Safkhet Publishing ~ Summer Reads

Sunday 28 July 2013

Guest Post: IS THIS ALL THERE IS by Patricia Mann!


I’m thrilled to have with me today, Patricia Mann, author of Is This All There Is? Patricia is sharing her gorgeous new cover (I think you will agree it’s utterly beautiful and perfect for the book), along with a little bit about the story’s inception.
Beth Thomas has the perfect life. At thirty-five, she’s married to her college sweetheart, has two adorable kids, and teaches part time at the local university. But when a friend persuades Beth to go dancing on a rare night out, a chance meeting with twenty one year old Dave, one of her former students, changes the course of her life. Loud music, too much to drink, and the thrill of feeling young again lead to an unforgettable kiss that was never supposed to happen. As she tries to put the memory behind her, Dave’s pursuit leaves Beth torn between what her mind says is right and what her heart and body crave.
 
Patricia has kindly offered to share a little of the inspiration behind the book below. Both Patricia’s story, and that of her heroine, Beth, is one many, many women can identify with. Is This All There Is has had some excellent reviews, please do check them out. Having browsed and learned a little more about the book, it is now firmly on my tbr list.

About Patricia. The story behind the story. Is This All There Is?
I’ve dreamed of being a writer since I was a little girl. Growing up, I kept journals, penned poems, and fantasized about writing the next Wuthering Heights, one of my early favorites. A couple of decades, a husband, two kids, and dual careers as a professor and consultant later, the dream had been all but forgotten. Then I confessed to a friend that I was depleted and in desperate need of a creative outlet. She recommended a novel writing group that she knew of. It became my oxygen. I started writing the story of a woman whose life was much like mine. It was cathartic to twist my real experiences into fiction to reveal the exquisite joys and heartaches of mothering two children while trying to keep a marriage alive and a career afloat. But before long, Beth, my main character, took on a life of her own. She went out dancing with friends one night and ran into some former students. Would you believe that wild woman had too much to drink and kissed one of them? Even worse, she then allowed him into her life, putting everything she held dear at risk. Everything changed and suddenly Beth was forced to come to terms with her past and decide what she wanted for her future. So I let Beth and her story take over. Parts were based on my real life, other parts were based on experiences I’ve seen friends and loved ones go through. But as I was writing, I began to believe the book could actually be helpful to readers, if I could get up the courage to publish it. I did eventually publish it, of course, but chose to use a pen name, because as one reviewer said about Is This All There Is?, “It’s raw, honest, unrelenting.”

Excerpt:
          We ordered more drinks and the six of us engaged in the animated, uninhibited conversation that comes so easily when alcohol is flowing. Shouting over the music and standing way closer to each other than would be acceptable anywhere else, we talked about politics, sex and religion - subjects I avoided in most social settings. The drinks kept coming and I lost track of who was ordering or paying for them. At one point, I remember running my mouth off about how with all the hours I put in at home, I probably made the equivalent of two dollars an hour as a part time professor, while movie stars were making tens of thousands of dollars per minute. Somehow everyone else’s attention seemed to drift but Dave’s eyes stayed fixed on me as he listened intently and nodded with empathy. “It’s just not right. The work you do is so much more important.” That dimple. Those eyes. His undivided attention.
          Later, a spirited debate raged over the validity of the administration’s rationale for the current war, although some of us were too drunk to notice we were all on the same side. But not Dave. He followed each intoxicated train of thought and responded with intelligence and passion, especially when he was talking to me. When he reached past me to grab a pretzel from the bar, I noticed that his hair smelled like apples. Chills ran down the length of my entire body. When there was finally a lull in the conversation, Shelly held up her empty glass and announced that she wanted to dance.
          I glanced at the dance floor. It was jam-packed, the music even louder now. The techno beat of a song I didn’t recognize filled the air. Shelly put the glass down and started gyrating her hips. “I love this song!  Who’s coming with me?” Fahti leapt up and started to pull her away.
            “Come on, Beth,” Shelly said, wiggling her fingers in my direction.
          “No way,” Dave said. “She’s staying right here. It’s not every day you run into your favorite professor.” He turned to me. “Can I buy you another drink, Beth?”
          My heart skipped a beat. Students rarely called me by my first name.

Website/Blog (New posts every Thursday): http://www.patriciamann.me





Thursday 25 July 2013

Pep up your life! JUST ADD SPICE by Carole E Wyer!


Today I have the absolute pleasure of hosting fabulous best-selling Novelist Carol E. Wyer! Carol is bringing us her brand new, hilarious book:


Just Add Spice

Dawn Ellis needs to escape from her painfully dull existence. Her unemployed husband spends all day complaining about life, moping around, or fixing lawnmowers on her kitchen table.

The local writing class proves to be an adequate distraction with its eccentric collection of wannabe authors and, of course, the enigmatic Jason, who soon shows a romantic interest in her.

Dawn pours her inner frustrations into her first novel about the extraordinary exploits of Cinnamon Knight, an avenging angel -- a woman who doesn’t believe in following the rules. Cinnamon is ruthless and wanton, inflicting suffering on any man who warrants it.

Little does Dawn realise that soon the line between reality and fiction will blur. Her own life will be transformed, and those close to her will pay the price.

Extract:

Cinnamon Knight ground the stub of her Benson and Hedges’ cigarette into the pavement with the heel of her Prada leather motorcycle boot, where it now joined a small pile of tab ends. Strategically placed in a shop doorway, she watched the top left window of a block of flats opposite. She had been there almost two hours. Rain beat steadily on the pavement, drumming against the gutter with constant thuds, but this did not deter her. Her patience was rewarded as the light blazing from the window was finally extinguished. She sauntered across the road to the BMW parked in front of the block of flats along the kerbside, sandwiched between a Peugeot 205 and a C Class Mercedes.

Dressed completely in black, face partially obscured by her North Face hooded jacket; she was almost invisible next to the dark car. It took only a minute to fiddle with the lock, open the door, and slide into the car. She lowered herself down in the driver’s seat, casting a cursory glance out of the window. The streets were empty. The weather was on her side and no one was braving the downpour, not even the old man at the end of the road who rarely missed taking his dog out for an evening stroll.

She leant forward and pulled off the cover below the steering wheel with one deft movement. Extracting the screwdriver from a neat case, she stabbed it into the ignition lock. A quick fiddle, one sharp twist, and the car burst into life; the persistent thudding of the rain against the pavement hid the initial coughing of the engine. She pulled away from the kerb swiftly and headed up the road at speed.

Pushing the hood away from her head, she checked her face in the rear-view mirror. That’ll teach him to mess about with women, she thought. No one, but no one, messes about with Cinnamon—the rat!





 

Join in the fun and win one of our spicy prizes by clicking on any of the hosting blogs below and entering the rafflecopter draw.

 

RAFFLECOPTER CODE:

Join the Facebook event for FAB spicy prizes! Click HERE.

 

TOUR HOSTS:














BUY LINKS:




 

CAROL’S LINKS:











Wednesday 24 July 2013

Book Blitz! THE STAR CHILD by Stephanie Keyes!

Star Child 199 Promo
From July 23-25, The Star Child, the YA Paranormal Romance from Stephanie Keyes is on sale for $1.99!
Kindle users can download from Amazon HERE.
Nook user? Download HERE.
The Star Child.final
"Keyes very cleverly ensures the book is unputdownable by reeling in the reader within the first few opening pages."- BestChickLit.com
"This was a wonderfully written Young Adult Paranormal Romance. The world and characters are phenomenally crafted." The BookMaven
"Stephanie Keyes is a wonderful voice for a new generation of YA readers. She has skilfully blended mythology and faerie-tale into an original and enthralling story. Pure magick! I'm looking forward to more. - Helen Hart, author, The Black Banner
 

About the Book

 
The world is about to be cloaked in darkness. Only one can stop the night. Kellen St. James has spent his entire life being overlooked as an unwanted, ordinary, slightly geeky kid. That is until a beautiful girl, one who has haunted his dreams for the past eleven years of his life, shows up spinning tales of a prophecy. Not just any old prophecy either, but one in which Kellen plays a key role. Suddenly, Kellen finds himself on the run through a Celtic underworld of faeries and demons, angels and gods, not to mention a really ticked off pack of hellhounds, all in order to save the world from darkness. But will they make it in time?
Sound good? Well, check it out before the sale ends!
Kindle users can download from Amazon HERE.
Nook user? Download HERE.

Other Books By Stephanie Keyes

Don't miss the other books in The Star Child series!
The Fallen Stars by Stephanie Keyes
After Faerie

Friday 19 July 2013

Emma Calin Launches Love in a Hopeless Place Collection!



Today I have the absolute pleasure of hosting fellow author at Loveahappyending.com and uber-talented, prolific author, Emma Calin, to my blog. Take it away, Emma!
 
Thank you Sheryl for letting me visit your blog to 'Blow my own trombone' for the launch of my new boxed-set the 'Love in a Hopeless Place Collection'.  Here it is... from the heat of a sunny bandstand last Sunday, a performance of Eidelweiss (can you spot me?).
 

(For the second half of the tune... jump forward to the 22nd July with Melanie Robertson-King.)
 
The 'Love in a Hopeless Place Collection' is a set of five of my stand-alone titles amalgamated into one. A bargain way for you to get your hands on my gritty tales-with-a-twist.  Initially available for e-books (Kindle, iPad, Android, iPhone, Mac, PC etc on Amazon), the paperback will follow and an audiobook is in production as we speak (literally – although the recording studio is just too hot and stuffy at the moment!).
 
 
 
The five titles in the collection are all novelettes or short stories.  They stand alone in their own right but are linked by a common theme:  the universal quest for survival, love, passion and respect against the gritty backdrop of working class life. 

 
Sub-Prime  - a gritty short story
The Chosen  - a short story with a twist
Escape To Love – a novelette, a suspense romance with a twist
Angela  - a short story
Love in a Hopeless Place  - a novelette, a romance.
 
During July and August 'ANGELA' the short story from the collection is FREE – so you can even try one before you buy the set!
I would like to thank Sheryl for having me on her blog as part of my 'Blowing My Own Trombone Book Launch Blog Tour'.  If you would like to find out more about the books in my collection, see some excerpts and even hear me play the trombone.... (yes really!) I will be guesting at the following blogs during July:
 
 
17th July Anneli Purchase
20th July Sheryl Browne
21st July Nicky Wells
26th July Patricia Sands
 
About Emma Calin:
Emma Calin was born in London in 1962. She currently lives part of the year in the UK and spends the rest in France.  She has been writing since childhood and has won numerous local, national and international prizes for poetry and short stories.
Emma enjoys writing love stories firmly rooted in social realism.  She blogs about the contrasts in life on both sides of the English Channel, which she likes to explore on her tandem whenever weather and fitness coincide. She is a Lifestyle Contributor on Loveahappyending Lifestyle.
She defines herself as woman eternally pedaling between Peckham and Pigalle, in search of passion and enduring romance.
 
Emma Calin Links:
For more books by Emma:  http://www.viewAuthor.at/EmmaCalin
Emma Calin Website: http://www.emmacalin.com
Twitter:@Emma Calin

 
 
 
 

 

Thursday 18 July 2013

Cover Reveal ~ Just Add Spice by Carol E. Wyer!


Today I have the absolute pleasure of hosting Carol E. Wyer, fabulous humorous Novelist/Blogger and fellow author at Safkhet Publishing! I’m revealing her!! Her cover, that is. Without further ado, I give you:
 
Just Add Spice
Dawn Ellis needs to escape from her painfully dull existence. Her unemployed husband spends all day complaining about life, moping around, or fixing lawnmowers on her kitchen table.
The local writing class proves to be an adequate distraction with its eccentric collection of wannabe authors and, of course, the enigmatic Jason, who soon shows a romantic interest in her.
Dawn pours her inner frustrations into her first novel about the extraordinary exploits of Cinnamon Knight, an avenging angel -- a woman who doesn’t believe in following the rules. Cinnamon is ruthless and wanton, inflicting suffering on any man who warrants it.
Little does Dawn realise that soon the line between reality and fiction will blur. Her own life will be transformed, and those close to her will pay the price.
Extract
Cinnamon Knight ground the stub of her Benson and Hedges’ cigarette into the pavement with the heel of her Prada leather motorcycle boot, where it now joined a small pile of tab ends. Strategically placed in a shop doorway, she watched the top left window of a block of flats opposite. She had been there almost two hours. Rain beat steadily on the pavement, drumming against the gutter with constant thuds, but this did not deter her. Her patience was rewarded as the light blazing from the window was finally extinguished. She sauntered across the road to the BMW parked in front of the block of flats along the kerbside, sandwiched between a Peugeot 205 and a C Class Mercedes.
Dressed completely in black, face partially obscured by her North Face hooded jacket; she was almost invisible next to the dark car. It took only a minute to fiddle with the lock, open the door, and slide into the car. She lowered herself down in the driver’s seat, casting a cursory glance out of the window. The streets were empty. The weather was on her side and no one was braving the downpour, not even the old man at the end of the road who rarely missed taking his dog out for an evening stroll.
She leant forward and pulled off the cover below the steering wheel with one deft movement. Extracting the screwdriver from a neat case, she stabbed it into the ignition lock. A quick fiddle, one sharp twist, and the car burst into life; the persistent thudding of the rain against the pavement hid the initial coughing of the engine. She pulled away from the kerb swiftly and headed up the road at speed.
Pushing the hood away from her head, she checked her face in the rear-view mirror. That’ll teach him to mess about with women, she thought. No one, but no one, messes about with Cinnamon—the rat!
For info, I am reading this book right now (well, not as I type, obviously) and totally LOVING it! Review to follow. 
Publication Date: 25th July 2013.  Follow the Launch Blitz!
 
Carol’s Links:

Learning to Love. Could you?


Learning to Love

The good Dr David Adams had been a bad boy. Could you learn to love him?
Learning to Love
Exploring the Fragility of Love, Life, and Relationships

 
Widower, Dr David Adams, has recently moved to the village – where no one knows him, ergo there’s no fuel for neighbourhood gossip – to start afresh with is ten year old son, if only he can get to a place where his son wants to speak to him. Angry and withdrawn, Jake blames his dad for the death of his mother, and David doesn’t know how to reach him.

Andrea Kelly has too many balls in the air. With three children and a “nuts” mother to care for, her fiancé can’t fathom why she wants to throw something else into the mix and change her career. Surely she already has too much on her plate? Because her plates are skew-whiff and her balls are dropping off all over the place, Andrea points out. She needs to make changes. Still her fiancé, who has a hidden agenda, is dead-set against it.

When Andrea’s house burns mysteriously to the ground and Andrea and her entourage are forced to move in with the enigmatic Dr Adams, however, the village drums soon start beating, fuel aplenty when it turns out someone does know him – the woman carrying his baby.

 

To celebrate the launch of Learning to Love in e-book, we are having a massive Promo Blitz on 21st and 22nd July! It will be a 2 day party with some FAB Giveaways. The theme of the party is: If you had to reinvent yourself what name would you use? Would you change occupations and have a whole new identity? Whose identity would you steal? Where would you relocate to and why? Feel free to post pics! We are looking for the most imaginative ones! So, get your thinking caps on!
FACEBOOK EVENT ~ THE place to be seen!
 
Tour Stops:
21st July 2013
DizzyC’s Little Book Blog - http://dizzycslittlebookblog.blogspot.co.uk/
Brook Cottage Books – www.brookcottagebooks.blogspot.com
Mandy Baggot – www.mandybaggot.com

22nd July 2013
Julia Hughes - http://www.wordspi.com/
Brook Cottage Books – http://brookcottagebooks.blogspot.com