Strange Magic by Michelle Mankin Release Blitz with Giveaway!

Come celebrate Mardi Gras with us by visiting each blog to see what Mardi Gras means to them. Participating blogs will be posting their own teasers or images they choose of Mardi Gras. Take some time, visit, read the prologue excerpt, enter the giveaway and check it all out!

Also, join the celebration of the release of the second and final book in the Strange Magic Series by Michelle Mankin!

Synopsis

Billy Blade is a hardworking, hard living, razor sharp musical force. Mysterious behind his dark shades, the rough around the edges Texan mesmerizes with his haunting harmonica and tantalizes with his dangerous looks and smooth country charm. His latest album is topping the charts. He’s the newly crowned King of the Bacchus Krewe. He’s definitely living the rock star dream.

Exotic Creole beauty Thyme Bellerose couldn’t be more content. She has it all. An adoring grandmother. A handsome Tulane medical student beau. A satisfying job in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter. Her life is as rich as the ice cream she creates. She’s got everything under control.

But control is an illusion. Dreams can turn into nightmares. And now during Mardi Gras, otherworldly powers stand ready to shape their destinies in ways they could never imagine.

Shadow and light. Magic and mystery. Reality and myth. All come together in a place where rules bend and lines blur. Even those between life and death. Please note: This is Part Two, the finale of STRANGE MAGIC. Available exclusively on Amazon. http://tiny.cc/xyjbsx
It does NOT stand alone. Part One must be read first.
Recommended for mature readers. 17 and older.

What Mardi Gras means to me

Purchase Links

Only $0.99

Strange Magic (Part 1)

Amazon - http://tiny.cc/jjfssx

Strange Magic (Part 2) 

Amazon - http://tiny.cc/xyjbsx

Excerpt

About the Author

Michelle Mankin is the Amazon bestselling author of the Black Cat Records series of novels.

Romance with subtext.

Reimagining classic stories with sexy rock stars and thought provoking issues.

For many years she worked in the insurance industry as an underwriter. Somehow, the boredom didn't kill her but the hours and hours of looking at facts and figures provided ample time for her mind to wander.

Love Evolution, Love Revolution, and Love Resolution are a Brutal Strength centered trilogy, combining the plot underpinnings of Shakespeare with the drama, excitement, and indisputable sexiness of the rock 'n roll industry.

Things take a bit of an edgier, once upon a time turn with the Tempest series.  These pierced, tatted, and troubled Seattle rockers are young and on the cusp of making it big, but with serious obstacles to overcome that may prevent them from ever getting there.

Rock stars, myths, and legends collide with paranormal romance in a totally mesmerizing way in the Magic series.

When Michelle is not prowling the streets of her Texas town listening to her rock music much too loud, she is putting her daydreams down on paper or traveling the world with her family and friends, sometimes for real, and sometimes just for pretend as she takes the children to school and back.

Brutal Strength series:

Love Evolution: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0080ZCZ14

Love Revolution: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A6DE8IG

Love Resolution: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CC705J0

Love Rock’ollection: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P9KD71A

Tempest series:

Irresistible Refrain: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FLG5KPS

Enticing Interlude: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I7LGQOI

Captivating Bridge: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KGFB0IK

Relentless Rhythm: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MTWGT5C

Unforgettable: Tempest #5. A Tempest/ Brutal Strength mashup. Coming soon

The MAGIC Series:

STRANGE MAGIC:    Part One: http://tiny.cc/jjfssx      Part Two: http://tiny.cc/xyjbsx

DREAM MAGIC: October 2015

TWISTED MAGIC: coming soon

Author Links

Connect with Michelle Mankin  On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Michelle-Mankin/233503403414065

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichelleMankin

On tsu: https://www.tsu.co/AuthorMichelleMankin

On her website: http://www.michellemankin.com/

Receive the Black Cat Records newsletter: http://eepurl.com/Lvgzf

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Cover to Cover Book Blog	http://www.covertocoverbookblog.com
Crafty, Wicked & Crazy Book Blog	http://craftywickedcrazy.com
Dauntless Indies	http://www.dauntlessindies.blogspot.com
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Grizzly Trade by Dale Brandenburger Spotlight!

A week had passed since Red found the corpse behind his cabin and called the state trooper.  He didn’t have a phone in his dilapidated shack.  He had to drive five miles down a rutted dirt road to use the payphone that hung on the wall outside the ferry terminal. 

Red knew what it was straight off; murder for profit, plain and simple.  A large caliber bullet had pierced the brown bear’s skull just below her right ear, ricocheted off some bone, and exited from the left side of her neck.  A precise incision, probably made with a razor-sharp hunting knife, slit the bear’s hide, and the gall bladder had been removed.  All four paws had been hacked off with a bone saw, leaving the flesh ragged, the bone splintered.  The coagulated blood was crusty, the color of burgundy wine, and crawling with black flies. Driving to the payphone, wedged behind the wheel of his tiny Datsun pickup truck, Red pulled on his curly red beard and wondered how much a bear gall bladder and a set of paws fetched on the aphrodisiac market in China.

(GRIZZLY TRADE, Dale Brandenburger)

A taciturn Vietnam vet named Red just wants to be left alone in his Alaskan retreat, but when he starts to find dead bears in the forest with their paws hacked off, he is forced to wage war once more, and this time he intends to win. Tim Branson is a gregarious small-town reporter, looking for a news story that sizzles.  Despite their differences, Red and Branson are forced to become allies when a methamphetamine addict and an unemployed lumberjack start selling bear gallbladders and paws on the Asian aphrodisiac market.

While trying to track down the poachers, Red and Branson discover toxic chemicals dumped on the pristine salmon fishing grounds.  Accusations fly and the entire town takes sides.  Tim’s job and Red’s sanity are at stake as they try to find the connection between the bear killings and the environmental disaster.

“Written in the vein of Carl Hiassen and Elmore Leonard, every page bristles with the perfect blend of tension and hilarity…You’ll stay with it - the writing is that good.”

Dan Henry, author of ACROSS THE SHAMAN’S RIVER

“…colorful characters…inspired by Brandenburger’s experiences and news events in Alaska.” 

Shannon Haugland, Associated Press

“Be prepared to laugh out loud…to get angry…to root for an underdog, to feel the hot breath of a giant brown bear wafting off the pages.”

 Brett Dillingham, author of  RAVEN DAY

“…a knack for storytelling…GRIZZLY TRADE is a fun read.”

Robert Woolsey. KCAW Raven Radio

Dale Brandenburger wanted to become a novelist after studying journalism at University of Maryland, but he realized he hadn’t experienced anything worth writing about, so he moved to Alaska. He began working for the Alaska Dept. of Fish & Game in 1984. He earned a degree in environmental science from Sheldon Jackson College and became a fisheries biologist. He excelled at his new career and writing took a back seat, although he always kept a journal and collected stories. Thirty years later, he found he had enough material for 10 novels, but he didn’t want to re-hash the Jack London theme of man struggling against nature. He wanted to write a fast-paced character-driven novel that included a touch of pathos, as well as the sense of humor that is so much a part of the Alaskan spirit. GRIZZLY TRADE is available in bookstores and on Amazon.com in print or e-book format.

Order at Amazon

http://facebook.com/grizzlytrade

Teaser by Burt Weissbourd Spotlight!

Synopsis:

Teaser, the sequel to Inside Passage, takes Corey and Abe into the interconnected worlds of private school kids and the runaways who roam Seattle's streets. Billy attends the Olympic Academy, where two friends, Maisie and Aaron, are experimenting with sex and drugs. They've become close to Star, a streetwise seductress who leads them down a treacherous path. Despite the best efforts of Abe and Corey, Maisie is abducted by the diabolical “Teaser,” a man determined to take revenge on her father, his former cellmate. Teaser is a mystery to everyone except Abe and Corey, who alone realize what they must do to rescue Maisie. They contrive a plan that shocks even them.

Bio:

Burt Weissbourd writes character-driven thrillers. Reviewers describe his work as “brilliantly detailed, evocative … thrillingly suspenseful.” “His descriptions are luscious.” “An incredibly strong and intelligent female protagonist.” “[His] dark characters rank with some of Koontz’s and King’s worst imaginaries.”

Burt began his career producing movies, working closely with screenwriters, then writing his own screenplays.

A newcomer to Hollywood, he approached writers whose movies he loved — movies such as “Klute,” “Two for the Road,” and “Ordinary People” — and worked with those writers and others, including working with Ross Macdonald, a legend in crime fiction, on his only screenplay.

This was the “New Hollywood” (1967 – 1980), and he found writers whose work grabbed viewers viscerally, not with explosions but with multi-dimensional characters who would draw you into a deeply moving story.

Savvy actors wanted to play finely drawn characters in compelling stories, and before long, Burt was developing screenplays, working directly with Robert Redford, Lily Tomlin, Goldie Hawn, Sally Field, and Jill Clayburg, among others.

As a producer developing a screenplay, he looked for stories with strong, complex characters and a “rich stew” — that is to say, a situation with conflict, emotional intensity, and the potential to evolve in unexpected ways. This is exactly what he tries to create for the books he writes.

Author Website

Twitter  @weissbourd
Facebook

Goodreads

Amazon

Virtual Tour Page 

Review at a later date!

Mortal Threat by A.J.Tata Spotlight with Excerpt!

Mortal Threat is a stand alone spin-off novel from the previous three Threat Series books. I wrote the story wondering about the intersection of science and religion in the place where the oldest human remains and tools have been discovered. The cure for Ebola serves as the prize that pharmaceutical companies and ISIS seek for their own purposes while our heroine, Amanda Garrett, attempts to preserve it for its intended purposes. As she flees the assassins, her orphans lead her directly to the Olduvai Gorge, while they are under the watchful eyes of those that seek the cure. Amanda’s character arc is one of the most satisfying I have ever created, as we watch her struggle with his pacifist intentions amidst the chaos and danger of the Serengeti and her pursuing assailants.

EXCERPT:

Mwanza, Tanzania: January 2015

Amanda Garrett used her heel to kick open the plywood emergency room door. Her two rubber-gloved hands were holding one end of a medical stretcher while her protégé, Kiram Omiga, held the other.

“She doesn’t have much time,” Amanda said. The small African girl on the litter was huddled in the fetal position, Ebola-infectious drool seeping from her mouth. The girl was wearing a pink T-shirt and green shorts. Amanda noticed the dilated pupils and white salt stains on her face from a sweat that had stopped hours ago.

“Age is eleven. Name is Likika,” Kiram said in a calm voice. At nineteen years old, Kiram had grown up in the Mwanza orphanage. He had known Amanda since he was fourteen after her first summer volunteering to assist the war orphans like him.

Amanda commanded, “Ready, lift.”

She and Kiram lifted Likika onto a makeshift operating table. They were both wearing rubberized gloves, olive green U.S. Army chemical protective suits with charcoal liners and gas masks. Amanda’s initial research had been on finding a cure for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which they believed they had done. They had accumulated over ninety positive-to-negative seroconversions on orphans and truck drivers riddled with HIV. Those were substantial results for her clandestine CIA program called Project Nightingale. Because the two viruses shared a common multiplying protein mechanism known as TSG101, Amanda had experimented on one dying Ebola patient two months ago. He had lived. Soon, truck drivers began dropping off infected Ebola patients at the “miracle clinic,” hoping Amanda could save them. By her count, they had saved nine Ebola victims. She was eager to alert the CIA that the mysterious formula was ready for mass-market production.

“Syringe,” Amanda said, holding out her hand. Kiram moved to her left as she stared at Likika, whose eyes were open wide as if she were astonished. The gas mask eyelets blocked some of Amanda’s peripheral vision, which caused her to grow impatient. “Talk to me, Kiram.”

“Here, Miss Amanda,” Kiram said. He reappeared holding a clear syringe and three-inch needle. The tube was filled with a substance the color and texture of tar. Through the gas masks, their voices contained a tinny, muffled quality.

“Need you to hold her, Kiram. If she’s still with us, this is going to hurt like hell,” Amanda said.

“I understand,” Kiram said. He bent over Likika and gently held her by the shoulders while Amanda inserted the needle into her left shoulder, as if she were giving her a vaccination. Applying steady pressure to the plunger, she heard Kiram chant a native Swahili melody to Likika, who, as far as Amanda could tell, was unconscious and close to death.

Having transitioned from only performing HIV vaccinations and cures to also conducting Ebola testing, Amanda was painfully aware that her Spartan facilities were inadequate. But how could she deny the victims the potential of a cure or prevention of disease? She couldn’t. While she was a Columbia University medical school student who’d spent the last five summer and winter breaks in Tanzania at this orphanage, she believed in the inverse of the Hippocratic oath. Instead of first, do no harm, Amanda’s maxim was first, help who you can.

The needle puncturing Likika’s arm created a trickle of blood, which cut a path through the salt stains onto the operating table. Amanda focused on the black serum she was injecting through the hypodermic needle into the young girl’s system. As the plunger reached the bottom of the barrel, she was concerned that Likika hadn’t responded at all. She retracted the needle and immediately dumped the entire syringe in a hazardous waste container to her right.

“Pulse?” she asked, looking back at Likika and placing an alcohol swab on the injection site. She carefully wiped at the blood.

Kiram looked at Amanda and removed his glove.

“Hook her up, Kiram. Don’t do that,” she implored.

“It’s okay. I’m careful.” Kiram gingerly grabbed Likika’s wrist with his bare fingers and paused. Like HIV, Ebola could only be transmitted via contact with bodily fluids. But still, Amanda thought.

Amanda counted the seconds, holding the gauze on the puncture site. Once she hit sixty, she asked, “Anything?”

Kiram said nothing. His eyes were focused on the girl’s blank face.

After another sixty seconds, Amanda took a deep breath, which was like breathing through a wet towel on a hot afternoon. “Come on, Likika. Work with us, honey,” she whispered.

Mortal Threat Synopsis

Medical school student Amanda Garrett and American doctors working secretly in Africa have found a cure for the Ebola and Human Immunodeficiency Viruses. Leaders of the Islamic State want the cure so they can show the world Islam is a benevolent religion that all Africans should follow. The President of the United States believes an alleged 30,000-year-old Sub-Saharan religious text called The Book of Catalyst identifies him as being of divine origin. As Amanda operates her portion of the clandestine CIA Project Nightingale in a Tanzanian orphanage, she is attacked and chased by brutal killers called The Leopard and The Cheetah. Amanda has 48 hours to escape across the Serengeti Plain before the remaining vials of the cure expire. The Islamic State escalates attacks across the Middle East using freshly converted fighters from Africa. The American President, however, chooses not to deploy sufficient troops to save U.S. Special Forces, including Amanda's husband, assisting in the air war against ISIS. As Amanda attempts to save the rapidly decomposing formula for the Ebola and HIV cures, she finds herself at the center of a clash between warring media titans, Jonathan Beckwith and Zhor al Rhazziq, who are following her every step toward the Olduvai Gorge, which some scientists claim to be the origin of human life.

When I'm not writing, I like to read, and I read books in my genre.  I'm very choosy in my reading and there's a lot to choose from. That's why I like Tony Tata.  There is a 'been there, done that' feel to his storytelling, his characters are vivid and engaging, and his plotting is tight and well- paced.  So I highly recommend Mortal Threat and Foreign and Domestic."

— Dick Couch, New York Times Bestselling Author of Act of Revenge and Always Faithful, Always Forward

"...captivating, riveting.   Once you start MORTAL THREAT, you won't want to put it down."

— Grant Blackwood, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Briggs Tanner series

"AJ Tata's Mortal Threat reads at a blistering pace while weaving a cure for Ebola, a 30,000 year old religious document, a president who thinks he's of divine origin, and a burgeoning ISIS threat into a tightly knit plot. Amanda Garrett is a new breakout heroine as she races across the Serengeti to save the cure from the evil men who seek it. Great stuff."

— Jeremy Robinson, International Bestselling Author of ISLAND 731 and SECONDWORLD

Released on January 15, 2015

About A. J. Tata

A.J. Tata is a career paratrooper and infantryman. Retiring as a Brigadier General, he commanded combat units in the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions and the 10th Mountain Division. A West Point graduate and Harvard University National Security Fellow, he is the award winning author of three critically acclaimed novels, Sudden Threat, Rogue Threat, and Hidden Threat. He was also a writer in Glenn Beck's New York Times Bestselling Miracles and Massacres. Tony has been a frequent foreign policy guest commentator on Fox News, CBS News, and The Daily Buzz. NBC's Today Show featured General Tata's career transition from the army to education leadership. He served as Chief Operations Officer for Washington, DC, Public Schools and then as the superintendent of Schools in Raleigh-Wake County, North Carolina, the sixteenth largest school district in the nation. An avid surfer, he is married to Jodi and has two children, Brooke and Zachary.

Connect with A. J. Tata

·         Website: http://www.ajtata.com/

·         Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAJTata

·         Twitter: https://twitter.com/ajtata

·         Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2752170.A_J_Tata

Purchase the Book

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·         iTunes

The Bird of Prey Saga by Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba Book Blast with Giveaway!

It all started with a simple case… or was it?

Publication Date: September 25, 2014
Genre: Mystery/Thriller

A dead world famous supermodel. 

A contract killer in love with her best friend. 

An organised crime family looking for revenge. 

A boyfriend with a mysterious legacy. 

French sleuth Sémya Slotin is officially back on the case. The break is over. 

"I'm Semya Slotin, yes this Slotin. I love wine, vodka, absinthe, my younger brother Aaron and my best friend Polliannah, in no particular order. When Josh Heinz and I are not too busy fighting or tearing each other clothes off, I solve mysteries. And I’m really good. I'm really good at a lot of things and people usually don't see me coming... but here I am and I'm not going anywhere." 

It all started with a simple case… or was it? 

* * *

Book One: Bird of Prey 

Who killed the infamous supermodel Johanna Cartier? 

After spending three years away from sleuthing, Sémya Slotin is thrown back in the business when she found her body. With the help of her best friend Polliannah Koch, DCI Ally Gibbons and the mysterious but extremely sexy Josh Heinz, she vows to see this through. 

* * *

Book Two: The Plot Thickens 

What happened while Semya Slotin and Josh Heinz were busy solving Johanna Cartier's murder in Bird of Prey? 

When Polliannah met John Allen, she thought that she had finally found her Prince Charming. When John set his sights on Polliannah, he knew that he had a job to do and that the beautiful Miss Guryev should only be a means to an end. Then they fell in love. Now he and his Russian Princess had to leave London for their safety. But it may already be too late… 

“I’m Polliannah Koch Guryev, yes I’m part of the infamous Guryev family but you can call me Polli or Mrs Allen. I love my parents, some of my brothers, high-end shopping, Russian vodka and last but not least my worst half and partner in crime Sémya Slotin. When I’m not managing our wine store in Chelsea or committing some kind felony with Sémya in the name of the God of Sleuth, I dream of Prince Charming. I’ve kissed enough frogs to give up on love but somehow it doesn’t seem to want to give up on me. How many times do I need to get hurt before it does? But still, here I go again…maybe this time it would be the last.” 

* * *

Book Three: Polliannah Got Married! 

The truth this time, and nothing but the truth… 

Polliannah is in trouble and her boyfriend is dead. Nothing's prepared Sémya, Detective Extraordinaire, for what she finds in Toronto. Polliannah is a widow and her late husband John Allen was a hit man for the powerful Dovos family. What did they want from her? Why is this happening to them? Josh Heinz knows more than he lets on, but he’s not telling her anything. Old conspiracies and secrets resurface putting them all in peril. Sémya’s worst fears about her relationship with Josh and his past are confirmed causing a rift between that may never heal. Sémya and Polliannah’s world is falling apart. Will they be able to come out of this stronger? 

* * *

Book Four: Vincent Mallory Edgerton 

Every love story has a beginning... 

From the moment their gazes locked, Sémya and Vincent sealed their fate. 

Sémya Slotin had been coasting through life solving one mystery after another. While investigating a friend’s disappearance in Hawaii, she met Josh Heinz. Her mind kept telling her to stay away from the handsome stranger but he awakened something in her and she was unable to resist him. Vincent Mallory Edgerton had always been an efficient FREGG operative. He loved his job, even when he had to leave everything behind for his own safety. On his last assignment, he was forced to work covertly with the sexy bold sleuth. Sémya’s beauty and intellect enthralled him, but his passion and growing love for her also changed him. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to finally win her trust and keep her safe, causing him to unleash events that would shape the rest of their lives.

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I'm over 30.
I was born in Quebec City, Canada.
I grew up in France and in Gabon.
I speak English & French fluently.
Pizza is my favorite dish.
Black Forest Cake is my favorite dessert.
I met Michael Jackson when I was eleven.
I loathe vodka but love gin, wine and tequila.
I'm obsessed with Robbie Williams and Michael Fassbender.
I call Toronto my home.
I love reading.
I love dancing.
I love watching exciting TV shows.
I love my life... most days.
I'm a major goof.
I can't stand intolerance.
I'm curious, cheeky and oh so opinionated!

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