Books and Banter: August 2017

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Evadeen Brickwood ~ presents ~ The Rhino Whisperer

Title: The Rhino Whisperer
Author: Evadeen Brickwood
Genre: Crime Mystery

BLURB:
Another mystery novel set in modern South Africa. This time, the murders of a ranger and a rare black rhino in the idyllic Shangari Safari Park rattle the local community of Rutgersdrift. Sofia Helenius from Finland lives at the lodge with her boyfriend Tom Rutgers, the owner of Shangari. Sofia is tormented by a secret she yearns to share with Tom, but the cruel events grab the limelight and put everything else in the shade. One of the native Khoi-San families is known to communicate with wild animals, but what if the criminals get wind of this gift?
When another murder happens in the city of Johannesburg, smouldering secrets begin to unravel. How are the murders connected and will it be possible to halt a relentless crime-syndicate in order to save an African paradise?

BUY LINKS
Amazon
IBooks
Kobo
Barnes & Noble

“There is a beautiful place in South Africa between the Kalahari Desert and the Magaliesberg, where rocks and water and all living things pulse to the rhythm of nature. A place, where harmony reigns and the possession of money is not considered all-important.

It is here that you can find the Shangari Safari Lodge; a piece of paradise to many. The area hovers on the sandy edge of the mighty Kalahari Desert and a white-water stream churns past sandy beaches, hemming in woodland and bushveld and agave-covered hills.

If one follows directions, it is easy enough to find Shangari, as there is no need for street names in the countryside. All you have to do is take the new tar road north of Rutgersdrift and turn right by the great baobab tree. Two business-savvy women in traditional garb tend to their stall in the shade of the tree, selling avocados, macadamia nuts and delicious baobab jam. If you are lucky, you’ll catch a glimpse of baboons in the expansive branches or of a few inquisitive meerkats, scanning the road from the top of their burrow.

The tar road carries on north, past avocado and citrus farms, over a bridge and through the village of Renosterspruit, until a dirt road takes over all the way to the border with Botswana. Not much has changed here in many years and not much ever happens.

Rutgersdrift is the largest town in the district. It boasts shady streets, a small hospital and a sleepy police station next to the church steeple. Just five minutes outside of town lies an airstrip; the frequent destination for small single-engine planes coming in from Johannesburg and Pretoria with their bellies full of tourists, hungry for the spectacle of nature...”

***

Obakeng, the grey-haired sangoma walked down the stairs. Despite his grey hair, his face looked remarkably young. Even his eyes were unlined and his gaze alert. Nobody seemed to know his exact age, which was not unusual around here. In the absence of a tribal chief, Obakeng was the most important man in the compound. For more reasons than one.

His skill with the divining rod was legendary. Farmers sought him out, if they were in need of finding new water veins. Obakeng’s method was always the same: he placed a tiny bottle with water on his head, covered it with a hat, held another water bottle in his right hand and the forked divining rod in the other.

AUTHOR BIO:
Evadeen Brickwood grew up with two sisters in Germany and studied cultural sciences and languages. As a young woman, she travelled extensively and many of her books are inspired by her experiences abroad. Feeling adventurous, the newly qualified translator moved to Africa in 1988 and worked for two years as a secretary and language teacher in Botswana. The author eventually settled in South Africa, where she got married and raised two daughters. In Johannesburg, Evadeen Brickwood studied computers and management of training and worked as a corporate software trainer, professional translator and lecturer at WITS University.

In 2003, she began her writing career with youth novels in the ‘Remember the Future’ series, about adventures in prehistory. Book 1, ‘Children of the Moon’, has been published twice in South Africa and translated into German. The author now self-publishes and other books in the series are now released on a regular basis. Her works include the novels ‘The Rhino Whisperer’, ‘Singende Eidechsen’ (in the German edition) and ‘Abenteuer Halbmond”, which will be published in English with the title “A Half Moon Adventure” soon.

AUTHOR LINKS:
Facebook Author Page
Facebook Profile
Instagram: @evadeenauthor
Twitter:
Author website
Author website (youth fantasy):
Google+:
Smashwords
LinkedIn
Youtube: Evdeen Brickwood Channel:

Booktrailers & Interviews:
Singing Lizards
Singende Eidechsen
Abenteuer Halbmond
Kinder des Mondes
Children of the Moon
The Speaking Stone of Caradoc
Interview “Singing Lizards”
Interview “Children of the Moon

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Wednesday, August 30, 2017

RD Peterson ~ 2nd interview and his novel The House of Scarlet

I AM PLEASED TO WELCOME AUTHOR

RD Peterson

TITLE: The House of Scarlet

RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2017

AUTHOR: RD Peterson

CATEGORIES: LGBT/Erotica

PAGE COUNT: 386

ISBN: 978-1542823494

IMPRINT: Blue Feather

BOOK PAGE: http://ravenswoodpublishing.com/bookpages/thehouseofscarlet.html

AUTHOR BIO:

RD Peterson is a semi-retired attorney. Along with caring for assorted cats, dogs and horses, he also collects antique clocks and pocket watches. He and his wife live in California.

BANTER – STUFF ABOUT YOU

Q: Have you ever been too embarrassed to promote any certain titles to friends or family?
A: Sometimes. My reading (and writing) choices could be called somewhat odd. Some of my friends/family do not understand why I choose to read or write about some alternative lifestyle choices. It's like they transpose what I read or write as something I secretly desire to do. Which is silly when you think about it; reading a murder mystery doesn't mean anyone wants to be a murderer. Or that reading a spy novel makes someone a spy.

Q: Favorite color?

A: Scarlet. :D Ok, ok. Either red, tan, or black. Not white. White is my least favorite color.

Q: Dress up or dress down?

A: Both. I wear a suit for work but at home I'm totally casual. Jeans and boots.

Q: Dine in or dine out?

A: Out if possible. I like watching other people interact. Some of the things I've seen have made their way into my stories over the years.

Q: Coffee or Tea?

A: Tea. It's the civilized drink all over the world. Coffee is nice but tea is where it's at.

BOOKS – ABOUT THE CRAFT

Q: Do you write long hand first, or does it go straight into the computer?

A: Straight into the PC. That way I can delete it before anyone sees how awful it is. No evidence left behind that way.

Q: Are you a sit down and play it by ear kind of writer, or do you need a structured guideline, or maybe a little of both?

A: I've done it both ways. Longer works need something, even if it's just a bare outline of each chapter, to keep me on track. Of course I'm not saying I stick to the outline. Sometimes where I think a story is going has nothing to do with where it ends up. Which is usually a big surprise to everyone, including me.

Q: When crafting the story do you go from beginning to end, or do you jump around writing the scenes that are pushing themselves forward in your brain?

A: A little bit of both. I think staying on track keeps things organized. But, if something is really itching to get written, I'll open another window and start jotting things down. I cut & paste that into the story where appropriate when I get there.

Q: Do you always know how a story will end when you begin writing it?

A: Not really. I have an idea, but some of the things in the plot will circle back onto themselves. At that point I have to change the direction of the characters and/or plot. Since it's uncharted territory, I have no idea where I'm going except that I'm headed cross-country trying to find my way back to the marked trail on the map. Sometimes I fall into abandoned mine shafts or discover El Dorado and the lost treasure of the Inca's along the way.

Q: Have your characters ever taken the story in a different direction than you had originally planned? Do you have a for instance, for us?

A: Very often the characters develop personality traits that differ from what I intended. Take this book for instance. Violet was the first character I created. I had originally intended her to be much more dominant than she wound up being. Her character was also supposed to play a much larger role in the overall plot. Unfortunately, she couldn't be who she is and still be that larger character. So I had to create Karen to take over for her. Karen is much more complex than Violet. Because of that complexity the story ended up in a completely different plot alignment than I had first intended. Karen's relationship with Wolfe was not planned at all. Nor was Callie's personal honor code intended to be so inflexible and rigid. Chasandra was totally unexpected and I really have no idea where her character came from.

Q: How long does it take you to create a novel?

A: This is different for everything I've ever written. Some stories I have to push to get finished. Others use me as the tool to write themselves. The House of Scarlet took 60 days. Book #2 in the series took twice that long.

Q: Do you like to read the genre that you write?

A: I read everything. Westerns, romance, sci-fi, mystery, you name it, I read it. Well, except for biographies and true crime. Those aren't my thing at all.

Q: How does the man/woman in your life feel about the genre you write? Has he read any of your work?

A: All my friends and family read my stuff. Well I try to get them to read it. It's like showing home movies to friends, they don't really seem interested. The eye rolls and virtual running away when I show up with a new manuscript only reinforces that aspect. The thing is, when I do get it right, they can't put it down. And then they tell me they hate me because I killed off their favorite characters, or made them cry, or haven't written the next bit, or whatever. Being a writer is emotionally brutal.

BOOKS - NOW LETS PROMOTE – STRUT YOUR STUFF

Q: What are you working on now? Would you like to share anything about it?

A: Book #2 (A Shadow of Scarlet) is written and we're waiting to see if the public likes this series before going ahead. I've mostly got book #3 in this series written as well. Depending on readership there “might be” a book #4 but if so, that's a couple of years away. Really it comes down to fans and sales.

Q: How can we find you? Do you have a web page, FaceBook page or any buy links?

A: Yes, I do. Here are the links.

BUY LINKS:

AMAZON US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MUV9SG8
AMAZON UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MUV9SG8
AMAZON CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01MUV9SG8
BARNES & NOBLE: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-house-of-scarlet-rd-peterson/1125686449;jsessionid=0414AC70BEF9054213B41F8555E4271F.prodny_store01-atgap02?ean=2940154235690

KEYWORDS: BDSM, LGBT, Erotica, Bondage, Lesbian, Kink, Dominatrix

ONE LINER:

BDSM and kink. A world Karen never knew existed. That is, until she becomes the ultimate Mistress of The House of Scarlet.

SYNOPSIS:

Violet is a submissive member of a secret BDSM club. The trouble begins when she petitions her Mistress for permission to become pregnant and her wish is granted. Overjoyed and day-dreaming about having a baby, she unintentionally reveals the existence of the club to her best friend Karen.

Surprised by what she learns, Karen struggles to deal with this new revelation about Violet. After being attacked by a rogue member of the club, Karen empowers herself to overcome her own internal conflicts and seize the reins of her destiny.

Along the way she meets Callie who, as her sister says, is perfect. Except for her Lesbian side, which she hides from everyone. Approached by the police to try to help identify a murder victim, Callie’s tattoo parlor is burned to the ground. With her dreams reduced to ash and nowhere left to turn, Callie fits her hand into Karen’s.

Brought to you by:

Ravenswood Publishing

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Funny/Stupid and Interesting Tabs

Come back and visit again.

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Warren Chazan ~ presents ~ The Waterhole

TITLE: The Waterhole

RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2017

AUTHOR: Warren Chazan

CATEGORIES: Science Fiction/Fantasy

PAGE COUNT: 452

ISBN: 978-1543044768

IMPRINT: Devil’s Tower

BOOK PAGE: http://ravenswoodpublishing.com/bookpages/thewaterhole.html

KEYWORDS: Alien, Physics, Parallel universe, Cataclysmic, Apocalyptic, frequency, decryption, thriller

ONE LINER:

Will our technology and quest for knowledge ultimately result in our destruction?

SYNOPSIS:

The year is 2051 and NASA, the US military and Australia have launched EMB, an incredible machine that can compress the fabric of space-time, providing us with previously unimaginable detail of the Big Bang and Janine Fuller, a pushy, headstrong anchor for CNNA has just been given the momentous story to break.

Following the launch, an alien internet signal is located coming through the wormhole in an electromagnetic region known as the “Waterhole”. Baffling NASA scientists, the source of the signal does not even appear to emanate from within the known boundaries of our universe.

Concurrent to this, animal migration patterns change, satellites malfunction and a reversal of the magnetic poles takes place. EMB is blamed, but despite official denial from General Smith, a brutal psychopath, with a frightening agenda of his own, Janine is unconvinced. In a world, where escalating mechanical failures, huge tidal surges and mass extinctions are becoming commonplace, Janine, using all resources known to her, goes into espionage mode in search of the truth.

What she discovers is a new reality more terrifying than she could possibly ever have imagined.

AUTHOR BIO:

My name is Warren Chazan. I was born and raised in South Africa, emigrating to Sydney, Australia in 2005, where I obtained my qualification as an anesthetist. I am very fortunate to live in a beautiful beachside town called Terrigal. I took to writing late in life, when I decided about eight years ago that although medicine was a good career choice, it was not where my ultimate passion lay. It was then that I began to write, submerging myself in creative writing courses, workshops, seminars and fairs. The “Waterhole” is my debut novel that blends together three of my pet interests; astronomy, the possibility that we are not alone in the universe, and humanity’s quest for knowledge (which could ultimately be used for both good and evil).

I hope that with this novel, readers will enjoy what I’ve written, just as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Being an amateur astronomer myself, and the proud owner of a 9.25 inch Cassegrain telescope, I have tried as much as possible to remain true to real Science, while still trying to capture the attention of the average reader, who is simply seeking a fast paced story that they can immerse themselves in and escape the reality of life for a while.

I am now working on my second novel, "Lucifer's Pill,"(a medical thriller) which is in the final stages of editing. I hope to publish this in the near future.