines to free the oppressed. Warrior skills will not be enough. Her new challenge - to become a pirate, then a temptress in her fight for justice.

The Author is putting both books in this Series on special offer on Amazon 25 - 26th of July 2018! 

•       Click the Amazon Link below to view the steeply discounted price!

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Snippet:

     Almost as an afterthought Zenobia asked, “How many men do you know that you can really trust?”

     “How many men can I really trust?” Jasmine repeated Zenobia’s question. After careful thinking, she replied, “None! Whatever you are thinking of doing, if it requires trustworthy men, forget it!”

     The look of controlled, determined intensity on the girl told her that was not likely to happen. This girl is dangerous, extremely dangerous!

     Zenobia waited a minute before questioning, “Aren’t you going to ask me?”

     “No! You don’t know me and I don’t know you. Possession of certain types of knowledge brings danger. I don’t need that!”

     Zenobia contemplated her next step. She needed a man with particular skills, and she did not know how to go about finding him. She made a decision. “I do know you. You are like the leopardess in the forest that I spared. You are alert, skilled, and intelligent, trying to survive in a perilous wilderness of a sort, the alleys of this city. Therefore, I both respect you and value your opinion. I need your help!”

     “Helping you could be dangerous,” Jasmine answered quietly. “Convince me it will be worth the risk.” She liked the girl before her and decided she was willing to be recruited for the right price.

     “First, I already promised your ‘business partner’ 100 gold darics. Second, I guarantee you that, provided I survive, I will personally see to it that you are reunited with him. Third, if you wish to settle in Syria, I will be glad to employ the talents of both of you there. You will find that very profitable.”

     Jasmine was amazed. “I have heard a legend that you were born to rule. I can see that. I can believe that. What exactly do you want?”

     Zenobia thought back to the words of Saladir nine months earlier, A legend has power. He had proved to be a valuable and wise ally.

“Hasshel has a ship carrying kidnapped young girls who are to be sold as slaves.” She paused to read Jasmine’s expression and was gratified to see the older woman’s eyes flash with anger. She continued simply, “I want to take it!”

     “Of course you do,” Jasmine responded. “I saw that in your eyes.” She took a deep breath and said, “I will help.”

     “How do I do it?” It was clear to her that she had another ally, at least for this mission.

     “When does it sail? And which ship is it?”

     “In three days. Your partner told me I was to be one of the captives. We know the vessel.”

     Jasmine considered the options. “You could capture it here in the harbor, but I think that would be too high a risk for several reasons. First, the place is crawling with Roman sailors. Second, there are too many chances that someone would see or hear your attack and report it.

It would be far safer to take the ship in the open sea. What kind of vessel is it, and how large?”

     Zenobia was not pleased about sharing the information, but she did not see another choice.       “It is a coaster, about forty cubits long.”

     “That is helpful. Coasters usually anchor for the night, so you might be able to do a sneak attack. You would want to make your assault early in the morning when the watch tends to be less alert. In any case, you will need a ship, a fast one, to overtake it. Thus, you are going to have to hire the ship, and you need a captain/owner who’s willing to engage in an act of piracy.”

     “I don’t consider capturing a slave ship to be piracy.”

     Jasmine smiled. “Call it what you wish, maiden, but the authorities would consider it piracy, and they execute pirates for it. I recommend you do not get caught.”

     “Good advice. Do you know a pirate with a fast ship?”

     “Yes.”

     “I don’t suppose this pirate is a woman?”

     “No,” she said with a smirk.

     “Will he deal with me?”

     “What color is your gold?”

     “Deep yellow.”

     “Then yes, he will deal with you.”

     “When can I meet him?”

     “I can try to set something up for tonight.”

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