Welcome Author @KimHeadlee: Fall #RomanticTravel

Fall Romantic Travel

Copyright:jurajkovac; Licensed from depositphotos.com

Please welcome Kim Headlee, author of King Arthur’s Sister in Washington’s Court, with her Fall #RomanticTravel suggestion.

kh-2014-04-09-dawnflier-imag0941-532x300Kim Headlee’s Romantic Travel Idea:

I love to travel but I also love to find great deals on lodging and transportation so that I can use the rest of my vacation budget to splurge on activities. My husband and I began a tradition a few years ago to make a beach getaway in November, which is the off season for many Northern Hemisphere beach destinations. We love sharing dawn and sunset beach walks, usually with a meal afterward because we’ve worked up an appetite. We’ve enjoyed Cancun and several other Caribbean destinations, though our current favorite fall beach retreat is Myrtle Beach, SC. That region’s restaurants can be pricey, even in the off season, so getting an outstanding deal on hotel reservations is a must! Wherever we travel, we’ve found there’s nothing more romantic than the sound of the surf wafting through the balcony window on a mild fall evening.

King Arthur’s Sister in Washington’s Court
Fantasy Time-Travel Romance
by Kim Iverson Headlee

king-arthurs-sister gif“Solidly entertaining.” –Publishers Weekly
Winner, 2016 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Gold Medal for Fantasy and Science Fiction.
Winner, Summer 2016 NABE Best Fantasy Book.

Morgan le Fay, sixth-century Queen of Gore and the only major character not killed off by Mark Twain in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, vows revenge upon the Yankee Hank Morgan. She casts a spell to take her to 1879 Connecticut so she may waylay Sir Boss before he can travel back in time to destroy her world. But the spell misses by 300 miles and 200 years, landing her in the Washington, D.C., of 2079, replete with flying limousines, hovering office buildings, virtual-reality television, and sundry other technological marvels.

Whatever is a time-displaced queen of magic and minions to do? Why, rebuild her kingdom, of course—two kingdoms, in fact: as Campaign Boss for the reelection of American President Malory Beckham Hinton, and as owner of the London Knights world-champion baseball franchise.

Written as though by the old master himself, King Arthur’s Sister in Washington’s Court by Mark Twain as channeled by Kim Iverson Headlee offers laughs, love, and a candid look at American society, popular culture, politics, baseball… and the human heart.

kh-meme-spell-failed-300-original-king-arthur-s-sister-in-washington-s-courtEXCERPT: (from A Word of Explanation)

ALL CALL ME Queen. For my unparalleled skills in leechcraft, most call me “The Wise.” No man dares call me “le Fay,” lest he die.

I hight Morgan.

That is to say, my name is Morgan, so chosen by my mother, Duchess Igraine, to honor the Great Queen of the Old Religion, Mór Rigan, goddess of war. My mother never knew how prophetic her choice would prove to be.

I am the daughter of Duke Gorlois, the sister of Queen Margawse and Queen Elaine, the wife of King Uriens of Gore, and the mother of Sir Uwaine of the Table Round. Blessed good fortune made me all of these things.

By the capricious hand of ill fortune, King Arthur became my younger half brother, spawned upon my most virtuous and blameless mother by that demon in man’s raiment, Uther Pendragon.

I despised Arthur from the very hour of his birth.

BUY & TBR LINKS

E-BOOK, All Sites – https://books2read.com/KASIWC-by-MarkTwain-and-KimIversonHeadlee-ebook
GOODREADS – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23268285
PAPERBACK, Amazon – http://viewBook.at/KASWIC_by_Mark_Twain_and_KIH_paperback
PAPERBACK, B&N – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/king-arthurs-sister-in-washingtons-court-kim-iverson-headlee/1120385250?ean=9781506199269
PAPERBACK, BooksAMillion – http://www.booksamillion.com/p/King-Arthurs-Sister-Washingtons-Court/Kim-Iverson-Headlee/9781506199269?id=6712179829057
HARDCOVER, Amazon – http://myBook.to/KASWIC_by_Mark_Twain_and_KIH_hardcover
HARDCOVER, B&N – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/king-arthurs-sister-in-washingtons-court-kim-iverson-headlee/1120385250?ean=9781939051714
HARDCOVER, BooksAMillion – http://www.booksamillion.com/p/King-Arthurs-Sister-Washingtons-Court/Kim-Iverson-Headlee/9781939051714?id=6712179829057
AUDIOBOOK, Audible – http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/King-Arthurs-Sister-in-Washingtons-Court-Audiobook/B01EQQT7Z2
AUDIOBOOK, Amazon – http://myBook.to/KASWIC_by_Mark_Twain_and_KIH_Audiobook
AUDIOBOOK, iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/king-arthurs-sister-in-washingtons/id1108145926

AUTHOR BIO:

Kim Headlee lives on a farm in southwestern Virginia with her family, cats, goats, Great Pyrenees goat guards, and assorted wildlife. People and creatures come and go, but the cave and the 250-year-old house ruins—the latter having been occupied as recently as the midtwentieth century—seem to be sticking around for a while yet.

Kim has been an award-winning novelist since 1999 (Dawnflight, Sonnet Books, Simon & Schuster) and has been studying Arthurian legends and literature for nigh on half a century.

2015 YouTube video interview: http://youtu.be/DV5iKrEIROk

FOLLOW KIM:

WEB SITE – kimheadlee.com
BLOG – http://kimiversonheadlee.blogspot.com/
NEWSLETTER: http://eepurl.com/boiQ0z
TWITTER – https://twitter.com/KimHeadlee
GOOGLE+ – https://plus.google.com/+KimHeadlee
FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/KimIversonHeadlee
PINTEREST – http://www.pinterest.com/kimheadlee/
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE – http://www.amazon.com/Kim-Headlee/e/B001KE2LK2
GOODREADS – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/845537.Kim_Headlee
LINKEDIN – http://www.linkedin.com/in/kimheadlee/
YOUTUBE CHANNEL – http://www.youtube.com/user/gyanhumara

Fall #RomanticTravel in Romania with Author Carmen Stefanescu

Author Carmen Stefanescu is here to share Fall #RomanticTravel in her home country of Romania, and tell us about her latest release Till Life Do Us Part.

Fall Romantic Travel

Copyright:jurajkovac; Licensed from depositphotos.com

Fall #Romantic Travel

It’s true that Romania, my country,  is the homeland of Count Dracula, the infamous vampire, but when you visit the country in autumn you are not only going to enjoy its imagery of medieval castles but also spectacular views of autumn’s finest foliage.

You can enjoy romantic walks in leafy parks dusted with crunchy auburn, red and gold leaves.gardensOr visit the rural areas for a rustic experience and fill your lungs with the strong, fresh air in the mountains. It’s also hard not to feel starry-eyed among the rolling hills and fragrant vines of wine regions.

And what place can be more suitable for rekindling the sparks of love than a visit at The Gate of the Kiss that features a kiss motif on the gate pillars?
Gate of the KissTill Life Do Us Part Blurb

Till Life Do us part coverBarbara Heyer can hear voices of dead people. They whisper of their deaths, seek comfort for those left behind, and occasionally even warn her about future events. But when Barbara’s brother, Colin, is accused of murder, it will take more than her gift to prove his innocence.

Becoming smitten with the handsome investigator, Detective Patrick Fischer, is a serious complication given his assignment to her brother’s case. Barbara senses there is something far deeper—and perhaps much older—than the surface attraction between them. Could that be why she’s visited by a mysterious woman named Emma in her dreams? Could past life regression tie all the seemingly unconnected events together?

Barbara and Patrick must overcome heartache to find the truth to save Colin, and perhaps themselves.

Excerpt:

Patrick poured the bubbly liquid into the glasses. He offered one to Barbara and raised his.

“To the undercover, paranormal investigator, Barbara.” He smiled and touched his glass to hers, looking straight into her eyes.

“To you, too, Patrick, Detective Fischer. If  it hadn’t been for your determination to find out the truth, many families wouldn’t have had the small consolation to see their relatives’ murderers behind bars.” She took a sip of the champagne.

“There’s something else I’d like to tell you,” Patrick said. He cleared his throat and took one of her hands in his. “It’s something that I wanted to tell you… to ask you for a while, but it never seemed the right moment.”

She heard the tremor in his voice and was sure what was to come. Yet, she didn’t want to make it easier for him. She saw it in his eyes, felt it in the touch of his hands. He was in love with her as she was with him.

“So, as I was saying… I want to ask you if—”

The telephone rang again, cutting like a steel blade through the thick emotional atmosphere surrounding them.

“Oh, not again.” Barbara rolled her eyes upward and headed to the bloody thing. She picked up the receiver and said in a voice that sounded a bit irritated, “Yes. What? Who? Yes, one moment, please.” She turned to Patrick, “It’s for you. An emergency, it seems.”

Patrick grabbed the phone, “Yes, Fisher here. What? When? I’m on my way,” he said and put down the receiver.

“I’m sorry, Barbara. There’s an emergency, indeed. Bruce has been injured. He’s in the hospital right now.”

“Oh, goodness. Is it bad?”

“I’ve no idea. They didn’t say. I’m going there. Sorry I spoiled the evening.”

“No need for apology, Patrick,” Barbara replied hiding her disappointment. “Duty comes first in your job, I know.”

“I’ll call you. Soon. There was something important I wanted to tell… to ask you. Goodnight, Barbara,” he said and kissed her hand affectionately. He hurried outside.

Barbara stood in the middle of the room. It looked empty and cold without him. She took the bottle of champagne, pushed the cork back into it, then went to the kitchen and put it in the fridge.

Moments later, she returned to the living room. With a reflexive gesture she picked up the packet of cigarettes Patrick had forgotten on the table. She weighed them in her hand for a moment and smiling, opened a drawer of the bookshelf and placed the cigarettes inside. She took her book from the bookshelf and sat on the couch, enveloped by the faint smell of aftershave left behind by Patrick.

Jack stretched, then came to Barbara and curled up in her lap.

“Yes, Jack. It is like that. It’s always been like that. Just you and me.” She sighed and opened the book. She failed to notice a faint light hovering outside the window.

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://goo.gl/H0dqkb
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/till-life-do-us-part-carmen-stefanescu/1123896837

Author Bio:

Carmen Stefanescu resides in Romania, the native country of the infamous vampire Count Dracula, but where, for about 50 years of communist dictatorship, just speaking about God, faith, reincarnation or paranormal phenomena could have led someone to great trouble – the psychiatric hospital if not to prison.

High school teacher of English and German in her native country, and mother of two daughters, Carmen Stefanescu survived the grim years of oppression, by escaping in a parallel world that of the books.

Several of her poems were successfully published in a collection of Contemporary English Poems, Muse Whispers vol.1 and Muse Whispers vol.2 by Midnight Edition Publication, in 2001 and 2002.

Her first novel, Shadows of the Past, was released in 2012 by Wild Child Publishing, USA.

Carmen joined the volunteer staff at Marketing For Romance Writers Author blog and is the coordinator of #Thursday13 posts.

Other books by Carmen Stefanescu:

Shadows of the Past – paranormal/light romance/light historical/light mystery
https://www.amazon.com/Shadows-of-the-Past-ebook/dp/B00AK2D9I8/