New Release: The Alternative by S. Burke

Today, I'm pleased as punch to be hosting fellow Rave Reviews Book Club Member Suzanne Burke  who is promoting her new release, The Atlernative. Take it away, Soooz!

Welcome to Day 6 of my Choose "THE ALTERNATIVE" Blog Tour, with my grateful thanks to my marvelous host. Thank you for joining me here.

Book Blurb

There are those that cling unreservedly to the lifeboat that believing in Karma hands them so willingly.

They work, they live, and they function in a world that allows them the option of unreservedly trusting that Karma has no deadline.

Until they are handed the spark that ignites them into becoming the instrument of Karma itself.

There are others who have had all they once held to be truths, everything they once stood for and took pride in, torn apart and ripped from them by the hand of a cruel fate.

Then, of course, there are those who believed in nothing and no one, to begin with ...

These are their stories.

The stories of people both good and bad, who made the choice to exact "The Alternative."

***

Join me today as I share a brief glimpse into Chapter 6 of "The Alternative."

"Eternally Yours."

The Mayor of NEW YORK is in love. It IS love ... isn't it? He's the man the pundits view as a likely candidate for the Highest Office in the Land. Highly respected and well connected. Of course ... it just has to be love.

A brief extract.

Chapter 4. Eternally Yours.

Saturday 09/15/09. 9. 30 am. New York City. Penthouse Trump Towers.

The man hung up the phone and smiled at his reflection in the large mirror.

Finally, after all this time spent waiting, tomorrow will be ours. All of our tomorrows, forever more. Just us, together at last, the way it was meant to be. You smile back at me from the framed photograph that takes pride of place on my bedside table.

It’s an older picture and I have so many others, but this one…this one is my all-time favorite…that smile is just for me, and not meant to be shared with your millions of fans worldwide. 

Tonight it is your hometown crowd… and New York does love its favorite girl.  

Another sellout concert my darling, no mean feat at Madison Square Garden. I will as always be front row center, cheering and bellowing just like the rest of them, yet nursing happily my own special secret, our secret.  

When you send me our little signal, my heart will swell with pride, as it always does. 

I have waited too long for this night…way-way too long. 

No matter. I understood your need to do this last world tour. You had to say your farewells to all the people that adore you on a global scale. You enslaved them as always, leaving them begging and screaming for more.

That is the way to do it my sweet one … always leave them wanting more. 

I glance around at all the memories, the wonderful photographs of you at every stage of your astronomical rise  We have so much time to catch up on …, and finally, our together time will begin. 

I will spend today completing all the myriad arrangements; I still have much to do. I couldn’t possibly leave this to my staff to attend to.  

Everything must go perfectly, and the best way to ensure that of course, is to do it myself.

***

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Again my sincere thanks to my host, and to the great crew at 4 Wills Publishing for organizing my blog tour.

"The Alternative" NOW Available Amazon.com

Author Bio:

Suzanne Burke resides with her daughter and grandson in a small country town located hundreds- of miles to the west of her previous home in Sydney Australia.

Suzanne had long wanted to write, life interrupted and she didn’t begin her journey into the world of writing until she was in her early fifties.

Suzanne has written her memoirs under the author name of Stacey Danson, both her non-fiction books have ranked in the top 100 paid in Kindle on Amazon. “Empty Chairs” and “Faint Echoes of Laughter” continue to earn wonderful reviews.

Suzanne writes her powerful Thrillers “Acts Beyond Redemption” and “Acts of Betrayal” and her Paranormal anthology “Mind-Shaft” as S. Burke.

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"This tour sponsored by 4WillsPublishing.wordpress.com."

Five-Star Review for Hexborn from Readers' Favorite

I'm thrilled to share this early, 5-star review for Hexborn, courtesy of Carol Beth Anderson from Readers' Favorite.

Hexborn: The Hexborn Chronicles Book 1 by A.M. Manay tells the riveting story of Shiloh Teethborn, a sixteen-year-old orphan. Shiloh is hexborn, accustomed to being an outcast due to the physical evidence of curses she received before birth. But not everyone rejects Shiloh. She has magical abilities, and the chief minister of the kingdom, Silas Hatch, thinks she will be of value to the king. Silas takes Shiloh from her small-town life and brings her to the capital to live in the palace, attend classes in magic, and serve the royal family. It doesn’t take long for Shiloh to attract attention, thanks to her considerable power. She must quickly learn to navigate the rocky paths of politics, relationships, and society. At every step, Silas is there to help her—but can she trust the man known as “the king’s hatchet”?

It’s been some time since I’ve found myself so intrigued by a new fantasy realm. The magical setting of Hexborn is drawn with vivid color and depth, and it’s populated by nuanced, fascinating characters. Shiloh’s vulnerability and strength join to make her immensely likeable, a character worth rooting for. Beneath the stories of intrigue and relationships, Hexborn presents deeper messages about prejudice, both societal and personal. I’m already eagerly anticipating the release of the second book of the series. When I’m lucky enough to discover an independent author with such storytelling prowess, I get a thrill out of it. This was one of those times. Discovering A.M. Manay’s writing was a delight, and I’m looking forward to reading her other novels. Go ahead and grab that pre-order if you haven't already.  Hexborn is going places!

Wednesday Work-In-Progress: Plotting with Silas

With Hexborn about to drop in a few short weeks, here is a peek at the untitled sequel currently in progress . . .

***

“I don’t know. Tunneling is inherently dangerous work,” Shiloh replied, worrying at her bottom lip. “And this would be a really long tunnel.”

“So is an attack on a superior force,” Silas pointed out. “And we don’t know how much they know about what happened at the Citadel. They could be ready for us, expecting us to show up here for Loor. Hell, they could have already moved Mosspeak, Penn, and the princess somewhere else. And I don’t think you’ll be able to catch them by surprise like you did the priests.”

She nodded. “It only worked because none of them bothered with wards inside the walls. Their arrogance was the key. But these men will be expecting me, most likely.”

“Agreed,” her husband replied.

“We need some information before we act, don’t we? Before we break everyone out and make a run for it?” Shiloh argued. “The Gernish troops need to think everything is fine for a few days at least, if we’re to have any hope of getting away clean. They might have some people inside the castle, too. We need to know how many, how often they report in.”

“Fair enough,” Silas replied. “We do need to know their patterns, how much information they have about what is going on in Fountain Bluff and in the kingdom at large.”

“We need a spy,” Shiloh concluded. Her eyes ran over the company until they landed on Jivan.

“You really think so?” Silas asked, following her gaze. “You trust him? He could walk in there and give us up in the first five minutes.”

“He’s a good boy. Kind. I saved his mother’s life. She almost died of Red Fever up at Northgate. And he’s got it pretty bad for Hana,” Shiloh countered.

“I killed his father,” Silas pointed out.

“I don’t get the impression that they were close,” Shiloh replied. Silas eyed her skeptically. “I know, it is a risk,” Shiloh acknowledged. “But he grew up in Gerne, and he wore the gray. They’ll be predisposed to trust him. He can tell them he barely got away with his life, ask them for help. Keep his ears open for a few days, then slip away. If he is willing. I feel bad about sending someone so young into danger.”

“I don’t like the idea of sending him in alone,” Silas argued. “I don’t know him enough to trust him. I do know him enough to be worried about what they’ll do to him if they make him. He’s still a boy.”

“I agree with you on the latter point,” Shiloh acknowledged. “I could use a concealment spell, go in myself, invisible.”

“No,” Hatch pushed back. “You haven’t regained much strength since your display of force last week. You’re liable to fall ill any day. And if it overtakes you while you are among those pigs . . .”

“Well, your concealment spell is rubbish, so what are we supposed to do?” Shiloh countered.

***

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