March 15, 2017

Guest #Promo Sandra Cox and the Boji Stones



Carmen, thanks so much for letting me visit today and chat about my paranormal romantic suspense Boji Stones.  Most of your viewers may be familiar with Boji Stones but for those who aren’t let me give you a little background.

These stones are some of the most fascinating of our time. Found in Kansas, some people believe they were left by aliens.  They come in male and female stones and look like pieces of gray coal. The female is a smooth stone while the male has a rough texture.  True Boji Stones are difficult to come by. They are compared to jumping beans because their energy is so powerful you can almost feel them jumping in your hands. They are grounding stones and helpful with incarnation. Blue Boji stones have a high spiritual vibration.  But more important to this story they are said to activate regeneration…….


Reader Warning: This story contains myth, magic, ancient amulets and a sexy professor.

Blurb: Marnie Sinclair has a secret that could rock the modern world.  Two men have discovered it.  One is a scholar.  One is a madman.

Legend Has It:

His trembling fingers rested on the keyboard as he leaned toward the monitor. 
An uncontrollable twitch ran through his body as he devoured the article with the greedy need of a child.

Legend has it that out of all the mortals on Earth five women found favor with the gods—Sophia whose face was pitted and ravaged by pox,

Zoe, a young queen, whose village was razed and plundered and she herself taken as slave,

Pelagia who had the body of a woman and the mind of a child,

Olympia a poor widow with children to feed and Helen who lost four of her five children to the plague and begged the gods to spare her remaining child.

Moved,the gods created five special amulets.

To Sophia they gave an amulet forged with beauty and creativity.

To Zoe an amulet forged with power.

To Pelagia an amulet forged with knowledge.

To Olympia an amulet forged with wealth.

And for Helen they forged a copper amulet with a beautiful amethyst at its center.

Two plain stones the size of small coins flanked the amethyst. The female stone smooth, the male stone’s texture rough. Then they fused the amulet with healing.

Orso legend has it…


Available at:Amazon
 
On sale: .99¢ March 14-20
Bio:Sandra writes YA fantasy, romance, and metaphysical nonfiction. She lives in
sunny North Carolina with her husband, a brood of critters and an occasional foster cat. The last animal member of the family, a kitten, came hurtling out of the woods in southern Illinois to land at her feet. He made the trek back to North Carolina, with her and her husband, and wasted no time settling into the household.

Although shopping is high on the list, her greatest pleasure is sitting on her porch, listening to the birds, sipping coffee or a latte and enjoying a good book. She's a vegetarian and a Muay Thai enthusiast.


March 12, 2017

Book Review Dragon Knight's Ring



Crusader, Adam MacFhearguis is on one last quest to the standing stones in Scotland where he seeks to bury the past. However, a silent prayer sends him to an unknown future and to his beloved Meggie. When he uncovers a shocking revelation, Adam questions everything about the woman he thought he knew and loved. He may have traveled the veil of ages, but time is now his enemy.



Margaret MacKay lives a life in the future without the memories of her past—her death. When Adam arrives at her door confessing he knows her, she is confused and wary. With each passing day, she yearns to learn more from this stranger. Yet, when a truth is revealed, can she trust the man to unlock the chains from her mind and heart?



Will love free the bonds to unite the two lovers who were doomed centuries ago? Or will evil finally claim victory over the Dragon Knights?

My review 

"Dragon Kngiht's Ring" is a  beautifully  woven time travel story. A fast read that I would recommend to others.
I enjoyed the characters , Adam MacFhearguis and Maggie ( Margaret MacKay) , their interaction, as well as, the premise of the story. I was so engrossed in the story that I did not even notice its length nor did I feel cheated at the end. "Dragon Kngiht's Ring"  is rich in its overall complexity. Mary Morgan’s  writing was on point and deliciously detailed.  I almost could see in my mind’s eyes the beautiful, unique  landscape of  Scotland. The author takes the reader from past to present and back in a smooth, perfect alternation. I can’t reveal the so many exciting adventures and unexpected twists in the story without  giving away details. I hate spoilers so I will just warn the readers: be aware. If you start reading "Dragon Kngiht's Ring" you won’t be able to put it down until the last line. The eternal war between good and evil spans centuries and true love  wins over all dangers and sorrows. I read the last chapter twice. It left me with a feel good sensation.
This is the first book written by Mary Morgan I read but surely it’s not the last.



March 8, 2017

Cover Reveal Dracula's Mistress



There were moments when I thought I would never be able to do this.
         Well, I’m happy to say I was wrong.
So here, finally, is the cover for my new release
                            Dracula’s Mistress.


Genre - Paranormal historical, with a smidgen of romance.
And I can also let you know the date 16th March 2017 with City Lights Press, an imprint of Wolfpack Publishing, USA.

March 2, 2017

Writing #Tips Mapping out the story



 I don't know how other writers do but I like to have an outline of my story, first.  At least a brief one. In my opinion an outline, a map of the new project should focus on three major parts of the emerging book:
a) The beginning - where I include the exposition, that is:
-the background,
-the settings, and
- the routines of the main character(s).
As I need to hook your reader right away I avoid  starting the book with a  detailed description of the surroundings; that will bore the readers and make them put the book away. I either can do it by  dropping the reader into the page at a point of tension or  start with conflict. Hook them from the first lines with a strong opening action scene.
b) The middle - where  I think I must concentrate on how the character(s)
- overcome obstacles, or
- try to get something, or
- solve a problem.
Here is, in fact, the part of the story where the action is rising and reaches a climax.
c) The end - where I display how the character(s) find new ways or routines in their life and the resolution. It is the moment known as Denouement, the wrapping up of the story, similar to the epilogue in a movie.
The above document, very likely, won’t be more than a  couple of pages. Easy and neat.
If I want more meat on this skeleton frame, I may  try a chapter-by-chapter outline. It will mean visualizing the reader’s way through the novel.
.
What I should also keep in mind is to put the character(s) in threatening  situations. Danger and threat are what keep the readers turning the pages. Life and death are the stakes all the time. My characters must confront a death of some kind, either physical or psychical in the story.

 The goal of story coherence -- everything in the story working together for a profound overall effect-- is served when the plot events  are developed to bring the main character's  internal conflict to the surface.
Talk to me, please. I'd like to find out  how do you, fellow authors, do it?

February 28, 2017

Guest promo My# Bookshelf

I think I told you several times that I suffer of Bibliomania.
Yes, yes the hobby that was considered in the 1800s as an illness in Europe.  I love to read and I also collect books of fiction. You can find books in Romanian, English and German on the shelves.

Here is a photo I took after I received a gift of BOOKS from a former student. She knew my passion and brought them to me from England, where she was a college student at that time. There are some dictionaries on the table and the photo of my older daughter can be seen on the shelf on a small wooden box.



If you are curious to see what is on my other bookshelves, then, please visit here:
What's on your Bookshelf? 
where I am a guest today.
See you there!