Silver Dagger Book Tours Celebration and #Giveaway

I am so pleased to be part of the Silver Dagger Book Tours Celebration this month!

I am one of the 'Silver Dagger' Tour hosts, and have also had a couple of tours with Maia myself. I can recommend her highly - not only is she unique in her pricing, a huge bonus when one is struggling to pay the bills on the very low income most writers get from their books these days, but she is lovely to work with, very approachable with great communication, and the graphics that go with her posts are distinctive and individual and make every post unique.

Congratulations on your second Anniversary,Maia!

Silver Dagger Book Tours is now 2
years old this month!

Believe it or not, Silver Dagger Book Tours was created and is mainly operated by just one person! I used to be just an internet crawler looking for new books and giveaways and stumbled upon book tours. After indulging in many dozens of tours, I decided I'd like to try my hand at blogging in my spare time (with absolutely no blogging experience at all!) I was a book blogger for several companies (and still am) and stuck with it for over 3 years. In that time, I learned

all the ropes and became a pretty efficient blogger, but there was still something missing- I wanted to make my posts stand out a bit! So, I started creating small graphics like “about the book” and the other standard graphics that you see in all my tours nowadays and started jazzing my posts up. I became pregnant with my second child in the fall of 2015 and me and my hubby decided to try to purchase

our first home finally, so I quit my waitressing job to pack up everything for the move and never looked back! It took several months of trying to get the ball rolling and was quite difficult at first to get authors to tour with me. Thus, I had an idea to let everybody pay what they can comfortably afford instead of set rates as I thought what some other companies charged were just outrageous! Since then, I have done over 1000 tours and worked with hundreds of amazing authors – many who come back for repeat tours! I have 2-3 tours kick off every weekday with occasional tours on the weekends and EVERY tour is required to have a giveaway so readers can gain a little something and have fun while they enjoy learning about new books. I have an absolutely amazing group of bloggers that share my tours on their sites and really couldn't have gotten this far without their continued support and would like to thank each and every one of them! Ya'll are amazing! I also have two assistants that help me check links and keep up with blogger activity – Janet, who's been with me over a year, and Laurie, who is a new addition. Ya'll ladies are spectacular and I couldn't do it without

you! Absolutely everything else is completely run solely by me though and I really enjoy organizing tours and helping new authors get discovered. I don't discriminate and host ALL fictional genres in ALL age ranges as me and my bloggers have a broad range of readers that enjoy many different genres. After two years of astronomical tours, I am going stronger than ever now and growing on a daily basis with plans to continue hosting tours for many many years!

If you are an author interested in booking a tour with me, you can see a general FAQ page and booking
HERE!

If you are a blogger interested in joining some of my tours, you can see my current sign ups HERE!

And sign up for email invites HERE!

A third generation local of the historic town of Fredericksburg, TX, I was born and raised among the rolling hills of the Texas Hill Country where the beauty of the landscape is breathtaking and town is  famous for the Main Street historic
shopping district, the best peaches in the world, wildflowers and wine. I really can't imagine living anywhere else! A country girl through and through, I grew up hunting, fishing and digging for Indian artifacts, all the while enjoying the many rivers and swimming holes around town. I'm a stay at home mom with three beautiful boys, ages 9, 2, and 1 that encompass my entire world! A bookaholic from birth, I have always had a deep passion for reading and spend many late nights devouring books into the wee hours of the morning. My “real” book collection numbers over 3000 books and take up an entire small room in our house with custom bookshelves built by my husband that I call my “book cave”. I've been building this collection since my childhood and will keep on adding to it for the rest of my life. Of course, I also have a similar collection of ebooks as well as I finally went digital a few years ago. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, playing with my kids, doing DIY renovation projects with my husband, cooking, and relaxing on my back porch with a good cup of coffee while I watch the massive axis deer herd come through the yard.

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For insider news and subscriber-only info, subscribe to my occasional Newsletter. I promise not to spam and your in-box will only see an email from me every 3 or 4 months or so - unless of course I have something really Newsworthy to share! I also promise that I never have and never willl share your information or email address with anyone or any organisation.  http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join

Mr Blackwell - Spotlight and Giveaway

A change from SF or Fantasy on the Flight Deck today - one of my other Romance Genre favourites, Suspence Romance!

Captured by A Laird Release Party

 

BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE – Captured by a Laird SERIES – The Douglas Legacy #1 AUTHOR – Margaret Mallory GENRE – Historical Romance/ Highland Romance PUBLICATION DATE – September 15, 2014 LENGTH (Pages/# Words) - 319 PUBLISHER – Amazon

   

BOOK BLURB / SYNOPSIS

THE DOUGLAS LEGACY

The Douglas sisters, beauties all, are valuable pawns in their family's bitter struggle to control the Scottish Crown. But when powerful enemies threaten, each Douglas lass will find she must face them alone.

CAPTURED BY A LAIRD

Haunted by his father's violent death, David Hume, the new laird of Wedderburn, sets out to make his name so feared that no one will dare harm his family again. The treacherous ally who played on his father's weakness is dead and beyond David's vengeance, but his castle and young widow are ripe for the taking. The moment David lays eyes on the dark-haired beauty defending her wee daughters, however, he knows this frail-looking lass is the one person who could bring him to his knees.

Wed at thirteen to a man who tried daily to break her spirit, Lady Alison Douglas is looking forward to a long widowhood. But when the fearsome warrior known as the Beast of Wedderburn storms her gates, she finds herself, once again, forced to wed a stranger. Alison is only a pawn to serve his vengeance, so why does this dark warrior arouse such fiery passion and an unwelcome longing in her heart?

With death and danger looming, these two wounded souls must learn to trust each other . . . for only love can save them.

BUY & TBR LINKS

AMAZON KINDLE US – AMAZON KINDLE CA – AMAZON KINDLE UK Itunes – Kobo – GOODREADS – SHELFARI

 

EXCERPT

David strode through the battle raging between his men and the castle defenders in the courtyard and headed straight for the keep, intent on his goal. The castle would fall quickly. The defenders lacked leadership and were in disarray. His only concern was whether the castle had a secret tunnel for escape. During the siege, he had spread his men out through the fields surrounding the fortress to keep watch. But he had concentrated his forces for the attack and most were now inside the castle. If there was a tunnel, he must secure the widow and her daughters before they had a chance to escape. He did not relish the idea of having to chase them down through the fields with dogs. The defenders had foolishly waited too long to withdraw to the keep, and most were caught in the courtyard when David’s men burst through the gate. He barely spared them a glance as he ran up the steps of the keep.

With several of his warriors at his back, he burst through the doors brandishing his sword. He paused inside the entrance to hall. Women and children were screaming, and the few Blackadder warriors who had made it inside were overturning tables in a useless attempt to set up a defense. “If ye hope for mercy, drop your weapons,” David shouted, making his voice heard above the chaos. He locked gazes with the men who hesitated to obey his order until every weapon clanked to the floor, then he swept his gaze over the women. Their clothing confirmed what he’d known the moment he entered the hall. Blackadder’s widow was not in the room.


 “Where is she?” he demanded of the closest Blackadder man.

“Who, m’lord?” the man said, shifting his gaze to the side.

 “Your mistress!” David picked him up by the front of his tunic and leaned in close. “Tell me now.”

“In her bedchamber,” the man squeaked, pointing to an arched doorway. “’Tis up the stairs.”

David caught a sudden whiff of urine and dropped the man to the floor in disgust. The wretch had wet himself. “Take him to the dungeon,” he ordered. The coward had given up his mistress far too easily. David started up the wheeled stairs to the upper floors with his sword at the ready. He expected to encounter Blackadder warriors, protecting the lady of the castle. But there were none on the stairs and none guarding the door on the first floor. Damn it. She must have escaped. He gritted his teeth as he envisioned the lady’s guards leading her through the tunnel. He was about to open the chamber door to make sure it was empty when Brian, one of his best men, came down the stairs.

“Laird, I checked all the chambers while ye were in the hall,” he said. David’s jaw ached from clenching it. “There’s one door on the floor just above us that wouldn’t open with the latch,” Brian said. “Shall I break it down?”

David waved him aside and pulled the ax from his belt as he raced up the stairs. “Open it!” he shouted and pounded on the door. He did not wait. She could be escaping through a secret door this very moment. Three hard whacks with his ax, and the door split. He kicked it until it swung open, then stepped through. At his first sight of the woman, his feet became fixed to the floor. He felt strange, and his vision was distorted, as if as if he had swallowed a magical potion that narrowed his sight. He could see nothing in the room but her. She was extraordinarily lovely, with violet eyes, pale skin, and shining black hair. But there was something about her, something beyond her beauty, that held him captive.

She was young, much younger than he expected, and her features and form were delicate, in marked contrast to the violent emotion in her eyes. David knew to the depths of his soul that a brute like him should not be the man to claim this fragile flower, even while the word mine beat in his head like a drum. He had no notion of how long he stood staring at her before he became aware that she held a sword. It was longer still before he noticed the two wee lasses peeking out from behind her like frightened kittens.

Anger boiled up in his chest. Every Blackadder man in the castle who could still draw breath should have been here, standing between him and their lady. Instead, she faced him alone with a sword she could barely lift with both hands. It was a brave, but ridiculous gesture. There was no defense against him.

 

AUTHOR BIO

MARGARET MALLORY surprised her friends & family by abandoning her legal career to write tales of romance & adventure. At long last, she can satisfy her passion for justice by punishing the bad & rewarding the worthy--in the pages of her novels.

Margaret lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband, goofy dog & crabby cat. With her two children off to college, Margaret spends most of her time working on her next Scottish historical romance. Visit her website for Book Group Discussion Questions, photos of Scotland, excerpts, & other info. Margaret loves to hear from readers!

AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE – WEBSITE / BLOG – FACEBOOK – TWITTER GOOGLE+ - GOODREADS – SHELFARI

 

This Release Blitz Was Organized By Authors Write Hand &

Unseasonal War - SF Virtual Book tour - David Englund

It's always a pleasure to welcome an author who writes Science Fiction to the Flight Deck.  I have to say David Englund's book sounds like a wonderful read and is definitely on my TBR list.  
David will be awarding a digital copy of Unseasonal War to a randomly drawn commenter at every stop during the tour.  You can find the other stops on the tour HERE. Remember, the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.
 So strap yourself in, order something sparkling fron the autodispenser, and enjoy the ride.  Let's find out more about Unseasonal War by David Englund

Unseasonal War

by David Englund

~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Clark Jackson’s travels, for the first time, put him in touch with an intriguing species remarkably human-like. He becomes instantly fascinated with the Fronents and envious of their advanced technology. Striving to befriend them and learn more, his uncontrolled enthusiasm forsakes the use of appropriate caution and suspicion. Could their cold reception be a byproduct of their war with a vile species in this corner of the universe, or something else?

The magnificent splendor of an unexplored galaxy, new species to encounter and the adrenalin rush of space battle feed Clark’s awestruck hunger for exploration and adventure. Unfortunately, the more he learns the more he questions; including the wisdom of his entangled involvement in their war.

Meanwhile, back home in Des Moines, Iowa, Clark attempts to maintain an inconspicuous lifestyle to avoid attracting the attention of a certain relentless federal agency. His girlfriend’s own secret, however, could unravel it all.

**Even though the book is the second book in the series, it IS standalone

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt Tour

 

Clark studied the face before him.  The old creature carried a soft, wise and caring tone during the discussion.  This alien was easy to admire, however, it was difficult to get beyond the ruthless features.  The enormous bulk, massive display of teeth, scaly skin and intense eyes gave Clark shivers.  It would ease the conversation to talk with eyes closed but probably create the opposite affect desired for diplomacy.

Clark forced himself back to the discussion.  “Is this why you live in the caves?”

The pair of alligator eyes saddened.  “We did not always live in the caves.  Many vrems ago we lived out on the plains.  We farmed many fields and grew many crops.  We had villages to congregate in but most of our people lived in the vast openness of the farms.  There were many more of our people back then too.  Then came the aliens.  They destroyed our farms and stole a great many of our people.  We have since discovered that they use our people to work as slaves on their world.”

“Did you already know these aliens when they attacked?”

“At that time we had never had any contact with anyone from the stars.  We know them well now, however.”

“Have you met other aliens since then?”

“Let us stay on the topic of our three races, shall we?  Do your people fight any wars with other races?  How do these conflicts begin for you?”

“Our world has not gotten to the point yet in which we can travel to other worlds, so we have not met any alien races that I am aware of.”

“And yet you are here.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

David Englund is a storyteller (science fiction author) and teaches economics at North Dakota State University.  His first two titles, Upsetting the Tides and UNSEASONAL WAR are available on Amazon.  Camouflaged Encounters is due out in late 2014 and the fourth and fifth books are in progress.

 http://amazon.com/dp/B00F4MHDWM

http://davidjenglund.blogspot.com

https://www.facebook.com/david.englund.104

Cover reveal 'The Grandfather Tree' Guest post and *G*I*V*E*A*W*A*Y

Benjamin McTish and the Door Through the Grandfather Tree  by June M. Pace

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure – YA and Older


This looks like such a fun adventure - be sure to read to the end and enter the Rafflecopter contest

As an artist I have always skirted around the perimeter of creating on many levels.  It seems to me if one can paint, then singing and writing aren’t too far a stretch to contemplate or even excel at...it’s all connected to that same thread of imagination and action.

So when I sat down to attempt to paint something of whimsy...something that wasn’t so linear or black and white, as most of my artwork is, I found that when I simply put the pencil on the paper and let whatever came out, come out...it came.

Without conscious intention I had drawn a little boy with a tree growing out of his head, and then there was a pixie woman balancing in the middle of the air on a ball, and it continued from there.  A week later I had four drawings and four very unique characters....and suddenly there it was, my book!

I decided right then that the book I had always hoped to write was born from the name Benjamin McTish.

Now don’t get too far ahead of me...I had no clue what the book was about, other than the fact that it had to have tons of magic... and hope.  It had to stand for something more than entertainment, there had to be a moral to the story...a purpose.

I always had a way with writing, with captur ing the essence of what it was I needed to say in a way that caught peoples attention...I am a wordsmith...a storyteller. 

Even my everyday speech is up and animated...some call is loquacious, or embellished, I call it passionate...honest.

So here I was, sitting at my computer, poised to put pen to paper, as it were, and write the novel that would change everything.  The only problem was I had no clue what I wanted to say, or how to begin.  The only part I absolutely knew was it needed to be about a world of delight and imagination that lived beneath a behemoth rooted tree...the Grandfather Tree.  And that somehow I had to inspire on a deeper level about the connectedness of us sentient beings, floating around this blue and green orb...and of course wrap it all up in a big exciting world of magic and thrills, adventure and question.

When I read, as I have done for a majority of my life, I need the first page, the first sentence, to grab me.  I need to be taken away instantly with the promise of something continuing to take me to places I reserve only for books, for reading and escaping...for losing myself in a new world for the next few hours, days and weeks.

So that’s how it all began.

I literally pulled a random sentence out of the air, something that held a mystery, something that if the narrator of the story was surprised about, then the reader would be just as engaged, and the magic would happen.

“Well, that’s very odd, thought Benjamin.  He had never noticed the peculiar looking key hanging from a very worn and tattered green ribbon, on the rusted nail in the garden shed before....”

June lives with her soon to be husband and best friend Ray, his youngest son and their two dogs, seven chickens and two ducks, in Santa Cruz Ca. Ray’s two older kids live respectively in LA and San Francisco.
June spends her days writing and sometimes painting her well known series of Rock n Roll icons.This series of work, the McTish characters, are a part of June in every sense of the word. “This work brings a deep sense of joy and passion for me in a very profound way, like nothing else that I do.”

June’s Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads


Excerpt

He looked back at the Queen and calmly said, “You know you never answered my question about the prophecy. You HAVE heard the portend…am I correct?”

Tar Vigorn tilted her head in interest and her smile never wavered.

“Ahh, the prophecy of Pajah Set. Please tell me they don’t actually have you believing you are… THAT boy? You couldn’t possibly believe that. You are aware they’ve found others before you, are you not? Other boys they swore were going to save the world and put an end to all my beautiful darkness. Can you guess where those young lads are now, Benjamin?”

Suddenly Tar Vigorn disappeared from site, Benjamin looked up totally stupefied. However, before he could take another breath, she instantly reappeared on the other side of the Travel Chamber behind him and whispered, “Boo!”

Benjamin let the surprise grab him, “Ahh!”

“A little jumpy are we?” hissed the Queen.

Benjamin turned to look at her, his face filled with anger and question. She continued with her masterful web of unnerving him.

“Let me give you a bit of advice, dear boy. You’d be a fool to trust these imbeciles with your life. They’ll recruit anyone they can use to gain information. The last boy who followed the directive of Cottie Set….well let’s just say, he’s no longer following anyone. After all, how gullible does one have to be to believe in fairy tales…a prophecy, ridiculous! I thought you were much wiser than that young, sweet Benjamin. I mean honestly, do you really see yourself winning anything against the likes of me? You’re just a normal boy after all.”

Benjamin contained his anger, but the questions started to arise in his heart.

She’s right, how could I be the One? Why am I any different from the other boys who were told they were the ones? But before he had a chance to delve further into his impending doubt, the voice of Tannis appeared in his mind.

“Master Benjamin, the two boys that perished were always a question, she is not divulging all the information. There is much more than you have heard. You must not falter in the belief that the three of you are the children of truth, or she will gain advantage…..You are the prophecy, I put my life into your hands in trust and certainty. Search your heart young Benjamin and you will know the truth. You can not hide from your Path.”

Benjamin thought a moment, and once again a slow smile began to fill his face, disarming the Queen. Benjamin looked over at his friends, locking eyes with Annabel until she began to smile with him. Then Mathilda wiped her wet face with the back of her hand and followed suit. The girls walked over toBenjamin, standing on either side of him, and held his hands. They all looked up at the now boggled Queen.

“What you don’t know,” began the boy ever so cooly, “is that the prophecy was never about just one…it is about three friends. It also says that these three friends have a very powerful magic, the likes of which has never been wielded in the Gilley Forest before…a magic that stems from Love. But you wouldn’t know anything about that would you..Love? It also talks about a boy who has the ability to make things happen…just by THINK-ing them.”

The Queen flinched, her smile gone. Benjamin continued with his own Cheshire Cat grin.

“Can you guess what I am thinking right now Tar Vigorn?”

Then in an attempt to get even with the Queen and take back her power, Mathilda stepped closer to the Chamber wall, leaning forward as close as she could get, she locked eyes with the Queen.
“Better watch out, someone might drop a house on you,” she giggled.

The Queen went pale as the thought occurred to her in that instant, thatBenjamin McTish may very well be the boy of the ancient prediction. But before she had a chance to change her mind, a chestnut mare with a rider on his back was leaping high over the Travel Chamber and right over her head! The Queen swung around and looked as Tannis and Bits landed on the Forest floor a few feet away from her. A sly smile came back to her face.

“Well, if it isn’t my old friend Tannis. I should have know you would be involved in this. And how are things in the Darmon these days?”

Tannis smiled back at Tar Vigorn.

“You know perfectly well that I have not seen my home in many long years. But all this is about to change.”

And with this the battle commenced.

The children huddled together kneeling down on their heals, as Tar Vigorn unleashed a bounty of rapid fire lightening bolts straight for the Elf.

Tannis deflected the spikes of energy while jumping over the Chamber on the back of the stallion. The Queen instantly joined Tannis on the other side, and the exchange of red tinged electrifying currents flowed out of the two Forest dwellers. Bursts of exploding trees and stumps resounded like canon fire. The trio in the Travel Chamber were shell shocked at the intensity and force of the magic flying between the Elf and the Queen.

Errant lighting was ricochetting off the sides of the Travel Chamber causing the children to cover their ears from the booming sound it made inside. The entire Chamber shook with upheaval. Small trees that were unfortunate enough to be caught in the line of rage pouring out of Tar Vigorn, burned to char in seconds. The Travel Chamber was creaking and moaning, sounding like a wounded animal. It swayed and pulsed with every outcry of explosive energy thrown it’s way.
The Elf of the Darmon and the Queen of Darkness fought relentlessly. The Fairy clan dove in between the bursts of lightening to blind the Queen with their bright wall of color light. But the Queen would not be swayed.

Then, unexpectedly, Tar Vigorn halted her tirade and spoke the magic she needed to surrounded herself in a misty haze of smoke, thick, dark and ominous.

Everyone watched in astonishment as she appeared to be completely enveloped in the self propelled murk. Then she magically emerged from the cloud of spinning grey fog, in what appeared to be a large halo of light surrounding her body. It looked to the children as if she were in a small version of her own chamber, like an elliptical force field. Her own personal vibrating shield surrounding her entire body. And suddenly Tannis’s magic was senseless. Instead the powerful force of battle energy being heaved at her from all directions was bouncing back off of the protective barrier she now resided.

The Travel Chamber began to sound off an alarming vibration. It shimmied and shook with dramatic force. It felt as if the whole tunnel of light would collapse any moment. The sound engulfed the children and threatened to take their sanity with it. Mathilda was screaming at the top of her lungs. Annabel was holding onto her little sister as she grabbed Benjamin’s forearm and yelled with all of her might.

“Benjamin, I think the Travel Chamber is falling apart or something! We can’t just sit here!”
Benjamin’s mind was a whirling dervish of confusion. He could not keep up with the tremendous acceleration of events. He felt an immensely deep disappointment in himself for bringing this amazing journey to this final outcome. He looked up at the girls and just when he was willing to admit defeat, they all turned to look up as something flashed above them.

They had entered the eye of the storm.

The tightly nestled trio watched the activity around them in the syrupy silence of slow motion. First they witnessed, amidst the clouds of smoke and singed sky, as the belly of the chestnut stallion carrying the Elf of the Darmon, leapt over the slowly disintegrating Travel Chamber. They moved their gaze over to the backside of the Chamber where the steed landed with precision. The children looked up at Tannis.

Tannis looked calm and resolute, he smiled at Benjamin. In that quick momentBenjamin realized the intention of the Elf, and raised to his knees shouting, “NO TANNIS! DON’T DO IT!” But it was too late. The Elf was leaping on the back of his faithful stallion right into the center of the Travel Chamber.

Tannis turned Bits around to face the bewildered children. They all looked over at the Queen who was now standing solo amid her enraged destruction. The look on her face was worth every bit of fear the children had lived in the past evening. Her eyes were wide with incredulous disbelief. She was steaming with a rage strong enough to fell the tallest of fir trees. Then she let out a scream the likes of which had never been heard in the existence of the Gilley Forest.

She flew like a lightening bolt of deep dark magic at the Travel Chamber and it shook with a husky primal resonance that alarmed the inhabitants. When the Queen realized that her torture was beginning to wax heavily on the object of her anger, she reloaded and pulled the trigger again. She reigned a full force attack on the side of the Travel Chamber.

The walls were showing signs of dismantling. The glowing light of the Chamber began to flicker and the children could see that it would only be a matter of a short time before she would penetrate the protection shield. She would have them in her hands and at her unwavering mercy.
They all knew no one would survive.

Tannis jumped off of his steed and closed his eyes. He stretched his arms out beside him and touched the sides of the Travel Chamber with his hands. Within moments the watery energy of the Travel Chamber started to become more solidified. And without warning or thought…the lights went out.

After a moment the children, still in the darkness, realized there were no more sounds around them.
“Benjamin, where are we?” asked Annabel.

“I can’t see a bloody thing. But it doesn’t feel like we’re with the Queen anymore. Maybe…” and before he could say another word the small orb of light, generated by the Elf, was in the middle of everyone.

“Wow!” said Mathilda. “Where are we Tannis?”

“We are in between.”

Benjamin McTish and the Door Through the Grandfather Tree on Amazon

Publication Date: July 10, 2013

Published by Pressed Leaf Publishing

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