Rachel Thompson

Jack Canon's American Destiny

Monday, April 22, 2013

Orangeberry Free Alert - Water by Terra Harmony

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Water - Terra Harmony

Amazon Kindle US

Amazon Kindle UK

Genre - Fantasy

Rating - R (Mature)

3.8 (64 reviews)

Free until 30 April 2013

Elemental powers in the palm of her hand…and it won't be enough to save her. When Kaitlyn Alder is involuntarily introduced to a life of magic, she becomes part of an organization hell-bent on saving the Earth. Her newfound life holds promises of purpose, romance, and friendship, but the organization divides and a rogue member holds Kaitlyn hostage. Now one of the most terrifying men the human race has to offer stands between her and Earth's survival.
This novel contains sexual situations, some non-consensual, and is for mature readers only.

Orangeberry Book of the Day – Double or Nothing by Meg Mims

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A mysterious explosion. A man framed for murder. A strong woman determined to prove his innocence.

October, 1869: Lily Granville, heiress to a considerable fortune, rebels against her uncle’s strict rules. Ace Diamond, determined to win Lily, invests in a dynamite factory but his success fails to impress her guardian. An explosion in San Francisco, mere hours before Lily elopes with Ace to avoid a forced marriage, sets off a chain of consequences.

When Ace is framed for murder before their wedding night, Lily must find proof to save him from a hangman’s noose. Will she become a widow before a true wife?

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – Western Historical Mystery

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with Meg Mims on Facebook & GoodReads

Orangeberry Book Of The Day - Deadly Memories by S.D. O’Donnell (Excerpt)

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Who is the beautiful Jayne Doe? And why does someone want to kill her?

Ex-detective Saul Becker learned the hard way not to get involved in the troubles of beautiful women. But what else can he do when a barefoot, catatonic Jayne Doe turns up practically in his backyard? Who is she, and what is she so afraid of?

Jayne Doe doesn’t remember anything about her life before she crawled into a hollow tree at the lake next to Saul’s home.. All she knows is that she’s afraid of something—or someone.

Together, Saul and Jayne set out to uncover her past. But they are in more danger than they know, and it will take all of Saul’s skill and training to track down the past that’s stalking them.

Deadly Memories is a fast-paced novel with unexpected twists and a surprise ending.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Murder / Thriller

Rating – PG13 (some foul language, a few short love scenes)

More details about the author

Connect with S.D. O’Donnell on Facebook & GoodReads

PROLOGUE

SHE HUDDLED ON DAMP EARTH, knees to her chest, back pressed against something rough and wet, comforted by the smallness of her retreat. A thin cold film of moisture enveloped her skin. Why? When had that happened?

Honking geese broke the silence, reminded her that a bigger world still thrived, outside.

Dew. That’s what the film of moisture was.

She didn’t want the night to end, wanted to stay in the quiet, alone in the darkness, the smallness. She heard splashes, a duck’s quack, piercing yips that passed and faded into the distance.

Each sound scraped against her nerves.

Wet drops traced down her checks. Fat drops. Not dew. She heard a sob and realized it was hers.

Someone called out, “Hello?”

She gasped.

“Are you okay?”

She needed a new place to hide, one where morning couldn’t reach her. Without moving, without thinking, she escaped to a safer, even smaller place.

CHAPTER 1

SAUL BECKER SURFED THE WASTELAND of early morning television, one of his more successful tactics for overcoming insomnia. When that didn’t work, he sat for hours in the dark, thoughts tumbling through his head like clothes in the dryer.

He’d finally achieved a kind of mental numbness he would have happily called sleep when a shrill noise brought him out of his chair. He yanked a pistol from the end table drawer before the phone rang a second time. Feeling like an idiot, he glanced at the clock as he picked up the receiver. It was seven thirty.

“What?” he said, his voice like gravel.

It was his elderly neighbor, Mrs. Blackstone. Her voice sounded an octave higher than normal as she rattled off something he didn’t quite follow.

“Say again?”

He slid his custom Colt Series 70 M1911A2 back into the drawer.

“Get down here,” she said. “There’s a lady crying inside the tree.”

Saul took a moment to stretch in the cool August morning before jogging down to the lake behind his townhome. He could see the Rocky Mountains on the western horizon, the early morning air north of Denver still clear enough to make the foothills seem closer than they really were.

He worked hard to stay in shape, proud to still be lean and muscled as he edged over forty. He had fair skin, sky-blue eyes, and sandy hair with hints of red. Add his freckles, and he looked a stereotypical Irishman.

The townhomes were built on top of a hill and he kept his stride short as he ran down the trail to the lake. When he got close, he saw Mrs. Blackstone pacing beside a huge cottonwood tree. Two patrol cops watched from fifty feet away. They jerked around at the sound of his approach, hands moving toward the service pistols at their waists. Saul braked to a walk, holding his hands up, palms out.

When he was close enough to identify who they were, presuming they could do the same, he lowered his hands and called out a greeting.

“Roan. Mathews. Been a while.”

Roan’s height made Saul’s 6’4” look short and Roan was built to intimidate. Mathews was barely 5’ 10” and looked more like a geek than a cop, right down to the thick glasses sitting on the bottom of his nose.

“Becker.” Roan rubbed a hand across the stubble on his chin. His palm didn’t hide a slight frown. “What’re you doing here?”

“That’s my neighbor.” Saul nodded at the white-haired woman next to the tree, who interrupted her pacing to dab at her eyes with the edge of a thick shawl. “She called me, I told her to call you.”

“So we’ve got you to thank for this end-of-shift call,” Roan said.

“Thank the woman she found. You seen her yet?”

Mathews rolled his eyes. “We were just wondering if your neighbor isn’t quite right in her head. Maybe what we really need here is the loony toon squad.”

“Why?” Saul said.

A yawn cut off Roan’s snicker. “She pointed to the tree and yelled, ‘She’s in there.’ What would you think?”

“That the woman is inside the tree.”

Saul sprinted down the path and circled around to the side of the tree where Mrs. Blackstone waited.

“Finally.” She gestured at the tree. “Go see if she’s okay.”

Several years prior a lightning-induced fire had burned through about five feet of the trunk’s interior from the ground up, creating a hollow that still smelled of stale smoke, and a black-rimmed hole that allowed entrance.

Saul ducked inside and squatted for a minute to let his eyes adjust to the shadows. A woman sat with her legs pulled up, her arms wrapped around them, and her face buried between her knees.

She didn’t move when Saul said hello. She didn’t move when he tugged gently on her arm.

“Well?” Roan’s voice sounded muffled. “What’s in there?”

“I told you already,” Mrs. Blackstone said. “It’s a woman. She was crying.” Saul heard impatience in her answer.

“Not crying anymore.” Saul backed out of the tree. “Don’t think she’s all there mentally.”

“You couldn’t have brought her out with you?” Mathews said.

Saul shrugged. “I gave her a tug. She didn’t want to come.”

“Aw, shit.” Roan pressed his hand against the rough bark as he bent over, looking as if he had folded himself in half. He emitted a low whistle. “This is your job, Mathews. I won’t fit.”

Mathews took his turn to look inside.

“If I do this myself,” he said as he crawled into the tree, “you owe me big time.”

From outside, they heard Mathew’s grunts, interspersed with a string of curses.

“Do something,” Mrs. Blackstone said, with a light push on Saul’s shoulder.

“You know I don’t do this for a living anymore.”

“Hey!” Mathews yelled. “Need some help here.”

He’d maneuvered the woman to the opening. Saul took her elbow and held her head down with his other hand until she cleared the entrance. Once she was standing, he kept his grip until he was certain she wouldn’t bolt.

She was close to 5’ 11”, underfed, no older than her mid-thirties. Her shoulder-length pale blond hair resembled fine silk, though it was stringy and matted. Sapphire eyes with specks of gold blinked in an uneven pattern. Lines of dirt streaked across a perfect face. Even dirty and disheveled, she belonged in a class of gorgeous Saul had only seen on a movie screen.

She wore faded jeans, a dingy gray T-shirt, and a purple hoodie. No socks or shoes.

“I don’t see anything else in there,” Mathews said, flexing his back when he was out of the tree. “She seems okay except for being nonresponsive. What do you think, Roan? Call an ambulance or take her back and call Social Services?”

“We call an ambulance—one of us has to sit with her at the hospital.”

“One of us is gonna have to sit with her anyway.”

“Hanging out at the station beats the hospital.”

Roan placed his hand on the woman’s arm and took a few steps. She moved with him.

“Hold on,” Mrs. Blackstone said. “She’s barefoot.”

Roan glanced up the trail.

“Short of throwing her over my shoulder, I don’t think we have any choice here.” He shortened his stride to match the woman’s but began walking faster as they neared the parking lot. The woman stumbled.

Saul sprinted forward to catch her. The maneuver left her lax body tightly wound in his arms and he felt a memory playing hide-and-seek. It vanished before he could place it.

Within minutes of reaching their vehicle, Roan, Mathews, and the woman were gone. Saul and Mrs. Blackstone retreated up the hill to their homes.

They lived in a group of townhomes known as The Courtyard. Saul paused at the edge of the real estate’s namesake, a square yard in the middle of the U-shaped complex, hoping the sunlight would burn away the memory that had threatened him as he caught the stumbling woman.

Instead of burning away, it ripped open. Every muscle from his face to his feet clenched in a surge of rage and grief.

The woman in the park had felt like Martha.

Closing his eyes, he shoved all recall of her back into the off-limit corners of his mind.

He opened his eyes to Mrs. Blackstone watching him.

“Tea,” Mrs. Blackstone said. It wasn’t a question.

When they reached her door, they found her potted plants scattered across the ground. Some of the pots were broken.

“Well, look at the mess our raccoons have made,” Mrs. Blackstone said.

Saul bent to pick up a pot.

“Leave them be.” She slapped his hand away. “I’ll take care of it myself in a bit.”

A faint pattern in the scattered dirt looked almost like a smiley face. He startled, then shrugged. The wind must have swirled through the yard and used the dirt as canvas. He followed his neighbor inside, where he was greeted by the faint aroma of potpourri.

He waited on the sofa while she brewed one of her custom tea blends. She served his in a thick-walled mug, then sat in an armchair across from him. Her hands shook visibly and her china cup rattled against the saucer when she lowered it.

“I wonder what happened to her.” She sighed. “Poor thing. And so lovely too, wasn’t she?”

Saul grunted in agreement, happy that his neighbor’s equilibrium seemed to improve with each sip of tea. He put his empty mug in the sink and made it as far as the door before she spoke again.

“Saul?”

He knew that tone.

“I just can’t stop worrying about her. Would you go down to the station and make sure she’s okay?”

He didn’t think she really understood what she was asking, but then he wasn’t sure it would stop her if she did. He rubbed an open palm over his stomach as it hardened into a knot and wished he’d just let the damn phone keep ringing.

Orangeberry Book Tours - May Specials & Ongoing GIveaways

All special offers are valid on a first come first serve basis until Friday, 31st May 2013.

 

ALL 5 (FIVE) of the Orangeberry packages listed below for only $55 (Usual price is $140.00)

 

1. ORANGEBERRY SOCIAL BUTTERFLY is a mini book tour (7 days). It consists of 5 blog stops, 1 Twitter View and 1 Twitter Blast. (Usual price is $30.00)

 

2. ORANGEBERRY SPREAD ME sees to it that you and your book receive long-term exposure on the web with 5 blog stops in 5 weeks. (Usual price is $30.00)

 

3. ORANGEBERRY BOOK OF THE DAY is a sweet tool if you want your book to appear on the same day on at least 50 different blogs. (Usual price is $49.99)

 

4. ORANGEBERRY BOOKSTORE will showcase your book for a whole year amongst book lovers and book club members. You can view the entire bookstore HERE. (Usual price is $29.99)

 

5. ORANGEBERRY BOOK EXPO will be held in August 2013. Your book cover will be included for the entire duration of the expo. More details about the expo can be found HERE(Usual price is $9.99)

 

Payment is exclusively via PayPal.

1.Upon sign-up you will receive a starter kit with more details about your guest posts and interview questions.

2. Please sign up HERE

More questions? Email us at info AT orangeberrybooktours DOT com

The ORANGEBERRY BOOKSTORE  is open to all authors, books and genres.

What will you receive? This site receives approximately 5,000 views a month so your book will be placed within reach of book lovers, bloggers and other authors.

What does it look like? All books are listed HERE.

What will it cost you? It costs $29.99 for a whole year. Yes, that's $2.50 a month.

Payment is exclusively via PayPal.

1. Please also send us your book cover  (in jpeg or png). Type email subject as "OrangeberryBookstore".

2. Please sign up HERE

More questions? Email us at info AT orangeberrybooktours DOT com

Next available date - after 25th April 2013

 

(All proceeds will go towards the Orangeberry Goodie Bag, advertising & site maintenance)

 

ORANGEBERRY FREE ALERT PREMIUM will assist you to get the word out about your free book promotion via a Twitter campaign, book blast and social media networking. This is currently available for Amazon and Smashwords only.

 

How will you benefit? This site receives approximately 5,000 views a month and there are more than 13,000 fans on our Facebook page PLUS your free alert will be posted to at least 30 different blogs. Your book will be placed within reach of book lovers, bloggers and other authors.

What will it cost you? It costs $29.99 per book for two days. That's $15.00 a day.

Payment is via PayPal. Use button below or "SendPayment" to info AT orangeberrybooktours DOT com

1. You will receive a total of 10 Tweets (5 Tweets a day) AND a book excerpt or description on at least 30 different blogs.

2. Please ensure your book is already free when you are signing up for this. i.e. You have already created your free promo on your KDP dashboard or your book is set to free on Smashwords.

3.  Please also email us your book cover  (in jpeg or png), release date, Amazon / Smashwords link and book blurb.

4. Sign up HERE.

 

***PLEASE NOTE - due to the volume of free alerts and tweets we send out in a day, we will NOT notify you once your free alert is alive. You can check our Facebook page at 2000 hours GMT or check your mentions on Twitter.

 

Next available date - within 48 hours.

(All proceeds will go towards the Orangeberry Goodie Bag, advertising & site maintenance)

Ongoing Giveaways

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