January 2018 ~ Nighttime Reading Center

January 26, 2018

Interviews Around the Globe With Mark JG Fahey

Let welcome to our latest and newest member to our list of authors. Let welcome Mark JG Fahey to Nighttime Reading Center. He here on a book tour. He is stopping by here on January 26, 2018. I work with +Laura Fabiani iRead Book Tours and I happy learn about her book and giveaway.

I got the chance to read his book "Halley's Casino". I enjoy the book. I would suggest that you read my review for "Halley's Casino". You got a chance to win a - Prizes: Win a copy of Halley’s Casino by Mark JG Fahey (open to USA and CAN / choice of print or ebook) 5 winners total (ends Feb 3). Enter his giveaway Halley's Casino.

Let read his Bio and then go to his interview. #Interviews, #Interviewsaroundtheglobe, #NRC, #Giveaways, #bookreview, #HalleysCasino, #MarkJGFahey, #giveaway, #cyber, @jg_fahey, @iReadBookTours

Author Heather Siegel at Nighttime Reading Center

Mark JG Fahey is not an alien, contrary to what you may have heard, though he swears he has been to space. Mark has dabbled in various undertakings throughout his illustrious career, from on-air hosting/reporter/stand-up comic to messenger for the Prime Minister of Canada. Mark also holds a degree in Restaurant Services. His family and friends can attest to his excellent cooking skills. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Mark was raised and still resides in Aylmer, Quebec, Canada. Halley's Casino is the first book in the Halley's Casino trilogy.

Connect with the Author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram

Nighttime Reading Center Interview, Author Interview

Describe your book in 20 words or less

Fun and witty!

Where or how did you come up with the idea for your story?

Always had a love for Halley's Comet, it sprang and grew from there.

How important are names to you in your book(s)?

VERY! One is named after my Mom's nickname (thanks Mom) she got a kick out of that

Without giving to much away.

A semordnilap (itself a semordnilap of “palindromes”) makes a completely different word

when spelled backwards ( spoilers)

Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning?

Yes. Example the lead character's name is Nebula (Neb) Yorker based on New York.

Do you use any resources in assisting you to choose the names?

Yes ( more spoilers)

Which of your characters (in this book) is your favorite and Why?

John Lennon. If I told you it would ruin it for you :-) (dam spoilers)

Was there a certain scene in this book that was harder for you to write than others?

Not really it was just making sure all the threads connected.

If you could cast your characters in the Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play your characters?

Wow I have thought of that, really hard to say.

Perhaps...

Andrew Garfield as Nebula Yorker ?

Derek Jacobi as Archibald Tict ?

Angela Bassett as TeeceeFore ?

What was your favorite part to write and why?

Time traveling back to ancient Rome. Just love ancient Rome!

Just as your book(s) inspire authors, what authors have inspired you to write?

To many to name but Douglas Adams comes to mind, Timothy Findlay, Neil Peart to name a few.

What writing advice do you have for other aspiring authors?

Don't give up. Write for YOU and not for any fame or fortune

Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad?

Yes good or bad. Have not respond to any good or bad, though the good thus far outweighs the bad.

Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?

LOL Just let it fall of like water and get on with it.

What are you working on now?

Working on the 3rd book of the Halley's Casino trilogy Return Trip - Halley's casino III

Marine - Halley's Casino II is also now available planet wide.

What is your next project?

I have 3 other projects mapped out though not in the Sci fi gendered but sci fi

is never that far far away... :-)

Nighttime Reading Center Book Tour Badge

1:00 AM By Lindz No comments Edit This

Book Tour: Halley's Casino: The Adventures of Nebula Yorker

Book Title: Halley's Casino: The Adventures of Nebula Yorker
Author: Mark J.G. Fahey
Genres: Science Fiction, Time Travel
Series: Halley's Casino #1
Publisher: Mark JG Fahey
Publish Date: 2016-01-25 (308 Pages, Paperback)
Disclaimer: I recieved this book from +Laura Fabiani iRead Book Tours for a book Tour. I give my honest review for a free copy of the book. Thanks to author and publisher.
Author Interview: Mark JG Fahey
Description: Halley's Casino is set in 1986. 26-year old Nebula Yorker (Neb to his friends), is patiently awaiting the return of Halley's Comet. He is about to discover that the world is not what it seems.

Upon the arrival of Halley's Comet, Neb is confronted by a mysterious stranger who literally swoops out of the night sky. What happens next will change the course of Neb's life and that of all he befriends.

This stranger (Mr. Tict) reveals to Neb that Halley's is not a comet at all, but an Intergalactic Casino that has been posing as a comet for countless years. Mr. Tict is the Concierge of the Casino and he has come back to Earth to recruit Neb as his assistant.

What happens next is an eye-opening experience for young Neb that no one on Earth can imagine. It can only be explained by watching old Star Trek reruns, while eating cheese sandwiches and drinking hot chocolate. From androids with attitude to a vast assortment of alien beings and historic individuals, with a touch of time travel from ancient Babylon to 1757 London and back to Rome of 12 BCE, Neb soon learns that his past, present and future have always lain in the stars above.

It's a rock and roll ride chock full of chaos, a formidable nemesis, drama, satire, humour, death and new beginnings, with revelations that Neb never saw coming.

Even John Lennon is amused!

Starting out on a quiet evening of star gazing, Nebula Yorker finds himself caught up in the most extraordinary time travel and planet saving adventure of a lifetime.

And that's only the beginning of what is to come.

Buy the Book:
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Halley’s Casino is a good action and adventure book. It got some historical fiction with science fiction with the time travel. I liked it. It kept you guessing and entertained. I loved the fact that you get to time travel by going back though earth history.

The author does a wonderful job. I like that Nebula Yorker is the problem solver. Is Halley a Comet or is it an Intergalactic Casino? We see what Rome looks like at 12 BCE? Who is Nebula Parents? You find all kinds of surprises and twists along the way. I enjoyed the plot.

Will Neb save earth or will not? It adventures of a lifetime. Find out by reading. This book has a few stories and adventures waiting from beginning to end. Is the world as we see it or his it something we never imagined?

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Meet the Author:

Mark JG Fahey is not an alien, contrary to what you may have heard, though he swears he has been to space. Mark has dabbled in various undertakings throughout his illustrious career, from on-air hosting/reporter/stand-up comic to messenger for the Prime Minister of Canada. Mark also holds a degree in Restaurant Services. His family and friends can attest to his excellent cooking skills. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Mark was raised and still resides in Aylmer, Quebec, Canada. Halley's Casino is the first book in the Halley's Casino trilogy.

Connect with the Author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram

January 25, 2018

4:04 AM By Lindz No comments Edit This

Review: Too Rich For a Bride

Book Title: Too Rich For a Bride
Author: Mona Hodgson
Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Historical Romance, Christian, Christian Fiction, Western
Series: The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek (#2)
Publisher: WaterBrook Press
Publish Date: May 3rd 2011 (320 Page, Paperback)
Disclaimer: I received this book free from the author for doing a survey. My review as no opinion from her or my honesty thoughts. They are my own.
Description: With a head more suited to bookkeeping than a bridal veil, Ida’s dreams include big business- not beaus. Ida Sinclair has joined her sisters, Kat and Nell, in the untamed mining town of Cripple Creek, Colorado for one reason: to work for the infamous but undeniably successful businesswoman, Mollie O’Bryan. Ida’s sisters may be interested in making a match for their determined older sister, but Ida only wants to build her career.Under Mollie's tutelage, Ida learns how to play the stock market and revels in her promising accomplishments. Fighting for respect in a man's world, her ambition leaves little room for distractions. She ignores her family's reservations about Mollie O'Bryan's business practices, but no matter how she tries, she can't ignore the two men pursuing her affections—Colin Wagner, the dashing lawyer, and Tucker Raines, the traveling preacher.Ida wants a career more than anything else, so she shrugs off the suitors and pointed “suggestions” that young ladies don’t belong in business. Will it take unexpected love—or unexpected danger—for Ida to realize where her priorities truly lie?

Ida Sinclair is headed to Cripple Creek. She must first graduate from Business school. There someone that tries and mess that up with her. Her professor see her skills and is intruding and asks Ida to meet him at his office to chat after she done with her duties.

Ida just want a job in the business world? Will she get it in New York or will she go to Cripple Creek? That her plan to go to Cripple Creek to be with her sisters Nell and Kat along. Her father want he to. Her little sister Vivian is to join them the next summer.

Tucker Raines is asked to come to Cripple Creek by his mother. He arrives a day or so before Ida Sinclair. He left his sister to come help out. He finds out his father is ill and he got to take over the family business “The Raines Ice Company”. Tucker finds that having his mother and father stay in Colorado Springs so that his father can stay at the hospital is the best option and care.

Tucker finds out what the real reason and his father is in debt. How will Tucker pull his family business out of debt but also pay for his sister Willow care as well. Tucker runs into Ida Sinclair for the first time at the depot with his mother and father.

There are surprises as you turn the pages. What will happen to Tucker and Ida? Mona get you hooked and you can't be let go. You also learn about the Cripple Creek around that time period in history.

January 24, 2018

10:15 PM By Lindz No comments Edit This

When the Morning Comes

Book Title: When the Morning Comes
Author: Cindy Woodsmall
Genres: Adult Fiction, Romance, Adult, Religion, Christian, Womens Fiction, Chick Lit, Inspirational, Christian Fiction, Christian Romance, Amish Fiction
Series: Sisters of the Quilt (#2)
Publisher: WaterBrook Press
Publish Date: September 4, 2007 (322 Pages, Paperback)
Disclaimer: I got this book from the Library I believe for me to read and this is my honest review
Description: Her relationship with fiancé Paul Waddell in tatters, Hannah Lapp has fled her secluded Old Order Amish community in hopes of finding a new home in Ohio with her shunned aunt. Hampered by limited education and hiding her true identity, Hannah struggles to navigate the confusing world of the Englischers. Back in Owl’s Perch, Pennsylvania, Paul is wracked with regret over his treatment of Hannah. Fearing for her safety, he tries to convince Hannah’s remaining allies–brother Luke, best friend Mary, and loyal Matthew Esh–to help search for his love. Hannah’s father, however, remains steadfastly convinced of her sinful behavior. His blindness to his family’s pain extends to her sister, Sarah, who shows signs of increasing instability. Convinced her former life is irreparably destroyed, Hannah finds purpose and solace in life with her aunt and in a growing friendship with Englischer Martin Palmer. Will the countless opportunities in her new life persuade Hannah that her place is amongst the Englischers— or will she give in to her heart’s call to return home and face her past? When the Morning Comes is book two in the Sisters of the Quilt series.

When the Morning Comes is about a young girl in her Amish community. I can't remember the details of the story. I will give you what i can remember about it. I know it about Hannah Lapp. Does get what she wants or does she not.

She stays with her aunt for bit and ponders about going to live the englisher. It the Amish term for outsiders. Will she goes back with her fiance and her family she left behind. Doe her fiance love her or not? You would need to read the book to find out. I know it a sweet story.

You learn about how the Amish live and her why of life. I am fascinated by it myself, so that is why I enjoy reading book about the Amish and Amish fiction. Cindy Woodsmall does wonders for her books. She also does a good job with this one as well. It just been years since i read the book that I honestly can't remember much.

6:57 PM By Lindz No comments Edit This

One Christmas in Winter

Book Title: One Christmas in Winter
Author: Bell Renshaw
Genres: Romance, Holiday, Christmas, Fiction, Christian Fiction,
Series: Winter Montana
Publisher: Pine Mountain Publishing
Publish Date: November 30th 2017 (163 Pages, E-book)
Disclaimer: I received this a copy of this book free from the author for an honesty review and for being on her street team.
Description: Reba Farwell is finally getting a chance to live out her dreams. Sent to Winter, Montana to direct filming for a crucial, on-location shoot, she knows the next two weeks will make or break her career. And she could definitely use a break. As if that isn’t enough, she’s got a secret that none of her crew knows. All she’s asking for is two weeks of small town, Christmas beauty and a little bit of on-camera sizzle.Five years ago, Hoyt Bradley’s heart and future shattered in one fell swoop that landed him back in Winter. Thankfully, making lemonade—or his father’s famous lemon meringue pie— out of lemons is what he does best. Running Bentley’s Diner has filled the gaps left in the wake of his heartbreak, even if it hasn’t healed him completely. Not wanting to relive memories of his rocky start in the film industry, Hoyt does his best to steer clear of the dreaded film crew, but Winter has a way of bringing people together.After one fateful delivery and a score of icy bad luck, Reba finds herself in a bind and at the mercy of what Winter can offer. Will she pull the film together in time to salvage her name as a director? Or will the sparks flying off-camera create more of a distraction than she knows how to handle? Come visit Winter, Montana in this Christmas Novella where the Christmas lights are always on and the snow falls most frequently when loved ones share a kiss.

One Christmas in Winter appear about a girl and her dream to want to director of holiday films. Will she get her dream job. There appear problems though out with her cast. When her led man falls it put her in a spot, that she got to find a stand in for him.

Holt Bradley has his own dream. He walked away from it and Hollywood for a reason. He has come back to his hometown where his father owns a diner and once his father passes Holt is owner and run the place. Things get a bit confusion when he delivers Chinese food to the movie crew that come to winter to film on location.

What on from there is anyone guess. Will Holt and director be the stars or the holiday film or will it be a repeat of the past. Find out by reading the story to see. This book and story is centered around the holiday season of Christmas. Looking for the spirit of Christmas and it magic. This one will not disappoint.

The author does well with having take place in Winter, Montana. The title says it all. Will Christmas bring true love together or will it just be another Christmas in Winter, Montana.

January 23, 2018

12:00 AM By Lindz No comments Edit This

Book Tour: Searching for Gertrude

Historical Fiction, Historical Romance

Date Published: January 22, 2018

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While growing up in Germany in the 1930s, Rudolf falls in love with the girl next door, Gertrude. He doesn’t care what religion Gertrude practices but the Nazis do. When the first antisemitic laws are enacted by the Nazi government, Gertrude’s father loses his job at the local university. Unable to find employment in Germany, he accepts a position at Istanbul University and moves the family to Turkey. Rudolf, desperate to follow Gertrude, takes a position working at the consulate in Istanbul with the very government which caused her exile. With Rudolf finally living in the same city as Gertrude, their reunion should be inevitable, but he can’t find her. During his search for Gertrude, he stumbles upon Rosalyn, an American Jew working as a nanny in the city. Upon hearing his heartbreaking story, she immediately agrees to help him search for his lost love. Willing to do anything in their search for Gertrude, they agree to work for a British intelligence officer who promises his assistance, but his demands endanger Rudolf and Rosalyn. As the danger increases and the search for Gertrude stretches on, Rudolf and Rosalyn grow close, but Rudolf gave his heart away long ago.

How far would you go to find the woman you love?

Searching for Gertrude take you on a hunt to find a girl of a young man love. Will he find this true love he lost. The young man is German and he has some issues with his government.

We learn about the laws that are going down in Germany at the beginning of Hitler Resign. The Nazi believed that Germans were not allowed to marry Jews. Will Rulfoff find this love or will Rudolf get his answers by searching for the girl he fell in love with when he was young. Things to go down hill when his love of his life family must move away to Turkey. He is determined to find her.

He goes undercover for his government even though he does not follow or like this government laws and ideas. As a German consulate there are a few surprises along the way will he go against or follow this government as he is now working for them. Find out by reading.

Rosalyn is an American Jew who come to Turkey to be a Nanny. Rudolf stumbles upon her in his search for Gertrude and ask her for help. Does she help him or not you will need to read the story to know for sure.

Rosalyn come to Turkey for her own reason as well. There is twist and turns throughout the book. Will Rosalyn do as she came to do in Turkey. The author does a wonderful job with the plot. I could not put it down and the fact, that she shows the time and era and history behind what going on in Turkey. Is Turkey with Nazi or they Nurteral during the War. If you are a historical fiction reader or just like learn some facts about history. This book is a good one to pick up. Want to learn more about Germany or Nazi Germany and other surrounding areas or Turkey in the 1930’s.

I grew-up reading everything I could get my grubby hands on, from my mom's Harlequin romances, to Nancy Drew, to Little Women. When I wasn't flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although on the odd occasion I did manage to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the army experience, I went back to school and got my law degree. I jumped ship and joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even begin. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic after returning to the law. But being a lawyer really wasn’t my thing, so I quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns out being a B&B owner wasn’t my thing either. I polished off that manuscript languishing in the attic before following the husband to Istanbul where I decided to give the whole writer-thing a go. But ten years was too many to stay away from my adopted home. I packed up again and moved to The Hague where I’m currently working on my next book. I hope I’ll always be working on my next book.

Searching for Gertrude is my twelfth book.

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January 22, 2018

7:02 PM By Lindz No comments Edit This

Book Spotlight: Double Take

We're thrilled to host Abby Bardi's Double Take blog tour today! Please leave a comment to let her know you stopped by?

Title: Double Take
Author: Abby Bardi
Publisher: Harper Collins Impulse
Pages: 186
Genre: Mystery/Women’s Fiction

Set in Chicago, 1975, Double Take is the story of artsy Rachel Cochrane, who returns from college with no job and confronts the recent death of Bando, one of her best friends. When she runs into Joey, a mutual friend, their conversations take them back into their shared past and to the revelation that Bando may have been murdered. To find out who murdered him, Rachel is forced to revisit her stormy 1960s adolescence, a journey that brings her into contact with her old friends, her old self, and danger.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Book Excerpt:

1975

I recognized his voice from across the room. When I handed him a menu, he looked up absent-mindedly and went on talking to some guys, then did a double take.

“Cookie?” he said.

I tried on the name like an old article of clothing to see if it still fit. It felt like a suede fringed jacket. “Yep,” I said.

“Wow. You look so different.”

“I cut my hair.”

“Everyone did.”

“I’m older,” I said.

“Everyone’s older.”

“You look exactly the same,” I said. He was wearing a beat-up leather jacket over a green T-shirt, maybe the same jacket and T-shirt he had always worn. His thick black hair was shorter now and curly, skin still tan from summer, small mouth with perfect teeth. He still looked tough and handsome, but in a creepy way, like someone you couldn’t trust.

“Cookie, what the hell are you doing here?”

“I work here. I’d rather you didn’t call me that. My name is Rachel.”

“I thought your name was Cookie.”

“Nope. Do people still call you Rat?”

He laughed. “Nowadays I go by Joey.”

“Okay, Joey,” I said, since this was nowadays.

“Miss?” a voice called from a nearby table. The voice brought me back to where I was standing, in Diana’s Grotto, a Greek diner on 57th Street, with ten tables full of customers. For a moment, I had thought I was in Casa Sanchez.

It took me a while to make it back to Joey’s table. A divinity student had found a fly in his milkshake, and it wouldn’t have taken so long if I hadn’t made the mistake of saying, “So, how much can a fly drink?” Like most academics, this guy had no sense of humor and gave me a lecture on hygiene. It was amazing that knowing as much about hygiene as he seemed to, he would continue to eat at Diana’s Grotto. By the time I got back to Joey’s table, the men he had been sitting with were gone. Off-duty police, from the looks of them, I thought, or plain-clothes. We got a lot of cops in Diana’s; they slumped on stools at the counter with their guns hanging from their belts, sucking down free coffee. Back in the sixties, the sight of their blue leather jackets had always made me nervous, like I’d committed some crime I’d forgotten about.

“So why are you working here?” Joey asked. “I thought you were a college girl. A co-ed.” He flashed his white teeth. “I don’t mean to be nosy.”

“The problem with college is they make you leave when you finish.”

“And here I thought it was a permanent gig.”

“Nope.”

“But why aren’t you doing something a little more—”

“Collegiate? Don’t ask.” I slid into the booth next to him. From across the room, Nicky, the maître d’, shot me a poisonous glance. I ignored him. “I like it here.” I smiled a crazy little smile.

“Hey, different strokes.” His eyes swept the room, resting on a mural of a white windmill on an island in the Aegean. The windmill’s blades were crooked. I remembered this eye-sweep from Casa Sanchez, where he had always sat facing the door so he could constantly scan the whole restaurant. His eyes returned to me. “Didn’t I hear a rumor you were supposed to be getting married? Some guy in California?”

“Just a rumor. Glad to hear the grapevine still works.”

I felt someone hiss into my ear. Nicky had slunk up behind me. He looked like a garden gnome in a plaid jacket and baggy pants, reeking of aftershave that had tried and failed. “Rose!” he snapped. He never called anyone by their right name. “What’s in a name?” I always murmured.

“Be right with you.” I gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

“This is a classy place,” Joey said as Nicky ambled away.

“He’s the owner’s brother-in-law.”

“Diana?”

“There is no Diana. She’s a mythological figure.”

“Like Hendrix?”

“Kind of.”

“Hey, you want to have a drink after work?”

“Actually, I don’t drink any more.”

“You want to come watch me drink? What time do you get off?”

“Nine thirty. You could come help me fill the ketchups.”

“What?”

“You know, take the empty Heinz bottles and pour cheap generic ketchup in them.”

“Sounds like fun, but why don’t you meet me at Bert’s? Back room?”

I thought for a moment. This did not seem like a good idea, but I didn’t care. “Okay, why not. So, can I get you anything?”

“Just coffee.”

“You want a side of taramasalata with it? It’s made from fish roe.”

“I’ll pass, thanks.”

When I brought him his coffee, he said, “You’re still a hell of a waitress, Cookie.”

“You’re still a hell of a waitress, Rachel.”

“Whatever.”

“Thanks,” I said.

About the Author

Abby Bardi is the author of the novels The Book of Fred, The Secret Letters, and Double Take. Her short fiction has appeared in Quarterly West, Rosebud, Monkeybicycle, and in the anthologies High Infidelity, Grace and Gravity, and Reader, I Murdered Him, and her short story “Abu the Water Carrier” was the winner of The Bellingham Review’s 2016 Tobias Wolff award for fiction. She has an MFA in Creative Writing and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Maryland and teaches writing and literature in the Washington, DC, area. She lives in Ellicott City, Maryland, the oldest railroad depot in America.