VIRTUAL TOUR: THE EXTRAORDINARY DAYS SERIES - POLLY BECKS + GIVEAWAY!

THE EXTRAORDINARY DAYS SERIES

by Polly Becks

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GENRE:  Romance/Mystery/Thriller

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BLURB:

In the late spring of 1991, a flood and fire of historic proportions tore through the pretty resort town of Obergrande, New York, in the central region of the Adirondack mountains.

The twin disasters destroyed a large part of the east side of the town that bordered the Hudson River and Lake Obergrande.

In the aftermath, a new dam was built, and that damaged part of the town “drowned,” covered by the new, larger lake.

During that terrible flood, five kindergarten girls were trapped in their drowning school, huddled together as the water rose higher, rescued just in the nick of time. The nightmare bonded them, and three others like them, to each other for life.

These are their stories.

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EXCERPT:

All excerpts are from the 3^rd book in the series: Tuesday's Child: Full of Grace

In the blue light and wisp-thin clouds of this late June morning, Donovan Farrell, a wide-shouldered man in a leather motorcycle jacket and jeans tucked into heavy boots, came out of his motel room, his helmet in one gloved hand, directions in the other, a string-banded rollpack across his back.

           

He stopped, absently admiring the color of the sunlight on the clouds at the horizon, and took a deep drink of the morning air.

           

His hair, hanging long in dark brown waves that matched his heavy, somewhat unkempt beard, caught the wind and danced around his head for a moment.

           

Donovan, known as Van to the few people who knew him, set his helmet down on the bike that was parked outside his room, a Yamaha FZ6 in the same gleaming black as the full-face helmet, and stuck the paper on which he had jotted down the directions inside it for the moment to keep it from flying away in the breeze.

He drew his hair back in a hair tie so that it was out of his face, retrieved the paper, then pulled the helmet on.

           

Scanning the directions again, Van made a mental note of the route he planned to take, as he did each time he got on the bike.

He was avoiding the New York State Thruway, partly because of the expense, partly because the eastward drive by way of Route 20 was more scenic and offered more opportunities to stop, stretch, and eat over the course of the day.

And partly because, unlike the Thruway, Route 20 was quiet and mostly empty.

           

It added a couple of hours to his trip, but Van was not in a hurry.

           

He had nothing but time now.

           

He looked at the destination, which he had underlined several times upon writing it down.

           

Obergrande, New York.

           

And exhaled.

           

Then he got on the motorcycle, started it up, and headed east.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Polly Becks has been making her living writing for more than twenty years, as well as working as an editor, curriculum developer, and teaching secondary-school Spanish. She has more than 350 books to her credit, mostly educational materials, as well as professionally published fiction in both the adult and YA market in a variety of genres, plus more than 30 Children’s books. She is excited about exploring the digital literature frontier and is honored to be the launch series for GMLTJoseph, LLC. - See more at: http://www.pollybecks.com/author/#sthash.pEZ6f3xO.dpuf

http://www.pollybecks.com

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/PollyBecks

Twitter:https://twitter.com/PollyBecks

Buy Polly’s books:http://www.amazon.com/Polly-Becks/e/B00QDYJ72Y/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1433266673&sr=8-1

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RELEASE BLITZ: Sweet Talk, Sweet Dreams, Sweet Seduction Box Sets + GIVEAWAY - Proceeds Donated to Diabetes Research Institute!!

Book & Author Details:

Sweet Talk, Sweet Dreams, Sweet Seduction 

Boxed Sets 

Publication date: May 1st 2015

Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Thriller

Synopsis:

Sweet Talk Boxed Set

Priced at only $9.99, this heart-warming, limited edition collection features ten BRAND NEW contemporary romances by New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors

Sweet Dreams Boxed Set

Priced at only $9.99, this fascinating limited edition collection features thirteen BRAND NEW thrillers by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling authors

Sweet Seduction Boxed Set

Priced at only 9.99, this stunning limited edition collection features thirteen BRAND NEW contemporary romances by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling authors.

—

You can make a difference while you read! All proceeds from the sales of these boxed sets will be donated to the Diabetes Research Institute via Brenda Novak’s Online Auction for Diabetes Research.

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Sweet Talk Boxed Set

Sweet Dreams Boxed Set

Sweet Seduction Boxed Set

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Sweet Talk Boxed Set

Sweet Dreams Boxed Set

Sweet Seduction Boxed Set

Apple:

Sweet Talk Boxed Set

Sweet Dreams Boxed Set

Sweet Seduction Boxed Set

Foreward

I’m a thriller writer, and a thriller reader, and hence a sucker for the classic thriller plot, where an ordinary man or an ordinary woman slowly becomes aware of a looming threat: someone or something is out there, close by, infinitely dangerous; or perhaps an intruder is already in the house, mocking, violating a sanctuary, or perhaps – really creepy – he’s been living in the attic for a couple of weeks already, camping out, undetected, silent, leaving odd nighttime disturbances … who moved that chair?

            Or perhaps, for added anguish, it’s not the ordinary man or woman under threat: it’s his or her son or daughter, their child, their responsibility, the intended victim, a helpless target.  What mother or father wouldn’t fight to the death?  And they do … 400 pages later, an investigation has been conducted, the bad guy has been identified, close scrapes have been survived, and finally the family is sitting together on the bottom stair, stunned but finally safe, as the bad guy is put in the cop car and driven away.  The end.

            Diabetes starts like that.  But it doesn’t finish like that.

            It’s a mysterious malfunction.  No one knows the cause.  Researchers suspect an element of genetic susceptibility, and in those susceptible it’s possible the Coxsackie B4 virus kicks things off.  Then a tiny balance among the human body’s billion moving parts goes slightly out of whack, and the beta cells in the islets of Langerhans (such an innocent name) inside the pancreas shut down and stop producing insulin, so the body can no longer deal with the kind of sugars we crave.

            The intruder is now in the house.

            Untreated, all kinds of complications will follow.  Cardiovascular disease, and stroke, and damage to the eyes, kidneys, and nerves.  And more.  Including death.  All in store, unbelievably, for the ordinary parent’s beautiful and vulnerable child.  No one’s fault.  Type 1 diabetes is unrelated to lifestyle.  Most victims are thin or normal, healthy, well fed, well loved.

            The fight back begins with maintenance.  Sometimes diet is enough; more often, insulin must be provided.  An endless round begins: testing and injecting, testing and injecting.  Most sufferers do OK for a long time, but only OK.  Quite apart from the social and organizational burdens of diet and injection, they can feel under the weather a lot of the time.  But in thriller terms, we can at least get them barricaded in a safe house, at least temporarily, doors and windows locked, guns drawn, with the bad guy lurking outside in the yard.

            But how do we get the bad guy in the cop car?

            Research is the answer, but it’s fantastically expensive.  All around the world, teams of biochemists are working hard, but they have to pay the rent.  And eat.  Their funding comes from governments and institutions and drug companies – but also from hundreds of thousands of concerned individuals.  Many of them are parents of diabetic children, and it’s easy to see why.  The primeval instinct that makes a mother or father fight to the death is a powerful one – perhaps the most powerful among our emotional inheritance.  But in the case of diabetes it’s frustrated.  There’s no identifiable antagonist, no role for a gun or a blade.  There’s no bar fight to be had.  If only it was that easy.  I know of no parent who wouldn’t gladly smash a long-neck bottle and join the fray.  But they can’t.  Such parents have to channel their natural aggression into a long, patient, endless struggle for progress.  They raise awareness and money any way they can.

            This anthology is an example.  It will help fund the search for a cure.  All good.  In fact better than good, because whatever else, there are some great authors and some great stories here to enjoy.  So if you buy it, you’ll get some excellent entertainment – but also you might just get the chance to be that mysterious character on page 297 of our notional thriller, who contributes the tiny but vital clue that eventually leads to the big reveal on page 397.  Your few cents could make the difference.  You could be the one.

Lee Child

New York

2015

From WANDERLUST by Roni Loren

When the song finished, Lex sauntered to the edge of the stage to address the audience. “How’s everyone doing tonight?”

Screams answered him. He gave an easy laugh, clearly comfortable being the center of attention.

 “I’m glad y’all are having a good time. We are, too. New Orleans definitely knows how to throw a party.” He put his hand against his brow to shield his eyes from the spotlights and squinted at the sea of people below him. “Turn up those house lights. I want to see these beautiful faces.”

Female voices reverberated off the walls as the lights above the crowd switched on. A redhead a few steps away from Aubrey lifted up her shirt as soon as Lex’s eyes traveled in that direction. Nice. What was this? Mardi Gras? Lex smiled and gave a little nod of acknowledgement to boob-job girl, but otherwise didn’t comment.

“You know, I’m feeling mighty thirsty, and I heard a rumor that New Orleans is home of the body shot,” Lex said, continuing to survey the audience with a sly smile. “So I’m thinking, that maybe I should try one tonight. What do you think?”

The shouting of the crowd increased.

“Now all I need is…a willing victim,” Lex continued. Bustier girl began her bouncing routine again and waved her hands frantically trying to catch his eye. Lex paced across the stage, taking his time, holding his finger up and preparing to point to the chosen one.

Aubrey put her money on Miss Augmentation, but he passed that section up without a glance. As he neared Aubrey’s end of the stage, his eyes landed on her exuberant neighbor. The girl’s scream turned shrill. “Pick me! Me! Me!”

Lex lowered his hand ready to point and then shifted his gaze, locking eyes with Aubrey. Her breath caught. Oh, shit. Seconds seemed to tick by, but she couldn’t pull away from the stare. She managed to wag her head slowly back and forth. No. No. No.

He smiled, lowered his finger, and pointed directly at her. “You. The sexy brunette in the black t-shirt.”

Her stomach took a nosedive.

“Come on, I won’t bite,” Lex said, waving her forward. “Unless you ask nicely, that is.”

The girl next to Aubrey shot her a glare that could have curdled milk. The sea of fans parted as if she’d suddenly morphed into royalty, and she forced her leaden feet to cross the few yards to the barricade. Her heart took up residence in her throat, threatening to jump out. This was a disaster. She silently cursed the bouncer from backstage. If she had met the band beforehand, she would’ve never ended up in this position. Building a professional relationship with the band after this was going to be next to impossible.

Hands patted her back and shoulders as the two bouncers flanking the stage helped her climb over the metal barrier. Lex squatted at the edge of the stage, all wicked grin and guyliner, and stuck his hand out. He cocked his head, beckoning her closer in a way that spoke without the words. Come on over, lamb, said the wolf. This will only take a minute.

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Book Review: Remember Me Like This - Bret Anthony Johnston

 A gripping novel with the pace of a thriller but the nuanced characterization and deep empathy of some of the literary canon’s most beloved novels, Remember Me Like This introduces Bret Anthony Johnston as one of the most gifted storytellers writing today. With his sophisticated and emotionally taut plot and his shimmering prose, Johnston reveals that only in caring for one another can we save ourselves.

Four years have passed since Justin Campbell’s disappearance, a tragedy that rocked the small town of Southport, Texas. Did he run away? Was he kidnapped? Did he drown in the bay? As the Campbells search for answers, they struggle to hold what’s left of their family together.

Then, one afternoon, the impossible happens. The police call to report that Justin has been found only miles away, in the neighboring town, and, most important, he appears to be fine. Though the reunion is a miracle, Justin’s homecoming exposes the deep rifts that have diminished his family, the wounds they all carry that may never fully heal. Trying to return to normal, his parents do their best to ease Justin back into his old life. But as thick summer heat takes hold, violent storms churn in the Gulf and in the Campbells’ hearts. When a reversal of fortune lays bare the family’s greatest fears—and offers perhaps the only hope for recovery—each of them must fight to keep the ties that bind them from permanently tearing apart.

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I won this book from Goodreads. I'm very picky about books that I pick out for "pleasure reading" and I don't think that this would have been a first pick for me. However, after two days of staring at it's cover from where it sat in the floor next to my couch, I picked it up and thought I'd casually read a chapter while waiting on dinner to cook. Thanks to Bret Anthony Johnston, dinner almost burned. I was hooked from the very beginning. 

As a writer, one of the first things I notice when reading a book is the writing style. Johnston's style reminded me of a mix between Gillian Flynn and maybe John Grisham? It's honestly hard to put Johnston in a box with other authors that I've read. I really liked how well he painted the Texas shore town of Corpus Christi and how he developed the characters. 

I will say that if you read the reviews on Goodreads like I did after I read the book, you might see some disappointed readers. I *HATE* to be one of those people that says, "Well, you just didn't get it," but in this case, I really can't help it. If you think that this book is going to give you gory details about the abuse and relationship this missing child had with his captor, keep moving. Don't even waste your time flipping through the pages of this book. Remember Me Like This is not a story of abuse and torture ripped from the headlines. It will leave you with several questions about Justin and what happened to him. And if you just HAVE to have a gory detail, well, Johnston does a good job of alluding to what happened towards the end of the book. 

The point of this book is not about Justin, the missing boy. It's not about his time away from his family for four years. It's not about what happened to him during those four years. It's not even about HIM when he comes home. It's about the lives around him that were affected by his disappearance. It's about how his parents' marriage fell apart after he disappeared. It's about how his little brother spent four years lying to the police and his parents and blaming himself for his brother being gone. It's about his father losing himself in an affair in order to get his mind off of his missing child. It's about a grandfather who feels like he's failed his family. 

Until I read this book I've honestly never thought about what the families of kidnapped children go through. Like most people, I focus on what the media puts out about the kidnap suspects and the details of what happened to the child. And of course, I feel happy and excited when a child is actually returned home. But I have never once thought about how those families carry on their day-to-day lives all while wondering where their missing child is. I've never once thought about how difficult it might be to adjust to having that child back home. Until reading Remember Me Like This, I always thought that the happy ending was just that; happy. I never thought that maybe it wasn't that simple. 

A lot of the reviews I've read about this book really ripped it apart because even though Johnston gives you the point of view of all of the other family members in Justin's life, you never get to see his point of view. That reason is one of the biggest reasons why I loved this book. By focusing on Justin and the events surrounding him, you lose the point of the story; the family. They're too scared to ask why he came home with a limp or how he overcame his fear of snakes. They don't want to think about what terrible things he might have gone through while he was gone for four years. They are scared if they ask him too many questions he might disappear again. And that, in my opinion, is what Johnston wants you to feel with this story. He wants you to feel like you're walking on eggshells when Justin is in the scene. He wants you to feel the tension between him and the rest of  family. He wants you to feel their uneasiness and guilt. 

I highly recommend Remember Me Like This if you are interested in reading a story about the effects having a child kidnapped can leave on parents and their other child and grandparents. Johnston's writing evokes several emotions all at once that give you that same mixed up feeling that Justin's family has while trying to adjust to having someone they missed for four years entering back into their lives. His writing gives you that same sick, nervousness that his parents walk around with because they once thought that their son might have actually been dead. Just keep in mind that sometimes a happy ending isn't always happy....

REVIEW: THE DEMETER CODE - RUSSELL BROOKS

**Disclaimer: I received a free copy of these books in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions on this book are my own.**

The Demeter Code gives you a front row seat into the world of CIA agents, Ridley Fox and Nita Parris. A company's secrets are stolen and sold. Thirteen U.S. soldiers are dead and the woman responsible claims she is innocent. People around the world are dying from an "allergic reaction". The company's secrets, the thirteen dead U.S. soldiers, and one of the worst terrorists known to U.S. authorities are all connected. But how? Follow Ridley and Nita on a wild, action packed journey to discover the truth. 

I could not put this book down! I love a good thriller and this has definitely made my favorite's list. The action starts from the very beginning and it doesn't let up until the end. I loved how fact-paced this book was! My heart was racing through this whole book and every time I thought I had figured out all of the connections, I was thrown another curve ball. 

The dynamic between Ridley, Nita, and their IT genius, Dewan, was so well-written that you felt like you were eavesdropping on an actual conversation instead of reading a book. While Ridley and Nita were the main characters of this story, I would have to say that Dewan was my favorite character hands down. His quick-wit and technical know how definitely make him the unsung hero in their group. Without him and his technical prowess, they wouldn't have gotten as far as they did in their quest for the truth. Katy Sparks, the woman accused of killing the thirteen U.S. soldiers, was also one of my favorites too but I could be a little bit biased since she's from Alabama as well. Her southern charm and gentility adds a softer element to the story. Especially when she and Ridley end up stuck together in a hotel room. 

Russell Brooks really did his research and was able to really bring this story to life through science and technology. I felt like I was reading a story that could have been ripped from today's headlines. If you're into spies, fast-paced action, plot twist and turns, and computer hacking, then I definitely recommend this book!