AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT WITH AMY L. GALE

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AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT

WITH AMY L. GALE

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HOT ROCK STAR ROMANCE
How would you fair out dating a Rock Star?

BLISSFUL TRAGEDY

Ambitious 22-year-old Lexie Waters is intent on taking the advertising world by storm. When she’s offered the soon to be open position she’s been vying for at a swanky advertising agency, there’s only one last summer separating her from dreams of corporate success. Still bitter from catching her boyfriend cheating, she heads out for a night of fun to see her favorite band, Devil’s Garden, but fun turns into utter embarrassment when she insults the enticingly confident lead singer, Van Sinclair. Van is intrigued by Lexie’s ability to resist his charm and secretly obtains her cell number. Shocked but eager to get to know this captivating rocker, Lexie accepts Van’s invitation to see his next show, which requires an overnight stay. The overwhelming feelings that follow take them both by surprise, and with two months left before starting her sought after new position, Lexie joins the tour. As she’s catapulted into the world of groupies and wild parties, she questions Van’s commitment to her. So what happens at summer’s end when time runs out?

Amazon * Barnes and Noble * ITunes * AUDIOBOOK

BLISSFUL DISASTER


One night stands.

Career-driven Ali Whitman, never dreamed of having one, until she finds herself waking up next to a handsome tattooed man she knows nothing about. After celebrating her promotion to field reporter at Entertainment Rocks! magazine, she breaks her number one rule - to focus on work without the distraction of the opposite sex.

Rules.

Tyler Young lives by his own set. As bassist for Devil’s Garden, he exudes sexual energy and lives for the moment; no strings attached, no regrets, and no looking back.

When the two are brought face to face during an interview it goes sour, sparking a string of disasters. As their feelings for each other grow, they find themselves living by a new set of rules, but demons from the past haunt their new found love. Is it possible to crawl from the ashes of the aftermath or will it all go down in flames?

Amazon * Smashwords * iTunes * Barnes and Noble

🏈CHRISTMAS BLITZ🏈 

    Small town real estate agent Holly Clifford is counting the seconds until she pays off the debt incurred from caring for her sick mother and can move out of Hilldale Vermont forever. After forfeiting her college scholarship to law school to be at her mother's side, she obtained her real estate license and took a position at Trust Reality. Nick Shaw is on the path to victory. As a high school football hero turned rookie star wide receiver of the newest NFL team, the Iowa Talons, success is all he knows. But sometimes there's things fame and money can't buy. When Nick returns to Hilldale, he puts an offer on a lakeside mansion up for sale by Trust Reality and turns Holly's life upside down. Can she stay on track and resist Nick's charm or will she be blitzed by Hilldale's football hero this Christmas? 

Amazon US 

💖✫BLISSFUL VALENTINE: A NOVELLA✫💖 

Straight-laced 19-year-old Brooke Powers has two goals: First, avoid the party scene and all the drama and disaster that go along with it. Second, focus on attaining her Marketing and Business degrees. When her roommate begs her to attend a fraternity party she reluctantly obliges, but gets more than she bargained for when she meets enticingly charismatic fraternity brother, Dean Parker. After a mishap causes her to wake up in the worst possible place she can imagine, she vows to stay away from anything or anyone fraternity related. Staying away from Dean is a daily battle, one she's slowly losing. When her feelings conjure up old demons from the past, her strategically planned future turns into chaos. Brooke is desperate to keep herself on track. Will Dean be her downfall or is he exactly what she needs? 

Valentine’s Day isn’t always complete bliss.

Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 Romance author by night, pharmacist by day, Amy Gale loves rock music and the feel of sand between her toes. She attended Wilkes University where she graduated with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. In addition to writing, she enjoys baking, scary movies, rock concerts, and reading books at the beach. She lives in the lush forest of Northeastern Pennsylvania with her husband, six cats, and golden retriever. 

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Author Interview with Aubrie Dionne , Excerpt and Author Spotlight for her book Reconnaissance

 Reconnaissance

Series: Paradise Reclaimed Book # 2 

By: Aubrie Dionne

Expected Publication Date: May 1, 2013

Published By: Inkspell Publishing

Blurb-

 Nova Williams has lost her one shot at Lieutenant hood and at love. Lieutenant Crophaven has promoted her rival, Andromeda, all because her life-mate, Sirius, sacrificed their mission to win back Andromeda’s love.

While sneaking out to prove Andromeda is a fake, Nova finds an alien ship hovering over their colony. Lieutenant Crophaven assigns her to a reconnaissance mission, giving her a second chance to redeem herself. Sirius must fly her and a research team to the vessel to decide if they are a threat. Thrown together with the life-mate that betrayed her, she battles with her own jealousy while her team battles for their lives.

Can she forgive Sirius in order to save her team and warn her colony?

Excerpt

A drone, as deep and low as the growl of a primordial beast, resonated in my gut and I yanked my hand away. My heart sped like someone had fired a starter gun to a race, and my chest tightened until I couldn’t breathe.

That blaring blasphemy wasn’t from my ship.

The sound tapered off, leaving me in silence. I stared at the bones, wondering if I’d imagined it, or if I should hide here in the ruins in case the sound came back.

What am I doing? I’m a team expedition leader, for crying out loud!

I pulled myself back together. Everyone else was attending the ceremony on the ship. The thick hull, designed to protect us from deep space, blocked all sounds from the outside world. I was the only one who would have heard it. The only one who could investigate. I thought about going back for help, but every second I delayed, the source of the sound could disappear. Besides, I didn’t want the credit taken away from me. Not this time.

I scrambled to the window and climbed over the ledge, throwing myself down so fast my ankles exploded in pain. Cursing, I hobbled up the embankment of the excavation site. The sound boomed around me, vibrating the crystals underneath my feet. I fell to my knees and covered my ears. It reminded me of warping metal, growling monsters, and screeching alarms all at the same time.

The sound came from the jungle. I pulled myself up the incline and peered over the edge. A dry, fiery breeze blew my hair back, and I looked above the rustling canopy.

My heart stammered then beat into a frenzy. A massive ring of a ship, twice as large as the New Dawn, hovered over the jungle. Spires jutted from the top and the bottom, like a two-sided pin cushion. Blinking reddish lights adorned the ends. The hull was a dull gray shield of impenetrable metal with no sight panels or markings of any kind.

The buzzing sound made my eardrums throb. I pressed my nose up against the crystal ledge and peered over as my whole body shook. The lowest spire, thick as a nuclear reactor, lengthened from the belly of the ship until the tip hovered a meter from the jungle canopy. A trap door opened, and a beam of white light seared a hole in the foliage. The smell of burnt vines choked my throat, and I cowered against the side of the ledge.

I have to warn the ship.

Info on Book 1 -Colonization can be found 

here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15769793-colonization 

Links-

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17458109-reconnaissance 

Inkspell Publishing: 

 http://www.inkspellpublishing.com/1/post/2013/02/cover-reveal-reconnaissance-book-2-of-paradise-reclaimed-by-aubrie-dionne.html

Our Interview 

What would you have done differently if you was the main character of your book?

Gosh, I’m not sure. I have to really think about that. I wouldn’t have forgiven Sirius so easily. I tend to hold a grudge. So in that way, my main character is more understanding than I am! I probably would have been scared out of my wits by the giant alien monster spiders and unable to move- nevermind save everyone else. So, again, my character is more awesome than me. Oh well. 

What was your inspiration behind this book?

I wanted to give my audience a big monster enemy, because the first book doesn’t have that. I hate spiders, so I thought- that’s perfect! My inspiration for the spiders came from many sources: Arachnophobia the 1990 movie, Shelob, the spider in LOTR, the spiders in Harry Potter, and- for some strange reason- the alien bugs in Starship Troopers.

Who designed your book cover for you ? 

Naj. She’s awesome. She designs all the Inkspell covers and makes them all beautiful works of art that should be hanging in some art gallery somewhere.

Why did you become a writer ?

I loved reading, and I got bored and frustrated reading other people’s books. I wanted to have my own story with my own characters and have them do what I wanted them to do. Little did I know they have a mind of their own!

As a reader and writer I think it is important to get to know your fans and make a connection with them as an author who takes the extra step to hear what their fans think and want in there continued writing is continued success and key to selling more books .Do you agree with that ?

I love connecting with famous people, and the people I admire, so I want to give my fans that same happiness. I remember when a certain celebrity wrote me back on Twitter- I was on cloud nine for days. I saved the DM message in my email. So, if you write to me, I will write back!

Do you have a favorite author or authors?

Patricia McKillip, Tad Williams, Ursula Le Guin, Sherri S. Tepper, Orson Scott Card, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte. I could go on and on!

Do you like to write your books in a continuing series ?

Yes, I always feel like there is more story to tell. Even when I finished  the 4th book in my New Dawn series, I knew that wasn’t the “true” end.

If you could date any character from any book, who would it be and why?

Legolas from Lord of the Rings. Do I need to give a reason or is it apparent? LOL

How hard do you laugh when writing a funny scene?

I probably just smile at the computer screen.

What kinds of books do you like to read in your spare time ?

Epic fantasy is my favorite genre. Right now I’m reading Game of Thrones. I didn’t think I’d like it, because it’s so dark, but it turns out I LOVE it. I also try to read in all genres to broaden my writing skills.

Do you cry when writing sad scenes?

Not usually, but my scenes really aren’t all that sad for the most part. I try to write positive, uplifting fiction.

Thanks for the interview! Great questions!

About the Author- 

Aubrie grew up watching the original Star Wars movies over and over again until she could recite and reenact every single scene in her backyard. She also loved The Goonies, Star Trek the Next Generation-favorite character was Data by far-, and Indiana Jones. But, her all time favorite movie was The Last Unicorn. She still wonders why the unicorn decided to change back to a unicorn in the end.

Aubrie wrote in her junior high yearbook that she wanted to be "A concert flutist" when she grew up. When she made that happen, she decided one career was not enough and embarked as a fantasy, sci fi author. Two careers seems to keep her busy. For now.

Now for the professional bio:

Aubrie Dionne is an author and flutist in New England. Her writings have appeared in Mindflights, Niteblade, Silver Blade, Emerald Tales, Hazard Cat, Moon Drenched Fables, A Fly in Amber, and Aurora Wolf. Her books are published by Entangled Publishing, Lyrical Press, and Gypsy Shadow Publishing. She recently signed her YA sci fi novel with Inkspell Publishing titled: Colonization: Paradise Reclaimed, which will release in October 2012. When she's not writing, Aubrie teaches flute and plays in orchestras. She's a big Star Trek TNG fan, as well as Star Wars and Serenity.

Author Links-

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2964057

Website: http://www.authoraubrie.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authoraubrie

Blog: http://authoraubrie.blogspot.com/

Author Interview with Aubrie Dionne , Excerpt and Author Spotlight for her book Reconnaissance

 Reconnaissance

Series: Paradise Reclaimed Book # 2 

By: Aubrie Dionne

Expected Publication Date: May 1, 2013

Published By: Inkspell Publishing

Blurb-

 Nova Williams has lost her one shot at Lieutenant hood and at love. Lieutenant Crophaven has promoted her rival, Andromeda, all because her life-mate, Sirius, sacrificed their mission to win back Andromeda’s love.

While sneaking out to prove Andromeda is a fake, Nova finds an alien ship hovering over their colony. Lieutenant Crophaven assigns her to a reconnaissance mission, giving her a second chance to redeem herself. Sirius must fly her and a research team to the vessel to decide if they are a threat. Thrown together with the life-mate that betrayed her, she battles with her own jealousy while her team battles for their lives.

Can she forgive Sirius in order to save her team and warn her colony?

Info on Book 1 -Colonization can be found 

here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15769793-colonization 

Links-

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17458109-reconnaissance 

Inkspell Publishing: 

 http://www.inkspellpublishing.com/1/post/2013/02/cover-reveal-reconnaissance-book-2-of-paradise-reclaimed-by-aubrie-dionne.html

Our Interview 

About the Author- 

Aubrie grew up watching the original Star Wars movies over and over again until she could recite and reenact every single scene in her backyard. She also loved The Goonies, Star Trek the Next Generation-favorite character was Data by far-, and Indiana Jones. But, her all time favorite movie was The Last Unicorn. She still wonders why the unicorn decided to change back to a unicorn in the end.

Aubrie wrote in her junior high yearbook that she wanted to be "A concert flutist" when she grew up. When she made that happen, she decided one career was not enough and embarked as a fantasy, sci fi author. Two careers seems to keep her busy. For now.

Now for the professional bio:

Aubrie Dionne is an author and flutist in New England. Her writings have appeared in Mindflights, Niteblade, Silver Blade, Emerald Tales, Hazard Cat, Moon Drenched Fables, A Fly in Amber, and Aurora Wolf. Her books are published by Entangled Publishing, Lyrical Press, and Gypsy Shadow Publishing. She recently signed her YA sci fi novel with Inkspell Publishing titled: Colonization: Paradise Reclaimed, which will release in October 2012. When she's not writing, Aubrie teaches flute and plays in orchestras. She's a big Star Trek TNG fan, as well as Star Wars and Serenity.

Author Links-

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2964057

Website: http://www.authoraubrie.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authoraubrie

Blog: http://authoraubrie.blogspot.com/

The Island by Jen Minkman Review, Author Spotlight and Excerpt & Interview

The Island

Jen Minkman

Expected Publication Date-June 1, 2013

*Novella* (80 pages)

Genre- YA Dystopian

Blurb-

‘I walk toward the sea. The endless surface of the water extends to the horizon, whichever way I look.

Our world is small. We are on our own, and we only have ourselves to depend on. We rely on the Force deep within us, as taught to us by our forefathers.

If I were to walk westward from here, I would come across a barrier – the Wall.

Behind it, there are Fools. At least, that’s what everyone says.

I have never seen one.’

Leia lives on the Island, a world in which children leave their parents to take care of themselves when they are ten years old. Across this Island runs a wall that no one has ever crossed. The Fools living behind it are not amenable to reason – they believe in illusions. That’s what The Book says, the only thing left to the Eastern Islanders by their ancestors.

But when a strange man washes ashore and Leia meets a Fool face to face, her life will never be the same. Is what she and her friends believe about the Island really true?

Or is everyone in their world, in fact, a Fool?

Links-

Goodreads- http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17825118-the-island 

Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmOfSXPMN98

About the Author-

Jen Minkman (1978) was born in Holland, in the town of Alphen aan den Rijn. When she was 19, she moved between The Hague, Salzburg (Austria), Brussels (Belgium) and Cambridge (UK) to complete her studies in intercultural communication. She is currently a teacher of English, career counselor and teenage coach at a secondary school in Voorburg, Holland. She tries to read at least 100 books a year (and write a few, too!). She is a published author in her own country, and translates her own books from Dutch into English for self-publication.

In her spare time, she plays the piano, the guitar and the violin. For every novel she writes, she creates a soundtrack.

'I have always been drawn to writing. My first book was a sci-fi novel at the age of eight, which I painstakingly typed out on my dad's typewriter and illustrated myself. Nowadays, I stick to poetry, paranormal romance, chick-lit and/or fantasy. In my home country, I am the first-ever published writer of paranormal romance, and I will gradually make my books also available in English (seeing I have to re-write and translate the books myself, this will take some time!).

Our Interview

What would you have done differently if you were the main character of your book?

I would probably have freed the mysterious captive from the cellar. Not just because I am noble, but also because I’m a very curious person!

What was your inspiration behind this book?

Sometimes, an idea takes hold and doesn’t let go. In this case, the idea was to describe a society in which people live a certain way due to something that happened in the past... except nobody remembers what it was. In order for this kind of society to develop uninterrupted, it had to be set in a remote location or an island. That’s how I started, and then the rest kind of filled itself in.

Why did you become a writer ?

I started writing and making up stories when I was very young, so it was never a conscious decision. However, I decided to become a PUBLISHED writer in Holland when I finished writing my first full-length novel and felt it needed to be shared with the world because it was really good. I believed in myself and didn’t stop querying publishers until I had a book deal.

As a reader and writer I think it is important to get to know your fans and make a connection with them as an author who takes the extra step to hear what their fans think and want in their continued writing is continued success and key to selling more books .Do you agree with that ?

I do! I love reading what readers say about my books on Goodreads, for example. I do take care not to ‘stalk’ readers by always responding to what they write, but I do take the time to communicate with blogs that review my work and I always ‘like’ reviews people post on Goodreads. However, I don’t think I could write ‘what fans want’ because ultimately, I write for myself, which may sound strange coming from an author who wants to market her books; but I think I’d feel smothered if I ‘had to’ write things people wanted to read. I write stand-alone novels; not everybody likes that because people like reading series, but I frankly don’t feel very drawn to writing series right now. Never say never, though - I might do it in the future, but I’d still be doing it because I WANT to do it, not because it would sell well.

Do you have a favorite author or authors?

So many! I think Tonke Dragt (a Dutch writer) and Ray Bradbury inspired me to start writing my own stories in the first place, but reading New Moon by Stephenie Meyer inspired me to write my first novel, ‘Shadow of Time’, and to write more paranormal romance.

Do you like to write your books in a continuing series ?

Nope. I guess writing stand-alone novels enables me to create completely new and different worlds and characters every time I start a new project, and I like that. If I ever wrote a series, it would probably be high fantasy (in fact, that’s a project I started when I was twelve... but I never finished it).

If you could date any character from any book, who would it be and why?

Hehe :) I wouldn't mind dating Mr Darcy from Pride & Prejudice, or Jacob from Twilight & the rest of the books. But my very first ‘book crush’ was a guy named Pim Pandoer (from a Dutch book series) who was a bad guy with a heart of gold; somehow, bad guys who are good deep down are irresistible to me.

What kinds of books do you like to read in your spare time ?

I mainly read young adult fiction, sci-fi or fantasy. I also like to read books on religion & science, as the combination of the two interests me to no end.

Do you cry  when writing sad scenes?

Yes, I do. Sometimes I can feel sad for an entire day when I write a sad scene. Then I come back to it and pour more sadness into it. I think feeling those emotions makes for a more convincing book

Did you have a Cover Designer ?

In the case of The Island, Humble Nations created my cover. For my other books, I either made them myself or asked Clarissa Yeo, a very talented cover designer from Singapore.

Who is your fictional boyfriend or girlfriend crush ?

Right now I'd say Sawyer, because I'm watching ‘Lost’ like crazy!

If you were able to dine and have a one on one with your favorite writer/author who would it be ?

It would be either Thea Beckman or Ray Bradbury, but sadly they have both passed away.

Do just re-read your favorite books ?

I do all the time. Usually around X-mas when I feel nostalgic :)

Do you ever get in a reading slump like your readers do ?

Yes, but it mainly happens because I have TOO MANY books I want to read, and it overwhelms me! I never get in a reading slump because I don't want to read.

What is the funniest book you ever read ?

I love Sophie Kinsella’s books! I laughed out loud while reading Twenties Girl and I’ve Got Your Number.

Links-

Goodreads- http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5808037.Jen_Minkman 

Website-http://www.nwelsaturay.com/jenminkman/index.html 

Twitter- https://twitter.com/JenMinkman 

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/JenMinkmanYAParanormal?fref=ts

 

Our Review

 This is a first for me reading this gene making my over all reading gene base a little larger now. I enjoyed the book.The story had a strong main character Leia who really made the story flow where you could not wait to see what move she made next.

The Synopsis is what made me read this story as I was curious to see where it would lead. I found the idea of why children would be separated from there parents at the age of ten to go off on there own and live and survive on a different part of the island and not returning to there parents and hometown until they wed to be extremely intriguing.

I originally read the uncorrected proof of the story and have to say that the cast of characters names( originally) to be much more of a mystery  then the final cut ones. I liked them because I found them to be different and not the original run of the mill ones making them a little bit more intriguing for me.

This story was a novella and could have very well have been a full length novel.The story has remarks from Stars Wars trilogy making it a little bit quirky .

One thing I found that surprised me is that they never explained why the children were forced to leave there parents in the first place later on of course everything comes to light and all is revealed .I think that is what kept me turning the pages that anticipation of finding out why ?

Leia is the ringleader of there little rebel ban.She has found out by another friend that the one in charge of them all is keeping things from them and takes it upon herself to find out what those things are.Things have been the same for 100 years now . But, the one in charge seems to be abusing his power and the others now  want to overthrow him and elect a new leader but, he is so powerful and feared it will not be an easy task.They need proof so they need to steal the book of legends to prove him a liar.

The island is divided by a wall and they are told that the  fools live on the other side but not one of them knows what a fool looks like or anything about them. There current living arrangements and beliefs are based on a legend written by there ancestors but know one ever questioned those beliefs until Leia decided she wanted to know more and went on a journey to find answers.

Leia's journey lead her to find a fool from the other side of the island learning that they really are not so different then they are other than the children live with there parents here and are happy about it.

From this point on the story becomes a whirlwind of questions and answers.So much starts to unfold all is foretold almost becoming a little bit overwhelming for the cast of characters and for yourself  just to take in all at once .Your in awe with this new world you have just discovered. Your learning so much about the past wondering if for generations you have been choosing to live separated from your parents all this time based on one misconception from one point in time?

A intriguing cast of characters made this story a fun young adult read.We are giving this read 4 stars !