Great Summer Reads Day 12: The Guise of a Gentleman by Author Donna Hatch

Multi-award-winning author of 25 best-selling Regency Historical Romances, Donna Hatch is a hopeful romantic and an adventurer at heart. Each book she writes is filled with wit and heart and plenty of swoon-worthy romance. Donna sings, plays the harp, and loves to ballroom dance. Her family, including six children and two cats, recently left their native Arizona for the Pacific coast of the US. No matter where they live, she and her husband of over twenty years are proof that there truly is a happily ever after.

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The widowed Elise is a perfect English lady living within the confines of society for the sake of her impressionable young son. Her quiet world is shattered when she meets the impulsive and scandalous Jared Amesbury. His roguish charm awakens her yearning for adventure. But his irrepressible grin and sea-green eyes hide a secret.

A gentleman by day, a pirate by night, Jared must complete one last assignment from the Secret Service before he can be truly free. Elise gives him hope that he, too, can find love and belonging. His hopes are crushed when his best laid plans go awry and Elise is dragged into his world of violence and deceit. She may not survive the revelation of Jared's past...or still love him when the truth is revealed.

The Guise of a Gentleman is a wholesome Regency Romance, a.k.a. "clean" that explores finding one's true self, loyalty, honor, and trusting loved ones. With plenty of swashbuckling action, it provides a several good twists that play off of familiar situations and proudly proclaims the redemptive power of love. 

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Great Summer Reads Day 11: Tarragon: Key Keeper by Author Karlie Lucas

Karlie Lucas is a school crossing guard by day and a writer/artist by night. 

A graduate of Southern Utah University, Karlie received a B.A. in Creative Writing, with a minor in art. She is a member of Sigma Tau Delta, The International English Honor Society, SCBWI, as well as ANWA, the American Night Writers Association.
Karlie is interested in all things magical and mysterious, especially elves and dragons. She is an avid fan of J.R.R. Tolkien and J.K. Rowling.

When not writing, Karlie can often be found drawing, baking, watching her favorite old school shows, or just spending time with her family.

She currently resides in Dallas, Texas with her husband and a cat named Kally. 

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 For hundreds of years, the gates of Tarragon have been sealed from the outside. Prophecy speaks of the day the last Key Keeper will return and wake the dragons from their spell-cast slumber, returning them to their rightful home.

Seeking to fulfill her father's dying wish, Anwen Porter travels to the Drakonii Mountains where she meets Tyler, a mysterious local with a secret. With his help, she learns more about her clouded past and her own abilities. But when Courtney, a lovesick mage, tries to insert herself into their plans, things begin to go horribly wrong.
With death threatening at every turn, Anwen must learn to rely on her newfound friends to survive. 

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Great Summer Reads Day 10: Hermana by Author Becca McCulloch

Becca McCulloch is a wife, mother, professor, and writer but rarely in that order (if in any order at all). At night, she transitions from mild-mannered educator into mild-mannered artist, writing about LDS (Mormon) issues in a modern and complex world. In 2016, she won the Storymakers' First Chapter Contest/General Fiction category. In 2019, her novel, Hermana, was named the General Fiction category winner for the LDS Publishers Media Association.

Becca resides in Utah with her husband, 2 children, Great Dane, two cats, and a pesky, yet friendly raccoon that won't leave the outdoor shed.

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WINNER! 2019 general fiction book of the year from the LDS Publishers Media Association.

Bookish and street-smart Lannie Lewis wants to be more than the child of a broken home who flunked out of music school. Full-time mission service will carry her away from the problems with her dad and immerse her hands in the work of God, or, it would if she’d stop hiding in the bathroom and wishing the island had better bug spray. When a disaster transforms her mission into a world of peril and overwhelming need, she will have to learn to hear the Lord’s voice for herself, even if it means she stands against the crowd. 

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Q&A With the Author:

1.   What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I have 4 children that range from 11 years to 6 months of age. When I'm not writing (or working the day job), I'm cleaning up after someone or trying to settle an argument.

2.  What was the hardest part of writing your book, and how did you overcome it?

I had a lot to learn about story structure. I wanted the book to be very honest about the missionary experience, but wise editors told me it also had to work as a novel. I spent almost an entire year reading books on story structure, watching webinars and working with editors and other writers to create the book. There are still moments where I decided to sacrifice structure to achieve my artistic vision, but overall the novel is stronger for having been put through the pain of fitting into a more traditional format.

3. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

I have always wanted to explore Italy. I love music and food, so Italy is a natural heart-home for me.

4.  Where do you get information and ideas for your books?

I'm curious about the human experience, so most of my ideas come from the world around me. I love to explore experiences that have an assumed truth - like the experiences of missionaries. I find beauty in the peeled-back layers. The hidden story behind the standard story fascinates me.

5. Tell us a bit about a future project you are working on? Do you have any little sneak peeks you can share? 

I am working on a co-authored novel right as part of the Liv Bartlet Kat & Bea series. Off Script, the second book in the series, ended with a main character running away from her troubles. It seems like a joyful choice for her, but I wanted to explore the idea that the experiences we bury deep inside still stink over time. Bea reunites with her friend, Kat, who is re-evaluating her own choices. This book has very much grown out of my own maturity. As I've entered my 40s, my priorities for relationships, career, and success have shifted significantly. I'm excited to write about middle-aged, successful women who reexamine their priorities. We also wanted to present really healthy romantic relationships (and the kinds of men who create them).

6. Now that we've gotten to know each other, tell us a story of a favorite childhood activity you used to do during the summer. It can be long or short. Funny, sad, or somewhere in between. Just make sure it's yours. Tell us a story?

When I was 13, my mom decided that my 12-year-old brother and I were old enough to care for our 6 year old brother over the summer while Mom worked. My youngest brother was a lovely child but exceedingly gullible and annoying. Neither of us really wanted to care for him. So we decided that we would trade off days being stuck with him. At first, we were quite good at it. We watched his awful cartoons and fed him cereal and macaroni. But as the summer went on, we had better things to do. I preferred the library while my brother liked to explore the Snake River. We drug our brother along on whatever we did with often-false promises that "tomorrow" would be his day. For a while, this arrangement worked, but then my brother got a loose tongue. He told about the day he got leeches while on a float down the river (my brother insisted he wouldn't have gotten leeches if he'd not overreacted to the rapids and jumped off the inner tube). He blabbed about the day I left him alone at story time so that I could go shopping with my friends (honestly, why couldn't the librarians watch him for an hour or so?). And then he told my mom that we'd used his allowance to rent videos and not paid him back OR purchased the promised ice cream (we did buy it - we just ate it without him).

My mom didn't say much. We knew we were caught. We spent August being stellar babysitters (well, except for that day we lost him at the swimming hole...). But the next summer, my brother and I were enrolled in a summer-long computer programming course and my brother had a nanny. We were well into adulthood before we realized why.

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Great Summer Reads Day 9: Temple Omnibus by Author Ren Garcia

REN GARCIA, is a Science Fiction/Fantasy author and Texas native who grew up in western Ohio. He has been writing since before he could write, often scribbling alien lingo on any available wall or floor with assorted crayons.

He attended The Ohio State University and majored in English Literature. Ren has been an avid lover of anything surreal since childhood, he also has a passion for caving, urban archeology and architecture.

His books are published by Loconeal Publishing and include: The League of Elder: Sygillis of Metatron, The Hazards of the Old Ones, The Dead Held Hands, The Machine, and The Temple of the Exploding Head. LoE Book VI: Sands of the Solar Empire was released in July, 2012 and Book VII: “Against the Druries” was released in 2013. His next set of books,  “The Shadow tech Goddess” was released in 2014 with the most recent book, Stenibelle, released in June 2015.

 He currently lives in Columbus, Ohio with his wife, and their three dogs.

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Starfarers and explorers, the League settled on Kana thousands of years ago. They found it to be a paradise, a perfect, virtually uninhabited planet waiting just for them in the cradle of space.

Lovely Kana … it was too good to be true …

But, all was not as it seemed. Simmering beneath the ground was a demented god who had soaked Kana in blood for untold ages, luring in victims, lying to them, and rejoicing in their suffering as they died at the hands of his dark angels.

And there will be blood again … From his Temple in the ground, the Horned God stirs.

When Lord Kabyl of Blanchefort, a young man troubled by the weight of the world, dares give his heart to a girl from a mysterious ancient household, one that pre-dates the League itself, he comes to know the shadows of the past that hover over her.

He comes to know of the Horned God, and for love he is destined to face him. All roads lead to the Temple of the Exploding Head, a place of evil and death, rooted in the ancient past, but also tied to the distant future.   

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Great Summer Reads Day 8: Artesans of Albia Box Set by Author Cas Peace

Cas lives in the lovely county of Hampshire, southern UK, where she was born. On leaving school she trained for two years before qualifying as horse-riding instructor. During this time she also learned to carriage-drive. She spent thirteen years in the British Civil Service before moving to Rome, Italy, where she and her husband, Dave, lived for three years. They enjoy returning whenever they can. Cas supports many animal charities and owns two rescue dogs. She has a large collection of cacti and loves gardening. She is also a folk singer/songwriter and is currently writing and recording nine folk-style songs to accompany each of her fantasy books. You can listen to and download all the songs from her website: www.caspeace.com 

See the video of her performing live at the King’s Envoy book launch here: http://www.caspeace.com/cas-peace/the-wheel-will-turn

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Taran Elijah’s quest for knowledge uncovers a plot that threatens the world...

Desperate to learn how to control his innate Artesan powers, Taran embarks on a foolhardy plan to acquire the teaching he craves. The military backlash his action unleashes forces Albia’s High King to send Major Sullyan as an envoy to the Fifth Realm. But a dark and treacherous power is moving through the realms and all will feel its influence.

Captured and tortured by the power-hungry Lord Rykan, Sullyan is trapped in Andaryon. Aided by the unlikeliest sources, the major formulates a plan to defeat Rykan and end his quest for the throne. But Sullyan’s strength is fading fast and time is running out. The only thing that can save her is Rykan’s mysterious Staff, which lies buried in the ruins of Taran’s cellar.

Sullyan’s lover, Robin Tamsen, sets out to recover the artefact, but the enemy is two steps ahead of him. If Robin fails to secure the Staff, Sullyan’s life, the Artesan craft, and the very existence of their world is under threat.

Review:

"Cas Peace's Artesans of Albia trilogy immediately sweeps you away:  the drama starts with King's Envoy, continues unabated in King's Champion, and climaxes in King's Artesan, yet each volume is complete, satisfying.  The Artesan series  propels you into a world so deftly written that you see, feel, touch, and even smell each twist and turn. These nesting novels are evocative, hauntingly real. Smart. Powerful. Compelling. The trilogy teems with finely drawn characters, heroes and villains and societies worth knowing; with stories so organic and yet iconic you know you've found another home—in Albia. So start reading now. I, for one, can't wait to find out what will happen next.

Janet E Morris: Bestselling Author of The Sacred Band of Stepsons series; the Dream Dancer series; I, the Sun; Outpassage; The Silistra Quartet;and editor of the Bangsian In Hell series. Famed contributor to the shared universe fantasy series, Thieves World.

  
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