BUY on AMAZON

Life as Danielle knew it vanished! A new world of spiritual awareness and development miraculously appeared. In spite of this, the new beginning set off a series of events that erupted deep undesirable emotions and surfaced repressed issues that led to depression, hopelessness and borderline suicide. Discover how Danielle was able to heal her broken heart, awaken as a spiritual being and presently live her life as an example for others to learn and follow.

 

 

Continue reading “CROSSING THE LINE by Michele Shriver” →

 

Keynote Speaker – Jana Oliver
Kelly Abell
Dr. Cynthia Anderson
Heather Allen
Alexis Anne
CJ Baty
Josie Bordeaux
Ava Branson
Susan Burdorf
V. Cantrell
Rick Chiantaretto
Margo Bond Collins
Barbara Cutrera
Stacy L. Darnell
Lia Davis
Brian Downes
MCV Egan

 

Stephanie Erickson
Patrick Friar
Rene Folsom
Amber Garr
S.R. Gibbs
Ceci Giltenan
N.L. Greene
Sharon Hamilton
Miranda Hardy
Erin Hayes
Karen Amanda Hooper
L. Marshall James
Olivia Jaymes
Amanda Jason
Abigail Lee Justice
Tawdra Kandle
Lyssa Layne
Leigha Lennox / Traci Hohenstein
Christin Lovell
Melissa Lummis
Mindy Marin
Elise Marion
Peggy Martinez
Don Massenzio
Kristen Mazzola
D. l. McCleary
J.L. McCoy
Hildie McQueen
Stephanie Nelson
MJ Nightingale
Danielle Nutter
J. Nichole Parkins
L.E. Perez
G.W. Pomichter
CG Powell
Nadège Richards
Cynthia A. Rodriguez
Jan Romes
Mindy Ruiz
D.S. Schmeckpeper
AL M Scott
Ainsley Shay
Rane Sjodin aka Graylin Fox
H.D. Smith
KS Smith
Megan C. Smith
M.H. Soars
AJ Spencer
Laura Stapleton
Mandie Stevens
Victoria Sue
Julia Sykes
K.S. Thomas
Raine Thomas
Juli Valenti
JoSelle Vanderhooft
Hope Welsh
Melba Wiggins
E. A. A. Wilson
Clarena Wise
Cheyanne Young
Anna Zaires
Dima Zales
Tricia Zoeller

 

Cockroaches – You’ve got to hand it to them!.

© M.C.V. Egan

It is a funny thing about life that it sometimes foreshadows events, in the same fashion as a well written novel. These moments are such that we often recognize them well after the fact, but sometimes they are far too obvious to ignore.

In August 1981, when President Ronald Reagan fired more than 11,000 air traffic controllers, I was returning from my honeymoon, the stop in Miami was meant to be a short one.

With airports functioning with the most basic of skeleton crews it turned into a full day at the Miami airport, with no guarantee from the airline as to when we would leave and a strong suggestion not to leave the airport.

Like many fellow travelers we found a place to sit or at times lay down on the floor and waited. The honeymoon had not been what one would call a success and here was another “sign” that ours was not the brightest of futures as a couple.

As the minutes dragged into hours my Swedish husband in great discomfort from his Cancun sunburn was far from a pleasant travel companion. I can only assume that he remembers me just as difficult. In an era devoid of all the fabulous excuses we have today; phones, laptops, iPads; and even though Sony Walkman’s came out in 1979, they were far from common place in 1981 with non-rechargeable batteries. There were only two perfect excuses not to look at each other or talk; reading and sleeping.

It was in those long hours at the Miami airport that I discovered The Woman’s Room by Marilyn French, It was at the end of my honeymoon that I began to realize I was a feminist. At the age of 22, as an avid murder mystery reader, it was far from a logical book for me to be attracted to, but as I said, the honeymoon had not been a great success. I had already solved many a mystery and found a corpse or two in those magical days generally reserved for planning a happy future.

In the little over five years that my first marriage lasted I read more than most people do in a lifetime. Escaping the reality of my life I was open to every possible genre and re-read books I had not particularly appreciated when they were a requirement from a class rather than a pleasure.

That August 1981 day at the Miami airport I had no way of knowing that by the end of that decade I would permanently move to South Florida with my second husband nor that all the reading that replaced living during my first marriage would be the strong foundation I needed to plunge into fearless writing.

As signs and Omens go when we were finally boarded onto a plane packed with tired weary travelers, the flight to Washington D.C.’s National Airport (Reagan’s name was not added until 1998) was smooth and uneventful.

The Washington D.C. area was my home for well over a decade and when we disembarked an old boyfriend who was unaware of my new marital status was welcoming his grandmother from Miami on that very plane. He was a lively, loud, gregarious Cuban American. His greeting “Catalina!” was followed by plopping a gigantic sloppy kiss on my lips. I introduced him to my husband which he appraised in a state of confusion.

At 22 I do not remember the voice somewhere in the back of my mind that must have made it clear ours was destined to be a short future.

PLEASE VISIT ME AT COZY IN MIAMI

Christine Amsden – Madison’s Song – Release Blitz     Date Published: July 15, 2015   Her voice is enchanting; his soul is black… Madison Carter has been terrified of Scott Lee since the night he saved her from an evil sorcerer – then melted into a man-eating monster before her eyes. The werewolf is a slave to the moon, but Madison’s nightmares are not. Despite her fears, when Madison’s brother, Clinton, is bitten by a werewolf, she knows there is only one man who can help. A man who frightens her all the more because even in her nightmares, he also thrills her. Together for the first time since that terrible night, Scott and Madison drive to Clinton’s home only to discover that he’s vanished. Frantic now, Madison must overcome her fears and uncover hidden strengths if she hopes to save him. And she’s not the only one fighting inner demons. Scott’s are literal, and they have him convinced that he will never deserve the woman he loves.   EXCERPT                 “Silence,” David commanded.             Her throat continued to work, but no sound emerged. She felt like a fish being gutted, choking and spluttering as David returned to the work of cutting into the soft, sensitive flesh of her belly. Yet even as tears refilled her eyes and fear devoured her heart, some part of her recognized that her guts remained intact. Whatever David was doing to her with the dagger involved tracing shallow patterns across the surface of her skin.             Fight the pain. Take deep breaths. Ground and center. She was not in the empty living room of a house she had not quite moved into yet, she was at church, singing in the choir. Above her, Jesus hung from a cross, a crown of thorns atop his head, a soft glow surrounding him. She usually found the magic within that glow. She reached for it…             “Stop that!” David slapped her hard across the face.             Once again her eyes flew open. She saw the dagger dripping with blood – her blood. Had her feeble grab for magic actually made a difference? David seemed to have noticed something, but what?             “You’re just making this harder on yourself,” David said.             “What do you want?” Madison tried to ask. Her mouth moved, her lips forming the question, but no sound emerged.             She didn’t think he would answer; he couldn’t even have heard the question, but to her surprise he only hesitated a moment before saying, “Your soul.”   Christine Amsden has been writing science fiction and fantasy for as long as she can remember. She loves to write and it is her dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily about people and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone. At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a condition that affects the retina and causes a loss of central vision. She is now legally blind, but has not let this slow her down or get in the way of her dreams. (You can learn more here.) In addition to writing, Christine teaches workshops on writing at Savvy Authors. She also does some freelance editing work. Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. They have two beautiful children. Website Newsletter Blog Facebook Twitter Goodreads Google+

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Review: Millennium Trilogy – Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Played with Fire, Kicked Hornet’s Nest.

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