Saturday, August 27, 2016

From FL to NY by Edward Rodriguez



Title: From FL to NY
Author: Edward Rodriguez
Genre: Personal Growth

This is the story of one mans walk from FL. to N.Y. to spread happiness awareness, with only $200 in his pocket.
 

Buy From FL to NY
Amazon

Excerpt



        Sometimes the best laid plans fall apart. Then they become awesome!
The Walk for Happiness Awareness was not my original plan. The plan was to drive to Washington, DC, spreading happiness by sharing the smile along the way. I then planned to make a video with the message, "Smile and Wave, America, We Love You!"
Who could have guessed my plan would be instantly wiped from existence, replaced with a 2,000-mile fun-filled adventure?
At the time I was living in Wellington, Florida, just south of West Palm Beach. These were dark days as my wife and I were going through a separation, work was slow, and life was throwing me one curveball after another to see what I could handle. It was a great time for learning, as every day brought a new lesson that helped me to retrain my brain to see life differently. I was shifting from dwelling on the negative to focusing on the positive. I had discovered my calling for spreading as much happiness in the world as I could.
For a month I had been planning the drive to Washington, DC when on the evening of March 2, 2011, my plan changed. I was getting ready to go to work installing acoustical ceilings at a local grocery store. I was working after store hours to avoid interrupting their business. I put my tools in the back of my van and walked back in the house to gather the rest of my things. When I walked outside again, the van was gone.
At first I thought maybe my roommate had borrowed it. Then I remembered he was out of town.
I stood in the driveway, stunned. Now what? I can’t explain why, but I never even thought about getting to work that day. All of my thoughts were about my trip to Washington. How was I going to get there now? My insurance company wouldn’t give me much for the old van. After the deductible, there wouldn’t be enough money to buy another car. I would have no means of transportation. The more I thought about it, the more determined I became that nothing was going to stop me from making that trip!
I called my friend Mary who had worked on the original Happiness Project with me. I told her, "I’m walking to Washington, DC I leave tomorrow."
She said, "What? Are you crazy?"
I said, “Why yes, I am. Thank you very much.”
The funny thing about the human mind is that it will go wherever you train it to go. I had trained my mind to find the best in any situation, and to me, walking was the best answer, so my mind automatically made this decision.
During our conversation, I was drilled about how I needed to plan this out, how dangerous it could be, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I talked to other friends and they all wanted me to wait, so I decided to delay the walk for a week to plan it out more carefully. One week turned into two, then three, as my friends made plans for me and my trek. A Hollywood movie producer wanted to film an interview with me before I started walking. Other people wanted me to attend their events, and one friend told me I couldn’t leave before her birthday bash. I stayed put for 3 weeks. In the meantime, I wanted to see if I could find sponsors to help with the cost of the trip.
Those three weeks felt like three months. I was all ready to go, but everyone kept telling me to wait a little longer until everything was in place and money was in my pocket. Two weeks later, they found my van, but by this time, I had made up my mind I would be walking the whole way. Who is going to listen to a guy who drives to DC to do a "Smile and Wave America We Love You" video? That’s right, nobody! But someone who walks to... now that’s a different story! I liked the idea and I wasn’t about to change it. So I signed the van over to my roommate, who needed a car, and kept on planning out my trip.
There were many challenges standing in my way. People loved my cause, but I am not a skilled marketer, so I wasn’t able to find any sponsors to raise money. Friends advised me to delay the walk some more. A few doubted my sanity. Who walks up the East Coast without any financial backing?
Well, I wouldn’t buy into that negative mindset. I believed it could and would be done, and was determined to prove it. My plan was evolving into more than just a Walk for Happiness Awareness. It became a challenge to prove that no matter what’s going on in your life, you can go out and live your dreams. No matter what your financial status, you can have a positive effect on other people.
Mary drove me everywhere I needed to go and was joyful in doing this for me. I paid for the gas and our food and she provided the transportation. Together, we went to networking meetings, workshops, businesses, and to visit friends. We planned out the route for my walk and discussed how the trip would go. She even drove me to various worksites. I had lost some of the jobs I’d been doing when the van went missing. Still, life was good. I had a plan and a vision, something I believed in that I was working toward. I was about to embark on a whole new world of life lessons that would help shape my future.
As the days passed, I grew increasingly excited, and my friends, nervous.


Review

Typically, this is not a book that I would read. However, a friend introduced me to this book and the author. Being that I am not one to say no to reading a book, guess what? Yep! I read it. With that being said, I have to tell you, I greatly enjoyed reading it.
Walking alongside the author's journey and learning of everything he faced along the way, I have to be honest with you, I really don't think it is something I could ever do. Reading about the people he come face to face with, some were exciting to read about, while others left me afraid for his life. Coming across a murderer on the streets? Now, be honest with me, wouldn't you be afraid? I know I sure would Confronting a murderer is scary stuff. However, learning why that man is a murderer lowered the scare factor, but I still felt it.
Along the way, the author did have his challenges, but he didn't let it get him down. He knew something positive would come his way. The way he described some of his challenges, he had me laughing so hard, tears came to my eyes. He was on a mission and he was determined!
Learning the goal behind the author's walk, I now have great respect for this man. If only we could have more people like him in the world, it would for sure be a better place.
Thank you Edward Rodriguez for bringing a smile to my face!

~~~*~~~


When you feel like you’re at the very end of your rope and things are not going to work out, don’t give up, keep on believing. Trusting is the answer. If it doesn’t work the way you thought it would, then maybe you over thought it; maybe you were holding on too tight to the end result, or maybe you were asking for something that was not meant to be.






Follow Edward


Excerpt


Lessons from the road:
I have always been told that the way something starts is the way that it ends. NOT TRUE! Georgia started with a menacing bridge and ended with a blessing and gift!
The past does not equal the present or the future. Thoughts from the past had me shaking at the knees when I came into Georgia; blessings given later the same day had my heart growing for the people that I met along the way. Even the same situation with a rifle had no power, because I didn’t feed it any. Things only have power when they are fed; if we don’t buy into the fear, most things are powerless against us.
Sometimes the biggest gifts are not the prettiest. The hotel I stayed in was not the newest or the prettiest, but I could never replace the feeling that the owners and I felt by my staying put and not moving on to a nicer place. Now I’m not saying not to move on, I’m just saying if you get a chance to take a moment to bless those around you, you may want to make a little time for them, then keep moving on.
Remember to be open to what’s ahead of you, to count your blessings every day, and be sure to honor those who have honored you!

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Lament of the Fallen: The Last Bucelarii by Andy Peloquin


Title: Lament of the Fallen
Author: Andy Peloquin
Series: The Last Bucelarii

Lament of the Fallen: The Last Bucelarii - Book 2

The Hunter of Voramis is no more.
Alone with the bloodthirsty voices in his head, fleeing the pain of loss, he has one objective; travel North to find her, the mystery woman who plagues his dreams and haunts his memories.
When he stumbles upon a bandit attack, something within urges him to help. His actions set him at odds with the warrior priests commanded to hunt down the Bucelarii.
Left for dead, the Hunter must travel to Malandria to recover his stolen birthright. There, he is inexorably drawn into direct conflict with the Order of Midas, the faceless, nameless group of magicians that holds the city in a grip of terror. All while struggling to silence the ever-louder voice in his mind that drives him to kill.

#FREE on KindleUnlimited
     Kindle     Paberback


Other books in the series:

Blade of the Destroyer: The Last Bucelarii - Book1

The Hunter of Voramis is the perfect assassin:
Ruthless, Unrelenting, Immortal.
Yet he is haunted by lost memories, bonded to a cursed dagger that feeds him power yet denies him peace of mind. Within him rages an unquenchable need for blood and death. When he accepts a contract to avenge the stolen innocence of a girl, the Hunter becomes the prey. The death of a seemingly random target sends him hurtling toward destruction, yet could his path also lead to the truth of his buried past?

#FREE on KindleUnlimited
     Kindle     Paberback


 
Andy Peloquin
--A third culture kid to the core--has loved to read since before he could remember. Sherlock Holmes, the Phantom of the Opera, and Father Brown are just a few of the books that ensnared his imagination as a child.

When he discovered science fiction and fantasy through the pages of writers like Edgar Rice Burroughs, J.R.R Tolkien, and Orson Scott Card, he was immediately hooked and hasn't looked back since.

Andy's first attempt at writing produced In the Days: A Tale of the Forgotten Continent. He has learned from the mistakes he made and used the experience to produce Blade of the Destroyer, a book of which he is very proud.

Reading—and now writing—is his favorite escape, and it provides him an outlet for his innate creativity. He is an artist; words are his palette.

His website is a second home for him, a place where he can post his thoughts and feelings--along with reviews of books he finds playing around on the internet.



Connect with Andy on one of the links below:







Thursday, August 18, 2016

Heroes of Arcania Series by Liz C Long



~~~~*~~~Heroes of Arcania~~~*~~~
Book 1 - Supernova
Book 2 - Fortunes Favor
Book 3 - Unbreakable
By:
Liz C Long
Supervova

Not all villains can be defeated.

Nova will learn it takes more than sheer strength to be a superhero. Her world implodes when Fortune strikes back for all the trouble she’s caused. His dangerous games put everyone around her at risk, especially when he decides to turn Arcania against its precious Heroes. Nova wants to protect Arcania, but how does she save a city that doesn’t want her help?

Cole has no idea how to deal with his sister Penelope, especially now that she’s learned the truth about their family secret. Thanks to Fortune, she’s headed down a dark path, one with no return. Torn between helping Nova and protecting his sister, Cole will be forced to make a choice. Tensions rise as Cole and Nova discover war will come to Arcania if they don’t get Fortune off the streets…or preferably six feet under.

Nova and Cole might have each other, but will they lose everything else in their mission to save Arcania?

Buy SUPERNOVA Here

Fortunes Favor

Not all villains can be defeated.


Nova will learn it takes more than sheer strength to be a superhero. Her world implodes when Fortune strikes back for all the trouble she’s caused. His dangerous games put everyone around her at risk, especially when he decides to turn Arcania against its precious Heroes. Nova wants to protect Arcania, but how does she save a city that doesn’t want her help?

Cole has no idea how to deal with his sister Penelope, especially now that she’s learned the truth about their family secret. Thanks to Fortune, she’s headed down a dark path, one with no return. Torn between helping Nova and protecting his sister, Cole will be forced to make a choice. Tensions rise as Cole and Nova discover war will come to Arcania if they don’t get Fortune off the streets…or preferably six feet under.

Nova and Cole might have each other, but will they lose everything else in their mission to save Arcania?




Buy FORTUNES FAVOR Here

UNBREAKABLE

True heroes refuse to be broken.

Nova started the fight against Fortune for simple revenge, but now it’s turned into something much bigger. Arcania’s criminals are at each other’s throats, putting the city right in the middle of a warzone. She’ll have to work with a few unlikely allies to end Fortune’s games once and for all. Nova thought she understood what it meant to be a superhero, but will she have to lose herself to truly defeat Fortune?


Fortune has given Cole a choice, one with unbearable consequences. When Cole takes matters into his own hands to save his sister Penelope, he realizes too late he’s another pawn in Fortune’s games. Fortune will use Cole’s gift against his enemies…including Nova. Cole will have to become the hero he always wanted to be if he’s going to protect the love of his life.

Nova and Cole could finally save Arcania from Fortune’s deadly games, but are they willing to sacrifice each other?

 Buy UNBREAKABLE Here
http://amzn.to/2aZc4zU

BIO:

By day, Liz Long is an Associate Editor and writer for a magazine publishing company. By night, she's a fantasy fiction writer dreaming up kickass adventures.
If you catch her staring off into space or talking to herself, don't worry - it's just her imagination at work.
Liz graduated from Longwood University with a BA in English, though her professors might be disappointed to hear she reads more fantasy fiction than literary novels. She also loves action and thriller genres. Her books might not change your life, but she hopes they steal you away from reality for a while.
She is the author of the Heroes of Arcania trilogy and th
e Donovan Circus Series (best described as "X-Men meets the circus"), as well as other urban fantasy titles. All are available on Amazon for Kindle or paperback.


If you have questions about indie publishing, social media woes, want to chat about her books, or maybe you just want to escape into a fantasy story, be sure to stop by at one of the links below to connect with her.


Facebook  /  Twitter  /  Pinterest

Website 
/  Newsletter 
Email 





 



 





Sunday, August 7, 2016

Degrees of Distortion by Aimee McNeil



 
DEGREES OF DISTORTION
Aimee McNeil
Distortion Series book #1
Romantic Suspense
Limitless Publishing 
 

`*.¸.*´´¯`•★AMAZON´¯``*.¸.*´
US  /  CA  UK


 `*.¸.*´´¯`•★GOODREADS´¯``*.¸.*´



`*.¸.*´´¯`•★SYNOPSIS´¯``*.¸.*´
Lexie Wilder is no stranger to tragedy. She struggles every second of every day to overcome the loss of her boyfriend…
Determined to get her life back on track, Lexie retraces a road trip she went on with Alex before he died. The trip was meant to be a harmless adventure to revisit old memories and track down an elusive color of nail polish. Instead, Lexie uncovers a truth in Sugar Hill that her mother wanted to keep hidden.
When strange men follow Lexie home, her mother demands she run, sending her further away from the answers she seeks. But Lexie finds a clue in an old diary. Her mother wrote about a dark man with a dangerous past.
Jackson is a distraction Lexie isn’t prepared to face…
Alone in an unfamiliar town, Lexie has nothing but her haunted thoughts to keep her company and is terrified this man from her mother’s past has come back to finish what he started. She doesn’t know who to trust, especially when she realizes her neighbor, Jackson, is as intimidating as he is beautiful. She tries to keep her mysterious neighbor at a safe distance, but after he fights off an armed attacker, Lexie finds herself turning to him for comfort.
Her new protector can’t stop the evil forces already in play…
There is only one person who can answer for the chaos that has taken over Lexie’s life…her mother. The man responsible for the torment detailed in the pages of the diary is real, and now his sights are set on Lexie. His henchmen might have failed, but he won’t.
Lexie must figure out exactly how much she trusts Jackson and his good intentions if she ever wants a chance to finally piece her life back together. But first she has to survive…
Some demons don’t die. They wait...


`*.¸.*´´¯`•★PROLOGUE´¯``*.¸.*´
The room was dark and the air felt as if it had taken shape and slithered over her skin—cold and damp. Her jaw hurt from the constant chattering of her teeth. The dull ache stretched down her throat making it feel swollen and tight. Her thoughts jumped from one to the next as her mind refused to focus on anything.
She raised a shaky hand and brushed her hair from her face, noticing her cheeks were damp. She pressed numb fingers to her skin and wiped away tears that were dripping from her chin. She hadn’t even realized she was crying. She licked her dry lips and blinked her eyes. The haunting quiet was enough to make her question what was real.
A strange numbness engulfed her as she looked through the rough metal bars that caged her in. A lone light bulb in the far corner of the room flickered occasionally, threatening to leave her in darkness. She had no concept of time due to the solid walls of concrete around her. The only indication of time passing was the constant drip of water she could hear from the leaky faucet across the room.
The bars that made up the small cell had initially been a source of terror when she had awoken inside them but now she was grateful for the barrier. They were the only thing that separated her from him.
The man sat on the other side of the bars with a suit and blood red tie. His chair was so close that his knees were pressed against the bars. He had been sitting impossibly still for so long she was beginning to wonder if she was imagining him.
When he finally moved her breath caught in her throat. He loosened his tie and leaned back. The chair groaned loudly in protest but he remained eerily quiet. He didn’t look like a man that was capable of great evil with his expensive suit and well-manicured appearance but there was no denying there was something unnatural about him. He watched her silently like a lion toying with its food, waiting to strike.
She pushed back the lump in the throat and searched for her voice. “Why?” her lips felt frozen, making it hard to speak.
He refused to break his silence. He ran his hand down the front of his shirt and began to rub his thighs in long, languid strokes. His gaze never left her and she cowered away from his frightening presence.
She sat on the small cot pushed up against the wall. It offered no comfort as the frame dug through the thin mattress. A chill rushed over her skin as she pulled her knees up to her chest.
Why…am I…here?” she cried. The rush of emotion was impossible to stop as it began to flow. She gasped for breath between her sobs. Her body shook as she wrapped her arms around her knees and made the best attempt she could to shield herself from his view.
He leaned forward suddenly in his chair and grabbed hold of the bars. His abrupt movement startled her. She pushed off the bed and stumbled to her feet. She pressed her body against the solid wall of concrete in the back of the cell. Her heart raced so fast she could taste the metallic pulse in her mouth and the deafening rush in her ears.
Because you are mine,” he said in a voice that reached across the distance between them and grabbed hold of her.
She shook her head. “Let me go,” she sobbed. “Please.”
Never,” he said as he shoved his chair back. It scraped loudly against the floor. He pulled what sounded like keys from his pocket and walked around the cell. He ran his fingers over every bar until he came to the door. Fear strangled her as the sound of a lock released.
I will never let you go,” he said as he pushed the door open.

`*.¸.*´´¯`•★ABOUT THE AUTHOR´¯``*.¸.*´

Aimee McNeil was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada, where she continues to live today with her husband and three children. She is a stay-at-home mother that loves every colorful moment with her family.
Aimee spends most of her free time indulging in her love of writing. You can also find her lost in the pages of a good book, or making a mess with her paints. Aimee loves to explore anything that promotes creativity. It is one of the many reason she enjoys writing.

`*.¸.*´´¯`•★AUTHOR LINKS´¯``*.¸.*´
Website  /  Facebook  /  Twitter  / Instagram

`*.¸.*´´¯`•★GIVEAWAY´¯``*.¸.*´
Enter to win a signed paperback copy of DEGREES OF DISTORTION.
Contest ends August 17th!
Click >>>HERE<<< to enter