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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'.

Wednesday 2 December 2015

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





 



Monday 30 November 2015

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

Wednesday 25 November 2015

Future Winds Book Blast and Giveaway


Future Winds
by Kevin Laymon

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

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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~



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.

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

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:


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






 

Monday 23 November 2015

Musings on the Romance Festival Weekend (Harper Collins)

http://romance-festival.com/2015/11/18/meet-hywela-lyn-hywela_lyn-bfilovefest/
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.