Meet Author Debbie Kump and enter the Giveaway!!

Please welcome Debbie Kump to my blog today, she is here to talk about her Apocalyptic Thriller '7G'. Debbie has several books in print, the covers of which are visible below her post. She has also been kind enough to allow us to do a giveaway. See the bottom of this post for more details. 

When the fictitious future becomes frighteningly real.

Cursive is a dying art. Will handwriting be next? With text messaging commonplace and laptop computers becoming more and more integrated into the classroom, will students eventually stop needing the skills to actually write at all? And with Smartphones readily linking to the Internet and mobile telecommunications upgrades from 3G to 4G Networks, what else will the future hold? Will WiFi be everywhere, effectively eliminating the need for cell phone towers?
My Apocalyptic Thriller, 7G, takes a leap into this fictitious futuristic world. My husband has always been a bit of a futurist. He’d often share his technological ideas for the future with me…then a few years later we’d laugh when we saw his idea come true. Several years ago (before the Smartphone and ebook boom) he proposed the idea of hands-free telecommunications. Instead of mobile phones and computer monitors, users could text, surf the Internet, or read an ebook on lenses worn directly over the pupil. The possibilities for these multi-purpose lenses seemed endless: from e-libraries to dream uploads and instant language translations, all accessible with the blink of an eye. 

Available Now!

That’s when my imagination snatched hold of his spark and took off. Instead of carrying Smartphones, users would wear contact lens-sized, extended wear, virtual computer screen and keyboard eye DOTS. With body heat as the sole catalyst required to power the endothermic chemical reaction recharging each battery, both military and civilians alike constantly wear these Digital Optic/Ophthalmic Transmitters (collectively referred to as “DOTS”) and “MUDE” Mobile Uplink Digital Equipment. Using ear DOTS, babies could piggyback off their parents’ MUDEs to listen to soothing melodies. Or dog owners could eliminate unwanted behaviors by using DOTS for bark control and invisible fencing like electronic collars do today. 
This plethora of ideas soon wove itself into a multi-faceted novel, exploring the varied uses of the technology through multiple protagonists and interwoven subplots. I set 7G in the near future, at a time when Smartphones will be obsolete. With the upcoming conversion to 7G Network allowing instantaneous optical and audio recording, limitless military and civilian applications abound. Yet an unexpected programming glitch proves fatal, spelling disaster for the nation. In the aftermath of 7G, the fates of college sophomore Erik Weber and submariner Alyssa Kensington entwine. Will they escape and manage to survive in a crippled world?
While editing my manuscript for 7G on a flight to my parents’ house over the Christmas holidays, my husband whipped out the SkyMall magazine, pointing to a pair of glasses that provided a GPS digital reading of the wearer’s location.
I blinked, studying the glasses again. A chill ran down my spine.
“Freaky,” I told him, my pen poised over a scene where compulsive gamers developed eye shakes when their pupils rapidly flitted back and forth to reach the desired keys on their virtual keyboard eye DOTS.
Then a few days later as my husband perused Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex, he paused to have me read a paragraph. In this selection, a centaur named Foaly placed a monocle over one eye to interface with a virtual system through a series of blinks and winks rather than using hardwired equipment.
Barely believing my eyes, I read the paragraph a second time, wondering when will this type of technology no longer be a work of fiction? Will a time come when all information is easily accessible on contact lenses like the eye DOTS from 7G?
With an increasing number of technological inventions entering the marketplace, that time may arrive sooner than we think…and hopefully will end better than my world does in 7G.

Other title available by Debbie Kump. 

For more information, please visit her website: http://sites.google.com/site/debbiekumpbooks/
or find her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Debbie-Kump-Author/106841479415271
and Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005GX31CU

7G 

In the near future, Smartphones will be obsolete. Instead, technological innovations provide virtual computer screens for texting, surfing the Internet, or reading an ebook on lenses worn directly over the eye. 

With the upcoming conversion to 7G Network allowing instantaneous optical and audio recording, limitless military and civilian applications abound. Yet an unexpected programming glitch proves fatal, spelling disaster for the nation. In the aftermath of 7G, 

the fates of college sophomore Erik Weber and submariner Alyssa Kensington entwine. 

Will they escape and manage to survive in a crippled world?

Author Bio:
After graduating from Cornell University with degrees in Biology and Education, Debbie Kump taught middle and high school science in Maui, Seattle, and the Twin Cities and worked as a marine naturalist aboard a whale watch and snorkel cruise. Debbie lives in Minnesota,  U.S.A. with her husband, two sons, and three Siberian huskies. She especially enjoys writing early each morning; teaching; coaching youth soccer, hockey, lacrosse, and baseball; and dogsledding her kids to school.


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Revelations Inspiration!

So since I'm currently writing four books, all very different, with lots going on! I needed something visual to help me with the end of Revelations. I made this just for inspiration, but it also gives people a taste of what's to come!

Welcome Author Alexandrea Weis. Plus, we're having a giveaway!!

Today we are joined by Author Alexandrea Weis. She will be telling us more about her home town in her guest post - How to be a New Orleanian.

Alexandrea has several books in print and up for grabs, you will be able to see the covers and titles throughout this post. She is also releasing her latest novel "Acadian Waltz" on the 15th of this month. You will be able to view the cover and read the blurb at the end of her post. 

How to be a New Orleanian


     The rhythm of the resurrecting city of New Orleans is reflected everyday in the unified heartbeat of its determined residents. And no matter the devastation, New Orleanians will continually fight to hold on to their beloved little bastion eight feet below sea level. Like the memory of a first kiss, the warmth of New Orleans pervades your soul and forever becomes a part of you. To travel among the wide oaks and antebellum homes of the Garden District makes for beautiful postcard pictures, but it does not give you a true indication of what it means to be a New Orleanian. You have to immerse yourself in the old world atmosphere and varied traditions of the people of this town in order to understand them, and, hopefully, become one of them. 

     You need to dine in the myriad of exceptional restaurants and take part in a heated discussion about where to find the best bowl of gumbo. Spend a Monday morning drinking coffee and chicory in an old uptown kitchen while learning how to cook the perfect pot of red beans and rice. Experience the wrong way to eat a muffaletta sandwich, the right way to shuck an oyster, and the only way to eat a beignet. And you will always have to remember that if your food isn’t boiled, blackened or fried, it just ain’t cooked.    

          You will want to traverse the different sections of the old city divided not by points on a compass, but by proximity to the Mississippi River or Lake Pontchartrain. Because no one in the Crescent City could ever tell you where to find the south end of town, but they could recite by heart the neighborhoods along the bend in the river. From the Bywaters to the Irish Chanel, from Lakeview to the infamous Ninth Ward, so many smaller sections alive with their own unique histories make up this city. Each part of New Orleans has a rich heritage based on the struggles of its French, Spanish, Irish, African, or Italian founders. 

Then head over to Canal Street, where the local term “neutral ground” was created in the early 1800’s. In those days, the wide thoroughfare was first used as a common market area between the feuding French and Spanish occupants of the city. Take a streetcar ride down legendary St. Charles Avenue to see the world renowned Audubon Zoo. Along the way, soak up the different styles of Victorian, Greek Revival, and Colonial architecture represented by some of the city’s finest homes. Let the soothing rocking motion of the streetcar ease your cares, as the sweet scent of magnolias streams in from the open window beside you. 

At the end of your streetcar ride, walk the broken cobblestones of the French Quarter, and take in the alluring sights of the tightly packed Creole cottages. Listen for the seductive sounds of Jazz music resonating around you, the smell of great food hovering in the air about you, and let your imagination linger on the romantic wrought iron balconies above you. Make your way to Jackson Square and take in the tall spires of St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest Catholic cathedral in the continental Untied States. Walk through the adjoining Cabildo Museum, where the Louisiana Purchase was signed in 1803. Stroll on over to the Moonwalk, by the edge of the Mississippi River, and enjoy the calliope music coming from the Delta Queen Riverboat. After you have learned to bargain like a pro with the vendors at the French Market, then saunter down the shady sidewalks of Esplanade Avenue. The street made famous by Tennessee Williams and his tale of hidden desire. Finally, let yourself wander the narrow alleys of St. Louis Cemetery Number One, where you can visit the above ground tombs of famous former residents Marie Laveau, the voodoo queen, and Paul Morphy, the chess phenomenon. 

     But there is another, more important, criteria for being an ingrained member of this eclectic southern city. You have to learn to appreciate life. Not the day-to-day hurried existence that shortens the lives of stockbrokers and businessmen, but the easy lust for the fulfillment of the senses. For everything about New Orleans is tailored to the forgotten art of self-gratification. In these days of such soulless existence, it is a heartwarming relief to find a place unashamed of its abundant way of life. No one in New Orleans regrets the way they live, they only regret when they have to leave it. 
     So the next time you think about my hometown, don’t linger on the unforgettable disasters of our past. Instead, revel in what makes our city unique, shamelessly flamboyant, and stoically unapologetic for its transgressions. New Orleanians have moved on from Katrina. Despite the numerous media attempts to bury the residents under clouds of negative press and dim outlooks, the people remain resilient. Because they know that when Mardi Gras is over, crawfish season is right around the corner. We may have paid a heavy price for our time in paradise, but we know that somewhere up in the heavens, someone is answering our prayers. After all, the Saints did finally win the Super Bowl.        

Alexandrea's Upcoming Release!

Acadian Waltz.

Available Jan 15th 2013.

  At thirty, Nora Kehoe is feeling pressured to settle down. On a blind date, Nora unexpectedly ends up in the emergency room where she meets Dr. John Blessing. Nora hopes the pragmatic Dr. Blessing can make her life complete. Then a passionate encounter with a childhood friend changes everything.

     The charismatic Jean Marc Gaspard manages the family business, Gaspard Fisheries. But rumors abound that Jean Marc is running more than seafood through the waters around Manchac Louisiana. When a family crisis sends Nora to Manchac, her new fiance, Dr. Blessing, threatens to call off their wedding. Soon Nora is thrown headlong into the dangerous world of smugglers and swindlers. And as Jean Marc tries to protect Nora from his past, he also realizes he may lose her because of it.

     The dark bayou waters run deep with secrets in Louisiana, and every Cajun knows how to dance the fine line between the right and wrong side of the law. But for strangers, learning the steps to staying alive in the swamps can be tricky. Life, and love, will be dependent on how well one can master the … Acadian Waltz 

More about this author!

Alexandrea Weis is an advanced practice registered nurse who was born and raised in New Orleans. Her popular second novel, Recovery, won the Gold Medal for best romantic suspense from The Reader’s Favorite Book Awards 2011, was named best Romantic Suspense novel by the Spring 2011 NABE Pinnacle Book Awards, and was a Finalist in the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Wards in 2012. Her fourth novel, Broken Wings, won best Contemporary Romance by the NABE Pinnacle Book Awards in 2011, and is a finalist in the Reader’s Favorite Book Awards for Contemporary Romance in 2012. Her sixth novel, Diary of a One-Night Stand, was released in August 2012. A permitted wildlife rehabber with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, Weis rescues orphaned and injured wildlife. She lives with her husband and pets in New Orleans.

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Merry Christmas to all! - and- New look blog ready for a New Year!

Well, I actually completed this (for the most part) a lot quicker than I thought I would. Oh the things you can do when you're left in peace. 

I intend to spend more time on here in the New Year, we will have author interviews, giveaways and maybe even a few live chats. I'll post all the dates nearer the time. 

May I also take this time to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I hope Santa brings you everything you dream of this year. My all your families be happy, healthy and enjoy every great moment this time of year brings.

New look blog under construction.

I've been threatening to rip this blog apart for a long time, I just never seemed to get the chance to do it. Well, now I've started. So please bare with me a little while. 

My first Self Published short story!

Hey!

So today I have sent my short story "Guilt of the Innocent" over to Amazon to self publish. I'm learning the ropes since my books have previously gone through my publisher, but hopefully I've done a good job. I'm sure people will tell me if I haven't. Anyway, I thought I would post the cover and the blurb!

Rayne Marlow is trying to live a normal happy life. She has a good job, friends and boyfriend who she loves with all her heart. But Rayne has secrets and a tragic past that seems to endlessly haunt and torment her. 

When Rayne’s dreams turn violent and she is harmed by a creature lurking in the darkness, her lover is determined to get answers and cure her once and for all. Rayne must now relive her past, reveal her secrets, believe in her innocence and defeat the demon who is preying on her and intent on dragging her soul into the depths of hell.

Review of Adjusting Journal Entries by Ashley Fontainne

I received this book from the author in return for an honest review.

5 STARS.

As author Ashley Fontainne knows all to well, I’ve been excited to read this book for a long time. I’ve waited very impatiently and when I received it for review, I couldn’t wait to start. 

This series has been nothing short of mind blowing. Nothing is predictable – that is what makes this series awesome. Even when you’re so sure you know what’s going to happen next... NO! Bang! The story twists and leaves you shocked and on tenterhooks, just hoping it won’t be long for the next part of the story to be released. 

Adjusting Journal Entries is the last in this trilogy surrounding revenge, and just how wrong things can go when you try for it. I’m not giving anything away, I know a lot of people are enjoying this series, which is really no surprise, and I would absolutely hate to spoil anything for them. So, I’ll just say, You will not be disappointed. At some points while reading this book, I was sat with my Kindle in my hands wearing such an evil grin, I was so deeply inside this story. I felt every emotion, just like I did with the first two instalments. The ending is perfect and I’m now very content with what happened to each and every character! 

Ashley Fontainne has created three dimensional characters, some you love, others you really love to hate. They have an impact on you, and even after you turn the last page and you know your time with them has come to an end, they live on inside you.