As a younger avid reader, I figured I’d be too busy reading for the rest of my life to ever write a book. After all, there are so MANY books to read, and so little time! God had other plans, and here I am with a second series published, much to my own astonishment.
I’ve had the honor of being interviewed by AllAuthor, an organization in which I have a lot of confidence. They’re a great resource for authors and I highly recommend them.
Here it is!
P.T.L. Perrin grew up in Europe as a military brat and developed a love for languages, cultures, and diverse perspectives. She is the author of the TETRASPHERE tetralogy, written for teens and young adults but loved by readers of all ages. Her award-winning DRAGON GUILD series blends fantasy, dragons, strong heroines, and a touch of romance, captivating fans who enjoy adventurous storytelling. Read full interview…
Growing up without a television fueled my love of reading. I had no electronics to occupy my downtime between homework and supper, or when I wasn’t adventuring elsewhere. Books transported me into new worlds, filled my head with dreams and my heart with longings.
Books like Black Beauty, National Velvet, and My Friend Flicka, awoke a terrible yearning in me to have a horse of my own. I wasted no thought on the practicality of caring for, housing, and transporting one from place to place as my dad moved our family to wherever the Army sent him. Horses became my obsession.
Until Anne McAffrey’s Dragon Riders of Pern changed everything. I needed a dragon. One who communicated with me, understood me, empathized with me, and took me flying anytime I wanted to escape. As time passed and I matured (and not always willingly, I might add), the impossible dream faded. Rather, life, marriage, jobs, and kids of my own trampled it into the unyielding ground of reality.
As the kids grew lives of their own and pandemonium settled into the background, reality became less rigid. If I couldn’t have a dragon, I could certainly give life to the one I’ve wanted for so many long years.
What if Gabri, a character from the Tetrasphere series who refused to grow up quietly, found herself in an impossible situation? What if a baby dragon longed for her person as I had once longed for a dragon? Would magic happen if the two found each other? You can find out by reading Sanctum, the first book in the Dragon Guild series.
In fact, pick up your copy today!
Is there anything you wanted so badly as a child you thought of little else? What was it? Did you get it? Let me know about it in the comments below.
Military Brat, voracious reader, and now writing books in her favorite genre, P.T.L. Perrin grew up in Europe and speaks several languages. Her stories range from inspirational to native cultures, new worlds, mysterious places, aliens, and dragons.
If you’ve ever crafted a story, whether an essay, a short story, or a novel, and whether you’ve published or not, you know the satisfaction of having completed a work and put your name (or pseudonym) to it. Some gifted writers are also gifted marketers, who know how to reach the readers who will purchase and love their work.
I am not one of those.
I’ve recently published and released two books of a three-book fantasy series, the Dragon Guild. They have received glowing editorial reviews and both are recipients of the Literary Triton Book Award. The award isn’t a selling point to readers but it’s chum in the water for sharks posing as “marketing experts”.
I nearly fell for one of the first such emails. The sender claimed to have read the book and offered to help market it. The person sounded legit in every way. I was ready to sign up, until I received an invoice from Nigeria. I may be gullible, but I’ve heard of “Nigerian prince” scams. Thankfully, I ended that conversation. I did not expect the flood of emails that followed.
Here’s an article that describes exactly what I encounter daily. Like all scams, it’s insidious in its approach, convincing, and totally deceitful. Protect yourself! Read this article!
Return of the Nigerian Prince: A New Twist on Book Marketing Scams
Marketing scams have always been plentiful. Over the past year or so, though, they’ve really surged.
I’ve written about one type of marketing scam–the “friendly author” social media scam, in which someone impersonating a real (and often very well-known) author reaches out with a direct message, ostensibly because they’re interested in your books or your writing, but actually in order to refer you to some sort of shady marketing service.
Now there’s a new type of marketing scam… Read More
Each culture celebrates the holidays differently, and I love how Yvette’s family celebrates! When you’ve read her story, look up the wonderful books she’s written, pick one, and dive in! You’re in for a treat!
I am a proud member of the RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB and for the next 48 hours (11/15 through 11/17) there is a $25 discount on any membership tier when you join the club!
We aren’t just an organization where you add your name to our roster, and then you disappear. We are the club that supports our members in numerous ways! Here are just a few…
-We purchase, read, and review our fellow member books that are listed in the catalog.
-We promote our fellow members and their books on social media, just as hard as we promote ourselves.
-We promote our members with interviews via our RAVE WAVES Talk Radio Shows for RRBC members only. Books are always being purchased during those interviews!
-We keep our fellow members lifted and promoted even when they can’t promote themselves (in the event of personal emergencies, illness, etc.)
-We have a hard-working Tweet Support Team, promoting our members and their books daily.
-At RRBC, we believe that “each one should teach one,” therefore, we don’t compete against each other. We lift as we climb.
There are so many more awesome ways that being a member of RRBC has benefitted me and I would love to share them all with you. You have questions? Just ask me!
RRBC is such a fun place to belong! We’re not just about books, you know, we’re also about making beneficial connections and lifelong friendships!
Today, Monday, 11/15 through Wednesday, 11/17 are our Recruitment Days and whenyou join, please list my name on your membership application as the person who referred you, as I’ll get a special prize! You can join here > RaveReviewsBookClub.wordpress.com/rrbc-join-renew
If you have specific questions regarding membership, please reach out to Paula, our Club Personal Asst! She’s a whole lot of awesome!
I hope to see you on the other side of membership soon and your books in the catalog!
Thank you for sharing this page to your social media platforms for me!
Dr. Randy Overbeck’s Haunted Shores Mystery Series, ghost mysteries with a meaningful twist, hooked me from the first words! Enjoy his amazing blog tour stop today, and leave a comment for a chance to win one of the great…
#GIVEAWAYS!
“So-o-o atmospheric. Cape May, with its history and Victorian mansions, has no end of ghostly stories. And the Haunted Bride is a doozy.”—V. Williams, Rosepoint Publishing
In deciding on the locations for the novels in my Haunted Shores Mysteries series, I’ve put as much effort into selecting the perfect setting as I do crafting the puzzling whodunit or creating credible characters. I do a good deal of research to seek out lesser known gems of romantic, resort locations readers will find memorable. No place like Myrtle Beach or Malibu or Ft. Lauderdale will do. (This research is a tough job, but somebody has to do it.) I want readers, when they read each entry, to say, “I didn’t know about this place. What an intriguing little town. I think I’ll put this on my ‘to visit’ list.”
That’s exactly how I felt when I “discovered” Cape May. (I’d never been to this charming town and stumbled upon Cape May when I attended a family wedding up the shore a few years ago.) After some extensive research, I decided it was the exactly the right locale to set the second entry in my series.
What made Cape May so perfect and memorable for my ghost story/mystery? I’ll share just five reasons and I think you’ll get it.
Cape May is the nation’s oldest seaport resort. Vacationers and tourists have been flocking to Cape May since the early 1800’s. Back then, big city dwellers from Philadelphia and New York would head to this shore town in the summer to escape the heat and foul air. Today, visitors come from all over the northeast US and Canada to enjoy the sun and sights of this remarkable little town.
Cape May has one of the premier beaches in the U.S. With thirty miles of beautiful white sand beaches, Cape May is ranked as one of the top ten beaches in the country by the Travel Channel. Since “the shore” part of my series is critical to my narratives, this beach makes for some delightful scenes in the novel.
Cape May has a rich history which helps to shape the unique destination it is today. A large fire in 1879 destroyed almost the entire town requiring the rebuilding of most of the homes and businesses. They were rebuilt in the latest style at the time, which we now call Victorian. The rest, as they say, is history.
Cape May has one of the largest collections of Victorian architecture in the country (second only to San Francisco). Over 600 mansions and Bed and Breakfasts, each painted and detailed in the unique Victorian style, made the perfect romantic backdrop for Darrell and Erin’s reconciliation—not to mention the perfect atmosphere for an old time ghost story. Speaking of which—
Cape May is famous as the most haunted seaport on the East coast. It’s hard to walk down any street in Cape May and not run into a house, hotel or store where a ghost encounter has been documented, some sightings going back centuries. Craig McManus, famed Cape May ghost hunter, has documented over fifty different spirits in his series, The Ghosts of Cape May. I even decided to include a few of these documented ghosts in my ghost story/mystery about the Haunted Bride, a young woman murdered on her wedding night.
Check out the newest installment in my series, CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY, for both an exploration of the incredible resort town and a peek at its wonderfully eerie history.
Incredible sale on the entire Haunted Shores Mysteries series! BLOOD ON THE CHESAPEAKE-$.99, CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY–$1.99, SCARLET AT CRYSTAL RIVER (pre-publication price)—$2.99.
Dr. Randy Overbeck is an award-winning educator, author and speaker. As an educator, he served children for more than three decades in a range of roles captured in his novels, from teacher and coach to principal and superintendent. His thriller, Leave No Child Behind (2012) and his recent mysteries, the Amazon and B & N No. 1 Best Seller, Blood on the Chesapeake and Crimson at Cape May have earned five star reviews and garnered national awards including “Thriller of the Year–ReadersFavorite.com, “Gold Award”—Literary Titan, “Mystery of the Year”—ReadersView.com and “Crowned Heart of Excellence”—InD’Tale Magazine. As a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Dr. Overbeck is an active member of the literary community, contributing to a writers’ critique group, serving as a mentor to emerging writers and participating in writing conferences such as Sleuthfest, Killer Nashville and the Midwest Writers Workshop. When he’s not writing or researching his next exciting novel or sharing his presentation “Things Still Go Bump in the Night,” he’s spending time with his incredible family of wife, three children (and their spouses) and seven wonderful grandchildren.
BLURB—CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY
No matter how far you run, you can never really escape a haunted past.
Darrell Henshaw—teacher, coach, and paranormal sensitive—learned this lesson the hard way. With his job gone and few options, he heads for Cape May to coach a summer football camp. The resort town, with gorgeous beaches, rich history and famous Victorian mansions, might just be the getaway he needs. Only, no one told him Cape May is the most haunted seaport on the East Coast. One resident ghost, the Haunted Bride, stalks Darrell, begging for his help.
He can’t refuse. Joining forces with Cassie, a street-wise teen and another sensitive, he investigates the bride’s death and discovers her murder is connected to a far greater horror. But can Darrell and Cassie expose those behind the crimes before they end up being the killer’s next victims?
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY
“With both elements of mystery and suspense, readers across genres will find this second book about Darrell Henshaw intriguing…I highly recommend it.”★★★★★—Literary Titan
“It’s a ghost/mystery story filled with suspense and action. The plot is so engrossing it had me hooked from the very first page.”★★★★★—Nana’s Reviews, Greece
“An exciting paranormal mystery I couldn’t put down… A great read. Highly recommend!” ★★★★★—N.N. Light’s BookHeaven
“Rollicking good…Darrell is a wonderful protagonist, an ordinary man put into extraordinary situations and rising to the challenge..” ★★★★★ —Over My Dead Body magazine
“I loved everything about this book. As a ghost story combined with a mystery, a romance, a social injustice and stunning historical details, Crimson at Cape May has something for everyone.”★★★★★—ReaderViews
“Masterly spooky adventure…an accomplished work of haunting mystery fiction that fans of the genre won’t want to miss out on. Highly Recommend.”★★★★★—ReadersFavorite.com
To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit the authors’ tour page on the 4WillsPublishing site. If you’d like to book your own blog tour and have your book promoted in similar grand fashion, please click HERE. Thanks for supporting this author and his work!
Don’t forget to leave a comment below for a chance at a cool #GIVEAWAY!
Jan Sikes is an author whose books I’ve read and loved! It’s no exaggeration to say I’m excited to have her here today to share her new release, “Ghostly Interference.” Please join me in welcoming Jan Sikes!
FINDING LOST FAMILY
Hi, Patty! Thank you for allowing me to take over your blog space to talk about my new book release. I am truly grateful.
In Ghostly Interference, Jag Peters is close to his mom and has been his entire life. His dad passed away when he was in college, and although he’d provided well for them, he never gave Jag the attention or approval he craved.
Jag has always lived a settled conservative life, so you can imagine the shock of finding out the man who had raised him was not his biological father. I do not want to give away any spoilers here, but it becomes an integral part of the plot.
Rena Jett had one brother, Sam. Their mother died from a drug overdose when Rena was a baby and they were thrown into the foster care system, as no relatives could be located to take them.
But Jag is a whiz on the computer. Look what he found!
EXCERPT
His thoughts were on Rena and the night they’d shared. She was more than he’d ever dared to hope or to find in life. Every time he closed his eyes, he could still feel her warm and willing body under him. Her skin like soft fine satin and her dark hair like silk drove him to the brink of madness.
He wanted to give her everything she’d never had…a family, love, and security. An overwhelming urge to look for any existing members of Rena’s family that might still be alive sent him to the search engine.
Thank goodness, births and deaths were all public records and easy to access. It would be a starting place. He first visited the Travis County website and typed in, ‘Marjorie Irene Jett.’
Options popped up and he clicked on three different ones before finding the right Marjorie Jett.
The website told him that for five dollars, he could get access to arrest records and other details about her. He immediately paid the money and held his breath while he waited for it to click over.
There was a picture and even though it was a typical mugshot, other than the blonde hair, he could see an uncanny resemblance between the woman and Rena. The law enforcement record was long but predictable. She’d been first arrested for prostitution in 1975, then other arrests for drugs and theft.
He scrolled down.
The record showed three live births to Marjorie Irene Jett in Austin.
Shock raced through him causing the hairs to stand up on his neck. That meant there was another sibling somewhere. He clicked on the next link that took him to birth records.
On June 23, 1976, Marjorie Jett gave birth to a son, Riley Austin Samuelson. Odd that he didn’t have the Jett last name. No marriages were recorded for Marjorie. Riley’s birth certificate listed Marjorie as his mother and father, Justin Earl Samuelson.
His heart pounded. This meant that Rena had another brother out there somewhere. It might cost more money, but he would do his best to track him down and let him know he had a sister.
***
Have you ever known someone who discovered they had family they never knew? I can’t say that I have, but both of the characters in Ghostly Interference did.
It was fun adding that in as a subplot.
CHECK OUT THE BOOK TRAILER
BOOK BLURB
Jag Peters has one goal in his quiet comfortable life—to keep his karma slate wiped clean. A near-miss crash with a candy apple red Harley threatens to upend his safe world. He tracks down the rider to apologize properly. Slipping into a seedy biker bar, he discovers the rider isn’t a “he”, it’s a “she”, a dark-haired beauty.
Rena Jett is a troubled soul, who lives in a rough world. She wants no part of Jag’s apology, but even while she pushes him away, she is attracted to him. When he claims to see a ghost—her brother—can she trust him? And could her brother’s final gift, a magical rune stone with the symbol for “happily ever after” have the power to heal her wounds and allow opposites to find common ground—perhaps even love?
Do you remember when each holiday had its place, and stores and commercials focused on that holiday in their displays and items for sale? Then you must be nearly as old as I am.
This year, on the day after Halloween, Walmart had its large Christmas section open and fully stocked. Same with Home Depot and, most likely, it was the same in every other store.
And for those of us who enjoy home entertainment, here we are, barely after Halloween and closing in on Thanksgiving, and all we see, when we’re not zipping through them on recorded shows, are CHRISTMAS commercials. Of course, we’re bingeing on Hallmark and other channels showing Christmas romances, so what can we expect? They make for a nice distraction from the rest of 2020 madness.
Perhaps the intent is for us to forget Thanksgiving, or at least diminish it somewhat in order to discourage our getting together for a large family meal. I get that. Turkey wouldn’t taste the same when you’re watching someone else eat it on Zoom. I know. We attended a Zoom birthday party, and the cake tasted like air.
So, do we ignore Thanksgiving? My answer is a resounding NO! However we choose to celebrate it, we must. What do we have to be thankful for, especially in this crazy pandemic year? Perhaps this excerpt from Reflections of a Misfit will put it into perspective for you.
~~~~~
Thankful for Manifold Blessings
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. My heart is full of gratitude. I wouldn’t know where to begin, so I’ll share someone else’s thoughts, instead.
On November 4, 1963, President Kennedy issued his annual Thanksgiving Proclamation. He died eighteen days later–six days before Thanksgiving. That year, President Johnson urged all the nation’s churches to share Kennedy’s words in their Thanksgiving services. Here is an excerpt.
“Let us therefore proclaim our gratitude to Providence for mani- fold blessings–let us be humbly thankful for inherited ideals–and let us resolve to share those blessings and those ideals with our fellow human beings throughout the world.”
“On that day, let us gather in our sanctuaries dedicated to worship and in homes blessed by family affection to express our gratitude for the glorious gifts of God; and let us earnestly and humbly pray that He will continue to guide and sustain us in the great unfinished tasks of achieving peace, justice, and understanding among all men and nations and of ending misery and suffering wherever they exist.”
Amen. Let our gratitude become love in action. Happy Thanksgiving!
Blurb: This is a second edition with updates on the state of this historic church. In the original publication files were lost then resurfaced with content altered along with missing photos during transition from one publisher to another. Such is the fate of an Independent Author.
This book evolved out of years of frustration at the total disregard and lack of respect for the contributions of Black Catholics in the city of Detroit. The author says, “We are not mentioned in the pages of history along with the other Catholic churches that sprung up during the World War II era, and that needed to be corrected.” The author did fulfill one dream since publication … that this church can now be found on the web even though it has merged with another church. It is now called Presentation-Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church.
Wow! It’s almost time for this fabulous Writers’ Conference to kickoff and it promises to be one for the books! Literally!
What better way to enhance your writing skills, interact with other authors, find new books to read, play games, win prizes and all from the comfort of your home!!
Five years ago, when Nonnie Jules, created this conference. there were few, if any, virtual conferences taking place. We were all still enjoying getting out and attending physical events. But now, in the midst of this pandemic, virtual conferences are the new normal. I say this just to demonstrate the innovative thinking of our fearless leader!
The RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB is an international book club dedicated to reading and giving honest reviews. But it is SO much more. It is a community of writers who develop friendships, encourage each other, uplift each other, and support each other in so many ways.
This conference is one of the highlights of the year for this community!
Want to know the benefits of attending this conference? I can’t say it any better than Nonnie.
You’re a writer. You realize that there is a lot for you to learn to become a great writer…heck, even a good writer. You’ve heard about writers’ conferences but you’ve no time to attend, you’ve no money to spare, and most of them are just too darned far. You’ve heard that they are wonderful, though, and you’d really like to see what they’re all about, so, what do you do?
Well, there is such a thing as a virtual writing conference, and below I’m going to share with you some of the benefits of attending an RRBC writers’ conference & book expo.
*A virtual conference allows you to attend from the comfort of any place of your choosing (living room, bedroom, bathroom, your car trunk, Starbucks, etc…). Writers’ conferences and book expos come a dime a dozen as we say down South. I mean…just like churches and liquor stores, there’s practically one on every corner. But, with the busy lives that we lead, we often find it difficult to get away to visit or participate in one, so the next best thing is to find one online. No need to worry about the cost of travel fare (car, bus or plane), no need to worry about hotel accommodations (you get to sleep at home), or, the cost of eating away from home…you get all that you need, when you need it, right where you are. #BENEFIT
*Resources you will use forever. When you attend a virtual writers’ conference, you have the ability to revisit much of the information that is shared because it is all online. The sessions and workshops presented at an RRBC writers’ conference, are all created with the purpose of educating attendees. Our sessions and workshops are on carefully selected topics that we know authors need in order to grow in their writing careers. The handouts that you receive (virtually), are invaluable along your journey as a writer. No matter the format utilized to present these sessions, attendees leave our sessions and workshops enlightened and with a renewed sense of having learned something that will make them a better writer and stronger marketer for their books. #BENEFIT
*Payment Plans. Have you priced writers’ conferences and book expos lately? Well, I have and who can afford them without skipping a mortgage payment? Geez! There again lies the beauty of a virtual conference (at least an RRBC one). Not only are the prices lower than any others we’ve found, but, we also have payment plans to make it easier to afford an author booth to promote your books, a vendor booth to introduce and sell your wares, and all the sessions and workshops your amazing brain can handle! #BENEFIT
*Community. The RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB popped onto the scene over 7 years ago and has offered to writers something never heard of before: a community of support that truly cares about the success of its members, and a community of like-minded individuals who care about the success of their fellow members just as much as they care about their own. There’s no competition here. We’re all trying to get to the same place, and we’re gladly sharing the load so that we all get there quicker! This community (or family as we like to call it), is there through the good times and the bad; there to lift you up when you’re feeling low and need the encouragement to write another page; there with advice on how to handle certain situations involving your writing, tips on how you should write, what literary services you should utilize, and so much more. We purchase, read and review each other’s books, we give our honest opinions on those books, we promote one another via our blogs and social media forums, and during the conference, we all get to commune to further our careers and friendships even more. #BENEFIT
*Friendships. Many RRBC members are surprised at the bonds of friendship they form once they immerse themselves within the club. The World Wide Web is known to be a cesspool of ‘crazies’, stalkers and any other negative label that you can attach to someone who you should be wary of on the net. But, not so in RRBC. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are some that I’m sure you should be leery of, but, I can assure you they are not within the realm of our core members…the professionals who work hard to protect and maintain their reputations as authors. We are a global organization with members around the world, which means, when you find those to call ‘friend’, you’re never without a place to rest your head along your travels. #BENEFIT
*Find great new books. Since the inception of RRBC, we hear on a daily basis how readers were introduced to amazing books they might never have found had it not been for RRBC. The traditionally published have their work plastered all over the place, and sometimes, our Indie awesomeness is a little hidden…you have to dig deep to find it. That’s not the case within RRBC. We have amazing talent in our midst and their books speak for them. If you’re looking for great reads, look no further than our catalog. The conference & expo is THE place for our members to introduce their latest work and you don’t want to miss out on any of it! #BENEFIT
***
So, there you have it… the most important benefits of attending a virtual writers’ conference & book expo hosted by RRBC. What you will walk away with will far outweigh the pennies you will spend to take part in it. And, because 2020 is our year of being judged on the skill with which we write, we hope that all our members care enough about their writing and their reputations as writers, to take part in this awesome event, which can only serve to further their writing growth.
Last year’s event was amazing and it was our 4th year putting it on. With the past few years under our belt, can you imagine the things that we’re going to do this year? I don’t think you can!
Everything about this event is geared towards your success. If you haven’t registeredyet, we invite you to do so today. Don’t be the lone wolf standing on the sidelines of this wonderful event, wishing after the fact that you had been part of it. Jump right on board our rocket to the stars. We certainly have enough room for ya!
PTL Perrin Writes... 