ChickLit Pad: Book Review: The Lie by Ashley Fontainne

ChickLit Pad: Book Review: The Lie by Ashley Fontainne: The Lie Blog Tour + Great Giveaway! Award-winning and international bestselling author Ashley Fontainne is taking her new suspense bo...

Book Junkie: Not-So-Anonymous: THE LIE Blog Tour! + A Giveaway!

Book Junkie: Not-So-Anonymous: THE LIE Blog Tour! + A Giveaway!: Award-winning and international bestselling author Ashley Fontainne is taking her new suspense book, The Lie , on tour! Find out all a...

A Spoonful of Happy Endings: Blog Tour & Giveaway: 'The Lie' by Ashley Fontainn...

A Spoonful of Happy Endings: Blog Tour & Giveaway: 'The Lie' by Ashley Fontainn...: Award-winning and international bestselling author Ashley Fontainne is taking her new suspense book, The Lie , on tour! Find out all ...

Gypsy of Spirits FREE October 21-25

Halloween is almost upon us! Get in the ghostly spirit by downloading Gypsy of Spirits: Prequel to So Fell the Sparrow by bestselling author Katie Jennings for FREE on Amazon from October 21-25.

Gypsy of Spirits is the prequel short story to So Fell the Sparrow, a haunted romance coming November 21st, 2013. This short story includes an extended preview of So Fell the Sparrow. While traveling down a lonely highway in the Ozark hills, Jackie Hart stumbles upon the lost spirit of a young woman. A gifted medium, Jackie comforts the spirit while telling the extraordinary tale of her own life. Click HERE to download for FREE! Learn more at www.katieajennings.com  

Stay tuned for November 21st, 2013 for the highly anticipated release of So Fell the Sparrow! Watch the trailer below for a teaser!

Meet Katie Jennings…

International bestselling Author Katie Jennings is the author of seven full length novels, including the popular fantasy series The Dryad Quartet as well as the bestselling family drama series The Vasser Legacy. She lives in sunny Southern California with her husband and cat, who both think she’s the biggest nerd ever. She’s a firm believer in happy endings and loves nothing more than a great romance novel. You can find out more about Katie on her official website, w

Flash Fiction for Turning the Pages - "The Choice"

The wonderful folks over at Turning the Pages provided this spooky prompt below and asked for a flash fiction short for their October's Month of Fun event on Facebook. Never one to back down from a challenge, I wrote The Choice.

The Choice by Ashley Fontainne

Sweat erupted out of every pore even though the temperature was below freezing. My entire body shuddered as the terror arose deep from within. My eyes were frozen upon the choices in front of me. I was unable to blink while I stared at the ramshackle wood over each window. Ancient lumber that concealed the last room my eyes might possibly ever see. They each hung in silence. They waited for me to make my choice and enter my chosen torture chamber. The only sound other than my heavy breathing was the creak of the dilapidated wood under my captor's feet from the rickety porch.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears. My blood tore through my veins—I feared for the last time. The enormity of my situation rendered me immobile, the words to form an answer locked inside my parched throat.  Ten unknown options intended to end my life were in front of me. The horrors prepared in the abandoned farmhouse that each closed window quietly guarded were contrived by the man holding the cold, sharp steel against my throat.

“Time’s up. Choose now or I will. I know what’s behind each door and I doubt you would enjoy the one I pick. But then again, who knows? The house may guide you to the room that will be the least painful and over the quickest.”

Escape was not an option anymore. My muscles were spent from the chase when I fled through the dark woods away from my predator. My escape ended when I tripped and fell into a hole—a trap I knew now had already been set for me—and shattered my right arm and left leg. I knew only seconds of life remained.

How could one small choice to head out to the store and snag a pack of smokes go so awry? A three mile journey that I’d made hundreds of times. But, I was angry at my boyfriend when I climbed behind the wheel, and I didn’t notice when the gas light started to flash.  While I cussed him for his insensitive remark about my new haircut inside the dark confines of my car, I had been shocked when the engine sputtered and died. Left with no choice but to walk the remaining distance on the empty highway to the gas station, my anger kept my mind occupied.

That’s why I never heard the truck. Or the footsteps of my captor behind me.

Until it was too late.

I ran, pumping my arms and legs with adrenaline-infused force. The branches of the winter-dead trees stung as they smashed into my face. I thought I had the advantage of knowing these woods from years of traipsing through them on hunting trips with my Dad and that I could outrun my pursuer.

I had been wrong. Dead wrong.

When I fell into the hole and heard the sickening crunch of my bones, I went into shock and let out a blood-curdling scream into the dark night. I felt the bone protruding from the skin on my arm. The frigid air and the intense pain made moving impossible. The warmth of my blood oozed out of my arm and dripped onto my lap while the sounds of footsteps loomed closer above.

After my faceless enemy yanked me out of my earthen prison, he slung me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Pain so intense I fainted. I had no idea where, or how long, he’d been walking. I didn’t recognize the abandoned house.

The house that was about to engulf me and listen silently as my screams of agony echoed inside its walls.

How I wished I had just stayed home.

Resignation numbed me as I stared at the empty house. The boarded up, windowless eyes watched—emotionless, waiting for my choice. I had to know what brought me to this dreadful end.

“Why?” my voice was strong, unwilling to show my fear.

The tip of the blade caressed my cheek with almost loving strokes, the killer’s breath hot in my ear.

“You were tonight’s meal. Lucky you. Once you are consumed, I’ll hunt for more. The house is always hungry—and it’s my job to feed it.” 

Great Books Great Deals - New Releases: New Release! THE LIE by @AshleyFontainne, a nail-b...

Great Books Great Deals - New Releases: New Release! THE LIE by @AshleyFontainne, a nail-b...: The Lie Ashley Fontainne Karmen Moncrille's name has been known throughout the world since the age of sixteen when her first bo...

The Lie Blog Tour

Yep, The Lie is officially on tour, courtesy of the folks over at BestChickLit!

Check out the information and tour dates below and make sure to stop by all the spots, beginning October 14 and ending November 8.  PLUS at each stop, you have an opportunity to enter to win an eBook copy of The Lie, a signed paperback of the Eviserating the Snake Trilogy and the chance to interview me live on Blog Talk Radio!

Here is the list of tour stops and days:

Stop 1 – 14/10

BestChickLit.com  

Stop 2  - 15/10

After the Final Chapters 

Stop 3  - 16/10

Make My Day Book Club 

Stop 4 – 17/10

Cosmochicklitan 

Stop 5 - 18/10

Comet Babe Books 

Mile Long Bookshelf  

Stop 6  - 21/10

Blue Harvest Creative 

Stop 7 – 24/10

Spoonful of Happy Endings 

Stop 8 - 25/10

Book Junkie 

Stop 9 – 29/10

Chick-Lit Pad 

Charli Other World  

Stop 10 - 01/11

TishyLou’s World 

Stop 11 – 05/11

A Blue Million Books 

Stop 12 – 08/11

Tiffany Talks Books 

Turning The Pages Books : Interview with Ashley Fontainne and Ebook Giveaway...

Turning The Pages Books : Interview with Ashley Fontainne and Ebook Giveaway...: Meet Ashley Fontainne Award-winning and International bestselling author Ashley Fontainne is an avid reader of mostly the classics. As...

Meet Sara Morsey

1. When did the acting bug bite you?

I guess the acting bug bit the first time I went to a theatre, probably at about age 5 or so.  The first time I performed in a play was in first grade. 

2. When and where was your first performance?

I played The Sun in a play about a farm. I studied dance as a kid, so my first professional plays were musicals in which I danced.

3. What drew you to theater?

There was always something special about the physical feel of the theatre, sitting in the dark and watching people in the light perform just for me.  In the dark, it's safe to react however you feel…laugh, cry, scream…I felt at home there, but not exactly comfortable, excited and anxious, but at home.

4. What role was your favorite?

I really don't have a favorite role.  I have had a chance to play so many tremendous women, created by some of the most gifted playwrights. "Amanda" in THE GLASS MENAGERIE by Tennessee Williams, I have played three times.  "Maria Callas" in MASTER CLASS twice.  I just love live theatre and the ephemeral nature of it. Every performance is fresh and new and in the moment and then gone. It's magic to be able to do it well. 

5. What is your dream role?

My dream role is whatever I get to do next. In the present case that will be playing "Ruth" in Donald Margulies' COLLECTED STORIES, a provocative story about a college professor/writer and her relationship with her younger protege.  It has lots to say about life and love and how the life of an artist develops and plays itself out. 

6. Favorite quote?

"All poets look for God, all good poets do, and they have to look harder for him than preachers do since they don't have the help of such famous guidebooks and well organized expeditions as priests have with their scriptures and churches." Tennessee Williams from SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER

7. What made you decide to delve into narrating books?

When I lived in Louisville, KY there was a studio for The Library of Congress "Talking Books" program.  There are only three studios of this kind in the country, or there were then.  I auditioned there and was lucky to be chosen as a narrator. We recorded books for the blind and visually impaired. 

8. As the narrator/producer of audio books, what is your favorite part? Worst?

Of course, my favorite part is reading/narrating the books and finding the voice of the author and the characters. I even enjoy the editing and mastering, but I'm still learning all the time on every part of it. The hardest is waiting to find out if your audition is accepted, if your work is approved by the writer, the rights holder, ACX, waiting, waiting, waiting.  Actors spend a lot of time waiting and hoping.

9. You also are an accomplished painter.  What medium do you use?

I mostly paint in acrylics on wood or canvas, sometimes in oils. 

10. What inspires you?

I am inspired by color and animals and people, faces, shapes….mostly color.  I love color, mixing it on the surface I'm painting and seeing what happens.

11. What advice would you give aspiring artists?

My advice is DO IT.  Whatever calls you, whatever you feel you can't live without: DO IT.

12. If you could travel in time and revisit any point in your life, when would that be?

Yikes, I would not want to relive any point in my life, but I'd like to travel to a time I did not live in maybe. I suppose that's why I love to act. I've always been kind of seduced by Thornton Wilder's idea in OUR TOWN of returning to one day of your life, just as an observer.

13. Describe your perfect vacation.

I don't even have an idea of a perfect vacation, since as an actor your time off is never planned and always fraught with trying to find another job.  Going to Europe for an extended stay would be nice, visiting museums, art galleries, eating different foods.

14. What does your family think about all your creative endeavors?

My family thinks I am odd and live in a sort of dream world.  Since I've never married and have no children, they think I have few responsibilities.  They don't really know what I do and it's hard to explain, so we just leave it at that. Most people believe they are controlling their destiny by having a steady job and so forth, but none of us are really in control.  That's just an illusion. Art is so important to who we are as people.  I feel so blessed to be an artist and to live my life in art. 

And to collaborate with wonderful artists like you, Ashley.

15. Any regrets?

Je ne regrette rien.

Connect with Sara: http://www.saramorsey.com/

Some samples of her amazing artwork:

 I was blessed to connect with Sara as she is narrating the entire Eviscerating the Snake series!

First book is now available on Amazon and Audible