Guest Post by Author Susan A Royal

Today I welcome, Susan A Royal, author of the newly released, Xander's Tangled Web.

I've read Susan's Not Long Ago, and greatly enjoyed her time travel tale. I hope you'll enjoy her books too.

                                                  ~ • ~
When Princess Mena vanishes without a trace, Xander must deal with gypsies, love potions and half-truths before unraveling the mystery.
                                                  ~ • ~

After a late night visit to Battington’s marketplace, Princess Mena vanishes without a trace. Merchants are frantic, because King Leander has called for a curfew and postponed the Spring Festival
until further notice. Certain his former constable is the man for the job, the mayor hires Xander to investigate, hoping he can solve the mystery in a hurry so things can go back to normal. But Xander’s not so sure that’s possible, because there’s romance involved, and he knows when that happens folks who are normally very sensible seem to lose all reason. In addition to sorting out truths, half-truths and outright lies, he must deal with gypsies, love potions and an illegal moonshine operation before he gets to the bottom of things.

Find more about Susan and her books:
Xander’s Tangled Web (fantasy, mystery)

In My Own Shadow (fantasy, adventure, romance)

Not Long Ago (time travel, adventure, romance)
Not Long Ago book trailer

All books available at MuseItUp, Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
And you can find more about Susan at her website or her blog.

Born in west Texas and raised in south Texas, Susan makes her home in a 100-year-old farmhouse in a small east Texas town. She shares it with a ghost who likes to harmonize with her son when he plays guitar.
She is married and the mother of six (she counts her children’s spouses as her own) and five grandchildren who are all unique and very special. Her family is rich with characters, both past and present. Her grandmother shared stories of living on a farm in Oklahoma Territory with three sisters and three brothers and working as a telephone
operator in the early 20 th century. Her father told her about growing up in San Antonio in the depression, and she experienced being a teenager during WWII through her mother’s eyes.

When she isn’t writing, she works as a secretary in education and does her best to keep up with her grandchildren. Music and painting are two of her passions. She is a firm believer in getting what you want without breaking the bank. She loves to bargain shop anywhere there’s a sale and began repurposing long before it was popular. She paints,
crafts and sews. Her office/craft/sewing room is littered with her latest projects.

Susan loves to take her readers through all kinds of adventures with liberal doses of
romance. So far, she’s written two books in her It’s About Time series, Not Long Ago and
From Now On. They are time travel adventures with romance about two people who fall
in love despite the fact they come from very different worlds. In My Own Shadow is a
Fantasy adventure/romance. Out this fall is her YA fantasy, Xander’s Tangled Web.
Look for her books at MuseItUp/Amazon/B&N. You can also find Odin’s Spear, one of
her short stories featured in a Quests, Curses, and Vengeance anthology, Martinus
Publishing, available on Amazon.

Want to know more? Visit susanaroyal.wordpress.com or susanaroyal.moonfruit.com
for a peek inside this writer’s mind and see what she’s up to. You never know what new
world she’s going to visit next.

Guest Blogger: Nick Wilford

Thanks for hosting me on the final day of my tour, Jean. Today, in contrary fashion, I’m going back to the beginning to bring your readers the opening from my novella, A Change of Mind.

“Hey Reuben, my main man, pass me that stapler, will you?”

The loud, abrasive voice of Guy Borderman jackknifed into me as I blew on my hot milky tea, causing me to spill some on my trousers. I cursed silently, not wanting to bring further attention to myself, and rested the mug on my desk before picking up the stapler and making the journey to Borderman’s desk as nonchalantly as I could.

As it was getting on towards five o’clock, I had hoped Borderman would give me a break today. No such luck. It wasn’t so much the humiliation, but the hit to my pocket that really grated.

I dropped the stapler on Borderman’s desk, not looking the hulking brute in the eyes, and quickly turned to leave, praying the next part would be left out.

“Got any plans tonight, Rubes?” barked that faux-jovial voice as I was halfway back to my desk. I turned, looked at Borderman’s self-satisfied grin, and raised my shoulders slightly in a shrug that felt more like a gesture of surrender. I wasn’t sure why Borderman still made the effort. Everyone already knew I was a massive loser, and most barely looked up from their work.

It was too late today, but tomorrow I would have to request a new stapler, essential for my work, at a cost of £4.99, consuming both my time and money. And at some point, this new item would be “borrowed” by Borderman before disappearing forever into a black hole. This had happened nearly every day I was at work for the past two years.

At five o’clock, I put on my jacket, checking the pockets to find that thankfully there was no glue or other unsavoury items today, and left the office to walk to the bus stop. It started to rain in a torrential downpour that felt like some sort of water-based apocalypse. The bus approached, headlights like hazy red suns glimpsed through the rain. Then I noticed the “Full” sign.

Rather than wait half an hour and take a chance on the next bus having a seat, I started to squelch in my sodden shoes towards home. On the way I passed the Rose and Crown, as I had many times before, always wondering what it was like inside. Rather than continue wading through what felt like a sea with holes in it, I decided this might be an appropriate time to find out.

After all, it was my birthday.

* * *

Title: A Change of Mind and Other Stories

Page/word count: 107 pages, approx. 32,000 words

Publisher: Superstar Peanut Publishing

Author: Nick Wilford

Genre: Speculative fiction

Format: Ebook only

Release date: 25th May 2015

A Change of Mind and Other Stories consists of a novella, four short stories and one flash fiction piece. This collection puts the extremes of human behaviour under the microscope with the help of lashings of dark humour, and includes four pieces previously published in Writer’s Muse magazine.

In A Change of Mind, Reuben is an office worker so meek and mild he puts up with daily bullying from his boorish male colleagues as if it’s just a normal part of his day. But when a stranger points him in the direction of a surgeon offering a revolutionary new procedure, he can’t pass up the chance to turn his life around.

But this isn’t your average surgeon. For a start, he operates alone in a small room above a mechanic’s. And he promises to alter his patients’ personality so they can be anything they want to be…

In Marissa, a man who is determined to find evidence of his girlfriend’s infidelity ends up wondering if he should have left well alone.

The Dog God finds a chink in the armour of a man with a megalomaniacal desire to take over the world.

In The Insomniac, a man who leads an obsessively regimented lifestyle on one hour’s sleep a night finds a disruption to his routine doesn’t work for him.

Hole In One sees a dedicated golfer achieving a lifelong ambition.

The Loner ends the collection on a note of hope as two family members try to rebuild their lives after they are torn apart by jealousy.

Purchase Links:
Amazon US / Amazon UK / Smashwords
B&N
Kobo
Add it on Goodreads

Meet the author:

Nick Wilford is a writer and stay-at-home dad. Once a journalist, he now makes use of those rare times when the house is quiet to explore the realms of fiction, with a little freelance editing and formatting thrown in. When not working he can usually be found spending time with his family or cleaning something. He has four short stories published in Writer’s Muse magazine. Nick is also the editor of Overcoming Adversity: An Anthology for Andrew. Visit him at his blog or connect with him on Twitter or Goodreads.

Rafflecopter giveaway

Special Guest: Marion Sipe

Please give a warm welcome to Marion Sipe, author of A Sign In Blood. I'll try to keep my discarded throngs at bay while we do this interview. They're used to me ignoring them lately. Just don't look any of them in the eye and we'll be fine.

With A Sign in Blood, what did you have the most fun writing?

The ending. It still gets me every single time I read it. I hope it does the same for others, but just knowing that it hasn't lost anything for me, despite my having read it at least a dozen times, makes me grin. So, it's my favorite part of the book, and the part I enjoyed writing the most.

When you can enjoy your own story even after all the hard work and multiple readings, you know you've created something wonderful. Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

I learned a lot of things, actually. Liral and Chadri are characters of color and through writing them, and researching in order to write them, I learned a bit about the subject. The rewriting and editing always teach me something new and through it I think I gain a better grasp of the craft. Even if it is just a little each time. Getting crits for the story taught me a lot, too, and really made me look at things from different angles, which is always fascinating.

Writing and editing seem to be an endless learning experience don't they? Speaking of which, you know I'm a NaNo nut. Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo?

I did several years ago, and then again last year. I had a great time and made some really awesome friends. I won, too! I actually wrote something like 135k in a single month. It was glorious, but exhausting.

135k? That is glorious! What's your favorite NaNo Pep Talk?

Lemony Snicket did a pep talk last year and I still have it in my inbox! It's really fantastic, and I re-read it whenever I need a boost. It never fails to make me grin, and to keep me writing, which is, I suppose, the point of a pep talk! :-D

We all need a little motivation now and then. What gave you the idea to write your book?

I can't remember. It's been so long, I really have no idea what that initial spark was. It could have been anything, really. I know that, somewhere after I had started writing it, I got stalled and then I saw this wonderful documentary about deserts and that got me back into the story. I find deserts fascinating, and being able to build one really hooked me.

What kind of readers will enjoy your book?

My hope is that there's something for everyone, but I think we all want that for our books. I think people who enjoy an immersive world and complicated characters will enjoy A Sign in Blood. And, of course, the hardcore fantasy readers to whom 300 pages is a great start. :-D

Sounds good to me. What research did you do for the book?

For this book specifically I researched deserts, mountains, gunpowder, a variety of plants, toxins, several cultures, camels, cavalry, and a bunch more stuff. But I would have done all that anyway. I enjoy the research, too. I just hope that I did it justice.

I'm trying to imagine how that all comes together. Gun-toting camels clashing with the mountain camels who employ toxins! Ok, probably not. Ahem... What do you hope your readers come away with after reading your book?

A great big smile? Honestly, I'm not sure. I hope readers enjoy the story, and I hope it makes an impression, but there's not any one thing in particular I'm trying to say. I hope it makes people think, it certainly did me.

Thanks for stopping by, Marion! My discarded characters must like you, they behaved the entire time. Or maybe they're quietly plotting how to get ahold of a herd of those gun-toting camels...

You can purchase A Sign In Blood here Amazon or here B&N or here Smashwords

Special Guest: Chrystalla Thoma

I am very excited to announce that we have a special guest today! All the way from Cyprus, please welcome author, Chrystalla Thoma.

Jean: Hi Chrystalla. Welcome. Can you tell us a few things about yourself?

Chrys: Well, I’m Greek. *allows time for the appropriate bouzouki music to start playing and handsome Greek men to dance and smash plates* I come from Cyprus, an island in the Eastern Mediterranean, right underneath Turkey, above Egypt, and next to Syria and Lebanon. Which makes for an interesting culinary and musical culture – oriental pop, rock and Greek music, mousaka and taramosalata and hummus!

Jean: The closest I get to anything Greek is the occasional gyro or baklava binge, but handsome, plate-breaking men sounds very enticing.

Most authors love cats and live in remote houses. Are you like that, too?

Chrys: I own no cats and no house – but I do have a hybrid energy car (a Toyota Prius)! I possess herds of wild books that graze on my shelves and floor, and I’m married to the best husband in the whole world, imported from the tropics of Costa Rica. *waves at Carlos* I have lived for some years in France, England and Germany, and am now immune to foreign (i.e. non Greek) cooking. *g* As a world traveler, I am definitely a typical author.

Jean: Excuse me a moment while I protect my discarded characters from your wandering herd of wild books. While I do that, why don't you tell me about your upcoming book?

Chrys: “Dioscuri” is a modern, urban fantasy version of the ancient Greek myth. Dioscuri was the name given to the twin brothers Kastor and Polydeukes, Zeus’ sons with Leda, one of whom is mortal and the other immortal. Zeus mated with Leda in the form of a swan and she gave birth to two eggs. When they cracked, the Dioscuri emerged, along with Helen the Beautiful, the very same who allegedly caused the downfall of Troy…

Jean: I see. Break the eggs to make a story… Where is the story set? What happens?

Chrys: The ancient gods have woken again in Athens, and there is war. The two brothers fight against the monsters. When the mortal brother, Kastor, dies in battle, his immortal sibling Polydeukes takes things in his own hands and makes a dark deal with the Underworld. A deal Zeus will sooner or later discover and all hell will break loose.

Jean: *shudder* I've studied enough Greek Mythology to know that deceiving Zeus is never a good idea. Where can people learn more about you and your work?

Chrys: “Dioscuri” is coming out with MuseItUp Publishing in March 2011. You can find me and my stories here: http://museituppublishing.com/musepub/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=91&Itemid=82

You can follow my ramblings about Greekness and mythology and about my stories here:
http://chrystallathoma.wordpress.com/

Thank you for having me here!

Jean: Of course, anytime! My host of discarded characters thanks you for not stepping on them during your visit.

If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading any of Chrystalla’s work, head on over to her blog and get started. My personal favorite is World of Shells. I think of that story every time I look at my daughter's hermit crabs.

Thank you for visiting, Chrystalla. Keep those great stories coming!