Fall Feature #8- Edwin Stark's "Eco Station One"

Today's Fall Feature is Edwin Stark's 90k humor novel "Eco Station One".

Edwin shares this with us about himself and his work:

I'd like to introduce myself: The name's Edwin Stark and I currently live in the middle of a typical rainforest. I'm so far away from civilization that not even radio signals dare to reach here. Gosh! Not Even TV! So I write to stay moderately sane, and in the process I found that I can really spin a tale. During the years 2005-2006 I wrote all the tales in my book "Cuentos" and I thought they'd just molder away in my Fabled Writer's Trunk, until self.publishing made possible that they could finally reach an audience. I grabbed the best picks of the litter from a batch of 200 stories I wrote during that period and slapped them together.



But after I finished this project, I realized that there was still something more to be done, so I set down to write "Eco Station One", which ended up being my second novel. This book is a great departure from all my provious work, because I basically write creepy, dark tales with a hidden golden nugget of hope; most of my characters, even while going through terrible ordeals, have incredible moments where they can think "I can make it through", so I expect my readers to walk away from my books thinking. "What a dark story! Yet I found it uplifting!" So I dropped all the foreboding backdrops, monsters and creepy stuff and I began writing an incredibly cheery albeit zany tale about a guy who gets involved in a zany scheme to fleece a major corporation with a project in an ecological research outpost in the middle of a tropical rainforest (now... why does that sound familiar? Hmmm).



Though Eco hasn't earned as many 4 and 5 star reviews as "Cuentos" (people find the book's humor too off-kilter sometimes), it's certainly a funny read. I'll leave you with this brief fact that some people may find fascinating: The title "Cuentos" means "Short Stories" in Spanish, which brings me to a point that I think most readers will be amaze about, in given time: Since my first spoken language isn't English but Spanish, this lends my work with a certain texture and flavor that some people find quite appealing. And those who read my works, before knowing I switched languages somewhere along the way, suddenly gain an improved appreciation tho what I write: they go... "WOW" I can't really believe that you're not a native English speaker!". I also have other books, "AI Rebellion", which is a bit preachy, and "The Clayton Chronicles".

An excerpt from "Eco Station One" can be viewed by visiting the amazon.com listing here.

Fall Feature #7- R. C. Drake's "Crystal Clear"

Today's Fall Feature is R.C.Drake's 39k supernatural suspense "Crystal Clear", available in both e-book and traditional book format.

About the novel:

Susan has lost her job. Next, she is told that her husband has died in a car accident. Once arriving at the hospital she is told that her daughter died in the accident as well. She cannot cope with this double tragedy. She leaves the hospital in a dazed state, and would have had an accident as well, if not for the intervention of her daughter, Caroline. However, Susan is unable to let Caroline go after this, allowing Crystal to enter into our world. An evil that desires to exist once again, and be able to travel among the living. All that Crystal needs is a body, and she will be able to exist, forever. Caroline can give Crystal what she craves, but Alice knows she cannot allow this to happen. She is the only one that can stop Crystal. The only way to save Caroline however, is going to cost a very high price.

R.C. is happy to gift up to six smashword copies of the novel to anyone with genuine interest.

"Crystal Clear" can be purchased here on Amazon.com.

Visit R.C. at the Author's Den.

Fall Feature #6- Rebecca Stroud's "Do Unto Others"

Today's feature is Rebecca Stroud's 15k Suspense/Thriller Novella "Do Unto Others".

Rebecca Shares this with us about her Novella:

I am an avid animal lover…have been all my life. My experience with them has been all over the map. I worked for veterinarians; for humane societies and wildlife sanctuaries; and - then - I became a columnist, writing The Animal Advocate for various newspapers. Now I'm proud to say I'm an 'indie' author.

So it should come as no surprise that everything I write involves an animal (primarily dogs, who I personally think are the most fabulous creatures on this planet).

That said, Do Unto Others is not a 'comfy cozy' book. Meaning: Over the years, I've become so sick and tired of animal abusers getting off with a simple slap on the wrist that I took my frustrations out in this fictional story.

As our legal system seems to be perpetually hamstrung when it comes to punishing those who commit these horrendous crimes, my 'special' twins have no such problem. Ergo, the book is - at times - quite gruesome and graphic.

Of course, I understand this book isn't for everyone. Yet, if you believe as I do that those who abuse the helpless - be they animals, children, or the elderly - deserve to pay dearly, then I also believe you'll find this novella right up your alley.

Here is a brief excerpt:

Serenity Smith lay spread-eagled on her canopied bed, arms and legs tied at each corner post. Sonia was no longer naked but Smith was. And she was bleeding profusely.

The sisters sat on either side of her and told her why she wouldn't live through the night.

"First of all, Serenity," Linda said in a calm and matter-of-fact voice, "you betrayed an innocent creature. A dog who loved you with all his heart, who depended on you for everything. Yet you chose to ignore him completely. He had no food, no water, he literally lived in his own crap…" She gritted her teeth, her voice trailing off in disgust as she held up the pair of small lawn clippers, prepared to remove the last of Smith's toes.

"Furthermore, you thought you'd get away with this, didn't you?" Sonia sneered at the gagged and terrified woman, nodding at her sister to proceed.

Smith's eyes bulged as Linda smiled and snipped off Serenity's right thumb.

"Sorry," she said. "But your stinking feet were making me sick."

Click here to visit Amazon.com to read a longer excerpt and/or purchase the novella.

Fall Feature #5- Sheenah Freitas' "The Chosen"

Today's feature is Sheenah Freitas' "The Chosen". Sheenah shares this with us about her novel:

The Chosen is a YA fantasy that is approximately 83,000 and is the first book of a trilogy. I built my own mythology that is based both on the Greek gods and Gnosticism to create something I’ve never seen done before. I do borrow some practices of the ancient Greeks, which is most notable in the funeral practices. There’s a huge range of mythological creatures that are featured in my novel, including demigods, merfolk, and vampires.

Kaia’s entire life has erupted in flames after an assassin appears and burns her village down. She’s rescued by a god from another planet who requests her help because she’s the descendant of their last savior. Together with Reeze — the only other survivor from her village and her appointed guardian — they set off on a quest to find the treasures of the gods in hopes of preventing a dire prophesy.

Kaia and Reeze quickly meet the Tueors, a group of people many thought extinct, who are searching specifically for Kaia. Their intention: to protect the truth. As Kaia discovers more about the truth and her family’s past, she also learns of the Tueors’ bloody secret. Will Kaia be the savior the gods have been waiting for? Or will she let the prophesy come true?

Excerpt from Chapter One:

The arms were unrelenting. Kaia thrashed and threw her body against them until her body grew limp from exhaustion. The arms loosened around her slowly; her body slumped down into a heap. As she sobbed, a hand rested tentatively on her shoulder sending a shiver down her spine. Hesitantly, Kaia lifted her eyes to see who had stopped her from rescuing her mother.

She expected to see the face of someone much older, but was surprised to find a teenager of around seventeen—an adult to her village’s standards. His eyes were mysterious and glued her eyes to his. They penetrated her, appearing to see every thought and
secret. His hair, like hers, was an unusual color, though his was a light
indigo. He kept his hair a bit longer than most males, but wore it tied back. The glow of the fire caused his face to seem hard, which only frightened her more since he showed no sign of friendliness. Whatever he was to her, she wished he would stop looking at her.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally spoke. His voice was tough, straining to sound friendly, but failed and came out commanding, “Go to the shrine. It’s safe there.”

“Why?” she asked, tentatively, her voice barely a whisper.

“There’s no time to explain. Just do it!”

She still didn’t move and just as she was about to question him again they heard a noise. In a nearby tree, they spotted a man standing on a sturdy branch. Dressed in black, he held a box of matches and had
a sword at his side. He tossed the box up and down, up and down, and then suddenly stopped. He looked at them and feigned surprise. Casually, he threw the box into the inferno and gave a sinister smirk.

“It would appear that I missed two,” he said, gracefully unsheathing his sword and directing it at them.
“Now, who should I kill first? Her—or you?”

The man looked over Kaia and her face scrunched up in revulsion as the man smirked and licked his lips slowly as he clutched the hilt of his sword. The teenage boy’s eyes hardened and he stepped closer toward Kaia.

As she took a few tentative steps back to distance herself from the man and the steadily approaching flames, the teenager said, “I don’t think you’ll be killing us. Or anyone else for that matter.”

She looked quickly at the teenager, but his face was still without
emotion. The man in the tree laughed, turning Kaia’s attention back to him.

“And why won’t I be killing anymore?” he bellowed.

“I’ll tell you why,” the teenager said, his voice rising with anger, “because I’m going to put a stop to it!”

Kaia saw that he had a sword of his own. He agilely unsheathed it and pointed it toward the man in black. The man only laughed.
“You’re barely out of diapers, and you think you can take me on?”

The teenager said nothing, but coldly stared back. More quickly than she could follow, the man jumped down from his perch. Kaia squeaked and moved behind the teenager. The teenager, however, didn’t flinch. He seemed steadfast and sure of himself. The man in black also noticed his demeanor and his grin vanished.

“What’s your name?” the man suddenly asked.

“The name’s Reeze,” he answered coolly. “And yours?”

The man gave a wolfish grin. “You can call me Tipton.”

Kaia closed her eyes for a split second, wishing desperately that everything was just a dream. Opening her eyes, she found Reeze
right in front of her holding back an attack. Sweat glistened on his forehead as he strained to push Tipton back, while Tipton was again grinning. His smile frightened Kaia more than death.

“Go!” Reeze yelled at her. Reluctantly, she scrambled up and mustered enough energy to get up and sprint toward the shrine, never looking back.

You can purchase the novel by clicking here to visit Amazon.

Fall Feature #4- Collin Kelley's "Remain In Light"

Today's fall features is from Collin Kelley. Collin's upcoming novel "Remain In Light" is a 88k mystery/suspense. Collin is willing to give away up to three Smashwords ebook editions of "Remain In Light" to random commenters.

Introduction:

Remain In Light is a mystery, but also contains elements of magical realism, poetry and film noir. Set in Paris in the late 1990s, the main characters could not be more opposite. Irène Laureux is a feisty, 69-yearl-old widow determined to find the man, Frederick Dubois, who knows the circumstances of her husband's mysterious death 30 years earlier. Helping in her search is American expat Martin Paige, a young, gay writer who has moved to Paris to get over a damaging relationship. I wanted to write a mystery that didn't play to the stereotypes of the macho, hard-boiled detective or beautiful forensic pathologist. Irène and Martin are flawed, average citizens thrown into extraordinary circumstances and must rely on their unlikely friendship and tenacity to solve a mystery that only grows deeper and more dangerous the closer they get to the truth. I also wanted to explore the underworld of Paris, the simmering xenophobia, class warfare and organized crime that is glossed over by the travel brochures.

An excerpt:

Prologue: Time Ticks

Hands in motion. Fingers fly over letters and numbers, type out a message, a brief history of self, of time, of need and directionless desire. The screen bathes those hands in bruised light, flickers on a face in the darkness. A face grown two years older, forehead scarred by a bomb blast often hidden by blonde bangs and more tiny lines around the eyes behind glasses. There is an unmistakable tattoo on the left hand between the thumb and index finger: two interlocking crosses, equal but opposite.

Here is how the monster is kept at bay: he surfs through pornography, lurid images and chatrooms, searches for the lowest common denominator. There’s a picture of a beautiful young boy, only eighteen, on one side of the screen and an open dialogue box on the other. 17 Rue Ferrandi, the boy types. I am Thierry. What is your name?

He types back: Martin.

He leaves the apartment on rue Rampon silently, makes sure not to wake his roommate. But she is awake. She hears the almost imperceptible click as the laptop switches off; his feet pad down the
hardwood floor of the hallway. Then there’s the other click, the one that makes her mouth go dry with dread and disappointment. It’s the sound as the door softly opens and closes, a maneuver only she hears. Even the cat at the foot of her bed, with preternatural senses, sleeps through his leaving. These late night disappearances happen at least twice a week, and they’ve been going on for months. Every time he leaves, it’s still a surprise, as if it’s happening for the first time. She gets out of bed and opens the doors to the balcony.

It is late summer, the tourists have gone home, the city is quiet, but there is expectancy in the air, something or someone she cannot name. She feels it as intensely as when Martin Paige’s arrival was imminent just two short years ago. It is early morning; Venus is visible overhead. It rivals the moon for the sky. Irène Laureux leans on the balcony, the tattoo on her pale left hand in sharp relief against the metal railing even in the weak light. Equal but opposite – the same ink she shares with Martin. Irène looks up, summons the inevitable with words that have served her well in the past: Paris, Paris, Paris.

Visit Collin's blog to stay up to date on his work by clicking here. If that's not enough Collin for you, there's Twitter or Facebook as well :)

Fall Feature #3- Chelle Cordero's "Hostage Heart"

Today's fall feature is Chelle Cordero's 72k romantic suspense "Hostage Heart". Her novel is available in print and various e-book formats.

Chelle shares this with us about herself and her novel:

I am a romantic dreamer. Despite all of the rumors that writers are full of angst, I really like my life - so I love to write about the things in my life... but my books are pure fiction.

After the 2005 hurricane season and the devastation it caused to parts of Louisiana and Texas, I heard many stories about the people down there and their remarkable spirit. (As an aside, my hubby was a rescue worker down there and he came home with incredible stories to tell.)

Deanna Blair, the heroine of my book Hostage Heart, was born from these stories. Add to that my sometimes "questionable" imagination and my need to let everyone have their special romantic moments and I added Ryan Hunter and a few other interesting characters. Then I tossed in a bank robbery.

The book starts in New York City, a city that never sleeps and the place where I was raised. The bulk of the story takes place down south in Baton Rouge, LA and Little Rock, Ark. Although I grew up with a southern-born mama, I still did a lot of research into Deanna's Cajun heritage and the local customs. It was really fun for me.

I want my readers to experience the flavors of a beignet (a Louisiana fried fritter) and the dialect of a Cajun as they read my story. More than that, I want them to feel the love between my characters and each of the relationships they have. And of course I hope that they sit on the edge of their seats as they wonder what will come next.

Here's an excerpt:

Deanna tried to pull away. Tears came to her eyes. “Please, let me go.”
“Hey Roy, Miss Southern Bell said please.” He mocked her pronunciation. One of the other two men laughed at her distress.
The third man got up and grabbed her chin. He held her face still as he forced the neck of another open bottle of beer between her lips and poured. Deanna choked and spit out most of it. “Come on, swallow.” He kept pouring and she finally swallowed some to keep from choking. “That’s right baby, you’re going to feel much better. We just want you to enjoy too.”
After most of the contents of the bottle of beer was either down her throat or spilled down the front of her blouse, the bottle was put on the table. Deanna fought to keep from gagging as the beer hit her stomach and started an abrupt return trip. “I’m going to be sick.”
The first guy stood and nearly dumped her on the floor. They let her heave the contents of her stomach while she bent over. They laughed at her. When she was done, one of the men splashed her face with even more beer to rinse her off. Then the front of her blouse was torn open.
“Oh God, please don’t...:” Unable to defend herself or run away with her hands and feet still tied, she cried and pleaded.
Tugging the front of her bra as if to rip it off of her, the second guy found her grandmother’s ring. “What’s this?” He dug the piece of jewelry out.
She looked longingly at the ring. “Please, that’s all I have left of my mamere.” They still hadn’t recovered the old woman’s body long after the flood waters receded. “Please don’t take that.”
One of the men leered at her. “Maybe we’ll let you earn it back.”
“What the hell is going on here?” His booming voice surprised everyone.
“Hey man, we were just having some fun. She doesn’t mind. Do you?” One of the three drunken revelers pouted.
“I told you, she’s my property... and I don’t share with anyone.” The pseudo bank customer had returned from his errand. He walked to them and grabbed her roughly by her arm. “What’s that?” He questioned the guy with the ring in his hand.
“She was hiding it.”
“Give it to me. Now.” The ring was put into his outstretched palm and he put it into his pocket. He looked at the floor where she spit up. “Clean this up.”
“Hey man, we were just bored.
“That’s not my problem.” He pulled Deanna into the small kitchen and helped her wash her face and rinse her mouth at the sink.
“So long as Jacob is gone, I’m in charge around here. And I don’t like having my orders ignored.”

One lucky random commenter will win a PDF copy of "Hostage Heart" sent to them via Chelle. Good Luck to everyone and thank you to Chelle for stopping by!

Fall Feature #2- Melinda Clayton's "Appalachian Justice"

Today our fall features is  Melinda Clayton's 73,000 historical fiction "Appalachian Justice".

Melinda shares this with us about herself:

I'm an odd mix of psychotherapist and writer who has always loved to read, and who has always loved to explore the motivations behind the choices we make. I try to give my characters depth and to demonstrate the thought processes behind the decisions they make.

I’ve always loved to write, even as a very young child, though for most of my life it was a private hobby.  When my children were young I took some time off from my career in order to be more available to my family, and that seemed the perfect time to seriously explore this passion of mine.  I began by writing mental health and relationship oriented articles for various print and online magazines.  Once I felt I had some experience under my belt, I branched out, writing short stories for inclusion in several anthologies.  
Appalachian Justice is my first novel, and it's dark, no doubt. But it's also a tribute to the many brave women and children with whom I've connected over the years through my therapy practice. They have my deepest, deepest respect and admiration.

Appalachian Justice was recently chosen to receive the Sapphic Readers' Award for 2011, an honor of which I am most proud.

Melinda is happy to give away a free Smashwords download of Appalachian Justice to the first person to comment on this feature page.

Have a look at the excerpt for the novel by clicking here to visit amazon.com.

Fall Feature #1- Charmaine Pauls' "Yesterday and Tomorrow"

Our first Fall Feature comes from Chile! The author Charmaine Pauls is stopping by to share her 83,000 women's fiction (drama with a strong romantic element) "Between Yesterday and Tomorrow".

Between Yesterday and Tomorrow is South African born Charmaine Pauls’ debut novel. The story tells the tale, in the form of a memoir, of a woman who refuses to deal with her painful past after the disappearance of her fiancé. Her life is reduced to an emotionless existence, protecting herself from the pain of facing the possible truths. Eight years after the tragic event, she is forced to travel to picturesque Castries, in the south of France, to claim her estranged French family inheritance. The main character, Marlien, is forced through a series of new unfolding events and a strange country to finally face her past. Not only is the enigmatic French veterinarian, Jean-Christophe, set on winning her heart, but she is thrown into the arms of the gypsy musician, Laurent, when he saves her from the crushing hooves of the bulls during the midst of the Arles bull run. But Marlien does not have to choose between Jean-Christophe and Laurent in order to find happiness. She has to choose between living in her past, or acceptance, in order to make way for her future. She does not only find answers to the most haunting questions of her life, but she also finds happiness through her epic journey of self-discovery. The first-time author used her experience of having lived in the romantic south of France as a backdrop for the book. She currently resides in Chile with her husband and two children.

"Yesterday and Tomorrow" is available from Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle format: Click here to go to Amazon to purchase.

Charmaine is offering a giveaway for hard copies of her novel. To win a copy, follow these easy steps.

1) Become a follower of "Indie Day in the Sun" via www.blogger.com.

2) Be the first to answer one of these two questions by reviewing the excerpt of the novel:
          What color and model vehicle is the main character's luggage placed into?
           Where are the wild horses from that the main character admires?

Good luck everyone and congratulations to Charmaine on your debut novel!

Fall Features

Hello Everyone!

It's been a while since I've worked on my Indie Day in the Sun Blog, and I wanted to let everyone know that I'm looking forward to featuring authors who'd like to showcase their work and share links during the fall season.

If you'd like to be feature, please follow the steps below to reserve your place in line :)

1- Email me at indiedayinthesun  @  gmail.com with a subject of "Fall feature" and the title of your book. In the body, please include your author name, title, the name of the book, the genre(s) you feel best suit your work and word count.

2- Please also include about 200 min-500 words max about your work as a writer, introducing the novel to be featured, or what you hope the readers gain from reading your work.

3- Please feel free to offer an excerpt as well, but please do not include as part of the word count. The reader could just pull that up on Amazon, we want you to be able to show your unique style and take this opportunity to entice readers to add you to their bookshelf!

4- If you'd like to offer a giveaway or any other type of promotion on the site, feel free to do so! Please include the specifics of what you'd like to offer for the promotion, what the prize will be and how to do so. If you can't agree to offer a promotion, and want to decide that later, feel free to do so. But please keep in mind if you change your mind, you will want to make sure that I am contacted before your post goes live. We don't want to false advertise :(

I'm looking to feature approximately 90 novels, so first come, first serve basis. Please include all of the requested/required information to be added to the list. If you fail to include anything, I won't be able to feature you. If you don't get an email back confirming that you've been added to the list, please review your original email to me and make sure you've got everything listed. If it's missing something, feel free to correct it and resend.

Please do not contact me to feature repeat novels that have already been featured on the site, but another novel from the same author is more than welcome!!

Please share the site address as a wonderful way to support your fellow authors and help readers embrace their hard work!