First, I'm excited to let you know that The Wishing Hour is now available in paperback, as well as ebook format. Order your copy from my website, Amazon.com, Smashwords.com, Offthebookshelf.com and Barnesandnoble.com!
As I begin to write, a part of me feels as if I am awakening something best left dead and buried, or at least buried. We can bury the past, but it never really dies. The experience of that winter has grown on my soul like ivy climbing the outside of a home, growing until it begins to tear and tug at the brick and mortar.
I pray I can still get the story right. My memory, like my eyesight, has waned with age. Still, there are things that become clearer to me as I grow older. This much I know: too many things were kept secret in those days. Things that never should have been hidden. And things that should have.
Book: The Twilight Series
Want an LDS mystery that is also a fun read? Carole Thayne Warburton's new novel Sun Tunnels and Secrets is the book for you. The Book
For Beth, 1989 was a year marked by tragedy. Her life was falling apart: her six-year-old daughter, Charlotte, was suffering from an unidentifiable illness; her marriage transformed from a seemingly happy and loving relationship to one full of betrayal and pain; her job at the dry cleaners was increasingly at risk; and she had lost any ability to trust, to hope, or to believe in herself. Then, on Christmas Day, as she rushed through a blizzard to the nearest 7-Eleven, Beth encountered Matthew, a strikingly handsome, mysterious stranger, who would single-handedly change the course of her life.
Who is this man, and how does he seem to know so much about her? He pursues her relentlessly, and only after she’s fallen deeply in love with him does she learn his incredible secret, changing the world as she knows it, as well as her own destiny.
The Hunger Games Series - The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Twenty-four are forced to enter. Only the winner survives.
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Each year, the districts are forced by the Capitol to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the Hunger Games, a brutal and terrifying fight to the death – televised for all of Panem to see.
Survival is second nature for sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who struggles to feed her mother and younger sister by secretly hunting and gathering beyond the fences of District 12. When Katniss steps in to take the place of her sister in the Hunger Games, she knows it may be her death sentence. If she is to survive, she must weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
Stop by next week and check out more of my favorite reads.
"I stayed up late last night reading your book--loved it! Celine and Sebastian were such wonderful characters, and I loved their relationship--made me want a Sebastian of my own! :) I adore escaping into fantasy worlds, and Challis was a beautiful escape. You really made it seem real and made me wonder if Challis really does exist, with it's kind and powerful people and anything you could want just a will away. I wish it could exist!"
Last week I had the opportunity to read The Tiger, Unleashed, an awesome new romance ebook by Rachel Rager.
Hi guys! My new romantic Sci-Fi fantasy ebook The Wishing Hour will be released next week. I'm so excited about this book. It was a fun story to write and I can't wait for my fans to read it, and hopefully I will gain new fans as well:-)Celine Halston lives an average solitary life, sticking to routine, never taking chances, and never experiencing true love. All of this changes when a handsome immortal enters her life. She has never laid eyes on the man before, but she somehow knows him and instantly trusts him completely.
Placing her life in his hands, Celine is taken on an unexpected journey and learns of an ancient prophecy she is to take part in. And her immortal guardian is intent on protecting her against those who would see her fail. He has been chosen for this calling and it is his sacred duty to keep her safe–to see the prophecy fulfilled at all cost. If they fail, it will change the world as they know it.
If you would like to read an excerpt, log onto jadamsnovels.com and while you are there, check out my other books.
I have gotten behind on my blogging, but I do have something to show for it. My creative juices have been flowing and I am happy to share with you a preview of what they've produced. The title of my new baby is The Wishing Hour. It is my forthcoming romantic fantasy ebook!Celine Halston lives an average solitary life, sticking to routine, never taking chances, and she has never experienced true love. All of this changes when a handsome immortal enters her life. She has never laid eyes on the man before, but she somehow knows him and instantly trusts him completely.
Placing her life in his hands, Celine is taken on an unexpected journey and learns of an ancient prophecy she is to take part in. And her immortal guardian is intent on protecting her against those who would see her fail. He has been chosen for this calling and it is his sacred duty to keep her safe–to see the prophecy fulfilled at all cost. If they fail, it will change the world as they know it.
Excerpt
Venice, Italy
Standing on the steps of St. Mark's Basilica in the pouring rain, he heaves a tired sigh and watches the battered creature from the Dark Dunes force its heavy body up and stand once again. The rain dilutes the sulfuric odor of the canal, lending a freshness to the air. He inhales deeply, taking the cleansing scent into his lungs as he carefully watches the creature.
The square is void of life, and if not for the storm, the only sound would be the gentle-flowing water of the canal. The fight has been brutal. It started at two am. It is now three. His sinewy muscles ache and his silky white shirt is streaked with blood, but his cuts have healed and his strength is quickly regenerating. He pushes the long strands of inky black hair from his face. A leather thong holds the rest in place. His brilliant blue cat-like eyes hold excellent night vision and clearly see the Urchin crouching, readying itself to spring once again. Its hands are like a hawk's talons and black leather stretches over the large round body. Its head is bald and pointed top teeth protrude over the bottom lip of the twisted and deformed mouth. Scars in different shapes and sizes cover the Urchin's face and neck. The acidic green mucus dripping from its mouth is foul enough to turn the strongest of stomachs.
He takes all of this in for a moment, then clears his mind. Closing his eyes, he calls upon the power living deep within him–a power he summons only when absolutely necessary. A rush of adrenaline fills his veins and heats his body to the core. His eyes snap open wide and he lunges, meeting the Urchin in the air. He lands a fist in its chest and a great current of power surges from his hand as it makes contact with the Urchin's heart. It cries out and the ear-piercing screech echoes throughout the square. No longer able to stand, it falls to the ground, writhing on the pavement.
He approaches the creature and stares down into its half-closed, blood-red eyes.
“This isn't over,” it croaks in a garbled voice.
“It is,” he says with surety and strength. Standing still as stone, he watches the Urchin close its eyes and release a final rattly breath. It turns to dust and disintegrates before his eyes. It is the second time this week he has witnessed such a sight. And he is sure it will not be the last.
Heaving a deep sigh, he turns his gaze to the body lying a few yards behind him. He quickly scoops the unconscious woman up in his arms and cradles her against him. Once again he has succeeded in protecting her, only this time it had been a closer call than before. His eyes take in the soaked features of the woman he has come to know as his true mate. Every time he touches her, the mark of the Ki Talimai, the soul's bond, glows and tingles in his palm. Now, as he stands holding her in his arms, the eternal mark burns.
He lowers his dark head and presses his forehead against hers, inhaling her rain-enhanced scent. He smells a mixture of jasmine, vanilla, and cinnamon pine on her skin. He knows her scent well because it matches his own. It calls to him as strongly as her senses. He knows her emotions intimately–her joys, her fears, her sorrows, her grief, her loneliness. He knows her. Yet she doesn't truly know the real him, nor does she know the full measure of his powers.
But she will. She will finally know everything this night.
* * *
He moves toward the large double doors of the church. They swing open without him making contact. He never needs to touch an object to move it. He simply thinks it into action and his command is obeyed. When it comes to people or living creatures, however, his powers only work on the weak-minded. For the strong, he must get physical. Even still, he never forces his will on anyone. He would never abuse his powers that way. That had been the first lesson he was taught when his training began seven hundred years ago at the young age of twenty.
He steps inside and Father Battiano silently directs him to the corridor to the right. He has been here before–he has used the same quarters he now enters. He lets his eyes scan the room. There is a small bed against the wall, covered with a thick quilt. A pan of water is heating on a hotplate in the corner and a creaky furnace warms the small area. A wooden door in the corner opens to a small bathroom.
He walks over and places the woman on the bed, then gestures to the priest to turn and face the wall.
When the holy man complies, he in turn closes his eyes and whispers three words. He opens his eyes and the woman is dry and now wearing a soft white gown. He lifts her from the bed to pull the quilt and top sheet back, and tucks her underneath. His eyes take in her smooth brown skin, long fluttering lashes, and the mass of black spiraled curls splaying over the white pillow, spilling down to her waist. He watches the slow rise and fall of her chest and listens to her soft rhythmic breathing. His gaze moves back to her face, and for the ten thousandth time he admires her beauty. From the moment she was born, he has been watching over her from afar until recently. He witnessed her childhood, watched her blossom and grow, and turn into the great beauty that she is.
He lifts her hand to his lips and presses his palm against hers. Her Ki Talimai mark calls to his, causing heat to spread up his arm through his entire body. Never before has it affected him so strongly. And he knows why.
Her call to him is stronger because the bond between them is near to completion. When that happens, nothing in this world or another can ever come between them. They will fully lay claim on one another's souls, as well as hearts.
This is not the end.
It is only the beginning.
The Wishing Hour will be available at jadamsnovels.com, Smashwords.com, and Offthebookshelf.com. I will keep you posted on the release date.
"If I am not for myself, who will be?"
Pirke Avoth
"The tragedy is that so many people look for self-confidence and self-respect everywhere except within themselves, and so they fail in their search."
Dr Nathaniel Branden
"Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you?"
Fanny Brice
"It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else's eyes."
Sally Field
"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself."
Harvey Fienstein
"The way you treat yourself sets the standard for others."
Dr Sonya Friedman
Suggested Reading
This week I had the privilege of reading The Thorn Book One: The Chronicles of Gan by Daron D. Fraley. It was a joy to read. I love reading stories set around the birth of Christ and Daron has done this beautifully by setting the anticipation of his birth on another world, which is very cool!
The Book
Three tribes are at war on the planet Gan, unaware that the sign of Christ's birth on an unknown world - Earth - is about to appear in the heavens.
During a bloody skirmish with Gideonite troops, Jonathan of Daniel spares Pekah, a young enemy soldier, gaining his trust forever. These two distant brothers from estranged tribes covenant with each other to end the war being waged by a self-proclaimed emperor, and soon discover the intentions of a far more dangerous foe named Rezon - a sinister general bent on ruling those he can bring into subjection and destroying all others.
In the end, Pekah's selfless bravery is the means by which all the tribes are united. But there are dissenters, and Rezon escapes a well-deserved fate. When the promised heavenly signs appear, will there be peace at last, or will the malefactors once again threaten the safety of them all?
Daron was kind enough to answer a few questions for me about his book.
Adagio St. John is Ingo's best friend, and Adagio thinks of him as the brother he never had. When he travels to Utah, from his home in Italy to attend Ingo and Cisely's wedding, he is truly overjoyed that his friend has found happiness with such an amazing woman and hopes he can find the same happiness one day and end the loneliness he struggled with on a daily basis.
But the strong bond that quickly forms between the three will see them through both sorrows and joys none of them had ever expected.
A friend gave me a piece of advice one day that I took as heaven sent.
I am very blessed to be able to associate with some great writers and I am continuously in awe over their talent and ability to write book after book and always churn out a hit. Rachel Ann Nunes is one of these writers. And her new book Imprints is one of these hits. The story is fresh and original and another one of my favorites from Rachel.Autumn isn't sure - her life has become far from normal - but for people whose loved ones are missing, her talent might mean the difference between life and death. Even the infuriating Detective Martin has asked for Autumn's help, though at times she feels more like a suspect than a consultant. Too often Autumn find herself retreating to her antiques shop and the company of her best friend, Jake Ryan, to avoid notice.
But soon more than one woman is missing, and Autumn teams up with private eye Ethan McConnell to investigate their disappearance. Ethan's attraction to her is a pleasant change from Jake's frustrating offers of friendship, but once Autumn takes that first step, she sets in motion a series of events that risk not only her own life but the lives of those she cares most about.
This book has it all-mystery, suspense, and of course, romance. It's sure to please any reader.
I love a good fantasy that is different from the rest of the pact-one that centers around a world too original for me to imagine. The Canticle Kingdom by Michael Young is such a book.
A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission.
A woman is like a teabag. It's only when she's in hot water that you realize how strong she is.
I am convinced that the influence of an army of godly women will be incalculable--in our homes, our churches, and our culture. Will you be one of those women?
