Category Archives: Author Blog Post

Please help me welcome Linda Nightingale:

(Be sure to check out the giveaway at the bottom of the post!)

Meet the Author

Please tell us about yourself, Linda. Born in South Carolina, I’ve lived in England, Canada, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Atlanta and Houston. I’m back in South Carolina now. I’ve seen a lot of this country from the windshield of a truck pulling a horse trailer, having bred, trained and showed the magnificent Andalusian horse for many years. I have a poster that says, ‘this horse will change your life’.  They did mine, and I wouldn’t take anything for the experience.

On my journey to publication, I won several writing awards, including the Georgia Romance Writers Magnolia Award for Excellence and the SARA Merritt.  I retired from a career as a legal assistant and enjoy movies, theater, music, travel, reading and events with my car club. The stars in my crown are two wonderful sons. In a former life, I must have had to walk everywhere because today I am into transportation with fine taste in expensive horses and hot cars! I like to dress up and host formal dinner parties.

Where can readers find you? (social media, etc.)

I love to hear from my readers, and you can find me at:

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/LNightingale

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LindaNightingaleAuthor

Web Site:  http://www.lindanightingale.com – Visit and look around. There’s a free continuing vampire story.

Blog:  https://lindanightingale.wordpress.com/ – Lots of interesting guests & prizes

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4839311.Linda_Nightingale

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/lbnightingale1/

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Linda-Nightingale/e/B005OSOJ0U

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? About 9^th grade. I had a teacher who’d allow me to write stories instead of book reports. I began writing short stories and poetry dripping with teenage angst.

How many books have you written? I’ve written 10 books: Gemini Rising (now released as Her Brother’s Wife under my pen name Bianca Swan) and the following:

Love For Sale

Gambler’s Choice

Morgan D’Arcy: A Vampyre Rhapsody

Gylded Wings

Her General in Gray

The Summoning

Sinner’s Obsession

Cardinal Desires

Which is your favorite? Sinners’ Opera.  The book of my heart is not listed above because my rights reverted to me from the original publisher, and it is now under consideration by my editor at The Wild Rose Press. It’s a paranormal romance starring my favorite hero, Morgan D’Arcy, an English lord, a concert pianist…and a vampire.

What do you enjoy most about writing? What is the best part of writing for you? Hearing from my readers that they loved a book and are looking forward to the next one.

Are your stories driven by plot or character? Always by character.  One character, usually the hero, begins the tale and, as the plot evolves, other characters join in with their part of the story.

How do you balance a life outside of writing with deadlines and writing muses? Since I retired, I don’t face the problem of a day job to interfere.  My children are grown with lives of their own.  In fact, neither live near me. As with other people, I do have conflicts. My biggest problem with deadlines is that my muse will not always cooperate. Now with galleys and the such, the deadlines are rarely a problem.

If I were a first time reader of your books, which one would you recommend I start with and why? Probably, until Sinners’ Opera is in print again (fingers crossed), I’d recommend Love For Sale.  LFS is a sci-fi romance, a different love story about a human-like, sentient android and a the disillusioned dreamer who buys him.  Reviewers have called the story ‘different’ and ‘touching.’

What do you hope readers take with them after reading your work? A sense of wonder, satisfaction and the feeling that when they finished the book they surfaced into reality—when they wanted to stay in the story.

Tell us about your latest release, including its genre.

The Summoning is a fantasy romance. Here’s the blurb and a short excerpt:

BLURB:

Heather Morique is a witch. The problem is she doesn’t know it. Her husband Jahill was a refugee from an obscure branch of the Arawak Indians. After his death, mysterious whispers lure her to his homeland of Jamaica. Soon, she finds herself in a web of secrets, lies and illusions.

Jahill’s people worship Eyrael, the God of Wind and Sea, and his brother Sofiel, the God of Fire and Earth. The new Shaman has pitted brother against brother, and these two powerful spirits from an alternate universe fight to become the tribe’s ruling deity. Will light or darkness reign?

When Heather unwittingly summons Eyrael, these two unlikely soul mates face a dangerous fate.  The chemistry between them is more disturbing than the long-buried secrets.

EXCERPT:

Like storm clouds cloaking a sunny day, darkness gathered in the room. Heather lifted her gaze from the computer screen. Smoke sullied the air, crawling across the floor in a black mist. No scent of burning came from the billowing murky fog. Her hands froze on the keyboard. An icy shiver melted down her spine. The gulls’ cries and the normal sounds of life had quieted. The house was as still as a tomb. Her skin prickled, goosebumps pebbling her skin. A shudder leapt over her. Fear seized her in its cold, cold hands. Her heart beat a rapid staccato in her ears.

“Heather,” a dark voice called softly.

She started violently, whirled to see who’d spoken and shuddered again. No one. Just the scentless smoke. The hair at her nape quivered. Danger lurked just out of sight.

With trembling fingers, she guided the mouse, clicking on save. She set the laptop aside, intending to rise, but found herself paralyzed as fire flickered to life five feet from where she sat. Sofiel. The battle had come. Why hadn’t she trusted her gut feeling?

Please don’t let him kill me now I’m finally happy. Please don’t let me lose my baby.

Nausea burned her throat, her stomach twisting into a knot of terror. She jumped to her feet, focused on saving her child. Fire nibbled at the black mist swirling around her feet. A tongue of flame licked her ankle. Ignoring the stinging pain, she charged toward the door. A crimson blaze climbed the walls. She’d taken three desperate strides when fire consumed the exit. She was trapped with the dark spirit who wanted her dead.

Does it cross over to other genres? Not really. I suppose it could be considered a contemporary or a paranormal, but fantasy best describes it.

Thanks for hosting my characters and me!

It was my pleasure, Linda…thank you for joining me.

Giveaway:  Linda will be giving away a $15 Gift Card through Rafflecopter! Winner will be announced 8/30.  Follow her on tour for more fun and chances to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please help me welcome Linda Bennett Pennell to my blog today, with a spotlight on her brand new release!

Sometimes our biggest debts have nothing to do with money.

1926. When seventeen-year-old Sam Ackerman witnesses a mob hit, he is hustled out of New York under the protection of Moshe Toblinsky, A.K.A., the mob’s bookkeeper. Arriving in Miami with no money, no friends, and no place to hide, Sam’s only choice is to do as the gangster demands. Forced into bootlegging, Sam’s misery is compounded when he falls in love. Amazingly, the beautiful, devout Rebecca wants only him, but he cannot give her the life she deserves. When Prohibition ends, Sam begs the mobster to set him free. The price? A debt, as Toblinsky puts it, of friendship. A debt that will one day come due.

Present Day. History of American Crime professor Liz Reams has it all – early success, a tantalizing lead on new info about Moshe Toblinsky, and a wonderful man to love. Life is perfect. So what’s keeping her from accepting her guy’s marriage proposals? Confronting a long-standing personal debt sets her on a journey of self-discovery. While she delves ever deeper into Sam’s and Toblinsky’s relationship, her understanding of her own relationships increases as well, but the revelations come at a price. The emotional and physical dangers of her dual journeys may prove too big to handle.

Excerpt:

Chapter 1

May 18, 1926, 105 South Street, New York City

Knocking – sharp, loud, rapid – echoed through the empty speakeasy. Sam froze, the notes of a tune stuck in the roof of his mouth. He glanced at the entrance and leaned the handle of his push broom against his shoulder. Puffs of dust settled on the floorboards around his feet while he remained motionless.

It was late, too late, to be admitting customers, even for the city’s illegal watering holes and gambling joints. Although a thick crossbar and several stout locks protected the heavy iron door, an uneasy feeling crawled down Sam’s spine. Growing tension over control of the Fulton Fish Market, in fact the entire South Street area, was making a lot of people jumpy, including him.

Several seconds passed without noise from the other side of the door. Sam let out his breath and laughed at himself. Working at the fish market in the afternoon then staying up half the night at the speakeasy didn’t leave much time for sleep. It kept him on edge. All the rumors and threats floating around these days weren’t helping either. Inclining his ear and hearing nothing, he relaxed and gave his broom a shove.

Bam, bam, bam.

Sam’s heart jumped into his throat.

“Open up, Monza. I know you’re in there.” The shout, colored by an Irish lilt, came from the second floor landing accompanied by renewed pounding. “I come to talk with ya. We need to settle this business. I got a proposition for ya.”

Sam’s breathing kicked up a notch as he looked over his shoulder toward the office. The boss didn’t like to be disturbed when he was meeting with his guys. The pounding from outside in the hall returned in earnest, but the office door remained fixed.

“You gonna open this damned door or do I break it down?” The doorknob rattled and jerked.

Behind Sam, the office door clicked open an inch. He watched in the mirror over the bar as the muzzle of a .38 Special emerged from the opening, its nickel-plated barrel glittering in the overhead lights. One of the gangsters stepped into the room, met Sam’s eye in the mirror, and jerked his head, then the room went dark. Sam dropped his broom and backed into an alcove next to the bar. The office door opened wider. Several shadows scurried across the floor. Metal locks and bolts snapped and clanked, then the entrance door swung inward.

Chapter 2

Present, Fall Semester, Gainesville, Florida

Crap. Not one blessed thing gained.

Liz bookmarked and closed the archival records web page she had paid a small fortune to access. Frustration knotted the muscles at the base of her skull. She stretched her back against the living room sofa and rolled her head and neck. Months of research and all she had to show for it was a regurgitation of everything everybody already knew. Maybe she was what she most feared – a one hit wonder destined to fade from her fifteen minutes of glory into ignominious mediocrity.

Jeez. How was that for a pretentious mouthful? Liz’s lips thinned into a smirk accompanied by a quiet snort. Well, at least she could still laugh at herself. Unfortunately, some people might not find her so amusing.

She glanced across the room at Hugh. Liz drummed her fingers against the edge of her computer. He would probably understand if she didn’t meet the deadline. Hugh was a good boss and a good… What? She never knew what to call the man she lived and worked with. Boyfriend sounded so lame, childish even. Boss tended to raise eyebrows. Fiancé would work if she had said yes to his most recent proposal.

Liz sucked the corner of her lower lip between her teeth. Of all the things she had ever thought herself to be, a commitment-phobe was not one of them. And now she was on the verge of disappointing him twice in one week. The new course she was designing could still be taught in the spring, but it would be incomplete as it stood now. She had incorporated a plethora of original details about Al Capone, et al., but new, riveting details on Moshe Toblinsky and the Jewish gangsters were proving elusive. As a consequence, Florida’s Underbelly, 1920-Present: the Mob in the Sunshine State would probably fail to accomplish what the dean expected despite its titillating title. What a depressing thought.

Buzzing against Liz’s thigh made her jump. She dug the phone out of her jeans pocket and looked at the caller ID. Her heart rate kicked up a notch. She slid her finger over the screen to take the call and listened to the monologue coming through the ether.

Liz tapped the end call icon, slumped a little lower into the sofa cushions, and sucked her lower lip between her teeth. Apparently, nothing was going to go right today.

Next to the living room window, Hugh lounged in an armchair with the latest historical monograph spread open on his lap, pretending he hadn’t listened to her side of the phone conversation. When she didn’t speak, he looked up from the book and raised his brows.

“Well?” His voice was kind but direct.

“Well what?”

“What was in that call to make you look so stormy?”

Liz sighed and crammed her phone into her jeans pocket. “Aunt Mildred says Daddy is going downhill faster than anyone thought possible, something Mom decided to keep from me. Yesterday, he wandered away from the house and was gone for hours. Mom was on the verge of calling the police when a neighbor brought him home. The neighbor stopped Daddy trying to board the ferry to Whidbey Island. He said he had to report for duty at the naval air station.” Liz hunched her shoulders and shook her head. “He retired from the Navy in 1995.”

BIO:

I have been in love with the past for as long as I can remember. Anything with a history, whether shabby or majestic, recent or ancient, instantly draws me in. I suppose it comes from being part of a large extended family that spanned several generations. Long summer afternoons on my grandmother’s porch or winter evenings gathered around her fireplace were filled with stories both entertaining and poignant. Of course being set in the American South, those stories were also peopled by some very interesting characters, some of whom have found their way into my work.

As for my venture in writing, it has allowed me to reinvent myself. We humans are truly multifaceted creatures, but unfortunately we tend to sort and categorize each other into neat, easily understood packages that rarely reveal the whole person. Perhaps you, too, want to step out of the box in which you find yourself. I encourage you to look at the possibilities and imagine. Be filled with childlike wonder in your mental wanderings. Envision what might be, not simply what is. Let us never forget, all good fiction begins when someone says to her or himself, “Let’s pretend.”

I reside in the Houston area with one sweet husband and one adorable German Shorthaired Pointer who is quite certain she’s a little girl.

History is filled with the sound of silken slippers going downstairs and wooden shoes coming up. Voltaire  

Books:

Al Capone at the Blanche Hotel Soul Mate Publishing http://amzn.to/16qq3k5

 Confederado do Norte Soul Mate Publishing http://amzn.com/B00LMN5OMI

 When War Came Home  Real Cypress Press  http://amzn.com/B010RXNZRO

 Casablanca: Appointment at Dawn The Wild Rose Press http://amzn.com/B0121Q6S88

 Miami Days, Havana Nights Soul Mate Publishing July 18, 2018  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F7NFD8K

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLindaBennettPennell

Website:  http://www.lindapennell.com/

Twitter:  @LindaPennell

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7166661.Linda_Bennett_Pennell

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lindabennettpen/

Please help me welcome today’s guests, Diana Rubino and Piper Huguley with a fascinating story!

Oney’s Story…

Teenaged Oney Judge was Martha Washington’s ‘favorite servant.’ Oney and Martha both longed for freedom, but in very different ways. Martha hated being confined to the president’s house, forced to entertain politicians and foreign diplomats. Oney hated being someone else’s property, forced to do labor and wait on her owners day and night.

After President Washington served one term as president, he wrote his farewell speech. He and Martha started packing for their retirement at Mount Vernon, but it was not meant to be. He was elected again—unanimously. He did not want to serve another term, but gave in under pressure.

Martha had no say in it whatsoever. But as she hosted her tea parties and levees, she became close friends with several forward-thinking women, such as Abigail Adams and Judith Murray, feminists of the time. Their radical ideas rubbed off on Martha—education and job training for women to be self-supporting instead of depending on husbands. By the end of George’s term, she experienced a steep character arc. She even changed her attitude toward slavery. When Oney escaped at age 20, at the end of George’s final term, Martha was very resentful: “She was more like a child to me than a servant.” The Washingtons knew that she’d escaped to Portsmouth, New Hampshire and made several attempts to recapture her. But in a sudden act of lenience, Martha gave up on Oney and let her remain free. During her husband’s presidency, Martha complained, “I am more like a state prisoner”, so perhaps she put herself in Oney’s place and realized she deserved liberty, too.

As our first First Lady, Martha Washington evolved from a  grandmotherly wife and homebody to an outspoken champion of women’s rights. She provided freedom for her slaves at her death.

While living in Portsmouth, Oney married a sailor, Jack Staines, and had three children. She outlived her husband and children, and lived her remaining free life in Greenland, New Hampshire. Somewhat of a local celebrity, she lived in poverty, but the locals supported her and she took in sewing to supplement her meager income. She declared in an 1847 interview, “I am free now and choose to remain so.”

An Excerpt from ONEY, MY ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY

The hour finally came—while they ate dinner.

Nothing heavied my heart—not remorse, not guilt, not sadness upon fleeing my master and mistress. Raw thirst for freedom overcame all that. I walked straight past the Washingtons and out that door. When I shut it, I left them—and my forced bondage— behind me.

I tore through the muddy streets in pouring rain. Gasping for breath, soaked to the skin, my heart slamming in terror, I glanced behind me, again and again. No one pursued me—yet. I dreaded and expected pounding footsteps, a clap on my shoulder. But, I asked myself, who would chase me through the driving rain? No, it is not possible, I affirmed—they didn’t even know I’d left the kitchen.

At the Jones house I slowed and caught my breath. When Absalom opened the door, I staggered inside, laughing, sobbing, gulping for dear life.

I spent the night pacing the attic room, hands clasped. “I beg of you, dear God, walk beside me on this journey. See me through this safe. Don’t let them capture me. I only want to be your servant, no one else’s.”

As daybreak nudged away the darkness, I fell to my knees, weary with fatigue. “Thank you, dear God, for ending my final night of bondage.”

Serendipity at Work

In May 2014, popular romance author Brenda Novak had her annual auction for diabetes—authors donate books, critiques, etc., and people bid on them, similar to Ebay. I donated one of my other books, and I also donated a free manuscript critique. An author named Piper Huguley won the critique auction, but the auction ended and I never heard from her. I thought oh, well, she doesn’t want it after all. About 3 months later, she wrote me and sent me her story, A CHAMPION’S HEART, to critique. It’s a romance about an African American girl, set in rural Georgia in the 1910s. Very moving and powerful story. I loved it. It was published in 2016 by Liliaceae Publishers.

getBook.at/AChampionsHeart

I’d been wanting to find an African American author to go over my Oney novel, but never looked for anyone. I thought of asking one of my grade school classmates, but just didn’t get to it…well, one day I decided to ask Piper.

Right after I asked her, she wrote back and said she’d be happy to help. Then I went on Facebook and saw that Piper just posted that her mother passed away that morning. So I sent her a message of condolence. Then she wrote this back to me:

And I appreciate your kind comments about my mother. You see, I see your request as “heaven sent” for I think I told you about how my mother told me about Oney. I know that she would want me to work on anything, do anything to forward that story. So, even in the midst of a difficult time, I look forward to helping you–something I really didn’t expect after you had helped me so much. Thank you for that.

I don’t remember her telling me that her mother told her about Oney. I’ve heard so many stories about people who pass away, and send ‘signs’ etc. to their loved ones, this was just too strange to be coincidence. Piper helped me a great deal with Oney’s story and became my co-author. We dedicated the book to her mother.

Purchase ONEY:

http://getBook.at/ONEY 

About Diana and Piper:

Diana writes about folks who shook things up. Her passion for history and travel has taken her to every locale of her stories, set in Medieval and Renaissance England, Egypt, the Mediterranean, colonial Virginia, New England, and New York. Her urban fantasy romance FAKIN’ IT won a Top Pick award from Romantic Times. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Richard III Society and the Aaron Burr Association. When not writing, she runs CostPro, Inc., an engineering business, with her husband Chris. In her spare time, Diana bicycles, golfs, plays her piano and devours books of any genre. She spends as much time as possible just livin’ the dream on her beloved Cape Cod.

Piper Huguley is a two-time Golden Heart ®finalist and is the author of the “Home to Milford College” series. The series follows the building of a college from its founding in 1866. Book #1 in the series, The Preacher’s Promise was named a top ten Historical Romance in Publisher’s Weekly by the esteemed historical romance author, Beverly Jenkins and received Honorable Mention in the Writer’s Digest Contest of Self-Published e-books in 2015.

Her new series “Born to Win Men” starts with A Champion’s Heart as Book #1. A Champion’s Heart was named by Sarah MacLean of The Washington Post as a best romance novel selection for December 2016.

She blogs about the history behind her novels at http://piperhuguley.com. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and son.

Connect with Diana and Piper:

www.dianarubino.com

https://www.facebook.com/DianaRubinoAuthor/

Twitter: @DianaLRubino

www.piperhuguley.com

https://www.facebook.com/piper.huguley

Twitter: @PiperHuguley