Friday, February 26, 2021

February 26 is Fairy Tale Day

And what better fairy tale 

than to meet the rock star 

who is the heart-throb of 

millions of teenaged girls?


To get a second chance at love 

with this Rock Star.


Digital format of
The Rock Star
is only 99 cents!

Also available in print.

EXCERPT from

The Rock Star


Spotlights flashed in rainbows across the stage. Red. Green. Blue. Crisscrossing until they merged into one white-hot light on Geoff Chastain's face, evoking memories of other times. The screams of thousands of teenaged girls washed through his memory as he pulled the microphone from its stand.


The first notes of his daughter's favorite song filled the auditorium and his breath caught, jagged, in his chest. Pain pulsed through Geoff's heart with each beat of the drum. He nearly dropped to his knees, longing to crawl back into the self-imposed exile where he had existed since his daughter died.


The faces of the kids in wheelchairs looked up at him with bright expectation. The whispers of the singers waiting in the stage wings curled around him in concern.


Daddy, promise you won't let the music die. His daughter's last request haunted Geoff. He never suspected life would become so desolate he would forget to eat and sleep, let alone lose touch with the music that had always flowed so easily from his soul.


A singer moved from the wings to stand beside him. Her presence drifted around him in silent encouragement. Her sweet contralto coaxed him to sing with her.


Focus, he ordered his brain, staring at the woman. Waves of auburn hair framed her face, then tumbled halfway down a lush body barely covered in spandex and sequins. A woman designed to stir a man to action.


Geoff's voice rasped with disuse on the first verse; the woman's harmony covered it. As he started the second verse, an image of his daughter swam before his eyes and Geoff's throat closed. The woman picked up the melody without missing a beat, as if they had planned this duet.


He grasped at her hand and drew a deep breath. Her soft scent filled his nostrils, drawing his attention away from the pain. Giving him the strength to dig deep inside where the music had lain in silent mourning.


Geoff's voice mingled with hers on the chorus, then soared as he soloed the third verse. Their voices chased each other through the final refrain, then their eyes met and held on the last triumphant note. Awed silence hung for a moment before applause erupted and the crowd was in motion.


A sea of well-wishers swarmed onto the stage. Not the frenzied near-riots of years ago, but the exuberant cheer of celebration. Smiles and congratulations wrapped warmly around Geoff as men pumped his hand and women kissed his cheek.


But the mysterious auburn-haired woman who saved his musical butt had disappeared.


Copyright Genie Gabriel


You can read excerpts from all of my books

on my web site:

www.GenieGabriel.com

 


Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Another piece of the puzzle...

 


As mentioned in my previous post on Puzzle Day, January 29, 2021, my love of puzzles emerged in Bernie's Legacy, my romantic suspense books. 


This series of ten books solves a piece of the puzzle in each book. However, the question posed in the first book, "Why did you do it?"--and whodunnit--is not resolved until the tenth book in the series. 


Here's another piece of the puzzle from PICTURE PERFECT LEGACY: who is the drug dealer and what is his connection with "whodunnit"?


I hope you have fun "puzzling out" the pieces of this series. 


Digital versions of the books

in the Bernie's Legacy series

are on sale for 

just 99 cents each!


You can read EXCERPTS

of all my books at:

www.GenieGabriel.com



Thursday, February 11, 2021

Happy Inventors' Day, Uncle Horace!

AUNT MADDIE'S DOGGONE MISADVENTURES


Aunt Maddie may be the Spunky Old Broad

of the Doggone Misadventures series, 

but Uncle Horace is the absent-minded, 

lovable genius whose inventions don't always work 

the way he intended...


ebook just 99 cents!
short excerpt from CHASING RAINBOWS:


    Ka-boom! The blast shattered the settling peace of dusk as Marissa Madison pulled into the circular drive. Rissa threw open the car door and sprinted toward the gray stone house. 

    “Please, no blood this time,” she whispered as her feet hit the rough-hewn steps leading up to the broad double doors. 

    A bespectacled man stepped through the doorway amid a confetti shower of envelopes and leaflets. His silvery hair stood in startled spikes around a balding pate as if it too had been a victim of the explosion. 

    “Too much torque in the mail conveyor,” he muttered with a frown. 


*****************

ebook just 99 cents!
Excerpt from ST. BATZY & THE TIME MACHINE:

    Horace Ainsworth patted the side of the giant red fire hydrant towering two stories above him then addressed the terrier mix dog staring at him curiously. “It’s finished. Now don’t you dig in my Maddie’s roses any more or potty on the pansies.” 

    Batzy stared at Horace’s retreating back for a moment before he hiked his leg on the nearest flowering plant. 

    Then he turned his attention to the odd-looking structure the Big Human had erected. Not like any fire hydrant he’d ever sniffed. A canine would have to be the size of King Kong to give this thing a proper marking. 

***

    “We need to build a time machine to rescue Maddie before the hijacking actually happens.” 

    Clement slipped his thumbs under his suspenders and rocked from the balls of his feet to his heels. “Interesting concept. Though some of my colleagues say there’s a failsafe mechanism to prevent time travelers from changing what’s already happened.” 

    “I’m going to prove your colleagues wrong.” Horace pushed past his cousin toward the fabrication lab. “We need to make some modifications to the probe to turn it into a time machine.” 

    “You’ll need an entire redesign if you want enough room for humans.” 

    “Or something that’s big enough to be retrofitted with a nuclear reactor.” Mentally, Horace went through the structures on their property that could be quickly modified to carry a human time traveler. “The giant fire hydrant!” 

***

    On the monitors Horace watched the giant fire hydrant. On the outside it looked much the same as it had when Horace set it up for the dog next door. However, the monitors showing the inside of the hydrant revealed major changes. Living quarters for human time travelers were contained on the second floor of the hydrant. On the ground floor a mini-nuclear reactor had been installed. A semi-circle around it contained a bank of monitors and control panels linked to the computer that controlled the time machine and contained a calendar program to calculate the day, month and year where the time machine had traveled. 



*****************
ebook just 99 cents!
Excerpt from NO MORE POODLE SKIRTS:


    Today, Uncle Horace revealed one of them [the mysterious inventions he was working on]. He headed straight toward Father Jacobs, who was wearing his Superhawk costume. “Ah, you’re here to help me test the jet-pack.” 

    “I’m what?” Father Jacobs seemed baffled. 

    “You’re the test pilot for my jet-pack. You want to fly, don’t you?” 

    Father Jacobs hesitated, glanced at the wings of his costume, then nodded. 

    “Here you go.” Horace handed him what looked like a double diving tank with criss-cross straps that formed a seat and extended over the shoulders. “Step into the seat, then adjust the shoulder straps.” 

    “How do I control it?” 

    “The buttons on the waist strap. Ignition to start, hover to hover--” Horace grinned. “And jet power gives a burst of speed upward.” 

    “And what button makes it land?” 

    “Haven’t quite figured that out yet...” Horace meandered off, muttering to himself. 

    The kids were eager to help Father Jacobs put on the jet-pack. After he was securely strapped in, he said, “Okay, back away now.” 

    As the children moved back, the priest pressed the ignition button. The jet-pack rumbled to life, and a grin spread across Father Jacobs’ face. 

    He pressed the hover button, but the device simply hummed. With a slight frown, he briefly closed his eyes and made the sign of the cross, then pushed the jet power button. 

    The good Father shot upward. 

    “Spread your wings and fly!” His audience on the ground shouted. In response, Father Jacobs began flailing his arms. 


*****************
ebook just 99 cents!

    “What are you working on, Uncle Horace?” 

    The older man looked up at Dori and smiled. “Just testing the drone controls of the flying car. Perhaps my Maddie won’t have so many crumpled vehicles if she doesn’t have to worry about driving. What do you have in the box, child?” 

    Dori gently set the box on the workbench. One at a time, Uncle Horace removed the silvery pieces and laid them out in front of him. 

    “It’s a dog!” Dori exclaimed. 

    Uncle Horace nodded. “I made two of them—one for Ryan and one for Rissa—when they were six years old. Rissa carried hers around and treated it like a real dog—feeding it, wrapping it in a blanket and tucking it into bed beside her. We repurposed Rissa’s into an exhaust tracking dog, but Ryan’s disappeared when he took it to school for Show and Tell. He wouldn’t tell us what happened to it. Where did you find this?” 



*****************
ebook just 99 cents!
Excerpt from Street Dog Dreams:


    The spacecraft whooshed to a halt inside the fortress walls atop the hill at the dogdom. While Dr. Alek hurried away with the box of puppies, the pilot named Charlie briefed those on board about what to expect. 

    “When you disembark from this transport craft, you’ll go to the showers before eating–” 

    As whimpers of protest began, Charlie raised his voice. “Orders of the Canine Queen. Clean up or you don’t eat. Enjoy your new accommodations, my friends.” 

    The smell of food hurried the process of showers: wet down, shampoo, rinse, blow dry. Well, kind of. Little Pal tried to hide under Big Dog to avoid getting wet, but water sprayed up from underneath them also. 

    “Whoa!” Little Pal jumped, bumping against Big Dog’s belly, who side-stepped and exposed Little Pal to a full drenching. He scrunched his eyes closed and hoped this would be fast. 

    When the shampoo squirted from all sides, Little Pal wrinkled his nose. He was going to smell like a girl! He just started into a full-body shake when the rinse water drenched him again. 

    This time Little Pal managed to shake his entire body, spraying water in all directions. Perfect timing as the next instant giant blow dryers came on, sweeping his hair back as it dried like a model’s windswept hairdo. 

    Little Pal emerged from the dog wash with his eyes wide open in amazement, an expression reflected by many of the other dogs. He took refuge under Big Dog’s belly again, glad that experience was over. 


You can read excerpts from all my books

on my web site:

www.GenieGabriel.com




Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Thursday, February 4, 2021

REMEMBER TO ENTER!

 



24 AUTHORS!
MULTIPLE GENRES!

You can enter every day AND
earn additional entry points
by sharing with your friends.

Want to read excerpts from my books?
Check out the books page on my web site:

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Another chance to win!

 

You could win a Kindle Reader AND 
gain access to more free and discounted ebooks!

My sponsored book is
STORIES FROM THE HEART, 
which includes my story,
CHASING RAINBOWS.

Click here to read an EXCERPT
or here to BUY a digital copy
for just 99 cents!
Also available in print.

You can find out more about my books
on my website:



Monday, February 1, 2021

Aunt Maddie is a Spunky Old Broad

 

Spunky Old Broads Day was originated by Dr. Gayle Carson. Among her many accomplishments, she is author of "How to Be an S.O.B--A Spunky Old Broad Who Kicks Butt."

Holiday Insights says, an S.O.B. "... should be ... successful, independent, self-reliant, smart, intelligent, outgoing and out-spoken, resourceful, bold, brave, and anything but shy."


When I read this description, I immediately thought of Aunt Maddie and her Doggone Misadventures series. Check out the following excerpts from books in this series and see if you don't agree.


from CHASING RAINBOWS

(Digital version just 99 cents!)

Madelaine shook her head. Wouldn’t it figure she would get kidnapped by two bozos who didn’t know what they were doing. “Untie me.” 


from ST. BATZY & THE TIME MACHINE

(Digital version just 99 cents!)

...the hijacker’s shrill whine added fresh pain to Maddie’s headache. She cuffed him alongside the head and wrenched the gun out of his hand. “You are a rude little man and I’m tired of your behavior.” 


from NO MORE POODLE SKIRTS

(FREE with newsletter sign-up OR

Digital version just 99 cents!)

Maddie glared at him as he struggled to a sit. “Your friends struck again. Painted all over the mural. Now you are going to show me where your friends hang out. Or I will tell your mother not only do you not party all night, but you’re helping a priest with his good work.”


from CHRISTMAS PAWSIBILITIES: An SOB of the canine variety

(Digital version just 99 cents!)

    Though obviously exhausted from giving birth, the Queen was determined to continue her duties as ruler. “I would ask that no one announce these births.”

    “But, Your Majesty, there is always a planet-wide celebration with the birth of royal canines.” The alien named Buddy knelt on one knee beside the Canine Queen.

    “We no longer have a home planet, and we are in danger here. Our entire way of life depends on keeping these babies safe. We must hide them–away from all that is familiar if necessary.”

    “Perhaps hiding them in plain sight, Your Majesty,” Maddie said.

    “How is that possible?” The Queen looked at Maddie.

    “Here on Earth, canines are generally not treated with the respect of royalty. They may serve as beloved companions to humans, but most humans aren’t even able to communicate with their canines.”

    The Queen frowned. “How barbaric.”

    “I agree,” Maddie said. “However, we can use that to our advantage. You and your babies are welcome to stay in our castle. You will be treated as royalty by our family, but if any strangers

come around, they will see you simply as our animal companions. I apologize for any disrespect in this situation, but this ignorance of most humans pretty much guarantees the safety of you and your

babies.”

    “Your majesty, this is most disrespectful–“ one of the aliens started to protest, but the Queen cut him off.

    “Madelaine is very wise. We accept your kind offer and I would be most grateful to have somewhere to rest with my babies.”


from STREET DOG DREAMS--more than one spunky old woman!

(Digital version just 99 cents!)

    Maddie sipped her coffee, wondering if she should tell these women the rest of their plans. She glanced at Ilaria, a question in her eyes. If Ilaria trusted these women, Maddie would also.

    Ilaria nodded slightly. “Tell my friends about the secret missions.”

    “We are working on clearing the streets of randagi,” Maddie said.

    “All stray dogs off the streets?”

    “Yes.” Maddie sipped her coffee again and watched the others absorb this news.

    Finally one of the women spoke. “That’s thousands of dogs. Where would you find room for all of them?”

    “And food? And veterinary care?”

    “All part of our mission,” Maddie said. “If you want to be involved, there may be some risks. The pay-off will be an almost free house and food for a year’s commitment, as well as the satisfaction of saving the street dogs.”


Excerpts from all books copyright Genie Gabriel.


You can read excerpts from all my books at my web site:

www.geniegabriel.com