Blurb Blitz & Giveaway: Christmas Watch by Petie McCarty

 

The Watchers Series

Fallen angels seeking parole for their betrayal . . .

Someone is watching Rachel . . . but who? And why?

Child psychologist Rachel Kelly has her Christmas stocking full of troubles this holiday season, both personal and professional. Recently separated from her boyfriend, Rachel still loves him but has no idea how to win him back. If that’s not enough to cause her sleepless nights, she’s uncertain how to handle her newest therapy client—a six-year-old boy who claims he talks to Watchers. And a Watcher is coming to help Rachel.

Lt. Jake Dillon has his heart broken when his fiancée Rachel, without warning, suddenly calls it quits. Yet when a stalker crashes Rachel's Christmas party and takes her young clients hostage, Jake is the first person Rachel calls. Now he has a choice to make—stand back and wait for the cavalry to save her, or step in and try to save her himself. Time is running out, and Jake may be their only chance for rescue.

Unless Rachel's young Watcher spy is telling the truth . . . 

This romantic suspense tale with paranormal elements is Book 2 in The Watchers series...  a captivating tale of small-town Christmas romance that will leave you looking over your shoulder and wondering, Is someone watching me?

Read an excerpt!

Jake whipped his BMW into the Azalea Center parking lot and switched off his headlights in one smooth motion. Guided by the light from the few streetlamps, he coasted to a silent stop next to Wally’s Jeep, though his emotions had urged him to come screeching around the corner like the cavalry. Common sense and the need for stealth won out. He couldn’t risk driving the trespasser underground only to have him surface later after Jake had gone. 

Clicking off his interior lights, he unlocked his glove compartment and drew out his Sig Sauer, then climbed out and quietly pushed the car door in until the latch held. He waited several seconds to let his eyes and ears take in the entire scene. Damn. All the landscaping crowded around the Center provided a multitude of places for a trespasser to hide. 

He put a hand on the hood of Wally’s Jeep. Still warm, even in the cold night air. A brief stab of guilt hit him for dumping his team so abruptly in the Beef n’ Barrel. Couldn’t be helped. 

He scanned the closest landscape beds for some sign of Wally. A stiff north breeze whipped across the parking area, stirring up leaves and debris. Barely visible through the treetops, the almost-full moon blazed bright. 

He made his way past the large perimeter oaks to the interior sidewalk and began a slow circle of the building, checking sections of the garden as he paced. All the offices on the west side of the building were unoccupied, and all the windows were dark, with a few showing vestiges of their interiors due to adjacent emergency lighting. 

Rachel’s office, just around the corner, faced the back of the property. At this time of night, her office interior would be entirely visible with her lights on. Jake knew this because he’d snuck over here enough times in the last few months to observe her office from the garden. He was pathetic and, every few weeks, needed a glimpse of her to get by. A wry smile twitched the edges of his mouth. He could’ve been called in as a trespasser on any one of those nights should someone have spotted him and cared enough to make the call. 

Careful to remain off the sidewalk, he silently paced toward the back garden. If the trespasser was a stalker, then the perp probably knew the Center had no security guard and no security system. A fact that had always bothered Jake. 

At the back corner of the property, he crossed the sidewalk to inspect the landscape areas adjacent to the building. With quick steps, he shifted from one landscape bed to another. Crouching as he left the larger camellias, he moved through the shorter azaleas and Indian hawthorn. 

Clearing the corner, his position even with the back of the building, he paused to reconnoiter and stared at the faint pool of light cast by an overhead office. Rachel’s office. 

As his gaze rose to the second-floor office, his eyes searched for the all-too-familiar figure. Without thinking, he straightened to his full height, clearly visible to anyone glancing out the window. Yet no one searched for a figure in the garden. All eyes in the office were busy. 

Rachel stood with Olivia and her children on one side of the conference room. On the other side of the room, a man in a worn red jacket and baseball cap faced them. Pointing a gun.

This was Jake’s horrible nightmare.

PURCHASE LINKS

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6094579.Petie_McCarty

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/petie-mccarty

http://www.amazon.com/author/petiemccarty

Petie spent a large part of her career working at Walt Disney World—"The  Most Magical Place on Earth"—where she enjoyed working in the land of fairy tales by day and creating her own romantic fairy tales by night, including her new series, The Cinderella Romances. She eventually said goodbye to her "day" job to write her stories full-time.

These days, Petie spends her time writing new Cinderella series tales, her new The Watchers series, sequels to her regency time-travel series, Lords in Time, and more contemporary romance standalones to go along with her two previous releases—Any Fin For Love and Ambush in the Everglades.

Petie shares her home on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee with her horticulturist husband and an opinionated Nanday conure named Sassy, who made a cameo appearance in Book 2 of The Watchers, Christmas Watch. 

Social Media:

http://www.petiemccarty.com

https://www.facebook.com/petie.mccarty

https://x.com/authorpetie 

Petie McCarty will be awarding a

$10 Amazon/BN gift card

 to a randomly drawn winner.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

First Chapter Review & Giveaway: Child of A Swan by David Burnett

 

Child of A Swan by David Burnett is a women's fiction book on tour with Goddess Fish Promotions.

BLURB: Rejecting her father’s master plan for her life, sixteen-year-old Alyssia Barrett faces the world alone. 

"Lyssa, it is your destiny." 

Her father did not use those exact words, but he might as well have. 

Lyssa Barrett was born into a family of writers. 

Few authors have landed more titles on national bestseller lists than has her father. Her oldest brother walks in his father’s footsteps, her second brother is a published poet, and the third a Broadway playwright. The four men, the “Barrett Band,” as they are called, are a force in American literary circles, the “first family of American letters.” 

And Lyssa is meant to join them. 

Lyssa, the child who would rather decipher a math puzzle than unravel an anagram, prove a geometric theorem than pen a short story, and master nonparametric statistics than devise plot twists for a novel. Lyssa is destined to be a writer. 

So her father believes, and since no one crosses her father, it is what all who know the family expect. Of all her father’s children, only Lyssa is willing to rebel. It is a trait which sets her apart from the others to such a degree that she questions whether she is even truly a Barrett. 

Conflict is inevitable. 

In middle school, Lyssa is selected to participate in an honors math program. Her father enrolls her in a summer writing seminar. She insists on taking math at a local college. He is adamant that she enroll in advanced composition. She presents a paper at a national mathematics convention. Her father hails the publication of a short story she has written. 

Writing is her calling, her father insists, and, looking beyond high school, he chooses the college she will attend, he identifies the subject in which she will major, and he selects the very courses he will allow her to take. 

Although not yet seventeen years old, she realizes that unless she puts distance between herself and her father, she will not escape what he calls “her destiny” and she calls the “Barrett curse.” Closing the door to childhood behind her, she steps into the world, intent on becoming an adult on her own terms. 

If you enjoy coming-of-age stories, you will fall in love with this absorbing account of how Lyssa strives to come to terms with her past as she builds life on her own terms.

COVER: This is such a lovely cover. The colors are amazing. The book in the young woman's hands ties into the plotline. 

FIRST CHAPTER: Child of A Swan opens with Marta bringing her mother, Lyssa, a copy of Edward Barrett's latest book —a memoir that delves into the life Lyssa has left behind. 

KEEP READING: A lot of ground is covered in the opening chapter. We meet Marta and Lyssa, but others are simply names in the narrative. This was a wise choice by the author. The first chapter is heavy on emotions and blends the present day and the past as some backstory explores Lyssa's feelings about her father, the new book, and the decisions she has made. I'm definitely curious, and I am looking for the writing to tighten up to increase the tension. 

Read an excerpt!

Marta opened the door even before I rang the bell. 

“Hi, Mom.” She smiled as she stepped back, allowing me to enter, and, standing in our entrance hall, she held out a copy of Edward Barrett’s new release, And Then She Was Gone. 

“You found one,” I exclaimed. 

The commentator on NPR had declared that copies of Barrett’s new title would be snapped up so quickly on release day they would be difficult to find. Since I had read every book he had ever published, I had planned to dash out tonight after dinner in search of one. After all, the review in Sunday’s Times had concluded with an irresistible teaser, “And Then She Was Gone is written as a letter of apology to Barrett’s daughter—an apology Barrett cannot deliver in person since he has not seen her in well over a decade, and he does not even know if she is still alive.” 

An apology. 

I’d shaken my head in disbelief. 

Barrett had published an apology. 

To his daughter. 

To me.… 

Marta’s eyes remained fixed on me. “The book was shelved as a memoir, Mom.” 

A memoir. 

Not contemporary fiction like his other work. 

I bit my lower lip. 

My father had written about us, him and me, our lives, our relationship. The prepublication press releases had made this clear. But the idea, the hope, my prayer, that my father had couched our lives in plausibly deniable fiction seemed to be nothing more than a pipedream, wishful thinking. 

No, in place of fiction, he had written a memoir. 

I rolled my eyes and sank into a chair in the entrance hall. 

I slowly flipped the pages, scanning the contents. 

Readers assume a memoir to be factual, a window through which to view the author’s life and to understand their experience, a veritable information dump from the author’s eidetic memory, a memory that records every event with perfect accuracy and objectivity. 

And that was the kick. 

Even if an author is one of the few who has been blessed with such a perfect memory, even if the author has supplemented his recollections by searching records and interviewing family and friends, a memoir is inherently selective, slanted, tinted by the author’s beliefs and needs and fears, designed to make some point, more akin to an edited video than to a live stream, to a Photo-Shopped image than to a raw file. 

How had my father edited our story? What events had he included in full? Which ones had he cropped? What incidents were presented with clear, crisp detail? Which scenes had he underexposed or deleted?

PURCHASE HERE!

David Burnett will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received a copy of this book from the author. This First Chapter Review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

First Chapter Review and Giveaway: Father of One by Jani Anttola

 

Father of One by Jani Anttola is a literary war novel. The author is on tour with Goddess Fish Promotions. 

BLURB: Maka, a young Bosnian soldier, has survived three years under siege. When the enemy forces launch their final attack on his hometown, he must escape to the hills. But traversing the vast woods is a task against all odds: to stay alive, and to find his infant son and his wife, he is soon forced to make a desperate move.

Set against the harrowing background of raging guerrilla warfare and the genocide in Srebrenica, Father of One is, at heart, a story of deep humanity, compassion, and love. It is the account of one man’s desire to reunite his family, separated by war, and of bonds unbroken by trauma, sustained by loyalty and tenacity. Writing in a voice that rings with clarity and authenticity, Jani Anttola lays open a dark moment in Europe’s recent history.

COVER: This is a beautiful cover. The forests and mountainous terrain hold true historical significance during the conflict and for the main character of this story. What a perfect cover choice. 

FIRST CHAPTER: In a third-floor apartment of a multi-story building, a young woman shares a flat with nineteen other people, some family, most not. The phone rings. It brings unexpected and confusing news of the husband she has been missing as the siege has dragged on. 

KEEP READING: Wow! This has to be one of the most emotionally gripping first chapters I've ever read. Considering the book blurb, one thinks they will be introduced to Maka first. Instead, Anttola delivers to you a heartwrenching hook that involves the wife and family he is separated from. The tension ramps up, and by the end of this opening chapter, you can't help but continue because you need to know what will happen next. Roberts' keen eye for detail puts you right in that cramped flat with Maka's family. Amazingly well done!

Book Excerpt

This is it. 

He would shoot some of them, then kill himself with the last one. 

Maka counted his rounds. One in the chamber, four in the magazine. That was enough. And he had the grenade. He clipped off a cartridge and put it in his pocket. How many could he get? One? Two? More? He decided on three. A good number. He’d kill two on the road, then at least one more with the grenade when they stormed the house. 

Three lives for his. It sounded like some sort of a deal. 

He placed the muzzle of the automatic rifle into the rugged hole and took aim at the nearest soldier. He was about thirty metres away. Maka would drop him with a single slug. But when he looked at the man through the sights, over the blued metal of the gun, he felt bitter about dying this way. He knew the man outside was there to kill him and his kin, but what if he, too, was somebody’s father? He was probably in his forties and distantly resembled a clerk who had worked in the post office in Srebrenica. This Chetnik also wore a šajkača, with its V-shaped top making his head look like a pig’s hoof. He had a messy stubble and a moustache that seemed to hang from his long, thin nose, as he stood under the sun with weary eyes. 

So, you’re here to kill me? 

It’s you who’s going to die now. But I don’t do this because I like it. 

If there were a way to leave this situation without killing anybody, let alone himself, Maka would do so. Just it was too late. It was far too much, and nothing could get it undone. He positioned the sights in the middle of the man’s chest and calmed his breathing down. He took the slack out of the trigger, until he felt the tiny resistance of the firing mechanism in his fingertip.

• PURCHASE HERE!
• 
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CCVSJ1VV
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Book Guild
• Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 25, 2023
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 783 KB
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled 
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled 
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 317 pages 
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1916668232
• Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled 

I received a copy of this book from the author. This First Chapter Review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way. 

Jani Anttola will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. See Rafflecopter form for details. 

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Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Arabesque by M G da Mota

 

A woman living alone in a coastal Sussex town in 1998 plants a copper beech sapling at 3 a.m. on a dark, cold night. Why? 

A ballet dancer in 1960s East Germany is oppressed, longs for escaping with his little daughter but not his wife. Why? Will he make it? 

In 2022 Karsten von Stein, widower and principal of the Royal Ballet, with two young children, meets Ivone Benjamim, a Portuguese, newly-arrived principal dancer. They discover a magical chemistry when dancing and soon it transfers to their private lives. 

Against the background of ballet and its dancers, a woman called Grace tells her story from a rehab centre. Obsessive, delusional she begins believing Ivone robbed her of the man of her dreams—Karsten. And then a skeleton is found in a garden...What connects all these people and their stories? 

You’ll be the audience facing the stage of this balletic novel.

Read an excerpt

Prologue

Southeast England, late November 1998 

She looks out of the window. Dark night. Black but clear. Twinkling dots punctuate the raven velvet of the sky. Stars shimmer cold and icy. Their light slightly wavering. She knows it is the Earth’s atmosphere. But that’s neither here nor there. It doesn’t matter a jot. Not at this moment anyway.

Darkness is the important thing. No moon. New moon. Why do people refer to a new moon when there is no moon or when one cannot see the moon from our revolving, ever turning blue dot? The moon is still up there in the sky. It’s just that at some point during its orbit its farther side from us is facing the sun. So the side facing us is dark and we can’t see it. As simple as that. 

Tonight is new moon. An ideal night. She opens the window quietly and glances at the houses to her right first, then to her left. Like hers they are all immersed in silent darkness. People sleep. She looks at the luminous hands of her alarm clock on the side table. The shorter hand points at the number three, or close to it, and the long hand at somewhere between ten and fifteen. Probably around 3:12 in the morning. Her house stands almost but not quite alone on top of the hill. To her right, looking from her bedroom window that faces the back garden, there are two houses. The one closest to hers is empty.

Purchase here!

M G da Mota is Margarida Mota-Bull’s pen name for fiction. She is a Portuguese-British novelist with a love for classical music, ballet and opera. Under her real name she also writes reviews of live concerts, CDs, DVDs and books for two classical music magazines on the web: MusicWeb International and Seen and Heard International. She is a member of the UK Society of Authors, speaks four languages and lives in Sussex with her husband. Her website, called flowingprose.com, contains photos and information. 

Website: https://www.flowingprose.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/m.g.da.mota

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margarida-mota-bull

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mgdamota 

One randomly chosen winner 

via rafflecopter will win

 a $25 Amazon/BN.com gift card. 

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Interview with Patricia Leavy, PhD, Author of Shooting Stars Above

Patricia Leavy, PhD, is an award-winning, best-selling author. She was formerly Associate Professor of Sociology, Chairperson of Sociology & Criminology, and Founding Director of Gender Studies at Stonehill College. She has published more than fifty books; her work has been translated into many languages, and she has received more than one hundred book honors. Recently, her novel The Location Shoot was featured in Ms. Career Girl's “10 Perfect Books to Get Your Fall Reading List Started” and She Reads in “Novels to Read if You Love Classic Movies” and was the 2024 Best Book Awards First Place Winner in Women’s Fiction. Patricia has also received career awards from the New England Sociological Association, the American Creativity Association, the American Educational Research Association, the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, and the National Art Education Association. In 2018, she was honored by the National Women’s Hall of Fame and SUNY-New Paltz established the “Patricia Leavy Award for Art and Social Justice.” Patricia lives in Maine and serves on the board of the London Arts-Based Research Centre. In addition to writing, she enjoys movies, art, reading, and travel.

Website: https://patricialeavy.com

Order the book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4hzcJVe

Where did you grow up? 

Brookline, Massachusetts.

When did you begin writing? 

I’ve loved writing more than anything else for as long as I can remember. When I was little, I would orally recite stories for an adult to type. Then I would title and illustrate them, and then I would bind them with old wallpaper, glue, or staples. My mother saved a few of my earliest “books.” I have one in a plastic storage bag in my desk. It says I was six years old when I made it.

Do you write during the day, at night or whenever you can sneak a few moments? 

I write during the day. I write every single day—weekends, holidays, vacations. I don’t write all day every day, but I do write every day. On vacations I get up early just to have time to write in the hotel room and I often find coffee shops or museum cafés where I can sit and write.

What is this book about? 

It’s a love story. Really, it’s about the power of love to help us heal our visible and invisible wounds, and the struggle to balance darkness and light in our lives. The story follows world-famous inspirational novelist Tess Lee and counterterrorism agent Jack Miller. Both have given so much to others, but haunted by past violence, neither has been able to find personal happiness. The night Tess and Jack meet, their connection is palpable. She examines the scars on his body and says, “I’ve never seen anyone whose outsides match my insides.” The two embark on an epic love story.

What inspired you to write it? 

When I was ten years old, I tried to write a novel. I don’t remember all the details, but it was a love story about two people who help each other heal. I wasn’t able to finish it at the time. I think the seed lived inside of me my entire life. One night several years ago, I stepped out onto the balcony of my home office and looked up at the stars. Like a bolt, Shooting Stars Above came to, as a complete book. I wrote the first draft in only ten days. It was magical. I believe Shooting Stars Above is the book I tried to write when I was ten. There’s a saying that “hurt people hurt people.” Sometimes that isn’t true. Sometimes people in pain are able to love others in extraordinary ways. That’s the core inspiration behind the book.

Was the road to publication smooth sailing or a bumpy ride?

It was mostly smooth sailing because it’s my fourth novel with this publisher. I absolutely love working with them and have learned their processes pretty well at this point. The one difficult thing is that I’ve dealt with several major personal challenges in the months leading up to the release—several deaths including my mentor and my beloved dog who I had for fifteen and a half years. It’s really hard to get into a promotion mindset when you’re experiencing deep grief and loss.

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?

It's available everywhere books are sold. Readers ordering online can look at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, or they can visit the She Writes Press or Simon & Schuster webpages for the book to see a range of options. You can always try your local independent bookstore too, and if they don’t carry it, they can order it.

What is one piece of advice you would like to share with aspiring authors everywhere? 

Develop a relationship with your work that is not dependent on anything external—positive or negative.

What is up next for you? 

I fell so deeply in love with the characters in Shooting Stars Above that it became a series called The Celestial Bodies Romances. There are six books written to date and I genuinely love each more than the one before. We’ll be releasing one each spring. Shooting Stars Above includes the first chapter of the next book, Twinkle of Doubt. Each novel takes place a year after the last and follows the same characters, although some fun new characters are introduced across the series too. Each series title explores love and a different theme. The first book is about love and healing. Other topics include doubt, intimacy, trust, commitment, and faith. While there are different kinds of dramatic events that happen in each book, I can promise you each is filled with love, a few laughs, and hopefully a bit of inspiration. While each novel is a contained stand-alone book, and there are no cliffhangers, if you read the entire series there is also a larger narrative arc. Really, the series is about learning to balance lightness and darkness in our lives so that we may live in full color. Before the next series book comes out, I’m releasing a different novel called Cinematic Destinies on September 2, which is already available for preorder. It’s a romance with multiple love stories and a fun film shoot in Iceland. It’s a total feel-good for readers who enjoy Hollywood love stories with heart. I loved writing it.

Is there anything you would like to add?

Shooting Stars Above has held my hand and wrapped me in the warmest embrace for quite some time. I hope it does the same for readers. I hope it brings a sense of hope and love, and a reminder that kindness matters. Including be kind to ourselves.

Patricia Leavy will be awarding

a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Spotlight & Giveaway: My Bully, My Aunt, and her Final Gift by Harold Phifer

 

Aunt Kathy made his childhood miserable—now her funeral might just set him free.

In this wickedly funny and deeply honest memoir, Harold Phifer revisits the chaos of growing up under the thumb of a domineering aunt who ruled with twisted wisdom and unpredictable wrath. As he plans her awkward memorial, Hal finds healing in the most unexpected place: her absence. My Bully, My Aunt, and Her Final Gift is a heartfelt journey through trauma, truth, and the strange gifts we inherit from those who hurt us most.

Read an excerpt

Very few parishioners had vehicles, so she was an easy choice. However, accepting a ride from Aunt Kathy came at a heavy price. Passengers had to endure constant verbal assaults while present in her car. Even Jerry got involved in those character assassinations. 

On one occasion, with both Jerry and me crammed in the back seat of Aunt Kathy’s Crown Victoria, along with a big basket of food, which we were forbidden to touch, Aunt Kathy set out to pick up Deacon Hunter. 

As soon as the old man settled in, Jerry wasted no time repeating what he had gathered from Aunt Kathy prior to the lift. “You need to get your own car!” 

Of course, Aunt Kathy tried to laugh it off and then replied, “Kids say the darndest things. I don’t know where my baby boy got that.”

Purchase here!

Harold Phifer was born in the rebellious South of Columbus, Mississippi. As a kid, he worked the streets, hustled the neighbors, and bused tables at bars he didn’t belong in. After graduating from Caldwell High School, he went on to earn degrees from Mississippi State and Jackson State Universities. He became an Air Traffic Controller in Memphis, Tennessee, but after 23 years, he sought purpose elsewhere—working as an international contractor alongside soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. After narrowly escaping the Taliban takeover in 2021, he took refuge at Guantanamo Bay and resumed his writing while continuing his work as a controller. In 2024, he returned to the Middle East, where he continues to write about life, love, and the human spirit. 

Visit Harold online at:

https://x.com/hephifer 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/harold-phifer-093b4091

https://www.facebook.com/HaroldPhifer2024

https://www.instagram.com/haroldphifer2024

https://riseandread.com

Harold Phifer will be awarding a 

$15 Starbucks gift card to

 a randomly drawn winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enter to Win a FREE Digital Copy of Cinematic Destinies by Patricia Leavy

Patricia Leavy is giving away copies of CINEMATIC DESTINIES, her upcoming romance from She Writes Press. How to get yours? It's easy... just complete the Rafflecopter below and you'll receive one from the author! Plus, one lucky entrant will receive a $150 Amazon gift card!

So, what's the book about? Here's the info:

For fans of Tessa Bailey and Hannah Grace, Cinematic Destinies is a feel-good, contemporary romance about a trio of adult children searching for love and beauty in the shadow of their parents’ legendary Hollywood fairy-tale romance.

Legendary actor Finn Forrester and his wife philosopher Ella Sinclair Forrester met on the location shoot for Jean Mercier’s film Celebration. The world has been captivated by their fairy-tale romance since Finn famously proposed on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival. As the couple now prepares to celebrate their thirtieth wedding anniversary, they wonder if their children will ever find love.

Eldest daughter Betty is excelling in a medical residency program in New York City—and has convinced herself that distancing herself from emotions is the path to success. Youngest son Albert, a recent college graduate, is trying to find his footing in Boston as he struggles with his identity. Free-spirited Georgia, her mother’s spitting image and an actress following in her father’s footsteps, has been cast in Jean Mercier’s final film, mysteriously titled Beauty. When she arrives on set in Iceland and meets her costar, sparks fly. Is history repeating itself? How has growing up in the shadow of the world’s most iconic love story affected each of the Forrester children?

Reviews

“If you’re a romantic with a brain and a heart, this is your jam . . . I closed the book with a full heart and a goofy grin.” Literary Titan, 5-star review

“Cinematic Destinies is a stunning and poignant celebration of romance, the magic of movies, and life itself. The exotic Icelandic film set, well-drawn characters, and smart writing make this book impossible to put down . . . This is a gorgeous novel.” —Laurel Richardson, author of Lone Twin

“Overall, the writing, the characters, the little nods of sizzle, and the brilliant family dynamic make this book a winner. Very highly recommended.”—Readers’ Favorite, 5-star review

“Leavy’s latest must-read novel features a trio of romantic storylines about the quest for love and identity in the shadow of a Hollywood fairy tale . . . Cinematic Destinies is a spellbinding ode to love, art, and what it means to live.” —Mary E. Weems, author of Blackeyed

About the Author:

Patricia Leavy is an award-winning, best-selling author. Formerly Associate Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of Gender Studies at Stonehill College, she has published more than fifty books; her work has been translated into many languages, and she has received more than one hundred book honors. Her most recent novel, Shooting Stars Above, was featured on People “10 Romance Books to Read After Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry.” She has also received career awards from the National Art Education Association, the American Creativity Association, the American Educational Research Association, and other organizations. In 2018, she was honored by the National Women’s Hall of Fame and SUNY-New Paltz established the “Patricia Leavy Award for Art and Social Justice.” In 2024 the London Arts-Based Research Centre established “The Patricia Leavy Award for Arts-Based Research.” Patricia lives in Maine. In addition to writing, she enjoys art, reading, and travel.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cinematic-Destinies-Novel-Carpet-Romance-ebook/dp/B0DWNGNM1Z/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0

Patricia Leavy will award a free digital copy of her upcoming book CINEMATIC DESTINIES to the first 7500 people who enter the Rafflecopter, and one lucky entrant will receive a $150 Amazon gift card.

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Interview with Robert Bruce Adolph, Author of Surviving the United Nations (Giveaway)

 

Robert Bruce Adolph is a retired UN Chief Security Advisor & US Army Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel.  He holds master’s degrees in both International Affairs (Middle East Studies) from American University’s School of International Service and National Security Studies and Strategy from the US Army’s Command and General Staff College.  

Adolph served nearly 26 years in multiple Special Forces, Counterterrorism, Psychological Operations, Civil Affairs, Foreign Area Officer, and Military Intelligence command and staff assignments in the US and overseas. He also volunteered to serve on UN peacekeeping missions in Egypt, Israel, Cambodia, Iraq and Kuwait. 

After he retired from active military service in 1997, he began a second career as a senior UN Security Advisor. Among his positions he served as the Chief of the Middle East and North Africa in the UN Department of Safety and Security. 

Website: https://robertbruceadolph.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-bruce-adolph-904597a

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robert.adolph

Where did you grow up? 

I was born in Massachusetts, but because my dad was in the military, I was raised all over the US - the eldest of nine children. At last count, and due to my Army and United Nations assignments, I have lived and worked in 17 different countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, many of which were in crisis. These varied assignments inform much of my writing. I think it is fair to say that my perspective might not be mainstream.

When did you begin writing? 

I published my first article while serving in the Army as a young captain of military intelligence. I wrote that piece because I had never done so before. Trying new things is something of a passion for me. I liked the responses to my first article, so I wrote another, and another, and I am still at it over four decades later. At last count, I have published over three hundred articles, commentaries, and book reviews. My works have appeared in over fifty newspapers, magazines, and journals, in the US, Europe, and Asia.

What is this book about? 

It’s the true story of my experiences in my humanitarian and peacekeeping missions for the United Nations. I had to deal with child-soldiers, blood diamonds, a double hostage-taking, an invasion by brutal guerrillas, an emergency aerial evacuation, a desperate hostage recovery mission, tribal gunfights, refugee camp violence, suicide bombings, and institutional corruption. My UN career brought me face to face with the best and worst of human nature, and I share it all in this book.

What inspired you to write it? 

I was deeply angry and hurt. There were twenty-two dead and over one hundred and fifty wounded in a jihadist vehicular suicide attack in Baghdad. The people who were to blame never faced accountability for their lack of action. I had to set the record straight by telling the truth, no matter the personal cost. I felt the call to action because nobody else would. I had never felt so alone and utterly vulnerable in my life.

How is it similar to other books in its genre? 

There are a lot of great books, like James Taub’s The Best Intentions and Jan Egeland’s A Billion Lives that give you an inside view of how the UN operates and its impact on the different countries it works in.

How is it different? 

As a senior United Nations Security Chief, I had a unique perspective, having previously served three volunteer uniformed tours of duty in United Nations peacekeeping in Egypt & Israel, Cambodia, and Iraq & Kuwait. It helped me understand why corruption isn’t always seen as corruption. My distinctive view of the events I experienced makes my book different from all the others.

What is the most important thing readers can learn from your book?

I believe that what may make my book a page-turner is that every word is real. Every emotion is raw. Every mistake has consequences. Contrary to popular belief, death seldom has meaning. Violence is often proven stupid. And, finally, justice is not always served. Reality, when reading it, cannot be denied and is recognized by readers. The lessons learned are invaluable.

What is up next for you? Is there anything you would like to add?

My current project is a book for people who may be interested in improving themselves via writing. Writing is now and has always been the most rigorous form of thought. There is no better exercise for the mind than writing. If your readers hope to be one day better, they should write. If they hope to influence others, they should write. If your readers hope one day to build a legacy, they should write. Bottom line – of all the things that I have accomplished in my many years, and aside from saving lives, I am most proud of my writing history.

Read an Excerpt!

I had accomplished an area study on the country before departing Sarajevo—an old habit instilled in me by military training. You see, if time permits prior to the deployment of a Special Forces team on mission, the unit would enter isolation for as much as a week prior in preparation. During that period an area study would be developed among the twelve members of the team. Essentially, an area study examines all aspects of a country or region that might impact mission accomplishment. Knowing the history of a country is often key to understanding its future. 

Sierra Leone had been established on the west coast of the African continent in 1787 by Great Britain as a home for freed slaves. It is about half the size of the American state of Illinois and became a crown colony in 1808. From that time until 1961, when it became an independent nation-state, the country was ruled by the British. In retrospect, the native population was not well prepared for self-rule. 

There was a succession of coups. Government changed hands several times. In 1991, Corporal Foday Sankoh, a former soldier of the Sierra Leone Army, began a military campaign (insurgency) against the national warlord of the moment, Major General Saidu Momoh. Sankoh led what came to be known as the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The RUF generally focused its attentions on the inland—controlling diamond-producing areas, and the Sierra Leone/Liberia border area in the east and south.

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Book Blast & Giveaway: In Search of Recognition by Jim McAllister

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jim McAllister will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

In Search of Recognition: The Story of Search and Rescue in British Columbia provides background on why and how organized volunteer search and rescue became a reality in the province, and how search and rescue evolved over many years to meet the increasing demands of finding lost people and rescuing those injured outdoors. The primary focus of the thousands of volunteers is to save the lives of persons lost or injured outdoors; training and fundraising for equipment and other costs also require time and energy. Through personal involvement and references, the author provides insights into how funding and other support for the volunteer service was achieved, through government, responsible agencies, organizations and individuals working together to find ways to assist those who strive "so others may live."

Read an Excerpt

Civil defence continued to be the focus of all levels of government in BC during the 1960s. The cold war standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States and its allies continued to escalate as nuclear capabilities grew. Air raid siren tests were common along with drills in schools in BC. Citizens in Comox were treated to the sights and sounds of Voodoo fighter jets launching to intercept Russian long-distance bombers. The RCAF remained the lead for air and marine search and rescue, from their base on Sea Island. Searches for missing aircraft and vessels in distress were numerous, as technology such as tracking and alerting systems were yet to be developed or in their infancy.

About the Author: Jim McAllister has been involved in search and rescue for over 45 years, starting as a volunteer member in the Rocky Mountains in 1977 with Golden and District SAR and then Cranbrook SAR. He became the SAR specialist for the Province of B.C. in 2002. In 2008, Jim retired from the provincial government as a director with Emergency Management British Columbia and became a volunteer director for special projects with the British Columbia Search and Rescue Association. Jim has been involved with many major projects: the establishment of Avalanche Canada, the updating of volunteer reimbursement rates, the establishment of health and safety guidelines, the formation of a joint health and safety committee, Swiftwater Rescue standards, sustainable funding for search and rescue and the establishment of the British Columbia Search and Rescue Volunteer Memorial. Jim wrote a book on the last project, titled A Monument to Remember, and one on incidents, titled One Week in August: Stories from Search and Rescue in British Columbia.

Amazon: https://amazon.com/dp/1779627394
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/519145.Jim_McAllister

Jim McAllister will be awarding a

$10 Amazon/BN gift card to

a randomly drawn winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway