⭐Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off⭐The Code by Sean Keefer #Mystery #Suspense #LegalThriller

 

Two murders in Charleston, South Carolina start attorney Noah Parks on a path toward a mystery that has been more than 200 years in the making…

By SEAN KEEFER

Title: The Code
Author: Sean Keefer
Publisher: Rivers Turn Press
Pages: 319
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Legal Thriller

It should have been an otherwise uneventful Sunday morning for Charleston attorney Noah Parks. Perhaps a trip to the beach or a run with his new Australian Shepherd, Austin. But with a cryptic voicemail, everything changes.

A client has vanished, leaving nothing behind as a clue to where he may be. Neither his family, friends, nor neighbors are able to provide help.

Turning to his friend Emmett Gabriel, Charleston’s newest police detective, Parks can only watch as what started with a simple voicemail takes on a sinister life of its own. 

Parks soon finds himself entangled in an affair that spans centuries, going back to the time of Charleston’s birth.

With a focus on learning his client’s fate, Parks will soon find himself facing a mystery that will not only be a test of his wits but leaves him challenged in ways he never imagined.

Facing down twists, turns, betrayals, and traditions of honor, will he break The Code?

Release Date: October 7, 2022

Publisher: Rivers Turn Press

Soft Cover: 978-0998575575; 319 pages

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3IETRpM 

Rivers Turn Press: https://bit.ly/3V9725u  

 

Book Excerpt  

He looked into my eyes with something that could only be described as desperation. Suddenly, his look of despair faded as if a veil was lifted from his face. He stopped speaking and stood straight. His hands stopped moving, and he looked at each of them, turning them over, back to palm, as he examined them. He raised his head back to my eyes. As he looked at me, in an instant, the fearful look drained from his face, replacing it, a blank, expressionless gaze took hold of his features. He moved his eyes to my hand on his bicep, then shifted his gaze back to my face. He slowly twisted his arm from my slight grasp. He spoke slowly and methodically.    

“No, Cash didn’t call. No one called. There was nothing from Cash.”

“But you just said...”

“I didn’t say anything. Nothing,” he said as he turned and faced the rear of the lot. 

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About the Author

Sean Keefer is the award winning author of three legal thrillers, The Trust, The Solicitor, and The Code, all set in and around coastal South Carolina.

He is also the author of Mediation in the Family Courts of South Carolina, a legal treatise on family law mediation.

He lives and writes in Charleston, South Carolina.

In addition to his writing, Sean is a recording and performing guitarist/singer/songwriter of Americana and Alt-Country music. Watch him sing Carolina Sunset which was inspired by his latest book, The Code. Listen here!

For more information about his writing and music, visit SeanKeefer.com and ADogNamedBear.com.

Follow him on Facebook @theNoahParksMysterySeries and @SeanKeeferMusic. Follow him on Instagram @NoahParksMysteries and @1ADogNamedBear1 

Website | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads

Sponsored By:

⭐Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off⭐Shine His Light 3 by Marie McGaha & Giveaway! #ChristianDevotional @marie_mcgaha

 

Life isn’t easy but God has given us instructions on how to survive…

By Marie McGaha

Book Blurb

Life is the journey we take on our way to Heaven. It’s not easy, it’s not pretty, and sometimes, it’s downright difficult. However, we have an Advocate unlike any other, Jesus Christ. In Shine His Light, the author uses scriptures and her own life lessons to help others get through the bumpy spots.

Release Date: September 2, 2022

Publisher:  DWB Publishing

Soft Cover:979-8887963426; 137 pages; $6.99

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BCS7K29V

Book Excerpt  

When I was a kid, the series “Star Trek” was the greatest sci-fi show on TV, with the most up-to-date special effects. People disappeared in the transporter, we saw the Enterprise fly through the stars at warp speed, and of course, we saw really strange people and creatures from other planets. Sometimes, the planets were inhospitable and wouldn’t support life as we know it, so the crew moved on. 

Of course, it didn’t take long for technology to leap forward and when I watch the old “Star Trek” episodes now, the special effects seem so antiquated, they’re something we laugh about. We can take what is already there and turn it into something better, something brand new and more efficient but we can’t take nothing and turn it into something. Only God can do that. 

When God’s Spirit hovered over the face of the waters, He did not think it was inhospitable or that nothing could ever come from it. God looked at the waters and thought, I can make dry land. I can make light. I can take some of that dirt and form a human being. And that is exactly what He did. But He did not stop there, He formed a human being from a pile of dirt and then, He did something remarkable, He breathed His own Spirit into that pile of dirt and gave it life. That pile of dirt became the first man—a living, breathing, moving, thinking person. And God said it was “very good.” Up until then, everything created was called “good,” but man and woman were “very good.”

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Marie McGaha is giving away one complete set of her Shine His Light Series - Shine His Light 1, Shine His Light 2 & Shine His Light 3

Terms & Conditions:

• By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.

• One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one complete set of the Shine His Light Series.

• This giveaway ends midnight October 28.

• Winner will be contacted via email on January 27.

• Winner has 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone!

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Chaplain, author, editor and inspirational speaker, Marie McGaha lives in the beautiful Ozarks of southeast Oklahoma. After losing the love of her life, Nathan, Marie returned from the mountains of Idaho to their native home where she lives with a houseful of yapping furbies, pigs, chickens, and a horse named Horse! Shine His Light 4, the final book of the series, is due out spring 2023.

Website: www.mariemcgaha.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Marie_McGaha

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariemcgaha/

Sponsored By:

⭐Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off⭐The Key to Circus-Mom Highway by Allyson Rice #ContemporaryFiction #WomensFiction @circusmomhwy

 

In an attempt to secure an unexpected inheritance—and hopefully find a few answers—two estranged sisters and their newly discovered brother embark on a comically surreal trip through the Deep South to retrace the life of the mother who abandoned them as infants…

By Allyson Rice

Book Blurb

In an attempt to secure an unexpected inheritance—and hopefully find a few answers—two estranged sisters and their newly discovered brother embark on a comically surreal trip through the Deep South to retrace the life of the mother who abandoned them as infants.

On a Tuesday afternoon, sisters Jesse Chasen and Jennifer McMahon receive a phone call notifying them that their birth mother has died, leaving behind a significant inheritance. But in order to obtain it, they must follow a detailed road trip she designed for them to get to know her—and that includes finding a brother they never knew existed.

For the next week, this ill-assorted trio treks across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia to meet their mother’s old friends, from circus performers to a juke joint owner, each of whom delivers a shocking vignette into the life of a young mother traumatized by loss and abuse. Along the way, these three siblings—Jesse, whose fiery exterior disguises a wounded, drifting musician stuck in a rut; Jennifer, whose carefully curated family life is threatened by her husband’s infidelity; and Jack, whose enigmatic Jackie, Oh! persona in the New Orleans drag queen scene helps him escape the nightmares of Afghanistan that haunt him at night—must confront their own demons (and at least one alligator). But in chasing the truth about their real mother, they may all just find their second chance.

This uproarious debut novel is a reminder that sometimes, the family you’d never have chosen may turn out to be exactly what you need.

“This breezy, charming tale incisively shows a family’s bittersweet facets.” –Kirkus Reviews

A “feverish, entertaining novel” –Foreward Clarion Reviews

“In this rollicking family dramedy, debut author Rice sends three lovable siblings on a zany yet touching road trip… Rice’s sharp observations of society’s absurdity verge on the satirical… Fans of family drama, road trips, and non-stop laughs will love this cross-country adventure.” –BookLife

Release Date: Paperback: November 27, 2022; Kindle: January 3, 2023

Publisher: The Total Human Press

Soft Cover: 978-0982185544; 270 pages

Amazon:https://amzn.to/3XHsOiU 

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-key-to-circus-mom-highway-allyson-rice/1142037363?ean=9780982185544

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-key-to-circus-mom-highway 

Target: https://www.target.com/p/the-key-to-circus-mom-highway-by-allyson-rice-paperback/-/A-87939489

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62003645-the-key-to-circus-mom-highway

Book Excerpt  

Jesse climbed three flights of stairs, then unlocked the front door and entered Kyle’s third-floor walk-up. His studio apartment was about as nice a place as his dingy office, except for a few touches here and there that made it seem like a woman had at least attempted to make it better than a frat boy’s dorm room, Chicago Bears bedspread notwithstanding. 

Jesse darted around the apartment quickly, gathering her things and shoving her clothes and personal items into an old canvas duffel bag that she pulled down from a shelf in the closet. Once the duffel bag was full, she supplemented with a few plastic grocery bags that she pulled out of a broken kitchen drawer. Her thoughts as she raced around -- ranging from anger at Kyle, to relief at being rid of him, to panic about where she could land next -- bounced around in her head like a pinball machine. While snippets of her phone conversation replayed in her head on endless repeat mode.

Kyle’s puppy, in a dog cage in the corner, watched her curiously, head cocked to the side, wagging his tail as Jesse hurried about, mumbling to herself. He was a mixed-breed puppy that Kyle said he found sleeping in the bushes outside their building. Though Jesse was pretty sure that was code for “I stole him from a neighbor who was distracted doing laundry in the basement.” 

Kyle had grandiose plans to train it and make money in the underground dogfighting scene in their neighborhood. But since Jesse thought the sweet little thing might actually be part Golden Retriever and part Beanie Baby, she figured the odds weren’t good for the success of that business plan in the face of disgruntled Pit Bulls and Rottweilers.

Right on cue after Jesse mumbled to herself, “What am I forgetting?... What am I forgetting?” the puppy gave a tiny little yelp.

“Ohhhh, sweetie,” she purred at him.

She stood in the middle of the room facing the cage, conflicted, the two of them locked in a staring battle. The puppy won. 

“Okay, I don’t know where we’re going to live, but I’m not leaving you here with that fucker. He doesn’t deserve you. Come here, baby,” she said as she set her bags down, pulled him out of the cage, and kissed him squarely on his soft, furry, blonde head. Then she set him down on the floor and picked up the dog cage. She carried it across the room where she proceeded to turn it sideways and dump the dog shit out of the cage and onto the center of the bed. 

“Who’s the shitty lay now, Kyle?” she said to no one in particular.

Jesse walked back to the corner, set the cage down, picked up her bags and the puppy, and grabbed her guitar case that was leaning against the wall next to the front door. Then she walked out of Kyle’s place for the very last time, stealing his dog as she went.

Tuesday Evening

Jesse’s forty-one-year-old sister, Jennifer McMahon, lived in the perfectly manicured, upper-middle-class neighborhood of Glenview, Illinois with her perfect doctor husband Sean. Their perfect children, Connor and Maggie, were both attending their dad’s alma mater, Northwestern University. Though they lived on campus, they were close enough to bring their laundry home every week. 

Glenview was a Chicago suburb where the inner-city problems a mere few miles away were like a story you read in the newspaper about some other country, and about which you could safely exclaim, “Oh, my goodness, that’s just awful!” while you finished your kale/banana smoothie and delightfully flaky almond croissant. 

Geography was merely one item in the growing list of fundamental differences between the sisters. The scant two years that separated them in age was the closest thing about them these days. After years of Jennifer coming to Jesse’s rescue under the banner of “Oh, she’s just free-spirited,” Jesse’s increasing trouble over the last few years in terms of holding down a job, maintaining a stable living situation, and the need to be constantly bailed out financially had put intensifying strain on the already challenging relationship.

Jesse pulled up to the curb in her 1999 Alpine Green Dodge Neon, the left side of her front bumper tied on with nylon rope, with her stolen dog and all her earthly possessions in tow. She turned off the engine and tried to quell her rising sense of inadequacy as she stared at Jennifer’s fairytale, Brady-Bunch-on-steroids house. 

She took a deep breath, looked at the puppy that was sitting on the passenger seat next to her cell phone, and said, “I’ll be right back. Don’t make any long-distance calls.” 

She walked up to the front door, took another fortifying breath, and rang the bell. Jennifer, in all her straitlaced glory, opened the door and stared at her younger sister for what seemed to Jesse like fifteen minutes, but in reality, was probably more like ten seconds.  Jesse ended the standoff by getting right down to the more pressing business at hand. 

“I assume you got the same call I got,” she said.

“I did,” answered Jennifer.

There was another awkward pause. 

“You gonna invite me in, Jen? Or should I just break into your neighbor’s shed, grab a lawn chair, and make myself at home here on your porch?” 

Jennifer wrinkled her nose, sniffed, and said, “You smell like vomit and dog poop.” 

“Yeah?” Jesse countered, “Well, you smell like judgment and superiority.” 

No comment from Jennifer. Here we go again, she thought to herself.

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About the Author

Allyson Rice is a writer, an award-winning mixed media artist, and a producer with Atomic Focus Entertainment, currently splitting her time between Los Angeles, CA, and Rehoboth Beach, DE. She’s a graduate of Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Science in Communication. After spending many years as an actress on stage and on television, she left acting and spent the next decade running yoga/meditation retreats, women’s retreats, and creativity retreats around the country. After that, she pivoted to focus once again on her own creative work. In addition to her writing and art, she’s also a photographer (her work was most recently chosen for an exhibition at the Soho Photo Gallery in NYC).


Some random bits of Allyson trivia: 1) She’s been skydiving, paragliding, bungee jumping, ziplining through a rainforest, and scuba diving with stingrays; 2) she has an extensive PEZ dispenser collection; 3) she played Connor Walsh on As the World Turns for seven years; 4) she’s been in the Oval Office at the White House after hours; 5) she’s related to the Hatfields of the infamous Hatfield/McCoy feud; and 6) her comedic rap music video “Fine, I’ll Write My Own Damn Song” won numerous awards in the film festival circuit and can now be seen on YouTube https://youtu.be/7Xe3nuVDkC4.


Also available from Allyson Rice is her line of women’s coloring books (The Color of Joy, Dancing with Life, and Wonderland), and The Creative Prosperity PlayDeck, an inspirational card deck about unlocking and utilizing your creative energy in the world. She’s currently at work on her second novel and her fourth women’s coloring book. But she is most proud of being mom to musical artist @_zanetaylor.

Website: www.allysonrice.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CircusMomHwy

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

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

https://www.instagram.com/allysonriceart/

https://www.instagram.com/officialallysonrice/

My e-commerce site:

https://www.allyson-wonderland.com

Watch her comedic rap music video “Fine, I’ll Write My Own Damn Song” which won numerous awards in the film festival circuit!

 

Sponsored By:

⭐Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off⭐Imbalance of Power by Armin Shimerman #HistoricalFiction @shimermanarmin

 

With the threat of further imprisonment held over him, Doctor John Dee – and his acolyte, William Shakespeare – must use all his talents to solve the mystery of who on Illyria is shepherding religious insurrectionists bent on overthrowing the Queen…

By Armin Shimerman

Book Blurb

On January 24, 2023, renown stage and television actor Armin Shimerman will release the final book of his historical trilogy, Illyria. Imbalance of Power will be released by Jumpmaster Press. The story continues in the world he created, occupied by familiar and fantastic characters of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

With the threat of further imprisonment held over him, Doctor John Dee must use all his talents to solve the mystery of who on Illyria is shepherding religious insurrectionists bent on overthrowing the Queen. Helped by his acolyte, Will Shakespeare, they investigate the court of Count Orsino, their chief suspect. Their mission brings them in contact with the witty characters of Toby Belch, Malvolio, Feste, and others in a fancifully imagined prequel to Twelfth Night. Together, in this exciting final story steeped in Elizabethan history, Dee and Shakespeare must manuever through a labyrinth of religious intolerance as they seek to protect Crown and Country.

Pub Date: January 24, 2023

Publisher:  Jumpmaster Press

Softcover / Hardcover: 380 pages; $14.99 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Jumpmaster Press: https://www.jumpmasterpress.com/illyriaseries

Book Excerpt  

The gallows’ rope collapses his airway though he struggles gyrating, suffocating; there is no release from the grip on his throat or the endless falling—yet not falling. Flailing. There is no purchase, and nothing below him but immeasurable emptiness despite the hellish knowledge that the floor is inches away. In an inner realm of despair, Dr. John Dee’s soul concedes, I am dead. What is left of him shrinks itself inside his scholar’s robes squeezing all pain and horror into a single dust mote to be blown away. Then, for thirty seconds he does not exist. Not even his fear.

John Dee had expected nothingness or angels. Neithercome. There is a dull, far-off sound. After the certainty of his end, the dead man is conscious of being prone on his back. The grisly memories of his demise revisit him—a circle of points lead back to the same pointless point. Am I still part of the world? His senses tell him of the physicality of the floor beneath him. Buttocks, back, and legs supported, his feet no longer pedal for a perch like a crazed victim of St. Vitus’ dance. Not possible. This is a devilish trick! Struggling with resurrection, a rhyme fills his head,

If St. Vitus’ Day be rainy weather,

it shall rain for thirty days together.

With his windpipe pinioned, and the soft tissues of his throat as sharp as glass, John Dee is mindful that he can breathe. Endeavoring to do more of what has always been taken for granted, Dee gags on the swollen blockage in his windpipe. His chest wheezes, high-pitched and foreign, nonetheless he breathes; he is not suffocating.

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About the Author

A veteran of stage and screen, Armin is widely known for his portrayal of Quark on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Principal Snyder on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Other credits include notable appearances on TV shows from Hill Street Blues and The West Wing to CSI and dozens of others. His voice has been heard in many animated shows and popular game series such as Ratchet & Clank and BioShock. Armin is a renowned stage actor, having performed on Broadway and stages acrossthe country. He is also a Shakespeare scholar and teacher, theatre arts lecturer, and former Associate Artistic Director of the Antaeus Theatre Company in Los Angeles. With his wife, Kitty Swink, Armin is an active fundraiser for the Pancreatic Center Action Network (PanCAN).

Website:  https://www.arminshimerman.com/

Twitter:   https://twitter.com/ShimermanArmin

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/jumpmasterpress/?hl=en

 

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