Saturday, November 22, 2014

Saturday's Series Spotlight: Bellingham Mysteries by Nicole Kimberling



Primal Red #1
Summary:
Peter Fontaine is a reporter writing for a free weekly newspaper in the quirky little town of Bellingham. Nick Olson is a reclusive painter with questionable past and a studio in the Vitamilk Building. Peter has a knack for choosing to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. In this case that place is the Vitamilk Building and the time is the moment that Shelley Vine, local art professor and rising star of the art world, is stabbed to death.

Determined to understand why Vine was killed, and convinced that breaking the story could jumpstart his career as an investigative journalist, Peter begins his own investigation into her death. As Peter uncovers more information about Vine, Olson, and the interconnected lives of the rest of the artists at the Vitamilk Building, he finds himself falling in love with Nick.

Peter wants a story but he also wants Nick, and it looks like he's going to have to make a choice before the two can paint the town Primal Red.


Baby, It's Cold Outside #2
Summary:
Small town Pacific Northwest reporter Peter Fontaine wants to level up. A job offer in Austin seems to be the answer to his prayers, but there’s one catch: his boyfriend, Nick Olson, artist, recluse, and snow-loving outdoorsman.

When Peter agrees to go to the Freezing Man snow sculpture competition, he thinks he’s going to get a lesson in making love in a hollowed-out snowball in the woods. He thinks he’ll either find a way to convince Nick to come to the Lone Star State or be forced to say goodbye. But one frozen corpse derails Peter’s personal plans entirely...


Black Cat Ink #3
Summary:
Small-town reporter Peter Fontaine has a cherry job, a hunky artist boyfriend, and an insatiable lust for rooting out the truth. In this third installment of the Bellingham Mysteries, he and Nick must try to recover a stolen statue in time to host their big Halloween party.

The catch? The statue was created by Nick’s ex lover and to find the culprit, Peter must first delve into Nick’s past. Will Peter’s slutty nurse costume be enough incentive for Nick to come clean about his life before Peter?


One Man's Treasure #4
Summary:
Four years ago, Peter Fontaine made a name for himself as Bellingham, Washington's premiere investigative reporter. Since then he's got an award, a cat and good-looking artist to come home to every night.

Nick Olson, Peter's long-suffering lover has a lot of reasons for wanting Peter to stop investigating the many and varied crimes committed in the City of Subdued Excitement. Peter's nasty habit of getting held at gunpoint by lunatics has Nick wondering if any story is worth losing the man he's decided to “everything-but-marry.”

But when a famous ceramic artist drops dead at the Bellingham Farmer's Market, Nick agrees to help Peter dig deep to unearth the secret rivalries and dirty deeds done at Green Goddess Farms. And then they're going to have another long talk about these bad habits of Peter's.


Birds of a Feather #5
Summary:
Peter Fontaine just wants to get married. He's got a willing man, a house, a cat and the official permission of the State of Washington. Everything should be peachy, but weddings mean guests and guests bring the magic of friends and family--the enthusiastic, the vengeful and the weird.

But figuring out a seating chart that won't result in homicide isn't Peter's only problem. He's a reporter and reporters need stories. Fortunately Peter has one. When he finds a dead, dismembered bald eagle near his home, he's on the case. As guests converge upon his home, Peter searches the county for the person responsible... 


Author Bio:
Nicole Kimberling lives in Bellingham, Washington with her wife, Dawn Kimberling, two bad cats as well as a wide and diverse variety of invasive and noxious weeds. Her first novel, Turnskin, won the Lambda Literary Award for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. She is also the author of the Bellingham Mysteries.


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Primal Red
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Baby, It's Cold Outside
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Black Cat Ink
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One Man's Treasure
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Birds of a Feather
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Cover Reveal: Sleeping Tom by EV Fairfall

Title: Sleeping Tom
Author: E.V. Fairfall 
Publication date: February 15th 2015 
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Cover Design: Kendall Roderick

Summary:
Hitchhiking is a bad idea but Caden is desperate.

When she accepts a ride from the first car to come by she meets Gabriel. He’s her age, hot, and the closest thing she has to a savior. Problem is, he is a total jerk. With nowhere to go, Caden convinces Gabriel to let her stay with him for one night. He reluctantly lends a couch.

That night Caden wakes up to strange noises. Concerned, she rushes into Gabriel’s room, already anticipating his bad temper. Instead, he’s kind, sweet, and suspiciously harmless—nothing like the man who gave her a ride. He seems like a different person altogether, and claims he is. By night he is Tom, and by day he is Gabriel. Caden finds herself drawn to the mysteries hidden in his eyes.

For Gabriel, Caden is an annoying mistake. One night turns into many, and despite all his anger towards her, she stays. She even seems to accept him and his flaws, but he still doesn’t trust her—is she staying for him, or has she already discovered more than he’s willing to share?


Author Bio:
I love to write just as much as I love to read. I try to read a book per week, which doesn’t always work out, but it’s the thought that counts. Aside from all that I am a huge animal person.

Transformed is my first novel, but it isn’t my first publication; I’ve had several short stories published over the last two years. My main goal as a writer is to explore humanity and to give people something fun to read.


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Cover Reveal: Before Time by Xunaira J

TITLE – Before Time
SERIES –  The Time Series
AUTHOR – Xunaira J.
GENRE – New Adult / Tragic Romance
PUBLICATION DATE – 22nd November 2014
PUBLISHER – Amazon

Summary:
His eyes told her what his tongue could not.

Nineteen-year-old Onaiza Shahid is a loner and a dreamer, bookish and socially isolated. A chance ramble into a chatting software changes everything. The words of a stranger compel her. Addicted and falling fast, their secret love changes her life. But will the idealistic teenager get her happily ever after?


Author Bio:
As a thirteen year old teenager, Xunaira J. aspired to be an author someday. From short stories to novellas, she has written them all but as an adult now, she has published two short stories and is now aiming to publish her first Novel, Before Time, scheduled for November release. Xunaira resides in Islamabad, Pakistan and enjoys a hot cup of cappuccino, a good romance novel and her favorite music from the 80's. Apart from that, when she's not working on her current literary project, she loves developing mobile applications and studies as a software engineer.


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Friday, November 21, 2014

Exposed Ezine Release Weekend Blitz Giveaway


Welcome to the Exposed Ezine Release Weekend Blitz! A Quarterly magazine where amazing authors bring you outstanding stories! And yes, there's a giveaway too!


Exposed, an electronic magazine featuring short stories from hot, independent authors, is Butterfly Publishing’s debut publication. Giving readers a glimpse into each author’s writing style and stories, Exposed does just what the title suggests, exposes readers to new titles and new authors. With its low cost and varied content, every reader is sure to find something he or she enjoys.




Phoenix Silverstone more commonly known as Nix, is a twenty-one year old that has finally discovered her freedom. After living under the strict rules and protection of her mother, Nix moved out with her two best friends in a quaint little Seattle apartment. For the first time Nix is finally able to spread her wings and breathe. Together, they get a job working at a bar and for the first time everything is perfect.

Freedom, friendships, a great job and fantastic man on the verge of becoming hers. Tristan is the suave, intelligent, not to mention gorgeous law student that Nix has her eyes and heart set on. For the first time, she has her life together; that is, until her path crosses with Levi. The charming, tattooed and downright sexy bad boy that Nix knows she needs to avoid.

But when one of her friends moves out she is shocked to find that her new roommate is none other than Levi. Flirting. Desire. Undeniable temptations. Nix can’t deny the chemistry surging between them but she can’t forget her mother’s extreme hate towards bad boys.

Will Nix have the strength to listen to her heart? Or will her mother’s rules cost her everything?


Jude was born and raised in a small village named Lacolle. She now lives in Montreal, Canada. She is the proud mother of a beautiful five year old son, and has spent the last thirteen years with her partner, Cedric.

French is her native language, but she prefers to write in her second language, English.

Besides working full time and being a mother, Jude has a passion for books, both reading and writing them.

Her first novella, Under the Sun was published at the end of July 2013.It is part of an anthology called Heat Wave. Her second novella, Wonderland, was published in March 2014 and has hit the bestselling rank. Lost Dreams, a military romance, was published in May 2014, Body, Ink, and Soul in late June 2014 and Ophelia in October 2014.



At fifteen years old, Nick DiMarco got news that changed his life - he was going to be a father. Stepping up, he took custody and raised his little girl, whom everyone calls Harley. Hard work and determination gave him the lifestyle he wanted for the two of them. Now, twenty-one years later he’s flying Harley and some of her friends to the Bahamas for an amazing birthday bash. As a special treat, he invites Victoria, Harley’s long lost best friend from elementary school to surprise her. When the flight carrying Harley and her friends is delayed due to weather, Nick finds himself alone with Victoria who has grown into a beautiful woman. What starts out as a few hour delay grows as a hurricane develops just off the coast. The storm brewing outside is nothing compared to the passion brewing between Nick and Victoria as each tries to fight the attraction of a forbidden love affair.
 
NJ Cole is the author of five published books, Midnight Caller, Midnight Eternal, Landslide, Second Chances and Yes, Mistress. Unlike many of today’s authors, she chooses to write in first person, allowing the readers to experience life through the eyes of the unique characters that live in her head. Her love of those characters and respect for their stories come through loud and clear in her writing. With over two million reads of her online work in the past year NJ Cole is clearly an up and coming author.




What happens when a natural submissive bumps into a polished Dom while spending a day at the beach? Wild, hot, explicit sex! Explore Steve’s seduction of Maya in this exhilarating tale. Warning, graphic language, some forced situations.
 
Fossbrook, author of Broken Tides, is a UK based writer of erotic fiction. He has been writing for a number of years but it wasn't until his collaboration with Cole that he believed his stories might just be worth reading.

In his spare time Fossbrook is a huge sports fan and loves the occasional glass of wine.





Reeling after being blindsided by a bitter divorce, club manager Chase Milligan relocates from his home in Austin to Dallas, to start a new life. Soon he finds his interest captured again. But who is Baylee Andrews? What dark secrets is she hiding? Will delving into her mysteries bring heal Chase's heart and faith, or will he find himself embroiled in more trouble than ever before?













MEET THE MAN BEHIND THE EXPOSED DESIGN
Bobby Kim is a publicist to several independent authors. He markets, formats and analyzes current trends to help promote books to their fullest potential. He co-founded Butterfly Publishing with author NJ Cole. After meeting various authors in 2013, Butterfly Publishing, an independent publishing house, was launched in 2014. Bobby Kim has been known to put pen to paper, so to speak, and fellow collaborators would not be surprised to see some of his own work appear in his magazine in the next few issues.




5 lucky people will win the first issue FREE



Friday's Film Adaption: Trouble Shooter by Ernest Haycox

Summary:
The Story of Frank Peace

He was trouble shooter for the Union Pacific, hand-picked as the only man in the West who could get the road over a thousand miles of rugged desert and treacherous mountains. Faced with savage Indians, bands of vicious outlaws, and power hungry interests sworn to destroy him, Frank Peace was in the business of war. And every man from Omaha to Salt Lake City would have to prove either friend or foe before Frank Peace was through.









Film:
Union Pacific
The 1862 Pacific Railroad Act signed by President Lincoln authorizes pushing the Union Pacific Railroad westward across the wilderness toward California, but financial opportunist Asa Barrows hopes to profit from obstructing it. Chief troubleshooter Jeff Butler has his hands full fighting Barrows' agent, gambler Sid Campeau. Campeau's partner Dick Allen is Jeff's war buddy and rival suitor for engineer's daughter Molly Monahan. Who will survive the effort to push the railroad through at any cost?

Release dates: May 5, 1939
Running time: 135 minutes

Cast
Barbara Stanwyck as Mollie Monahan
Joel McCrea as Captain Jeff Butler
Akim Tamiroff as Fiesta
Robert Preston as Dick Allen
Lynne Overman as Leach Overmile
Brian Donlevy as Sid Campeau
Robert Barrat as Duke Ring (Campeau henchman)
Anthony Quinn as Jack Cordray (Campeau henchman)
Stanley Ridges as General Casement
Henry Kolker as Asa M. Barrows (banker)
Francis McDonald as General Grenville M. Dodge
Willard Robertson as Oakes Ames
Harold Goodwin as E.E. Calvin (telegrapher)
Evelyn Keyes as Mrs. Calvin
Richard Lane as Sam Reed
David Clyde as Irishman




Cover of the Official Souvenir Program
 for "Golden Spike Days" celebrating the
 world premiere of the Cecil B. DeMille 
motion picture Union Pacific 
at Omaha, NE, April 26-29, 1939.


Trailer:



I haven't read Ernest Haycox's novel but I have seen Union Pacific.  It's among my favorite westerns and of the 6 films that stars Joel McCrea and Barbara Stanwyck made together, it is my favorite.  The chemistry between the pair not only jumps off the screen but it only magnifies the story.  The supporting cast heightens the tale as well.  Fiction mixed with history as only 1939 Hollywood can tell.

Rating: 


Author Bio:
Haycox was born in Portland, Oregon, to William James Haycox and the former Martha Burghardt on October 1, 1899. After receiving an education in the local schools of both Washington state and Oregon, he enlisted in the United States Army in 1915 and was stationed along the Mexican border in 1916. During World War I he was in Europe, and after the war he spent one year at Reed College in Portland. In 1923, Haycox graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism, where he also started writing under professor W. F. G. Thatcher. In 1925, Haycox married Jill M. Chord, and they would have two children.

He published two dozen novels and about 300 short stories, many of which appeared first in pulp magazines in the early 1920s. During the 1930s and 40s, he was a regular contributor to Collier's Weekly from 1931 and The Saturday Evening Post from 1943. Fans of his work included Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway, and the latter once wrote, "I read The Saturday Evening Post whenever it has a serial by Ernest Haycox."

His story "Stage to Lordsburg" (1937) was made into the movie Stagecoach (1939), directed by John Ford and featuring John Wayne in the role that made him a star. The novel Trouble Shooter (1936), originally serialized in Collier's, was the basis for the movie Union Pacific (1939), directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea. Haycox wrote the screenplay for Montana (1950), directed by Ray Enright, which stars Alexis Smith and Errol Flynn.

Haycox died in 1950, at the age of 51, in Portland. In 2005 the Western Writers of America voted Haycox one of the 24 best Western authors of the Twentieth Century.





Trouble Shooter
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Film: Union Pacific
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