Look Who’s Standing in the Spotlight! It’s Forrest Stepnowski!

Hello readers! Today I am excited to welcome Rave Reviews Book Club’s February Spotlight Author to The Indie Spot. Take it away, Forrest. . .

 

Writer’s Q&A

What inspired you to write and become published?

Answer:  Many people have heard me say I like to represent people who are in the “land of misfit toys.” What do I mean by this? When I use the analogy, I am talking about people who do not fit inside the heteronormative, privileged society. Some question if this world still exists. If you look at current politics in the United States, you can see these examples fully. I represent the different; LGBTQ, people of color, the poor, etc. We are all human, however, there are many who are privileged who tend to focus on their own “special needs” and forget to represent all people.

“We the people” does not mean you pick and choose who get civil liberties, or cutbacks in taxes. It means all people, no matter race, creed, religion, sexual orientation, or identity. I may be lost in a utopian point of view, but I believe we can care help each other.  As far as why I pursued publishing? Was it to become a world-famous author that would be a NY Times best seller? No, I never imagined my work would elevate to such levels. Not that I would be opposed to it, however, my goal has always been to inspire others to find their voice, to make the world a better place, and to show others they are not alone. I have survived more than most people, so I have been told. I truly believe literary arts help unite people and help them into a world of common ground. When we start to see similarities in each other’s eyes and hearts, we can become united, creating a world that focuses on the greater good. 

 

Excerpts from “Journey to the Rainbow’s End” by Forrest Robert Stepnowski

Human

 

I sit here in the silence, complacent, and meaningless.

Am I but a whisper of make believe, a soldier trapped in a world of turmoil and lies,

I am alone,

I walk through a shadow driven by what I believed to be my calling,

An inspirational relic lost in the memes of my successors,

 

I am lost,

 

I stare at the night sky wondering where I’ve been, trying not to dwell on the should’ves, could’ves, and would’ves,

 

Not knowing what exactly I’m doing wrong and why I walk in pensive dreams of those who may oppose me,

 

I am drowning,

 

I lay my head down trying to escape the nightmares of existence, of a world that still identifies me as the keeper of rainbows and glitter.

 

Forgetting I left my heels and tiaras at home in a closet that I thought I’ve long since escaped in distant memories,

 

a closet which many wish me to return,

 

The Journey continues,

 

I wake up and begin to laugh at the adversity being thwarted at my doorstep, for I have survived this demon before.

 

It attempts to taunt and hinder me, trying to break my will and sparkle,

 

I am my own utopia.

 

They say god doesn’t give you more than you can handle, I am broad shouldered after all,

 

Even the meek can fight the negative blood outpoured from those who say they are true friend,

 

I am humbled.

 

I am captured by rejuvenated thoughts and energy, and begin to rise and embrace new beginnings… 

 

I fly like an eagle, soaring out of the darkness and into the light,

 

For this I say… I am human.

 

Social Media Links:

Website/Blog: https://www.forresttakesajourney.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forrestrobertstepnowski

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/frstepnowski

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forreststepnowski

 

Journey to the Rainbow’s End: A Drag Queen’s Odyssey (Available on Kindle and Paperback)

 

AUTHOR BIO – FORREST STEPNOWSKI

 

Forrest Robert Stepnowski is an advocate, writer, social worker, and performance artist in the Pacific Northwest. He has been writing poetic works and prose for most of his life. He realized how important it would be to share his work with others, who may have tread similar paths of self-hate, self-deprecation, and self-loathing, in the hopes that they find they weren’t alone. Helping others who have been deemed as “different” because of varying sexual orientations or identities to realize that they are not deviants nor are the “against human nature” has always been of grave importance to him. He wants this group of beautiful people to know they are part of a collective, on an island where being different is embraced and accepted.

 

 

 

Meet Spotlight Author Karl Morgan @karljmorgan

It is always an honor to host fellow authors here on The Indie Spot. Today, it is my pleasure to introduce to you Rave Reviews Book Club’s July Spotlight Author Karl Morgan. Take it away, Karl. . .

Lessons I have learned about the writing process

It is hard, sort of.

For me, writing comes in spurts of inspiration. When the muse is sitting beside me, ideas pour from my mind through my fingers and onto the screen in front of me. At times, I beg my fingers to type as quickly as the thoughts coursing through my cerebral cortex. By the time my muse takes a nap, hours may have passed and I feel wonderful and excited for what comes next. My second sci-fi novel comes to mind. It is entitled The Second Predaxian War. The rough draft for that 60,000 word story was written in four weeks. Those are the good times.

Good times are not that common. Carl Prescott and the Sleeping One is illustrative. While I do not remember how long the rough draft took, six months passed between the day I started and the day I sent it to my editor for review. The book was somewhat longer than the earlier example, but not six times longer. There were other reasons for the longer period, such as my employment situation, working to publish earlier novels, etc.

The only advice I would offer on the process is to not reread your story until the rough draft is complete. The two best days in an author’s life are the publication date and the day the rough draft is complete. On that day, you are an author. You have written a book. Starting over and trying to fix problems is a death knell. You may decide massive rewrites are needed, or worst of all, you may decide the whole book sucks. In effect, you are denying your right to be an author. Do not do that. There is plenty of time, I mean really a lot of time, to fix it once the words “the end” are typed at the bottom of the last page.

Write for the reader, not yourself.

Some time ago, I read a book by a well-known author about the writing process. He warned writers about telling their own story, especially in memoir form. There are two exceptions to that. One, if you are a famous celebrity (film, TV, music, politics), millions will buy your book to learn about your every habit. Two, if you have been through some terrible times due to illness, war, and the like, others in the same position may flock to your story to find solace in their own lives. For the rest of us, we have to entertain our readers. While we will make the story our own by incorporating our beliefs and convictions, the reader must have an incentive to read it. Being a guy, I like fast-paced action stories, which is exactly what I prefer to write as well. In essence, we are screenplay writers, actors, directors, and producers all rolled into one. Write something to make people glad for the experience of turning each page.

Do not give up.

Yes, I have written quite a few stories, and yes, I wish more books were sold. One thing I have learned about myself is that storytelling is my passion. I hope one day to be able to focus on marketing more. That may have to wait until I give up my day job. At my age, that is not too far away. With the online tools now available to writers, all I pay for is editing and cover illustration. That means I am free to do what I love for a long time to come. That pleases me immensely. If you feel the same as I do about writing, please realized how blessed we are to share our words with the world.

 

Expanding the Laws of Physics in Carl Prescott and the Demon Queen

First let me state that I firmly believe the laws of physics. As I have noted before, I am an avid fan of books on cosmology, quantum mechanics, and astrophysics. The ones I read are designed for the regular reader. I once tried to read a book by noted physicist Roger Penrose, but immediately got lost. It turns out that book was a series of his university lectures for post-graduate physics students. Yikes! Small wonder I was overwhelmed.

As I considered the plot for this novel, I realized I needed an over-the-top problem that would require supernatural efforts to avoid. Ultimately, I decided that the Demon Queen would try to destroy the universe in order to get rid of her seemingly uncaring father, Lucifer, and Carl Prescott, the man she had been married to many times, but was not available to her in his current life. If she succeeded with her plan, a new universe would be born where she would be God.

To date, no one has been able to look back beyond the Big Bang, so I had to create my own laws to govern what happened. Perhaps my solution was not realistic, but it is a fantasy after all.

In the Carl Prescott universe (not unlike our own), it is believed space will continue to expand more and more rapidly. Eventually, the galaxies will run out of material to form new stars. All the stars will eventually die, resulting in an almost infinitely large, dark, and lifeless Big Freeze. While that is depressing, we can take comfort knowing that will take many, many billions of years. Also, our sun will die long before that, so none of us will be around to witness it.

In Carl’s universe, when all life is extinguished, God will summon all the matter and energy back into another singularity, and bang, a new universe is formed. This cycle continues as long as God wants it to. Of course, in Carl physics, a new God is in charge of the next universe, which is Sylvia’s plan.

That is the challenge that faces Carl and his friends in his second adventure. To succeed, he will need his friends, along with significant help from God, Death, and Lucifer. Along his journey, he will visit Heaven and Hell as well as the Crossroads of Existence. He will venture into the precedent universe and discover his destiny at the end of the Rope Bridge. Ultimately, he will have to enter the gravity wave to save the world as well as the Demon Queen.

 

CARL PRESCOTT AND THE DEMON QUEEN

Carl Prescott may have saved the world from the Beast, but the duties of the Invisible Hand never end. The story begins when a medieval castle is discovered hidden beneath the Thorndike Institution. While the professors search for clues, our hero is summoned to Hell to meet the demon Sylvia. She once ruled a satanic kingdom in Eastern Europe from that castle, and will do so again.

There is much more to this beautiful woman than evil intentions. To stop her plan, Carl must first understand why she is so focused on him. To learn the truth, he must face God, Satan, and Death. In this nonstop action-packed adventure, he must stand at the Crossroads of Existence and cross the Rope Bridge to meet his destiny.

If he succeeds, life can return to normal. If not, the galaxy and every soul therein will be devoured by a voracious black hole, which even God will be powerless to stop.

 

Author Bio:

Karl Morgan has a lifelong fascination with stories in the science fiction and fantasy genres, whether it was the Tom Swift novels by Victor Appleton he read as a young boy, or television like Lost in Space and Star Trek, and especially films like Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. All of those tales put the protagonist in terrible situations where the odds are against them and, yet, somehow they prevail. The reader/viewer is always left with a sense that something greater than ourselves is watching over us.

In his new Carl Prescott young adult fantasy series, the journey continues as our hero faces terrible danger and odds to help his friends and family. At the end, he will learn new things that will change his perspective on life.

Karl lives in the San Diego area with his best, four-legged friend, his toy poodle Chachis.

 

Follow Karl online:

Twitter

Facebook

Website

Meet Spotlight Author Marcha Fox!

Meet Thyron, a Flora Peda Telepathis

 

 Creating engaging characters is not only important to a story’s success, but fun and challenging. Sometimes it takes deliberate thought and hard work to figure out everything about him or her: hair and eye color, quirks, talents, weaknesses, favorite comfort food. However, knowing your characters intimately brings them to life, at which point they help write the story. I love it when that happens!

Thyron, a flora peda telepathis (telepathic walking plant) who appears throughout the Star Trails Tetralogy, was different. I didn’t have to go through a long, drawn-out, creative process to bring him to life. Rather, it was more like Pallas Athene, who burst forth from her father, Zeus’s, head as an adult (clothed in battle armor, no less–no wonder he had a headache).

In other words, Thyron showed up fully developed. Getting to know him was more a matter of discovery than creativity. I knew immediately that he could shuffle about, had eyes, and communicated telepathically, usually in rhyme. In spite of being nearly omniscient, he was naive due to his lack of experience. He hailed from a planet named Sapphira, which was populated by pygmies who didn’t have a spoken, much less written, language. As the most intelligent species on that planet, the flora peda telepathes were worshipped as gods. No ego trip there!

As reviewers began to mention Thyron as their favorite, considering he’s a minor character in the series, I realized he deserved more attention. Thus, I wrote a short story that explained how his path came to cross with Creena’s, protagonist in Beyond the Hidden Sky. In A Dark of Endless Days, he and another minor character, the robot, Aggie, wind up at Area 51. Clearly, that story needed to be told as well. And thus the seed was planted for The Terra Debacle: Prisoners at Area 51.

Getting into Thyron’s head was a trip and a half, trying to figure out how he would perceive Earth and us earthlings. Here’s an excerpt when personnel at Hill Air Force Base placed the chamber in which he’d been secured in a shipping box:

Two others arrived, measured the chamber, then quickly constructed a box similar to the others… As he was lowered within its depths, Thyron hyper-photosynthesized with horror–he was surrounded by material that had once been the living tissue of a very unfortunate tree. His villous leaves tingled with revulsion as he sensed screams emanating from the wood’s coarse grain, his mind assaulted by the vision of it being murdered in its prime–cut down, stripped of its bark, then mutilated to suit the demented purposes of humans.

A few scenes later, he was horrified again:

Everyone left except two helmeted MPs. The pair took up stations just outside the open door, weapons slung over their shoulders while they engaged in muffled conversation. One removed a small human-finger-sized cylindrical roll of vegetal materials from a package in one of his pockets, then offered one to the other, after which he lit the bundle with a tiny flame and began to inhale the smoldering vapors, emanating considerable pleasure as he did so.

Thyron gasped, horrified. He’d felt fear vicariously, but never experienced it personally before. Now it gripped him at a visceral limb-chilling level as he considered the many ways people on this dreadful world tortured vegetation. Would they do the same to him? He shuddered with the realization he was probably about to find out.

When Thyron arrives at Area 51, astrobiologist, Gabe Greenley (another character who just showed up) begins to check him out. Gabe’s favorite expression is “Holy guacamole!” which Thyron assumes to be the scientist’s personal diety. Thyron isn’t exactly the usual lab specimen, given he’s sentient and Gabe is psi-sensitive, so the two can communicate. The relationship that developed between them surprised even me. My biggest challenge with this story, given the characters were essentially self-animating, was when Gabe started his scientific investigation.

I pride myself in writing hard science fiction with a generous side-order of science. As a physicist, I knew precious little about botany. To make a long story short, researching and integrating the science side took as long as writing the story! To my delight, however, what I discovered included a generous blast of serendipity.

 The plant I decided to model Thyron after was oxalis. As I learned about its properties, as well as the photosynthesis process in general, I encountered numerous fun facts that dove-tailed with Thyron so beautifully that they fit the category “you can’t make this stuff up.” Even his name, which he’d had long before I’d learned anything about plant physiology, had meaning, given that thylakoids are the part of a plant that receives light, and Thyron’s entire journey in this series was about attaining enlightenment. I discovered that oxalis has medicinal properties after I’d assumed such in the story, as well as the fact that it’s not unheard of for plants to have some level of perception, including defense systems.

A lot of humor arose in the interactions between Thyron and Gabe. I think I had more fun writing this side-story than the entire series. Interestingly enough, I’d started writing the final (I think) book of the series prior to this one, but something told me to stop and write The Terra Debacle. By the time I finished, I realized what a large part it plays in the final wrap-up of what has been a long journey.

This is what happens when you have characters that take over the writing process. I love it when that happens.

AUTHOR BIO:

Marcha Fox is an avid science fiction fan and author with over 20 years’ experience in positions ranging from technical writer to engineer to manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in physics, which was but a prelude to her interest in the unexplained mysteries of the cosmos. Inspired by science fiction to pursue a career in a technical field, she hopes to instill the same fascination in young readers, while providing older ones with classic hard science fiction.

 

Born in Peekskill, New York, she has lived in California, Utah, and Texas in the course of raising her family, which included fifteen years as a stay-at-home mom before returning to college in her 30s to obtain her degree, a feat accomplished while she still had six children at home. All are now grown with children of their own providing her with 17 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren so far. Never at a loss for something to do, besides writing she’ a professional astrologer who enjoys gardening, her two Bengal cats and a sassy tuxedo, and keeping up with family.

 

THE TERRA DEBACLE: PRISONERS AT AREA 51

https://books2read.com/u/b6QelW

 

Blurb:  Thyron is a flora peda telepathis (telepathic walking plant) from the planet Sapphira on an adventure gone terribly wrong. The bad decision of a human girl and her maniacal robot companion has stranded them on Earth, where his botanical cousins face horrible fates such as consumption by herbivores, incineration, and brutal annihilation for use as building material.

 

Following capture, Thyron is transported to Area 51, where NASA exobiologist, Gabe Greenley, studies his every move, ecstatic with the opportunity to examine an entirely new lifeform. In due course, the scientist makes a ground-breaking discovery, distressed by the fact he can never share it due to his security oaths and research agreement. Eventually, he’s confronted by an even worse ethical dilemma that forces him to make a treasonous and potentially deadly decision.

 

Will Thyron’s psychic powers be enough to save him? Is Greenley friend or foe? Or does the exobiologist have a few secrets of his own?

 

Find out in this unique combination of hard science fiction, suspense, and a touch of humor populated with memorable characters in a setting loaded with intrigue. Unexpected plot twists coupled with a unique ending make this an unforgettable tale whether you’re a science fiction fan, botanist, UFO aficionado, or simply enjoy a good story.

 

Twitter: @startrailsiv

Facebook:  @marchafoxauthor

Website: https://www.startrailssaga.com

 

Author Robert Fear Finds The Spotlight!

It is always an honor to host talented authors here on The Indie Spot. Today’s guest is no exception. Please give a warm welcome to RRBC’s June Spotlight Author, Robert Fear.

Mi blog es tu blog, Robert…

I was born in Leicester, England in 1955. My family moved south to a village in Surrey called South Nutfield when I was eleven years old. We moved into Dawn Cottage and this was where I spent my formative teenage years. During this time I attended Reigate Grammar School, which was a five mile journey by train and bus. It was here that I picked up the nickname of Fred.

 
In 1974, after gaining three A Levels (English Literature, British Government & Politics and History), I started work at a private bank in the city. I had every intention of working for a year and then going to university. In the end I worked there for three years.

 
During the summer of 1976 I went on a two week holiday with three mates to the Spanish island of Ibiza. We had a fantastic time and vowed to go back for the summer the following year. Come the next April I returned there on my own, although my mates joined me later in the summer. I ended up working in a bar called Grannies and loved the whole vibe, met plenty of young ladies and had a great time, but didn’t sleep a lot!

 
I returned to England for the winter and worked twelve hour night shifts at a plastics factory to get more money together for the next summer. In the spring of 1977 I set off again, this time to hitch-hike around Europe. For four months I made my way through Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Yugoslavia, Greece and several islands. Then I travelled to Italy, France, Spain and back to Ibiza for the last two months of the summer.

 
It was during this return visit that Fred met Rita and this time when I left Ibiza it was to head for Frankfurt in Germany. I moved in with Rita, who lived with her parents in a house in Ruppertshain, a small village in the Taunus hills. I got work on a building site and then in a Coca Cola factory.

 
By the spring of 1979 there was enough money in the coffers to fund a trip to the States and Canada. I started in New York where I spent a week before travelling on a three month Greyhound bus pass up the east coast. Then I travelled across Canada, and down the west coast where I stayed in Los Angeles for two weeks. After that I headed across the States to Florida and back up the east coast to end my journey in New York. An incredible round trip.

 
Back in Germany I got a job as a messenger at the First National Bank of Chicago. Within six months I was promoted to the accounts department as I picked up the language and proved my worth. The travel bug didn’t go away though. I stayed there for fifteen months before heading off again, this time to Asia.

 
This period is covered by my travel memoir Fred’s Diary 1981: Travels in Asia. It was the only time in my life I recorded almost everything I did, sometimes in excruciating detail. The trip lasted six months and I travelled through Hong Kong, Thailand, India and Nepal.

 
Returning to Frankfurt in the late summer of 1981 was a shock to the system, a real case of reverse culture shock. Things got back to normality when I returned to the bank and worked there for another five years, becoming group leader of the accounts department. By the time I left my German was fluent.

 
During this period I lived in Sachsenhausen, the bar and restaurant area of Frankfurt near the Main River, often staying out late and enjoying life. Holiday allowance was generous in Germany and I could take a month of travelling each year. I enjoyed trips to the Canary Islands, Scandinavia and Turkey.

 
After returning from Turkey in November 1985 my life changed. I got together with the love of my life and in July 1986 I moved to Eastbourne (on the south coast of England) to be with her.

                                                              Robert and Lynn

Lynn and I are still together over thirty years later and have lived in the same house since 1988 (the mortgage will soon be paid off!). We got married in Kenya in 1994 and are cat lovers, having had a succession of rescues.

                                                               Robert and Jet

 
The travel bug has never gone away. We have had great holidays in Portugal, Crete, Germany, Australia and the Seychelles. More recently we spent a week in New York in 2015 and a week cruising around Norway in 2016.

 
I had to start from scratch with my career in England, but found my niche in accountancy and computer software. This provided the opportunity over the last fifteen years to travel with work. I have been all over Europe, as well as Singapore, Australia (for a week!), Ghana (at a Guinness brewery) and Suriname (in the middle of the rain forest).

 

Social Media Links!

Facebook – fredsdiary1981

Twitter Handle – @fredsdiary1981

Website – http://www.fd81.net/

Catching Up With Spotlight Author Wendy Scott!

Hello, everybody! I am honored to share this blog with a fellow writer and Spotlight Author for the month of June. As part of the celebration, Wendy Scott is making the rounds at various blogs. Today, she’s gracing us with her presence here at The Indie Spot! For those who may not know Ms. Scott, Wendy is a super supportive member of Rave Reviews Book Club. So let’s all make her feel welcome by leaving her your comments and well wishes. That being said, take it away, Wendy…

Fantasy Author Wendy Scott’s RRBC Journey.

When I first joined RRBC I had no idea of the literary roller coaster I’d jumped on.

I was so excited when my books and book trailers went live on the RRBC catalogue pages.

There was no time to pause for breath before I was involved in my first book trailer party. What a blast! 30 days of book trailers. I was impressed and inspired by the variety of book trailers. I won books and a coveted Book of the Month Spot.

I’m convinced the RRBC Tweet team doesn’t sleep! My followers skyrocketed as my tweets were retweeted into twitterland.

The lovely Gwendolyn Plano interviewed me on Behind The Pen. I was worried no one would understand my Kiwi accent!

Until RRBC I’d never taken part in or hosted a blog tour. Wow – an influx of visitors posted their comments on my site.

RRBC core focus is reading and posting honest reviews of other members’ books. I haven’t made the 100 club yet but it’s on my list! So many wonderful RRBC authors and books.

One of my highlights was when one of my children’s books earned Nonnie’s Seal of Approval.

Another highlight was being invited to join the VIP lounge and RWISA.

Yet another was being accepted as a RaveWaves host for Bring On The Spotlight.

There’s also the annual virtual RRBC Book Expo and Conference where I had fun presenting on a couple of topics.

Other features are the annual RRBC anthologies, the monthly Pipeline Magazine, and the KCT awards.

I was honoured (hugely surprised!) to be presented with a couple of Rave Awards in 2016.

The best part is the family-friendly vibe of this global community of authors where we help promote each other. Pay-it-forward is truly alive and thriving in RRBC-land.

  

Readers come and find your next read in the RRBC catalogue.

Authors come and join RRBC’s dynamic community – just say Wendy invited you! https://ravereviewsbynonniejules.wordpress.com/join-here/

 

 

Amazon US 124 reviews 4.4* rating

Amazon US Lodestone https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AMQX7DO

Amazon UK Lodestone https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AMQX7DO

 

SONY DSC

Connect with Wendy:

Twitter @WendyJayneScott

FB https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWendyScott

Author Profile Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Wendy-Scott/e/B009B1N8NA/

Website http://www.wendyjscott.com/contact.html

Pinterest https://nz.pinterest.com/wendyscottbooks/lodestone-witch-hunt/

 

Lizzie Chantree Stands In The RRBC Spotlight

Greetings fellow indies! I am thrilled and honored to host Lizzie Chantree, the Rave Reviews Book Club Spotlight Author this month! Have a read, leave a comment for my guest, show your support for this indie author. Take it away, Lizzie…

 

Finding Gina

by Lizzie Chantree.

 

My latest novel, Finding Gina, is a magical romance novel. I would love to tell you a little about it:

 

Can a sprinkling of stardust overcome a past full of demons?

 

Gina had traversed the breadth of the country in her little campervan to try and find everyone on her grandmother’s list, before her father drunk himself into an early grave. She lent down and pulled the battered and worn journal from her bag and opened it to the latest page. The neatly written names were etched onto her heart and she was determined to visit every single one and compensate them in some way. Her family’s debt had to be repaid.

 

Toby, heir to Bluebell Manor, couldn’t believe his luck when a flame haired beauty arrived at his door. Just when he thought all hope was lost! Looking for somewhere to stay for the night, Gina’s decision to turn left on a country lane, might have greater consequences than she could ever realise.

 

Lewis read another provincial story about a ‘guardian angel’ who had been helping families across the country and his reporter’s nose began to itch. He was sure that if he could track down the girl they were talking about, he would unearth an even bigger story. He just had to work out how to locate her and then find out what it was that she was running from!

 

 

I really enjoyed writing this book and the story gradually evolved as I wrote it. The main character Gina is quite solitary and faces the challenge of letting the people she meets into her life. She has to work out whom she can trust and find out if the life she has created for herself is actually real, or the figment of her father’s drunken imagination.

 

I grew up believing that being able to use your own imagination made things more interesting and fun! My mum had always told me tales of magical creatures who lived in our garden and story time before bed was full of naughty dragons who could talk and princesses with stripy tights who slept on clouds. My mum is also an author and she inspires me every day. I believe that if you have a story clambering inside your brain to get out, enjoy it, put it down on paper and when the story is finished, you will probably find another one sitting patiently waiting to introduce itself!

 

Follow Lizzie Chantree on Social Media:

Twitter handle: @Lizzie_Chantree

Facebook address: https://www.facebook.com/lizziechantree/

Website address: https://www.writewithsydney.co.uk

Any additional means of contact: Blog: https://www.lizziechantree.com

 

 

 

 

The Spotlight Shines On Rebecca Reilly

Greetings, wonderful readers! One of the great perks of being a member of RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB is the amazing opportunity to meet many talented indie authors. Today, I am honored to share my blog with one such talent. Introducing this month’s RRBC Spotlight Author Rebecca Reilly!

Rebecca Reilly is a retired pastor, a massage therapist, and the author of Christian Sex and Marriage—It’s Complicated.

 

 

Too Emotionally and/or Physically Tired to Make Love

I look at my to-do list, and I want to crawl back in bed and cry.  By the end of the day, I want to fall into bed and sleep.

 

Marielle’s Story

I start my day taking care of my aging parents, then it’s get the kids to school, go to work, pick up kids, pick up dinner, and collapse on the sofa.  I don’t have the energy to brush my teeth, much less have sex before I fall into bed.

 

Zena’s Story

I imagined a near-every-night scenario for sex.  But life kind of takes over.  Everything is good, but by the end of the day, neither of us want to do anything under the covers but sleep.

 

Kate’s Story

I hate to admit it, but I’m older now.  I thought we’d have more sex once the kids left the house.  But in reality, I start nodding off as soon as the dishes are done.

 

I’m too tired for sex is the number one reason people give for climbing into bed and going straight to sleep.  True or not, those words take a huge emotional toll on marriage.  In sexual speak, when one partner says, “I’m too tired,” the other partner hears, “I’m not interested in you.”  Contrary to what many wives believe, men hear and feel the emotional rejection as deeply as women.[i]

Life, no matter how good it is, tends to wear us out and push the yearning for sex into the background.  Age, health, busyness, stress, and emotional upheaval negatively affect sexual hormones and literally dry up our drive.  Ironically, sexual stimulation and satisfaction can create an energy burst that fuels us both physically and emotionally long after the act.

Too tired to make love with your mate?  The cure is to make love with your mate.

Sounds easy, but it’s not.  If you are consistently too tired for passion, you must dedicate extra energy throughout the day to build passion and prepare yourself for your spouse.  A sexy thought, a moment to remember the love of your mate creates anticipation and readies you to make love.  Your mind energizes your body.  Make intercourse with your spouse a focal point of your thoughts—twenty seconds at a time, every hour of your day.

Here is some advice from couples who take proactive steps to conquer sleepiness and prepare for passion:

• Fantasize about your mate. As you drive to work, clean the house, and eat your lunch, bring to mind how his chest feels to your hand as you run your fingers across him.  Think about how she looks in your favorite lingerie.  Remember a past erotic event you shared.    Imagine what you’d like to feel tonight.  Your mind is powerful.  Your body responds to your thoughts and prepares itself.  Ten seconds here, thirty seconds there, not much time is needed to groom your mind and body to be awake later that night.  Limit your fantasies to your spouse. Fantasy lives that are out of control, or inappropriate, tear apart marriages instead of unifying them.  If you struggle in this area, this option is not one for you to explore.
• Whisper in her ear as you kiss her goodbye in the morning. Tell her you want her, you’ll be thinking about making love with her all day, and tell her how you want to make her feel that night.  Wives, men love this too!  By speaking your passion, your desire grows.  Hearing your spouse’s yearnings spurs your own.
• Getting your blood flowing raises your endorphins (feel good hormones).  Exercise raises self-esteem and helps men and women feel sexier.  Jogging or lifting weights provides time to fantasize about your spouse, too.
• Bathe, shave, and use essential oils to help increase your personal sense of sexuality. Wear lingerie under your work clothes.
• Believe you are desirable to your spouse. Take steps to increase his or her desire.
• Sip some coffee before bed. Drink just enough for a quick pick-me-up if you feel your energy lagging.  Be careful not to overdose and keep yourself up all night.
• Women, flex your inner thighs throughout the day. Kegal exercises tighten you up, but they also stimulate your sex glands.
• Shake up your evening routine. Skip television.  Feed each other dessert.  Give each other massages.  Try different activities that help you focus on each other.
• Write erotica. Just like fantasizing, your erotica focuses on your mate and your marriage.  Write down your sexiest memory of your spouse.  Write it in great detail.  Better yet, write erotica together.  Text him the first line of your story.  He sends back the second line.  Read your masterpiece together that night, and then add more to the story.
• And finally, make love. Do not wait until you’re in the mood to have sex. We’ve been taught that our sexual cycle moves from desire to arousal to orgasm to resolution. Research suggests, however, that for women in long-term relationships, desire often comes after arousal.  If you allow yourself to be receptive to your spouse’s seduction, you will become aroused, and then desire blooms.

 

[i] Shaunti Feldhahn, For Women Only: What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men (Multnomah, 2004),

 

 

On Your Own

Evaluate yourself:

• How would you rate your sex drive? Is it lower, higher, or combatable with your mate’s?
• What do you do to communicate your sexual needs to your spouse? Do you find him or her responsive?  Are you responsive to their needs?
• If your sex drive is lower than your spouse’s, can you pinpoint something in your life or beliefs that might be contributing to that? Is there something you can change to bring your sexual desire to a more even level?
• If your sex drive is higher than your spouse’s, what are you doing to bring your desire levels to a more even level?

Sometime this week, say these things to your spouse:

• I desire you.
• You satisfy me.
• Thank you for loving me.
• You are worthy to be loved.
• I am worthy to be loved.
• I love you. I’m glad I married you.  I’d marry you again tomorrow.

Open Communication

Conversation Starters

• Do we make love as often as you need or want?
• What can I do to meet your sexual needs?
• Do you think our sex drive is compatible? Do you see our sexual drive levels as evenly matched?  If not, what can we do to meet each other’s needs?
• What can I do for you at this moment to show my love for you?

 

 

Purchase Rebecca Reilly’s

Christian Sex and Marriage—It’s Complicated

Amazon Paperback: http://bit.ly/SexMarriagePB

Barnes and Noble:  http://bit.ly/sexBN

iTunes– http://bit.ly/iTunessexandmarriage

Follow Rebecca Reilly:

Twitter: @RebeccaReillyL

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RebeccaLynnReilly/

Website (sign up for her newsletter): rebeccareilly.net

Email: Rebeccareilly.author@gmail.com

 

 

Spotlight Author Jan Hawke

Hello again, dear readers. It is my privilege to host Rave Reviews Book Club’s Spotlight Author. This incredible honor goes to indie author Jan Hawke.  Take it away, Jan…

The future is prehistoric

Well, it is in my work in progress, book 1 of Tomes of the HavenLands: Storm Shadow. Though set well into a murky galactic future, the fantasy is archaic in that it’s loosely derived from Arthurian legend, with romantic focus on the Arthur-Morgause dynamic and their relationship with Merlin. All three main characters are supernaturally gifted with various magical powers such as seeing into the future, controlling animals, and, in the lady’s case, the ability to shape-shift…

 

The adolescent she-lionpard* stood motionless at the edge of Dergpwll, the moonlit cloud shadows falling darkest blue over blood-soaked predator and her slain prey, the dry wind soughing through the boulders and the high dunes around them.

Feyæth let the dream unroll as always. It was pointless trying to evade it, for this night she must sleep and so she kept the tortuous vigil for Nuithen’s father as she had on that night, so long ago. She shivered in her sleep inside the wisent hide cone-lodge, invaded by the cold night air of Ardtarn even as she had done out in that desert, despite the soft mottled golden fur she had worn then for the very first time, as her dream traced the beast’s numbed, murderous stride into the glinting, silent waterhole.

Again she felt the cool of the waters wash away the blood and flesh from her gaping maw and fangs, soaking the lionpard’s hide to her shoulders until she had completely submerged herself. Only then did she allow herself to float without stirring a muscle, barely trying to keep her nostrils out of the water. Wanting to drown away the memory of what she had just done and her life with it…

Had she really started to drown, or was it just the dream? She felt she was choking, her lungs burning, her head throbbing with pain as a great light seemed to sear her insides and then to seep out of her skin in a long, drawn out, excruciating sigh, as she had diminished and then struggled for air, the taste of bile strong in her mouth. Her human mouth once more.

The dream went on and she allowed it, though she could hear herself sobbing far off, whether it was in that night-cold desert or beside the icy moorland lake. It didn’t matter whether her face was wet with water or tears, as her younger self slowly staggered naked from the water to look down on the man she had once thought was her father. Her eyes went first to where she had ripped out his throat. The ruins of torn flesh, the blood no longer spurting, though it pooled all around his head and chest, not yet congealed as the sands cooled in the night wind. Her fingers, pale and trembling, reached out for his face, but then flinched away from the great lacerations made by her panic-stricken nails, that had lengthened and curled into vicious black claws as the metamorphosis had carried her away into fury, then madness, as she had savaged his visage. Ripping out those blazing, hate-filled eyes that had finally gaped in terror at the hellish transformation he had deliberately provoked – inflicted upon her, as he drove her into the horrifying maelstrom of extremis…

 

A lionpard is a ‘retro-gelf’ animal, in appearance like a super-sized lion but with leopard-like rosettes and heavily furred for the cold desert climate of the Wastes of Great Hafn which, like our Gobi Desert, has extremes of heat and cold so it has snow on the dunes at times (ever wondered why Bactrian Camels have such shaggy coats?). Nuithen is Feyæth’s brother if you need to know…

 

Jan Hawke is the author of

Milele Safari – An Eternal Journey

Available on Amazon

 

Follow Jan Hawke on Social Media

Website: janhawke.me/

Twitter handle: @JanHawke

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Jan-Hawke-386239624841750/

 

The Need For Instant Gratification

Hello, dear readers. It is my pleasure to present to you another amazing Rave Reviews Book Club Spotlight Author. Introducing  J. A. Stinger, author of Generations Beyond. Take it away, J.A.

We all want it, the validation that all our hard work… the blood, sweat, and tears have been worth it. For us, the writers and authors, it’s the reviews. We post our work online and wait for the words from our readers to start pouring in. We hit that refresh button and wait… and wait… and wait some more. After a while, frustration sets in. After that, self-doubt. Did we promote enough? Did we let enough people know? Was our platform solid enough? Was our work as good as we thought it was?

The cold, hard truth is this… everything worthwhile takes time. It’s true that we want everything good to happen the moment that we put our heart and soul into something. But reality doesn’t work like that. Good things come to those who wait. Word of mouth travels, but it goes at its own pace, and there’s nothing we can do to speed it up. We can always ask people that have read our books to tell their friends, but we can’t force it. We can ask for those all-important reviews, but nothing is guaranteed.

J.A. Stinger was born in Vero Beach, FL. J.A. started writing seriously after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and craved a creative outlet. She is a wife, mother, and Army veteran. J.A. writes with her husband, P.W., and they discuss all manner of creative ideas, plots, characters, and twists together. They lived in the Midwest before have to relocate to the Greater Atlanta Metro area. J.A. and P.W. met on an online writing forum and have been together ever since.

Get Your Copy of Generations Beyond At:

Amazon

Barnes&Noble

Kobo

 ***

Social Media Links:

 

Twitter: @Jenniferstinger

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JAStingerAuthor/

Website: https://jastinger.wordpress.com

 

Introducing Spotlight Author Michael P. King

A hearty congratulations to Michael P. King, Rave Reviews Book Club’s Spotlight Author. Enjoy an excerpt from Michael’s latest release The Traveling Man…

Excerpt from The Traveling Man:

 

Tom stepped out of the Escalade with a nine-millimeter pistol down at his side. “Don’t be overdramatic, Bernie. Nobody’s life is going to be ruined. Unless you don’t let go of her.”

Bernie dropped his arms. His comb-over had fallen down in his face. He raked it back into place. “You’re a despicable bastard.”

“But I keep my word. We paid you to perform a service. You stick to your end, you’ll come out okay.” He turned to Patty. “You all right?”

“He didn’t hurt me.” Patty put the blackmail DVD back in her shoulder bag. “It’s not personal, Bernie. We’ve got no reason to hurt you if you don’t hurt us.”

“I deserve more money.”

Tom put the pistol into the waistband at the back of his pants. “I get it. You thought you’d get some more cash and another fuck or two before everything was done. Now you found out you’ve been out-negotiated and your feelings are hurt.” He shrugged. “You’re just going to have to get over it.”

“The DVD?”

“When we leave town, we’ll erase the original and smash the copies. We sure don’t want to attract any attention to this deal.”

“Goddamn bullshit.”

“Give us the copy of the environmental report and file the original. We’ll do everything we can to get out of town as soon as possible.”

Bernie went back to his truck. When he opened the door, the light came on inside. Tom and Patty watched him reach down into the floor.

Tom pulled the pistol back out of his waistband. “You come out of that truck with anything other than the report, you’re going in the lake.”

Bernie turned toward them with a fat file folder in his hand. “You’re crazy, you know that? Point that gun away. I’m a family man. I don’t want to get in no gunfight.”

Tom held the gun down along his leg. Patty took the file from Bernie. “I just don’t believe in taking chances,” Tom said. “That’s the most important thing you want to remember about me.”

 

To learn more about Michael P. King, or to purchase The Traveling Man, please visit:

 

Website: https://michaelpking.org

Amazon Author Page: http://bit.ly/MPKingA

Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/mpking3312

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelP.King.thetravelers