BULLETS ARE FLYING! - FORBIDDEN BY F. STONE

I'm thrilled to be part of the book launch of

Forbidden

 by
 F. Stone

Better Wear Your Flak Jacket

FORBIDDEN
 

AMAZON

Synopsis:

Year 2047, City of Samarra, capital of the Republic of Islamic Provinces & Territories

Fifteen American travelers have vanished. Surrendering to Mayor Aamir's demands, Captain Sharif becomes the reluctant keeper of his city’s bloody secret – and the witness, Eliza MacKay. The devout Muslim is horrified to discover that if he exposes the cover-up, his family will suffer dire consequences.

The CIA has the lying Sharif in their cross hairs. Sharif’s only hope is to prove his country's government is free of guilt. Secretly, he hunts forensic evidence. Cryptic messages, backstabbing informants, and corruption threaten Sharif’s resolve to see justice served. When he discovers the shocking truth, he and MacKay become the targets of a ruthless killer.

Sharif is tortured by his attraction to the impetuous Eliza MacKay. In spite of her struggle with PTSD, he’s drawn to her vivacious personality. Islam forbids the intimacy he craves. In desperation to save Eliza, Sharif plots an act most forbidden and fatal.

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MY REVIEW:

One of my favorite things about this book is the dedication. Once you read that you’ll know the heart of Forbidden.

Set in the year 2047, politics and religion combine to create a volatile atmosphere for a coup. Police Captain Hashim Sharif meets a feisty Eliza MacKay, after the brutal murders of her companions. Working to expose the truth becomes a dangerous journey through betrayal, government corruption, and multiple assassination attempts.

The setting, the politics, but especially the principles and faith of the lead character, Captain Sharif is both heartwarming and a breath of fresh air. His Islamic faith, intelligently described, features prominently in the story as Eliza MacKay tests his virtue, and he proves her determination.

Despite fighting PTSD, Eliza MacKay surprises her protector every step of the way. No wilting flower, Eliza starts out fighting and continues the fight all the way to the last page.

If I have any criticism, it’s that I wish a few of the key players had been mentioned earlier in the novel. Still, I highly recommend Forbidden, a novel that is superbly written, with well-crafted characters, a twisting plot, and non-stop action.

James Patterson says to write a novel as if it’s a movie playing out for the reader. Ms. Stone does this beautifully.

Truly suspenseful this intriguing novel tells a sweet love story and has the kind of ending you’ll love. Kudos, Ms. Stone!

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enter your name in my rafflecopter for a chance to win:

-   GRAND PRIZE:  AMAZON coupon valued at $100 USD,

-   Second prize:  Amazon coupon $50,

-   PLUS five ten dollar amazon coupons.

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LAUNCH SCHEDULE

February 13:

Review by Lily Eva Blake

February 14:

Guest Post with Pat Garcia

Review and Guest Post with Juneta Key

February 15:

Featured in OPAL Magazine

Guest Post with Lily Eva Blake

February 16:

Review and Showcase with Nicki Elson

Showcase with Jennifer Lane

February 17:

Showcase with Nancee Cain

Interview with Tyler Wiegmann

February 18:

Review and Showcase with Yolanda Renee

Showcase with Michelle Willms

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Romance Under Fire
Author Feather Stone / F. Stone / Judy Weir:

On our cattle ranch, when an animal was in distress or injured, I was put in charge of nursing it back to health. Never mind that I was just a kid and hated the sight of blood, but I had to muster up the courage to apply home remedies. My survival rate was pretty good. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that I would progress to nursing – humans. After one year into nurses training, I bolted. Bed pans and chronic diseases pushed me in different direction; a career of dealing with drug addicts, murder, suicide, fatalities, and biker gangs. In 1983 I graduated with honors as a paramedic and worked in the City of Edmonton’s Emergency Services.

For the next twenty years, I came face to face with scenes most people would rather not think about. I loved it. Having experienced life in the most deadly and gut wrenching events, and work alongside the police service, I gained the fodder for creating intense novels.

My first novel, The Guardian’s Wildchild, was published by Omnific Publishing in 2011. The setting is on a naval ship, under the command of a surely man who is under suspicion of treason. When a battered woman is brought to his ship for execution, he has no idea that she is about to turn his disciplined life into chaos – and that she is no ordinary woman. The Guardian’s Wildchild has a rating of 4.1 at Amazon.

Social Media Links: Stop by and say hello at:

Romance Under Fire Blog

Facebook: FSauthor

Twitter: Featherwrites

Pinterest

Goodreads

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HOW ARE YOUR SAILS SET?

A changing sky for your enjoyment.

"One ship drives east, and another drives west,

With the self-same winds that blow.

"Tis the set of the sails, and not the gales

Which tells us the way they go.

"Like the waves of the sea are the ways of fate

As we voyage along thru life.

"Tis the set of the soul which decides its goal

And not the calm or the strife."

                                     - Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Photo's were all taken Friday, February 17, 2017 as the sun made his appearance.

All pictures Copyright 2017 by Yolanda Renée

WEP - ARE YOU READY?

WRITE...EDIT...PUBLISH

A SEMI-MONTHLY FLASH FICTION/ARTISTIC CHALLENGE

ARE YOU READY?

Jenny threw her keys on the credenza and stormed upstairs to the attic where she kept her luggage. She’d just lost her dream job, and when she called her boyfriend, Hugh, he claimed to have car trouble. Except, Jenny heard a woman giggling in the background. Jenny’s heart sank. Recent doubts verified. Hugh was seeing someone else. Jenny knew it was time for a change!

“When the world decides to dump a load on you, why not on your twenty-fifth birthday?” Jenny shouted to the dust bunnies scurrying across the floor as she trampled to the back of the attic. She sneezed as the disturbed dust tickled her nose and decided maybe less frenzy would be wiser. She stopped. Closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, behind her sleeve, to calm her rage.

Eyes open, she spotted her Grandmother’s desk. It looked pristine, not a speck of dust anywhere. She pulled out the chair and sat down. Running her hands across the hand-hewn wooden planks, she remembered doing her homework while sitting at this small but impressive work of art. Instead of placing this part of her inheritance in the living room, Hugh had put his stereo in the chosen spot. “That will change.”

Jenny opened the drawer in anticipation of finding hidden treasure, but there was nothing. Disappointed, she closed the drawer, but it wouldn’t shut. She wiggled it, tried again, to no avail. She pulled the drawer out and stuck her hand inside.

“Aha!” She pulled out a stray document. Her name was written across the envelope.  Jenny recognized her grandmother’s stationery.

White with pink flowers. She held it close to her heart. “I knew there’d be a surprise!” She carefully undid the flap and pulled out a crisp sheet of stationary. She read.

Dearest Jenny:

          “Happy 25^th! I’m sorry life has failed to meet your expectations, but I’m also glad. Because at this moment in time you’re ready for a new adventure. Am I right? (Smiley face) I’m always right!”

Jenny laughed.

It was as though her grandmother was right there in the room with her, and knew her thoughts and emotions. “Yes, Grandma, you’re right!”

Jenny finished reading:

          “Pack, go to the airport, and introduce yourself to the gentleman at the information desk, and he’ll take care of everything. Do you trust me?

          “Well, what are you waiting for?”

Jenny laughed. “Exactly! What am I waiting for?” She did as instructed.

The man at the information desk smiled when he heard her name. He took her by the elbow and led her through the airport.

“Welcome to Galaxy Airlines, Miss Evans.” He hurried her to a private jet. Your flight is ready. Enjoy.”

Jenny boarded a converted 747 with all the comforts of home.

The pilot announced, “Please be seated, Miss Evans. You’re welcome to take advantage of the bedroom once we’re in the air. We’ll arrive in Antarctica in nineteen hours.”

          “Antarctica?” she said in surprise.

          “Yes, Miss,” the pilot responded. “Please fasten your seat belt.”

          Jenny scrambled into a seat and buckled up.

          “If you need anything just use the intercom. Enjoy your trip.”

*****

The plane landed between two snow-covered mountains and taxied into a large structure. The pilot opened the exit door for her and bowed.

“Thank you,” she said, and descended the steps. A man in a tux greeted her. She felt underdressed in jeans, boots, and sweater.

“Miss Evans, welcome. Please, follow me.”

He didn’t offer her his hand, and she quietly said, “Thank you.”

He led her to an elevator and down a long hallway. She gasped when he opened a door into a large room filled with shelves of books at least twenty feet high. In the center sat a large desk, and behind that a sitting area with a massive fireplace.

The fire crackled, and Jenny was shocked to see her grandmother moving toward her. “You’re dead, this isn’t possible.” Jenny backed away. She felt joy and fear all at once.

“Don’t worry, dear. I’m just a hologram. You can put your hand right through me.”

Jenny reached out. Her grandmother's image fluttered but didn’t disappear.

“How? Why”

“Questions, so many questions. Please, sit. They’ve provided tea and a snack. That plane is comfortable, but there’s nothing like being on solid ground, is there? How do you feel?”

“Fine. Curious. What is all this?”

“Your inheritance.”

Jenny’s mouth fell open. “Inheritance?”

“You’re an immortal, dear. A descendent of the Galaxy Sisters. It’s time to fulfill your destiny.”

“Immortal? Galaxy Sisters? Destiny?”

“Yes, you’ll live forever, looking just as you do today, all to serve the cause. Unless you decide to marry and have children, then and only then, will you begin to age in a normal progression just as I did. The universe has nine populated planets. The role of the Galaxy Sisters is to guide each planet to be its best.”

“What cause?”

“Before man took over the earth it was ruled by women. Their insistence on making women a slave, a servant, and a whore took years to achieve, but they won the revolution, and we’ve fallen far because of it. Your job here is to rebuild what men have corrupted.

“My major contributions included the Russian Revolution of 1917, the strike for ‘bread and peace’ and Suffrage. And no, you won’t read about my contributions. Your role is to help those who will make change happen. In no way, do we make headlines.” She laughed. “If you’d turned twenty-five sooner we might’ve had a woman for president instead of a clown. Sa la vie, it is what it is, but our attempts at equality just took ten steps backward. So, my dear, what do you say? Do you accept the challenge?”

“I have a choice?”

“Of course, dear. This sort of thing isn’t for all women, even some descendants of the Galaxy Sisters enjoy their subservient role. The universe is made up of all kinds. Are you ready for an amazing adventure?”

Yolanda Renee © 2017

1000 words / FCA

HAVE YOU STARTED?

Every sunrise is different, but

every day holds a

new

opportunity!

Yolanda Renee © 2017

OPPORTUNITY

“For the best verse hasn’t been rhymed yet,

The best house hasn’t been planned,

The highest peak hasn’t been climbed yet,

The mightiest rivers aren’t spanned’

Don’t worry and fret, faint hearted,

The chances have just begun,

For the Best jobs haven’t been started,

The Best work hasn’t been done.

–Berton Braley

GREETINGS

This is how the morning greeted me!

Yolanda Renée © 2017

But

What counts, is how I greeted the morning!

"It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishment the scroll,

I am the Master of my Fate:

I am the Captain of my Soul."

                                                                                                                         –Henley.

How did you greet the morning?

IWSG - READING & WRITING

Insecure Writer’s Support Group

The brainchild of

Alex J. Cavanaugh

Question:

How has being a writer

changed your experience as a reader?

I became a reader and a writer almost simultaneously. Reading increased my vocabulary, and my writing skills have improved with each story, essay, and novel.

I have heard other writers say that they don’t enjoy reading and seldom do. I can’t wrap my head around those kinds of statements.

If I could, I would own a large room filled to the brim with books, I would spend hours each day just reading. I would gladly give up food for the privilege!

FYI: Here's a link to the Funds for Writers website - she posted links to Talking Book Services. Check it out!

**** 

The brilliant co-hosts are  Misha Gericke, LK Hill, Juneta Key, Christy and Joylene Butler!

Be sure to say hello and thanks!

*****

February's WEP Challenge

 Back of the Drawer

is open!

Sign up today!

TSUNAMI CRIMES

I'm honored to host Chrys Fey on tour with her latest release. 

Tsunami Crimes

The 3rd book in her Disaster Crime Series.

Tsunami Crimes was released on January 20th, so be sure and pick up your copy!

As part of her tour she's agreed to answer one question!

My Question for Chrys: If you couldn't be a writer what other creative outlet would you pursue?

Imagining not being able to write at all is a frightening thing. I can’t fathom a life where I’m not writing. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t even be Chrys Fey! But there are a couple of creative outlets I would love to pursue if I had the time and means.

One pursuit is fashion designing. Ever since I was a teen, I’ve loved to draw dresses. I’ve dreamed of having them made, but I’m not a dressmaker. I can barely stitch. And I don’t have the sort of investment it would take to pay someone.

So, the creative outlet I’d pursue is the one I enjoy doing now . . . photography. I love to capture images with a camera, specifically nature. I’ve fantasized about going on a road trip across the United States to capture stunning snapshots, and also traveling to other countries. Instead of walking around with a pen and notebook, I’d have an expensive camera handing from my neck. That’s a visual I like. The funny thing is, I don’t even have a camera now, and yet, photography is one of my passions outside of writing.

BLURB:

Beth and Donovan have come a long way from Hurricane Sabrina and the San Francisco earthquake. Now they are approaching their wedding day and anxiously waiting to promise each other a lifetime of love. The journey down the aisle isn’t smooth, though, as they receive threats from the followers of the notorious criminal, Jackson Storm. They think they’ll be safe in Hawaii, but distance can’t stop these killers. Not even a tsunami can.

This monstrous wave is the most devastating disaster Beth has ever faced. It leaves her beaten, frightened. Is she a widow on her honeymoon? As she struggles to hold herself together and find Donovan, she’s kidnapped by Jackson's men.

Fearing her dead, Donovan searches the rubble and shelters with no luck. The thought of her being swept out to sea is almost too much for him to bear, but the reality is much worse. She’s being used as bait to get him to fall into a deadly trap.

If they live through this disaster, they may never be the same again.

On SALE for $2.99!

BUY LINKS:

Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon CA

NOOK / KOBO / The Wild Rose Press

P.S. Hurricane Crimes and Seismic Crimes are on sale for 99 Cents!

Chrys Fey is the author of the Disaster Crimes Series. She is a blogger, reader, auntie, vegetarian, and cat Lover. Get Lightning Crimes (Disaster Crimes 2.5) for FREE!

FIND CHRYS:

Facebook / Twitter / Blog / Website / Amazon / Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

How about you readers?

If you couldn't work in your chosen field -

what would you do instead?

MIRACLES

Yolanda Renée © 2017

There are only two ways to live your life.

One is as though nothing is a miracle.

The other is as though everything is a miracle.

-Albert Einstein

MURDER & OBSESSION IN AUDIO

MURDER & OBSESSION

NOW  IN AUDIO

Detective Steven Quaid is ready for new challenges as Anchorage's top detective, but not until he marries the woman of his dreams on New Year's Eve. Determined to give Sarah the wilderness honeymoon she desires, he turns his grandfather's cabin into the perfect honeymoon retreat. After the final details are complete, Steven treks into the mountains to hunt. On his return to the cottage, instead of Sarah, he is greeted by several police officers and a bloody crime scene. Accusations fly, and Stephen flees into the wilderness, his heart racing and thoughts etching into his soul.

The wilderness is unforgiving, but Steven faces it head on: Caught between a massive grizzly and a black bear in a deadly tug of war, he is barely saved from death's door by the fortuitous appearance of his uncle. Despite surviving multiple injuries, Steven continues his investigation as he recovers, but answers don't come quick or easy.

Having enlisted the aid of his number one suspect, Steven faces a struggle that has become more than personal.

This one just may cost him his heart.

ORDER NOW

RELEASE DATE

January 25, 2017

"The story is well crafted and well written as is the entire trilogy. . . . I sincerely hope, Renée does not stop with this trilogy but gives us more exciting novels to read in the future."

---Book Reviews by Pat Garcia"

More Detective Quaid Mysteries are coming:

To be released

April 4, 2017

THE SNOWMAN

A Prequel to the Trilogy

Detective Quaid’s First Case

&

New Detective Quaid Mysteries

in the works:

MOTIVE FOR MURDER

&

MURDER, JUST BECAUSE

These two are still works in progress so I can’t give a definite date.

YOU CAN NEVER TELL!

Yolanda Renée © 2017

YOU NEVER CAN TELL

You never can tell when you send a word,
    Like an arrow shot from a bow
By an archer blind, be it cruel or kind,
    Just where it may chance to go.
It may pierce the breast of your dearest friend.
    Tipped with its poison or balm,
To a stranger's heart in life's great mart,
    It may carry its pain or its calm.

You never can tell when you do an act
    Just what the result will be;
But with every deed you are sowing a seed,
    Though the harvest you may not see.
Each kindly act is an acorn dropped
    In God's productive soil.
You may not know, but the tree shall grow,
    With shelter for those who toil.

You never can tell what your thoughts will do,
    In bringing you hate or love;
For thoughts are things, and their airy wings
    Are swifter than carrier doves.
They follow the law of the universe---
    Each thing must create its kind,
And they speed o'er the track to bring you back
    Whatever went out from your mind.

Poems of Power by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Chicago : W. B. Conkey, 1902.

Yolanda Renée © 2017

WHAT LIES . . .

Yolanda Renée © 2017

What lies behind you

and what lies in front of you,

pales in comparison

to what lies inside of you.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

IWSG - THERE ARE RULES?

THE INSECURE WRITER'S SUPPORT GROUP

Created by Alex J Cavanaugh

The awesome co-hosts are Eva @ Lillicasplace, Crystal Collier, Sheena-kay Graham, Chemist Ken, LG Keltner, and Heather Gardner!

January 4 Question: What writing rule do you wish you’d never heard?

There are rules for writing? Honestly, I wasn’t paying attention. Too busy writing, but I look forward to reading your answers to the question.
As for me and rules – aren’t they meant to be broken? J

 Happy 2017!

A New Year, the opportunity for new beginnings. Love that aspect and I am grabbing the bull by the horns. I hope you are too! Go for it, make this the year you achieve your deepest desires!

What are your writing goals for 2017?

Consider adding WEP writing challenges to your goals:

WEP - Write...Edit...Publish