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Friday, February 27, 2015
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Writer Wednesday - A Praying Heart
Prayer is an open line of communication between you and God. Prayer is your chance to humble yourself before him and speak freely from your heart. A Praying Heart will take you on a journey where you will learn what God says about prayer as well as strengthen your prayer life.
Connect with me:
Author Website: http://latoyaauthor.wix.com/authorlatoyam
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/latoyamwrites
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaToyaauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/authorlatoyam
Instagram: http://instagram.com/authorlatoyam
Blogger: http://authorlatoyamurchison.blogspot.com
Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/latoyamurchison
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/latoyamwrites
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaToyaauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/authorlatoyam
Instagram: http://instagram.com/authorlatoyam
Blogger: http://authorlatoyamurchison.blogspot.com
Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/latoyamurchison
Monday, February 23, 2015
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Monday, February 16, 2015
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Home Cover Reveal with Adrienne Thompson
About the book:
Home by Adrienne Thompson
Genre:
African American Fiction/Edgy Inspirational Fiction
Release
Date: 3/2/15
Now
available for pre-order:
Blurb:
For the
ladies’ man Ivan Spencer, there really is no place like HOME.
A family
emergency brings former rapper and current real estate mogul, Ivan Spencer,
back to his long-abandoned hometown. While there, he must deal with his
confused mother, his elderly, philandering father, his flaky sister, an
unreliable aunt, and a face from the past who makes him question some of his
earlier decisions. All he wants to do is to get things squared away and return
to his life, but as it turns out, he must deal with his own issues first.
Tagline: “There really is no place like HOME.”
Excerpt:
I had just sat down to drink my coffee when Daddy
walked into the kitchen wearing a dingy white t-shirt and faded, striped
boxers. One look at my daddy and anyone could see why he was so popular with
the women. Even at seventy-something, he still had the same smooth, ruddy skin,
gray eyes, wavy black hair, and bone structure that made most women swoon. The
story had always been that my daddy’s daddy’s daddy was a full-blooded Quapaw
Indian. My grandfather could never confirm this fact, because he never knew his
father. But looking at my daddy and the features I’d inherited from him, I
believed the story was pretty close to the truth.
Daddy sat down at the table with a grunt and a
sigh.
“Where you been, Daddy?” I asked.
He looked at me for a second. “Here and
there.”
“Mama’s sick. She’s in the hospital.”
“Yeah, I figured something like that was going
on when I saw her bed empty. Plus, you here. You don’t come around no more
lessin’ it’s something going on.”
I nodded.
I sat there and looked at him and waited for
him to show an ounce of concern for the woman who’d borne him two children and
been his wife for the past forty-some-odd years. I waited for him to ask about
her or something. But he just sat
there, grinding his teeth and scratching his head. “Any more hot water? I think
I’ma make me some coffee,” he finally said.
He didn’t wait for me to answer. He stood from
his chair with another grunt and checked the pot for himself. Then he pulled a
coffee mug from the cabinet and started noisily making himself a cup of coffee,
huffing and puffing and grunting the whole time. I cleared my throat and took a
deep breath. My face was heating up, but I was determined to keep my composure.
Daddy wasn’t going to make me lose my cool. Not this time.
“She got a hold of a bottle of laxatives and took
all of them,” I said.
“Umph,” he grunted. “She always gettin’ into
something.”
I took another deep breath. “Yeah, um, the
doctor’s talking about sending her home this afternoon.”
“Umph.”
He sat back down across from me and loudly
slurped his coffee. So we sat there in silence except for his slurps.
Slurp…
Slurp…
Slurp…
Finally, I stood from the table. “I’ma go take
a shower so I can head on up to the hospital to check on Mama. You wanna ride
with me?”
Slurp. “Naw, you
go ‘head on. I’ll see her when she come home.” Slurp…
I sighed. “All right, then, Daddy.”
About the Author:
Adrienne Thompson has worn many titles in her
lifetime–from teenage mother to teenage wife to divorcee to registered nurse to
author. This mother of two young adults and one teenager currently resides in
Arkansas with her daughter where she writes and publishes her stories full
time.
You can connect with her at:
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Book Spotlight: When the Real Thing Comes Along - Faith Simone
Title: When the Real Thing Comes Along
Author: Faith Simone
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance, Inspirational Fiction, Edgy Christian
Fiction
Release Date: February 13, 2015
About the Book
She loved and lost…Will faith give her the
courage she needs to love again?
Jacelynn appears to have it all together: a great
relationship with her boyfriend Jason who is truly a man after God’s own heart,
a decent career and the love of family and friends. But when an unwelcome
reminder from her past shows up, her previously uncomplicated world is turned
upside down. Will she jeopardize what
she has with Jason in an attempt to rewrite the mistakes of her past?
They say you never forget your first love, no matter how
hard you try. So far, Jacelynn has done a pretty good job of forgetting Taylor,
the boy who had her heart first. When Taylor returns several years later as a
man requesting a second chance, what’s a girl to do…Especially when she already
has a new man?
The hidden issues of Jacelynn’s heart come to light and
she’s forced take a hard look in the mirror while making choices that will
change her future forever. Will she be able to reconcile who she was then, with
who she is in Christ now?
Living and loving in faith isn’t
always easy, but it’s always worth it. That’s what happens…
When the Real Thing Comes Along
She struggled to absorb all that he’d told her.
“Why should I believe what you’re saying? How do I know that
you’re not here because of your ego?”
He cringed. “I understand your reasoning. If I were you, I’d
think the same thing about me. I’d think that I was running another game on
you, and if you had accepted my explanation without any reservations, you
wouldn’t have been the girl I remember and love.”
Her airway momentarily constricted. She took a shallow
breath. “Don’t . . . don’t say that. You never loved me. Love doesn’t behave
the way you did.” She had to believe that, had to believe that no man who ever
loved her could hurt her so badly.
“You’re right. Love is patient, love is kind, it seeks not
its own, it is not boastful, it does not envy. See, I didn’t know about what
love truly was back then, but now I do. I know that love never fails.”
Her mouth dropped. This man across from her quoting
scripture couldn’t possibly be the same person who stepped all over her
heart.
He grinned. “I see I’ve got you speechless. Jacelynn this is
no game. I’m for real. My love for you won’t fail this time around.”
“I-I have a boyfriend.” She held her head in her hands, eyes
wide with shock. “I have a boyfriend.” She hadn’t thought of Jason once since she’d sat
down. And here was this good-looking man, saying all the right things. The man
who had her heart first, stirring up all kinds of feelings inside of her.
He nonchalantly stated, “We’ve
met.”
“What am I doing here? What am I doing here? I don’t need this drama.” She
reached for her purse. “Taylor, I’m ecstatic about your conversion. If you’re
sincere, I wish you the best in your walk with God. But as far as you and I go,
we’re history. I forgave you a long time ago and I have moved on. I have a
beautiful relationship with a man who is established and rooted in God. I’m not
jeopardizing that because someone from my past shows up with a few poetic
speeches. If you were ever in love at all, it was with a naïve girl who didn’t
have sense enough to see you for what you really were; a jive talking immature
little boy. I have grown up, and I suggest you do the same.”
She stood to leave and he took her hand as she attempted to
pass him. “I won’t pretend that hearing what you think about me doesn’t hurt.
But I’ve grown up. You’re rejecting me based on my past and that’s fine. I’ve
rejected it too. But I need for you to give me the chance to show you’ve I’ve
changed.”
She glared down at him. “I don’t owe you anything.”
“You’re right, you don’t. But I owe you so much. If you
didn’t see my flaws, it was because you were looking at my heart. You saw what
I could be and you loved me.” He stood up and his proximity to her made it
difficult for her to breathe. When his lips touched her ear, she turned her
head away. “I’m not going anywhere Ja. I don’t mind proving who I’ve become to
you. And as far as your little boyfriend goes, you never said you loved him.”
He waited. She knew he was giving her time to confess her
love for Jason now. When she only lifted glittering angry eyes to him, he
continued, “I don’t mind if he’s holding you now. Go ahead and lean on his
shoulder for a while. But it’s me you’ll be thinking about and it’s me you’ll
be remembering.”
She snatched her hand out of his and stepped back, hoping to
diminish the heat ricocheting between their bodies. “Your so called love won’t
fail this time around, because there’s never going to be another chance for us.
Never.” She turned and walked out of the
restaurant without looking back.
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00SRRKTPY
About the Author
Faith Simone is a poet, playwright and novelist. She is also an active blogger, sharing her
personal thoughts, book reviews and tips for writers on her website FaithSimone.com. Simone is passionate about
using her gift of writing as a tool to help promote humanity, understanding and
compassion.
Social Links
Website: FaithSimone.com
Twitter: @Faithsimone2011
Facebook: Author
Faith Simone
Goodreads: Faith Simone
Giveaway Info
Faith is giving
away Three (3) Amazon Gift Cards! Click on the rafflecopter giveaway button to
enter!
Saturday, February 14, 2015
New Release Love After War by Te Russ
Connie
and Drew have been butting heads since they were teenagers. With Connie
refusing to talk about anything from their past, Drew has never figured out
what made them go from friends to enemies.
Drew
decides to finally get to the root of their lifelong feud when Connie ends up
in Texas for a remodeling project. When the truth comes out, it just might
bring out some feelings both of them have been refusing to acknowledge for over
a decade.
About the Author:
Growing up an introvert, Té
Russ found solace in literary arts at
an early age. She found reading to be a vehicle to broader horizons and writing
a form of self-expression. She began writing love stories in her adolescent
years as a way to expel her youthful thoughts of love into words. Since then
she has gone from writing stories and thoughts of love in journals to attending
college for journalism and falling in love, which has allowed those youthful
words of love to blossom into a series of stories in her romance novels. Though
she has an immense appreciation for the sheer smell that books collectively
exert, she also has found balance to her introverted nature with adrenaline
inducing activities. So if she does not have her nose pressed deeply into a
book or her pen ticking through a pad, you may also find this mother of three
baking some tasty treats, jumping out of airplanes, cheering her husband on at
the top of her lungs at MMA fights, buzzing down the interstate on the back of
motorcycles, or kayaking.
Excerpt:
“What are we
doing here Andrew?” Connie asked, annoyed.
“This is where we’re having lunch,”
he replied simply. “You still eat pizza don’t you?”
They were
standing in the waiting area of Uno Chicago Grill, simply known as Uno’s in the area.
It looked a lot
like a pizzeria they used to go to as kids in the summer in Galveston. She
wondered if he’d brought her here on purpose.
“Yes, I still eat
pizza but–”
“Great, here
comes the hostess to sit us.”
The lady barely
looked at Connie; she was so busy eyeballing Drew. And flirting just a tad too
much.
“Can I get you
anything to drink honey?” she cooed, while brushing her hand up and down his
shoulder.
“Constance?”
“What?” she
asked, tearing her glare away from the woman.
He tried to hide
the smirk on his face. “What would you like to drink?”
“Iced tea. Sweet.”
“I’ll have the same
thing,” he said, never taking his eyes off of Connie. “Ice tea. Sweet.”
“I’m sure it’s not as sweet as
you.”
“I’m hardly sweet,” he
replied, causing the hostess to laugh a little too hysterically and all but
throw herself into Drew’s lap.
After she was
done fawning over him, she sauntered off, with an exaggerated sway of her hips.
Connie couldn’t wipe the scowl
off of her face and Drew was about to say something when Miss Laughs-a-lot
returned.
“Joss will be
your waitress today, but if you need anything, don’t hesitate to
call.”
Connie watched as
the woman slipped a piece of paper down in front of him. She rolled her eyes as
the woman walked away.
“Unbelievable,”
Connie murmured.
“What is?”
“That... woman.
She was throwing herself all over you Andrew.”
He shrugged. “I
suppose she was a little flirty.”
Connie laughed. “A little flirty? Andrew please! She was two seconds away from
giving you a lap dance right in front of me. And she didn’t acknowledge me
once. It was as if I wasn’t even here. For
all she knew I could have been your date or girlfriend, but she didn’t care.”
“But you do?”
Drew asked, with a raised eyebrow.
“Excuse me?”
“Well, you’re not my
girlfriend. And technically this isn’t a date, just
lunch. So why do you care if some hostess flirts with me?”
“You are
completely incorrigible! It’s simply rude of
her to flirt with a man in front of lady company. And it’s just bad
customer service to ignore patrons. Besides that, I don’t care who flirts
with you or whom you flirt with.”
“Ah but that’s the thing! I
didn’t flirt with her. In fact, if I recall, I never took my eyes
off of you.”
Connie opened her
mouth to argue, but she couldn’t because he was
right. Drew seemed to have barely to noticed the hostess.
“Well–”
“If I didn’t know any better,
Barb, I’d say you were jealous.”
He watched as the
color rose up her neck and filled her cheeks. “Andrew McAllister, I am not
jealous of some floozy hitting on you!”
He chuckled, and
then said, “‘The lady doth protest too much, methinks!’”
She scoffed. “Quoting
Hamlet does not make you cute.”
“So what does
make me cute?” he asked, his voice filled with a hint of intrigue.
Connie threw a
napkin at him and he laughed out loud.
Joss, the
waitress, showed up then and took their food orders. She was clearly a young
girl, probably a college student and was completely enamored with Drew as well.
Thankfully, she wasn’t shameless like the hostess. The poor girl could barely speak. She
kept looking at Connie and stealing glances toward Drew, as if he were the sun
and just too bright to look at directly.
Drew ordered for
them remembering exactly how Connie liked her pizza.
Another thing
from their past, she’d thought. But she let it slide this time, because the poor girl
nearly knocked over their glasses of iced tea.
“I’m so sorry,” she
apologized to them both.
“It’s all right,” he
said to her.
Connie nodded.
“Don’t worry honey, no harm done.”
The girl scuffled
off to put in their orders and Connie couldn’t help but laugh.
“The great Andrew
McAllister, turning women all over the place into crazed fools.”
“Except you,” he
said sarcastically.
If only you knew, she thought.
“I’m not the only
one causing trouble in here,” he said, interrupting her thoughts.
“What in the
world are you talking about?”
“The man sitting
at the table behind you, at your five o’clock...”
Connie used the
excuse of tucking her hair behind her ear to glance over her shoulder and
caught a man averting his eyes from their direction.
“He’s been staring at
your legs, since you walked past him.”
“What? That’s ridicu–”
“The man at the
table behind me, at your two o’clock.. .”
He waited for her
to glance over his shoulder and then look back at him.
“Well,”
he said, slightly annoyed, “Let’s just say he’s been looking a
little bit North of your legs, South of your neck.”
She gasped at
what he was implying.
“How could you
know that?” she asked in a whisper, leaning closer toward him.
“Part of my job
is to make sure I know everything going on in my surroundings.”
“Well, I guess
you do your job pretty well.”
He shrugged. “I’m still alive.”
There was
something in the tone of his voice when he said those words. If she didn’t know any
better, she would have thought it sounded like remorse.
Friday, February 13, 2015
Author Interview - Faith Simone
Greetings!! Today I get to
share my interview with Faith Simone. Read below to learn all about her and her
wonderful books!!
LaToya: Where are you from? Where
do you live now?
Faith: This shouldn't be a
complicated answer, but for me it kind of is…I was born in Mississippi, but
when I was three years old my mama decided to drive west until she hit water.
Which is how I ended up being raised in Long Beach, CA, where I stayed until my
late twenties. Now I live in Memphis, TN.
LaToya: Did you always know you
wanted to be a writer?
Faith: Yes, I’ve wanted to be a
writer since I was old enough to understand that it was a profession. But I let
practicality get in the way of pursuing my dreams. I really limited myself by
buying into the mentality that writing could not pay the bills. Had I pursued
my passion when I was much younger, I know I would be a lot farther along in my
writing career.
When did you first start
writing and when did you finish your first book?
I started my first novel
when I was about 21 with a working title of ‘Many Waters’. I finished the first draft in about a year, then
left it to sit for over a decade. I picked it back up about a year ago and now
I’m finally publishing it! ‘Many
Waters’ became ‘When
the Real Thing Comes Along’.
LaToya: How did you choose the
genre you write in?
Faith: I decided to write my
first novel because I was tired of reading subpar Christian fiction. I would
finish a book in that genre and think, “I could do so much better than that!”
Yeah, I had an ego on me when I was younger, lol. I also read some really good
Christian fiction that was not only entertaining but edifying. Three of those
books are ‘Redeeming Love’ and ‘Atonement Child’ by Francine
Rivers, and ‘Boaz Brown’ by
Michelle Stimpson. Whether you’re a fan of this genre or new to it I
highly recommend those books!
I really want to
create quality realistic faith based fiction. Life is messy, even when you have
faith. Maybe even especially when
you have faith. I want to portray that in my writing.
LaToya: Where do you get your ideas?
Faith: I get a lot of my ideas
from current events, watching movies and simply observing life. It’s really
true that the truth is often better than fiction!
LaToya: Name one book that you
would categorize as a life changing read.
Faith: The first answer that
pops into my mind is the Bible, and that’s true, but to avoid being a cliché
I’ll also add ‘I Know Why the
Caged Bird Sings’ by Maya Angelou. She told the story of her life
with such astute honesty and poetic language that the book affirmed my belief
in the power of words and the importance of telling character driven realistic
stories.
LaToya: Who is your favorite
author?
Faith: Take a wild guess? Yep,
Maya Angelou. I suppose that wasn’t such a wild guess after all!
LaToya: Name one book you wish
you’d written.
Faith: Mmmhhh… that’s a
difficult question. I’m not in the habit of coveting another writer’s style or
work. So I can’t say that there’s a book that I wish I’d written. I will say
that there’s a book that I love that I would like to emulate: ‘Little Women’ by Louisa May
Alcott. It’s such a timeless story about family, loyalty and sisterhood. I’d
love to one day write a book that people can relate to for centuries like that.
LaToya: Tell us about your latest book (include blurb and/or
excerpt).
Faith: My eyes were wide open the night I invited Taylor into my life. It
was at the end of one of those parties that starts out with what seems like
hundreds of people, but turns mellow before midnight. I was ready to go but my
best friend, Kim, wasn’t. She was trying to finalize the hook up with a guy
from her history class. Meanwhile, I was waiting on a ratty couch in the dark
living room with a guy I knew I would never see again, wishing that I was at
home watching Lifetime movies. That’s when I saw him.
He walked past me through
the sliding glass doors into the backyard. Something about the gracefulness of
his long strides, made me get up and follow him while the guy on the couch was
still running his mouth.
The sound of Usher singing
about how to tell if you got it bad muffled to a slow thumping bass as I closed
the patio doors behind me. I waved away the sweet smell of weed as I stepped
around a few people smoking and lounging on the mismatched patio furniture.
I trailed him across the
large backyard where the only sound was the loud swishing of the dozen or so
palm trees waltzing in the fall winds. Both of our steps were silent in the
soft mushy grass. I felt strange following him without saying anything, but I
wanted him to sense me behind him. I wanted to know if the crazy magnetism I
was feeling was working on him too. But there was a different force drawing him
that night. One that I would contend with at a later time, in another place,
with a lot more to lose.
LaToya: How can readers connect
with you?
Faith: I love hearing from readers! Connect with me via any of the channels
below.
Website: http://www.faithsimone.com
Twitter: @FaithSimone2011
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Simone/e/B00J1QMWBE
LaToya: What advice would you
give to aspiring authors?
Faith: Start now! Don’t wait until you feel good enough, or experienced enough
or until the stars all align. If you want to be a writer then write. It’s that
simple. Study the craft, learn all you can, but when it comes down to it put
your butt in a chair and write.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Tuesday: Self-Publishing Tips for Writers
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- Editing: When editing your book it is important to read your manuscript several times after you complete the first draft. Connect with other beta readers or professional editors who will remain critical and unbiased bout your work.
- Book covers: Your book cover is the first things your readers will notice when they pick up your book. Your cover should paint a picture of what they will find as they turn the pages of your book.
- Book blurbs: Book blurbs should be very descriptive ad use words that will draw the reader into the story. Be careful not to reveal too much information about your book. Your book blurb should arouse the readers curiosity and appeal to their self-interest.
Monday, February 9, 2015
Motivational Monday
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Motivation is define as:
- The act or process of giving someone a reason for doing something: the act or process of motivating someone
- The condition of being eager to act or work: the condition of being motivated
- A force or influence that causes someone to do something
Friday, February 6, 2015
Book Spotlight - CUPID'S ERROR by JOY AVERY
Blurb:
Staffing agency owner Danica James is determined not to
spend another Valentine’s Day alone. But purchasing a man for the evening? Out
of the question. Then her best friend intervenes—gifting her a night of dinner
and dancing with a Cupid’s Arrow escort. What could be the harm? Though Cupid’s
Arrow is known for matches made in heaven, she’s not looking for a love
connection. Then she meets her Cupid’s Fellow and everything changes.
Business mogul Weston Henshaw doesn't need Cupid’s Arrow to
get a Valentine’s Day companion, but Cupid’s Arrow needs him. Seems his
sister’s charity event has done far better than anticipated. Only problem…a
shortage of eligible bachelors to pamper all of the lonely hearts. When he
agrees to be bait for an evening, he never imagines meeting the one woman who
makes him wish the night would never end.
An error by Cupid’s places Danica and Weston on a road to
destiny, but will they maintain the course?
Excerpt:
She nodded. “I went through a lot with him. I gave him all
of me, and it wasn’t enough. If I wasn’t enough for him, how could I ever be
enough for a man like you?”
Weston’s
brows crumpled. “A man like me? Who am I, Danica?”
“You’re a
mogul who can have any woman on any continent he wants.”
“You have
me all wrong. I’m just a man who is crazy about one woman, on this continent.
That woman is you. You shouldn't question if you’re enough for me. I should
question if I’m enough for you. You’re a treasure, Danica James. I knew it
after only one hour with you. Your ex-husband was a damn fool to sacrifice a
pot of gold.”
Purchase links: www.amazon.com/author/joyavery
Bio:
Joy Avery is a contemporary romance author who loves watching her imaginary friends fall in love. When not crafting her next love story, she enjoys reading, spending time with the family, playing with her two dogs, and cake decorating.
Joy Avery is a contemporary romance author who loves watching her imaginary friends fall in love. When not crafting her next love story, she enjoys reading, spending time with the family, playing with her two dogs, and cake decorating.
She’s
the author of the novels Smoke in the Citi, His Until Sunrise
(book 1 in the Indigo Falls series), Cupid’s Error-a Valentine’s
novella, and the soon-to-be-released His Ultimate Desire (book 2 in the
Indigo Falls series).
Connect with me:
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