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Welcome to my place in the blogosphere!
feel free to explore the Flight Deck and check out my books and website.
Then fasten your seatbelts, sip a glass of something sparkling and let's chat awhile!
I hope you'll stop by again for guest authors and spotlights from time to time.

Beloved Enemy joined Starquest and Children of the Mist to continue the Destiny Trilogy and I'm thrilled to announce was shortlisted for the R.N.A. RoNA Awards 2017, awarded 2nd Runner up in the RONE Awards 2017 and was the winner in the SF/Fantasy category of the 'Best Banter Contest'.

Showing posts with label Virtual Book Tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Virtual Book Tour. Show all posts

Friday 2 May 2014

Nicole Zoltac on Magic and Ancient Egypt

I'm thrilled to welcome NicoleZoltac to my Blog today.  Nicole is a very talented writer, who shares my love of horses (and unicorns) as well as history and fantasy. I've always been fascinated by Ancient Egypt, so Nicole's book is of particular interest to me, and I hope it will be to you too. So help yourself to something sparkling from the automatic drinks dispenser while I hand over the controls to Nicole.  

Over to you Nicole!



Ancient Egypt

Hi, everyone, glad to be here! I'm Nicole Zoltack, author of WHITE HELLEBORE. I've always been fascinated with the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, but Egypt has such a ripe history, I had to explore it too.

The idea of magic being alive and practiced in ancient Egypt just made sense to me.

What time period calls to you?

BLURB:

After destroying Skull Krusher, Nicholas Adams thinks Falledge is safe and becomes a security guard at the museum, watching a valuable statue. Unfortunately, the Egyptian statue houses the soul of a scorned witch, biding her time to have her revenge on the descendants of her cheating lover.

Kiya the witch isn't the only new foe in town as the drug that created Skull Krusher has now transformed a scientist into yet another monster, forcing Nicholas to don his Black Hellebore mask again and save Falledge.

Nicholas has no help this time as Kiya gains possession of his love Julianna's body and brings the soul of Justina, Nicholas's high school sweetheart and Julianna's twin, with her. Despite himself, Nicholas is torn between the sisters. If he can't stop the fiends from taking over the world and destroying humankind, he'd never be able to find lasting, true love.


BIO:

Nicole Zoltack loves to write in many genres, especially romance, whether fantasy, paranormal, or regency. When she’s not writing about knights, superheroes, or zombies, she loves to spend time with her loving husband and three energetic young boys. She enjoys riding horses (pretending they’re unicorns, of course!) and going to the PA Renaissance Faire, dressed in garb. She’ll also read anything she can get her hands on. Her current favorite TV show is The Walking Dead. To learn more about Nicole and her writing, visit http://NicoleZoltack.blogspot.com

Wednesday 4 December 2013

The Cold Elf - Promotional Book Tour and Giveaway

John-Garrett-Banner  


About the Author

john-garrett-author-pic  I'm John Garrett, an author and artist who loves Comics, Art, Sci-fi, Fantasy, Web and Tech stuff -also I prefer food in sandwich form.   My main site is Hypertransitory.com, where I write about all kinds of stuff and show the latest art I've created. Head on over if you're interested in learning more about me. See you there!    




Author Links
Twitter: http://twitter.com/johngarrettx


Purchase Link (Kindle, iBooks and Nook versions available): http://thecoldelf.com



The Cold ElfTITLE: The Cold Elf
AUTHOR: John Garrett
GENRE: Fantasy

PRICE (Standard version): $0.99 - for one device (contains 5-piece art gallery)

PRICE (Premium Package): $2.99 - includes epub and mobi versions, 15 pieces of hi-res art plus the Artist's Diary pdf.

SYNOPSIS: A young, bitter Elf undertakes a solitary journey, in search of a weapon that could be the last hope of his people.    




Excerpts:


Jorr had never seen snow before. It wasn't the kind of weather that Elves traditionally preferred, and so they had little to do with snow.
Stepping shakily out of his boat, Jorr's foot sank deep into a mass of the damp substance. If the wetness of the sea couldn't get through his oiled leather boots, he knew this snow would fare no better. Still, the cold was unpleasant.

He stood and stretched, satisfied that he could do so after three long days on the sea. He looked out over the vastness of icy, dark gray water he had just crossed and frowned. It had taken so long, it was hard to believe that he had sailed across the narrowest part. Crossing that water again was not something to look forward to.

Then another thought - depending on what he found here, maybe he wouldn't have to?
In any event, he was here now. He still had a good distance to travel if the maps were correct.

Jorr grasped the side of the small boat that had been his home for the past three days and pulled it completely onto the shore.

The snow had stopped falling, yet there was plenty of it already on the ground here. The day was overcast, but was beginning to get darker, and the wind wasn't helping with cold or visibility. Waves of snow dust were washing over him. He pulled the hood of his cloak over his bald head. He had waited too late. The hood had collected snow inside of it, and now it fell down past the side of his face and down his neck.

What a vile substance!
He resigned himself to the sensation, then looked around some more. The snow-covered beach was stark white, contrasted with a row of dark, dead trees a short distance away.
A very lonely place.

Jorr dragged the boat through the snow up towards the trees. He was so tired, but he had to get to those trees and start a fire, or he might fall asleep and freeze to death.
If that happened, the hope of the Elven people would die with him.

Grasping the small pouch he carried reminded him of how painfully little food he had been able to bring. The Elves had little enough at all in these dark times, and Jorr had hidden away as much as he could before his trip. It was not mucht. He had hoped for a bountiful forest where he could hunt, but as the island had grown into view bit by bit he had realized the forest was dead.
Just as the Elders had said it would be.
They were right about this, but that didn't mean they were right about everything. In Jorr's opinion, the Elders were wrong about most everything, and were not relevant any longer. Only a little time left, and they would see that he was right. Although he was but fifty years of age, and considered a child, he felt he was the one seeing reality, while the Elders were content to meekly accept their fate.

Shivering, Jorr realized that he was standing around freezing instead of building his fire.
Leaving his boat by the forest edge, he made his way through the trees and found what he considered to be an acceptable spot to make a fire. There was a row of trees grown tightly enough together to block much of the wind and the snow, so beside them the ground was only lightly covered.

Jorr opened his pack and withdrew the Fire Element.
The dull red rock glowed warm in his hands. Powerful guilt came over him. Although snow was new to him, the Elven people were no strangers to cold. They lived in a land that was nearly all desert, and the nights were as mercilessly cold as the days were hot. It seemed every night you would wish for the same burning sun that you cursed during the day.

Fire Elements were precious. They represented the last vestiges of magic the Elves still possessed. Supposedly they were used as children's fireworks back in the Before-Times, but now the few they had left were critical to surviving the cold nights of the ShirraLand Expanse where the Elves resided.

All Elves were now taught to make a fire as soon as they could hold a stick, so Jorr knew he could make one from the wood in these dead trees if necessary, but he couldn't take the chance that there would be no forest here. He had to be sure he could survive his journey, so he had stolen one of the Fire Elements the night he left.

It would all be worth it. He did this not for himself, but for all the Elven people.




John-Garrett-Banner

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Wednesday 7 August 2013

Midshipman Henry Gallant In Space - Goddess Fish Virtual Book Tour, Interview and *G*i*v*a*w*a*y*




It's a great pleasure to welcome Science Fiction author H Peter Alesso to the Flight Deck today. Welcome, make yourself at home, help yourself to something sparkling served up by my pet android and tell me - what do you do for fun when not writing?


HPA:  I love to read, do word (or math) puzzles. I also develop computer program apps for Android. I like to work out both my left and right hemispheres of the brain using a wide variety of skill sets and abilities.

 HL: When did you start writing?

HPA: I began writing fiction after reading Jack Campbell’s The Lost Fleet series. It inspired a story that I wanted to share. Midshipman Henry Gallant was the result.

 HL:  Oh I think that will resonate with a lot of writers.  It's more or less how I started myself.  So what comes first: the plot or the characters?

HPA: Characters! If you don’t have a character that you enjoy spending a great deal of time with you will find it difficult to write a long involved novel about them.

HL: I agree.  I thnk one really has to love one's characters to be able to write convincingly about them. Tell us about your latest release and what you think readers will enjoy about it

HPA: Midshipman Henry Gallant in Space is a military space opera with romance, adventure, and threatening aliens. It should provide a fun journey. Enjoy.

I feel that science fiction should be based upon actual scientific principles. I researched the technology included in the story and tried to project their development path into the next century. Genetic engineering is current an important topic in our society and humanity faced difficult choices as it develops over the course of the next century. In Midshipman Henry Gallant, genetic engineering plays an influential role in the background but it is cast against another important innovation that also may prove a future threat: Artificial Intelligence.

 HL: It sounds a wonderful read. Is there any advice, as a new writer, that you were either given, or wish you had been given?

HPA: Find an author you admire and would like to emulate. Then examine just what it is that you find so compelling. It may be that you can develop similar skills with practice. Always remember that whatever criticism you get that any feedback, complimentary or critical, can be useful in learning more about a writer’s ability to improve and develop better skills.

 HL: Great advice.  And finally, where can readers connect with you?

HPA: http://www.hpeteralesso.com/Default.aspx

https://www.facebook.com/MidshipmanHenryGallantInSpace

Thank you so much for taking time to visit my blog, it’s been a thrill having you here and learning more about you and your writing. I wish you much success now and in the future.
Read more about H Peter Alesso below, with an excerpt from his book, and don't forget to enter the contest the prize is Winner's choice of $100 Amazon or BN.com gift card

BIO:
As a scientist and author specializing in technology innovation, H. Peter Alesso has over twenty years research experience at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). As Engineering Group Leader at LLNL he led a team of computer scientists and engineers in innovative applications across a wide range of supercomputers, workstations and networks. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a B.S. and served in the U.S. Navy on nuclear submarines before completing an M.S. and an advanced Engineering Degree at M.I.T. He has published several software titles and numerous scientific journal and conference articles, and he is the author/co-author of six books.

Blurb:

As the last star fighter in squadron 111, Midshipman Henry Gallant is on his way from Jupiter to Mars. With the United Planets' fleet on the verge of annihilation, he can expect no help as he passes through the asteroid belt and threatening aliens. With so much uncertainty about the aliens' capabilities and intentions, analyzing the captured computer equipment in Gallant's possession could prove crucial. Unfortunately, it is his abilities that have been much in doubt during his tour of duty. In an era of genetic engineering, he is the only Natural (non-genetically enhanced) officer left in the fleet. Only bright and attractive junior officer Kelsey Mitchel has shown any sympathy for him. Now as his navigator on the last fighter in squadron 111, her life as well as a good many others, depends of Henry Gallant.


Excerpt:

Gallant prepared to press the firing button to launch an antimissile into the center of the damaged saucer, but then he paused. He suddenly realized that he had the opportunity to discover important information about the aliens, if he could get inside the saucer and relay what he found to Captain Caine and GridScape.

“Kelsey, we’ve got to dock with that saucer and board it. Once we’re inside who knows what we'll discover?”

Kelsey grew alarmed, “No, no, no. Henry; is that even possible - in the middle of this chaos?”

“It’s an opportunity we can’t afford to pass up.” He abandoned caution and committed himself to the risky venture. Kelsey stayed silent and motionless for several long seconds. Then any reservations she had faded. She calculated the course to dock, matching the saucer's speed, course, and orientation so that they would be relatively stationary.

"Kelsey, you’ll have to remain with the fighter and use the lasers to cover my spacewalk, but if things go badly, I want you to break off," said Gallant, strapping on his gun. "I don’t know if the ship’s crew will offer any resistance."

"I’ll inform Repulse what you’re attempting. Maybe they can provide covering fire if needed," she said.

“Great idea. I’ll send a video feed from my suit comm pin to our Eagle. You can let Repulse follow my progress and record everything that happens for intelligence analysis.”

With the aftermath of the violent space battle around him, Gallant prepared to spacewalk to the saucer. He sealed his mirrored armored suit and exited the fighter through his overhead hatch. The suit included an oxygen generator pack that maintained an appropriate atmosphere for him to breathe as he traveled in space. He traveled along the surface of the fighter using short bursts of gas to propel him and then released his umbilical line. Using his propulsion jets he propelled himself forward into the darkness. He looked for a way to enter the alien ship.

Gallant maneuvered the jetpack deftly. His suit shielded him from incredible extremes of temperature—up to 250 degrees Fahrenheit on sunlit surfaces and down to 150 degrees below zero on the shady side of the fighter.

Propelling himself forward, he tumbled and then straightened up. By using the communicator to connect to the fighter, he relayed information directly to the ship’s AI. He could also access the ship’s monitoring capability to see how the battle was progressing. Suddenly, the communicator notified him that an alien saucer was approaching. He could see laser shots flash near him. For a moment he couldn't breathe, and then he let his training take over and found the strength to go forward.


Websites:

http://www.hpeteralesso.com/Default.aspx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eciKOBFBSM

http://www.patternsofdiscovery.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/MidshipmanHenryGallantInSpace

http://www.amazon.com/Midshipman-Henry-Gallant-Space-Volume/dp/1482640325/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1368200816&sr=1-1


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'STARQUEST'    'CHILDREN OF THE MIST'  (The sequel to Starquest)  Dancing With Fate      'Freeread':'A BARGAIN WITH DEATH
                  Also available on Kindle