Book Blitz of A Dead Man Speaks by Lisa Jones Gentry (#contests- Enter to win An Ecopy of the book)

A Dead Man Speaks
Lisa Jones Gentry
(The Clive January Mystery Series, #1)
Publication date: November 29th 2024
Genres: Adult, Mystery, Paranormal, Thriller

Introducing the first in a new paranormal crime mystery series set in 1980s, New York City on Wall Street

Clive January is a driven, self-made Black man, a ruthless, wildly successful investment banker who had it all – until he is shot and killed from behind by an unknown assailant. As Clive lies in a pool of blood, his life slowly ebbing away, he hears voices, unearthly beings tormenting him, telling him that he will burn in hell, unless he finds out who killed him. Now before it’s too late, his ghost must solve the crime of his own murder and his only choice is to work with the white racist cop assigned to his case, Detective Bob Greene.

Their relationship begins in hate and distrust, but soon they each realize that they have more in common than they could ever believe. And in the wrenching ending, they discover the truth that frees them both.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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Lisa will be at the LA Times Festival of Books on Saturday April 26th at 12 noon!

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EXCERPT:

I slipped into my car, the creamy leather seats enfolding me as I whizzed down the expressway…the smell of the ocean filled the car…an aphrodisiac, teasing my senses. I thought about her waiting for me…opening the door…And then I saw her face, the light green eyes clouded against her golden, taffy-colored skin, the thick mop of dark, curly hair framing her face. How often had I held her, how often had I seen her lips part in that same half-teasing, half-defiant smile…

“Hi…”

I grabbed her, wanting to make love to her before I told her. But she smiled playfully, pushing me away. “Look what I got.”

She pulled out a gram of icy, white coke, licking the edge of the paper hungrily. “To celebrate.” Would she still want to celebrate when I told her that I’m leaving, but not with her? All the years between us, but I still can’t do it; I still can’t surrender my soul to her. Would she understand this time, too?

“Here, Clive. It’s good…” A sucking noise. The dull light glinted against the pipe, trembling ever so slightly. She must really be fucked up.

“Almost as good as the first time…remember…”

That’s what she always said. Ssssssssssssss, a nice long one. My eyes shut tightly, letting the feeling curl over me like a woman’s touch, soft, seductive, and always so deadly.

“I’m gonna get some champagne.” She leaned down over me, kissing me slowly. I could taste the coke on her lips. Her hand rubbed my cheek. Tiny, soft hands.

My eyes followed her small body weaving out of the room, down the hallway, and into the kitchen. I closed my eyes again, going over every detail of my plan in my mind for the hundredth or maybe thousandth time; I’d lost track now. Every step sharpened by time and urgency. One more week, and I’d have the final payment and my freedom from a life that was no longer mine.

I was finally starting to relax; the blow was starting to kick in. It always took longer when I was tensed up, but now the tingly feeling was rushing through me. A sharp, searing pain was suddenly tearing through my back, ripping the breath out of me. I doubled over. It felt as if someone had taken a thousand knives and exploded them in me. And it was all a blur, except for blood everywhere: on my chest, covering my hands, the white carpet, and the room’s empty.

And I realize, I’d been fuckin ’shot…somebody’s…but now the room was spinning. I knew this was it. The dark curtains were enveloping me and then the light…like the light at home, soft…beckoning…taking me to the place I thought I’d forgotten. And then I smiled, I understood now, all the years, all the money…the lies, but you could never escape, it would always pull you back…

Author Bio:

People would consider Lisa Jones Gentry, the author of “Forbidden Love” a true renaissance woman, because the former entertainment attorney, became an artist, author, creative executive, and writer-producer for film, television and digital content…

Lisa discovered her passion for the creative side of the business while serving as broadcast counsel at CBS in New York City, where she was the lead attorney on deals ranging from multi-millions to billions, such as the Olympics and Major League Baseball deal. But her Hollywood calling changed from “behind-the-deal” to “behind-the-laptop”, and ultimately moved to LA to break into the business as a writer-producer. As luck would have it, the first film script that she and her writing partner wrote was optioned by Paramount.

For the next four years they had several screenplays and teleplays optioned and set up at networks and studios, including development deals. She then took that creative experience and brought it to her position as EVP of Development for the stalwart Western International Syndication, formerly a division of renowned Western International Media, once the largest media buying entity in the world. Charged with expanding the company’s traditional roster of syndicated programming into network and cable, she executive produced over 100 hours of television in various formats and genres, airing on broadcast and cable. She also structured a joint venture between French broadcasting giant TF-1, Stephen J. Cannell Productions and Western for the international distribution of a one hour dramatic series.

Though “behind-the-deal: again, she didn’t stop her work behind-the-laptop and during that time wrote her first novel, “A Dead Man Speaks.” It garnered her an NAACP Image Award nomination for Best Debut Author, followed by a Literary Critics Award nomination for best general fiction. And her creative roll continued with a First Look Deal for Lisa and her writing partner at Sony Pictures under their Screen Gems banner.

With the cataclysmic changes in the “business,” like many other writers and producers, it wasn’t long before Lisa expanded her focus to digital media and due to her writing and executive experience was recruited to be the CEO of Comedy Express, a start-up broadband network targeting the young adult male demo. Ultimately, Comedy Express was acquired by the famed National Lampoon.

Following the acquisition of Comedy Express, Lisa not only managed to write another book – this time as a co-author of the nonfiction, “So You Want to be A Lawyer,” now in its second printing –she continued her expansion into digital media and technology and worked as Co-CEO of another early stage start-up company that launched two 24/7 television networks on cable, IPTV and satellite networks outside the US in Europe and Asia. Today, Lisa is a frequent speaker on technology and digital media, at the Tribeca Film Festival, the FCC start up conference and many other venues.

As if all that she’s done isn’t enough, Lisa is also an accomplished artist, and has been exhibiting and selling her work for several years. She has had worked featured in television series and TV Movies and buyers of her work have included on air talent, Arthel Neville and television Executive Producer, Samm Art Williams.

And while she loves exploring her artistic side, Lisa has no intention of slowing down her writing, as she continues to flex her creative muscle with several TV and film projects that she’s developing as well as her current book, “Forbidden Love,” the true love story of a white nun and a black priest in the segregated fifties as told by their son Joe Steele.

Website

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Book Blitz of Unspoken Words by Linda Joyce (#contests- Enter to win A autographed copy of the book and some SWAG)

Unspoken Words
Linda Joyce
Publication date: April 22nd 2025
Genres: Adult, Women’s Fiction

What happens when the truth you’ve hidden becomes the key to your greatest fear—and your greatest hope?

For years, Jane Landry has carried a secret that could break hearts and heal them all at once. Her son, Christopher Marcus, is the light of her life—but he’s also the boy no one knows about. Not his father, her ex-husband Mark, nor his wife Maggie, or his sister Suzanne, Jane’s best friends from childhood. Now, with a cancer diagnosis threatening her future, Jane must summon the courage to confess her secret. She prays they’ll embrace Christopher as family before time runs out.

But just as Jane takes the first step, tragedy strikes—Mark is killed in an accident after learning he has a son. The devastating loss leaves Jane grappling with how to face Maggie and Suzanne, the two women she’s avoided for years but now desperately needs. Her truth risks alienating them, yet the stakes are higher than ever. Christopher needs a home. Jane needs to know her boy will be loved when she’s no longer there to protect him.

As Jane uncovers the secrets Maggie and Suzanne have been hiding, she realizes she’s not the only one carrying the weight of the past. Old wounds, unexpected betrayals, and the search for forgiveness weave together in a story about love, loss, and the lengths we’ll go to for family.

Set against the vivid backdrop of New Orleans, Unspoken Words explores the messy, beautiful journey of redemption and the bonds that hold us together—even when stretched to their breaking point.

Discover a story that will break your heart, heal your soul, and stay with you long after the final page.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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EXCERPT:

Katrina had destroyed my city in August of 2005. Afterward, she huffed away like a diva without a backward glance. Her coming and going from the city I loved had proved more dramatic than my own.

I paid the cabbie for the wild ride and then stood on the sidewalk in front of the entrance to the mausoleum. My hands shook when I slipped the strap of my purse over my shoulder. My knees wobbled, but I remained upright. My heart thudded like a bass drum in a second line parade.

Thudding so hard it cut off my breath. Paralyzed, I stood in the merciless Louisiana sun.

Humidity clung to my skin like olive oil on a sweet potato before roasting in the oven. My reflection in the mausoleum’s glass doors showed a tidy dress, tidy shoes, tidy hair.

Outside, calmness.

Inside, untidy screams.

I swallowed back a ball of fear, took a first unsteady step, then another. Plodding, I entered the building and nodded to the guard at the reception desk.

“Need help finding a loved one?” He scrutinized me as though he recognized me.

“No, thank you.”

“Sign in here.” He rose and pointed to an open guest book.

I wrote Jane and started to write Maucele beside it to prove I had every right to be there but changed my mind and scribbled Landry instead.

My father had told me where to find Mark. I searched for the correct aisle. My leather flats shruffed against the hard marble floors. Mausoleums reminded me of morgues I’d seen on TV, not burial grounds. A collection of people who were dead—they couldn’t hear if I made noise. But I continued on my tiptoes just in case.

Finding the correct hallway, I let go of a raggedy breath and claimed a seat in the middle of a long, cold granite bench, then extracted a week-old envelope from my purse.

Did the words inside hold the truth of what Mark wanted?

Clutching the official message, I fought against the impulse to wad up the paper and throw it at him, the same way I’d thrown heated words the last time before we parted. Then, he’d been alive. Able to fight back. I wanted him to fight now.

Anguish spewed like liquid from a shaken can of Nehi soda. “NOoooo! NOoooo! NOoooo! Dammit, Mark.”

“Miss Landry, are you okay?” The guard’s voice echoed down the wing of the mausoleum along with the sound of footsteps beating a path in my direction. “Ma’am?”

“I apologize. Grief hit me.”

“Excuse me? Who hit you?” He frowned as though I were a naughty child.

“Never mind. I’ll be quiet.” My inner pain fought for further release, but my outer calm took control.

His eyebrows became a unibrow. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave if you are unable to contain yourself.”

“It won’t happen again.” I waved apologetically.

His toe-to-head scan told me he was trying to decide if he had a dangerous mental case and needed backup.

Author Bio:

Linda Joyce believes stories are as integral to her life as breathing. She shares the joys and agonies of characters and often wishes their stories would continue far beyond “The End.” She lives metro-Atlanta with her very patient husband and their three fur babies—Jake, Maxence, and Sugar. Linda’s addicted to Cajun food and Japanese food. She’s a fan of smooth jazz. She will deny traditional jazz music hurts her ears—that could get her banished from her hometown, New Orleans. Her current life’s adventure includes learning enough Kanji to be able to read a Japanese newspaper.

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Cover Reveal Of Fallen (Darkness Ascending Volume 1- Multi-Author Anthology

Fallen: Darkness Ascending
Multi-Author Anthology

Publication date: September 26th 2025
Genres: Adult, Horror, Paranormal

Dark pacts.

Those fallen from grace now roam the shadows.

The line between salvation and damnation blurs as the wicked are cursed to roam.

In this bleak world, redemption is a mere illusion.

Fear guides each step as they confront the retribution of a world that has forsaken them.

In forgotten realms, the path to salvation leads only deeper into the abyss.

This collection of chilling tales plunges into the depths of your darkest nightmares, where fallen angels and wicked deeds intertwine. Each story unfolds a new layer of terror and temptation, more unsettling than the last, revealing the sinister nature of those once touched by grace.

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Review of The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei (#debut)

I want to welcome Jemimah Wei to Books R Us. Jemimah is the author of her debut novel, "The Original Daughter," which will be published on May 6, 2025. Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

 

About the Book:

 Before Arin, Genevieve Yang was an only child. Living with her parents and grandmother in a single-room flat in working-class Bedok, Genevieve is saddled with an unexpected sibling when Arin appears, the shameful legacy of a grandfather long believed to be dead. As the two girls grow closer, they must navigate the intensity of life in a place where the urgent insistence on achievement demands constant sacrifice. Knowing that failure is not an option, the sisters learn to depend entirely on one another as they spurn outside friendships, leisure, and any semblance of a social life in pursuit of academic perfection and passage to a better future.

When a stinging betrayal violently estranges Genevieve and Arin, Genevieve must weigh the value of ambition versus familial love, home versus the outside world, and allegiance to herself versus allegiance to the people who made her who she is. In the story of a family and its contention with the roiling changes of our rapidly modernizing, winner-take-all world, The Original Daughter is a major literary debut, rife with emotional clarity and searing social insight. 

My Thoughts: 

"The Original Daughter" is a story that explores themes of friendship, sisterhood, competition, jealousy, and grief. The story is told from the perspective of Genevieve, who believed she was an only child until she discovered she had a younger half-sister named Arin. The novel follows the journey of the two sisters as they navigate their lives together. Although the story starts slowly, it gains momentum as the reader progresses. Writing character-driven stories can be challenging, and the author did a great job developing the characters in her debut novel.
I look forward to reading her next novel.

 

 

I received a free copy of the ARC from Bookbrowse.com for my honest review, and I was not compensated for my review

Book Blitz of Frozen Flames by M.H.B (#contests- Enter to win AN Ecopy of the book- 10 winners)

Frozen Flames
M.H.B.
(The Hollow, #3)
Publication date: March 20th 2025
Genres: Contemporary, Romance

One mistake.
A tragic accident.
A life-altering event.

Something I can never take back.

What do you do when you meet the girl of your dreams but you’re now a shadow of who you used to be.

Gemma Ackerman, my girlfriend, was my everything. Her quiet, nerdy aura drew me in and I never wanted to let go. Life on my Harley with her by my side was perfect.

Until it wasn’t—until I lost myself.

Because a part of me died that night and it was never coming back.

I welcomed anger instead.
I greeted loneliness like an old friend.
I allowed guilt and sorrow to nestle inside my head.

That’s when I met Claire Edwards—the epitome of joie de vivre. She showed me a new colorful way to see the world. She turned numbness into eagerness for a taste of life.

And now I’m torn between a girlfriend that never gave up on me and a woman I picture as my wife.

I had no other choice.
I let myself die, so that I may live.
And it’s all thanks to her. . .

*Follow the same standalone storyline as Silent Screams and Grieving Graves through Harvey and Claire’s eyes.

Goodreads / Amazon

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Sneak Peek:

I close my eyes, swarming out of the anger, until I reach for numbness and bask in it like my life depends on it.

Because it does.

Some of us don’t get to live outside our depression.

Some of us only remain alive because of it.

Author Bio:

M . H . B . graduated law from a Canadian University. She loves spending time with her partner and her dog. She has a passion for animals and loves the simple things in life: chocolate, music, books, sunny days, and overall wellness. When she is not writing, her mind is in another world with a book in hand.

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Book Blitz of Sword of the Fallen by G.J. Ogden (#contests-Ent to win an Amazon Gift Card)

Sword of the Fallen
G.J. Ogden
(Hearts of Dragons, #1)
Publication date: March 20th 2025
Genres: Adult, Fantasy

– From Kindle Storyteller Award Winner G J Ogden –
A dragon’s heart has the power to forge kingdoms – or shatter them.

Sir Torin Cadwell, Knight-Captain of the Watch and the tyrant king’s illegitimate son, has spent his life torn between loyalty to his father and the pull of destiny. For generations, his bloodline has been cursed by a bitter feud with Kyhrax, the Flame of Zarag-Gul – the most feared dragon in Westskyr.

The city of Dun Morlaig survives only because of the Breath – a magical barrier fueled by the crystallized heart of Astreya, the Great Mother dragon. Once a benevolent guardian, Astreya was slain by Torin’s ancestor, leaving Kyhrax consumed by grief and burning for revenge.

When Astreya’s Lament – the sword that holds the Great Mother’s heart – is stolen, the Breath falters. Chaos erupts as Koblyn monsters and dragon-worshiping cultists lay siege to the city, and Kyhrax prepares to unleash his long-awaited vengeance.

Defying the king’s command, Torin allies with Ruxandra Elyr, a ranger of the Order of the Green Bow, to recover the stolen sword. But Kyhrax’s wrath will not stop at Dun Morlaig. If the Flame of Zarag-Gul is not stopped, his fury will consume all seven realms and usher in the age of dragons.

Sword of the Fallen is the gripping first book in the Hearts of Dragons epic fantasy trilogy by Kindle Storyteller Award Winner G J Ogden. Dive into this thrilling adventure today!

Goodreads / Amazon

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Sneak Peek:

“Long has it been since I tasted the reek of mortal flesh in these caves…”

The voice was sensuous, like a troubadour, and eloquent like a scholar, yet Kyhrax’s words shook Selene’s chest with the immensity of a thunderstorm. Opposite, from inside the dark recess of the mountain, a shape

emerged. Talons like swords gripped and splintered the rock, sending shards of grey-black stone tumbling into the magma below. Selene drew back, her burning eyes pressed wide, but she was frozen in fear and awe. Next, a diamond-shaped head emerged, followed by a long, elegant neck. In moments, the dragon’s full form—one hundred and eighty feet from snout to tail—had been hauled from the opening by powerful limbs the breadth of great oaks.

Selene remained on her knees, head bowed, body shaking with terror and reverence, dread and admiration.

She had thought herself ready to face Kyhrax, an audience ordained in magical visions, yet all the force of her will could not compel her to meet the dragon’s incandescent gaze.

“Why disturb my solitude, mortal?” Kyhrax asked as the dragon clawed its way across the cavern walls to within striking distance of the pilgrim who had invaded his lair. “There are easier ways to die.”

The dragon’s wings expanded, blotting out the light from below and casting the cavern into near-darkness. The smell of sulfur was suddenly gone, and instead the air around Kyhrax crackled with a sharp, biting tang. It was like the sky before a storm, heavy with the promise of lightning. Selene felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, and her entire body prickled as if she had been imbued with a sliver of the dragon’s magical essence.

Then Kyhrax beat his wings, knocking Selene to the ground.

“Speak, woman, lest I burn you to ash!”

The cavern shook violently as Kyhrax roared his demand. His breath, suffocating and thick with outrage, whirled around the vast chamber, forcing Selene to grip the hot stone ledge as if she were suspended from it, clinging to it for life. It was all she could do to avoid being swept up in the vortex and cast into the pit of fire. Then, the dragon’s stifling breath abated, and steadily Selene lifted her chin. The physical exertion needed to move her exhausted body paled compared to the struggle of gazing upon the Flame of Zarag-Gul.

“Great Kyhrax, I pledge myself to your cause,” Selene said, her voice little more than a whimper. She rocked back to sit on her heels, then from inside her robes, she lifted the pendant hung from the steel chain around her neck. “Through this crystal heart, I have dreamed of a world where dragons, not mortal kings and queens, rule the seven realms.”

Kyhrax narrowed his orange eyes and drew his long neck closer, peering at the crystal in the young woman’s hand. He extended a single talon, as long as Selene’s body. Then, with a deftness and delicacy belying his colossal size, the dragon hooked the chain and pulled the pendant toward him.

“These dreams… I have seen them,” the dragon replied, its rumbling voice suddenly softer. “Yes… I remember you now, Selene Morgrave, discharged scholar of the Pillar of Commerce.”

Kyhrax turned his head and peered at Selene through his other eye. Selene did not move a muscle. She dared not.

“You pledge yourself without reservation, stealer of relics and dreams,” Kyhrax added. “But this is not the crystalline heart that I seek.”

Author Bio:

G J Ogden is a proud recipient of the Kindle Storyteller Award and has written over 50 books that have garnered over 15,000 5-star ratings on Amazon and Goodreads.

He is a physics graduate and a former technology journalist with a lifelong love of anything nerdy. From Firefly to Game of Thrones and everything in between, SFF is his bag. Conan! What is best in life?

On the rare occasions he’s not writing, G J Ogden is usually getting whooped in games of Warhammer 40K by his son. Unless he’s playing Adepta Sororitas, then he wins.

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Cover Reveal For The Book Exciles on Earth by Bea Tama (Book 1 of Outcasts of Oloria)

Exiles on Earth
Bea Tama
(Outcasts of Oloria, #1)
Publication date: May 16th 2025
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Stranded alien. Fierce farmer. One blown-up barn.

Ellen’s barely keeping her family farm afloat, clinging to dreams of what it could be—with a little luck and a lot of hard work. What she doesn’t need is a spaceship crashing onto her land, or the massive scaled alien who steps out of the wreckage. Now the barn she wanted to convert to a bed and breakfast is shattered all over the lawn, and this huge scaly dude is to blame.

Elia is a space-faring clone, bred for loyalty and survival. He fought for the chance to enter the prestigious Mating Games, only to be exiled for a crime he didn’t commit. Now, stranded on an uncharted world, he and his crew are at the mercy of an infuriated human female with fire in her eyes and no warriors of her own to protect her.

She is not fragile. But she is vulnerable. And something deep in Elia wants her. All he has to do is rebuild what he destroyed and guard her land and her dreams as fiercely as if they were his own.

But Ellen isn’t looking for a mate. And Elia is running out of time to prove that she should.

A sizzling sci-fi romance featuring a caring, exiled alien, a determined human heroine, and slow-burn tension that will leave you breathless. Perfect for fans of aliens on earth, forced proximity, and fierce heroines who refuse to back down.

Add to Goodreads / Pre-order

Author Bio:

Hi! I’m Bea Tama. Well, kind of. This is one of my few pen names; where I write about love falling from the stars, Becky Tama writes romantasy and fae adventures. Our other pen name is a USA Today Bestselling Author, but we don’t let that go to our heads.

I live in the UK not that far from Bristol, where Exiles on Earth is set, and secretly I dream of setting up an agri-business alongside writing about gorgeous aliens coming to help me with it.

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