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Timeshaft - Cover Reveal

1/29/2016

So after weeks of waiting, and looking at it every day, I can finally reveal Troy Johnson's fantastic cover for the new Booktrope edition of Timeshaft.

Originally published by Smashwords in 2013, the Booktrope edition features a new beginning and ending, along with a number of new scenes.

But the storyline remains the same, and the blurb, written by the book's editor, Sophie Thomas, explains what it's all about:

By the twenty-seventh century, mankind has finally mastered time travel—and is driving recklessly towards wiping itself out.

The guerilla environmentalist group WorldSave, with its chief operative Ashday’s Child, uses the Timeshaft to correct mistakes of the past in an effort to extend the life of the planet.

But the enigmatic Ashday’s Child has his own destiny to accomplish, and will do whatever it takes within a complicated web of paradoxes to do so. While his destiny—and very existence—is challenged from the beginning to the end of time, he must collect the key players through the ages to create the very Timeshaft itself.

“Do our actions as time travellers change what would otherwise have happened, or is everything already laid down in a predetermined plan?” he asks. Stewart Bint’s Timeshaft is an expertly synchronized saga of time travel, the irresistible force of destiny, and the responsibility of mankind as rulers of the world.

I believe Troy's superb cover captures the very essence of the story, more so than the original one depicting an orange sky.

The new cover shows the time shuttle - inside the Timeshaft, depicting speed, as the travellers head across the aeons.

Following the fortunes of two sets of time travellers, Timeshaft extends my popular novellas, Malfunction and Ashday's Child (both published by Smashwords in 2012), linking the two storylines into a full-length novel.

Combining Ashday’s Child’s activities and hidden agenda, with an accident befalling the very first time journey by the fledgling Time Research And Exploration Project, Timeshaft rocks along to the past and future with paradoxes and twists galore.

Oh, and it won't be long until we reveal the launch date! Keep your eyes peeled here, and on Twitter.

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Cover Reveal for The Crown of Stones: Magic-Borne

1/28/2016

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I'm honoured to be part of the worldwide team revealing the superb cover for the third novel in C.L. Schneider's The Crown of Stones series, Magic-Borne.

He’s paid for his addiction.
He’s been scarred by his spells.
He’s borne magic’s weight, its pleasure, and its guilt.
But will he surrender to it when the realm needs him most?
Magic-Borne, the final installment of C. L. Schneider's epic fantasy trilogy, The Crown of Stones, is almost here!
The Crown of Stones follows the trials of Ian Troy; a man struggling with an inborn addiction to magic in a world where magic is reviled, not revered.
The cover of Magic-Borne was designed by artist Alan Dingman.

Not read books 1 and 2 yet?
No worries. There's still time to dive into the adventure before book 3 is released.
To celebrate the cover reveal, Magic-Price and Magic-Scars are both on Kindle Countdown from 1/28 to 2/4. Download Magic-Price (book 1) for only $0.99, and Magic-Scars (book 2) for $1.99!

Book 1
Magic-Price Kindle
Magic-Price PB
Book 2
Magic-Scars Kindle
Magic-Scars PB

Visit C.L. Schneider's Website for excerpts, teasers, reviews, and more!

Magic Borne -- Synopsis

In one fell swoop, the resistance was shattered. Lives were taken. Hope was lost. Peace slipped like grains of sand through his fingers. So did the Crown of Stones. Now, forced into hiding, Ian Troy grapples for a way to save the realm—and free its people—from the sadistic clutches of Jem Reth; Mirra’kelan’s new self-appointed emperor. Plagued with the knowledge of a tragic future, he strives to influence events and save those he cares for. But his magic has betrayed him, and Fate has other plans.

Scarred by the crown, hindered by the transformation spell contained within, each cast brings Ian one step closer to becoming more beast than man. Each move brings the death and destruction foretold in his vision inexplicably nearer. With Langor on the brink of war, and King Malaq’s plan for peace hanging in the balance, Ian returns to the ancient past; seeking an end to the eldring spell and a means to thwart Jem’s growing domination. What he finds there sets off a chain of revelations that leads Ian places he never thought to go.

Entrusted with the future of his race, Ian becomes the linchpin for lasting change. But how much weight can one man carry? And how much is he willing to sacrifice in the name of peace?

C. L. Schneider is a self-published author of adult epic and urban fantasy.

The first two books in her Crown of Stones trilogy, Magic-Price and Magic-Scars, are available on Amazon.

The third installment will be released in February 2016.

She is currently working on Nite Fire, an urban fantasy featuring a shape-shifting dragon hybrid named Dahlia Nite.

C. L. Schneider lives in the scenic Hudson Valley of upstate New York with her husband and two sons.

She spends her days torturing characters, overdosing on coffee, and daydreaming about the zombie apocalypse.

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Sepsis Kills -- But Together We Can Beat It

1/27/2016

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Sepsis kills.

But what is sepsis, I hear you ask?

Sepsis kills 37,000 people in the UK every year. That's more than bowel cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer put together.

This means someone dies from sepsis every 14 minutes. Seven people during a normal football match. It's the equivalent to the capacity of a Premier League stadium each year.

And the odds are that you haven't even heard of it. I hadn't until the tragic story of how NHS failings led to little William Mead's death from sepsis broke on national television.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs. Infections which can give rise to sepsis are common, and include lung infections (pnueumonia), water infections, infections in wounds, bites,, and problems like burst ulcers.

Sepsis can lead to shock, multiple organ failure and death if not recognised early and treated promptly. Patients with the most severe forms of sepsis are up to five times more likely to die than patients who've suffered a heart attack or stroke.

The good news is, life-saving treatment for sepsis is often relatively straight-forward. Early recognition, and getting basic treatments including antibiotics and fluids into the patient within the first hour, can halt the progression of sepsis, and hugely improve the chances of survival.

International recommendations suggest that treatment should be started within one hour of sepsis being SUSPECTED.

If a person has two or more of a very high or low temperature, a racing heart beat, rapid shallow breathing, or confusion, then they may have sepsis.

In the early stages it's often difficult to distinguish sepsis from 'flu. But if the patient has any of the above symptoms, and their skin is cold, pale or developed strange colours or markings (mottled), if they've lost consciousness, or not passed water for more than 18 hours, they should be taken to hospital immediately.

Don't be afraid to say "I think this might be sepsis." Getting the patient treated even one hour earlier may be the difference between their life or death.

Suspect sepsis -- say sepsis!
In the UK, the UK Sepsis Trust is working to raise awareness of sepsis, ensuring that the public, patients and their relatives, and health professionals, all work together to "think sepsis."

Sepsis Trust website
Sepsis Trust on Twitter:

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It's Murder With The Pink Girl

1/23/2016

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Last year I had the honour of being invited onto the Pink Sofa for an interview with a wonderful author and blogger whom I met on Twitter.

And it now gives me great pleasure to return the favour, by welcoming the world's leading exponent of tea and cake to my humble abode. Welcome to the Pink Girl! Otherwise known as Carol Hedges.

Carol is a well-established author of YA and teenage novels, who decided to change direction with novels aimed at an altogether different target audience.

But enough of my blathering (in fact...I think Carol once said to me), and I'll hand over to the Pink Girl herself:

SB:
As I had to wear pink fluffy slippers for my interview on your pink sofa, only fair that you leave your shoes two miles from my humble abode. Agreed?

Carol:
Ah, well...as I arrived in the PINK 2CV, I thought I might wear the PINK Uggs for the visit....I am a PINK girl, after all!

SB:
Actually, I seem to remember you saying you used to go barefoot when you were younger. Tell us your best barefoot adventure.

Carol:
I vaguely remember walking down Oxford Street barefoot in the 1960s – the era of flower power, in one of those long tiered Indian cotton skirts. Wouldn’t do it now – too much glass and detritus around.

SB:
Right…..down to business. You’re a successful author. What genres do you write?

Carol:
I write adult historical crime fiction ... a rather startling move as I used to write YA and teenage novels. But hey, why stick to what you did before when you can abandon it and launch into something completely new! I was 63 at the time.

SB:
Talk me through your publishing history.

Carol:
I started writing for OUP and then for Usborne...two of the BIG publishers. In those days I had a London agent, and I thought I was pretty well set up for life. Sadly, the recession arrived in 2008, and as a mid-list writer ,I was dropped by my publisher. Then when I tried out a new genre (see stuff on current book) my agent decided my new book (Diamonds & Dust) was ‘un-publishable’ and we parted company.

That book has now over 74 reviews, and was on the 2013 Crime Writers Historical Dagger list. I do hope this encourages anybody who is facing a lot of rejection!!

SB:
Tell me all about your latest book.

Carol:
The new one is called Death & Dominion and is the third in the Victorian Murder Mystery series. It came out in October last year.

It features the same two detectives: DI Leo Stride and DS Jack Cully, this time trying to solve a double poisoning. It’s set in London in 1862, all gas-lights and horse-drawn cabs. Oh, and there’s a naughty adventuress called Belinda Kite and a handsome but unscrupulous trickster called Mark Hawksley to add to the mix.

SB:
My books are mainly sci-fi and paranormal, and very often the characters go off doing their own thing. However, I would think you have to be very disciplined in controlling your characters in crime fiction. After all, you can’t have the perpetrator of the crime falling in love, getting the girl and living happily ever after.

Carol:
Well, no. Although you’d be amazed how often the characters do wonder off and start having adventures of their own. I sometimes think writing is a bit like herding cats. You can never be sure how they’ll respond, or even if!

SB:
What is the most horrible thing you’ve ever done to any character in your books?

Carol:
I have done some pretty gruesome death scenes: In Diamonds & Dust, the evil Countess spikes herself on some railings. In Death & Dominion, a character falls in front of the Flying Scotsman and in Murder & Mayhem (yet to be published) one of the characters drowns in...oh, no - wait, I can’t tell you about that yet.

SB:
What is your daily writing process?

Carol:
I try to write every day – possibly an hour or so around lunch, then a couple of hours in the afternoon. I do a lot of research, both before writing and as I write, so that takes up time. And I run two blogs, so that has to be factored into the working day. I find if I don’t write every day, the book just doesn’t happen. It’s logical, but it’s taken me some time to realise this.

SB:
What are you working on at the moment?

Carol:
I’ve just started writing the 5th book: Rhyme & Reason. It’s at that perilous 6 thousand word part where I wonder whether it has legs. 15 published novels and I still go through intense self-doubt at regular intervals.

SB:
Do you write full-time?

Carol:
In that I mind my 23 month old granddaughter two full days, and tutor GCSE and A level students ....yes! I am nearly 66, so I have the luxury of being able to do so. Before I retired, I had to fit my writing around work and bringing up my daughter.

SB:
Which genre do you prefer writing – YA, or your adult crime series?

Carol:
I think I love the Victorian Detective series best....it’s a period I studied at university and I just love reading the contemporary books! Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Mrs Gaskell ...nothing finer, in my opinion. I follow humbly in their footsteps.

SB:
What was the best thing anyone ever said about your books?

Carol:
I love the reviews where the reader GETS what I’m trying to do...ie not just the story or the characters, but a book written in a similar style, with an ’omniscient‘ narrator. And when they get the jokes.... there are a lot of jokes....that’s always a buzz for me.

SB:
If anyone ever dared to unfairly criticise your books and they suddenly fell into your hands how would you punish them? (You can get away with your crime, whatever you do to them).

Carol:
I think I’d give them a nice drink, from the mug pictured here:

SB:
If you’ve had another career what was it?

Carol:
I trained as a Librarian, and started working for Brent Libraries .... this is why I’m so passionate about keeping libraries open. My branch library was in a poor multi-cultural area and it was the only source of books for so many poor kids! How can this government can be so short sighted as to deprive children of FREE books? It beggars belief!

I retrained as a secondary school teacher when my daughter was 14, so that I could earn enough to pay off her student loan (she was the first cohort to be charged for going to uni). I used to get called Mrs Hedgehog by some of the younger pupils. It wasn’t a problem...pretty harmless compared with what they called some of the other teachers!

Website: http://carolhedges.blogspot.co.uk
Twitter: @CarolJhedges
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1N1P3DF
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1RCHmun

SB: Thank you, Carol...it's been a pleasure talking to you. I hope you enjoyed the nice drink I gave you. I'd just better go and wash out the mug........

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Eradicating Hatred -- a powerful new book by Tak tse Profit

1/22/2016

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"The world is what people have made it. And people are what the world has made them."

That is a line from my acclaimed short story, The Trial Of Santa Claus, reflecting how Mankind's path through time has become tarnished, and as a race we now find ourselves on a self-destructive path.

The world is so full of hatred, and according to a powerful new book, it is threatening humanity's very existence.

Eradicating Hatred is the first installment in Tak tse Profit's Etiam Tu series of books.

This book, classified in the "Philosophy" genre, seeks to affect change in our perception of the actual circumstances that humanity shares. It is the initial explanation of the philosophy Etiam Tu as it applies to Mankind's most immediate threat to his continued existence: Hatred.

It identifies the sources of hatred we are subjected to, the motivations that create and maintain it, and the numerous forms in which it manifests itself. The book's goal is to alert readers and raise their awareness, by thoroughly exploring this multi-faceted threat; examining each for, and humanity's role in maintaining each aspect of hatred.

Ultimately, it seeks to educate readers in an attempt to enlist their voluntary individual efforts to assist in eradicating this evil from the collective human psyche once and for all -- forever.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The Tak tse Profit spent most of life observing conditions, circumstances and people. He spent most his adult life in service to people known and unknown, considering and noting differing factors in life: both in his and other's.

He accepted his commission to share the Philosophy of Etiam Tu: inspired by his young son's convicting of his heart for having given up on mankind.

REVIEW FOR ERADICATING HATRED
------ Lifestyleandliterature.wordpress.com

‘I love most books on self improvement, or about the interactions and emotions of humans. This book focuses on eradicating hatred, things such as: morals, honor, family values, faith, trust, negativity, frustration, envy, resentment, the culture of hatred and more. From the authors experiences and observations over the past 9 years, he has brought us this book. It really opens your mind, and the way he speaks about mankind being saved from itself by stopping the hatred is so true. Hatred is the dangerous issue mankind is facing. GREAT BOOK! A MUST-READ!’

PURCHASE LINKS

http://etiamtu.com

Xlibris Website: http://goo.gl/sYNoMd

Amazon: http://goo.gl/qj8l9q

Barnes & Noble: http://goo.gl/YXtVNM

-----------------------

SOCIAL MEDIA

https://www.facebook.com/EtiamTu/

https://twitter.com/TheTtP

https://www.instagram.com/tak_tse_profit/

http://etiamtu.wix.com/blog

http://ahatefreeworld.blogspot.com/

http://eradicatinghatred.weebly.com/

BOOK TRAILER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2RJxAYxxFU&list=PLnPZ2vtiAjbsoItzwaVyt1DgjNgGim1ro

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60 - Here I Come

1/9/2016

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Well, how did that happen? How on Earth can I shortly be starting my seventh decade on this aforementioned planet? Yes, January 16th, will be my 60th birthday!

Whatever happened to that handsome young man in the photograph, getting ready to read the news on BBC Radio? That was in 1981 when I was a mere 25. Gulp! That’s 35 years ago.

I’ll tell you what happened to him. A change of career, eight books, one wife, two children, a number of budgies, getting ill and getting better, a few cars (yes, yes, yes, I won’t go on), that’s what happened to him.

Oh, and don’t forget the thinning hair, the aches and pains, the diminishing energy, the…okay, my hearing’s still good enough to make out the violins you’re all suddenly playing.

There are compensations, though: with age comes wisdom. Seriously. I’m wiser than I was back then. No, stop laughing. I know that’s not saying much, given the original raw material way back when, but I am. I know now that when I thought I knew it all in those lazy, hazy, crazy days of long ago, I actually knew nothing. So knowing now that I knew nothing then makes me wiser. Doesn’t it?

Also I’m a much calmer person than I was then, and I no longer care what the world thinks of me. But how the world has changed in that time. In the days of that photo the studio equipment of turntables, reel-to-reel tape and faders, was absolutely state of the art. But it’s probably languishing in some broadcasting museum at the moment, as all programmes are driven by computer now.

Talking of computers, I first started using one in 1989; was almost reduced to tears of frustration as I was unable to control the first mouse to be introduced to my work station in 1992; and felt on top of the world when I invested in my first home computer in 1997. A great monstrosity of a thing it was, all £1,000 worth of it, for a mere 16mb of RAM.

OK, reminiscing over. Nostalgia back in the drawer for another 35 years. Jeez, I'll be 95!

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Timeshaft - Cover Reveal

Cover Reveal for The Crown of Stones: Magic-Borne

Sepsis Kills -- But Together We Can Beat It

It's Murder With The Pink Girl

Eradicating Hatred -- a powerful new book by Tak tse Profit

60 - Here I Come

Author

Archives

Categories

Timeshaft - Cover Reveal﻿

Cover Reveal for The Crown of Stones: Magic-Borne

Sepsis Kills -- But Together We Can Beat It﻿

It's Murder With The Pink Girl

Eradicating Hatred -- a powerful new book by Tak tse Profit

60 - Here I Come﻿

Author

Archives

Categories

Timeshaft - Cover Reveal

Sepsis Kills -- But Together We Can Beat It

60 - Here I Come