Archive for the ‘First Chapters’ Category:

First Chapter: The Heatstroke Line by Edward L. Rubin

Title: THE HEATSTROKE LINE Author: Edward L. Rubin Publisher: Sunbury Press Pages: 223 Genre: Scifi/Cli-Fi (Climate Change Science Fiction) Nothing has been done to prevent climate change, and the United States has spun into decline.   Storm surges have made coastal cities uninhabitable, blistering heat waves afflict the interior and, in the South (below the Heatstroke Line), life is barely possible.  Under the stress of these events and an ensuing civil war, the nation has broken up into three smaller successor states and tens of tiny principalities.  When the flesh-eating bugs that inhabit the South show up in one of the successor states, Daniel Danten is assigned to venture below
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First Chapter: Sealed Up by Steve Dunn Hanson

Title: Sealed Up Author: Steve Dunn Hanson Publisher: Independent Pages: 402 Genre: Action/Adventure/Suspense The Da Vinci Code unsettles. SEALED UP shakes to the core! UCLA anthropologist Nathan Hill, in a funk since his young wife’s death, learns of staggering millennia-old chronicles sealed up somewhere in a Mesoamerica cliff. This bombshell rocks him out of his gloom, and he leads a clandestine expedition to uncover them. What are they? Who put them there? No one knows. But, self-absorbed televangelist Brother Luke, who funds the expedition, thinks he does. If he’s right, his power-hunger will have off-the-charts gratification. Striking Audra Chang joins Nathan in his pursuit and brings her own shocking secret. As they
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First Chapter: Your Body, Your Style: Simple Tips on Dressing to Flatter by Rani St. Pucchi

Title: Your Body, Your Style Author: Rani St. Pucchi Publisher: Koehler Books Pages: 150 Genre: Nonfiction Rani St. Pucchi, a trend-setting designer whose designs have been recognized in Entertainment Tonight, Harper’s Bazaar, WWD, Town and Country, Bride’s, Cosmopolitan Bride, Martha Stewart Weddings and The Knot, can help define the style that flatters you most — no matter what age or stage of life you are in or what your body type is. Women from all over the world have clamored to have a private consultation with Rani so they may benefit from her expertise and regain their self-confidence and shine. In Your Body, Your Style, Rani shares with you
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First Chapter: Beethoven in Love: Opus 139 by Howard J. Smith

Title: BEETHOVEN IN LOVE; OPUS 139 Author: Howard Jay Smith Publisher: SYQ Pages: 385 Genre: Literary Fiction/Biographical Fiction At the moment of his death, Ludwig van Beethoven pleads with Providence to grant him a final wish—one day, just a single day of pure joy. But first he must confront the many failings in his life, so the great composer and exceedingly complex man begins an odyssey into the netherworld of his past life led by a spirit guide who certainly seems to be Napoleon, who died six years before. This ghost of the former emperor, whom the historical Beethoven both revered and despised, struggles to compel the composer to confront the
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First Chapter: I, Angus by Mike Hartner

Title: I, Angus Author: Mike Hartner Publisher: Eternity 4 Popsicle Publishing Pages: 260 Genre: Historical Fiction During a time of civil strife and purging the North has lost more men to Wars then it ever did to Nature. Angus has grown up learning that his life is better off with only him and a family. But is that really in the Grand Plan. The North needs someone to build community. But first, Angus needs to be forged… beaten, shaped, bolded and trained. Watch as Angus hits both lows and highs across the lands of England, Scotland and France, before meeting a challenge of new land. For More Information I,
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First Chapter: Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson by William Hazelgrove

Title: Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson Author: William Hazelgrove Publisher: Regnery Pages: 352 Genre: Narrative Nonfiction After President Woodrow Wilson suffered a paralyzing stroke in the fall of 1919, his wife, First Lady Edith Wilson, began to handle the day-to-day responsibilities of the Executive Office. Mrs. Wilson had had little formal education and had only been married to President Wilson for four years; yet, in the tenuous peace following the end of World War I, Mrs. Wilson dedicated herself to managing the office of the President, reading all correspondence intended for her bedridden husband. Though her Oval Office authority was acknowledged in Washington, D.C. circles at
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First Chapter: Ghost Hampton by Ken McGorry

Title: GHOST HAMPTON Author: Ken McGorry Publisher: Independent Pages: 450 Genre: Paranormal Thriller Lyle Hall is a new man since his car accident and spinal injury. The notoriously insensitive Bridgehampton lawyer is now afflicted with an odd sensitivity to other people’s pain. Especially that of a mysterious young girl he encounters outside a long-abandoned Victorian house late one October night. “Jewel” looks about 12. But Lyle knows she’s been dead a hundred years. Jewel wants his help, but it’s unclear how. As if in return, she shows him an appalling vision—his own daughter’s tombstone. If it’s to be believed, Georgie’s last day is four days away. Despite Lyle’s strained
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First Chapter: On Top of the World (Until the Bell Chimes) by David Lamb

Title: ON TOP OF THE WORLD (UNTIL THE BELL CHIMES) Author: David Lamb Publisher: Woolly Mammoth Books Pages: 240 Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Contemporary Romance/Multicultural/Humor/Satire 2016 BEST FICTION-Pacific Book Awards. FROM THE FUNNY AND NATURALLY BRILLIANT DAVID LAMB, award-winning playwright of the New York Times celebrated play, Platanos Y Collard Greens, comes a modern spin on Dickens’ classic tale that perfectly combines humor and romance in a story re-imagined for our digital, consumerist age.  This version of Scrooge and Belle is familiar, yet unlike any you’ve come across before. Scrooge, or rather Scrooje, is music’s biggest superstar, with one hundred million albums sold, fifteen million devoted YouTube subscribers, two and a half million Facebook
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First Chapter: One-Way Ticket Home by K.C. Hardy

Title: One-Way Ticket Home Author: K.C. Hardy Publisher: Casbury Lane Press Pages: 262 Genre: Christian Inspirational Fiction Days before boarding the plane to Italy for her daughter’s wedding, Julie Whitaker receives an unexpected phone call from her past. The memory of Mark Jennings, a handsome and charming Top Gun pilot, had haunted her for decades. Their fairy tale wedding was everything she’d ever dreamed of, but it quickly turned into her worst nightmare. Starting a new a life without Mark proved to be much harder than Julie had imagined. But in her darkest hour, God revealed Himself in a miraculous way, giving her the strength she needed not only
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First Chapter: Girl Within Girl by S.P. Aruna

Title: Girl Within Girl: An Erotic Thriller (Book 1: Unraveling) Author: S.P. Aruna Publisher: BookBaby Pages: 170 Genre: Erotic Thriller Katrina is never alone. She is bound to others inside her, tighter than any Siamese twins could ever be: Cherry, the freewheeling photojournalist, Anisa, the covert spy-assassin, and others as yet unknown, all sharing her body and mind as she goes about her work in a psychiatric hospital. But she is starting to unravel, and her sole hope is the handsome Dr. Sean Paisley, the only one who can make her whole again. Girl Within Girl is a dark erotic thriller that wanders through a sensual maze of mind
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First Chapter: Friend of the Devil by Mark Spivak

Title: Friend of the Devil Author: Mark Spivak Publisher: Black Opal Books Pages: 325 Genre: Culinary Thriller In 1990 some critics believe that America’s most celebrated chef, Joseph Soderini di Avenzano, sold his soul to the Devil to achieve culinary greatness. Whether he is actually Bocuse or Beelzebub, Avenzano is approaching the 25th anniversary of his glittering Palm Beach restaurant, Chateau de la Mer, patterned after the Michelin-starred palaces of Europe. Journalist David Fox arrives in Palm Beach to interview the chef for a story on the restaurant’s silver jubilee. He quickly becomes involved with Chateau de la Mer’s hostess, unwittingly transforming himself into a romantic rival of Avenzano.
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First Chapter Spotlight: Storm of Arranon by R.E. Sheahan & Book Giveaway!

About the Book:   Title: Storm of Arranon Author: R. E. Sheahan Publisher: Rule of Three Press Pages: 300 Genre: YA Science Fiction/Fantasy  A forbidden birth. A remarkable young woman. A marauding alien society. The battle begins. A brutal alien society invades Korin and Arranon, intent on destroying the two worlds that make up Cadet Erynn Yager’s home. Forced to expose her strange abilities and reveal her forbidden birth, a guarded web of secrets unravels. Stranded on an unfamiliar planet of eternal winter and predatory wildlife, the mysterious living consciousness of Arranon intervenes, leading Erynn on a mystical journey. Aware of Erynn’s potential, the alien enemy pursues her. She struggles
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First Chapter: 23 Minutes Past 1 A.M. by Robert J. Dornan

Title: 23 Minutes Past 1 A.M. Author: Robert J. Dornan Publisher: Independent Pages: 550 Genre: Historical Fiction In the early morning of her sister’s wedding day, Mila Kharmalov stared in stunned silence at the coloured sparks streaming from Reactor Four of the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant.  At that very moment, her life and the lives of everyone she knew changed forever. Years later and on another continent, Adam Byrd was writing biographies for everyday people looking to leave their legacy in book form. When the woman he loved phoned from Kiev offering him the chance to write the story of a lifetime, he jumped at the opportunity not realizing that
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  • September 5, 2016
  • First Chapters
  • Comments Off on First Chapter Reveal & Tour Kickoff: Save the Last Dance by Eric Joseph & Eva Ungar Grudin

First Chapter Reveal & Tour Kickoff: Save the Last Dance by Eric Joseph & Eva Ungar Grudin

Title: Save The Last Dance Author: Eric Johnson & Eva Ungar Grudin Publisher: Hargrove Press Pages: 360 Genre: Literary Fiction A tale of the power and peril of first love rediscovered. Adam Wolf and Sarah Ross were teenage sweethearts who grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio in the late 50’s and early 60’s. They set a wedding date when they turned fifteen. The day came and went. For most of their lives the two were out of contact. With their 50th high school reunion approaching, Adam and Sarah reconnect. Email exchanges – after the first tentative “hi”, then a deluge- five, ten- by the end of the week twenty emails
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First Chapter Reveal & Tour Kick Off: Killer Pursuit by USA Today Bestselling Author Jeff Gunhus

Title: KILLER PURSUIT Author: Jeff Gunhus Publisher: Seven Guns Press Pages: 352 Genre: Thriller When a high-society call girl is murdered in her Georgetown home, investigators find two cameras hidden in the walls of her bedroom. One has its memory erased, presumably by the murderer. The second is connected to the Internet through an encrypted connection…and no-one knows who’s on the other end. Special Agent Allison McNeil is asked by beleaguered FBI Director Clarence Mason to run an off-the-record investigation of the murder because of the murder’s similarity to a case she worked a year earlier. Allison knows the most direct path to apprehending the killer is to find
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  • July 5, 2016
  • First Chapters
  • Comments Off on First Chapter: Scar Tissue by MC Domovitch

First Chapter: Scar Tissue by MC Domovitch

Title: Scar Tissue Author: MC Domovitch Publisher: Lansen Publishing Pages: 396 Genre: Romantic Suspense/Thriller/Paranormal When successful model Ciara Cain wakes up in hospital, remembering nothing of the weeks she has been missing, her only clues are the ugly words carved into her skin. According to the police she was a victim of the Cutter, a serial killer who has already murdered three women. For her protection the police and her doctors give a press conference, announcing that because her amnesia is organically caused, her memory loss is permanent. But, whether her memory returns or not is anybody’s guess. Overnight, Ciara’s glamorous life is gone. Her scars have killed both
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First Chapter: The Jungle Within by Charles M.

Title: The Jungle Within Author: Charles M. Publisher: Createspace Pages: 308 Genre: Drama/Suspense When Evan and Katie said “I do”, they expected to navigate life together side-by-side. But when a car accident and a tawdry affair disrupt life as they know it, Evan and Katie are forced to venture on alternate paths, alone. In the darkest depths of an unforgiving coma, Evan fights to survive the treacherous jungle of his mind. He embarks on a spiritual journey to understand the meaning of life and the beauty of death…forcing him to face his deepest fear. Meanwhile, Katie ventures through her own guilt. On a strenuous moral journey, she juggles the
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First Chapter: Floor 21 by Jason Luthor

Title: Floor 21 Author: Jason Luthor Publisher: Scout Press Pages: 355 Genre: Sci-fi/Dystopian The last of humanity is trapped at the top of an isolated apartment tower with no memory of how they got there or why. All travel beneath Floor 21 is forbidden, and nobody can ever recall seeing the ground floor. Beneath Floor 21, a sickness known as the Creep infests that halls of the Tower. A biological mass that grows stronger in reaction to people’s fear and anger, the Creep prey’s on people by causing them to hallucinate until they’re in a state of panicking, before finally growing strong enough to lash out and consume them.
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First Chapter: The Wolf at Britannia by Jess Steven Hughes

Title: The Wolf of Brittania, Part 1 Author: Jess Steven Hughes Publisher: Sunbury Press Pages: 321 Genre: Historical Fiction First Century AD Britain is a fragmented land of warring Celtic tribes, ripe for invasion by the juggernaut of imperial Rome. Knowing this, a young warrior, soon-to-be-legendary, Prince Caratacus, must unite the southern tribes if they are to survive. This is an enemy more cunning and powerful then either he or Britain has ever faced. Standing by him is his wife, Rhian, a warrior princess who takes no prisoners. She is the first woman he has truly loved. With her support and that of other allies, Caratacus must outsmart a
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First Chapter: Scorpio’s Kiss by MC Domovitch

Title: SCORPIO’S KISS Author: Monique Domovitch Publisher: Lansen Publishing Pages: 588 Genre: Romance Scorpio’s Kiss is a spell-binding tale of love, ambition and greed that will keep the reader turning the pages until its surprise ending. Set in New York and Paris amid the glamorous and competitive worlds of art and real estate, Scorpio’s Kiss takes the reader from the late 1940s to the 1960s through the tumultuous lives of its heroes.   There is Alex Ivanov, the son of a Russian immigrant and part-time prostitute. He yearns to escape his sordid life and achieve fame and fortune. His dreams of becoming a world-class builder are met with countless
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First Chapter: The Hidden Reality by Stephen Martino

Title: The Hidden Reality Author: Stephen Martino Publisher: Light Messages Pages: 318 Genre: Science Fiction/Political Thriller In the year 2084, the brilliant inventor, Alex Pella, finds himself at a precarious crossroad between the pursuit of justice and preservation of his own sanity. While attempting to undermine an international New World Order government created by the financial juggernaut known as The New Reality, he must also face the hidden truths about his own genetic heritage that are slowly destroying him. After receiving an ambiguous message sent from a former New Reality executive who died 2 years prior, Alex learns that the only possible means to confront this New World Order
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First Chapter: Am I Going To Be Okay? by Debra Whittam

Title: Am I Going To Be Okay? Weathering the Storms of Mental Illness, Addiction and Grief Author: Debra Whittam Publisher: Pages: 253 Genre: Memoir/Women’s Psychology/Applied Psychology Am I Going To Be Okay? is an American story with a universal message. Ms. Whittam traces her history in the form of stories about her all too human, and sometimes unhinged family; she throws a rope to the little girl living there, and in adulthood, is able to pull her out to safety, bit by bit. Her history is peopled with folks from a different time, a time before therapy was acceptable, 12 steps unimaginable and harsh words, backhands and even harsher
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  • March 1, 2016
  • First Chapters
  • Comments Off on First Chapter: The Bipolar Millionaire by John E. Wade

First Chapter: The Bipolar Millionaire by John E. Wade

Title: The Bipolar Millionaire Author: John E. Wade II Publisher: Sunbury Press Pages: 164 Genre: Memoir John E. Wade II, retired CPA, author, investor, television producer, and philanthropist, reveals in his memoir, The Bipolar Millionaire, his personal struggle with bipolar disorder and how he has succeeded in living a balanced and blessed life, despite his mental illness. Wade takes the reader through his family experiences, political aspirations and beliefs, spiritual journey, relationship trials and errors, all while battling mental illness. Through his religious beliefs, personal perseverance, and the help of friends, family, and his mental health professionals, Wade lives an active, creative, and successful life. His memoir doesn’t end
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First Chapter: The Carrington Prophecy by R. Lawson

Title: The Carrington Prophecy (Book 5 of The CIA International Thriller Series) Author: R. Lawson Publisher: Independent Pages: 298 Genre:  Thriller/Espionage Biff Roberts, the CIA’s counterterrorism director, receives actionable intelligence that a rogue regime is planning a sneak attack with the goal of exploding a nuclear device above the United States, triggering an unnatural Carrington Event. The cosmic storm of the Carrington Event’s electromagnetic pulse waves released by the explosion would cripple all electronic systems and power grids in the U.S., leaving the homeland defenseless and vulnerable to conventional warfare. With North Korea looking to be the most likely suspect, Biff is tasked to intervene and prevent this attack
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First Chapter: Existential Threats by R. Lawson

Title: Existential Threats (Book 4 of The CIA International Thriller Series) Author: R. Lawson Publisher: Independent Pages: 345 Genre:  Thriller/Espionage The CIA’s incoming Director of Counter Terrorism, Biff Roberts, is inheriting a multitude of challenges. For starters, there is the existential threat of a nuclear Iran. Added to that, the Middle East has become enmeshed in a surge of radical religious extremism ranging from fanatical Muslims of the Islamic State to the Taliban, groups who commit unspeakable atrocities using violence to pursue their atavistic goals. Syria’s civil war could result in Assad’s weapons of mass destruction getting into the hands of the splintered groups of Islamic Jihadists fighting there.
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First Chapter: From Ashes Into Light by Mouw Gudrun

Title: From Ashes Into Light Author: Gudrun Mouw Pages: 240 Genre: Literary/Visionary Fiction Publisher: Raincloud Press From Ashes into Light is a transpersonal tale of epic tragedy, spirituality, family, and personal redemption. It is told through three distinct voices: the haunting story of Ruth, a Jewish adolescent during Kristallnacht in World War II Austria, Saqapaya, a stalwart Native American from coastal California during the time of the Spanish conquest, and Friede Mai. Friede is born during WW II to a Bavarian soldier and an East-Prussian mother. As those around her struggle with the inevitable chaos and paradox of war, young Friede opens her heart to gruesome enemies, at times
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First Chapter: Everything To Lose by JP Ratto

Title: Everything To Lose Author: JP Ratto Publisher: Limitless Publishing Pages: 250 Genre: Mystery/Thriller Private investigator Lucas Holt is on a mission… Lucas Holt specializes in kidnap recovery. Ex-Delta Force and a former NYPD detective, he has spent the last fifteen years burying himself in case files to cope with the unsolved abduction of his daughter, Marnie. Janet Maxwell just can’t let go… After the death of Janet’s husband and son in a tragic car accident, she hopes Holt’s expertise can locate the daughter she gave up for adoption seventeen years ago. Janet knows her actions will have explosive repercussions for the girl’s father—presidential candidate, Todd Grayson. With no
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First Chapter: Linked by Judy Serrano

Title: LINKED Author: Judy Serrano Publisher: 6K Publishing Pages: 273 Genre: Paranormal Romance Daphne Foster is a substitute teacher stuck in an English class, waiting for that dreaded parent-teacher conference. With much preparation and anxiety, she encounters the unforgettable Charlie Cross. His charm and good looks, win her over but rumors of his involvement with organized crime make his continued disappearances disturbing. In walks Heathcliff Vanderpool, creating a love triangle of unusual sorts. Unknown to Daphne, Heathcliff and Charlie are old friends: Older than she could have imagined. With Charlie away on business, Daphne and Heathcliff discover a passion between them lying beneath the surface. As their souls link,
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First Chapter: The Last Dinner Party by Carly M. Duncan

Title: The Last Dinner Party Author: Carly M. Duncan Publisher: Createspace Pages: 390 Genre: Mystery When Jeanie D’Alisa is found murdered in her bedroom after hosting a dinner party in her home, detectives Anna Cole and Kristy Hicks are called to investigate the crime. Known within her community for her generous, yet unpredictable nature, Jeanie’s secrets unfold as family, friends and neighbors become suspects. Anna and Kristy discover stamped passport pages revealing travels unknown and a curious relationship between Jeanie and the charming salesman who frequents the apartment building. Meryl, Jeanie’s devoted and needy friend, further complicates the investigation when she phones Jeanie’s sister who is studying abroad and lies to her
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First Chapter Reveal: Mirror World by John Calicchia

Title: Mirror World Author: John Calicchia Publisher: Psychangel Books Pages: 404 Genre: YA Fantasy What would you do if you saw the future apocalypse of the world in a mirror? Would you try to save the world and those you love, or die trying? Welcome to my life, this is the vision of the future I’ve been cursed to see.    – Cailyssa Larkin When Cailyssa Larkin looks in a mirror she has an ominous feeling that someone is watching her. Stranger still, she has visions that foretell the future. While visiting her Uncle Spencer, Cailyssa gazes into a mirror and sees a dark future that only she can change.
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