Let's talk about "A Silent Prayer" by Samreen Ahsan @samauthorcanada

A Silent Prayer is the first installment in the "A Prayer" Series.

Set in the beautiful city of Toronto, this captivating and thrilling romance takes you to a romantic and spiritual journey with Adam Gibson - a young and powerful businessman of Toronto - gifted by God with an altruistic soul but atheist by belief, who falls in love with a cursed soul and finds God - not through a miracle but the presence of demons around him.

It is an emotionally charged story of a young woman - Rania Ahmed, endowed with hypnotic beauty - a strong believer in God, who has lost hope she will ever find her soul mate but finds her safe harbor in an atheist.

My Reading Lounge's rec:

Here are 3 reasons why you should give it a try:

1. It comes from an award-winning author: Samreen Ahsan is winner of Best Romance in 2014 Los Angeles Book Festival, winner of Best Romance in 2014 Paris Book Festival, winner of 2014 Hollywood Book Festival; then she's got Honorable Mention—2014 New York Book Festival and is Global eBook Awards Nominee—and Readers' Favorite Book Award winner.

2. The story is set in a multicultural, captivating city: Toronto is the city where author Samreen Ahsan lives and when one of the main characters of her book, Adam Gibson, is a powerful businessman who "has built half of Toronto". Whether you've visited Toronto or not, give yourself the chance to dream about one of the most fascinating Canadian cities reading A Silent Prayer. A pivotal scene takes place when Adam is admiring a wonderful view of the Toronto night skyline: a magical-sounding music takes him to a spiral passage leading ground level...

3. It's a story of faith. A Silent Prayer is a novel about paranormal events based on Islamic concepts. It isn't very common, is it?

Adam has everything -- fame, money, power, honor... -- but he believes that he has all this just "because I worked hard for it". Rania will give him something his money or power can't provide: a new perspective, questions he can't answer without opening himself to a different view: "What about the blessings you got without even working hard?" she asks. 

And if it isn't enough... it's a love story, and who doesn't need it? 

Get your copy!

Special offer on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D2YEDPO

About the Author

History, art and literature are Samreen Ahsan's passions. She loves digging out information about prophecies, divine miracles and paranormal events that are mentioned in history and holy books, that don't sound possible in today's modern world. 

Since childhood, she's been into reading and writing--and yes, it can't happen without imagination, which luckily has no boundaries. Dance and music are also pastimes she enjoys, as well as reading romance fiction. She loves to travel and explore historical cities. She currently lives in Toronto, Canada. 

Samreen Ahsan 

Website | Twitter | Facebook

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Happy Birthday, #CriminalMinds! #video

The first episode of Criminal Minds aired exactly nine years ago! It premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS.

Do you follow it?

I've been following it since the first episode, and it inspired some parts of my Twilight fic, Snare (although Snare isn't a crossover). 

Who's your favorite character?

I'm very fond of Dave Rossi. 

In this video, you can see all the different opening credits through the last nine years!

 

All the best,

- Raum 

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This week, you're invited to Yorkshire #DowntonAbbey

Downton Abbey's new season is starting this week (in the UK).

Here's a preview:




And if you need to wait for the new season to be aired in the US, you can listen to the main theme song (beautiful piano performance) to get back into the right mood.



All the best!

- Raum 

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Cover Reveal: "Wrong Place, Right Time", by Brooke Williams

Wrong Place, Right Time, by Brooke Williams. Welcome to the Cover Reveal!

As the bumbling town TV traffic reporter, Kate Covington is a constant source of entertainment, but Kate sticks with her dead end job because of her love for news anchor Brian Schaffer. When Brian spontaneously runs off to marry his high school sweetheart, Kate panics and quickly follows.  

She finds herself in a Las Vegas wedding chapel, desperate to tell her best friend how she feels before he makes a huge mistake and marries the wrong person. The mistake, however, is all Kate’s. As the scorned bride runs back down the short aisle, Kate quickly realizes she just interrupted the wrong wedding.  

The would-be groom, Chad Leida, explains the predicament Kate has caused him…he needs to marry before turning 30 in order to inherit his family fortune…and he no longer has a bride. When Chad asks Kate to marry him and promises her a million dollars for a year of her time, Kate isn’t sure what to do.  

She has a great deal of debt to her name due to caring for her ailing grandmother, but she also doesn’t want to let go of the idea of love and marriage going together. Kate’s impulsive decision changes her entire lifestyle…and her ideas about love.  

From Las Vegas to San Francisco and even to the Midwestern city of Omaha, Kate learns that even when she turns up in the Wrong Place, sometimes it is at just the Right Time.  

Goodreads * Add to Want To Read List

Release Date: December 9 , 2014

Published by The Writers Coffee Shop

Book Trailer:

Brooke Williams is an award-winning author and freelance writer. She has written hundreds of articles as well as several novels, including Someone Always Loved You and Beyond the Bars. Brooke has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Morningside College, with a double major in Mass Communications and Religious Studies. She has twelve years of experience in radio broadcasting, both behind the scenes and on-air. She was also a television traffic reporter for a brief time. Brooke and her husband Sean married in 2002 and have two daughters, Kaelyn and Sadie.  

Facebook * Blog

 

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Writing Lab: "Writing Fiction and Writing for a Newspaper" (N.R. White)

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” 

― Albert Einstein

Thank you for the opportunity to introduce my first book Crosswinds, which was released on Aug. 29, 2014 by The Next Chapter Publishing. I’m N.R. White, and after 30 years of writing stories for the newspaper I finally listened to what others have been urging me to do for years by putting my talent as a storyteller into book form. Although the Crosswinds series is a work of fiction, the story is based on real events – and in some parts of the series – real people.

Writing fiction is a lot different than writing for a newspaper. For starters, 750 words is the average length of most newspaper stories. You learn to write tight and get the “who, what, where, when and how” in the first three paragraphs. There’s not a lot of opportunity to paint with a big brush. I found writing fiction extremely liberating insomuch as it provided a large canvass to paint in detail that you can’t do in newspapers due primarily to space limitations.

In the mid-1990s, I spent two years covering a story that not only sent my career rocketing in an upward trajectory, it changed my life. While covering the birth of the white buffalo in Janesville, Wis., I spent three to five days a week meeting people from all over the world fascinated with the Native American legend — and prophecy that foretold the white buffalo calf woman’s return. Among the hundreds of journalists that covered the story, Native American chiefs, spiritual leaders and elders allowed me to take part in many of the ceremonies that were held on the farm.

While my newspaper coverage was picked up by the wire service and published in papers around the world — and I received numerous awards for the work — I knew deep inside there was a bigger story that I was meant to tell. Primarily, how to explain in a meaningful way why the white buffalo calf prophecy is relevant to them. For nearly two decades I was haunted by this, but had no idea what I should do, or how. Then I encountered a crosswind in the form of a high school classmate I hadn’t spoken with in nearly 40 years. As I was writing Crosswinds, all the questions that had kept me from moving on this project were answered with each word as I typed.

Taking a fictional approach to telling the story allowed me to paint that big picture with lots of detail that brings the characters to life. And through the characters, allows the readers a better understanding how a legend that predates recorded history has a tremendous impact on the events that unfolding today across the world. I couldn’t have done that if I had a non-fiction, journalistic approach.

Crosswinds is the first in a three-book series. The second book, Wind Speaker, picks up four years later as Bobby is leaving the Navy. Wind Speaker is anticipated to be released in 2015.

To learn more about the series (as well as updates on the ongoing story line), follow my author’s page on Facebook at N. R. White as well as my author’s blog at nealwhite.blogspot.com. I always love visiting with readers and welcome your questions.

Thank you for taking the time to introduce me on your site and thank you very much for introducing Crosswinds to your readers. As a first-time author, I am greatly honored that you chose to feature Crosswinds. I hope we can do this again soon.

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Cover Reveal: "Lincoln Ladies" by Suzy Duffy @suzyduffybooks #giveaway

Cover Reveal for...

Lincoln Ladies

by Suzy Duffy

Release Date: October 30 , 2014

Published by The Writers Coffee Shop

Kate Kavanagh is happy raising her daughter and focusing on work, but when the girl moves to New York for a fantastic job and ends up moving in with her philandering father, things get complicated. Her best friend, Madeline Stein, has been a career girl all her life. As a single mom, her job defines her, so when she loses it, Maddy needs to find something or someone else to make her forties fun. Portia Kavanagh hits New York with a bang, but she’s so hungry for adventure she bites off more of the Big Apple than planned. Portia retreats to what she thinks is the sanctuary of her father’s home and soon discovers she’s not the only one in the family with an overactive appetite. Kate and Maddy find themselves leaving their lovely hometown of Lincoln, outside Boston, for the fertile and romantic hills of Tuscany. However, blue skies, rich wine, and charming Italians bring the women a whole new world that they have to maneuver with the grace and style of a Lincoln Lady. Portia’s high-octane life in Manhattan comes at a price, too. Out of the millions of men she could have, she chooses the only one she’s meant to avoid. Her quandary: Has she made a mistake of epic proportions or found the one in a million? This is a story of three fantastic women on a journey of self-discovery. With more ups and downs than a Florentine fairground, the ladies survive love, loss, and fresh pasta by laughing at life and using a doggie bag. There are lots of thrills and spills along the way, but in the end it’s all about friendship, attitude, and walking off that fabulous food. Come on an adventure and enjoy the ride with the lovely Lincoln Ladies.  

Goodreads * Add to Want To Read List

Suzy Duffy is an international and #1 best-selling author. She writes laugh-out-loud, life-affirming stories about women from five to ninety-five. (Sometimes she writes about men, too, but only for comedic purposes, and pets—if they’re funny.) Her books have won numerous awards and critical acclaim. They’ve been published in Norwegian and German, and she gives 10% of her royalties to www.FOBH.org   Her New England trilogy includes:
  Wellesley Wives – September 2012
  Newton Neighbors – September 2013
  Lincoln Ladies – September 2014

Praise for Duffy:
“Five Star rating . . . An all-American heart-warming romantic comedy.” “Suzy Duffy . . . I had wondered who would be filling Maeve Binchy’s shoes . . . EXCELLENT . . . Highly Recommended.” “Duffy isn’t just a good writer, she’s a darn good storyteller, too—a rare combination.” Suzy is Irish and currently lives in Boston with her husband, five children, and one dog. She was recently a guest speaker at the Sydney Writers Festival in Australia. She loves connecting with readers, book clubs, and writer’s events.

Giveaway!   

We are doing a very special giveaway for this release of Suzy's latest book.  As this book deals with mother's and daughter's, we would like to have you place a picture of either you and your daughter/mother or your ideal picture of a mother and daughter doing anything at all and paste it on her Pinterest wall.  Suzy will pick the winner for a very special prize! Good Luck!

Be sure to sign up for the rafflecopter giveaway below as well!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Connect with the author

Twitter * Facebook * Pinterest

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Writing Tip and Reading Suggestion #FScottFitzgerald

Today's writing tip comes from Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (1896-1940). His works are the paradigmatic writings of the "Jazz Age", a term he coined. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. 

Here's the writing tip:

Cut out all those exclamation marks. An exclamation mark is like laughing at your own joke.

You can read The Great Gatsby online:

The Great Gatsby (complete)

Happy writing and happy reading!

- Raum

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"Twelve"'s Trailer Reveal! @yaReads @TM_Franklin @twcs_pubhouse

Welcome to Twelve's trailer reveal!

Goodreads page:

• https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22754818-twelve

Here are the trailers and buy links for the first two books:

• MORE
  

Buy links - Amazon | Barnes & Noble | TWCS | Kobo | iBooks | Goodreads

• The Guardians -
  

Buy links - Amazon | Barnes & Noble | TWCS | Kobo | iBooks | Goodreads

Summary

Ava Michaels is gifted, powerful, and — whether she likes it or not — part of a plot to take over the world.

It’s only been a few months since Ava Michaels discovered she has ties to an ancient people living in the shadows of the human world, despite their superior gifts and abilities. A select few don’t like hiding, however, and think it’s time to take control. 

Now Ava’s caught up in a conspiracy in the works before she was even born. In fact, her birth was an integral part of the plan. She’s one of the Twelve, the most powerful Race ever created, and they were created for a purpose.

Turns out, Ava doesn’t like being told what to do.

All she wants is to start a new life with her boyfriend, Caleb Foster, but before they can even think about that, they must join forces with former enemies, seek out some powerful new friends, and figure out what exactly the Twelve, and their power-hungry leader, are up to.

Then, they have to find a way to stop them.   

About the Author:

T.M. Franklin started out her career writing non-fiction in a television newsroom. An Emmy-Award winning Seattle TV news producer, Franklin is the author of the award-winning YA adventure, MORE, and its sequel The Guardians. In addition, Franklin penned the Amazon best-selling short stories A Piece of Cake and Window. Her new YA romance, How to Get Ainsley Bishop to Fall in Love with You, is Franklin’s first love story without a paranormal element, although she believes love is the best kind of magic.

TWELVE, the final installment in the MORE Trilogy will be released October 9, 2014. 

The Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Trailer:

Enjoy!

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