Suburban Dangers from Megan Whitson Lee!

Hi, friends! Help me welcome Megan Whitson Lee to the blog!

Kick back with a cuppa and enjoy while I shine the blog-light on her new release, 

SUBURBAN DANGERS from Pelican Book Group.

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Megan Whitson Lee

Megan Whitson Lee is a wife, a mom of two greyhounds, an editor for Pelican Book Group, and a high school English teacher. Her novel, Captives, won the 2016 Director's Choice Award and was a finalist for a Selah Award in the women's contemporary fiction category at Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference.

Megan writes inspirational women's contemporary and historical fiction featuring characters standing at the crossroads of major life decisions, crises of faith, and moral dilemmas. Her novels depict real-life problems, address universal spiritual and moral struggles, and offer messages of hope, recovery, and redemption through God’s saving grace.

You can connect with Megan at the following hot-spots:

Web: www.meganwhitsonlee.com

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

Twitter: @MeganWhitsonLee

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/megan_whitson/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganwlee1/

*****

Excerpt

At home that night while Kaki checked her social media sites, she was surprised to see that Sydney had followed her. @HotSydGirl was Sydney’s handle, but Kaki immediately recognized Sydney’s picture—a close-up shot of her posing for the camera with puckered lips. Later, Sydney’s picture and name popped up on another one of Kaki’s accounts. Sydney Diaz has just followed you.

Kaki was excited. She’d figured Sydney would think she was a total loser after their conversation on the track. “Maybe I’m just one of the only people she knows at school,” she said out loud as she clicked to confirm. She scanned Sydney’s page for her statuses, pictures, and people she knew. Sydney had over 2,000 followers on one account and over a thousand on her other accounts. 

Inferiority crept over Kaki. She only had around 160 followers, and most of those were family members, distant cousins, and a few friends. Her other social networking accounts were just as pathetic, and she wondered how it felt to be someone like Sydney Diaz—obviously popular, especially with the guys. Most of the posts to her page were messages from them:

hey syd. where u been girl?

heard you moved schools. Ill still c u this weekend rite?

got some peeps for u to meet.

There were a lot of posted selfies from guys and a few girls dressed up in short-short skirts, high-high heels, and tight-tight tops. Sydney definitely moved in different social circles.

Pictures on Kaki’s page were of friends making faces in the camera, a few family photos, and a lot of shared dorky sayings: Only you can make it happen and Just because someone doesn’t like you doesn’t mean you’re not likeable. Kaki felt too intimated to even send Sydney a private message. And she resolved not to be clingy at school either.

The quickest way to drive a cool girl away from you was to be too needy.

Blurb

Sixteen-year-old Kaki Jones lives a normal life in suburbia. She makes good grades, runs on the cross-country team, and helps care for her younger brothers and sisters. Her younger brother, Brandon is the troubled child. He parties, fights at school, keeps photos of girls on his cell phone, and runs into trouble with the police.

​

But Kaki harbors a secret. After meeting cool girl Sydney Diaz, Kaki’s life is forever changed.  Now, she’s a sophomore by day and a commodity sold at the hands of gang members by night. Living a double life and controlled by threats of violence against her family, Kaki sees no chance of escape.

When parents look the other way and strangers offer more affection than a father, God’s deliverance is the only answer.

E-book available May 12. In print June 1.

Purchase Links (e-book available now, print edition available June 1st):

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Pelican Book Group ~ Christian Book.com

Giveaway!!

This generous lady has offered a giveaway in conjunction with her visit to the blog! Comment below and you'll be entered to win an e-copy of Suburban Dangers! Winner announced here at the blog on Friday, May 26th! Good luck, and get busy with that comment love, friends!!

Clare Revell's Latest - November-Charlie

Clare Revell

I always find it a delight to spend time with Pelican Book Group author Clare Revell.

She's an aficionado of suspense, and recent efforts of channeled that gift into the Christian Young Adult genre. I admire this effort, because to my mind, there's nothing better - and more important - than capturing the interest and hearts of young readers. They're our future, and they're smart. Here's what else: they know good books when they find them.

Therefore, without further fanfare, allow me to introduce Clare's upcoming (July, 2015) release, November-Charlie!

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When Jim and Staci Kirk's parents go missing, he decides to search for them himself. Unbeknownst to him, his sister and their best friend Lou, stow away to join him. 

It seems so simple on paper, sail from England to the Philippines and find the Kirks. But a hurricane named Erika and a relentless shark conspire against them to make the voyage one of the most perilous trips the teenagers have ever lived. 

Can they endure the danger? Will they find the Kirks alive or does God have another idea in mind?

EXCERPT

Lou heard a siren and turned to look behind them. A flashing light identified the fast approaching boat as police. Four armed officers stood on deck and the loud hailer instructed them to pull over.

"Jim? What are you going to do?"

"Do what they want."

"You can’t."

"I have to." Jim began to slow the boat and moved it to rest at the side of the waterway.

The police boat shot past and one of the officers waved his thanks.

Lou released a sigh of relief. "For a moment I thought..."

"We all did," Jim said. He pulled out into the main waterway again and followed in the wake of the police boat.

"Wonder where they’re going," Staci said.

"Somewhere in a hurry. Maybe they’re late for lunch," Lou said.

"With guns?"

"Maybe they’ve had lunch, and they’re off to kill the cook," Jim said grinning.

"There it is." Staci pointed. "It’s slowing down."

Suddenly an almighty explosion fragmented the police boat into a mass of flames and smoke. Shattered timbers and twisted metal flew everywhere.

MARIANNE’S REVIEW

What an amazing adventure. These three musketeers (well, four, really because you have to count that adorable dog Deefer) set out to sea with the noble intention of finding Jim and Staci's missing parents. Dealing with numerous perils along the way--I won't spoil with specifics, trust me, you'll want to read and take the ride along with them--they stretch and grow as individuals and in their faith, which is a wonderful aspect of Christian YA fiction. Revell always delivers on the suspense, and November-Charlie is no different, but I'm particularly impressed by the way she develops her characters and paints a very real portrait of YA life with all of its joys, insecurities, fears, sadness and overriding determination. 

MEET CLARE REVELL

Clare lives in a small town in England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, and her three children. Writing from an early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fanfiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, reading, or sewing, she's keeping house or doing the many piles of laundry her children manage to make.

She has been a Christian for more than half her life and attends Carey Baptist where she is one of three registrars.

Connect with Clare at:

http://www.revell124.plus.com/clarerevell/

https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellAuthor

https://twitter.com/ClareRevell

http://telscha.blogspot.co.uk/

Stone of Destiny - COTT Champ!

A hearty congratulations to Mary Ball, author of Stone of Destiny!

And a special thank-you to these authors for entering their great new releases:

Bonnie Doran, author of Dark Biology
Laura V. Hilton, author of Awakened Love
Maddy Lederman, author of Edna in the Desert
Julie Cantrell, author of When Mountains Move

About Stone of Destiny:

Taylor has given up on everything but her work. After becoming the youngest CEO of Mugful’s Beverage Company, she believes life is complete--until her grandmother asks her to oversee the renovations of the family home, in addition to searching for a missing heirloom.
Her first contact with what she believes is an insignificant ring, lost for fifty years, sends her life spinning. Taylor experiences strange. Unexpected feelings surface that she doesn't understand. Thoughts that should remain unspoken are voiced. Taylor’s emotional journey begins, testing a heart as cold as the ring itself and forcing her to question everything she believes. Is this a fairytale, or simply her soul reaching out for a different world--a life she can only find through faith and a divine trust in God?

What Voters Had to Say:

Mary L. Ball, I am looking forward to reading Stone of Destiny! The story sounds amazing.

Mary, your title sounds interesting. I like the idea of following the trail of an heirloom.
Stone of Destiny is one I look forward to reading.

Mary does such great work. What a mind ! I have been looking forward to her new book ever since I first heard about the storyline.

Mary Ball's Stone of Destiny excerpt takes a Christian believer out of the box.

Mary Ball is an excellent author. I am looking forward to her next book.

Stone of Destiny is good reading. You'll love it.

To to a wonderful beautiful lady Mary L. Ball keep on writing you are the best and your books are wonderful

About the author, Mary Ball:

She is a member of ACFW and lives in North Carolina between the wondrous mountains and beautiful beaches. When she’s not writing, Mary enjoys supporting her husband’s ministry,singing, fishing, and reading a good novel.
For more about Mary visit her at http://MaryLouwrites.weebly.com
Find her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/inspires4mary <https://twitter.com/inspires4mary
and facebook, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Inspirational-author-Mary-L-Ball/

Reviews for Stone of Destiny

Stone of Destiny by Mary L. Ball is a wonderful story of romance and one finding their way back to God through faith and trust. Taylor Harrison is the youngest CEO at the Mugful Beverage Company and she feels that her life is complete. With great trepidation she agrees to oversee the renovation of her grandmother's family home. Fifty years earlier, a sapphire ring was lost in the house and Granny Kay wants Taylor to search for the ring as the renovations are being made. After finding the ring, Taylor begins to have strange dreams and she is even making phone calls in her sleep at night.

Brent Roberts is the nephew of Granny Kay's best friend and he has been hired to do the renovations to the house. When he and Taylor meet, she is definitely not impressed even though she thinks he is the most handsome man she has ever seen. Brent is very much in tune with what God wants him to do with his life. His faith and the way he shares his knowledge of God cause Taylor to start questioning some of her beliefs. She soon realizes that she can only find happiness through a true faith in God.

The development of the plot, the characters, the dialogue, and the description of all the scenes were done in an excellent manner. The characters were so real that at times I wanted to shake Taylor and would not have minded if Brent gave me a hug. Granny Kay is the kind of grandma that everyone would love to have and her love for Taylor was a very important part of the story. All the action taking place in the book was so well done that in my mind I was struggling right along with Taylor as she worked to make her decisions and I was pulling for Brent to win Taylor's heart. I really appreciate the way that the author handled the romance in the story and how Taylor regained her faith in God and finally trusted Him with her life. Searching for the missing ring added a little suspense to the story.

Would she find the ring or would it be lost forever?

I highly recommend this book. If you like a wonderful story with lots of romance, a little bit of suspense, and a story in which faith in God plays a big part, then this is the book for you.

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Mary Ball has written a book that people must read. I have watched a lot of Nicholas Sparks movies and this book ranks up to the top of a Nicholas Sparks love story.

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This is the second book by Mary Ball that I have read. The first one was a mystery/suspense that had me guessing all the way to the end. This one had me intrigued and wondering all the way to the end what path Taylor was going to choose. This story starts out with a bang, literally, and I was wondering how I was going to put this book down to sleep that night. I love decorating and watching HGTV so I was especially interested in Mary's description of how this old house was being renovated by our very special hero. This book also takes place over a period of time so it is not an insta-love, but one that grows. Though sometimes I did get aggravated with Taylor for some of the choices she was making that would have resulted in a very lonely life.

Brent, our hero, was very patient, knew what he wanted, and pursued Taylor by not be overbearing or controlling. The dreams Taylor would have added an air of mystery to the whole plot and kept me turning the pages just to find out with Taylor why she was having them and what they meant. This book was provided to me by the author and the opinions are my own.

Buy Links:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

All Romance Ebooks
Prism Book Group

Welcome Debut Author Raquel Byrnes!

Today I'm thrilled to welcome Raquel Byrnes to A Minute with Marianne. It's a very special day for her - it marks the release of her debut novel with White Rose Publishing, Purple Knot! Over the past several months I've gotten to know Raquel, and she's a delight.

Raquel Byrnes lives in Southern, California with her husband of sixteen years and their six children. She considers inspirational fiction a wonderful way to minister to others. She writes romantic suspense with an edge-your-seat pace. Her first book the Shades of Hope Series, Purple Knot, released from White Rose Publishing.com on June 3rd. You can visit her at her website: www.raquelbyrnes.com and her writing blog, Edge of Your Seat Romance.

Here's a tickler about Purple Knot:

“Rain, you have to decide what kind of person you’re going to be. I have to know.”

“What are you saying, Jimmy?” Confused I looked at him.

“I’m saying that you’re racing towards a crossroads, and I want to know what path you’re
planning to take.”

“Now is not the time for this conversation, Jimmy. We’re chasing a suspect!”

“Now is exactly the time, Rain. I need to know, right now because anything you do out of anger or grief will directly affect me, too!” Jimmy said loudly.

Dread bubbled up into my chest. I tried to answer calmly but I felt control slipping. My throat ached with the words I wanted to shout at him. “Don’t make me do this, Jimmy. Not now.”

“Yes, now, Rain.”

“What do you want me to say?” I shouted. “What do you want to hear?”

“I want to hear that you won’t put your anger ahead of our future. I want to hear that you can walk away from the possibility of revenge.”

“Why…why would I do that?” I looked at Jimmy with wonder.

“Because you’ll destroy us in the process, Rain.” Jimmy reached out and caught the hem of my sweater in his fingers. He looked worried.

“Are you asking me to choose between nailing Parker and loving you?” Anger and confusion
whipped through me like a cold wind.

“No. I’m asking you to choose between the hatred boiling in your veins and the grace hanging over your head.”

*****************

Wow! Great excerpt, Raquel! I'm dying to know more about this book, and how it came to be -- perhaps five things none of us knew about Purple Knot?

Here is the inside scoop on some of those little known facts, Marianne:

• There is a hacker that helps the main character with the online name, Nitewriter6. That is actually my real online screen name. Those who follow my blog will see it.

• I started writing the idea of Purple Knot during my own time spent in a hospital dealing with a friend in trouble. I’d go down to the garage or write in stairwells. My favorite part was people watching in the cafeteria.

• I visited Seattle for research. My brother lives there and he showed me a lot of the cool places I use in my book. The Columbia tower indeed does have windows in the bathroom stalls and yes…I have tested them.

• I did a private detective course for my research into Purple Knot’s main character, Reyna Cruz. She had to speak the jargon and know how to track down a skip-trace so I did too. I even took a gun class and learned to target shoot.

• The title of the book is a clue to the mystery. See if you can solve it before Reyna does.

I love an author who so authentically embraces the world of their characters - I think it makes for such strong writing. This sounds like such a fantastic release, Raquel, and I can't wait to read it!

Thanks for stopping by the blog, and I wish you every success with Purple Knot! I know it will be a huge hit!