Alexa’s younger sister, Natalyn, is accused of murdering her boss, and why not? Jacob Burnley is found stabbed to death in Natalyn’s bed the morning after an office party. Because of this current chaos in Alexa’s life, Winnie is forced to take her place and travel to 1958 with Detective Slater for his next rookie Guardian Angel case. Before too long, Alexa finds herself entangled in a tricky situation: what could happen if her fiancé, Cliff Slater, a detective from the current century, would investigate the same murder as his grandfather, Clifton Slater, a detective from the previous century? Moreover, what would happen if said investigations were happening simultaneously? What kind of cross-interference could erupt on either side of time? What would that look like? Worlds collide, justice for a murdered girl hangs in the balance, and only time will tell.
My Review:
This book did not disappoint! I’ve read the other four books, and this was the best one yet. What happens when you toss together two detectives, a few women, several lawyers, more than one murder, and time traveling with guardian ghosts who take you back in time, never mind you can’t do anything to change history so you must tread carefully as you investigate a cold case with a woman from the current day? A lot can happen! This book Has all of that and more. Five shiny gold stars.
When Avalon Martelli and Stephanie Lambert meet at the start of their junior year at Mystekal High, they form an instant connection. Stephanie is from South Jersey and Avalon from North Jersey, and they both feel out of place in the Southern California desert.
Aside from having a home state in common, they each possess a talent for art and the heartbreak of a broken family. Avalon has the gift of sight, where the future is sometimes revealed in her paintings, while Stephanie’s drawings are all about forever love. As Stephanie, a self-described poetry geek and hopeless romantic, talks about past lives and eternal happiness, Avalon denies she’s in love with her best guy friend, River Dalworth, who is attending art school in Los Angeles.
Only weeks before graduation, Stephanie is in a car accident and falls into a coma. Devastated, Avalon believes it is all her fault. The night before, she had painted Stephanie with her head against the steering wheel—and hadn’t told her. She confides this to River, who has come home to be with her, but he can’t convince her she’s not to blame. Avalon loudly proclaims to the universe that she no longer wants her gift, but River warns her she may receive another one in its place.
Avalon and her family, along with Stephanie’s mother, pray for a miracle. River tries to console her, but she finds his presence difficult, knowing he has someone else who “just might be the one.” Trying to push her own pain and disappointment aside, Avalon keeps vigil for her best friend, hoping that Stephanie will wake up and have her greatest wish fulfilled— the meeting of her soul mate.
Well, this was certainly a unique story for me. I’ve not read books one or two, but this book was fine as a stand-alone story. Some people in real life have super powers of sorts. They tend to be highly creative as well. That is just a touch of the surprises found within. I love a good love story with ones soulmate, and this book has more than one pair of soulmates. Tears are shed and misunderstandings happen, sad endings happen yet new beginnings occur. Avalon and Stephanie both know their soulmates, and a struggle occurs for each couple. Mixed into all of this are beautiful and meaningful poetry. This book is actually a book of prose poetry in how the relationships mesh and how amazing each one who has a special ability comes to the forefront. I believe that some people are this way in real life. Avvie and Riv, Steph and Theo, are two sets of soulmates, despite the perceived angst among them in not believing that one person loves another, and misunderstanding arises. Five shiny gold stars.
Please welcome Stacey Pierson to my blog this morning. Good morning, Stacey! I’m glad you were able to join us today. Shall we have a chat?
Please introduce yourself to those reading this blog post.
I’m Stacey L. Pierson. I am a horror writer living in Louisiana. By day I take notes and door dash, by night I write.
Has writing always been part of your life and when did you “know” that it was time to start writing your first book?
For me writing has always been my escape and the one thing I constantly had morning, noon, and night. I was a military brat, so moving around it was hard to keep friendships. But I never lost and made friends with the characters I created in wild adventures I put them through.
How difficult was it writing your first book?
With Vale, my YA bayou murder mystery I rewrote it 17 times. I didn’t have the voice for a long time until one day I placed a new character into it. Dark Descendants, my Creole Island horror, I knew what was happening with every key stroke. And my third not yet out Static, had it own floe. I was just riding the waves.
Have you ever wanted to give up and what stopped you?
Oh yeah. I love twisting tropes in everything I write. When it came to finding my novels homes, it was hard. With every query, I felt I was taking a few steps back when someone said that what I was writing was too different. I wanted to quit, but didn’t because if I love the idea, then someone out there will too.
Who is the most supportive of you and your dream to be a writer?
My parents for sure. They are the best when it comes to beta reading and tossing ideas out. They have never had a problem telling this or that could be better, work on this, and I am blown away I forgot I was reading your word. And always telling how proud and howe much they love me.
Anything specific you want to tell your readers?
Get through the first chapter. Lean into the characters words, and more importantly remember you are not in control when you fall for the words. And enjoy the ride because things are going to get bumpy with my stories. But fun.
What is the best advice given to you (book or otherwise), and by whom?
Look at everything like a reader. Would you read that book? Would you read that type of story? If yes, then write it because if you love it, then others will too. And the person who told me this is my mom.
What is your target audience and what aspect of your writing do you feel targets that audience?
I love horror. I want to have horror readers on the edge of their chairs like they are watching a movie. But I also love good thrillers. I want thriller readers to find the thrill inside the lines between the horror. It may be hidden but it’s there. I love the aspect of my writing, always asking the question what if in everything chapter. You never know where and how far I will write a character and scene.
Did the cover evolve the same way, or did you work with someone to make it come together for you?
For Dark Descendants I had a wonderful cover designer, A.A. Medina. All I did was mentioned a few things and let him take over. He buried the body in the right place with DD’s cover. Pure horror love.
What are you working on now? Can we get a peek, an excerpt?
I am working on a few things right now. But yes, I can share a line from one of them. It’s from my smalltown horror – “I might regret it in the end, but I am going to do everything I can to prove what I saw.”
Any last words before we wrap things up?
When writing a fist draft, don’t worry how long it is, how many notes you write in the margins, or writing in caps PUT SOMETHING HERE…just get it done. Once you feel you have sone the best you can, print it off, and have a blast editing and adding all through it.
My poem, “My Little Dragonfly,” appeared in Collected Whispers, The International Library of Poetry, in 2008. My YA novel, Vale, was released by Darkstroke Publishing in July 2022, as was my haunting poetry, Carnival, which appeared in Abditory Literary Journal’s Issue One: Mirabilia. Dark Descendants, my Creole Island horror novel, was published by Anuci Press and came out in May. Static, a different kind of ghost story, will be released in October 2024.
Of all these book awards, the most prestigious are the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Pulitzer Prize, the Booker Prize, the International Booker Prize, PEN America Literary Awards, and the National Book Award. These awards are highly coveted, being recognized globally by authors alike across all genres.
Reader’s Favorite, Pencraft, Pinnacle, Readers Choice, Firebrand, Literary Titan, The Bookfest, Author Shout, etc to list a few that have legitimate contests despite the money required to enter them. They don’t make up categories or change their awards. Quality books in set genres win different levels. They are run with the style of a true awards should be. I now bring you the CROOKED one. This is NOT Libel or Slanderous as it is posted with the Better Business Bureau and the repost and complaint are visible for anyone to see and read.
On the image above, I see no mention of Her Alibi being a fiction book whatsoever. I will elucidate further. Please read the actual categories I never entered into. This will change as you will see if you read this post.
From Steven Seril:
Your Awards! ” Hi Mary! Congratulations on your huge success in our recent Outstanding Creator Awards contest! Attached below are your award certificates and two versions of our award seal that you are now free to use! — Steven Seril Outstanding Creator Awards OutstandingCreator.com
From Mary Schmidt:
Steven, Sorry, but I can’t accept the award because they are wrong for many reasons, sadly my efforts for awards have been destroyed and money wasted. I’m in tears! 1. Her Alibi is NOT fiction – thus it cannot take third place for best fiction spring 2024. I lived this hell for my entire life and now it is reliving a different hell for the categories to be so messed up. 2. Pseudo-Memoirs – what does that mean? 3. Parenting 2nd place? You can use that one. But what parenting did my mother do? She did none! 4. Psychological Fiction 2nd place? Her Alibi is NOT fiction! It should be Psychological Non-Fiction! But then it wasn’t judged in that category. I lived this entire book and it is a true memoir. Please don’t drag my book down publically with any news release. It’s not fair. 5. Horror 1rst place. I did live the horror of the entire book. 6. Best Supporting Character Honorable Mention? What is that? Who supported who? 7. Best Villain – Honorable Mention? How can that be? My mother was untreated for her mental illness from birth to age 82 years. My BISAC subjects are: TRUE CRIME / Forensics PSYCHOLOGY / Forensic Psychology FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Abuse / Child Abuse My THEMA subjects are: Memoirs True crime Coping with / advice about abuse True stories of heroism, endurance & survival Coping with / advice about death and bereavement Family psychology Psychological thriller My keywords are: shooting;gunshot;force feeding;abuse;gaslighting;alibi;crime;true crime;jailed;whipped;despicable;police;hid gun;fingerprints;psychotic;1960s;1970s The ONLY solution I see is to have HER ALIBI run in the current Summer contests which is unfair to me as I was judged with Spring books. What do you suggest? Those certificates are trashed. I won’t, and can’t, use them for publicity for the obvious reasons listed above. Those categories below can’t be rejudged for the spring or not? My BISAC subjects are: TRUE CRIME / Forensics PSYCHOLOGY / Forensic Psychology FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Abuse / Child Abuse My THEMA subjects are: Memoirs True crime Coping with / advice about abuse True stories of heroism, endurance & survival Coping with / advice about death and bereavement Family psychology Psychological thriller If you reply back, please reply to this email and CC to as I’m with doctors for the next few days, but I can read it via my phone email. I must go now, as the tears just won’t stop and I see no way to repair this. — Thank you so much! Mary Schmidt aka S. Jackson https://whenangelsfly.net/ M. Schmidt Productions
Steven:
Hi Mary, I hear what you’re saying and can understand your frustration. However, did you realize that at the beginning of “Her Alibi” it clearly states that this is a fictitious memoir, so we had to judge it based on that? I’ve attached a screenshot of that passage from the PDF that you submitted. So, we had to go based on that information. I’m sorry for all you’ve gone through with your real-life mother, and we really enjoyed your book and gave it a lot of props and credit. That’s why it won so many awards. We didn’t do that to hurt or spite you–of course not. We care about our authors and do what we can to elevate them. At the same time, we don’t feel it’s our fault that the book was stated to be a fictitious memoir in the book itself and went with that interpretation. I would also advise that you not take things so personally. The grand majority of people don’t respond to winning awards like this. We didn’t name the mother “Best Villain” or Harold as “Best Supporting Character” to be real-life, personal digs or insults at you or anyone else. We named them that because they’re compelling figures in your book that people might be intrigued to read about. They’re reasons to buy the book, in other words. Numerous other authors of memoirs and biographies have had themselves or people they knew named Best Villain, Best Character, or Best Supporting Character without issue. They all understand that it just shows that their book was read and that the person or persons described in it stood out to the reader. Regarding the Parenting category, this book is a good example of bad parenting. Don’t you think? It’s a book that focuses on what not to do and how not to be. Joseph Fagarazzi’s book in this contest also involved a very bad parent. Same with G.L. Franklin. They understood that their books were in those categories because they focused on parents, that includes bad or even horrifically bad ones. If you would like, we can adjust the entry to be third in Non-Fiction, change the category on the certificate to simply Memoir, remove it from Psychological Fiction, and remove the mentions of characters in the Special Awards. Again, attached below is the passage from the book describing it as a fictitious memoir. – Steven
Mary:
Steven, Please make sure my book is removed from whatever site it’s listed since the awards don’t fit my book. Can that be done ASAP please? I was going to go big on social media but I can’t. How to fix? How to fix fairly since spring books are done and those are the ones I competed in? If run in the right categories for summer then my book is up against books that are unfair to run against. Maybe you should refund my money for this terrible screwup? As it stands, I can’t recommend your awards at this time, depending on how you will fix this I’m so upset, I’m still crying. Hubby just suggested for me to not send anymore emails to reduce my stress level until you have a real plan, if any. Last resort if you can’t fix this fairly, refund my money and I report you to the Better Business Bureau how badly you and your people messed up. Then I post on social media everything that happened so wrongly done by my book, that no one looked at it to see it’s true story and not fiction.
Steven:
Mary, I can’t emphasize enough that we spent a lot of time reading and reviewing your books. We put a lot of thought, effort, and energy into doing so. We have a reputation for being thorough and brutally honest. It’s in our description. The scores and rankings you received were fair and reflected our feelings about the books and experiences with them. Keep in mind that you’re competing against dense books that have been edited, proofread, beta-read, and rewritten numerous times by professionals. Some of them were objectively better performing books than yours. I hope you understand that we can’t just move you up a spot or into 1st-place. That isn’t fair. I can offer to change the placement of the book into categories relating to points 1 and 3 (Non-Fiction, Autobiographies & Memoirs), then add your book to our Crime category (which will be noted to include True Crime / Forensics). In fact, I’ve spoken to some of the judges and we wouldn’t mind putting it in 1st-place in Crime since it is better and more interesting than the books currently in 2nd place in that category. You can be sent a new digital certificate reflecting that if you choose. – Steven
Steven:
Hi Mary, As a good faith gesture, here is an updated version of your award certificate with the desired categories. Mentions of it as fiction have been changed as well. It was also elevated to 2nd place in Non-Fiction (instead of 3rd-place in Fiction) due to being seen as comparable in quality and style to another book in that tier called “Swerve” by G.L. Franklyn. It was also placed in 1st-place in True Crime/Forensics as mentioned in the previous e-mail. – Steven
Mary:Funny how Steven can then change his verbiage and thoughts on my books! So now my books is comparable to quality and style of another?
Steven, That won’t work. You didn’t live this and you don’t understand. The psychological aspect and forensics are not mentioned. At All. Please see my attachments. You can’t simply read one sentence of a disclaimer and go by that. What about the last sentence of the disclaimer? I’ve thought long and hard on this. 1. Change Best Fiction book to Best Non-Fiction and a higher award level. 2. Change Pseudo – Memoir to True Memoir and up one level. 3. Add in True Crime/Forensics as I entered by typing that category. It needs a good rating for explicit descriptions of what happened throughout the book. I want you to read the book. A two hour read. 4. Leave Parenting, Horror, Best Supporting and Best Villian. Please see attachments. Thank you. PS: You dinged Christmas in Evergreen bad even though it had twists and turns and was heavily researched. Assassins, the KGB, what were you all thinking? My 50th book wasn’t good enough for anything better than one Second Place?
Steven, I truly can’t imagine spending a lot of time reading Her Alibi which is a short two hour read and with 12 actual photos makes it even less to read. I fail to understand how “a lot of time was used” looked at, most of this would have been non-issues.
You are the only award contest who didn’t look enough to see why the first sentence was a disclaimer. Every other contest looks at the categories and you didn’t! I even wrote that the focus was on the psychological aspect of having untreated mental illnesses until age 82.
It’s not that she got away with the shooting. It’s the mental, child, and grandchild, until she died in November of 2012. You write rankings were fair and brutally honest, yet the awards on my attached front cover shows how compelling Her Alibi truly is. Please take a good look. You slammed my writing style unfairly. True Crime / Forensics should have been noted right away. The certificate looks better, but take a good look at my cover. My book was professionally edited. So, how do you plan to FIX Christmas in Evergreen? I have that cover attached as well. By the way, this one was my 50th book! There are FOUR GOLD awards on it right now and I’m sure November. You don’t know me, and you don’t know my work and creativity. My reach on X (formerly known as Twitter) is over 50 million and I have the proof. I also hand painted my cover. Christmas in Evergreen to fix.
Mary, Your demanding and rude behavior is inappropriate and uncalled for. We will make no further accommodations in your favor. We have already gone above and beyond in fulfilling our obligations as a service including providing you with $10 discounts for each of your books, bonus categories at no additional cost, multiple awards, and redoing the digital certificate by request. Meanwhile, you have violated the Terms & Conditions that you agreed to when you entered our contest. Those are: – You acknowledge that by participating in the Outstanding Creator Awards contests that you are not guaranteed a satisfactory outcome (i.e. victory). – You also agree that you will not seek retribution against the judges or organizers of Outstanding Creator Awards for a perceived wrong (such as not winning or placing) such as by posting or sharing defamatory or slanderous statements on social media or to your associates Earlier, you had attempted to pressure us into improving your placement and ranking. That in itself is unethical in a competition. Furthermore, if we did not do this, you demanded your money back for a service that was already fulfilled that you signed up for almost 100 days ago. That’s over three times longer than our 30-day refund limit. You also threatened to go to social media or the BBB if your demands were not met, further trying to pressure us into giving you a more favorable result. We are not those other book contests. We don’t know how they may have handled similar demands, but we will also not compromise our integrity by being pressured, intimidated, extorted, or blackmailed into providing a result that is undeserved and unearned. The services you paid for at a discounted rate were fulfilled and exceeded. You now have two options: 1. Take the awards that you have from us and move on in peace, or 2. Continue to make demands and attempt to pressure us into giving you a more favorable outcome. If you do so, you will be disqualified for violating the Terms & Conditions of our contest and all of your current awards from us will be voided and considered invalid. At that point, all mention of you and your books will also be removed along with your awards. We recommend that you take your awards and cease communication.
((((( The other awards entered kept true to form and didn’t change or make-up strange categories. This person was the only one who has ever not read categories listed as competing in nor looked at book genre. This is all public at the BBB, thus I can now post this on my blog. )))))
Mary:
Steven, Keep all awards and refund my money. If not, the BBB it is then.
Steven:
You now have two options:
Take the awards that you have from us and move on in peace, or
Continue to make demands and attempt to pressure us into giving you a more favorable outcome. If you do so, you will be disqualified for violating the Terms & Conditions of our contest and all of your current awards from us will be voided and considered invalid. At that point, all mention of you and your books will also be removed along with your awards.
We recommend that you take your awards and cease communication.
Mary: Now with this being part of the BBB
Complaint: 21685841
I am rejecting this response because: The fully egregious manner they treated me with. If they say it is $130 paid, then they need to refund the $130. Nothing else is acceptable. They need to run awards in the right manner and not flip flop on their words and verbiage back to me. Their TOU is invalid due to their inability to actually read the written word, see the categories, and the real life BISAC codes and what the books are actually about and not just a first line disclaimer to prevent libel. On Her Alibi, I was taken aback by “awards” that were not awards. Then they flopped and offered awards that “they make up” and they don’t even look at the categories chosen by me. The email manner they have treated me, and the purely vindictive manner they are using against me, for Christmas in Evergreen, a four Gold medal recipient book was the straw tha broke the camels back. The awards are a sham and a scam.
Her Alibi – they changed award categories when shown it was a true story.
Christmas in Evergreen – they abused me in my the emails back to me.
Their TOU does not include what happens when they strike back at me with agregious and spiteful verbiage. Therefore, they owe me $130. Plus they need to be listed under the BBB as a very unfavorable and untrustworty scam awards they make up categories to suit their whims. I don’t want to have to take this global in a blog post and show the numerous ways they treated me, flipping and flopping and making up things that simply don’t exist.
From Business to BBB Twice:
MESSAGE FROM BUSINESS:
We stand by our initial response.
From BBB:
Mary Schmidt
Subject:
BBB complaint has been closed
Mary Schmidt
Dear Mary Schmidt,
This message is regarding Complaint ID # 21685841- Outstanding Creator Awards
Your complaint is closed for the following reason:
We understand you are NOT satisfied with the business’s response, and have noted your dissatisfaction in our files. While we were unable to reach your desired resolution, the business has provided your Better Business Bureau (BBB) with its position. As BBB is not an enforcement agency, we cannot force a business to offer any specific remedy for consumer complaints. In this case, we cannot force the business to issue a refund. This matter is now closed in BBB files, and will appear in the company’s BBB Business Profile as: “Answered – the business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer remains dissatisfied.”
Please note, the text of your response may be publicly posted on BBB’s website. BBB reserves the right to not post in accordance with BBB policy, and we may edit your response to protect privacy rights and to remove inappropriate language.
We appreciate the opportunity to be of service, and sincerely hope you will contact us for future pre-purchase information.
Sincerely,
Mary Ann R Core Services Manager maryannr@bbbinc.org Phone: 316-719-4204
MESSAGE FROM BUSINESS: We stand by our initial response.
((((( Please note, the text of your response publicly posted on BBB’s website. )))))This means I can now blog this and not break their TOU as it is public with the BBB.
Hello Robin. It’s so nice to have you on my blog today. Shall we sit and have a chat about what’s going on in your writing life?
1. Please introduce yourself to those reading this blog post.
Hi, my name is Robin Burnage, I live in Wales, UK and am delighted to have been asked to discuss my first novel ‘The Threat in the Atlantic’ which is book number eight in the series ‘The Merriman Chronicles’.
I know that sounds a bit weird, so probably need to clarify that the series was originally written by my late Father. He managed to write nine novels in total which I originally published for him. Sadly, he died in 2015 leaving some unfinished works and a plan for the series. Shortly before he passed, he asked me to continue the series.
That brings back some difficult memories for sure, maybe for another interview.
2. Has writing always been part of your life and when did you “know” that it was time to start writing your first book?
Honestly no unless you can count business plans and marketing blurb for property sales and rentals. I always ‘knew’ I was destined to be self-employed, so writing that sort of thing just sort of flowed. That was in a previous professional life before I quit the rat race and bought a boat to live aboard.
There was a period when I was living on the yacht, that I passed some time writing the start of a crime series – about a nearly retired Police Inspector in The Metropolitan Police in London. I’ve got a few novels underway and a serious lead character with a grudge against the system. But to be fair, cruising around the Mediterranean, popping into Tavernas and mingling with yachties took up a lot of time and I was never that serious about getting them finished. They are on the back burner whilst I concentrate on The Merriman Chronicles.
3. How difficult was it writing your first book?
It’s certainly been a long process. Just getting into the right place psychologically after my dad passed away was difficult enough. It took until the end of 2022 to get his last novel ‘The Fateful Voyage’ published. I’m glad I did though, because it rekindled interest in the series, plus helped boost sales beyond anything we could have expected. I think this was a bit of a catalyst for me – a kick in the butt if you like – to get on with the next book.
The starting point was always obvious – pick up where Dad intended the next novel to start. From that point of view, I already had a subject matter and a protagonist in Captain Sir James Abel Merriman. I also had his crew, a ship and a period of history already mapped out to start the next novel.
There were certainly difficulties in getting the feel of the book right. Like Dad’s but also maybe adding my own flavour. There are some new characters and hopefully a bit of fleshing out of existing ones, adding some more dimensions. I hope so anyway, that’s what I was aiming for.
4. Have you ever wanted to give up and what stopped you?
Many times… next question!
5. Who is the most supportive of you and your dream to be a writer?
Uncomfortable question, sorry but can we move on?
6. Anything specific you want to tell your readers?
Probably this book can be read as a standalone novel, but it’s much better to be acquainted with the series. Start with ‘A Certain Threat’ and work your way through it.
If you want a flavour of my Dad’s writing without committing to a series, then try ‘The Fateful Voyage’ which is currently not connected with the rest, other than the name Merriman. I’ve set it as book 38 in the series, so it will link up one day. But that means I have a lot of work to do!
7. What is the best advice given to you (book or otherwise), and by whom?
Oh gosh, just general stuff, I guess. Read lots, write lots. If you want to be an author, then you need to stuff your head with other people’s work.
Wear sunscreen – I forgot a couple of times when I was sailing and seriously burnt my nose. Being severely “tutted” at by an elderly French Pharmacist in Brittany was an experience I don’t want to repeat.
8. What is your target audience and what aspect of your writing do you feel targets that audience?
OK, this should be obvious – Dad’s old readership audience. There are quite a few reviews on Amazon stating that the reader was sad the series ended. Well, guess what…. Merriman is back! Hopefully I can gain my own following if – and it’s a big if – that ‘The Threat in the Atlantic’ hits the spot.
9. Did the cover evolve the same way, or did you work with someone to make it come together for you?
The cover? You mean the book cover? Well, I worked with an amazing chap called Colin Baxter, a Marine Artist from the south of England. I have followed his work for quite some time as he does beautiful paintings of the exact era the book is set. Think of HMS Victory and Admiral Nelson. Anyway, I had messed around with AI which was a huge mistake, so decided that this next cover needed to be extra special.
We started with a scene from the book. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but it features HMS Thunder and The Hercule engaging in battle. I’ve now got the original painting hanging at home and limited edition signed prints are available which makes it so much more special.
Colin is on social media if you want to check out his other work:-
@ColinMBaxter
10. What are you working on now? Can we get a peek, an excerpt?
I have a plan for the next book, but not ready to share too much yet. Besides it might spoil the ending of ‘The Threat in the Atlantic’.
11. Any last words before we wrap things up?
I think I would like to give encouragement to indie authors. It’s tough having to do everything – writing, editing, proofreading, publishing, promoting…… you know the list goes on. But…. I also know that it can be rewarding. Being “published” with an agent and traditional publisher isn’t always the best route to market. At least as a self-published author, you control your own destiny… sort of!
Bio:
Robin Burnage is a first-time author taking on the challenge of continuing his late father’s series “The Merriman Chronicles”. His debut novel “The Threat In The Atlantic” picks up the story of Captain James Merriman on his return from his mission in the Adriatic in 1810.
Previously a property professional (for which he does actually have recognised qualifications), sailing and travelling always had a greater pull than accounting and spreadsheets.
He sold his business in 2012, bought a yacht and headed off on a five-year adventure as a full time liveaboard sailor. He also then travelled through Europe in an old Land Rover and then a motorhome before settling back in bricks and mortar.
He currently lives in Wales overlooking sand dunes and the Irish Sea As always he is dreaming about his next adventure.
Please welcome Brook Allen to my blog. Hello Brook. Please come and sit down for a chat this morning.
Please introduce yourself to those reading this blog post. It’s such a pleasure to be here, Mary! I write historical fiction and my goal with a novel is to immerse the reader within the period and create believable characters. I still have a day-job (sigh), but I hope to retire soon and devote myself to full-time WRITING! I love traveling, reading, and researching my next project, and snuggling with my black Labrador, Jak.
How difficult was it writing your first book? It took fifteen years to write the Antonius Trilogy. First off, I didn’t know what I was doing. Second, during that time, my aging parents needed caregiving, so Antonius took a backburner to everything. They were so supportive, and my dad read many of my drafts for Son of Rome. However, they passed on before I was ever able to publish the complete Trilogy.
Have you ever wanted to give up and what stopped you? Not getting traditionally pubbed has certainly given me pause, and lately, it seems that marketing a new book has become so much more difficult and frustrating. However, I believe in my work and I’m a stubborn old woman who refuses to give in.
Who is the most supportive of you and your dream to be a writer? Naturally, my husband has been SO supportive and even helps me problem-solve when I have plot-holes. However, NYT bestselling novelist Margaret George has become a very dear friend and has cheered me on every step of the way. She sees the positives in self-publishing when so many traditionally published authors do not. And more importantly, she doesn’t consider my work “less” than her own just because I am self-published. We have such a great relationship. I treasure her.
What is the best advice given to you (book or otherwise), and by whom? A scholarly man once told me, “Knowledge is never wasted.”. I’ve really taken that to heart with my researching process. I start researching six months ahead of starting to write, letting ideas and possibilities tumble through my mind. Then, once I begin writing, I’m STILL researching as I go. I find myself able to include jewels of information that pops up in certain scenes that I’d never considered adding. Knowing your stuff about the subject-matter associated with a project is integral to its success.
What is your target audience and what aspect of your writing do you feel targets that audience? I write for adult audiences who want to know something more about a historical character, or who might be fascinated by my book’s cover or back-cover blurb.
What are you working on now? Can we get a peek, an excerpt? I’ve just completed a new work: WEST OF SANTILLANE, the untold story of Julia Hancock. Julia married William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Most of the story takes place after the men return from the Pacific, and most people aren’t aware of what took place once they came home. Honestly, there was just as much drama going on as when they were traveling west. What’s more—Julia was in the middle of much of that drama. It was fascinating, getting to sort through letters and documents of Lewis & Clark—getting to handle them. There was a glut of fine information, and my heartfelt prayer is that I did the project justice. So far, it’s gotten rave reviews.
Any last words before we wrap things up? Go pick up WEST OF SANTILLANE! It will have its first promo during the week of May 13th, and the Kindle version will only be .99. It’s Julia’s story of adventure, forgiveness, and self-discovery.
WEST OF SANTILLANE PRESS KIT
ISBN: 9781732958579
***For bulk retail shipments of books/print on demand: Ingram-Spark:
Author Brook Allen has a passion for history. Her newest project, West of Santillane spotlights history from a little closer to home. It’s the story of Julia Hancock, who married famed explorer, William Clark. Each character of this thrilling, adventurous period was researched throughout southwest Virginia and into Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Idaho, and North Dakota. It launches in March of 2024.
Brook belongs to the Historical Novel Society and attends conferences as often as possible to study craft and meet fellow authors. In 2019, her novel Antonius: Son of Rome won the Coffee Pot Book Club Book of the Year Award. In 2020, it was honored with a silver medal in the international Reader’s Favorite Book Reviewers Book Awards and then won First Place in the prestigious Chaucer Division in the Chanticleer International Book Awards, 2020.
Though she graduated from Asbury University with a B.A. in Music Education, Brook has always loved writing. She completed a Masters program at Hollins University with an emphasis in Ancient Roman studies, which helped prepare her for authoring her Antonius Trilogy. Brook teaches full-time as a Music Educator and works in a rural public-school district near Roanoke, Virginia. Her personal interests include travel, cycling, hiking in the woods, reading, and spending downtime with her husband and big, black dog, Jak. She lives in the heart of southwest Virginia in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains.
West of Santillane Back Cover Blurb
Desperate to escape a mundane future as a Virginia planter’s wife, Julia Hancock seizes her chance for adventure when she wins the heart of American hero William Clark. Though her husband is the famed explorer, Julia embarks on her own thrilling and perilous journey of self-discovery.
With her gaze ever westward, Julia possesses a hunger for knowledge and a passion for helping others. She falls in love with Will’s strength and generous manner, but, like her parents, he is a slave owner, and Julia harbors strong opinions against slavery. Still, her love for Will wins out, though he remains unaware of her beliefs.
Julia finds St. Louis to be a rough town with few of the luxuries to which she is accustomed, harboring scandalous politicians and miscreants of all types. As her husband and his best friend, Meriwether Lewis, work to establish an American government and plan to publish their highly anticipated memoirs, Julia struggles to assume the roles of both wife and mother. She is also drawn into the plight of an Indian family desperate to return to their own lands and becomes an advocate for Will’s enslaved.
When political rivals cause trouble, Julia’s clandestine aid to the Indians and enslaved of St. Louis draws unwanted attention, placing her at odds with her husband. Danger cloaks itself in far too many ways, leading her to embrace the courage to save herself and others through a challenge of forgiveness that will either restore the love she shares with Will or end it forever.
Your book, Christmas in Evergreen, has been chosen as Best Book in the Category of Suspense, in the NABE Pinnacle Book Achievement Award Winners for Winter 2024.
“My husband, Steve, and I have always had a great relationship, married, for the last five years. He’s a private investigator, and I have my artwork. Much of his work involved using a special laptop, one that was rugged and lockable, in his home office and I had my art studio where I could lose myself in painting and creativity. Life was wonderful, until the day I read a completely chilling and startling “Hit List” on his computer screen. Confusion ran supreme in my brain and then it hit me. My name was at the top of that list! Wait! What? No! Never! Yet I read “Kim Daily” plain as day. What would you do if you found out you were the next target on your husband’s hit list? Steve intentionally left his laptop open for me to read. He simply can’t be an assassin! I would know. Or would I? No! That’s impossible! Steve has been the kindest husband for five years and he was a crack ass private investigator; not an assassin. Yet why was my name at the top of his hit list? Why did he even have a hit list? My mind reeling in shock, I had to do something to stay alive! Think, Kim, think! Get your best game on right now as time is running out!”
Christmas in Evergreen is a story that grabs a reader from page one with a hook that never let’s go. Kim discovers the unthinkable. Staring back on her husband’s laptop is a hit list. Shock wraps around Kim as she sees her name sits at the top. Accepting the truth of this discovery, Kim flees for her life. The reader goes along worrying and fearing each step of the way. Expect to gulp extra breaths of air as you turn the pages.
With the help of others, Kim escapes to the town of Evergreen. She grabs the opportunity to begin anew…if that’s even possible.
The author has set the wheels in motion for Evergreen to become an enthralling and exciting series. The best is yet to come!
In Mary L. Schmidt’s latest novel, she pulls the reader into a sinister assassination plot that threatens her main character, the courageous and beautiful, Kim. When Kim’s perfect life is disrupted by the discovery her husband might just be trying to off her, she takes matters into her own hands. What results is a deep dive into a new life Kim never expected but might just be the light at the end of the tunnel. There is something for everyone in this heart-stopping thriller-turned romance. I can’t wait for the sequel!
Christmas in Evergreen: Heart of Evergreen Book 1, by Mary L. Schmidt, an author who has a flair for detail and slowly building up to a stunning, unexpected, and life-changing occurrence. A story of how two women become friends through adversity, and how they progress in their lives. I cannot say more of what brought these two women together and how they fared after a tragedy without creating a spoiler. What I can say is that the character, Kim, flees for her life after inadvertently seeing something devastating on her husband’s laptop. I had high hopes this story would go another way, but it did not and Kim and her friend become bonded forever as they bring together the shattered pieces of the puzzle of their new lives. These women are strong and determined to make the most of what they are left with.
Again, Schmidt’s flair for detail brings us into a scene as if we are present with the characters. Her writing also shows evidence that she researches her topics, or perhaps builds many of her scenes from knowledge she already possesses. Since this seems to be the start of a series, I believe it will be an exciting one. This certainly cannot be the only life changing occurrence in these characters lives, so I am looking forward to the next book to see what life throws at these to women.
The year is 1786 and in the quiet countryside of Mere in Wiltshire sits ‘The Willows’, a small estate whose sole produce has being the growing of flax. It has been the current family’s home now for three generations since inherited by George MacMartin in 1716. Elizabeth Hamilton – the present owner – and her son Stewart had lived alone there until a cousin; Alexander was taken into the family when Stewart was 12.
Life there has not always been peaceful, and for the last 21 years the house has held a secret from the past which has been kept safely hidden even from Stewart. His Father Andrew Duncan, who left when Stewart was just 3 years old, has been privy to this, and has used this secret many times to extort money from his wife Elizabeth to feed his gambling addiction.
Stewart Hamilton the son is impetuous by nature, but he is also a man of honour and justice who fights for those less able to defend themselves. As he says of himself ‘I have a hasty tongue,’ and this has been his downfall many times.
It is after Stewart marries that his life is turned into chaos, as by rescuing a young aristocratic girl Catherine Portman whilst on a journey to Exeter, it initiates a succession of vengeance and hatred against him and his family that lasts for a little over three years.
During the course of that time there are still many secrets to be to be unveiled, some good, some life threatening, some life changing, but it is how they reveal themselves that transforms the lives of many people irrevocably….
We are proud to announce that your book Christmas in Evergreen: Heart of Evergreen, has been selected as a winner of the 2024 PenCraft Seasonal Book Award Spring Competition. We hope this award inspires you to keep writing and helps you reach new heights in your career. The PenCraft Seasonal Book Awards recognizes books of remarkable literary quality, artistic excellence, and popularity with readers. Christmas in Evergreen: Heart of Evergreen exemplified these criteria as a winner in the Fiction – Drama genre. We hope receiving this award will contribute to your ongoing writing success.
A complete list of winners is posted on the PenCraft Book Award site, and all winners will also be listed in a national press release within the next couple of weeks.
Each Seasonal category winner receives a personalized award certificate.
Each winner also receives a sheet of 24 Seasonal Best Book award seals for the PenCraft Spring Seasonal Best Book Award.
A National Press Release announcement of all winners.
All Seasonal Award winners are also invited to our Annual PenCraft Book Award Ceremony. The event will consist of Dinner and the awarding of personalized plaques to all “attending” winners. The award ceremony and Dinner will probably take place in Las Vegas in February or March of 2025. You will be notified of the actual date and place after the announcement of the Annual Winners in October of this year.
We hope you and your significant other or friend can join us to celebrate and help honor you and all the talented authors whose books won.
David Hearne, Editor In Chief, PenCraft Book Awards
Beauty of Poetry written by Author Brenda Mohammed is filled with poems of various genres separated by picturesque posters before every genre. She has penned poems on love, nature, world icons, world monuments, peace, motivational poems, and Christian life. As a cancer survivor, she has dedicated a section for persons fighting cancer, surviving cancer, or lost loved ones because of this dread disease. The book is easy to read as readers can read his/her favourite genres in the order they prefer. The famous English poet John Keats said, “An object of beauty gives us perennial joy. Beauty never fades and is not devalued. A thing of beauty is a joy forever and it makes us forget the sorrows and sufferings of the world.” Keats also conceptualized beauty as truth and truth as beauty. He said, “Beauty is truth, truth beauty that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter.” Another famous English poet, William Wordsworth said, “Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words. Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks. Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity.” All the above describes the beautiful poetry in Beauty of Poetry, and what makes it special. It will be a beautiful asset to your library.
This book is a very touching book with many poems that touch the heart. From writing about the beauty of a butterfly landing on one’s clothes before flying away, the beauty of gardens in other countries, overcoming situations in which she could have drowned, gone septic, cancer striking, an array of hard to fight viral illnesses, dengue, the list is endless but the central theme that with God all would be won persevered. The power of love for God and belief in Him is the driving force.
Life on Molly is a travel and lifestyle blog. I am a normal girl with many passions. I am an explorer of new places, a learner of new languages, creator of my ambitions, blogger, and a good pal. This blog is my little corner of the world where I am able to share my adventures with you and inspire you to live a life full of purpose.
When Angels Fly 