Showing posts with label blog tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog tour. Show all posts

Saturday, October 12, 2024

Undawnted Presents: Paul Kane and Joseph Carrabis for WordCrafter's Midnight Garden Anthology



About Midnight Garden: Where Dark Tales Grow

17 authors bring you 21 magnificent dark tales. Stories of magic, monsters and mayhem. Tales of murder and madness which will make your skin crawl. These are the tales that explore your darkest Midnight Garden... if you dare.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com.

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Midnight Garden Anthology Giveaway

Three lucky winners will receive a digital copy of Midnight Garden in a random drawing following the tour. All you have to do to enter is follow the tour and leave a comment at each stop that you visit.

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Paul Kane's Drip Feed

Inspiration for “Drip Feed” by Paul Kane

I had so much fun writing ‘The White Lady’ for Kaye’s previous anthology, Midnight Roost, that when the opportunity to write something else for the next one in the series cropped up, I put my thinking cap on about another one.

‘Drip Feed’ is sort of the spiritual cousin to a story I wrote over a decade ago now, called ‘Rag & Bone’ – or at least the beginning of it is. First published in The Butterfly Man from PS Publishing, that one got picked up for Best New Horror so I’ve been trying to think of how to do something similar for a while now (although the two stories ended up being nothing alike really).

‘Rag & Bone’ begins with the main character hanging around in what he thinks is a serial killer’s lair, which is the conclusion Daniele in ‘Drip Feed’ also leaps to here. Both have twists about what’s actually going on, of course – it’s never as simple as just a ‘serial killer’ in one of my horrors – but in this case it was sort of influenced by the surge in spiking people’s drinks these days. We saw something about it on breakfast TV and I figured it would be appropriate in this tale.

There are bits that are nods to certain movies, and if you read ‘Drip Feed’ you’ll understand what those are and why I can’t mention them; Daniele herself has seen the films and although she can’t remember the titles, you’ll get where she’s coming from, or at least I hope you will.

I wanted to do a tale this time that offers a bit of light at the end of the tunnel, instead of that just being a train coming to run you over. There’s a glimmer at any rate, and that won’t spoil it for those of you who haven’t read it yet, because that’s not the full story by long chalk. The ending I think will still surprise you, as indeed it does Daniele. 

It’s enjoyable sometimes to do a piece that’s self-contained. Something which, although a back history is hinted at, doesn’t contain huge amounts of mythology or whatever that you need to know. Just a beginning, middle and end. I also like doing stories that are circular, though I’m not entirely sure this one is. We definitely leave it in a place where things are going to continue on, but then that’s most tales anyway isn’t it – unless you end the world that is (and I’ve done that a few times too). 

So sit back and read Daniele’s struggles to overcome her obstacles – her background, if not her predicament, are similar to mine; though in art and writing, rather than acting. Things are tough out there, and the only way to get through life is to become tougher. 

If you can, that is.

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About Paul Kane

Paul Kane is the award-winning (including the British Fantasy Society’s Legends of FantasyCon Award 2022), bestselling author and editor of over a hundred and fifty books – such as the Arrowhead trilogy (gathered in the sellout Hooded Man omnibus), Hellbound Hearts, Wonderland (a Shirley Jackson Award finalist) and Pain Cages (an Amazon #1 bestseller). His non-fiction books include The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy and Voices in the Dark. He has been a Guest at many conventions, as well as being a panellist at FantasyCon and the World Fantasy Convention, and a fiction judge at the Sci-Fi London festival. A former British Fantasy Society Special Publications Editor, he has also served as co-chair for the UK chapter of The Horror Writers Association and co-chaired ChillerCon UK in May 2022. His work has been optioned and adapted for the big and small screen, including for US network primetime television and as the feature film Sacrifice starring Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, You’re Next, Suitable Flesh). His audio work includes the full cast drama adaptation of The Hellbound Heart for Bafflegab, starring Alice Lowe (Prevenge), and the Robin of Sherwood adventure The Red Lord for Spiteful Puppet/ITV. He has also contributed to the Warhammer 40k universe for Games Workshop. Paul’s latest novels are the sequels to RED – Blood RED & Deep RED (aka The RED Trilogy) – the award-winning hit Sherlock Holmes & the Servants of Hell, Before (an Amazon Top 5 dark fantasy bestseller), Arcana, The Storm and The Gemini Effect. In addition he writes thrillers for HQ/HarperCollins as PL Kane: the sellout novels Her Last Secret, Her Husband’s Grave and The Family Lie. Paul lives in Derbyshire, UK, with his wife Marie O’Regan. Find out more at his site www.shadow-writer.co.uk which has featured Guest Writers such as Stephen King, Catriona Ward, Dean Koontz, Olivie Blake and Guillermo del Toro. 

Socials: Facebook, X (@PaulKaneShadow), Instagram (@paul.kane.376) and Bluesky (@paulkane.bsky.social)

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Reading from Midnight Garden

“Grande Ture” by Joseph Carrabis
https://youtu.be/iOKyI0fG9Qg.

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About Joseph Carrabis

Joseph Carrabis told stories to anyone who would listen starting in childhood, wrote his first stories in grade school, and started getting paid for his writing in 1978. He’s been everything from a long-haul trucker to a Chief Research Scientist and holds patents covering mathematics, anthropology, neuroscience, and linguistics. After patenting a technology which he created in his basement and creating an international company, he retired from corporate life and now he spends his time writing fiction based on his experiences. His work appears regularly in several anthologies and his own published novels. You can learn more about him at https://josephcarrabis.com.

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Midnight Garden Tour Schedule

Monday – October 7 – M.J. Mallon: Interview & Reading (The Seagull Man) – Writing to be Read
Tuesday – October 8 – Danaeka Scrimshaw: Guest Post (“Fae Game”) & Denise Aparo: Reading “Jack Moon & the Vanishing Book” – Roberta Writes
Wednesday – October 9 – Joseph Carabis: Reading (“The Last Drop”) & Guest Post (“Striders”) – Paul Martz
Thursday – October 10 – Paul Martz: Reading & Guest Post (“The Blackest Ink”) – Writing to be Read
Friday – October 11 – Molly Ertel: Inspiration Reading (“Antipenultimate”) & Abe Margel: Guest Post (My Balance) – Kyrosmagica
Saturday – October 12 – Paul Kane: Guest Post (“Drip Feed”) &a Joseph Carrabis: Guest Post (Grande Ture) – Undawnted
Sunday – October 13 – DL Mullan: Guest Post (Kurst) & Ell Rodman: Guest Post (The Drummer) - BookPlaces
Monday – October 14 – Joseph Carrabis: Reading (The Exchange) & Guest Post (The Tomb) – Writing to be Read


Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Undawnted Presents: A WordCrafter Blog Tour, My Backyard Friends, Meet Heather Hummingbird & Review of "Heather Hummingbird"

Flowery background. Digital copies of Heather Hummingbird, Timothy Turtle and Charlie Chickadee, and the My Backyard Friends logo in foreground on right. On left WordCrafter logo in foreground. 
Text: WordCrafter Book Blog Tours Presents The My Backyard Friends Kid's Book Series, written by Kaye Lynne Booth, Illustrated by Robbie Cheadle

Introduction

Heather Hummingbird is a busy little hummingbird bird who earns the nickname Hyperactive Heather which her forest friends have given her. She’s constantly on the move, gathering insects and nectar, chasing bees, or migrating from her winter to her summer home and back. But she always finds time to help out her friends, even when her help is only grudgingly accepted.

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Mini-Interview with Heather Hummingbird
[Interview with Heather Hummingbird]

Flowery landscape in background.
Text: Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend, Meet Heather Hummingbird
Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend on a digital device and My Backyard Friends Logo in foreground.
Excerpt:"Heather!" he called out. "What are you doing way up here?"
She flew across to a nearby tree and perched. Her flight was sluggish and slow. She didn't seem her usual zippy self.
"What is wrong?" he asked.
"It's time to fly south for the winter, but I spent too much time chasing bees," she replied. "They annoy me because they take all of the nectar. I was so busy chasing bees that I didn;t gather enough nectar to sustain my normal rythm. Now all the flowers are gone."

Forgive me if I don’t perch for very long. You see hummingbirds have lots of energy, so if I zip away suddenly, don’t worry. I’ll be right back. I’ll just be working up energy that is building up, like this .Zwippp.

Ziiing.

Were you afraid to speak to an eagle?

Well, no. I’d seen Ethan around the forest. He’s a big bird, but he’s a fledgling. I might even be older than him, so I wasn’t scared of him. Zwiiiipp.

Ziiiiiing. I couldn’t help but notice his curious behavior and when I realized I could help him, I did.
 

How did it feel to make a friend?

Well, I was glad to have him as a friend that autumn, when I couldn’t fly south on my own. That’s for sure.
 

How did it feel when you had to part with your new friend?

The trip south was a long one, and I felt really close to Ethan by the time we arrived. I knew he had to go back to the forest he knew, but it was sad watching him go. But I didn’t let it keep me down because I knew I’d see him again the next spring, and I did. Zwiiip.

Ziiiing

Thanks for having me here today, but I need to go find some flowers to recharge. You’d be amazed by how much nectar is required to keep up this pace. Bye. Zwiiiiip Zwing.

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My Review

My Backyard Friends, Heather Hummingbird edition, is a cute read for adults and children alike. Heather goes on her own adventure as she zips around the landscape. She meets other animals to be her friends.

Beautiful and insightful, this book guides readers on a path toward wisdom only found with a wildness full of backyard friends. 

Be sure to Pre-Order your copy below.

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Fun Facts About Hummingbirds

  • Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly forward, backward, sideways and upside-down. They are also the only birds that can hover in mid-air.
  • They have the highest metabolism of any bird species. They consume twice their weight each day.
  • Hummingbirds can beat their wings 70 times per second, and 200 times per second when diving. The males do elaborate aerial acrobats during the mating seasons to attract the females, traveling high up into the air and looping around to dive back down toward the ground, making a high-pitched whistling.
  • Some species of hummingbirds migrate up to 2,000 miles twice a year.
  • Their hearts can beat up to 1,260 times per minute.
  • Hummingbirds migrate great distances from their summer to winter homes and back, up to 3000 miles each trip, 6000 miles per year.
  • Hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world, averaging 8.5 cm long and weigh between 2.5–20 grams.
  • Hummingbirds have forked tongues and have tiny hairs on the tips of their tongues to help lap up nectar.
  • “On most hummingbirds, the coloring of the feathers does not come from pigmentation, but instead from prism-like cells within the top layer of feathers.
  • The colors you see depend on the angle of the light when it hits the feathers.
  • When hummingbird feathers reflect light, which make the gorget (throat patch) look like it’s glittering from certain angles, but at other angles will make the feathers look dull.” (Southwest Audobon. “Fun Facts About Hummingbirds”. 
    • https://southwest.audubon.org/conservation/fun-facts-about-hummingbirds)
  • When they are low on energy and no food source is available, hummingbirds go into a torpor state to conserve their reserves.

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Pre-order the My Backyard Friends books here:

Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend (Ages 3-5): https://books2read.com/u/471vzj

Timothy Turtle Discovers Jellybeans (Ages 3-5): https://books2read.com/u/3LL5K7

Charlie Chickadee Gets a New Home (Ages 6-8): https://books2read.com/u/md2YLO

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About Kaye Lynne Booth

Author Kaye Lynne Booth with a dogKaye Lynne Booth is a freelance writer, editor, multi-genre author and independent publisher. She holds dual MFA in Creative Writing – Genre Fiction and Screenwriting, and an M.A. in Publishing. To earn her publishing degree, she worked under the mentoring of International Bestselling author, Kevin J. Anderson on the Gilded Glass: Twisted Myths & Shattered Fairy Tales editorial team from Western State Colorado University and WordFire Press and she compiled and edited Weird Tales: The Best of the Early Years 1926-27, under Jonathan Maberry.

 
About Robbie Cheadle

South African author and illustrator, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated sixteen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, and written and illustrated three poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.

Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

Find out more about Robbie Cheadle on her blog here: https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/

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Undawnted's DL Mullan can be booked for your online Blog Tour, Book Event, Book Review (w/ARC), Interview, Writing Conference, or Genre Convention. Ms. Mullan has years of experience in public speaking, readings, presentations, events, and tours.

Book a quality author and presenter with Undawnted: Bookings online form


Thursday, March 14, 2024

Undawnted Presents: a WordCrafter Blog Tour for Northtown Angelus by Robert T. White

On the path of great resistance, Raimo Jarvi, private investigator, searches for answers. Northtown authorities no only lack those answers, but empathy. Without anyone to turn to, P.I. Jarvi tries to discover what really happened to Johnny Dillon for his widow, Cora. With an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, will Raimo Jarvi succeed where others have failed? 

If you like crime-drama and private investigators, then Northtown Angelus is for you. Enjoy the dynamic characters and plot lines in this novel. 
 
Robert T. White offers readers an adventure of the mind and senses with his writing style. 
 
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Style in Crime Fiction, What Value?
Robert White

There are some words in the English-speaking world that can still stop conversation cold. Murder, Kill, Rape—to name three. Unfortunately, given the prominence of vulgarities in our society from top to bottom, one cannot even name the dreaded words that stand-up comedians alone risked using in public without fear of reprisal. The all-too-frequent f-bomb and most racial epithets still have clout but nothing like what they used to possess. Style is one of those ambiguous words that seem to have shed power and meaning rapidly in our time. Like “beauty,” style today is deemed to exist in the eye of the beholder. If you like Linda Fairstein’s or Lisa Scottoline’s fiction, you say that those authors have great style and you can point to the volumes that stretch from one end of a public library’s shelves to the other. “Count ‘em,” you say, and there’s your evidence. Or check the Times bestsellers list and there you find the usual suspects like James Patterson and Clive Cussler. 

At some point the notion of style as being more than personally argumentative becomes necessary if you are to be inclusive in your definition and you find yourself veering helplessly toward the metaphysical. If a physicist hands you a red ball and asks, “What color is it?” and your reply is immediately to say, “Red”; you feel the rightness of your response without demur. If that physicist places the ball in the yard at midnight and asks you the same question, can you so confidently answer “red” when you can’t see anything out there at all? 

That’s the problem with “style,” it seems to me. It becomes personal extremely fast and you are tempted to become overly assertive in your particular defense of the word. No one wants to go on record to say Shakespeare’s has no style. But how far would you get arguing for that lush Elizabethan prose in our slang-riddled, monosyllabic era? Is there a TikTok or Instagram influencer who doesn’t think everything is “awesome”? That word used to be restricted to quaking-before-the-throne-of-God circumstances only. Today it flutters from every teenager’s tongue. Not that word choice and word meanings are the essence of style. (I once read Roland Barthes’ analysis of Balzac’s Sarrasine, and I beg you, do not open up that can of structuralist worms.) 

So how do we get such a critical term away from the flotsam and jetsam of criteria that issue from personal subjectivity? Not for the sake of mere semantics but to get a better understanding of why certain writers from the dilettantish drabble writer through the pedantic critics and scholars with their weighty tomes to the writers we read for pleasure in all genres. There’s no yardstick I know of that applies in all cases and situations. 

A better way to start is by example. I recently came across a passage in Martin Cruz Smith’s Havana Bay who described the sluggish water flowing beneath a Moscow bridge in turgid brown folds. The imagery of that brief, incisive description stopped me short and it stays with me, even though I can’t quote the exact words he used. I remember savoring it before continuing. In fact, it’s a rare page of his in any novel that doesn’t have at least one example of that kind of striking blend of the familiar grappled to the exotic in such a way you know exactly where you are in time and space. Does that move the plot? Not incrementally but it holds you in the author’s grasp and, unlike so many bestsellers we could all name, doesn’t allow you to wander off to the next sentence or skip like a goat to keep the plot moving in your head. Less is more.

Smith’s ability to toss a passing glance like that, one of many taken by the seeing-eye narrator, held me in its grip throughout the novel and every one of his Renko books. The accretion of those diamond-sharp images hits some chord in the neocortex, or wherever delight comes into contact with cognition, that enables me to pass a value judgment: Damn, I say to myself, this guy is good . . . But assessing the great from the good and the good from the mediocre isn’t as formulaic as I and other readers would like it to be. There are so few descriptive references to Arkady Renko that you could cut-and-paste them in a paragraph: he’s too thin, smokes like a chimney, is dismissed by cretins and his enemies too easily, loves with passion. It’s not him we need; it’s the mind behind him. 

So, to sum up with a fatuous cliché, we know what we like, we say, to our opponents who champion other writers or, worse, are blind to the greatness in style we see so plainly. Shakespeare certainly had that, even though his contemporary Ben Jonson, who claimed to love him ”this side of idolatry,” wished his greater contemporary had revised “a thousand times” when told Shakespeare never revised a line of his plays. He didn’t like Shakespeare’s mixing of clowns and kings. He had a “magic touch” but he lacked “art.” 

When we talk about the contemporary murder mystery, we are talking more clowns than kings. But if “art” is to be equated with “style,” how can anyone claim that the best writers in the genre do not have it because they deal mainly with clowns/murderers? Of course, murderers can be well-spoken, possess degrees from an ivy league college, but those are minor features of killers and victims alike unless you insist on an all-egalitarian approach of killers, victims, and gumshoes alike. 

I can’t settle the argument but I can offer three criteria for a definition of good contemporary style across the board. My first criterion is simple: a writer can’t use ten words when one or two suffice. Second, a writer cannot violate the boundaries he or she establishes at the outset that include point of view’s restrictions on mind-hopping. 


When I first began reading the Henning Mankell series, I thought the translator had taken too much Ambien at night. Then I got hooked on the catalog of the mundane and the seemingly trivial. I couldn’t wait to grab my next Wallander volume from the shelves. My knowledge of Nordic crime-fiction writers is too thin to allow a comparison other than a brief contrast with the grim landscape in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy. (Note to David Fincher, director of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Casting Daniel Craig was not breaking a rule to avoid the awkward; it sacrificed verisimilitude for the bottom line.) Two hugely different styles albeit in translation from one language. 

Which brings me to that third rule about greatness in style, something I lifted from a freshman handbook on composition, The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White. simple word title: Style. It offered rules for everything in good writing and concluded with this rule, which I’m paraphrasing: “Break any rule rather than say something awkward.” It seems to me that the best writers know exactly where and when to break rules, when to follow them, and to do so in a way that creates their own unique signature as writers. Of one thing I am sure, no writer writes not to be read, no matter how skimpy, precious, or elitist the readership. All writers need it the way fish need oxygen passed through their gills. When I ran this essay through the grammar checker, it told me to eliminate a couple uses of “very,” which I did. I did, however, draw the line at ejecting “flotsam and jetsam” for the substituted “miscellaneous items.” There’s a hill I’ll die on. Jonson was right about Shakespeare: he had the magic touch. He could make you see a red ball in a black night.

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Giveaway

Each stop where you leave a comment,

you get another chance to win one of five digital copies,

and one signed print copy of Northtown Angelus.

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Author Bio

Robert T. White writes from Northeastern Ohio. He has published several crime, noir, hardboiled novels and genre stories in various magazines and anthologies. He’s been nominated for a Derringer. “Inside Man,” a crime story, was selected for Best American Mystery Stories 2019. His second hardboiled p.i. series (after the Thomas Haftmann mysteries begun in 2011 with Haftmann's Rules) features Raimo Jarvi in Northtown Eclipse (Fahrenheit Press, 2018) and Northtown Blitz (2020). British website Murder, Mayhem & More cited When You Run with Wolves (rpt. 2018) as a finalist for Top Ten Crime Books of 2018 and Perfect Killer in 2019. “If I Let You Get Me” was selected for the Bouchercon 2019 anthology and The Russian Heist (Moonshine Cove, 2019), another crime thriller, was selected by Thriller Magazine as winner of its Best Novel category. "Out of Breath" and Other Stories is a mixed collection of mainstream and noir fiction (Red Giant Press, 2013). 

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Undawnted's DL Mullan can be booked for your online Blog Tour, Book Event, Book Review (w/ARC), Interview, Writing Conference, or Genre Convention. Ms. Mullan has years of experience in public speaking, readings, presentations, events, and tours.

Book a quality author and presenter with Undawnted: Bookings online form
 


Monday, June 19, 2023

The Official Kick-Off to Summer 2023

June 21, 2023 marks the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere.  

For the longest day of the year, Undawnted will begin the festivities with a WordCrafter Blog Tour for the poetry book, Small Wonders, by Kaye Lynne Booth. 


Then A Novelist Newsletter will drop its quarterly update, as well as throw a bash for The Jonah Collector Release Party on June 23rd!

It's a full week here on Undawnted.

Be sure to become a Subscriber to A Novelist Idea and our YouTube Channel for great seasonal programming and entertainment.

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A writer at heart, Undawnted's own creative spark, DL Mullan, began writing short stories and poetry before adolescence. Over the years, Ms. Mullan has showcased her literary talents by self-publishing several collections of her poetry. She also writes novels, designs apparel, and creates digital art. Ms. Mullan‘s creative writing is available in digital and print collections, from academia to commercial anthologies. As an independent publisher, she produces her own book cover designs as well as maintains her own websites. She is an award-winning digital artist and poet. Currently, DL Mullan shares her knowledge via A Novelist Idea Newsletter. If you too want to become a Fearless Phile, then subscribe to her newsletter on Substack.

Her innovative style teaches writers how to reach their creative potential, and write more effectively.

Learn. Grow. Master… with Undawnted.

 

 

Wednesday, October 5, 2022

Would you like to be a Blog Tourist? Or, Blog Tourateur?


Team Undawnted is looking for Blog Tourateurs, or Blog Tour Hosts. 

We like to review Indie Creators, and in turn receive a review or marketing time on your blog. Would you like to become part of our Blog Tours?  

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It’s easy to become a host:

  • Do you have a blog or website for creative endeavors?

  • Do you like being a part of a team?

  • Do you enjoy art, poetry, and prose?

Then you qualify to become a Blog Tourateur for Team Undawnted. 

We supply all your needs with an Advance Review Copy (ARC in PDF form) for you to peruse, and/or our marketing materials such as:

  • Articles

  • Links

  • Reviews

  • Marketing Images

A Blog Tour Host just needs to put the items together on their blog/site and publish! It is that simple. 

Become a Creative Connoisseur!

For further information on how you can sign up as a Blog Tour Host, fill out and send your request in via our Contact Undawnted form.

Thank you for your interest,

Team Undawnted

 

Monday, September 19, 2022

WordCrafter Blog Tour! Refracted Reflections: Twisted Tales of Duality & Deception



Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?

In community college, I played the Mirror in the dramatic re-imaging of The Emperor has No Clothes. This anthology of short stories has a kinship with that play, as the image of the mirror takes on an important role straight into our imaginations. 

What do you see when you look into the mirror? You? The past? The present? How about a future waiting to unfold? Or, do you see the sinister? Bloody Mary, perhaps? Or, shadows that move when you don't? 

Refracted Reflections: Twisted Tales of Duality and Deception delves into those deep dark crevices of our shadow psyche. From inducing possession, committing murder/suicide or as cursed objects, mirrors have a unique hold on our imaginations. The short stories contained within the pages of this anthology will do just the same to its readers. 

The Cost of Magic By Keith Hoskins tells the tale of vengeance. In this short story, mirrors are used as magical tools, but there was a penalty for using such a device. Magical mirrors extracted a price to those individuals who are gifted with knowledge through its spell work. Can magic be a means to an end?

The Elevator Ritual By Shelly Jasperson will send tingles down your spine as her character grapples with the suicide of a stranger, and the death of her sister in the haunted images of an elevator's mirrors. Would you survive the spirit in your reflection?

The Tinker’s Gift By Valerie B. Williams has a mirror that eases people beyond the veil by showing them their heart's desire: their beloved. Could a solider's last glimpse end a curse and bring balance back to the world? 

Refracted Reflections has a mirror image worth shivering for... Happy Autumn Haunts!

*****

One reveals truths, while the other bends light into varying shapes of deception.

Does a small camp mirror reveal hope… or death?

Is the warrior in the mirror a monster… or a protector?

Does a glimpse in the  mirror reveal a young woman’s true self… or what someone else has shaped her into?

Does the mysterious portal to the future reflect what could be… or what must be left behind?

Are the dancers reflected in the water’s depth things of beauty… or evil?

This unique and imaginative collection of nine mind tantalizing fantasy and science fiction stories will appeal to readers who enjoy thought provoking tales with hidden meanings resting deep below the surface. These stories will keep you pondering long into the night.

If you liked Gilded Glass or Once Upon an Ever After, you’ll love Refracted Reflections.

*****

Digital Giveaway

For a chance to win a free digital copy of Refracted Reflections, just leave a comment to show you were here. Follow the tour and comment at each stop for more chances to win. Three copies will be given away in a random drawing.

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About The Book

Each of the stories included in Refracted Reflections feature a mirror or reflection in some significant way. The reflections given are sometimes surprising, often fooling those who gaze upon them, because things aren’t often as they seem.

I have included two of my own stories, “The Devil Made Her Do It”, which is a reprinted story about a woman blinded by love and deceived by a man who just might be the devil, which first appeared in Relationship Add Vice, from Zombie Pirates Publishing; and an original fairy tale, The Not So Perfect Prince, about a prince who is so full of himself that he can’t see who he truly is.

But mine are only two among nine outstanding stories by eight talented authors, and we’ll be introducing five of the contributing authors on this tour: Valerie B. Williams, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Ligia de Wit, Elisabeth Caldwell, and of course me, Kaye Lynne Booth.

Writing to be Read Refracted Reflections Blog Tour -->

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Undawnted's DL Mullan, can be booked for your online Blog Tour, Book Event, Book Review (w/ARC), Interview, Writing Conference, or Genre Convention. Ms. Mullan has years of experience in public speaking, readings, presentations, events, and tours.

Book a quality author and presenter with Undawnted: Bookings online form
 

 

Saturday, August 27, 2022

Blog Tour Hosts Wanted

Team Undawnted is looking for Blog Tour Hosts for the 2023 New Year. We are content creators for Undawnted. Our articles and promotions will drive more traffic to your site.

It’s easy to become a host:

  • Do you have a blog or website for creative endeavors?

  • Do you like being a part of a team?

  • Do you enjoy art, poetry, and prose?

Then you qualify to become a Blog Tour Host for Team Undawnted. 

We supply all your needs:

  • Articles

  • Links

  • Reviews

  • Marketing Images

A Blog Tour Host just needs to put the items together on their blog/site and publish! It is that simple.

For further information on how you can sign up as a Blog Tour Host, fill out and send your request in via our Contact Undawnted form.

Thank you for your interest,

Team Undawnted

 

Thursday, March 3, 2022

Undawnted Presents: WordCrafter “Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog” Book Blog Tour: an Undawnted Review

Do you love chocolate? Who doesn't? 

Chocolate is a great way to make bridges between strangers. The sweet can also renew our connections with each other. How, you may ask? 

Robbie and Michael Cheadle have got that question answered!

If you combined cake decorating, a child's imagination, recipes, and storytelling, you would have Robbie and Michael Cheadle's latest publication of their ongoing series: Chocolate Fudge saves the Sugar Dog. 

This book delights and enlightens the reader to become their own hero with their wonderful cast of characters. When the chips are down, who are you going to call? Well, it's not the Ghostbusters.

Parents and children can read along while baking their favorite Sir Chocolate desserts. An inspired idea to bring together the imagination of children with the real-world application of baking, so families have a group activity that makes precious memories.

Reconnect with your children or child-like spirit with the entire series.

*****

Purchase Links

Paperback: https://tslbooks.uk/product/chocolate-fudge-saves-the-sugar-dog/

Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-Fudge-Saves-Sugar-Dog/dp/1914245547

Ebook: https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/michael-cheadle-and-robbie-cheadle/chocolate-fudge-saves-the-sugar-dog/ebook/product-j7k4e6.html?page=1&pageSize=4

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Author Roberta "Robbie" Eaton Cheadle

Robbie Cheadle is a South African children’s author and poet, with ten children’s books and two poetry books.

The eight Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations. Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions that children can make under adult supervision.

Robbie has also published two books for older children, which incorporate recipes that are relevant to the storylines.

Robbie has two adult novels in the paranormal historical and supernatural fantasy genres, published under the name Roberta Eaton Cheadle. She also has short stories, in the horror and paranormal genre, and poems included in several anthologies.
 

Robbie writes two monthly posts for https://writingtoberead.com called Growing Bookworms and Treasuring Poetry and one monthly post, under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle, called Dark Origins: African Myths and Legends.

Robbie has a blog, https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/ where she shares book reviews, recipes, author interviews, and poetry.

 

Follow Robbie Cheadle at:

Website: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/

Blog: https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bakeandwrite

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Undawnted's DL Mullan, can be booked for your online Blog Tour, Book Event, Book Review (w/ARC), Interview, Writing Conference, or Genre Convention. Ms. Mullan has years of experience in public speaking, readings, presentations, events, and tours.

Book a quality author and presenter with Undawnted: Bookings online form
 


Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Planning Undawnted's 2022 Calendar: What Do You Want to See More Of?

Plan, to plan, planning... sounds like an excuse for colored pens and an array of stickers.

And, you would be correct. 

2022 is going to be high energy for Undawnted. More writing, publishing, and publications. Nothing says dedication like exhaustion. 

Click for Chapbook Here
Undawnted has: 

  • Social media interactions
  • Original, award-level poetry 
  • Designer apparel
  • Authentic storytelling
  • Book and Movie Reviews
  • Fine Art print productions
  • Seasonal Reads
  • Events & Parties
  • Blog Tour & other Bookings
  • Special Engagements
  • Writer's Workshops 
  • an Upcoming Newsletter

So there is much that can be cataloged onto a calendar. 

Undawnted likes all that is happening in our little corner of the internet, but what makes Undawnted stand out from the crowd? 

What would you like to see? 

A psychotic painting elephant? Done! 

 

Have a great and wonderful day!

 


Monday, November 15, 2021

On Undawnted, Life Matters When Writing

Tonight on Undawnted...

I did a load of dishes. I fed the birds and cats. I cooked dinner. I will be putting a chicken in the oven later this evening to keep the house warm. Then I will do a load of laundry after that. 

Well, I cannot sit around and write all day! 

Did you know that motivating helps your brain? If you get stuck writing, then take a walk or do some chores. Sunbathing is nice too. That is what I do. 

With a chicken done, then I don't have to worry about cooking large meals for a few days. That is nice when you have 20K more words to write, and you don't want to break your concentration for too long. 

The notes and scenes I will be doing this week will be enough to keep my mind busy. With the paying of my last two bills in the next couple of days, I won't have any money to spend. So, good thing I am a creative writer. Everything I need is in my head. 

After Immortal Spellcaster is at my formatter on the 20th, I will be doing my Movie Reviews. Isn't that exciting? Spoilers too. (I give a warning!) I like to do five in depth reviews a month. I wanted to be a movie critic when I was a teen. Now, I am. I like how that worked out for me. 

Then the blog/book tour will happen at the end of the month. I want to also add in a Book Events through my Sonoran Dawn publishing house. 

December will begin with me finishing up Immortal Spellcaster. The break of doing reviews and tours will allow me to see my manuscript with fresh eyes. Then I will be able to correct any more mistakes that I may find and add whatever word count is left for me to do. 

If done and polished, Immortal Spellcaster will be entered into a Contest. 

Awesome! 

I would love for the story to place. If so or not, I won't know until late into 2022. If the novel is returned without being optioned, then I will do a few more polish runs before publishing it myself. A good release time would be Winter 2022-23, don't you think? 

December will see me expanding my short story, The Reality Hackers. This science fiction story will be made into a Novelette and entered into another contest. 

That is a good story. I just have to have it in the hands of the right people, and of course, no more formatting issues! When you work with old technology and software, crap happens. You have to keep pressing forward. 

I want to have a few novels and short stories published by third-party publishers in the next five years. As well as, I would like to have some original plays and scripts under production.  

This is the life of a writer. Just make sure not to forget about your real life in the process. I don't. I even add some real life experiences in my fiction to make scenes and characters more realistic. Truth is stranger than fiction... and my truth is way stranger than that. 

 Have a great and wonderful day.



Friday, November 5, 2021

Tour Booked for Nov. 29 - Dec. 3 for the Lingering Spirit Whispers Paranormal Anthology Set

Undawnted's novelist, DL Mullan, has been booked for an anthology tour the last week in November.  

The Lingering Spirit Whispers Paranormal Anthology Set is due out December 1st and we here on Undawnted will receive a sneak peek! Isn't that exciting? 

Ms. Mullan will be reviewing this set, in addition, she will be conducting author interviews. 

If you would like to book a tour with Undawnted, please use our Contact form

For more information, check out our Bookings page

Have a great and wonderful day!



Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Undawnted Presents: WordCrafter Blog Tour, Robbie Cheadle's Poetry Collection: Behind Closed Doors Review


Poetry is a difficult craft to mold one's own ideas into as a creative process. Words are often written, even spoken, out of context with idioms, axioms, metaphors, and cliches to add further complications. Poetry is even more challenging than grammar when expected to follow certain rhyme schemes or cadences.

Behind Closed Doors is a poetry book that marries the conventional with the creative. The poems are stream of consciousness illustrations of life, love, and remembrance. Unusual thoughts that show us the world we live in through another person's point of view, but is that so unusual? Or, is the uncommon often seen in the simple and direct in times of uncertainty?

Everyday life and the people we associate ourselves with are how we see ourselves and the outside world. In the section on the lockdowns, that is where Ms. Cheadle deepened her reach into our emotions. With the poem "No Contact," she expressed her feelings as a ghost with being insubstantial and unreal. This exhibited depth and resonance from which her creativity can only grow and take her writing to the next level of expression.  

If you like to know more about Ms. Cheadle and her creative works, please check out the rest of the Blog Tour at Writing to be Read as well as her Youtube channel: 

 

Have a great and wonderful day.

_________

Behind Closed Doors, a collection of unusual poems

What goes on behind closed doors: in the boardroom, after death, in the home, during lockdown, and in nature? This collection of poems, ranging from rhyming verse to twisted nursery rhymes, captures the emotions and thoughts people hide behind the masks they present to the world.

What thoughts are hidden

Behind her immobile face

Quite expressionless

Eyes cold and indifferent

Scrutinising me – hawk like

This book includes some of Robbie Cheadle’s spectacular fondant art and cakes.

Robbie Cheadle author bio

Author and Poet Robbie Cheadle
Robbie Cheadle is a South African children’s author and poet with 9 children’s books and 1 poetry book.

The 7 Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations. Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions which children can make under adult supervision.

Robbie has also published 2 books for older children which incorporate recipes that are relevant to the storylines.

Robbie has 2 adult novels in the paranormal historical and supernatural fantasy genres published under the name Roberta Eaton Cheadle. She also has short stories in the horror and paranormal genre and poems included in several anthologies.

Robbie writes a monthly series for https://writingtoberead.com called Growing Bookworms. This series discusses different topics relating to the benefits of reading to children.

Robbie has a blog, https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/ where she shares book reviews, recipes, author interviews, and poetry.

Social Media Robbie Cheadle

Website

https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/

Blog

https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15584446.Robbie_Cheadle

Purchase links

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09BBR94NC

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Behind-Closed-Doors-Robbie-Cheadle/dp/B099C8R3T4

_____


Undawnted's DL Mullan, can be booked for your online Blog Tour, Book Event, Book Review (w/ARC), Interview, Writing Conference, or Genre Convention. Ms. Mullan has years of experience in public speaking, readings, presentations, events, and tours.

Book a quality author and presenter with Undawnted: Bookings online form.

 

 

 

 

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