Thursday, February 27, 2014
#Excerpt from Bangkok Transit by Eva Fejos @fejoseva #amreading #mustread
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Fool for Love by Merry Farmer @MerryFarmer20
Chapter Four
The Majestic rose up out of the water in its Liverpool dock with all the glory of its name. Amelia held one hand to her hat and stared at its iron sides, its two dun-colored funnels and three tall masts. The ship was a strange thing to her, a mixture of old and new, progress with hints of the past. It had sails that could be unfurled in a pinch, but with its powerful new engines, the ship could cross the ocean in a week.
Seven days to a new world. It was an exact description of everything her life had become. It was every bit as daunting.
“What am I doing?” Amelia whispered, staring at the hopeful monstrosity in front of her. It was one thing to accept an offer for a new life. It was another thing entirely to go through with it.
She turned away from the ship, swallowing the nausea that had plagued her since she’d left her mother’s house. This time it wasn’t morning sickness. That was long past. At the moment, the baby was the least of her worries. Her stomach rolled over the idea that she was about to board a ship heading for a new life at the mercy of a stranger, a man, no less. The last time she had trusted her life and her future to a man had been a disaster.
She paced, purse clutched to her chest, scanning the busy dock in search of her American savior. Men, women, and children crowded the gangplanks, eager to start their journeys, excited and hopeful. Many of the third-class passengers carried bundles that indicated theirs was a one-way trip as much as hers was. Eric had left her there to go buy her ticket, but there was nothing stopping him from running off and leaving her stranded. Like her father. Like Nick. She was a fool to agree to this. She pivoted and marched away from the ship.
No, she stopped herself after a handful of steps, this was the best decision she could have made. She may have felt small and lonely standing by herself, waiting, heart and stomach fluttering, but she was as much a part of the intrepid adventurers seeking a new life in America as any of her fellow passengers. This was right.
Maybe.
“Well, we got a minor problem on our hands.”
The twang of Eric’s accent shocked Amelia from her worries. She spun to face him as he approached her with wide strides, scratching his head and looking as guilty as a schoolboy.
“A problem?” she asked, voice fluttering.
“Yeah. I went to buy you a ticket, but they’re plumb sold out.”
Amelia’s chest tightened and her tender stomach lurched. “Oh. Oh dear. Well I suppose….”
She lowered her eyes, heart aquiver. As quickly as it started, her chance for a new life was over. All that worrying for nothing.
She squared her shoulders to face her fate. “I … I thank you for your efforts on my behalf regardless, Mr. Quinlan.”
Eric’s brow crinkled into a curious frown. “Regardless?”
“I suppose I could find work here in Liverpool,” she explained. “Surely there must be a shop somewhere that would look the other way from….” She lowered her hand to the mound of her stomach.
Eric’s lips twitched. The morning sunlight caught in his eyes. “I didn’t want to have to put you in third-class, so I told them you were my wife.”
Amelia blinked. “You what?”
“I told them we’re newlyweds. I reserved my stateroom in first class last year when I came over. Good thing I paid for it then too, ‘cuz after this fiasco of a trip I’ll never ride first-class again. Anyhow, when they said they didn’t have any more rooms, I told them you were my wife and that we would be staying in the same stateroom. They sold me a ticket for that.” He handed her a fresh, clean ticket with her name written as ‘Mrs. Amelia Quinlan’. “Sorry.”
Amelia held perfectly still on the outside, but on the inside her heart pounded and her stomach rolled with guilt for questioning him. He wasn’t abandoning her. He had gone out of his way to help her. Her heart squeezed as it never had before. She took the ticket from him with a trembling hand, hardly noticing when her fingers brushed his. She was rescued after all.
“Thank you, Mr. Quinlan. You have no idea how much this kindness means to me.” She had to concentrate on breathing, standing straight, and looking up into his handsome eyes with a smile to keep her tears at bay.
“You don’t mind sharing then?” he asked her.
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Genre – Western Historical Romance
Rating – R
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Website http://merryfarmer.net
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Read Other #Authors in Your Genre & Other #Writing Tips by Michael Reisig #amwriting
Pour yourself a margarita, sit back, and slide into the ‘70s for a while as you follow Kansas and Will through this cocktail of madcap adventures – on The Road To Key West.
—Mandy Bolen, The Key West Citizen
—John Archibald, Ouachita Life Magazine
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-- John H. Cunningham, author of the Buck Reilly Adventure Series
– Bryan Crews, former president, Tampa Parrot Head Club
Fast-paced humor-adventure with wacky pilots, quirky con men, bold women, mad villains, and a gadget to die for…
Will Bell find their lives turned upside down when they discover a truth device hidden in the temple of an ancient civilization. Enthralled by the virtue (and entertainment value) of personally dispensing truth and justice with this unique tool, they take it all a step too far and discover that everyone wants what they have.
Friday, February 21, 2014
The Photo Traveler by Arthur J. Gonzalez @arthurjgonzalez #ReviewShare #MustRead #YA
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Character development for The Photo Traveler is one of the best I have experienced. Each page adds another layer of familiarity which brings you closer to the main characters. Gavin's character is plausible although some events such as when Gavin is going to be burned alive dragged on unnecessarily. It was great for the first few pages after that it was come on already.
My favourite characters were Estelle and Bud. Their loving relationship and dialogue made me think of my own partner. I'm not too sure about the fact that they did not look out for Gavin in his younger days but in the name of protecting him they felt that no contact was in his best interest and waited for him to contact them. I believe this was also done in the Da Vinci Code with Sophie's character.
Within the context of the story, the time travel feels real and I liked the chants to go into a different time and to come back. They were catchy and cute.
Things I would change in the book are the exclamations, every other sentence felt like the characters were shouting at each other and not talking. I would also include a timeline chart at the beginning or end of the story so readers are able to understand the sequence of events better.
Disclosure - As a Quality Reads Book Club member, I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
View all my reviews
Thursday, February 20, 2014
#Book Covers Are Like Looking at the Windows on a House for Sale (#Poetry #GoodReads)
#SciFi #Excerpt "Superhuman Nature" by Brandon Overall
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Jesse James & the Secret Legend of Captain Coytus by Alex Mueck @AlexMueck #Humor #Historical
as much heart as humor.”
—Michael Dadich, award-winning author of The Silver Sphere