ASSAIE'S GIFT by Dawn Howard

Book blurb:  Kia Deering is a normal teenage girl looking forward to celebrating her 18th birthday in style. What she didn't anticipate was the revelation that would change her life beyond recognition.

The Goddess Assaie fell for a human and gave up everything, including her identity, to be with him, sacrificing everything she ever knew in the name of true love.

When Kia discovered she was a descendant of the Goddess she had a year to embrace all that it meant or to turn her back on her destiny forever.

Kia had always believed herself to be ordinary but now she was extraordinary she had no idea if she could handle the potential of the power within her. Perhaps the handsome young man she meets in a nightclub could be the distraction she needed, or perhaps he will open up a whole new set of questions himself.

“A pantheonic love story with several twists on the theme, I can highly recommend this first novel by this author”
“Amazing book from start to end”
“I shall be recommending it to my friends”

Events from the past come together, in this fantastical romance, to change the present and nothing will ever be the same again, for any of them.

Read D E Howard's début novel Assaie's Gift and follow a love that began in another era.

Author info:D E Howard was born and raised in the small seaside town of Southport where she still resides. Enjoying writing for most of her adult life she only recently decided to turn her ideas into books. Part time gardener (just at home!), part time dog walker (for a crazy cairn terrier) and part time author she still has time for a full time job. Work pays the bills but writing feeds the soul. Her second book “Spirit of the Book” will be out soon.

Egg-cerpt:

While Sofia fumbled in her bag for her mobile phone Kia raced around to the front of the car. From the back seat she hadn't been able to see the other vehicle which it appeared they had hit side on, crushing both the driver's door and the front of the taxi.  The driver, and sole occupant, of the other vehicle was motionless, blood covering his face as it ran freely from a large cut in his forehead.

“Are you all right?” She shouted, the driver's eyes flickering open in acknowledgement. “It's okay, we've called an ambulance... just stay where you are.”

Racing around to the driver's side of the taxi Kia stopped dead, the taxi driver was sprawled across the road before the car, his leg at a painfully unnatural angle, his body bloodied from the many cuts he sustained from the windscreen's glass. The thing that made Kia stop and take a deep breath however were his eyes, they were now wide open and staring up at the sky unblinking, they showed no sign of life.

Approaching him slowly Kia took some deep steadying breaths, she had taken a few first aid courses in college but nothing could have prepared her for this.

“Hello?” She said as she crouched down beside him. “Hello can you hear me?”

Getting no reaction Kia reached out a hand and gently shook the taxi driver's shoulder.

“Hello?” She said again, already knowing that it was too late for him to ever hear her again but unable to stop trying. “Please be all right... hello?”

Kneeling down closer to the driver Kia leaned over, holding her hair back, as she tried to listen for any sounds of breath but there were none, his eyes still stared lifelessly at the sky.

“What do I do?” Kia said quietly to herself as tears began to fill her eyes. This was not the way her birthday was supposed to end and she was certain that the taxi driver hadn't anticipated such a final end to his evening either.

Unable to do anything else Kia took hold of the driver's hand gently and closed her eyes. It didn't seem right to just leave him.

She didn't notice the burning sensation in her palm at first as her body was already full of aches from the collision but after a few minutes it was impossible to ignore and her eyes shot open to look down at the hand that held onto that of the driver. Kia wasn't certain but she thought she could see a strange white glow around their hands and then, as quickly as it started, the pain faded away and seconds later so did the glow.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts Kia decided she was imagining things due to the stress of the accident.

Then the driver began to cough.

“What happened?” He asked, rubbing his free hand over his face as he straightened the leg that moments ago had seemed irrevocably broken.

“Accident,” Kia said, unable to form any more coherent words than that, relief flooding her body at the sound of the ambulance sirens rapidly approaching.

Time to get to know a little more about Kia Deering with this questionnaire:

1. Nickname:  My name is a little short to do much with, but friends do sometimes just call me “K”
2. Job: I'm currently a student, I was going to get a part time job to help out but mum wouldn't hear of it.
3. Level of schooling, or self-taught: That's still ongoing!
4. Birthdate: August 19^th  - summer birthdays are the best
5. Birthplace: A little town you wouldn't have heard of – nowhere very exciting I'm afraid
6. Currently residing in: Still living at home with my mum
7. Favourite type of pet: I don't have one myself, but who can resist a puppy? I have to have a cuddle any

Buying links:
Amazon: myBook.to/Assaie or http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00TJ2Y4YI

CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/4566626

Author Links:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/DEHAuthor/

Blog:  https://dawndelivers.wordpress.com/

Twitter: @dehauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13529086.D_E_Howard

LETHAL DISPOSAL by Kasia Radzka

-      Blurb - less than 300 words

Lexi Ryder vowed to never return to the Gold Coast, but after a desperate phone call from an old friend, she returns only to learn her friend is dead.

Was it murder or an accident?

Lexi finds herself embroiled in a game of politics, assassinations and secrets. A world where people are not who they seem.

Detective Matthew Ryan wants Lexi as far away as possible from him and the case. But Lexi knows too much. After a public assassination they discover that whoever is responsible is willing to go to great lengths to dispose of those who get in the way of their plans.

Is Lexi willing to risk her own life to seek the truth?

Money, status, and power. Some people will do anything to get it, others will do whatever it takes to keep it.

-      Excerpt - less than 500 words

He pushed her hard and she slammed into the wall of the building, the rugged bricks cutting her palms as she tried to protect herself from the impact. This couldn’t be the end. She turned to face her attacker. She didn’t recognise him. In the darkness she could just make out his features. He had a face that could easily get lost in a crowd, olive skin, a freckle beside his eye, and brown hair. It’s funny the details you notice when you face your killer.

         “I’ll give you whatever you want, please, take my keys, my wallet, there’s two hundred dollars in there, just don’t hurt me, please,” Lexi pleaded as he pushed her against the wall.

         He stared at her. No smile. No reaction. Then she noticed the glimmer of a gun in his hand.

         He pushed even closer until she felt his lips against her ear. “You’ve been asking too many questions.”

         Lexi squeezed her eyes shut and pushed him away with all the strength that she could muster as pain seared through her body. She kicked him but he grabbed her by the neck and pulled her towards him pressing the cold metal barrel against the flesh of her lower back. This was it. She was about to die. And all for nothing. She wondered if Dana had known she was going to die at the exact moment her car had veered off the road and slammed into the tree.

-      Purchase links not more than 5

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YAC0NLA?keywords=lethal%20disposal&qid=1452997317&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com.au/Lethal-Disposal-Kasia-Radzka-ebook/dp/B00YAC0NLA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453285484&sr=8-1&keywords=lethal+disposal

-         author short bio - 100 words or less

Kasia Radzka is an author, athlete wannabe, food & wine lover, and blogger, living with her husband and son on the Gold Coast, Australia. A run along the coastline generally gets her muse buzzing. You can contact her at kasiajradzka@gmail.com or stop by her website www.kasiaradzka.com.

-         author links - no more than 5

http://www.kasiaradzka.com

-         answer to character's questions

1.     Nickname -
Lexi

2. Job -
Freelance Investigative Journalist

3. Level of schooling, or self-taught -

University Degree and the school of life

4. Birthdate -
5 May

5. Birthplace -
Melbourne, Australia

6. Currently residing in…
Gold Coast, Australia

7. Favorite type of pet -
Dog, but she has no room for one in her life at the moment

8. Favorite place to visit -
Europe

9. Significant other -
It’s complicated

10. Most important goal -
To figure out who killed her friend

11. Worst fear or nightmare -

Failing the people she promises to help

12. Favorite food -

Wine, burgers, and rockmelon - not necessarily in that order.

13. Wealthy, poor, or somewhere in between?

Wealthy, but doesn’t like to advertise it.

14. Secret desire or fantasy -

If she told you it wouldn’t be a secret.

15. What would you do if you won the lottery?

Give half to charity, invest the other half and continue investigating stories.

Homemade Marshmallows for St. Paddy's Day

Have you ever wanted to make homemade marshmallows? Well it's easy. Here's all you need:

Three packages of unflavored gelatin (usually four come in a box).
1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups of water
1 cup of light karo syrup
1 tablespoons of vanilla
1 cup of confectioners sugar

Mix the karo syrup with the gelatin until it turns into a paste.

Heat the sugar and water to 275 using a candy thermometer - (BEING CAREFUL) pour the sugar solution into the paste and slowly mix. Cover the mixer with a clean dishcloth and continue mixing for about 10 minutes until it looks like frosting.

Then spread into a pre-greased cookie sheet and let stiffen for 6-10 hours. Then using a cookie cutter, you can cut out your shapes and I put mine on a silpat so they wouldn't stick but you could use wax paper


Then I decorated them with sprinkles.

And I used shish kabob skewers to turn my marshmallows into "flowers" for my bouquet.