ETERNAL NIGHT by @JadeKerrion #Paranormal #Fantasy #AmReading

In silence, the humans waited. They continued to hope even though they knew that the sturdy walls of the stone cottage would not keep death out.

The fire burned low, its embers glowing. A young woman, her lips pressed into a flat line, sat by the fireplace. A large pitcher of cheap wine trembled between her thin fingers. Men stood guard at the doors and windows, each armed with a sword and an unlit torch soaked in pitch. In the middle of the room, ten children huddled in the protective embrace of their mothers.

The children had reached their fifth year since the last full moon. Grubby-faced angels, all of them, their eyes wide above their pale cheeks—how many of them would survive the night remained to be seen.

Jaden Hunter’s deep green eyes focused on his half-sister, Khiarra, seated on his stepmother’s lap. The child reached up and touched her mother’s face. “Mama, are they coming soon?”

Lydia swallowed hard and pressed her cheek against Khiarra’s hair. Her eyes glistened with tears, but she said nothing.

Jaden glanced out of the window. The full moon inched higher, its glow unhindered by a cloudless night outside the dome that surrounded the city. Its light bathed the mountains and pine forests in silver. Waterfalls cascaded, the spray rising like mist to obscure the craggy peaks.

The untouchable beauty of Earth lay in full view outside the dome.

Within the dome, the city of Aeternae Noctis sprawled across two miles, fringed by fields and thin clusters of trees. At the tallest point within the dome, Malum Turris, the vampires’ stronghold, loomed over the city. As a teenager, Jaden had broken his first sword against its unyielding black walls. The pale glow emerging from the uppermost windows encircled the tower like a bracelet.

He clenched his teeth against the familiar knot of despair-laden anger that coiled in his stomach. Malum Turris was a beacon of evil, a lighthouse that offered death instead of salvation.

He turned at his father’s touch, gentle against his elbow.

Gareth’s hoarse voice murmured in his ear. “She will bring the tower down.”

Jaden glanced at his half-sister. Would she? He doubted, but it would have been too cruel to shatter his father’s belief in the prophecy bestowed upon Khiarra at her birth.

On that blessed night, his father’s aged face had shone with pride when the wise woman laid her hand over the infant’s forehead. Her quavering voice had carried through the quiet city square. “Through her you will see the Night Terrors for who they are. Shred the veil of deception to end the eternal dark.”

Jaden alone noticed that the wise woman had turned her head and fixed her cloudy, unseeing eyes upon him.

E-books available at Amazon / Amazon UK / Apple / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Smashwords

Paperbacks available at Amazon / Amazon UK / Barnes & Noble / Book Depository

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jade Kerrion developed a loyal reader base with her fan fiction series based on the MMORPG Guild Wars. She was accused of keeping her readers up at night, distracting them from work, housework, homework, and (far worse), from actually playing Guild Wars. And then she wondered why just screw up the time management skills of gamers? Why not aspire to screw everyone else up too?

So here she is, writing books that aspire to keep you from doing anything else useful with your time.

Her debut novel, Perfection Unleashed, spawned the Double Helix series which has won a total of seven science fiction awards, including first place in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2012 and the gold medal in Readers Favorites Awards 2013. She is also the author of Earth-Sim and When the Silence Ends, which placed first and second respectively in the 2013 Royal Palm Literary Awards, Young Adults category.

She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with her wonderfully supportive husband and her two young sons, Saint and Angel, (no, those aren’t their real names, but they are like saints and angels, except when they’re not.)

Connect with Jade: Website / Facebook / Twitter

Alone for a millennium, since a human murdered her beloved consort, Ashra, the immortal icrathari queen, rules over Aeternae Noctis, the domed city of eternal night. Her loneliness appears to be at an end when her consort’s soul is reborn in a human, Jaden Hunter, but their reunion will not be easy.

Icrathari are born, not made. If Ashra infuses Jaden with her immortal blood, he will be a vampire, a lesser creature of the night, a blood-drinker rather than a soul-drinker.

Furthermore, Jaden is sworn to protect his half-sister, five-year-old Khiarra. She is the child of prophecy, destined to end the eternal night and the dominion of the Night Terrors—the icrathari and the vampires.

As Ashra struggles to sustain her crumbling kingdom in the face of enemies without and treachery within, Jaden fights to defend his sister and unravel a greater mystery: what is the city of eternal night, and how did it come to be?

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Genre - Fantasy, Paranormal

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author

Connect with Jade Kerrion on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.jadekerrion.com

DEVOLUTION by @PeterClenott #AmReading #YA #GoodReads

Excerpt

Along a path which ran through grass more than double his height, Scallion quickened his pace as though the moon could not wait. After a while he could feel the swifter air that flowed across the Mamba River carrying with it the odors of the distant world and the humans who inhabited it. He could smell fish and crocodiles and antelope and lion but nothing filled the air with such stench as the humans. The girl. She was different, always had been. She smelled like a chimpanzee. She smelled like family.

Scallion slapped a few last branches out of his way before his padded feet touched the pebbled surface of his beach. Here, unencumbered by branches, leaves and vines, the night sky beckoned the chimpanzees into a world of light and darkness, myth and magic. Bedecked in black with a speckling of white lights and a wounded lunar eye, the night was watching her children’s ceremony. Across the water a glow of another kind lit up the grassy flatlands. Burning lights. Hundreds of them. Pots boiling. Meat cooking. Fire rising into the sky. Humans. Invaders.

Pop! Trying to ignore the human noise, the young chimpanzee moved along the border of the beach and the forest until he came to a small cove. A row boat had been pulled up onto the shore years ago and left unattended on the rocks. Scallion stopped at the boat, whose owner had long since been lost to the crocodiles of the river, and, turning to face his family, he raised his hands, beckoning them in the fashion of a teacher to be seated. When they were and when Scallion was satisfied that he had their attention, he turned back to the boat and climbed inside.

The floor of the craft still wore streaks of red sheltered in places from the rain. An oar lay on the bottom, the one the girl had been using the day her mother died. Scallion had been a witness to everything, how a crocodile had broken the surface of the river to grab the boat’s unfortunate occupant. Now he gazed at his audience before bending over to dig in the collection of sand at the bottom. After a few scoops, his hand touched something hard, his buried treasure. He gripped it with strong fingers, looked once again at all of those intrigued eyes, then lifted the object high in the air.

Flynn had purchased the book for his daughter. She would come down to this very beach to read to her friends the tales of a man with a yellow hat and of his companion, a chimpanzee, like Scallion, who was very curious.

Scallion’s lips curled back to expose his teeth in a wide grin. Excited panting and hooting filled his ears as his family prodded him to tell them everything he remembered.

He waited for a hush. Oh, how he wished the girl were with him now. How do you really tell about a girl? How do you explain her importance? How even in the most frightful of moments she could speak in a way that took away all fears. Scallion had tried to do these things many times before without her. But the world was changing. Humans had invaded their land, and the two-legged father they had relied on all their lives was missing.

Scallion tried to cheer and comfort Pan and Cream, Black Bart and Scopes, but he longed for the old days and for the girl with the black hair and the eyes dark as the night. Their sister. Their teacher. The girl the chimpanzees called Talk Talk.

What does it truly mean to be ‘Human’?

Chiku Flynn wasn’t raised to be human. Born in the Congolese rainforest, she spends her first eleven years as part of an experiment. For her, the aboriginal—the primitive—is ‘normal.’

Just after her eleventh birthday, Chiku witnesses the horrifying death of her mother, and her father sends her ‘home’ to the United States, to a normal teenager’s life. But she can’t adapt. She is the proverbial wild child—obstinate and defiant.

When her father disappears, sixteen-year-old Chiku heads back to the primordial jungle, where she uncovers her own dark past and puts to use her greatest skill: she can communicate via sign language with the wild chimpanzees of Chimp Island.

But there is turmoil in the rainforest—civil war, environmental upheaval…and murder. The lives of the chimps and the safety of the people she loves depend upon one teenaged girl who refuses to be messed with—Chiku Flynn.

Editorial reviews:

“Peter Clenott’s story of a troubled teen searching for her father in the African jungle skillfully combines the breakneck pace of a thriller with the emotional tug of a coming of age novel while providing a fascinating glimpse into the relationship between people and chimpanzees that will leave readers questioning which species is more humane. A thought-provoking read.” —Tasha Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of Behind the Shattered Glass

“Devolution is an enthralling, action-packed and fast-paced jungle thriller from beginning to end. The story is set in modern day Africa and is centered on the book’s heroine, Chiku, a firecracker of a girl full of energy and spirit. She can also talk to chimpanzees! The backdrops to the story are as old as time itself—war, racism, hunger and greed. Can a strong-willed sixteen-year-old girl and a band of chimpanzees survive in war-torn Africa? Or will death find its way into this strange yet wonderful family! This book is an interesting coming of age tale full of intrigue, wonder, romance and danger. A truly exciting and original read! This is not your grandparent’s Tarzan tale!” —Christopher P. Obert, founder of the New England Authors Expo

“If it takes a bipolar teenager and some chimpanzees to save their piece of the Congo, then Chiku and her primate friends are the ones to do it. Label them superheroes. Peter Clenott has captured diverse characters in a vibrant setting and added snappy dialogue for this unique and interesting novel.” —Shirley Ann Howard, author of the Tales series

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre - Young Adult

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with Peter Clenott on Facebook & Twitter

Website www.peterclenott.net

Sweet Dreams by P.T. Macias #AmReading #Romance #Suspense

Sweet Dreams
by P.T. Macias

Sweet dreams, precious moments, and mucho amor
Little footsteps, late nights, and escapades

Sweet little girl, precious young lady, how I enjoyed to see you grow
Little footsteps, transcending into big steps, running through life

Sweet dreams, precious years, and mucho amor
Little footsteps, little time, and I see the years go by

Sweet dreams, precious future, and mucho amor
Little footstep, big steps, walking with you through life

Sweet dreams, precious time, and mucho amor
Little footstep, big steps, and awesome strides

The hard driven, ambitious delta force operative is immune to women. His heart has been destroyed by a treacherous woman and the unexpected loss of his family. These events have driven him nearly into insanity. The hard knocks in life propel him into grasping his emotions, his thoughts, and his physical condition. He focused on his goal. Loco doesn’t allow any type of distractions or obstacles to stop him. His actions and recklessness have earned him his nickname, Loco.

The Infinite power, Razer 8 operatives, are united and linked for infinity. His team mates recognize his pain, anger, and strength is derived from the intense impotency he feels from his loss.

The unexpected mission and unexpected encounter with his soul mate, tests his strength. His mind, heart, and soul recognize his love even before the actual encounter. The ruthless criminals threaten to harm his soul mate, pushing and transforming him into a fearless warrior.

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Ghost is an old-fashioned Southern boy fighting hard to forget his pain. He’s forced to protect his Mama and sister from their abusive Pa. Ghost is strong, silent, and soft spoken. He works hard against all obstacles and hurt.

Ghost grows up to become a Delta Force. He meets and falls for a hot Latina who sets him on fire! She captures his soul and brightens his world. He would do anything to protect her.

Duty calls and he’s forced to leave her unprotected. The unspeakable happens! Ghost calls on Infinity. Infinity aids to extract his woman from the clutches of a soulless prostitution mob. Time is running out!

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Bulldog is the youngest of the Razer 8 Delta Force Operatives. He enjoys life. He’s called upon to help out one of his team operative. Infinity is there.

He runs into Katherine Morgan, a sweet young victim. In the the process of extraction he gets caught by the prostitution gang. They mistake him with being her boyfriend.

Bulldog grabs onto that line and poses as her boyfriend. In the process of rescuing Katherine from the mob he becomes entangled in her web. Will Bulldog’s skills and training save him from falling under her spell? Will he be able to outrun the mob and his soul?

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Redfox, Razer 8 operative mission is to infiltrate the Police Commissioner’s office and home. He has 72 hours to gather the intel on the Commissioner’s dirty business.

Redfox charms his way into the Commissioner’s home, throwing him into the arms of his soul mate. The unexpected love rocks his world and the success his mission.

The Commissioner’s daughter, Marsha Diane Bryant is a lovely sweet young girl. She falls under Redfox spell and unconditionally bestows her soul.

Redfox fears losing his soul mate in the process of completing his mission. Can their love survive the storm?

Buy @ Amazon

Genre – Romantic Suspense

Rating – PG 13

More details about the author

Connect with P.T. Macias on Facebook and Twitter

Website http://ptmacias.com/

What Lies Inside by J.L. Myers @BloodBoundJLM #reviewshare #ya #pnr

What Lies Inside by J.L. Myers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I LOVE all things vampire so this book was AMAZING. It was one of those books I didn't want the story to end. The characters were sexy, the story had some tragedy, some suspense and a lot of drama. Thankfully the POV doesn't change multiple times like some vampire books. I can't pick a single thing I did not like about this book other than the fact that it ended. :)

I preferred the middle sections of the book more than the introduction or the conclusion. The introduction moved at a good pace but I found myself impatient to know more about Amelia. The description related to the story perfectly well.

I can't recommend this book enough. It was well-written with an exciting turn of events. The scene that melted me the most was Ty telling Amelia, "I wanted you so bad, I still do. But not like this. Not in an alternate reality that exists only in our minds and not on any lasting physical plane. I want the real you ..." Now isn't that enough reason to read this book?

Disclosure - As a Quality Reads UK Book Club member, I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation for my book review. This book review is based on my thoughts, opinion and understanding of the book. This book review does not reflect the opinion of other book club members.



View all my reviews

Meet Lola from #Zombie Days, Campfire Nights by Leah Rhyne #Horror #SciFi #MustRead

One of the best parts of writing/reading a novel has to be meeting the main characters.

Meeting the main characters when writing a novel? What?

I know, but it’s true. Writers bring characters to life, but writing a novel is as much about getting to know your characters as it is about finding their adventure, and let me tell you – they come to life in so many surprising, unexpected ways.

Take Lola, for instance. Poor, sad, beat down Lola. Lola from NOLA.

The poor thing. Getting to know Lola was the hardest part of writing the entirety of the Undead America series for me. She was a tough nut to crack.

The abused child of an extremely poor single mom who brought a slew a different men through the house at any given time, Lola’s a punching bag for her brother, B.J. When we first meet her, she doesn’t even seem to realize it’s a problem. Not really.

I mean, it hurts when he hits her, and she cries when he spills blood, but she really, honestly, truly, deep down believes she deserves it. That he beats her because he cares, and because she’s just so darn frustrating that she just doesn’t deserve to be treated any better.

Readers, bear with me. I know that, if you’re in a healthy relationship, it’s hard to imagine ever feeling like that.

But there are so many women out there who do! They put up with being beaten because it’s all they know! They handle the punches, hide the bruises, and for all intents and purposes come back for more!

Abused women, those stuck in the vicious cycle of beatings and healings and more beatings, break my heart. It kills me to know there are people out there who don’t value themselves enough to know: no one has the right to hit you.

I’ve never been hit. Never even close. One guy threatened. Once. When I told him never to come near my house again or I’d call the cops, he listened…after a while. It took a long time for me to feel confident about going to bed at night, though, let me tell you.

But I’ve often looked back on that moment. What if I hadn’t said what I said? What if he had hit me? What if I’d been to embarrassed/scared/shocked to say anything about it? What if somehow my parents didn’t notice the bruise? What if I stayed with him and let him hit me again?

What if, what if, what if?

These are real, solid, concrete questions, maybe not what you often see in typical zombie fiction. But they’re the questions I thought about when writing it. What would happen to an abused woman if she was caught in the apocalypse? Would she suddenly get tougher? Or would she stay a little mouse, trapped away in a big old hotel, waiting for the next beating.

You’ll have to read the book to find out Lola’s choice. Her life is a nightmare; I can’t imagine it being mine. But knowing her for a while has been eye-opening to me.

Millions died when the zombie plague swept the country. For the survivors, the journey has just begun. Jenna, Sam, and Lola are still alive. Jenna avoids human contact, traveling East Coast backroads with her boyfriend, a dog named Chicken, and a Louisville Slugger. 

Sam escapes to the mountains, where he's conscripted into a zombie-slaying militia sent on nightly raids to kill the undead...and innocent civilians. Lola's imprisoned in the "safety" of a zombie-free New Orleans hotel, but life grows more dangerous when her brother gets bitten by a zombie. Jenna arrives in the French Quarter, lured by the false promises of New Orleans' drunken leader. 

There, she's ripped away from her boyfriend, drugged, and dumped in a death camp after refusing Franklin's sexual advances. Jenna and Lola's lives collide there, where the dead live and the dying are victims of gruesome medical experiments. Escape isn't easy: release the genetically-enhanced zombies from the lab to create a diversion, slip away, and don't get eaten. When Sam arrives, will he join the right side of the battle?

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Genre – NA-Horror, Sci-fi

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author

Connect with Leah Rhyne on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.leahrhyne.com/

Message of the Pendant by Thomas Thorpe #Mystery #Historical #AmReading

The room was not completely dark. High above the floor, five window slits provided flickering bursts of light whenever distant lightning struck. Beneath dark wooden beams, flashes created menacing shadows that quickly disappeared until the next glimmer.

Huddled in a corner with her sister, Emily, the wait became excruciating for Elizabeth. Where was the stalker now?

A large stone fireplace under an antlered head of a stag stood at the far side of the room. She decided to edge over to the hearth and look for a tool or piece of wood which could be used against the blackguard.

On hands and knees, she carefully advanced along the room’s perimeter trying not to make any noise. Fifteen feet, ten feet, five.., she felt the bricks. She reached out for a poker, but had to settle for a two-foot log, three inches in diameter. Clutching her prize, she turned to start back. A new creak punctured the air in the middle of the room.

She froze.

Several English chairs and Queen Anne upholstered seats rested between game tables, turned at various angles to her sight. The sound had come from there. She stared at the outlines.

Lightning flashed again. To her terror, a dark figure rose behinda seat turned away from the chimney. Light disappeared before she could see anything more.

Elizabeth's mind raced, wondering if she had been heard.

Another flash. The figure had moved toward Emily’s corner.

“Emily! Emily!” she screamed. “Wake up. Someone’s coming toward you!”

She could hear Emily stirring, muttering words that made it clear she did not understanding their plight.  She had to help her sister! Her legs felt weak and a rush of panic welled up inside her. She could not move.

Glint came again. The figure had stopped.

William Darmon and wife Elizabeth were powerful figures who in 1818 set society's pace from expansive grounds known as Mayfair Hall. When a family member is murdered, a mysterious pendant is found containing a long lost request by Napoleon Bonaparte for an American mission to burn down Parliament buildings. The couple sets out on an action filled pursuit of the killer. While interviewing Henry Clay in post-war Maryland about the failed mission, they uncover evidence of a conspiracy to free the Emperor from exile. The Darmons infiltrate the cadre, but a shipwreck off the coast of Scotland, a firestorm at the Darmon's Manor and a harrowing assault on the Island of St. Helena loom before the mystery can be unraveled.

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Genre – Mystery, Historical, Thriller

Rating – PG

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Website www.darmonmysteries.com

Robin Hawdon on His Latest Release, "Survival of the Fittest" #Detective #Religion #Historical

What writing are you most proud of?

Most of my plays to a greater or lesser extent (http://www.robinhawdon.com).  My first and latest novel.

What are you most proud of in your personal life?

Ah, that’s for others to say.

What books did you love growing up?

Too numerous to list.

Who is your favorite author? 

To many to choose.

What book genre of books do you adore?

All, but increasingly biogs.

What do you hope your obituary will say about you? 

He gave pleasure and provoked thought.

Location and life experiences can really influence writing, tell us where you grew up and where you now live? 

See above – I need beautiful environments.

How did you develop your writing? 

Practise, practise – it’s as hard as learning a musical instrument.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Never know, it comes with thought.

What is hardest – getting published, writing or marketing? 

Marketing – it’s a chore!

Do you plan to publish more books? 

Oh Yes!

The questions are always with us. Does God really exist? Are science and religion incompatible bedfellows? Charles Darwin shook philosophy to its foundations with his theory of evolution, yet strangely, he himself refrained from commenting in depth about the religious implications for fear of adding to the furor.

But suppose that he did in fact write down his conclusions as a secret addendum to his seminal work, Origin of Species. And suppose his beloved wife, Emma, who kept her own secret journal, was the only other person to know of this hidden postscript.

The novel Survival of the Fittest is the modern day story of the search for these two hugely significant works. An eccentric and endearing London antiquarian book dealer is hired by an equally eccentric American billionaire to track down the documents for his world famous collection of original manuscripts.

The complex investigation ranges across England, from historic towns and stately piles to prisons and Darwin homes, and involves a series of encounters ranging from the criminal to the romantic and the revelatory. Along the way, it explores the spiritual struggle within the extraordinary Darwin household, and the effects of that same struggle on the creators of the atom bomb and on modern terrorists.

Do we want to know the answer, or will it stir up a hornet's nest?

This dramatic investigation of man's spiritual dilemma occupies the spaces between authors Dan Brown and Richard Dawkins.

About the Author:

Robin Hawdon is one of Britain's most prolific playwrights. His plays have been seen in over forty countries. At any one moment there may be over a dozen productions running across the USA, Europe, and elsewhere. This is his third novel.

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Genre – Detective, philosophy, religion, historical

Rating – G

More details about the author

Connect with Robin Hawdon on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.charlesdarwinblog.com