New Middle Grade Release - The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow

THE SECRET FILES OF FAIRDAY MORROW
By Jessica Haight & Stephanie Robinson
MIDDLE GRADE/ ages 10 and up
ISBN: 978-0-385-74471-3
Random House Kids

Eleven-year-old Fairday Morrow is less than thrilled that her family is moving thousands of miles from civilization to the quiet country town of Ashpot, Connecticut, where she’s absolutely certain she’ll die of boredom.

As if leaving Manhatten and her best friend, Lizzy, the only other member of the elite Detective Mystery Squad, weren’t bad enough, Fairday is stuck living in the infamous Begonia House, a creepy old Victorian with dark passageways, a gigantic dead willow tree, and a mysterious past.

Before she can even unpack, strange music coming from behind a padlocked door leads Fairday up a spiral staircase and into a secret room, where she finds an ancient mirror, a brass key, and a curious portrait of a red-haired lady. These seemingly unrelated items prove to be the first in a series of clues that takes Fairday, the visiting Lizzy, and their new squad member, Marcus, on an amazing adventure.

Can the members of the Detective Mystery Squad piece together the puzzle before it’s too late? Or will whatever’s causing trouble find Fairday and her friends first?

Catch the Book Buzz...

"I really enjoyed this book. It was a marvelously done, debut, thriller novel. Ms. Robinson and Ms. Haight are great authors that really pull you into their story. I couldn’t get out until that final sentence. And, by then I wanted more. To say I want a second book is an understatement. The writing style is compelling, and makes me feel as if I was there with Fairday and her friends. I really like the illustrations in the book. They are like the ribbon on a present, or the icing on the cake. I give this book five out of five bookworms!"
 ~ Erik Weibel/ This Kid Reviews Books

"Mixing realism and fantasy, Haight and Robinson’s debut opens with 11-year-old Fairday’s move from Manhattan to a small town in Connecticut, where her relentlessly cheerful parents plan to turn a dilapidated Victorian into a bed and breakfast. No sooner has the family arrived than eerie sights and sounds begin to haunt Fairday. The house turns out to hold dark secrets that everybody in town suspects but nobody can explain: a perfect mission for Fairday and her best friend Lizzy’s Detective Mystery Squad (DMS)."
~ Publishers Weekly

"Fifth-grader Fairday Morrow's new home lives up to its spooky reputation, but she and her companions in the Detective Mystery Squad find out why. At Begonia House, strains of bagpipe music issue from behind a padlocked door, grains of sand in an hourglass have stopped falling, and a malevolent weeping willow looms in the backyard. A magic mirror shows an invisible door; a wardrobe hides secrets and a portal. Ruby Begonia vanished more than 50 years ago. Is there also a ghost? Fairday has a new, helpful friend in classmate Marcus, and her best friend Lizzy can visit on weekends to help solve the mystery. What more could readers want?"
~ Kirkus Reviews

Jessica Haight is a true New Englander, with a deep desire to be near the ocean and a love of the four seasons. She enjoys drawing while standing up and cultivating magic in her garden. She easily floats away in the pages of a good story and is still waiting for her owl from Hogwarts.

Stephanie Robinson lives with her husband in a quiet town, though not as quaint as Ashpot. After teaching fifth grade for almost fifteen years, she is now enjoying her role as a school media specialist.




Blog / Website

New Releases!

Poltergeist’s Pleasure
By Christine Rains

The Paramours - ghost hunting with a kiss.

Claire McKinney has a theory that poltergeists aren't evil spirits or negative energy. When she locates a powerful vortex at the center of a haunting, she discovers a gorgeous man trapped inside. Zendal cannot escape on his own, but if Claire can create enough sexual energy with him, he will be able to break free. Intense as their passion is, it does not release him from the vortex. Claire finds herself caught not only by the ominous portal, but by Zendal's carnal zeal as well. Can she extricate them from the trap or will they forever be its prisoners?

Buy it at Ellora’s Cave / Amazon
Add it on Goodreads

The Wishing Steps
By Karen Helene Walker

Three Women and a Single Story That Unites Them Across the Millennia

Brighid, Ashleen and Megan: Bound through time by a curious light, a mysterious voice and a call they dare not ignore. Yet in obeying this strange force, the women must face soul-searing trials that call into question everything they know and believe — about themselves and about the world around them.

Buy it at Amazon

Under the Tuscan Moon
By Denise Covey

Within the velvety Tuscan sky, a harvest moon glows like liquid amber. Mysterious shadows seep noxiously through the unsuspecting forest, preying on the vulnerable, whose blinded gaze mocks their senses.
A man.
A woman.
Forever locked in a sensual embrace.
A werewolf howls…
A cloak swishes…
And,
Alabaster flesh waits to be torn.
Timing is everything in the Danse Macabre.
On this night the nectar of revenge is at its sweetest.
Just ask Vipunin…
Who is Vipunin?
A tormented soul, longing to recapture the life stolen from him a century ago when he was human, not a monster who hunts and feasts at will.
His wait is finally over. His love, Ciassia, has returned to him. She is his to change this night. Then she will be by his side for eternity…
Or so he thinks…
Set in a Tuscan forest in the late 16th century, against a backdrop of treed mountains and gentle vineyards, this classic vampire tale begins a sweeping saga to enthrall any reader who loves the beautiful, deadly vampires of old.

Buy it at Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon AU

Hot Pink in the City!

HOT PINK IN THE CITY, Prizm Books/Torquere Press, 
Release Date: August 19, 2015
Ebook
Purchase from Prizm, Amazon (vendor links will be updated on the author's site)

Asma Bashir wants two things: a summer fling and her favorite '80s songs. During a trip to New York City to stay with relatives, she messes up in her pursuit of both. She loses track of the hunk she met on her airplane ride, and she does the most terrible thing she could possibly do to her strict uncle... ruin his most prized possession, a rare cassette tape.

A wild goose chase around Manhattan and Brooklyn to find a replacement tape yields many adventures -- blackmail, theft, a chance to be a TV star, and so much more. Amid all this turmoil, Asma just might be able to find her crush in the busiest, most exciting city in the world.

Find Medeia – YA and MG Author

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Enter the HPITC book blast giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Circle of Friends Series Now Available in a Boxed Set

Available for the first time in a boxed set!

Newly revised and edited, the 5 book set is priced at just $8.99.

The Circle of Friends Series By L. Diane Wolfe
ebook ISBN 9781939844125
New Adult/Young Adult

Get inspired to achieve your dreams!

Book I...Lori - Driven by Olympic dreams, the swimmer appears destined for success. But something is holding her back. Can the star quarterback help Lori break free and achieve her dreams?

Book II...Sarah - There are no rewards for second best. Estranged from her father, envious of her best friend’s perfect life, Sarah’s unable to measure up to expectations. Can a future NFL receiver with baggage of his own make a difference?

Book III...James - Haunted by a troubled past, he’s determined to break free of the abuse and start a life with Maria. When a life-changing crisis erupts, James nears the breaking point. Can he find peace before the mistakes of his father destroy him?

Book IV...Mike - A prisoner of guilt for so long, he’s consumed with condemnation and unable to forgive himself. When Danielle enters his life, he can no longer hide the past. Will she be able to reach him or is Mike past the point of redemption?

Book V...Heather - When confidence turns to frustration, she finds her dream of coaching basketball tarnished. Heather struggles with a dying father, a troublesome sister, and a cocky player. Can Mark help the feisty woman survive?

Available at Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Dancing Lemur Press

Recent Book Releases

A variety of books came out this month.

Dragon of the Stars
By Alex J. Cavanaugh

The ship of legends…

The future is set for Lt. Commander Aden Pendar, son of a Hyrathian Duke. Poised to secure his own command and marriage to the queen’s daughter, he’ll stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

But when the Alliance denies Hyrath’s claim on the planet of Kavil and declares war on their world, Aden finds his plans in disarray. Entrenched in battle and told he won’t make captain, Aden’s world begins to collapse. How will he salvage his career and future during Hyrath’s darkest hour?

One chance remains–the Dragon. Lost many years prior, the legendary ship’s unique weapon is Hyrath’s only hope. Can Aden find the Dragon, save his people, and prove he’s capable of commanding his own ship?

A Body at Bunco, Myrtle Clover #8
By Elizabeth S. Craig

Octogenarian sleuth Myrtle Clover has never heard of the dice game Bunco. Regardless, she steps in as her daughter-in-law’s sub and reluctantly puts her game face on.

Bunco turns out to be child’s play. But when a body is discovered, Myrtle realizes another game is afoot. Before long, she’s playing cat and mouse with the killer.

Can she track down the murderer before the game is up? Or, with the killer playing hard to get, will it end up being “no dice?”

Ghost of Death
By Chrys Fey

Jolie Montgomery, a twenty-one-year-old woman, wakes up in an alley next to her corpse. She has no memories of her murder or the night she died. She didn’t even see the killer’s face before he or she took her life. Wanting justice, Jolie seeks answers in the only way a ghost can...by stalking the lead detective on the case.

Avrianna Heavenborn is determined to find the person responsible for a young woman’s death. She gets closer to the killer’s identity with every clue she uncovers, and Jolie is with her every step of the way. But if they don’t solve her murder soon, Jolie will be an earth-bound spirit forever.

Once Upon a Nightmare
By Cherie Reich

A legend awakens...

A monster hunts us. After hibernating for a decade, it's ravenous. We long to stop this nightmare, but the end of the road is far. There is no waking up once a legend sets its sights on you.

Disappearances every ten or so years make little impact on the small town of New Haven, Virginia. Hikers get lost. Hunters lose the trail. Even when a body is discovered, the inhabitants' memories last about as long as the newspaper articles.

No one connects the cases. No one notices the disappearances go back beyond Civil War times. No one believes a legendary monster roams the forests in Southwestern Virginia.

I don't either until the truck breaks down on an old mountain trail. Cell phones won't work in this neck of the woods. It's amazing how much a person can see by starlight alone. So what if we can't feel our fingers or toes as we hike toward the main road. How many more miles left to go?v
Crrraaack!

Hear that noise?

Beware the Little White Rabbit
Anthology featuring stories by Medeia Sharif and C. Lee McKenzie

Thirteen enthralling voices in young adult fiction lead you down the rabbit hole in this nod to the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll's timeless character, ALICE. Mystery. Madness. Mayhem. Each story in this collection will intrigue, bewitch, and enchant. From rich historicals, castle towers and deathly plagues, gritty urban explorations, intrepid reporters, would-be car thieves, watchmakers, futuristic wormholes, secret workshops… to the last human in a world ruled by machines.

What wonders await, oh curious reader. For the rabbit knows the truth...

Which one do you want to read?

New Releases From Heather Gardner and Christine Rains

One Good Catch, A Maguire’s Corner novel
By Heather Gardner
Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Publisher: InkSpell Publishing
Cover Design: Najla Qamber Designs

Ignoring a recent trauma that is affecting her everyday life, ER Doctor Kate Maguire engages in some high risk activities, but putting herself in these dangerous situations isn’t enough to feed her edginess. She needs something more. When her brother’s high school best friend comes back to town, it’s her chance for a ‘no strings attached’ fling with the man who still headlines in all her best dreams.

Rhys MacGrath’s days of one-night-stands are long over. The pro-football player might be side-lined at rehab for a shoulder injury, but that doesn’t mean he can’t admire and desire the all-grown-up, so-damn-hot, version of the tomboy he once knew. His sudden interest in Kate might be aggravating his best friend, who doesn’t approve, but it’s her indifference that’s driving Rhys crazy.

Everything heats up when Kate’s nosy nature sets her in the line of fire of an arsonist forcing them to deal with more than just the sparks igniting between them.

Kobo / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / All Romance EBooks

Heather M. Gardner's love of books began on the hand-woven rugs of her small town library where her mother worked. There she had a never-ending supply of stories to read at her fingertips. As a teen, her favorite genres to curl up with were romance and mysteries. When she started to create her own stories, they were the perfect fit.

Heather resides in New York with her best friend who is also her husband, plus her talented and handsome son. She is currently owned by four stray cats. Heather's a full-time mom, works part-time from home, a chocolate enthusiast, coffee junkie, cat addict, book hoarder and fluent in sarcasm.
Blog / Twitter / Goodreads

Blood and Sorrow
By Christine Rains

Erin Driscol works the perfect job consoling fellow demons by feeding off their grief at Putzkammer & Sons Funeral Home.

When fledgling vampire Nicolas Reese comes to Erin for help, she learns the truth behind the legends and hides him from his sire and the vampire hunters who seek him. But when the Putzkammers begin to die one by one, Erin is caught between her act of kindness and the need to save her adopted family. Only by facing her own personal demons can she stop the slaughter and still rescue Nicolas from his dark fate.

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Smashwords / Goodreads

Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She's married to her best friend and fellow geek living in south-central Indiana. They have one son who is too smart for his parents' own good and loves to pretend he's Batman. Christine has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she's not reading or writing, she's going on adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. (South Central Indiana Fiction Interface). She has several short stories and novellas published. Of Blood and Sorrow series is her first urban fantasy novel.
Website / Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest / Goodreads

New Release in Science Fiction and Fantasy

The Warrior and the Governor by Susan Kelley

An alien warrior makes a promise to protect an Earth colony from a horrifying invading horde, but the lovely, stubborn governor vows to save her people and the stranger committed to dying in battle.

Alien warrior, Liam of Gaviron, has lost everything. Keeping his promise to a dying Earthling to keep the man’s daughter and her mother safe from an invading horde offers him a chance to end his tortured existence fighting his hated enemy.

Governor Siva had almost given up hope for the survival of her colony until Liam arrives and beats back the predators killing her people. But as her hopes rise, she realizes Liam has none for himself. Her mission expands to teaching the handsome, grim warrior how to live and love again.

But first they must fend off starvation and kill the hundreds of hungry, intelligent creatures that have made humans their favorite meal.

Purchase it at Amazon

Ashes Burn Season 1: Ashes Away by Tyrean Martinson

Fantasy, intrigue, and adventure in 30 episodes of hint fiction.
Wend wants to run from a nightmarish past.
Teresa wants to find the man she loves before his enemies do.
And King Bryant just wants total power and no complications.

Purchase it on Amazon / Smashwords / Barnes & Noble

Woven by Michael Jensen and David Powers King

Two unlikely allies must journey across a kingdom in the hopes of thwarting death itself.

All his life, Nels has wanted to be a knight of the kingdom of Avërand. Tall and strong, and with a knack for helping those in need, the people of his sleepy little village have even taken to calling him the Knight of Cobblestown.

But that was before Nels died, murdered outside his home by a mysterious figure.

Now the young hero has awoken as a ghost, invisible to all around him save one person—his only hope for understanding what happened to him—the kingdom’s heir, Princess Tyra. At first the spoiled royal wants nothing to do with Nels, but as the mystery of his death unravels, the two find themselves linked by a secret, and an enemy who could be hiding behind any face.

Nels and Tyra have no choice but to abscond from the castle, charting a hidden world of tangled magic and forlorn phantoms. They must seek out an ancient needle with the power to mend what has been torn, and they have to move fast. Because soon Nels will disappear forever.

Purchase it at IndieBound / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / BAM / iTunes

New Young Adult Releases

52 Likes by Medeia Sharif

After a brutal rape and near-murder, Valerie wants to get past feelings of victimhood from both the assault and her history of being bullied. She’s plagued by not knowing the identity of her rapist and by the nasty rumors in school about that night. Valerie follows clues from ghostly entities, past victims of the rapist-murderer, contacting her through a social media site—why do all of their eerie photos have 52 likes under them? Their messages are leading her to the mystery man, although he’ll put up a fight to remain hidden.

Find Medeia – YA and MG Author:
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Sudden Secrets by C. Lee McKenzie

one Secret
Cleo has struggled to heal after her baby sister’s death, but the flashbacks to the accident won’t go away. With the move, she vows to keep her tragedy a secret and avoid pitying looks.
one Mystery
Something’s strange about the abandoned house across the street—flashes of light late at night and small flickers of movement that only someone looking for them would see. Everyone says the house is deserted, but Cleo is sure it isn’t, and she’s sure whoever is inside is watching her.
another Secret
In one night, Belleza’s life changes forever. So famous, her only choice is to hide her secret from the world so she can silence small town bigotry. Then Cleo happens.

Now Available at:
Amazon Kindle Amazon Paperback Barnes & Noble

Find C. Lee McKenzie at:
Blog Website