Return of the Melange Authors Giveaway!

C. Margery Kempe here! Let’s welcome Melange Books, LLC once again and to all their writers and readers.  How about we get to know a few of their authors today? And yes, there will be a giveaway.

Ruth J. Hartman is a published author/dental hygienist. She lives in rural Indiana with her husband and two very spoiled cats.

Flossophy of Grace
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: Trade Paperback, HTML, Adobe PDF

What happens when a dental hygienist falls in love with her patient? That’s what Grace
Hart discovers when she meets Bruce Gardener. The problem? Grace’s boss has a strict policy against relationships with patients. Can Grace and Bruce find a way to be together without her employer finding out?

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I first became a writer when a publisher published my memoirs, in 2008. For fun and relaxation I like to read, write, hang out with my husband and our cats at home. My hope for the future is to continue writing and publish many books. I’m loving these dental themed books 🙂 Currently, I’m working on two books. One is an expansion of a short story that was previously published in an anthology. The other is also a romance novel. One of my works in progress is about male and female dentists who compete for patients in their small town, but still seem to be attracted to each other. The other one tells the story of a woman who runs a no-kill cat shelter, and falls in love with the father of a boy she’s helping. I have several dental-related romances already published or in the editing stage. But I’d like to write several more. There don’t seem to be many books like that available right now.

Bobbi Groover

Raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, her family then moved to a remote rural farmhouse with an in-ground spring and a twenty-two person party line telephone. Wandering through fields of corn, climbing to the tops of fifty feet pine trees, hanging in the branches of an apple orchard, milking cows, churning butter, driving tractors, haying fields, and shattering nineteen out of twenty clay pigeons with a .410 shotgun provided the fodder for the imagination and numerous scenarios that enrich the scenes of her stories. As a third generation equestrian, Ms. Groover rides, trains and hunts her three beloved horses.  At home, Ms. Groover shares her life with her husband, two boys and a menagerie of animals. Dividing her time between the stable and the studio, she spends her days doing what she loves best—writing and riding!

The Inn at Little Bend
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: Trade Paperback, HTML, Adobe PDF
In antebellum America, life for an abandoned woman was difficult at best. But when young Grayson escapes her sadistic guardian, she finds freedom just as hostile. The lonesome, starving wanderer flees straight into the path of vicious marauders. Only one thing keeps the rustlers from violating the curvaceous, dark-haired beauty but the punishment they intend to mete out for her crimes borders on insanity. Grayson Ridge struggles to survive her fated trials and conceal the secrets that plague her. Her exploits collide with the life of Drake Somerset, a scraggly yet oddly dashing drifter besieged by dark shadows. Neither realizes their chance encounter could free them both. Their wrangling ignites a turbulent journey and sets their worlds on fire.

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I have two hobbies, riding and writing. Horses play a major part in the peace of my life. When I’m not riding I’m writing and, of course, horses are named characters in my stories. In fact, my first novel FUN IN THE YELLOW PAGES is dedicated to my first horse. I hope to have several more novels in the bookstores, with fans emailing that each is considered to be my best. Also, a screenplay might be in the works with the goal toward a production for television. Currently, I’m working on a third Historical Romance set in my favorite time frame—1855-1865 Virginia. I am researching the American history years 1861-1865 and discovering many nuances missed when the period was taught in school. However, just for fun, the characters from my second romance novel (THE INN AT LITTLE BEND) actually interact with the hero and heroine of the first (SEASON OF THE SHADOW). In my current romance, I’ve taken the hero and heroine from the first two novels, introduced them to two new characters and involved all of them in the tangled passions of the American Civil War. This time frame led to the new working title, INTO THE GRAY.
Rie Sheridan Rose has been writing professionally for the last ten years or so — though she has just added the “Rose” on the end. Prior to last year, her work appeared under “Rie Sheridan.” In that decade, she has published 4 novels, 1 short story collection, 2 chapbooks of collected stories, and five poetry collections as well as contributing to several anthologies.  Her most popular stories to date are the Adventures of Bruce and Roxanne, humorous horror shorts several of which have been collected into two print chapbooks. She has also written the lyrics to several songs for Marc Gunn. Rie lives in Texas with her husband Newell and several cats, all spoiled rotten.

Sidhe Moved through the Faire
Genre: Fantasy-Fairy Romance
Format: Trade Paperback, HTML, Adobe PDF

Under the hill and far away is the land of the Fae—world of magic and mystery. But what happens when a pair of curious Sidhe twins from beyond the hill decides to visit a human market faire and lose their hearts? Can true love triumph and find happiness when Sidhe Moved Through the Faire?

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I started writing when I was a kid. I still have scraps here and there from about the third grade.Professionally, I have been published since I won a place in a Half-Price Books “Say Good-night to Illiteracy” anthology in 1998. My first novel was published in 2001. For fun and relaxation I enjoy playing games Video games by myself or with my husband, pen-and-pencil RPG with friends. I also take a lot of photographs. I am currently waiting on the galley of my latest novel to proof, greatly anticipating some lyrics I wrote being recorded, and about to start some revisions on an old project. I tend to juggle many projects at a time. I have many simmering, in several genres, and haven’t decided which to focus on at this time. My upcoming book is a fantasy from Zumaya Otherworlds, The Luckless Prince.

Tit Elingtin is a warrior by nature, ready to argue or fight for the disenfranchised at a moment’s notice. He takes no prisoners, crushes his enemies and loves deep and hard. Tit expects his friends to be loyal to the truth above all. He describes his philosophical views like this: “As the river flows, it is as one. We are as the mist of the water fall, joining others and separating as we fall to be one with the river once again.”

Erin O’Riordan lives in the Midwestern United States with her husband and co-author Tit Elingtin. Her short stories, essays, and film reviews have been published in numerous magazines and websites. Readers can view more of her work at www.aeess.com.

The Smell of Gas
Genre: Contemporary Fiction – Drama
Format: Trade Paperback, HTML, Adobe PDF

Love pulp fiction? Just try putting down The Smell of Gas. TSOG is full of saints and sinners you’ll love to hate. There’s Brigid, the high school basketball player and secret heroin addict. Fred, a Catholic lesbian teen, loves Brigid, but doesn’t know about her affair with Edward, a married Evangelical preacher. Sex, ethics, religions and mythologies clash as you dig deeper into their connection to the death of a young couple.

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The Smell of Gas Excerpt

In Fred’s bright white room, she’d stacked three rows of votive candles in red jars on her dresser.Fred’s roommate, Leander, said they reminded him of the cemetery, but Fred used them as a meditation point when she prayed.

She liked the deep blue sheets on her bed. The white-and-blue color scheme matched the dress and  cape of the woman in the poster above Fred’s bed. The print of Murillo’s Immaculate Conception of the Escorial, painted in 1678, portrayed the Virgin, eyes looking up to heaven, surrounded by cherubim and standing on a crescent moon. Behind the Virgin’s head, the cherubim dissolved into an orange haze. In the light of the burning votives, the whole room seemed to glow orange.

Three rows of seven candles before her, she said one Hail Mary for each.

Fred finished saying her twenty-first Hail Mary and got off her knees. She blew out all of the candles except one. The cheap candles smoked, filling Fred’s small bedroom with a grayness that reminded her of an underwater scene. She walked over to the bed and lifted the corner of the mattress. She had to grope for a moment to find it, tucked inside the elastic of the blue fitted sheet’s corner. She held up the razor to the candlelight. The blood left on it from the last time didn’t bother her. It was clean blood, her own.

She was tired of cutting her arms. She’d covered her upper arms in intersecting highways of hardened scars, and fresher wounds decorated her arms from the elbow to the wrist. She’d scared herself the other night, cutting a bit too deeply at the wrists. She’d bled until she felt like passing out. The blood had soaked into the pillow; she could still smell its stale odor. She would be more careful this time.

She took off one of her boots and her torn black stockings. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, she reached back and turned on the stereo, tuned to the local Catholic station. The music, a choir of voices singing the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, lifted her soul. It brought her mind back to her purpose. She would feel pain, not because she got some pleasure from it (though she did), but because needed it to save her soul. If heroin took away all pain, except that nagging longing for more of itself, then the pain must
come from somewhere.

She made the first cut just above her knee, curving her wrist to angle the razor down toward the floor. She felt the acute sting over the thin skin there. She made another cut higher up her leg, deep into the flesh of her thigh. Fred grimaced as the blood began to flow freely. She wondered if she’d struck muscle.

The Immaculate Conception of the Escorial looked up to the heavens and pretended not to notice. The choir sang: “Lord make me a means of your peace…”

She sat there, dazed, before she realized that the sharp percussion in her ears was not from the radio station. She dropped the razor, unlocked her bedroom door. Leander stood outside.

She could see the beads of sweat on his forehead, under his gently curling black hair. His wide eyes shone. He smelled like gasoline.

Lewis Levite

Former Danville, Illinois resident Levite has been writing for over thirty years in various formats including newspapers, online outlets, and his own website, TheMediaDesk.com . Levite has released several other books, however, this is his first major release through a publishing house. Now living in Dover, Delaware his day job is in communications technology for the State. His hobbies include camping, fishing, and traveling with his wife Teresa and their dog Jack.

The Power at the Mall
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Fiction
Format: Trade Paperback, HTML, Adobe PDF

Even if “Absolute Power” doesn’t corrupt, can somebody with the Power remain true to themselves, their job, and most of all, to the woman he loves? Mike tries to remain an average security guard, when he is everything but average and “a little ESP” is just the beginning.

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And good news! Melange will be giving away one book from each of the 5 authors for the first 5 readers who comment on the site, so comment and win!