The Gambler's Brother

Welcome Jillian! Many thanks to Shaunna for inviting me over to her blog today to chat about my new release, The Gambler's Brother. I love the fact that the authors at Desert Breeze Publishing are so supportive of each other. That's so cool.


We all lead busy lives, but I'm glad to do this for you. Tell me/us about the book. the cover is Wow! My new release is a historical novel based in 1946. It's the second in a series of three books but don't let that scare you. It's a full and complete story and reading the first one isn't necessary for the story line in this one.

That is good to hear. So often we have to read all the books in order in the series to know what is going on. I admire the author that ties the series together without making the reader do just that.

I'm a huge fan of 20th century history as there is so much fodder for the imagination with all the changes that occurred in the world during those 100 years. Really, think about it. We went from horse drawn carriages to horseless carriages and even as far as the moon. Think about the people born in 1900 and all the massive changes that they lived through. It's absolutely amazing and jaw dropping.

I can still see my grandmother shaking her head as she watch Walter Cronkite report on Armstong walking on the moon. Now all three of those parties are deceased.

For this novel, I focused on the aftermath of World War II and the movement of the brides who married American servicemen serving overseas. It's so romantic (and scary) to think about these women and how they changed their whole lives to marry a man from a foreign place. How wonderfully brave they all were to have survived the war and then, just when things may have gotten back to normal, to uproot themselves in the name of love.

Quite the adventurous generation! Can you share your book blurb with us?

Blurb:  Beaumont McSwain, a former RAF pilot wounded in combat is now the legal officer onboard the Queen Mary. He's haunted by a tragic mission gone awry and wants to return to America and to a life of peace and quiet. Zoe Langlois, a former member of the French Resistance, wants to get to America and find what's left of her family after the Nazi's reign of terror. She boards the Queen Mary under a false identity as a war bride. Along the way, several of the brides are killed and Zoe's odds of survival are decreasing by the day. She and Bo are attracted to each other, but his secret as well as hers threaten their potential for happiness.

Nice! Now I want more-- an excerpt maybe?
Of course
EXCERPT

Bo reached over and shut it gently for him and turned to walk away. He took several steps toward the elevator to go up to the bridge. Two women stopped his progress.

The one with curly hair put her hand on his arm. "I'm Filomena Andrews and this is Zoe Crawford. We need to talk to someone in charge."

"That's not me." He jerked his head back toward the purser's window. "Check with Nate over there if you have problems with your quarters. I have to get to the bridge."

"It's not problems with our quarters and if you're going to the bridge, you must be someone important since they run the ship from there, right?" Mena asked.

Bo nodded once. "They do run the ship from there, but I'm just an errand boy." He waved the papers in his hand. "I have to go. Sorry, ladies."

"I wonder that they'd choose someone like you as an errand boy--" Zoe said as he stepped away.

"What? A gimp? How rude of you to point that out, madam," Bo snapped at her.

Zoe looked him up and down. She sneered. "What I was referring to, sir, was your obvious rank. I can see it by the stripes on your sleeve. You're a group captain in the Royal Air Force, correct? It seems to me that you're the sensitive one. I feel sorry for you going through life expecting the worst of people. What a sad existence."

Bo stared at her. "I don't have a sad existence. I don't think the worst of everyone. I--"

Zoe cut him off. "You've made it clear how you feel about people, Group Captain." She turned to her friend. "Come, Mena, let's take the man up on his advice and talk to this Nate person. It's clear that this errand boy has other things to keep him busy."

She pivoted on her heel and stalked over to the purser's window. Her friend followed her as Bo gaped in shock. What an impossibly arrogant woman. French, of course. Even being invaded and conquered, they still hold that attitude of superiority. I feel for the poor bugger that married her.

Okay, so now that I/we have to have more, where do we go?

Buy link:
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-356/Gambler's-Inheritance-Book-Two-cln-/Detail.bok

Tell us more about yourself. Jillian Chantal is the pen name of a lawyer in Pensacola, Florida. She decided she needed to work under a pen name when she was sitting in a room full of staid male lawyers. Jillian has always been a storyteller and written for fun. When she was in the fifth grade, she wrote a story about Mr. Pepper who fell in love with Miss Salt. He went to medical school and became Dr. Pepper. This story got rave reviews and was even copied by the teacher and distributed to the younger kids' classes. The bug to be published someday had bitten Jillian.

Jillian put off her dream to be published as she went to college and law school. She was too busy to dedicate the time to writing due to the interference of the practice of law and raising children. Once her children got older, she started back with the dream of being published.

Thanks for coming by. You can contact Jillian at: www.jillianchantal.com
Twitter @jillianchantal
Facebook: Jillianchantal

The Sixth Key

will be released by Desert Breeze Publishing. "The Sixth Key" is a fantasy romance set in an alternate world.

Knocked down by a truck Riley wakes on another world. Her ex boyfriend Jothur has transported her there to help his people learn to shield their telepathic minds, although he doesn't tell Riley this. She dreams of two Jothurs, the blond boyfriend and a dark mysterious man. Danger threatens Riley and she flees to the Mutes. The non-psychic Mutes, led by Tynan, will be destroyed if Jothur's people learn to mind shield. Riley must use the Riddle of the Keys to learn the truth of Sacral's past and decide who to support in the battle for the future.

Publisher's Link for further information: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-324/The-Sixth-Key-Sue/Detail.bok

Saturday Simmers with May Williams' Cape May Serenade

Blurb:

Brad Stevens thinks he has life just where he wants it. He's back living in his hometown, restoring a house he loves, and building his carpentry business. When Carolyn Kent, a former USO singer, comes to Cape May one summer to perform, Brad's simple life gets complicated. He finds it easy to love Carolyn, but keeping her may be a difficult job. She has ambitions as a singer that could take her far from him. Will Brad's love and life in a beautiful seaside resort be enough to tempt Carolyn to stay or will she follow her dreams back to the big city?
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-314/Cape-May-Serenade-May/Detail.bok


Excerpt:

Carolyn nearly burst with excitement when Brad finally pulled into his driveway and parked his truck next to the workshop. Not seeing her, he swung over the wooden side of the truck's bed and grabbed a large box of tools. She rushed to him, waving a letter in her hand when he dropped back to the ground.

"Brad, you're finally home." She launched herself into his arms. The box of tools clattered onto the ground, but they barely heard it during the kiss that followed.

"A man could get used to this kind of welcome home."

She slid down the front of his body. "I thought you'd be home earlier. I've missed you so much."

After a drink with Brad the other night, she left him and returned to the Grand Cape May to reason with her parents. They rebuffed her attempts to explain her relationship with Brad, and the next morning they were simply gone when she went to find them after breakfast. A job took Brad up the coast for a few days and left her too much time to think about him and the problem with her parents.

"I missed you and this." He swooped in for another kiss and ran his fingers through her hair.

"Ummm, you smell of wood and apple pie." Carolyn nuzzled his neck.

"Pie's in the cab. I don't always get paid in cash." He ran his hand down her back and over her bottom, tugging one of her legs up to wrap around his waist. "Why don't you come inside and have some pie with me?"

"Tempting." For a moment she was caught in a wave of heat and desire, then she remembered her reason for coming and pushed him back. "I want to show you my letter, and I don't have much time before tonight's show." He took the letter from her hand and scanned the contents. "I'm being offered a chance to record a demo in New York. Don't you see? This is what I've been hoping for."

"I'm happy for you." With his usual smile and a congratulatory kiss, he handed her the letter. "When do you go?"

"Early tomorrow. Eddie was able to call in a favor with another singer to cover for me."

"Will you be gone long?" He bent over to pick up the scattered tools.

"Through the weekend. I'll be back on Monday in time for my show." She squatted next to him to see his face, but she couldn't read his expression. "Brad, you are happy for me, right?"

"Yeah, of course," he reassured her. "It's what you want. I'm just imagining how you're going to knock'em dead."

"I hope so."

"I know you will." He hoisted the toolbox to his shoulder and walked to the workshop. "You'll be signing a recording deal before the weekend's over."

"Wouldn't that be wonderful? I've spent so much time wishing for this. I can't believe I finally get the chance."

"Will you stay with your parents in Manhattan?"

"I think it's best. Maybe I can talk to them, and they live close to the studio where I'll be recording." Carolyn leaned in the open door of the workshop while Brad returned tools to their places. "Why don't you come up over the weekend? How long's it been since you were in New York?"

"I have a few army buddies in the boroughs. We get together every few months."

"Then you're no stranger to the city. Please come."

"I don't know. I have a lot of work to do here." He gestured to the house with the hammer he held.

"Promise me you'll think about it at least. I'll leave their address with you." She glanced at the clock over his workbench. "I better get back for my evening performance, then I have to pack and be at the train station early."

"How long will it take you to pack tonight?"

"Not long. Why?"

"I'll pick you up at eleven."

She cocked her head to one side. "I have to catch the train at seven in the morning."

"Then we'll have eight hours before you go to be together." He came to her and rested his hands on her hips. "I want you to spend the night with me here."

"I can't look tired." She gazed into the depths of his gray eyes. Passion was there along with something she couldn't quite identify. Was it sadness or worry?

"I'll let you sleep -- some. And if I do my job right, you'll glow from head to toe." He put a soft kiss on her forehead.

http://www.amazon.com/May-Williams/e/B005KVEZNC/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Chatting with Dave Bond

Q:  Regular followers will notice that the scrolling books have disappeared. There is a reason for that... to accommodate my guest, Dave Bond. Dave, would you like to share with readers why you have requested this accommodation?


A: The complete answer is more technical than anyone, including me, wants to delve into, as a blind person, I use software on my "normal" computer known as "screen reading" software. It is very smart (and expensive), and simply reads what is on the screen. I have a tremendous amount of control over what it reads me, and how, including the speed and pitch of the voices, as well as the ability to change voices if I choose.

I use the standard voice pre-loaded with the software. The software is called JAWS (Job Access With Speech). You might derive from this name (first sold back in the early 90s I believe) how the focus of making computers accessible to blind persons has a connection to jobs. How well things have worked out is a topic for another discussion, but suffice it to say, because of JAWS, I can type using a regular computer and a regular word processing program (Word), and do most of what any other author is able to do concerning writing and editing a manuscript.

In recent years, with the Internet (and most other computer programs) becoming more and more graphical, screen readers struggle to interpret the screen properly, if at all. An image file of a building, for instance, has no data within itself to pass on to JAWS. "Hi, I'm a 50-story building. I am made out of mostly glass and gray stone. I'm facing east, with the rising sun giving all my glass a sparkling look. There are some high clouds, so the sky you see above me is a powdery blue."

Really? Anyway, graphics make things very tricky sometimes. The banners many blogs (and many web sites) display are not necessarily graphical (although they might be), but because they are moving (constantly changing), screen reading software is confused, as it tries to read the changing text, instead of other text I may be interested in reading. If the banner or scrolling displays are turned off, or don't exist, then my screen reader has a much easier time navigating and reading the page.

I hope this helps some understand the basics of using a screen reader!

Q: ...our disabilities are not limitations, but windows to new avenues in our lives. In my case, and I'm assuming in yours, our writing.

A: I am fairly confident I wouldn't be an author had I not lost my sight 24 years ago. I was 33 then, and working as a project manager for a construction company. I had a degree in technical illustration, and was a very "visual" person. It took some time after losing my sight, but when a window to write in fact opened, I did enter in and am glad I did!

Q: I also find it inspiring that you continue to enjoy the outdoors and would like to ask you about that.

A: Actually, my love of, and participation in the outdoors has lessened since losing my sight. I have years of memories of hunting and fishing, of hiking, of camping, and canoeing. I also did some skiing, I loved to play ice hockey on the ponds and lakes in the winter, and I loved playing church softball. I have tons of memories, and it's these memories more than any present day participation I interject into my stories.

Q: You know, I considered writing only after so many other avenues in my life where shut down, closed or pulled out from under me. I know I mourned over those things I lost. Did you go through a type of mourning, too?

A: I can't say I experienced a clearly defined period of mourning. Interestingly, now that I've been blind for about 24 years, I find I have "down" moments when I experience a kind of mourning. If you can call frustration and a little anger, mourning. I also tried a number of career avenues after the job I landed in after graduating college (as a blind person) was eliminated. This was in 2000. I initially sent out some resumes for non-profit organizations looking for a program director (my previous position) but soon gave up on that. I tried everything from web site design/maintenance, to becoming a certified nutritionist, to going back to college to begin masters working marriage and family counseling. But, writing eventually became something I quickly developed an interest in, and as they say, the rest is history!

Q: So, I hope I'm not spoiling anything from "The Attache", do you think the cable up the mountain is feasible? I mean it sounded totally possible to me, except that maybe if the mountain is public land there might be issues there. Obviously an author must pretend those political challenges don't exist.

A: Zach Brenner (the blinded male protagonist) inherited 300 acres, on which the mountain was located. So, it was not public land. I am fairly mechanically minded, and I "invented" the cable system based on what I considered a feasible concept. From a mechanical point of view. Because in reality, it really wasn't practical. But when Zach first thinks up the system, yes, it was entirely plausible IMO. Not that there wasn't any other way, but the cable system is what he thought up. FYI, in book 3 (Out Of The Desert), Zach's brother, Joel, returns to the Rocky Glen homestead, and, without giving too much away, Joel will end up with some of the 300 acres. You'll have to read the novel to see what he wants to do with it!

Q: Since you brought it up... Book 3. How many books are you planning in this series?


A: I've got 2 3-book contracts with DBP. Two trilogies, to put it another way. The Attaché was book 1 in the series entitled, 'All Things Are Possible,' and A Time To Build is book 1 in the series entitled, 'A Time For Everything' series. I hope to have my web site updated shortly where visitors can read more about these books/series, as well as see the cover art for both book 1's.

http://www.authordavidbond.com/newest.php

Q: Can you give us a blurb for 'A Time to Build'?

The short blurb which may appear on the Desert Breeze page follows:

Thirteen years is a long time. But not long enough for Brian Marshall to forget the face of the woman who stepped inside his office one July morning. Has the one mistake he made in his life finally come back to exact its toll?

Q: Can you share a link to your website?

http://www.authordavidbond.com/

Guilty Hearts Book Blurb

Dee Adams has done everything for the love of her adolescent son including lying to protect him from pain. When her old flame returns, her wall of secrets starts to crumble.

After thirteen years of running from the past, Matt Black returns to the only place he called home intent on making peace with his family and Dee. When he forms a tight bond with Dee's son Jared, Matt falls for her again and he wants to be a family. When Dee's secret is revealed, the only way to become a family is to forgive and rebuild their trust for one another.

Where to buy:

http://www.amazon.com/Guilty-Hearts-ebook/dp/B007K1OCQA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1332552126&sr=1-1

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/guilty-hearts-susan-jaymes/1107712025

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-guiltyhearts-751695-149.html

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-274/Guilty-Hearts-Susan-Jaymes/Detail.bok

Book Blurb

It's a late winter night when Patricia Risden heads home in her car, on a road she's driven many times before. She doesn't have a care in the world, that is, until a man appears from nowhere, right in front of her.

The next thing she knows is being a prisoner of the unscrupulous Alliance Commander Travis 152; an intimidating man who demands information and complete cooperation. Travis soon realizes his mistake; Tricia doesn't know anything, and she is incapable of even getting a glass of water from the ship's computer.

Infamous for being a ruthless executioner, conditioned since childhood to feel nothing besides fear and pain, he still deems her harmless, and finds enough pity for the lost young woman to let her out of the cell; a decision that will change both their lives forever.

Website: http://www.hammarblad.com/
Maria's blog link is: http://www.scifiromance.info/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariahammarblad
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mariahammarblad

Purchase link... It will be available here: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-292/Kidnapped-Maria-Hammarblad/Detail.bok

but not until May 11.

Cover and blurb for "the Keeper's Calling"

 They come from two different worlds. One fateful discovery will bring them together. Neither of their lives will ever be the same.

Chase Harper’s to-do list for senior year never included “fall in love” and “fight for your life,” but things rarely go as planned. Tarnished gold and resembling a pocket watch, the counter he finds in a cave during the summer of 2011 will forever change the course of his life, leading him to the beautiful Ellie Williams and unlocking a power beyond his wildest imagination.

In 1863, Ellie Williams completes school in Boston and returns to the Utah Territory only to discover that her grandfather and his counter, a treasured family heirloom, are missing. When Ellie is abducted and told she must produce the counter or die, an unexpected rescuer comes to her aid.

Wednesday Blurb

Walnut Spring Press has not yet officially released the book blurb.

Earthbound takes place in heaven—a perfect place, beautiful and serene in every way, except one. As the time draws near for the first of the spirits to leave their home in heaven, a group of dissenters called the No Choicers begins to appear at every Blue Planet Planning Meeting, hotly asserting that compulsory choice is safer than freedom to choose.


Sophie and Daniel are members of the Freedom Fighters, a group who oppose the No Choice movement. It is during one of the No Choicers’ tirades outside a planning meeting that Sophie first encounters Daniel, a leader of the Freedom Fighters. But the handsome and ostentatious Coe, a leader of the No Choice movement, also has his sights on Sophie and will stop at nothing to claim her as his.

Wednesday's Trailor and Blurb(s)

Here's the link to Identity, betsy's first novel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i19kPDeJ8U 

Identity is a romantic mystery or is it a mystery romance?

 Here is the back cover blurb for Identity.

Two young women, similar in looks, are on vacation when their companions cross paths. It starts a chain reaction of mistaken identities that throws Amelia, the wealthy heiress, and Savannah, the beautiful Mormon girl, together on the same flight. They come to understand why the bizarre events have placed them into turmoil. As soon as they land, they resolve to right the wrongs. Their flight is cut short when their plane crashes and plunges one of them into a world of intrigue and deceit where identity means everything.

And here is the back cover blurb for Soulfire:


It is 148 BC, and the city of Nephi is ruled by the wicked King Noah and his corrupt priests. Zephenia’s father has turned to his drink after the death of her mother, and her younger sister Sari dreams of living in the king’s palace. When the family’s hut is destroyed and the sisters are unjustly imprisoned, Zephenia wonders if God has forgotten her. If they survive their tribulations, whom will her father choose as her husband? The only unmarried believer she knows is Gideon, and he is smitten with Sari.

Zephenia's thoughts keep drifting to Alma, the handsome high priest she met while gathering herbs in the jungle. She senses a goodness about him, yet because he is a priest in Noah's court, she knows he couldn't possible be a righteous man. But when the prophet Abinadi is martyred and Zephenia must decide between her faith and her family.

The Light Keepers Daughter -Blurb-

A broken heart and trouble with the law washes Belle's dreams of a beautiful life with wealthy Lawrence Rinehart out into the sea. Branded a thief by Lawrence's mother, Belle seeks refuge in a lighthouse on the shore of a secluded little seaport.

Captain Fred Logan, penetrates her wall of defense and persuades Belle to come out of isolation. Together they face WWl, rescue a baby from the sea, and battle the deadly flu epidemic. Will Belle choose Fred or the wealthy ex-boyfriend when Lawrence's boat capsizes and she braves a vicious storm to save him? Will Divine Guidance give Belle courage to do what she must in order to truly be free?

Texas Promise & Texas True Blurbs

After two years, Jo Cameron King's life as a widow abruptly ends when her husband returns home to Austin. Unable to understand her angry and bitter husband, she accepts a call to travel to the New Mexico Territory to meet her dying birth father whom she knows nothing about. Her plan to escape her husband goes awry when he demands to travel with her.

Dalton King, believing lies his Texas Ranger partner tells him about Jo, seethes with hatred toward his wife. Now he must protect Jo from his partner's twisted mind, while sorting out the truth. Jo's bravery and loyalty convince him she's innocent. But can they regain the love and respect they once shared?

~*~Five Hearts from TRS~*~
~*~Nominee for Best Western Romance: The Romance Reviews~*~
~*~Finalist in Best Historical Romance: Reader Awards
~*~ Five Cups and Honorable Mention for Best Historical: Love Romances Cafe~*~
~*~Five Books from Long and Short Romance Reviews~*~

At a Governor's Ball in Austin, Texas, True Lee Cameron meets suave Sam Deleon. Before the night is out, she transforms from the coddled and protected younger sister to a woman in love. Reality crashes down when she accidentally learns he has deceived her. Daring to disobey him, she follows Sam to the oilfields and determines to live wherever he does. Has she made a mistake? Will she give up and return home where she can make her own rules?


When Sam Deleon meets the gorgeous young woman his mother has chosen for him, he fears falling in love, because he knows nothing about love. In order to carry out his mother’s plan, he marries True and moves her to his mother's home, intending to visit enough to set the plan in motion. When True fails to obey him, he faces the possibility of losing her, thereby losing his inheritance and the family property.

Sam and True attempt a reconciliation and compromise. Together, they now face a nemesis, someone who determines to thwart every action they take, endangering not only their lives, but also those whom they love.

~*~*~*~Five Books-LASR
~*~*~*~Four and a Half Hearts-The Romance Studio
~*~*~*~Four and a Half Cups-Coffeetime Romance

BUY LINKS for both Texas Promise and Texas True:

Desert Breeze Publishing
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-Historical--dsh--thru-19th-Century/Categories.bok

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Celia+yeary&x=14&y=16

Barnes and Noble
http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?store=BOOK&WRD=celia+yeary&page=&prod=univ&choice=book&query=Celia+Yeary&flag=False&pos=-1&box=Celia+Yeary&box=celia%20yeary&pos=-1&ugrp=2

Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas
http://www.celiayeary.blogspot.com/

Trailer - In the Manor of the Ghost

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AswjM3L-ejY&feature=player_embedded

In the Manor of the Ghost


Blurb

It's the 1870's. The Civil War has long since been fought and laid to rest, settlers are still joining the wagon trains and heading west to the New Eden. The land is changing. But those who dwell in Clayborne Manor seem trapped in time.

Trapped amid the whispers of failure and sorrow, whispers of longing and defeat. Kaitlin hears them clearly at night. But who haunts Clayborne Manor? The ghost that restlessly walks the halls in the night? Or the ones that plague the minds and spirits of those residing there? Though not inclined to believe the dead can walk the night laden corridors, Kaitlin can see them clearly in the eyes of her husband Devlin, and hear them in the deafening silence of her son, Derrick.

Does she have the courage to search the past and face the ghosts? Does she have the faith to stay and direct all those who dwell In the Manor of the Ghost to the one who sets the captive free?

Trailer & Blurb Burp

or

http://www.youtube.com/user/TerrieZieber1953/featured

(Go to second video at the above link.)

Jess Colton can earn a PHD in computer science but can’t manage his own life.

Raised by a doting mother and controlling father, Jess battles against his addictive nature. When Jesus comes into his life, he trades one addiction for another—alcohol for food. His doctor warns him of his poor health as his weight soared past 300 pounds. Jess is baffled when the beautiful Holly Harrison comes into his life and declares her affection for him. What could she possibly see in him?

Holly Harrison has a past. But it catches up with her when she loses her leg and her unborn baby in one night as a result of a motorcycle accident. At this low point in her life, she finds strength through God and a relationship with Jesus Christ while she works as a dental hygienist. But now, no Christian man would want her so she avoids serious relationships. She doesn’t plan on falling in love with Jess Colton. She sees past his rolls of fat to the godly, tender man inside. When Jess drives a wedge between them, she loses all hope of having a future together.

Can Holly overcome her handicap? Does Jess find control over his eating and his life? Only God can provide the answers they need.

Web addresses:
http://junefoster.blogspot.com/
http://infinitecharacters.com/ (I share this one with Vanessa and 3 other writers.)
http://www.desertbreezepublishingcompany.com/

Ebooks can be downloaded at Amazon and Barnes and Nobles as well as Desert Breeze

Contest hint: June's husband removed a couch for June's writing space.