Wednesday, September 30, 2015

M.K. Theodoratus - Vengeance - PROMO Blitz



Historical Fantasy
Date Published: Revised August 2015

 photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png

After four centuries of political infighting with Linden, the ruler of the Marches, all Mariah wants is a little peace and quiet. Then, privateers attack her daughter's family, leaving Norerah at death's door. Mariah’s anger boils over. Ashton, her ring-mate and Linden’s half-brother, and Mariah seek vengeance, ignoring Linden’s decrees, only to discover a strange magic that threatens everything the three hold dear.




EXCERPT

Linden, the Lord High Commander of the Marches, strode across the main healing hall of the southern district, where Mariah was helping that day. One of the healers had had a family emergency, and the lead healer had called Mariah to replace him. She now stood by the door leading into the private consulting rooms, feeling the heat of his anger. The veins bulged in Linden’s neck as his face reddened when he saw her standing by the interior door. Mariah unhooked her thumbs from her honor belt and crossed her arms over her chest, ready to withstand his tirade, though she did not know what had angered him this time.

Halting in the middle of the room, Linden’s growled words boomed through the waiting room. “Stop interfering in my business, woman.”

The ruler’s head lowered as if he were a bull readying for the change. The people, waiting to consult with the healers, shrank away though both combatants were unarmed except for their boot knives used mostly for eating.

Mariah’s dark eyes blazed. Though she no longer wore her sword and seldom visited his ranger camp, Mariah still dressed in warrior's breeches, unlaced shirt, and knee-high boots, much as he did. Only her honor belt differed, displaying healer's insignia on its interlocking buckles, though the belt itself was embossed with as many death stars as his.

Biting her lip, Mariah longed for Linden’s younger version. The angry, stocky man had swallowed the slim, hesitant youth, who had once shared her bed with his half-brother long years ago. Linden pushed forward until his large nose almost touched hers, bringing his sharp elven teeth close enough to bite. The heat of his anger brushed against her tan skin. Mariah tensed, ready to defend all in the room.

The air in the public area crackled as elven shields snapped into place.

The common Half-Elven patients and their families cowered against the walls. The audience’s eyes rolled like nervous horses, fearing what powers the combatants might unleash. Mariah's skin itched from the static raised as the watchers pulled what energy they could from the air to strengthen their protective shields. But she focused her attention on the ruler who had once been one of her closest friends.



About the Author


Long time fantasy reader and non-fiction writer, M. K. Theodoratus now writes about elves, mages, demons, and other preternatural creatures. While she mostly writes to amuse herself, she's willing to share her stories.

Contact Links



Purchase Links


Giveaway
$5 Amazon Gift Card



 photo readingaddictionbutton_zps58fd99d6.png

Monday, September 28, 2015

EXCERPT * STOP THE DIET, I want to get off! By LISA TILLINGER JOHANSEN

 
 LISA TILLINGER JOHANSEN is a Registered Dietitian who counsels clients on a wide range of health issues. Her debut nutrition book, Fast Food Vindication, received the Discovery Award (sponsored by USA Today, Kirkus and The Huffington Post).  She lives in Southern California. 
 
 

The Paleo.  The Zone.  The Gluten-free.  Another day, another diet.  We’re caught in a never-ending merry-go-round of weight loss plans, fueled by celebrity endorsers, TV doctors and companies angling for a piece of a $60 billion industry.  But do these diets really work?  And how healthy are they?

Registered Dietitian Lisa Tillinger Johansen examines dozens of the most wildly popular diets based on medical facts, not hype.  And along the way, she reveals tried-and-true weight loss strategies, relying on her years of hospital experience, weight-loss seminars and community outreach efforts.  With insight and humor, Stop The Diet, I Want To Get Off shows that the best answer is often not a trendy celebrity-endorsed diet, but easy-to-follow guidelines that are best for our health and our waistlines.

 
The idea for this book began at a wedding.
Who doesn’t love a good wedding? The clothes, the flowers, the romance, the food…
Ah, the food. As we moved into the banquet hall for the reception, the culinary feast was on everyone’s minds. It was all anyone seemed talk about. But for some reason, guests weren’t conversing about the dishes being served; they were swapping stories of diets they had heard about from friends, magazine articles, even celebrities on talk shows.
I’m a registered dietitian with a master’s degree in nutritional science and years of clinical and health education experience. I’ve counseled thousands of patients and clients on all of these diets. But hearing the guests only momentarily distracted me from my horrible faux pas of wearing white (gasp!) to a friend’s wedding.
“I’m on the Blood Type Diet,” said a woman with an impossibly high bouffant hairdo. “You’ve heard of that, haven’t you? It’s the one where you choose your foods based on your blood type. I’m an AB, so I’ll be having the fish.”
“Really?” her friend replied. “I swear by the gluten-free diet. I’m on it, my daughter’s on it, and my granddaughter’s on it.” I happened to know her granddaughter was six and didn’t have a gluten sensitivity or celiac disease.
Then there was the stocky guy who was trying to impress one of the bridesmaids. “I’m a paleo man myself,” he said, piling his plate high with beef kebabs. “It gives me more stamina, know what I mean? It puts me in touch with my inner caveman. There’s a restaurant near my apartment that’s paleo friendly. Maybe we can grab a bite there sometime, or… Hey wait, where are you going?”
And there were three Weight Watchers sisters who typed furiously on their phones and argued over their meals’ point values. Apparently there was some discrepancy between their various apps, and the sisters’ discussion was becoming more heated by the moment.
I’m past the point of being surprised by the wide range of weight-loss strategies—some worthless, some crazy, some quite reasonable—being tossed around. In the last few years, there has been a tidal wave of diets washing up on the shores of our nutritional consciousness. Celebrities prance across our screens, promoting a variety of weight-loss schemes on talk shows and infomercials. Medical doctors star in their own syndicated television programs, exposing millions to weight-management techniques, often unsupported by medical research. Other diets get traction on the Internet, racing all over the globe in social media posts, YouTube videos, and often unwanted spam e-mails. And it’s hard to walk past a shopping center vitamin store without being approached by salespeople trying to pitch the latest weight-loss supplements. It seems that everyone wants a piece of the pie; the American diet industry tops $60 billion annually.
It’s classic information overload. You can’t blame people for being confused by all the diets out there, even as crazy as some of them may sound. I didn’t speak up to my fellow wedding guests that day, but it occurred to me they would benefit from science-based facts about the diets they so ardently follow.
So during the toasts, I thought to myself, I should write a book.
I counsel clients on these matters each week, giving them information they need to make the best choices for their health and waistlines. I find that all too often there are issues with the diets presented to me in my counseling sessions and classes. They just plain don’t work, particularly over the long term. And some of them are harmful, even potentially lethal. But it’s also unhealthy to carry extra weight on our frames. So how do we separate good diets from the bad?
In the chapters to come, we’ll take a good, hard look at the various weight-loss plans out there. I’ll pull no punches in my professional evaluation of some of the most wildly popular diets, both bad and good, of the past few years. And along the way, I’ll explore tried-and-true strategies for losing weight, based on my years of hospital experience, weight-loss seminars, and community outreach efforts. More often than not, the best answer is not a trendy celebrity-endorsed diet, but instead a few easy-to-follow guidelines that I’ve seen work in literally thousands of cases.
Enough is enough. It’s time for the madness—and the diets—to stop. 

 
 
Contact Information
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

#INTERVIEW #BIDDU and Made in India #Giveaway

As a child, Biddu dreamt of going west and making it big as a composer. At the age of sixteen, he formed a band and started playing in a cafe in Bangalore, his home town, At eighteen, he was part of a popular act at Trinca's, a nightclub in Calcutta devoted to food, wine and music, At nineteen, he had college students in Bombay dancing to his music. 

In his early twenties, he left the country and ended up hitchhiking across the Middle East before arriving in London with only the clothes on his back and his trusty guitar. What followed were years of hardship and struggle but also great music and gathering fame. From the nine million selling "Kung Fu Fighting" to the iconic youth anthem of "Made in India" and the numerous hits in between. Biddu's music made him a household name in India and elsewhere.

In this first public account of all that came his way: the people, the events, the music tours and companies Biddu writes with a gripping sense of humor about his remarkable journey with its fairy tale ending. Charming, witty, and entirely likable, Biddu is a man you are going to enjoy getting to know.

Goodreads   ~  Amazon
 
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biddu·         Describe your writing in three words.
Light, breezy and interesting. (I hope!)
·         Do you have specific techniques you use to stay on track?
I’m pretty new at this gig, so don’t have any techniques for writing. Altho’ quite often I don’t write in sequence. 
·         What authors inspire or influence your work?
I am not an avid reader. Maybe one or two books a year, max. I loved Shantaram. Great prose and the blend of fiction and fact was truly engrossing.
·         Favorite snack when writing.
I hate to admit it, but I’m a junkie. (Food wise dude!) I crave crisps and biscuits.
·         Do you have a Muse?
No.
·         Who gets to read your drafts before they're published?
My wife. She’s one heck of a critic.
·         Share with us your biggest hurdles in the writing process?
I don’t suffer from writers block per se, but often if I’m on vacation , say in Ital or the States, you spend time sightseeing and visiting friends, shopping etc, ad working on the book is placed on the back burner. So when you come back home and decided to crack on with the book, the first day or two can be difficult.
·         What project(s) are you working on now?
The book I’m working on is a ‘who dunnit’ set in Spain. It’s a tough one, as I’ve never written in genre before. But, I’m keeping it fast paced, interesting and entertaining
·         Where can readers find you and your book(s) online?
Amazon.in, Amazon.uk, Amazon.com and Flipkart  Goodreads   ~  Amazon
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biddu
Biddu was born in India, where he started his career playing in a pop band whose influences lay in the classic repertoire of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Following his early success, he decided to hear West and move into the international music arena. He struck gold, signing the unknown Carl Douglas and producing "Kung Fu Fighting?" which went on to become a hit all over the world. He also wrote and produced hits for Tina Charles and soul legend Jimmy James.

 

Around this time, Biddu became involved in Indian music: he composed the cult "Aap Jaise Koi" for the film Qurbani which set a new landmark for sales in India He followed this up with a pop album, Disco Deewane, with Nazia Hassan, which became the largest selling pop album in Asian history, and was the first Indian album to hit the charts in fourteen countries. In 1995, Biddu wrote and produced the three-million-selling album Made in India with the singer Alisha Chinai. To date, Biddu has sold over thirty-eight million records worldwide.
 
 
 

 

 
I now had it all: a head full of hair, a lovely blonde girlfriend and a number one record. The only thing missing from this equation was money. Since leaving my job at the restaurant the previous month, I was living on my meagre savings. It’s uncanny how money slips away when you most need it and soon, I was down to my last five pounds. The rent was due every week and since I ate on a daily basis, there were food bills to pay plus other expenses that cropped up like unwelcome relatives. Luckily, this hit record would save me the embarrassment of penury. I had been through this cycle before and finally I could feel myself breaking free from the tentacles of indigence.

I was down to my last two pounds with my back against the wall, if not going through it, when I decided to go and see the record company about an advance on the record. I caught a bus to Oxford Street and wormed my way through the crowds of shoppers till I got to the office. I managed to see Roland Rennie, the gentleman who originally asked me to produce the record. He told me I would have to go see the managing director, Jeffrey Black, who was the head honcho at Polydor Records at that time, regarding monies and royalties. So I went across to Mr Black’s office and requested his secretary for a quick meeting. Ten minutes later, I was in Jeffrey Black’s expansive office.

He sat behind his desk and did not get up to greet me.

‘Yes?’ he said, looking up. Apart from a George Michael-like growth on his face, he looked a regular sort of guy. ‘How can I help?’

I told him I had produced the Tiger’s record, which had gone to number one in Japan, and showed him my copy of Billboard.

‘I’ve seen it,’ he said, not bothering to look at the magazine.

I also had with me a copy of the record, which credited my name as ‘producer’ on both the sleeve and disc.

‘I would like an advance of £100 against future royalties,’ I said in my best cut-glass accent.

‘All right,’ Jeffrey Black said, leaning back in his chair. ‘Can I see a copy of your contract?’

‘Contract,’ I exclaimed. A feeling of déjà vu set in, reminding me about the time when I was asked for a P45.

‘Yes, your producer’s agreement with us,’ he replied. ‘Have you got it?’

‘I’m afraid no one offered me a contract,’ I stuttered, meekly. ‘I don’t have one.’

‘If you don’t have a contract, I’m afraid I cannot give you an advance.’

There was a prolonged silence while my heart sank and then journeyed up to my throat.

‘Can I have fifty pounds?’ I gulped. It was all I could think of. ‘Listen, if you don’t have a contract, I cannot advance you any money. It’s as simple as that. I need proof. I’m sorry.’

 

It may have been simple, but this simpleton had not the brains, or even a replica of it, to ask for a contract when he made the record. Since none was offered at the time, the idea of a written agreement had not occurred to me.

I thrust the disc in front of him.

‘Here’s my name on it,’ I argued. ‘That’s proof isn’t it?’

He shook his head. ‘Listen, without a contract I cannot authorize a payment.’

‘Can I have ten pounds, please?’ I said, not wishing to sound desperate.

‘I cannot,’ he replied stubbornly.

‘Can I have five?’ A clear sign I was desperate but frankly I didn’t care if he knew. Of the two pounds I had when I’d left home, I’d already spent 50p on a Mars bar and the bus ticket. If there’s a word that’s more befitting than desperate, I was it.

He finally picked up the phone on his desk and spoke to his secretary outside. A spray of relief spread across my face. Maybe there is a God after all, I thought to myself.

‘Daphne,’ he said ‘change that booking for dinner from 8.30 to 9 p.m.’ He put the phone down and told me one last time he could not give me any money.

 
 
 

Saturday, September 26, 2015

THE WEDDING SWITCH by Sharon Kleve



 

 




Abby Blackwell runs a successful wedding planning business. She’s delighted when Derrick, her boyfriend of only a few short months proposes. Abby immediately accepts and dreams of the perfect wedding at the Rose Chalet. But, when Derrick with no explanation, pressures her to get married as soon as possible, she has to wonder why and drags her feet. 

Derrick Coltrane’s future rests on portraying a settled, respectable and married man. All he needs is a wife—now—and Abby fits the bill. She’s successful, smart, gorgeous, and would make the perfect corporate wife. He just needs to convince her to tie-the-knot by the end of the month to close the most important deal of his career. 

Hunter Price knows he’s made the biggest mistake of his life. Derrick, a friend from school, hires him to pretend he’s getting married, in an attempt to trick Abby into planning her own whirlwind wedding. Abby is selfless, sweet, tastes like sunshine, and belongs to someone else—and he just kissed her. 

Two grooms-to-be—one bride-to-be and one bridesmaid. Which couple will walk down the aisle to happily ever after?




My knees throbbed as I knelt on the cold tile of my bathroom floor. I should’ve folded up the bathroom mat or even grabbed a pillow for cushioning. But the discomfort in my knees was nothing compared to the shock of losing my engagement ring. During my after work frenzy of taking a shower, detangling my long hair, and zipping around my mouth with an electric toothbrush, my engagement ring slipped off the edge of the sink and was now somewhere deep in the drain’s belly. 

After the initial shock wore off, I sprinted to my computer, did a quick search, and then printed out step-by-step instructions from www.DoItYourself.com. The instructions were clear and concise. Surely, I could retrieve a ring.

One after another, I removed the collection of rarely-used items I’d tucked away under the sink. Nighttime cold medicine, an unopened pack of cotton swabs, fifteen bottles of assorted nail polish, three different kinds of shampoo and conditioner, and white fluffy cotton balls everywhere. It looked like they’d had a pillow fight under my bathroom counter.






Explore the Kindle Worlds Store for stories inspired by books, TV shows, and comics.
Click here for more information about Kindle Worlds.




Sharon Kleve was born and raised in Washington and currently lives on the Olympic Peninsula with her husband.

Sharon is a multi-published author of paranormal and contemporary romance. She loves romance. She loves reading romance, living romance, and especially loves writing about romance. She gets no greater feeling than watching her characters come alive in each other's arms. Most of all, she loves giving her characters the happily ever after they deserve—with a few bumps and bruises along the way.

One of her favorite things to do is pick-up a new book and sinking into the story, immersing herself in the emotions between the characters. She hopes to inspire her readers the same way her favorite authors inspired her.

When not writing, she can usually be found either curled up in her recliner with her cat and a good book, or in the kitchen baking sourdough bread or bagels.

    

facebook goodreads Twitter amazon

  





INFORMATION ABOUT LUCY KEVIN & THE BOOKS INSPIRED "THE WEDDING SWITCH"

The Wedding Gift (Four Weddings and Fiasco Series, Book 1) 

Lucy Kevin is the "sweet" pen-name of New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Bella Andre (who writes the #1 bestselling series about The Sullivans). Lucy Kevin books are fun, flirty and romantic--without the steamy scenes. 

BOOK DESCRIPTION: After Julie Delgado’s restaurant closes, she temporarily takes over the catering position at the Rose Chalet, a full-service San Francisco wedding venue. She plans to dazzle the bride and groom so the Chalet’s owner will keep her around, but fate has other plans for her when the bride’s brother shows up for the first food tasting. 

Andrew Kyle is not only the Cuisine Channel’s Edgy Eats host and chef, but his recent review of Julie’s restaurant was the final nail in its coffin. Once he meets Julie at the Rose Chalet, he’s certain she’s playing it safe. And he wants nothing more than to be the one to break her guarded passions loose. 

But despite the undeniable sparks between Julie and Andrew–and the fact that he seems to believe in her when no one else does–can she afford to be taking risks with her cooking, with her career…or with her heart? 

THE WEDDING GIFT is the first fun, sweet, and emotional contemporary romance in the Walker Island series from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Lucy Kevin. 

The "Four Weddings and a Fiasco" Series 

• Book 1: The Wedding Gift 

• Book 2: The Wedding Dance 

• Book 3: The Wedding Song 

• Book 4: The Wedding Dress 

• Book 5: The Wedding Kiss

Bio:

When Lucy Kevin released her first novel - SEATTLE GIRL - it became an instant digital bestseller. Her next two fun contemporary romance releases - SPARKS FLY and FALLING FAST - also appeared on many bestseller lists, climbing as high as #2. All of the books in her FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FIASCO series have debuted in the Top 10. Her books have been read by half a million people on their e-readers and the Washington Post has called her "One of the top digital writers in America." She is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller under another pseudonym.

If not behind her computer, you can find her reading her favorite authors, hiking, knitting, or laughing with her husband and two children.

Please visit Lucy through her website or on Twitter.


MoB Promos