BOOK: Look Before You Jump (Bartender Babe Chronicles Book 1) by D.A. Bale

BOOKS

LOOK BEFORE YOU JUMP

When scandal comes calling and Vicki leaps into the fray, you know it’s gonna be big. This here’s Texas after all.

Meet Victoria Bohanan, a twenty-six year-old Dallas debutante turned bartender babe who rejected her father’s saintly sinner ways and struck out on her own – well, sort of. Her mom’s credit card comes to the rescue on occasion, but Vicki is still her own woman, with less than lusty – er, lofty – aspirations and a mind constantly limping from the gutter.

But Texas moms don’t raise fools. Vicki will earn that twenty dollar tip by guessing the mistress’ name and your favorite drink faster than you can belly up to the bar. That sharp wit has gotten her out of more than one disastrous situation – until the mouth sinks her right into another.

When an old high school flame returns to town with a pregnant wife in tow and a pastorate position lodged under his belt, life quickly becomes tangled. This time we’re not talking between the sheets. Sooner than Vicki can down a shot of Jack, her former boy-toy is embroiled in scandal that threatens to implode the megachurch his parents built – and send the gossiping gaggle into a tailspin faster than a quarterback sack on Sunday.

Join the fun in book one of the Bartender Babe Chronicles. Light on mystery and long on – well, you know.

Sometimes life emulates fiction.

Life is filled with tragedy and Ms. Bale's writing reflects this reality. However, there is always a silver lining...even if one must spend their entire life searching for it.

In her previous career, Ms. Bale traveled the United States as a Government Relations Liaison, working closely with Congressional offices and various government agencies. This experience afforded her a glimpse into the sometimes "not so pretty" reality of the political sphere. Much of this reality and various locations throughout her travels make it into her writing.

She dreams of the day she can return to visit Alaska.

Visit her blog - leave a comment or send a personal message at http://dabalepublishing.blogspot.com.

GIVEAWAY: Starrie (From the World of Ambasadora) by Heidi Ruby Miller (Goodreads)

GIVEAWAYS

You can win a signed paperback of my novel Starrie (From the World of Ambasadora) at Goodreads. This is an international giveaway that ends on April 30, 2016.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Starrie

by Heidi Ruby Miller

Giveaway ends April 30, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

INTERVIEW: Heidi Ruby Miller by Basil Sands at The Big Thrill

INTERVIEWS

EXCERPT:
Due to some business travel to Fairbanks Alaska I had the chance to read STARRIE by Heidi Ruby Miller in two sittings on the same day. And let me just say, I’m glad I had that opportunity. STARRIE is one ripping fast book and a well told story. I loved it! It was a perfect diversion as I looked out the airplane window across the billowing clouds and Alaskan mountains.

BASIL: As I read the story I was impressed by the tightness of the writing. How do you recommend new writers achieve good clean prose?

HEIDI: Like I tell my writing students at Seton Hill, know your intent for each scene—ideally, you will be showing characterization while moving the plot forward. A few words can be more powerful than an entire page, so make them count by eliminating redundancies, unnecessary gestures and facial expressions, and constant internal questioning by the POV character. Chapter outlines or summaries are a surefire way to keep each scene on task for me.

Read the entire interview in The Big Thrill magazine.

REVIEW: Starrie by Heidi Ruby Miller at Publisher's Weekly

REVIEWS

Nice review from Publisher's Weekly for Starrie (From the World of Ambasadora)! Though it is a standalone novel, this book takes place chronologically right after Greenshift and runs concurrent with Marked by Light.



"Miller’s short third novel in the space-faring, caste-bound, hierarchically polyamorous, and socially striated Ambasadora universe (after 2013’s Greenshift) manages to balance the exoticized presentation of the setting with relatable human interaction...the romance between Ben and Naela highlights the emotional side of reaching out to those who are different from you, even in a world where those differences are stylized and codified."

Read the whole review here.

BOOK: Dirt by Teffanie Thompson

BOOKS

DIRT

Washington would rather be playing basketball in the tournament instead of traveling to East Texas for a family reunion. He hates to read, but takes off on his own with a book to satisfy his parents.

Washington travels back to the past where he encounters his ancestor Square and witnesses the brutal punishment of a slave who is found reading.

When Washington steps out of the protecting circle of dirt, Washington fears he may never be able to return to the present or see his family again.

"Once while listening to public radio, I heard first person accounts of the slave narratives, Remembering Slavery. I realized that every single ancestral win was also a win for me. This is a thought that resonated with me, and I wanted to share that with young Americans. Reading, in its own way, is a beautiful legacy," Thompson said.

"The book, Dirt, gives a reader a fast read on a tough subject. Living in the times that we do, I think it’s a very appropriate image of the past we may have forgotten. The main character, Washington, takes on a journey throughout the all too recent times of slavery in the Deep South. There the young encounters problems from the brutality of slavery, to finding and leaving his first love interest. In a small East Texas town, young Square finds his roots, his courage, and a new admiration for the written word. An entertaining and important read for any age, Dirt from Teffanie Thompson illustrates, inspires, and motivates young readers to be conscious in the new age." - Imhotep White

Teffanie Thompson grew up in Killeen, Texas where she spent many years playing with words on Gaynor Drive in Sugar Loaf.

Today she lives in Midland, Texas, without her angelic oldest daughter and creative genius son. Teffanie does reside with her farmer husband, Ginger puppy and brilliant youngest daughter, working in education.

A Master's graduate of Seton Hill University's esteemed Writing Popular Fiction program Teffanie has written several pictureless stories for children, teens, and ballerinas. When not writing, she enjoys working, hula hooping, road tripping, attending concerts and, yes, watching marathon reality television.

She can be contacted at p i c t u r e l e s s books, teffanie@gmail.com, or @teffanie on Twitter.