GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT - TROUBLE WON'T WAIT BY AUTUMN PIPER

Good things may come to those who wait, but trouble waits for no one…

Cheating is a dealbreaker...or so Mandy’s always thought. But when she catches her husband getting some “strange,” she realizes how hard it is to cut and run, or even file papers. She agrees to a month of counseling, which will give her time to grieve the loss of her marriage before she has to tell the world—and the kids. Then she meets Adam, who gives her a hunky--if mysterious--shoulder to cry on, and that thirty-day waiting period seems like an eternity.

Adam has no problem confessing that he’s watched Mandy from his window for months as she runs by his house. If he told her why, though, she’d freak out for sure. He knows they’ve got a future together, if he can think of a way to explain his past. And

LONG LIVE THE 50s & THE 60s - PRIVATES AND THE HOUR (SERIES 2)

Britain in search for a new identity, in the effort to forget the horror of two world wars, striving to recover in the shadow of the haunting foreboding of an atomic attack,  is in the background of  two BBC drama series I've recently watched: BBC1 afternoon show, Privates, and BBC2 second season of The Hour. Both series are brilliant and recommendable. Maybe my introduction can mislead you, they are neither gloomy nor depressing.They are differently entertaining series, thrilling emotions and fun garanteed. Both are already available on DVD (see direct links below to win a copy or to purchase sites) . If you've missed them, no excuses.

Privates  - We gotta get out of this place

Privates is a BBC1 drama series set in 1960, when National Service was not an option.   The 5-part series follows eight privates who are part of the last intake of National Service, stationed at a basic training depot in North Yorkshire. The episodes follow them hurting, growing, rebelling and having fun. Fun is a key word you should keep in mind, because the series is totally amusing, original and intriguing. 

The events are seen from the point of view of one of the 8 conscripts,  the pacifist Private Keenan,  played by the talented Alexander Vlahos

LOVING DANTE'S ITALY - INTERVIEW WITH TINNEY SUE HEATH, AUTHOR OF A THING DONE + GIVEAWAY

After reading Tinney Sue Heath’s  historical fiction novel, A Thing Done, set in 14th century Italy , I thought that it is curious and stimulating to get to know how people living in distant countries see your own. This is why I wanted to interview the author and ask her the reasons for her loving my country,  especially medieval Italy, so much. 

Giveaway! Read the interview, then take your chances to win one of the two e-book copies of A Thing Done. (see the rafflecopter form below the post)

First of all, welcome to Fly High,  Tinney, and for accepting to answer my questions.  I’d like to start asking you, what is the fascination of Dante's Italy to a person with such a different background? For us Italians it is compulsory to study Dante Alighieri and read his “Divina Commedia”  at high school. But you? How did you come to discover the greatest  Italian poet, his work and his Florence?
Thank you.  I'm delighted to be here.  Your question made me smile, because when I first learned about your blogs, I wondered what attracted an Italian to Jane Austen!  I first encountered Dante in high school.  In my case it was not because everyone studied his writings, but because I was fortunate enough to read them in a Great Books class I had chosen to take.  There I also read Boccaccio and Machiavelli.  I loved the art of the Italian Renaissance, and my tastes in opera and other classical music also tended toward the Italian, but it was Dante who focused my interest on pre-Renaissance Florence and Tuscany.  After all, it seems he put most of his neighbors in the Inferno, and he made 13th century Florence sound like such an interesting place.

BOOK BLAST - JACK TEMPLAR MONSTER HUNTER + GIVEAWAY

Jack Templar: Monster Hunter

Orphan Jack Templar has no memory of his parents and only the smallest details from his Aunt Sophie about how they died. The day before Jack's fourteenth birthday, things start to change for him. At first it's great: A sudden new strength helps him defend his nose-picking friend "T-Rex" from the school bully, and even his crush, Cindy Adams, takes notice. But then a mysterious girl named Eva arrives and tells him two facts that will change his life forever. First, that he's the descendent of a long line of monster hunters and he's destined to be in the family business. Second, that there's a truce between man and monster that children are off-limits...until their fourteenth birthday! Jack has only one day before hundreds of monsters will descend on his little town of Sunnyvale and try to kill him.

As if that weren't enough, things get even more complicated when Jack discovers that the Lord of the Creach (as the monsters are collectively known) holds a personal grudge against him and will do anything to see that Jack has a slow and painful death. To stay alive and save his friends, Jack will have to battle werewolves, vampires, harpies, trolls, zombies and more. But perhaps the most dangerous thing he must face is the truth about his past. Why do the other hunters call him the last Templar? Why do they whisper that he may be the "One?" Why do the monsters want him dead so badly? Even as these questions plague him, he quickly discovers survival is his new full-time job and that in the world of monster hunters, nothing is really what it seems.

BOOKMARK BLITZ TOUR - LAURA DE LUCA, DESTINY UNVEILED

Book Blurb 

Gabriella and Darron thought their magickal battle was over when they defeated the evil warlock, Richard. When her Aunt Donna seeks Gabriella's help in rescuing her catatonic daughter from the Dark Coven, Gabriella discovers that her cousin holds a power within her that would be catastrophic in the hands of the evil witches. Gabriella's coven sets out on a journey that may be their last. Along the way, they meet new allies, face devastating treachery, and battle not only the Dark Coven, but the darkness within themselves. When Gabriella finally comes face to face with the cousin she never knew existed, her true destiny is unveiled, and the fate of the mortal world is in her hands.

HEART OF THE OCEAN BLOG TOUR - AUTHOR HEATHER B. MOORE'S, READING AND WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION: TEN LIST + GIVEAWAY!

Heather B. Moore author of Heart of the Ocean accepted to compile her very personal 10 list for FLY HIGH! Read what she likes best in historical fiction as a reader as well as a writer and get your chances to win in the giveaway contest she sponsors. Have a look at the rafflecopter form below this post and good luck!

1. best historical novel ever read: A tough question! I’d like to mention a recent historical-based novel that I read called The Book Thief by Markus Zusak that takes place during WWII Germany from the omniscient point of view of “Death”—fascinating concept!

2.  favourite historical fiction writer

It’s hard to choose a favorite historical fiction writer! I’ve loved everything by Daphne Du Maurier, I read all of the Victoria Holt novels as a teenager, and today, I love writers such as Michelle Moran, who is a wonderful researcher.

3. best hero: I don’t know if any hero has gone through more than James Fraser, the hero in Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, for the woman he loves. It’s still amazing that he survived. 

GUEST POST - DAMARIS OSBORNE ON WRITING PARODIES AND LOVING RICHARD ARMITAGE

Richard Armitage as John Thornton in North and South

Richard Armitage fans who are familiar with C19 will not need any introduction for today's guest at FLY HIGH! Damaris Osborne is well known to them. For all the others dropping by and reading, I'll   invite them to read her guest post and welcome her to our little corner of the blogosphere. She loves writing parodies and spoofs inspired byi the works of our favourite British actor and would like to share her passions with us.

I began writing parody when at university, but I have to say it has rather a bad press as a genre, being treated like puns as rather ‘cringe worthy’.  I think that one needs to like the work being parodied, otherwise it becomes unsympathetic and snide.. It can also be seen as ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ of other people’s success.  However, I believe it can be more ‘original’ and draw in a multitude of threads to make it stand alone fiction, although the sort one dips in and out of for five minutes at a coffee break rather than become absorbed in for three hours solid. Like rich chocolates, parody is best sampled, and savoured, not scoffed.I am a member of the C19 forum, which sprang from the  2004 television adaptation of North  & South, and where discussion of nineteenth century literature rubs shoulders with admiration for the work of Mr Richard Armitage. He is an actor of wonderful nuance, and has the ability, first said about Greta Garbo, to drag you into the soul of the character through the eyes.

BOOKMARK BLITZ TOUR - DEBORAH BROWN, CRAZY IN PARADISE

Book Blurb 

Dying in the middle of the summer in the Florida Keys is sweaty business.

Welcome to Tarpon Cove. Madison Westin has inherited her aunt's beachfront motel in the Florida Keys. Trouble is she's also inherited a slew of colorful tenant's - drunks, ex-cons, and fugitives.

Only one problem: First, she has to wrestle control from a conniving lawyer and shady motel manager. With the help of her new best friend, whose motto is never leave home without your Glock, they dive into a world of blackmail, murder, and drugs.

The Author says ... 

Crazy in Paradise, is my debut novel, a Florida Keys mystery, which makes the reader laugh, cry and cheer...

My personal ad would read:

A CAST OF STONES BLOG TOUR - PATRICK W. CARR, GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY

A Cast of Stones

An Epic Medieval Saga Fantasy Readers Will Love

In the backwater village of Callowford, Errol Stone's search for a drink is interrupted by a church messenger who arrives with urgent missives for the hermit priest in the hills. Desperate for coin, Errol volunteers to deliver them but soon finds himself hunted by deadly assassins. Forced to flee with the priest and a small band of travelers, Errol soon learns he's joined a quest that could change the fate of his kingdom.

Protected for millennia by the heirs of the first king, the kingdom's dynasty is near an end and a new king must be selected. As tension and danger mount, Errol must leave behind his drunkenness and grief, learn to fight, and come to know his God in order to survive a journey to discover his destiny.

Purchase

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Author Patrick W. Carr

1. Patrick Carr was born on an Air Force base in West Germany at the height of the cold war. He has been told this was not his fault. As an Air Force brat, he experienced a change in locale every three years until his father retired to Tennessee. Patrick saw more of the world on his own through a varied and somewhat eclectic education and work history. He graduated from Georgia Tech in 1984 and has worked as a draftsman at a

TAKE MY HEART BLOG TOUR - MARIE HIGGINS, ROMANCE BACK IN THE COLONIAL TIMES + GIVEAWAY

Romance in the 1700’s

The question was brought up—how different was romance back in the Colonial times.  Answer…VERY different.

For those of you who don’t read a lot of historicals or watch historical movies, you’ll be surprised to learn that woman didn’t have a lot of options back then in regards to their life and marriage. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s countries began giving women the right to vote…which is a whole other story which I won’t go into right now. Keep in mind that women had to be chaperoned until they were married. They couldn’t go out anywhere unless a sister, mother, or lady’s companion went with them.

AUTHOR GUEST POST - NATALIE G. OWENS, AN ETERNITY OF ROSES

Natalie G. Owens got her first taste of serious writing by penning award-winning poetry, short stories, and articles for college and local publications. She sold her first book to a small publisher in 2007 and is currently indie published. Her favorite stories to write are romances with a dark edge featuring brooding heroes, strong heroines, and a good dash of fantasy. Today she's my guest to present her new release: An Eternity of Roses. Enjoy her blog post!

I happen to be a big fan of the Highlander series since it first came out. I simply loved Adrian Paul in his role of tortured hero fighting for justice and survival. Who can resist a character like that? 

So one day, I started thinking that there are some amazing series out there in the paranormal/fantasy romance genre, but I couldn't think of a specific one featuring immortals that live under a legal and political system they formed over time. Immortals with their own style of government and their own code of ethics. Basically, a secret society of these special individuals that aims at furthering the interests of its people and the humans they live with. Of course, as with each government, there is opposition—some justified, and some not so much.

SPOTLIGHT ON ... GIORGIA HILL, LOVE'S AS EASY AS ABC

The Book - Love's as Easy as ABC

All Laura wants to do is begin her teaching career and forget her troubled past. After what she’s been through, she wants little to do with men, especially charming but untrustworthy fellow teacher Miles. When his coolly confident older brother is taken on as Deputy Head however, Laura has to reassess who she is and what she really wants. Has she the strength of character to recover her lost confidence - and will she ever find true love with the right man?

If you liked ‘In a Class of His Own’, you’ll love this sort of sequel

Excerpt 

 All surroundings melted away. As if in a dream she watched him walk slowly down the steps towards her. In the distance she could hear the count down to midnight. It was nearly the New Year. Time for a new her. For a new start.

SPOTLIGHT ON ... THE BOON BY EUGENE UTTLEY + GIVEAWAY

In 2006, Eugene Uttley was in his fourth year of teaching English as a Second Language in South Korea. At the end of that year, he experienced late onset schizophrenia. Walking away from a good job, a car, and an apartment full of possessions, he followed his voices and delusions into the streets of Seoul, where he became an illegal alien. A month later, he made it back to the USA, but continued in a psychotic break with reality, untreated, for almost an entire year, traveling coast-to-coast, driven by his disturbed mind. Now, five stable years later, he has written two books about coping with schizophrenia. 
The first is a fairly straightforward memoir, and is currently under consideration for publication by a small press. The second, this book, is more concerned with his recovery and his current thinking about the disorder and what it means to heal psychologically and spiritually and to be whole. Follow Eugene Uttley on a mythological "hero's journey" to another world and back again, and join him as he articulates the prize that he won there -- The  Ultimate Boon.

DEAD RUNNING - DYING TO RUN BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY

Blog Tour Schedule

TOURNAMENT OF CHANCE BLOG TOUR: WRITING IN THE SHADOW OF TOLKIEN - AUTHOR GUEST POST BY S. G. ROGERS

My guest today is S.G. Rogers. Originally from Southern California, she  has lived in Asheville, North Carolina and Laurel, Mississippi. She earned her first black belt in taekwondo from martial arts champion Billy Blanks.  Later on, she earned black belts in taekwondo and hapkido from Master Myung Kim. Currently residing in beautiful Savannah, Georgia, S.G. Rogers writes fantasy and romantic fantasy stories.  She’s owned by two hairless cats, Houdini and Nikita, and lives on an island populated by exotic birds, deer and the occasional gator. Although she’s most often drawn to speculative fiction, she’s been known to break away to write other genres.  Tab is her beverage of choice, but when she imbibes, a cranberry vodka martini doesn’t go amiss.

This post is part of S. G. Roger's  blog tour to launch her latest YA fiction book, A TOURNAMENT OF CHANCE. She's a Tolkien fan and she  decided to share her fondness with us today. Ready to read her post and win a $25 gift card? (see at the end of the post)

KINDLE FIRE HD GIVEAWAY

20 Amazing Authors plus more than 100 of the Best Bloggers have joined together to bring you 1 Amazing Giveaway!

WATCHING TV DRAMA BETWEEN PAST AND PRESENT

I've been watching different stuff, belonging to very different genres . The recent Christmas  holidays have been the occasion to catch up on things I wanted to see but didn't have time to while working or to have a look at movies and series recommended by my blogger/facebook buddies. I'm not writing about all of them and especially not in just one post. Hence, let's see what can be relevant or recommendable. Why not to start with ...

BOOK BLAST - HEART OF THE OCEAN BY HEATHER B. MOORE + GIVEAWAY

Heart of the Ocean
by Heather B. Moore

A dark secret . . . a grieving ghost  . . . a handsome stranger  . . .

What more could Eliza Robinson want?

Except for maybe her life.

In Heather B. Moore’s enthralling 1840’s historical romance, Heart of the Ocean, Eliza Robinson has turned down the very pretentious Mr. Thomas Beesley’s marriage proposal. As a business partner of Eliza’s father, Thomas quickly discredits the family and brings disgrace to the Robinson name.

While her father scrambles to restore his good name in New York City, Eliza flees to the remote Puritan town of Maybrook to stay with her Aunt Maeve. Although relieved to be away from all- things-male and unforgiving gossip columns, odd things start to happen to Eliza, and she is plagued by a ghostly voice. Her aunt’s explanation? That Eliza is being haunted by a woman who died of a broken heart twenty years ago.

BOOK BLAST - GRACIER BY MILISSA BAILEY + GIVEAWAY

Gracier by Milissa R. Bailey

Everyone around her knows. Everyone she trusts has lied. And the one man who held the key to Jessica McCabe’s past is dead.

Welcome to Gracier, Iowa, a well-kept community with even better kept secrets. Lives are peaceful, streets are quiet, but behind the tranquility is many a tale to be told. Veterinarian Jessica McCabe has returned, but it is not the homecoming she had expected. Her grandfather, Jonas McCabe and Gracier’s longtime vet has died, leaving behind the practice they had hoped to share.

The reading of Jonas’ will sets off a series of events that bring into question Jessica’s birthright, the truth surrounding her mother’s untimely death and her grandfather’s sanity. With her world turned upside down she is thrown into a partnership with Matthew Cassidy, the man who chose his family’s wealth over Jessica’s love.

Her determined spirit leads Jessica to stay, continue the veterinarian practice and return to the life and the community she loves. But a secret loft and a box filled with a hidden past change the course of her life once again.

BOOK BLAST - DAISY: BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE + GIVEAWAY

Daisy: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Presidential diarist and author Janis F. Kearney transforms civil rights legend Daisy Gatson Bates’ life from black and white, to living color.  The author, who interviewed Bates many times; recreates her conversations and interviews to “fill in” places left un-filled, and colors incidents and experiences, to bring Daisy Bates to life. Kearney plums the mysterious murder of Bates’ mother, and the orphan’s childhood; the young woman’s prophetic decision to share a traveling salesman’s life; her non-traditional role as co-publisher of an award winning newspaper; and her leadership role at a time, and place where women rarely led.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place is Daisy’s “look back” at her life, and…finally, a self-analysis of how, and possibly, why she became the Daisy Gatson Bates for which she is known throughout the world.  Author Janis F. Kearney recounts the leader’s many friendships, relationships and associations that helps define who she was in the eyes of the world - from Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Clinton; First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt; the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.; Roy Wilson, NAACP President; Thurgood Marshall and Wiley Branton, NAACP attorneys, Maya Angelou and Jackie Robinson… and countless others.

BOOK BLAST: DEAD RUNNING - DYING TO RUN BY CAMI CHECKETTS + GIVEAWAY

Dead Running

Cassidy Christensen is running.

Running from the mercenaries who killed her parents.

Running from a scheming redhead intent on making her life miserable.

Running from painful memories that sabotage her dreams of happiness.

With two very tempting men competing for her attention, she hopes she'll finally have someone to run to, but can she trust either of them? When secrets from her past threaten her family, Cassidy decides to stop running and fight for her future.

Dying to Run

Cassidy Christensen wants to run.

Captured by the traffickers who killed her mother, her only hope is Dr. Tattoo, a man she loves but nobody trusts. When she finally gets a chance to run, someone else she cares about is taken. Running might be her only chance at survival, but she won’t allow another family member to be killed in her place.

This must-read sequel to Dead Running will have you laughing, biting your nails, and hoping for more.

2013 - A YEAR OF ... CHALLENGES! ARE YOU READY?

There will probably be real life challenges for everyone in 2013. Life is made up of a series of trials we must overcome and in such a competitive world those trials may well be considered challenges. However, the challenges I'm inviting you to take part in are quite pleasant events with very little competion in them. You are invited to challenge yourself  to read as many books as you can. Ready to join the fun?

2013 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

This challenge is hosted at Historical Tapestry

Here are the details:

Each month, a new post dedicated to the HF Challenge will be created. To participate, you only have to follow the rules:

• everyone can participate, even those who don't have a blog (you can add your book title and thoughts in the comment section if you wish)
• add the link(s) of your review(s) including your name and book title to the Mister Linky they’ll be adding to their monthly post (please, do not add your blog link, but the correct address that will guide us directly to your review)
• any kind of historical fiction is accepted (HF fantasy, HF young adult,...)

During these following 12 months you can choose one of the different reading levels: 

- 20th century reader - 2 books
- Victorian reader - 5 books
- Renaissance Reader - 10 books
- Medieval - 15 books
- Ancient History - 25+ books

You can tailor the challenge to suit you in whichever way you like! To join the challenge click HERE. It runs from 1 January to 31 December 2013.