I know it's rather late but, as we all know, in these challenging times of new normal, we can't just hop on a plane or in a car and go somewhere, forgetting everything and just lazing about like library walruses. However, I still have a little time left before I'm summoned back to the campus for more of something which has not as yet been wholly defined.
I'm posting this before I escape on my staycation in the hope that you and your loved ones (or anyone you know [or anyone they know {or all the other people you may cross paths with this summer}]) will get the word on these "purdy good" books of made-up stories which they just might want to read this summer - because, as we all know, 95% of pleasure reading is done during the summer - and 82% of that pleasure reading is done near a pool or on a beach. Fact.
FYI, I write in several genre, whatever fits the story that my muses dictate into my ear, so there's something for everyone: romance, adventure, sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal, contemporary, literary, biographical, but not especially YA (sorry). Most of all, I try to write a compelling tale of people in crisis, strangers in strange lands, whether it is our contemporary world or a world of imagination.
Below is your summer reading list! The links go to the ebook pages (a.k.a. Kindle) for all the books, but they also exist in quality paperback editions. Click on the book titles to be magically transported to a place where you can read a sample and elect to purchase the entire book. Happy reading!
EXCHANGE (just launched in 2020)
An Unspeakable
Crime.
High
school teacher Bill Masters and his family have
a comfortable life in suburban Oklahoma City - until
his wife and teen daughter are killed in a mass shooting.
Overwhelmed
with grief, Bill struggles to put his life back
together
- or construct a new life from what remains - even
as he must combat continuing crime that threatens him
and his home.
A Second Chance.
When
exchange student Wu Ting "Wendy" Wang arrives from
China for her year at an American high school, she
has no idea what has just happened to her host family.
She's
a constant reminder to Bill of why his family is gone. Yet
he is determined to protect her at any cost - ready to use his father's gun. And he will not fail this time.
SUNSET (2019)
Book III of the Stefan Szekely, Vampire trilogy
Midnight 31 December 2099.
As the Empire of Europa celebrates the new centennial with
battle lines in Ukraine and preparations underway for invading England, the
Emperor in His capital of Budapest welcomes His guests, the elite of vampire
society.
Yet all is not well in the empire. Different factions agree the
time has come for new leadership. As rabid mobs protest and attack palace guards, Emperor Stefan
and his closest staff huddle in the imperial suite, awaiting rescue.
But how do you get away from the clutches of the supreme demon
who lives forever and exists everywhere? If Stefan can free himself, the world
may yet be saved. If he fails, the destruction will continue...until the
Anglo-American Union falls and vampire society rules the world.
Book II of the Stefan Szekely, Vampire trilogy
For Stefan Székely it is a fate worse than death: To be dead yet stuck with his dead parents.
After 13 years Stefan can endure it no longer. He wants a castle of his own. But first he must visit his family’s bank in Budapest.
With endless strife rumbling across Europe, Stefan hardly recognizes Budapest, now capital of the Hungarian Federation. The world has changed.
Nevertheless, he embarks on the reign of terror he always denied himself, living the vampire playboy lifestyle. Until he gets a stern warning from the local vampire gang. He is not welcome - unless he plays by their rules.
Should Stefan fight for his right to party like it's 2027? Or will an encounter with a dangerous stranger change everything about his new existence? As clashes between vampire gangs and State Security escalate, Stefan just might be the key to changing the fate of Europe forever!
. . . If he can survive three bloody nights in Budapest.
The sequel to A DRY PATCH of SKIN continues the trials and tribulations of Stefan Székely, Vampire.
CORLAN, MASTER DRAGONSLAYER, the best in the Guild, the best in the Burg!
And yet, returning from his latest expedition, Corlan discovers jealous rivals have conspired with the Prince to banish him from the city.
Sent into the Valley of Death, Corlan conjures a plan. He and his new sidekick, a runaway boy from the palace kitchen, will trek the thousand miles to the far end of the valley, where a vast marsh provides nesting grounds for the dragon horde. Once there, Corlan vows to smash dragon eggs and lance younglings, ending dragon terror once and for all time.
And yet, as dangers, distractions, and detours harry him along the way, Corlan learns ancient secrets that threaten to destroy everything in his world. Even with the aid of wizards and warriors, he must use all his guile, his bravado, and the force of his stubborn will just to survive - and perhaps return home - no matter how the gods challenge him with their harshest tests.
Ice and snow are all 12 year old Anuka knows outside the hut in Greenland where she was born.
When her mama dies, Anuka struggles to survive. The harsh winter forces her to finally journey across the frozen island to the village her mama always feared.
But the people of the village don’t know what to do with this girl. They try to educate and bring her into the modern world, but Anuka won't make it easy for them. She sees dangers at every turn and every day hears her fate echoing in her mama’s voice.
Her mama gave her that name for a reason. She is A GIRL CALLED WOLF who searches for the place where she belongs, a destination always just out of reach, on a path she will always make her own.
When the handwritten letter from Japan arrives, Benjamin cannot help but flash back to when he lived in Hawaii and met Hanako, a Japanese stewardess.
But Addy, Benjamin’s wife of three years, knows what the letter really means: a love child was born.
Now Benjamin must save a child he has never met, learn the truth behind Hanako’s death, and risk his marriage and his career to do the right thing. But venturing into the lonely woods of northern Ishikawa throws him into an ancient world of strict customs and tight-lipped villagers.
AIKO, a love story wrapped around a mystery, is a modern version of the Madame Butterfly story told from his side.
(the only medically accurate vampire novel)
Book I of the Stefan Szekely, Vampire trilogy
The truth about being a vampire: It is not cool, not sexy. It’s a painful, miserable existence.
Good reason to avoid that situation, thinks medical technician Stefan Székely. He's too busy falling in love with TV reporter Penny Park, anyway. Until one day when she notices a dry patch of skin on his face.
At first it's just annoying, nothing to worry about, some weird skin disease he can treat with lotions. However, as his affliction worsens, Stefan fears that his unsightly problem will ruin his relationship with Penny.
If only that was all Stefan has to worry about! He soon realizes there is a lot more at stake than his handsome face. To save himself, Stefan must go in search of a cure for the disease which is literally destroying him inch by inch. If only his parents had told him of the family legacy.
Opposites may attract... but can they stay together?
Íris is a refugee from an abusive youth in Iceland, further abused on the streets of Toronto - until she sees Art as an escape. With a scholarship, she drifts from depression to nightmare to Wiccan rituals to the next exhibit. There's a lot she must forget to succeed in a life she refuses to take responsibility for.
Eric is settling in at Fairmont College, starting a new life after betrayal and heartbreak. Divorced and hitting forty, he has a lot to prove - to his father, his colleagues, and mostly to himself. The last thing he needs is a distraction - and there's nothing more distracting than Íris.
A Beautiful Chill is a contemporary romance set in the duplicitous world of academic rules and artistic license - in a roundabout way a prequel to A Girl Called Wolf.
Troy! Ilium! 3000 years ago Greeks and Trojans battled below the fortress city.
Now comes Alex Parris in 1993, freshly graduated and eager to tour the ancient site. On his cruise to Istanbul, however, he meets Eléna, a mysterious older woman who draws him into an affair.
When the two lovers challenge Fate by visiting the ruins of Ilium, they are rudely separated – forcing Alex to embark on his own Odyssey. His struggle to return to Eléna becomes a fight for survival on the wild Turkish coast.
THE DREAM LAND Trilogy
(sci-fi, steampunk, interdimensional doorways, world-ruining, political intrigue, time travel, battle hamsters & magic potions)
How far would you go to save the love of your life? Through a portal to another world?
High school sweethearts Sebastian and Gina discover a doorway to a new world. Adventure-loving Gina falls in love with the world of Ghoupallesz and wants to stay, but studious Sebastian fears losing touch with Earth, so he returns alone.
Years later, working the night shift at the IRS, Sebastian feels the cosmic pull once more. Gina is in trouble. Again. Of course he must return and save her! Perhaps this time, he hopes, they can remain together. Returning through the interdimensional doorway, Sebastian must gather his old comrades from the war, cross the towering Zet mountains, and free Gina from the evil Zetin warlord’s castle.
Unfortunately, there are more questions to answer. Is his adventure on the other side real? Or is it just the dream of a psychotic killer? That’s what the police want to know when his friends and co-workers go missing.
THE DREAM LAND Trilogy is a genre-mashing Epic of Interdimensional intrigue and alien romance, a psychological thriller marbled through with twisted humor, steampunk pathos, and time/space conundra.
NOTE: Check your local Amazon listings. You may be able to get these for free if you are a Kindle Unlimited or Amazon Prime member!
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(C) Copyright 2010-2020 by Stephen M. Swartz. All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog, whether text or image, may be used without me giving you written permission, except for brief excerpts that are accompanied by a link to this entire blog. Violators shall be written into novels as characters who are killed off. Serious violators shall be identified and dealt with according to the laws of the United States of America.
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