Friday Celebrations & a Freebie

It's Friday and that means it's time to Celebrate the Small Things.

The Celebrate the Small Things hop is hosted by my buddy Lexa Cain and co-hosted by L.G Keltner at Writing Off the Edge and Tonja Drecker at Kidbits. Visit Lexa's blog here to find out how join in the hop yourself and to see the list of participants.

This week I'm celebrating:

1. I've started working with the illustrator who is doing the art for Baby Moo's Great Escape and this week I got to see the first picture for the book. I absolutely LOVE it! I can't tell you what a thrill it was to open this picture and see my cow, dog, and cat so adorably drawn. It gave me such a rush of energy and made me excited about my writing again. I can't wait to be able to share some sneak peeks of the artwork.

2. Unless something totally unexpected happens, the book will be published in September. That means I will have it in my hands in time for a Pumpkin Festival book fest I plan to attend in October.

3. I'm going to Paris in July and it's almost July! I've never been to France before and I'm so excited about this trip. I can't believe it's almost time to go.

Also, my Polar Night prequel The Turnagain Arm is free on Amazon through tomorrow, June 26. If you'd like to check out the series and haven't already, click here to pick up this novella for free.

What are you celebrating this week? I hope everyone has a great weekend ahead. :)

Animal Stories: A Visit to Red Wolf Wildlife Sanctuary, plus a #Free eBook

I'm continuing my series about some of the animal rescues I've come in contact with over the years by sharing my recent visit to the Red Wolf Wildlife Sanctuary and Rehabilitation Center in Rising Sun, Indiana. I visited Red Wolf last week and spent an amazing and fun two+ hours with the center's director Paul Strasser.

The mission of Red Wolf is the preservation of North American wildlife and the conservation of their habitat. Mr. Strasser owns more than 450 acres of land in Rising Sun and has made this land a haven for animals who have been abused, injured, or orphaned. Many of the Red Wolf animals were bought through the exotic pet trade and then abandoned when they were no longer cuddly babies. The sanctuary gives them the opportunity to live their lives in a setting as close to their real habitats as possible.

One such animal is this coyote pup, who was recently left at Red Wolf after his owners belatedly realized that wild animals are not pets.

Photo courtesy of Red Wolf Sanctuary

Some of the first animals I met when I arrived at Red Wolf were these adorable orphaned fawns.

Like many of the animals who come through Red Wolf, the fawns will be released back into the wild as soon as they are able to care for themselves. In their case, the "wild" will likely just be Red Wolf itself, as so many deer choose to make the sanctuary grounds their home.

Other animals who, for various reasons, are unable to be released live out their lives in the peace and tranquility of the sanctuary.

Photo courtesy of Red Wolf Sanctuary

Mr. Strasser provides a home for four bears, three of whom were bought as pets when they were cubs. Of course, bears don't remain cubs and the people involved discovered that it wasn't the best idea to have an adult bear in an apartment.  The fourth bear, a 700 lb guy named Tecumseh, was caged in the parking lot of an apple orchard for years as a marketing gimmick.

It made me happy to see that these bears who got such rough starts in life now have ranges like this to roam around in, along with enclosures to enter as they please when they want to lay down in front of a fan and cool off! When I met Tecumseh, he was happily settled in front of a fan and had no intention of leaving his spot.

 Wolves make up the majority of the sanctuary's residents, and I got to meet this handsome yearling when he came to his fence to smile and say hello.

Not all of the residents of Red Wolf are wild. This is D.D., which stands for dumped dog. D.D. was dumped at Red Wolf with a gun shot wound and signs of other abuse and neglect. As you can see, she is thriving today.

D.D. visited many of the wolves and I loved to see her and the younger wolves running the fences with each other just like domestic dog neighbors do. It was so cute!

D.D. seemed to consider herself my tour guide and you can see her walking quite a bit ahead of our ATV below.

Red Wolf was one of my favorite places that I've visited and I wouldn't hesitate to return. It's a beautiful and peaceful place that made me smile throughout my visit. Mr. Strasser is an excellent host and tour guide, and so knowledgeable about animal behavior that I felt like I learned more from him than I ever did in biology class. He's passionate about his mission and that shows in all he does. I'm thrilled that so many animals have found such a great place to live under his care.

To learn more about Red Wolf, visit their site here.

Also, I was over at Untethered Realms yesterday talking about my book Polar Day and its relation to the summer solstice. To celebrate the solstice I thought I'd give away the Polar Night & Polar Day prequel The Turnagain Arm free on Amazon this week. If you haven't read it and would like to check it out, you can grab it for free here.

Free Books for Trick or Treat Reads!

To celebrate Halloween I'm participating in Trick or Treat Reads, the super fun hop hosted by Patricia Lynne.

This hop is definitely one of the best I've ever seen, as it's all about free books. Who doesn't love free books?

Happy Halloween! 

I'm giving away eBooks of Polar Night or The Ghosts of Aquinnah to anyone who leaves a comment between now and midnight on November 1. Just tell me which one you would like to have and the book will be yours. I will automatically send a Kindle version but if you need the .epub version for Nook instead just say so. Also, if I don't already know how to get in touch with you please leave your email address in the comment as well. I hope to hand out lots of books!

Also, my Polar Night prequel The Turnagain Arm is free on Amazon. So if you'd like that one to add to your trick or treat bag, just click here and pick up your copy. That will be free throughout the weekend.

If you're a fan of vampires, ghosts, or both, there should be something for you in one of these books.

And just a quick reminder that the Untethered Realms anthology Mayhem In The Air is officially released for Halloween! The anthology includes stories from ten Untethered Realms authors, including yours truly. Mayhem isn't free but it is just 99 cents so it's still a treat! To read more about the anthology and the stories included, visit our blog here.

Get My Books for #FREE on Kindle!

Hi, all! I'm on vacation right now but my books are having a party to celebrate my publisher's anniversary. My titles as well as lots of other Ink Smith books are free on Kindle today through Monday, July 27th.

Click here to get to my books plus the other Ink Smith books that are free for the taking, or visit my Amazon page here for links to all of my titles.

Since Polar Night and Polar Day are both free I thought I'd make The Turnagain Arm, their prequel, free as well so people can read the whole series if interested. Click here to pick up The Turnagain Arm.

I'd love to get one or all of my books ranking on the free charts so if anyone is willing to help spread the word about the giveaway on Twitter I would so appreciate it! I am including some ready-to-go tweets below.

Love paranormal? Mysteries & thrillers? Horror? Get all of @JulesFlanders books #FREE on Kindle now through 7/27! http://tinyurl.com/pjc2dpy 

Take a trip back in time to 1880s #MarthasVineyard in The Ghosts of Aquinnah by @JulesFlanders #FREE 7/23 - 7/27 http://tinyurl.com/m6ef8nu 

Crime fiction with a paranormal twist - the Polar Night series by @JulesFlanders #FREE through 7/27 http://tinyurl.com/pjc2dpy #Alaska 

Thanks so much in advance. I hope everyone is having a great week and I will catch up with you all when I get back from vacation. :)

Polar Day tour weekly wrap-up & the last day to get The Turnagain Arm #free

In what has become a broken record for me, I got swamped this week with real world work and fell way behind on my blogging. One of these days I will surely get back on a regular schedule, at least I hope so!

But for now I wanted to share links to all my posts for the first week of my tour with Goddess Fish Promotions. And for the record, I think Goddess Fish is fantastic! I have really enjoyed working with them and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone interested in setting up a blog tour. Their prices are reasonable, they are organized, and they do exactly what they promise.

Here's a wrap-up of my tour stops this week. Thanks to all the hosts who were so generous in opening up their blogs to me!

Monday: Character interview with Polar Day antagonist Jamie Dzubenko at Unadbriged Andra's

Tuesday: Ten Things Most People Don't Know about Me at Long and Short Reviews

Wednesday: Interview with Booklover Sue (Sue asked what kind of book I've always wanted to write and it was a treat to be able to say I actually did what that very thing!)

Thursday: Interview at Yeah Books! Blog where we discuss who I'd love to cast to play Aleksei & the short story I'm working on for the next anthology put out by our Untethered Realms group.

Friday: Another fun interview at Kit 'N Kabookle which has to be one of my favorite blog names ever and a visit to SBM Book Obsession where I talk about the inspiration behind my characters and my long-time love for Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Visit any of these wonderful sites to enter to win a $25 gift card. The giveaway will continue next week during week two of my tour travels!

I also posted at our Untethered Realms blog this week about my discovery of Russian witches and my love of all things history.

And I've offered the Polar Day prequel The Turnagain Arm free all this week on Kindle. Today is the last day to get a free download so if you are interested just click here.

It's been a crazy week and I apologize for once again managing to get behind on my blog reading and commenting. That's something I am determined to catch up on next week. I'm disabling comments as I have not had time to keep up with those but thank you to everyone who stops by here and who has stopped by during the week!

For now, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend ahead and a Happy Valentine's Day!

Ten Things People Don't Know About Me & Witches at Untethered Realms

It's Day Two of my Polar Day blog tour with Goddess Fish Promotions, and today I'm at Long and Short Reviews talking about Ten Things Most People Don't Know About Me. I'm giving away a $25 gift card as part of the tour so come visit me if you'd like to enter.

I'm also at Untethered Realms today talking about witch trials in Russia. I'm a history buff, so this sort of thing is interesting to me. And possibly only me, LOL. But if you want to learn about some real world history that inspired my witches in both Polar Day and The Turnagain Arm, visit me over at the UR blog.

And speaking of The Turnagain Arm, it's still a free download and will be through Friday. If you'd like to download a copy for your Kindle you can find it on Amazon here.

Polar Day Tour, The Turnagain Arm #Free, & New Releases from Cathrina Constantine and Lisa Buie-Collard

I'm on tour with Goddess Fish Promotions for the next few weeks and excited about hanging out at a bunch of great blogs. Today I'm visiting Unabridged Andra's and sharing an interview with Polar Day's antagonist Jamie Dzubenko. Jamie's not a very nice person, so I hope he doesn't give Andra any trouble.

I'm giving away a $25 gift card for Amazon or Barnes & Noble to a randomly drawn winner at the end of the tour. To see all my stops and follow along visit Goddess Fish here.

To help celebrate the release of Polar Day, I'm offering its prequel The Turnagain Arm as a free download from today through Friday, 2/13. Click here to get the story for free and discover the origins of both Polar Night and Polar Day.

Finally, I'm excited to share new releases from two great writers and friends, Cathrina Constantine and Lisa Buie-Collard.

First up, Lisa's The Seventh Man. I am so looking forward to reading this one!

Book description:

When a young writer is kidnapped by a man who can't be seen, her only hope of escape rests on the one London cop who believes in ghosts.

On a cold, white, before-Christmas day, an assassin completes a job only to be pursued by police. Dodging through crowded city streets, the assassin nabs a young woman for cover.

Celia Wight, a reclusive American writer is shopping between engagements during a book tour. When a knife is pressed against her back, she loses her tenuous grasp on her carefully controlled existence.

Assigned to the homicide case, Detective Alban Thain, of the Metropolitan Police, suspects an assassin he calls the Wraith. The problem is, only Thain believes the assassin exists. Disregarding the consequences, Thain, who is the only one who believes there is a connection between the murder and the kidnapping, will do whatever it takes to exploit the Wraith’s first and only mistake: the kidnapping of an innocent bystander—if she is innocent.

Available now in ebook and soft cover on Amazon.com.

About the Author:

Lisa is a mother, wife, sister, and daughter, has waited tables, been a dental assistant, teacher, journalist, gardener and architectural administrative assistant. She's traveled in Europe, New Zealand, and the US. French and English are her languages of preference, with a little Spanish on the side. She grew up in Florida, lived four years in Georgia before moving to Texas for eighteen years. For the moment, she once again lives in Georgia. She writes full time and has completed six novels.

Photo credit: Steven Heddon

Links:

Facebook:  http://tinyurl.com/mo4rs6n

Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/m8paj8a

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/celticadlx

Website: http://www.lisabuiecollard.com

Finally, Don't Forget to Breathe by Cathrina Constantine is now available! I couldn't wait to download this one to my Kindle. Here is the book info and an intriguing excerpt:

Blurb:

Sixteen-year-old Leocadia arrives home from school to find her mom’s bloody body. Unaware that the killer still lingers, she rushes to her mother’s side, only to be grabbed from behind and then everything fades to black.

After a year of retrograde amnesia and battling personal demons, Leo’s dreams are getting worse—she’s starting to remember. More bodies are discovered and they seem to be oddly linked to her mom’s unsolved homicide.

When Leo allows her friend, Henry to drag her into the haunted Lucien Mansion, misty ghosts appear, ghosts that just might lead to her mother’s murderer.

Will Leo let her memories threaten her into a relapse or, will she fight to find her mother’s killer – only to become his next victim?

Excerpt:

Moonlight played tricks with my eyes as we circumvented gravestones like an obstacle course, and pluming fog licked our legs as misty ghosts danced on marbleized stones. My breath shuddered as Henry bypassed me, leading the way. “Hurry—” he whispered and nudged my shoulder.
I picked up the pace and cranked my head to the left. Dark moving shapes appeared in the distance and moaning floated past my ears, probably the wind or just my imagination? Goose flesh pebbled my skin as I stumbled over an urn. Henry lugged me up urging me on.
“What are we running from?” I gasped quietly so not to wake the dead.
“Them—over there.” Henry jerked his chin, the lenses of his glasses captured raining moonbeams. “I think it’s cops.”
His hand reached back, palm up. I latched hold. “Why would police be patrolling the cemetery?”
We whipped around a mammoth tombstone, a squared foundation for a glorious angel. He halted and threw me unceremoniously to solid concrete. My heartbeat migrated up my esophagus. Henry covered my mouth with his hand. “Sh-h...don’t breathe so loud.”

My pumping lungs slowed as I stabilized my swallows of air. Henry squashed his body into mine. A tad too close. His speedy heartbeat harmonizing with my own while cold leached into my back. I cringed at the discomfort of my head pressed between his chest and the stone.

BUY DON’T FORGET TO BREATHE:

Amazon

Congratulations and best of luck to Lisa and Cathrina!!

IWSG and the Excitement/Anxiety of New Ideas

Hello fellow IWSG'ers! Welcome to the first IWSG meeting of 2015. That 5 at the end of that number is hard to believe, isn't it? I feel like the year 2000 and all the hype and hysteria surrounding Y2K was just a few years ago. I know I'm old when time moves that quickly.

Since our group has been around for a while now Alex and the other organizers have asked us to share a brief intro with this month's post. So if you don't know me already, I'm Julie and I am the author of three books - Polar Night, The Ghosts of Aquinnah, and Polar Day, which will be released on February 5, 2015. I also wrote a novella called The Turnagain Arm. I write fiction with more than a hint of the paranormal and I love dark stories of all kinds. I just debuted my new author tagline - "Mysteries Untethered by Time" - this week. I'm an animal lover and if you're around this blog for any length of time you're sure to meet my dog Clancy and my cat Nate. In addition, I'm (slightly) obsessed with Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. And finally, I'm a sports nut and rabid Ohio State Buckeye fan who is over the moon that my Buckeyes are in the National Championship next week. :D

As to my insecurity, I am actually super excited about some ideas I have for new books but also struggling with total anxiety and convinced I will never get the books written. One idea involves my Polar Night and Polar Day detective Danny Fitzpatrick with a new supernatural adversary - an extremely malevolent ghost. The other takes place during World War I here in my hometown of Cincinnati and is a bit like my Ghosts of Aquinnah book in that it is a historical story that also involves a ghost. It's safe to say I really love writing about ghosts!

But in spite of the fact that I have these ideas hopping around in my brain I've only managed to write one measly chapter, the first chapter for the Cincinnati book. I know I need to just sit down and write but I can't seem to focus. Perhaps I need to go back to this muse that has worked for me in the past.

http://www.jimchines.com/2011/04/comic-amusement/

I hope by next month I'll be able to report a little progress so my new muse doesn't shoot me in the back of the head. Wish me luck!

One of my goals for this month is to visit members of the group who are new to me, so I hope to meet lots of new people while also catching up with old friends.

Happy IWSG, all!

Halloween Treat: The Turnagain Arm Free on Kindle

I love vintage postcards! :D

I'm hosting my own little Halloween party and offering The Turnagain Arm for free on Amazon today and tomorrow. Get your free copy here!

If you have time to share about the promotion on Twitter or elsewhere I'd really appreciate it!

Happy Halloween!

Meet The Character Blog Hop

I was tagged in the Meet Your Character Blog Hop by my good friend Cathrina Constantine, who is an absolutely fantastic writer. If you haven't read her books yet I highly recommend checking them out!

Cathrina is the author of Wickedly They Come (and the upcoming sequel Wickedly They Dream) and Tallas. Find Cathrina at her blog, Twitter, and on Amazon.

Thank you for tagging me, Cathy!

What is the name of your character? Is s/he fictional/historical?

My character is Vasyl Dzubenko. He is totally fictional.

When and where is the story set?

The story is set in 1917 in a railroad camp in Alaska. Vasyl and his wife Lara run a saloon called The Turnagain Arm in the camp. The saloon is named for a nearby waterway, which is a real part of Alaska.

What should we know about your character?

Vasyl is a middle-aged man who moved to Alaska after moving across Russia while working on the building of the Trans-Siberian Railway. He is originally from Ukraine which was part of the Russian Empire at that time. Vasyl is devoted to his wife but he has a very big secret that even she doesn’t know. Vasyl is a witch, but he hasn’t practiced his craft since leaving Ukraine. The last time he practiced things went very bad very quickly.

What is your character's goal?

He simply wants to run his saloon in peace with his wife at his side. He is happy in his adopted home of Alaska and is thrilled that Lara is pregnant. He can't wait for his child to be born.

What is screwing up  your character's life (main conflict in writerly speak?)

Unfortunately for Vasyl, a Russian vampire named Aleksei Nechayev turned up at his saloon. The peaceful camp has never been the same since Aleksei arrived.

What is the title?

The book is called The Turnagain Arm and it is available on Amazon Kindle. It is a novella and a prequel to my novel Polar Night.

I am really bad about tagging for a hop because I can never decide who to tag. So anyone reading this who would like to participate, consider yourself tagged!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. :)

Riding the Rails at Untethered Realms & Wickedly They Dream by Cathrina Constantine

I'm posting over at the Untethered Realms blog today about the inspiration for my novella The Turnagain Arm. What was the inspiration? Train whistles!

Visit me over at UnRealms here and check out all the other writers and books in our group if you have the chance while you are there. I'm really lucky to be part of such an awesome group!

And speaking of awesome books and people, Cathrina Constantine has a cover for her upcoming release Wickedly They Dream. Both Cathrina and her cover are all kinds of awesome!

Here is the blurb for the book, which will be released on November 5:


After Seeley is possessed by an evil wraith, Jordan must dig deeper into the Satanic realm. Against Markus’s direct orders, she offers herself, body and soul in a blood covenant to rescue Seeley from the clutches of hell. Jordan assumes her guardian angel will not leave her to fight alone. But there’s trouble in paradise, and Markus has been reassigned. Can Jordan defeat both her internal and external demons to win him back? Or is he gone for good this time?

I read Wickedly They Come last year and it was a fantastic read. I have no doubt this one will be just as good. Jordan is a great character and I am looking forward to catching up with her again. :)

Congratulations, Cathrina!!

The Turnagain Arm Giveaway Winners & Excerpt

The Turnagain Arm on Amazon Kindle

The Turnagain Arm on Goodreads

Hello and Happy Monday to all! I hope everyone had a good weekend. I'm still recovering from the premiere of The Walking Dead last night! So happy the show is back. I needed something fun to watch after the Bengals proved yet again that they are the Bengals by missing what would have been a game winning field goal at the end of overtime. Years go by and players come and go but the one sure thing is that the Bengals will always be the Bungles.

Thanks to everyone who participated in my giveaway last week to celebrate the release of my novella The Turnagain Arm. The two winners are Michael Di Gesu and Annalisa Crawford! Congratulations to Michael and Annalisa and thanks again to everyone who joined in and helped me spread the word.

Gwen Gardner, the author of the fantastic Indigo Eady series, is sharing an excerpt from the novella on her blog today. Visit her here to read it!

Since I sent Gwen an excerpt to post I thought I would share an excerpt here as well. This excerpt features Aleksei Nechayev, who is not only one of the main characters in The Turnagain Arm but also the antagonist in Polar Night. 

Aleksei watched from the trees as the two security guards patrolled the area outside of the Turnagain Arm saloon. He had bid them a friendly goodnight just a few minutes earlier when he’d closed down for the night, but there was nothing friendly about his plans now. Aleksei was hungry and wanted nothing more than to drain both of the guards and satiate his hunger while also letting them know how useless their pretend soldiering was. His eyes nearly rolled back into his head as he watched them strutting about like peacocks. But while that course of action would feed him for the night, it would ultimately be short-sighted. And much less fun than what he had planned.

He had barely kept his composure while listening to Dzubenko blame the recent disappearances on bear attacks. It had been so difficult not to burst out laughing in his employer’s face. But he knew that the grizzly bear explanation had brought some semblance of comfort to the workers. It was much easier for them to come to terms with an angry wild bear than a murderer on the loose.

Imagining how they could come to terms with the murder of their guards by someone who was clearly not a bear made Aleksei smile from ear to ear. As much as he wanted to bite the guards and drain them, bite marks of any kind would spoil his fun. They would also spoil his plans for Vasyl Dzubenko. Aleksei knew he had made a rare mistake when speaking with Dzubenko earlier, and it had not gone unnoticed by his employer. The man was one of the few intelligent people in this camp, he’d give him that much. And he also felt sure that Dzubenko was different in ways beyond just his intellect. Aleksei could sense it. So if he had to deal with Dzubenko, he might as well lay the groundwork for that now. Truth be told, the idea of that merely added to his amusement.

Aleksei fingered the butcher knife he had stolen from the Turnagain Arm kitchen and stepped out of the trees.

One of the guards immediately snapped to attention and pointed his rifle at the sound of footsteps coming towards him.

“Who’s there? State your business.”

Aleksei walked into the light of the lanterns the guards held in front of them with his hands palms out in front of him.

“Don’t shoot,” he said. “It’s just me.”

The guards both relaxed and let their weapons hang loose at their sides.

“Aleksei? What are you doing back? Did you forget something in the saloon?”

“No, no, I just wanted to show you men something. I’m afraid it looks suspicious.” He gestured towards the woods next to the camp. “Over here in the trees.”

The men walked towards him, reminding Aleksei of the livestock that walked calmly to their deaths on his grandparents’ farm back home. 

Lambs to the slaughter…

Want to read more? 

Buy The Turnagain Arm for just 99 cents on Kindle

The Turnagain Arm Launch & Giveaway!

I'm really excited to announce the release of my first self-published work, The Turnagain Arm. It's a novella that is a prequel to Polar Night and to its sequel Polar Day, which will be published by my publisher Ink Smith in January, 2015.

To celebrate the release I'm hosting a giveaway all this week. Two winners will receive a $15 Amazon.com gift card and an ebook copy of The Turnagain Arm. If you'd like to enter just leave a comment on the blog or tweet about the book/giveaway. I wanted to make the Rafflecopter very simple! :)

I didn't set up a blog tour or launch party for this release but I want to say a huge thank you to a few friends who are helping me spread the word this week and next. And also to the wonderful Michael Di Gesu who designed the cover for me and is posting about the book today as well.

Now on to the book! :)

Polar Night's Aleksei Nechayev leaves war-torn Russia in 1917 and makes his way to Alaska. Settling in at a railroad camp, Aleksei comes up against an adversary who seems to know the truth about the newly-turned vampire's identity. An adversary who soon gives Aleksei much more than he bargained for at The Turnagain Arm.

Cover design by Michael Di Gesu

Only 99 cents on Amazon Kindle

Book Blurb: 

Locomotive wheels screech to a halt. Potters Creek, Alaska is nothing more than a small camp set up alongside the tracks. A weathered sign dominates the scene.

The Turnagain Arm Saloon 

Est.1917

Only one passenger remains and exits.

The early afternoon full moon peaks through a shimmering snow fall as a shadow casts over each split rail. The wind howls, sweeping the cloak of a hooded figure. He follows   the tracks toward the distant saloon. A hulking man crunches through the snow, attracting his attention.

Calling out to him in a foreign accent, the townsman stops in mid step. The stranger catches up and engages him.

Until…

The man disappears under the stranger’s cloak.

Blood drips from his lips, and he wipes the remaining trickles from his mouth. After disposing of the body, the mysterious figure continues on his journey. He glides through the snow as if on a sleigh, leaving no footprints behind.

*          *          *          *          *

Within a short period, he convinces Vasyl, the owner of the saloon, to hire him. Aleksei charms everyone he meets. But soon mistrust enters every tense line on Vasyl’s face as others disappear, and his wife falls under Aleksei’s spell.

The classic game of cat and mouse continues, but who will win?

Is a mere mortal any match for Aleksei?

A spark ignites within Alexei after yet another of Vasyl’s attempts to disgrace him.

This man knows of me. He must be a witch. Aleksei laughs. You are no match for me or my plan.


Buy The Turnagain Arm for 99 cents on Amazon Kindle

Enter to win one of two prize bundles featuring a $15 Amazon.com gift card and an ebook copy of The Turnagain Arm. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Rifters & The Turnagain Arm

I'm excited to be helping to spread the word today about the launch of The Rifters, the start of the new series by the super talented M. Pax. But first I wanted to share a bit of news of my own. I decided on a publication date for my Polar Night prequel The Turnagain Arm and will be releasing the novella on Kindle on October 6. My first foray into self-publishing!

Like Polar Night, the prequel takes place in Alaska and the title refers to a waterway near Anchorage called, appropriately enough, the Turnagain Arm. The story takes place in 1917 during the building of the Alaskan railroad.

The Turnagain Arm (source: Wikimedia Commons)

I am anxious to share more about the story as I get closer to the release and particularly excited to show off another amazing cover by the wonderful Michael Di Gesu. But for now I'm shining the spotlight on The Rifters!

Blurb:

The Gold Rush trickles to a fool’s quest and a string of stagecoach heists. In 1888, Earl Blacke decides to make a new start and become a better man. He escapes into the mountains, heading north. In the wilds of Oregon, a rift inside an ancient volcano opens and sends him into the future, into the present day. It also shaves forty years off his age, forty years to live over again and atone for what he’s done.

Starting over is hard to do. In current day New York, Daelin Long’s dream job at a publishing house goes the way of the dinosaurs her sister chases. With no money and nowhere else to go, Daelin accepts the librarian position in her sister’s dinky town in the middle of Oregon. Nestled inside ancient volcanic peaks, the town of Settler holds onto many secrets. Residents roam the streets with weirdly fashioned devices, and odd lights pulse in the night skies. People whisper of a phantom outlaw and start dying, murdered and missing their heads. On top of it all, Daelin’s sister is missing, and Daelin doesn’t know who to trust.

Earl knows more than he’s saying. He shares a notorious history with the phantom, one he’ll see remains buried. Keeping Daelin’s sister’s secrets is his only chance at redemption, and the only way to keep this world safe.

The Rifters is available at an introductory price. The second book in the series, The Initiate, will be available October 20, 2014. It’s up for preorder for a special price at iTunes, Amazon, and B&N. Check HERE for links. Giveaways and events are ongoing through October 31, 2014. Check HERE for details.

Links: Amazon / AmazonUK / B&N / Smashwords /Googleplay / iTunes / Other Outlets

Excerpt:

A woman in a long flowered dress hurried forward carrying a paintbrush. “Hello, hello.” She waved. “Excuse the mess. I’m renovating… again.” She laughed with little snorts, stumbling in a little circle, defying her years. She couldn’t be younger than forty. “Inside joke, man, sorry. What groovieness can I help you find? I know where everything is.” She gestured at the piles of castoff merchandise strewn about.
If not for the goose bumps on her goose bumps, Daelin would have left. “A winter coat? Earl Blacke mentioned you might have some.”
“Oh man! What a tragedy about him, huh?” She wore her amber hair in two braids, tied with twine and decorated with plastic flowers.
Tragedy? What had happened to Earl? Daelin clutched at her knotting stomach. “What do you mean?”
“There was a murder last night. Umm, wow. Didn’t you hear?” She set the paintbrush down on a plate that had been used for the purpose before. Bracelets covered her arms, clinking with her simple movements.
“In Settler?” Violent crime wasn’t what Daelin expected to hear. She didn’t know what she had expected, but not murder.
The thrift store woman leaned in closer, whispering in a conspiratorial tone. “Yeah, they’re saying Earl Blacke killed Susan Leeds. Took her head plum off, man. Only thing is…,” she glanced at the shadows then wet her lips, “her head is missing.” The soft scent of melon accompanied her words.
Earl had murdered somebody? Daelin gulped, getting a lungful of paint fumes. Right, the paint. The fumes had to be messing with her mind. “Are you serious?”

BIO:

M. Pax is author of the space adventure series The Backworlds, plus other novels and short stories. Fantasy, science fiction, and the weird beckons  to her, and she blames Oregon, a source of endless inspiration. She docents at Pine Mountain Observatory in the summers as a star guide, has a cat with a crush on Mr. Spock, and is slightly obsessed with Jane Austen. Learn more at mpaxauthor.com.

IWSG & A Personal Note

It's the August meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and as usual I have plenty that I'm feeling insecure about.

I finished my novella that is a prequel to Polar Night and I plan to release it myself on Kindle in September or October. The novella is called The Turnagain Arm and it takes place in 1917 during the building of the Alaskan railroad. If you read Polar Night you can guess which character is around and making trouble in this story. I already have a cover from the wonderful Michael Di Gesu and can't wait to share it.

So what am I insecure about? I've never formatted a book myself before and really have no clue how to do it. I also don't know anything about self-publishing on Kindle and I worry that I will make a total mess of it. But I am just hoping that since so many of the great writers I am fortunate to know here in the blogosphere have been able to master self-publishing that I will be able to do the same. Or that at least I will be able to do it without making a fool of myself.

While I always enjoy being part of the IWSG, the main purpose for this post is to share a personal matter that has been the focus of my life for the past month or so. My mom has been diagnosed with lymphoma and it's safe to say I haven't been able to focus on writing or blogging or much of anything at all since receiving that news.

I'm going to be taking a leave of absence from work in order to help with her care and will probably be taking a leave from the blogging world as well. I haven't been posting much this summer anyway but I have tried to keep up with my blog reading as I enjoy touching base with everyone. I doubt I'll be able to do much of that either now so I'll most likely just be on hiatus from the blogosphere.

I hope August is a good month for all of you and, for those in the northern hemisphere, I hope you enjoy the last month of summer. :)