FOUND – Electric Eclectic book

Celebrate #IndieAuthors on #IndiePrideDay #IndieBooksBeSeen just here to #SpreadTheWord

Explosive Writer

Description:

Eight years ago, after a series of family arguments, Mandy walked out and disappeared. For her family, it was devastating.

Changing her name to Amanda and moving to a different part of the country, she begins a new life working in a hotel.  One evening a programme about missing people comes on the television. Her face fills the TV screen.

Everything Mandy had tried to forget returns with new clarity. Seeing the special bond families visiting her hotel have, she realises there is a hole in her heart where hers should be.

Will she have the courage to face the past and realise the misunderstanding was caused by her family’s unique situation?

Found! is a story of courage and hope and a bond that never breaks.

Download and start reading now for just $1

Excerpt 

That night, she woke in a cold sweat. Jamie tried to rouse her. Again…

View original post 288 more words

The #IndieRoarChallenge 2015

The Indie Roar Challenge 1^st June – 10^th June 2015

#IndieRoar Challenge  #IndieBooksBeSeen

30+ authors & around 60 books on offer

#IndieRoar Challenge – Day 1  

Easy Peasy. Tell us what #Indie book you’re #Currentlyreading right now 2015. #IndieRoar

Oh, and don’t forget to include the #IndieRoar hashtag so we can see your entry!

And yes, this challenge is easy!  But know that it’s the easiest one you’re going to get! We’re going to start hitting higher octane levels from here on out. 🙂

I was reading ‘The Shadow Rises’ Book 1 in the Witch-Hunter Series by K.S. Marsden

 

---

#IndieRoar Challenge – Day 2

Tweet a pic of the actor/actress you would like to portray your fave Indie book character! #IndieRoar

First, figure out your favorite Indie book character (for a stand-alone, or a series).  Second, choose which real-world actress, or actor should portray your favorite character if the book was turned into a movie.   Hmmm…right?! So many choices!  So, many folks to choose from!  And, which pic of them to tweet out?  You never know, maybe you want the actor the way they looked say, 10, 20 – ahem – 30 years ago? J
Only YOU can decide!

Sparkle, tweet and ROAR!

Rupert Friend to play the dashing English Gent, Hunter from ‘Shadow Rises by KS Marsden

 

---

#IndieRoar Challenge – Day 3!

Tweet a memorable line for an Indie book you’ve read. #IndieRoar

Wowsers! What a tweet-erific day yesterday! You guys are super creative! Hollywood could use some of you fab casting directors! You guys tweeted pics of Selena Gomez, Micheal Ealy, Matthew McConaughey, Chris & Liam Hemsworth, Rihanna, Helen Mirren, Glenn Close, Kate Beckinsale and many many more!

Today’s challenge is to dig a bit deeper and tweet the sentence you absolutely LOVE from an Indie book you’ve read. It can be a sentence you love, or hate. A sentence that moved you, or made you mad.  In essence, it has to be a sentence that polarized you one way or another!

“I did not lay a hand on her, and yet her soul floated free above her body. It hung there, a beautiful shade of shimmering rose gold; an old soul in a young body”

From ‘Wings of Darkness’ by Sherri A. Wingler

---

 #IndieRoar Challenge – Day 4!

This Challenge I believe was to share a picture of yourself with an Indie Author

Obviously I did not know anyone at the time so I created my own LOL

Kelly S Marsden & I

I hope Kelly didn’t mind we have actually become friends I discovered she lives in my old town. Small world.

 

---

#IndieRoar Challenge – Day 5!

Predict the title of your favorite Indie author’s next book! (Funny, or serious — you choose!) #IndieRoar

Today’s challenge is more intellectual.  We want to know just how well you know — or, think you know! — your favorite Indie author and his/her work.  Tell us what you think they will name their next work.  You can’t tell us a book name that the author has already shared via cover reveal, or an interview!:-)

As always…keep it Indie trendy!

 

 

---

#IndieRoar Challenge – Day 6!

Go out into the world and proclaim your love of Indie books and authors! Publicly tweet your passion in action! #IndieRoar

What do we mean? Go out into the world and take your Indie love, passion & gumption and share with us! Take your favorite book to the park and have lunch with it! Snap a shot and let us see!  Heck, if you wanna say, “I Love Indie!” do it in a BIG way! (Just don’t get arrested…)

Feel like High Tea with you favorite author? Make it happen however you can!   Craving a day out and about? At the races? At the dog park? Maybe at the zoo? Show us how you INDIE!  ‘Cause indie is a way of life in addition to HOW we come to market.
Bring your creativity to the fore and show us your #IndiePride!

 

---

#IndieRoar Challenge – Day 7!

Create and tweet a Wordle you created for/about your favorite Indie book/series/author! #IndieRoar

What’s a Wordle?  It’s a great pictogram that contains words of your choosing that relate to your favorite book, series, or author — Indie, of course!

You can find the Wordle page here — http://www.wordle.net/

‘Wings of Darkness’ Wordle

 

---

#IndieRoar Challenge – Day 8!

Today is the #Selfie #IndieRoar Day! Show us your coolest, most chic, selfie!

 

What’s not to love? It’s a selfie! Get wild and crazy and do YOU in front of your camera!

 

 

 

 

---

#IndieRoar Challenge – Day 9!

You scream. I scream. We all scream for…your 5 all-time favorite Indie books! #IndieRoar

It’s all about the read. We do all that we do as writers so that someone else out there can kick back on the beach, in the park, or snuggled in their bed with (hopefully!) our books.

So, which Indie authors, or Indie books inspire you? Pick 5 and tell us why. Post on your blog, or website and tweet out the link so we know which reads get your heart pumping!

1. ‘Wings of Darkness’ Immortal Sorrows Series by Sherri A Wingler

Young Adult Paranormal, the angel of death

2.  ‘The Vintage Coat’ Chris Turnbull

By putting on an old military coat a young man slips back in time to World War II a story of  love and some of the hardships faced during the war.

3.‘Riduna (The Riduna Series Book 1) by Diana Jackson

Historical fiction, a story of love & destiny on the Channel Islands late 19^th century

4. Jason the Penguin: (He’s Different) – Deb McEwan

Children’s book about a very different little penguin called Jason

5. Rising Tide: Dark Innocence (The Maura DeLuca Trilogy Book 1) – Claudette Melanson

Young Adult Paranormal Fiction, a young girl is changing but her mother does not want her to grow up

---

  #IndieRoar Challenge – Day 10! (Final Day)

 Pen your own perfect first sentence to your “Great American Novel” and tweet it! #IndieRoar

Today is the final day of our challenge.  Are you sad?  Are you glad?  Either way, we have to go out with a BANG.  What kind of Indies would we be if we didn’t write something special for our readers?!

In honor of our collective readers, write the first line of your next novel, the novel you’d always dreamed you would write the novel your mother/brother/teacher/mentor/friend/husband told you to write — write the first sentence of that book. (Click image to enlarge)

Did you spot anything here? The line is from ‘Seal Mother’ which I am only just now on the verge of completing. It just goes to show how long it can take to create a book.

The end is nigh.  The fat…ahem…the lady has sung the final aria and the curtain is about to fall.  How will we remember you?  Haunt us. Pleasure us. Entertain us.  We’ll love you for it!

This was such great fun and like I mentioned in a previous post

I was Joint 1st Prize Winner

Thank You #IndieRoar & #IndieBooksBeSeen

 

#WIP Seal Mother 1st July 2018

Seal Mother Sneak Peek 5

Well Happy #IndiePrideDay today we celebrate books by Indie Authors, and Spread The Word far and wide in hope of trending on Twitter. (It didn’t help that I got blocked  for retweeting too many times with similar # Hastags LOL).

Sadly I have been unable to get together a cover release to celebrate the day but I have put up a short teaser.

The Seal Mother YouTube Preview

So here hopefully for your pleasure, I have created a short preview on YouTube the first three verses. You will notice at the end there are a couple of faint images, they are a glimpse into what the illustrations could be like in the book and hopefully the final sketch will be the one to adorn the front of the final cover of the book.

On an oyster and pearl
kind of day
and oh how the waves
gently play.
As the sun pours down
upon waters calm,
the waves whisper to shore
like a soft spoken psalm.
~*~*~*~
The sea reaches out
to kiss golden sand,
like the gentle caress
of a warm mother’s hand.
One lonely seal
in the midst of the ocean
rolls on the waves
to the rhythmical motion.
~*~*~*~
The seal watches over
the child on the sand.
Her lovely young daughter
born of the land.
The girl sits on a rock
with her feet in the water,
Not yet aware
she’s the pretty seals daughter.
~*~*~*~

 

---

Seal Mother Sketches

TA DAH! The sketch Hannah has done for the design of the front cover. I have added the fonts just to give a very basic idea of what I have been looking for. I am no graphic artist so this is only a very VERY rough idea. Plus there is a peek at the image of Seal Mother finding her sealskin. Happy #IndiePrideDay

I still love it, I hope you do too. Click to enlarge.

Thank you for visiting, I hope to have news on a cover reveal soon.

Happy Reading

#IndiePrideDay 2018

Celebrating #IndieBooksBeSeen

Today Sunday 1st July 2018 we are helping to spread the word and encourage readers to try more books, by Indie Authors and poets. The event was set up in recent years by author of ‘Keeper of the Wind’ Mark Shaw whose aim is to help Indie Authors like himself get noticed. (Click image to enlarge. )

You can find out more about the book by clicking HERE to be taken to Mark’s Facebook page and see some great pics about the story (which I loved by the way. Three friends find some ancient artifacts that have magic powers. They put them up on eBay and some dude wants to offer them enormous amounts of money for them. Obviously they become suspicious and hold back selling them. Turns out this dude is pure evil so they have to watch their backs sorry can’t tell you any more or I will give the whole story away.)

The Indie Roar Challenge

I think I first started to take notice of #IndieBooksBeSeen when I took part in the #IndieRoarChallenge in June 2015, just prior to Indie Pride Day on 1st July. It was great fun, a 10 Day challenge from 1st to 10th June 2015 and guess what I was a joint First Prize Winner look at all the lovely books I bagged (I will do another post later dedicated just to the Indie Roar Challenge I completed). Again click the image to enlarge.

Indie Pride Day & UK Indie Lit Fest

I am so proud to be part of the #IndieArmy and the UK Indie Lit Fest Therefore, throughout the day I am helping to promote the participating authors and poets attending the event. Watch this space, and check out Social Media particularly Twitter we are hoping to have #IndieBooksBeSeen trending at some point through the day. Join us and #SpreadTheWord.

#SpreadTheWord

Writers Attending

Books on the International Table (Author NOT attending)

 

Indie Authors ~ why they need our help.

Indie Authors need our help because they do everything for themselves. They generally pay all the bills, for not only are they the creators of the story but they are the compilers, promotors and marketing managers too.

They put many hours into writing a book, then need to pay out for it to be edited (maybe several times). They need to pay to have the book formatted (or spend hours once again doing it themselves, like me.)

Book covers and graphics all need to be paid for, designed and tweeked etc, and they don’t come cheap. All that is even before they start to promote the book. It’s a hard business to be in. So at least we can offer our support even if it is just for one day. #IndiePrideDay.

Thank you for visiting, and thanks for your support

Happy Reading

 

Release Day ‘Sins of the Father’ by Maria Gibbs

17th May 2018

Sins of the Father

by

Maria Gibbs

Genre: Literary Fiction

Buy your copy of ‘Sins of the Father’ here

Having seen first-hand the results of starvation, abuse, and murder, Carlos Suarez knows all too well that the streets of Rio are no place for a child to grow up.

Because of his own history and subsequent rescue from that poverty at the age of fifteen, he makes it his life’s work to ensure opportunities are available to the future generations of Brasil’s homeless children—but no matter how many kids Carlos saves, it’s never enough for him.

Almost to the point of obsession.

Dedicated to his work, and haunted by his past, Carlos has never considered an intimate relationship with anyone, let alone another man, especially after that night. But when Fate throws him a curve ball, and his past comes screaming back threatening to destroy his future, Carlos will discover that redemption can be found in the most unexpected of places.

Guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings, Sins of the Father is a story you won’t be able to put down.

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

I write in many genres, my mind is alive with thoughts and ideas so I allow them free release on paper. Inspiration comes in many forms and I grab it with greedy hands. Writing has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. My most popular book so far is ‘A Boy from the Streets’ which is centred on twin babies orphaned at birth in Brazil, one baby is adopted into a life of luxury and the other abandoned into the poverty of the streets.

When I’m not writing, I like reading, listening to music or riding my motorbike.

♥ Facebook

♥ Twitter

♥ Instagram

♥ Amazon UK

♥ Amazon US

 

15 Goodreads ‘As Dreams Are Made On’

As Dreams Are Made On by Maria Gibbs

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book 15 of my Goodreads Challenge 2018

 

THE STUFF OF DREAMS

(I have now read this several times but could not resist another one.)

OK being totally honest I was unsure about this little book when I first came across it. The title threw me off, not being a big Shakespeare fan I was unaware that it came from ‘The Tempest Act 4, scene 1, 148–158’ spoken by Prospero. When you know this and discover what he is talking about then this title fits the story perfectly.

Prospero:
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp’d tow’rs, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.

Life for Matty is one long deep dream, she is caught between the love of her husband and the love of a handsome stranger. I was hooked from the start. Yes it is like a kind of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ story but with a few unexpected twists and turns. I never saw the end coming at all and I am not ashamed to say I cried. I cannot say more without giving away the story, you will just have to buy your own copy and find out for yourselves.

Just as wonderful and exciting as the very first time I read this.

Happy Reading 🙂

View all my reviews

2017 Book 22 ‘Synthesis Pioneer’

Oh my goodness I cannot believe how long I have left posting my Goodreads Challenge books for 2017. So now I have another BIG Challenge to post all the ones I have read so far this year. It is October, almost November and I am currently reading Book 77. So you can see how far behind I am. Wish me luck.

2017 Goodreads Challenge 22

To check out my reading progress visit my Goodreads page click HERE

‘Synthesis : Pioneer’

(A short-story prequel to Synthesis:Weave)

 by Deane Saunders – Stowe (Rexx Deane)

To buy on Amazon.com click HERE

Rose Reviews ‘Synthesis : Pioneer’

This is a very short SciFi story about 30 minutes of reading in which we get an introduction to ‘The Synthesis Series’, and a brief insight into the very varied crew on board the ‘Fluorescent Lightingale’.

This tale centres around the linguist aboard who goes by the name of Calendula a talented young woman who uses all her senses. I particularly like how the author describes what she smells and hears upon boarding the ship.

I really do not wish to say more otherwise the story may be spoiled, but I do know that I will be moving the main story up my reading list.

I give it a 3 Rose Rating

(This is my top review rating it means I loved it or it was a real page-turner)

Happy Reading

Grab these novelettes now before the price increase

So disheartening at times for Indie Authors, costs are barely covered for books that are  self-published. Check out this blog by Maria Gibbs. Prices of her phenomenal novelettes are having to increase this weekend so grab copies before that then.

I have decided to increase the kindle price for all my novelettes this weekend from £0.99/$0.99 to £1.99/£$1.99 If you’ve been meaning to pick up a copy and haven’t done so yet then you have the chance to do so before the increase. The reason I have decided to do this is two-fold. One is […]

via Price Increase — gibbsdream

‘Lost Love In Spring ~ Hawthorn’

So to celebrate May Day I am sharing a section from my book ‘Lost Love in Spring’

‘Going A-Maying’ by John Ingram

Oh, we will go a-Maying, love,
A-Maying we will go.
Beneath the branches swaying, love,
With weight of scented snow.
Laburnum’s golden tresses, love.
Float in the perfumed air;
Which heedless their caresses, love.
Seeks violets in their lair;
And with their scents a-playing, love.
It gambols to and fro,—
Where we will go a-Maying, love,
Where we will Maying go.

The bees are busy humming, love,
Amid the opening blooms.
Foretelling Summer’s coming, love,
Farewell to wintry glooms.
The primrose pale, from crinkly sheen.
Up from the ground now speeds;
And cowslips slim, ‘mid leafy green,
Else in the unknown meads.
And buttercups are weighing, love,
The gold they soon -must strow,—
Where we will go a-Maying, love,
‘Where we will Maying go.

The hawthorn’s bloom is falling, love,
We must no longer wait;
Each bird is blithely calling, love.
Unto his chosen mate;
Each bud unblown is swelling, love.
Green grow the vernal fields;
Each insect leaves its dwelling, love,
And all to Summer yields:
The mowers are out haying, love,
Woodbine is in full blow,—
Where we will go a-Maying, love,
Where we will Maying go.

(Featured in Mrs Kirtland Poetry of Flowers 1800)

History

The hawthorn is known by many names one of the most popular being The May Bush or May Blossom but it is also known as Quickthorn.

Country folk used to take themselves to the woods on May Day and snip branches off the flowering hawthorn hence the old custom of ‘Going – A – Maying’. They did this in order to celebrate the Goddess of Flowers – Flora.

Plant Features

Hawthorn is a fast growing plant and often used as cheap hedging. It can grow into a tree of around thirty feet. When the plant is young its twigs are a reddish colour with small leaves. Flowering in late spring the hawthorn produces white flowers each having five petals with reddish centres.

Berries also grow on the hawthorn tree but are not ripe until the autumn.

Ancient Medicinal Use

The flowers were distilled and if applied to areas on the skin that may have been pierced by thorns or splinters then the liquid would draw them out.

Any inward pains were eased by bruising the seeds and boiling them in wine.

Modern Medicinal Use

The hawthorn is more popular today than ever, as the berries are found to increase the muscle action of the heart. A tonic is made using two tablespoons of berries to one cup of boiling water. For a mild tonic the flower buds may be used again – two tablespoons of buds to one cup of boiling water taken twice a day.

Alternatively tinctures are available from herbalists and used as preventative treatment for many diseases connected with the heart: angina, palpitations, poor circulation and atherosclerosis or fatty degeneration.

~*~*~*~

I hope you enjoyed this little snippet from ‘Lost Love in Spring’

To take a peek inside the book visit Amazon by clicking the image

Happy Reading

#IndieBookBanter Interview 03

Introducing David Driver #IndieBookBanter today welcomes our new best friend poet, author radio presenter David Driver. First we must say a big Thank You David You have been most kind inviting us along for interviews on your ‘Writers Bookshelf’ on Drystone Radio. I speak for most of us when I say WE LOVE THE SHOW […]

via 03 Book Banter with David Driver — Indie Book Banter