Read the Entire Unfinished Business Series for Under $3.00!

Read the Entire Unfinished Business Series for Under $3.00!
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Coffee Time Romance Review of Storm Watch

The Unfinished Business Series


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Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Author April Grey On The Krampusnacht Blog Hop




Welcoming April Grey!






“Todd Nathaniel’s Last Case,” a part of the Hell’s Heart anthology, was published earlier this year. It was originally published in Ephemera by Elektrik Milk Bath Press in 2011.




I wrote “Todd Nathaniel’s Last Case” many years ago because I am keenly aware that characters do come to life in an author’s mind. One time I was shocked to be sitting on the subway with the embodiment of Pascal Guzman from Chasing The Trickster. It wouldn’t surprise me if some authors when under great stress (or just random upset) don’t give in to the impulse to call upon one of their characters much as they would ask for a patron saint’s
help.







April Grey's short stories are collected in The Fairy Cake Bakeshop and in I'll Love You Forever. She is also the author of two urban fantasy novels: Chasing the Trickster and its sequel, St. Nick's Favor.
She edited the anthologies: Hell's Bells: Wicked Tunes, Mad Musicians and Cursed Instruments; Hell's Garden: Mad, Bad and Ghostly Gardeners, Hell's Grannies: Kickass Tales of the Crone; Hell's Kitties and Other Beastly Beasts and most recently Hell’s Heart: Twisted Tales of Love Run Amok.

She and her family live in Hell's Kitchen, NYC in a building next to a bedeviled garden. Gremlins, sprites or pixies, something mischievous, lurks therein. Someday she'll find out. Please visit www.aprilgrey.blogspot for her latest news.


Don't stop now! Hop on over to the other participant's blogs.





Sunday, November 18, 2018

Winter Wonderland Giveaway November 15-December 13

It's only November, but it certainly came in with a bang here in NYC. We were taken by surprise with a snowy nor'easter that stranded many of us on roads, and kids in school buses. Sure was pretty though.
But now it's time for a Winter Wonderland Celebration and Giveaway.
Free, and easy to register to win great prizes!








Ready to Win?
I’ve teamed up with Night Owl Romance and other authors to bring you the chance to win a Kindle, Amazon cards, SpaFinder.com cards, Sephora.com cards and eBooks.
During this event I'm going to help you find some great new books. Make sure to check my novel Storm Watch along the way.
The grand prize is a Kindle Fire HD 8 w/Alexa.
Enter the giveaway at: http://bit.ly/NorWinter2018
Good luck!








Friday, July 20, 2018

Welcoming Andrew Richardson and The Faerie Handmaiden of Annwyn






I've been involved with this wonderful tale since the first draft and am delighted to see that it's been published. It blends Andrew Richardson's mastery of Celtic legend and lore and romantic suspense, with a touch of magic (of course). It's right up there with his The Footholder's Tale as one of my favorites.









The blurb says it best:

Andrew Richardson, author of The King’s Footholder and The Door into War, brings to life the classic legends of the Tylwyth Teg and King Maelgyn, weaving the mystical beliefs of the period with the timeless myths.




Andrew, how about some background?

'The Faerie Handmaiden of Annwyn', or as I affectionally call it, 'Penni's Story' after the main character, is a retelling of a classic Welsh story about a man called Pelling who marries a fairy called Penelope, and the trials their love goes through.  Like a lot of Welsh legends it is subtle and gentle, in contrast to the more violent and heroic English or Viking stories.

You know I appreciate subtle and gentle, LOL.

I have a long, long fascination with King Maelgwn, who ruled north Wales in the first half of the sixth century, and who had a fearsome reputation as a tyrant.  There are lots of legends about this colourful character, and it's been a brilliant opportunity to combine the two elements without, I hope, conflicting either.

Have you visited the sites where this story is set? 

During one of many family holidays to north Wales a few years ago, we visited the meadow in the Nant y Betws valley where the legend had Penni and her fellow-fairies dancing.  The meadow, sadly for romantics like myself, is now a sewage works and caravan park, but beyond them the valley is as pretty as any in north Wales, and the day renewed my interest in the story. 

The original doesn't have enough flesh for a full novel, but I hoped including a Maelgwn element would not only lengthen it but add interest instead of padding.  The ‘Faerie Wife’ story is also undated – as far as I know – and is easily placeable in Maelgwn’s time.  In fact, the story fits comfortably in the mid-sixth century, with its mix of Christianity and Paganism and the superstitious beliefs of the period.  One of the great figures of north Wales at the time was Saint Padarn ‘Redcloak’ who was an enemy of Maelgwn, and who (according to legend) bested the pagan king with God’s help.  I couldn’t resist giving this conflict a major role, and adding Penni and Pelling to the mix.


In all, this was a fun novel to write, with its mix of history, legend and colourful characters.  Indeed, by the end it was more or less writing itself!

Blurb

Banished for breaking the law, Penni is forced to take refuge with Pelling, a mortal, and his family.  Penni and Pelling find love and marry, despite his brother’s hatred of the fairy folk. Subjected to prejudice and cruelty, they are trapped in the bitter struggle between Christianity and the Old Ways of paganism.
Can their love surmount the differences in cultures and religion? Can their marriage survive their separation?


 Excerpt
Hounds called, hooves beat the earth, riders screamed war cries, the sounds pulsed through the night to reach Penni’s ears as the Wild Hunt approached Annwyn, the Otherworld. Torches flickered, beacons in the dark sky, and tinted the meadows yellow and orange.
“They sound like a kingdom’s war band.” The handmaiden chewed a lip as she watched and listened. “I’d love to ride with the Wild Hunt, Princess.”
Princess Creiddylad’s white brows rose above sparkling blue eyes. “You’re only a handmaiden. You’ve never even been on a horse.”
Down the grassy slope, the moon cast a white and inviting veil over the Nant y Betws valley. Penni shivered as the chill bit her skin to tingle her flesh. “Just think, riding a horse at speed down the valley in the dark, between the mountains, on the hunt for wrongdoing mortals, and scaring everyone we pass.” She brushed a stray blonde strand aside as she watched.
“Mortals even say the Hunt brings with it war or plague when all it does is enslave wrongdoers to make their realm a better place.” The princess tilted her head. “Mortals must be truly stupid to fear us.”
Penni almost felt the riders’ adrenaline as she ached to take one pace forward into the forbidden mortal realm. For perhaps the thousandth time, she imagined the cold enveloping her, looking up at the stars, or feeling grass tickle her soles. “For my twenty summers, I’ve always ached to go into the mortal realm. Just once, to see what it’s like. Please.”
Creiddylad leaned back against a slate slab the ancients used to prop the lintel. She twizzled a strand of albino-white hair and shook her head.
“I want to see stars above me instead of Annwyn’s cavern,” Penni said. “I want to feel the wind chill me. The air in Annwyn’s cavern is always still and warm.”
“No. My brother forbids it. Mortals are big and strong. They might capture you.”
“But the mortal realm is beautiful, and I can’t see any mortals.”
Creiddylad shook her head again.
The moon and the firebrands lit the Wild Hunt turning from the road to follow the river’s shallows around an outcrop. The horses’ galloping more than a sound carried in the frosty air as the very earth shook beneath their hooves. “One rider,” Penni said, starting the friends’ nightly ritual.
“Two,” the princess said.
“Three.”
“Four.”
“Five,” Penni said, trying not to lose count.
Creiddylad pointed. “That was Edern.” The hand she put to her mouth barely hid a giggle.
Despite the chill, Penni’s cheeks warmed.
“You’ve stopped counting,” Creiddylad said.
“Your brother works his way through your handmaidens.” Penni’s fists balled. “I will not be just another conquest.”
Creiddylad frowned. “We’ve lost count now, thanks to you and Edern.”
“They’re all back,” Penni said. “They wouldn’t be whooping and cheering if anyone were lost.”
“I suppose not.” The princess’s cheeks puffed with relief. “Come. I must welcome the riders back.”
Penni gave the mortal realm a last, lingering glance before lifting her hem above the ground with thumb and forefinger and retreating into Annwyn a few respectful paces behind the princess. As they stepped through the narrow passage of coarse, uneven bricks built many generations ago when Tylwyth Teg retreated from the mortal realm, she ducked to the left to avoid the rock jutting from the roof, remembering when she lost concentration four or five summers ago. She paused to pat the stone. Her fingertips went to where the bruise had risen. “Not this time,” she told the rock.
Annwyn’s torches flickered a welcome while the Tylwyth Teg’s cheers lightened the atmosphere in the massive cavern. Slaves carried jugs of mead on trays made from tree slices, women ran to returning warriors, and children petted the dogs or offered horses handsful of food.
Dormath bounded towards Penni with his tongue hanging. She knelt to welcome the wolfhound, ruffling his deep red fur, and giggling when his tongue slapped her cheek.
Hugging Dormath’s neck, she regarded the Wild Hunt; armed men sweated in the open area beyond Annwyn’s huts, horses snorted and steamed, dogs barked and leapt up at their masters.
King Gwyn pushed his reins into a slave’s hands and eased his muscular frame from his chestnut steed while the youth struggled to bow and control the horse at the same time. Gwyn ignored the boy to exchange backslaps and a deep laugh with a warrior. He grabbed a jug and drained it in a single gulp.
Someone played a reed flute. Another musician beat a pigskin drum. The bard nestled a harp into the crook of his arm and played. His honey-sweet voice started the ballad, and before the first line ended, the song arose among the Tylwyth Teg.
Penni joined in the song to King Gwyn and his Great Hunt, telling of their bravery in entering the mortal realm. She released Dormath and found herself clapping to the beat, with her feet tapping the ground and the words rising in her throat.
“Wild Hunt, led by the king,
Travels with the speed of a raven’s wing
Through Gwynedd’s valleys both dark and light
Seeking souls thru’out the night.”




Andrew Richardson lives in Wiltshire, England, with his wife, a rescue cat, and a son who occasionally pops home from university. He is within easy reach of Stonehenge and other historical places whose regal solitude provides a clear mind for working out plot difficulties and story ideas. Most of his work falls squarely into the 'horror' or ‘historical fantasy’ genres. 
Andrew has never taken to laptops so adopts the old and quaint approach of typing with a desktop, which at least has a screen big enough to avoid the need to squint.

He has a background in archaeology and has worked on sites in England, Scotland and Wales. It's not really a surprise that much of his work reflects this interest and experience. When he's not writing or working Andrew follows Aldershot Town Football Club and takes long walks over rugged countryside.

Contact Information:
Blog:                 andrewjrichardson.blogspot.com/
Twitter:            http://twitter.com/Richardson_Andy
Publications:   andrewjrichardson.blogspot.com/p/publications.html


Buy Link



Thursday, June 14, 2018

Join the Summer Fun Night Owl Romance Summer Fun Scavenger Hunt










Are you ready to win a Kindle Fire HD 8, Amazon cards and books!

I'm one of the sponsors of the Night Owl Romance Summer Fun Scavenger Hunt.

During this event I'm going to help you find some great new books. Make sure to check out The Unfinished Business Series  along the way.

Enter Now   






Sunday, June 10, 2018

Need Beach Reads? The Novel Fun in The Summer Sun Tour Continues




I'm headed to the Cape for my annual book tour. Hope to see some of you on the Brewster and Orleans beaches. Look for the car with the magnets and my big red beach umbrella and say hi. I am also at beach yoga whenever possible.
Can't make it to the Cape?
Need Beach Reads?

There are special deals available on Amazon (while supplies last)
The Widow's Walk: Book Two 
Storm Watch: Book Three


  Do Good, Feel Good

Stop by the Brewster Chamber of Commerce (where you buy your beach tickets) to pick up a beach pail to help collect asphalt and other trash from the beaches. If you want to weigh it or snap a picture, and post here on or on Facebook or Twitter, I'll send you a certificate of appreciation.




Book Sale and Signing
Yellow Umbrella Books in Chatham 
Monday July 20  11am -1pm
Free Gifts and Special Deals on the Unfinished Business Series Novels






Signed copies of Kayaking with Kids and Breakwater Beach, The Widow's Walk and Storm Watch are available at:
The Brewster Bookstore
Booksmith/MusicSmith (Orleans)
The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History (Kayaking with Kids only)
The Brewster Chamber of Commerce (Kayaking with Kids only-all proceeds go to the Brewster Conservation Trust)
The Brewster Historical Society (Breakwater Beach and The Widow's Walk-all proceeds go to restoration efforts on the Elijah Cobb House)
Yellow Umbrella Books (Chatham)










Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Beat the Midwinter Blues, It's Party Time

Click here for easy, free registration
Storm Watch Day is 3/10!
Chance to win the full Unfinished Business Series (ebooks)
Check the excerpt here for clues.

Another Chance to Win the Full Series (ebooks)
Click the image to Enter




In Person Appearances


Hogwart's Costume Party, Panels, Broad Universe Reading



Friday March 9

Hogwarts Welcome Costume Party


Saturday March 10

Joining a Writer's Group: 10am - 11:15am


Sunday March 11

Broad Universe: Rapid Fire Reading: 11am - 12:15pm


I will have autographed copies of all my books available.

Friday, January 19, 2018

Welcoming Ryan Jo Summers Author of Rainbows in the Moonlight

 Welcome to Ryan Jo Summers, whose new release Rainbows in the Moonlight is a a sweet, southern romance about faith, forgiveness, second chances, and adorable kids.


Buy Link



Koda Jacobs urgently needs a nanny--right now. Fresh from prison, Dalton Clayton needs a job--and just about anything will do.










“Guys, let’s concentrate on a name. No more bickering.”
Koda grinned. Bonus points for Dalton’s calm and timely interference. It was impossible to tell if that was the first time he’d reprimanded them for quarreling, or the hundredth today. There were days she just could not take it when they had the battle lines drawn between them. Pulling in a breath, curious what she’d find this time, she stepped into the room, and stopped short at the sight.
Ruthie and Terry sat on the floor, a puppy spinning between their wriggling fingers. Dalton sprawled near them, shoulder propped on his upturned palm. With his other hand, he encouraged the puppy to chase his fingers too.
Puppy. Remembering Amy’s story of the kidnapped children, lured by a cute puppy, she shook her head. No, they’re safe. They’re right here. There must be another explanation for why they have a puppy. She cleared her throat, working up a smile. “Hi, everyone. What is going on?”
The kids both jumped up, talking at once. She took a step back as they swarmed her.
“Look what we found at the park!”
“Caleb and Taylor can’t have it because of allergies.”
“We’ll take care of it, really we will!”
“You said we could have one until we had Ruthie instead!”
Koda drew back, stunned at Terry’s last comment. What was he thinking? What were they all thinking? She turned to Dalton, watching as he climbed to his feet, the puppy nestled in his arms and uncertainty on his face.
A hammer slammed into her chest. Okay, there was something incredibly appealing about Dalton holding a puppy and giving her that cautious look he wore so well. She could take a picture of that image, put it in a calendar, and make a lot of money.
“Uh, er . . .” Stammering, she licked her lips, gathering her thoughts back to the matter at hand. “What’s going on?”
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He held a hand out to silence the kids. “My turn,” he said simply, turning back to Koda.

Welcome, Ryan. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
 I live in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina in a century-old cottage, with a houseful of rescued animals. There are six cats, two bunnies, one collie, one macaw, and some fish. Photos of most of them can be found on my blog and website. I began writing at age ten. But it wasn’t until around 2008 that my writing finally found its way into magazines. I had several non-fiction articles and opinion pieces published, before I sold my first manuscript in 2012. Since then, it’s been a roller coaster of a ride, and a balancing act to keep both fiction and non-fiction wheels turning steadily. 

Do you write full time?
 I do write and do writing related tasks (blogging, update website, social media attention, research, and loads of promoting tasks) all full time. I also dog walk & pet sit full time. And I have a full time “day job”. So a typical day might look like this: rise early, tend to pets, shower & breakfast (and lots of coffee). I work on emails and writing tasks until lunchtime. Walk my dog, go and cover the county by attending to my clients. Many of them are mid-day walks and drop in visits. About two or three hours later, return home, feed my ‘zoo’ their lunch, and work on more writing until time for work. Pack my lunch, change into my uniform and be at work by 3:00 pm. I’m there until about 12:30, 1:00 am. Then it’s time to check on one more late dog walk, take care of any writing items that have come up during the afternoon, feed the ‘zoo’ again and drop listlessly into bed for a few hours. Repeat. Weekends I don’t normally have the second shift job (though sometimes I do), and I usually pet sit more. So it’s all a balancing act. My afternoon “day job” is working security/ asset protection in a distribution center for a fashion retailer.  

Wow, I'm tired just reading what you do! Where do you get your writing inspirations?

 Inspiration can be found anywhere. Random sightings, overheard conversations, photographs, songs. My list is endless. My latest release is called ‘Crazy Woman Creek’ and is part of Limitless Publishing’s ‘Craving Country’ anthology. It came to be because I was having issues with a peeping tom last summer. One day I’d spoke to the police and was quite disgruntled. On my way to work, I needed to unleash some of my anger before I hit the front doors, so I grabbed pen and paper and let my ‘crazy woman’ out to vent. By the time I reached work, I was in a better frame of mind---sort of. A couple of weeks later I noticed a call for submissions for short stories with a country theme. Those crazy venting scribbles became the backbone of the contribution for the anthology. That is how my inspiration rolls. Just stuff happens and it makes it into a book. Ya just never know…

Tell us how you came to write this story.
Rainbows in the Moonlight was inspired by two of Montgomery Gentry’s songs. There is a song called ‘Our Town’ and another called ‘Something to be Proud of’ and both speak of small towns, boys growing up and leaving town, just to return later and fall in love and raise a family. Essentially, that is Dalton’s life. 

What are you working on now?
 A 2018 heroine is transported to 1718, the Golden Age of Piracy, and is abducted by the most ruthless, daring, and cavalier pirate of the time. He mistakenly thinks she is an Earl’s daughter. He had wanted a serving wench. The heroine, Bellamy Wingate, only wants to return home. However, that proves to be impossible. To complicate an already complex situation, Bellamy can see the future. One vision she saw was the hanging death of the hero, Captain Ronan Standish. 
Now, because I love time travels, I am also fleshing out an older script, “Beyond the Stars”, which will be a Christian time travel romance. I did this blend in 2014 with “Shimmers of Stardust” and it seems repetitively successful. This time I will have the heroine go back to an 1880’s rancher. In 2014 I had the outlaw come forward to the modern heroine. Faith, or lack of it, will play into the story, as well as liberal romance.
And because I dislike boredom, I am also outlining two more stories I hope to write, most likely in late 2018-2019. Both are more along the lines of Women’s fiction. One deals with triplet siblings, essentially estranged, and how an out-of-control forest fire brings them back together. The story idea was sparked as out-of-control wildfires were burning in my area last fall and I was awaiting the evac order. 
The other is a woman and her autistic child on the run from her mafia brother. She keeps a journal of her life on the run. She lands in what she thinks will be just another town to call home temporarily. Then the sheriff, who has developed a romantic interest in her, finds the journal. She is found out by the mobsters and is ready to run again, except the sheriff begs her to stay and trust him to protect them.
In addition to that, I hope to self-publish a fiction manuscript this summer. I did a non-fiction chronical of the first two years with my adopted dog last year, and it was a great experience. I think it would be fun to take a fiction script and try it again. I have a couple that don’t fit any neat niches. 
This should all keep me busy for a while.

For sure! How about an interesting fact about you?
 I have no sense of smell. It’s called anosmia. I’ve never had any sense of smell. Good or bad, there is just nothing there for me to notice. For my friends who don’t tend to remember, I have a load of fun teasing them—until they suddenly remember. Since I’ve never smelled anything, I don’t know what I am missing. 

Ryan Jo Summers writes mashed romances. Sweet love stories that include any combination of contemporary theme: Christian, humor, mystery, paranormal, shape shifting, suspense, or time travel. She writes non-fiction pieces for various magazines. In addition to a full time job, and a full time writing career, she also has a pet sitting business. She comes from a family of wordsmiths, with members who have been song writers and poets.

In her limited free time, she likes to read, escape to the wilderness and rivers, visit with friends and family, or just hang with her pets. She enjoys chess, crafts, painting, poetry, and word find puzzles. She lives in a century-old mountain cottage in North Carolina with a menagerie of rescued animals and way too many house plants. 

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TWITTER: @ryanjosummers












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