Choccy

The house has felt empty since we lost our beloved Jack Russell, Bouncer, in August, so...

The DH and I paid a visit to the Blue Cross Adoption Centre

where I'd seen an on-line picture of this little scrap named Choccy

After some visits to get to know him and take him for walks...

(Well wouldn't you know I'd find a chocolate themed doggy!)




We bought a smart, matching Blue Cross collar, harness and lead

and took him home with us

Where he soon made himself at home in his new bed with his blanket and toys...

before calling round to see the neighbours
Bonnie and Ellie, belonging to Sara-Jane and Neil.
(Poor Bonnie was abandoned in a box. she had a badly infected
eye which had to be removed, but she's such a happy little girl now
with her lovely adopted mum and dad.)

At this rate I'll never get that novel finished and submitted to my publisher! But who could resist  such a sweet little dog - even if he does put his paws on the keyboard so he can give me big doggy kisses!

Plight Of The Highlander by SkyPurrington - Blog Tour and Giveaway

I've known Sky purington as an on-line friend for nearly seven years (wow!) and it's a great thrill to be able to feature her on the flightdeck with the latest in her wondeful MacLomain series
PLIGHT OF THE HIGHLANDER
The MacLomain Series
Next Generation
Book 5
Genre:  Time Travel Fantasy Romance

Date of Publication:   November14, 2014

ASIN: B00NXZZIM4

Number of pages:  274
Word Count:  78,000

Cover Artist:  Tamra Westberry

Book Description:  

With the dragon blood of her Viking ancestors coursing through her veins, Torra MacLomain has long tried to keep her Scottish clan safe. But a ruthless enemy has been watching...waiting. As Keir Hamilton launches his plan to possess her, many secrets come to light including her passion for a certain highlander.

When Colin MacLeod's undying love for Torra is discovered, he's given an ultimatum. Watch his lass die a brutal death or defect from his clan to lead the Hamilton armies. Four winters later and in charge of Keir's warriors, Colin battles in an ongoing war against the MacLomains. Yet now the worst has come to pass. His ill-found chieftain has finally trapped Torra.

In a castle siege unlike any other and because of time travel, the modern day Brouns and medieval MacLomains join together in a final stand-off against their merciless enemy. Battles rage. Mysteries are revealed. Freedom is found. But most importantly, a love long repressed at last rises up determined to conquer all in Plight of the Highlander.

Available at Amazon  BN   Kobo  iTunes


Available Now
Mark of the Highlander (Book 1),
Vow of the Highlander (Book 2),
Wrath of the Highlander (Book 3)
Faith of the Highlander (Book 4).

Also Available
The MacLomain Series- Early Years (Books 1-3 available in a boxed set)
The original MacLomain Series (Books 1-4 available in a boxed set)


Excerpt:

Colin reeled her in until she stood between his legs. He braced his hands on her hips, eyes penetrating as he said, “You keep secrets…even from me.”

“Especially from you,” she whispered, voice failing when thickened with emotion. “‘Tis safer that way.”

Colin’s face remained impassive and he clasped her hips a fraction tighter. “There is nothing safe about me not knowing what you intend. To keep me without knowledge only makes it more difficult for me to protect you.”

Torra gently touched his cheek, thoughts once more on the eve before as she murmured, “There will be times that you cannae protect me, that I must fight battles on my own.” Unable to stop herself, she ran the pad of her thumb softly over his lower lip. “‘Tis all part of the fear that you help me face, aye?”

Colin closed his eyes briefly before they narrowed on her once more and he shook his head sharply. “I cannae force words from your lips but know this, ‘twill be unforgivable if harm befalls you and I could not help because you shut me out.”

Torra offered a small nod. What else could she do? Pain and frustration were clear enough in his eyes. That caused her grief as she thought about what he had done for her the previous night. What he had done to her. Not only his kiss but his touch had kindled a wide swath of sensations that swept her away in a rising tide of soul-deep need. She never imagined a simple kiss could feel so good.
Now sampled, she wanted more. Far more. But it wasn’t just his lips she craved. Now she knew there was an indescribable pleasure to be found in his arms. Torra instinctually pulled away. But Colin didn’t let her get too far. His eyes flared and whipped down her body then back to her flushed face.
When he stood she put up a hand and shook her head. On a heavy swallow she said, “Nay, ‘tis too soon. I need time to gain confidence.”

Her words sounded like an excuse even to her own ears. Mayhap for all she thought this morn that she had come so far, she had not at all. Torra watched Colin internally fight his assertive nature. She knew full well he was tempted to pull her into his arms. Instead, he inhaled deeply and raked a hand through his hair.

“Confidence will only be gained through repetition. ‘Tis what I tell my warriors,” he muttered under his breath and stalked into the adjoining chamber.

“I am not one of your warriors,” she reminded, following, trying not to get aggravated.

“Aye, but you are.” Colin’s regard swung her way as he poured two mugs of mead. “You are mine and you are a warrior.” He handed her a mug, eyes the hardest she’d ever seen them. “If you will not share your secrets then I will focus ever harder on those aspects of this war in which I can help.”
She knew precisely what aspects those were. Torra set aside the mug and crossed her arms over her chest. “So you think to train me by seducing me?”

“Aye, lass.” His lips quirked but his eyes remained mirthless. “Your greatest strength lies in the relationship you have with the dragon. To become the best warrior you can you must have full control over your other half.”

It didn’t matter how much sense he made, his words irked her. But despite her rising temper, Torra was surprised to realize that not only his words but the stern way he looked at her ignited…desire? This time his lips didn’t quirk but curled up ever so slowly, well aware of both her mental and physical reaction.






About the Author:
Sky Purington is the best-selling author of thirteen novels and several novellas. A New Englander born and bred, Sky was raised hearing stories of folklore, myth and legend. When combined with a love for nature, romance and time-travel, elements from the stories of her youth found release in her books.

Purington loves to hear from readers and can be contacted at Sky@SkyPurington.com

Interested in keeping up with Sky's latest news and releases? Visit Sky's website, http://www.skypurington.com to download her free App on iTunes and Android or sign up for her quarterly newsletter.

Love social networking? Find Sky on Facebook and Twitter.

Website:   www.skypurington.com

Blog:   www.skypurington.blogspot.com

Twitter:   www.twitter.com/skypurington

Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sky-Purington/260484263999780

Pinterest:   www.pinterest.com/skypurington


Tour giveaway

2- $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card (winner’s choice)



a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Aegis Rising by S S Segran - A Goddess Fish Book Blast and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. One randomly drawn commenter will receive a $40 Amazon GC. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Over a remote northern forest, a small plane carrying five teenage friends flies into a freak storm. Struck by lightning, the aircraft crashes and the passengers find themselves cast into a life-changing adventure.

In a hidden valley, a mysterious people gaze at the stormy sky as a glowing object with fiery wings disappears behind a mountain ridge. The astonishing sight reignites an ancient prophecy foretelling the arrival of five chosen ones destined to become bearers of light against a dark storm gathering on humanity's horizon.

In a distant city, a secretive organization led by a shadowy figure initiates a sequence of cataclysmic events designed to wreak havoc across the planet, beginning with a remote mining site in northern Canada.

As the three worlds collide, unlikely heroes arise. Armed with powers entrusted to them by the ancient prophecy and the resilience of their life-long bond, the five teens take a stand against a malevolent foe.

Jag placed two fingers on his mentor’s neck and felt a very faint pulse. He slammed his fist against the ground, knowing Tayoka was hardly hanging on.

“Is he still alive?” Tegan murmured.

“Barely.”

Aari looked up at the Osprey. “We need to get him out of here. The plane’s going to turn back soon.”

“Take care of him,” Jag said, an edge to his voice as he stood up.

Tegan caught a look in his eyes and knew something was brewing in his mind. “What are you—”

“Just get him to safety,” he cut her off, turning to look at the plane. Without another word, he started to sprint in the direction of the aircraft. He heard his friends shouting his name but his mind was set and he was not turning back.

About the Author:

S.S.Segran spent a good chunk of her childhood exploring the enchanted forest of a million tales in the mystical land of books. In her early teens, she began crafting intriguing new worlds and conjuring up characters who came alive with the flick of her wand... err... pen. With the publication of Aegis Rising in her senior year of high school, she was surprised by the abundance of time that magically appeared right after graduation. She plans to use this newfound resource to expand the arc of the Aegis Series. Her future plans include studying Cognitive Science at university and helping youths in developing countries realize their potential through the non-profit organization, Aegis League (www.aegisleague.org)

When not devouring a book or writing one, S.S.Segran can be found standing behind the cauldron of life, stirring a potion made up of chores, parkour, gaming, drawing, horseback riding and—having recently jumped off a perfectly fine airplane at fifteen thousand feet – perhaps skydiving.

SS  Segran asks me to post the following message:

"By the way, please inform your readers that if they enjoyed Aegis Rising, I am offering Aegis Incursion (Book Two) for free for a limited time. All they have to do is sign up at my website www.sssegran.com and they will receive an email with the download link when the book is released soon. This offer expires on Nov,28. "

So there you are - buy the first book and get the second one free - don't miss this fantastic offer!




• website: www.aegisnovel.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aegisnov el
• Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user /segranbooks
• Buy the book at Amazon.




a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

The Tour dates can be found HERE

Remember - the more  times you enter the more chances you have of winning

 

The Blue Effect

Genre: Adult Urban S.F./Fantasy
 Date of Publication: September 8th, 2014
Cover Artist: Regina Wamba


Book Description:

Blue Brennan is jaded and bitter despite her pinup girl looks and quick wit. Night after night, she scours the Seattle club scene looking for someone or something to fill the emptiness inside.

When she meets the mysterious Kasey, her world stops… literally. He claims she has the ability to control time and stuns her even further when he reveals his own gifts.

 Blue is inexplicably drawn to Kasey and reluctantly enters his world filled with a new breed of humanity. They’re misfits like her, blessed or cursed with powerful abilities, struggling to hide their differences from the rest of society.

Then the group discovers a nameless, faceless sociopath with nightmarish powers; and he’s coming for Blue. She’s left reeling when they discover her gifts are the key to defeating his terrible evil and saving them all.

Now she must race against the clock to harness her own powers and save her new friends. Can she be more than a renegade? Can she be a hero too? 

Rose Shababy and her family reside in eastern Washington State. Rose grew up in the Northwest but swears she’s going to move to warmer climates someday. She’s claimed this for over 20 years, however, and has yet to move more than 75 miles away from her mother.
Rose has a deep love of all things Star Trek and yearns to travel the heavens, as well as an intense desire to be bitten by a radioactive spider.

Unfortunately she sucks at science and math so she hasn’t been able bring her dreams to life, instead living vicariously through books, comics, television and film. She hopes to someday make a million dollars so she can afford to buy her way to the international space station, but she’d settle for being able to fly around the world and leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Rose also loves to cook and worked for years in a gourmet Italian grocery and deli where she learned to hone her skills. She prepares culinary masterpieces for her family, but fervently wishes the dishes would wash themselves. Especially now that her dishwashers/children are nearly grown and only one still lives at home.

Rose likes to use her free time wisely. For instance, she likes to daydream, will often read for hours until she falls asleep on the couch with an electric blanket and a warm tabby cat curled up on her hip, as well as spending cozy weekend days watching SF movies like Sharknado and Mega Piranha with her husband.

If Rose were a cartoon animal, she’d prefer to be a wise old owl or a sleek and sexy jaguar, but in reality she’d probably be a myopic mole with coke-bottle glasses.

http://roseshababy.com/
http://roseshababy.com/category/roses-brain/
https://www.facebook.com/rose.shababy
https://twitter.com/RoseShababy
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6063741-rose-shababy
 

The Winner of my contest in the Snarkogy Bloghop is

Nay Nay

Congratulations, you've won a download of one of my books and I'll get it to you as soon as I hear from you!  Hope you enjoy it.  Thank you for commenting and thank you to everyone else who v isited my blog and commented.  I hope you enjoyed it and had a fun Halloween! +

Welcome to my post for the Snarkology Halloween Blog Hop and Giveaway

This post is dedicated to the memory of my dear friend the late Sharon Donovan, a romantic suspense author, who loved  Halloween and telling spooky stories. She would always have  several special posts for Halloween during the month of October and would enthral her readers with ghostly tales.  She is sorely missed by everyone who knew and loved her, and I miss her even more at this time of year!

We don't celebrate Halloween as much over here as in the US, but the kids love any excuse to dress up, of course, and more and more people are starting to have Halloween Parties. Of course there's the usual 'Trick or Treating' with the local children dressed up as ghouls and witches and I always have a stock of treats handy for them. Last year I made cupcakes with cute bat s to decorate them, but I must have made too many and my hubby and I had to finishthem off between us! (someone had to! :) )

As for spooky tales, I had an eerie experience some years ago when I was attending a writing weekend at an old mansion known as Gregynnog, in Wales.

I attended a writing workshop at the mansion. We were told there was a legend that the house was haunted by a lady whose family used to own it but who lost their money and had to leave. Apparently she returned to the house after she died because she loved it so much. I felt nothing but a warm, welcoming presence, not cold or frightening at all. I slept soundly at night and enjoyed exploring the house and extensive grounds, and writing in the large, comfortable music room. 

I took a photo of a friend standing beside a large stone hand in the garden, and he took one of me. When they were printed the one of him was fine, nice and clear and sharp. The one of me, taken seconds later, with the same camera, showed a mist in the bushes behind me and the shadowy figure of a lady in a long flowing dress. It wasn't easy to see unless you looked really hard, and it was another friend who first spotted it. The figure eventually faded over time, although it was still visible if you knew where to look.  
I would add that I’m not the only one who has had strange experiences regarding this beautiful old house and a reflection of a lady in a long, flowing dress has been seen in the river beneath a small bridge, near the entrance to Gregynnog, accompanied by a sudden strong wind where previously all had been calm.

To end with, I thought I'd share an excerpt from my very first Wild Rose Press novel 'Starquest', which I think has a really 'spooky' feel to it, although it's SF romance rather than witches or vampires! My heroine is stranded on an uninhabited planet with her companion who has been badly wounded. She keeps guard during the night, watching over him and trying to tend to his wounds, but has a feeling they are not alone. 

Then tiny, dancing pinpoints of light appear... 


EXCERPT FROM STARQUEST  

After a while I decided it was just marsh gas, but as I watched I became aware that the 'flames' were orderly. They moved in groups of threes and fours, gliding in straight lines and then circling to retrace their steps in what seemed to be a methodical fashion, as no Will o' the Wisp ever did. I began to feel I was in the presence of something malevolent...evil. Then I heard the voices. Strange, unearthly voices, which had nothing to do with flesh and blood. 

"Take the male," they hissed, "while he yet lives. Before the life-force within him dies and is of no use to us." 

"Wait. The female is stronger," came another voice. "Stay until she sleeps. Then will be our chance, and we can take them both." 

 I reached for my blaster, by now fully charged, and fired a steady beam in the direction of the 'flames.' When I laid down the gun there was nothing, only the darkness. Had the voices been in my imagination, or was it a dream? But I knew I had not slept. Trying to recall the experience, as I record this, I realise they did not speak in words at all. Yet I had understood... I've always loved the night, the beauty of the darkened, star-filled skies. Here, however, on this forsaken and perilous planet, it is menacing, with the sense of something lurking, lying in wait.
 
You can purchase Starquest  at my Wild Rose Press Author Page - where you can also read my FREE short story 'A Bargain With Death' which I think is just right for this time of year.
  

  TRICK OR TREAT                    

*Contests*

I'm offering a free download of any of my books, or a $5 Wild Rose Press Gift Certificate to someone who comments on my blog between today and 1st November I'll pick the winner with the Random Generator and announce the name on November 2nd - and don't forget the Snarkology Blog Hop Grand Prize of $100 - enter below  

 http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/6832075a2/

You'll need to click on the link above to enter via the Rafflecopter -Sorry for some reason it's stopped showing up on this post but the link works.

The other Blogs taking part in this blog hop are in the link below. Visit them all on a virtual 'trick or treat'for the greatest chance of winning and most of them are offering their own prize as well!

Follow the Trick or Treat Hop trail here

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 

Thank you for stopping by on my stage of Melissa's Halloween  Blog Hop. Continuing the 'spooky' theme, while you're here, if you have a moment, please take a look at the 'Cover Reveal' for my friend Echo Shea's latest release 'Light A Candle For The Beast', to be released on 26th November.. which is directly beneath this post.  I've had the privilege of reading an ARC of this and it's a chilling and compellingly haunting story! (If you leave a comment on that post as well, I'll give you another entry into my contest.)

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