Summary: One doctor, one alien lover, one botanist, and one engineer on a desperate mission to save earth from human destruction. Sakota saved Astraeus and her friends from certain death, but in doing so, she gained the attention of the Oreck, who will stop at nothing to destroy everything in their path. With their ship severely damaged, Sakota and her crew land on a nearby planet and seek sanctuary while they make repairs to return home. But nothing on this perfect planet is as it appears, and Sakota soon learns they’ve traded one danger for another. Hunted and targeted, will Sakota be able to carry out her mission, or will everyone she cares about be destroyed? WINNER of the Silver Quill Award!
Haley Cavanagh is a military veteran, wife, and mother. She is an alumna of Columbia College, a musical theater nut, and she loves to dive into any book that crosses her path. Haley resides with her family in the United States and enjoys spending time with her husband and children when she’s not writing. She loves to hear from her readers, and encourages you to contact her via her website and social media. Website * Facebook * Twitter * Pinterest * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads * Newsletter
BOOK BLITZ! Against My Better Judgmentby B.T. PolcariGenre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, YA Fiction, NA FictionPublisher: The Wild Rose Press
Blurb:When freshman year at the University of Alabama draws to a close, Sara Donovan finds herself grappling with the same old question—listen to her head or follow her heart. What she ends up doing is purchasing an Egyptian souvenir funerary mask, and after a mysterious phone call, she’s certain a ring of antiquities smugglers are operating in Tuscaloosa. With finals never far from her mind and her return to ‘Bama hanging in the balance, she should be studying. Instead she launches her own investigation to prove her mask is indeed a stolen artifact, and not a cheap trinket. When it comes time to snoop, Sara is more than ready, or at least she was until a hot new teaching assistant moves in next door. Suddenly she learns things are never as they seem. Ever.
I replaced the mask in the void, bolted the tire back in place, and activated the alarm. With a quick glance over each shoulder, I hustled back into the cottage. That was a great snap decision to hide it this morning before leaving for the gym. Normally, my snap decisions are not the best. Things were on the upswing. Although now I had a smuggling ring after me.
Author Info:
Ever wonder what retired business executives do after they have put in years of effort for society and decide it is time to hang up their hat? Perhaps strolling along the country club’s fairway, or lounging on a 50-foot yacht?
Alas, B. T. Polcari is unlike your typical retired executive. Empty nester and Scarlett Knights alum, Polcari is still learning the meaning of “retired” while feverishly typing away on the next new book idea, smashing the fuzz off the little green tennis ball, or blasting bowling pins for a perfect game. Yes there is a boat, but not one that comes with its own crew; this retiree prefers to bustle along a serene lake in a quaint single seat Sunfish sailboat.
Perhaps the only time BTP can be found in a quiet moment is while enjoying the morning company of two family dachshunds over a newspaper and cup of coffee. B. T. Polcari currently resides in Chattanooga, TN and is thrilled to be fulfilling a childhood dream of becoming a published author.
Book Blitz! No One Dies in the Garden of SynBook 1 in THE GARDEN OF SYN Trilogyby: Michael SeidelmanGenre: YA Fantasy
Summary: Synthia (Syn) Wade is a teenage girl who struggles with cystic fibrosis, an incurable life-threatening disease. One day she is pushed into a pond by an unseen figure and wakes up in a new world – a mysterious garden where illness and death don’t exist.
Welcomed by the garden’s residents and now free of her symptoms, Syn decides to stay. But, before long, she realizes that this apparent utopia holds many dangers and dark secrets.
Surrounding the garden is a fog that Syn is warned never to enter. She encounters bizarre creatures that defy reason. And always lurking in the shadows is a masked woman – a woman who may have a connection to the disappearance of Syn’s parents many years ago. A woman whom no one will speak of, but whom everyone fears.
When Michael Seidelman was growing up, his passions were reading, watching movies, enjoying nature and creative writing. Not much has changed since then.
Working in Online Marketing for over ten years, Michael felt it was time to pursue his passion and began writing The Garden of Syn trilogy.
Michael is excited about the upcoming release of the third and final book in The Garden of Syn series and beyond the trilogy, he has more books in the works that he can’t wait to share with the world!
Michael was born in Vancouver, BC Canada where he continues to reside.
When was the last time you confronted the skeletons in your closest?
Immediately following book one, “Elephant,” Matthew “Matty” Smith awakens from his coma and discovers that his worst nightmare is all true: his grandmother, Jamie, and Derek have gone missing and his mother murdered his father and grandfather years ago.
With the hospital placing him on lockdown, including no visitation rights by his loved ones such as his best friend, Lisa, Matty finds himself deteriorating into a state of the abyss, consumed with the secrets of his family. Convinced that it was the ‘stranger’ who kidnapped his grandmother and friends, no one believes him. The hospital only believes that Matty is slipping into a toxic mental state, repeating the cycle of his family.
Until one day, Lisa helps Matty escape the hospital.
On the run from Dr. Brown, Officer Barry, and the town of La Crosse, Wisconsin, Matty and Lisa set off to find their friends and Lucia and for answers on who the ‘stranger’ is. Once they unmask who the ‘stranger’ is, Matty continues to unravel the deepest secrets of what was supposed to be forever hidden in the Smith family as well as the town.
This story is for those who feel their voice is unheard and for children, teenagers, and adults who never had the chance to heal from their pain.
NATALIE RODRIGUEZ is an award-winning writer, director, and mental health and anti-violence/trauma advocate based in Los Angeles, CA. In 2014, she graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a Bachelor of Arts in Radio-Television-Film. Her first experience in entertainment was an internship at the Conan O’Brien show and Peter Guber’s Mandalay Pictures, where she worked at the offices of producers, Matthew Rhodes (“Cherry,” “Men in Black: International”) and Academy Award-winner, Cathy Schulman (“Sharp Objects,” “Crash”).
Natalie was also a panelist at events, including Google, Hispanicize, and YouTube, where she has shared her story as a writer, filmmaker, and a female working in the entertainment industry. Some of her previous writing work can be found in publications such as the HuffPost Blog, Thrive Global, Anxiety Resource Center, Opposing Views, NowThis News, Hello Giggles, The Mighty, and more.
In 2017, she founded her production company, Extraordinary Pictures, focusing on both films, television, digital series, and social issue projects. The company has a list of projects in its roaster, including development on a TV sitcom, “The D,” which placed in top-ten for best comedy screenplays at Stage 32. At the moment, Natalie’s second directorial feature film, Howard Original, is in post-production and set for a January 2021 release date. The film is based on the award-winning short film about a washed-up screenwriter named Howard, who encounters more than just selling a story, a studio rejection, and writer’s block when his pet cat comes to life. The film co-stars, Iliyana Apostolova, who has more than one million Tik Tok subscribers.
Natalie’s directorial feature film, “The Extraordinary Ordinary,” which she also wrote, produced, and was the executive producer on, made its rounds through the festival circuit. The film stars John Posey (“How to Get Away With Murder” & “Lucifer”), the great Ricardo Montalban’s grandson, Alex Montalban, in his feature film acting debut (“My Dinner With Herve”), Maddison Bullock (“Ice the Movie” and “Wives of the Sky”), and social influencer, Ana Marte (over 185K IG followers/”Need For Speed” and “Amigos”). The film deals with young adults, mental health awareness, recovery, and the aftermath of trauma. “The Extraordinary Ordinary” also won ‘Best Film About Women’s Empowerment’ at the Glendale International Film Festival and scored nominations in Best Director, Best Female Director, and Best Picture. The film also had a sold-out world premiere screening at the Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival (LADFF) and won ‘Best Performance’ by a leading actor, Maddison Bullock. “The Extraordinary Ordinary” will be available nationwide on streaming platforms, including Amazon, Google Play, and more, on FRI August 28th, 2020 through Indie Rights. The project also premiered on Infobase’s ‘Films On Demand’ and ‘Access Video On Demand,’ available to subscribers of the products for public libraries (Access Video On Demand) and colleges & universities (Films On Demand). Ask your library for details. Further details on the project can be found @theextraordfilm via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Natalie’s other screenplays and films have also been featured and placed in the final rounds at HollyShorts Film Festival, NALIP: Latino Lens Film Festival, ShortsTV, Stage 32: Comedy Screenplay, Beverly Hills Film Festival, Culver City Film Festival, Indie Night Film Festival, Hollywood Screenplay Contest, Table Read My Screenplay – Austin Film Festival, and others.
She was most recently an ambassador for Jen Zeano Designs (JZD), a clothing company in association with USA Networks. While she continues to build her creative background, Natalie is always open to collaborating with other artists and advocates. Her first young adult thriller, fiction novel was published in June 2020, “Elephant,” a story about four childhood best friends who uncover a family secret.
When was the last time you were shut down for experiencing a mental health struggle or feeling unheard by others, including those closest to you?
Summer of 2006. Four childhood best friends. A family secret.
After a strange encounter leaves him hospitalized, a timid teenage boy named Matt “Matty” Smith comes home to a continuous series of events met with anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
Under the guardianship of his grandma, Lucia, Matt lives with unspoken questions about his grandfather and parents. The elephant in the room. As Matt develops over the summer, the secrets only grow more profound and complex. Will the answers ever come? While searching for answers, Matt and his three childhood best friends encounter the meanings of love, forgiveness, and fate.
This story is for those who feel their voice is unheard and for children, teenagers, and the adult who never had the chance to heal from their pain.
Book Blitz! The Cyan Huntress (Prophecy of Caerleon 1)by: USA Today Bestselling Author, Krystal Pena!Genre: YA Fantasy Release Date: June 29th 2021 Summary: She will avenge her husband’s death, even if she must kill every knight in Caerleon to learn who betrayed him. Anwyn thought she would finally enjoy comfort and happiness when she married a traveling psychic–that is, until Uthyr Pendragon unleashed a war on all magic-users and had her new husband burned alive. She’s determined to wreak her revenge, until a Druid boy’s prophecy convinces her to put aside her personal vendetta and learn to hunt the ones who want her dead–harder to do when she’s captured and taken to Caerleon to be tried as a sorceress. Now, if she can escape with the help of Caradoc, a man whose secrets rival Anwyn’s, she will have to fulfill her vow of revenge while on the run and attempting to find the one leader who can unite three broken kingdoms under a single banner. Assuming, of course, she can protect herself from burning at the stake, safeguard her heart from the enigmatic Caradoc, and complete her training as the Cyan Huntress. Fans of Jeffe Kennedy, Grace Draven, and Laura Thalassa will love the blend of Arthurian legend and exciting action in this romantic fantasy adventure!
USA Today bestselling author Krystal Pena resides with her four children near Boston, MA. She writes paranormal romance, urban fantasy and fantasy, and enjoys writing stories about strong women who overcome the greatest obstacles to achieve their dreams or goals. Many of her characters reflect her and the adversities she has overcome, which she wants to relay in her writing to empower the young women of generations to come. Many of her stories have roots in ancient ideals and folklore, and she loves hiding alternate meanings or symbolism in her writing.
Aside from writing, Krystal enjoys photography, archery, horseback riding and MMA. She loves history and art, and frequents historical sites and art galleries in her spare time. Above all else, she loves being at home, baking and cooking with her children, visiting her family and reading bedtime stories.
She works as a personal assistant to other authors by day and writes late into the night, a strong cup of coffee always within reach.
Krystal is also one-half of USA Today bestseller KM McKenna, which she shares with New York Times bestselling author Margo Bond Collins in writing YA/NA fantasy. She enjoys working alongside Margo as both co-author and PA.
Shadowspeakby Raven EckmanGenre: NA FantasyRelease Date: February 23rd 2021Fox Pointe Publishing Summary:
Once there was a girl who spoke to shadows…
Rune’s mother is uncaring and her brother is too young to protect her, so when Rune’s father sells her to the depraved city of Wraith at the young age of ten, no one stops him. His last words to her are of a debt he cannot pay. The shadows who’ve kept Rune company as long as she can remember seem to know what he speaks of and yet they keep their silence.
And so Rune grows up living in servitude to Wraith’s brothel and its manipulative mistress, Agata, all while having only the faintest recollections of her forgotten childhood. Years later when she finally escapes Wraith, a wild place wrapped up in hedonism and old world ritual, she vows to never return…
When a child prince is kidnapped by a masked killer in a neighboring kingdom, however, Rune no longer has a choice. Joined by Weylin, her old love and a fellow Wraith runaway, she returns to the accursed city and the shadows of her past.
Not all is as it seems as threads of memory begin to unravel, revealing old lies and dark secrets.
There is a moaning sound and the creaking of limbs as the trees settle around us again. From the corner of my eye, I see the cloaked figure toss back his hood and remove his gloves; the shadows gather, mimicking his actions as they pull their threads from the circle’s branches. Two hold up hands curled into fists. One begins to sob before fading away.
Rune.
“Child.”
I turn at the man’s voice, seeing that I am being beckoned to come further into the circle’s middle. A sad smile crinkles his split lips as I obey.
He takes a deep breath, then begins to speak—“Once there was a child who spoke to shadows … ”
A pale face with red lips appears in the fog as he speaks, pressing a finger with a long ragged nail to its lips when I open my mouth to scream.
About the Author
Raven is a freelance editor by night and fangirl at every other available opportunity.
She always knew books were her passion, well after her grandmother’s challenge to read a book a day, and obtained her B.A. in English with a concentration in Creative Writing from Arcadia University.
Over the past four years, she has worked with a range of authors, both self-published and traditionally published, on short stories and novels from horror to contemporary in YA and Adult fiction.
Currently, she’s drowning in her TBR list, drafting her second WIP, brainstorming a new project, and expanding her freelancing business—all while looking for more bookish things to get involved with.
Her debut novel, Shadowspeak, will be published by Fox Pointe Publishing, LLP, in February 2021.
She is active on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook when she remembers.
Book Blitz! Decide to Live By: Shirley Anne Edwards
Genre: YA, Horror, Paranormal Release Date: Feb. 14, 2021
Summary:When it hurts too much to live, how does one find the strength to stay alive and find hope again? Reiko Nakano has a charmed life. Not only does the twenty-three-old come from a life of luxury because of her celebrity parents and supermodel sister, she’s best friends with the biggest brother and sister pop duo in the world- Gio and Gem Grove. But what the public assumes is wrong different because of what Reiko suffers in private. She feels she’s an outcast in her own family because of her ptosis and her social anxiety. She then makes the biggest mistake of her life and tries to turn her lifelong crush on Gio into something more. His cruel rejection after she lets him take her virginity leaves her heartbroken. Reiko hides in the least likely of places- the small town of Albee, Pennsylvania. There she enjoys her anonymity and enrolls in summer classes at Maison University. She hopes she can fit in as a student, but life continues to play tricks on her when she’s hit in the face by a football from one of the most popular boys on campus, Will Forest. But this accidental but memorial meeting will help heal her fragile emotions because Will shows her how special she is to those she meets, including him. She isn’t sure what to make of Will. He’s too nice and sweet, and treats her like gold. She accepts his attempts at romance even though it’s only temporary. But as the summer flies by, she doesn’t want to give Will up, who doesn’t know the truth about her “vacation”. And when Gio arrives in town, and threatens to out Reiko, she has some hard choices to make. Does she come clean to Will so she can decide to finally live on her own terms and embrace the amazing woman Will thinks her to be?
About the Author: Shirley Anne Edwards is a Northeast girl who first found her love for books when she read Nancy Drew’s The Secret of the Old Clock Tower at thirteen. Shirley found her love for writing at a very young age, and since then has let her imagination run wild by creating quirky characters and vast worlds in her head.
Shirley lives in New Jersey and works in the entertainment industry in New York City.
In the immortal words of Mark Twain: “Life is short, Break the Rules. Forgive quickly, Kiss SLOWLY. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret ANYTHING That makes you smile.”
Book Blitz! Alex McKenna & The Academy of Souls By: Vicki-Ann Bush
Genre: YA Fantasy
Summary:
After surviving a harrowing case, Alex McKenna just wanted to rest. Unfortunately, his plans are interrupted by the ghost of Seven-year-old Haven, who is lost in an in-between realm.
Despite his great-grandmother’s warning, Alex crosses the bridge between the living and the dead, sending him and his girlfriend into the world of the Academy of Souls, a high school for dead teens who are unable to complete their journey.
There, Alex meets Ophelia, Haven’s teenage sister, who’s been searching for her for more than a century. Together, with a few friends he meets along the way, Alex must cross the treacherous terrain of the Underworld in-between, to save Haven from the clutches of the Soul Gatherer and reunite the sisters.
Originally from New York, I currently reside in Nevada. Writing Young Adult paranormal, I find my inspiration from events that have been in my life for as long as I can remember. Inheriting my sensitivity to the supernatural from my family, they continue to be an endless source of vision.
Life on the run has been hard for Violet Noone and her family, and it’s about to get harder. While pursued by the authorities and the Marked, a secret organization focused on revenge, Violet is approached by a mysterious stranger. She is blackmailed into solving the brutal murder of Georgina Givens, a victim of the poisonous compound, Unelse. The investigation reveals that religious, political, and corporate forces might be at play, although Violet can’t rule out the possibility that Georgina’s husband, Leonard, may be the murderer. Georgina and her husband were no strangers to criminal schemes and Violet quickly uncovers the connection between the theft of valuable intelligence and Georgina’s death. Pursuing each lead, Violet slips deeper into a world of conspiracy and lies and learns she can trust no one. Beset by their own demons, her family is unable to support her, forcing a seventeen-year-old Violet to accept unwelcomed truths about herself and face challenges well beyond her years. This time, Violet is on her own. With her enemies closing in, she must unravel the mystery, retrieve the intelligence, and solve the murder. But can she do it before the Marked find her?
Excerpt:
Although outwardly ordinary, this house was filled with secrets. The mounted security cameras around the property were concealed in such a way that casual observers might not spot them. A thick layer of decaying leaves covered the ground, and the surrounding trees isolated the home from others in the neighborhood. Stepping over a metal hose, as we made our way to the back of the property, I followed Leonard’s movements carefully, recalling his previous disclosures about various snares. I spotted a small but explosive anti-personnel mine intended to deter intruders as we passed through the gate.
Reaching the back door, Leonard swiped his band. Generally, a single swipe would allow access to one’s private residence, but Leonard and Georgina had installed a secondary security system involving an alpha-numeric code and an electronic keypad. Leonard tapped the buttons and the door clicked open. Turning the knob, we stood in a large but unimpressive kitchen. From our vantage point we could see most of the first floor. The kitchen led into a dining room and a small entry hall for the front door. Immediately to the left of the hall, was the living room and behind it a single bedroom and bath. Leonard and Georgina were either not good at their chosen profession or they hid their money elsewhere. One thing was certain, their ill-gotten gains were not spent on their home.
From the discolored ceiling, cracked windowpanes, and splintered floorboards, the home appeared to have suffered from years of neglect. Looking around at the kitchen sink overflowing with dirty dishes and unwashed laundry strewn around the floor, I suspected that after Georgina’s death, things went from bad to worse. The place was an absolute disaster.
It was apparent that something had occurred in the small entry hall. Furniture had been knocked over, and broken picture frames, umbrellas, and various pairs of shoes and boots cluttered the floor. Glass from a broken mirror, coated with dried blood, crunched underfoot. There was a smear of blood on the baseboard and a splatter of some dark red secretion across the ceiling. The black, tarry slime that had poured out of Georgina’s eyes and ears had seeped into the floor and lay trapped between the uneven boards. It was obvious that Leonard had tried to wipe some of it up, but the slime had hardened and was now embedded in the grain of the wood.
Leonard caught me staring at the hallway. “Difficult to look at, isn’t it? My first thought was to clean it up and act as though none of this had ever happened, but I was too depressed to do anything.” Leonard stared down at the floor. “I couldn’t just leave her there, so I buried her body out back in the woods. It was one of the most difficult things I ever had to do.”
I heard the sadness in his voice whenever he mentioned Georgina. “I’m assuming this is where you found her? In the hall?” I walked over to the spot with the most dried blood and slime. “When you found her, how was she positioned?”
Leonard cleared his throat. “What does that have to do with anything?”
I leaned down to the ground, imagining the events before her murder. “I’m trying to get a sense of what happened. Can you walk me through everything you know about the night she was killed?”
Rubbing his chin, Leonard replied, “I had gone out for about an hour. I had a meeting downtown.”
“Who did you meet with?”
“That’s none of your business, and it has nothing to do with this.” Leonard stormed off, presumably annoyed by my question, but then returned as though nothing had happened. “I don’t get it. There’s no sign of forced entry and except for here, there’s no blood anywhere else in the house.” He stood there looking through the front window, scratching his thinning hair. “You see, one of the traps was set off, a nasty one at that. The intruder would have been injured and bled profusely, but there’s almost no blood inside the house. If the murderer was that injured, how did he clean up his blood before I’d returned? That would have required a team, but it’s clear that there was only one person because, as you can see, there was an intense struggle before she ingested the poison. I believe that multiple assailants would have tied her up and controlled her with ease.”
Pressing my fingers against my lips, “Okay, so we’re dealing with a single person that is most likely injured. They somehow get into the house without forcing the lock, then creep up behind Georgina when she is making her way to the kitchen. Why then? Is it safe to assume that she might have heard… Wait, what about the Caldwell cameras outside? They’re pretty high end, military grade—didn’t they catch anything?”
Leonard rolled his eyes. “Cameras were wiped clean. The only evidence I found was blood on one of the spike traps outside. I took a sample and sent it to one of my connections in the Foxglove police department to see if anything came up on their database. So far, there aren’t any matches to any known offenders.”
“You wouldn’t happen to keep any first aid stuff in your kitchen, would you?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I might be completely off, but what if Georgina knew her murderer? You said that neither the front nor back door was forced.”
“That’s right.”
“And the gate?”
“Locked,” Leonard responded.
“And all of the windows?”
“Nailed shut, so what?”
“So, we know that the intruder set off a trap outside. Georgina surely would have heard the commotion and seen the intruder on your security cameras. Suppose she recognizes him or her and rushes to the front door to help them. Georgina brings the injured intruder into the hall and heads for the kitchen to get the first aid kit. As she turns toward the kitchen, the killer strikes, forcing the poison into Georgina’s mouth. She resists, causing the two to struggle, knocking down furniture, breaking items in the hall. After a few moments, the poison overtakes Georgina, who convulses in pain and dies, lying in a fetal position on her side.”
As I spoke, Leonard stared silently at the stained floor.
Book Blitz! V.O.L.T.Village of Lost ThingsDawn BrazilGenre: YA Fantasy
Summary: When seventeen-year-old Samantha learns her boyfriend died, she is throttled with grief. Comatose for three months, she wakes –standing in a line, in a city called VOLT – Village of Lost Things. Sam’s life has been a series of the universe crapping over her desires. When she learns Ryan is waiting behind the thick forest that leads to this city, she’s more than skeptical. When you have nothing left, you accept scraps. VOLT is Sam’s scraps. Except, Ryan isn’t where he’s supposed to be. VOLT’s promise of a sweet reunion appears as likely as being tied to a hog and dragged around the moon. Eighteen-year-old, Joe, is an egotistical, whiny Momma’s boy. He has a knack for verbally eviscerating those around him. That’s Sam’s evaluation of him when she meets him in VOLT. He lost his mother months ago and comes to VOLT often. Because of his knowledge of the city, his mother makes him Sam’s official guide to find Ryan. Fifteen-year-old Ferris has a borderline personality disorder. Several years ago, he lost his mother also. He’s been in VOLT the longest and might be a great addition to aid them in finding Ryan. Or stop them from killing each other. He just needs to remember who he is – which seems difficult. Finding Ryan is Sam’s last effort to reconnect to a life teetering by a string with an anvil attached. She must decide between the living and the dead, and if she were keeping tally, she’d be closer to a corpse than a teenager. Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L9HH5MH Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54905456-volt
About the Author:
I read words. I write words. I love words. Words have so much power, I understood this at an early age so story-telling has always been a part of my life. After college, I tried my hand at a few different careers paralegal, customer service, sales. Yeah, I shouldn’t have. Now, I’m following my passion and doing what I love. I write Young Adult urban fantasy, science fiction, and romance novels. I live in Texas with my husband and three kids and my endless imagination.
Stars Books & Tea 
