Christmas Countdown Blitz Day Nine: Max's Christmas Adventure and Max's Midnight Adventure by Wendy Leighton-Porter

Dividing my time between homes in South-West France and Abu Dhabi, I live with my husband and our beautiful Tonkinese cat. I spent 20 years as a teacher of French, Latin and Classical studies, before a change of career led me to writing books for children instead.
Shadows from the Past is series of time-travel adventures, featuring 3 children and a rather special Tonkinese cat by the name of Max. I'm currently working on the tenth book in the series, The Shadow of the Witchfinder. Max also has a few solo adventures of his own to accompany the series.

As I take my young readers on a magical mystery tour through the past, I'm hoping that my love of history, myth and legend will rub off on them too.

 ~ Website ~
  

MAX’S ADVENTURES are spin-offs from my 

SHADOWS FROM THE PAST books.

A second solo adventure awaits Max the time-travelling Tonkinese cat in this Christmas short story. 

Invited to accompany a well-known figure on a whirlwind trip into the past, he sets off on a mission to search for something very precious to his owners Jemima and Joe Lancelot - their missing parents. 

The hunt reveals tantalizing clues to this mystery and ends with a special surprise for the twins.

Max the talking Tonkinese cat has a third solo adventure in this seasonal short story.

What happens when the feline hero is trapped in the attic one night?

Will he escape the clutches of the Christmas fairy, a regiment of soldiers and three obstreperous French hens in time to enjoy a holiday with his family?

One thing’s for sure, the Twelve Days of Christmas will never seem quite the same again …

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~ Universal Amazon Link - Book 3 ~

Top Ten List:

MY 10 FAVOURITE THINGS:

1. Tonkinese cats. I’m know I’m biased, but these are the best cats ever. Beautiful to look at, with jewel-like eyes of aquamarine, it is their personality that really marks them out – super-intelligent, loving, sociable and talkative, they truly become part of the family.

2. History and archaeology. I love exploring ancient ruins.

3. Family history research. I’m a genealogical addict and have traced my family tree back to the 16^th century and beyond.

4. Being by the sea. I think it must come from being born under the astrological sign of the crab!

5. Liquorice ice cream. That’s a combination of two favourite things, a lucky bonus!

6. Books and reading … of course, that really goes without saying. I often have two books on the go at the same time.

7. Taking part in team quizzes. (I have a bit of a competitive streak)

8. Early summertime when the weather is warm, but everything is still fresh and green.

9. The Cotswolds (the beautiful area I grew up in)

10. Shoes. My husband tells people he thinks he must have married a millipede when he sees the all shoe boxes stacked up in the wardrobe!

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Part 2 Official Event page

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Monster Mash Countdown Blitz Day Seven: BEFORE by Catina Haverlock / Angela Larkin

Catina worked her way through college as a TV reporter and a dating game show host. She's a sucker for Young Adult romance stories (both real and make-believe). She has a panache for match-making and loves that many of her "set-ups" have resulted in marriages. 

After spending most of her adult life in Las Vegas, Catina traded in tumbleweeds for earthquakes and now lives with her husband and four children near San Diego, California. If she's not home, chances are you can find her at the beach, Disneyland or In-N-Out Burger.

Angela Larkin writes clean teen romance and is a big fan of kissing (in life and in books). She's been a gold miner, a pool cleaner, a mannequin dresser, and a teacher. She's lived a true romance: meeting her husband in a case of mistaken identity. They recently moved with their four children from the sparkling city of Las Vegas to the shade of the North Carolina Pines. Chances are, she's reading past bedtime.

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~ Catina Facebook ~ Angela Facebook ~

True love doesn't always mean a happy ending. Presley and Landon finally have a chance at a real relationship when they travel back in time, but their leap backward to two months before his accident has altered reality: Landon has no memory of Presley. 

Hurt and lonely, Presley is still determined to save his life, even as Landon's death-date looms. He's alive for now, but nothing is like it was . . . Before.

~ Universal Amazon Link ~ 

Top Ten List:

Catina:

Top 10 Fun Facts/Favorite Things

1. Worked as a dating gameshow host to pay the bills in college

2. My maiden name is Cecchini (pronoucned Check-eenie) and I grew up on Chickadee Street. So, Catina Cecchini on Chickadee Street. Try saying that 10 times!

3. I was secretly in love with my husband for an entire college semester before he even knew I was alive.

4. I grew up in Beyond's setting. If I could live anywhere in the world, it would be the Lake Tahoe area.

5. I love helping other families who, like me, have a child with autism. I'm currently working on developing new services for people with autism in Southern CA.

6. I love Thai Food

7. Just tried Sushi for the first time a week ago and after all these years of avoidance, discovered I love it too!

8. Seriously nearly lost consciousness when I learned BEYOND was #1  in four Amazon categories shortly after its release

9. Wore sequins for the first time to the Whitney gala this May where Beyond was a finalist in two categories

10. Actually, I wore sequins in High School too as a member of the dance team! :)

10 Fun Facts about Angela Larkin (the girl in the white top)

1. I've worked five summers in a gold mine.

2. I used to dress mannequins at GAP.

3. I learned how to drive stick in an alfalfa field.

4. I have a favorite direction: west.

5. After my first kiss in fifth grade, I went straight home and tried to draw a representation in my journal of how it felt.

6. I used to choreograph roller skating routines in my garage to the soundtrack of The Little Mermaid. I took it VERY seriously.

7. I have no idea how much ice cream it would take to make me feel gross. I've never reached that point as hard as I've tried.

8. I met my husband in a true case of mistaken identity.

9. I want to learn Hula and perform it somewhere.

10. Weiner dogs are cuter than all the dogs. And I want one. 

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Great Summer Reads: Awaken, Shadows of a Forgotten Past by Marcia Maidana

Marcia was born and raised in Argentina during the military regime which ended with the loss of many young lives in the invasion of the Falkland Islands. Amidst the devastating effects of military government and war, reading and writing became a passion which expanded and transported her imagination with the possibility of a brighter future.

At the age of eighteen, she moved to the United States, where she studied English and started her own family. She soon discovered that the love she has for her husband and children would naturally unfold towards her European roots, leading her to become a genealogist and family historian. A decade of searching, compiling, and learning the stories of thousands of people has instilled in her a profound gratitude for the strong ties that can be achieved in families through personal sacrifice.

So it is that through fiction, Awaken explores and exposes the characteristics of true love and loyalty in times of fear, war, and finally, death. But perhaps the most captivating element in the story is the battle within the souls of the main characters as they search to know who they really are and how they are connected.

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Could there exist a love powerful enough to overcome the grave?

Hard times during the Great Depression force nineteen-year-old Florence to leave her service at the monastery and seek employment. Fate brings her to work for a wealthy recluse, General Alexander Sterling. Despite many daunting events and a meddling housekeeper with dark secrets of her own, Florence and the General find themselves falling deeply in love.

What she doesn’t know is that General Sterling has left his native country escaping a painful past, one he yearns to forget. Destiny won’t allow it as he meets Florence, whose resemblance to his deceased wife is unbearable. Could Florence actually be the same woman who still owns his heart and haunts his dreams?

When their blossoming romance is shattered by an explosive truth, a mysterious stranger gives her an opportunity to go back in time to unlock the secret to her existence. Florence must strive to return to the present time to save their relationship from the imminent danger that awaits them.

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~ Smashwords ~

Snippet:

“Alex, I wish I could stay. But my body is already gone. My life is slipping away. How I ache at what has been stolen from us. To feel your sweet embrace, to share our tears and laughter, our accomplishments and disappointments, to spend our days out in the sun playing together. All of that, along with bearing children, I can’t offer you anymore. I pray in time, you’ll find someone else who will fulfill your needs, and you’ll love and be happy again. I want that for you. But I also want you to know I will always love you, and I will always be thankful to have known your love.” 

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Great Summer Reads: Queen Mary's Daughter by Emily-Jane Hills Orford

Emily-Jane Hills Orford is an award-winning author of several books, including Gerlinda (CFA 2016) which received an Honorable Mention in the 2016 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards, To Be a Duke (CFA 2014) which was named Finalist and Silver Medalist in the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and received an Honorable Mention in the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards. She writes about the extra-ordinary in life and her books, short stories, and articles are receiving considerable attention. For more information on the author, check out her website at: http://emilyjanebooks.ca

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There are so many possibilities that affect the course of history. One change, one small item overlooked, can make a world of difference, not only in a person's life, but in the history and well-being of an entire nation. And then there are those multiple scenarios of what if? 

What if King James VI of Scotland didn't succeed in amalgamating Scotland with England? What if there had been another heir to the throne of Scotland? One who would secure its independence? Would Scotland have remained free and independent and a nation of its own well into the twenty-first century? And would Scotland, this independent version, make its own decision to join the European Union when its southern neighbor was choosing to pull away?

"Queen Mary's Daughter" presents another plausible timeline, one that incorporates both historical fact and fiction with the endless possibilities of time travel.

~ Universal Amazon Link ~
~ Goodreads ~ 

Snippet:

“What?” the regent bellowed. “Not another Mary, and a Stuart at that. We cannot be related. Are we?” He winced in the dim light and bent forward to take a closer look. “You have her look about you. It is uncanny. You could almost pass for her. And that brooch. Where did you get that brooch?”

“I do not know, sir.” Mary Elizabeth took her time to choose her words carefully. She wasn’t sure how to answer about the brooch, so she steered clear of that comment, saying instead, “Are not all Stuarts somehow related?”

It was not the right thing to say. James Stuart, Regent of Scotland, was not amused. “Grab her. She must be a spy. Or a traitor. Either is punishable by death.” He pointed accusing fingers at the others. “The rest of you stay here. I will deal with this troublemaker.”

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