Win a $20 GC: Seven Days to Goodbye by Sheri S. Levy

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Sheri S Levy will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

My World of Dreams

In 1976, we moved from California in a van across the U.S. with my husband, a seven-month old daughter and a four-year son, we settled in Greenville, S.C. I can’t remember a day I didn’t have a desire to be with my family, dogs, and teaching special needs children. Those students brought me satisfaction as I saw their eyes light-up with comprehension.

As I closed the door to my classroom and moved into retirement, new dreams grew. I wanted to write about my memories of friendships, and our dogs frolicking on our favorite beach. For years, we had enjoyed a remote island and rented an old house with our closest friends. Driving to Edisto Beach we traveled through streets where live oak trees leaned across the two-lane roads with Spanish moss dangling from branches.

The old house overlooked the ocean with a screened porch and four rocking chairs. Edisto Island limits the size of buildings and has no commercial entertainment. My grand boys learned how to amuse themselves with their imaginations, using puzzles and games, ping pong under the house, swimming and kayaking, eating fresh seafood. Our dogs bit the waves, learned to swim and ride in a boat and loved digging in the sand.

With those memories, I started my stories. It took years to learn how to put a novel together, but I never gave up. I recalled my days on Edisto and wrote about my love of the ocean, and its animal life. I added my experiences of helping special needs children, my research on service dogs and remembering special friendships. At the beach, I wrote at the dining room table, with a view of the sand dunes, sea grass and the tide rolling in or out. At sunset, we watched the sun go over the horizon. The blue sky turned red and orange and even pink as it drifted away. There was a lot to see and feel in this magical place.

In August, 2014, Seven Days to Goodbye was published.

At home, I wrote in my newly appointed office, upstairs. My desk was wedged in the dormer, giving me a terrific view of the forest of hardwoods and pine trees. I hung a painting of Linus and Charlie Brown and a Tri-colored Aussie. Motivational quotes and pictures of special people filled my bulletin board. After my husband placed bird feeders in our backyard, I was entertained by the birds. They must have passed the word to all of their feathered friends on where to find black sunflower seeds. The squirrels leaped from tree branches and tried to steal the seeds, but ended up getting the leftovers on the ground.

Years later, we found a piece of land on the Colleton River, between Charleston and Savannah called Callawassie Island in S.C. Hundred-year-old, live oak trees with Spanish moss cover the grounds. We had planned to move immediately, but issues popped-up and had to postpone our move. We are now in a rented villa on the golf course, waiting for our new home to be built. My new office is in a small corner in the sun porch with large windows. On Monday mornings, my brain competes with the noise of lawn mowers and blowers.

While I work at my small desk, my two older, large, Australian shepherds wedge themselves around my feet, waiting for me to play. I can observe the golfers hunting for their balls, and the squirrels dashing up the trees. This island is a natural habitat for animals. We have herons, egrets, eagles, alligators, turtles, snakes, deer, and dolphins. My special perk is taking my computer to the river dock and writing in the sea breeze. I listen to the water ripple and watch for dolphins.

My young adult series is called the Trina Ryan Novels. Seven Days to Goodbye takes place on Edisto Island. I turned my experiences into a teen novel with issues they will identify with, especially if they like reading about the beach, the magic of a service dog, and girls meeting guys for the first time.

The sequel, Starting Over, is set in my Greenville neighborhood. We had eight wooded acres and our next-door neighbors had a barn and two horses. I adapted my daughter’s riding experiences and my knowledge of dysfunctional families I encountered while teaching into this next novel. Starting Over will be published August 1st, 2017. Pre-orders are being taken now. Before your book is shipped from Fiction Addiction, I will sign your copy.

Thirteen year old, Trina has chosen to raise service dogs and have puppy after puppy. But during her seven day beach vacation, Trina struggles with having to return Sydney at the end of the week and worries about her best friend changing into a stranger. To complicate the week, Sydney, meets a young boy with autism and the girls meet his two older brothers. Tension is raised over the guys, and Trina fears she’ll lose more than her service dog. Will Trina's lose her best friend, also?

Enjoy an Excerpt:

Sydney climbed on my lap and licked the corners of my eyes. I buried my face in his soft fur and scratched under his chin. He leaned into my hand as I whispered, “We’ll have fun with or without Sarah. We just have to.”

Staring through the side window, a deep-blue summer sky flickered between pine trees covered in kudzu. Sarah’s car passed on the right. I turned the other way.

Off the freeway, we headed east and then south down a two lane road through sleepy little towns one after the other. Twenty minutes later, I leaned forward between the front seats, “Wow. Look.”

Branches from gigantic live oak trees slanted towards the middle of the street. The trees looked as though they were trying to touch each other and some did. They reminded me of my cozy canopy bed where Sarah and I had spent many nights, giggling and whispering. But this canopy was made of tree limbs in different shades of green, dripping with grayish, Spanish moss. The moss hung like ghostly long arms swinging in the wind.

“This is kind of spooky beautiful. It’s like being in a green tunnel.” I cracked my window.

A whiff of salty ocean filled the car. Sydney lifted his head as the trees whizzed by. His nose twitched. “We’re getting close, Syd.” He squeezed into the same space with me and gazed out the front window.

Suddenly, the trees disappeared. The cloudless sky stretched with no end in sight. Pelicans flew in an upside down, V formation. On both sides of the road, squiggly tidal creeks flowed through green marshlands. White birds with skinny legs stood statue-still in the shimmering water. This was a place I’d only seen in postcards.

Pelicans flew in an upside down, V formation. On both sides of the road, squiggly tidal creeks flowed through green marshlands. White birds with skinny legs stood statue-still in the shimmering water. This was a place I’d only seen in postcards.

About the Author:

Sheri, originally from California, moved to South Carolina with her husband, two children and a Siamese cat. Soon they adopted their first rescue dog who influenced their need to continue living with dogs. Sheri taught a multi-handicapped Special Ed class, and then a GED-parenting class, which included home visits. Because of her love of reading, Sheri found unusual ways to encourage children to read. After her rescue of a difficult dog, Sheri enrolled in dog classes to change his behavior. Her dream of writing, Seven Days to Goodbye, came from the culmination of her beach experiences, her understanding of behaviors, and from research with PAALS, a service dog organization.

Facebook ~ Amazon Author Page ~ Twitter ~ Website

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Win a $50 GC: Withhold by Andrea Pearson

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Andrea will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. In addition, forward proof of download (a confirmation email or a screenshot) to withholdbonuses@gmail.com to receive the following: Discern and Praxis (first two books in the series), Hope(less) and (Mis)fortune by Melissa Haag, other titles by other authors, bachelor of science degree from Katon University, coloring pages, word search, fantasy illustration by Andrea's husband (James E. Curwen, professional illustrator), maps illustrated by Andrea and her husband, etc. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

In the ultimate battle between good and evil, Nicole is in a race to stop Keitus before he achieves his plans. If he succeeds, he will crush everyone who has opposed him and enslave Earth and countless other planets. Unfortunately, he is only minutes away from his goal.

With so much at stake, Nicole and her friends must approach Helen, a volatile and dangerous spirit who will probably destroy them regardless of whether she gives them what they want. And the chances of her helping them are slim.

Fast-paced and epic magical fights, exciting plot twists, and non-stop action and adventure await. So sit down, buckle up, and hold on for the explosive, much-anticipated conclusion to the award-winning and bestselling Mosaic Chronicles.

About the Author:

Andrea Pearson is an avid reader and outdoor enthusiast who plays several instruments, not including the banjo, and loves putting together musical arrangements. Her favorite sports are basketball and football, though several knee surgeries and incurably awful coordination prevent her from playing them.

Andrea graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor of science degree in Communications Disorders. She is the author of many full-length novels (the Kilenya Series and Mosaic Chronicles) and several novellas. Writing is the chocolate of her life - it is, in fact, the only thing she ever craves. Being with her family and close friends is where she's happiest, and she loves thunderstorms, the ocean, hiking, public speaking, painting, and traveling.

Website ~ Blog ~ Facebook Fan Page ~ Facebook Profile ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Pinterest ~ Amazon Author Page

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Buy the book for $0.99 today only at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, or Kobo.

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Win a $20 GC: The Bull Riding Witch by Jamie Marchant

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jamie will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Daulphina’s father, the king of Asteria, has always wanted a male heir. Unfortunately for him, Daulphina’s magic means that will never happen unless her bastard half-brother displaces her on the throne. But she’ll take on all the gods herself before she lets that happen. He isn’t nice enough to be a good king.

But apparently, the gods don’t like being challenged because she’s flung across the void and into the dumpy old trailer and chiselled body of Joshua Killenyen, a rodeo bull rider from Alabama. With nothing to eat but Frosted Flakes and no knowledge how she got there, she better find a way home before she gets her head stomped in by the bulls she must ride. Or her brother will take the throne and reduce her people to slavery. Remember, he isn’t nice.

Enjoy an Excerpt:

I woke with my head pounding and my tongue coated with the fur balls of ten thousand cats. I nearly gagged at the stench that filled the air, a scent that combined the reek of the inside of a knight’s armor after jousting with the odor of rotting flesh.

Confused, I examined my surroundings. Hanging on the wall facing me was a portrait of a huge bull with its head down and its heels kicked high into the air. Incredibly, a man, holding onto a rope with only one hand, sat on the bull’s back. Why would anyone ride a bull? Bulls were dangerous and impossible to control.

Piled high on the bedside table were plates covered with the remains of several meals, bowls with a few dregs of sour milk, and empty bottles. The sheet I laid on was stained with various substances I didn’t want to identify. Where was I? This was certainly no place worthy of me, the crown princess. Maybe I had somehow ended in the servants’ quarters, although I couldn’t imagine how.

I tried to sit up, and my head felt as if it were going to split in two. I groaned, and the sound was deep and masculine. What the . . .? I looked down at my arms. They were muscular and covered with hair. I grabbed my naked chest. My breasts were entirely flat, and my chest was covered with thick, coarse hair. When I rubbed my hand across my face, I felt thick stubble. I looked down at the short clothes, which were the only thing I was wearing; there was a bulge that just shouldn’t have been there. I lifted the waistband and peeked. Dear gods, how had I gotten one of those? I poked it with my finger, and it twitched. I snapped the waistband closed and jumped away, but I couldn’t get away from the body I was wearing.

About the Author:

Jamie began writing stories about the man from Mars when she was six, and she never remembers wanting to be anything other than a writer. Everyone told her she needed a back up plan, so she pursued a Ph.D. in American literature, which she received in 1998. She started teaching writing and literature at Auburn University. One day in the midst of writing a piece of literary criticism, she realized she’d put her true passion on the backburner and neglected her muse. The literary article went into the trash, and she began the book that was to become her first novel. She writes about the fantastic . . . and the tortured soul. Her poor characters have hard lives. She still teaches writing and literature at Auburn University. She is the mother of a grown son.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Barnes and Noble ~ Amazon Author Page

The book is on sale for only $0.99 today only at Amazon.

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