Debra Holt & 'Mercy's Rescue' @debraholtbooks @GoddessFish #Western #Romance

Today we have author Debra Holt visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?

* Born and raised in the Lone Star state of Texas, Debra grew up among horses, cowboys, wide open spaces, and real Texas Rangers. Pride in her state and ancestry knows no bounds and it is these heroes and heroines she loves to write about the most. She also draws upon a variety of life experiences including working with abused children, caring for baby animals at a major zoo, and owning a wedding planning business (ah, romance!).
* Debra’s real pride and joys, however, are her son, an aspiring film actor, and a daughter with aspirations to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (more story ideas!) When she isn’t busy writing about tall Texans and feisty heroines, she can be found cheering on her Texas Tech Red Raiders, or heading off on another cruise adventure. She read her first romance...Janet Dailey's Fiesta San Antonio, over thirty years ago and became hooked on the genre. Writing contemporary western romances, is both her passion and dream come true, and she hopes her books will bring smiles...and sighs... to all who believe in happily-ever-after’s.
* The Seymour Agency represents Debra and she is soon to have two contemporary romances published by Spencer Hill/Tulip Romance and Astraea Press. Debra invites you to visit her website at www.debraholtbooks.com. She loves to hear from other aspiring authors or readers via email at debraholtbooks@gmail.com.

A look into...

~ Blurb ~ * Fighting for his life after an ambush, Sheriff Josh Wellman awakes to find himself looking into the eyes of a real-life angel of mercy. Despite his groggy condition, he knows his life has changed the instant their hands touch.
* Devastating heartbreak has left Mercy Smith's faith in tatters, her heart guarded against more loss. Her dedication to the air evac trauma team she leads has insulated her from the realities of the earth below, so now Josh faces the biggest challenge of his life.
* Can he find a way around the walls that fortify her heart and convince this angel to stay on the ground with him? Can Mercy open herself to life again and find a way to restore her faith in God ... as well as love? ~ Excerpt ~ * There were ample hands ready to do just that. Less than five minutes were required to load the patient and get the crew back in their seats before the helicopter took flight again. They had no time to waste, and the race with the invisible, yet ever-ticking, clock had begun.
* Mercy began her in-flight assessment, speaking through the mike inside her helmet that linked her with the medical team at the hospital. Onboard technology allowed the doctors to hear her and monitor the patient’s vital readings in order to make the calls on what meds needed to be pushed in-flight. She and Paul worked quickly with long-practiced ease in the tight confines of the jet craft. For the time being, the patient held his own.
* Mercy looked again at the readout from the overhead blood pressure machine. Her glance then fell to the face of the patient. She caught a slight flicker of his eyelids as he tried to lift them. On his second attempt, she found herself the focus of the bluest eyes she had ever seen. The thought came briefly that, given another situation, they might be quite mesmerizing, almost like watching the still waters of a serene lake. She hastily pushed the unbidden and whimsical thought to the side and returned to a professionally focused mindset. The oxygen mask kept him from speaking, but his eyes were quite eloquent and anything but calm, holding a mixture of pain, fear, and questions.
* “Hang in there.” She tried to reassure him with her practiced, soothing tones. “We’ll have you on the ground at the hospital in just a few minutes. Squeeze my hand if you can understand me.” She placed her hand under his. Very slowly, long fingers moved to grasp hers. “Good job.” Buy Mercy's Rescue here... Amazon Find Debra Holt here... Website | Twitter | Facebook Thank you for joining us here today, Debra Holt! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

ANNOUNCEMENT! Debra Holt will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter! So be sure to leave a comment AND use the Rafflecopter below. Also, visit the other tour stops for a greater chance of winning!

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A Look At Laura McNeill & 'Center of Gravity' @LauraMcNeillBks @GoddessFish #suspense

Today we have author Laura McNeill visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?

* After six years behind the anchor desk at two CBS affiliates, Laura moved to the Alabama Gulf Coast to raise her family. Her accolades in broadcasting include awards from the Associated Press, including Best News Anchor and Best Specialized Reporter.
* Laura works at Spring Hill College as the school’s web content and social media manager and is active in her community—participating in fundraisers for the American Cancer Society, Ronald McDonald House, and Providence Hospital’s Festival of Flowers.
* Laura was recently awarded a 2-book deal with Thomas Nelson Publishing, a division of HarperCollins. Her novel, Center of Gravity, set in Mobile, Ala., will be published in July of 2015. Laura is represented by Elizabeth Winick Rubenstein, president of McIntosh and Otis literary agency in New York. Her writing awards include those from William Faulkner-Wisdom Creative Writing Competition, Writer’s Digest, RWA, and the Eric Hoffer competition.
* She holds a master’s degree in journalism from The Ohio State University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. She is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in interactive technology from the University of Alabama. She is a native of Upstate New York and currently resides near the Alabama Gulf Coast with her two children.

What are you going to tell us about today?
* My story, Center of Gravity. A look into the story

~ Blurb ~ * Her whole life, Ava Carson has been sure of one thing: she doesn’t measure up to her mother’s expectations. So when Mitchell Carson sweeps into her life with his adorable son, the ready-made family seems like a dream come true.
* In the blink of an eye, she’s married, has a new baby, and life is grand.
* Or is it?
* When her picture-perfect marriage begins unraveling at the seams, Ava convinces herself she can fix it. It's temporary. It’s the stress. It’s Mitchell’s tragic history of loss.
* If only Ava could believe her own excuses.
* Mitchell is no longer the charming, thoughtful man she married. He grows more controlling by the day, revealing a violent jealous streak. His behavior is recklessly erratic, and the unanswered questions about his past now hint at something far more sinister than Ava can stomach. Before she can fit the pieces together, Mitchell files for divorce and demands full custody of their boys.
* Fueled by fierce love for her children and aided by Graham Thomas, a new attorney in town —Ava takes matters into her own hands, digging deep into the past. But will finding the truth be enough to beat Mitchell at his own game?
* Center of Gravity weaves a chilling tale, revealing the unfailing and dangerous truth that things—and people—are not always what they seem. ~ Excerpt ~ * The road rushes under the wheels. I rearrange snippets of the frantic conversation. Gash. Some blood. Breathing fine. Emergency room. A few more miles to the hospital.
* I flash back to this morning. Packed sack lunch, flop of dark hair across his bare forehead, navy backpack slung over one shoulder. A surge of pure love courses through my heart. A stab of worry steals my breath. I force myself to focus.
* The traffic light ahead flashes green to yellow. Intersection’s clear. I push the accelerator to the floor, glance in the rearview mirror. Air from the open window catches Sam’s wisps of hair. He smiles, showing off his first few baby teeth, and reaches a chubby hand at the rays of sunshine streaking by, trying to catch the light.
* Thump. Thump. The Jeep jerks to the left. I guide the wheel, hold it steady, and take my foot off the gas. When I pull over and brake, the abrupt stop sends up a dust cloud.
* “Uh-oh,” Sam says.
* I unbuckle, jump out, and survey the damage. A glance at the tire confirms it. Flat. Dead.
* Hands on my hips, I bite my lip.
* Tentatively, I grab the jack from the back of the Jeep, the weight of it solid and heavy in my hands. I can fix this. After all, in my former life, as a school counselor at Mobile Prep, I was the problem-solver, crisis manager, and shoulder to cry on. I always handled situations. And I didn’t need help.
* Then my eyes fall on Sam as he babbles and blows bubbles in the back seat. I hesitate, gripping the metal between my palms. As the sun beats down on us, heating my skin, my pulse begins to race. Maybe I was fearless because I didn’t know any better. I wasn’t a mom then. I didn’t have two children depending on me. Trusting me to do the right thing, be on time, and not screw up. Buy Center of Gravity here... Amazon | Barnes & Noble Find Laura McNeill here... Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter | Website Thank you for joining us here today, Laura McNeill! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

ANNOUNCEMENT! Laura McNeill will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour! So be sure to leave a comment AND use the Rafflecopter below. Also, visit the other tour stops for a greater chance of winning!

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A Look At Ann W. Jarvie & 'The Soul Retrieval' @annwjarvie @GoddessFish #Metaphysical

Today we have author Ann W. Jarvie visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?

* Ann W. Jarvie has a B.A. in journalism and more than twenty-five years’ experience as an award-winning writer in advertising and public relations agencies, both in South Carolina and Chicago. She now lives near Phoenix, Arizona, where she spends part of her time as a freelance copywriter and the rest writing fiction.
* The Soul Retrieval was inspired by Jarvie’s maternal grandmother’s fascinating life on Indian reservations, where she lived with her physician husband until his mysterious and untimely death.

What are you going to tell us about today?
* My metaphysical story: The Soul Retrieval. (NOTE: The book will be free on Amazon on May 12, the date of the book blast!) A look into the story

~ Blurb ~ * Inspired by a true story, The Soul Retrieval is a suspenseful tale of love, loss and healing which follows traumatized southern beauty Henrietta Clayborn as she moves between her home in a small South Carolina town and the New Mexico Native American reservation whose spontaneous healings keep drawing her physician husband back. Tortured by her awful secrets, Henrietta struggles to thrive in either locale, but it is her unlikely friendship with Joe Loco––an eccentric Native American mystic with an Elvis fetish and a gift for healing––that shows her the way to be whole again.
* Set in the late 1950s, The Soul Retrieval is richly woven with spiritual insights but also deadly secrets, forbidden healings, a murder mystery, stunning scenery and an unforgettable cast of characters.
* A story of transcendent and inspiring power that is both entertaining and enlightening, readers will be cheering for the uptight woman from South Carolina to push through her fears of the forbidden as she searches for truth and healing, faces great obstacles on the frontier of self and ultimately becomes more than she ever thought possible. ~ Excerpt ~ * After finishing the second nocturne, he looked up at her. “You know that I’ve been researching the high incidence of spontaneous healings here, right?” Jeff was both a lead physician and medical researcher at the Medichero Indian Hospital. He reached for a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his short-sleeved white shirt.
* “Uh-huh,” Henrietta said. She barely heard what he said. How am I going to get into it? How am I going to tell him? She had asked herself these questions at least a million times. She picked up a pen and notebook from the coffee table, trying to keep her hands busy.
* Jeff smoked in silence a moment before continuing. “There’s more to it than even I imagined.”
* “More to what?” she asked. She absently doodled on the page without looking up. How am I going to tell him?
* Jeff blew smoke. “The spontaneous healings that I’m so interested in ... the medicine men here seem to be doing something real to affect the recoveries.”
* Now he had her attention. “They are?” She looked at him. “Like what?”
* Instead of answering, Jeff got up and turned toward the bay windows that cradled the piano in a small alcove off the living room of the doctor’s cottage. His silhouette against the bright morning light was a man-shaped eclipse, his muscled edges luminous and blurred by the smoldering tobacco. It gave him an unworldly appearance, and Henrietta was reminded about how often she felt like an outsider here, and even back home. Buy The Soul Retrieval here... Amazon Find Ann W. Jarvie here... Facebook | Google+ | Twitter | Website Thank you for joining us here today, Ann W. Jarvie! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

ANNOUNCEMENT! Ann W. Jarvie will award a $75 Amazon/BN gift certificate to a randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter! So be sure to leave a comment AND use the Rafflecopter below. Also, visit the other tour stops for a greater chance of winning!

a Rafflecopter giveaway