2014 Autumn Collection
by Markee Anderson, Stephanie Burkhart, Gerald Costlow, Cecilia Corona, Nan O'Berry, and Vincent Nutt,
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BLURB:
Six complete sweet to sensual romances from six multi-talented authors in settings that are sure to keep you spellbound with tales about young magic, charming reunions, and new beginnings. Enjoy the darker side where witches cast spells, vampires exist, and zombies walk the earth. There's a story for everyone.
Man of Her Dreams by Gerald Costlow
Anise and Charlene are living the busy lives of young Goth women trying to juggle college and jobs and – in their case – training as apprentice Sherritt witches under the tutelage of Anise's mother, Annabel.
Then over Thanksgiving break, the girls encounter a young man named Donnie who claims to be running from a demon – a demon sent by the Devil himself. They might have dismissed the man as deluded, but Anise recognizes him from her dreams. He is the perfect lover she's been dreaming of night after night.
Now the witches are involved in a deadly game of hide-and-seek, discovering they have only days to figure out how to help Donnie. Are even the famous Sherritt witches up to the challenge? Third in the Modern Day Sherritt series.
Under the Harvest Moon by Markee Anderson
Victoria Sommerfield is the maid of honor at her neighbor's wedding, the day after the Harvest Festival. She's also very fond of Kirby, her best friend from high school, who's also in the bridal party. Victoria's forced to make a few decisions thanks to a crime in town. At least Kirby can save the day, for now. But can she take the next step with him?
Day of the Dead ~ (Dia de los Muertos) by Cecilia Corona
The Day of the Dead takes on a new meaning, when the dead don't stay dead. Dr. Valentina Bellmonte, a cancer survivor, is the new coroner at Hope Memorial. Her faith is put to the test when a body arrives at the morgue drained of blood and the man responsible for the crime is sporting fangs. Could vampires be real?
Her good friend, Dr. Xander Carlisle seems to know the truth, but he's unwilling to confide in her. He has a secret of his own and it's not just how he feels about her, but something else entirely, something he's forbidden to reveal.
Apple of His Eye by Nan O'Berry
Callie Dalton's truck runs out of gas on the road to her family's fruit stand. When a forestry agent Marshall Albright comes to her rescue, little does she know that he is the grandson of her grandfather's worst enemy, Brice Huntington. It seems the Dalton's and Huntington's have been waging a feud for the past twenty-nine years, ever since Laura Huntington left Stephen Dalton at the altar.
Falling in love was the easy part; the hard part is going to be keeping their grandparents from confronting one another. Can their love bring these two warring factions together?
Alive by Vincent Nutt
A mutated form of Cholera infects the world, creating zeeks, zombielike creatures in every respect. The group I'm with has traveled far. We've all lost those we've held dear along the way, but when life is unpredictable, anything can happen... This Thanksgiving brings new friends into our lives, and a fresh look at what tomorrow may bring.
Young Witchcraft by Stephanie Burkhart
Rachel's secret would have Cotton Mather rolling over in his grave. She's been raised from an early age to use magic for good, despite her temptation to cast a spell against Phil the bully who can't stop teasing her.
Joe thinks Rachel is cool, especially when she weaves her healing magic spells on him, but he's got his own problems. It's not easy keeping Rachel safe from Phil's constant threats.
When Phil poisons Rachel, can love and a little young witchcraft bring Rachel and Joe together or has years of Phil's bullying ruined their relationship for good?
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EXCERPT:
from "Under the Harvest Moon:"
Cindy grabbed her drink and sipped it. As she turned toward Kirby, she put her hand on his arm. "Call me. We'll do lunch."
Never. He had a plan for his life and it didn't involve Cindy Ambrose.
But he couldn't stop from nodding as she walked away.
Kirby stepped up to the counter. "I'll have a hot chocolate with extra whipped cream, please."
"For you?" the girl asked.
"No." He nodded toward Victoria. "For my date." The comment seemed so foreign to him, but he had to smile. Victoria didn't even know she was on a date.
"Ah. You're trying to impress her," the clerk said. "I'll help you out." She leaned closer. "You need it, I can tell." She reached up and straightened his polo shirt's collar. "You need to look the part."
Considering the girl was his neighbor, he had to chuckle. "Thanks, Belinda. Do I look okay?"
"Yep. Smokin' hot, actually."
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Markee Anderson makes her home in northeast Wisconsin, surrounded by Packer fans, snow, and cheese. Along with her husband, they have three adult children and two Boston terrier babies. She writes under different pen names, all at: www.sweettalebooks.com
Come visit her at: http://markeeanderson.com
Stephanie Burkhart was born in Manchester, New Hampshire. After graduating from Central High, she joined the U.S. Army. She spent eleven years in the military, seven stationed in Germany. She left the Army in 1997 and settled in California. Stephanie has been married for over twenty years and has two boys, Andrew and Joseph. She now works for LAPD as a 9-1-1 Dispatcher.
Come visit her at: http://www.stephanieburkhart.com
Gerald Costlow lives in Michigan and has published several novels and numerous short stories and novellas over the years. He's currently publishing a romantic-supernatural series with Publishing by Rebecca Vickery.
Cecilia Corona is a massage therapist by day and enjoys the adventures of writing by night. When she's not sitting at her computer plotting her next tale, she's enjoying the Southern California weather. She loves movies, animals of all kinds, especially her three dogs, and she's a big fan of mermaids. When she was young and saw the movie Splash for the first time, she believed sprinkling salt in the bathtub would magically allow her to grow a tail. She was sadly disappointed when the experiment didn't work. If she can't be a mermaid, then maybe she'll just have to write about them.
Please visit Cecilia's website at: http://authorceciliacorona.blogspot.com
Nan O'Berry lives on a small farm in western tidewater with her family and pets including a Black Angus cow named Esmeralda. A graduate of Old Dominion University with a degree in education, she taught elementary school for several years before turning her attention to writing romance. She loves hearing from readers.
Please feel free to contact her on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nancy-OBerry-Romance- Author/161753103856411
When Vincent Nutt isn't fighting off zeeks, he's going to school and working toward his BA in Video Game Design.
You can find Vincent online at: http://vincentnutt.blogspot.com/
BUY LINKS:
Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NGO7S66
Smashwords
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/474982
Smashwords Publisher Page
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/victorytalespress
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
2014 Autumn Collection- VPT Anthologies is published by Smashwords. I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a collection of six romance short stories by various authors. The first story is “ Man of Her Dreams” by Gerald Costlow.
This Thanksgiving themed story deals with a pair of Goth witch apprentices who help a man named Donnie, thwart a demon who is after his soul. This book is part of the Sherrit series and is the third book of the series.
Anise and Charlene have their biggest challenge to date, but for Anise, Donnie is literally the man of her dreams. Can they help save Donnie's soul and could there be a little romance in the cards for Charlene?
Next up is: “Harvest Moon by Markee Anderson.
This is a contemporary romance short story with a touch of suspense. Victoria is roped into to being a maid of honor for her spoiled neighbor's wedding which is to take place during the Harvest Festival season. Her best friend Kirby is also in the wedding party. While in town, Kirby has a business proposition for Victoria, but she is reluctant to accept for a host of reasons. Cute best friends to lovers story.
The third story is - “Day of the Dead- ( Dia di los Muertos) by Cecilia Corona is centered around Halloween. A young doctor who has survived stage four cancer is now convinced vampires are real, and not only that, her favorite doctor could be one of them. However, she still finds him very hard to resist. Can a human and a vampire really have a relationship?
The fourth story is “ Apple of His Eye” by Nan O'Berry
Callie has a chance meeting with Marshall after her truck breaks down. The two form an immediate bond, but little to do they know, their story will favor the old Shakespeare classic- Romeo and Juliet. I really liked this one as there was a little twist I didn't see coming.
The fifth story is: Alive by Vincent Nutt
Alive is a timely story after recent headlines. After a deadly disease hits the world, zombie like creatures emerge. For fans of “The Walking Dead” , this one will be right up your alley. My understanding is this book is being considered for an indie screenplay. However, this one does have have a “to be continued” element and is very, very short.
And last, but not least is: Young Witchcraft by Stephanie Burkhart
This story features Rachel, a witch who is the victim of bullying. As much as she would like to use her talent to retaliate, she is sworn to only perform good magic. However, she does have a protector named Joe. Despite Joe's feelings for Rachel, he is almost done in by the bully who seems unstoppable. When Rachel's life hangs the in balance, will Joe be able to save her one more time? Stephanie's stories are always fun to read and she is one my favorites.
This book is basically a sampler, introducing readers to authors and their stories they may not have tried yet. For me there were new names and some were very familiar. This book gives us a little introduction into their style of writing and what sorts of books they author. Some of the stories in this one were excellent and few needed a bit of work. However, as a whole the book has some entertaining short stories mostly centered around fall holidays and themes. There were contemporary romances, paranormal romances, and bit of zombie like horror tales. A little bit of something for everyone. At the conclusion of each story, a few details are offered about the author and what other books they have written. Overall this one gets stars.
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