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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'.

Tuesday 29 September 2020

Of Fury and Fangs - SF/Fantasy Romance Book Tour and #Giveaway

 


Of Fury and Fangs
Of Cinder and Bone Book 4
by Kyoko M
Genre: SF Fantasy Romance

 

Someone wants Dr. Rhett “Jack” Jackson dead.After surviving a vicious attack from a dragon in his own home, Jack and Dr. Kamala Anjali investigate who sent the dragon to kill him. Unfortunately, their list of enemies is long. Plenty of people have an axe to grind with the two scientists responsible for the rebirth of the previously extinct dragons that are now flourishing on every continent of the planet. Jack and Kamala rejoin with their team at the Knight Division to hunt down the culprit and put an end to their revenge scheme once and for all.

But will it cost them everything?

 Of Fury and Fangs is the fourth novel in the Amazon and USA Today bestselling Of Cinder and Bone series, following Of Cinder and Bone, Of Blood and Ashes, and Of Dawn and Embers.


**Pre-order for only 99 cents! **
Goodreads * Amazon


Of Dawn and Embers
Of Cinder and Bone Book 3

It's been six months since Dr. Rhett "Jack" Jackson and Dr. Kamala Anjali had their dragon cloning project shut down by the government. Just when they think they've gotten their lives back together, an agency within the government hits them with another suckerpunch: a criminal organization has cloned dozens of dragons in order to hold vicious dragon fighting rings. The government recruits Jack and Kamala to help them track down the organization. Jack and Kamala set out to put a stop to the illegal fights before any more dragons die…or worse, escape. 

Of Dawn and Embers is the third novel in Kyoko M's SF/contemporary fantasy series, following Of Cinder and Bone and Of Blood and Ashes.




Of Blood and Ashes
Of Cinder and Bone Book 2

The world's deadliest dragon, the infamous Baba Yaga, is loose on the streets of Tokyo. 
Dr. Rhett "Jack" Jackson and Dr. Kamala Anjali have been tasked with helping the government take down a dragon the size of a Tyrannosaurus Rex after it sends part of the city up in flames. Things worsen when they lose track of dragon in none other than Aokigahara, the Suicide Forest--a section of woods in Japan that is rumored to be one of the most haunted places on earth. They've also got the yakuza who cloned the dragon hellbent on getting her back, and they don't care who they kill in order to re-capture the dragon. 
Jack and Kamala are joined by CIA field agent William Fry and dragon-hunting expert Juniper Snow as they infiltrate the forest to hunt the dragon before she can hurt anyone else. Between the ruthless yakuza hot on their trail and the growing mistrust in their small hunting party, it will take a miracle for Jack and Kamala to make it out alive...

Of Blood and Ashes is the second book in the series, following the Amazon bestselling Of Cinder and Bone.


Goodreads * Amazon


Of Cinder and Bone
Of Cinder and Bone Book 1

OF CINDER AND BONE is Ron Howard's Ransom meets Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park! 
After centuries of being the most dangerous predators on the planet, dragons were hunted to extinction. That is, until Dr. Rhett “Jack” Jackson and Dr. Kamala Anjali cracked the code to bring them back. Through their research at MIT, they resurrected the first dragon anyone has seen alive since the 15th century. There’s just one problem.
Someone stole it.

Caught between two ruthless yakuza clans who want to clone the dragon, Jack and Kamala brave the dangerous streets of Tokyo to steal their dragon back in a race against time before the world is taken over by mutated, bloodthirsty monsters that will raze it to ashes.
Of Cinder and Bone is an all-new Science Fiction thriller from the author of the Amazon bestselling Black Parade novels. Don’t miss out on this explosive first-in-series! Fans of Westworld, I Robot, Pacific Rim, and Reign of Fire will fall in love with this mashup novel that opens up a whole new world of possibilities into what we know and love about dragons.


**FREE at Amazon and Smashwords!!**
Add to Goodreads
Amazon * Smashwords


Kyoko M is a USA Today bestselling author, a fangirl, and an avid book reader. She has written the Amazon bestselling Black Parade urban fantasy series as well as the Of Cinder and Bone science-fiction dragon hunting series. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English Lit degree from the University of Georgia, which gave her every valid excuse to devour book after book with a concentration in Greek mythology and Christian mythology. When not working feverishly on a manuscript (or two), she can be found buried under her Dashboard on Tumblr, or chatting with fellow nerds on Twitter, or curled up with a good Harry Dresden novel on a warm Georgia night. Like any author, she wants nothing more than to contribute something great to the best profession in the world, no matter how small.



Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$10 Amazon 













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 will share your information or email address with anyone or any organisation.  http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join

Monday 28 September 2020

Dr Cushing's Chamber of Horrors - Virtual Book Tour and #Giveaway

Hello lovely reader - apologies for there being no Welsh Myths
this week - we're having a new shower room fitted and between all the mess, upheaval and comforting a confused little dog I just didn't manage it this week. I hope to do better next week.In the meantime, I have something a bit different for you by the prolific author Stephen D Sullivan:
 
DR CUSHING'S CHAMBER OF HORRORS

About the Book:

The monsters aren’t only in the museum!
Despite a lifetime of traveling with their father to collect strange artifacts, twins Topaz and Opal Cushing have never fully believed in monsters or the supernatural. Oh, sure, they share an eerie psychic connection, and their tarot card readings often come true, but… Werewolves? Vampires? Living mummies? None of those could be real. Those legends are just for rubes. Right?

Since the girls’ father has been away, though, strange things have been happening in the family’s little exhibit—and in the waxworks studio that shares their dilapidated Victorian mansion on the outskirts of London. Now, the twins’ dreams of a fun, romantic summer season are turning into a nightmare, and the monsters are running...
Dr. Cushing’s Chamber of Horrors!
Print Length: 437 pages
Publisher: Walkabout Publishing (August 30, 2020)
Publication Date: August 30, 2020
Language: English
ASIN: B08F13XKQG
ISBN-13: 979-8668896547
Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/y4wjflsh
Barnes&Noble: https://tinyurl.com/y235ejq3
Books-a-Million: https://tinyurl.com/y3kk4qzd
Indiebound: https://tinyurl.com/yyftpkxe


a Rafflecopter giveaway


About the Author:
Stephen D. Sullivan has over sixty published titles to his name and helped create more comics and games than he can either list or remember.

A Scribe award-winner for “Best Novel Adaptation, 2016” with his book Manos: The Hands of Fate, Sullivan lives with his wife in a small town in Wisconsin.
You can contact him via Twitter, Facebook, Patreon, or on his website: www.stephendsullivan.com









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 will share your information or email address with anyone or any organisation.  http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join

Sunday 20 September 2020

Welsh Myths and Legends - The dragon of Penmynydd

 Hello my lovelies

As always, I hope you're staying safe and well. Another mythical creature for you this week - and another dragon. Many dragons in fiction are noble, friendly creatures, not so much the one in this legend - here is the tale of the dragon of Penmynydd:

 

Top 50 HD Dragon Wallpapers, Images, Backgrounds, Desktop Wallpapers (High  Quality) | Dragones reales, Dragones, Dragón de fantasía

Not far from the manor farm of Penhesgyn, near Penmynydd on the island of Anglesey,  a dragon dwelt on the banks of the river Braint. A soothsayer in the area foretold that the heir to the manor would be killed by the dragon. Hoping to keep him safe,the lord of the manor sent the boy away to England. For several years the young man stayed far away from Wales in the safety of England.  Eventually a brave local lad slew the dragon by putting a polished cauldron in the bottom of a pit.

(The River Braint)Seeing its own reflection. and believing it to be a rival, the dragon fought the reflection it until it was exhausted, whereupon the youth killed the dragon and, amid much rejoicing, the locals buried the creature  in the pit. Thinking all was well, and elated by his new freedom to return to his homeland, the heir came back to the manor,  but insisted on seeing the body of the dragon. As soon as the carcass was exhumed, the he kicked the head of the dragon which had caused his exile, but one of the dragon's poisonous fangs penetrated his boot and went into his foot, killing him instantly. Thus the prophecy was fulfilled.

 

(Me thinks he should have been a lot more careful and not tried to take his revenge on the poor, dead creature!) 😉

 CHILDREN IN  READ

 #ChildrenInRead. U K readers will be familiar with CHILDREN IN NEED  which takes place every November and raises funds for deserving children all over the world. Children in Read is part of this and hundreds of authors have donated signed books to help this great cause.

I'm so happy to be taking part, and you can bid now for a signed paperback of the first book in my Destiny Trilogy - it's complete and a 'standalone'. I'll include any dedication you wish, and also some 'swag' goodies!


You can bid now for this or any of the hundreds of wonderful books in all genres. Go on, treat yourself and help a very good cause at the same time!

 

 If you like to listen to a book rather than read it, there are some really great books available in audio.
(You can get my own Destiny Trilogy for FREE, and there are plenty of other free listens available too.)

GET YOUR FREE CODES NOW:
Starquest: https://freeaudiobookcodes.com/?q=starquest
Children of the Mist: https://freeaudiobookcodes.com/?q=children+of+the+mist


Also try this one by the very talented Helen Johannes:

https://www.freeaudiobookcodes.com/book/4911f918-9db3-4733-867a-53e015ec3192






(If you have a free audio book you'd like me to mention, just leave a comment with an email addy so I can contact you)

 

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 will share your information or email address with anyone or any organisation.  http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join

Tuesday 15 September 2020

Fly Twice Backward - Book Tour and #Giveaway


I'm so pleased to be able to have another guest author on my Blog today, especially one who writes in my favourite genre, Science Fiction - it's been a while! Sit back and enjoy learning about David S McCracken and his new release:

Fly Twice Backward
by David S. McCracken
Genre: Alternate History, S.F. 
(Don't forget to enter the Giveaway at the end of this post, and follow David on his tour.)
 
 

 

You wake back in early adolescence, adult memories intact, including ones that could make you very wealthy now. Your birth family is here, alive again, but your later families are gone, perhaps forever. What has happened, what should you do about coming problems like violence, ignorance, pollution, and global warming? You realize one key connects most, the fundamentalist strains of the major religions disdaining science, equality, and social welfare. You see that there are some things you can
change, some you can’t, and one you don’t dare to.
 

Fellow idealists help you spend your growing fortune well--such as an artistic

Zoroastrian prince in the Iranian oil industry, a rising officer in the Soviet army working to find a way to destroy his corrupt

government, a Bahai woman struggling against Islamic brutality, a Peruvian leader working for a liberal future, and a snake-handling Christian minister, grappling with doubts, sexuality, and destiny. They are supported by an ally who develops essential psychic powers. The group faces familiar-looking corrupt politicians, religious leaders, and corporate czars, but there is an ancient force in the background, promoting greed, violence, hate, and fear.




David McCracken was born in Louisville, KY, in 1940. Raised mostly in Winchester, KY, he now lives in Northern Virginia, with his third and final wife. He has three children, two stepchildren, and six grandchildren.

After three years in the U.S. Navy following a lackluster academic start, he graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1963, in Diplomacy and International Commerce. He then worked as a Latin American country desk officer in the U.S. Department of Commerce until he returned to school to earn an M.A. in Elementary Education in 1970 from Murray State University, having always been intending to teach. Eventually realizing his children qualified for reduced-price lunches based on his own teaching salary, he studied computer programming at Northern Virginia Community College and worked as a programmer until shifting back into elementary teaching.

He began working on what became Fly Twice Backward in 1983 and finally finished it in 2019! At 79, David strongly doubts he'll be doing another novel of such scope and complexity, but is preparing to work on a children's science fiction novel with a progressive bent, being a devout progressive in politics and religion, as well as a lover of learning.





Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$25 Amazon










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 will share your information or email address with anyone or any organisation.

 http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join

Monday 14 September 2020

Welsh Myths and Legends - King Arthur's awakening

Hello my lovelies, 

I hope this finds you still safe and well. Here in my part of England, we survived a minor earthquake at the beginning of the week, no damage and no-one injured, thankfully. I'm going back to my native Wales for another legend, this time featuring King Arthur.

Somewhere in the beautiful peaks of Snowdonia, King Arthur is said to lay sleeping with his knights, awaiting the call to return, at a time when the world has need of them.  This place is said to be the mythical Avalon, and their sleeping forms guard a great treasure in gold. Many people have searched for the gold and this is a tale of one of them.

A Welshman visited London, after selling a herd of good Welsh Black cattle. He carried a hazel staff, and as he walked over London Bridge, he saw a man staring at his staff. After a while the man asked him where he came from and he replied that he had travelled from Wales, although he wondered why the man was so interested. "Don't be offended," said the man, but if you can remember where you cut that stick, it could be to the advantage of us both, for there is treasure buried near that place."

It gradually dawned on the Welshman that the man might be a sorcerer, and although unsure whether he should trust him, eventually allowed himself to be persuaded to show him the place.

They journeyed together to Wales, and the Welshman, pointed out an old hazel tree. "This is where I cut my stick."

"Then we must dig," said the sorcerer. Eventually they dug down to a broad, flat stone. Together they managed to prise it up, and found some steps leading downwards. At the bottom of the steps, they walked along a narrow passage until they came to a door, which they opened, to see before them  a great cave, dimly lit. The first thing they came to was a bell. "Do not touch that bell," warned the sorcerer. As they looked around the cave the Welshman saw many knights asleep. Each one was clad in shining armour, a steel helmet  on his head, and a gleaming shield on his arm. The sword of each was in his hand. The King held in his hand, below the hilt,  a mighty sword with scabbard and haft of gold studded with gleaming gems; on his head was a crown set with many precious stones. He too slept. On the floor was a huge mound of precious gold.

"Are they really asleep?" asked the Welshman, hardly believing his own eyes.

"Yes, all of them. The King is Arthur himself and they have been sleeping for over a thousand years," answered the sorcerer, "but if you touch that bell, they will all awake.

They swiftly gathered as much of the gold from the treasure mound as they could carry, but as they left, the young Welshman stumbled against the bell, and the sound reverberated throughout the cave. As soon as it rang, the warriors leapt to their feet. Arthur demanded "Who rang the bell? Has the day  come?"

 The sorcerer shouted back ," No, the day has not come. Sleep on, Arthur the Great."

The sorcerer hurried the Welshman out of the cave, moved the stone back to its place, and vanished.

The Welshman tried many times to find the way back to the cave again, but although he dug over every inch of the hill, he never did find the entrance again.


If you like to listen to a book rather than read it, there are some really great books available in audio.
(You can get my own Destiny Trilogy for FREE, and there are plenty of other free listens available too.)

GET YOUR FREE CODES NOW:
Starquest: https://freeaudiobookcodes.com/?q=starquest
Children of the Mist: https://freeaudiobookcodes.com/?q=children+of+the+mist


Also try this one by the very talented Helen Johannes:

https://www.freeaudiobookcodes.com/book/4911f918-9db3-4733-867a-53e015ec3192




(If you have a free audio book you'd like me to mention, just leave a comment with an email addy so I can contact you)





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 will share your information or email address with anyone or any organisation.  http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join

Monday 7 September 2020

Welsh Myths and Legends The tale of Manadden and the mouse

 Hello my lovelies, I have another Welsh myth for you this

Harvest Mouse ORIGINAL Watercolour Painting, Realistic Wildlife Art, Cute Mouse

week, with a much less threatening creature than some I have featured.

The lord Manadden, who had been campaigning in Ireland, returned to Narbeth in mid Wales, to find his lands had been usurped. After a while, he met and fell in love with Rhiannon, the widow of Pwyll, and the goddess of horses, and soon they were married. 

Some time later, a fierce storm rose up and the land was covered with mist. When it cleared they saw that the countryside was deserted. All the animals, cottages and people had vanished. 

He and Rhiannon's grown up son, Pryderi, set out to discover what had happened and came across a deserted castle with a golden fountain. When they touched the fountain, he and Pryderi were instantly struck dumb, Rhiannon arrived in search of her son and husband and she too was stuck dumb. Then, with a sound like thunder, the castle and  Rhiannon and her son vanished. Manawdden was stricken with grief and turned his back on the land, to earn his living as a shoemaker in Hereford, but he was so good at cobbling that angry competitors threatened to kill him and he went back to Narbeth where he bought some land and settled down to the life of a farmer. He was as good a farmer as he had been a cobbler, and at harvest time he had three large fields of best quality wheat ready to be cut. "I will reap this to-morrow," he said and early the next morning went out to reap the first field. When he came there he found nothing but the bare straw. Every one of the ears of the wheat was cut from off, and all the ears carried away, leaving nothing but the straw. This also happened to the second field. He went to the third field and it was also ripe and he vowed to watch over it and catch the thieves red-handed.

At midnight there was a tremendous roaring sound and there appeared the largest hoard of mice ever seen, far too many to be numbered. Each mouse climbed up the wheat stem and bending it down with its weight,  cut off one of the ears of wheat, and carried it away, leaving just the stalk, then they all left taking the ears of wheat with them.

He rushed after them in a rage, but they all escaped except one, which he caught  and put  in his glove, tying the opening with string, and returned home. Then he went to the Gorsedd (a  Bardic throne) of Narberth, taking the mouse with him. And he set up two forks on the highest part of the Gorsedd, intending to hang the mouse.  While he was doing this, a scholar, dressed in rags, came toward him, and enquired what he was doing.

"I am hanging a thief that I caught robbing me," he replied.

"But it's only a mouse, set if free," said the scholar. He then offered him a pound to set the creature free but Manawyddan refused. "I will not let it go free, he said. "It is a thief and will pay the penalty for stealing."

Then a priest on a fine horse rode up and offered Manawyddan three pounds if hewould let the mouse go, but again he refused.

Then he noosed the string around the mouse's neck, and as he was about to draw it up, a rich bishop rode toward him, with a retinue of packhorses and servants, and again bargained for the mouse to be set free. He eventually raised the price of the mouse's release to twenty four pounds, together with all the pack horses and the their loads. Still Manawyddan refused, and the bishop asked what he wanted to reprieve the mouse. When Manawyddan insisted on knowing the truth, the bishop told him that the mouse was his wife. who was with child, hence her inability to run fast enough to get away, and he was a mage and the one who had cast the charm in revenge for the bag-trapping trick Rhiannon had pulled on the man who had wanted to marry her, many years ago. He'd turned his servants and the villagers into mice to strip the wheatfields, and his wife and ladies of the court also asked to be turned into mice, to join in the destruction of the harvest.

Manawyddan demanded that Rhiannon and Pryderi should be set free, and  the illusion of the castle be removed. He also elicited a promise that there would be no vengeance taken either on him, Rhiannon or Pryderi, that he would never cast a spell over the land again and that Rhiannon and Prederi immediately appear before him.

Llwyd agreed and as his wife and stepson came toward him, Manawyddan at once released the mouse.Then Llwyd struck her with a magic wand, and she was changed back into a beautiful young woman.

"Look around upon your land," Llwyd told him "and you will  see it all tilled and the people and dwellings restored.

And so it was. 

 

FREE AUDIOBOOKS


If you like to listen to a book rather than read it, there are some really great books available in audio.
(You can get my own Destiny Trilogy for FREE.)

GET YOUR FREE CODES NOW:
Starquest: https://freeaudiobookcodes.com/?q=starquest
Children of the Mist: https://freeaudiobookcodes.com/?q=children+of+the+mist


Also try this one by the very talented Helen Johannes:

https://www.freeaudiobookcodes.com/book/4911f918-9db3-4733-867a-53e015ec3192




(If you have a free audio book you'd like me to mention, just leave a comment with an email addy so I can contact you)


 

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 will share your information or email address with anyone or any organisation.  http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join