I’m very pleased and excited today to welcome The Ultimate Blog Tour for the wonderful Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston. This Tour Stop consists in this little spotlight post and then my take on the novel coming along in a bit (warning: even after trimming things a bit, it’s on the long side). Let’s start by learning a little about this novel, okay?
Book Details:
Book Title: Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston Publisher: Egmont Books Release date: January 21, 2021 Format: Ebook/Hardcover Length: 384 pages
Book Blurb:
Amari Peters knows three things.
Her big brother Quinton has gone missing.
No one will talk about it.
His mysterious job holds the secret …
So when Amari gets an invitation to the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, she’s certain this is her chance to find Quinton. But first she has to get her head around the new world of the Bureau, where mermaids, aliens and magicians are real, and her roommate is a weredragon.
Amari must compete against kids who’ve known about the supernatural world their whole lives, and when each trainee is awarded a special supernatural talent, Amari is given an illegal talent one that the Bureau views as dangerous.
With an evil magician threatening the whole supernatural world, and her own classmates thinking she is the enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn’t pass the three tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton …
About the Author:
B. B. Alston lives in Lexington, SC. Amari and the Night Brothers is his debut middle grade novel. When not writing, he can be found eating too many sweets and exploring country roads to see where they lead. My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.
Today I’m pleased to welcome the Book tour for the children’s book, What the World Needs Now – Trees! by Cheryl Rosebush. After this post, I’ll be giving my take on the book here in a little bit.
Book Details:
Book Title: What the World Needs Now – Trees! by Cheryl Rosebush, Zuzana Svobodová (Illustrator) Publisher: YPD Books Format: Ebook/Paperback
Book Blurb:
In the tropical rainforests of Indonesia lives an orangutan named Jefri. There are lots of reasons Jefri needs trees. And it turns out, people need trees just as much as Jefri for many of the same reasons. What the World Needs Now: Trees! explores the universal connection people, plants, insects and animals share with life-giving trees.
About the Series:
What the World Needs Now is an environmental children’s book series for ages 4-8 that aims to connect the world’s youngest book lovers to the importance of nature, and our place in it.
Each book in the series follows a friendly animal through its habitat, helping kids learn about one thing the world needs now, be it more trees or bees or less plastic, to maintain a healthy planet.
The series is designed to help parents and educators lay the foundation for future learning on the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. But for our littlest kids, the connection starts at a much simpler point: their first job is to fall in love with nature – because you don’t protect what you don’t love.
The books support engaging with our kids on how we can better respect and care for the only planet we have.
About the Author:
I was born and raised in Southern Ontario, Canada in the cities of Burlington and St. Catharines. Long before the internet and mobile phones (now I’m aging myself!), my childhood was spent in forests and parks, on bike rides, and playing hide and seek until the streetlights came on. My family did comical Griswold-style road trips in wood-paneled station wagons. We spent summers swimming in friends’ backyards. These are my very fortunate roots.
I knew from an early age that my destiny would take me far from Southern Ontario. I graduated high school and moved to Montreal to study international politics at McGill University. The subject fascinated me, but as graduation approached, I realized I didn’t know what I wanted to do with a degree in international politics. I didn’t want to become a lawyer. I didn’t want to become a politician or civil servant. The media industry, on the other hand, intrigued me.
The West Coast of Canada also intrigued me. So, after graduating McGill, I packed up again, moved to Vancouver and took the first media job I could get at a local Top 40 radio station (Z.95.3) in Vancouver. Best job. Great bosses. I learned so much. But after a couple of years there, the winds of change came calling again.
September 11, 2001. In a heartbeat, Z95.3 went from playing Britney Spears to reporting up-to-the-minute information on the local, national and international fallout of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. In that moment, I knew I had found my calling. I wanted to do something that was needed on a good day, and needed even more on a bad day. I wanted to become a full-time journalist.
So, I packed my bags again (a running theme in my life), and moved to Ottawa, Ontario to do my Masters of Journalism. Another incredible two years culminated in me getting a research internship with the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) in London, England. That position helped me land back in Montreal for a second chapter there as local news reporter for the CBC. While I was there, I wore just about every hat you could in CBC’s radio and TV newsrooms. Depending on the day, I was a researcher, producer, reporter, or online writer. I even filled in for the weather reports every once in a while.
I’m pleased to host a Book Blitz for Tom Gillespie’s The Strange Book of Jacob Boyce today, a book that defies a snappy one-sentence synopsis.
Book Details:
Book Title: The Strange Book of Jacob Boyce by Tom Gillespie Publisher: Vine Leaves Press Release date: July 21, 2020 Format: Ebook/Paperback Length: 298 pages Purchase Link: Amazon UK/Amazon US
Book Blurb:
A spiralling obsession. A missing wife. A terrifying secret. Will he find her before it’s too late?
When Dr Jacob Boyce’s wife goes missing, the police put it down to a simple marital dispute. Jacob, however, fears something darker. Following her trail to Spain, he becomes convinced that Ella’s disappearance is tied to a mysterious painting whose hidden geometric and numerical riddles he’s been obsessively trying to solve for months. Obscure, hallucinogenic clues, and bizarre, larger-than-life characters, guide an increasingly unhinged Jacob through a nightmarish Spanish landscape to an art forger’s studio in Madrid, where he comes face-to-face with a centuries-old horror, and the terrifying, mind-bending, truth about his wife.
About the Author:
Tom Gillespie grew up in a small town just outside Glasgow. After completing a Masters in English at Glasgow University, he spent the next ten years pursuing a musical career as a singer/songwriter, playing, recording and touring the UK and Europe with his band. He now lives in Bath with his wife, daughter and hyper-neurotic cat, where he works at the university as an English lecturer. Tom writes long and short stories. His stories have appeared in many magazines, journals and e-zines. He is co-author of Glass Work Humans-an anthology of stories and poems, published by Valley Press. Visit Tom at tom-gillespie.com.
My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this tour.
Today I’m pleased to welcome the Book Tour for the Animal Thriller The City That Barks and Roars by J.T. Bird. Following this spotlight post, I’ll be giving my take on the novel here in a bit. But let’s start by learning a little about this here book, okay?
Book Details:
Book Title: The City That Barks and Roars by J.T. Bird Release date: August 1, 2020 Format: Hardcover/Paperback/Ebook Length: 300 pages
Book Blurb:
Animals rule the world. They hit cafes for breakfast then nine to five at the office, and fritter away evenings at jazz clubs. But paradise is still a distant dream, for there are devils amongst the angels.
Lucas Panda is missing; clues on the riverbank suggest he was probably kidnapped. Enter Frank. Who else you gonna call? Hard-boiled penguin and the finest detective in town. And meet his new partner, Detective Chico Monkey – yeah, the wisecrackin’ kid with all the snappy suits.
But the stakes have been raised; three more creatures are missing and the citizens of Noah’s Kingdom are faced with possible extinction. Can the grouchy bird and plucky young ape save the city from doom? Or, will evil prevail and escape the claws of justice?
About J. T. Bird:
J T Bird is an award-winning stand-up comedian from North London, where he lives with his wife and child. His humble abode sits neatly between the former homes of HG Wells and Robert Louis Stevenson…so there’s no pressure to write something utterly successful and wonderful. He runs a comedy show for fresh new acts but has taken a break from performing to focus on writing novels – because it’s much more relaxing, and there’s far less chance of being heckled or struck by a bar stool.
Today I’m pleased to welcome the Book Tour for the charming and sweet My Life as a Dog by L. A. Davenport. Following this spotlight post, I’ll be giving my take on the novel here in a bit. But let’s start by learning a little about this here book, okay?
Book Details:
Book Title: My Life as a Dog by L. A. Davenport Release date: December 19, 2019 Format: Ebook/Paperback Publisher: P-Wave Press Length: 140 Pages
Book Blurb:
Perhaps with him I am a dog.
What was Kevin? He was earnest yet playful, boisterous yet lazy, a little rough sometimes, extremely direct and always sure of what he wanted. He was also sensitive, kind, supportive and caring, not to mention highly communicative and supremely understanding towards children.
My Life as a Dog is the funny, heartwarming and moving story of a life shared between a black and tan dachshund and his owner.
Told over two days and a weekend drawn from their many years together, it explores how Kevin overcame his cruel upbringing to flower into a self-confident dog that left everyone he met spellbound. And as they grew together, his owner learned to live in the present and navigate the difficult times they faced together.
But with Kevin rejected by the canine world and their connection ever-more profound and symbiotic, the question was: What does he think I am?
About the Author:
L. A. Davenport is an Anglo-Irish author and journalist.
Sometimes he lives in the countryside, far away from urban distraction, but mostly he lives in the city. He enjoys long walks, typewriters and strong black coffee.
L. A. Davenport (Andrew) first met Kevin in 2001, when someone put an advert in a listing newspaper in London saying they wanted get rid of their black and tan, pure-bred dachshund. They explained that he had become a burden on the household and he didn’t get on with their two other dogs. But it was obvious that Kevin, who was the runt of a show-dog litter, had been badly treated and they simply wanted to discard him.
Kevin was traumatised by his experiences and was difficult to handle at the beginning, but it was clear that he was an unusually sensitive and intelligent dog. As time went on, Kevin overcame his traumas and he and Andrew become closer. Over the fourteen years they spent together, they went through many ups and downs, navigating failed relationships, house moves, the vagaries of the freelancer life and the 2008 financial crash, as well as a string of health issues for Kevin. Yet every challenge seemed to bring them closer together, and they developed an instinctive understanding for each other.
My Life as a Dog is the story of their relationship. Told over two days and a weekend drawn from their many years together, it explores how Kevin overcame his cruel upbringing to flower into a self-confident dog that left everyone he met spellbound. And as they grew together, Andrew learned to live in the present and navigate the difficult times they faced together.
L. A. Davenport is author of the novel Escape and the short story collections No Way Home and Dear Lucifer and Other Stories, as well as the upcoming novel The Nucleus of Reality, or The Recollections of Thomas P—.
I’m excited to welcome the Book Tour for new Lincoln Lawyer thriller, The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly this morning—proof that even publishing behemoths need help getting the word out. I’ve got this little spotlight post and my take on the novel coming along in a bit. But let’s start by learning a little about this book, okay?
Book Details:
Book Title: The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly Publisher: Orion (UK)/Little, Brown and Company (US) Release date: November 10, 2020 Format: Hardcover/Ebook/Audiobook Length: 416 pages
Book Blurb:
The brand-new blockbuster crime thriller from Michael Connelly – the #1 Sunday Times, New York Times and international bestseller.
Heading home after winning his latest case, defense attorney Mickey Haller – The Lincoln Lawyer – is pulled over by the police. They open the trunk of his car to find the body of a former client.
Haller knows the law inside out. He will be charged with murder. He will have to build his case from behind bars. And the trial will be the trial of his life. Because Mickey Haller will defend himself in court.
With watertight evidence stacked against him, Haller will need every trick in the book to prove he was framed.
But a not-guilty verdict isn’t enough. In order to truly walk free, Haller knows he must find the real killer – that is the law of innocence…
About Michael Connelly:
‘A master of the genre’ – Stephen King
‘No one writes a better modern thriller than Connelly’ – Evening Standard
‘America’s greatest living crime writer’ – Express
‘A superb natural storyteller’ – Lee Child
Michael Connelly, the bestselling author of thirty-five novels with over seventy-four million copies sold worldwide, is also the executive producer of Bosch, an Amazon Studios original based on his bestselling character Harry Bosch. In January 2019, Connelly launched the true-crime podcast The Murder Book which takes listeners inside a real-life Hollywood Homicide cold case with unprecedented access to the detectives themselves.
My thanks to Tracy Fenton and Compulsive Readers for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including a copy of the novel) provided.
Today I’m pleased to welcome the Book Blitz for What the World Needs Now – Trees! by Cheryl Rosebush.
Book Details:
Book Title: What the World Needs Now – Trees! by Cheryl Rosebush Publisher: YPD Books Format: Ebook/Paperback
Book Blurb:
In the tropical rainforests of Indonesia lives an orangutan named Jefri. There are lots of reasons Jefri needs trees. And it turns out, people need trees just as much as Jefri for many of the same reasons. What the World Needs Now: Trees! explores the universal connection people, plants, insects and animals share with life-giving trees.
About the Series:
What the World Needs Now is an environmental children’s book series for ages 4-8 that aims to connect the world’s youngest book lovers to the importance of nature, and our place in it.
Each book in the series follows a friendly animal through its habitat, helping kids learn about one thing the world needs now, be it more trees or bees or less plastic, to maintain a healthy planet.
The series is designed to help parents and educators lay the foundation for future learning on the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. But for our littlest kids, the connection starts at a much simpler point: their first job is to fall in love with nature – because you don’t protect what you don’t love.
The books support engaging with our kids on how we can better respect and care for the only planet we have.
About the Author:
I was born and raised in Southern Ontario, Canada in the cities of Burlington and St. Catharines. Long before the internet and mobile phones (now I’m aging myself!), my childhood was spent in forests and parks, on bike rides, and playing hide and seek until the streetlights came on. My family did comical Griswold-style road trips in wood-paneled station wagons. We spent summers swimming in friends’ backyards. These are my very fortunate roots.
I knew from an early age that my destiny would take me far from Southern Ontario. I graduated high school and moved to Montreal to study international politics at McGill University. The subject fascinated me, but as graduation approached, I realized I didn’t know what I wanted to do with a degree in international politics. I didn’t want to become a lawyer. I didn’t want to become a politician or civil servant. The media industry, on the other hand, intrigued me.
The West Coast of Canada also intrigued me. So, after graduating McGill, I packed up again, moved to Vancouver and took the first media job I could get at a local Top 40 radio station (Z.95.3) in Vancouver. Best job. Great bosses. I learned so much. But after a couple of years there, the winds of change came calling again.
September 11, 2001. In a heartbeat, Z95.3 went from playing Britney Spears to reporting up-to-the-minute information on the local, national and international fallout of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. In that moment, I knew I had found my calling. I wanted to do something that was needed on a good day, and needed even more on a bad day. I wanted to become a full-time journalist.
So, I packed my bags again (a running theme in my life), and moved to Ottawa, Ontario to do my Masters of Journalism. Another incredible two years culminated in me getting a research internship with the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) in London, England. That position helped me land back in Montreal for a second chapter there as local news reporter for the CBC. While I was there, I wore just about every hat you could in CBC’s radio and TV newsrooms. Depending on the day, I was a researcher, producer, reporter, or online writer. I even filled in for the weather reports every once in a while.
Today I’m pleased to welcome the Book Blitz for the dystopian thriller The Path of Good Response by Steve Frogley.
Book Details:
Book Title: The Path of Good Response by Steve Frogley Release date: August 27, 2020 Length: 272 pages Publisher: Vanguard Press Format: Ebook/Paperback
Book Blurb:
Do you value your mother’s health above peace in the Middle East? How about your career over global warming?
If a company runs the best graduate scheme in the world, then it can afford to be probing with its interview questions.
When Joe Massey is offered a role aboard Schelldhardt’s luxurious headquarters at sea, he discovers that the company mission is beyond anything he had ever imagined.
Strange dreams disturb his sleep, and it soon becomes clear that nothing is quite as it seems.
Is he really the right man for the job? And if not, then why is he there at all?
Steve is a writer of contemporary fiction, who enjoys reading books of many different genres.
Originally from Southend in Essex, Steve now lives on the South Coast of England with his family, after a few happy years spent in New Zealand. The Path of Good Response is his first novel. He has spent most of his working life in the IT industry, but writing is his real passion.
The workplace has changed a great deal during Steve’s career. He started writing The Path of Good Response back in 2016, and the fictional company in the novel, Schelldhardt, seems less of an exaggeration by the year. It appears that reality is fast catching up with dystopian writing, and in many ways overtaking it.
He hopes that you enjoy reading his book, and welcomes any feedback.
My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.
I’m very pleased today to welcome The Write Reads Blog Tour for Venators: Legends Rise by Devri Walls. How excited about this am I? I’m posting this on a Saturday, and I never do this kind of thing on a Saturday. This Tour Stop consists in this little spotlight post, an excerpt from this novel coming up soon, and then my take on the audiobook coming along in a bit. Let’s start by learning a little about this novel, okay?
Book Details:
Book Title: Venators: Legends Rise by Devri Walls Publisher: Brown Books Publishing Group Release date: July 14, 2020 Format: Ebook/Paperback/Audiobook Length: 448 pages
Book Blurb:
The path will be forged in sweat and blood.
Rune, Grey, the shape-shifter Beltran, and willful vampire, Verida, set out to rescue their friend and mentor, Tate, from the gladiator games. But first they must navigate the perils of Eon and its warring factions. Each of this band of four carries with them a secret that threatens to tear their group apart from within. Rune now bears the mark of the promise she made to save Grey’s life – a nixie bubble lodged in her arm that could call her away to do their bidding or spell her death.
Even as their loyalty to their cause and to one another faces its greatest test, Rune’s twin brother Ryker is forging an alliance with their mortal enemy, the powerful sorceress Zio, who has plans of her own for the Venators and Eon.
Hearts will be bared, secrets unveiled, and relationships made and destroyed in this stunning new installment of the Venators series.
About the Author:
Devri Walls is an international best selling author. She lives in Meridian, Idaho with her husband, two children and one adorable little mutt. Writing in all things fantasy, she would do just about anything for a working magic wand.
Mostly because she’s a walking disaster and a wand would be of enormous help…although she’d probably trip and break it. So, there’s that.
She graduated with a degree in theater and has studied vocal performance most of her life. She now teaches voice lessons when she’s not writing novels, cooking dinner, playing taxi, spending time with her amazingly supportive husband or trying to read.
I’m very pleased and excited today to welcome The Ultimate Blog Tour for the creepy and fun The Beast and the Bethany by Jack Meggitt-Phillips, Isabelle Follath (Illustrator). This Tour Stop consists in this little spotlight post and then my take on the novel coming along in a bit (and man, did it turn out that I had a lot to say). Let’s start by learning a little about this novel, okay?
Book Details:
Book Title: The Beast and the Bethany by Jack Meggitt-Phillips, Isabelle Follath (Illustrator) Publisher: Egmont Books Release date: December 8, 2020 Format: Ebook/Hardcover Length: 240 pages
Book Blurb:
The most exciting new children’s book of 2020 and a modern classic in the making. The Beast and the Bethany has all the classic macabre humor of Roald Dahl with the warmth and charm of Despicable Me, finished off with a gleeful bite of Little Shop of Horrors! This book should be on every little monster’s birthday and Christmas list.
Ebenezer Tweezer is a youthful 511-year-old. He keeps a beast in the attic of his mansion, who he feeds all manner of things (including performing monkeys, his pet cat and the occasional cactus) and in return the beast vomits out presents for Ebenezer, as well as potions which keep him young and beautiful. But the beast grows ever greedier, and soon only a nice, juicy child will do. So when Ebenezer encounters orphan Bethany, it seems like (everlasting) life will go on as normal. But Bethany is not your average orphan…
About the Author:
Jack Meggitt-Phillips is an incredibly exciting new talent. He is an author, scriptwriter and playwright whose work has been performed at The Roundhouse and featured on Radio 4. He is scriptwriter and presenter of The History of Advertising podcast. In his mind, Jack is an enormously talented ballroom dancer, however his enthusiasm far surpasses his actual talent. Jack lives in north London where he spends most of his time drinking peculiar teas and reading PG Wodehouse novels.
About the Illustrator:
Isabelle Follath is an illustrator who has worked in advertising, fashion magazines and book publishing, but her true passion lies in illustrating children’s books. She also loves drinking an alarming amount of coffee, learning new crafts and looking for the perfect greenish-gold color. Isabelle lives in Zurich, Switzerland. My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.
