Pump Up Your Book’s January 2011 Authors on Virtual Book Tour – Day 1

Welcome to Day One of Pump Up Your Book’s January 2011 Authors on Virtual Book Tour! Follow along as these talented authors travel the blogosphere all month long to talk about their books, their lives and their future projects. Leave a comment at their blog stops and you could win a FREE virtual book tour if you’re a published author with a recent release or a $50 Amazon gift certificate if you are not published. So, pick your favorites, follow their tours, and make sure you leave them a note to tell them you stopped by!

divider 13

The Black Chronicles sm Joel M. Andre, author of the horror novel, The Black Chronicles: Cry of the Fallen, will be visiting (no stop today)! All around her Lauren Bruni is faced with destruction. Her marriage has ended, and her professional life is at the breaking point. For Lauren, this is only the beginning of her pain. In the small town of Cottonwood, AZ everything seems to be headed in the same direction. A serial killer is on the loose, and his trail of victims holds no connection. His rampage escalates and becomes far more brutal with each murder he commits. As Lauren attempts to prevent her own life from collapsing down around her she must stop a killer with supernatural strength. But there is something far more sinister in the works than she could ever imagine. In the end it is up to Lauren to make the ultimate sacrifice to save a community from the purest form of evil.

You can visit his website at www.joelmandre.com.

________________________________________

Blue Lou Aronica, author of the fantasy novel, Blue, will be visiting (tour starts January 24)!  Chris Astor is a man in his early forties who is going through the toughest stretch of his life. Becky is Chris’s fourteen-year-old daughter, a girl who has overcome enormous challenges to become a vibrant, vital young woman – and now faces her greatest obstacle yet. Miea is the young queen of a fantasy land that Becky and Chris created when Becky was little, a fantasy land that has developed a life of its own and now finds itself in terrible, maybe fatal trouble.

Together, Chris, Becky, and Miea need to uncover a secret. The secret to why their worlds have joined at this moment. The secret to their purpose. The secret to the future. It is a secret that, when discovered, will redefine imagination for all of them.

Blue is a novel of trial and hope, invention and rediscovery. It might very well take you someplace you never knew existed.

________________________________________
Charlie Barrett Charlie Barrett, national book publicist and owner of the publicity company, The Barrett Company, will be stopping off at Literarily Speaking!  Media expert & advisor Charles Barrett formed The Barrett Company in 1991 as a full service media relations and media marketing/communications agency.
The Los Angeles headquartered firm offers 21st century integrated media outreach and media marketing expertise with an emphasis on the entertainment and leisure time industries serving authors/publishers, Hollywood celebrities, motion pictures, and television.  Since inception, TBC has served such companies as Simon & Schuster, Globe Pequot Press, Norton Publishers, Warner Brothers Studios, American Movie Classics cable channel, ABC TV, CBS TV, Fox Television, self-published author publishers such as Xlibris, Author House, I-Universe and numerous celebrities from Johnny Carson to Ed McMahon to Kevin Costner to Oprah Winfrey (Oprah’s Big Give television series on ABC).
You can visit his website at www.thebarrettco.com.
________________________________________
Mo Dirty Darrell King, author of the urban fiction novel, Mo Dirty, will be visiting (no stops today)!
Peter Whiskey Battle is a 24-year-old enforcer for Peola, Georgia’s Bad Boyz II Syndicate, a dangerous street gang controlling the lion’s share of illicit narcotics coming into the bustling port of Savannah. After murdering two local snitches for David Ambrosia, the suave, smooth-talking leader of the syndicate and Whiskey’s best friend, he is given an offer he can’t refuse. She struggles to come to terms with her failing marriage and her sick mother as she watches her chance at a happy home with children slip away.
Her two childhood girlfriends offer help and support but they have their own personal struggles. The old saying, “what’s done in the dark will eventually comes to light” has never been more true. When tragedy strikes, Maxine will have to make the most important decision of her life. But will the lies and secrets her husband and friends harbor bring Maxine’s life crashing down around her?
Visit Darrell King online at http://modirty.blogspot.com.
_______________________________________

Sounds Like Crazy Shana Mahaffey, author of the women’s fiction novel, Sounds Like Crazy will be visiting Pitching Pencils!Though she doesn’t remember the trauma that caused it, Holly Miller has Dissociative Identity Disorder. Her personality has fractured into five different identities, together known as The Committee.

And as much as they make Holly’s life hell, she can’t live without them. Then one of those identities, the flirtatious, southern Betty Jane, lands Holly a voiceover job. Betty Jane wants nothing more than to be in the spotlight.

The rest of The Committee wants Betty Jane to shut up. Holly’s therapist wants to get to the bottom of her broken psyche. And Holly? She’s just along for the ride.

You can visit Shana on the web at www.shanamahaffey.com.

________________________________________

Saying Goodbye sm Mike O’ Mary, co-editor of the self-help literary collection, Saying Goodbye will be visiting Colloquium!
Saying Goodbye is a collection of true stories about saying goodbye to the people, places and things in our lives. This is a powerful book that includes a number of sad stories, as well as some very funny ones. Taken together, the stories serve as amazing examples of people saying heartfelt goodbyes with grace, dignity, and good humor. Saying Goodbye includes stories contributed by thirty-one authors from the United States, Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. These stories show that there is sadness in goodbyes, but there is also irony and humor. It s perfect for book groups that want stimulating conversations about saying goodbye a topic that touches us all in one way or another. Saying Goodbye is the first anthology from book publisher Dream of Things in a new series intended to fill the gap between popular anthologies of stories that are “short and sweet” (sometimes so saccharine-sweet they are hard to swallow) and the Best American Essays series, which are much longer. Instead of short and sweet, Dream of Things anthologies are intended to be short and deep.
You can visit the book’s website at www.goodbyebook.com.
________________________________________
Respect the Jux Frank C. Matthews, author of the urban fiction novel, Respect the Jux will be visiting Book Marketing Buzz!  A young man obsessed with obtaining the American Dream, forms a fraternity of thieves to fulfill it.
MEET CAT. In Jamaica . . . he learned the art of the “jux”: robbing people by studying their everyday movements. By the age of eight, Cat was shoplifting and purse-snatching. By ten, he had his first gun. At fifteen, he committed his first murder.
MEET THE GANG. In New York City . . . he created The Order: a secret society of thieves who played by Cat’s rules. He taught his crew how to pull off the perfect jux. Made them swear on a bible and a bullet. Robbed dealers, pushers, thugs. And raked in millions. Then Cat was betrayed—by one of his own men.
BREAK THE RULES. In Miami . . . he set up a new operation. Bigger game, bigger stakes. The targets are prime—athletes, politicians, drug lords, celebrities—and the payoff is huge. But the party scene is as dangerous as the ladies are beautiful. Cat has to watch his back and remember the rules: Never trust a thief. Never get caught.Based on a true story.
You can visit the author’s website at www.frankmatthews.com.

________________________________________

Pairs David Richards, author of the women’s fiction novel, Pairs, will be visiting Pump Up Your Book and Let’s Talk Virtual Book Tours
Pairs is the story of Kayley and Adam, a single mom who makes her living writing greeting cards and a young carpenter; and Alexandra and Henry, a former stripper with dual identities and a math teacher with some unusual gender issues. The couples are connected through Henry and Adam, who are cousins, and through Kayley’s friend Helen, who is also Henry’s step-sister. As each couple builds a connection, the joint friendship turns into family. Kayley’s daughter, Terra, becomes a central focus of both relationships; she is loved and nurtured by the village that the couples create. With the tightening of the bond between the couples, the mission for the pairs—which begins and ends with Kayley—turns to parenthood for Henry and Alexandra. The story weaves the elements of past sexual abuse, sexual dysfunction, problem pregnancies, and absolute devotion to family into a plot that draws the reader into the lives of these very unconventional characters.
You can visit his website at www.pairsthenovel.com.
________________________________________
A Pointed Death Kath Russell, author of the comical mystery thriller, A Pointed Death, will be visiting Emeraldfire’s Bookmark! Welcome to the world of Nola Billingsley, a 40-something biotechnology whiz with an adored shorthaired pointer, who finds herself embroiled in both a nefarious murder and a blazingly hot new romance in the thriller A Pointed Death, by Kath Russell. When techno genius Nola Billingsley finds her former employee, an amoral creep who stole secrets, murdered, she doesn’t exactly shed tears. Instead, she begins a flirtation with the inspector assigned to the case. With her shorthaired pointer Skootch watching her back, Nola and her group of techno pals try to help solve the murder, bringing into play Nola’s feisty feminism and idealism, and putting both her life and her love affair at risk. Finding a link between the Chinese government and American thieves, she bands with a group who believes that biotech people should protect their industry from any evil abusers. Could there be a government plot afoot, and can she save the world even as she tries to salvage her love life? Smart, witty, and playful, A Pointed Death looks at the biotech industry with a decidedly feminine slant. The writing is edgy and full of humor, and the plot twists and turns with surprise after surprise. A breathtaking thriller with a unique background, A Pointed Death announces the debut of an enormously talented new writer to watch.
________________________________________
Immortalis Katie Salidas, author of the urban fantasy series, Immortalis: Hunters & Prey, will be stopping off at (tour starts on Jan. 17) !Becoming a vampire saved Alyssa from death, but the price was high: the loss of everything and everyone attached to her mortal life. She’s still learning to cope when a surprise confrontation with Santino Vitale, the Acta Sanctorum’s most fearsome hunter, sends her fleeing back to the world she once knew, and Fallon, the friend she’s missed more than anything.  Alyssa breaks vampire law by revealing her new, true self to her old friend, a fact which causes strong division in the group that should support her most: her clan. Worse yet, her revelation entangles Fallon in the struggle between vampires and hunters and The Acta Sanctorum is ready to attack again, with a new army of hybrid creations: the Frenzy Soldiers. If Alyssa hopes to survive and keep her mortal friend safe, she’ll have to be willing to make a deal with the enemy, and regain her clan’s support. It will take everyone working together in a precarious truce to fight against the Acta Sanctorum’s new threat.

Find Katie Salidas at www.risingsignbooks.com.

________________________________________
Shades of Twilight Martin Sharlow, author of the urban fantasty, Shades of Twilight, will be visiting (tour starts January 17)!

Melissa has waited her whole life to move out and start her own. This is her first summer after graduating and now she has her own place and a job. Everything she wanted is starting to happen.

Until the accident.

When the most gorgeous guy she has ever seen saves her life, he also forever changes it. What do you do when you find out that life as you have always known it isn’t real, and the man you love is a vampire, out to save you from something worse?

You can visit Martin Sharlow at http://www.wix.com/targoun/martin.

________________________________________
Dear Sparkle Sparkle the Cat, author of the humor book, Dear Sparkle: Cat to Cat Advice from the World’s Foremost Feline Columnist, will be visiting I Am a Reader!
Face it, kitties, your humans can’t help you untangle your problems — especially when they’re usually the ones driving you crazy! But never fear, the world’s foremost feline authority, Sparkle the Cat, is here to solve all of your kitty conundrums. With 70 Q&As, “Sparkle Says” sidebars, and full-color photos throughout, this guide is definitely NOT your usual human-written cat book. Whether you’re a confused kitty who doesn’t understand why you’re supposed to stay off the couch, a cat who’s furious because the new puppy ate your catnip stash, or a freaked-out feral who wants to return to the wild, Sparkle has the wise — and often hilarious — answers for your woes.
And who knows? Humans who read it (with your permission, of course) may even learn something new about the way we behave.
You can visit her website at www.sparklecat.com.
________________________________________
This Side of Crazy Kimmie Thomas, author of the urban fiction novel, This Side of Crazy, will be visiting A Cozy Reader’s Corner Reviews!Maxine Payne’s poor self-esteem led her to marry the first man that showed any interest in her. After five years of marriage and misery she has nothing to show for it. Her sham of a marriage is falling apart and her dream of having a child is fading away each day. To make matters worst, she discovers that the people in her life are not there to love and help her as she has always believed.

She struggles to come to terms with her failing marriage and her sick mother as she watches her chance at a happy home with children slip away. Her two childhood girlfriends offer help and support but they have their own personal struggles. The old saying, “what’s done in the dark will eventually comes to light” has never been more true.

When tragedy strikes, Maxine will have to make the most important decision of her life. But will the lies and secrets her husband and friends harbor bring Maxine’s life crashing down around her?

You can visit her website at http://www.kimmiethomas.com.

________________________________________
Sitting on Cold Porcelain Rose A. Valenta, author of the humor book, Sitting on Cold Porcelain, will be visiting The Writer’s Life!
Political unrest…government scandal…corruption…extortion. What do all these things have in common? They are perfect fodder for satire! In Sitting on Cold Porcelain, you will find an amusing, perceptive, and laugh-out-loud take on the state of our country and our world, on celebrities and politicians, and all the events that make us all roll our eyes and groan.
Some of the satirical essays within the pages of Sitting on Cold Porcelain include “Giuliani’s Gaffe Could Qualify for Political Darwin Award,” “Rush Limbaugh: The Don Rickles of Radio,” “State of The Union 2010: Bitch-Slapping Congress,” “Islamic Cleric Declares Jihad on Mickey Mouse,” “Little Egypt to Run Against Sarah Palin,” and ”Who Moved My Mascarpone?”

You can visit the author’s website at www.rosevalenta.com.

________________________________________

Easy as Pie at Bobby's Diner Susan Wingate, author of the women’s fiction novel, Easy as Pie at Bobby’s Diner, will be visiting Murder by 4 and The Story Behind the Book!
Georgette Carlisle, lost her first husband and is about to lose her next, one Hawthorne Biggs. She’s running the diner with Roberta, her late husband’s daughter. When old friend, Helen, comes back home after a failed attempt at a writing career, she is, once again, attracted to Georgette’s man. After the two women part company Helen goes missing.
While digging around, Georgette finds out that Biggs has a dangerous past. With Roberta at her side, the two women, brave separation, torture and near death at the hand of Biggs. And, after taking him down, the women find a new strength and belonging. EASY AS PIE is the number two book in the four-part “Bobby’s Diner” series.

You can visit her website at www.susanwingate.com.

________________________________________
Beneath the Silver Lining Amanda Wolfe, author of the auto-biographical novel, Beneath the Silver Lining, will be visiting Books R Us!
On the outside, her family appeared to be one big, happy family. Their house, with her parents, three sisters, and two brothers, is an epitome of the simple yet fulfilling life lived in a small town. But as the author would soon discover, her childhood was in fact a nightmarish phase that she would always be running away from.
Growing up as a carefree girl, Wolfe was struggling to comprehend why she was reared in a family where children are deprived of their right to know the truth, adults are always right, and smoothing out a misunderstanding is never an option.

For more information on Amanda and her book visit http://www.beneaththesilverlining.com.


________________________________________
Murder on the Down Low Pamela Samuels Young, author of the legal thriller, Murder on the Down Low, will be visiting Michelle’s Book Blog!A brazen killer is targeting some of L.A.’s most prominent citizens. The victims are all quintessential family men. Well educated. Attractive. Successful.

But appearances can be deceiving.

When the baffling murders are linked to a contentious wrongful death lawsuit, two savvy lawyers and a tenacious female detective soon expose a scandalous tale of lust, lies and vengeance.

You can visit her online at www.pamelasamuelsyoung.com.

________________________________________

divider 13 If you would like to book your next virtual book tour with us, click here!

divider 13

Pump-Up-banner