Ann W. Jarvie has a B.A. in journalism and more than twenty-five years’ experience as an award-winning writer in advertising and public relations agencies, both in South Carolina and Chicago. She now lives near Phoenix, Arizona, where she spends part of her time as a freelance copywriter and the rest writing fiction.
The Soul Retrieval was inspired by Jarvie’s maternal grandmother’s fascinating life on Indian reservations, where she lived with her physician husband until his mysterious and untimely death.
www.annwjarvie.com
https://twitter.com/annjarvie1
https://plus.google.com/104972649617453739149/posts
https://www.facebook.com/ann.jarvie1
Inspired by a true story, The Soul Retrieval is a suspenseful tale of love, loss and healing
which follows traumatized southern beauty Henrietta Clayborn as she moves between her
home in a small South Carolina town and the New Mexico Native American reservation whose spontaneous healings keep drawing her physician husband back. Tortured by her awful secrets, Henrietta struggles to thrive in either locale, but it is her unlikely friendship with Joe Loco––an eccentric Native American mystic with an Elvis fetish and a gift for healing––that shows her the way to be whole again.
Set in the late 1950s, The Soul Retrieval is richly woven with spiritual insights but also deadly secrets, forbidden healings, a murder mystery, stunning scenery and an unforgettable cast of characters.
A story of transcendent and inspiring power that is both entertaining and enlightening, readers will be cheering for the uptight woman from South Carolina to push through her fears of the forbidden as she searches for truth and healing, faces great obstacles on the frontier of self and
ultimately becomes more than she ever thought possible.
After finishing the second nocturne, he looked up at her. “You know that I’ve been researching the high incidence of spontaneous healings here, right?” Jeff was both a lead physician and medical researcher at the Medichero Indian Hospital. He reached for a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his short-sleeved white shirt.
“Uh-huh,” Henrietta said. She barely heard what he said. How am I going to get into it? How am I going to tell him? She had asked herself these questions at least a million times. She picked up a pen and notebook from the coffee table, trying to keep her hands busy.
Jeff smoked in silence a moment before continuing. “There’s more to it than even I imagined.”
“More to what?” she asked. She absently doodled on the page without looking up. How am I
going to tell him?
Jeff blew smoke. “The spontaneous healings that I’m so interested in ... the medicine men here seem to be doing something real to affect the recoveries.”
Now he had her attention. “They are?” She looked at him. “Like what?”
Instead of answering, Jeff got up and turned toward the bay windows that cradled the piano in a small alcove off the living room of the doctor’s cottage. His silhouette against the bright morning light was a man-shaped eclipse, his muscled edges luminous and blurred by the smoldering tobacco. It gave him an unworldly appearance, and Henrietta was reminded about how often she felt like an outsider here, and even back home.
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Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Friday, March 27, 2015
Interview withR.J. Merle for Savage Winds
Author R.J.
Merle stepped out of the realm of Top-Secret documents (shh, don’t tell…) to
write sci-fi and paranormal fiction.
R.J. survived
and escaped both the entertainment field and the government-contracting
environment, craves the Walking Dead, and entertains what-if tidbits about
“supposed” technological and biological advances.
Goodreads
Blog
1. At any given time do you work on only one story at a time and maybe plot out the next one or are there many ideas racing around your head? YES! (Most definitely in all caps with an explanation point, then times three.) At any given time, while I am plotting one book, I first draft a second, while polishing a third. Always there are ideas racing, so I jot them down so that I can maintain focus on current projects.
4. Say you have unlimited funds: What kind of writing office/cottage would you create for yourself? Honestly, after years of being under the impression that I had to have big chunks of time set aside to write, I’ve trained myself to write anywhere at any time, even on a Canadian floating fishing lodge and in the Australian mountains. Anytime I can claim 15 minutes, I write.
6. Finally, tell us about your latest release!
A dangerous conspiracy unfolds...
Up ahead, a left-to-right movement shifted among the towering tree trunks.
A coyote howled. Behind him. Too close.
A rush jolted through Stedford’s veins. He shoved the phone into his back jeans pocket and dashed into the brush.
Branches slashed and snapped.
Briars grabbed, snagged, and snatched free.
Zilch.
After pulling up to a halt, like a tree among many, he stood stark still.
Not a bad deal for a geeky eighteen-year-old.
Except Stedford would soon be wandering the dark.
He retrieved his phone and gauged the average power usage. Three and a quarter hours of battery life. Tops. Way before midnight, his flashlight app would die with the phone, and he would flounder in total darkness.
Ominous shivers goosed his chill bumps.
When nature refuses to be controlled, can mankind endure? Brainwaves altered by a covert government project based out of the Secret City of Oak Ridge, the Children of the Elements are brought together and tested as weapons of mass destruction. Their struggle to free themselves and survive in the hostile East Tennessee Mountains creates massive chaos and threatens to bring about an apocalypse.
Unrelenting Tide (Book 4)
Merciless Void (Book 5)
No stranger
to the goings on in the city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, R.J. Merle blends a
down-home flavor with a former in-the-know—hypothetically, of course—technical
background to craft the twists and intrigue of Secret City Adventures.
Goodreads
Blog
1. At any given time do you work on only one story at a time and maybe plot out the next one or are there many ideas racing around your head? YES! (Most definitely in all caps with an explanation point, then times three.) At any given time, while I am plotting one book, I first draft a second, while polishing a third. Always there are ideas racing, so I jot them down so that I can maintain focus on current projects.
2. Is there a genre you haven't written
in but would like to? Or wish you could write in? While Savage Winds and
the Children of the Elements is YA Science Fiction Adventure with horror
elements, my next series is YA Horror focused and is about psychically gifted
teens on a ghost busting TV show and their haunting adventures. The first book
in the is scheduled for release this spring.
3. Do you add an
element of romantic suspense in your stories? The Children of the
Elements Series features suspense and action of the science fiction/paranormal/horror
kind.
4. Say you have unlimited funds: What kind of writing office/cottage would you create for yourself? Honestly, after years of being under the impression that I had to have big chunks of time set aside to write, I’ve trained myself to write anywhere at any time, even on a Canadian floating fishing lodge and in the Australian mountains. Anytime I can claim 15 minutes, I write.
5. If you could turn your novel into a
TV show, which novel or series would you do? Where would it be set? Network TV
(ABC, NBC, CBS), Cable (AMC, BBC, Lifetime) or Premium Cable (HBO, Showtime,
Starz)? The Word-o-gram for the Children of the Elements Series would
include descriptions such as Psychic Powers, Telekinesis, Apocalypse,
Electro-Magnetic Pulse, Zombies, and Mutants; therefore, AMC, since AMC most
awesomely hosts the Walking Dead.
6. Finally, tell us about your latest release!
A dangerous conspiracy unfolds...
In
Author R.J. Merle’s whirlwind start of the Children of the Elements series, a
clumsy teenage techno-geek struggles to protect kidnapped children from a
covert government organization responsible for creating their abilities to
control the five elements.
A mighty wind…
Eighteen-year-old
Stedford Thackett’s conspiracy theorist brother ensnares him in a real life
children-as-weapons plot, while a determined scientist grooms happy-go-lucky
five-year-old Darcie Lynn Carpenter to use the wind as a deadly weapon.
Out of control...
Despite
the firm hand of Scientist Nora Hicks, Stedford struggles to rescue the kids
and escape, even as Darcie Lynn fights to gain control of the surging power of
the savage winds.
Where to Buy: Please Note Savage Winds is FREE!
Excerpt:If
only Stedford could spend his Saturday afternoon working on projects. Nowhere
near as lucrative or fun, keeping track of Cantrell was a honking full-time
job.
Up ahead, a left-to-right movement shifted among the towering tree trunks.
He
choked out a loud whisper, “Cantrell?”
A coyote howled. Behind him. Too close.
A rush jolted through Stedford’s veins. He shoved the phone into his back jeans pocket and dashed into the brush.
Branches slashed and snapped.
Briars grabbed, snagged, and snatched free.
The
pounding smash of his high-tops bulled through the scrub. Grayness reduced the
reach of his eyesight. As dusk fell toward nightfall, he wouldn’t be able to
see squat.
Zero
night vision.
Zilch.
After pulling up to a halt, like a tree among many, he stood stark still.
What
had he been thinking coming out here like this?
That
maybe he might keep Cantrell from getting into trouble, all the while
protecting his own chances to contract for a special project. Nothing wrong
with looking out for both their futures.
If
Uncle Merv’s contacts worked out, the brothers would be set money-wise for
life.
Not a bad deal for a geeky eighteen-year-old.
Except Stedford would soon be wandering the dark.
He retrieved his phone and gauged the average power usage. Three and a quarter hours of battery life. Tops. Way before midnight, his flashlight app would die with the phone, and he would flounder in total darkness.
Ominous shivers goosed his chill bumps.
A
stick snapped atop the hill.
When nature refuses to be controlled, can mankind endure? Brainwaves altered by a covert government project based out of the Secret City of Oak Ridge, the Children of the Elements are brought together and tested as weapons of mass destruction. Their struggle to free themselves and survive in the hostile East Tennessee Mountains creates massive chaos and threatens to bring about an apocalypse.
Five
full novels, one huge story.
Savage
Winds (Book 1)
Dire
Rumblings (Book 2)
Raging
Inferno (Book 3)Unrelenting Tide (Book 4)
Merciless Void (Book 5)
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Thursday, March 26, 2015
#NewRelease Afterlife or Bust by June Mayes
June Mayes is
a Cape Cod born and bred writer who lived in London for 10 years before returning
home. She’s a hopeless romantic with a passion for writing all sorts of genre.
Her days are spent juggling family life, walking the dog, writing and reading
books, more books and even more books!
Amazon author
page: http://www.amazon.com/June-Mayes/e/B00KPJ7NCO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7113171.June_Mayes
Blurb:
Lizzie
is making the best of her life, er afterlife. She's working hard being a doctor
to all things supernatural and for the most part has managed to behave. With
her daytime watcher in tow and a very enticing Master Vampire turning up the
heat of their romance, things couldn’t be better.
Of course things could get worse and do. Being killed again was not part of Lizzie’s agenda and having to navigate the politics of all things that go bump in the night is just icing on the afterlife cake. But Lizzie has plans. She's going to make her death worth living and she is going to drag everyone else along kicking and screaming.
Of course things could get worse and do. Being killed again was not part of Lizzie’s agenda and having to navigate the politics of all things that go bump in the night is just icing on the afterlife cake. But Lizzie has plans. She's going to make her death worth living and she is going to drag everyone else along kicking and screaming.
Where to Buy:
Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Afterlife-Bust-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00RM9XRIO/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Excerpt:
“Sure, I’ll ask them to make an appointment for you, and
Bob’s your uncle. All I need is your name.“ I smiled and was surprised that my
canines were down and in full view. Either there was a threat here I was less
than aware of or I was a little hungry. Hmm yup, no bleeding patients yet
today. I would need to go in search of an unwary patient or two.
“Cuthbert.” The gargoyle brought me back to what I was doing
with that simple pronouncement. “But I don’t have an Uncle Bob.”
“Forget Bob. Your name is Cuthbert?” I repeated, stunned.
“Yes,” he continued to smile at me. Well, it was more a tiny
upturn of one side of his lips, which could have been a grimace or gas come to
think of it. No, I was going with smile. He did genuinely look a little
happier, which was a good sign. I did have to look down and try to school my
expression into a calm understanding doctor face before I looked back up at
him.
“A gargoyle named Cuthbert.”
“Correct.” Okay, now I know he was smiling. There was a
dimple in one cheek and everything. Course it came and went so fast you would
have needed vampire vision to see the dimple. But hey, that’s why I was the
vampire doctor.
“OK,” I said calmly before leaving the room, closing the
door behind me. Godzilla came up as if to discuss something, and I just shook
my head at her. Cuthbert the gargoyle. Great.
June will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour!
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
#NewRelease The Truth About Lilly by @ChristyMckee
Christy McKee
began her career in TV news and eventually found her way into advertising and
finally fiction. She believes a good story should be about characters who win
your heart, sometimes move you to tears and occasionally make you laugh. As a
reader, Christy hopes you'll be swept into her characters' lives enjoy getting
to know them, experience the challenges they endure and be with them when they
come out on the other side.
Blurb:
Disgraced…
Lilly
Talbot never imagined she would be starting her life over again. Losing her
good name for something she didn’t do has driven her to move into an old lake
house she inherited in Vermont. Upon arrival, she is shocked. Half the roof is
about to slide into Lake Champlain. Even more upsetting, the man who can fix it
will only agree if she trades him room and board for his labor. What will the
good people of Haley think of her sharing a house with the handsome bachelor?
A
man with a past…
Connor
“Mac” McQueen, once one of the infamous Whiz Kids of Wall Street, spent three
years in prison for insider trading. Only one thing sustained him during his
time inside, the thought of owning Point Cottage, a home he’d fallen in love
with years ago. He plans to turn the house into a stunning showcase for his
eco-friendly home construction business.
Secrets
and lies…
Now
someone’s trying to drive Lilly from her home. Is it someone from her past? Mac
has secrets of his own-- that could ruin lives if revealed. But if Lilly and
Mac are to have a future together they must first delve into the past for
answers and accept some difficult truths about each other. Only then, will they
know if true love is in their hearts.
Excerpt:
Mac reached around her and saved the project under a new
file, "Lilly's stuff," then he pulled her chair away from the table.
"Come on, I'll smooth out your pretty little neck and shoulders in no
time."
Lilly didn't care if it was a line or not. She wanted to
feel his big hands on her. She let him pull her out of the chair and lead her
over to his delightfully soft leather couch. He sat down in the corner and put
her in front of him, his thick, muscled thighs on either side of her hips.
Beneath his strong grip, slide and release, she sank deeper into a soft, mellow
contentment.
After a few minutes of heavenly relaxation, Mac nuzzled her
ear. "Feel better?"
"You have no idea." She sighed. "Whatever you
do, please don't stop."
He offered up a deep, masculine chuckle. "Not even for
something that gives you more pleasure?"
Pleasure? The way the word rolled off Mac's tongue, it was
more of an invitation than a question.
Without waiting for her answer, Mac dropped warm kisses
along the sensitive skin of her neck and innocent—tender little kisses that
appeared to be heading in no particular direction, igniting nerves along the
way and blazing a path straight to her core. Mercy, she wanted more of the
pleasure Mac seemed ready to give.
She tipped her head towards him and his mouth closed over
hers. His strong arms turned her around until she was sitting on his lap,
facing him. In the process her breasts brushed against his broad chest, and
every nerve within her went on full alert. Had she ever actually sat on a man's
lap before, other than maybe, Santa Claus’s? Desire, dormant for far too long,
awakened, and Lilly's breath caught as a slow burn kindled inside her. For the
first time in forever, need and want filled her, crowding out any cautionary
thought.
Mac's large, calloused hands gently captured her face then
plowed through her hair, freeing it from her ponytail. Pulling her towards him,
his mouth played over hers before thrusting his tongue inside and taking full
possession. There was no detail of him that escaped Lilly's notice—the graze of
his five o'clock shadow against her tender skin, his spicy masculine scent and
the sexy growl he made when her tongue finally tangled with his. She wanted him
to roll her beneath him, to feel the full force of him surrounding her and
filling her.
Her breath came in short, hot pants. Hindered by her
bandages, her frustration grew at not being able to touch him, to feel his
powerful shoulders and muscular chest. Instead, she settled for sliding her
hands around his neck and drawing him even closer. To her surprise, Mac pulled
back.
One of his big hands cupped her chin. "There is nothing
I'd rather do than take you to bed, this minute. But, you've suffered a trauma
and you're vulnerable right now."
It took a few seconds for Mac's words to filter through her
R-rated thoughts. He was backing off? He could just push her away like that
when he was the one who started kissing her?
His blue eyes bored into hers. "Make no mistake, baby
girl. I'm going to take you to bed and soon. Can’t wait to do all the things
with you I’ve been dreaming about."
"Oh." Her voice dripped with disappointment and
disbelief. Soon? Well, that didn’t exactly help her out now, did it? He’d
brought out all of these feelings and desires and she was supposed to turn them
off? Even though “soon” wasn’t a rejection, it still felt like one. She removed
her arms from Mac's shoulders and squirmed out of his lap, taking a smug few seconds
to note his rock hard condition upon which she'd been sitting.
Christy will be awarding a $40 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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