A Shadow in the Past ~ Descendant chart

The Descendants of John William Robertson, Laird of Weetshill

The Robertsons, a somewhat offbeat Victorian family, are the mainstays of my debut novel, A Shadow in the Past.

This first chart covers the main Robertson “characters” in the novel and, yes, it implies there are more. But that section of the family won’t be revealed… just yet. After all, we don’t want any spoilers to creep in and ruin things, now do we?

descendant

If you click on the chart, you’ll get a larger image making it easier to read the who, when, where, and who’s hitched to whom. If you want to know the ‘whys’ you’ll have to buy the book. *hint, hint*

What’s it all about you ask? Well, grab a cuppa sit back and relax, and I’ll tell you – but first, I’ll show off my fabulous cover designed by Aidana WillowRaven.

A Shadow in the Past

When a contemporary teen is transported back through time to the Victorian era, she becomes A Shadow in the Past…

Nineteen-year-old Sarah Shand finds herself thrust back into the past. There she struggles to keep her real identity from a society that finds her comments and ideas strange and her speech and actions forward, unlike Victorian women. When Sarah verbally confronts confining social practices, including arranged marriages, powerful enemies commit her to a lunatic asylum. After falling in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill, Robert Robertson, she must decide whether to find her way back to her own time or to remain in the past with him.

Finding yourself tempted? You can buy A Shadow in the Past from these locations:

4RV Publishing | ChaptersIndigo | Barnes & Noble

and in print or kindle format from

 Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

PANDORA’S PROPHECY by Julie Ryan ~ Review

Pandora's

PANDORA’S PROPHECY

by

Julie Ryan

Pandora's

Pandora’s Prophecy is the third in the Greek Island mystery series but can be read as a standalone although some characters from the previous books do make an appearance.

Lisa and Mark are going through a rough patch, Vicky is seventeen and has just discovered that the man she thought was her father really isn’t, Ruth is getting over her husband’s betrayal after nearly twenty-five years of marriage. On the surface they have nothing in common except that they are all staying in the same hotel on a Greek Island. As they each come into contact with the mysterious Pandora, their lives will change forever. Bodies begin to pile up as a serial killer is on the loose who might just be targeting the hotel. The Island’s Police Chief, Christos Pavlides, tries to solve the puzzle but he has problems of his own to resolve. It seems that the local celebrity author is the one who holds the key.

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My review:

I received a copy of this book through Brook Cottage Books in exchange for an honest review. This is the third book in Julie Ryan’s Greek Island Mystery series.

Lisa, Mark, Ruth and Vicky have nothing in common except they’re staying at the same hotel. Before the end of the story, they all have an encounter with Pandora, sister of the local celebrity author, who has the ability to see the future. Add a killer to the mix and you have the recipe for an un-putdownable story.

I loved the way Julie brought each character to life and her descriptions of the scenery. After reading Pandora’s Prophecy, I’m anxious to read the first two books in the series – Jenna’s Journey and Sophia’s Secret.

☆☆☆☆☆

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The Greek Island Mystery Series is available at these links:

Jenna’s Journey www.amazon.com/dp/B00EXPDZD2

Sophia’s Secret www.amazon.com/dp/B00LFJGCWA

Pandora’s Prophecy http://amzn.to/1LeurJ7

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About Julie Ryan

Pandora's

Julie was born and brought up in a mining village near Barnsley in South Yorkshire. She graduated with a BA (hons) in French Language and Literature from Hull University. Since then she has lived and worked as a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language in France, Greece, Poland and Thailand. She now lives in rural Gloucestershire with her husband, son and two cats, a rescue cat and a dippy cat with half a tail. She is so passionate about books that her collection is now threatening to outgrow her house, much to her husband’s annoyance, as she can’t bear to get rid of any! They have been attempting to renovate their home for the last ten years.

She is the author of the Greek Island Mystery series, Jenna’s Journey, Sophia’s Secret and Pandora’s Prophecy, each of which can be read as a standalone. She considers Greece to be her spiritual home and visits as often as she can. This series was inspired by her desire to return to Crete although there is a strong pull to revisit the Cyclades too.

www.facebook.com/Julieryanauthor

Twitter @julieryan18

Blogsite www.allthingsbookie.com

www.juliesworldofbooks.blogspot.co.uk

**********

GIVEAWAY

Ecopy of the book (International)
£5 Amazon voucher (UK only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pandora's

 

Castaway in the Caribbean by Janice Horton

castaway

Castaway in the Caribbean

More fun than you’ll find in any travel brochure…

castaway

Vacationing on the beautiful Caribbean island of Antigua, Janey Sinclair is persuaded by her magazine editor boss to do a quick island hop in order to supervise an impromptu photo-shoot for the front cover. With no flights immediately available, Janey is directed to the harbour.

Captain Travis Mathews hates tourists, although he’s not above making a bit of money off a prissy and sharp tongued young British girl when she’s desperate to get to the neighbouring island of Tortola.

After striking a deal, they set off together in Travis’s weather-beaten old boat. When the vessel comes to a sudden full stop in the sea, the mismatched pair end up as castaways on an uninhabited island.

In this fast moving romantic adventure about a vacation that turns into a tropical nightmare there’s more fun than you’ll find in any travel brochure.

castaway

A message from Janice:

I was incredibly fortunate to spend most of last summer in the Caribbean, writing and researching my latest novel Castaway in the Caribbean. The Virgin Islands inspired me with the modern day setting for this romantic adventure novel because, of this chain of around ninety small islands, islets, cays and rocks in the Caribbean Sea, many are uninhabited. For proper research I got to sail around Tortola, the larger of the British Virgin Islands, in a restored schooner that had been used in the filming of the original Pirates of the Caribbean movie. To better write my story and to develop my plot, I explored many other Caribbean islands, tropical jungles, and cave systems.

You may be interested to know that in one of the pivotal scenes my heroine, Janey, has to climb up a tall and rather perilous waterfall. A couple of chapters later, she then has to get down that same waterfall and to do so she has no choice but to throw herself from the top and into the raging flow of water by way of a series of naturally formed ‘flumes’ in the rock. I described the scene – and the sheer terror of my poor heroines’ experience, through her point of view and that description comes from personal experience! When I was on the tropical rainforest Caribbean island of Dominican Republic, where they filmed the Jurassic Park movie, I did indeed climb up and jump from several tall waterfalls – although unlike my heroine I was wearing a life vest and a helmet to protect my head!

castawaycastawaycastawaycastawaycastaway

Many of my other experiences while researching in the Caribbean are well documented on my website at janicehorton.co.uk and on my blog and Facebook page too, if you are interested in reading the details and seeing the photos!

I eventually settled down to write this romantic adventure story on the Caribbean island of Utila, the smaller of the Bay Islands, just off the coast of Honduras. Likened to the Key West of long ago, Utila is a quaint, unspoiled and laid-back little island. Sitting on the largest barrier reef in the western hemisphere, it is also a paradise for scuba diving, which is exactly what my husband was doing every day while I was busy writing this story.

Research is a valuable tool for a writer, so I do hope all the fun and adventure I had in the Caribbean has found its way into the pages of Castaway in the Caribbean.

castaway

Love Janice xx

castaway

Janice Horton writes contemporary romantic fiction with a dash of humour and a sense of adventure. Look out for Janice’s new release for 2015 ‘Castaway in the Caribbean’ and her Amazon Kindle bestselling books ‘Bagpipes and Bullshot’ and ‘Reaching for the Stars’ and her fun ‘Voodoo Romance’ series of novellas. Her nonfiction guide to online promotion ‘How To Party Online’ is recommended reading for all authors and writers by publishers. Janice is a regular blogger from her website at janicehorton.co.uk and you’ll also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Janice Horton – writer of romantic adventure novels

My Author Website & Blog at janicehorton.co.uk

Follow me on Twitter: @JaniceHorton

Friend me on Facebook Page

Link to my Amazon Author Page

Check out my page on Goodreads

My LLm Bookshelf

Senior Editor at: Loveahappyending Lifestyle Mag

Janice’s books are available from Amazon

Castaway in the Caribbean is out now in Kindle format and will be available mid-summer 2015 as a paperback.

 Browse Castaway in the Caribbean on Amazon UK

Browse Castaway in the Caribbean on Amazon Dotcom

Other Amazon sites are available worldwide

No Kindle? No problem. Amazon provides a FREE to download Kindle App for all smartphones, tablets and computers. You can read this title for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

COMPETITION

Prizes:

1st Prize Mermaid Necklace (UK only)

castaway

2nd Prize – ecopy of the book (international)

2nd Prize Shell box (UK only)

3rd Prize Caribbean spices Necklace (UK only)

4th Prize Purse & pen (UK only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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PANDORA’S PROPHECY by Julie Ryan ~ Promo Post

Pandora's

PANDORA’S PROPHECY

by

Julie Ryan

Pandora's

Pandora’s Prophecy is the third in the Greek Island mystery series but can be read as a standalone although some characters from the previous books do make an appearance.

Lisa and Mark are going through a rough patch, Vicky is seventeen and has just discovered that the man she thought was her father really isn’t, Ruth is getting over her husband’s betrayal after nearly twenty-five years of marriage. On the surface they have nothing in common except that they are all staying in the same hotel on a Greek Island. As they each come into contact with the mysterious Pandora, their lives will change forever. Bodies begin to pile up as a serial killer is on the loose who might just be targeting the hotel. The Island’s Police Chief, Christos Pavlides, tries to solve the puzzle but he has problems of his own to resolve. It seems that the local celebrity author is the one who holds the key.

**********

The Greek Island Mystery Series is available at these links:

Jenna’s Journey www.amazon.com/dp/B00EXPDZD2

Sophia’s Secret www.amazon.com/dp/B00LFJGCWA

Pandora’s Prophecy http://amzn.to/1LeurJ7

**********

About Julie Ryan

Pandora's

Julie was born and brought up in a mining village near Barnsley in South Yorkshire. She graduated with a BA (hons) in French Language and Literature from Hull University. Since then she has lived and worked as a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language in France, Greece, Poland and Thailand. She now lives in rural Gloucestershire with her husband, son and two cats, a rescue cat and a dippy cat with half a tail. She is so passionate about books that her collection is now threatening to outgrow her house, much to her husband’s annoyance, as she can’t bear to get rid of any! They have been attempting to renovate their home for the last ten years.

She is the author of the Greek Island Mystery series, Jenna’s Journey, Sophia’s Secret and Pandora’s Prophecy, each of which can be read as a standalone. She considers Greece to be her spiritual home and visits as often as she can. This series was inspired by her desire to return to Crete although there is a strong pull to revisit the Cyclades too.

www.facebook.com/Julieryanauthor

Twitter @julieryan18

Blogsite www.allthingsbookie.com

www.juliesworldofbooks.blogspot.co.uk

**********

GIVEAWAY

Ecopy of the book (International)
£5 Amazon voucher (UK only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pandora's

 

 

Under the Stars by Linn B Halton

stars

UNDER THE STARS

BY LINN B HALTON

(formerly The Quintessential Gemini)

stars

For twenty-one years, the focus of Katherine Dale’s life has been her work. Love interests and hobbies came and went, but what has always been there for her—her only constant other than her cat delightfully named No. 4—was her nine to five habit. Until she’s replaced.

With her confidence dented, Katherine is angry at life and at herself.

She has ignored hints of “changes to come” in her horoscope forecasts, written by the wonderful and renowned astrologer, Mark Ainsley-Thomas.

Mark is now an “A” list celebrity in the UK and his new agent is determined to raise his profile in America. So, he has to take on the new, and very talented, astrologer James Kingman to help him run his web-site.

When Katherine discovers James has been writing the forecasts, rather than Mark, her life explodes in confusion as the three lives become inextricably tangled. Insecurity, self-doubt, guilt, stress, and frustration, coupled with village gossips and merciless reporters wanting eye-catching headlines leave Katherine feeling vulnerable and in need of guidance.

The stars might be telling her that love is going to feature in her life, but when Katherine finds herself implicated in the headlines ‘Mystic Love Triangle’ she’s just as surprised as everyone else! None of the men in her life are love interests – so what exactly does fate have in store?

BUY LINKS

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Under-Stars-Linn-B-Halton-ebook/dp/B00XYS8PDO

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

ABOUT LINN B HALTON

stars

Bristol-born Linn B Halton lives in the small village of Lydbrook, which nestles on the edge of the Forest of Dean, in the UK. She resides there with her husband and feline with ‘catitude’- Mr Tiggs.

Linn began writing in March 2009 and her debut novel was published in February 2011. In a recent interview Linn was asked about genres:

“From a very young age I knew romantic fiction was always going to be my genre. I am, and will always be, madly in love with love! Whether that’s love of life, a partner, or the things I’m passionate about.

My stories are about love, life and real relationships – but romance is always the one thing that holds each story together. Often there’s a light, psychic touch and I never dreamed I would write drawing upon my personal psychic experiences. But as my interest and understanding in the subject has grown, it is now such a part of my life that it finds its way into my fictional tales. However, what is heartening is that most of my experiences have been uplifting and it’s wonderful to know loved ones are around me always. I hope it will make readers stop and wonder ‘What if?’

The result is that I get a lot of mail from readers who have had similar experiences and some are sharing theirs for the first time with me. I always feel that’s something rather special and for which I’m very grateful.”

Love, life and beyond… but it’s ALWAYS about the romance! Linn is published by HarperImpulse, Endeavour Press and Sapphire Star Publishing.

Linn is also the managing editor of Loveahappyending Lifestyle emagazine.

Website: http://linnbhalton.co.uk
Twitter: @LinnBHalton
Facebook: Linn B Halton and Linn B HaltonAuthor

Pinterest
Loveahappyending Lifestyle
Romantic Novelists’ Association page

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

CONTEST!

No Purchase necessary!

1st Prize A surprise goody bag (UK only) Plus ecopy of book

2nd prize ecopy of Under the Stars (International)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Another Rebecca by Tracey Scott-Townsend

rebecca
ANOTHER REBECCA
BY TRACEY SCOTT-TOWNSEND

rebecca

On the cusp of adulthood, Rebecca Grey has no idea where her life is headed. Like many of us, she struggles to build a sustainable identity, a task made even harder by the fact that her mother is engaged in an extended breakdown and her absent father has another family to worry about. Dealing with their problems leaves little time for her own, and pretty soon, something has to give. As she toils under the weight of a tragedy that was never hers to begin with, Rebecca faces the impossible task of carving out a future for herself, all the while shadowed by the mistakes of her parents. Told with an experienced voice through the eyes of three characters.

Another Rebecca tells the story of one family’s moving inability to let go of the past, of love lost and found, and a young woman’s determination to pull herself out of disaster.

BUY LINKS

AMAZON UK

AMAZON.COM

THE LAST TIME WE SAW MARION

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Author bio

rebecca

Tracey spends her writing time in her much-loved shed. It’s a world of her own making, like her stories. She says that stepping inside and closing the door behind her induces a feeling like the one you get in the hushed atmosphere of a church.

She is the mother of four children, three of whom have now left home: one of them particularly far away. Still, she’s sure that Australia will provide as much inspiration for her writing as Iceland has done, (another place she was introduced to by her son). She’s really hoping to witness a full show of the Northern Lights next time she is there.

Closer to home, Tracey enjoys travelling in the bus-with-a-woodstove with her husband and their Labrador, Riley. They are always on the lookout for a scenic lay-by in which to sleep. Last year they spent time all over the British Isles, including the Outer Hebrides, which will be the setting for a future novel. In a few years they plan to set off on the road (by way of the sea) for an extended period of time: after all, writing can be done anywhere.

Find/follow Tracey at these links:

Website http://traceyscotttownsend.com/

Facebook Author page https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTrace

Twitter @authortrace https://twitter.com/authortrace

about.me http://about.me/traceintime

Tumblr https://www.tumblr.com/blog/authortrace

Instagram  https://instagram.com/authortrace/

**********

GIVEAWAY

The prize will be 2 ecopies of Another Rebecca.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**********

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Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day

To all of you out there who are mothers, grandmothers and even great-grandmothers, I wish you all a Happy Mother’s Day.

mother's day
Ruth (Neddo) Robertson May 13, 1930 – September 14, 2010

For me, I’ll be partaking in what has become a tradition since losing my mum in the fall of 2012. Now on Mother’s Day, I visit the cemetery and leave flowers at her grave.

The cemetery celebrations started the day we buried my mum’s ashes. We sent her off with a song by her favourite singer – Vince Gill, and her favourite tipple – champagne. For the last few years of her life, I spent a lot of time out home doing as I called it “mother-sitting”. She introduced me to everyone who came into the house as “This is my daughter, Melanie. She’s writing a book.” So when I was offered my contract, it seemed right that I should celebrate there with her and my dad.

mother's day
Celebrating with my contract, manuscript and champagne

How do you celebrate Mother’s Day?

 

 

Using posters to publicize your book

Fancy seeing the cover of your book on a billboard, bus stop, subway/metro station? Think it’s impossible? Too expensive? What if I told you, you could get two posters for your online advertising for the low price of £15. Here are four posters done by Gary Walker of Look 4 Books.

posters

A Shadow in the Past

Nineteen-year-old Sarah Shand finds herself thrust back into the past. There she struggles to keep her real identity from a society that finds her comments and ideas strange and her speech and actions forward, unlike Victorian women. When Sarah verbally confronts confining social practices, including arranged marriages, powerful enemies commit her to a lunatic asylum. After falling in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill, Robert Robertson, she must decide whether to find her way back to her own time or to remain in the past with him.

posters

The Consequences Collection

The Consequences Collection is an eclectic compilation of twelve stories ranging from non-fiction through creative non-fiction to pure fiction, in prose and poetry.

The story of a Scottish Home Child is based on fact and told from the child’s point of view; The Mystery Woman of Kinettles is a non-fiction article on the appearance and subsequent disappearance of a woman’s body near the Wellington County House of Industry (Poor House) in 1879 Southwestern Ontario.

Some of these stories are lighter than others, and some might even beg you to leave the lights on.

**********

Gary’s posters are unique to each book which makes them even more popular with the authors he supports. The two below are the most recent ones he did for me.

From a touch of medieval…

posters

to a modern setting…

posters

You can see more of Gary’s work on pinterest or on his Books and Life blog.

Which one of these book posters to you like best?

 

Cover Reveal~THE WIND WEEPS by Anneli Purchase

I’ve been shopping, found a designer I like, and bought a new outfit. Now I have a new image. It’s not for me, but for my novel, The Wind Weeps.

The Wind Weeps has so many tangible elements that I could have focused on any number of them for a cover image. The story involves boats, the BC coast, commercial fishing, handsome men, beautiful women, and the isolation of the coast. But my designer, Anita B. Carroll of http://race-point.com , suggested that since the book has so much emotion in it, why not go with a cover that reflects it.

Remember the terror Julia Roberts felt in the movie Sleeping with the Enemy? That’s the kind of terror Andrea feels about her husband, Robert. But in her case it isn’t so easy to escape him. He has taken her to live in a remote cabin on the coast, all communication unavailable to her.

We have love, anticipation, happiness, hope, desperation, indecision, ambivalence, frustration, fear and joy, just to name a few of the emotions found in The Wind Weeps.

Andrea once loved orchids, but Robert has turned them into a symbol of his control over her. The orchid on the cover seems to be weeping. The sky is blood red, the sea is dark and rough. And yet Andrea is determined to survive and get back to the man she wishes she had married, the one who has never stopped loving her.

wind

For more than just a romance, why not click on the link to download The Wind Weeps. You won’t sleep until you finish it.

Amazon.com

Or if you are in the UK:

Amazon.co.uk

For those with e-readers other than Kindle, go to Smashwords.com

AUTHOR BIO

wind
Anneli_Purchase

Anneli Purchase is an author and freelance copy-editor. She writes for the Loveahappyending Lifestyle Magazine, which she also helps to edit. Anneli lives on her little acre of paradise on Vancouver Island with her husband and two spaniels. She has published three novels and is working on her fourth.

 

 

Promo ~ CATCHING CASSIDY by Melissa Foster

cassidy

cassidy

CATCHING CASSIDY

HARBORSIDE NIGHTS, Book One

Release date April 28, 2015

“Catching Cassidy was laugh out loud funny, heartwarming, sexy, and hands down one of my favorite reads so far this year!” — #1 NYT Bestselling Author of The Bet – Rachel Van Dyken

Wyatt Armstrong never imagined that instead of celebrating his college graduation, he and his twin sister would be dealing with the death of their parents.  Then again, Wyatt had never been one to think past tomorrow. He heads to their summer home in Harborside, Massachusetts, with his best friend Cassidy Lowell in tow, to deal with his parents’ death and to try to figure out his next step.

Six foot two, infuriatingly handsome, and flirtatious, Wyatt Armstrong has always been there for Cassidy, helping her pass her classes and fend off unwanted advances, while driving her insane with his one-night stands—but that’s what best friends are for, isn’t it? Having each other’s backs. There was never any doubt that she would accompany him to his family’s summer home—but she never expected to begin seeing Wyatt as more than a friend. Or has she been ignoring her feelings all along?

It’s impossible to ignore the sizzling heat between them as Wyatt and Cassidy get even closer, but Cassidy knows Wyatt’s past, and she has a real job to begin in the fall. Wyatt may be a sure thing for the summer, but Cassidy needs more. For the first time in his life, Wyatt is forced to look toward the future if he doesn’t want to lose the one woman who’s shared his past and owns his heart.

***

HARBORSIDE NIGHTS is a sexy, hot, and evocatively real New Adult Romance series that follows a group of friends who have known one another for years as “summer” friends, and now come together after college to build their lives. They’re tough, edgy, and accepting—most of the time. This series is written in the loving, raw, and emotional voice readers have come to love by New York Times & USA Today bestselling, award-winning author Melissa Foster.

Check out the awesome video trailer for CATCHING CASSIDY (Harborside Nights, Book 1). Releasing April 28!

PRE-ORDER links:
KINDLE: http://amzn.to/1xplPq5
NOOK: http://bit.ly/CatchingCassidy_Nook
KOBO: http://bit.ly/CatchingCassidy_Kobo
GPLAY: http://bit.ly/CatchingCassidy_GooglePlay
iBOOKS: https://itunes.apple.com/…/catching-cassidy-ha…/id907998032…
Paperback: http://amzn.to/1Ew4xv2

ABOUT MELISSA FOSTER

cassidy

Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes contemporary romance, new adult, contemporary women’s fiction, suspense, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Her books have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the  World Literary Café and Fostering Success. When she’s not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on  Fostering Success. Melissa has been published in Calgary’s Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine.

Melissa hosts an annual Aspiring Authors contest for children and has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Melissa lives in Maryland with her family.

Visit Melissa on social media. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups, and welcomes an invitation to your event.

Authors Links:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Pinterest

Goodreads

Sign up for Melissa’s newsletter to stay up to date with releases and giveaways

http://www.melissafoster.com/newsletter/

***

GIVEAWAY

3 ecopies of SLOPE OF LOVE

a Rafflecopter giveaway