'Vacations Reads' Half-Dozen Goodies for 4th of July Weekend Reading!

Please treat yourself to some summer fantasy reading, courtesy of the Vacations Reads blog tour, information presented by the respective authors:

THE KULT by Shaun Jeffrey

People are predictable. That’s what makes them easy to kill.

Acting out of misguided loyalty to his friends, police officer Prosper Snow is goaded into helping them perform a copycat killing, but when the real killer comes after him, it’s not only his life on the line, but his family’s too. Now if he goes to his colleagues for help, he risks being arrested for murder. If he doesn’t, he risks being killed.

***

“With Kult, Shaun Jeffrey hits one out of the park with this creepy, character-driven thriller that starts with a jolt, stays in the fast lane, and plunges into the darkest territory of the human mind. It’s a bumpy ride through nightmare country.”

–Jonathan Maberry, multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author of PATIENT ZERO and PUNISHER: NAKED KILL

“Jeffrey, one of horror’s rising young stars, has really hit his stride with THE KULT. Part mystery, part police procedural, part horror story, it’s one thrilling ride. Jeffrey had me guessing at the killer’s identity half a dozen times, and the reveal, when it finally came, knocked me over. You don’t want to miss this one!” –Nate Kenyon, author of THE REACH and THE BONE FACTORY

“The Kult is a creeping stalk through a shadowy labyrinth of thrills and terror. Shaun Jeffrey delivers a pulse-pounding novel of superb skill and unequivocal horror. Fans of many genres should be ready to embrace one of the brightest new talents on the scene today.” — Jon F. Merz author of PARALLAX and the Lawson Vampire novels.

Details of these and any other projects can be found on Shaun’s website: www.shaunjeffrey.com and sample chapters and his previously published short story collection ‘Voyeurs of Death’ can be read for free at http://www.scribd.com/document_collections/2519626

ALIEN DREAMS by John Rosenman

Captain Eric Latimore leads a four-person crew to Lagos to investigate a previous team’s mysterious disappearance. Once there, he discovers that an ominous alien presence is invading their dreams. Each member of his crew has the same dream–huge, seductively beautiful “angels” speak to them telepathically.

The creatures strand his crew on the planet and only Latimore can free them–if he survives.

Link to purchase: http://drolleriepress.com/books/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=11

Personal Website: www.johnrosenman.com


CHOCOLATIER’S WIFE by Cindy Lynn Speer — NEW RELEASE!!!

Tasmin, William’s wife to be, was chosen by a spell, as all wives and husbands are chosen. It’s a nice, tidy way to find a reasonable mate for almosteveryone. Unfortunately, Tasmin is from the North, a place of magic and strange ritual, and William is from the South, where people pride themselves on being above that kind of insanity.

William doesn’t seem in a hurry to send for Tasmin, for which none of his family blame him. After all, she’s a barbarian. She, on the other hand, would like to know what’s keeping him. When he’s framed for murdering his patron, Tasmin takes matters into her own hands. She’s gotten to know Wiliam from his letters. He’s not a murderer and she’s going to help him prove it.

Someone out there doesn’t like him and is beginning to dislike Tasmin almost as much, and that someone isn’t at all averse to making sure William and Tasmin aren’t around long enough to celebrate their wedding.

Read more at http://www.apenandfire.com

UNSEELIE by Meredith Holmes

The darkness tasted like bitter bark and earth, sharp berries, and cold water. I could not feel it as it came over me but I could smell it, taste it, hear it . . .

When Alfhild was a little girl, her grandmother called her a fairy princess and told her all of her favorite tales.

She’d never imagined they were real.

Anxious to avoid the swarming reporters and ghoulish souvenir hunters who won’t leave her alone when her brother Gulliver is tried and acquitted for multiple murders he almost certainly committed, a grown up Alfhild changes her name to Lorelei and flees Louisiana to the sanctuary she inherited from her grandmother, the ancestral home in England.

All is well until she wakes one morning to find a naked man in her rosebush.

And the games begin . . .

Find out more information about Meredith and her projects at www.meredithholmes.com


COLLECTING DREAMS by Heather Ingemar

There are eyes in the darkness.

Late one night, Isabele’s reality takes a wild and supernatural turn into the shadows and shimmering light of stolen dreams.

Once lost, they aren’t easily reclaimed. And she’s been touched by the monster….

From the beginning with ‘Dream-Drinker’ (appeared in “StereoOpticon” from Drollerie Press), Isabele finds her way through two other tales. But what’s learned cannot be unlearned. What’s done cannot be undone. At the end of it all, Isabele may or may not be the same.

Learn more about Heather S. Ingemar at her website: http://ingemarwrites.wordpress.com/

Buy the book at: http://drolleriepress.com/books/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14&products_id=90


COMPOSING MAGIC by Elizabeth Barrette

Composing Magic: How to Create Spells, Rituals, Blessings, Chants, and Prayers guides you through the exciting realm of magical and spiritual writing. Explore the process of writing, its tools and techniques, individual types of composition, and ways of sharing your work with other people. Each type of writing includes its history and uses, covering diverse traditions; plus step-by-step instructions, finished compositions, and exercises. Intended for alternative religions, but it can be generalized to others or used by fiction writers to create background tidbits.

LINKS:

“The Wordsmith’s Forge” blog by Elizabeth Barrette / Ysabetwordsmith
http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com
Special post “So Your Story Needs a Prophecy” on adapting _Composing Magic_ to write cultural bits to put into fiction:
http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/1212401.html

Elizabeth Barrette’s personal Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000506157220
FB Fan page for Elizabeth Barrette’s business, PenUltimate Productions Writing & Editing:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/PenUltimate-Productions-Writing-Editing/118404341520029?v=app_2347471856&ref=ts#!/pages/PenUltimate-Productions-Writing-Editing/118404341520029?v=wall&ref=ts

Elizabeth Barrette’s MyBlogLog profile:
http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/members/ysabetwordsmith/

Composing Magic at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Composing-Magic-Magical-Rituals-Blessings/dp/1564149358


IVAN AND MARYA by Anna Kashina — NEW RELEASE!!!

“…a pleasure to read. Uncluttered yet vivid with detail, Kashina’s writing promises to beautifully update Russian folklore for a worldwide audience. “ Tracy Fable, The Fantasy Tavern.

“Kashina manages to capture all the elements that make fairytales such fun to read and adds a voice of her own to it as well.” Pearls Cast Before a McPig.

“Rich description, fascinating characters with dark motivations and even darker methods, and scenes that keep the story moving ever forward. Anna Kashina does not waste a single word.” Black Sun Reviews.

The Dark Essence of Russian Myth

Ivan-and-Marya is a dark fantasy with elements of romance, based on Russian folklore.

Marya, a shapeshifter and a powerful sorceress, helps her father rule the kingdom by sacrificing young virgins whose life force feeds her father’s soul. She wards off the enemies of her cult by luring them into a trap of her beauty, and destroying them. Marya never questions her duties, not knowing that the man she calls her father holds the dark secrets about her birth and the true source of her magic powers.

Ivan, a young man on a quest to put an end to the virgin sacrifice, walks straight into Marya’s trap and falls in love with her at first sight. At first his gentleness makes Marya believe he would be easy to defeat, but as she confronts him she finds him a tougher enemy than she imagined. Ivan’s hidden strength – and the forces that aid him – for the first time challenge not only her powers, but the very foundation of her beliefs. To face Ivan and achieve her ‘happily ever after’, Marya must first face her darkest fears — and survive it.

Find out more about Anna and her work at www.annakashina.com

Buy the book at Drollerie Press – special price in July!!!