Moxie's Decision by Hank Quense

Sometimes it’s fun to add a little laughter and satire to our daily routine so that’s why I’m delighted to be a part of author Hank Quense’s MOXIE’S DECISION Blog Tour with MC Book Tours today.

Entertaining from beginning to end, MOXIE'S DECISION is uproariously
funny and satire at its best. Selected as one of
2016's best YA novels: Huffington Post. It’s also a top pick! Indie Reader: 5 stars

You can enter to win a copy of MOXIE’S
DECISION today. Be sure to check out the giveaway details below.

Moxie has a plan; she’s determined to rule as

queen after her father, King Smedley, dies.

But Smedley refuses to acknowledge her as his
heir. Her uncle also wants the throne and he’s already tried once to eliminate
Moxie as competition.

           Moxie recognizes she hasn't been
trained to rule and she needs lessons about the real world. Moxie goes on a
quest to learn how to rule and to learn about life outside the castle. 

Moxie faces unexpected obstacles as she struggles with adventures in a brutal reality that tests her mettle and determination. 

This is a fantasy coming-of-age story that is decidedly different than the usual ones. The book is filled with satire and humor. What more can a reader wish for? 

It takes place against the backdrop of Camelot, but this isn’t the Camelot of legends. It’s Camelot in a parallel universe where the Knights of the Round Table play football and Guinevere coaches the team’s cheer leaders. The wizard Merlin struggles to understand the Magic of the Mind using primitive ink stained diagrams and Stonehenge is a theater-in-the-round.   

Moxie’s rollicking adventures are the stuff of comedy. Enjoy!

Add MOXIE'S DECISION to you Goodreads shelf!

EXCERPT:

Backstory: Moxie has a plan to become a decisive, independent-minded woman.  The first phase of the plan involves joining the Heroes Guild to learn self-reliance and weaponry.  She is accompanied by three friends, all knights and graduates of the Guild: Percivale, Bors and Gareth.

~ ~ ~

Moxie gulped.  In front of her lay her destiny.  Would she get accepted and become a heroine, or would she get rejected?  For the first time, Moxie realized she didn't have an alternate plan.  All her energies had been focused on this day and Moxie had assumed her plan would work.  With mounting anxiety, she climbed the steps and walked through the doors held open by a porter, who remembered and greeted the knights.

Moxie entered a large hallway lit by glazed windows and chandeliers filled with lit candles.  On her left, portraits covered an entire wall.

"That's the Wall of Fame," Gareth said.  "Those are the most famous graduates from the Heroes Guild."

Moxie observed that all the portraits were of angry men about to smash someone or something with a large chunk of metal.

To her right, Moxie saw an area where six clerks labored at desks with quills and abaci.  An open sitting area held stools where eight men waited.

Beyond the waiting men was a large office with closed doors

Bors walked over one of the clerks.  "Tell the administrators that three Guild graduates want an audience with them."

The clerk ignored Bors and continued to scribble on a parchment.

Bors grabbed the clerk's tunic in one hand and lifted him off his stool.  An ink pot fell to the floor.  "You have my permission to tell the administrators that we're waitin'."  Bors dropped the clerk.  "Do it now!"

The clerk jumped up and ran into the office.  He emerged a minute later and held the door open for Bors and the others.

Inside, Moxie saw a long desk with two men sitting behind it.  Both were middle-aged and ate well judging by their jowly faces and the folds of skin circling their necks. Both had neat, trimmed beards.  They gave a bare smile at the knights, but had raised eyebrows for Moxie.

Percivale snapped to attention.  "Chief Administrator Thibault and Administrator Castrani, I'm Percivale.  My mates Bors and Gareth and I have a request to discuss with you."

"How nice to see the three of you."  Thibault didn't sound convincing.  He was tall and lanky with pale skin, white hair and a long face set in a permanent frown.

"And to find you in good health and still in possession of all your limbs," Castrani added.  This one was short and pudgy with a mostly bald head.

"Who is this lady?" Thibault asked.

Moxie hopped from foot to foot and tried not grimace at the men.

"This is Princess Moxie.  Her father is King Smedley of Usca.  Moxie is the reason for our visit."

"That sounds odd," Castrani said.  "We rarely have women visitors."

Moxie gulped.  She couldn't tell if the two men were friendly or hostile.  Both had rigid expressions that gave no hint of their thinking.

Percivale cleared his throat. 

Moxie saw Bors chewed his lip while Gareth picked at a nail.

"You see, Moxie wants to join the Guild and she persuaded us to plead her case."

Both administrators sat back in surprise.  "Really?" Thibault said.  "A female trainee?"

"On our way here," Gareth said, "we was attacked by bandits and Moxie helped us defend ourselves and killed two of them with her dagger."

"Moxie saved my life," Percivale said.

Castrani leaned close to Thibault and whispered in his ear.  Thibault whispered back as the two held a hurried consultation.

Thibault stared at Moxie.

Moxie squirmed under the inspection.

"As strange as this may seem," Thibault said, "Administrator Castrani and I recently had a discussion on this very subject.  We agreed that — possibly — it was time to admit a woman or two, provided suitable candidates applied for admission."  He pointed a finger at the knights.  "Do all three of you support Princess Moxie's candidacy?"

Moxie almost wet herself waiting for the knights to answer. 

All three nodded their heads.  Bors said, "We do."

"Then it's settled," Thibault said.  "This will be a scholarship of course, so Moxie won't have to pay tuition.  Will one of you tell my clerk to fetch Harry?"

Gareth left the room momentarily to tell a clerk.

Castrani questioned Moxie.  "Do you really understand what we do here?"

"I've traveled with my friends here and I've seen how they react to emergencies and how self-sufficient they are.  They told me they learned that stuff here.  I need to learn how to do those things."

"Are you prepared to dedicate yourself to the training regimen required to graduate from the Heroes Guild?"

"I am."  Moxie had trouble believing that she had been accepted.  Her life was about to change forever.  When she graduated, she would be a completely different woman from what she was today.  She had never been so exhilarated in her life.

A door in the side of the room opened and an impossibly large man walked into the room.  He had a shaved head and a full red beard.  He wore a red-painted leather vest with leather trews and heavy calf-high boots.  His bare arms rippled with muscles, tattoos and scars.  "What?" he roared in greeting.

"Ah, Harry.  Good of you to interrupt your training and attend our little meeting."

Harry walked over and slapped the knights on their shoulders.  "Still alive?  Ya can't be doin' much fightin' or yer'd all be dead."  Harry grinned at the knights.  "Still, it's good to see ya."

Harry turned to the administrators and waited.

"Er, Harry," Thibault said, "I want you to meet the newest trainee.  This is Princess Moxie.  Moxie, this Harry the Murderer."

Moxie cringed in fear as Harry stared down on her with an expression of disgust and rage.  The man exuded violence.  She had never met anyone who could send waves of fear coursing through her body like Harry did just by looking at her.  Even the bandit attack was nothing compared to what she felt around Harry.

"I ain't teachin' a bloody woman." Harry rounded on the administrators.  "Are you two outta yer minds?”

"Harry," Thibault said mildly, "we've had a change of policy and we now accept female trainees."

"Hah.  This one won't last two days."

Moxie saw her dreams collapsing under the scrutiny of Harry, but she wasn't letting this man destroy her future.   She would not be thwarted by him. She took a deep breath and said, ”Hah.  That's how little you know."

Harry whirled on her.  "Who gave you permission to speak to me, vermin?"

"I'm a princess.”  Moxie slammed her fists onto her hips.  “I don't need your permission."

Harry stepped back and examined Moxie once more.  "Ya ain't a princess once ya go through that door."  He pointed to the side entrance.  "Wanna know what yer are then?  Yer pond scum and I'm gonna pound ya inna ground.  Two days under my wing and ya'll be screamin' to go home."

Moxie looked at Thibault.  "This man is incredibly rude.  I assume you'll punish him for his attitude?"

"Harry is our chief instructor.  His manner may be a bit harsh, but he is a very good instructor.  I'll have a clerk assist you in settling in.  Then, in the morning, you'll begin your training."

Harry stomped out of the office mumbling curses and slammed the door.

"I'm sure you'll come to love Harry just like all our trainees do," Castrani said with a twinkle in his eye.

Moxie's exhilaration over getting accepted had been tempered by meeting Harry the Murderer.  She would just have to put up with Harry's rudeness and his boorish manners.

Nothing would be allowed to impede her journey to become a heroine.

Hank Quense writes humorous and satiric sci-fi and
fantasy stories.

He also writes and lectures about fiction writing and self-publishing. He has published 19 books and 50 short stories along with dozens of articles.

He often lectures on fiction writing and publishing and has a series of guides covering the basics on each subject. He is currently working on a third Moxie
novel that takes place in the Camelot era.

He and his wife, Pat, usually vacation in another galaxy or parallel universe.
They also time travel occasionally when Hank is searching for new story ideas.

Be sure to visit Hank’s Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002BM76IE

This tour-wide
giveaway (prizes courtesy of the author) is for five (5) eBooks copies
(worldwide) of MOXIE’S DECISION and three (3) print copies of MOXIE’S
DECISION (U.S. entries only). The giveaway ends at 12 a.m. (EST) on
Monday, July 3. 

To enter the giveaway, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions. If the widget doesn’t appear, just CLICKHERE for a chance to win a copy of this fun book.

Thanks for stopping by today.

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THE INFLUENCE OF COLOR!

When the sky is pink

does it make you think?

When the sky is blue

are you?

When the sky is gray

does your mood fray?

When the sky is red

does your soul feel bled.

When the sky is white

are shivers your plight?

When the sky is black

do you wish the color back?

How does color influence your day?

IWSG - Dam Builders

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Alex J. Cavanaugh

Question: Did you ever say “I quit”? If so, what happened to make you come back to writing?

I’m not sure I said “I quit” but I did walk away from a book for almost a year. It just wasn’t coming together. So I attempted other things, like short story writing and flash fiction.

Changing genre and style helped me complete the book. I think stretching, whether it’s writing or other creative outlets, can make all the difference when a blockage occurs – you know that thing that some say doesn’t even exist (writer’s block).

What about you. Does your writing flow like water or do those pesky dam building rodents sometimes clog up the works? What's your solution?

Be sure to visit the awesome co-hosts JH Moncrieff, Madeline Mora-Summonte, Jen Chandler, Megan Morgan, and Heather Gardner!

Have you signed up for the June Challenge?

It's easy!

Book Tour Complete

Mason Canyon

MC Book Tours

Thanks to Mason Canyon, my book tour is finished. Mason did an amazing job. Organization is a virtue that she has in spades, and was so vital during the last month. If you're looking to do a book tour, consider Mason. She won't disappoint you!

Thank you also, to everyone who participated. Without your help the Snowman Tour wouldn't have been.

Did I sell thousands of books? No. Did I sell hundreds of books? No. Then why even hold such a tour? I did it to get the word out about the book, to make sure that a google search on The Snowman would bring up loads of sites - to give readers and potential readers more information about the story. Will that translate into sales. That remains to be seen. I'll keep you informed.

In case you missed it - here's The Snowman's full tour:

May 1^st

Juneta @ Writer’s Gambit – Guest Post on Inspiration & Research

May 2^nd

Romance Under Fire – Feather Stone’s Review

May 3^rd

Denise Covey, Author – Denise’s Review & Author Guest Post a Warning

Random Thoughts – Excerpt – Dead Weight

May 4^th

The Silver Dagger Scriptorium – Excerpt – Body on the Beach

May 5^th

Julie Flanders – Excerpt - Disappointments

May 8^th

Alex J. Cavanaugh – Top Ten Snowmen

Christine Rains – Guest Post - Setting & Tension

May 9^th

Mello & June – Feature

May 10^th

Pat Hatt Books – Murder Bag & Author Q & A

May 11^th

A Bluestocking’s Place – Feature

May 12^th

Lexa Cain – Feature

Elizabeth Seckman – Guest Post - Temperature & Crime

May 15^th

Just Us Book Blog – Excerpt - Reincarnation

The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – Feature

May 16^th

Reading for the Stars and Moon – Excerpt - Proposals

May 17^th

Pat Garcia Book Reviews – Review

Writers and Authors – Guest Post - The Importance of Editors

May 18^th

The Bookworm Chronicles – Excerpt – A New Masterpiece

May 19^th

I Think Therefore I Yam – Susan Interviews Stowy in Prison

May 22^nd

The Five Year Project –  Guest Post – Putting Memories in the Story

May 24^th

Bound 2 Escape – Feature

May 25^th

Reviews by Crystal – Feature

May 26^th

J. Bronder Book Reviews - Review

May 29^th

FUONLYKNEW – Review

May 30^th

Thoughts in Progress – Feature

May 31^st

Celticlady’s Reviews – Excerpt – Reality Check

Reviews by Crystal –  Q & A with the Author

Have you done a blog book tour?

How do you feel about them, are they worth it?

Would you do it again?

THE LAST WEEK

"Our greatest glory
is not in never falling, but
in rising every time we fall."
- Confucius

I hope your weekend was as beautiful as mine!



THE SNOWMAN
WILL BE VISITING

May 29 – FUONLYKNEW – Review

May 30 – Thoughts in Progress - Feature

May 31 – Celticlady’s Reviews – Excerpt - Reality Check
                  Reviews by Crystal -  Q & A with Yolanda Renee

June 1 – bookworm1102 – Excerpt - Reunion
                Scattergun Scribblings – Author Guest Post    

 June 2 – Cheryl’s Book Nook – Review  

                  Libby Heily – Review & Excerpt - Marionette

 

FYI

The latest Challenge from the Write...Edit...Publish Team!

Sign up starts on 

JUNE 1st

DREAMS GOALS & ADVENTURE

Author Michael D. Ditton makes a stop here today as part of his Dreams, Goals, and Adventure Blog Tour through MC Book Tours.

Dreams, Goals and Adventure is a series of personal stories, the ups and downs of someone who inspires to reach all of the dreams set forth and how sometime a life event creates a situation requiring a major adjustment. It is stories others will be able to relate to with the life adventures each and every one of them have experienced, both good and challenging

◊ DREAMS, GOALS AND ADVENTURE by Michael D. Ditton

◊ Paperback: 148 pages

◊ Genre: Self-Help, Motivational

◊ Publisher: BalboaPress (October 19, 2015)

◊ Language: English

◊ ISBN-10: 1504335880

◊ ISBN-13: 978-1504335881

From broke to retired in ten years . . .

Returning home from Desert Storm, I found myself mentally and financially bankrupt. Newly divorced, I had no job, no help, and no hope. My reasons to live were gone. At the lowest point in my life, I fell back on simple truths from my childhood: hard work gets results, and it's okay to dream. And dream I did, setting goals that launched me from poverty to a life I could not have imagined. And you can do it, too.

          Dreams, Goals, and Adventure will inspire you to dream big, work toward your goals, and live your life as an adventure every day.

* Don't be afraid to dream.

* Don't accept “no” as an answer.

* Remove “can't” from your vocabulary.

* Small goals are stepping stones to much larger goals.

* Learn how to spring forward from failure.

* Know you will have to adjust.

* Live life as an adventure.

"Your experiences are so extra-ordinary and you're fascinating
to listen to. Your speaking style is humble and respectful of both your role as a speaker and of your audience, as one would expect after hearing of what you were trained to do. If others would open their lives to adventure as you have they would love their life even more." ~Jim Cathcart, author of the bestsellers: The Acorn Principle and Relationship Selling. CEO of Cathcart.com 

Michael Ditton is an entrepreneur, personal development coach, and student of life. In addition to helping others realize their dreams, he can be found sailing or traveling in search of new adventures.

“When met by unexpected challenges, embrace them wholeheartedly as opportunities for adventure and education.”

I developed Goal-Setting Basics to help others interested in learning how to set goals. In my twenties, I had to gather these valuable bits of information a piece at a time. This site offers you an array of information, tools, and resources to help you in identifying, setting, and accomplishing your goals, whatever they might be. In these tools are free worksheets and examples to help you succeed. You will find Goal-Setting Basics is your single source for all of your goal-setting needs.

“Financial Independence means having control over your time

without worrying about the ability to pay your bills” … So many think they have to be as wealthy as Bill Gates to live a rich life, that is so far from the truth … Let me show you how.

I was a dreamer from an early age. To this day I believe anyone can do whatever they choose to put their mind to.

I didn’t go from eight years old to semi-retired in the length of one sentence. Nor was it easy. But I did follow a simple, time-honored process.

I was in my twenties before I fully understood the true importance of goal setting. After that, I was able to be more focused, see where I wanted to be, how I was going to get there, notice when I needed to make adjustments, and had the satisfaction of reaching goals. I enjoyed the benefits of reaching a goal and putting a big, fat check mark on my list.

Here’s how those goals paid off:

At 8, sold vegetables door to door from my little red wagon

Age 13, supervisor, World’s Fare Hamburgers

Age 15, assistant manager trainee, Pizza Hut

Age 16, assistant manager, Round Table Pizza

Age 18, began a 20-year commitment with the U.S. Army and Army Reserve, retiring in 2005 as a staff sergeant and Desert Storm veteran. Over my service career I became a leader and was recognized and awarded for my achievements and outstanding service.

Age 20, found my true calling as a sales professional

Age 31, began a successful career in real estate and real estate investments

Age 36, semi-retired

Age 37, owned and operated several companies

Age 41, semi-retired, sold everything and sailed south on his 45’ sailboat

Although I found success at a very early age, I became painfully aware of how quickly it can all be taken away. In 1991, after I returned from Desert Storm, I found myself bankrupt, mentally, physically and financially and divorced.

It was the lowest point in my life. Four years later, I had clawed my way back to even, and started to build from there. Two years after that, following my roadmap of goals, I reached my first level of financial independence. The rest is history.

For more on Michael, you can connect with him at the following sites:

www.dreamsgoalsandadventure.com

www.goalsettingbasics.com

www.michaelditton.com

For those following his tour, Michael is offering a special price on the Kindle eBook format of DREAMS, GOALS, AND ADVENTURE at a reduced cost of just 99 cents! Readers can also get a FREE copy of Michael’s GOAL SETTING BASICS in the eBook format. For one or both of these special offers just CLICK HERE!

Thanks for visiting during Michael’s tour stop. Are you following your dreams?

AND
IF YOU'RE STILL FOLLOWING
THE SNOWMAN TOUR

THIS WEEK I'LL BE VISITING

May 22 – The Five Year Project – Author Guest Post - Putting Your Memories into the Story!  Also on WordPress

May 24 – Bound 2 Escape – Excerpt

May 25 – Reviews by Crystal –  Announcement.

May 26 – J Bronder Book Reviews – Review