Enough is Enough – JJ rumbled when the paparazzi invaded dinner.
JJ and Jo realize privacy doesn’t exist for them. They return to Magnolia Bluff to check on their friends and recapture the small-town anonymity. In Magnolia Bluff, no one suspects their fame.
They discount the status of urban legends in favor of acceptance and a quiet, peaceful life. After all, a supermodel needs time and space to recharge between jobs. A geek wants time to adore his wife.
Does Magnolia Bluff hold the answers to their prayers? Will their desires get clouded by a hidden secret?
Past, present, and future collide in a perfect storm no one expected. JJ and Jo take action to uncover the truth. Chief Tommy Jager likes them but feels they’re a lightning rod for trouble and disruption.
Who will live or die to prevent the truth from being exposed? The answers may be in the graveyard with fresh flowers on the gravestone.
Their friends are targets – Their dreams are broken – They must fight
Charles Breakfield is a 25+ year technology expert in security, networking, voice, and anything digital. He enjoys writing, studying World War II history, travel, and cultural exchanges. He also enjoys wine tastings, wine-making, Harley riding, cooking extravaganzas, and woodworking.
Rox Burkey is a 25+ year applied technology professional who excels at optimizing technology and business investments for customers worldwide with a focus on optimized customer experiences. She writes white papers and documents with a marked preference for fiction.
Together they create award-winning stories that resonate with males and females, young and experienced adults, and bring a fresh new view to technology possibilities today.
Children's Book / Science & Nature / Mythical Creatures
Publisher: Sybrina Publishing
Date of Publication: February 7, 2023
Number of Pages: 41 pages
Scroll down for Giveaway!
Ready to learn the magic of science? Metals and all the other elements from the periodic table make everything seem magical. You can see it everywhere: in buildings, transportation, communications, medicines, and even in the food you eat! All technology and everything that makes life modern come from the magical elements in the earth, water, and the air.
Think of it like this, “No Metal – No Magic…and No Tech-no-lo-gy.” You can learn about all that stuff in this book called The Magical Elements of the Periodic Table Presented Alphabetically by The Metal Horn Unicorns. Twenty-six techno-magical elements are presented from A to Z by the magical metal horn unicorn tribe from Unimaise.
Every element page includes:
*where the featured element comes from*
*when it was discovered*
*scientific info about the element*
*everyday uses for it*
*a bunch of interesting facts*
*a unicorn who wields its magical powers representing each element*
The book also has an amazing unicorn-themed periodic table plus special pages featuring elemental compounds and alloys. Now, that’s Techno-Magical!
Sybrina Durant is a unicorn author and entrepreneur. In addition to books, she offers unicorn-themed activities, t-shirts, and more. Plus, she has pulled together a collection of nearly all the unicorn books available today from hundreds of authors. They are categorized on her website by Little Kid, Middle Kid, and Teen Unicorn Books.
HALL WAYS AUDIOBOOK REVIEW of Fallout series, book one, Survival, narrated by Kyle Tait.
Survival by
Lisa Harris, starts off with a tragic, emotional, and action-packed first chapter
after “The Quake” hits and its chaos in the small town of Shadow Ridge. I
thought our main character was going to be Garrett McQuaid, the top lawman of
Shadow Ridge and patriarch of the McQuaid family, but we jump to day 264 post-Quake,
and it’s Garrett’s sons, Jace and Levi, who have been deputized and are trying
their best to keep the town safe. (Garrett pops up briefly later in the book,
but I was left wanting more and really hope he comes back into the spotlight in
one of the other books in the series.)
Speaking of wanting more – readers
be warned: there are a lot of unanswered questions in Survival, but isn’t
that just how it should be? I can’t imagine the frustration of lack of
information nearly a year later – no idea of what really happened, and very
little communication from the outside world.
All of the unknowns are what
add tension to the book, and given the quality of the story, I have no doubt
that author Harris will give readers what we need as we continue with the
series. I am okay with this because Survival doesn’t end with an
annoying cliffhanger. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
“I know the right answers,
but I don’t know if I believe them anymore.”
As we settle into the second
half of the story, the faith element comes in heavier with Jace trying to find
answers. I like that the message of believing in God and going to church aren’t
all one needs to do to get back in the spiritual saddle again. Harris organically
incorporates Jace’s wavering faith into the story via a powerful conversation
with the town pastor, Matthew. The exchanges between Jace and Matthew seemed authentic.
Maintaining one’s faith is often a challenge when life is particularly
challenging, so it makes sense Jace would seek guidance. There is a Moses
analogy that we all should remember.
Initially, I found myself
wanting the details of what must have been absolute chaos right after “the
Quake,” and for that matter: what was it?! But then I realized that is
not what the author wanted to write. She focused on the relationships and
adaptations of what is likely to be the new normal; hence the name of the
series being called the Fallout series. We are seeing the fallout as it settles
over the people.
Back to that resolution…
while not a cliffhanger, the epilogue takes a bit of dark turn, providing a
delicious different direction for the story after we’re feeling all warm and fuzzy
about everything. Nice, Lisa Harris. I’m IN.
ABOUT THE NARRATION: WOWSA!
There could not be a better narration than Kyle Tait. His southern drawl, and
how he perfectly and consistently drops his Gs (goin’ comin’ lyin’)? It’s like
buttah! Smooth and a delightful pairing to Harris’s amazing story. Pacing was
perfect, not a glitch in the diction, and I listened at regular pace which is
almost unheard of. Tait’s delivery elevated my reading experience, and I’ll
seek out other books he’s narrated.
In today’s world, law enforcement agencies across the country rely on forensic tools, DNA testing, and crime labs. But what if that technology was suddenly no longer available? No one in the small, west Texas town of Shadow Ridge knows what took down the power grid, or when it’s going to be back up, but everyone knows exactly where they were the moment it went down. And now, with no electricity, no internet, and no modern technology, the men and women responsible for keeping the town safe are going to have to learn how to fight crime all over again.
Prequel: The Last Day
Book 1: Survival
Book 2: Hunted
Book 3: Frequency
Book 4: Deception
Book 5: Shattered (coming 2/28/23)
Book 6: Aftermath (bonus novella coming fall, 2023)
LISA HARRIS is a USA Today bestselling author, a Christy Award finalist for Blood Ransom, Vendetta, and Port of Origin, Christy Award winner for Dangerous Passage, and the winner of the Best Inspirational Suspense Novel for 2011 (Blood Covenant) and 2015 (Vendetta) from Romantic Times. She has fifty plus novels and novellas in print. She and her husband currently live in Texas.
What would you miss most if the grid went down? While not as essential as toilet paper or air-conditioning during a Texas summer, I think the McQuaid heroines from this series would love a bit of self-care—and so would I. – Author Lisa Harris
Have you ever
wished for a second chance to fix something you’ve messed up or for the courage
to say yes to something that just may change your life? Sometimes saying yes to
the last thing you want can mean saying yes to exactly what you need.
Ryan “The Rocket” Sutton’s winning streak is
legendary makes him the undisputed best quarterback in the NFL. However, thanks
to one dumb mistake, he’s a failure as a husband to Coco, the only woman he’s
ever loved. When a judge’s mistake in divorce paperwork means Coco is still his
wife, Ryan makes up his mind to fix what he ruined. Ryan’s game plan doesn’t
count on an internationally famous movie director’s camera crew following him
as he competes for Coco’s love.
After spending most of her adult life as a
football wife and mother to twin sons, fashionista Coco Sutton is learning how
to be single and fabulous. Emphasis on Fabulous. The sports trophies,
memorabilia, and heavy masculine wood furniture in the home she used to share
with Ryan have been banished to the attic, and her home is now a cozy haven of
plush candle-scented comfort. She’s got big plans that include owning a
boutique or maybe an art gallery, but she never planned to take on the biggest
challenge of her life: staying single. Then her best friend gives her a copy of
a book called The Yes Dare, and all her plans are turned upside
down.
From a Hollywood movie to the local spring event
formerly known as the Cow Chip Toss Festival and a country crooner with a crush
on Coco, will Ryan dodge the obstacles to win back the only woman he ever
loved?
Publishers Weekly bestselling author Kathleen Y’Barbo is a multiple Carol Award and RITA nominee and bestselling author of more than one hundred books with over two million copies of her books in print in the US and abroad. A tenth-generation Texan and certified paralegal, she is a member of the Texas Bar Association Paralegal Division, Texas A&M Association of Former Students, Texas A&M Women Former Students (Aggie Women), Texas Historical Society, Sisters in Crime, Faith Hope and Love Christian Writers, and American Christian Fiction Writers. She would also be a member of the Daughters of the American Republic, Daughters of the Republic of Texas and a few others if she would just remember to fill out the paperwork that Great Aunt Mary Beth has sent her more than once.
Kathleen and her hero in combat boots husband have their own surprise love story that unfolded on social media a few years back. They make their home just north of Houston, Texas, and are the parents, grandparents, and in-laws of a blended family of Texans, Okies, and a trio of adorable Londoners.
Most are newcomers to the scenic, rolling countryside of central Texas whose charms they romanticize, even as the troubles they hoped to leave behind persist. Twelve stories highlight “the book’s recurring theme of desire—for freedom, for clarity, for autonomy, and for personal fulfillment…When women are alone, unencumbered and unbeholden to anyone, they engage in intense internal reflection and show reverence for nature—and during these scenes, Hale’s language is luminescent” (Kirkus Reviews).
PRAISE FOR A WALL OF BRIGHT DEAD FEATHERS:
“Hale shows a great respect for her characters and for the difficulty of their deceptively ordered existence, as well as for the problems they suffer because so much cannot be spoken.” -- Francine Prose, on “Silences”
“A vivid set of tales about connection to other people and to the natural world…Hale’s lovely prose shows a keen eye for detail…”
What cultural value do
you see in reading and storytelling?
In my view, reading books develops
the imagination and attendant qualities of empathy and understanding better
than any other practice. These are central qualities if we want a humane and
responsible society. Plus reading books give us an escape from dailiness that
can be very affirming.
How does your book
relate to your life path?
Many of my characters are
struggling with choices they’ve made and how those decisions relate to what
they think they should do or should have done. In my view this is a lifelong
struggle and ought to be.
Why did you decide to
self-publish?
I published it with my own,
established, small press because we’re in a period where the market
opportunities for fiction with literary intent by older women have virtually
disappeared. Covid forced my hand. I wanted to publish my husband’s retirement
journal, anyway. Why not do them together? They were written twenty feet apart,
after all.
What do you think most
characterizes your writing?
Flow, attention to language, to the
way words sound and the precision of their usage in the context of the
characters. Also, a relationship with societal pressures of the decade as
characters react to the decisions they make.
What was the hardest
part of writing this book?
Talking about it. Way harder. But
beyond that, I would say patience. I write slowly. It’s very tempting to submit
work too soon. And I think it is always a mistake to do that. The last thing
one wants to do upon “finishing” a draft is to put it aside for, say, three
weeks—or months. But that’s almost always a superior approach. I’ve never been
a patient person.
What did you enjoy most
about writing this book?
Immersing myself in the minds of my
characters and residing there through numerous drafts.
Babette Fraser Hale’s fiction has won the Meyerson Award from Southwest Review, a creative artist award from the Cultural Arts Council of Houston, and been recognized among the “other distinguished stories” in Best American Short Stories, 2015. Her story “Drouth” is part of the New York Public Library’s digital collection. Her nonfiction has appeared in Texas Monthly, Houston City, and the Houston Chronicle. She writes a personal essay column for the Fayette County Record.
