Amber Legacy - spotlight and Review

Amber Legacy

Amber Gifts Series

Book 3

Kevin B Henry

Genre: S.F., Fantasy, Time Travel

Publisher:Champagne Books, Burst

Date of Publication: November 03, 2015

ISBN:          978-1-77155-209-7

Number of pages:  78

Word Count: 25,000

Cover Artist: Ellie Smith

Tag line: A simple research project goes horribly wrong once murder and time travel get involved.

Book Description:

Mitchell and Crystin are living on the west coast of Florida in the Seventies. He has the beginnings of a loving family and couldn't be happier. It’s remarkable how quickly things can change. Perhaps the fate of a Teithwyr Amser is to never be stable, never find love without defending it against the rest of the world, against evil and against the fabric of time itself.

A simple TV documentary will spin Mitchell out of control as he first attempts to prove the filmmakers wrong and then ultimately find and protect his new family from a monster of his own creating.

Available at Amazon

Excerpt:

Part of me was like some detached, immature schoolboy. I was the hero, bound for adventure and looking for the infamous villain with hope of making all things right and returning to the hearth fires of my home, victorious. I was Robert Downey Jr. playing Sherlock Holmes. I was John Wayne playing almost any role. Hell, I was David Tennant playing The Doctor.

The problem was, I wasn’t playing, and if I wasn’t real damn careful I was going to end up playing John Wayne in The Cowboys or even worse, William Shatner in Generations. God, please make my death scene more interesting and meaningful than that. These thoughts poured through my brain as I walked across the street.

By the time I reached the opposite side I exuded cool, matter of fact demeanor and displayed no heroics. Simple confidence was my copilot. Caution was my mantra. I had an almost-wife and a beautiful baby girl to return to.

I took a winding path that led me to Commercial Road. The darkness was all engulfing. More than half the lampposts were not functioning. It cast every turn, every alleyway, every alcove in total blackness. I walked cautiously but without any appearance of trepidation. I did not want to appear an easy target.

Women of questionable morality approached and quickly departed. I was polite, but firm in my refusals. There was certainly no questioning their hygiene or their state of inebriation. A very high percentage of the female residents of Whitechapel turned to prostitution. Most began as a way to make a living, but as they turned more and more to alcohol to erase their memories, the act became more about the next drink and less about the money. Most could be had for the cost of a shot of gin, about fifty cents.

The first victim, Polly, went out one last time the evening of her death because she thought she looked exceptionally well. She had a new bonnet. She had no teeth, but the hat made all the difference, I’m sure.

I found the cut off that led south from Commercial Road and made the turn. Less than a block down this street was the Socialist Club and adjoining the club was a small open courtyard. As I walked toward the club entrance, I heard a sound I can only call a muffled gurgle. I sprinted the rest of the way to the courtyard opening. There, lying on the ground was Elizabeth Stride. Kneeling beside her was the one and only, Jack the Ripper. He was nothing I had ever expected.

The man stood as I came to a halt at the courtyard opening. He was much shorter than I would have expected. I had envisioned a mixture of Vincent Price, Frank Langella, in his early films and just a hint of Malcolm McDowell, again from his younger days. This Ripper was none of those.

As I mentioned, he was not tall, perhaps five foot six, no more than five foot seven. He was portly. That is the only word I can use to describe him. While his clothes fit well, they could not conceal his amble midsection, nor his arms and hands, which I can only describe as doughy.

His face surprised me the most. I had expected to see an angry, scared, possibly deformed individual. Jack’s face was almost angelic. It was round, and I would swear it appeared to have baby fat in the cheeks.

His eyes were sharp, clear and a grey color. He was perfectly clean-shaven, his light-colored hair trimmed short and well groomed, perhaps with lard, since styling mousse would not arrive for many years. I would have expected to see him in a cathedral pulpit or perhaps in a bank, not hunched over the fresh corpse of an unlucky prostitute.

MY REVIEW

I'm loving this series. Mitchell is a great protagonist, and I love the way he tells his story. This book is just as full of twists and turns as its forerunners.  The reader is transported with Mitchell from the West Coast of Florida, to Victorian London where he is determined to discover the identity of Jack the Ripper.

I'm not going to spoil things for you if you haven't yet read it. Suffice to say that things don't go according to plan. There are several surprises and the climax had me staring at my Kindle in disbelief. Although these stories are complete in themselves, each one leads to the next and I'm desperate to read the next episode.

If you enjoy a combination of time travel, mystery, suspence and romance, I can highly recommend Amber Legacy.

Thanks Kevin, for a hugely enjoyable series!

(I received a free copy of 'Amber Gifts' in return for an unbiased and honest review)

About the Author:

From an early age, Kevin B. Henry was a voracious reader. His collection of science fiction, fantasy and mystery books bring tears of envy to the eyes of many small community libraries.

Kevin has worked as an educator, technology specialist and day laborer most of his adult life. During all that time he lived the life of a frustrated author. That it took 30 years for him to piece together the series, Amber Gifts is a testament that the best meals need slow cooking to bring out the flavor.

The Amber Gifts Series begins with Amber Gifts. The second story, which is really the first, is Amber Prelude, and is available now. The third story, Amber Legacy continues where Amber Gifts left off. It will be available in November 2015. All are published by the wonderful folks at the Champagne Book Group. A fourth story is in the process of being written.

Kevin is a natural story teller, so it’s logical that he lectures occasionally. Topics range from the implementation of cutting edge technology hardware to the creation, modification and use of e-books within education. He constantly pursues research to expand his range of possible topics. His most recent research revolved around the aerodynamic properties of reindeer. He’s also been known to include little known facts and trivia within his presentations. Did you know just 146 years ago today the Union Army marched into Atlanta. It took longer than anticipated. They were delayed by a traffic jam on I-75 and the toll booth on Ga. 400

He continues to live in the Mid-West without human or domesticated mammal companionship.

Amber Gifts Series: www.ambergifts.blogspot.com

Champagne Books www.champagnebooks.com

Twitter:        @Kevin_Henry

Facebook (Amber Gifts)  www.facebook.com/AmberGifts

Also Available

 

Mondays Musings

I'm not one of those people who likes to start Christmas in November, we usually don't put our decorations up until at least two weeks before Christmas, but we did visit our local garden centre at the weekend,

and it was looking very festive and cheery with model reindeer, lifelike deer and woodland animals that move realistically, Christmas trees, and lots of decorations and ornaments, as well as 'real' Christmas trees for sale, and Christmas plants and gifts.  It made a nice change from the miserable weather, anyway!

Hello from a rather damp grey and miserable Britain!  I hope December has some of those lovely dry crisp and frosty days, especially with Christmas approaching. 

I verified my wordcount at 50,260 words for National Novel Writing Month   (My 'Winners' badge is in the sidebar to prove it!) My novel is provisionally called 'Spooked' although this might change.  This is the rough cover I made  for inspiration, and as you might gather it is a 'horsey' story, but that's all I'm saying at the moment. It's very, very rough. I hope to add some more words before NaNo officially finishes, but there will be an awful lot of revision needed before it's fit to be seen.  That's what I love about NaNo though, it compels one to keep writing and make sure that pesky 'internal editor' stays locked up while you get the story down!  It was only ever going to be a short novel, so I won't need much in the way of extra words, but I'm probably going to cut a lot and do a fair bit of substituting 'bad' sentences for better ones (I hope)

It is the final day of my Publisher The Wild Rose Press's special Thanksgiving Discount - they are offering 40% off all digital releases in their entire catalogue - and that includes mine, so if you haven't read 'Starquest' or 'Children Of The Mist' yet, now is your chance to get them at a bargain rate, before the third in the trilogy -'Beloved Enemy' - is released. (I'm still waiting for the release date but will let you know as soon as I know myself.) You can also download a fantastic digital cookbook from the Wild Rose Press authors,2015 Cookies and Cocktails Holiday Garden Gourmet/ for FREE: Visit the Wild Rose Press HERE

                                                                          

That's all for now, I hope everyone over the pond had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday

Christmas Romance Places to See

Future Winds Book Blast and Giveaway

Future Winds

by Kevin Laymon

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GENRE: Science-Fiction

BLURB:

Set in a science fiction setting with elements of twisted horror, Future Winds is a strange yet wondrous tale of species self preservation and the all out moral cost of survival. Forced to leave earth, humanity discovers a planet capable of supporting life and hatches an audacious plan that will warp them across the universe to settle and begin anew. There is a darkness that resides below the planet's surface, but with no option to turn back, humanity must find a way forward.

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Excerpt

Chapter 12 excerpt:

Though humanities new planet is mostly desert, there is an abundance of lush and complex alien life that dwell below the hot surface.

The channel was lit up by neon flora of green and blue, beautiful little plants that swayed back and forth despite the lack of a breeze or draft to give them a push. Reaching out to touch one with his glove, the little blossom reacted by illuminating brighter, so much so that the exterior became transparent, and Tyler could see the thousands of cells within, that made up life for the spectacular flower.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

My name is Kevin Laymon. My passions are space exploration, music, sailing, snowboarding, wildlife, and of course writing. I have been writing for some time but the focus has been primarily on short stories and dark poems strictly for personal use. Future Winds is the first of a handful of novels I am working on for publication. I grew up in upstate New York and have lived up and down the east coast. New York is a location that holds a very special place in my heart. After working a wide range of jobs that I hated for far too long, Sara my significant other, and I decided earlier in 2015 to make some dramatic changes and travel. We scraped together some cash, I quit my job, and we moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where we live a libertarian life as vegetarians. We share our desertscape living quarters with an aquatic turtle named Taz and a rabbit named BunBear. On October 9th 2015 Sara & I got married in Las Vegas, Nevada. The sunshine in New Mexico has helped immensely in illuminating a greater perspective as to who I am and what I was placed on this planet to do; that is to teach and inspire. I have a hunger to awaken humanity so that we may break away from our programed way of thinking. Our minds are powerful and I encourage everyone to open them up, exercise them, and tap into the potential I know every living man woman and child has. Though my stories at times can be very dark there is a reason for everything I do. Perspective, perception, and relativity are everything in the world of literature.

Website:

AuthorKevinLaymon.com

Kevin will be awarding a $20 gift card to Thinkgeek.com (international) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Musings on the Romance Festival Weekend (Harper Collins)

Hi everyone!

I'm doing my 'Monday Musings' a little early.  Over the weekend I took part in the Harper Collins Romance Festival.  (Well by 'taking part' I was featured as an author, and you can see my page by clicking on the banner above.

There have been loads of good things going on over the weekend. I've been popping in and out and found some of the articles on the blogs particularly interesting.  (*Sigh* 'all behind like a horse's tail, me!)  It might have been an idea to have posted this before, in case you didn't know about it, but as I may have mentioned, I'm kneedeep in NaNo, and I apologise for only just getting round to doing this.

So I'm going to plug away at my fifty thousand words (around seventeen thousand more to go at the moment.)

Look out for my guest 'book blast and giveaway for 'Future Winds' by Kevin Laymon on Wednesday.

Monday's Musings

In memory of those murdered in France over the weekend

I can't write today without reference to the terrible events in Paris last Friday night. My heart goes out to the relatives of the innocent people who lost their lives, to those wounded, and those who will remain traumatized by what happened there for years to come. I have been humbled and heartened by what I have seen and heard from the survivors, on the various TV and radio broadcasts. They will not allow this  evil act of terrorism to subdue them, the terrorists will not be allowed to win. They won't hide away but will show solidarity and defiance, and the spirit that lives in their beautiful city will rise from the aftermath of this despicable crime like a Phoenix from the ashes.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you, people of Paris.


On a lighter note, I am still a couple of thousand words behind in my novel for NaNo but I'm hoping to catch up this week now I know where the story is going!  If you are also doing National Novel Writing Month, feel free to add me as a 'buddy' I'm WelshDragonLady

Have I any hints for NaNo?  Yes, just one. (or maybe two) Keep writing - and make sure that pesky 'inner editor' is kept locked up out of harm's way.  She can always be released when November is over and the novel is finished, and you can set her to work making sense of the jumble that is the first draft.  The priority for NaNo is just GET THOSE WORDS WRITTEN

So I'd better take my own advice and get back to work!

Legends and Legacy boxed sets - new release.

Monday Musings

I can't believe it's well into November and Christmas is only about six weeks away! Where has the year gone! I'm going to bake our Christmas cake today as soon as I finish this.

I love my fellow authors and really enjoy promoting  them on my blog - but I think it's time I started sharing some of myself with you again, so I'm going to try to keep Mondays to chat with you about this and that - and perhaps post up the odd Welsh legend again.

It's been quite an eventful and busy year.  I had the third novel in what has become the Destiny trilogy accepted by the Wild Rose Press and have been busy with edits with my very patient editor, Frances Sevilla, and was thrilled with my lovely cover by the talented Rae Monet, who gave me exactly what I asked for - only better! Hopefully I'll have the release date soon and will be giving a few short 'teasers' here and on my Facebook 'Street Team', where I'll be posting all the news about 'Beloved Enemy' first.  If you'd like to join, just pop along to
https://www.facebook.com/groups/118700921405/  I'll be thrilled to have you on board.

I've also been busy with our new 'rescue' Choccy.  He was pretty hyper when we first had him, as he'd spent most of his life shut up in a box room, and never being taken out for walks or played with until he went to the Blue Cross, who, along with other rescue centres in this country do such sterling work for abandoned, abused and neglected or unwanted animals.  Never having been 'socialised' as a puppy, he tended to bark and spin like a loony when meeting other dogs. I'm glad to say he's a lot calmer now, and doesn't bark so much when we meet

dogs when out and about. We had a few sessions with a
local dog trainer, which we enjoyed very much, and I think that helped a lot.  It was his third birthday yesterday, and he had a good time, with two different types of ball (he loves chasing balls), a nice marrow-bone to chew on and a special chicken dinner. He had a great time and is sleeping it off today, lying behind me on my chair as I type.

I'm doing National Novel Writing Month again  this year,  and am writing a ghost story.  It's completely different to the Destiny series and is very horsey, we'll see how it goes.  I'm actually behind on my word count so I'd better finish this post and get back to it - as soon as I've made my Christmas Cake.

Have a great week!

Silver Belles and Stetsons - boxed set of ten Western Romance Christmas Novellas

Fooling Around with Cinderella - Spotlight and Giveaway

Tangled Web Super Book Blast

 

Tangled Web

by Angela Whisenhant

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GENRE: Romantic Suspense/Christian

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BLURB:

One bad decision can change your life forever. Alyson Carter has always put her family first, so the small town of Sage Grove is shocked to learn she’s abandoned them for a man she met online. Seeking a more exciting life, she moves to his horse ranch in Colorado.

Attempting to adjust to life without her, her husband, Kurt, accepts an opportunity to train with the FBI, reluctantly allowing their daughter, Lacy, to move in with a family friend. When the friend is kidnapped, it’s discovered Lacy was the intended target. Pursued by unknown assailants who will stop at nothing to catch her, Lacy finds herself scared and alone. She turns to her mother for protection, unaware that her mother’s secluded mountain sanctuary has become a prison. Alyson discovers she’s merely a pawn in the deadly game of a man she thought she knew. Secrets and lies draw her family onto a collision course with cold-blooded killers.

Her ill-fated decision has placed them all in danger, and she is forced to confront her enemy head-on to protect herself and her daughter. Now she must depend on a God she turned her back on and the husband she left behind to save them both.

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Excerpt

As she was thinking, she scanned the books titles on Mr. Stewart’s shelves. He had everything from classics to textbooks. She started randomly pulling books out. This wasn’t a movie, but there was always the chance that something was hidden among the books. It was about as likely as finding a hidden compartment in one of his drawers. A loud creak shattered the silence. Lacy had heard that same creak every time the back door was opened or closed. Finally, one of the Stewarts must be home. She started to walk to the door and stopped. Maybe it was intuition or maybe she was just paranoid after last night, but something wasn’t right. 

Lacy walked to the window and peered through the blind. She didn’t see any cars parked in the drive, and she hadn’t heard the garage door open. The house was as silent as it had been when she arrived—so quiet she could hear the large antique clock ticking on the credenza.  She listened at the office door and heard numerous footsteps throughout the house. There were no voices, which meant they didn’t want anyone to know they were there. She quietly closed and locked the door, hoping to buy herself some time while she figured out what to do. She could go out the window, and try to make a break for her car. She looked through the blind again and scanned the street in front of the house. On the opposite side of the road, she saw a black SUV that looked very familiar. The car from last night! Suddenly, her heart was pounding in her chest. This could not be happening again. 

 Pushing the shade to the side, she reached for the lock on the window. Nothing—the windows didn’t open! Then she walked to Mr. Stewart’s desk and reached for the clock on the credenza. If she had to protect herself, it was the only thing in the office that looked like it could do any damage. She wrapped her fingers around it, and started to lift it, but wouldn’t budge. It must be heavier than she thought, so she grabbed it with both hands. She still  couldn’t lift it. It was impossible for that clock to be too heavy to lift. 

She inspected the clock and discovered it was bolted to the desk. This was not merely a decorative antique clock. The time was wrong, and she noticed that although the clock was ticking, the second hand wasn’t moving. Expecting the door to fly open at any time, her hands trembled as she unlatched the round glass door covering the face of the clock. A bolted-down clock that ticked but never changed the time had to be significant. She took her finger and slowly moved the minute hand around the face of the clock. When the clock reached twelve o’clock, she heard a soft click. She ran both hands over the clock, trying to discover what secrets it was hiding. Through the wall she heard someone in the room next door. Her time was running out. She was trapped in the office with windows that didn’t open. It was over…

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Angela has been a passionate reader her whole life and that love of reading developed into a love of writing. She is excitedly awaiting the publication of her first novel, Tangled Web. She wants to tell the stories of real people who make real mistakes and, yet find real redemption. People who are leading normal lives and suddenly find themselves thrust into extraordinary circumstances. Sometimes they make good decisions and sometimes bad decisions. But either way they must live with the consequences.

Much of her inspiration comes from her life in a small town and her love of all things suspense. Her perfect storm is when the two collide. Crime in a small town impacts everyone because of the close ties.

Angela lives in Texas with the three loves of her life; her husband Leslie and sons, Kyle and Chase. Other than writing, she loves coffee, 80’s music, hiking in Colorado and HGTV. She aspires to live a joyful life, always chase her dreams and never settle for mediocrity.

Find her here:

Website | www.angelawhisenhant.wordpress.com/

Facebook |www.AngelaWhisenhantAuthor

Twitter | @angela_whiz

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GIVEAWAY

Angela will be awarding a $5 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2015/10/book-blast-tangled-web-by-angela.html


a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Haunted Open House Blog Hop -The winner of my Gift Cert is....

KRYSYKAT!

Congratulations - your prize is on its way! 

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and commented on my blog - I hope you enjoyed your visit and had fun visiting the other blogs as well. 

Have a happy and safe Halloween!

by Moonlight - bargain boxed set

Colonel Brandon's Widow and Willoughby - Book Tour Spotlight

BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE – Colonel Brandon's Widow and Willoughby: a Jane Austen 'Sense and Sensibility' sequel AUTHOR – Marianna Green GENRE – Historical PUBLICATION DATE – August 2015 LENGTH (Pages/# Words) - 33,000 PUBLISHER – Self COVER ARTIST – Period Images/ Nancy Design

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BOOK SYNOPSIS

Mrs Brandon, the former Marianne Dashwood, is now a widow, and not yet twenty-five.

Her former admirer Willoughby is as unhappily married as ever, and the thought that she is free to marry again drives him to distraction. He has continued in his dissolute lifestyle, which Marianne abhors, while his wife Sophia's life has been poisoned by jealousy of Marianne.

Marianne urges him that the only possibility of happiness for Willoughby and his wife is for him to give up his empty pursuit of pleasure - but now the Colonel is gone, Marianne finds that she can no longer push aside thoughts of Willoughby easily herself; she must find some way of occupying her own empty hours.

Willoughby retains his rascally charm, which an older and wiser Marianne is determined to resist; Elinor and Edward are as astute as ever, while Sir John and Lady Middleton are as foolish. Mrs. Jennings remains determined to marry off all her associates as before, while Sophia Willoughby is even more sour as the wife of the man she wanted, and Willoughby's friends are suitably cynical rakes.

This sequel to Jane Austen's 'Sense and Sensibility' strives to emulate some of the light ironic touch of the inimitable style of Jane Austen; it is both funny and sad, and is told as dark comedy.

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BUY & TBR LINKS

AMAZON KINDLE US AMAZON KINDLE UK

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EXCERPT

'The union of the Willoughby’s only resembled that of the Brandon’s in being childless. Unlike the latter couple, they had no common interests to compensate, unless an unfortunate tendency to over indulge in wine and other stimulants could count as a mutual source of diversion.

It is true that they did share in common a manner of relating to each other that involved raised voices behind slammed doors, angry silences and periods of cold civility; but this shared inclination brought them no closer together.

It could be further urged on their behalf , that in this conduct, they provided society with the diversion of much talk, and their staff with constant entertainment; - for Willoughby’s confidential valet knew all about his improper pursuits, while his wife’s lady’s maid could recount how Mrs Willoughby had cursed him for a fortune hunting libertine in full hearing of the servants, and of how savagely he had kicked shut her sitting room door before retorting that, ‘Devil take it, in his whole worthless life, he had only cared for Mrs Brandon, and he’d be damned if he pretended anything else to please a scolding…’ But the reader does not wish to hear any more of this.

Seemingly their staff lacked any discretion, and soon enough, the content of the Willoughby’s exchanges leaked out into polite society, which showed still less decorum in repeating them assiduously. Many a man had dined out for a month on his knowledge of episodes that ought to have been cloaked in decent silence, and Miss Steele was one of many maiden ladies agog for the latest outrage.'

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AUTHOR BIO

'Marianna Green lives in Wales, UK. She has long been fascinated with the classics of English Literature, and particularly admires the trenchant wit of Jane Austen'

AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS

GOODREADS

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This Event Has Been Organized & Hosted by

Mr Blackwell - Spotlight and Giveaway