Author: freelancewriterjannyc

Janny C(Jan Marie) is an established freelance writer, Author, and blogger ready to write for you!
Posted on

Book Blog Tour: The Last Train by Michael Pronko

Joining the blog tour for The Last Train by Michael Pronko let’s explore this thriller express!

The Last Train: A Tokyo Mystery
Genre: Thriller/ Suspense

*Winner 2018 Shelf Unbound Best Independently Published Book
*Winner 2017 Book Excellence Awards Best Mystery Solo Medalist
Winner 2017 New Apple Awards for Excellence

In Tokyo, murder’s easy to hide.

Detective Hiroshi Shimizu investigates white-collar crime in Tokyo. When an American businessman turns up dead, his mentor Takamatsu calls him out to the site of a grisly murder. A glimpse from a security camera video suggests the killer might be a woman. Hiroshi quickly learns how close homicide and suicide can appear in a city full of high-speed trains just a step—or a push—away. Takamatsu drags Hiroshi out to the hostess clubs and skyscraper offices of Tokyo in search of the killer.

Hiroshi goes deeper and deeper into Tokyo’s intricate, perilous market for buying and selling the most expensive land in the world. He teams up with ex-sumo wrestler Sakaguchi to scour Tokyo’s sacred temples, corporate offices and industrial wastelands to find out why one woman was driven to murder. After years in America and lost in neat, clean spreadsheets, Hiroshi confronts the stark realities of the biggest city in the world, where inside information can travel in a flash from the insiders at top investment firms to street-level punks and teenage hostesses, everyone scrambling for their cut of Tokyo’s lucrative land deals. Hiroshi’s determined to cut through Japan’s ambiguities—and dangers—to find the murdering ex-hostess before she extracts her final revenge—which just might be him.

GET IT HERE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Pronko is a Tokyo-based author who writes in three genres—murder, memoir, and music. He has written about Japanese culture, art, jazz, society, architecture, and politics for Newsweek Japan, The Japan Times, Artscape Japan, as well as other publications. He has appeared on NHK and Nippon Television doing video versions of his essays. He runs his own website, Jazz in Japan (www.jazzinjapan.com).

He teaches American Literature and Culture (novels, film, art, and music) at Meiji Gakuin University in Tokyo, and after discussing Kurt Vonnegut or Jackson Pollock is in the right frame of mind to wander Tokyo contemplating its intensity.

Follow Michael at Michael Pronko

Posted on

Book Spotlight Thursday: Eternally Artemisia by Melissa Muldoon

Catching in my spotlight eye today is the whimsical Eternally Artemisia by Melissa Muldoon. Because. some loves, just like women are timeless.

Eternally Artemisia

They say some loves travel through time and are fated to meet over and over again. For Maddie, an art therapist, who wrestles with the “peculiar feeling” she has lived previous lives and is being called to Italy by voices that have left imprints on her soul, this idea is intriguing. Despite her best efforts, however, proof of this has always eluded her. That is, until one illuminating summer in Italy when Maddie’s previous existences start to bleed through into her current reality. When she is introduced to the Crociani family—a noble clan with ties to the seventeenth-century Medici court that boasts of ancestors with colorful pasts—she finally meets the loves of her life. One is a romantic love, and another is a special kind of passion that only women share, strong amongst those who have suffered greatly yet have triumphed despite it. As Maddie’s relationship develops with Artemisia Gentileschi—an artist who in a time when it was unheard of to denounce a man for the crime of rape, did just that—Maddie discovers a kindred spirit and a role model, and just what women are capable of when united together. In a journey that arcs back to biblical days and moves forward in time, Maddie encounters artists, dukes, designers, and movie stars as well as baser and ignoble men. With Artemisia never far from her side, she proves that when we dare to take control of our lives and find the “thing” we are most passionate about, we are limitless and can touch the stars.

Check out Eternally Artemisia Available on Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Melissa Muldoon is the author of four novels set in Italy: “Dreaming Sophia”, “Waking Isabella”, “Eternally Artemisia”, and “The Secret Life of Sofonisba Anguissola.” All four books are set in Italy and tell the stories of women and their journeys of self-discovery to find love, uncover hidden truths, and follow their destinies to shape a better future. For more information visit: MelissaMuldoon.com

Melissa is the author also of the Studentessa Matta website, where she promotes the study of Italian language and culture through her dual-language blog written in Italian and English (studentessamatta.com). “Studentessa Matta” means the “crazy linguist” and has grown to include the podcast “Tutti Matti per l’Italiano”, and the “Studentessa Matta” YouTube channel, Facebook page, and Instagram feed. Melissa also created Matta Italian Language Immersion Programs, which she co-leads with Italian schools in Italy to learn Italian in Italy while immersing in language and culture. Through her website, she also offers Homestay opportunities to live and study in Italy in the private home of a teacher.

Melissa has a B.A. in fine arts, art history and European history from Knox College, a liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, as well as a master’s degree in art history from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She has also studied painting and art history in Florence. She is an artist, and professional book designer, and designed the interiors of all three of her books as well as illustrated their covers. Melissa is also the managing director of Matta Press.

Learn more at Melissa Muldoon

Posted on

Book Tour Spotlight: The Seldom Wings by Beka Westrup

Combining forces with R&R Book Tours for the blog tour for The Seldom Wings by Beka Westrup. Today it’s my stop on the tour to showcase this beauty once again.

The Seldom Wings (Winged Spirits Series Book 1)

For years, Sia’s hidden herself in the gnashing forest, dodging her father’s bounty hunters and ignoring the nameless magic in her veins. When she receives a letter from an estranged lover, she returns to the coast she used to call home, within reach of her father’s magical city hovering above the smog and the arranged marriage waiting for her. This place is not somewhere Sia wishes to linger—the land is noxious and filled with rebels, witches, and other humans who become walking corpses when they die. What was intended to be a brief visit turns into a death-bed promise anchoring Sia to Gwaith House for the foreseeable future. She agrees to look after her first love’s human child until her widower proves he can care for his daughter himself.

The thing with promises is: Sia can’t break them. No seraph can. At least not without severe consequences.

While navigating the complex feelings she develops for the angry widower and her own grief, Sia becomes entangled in a mysterious string of dismembered corpses roaming the smog and a strange detective who refuses to leave her alone. As the desperate undead draw closer and closer to the child she is sworn to protect, Sia races to find the murderer responsible for creating them. She needs to figure it out quickly, or she may risk falling right back into her father’s scorching hands.

PURCHASE HERE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Beka Westrup is a genre-hopping author of fantasy and romance. The Seldom Wings is her second full-length novel. She lives in the PNW with her husband and two children, collecting more books than she’ll ever be able to read and drinking copious amounts of iced coffee.

Beka Westrup

Posted on

Book Release Spotlight: Lady of Dragons by Shelby Elizabeth

In celebration of the release of  Lady of Dragons by Shelby Elizabeth, I had to spotlight this beauty as I love dragons! If you’re a dragon lover or dragon rider, read on!

Lady of Dragons (Book One)
Publication Date: August 29, 2023
Genre: YA Fantasy Romance

Finlay McDonough wants nothing more than to be a Dragon Knight: a warrior bound with a dragon partner, intent on ridding the kingdom of its dragon-killing monarchy. Well, she might want one thing just a bit more … Evander, her childhood friend, now keeper of the dragon sanctuary. Scouting with Evander one day, Finlay’s attempt to save a dragon goes horribly wrong, and she inadvertently ties her fate to the dragon’s–their souls bind, lending Finlay powers like those of the Mages the Knights are sworn to destroy.

After passing the trial to train as a Knight, Finlay discovers a devastating truth about a beloved dragon. To save them, she’ll need to risk her dream of becoming a true Knight, her chance at a happily-ever-after with Evander … and maybe her very identity.

A fantasy romance with a strong heroine, sweet love interest, a sassy dragon companion, and more than a dash of adventure awaits.

AVAILABLE NOW ON Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shelby Elizabeth is an English teacher in Upstate New York, with a B.A. in Writing from SUNY Potsdam (2019) and an M.A.T. in Secondary English from SUNY Empire (2021). I have self-published a young adult fantasy trilogy about Shifters and Elementals in the modern world (Celestials), and a young adult contemporary m/m romance (Don’t Hate the Player). When I am not writing in my free time, I am spending time with my family and my cats, reading, or watching just a little too much television.

Learn more about Shelby and her work at Shelby Elizabeth

Posted on

Book Spotlight Thursday: Between the Dark Spaces by Melissa Groeling

WELCOME! to another Book Spotlight Thursday! Today we are highlighting Between the Dark Spaces by Melissa Groeling.

Between the Dark Spaces

How deep do those dark places go?

Sixteen-year-old Aris Black likes to think she knows about dark places. Every day, she watches her father struggle to hang on to his sobriety. She works long hours after school to help pay their bills so they don’t end up out on the street. She knows one wrong move and they could lose everything.

When she meets Chapman Woolfe, she knows she’s not the only one fighting to stay in the light. Chapman is a boy surrounded by monsters that wear masks of the people he thought he knew.

Together, Aris and Chapman discover the world these monsters created and its origin is a lot closer to home than they realize.

Can these two teenagers find their way out before the darkness swallows them whole?

AVAILABLE NOW at Amazon | Booktopia | Barnes & Noble

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Melissa Groeling didn’t know she had an accent until she moved from New Jersey to Philadelphia. She thought everyone spoke the same way, and called things by the same name…that is, until she got into her first debate with a Pennsylvanian over a “sub” or a “hoagie.” This soon led to other debates: jimmies versus sprinkles. Pork roll versus Taylor ham. It all became quite the struggle, a fight not to conform. Boldly trekking onwards, she knew she preferred a sub, sprinkles on her ice cream, and Taylor ham for breakfast. So she kept at it, much like her writing.

Drop her line sometime. She’ll happily talk to you about tea (oh yes, she’s a tea drinker off-set only by those fancy-schmancy mochas from Starbucks), the New York Giants (a die-hard fan), chocolate (the dark kind, thanks), and cupcake recipes, because really, without icing, the world is just a muffin.

Learn more about Melissa and her books at Melissa Groeling

Posted on

Book Release Blitz: The Seldom Wings by Beka Westrup

Joining another book release celebration today, I am helping  R&R Book Tours celebrate Beka Westrup’s book release for The Seldom Wings. Want to find out more? Read on!

The Seldom Wings (Winged Spirits Series Book 1)

Publication Date: August 29, 2023

Genre: Adult Dark Fantasy🔥 A Morally Gray FMC
🔥 Pansexual Rep
🔥 Witcher Vibes
🔥 Unbreakable Promises

🔥 Spice
🔥 Wings
🔥 Sleeping with the Enemy
🔥 Action/ Adventure

For years, Sia’s hidden herself in the gnashing forest, dodging her father’s bounty hunters and ignoring the nameless magic in her veins. When she receives a letter from an estranged lover, she returns to the coast she used to call home, within reach of her father’s magical city hovering above the smog and the arranged marriage waiting for her. This place is not somewhere Sia wishes to linger—the land is noxious and filled with rebels, witches, and other humans who become walking corpses when they die. What was intended to be a brief visit turns into a death-bed promise anchoring Sia to Gwaith House for the foreseeable future. She agrees to look after her first love’s human child until her widower proves he can care for his daughter himself.

The thing with promises is: Sia can’t break them. No seraph can. At least, not without severe consequences.

While navigating the complex feelings she develops for the angry widower and her own grief, Sia becomes entangled in a mysterious string of dismembered corpses roaming the smog and a strange detective who refuses to leave her alone. As the desperate undead draw closer and closer to the child she is sworn to protect, Sia races to find the murderer responsible for creating them. She needs to figure it out quickly, or she may risk falling right back into her father’s scorching hands.

Read An Exciting Excerpt!

“It’s you,” he said in a mighty exhale. “You really are hiding down here in the smog, fraternizing with humans.”

My heart bottomed out. “Where I go and what I do is none of your business.”

His lips curled in wry amusement. “Isn’t it?”

Everything inside me went cold. He knew who I was. Reluctantly, I asked, “What exactly were you doing down here when you were captured?”

The seraph’s head tilted, the slow consideration of a predator.

“What do you think, Princess?” He rolled his shoulders and flashed his teeth, a lazy show of aggression. “I was collecting a bounty.”

I put the box between us as he prowled forward, raising my dagger in warning.

“Where do you think you’re going?” His eyes followed my every step. “You know you can’t outrun me, not with your pretty golden wings put away.”

Purchase Your Copy Today!

GET YOUR COPY HERE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Beka Westrup is a genre-hopping author of fantasy and romance. The Seldom Wings is her second full-length novel. She lives in the PNW with her husband and two children, collecting more books than she’ll ever be able to read and drinking copious amounts of iced coffee.

Learn more about Beka and her books at Beka Westrup

Posted on

Book Release Blitz: Jemma and the Raven by B.D. Reeves

Today I am joining R&R Book Tours for the book release celebration of Jemma and the Raven by B.D. Reeves. The book sounds amazing, and the cover is mesmerizing!

Jemma and the Raven

Publication Date: August 26th, 2023

Genre: YA Epic Fantasy

A girl. A raven. A luminous adventure.
To everyone else, Jemma is nothing but a Wharf-thief. She scavenges for tokens in the wrestling dens and parades along the market lanes with a raven, Edgar, on her shoulder.
But she and Edgar have a secret. In a land where memories fade into the Shadows without the love of a Keeper, they scour the ruins of ancient memory palaces, searching for treasure that will buy them a passage to the great city of Adocentyn.
When Jemma steals a map and a golden blade, she sets in motion a chain of events that will tie her destiny to the survival of all who live in the light of Memory.
Can Jemma defeat the darkness she has unleashed, without losing herself? And who is the voice she hears, guiding her along the way? I am with you. Follow the lights.

Jemma and the Raven is a massive feat of storytelling, a work of fabulous imagination, and a fantasy inspired by historical realities. It will convey its readers on an epic journey that will both captivate and exhilarate them. ARNOLD ZABLE, storyteller and novelist. Author of The Watermill, Sea of Many Returns, and Cafe Scheherazade.

Jemma and the Raven is out and available now at Amazon US | Amazon AU |Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

B. D. Reeves is a Melbourne-based writer. His first novel “Jemma and the Raven,” was published in 2023. When he is not reading and writing, B. D. Reeves teaches philosophy and literature, conducts educational research, and is currently completing his PhD at the University of Melbourne. Loving to travel, he once camped in an old shepherd’s hut on a remote Greek island, where he discovered the remnants of ancient frescos, the secrets of bees, and the friendship of a goat who followed him wherever he went. He has since adored the concept of animals in fiction.

Learn more about B.D. at B.D. Reeves

Posted on

Book Blitz Friday: Rufus and Magic Run Amok by Marilyn Levinson

Happy Friday! As I spotlight the adorable for the whole family Rufus and Magic Run Amok by Marilyn Levison! Read on!

Rufus and Magic Run Amok

Publication Date: June 13, 2023

Genre: Children’s Books/ Ages 6 – 12

Rufus Breckenridge is an ordinary ten-year-old with a best friend and a great comic book collection. He is not a witch like his mother, aunt, and grandmother. Witches take lessons to learn how to control their magical powers so they can use them to help other people. Where’s the fun in that? Besides, witches are weird. At least that’s what lots of people think.

When Big Douggie, the school bully, chases Rufus home, Rufus makes him do a double backflip. He decides to keep his new-found magical powers a secret. But the more spells Rufus casts, the stronger his magic grows. Soon Rufus’s magic is running amok!

Available Now at Amazon & Barnes & Noble

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marilyn--Jan2819

A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries and novels for kids. Her books have received many accolades. Her juvenile novel, Rufus and Magic Run Amok, was an International Reading Association-Children’s Book Council Children’s Choice and has recently come out in a new edition. And Don’t Bring Jeremy was a nominee for six state awards. Her YA horror, The Devil’s Pawn, will be out in a new edition in January 2024.

As Allison Brook, she writes the Haunted Library series. Death Overdue, the first in the series, was an Agatha nominee for Best Contemporary Novel in 2018. Other mysteries include the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series and the Twin Lakes series.

Marilyn lives on Long Island with her kitties, Romeo and Juliet. She loves traveling, reading, doing crossword puzzles and Sudoku, and chatting on FaceTime with her grandkids.

Follow Marilyn @ Marilyn Levinson

Posted on

Book Spotlight Thursday: Grave Secrets by Cassandra Aston

Caught in my spotlight today, thanks to R&R Book Tours, is Grave Secrets by Cassandra Aston. A dark urban fantasy/ romance, what would you sacrifice for the truth? Let’s read on!

Grave Secrets (Prophecies of Angels and Demons #1

Publication Date: April 24th, 2023

Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy/ Fantasy Romance

What would you sacrifice for the truth?

Life feels infinite when you’re young, but Allie Graves knows all too well that she’s living on borrowed time. Six years ago, she made a deal to save her life in exchange for service to the angels.

It seemed like a sweet bargain when she made it, but what do seventeen-year-olds know about making life choices? Now her six years of service are up, and returning to her mortal life comes with some serious consequences.

To top it off, a mystery man has come into her life, but the angels aren’t fond of his brand of magic, so they’ve made it their mission to end him. How’s a girl supposed to get a date when the guy might not survive the week?

Allie has less than a month to uncover a family secret, save the hottie, and plan for life after angel duty. It’s a tall order.

Fans of J Bree and Patricia Briggs will be swept away by this urban fantasy romance full of dark magic, family secrets, and gut-wrenching twists. From the first page to the last, you won’t want to put it down. This book is recommended for 18+ due to its mature content.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

mesmallest

Cassandra Aston grew up near Austin, TX, on a ranch just outside the city. She holds a BA in Communications and an MS in Psychology from USC.

Her love of reading and writing began when she was nine years old. She is a fan of all things fantasy but especially loves the Fae. Although her first series, Prophecies of Angels and Demons, doesn’t delve into the realm of the Fae, her 2022 NaNoWriMo project, which will be released in 2024, is an urban fantasy, stand-alone story that will take the reader deep into the world of Faerie.

Cassandra currently lives in Houston, TX, with her family of four.

Follow Cassandra for her latest updates at Cassandra Aston

Posted on

Book Spotlight Thursday DF: The Mark of Dreams and Darkness by Arabella K. Federico

A double-feature spotlight! I could not let this one get away! The cover drew me in to want to pick it up. As a bonus, there is to be a special hardcover edition upon release, too, which is just as alluring!

The Mark of Dreams and Darkness


Expected Publication Date: September 16, 2023

Genre: NA Fantasy w/ Sci-Fi Elements


“Am I a good person?”

After the devastating events of the Titan Games finale, Karalevine Ruzz and her Starseed family find themselves in a panicked frenzy to get their fellow Starseed teammate back from the clutches of the vicious Arianyte Empire. The prince, Malakyte Ardeen, hasn't stopped his relentless search for Kara, determined to make her his no matter the cost.

Haunted by the certain doom of her fellow Starseed, Kara makes a fateful decision –to enter the lethal Titan Games, a merciless competition where the stakes are life and death. The prize? A face-to-face reunion with her captured friend and the chance to confront the very enemy that threatens Earth’s very existence. With each step closer to her teammate's liberation and Earth’s freedom, the line between allies and enemies blurs with every heartbeat.

But the Titan Games are no ordinary contest, and its host is no mere prince. As Kara faces off against other deadly contenders, she simultaneously clashes with Malakyte in an entirely different arena–a battleground of the heart.

Amidst the heart-pounding action and pulse-racing intrigue, Kara finds herself at a crossroads. Good versus evil, nurture or nature, redemption and fate. Will she succumb to the darkness within her heart, or will she hold fast to the better nature she strives to embody?

Special Edition Cover

Along with the regular release, there will be a RARE AMAZON EXCLUSIVE Special Edition Naked Hardcover featuring special INKED edges printed directly onto the paper (these are not sprayed edges.). These will be LIMITED 1st edition, and only 1,000 copies will be available.

“The Mark of Dreams and Darkness” is the spellbinding sequel to the award-winning and bestselling novel “The Mark of Chaos and Creation.” A tale of forbidden love, pulse-pounding action, and the indomitable spirit of a heroine torn between duty and the tumultuous darkness of her heart. Will Kara unravel the mysteries that entwine her fate and bring about freedom, or will she succumb to the allure of a love that should be her downfall?

Prepare yourself for an enthralling journey where love and danger collide, and nothing is as it seems. Arabella K. Federico delivers a masterfully crafted tale that will leave you breathless, captivated until the final page, and yearning for more.

Add to Goodreads

AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 16th

AVAILABLE NOW

The Avengers meets Sailor Moon meets Arcane League of Legends in this mind-bending mashup of fantasy and science fiction in which a young woman must fight and lie and do whatever it takes to secure the thing she wants most: revenge. If you’re in the market for something different on your bookshelf yet keep the familiar tropes you love in fantasy fiction, like enemies to lovers, forced proximity, fated mates, and found family, you’ll obsess over The Mark of Chaos and Creation until the very last page.

Where do you draw the line between fighting for the greater good and vengeance?

Available on Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

22370532

My name is Arabella K. Federico, and I am a passionate debut author. My YA novels explore the Sci-Fi and fantasy genres with a mind-bending metaphysical twist you’ll never see coming. Let’s just say nobody writes like Arabella.

If you want something different-yet with familiar tropes you crave-I’m your next favorite author. Don’t let the indie author thing fool you; my debut novel, “The Mark of Chaos and Creation,” was professionally edited by a talented industry pro who’s one of the developmental editors on Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, as well as Tricia Levenseller’s Daughter of the Pirate King duology, and literally hundreds more traditional and indie books that are best-sellers.

As an author, coach, and teacher of all things writing craft, I hope to take my amazing readers on a ride they won’t soon forget. Storytelling is my passion. It lights me up like Christmas day and makes me more giddy than it probably should. Writing stories is my destiny, and I hope every new reader whose adoration I gain joins Arabella’s Army and follows me down the path of taking over the world. Because women who follow the status quo typically never break it, and over here, we shatter expectations.

Follow Arabella at Arabella K. Federico