Book Spotlight “Beyond The Mask”

There’s so much more to each hero beyond the mask…

Fighting crime is not always a walk in the park.

The power to protect citizens comes at a price… your identity. 

How do you live an ordinary life when you can do such extraordinary things?

All proceeds from the print and digital sales of this book will be donated to Alex’s Lemonade Stand, an organization that is a superhero to the many children diagnosed with childhood cancers. ALS’s mission is to change the lives of children with cancer through funding impactful research, raising awareness, supporting families, and empowering everyone to help cure childhood cancer.

Buy Your Copy Now! E-Book

At These eBook Retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play

From The Publisher (Fiction-Atlas Press)

Hello! Every year Fiction-Atlas Press publishes a charity anthology to benefit charity. This year we’ve chosen Alex’s Lemonade Stand as the recipient of all proceeds from our superhero anthology titled, Beyond the Mask. 100% of the proceeds from the ebook and print editions of this book will be donated to ALS. We also wanted to put together this fundraiser for those who wanted to make a greater contribution to this amazing organization!  Whether it be $5 or $50 every single contribution goes to help fund childhood cancer research!  https://www.facebook.com/donate/1450428665088151/

Fiction Atlas Pres

About Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation

US 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization We share the vision of our founder and creator, Alexandra “Alex” Scott – a cure for all children with cancer. Our Mission: To raise money and awareness of childhood cancer causes, primarily research into new treatments and cures. To encourage and empower others, especially children, to raise money for childhood cancer by holding their own Alex’s Lemonade Stands.

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation

Want to do more? Donate Now!

About The Authors

C.L. Cannon

C.L. Cannon is a publisher, publicist, editor, author, designer, and lots of other occupations with the -er sound at the end!

She is a woman of many talents who never gives up or stops improving. She enjoys writing about love and friendship. She loves it even more when she can add fantasy and science fiction aspects to those themes!

She’s a self-proclaimed Harry Potter freak (Slytherin Pride people), lover of anything Joss Whedon (Spuffy forever), Tolkien fiend (who enjoys second breakfast), an addict of classic literature (Social class struggles turn me on… literally  yah see what I did there?)

She spends her days trying to #bookstagram (and probably failing), helping other authors grow and succeed (I love my job), and loving on her two babes (velociraptors), Seth and Petey.

She’s also sort of a social media enthusiast! You can find her basically everywhere on the net (man I just aged myself).

Or, you can visit her website for more content!

Sarah Buhrman

Sarah is an AuthorGoddess, one who embraces the divine honor of creating worlds with words in the hope of inspiring others. Sarah has been writing for more than 25 years, starting with poetry before moving on to non-fiction and fiction. She lives in the Midwest with two monsters (the kids), an ogre (the hubby), and whatever drama-llama is coming to visit this week. Sarah is the author of the Runespells series: Too Wyrd, Fluffy Bunny, and The Chains That Bind. She has short stories in several anthologies, including Counterclockwise: A Time Travel Anthology, A Twist of Fate: A Collection of 11 Twisted Fairy Tales, and Whispers of Hope: A Lexis Infinitum Charity Anthology. Sarah also has a blog via Patreon and makes funny videos about writing on her vlog, Practically Writing.

Matthew Stevens

Matthew Stevens spent years dreaming about being a writer before he found time late at night to create characters and worlds and the stories for them to inhabit. His current projects find him dabbling in a wide range of genres from his drafted novel, a paranormal thriller, to numerous fantasy and sci-fi shorts, along with an occasional blog post examining his perspective on his own writing journey and any intriguing geeky topic that catches his attention. He can be found online at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matthewstevensauthor

Twitter: @matt_the_writer

Blog: theedgeofeverything.wordpress.com

K.Matt

K.Matt is an author and illustrator. Her main body of work is the Hell Bent series of graphic novel/prose novella hybrids. She can be found in Upstate New York, in pretty much the middle of nowhere. She’s a fan of comics (and especially the movies based on them) and is an unrepentant workaholic. Her story “Travesty” is a culmination of her love of superhero media (and her love of making her characters suffer).

R.M. Demeester

R.M. Demeester lives in Saskatchewan, Canada. She is the mother of three young children, and owner of a rescue dog, a chocolate lab, Gainer. R.M. Demeester has been writing for as long as she could hold a pencil. She writes women’s fiction, new adult, and sweet romance primarily. She has two women’s fiction novels set to be released in 2019, along with several short stories.

Devorah Fox

“What if?” Those two words all too easily send Devorah Fox spinning into flights of fancy. Best-selling author of award-winning books including The Bewildering Adventures of King Bewilliam literary historical fantasy series and several thrillers, she also penned Fantasy/Science Fiction and Mystery Mini Short Reads and contributed short stories to popular fantasy anthologies. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she now lives on the Texas Gulf Coast with rescued tabby cats … and a dragon named Inky. 

Visit the “Dee-Scoveries” blog at http://devorahfox.com and subscribe to receive the free email newsletter at http://eepurl.com/LrZGX.

Rebekah Dodson

Rebekah Dodson is a prolific word weaver of romance, fantasy, and science fiction novels. Her works include the series Postcards from Paris, The Surrogate, The Curse of Lanval series, several stand-alone novels, and her upcoming YA novel, Clock City. She has been writing her whole life, with her first published work of historical fiction with 4H Clubs of America at the age of 12, and poetry at the age of 16 with the National Poetry Society. With an extensive academic background including education, history, psychology, and English, she currently works as a college professor by day and a writer by night.

Bob James

Bob James is a native of the Chicago area, growing up in Oak Park, Ill. He currently lives in Corpus Christi, TX. He retired after 25 years in the education business – one year as a sign language interpreter followed by 24 years as a teacher in the fields of Special Education and Technology. All of his unpublished work can be accessed through his new site, Bob James – The Author. He writes daily devotionals, Science Fiction, and Thrillers, and is also working on a book about the journey that he and his wife went through during her battle with breast cancer. Bob has been married to his wife Lucy since 1979. They have two sons, one daughter, one granddaughter, and one grandson.

Melissa E. Beckwith

Melissa has been writing books since before she had learned to read, in the form of picture books, and planned to be an author at age 4.  She spent her youth penning short stories, poems and writing in her diary.  At nineteen she married her high school sweetheart and started her family.  She has spent her adult life raising her three children and teaching herself the business and craft of writing.  Born and raised in beautiful Southern California she and her husband now live along the Ohio River in Indiana to be near their beloved grandson, Bryar.

Melissa enjoys the outdoors and nature, especially camping.  She has an interest in the natural world, particularly the wonder of birds and bugs.  She can’t grow plants to save her life, though she likes to try. She loves art and paints a little herself.  She has a great interest in history and plans on trying her hand at historical fiction in the future.  Someday she hopes to travel the world starting with Scotland, Ireland, Africa, and Australia.

Melissa loves to listen to heavy metal, Irish rock, and Celtic music…well, anything Celtic really.  She loves dangly earrings, big rings, bright clothes, the color red, yellow roses, orange cats, and little dogs, like her fuzzy Shih Tzu, Abby.

Most days you will find her tapping away at her keyboard, researching her next great novel, or catch her with her nose stuck in an epic fantasy or historical fiction story.

C.M. Lander

M. Lander is an emerging voice in the fantasy and science fiction genre. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing from Hofstra University where she focused on her first love–poetry. She has been featured as Tumblr’s Poet of the Day, placed 2nd in the Bartleby Snopes’ Dialog-Only Contest, and has been published by Newsday and ProtestPoems.org, among other publications.

Ms. Lander is currently a student of law and is devoted to marrying her love of writing with philanthropic causes.

Keep an eye out for her next novel, The Witch of Ildra Lac, due out in March 2019.

Book Spotlight – “Fools Of Parody” by Scott Moses

Book Blurb

Two aliens, Anu and Matrona, who first made their appearance on Earth 5000 years ago to help mankind develop civilization, return after a 2000 year absence. And they’re pissed. Instead of cleaning up our mess again, they choose seven humans, calling them angels, teaching them the ways of universal love and joy. Can the angels spread the message in time? Will their opponents succeed in stopping them? Will Anu and Matrona destroy humankind and turn the planet over to the dolphins?

Read my review

Buy Your Copy Now! E-Book, Paperback

From the Author

The Laughing Warrior Scott Moses is the author of the reviewer acclaimed novels “Between Truth and Eternity” and “Fools Of Parody’. His turn-ons include taking long hikes with his dogs, jello wrestling, and homemade chili. Turn-offs include mean people and driving behind someone with their blinker on for five miles. He lives among the majesty and clean air of the San Francisco Peaks.

Where To Find SCOTT MOSES

Facebook, Website (Laughing Warrior)

George Lucas – “Focus”

Ursula K LeGuin – “Imagination”

Ray Bradbury on “Science Fiction” (#SomeoneElsesWords)

The eagle-eyed among you might have noticed a change in design for my quote images. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Do you prefer the current format, or the old one?

 

B2BCyCon2018 Fantasy Blog Tour #1 – Why I Write Fantasy by Mary R. Woldering

This post appears as part of the “Brain to Books Cyber Convention & Book Expo Fantasy Book Tour”…

Running from April 6th through April 8th 2018 this online book event brings readers and authors together for a weekend of books, and book related events.

Learn more here

Why I Write Fantasy – By Mary R. Woldering

I really don’t have an answer to that. I write and fantasy happens. Reality, as in life restricted to the five senses bores me to tears.  I was born into a very religious family, so things of “God” and angels and devils were natural to me, even though I couldn’t see them. When I was afraid of storms (as one of the characters in my novels fears them) my Mother told me it was god cleaning and re-arranging things in heaven. I was given little candles to burn to speed my prayers to heaven.

I drew pictures of scribble tornados even though we had no TV in those days and I had never seen one. When I went to the movies and later when the television arrived in our house, I BECAME characters in them. I was Davy Crockett “Grinning a bar…” It didn’t matter that he was a man. I had an imaginary friend named Starr who could appear as different things: A Native American, a young man with long black hair who danced. He could also be just a star. I sang “Twinkle, twinkle little star to him.”

I knew about other creatures too. I saw them in my dreams, even though I never read about them. There were solid white or pale people, ghosts and apparitions in my room. My Mother said it was the devil and told me to pray. I told her I would pray him out of Hell and after that she didn’t say anything else on the matter.

At first, I drew, then I wrote. All stories I wrote, even as a child, contained something of the spirit or of dreams. I could fly, I could be a witch, I could turn into a hawk, I could walk through walls. Starr was still there in the background, but we didn’t talk as much. In High school I wrote a Regency/early Victorian romance but, sure enough my pale people came in and Starr showed up as a ghostly guide to the hero of the story.

In college I met others like me who spent much time in the ‘dream verse” My best friend and others told me I was just psychic and I was seeing real spirits as well as remembering past lives.  Starr? He, they said, was a guardian spirit.

Now my writings of the unreal increased and I wrote down all the dreams, meditated with friends and wrote some more. It was as if my world of fantasy suddenly had permission. My friend and I traded stories of our off-kilter childhoods. She could fly, and there was something about a dragon (if I remember right) she made up a language and talked to ghosts too.  We ended up “seeing” each other in different eras – and of course you find us both in my major work series Children of Stone.

In summary, I say I write fantasy because it’s my reality. As I say in my bio, fantasy is me. One hundred years ago I would have been in a madhouse.

The excerpt below is part of an Urban fantasy short story published in Dreamtime Dragons this year. It’s based on stories my friend told me of her childhood and if became “Ana’s Dream of Flying”

The entity shaped the crystalline orb it formed with what might have been a hand.

Human. As man, it self-whispered as the dark blue star-filled shape with the emerald bracelet at its wrist became clear, took on the appearance of ruddy skin and solidified.

He watched Ana grab the broken stub of a much-chewed pencil and begin to scribble a shape on the pale purple scrap of paper.

She bit down on the eraser in a nervous gesture and tucked one of the fat braids that had come loose from her head. A figure emerged. It was a tall and red manlike thing with a long turban-like hat tilted back from his brow. She colored his long robe red, but couldn’t decide what to do with the feet so she extended it to the bottom of the page.

The entity smiled and nodded, pleased.

“I will call you Mr. Man.” she affirmed. “I know you. You watch over me when I am sleeping.” Her teeth flashed in a grin as she pushed the crayon over the surface of her artwork.

She can’t see me; not in the light of day, the creature smiled.

The veil is too thick in the cursed sunlight.

At night is when she can see me

I will come to her as a dream,

then carry her away to the lands and places where we walked once when we were gods.

I have watched parts of her shattered soul for centuries.

Tonight, sweet little child, when you dream,

I will take you flying,

I will teach you to fly and then you will remember even more.

In the thinning distance between worlds, the entity heard a crackly sound of something from another room, suddenly joined by the wispy, singing voice of an older female.

“Some glad morning when this life is o’er,

I’ll fly away.

To a home on God’s celestial shore,

I’ll fly away.

When the shadows of this life have flown,

I’ll fly away.

Like a bird thrown, driven by the storm,

I’ll fly away.”

Then the singing stopped and the crackly sound went abruptly silent with a click, followed by: “Ana…come to supper, dear.”

Voice from another room, it mused, the smell of cooking is strong. Fire-treated winged creature – chicken.

For a moment, the entity wished for a human form; one that would love to eat the older female’s fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans.

There will be something she calls pie, afterward.

§ § § §

“Yas, Muh’dear” the little brown skinned girl muttered, perturbed that she’d have to stop her drawing and put her things away. A slight frown crept over her high forehead. She slapped her crayon on the table, then paused and picked it up. In a quick, gesture, as if adding something extra, she scribbled red angel wings sticking out of the sides of the creature’s robe. Regarding her work, she changed them so that they looked sharp and pointy.

“That’s better. No angel-y wings for you. Now you can fly away. Don’t let them see you, Mr. Man. It’s our secret. Mwah!” she kissed the paper then folded it, tucked it in her school notebook and put away her crayon. She didn’t see the red pulse that glimmered inside the spiral bound pages.

Little Ana, not quite eleven, ate her supper, watched the “Outer Limits” with Muh’Dear and Daddy, then took her bath. She put on her pink PJ’s, brushed her teeth and went to bed, but couldn’t sleep.

Big bad devil is out there but Cass and Jera’boam will protect me, she thought.

They were her daydream friends. They always would laugh and play with her outside and take turns jumping off the porch, pretending they could fly. When she was five they wanted her to jump off the roof of the shed, but Daddy caught her just in time.

They don’t believe in you. They say you are ‘maginary and to stop fooling around. Be a big girl they say, but I always was a big girl. She snickered as she snuggled in her covers. I just shrinkity shrank like my red sweater in the washing machine.

Ana loved to draw and dance and play. She didn’t like school too much.

The nuns are mean and always talk about sins and devils and how they come and get bad little boys and girls who cause trouble in class.

 

B2BCyCon2018 Sci-Fi Blog Tour – Behind “Evaline Transcendent”

This post appears as part of the “Brain to Books Cyber Convention & Book Expo Science Fiction Book Tour”…

Running from April 6th through April 8th 2018 this online book event brings readers and authors together for a weekend of books, and book related events.

Learn more here

The Origin of “Evaline Transcendent”

Evaline Transcendent is the first of my science fiction stories to go into print. It originally was a featured story in the “Across the Kármán Line” anthology from Laurel Highlands Publishing following a request for stories that took place beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

I originally wrote the story outline from the point of view of colonists who were attempting to colonize a distant planet. However, I quickly discovered that it was more about the ship’s artificial intelligence than it was about the colonists.

The second outline became the story of an artificial being charged with the task of delivering the colonists to their new home. But, the stakes had been raised, because of war on Earth, the ship had departed before the systems had been tested, and there was a very good chance the people on board were the last survivors of their world. To make matters worse, they were headed for the only known planet that could potentially support human life, and the mission before them had stopped sending messages home.

At this point the story was called “Evaline Triumphant”, and I was happy with how it had come out.

Even Stories Evolve Over Time

This was the story that I submitted for the Anthology, but that wasn’t the end of it.We went back and forth on the story title for a while, and came up with “Evaline Ascendant”, which worked well with the story as it stood at that time. But, things didn’t end there.

After discussing the ending of the story with the editor at Laurel Highlands, I was asked to add to the length of the story.

Now, this was my first science fiction story, and I’d felt that it had a good solid ending, but then something occurred to me. There was a way to push the envelope, and my twisted mind went “but what if that WASN’T the real end of the story?”, and suddenly the story shifted gears entirely taking on a darker tone.

Two new chapters came into being, and I turned the original ending entirely on it’s head while still retaining that part of the story.

And thus was born “Evaline Transcendent”, and the story that went into print with the anthology.

The Further Evolution Of Evaline

Once the rights for the story reverted to me, a year after publication, I re-read it and decided to release it as a short story. I added a lot  of extra material into the story. Some of it was clarification on things I thought needed explaining a little better. Other parts were in there to extend the scenes and add a little more to the personalities of characters.

Why So Vague?

Honestly, I’m being deliberately vague about a lot of the details, because I don’t want to give anything away. But, as you read this story, I know you’re going to spot where I originally ended it, and hopefully be surprised by the direction it takes from there…

If you’re intrigued enough to buy a copy, I’d love it if you could leave a review. At the end of the day, I thrive on reading people’s thoughts about my stories, both positive and negative.

Buy “Evaline Transcendent” for $0.99  throughout the Brain to Books Cyber Convention (April 6th-8th).

Normal Price $1.99

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Next Up: Stephen Pearl

Book Spotlight – “The Experiencers” by Val Tobin

Book Blurb

Assassin Michael Valiant deals death without question on the orders of the Agency. He knows it’s all in the name of duty and the fight against terror, particularly at a time when the earth is as close as it’s ever been to self-destructing.

But Michael questions his agency’s motives when he’s ordered to silence a group of UFO enthusiasts who look less like terrorists than they do housewives and nerds. His attempts to uncover the truth arouse the suspicions of his partner and boss with tragic consequences. Michael finds himself running for his life and dragging his intended target along with him.

Can he save them both, or will the Agency and the aliens find them first?

A new age science fiction thriller that delves into existing UFO and doomsday weaponry conspiracy theories, The Experiencers keeps readers riveted with non-stop action while the characters struggle to control destinies that may have been determined lifetimes ago.

Buy Your Copy Now! E-Book, Paperback

From the Author

Formerly a software/web developer, Val Tobin now spends her time writing. In April 2017 she received a masters degree in Parapsychology. She is also a Reiki Master/Teacher and Angel Therapy Practitioner® with advanced training, certified by Doreen Virtue in Kona, Hawaii.

Where To Find Val Tobin

Twitter, Facebook, E-mail, LinkedIn, Blog (Indie Lifer), Website (Val Tobin), Newsletter (Latest News from Val Tobin)

Coming Soon From Val Tobin

I will be releasing a new romantic suspense novel in winter 2018. Called Poison Pen, it is part of the About Three Authors series of books. One-sentence summary: Three wannabe authors suffering from various mental disorders find themselves on a killer’s radar and in cupid’s sights when they interfere in the investigation of a colleague’s murder.

A 2017 Round-up 3 of 3 – A Year In The Spotlights

 

In This Post:

• Books featured in “Book Spotlights” during 2017
• Authors featured in “Author Spotlights” during 2017
• Update on the reader survey

I know that this series started as a round-up of 2017 in two parts, but I realized there was so much that happened in 2017, that I really needed more posts…

(And yes, it might even go to 4 posts if individual posts get too long).

So without further ado, let’s take a look at the books and authors that have featured on “Ramblings of an Author” over the last twelve months.

Want Your Book Spotlighted?

Click Here To Fill Out The Form

J.N. Sheats	Heidi Angell	Andy Peloquin	Connie Cockrell
Claire Plaisted	Rosemary Cawkwell	Stephanie Ayers	Renee Scattergood
Toi Thomas	A.L. Mabry	Patricia Josephine	Cassidy Taylor

Interested In Being In The Author Spotlight?

Click Here To Fill Out The Form

 

I’m Still Taking Views From Blog Readers

Have Your Say In What I Post In 2018

A 2017 Round-up 2 of 3 – The Year In Books

 

In This Post:

• Statistics About My Reading Habits in 2017
• Fiction Books I Read (and links to my reviews)
• Non-Fiction Books I Read (and links to my reviews)
• My Personal Book Releases, and feedback from readers

I know that this series started as a round-up of 2017 in two parts, but I realized there was so much that happened in 2017, that I really needed more posts…

(And yes, it might even go to 4 posts if individual posts get too long).

Target Number Of Books To Read: 25

Number Of Books Actually Read: 37 (28 Fiction, 9 Non-Fiction)

Number Of Pages Read: 7,982

Comment below – let’s see how we all did on our reading targets

5-Star Reviews
4-Star Reviews
3-Star Reviews

Comment Below With Any Fiction Recommendations

5-Star Reviews
4-Star Reviews
3-Star Reviews

Comment Below With Any Non-Fiction Recommendations

Evaline Transcendent

Format: Kindle E-Book

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073G9FPZ8

Released: July 26, 2017

Blurb: Evaline is the shipboard computer on the Miranda Two, a colony ship destined for the planet Karman-III-Delta. She is possibly Earth’s last hope of establishing a working off-world colony. However, her predecessor stopped reporting home, so now she and the colonists must establish what happened to the previous colony.
The Miranda Two has been traveling for twenty years, and now it’s time for Evaline to wake the crew and colonists in preparation or arrival at their destination. Can Evaline and the crew figure out what happened to the Miranda One expedition, and what price will they have to pay for the answers?

Note From the Author: This is the second release of “Evaline Transcendent”, which originally appeared in the “Across the Karman Line” anthology. Since that release, I have revisited the story and expanded on some aspects, and rewritten others. At its core, this is exactly the same story but reimagined for a wide audience.

Originally standing at around 8,500 words, this new release boasts a word count of closer to 14,000. I hope that those of you who have read the original story will discover new aspects to it when reading this version. For those coming to it for the first time, enjoy!

Reviews: 

5.0 out of 5 starsLove reading! Love reading many things but not science …

Love reading! Love reading many things but not science fiction… So it’s strange that I LOVED reading this!!! A short and wonderfully captivating story which REALLY should be made into a movie!!! You’ll see why yourselves – no spoilers here 😉 I’ve just downloaded his other book too YAY 😀

Book Dreams Volume #1 (Brain to Books Anthology)

Format: Kindle E-Book

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075VDXD64

Released: April, 2017

Blurb: Here, we present the talents of assorted artists. In this collection, you will find short stories, continuations, and poems that encompass the hidden treasures of today’s uprising authors. May their words influence you as much as they have influenced mine.

Authors Include: Ani H. Manjikian, Adam Dreece, W.J. Howard, Toi Thomas, Timothy Bateson, Laura McHale Holland, Ash Krafton, Sanzaki Kojika, Tyrean Martinson, C.T. Callahan, Natash Jackson, Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra, Jeanne Richards, Charlene Jones, Angela B. Chrysler

I’m Still Taking Views From Blog Readers

Have Your Say In What I Post In 2018