If you participated, are you completely wiped out? Did you post every single day as per the AZ calendar?  I’m co-hosting the challenge on Amlokiblogs, so drop me a comment there if you have something to say about the challenge itself.

On this blog, I’ve been featuring mostly indie-published book excerpts for all of April. I love reading, and supporting author-friends, and this is a good way to do both. Today, for the last letter, Z, I give you a novel of obsessions and humor: Zombie Candy by Frederick Lee Brooke.

Zombie Candy

Elevator Pitch: Weaving elements of mystery, horror and romance in a story that starts in Chicago and ends in a quaint medieval town in Tuscany, Zombie Candy transcends any single genre. Embark on a journey that will tickle your taste buds as it wakes up your funny bone.

Excerpt:

“We don’t have weddings like this in Chicago. The food … the music … the grapes.”

“My uncle’s house is nice,” Giancarlo agrees. “But I am sorry for Lucia. She has married a playboy. I do not think they will be happy.”

“They certainly look happy.”

Giancarlo makes a face. “I should not talk about the details. I know him. I’ve known him all my life, and he will never change. I tried to talk to my cousin, but she is in love and blind. What can we do?”

Giancarlo’s smile, Candace realizes, has a hypnotizing effect. Thank God a fast dance is starting, the Bee Gees. He makes no attempt to bring her back to the table, merely releases his hold on her waist.

“You are a beautiful dancer,” he says when the Bee Gees song ends. The band takes a break. Everyone is leaving the dance floor. Her heart sinks. Somehow she has managed to cling to him for two dances, something no woman before her had managed. Now he will bring her back to her table, his duty done. He will go back to his people.

“Thank you for the lovely dances.”

“Come, let’s get some fresh air. I’ll show you around,” Giancarlo says. And the really amazing thing is he doesn’t let go of her hand.
Buy the book on Amazon.

Frederick Lee Brooke

Born and raised in the Chicago area, Frederick Lee Brooke graduated from Amherst College and studied writing at the University of Montana. He has worked as an English teacher, language school manager and small business owner. Having lived in Germany, France and Switzerland, he has also travelled extensively in Tuscany, the setting of part of Zombie Candy. The first book in the Annie Ogden series, Doing Max Vinyl, appeared in 2011 to wide acclaim.

On this blog, I’ve been featuring mostly indie-published book excerpts for all of April. I love reading, and supporting author-friends, and this is a good way to do both. Today, for Y, I give you Younger by Pamela Redmond Satran.

An exciting piece of news about Younger is that Darren Star of Sex & the City fame has recently optioned it as a potential television series!

Younger, by Pamela Redmond Satran

Elevator Pitch:  A woman in her 40s pretends to be much younger to get a job and a date.

Excerpt:

Maggie wouldn’t let me look in the mirror until she was finished.  She washed my hair and blow-dried it, spent forever working over me with her makeup brush, buckled me into some very extreme underwear, and zipped me into tight jeans.  It was like we were teenagers again, swapping clothes and giving each other makeovers.

            “Okay,” she said, nodding decisively. “I think you’re ready.”

            She propelled me across the loft to the mirror. I swear, at first I didn’t recognize myself.  I actually swiveled to look behind me, thinking somebody else may have wandered into the place when I wasn’t looking.

            Somebody blond.  Somebody hot.  And somebody very, very young.

The doctors are doing their best to make her better, but I also believe in the power of prayer. Please pray she gets well soon.

Today, for Y, I give you a juvenile/christian/ fantasy: Xeno Oaks by Marjorie B. Hill

Xeno Oaks

Elevator Pitch: Separated from her family after the death of her mother, Molly struggles with life’s questions and finds the answers in the most unexpected places.

Excerpt:

“Molly!”

Today, for W, I give you a suspense-thriller: Wishbone by Brooklyn Hudson.

WISHBONE

Elevator Pitch: A Manhattan power couple survive a tragedy and attempt a fresh start only to be plagued by unexplained and disastrous occurrences…be careful what you wish for.

Excerpt:

Rachael felt lightheaded, working quickly with one free arm; the other still balancing her confused and curious 18 month old. Using her daughter as bait, she knew she would have only seconds before the baby began to wail. She turned away and rushed for the coop door. She pressed her back up against the wall hiding just beside it. The baby whimpered as Rachael created distance between them. The whimper became a whine, and then an explosive cry.

Are you a suspense fan? Would you buy this book?

Today, for V, I give you a paranormal thriller: Visions by Laura Anile.

Visions by Laura Anile

Elevator Pitch: When Isabel begins to experience premonitions of strangers in potentially life-threatening situations, she must decide what she is willing to do – and sacrifice – in order to save the people in her visions. It is only when her life spins out of control that she is able to take chances that she never thought possible – including opening her heart to love.

Excerpt: The young girl began screaming; a scream that made your blood run cold. Her mother instantly tried to placate her, eventually smothering her mouth when those attempts failed. That only intensified the screaming, agitating the girl more.

The gunman flew into a rage, demanding the girl be silenced before he silenced her. His hand twitched in fury. Could he honestly harm a child? I wondered, as fear crashed over me. The interminable screaming shrilled through the bank as the girl thrashed in her mother’s arms. My skin tingled, the air electrified with trepidation.

The gunman pointed the weapon directly at the child, narrowing his eyes. A growl erupted from his throat as his feeble control shattered and his finger pulled back the trigger.

There was no time left to decide, to think. There was only time to act. Instinctively, I jumped in front of the young girl as I heard the deafening crack of the gun being fired.

I jumped so violently that I awoke, drenched in sweat.

Are you a suspense fan? Would you buy this book?

Today, for U, I give you an unusual horror novel: 100 Unfortunate Days by Penelope Crowe. According to Penelope, it is “a daily account of the inner thoughts and musings of a woman with a very different and possibly mad point of view.  It is written in diary form, and each day depicts her thoughts—some are dreams, some gripes, some opinions and some rants”.

100 Unfortunate Days by Penelope Crowe

Elevator Pitch: Warning: This book might not be for you.

It is dark, creepy, and written like a diary. Not for the faint of heart.

If you stumbled upon the diary of a stranger you might be compelled to read. If you stumbled upon the diary of a madwoman–how could you turn away?

Excerpt:

Day 23

Once there was a little girl. She went into her grandmother’s special cabinet and took out all the scarves. Some were bright pink with gold coins sewn to them, some were square and some were rectangular, one had the bright eyes of many foxes, but all were silk. She knew the scarves were magic, and she brought them outside with a basket of clothes pins. She hung the scarves on the weeping willow tree in the back yard all around the low-hanging outside branches, and formed a beautiful house with windows and a big door that opened and closed.

As she clipped the last pin to the last scarf the house filled with gold furniture, and the fox jumped off the scarf and became her pet. She could hear music in her head and could light fire with her fingertips. She looked up into the night sky and she knew how old the stars were. Her eyes were the clear green of the ocean and she did not have to blink. She knew all the languages of the world, and as she lay on the ground the earth swallowed her. It held her as she slept and in the morning she left her scarf house with the fox and went in to the woods. She took her pocket knife and carved her name in a tree that grew the wood that would someday form her coffin. She cut her hand on the knife and her blood dropped on the ground.

A crow flew down from the sky and landed at her feet near the blood. “Go home,” it said and flew away. She followed a trail of poisonous mushrooms deeper into the woods and fell to her knees at the sight of the moon in the distance. She closed her eyes and went home to her silk house. Her parents missed her very much, and her grandmother was not even mad anymore that she played with her scarves without asking. But she did not know this, and she did not miss them. She cut the lemon tart that was her breakfast and picked raspberries from the bush next to the weeping willow tree. One day she missed her parents and she went home, but they did not know her…she was not a little girl any more.

Day 33

There are days when I can find nothing good in the world and I hate everyone.

Day 34

I may have the ability to kill people or things with my thoughts. I think I’ve done it several times.

Buy the book on Amazon

Are you a horror fan? Would you buy this book?

Today, for T, I give you an illustrated scifi novella: The Festival on Lyris Five by Nick Daws. The story by UK author Nick Daws is beautifully complemented by Louise Tolentino’s wry illustrations.

Elevator Pitch:Down-on-his-luck pilot Rick Barrett and his beautiful mind-reading companion Julie are heading for the semi-mythical Festival on Lyris Five. But will they find the riches they expect there, or something else entirely?

Excerpt: ‘Hu-man…I would like words with you, hu-man.’

The voice had a pronounced Thrang’I accent. I turned from glum contemplation of my fifth – or maybe sixth – Norton’s Mindwarp of the night to confront its owner. Even in my befuddled state, through the purplish fug of the Martian Arms, I could tell he was displeased. He waved an arm in my face, and I watched in fascination as muscles like boa constrictors rippled under his green skin.
‘I was just on my way out – perhaps we could leave this till tomorrow?’
Two more arms flailed threateningly. ‘Hu-man…I want words with you now.’
‘Oh, very well.’ I smiled engagingly. ‘Can I get you a drink?’

 It’s difficult to read expression on a face that looks like a rotting cauliflower, but I assumed from the fact that I had been forced into a chair and had ten photosynthetic fingers tightening around my throat that my offer had been declined.

Buy the book on Amazon US and UK.

I ‘m not a scifi person, but I read the occasional novel.  Are you a scifi fan? Would you buy this book?

Today, for S, I give you a sweet historical romance: Sky Tinted Water by Keta Diablo, where familial bonds, malevolent schemes, and passion collide.

Sky Tinted Water

Elevator Pitch: Set in Minnesota during the Civil War and the Sioux uprising, this is the story of Rory Hudson, the exquisite Irish lass with an unbreakable spirit and the enigmatic Dawson Finch, a man bound by honor, duty and loyalty. When Dawson enlists in the army to bring peace to a nation divided, Rory’s world plummets into a tailspin.

Excerpt: Looking over her shoulder, Rory blew a sigh of relief. Minx had paused to nibble on a sprig of grass bursting through the forest floor. The foal would act skittish if danger lurked. She relaxed in the saddle and journeyed on . . . until Charmer’s ears flattened against her head. Had she heard a foreign noise or were her muscles preparing for an attack from pesky flies?

I’m not a romance fan, but pick the occasional one when I need a light read. I love historical novels, though, so I might give this a try. Are you a fan of historical romance? Have you read any books by Keta Diablo?