Shadows Rising from Amanda Berthault

 

Shadows Rising by Amanda Berthault
EdenEcho Publishing, 295 pp

July 5, 2022

Contemporary Action

Ebook $3.99

buy on Amazon

About the Book
Music has the power to bring unexpected soul mates together. But their dark pasts collide—with deadly results. An evil force will stop at nothing to end it all. There is nowhere to hide.

Shadow McKinley has rebuilt his musical career, successfully regaining his status as one of the best heavy metal singers in the world. But with success comes the adoration and worship that had driven him away before. As he finds himself drowning once again, he meets the one person who truly understands him. A soulmate who brings as much danger as happiness.

Stunning Dutch metal singer Nicoline Aldenberg also has a dark past of bad decisions. As Shadow falls deeper under her spell, he faces the wrath of her violent ex-husband who will stop at nothing to kill him. Onstage and off, from Atlanta to Tilburg, nowhere is safe. Can Shadow survive the most impassioned—and deadliest—choice he’s ever made?

My review: 

Shadow McKinley has never known love or acceptance for who he was. A touch feels like fire; meeting someone’s eyes is a struggle, and talking to strangers physically painful. So how can he figure out how to handle love when it runs into him like a tidal wave?

 

Something strange and brutally frightening overwhelms Shadow, a heavy metal rock star. He’s returned to his career after a brief hiatus on the run and serving time for a past mistake. His fans have forgiven him, and now he must forgive himself. With the help of his best friends and bandmates, he works out his extreme fear of crowds to accept an invitation to perform with heavy metal stars from around the world at a concert in the Netherlands. The overwhelming part comes in when he’s paired with a stunning Dutch singer. Waves of emotion cause him to make an unusual gaffe during rehearsals. It takes Shadow’s friend Tommy to talk him down from his strange euphoria and help him navigate this strange landscape of not only accepting romantic love, but learning how to return it. Trouble is, the stunning Dutch singer Nica comes with more baggage than Shadow in the form of a lovely young daughter and a savage ex-husband out for more than revenge.

 

Once again Berthault explores unusual relationships and the concept of family and the devastation of abuse, set across continents at concert venues, hotels, and the sanctity of home. Once Nica’s ex learns of her budding romance with Shadow, and his daughter’s adoration for Shadow, he goes berserk and schemes to take back by any means what is his, and remove any obstacle in his way. As Shadow’s bandmates surround him with encouragement, advice, and support, Shadow begins to enjoy his music and his life in a way he’d never imagined possible—all because of a special woman and her daughter.

 

The threat escalates with each move until mortal danger becomes a terrifying reality. Shadow takes control of his life by working out his fear and anger through physical fitness, worrying Nica further that he’ll put himself in harm’s way to protect her, should her ex grow more violent. But Shadow needs to do something to channel his rage at the thought of the danger Nica is in, and continues to build physical strength as well as self-esteem. As their relationship deepens, Shadow and Nica must learn to trust each other even during the worst moments of their lives.

 
This second installment of a planned trilogy is well-paced and page-turning.

Berthault, a native Chicagoan with a passion for music, gives readers of contemporary romantic suspense and action a thought-provoking novel about self-acceptance, sacrifice and the depth of passion. I have one wish, that the f-bombs be cut back and used as shockers rather than part of everyday speech. Told through Shadow’s viewpoint, the story unfolds in crisp and honest real time as he begins to come to terms with his self-worth. Hopefully Berthault will get her wish that Heavy Metal Fiction will become a shelf label.

 
About the Author:

Amanda Berthault is an author, editor, and music lover who wants to make “Heavy Metal Fiction” a real genre. She has a BA in creative writing from Columbia College Chicago and has had multiple musically themed short stories published over the past two decades. She lives in the Chicago suburbs where she runs a freelance editing business helping other independent and self-publishing authors.

holiday story from Barbara Britton

 

Christmas at Whispering Creek (Christmas Holiday Extravaganza) 

Barbara M Britton

White Rose Publishing

October, 2022

$5.99 ebook

$15.99 print

264 pp

Buy on Barnes and Noble

Amazon 

Publisher

Bookshop

About the Book

All Samantha Williams wants to do is to use her teaching degree to instruct a classroom of second graders. But, after a breast cancer diagnosis at the age of twenty-three, and failed reconstruction surgery, Sam finds herself without a job and temporarily living with her parents. This isn’t the life Sam expected. When a family friend dies and leaves Sam a house and land in Whispering Creek, Tennessee, Sam must decide if leaving Wisconsin for Southern living is in her lesson plans.

Nashville native, Cole Donoven, left his family’s electrical business to write country music. When Cole’s song-writing partner and girlfriend dumps him for a country music star, Cole abandons Nashville to hole up in Whispering Creek and compose one more song. The last thing Cole expects to find in the sleepy small town is a deceased friend, estate squabbles, and a Northern beauty. Will the chaos in Whispering Creek help create a bestselling song for Cole and possibly help him find a life-long collaborator?

My Review

Echoing an achy country song, Britton’s latest contemporary inspirational holiday romance is a sweet twang of a hurting-and-healing stoked ballad set in rural Tennessee. When a down-and-out too-young cancer survivor is crushed by the loss of her beloved teaching job, and gets two more jolts in one day with the creepingly suspicious loss of her boyfriend and news of the death of Ted, a beloved influential friend, Samantha heads out for an adventure to learn the details of her inheritance. To her surprise, it comes with a house, cranky neighbors, and another handsome, hurting stray friend of Ted’s, the ultra-handsome and helpful songwriter Cole. Cole happens to be recovering from an unceremonious dumping of his glamorous partner, and appears at Ted’s country home to finish a contractual obligation for one last song. It’s chaos when he happens upon a furious contender for Ted’s estate, a beautiful damsel, and a tornado, all of which work to remind him that he’s never been the one in charge of his fate—God is, and he’d better re-learn that trust and faith practice.

Filled with lots of natural angst, a steady measure of faith, and delicious sweet romance, fans of Britton and clean romance will enjoy this loving holiday story.

About the Author

Barbara M. Britton lives in Wisconsin and loves the snow—when it accumulates under three inches. Barb writes romantic adventures from Ancient Israel to Modern Day USA and especially enjoys bringing little-known Bible characters to light. She has a nutrition degree from Baylor University but loves to dip healthy strawberries in chocolate. Barb is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers. You can visit Barb online at www. barbarambritton.com or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

new holiday story from Keeley Brooke Keith

 

Uncharted Christmas by Keeley Brooke Keith

Inspirational holiday novella

October 4, 2022 Edenbrooke Press, 58 pp

$4.99
$12.99

Buy on Amazon 
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About the Book

As Dr. Lydia Bradshaw makes her rounds in the village of Good Springs this Christmas season, each family she visits seems to be blessed in ways she is not. All the homes are beautifully decorated for the holiday, and every woman is expecting another baby.

Every woman but her, that is.

While the haze from the volcanic ash cloud outside the Land looms on the horizon, calls for the doctor force Lydia to work around the clock. Torn between fighting for the home life she craves and the career that defines her, Lydia needs a Christmas miracle.

Meanwhile, at Falls Creek…

Philip Roberts spends his lonely nights in the parsonage next to the humble chapel. Pastoring the church across from the Land’s only inn means encouraging many a road-worn traveler to carry on, whatever their journey might be. Philip also watches the ever-changing rotation of guests for the one person he prays will stay at Falls Creek forever.

Only he doesn’t know her name.

When the Vestal siblings break their journey to Good Springs at the inn for a much needed respite over Christmas, Philip is fascinated with the demure Lena Vestal. As he tries to get to know her, she stirs in him more questions than answers.

Can he discover who this intriguing woman truly is in such a short time, and is she the one he’s been waiting for?

My Review

With so much on her plate, Dr. Lydia Bradshaw, the first female doctor in the unmapped island Land’s unofficial capital city of Good Springs, an anomaly of a twenty-first near future isolated culture stagnated in nineteenth century traditional religious mores, has fallen into a routine of nearly 24/7 medical care. A strange haze has entangled the Land for the past few months, and Lydia is certain that murkiness and unusual weather has peaked worries and unnatural fears in elders and children alike. She is working herself to an exhausted frenzy yet resents the help sent by the elders and approved by her husband without even consulting her. As Christmas approaches, Lydia is hard put to be thankful, especially after she believes she’s found a new treatment and a new potential hazard to the Land and no one believes her. A parallel story to Lydia’s takes place at our favorite inn in Fall Creek hinting at answered prayers for their overseer pastor’s desire to cure his singleness.

It’s Christmas blessings all around, with a special reason to rejoice and a new mystery in the Land Uncharted.

Uncharted Christmas is a lovely quick holiday gem, coming home to the people we’ve come to love in Keeley Brooke Keith’s Uncharted series. Told mostly in the perspectives of Lydia and Philip, readers are drawn into their world.

About the Author

Keely Brooke Keith writes inspirational frontier-style fiction with a slight Sci-Fi twist, including The Land Uncharted (Shelf Unbound Notable Romance 2015) and Aboard Providence (2017 INSPY Awards Longlist).

Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, Keely was a tree-climbing, baseball-loving 80s kid. She grew up in a family who moved often, which fueled her dreams of faraway lands. When she isn’t writing, Keely enjoys teaching home school lessons and playing bass guitar. Keely, her husband, and their daughter live on a hilltop south of Nashville, Tennessee.

New Mystery from Tam May

 

A Wordless Death: An Early 20th Century Mystery
(Adele Gossling Mysteries Book 2)

Tam May
July 2022

Dreambook Press

361 pages

Ebook $4.99
Print $12.99

Buy on Amazon 
Barnes and Noble 

About the Book

Is the death of a schoolteacher suicide or something more sinister?

Adele Gossling is adjusting well to small-town life after the hustle and bustle of San Francisco. Despite her progressive ideas about women and her unladylike business acumen, even Arrojo’s most prominent citizens are beginning to accept her. Provided she sticks with the business of fountain pens and letter paper and stays out of crime investigation, that is…

But that’s just what she can’t do when Millie Gibb, the new teacher at the local girl’s school, is found dead and everybody in town assumes the homely, unmarried spinster committed suicide. After all, what enemies could a harmless, middle-aged woman have?

Adele and her clairvoyant friend Nin intend to find out. But can they prove Millie’s death was foul play based on a cigar stub, a letter fragment, and a cigarette lighter before the case is closed for good?

You’ll love this turn-of-the-century whodunit where a sassy and smart New Woman gives the police a run for their money!

My Review

Adele Gossling hasn’t had much time to rest after her former neighbor and potential friend was found dead in her yard. After a strange encounter with local teacher Miss Gibb at the post office one morning, during which her impatience and the postmaster’s cantankerousness moods clash, Adele has reason to feel concern as Miss Gibb is soon dead in her boarding house room.

Adele’s brother Jackson is now a member of Arrojo’s small police force, but he’s still nursing some misgivings about this brave new century and independent women. A woman who isn’t a homemaker and mother must be unfulfilled in life, and therefore unhappy, and maybe unhappy enough to end her own misery. Lacking definitive proof of foul play. Miss Gibb’s case is put to rest. Adele isn’t sure about that, and with the urging of one of the boarding house residents eagerly sets out to learn the truth of the matter.

Adele and her friend Nin connive their way onto the scene of the crime as well as into the evidence files and begin to unravel a cruel and twisted murder mystery that can’t be ignored.

It’s time to put to rest the notion that a woman with foiled aspirations to rise in her career must be suicidal. Adele and Nin are living examples of independent and content modern women, and crusaders of justice. With snappy and acerbic dialog, May gives readers a quirky and strong female sleuth for the Modern Age. I await Adele’s next adventure.

About the Author

As soon as Tam May started writing when she was fourteen, writing became her voice. She writes engaging, fun-to-solve historical cozy mysteries. Her mysteries empower readers with detailed plots and a sense of “justice is done” at the end. Her fiction is set in and around the San Francisco Bay Area because she adores sourdough bread, Ghirardelli chocolate, and the area’s rich history. Find more at http://www.tammayauthor.com

RIght Now Literary tour giveaway The Birth Gift by Betty Collier

 

Write Now Literary is pleased to be organizing a two-week book tour and $25.00 Amazon Gift Card for The Birthday Gift: Book 1 by Betty Collier. The book tour will run August 15-26, 2022.

 

ISBN: 978-1638718451

 

Genre: inspirational Christian fiction

 

Betty Collier describes herself as a nurse by profession, author by passion, and storyteller by the grace of God. She is a 5x bestselling, 4x award-winning inspirational Christian author. She writes with a purpose, and that is to bring honor and glory to God.

 

Her first book series, "Living Inside the Testimony" is a collection of inspirational nonfiction stories. Betty showcases her gift of storytelling by engulfing her readers from the very beginning and captivating their attention throughout the emotional journeys.

 

In her second book series, "The Birthday Gift", Betty displays her creative storytelling in a surprisingly extraordinary way with her fictional work. She continues to inspire while lifting the words right off the pages to bring her characters to life. Readers will find themselves hoping for the best and dreaming about the characters as if they were members of their own family.

 

Betty also co-authored 2 anthologies with visionary author, Paulette Harper. Both are Amazon #1 bestsellers, "For Such a Time as This" and "The Breaking Point." They feature incredible and inspirational stories from 20 different men and women from all across America.

 

Betty’s fictional work in The Birthday Gift Book Series is included in the John 3:16 Global Placement Mission as commissioned by founder, Terry Gurley. She uses her talent to introduce readers to the greatest gift ever given to mankind. While taking them on intriguing tales of heartbreak and hope, Betty intricately weaves together stories leaving readers in suspense until the very end. What they have in common is they all beautifully deliver the gospel message found in John 3:16.

 

On a personal note, Betty has been married since 1986 to William Collier, the absolute love of her life, after first meeting him in middle school. They are the proud parents of two sons and a daughter-in-love, all of whom reside in Shelby County, TN.

An unexpected knock on the door derails a birthday celebration as Mrs. Williams recalls the mysterious events that prevented her beloved husband from flying back home with their daughter's priceless, life-changing gift he discovered at a flea market in the Middle East. In the opening scene, she learns in a most dramatic fashion that the absolute love of her life was murdered while in route to Los Angeles. Her faith and fortitude are unimaginably tested, but Mrs. Williams ultimately realizes that she possesses the greatest gift inside of her.

 

This Book Excellence Award-Winning Book is an exceptionally thought-provoking and intriguing tale that takes the reader on an emotional journey of profound heartbreak to surprising hope for the future. Although a catastrophic loss occurs, one comes away with a great sense of hopefulness in this increasingly violent world. The author intricately weaves this story together leaving readers in suspense until the very end. Be uplifted and inspired as you discover your own faith while experiencing the gift of a lifetime so cleverly embedded within the pages of this book.

 

 

The next thing I remember hearing is “Code Blue.” It was now pitch-black outside my ICU window at Cedars-Sinai Hospital. I don’t know what happened on that beautiful sunny morning after I opened my front door for the police officer. He was standing there in the last ray of sunshine I would see for quite some time. I guess I could look at the police report or medical records, but what’s the point. I really don’t want to be reminded of the single most horrific day in my entire life. What happened? Why was the police officer talking in slow motion?

 

Bill had been in Israel for thirty-three days. It was time for him to come back home. I had been expecting a phone call from him during his layover at Heathrow. Instead of Bill’s much anticipated call, I got that abominable knock at my front door!

 

Then I heard it again. “Code Blue.”

 

Everything went black. As I reflect on that disastrous day, everything was already black. My world had gone dark and void.

 

From what I’ve been told, I woke up the following morning with no recollection of the previous day. Apparently, those words my ears had refused to allow my mind to process were no less true just because I refused to hear them, let alone accept them. 

 

My heart was broken. I was broken. Life as I once knew it no longer existed. There was no reason to go to the airport. Bill never boarded his connecting flight in London. The only thing at the airport now was his luggage, and there certainly wasn’t any reason for me to go claim that. Well, no reason that I knew of at the time. 

 

 

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Tour hosted by Write Now Literary

New Romantic Suspense from Penelope Marzec

 

Angel of the L Train, by Penelope Marzec

Inspirational Romantic Suspense
Ebook $5.99
Prism Lux, August 12, 2022, 320 pp.

Buy Angel of the L Train:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Angel-L-Train-Penelope-Marzec-ebook/dp/B09VRRGSTR/
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/angel-of-the-l-train

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/angel-of-the-l-train-penelope-marzec/1141235956?ean=9781522399087

Google: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Angel_of_the_L_Train/ButkEAAAQBAJ?hl=en
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/angel-of-the-l-train/id1614935301

About Angel of the L Train:

Thea Ahern desperately needs a job, so when she lands a job at LetSlip, a New York City gossip magazine, she takes it even though it will mean hiding her heritage. When she helps a man who is attacked on the subway, she’s hailed as the Angel of the L Train, and people notice her striking resemblance to a once famous actress. This sparks a renewed interest in Paris Hulette and her whereabouts. What happened to the award-winning actress after her husband shot her? And is Thea Ahern really the actress's daughter?

Thea’s coworker, John, understands what it means to hide from your past, and so he shields Thea from the ensuing media frenzy. She falls for him, and he falls for her, but LetSlip’s CEO orders John to investigate Thea. Now he has to choose between protecting Thea or losing his job.

When LetSlip’s CEO is murdered while John is in the building, John is thrust into the public spotlight along with Thea, and his past is revealed. Can Thea ever trust him again? And can he ever be forgiven for what he’s done?

 

A Brief Interview with Penelope

 What do you love about your new book? I love the message of forgiveness in this book. The heroine in Angel of the L Train assumes the hero cannot be absolved for what he has done. Even the hero does not feel he is worthy of mercy. But none of us are truly worthy and yet the Lord does grant forgiveness. He gave his life for us. We are not supposed to judge others. That is up to the Lord, who loves us all. There is hope and there is forgiveness.

 Tell us about the most interesting thing you learned while researching. I went off on a tangent and researched what it takes to be an entertainer in the New York City subway. This was not important information for the story, but I wanted to know because there are entertainers everywhere in the subway system. Some have auditioned and applied for permits. Some have not. I learned you do not need a permit to entertain in the subway system. However, you must abide by all the Transit Authority’s many rules, which include not using an amplifier, not impeding the movement of passengers, and most of all not entertaining inside the subway car.

 I have seen all sorts of entertainment in the subway—including groups who entertained inside the subway car. Evidently, they get away with it most of the time.

 What's the background story no one knows about your heroine? The heroine’s mother was a well-known, award-winning actress who vanished from the public eye after the heroine was born. The heroine grew up in a small town in the New Jersey Pine Barrens where no one ever suspected her mother’s former fame. The heroine never knew her father and her mother forbid her to even say his name. Still, the heroine had a happy childhood until her mother became gravely ill.

 What are you reading now? I’m trying to read as many books published by Pelican Book Group as I can, but I am very far behind in my goal because there are so many books! At the moment, I am reading A Second Chance for Grace, by Karen Malley. I just finished How to Charm a Beekeeper’s Heart, by Candice Patterson. All the books are wonderful. I’m having so much fun.

 What’s next for you? I’ve been writing a historical romance set in 1903. I’ve been working on this one for a long time due to the ups and downs of life. However, I am drawing close to the end and I’m itching to put in the big climax.
 
About the Author:
Penelope Marzec grew up along the Jersey shore. She started reading romances at a young age and fell

hopelessly in love with happy endings. Two of her inspirational romances won EPIC’s eBook Award and another was a finalist in that contest. Her paranormal, Irons in the Fire, was a nominee for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award. Her Christian historical, Patriot’s Courage, placed First in the Inspirational category of the 2021 National Excellence in Story Telling (NEST) Contest. Visit her website at penelopemarzec.com for more information.

Review of This I Promise You

This I Promise You by Mary Felkins

The Heart of Moreland Manor prequel
Contemporary Christian Romance
Gardenia Press, May 2022, 186 pp
Ebook $2.99
Paperback $12.99

Buy on Amazon 

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Read an interview with Author here.

About the Book:

What if finding your heart’s desire means entrusting it …just once more … to the one who broke it?
It should not have come as a surprise to school Teacher Adelyn Ormond when she was jilted at the altar,

Promises are meant to be broken.

When her supervisor tasks her with galvanizing support for a local food bank, she directs her energy toward the underprivileged in her community—some of whom are her own students. Problem is, the responsibility requires her to involve celebrity chef, Bryan J. Carlyle, her almost-husband whose participation assures great results.

For all his success, Bryan hasn’t come up with a recipe for how to be restored to his family. Doesn’t help that abandoning Adelyn threatens to spoil his reputation and ruin his career. But when he encounters hungry children scrounging for food behind his restaurant, he agrees to get behind Adelyn’s worthy cause. The collaboration with Adelyn might shed light on the incriminating image he’d discovered minutes before the ceremony—her lip-locked with another man after the rehearsal dinner.

Can Adelyn trust Bryan to make good on his promise—without risking her heart? Will the love that led them to the altar be the key ingredient for reconciliation? Maybe. But his absence on the big day to which he’d committed might be beyond forgiveness.

My Review:

Loved this sweet and poignant romance of second chances. Two adults with secrets in contemporary New Orleans--he a renowned chef, she a former dancer turned elementary school teacher with a tiger mom heart--have a bitter past of disillusionment based on falsehoods. Thrown together to work a miracle for Second Harvest, they reluctantly explore the issues that caused their devastating left-at-the-altar moment six months earlier.

They both learn that the past can never stay buried, and excavating the childhood pain and trauma of their upbringing is the best way they can heal. But healing their relationship is another question.

I appreciated the author's tale of learning how our past shapes us and leads us to respond to present circumstances in both positive and challenging manners. Those who enjoy light allegory, inspirational pure romance will love This I Promise You.