#TenThingsYouMayNotKnowAbout – #Author #SueColetta

April 5, 2023March 25, 2023 / Marcia Meara / 72 Comments

Today, I’m very happy to announce that our guest author is mystery writer Sue Coletta. Sue is well-known to many, many of us in the writing and blogging community, but I’ll bet there are some things in her post today that will make your jaw drop! 😁 With that in mind, let’s get right to it. Take it away, Sue!

Thanks for having me today, Marcia!
~~~

10 Things You May Not Know About Me
by Sue Coletta

I grew up in a house filled with secret passageways and escape routes.

My maternal grandfather was Native American, and he built the house my mother grew up in. After my grandparents passed, my brother and I grew up there. In the back of each walk-in closet was a secret door that led to passageways behind the walls. These passageways led to a side attic with a trapdoor in the floor. Stairs beneath led straight out the back door. At the time, my brother and I had no idea why our house held these secrets. We just thought they made cool forts. It wasn’t till years later that I began to suspect why. Without getting too deep, my grandfather and his parents (my great-grandparents) witnessed the damage done to Indigenous communities across New England, with several tribes decimated by disease, murder, sold into slavery, or imprisoned to steal their land. So, it makes sense that he’d create hideouts and escape routes for his family and friends. Maybe the house doubled as some kind of underground railroad.

Most of my family died on December 3^rd (different years).

When I was a teenager, I lost my mom on December 3^rd. Before she died, she told me how difficult it was to lose her dad so close to Christmas. So, after she passed, I flipped through the family Bible. Sure enough, not only did my mom and grandfather die on the same day but so did the vast majority of my maternal line. Freaky, right? Now that I work from home, I rarely, if ever, leave the house on December 3^rd. LOL

On my 16^th birthday, a diagnosis rocked my world.

Most young girls look forward to their sixteenth birthday. One week before mine, my first “lady doctor” diagnosed me with cervical cancer. My mother was so devastated, she wavered on how to tell me for a full week, when I answered the phone on my birthday and one of the nurses broke the news that I had cervical cancer, and the prognosis wasn’t good. Happy Sweet Sixteen! Mom was in the middle of setting up a treatment plan when the doctor breezed through my file one last time. Sure enough, some other poor girl’s paperwork was mixed in with mine. But I’m glad it happened. The wisdom, courage, and inner strength of my mom during our mother-daughter talks have lasted a lifetime. She taught me not to let anything stand in my way, even if some incompetent doctor slaps you with a death sentence.

I start every day by watching the sunrise.

This also stems from Mom. It’s important to take the time to appreciate all the wondrous gifts that surround us. Sitting in silence in the predawn, hints of color splashed across the horizon before the sun peeks out—to really be in the moment, grateful for another sunrise—starts the day on a positive note. What’s more beautiful—spiritual—than nature?

Humans wear me out, not animals.

If you haven’t guessed yet, I’m at my happiest around animals and nature. The two-legged, the four-legged, the furred, the feathered, and the scaled are all welcome in my yard. Everybody gets a name and a quick chat to say hi. Seriously, I’ve even named dragonflies, outside spiders, bees, butterflies…the list goes on and on. My sweet husband memorizes every name. When he thinks I’m not watching, he’ll chat with each one. Adorable! On the flipside, if new humans move to our area, they may never meet me. Unless they’re readers who catch me at a book signing. 😉

Though I love animals, I’ve had a lifelong fear of white horses.

When I was in kindergarten, a lady brought her white horse to school grounds. And, of course, I noticed him immediately and rushed over to say hi. The woman asked if I’d like to pet him. After Mom asked the usual — Is he friendly? Will he bite? Does he like kids? — I tippy toed to pet his nose, and he chomped down on my upper arm. For six weeks afterward, I cowered behind an upholstered chair every time the doctor house-called to deliver another rabies shot. Turns out, I was the seventh person he bit. Once word reached the state, they stepped in and killed the horse. To help me overcome my fear, Mom bought horse riding lessons. Took a while for me to feel comfortable around horses. Even then, I refused to go anywhere near the white ones. Still don’t.

During my life, I’ve befriended all types.

From bank robbers to cops, I never judged anyone by their mistakes, skin color, religion, or achievements. Still don’t. We are the sum of our parts.

When I was 24, my ex hired a hitman to kill me.

I married way too young. My 1^st husband and I dated in high school. After I lost my mom (my dad died years before), I longed for a family to call my own. And so, when my ex asked me to marry him, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Big mistake. On some level, I knew it, too. I bawled during the entire limo ride to the church and still couldn’t pull it together before walking down the aisle. I was so hysterical, the minister ushered me into his office—alone—where he told me I didn’t need to go through with the wedding. But I’d sent out invitations, guests were already in their seats, I booked a hall for the reception, I loved my gown, and we had honeymoon plans.

When you’re young and alone and shattered by grief, those reasons were enough to get married. The marriage ended five years later. In truth, I barely escaped with my life (story for another time). Fast forward six months, and I’m sitting in a local biker bar with my new boyfriend (notorious biker club member) when this guy slides into our booth. Turns out, my ex-husband hired him to kill me. It’s pure luck that I was with my then-boyfriend. Because he and this guy were friends, the hitman came clean. Otherwise, I might not be here. Years later, when my ex got sober and reached out to make amends, I asked why he wanted me dead. He said, “All I kept thinking was, if I can’t have you, no one will.” Did I forgive him? Yes. For me, not for him.

I speak fluent French…in my sleep.

When I was about twelve or thirteen, I fell asleep on the couch while Mom read on the loveseat. The next thing she knows, I’m carrying on a full conversation in French. Which she knew because she’d taken several courses in French. I, on the other hand, never took one. This continued for years. Freaky, right?

My intuition freaks out my family & friends.

Let me preface this by saying, I don’t consider myself a psychic or possess any psychic abilities. I just have a healthy dose of accurate intuition. Or guardian angels. Maybe both. The first time I became aware of it was in the second grade. A girl named Marla sat in front of me in homeroom. We weren’t what I’d call friends. One night, I woke in the middle of the night, crying that Marla’s father was dead. Mom, of course, told me it was only a bad dream. When I went to school the next day, the homeroom teacher told us Marla wouldn’t be there for a while. Her father died the night before. The newly deceased continued to come to me in dreams, and I delivered quite a few messages to loved ones over the years. The “death dreams” ended after I lost Mom. That’s when my intuition kicked into overdrive.

For example, about five years ago, I was in the shower when a flash rocketed through my mind—FedEx driver strolling down the walkway with a package, my eldest Rottweiler growling, barking, the cable on his run snapping in half—and I leaped out the shower, threw on my robe, and bolted outside to bring my dog in. Within five minutes, the FedEx truck pulled into the driveway. About an hour later, I clipped my dog to his run. I had my hand on the doorknob when the cable snapped.

Another more recent example: Three weeks ago, I couldn’t get an online friend off my mind. Nothing I could pinpoint, but I felt something was wrong. It wasn’t till I was writing to her that I felt an overpowering sensation that one of her fur babies died. So, I reached out. “Are you okay? I have a feeling something awful happened to your eldest cat, and I’m hoping I’m wrong.” Within seconds, she wrote back. “Oh. My. God, Sue! How’d you know?” Her husband found their cat dead when he woke for work that morning. *shrugs*

Latest in Sue’s Mayhem Series
Now Available on Amazon HERE

Author Sue Coletta

Sue Coletta is an award-winning crime writer and an active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. Feedspot and Expertido.org named her Murder Blog as one of the “Best 100 Crime Blogs on the Net” (Murder Blog sits at #5). Sue also blogs at the Kill Zone, a multi-award-winning writing blog.

Sue lives in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire and writes two psychological thriller series (Tirgearr Publishing) and true crime (Rowman & Littlefield Group). And recently, she appeared on an Emmy award-winning true crime show. Learn more about Sue and her books at: https://suecoletta.com

Buy Link for All of Sue’s Books

You can reach Sue on Social Media here:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
AmazonAuthorPage
Goodreads

Hope you enjoyed Sue’s amazing #TenThings List as much as I did!
Thank you for being our guest today, Sue! Looking forward
to having you visit more often.

#HealthUpdate – #GoodNews&BadNews

March 27, 2023May 8, 2023 / Marcia Meara / 83 Comments

As many of you are aware , I’ve had some ongoing health issues for the last couple of years, including two breakthrough cases of COVID among other things. But as I found out last October, my extreme dizzy spells and heart palpitations were not pandemic related. It turned out that I have a heart condition called “Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.” Essentially, the wall of my heart has thickened and is blocking full blood flow through the arteries that lead to the brain. (Not enough blood was getting to my brain, resulting in dizziness, palpitations, and various other issues.)

Good News #1: My cardiologist immediately put me on a beta blocker (Metoprolol) to slow my heart rate down, thus allowing more blood to flow through to my brain again. It worked GREAT from October through January.

Bad News #1: In February the dizzy spells returned and began getting worse and worse.

Good News #2: Saw my doctor again last Tuesday and he added a new medication to the mix: Amlodipine, which is a calcium channel blocker that relaxes the blood vessels so even more blood can get through. Next, I’m to be set up with a heart monitor for two to four weeks to get an exact readout and an overall idea of how it’s all working, and then, we will be doing new imaging, too. So … we’re on it!

Bad News #2: Sadly, I’ve been told to cut back on many of my activities–especially anything that can cause physical exertion–at least until we are done with the testing and can reassess my heath status. I’ve had to cancel my wildlife talks for now, and won’t be doing any gardening, hiking, bending over, heavy lifting or other things of that nature.

Good News #3: After a truly awful day last Wednesday, my new prescription was filled and I took my first Amlodipine that night. Within two hours, the dizzy spells stopped and the discomfort disappeared. And the last few days have been far, far better. I have a good feeling that we are on the right track now, and will find a way to manage my condition. (That’s my story, an’ I’m stickin’ to it!)

The main reason I’m sharing all this is because I may not be around as much as I usually am for a few weeks, However, I’ve already scheduled a lot of posts ahead, so things will still be going on, and I will check in as often as I can. I also wanted to share because it occurred to me that some of what I’m going through might be of interest to anyone else who has heart-related issues, too.

I’ll keep you updated as things progress, hopefully with plenty of good news! For now, I may only have time or energy for “Liking & Sharing” everyone’s blog posts, but I know you’ll forgive me as I try to behave in way that would make my cardiologist happy. And if any of you have similar issues you’ve dealt with, feel free to share your experiences or ask questions in the comments section. Maybe we can learn from each other.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll be back to business as usual as soon as possible. Blogging isn’t on my “Forbidden List” like planting roses in 90 degree heat is, so I should be able to to handle it as my condition stabilizes. That’s my clever plan, anyway! 😁

And that’s it for now. Will update as the situation progresses!

#HappySt.Patrick’sDay – #MIAToday – #GettingOlder&Older

March 17, 2023March 15, 2023 / Marcia Meara / 43 Comments

Just a quick note to wish you all a happy St. Paddy’s Day, and let you know that I won’t be around much, if at all. It just so happens that I was born 79 years ago today, and I’ve decided that’s reason enough to take a day off from the computer, writing, blogging, and the whole shebang. Might even get outside somewhere GREEN, like … Green Springs, a spot I’ve been wanting to visit for some time, and so VERY appropriate for today. (Weather depending.) I’ll be around a bit over the weekend and back to my usual tricks on Monday. For now, a couple more memes to amuse you, as you enjoy this day.

(You’ve Been Warned!)

And I think that’s about all the GREEN jokes we need for now!
Have a wonderful day, Everybody, whether you like green beer or Irish coffee, or just enjoy dancing a jig now and then,
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

#ThorsDaySmile – #AmLaughing – #Humor

March 16, 2023March 4, 2023 / Marcia Meara / 48 Comments

Well, last time, Thor was in a catty mood, but today, it seems he’s decided it’s a dog eat dog world out there. Me, I think he’s doggone crazy. But regardless, when someone says “dog” to me, I immediately think “dachshunds,” because … CUTE!!! So, here’s a bit of dachsie humor for you, compliments of the God of Thunder, himself. Enjoy!

Hope these little stubby-legged sausages gave you a smile or two.
(I miss ours more than I can say!)

#TenThingsYouMayNotKnowAbout – #AlisonRipleyCubitt

March 8, 2023March 1, 2023 / Marcia Meara / 82 Comments

Today, I’m happy to introduce a visitor who’s new to The Write Stuff, Alison Ripley Cubitt. I know you will all make her feel welcome as she shares her #TenThings list with us, so let’s get started. Alison, the floor is yours!

Hi Marcia,

Thanks for having me!

TEN THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME

1 I would cry in art class at school.

I am so inept at drawing— (even stick figures) meant that I’d wish away the entire lesson, longing to go back and do something I loved—like reading! It’s still the same now. If anyone asked me to draw anything I’d run away and hide.

2 I believed that there were no cars in New Zealand.

Before we emigrated, I’d overheard one of Mum’s friends say, “it was like Britain was 20 years ago.” I immediately assumed that everyone got around on horseback, so I was wildly enthusiastic about going. Imagine my disappointment when we arrived in Wellington, and we piled into a taxi and not a coach and four!

3 I was insulted by a minor celebrity

I was a devotee of Adam Ant and wore a frilly white shirt to a nightclub in Sydney where Elvis Costello’s drummer at the time called me a ‘Spandy.’ (A devotee of Spandau Ballet). I didn’t say what I thought of him!

4 I’m hopeless on skates and skis.

Determined to conquer this fear, I even took rollerblading lessons. My rollerblading dreams came crashing down after I went for a spin around Sefton Park in Liverpool and returned to the bench where I’d left my shoes—only to find they’d vanished. (Luckily, they were £10 bargains, not Jimmy Choos!). I had to walk all the way back to my car in my socks.

5 I once carried a tray of coffees and bacon sandwiches up a fixed ladder up on to the roof of what was the tallest building in London, which at the time was the top of the tower of what was the new extension of Guy’s Hospital.

6 One of my ambitions was to drive the entire London Orbital motorway (also known as the Magic Roundabout as once you get on, it’s challenging to get off it) the M25, and I did that last year—single-handed and in a freak storm!

7 When I first moved to London, after growing up Down Under, I found some of the place names real tongue-twisters and my mispronunciation caused hoots of mirth amongst my colleagues. Cadogan Square and Magdalen College, Oxford, for example.

8 I was so bad at maths I had to retake my school exam to get over the 50% pass mark, yet I ended up in charge of substantial television budgets. Luckily, like Richard Branson, who was similarly maths-challenged, I could read a balance sheet!

9 On a research trip for our first novel, eco-thriller Revolution Earth, my co-writer and I got a tour around a uranium mine in the Northern Territory, Australia, by posing as tourists. It amused us that there was this big sign in front of the crater lake where they disposed of the radioactive waste warning you not to swim because of crocodiles, rather than radioactivity.

10 I’m so addicted to Scandi-noir TV series that I once made a pilgrimage from Denmark to Sweden to cross the Oresund bridge. In every episode there is a helicopter shot of the crossing which marks the border between Sweden and Denmark. We were beaten to the best seats on the bus that ran between the two countries by two elderly Australian women who were devotees of The Bridge. On the way back from Sweden the two women were nowhere to be seen so we bagged the two front seats. You got a better view of the bridge from the Swedish side, so it was a win for us. I’m seriously considering holidaying on an island in Scandinavia which features in another fictional TV series with a few hundred inhabitants where there’s a murder every week!

Author Alison Ripley Cubitt
(Also known by her fiction alias Lambert Nagle)

Alison Ripley Cubitt spent fifteen years working in film and tv production, wrangling actors and mostly cartoon animals. She writes to satisfy her curiosity and likes to jump genres. She’s explored mother and daughter relationships in film and memoir; written a tell-all about what goes on behind the scenes in television; written about art looting and theft in her second thriller, and taken a fictional journey down to Antarctica to try to avert an environmental catastrophe. Her partner in crime and thriller writing, Séan Cubitt, is also her trophy husband.

Check Out Two of Alison’s Books Here

CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE

You can reach Alison on Social Media Below

To find out more please visit: https://www.lambertnagle.com
You can follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lambertnagle
Find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alisonripleycubittwriter
Hop over to Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/alisonripleycubitt

#HeadsUp – #ReblogAlert – #PeteSpringer

February 28, 2023February 28, 2023 / Marcia Meara / 10 Comments

Pete Springer has a wonderful post today that I hope you’ll check out, and not just because Sally Cronin, John W. Howell, Marian Beaman, and others, including me, are mentioned in it. Don’t get me wrong. That’s great! But the subject of the post overall is a truly positive and uplifting one that I’m very happy to share with others. To see what I mean, check out his post entitled Writer’s Envy, here:

https://petespringerauthor.wordpress.com/2023/02/28/writers-envy/

I think you’ll be glad you did!

#TenThingsYouMayNotKnow About #LizaGrantham

February 8, 2023February 8, 2023 / Marcia Meara / 112 Comments

Good Morning, Folks! It’s time for our first #TenThings post of 2023, and here to get this series off to a great start is author Liza Grantham. Liza, take it away!

Thanks for having me today, Marcia!

I can’t swim, ride a bicycle or drive a car.
It was my dream to stand in the front of the whole school in assembly and collect my red swimming stripe; alas, it never happened. Years later, with the help of a friend, I learned to flounder a strange kind of breaststroke. I must be lopsided because I could only manage a circle and not a straight line. As for bicycles, well – forget it! I have no sense of balance and it’s a foregone conclusion I’ll end up on the floor. My driving instructor told me I was dangerous, and I can’t argue with that; it took me four attempts to pass my test and that was almost thirty years ago. I’ve never driven since!

I flew on an aeroplane for the first time when I was forty years old.
It’s true. Even when I lived in France for a year, I travelled backwards and forwards on the ferry. I had no choice but to fly when I had an interview for a teaching post in Gran Canaria. As it turned out, I didn’t mind flying one bit and was offered the job.

I typed the last third of my first book one handed due to a broken wrist and subsequent surgery.
I’m so clumsy! Despite my petite build, I hurtle from place to place with the grace of a baby elephant. I managed to trip over a branch whilst walking my dog and went down like a domino. I waited a day before going to the hospital. Even though my arm was purple and had doubled in size I insisted it was only a sprain!

I am a BIG fan of William Shakespeare.
Since I first discovered the Bard at the tender age of fifteen I’ve been smitten. I’ve read the complete plays back to back three times and have studied each one in depth. I’ve reduced all thirty-nine of the plays into rhyming couplets that can be read in under five minutes and I’ve published them as a book.

I have tattoos.
I love tattoos. I wanted one ever since my teens but being an inherently sensible sort of person I decided to be patient and wait until I was twenty one. Since then I’ve had another seven, including a ring on my wedding finger and a rather delightful quill and inkpot on my arm.

I cook amazing authentic Indian curries.
I lived and worked in Indian and Pakistani communities for over twenty years, so I’ve gained a lot of insider experience. My speciality dishes are prawn pathia and saag paneer.

I always want to spell tranquillity with one ‘l’.
I’ve been an excellent speller since childhood yet to me this one word just seems so wrong with a double ‘l’. It’s ironic really because tranquillity is something that’s enormously important to me so you’d think I’d be able to get it right!

I’ve been sprayed on by a tiger.
Honestly. I’m a totally besotted ailurophile and cats seem to love me as much as I love them. My husband and I were driving through a safari park and slowed to a halt by the tiger enclosure so that I could make eye contact with a beautiful Bengal male. I lowered and raised my eyelids repeatedly and made crooning noises. He turned a hundred and eighty degrees and sprayed so hard that it landed on us inside the car.

I won my first poetry competition when I was ten.
I’ve always loved poetry and it comes so naturally to me. My primary teachers recognised this and entered one of my poems in the music festival in my hometown of Burton-on-Trent. I was the youngest entrant and had to read it to a room of very scary people, including the mayor.

I like sleeping outdoors.
I have no idea why. I love camping and, when I lived at home with my parents, in summer I always slept out on the back lawn. When my hubby and I moved to Galicia I was determined to sleep in the woods one night. When he flatly refused to join me there was nothing for it but to do it alone.

Liza’s Books

Mad Cows and Englishmen: at large in Galicia

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08NTMF38M/
www.amazon.com/dp/B08NTMF38M/

Mad Cows and Englishmen is the story of an English couple who trade the sun, sea and sands of Gran Canaria for a home in Galicia, one of the coldest, wettest parts of Spain. Living in an old stone house in a remote hamlet surrounded by fields and forests sounds idyllic, but as Liza Grantham and her husband, Gary, soon discover, their new lifestyle isn’t quite as tranquil as they’d hoped. Menacing cheeses, reports of hyenas, cows running amok, a bloodthirsty cockerel and a morning when the sun doesn’t rise are amongst the many surprises that rural life has in store.

Mad Cows and Englishmen: at large in Galicia by Liza Grantham | Goodreads

How Now, Mad Cow? The Second Year in Rural Galicia

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09NSTK6GT/
www.amazon.com/dp/B09NSTK6GT/

A mystery killer is at large and Anxo becomes a suspect, and when an imposter arrives in the village, Liza begins to think she’s losing her mind. Down in the chicken run the blood-thirsty cockerel’s life hangs in the balance, but Liza’s determined to bring more livestock into the fold. Gary’s busy tending the veg plot, but self-sufficiency turns out to be tougher than he’d bargained for; how long will they have to survive on a diet of eggs and kale?

How Now, Mad Cow?: The Second Year in Rural Galicia by Liza Grantham | Goodreads

’Til Mad Cow Comes Home: The Third Year in Rural Galicia

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B5VYWSX3/
www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5VYWSX3/

As Liza and Gary travel further along the road to self-sufficiency the future looks rosy. The chances of a good harvest are high and Liza’s aim to breed meat for the freezer looks like being a roaring success. In Galicia it never rains but it pours and when the couple’s luck changes, it hammers down blow after blow. Just when it seems that things couldn’t get any tougher Fate deals them their cruellest card yet. Liza is plunged into the depths of despair and her typical optimism is suddenly found lacking. As she digs deep to overcome the heartache it’s the magic of a Galician legend that finally pulls her through.

‘Til Mad Cow Comes Home: The Third Year in Rural Galicia by Liza Grantham | Goodreads

Author Liza Grantham

Liza Grantham was born in 1965 in the East Midlands brewery town of Burton-on-Trent. After gaining a BA (Hons) in Linguistics, French and Hindi from the University of York and a PGCE from Derbyshire College of Higher Education she returned to her hometown where she taught at Anglesey Primary School for sixteen years. In 1997 she was awarded an MBA with distinction in Educational Management from the University of Nottingham. After meeting her now husband Gary she moved to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria to teach in a British school. In 2011 the couple moved to a remote hamlet in rural Galicia where they raise chickens, grow vegetables and expect the unexpected in their idyllic yet highly unpredictable rural life.

The peace and beauty of the natural surroundings provides the perfect backdrop for stimulation and creativity, and Liza has plenty of opportunity for writing in a range of genres. She has published three books in the ‘Mad Cow in Galicia’ memoir series: ‘Mad Cows and Englishmen’, ‘How Now, Mad Cow?’ and ”Til Mad Cow Comes Home’. She is also the author of ‘A Play by Any Other Name…’ in which the complete Shakespeare plays are summarised in everyday verse. Her prize-winning poetry has been published in several editions of ‘The Good Life in Galicia’ anthology series (ed. S Bush).

You can reach Liza on Social Media here:

#ThorsDaySmile – #AmLaughing – #Humor

February 2, 2023January 25, 2023 / Marcia Meara / 26 Comments

Thor informed me he had no idea whatsoever what he wanted me to share today, so I’m on my own folks. Be afraid. Be very afraid ………..

Hope I was able to find a few new laughs for
your enjoyment, and that your Thorsday is a great one.
(Even without THOR himself taking part!)

#ThorsDaySmile – #AmLaughing – #Humor

January 19, 2023January 15, 2023 / Marcia Meara / 38 Comments

Thor has reminded me, it’s time to start catching up on my regular features again, beginning (of course) with HIM! He said he was in the mood for some animal memes, (and goodness only knows, I do like to humor his moods)so here are some critters I hope will give you a laugh or two.

And there you have today’s #ThorsDaySmile!
Hope you enjoyed it!

FREE #epicfantasy THE PRINCE’S MAN by Deborah Jay

December 27, 2022December 27, 2022 / Deborah Jay / Debby Lush / 13 Comments

While Marcia enjoys a holiday break with her family, I’m taking the opportunity to hijack The Write Stuff for a little shameless self-promotion.

For the first (and possibly only) time, book 1 (ebook) in my highly rated Five Kingdoms epic fantasy series is available at all outlets for

***FREE***

Blurb:

Rustam Chalice, gigolo and spy, loves his lifestyle just the way it is, so when the kingdom he serves is threatened from within, he leaps into action. Only trouble is, his spy master teams him up with an untouchable, beautiful, aristocratic assassin who despises him.

Plunged into a desperate journey over the mountains, the mismatched pair struggle to survive deadly wildlife, the machinations of a spiteful god – and each other.

Think James Bond meets Lord of the Rings – a sweeping tale of spies and deadly politics, inter-species mistrust and magic phobia, spiced with a pinch of romance.

Click on the cover to be taken to your choice of retailer, which now also includes SMASHWORDS, where books 2, 3 &4 are also on sale with 25% off!

Bargain!

And even better, if you are a Kindle Unlimited (KU) subscriber, the ENTIRE SET is now available to read for ***FREE***

Please help yourself and see why others are saying such things as:

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★★★★★ “Jay paints a vivid world, that we are treated to in this dangerous adventure that tests our heroes to every limit. Including having them question everything they had ever taken for granted.”

★★★★★ “Adventure, heartache, murder, horses, mayhem, elves; the list gallops on, bursting with action in this well written novel set in a completely believable world. Attention grabbing story and underlying layers of detail make it a ‘can’t put downer’.”

★★★★★ “I enjoyed this greatly. It is indicative of a good read if you immediately search for the next book in the series.”