Monday, July 6, 2015

DOUBLE THE FUN

ANNOUNCING THE RELEASE OF

DECEPTIVE CADENCE
by
KATIE HAMSTEAD

Cadence Anderson has the perfect definition of happily ever after . . .

Until she doesn't. A freak earthquake shatters her life as surely as her home, taking away everything she holds dear. She wakes in a hospital to find that her beloved husband and infant daughter have been killed, crushed by the earthquake's wrath. Disoriented, injured, and alone, Cadence refuses to accept the loss. So when a man claiming to be her guardian angel appears and offers her a chance to go back in time to save her family, she doesn't need to give it a second thought. She accepts.

Thrust back eleven years, she now faces the ordeal of high school all over again. But this time, she's armed with all the knowledge of her adult life and the determined to do everything better, from preventing the loss of her best friend to avoiding her original, drama-inducing boyfriends. She's focused solely on Austin, her future husband, and is content to bide her time until she meets him again.

But then James Gordon crosses her path. Cadence wants to remain single, but James has his sights set. He is determined to win her over, and he's very hard to resist. As Cadence starts to develop unwanted feelings for him, she realizes he threatens to disrupt everything, changing the future and distracting her from her original goal. Now, Cadence must choose: deny the unpredictable and exciting path James offers her, or stay true to the life she had and is trying desperately to resurrect. Second chances are more complicated than they seem.

Deceptive Cadence combines the soaring emotion of a heartfelt romance with the innovative storytelling of magical realism, crafting a uniquely moving, intricate tale about love and loss that asks: what would you do if given the chance to right all your wrongs?



Meet Katie Hamstead:
Born and raised in Australia, Katie’s early years of day dreaming in the “bush”, and having her father tell her wild bedtime stories, inspired her passion for writing.

After graduating High School, she became a foreign exchange student where she met a young man who several years later she married. Now she lives in Arizona with her husband, daughter and their dogs.

She has a diploma in travel and tourism which helps inspire her writing. Katie loves to out sing her friends and family, play sports and be a good wife and mother. She now works as an Acquisitions Editor to help support her family. She loves to write, and takes the few spare moments in her day to work on her novels.

Find Katie Hamstead on twitter, facebook, and her website

Giveaway – Running from June 30th to July 31st

a Rafflecopter giveaway






Youtube Link: youtu.be/cHbMXBp_Z_A


Katie has even more good news to share - 
the cover for her next release:



When Donna is sent back in time to Classical Athens, she's furious at Dr. Stephens for sending her against her wishes. Then a Greek soldier purchases her to be his wife.

She's forced to learn a new language and culture, and faces her fears of never returning to her own time. The society hates her, especially because they think she’s an Amazon, which forces her to confront her issues—being compared to her genius brother, borderline abusive friends, and a cheating boyfriend.


But her husband, Peleus, is kind and patient. Although against her best judgment, she allows him into her heart. He counters all the negative voices from her past, but those voices drive a wedge between them. She must let go of her fears, her inhibitions, and insecurities, and admit her feelings, or she could lose him and the life they’ve built.









CONGRATULATIONS KATIE HAMSTEAD!


Friday, July 3, 2015

ANGEL LOST


Love is eternal
but loss
divested of description
exists in an abyss
her absence echoes
an unnerving silence
a shattered heart
bound by tears and sorrow
until we meet again.
Yolanda Renee © 2015





Patches, my little girl, passed away, a year ago today. My reaction to the day was overwhelming. I wrote this tribute through tears. Thank you for your kind words.


Thursday, July 2, 2015

ANT FARM

ANT FARM


I've visited the ant farm, even spray-painted my initials on the 63' Sedan. Dad loved his baby-blue caddy, a testament to his success. I remember racing it down the road and choking on the dust cloud swirling like a comet tale as he drove away.



Memories of him tinkering, washing, and polishing Abby, a car named after me, are all I have, that and a few faded photographs. Dad was handsome; the ladies loved him. I wonder if he loved anyone.

Mom married Hank, a mean son-of-a-bitch.

Stuffing Hank's carcass in the tail of that monument somehow seems apropos.

99 words
Yolanda Renee © 2015



*****




Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff Fields. She's provided the following PHOTO PROMPT via © Jean L. Hays.

All we have to do is write in a hundred words or less where this prompt has taken us.  Can you do it? Will you do it? Why not? Tighten your storytelling, give it a try! 

*****

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

IWSG - BUILDING CASTLES



If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.


This insecure post I want to offer a little inspiration for the projects you're pursuing and thought this quote by Thoreau would help achieve that!

I'm thrilled to be starting a new venture with the awesome Aussie Denise Covey and WEP-Write…Edit…Publish Blog Hop featuring flash fiction challenges.

I'm awaiting the first edits from my publisher on my third book Murder & Obsession, and I'm still working to put two new projects into the readers hands.

My life is full, complicated, and blessed. Wishing you all the happiness, inspiration, and success, you desire!

******

The awesome co-hosts for this posting of the IWSG are

As Alex says, "Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!"

The Twitter hashtag is #IWSG

Did you know there's a t-shirt for the IWSG! You can purchase it here – 

http://www.neatoshop.com/product/IWSG



******


I just received this message from Laura Johnston regarding
Authors Untied Against Child Slavery
Campaign Ending This Weekend

Authors and Bloggers,

Thank you all for your support of this campaign. We have reached nearly $3,000 in donations and hope to reach that goal amount--or even break it!--by this weekend before the campaign closes on the Fourth. If any of you can share the campaign on your social media outlets in the next couple of days and ask your friends to donate, that would be great.

Campaign Link:



Laura Johnston

Please consider a donation or sharing on FB or Twitter.


*****

In the near future consider a new Flash Fiction Challenge with the WEP

Monday, June 29, 2015

FLESH EATERS

SALVATION?????

“The Mayor and the town manager waved as their next victim approached.”

Salvation once again turned to horror. It took a few minutes, but the color, the cheerful greeting, the unbelievable outline of bodies under the plastic tarp alerted me -- I was just in time for dinner—again.

My escape had been for naught, especially when a voice behind me said. "Don't even cornsider runnin', yer surroun'ed. Cuss it all ain't yo' a purdy one?"

After I'd stumbled upon the malicious matriarch, she had given me water, food, access to a revitalizing bubble bath and clean clothes, but my mind couldn't erase her first words 'dinners arrived'.

I gushed my appreciation for their hospitality, despite the lustful, salivating attention of her sons, but I also dropped a bottle of Ambien into the milk jug.


Escape was easy. A backpack full of fried chicken, corn fritters, and a jug of water, but I'd run – right into a whole community of flesh eaters.

Yolanda Renée © 2015
150 Words

******



This is unique flash fiction challenge is hosted by Barb Beacham, where she provides a new photo each week, and the first sentence of a story.
Our challenge is to finish the story using 100-150 words, not including the sentence provided. Don’t forget to use the opening sentence… This challenge runs from Monday to Sunday! Get creative and have fun finishing the story!

Please include the photo with your bit of flash and a link back to this post. Do not forget to follow the link to Monday's Finish the Story and click on the blue frog. Be sure to add your link so that others can enjoy your story too! 

Now let’s have some fun!



I don't usually do this but I wrote a follow-up from the last challenge. How could I not? You can read it under the title HOSPITALITY. Enjoy!


*****

Sunday, June 28, 2015

W E P - FLASH FICTION IS BACK!


I'm thrilled to announce that Denise Covey has invited me, can you believe it, Moi, to co-host the WEP-Write…Edit…Publish Bloghop Challenges. 

If you read my blog you know my addiction to Flash Fiction Challenges, so this is perfect, don't you think?

Please check out Denise's Blog Post and read all the details there. Today, I'm celebrating, you know, doing the happy dance!



Join me – join us and help get the party re-started.


REMEMBER share the NEWS
Tweet one of these:

 is returning sign-up tell your friends follow   &  join our Flash Fiction Challenge  


Love a good Flash Fiction Challenge- Join    &  Follow the blog, comment, and post


Well, what do you think 
are you ready for the challenge?


Thursday, June 25, 2015

RUNAWAY


RUNAWAY

I've relocated before. Disowned at sixteen, I showed them and graduated college, then graduate school. I more than survived, I excelled.

The second time I was running for my life. Hidden bruises would never compare to the emotional baggage his terror produced.

The third time I went in search of opportunity because a manager refused to recognize my skills, after all, I'm merely a woman.

Today, as I walk that lonely road and explore my new cities crowded streets alone, I have to wonder, especially after thirty years together; maybe running is just an excuse for not trying harder.

99 Words
Yolanda Renée © 2015
*****



Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff Fields. She's provided the following PHOTO PROMPT via Kent Bonham -- the copyright belongs to Kent. Tell us where it takes you in a hundred words or less. 

What does this photograph provoke in you? Join the fun -- share your story HERE!