Guest

Head over to J. Scott Coatsworth for an #AuthorSpotlight #Together

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I had an interview with my friend J. Scott Coatsworth. You have until January 5th to enter my giveaway for two ebooks of Together.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: Eloreen Moon

Eloreen

Author takeover… what?! #MMM #BeautifulSkin #Charity #Romance #LGBTQ #Multiauthor #Prizes #musings

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Join me for an author take over on FB on 9/22/18 8 pm EDT. You’ll have to be a member of the group to participate. Event starts at 4 PM EDT if you would like to meet other authors. There might be prizes… 😉

https://www.facebook.com/groups/rainbowgoldreviews/

Takeover will be devoted to Beautiful Skin, of which, Together is within. You might even see the cover reveal of my individual story…

It’s been a long several months. Work, teeth issues, family drama, traveling… it’s all taken a toll. I hope to be able to finish my paranormal romance of color that’s due end of this month. I can do it. It’s only 15k words. I did start it. Just need to finish. We’ll see.

I’ll try to get a better update here soon. I have a few reviews I owe as well.

Until then… come join me next Saturday for an hour of fun!

Eloreen

5 Star #Review of “Pib’s Dragon” (Twisted Fairy Tales 1) by Beany Sparks #LGBT #Romance #Fantasy #ReleaseDay

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Moonbeams over Atlanta welcomes guest Beany Sparks for insight on and review of her book Pib’s Dragon published by Rainbow Ninja Press with general release today.

Hi Eloreen *waves*

Thanks for having me 🙂

Okay so I’m here for a quick chat about Pib’s Dragon!

The book is the first in a multi-author series called Twisted Fairy Tales. Authors will be taking some well-known (and some not so well-known) fairy tales and twisting them together.

Pib’s Dragon was supposed to be my only contribution to the series but as I was writing it, a couple of other characters started jumping up and down wanting their story. So there will be a sequel, tentatively titled Del’s Wolf, which I’m hoping to get started on this weekend. I have an idea of what I’m going to do with it so now all I need to do is sit down and write (not always easy to do though).  But I’m looking forward to spending some more time with my cheeky serval and his dragon mate because they will definitely be around in the sequel.

After Del’s Wolf is done, I’ll be going back to Arcane Magic. Book 2 was started before Pib pushed his way to the front so I need to finish that one. I might go straight on to Book 3 but we’ll see. PITA (my muse) has a way of helping other characters push their way to the front and demand attention *glares at muse*

Eloreen: How did the idea of the Twisted Fairy Tales get started?

Um, it was a while ago that the series came to mind. It’s been so long that the idea came to me that I can’t even remember what sparked the idea. I do remember talking to Ellen (Cross) at the time and whatever we were talking about had my mind spinning with ideas.

Eloreen: Who inspired you to write?

I always let my mind wander and came up with stories to amuse myself when I was driving or at work but it wasn’t until a couple of friends encouraged me to try that I decided to give it a go. Once PITA was let out, I had no way of getting him back in his box.

Eloreen: Who designed the cover for Pib’s Dragon? 

Um, I did. I got to a point in the story where Arty (my artistic muse) demanded a cover for the story so I had to stop writing and get a cover done before I could continue. Once I had the background for the cover, I had to come up with a title. Pib’s Dragon was initially just a temporary title, but then it fit the story so I kept it. It also made it easier to pick the title for the sequel.

Eloreen: Do you write to an outline or off the cuff (a pantster)?

I’m a total pantser! I’ve tried to plot out the stories but every time I did, PITA would take the story in a completely different direction so I gave up. I might have a basic idea or plan, but nothing else. I also find that sometime as the story progresses, my initial idea doesn’t fit the story. The initial idea I had for Pib’s Dragon was a bit different to how it actually ended up but I’m happy with the end result. Del’s Wolf has a number of things that I need to make sure get resolved, and I’ve got an idea of how the story will go, but there are a lot of unplanned sections. I can’t wait to see what happens!

Eloreen: Thank you Beany. 🙂 I love the cover, btw. Continue on for the review of this great story. I can’t wait for Del’s Wolf. 😉

The Blurb:

A dragon is about to find out what happens when a cat discovers his cave of shiny treasures.

After nine years, Pib is finally free from his contract with the newly wed prince. Slipping out in the middle of the night to avoid getting stuck in another contract, Pib shifts into his cat and makes his way home to the little village he foolishly left, hoping his best friend Wil still lives there.

Dray is bored. His services as a princess-guarding dragon are no longer needed and even his gold and jewels are unable to cheer him up. His mood changes quickly when he catches someone in his treasure cave, and it starts a series of events that change his life forever.

When the two finally meet, sparks fly, but Dray will have to move quickly if he’s to save his cat after Pib gets kidnapped.

Pib's Dragon - 600x900

 

Excerpt:

Prologue

Pib snuck into the darkened room, tiptoeing quietly so as not to wake the newly crowned prince Geraint and his princess. Looking around, he both thanked and cursed his shifter senses. While he was grateful he could see inside the room, the smell of sex throughout the air was something he could have done without.

Reaching the desk on the far side of the room, he paused and glanced at the couple. Once he was satisfied they were still asleep, he eased open the cover and found what he was after—his freedom. After nine long years as the bastard’s slave, the letter freeing him from servitude almost brought tears to his eyes. Carefully folding it and placing it in his inside pocket, Pib gently shut the desk and tiptoed back toward the bedroom door, leaving the room as silently as he’d entered.

He knew there was only a limited window of opportunity for him to make his escape. Even though the pompous bastard had made a production of signing the form and granting him his freedom, Pib knew it was all for show. If he didn’t escape now, Geraint would get him alone and force him to sign another contract and then make some sort of bogus announcement about how Pib wanted to stay.

Pib snorted, unable to help himself. Luckily there was no one else around the castle at this time of the night, though even if there was, Pib didn’t care. He was leaving, and no one was going to stop him. Anyone who tried would have a close encounter with his knife, or his claws, he wasn’t picky.

“Hey, Pib, where are you off to in the middle of the night?” asked the guard at the front door of the castle. Pib never bothered learning their names or getting friendly with them, especially since Geraint could force him to kill any of them at a moment’s notice. He’d learned that it didn’t pay for him to form any attachments with those surrounding Geraint.

“Getting an early start on my retirement,” Pib replied, smirking at the man while he continued to stroll toward the exit.

“Sorry, Pib, but I have to check. Do you have a signed letter from Prince Geraint?” The guard shifted from foot to foot, showing his unease.

Pib stopped in front of him and forced a smile. “Of course,” he said, carefully extracting the letter and handing it over to the guard.

He waited, watching the guard closely as he read the letter. One wrong move and Pib was going to gut him. Nothing could happen to that letter.

“Looks good,” the guard said, handing the letter back to Pib. “It’ll sure be different without you around, but all the best. And, uh, don’t take this the wrong way, but I hope I don’t see you again.”

Returning the letter to his pocket, Pib looked up and smiled a real smile at the man. He wanted to laugh when the guard’s face paled as he caught sight of Pib’s canines, but restrained himself. “Don’t worry, I hope never to see you again either.”

With that, Pib walked out of the castle and made his way through the sleeping village. Pulling his hood up, he used the dark material to blend into the surroundings. He wasn’t taking any chances that Geraint wouldn’t wake up any moment and send guards running after him. After all, Pib was practically friends with all of the skeletons in Geraint’s closet.

Pib reached the edge of the village and paused. After nine long years, he was finally free of Geraint, his orders, and most importantly, his shackle. The magical cuff that had decorated his right ankle for nine years had been removed after Geraint had signed his release. The cuff was the only thing ensuring Pib’s obedience, and finally, it was gone.

Taking a deep breath, Pib stepped over the invisible boundary line and felt the remaining enchantments shatter and disappear, leaving him standing as his true self for the first time in years. Reaching inside, he called out his inner cat to come out and play, and in seconds, his clothes disappeared and he was standing on all fours in his serval form. Stretching, he threw one last glance back at the castle and the village before slinking away into the trees, using the natural camouflage to shield him as he made his way toward the start of his new life.

The Review:

Rainbow Nina Press provided the story to me for an honest review.  I read the blurb above and was intrigued by a story about a dragon and a cat meeting and getting to know each other.

5 Stars

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While this is the start of a new series, this title can be read as a standalone. This is a fun story full of action, humor, a little mystery, and fun interactions between Pib, the serval, and Dray, the dragon. There are plot abound, twists and turn, that made it interesting and fun to read. The secondary characters are fleshed out and stand on their own. I’m glad that Del will get his own story. 😉 While there is not a lot of sex scenes, the story line more than makes up for it and you just want to go “Awwww” several times. I had to finish it once I started. Luckily, I read fast. 🙂 I definitely will like to see what the other authors will do with this series.

With this, I give Pib’s Dragon 5 stars.

Eloreen Moon

Book Links:

Rainbow Ninja Press | Rainbow Ninja Press – EU Customers | All Romance Ebooks | Smashwords | Amazon | Goodreads

Author Bio:

Beany lives in Western Australia. She first started reading romance novels in 2008, but it wasn’t until January 2010 when her Kindle got delivered that the world of erotic romance opened its doors to her, and she hasn’t looked back. With suggestions and support from friends, her muse—”affectionately” known as PITA—was finally able to break free, and in January 2014 her first story was written. Since she can’t put PITA back in his box, Beany has decided to give in and team up with him.

Social Media Links:

Facebook | Twitter | Website | Blog | Email

.@bookpubservices #Guest: Dark Sun, Bright Moon by Oliver Sparrow

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Please welcome new guest post from Oliver Sparrow to Moonbeams over Atlanta!

Dark Sun, Bright Moon.

How do you place a reader in a completely new world? Historical fiction tends to work out from a familiar situation – a love story, a war – and bring in the oddities a step at a time. Science fiction generally talks to an audience which is steeped in the tropes of the genre, and builds out from those: the star ship, the post-apocalyptic society. What do you do, though, when virtually nothing is familiar to the reader?

Dark Sun, Bright Moon is set in a time and place about which even anthropologists know very little: a thousand years ago, in the utterly isolated Andes. The first popular landmark, the Incas, is five hundred years in the future. The people who live there have been isolated for ten thousand years, having – so far as we can see from their remains – neither cultural nor commercial contact with anyone beyond their eyrie amongst the crag and deserts of the region.

Isolated societies develop their own views of the universe, of human origins and meaning. Even filtered through five hundred years of slow massacre, religious indoctrination and forcible relocation,  the Andean perspective remains a strange one to the rest of us. Individual humans are pinched off from a community pool of existence. They matter little, and return to that pool on death. All that matters – practically, ethically – is the maintenance of harmony within the community. Why this is so is down to the Andean metaphysic.

Our little world is a membrane, a space that is continually re-created, instant by instant, by vastly greater and more potent neighbouring universes. All of this is driven by a titanic unwinding of a domain of utter crystalline perfection into a shapeless zone of utter chaos. One of our neighbouring universes harbours the creative principle, a teeming myriad of potential, inhabited by odd sentiences that have nothing to do with conventional deities. The other is a repository of information, the consequences of all that has been. Is this domain which tasks the creative universe endlessly to remake us. This slow process is what creates time, and prevents the realm of perfection from annihilating itself into the zone of formless chaos. Information streams which lack harmony – coherence – lead to poor reconstruction of the society from which they came. Ill health and worsening social relations follow. Individual disharmony has the potential to destroy any community from which it stems.

Human societies are, then, a potent source of information, and they create streams of it on which sentiences can grow. These are the apus, which – now crowned as Christian saints – still inhabit the peaks and lakes of the Andes. Apus actively manage  their communities for harmony. However, they may become greedy and so roboticise their villages, ultimately destroying them. Apus are connected by what the West would call ley lines, and so such parasitism can spread. As the book opens, just such an infestation is spreading.

Well, so much for the plot engine. How does one convey this in approachable text? As is said of the mating of hedgehogs, slowly and with care. As ever, the writer has three things to establish: the mise en scène, the plot engine and a narrative with which to grip the reader. All of that has to be done quickly, then enriched by iteration. We open, therefore, with a sacrifice on a pyramid, located in a desert complex that comprises a modest mountain range of these. A group of elderly people make an arduous pilgrimage in order to have their throats cut at dawn, and are happy for the privilege. The pyramid complex is, however, the home to a major apu  which survives through such deaths. It manages a complex priesthood which ensures this flow. In the next chapter, we learn that this ancient apu  is also under threat from the parasite. It may be subsumed, or its flow of pilgrim-fodder may be choked off.

The book is in three sections. The first of these tracks the catastrophic consequences of this confrontation, and in parallel brings a broad familiarity with the cosmology. The second introduces the main plot and characters. It follows the ascent of a naïve girl to her pivotal role in the resolution of the parasite’s threat. Those who recruit and use her are, however, overcome the third section, which follows the chaotic events leading to the settlement of Cuzco. The first section is a series of squibs, therefore, but the second and third sections rest on a coherent narrative drive.

The Dark Sun, Bright Moon web site is at www.DarkSunBrightMoon.com

 

Title: Dark Sun, Bright Moon

Author: Oliver Sparrow

Series: n/a

Published:

Genre:

Publisher:

 

 

Book Links:
Amazon eBook | Amazon Paperback | Goodreads

 

Excerpt:

Chapter 1: A Small Sacrifice at Pachacamac

A priest knelt before her, a feather from his head-dress tickling her face. His musky odour of old incense and stale blood was rank, even here on the windy summit of the pyramid. Four other priests held her body tipped slightly forwards, and the pressure that this put on her tired old joints hurt far more than the fine, cold bite of the knife at her neck. Quick blood ran thick down her chin and splashed into the waiting bowl. Then the flow weakened, the strength went out of her and she died, content.

Seven elderly pilgrims had set out for Pachacamac, following their familiar river down to the coast and then trudging North through the desert sands. Two of the very oldest of them needed to be carried in litters, but most were able to walk with no more than a stick to help them in the sand. Lesser members of the community had been delegated to carry what was necessary. These would return home. The elderly would not.

The better-regarded families of the town were expected to die as was proper, sacrificed at the Pachacamac shrine for the betterment of the community. Such was to be their last contribution of ayni, of the reciprocity that assured communal harmony and health. It was also their guarantee of a smooth return to the community’s soul, to the deep, impersonal structure from which they had sprung at birth.

The Pachacamac complex appeared to them quite suddenly from amongst the coastal dunes. They paused to marvel at its mountain range of pyramids, its teeming myriad of ancient and holy shrines.

Over the millennia, one particular pyramid had come to process all of the pilgrims who came from their valley. They were duly welcomed, and guards resplendent in bronze and shining leather took them safely to its precinct.

They had been expected. The priests were kind, welcoming them with food and drink, helping the infirm, leading them all by easy stages up to the second-but-last tier in their great, ancient pyramid. The full extent of the meandering ancient shrine unveiled itself like a revelation as they climbed. Then, as whatever had been mixed with their meal took its effect, they were wrapped up snug in blankets and set to doze in the late evening sun, propped together against the warm, rough walls of the mud-brick pyramid. Their dreams were vivid, extraordinary, full of weight and meaning.

 

The group was woken before dawn, all of them muzzily happy, shriven of all their past cares, benignly numb. Reassuring priests helped them gently up the stairs to the very top tier. In the predawn light, the stepped pyramids of Pachacamac stood sacred and aloof in an ocean of mist.

Each pilgrim approached their death with confidence. A quick little discomfort would take them back to the very heart of the community from which they had been born. They had been separated from it by the act of birth, each sudden individual scattered about like little seed potatoes. Now, ripe and fruitful, they were about to return home, safely gathered back into the community store. It was to be a completion, a circle fully joined. Hundreds of conch horns brayed out across Pachacamac as the dawn sun glittered over the distant mountains. Seven elderly lives drained silently away as the mist below turned pink.

 

Blurb:

Dark Sun, Bright Moon, by Oliver Sparrow, was published in July 2014 and is available for sale on Amazon in both paperback and ebook.

“Dark Sun, Bright Moon describes people isolated in the Andes, without the least notion of outsiders. They evolve an understanding of the universe that is complementary to our own but a great deal wider. The book explores events of a thousand years ago, events which fit with what we know of the region’s history,” says Sparrow.

In the Andes of a thousand years ago, the Huari empire is sick. Its communities are being eaten from within by a plague, a contagion that is not of the body but of something far deeper, a plague that has taken their collective spirit. Rooting out this parasite is a task that is laid upon Q’ilyasisa, a young woman from an obscure little village on the forgotten borders of the Huari empire.

This impossible mission is imposed on her by a vast mind, a sentience that has ambitions to shape all human life. Her response to this entails confrontations on sacrificial pyramids, long journeys through the Amazonian jungle and the establishment of not just one but two new empires. Her legacy shapes future Andean civilization for the next four hundred years, until the arrival of the Spanish.

Dark Sun, Bright Moon takes the reader on a fascinating adventure that includes human sacrifice, communities eaten from within, a vast mind blazing under the mud of Lake Titicaca, and the rise and fall of empires cruel and kind.

 

About the Author:

Oliver Sparrow was born in the Bahamas, raised in Africa and educated at Oxford to post-doctorate level, as a biologist with a strong line in computer science. He spent the majority of his working life with Shell, the oil company, which took him into the Peruvian jungle for the first time. He was a director at the Royal Institute for International Affairs, Chatham House for five years. He has started numerous companies, one of them in Peru, which mines for gold. This organisation funded a program of photographing the more accessible parts of Peru, and the results can be seen at http://www.all-peru.info. Oliver knows modern Peru very well, and has visited all of the physical sites that are described in his book Dark Sun, Bright Moon.

To learn more, go to http://www.darksunbrightmoon.com/

 

BOOK PUBLICITY SERVICES

http://bookpublicityservices.com/

.@GoIndiMarketing #BlogTour: Gift of the Blood God:Drawn by Sydney Whyte #Romance #GuestPost

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Please welcome Sydney Whyte to Moonbeams over Atlanta with a guest post and an excerpt that you must be over 18 to read.

The Anatomy of Fae

Fae, faeries, fairies…

So much to choose from, so much lore to explore.  From the Roman household deities – penates, lares and even genii, to the simple Norse and Teutonic traditions of Valkyries, elves and disir to the much more rounded and vaunted Arthurian tales and Celtic legends, fairies abound in every way, shape and form.  Minor deities, long-lived, immortal, human-like but powerful, light elves, dark elves, dwarves, all rendered ‘Fairies’ to some culture or civilisation…  Malignant, benign, monstrous or fair, they populate writings from ancient to modern in abundance, and never, it would appear, do we grow tired of them.

Fae encompasses so many different notions, beliefs and traditions, that for my world and my purpose I dared to strip them bare.

A fantasy, paranormal, erotic fusion encompassing an unknown world, unknown peoples, religion, beliefs, required a mesh of myth and influence that was fresh.  I wanted a paranormal being that was sexy, powerful and lethal.

Book one of the Gift of the Blood God – Drawn, but touches upon these creatures that inhabited the world of Abod le A’nor before the advent of humankind.  They are lost, they are cursed, they are trapped.  But one of them has a plan…

 

Excerpt

(Please be aware, the contents of this excerpt is considered R18)

 

“Open your eyes!” The words slithered beneath her distraction, a breath of wind whispered in her ear, hoarse, harsh with need. “Come back to me!”

“Nay, nay… Ahhh!” The heat pressed closer, hotter, her clit aflame with a surging passion, digging, growing in her lower belly, “Don’t… Ahhh, I… I can’t… Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh!”  She felt herself explode, ripple and she screamed as if in pain, the most tumultuously exquisite pain.

Her eyes opened, finally obedient.  The shroud of darkness and light encapsulated Melan. The roof of the cave so high above her was lost from sight, the earth a forbidding mantle that threatened incarceration, and yet this was what all called the Shining Lair, the temple of the Blue Heartstone, and the dwelling place of Wyrm power; the clash of pure earth essence and air.  A pale patina of blue light filtered into the shadows given off by the large gem that sat proud upon its sconce – the Faeling’s beautiful prison.  It was familiar, as was the brilliant bright white light of a ‘Pillar of Power’ searing the ground stone and burgeoning straight into the void above, blinding and intense to look upon.  It filled the cavern’s centre, and yet even its potency could not force all shadows back.

Melan knew she had been here all along filled with lust and fantasies. Quickly she looked down her body as she lay naked upon the bundle of furs, cushions and silken throws.  Her legs lay open to the mouth that sucked one last jolt of passion from the quiver of her singing clit and she gasped again, her hips uncontrollably undulating to press closer.  The black eyes looked up at her from the shadow of his face, a smile of satisfaction spreading the fullness of his lips, lips so blue she could barely believe the heat they caused as they played with her intimate flesh.

How had it come to this?  How had she even considered it?  The being between her legs was no man.  It was a Shade; the shadow of a Faeling and yet his attention elicited nothing but lust.  His was smoke and illusion but he felt of heat and weight and power as he teased at her sex.  She had not known the danger, had been unable to deny him.

“I would to dip into your honeyed well, my Priestess,” the Shade whispered though his lips did not move, the sound of his voice no more than an insistent caress to her mind.

Melan eased further back into her bedding and opened her legs the wider, quivering at the last touch of his hot tongue to the folds of her pussy as he pushed his now solid length up the contours of her body, brushing what should have been untouchable along the sensitivity of her pale skin.  The undeniable weight of his broad chest pressed to the fall of her swollen breasts and she sighed and waited with impatience as the threat of his shaft pressed to the wet welcome of her opening.  She moved against the tempting heat, her loins afire with anticipation.  “Do it. Do it.”

She could not believe how different it was from the first flush of disgust she had felt at his touch; confused, revolted.  She had come back from her reunion with Falric, her husband, her first love, her heart’s desire – denied her by the Guardian of ‘The People’, by the stipulations of her position – but the forbidden assignation had been at the wondrous Shade’s behest. She could not refuse, did not want to.  Melan had caressed the much-loved, gleaming gem, ready to thank it for its bounteous instruction.  Never had she enjoyed so much a command from the Heartstone.

It was not the first time that she had laid eyes on the shadow creature that could rise from the heart of the blue jewel but it had been the first time Melan realised that it was not as ephemeral as first believed.  At her touch the Shade slid forth and she gasped at its beauty; broad, naked, perfectly formed.  The hair on its head brushed the length of its bulging back to the slim tightness of its waist, but it was male, definitely male and she could not help but stare at the bulk of its loins cushioned beneath the blue-black curls of pubic hair.  Her face had burned hot and she had tried to step back as it came closer.

“Did you as bid, my Priestess? Has my plan gained momentum?” The voice had filled her mind.

Melan had stared into its black eyes as it ventured nearer, so close it – he – would have been able to feel her trembling, suddenly disquieted by his proximity.  She had nodded mutely and gasped as the large hand reached forth to stroke her cheek with a touch of heat, so solid and real she hardly credited her own senses.  The kiss to her lips was as hot and heavy as any she had shared with Falric though the touch was a mere caress, and she pulled instantly back, suddenly wary for her own safety.

“We shall see. We shall see…”

 

Author: Sydney Whyte

Title:  Gift of the Blood God: Drawn

Series Title and Number: Faelings Doom – Book 1

Publisher:  B King

Release Date:  March 2015

Genre:  Erotic Fantasy

Tags:  Mystical world, magic, world building, romance

Heat Level: 5

Pairing: Male/Female

Length: 73,000 words

Purchase Links:

iBooks  | B&N | Kobo | Amazon |  Goodreads

 

Book Blurb:

The world of Abod le A’nor stood waiting…

From the near new city of the civilised Oremen, to the wild untamed clans of the warrior nations of the Ancients, to the primitive quiet villages of a long lived and isolated people; their Dreamers dreamed and sensed the streams of time eddying and calling.  The Gift was coming, and all eyes turned to the rugged climes of the southlands.

Two women struggled through the new day, through vast tracts of dark and ominous wilderness.  Shocked and confused in the aftermath of what should have been a near fatal accident, twins Lorrie and Melory found themselves stumbling into a fate nothing in their previously sheltered lives had prepared them for.  Nothing was familiar and even the comfort they found in each other’s company could not keep the fear or panic at bay.

Where were they?

In a world imbued with strange powers and lingering passions, the past machinations of the doomed Faeling will irrevocably change forever the Neilson sisters’ future.

Thus begins the journey of the sisters’ awakening.

Please note: – this series contains swearing, sexual content and adult themes – suitable for persons over the age of 18 years

 

Author Bio

 

Sydney Whyte is a ground breaking new talent to arise in New Zealand erotic literature.  A vivacious reader and passionate creative writer since early childhood, she began writing paranormal and fantasy stories as early as ten years old. As a shy and reserved child, she immersed herself in writing complex, fantastical worlds full of magic, mystery and intrigue as a means of escapism. When she reached her teenage years, thoughts of love and romance entered her life with an obsession known only to the hormonal and young, her writing took a significantly saucier (although highly naive) turn. Her increasingly shy demeanour and strict upbringing allowed her few opportunities to openly explore her youthful sexuality; writing became an important means for shaping her philosophies on love, men and romance. As she set out on her own into the world she never ceased to write, but her life, prose and perspective changed drastically. Widowed at twenty-three, re married by twenty-seven, and a single mother of two before thirty five, her untainted youthful outlook on love, life and sex gave way to the exploration of the interconnectedness between beauty and pain, sensuality and shame, and love and despair, that shapes the unique human experience.

Author Links

Facebook | Sydney Whyte Blog

 

 

 

Official Tour Host

Does Your Written Gem Need An Editor? How about Two? #WDWS #editors #Discount

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Moonbeams over Atlanta welcomes a guest post a little different from the usual blog tours, spotlights, and book promotions. Authors: Take note. There are resources for editing in the world. Please welcome the Wicked Dragon Writer Solutions team: Amber Kallyn and Jami Gray!

You’ve finally typed the two most important words: “THE END”, but your precious treasure of words needs one final polish before you usher it out on to the cruel world. Welcome to Wicked Dragon Writer Solutions, where you can get two editing beasts for one smoking price!

WD JPEG

 

Between Amber and I, we have 13 hard-won years of word crafting experience, not just in published work, but in editing for other authors. While we’ve been doing this without gathering our fees, we decided it was time to put our pens to work for us. We know how vital editors are to Creators of the Written Word, and what’s better than one editor? How about two editors putting their eyes to the jewelers loop to examine your precious treasure, and you’ll only be out the gold for the price of one. Think of it as an Editorial BOGO (buy-one-get-one-free).

Feel free to come on over and check us over at Wicked Dragon Writer Solutions (www.wickeddragonsolutions.com)!

In celebration of our grand opening, if you book your adventured during the month of April, we are offering 10% off your hoard of gold, just note code: WDWSOPEN when booking your spot!

 

If you’re anxious to start your epic journey, feel free to reach out to wickeddragonsolutions@gmail.com and we’ll get you set for your editing adventure.

-Jami Gray and Amber Kallyn

@BitnBookPromote #GuestPost: “Alpha Rockstar” by @EmmaRoseRomance #BlogTour #Romance

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Alpha Rockstar

Welcome to Day Eleven of the Alpha Rockstar Blog Tour.

Thank you BitNTour for having Moonbeams over Atlanta as a stop.

Welcome Emma Rose!

Why I decided To Write Alpha Rockstar

I decided to write Alpha Rockstar when I was going through a rough patch in my life. Within a two month timespan, I suffered the loss of a very close family member, experienced a house fire, moved to a new house across my state, my car broke down, I was extra tight on money because of all the unexpected expenses, and I wasn’t able to work the amount of hours that I needed in order to make some deadlines for my books. It was definitely one of the lower points in my life and I was left questioning whether or not I had made the right decision going into writing full-time. I just sort of felt…numb…after wave after wave of bad news hit me. I needed to do something to get out of that place in my life.

It was hard to pull myself out of that numbness and once the dust settled a little bit, I realized that I needed to explore some of these feelings through the characters of Penelope and Marcus. Writing has been my outlet from the very beginning, so it’s sort of my go-to for getting my chaotic thoughts out into something coherent. At the core of Alpha Rockstar is a story about a woman who is struggling to act on her passion. She’s a photographer for a small-time newspaper with aspirations to follow a rock band from relative obscurity to stardom. This sort of mirrors my doubts at the time about my own career as a writer. Though the self-publishing movement has definitely opened things up for new writers, there’s definitely still a very established system that works in favor of those working within the traditional model. The situation is very similar for Penelope. She’s pursued her passion in life, but up until the events of Alpha Rockstar, she has gained very little traction for major exposure.

Added to that are her personal chains that hold her in place. She may be pursuing her passion, but she discovers that she hasn’t been fully committed to it out of fear of treading new water. What if she isn’t good enough? What if it all fails and she’s left without any money or a place to live? These are very real possibilities that she faces when making her decision to follow Marcus’ band. These possibilities are also exactly the sorts of doubts that had been hitting me pretty heavily during my low point. My book sales had been on a downward trend because of several factors, some in my control and some not, and that led me to question whether pushing forward was something that would lead to continued success or would it put me out on the street.

The real push to write Alpha Rockstar, is to describe the chemistry of the relationship between Penelope and Marcus, the band’s leader. He’s experienced a traumatic past which has made him very closed off to meaningful relationships. When he meets Penelope, her passion makes him excited about life for the first time in years and he slowly begins to discover the missing element from his own life. If you’re familiar with my work, I love showing how relationships have the power to bring our secret flaws to the surface and to heal them. It’s a very cathartic process for me as a writer and a reader and I hope it speaks to other readers as well.

With that said, feel free to check out Alpha Rockstar! It’s a novella trilogy that tells the full love story of two passionate people as they journey through themes of love, loss, hope, and redemption.

Don’t forget, there’s a Rafflecopter giveaway at the end of this post.

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ALPHA ROCKSTAR by Emma Rose

Genre: Adult Romance

Pages: 47 (part of a trilogy)

 

Synopsis:

 

She’s reaching for a lifelong dream.

Penelope has made a living taking concert photos for the newspaper entertainment section, but her dreams are much bigger. She dreams of getting close with a rock and roll band and taking pictures of everything, immersing herself in the rock and roll lifestyle.

He’s searching for a life beyond the stage.

She gets her chance when a band on tour invites her to join them for a few weeks, but Penelope has reservations…is she being invited along because they want a photographer, or because Marcus, the quiet but attractive lead singer, wants to sleep with her? And what would she say if he tried?

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Purchase Links:

(This is a Kindle Unlimited title)

 

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK

 

 

OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES:

 

Alpha Rockstar 2

 

Alpha Rockstar Book Two

 

She’s taking a chance.

Penelope is on tour with the metal band, Attack Ships on Fire, as the band’s photographer. For the first time in her life, she’s living her dream…But she never expected to fall for Marcus, the band’s lead singer. She doesn’t want to be seen as a groupie there for the band’s pleasure, but maintaining a professional distance with Marcus is nearly impossible with his magnetic personality and killer looks. But is she just a sexual object to him? Or does he want more?

He’s looking for an escape.

As the lead singer and manager for his band, Marcus is constantly inundated with the difficulties of the rock lifestyle, living on the road, and projecting a mask of pure energy representative of his persona within the band. That all changed when he met Penelope, the first genuine person he’s come across in a long time. And though he wishes for her to be treated professionally as the band’s photographer, he can’t resist her curvy figure and witty personality. Can he afford to take off his mask and let her see the person he really is?

 

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Purchase Links

 

Amazon US | Amazon UK

 

 

alpha rockstar 3

 

Alpha Rockstar Book Three

 

Penelope can sense genuine love developing between her and Marcus, but even as things heat up, there is a coldness on his part, a distance. He won’t speak of his past, and he won’t make plans for the future—unless it’s for his band.

What is going to happen when the tour ends? He lives in L.A. and she lives in Seattle. Will she convince him to plan a future together, or will she be just another casualty of the rock and roll lifestyle?

As strong as her feelings might be, there is only so far that a girl can be pushed…

 

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Purchase Links

 

Amazon US | Amazon UK

 

 

About the Author

 

Author Logo

 

Emma Rose is quickly rising as a new author with a lot to offer. She specializes in the steamy romance genre with popular series THE BILLIONAIRE’S PROPOSAL, TAKING STAGE, THREE, and STRIPPED. She self-published her first book in 2011 and has since risen to a Top 100 author in Amazon’s Erotica category, among others. Part of her quick rise can be attributed to her small, but growing, group of fans who promote her work and offer her feedback as Beta Readers, an offer she extends to potential fans at the end of each of her works. Interested fans can apply to her beta reader program and receive one of her works for free through her website: http://emmaroseromance.com/beta/

 

Rose says she is from ‘lots of places,’ having lived in various parts of the United States, New Zealand, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Below, Rose details how she became a writer (from her website):

One question that I’m frequently asked is how did I get into writing?

 

Looking back, it’s hard to believe just how much has changed in the past few years. I never gave serious thought to being a full-time writer and chalked it up as just another unattainable ‘dream job’ right along with being an astronaut or a professional underwater basket weaver.

I started writing creatively at a very young age…somewhere around age eleven or twelve. These early writings were nothing I’d ever share publicly (because, frankly, they are quite horrible!). However, it was the beginning of what I like to refer to as the “itch.”

Just what is the itch? It starts out as a very dull, barely noticeable tickling in the back my head and is usually sparked when I ask myself “What if…” It is here that the itch grows a little stronger and is harder to resist. My fingers begin to twitch in anticipation at the prospect of taking the idea that’s been bouncing around in my head and putting it into something coherent…making it able to be experienced by others.

While I never pursued writing in a serious manner, the ‘itch’ remained with me through to adulthood. In college, I had just enough space to squeeze in a creative writing class even though there was no benefit to my degree to do so (I blame it on the ‘itch!’).

And wow…For the first time in my life I had an excuse to use creative writing as an outlet again. Somewhere along the way I had fallen into the rut of settling for the practical and this one decision had me excited about life again.

Sadly, the creative writing class ended and I went back to completing my degree. After college, finding a steady job, even one that paid peanuts, was a difficult prospect. My diet consisted of peanut butter sandwiches and ramen noodles.

On a late-night whim, I decided to join Amazon’s self-publishing platform and submitted some of my creative writing pieces from college. These went on to be available for purchase in Amazon’s Kindle store. I promptly forgot completely about it until one day, about three months later, I received a check in the mail from Amazon.

Now it wasn’t that much, mind you, but when I realized that the money Amazon had sent me came from people who had purchased my work, I was ecstatic! In the little time I had off between my three part-time jobs, I wrote. And wrote. And wrote some more.

Over the course of about six months, my self-published works went from earning me a meal out every month to making more than all of my other jobs combined. It was then that I decided to make the leap to writing full-time.

This was a very big deal for me, because as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, being a writer just didn’t seem like a reachable thing…It seemed so absurd (and still does) that I have moments where I sit back and think about just how amazing this journey has been.

Sure, there have been ups and downs, but I am forever grateful to my fans who continue to support my writing. It’s because of them (and you, too, since you’re reading this post) that I can continue to scratch my ‘itch’ and create new stories for you to explore.

 

Author Links:

Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Website

 

 

Giveaway

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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@pumpupyourbook Tour: “Order of the Seers Trilogy” by @CereceRMurphy #PUYB #VBT

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Please welcome to Moonbeams over Atlanta Order of the Seers Trilogy by Cerece Rennie Murphy.

About The Books

Order of the Seers Trilogy

Title: Order Of The Seers Trilogy

Author: Cerece Rennie Murphy

Publisher: LionSky Publishing

Publication Date: September 30, 2014

Pages: 164

ISBN: 978-0985621049

Genre: Science Fiction

Format: Paperback, eBook, PDF

What would you do if you held infinite power in the palm of your hand?

The Order of the Seers trilogy poses this question within a story that fuses action, mystery, and romance within a science fiction adventure that keeps you at the edge of your seat.

Captured and enslaved for their extraordinary gift, a group of individuals, known as Seers, are forced to serve a ruthless world organization that uses the power of the Seers to exploit the ultimate advantage: knowing the future. While a brother and his Seer sister fight to evade the group that hunts them, an unlikely captured Seer plots his escape from within the organization and sets off a chain of events that will change the world.

The journey begins with Order of the Seers (Book I) and continues with The Red Order (Book II).  The final chapter in the Order of the Seers trilogy, titled The Last Seer (Book III), will be released on September 30, 2014.

Purchase The Book- Amazon | B&N | Goodreads

 

 

 

Link to trailer for Book I: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dJHEfETnAE

The Order of the Seers - The Red Order (Book 2)

 

 

Link to trailer for Book II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL20RBdgji4

Order of the Seers - The Last Seer (Book 3)

 

Link to trailer for Book III: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvduqiK_x8o

 

 

 

Book Excerpt: 

Chapter 1: The End

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Liam was losing his patience. “Aw, come on! Are you serious? You can’t want to ride this thing again!”

Instead of answering her older brother, Lilli remained in her seat as the Ferris wheel conductor looked on expectantly, hand outstretched and waiting for another two tokens.

The way Lilli’s skinny arms hugged her book bag while she stared blankly at the pressed metal floor of their “Fairy Land Caboose” made it hard for Liam to stay angry. The sight of her looking so dejected softened him enough to give the conductor his fifth set of tokens in less than 45 minutes. Liam settled back into his seat just as the lap bar clamped down uncomfortably against his thighs.

“Lilli,say something. Why’d you drag me out here if you were just gonna sulk? I hate the carnival, you know that.”

“I know something… okay? Just… trust me. We have to stay here.” Her voice was so low he could barely hear her over the wind-up music that was blaring from the overhead speakers.

“Did Mom say something to you?”

Lilli responded to his question with silence and a barely discernable shake of her head back and forth. He tried again.

“Lilli! Did Mom…?”

“Yes,” she snapped.

They both fell silent again as Liam took in the latest weird thing day. Lilith Knight, or Lilli as she preferred to be called, had always been of the strange. Even when she was five,she could beat Liam at chess lazily, without even thinking about it. She would find things and give them to you before you asked for them. Before you, or even she, knew why. Up until recently, he thought she was just a freak. No biggie. All little sisters are like that, he told himself.

It was only in the past few months that his perception of her began to shift, after her prediction that he would catch his new girlfriend, Krista, kissing his teammate Lance in the locker room after their championship game. At the time, he’d brushed off her premonition as meddling. Krista wasn’t even his girlfriend and his team was 1-1 with the whole basketball season ahead of them.

He’d forgotten her warning completely until two months later when he ran back into the locker room after winning the championship to get the jacket he’d left behind and immediately smelled Krista’s perfume. When he found them, two thoughts overshadowed the scene unfolding in front of him. The first was that what they were doing wasn’t really “kissing,” though he could see how a sheltered thirteen-year-old would describe it that way. His second thought was that Lilli was right; she was exactly right. He was so stunned by Lilli’s accuracy that he didn’t even bother to disturb them, leaving his new ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend to their business. From that moment, Liam understood that Lilli wasn’t just a freak, or more accurately, that she wasn’t a freak at all. She was special…gifted.

The sound of Lilli’s sniffling followed by the trembling of her body as she began to cry uncontrollably broke the long silence that had fallen between them. What the…, Liam half-mumbled as his mind swung from irritation to absolute bewilderment. Slowly and deliberately, Liam moved his palms down the front of his face as he fought the urge to shake the truth right out of her and end whatever this was. But he couldn’t. She’s so brittle already, he thought, without any idea as to why. So instead, he reached out to envelop his sister in his arms, trying to soothe her and comfort her from some unknown force.

“Lilli, it’s all right. I’m sorry, okay? Don’t cry. Just… tell me what’s going on. Why are we here?”

He tried to wait patiently, to rein in the confusion and frustration that had been piercing through the calm day he had planned for himself when he woke up that morning, as cool and carefree as any sixteen-year-old boy. It was Lilli who had dragged him out of the house before he could even wolf down his second bowl of Honeycombs. “Mom said you have to take me to the carnival. NOW!” She had demanded.

He had started to head upstairs to launch his appeal when his eye caught his mother’s note on the refrigerator door. “Take Lilli to the fair. NOW.—Love, Mom,” it read.He knew that meant his mother had left the house early; there was no appeal to be made. Begrudgingly, he slipped on his sneakers and grabbed the car keys, all the while wondering if Lilli was still too young to be left at the fair by herself.

His earlier thoughts of abandonment brought him back to his sister’s form beside him. Not knowing what else to do, Liam simply held her tight as her convulsing turned to trembling, and finally, back to stillness. At the top of the Ferris wheel,she finally spoke.

“It’s over now, we can go home,” she whispered. But as impatient for answers and a reprieve from big brother duties as he was, Liam knew that it was not over. The emotionless tone in her voice scared him. It made him want to stay on the Ferris wheel he’d been begging to get off of a few short minutes ago. As the music died down and their feet got closer to the ground, he suddenly felt conflicting urges to stay where he was and to rush home to his mother. As the ride came to a stop, he suddenly realized with profound certainty that this was much more than one of Lilli’s “episodes.” Something was very, very wrong

When Liam pulled his father’s green 2002 Saab in front of their small brick house, everything seemed as it always did—quiet and predictable in their modest yet comfortable home. They had lived in a much bigger house before his father died, but Liam never minded sharing a bathroom with his mother and sister. All the toys and trinkets that had mattered to him when he was a child were rendered insignificant the moment his mother told him that his father would never come home again. As he got out of the car and began to take the front steps two at a time, he noticed that Lilli had stopped at the tree stump his mother had cut down the week before. Sitting down, her eyes remained on the ground. Just as his mouth formed the shape of a question,she spoke.

“No, you go. I can’t see it again.”

Liam didn’t stop to ask what she meant. Whatever she meant, he was sure it was worse than he thought. He tried to hold back the swell of fear in his chest as he ran to the front door, but his emotions spun out of control the moment he tested the front door knob and found it opened—easily. They never left the front door unlocked.

When he stepped into the house, he actually felt the life, the person he had been, rush past him and out the door as his eyes took in the overturned, splintered remains of their living room. It was a feeling he’d felt only once before, when his father died. But what made it worse, what made it permanent, was lying in the middle of the floor, with its contents thrown everywhere. It was his mother’s purse, which had not been there when he left that morning.

“Mom!” he shouted as he raced up the stairs to her room. “Mom. Please!” he shouted again, but no one answered. In every room he looked, it was the same – scattered clothes, broken mirrors, and silence—a deafening silence that rang louder than the sound of his own shallow breathing.

If he took the stairs at lightning speed to make it to the second floor, an age could have passed during his descent. The entire house consisted of three bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a small open dining area that you could see clearly from the front door. As he walked down the steps, he knew there was only one room left to check. His mind was frozen on what to hope for as his hand reached the end of the banister. If she wasn’t in the kitchen, she might have been taken, but at least there was a chance she was still alive. If she was in the kitchen, it was unthinkable.

Lilli’s words came to him just as he rounded the doorway to the kitchen.

“No, you go. I can’t see it again.”He found his mother sitting with her feet planted on the floor, shoulder width apart, bright eyes open and cast to the ceiling, with a hole blown through the middle of her chest.

 

 

 

Cerece Rennie Murphy fell in love with science fiction at the age of seven, watching “Empire Strikes Back” at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C., with her sister and mom. It’s a love affair that has grown ever since. As an ardent fan of John Donne, Alice Walker, Kurt Vonnegut and Alexander Pope from an early age, Cerece began exploring her own creative writing through poetry. She earned her master’s degrees in social work and international relations at Boston College and Johns Hopkins School for Advance International Studies, respectively, and built a rewarding 15-year career in program development, management and fundraising in the community and international development arenas – all while appreciating the stories of human connection told in science fiction through works like Octavia Butler’s “Wild Seed,” Frank Herbert’s “Dune” and “The X-Files.” In 2011, Cerece experienced her own supernatural event – a vision of her first science fiction story. Shortly after, she began developing and writing what would become the “Order of the Seers” trilogy. Cerece lives just outside of her hometown of Washington, D.C., with her husband, two children and the family dog, Yoda.

For more information, follow Cerece at http://www.cerecerenniemurphy.com

Connect with Cerece Rennie Murphy – Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

 

 

Discuss this book in our PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads by clicking HERE

 

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@JessieClever Guest Post: New Release: To Save a Viscount: Book Four of the Spy Series

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Please welcome Jessie Clever to Moonbeams over Atlanta! She is today’s guest post.  Regency Romance.  One of my favorite genres. 🙂
To Save a Viscount Cover Photo

 

Blurb:

When an assassin threatens England’s spy network, Lady Margaret Folton must find the killer before it’s too late.  But when Commodore John Lynwood is accidentally granted a title meant to be used as bait to lure the assassin into the War Office’s trap, Margaret must face the tragedy of her past and decide which is more important: the assignment or love?

 

Excerpt:

 

London

August 1815

 

He had grown so accustomed to the sound of gunfire that he did not hear the shot that was meant to kill him.

 

This would have worried Richard Black, the Duke of Lofton, if he had had time to think on it. But as the situation inherently required immediate action, prolonged and abstract thinking on the subject was neither prudent nor wise. So he refrained. Instead, he wondered who it was that smashed into him at incredible speed, sending him tumbling backwards off the walk along the Thames and into the bitter, black water below.

 

He had been meeting his contact there along the water at an unholy hour, and darkness had lain all about him. The exchange had gone as planned, and he now held the knowledge that he knew would prove key to his current assignment with the War Office. But as the inky water of the Thames closed over his head, he wondered if he would ever get that information to the necessary people.

 

And then as the last of the light disappeared, he thought of Jane, his wife. His Jane. He did not think of her in specific instances or certain memories that lay in his mind. He thought of her in pieces. Her smell. Her laugh. The sound her hair made as she brushed it at night. The way she always laid her hand on top of his whenever they should find themselves sitting next to one another. Her amazing talents with chestnut roasters.

 

He would have laughed if such an action would not speed up the inevitable drowning that suddenly became all too real, flushing thoughts of Jane from his mind. His arms began to push against the water as his feet began to pulse, driving him toward the surface. Only he did not move. Whoever it was that had slammed into him still held him about the waist, dragging him deeper into the water. He began to struggle, the need for air and life and Jane surging through his veins in a way he had never felt before.

 

And then a hand brushed against his cheek, and slender fingers came to rest across his mouth. He wanted to open his eyes, but he knew it would do no good in the black water. But he let the feeling of his attacker’s hand brush against his skin, the shape of it press into his face, the narrowness of limb and the delicate arch of bone.

 

It was a woman who held him beneath the water.

 

And he stopped struggling.

Copyright © Jessie Clever

Buy Links:

Amazon | Kobo | Nook | All Romance eBooks | iBooks

 

Bio:

In the second grade, Jessie began a story about a duck and a lost ring.  Two harrowing pages of wide ruled notebook paper later, the ring was found.  And Jessie has been writing ever since.

Armed with the firm belief that women in the Regency era could be truly awesome heroines, Jessie began telling their stories in her Spy Series, a thrilling ride in historical espionage that showcases human faults and triumphs and most importantly, love.

Jessie makes her home in the great state of New Hampshire where she lives with her husband and two very opinionated Basset Hounds.  For more, visit her website at jessieclever.com.

 

Social Media Links:

 

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