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Now Available - Middle Eight

2/25/2015

0 Comments

 
PictureClick cover to buy on Amazon!
 
He’s sex, drugs, and rock and roll.
She’s spray bleach, spreadsheets, and check lists. 

Will their relationship hit the charts, or break hearts?

When the normal life Ray has always dreamed of unravels, she finds herself falling for a drummer, coming to terms with her unconventional childhood, and inevitably discovering that normal was never really in her best interest.





Excerpt:

The loud clanking of a spoon against a cereal bowl roused Ray from her second slumber. Her nausea was completely gone, but it felt like somebody shoved a few dozen hat pins into her skull. She opened one eye, and found herself staring at someone’s bare feet.

Ray had a thing about feet. Feet were disgusting appendages. Especially hairy guy feet. The Birkenstock trend nearly made her mental. She never even let her husband touch her with his feet. But these feet were different. They weren’t hairy or calloused, for one thing. They were clean, for another, and the right one had a dragon tattooed along the side of it.

“Did you clean my kitchen?”

Ray sat up, squinting with the pain of bright lights and hat pins stirring in her cerebrum. She dug into her purse for the ridiculous aviator shades she’d bought at the last gas station and put them on. Looking up, she saw that the feet were attached to the drummer boy from the band in the bar. Wavy brown hair tucked behind his ear, cobra tattoo hissing on his chest, he wore nothing but a pair of faded jeans. Funny, had she seen this guy in the supermarket last week, she’d have crossed the aisle to avoid him. This morning she couldn’t take her bloodshot eyes off of him.

“Sorry about that. I’m psychotic.” She rubbed her temples, the effort of speaking causing more hat pin sticks. “It’s just, I got up to take some Advil, and I stepped on some Cheerios and so I tried to sweep up the crumbs, but the crumbs were stuck because the floor was sticky…next thing you know I’m scrubbing your floor. It just snowballed. It snowballed and thank God I started to feel sick or I would have moved on to the bathroom, started changing sheets while you were still sleeping in them, who knows. I clean when I’m stressed. It’s my process.”

He smiled and shook his head, shoveling another spoonful of Cheerios into his mouth.

“I’m Ray, by the way,” she said, removing a bobby pin that was poking at her scalp near her temple. Holy crap, maybe those aren’t imaginary hat pins in my head.

“Were your parents hoping for a boy or something?”

“Not exactly.”

“I’m Van,” he said, in between bites.

Van. A flicker of excitement stirred in Ray’s stomach. Might she have stumbled upon somebody else whose parents were too high in the seventies to properly name their child?

“Were you conceived in a van or something?”

He did a combination laugh-choke. “Uh, I have no idea. My first name is Jeff, last name Vandermark. Van’s just a nickname. It’s easier since there always seems to be at least three other Jeffs in any given room.”

Ray sighed. A fun nickname given by friends. She couldn’t relate to that.

“You hungry?” he asked, pointing his spoon at his bowl of Cheerios.

“A few hours ago I swore I’d never eat again. Think I’d better hold off.”

He smiled slightly, and got up to pour himself another bowl. Ray sucked in a breath. When he passed by she got an eyeful of chiseled obliques, angled perfectly, pointing toward the Promised Land. What is wrong with me? Escaping lunatic husband, thirty bucks to my name, dead car, remember? Not the time to drool over drummer boys.

“Thanks for letting me crash here last night. I’d get out of your hair, but I have no idea where my car is. I mean, I know it’s at a bar somewhere in Portland…”

He laughed into his spoonful of cereal and nodded as he struggled with a swallow. “Right. Let me finish eating and we can go see about your car.”



What others are saying about Middle Eight:



"Middle Eight is a smart, adrenaline-filled romp that will have you turning pages well into the night. Ray is one of those heroines you wish you could hang out with: cool, sexy, witty and unflappable. Even when she's being put through the ringer, you know she'll come out on top in the end. Add mellow rock star Van and a quirky cast of supporting characters to the mix and you'll be hooked. Just don't expect to put Middle Eight down once you get started."

~ Gray Martin, author of Trophy Wife

 
“Middleton rocks the charts on humor with MIDDLE EIGHT, a delightful romp where a straight laced woman stalked by a deranged husband, meets her rock and roll prince charming and ends up on the cover of dicey tabloid for an act she never thought she was capable of.”
 
~Susan Stec, author: The Grateful Undead, Dead Girls, Purgatory, and Dark and Deadly series


Middle Eight is now available as a paperback or ebook. 
Buy links:  ebook or paperback on Amazon, also at iBookstore and Barnes & Noble.

Coming soon:


Middle Eight Goodreads paperback giveaway &
Middle Eight Blog Tour with $25 Amazon GC giveaway

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0 Comments

And the winners are...

2/22/2015

4 Comments

 
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My Love Poem Challenge is officially over! I am honored to have had such talented author-poets participate. I tallied the hits & comments and ...


The Grand Prize Winner is:

Author Celia Breslin for her lovely poem Ritual for Lost Children. Congratulations, Celia!

Check out her winning poem:

http://www.audramiddleton.com/monthly-blog/love-poem-challenge-celia-breslin

More from this author:

Haven -

San Francisco nightclub owner Carina Tranquilli works hard, plays hard, and never allows the death of her parents and her twelve-year memory gap to get her down. But her life takes a left turn when a witch attacks her on her twenty-fifth birthday.

Connect with Celia:
Web site: http://www.celiabreslin.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/celiabreslin



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Honorable mention goes to:

Author Olga Godim, for the following poem:

http://www.audramiddleton.com/monthly-blog/love-poem-challenge-olga-godim

More from this author:

Eagle En Gard-

Darin, a mercenary officer, lives in Talaria, a kingdom surrounded by a magic-resistant spell. While some people wish to break the spell and invite magic back into the country, the fanatical sect of Cleaners resists the return of magic. Darin doesn’t agree with the Cleaners’ doctrine but he doesn’t dispute it either. He is a soldier, not a philosopher. Then he accidentally overhears the Cleaners’ hidden agenda to destroy all magic workers in Talaria, including witches and elves, and his orderly life turns upside down. His sweetheart is a witch, his daughter is an half-elf, and he has many elven friends. He can’t allow the Cleaners’ murderous scheme to succeed, can’t allow innocents to suffer from the rabid zealots. But what can a lone mercenary do against a horde of extremists? His only choice lies in trickery and deceit to outsmart his enemies. And the anti-magic spell on the border suddenly becomes his only ally.

Connect with Olga:
http://olgagodim.wordpress.com
http://olgagodim.booklikes.com/


Thanks to each of the talented writers who participated, and thanks to everyone who stopped by & voted for their favorites.

 
Here’s what’s coming up on my blog:

February 25:  A sneak peek at my romantic comedy, Middle Eight

March 1: Almost – on being a Seahawk fan


4 Comments

Love Poem Challenge - Ute Carbone

2/19/2015

5 Comments

 
About the Author:

Ute (who pronounces her name Oooh-tah) Carbone is an award winning author of women’s fiction, comedy, and romance. She and her husband live in New Hampshire, where she spends her days walking, eating chocolate and dreaming up stories.

Tanka very much.

               When Audra announced a poetry contest, I jumped at the chance to stretch my verse muscles. It's been a while since I've written a poem and a twenty five word poem was quite a challenge. I decided to write a Tanka.  Tanka is not, as my very bad pun title suggests, a silly way to say thank you. It's an old Japanese poetry form, related to Haiku.

                Haiku is a short poetry form, using three lines in a 5-7-5 syllable pattern.  A  good Haiku explores a single thought or bit of imagery, often with a surprising kind of revelation in the last line.  Sometimes, poets would expand the Haiku, including two more 7 syllable lines at the end, the result is a Tanka—a five line poem with a 5-7-5-7-7 pattern.

                Tanka is perfect for a short love poem and, since this is about romance, I thought I'd write one about the book I recently rereleased. The Whisper of Time is a novella (coincidently also a short form) about a woman named Gwynn who buys a farmhouse sight unseen. The farmhouse is not only tucked away in Vermont's Green Mountains, it is also a step back in time. Gwynn finds herself in 1972 with Slate Peck, the farm's caretaker, who is tied to her destiny and might just be the man she travelled back to find.

Here, without further ado, weighing in at twenty five words, is my Tanka

Whispers of a kiss,

seeds blown on a clement wind,

lie under the snow

await the breath of new spring

to restore love's sweet flavor.

Ute Carbone
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For more about Ute and her books, Please Visit:

Web page:  http://www.utecarbone.com/
Blog  http://www.utecarbone.com/inside-the-writers-garret
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ute-Carbone/234417796596443
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wildwords2
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5114798.Ute_Carbone
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ute-Carbone/e/B005G7U8RM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
Pinterest:  http://www.pinterest.com/utecarbone/
Love Stories (available daily via Paper Li): http://paper.li/Wildwords2/1355247882?utm_source=subscription&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=paper_sub#


To vote for your favorite poems:



Stop by this blog every 3 days to see the new poems. Leave positive comments on your favorite posts. Invite friends to do the same. Poems with the most hits & comments will win gift certificates for some on-line shopping -- and bragging rights, of course.

5 Comments

Love Poem Challenge - Elizabeth Fountain

2/16/2015

7 Comments

 
About the Author:


In 2011, I left a demanding job as a university administrator in Seattle to move to the small town of Ellensburg and pursue my dream of writing novels. I’ve had two published so far: An Alien’s Guide to World Domination (2013) and You, Jane (2014). On my breaks from writing, I teach university courses, spend time with family and friends, and take long walks while leaning into the diabolical Kittitas Valley wind.

 I started writing in grade school; fortunately, most of my tortured high school poetry and song lyrics are lost to posterity. Every once in a while, I attempt poetry again. The discipline of choosing words for sound and flow as well as meaning informs my fiction writing. Or at least I hope it does. I enjoyed trying to capture something about love in 25 words or less, and the moon enraptures me. 

The Poem:

Poem


If you were mine tonight I
Would raise a toast to the stars and
Tell the moon
To shine on, please, shine on.



Elizabeth Fountain

More from Elizabeth:

In You, Jane, the heroine is completely mixed up about love and romance. Jane looks for true love in all the wrong places, as her mysterious ability to write stories that come true creates havoc for her and her circle of friends. This poem makes me think of her – Jane might have written it during her own search for love. 
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Read more of my work at http://lizfountain.wordpress.com
Find information on buying my novels at http://lizfountain.wordpress.com/books-reviews/

To vote for your favorite poems:


Stop by this blog every 3 days to see the new poems. Leave positive comments on your favorite posts. Invite friends to do the same. Poems with the most hits & comments will win gift certificates for some on-line shopping -- and bragging rights, of course.
7 Comments

Love Poem Challenge - Celia Breslin

2/13/2015

18 Comments

 
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Winner - Grand Prize!

About the Author:


Celia Breslin here. I write urban fantasy and paranormal romance. Sometimes, I also write poetry. The offering included here is a short variation (written this month), of a longer poem from “Flow”, a collection of poems composed after the loss of my first child during the first trimester of my pregnancy several years ago. Love in all its varied forms is a popular theme in my poetry. Here, it’s motherly love…


The Poem:


Ritual for Lost Children
By Celia Breslin

Wrapped my heart
in smooth red cotton
tied with string

Placed it on the Lost Children’s altar
and breathed you free
to follow another path


More from Celia:

Home, family, and romantic love are key components in my paranormal stories. All three factor greatly in my Tranquilli Bloodline vampire series. The series heroine, nightclub owner Carina Tranquilli, works hard to make a happy home for herself while dealing with ongoing family drama and a slew of villains intent on ruining her happiness. Along the way, she meets her fated soul mate, undead musician Alexander.

Vampires, love, mayhem…Join Carina’s club!

Available now: Haven (book 1), Vampire Code (short story prequel), Destiny (book 2)
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Find Haven at:

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Haven-ebook/dp/B00DQH3SZI/
B&N - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/haven-celia-breslin/1117105185
Champagne - http://champagnebooks.com/store/index.php?id_product=31&controller=product
iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/haven/id724060995?mt=11
Google - http://books.google.com/books/about/Haven.html?id=FjpnBAAAQBAJ

Connect with Celia:

Web site: http://www.celiabreslin.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/celiabreslin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CeliaBreslinAuthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/CeliaBreslin
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/celiabreslin/


To vote for your favorite poems:

Stop by this blog every 3 days to see the new poems. Leave positive comments on your favorite posts. Invite friends to do the same. Poems with the most hits & comments will win gift certificates for some on-line shopping -- and bragging rights, of course.
18 Comments

Love Poem Challenge - Roderick Vincent

2/10/2015

3 Comments

 
About the Author:

Roderick Vincent's short stories, articles, and reviews have been published in Writer’s Digest, Ploughshares Blog, The Nervous Breakdown, The Baltimore Post Examiner, Straylight, and Offshoots. His first novel, titled The Cause, was published by Roundfire books on November, 28th 2014.  Beyond his fiction writing, he blogs about the future, and the changing times of the world we live in.


The Poem:

Hand in a Cloud
-------------------------- 

Nestling cloud,

     you are the sky,

           me a vaporous hand chiseling a heart out of air.

Your breath is a storm,

      light as a rainbow. 


Roderick Vincent


For More information about Roderick and his projects visit:
www.roderickvincent.com
www.neoworldview.com
Twitter: @R_D_Vincent
https://plus.google.com/+RoderickVincent
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0T3NdsxkFB8aWzM4TP5x4w


To vote for your favorite poems:
Stop by this blog every 3 days to see the new poems. Leave positive comments on your favorite posts. Invite friends to do the same. Poems with the most hits & comments will win gift certificates for some on-line shopping -- and bragging rights, of course.
3 Comments

Love Poem Challenge - Olga Godim

2/7/2015

12 Comments

 
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Winner - Honorable Mention!

About the Author:
            I’m a freelance writer and journalist from Vancouver, Canada. My articles appear regularly in local newspapers, but my passion is fantasy fiction. I write it and I read it. My short stories have been published in multiple internet and print magazines. My fantasy novels ALMOST ADEPT and EAGLE EN GARDE were recently released by Champagne/Burst. An anthology of my short urban fantasy stories SQUIRREL OF MAGIC is available at Smashwords and Amazon. My favorite occupation is curling on a sofa with a good book. My collection of toy monkeys is taking over my house.


The Poem:
Space-faring cats
And heroic PIs,
A dragon atwitter,
A duke in disguise,
Calamitous teens
And capricious elves,
My joy, my escape,
My beloved bookshelves.

Olga Godim
Enjoy the poem? How about this:


           My fantasy novel EAGLE EN GARDE takes place in Talaria, a kingdom surrounded by a magic-resistant spell. While the king wishes to break the spell and invite magic back into the country, the fanatical sect of Cleaners rampage against magic. Darin, the novel’s protagonist, doesn’t participate in the discussions. He is a swordsman, a mercenary officer, not a philosopher. Then he accidentally overhears the Cleaners’ hidden agenda to destroy all magic workers in Talaria, including witches and elves, and his orderly life is turned upside down. His sweetheart is a witch, his daughter is a half-elf, and he has many elven friends. He can’t allow the Cleaners’ murderous scheme to succeed, can’t allow innocents to suffer. But what can a lone mercenary do against a horde of extremists? His only choice lies in trickery and deceit to outsmart the devious Cleaners, and the anti-magic spell on the border suddenly becomes his only ally.
Picture
For more about Olga & her projects visit:
http://olgagodim.wordpress.com
http://olgagodim.booklikes.com/
http://www.wattpad.com/user/olga_godim

Buy links:
 *  Champagne/Burst http://champagnebooks.com/store/index.php?id_product=343&controller=product  
 *  Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Eagle-En-Garde-Olga-Godim-ebook/dp/B00K4PIH3S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399432952&sr=8-1&keywords=olga+godim

To Vote:
Stop by this blog every 3 days to see the new poems. Leave positive comments on your favorite posts. Invite friends to do the same. Poems with the most hits & comments will win gift certificates for some on-line shopping -- and bragging rights, of course.
12 Comments

Love Poem Challenge - Julie Eberhart Painter

2/4/2015

8 Comments

 
About the Author:
            Julie Eberhart Painter, a native of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, has ten books in print. Previously, she worked with nursing homes as a volunteer coordinator and later as a community ombudsman. Julie spent eighteen years with Hospice of Volusia/Flagler in Port Orange, Florida and contributed to and edited two of their self-help books.
            She loves to write, sing in her head, and mime antique furniture at parties. As Julie gets older Hepplewhite has become easier to do than Chippendale!

The Poem:
Peerless Love

Exempt from mortal boundaries, love empowers

imparting heart to heart this charge:

Hold loosely in a gentle palm,

beloved and solemn as a psalm.

Julie Eberhart Painter

           This self-explanatory poem is about all love, regardless of gender, class, age, race or species. Possessiveness is not love, but freedom to grow is.
            In my recent novel, Morning After Midnight, two very different people, a Georgia boy, and a very formal Main Line Philadelphia girl, their backgrounds clashing, find love and personal growth between the “States.”

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Find Julie at:

Web site at www.books-jepainter.com

Twitter: @JulieEPainter


To vote for your favorite poems:
Stop by my blog every 3 days to see the new poems. Leave positive comments on your favorite posts. Invite friends to do the same. Poems with the most hits & comments will win gift certificates for some on-line shopping -- and bragging rights, of course.
8 Comments

Love Poem Challenge

2/1/2015

2 Comments

 
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A writing professor of mine once challenged my class to write a love poem in 25 words or less. I am about the farthest thing from a poet as a writer can be, but I managed to throw together the following little diddy…

For T.M.

Because you tease.

Because you pout.

Because you make me want to shout.

Because you know.

Because you care.

Because for me you’re always there.

I can’t say my professor was impressed with my poetry skills, but I was happy with my simple little poem that said so much about my relationship. It’s good to stretch ourselves creatively. So I decided to host a poetry contest this month on my blog. I have challenged some fellow authors to write their best love poem in 25 words or less and I want you all to be the judges!

Here’s how you can vote:

Stop by my blog every 3 days to see the new poems. Leave positive comments on your favorite posts. Invite friends to do the same. Poems with the most hits & comments will win gift certificates for some on-line shopping -- and bragging rights, of course.

Here’s the schedule:

February 4 – Julie Eberhart Painter

February 7 – Olga Godim

February 10 – Roderick Vincent

February 13 – Celia Breslin

February 16 – Elizabeth Fountain

February 19 – Ute Carbone

February 22 – Winners Announced

Oh, and while you’re at it stop by

February 25 – for a Sneak Peek of my new romantic comedy, Middle Eight


2 Comments

    Author

    Audra Middleton is a somewhat neurotic and terminally sarcastic author and mother of three from Washington State.

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