Saturday, April 27, 2013

Awakenings Cover Reveal

Awakenings will be available August 26!


Evie Shepard's nightmare begins when she finds herself buried alive, with no idea how she got that way. As she struggles to remember what happened to her, she begins to notice changes about herself. Her senses are heightened, her movements are quicker, she is incredibly strong....her heartbeat has stopped. It's then she makes a disturbing discovery. She wasn't buried alive. She was murdered. Somehow she has come back...

And she wants revenge.



About the Author



J. E. Shannon currently lives in Florida, but is a Missouri native. She spends most of her time reading, writing, and taking care of her small child and two crazy dogs.

You can connect with her on 
Twitter (@JEShannonauthor)


Saturday, April 20, 2013

In Stone eBook + Kindle Fire Giveaway



IN STONE will be available July 29!

Beau Bailey is suffering from a post break-up meltdown when she happens across a knife in her local park and takes it home. Less than a week later the new boy in school has her trapped in an alley; he’s sprouted horns and is going to kill Beau unless she hands over the knife.

Until Eighteenth century gargoyle, Jack, shows up and saves her.

Jack has woken from a century long slumber to tell Beau that she’s accidentally been drafted into a power struggle between two immortal races; Demons and Gargoyles. The knife she picked up is the only one in existence capable of killing immortals and they’ll tear the world apart to get it back. To draw the warring immortals away from her home, Beau decides to go with Jack to Bulgaria in search of the mind-bending realm known as the Underworld, a place where they’ll hopefully be able to destroy the knife and prevent all hell from breaking loose. That is providing they can outrun the demons that are chasing them.


About the Author


Louise is a graduate of Garstang Community Academy, currently studying for a BA (Hons) in English language and literature with special emphasis on creative writing. YA aficionado. Brit bird. Film nerd. Identical twin. Junk food enthusiast. Rumoured pink Power Ranger. Zombie apocalypse 2012 survivor. Avid collector of book boyfriends.



Blog: www.bookishblurb.wordpress.com  
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Rock_andor_roll
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Louise-D-Gornall/111420465709804


Giveaway – Open Internationally

To celebrate her upcoming release, Louise is giving away an ecopy of IN STONE and a Kindle Fire to one lucky reader! One runner-up will also win an ecopy of IN STONE. UK and US residents are eligible to win the Kindle Fire. If you live outside the UK or US and your name is drawn, you will receive an Amazon gift card valued at £160 (GBP) instead. The winners will be announced July 29. Good luck! 


a Rafflecopter giveaway



Friday, April 12, 2013

Thursday's Children 4/12/13


I've probably mentioned before that I love old buildings and houses. Well, the same goes for old photos. A glimpse into the past.

I found this week's inspiration in an old photo album.

This picture makes me smile. It's my father with his older sister. The collie's name is Melon. Get it? Melon collie. How cute is this? 



The date on the next photo is 1910. I believe the baby is my father's father, Harold. I think it's so weird how people never smiled for pictures back then. I've studied this picture so many times, especially the mother. I wonder if she was happy?



I believe it is the same woman in the next three pictures. If it is, her name is Hazel. She would be my great-grandmother. The baby would be my father's mother, Rhilda, born in 1920. Look at that hat, and the way she is dressed. I want to know more about her. 



          

I'm not sure who this last couple is. I love how they are dressed.


When I look at these pictures, I wonder so many things. I wonder where the picture was taken. If it was at home, what was there home like? If not, how did they get there? Did they have a car? I wonder about their daily lives. If they were happy? In love?

Do you find inspiration in old photos?


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Thursday, April 4, 2013

A long time coming ...

A weekly blog hop
where writers come together
to talk about whatever inspires them.

Do you remember when Skylab 4 fell to earth?

Probably not.

But I do.

In fact, I will never forget. 

It was July 11, 1979. I was eleven years old.

Everyone was talking about it in the days leading up, wondering when and where it would land. It was expected to land in the ocean, 800 miles southeast of Cape Town, South Africa. However, it landed near Esperance, Australia – without incidence.

So you may wonder why this event has stuck with me after all these years?

Religion.

Religion is a topic that can be controversial and even taboo. And it is a topic that is very difficult for me to discuss. Do you know what religiophobia is? It is the fear of religion. Very few people know of my fear, including family outside my immediate family members. I am sharing this story for a couple of reasons: I thought it would be therapeutic, and I hope it’ll help others to understand the reasons behind my fear.

Here is my story. My truth. How I remember it.

I was a good kid, polite and respectful. My parents had been raising us Catholic. We were not religious, by any means. We went to church a couple times a month, but I never really understood any of it. Honestly, I kind of tuned it all out.

I had a neighborhood friend that I played outside with once in a while. She was a year or two older. She didn't go to my school. She went to a Baptist school. 




On July 10, 1979, it was a Tuesday, she invited me to spend the night. I had never been in her house before. It was very small, with curtains drawn, and only a couple of table lamps casting shadows on the living room. There were five of us in the room. The father and older sister were sitting on the couch. My friend and I, on the floor. The mother was puttering around the room. I wanted to play a game or watch TV. But they had other plans.



The TV was off. There were no distractions.

“Jesus is coming,” the mother said.

I stared up at her and said nothing. I didn’t know how to respond to that.

“Jesus is coming tonight,” the father added with excitement. 

I looked to my friend and gestured to her that I wanted to go to her room and do something else. My friend didn't move.

Her parents continued, taking turns questioning … preaching … pressuring. 

“The Skylab is just a ruse. Jesus is coming to save us, because the world is ending. You want to be saved don’t you?”

Awkwardness turned to fear.

“Have you welcomed Jesus into your heart?”

I didn’t know what that meant.

“You must have welcomed Jesus into your heart?”

I shrugged, timidly.


“You want to go with Jesus don’t you?”

“No, I want to be with my mom,” I answered in a whisper.

“Well she must’ve welcomed Jesus into her heart.” The mother held an open Bible in front of me, pointing to lines on a page. “It’s right here. You must do it!”

“Say the words! Or Jesus won’t take you with him!” the father insisted. 

“What if I don’t?” I asked, my voice shaking. They were hovering around me. I felt trapped.

“You’ll be the only one here in the morning. We are all going with him tonight.”

“But … what about my mom? My family?” I asked tears welling in my eyes.

“She would want you to be saved – to go with us tonight. Say it with me now,” her finger moved across the page while she read a passage from the Bible.

They talked about the dead rising from the grave to meet Jesus in the sky, and the living to be raptured. They talked about tribulation, and the second coming. They spoke of millenniums – 1,000 years being equal to a day in Christ’s reign. And at the end of the second day, time will cease and believers will go to heaven. They said this could be my only chance to be saved before the end of the millennium – the year 2000.

I looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost 11 pm. This had been going on for hours. I was tired and scared. Finally, I jumped up from the floor, pushed passed the parents and flew out the front door.

I ran home in the dark, sobbing, afraid that I would be too late – that everyone would be gone. That my mom would be gone.

It was a long time before I could sleep alone, without a firm grip on my mom.

But the affect these people had on me that night will NEVER go away.

At first I blamed them. That family. Their interpretation of the Bible. Their use of scare tactics, especially on a child separated from family. But then I saw that it wasn't just their interpretation, but a whole religion. I was young, I didn't understand that there were all these different religions with different beliefs.

Add to that, countless wars and killings all over the world, all in the name of religion? It just doesn't make sense to me. I'm not saying that I don't believe there is a god. Honestly, I don't know what I believe. I just feel like organized religion can be a scary thing. It endorses herd mentality. Then the herds clash. 

Who's to say one herd is better or right?

Why can't we just live life with morals? Be kind to one another. 

Everyone wants to be happy, healthy, loved. We want to live, not just survive. 

This is the most I've ever shared. I don't want to be controversial or confrontational. That is not me. I am not judging anyone for their beliefs, and I hope that I have not alienated anyone.

Sincerely,
Michaele