Joining with Bursting Bookshelf Blog today we are spotlighting The Fortunate Fall by Olivia Almagro.
Rachel Gibbs closes a major chapter in her life and embarks on a promising new career as Media Liaison and Spokesperson at the Empowerment Agency. Yet, a year after being on the job, Rachel discovers her power-hungry boss and CEO of the agency, Roger Williams, is a total nightmare.
Roger Williams stands tall at the top, destroying the livelihoods of anyone who dares to stand up to him, even sabotaging Rachel’s work at every turn. William’s cruel actions catch up to him, when his neglectful and thieving ways become the focus of an FBI investigation.
Jennifer, a disgraced ex-employee, and her former assistant, Michelle, become embroiled in Williams’ war against the Feds and his enemies.
Some will do anything to come out on top, while others become unwitting victims in a war they can’t avoid, and a seemingly inscrutable Williams will stop at nothing to ensure his own survival.
The whirlwind of love, friendship, and infidelity complicating each character’s personal life is nothing compared to the inevitable hurricane of danger that threatens to destroy them completely.
Available in paperback and on Kindle!
Here is what readers are saying.
“I loved this book! I felt a strong connection to all of the characters. – Kimberly B.
“SO INTENSE AND FULL OF DRAMA!!!” – Tiffany
“A must-have on your bookshelf!!!”- Ivette R.
“This is book is definitely a book you can finish in a day or two because you will not want to put it down.” – TCB
Check out this timeless music that brings scenes to life and captures the essence of the characters in the Fortunate Fall.
AUTHOR BIO
Olivia Almagro hails from Hartford, CT. She currently lives in Miami, Florida, where she is the founder and principal owner of O+ Media Group. She is a public relations consultant, writer, digital content producer, and adjunct professor. She has been recognized for several awards, including an Outstanding Women of America Award, Hartford Courant’s Best Letters to the Editor of the Year Award 2008, and an Unsung Hero Award. Olivia Almagro is co-producer for the award-winning 70 Years of Blackness: The Untangling of Race and Adoption. She holds a B.A. in Mass Media Arts from Morris Brown College in Georgia and an M.S. in Management from Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut.
It’s the NEW YEAR again! Time for the new you, and you swear you will get in shape. Why not help yourself along the way with TRIM™ by Sun Med.
CBD For Weight Loss
Introducing TRIM ™, a new weightless supplement that helps you lose weight and feel good about it because it is all-natural.
What is TRIM™?
TRIM™ is a new product that features THC-V, a compound found in the versatile Hemp plant that is discovered to help suppress your appetite naturally. Wait for what? THC? Isn’t that…? Yes, but no. Well, let’s have a science breakdown.
THC VS THC- V
THC and THC-V, what’s the difference? Not much, but a whole lot just by one little molecule change. One turns on our appetited receptors (i.e., the case of the munchies) while the other has been found to suppress it. You see, THC and THC- V are cannabinoids. We have cannabinoid receptors in certain parts of our brain. When THC enters, it attaches to these receptors and activates them. In the THC-V case, deactivate. Let’s break it down further.
• THC Also called THC Delta 9, THC D-9 is the cannabinoid that binds with our cannabinoid receptors in the brain, turning on and stimulating the appetite part of our brain. • THC-V Does the same binding with our cannabinoid receptors, but instead of stimulating the appetite, it has been discovered it can turn it off, thus helping to suppress our appetite.
Does TRIM ReallyWork?
Human clinical studies have been done spanning 13weeks, and the study results showed success which they displayed prominently on their product box and website. Intrigued to find out for me, I conducted a 30-day trial. I had nothing to gain and a lot to lose if you get my meaning. To get you started TRIM comes in either tincture drops or capsule form.
I took the capsules while my husband joined me, taking the tincture drop. To be honest, I was skeptical. I really did not change the way I ate, but I did incorporate exercise as I do 16 minutes on the stationary bike a day for my therapy. I have fibromyalgia and spinal stenosis in my upper spine and lower. Toss in arthritis too, and you get my health and weight condition. Cravings were really not my issue in that my issue is more stress eating. Could TRIM™ help?
Results
Going in with a let’s see what happens mindset, it took a week to realize, wow, this does work! I would eat breakfast at 8 am then start my workday, soon realizing it is 2 pm, and I am now just realizing I am hungry. WHAT?! Geez! I’m usually hungry again by 10 am, but I hold off till noon for a lunch break. I am also guilty of going in for seconds at dinner. Oddly I found myself satisfied after dinner and saying no to seconds when asked if I wanted more. I don’t own a scale, but my clothes fit better,. The clothes don’t lie, and God forbid, I swear I noticed a little less stomach pooch in my stomach.
As for my husband, he took his at night to help quell him of the midnight munchies. He, too, found himself surprised as he discovered it did help him slow down his late-night binge eating.
Healthy Weight Loss Pill
The joy in all this is that TRIM™ is good for your body with the boasted added benefits of helping reduce anxiety, improve better sleep along with possessing anti-inflammatory properties. To be honest, I did feel TRIM ™ helped with my inflammation too. All-natural, the ingredient label is small, and you will recognize every single one. The result is TRIM ™ does work and is a product I can get behind. For More Information, visit SUNMED to find a CBC store near you.
Sneaking in the last Indie review of the year with the hit Normandy Is My Name, which is a brilliant indie watch. I also have been thinking about creating a whole website devoted to my Indie film reviews as requests are pouring in from Indie filmmakers to review their films. Yay or Nay? Okay, read on!
Five teens are forced into a thirty-day digital detox. No cell phones, electronics, internet, or video games. Their lives will forever be changed.
All hail Normandy Is My Name! An absolute charm your pants off teen comedy-drama Normandy Is My Name will warm your heart, adding a surprising case of “the feels.”
The cast of Normandy Is My Name.
What happens when a group of parents decides their kids need a break from technology? They band together to hold a 30 day no phone, no internet, no video game detox. Now five teens that vaguely know each other than they attend the same school and that each of their dads plays community soccer together are forced together during the digital detox time and learn maybe technology is not all that grande.
Cory Cole
Winner of the Montreal International Wreath Awards Film Festival (2015) for best Cinematography (David Throckmorton) and winner of the Silver Screen Award at the Nevada International Film Festival Normandy Is My Name is written and directed by Jim Russell. Paying slight homage to The Breakfast Club, I still found Normandy Is My Name to be refreshingly original, and fun from the moment Normandy Meadow’s (Cory Cole) voice narration hits our ears. Cole leads this film and does a knockout performance, ultimately impressing so much to earn her a Best Actress in a Feature Film nomination at the MIWAFF (Montreal International Wreath Awards Film Festival).
David LaVota
David LaVota (Francois Butwipee) is another standout playing speedo yoga-loving Francois. Michael Derr (Buford Buckinham), Kimberly Chexnayder (Oliva Miller), and Nehemiah Deason(Bently Humphrey) also all do surprisingly well making you invested in each of their stereotypical characters of the jock, cheerleader, and rocker. Yet, evolving them into so much more that you find yourself liking even caring about them.
Left to Right David Lavota Michael Derr Kimberly Chexnayder and Nehemiah Deason
Normandy is My Name will take you totally by surprise and is a complete feel-good movie to enjoy, with a hidden message of the classic old saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” as each teen discovers each one is more than what they appear. Normandy Is My Name is way more than it appears as well. Hit that play button and watch; you just might be amazed. I know I was.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Joining with R&RBookTours once again to bring you good tidings full of mystery and suspense in this gritty noir mystery Stranger’s Kingdomby Brandon Barrows. As a gift read on to find out how you can enter to win a $20.00 gift card from Amazon.
Stranger’s Kingdom
Publication Date: August 25th, 2021
Genre: Mystery/ Suspense
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Politically blacklisted detective Luke Campbell’s last chance in law-enforcement is a job with the police department of rural Granton, Vermont. It’s a beautiful town, home to a beautiful, intriguing girl who’s caught his eye, and it’s a chance at redemption. Even if his new boss seems strange, secretive, and vaguely sinister, Campbell is willing to give this opportunity a shot. And no sooner does he make that decision than the first in a series of murders is discovered, starting a chain of events that will change the lives of everyone in this once-quiet town…
The tall bag of bones swung a vicious right that seemed to whistle in the stillness of the thin night air, scraping through the empty space between my chin and throat, just barely avoiding contact with flesh. Seemingly in the same motion, as if using the momentum from his swinging fist, he turned and dashed off into the dim recesses of the alley he’d been hanging around the mouth of — for hours, if Rosalie Stompanato was to be believed. I had no reason to doubt her.
“Police! Get back here!” Shouting was pointless, but I had to try. I gave chase to the already- vanished figure, plunging after him into the deeper darkness between two aging apartment houses. My fist, which I only then realized I was making, unclenched and I reached for the holster under my left shoulder, muttering, “God damn it.”
It was pushing midnight and in just over nine hours, both Rosalie Stompanato and I were due in court for the attempted murder trial of her mid-level racketeer husband, Thomas “Tommy Stomper” Stompanato. Stompanato, loosely connected to the much larger Castella crime organization, had been on a lot of people’s radars for years, for everything from small-time protection rackets to credit card scams and money laundering for bigger outfits. Major investigations by Albany city police, New York state police and even federal authorities produced charges and convictions against numerous Stompanato pawns, and even a couple of lieutenants, but Tommy Stomper himself somehow always remained clean enough to skate away. It took a domestic situation, a middle of the night, literal knock- down-drag-out in which he pulled Mrs. Stompanato out of their lavish home in suburban Malta and, according to witnesses and Rosalie herself, tried to remove her teeth with the aid of a conveniently placed curb. “Stomper” wasn’t just a clever play on his family name.
When I got the tip about a disturbance at the Stompanato residence from a state-trooper friend, I couldn’t help being just a bit grateful for this bit of rage-fueled stupidity. The man had been so clever for so long that it looked like he’d never fuck up, that we’d never find the crack that would pull open his operation and let us drag him out into the light. For Rosalie Stompanato, it was a nightmare, but a lot of us who were after her husband felt gratitude and guilt in equal measures. One woman’s nightmare was a godsend for multiple agencies.
After the incident, Rosalie Stompanato moved out of her stylish home in nearby Malta to a small apartment in the area where she grew up, inside the city proper. Family and friends she knew there were long gone, but the return to a familiar place apparently brought a measure of comfort. It was understandable and it made both the county prosecutor’s work in prepping her for the trial, and my department’s in protecting her, that much easier. Despite the charges against him, not to mention his associations, Stompanato made bail and his organization worked on. With a trial looming over his head, but no date set, the mobster seemed to keep his nose relatively clean, knowing the state’s attorney would be more than happy to tack additional charges onto the list he was already facing. That and time, as weeks became months, allowed Rosalie Stompanato to make a life for herself unmolested.
“At least the kids are already grown and out on their own,” Rosalie told me once, in a private moment. “If this happened ten years ago…” She broke down without finishing, but I knew what she was thinking.
I kept in regular touch with her after that, partially because I felt she needed the support, but also hoping to pick up something that would further widen the chink in Tommy Stomper’s armor. She seemed to be doing as well as could be expected. She was even starting to feel safe again, she told me — until the night before the trial finally began.
It was past eleven o’clock when I received the woman’s call; I’d given her my home number and told her to call any time, for any reason. She noticed a figure, she said —a tall, gangly man she didn’t remember ever seeing in the neighborhood before, who spent hours standing in the mouth of the alley directly across from her apartment.
“It’s probably nothing,” I told her, as much to convince myself. Tommy Stomper proved he wasn’t stupid, but with so much riding on the events of the next day, maybe he was becoming desperate. “But I’m happy to check it out.”
When I arrived on Rosalie’s street, fifteen minutes after her call, I saw exactly who she was worried about and exactly why. He stood just outside the circle of light cast by a streetlamp, hanging around the mouth of an alley. I watched for a few minutes and he did nothing at all — not so much as light a cigarette, shuffle his feet or cough. He wasn’t worried about seen.
I exited the vehicle and approached.
Closer up, I could see he was a sickly thin young man, skin so pale it almost seemed to glow in the dimness. He wore a faded blue hooded sweatshirt that hung from him like laundry on a line and his hair was short, mussed and unwashed, making it look like blond barbed wire. I’d have bet his diet consisted largely of amphetamines.
The guy’s eyes, watchful and wary, scanned me as I approached. I flashed my badge and said, “Evening.” That was all it took. Those animal-alert eyes went wide and his fist swung out in an arc and then he was gone, rabbiting towards the nearest hole.
My feet pounded the pavement, echoing sharply in the narrow, trash-strewn space, all senses searching for signs of the danger I was rushing headlong into. Light beckoned from a short distance and after a moment, I burst out into the next street. Even the soft yellow glow of sodium lamps seemed brilliant after the pitch-dark of the alley and, as my eyes adjusted, I turned left then right, spotting a figure disappearing around the corner. I followed, telling myself I was being stupid, telling myself I should go back to Rosalie Stompanato’s, make sure she was all right, call it in, ask for additional officers, all while my feet took me closer to where I saw that retreating form.
I turned the corner, saw a flash duck around yet another corner. At the mouth of the alley, I allowed myself an instant’s rest before entering. Even from the street, it was clear this was a dead-end. There was nothing but darkness down this brick corridor — the alley was blocked up midway down.
I drew my weapon, fumbled in my coat pocket for my penlight, flicked it on, then aimed it and the weapon down the length of the alley, sweeping the narrow width of the space.
“C’mon out. There’s nowhere left to go.”
My heart pounded in my chest and there was a stitch in my side, but I felt good all the same.
Stompanato’s intimidation failed, and I caught his crony in the act. Witness tampering charges would be a bonus year or two on Stompanato’s sentence.
There was a rustle behind a pile of discarded cardboard boxes. “Let’s go,” I commanded. “Now.”
The figure rose like a scarecrow in a concrete field, arms lifted in a half-hearted pose of surrender. I flicked the flashlight’s beam upwards; he shied away, blinded by the brilliance, his head turning and one arm flying up to protect his eyes. I shifted the light so I could hold both it and my weapon in my right hand then started forward, plucking a pair of handcuffs from my pocket. With my left hand, I reached for the man’s wrist. Up close, I could see he was barely more than a kid.
“You’re under arrest for disobeying a lawful command, resisting an officer and—” I never got to finish.
The fist I’d narrowly avoided before thrust out again, catching me hard in the right shoulder, a wave of pain and shock jolting down the length of my arm. He was a lot stronger than his frailness suggested. He followed up with a two-handed push that sent me spinning off to one side, banging my other shoulder off of the rough stone wall of the alley, before rushing past, trying again to escape.
I threw out a hand, grabbing a fistful of his sweatshirt. It stopped him, but only long enough for him to half-turn and chop an open-handed blow down onto my elbow. Fresh pain skittered along my nerves, but I didn’t let go, instead raising my right hand, only to discover it was empty. Somewhere in those chaotic two or three seconds, I dropped my gun.
I cursed and struggled for a better grip on the kid’s clothing. He was thrashing wildly, yelling, “Let go! Let go!” his voice shrill and his mind going into panic mode. The decision between fight or flight was no longer his to make, but it seemed as if he was trying to choose both options simultaneously.
“Settle down! Cut it out, God damn it!” I snarled, freeing one hand to cuff him alongside the back of the neck, trying to startle him into a semblance of calm. “Nobody’s going to hurt you, but you’re digging yourself one hell of a hole!”
He ignored the words and continued to flail around. I tried to tackle him around the waist and ended up dragging both of us down to the filthy floor of the alley, where we rolled around for a few seconds, trading a punch a two. We were making enough noise that lights in the surrounding buildings came on. I hoped someone would have the sense to call 911, but even if they did, I knew nobody would arrive soon enough to help me get out of this. I was on my own.
Just as the thought flew through my head, the kid stopped moving. I allowed myself to hope he was coming to his senses at last. Then his hand shot out, straining to reach beyond my head, and when it came back into view, his fingers were wrapped around a chunk of brick the size of a small loaf of
bread. He reared up, holding the thing above his head, prepared to end things between us. In the scant light of the nearly forgotten flashlight, his eyes looked huge and empty.
My own eyes flew all around, frantic, searching for a way out. The other man was straddling my chest and his knees kept me effectively pinned to the ground, but my arms were free and my fingers scrabbled across the rough, cold ground, searching for something, anything, to break this deadlock. They closed around something even colder, something metallic and familiar.
As the brick came down, my fist came up, and the explosion of noise and light only inches from my face all but knocked me senseless.
Brandon Barrows is the author of the novels STRANGERS’ KINGDOM, BURN ME OUT, and THIS ROUGH OLD WORLD. He has published over seventy stories, selected of which are collected in the books THE ALTAR IN THE HILLS and THE CASTLE-TOWN TRAGEDY. He is an active member of Private Eye Writers of America and International Thriller Writers and was a 2021 Mustang Award finalist.
In watching The Midas Touch, I deduced that a pack of horney women could be pretty dangerous. That aside, The Midas Touch is a complete reconstruction of the classic “King Midas” tale. We are introduced to shy, awkward Felix (Gino Wilson). Unlucky with the ladies and just life itself, Felix seems to be constantly reminded and teased every day by his lothario boss and co-workers. That is until he encounters a stranger at the bar who walks in with a flock of ladies adoring him. Seeing Felix admiring his way with the ladies, he strikes up a conversation saying Felix too can have all the women he wants just by touching them. He warns it is not all it’s cracked up to be, but he can pass this talent along. Felix, of course, jumps at the chance. As always, with great power comes great responsibility, but when Felix’s abilities catch the attention of the news, a cult leader, his boss, and their client, amusing debauchery ensues.
Gino Wilson and Noemi Domokos
Written, directed, and produced by Tilman Borck, he also stars playing the flamboyant gothic dressing female empowerment super guru savior Sviatoslav Rau who basically steals the show. When Borck is on the screen, the film is at its best. Borck is absolutely brilliant. All the humorous parts come from Borck and his Sidekick (Bernhard Bozian). Gino Wilson’s performance as Felix holds his own, though, as he makes Felix a likable character to follow. When we first met Felix, I loved how Borck had him dressed in tan drab colors. Then once he received the “Midas touch,” his wardrobe changed to a vibrant blue suit representing Felix’s change. Other honorable performances are Clayton Nemrow (Ron the Boss), Kate G. Lacy (Jane the Secretary), and Noemi Domokos (Sarah Walker).
Original Film Art
Borck creates a freshly entertaining slapstick comedy farce film that flows nicely. Filled with sex romp fun, I found Borck made it work, and I have never encountered that in a comedy farce film like The Midas Touch tries to be a part of. Borck does it right. He makes the use of nudity and sex to make absolute sense in a film, finally! In most cases, sex and nudity in comedy films seem forced and slipped in there being a bit gratuitous because sex sells. It is never really vital to the story’s plot. Here Borck weaves it lightly into his story. It is a part of the drive of the story. I say Tilman Borck definitely has the filmmaking touch.
The winter season approaches. I had the pleasure to sample a new skincare line by Starling Skincare. My skin is uber sensitive, and I’ve tried every claimed sensitive skin product under the sun only to still break out from it. What makes Starling so different? Read on to find out and see the fantastic results.
STARLING’S SUPER BOOS HYALURONIC SERUM
Starling’s Super Boost Hyaluronic Serum gives a super boost of hydration. It sinks in quickly and moisturizes deeply, leaving your skin plump and smooth all day.
Key ingredients include Organic Witch Hazel Water, Organic Olive Leaf Extract, Rosewater, Organic Glycerin, and Aloe Vera. Get ready to look in the mirror and say hello to bouncy, glowing skin!
My Results
The moment I applied this to my skin, my skin cells rejoiced. After just one application, I was stunned by how hydrated, soft and dewy my skin looked. My skin has NEVER been dewy! All while soothing the burning redness that was on my cheeks. No irritation at all!
THE TRUE TEST: The 7 Day Trial
Sure, my skin felt wonderful after just one use! Starling Hyaluronic Serum/Super Boost was not out of the woods yet. I did a full 7-day product trial. To start, since my skin was crying out to me, I used the Hyaluronic Serum twice a day. Once in the morning and then at night. I then reduced it to just using it only in the morning. You squirt 1 to 2 pumps in your hand and pat all over your face gently. You are to even go under your eyes. I was starting to notice darkening and puffiness under my eyes too late, and I think the serum helped with that too.
After using Starling Hyaluronic Serum/ Super Boost, I found I had
No more pain when I smiled due to dry, cracked skin.
Redness and burning feeling reduced.
No more flakey skin
Make-up goes on smoother
My Husband NOTICED!
My Rating ********** 10/10 stars
REVIEW: Starling Lip Quencher (Strawberry)
This bright shimmery pink tone delivers a profoundly moisturizing, long-lasting, and healing lip balm that’s packed with good-for-you lips organic oils and botanicals. Super creamy and emollient. It will nourish, repair, and plump dry lips. The moisture barrier created by this balm stays in place. You’ll reapply less. Your lips will naturally become healthier.
My Results
Upon application, I swear my dry lips sang in rejoice. Dry lips have been a bane of my existence too, and when your husband kisses you and starts to complain, you know you got to do something, but nothing seems to solve it! That is until I met Starlings Super Lip Quencher. I got the strawberry, but there is no smell or taste to it. The strawberry has a hint of a pink tone that turned my dry grey, dull-looking lips back to looking plump and natural!
THE TRUE TEST: The 7-day Trial
Does theSuper Lip Quench hold up, though? The answer is YES! At first, since my lips were so dry, I applied it throughout the day. It is small fits in your pocket, so it is easy to pull out and use. By the middle, I could reduce it to once in the morning and then once at bedtime. It was so lovely to wake up to moist smooth lips in the morning. Now when my husband kisses me, he is amazed at how smooth and soft my lips are. #husbandapproved!
Packed with all-natural ingredients like mango butter, beeswax, evening primrose seed oil, squalane (olive derived), castor seed oil, borage seed oil, rosehip seed oil, raspberry seed oil, calendula oil, vitamin e (derived from sunflowers), titanium dioxide, mica, iron oxide, rose absolute. It is no wonder!
My rating *********** 10/10
Learn more about Starling Skincare at https://buystarling.com/They are currently offering 35% off your purchase. NO CODE IS NEEDED. FREE SHIPPING plus FREE samples with every order!
ABOUT STARLING SKINCARE
Created for those with allergies and sensitivities in mind, Starling Skincare has eliminated all common allergens, including nuts, gluten, soy, synthetic fragrance, and preservatives. The solution-focused formulations from Starling Skincare help eliminate sensitivity and redness, bringing skin back to optimal health. The line offers everyone an incredible array of balms, serums, cleansers, hand sanitizers, and deodorants.
Indie Book reviewer by day. I also moonlight as an Indie film reviewer by night. Read my latest review for The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater below!
With only 30 days to repay a massive loan, a disgraced art historian is forced into a scandalous scheme: win the heart of, and then extort, the Episcopal priest avoiding her like loose glitter. When she discovers him hiding the world’s greatest lost masterpiece, will she betray the heroic man who believes in her genius, or fall for him and doom herself to a custom pair of concrete stilettos?
Meet Ava Moriarty (Lorrisa Julianus), a former genius art historian and now a Diva Dominatrix who wants out. Partnering with her friend Gabe (Shannon Brown) on a business deal, this investment is Ava’s escape to happiness. Ava comes home from a hard day’s work to find her Russian mobster boyfriend (whom she refuses to admit is) is dumping her and wants the money he loaned her to invest with back. Oh, and that money is now gone along with their investor friend Lloyd who died of an unfortunate circumstance.
Bonus she’s got 28 days to deliver. What’s a girl to do?
Scene from The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater
When offered to exploit a local priest for precisely the amount she needs, she takes the offer. Ava, though decides to play detective to find out the why. Ava learns though the priest and she are not so unlike each other in this romantic comedy adventure.
Winner for Best Comedy at the Mile High International Film Festival (2020) and directed by C.J. Julianus, The Adventures of Mistress Maneater is a witty, charming high-end indie film. Polished and smooth, it is easy to watch. Lorrisa Julianus (Ava Moriarty) dominates (pun intended) being cast as the writer of the film as well. While a fun, sweet rom-com adventure on the outside, C.J. Julianus weaves in the message about self-worth and even self-forgiveness. We all see this through the characters of Ava, of course, and Pastor Radovan (Mickey O’ Sullivan). With Radovan, it is seen through his actions. For Ava, it is shown not much through her actions, but more so through her make-up and clothes. When we first meet Ava, she is black leather red lips and fierce. As the story progresses, her clothing and make-up become lighter and softer, just as Ava is becoming softer and learning her self-worth and finding her happiness.
I am not much of a rom-com fan, but I fell in love with this movie. It was intelligent, quick-witted, and will charm your pants off. You are grabbed at the first scene and held all the way through. Of course, making a film is a group effect, but having a great cast helps. The cast of Mistress Maneater is phenomenal. It’s the best indie cast I have ever seen so far. Everyone plays off each other, so naturally, helping emersed you in the story to feel and care about everyone.
The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater is available to watch on Amazon Prime and Tubi
Happy November to all! This Thursday’s spotlight is RECORDER by Cathy McCrumb. The first book in her Sci-Fi series, Children of the Consortium I am joined once again with R&R Book Tours to celebrate McCrumb’s release. Read on as well for how YOU can win a signed hardcover copy of the book!
Recorder
Publication Date: November 9th, 2021
Genre: Science Fiction/ Speculative Fiction
Publisher: Enclave
Children of the Consortium
When a research station goes dark and a rescue mission goes wrong, a young woman with no name, no family, no friends loses everything that defines her…
Donated to the Consortium before birth, the Recorder’s sole purpose is to maintain and verify the records. A neural implant and drone ensure compliance, punishing any display of bias.
Suddenly cut off from the technology controlling her, she tastes freedom and what it means to be human. But if the Consortium discovers her feelings, everyone she knows will be in danger.
With no name, no resources, and only an infinitesimal possibility of escape, the Recorder’s time is running out.
Excerpt
I did not have a name—none of us did—but once when I was young, I had a friend.
Early in my tenth year I slipped away from the other girls of my cohort. Their approved games did not interest me, and since I had fulfilled my physical activity requirements, I took refuge at my favorite place near the artificial brook.
Light sparkled on water rippling over smooth brown stones. Either the brook’s engineers or its gentle flow had sculpted rounded banks in the loam, and lavender and thyme grew between orange lilies. The self-pollinating plants bobbed and dipped in the breeze created by the giant fans in the lofty, domed ceiling. It was a close approximation of a real brook, from what I had read.
** HERE IS YOUR CHANCE! WIN A HARDCOVER COPY OF RECORDER SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR!at Rafflecopter giveaway**
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cathy graduated from Biola University with a degree in literature and a love for stories. She and her husband, whom she met while writing letters to soldiers, have five children and currently live within the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. While writing is one of her favorite things, she also enjoys reading, long hikes, long naps, gluten-free brownies, raspberries, and crocheting while watching science fiction movies with friends and family.
Trick or Treat? Well, here’s a treat! Joining with R&R Book Tours If gothic chills are more to your liking then look no further than The Resurrectionist by A.R. Meyering. A chilling take inspired by real-life events.
The Resurrectionist “Inspired by the true story of the Burke and Hare murders”
Publication Date: July 3rd, 2020
Genre: Supernatural/ Horror/ Fantasy/ Based on Real Life Characters
Scotland, 1854
On a skinny, forgotten road in Edinburgh stood a shop without a name—a shop that could be found only if one had previously been led to its door. William, who was blind, rapped his knuckles on the door. The shop owner opens the door and says, “I recognize you. You’re the thief who slithered away while your partner swung by his neck.”
William begs the woman to break the curse that has been set on him that prevents him from dying. The curse, says the woman, cannot be broken, but it can be displaced. Is your death so precious to you that you would destroy one more innocent life to get it? The life of your own child?”
London 1895
In 19th century Scotland surgeon Edgar Price has only days to live. He has become host to a revenant that will corrode both his body and soul. Edgar’s fatal mistake has not only doomed him, but also released six more of these malignant wraiths onto the world. In his remaining time, he has vowed to stop the revenants from claiming other victims. His perilous travels lead him to the Witches’ Wood, a haven for a sisterhood of powerful enchantresses. There he meets Ainsley, who is also racing against the clock to save her life and will go to any lengths to spare the life of her lover Colleen from the grief of losing her. Despite their mutual dislike, Edgar and Ainsley find that the only way to traverse the twisted, otherworldly labyrinths that the revenants have created is to work together. Their mission becomes further complicated when Edgar begins to develop feelings for Fana, the guardian goddess of the Wood in spite of Ainsley’s forbidding warnings to stay far away from her.
Though THE RESURRECTIONIST is a work of fantasy, many of the settings and elements are based on fact. Horror and fantasy intermingle in this novel inspired by the true story of the Burke and Hare murders.
From 1828-29, Irish immigrants William Burke and William Hare were responsible for the murders of sixteen people in Edinburgh. Their methods generally involved luring a victim to Hare’s boardinghouse, where they plied them heavily with alcohol before suffocating them. They were motivated by greed, selling the corpses of their victims to a local surgeon, Robert Knox. Each victim was publicly dissected, and Dr. Knox is largely thought to have been complicit in the crimes.
During their ten-month killing spree, William Hare’s common-law wife, Margaret Laird, was pregnant with their child. Hare was pardoned for his crimes due to his confession and condemnation of his accomplice Burke, who was hanged and publicly dissected as punishment.
After being pardoned, Hare, Margaret, and their infant are thought to have escaped to Ireland. It also has been rumored that William Hare was thrown into a lime pit and subsequently suffered blindness before becoming a beggar. The victims in THE RESURRECTIONIST are also based on real-life people.
Reminiscent of Tess Gerritsen’s The Bone Garden, THE RESURRECTIONIST explores a real-life horror story through a riveting supernatural thriller that is guaranteed to hook readers from the very first page.
A.R. Meyering was a graduate student studying philosophy. She has worked as an English teacher in a small town in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. Her dark fantasy novel, Unreal City, won a Literary Classics International Book Award gold medal for YA horror and a Moonbeam Award bronze medal in YA horror. While doing her undergrad in English she studied abroad in Edinburgh, focusing on Scottish occult literature and folklore.
Halloween is this Sunday so we can’t let October go by without highlighting this new twisted release I found. So, in joining with R&R Book Tours let’s dive for a sinister good book release time!
Pretty Deadly
Publication Date: October 26th, 2021 (TODAY 🎉)
Genre: Dark Fantasy/ Fairytale Retelling (Not YA)
Cinna would quite literally kill for the throne.
She’s spent years forced to serve her wealthy cousins rather than attend society events alongside them, waiting for the chance to prove herself and exact revenge. When a ball is announced at the castle, promising to bring many powerful people to town, she seizes the opportunity to strike.
She bets her best friend, a small-time thief and con-man, that she can land a greater score the night of the ball than he can. They embark on parallel heists. But as their plots unfold, things begin to unravel: by the end of the night, the castle’s on lockdown, a duchess is dead, a mansion has burnt to the ground, and Cinna hasn’t stolen anything. Or has she stolen something more valuable than gold and jewels?
Excerpt
How interesting, Cinna thought. She had spent so many hours bent over a stove in the kitchen or crouched before the hearth, stoking flames carefully that refused to light. But she had prepared: this house was waiting tinder, ready to be consumed.
She couldn’t hear the screams over the roar of the flames, but surely they were there. Strangely, she didn’t feel cheated to have not heard their voices. It was fine that they died in silence.
It did not take long for the neighbors to begin streaming out of their own houses, and she did hear their screams. They swarmed around the flames, politely mute once they realized they could not do anything, full of awe before the enormity of the fire. Cinna blended into the crowd, nearly invisible in her costume. At last, just as she had always pledged she would, she watched the house fall in on itself.
I am a software engineer and author living and working in Silicon Valley, California. I studied computer science at Stanford University, but I’ve always loved stories in all their forms. I approach writing fiction the same way I approach writing code: I like to know where it’s going, but I want to figure out the details as I go along. Good software is a lot like a good story, full of neat and clever solutions to tricky problems, beautiful at a granular level but also from a distance.
Originally from Seattle, I love getting outdoors and living in places that allow me to escape to the mountains on the weekends, and I care deeply about the ecosystems that humans impact and that impact us. My writing explores these issues while also following classic coming-of-age arcs in science fiction and fantasy. I’m also very interested in stories and characters that complicate the traditional and familiar, leading me to fairytale retellings from unexpected angles.
Freelance Writer Janny(Jan Marie)C 