Important Note: This post is dated Friday, April 13, 2012, and the titles mentioned here may remain free only until midnight PST tonight.

In the fall of 1999, psychologist Sophia Beckman is compelled by the court to give testimony on behalf of a death row inmate that results in his sentence being overturned. Haunted by secrets from her past, she avoids the media spotlight as much as possible, but soon, other prisoners’ families come seeking her assistance. One family in particular, the wife, children, and brother of Jarrett Capshaw, is especially insistent. Forty-one days ago Jarrett’s request to die was granted by the State of Texas, and he became a dead man walking, a man they call a volunteer.

Jarrett’s crimes were unusual, involving the theft of precious Mayan antiquities. Murder was never part of the plan, but murder is what happened. He pulled the trigger, and as little as he feels prepared for it, as much as he struggles with matters of the soul, he’s ready to die. It is the only way his family and the families of his victims will be free to move on. While Jarrett labors to find the words to say good-bye to those he has loved, Sophia finds herself drawn into a relationship with his wife and oldest son. It is Jarrett’s family she can’t resist and there will be a price to pay. But not even Sophia could have foreseen the outcome when the brutal truth is exposed, the unalloyed facts that, incredibly, will deliver Jarrett’s fate straight into her hands.

The Volunteer is a story about families, how they are made, and how in one single, horrifying instant, they can be broken. It is a story about mothers and the lies they tell to protect their children, to keep them from being hurt. But what happens when the truth comes out anyway and nothing and no one is spared? Sometimes the truth has the power to break your heart, and in Sophia’s case it will also endanger her freedom and threaten everything she has ever believed about her life.

The announcement that the plague has left some survivors with paranormal side-effects, has left the world reeling. You’d think solving murders would be easy for Claire, a telepath, and Colin, who can turn into a spirit wolf, but you’d be dead wrong. Not everyone is willing to talk to Survivors so it is a good thing you can’t tell who’s normal and who isn’t.

Updated edition 12/9/2011

Fans of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser books should try this one. Hallinan, a 2011 Best Novel Edgar finalist, began his six-book Simeon Grist series with this white-knuckle mystery. Simeon Grist knows L.A. inside and out–the sex for sale, the chic seductions, every rip-off from City Hall to Venice. So when he’s hired by a Hollywood recording company to shadow one Sally Oldfield, suspected of embezzlement, Grist discovers she’s entangled in The Church of the Eternal Moment–a million-dollar religious scam built around a 12-year-old channeler and the voice of a man who has been dead for a millennium. When Sally turns up dead, Simeon knows he’s become the next target of a very flesh-and-blood entity waiting in the back alleys of sin and salvation to give him a brutal look at the four last things: death, judgment, heaven and hell–revelations he could definitely live without…

What happens when fate chooses an ordinary man for an extraordinary mission?

Arnab Bannerjee has little excitement in his life other than tracking down missing books as the Assistant Librarian in a small college in Delhi. All that changes one day when he is beaten and left for dead after a robbery. Arnab awakens to discover that he has developed fantastic superhuman powers and he tries to master his new¬found powers and to use them for good. As a hooded superhero he takes to the streets on a one-man crusade against injustice. However he soon realizes that in a society where the only power that matters comes from having money or the right connections, one man, even a superhero, can make little difference.

When he embarks on a final, desperate mission, he realizes that to succeed, he has to become a part of the very system he loathes by tapping into a motley set of allies such as the Minister who wants to use his powers to rig elections, the corrupt policeman who shot Arnab for exposing him and the corporate tycoon who wants to sign him up as a brand ambassador!

At one level, Heroes R Us seeks to entertain with a delightfully contemporary take on the superhero genre, and at another level it asks the provocative question of whether in the dark and corrupt times we live in, there is any place left for heroes. Slumdog Millionaire meets Spiderman in this exciting novel that will entertain and make you think at the same time.

Or check out the Audible.com version of ONE SMALL VICTORY
in its Audible Audio Edition, Unabridged!

Life can change in just an instant. That’s the harsh reality that Jenny Jasik faces when her son is killed in an automobile accident, but never in her wildest dreams did she ever expect to be working undercover as a member of a drug task force. She is, after all, just a mom. But don’t discount what a mom can do when the safety of her children is at stake.
This book was inspired by a true story of a woman who did this in a small rural town, and while that may appear unbelievable, the basic facts of how she worked undercover as an informant are true. The rest is fiction.

(This is a sponsored post.)

Important Note: This post is dated Thursday, April 12, 2012, and the titles mentioned here may remain free only until midnight PST tonight.

The day Lieutenant Matthew Foster departed for his so-called ‘tour’ in Vietnam, he never expected a sudden change in his itinerary would include an extended stay in the horrific Hanoi Hilton. Six years later, he’s finally released with the other POWs during Operation Homecoming. Unfortunately, his memories before his capture were erased by the complimentary torture provided by the hotel’s concierge. Due to prior facial injuries and the beard concealing his gauntness, he looks nothing like the boyish photo in his military file.

When the Army informs Matt he has a wife and he was mistakenly declared dead, he’s sure Abby must have made a new life for herself. He doubts the bitter man he’s become can salvage the boy she once cared for, so to be fair to her, he decides to simply write a note to wish her well and leave. But before he does, he can’t resist going to Redemption, PA, to catch a glimpse of the woman he’d loved enough to marry.

The irony of the small town’s name is totally eclipsed by Matt’s dread that he’ll discover he’s lost something truly worth remembering. That fear becomes reality when he learns Abby is engaged, and he’s a daddy! Luckily, his wife doesn’t recognize him, so Matt could still walk away from the beautiful stranger who’s been starring in his X-rated dreams. However, he could never, ever abandon his sons.

The clock is ticking. Any day, the military will inform Abby he’s alive, and her wedding is in only six weeks. It doesn’t give Matt much time to discover if he can reclaim the love the war stole from him.

Noble Cause is the recipient of the coveted John Esten Cooke Award for Southern Fiction and captured the title for Regional Fiction in the 2011 Next Generation Indie Award contest. It was also a Finalist in the USA “Best Books 2011” Awards for Historical Fiction.

In April 2012, it was named a Finalist in Foreword Magazine’s BOOK OF THE YEAR contest in the Romance category. Winners to be announced in June.

Often compared to Gone with the Wind, Midwest Book Review called Noble Cause “a riveting piece of historical fiction.”

This is the tale of Colonel Alexander Hunter, a dauntless and daring Confederate cavalry officer, who, with his band of intrepid outcasts, becomes a legend in the rolling hills of northern Virginia. Inspired by love of country and guided by a sense of duty and honor, Hunter must make a desperate choice when he discovers the woman he promised his dying brother he would protect is the Union spy he vowed to his men he would destroy.

Readers will discover the fine line between friends and enemies when the paths of these two tenacious foes cross by the fates of war and their destinies become entwined forever.

Author Jessica James uniquely blends elements of romantic and historical fiction in this deeply personal and poignant tale that, according to one reviewer, “transcends the pages to settle in the very marrow of the reader’s bones.” Winner of numerous national awards, James has received critical acclaim for this page-turning story of courage, honor, and enduring love.

Destined for an honored place among the classics of the American Civil War, Noble Cause is a book to read, and keep, and remember forever.

R. Garcia, the writer who is also known by his pen name “Phantomimic,” brings you “The Sun Zebra”, which is best described as a children’s book for grownups. Its aim is to encourage us to discover (or rediscover) the amazing things that children and their magical carefree world can teach us, even as we try to teach them about the harsh realities of our own. The book is a collection of five stories that follow the “adventures in living” of an unusual little girl named Nell, her mother Rhonda, and Nell’s father who is the narrator of the stories.

I loved these stories because they are a reminder of what’s important in life: the bonds we have with our family and friends and the incredible magic of children. – Ingrid Ricks author of “Hippie Boy”

The stories are pleasant, funny, and delightful to read, but you quickly discover that they go much deeper than you anticipated when you first began reading them. – Robert David McNeil author of “Iona Portal”

Buy this book and you too will feel the sun shine on you in a new and different way. I promise. – Laura Novak author of “Finding Clarity”

 

Cupid Painted Blind is a collection of six short stories. Total word count -71,296

Sweet Little Lies by Liz Schulte – Author of Dark Corners and The Guardian Trilogy
The day Femi caught her first bounty she knew this was it; she found her place in the Abyss. However, one mistake, one act of kindness, one beautifully whispered lie could cost her everything–even her life.

Autumn’s Call by Lisa Rayns – Author of The Curse of the Egyptian Goddess
When Autumn realizes death is chasing her, she runs only to be stalled by an unresolved ghost. Is he there to help her? Or does he want retribution for his murder?

Tell a Soul by Olivia Hardin – Author of Witch Way Bends
He’s the dependable one. The strong and steadfast one. Still, there’s one woman who has always turned his firm resolve on end. Langston is surprised beyond belief to find Kristana again, and this time without a husband. Has fate finally given them the chance to be together? Kristana can’t escape her intense attraction for the strange giant Langston, but the murmuring voices in her head are threatening to drive her mad. Can she find a way to trade one torment for another and thereby find true love?

The Siren Sarina by C.G. Powell – Author of Spell Checked
Being a siren is not all that it is cracked up to be, especially when you play with the gods. Sarina, like all good sirens, has a penance for sex and not with just anyone. This time her prey is Ares the god of war and lover to Aphrodite. Not that Sarina minds stepping on the goddess of loves toes, but when Ares gifts her with the powers of a god, Zeus can’t help but to intervene.

Fool Moon by Cait Lavender – Author of Cowboy Moon
All Jack saw when he looked at Carlie was perfection until she ripped out a man’s throat. Confused by the pull she had on his heart, he is left with the choice to chase after the love of his life or to be left howling at the Fool Moon.

When Opportunity Haunts by Stephanie Nelson – Author of The Gwen Sparks Series
With an eternity as the Angel of Death before him, not much could get under Dorian Hade’s skin–that was until he met Gwen Sparks. She shuts down all of his advances and insists they are just friends. Dorian takes matters into his own hands and tricks Gwen into a romantic weekend away from her ex-boyfriend at a haunted bed and breakfast.

Important Note: This post is dated Thursday, April 12, 2012, and the titles mentioned here may remain free only until midnight PST tonight.

Chloe Banks has always been known for her political, powerful billionaire last name and of course, naturally, for her money. Now she’s ready to show to the world there is more to her than what meets the eye. She’s more than the prim debutante from a privileged background. Yes, her father may be running for President and her mother may be the socialite of the year, never lifting a finger unless it’s to sip a flute of champagne, but Chloe is just like any other normal twenty-three year old, wanting to love and be loved, wanting to make her own mark in this world.

So Chloe moves temporarily with her two friends to Venezuela to serve in an orphanage as a nurse. But it is there she faces the same prejudices she is running away from, including the judgment from the incredibly good-looking orphanage facilitator and a few grumpy doctors. Chloe has to learn to let go of others’ assumptions of who she is so she can finally live her life free. But will she?

The Last Name Banks is part of the “Living, Loving, and Laughing Again series”, but can be read as a stand alone novel.

If you enjoyed Norah and Maycee from The Last Page, you can find them again in Venezuela with Chloe in The Last Name Banks!

Book One: The Last Page (Norah’s story) out now!
Book Two: The Last Name Banks (Chloe’s story) out now!
Book Three: The Last Pretense (Maycee’s story) due fall 2012.

This novel is 57k words (roughly 284 paper pages).

Due to its’ PG (minus one PG-13 scene), zero language, zero sex scenes nature, this book can be classified as an inspirational read. Although it is not a “Christian fiction” read, one will find the themes of hope, coming into your own, believing in your self, and being a confident woman among societal pressures.

Ready for a crazy, hilarious transatlantic adventure?

At nearly 30 years old, Brandon is barely able to make it through life, much less enjoy it. He is weeks away from what should be one of the happiest days of his life, his wedding day to his fiancée, Clarissa, but his attention is distracted when his estranged, erratic, and oddly eccentric father suddenly reappears with a bizarre demand: to accompany him to Stockholm, Sweden, where they will meet a local who he claims will change their lives. Desperate for even a brief escape from his reality, Brandon reluctantly goes with his father, ready for a disaster. But his life completely changes the moment he meets the mysterious Swedish man’s daughter, Saga. On a cobblestone street in the middle of Stockholm, Brandon reawakens to life, but struggles to navigate the messy love triangle with Saga and his fiancée, which includes multiple arrests, hospital stays, terrorist bombs, acts of heroism and foolishness, family secrets, and even a bit of public nudity.

Fans of “Girl With A Dragon Tattoo” will relish their return to Stockholm in this smart, whimsical, yet romantic tale from an American’s point of view. It’s the perfect book for an international flight.

In this battle of wills, passion becomes front-page news.

He challenged her legacy.
She challenged him to love.

In 1850s South Carolina, ladies with ambition and a penchant for wearing trousers are rare indeed. But that’s Charlotte Whitney all over. Not only does Charlie yearn to resurrect her late father’s newspaper, she wants to be its editor. That position, however, has been handed to Richmond newspaperman Adam Chase. Undeterred, Charlie convinces Adam to teach her the journalism trade. In doing so, she teaches him how to open his heart.

Adam Chase had one goal in mind: to return Edgemont’s newspaper to its former glory and then make tracks back to the big city. But he faces one very tempting obstacle in outspoken Charlie Whitney. The newsroom becomes the battleground for a war between the sexes—until Adam surrenders to Charlie’s sultry charms. Together, they discover that the power of the press doesn’t hold a candle to the power of love.

Important Note: This post is dated Wednesday, April 11, 2012, and the titles mentioned here may remain free only until midnight PST tonight.

R. Garcia, the writer who is also known by his pen name “Phantomimic,” brings you “The Sun Zebra”, which is best described as a children’s book for grownups. Its aim is to encourage us to discover (or rediscover) the amazing things that children and their magical carefree world can teach us, even as we try to teach them about the harsh realities of our own. The book is a collection of five stories that follow the “adventures in living” of an unusual little girl named Nell, her mother Rhonda, and Nell’s father who is the narrator of the stories.

I loved these stories because they are a reminder of what’s important in life: the bonds we have with our family and friends and the incredible magic of children. – Ingrid Ricks author of “Hippie Boy”

The stories are pleasant, funny, and delightful to read, but you quickly discover that they go much deeper than you anticipated when you first began reading them. – Robert David McNeil author of “Iona Portal”

Buy this book and you too will feel the sun shine on you in a new and different way. I promise. – Laura Novak author of “Finding Clarity”

 *  *  *

*  *  *

Unjustly sentenced to death, Eilidh ran–away from faerie lands, to the streets of Perth, Scotland. Just as she has grown accustomed to exile, local police discover a mutilated body outside the abandoned church where she lives. Recognising the murder as the work of one of her own kind, Eilidh must choose: flee, or learn to tap into the forbidden magic that cost her everything.

Important Note: This post is dated Wednesday, April 11, 2012, and the titles mentioned here may remain free only until midnight PST tonight.

Imperial law enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon is good at her job: she can deter thieves and pacify thugs, if not with a blade, then by toppling an eight-foot pile of coffee canisters onto their heads. But when ravaged bodies show up on the waterfront, an arson covers up human sacrifices, and a powerful business coalition plots to kill the emperor, she feels a tad overwhelmed.

Worse, Sicarius, the empire’s most notorious assassin, is in town. He’s tied in with the chaos somehow, but Amaranthe would be a fool to cross his path. Unfortunately, her superiors order her to hunt him down. Either they have an unprecedented belief in her skills… or someone wants her dead.

The Emperor’s Edge is approximately 105,000 words (400 paperback pages).

This is my story of how I went from living in a pit of darkness brought on by rape and abortions to living a life free from guilt and full of God’s love and forgiveness. I went years suffering the loss of my children; the emotional pain was almost unbearable. This e-book describes what lead to my abortions and how I was able to cope with what I’ve done, and accept God’s forgiveness, as well as my own.

This e-book consists of three articles. 4,500 words

Tedla is a ‘bland,’ an asexual class of people that exist only to serve their fellow beings.

Val is an expert on alien cultures but has never seen a bland before.

They come together after Tedla is found light-years away from its home planet—alone, isolated and suicidal. Val’s mission is to help Tedla recover. But the more she learns about the beautiful alien being, the more she discovers about the torment Tedla and its kind suffer on their planet.

Little does the rest of the universe know of the hidden world of the blands, a world that hides shocking secrets and unspeakable crimes.

Halfway Human is a mesmerizing look at an intricately created alien world which is strange and distant, yet hauntingly familiar.

A Starflight Reader nominee for best book of the year.

Important Note: This post is dated Tuesday, April 10, 2012, and the titles mentioned here may remain free only until midnight PST tonight.

 

Lucy Donovan was supposed to have a weekend of fun in the sun, celebrating her upcoming graduation from college. In a split second, everything changed. A drunk driver ended Lucy’s mortal life.
Lucy opens her eyes to a world she never imagined possible and a new destiny: as a Patronus, a guardian of spirits. Adjusting to her new role and abilities while negotiating this confusing realm will test her limits and push her further than she ever dreamed she would go. From wayward spirits who don’t want her help to soul stealing vampires, and even a stuck-up British royal, Lucy must brave them all to save one spirit she can’t bear to lose.
Further complicating her confusing life is an inexplicable yet growing connection she feels to a member of her team, Max, whose mysterious behavior leaves her both confused and intrigued.
Waking up dead was just the beginning of her problems. Lucy’s death is about to become the greatest adventure of her life.

Unmentionables is about two pairs of lovers in the Civil War south. One couple is straight, white, and wealthy. The other couple is gay, black, and enslaved.

Field hand Jimmy meets Cato, a house servant from a nearby plantation. Jimmy, who despises whites, mistakes Cato for a white man. But soon he learns that Cato is only half white. Cato is the illegitimate son of plantation owner Augustus Askew. With time, Jimmy’s fascination with Cato grows into romantic love.

Unmentionables is also the story of Dorothy Holland, whose parents own Jimmy. Dorothy does not want any man to control her life. When she falls in love with Cato’s half-brother, William Askew, she must persuade him to agree to her terms, and to betray his role as a Confederate army officer.

Six year old Jenny Barnes wakes up from night terrors only to find out that ghosts are real and there’s no such thing as safe.

She lives in a two hundred year old farmhouse with her large family, but they’re not alone. There’s a malevolent presence up in the attic and the forest surrounding the farm is alive with folks who just won’t stay dead. Worse is the fact that the cattle have developed a taste for murder and are threatening to stampede. Well…that, and the fact that it seems her own father is trying to kill her.

All Jenny wants is a childhood–a few moments playing in the sunny yard with her sisters. To get one, all she’ll have to do is survive.

And as Eddie, the one farmhand who’s on her side notes, “this old place is going over.”

Will anyone get out of there alive?

Her boss is a fairy, her ex-lover is a Knight Templar, and she spends her days fighting the demons that plague London’s streets. But what’s *really* complicating Aisling McKay’s life is being a single mother to a nine-month-old baby girl.

Ever since the End Times, magic has been leaking into our world. Magic and demons, shadowy beings that possess humans’ bodies and destroy their souls. The Monastic Order of the Knights Templar have revealed themselves to the world as guardians and defenders of the veil between the demon world and ours. But the Templar Order is growing weaker, and the veil is starting to shred and tear. Often all that stands between humans and complete demonic possession are professional demon fighters, Hunters like Aisling McKay.

Aisling already has enough to handle between her day job, her (very unplanned) baby daughter, Willow–and avoiding Kieran, Willow’s father and a Templar Knight. But now a new danger is abroad in London–and facing it will set Aisling on a collision course with the past she thought she’d escaped for good.

Demon Hunter and Baby is approximately 98,000 words long and is appropriate for all ages. It is the first of a planned series that will send Aisling on a desperate search back into her own past … and will lead her to long-buried truths that will shake the foundations of everything she believes. Truths that have the potential either to save or to utterly destroy the human world.

Important Note: This post is dated Tuesday, April 10, 2012, and the titles mentioned here may remain free only until midnight PST tonight.

Deadly secrets have been buried in the Cascade mountain wilderness for centuries. Hidden. Out of sight and out of mind.

Until today…

Warren Wilkes, age 13, doesn’t like what a greedy housing developer has done to his peaceful mountain community, so he vandalizes the developer’s property, flees into the wild, and stumbles upon an ancient human skeleton revealed by torrential rain. More than old bones have been exposed, however, and the curious artifact Warren finds makes him question his own identity, and his connection to an ancient terror. A terror destined to rise again and annihilate all that Warren loves. He must fight or see his whole world destroyed.

Noble Cause is the recipient of the coveted John Esten Cooke Award for Southern Fiction and captured the title for Regional Fiction in the 2011 Next Generation Indie Award contest. It was also a Finalist in the USA “Best Books 2011” Awards for Historical Fiction.

In April 2012, it was named a Finalist in Foreword Magazine’s BOOK OF THE YEAR contest in the Romance category. Winners to be announced in June.

Often compared to Gone with the Wind, Midwest Book Review called Noble Cause “a riveting piece of historical fiction.”

This is the tale of Colonel Alexander Hunter, a dauntless and daring Confederate cavalry officer, who, with his band of intrepid outcasts, becomes a legend in the rolling hills of northern Virginia. Inspired by love of country and guided by a sense of duty and honor, Hunter must make a desperate choice when he discovers the woman he promised his dying brother he would protect is the Union spy he vowed to his men he would destroy.

Readers will discover the fine line between friends and enemies when the paths of these two tenacious foes cross by the fates of war and their destinies become entwined forever.

Author Jessica James uniquely blends elements of romantic and historical fiction in this deeply personal and poignant tale that, according to one reviewer, “transcends the pages to settle in the very marrow of the reader’s bones.” Winner of numerous national awards, James has received critical acclaim for this page-turning story of courage, honor, and enduring love.

Destined for an honored place among the classics of the American Civil War, Noble Cause is a book to read, and keep, and remember forever.

Clari Drake was once a former hot shot TV reporter of ample proportions who took San Francisco by storm. Now, Clari is a middle-aged, misfit mom who tops 200 pounds and wears Birkenstocks with woolen socks in the city everyone loves to laugh at, quirky Berkeley, California. The fur flies when Clari takes on the ruling class at her son’s elite academy where the beloved headmaster is let go and a loser from Las Vegas takes his place. Clari suspects the wealthy folks running the school are up to financial malfeasance and strange social shenanigans. So she teams up with an impossibly odd posse to right some wrongs and reclaim her glory days with the biggest story of her career. But in the process, Clari causes major problems for the rich power brokers whom she loves to hate, while working in weekly visits to Weight Watchers. Join Clari as she answers the questions: Who am I? Where do I belong? And what’s in the new Ikea catalogue?

She Just Wants to Fly.

Ever decided to do something that seemed like a good idea and in the second before there’s no turning back think, I musta been totally mental when I came up with this? And, then, Oh, well, here goes.

That’s how Angel-In-Training Grace Lightbourne felt right before she asked the Big Kahuna to go straight to Earth on a mission as a Guardian Angel. The problem? She never was a great student and now she won’t even finish her
last three years of school. To make matters worse, Archangel Michael isn’t happy about her special assignment, but Grace is convinced she’s on a fast track to her wings. How hard can it be? She’s working with humans, after all.

Winging It!, the first book in the Angel-in-Training series, is an irreverent, light hearted take on Angels, Heaven and everything else that’s divine.

(This is a sponsored post.)