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Virtual Tourist 03/22/24 and more...
Virtual Tourist 03/22/24
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Greetings! I swear I tend to overbook my time. But then still feel like I am not getting enough done. LOL. However, in April, I’ll be giving you and me a break! Bwahahaha! More details about the hiatus on May 17th! (Assuming you still remember who I am by then. 😝) News/Musings March is proving to be a handful. Boo! But I did skip catching a cold, so yay! 😁 I had an early birthday lunch with my Mom and others yesterday. This lands on my grandmother’s birthday, so she was there in spirit. The big joke for the day – we met at Gloria’s, an El Salvadoran/Tex-Mex restaurant, and I got Gloria’s Super Special. So Gloria ate at Gloria’s and had Gloria’s special. Three Glorias. Now say the sentence three times fast. LOL. 🤣 I think everyone had a good time. 🤞
Writing NewsI’ve hit almost 65,000 words for The Secret Aftermath – Book 2 of the Discoveries of Julia Xero. I have 15,000 to go for my minimum word count threshold, so you get a full novel. (I’ve noticed a weird trend where books are getting shorter and shorter. I’m not going that route. I’d feel cheated as a reader so I won’t do it as a writer if I can at all help it.) Feeding chapters to the writer’s group as I go, trying to get it as shiny as possible before hitting up my editor. I would love to get it to you by July, so wish me luck! (My hope is to jump straight to book 3 after that.) Eek! Music of Death Blues has been well received so far, which is awesome! Thank you guys for your awesome support!
Extra content today: 1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie) 2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL) 3) Fascinating Places Group Promo 4) Monstrous March Group Promo
Scroll on down to get all the deets. 😉  The Crimson InkwellStoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie) Magic Exists Where We Cannot See. Book 1 of the Luella Winthrop Trilogy If someone gave you a pen that turned fiction into fact, how long would it take you to make a proper mess of things? I’m Luella Winthrop. I live in Dawnhurst-on-Severn, a small English city that’s teeming with excitement over the print industry. After all, if education has been made available for even the working class, why not enjoy it? Still, even if a woman can read, write, or reign as sovereign, my editor assures me that we don’t sell stories very well. Personally, I think he’s just protective. After all, he is also my fiancé. Why assign me exciting stories when he can tuck me into safe, non-controversial articles about table napkins? But, I didn’t become a writer to write about table napkins. I dreamed of covering dashing detectives, murders on the cobbles, and unexplained phenomena. So, when a strange carnival worker offered me a pen that could turn fiction to fact, I took him up on it. Before I knew it, I was suspended in between reality and magic. Now I have no idea who to marry, what it takes to impress the critics, or how to put my world back together. But, I’d better hurry, because I think I woke up something dark and dangerous. Jedi SurvivorYep, still doing this one. I FINALLY figured out how to get the UI to disappear for the photos. But whether you’ll see those this time around is not yet determined. I try to upload 30 pics at a time, then try to pick the best ones to show, so you could get lucky? 😁 You can see all the currently uploaded pics here.  Such funky rock formations. The level of detail is awesome!  Signs of Imperial and other presences on Koboh close to the miner town.  Skoova, one of the many people you can recruit to the town during your travels. He’s a hoot! You will find him and his boat in the most unusual of places as he hunts for fish to add to the tank behind him, which is in the bar. Every time you find him, he will catch a fish at that location and continue with the whopper of a tale of his adventures. 1 more fish to go!  This is a far view of one of the ancient temples scattered throughout the planet Jedah. Cal gets several unexpected surprises here. (You can find a gardener for the roof of the bar on this planet.)  Entrance to one of the many temples on Jedah.  View from the lab at the broken moon orbiting Koboh. The ship is the Mantis. Yu could change the colors in the first game, but we’re stuck with these this time around. The ship has seen better days. 😛  Still at the lab on the broken moon. The maintenance droid is still functional and is hundreds of years old. Bad things happened here.  Remains of ancient life on Koboh. There are a couple of giant species still alive there. (And some evil bugs that love to jump on you out of nowhere.)  Grace in the WingsStoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL) A ghost from her past. Her sister murdered. Is a Broadway star facing her final curtain call? New York City, 1920. Grace Michelle has everything she wants: a home, a family, and a future career as a costume designer for the famed Ziegfeld Follies. Pretty good for a girl who once lived on the streets of New York City. But when her sister, the star of the show, is murdered, Grace’s sheltered life is shattered. To catch the culprit, the junior designer is forced to give up her dreams and replace her dead sister as the Follies’ star. It’s not long before she realizes she’s a pawn in a series of publicity stunts that put her life at risk—and into the path of a dangerous man from her troubled past—a man she thought she’d left for dead. If Grace doesn’t find the killer fast, it’s certain she’ll be taking her final bow. Grace in the Wings is the gripping first book in the Grace Michelle Mystery series. If you like historical mysteries dripping with 1920s swagger, unfettered ambition, and plenty of murderous twists, you’ll love Kari Bovee’s riveting tale. Buy Grace in the Wings to lose yourself in the glamorous, and sometimes dangerous, world of Broadway’s golden age!  Fascinating Places Group Promo – Immerse yourself in real-world places!  Monstrous March Group Promo – monsters of all kinds at your fingertips They are calling for cold fronts and rain. Stay indoors! Stay warm! Until next time!
Gloria     Mind Sieve 03/08/24
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Happy Day, y’all! I’ve got all sorts of stuff to share today
News/MusingsOkay, weird weather, unhappy dogs, and I’ve been trying to get a sore throat. Nooo! If I stay on top of it, I can cut that off at the pass. Bwahahahaha! I didn’t participate at Fencon this year, but several of my author buds did. Two of them got the convention crud from other attendees. I know people paid to go, but it might be time to stay home if you’re coughing out a lung. Melanie said it knocked her out for four days after she caught it there. Poor thing! Writing newsMusic of Death Blues is LIVE! The ebook, paperback, and hardback all went on sale 3/1/24. For those of you with a subscription, you’ll also find it in Kindle Unlimited. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Excellent in so many ways: characters, plot, atmosphere, historical detail.” – Book Bub Review Reactions have been great so far! I just found out that one of my publishers is participating in Smashwords eBook Week from 3/4 to 3/9/24. All my Zumaya titles will be 25% off! You can see the list of my books on special here. Also, Amazon and Audible have started a new program for audiobooks with virtual voices – so just for fun, I experimented with doing Jacques for it since I got a beta invite. You can check out the sample at either Amazon or Audible.
Extra stuff I’ve shoved in here:1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie) 2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (Freebie) 3) Fascinating Places Group Promo 4) Monstrous March Group Promo 5) BookSiren’s Cozy Mystery ARCs 6) Strong Women Strange Worlds Rapid Fire Readings
More deets on all of these in their sections. 😊
 StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie)Love and HateLost Girl has nothing on this Demon Tessa Damon is a modern demon with no plans to ever settle down. She loves her life. She has great friends, an amazing career and dating rules that keep her safe and her sexual appetite sated. Until she meets Devon that is. He’s sweet, funny and sexy. Just her type except he’s her friend brother which makes him off limits. Or does it? Mini Movie/TV Reviews 🎥★ – Why did I go see this? Why?! ★★ – Showed promise but on execution, crashed ★★★ – Enjoyable, just don’t look under the hood too closely ★★★★ – A great film, totally worth seeing! ★★★★★ – 🤯 Too fabulous for words!
 Madam WebThere were some really great things about this film, but also some not-so-great things. One of the biggest mistakes was the fact the film was set in 2003. A lot of technology has changed since then, mainly mandatory GPS’s on Taxi cabs. But it was very easy to forget we were in 2003 and not in 2023. And keeping the Taxi’s license plate without dirtying it up or removing was stupid. Other bits like that really drew away from the enjoyment. (She’s lived in New York and been a paramedic for years—she should known things. Lol.) One thing I really did like was how the protagonist’s power grew over time as she struggled to understand it and make it her own. For those expecting a lot of action from the three girls once they grow up, you only get glimpses of that future. I wasn’t expecting any, but seemingly other people were. 😛 Rating: ★★★.5 out of 5 Hubby’s Rating: Better on Cable  Dune Part 2Cool effects, great acting, and nice combat scenes, yet when it was over, we were oddly dissatisfied. What took three years in the book got squished into one, so a lot of things got changed to better fit the compressed timeline. One thing hubby had been unhappy about in part 1 was how they gave one line about how important spice was, and that was it—no explanations, no follow through. He’d hoped they’d make up for it in part 2, but they didn’t. Without sharing all the different ways spice affects the empire and most of the major guilds, a super important level of complexity in the situation is completely lost. (Worse was adding the scene showing a Bene Jesserit giving Fey the fear test! He would NOT have survived it, he has no training. Instead, it’s ‘oh, he likes pain’) Chani’s role was also modified. And making the Fremen religion split by north and south was not well thought out.) It’s like they drained the magic/wonder from the story. Oh well. Rating: ★★★★ out of 5 Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price to Admission!  StoryOrigin Swap 2 (Freebie)Knights of the Crescent, Knights of the CrossSomething lurks beneath Jerusalem What evil hides amongst us? A small band of Crusader knights finds themselves alone on the streets of Jerusalem during the bloody siege of 1099. They discover a mosque, tucked away at the corner of a deserted market. What they find inside changes history forever. This reader magnet introduces readers to the world of The Other, a Lovecraftian cosmic horror series. Movie/TV Previews 🎥 Inside Out 2 Movie Trailer – looks like utter teenage chaos!  Fallout Movie Trailer – based on the PC game. Looks fun. Lots of actors I like in this one! Hubby’s played the game, so he’s pumped.
 Wild Robot Movie Trailer – looks super cute! Just for Fun!  AC/DC Thunderstruck but with Tesla coils – Too darn cool! LOL.  The Avengers (All series openings) – no, not those Avengers, but the Patrick McNee ones! Fascinating Places Group Promo – books from all genres that concentrate on real-world locations.  Strong Women Strange Worlds Rapid Fire Readings for 3/21/24.  Mar 2024 Cozy Mystery ARCs at BookSirens – free books for reviews.   Virtual Tourisy 02/23/24
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Greetings! I hope you’ve been doing great! Sorry about the blog posts dropping off. Life’s been chaotic and software unhelpful so I was not able to repost the last new newsletters to the blog. The last two weeks have been super busy. I expected the week before to be, but not this week too! Aiiieeee! I’ve been wrangling people, software, animals, and myself. Phew. The fun never ends 😝 News/Musings Wow, I’d been thinking of stuff to share in the newsletter and now that I am finally here, my mind just went BLANK. Nooo! I’m pretty sure the last half-hour fighting with Outlook didn’t help. Boo! I’d imported mail from my old Outlook to the one in the new computer back in Oct and it’s not worked right since. I dislike the web utility used by my website provider, so I switched to using Microsoft Mail. Well, they’ve decided to discontinue it and force everyone into using Outlook. So when it moved me today, SLAM, same old problem, even though I sent a ticket months ago. (They answered in a chat in Outlook which I of course could not see since I was back to using Mail the last time they shunted me over without a choice. My life is so glamorous! 🤣 Let’s see if they will email a solution or try to send it through Outlook’s chat again (which I won’t see.) 🤣 If you’ve been following me for a while, you might know that I am a HUGE Carole Nelson Douglas fan. One of my favorite series by her is the Irene Adler series. While Sherlock and Watson make the occasional appearance, they are NOT the main characters. Instead, the books are about Adler’s adventures, as seen from the point of view of Miss Huxliegh, who becomes Irene’s companion. They are awesome! I saw in her fan group, that the series has been added to Kindle Unlimited. So if you subscribe to KU, make sure to check them out. The Chinese New Year has arrived and it is the Year of the Dragon! Booyah! Why my excitement? Because that’s my sign under the Chinese zodiac. 🐉 Woohoo!
Writing NewsI’m either trying to do too much or am just getting old. I’ve been reviewing the audio book files as the producers upload them to ACX each weekend or sooner. This past weekend, ACX never even entered my mind! 2AM Sunday night, I woke up and realized I’d 100% totally forgotten about them. DOH! I’ll be playing catchup this weekend. Whee! For those interested in such things – the five-day free promotion for Black Jade earned 1,600 downloads! Woot! (I did pay a couple of sites/services to spread the free book deal to their lists, so while free to readers, it wasn’t free for me to do, but if enough people actually read book 1, it might entice them to get books 2 and 3 and make up for it, at least that’s the marketing theory. I’ll have to wait and see if anything comes from it or not. Nut one neat thing to come out of it, was this
Now if I could just get it to do that under the Paid section. 😝 That being said, we’re now mere DAYS away from the release of Music of Death Blues! Woot! I wanted to give a Special Shout-out to Linda K and Anne K (not related) for their invaluable typo and weirdness-hunting skills while reading their review copies. THANK YOU for helping to make the book as error-free as possible. 🥰🥰🥰🥰 You guys rock! Reviews for Music of Death Blues are starting to trickle in! Extra content today: 1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (UBL) 2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL) 3) Fabled February Group Promo 4) The Cost of Magic Group Promo
Scroll on down to get all the deets. 😉  Wild WolvesStoryOrigin Swap 1 (UBL) The wolf shifter who broke my heart and his bad boy brother want to share me. After the death of my mother, I’m a broken shell. Tall. I try avoiding him. If I give myself to them wholly, what will be left of me? When I become the target of a rival pack, the brothers are my only hope. Can the three of us stop fighting destiny, or will our stubbornness destroy us? Wild Wolves is a standalone Paranormal Romance with a HEA and NO cheating! Jedi SurvivorPretty much all of my family knows I am a sucker for all things Star Wars. The last game I played in the universe was Jedi the Fallen Order which I loved! Jedi Survivor picks up several years later and is centered around Cal Kestis. Cal was also the main character in Fallen Order. So I was very excited when I heard they were doing this sequel. Unlike a lot of sequel games, they don’t take away everything the character learned in the prior game – YAY! BD-1 even kept some of his upgrades! (BD-1 is one of the cutest droids EVER!) I felt chills when the intro music played (they kept the intro music from Fallen Order, so it was like coming home!) Since Cal kept a lot of his hard-earned movements, especially of the parkour variety, it might prove difficult for those who skipped Fallen Order. For me, it again felt like coming home. Awesome! Mind you, I always pick the story-rich option as I stink at combat, so I can’t say how good or bad that is, though they have made it easier, I think, for the story-rich level or difficulty. Is the satisfaction of drawing an enemy to you with the Force and giving them some lightsaber follow-up. Ah! To compensate for leaving you a lot of the powers of the last game, your skill points now go to (5 so far) stances – single lightsaber, double joined sabers, two sabers, great sword saber, and blaster with single saber combo. The one detriment is that you can only change your stance at the save points rather than whenever you want. I’m sticking with the double joined lightsabers and putting skill points to two sabers once double is full. 😛 As for pics – F12 doesn’t work for screen pics but I eventually found the photo mode key. Took me longer to find the folder it was putting them in and the fact the Hide UI key meant the photo screen UI. DOH! You can see all the currently uploaded pics here.  Our story starts on Coruscant! Cal’s pulling a sting to try to get some info from a crooked senator for Saw.  Looking up at the higher levels of Coruscant  Cal looking at a televised advisory about himself. 😛  The Mantis takes a lot of damage leaving Coruscant, so Cal decides to visit his old friend Greez to repair it. Hints start getting peppered around as to why the group of four split up.  Koboh has some trippy rock formations, old mining machinery, and even older Jedi ruins. (There are rolling mines that follow anything that moves. You’ll have to maneuver them to open up a few areas. Not easy! Whee!)  Neat pool formations on Koboh.  Inside the ruins of an old forgotten Jedi temple. Crazy force puzzles will ensue. And the first hints of a world beyond the Empire’s reach  A new (old) droid! Zee! She’s got a funky personality, but if I had to be a droid, I’d like to look like her. 🙂  Counting CrowsStoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL) On a fog-bound hill, the crows are feasting on the body of a dead man. Lorne Turner has seen more than his fair share of corpses, but never one like this. The markings on the body and the position all lead towards ritual sacrifice. Just what Lorne doesn’t need, another lost soul keeping him company at night. But he can’t ignore the questions this dead man brings in his wake. Why here, right on the highest point on Exmoor? What do the occult markings mean? And why do the authorities seem so intent on avoiding the obvious ceremonial element? One thing he knows for sure is that someone in the police will stop at nothing to prevent him discovering the truth. When those in power are this corrupt, who can he turn to for help? Old friends step up, and new alliances are forged. Lorne and the vicar, Ella Morgan, begin their search for answers by plunging into the evil engulfing their lives. Driven by the ghosts of his past, Lorne is forced to abandon his new-found peace and follow the trail into a world of occultism, corruption, and greed. Trained for war, he must now fight the darkness of a madman threatening all he holds dear. What will break first, his mind, or the bodies of his enemies?  Fabled February Group Promo – check out these mythical books before they’re gone!  The Cost of Magic – Group Promo – only a few more days for these magic system and sci-fi tech reads! Have fun y’all! Until next time!
Gloria   Virtual Tourist 12/29/23
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Greetings! How was your Christmas? I hope you got everything you were hoping for! 😁 I got a colonoscopy for mine! 😝 Not on the day of, mind you, but the week before. It came out clean (pun intended), though it won’t be official till the virtual visit next week. So it was a good present, indeed. 🎁 News/Musings We were supposed to go to the in-laws last Saturday to celebrate Christmas, but whether from a delayed reaction to the colonoscopy or something I ate that didn’t agree with me, I had to bail from going at the last minute. My daughter delivered the gifts for the nephews and nieces under 18, and I gather they were well received. Yay! On the day of, we did the annual stockings, which hubby loves to do. He upped the game this year and bought bags to hold the gifts and candy. He was quite happy to have found “coal” candy as those had disappeared a couple of years ago.
Writing NewsThe Music of Death Blues and the prequel short The Prince and Dai are still pending at the editor’s, so no new news there. I did finally finish working on the book trailer, though! Woot! I won’t upload it till the edits come back and the pre-order is set up. But I included a screen grab to give you a taste. 😄
The Secret Aftermath – Book 2 of the Discoveries of Julia Xero is now at 30,000 words! I’d been submitting chapters to the crit group, but with the holidays that has ground to a halt, but I am still putting words down. Oh yeah! Here’s an excerpt from one of the new reviews: “Alien Redemption by Gloria Oliver is a great, twisty, sci-fi adventure story with plenty of suspense, tension, drama, action, secrets, mystery, agendas/plots, high stakes, blackmail, betrayal, intrigue, emotion, discovery, challenges, space travel, new beginnings, and aliens. Extra content today: 1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie) 2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (Review Copy) 3) Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group Promo 4) Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! We’re Cozy Inside! Group Promo
Scroll on down to get all the deets. 😉  Without A WorldStoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie) When Miranda learns her mother was right, Earth will fall into a black hole of their own making; she must find the strength to save her family.
A black hole is coming for Earth, but that is only the beginning of Miranda’s problems. She thought life in the Trash Lands was bad, scraping for food and water, wishing she could blend into the sea of ash. But when she learns her mother was right, Earth will get sucked into a black hole, Miranda must trust in skills she never knew she had to get to a place she refused to believe existed. When she finds an idyllic new world, to Miranda’s surprise, she cannot turn her back on the suffering on Earth, but will she risk it all to save a doomed world? Without A World, the first book in the Kirasu Rising series, delivers non-stop, action-packed adventure as we race alongside a strong female protagonist through space and alternate dimensions. If you like young adult, metaphysical, action-adventure you will love this series. Click to jump into Miranda’s adventure today! StarfieldThe love/hate relationship continues. But I must like it more than not, or I would not keep playing it! LOL You can see all the currently uploaded pics here.  With regards to the non-character-related details, they do a fabulous job. It makes me want to go eat there. How about you? 😁
 The Whetstone entrance in New Atlantis – I love the mirror image made with tiles.  New Atlantis at night.  The UC and Vanguard have a history museum at New Atlantis. Here’s one of the mechs used during the war.  A stuffed terrormorph – they once tried to control these to use in warfare. They are somehow spreading across the galaxy—one of the mysteries you will be solving in the game.  Inside a posh restaurant in New Atlantis.  Inside the church of one of the religions in New Atlantis.
 A monument to honor all those lost during the war.  DarkhavenStoryOrigin Swap 2 (Review cOPY) What would you sacrifice for magic?
Gabby Whitehall is in her final year of high school and facing the Question: what does she want to do with her life? A shame ‘wizarding’ isn’t on the list of university courses. Just as Gabby despairs that she’ll never find the answer, lightning strikes. She uncovers a conspiracy, meets a mysterious boy, and finds out that maybe, magic might just be real. But it comes at a cost, and now Gabby’s faced with a decision that makes choosing a university as easy as choosing a favourite kind of cake… and how is anyone meant to do that? A coming-of-age, contemporary fantasy, Darkhaven is the first book in the Lightless Prophecy, a galaxy-spanning adventure of magic and gods, love and betrayal, and a quest to find out what holds the stars together in the dark.  Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group Promo – last chance to grab these science fiction goodies.  Puzzling Mysteries Await You – Group Promo – only a few more days before they’re gone! May 2024 bring happiness and good fortune for all! Until next time!
Gloria   Virtual Tourist 12/01/23
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Greetings! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Did you eat too much turkey? 🦃🍗 😝 We tried to be good—and were moderately successful. 😁 This was the first time we got to see family from both sides in a while. Between Covid and my back issues, we’d had to restrain from visiting folks. So it was great to see them all again! All the kids have gotten so big! 😲 News/Musings You may have noticed the logo of the website has changed! I kept seeing deals on writer logos and decided mine needed a refresh. Something less busy. Did it myself. I shared some working models in FB. I thought I had mentioned it on the blog, too, but I was WRONG! 😱 I also forgot to update the newsletter logo header.
Writing NewsHaven’t heard from my editor, so no news to report on The Music of Death Blues and the prequel short The Prince and Dai. Unlike last time, I am not setting up anything related to them until I get those edits back, aside from general things. I cut things way too close last time and gave myself a ton of unnecessary stress. So, I am going to practice being patient this time around before setting stuff up. Lol. We’ll see how that goes. Here’s the current blurb for The Music of Death Blues: A suicide that wasn’t. Racial prejudice pushing a murder to be swept under the rug. Can Daiyu Wu throw back the covers to reveal the killer? Dallas, TX, 1930. Daiyu Wu resigned herself to life inevitably returning to normal after having dipped her toes into pursuing justice. But a new case falls onto her lap when she hears screeching tires and a woman calling out in pain. The older lady is wary of her offer to help, but Daiyu knows people aren’t kidnapped off the street just to be set free again—something terrible is coming. As Daiyu feared, things take a turn for the worse—the rescued woman’s youngest son committed suicide. But for a kidnapping and a suicide to occur to the same family on the same day smells of deviltry, but the police can’t be bothered to investigate—so Daiyu has no choice but to get involved or risk allowing a killer to run free. Can Daiyu and her friends unravel what’s really going on before the murder is closed forever? The Secret Aftermath – Book 2 of the Discoveries of Julia Xero is now at 20,000 words! That’s equal to about 1/4 of a book. Hoping to up the word count rate per week as I am still trying to meet my two books a-year goal. Whee! I’m also trying a new marketing strategy using Teasers with neat backgrounds. Since most of my paid ad efforts always seem to bomb, I’m trying to find free/mostly free alternatives. Here’s a sample of one for In the Service of Samurai—my ya Japanese fantasy novel.
Make sure to follow me on FB, Instagram, or Pinterest if you’d like to see them as I roll them out. 🙂 Extra content today: 1) StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie) 2) StoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL) 3) Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group Promo 4) Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! We’re Cozy Inside! Group Promo
Scroll on down to get all the deets. 😉  Wedding or the Torn RoseStoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie) As torn petals of a rose fall, a hero must rise in a race against destiny. What starts as a fairy tale rescue spirals into an intricate web of dark fantasy laced with intrigue and magic. After the downtrodden merchant Kaine saves the runaway Princess Lydia from an unexpected monster, he feels inexplicably drawn to her. Lydia’s uncanny knowledge of his deepest secrets looms over him, suggesting she knows more about him than he has revealed. However, there is little time to investigate this mystery. The princess is betrothed to the magic wielding Throatian Kingdom, and Lydia’s father has rewarded Kaine with a job offer he cannot refuse. As the rehearsal dinner for Lydia’s arranged wedding unfolds, tension simmers amidst foreign customs and whispered conversations. The Throatian Royal family, draped in magic, is keen to forge an alliance with the Darian Kingdom. Meanwhile, Lydia, now fully aware of her royal responsibilities, summons Kaine for a private meeting in the chilling stillness of the graveyard. Her impending wedding signifies more than a pact of sword and sorcery, and something else—dark and twisted—stirs in the shadows. With time dwindling short, and the ceremony happening the next day, will Kaine unshackle himself from his past to embrace the guardian he is destined to become? Or will the ties binding him to Lydia be torn apart like petals in the wind? Journey with Kaine and Lydia as they attempt to prevent a war and save a kingdom in the first volume of the Symphony of Crowns and Gods series. Sherlock Holmes: The AwakenedSherlock meets Cthulu! Hadn’t shared pics on this one aside from the first time, so here’s some more. You can see all the currently uploaded pics here.  Young Sherlock has found an underground base where people have been brought and had their minds altered. Here is one of the disturbing images he finds in the cavern walls.  A large statue of those who live beyond.  The writing is literally on the walls. 😝 (I couldn’t help myself!)  The Alps as Watson and Sherlock head toward the sanitorium.  Looks like a scene from a Hammer Film. 😁 Nice and creepy.  They do have the creepy atmosphere down pat! Lol. A place of hidden evil.  The sanitarium garden – a prison inside a prison for birds.  A mind-invading warning.  Charmed and DangerousStoryOrigin Swap 2 (UBL) Welcome to Crystal Beach, an enchanting town with a dangerous secret. Peril and uncertainty loom heavy over Crystal Beach as a cataclysmic event threatens to wipe out Mystic Dunes and its residents. Only one witch possesses the power to halt this impending disaster – psychic Sidney Grace. But is she ready to face such a powerful and deadly force? As time ticks away, Sidney faces a daunting task—convincing the Crystal Beach police that magic and ghosts are real—and that’s not something they teach at Quipley’s School of Magic. Fortunately, Mojo, her magical feline, lends a paw in this battle to save their town. Can Sidney harness her magical abilities and unravel the mysteries—a strange death, the enigmatic beach creature, and the ghost’s chilling prophecy—before it’s too late to avert disaster? Join Sidney on her most perilous mission yet in Charmed and Dangerous. Don’t miss this electrifying installment in the Crystal Beach series. Grab your copy today and immerse yourself in this spellbinding mystery adventure! Escape the Holidays with Free Sci-Fi Books Group Promo – science fiction of all kinds ready for the taking. Puzzling Mysteries Await You – Group Promo – exercise your little gray cells for Nov 2023. They are calling for cold fronts and rain. Stay indoors! Stay warm! Until next time!
Gloria   More Recent Articles |
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