Dark Highland Skies ~ (Lizzie’s Scottish Romances)Dark Highland Skies ~ #Scottish Historical Romance #Review @lizzie_lamb

Astrophysicist Halley Dunbar has spent her career searching for the one-in-a-billion exoplanet outside our solar system capable of sustaining life. Required to travel to Lochaber, Scotland to arrange her great-uncle’s funeral, she leaves the world she knows behind and encounters people who make her realise there’s more to life than searching for something that might not exist.

Laird’s son, Tor Strachan rocks up, and she discovers the one man capable of making her happy. However, there are obstacles in the way, and it becomes clear that Afghan veteran Tor must confront his demons before he can be the man Halley deserves. As for Halley, she has secrets of her own; ones she can’t share with anyone – not even Tor.

A good man is hard to find.

Early Reviews for Dark Highland Skies

“I knew by the end of Chapter One that Halley Dunbar was another of Lizzie Lamb’s fabulous heroines who was going to make me laugh out loud, root for her all the way and feel every emotion going. Lizzie’s portrayal of Scotland and all things Scottish, from the landscape to the mannerisms and customs is outstanding. Janet Brigden

Another unputdownable Highland tale from the Queen of Scottish contemporary romance – 5 Stars
When Halley Dunbar returns to the Highlands of Scotland to say her final farewells to her beloved uncle, memories, past prejudices, and strong emotions are reawakened − despite her determination to stay grounded in the present and focused on her future. Adrienne Vaughan

“I love Lizzie Lamb’s novels. You can guarantee there will be not only a handsome kilted hero, but also a feisty heroine. There is also a certainty that they will be surrounded by a great supporting cast (some you’ll love, others you won’t) and, of course, stunning Scottish countryside. Highly recommended.” Jo Lambert

Our Review

From the very first page, I wondered why a dedicated astrophysicist would travel thousands of miles, leaving Hawaii for a man she hasn’t seen for twenty years?

Or was something else calling her?

I visited Scotland when I was a child and looked forward to experiencing more of the Scottish way of life. The glorious descriptions in Dark Highland Skies took me back there in no time at all. This was when I made a mental note to read more of Lizzie’s stories!

It is always interesting to see and feel the growth of a relationship first-hand. Judging their progress and their failings.

We judge them against some internal chart. None of us is an expert in romantic endeavours, but we always have an opinion, don’t we?

I enjoyed the way both characters show their true feelings, not always to each other, but at least we knew what was going on. This is one of the best romances I have ever read, as the electricity between Tor and Halley was brilliantly captivating.

But how can their romance come to anything if they prefer to live at opposite ends of the world?

Lizzie Lamb

Hi, I’m Lizzie and I like writing about the ‘moment’ when the hero and the heroine fall in love. That, and trying to track down the all-elusive hero-in-a-kilt, is what gets me in front of the computer each morning. Since 2012 I’ve published six novels: Tall, Dark and Kilted, Boot Camp Bride, Scotch on the Rocks, Girl in the Castle, Take Me, I’m Yours and Harper’s Highland Fling. My latest novel, Dark Highland Skies is due to publish February 2023 and I’ve loved writing it. I organise the Leicester Chapter of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and present workshops on indie publishing to new writers. My feel good/uplit novels would be very happy to sit alongside Jilly Cooper, Jenny Colgan, Jill Mansell and Carole Matthews on your bookshelf.

I love writing because it’s given me the chance to celebrate everything I love about my homeland – Scotland, and to share those feelings with my readers. When I’m not writing, I spend summer with my husband touring Scotland in our caravan researching my next novel and avoiding the midges.

Slainte Mhath.

We must wait until March 24th! #Fiction

I cannot wait to meet Jed. He reminds me of my long-time spirit dog, Jesse, who comes to me when I’m depressed…

From the bestselling Psychic Surveys series comes a full-length, standalone novel featuring one of its most treasured, formidable, and mysterious characters – Jed.

As soon as Ava Kent spots Jed in her local rescue centre, she knows, just as much as he does, they are perfect for each other. It’s love at first sight, and despite her husband’s misgivings, she offers him a home.

Not much is known of Jed, other than he is a stray picked up from the streets of Eastbourne, but he soon proves himself a loyal and loving companion – in fact, he’s something of a lifesaver. When Ava suffers the traumatic birth of her first child alone at home, it’s Jed that somehow escapes the house to find help.

Ava, though, is plunged into depression. She feels lonely and vulnerable as a new mother, an outcast. It’s as though a darkness has attached itself to her, when previously life was blessed. And it won’t let go.

She’s surrendering to it, bit by bit, almost willingly.

As loving and as loyal as Jed is, he’s just a dog.
Can he save again, someone who doesn’t want to save herself?

About Shani Struthers

Shani Struthers is the author of twenty-six supernatural thrillers (so far), some set in various locations in England, others in more far-flung destinations such as Venice and America. Having been brought up with an understanding of the Occult and alternative views on religion, she threads this knowledge throughout her books, often drawing on real-life experiences of her own, from people she has known and from well-known Occult figures. Her Psychic Surveys series has proved very popular, becoming global Amazon genre bestsellers. There is also the This Haunted World series – standalone books set in and around the world’s most haunted places. They too have topped the Amazon genre charts, along with the more romantic Jessamine and Comraich, plus the Reach for the Dead series. Standalone psychological thriller, Summer of Grace, is also set in America, in the dark heart of Kansas! For Christmas Ghost Stories, check out Blakemort, Eve, Carfax House, The Damned Season and Wildacre.

To keep up to date with new releases, hit the ‘Follow’ button on Amazon and/r subscribe to my newsletter via my website: http://www.shanistruthers.com.

Jed will be released on March 24th 2023 ~ Get your copy HERE

At the Movies…

Today we are posting something from both of us with the same theme…

Going to the movies has always been a special treat, so long may it continue!

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay ~ Poetry by Anita Dawes

Now for my favourite!

John Luther is back!

We loved every second of the Luther detective series on TV. The one starring Idris Elba, no connection to Superman!

Idris Elba as John Luther ticked all my boxes, even some I didn’t know I had. When he severely blotted his copybook and was defrocked, or should I say de trench coated from his role as DCI, I was gutted.

Luther: The Fallen Sun

The film opens with Luther in prison, and without letting any cats out of bags, I can say that I was on the edge of my seat, chewing my nails from the get-go.

Totally brilliant and looking utterly wonderful, the film (and Idris) was brilliantly clever, menacing dark and breathtaking. Everything I could ever want.

This was John Luther at his absolute best!

Menagerie: A Collection of Thirteen Mystery, Suspense, and Contemporary Short Stories #Review @JoanHallWrites

King’s. The Tower of London. Glass. What do these have in common?

Each is a famous menagerie.

While this Menagerie doesn’t focus on exotic animals, it does contain a collection of stories that explore various trials people face and how their reactions shape their worlds.

Survivors of a haunted bridge. Women who wait while their husbands fight a war. Former partners reunited to solve a cold-case murder.

These are just three of the thirteen stories in this compendium, encompassing past and present, natural and supernatural, legend and reality. The genres and timelines are varied, but there’s a little something for everyone who enjoys reading about simpler times and small-town life.

Our Review

From the complex premise of A Moment in Time to the mystery of The Homecoming, this wonderful collection of short stories enchanted me.

Each is a masterpiece of description, setting and storytelling that left me wanting each story to go on forever.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading them all, and every story brought something new and unexpected to my reading experience. 

If I had to choose a favourite, it would be between Ghost Bridge and Storm Rider. Both of these stories appealed to my love of ghostly mysteries.


Joan Hall

Joan Hall has always enjoyed reading or listening to stories about inexplicable events, so it’s not surprising she writes mystery and romantic suspense. A lover of classic rock music, songs often serve as the inspiration for her books.

When she’s not writing, Joan likes to observe the night skies, explore old cemeteries, and learn about legends and folklore. She and her husband live in Texas with their two cats. Learn more about Joan at her website, http://JoanHall.net.

Fairies, Myths & Magic 11: A Winter Celebration… Colleen Chesebro… #Fantasy Anthologies

In this second book in the Fairies, Myths, & Magic series, step into a world where dark fairies and other magical beings converge in a collection of poetry and short stories inspired by winter and the celebration of the winter solstice.

From autumn’s scary fairies to the forgotten female characters of Yule, prepare to embrace the magical winter solstice myths from around the world. Meet Frau Holle in the Wild Hunt, Befana—the Christmas Witch of Italy, and the Japanese goddess Ameratasu who controls the springtime. Prepare to embrace the Scottish trows, the Irish Goddess of Winter—the Cailleach Béara, and Snegurochka—the Snow Girl.

Learn how to make Yuletide rituals part of your celebration by embracing the symbols of Yule by decorating with evergreens and crystals.

Colleen M. Chesebro

Colleen M. Chesebro is a Michigan Poet who loves crafting syllabic poetry, flash fiction, and creative fiction and nonfiction. Colleen sponsors a weekly poetry challenge, called Tanka Tuesday, on wordcraftpoetry.com where participants learn how to write traditional and current forms of syllabic poetry.

Along with JulesPaige, Colleen is also a co-editor of “Word Weaving, a Word Craft Journal of Syllabic Verse,” at wordweavingpoetryjournal.com. The debut issue of this journal will publish in October 2021.

Colleen’s syllabic poetry has appeared in various other online publications. Recently, she created the Double Ennead, a 99-syllable poetry form for Carrot Ranch. Colleen’s poetry has poetry in various anthologies and journals including “Hedgerow-a journal of small poems,” and “Poetry Treasures,” and Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships.

Colleen published “Word Craft: Prose & Poetry, The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry,” which illustrates how to write various syllabic poetry forms used in her Tanka Tuesday challenges; and a collection of poetry, flash fiction, and short stories called, “Fairies, Myths & Magic: A Summer Celebration,” dedicated to the Summer Solstice. She contributed a short story called “The Changeling,” in the “Ghostly Rites Anthology 2020,” published by Plaisted Publishing House.

Find Colleen at Word Craft Poetry at wordcraftpoetry.com, or her author blog at colleenmchesebro.com.

Our Review

The second book in the Fairies, Myths & Magic Series is a beautiful presentation from start to finish, full of fascinating information about Pagan mythology and the winter solstice.

Autumn and winter are my favourite seasons, making this lovely collection of poems and stories a joy to read.

Memories of those long months of illness and lockdown faded as I melted into the magical faerie world.

As with the first book in this series, I will purchase the paperback edition for my bookshelf, as I will be reading this enchanting book again…

A Killer Strikes… #Psychological Thriller #Review @GeorgiaRoseBook

The perfect family… The perfect murders…

A family massacred. A village in mourning. Can anyone sleep safely while a killer is on the loose?


Laura Percival, owner of The Stables, notices something wrong at her friend’s house when out on her morning ride. Further investigation reveals scenes she’ll never forget.

While the police are quick to accuse, Laura is less so, defending those around her as she struggles to make sense of the deaths. And all the time she wonders if she really knew her friends at all.

A chance encounter opens up a line of investigation that uncovers a secret life. One that Laura is much closer to than she ever realised.

A Killer Strikes is a gripping domestic thriller. If you like character-driven action, suspenseful storytelling and dark revelations then you’ll love this exciting novel.

Georgia Rose

Georgia Rose is a writer and the author of the romantic and suspenseful Grayson Trilogy books: A Single Step, Before the Dawn and Thicker than Water. Following completion of the trilogy she was asked for more and so wrote a short story, The Joker, which is based on a favourite character from the series and the eBook is available to download for free at the retailer of your choice.

Her fourth novel, Parallel Lies, encompasses crime along with Georgia’s usual blending of genre and its sequel, Loving Vengeance, has now completed The Ross Duology.

Georgia’s background in countryside living, riding, instructing and working with horses has provided the knowledge needed for some of her storylines; the others are a product of her passion for people watching and her overactive imagination.

She has also recently started running workshops and providing one-to-one support for those wishing to learn how to independently publish and you can find her, under her real name, at http://www.threeshirespublishing.com.

Following a long stint working in the law Georgia set up her own business providing administration services for other companies which she does to this day managing to entwine that work along with her writing.

Her busy life is set in a tranquil part of rural Cambridgeshire in the UK where she lives with her much neglected husband and dog.

Our Review

The first chapter sets the mood and asks all the right questions but doesn’t quite prepare you for what is to come.

Unusually, the main protagonist is not a detective, and it was interesting to see the case from a layman’s point of view. I loved the chapter headings too!

One by one, every character in the story comes under suspicion, but I never figured it out, and the ending was really surprising.  I have often wondered how I would cope if the same situation happened to me.

A Killer Strikes is the author’s first brilliant foray into the world of the psychological thriller, and I am really looking forward to reading Shape of Revenge, the next story in the Shade Darker Series…

Anatomy of a Best Seller #Review @sacha_black

                      

Do you wish you could write like your favorite authors? Do you want to improve your writing? If you want to power up your stories, write with your readers in mind, and deliver what the market wants, this book is for you.

In The Anatomy of a Best Seller, you’ll discover:

A step-by-step guide to deconstructing your favorite books so you can utilize the tools of winning authors.
Tips and tricks for breaking down everything from sentence level prose to plot, pacing, characters, story arcs, and more.
A comprehensive guide to understanding your market and what readers want.
Tactics for turning the lessons and tools you find into practical prose and stories.
The Anatomy of a Best Seller is a comprehensive guide that will help you break down the best books in your genre, understand how and why they work, and then learn how to do it yourself.

By the end of the book, you’ll be armed with the methods you need to deconstruct best sellers, understand the tools those authors are using, and how to implement them in your own work.

If you like dark humor and learning through examples, then you’ll love Sacha Black’s guide to deconstructing winning books. Read The Anatomy of a Best Seller today and start writing your best seller.
    

Our Review

I have always wanted to know why some books become best sellers and some don’t. So when I saw The Anatomy of a Best Seller by my friend and excellent writer, Sacha Blake, I knew I was about to find out.

Sacha is a wonderful writer, and her helpful, well-written books for writers everywhere should be gold-plated, as I have always found them easy to understand, totally absorbing and exceedingly helpful.

I have learned so much from Anatomy of a Best Seller, and I am convinced it will help me to get further up the ladder!

Amazon Review

“If you’ve ever wondered what catapults a title to bestseller status, then this book is for you. The Anatomy of a Bestseller had me both laughing out loud and tearfully wishing it had existed sooner. With her trademark humour, let Sacha Black take you through her step-by-step process for identifying what makes a book truly sing. A must-read for all authors who are serious about success and shaping their work into list-worthy stories from the get-go.” Helen Scheuerer, bestselling fantasy author.

Means to Deceive by Alex Craigie # Psychological Fiction #Review

Eighteen months ago, Gwen Meredith left the job she loved and came back to Pembrokeshire to help support her irritable and increasingly confused grandmother.
But someone is pursuing a vendetta against her.

As the attacks become more malicious, her old anxieties begin to build.
She’s attracted to her new neighbour who is keen to help…but can she trust him?

When those closest to her are threatened, her desperation mounts.
Who can she trust?

Gwen has a dark secret of her own.
Can she even trust herself?

Alex Craigie is the pen name of Trish Power.

Trish was ten when her first play was performed at school. It was in rhyming couplets and written in pencil in a book with imperial weights and measures printed on the back.

When her children were young, she wrote short stories for magazines before returning to the teaching job that she loved.

Trish has had three books published under the pen name of Alex Craigie. The first two books cross genre boundaries and feature elements of romance, thriller and suspense against a backdrop of social issues. Someone Close to Home highlights the problems affecting care homes while Acts of Convenience has issues concerning the health service at its heart. Her third book. Means to Deceive, is a psychological thriller.

Someone Close to Home has won a Chill with a Book award and a Chill with the Book of the Month award. In 2019 it was one of the top ten bestsellers in its category on Amazon.

Book lovers are welcome to contact her on alexcraigie@aol.com

Our Review

Gwen Meredith’s life seems typical of many families, all trying hard to care for an elderly relative and a family.

Add to the mix a demanding job at the local school, and Gwen’s life has all the stuff of nightmares.

Her life would be a nightmare without her best friend, Cat, and the arrival of a new neighbour, Ben, a kind, good-looking man.

All the interesting complications of her life are revealed as the story heats up. The brilliantly written plot gradually becomes terrifying as tensions rise, creating an ending I really didn’t see coming!

Right from the beginning of this story, I loved how the author gradually reveals the character’s true emotions effortlessly and accurately.

This is the first book I have read by Alex Craigie, but I know it won’t be the last.

Means To Deceive is a master class in how easily life can mess with your head, leading you to distrust everything and everyone…

The Midnight Rambler by Craig Boyack~ #Review #Urban Fantasy @Virgilante

Today, it is our turn to host the amazing new story from our friend and fellow writer, Craig Boyack.

Over the years, we have read several of his lovely stories, and they never disappoint.

The Midnight Rambler, in our humble opinion, is the best yet!

Fabulous cover!

Our Review

Craig Boyack’s stories are always a good read, especially at this time of year, with plenty of wonderful characters and situations.

The Midnight Rambler story is the best, with one of the worst monsters!

Disasters follow Lizzie around, but this time she has extra help in the form of Ray C Adair. He is a very likeable character, and although he seems to need more help than Lizzie, I rooted for them both. I loved that he brought a little romance to the proceedings while helping Lizzie find a missing professor, a horde of menacing scarecrows, and of course, The Midnight Rambler.

They have their hands full in this dizzy adventure, chock full of the unusual and the bizarre.

Just the job for Halloween!

Over to you, Craig, and welcome to our blog!

So kind of you to lend me your space, Anita & Jaye. I’d love to have you over whenever you need a place to promote. I love this indie author community and this is just a small part of it.

I tend to write stories that are more toward the outrageous fringe of fiction. I orbit around paranormal, science fiction, and fantasy tales. Today, I want to talk about keeping readers grounded.

Before I get started, don’t forget to check out the cover and blurb. Those will give you more insight into what this story is about. I think it’s perfect for the Halloween season and hope you’ll give it a try.

Back to the topic of reality, I think it’s important to give readers a solid base to start from. The Hat Series is full of monsters and things that go bump in the night. I want readers to come along for the ride, but try really hard to ground them in things they can understand.

Lizzie St. Laurent is a twenty-something young woman who teamed up with a magical talking hat to fight monsters. That’s a lot to expect readers to swallow, so I try to include a lot of the real world. Lizzie struggles with things young people are experiencing right now.

She works multiple meaningless jobs to pay the rent. She has a small cover band that brings in a few bucks on the weekends. When her car needs attention, she doesn’t always have the cash to cover the bills. She has a Keurig in her apartment, which seems to fit a certain age group. Readers can relate.

In this story, she’s going to have to deal with the fallout from a major flood. Her life could take years to get back on track. These are things that happen in the real world, and I think they give readers a way to understand her while she’s dealing with monsters, like The Midnight Rambler.

Hoard some toilet paper and canned goods, bring your snorkel, and check out The Midnight Rambler. I think you’ll have a good time.

Cover Blurb:

Something evil is after the hat. The ageless enemies have battled many times, but this time Lizzie is wearing the hat. She’s also up against a ticking clock, in that if she can’t find the maker of her new friend’s medicine he will die.

The Rambler has kidnapped the only witch capable of making Ray’s medicine in an attempt to make the hat sloppy in his efforts. He’s also flooded the streets with deadly minions to impede any progress our heroes might make.

As if that weren’t enough, Lizzie is facing more of life’s struggles, both financially and mechanically. This all goes down in the middle of a huge flood event that she’s ill equipped to handle.

Join Lizzie and the hat as they battle the elements, the paranormal, and a being of pure evil. Lizzie might be battling some personal demons along the way as she and Ray grow closer.

Get your copy here: https://mybook.to/TheMidnightRambler

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The Necromancers Daughter by Diana Peach ~ #Review #Asian Myth & Legend @

A healer with the talent to unravel death. A stillborn child brought to life. A father lusting for vengeance. And a son torn between justice, faith, and love. Caught in a chase spanning kingdoms, each must decide the nature of good and evil, the lengths they will go to survive, and what they are willing to lose.
A healer and dabbler in the dark arts of life and death, Barus is as gnarled as an ancient tree. Forgotten in the chaos of the dying queen’s chamber, he spirits away her stillborn infant and in a hovel at the meadow’s edge, breathes life into the wisp of a child. He names her Aster for the lea’s white flowers. Raised as his daughter, she, too, learns to heal death.
Denied a living heir, the widowed king spies from a distance. But he heeds the claims of the fiery Vicar of the Red Order—in the eyes of the Blessed One, Aster is an abomination, and to embrace the evil of resurrection will doom his rule.
As the king’s life nears its end, he defies the vicar’s warning and summons the necromancer’s daughter. For his boldness, he falls to an assassin’s blade. Armed with righteousness and iron-clad conviction, the Order’s brothers ride into the leas to cleanse the land of evil.
To save her father’s life, Aster leads them beyond Verdane’s wall into the Forest of Silvern Cats, a wilderness of dragons and barbarian tribes. Unprepared for a world rife with danger and unchecked power, a world divided by those who practice magic and those who hunt them, she must choose whether to trust the one man offering her aid, the one man most likely to betray her—her enemy’s son.

My Review

I took my time reading this book, wanting to savour every word and emotion.

I was not disappointed.

The first intriguing chapters ensured that I would be enchanted until the end. Gone are the days when I could immerse myself in a book, forgetting all else until the end, but this story resisted being put down. The magic drew me in and would not let me leave.

The tension gradually increased until my nerves stretched to breaking point (I am desperately trying to avoid spoilers here), but by the end, I was sobbing like a baby.

A truly inspiring fantasy made real by such wonderful characters.

Definitely, one I will be reading again!

About the Author

A long-time reader, best-selling author D. Wallace Peach started writing later in life when years of working in business surrendered to a full-time indulgence in the imaginative world of books. She was instantly hooked.

In addition to fantasy books, Peach’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of the arts in her local community, organizing and publishing annual anthologies of Oregon prose, poetry, and photography.

Peach lives in a log cabin amongst the tall evergreens and emerald moss of Oregon’s rainforest with her husband, two owls, a horde of bats, and the occasional family of coyotes.

For book descriptions, excerpts, maps, and behind-the-scenes info, please visit http://dwallacepeachbooks.com.

For her blog on all things writing, please visit http://mythsofthemirror.com.

Ready for an adventure?

The Ferryman and the Sea Witch

The Sorcerer’s Garden

Sunwielder

The Bone Wall

The Melding of Aeris

Unraveling the Veil Series:

Liars and Thieves

Allies and Spies

Lords of Chaos

The Shattered Sea Duology:

Soul Swallowers, Book I

Legacy of Souls, Book II

The Rose Shield Tetralogy:

Catling’s Bane, Book I

Oathbreakers’ Guild, Book II

Farlanders’ Law, Book III

Kari’s Reckoning, Book IV

The Dragon Soul Saga:

Myths of the Mirror, Book I

Eye of Fire, Book II

Eye of Blind, Book III

Eye of Fire, Book IV

Grumpy Ana and the Grouchy Monsters: A Children’s Space Tale