Book Blast & Giveaway: Love, Defined by Leila Tualla

Author: Leila Tualla
Book Title: Love, Defined
Paperback: 242 pages
ISBN-10: 1680582313
ISBN-13: 978-1680582314
Publication Date: August 4, 2015
Genre: Christian YA Romance


Into their final summer before graduating college, three childhood friends, Alex Makapulo, Lori Hanson, and Andy Taylor had each expected an uncomplicated transition to adulthood.
Alex had recently professed her love for Christ and is toying with the idea of leaving the Catholic Church and becoming a member of her best friend, Jack Page’s church. Jack wonders what is keeping Alex from being baptized and fully accepting a new life with Christ. Alex wonders the same thing and believes that she needs to be 100 % in her conviction before fully committing to a new Christian life. Like everyone she has doubts and wants to make sure she’s doing the right thing in her spiritual walk. Her new found beliefs disconnects her from her roommates and while they feel she is intentionally separating herself from them, to Alex, she is trying to figure out what is Christian and what isn’t.

For Lori’s twenty-second birthday, her grandfather Pete Hanson presented her with a summer vacation to England. While looking up various tourist spots, she meets and befriends Colin Watson, a British musician, online who then suggest they meet when she lands in London. They hit it off instantly but Pete is angry and believes that she only used him as a means to meet Colin. When he finds out that Lori met Colin online, he forbids Lori from seeing Colin entirely. Lori, who has fallen in love with Colin, is heartbroken. Pete threatens to leave England with Lori’s passport. Colin and Lori try to arrange meetups where they can see each other but Pete catches on. Lori takes this as a sign that it wasn’t meant to be. She unhappily finishes her trip with Pete and goes home vowing not to forgive her grandfather.

Andy reconnects with her old crush, Miles Webber and decides she wants a more meaningful relationship with him. She tells Alex about the situation and Alex truthfully tells Andy that Miles only wanted her for sex. This angers Andy and she walks out of the apartment.

Andy ends up walking to the coffeehouse and comes up with an idea to throw a surprise birthday party for Alex. She believes that if Alex and Jack were to hook up, the focus would shift from Miles and her. Andy spikes all the drinks for Alex’s party and leaves her friend while she goes in search of Miles. He shows up at the bar with another girl. In an effort to soothe her wounded ego, she goes home with someone else. When she wakes up the next day, she realizes she’s in bed with Alex’s young boss from the coffeehouse, David Roberts, Jr.
They return home from their trip with Alex asking Jack to baptize her. Andy confronts David and Lori both forgives and asks for forgiveness from Pete.

Leila Tualla is a Christian blogger and writer. She blogs at www.tuallaleila.blogspot.com and writes about her misadventures in faith, in motherhood, and whatever else inspires her. She holds a membership to the American Christian Fiction Writer. Her current project is a YA Christian Romance.

Social Links:
Website: http://tuallaleila.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LeilaTuallaM
Twitter: www.twitter.com/LeilaTualla
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://amzn.com/1680582313
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-defined-leila-tualla/1122402464

Follow the tour here: http://wnlbooktours.com/?p=5650
Enter Giveaway: One winner will receive an autographed copy of Love, Defined

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Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the author Leila Tualla and is hosted and managed by Paulette from Write Now Literary Book Tours. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send an email to Paulette @ pharperjohnson@gmail.com

Mailbox Monday & Giveaway - June 22

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.

Wow! Hard to believe that tomorrow is the last day of school. Where did the year go? As I mentioned last week, I am glad it's over. I think we all need a vacation.

On a positive note, I've started reading a bit more and my last editing project for a client is done, so hopefully I will get some writing done soon.

This is a book I'll be reading for a book tour in August.

Angels, Angels, Everywhere is a non-denominational, multiracial book written in delightful rhythm and rhyme and accompanied by charming illustrations. The themes of constant support and unconditional love are designed to help children deal with everyday experiences in life.

By developing children’s faith in knowing that they are not alone and building their trust that they are consistently watched over, cared for, and loved, children will become empowered to deal with life’s challenges. The book also lets children know that angels are there in good times as well, sharing in their joy.

I also recently picked up the second book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, on audio.

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the summer after Harry’s first year at Hogwarts has been his worst summer ever… the Dursleys more distant and horrible than ever before. But just as he’s packing his bags to return to school, a creature named Dobby the house-elf announces that if Harry goes back to Hogwarts, disaster will strike. And it turns out, Dobby is right. Harry and Ron miss the Hogwarts Express, so they fly to school in a blue Ford Anglia, crash landing in the notorious Whomping Willow. Soon other worries accumulate: the outrageously stuck-up new professor Gilderoy Lockhart; a ghost named Moaning Myrtle, who haunts the girls' bathroom; the strange behavior of Ron's little sister, Ginny Weasley; rumors about the "Chamber of Secrets," a cavern buried deep below Hogwarts; and a magical diary owned by Tom Riddle, a Hogwarts student of long ago. Harry is also shocked to discover that he can speak Parseltongue, the language of snakes - a rare ability that Lord Voldemort also possessed - and that anti-Muggle prejudice exists in the Wizarding world, even affecting Harry's friend Hermione. But all of these seem like minor concerns when someone starts turning Hogwarts students to stone: an evildoer said to be the fearsome Heir of Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of the school. Could it be Draco Malfoy, Harry's most poisonous rival? Could it be Hagrid whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one person everyone at Hogwarts most suspects: Harry Potter himself?

I posted a review of Bitter Bronx by Jerome Charyn last week at The Book Connection. Here's an excerpt from that review:

No stranger to Charyn's work, I eagerly signed up for this tour. His ability to evoke such strong emotions through his characters is second to none and his eloquent prose draws you in from the start.

These characters are flawed in such a way that you wish to close the book and tuck it away; but like the scene of a horrific accident, you can't help but peer into these people's lives as they struggle against poverty, greed, perversions, and organized crime. This is a world of war widows and mobsters, of insanity and depression, of a Bronx forever divided into north and south.

You can read the entire review here.

I am giving away a second copy of the book that the publisher sent to me. Please use the Rafflecopter form below for your chance to enter and win. Sorry, U.S. residents only. Good luck!

Hope you'll share what was in your mailbox too.


Giveaway Terms and Conditions:


* Winner must 18 years of age or older and reside in the United States.
* Winner will be notified by email and have 72 hours to claim prize or a new winner will be selected.
* Prize will be shipped by USPS.
* The Busy Mom's Daily is not responsible for items lost or damaged in shipment.
* VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

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Christmas Comes Early Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations goes out to Jaclyn R. She won the children's book package raffled off during the Christmas Comes Early Giveaway. The winner has 72 hours to claim her prize before a new winner is selected.

Thanks to all who participated. I hope you'll visit again soon.

Christmas Comes Early Giveaway!

It's been too long since we've had a giveaway, so I decided to have Christmas come a little early this year. You have a chance to win a ton of free books for the little ones on your Christmas list. 

Here are the books I'm giving away to one lucky winner! This is close to $170 worth of FREE books!

Books by Liesbet Slegers:

Books by Guido Van Genechten:





Books by Anita Bijesterbosch and France Quatromme and  Parastou Haghi





Terms and conditions:

• By entering, you confirm you are 18 years of age or older.
• Contest open to residents of the United States only with a U.S. mailing address.
• Contest runs from 9/16/14 - 9/30/14.
• One winner will be selected from eligible entries.
• Winner will be notified by email and have 72 hours to claim the prize before a new winner is selected.
• Prize will be shipped via U.S.P.S.
• This blog and its sponsors are not responsible for items lost or damaged in shipment.
• VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

Enter using the link to the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

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Book Spotlight and Giveaway: Tactics, Trends, and Traits of the Enemy by Jermaine Gadson

Tactics, Trends, and Traits of the Enemy by author Jermaine Gadson is a must have resource for believers who want to be well equipped to be victorious against the strategies of the devil. The devil is cunning and deceptive, and he will stop at nothing to keep God's people from reaching their potential in Christ. In this book, Pastor Gadson discusses how the enemy uses temptation, seduction, fear, isolation, guilt, shame, and other such things in order to steal and destroy a person's life. Satan works tirelessly through various means and mechanisms to keep sinners from hearing and being receptive of the Word of God, in order to prevent them from being saved. If you have family or friends who are not born-again, this resource will help you to identify schemes that the enemy may be using to keep your loved ones from being saved. This book is intended to equip the Body of Christ to wage a good warfare against the strategies of the enemy. It is not God's will for His people to be taken advantage of by the enemy because of ignorance. This book exposes who the enemy is, what he has done, what he is doing, and what he will try to do in the future, as an enemy of God's people. This book is written for the everyday believer to be able to understand and use. However, it is also a helpful tool for Christian leaders to be able to identify specific ways in which the enemy desires to attack them in order to steal their influence, kill their destiny, and destroy their reputation and ministries. In this regard, it is an encouragement to the Body of Christ to guard and protect their spiritual leaders.

Excerpt:
Know Your Enemy
Before engaging in battle of any kind, it is very important to be familiar with the opposition. The more you know about your enemy, the greater you will be equipped to fight against them and be victorious. Knowing your enemy includes being knowledgeable of their strengths, weaknesses, habits, origin, and the like. When you are knowledgeable about your adversary, you become empowered to develop a plan of action or strategy to adequately defend against their opposition, overcome their threats and defensive mechanisms, and ultimately defeat them.

Athletes and those who follow sports are familiar and acquainted with this principle. Coaches and players spend hours upon hours viewing video recordings of not only their own team, but of their upcoming opponents as well. They view recordings to evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses as revealed by previous games, and they do the same to identify strengths and weaknesses of the next team they have to face.
This principle is certainly pertinent in the area of the military as well. No military general, or top ranking official who has authority over military personnel will in their right mind authorize the use of military force without adequate information concerning the enemy to be attacked. Right decisions require right information. This is especially true if you want to come out victorious and on top.

Now that we can see the importance of this principle from a natural standpoint, it makes sense that this would also apply spiritually in relation to how we are to do battle with our spiritual enemy. As you read this book, I hope that you will be able to see the importance of this material in helping you towards this very end. The reason this book is so important is because the person reading it is like a ballplayer looking at tape of his or her opponent or a military general gathering intelligence on a terrorist organization.

When you know where your enemy came from, what your enemy has done in the past, and what your enemy is presently capable of, you are more readily prepared to wage a good warfare and defeat him in any present or future encounters you may have.

Jermaine Gadson is the Senior Pastor of Faith Ministries, Inc., a non-traditional church located in

Birmingham, AL. Prior to starting Faith Ministries, he served as an associate minister, youth minister, and pastor for local churches and ministries in the greater Birmingham area. While, growing up in the Baptist church, he gave his life to Christ at an early age, and is a third generation minister of the Gospel.

He holds a B.A. in Religion with a Concentration in Congregational Studies and a Minor in Classics from Samford University, and a Master of Divinity from Beeson Divinity School of Samford University. He is currently a Doctor of Ministry student at Beeson Divinity School.

Gadson enjoys reading, writing, sports, outdoors, movies, and spending time with his family. He is happily married to his wife Kristy and they have one beautiful daughter, Khloe.

Visit Pastor Gadson online at www.JermaineGadson.com.

Enter for your chance to win a paperback copy of Tactics, Trends, and Traits of the Enemy by Jermaine Gadson. See Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

Terms and Conditions:

By entering, you confirm you are 18 years of age or older.
One winner will be selected randomly by Rafflecopter.
Winner must reside in the United States and have a valid mailing address.
Contest ends at 12:00 AM EST on June 28, 2014.
Winner will be notified by email and have 72 hours to claim the prize.
Prize will be shipped directly to the winner by the author or his representative.
Jermaine Gadson and Cheryl's Christian Book Connection are not responsible for items lost or damaged in shipment.
VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

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Spotlight and Giveaway: Tactics, Trends, and Traits of the Enemy by Jermaine Gadson

Title:  Tactics, Trends, and Traits of the Enemy

Author: Jermaine Gadson

Genre: Spiritual

Publisher: Crossbooks – Division of LifeWay (June 2014)

ISBN:  9781462736362—Hard Cover

ISBN: 9781462736355—Soft Cover

ISBN: 9781462736348—eBook

Pre-order at: http://www.amazon.com/PRE-ORDER-Tactics-Trends-Equipping-Believer/dp/1462736351/

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Tactics, Trends, and Traits of the Enemy by author Jermaine Gadson is a must have resource for believers who want to be well equipped to be victorious against the strategies of the devil. The devil is cunning and deceptive, and he will stop at nothing to keep God's people from reaching their potential in Christ. In this book, Pastor Gadson discusses how the enemy uses temptation, seduction, fear, isolation, guilt, shame, and other such things in order to steal and destroy a person's life. Satan works tirelessly through various means and mechanisms to keep sinners from hearing and being receptive of the Word of God, in order to prevent them from being saved. If you have family or friends who are not born-again, this resource will help you to identify schemes that the enemy may be using to keep your loved ones from being saved. This book is intended to equip the Body of Christ to wage a good warfare against the strategies of the enemy. It is not God's will for His people to be taken advantage of by the enemy because of ignorance. This book exposes who the enemy is, what he has done, what he is doing, and what he will try to do in the future, as an enemy of God's people. This book is written for the everyday believer to be able to understand and use. However, it is also a helpful tool for Christian leaders to be able to identify specific ways in which the enemy desires to attack them in order to steal their influence, kill their destiny, and destroy their reputation and ministries. In this regard, it is an encouragement to the Body of Christ to guard and protect their spiritual leaders.

Book Excerpt:

Chapter One
Know Your Enemy
Before engaging in battle of any kind, it is very important to be familiar with the opposition. The more you know about your enemy, the greater you will be equipped to fight against them and be victorious. Knowing your enemy includes being knowledgeable of their strengths, weaknesses, habits, origin, and the like. When you are knowledgeable about your adversary, you become empowered to develop a plan of action or strategy to adequately defend against their opposition, overcome their threats and defensive mechanisms, and ultimately defeat them.
Athletes and those who follow sports are familiar and acquainted with this principle. Coaches and players spend hours upon hours viewing video recordings of not only their own team, but of their upcoming opponents as well. They view recordings to evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses as revealed by previous games, and they do the same to identify strengths and weaknesses of the next team they have to face.
This principle is certainly pertinent in the area of the military as well. No military general, or top ranking official who has authority over military personnel will in their right mind authorize the use of military force without adequate information concerning the enemy to be attacked. Right decisions require right information. This is especially true if you want to come out victorious and on top.
Now that we can see the importance of this principle from a natural standpoint, it makes sense that this would also apply spiritually in relation to how we are to do battle with our spiritual enemy. As you read this book, I hope that you will be able to see the importance of this material in helping you towards this very end. The reason this book is so important is because the person reading it is like a ballplayer looking at tape of his or her opponent or a military general gathering intelligence on a terrorist organization. When you know where your enemy came from, what your enemy has done in the past, and what your enemy is presently capable of, you are more readily prepared to wage a good warfare and defeat him in any present or future encounters you may have.
The Origin of Satan

Since we are dealing with the concept of knowing your enemy, it is important to understand the origin of where the enemy discussed in this book, Satan, also known as the devil, comes from. Here is what is considered to be the biblical account of Satan’s demise, in Isaiah 14:12-15:
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit.”


The story of Satan originates in the heaven. In his beginning, he was created as an angel of God, who was called by the name of Lucifer. Lucifer was one of God’s chief angels, and as a consequence was given much power and authority. However, because of pride and jealousy towards God, his creator, he rebelled against God, wanting to be worshipped as a god himself. Through his rebellion, he lead one third of the angelic host to follow suit (Revelation 12:4). Today, Lucifer and the one third of angels who rebelled with him are now known as Satan and demons. The devil along with all the other demons, are simply fallen angels. They are angels who rebelled against God, and as a result were cast out of heaven, and striped of their original responsibilities and places of angelic authority (Jude 1:6).
The Point of No Return

Angels have a special and unique role in the plan and purposes of God. Often in the Scriptures, as well as in other literature, angelic beings are referred to as the “sons” of God. This references the fact that the origin of all angels is God, the One who created them.
Adam, the first human being, is called the “son” of God in Scripture as well, simply because he originated from God who created him (Luke 3:38). Adam did not have an earthly father because he was the first human being. God was his father by mere fact of his creation. In the same way, angels are “sons” or children of God. Angels are spirit beings, and human beings are spirit beings at their core, and God is the Father of spirits. Therefore, God, who is a Spirit Himself, is the Father of all spirit beings (Hebrews 12:9). God has created all beings, angels and humanity, for His own glory and purpose.
Nonetheless, there are distinct differences between the angelic and human races that are vitally important to understand. The angelic race was primarily created to serve the purposes of God and His creation. The human race was primarily created for the pleasure of God, to be the glory of His creation. From this we see a difference in the distinct beings in how they were created in relation to God. Though all beings were created to praise and worship God, angels were created to serve God, and human beings were created to love God.
Without going any further into a deep discussion of angelology, demonology, or anthropology, the study of angels, demons, and human beings respectively, for the purposes of this discussion, there is one fact that is paramount. This fact is rooted in what I have stated above in connection with the purposes and differences in why angles and humanity were created. All angels, as far as we know, were created to serve God, and to stand in His presence. In this sense, they are primarily servants, because they were created to serve and do the biding of the Father. Therefore, sense their primary relationship with God is based upon their service to God, the moment that they choose to disobey God; they forfeit their privilege of being able to perpetually stand in God’s presence and to be called in His service. In other words, an angel who sins cannot be forgiven. Someone might say that this is not fair, how can God not forgive an angel who sins. The reality is not so much that God will not forgive, but rather that the angel has become so corrupt that they have no room in their heart for repentance. For example, do you literally think that Satan has, is, or is going to repent and turn from his wickedness? No way! Consider this; the angels get to experience the very presence of Almighty God, continually. God has invested in them powers, abilities, and responsibilities to govern and care for heaven, earth, the galaxies, and the universe. They enjoy the lavish luxury of heaven eternally. Is a person who is willing to give all this and much more up worthy of reconciliation?
Human beings on the other hand have the ability to repent. Therefore, a human being’s eternal destiny is not eternally lost because of sin. We have hope because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
This whole concept of Satan being our enemy, is not so much that Satan is concerned about us on our own account; rather, Satan is jealous of our relationship with God, and the position of authority that God has given to us as a race of spiritual beings. Our fight against the enemy is not just about us. The enemy attacks us because he knows that we are the glory of God’s creation. The devil’s attack on us is really an attack against God. The enemy cannot do anything to hurt God directly because God is God. However, instead of coming against God, whom he knows he cannot defeat, he comes against the ones that God loves.
Think of it this way, the devil is a criminal master mind. If you have ever watched TV shows or movies, where crime was involved, you would notice that whenever a criminal mind wanted to cause harm to an individual or manipulate the individual to do what they wanted, they would either kidnap, threaten to do harm, and actually do harm to someone of whom the individual loved. This is not a concept that originated in the entertainment industry to keep us on the edges of our seats. This is a tactic that originated with Satan, which he is still using today, and will continue to use until his ultimate demise.
The Outcome of Satan

Satan is a sore loser. He lost the battle against Michael and the angels of God in heaven when he rebelled, so he is trying to do as much damage as he possibly can against humanity, and desires to take as many people to hell with him as possible (Revelation 12:7- 12).
When Satan led the rebellion against God, he had to fight against Michael the archangel and the army of angels who remained faithful to God. Satan and his forces lost, of course. As a result, they were cast down to the earth. By God creating mankind to rule the earth, God was in essence creating man from the very beginning to exercise dominion and authority over Satan and his demons. Satan seizing the opportunity to deceive Adam and Eve through tempting them to disobey God was his way of salvaging what little spiritual power he had left, in order to seek vengeance against the God who had created him and banished him for his corruption. And so, the saga continues. However, we already know what happens in the end. Lucifer, now known as Satan, and all those who followed him, will ultimately be defeated and sentenced to eternal punishment and damnation.
So, for us, we must understand that the fight against the enemy is a fixed fight. We have already won, for the battle is not ours, it’s the Lord’s. Our God has, is, and will forever be, victorious!
Names of the Devil Throughout the Bible

I want to conclude this chapter by giving you a list of the names of the enemy, as they appear in the Scriptures. In a Hebraic and biblical perspective names are very important.
Names denote the character and destiny of the named. In the listing below you will see that the various names of Satan that are used are a description of his nature, character, and being.
1. Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12)
2. Satan (Zechariah 3:1; Revelation 12:9)
3. Tempter (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5)
4. Enemy (Matthew 13:39)
5. Devil (Luke 4:2, 13; Revelation 12:9)
6. Beelzebub (Luke 11:15)
7. Ruler of demons (Luke 11:15)
8. Liar (John 8:44)
9. Thief (John 10:10)
10. The prince of this world (John 12:31)
11. The evil one (John 17:15; 1 John 5:18)
12. The god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4)
13. Belial (2 Corinthians 6:15)
14. Prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2)
15. The spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2)
16. Adversary (1 Peter 5:8)
17. Abaddon (Revelation 9:11)
18. Apollyon (Revelation 9:11)
19. Angel of the Bottomless Pit (Revelation 9:11)
20. Dragon (Revelation 12:7)
21. The serpent of old (Revelation 12:9)
22. Accuser (Revelation 12:10)

Chance to win a copy of Tactics, Trends, and Traits of the Enemy by Jermaine Gadson

• By entering, you confirm you are 18 years of age or older.
• One winner will be selected randomly by Rafflecopter.
• Winner must reside in the United States and have a valid mailing address.
• Contest ends at 12:00 AM EST on June 28, 2014.
• Winner will be notified by email and have 72 hours to claim the prize.
• Prize will be shipped directly to the winner by the author or his representative.
• Jermaine Gadson and Cheryl's Christian Book Connection are not responsible for items lost or damaged in shipment.
• VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


About the Author:

Jermaine Gadson is the Senior Pastor of Faith Ministries, Inc., a non-traditional church located in Birmingham, AL. Prior to starting Faith Ministries, he served as an associate minister, youth minister, and pastor for local churches and ministries in the greater Birmingham area. While, growing up in the Baptist church, he gave his life to Christ at an early age, and is a third generation minister of the Gospel.

He holds a B.A. in Religion with a Concentration in Congregational Studies and a Minor in Classics from Samford University, and a Master of Divinity from Beeson Divinity School of Samford University. He is currently a Doctor of Ministry student at Beeson Divinity School.

Gadson enjoys reading, writing, sports, outdoors, movies, and spending time with his family. He is happily married to his wife Kristy and they have one beautiful daughter, Khloe.

Visit Pastor Gadson online at www.JermaineGadson.com.

Connect and Socialize!

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Book Spotlight and Giveaway: Written in Ruberah by P. Christina Greenaway

New York real estate broker Miriam Lewis takes off for a brief getaway to a remote inn on the rugged cliffs of Cornwall. Rest and romance with her boyfriend seem like the perfect cure for a life that appears to be going nowhere, and too fast.

Entering Cornwall, Miriam crosses the River Tamar and glimpses a luminous girl floating in the river. A memory from long, long ago begins to unfold in Miriam’s thoughts—something about a promise she made to perform a selfless act of courage. Could it be true? Could she ever rise to such heroism or is it just a hallucination?

While at the inn, Miriam experiences a series of flashbacks from a life she lived in an ancient land called Ruberah. These startling images convince Miriam that she did write the promise and that she must keep it. But to do so, Miriam will have to let go of everything in her life and place her trust in a guide—the river girl—the wise and eternal spirit of the River Tamar.


EXCERPT:

The light of the ley line locks onto their feet and forms straps similar in style to the sandals they wore in Ruberah. Kate grins. “Cool, right?”
“Cool.”
“Ready?”
“No. Just kidding. Yes.”
A thundering sound like the drumming of kettledrums blasts through the mine, and the ley line shoots forward. Kate and Miriam hold hands and whiz down the tunnel on the beam of red light. Huge rocks at the end of the mine slide apart, and the girl and the woman skid into the ocean. The ley line expands and encases them in a bullet of light that looks like a futuristic, high-speed railway car. Their globes collapse into rings of ruby light and lie around their necks.
“Brilliant!” Kate runs her hands through her hair and tosses it about her shoulders. “We traveled like this in the Time of Ruberah. We could turn the ley line into airships that carried a thousand people at a time, and we controlled our speed and direction from an astral disk—a soft, razor-thin computer we stuck into the palms of our hands, which was programmed to the astral sphere of the Ruby Kingdom.”
Miriam tunes her out. Please God, she won’t have to use this astral disk thing—it’s hard enough to keep up with the computers of this world, let alone deal with some intergalactic system. She wonders what’s governing their speed now, but doesn’t ask. It might be Kate, in which case she’d rather not know. Foretune to travel well. Watching the waters of the Atlantic splash by, she tells herself that gliding along beneath the sea—breathing air without knowing where it’s coming from, losing complete control of her life—is a good thing. Panic beats beneath her every breath.

PURCHASE AT AMAZON!

Title: Written in Ruberah
Author: P. Christina Greenaway
Publisher: Girl by the Sea Publishing
Pages: 420
Language: English
Genre: Paranormal romance
Format: Paperback and eBook




Christina Greenaway grew up in Cornwall, England in a small fishing village. One of her favorite

pastimes as a child was to write a story, stuff it in a bottle, toss it into the sea, and imagine all her characters - pirates, kings, and others - come to life. Her life twisted and turned, however, in so many ways that she never ventured into writing until now, many years later. Her novels include themes generated from her life experiences including: trust, the fantasy parent, empowerment, work and travel and spiritual power.

Christina has worked at BBC radio in England, a NYC high-powered ad agency, as assistant to the president of a perfume company in France, as a partner for a frog farm in Costa Rica, and numerous other venues. She has traversed the globe.

She is the author of Written in Ruberah, published by Girl by the Sea Publishing, and Dream Chaser: Awakening, published by Girl by the Sea. You can visit Christina at www.christinagreenaway.com or her blog at http://christinagreenaway.wordpress.com.

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Guest Blogger & Giveaway: Phillip L. Davidson, Author of Dreamer

Is the Dreamer good or evil? As war looms between Britain and Argentina over the barren Falkland Islands, Major David Elliott is having nightmares. Long ago, in a dark jungle near Cambodia, he failed to do his duty. That duty was to execute a member of his team. David’s weakness eventually led to his team’s capture. Tortured by the Viet Cong, they revealed the dark secrets of the CIA’s Phoenix program. Forced to leave the service in disgrace, his men now live in the ‘darkness’. What do the dreams mean for them? David’s wife, Sonia, sees them as harbingers of evil things to come. A revolutionary in Argentina before the war, she escaped to America and became a citizen.

Now, Captain Alvarez, head of the Argentine Secret Police, wants her back. He devises a plan that lures her into returning to Argentina where she is imprisoned on Los Estados Island. Meanwhile, a mystical creature has summoned David and his former team to gather once more to honor the ‘covenant,’ a pact they made with each other when they believed their lives were coming to an end. Together, with an errant priest, Father Perez, they reluctantly agree to assault Los Estados and free Sonia. As they travel across Mexico, Central and South America, they encounter the CIA, Contras in Nicaragua, the M-19 narco-terrorist group and the United States Navy; while all along being shadowed by the mystical entity. Is the entity God or Satan? Will submitting to the will of the entity allow David and his men to stand in the light of men once again? Is the Dreamer good or evil? You decide.

Dreamer is a tale of redemption, honor, courage, belief in God and betrayal! If you enjoy military fiction, this book is for you.

From Darkness to Light - A Solider’s Story

by Phillip L. Davidson

When I landed in Saigon in 1972,  I thought knew about the dangers that were ahead. After all, I knew it was a desperate place. Fighting and dying had been going on long before I arrived there. As an Infantry officer, a Captain, I had been well trained. I could set ambushes, call in air strikes and shoot my way out of a gun-fight with the best of them. I had also hardened myself against my subordinates, and intellectualized that taking casualties was for the most part unavoidable. I also accepted that I might be killed or wounded, though I had made my mind up that I would never be captured. That was what my hand gun was for. But what I had not foreseen nor planned for was the ‘darkness.’

I had just snuck into my hideout from a night ambush mission when I received a secure radio call from my Six from his lair near the Mekong to be ready to be extracted in two hours. Two hours. As the chopper lifted off leaving my little team waving to me I expected to be back after receiving another one of ‘those’ missions. Instead I was put on a plane and sent home. Arriving in America a couple of days later, I was a man from space. Seventy-two hours earlier I had been in a fire fight. Now, I was picking ghostly insects from my meal at home. Two weeks later I was a ski instructor for the Northern Warfare School in Alaska.

It was there during those cold clear nights that I began experiencing the ‘dreams.’ They came at night, like an ambush team, while I was weak and vulnerable, while my ego was resting. Images of the jungle, the people I knew, the things I had done. And after awhile, I began to have waking dreams. Yes, the ‘Thousand Yard Stare.’ While you were driving, while you were talking, while you were eating, while... I fought the dreams with things I don’t want to write about. I left the Army. But the dreams never left.

They accompanied me while I was driving in my patrol car after I had become a police officer. They took the place of script as I studied my law books. When I would walk down the street a car backfiring or some loud noise would invoke an embarrassing response from me wherever I was and with whomever I was with. I trusted no one, and everyone and everything was out to get me. I even joined the National Guard to be able to act out my subconscious desires. I was at a point that I was at the end of myself. I couldn’t form personal relationships and felt alienated from everyone and the society I was in. The darkness had taken me. I was alone. And suicidal. I had no family left to fall back on and the institutions I had made myself a part of were not set up for understanding the human condition of their employees.

As a small boy I had been a member of a church, a small group that meet in the basement of a larger house. One of the deacons was leaving; a plain man with a friendly smile and solid voice, he once gave the children, there were three of us, Bibles as parting gifts. That was when I was twelve. I still had the Bible. My grandmother had kept it for me and when I left home after joining the police force she handed it to me. She didn’t say anything but she knew. One night for some reason, to this day I cannot tell you why, I thumbed through it. My eye was caught by the story of David. I read it. And in my mind his story was similar to mine. Over the days I formed a bond with David. If God loved a man like David, a man that he said was of his own heart, then there was a chance for me. After awhile, when the darkness came, David drew his sword of light and cut it away. David had put himself to the task of being God’s servant. He didn’t run from evil, he faced it. I decided to find out what the darkness was. I read everything I could about what I was experiencing. And I found out it had a name--delayed stress syndrome.

I took a real hard look at myself in the light of day and I realized that I had been saved from death and disaster so many times by God. If God wanted me to survive, then my life was worth something. The darkness would not win the battle for my soul. Each time I felt myself losing control I remembered that I was not alone. Like David, I could use the armor of God to defeat what threatened me. That is a point of healing for anyone suffering from PTSD. Your life has value to God and he will help you to fight your darkness. God is a warrior and he knows how to win battles. He will help you to cope.

Once I focused my life away from my problems I began to see that many of my fellow police officers were showing symptoms of the darkness. I was now an instructor at the Police Academy and had recently received a Master’s Degree in clinical psychology. I began teaching officers how to cope with the darkness, now labeled, Post-traumatic stress disorder. Thus began my journey of teaching others to defeat this malady. In 1982, I was appointed to President Reagan’s Vietnam Veterans advisory committee, where I centered on PTSD. In the years to come I knew that I wanted to write about PTSD and what it had done to so many soldiers. But I also wanted to write about what had happened to me, not my experiences, but my being saved from the darkness by what I know was God’s grace. Some would call it redemption.

But how would I do this? I wrote Dreamer. Dreamer is novel about redemption. But not redemption in the classical sense that has been written about many times. How would God redeem warriors? Warriors who had been sentenced to live in the darkness for questionable conduct. God would come to them as a warrior. I knew that this concept might be foreign and perhaps offensive to many religious readers. But I felt it was a story that I had to tell.

My central character is a man named David. I patterned him from the Bible’s David. And like King David, Dreamer’s David was a failed human being. David and his team were called upon to carry out Phoenix missions in Vietnam, and all had the left the service in disgrace. Years later, God comes to them and brings them together to accomplish an impossible task that will redeem them and let them stand in the light of men once more.

I used as a background for the novel’s action, the Falklands War. I’m not sure if there has been any fiction written about the Falklands War. Dreamer is gritty. There is rough language, scenes of violence, but also tales of bravery and sacrifice. I wanted to take the Christian and other religious readers to a real world, a world where evil lives, and to show how it can be defeated. Christ never flinched from entering places of evil men and danger. I hoped the Christian reader would find Dreamer a little dangerous but worth saving. Because the main character's dreams were not a product of PTSD, but rather messages from God. Those messages brought him from darkness to light. God’s power will lead you into the light.

View the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xkMUady7xU

Purchase information:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dreamer-Phillip-Davidson-ebook/dp/B00EZVKPFU/

Phillip L. Davidson is an attorney who lives in Nashville, Tennessee with his wife, Karen. He is a former infantry Captain who commanded a group of Cambodian and Vietnamese Kit Carson Scouts on a night ambush team in the Mekong Delta. Phil’s life in the military has provided him with a wealth of war stories. He has used his creative insight to produce a military action adventure of epic proportions. Dreamer is a must read book. He is currently at work on a second novel.

Visit the author online at http://www.phildavidsonbooks.com/.

Dreamer Virtual Book Tour Schedule

January 13^th

Interview at Cheryl’s Christian Book Connection

January 14^th

Book spotlight at I Hope You Dance

January 15^th

Interview at One Writer’s Journey

January 16^th

Interview at Blogcritics

Interview at Christian Today

January 17^th

Book excerpt at Broken Teepee

January 20^th

Book review at Lynn’s Corner

Guest post and giveaway at The Busy Mom’s Daily

January 21^st

First chapter review at The Book Connection

January 22^nd

Book spotlight and giveaway at Lori’s Reading Corner

January 23^rd

Book review at Mary’s Cup of Tea

January 25^th

Book spotlight at The Writer’s Life

Book spotlight at As the Pages Turn

Book spotlight at Between the Covers

Book spotlight at Literarily Speaking

Book spotlight at The Dark Phantom Review

Book trailer featured at If Books Could Talk

Win a digital copy of Dreamer by Phillip L. Davidson. Use the Rafflecopter form below for your chance to enter and win!


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Paws for Murder by Annie Knox Giveaway at Rose and Beps Blog

I've seen this book talked about in a few places and would love to read it. Rose & Beps Blog is running a giveaway for a paperback copy for residents of the U.S. only. Visit the Rose & Beps Blog at http://rosebeps.blogspot.it/2014/01/paws-for-murder-by-annie-knox-giveaway.html for details on how you can enter for a chance to win.

Book Spotlight and Giveaway: Thy Will Be Done by Ronald W. Kirk

The world cries out for an imaginative but realistic Biblical guide to the life foreshadowed in Christ’s model prayer. No foolish utopia, here is a powerful, comprehensive portrait of a sinful world redeemed and transformed by Christ—including the tools needed to hasten the day.

The author weaves a tapestry of possibility–Christ’s people growing as salt and light, putting flesh on the Bible’s vision of blessing in every aspect of human life and endeavor, bringing joy to all peoples and glory to the One who came to save the world.

“Ron Kirk comprehensively applies the Lordship of Christ to all areas of life” (Peter Hammond, The Reformation Society, South Africa).

Purchasing information:

Nordskog Publishing: http://www.nordskogpublishing.com/book-thy-will-be-done.shtml

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Thy-Will-Be-Done-Blessed/dp/0988297655/

Book excerpt:

Jesus said we know a tree by its fruit. What fruit might we expect when the world has fully given itself to Christ on His terms? How would the world then appear when Jesus Christ generally establishes in the highest degree His Gospel among a receptive mankind, and men systematically apply that Gospel to every area of life?....

Thy Will Be Done thus attempts to present a crafted approach to biblically directed living. In this, applied-faith thinking in each area of life uniquely expresses itself in real life upon Biblically defined life objectives. Everything builds upon a simple set of coherent Biblical principles that speak comprehensively to God’s goals for men in this life in anticipation of eternity....

Rather than seeing this present life as a mere holding tank for eternity, Thy Will Be Done views this life as the first fruits, the down payment on the promises of eternity with Christ.

Jesus Christ graced Ron with salvation late in his college career at the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1974. In entering his first church ministry, a lack of a Biblical material on education led him to the Christian History Movement and the works of R.J. Rushdoony. Since 1980, Ron has studied and taught the Biblically and historically identified applied-faith theology and philosophy outlined in this book.

God gave Ron a voracious appetite for learning about everything. Ron studied math and physics in college, and then pursued professional landscape architecture—design is a central component to his calling. He gained a passion for education after finding that a full-orbed Biblical treatment of education was nowhere to be found in contemporary literature.

Ever since about 1977, Ron devoted his life to understand God’s earthly and eternal purposes for mankind, to help others know them, and to derive and spread a thoroughly Biblical system of education aimed toward God’s ends for His people.

Ron’s success in pioneering day and home schools has long proven the effectiveness of systematic Biblical thinking. His work has been published internationally and translated into Spanish. Gloriously married since 1971, Ron and Christina have five children, five more sons- and daughters-in-law, and eleven grandchildren, all walking with Christ. American Heritage Christian Church ordained Ron in 1984.

Ron’s educational and worldview ministry website is www.getwisdom.us. He’s also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GetWisdomMakingChristianHeroesOfOrdinaryPeople.

Win a copy of Thy Will Be Done by Ronald W. Kirk

Terms and Conditions: Enter using the Rafflecopter form below. By entering, you certify that you are at least 18 years of age or older and reside in the United States. Winner will be notified by email and have 72 hours to claim their prize before a new winner is selected. Prize will be shipped directly to the winner by the author or his representative. The Busy Mom's Daily and Pump Up Your Book are not responsible for items lost in shipment. Void where prohibited.

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Guest Blogger: Sarah Renée, Author of the Saderia Series (Giveaway)

Ten years ago, a devastating fire took the lives of Queen Karenisha and King Makero, leaving a young Princess Saderia orphaned.

Nobody knows how the fire started, but it ignited quickly. Too quickly.

In ten years, the truth has never been discovered...

Saderia is a curious 10-year-old tiger Princess. Her Aunt Cia and Uncle Jash have taken over the duties of Queen and King and have raised Saderia since her parents disappeared in a mysterious fire. Saderia’s aunt and uncle don’t understand the sassy, adventurous tiger, which she resents.

At night, though, Saderia is haunted by dark nightmares about the fire - eerie, cryptic dreams that push her to start investigating her parents’ disappearance. As she uncovers strange clues, she soon becomes desperate to know the truth. Could her parents have been murdered? On a quest to uncover the truth about her parents’ disappearance, she soon realizes her forest has many other mysteries when she discovers a dangerous, ancient royal secret regarding her oldest ancestors - a secret that will change not only her life, but the lives of everyone around her.

Saderia doesn’t know who or what to trust, but she is desperate to uncover the secrets of the past. She will do whatever it takes to find the truth.

The Main Character Gets All The Love! by Sarah Renée

I’m often asked which of my book characters is my favorite character. Picking favorites is never easy, but if I had to choose, I’d say my favorite character is my main character, Saderia. Saderia is a 10-year-old tiger Princess who is the protagonist of my middle grade fantasy Saderia Series.

In the first book of the series, The Tiger Princess, Saderia makes it her goal to search for clues about how her parents, the King and Queen, disappeared. Saderia is my favorite character for many reasons, but for this post, I’ll narrow it down to five.

1. She’s sassy!

Saderia is never afraid to speak her mind – and often times, that can get her into trouble! Sometimes, she may be bold, but she’s never afraid to give her opinion.

2. She’s brave.

Saderia is a Princess who has grown up living the pampered life of royalty, but don’t let that fool you. While her Aunt Cia and Uncle Jash, who raised her since her parents disappeared, tell her to act more like a prissy, typical Princess, on the inside, Saderia is a playful tomboy who’s not afraid to face danger. On her quest to find the truth about her parents’ disappearance, Saderia finds herself facing terrible danger, but her brave spirit never lets her

give in!

3. She’s curious.

Saderia is an extremely curious girl who wants to explore her whole world - something a lot of children can relate to. I know that when I wrote The Tiger Princess at the age of 12, I was curious about the world and loved to explore, and I know lots of kids feel the same – especially children in the 8-12 year old age range, which The Tiger Princess is geared toward. Saderia is no exception and loves to explore her world, which gives her an edge in solving the mystery of her parents’ disappearance.

4. She isn’t perfect.

Just like everyone else, Saderia isn’t perfect and she knows this. She has her own insecurities about herself and worries about fitting into the ideal of what her aunt and uncle want her to be. But despite her worries, she still tries to look forward and think positive!

5. She doesn’t know when to quit!

Throughout her adventures in The Tiger Princess, Saderia faces a lot of difficult trials and downright dangerous situations. In some of the dangerous tasks she faces, it is easy to back down and give up – in some cases, it might even be sensible to do so! – but Saderia refuses to give up and will keep her head up and keep going no matter what!

And that’s why I love Saderia! If you want to get to know Saderia even better, you can check out the first book, The Tiger Princess, for free on the Amazon Kindle or on the Barnes and Noble Nook. Thanks, Cheryl, for hosting me on your blog, and thanks to everyone for reading!

Enter to win a free PDF of The Tiger Princess and Dash, the first two books in the Saderia Series. Use the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

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Sarah Renée has loved writing from an early age. She has been writing short stories since the age of 4, and at the age of 10, she came up with the idea for The Tiger Princess. She wrote the novel when she was 12. She is fascinated with wild animals and the wild world outside her home, and has an obvious great love of tigers. She enjoys spending time with her cats, reading, drawing, and playing her violin when she is not writing. In her free time, she is constantly daydreaming about her many characters, creating new ones, and coming up with interesting adventure story ideas. She is now 17 years old.

Visit Sarah Renée’s website at www.thetigerprincess.comor her blog at http://www.thetigerprincess.com/blogsnews.htmlto learn more about Sarah Renée, her books, and more! You can also find her on Facebookand Twitter. 

Teaser Tuesdays - October 1st (Guest Blogger)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers

I'm handling things a bit differently today. In addition to Teaser Tuesdays, I am featuring Joe Sergi, author of Sky Girl and the Superheroic Adventures. He is my special guest blogger.

"Oh, it's not a coincidence; she's clearly here to torment me." DeDe slammed her locker hard, and the sonic boom echoed down the hallway."

~ Page 29 from the PDF version of Sky Girl and the Superheroic Adventures. 


Thanks for having me on The Busy Mom’s Daily to talk about my new book Sky Girl and the Superheroic Adventures. Sky Girl and the Superheroic Adventures is the sequel to Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy. In the first book, readers met DeDe Christopher, an ordinary teen with an extraordinary destiny to become Sky Girl. Being a teenage girl is hard enough, but for DeDe, it is proving impossible. In addition to cliques, books, and boys, she has to worry about capes, apes, and aliens. When we last left DeDe, she had just adopted the mantle of Sky Girl at the end of her sophomore year of high school. This book opens the day before she starts her junior year, so she's had the whole summer to practice and train with her best friend and self-professed comic geek, Jason. She’s actually gotten quite good at being a costumed adventurer—except for her banter, which still needs work. Now, DeDe must learn what it means to be a heroine as Sky Girl faces the all too real enemies and allies of SkyBoy, including the clever Quizmaster, the beautiful Penny Pound, the enigmatic Jersey Devil, and the magical MissTick. DeDe must also face personal challenges as she discovers the secrets of her late father and his connection to SkyBoy--secrets that will affect Sky Girl’s destiny.

Unlike the first book, which took place over the course of a week, this book covers the whole school year and allows for more diverse adventures. For example, Sky Girl faces off against Shadow, Jason faces off against Quizmaster, and they both have to face an angry horde of zombies. Each adventure stands on its own but is also part of a larger plot and expands on the mystery of what happened to DeDe's father and Evil Brain's plot for world domination. I guess the most important thing to mention is that you don't really need to read the first book to enjoy the second.

So I intended to write a post about a day in the life of DeDe, but I ran out of time. So, I snuck into my book and ripped a page out of her diary. I hope you enjoy it.

From the Diary of DeDe Christopher, July 15^th.

“How I spent my Summer Vacation”

Dear Diary,

Today was a weird day. Then again, “weird” has pretty much become “normal” since I found out I had super powers. Since I decided to become Sky Girl, Jason has been running me ragged helping me try to get a handle on my powers. He’s also obsessed with trying to find out what happened to Commander Chimp's Gorilla Army (in his defense, they did lock him up in the girl’s locker room). Don't get me wrong. If it wasn't for Jason, I would be completely lost, he's just so intense. I mean he's my best friend and I love him, but I think he forgets that we aren’t characters in one of his stupid comic books.

Take, for example, what happened today.  After two solid weeks of practicing and patrolling, I finally convinced him we should go down to the shore and hang out at Point Pleasant Beach.

So, there we were on the sand. I was in my one piece bathing suit trying to catch some rays and get a tan (which is harder than you think when your body is invulnerable to solar radiation.) What was Jason doing? He was sitting under an umbrella and reading a comic. He was wearing long pants and a black T-shirt that said "Come along, Pond!" in white lettering. Seriously, who goes to the beach in long pants and a black shirt?

In an effort to break the mood, I yelled over to him, "Hey geek boy? We should get a funnel cake."

Jason continued to read, "No thank you. I am reading."

I raised my voice, "But, I want a funnel cake."

He barely looked up from his book, "You always want a funnel cake. Besides, you are in training."

"I am not in training! I’m Sky Girl no matter what I eat." I yelled back. He rolled his eyes. Just then I heard the noise. "Wait, what was that?"

Jason put down his book, "Wait. I know. Is it your stomach growling for funnel cake?" Then he saw I was serious. He leaned forward out from under the umbrella. "What is what?"

There it was again. "A noise." I said, "Like a high pitched roar." I described.

"It sounds like a sea monster, someone is in trouble." Jason announced. I have no idea how he knows these things. But with his help, I was able to pinpoint the location. It was a cruise ship two miles off shore.

            "You better get moving." He said as he tossed me my purple backpack. "You are going to need this."

"You brought the suit?" I exclaimed.

"DeDe?"

"To the beach. You took my superhero costume to the beach?"

"DeDe."

"It’s my day off?"

"DeDe!"

“And I want funnel cake.”

"Can we argue about this later? Sea Monster!"

"But, funnel cake?"

"Sea Monster!"

He had a point. So, I grabbed the bag, ducked under the boardwalk, and changed at Sky Speed. Soon I was speeding out to sea in my costume: black spandex with matching purple cape, boots, skirt, belt, and gloves. (Pretty cool, I know-- I made it myself).

I have to admit, I’ve been flying for a while, but it still feels pretty cool. Kind of like when you nail a cool ballet move, but in the air.

We've also been trying some new masks. Today, I was wearing a leather purple tie with eye holes cut into it. (Another EPIC FAIL if you ask me). Through the eye holes, I could see the monster and the ship. I turned on my headset.

"The sea monster isn't doing anything. I think it’s sleeping." I announced. "I'm going to get a closer look."

"No, wait..." Jason started in the ear piece. But he was too late, I had landed on the creature.

"Yep it’s asleep." I observed. Then I saw something strange. "Hey geek boy, there are four monogrammed seats on this thing. Kind of like horse saddles"

"Saddles?" Jason asked.

I took a closer look, "Yeah. There are three little ones and one big one. The first little one has an H on it, the second has an L, and the third has a D.” I walked around and looked at the large one in the center. “And the big one says . . ."

"AD" Jason finished for me. I told you he knows these things. There was urgency in his voice, "Sky Girl, you have to get to the ship, this is not an attack. It is a robbery." And he says I’m a drama queen.

"Roger dodger." With a burst of speed I flew to the ship. My sky vision showed everyone was in one room tied up.

Then I saw them.

Three men dressed in what looked like those outfits Venetian gondolier drivers wear. Each one had a small black domino mask. Their leader was dressed in a bright yellow diving suit.

I relayed the information to Jason before landing on the deck. I put my hands on my hips and spoke in a deep voice, "It looks like the catch of the day is crime."

Jason groaned in my ear, "We really need to work on the one liners."

What? I was expecting a sea monster and not witty banter.

The yellow guy looked surprised. "Evil Brain was right. He's back!" (Yeah, he said “He.” How insulting). "You can't stop the Aquaduck."

Seriously, that was his name. The Aquaduck, I almost lost it. Jason told me later that he is "some grade Z villain from blah blah blah number blah."

Where was I, oh yeah, the Aquaduck pointed his yellow finger at me, "You will not catch me, SkyBoy. Get him boys." (Yup, he thought I was SkyBoy. I guess that diving helmet must be hard to see through.)

I didn't have time to react before the henchmen shot some kind of ray guns at me. Lightning-like beams came out from the guns and surrounded my body. I would guess it was about 1,000 volts that shocked me. I smiled at them and said, "It tickles."

Jason spoke in my ear, "Awesome reference to Superman #32." I had no idea what he was talking about. It really did tickle.

Soon, the guns exploded knocking out the henchmen. It's a good thing, too because the ray guns melted my leather mask so I couldn't see. I ripped it off and got it off in time to watch the Aquaduck running (more like hobbling in his heavy suit) across the deck. "Jason, he's getting away. But my mask is off." I stammered. "He'll see who..."

Jason's calming voice was in my ear. "Do not worry. The Auquaduck's vision is restricted by his suit. He needs a camera to see." I could hear his smile, "Now if only we had something that disrupted electrical equipment."

I smiled as I flew towards the running villain, over his head and landed between Aquaduck and the rail. I raised my hands and yelled "Lights out, ducky." Then I shot him with a Sky Pulse. His diving suit shorted out and Aquaduck fell over on the deck.

I could hear him murmuring, “Hello? I’ve fallen and can’t get up.”

Kind of anticlimactic, if you ask me.

After that, Jason made an anonymous call to the Coast Guard and gave them the location of the monster and the ship. I left the Aquaduck and his goons tied up in the anchor line with a note that read:

Dear Coast Guard Dudes,

The Aquaduck found out that crime isn't all it's quacked up to be. Please send them to the jail pond and find a nice home for their sleeping pet monster.

--ttfn

Sky Girl

As I flew back to the beach, I could see that the sun was going down. I was sure the funnel cake stand was closed--such is the life of a teenage superheroine: all sea monster no funnel cake.

Imagine my surprise when I saw Jason sitting on a bench with a of fried dough and powdered sugar on his lap. "Funnel cake?" he offered.

I did a quick change into my civvies (Jason’s word—not mine) and sat down on the bench next to my Jason.

I ate funnel cake with my best friend as we watched the sun go down over an ocean that I now knew was full of sea monsters. A great way to end the day, if you ask me.

Oh yeah Jason also told me about a new idea for a domino mask.

Hopefully, this one will work better, school starts next month and I need to be ready.

And that’s the end of the diary entry. Thanks for having me.

For those interested, Sky Girl is available at all online booksellers and can be ordered in brick and mortar shops and chains. It is also available directly from the publisher at www.martinsisterspublishing.com. I will also have copies and be signing the book at some upcoming show appearances, some of which include: The Collingswood Book Festival (October 5), New York ComicCon (October 10-13), and the Festival of the Book (October 19). These shows are great fun and a wonderful place to connect with readers. I’ve even had a few old and young cosplayers come up to my booth to show me their Sky Girl costumes, which was extremely flattering.

In addition, to the Sky Girl book, this year I edited a comic anthology called Great Zombies in History through McFarland Press. I also write regular articles on the history of comics and censorship for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF.org). Great Zombies in History is a new graphic novel anthology released from McFarland Press. I met a talented group of writers through Andy Schmidt’s Comics Experience writing classes and we decided to form an independent comic imprint called Elevator Pitch Press to showcase our work. We have released several anthologies that have ranged from horror (Don’t Be Afraid) to grind house (Girls with Guns) to science fiction (Aliens Among Us). Great Zombies in History is an anthology of historically accurate stories, but written to include zombies. For example, I wrote The Zombie War of 1812, which features the real reason that Washington, DC, was burned during the war. Rob Anderson, writer of the best-selling Big Dog, Inc. book, Rex: Zombie Killer and who acted as editor on the original project, did a story about how zombies helped King Leonidas and his army of 300 Spartans hold their own against immeasurable odds.

I should also mention that I write regular articles for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF.org) on the history of censorship in comics. It takes a lot of work to do those columns, but I believe the CBLDF is an important organization and am glad to help them in their mission to protect comic creators against censorship. I recently did articles on the rise and fall of romance comics, a before and after analysis of the comics code on reprinted books, and detailed histories of Sheena, Superman, and Wonder Woman. People with an interest in discovering the history of comics or censorship should check them out.

My author site is www.joesergi.net; Sky Girl can be found at www.SkyGirlNovel.com, and the official site for Great Zombies in History is www.GreatZombiesinHistory.com my monthly articles can be found at www.cbldf.org. 

Joe Sergi lives outside of Washington, DC with his wife and daughter. Joe is an attorney and a Haller Award winning author who has written articles, novels, short stories, and comic books in the horror, scifi, and young adult genres. Joe is the creator of the Sky Girl series of novels and the editor of Great Zombies in History. His first novel, Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy was selected Best of 2010 by the New PODler Review. Joe is a life-long comic fan who regularly writes on the history of comics and censorship for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. When not writing, Joe works as a Senior Litigation Counsel in an unnamed US government agency and is a member of the adjunct faculty at George Mason University School of Law.