Monday, February 15, 2021

Vanished in the Mountains

About the Book

Book: Vanished in the Mountains

Author: Tanya Stowe

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

Release date: February 3, 2021

A search for missing women leads to a deadly pursuit.

When domestic violence counselor Dulcie Parker uncovers evidence of a human trafficking ring in the Four Corners area, she’s determined to stop it or die trying. With corruption all around her and killers on her trail, Deputy Sheriff Austin Turner’s the only one she can trust. But can they work together to expose the crime ring before she becomes the next victim?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Bio Pic Tanya Stowe is a Christian Fiction author with an unexpected edge. She is married to the love of her life, her high school sweetheart. They have four children and twenty-one grandchildren, a true adventure. She fills her books with the unusual…mysteries and exotic travel, even a murder or two. No matter where Tanya takes you…on a trip to foreign lands or a suspenseful journey packed with danger…be prepared for the extraordinary.

More from Tanya

When my children were very young, my husband and I took a trip to Colorado for a family reunion. After the reunion we traveled through Colorado to see the sights. We stopped in Silverton and my sister and I took my young son and daughter down the narrow-gauge railroad to Durango. Riding the swaying train down slopes covered in pine trees with the rushing white water of the Animas River below, I knew I’d write about the area someday. Many years later my husband and I took our first “kid-less” vacation in our motorhome. We stayed in a campground on the Navajo Nation next to Canyon de Chelly. We had no running water or electricity and that night, a storm blew in from the west. We watched the sky change to hues of purple and pink and then sat mesmerized as lightning strikes crossed the magnificent valley. Once again, I planted the scenes in my mind, determined to write about them one day. Little did I know both vacations would combine into one story. I hope you find my memories of the Four Corners area as unforgettable as I did! Blessings!

MY REVIEW

This is a fast paced story that screams of intrigue. I first want to mention the breathtaking scenery the author describes when the action is taken into the mountains of Colorado. I could picture the beautiful sky and see the beauty that God had made. I would love to visit Canyon de Chelly. I loved how the author incorporates Navajo people. It was interesting to learn more about them and explore the land where history took place.

I liked Dulcie and her work as a domestic violence counselor. She takes her job serious and is determined to keep women safe. It was interesting to hear about her past and what she had to endure as a child. Her past has caused her not to trust and it has become more intense as the years go by. When she finds out about a human trafficking ring, she is determined to stop it.

Austin is a good cop but he has days where he can’t forget about his loss. He blames himself and feels like God could have prevented it. When he and Dulcie team up to catch the people involved in the trafficking ring, danger finds them. Dulcie has some evidence that could put people away for a long time. These people will do anything to stop her. There is plenty of danger as these two try to stay one step ahead of them. There is a good faith element in the storyline that talks about trusting God. I liked how Austin and Dulcie share their past and start to let each other in.

The story highlights the human trafficking and how rampant it is. I can’t imagine how someone could treat others like they are commodities to sell without any remorse. I appreciate the author using this subject in her story to remind us that evil is out there. There was one person I was shocked at that was involved in the crime. There are some close calls that had me on the edge of my seat. It is a great story filled with intrigue, danger, faith and learning how to trust again.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, February 8

Through the fire Blogs, February 8

Lighthouse Academy, February 9

Among the Reads, February 9

Hebrews 12 Endurance, February 9

Locks, Hooks and Books, February 10

Betti Mace, February 10

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, February 11 (Author Interview)

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, February 11

Pause for Tales, February 11

KarenSueHadley, February 12

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 12

Tell Tale Book Reviews, February 13

deb’s Book Review, February 13

Because I Said So – and Other Adventures in Parenting, February 14

Reviewingbooksplusmore, February 14

Hallie Reads, February 14

Older & Smarter?, February 15

Texas Book-aholic, February 15

Artistic Nobody, February 16 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)

Blogging With Carol, February 16

A Good Book and Cup of Tea, February 16

Inklings and notions, February 17

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 17

She Lives To Read, February 18

Genesis 5020, February 18

Bigreadersite, February 18

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, February 19

Labor Not in Vain, February 19

Simple Harvest Reads, February 20 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)

HookMeInABook, February 20

Daysong Reflections, February 20

For Him and My Family, February 21

Fiction Book Lover, February 21 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Tanya is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/10712/vanished-in-the-mountains-celebration-tour-giveaway

Sunday, February 14, 2021

Of God and Iron (1)

About the Book

Book: Of Gold and Iron

Author: Nicki Chapelway

Genre: Young adult, fantasy, romance, mythology/folklore, faerie

Release date: Sept 20, 2020

OfGoldandIron “Swear on something else. Swear on your humanity.”

I suddenly find it very hard to swallow. My humanity? With a jolt I realize that there are far greater things at risk here than just my life. I’m in the faerie world, anything could happen. Even immortality.

The Otherworld is the home of the faeries, deceitful, decadent, and deadly. As the next in line to be-come Guardians, Jaye and her brother Thomas are tasked with defending the human world from all things magical. But when a routine scouting mission ends with them trapped in the Otherworld, it becomes pain-fully clear that someone doesn’t want them to leave the world of the faeries. Determined to not become an immortal’s pawn, Jaye kidnaps Ravven Crowe, an arrogant solitary faerie, so that he can guide them safely home. But things quickly go from bad to worse when they are captured by the Winter Court and embroiled in a plot to start a faerie civil war. Thomas is enslaved by an Unseelie faerie, and it seems that the only way to save her brother and avoid a war is for Jaye to ally herself with Ravven.

The faeries are governed by a set of strict laws. For their own safety, the Guardians have their own rules. But with Thomas’s life hanging in the balance there is only one way to save him that does not include breaking the faerie’s Fair Law, a crime that ends in death. Together Jaye and Ravven must compete in a series of deadly tests given by the faerie courts in order to earn Jaye the right to be named the Fair Assassin and wield the Blade of Gold and Iron. As the Fair Assassin she will be permitted to kill any faerie she so chooses, but first she has to live long enough. Walking a fine line between destruction and further entanglement with Crowe, Jaye is going to have to break her own rules if she wants to win. She must trust a faerie. Her life and humanity depend on it.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

20201002_153321 Nicki is a twenty-something author of clean YA speculative fiction. She has been writing since she was eleven years old, and has published several works including portal fantasies such as A Week of Werewolves, Faeries, and Fancy Dresses and A Certain Sort of Madness; as well as Winter Cursed a dark fantasy Snow White retelling.

Nicki lives in Ohio where she spends far too much time watching TV and sleeping. She listens to music basically all the time, and adores obsessing over mythologies, her shows, and her slew of fictional boyfriends. When not writing, she can usually be found at her desk with either a paintbrush or a pen in her hand.

More from Nicki

I find mythology fascinating, and one of my favorite mythological creatures are faeries (and dragons, but this book is mostly about faeries—although there is at least one dragon…). Growing up as a self proclaimed tom boy, I found faeries to be boring and trite creatures, all sparkle and not enough teeth. I preferred elves with their factions: wood elves, light elves, dark elves, high elves… etc.

Tolkien has inspired so much about my fantasy worlds—actually he is directly responsible for why I write fantasy—and because of that I adopted his own source of inspiration for many of the events of Middle Earth: myths.

I started reading up on myths, especially Celtic which is where Tolkien derived some inspiration for his elves (the elf part is of course Norse, but the returning to the Undying Lands is based on the mysterious disappearance of the Tuatha De Danan in Celtic myths which were originally considered to be gods but later became known as a type of faerie). As I dug deeper into Celtic myths and started reading Irish folklore, I came across creatures that were so complex that one individual could have the characteristics of light, dark, high, and wood elves all meshed together. I became fascinated by these walking contradictions. Immortals that can be harmed by such mortal things as iron and bread. Tricksters who cannot lie. Beings with powerful magic, but governed by a very strict set of laws and compelled into obedience.

And much, much scarier than the faeries I grew up hearing about.

Irish mythology gave me everything I needed, from many different forms of faeries to defining characteristics and names. All I had to do was fit them into my world… and come up with a plot and characters, of course, but those I actually got from a dream.

MY REVIEW

Wow! Wow! Wow! I am so impressed with this story that I hated to see it end. I loved how the author takes us to the Otherworld where a true adventure begins. I am going to tell you how much I loved Jaye. She is very intuitive. As she and her brother Thomas get trapped in the Otherworld I could envision the faeries and their powers in full display. It’s not everyday that a mortal is asked to be the Fair Assassin. It is an honor and with it comes great danger and power.

Ravven is definitely my favorite character in the story. Oh I know he is a faerie but I think there is more that he isn’t sharing. There are subtle hints that he is more powerful than others . Jaye has to perform three tasks in order to pass the test and become the Fair Assassin. These tests are difficult and really show her strength mentally. Behind everything she is doing, she is trying to save her brother. Their bond is undeniable and I liked how the author showed the importance of standing up to protect family.

There are quite a few characters that I wasn’t sure I trusted. They each have a desire for revenge. Is it possible that Jaye is being used ? It is hard for Jaye to trust Ravven but I don’t think she has a choice. She needs to rely on her instincts to determine who is lying to her. Her life and her brothers life depend on her making the right choice. The ending is oh so good but alas it is cliffhanger. I hope the author writes fast, because I need to continue the story. I have become invested in the characters and I must know who has betrayed Jaye.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

Blog Stops

Through the Fire Blogs, February 12

Rebecca Tews, February 13

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 14

Texas Book-aholic, February 15

Blogging With Carol, February 15

Sara Jane Jacobs, February 16

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, February 17

Inklings and notions, February 18

Heidi and Books, February 18

For Him and My Family, February 19

deb’s Book Review, February 20

Tell Tale Book Reviews, February 21

Artistic Nobody, February 22 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, February 23

Locks, Hooks and Books, February 24

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 25

Breny and Books, February 25

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Nicki is giving away the grand prize package of signed paperbacks of Nicki’s other three novels, a limited edition art print for Of Gold and Iron, and a coaster!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/10746/of-gold-and-iron-celebration-tour-giveaway

Saturday, February 13, 2021

About the Book

Book: Dance with Me

Author: A.M. Heath

Genre: Christian Historical Romance (1960s)

Release date: April 2019

Will a new partnership tear their worlds apart … or will it be the piece they never knew was missing?

In 1959, Arleen Thatcher and Neil Fox are fierce competitors on the dance floor, so they’re the least likely pair to enter a televised competition together. But when rivaling studio owners decide to team up, the two find a partnership they never thought possible.
Arleen’s reputation around town is reason enough for Neil to keep his distance from his new partner. But as Neil gets to know Arleen, he discovers a side of her few others have seen, one of dark family secrets and carefully-constructed facades.
God’s plan for their partnership may involve more than a single dance; it may be the key to the healing Arleen so desperately needs.

The Art of Love series is compiled of stand-alone novels where the characters tell their own stories and love means so much more than passion.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Besides being an Indie Author, I’m a wife, mother of four, children’s Sunday School teacher, sweet tea drinker, history fanatic, romantic, bubbly, lover of broccoli, and a retired cake decorator who has a soft spot for Christmas trees, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
What I’m not is a laundress (or at least not one who keeps up very well), a duster, tall, or patient in a doctor’s office.

More from A.M. Heath

Breathing Life Into A Novel

One of the common remarks I get from my readers is how they felt like they had been transported into the story. The characters felt like real people and the setting felt authentic. And that’s always a blessing to hear as an author!

But the question is how do I do it?

Well, I’ll let the cat out of the bag. Since I’m not big on heavy descriptions, I allow other features to weigh in and help create the setting. In a nutshell, “I’m just keeping it real” (as we used to say in the 90s). And there are 3 areas to focus in on, especially when working with a historical novel:

Common objects or daily habits

Names

Slang

Common Objects:

It’s all about those minor details. The everyday objects or habits that a character might have that will help create the setting and bring authenticity to it.

Here are a few items found in the 1950s that aren’t as common today:

Two-toned painted vehicles

Phones attached to the wall, with a cord, and a rotary dial

Jukeboxes

Soda shops

Records

Pull tab canned drinks

Clothes lines and ironing boards

Names:

I use the U.S. census to preview the top 1000 baby names in any given year starting in 1880. But I also make note when I run across a name that sounds modern but is found in a real historical document.

While I’m writing, I create a name bank so I have era approved names on hand to use for my secondary characters.

Here’s a preview of a name bank for characters set in the 1950s:

Female:

Jan

Tabitha

Mabel

Judy

Paula

Rita

Male:

Dennis

Gary

Marvin

Earl

Barry

Rodney

Slang:

I must admit, the slang is my absolute favorite. I browse slang for each era through online searches and history books. But my favorite place to collect phrases is directly from the source. Anytime I’m watching an old movie or TV show, I jot down phrases I heard and the year it was filmed. It doesn’t get anymore authentic than hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth.

While I’m writing, I’ll preview my list and create a smaller word bank of phrases that my characters are most likely to use, so I can remember to weave them into the story.

Here’s a look at some of the fun phrases:

Say, (use at the start of your sentence)

Call dibs

Don’t have a cow

Flick (movie)

Cool it

Righto

No sweat

Cloud 9

Teed off or sore (mad)

Burn rubber

Get bent

Dullsville

Dig it

Fellas

Doll

Gee

Neat

Swell

I hope you enjoyed this little sneak peek into the 1950s. Dance With Me was a real neat novel to write. It’s set in 1959, so there’s a strong greaser vibe throughout the story. Believe me, I was on cloud 9 the entire time.

Now it’s your turn! Do you have a favorite era in history to read about?

Which one of these swell phrases will you dust off and use in normal conversation today? Lol You should definitely surprise someone with it, then tell me about it. It’s a load of fun. My kids get sore at me all the time for using “lame” phrases, but I must say that they have a wide lingo vocabulary whether they wanted it or not.

Happy Reading!

MY REVIEW

Grace, beauty, nostalgia, memories, healing and God's love. Those are the first words I thought of after reading this wonderful story of two people who are not only dance partners but so much more. I loved reading about the dances and it reminded me of the show American Bandstand. I may be showing my age, but that show had couples sliding across the dance floor with moves that impressed everyone. The story takes us from present day back to the late 1950s where dancing was just starting to be the craze.

Arleen reminds me of a flower that is just starting to bloom. The brilliant colors are starting to come out, but the flower is holding back. Arleen has not had a good home life and Neil may just be the person to help her overcome her insecurity. Her reputation around town is riddled with rumors that cause people to think bad of her. I could feel her pain buried deep down inside her. It was hard to read about Arleen's abusive father, but the author handled it with compassion . It lets readers get a glimpse into when she was younger and how her family life shaped her. Arleen has always been told that she was ugly so to get attention and to feel better about herself she flirted with guys. I can relate to her so much. My dad always told me I was ugly and would never amount to anything. Those words are hard to forget and for Arleen, she became an empty shell inside. It's easy to believe that you are nothing when you hear it everyday.

Neil is a strong dance competitor and finds himself teamed up with Arlene to win a contest. His faith will be tested as he encounters trials and a young woman who desperately needs to know that God loves her. I'm glad Neil came into Arleen's life just when she needed encouragement the most. It was beautiful to read Neil sharing God with Arleen. She needed to hear that she was loved, valued and could trust others.

The story is a journey that captures the beauty of a romance rich in humility, compassion and the unconditional love of God. Arleen and Neil's story is one you won't forget as you picture them dancing together while the world around them fades away. They embrace each other with honor and integrity and allow God to heal wounds that have stolen happiness from a young woman who wanted to be accepted. It's hard to leave this story without a tear or two as I feel like they have become my friends. I can still hear Neil whisper to Arlene, "Dance With Me."

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.