Archive for May 2012
Today’s Kindle Daily Deal — Saturday, May 12 – Two Great Reads for under $2 – Save 80% on Darrell James’ Mystery NAZARETH CHILD, plus … Don’t miss Gail Cleare’s DESTINED, A NOVEL OF THE TAROT (Today’s Sponsor)
May 12, 2012 | 
Author But first, a word from … Today’s Sponsor
Destined, a novel of the Tarot
Here’s the set-up:
Follow Emily’s journey to self discovery, community, spirit and love. A contemporary magic-realism romance with engaging multi-cultural characters and lyrical descriptions.
This is the year Emily Ross takes control of her destiny and learns to deliberately shape the future. Emily has always known she is different. She attracts spirits, has prophetic dreams and can sense people’s thoughts. Lonely and longing to fit in, she hides her true self. But all this changes when she finally gets the courage to walk away from her safe routine and takes a job at “Paradise,” a fabulous curio shop owned by Henry Paradis, the occult scholar who becomes her spiritual mentor. Recognizing her talents as the valuable gifts they are, Henry teaches Emily to accept her magical nature and “look forward.” Emily chooses the path to light and happiness, opening her heart and braving the obstacles she must conquer along the way. She finds lifelong friends, falls in love with an incredibly sexy man, learns the power of desire and intention, faces her worst fears and is swept toward awakening.
The mystical images of the Tarot’s archetypal trump cards chart the way, 22 sequential steps along the path to success known as “The Fool’s Journey.” Illustrated by images from the Payen Tarot of Marseilles (1713), which is the oldest surviving Tarot deck.
From the reviewers:
Winner of Honorable Mention in General Fiction at the 2012 Green Book Festival
Publishers Weekly says: “Each chapter of this unassuming novel is illustrated with a card from the tarot, and the contents of each section are loosely related to the meaning of the corresponding card. Cleare’s narrative follows Emily, a young woman on a path of self-realization and awakening…. The novel is well plotted. Readers already interested in the tarot and its uses for divination will enjoy Cleare’s serious meditations on the meanings of the cards, and the way the tarot plays out in Emily’s life. What’s more, Cleare offers a little bit of self-help and a little bit of chick lit, packaged together with a positive, make-your-own-destiny message: a pleasant, comforting read.”
Midwest Book Review says: “A thoughtful and much recommended novel of tarot. Through the unknown, we can find something magnificent. A novel of romance and the life of the occult and the tarot, it’s a fascinating break into this culture and the belief in mysticism.”
Dolores Stewart Riccio, author of Circle of Five and the Cass Shipton mysteries says: “The beguiling tale of the transformative power of love and friendship. An enjoyable and enlightening novel.”
Patricia Grasso, bestselling romance novelist and author of Marrying the Marquis says: ”Gail Cleare delivers a solid debut novel, DESTINED. Ms. Cleare’s characters are well-drawn and likeable, her plot and ideas spectacularly original. Enjoy!”
Visit Amazon’s Gail Cleare Author’s Page
Gail Cleare is a writer, designer and photographer. She hosted a Tarot chat room for America Online and has done thousands of Tarot readings live online and in person. She lives on an historic farm in New England with her family and dogs, cats, chickens, black bears, blue herons, bobcats, rushing streams and wide, windy skies. Visit her website at: gailcleare.com
and now … Today’s Kindle Daily Deal!
 Kindle Daily Deal: Nazareth Child
When the FBI discovers that agent Del Shannon’s father has unexplained ties to the Nazareth Church, she’s sent deep into Kentucky’s Appalachian foothills to investigate its compound and the mystery of her missing mother. This intense page-turner won the 2012 Left Coast Crime Eureka Award for Best First Mystery Novel.
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Posted in 
Free Classics: Brood of the Witch Queen by Sax Rohmer
Every Friday, Marilyn Knapp Litt, who blogs at ClassicKindle.com, brings us her recommendation of a free classic book to discover (or rediscover) on Kindle. Find more of Marilyn’s recommendations at her blog, ClassicKindle.com, a guide to the best free and inexpensive classic literature for the Kindle. You can also get Marilyn’s blog on Kindle and I recommend that you “Like” the Classic Kindle Facebook page as well so you don’t miss anything. Here’s Marilyn’s post:
PREFATORY NOTICE
“The strange deeds of Antony Ferrara, as herein related, are intended to illustrate certain phases of Sorcery as it was formerly practised (according to numerous records) not only in Ancient Egypt but also in Europe, during the Middle Ages. In no case do the powers attributed to him exceed those which are claimed for a fully equipped Adept.”
You don’t read those sort of claims in Harry Potter!
If you are ready for a supernatural thriller written in 1918 with an Egyptian twist, pick up this novel by Sax Rohmer (the pen name of Arthur Henry Ward.)
Cairn went to the hospital, and by courtesy of Walton, whom he had known at Oxford, was permitted to view the body.
“The symptoms which Sime has got to hear about,” explained the surgeon, raising the sheet from the dead woman’s face, “are—”
He broke off. Cairn had suddenly exhibited a ghastly pallor; he clutched at Walton for support.
“My God!”
Cairn, still holding on to the other, stooped over the discoloured face. It had been a pretty face when warm life had tinted its curves; now it was congested—awful; two heavy discolorations showed, one on either side of the region of the larynx.
“What on earth is wrong with you?” demanded Walton.
“I thought,” gasped Cairn, “for a moment, that I knew—”
“Really! I wish you did! We can’t find out anything about her. Have a good look.”
“No,” said Cairn, mastering himself with an effort—”a chance resemblance, that’s all.” He wiped the beads of perspiration from his forehead.
“You look jolly shaky,” commented Walton. “Is she like someone you know very well?”
“No, not at all, now that I come to consider the features; but it was a shock at first. What on earth caused death?”
“Asphyxia,” answered Walton shortly. “Can’t you see?”
“Someone strangled her, and she was brought here too late?”
“Not at all, my dear chap; nobody strangled her. She was brought here in a critical state four or five days ago by one of the slum priests who keep us so busy. We diagnosed it as exhaustion from lack of food—with other complications. But the case was doing quite well up to last night; she was recovering strength. Then, at about one o’clock, she sprang up in bed, and fell back choking. By the time the nurse got to her it was all over.”
“But the marks on her throat?”
Walton shrugged his shoulders.’
More Bones than CSI, I would say . . . but pure pulp fiction!
Click here to get your free copy of Brood of the Witch Queen by Sax Rohmer >>>
Today’s Kindle Daily Deal — Friday, May 11 –Two Great Reads for 99 Cents each — Save 89% on Mara Purl’s Milford-Haven Novel WHAT THE HEART KNOWS, plus … Don’t miss Kerri Wood Thomson’s DIARY OF A PUBLIC RADIO SLAVE (Today’s Sponsor)
But first, a word from … Today’s Sponsor
Diary of a Public Radio Slave
Here’s the set-up:
When Sloan Kennedy is handed a pink slip from her employer and her fiancé, she has to find a way to pay the mortgage on a new house and cancel all of her wedding plans. After a minor breakdown (she allows herself a week long pity party), Sloan applies for an administrative assistant position at the local Public Radio station. The position is a step down from her former job as an announcer, but Sloan is desperate, and at least it’s in broadcasting.
While filling out the application Sloan meets Horg (his goth name), a student employee, who is perfecting his British accent, with hopes of one day working for the BBC. Also lurking in the lobby is Gladys, the station’s 85-year-old busy body. Gladys has worked at the radio station since War Of The Worlds was broadcast, and she knows all the gossip regarding the station’s employees and volunteers. Marjorie, the Fundraising Director, interviews Sloan, in a cluttered conference room, disappearing at one point to blend herself a wheat-grass smoothie. Marjorie hires Sloan, and promptly disappears, leaving Sloan to get accustomed to her new job on the front lines of a public radio station. Sloan quickly realizes that while the majority of her new coworkers, and many of the radio station’s listeners are bizarre, her new boss Marjorie is her nemesis. Gladys describes Marjorie as “flakier than a bowl full of dandruff” and the description is accurate. During a marketing campaign gone awry, Marjorie designs jumbo postcards to be mailed to all the listeners, but instead of highlighting public radio listener’s superb intellect with the slogan “Survival of the Fittest” the postcards are mailed out proclaiming “Survival of the Fattest.” Sloan is left to deal with the backlash of phone calls from irate listeners.
The station is gearing up for a pledge drive, which will include a visit by Sebastian Kohler, a preeminent public radio personality, ala Garrison Keeler. While Sloan navigates the daily duties of an administrative assistant (making vats of coffee and answering the recurring question, “Who is in the bathroom?”) she must also deal with the delicate psyches of her coworkers and locate all the items on Mr. Kohler’s Green Room list, including a specialty breathe mint, rumored to help squelch Mr. Kohler’s notorious halitosis.
Amidst a blizzard the pledge drive begins. While it’s bitterly cold outside, too cold for many of the decrepit volunteers to venture out of their homes to answer phones, inside the station it’s sweltering. The heater has gone on the fritz, forcing staff to strip down to long johns and tube tops. Cliff, the station engineer, who still hasn’t learned how to send an email, is no help in remedying the problem and can typically be found napping on the lobby carpet. The only person not sweating is Vivienne, the germophobic office accountant/announcer, who despises anyone sharing her air space, but especially Marjorie.
Marjorie and Vivienne quickly lock horns over the color of paper used in the printer, causing a tense show-down. And on the day that Mr. Kohler arrives, with a line of fans stretching around the building, tension between Marjorie and Vivienne boils over and the two grown women lock themselves in a bathroom together, refusing to come out. It’s a stand-off that leaves Mr. Kohler unattended, and no one to interview him. Knowing that she could lose her job, but determined that the show must go on, Sloan takes charge, going on-air to interview Sebastian about his latest book.
About the Author
and now … Today’s Kindle Daily Deal!
 Kindle Daily Deal: What the Heart KnowsThe first book in Mara Purl’s acclaimed Milford-Haven series follows privileged artist Miranda Jones as she starts a new life in a beautiful small town along California’s Central Coast. It’s a place filled with quirky, independent men and women, and one dark secret: the murder of journalist Christine Christian.
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