Support Four Debut Authors and Snag $125!

Four books

Two Days

Great Prizes

With this contest, there is something for everyone and it’s SO simple to be in on the winning!

On November 28 and/or 29, purchase 1 or all 4 of the debut author’s books listed here. Then forward proof of purchase (the receipt Amazon sends you will do just fine) to : motionsrider@yahoo.ca and get up to 4 entries into a draw for a $100 Amazon gift card!

It’s that easy, no reviews, no hoops to jump through. Just a great .99 book or two. Or three or four. AND, if the person who wins the $100 Amazon Gift Card has purchased all 4 books, an additional $25 Amazon Gift Card will be awarded to the winner!

On top of that, 2 random commenter’s picked from 2 of our participating blogs will receive $5 gift Amazon gift cards . So, be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think of the promo, the books, or the authors.

Winners will be chosen randomly, one entry per person, per book.

All winners will be announced on December 7^th on Wringing Out Words.

“Between” by Cyndi Tefft

It just figures that the love of Lindsey Water's life isn't alive at all, but the grim reaper, complete with a dimpled smile, and Scottish accent.

After transporting souls to heaven for the last 300 years, Aiden MacRae has all but given up on finding the one whose love will redeem him and allow him entry through the pearly gates.

Torn between her growing attraction to Aiden and heaven's siren song, Lindsey must learn the hard way whether love really can transcend all boundaries.

Buy it on Amazon. 

“Until Dawn: Last Light” by Jennifer Simas

When darkness falls, whose side will you be on?

For the past six years, Zoë has been anything but “normal.” Struggling to accept her immortality and thrown into a war that’s been waging in the shadows for over a thousand years, Zoë must now become who she was meant to be, joining the other Chosen to save what’s left of humanity. When the endless night falls over the Earth, will she be able to save the one man who reminds her of what it is to be human, or will it be too late?

Until Dawn: Last Light is a story of death and despair, love and longing, hope and hopelessness, and the ability to survive and keep going even when it seems impossible – when you want nothing more than to give up.

Buy it on Amazon.

“The Kayson Cycle” by Jonathan D. Allen

A stranger enters a dying town and makes a desperate plea…

 The Kayson Cycle introduces the Kayson Brothers, a pair of faith healers who once wowed crowds in a traveling show but went their separate ways after a night in which a healing took a dark turn. Jeffrey Kayson disappeared into the wilderness and William Kayson, wracked by guilt, moved to the failing mining town of Calico Hills to build a nice, quiet life – one that has lasted for over ten years.

His quiet, predictable life crumbles when a mysterious stranger walks into his tavern bearing a proposal to find his long-lost brother and do the one thing that William has sworn to never do again - have his brother heal a woman. William soon learns that he can’t escape his family – or his destiny.

Includes an exclusive sample chapter of The Corridors of the Dead. Please note that this is a Kindle Single, and around 6,000 words in length.

Buy it on Amazon. 

“Sundered” by Shannon Mayer

A miracle drug, Nevermore, spreads like wildfire throughout the world allowing people to eat what they want, and still lose weight. It is everything the human population has ever dreamed of and Mara is no different. Only a simple twist of fate stops her from taking Nevermore.

As the weeks roll by, it becomes apparent that Nevermore is not the miracle it claimed. A true to life nightmare, the drug steals the very essence that makes up humanity and unleashes a new and deadly species on the world that is bent on filling its belly. Locked down within their small farm home, Mara and her husband Sebastian struggle against increasingly bad odds, fighting off marauders and monsters alike.

But Sebastian carries a dark secret, one that more than threatens to tear them apart, it threatens to destroy them both and the love they have for each other.

Now Mara must make the ultimate choice. Will she live for love, or will she live to survive?

Buy it on Amazon.

Internet Book Fair Blogfest, Jay Eckert

A day later and a dollar short they say.  The internet book fair is/was happening, and now it's Wednesday!  What fantastic time management skills I have.  Nevertheless, here goes...

Urban Mythos

Sixteen-year-old Zydeco Hill uncovers a plot to capture former mythological creatures and expel them to a barren world filled with hungry beasts. Two years since his own transformation from griffin to human, he’s been attending clandestine meetings of the city’s ex-mythological creatures. When the police raid one such meeting, he discovers the conspiracy goes all the way up to the mayor’s office.

As other Mythos vanish from the city’s streets, the deputy mayor demands Zydeco turn in Octavio, the missing leader of their kind. His initial resistance causes the disappearance of both his stepmother and best friend, and it won’t be long before they’re served up as chimera-chow. While trying to keep the mythological truth from the girl he adores, Zydeco must rescue his friends and step-mom. Along the way, he unearths critical information about an even larger conspiracy to rid the world of his brethren, but he needs Octavio’s help to put it to use. The only problem is he has no idea where the guy is hiding.

Urban Mythos is a young adult urban fantasy novel that blends action and romance while dealing with issues of trust and assimilation. It will appeal to readers who enjoy the distinctive voice and humor of S.G. Browne’s Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament and Catherine Jinks’ The Reformed Vampire Support Group. 

Available for $.99 at Amazon or Barnes & Noble in Kindle and ePub formats, respectively.

5 out of 5 stars A MUST Read Book!, September 26, 2011 By S. Belveal "Frankie Blooding"

I thought this book was fantastic!

It's a book that isn't getting nearly as much attention as I think it should. This is due to the fact that the market is huge and this one small book in a big-big world.

This book literally held me from the first line.

"My name is Zydeco, and I'm a recovering mythological creature."

I instantly chuckled and settled right in for a fantastic read that swept me away!

Zydeco can be a little dense sometimes, and as a main character, I wanted to reach through the pages and slap him around a bit. But Mr. Eckert's ability to create fabulously rich, multi-dimensional mythological creatures was astounding! I. Couldn't. Put. The. Book. DOWN!

If there is one book you have to read this year, it's by far this one! And you REALLY can't beat the price!

5 out of 5 stars Recovering Mythological Creature in Trouble, September 7, 2011 By Airdale

Zydeco is a "recovering mythological creature" - a teenage griffon exiled to our world. That wouldn't be so bad if the mayor wasn't on a path to rid the streets of Mythos by sending them off to die in a hell dimension. And if Zydeco wasn't dealing with school, a girl, friends and other teenage issues. The combination of teenage-boy-mindset with fantasy and an ever twisting plot is smooth and interesting - think Smallville, but with a bunch of teenage Clarks. My favorite though, is Zydeco's fun, sarcastic narration. Despite the serious threat to Zydeco's friends and family (and himself), this isn't a doom and gloom everyone-is-after-me type book - it's more of a BAD THINGS AFOOT!..I GOTTA FIX EM adventure. Recommended!

5 out of 5 stars Humorous and Entertaining, September 24, 2011 By Annie McMahon

The Best Thing Ever

All right, it's not really the best thing ever, but still...

The other night, while lazily slumped in bed, I realized I had nothing to read. I had finished the last book I'd been reading - Halfhead, by Stuart B. MacBride. This was a physical book, by the way.

I had finished my grad school homework (endless nights of study are quite annoying after working all day). Granted, I had some eBooks available to me I'd reserved from the local library.  I had even checked them out onto my computer with Adobe Digital Editions.  But to read one of those books, I would have to get up and haul my Nook and my butt downstairs to plug the thing into my PC... the Nook that is, not my butt.

That's when I remembered the second book in Rick Riordan's, Heroes of Olympus series was out.  Deciding I needed me a little Percy Jackson fix, I fired up the Nook at my bedside and turned on the Wi-Fi (I leave it off so as not to totally drain the battery). Pressing the "Shop" button, I found myself on the Barnes & Noble homepage.  And what do you think I found?  Much to my surprise and delight, staring back at me was some guy's top recommendations for the day, which included Riordan's, Son of Neptune.  I clicked it, or whatever you want to call "touching the screen with your finger".  Tapped? Yeah. I tapped that book. Well that sounds dirty.  Anyway, I tapped tapped the buy button, confirmed and within seconds the novel I wanted to read was in my hands.

Dude!  Yeah - I've bought some other books for the Nook, but those were mostly bought to "have and get to later".  This was a serious impulse buy.

Okay, like I said. It's not quite the best thing ever, but it made me seriously happy for a few minutes.

Internet Book Fair BLOGFEST

Michael and Amy Leslie have this terrific idea. You may know them as M.A. Leslie, authors of Tristen and the Magic Shop, as well as Liberty (my daughter's favorite).  They've conceived an internet book fair, scheduled October 25th, where folks can learn about a wide variety of books and meet the authors. If you are interested in participating through your own blog, click the big ol' button below to visit their site and register. It promises to be a lot of fun and a great opportunity to meet and greet!  It's open to self and traditionally published books.

An Odd Moment in the Office

The strangest thing happened at work yesterday.  My boss's boss, who actually will be my boss once my current boss retires (confused yet?) - Rich - let's call him Rich, which is a good idea since that's his name.  So Rich pops his head in my office and quotes something that sounds pretty cool and science-fiction-ish.  One of the things I like about Rich is that he's a bottomless well of movie quotes.

After Rich recites this line, I hem and haw before realizing he must be quoting a movie line.  I blurt out, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", which is dead wrong, because I know the book quite well and this line did not come from Douglas Adams' pen. Of course, that doesn't mean someone didn't throw that line in the film -- I liked the BBC television version way better -- but I doubt it.

Rich then tells me it's actually from a book he just started reading.  So, now I'm at a loss, and I ask him if it's a new book, to which he replies that it is new to him.  Again, I've got no clue, and it shows on my face. Rich tells me I know this book, so I scrape the inner recesses of my cobwebby brain, but can't for the life of me figure it out. Then he tells me I'm scaring him, which doesn't help.  Rich's follow up comment?

"You wrote it."

Ah.

Ever had one of those days?

He recently picked up a copy of Urban Mythos for the Kindle. The good news is he likes it and is going to share it with his teenage kids.

And now for a random movie quote, which for some reason came to mind as I wrote the preceding paragraph.

"Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consiousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

...Carl Spackler (Bill Murray), Caddyshack

Vacation, Natural Disasters, and Books

toLet's start with vacation.  It was time to hang with the mouse this year down in Orlando. Yeah, I know. We're always down in Orlando hanging with the mouse, but it's just what we do. We flew down back on the 19th of August. And then everything went to heck.

First, there was the earthquake. These are not particularly common up in the northeast, and when they do occur, they're quite small. I cannot imagine what the folks in the Pentagon were thinking as they evacuated.  It makes me shudder.

While this was occurring, we were watching the weather channel every day, keeping an eye on some hurricane named Ilene. It skipped right on by Florida--we had a bit of wind and that's all--and then launched itself up the coast and wrecked a lot of stuff.  The coast of North Carolina, Virginia, etc. It slammed into Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York and left devastation throughout New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and flooded the heck out of Vermont.

Here's a picture of St. Clare's Hospital in Denville, NJ, where my daughter had her tonsils out years ago. It was taken from an upper floor. The circular drive that surrounds the flag pole is the front of the hospital. What you don't see is the road in front of the hospital, the huge parking lot just beyond the electric & phone wires, or the great big field beyond it near the scattered trees. That's all Rockaway River in this picture.

Last Thursday, we knew the storm was coming and going to hit the tri-state area on Sunday, so we moved our flight from Sunday to Monday. By Saturday, even the Monday flight was cancelled. We got in our rental car Sunday morning, and drove the 20 hours north to get home on Monday, with one overnight stop in northern Virginia. We avoided I-95 once we hit South Carolina, since it is close to the coast. The kids behaved pretty well, thanks to the DVD player we bought at Walmart before leaving early Sunday morning.

New Jersey was a mess. The Rockaway River (see the picture above) had washed away part of I-287 in two  spots, and flooded Denville almost completely. We couldn't pick up our little black pug from the place she was staying in Denville until Tuesday because the road leading to the place was under water. Fortunately, the place was on high enough ground that it stayed dry.  The Passaic River has left unbelievable devastation all over the northern part of the state. Below is a picture of the very large and popular Willowbrook mall in Wayne, NJ. Yes, that brown stuff is river. That's a big mall with a huge parking lot completely under water.

IRENE PORRO / SPECIAL TO THE RECORD

Things are drying out, although it's going to take a long time before folks fully recover.

On the bright and non-hurricane related side, I devoured Cold Vengeance, by Lincoln Child & Douglas Preston. Man, do I love Pendergast novels. My mini review is on goodreads. I also re-read Josh Bezell's, Beat the Reaper on my Nook. What an awesomely fun book.

And when I returned, the library had my reserved copy of Death Sentence (Escape from Furnace 3), by Alexander Gordon Smith. The Escape from Furnace books are like Peanut M&M's. Or regular ones if you're allergic to nuts. 

Well, at least a volcano didn't sprout up in Northern New Jersey while we were away.

Angry Birds - Curse Those Piggies!

I looked over at the couch, and my wife had Rachel's iPod in hand and was playing Angry Birds again. Many has been the evening when she swiped my Nook Color to do the same.  I've convinced her Google Chrome is a good thing, mostly because you can play Angry Birds for free on this nefarious web browser.

It's a stupid game. I play it from time to time, of course, but it is stupid. So the wife says to me, "I need to go kill me some piggies." Off she goes. Next thing I hear is, "Why are they wearing helmets? Who gives a piggy a helmet?" or "How on earth could that piggy wind up there, under all that stuff?" Good questions, all.

So, in honor of all things involving suicidal birds and helmeted piggies, I give you this [key of] awesome take on Adele's, Rolling in the Deep.