Spotlight: Obstacles (Christopher Reardon)

Obstacles

by Christopher Reardon 

Paperback: 264 pages

Publisher: Alpha Wolf Publishing

October 1, 2013

ISBN-10: 0615897789

ISBN-13: 978-0615897783

A child will die. You're afraid to live. Would you go to all lengths to save him? Darkness knows no bounds, as Alcott, an African American doctor sees all too well. The man is petrified by death. His fragile existence rests at the mercy of the universe. This fact is far too much for him to handle. From unyielding nightmares to elevator terrors, he's lost in paranoia. 

Assigned to look after an ill child, Alcott's horrors only heighten. Gari is a nine-year-old boy with a fatal disease. He will surely pass on within the year. Alcott bonds with him more and more each day. Part of him knows this grim fate just isn't right. 

Alcott befriends a hospital patient. This lunatic forces him to lug home an ancient text on bringing back the dead. Despite the man's obvious dementia, Alcott attempts the scheme. Charging up a cliff, he recites the chant over ocean gusts. 

A god woman glides in from the horizon. She instructs Alcott on the trials to save Gari's life. These fearsome Obstacles require true strength. From battling sharks to wielding a flail, he must prove fortitude against genuine danger. Alcott decides his fate at this moment. 

Death's claws shall not grasp Gari's soul.

Kindle http://www.amzn.com/B00EVVIOSE

Paperback  http://www.amzn.com/0615897789

About the Author:

Christopher Michael Reardon is a writing fellow at a Michigan College where he's currently a student. He says you always learn something new about writing when tutoring other students. Reardon is always searching for exciting books to read, especially new authors. 

Reardon graduated with Honors from Lumen Christi High School in Jackson, Michigan. He's also an avid tennis player, being on the varsity tennis team for four years. He received the honor of most valuable player his senior year at number one and two singles.

Obstacles is Reardon's first novel. He says fantasy adventure books have always been an interest, because they challenge the mind and send you on an epic journey.

Amazon Author Page 

Email Chris! chrisreardon34@gmail.com

Facebook Chris! https://www.facebook.com/christopher.reardon.75

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18743462-obstacles?from_search=true

New Book: Rumors (A Lingering Echoes Novella by Erica Kiefer)

NEW RELEASE ALERT! FREE NOVELLA!

We are thrilled to announce the early release of Rumors, A Lingering Echoes Novella by Erica Kiefer. To make this event special, Rumors is currently available for FREE through Smashwords. We are working on reducing the price from $.99 to FREE on Amazon as well. Go get your FREE copy today! Rumors is a prequel to Lingering Echoes. 

New Adult Contemporary Romance

(Also Young Adult Appropriate.)

Allie Collins wants nothing more than to forget the past and move beyond the recent death of her beloved cousin. If only it were that simple.

Upon returning for her senior year of high school, rumors quickly spread about the tragic summer accident that left the school’s star athlete grieving in the shadows. Now, the last thing Allie wants is the limelight. But the relentless pressure for normalcy from her friends and family leaves her with no choice but to surrender. Rejoining her basketball team and spending time with popular boys might seem like the perfect senior year, yet Allie struggles to embrace this identity that once came so naturally.

With the help of a special teacher, she learns that some things cut so deep, the scar lasts forever. Sometimes you can't go back to the way things were, but must find the way to become who you are meant to be.

Still, tragedy is no stranger to Allie. As the gossip swirls, influencing Allie’s every decision, the events that unfold will draw readers into a well of emotion in Rumor’s, a Lingering Echoes Novella.

Rumor's is a prequel Novella to the best selling book: Lingering Echoes by Erica Kiefer.

After you've read Rumors, check out Lingering Echoes!

She's broken with guilt.

He harbors a chilling past.

It's safer if they keep their distance...

But, the echoes that linger connect them. 

Returning to Hidden Pines is the last thing Allie Collins wants to do during her final summer before college. For her, the family cabin she spent her youthful summers in, now holds a dark memory that has haunted her every day for the last year. 

While struggling to forget her past, Allie runs into Damien, a local rebel with secrets of his own. He's dark, dangerous and he keeps showing up when Allie least expects him to. She has every reason not to trust him. So why does she find herself opening up to him in a way she hasn't been able to with anyone?  

As pieces of Damien’s identity emerge, answers to a rumored mystery begin to unfold. By the time Allie unearths the secrets of Damien’s past, she realizes just how intricately they are connected. Now she is caught in a dangerous battle that threatens her life and those she loves.

About the Author: 

Erica Kiefer was born on Christmas Eve in Southern California to an American father whose ancestors arrived from Europe during colonial times and a Thai mother who moved to the US during high school. Adding to her rich and varied heritage, Erica grew up living abroad in Asia, including Taiwan, Fiji, Thailand and Indonesia. She gained a great respect for the beautiful mosaic of cultures found in various parts of the world. After graduating from International School Bangkok, she attended Brigham Young University in Utah, where she earned a degree in Recreation Therapy. Her career as a Recreation Therapist has allowed her to work with at-risk youth since 2007. 

Erica made the best decision of her life by marrying her husband in 2005 and is currently a mother of three, one of whom awaits her in heaven. Erica also loves singing, reading, writing and satisfying her sweet-tooth with chocolate-chip cookies. Playing collegiate rugby was one of the most memorable experiences of her life, thus far. 

Erica's first book, Lingering Echoes, was signed by Clean Teen Publishing and is scheduled to release in early November 2013. 

Want to READ MORE from Clean Teen Publishing? 

Check out our huge selection of amazing reads! There's sure to be something for every reader!

Review: Arcadia's Curse (Jesi Lea Ryan)

Arcadia Day was in no way prepared for the death of her twin sister in the first book of this series, Arcadia's Curse, nor was she prepared for empathic abilities to begin manifesting and generally ruining her day to day life. The battle to control her new extra sense hasn't gotten any easier in book two. Cady is struggling to get through one day at a time. School is a nightmare as the raging emotions of hundreds of teens scramble her ability to think. Hope comes in the form of an invitation to join a research group away from home that studies psychic phenomena. Ready to try anything, Cady agrees to go, but the experience turns out to have a darker side than she was ever expecting.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, so I was excited to get a copy of book two. Some of the great aspects from book one, like great characters that were easy to connect with and relate to definitely carried over into this book. I found myself going on an emotional roller coaster ride with Cady as she struggled to make it through each day, but Ryan manages to give readers a connection with every character, no matter how small of a part they play.

I was surprised by how much I sympathized with Cane (Cady's sister's ex-boyfriend who has developed strong feelings for Cady). I really found myself liking him and applauding his protectiveness of Cady. Bryan, who I loved in the first book got under my skin a little (as intended) when he began focusing too much on himself and not realizing how much Cady was being affected. The new characters Cady meets in association with the research program will pull readers in from the moment they meet them. Bastian, especially, will catch readers' attention with his troubled heart and damaged soul. I loved the relationship Cady and Bastian developed, bonding over their difficult experiences.

The storyline itself was expertly developed. The focus moved from Cady figuring out what was happening to her with the new abilities she was experiencing to learning how to live a normal life while experiencing more emotions than one person was meant to feel and process. The initial chapters deal with Cady trying to manage on her own, but she soon realizes it isn't working. Knowing who to turn to isn't easy though. Telling her best friend and her father about her abilities scares her more than she can admit, but when a friend she met online offers her a chance to leave home and really learn how to live as an empath without losing her mind, Cady doesn't see any other option.

I suppose it should be fitting that a story about an empath should be absolutely drenched in emotion, but I was still surprised by how much this story got to me. Cady personal struggle is enough on it's own to captivate readers. She is a wonderfully deep and soulful character. The emotional pull escalates, however, when Cady is drawn into and assignment for the company funding the research project and she finds herself locked up with the expectation to do as she is told. Cady is given no choice in her role in the assignment and it broke my heart to watch her nearly crumble in the face of such a terrible experience. Not many books make me cry, but this one did. I simply could not stop reading, hoping someone would get there in time to rescue Cady before there was nothing left to rescue. I don't have a single complaint about this book, and I would highly recommend it to just about any reader. I can't wait for the next book!

Arcadia’s Gift:

Amazon (e-book & paperback)

Audible (audio book)

iTunes (audio book)

Arcadia’s Curse:

Amazon (e-book & paperback)

Jesi Lea Ryan Jesi Lea Ryan grew up in the Mississippi River town of Dubuque, IA.

She holds bachelor degrees in creative writing and literature and a masters degree in business. She considers herself a well-rounded nerd who can spend hours on the internet researching things like British history, anthropology of ancient people, geography of random parts of the world, bad tattoos and the paranormal. She currently lives in Madison, WI with her husband and two fat kitties. 

Guest Post: Jesi Lea Ryan

Rooting paranormal fiction in realism

I think we can all agree, no matter how cool they sound in theory, that vampires are not real. *Shocked face* Neither are werewolves or faeries or angels/demons (at least not the kind from urban fantasy novels). But what about psychics? Hmmm...just maybe.

That’s the thought I originally had when I had the idea to write my young adult, paranormal novels Arcadia’s Gift & Arcadia’s Curse. I’ve always been fascinated by psychic phenomena. Unfortunately, I don’t have an ounce of psychic intuition, but that doesn’t stop my generally skeptical mind from wondering about the possibilities of a paranormal story that is rooted in reality. Sounds like an oxymoron, but I rolled with it, and my character, Arcadia (Cady) Day, psychic empath, was born.

“Our bodies have five senses: touch, smell, taste, sight, hearing. But not to be overlooked are the senses of our souls: intuition, peace, foresight, trust, empathy. The differences between people lie in their use of these senses; most people don't know anything about the inner senses while a few people rely on them just as they rely on their physical senses, and in fact probably even more.” — C. JoyBell C.

Early in my research, I stumbled upon the above quote, and I decided to base my entire fictional world on it. In my series, the soul senses were once common in early humans, but over time, as verbal and written communication flourished, these senses devolved out of the gene pool...mostly. Now, a very minor percentage of people have the recessive genes for these soul senses, and each soul sense corresponds to a psychic ability.

Soul Senses	Intuition	Peace	Foresight	Trust	Empathy
Corresponding Psychic Gift	Telepathy, Dream Walking, Clairvoyance, Clairaudience	Medium, Spirit Handler	Future-Teller	Charismatic, Telekinetic, Hydrokinetic, Pyrokinetic	Empathy, Healing

Usually, the soul senses manifest themselves during puberty, but in Cady’s case, hers became active after a

traumatic event. I chose to write about a psychic empath because I hadn’t read about one before. Lots of paranormal books have telepaths, mediums and telekinetics, and sometimes an empath is a side character or it is a secondary ability for the main character, but I had never read a book with a main character who was primarily an empath. (I know there are books out there with empathic characters, but I make a point now not to read them for fear they may influence my work.)

I spent a lot of time doing Google searches on empathy, and didn’t come up with a lot of useful information. However, I did stumble upon a suggestion that an empath may have a larger aura field than most people, and maybe this is how they can feel the emotions of others who step into their aura. Sounded good to me, so I ran with it.

Taking a “normal” sixteen year old girl and turning her into an empath overnight was a bit tricky. I wanted her to have the ability there all along, lingering just below the surface of her personality, so when the triggering event happens, the empathic abilities made sense. The first thing I did was make Cady a naturally compassionate person.  She gives people the benefit of the doubt, tries to get along with others and has a huge soft-spot for animals. Secondly, Cady is an identical twin.  There is lots of research on the psychic bonds between twins, so *SMALL SPOILER* when her twin sister is killed, their auras would naturally reach toward each other, thus stretching Cady’s aura field so out of shape, it never snaps back.  Ta da! A psychic empath is born!

Along the course of learning to use, grow and control her abilities, Cady meets several other psychics with varying gifts.  To read about Cady and her friends, you can purchase the books at the links below:

Arcadia’s Gift:

Amazon (e-book & paperback)

Audible (audio book)

iTunes (audio book)

Arcadia’s Curse:

Amazon (e-book & paperback)

Jesi Lea Ryan Jesi Lea Ryan grew up in the Mississippi River town of Dubuque, IA.

She holds bachelor degrees in creative writing and literature and a masters degree in business. She considers herself a well-rounded nerd who can spend hours on the internet researching things like British history, anthropology of ancient people, geography of random parts of the world, bad tattoos and the paranormal. She currently lives in Madison, WI with her husband and two fat kitties. 

INVISIBLE Goodreads Giveaway!!

I'm gearing up for Christmas with a book giveaway!! You can enter for a chance to win one of 3 SIGNED Paperback copies of INVISIBLE!

More about Invisible: 

Olivia’s best friend is not imaginary. He’s not a ghost, either. And she’s pretty sure he’s not a hallucination. He’s just Mason. 

He is, however, invisible. 

When Olivia spotted the crying little boy on her front porch at five years old, she had no idea she was the only one who could see him. Twelve years later when new-girl Robin bumps into the both of them and introduces herself to Mason, they are both stunned. 

Mason couldn’t be more pleased that someone else can see him. Olivia, on the other hand, isn’t jumping at the chance to welcome Robin into their circle. Jealousy may have something to do with 
that, but honest fear that Robin’s presence will put Mason in danger is soon validated when a strange black car shows up outside Olivia’s house. 

The race to find out what Robin knows in time to protect Mason from whatever threats are coming becomes Olivia’s only focus.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Invisible

by DelSheree Gladden

Giveaway ends December 20, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Caecilius Rex Series by KC Finn on Sale!!

KC Finn's Caecilius Rex Series is on SALE! Get the first book FREE and the entire series for under $2!!

Get book 1 - The Atomic Circus FREE on Kindle 12/13/13 - 12/17/13

And for one day only (12/14/13) you can get the rest of the series for under $2!!!

Click on the pictures to get your copies now!

Release Day Party: The Migraine Mafia (Maia Sepp)

Welcome to the Release Day Party

& Giveaway for

The Migraine Mafia

By: Maia Sepp Genre: Humor, Contemporary,Women's Fiction Release Date: December 13th, 2013

Synopsis: 

On paper, Viive McBroome lives the perfect life--a key player in a fast-paced, technical field, one promotion away from real success--but that's only if you ignore one little problem.

Sandwiched between one migraine and the next, Viive's life is like those choose-your-own-adventure books you read as a kid, only less fun and with a lot more drugs. And lately, as her bosses politely march her toward a vacation that might never end, even the good days feel like a struggle for survival.

Faced with frustration from her loved ones and the dark machinations of a new colleague, Viive feels herself getting pulled under by guilt, apologies, and workplace shenanigans. But then she meets the Migraine Mafia, a quirky, vibrant support group, and her fragile camouflage begins to crumble. She discovers that a room full of strangers just might be able to change the way she views her illness--and realizes that if she doesn't learn to ask for help, her health isn't the only thing she stands to lose.

Sometimes painful, frequently hilarious, always entertaining, The Migraine Mafia is the story of one woman's life-altering decision to thrive in the face of chronic illness.

Where to Purchase The Migraine Mafia

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Migraine-Mafia-Maia-Sepp-ebook/dp/B00H7EH68Q

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-migraine-mafia/id770987433?mt=11

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/the-migraine-mafia

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-migraine-mafia-maia-sepp/1117544641?ean=2940148950639&itm=1&usri=2940148950639

About the Author ~ Maia Sepp

Maia left the tech sector to write about sock thievery, migraines, and...the tech sector.

The Sock Wars is her debut novel. The first chapter of The Sock Wars was published as a short story/novel excerpt titled Irish Drinking Socks, and became a Kobo bestselling short story. The Sock Wars has been a top-100 digital bestseller on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and the iBookstore, as well as a genre bestseller on Kobo.

Maia's next novel will be released in December 2013: The Migraine Mafia, a story about a nerdy thirtysomething's quest to come to terms with a chronic illness.

Giveaways!

There are two giveaways for the Release Day Party...

Giveaway #1 Author Maia Sepp will be giving away a $50 Amazon gift card to a lucky winner via the Rafflecopter below!

Giveaway #2

Plus, one lucky commentor at each stop will win an ecopy of The Migraine Mafia. To enter to win simply leave a comment below. One commentor will be randomly selected!

Good Luck!

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway