I WANT TO HAVE THE HEART OF A DOG

by Genie Gabriel <www.GenieGabriel.com>

Available in print or digital formats

ANIMALS PROTECT EACH OTHER TOO!

EXCERPT from I WANT TO HAVE THE HEART OF A DOG

by Genie Gabriel <www.GenieGabriel.com>

Available in print or digital formats

While our lab puppy, Goliath, was growing and growing and growing, I witnessed the strong bond between animals.

Our Border Collie, Ace, didn’t usually venture past our front porch.

However, one day my younger son called me at work and said Ace had chased a man away from our house and a block and a half down the road.

My Ace was normally not aggressive. As we pieced together what happened, this guy apparently was in our side yard–where he had no business being. And puppy Goliath was sitting at the side door. We figured he was trying to steal the puppy and Ace showed him how inappropriate that was–breaking through the gate to prove his point.

After Ace dispatched the trespasser and would-be dognapper, he came back to the house. This incident strengthened another perception: not only is the connection between dogs and their humans special, so is the bond between animals.

Rogue's Angels Present: The Bulls of War by E. M. Thomas

Please welcome  author of The Bulls of War.

E.M. Thomas will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

The Bulls of War

by E.M. Thomas

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GENRE: Fantasy

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GUEST POST:

I love reading and writing big stories, big battles, big conflicts, big everything.  It’s surely the reason I find myself drawn to the historical fiction and epic fantasy genres.  Notwithstanding, I’m always intrigued by how those conflicts – big or small – are invariably driven by very basic human needs and desires.  In a sense, this is a play on the old adage that every story that could ever be written has already been written – i.e., there are only so many motivators that drive us as human beings, which in turn informs the characters we write.  

Taking my most recent novel (The Bulls of War) as an example, Tyghus is one of the two main characters.  For as many adventures as he embarks upon in the book, for as many highs and lows that he is forced to weather, the concept of love (and loss thereof) is threaded throughout his backstory.  He opens the story in a state of heartbreak, and one of the fun things for me as the author was to watch how that affected him, affected his decisions, and affected those around him as the saga unfolds, as the stakes grew higher.  Love – so simple, yet so complicating.

As an aside, one doesn’t need to delve into the world of fiction to see this play out.  Figures throughout history have made some of the most momentous decisions of all time by acting upon the most basic of sentiments.  Greed, revenge, jealousy, bravado, you name it – the historical record provides countless examples, such that authors never need look far for inspiration. 

BLURB:

As clouds of civil war gather over a dying empire, two friends and generals find themselves on opposite sides of the factional divide.  Now, they must sacrifice everything to save themselves from their realm and their realm from itself.

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EXCERPT:

Ten years, two months and this morning, Kyrus thought, blinking away drops of sweat.   Yet still… still it’s not any easier.

For the thousandth time, his hand slid to a blade’s hilt, body braced against a gust ripping through the sweltering berry thicket.  Wide eyes scanned the crush of steamy greenery all around him, ears hearing only his own short breaths and a heart that pounded like a drum.  Even as the wind petered out, his anxiety held firm, held him frozen in place.

Ten bloody years of this… a wonder I’ve any wits left about me at all.  He grunted.  Or do I have any?

He’d grayed since then, since his first days in Valogar.  Wrinkled too.  Bones ached from the constant marching, mind frayed from the perpetual fear of knowing they were out there, somewhere, always itching to add another Rokhish scalp to their belts…

   

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

E.M. Thomas is the author of two novels - an epic fantasy (The Bulls of War) and a historical fiction set in Ancient Greece (Fortress of the Sun).

E.M. Thomas was born and raised on the East Coast of the United States but is a world traveler at heart. He caught the writing bug early on and has a passion for all good fiction, but especially that of the fantasy and historical variety. One of his favorite moments thus far in his young career was writing a chapter of his latest book about the great battle of Corinth - while sitting amidst the ruins of ancient Corinth.


Links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EMThomas1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EMTHOMASAUTHOR1

Google+: https://plus.google.com/109634057185323716008

Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/emthomas

Amazon Product Page: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J0AXB74

The Bulls of War will be $0.99 during the tour.

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

E.M. Thomas will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f1975

More retrospect...

But that was yesterday, and yesterday's gone...

I was listening to music from 'back in the day' at work again. Amazing how mindless, no-think repetition can lead to epiphanies.

I always wondered why older folks' attitudes changed when they listed to certain types of music. I have realized what the trigger is to their change. The picture above was taken of me during my college years; I modeled to supplement my income. [Even back in the dark ages, college was expensive.] My concerns and worries were so frivolous I'm embarrassed to tell you. So I won't; let's just say we've all come a long way.

When I listen to music from that era, I'm suddenly drawn back to a time when my worries weren't life altering, the person most affected was me; not children, grandchildren, aging parents, etc. The list goes on and on. I knew the possibilities were endless. There wasn't anything I couldn't do. While there may have been a glass ceiling, I was foolish enough to think I could explode through and succeed with panache.

The realities had not yet crushed my dreams. Songs from 'the day' make me feel young, attractive, vibrant, healthy, happy, and on the threshold of life.

We all need to have those moments to relish the joy of living as we did when we were young.

Sable Angel 

Rediscovery

Music to sooth the soul...

I grew up with parents who lived through the depression and second world war. As such, they had so many pearls of wisdom they imparted to we children, it is hard to go a day without having one cross my memory. After my father returned from his tour in Vietnam, one particular phrase kept circling my brain; Take time to stop and smell the roses.

What has that to do with music? When I was growing up, I was blessed to be alive during a musical revolution. New groups with names such as The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Black Sabbath exploded on the scene. The pounding bass, screaming guitars and revolutionary words touched every nerve in my soul.

Well, many years have passed and this week while working and listening on headphones, I realized there were so many nuances to the music I missed in my youth. I'm discovering many facets of life where I zipped past the best part to try and capture the prize at the end.

Try listening to music you loved as a kid with grown up ears; read a favorite book or watch your favorite superhero TV show again. This time listen for the nuances your young ears wouldn't have detected.

Life is, indeed, about smelling the roses and listening to the undertones of the music.

Sable Angel

 



Rogue's Angels Present: Portraits of the Dead by John Nicholls

Please welcome John Nicholls author of Portraits of the Dead.

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

Portraits of the Dead

by John Nicholls

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GENRE: Psychological Thriller

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BLURB:

Emma didn’t know how long he hid, silent and unmoving, in the large Victorian wardrobe to the side of her single bed. She didn’t know how long he peered out, salivating and drooling, between the two heavy dark oak doors, and watched, mesmerised, as she slowly drifted into fitful sleep. She didn't know what time he pushed the doors open and crept towards her in the drab grey darkness of the night.

Detective Inspector Gravel finds himself floundering when a local nineteen-year-old university student is abducted and imprisoned by a sadistic serial killer, who has already tortured and killed five young women.

A gripping page-turner of a serial killer thriller packed with suspense. If you like Rachel Abbott, Robert Bryndza and Karin Slaughter, discover John Nicholl’s chilling new thriller today.

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EXCERPTS:

Chapter 1

2:20 A.M. Saturday, 2 May 1998

Emma didn’t know how long he hid, silent and unmoving, in the large Victorian wardrobe to the side of her single bed. She didn’t know how long he peered, salivating and drooling, between the two heavy dark oak doors and watched, mesmerised, as she slowly drifted into fitful sleep. She didn’t know what time he pushed the doors open and crept towards her in the drab grey darkness of the night. But he did. She knew that he did.

 

Emma woke with a start, tense, alert, and opened her bleary eyes, telling herself insistently that the dark silhouette slowly approaching her was the nightmare construct of her subconscious mind. But initial anxiety became blind panic as the inky shadow took on an obvious human form that suddenly gained pace and loomed over her. And then a hand, a large hot clammy hand, pulled the bedclothes over her head, clamped her mouth tight shut and silenced her scream before it materialised.

 

A myriad unwelcome thoughts invaded her troubled mind as he pinned her head to the pillow and raised his free arm high above his head, before closing his fingers tightly, forming his hand into a formidable weapon and bringing it crashing down, again and again and again, with all the force he could muster, rendering her unconscious and bleeding.

 

She didn’t know how long she remained senseless, or what he did to her while she slept. She didn’t know what time he lifted her from her bed and carried her from her student bedroom, down the creaking wooden staircase and out into the Welsh city street. But he did. She knew that he did.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

John Nicholl, an ex-police officer, child protection social worker, manager and lecturer, has written three dark psychological suspense thrillers, each of which are Amazon international bestsellers, reaching # 1 in multiple categories in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Australia, Canada and the USA. John is always happy to hear from readers, bloggers or anyone interested in proposing a joint creative project. He can be contacted via his author website at:

http://www.johnnicholl.com

https://www.facebook.com/john.nicholl.988

https://twitter.com/nicholl06

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13795294.John_Nicholl

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Portraits-Dead-John-Nicholl/dp/1786972670/

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f1957

I WANT TO HAVE THE HEART OF A DOG

I WANT TO HAVE THE HEART OF A DOG

by Genie Gabriel (www.GenieGabriel.com)

BUY now! 

(Digital or print)