The Lily Cafe is thrilled to present author Douglas Murphy and his first novel Umbral Ten, the first book in his Khaldaia Chronicles series! Title: Umbral Ten Author: Douglas Murphy Publisher: Self-published Publication date: April 21, 2020 Genre: Fantasy, Dark Fantasy A blood moon rises, demons roam, and the Inquisition approaches.Theodosia Archmail wakes up on the towers of Starkwind Monastery to find that her world has been turned upside down. Corpses litter every room; a beast that was once human roams the ruined halls; and a second, blood red moon hangs in the sky above her.The last thing she remembers is escorting her mother and a delegation of mages to a ceremony of purely…
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Guest Post: Writing to Express Myself by Idelle Kursman
The Lily Cafe is thrilled to welcome author Idelle Kursman! The author of two novels, True Mercy and The Book of Revelations, her post really speaks to my heart in so many ways and her novels sound absolutely fascinating while also spreading awareness for causes close to her heart. Also, please head over to Reedsy and upvote her new novel The Book of Revelations by Friday. Thank you! Writing to Express Myself Being an introvert, I have always found writing the best vehicle to express myself. Most people would describe me as a very quiet person, but that does not mean I do not have ideas or opinions that I would like to share. When…
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Book Blog Tour – Excerpt: The Summer Villa by Melissa Hill
The Lily Cafe is thrilled to participate in the book blog tour for The Summer Villa by Melissa Hill, a light summery read set on the gorgeous Amalfi Coast in Italy. Anyone up for some imaginary travel? Title: The Summer Villa Author: Melissa Hill Publisher: MIRA Books Publication date: April 28, 2020 Genre: Women’s Fiction When a little white lie becomes the story of your life, what if the truth comes out? For three woman, it’s a life-changing trip: one finds the man of her dreams, another discovers inspiration amidst Italian food and culture, while a chance encounter with a handsome local ushers in the ultimate life change for the third. But most importantly, it’s the…
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Guest Post: The Mysterious Teenage Hominid – Writing for Teens by Chris Stevenson
The Lily Cafe is thrilled to welcome Chris Stevenson! He is a YA author and shares here about why he writes in that genre and what the adolescent years offer to a writer. The Mysterious Teenage Hominid – Writing for Teens There was no question why I wrote YA fiction in the first place. When I got into it, it was a thrilling, lucrative and expressive category. Harry Potter was dominating the charts. The Hunger Games appeared, along with Divergent and Twilight. Writing young adult fiction then was like being on a speeding freight train which had no brakes and a throttle that only went forward.There are no estimates of…
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Novel Excerpt: Into the Suffering City: A Novel of Baltimore by Bill LeFurgy
The Lily Cafe is thrilled to present author Bill LeFurgy and his historical thriller Into the Suffering City: A Novel of Baltimore! Title: Into the Suffering City: A Novel of Baltimore Author: Bill LeFurgy Publisher: High Kicker Books Publication date: April 15, 2020 Genre: Historical, Historical Thriller Baltimore, 1909. The city is jumping with danger and excitement. New thrills are everywhere: cars, cocaine, ragtime music, moving pictures. Old troubles also thrive, including murder, corruption, and the painful divisions of gender, class, and race. Dr. Sarah Kennecott is on the autism spectrum—a trait that is unidentified and unappreciated at the time. Her passion is justice for murder victims, and after getting fired for looking too closely…
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Guest Post: It Takes More than a Weekend to Write a Children’s Book by Jacqueline Levering Sullivan
The Lily Cafe is thrilled to welcome Jacqueline Levering Sullivan! She is the author of 4 children’s novels and is here to talk about what actually goes into writing a book for children. It Takes More than a Weekend to Write a Children’s Book I am no longer amazed by the number of people I meet casually who tell me they have always wanted to write a children’s book. Recently, at a formal fundraiser dinner, a woman sitting next to me, on learning I was a children’s author, pronounced, “I’ve always wanted to write a picture book, and some weekend I plan to do just that.” Picture books are usually…
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Guest Post: Fairy Tale Romance by I. L. Cruz
The Lily Cafe is thrilled to welcome I. L. Cruz! She is the author of The Enchanted Isles series, an enchanting Latin-inspired fantasy series. Currently, the first two books, A Smuggler’s Path and A Noble’s Path, are available for purchase (see below). I adore I. L. Cruz, her books, and her blog, Fairy Tale Feminista, because she takes a different approach to looking at and understanding fairy tales. Her posts are fun, informative, and thought-provoking. Enjoy her guest post below about fairy tales and romance, just as I did! Fairy Tale Romance We are quickly approaching Valentine’s Day (what happened to January?) and that means thinking about love and romance. For some, it…
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Book Blog Tour – Excerpt: The Third to Die by Allison Brennan
The Lily Cafe is thrilled to participate in the book blog tour for The Third to Die by Allison Brennan, the first book in a thriller series featuring a troubled female police detective from L.A. and an ambitious FBI special agent heading up the new Mobile Response Team. Title: The Third to Die Author: Allison Brennan Publisher: MIRA Publication date: February 4, 2020 Genre: Mystery and Thriller New York Times bestselling author and gifted storyteller Allison Brennan’s new standalone thriller features a troubled female police detective and an ambitious FBI special agent who wind up at the center of a ticking-clock investigation into a diabolical serial killer. Brennan’s novel will launch a book-a-year series featuring a fabulous…
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Guest Post: Karen Brenner, Author of Appaloosa Sky
The Lily Cafe is thrilled to welcome Karen Brenner, author of the fiction novel Appaloosa Sky! Enjoy a brief excerpt from her novel and a short piece about what publishing a debut novel was like. Title: Appaloosa Sky Author: Karen Brenner Publisher: Brenner Pathways Publication date: December 13, 2019 Genre: Fiction, Women’s Fiction Summary (from Amazon): At only eleven years old, Ginny Spangler is left orphaned after a horse theft gone bad. As Ginny grows from a self-reliant young girl to the fiery matriarch of a sprawling Texas ranch family, she passes on her resiliency and bold spirit to her nieces, Scottie, Rory, and Georgie O’Brien – sisters that are growing up with a distant…
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Novel Excerpt: The Midnight Before Me by Elizabeth Lo
The Lily Cafe is thrilled to present author Elizabeth Lo and her debut YA Dark Fantasy novel The Midnight Before Me! Title: The Midnight Before Me Author: Elizabeth Lo Publisher: Westbrook Publishing Publication date: October 9, 2019 Genre: YA, Dark Fantasy HOW MUCH IS A LIFE WORTH? WHEN THE WORLD DEMANDS AN ANSWER WE ALL SCRAMBLE TO FIND ONE. My name is Midnight Thunder. The town crazy person; the Demon Eyes girl. The girl whose existence rests on a curse that saves her from death yet sets her on a path to an inevitable end. I live in a world full of magic: spells, curses, enchantments, and everything in between. It would be a whimsical…
