Author Spotlight and Interview: Marva Dasef and Ultimate Duty

Remy Belieux, a woman born into a life of servitude on a repressive factory planet, is desperate for a different life. When she's accepted into the Space Service Academy, run by the organization that enslaves her planet, she discovers the truth behind generations of rebellion. Now, she must decide what to believe, where her ultimate duty lies, and fight for more than her life against impossible odds.

Read an excerpt!

With the protective helmet off, they could now talk. Remy pulled down the rebreather mask. “You guys ready to get the hell off this planet?”

Her mom patted her on the shoulder and her muffled voice answered, “More than ready, sweetheart.”

“Well, hang on. This is definitely going to be a bumpy ride.” Remy replaced her rebreather over her face. Once they got moving, the shuttle’s environment equipment would kick in, and they could take off the masks.

Remy clicked on the communicator and tuned to a close-range channel. She set her infopad near the spare headset and switched it to an electroid number. She could hardly call it music since the robotic instruments reprogrammed themselves at random, making a weird variety of sounds. Remy shrugged. “I guess I just don’t get modern music.” Bill and Ted were monitoring the frequency though and would know that Remy was ready to take off. They’d come in for another diversion run so that she could escape the planet unnoticed. Anybody else who picked up the sound would, hopefully, ignore it.

Her father looked out the passenger side screen and tapped Remy’s arm. “Would three guys holding blasters running in this direction be of interest?”

Remy nodded and goosed the shuttle’s back jets to get them moving across the bleak landscape and into the sky. She boosted out of atmosphere so hard her mom suppressed a squeak. “Slow down!”

“Can’t, Mom. Just try to hang on.” Her mother nodded, her eyes wide with fear. Her dad, on the other hand, was grinning like a kid with a new toy. Remy thought he might not be too old to take pilot training.
 



PURCHASE ULTIMATE DUTY AT ETERNAL PRESS! THIS BOOK IS ALSO AVAILABLE AT AMAZON AND IN A KINDLE EDITION!

(Q) Thank you for joining us today. Why don't you tell everyone a bit about your book?

(A) ULTIMATE DUTY is space opera with a bit of romance. From the cover:

Remy Belieux, a woman born into a life of servitude on a repressive factory planet, is desperate for a different life. When she's accepted into the Space Service Academy, run by the organization that enslaves her planet, she discovers the truth behind generations of rebellion. Now, she must decide what to believe, where her ultimate duty lies, and fight for more than her life against impossible odds.

(Q) Where did the concept for the book come about?

(A) I wrote a short story titled "Pressure Drill" years ago. I got a good response from my critique group, but back then, submitting was entirely by snail mail. I didn't pursue publication. When I retired from real work, I hauled out the story, along with a few others and gave them a fresh look and rewrite. That first story, plus one more with the same main character were published. From that I expanded the story and it eventually became a novel.

(Q) How long did it take you to finish, from concept to final product?

(A) Only thirty years in the making, but I was busy doing other things most of those years.

(Q) Are there any authors that have influenced your own writing?

Mark Twain, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov. Plain, simple stories well told.

(Q) Do you have any favourite place where you feel your Muse is more apt to come and play while you write? Or perhaps you listen to music? If so, what do you listen to?

(A) I always write at home. I have a great setup in the family room, right next to the kitchen for quick snacking. I'm one of the few non-listeners. When I write, I find any music distracting. I've become used to the sound of the dishwasher, hubs running power equipment, and my cat vocally worrying about what's going on outside.

(Q) As a writer, what is your greatest fear?

That I actually suck, and I'm wasting my time.

(Q) What normally occupies your desk while writing?

(A) A stack of scratch paper, two pens, a ruler, a calendar, a calculator, my cell phone, stack files...Okay, this is boring. Just the usual desk stuff.

(Q) Do you have any new projects that you are working on? If so, what are they?

(A) Mostly, I'm wrapping up a lot of projects. I have a mystery/suspense, "Missing, Assumed Dead," coming out in July 2011 from MuseItUp, a tween fantasy titled "Bad Spelling" scheduled for October 2011. I'm also waiting on a response from MuseItUp to the two sequels of "Bad Spelling." I sure hope they take the whole series. Having books 2 and 3 without a publisher is worrisome. I'm in the note-taking stage of a sequel to Ultimate Duty.

(Q) What tip would you offer to a new writer who is just beginning their submission journey?

(A) Get your web presence set up RIGHT AWAY. Start with a blog, but I strongly encourage you to snag a website with your name as soon as possible. Get on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, but don't make enemies by expressing strong political or religious views. If you want to do that, use a pseudonym. You want to be prepared to jump out of the gate running when you sell your work.

I spent a twenty-five year dryspell without writing fiction. Since I wrote technical documentation for a living, I could hardly face a computer after work. But I'm sorry that I let it go for so long. Don't wait to write!

(Q) Please tell our readers where they can find you.

(A) All over creation and beyond.

My website: http://marvadasef.com/

My blog: http://mgddasef.blogspot.com/

I'm a member of SCBWI and maintain pages on Facebook, Twitter, Jacketflap, MySpace, and a variety pack of writerly websites.


Marva Dasef is a writer living in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and a fat white cat. Retired from thirty-five years in the software industry, she has now turned her energies to writing fiction and finds it a much more satisfying occupation. Marva has published more than thirty-five stories in a number of on-line and print magazines, with her stories included in several Best of anthologies. She has five published books. See a complete list of her work at http://marvadasef.com.

March Paranormal and Fantasy Event: A Past and a Future by Penny Lockwood Ehrenkranz

A broad swatch of fiction falls under the heading of fantasy, and Penny Ehrenkranz touches on all aspects of it in A Past and A Future. From princesses in distress and airborne dragons to magic and misdirection, the characters of her stories are at once heroic, unforgettable, and sympathetic. Ehrenkranz deftly weaves plotlines and subplots that touch the lives and hopes and fears of all of us.

Stories included in A Past and a Future are:

1. Flight of the Roc

What would you do if your master told you to collect a roc's egg? Would you be willing to climb a mountain and climb into the nest? And, what would happen if the egg you collected hatched?

2. Blurred Vengeance

Temur's father is murdered, and he must have revenge. Will his journey to honor his father's death bring him what he wants, or will it destroy him and his village?

3. Who Will Heal the Healer

Marzan teaches Niane to control the winds, but what about the winds of fate? Will Niane be able to save her mentor when the underworld comes to claim him?

4. Ashley of Ashland

Ashley, a young magician covets his brother's fiance, but what are her feelings? Is his brother fit to rule the kingdom or is he a brutal womanizer? Can Ashley's magic be enough to save him and his true love?

5. The Watcher

Zerelda lives in a world of women. Her function is to obey and not have feelings. She watches for the one who comes from afar. When he comes to impregnate her ruler, will they find a forbidden love instead?

6. Enchantress

Merlin knows his fate, but he is unable to stand against it when Viviane enchants him. Will his powers be stronger than hers, or will he find himself a victim of love?

7.Drakoni

She is from this world. He is from another. A dragon draws them together. Will she look beyond his pointed ears and see the man of her dreams? Will she fear the dragon or embrace him?

8. Heshe

Lyda runs from her abusive stepfather, hiding her sex from the world. Her rescuer has a secret of his own. Will they both find happiness or will their pursuers stop them before they find their paradise?

9. The Baby Makers

How far would you go to get a baby if you can't conceive on your own? Would you accept a clone? Would you fight for that's child's rights in a world unprepared for it?

10. 3-D Pictures

Avery's boss thought he was crazy, but was he? When he stared into the 3-D picture, he saw a land others couldn't see. When Elvina emerges from the picture to tell him of his true heritage, will he join her in the picture or accept the doctor's diagnosis?

11. Screen Saver

Clancy is used to strange people. His boss represents them. But when the bullets start flying, will the screen saver really save him?

12. Isolation

The world has died, except for small pockets of isolated communities. The rich can afford to live isolated from the poor who die daily from bad air, poisoned water, and uncontrolled diseases. But what if you are tired of the isolation? What if you wanted to find somewhere to be free? Would you take the chance?

13. Love in a Different Hue

Chiri's father is a scientist. He invents artificial life. Her husband married her for her money and access to her father. What should she do when the artificial life her father has created looks better to her than her husband?

14. Down So Low The Ground Looks Like Up

Sylvan is sensitive to others feelings. It drives her crazy, so she drinks to dull the pain. But does she also drink because she harbors a secret? Will Dev, the police officer who finds her, rescue her from her demons?

15. Rebels With a Cause

Kids will be kids even in the future where people wear a uniform colored to their profession. Juvenile offenders receive an implant so they can be tracked without being housed in a facility. Shahleena is bored with her existence. Will volunteering to help these juvenile offenders help her or help them?

16. Clockworks

John lives in Structured. His ancestors came from Upheaval. On a whim, he decides to visit, only to find the chaos of Upheaval is more than he can handle. Unfortunately, he cannot leave fast enough. What will happen to him when he finds the clocks are all set to different times?

Read an excerpt from "Ashley of Ashland"


Ashley, younger son of Brandon, Duke of Ashland, sat brooding in front of the fire. Although it was late spring, the stone castle was drafty and always cold. Deep in thought, he tried to ignore the gaiety around him, as party guests frolicked and made merry. A spark from the fire fell on his blue silk hose, and he flicked it away angrily. He sat up straighter on his chair and adjusted his dark blue brocade jacket. He noticed a small smudge spot on one of the white lace cuffs protruding from the right sleeve. He rubbed at it absently, but that only pushed the soot deeper into the fabric.

Ashley glanced back over his shoulder. A small group of musicians, gaily dressed in green and gold brocade, played a rollicking dance tune. Dancers of all ages bobbed, swayed, curtseyed and bowed to each other as their feet flashed through the intricate dance steps. Serving girls wove among the dancers, tankards of
ale and goblets of wine balanced on their huge trays. Ashley sighed and turned back to his fire; he had never managed to conquer those dance steps.

Ashley picked up a poker leaning against the stonework and shoved it into the pile of burning logs. The flames danced higher, the sparks flying like tiny fairy lights. Ashley sighed and looked back over his shoulder again. Princess Thalia danced with his brother, Gerand. Her small blond head was thrown back in laughter, her cheeks lit with a rosy glow. She was dressed in a low-cut, lime-green brocade dress, the full skirt trimmed in the finest ermine. Around her neck flashed a choker of emeralds and diamonds. Woven into her hair were strings of pearls. Gerand’s tall muscular frame, topped by his head of thick, black hair, created a stark contrast to the small plump princess as he propelled her around the dance floor in an intricate maneuver. Ashley sighed again. Thalia was so lovely, if only he had been born first, she’d be pledged to him, not his older brother.

Ashley stirred the logs while muttering under his breath. A rainbow of colors flickered, and suddenly an image of Princess Thalia appeared, hovering in the huge fireplace. Several more words created Ashley’s image standing alongside Thalia’s. When a hand touched Ashley’s shoulder lightly, it startled him. The images
flickered and disappeared.

“Impressive, Ashley of Ashland,” Thalia’s soft voice murmured.

Ashley spun around quickly, a blush coloring his pudgy cheeks. “Good evening, Princess. I thought I was alone.” Ashley stood and bowed, his eyes never leaving Thalia’s face.

“You were. I just came to see if my future brother-in-law would like to dance with me?” Thalia’s cheeks dimpled slightly as she smiled, extending her hand.

Read the reviews!

"Ms. Ehrenkranz makes every word count. Dialogue comes across with an authentic voice of the times; no matter whose voice or what era of time. She portrays her scenes using colorful sensory scales, pulling me along for an entertaining and extraordinary adventurous ride.


Ms. Ehrenkranz’s characters reveal unique personalities, each set apart from another, each strong in their own right.


I find a delightful story in every one I read, and highly recommend this book to anyone who loves short, thoughtful stories, ending in a way that leaves a smile on your face. The kind of smile saying, 'Yea, that was a great story.'"

--Kay Dee

For reviews of specific stories, visit Penny's website.

Penny Lockwood Ehrenkranz has published more than 100 articles, 75 stories, two e books, a chapbook, and her stories have been included in two anthologies. She writes for both adults and children. Her fiction has appeared in numerous genre and children’s publications and non fiction work has appeared in a variety of writing, parenting, and young adult print magazines and on line publications. She edits for three small independent publishers. Visit her web site at http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.yolasite.com.  Her writing blog is located at http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.blogspot.com/


Her anthology A Past and A Future, and her YA chapbook, Dragon Sight are available at GenreMall. Love Delivery and Lady-in-Waiting are coming in 2011 from MuseItUp Publishing. Her MG novel, Ghost for Rent, published by Hardshell Word Factory, is available on Amazon and Fictionwise. Funny Dog, Boo’s Bad Day, and Many Colored Coats, all picture books, and Ghost for Lunch, a sequel, are schedule for publication with 4RV.


A Past and A Future
http://www.genremall.com/anthologiesr.htm#pastfuture


Ghost for Rent
http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/b8656/?si=0
http://tinyurl.com/27puzze 


Dragon Sight
http://www.genremall.com/fictionr.htm#dragonsight


Love Delivery, coming August, 2011
Lady-in-Waiting, coming November, 2011
https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2


Funny Dog, coming May, 2012
Ghost for Lunch, coming September, 2013
Many Colored Coats, coming October, 2014
Boo's Bad Day, coming June, 2015
http://4RVpublishingllc.com/Childrens_Books.html

You can also visit Penny online at:

http://www.facebook.com/penny.ehrenkranz?ref=profile
http://twitter.com/#!/pennyehrenkranz
http://www.linkedin.com/in/pennyehrenkranz

Pump Up Your Book! Announces March ‘11 Authors on Virtual Book Tours

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--

Join a talented and diverse group of 26 authors who are touring with Pump Up Your Book! Virtual Book Tours during the month of March 2011.

Follow these authors as they travel the blogosphere from March 1st through March 25th to discuss their books. You’ll find everything from memoirs to business books, historical novels to thrillers, children’s books to young adult novels and more!

The month of March is filled with returning authors. Lisa Gardner is back to promote her latest Detective D.D. Warren novel, “Love You More.” Also returning is Lou Aronica and his fantasy novel, “Blue,” Dr. Jennifer Freed with “Lessons from Stanley the Cat,” Diana Gabaldon with her historical romance sci-fi adventure novel, “Outlander,” Cynthia Kocialski’s business book, “Start Up from the Ground Up,” James LePore’s thriller, “Anyone Can Die,” and Allan Leverone and his thriller, “Final Vector.”

Pamela Samuels Young continues her virtual book tour for the legal thriller, “Murder on the Down Low,” and coming back for her eighth virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book! is F.M. Meredith. She’ll be promoting the latest book in her Rocky Bluff P.D. series, “Angel Lost.” Kath Russell is back to promote her coming of age historical, “Deed So.” Elle Newmark is back with a new book, “The Sandalwood Tree.” Sheila Hendrix also returns with her YA paranormal, “The Betrayal.”
Memoirs come to you from Barry Fixler and Megan van Eyck, while historical novels are being promoted by John Milton Langdon and Paula McLain. Other fiction titles come to you from Laurel Dewey, Emily Sue Harvey, and Laina Turner-Molaski. Also on tour is Kristina McMorris and her women’s fiction novel, “Letters from Home.”

Barbara Barnett tours with “Chasing Zebras: The Unofficial Guide to House, M.D.,” while Caitlin Rother promotes her true crime book, “Dead Reckoning.” Also on tour in March are Borneo Tom McLaughlin, Emma K. Piers, and Hayley Rose. Turner-Molaski will also tour during the second half of the month with, “The MS Project: Orange is the New Pink”, her MS awareness anthology. A portion of the proceeds from book sales will go to support the MS Society.

Visit Pump Up Your Book! on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/PumpUpPR#p/a/u/1/PfxzbLrX7Zw  to view a video trailer introducing our authors on tour in March.

Pump Up Your Book! is a virtual book tour agency for authors who want quality service at an affordable price. More information can be found on their website at http://www.pumpupyourbook.com/.

Contact Information:

Dorothy Thompson
Founder of Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tours
P.O. Box 643
Chincoteague, Virginia 23336
Email: thewriterslife@yahoo.com

March Releases from MuseItHot Publishing

When demon Derek Blain and his partner, Max, are sent to hunt down a vampire notorious for killing for fun, the last thing Derek expects to find is a vampire set on killing herself. Even worse, he feels a duty to save her. But there’s something about the beautiful woman who looks so tormented that pulls at his very soul.
Turned against her will and forced to kill, Caroline Montgomery has decided the only way to end her torment, and save the lives of innocent people, is to take her own. Only the pleading of a handsome stranger changes her mind. Now, Caroline is learning how to live without killing and, thanks to sexy Derek Blaine, is loving every minute of it!
When Caroline discovers the rogue Derek is hunting is her maker, she decides to help bring the monster down, whether Derek likes it or not.

But what neither of them knows is that the rogue vampire has set his sights on her for his mate…and he’s coming after her.

Can Derek take down the murderous rogue, and claim Caroline as his own before it is too late?
 
Pages: 57

ISBN: 978-1-926931-41-8
Price: $2.50

Warning: This story may contain material not suited for readers under the age of 18, including graphic sex, language and violence.

When you wake up in a strange room, that's bad, but when you wake up in a strange body, time, and everyone hates you, that's REALLY bad...and terrifying.
What do you do when your last memory is being skewered to death and your next is waking up in the body of another, thousands of years in the future?

You set out to be yourself and win over these future beings of course, because for some reason, the gods of your time have decided this is where you are supposed to live out the rest of your life.

Follow Siri as she belly dances, laughs, and teases her way through the distrust of the woman whose body she now inhabits, turning an entire household of haters into her staunchest fans...except for him. Can she win him over, or is he determined to only see the shell of who she used to be?

Genre: Time Travel Fantasy Romance Erotica


Pages: 59

ISBN: 978-1-926931-40-1

Price: $3.50

Warning: Adult Content

VISIT MUSEITHOTPUBLISHING.COM TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THESE BOOKS AND OTHER TITLES!

March Releases from MuseItUp Publishing!

Captain Temple leads a mission to K22 and finds a beautiful planet with magnificent shining cities. It appears to be a lucrative new market for the Merchants Guild.

There’s just one problem: the cities are mysteriously empty. He can’t find even one survivor, which means the planet is off-limits to commercial exploitation and cannot be used to achieve financial profits in any way.

Soon Temple discovers an even greater problem, one that is strange and ominous and threatens his crew’s very survival.

Not only that, it is an incredible cosmic mind-stretcher that strains sanity to the breaking point, not just the characters' sanity but the readers' as well.



Genre: Sci-fi

Pages: 28

ISBN: 978-1-926931-35-7

E-book price: $2.50

Warning: Limited violence, sexual content, or language

For princess-turned-mercenary Mina, wearing a crown had never been easy. But who knew rescuing an obstinate prince would be even more difficult?

After winning his kingdom in a legendary poker game twenty years ago, Princess Mina’s father loses the kingdom just as easily. Now alone and penniless, Mina must rely on her sword to support them both.

When the princess-turned-mercenary is offered a contract to save a prince that will pay enough to keep her father laid up in luxury for yet another year, she and her business partner snap up the deal. Dragons and all.

But when she’s faced with a seedy mage and a prince who doesn’t want any woman to rescue him, Mina quickly learns the so-far-unseen dragon is the least of her worries.

Genre:  Fantasy

Our shortcomings don't define who we are, unless we let them. Cindy Johnson needs to learn that. Born with one leg shorter than the other, she has no self-esteem because of the cruel comments and cold stares she receives from her classmates. When Cory Neil, the football quarterback asks her to Homecoming, she's quite sure he's asked her on a dare and refuses. It takes more than just her mother's assurances that Cindy's beautiful before she realizes she may have made a mistake in turning him down.

Genre: Young Adult

Pages: 133

ISBN: 978-1-926931-38-8

E-book price: $5.50

Imagine the worst possible time, the interregnum while rebelling magic forces slowly kill the reigning Drogar. Prince Egon has to take up the succession as the new sorcerer-king of Rast, and admit the deadly magic into himself in a manner he can control.

Yet Offrangs arrive on the coast, imperialists whose power comes from steam and iron, and who disbelieve in magic. Commander Antar seeks to conquer Rast. Egon has no time for caution, he must act at once.

He also has to help Jady, Guardian of the Silent Forest, escape from the evil Deepning Pools whose resurgence she has thwarted. Even more troubling, he must send his sweetheart away, for she is not from the magic lineage who can bear him an heir. She goes to meet the Princess destined to supplant her, with anger in her heart.

The oracle given by the Pythian, living beneath the Palace of Rast, predicts the crisis can only be resolved by everyone’s efforts – even the actions of enemies – until the Prince is established securely and able to turn the magic’s fury upon itself.

Conflict between materialists and a magic based society; between love and ambition; between magic forces residing within the world itself and the one man destined to control them. Rast leads fantasy into new dimensions.

Genre: High Fantasy


Pages: 269

ISBN: 978-1-926931-43-2

E-book price: $5.95

With each download purchase you recieve the Rast Guidebook for FREE

Warning: Limited violence, sexual content, or language

Always ready for adventure, Amy and Susan, friends and neighbors in an idyllic university town, find more mayhem than they bargained for.

While scouring the sky for flying saucers, Amy and Susan find a naked man, unresponsive, on the grounds of the museum/asylum. So begins the trouble. As the women delve into the bohemian art scene at Foothills, they end up haplessly trying to solve the mystery of the bodies that seem to appear wherever they are. Soon, not only their friendship, but also their reputations and lives are at stake. Still, their zany spirit prevails despite pratfalls and miscalculations.

This quirky mystery is as humorous as it is intriguing. The tortured corridors of the museum are nothing compared to the strange art and artists who inhabit this world.
 
Genre: Cozy Murder Mystery


E-book price: $5.95
Warning: limited violence, sexual content or language

Who or what is killing the seniors on Sunshine Boulevard? Jim and Gloria Hart are snowbirds who annually migrate to Florida for warm sunshine, fun, and golf with friends in snow-free winters. However this season, Jim Hart, a volunteer First Responder in his retirement community of Citrus Ridge, is drawn into the investigation of the mysterious deaths. Even in the midst of the unfortunate demise of the residents on Sunshine Boulevard, the Harts try to get together with friends. They don't realize that their friends are getting together for their own kinds of affairs with each other. The neighbors are in a dither over the deaths, but perhaps more intrigued by the gossip about the affairs and why the naked lady was found lying in the geranium bed.


Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Horror


Pages: 63

ISBN: 978-1-926931-32-6

E-book price: $3.50

Warning: limited violence, sexual content or language

Author, Jordan Blake lives in a house along Lake Erie. She’s a recluse and likes it that way. No interruptions while she’s writing. At least not until that day in October when an early lake storm brews up. Not that she minds snowstorms. Far from it. She loves them. While she’s on her deck securing chair cushions and chairs, something along the rocky shoreline catches her eye. A body? Hard to tell from where she stood. Not being one to ignore someone in need, she rushes across the yard. It’s a body all right–a male’s body. Thank God he was alive, but unfortunately unconscious. After much pulling, rolling and pushing, Jordan manages to get him to her house and finally inside.

Both of them are soaked down to their skin. Jordan can’t leave him in his wet clothes, so sets about removing them. The stranger sparks something in her she thought was long dead. Trying to ignore her feelings, she dresses him in an old bathrobe from her ex-husband. Unfortunately when he comes to, the attraction grows. Jordan tries to ignore what she feels toward the stranger, but his kisses awaken something in her. Something she’d rather wasn’t aroused. To make matters worse, the stranger doesn’t have any idea who he is. For all she knows he might be a mass murderer.

Genre: Sweet Romance


Pages: 27


ISBN: 978-1-926931-39-5

Price: $2.50

When you are Zeus’ immortal son, you know you can get away with mostly anything. Bringing back the dead is not one of those things. Yet this is what Polydeukes does when his mortal twin, Kastor, dies. According to the dark deal he strikes with one of the gods, the brothers must alternate days in the land of the living, and Kastor cannot be told, or the deal is off. On top of that, If Hades were to find out, all hell would break loose. Literally.


But Kastor begins to put two and two together, and keeping the secret becomes difficult for Polydeukes. Will Kastor break his brother’s deal and save Polydeukes from an eternity of punishment in Tartarus, or will Polydeukes find a way to save them both?

Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy


Pages: 59

ISBN: 978-1-926931-31-9

E-book price: $3.50
Warning: Limited violence, sexual content, or language

VISIT MUSEITUPPUBLISHING.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THESE AND OTHER MUSEITUP TITLES!

Reminder: Facebook Party Starts Tonight at 9 PM Eastern!

PUMP UP YOUR BOOK! IS HAVING A FACEBOOK PARTY!!!!

Pump Up Your Book will be hosting the February 2011 Authors on Tour on Friday February 25, 2011 at 9 – 11 p.m. (eastern time – adjust to your time zone). Tell your book friends that not only will this give them an opportunity to chat with their favorite authors BUT…

WE’RE GIVING AWAY PRIZES!!!!

The participating authors and their giveaways include:

Rose Valenta is giving away a paperback copy of her humor book, Sitting on Cold Porcelain.

Allan Leverone is giving away an e-copy of his thriller, Final Vector, and 6 e-copies of Postcards from the Apocalypse.

Frank Edwards is giving away a paperback copy of his medical thriller, Final Mercy and a paperback copy of his poetry and short story book, It’ll Ease the Pain.

Pamela Samuels Young will be giving away a paperback copy of her legal thriller, Murder on the Down Low, and a copy of her audio CD, How to Write a Novel Despite Your Day Job.

Sheila Hendrix will be giving away both a paperback copy and e-book copy of her YA paranormal, The Betrayal.

Cynthia Kocialski will be giving away a paperback copy of her startup business book, Startup from the Ground Up.

C.W. Gortner will be giving away a paperback copy of his historical mystery, The Tudor Secret.

Vincent Zandri will be giving away 2 autographed copies of his thriller, Moonlight Falls & 2 autographed copies of his thriller, The Remains!

Jeanne C. Davis will be giving away a paperback copy of her psychological mystery, Sheetrock Angel!

Frank Scully will be giving away an e-copy of his mystery novel, Resurrection Garden!

Pump Up Your Book will be giving away a $25 Amazon gift certificate!!!!

To find out the details, visit our Facebook Party page here! Be sure to join the link a few days ahead of time so that you can be approved before the party starts.

February Romance Novel Event: Stranger on the Shore by Roseanne Dowell

Author, Jordan Blake lives in a house along Lake Erie. She’s a recluse and likes it that way. No interruptions while she’s writing. At least not until that day in October when an early Lake Effect Snow storm brews up. Not that she minds snowstorms. Far from it. She loves them. While she’s on her deck securing chair cushions and chairs, something along the rocky shoreline catches her eye. A body? Hard to tell from where she stood. Not being one to ignore someone in need, she rushes across the yard. It’s a body all right–a male’s body. Thank God he was alive, but unfortunately unconscious. After much pulling, rolling and pushing, Jordan manages to get him to her house and finally inside, undressed and into something dry. Jordan finds herself strangely attracted to the man.


More than a storm rages inside and out.

Read an excerpt!

“Darn, it’s getting cold.” Jordan shivered and zipped her sweat shirt. She hated storms, hated thunder and lightning most of all. Grabbing at some papers that flew across the deck as the wind picked up, a movement caught the corner of her eye. Something washed up on the shore. Something big. A body?

Jordan jumped off the deck and raced toward the craggy shoreline. Dark clouds hovered across the lake. Cold water splashed against her as waves crashed against the rocks like angry arms hurling water at an invisible enemy. The crash of thunder echoed across the lake. Ducking her head as lightening streaked across the sky and the air crackled with electricity, she thought she must be nuts. Probably just a bunch of old clothes washed up. Still, she had to see for herself.

Surely, no one in their right mind would be in the water this time of year? There had been storm warnings on the radio all morning. No one would be stupid enough to ignore the forecast. Would they? Heavy rain and strong winds then turning to snow, with a drastic drop in temperature, and blizzard-like conditions weren’t anything to ignore. Jordan winced as lightning flashed again, back-lighting the dark clouds. Darn it, she wanted to be inside cuddling by the fire not out here in a storm. For two cents, she’d turn around and go back. But something drew her forward.

A man’s body against the rocks.

Oh, Lord, please don’t let him be dead. She had planned for a quiet weekend, writing. A weekend with a corpse wasn’t on her list of quiet. But she couldn’t leave him out here either.

Jordan came closer and stooped down next to him. Lifting his head out of the water, above the crashing waves, she felt for a pulse. Thank God, he’s alive. Now how to get him out of here? She grabbed his arm, rolled him over and tried to pull him from the fury of the lake. Wave after wave pounced on him, their foamy peaks trying to reclaim him. Lord, if she ever needed help, now was the time. Struggling to roll him to higher ground, she lost her breath. His long, muscular frame outweighed her slender five foot two body and felt like dead weight.

“You’re going to have to help me.” Jordan grunted and gasped for breath when the full force of icy waves pulled her down and washed over both of them.

No response.

“Damn it. I can’t do this alone.”

Still no response.

Great, how was she going to pull him to safety? “I hate to do this, but I see no alternative.” Jordan took a deep breath and pushed him over, rolling him like a barrel and trying to avoid cutting him on the sharp rocks. It wasn’t easy, but at least he moved.

“Come on!” Jordan tried to encourage some life from his limp body. Once he was far enough away from the waves, she stared at him for a moment, before leaning down to give him mouth to mouth. His long straight nose, eyes set wide with bushy eyebrows and the grin on his lips, even in his unconscious state, sent a ripple of excitement through her body.

Not a handsome man, but something about him caused heat deep inside her. Shrugging off the urge to run her fingers through his curly black hair, she began mouth to mouth. When her mouth touched his lips, opened them slightly, something familiar tugged on her heart. She hadn’t touched a man's lips in, what, three years. This wasn’t exactly the way she imagined touching them again. Not that she ever imagined it. Never even thought about it. She’d had enough of men to last her a lifetime.

STRANGER ON THE SHORE IS COMING FROM MUSEITUP PUBLISHING IN MARCH 2011!

Roseanne Dowell is married with six grown children, fourteen grandchildren and a great-grandchild. She has had over 10 stories and more than 30 articles published, several at the LongRidge Writers Group website along with The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Good Old Days, Nostalgia, and Ohio Writer Magazines. She also wrote a monthly column for a website and was senior editor of an e-zine. Satin Sheets, her first novel, sold over 35,000 copies.


Roseanne taught two classes on writing at Cuyahoga Community College and now teaches several courses at Long Story Short School of Writing. You can check them out at www.LssWritingSchool.com.


Visit Roseanne online at:


http://roseannedowell.com/
http://roseannedowellauthor.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/roseannedowell 
http://www.google.com/profiles/rodow62