I’m happy to welcome award-winning author Marcia Rosen. Today, Marcia shares her recent release, My Gangster Father and Me!

Blurb

Happy Fathers Day.

Our history and experiences can define us, inspire our actions and as writers impact our words and stories. Mine most definitely has. My father was a gangster. Really!

This is my story about my relationship with my father and how his profession affected me and my life, “He called me Sugar Plum. Both a blessing and a burden, I learned interesting lessons from my father: about generosity and determination, taking risks, and certainly finding the willingness to live life as an adventure.”

Excerpt

You can command respect by your actions and deeds. You most certainly can’t demand love. I’m pretty sure my father never really felt loved by his family or by my mother, except perhaps briefly when they were dating and first married.

My father showed me by example the importance of helping someone who is homeless and hungry. He often bought a meal for those in need. I watched him do those things. One time, I was walking with him on Main Street in downtown Buffalo, past the five and dime store. A man, who looked like he was around fifty, asked for money. My father said, “Let’s go inside and I’ll buy you something to eat.” I can still picture us going inside to buy him a meal.

I grew up learning to be tolerant, yet at times he was intolerant. He taught me to believe in the necessity of fairness and justice, yet he himself did not always demonstrate those traits. He taught me to respect others, yet from my point of view he showed a lack of respect for some people. I believe he was a racist and told him so. His own history figured largely in his feelings and way of thinking.

My father’s attitude towards Black people had its source when he was in his early twenties. He and my grandfather had a small, thriving business providing farm-grown produce to some of the larger grocery chains in the city. Several times a week, leaving well before dawn, they would drive outside of the city to buy fruits and vegetables, often returning after dark.

Tired and in need of some rest, a young Black man who worked for them took over the driving. He too must have been tired and fell asleep at the wheel. There was a serious accident killing my grandfather and sending my father to the hospital for several months. He was lucky to have survived, as was the driver. My dad was not told about his father until the doctors were sure about his recovery. He spent the rest of his life taking a small white pill each day to stop him from shaking; he had nerve damage from the accident. He rarely spoke about it. Yet it affected his entire life.

We strongly disagreed about his being a racist. He would always say, “I’m not racist.” I think he was. When I became very friendly with the daughter of a Black family who moved in next door to us, we moved. As a teenager, when my African American boss drove me home from work one day, my father had a fit. “What if someone sees you? What will they think?” It was the 1950s and people thought all sorts of illogical and irrational things.

There was more of this type of attitude and comments from both my father and mother. I was not at all happy with them, and they were not too pleased with me. This was a frequent topic of controversy between us.

For me, like many others in this country, I cried tears of hope on November 4, 2008, when it was announced an African American was elected President of the United States of America. Tears were on my cheeks, as they were on thousands of others: leaders and everyday Americans, white and Black. We voted and sent an important message. Not everyone heard it, but on that day reasonable voices prevailed.

Author Bio and Links

Marcia Rosen is an award-winning author of twelve books including nine mysteries, the most recent is An Agatha, Raymond, Sherlock, and Me Mystery: Murder at the Zoo. She is also the author of The Senior Sleuths, the Dying to Be Beautiful Mystery Series, and The Gourmet Gangster: Mysteries and Menus (Menus by her son Jory Rosen). She wrote The Woman’s Business Therapist and My Memoir Workbook and has given Memoir Writing presentations and classes for close to twenty years. Her Memoir Blog can be found on her website. For twenty-five years she was owner of a successful national marketing and public relations agency.

Marcia has frequently been a featured speaker at organization meetings, bookstores, libraries, and Zoom Programs presenting talks on Encouraging the Writer Within You, Marketing for Authors, Writing Mysteries…Not A Mystery and A Memoir Detective…Writing Your Life Story. She has also helped numerous writers develop and market their books.

She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Southwest Writers, New Mexico Book Association, Public Safety Writer’s Association, International Memoir Writer’s Association, Women’s National book Association and National Association of Independent Writers and Editors—for which she is also a board member.

Website

Giveaway

Marcia Rosen will award a $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

Follow Marcia on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome award-winning linguist and author Vyvyan Evans. Today, Vyvyan shares his creative journey and new release, The Dark Court.

Interview

What was your inspiration for this book?

The Dark Court is book #2 in the Songs of the Sage book series. The books imagine a future in which we stream language directly to neural implants in our heads.

Today, we stream anything from movies, to books, to music, to our ‘smart’ devices, and consume that content. Smart devices use streaming signals—data encoded in IP data packets—encoded and distributed via wi-fi internet. Language streaming would work, in principle, in the same way. With a ‘language chip’ implanted in our brains, we will be able to ‘stream’ language from internet-in-space on demand, 24/7.

Moreover, based on an individual’s level of subscription to a language streaming provider, they would be able to stream any language they chose, with any level of lexical complexity. This means that someone could, potentially, apply for a job in any country in the world, without needing to be concerned about knowing the local language. Rather, the individual would just draw upon the words and grammar they need, to function in the language, by syncing to a language database, stored on a server in space. And call it up, over the internet, in real time, as they think and talk. It means that everything someone needs to know, to be able to use a language, is streamed over the internet, rather than being stored in someone’s head. Language learning, thus, becomes obsolete.

I have a research background in linguistics and cognitive science, with a PhD in linguistics, and having worked for many years as a professor of linguistics. Over the years it increasingly struck me, what if language were no longer learned but streamed. The rise of intelligent AI and ChatGPT makes there seem more plausible. And the technology is currently being developed, to make neural implants for humans possible, to create a so-called “transhuman”.

I wrote The Dark Court because, in the near future, such developments may even put language under threat. Hence, the inspiration for the book was that it should serve as a warning: when we lose language we all lose.

What is the best part of being an author? The worst?

The best part of being an author is the writing. And that’s also the worst part. But the hardest part is the marketing that follows the writing.

Which authors have inspired you?

Given I am a trained linguist, there are two books, by two quite different authors that have inspired me. Both these books ingeniously explored the impact of language on how we think and experience (illustrated through the conceit of a protagonist learning an entirely new, and alien, language).

The first, Babel-17 is by Samuel R. Delany. It was first published in 1966 and was joint winner of the Nebula Award for best novel in 1967.

The eponymous Babel-17 is a language that alters the perceptions and worldview of any who speak it. This is a conceit that draws upon the principle of linguistic relativity.

Linguistic Relativity holds that divergence in the grammatical organization and lexical structure of the language we speak alters the habitual perception of the world around us, even dramatically changing how we think. As an example, we now know that the brains of Greek speakers perceive certain colours differently from speakers of English because of how Greek labels for colour divide up the colour spectrum. This is an unconscious consequence of speaking Greek versus English.

In the novel, Babel-17 is the language spoken by Invaders, as they wage an interstellar war against the Alliance. The novel’s protagonist, Rydra Wong, is a linguist and cryptographer who possesses a rare ability to learn languages. She is recruited by the Alliance to try and decode the language of the invaders, Babel-17, to uncover clues for attack vectors.

Babel-17 is an exemplar of a very high-concept conceit. When Delany was writing the novel, linguistic relativity was still only a hypothesis, first dubbed the Spair-Whorf hypothesis in 1954.

Delany asks a classic ‘what if’ question: What if the language we speak fundamentally changes the way we see the world, the way we feel, our belief systems, the way we act? Babel-17 then explores the logical, and extreme consequences of this proposition.

In the novel, as Rydra Wong learns the strange, alien tongue, she starts to see the world, and think as the invaders do. And the consequence is that she starts to become one of them. She ultimately betrays her own command and her government, acting as an agent of the Invaders.

And in this way, Delany shows that in the context of warfare, when the notion of linguistic relativity is taken to its logical extreme, language can serve as the most powerful weapon of all.

The second is the novella, Story of Your Life, written by Ted Chiang and first published in 1998. This story was subsequently adapted as the major motion picture Arrival.

Again, this story features a linguist as its main protagonist, Dr. Louise Banks. The story involves Banks narrating the events that led to the arrival of her new-born daughter. In so doing, she explains how her work, translating the language of the alien Heptapod species, led her to understanding time in a new way, where she could perceive her past and future simultaneously.

The consequence is that as learning a new (alien) language transforms thought, the novella explores issues relating to linguistic relativity, determinism and freewill.

Any advice for aspiring writers?

Hone your craft, be consistent in setting writing goals, never give-up, rejection is part of the process. And finally, no one ever wrote a masterpiece in one go. It takes time, sometimes years, to get a manuscript right—be kind to yourself during this process. Everything is a learning opportunity.

What are you working on next?

The Dark Court is the second instalment in the Songs of the Sage book series. There are six projected books in the series which, in increasing turns, examine the role and nature of language, and communication. The thematic premise is that, in the wrong hands, language can serve as a weapon of mass destruction. This overarching motif is explored, across the six books, both from Earth-bound and galaxies-wide bases.

As language involves symbol use and processing, the book series, perhaps naturally, also dwells on other aspects of human imagination and symbolic behaviour, including religious experience and belief systems, themselves made possible by language.

The Dark Court, is set five years after the events of the great language outage depicted in the first book, The Babel Apocalypse. It explores how the language chips in people’s heads can themselves be hacked, leading to a global insomnia pandemic.

Blurb

A genre-blending dystopian, sci-fi mystery-thriller that will make you think about communication in a whole new way.

Five years after the Great Language Outage, lang-laws have been repealed, but world affairs have only gotten worse. The new automation agenda has resulted in a social caste system based on IQ. Manual employment is a thing of the past, and the lowest soc-ed class, the Unskills, are forced into permanent unemployment.

In a world on the brink of civil war, a deadly insomnia pandemic threatens to kill billions. Lilith King, Interpol’s most celebrated detective, is assigned to the case.

Together with a sleep specialist, Dr. Kace Westwood, Lilith must figure out who or what is behind this new threat. Could the pandemic be the result of the upskilling vagus chips being offered to the lowest soc-ed class? Or are language chips being hacked? And what of the viral conspiracy theories by the mysterious Dark Court, sweeping the globe? Lilith must work every possible angle, and quickly: she is running out of time!

While attempting to stop a vast conspiracy on an intergalactic scale, Lilith also faces shocking revelations about her origin, coming to terms with her own destiny.

Excerpt

Her father then turned back to Lilith, gazing at her with the kindness she loved. “I have to go away.” He gulped. “You must be very brave, Lily. Because what I’m doing is for you. You’re very special. I believe you will change everything. Not just here, but everywhere.” With that he reached into his jacket and pulled out a small bracelet from inside his breast pocket. He handed it to Lilith.

“Another gift?” she asked, with cautious excitement. Lilith turned it over in her hand. It was silver, with a small, strange-looking screen on the outer side. The screen was narrow and black, and numbers were spinning in iridescent green, fleetingly across the screen.

“I guess it is. This is a SwissSecure bracelet. It will live with you, expanding as you grow.”

“Is it alive?” Lilith asked.

Her father chuckled. “In a way, I suppose it is. When you’re older, after you’re chipped, the numbers will stop spinning. And then you’ll receive a message from me—two, in fact.”

“Memoclips?” Lilith asked, confused. She knew that was what the chipped adults called them.

Her father dipped his head. “Actually, faceclips. They will explain things … when the time is right. For one thing, where the music comes from, the Nunciature Evangelion—the Tower of Songs.”

“Music?”

“It will come to you, later today. This music will help you become your potential, but it will also be your one Achilles heel …”

Author Bio and Links

Dr. Vyvyan Evans is a native of Chester, England. He holds a PhD in linguistics from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., and is a Professor of Linguistics. He has published numerous acclaimed popular science and technical books on language and linguistics. His popular science essays and articles have appeared in numerous venues including ‘The Guardian’, ‘Psychology Today’, ‘New York Post’, ‘New Scientist’, ‘Newsweek’ and ‘The New Republic’. His award-winning writing focuses, in one way or another, on the nature of language and mind, the impact of technology on language, and the future of communication. His science fiction work explores the status of language and digital communication technology as potential weapons of mass destruction.

Book Website | Author Website | Youtube Channel | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Giveaway

The author will award a randomly drawn winner paperback copies of both book 1 and book 2 on the series – a Rafflecopter giveaway. Find out more here.

Follow the author on the rest of his Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome back multi-published Canadian author Mike Martin. Today, Mike shares his writing journey and new release, Better Safe Than Sorry.

Here’s Mike!

I have always been a writer. As long as I can remember. And I was a reader before that. I grew up with three older sisters, two of whom were teachers, so I could read before I went to school. Every week they would drag me along to the library where I got my books. I am so grateful to them and to libraries. They opened up a brand-new world where I could travel, explore and find out about the world and myself.

My first published article was an opinion piece I wrote for the local newspaper on the dangers of caffeinated beer. They paid $25 and I thought I was rich. Thousands of articles and 14 books later I think I’m a better writer. Although the pay is still not great.

I write a book every year and have done that for the last thirteen years. This year Better Safe Than Sorry is the 14th book in the Award-Winning Sgt. Windflower Mystery series. It usually takes me about 3-4 months to get a good first draft and then it will go to beta readers and my editor for their input and polishing. While I’m waiting for it to come back, I usually get my promo plan together and do outreach to my Social Media connections to get ready for the new book. When the book comes out it’s a whirlwind of activity that doesn’t really subside until it’s time to start a new book.

When I am writing a book I start early in the morning with my coffee and a quiet location. I write for about an hour and then leave it alone to percolate. I have a word count for the day. Monday-Friday 1,500 words a day. If I don’t get that number in the morning, I come back to it later in the day. Like I said earlier, after 3-4 months I have a good first draft to work with.

I never edit my day’s work. I keep writing page after page until I have about 10,000 words. Then I review for spelling and grammar and to see if the story line works. I do the same after 25,000 words. Then I print that off and see if it all makes sense. If not, I rewrite. If yes, I keep moving to 50,000 words and then again at the end. Then it’s off to the beta readers first because they give me the full honest truth about whether it is any good and if it true to the Windflower story line.

I am what they call a pantser. That means I don’t outline or do a plot for the books I write. I start writing from what I call the creative flow and keep going until I’m happy with the story. Here’s the great news about that approach. I never know how the story will end until I come to the end of the story. Just like the reader.

Holding a book with your name on the cover is almost like holding a baby. Certainly, the first book was. Seeing your book in a bookstore for the first time gives you the shivers. Still does. Every time a new book comes out it feels like a cause for a great celebration. Publishing Better Safe Than Sorry is almost as exciting as the first one. It truly never gets old.

Did I make mistakes along the way? Too many to count. I think my biggest mistake was to not invest enough initially in editing and proofreading. That meant my product was not my best and it turned off some readers. Now I invest as much in the front end as I do in promotion and marketing. It seems to work better, and my readers are happier. So am I.

My goal as a writer is to create great stories that people can read for their pleasure and enjoyment. I give them the gift of my book and they return it with the time they spend reading it. It’s a fair exchange. My advice to any new writer is to read. A lot. And not just what you think you like. Read great authors of today and yesterday. Write the best book you can and let the universe decide what happens next. It won’t hurt to spend a few dollars to help the universe spread the word about your book either.

Blurb

When danger threatens Grand Bank, will Sgt. Windflower step back into the line of fire?
Winston Windflower is sort of enjoying his retirement from the RCMP in Grand Bank, Newfoundland, happily spending time with his young family, but feeling a little restless. Corporal Eddie Tizzard is running the Marystown detachment and struggling with the demands of the role while his own family grows. When a new kind of drug threatens the community, a body (the wrong body) is found dead in a hearse, and then another drug-connected mysterious death occurs, Tizzard knows he’s dealing with a deadly menace in their quiet, close-knit community.

Windflower finds himself inexorably and not unhappily drawn back into the action, first in an unofficial role to help snare the dealers and then back to active duty in a community that desperately needs his steady hand and good judgement.

Our favorite Mountie, Sgt. Windflower and his fellow courageous cops in small-town Grand Bank, Newfoundland are back to fight a new threat in this compelling page-turner. Award-winning author, Mike Martin once again brings us a stirring story, blending down-home Newfoundland charm with the warmth of family life.

Buy Links

Amazon CA | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU

Bio

Mike Martin was born in St. John’s, NL on the east coast of Canada and now lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario. He is a long-time freelance writer and his articles and essays have appeared in newspapers, magazines and online across Canada as well as in the United States and New Zealand. He is the award-winning author of the best-selling Sgt. Windflower Mystery series, set in beautiful Grand Bank. There are now 14 books in this light mystery series with the publication of Better Safe Than Sorry.

Mike is also a past Chair of the Board of Crime Writers of Canada, a national organization promoting Canadian crime and mystery writers and a member of the Newfoundland Writers’ Guild and Capital Crime Writers.

You can follow the Sgt. Windflower Mysteries on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore

I’m happy to welcome author P.H. Turner. Today, Pat shares her new release, Murder at the College.

Blurb

A detective has a smooth-talking heartbreaker for a client, but there’s a problem.

Quinn has scorch marks from her last relationship and plenty of chemistry with Ben, but he could have killed his twin brother. He demands to work the case with her, claiming it’s his life on the line.

A partner is the last thing Quinn wants. What she wants is to prove him innocent. But she’s finding plenty of evidence he isn’t.

Excerpt

Suddenly, thunder cracked so loudly that she felt the wall tremble beneath her hand. As the rumbling faded, she heard the soft scuff of a shoe and felt that awful sensation of being watched.

Even the building seemed to be holding its breath.

There, a scrape. Then, a rustle. Somewhere in the dark, someone was moving. Fear skittered down her spine. Inside the heavy drapes, she couldn’t discern whether it came from behind her or below her in the trap room.

Suddenly, the air was heavy with a malevolent presence.

Now, a rush of air from behind her. Then a hard shove, and Quinn tumbled down the stairs, whacking her head on the first curve, picking up speed as she rolled pell-mell, spiraling toward the bottom. Her left shoulder crashed into the unforgiving steel when she rounded the second turn. Sharp pain took her breath away, but she grabbed a rail, righted herself on the bottom step, and waited until her eyes grew accustomed to the dim light in the trap room.

Creak, shuffle.

Someone was hurrying across the wood-floored stage above her head. She stood and scanned the ceiling, tracking the footsteps moving above her.

With a few more steps, the person would be over the trap door in the center of the stage.

A shuffled step above her, then another. Quinn held her breath, waiting in place under the trap door.

Now! She yanked on the steel drawbar, dropping the trap door with a bang.

A screaming figure landed in a heap on a stack of old blankets at Quinn’s feet.

Author Bio and Links

P.H. Turner (Pat) writes contemporary mysteries spiked with long-held grudges, secrets, and murder. With roots in a Texas farm homesteaded in the 1850s, she calls Austin home. When she’s not writing, she’s cooking for family, or taking care of a pair of hairy mutts, or in her garden coaxing roses to bloom in the Texas heat.

Pat is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and Romance Writers of America.

Amazon Author Page | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Amazon Buy Link

Giveaway

P.H. Turner will award a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Find out more here.

Follow Pat on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome author L. J. Ambrosio. Today, he shares his new release, Exiles.

Blurb

In this final chapter, Ron’s story concludes from Reflections on the Boulevard (2023). Michael’s wish was for Ron to exile himself in the heart of Paris with its beautiful culture and citizens as they protest and fight for the soul of the city. Ron’s journey is met with life-affirming friendships and lessons along the way. The final book in the Reflections of Michael Trilogy, which started with A Reservoir Man (2022).

Excerpt

A cool autumn breeze, in the twilight, wrapped around our exile who sat on a bench in front of a bookstore that resembled a place we might find in a Tolkien novel. On this street, rue de la Buccheri, was the bookstore Shakespeare and Company. The store itself was famous for housing the books of many great literary artists on their shelves. They also supported any young or old artistic vagabonds by allowing them to sleep in the aisles of the bookstore on makeshift beds when finding themselves homeless.

Ron, who managed the store, sat on this bench every evening thinking of Michael. Ron thought of things he remembered and how much he learnt from Michael. He felt the emptiness in his soul, yearning to have that connection just one more time. He had lived in Paris for six years now, a brief time for an exile, yet he was free from a society drowning in untruths; his refuge was the bookstore.

Just like every night, as Ron prepared to close the store, he occasionally checked the front of the store, looking for his friend. Then, he noticed another young man still looking at books on the outside shelves.

Ron moved outside to get a closer look at the late customer under the guise of moving the outdoor book bins back inside. He suddenly noticed that the young man was putting a book down his pants.

Ron raised his voice and shouted for the thief to put the book back on the shelf. The young man, caught in the act, ran away.

The young man sprinted and tripped while running past the café. In this stumble, he decided to turn the corner and make his way rapidly toward la Seine.

Author Bio and Links

Louis J. Ambrosio ran one of the most nurturing bi-coastal talent agencies in Los Angeles and New York. He started his career as a theatrical producer, running two major regional theaters for eight seasons. Ambrosio taught at 7 Universities. Ambrosio also distinguished himself as an award-winning film producer and novelist over the course of his impressive career.

Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Blog | YouTube | Amazon Buy Link

Giveaway

The author will award a $20 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card, an autographed copy of the book, or a dragonfly necklace to three randomly drawn winners. Find out more here.

Follow the author on the rest of his Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome award-winning author Bobbi Smith. Today, Bobbi shares her new release Weston’s Lady.

Blurb

Come One! Come All!
To Weston’s Wild West Texas Stampede

There were Cowboys and Indians, trick riding, thrills and excitement for everyone. And if Liberty Jones had anything to say about it, she would be a part of the show, too. She had demonstrated her expertise with a gun by shooting a playing card out of Reed Weston’s hand at thirty paces, but the arrogant owner of the stampede wouldn’t even give her a chance.

Disguising herself as a boy, Libby wrangled herself a job with the show, and before she knew it Reed was firing at her—in front of an audience. It seemed an emotional showdown was inevitable whenever they came together, but Libby had set her sights on Reed’s heart and she vowed she would prove her love was every bit as true as her aim.

Excerpt

“Libby, if you’re unhappy, how will you convince the audience that you’re enjoying what you’re doing in the show? Tell me what’s wrong. Let me help you.”

Libby stared up at Reed, mesmerized by the emotion she saw in his expression. Were the tenderness and concern there real? She would have to trust him—but the realization stopped her cold.

Reed took a step closer. She looked so beautiful. She was like no other woman he’d ever met. True, she had deceived him by hiring on as a boy, but he understood now. Desperation had been driving her. There was something in her past terrible enough to frighten her into running away, and he wanted to save her from it. Reed felt an overwhelming need to take her in his arms. He knew he would protect her with his very life.

“Libby—” He reached out to her and drew her to him.

Libby wanted to believe Reed was a good and honorable man. As he enfolded her in his strong, warm embrace, she found herself wanting to lean against him and be safe.

His lips sought hers then, and she gasped at the contact so sweet and so powerful. His kiss was heavenly, and she gave herself over to the full pleasure of his touch. When he parted her lips and tasted her more deeply, she groaned in excitement. Desire coursed through her, and she clung to him, thrilling at his nearness.

Reed marveled at how perfectly she fit against him. It seemed as if they were made for each other.

Author Bio and Links

After working as a department manager for Famous-Barr, and briefly as a clerk at a bookstore, Bobbi Smith gave up on career security and began writing. She sold her first book to Zebra in 1982. Since then, Bobbi has written over 40 books and several short stories. To date, there are more than five million of her novels in print. She has been awarded the prestigious Romantic Times Storyteller of the Year Award and two Career Achievement Awards. Her books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists. When she's not working on her novels, she is frequently a guest speaker for writers’ groups. Bobbi is mother of two sons and resides in St. Charles, Missouri with her husband and three dogs.

Website | Amazon Buy Link

Giveaway

Bobbi Smith will award a randomly drawn winner a $10 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card. Find out more here.

Follow Bobbi on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to reveal the following cover…

Blurb

In this final chapter, Ron’s story concludes from Reflections on the Boulevard (2023). Michael’s wish was for Ron to exile himself in the heart of Paris with its beautiful culture and citizens as they protest and fight for the soul of the city. Ron’s journey is met with life-affirming friendships and lessons along the way. The final book in the Reflections of Michael Trilogy, which started with A Reservoir Man (2022).

Author Bio and Links

Louis J. Ambrosio ran one of the most nurturing bi-coastal talent agencies in Los Angeles and New York. He started his career as a theatrical producer, running two major regional theaters for eight seasons. Ambrosio taught at 7 Universities. Ambrosio also distinguished himself as an award-winning film producer and novelist over the course of his impressive career.

Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Tumbler | Blog | YouTube

Giveaway

The author will award a $20 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card, an autographed copy of the book, or a dragonfly necklace to three randomly drawn winners. Find out more here.

Follow Louis on the rest of his Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome author Bethany Rosa to my blog. Today, Bethany shares her new release, Pursuit of Innocence.

Blurb

“I’m done waiting around. You’re mine. No more games or pining over someone else when it’s me you want. You won’t remember his name after I get through with you.”

Lily knows exactly what she wants in life. To graduate, land a high-paying job, and forge her own way. Nothing will distract her. Until the ultimate playboy, billionaire Sebastian Dubree, barges in. Not to be overlooked, Lily’s longtime crush, Jackson, decides she’s worth the fight.

Reluctant to succumb to either, she quickly becomes a challenge to conquer.

Lily must decide between the familiarity of her childhood longing or the newly discovered passion ignited by the dominant CEO. But can she surrender without losing herself in the process, or will someone take matters into his own hands?

Boundaries blur between desire and resistance in this gripping coming-of-age romance, leaving readers yearning for more.

Excerpt

“I hope you like champagne. I figured we could toast to our first date.”

“Getting a little ahead of yourself, aren’t you? I was coming into this thinking it would be our only date. But yes, I love bubbly.” I laugh as I answer.

He opens the champagne, then fills our glasses as he responds. “I’m going to be honest. I have every intention of pursuing you unless you convince me with absolute certainty you’re not interested. And what comes out of your mouth versus what your body tells me are two very different things. I’ll be taking orders from the latter.” He hands me a glass of champagne, and I’m unsure how to respond, so I don’t.

He raises his glass. “Cheers, Lily, to seeing where this goes and enjoying the ride. I’m looking forward to showing you how enjoyable it can be.” We toast, and I take a sip of the most amazing champagne I’ve ever had.

Author Bio and Links

Bethany Rosa raised four amazing daughters before fulfilling her dream to become a writer. Her goal is to ignite passion in readers through her erotically charged stories. When not immersed in writing, Bethany finds joy in life traveling the world alongside her husband of 25 years. Home is divided between the mountains of Montana and the Arizona sunshine.

Website | Instagram | TikTok | Amazon Buy Link

Giveaway

A randomly drawn winner will receive a $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card. Find out more here.

Follow Bethany on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome award-winning authors Catherine and Donald Hersh. Today, they share real-life poltergeist stories and their new release, Ghosts and Gardenias, Book 1 in the Haunting of Garnoa Road series.

Paranormal Encounters

As a young girl Catherine lived in an old house that had been subdivided into apartments, and her parents believed the apartment they lived in was haunted. Pictures and items would be moved to different places when they came home; a cousin saw a man standing at the foot of her bed one night; and when the neighbor’s children would call at the door for Catherine and her sister to come out and play, a man’s voice would answer saying, “They aren’t home.” Funny thing was, no one was home when kids came calling … except the ghost.

In another home where Catherine lived a murder had taken place years before. Her folks kept the scary information a secret from the children. While she lived in the house, Catherine had a recurring dream of a woman who appeared at her bedroom door and urged her to climb out the second story bedroom. Catherine would always awaken before she made it out the window. When the family moved, she mentioned her dream to her mother, who told her about the murdered woman. She had died at the top of the steps by the door to Catherine’s bedroom. Her mother believed the ghost of the woman was trying to kill Catherine and that if she had ever gone fully out the window she would have died. That dream, no matter how hard she tried to replicate it, has never occurred in any other home where Catherine has lived.

Caption: Westwood Town Hall (1971) photo by Donald Hersh

Catherine’s sister Carolyn lived in an apartment in the basement of Westwood Town Hall, in Cincinnati, Ohio, another reported hot spot for spooks. The town hall is reported to be haunted by the ghost of a former security guard who hung himself in the building after he was fired. Some resources say the ghost is known as Willy, others say his name is Wesley. There are many reports of stage sets, costumes and orderly things found in disarray. Water faucets turn on by themselves and locked doors are unlocked, lights turn off and on and children have reported seeing a man on the ground and in the building.

Carolyn and her husband were caretakers for the hall around 1971. “We had to clean the buildings,” Carolyn said, “and we would hear whispers around us.” Carolyn believes there is more than one ghost because of the multiple voices they heard. They would be in bed in their basement apartment of the town hall and could hear racket going on and what sounded like people bumping into the walls when they knew no one was there. “On one occasion we had to clean a room on the upper floor where a train group met. We could hear voices in the room and the door wouldn’t unlock. When we finally got the door open, there was no one inside.”

After Catherine’s sister learned the building was haunted she wouldn’t go into the main area by herself.

Can’t say that we blame her!

Now that we’ve thoroughly frightened ourselves by writing about all this spooky stuff at night, we think we’ll go double check the dead bolts, flip on all the lights, and look up some paranormal ghost busters … just in case.

Have you ever had any spooky, paranormal encounters?

While you think about that here’s the first book in our Haunting of Garnoa Road Series.

Blurb

Susan Trowbridge is the victim of mistaken identity, trapped in the past by a ghost and a haunted wedding gown. To return home she must discover the identity of the ghost’s murderer. Can Susan stop the murder, or will history repeat itself, with her as the victim this time? And if she does stop the murder, must she return home and leave the man she has come to love?

Duncan Hawthorn is a man battling his own demons. But when Susan falls into his life, Duncan finds himself inexplicably attracted to a woman he thought he hated. Should he believe she is in danger? Should he believe her irrational claims that she is from the future? Either way, he realizes he will lose the woman who has become his salvation and his true love.

Buy Links

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About the Authors

Putting words and stories on paper is second nature to award-winning co-authors C.D. Hersh. They’ve written separately since they were teenagers and discovered their unique, collaborative abilities in the mid-90s. As high school sweethearts and husband and wife, Catherine and Donald believe in true love and happily ever after.

They are looking forward to many years of co-authoring and book sales, and a lifetime of happily-ever-after endings on the page and in real life.

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A long-time fan of the authors, I was delighted to learn they had written a time-travel romance. Intrigued from the start, I immediately connected with the protagonists—Susan Trowbridge and Duncan Hawthorn—and couldn’t read fast enough to discover what awaited them in this well-plotted novel. Several questions whirled in my mind: Would Duncan believe Susan’s outlandish story? Would Susan ever discover the identity of the person trying to kill her? And would she remain in 1879 or return to 2024? When I finished reading, I could only shake my head in amazement at the many unexpected plot twists and turns in this entertaining story.

Next, please!