Children and Young Adult Author | Official Website
Author: Ellwyn
I live with my loving husband, two children and dog in Philadelphia, PA. I discovered my passion for writing in second grade when I had to write a book report for school. I was so excited to write the report, until my mother told me that I had to write about someone else's book and not my own story. I became indignant and decided that once I finished the book report I would most certainly write my own original story. I have been writing ever since!
My self-published book Chris Kringle's Cops was a Finalist in The Reader's Favorite Book Contest for 2016. I am so happy to share this story with you.
My picture book Kamyla Chung and the Creepy Crawlies was given a 5 Star rating by Reader's Favorite Book Reviews in 2017.
Until dark clouds from the past threaten disaster.
The Cowboy’s Country Charm
A Wyoming Romance Novel Book 2
by Anne Carrole
Genre: Contemporary Western Romance
“Just friends” isn’t working. Sparks are flying. Until dark clouds from the past threaten disaster.
A friends-to-lovers story from award-winning author Anne Carrole
Recent air force veteran and reluctant cowboy, Rusty “to the rescue” Russell, has set his sights on the attractive independent-minded event planner who says she’s too busy to get involved.
That mindset is what makes Kristy Winslow a perfect candidate for a casual relationship. Because with past traumas still haunting him, he doesn’t dare commit to anything more. But keeping her at arm’s length is more difficult than he bargained for.
Kristy Winslow has no desire to date again, since her last relationship went terribly wrong. Besides she needs to focus on her new career opportunity because failure is not an option.
But the charming cowboy’s persistence and promises of a no-strings fling has Kristy throwing caution to the wind. If only she can keep her mind on the job and her heart from getting broken by this complicated but intriguing redhead.
Love is in the air, but will demons from the past pull them apart or make them stronger together?
Cozy up with this holiday romance filled with charm and good cheer. 2022 RWA/NYC Big Apple Contest Winner
Career-minded Lexi Russell seeks a calm, predictable life that doesn’t require taking chances. But coming home to Wyoming for Thanksgiving, she finds out her carefully orchestrated life has imploded.
Her “perfect” boyfriend has been cheating on her, her lucrative job has been eliminated, and the family ranch is on the chopping block. In addition, the teenage boy who broke her heart one summer a decade ago has turned into a handsome cowboy who’s planning on buying her family’s ranch with a lowball offer and her parents’ blessing.
She’s got to figure out a way to help her parents avoid a serious mistake, find a new job, and stop her growing attraction to the cowboy who dumped her. With Christmas on the horizon, things take an unexpected turn that will force her to decide whether love is worth the risk.
Anne Carrole is an award-winning author of contemporary and historical western romances. Raised on a farm with horses, dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, and whatever other animals she could convince her parents to shelter, she’s married to her own sweet-talking hero and is the proud mother of a twenty-something cowgirl.
Besides the Wyoming Romance novels, you can also enjoy her popular Hearts of Wyoming series where love gets a second chance. Visit her website at https://www.annecarrole.com
A story of friendship and forgiveness in a world that knows neither.
Failing Gravity
by Jordan S. Keller
Genre: Dystopian Cyberpunk Science Fiction
Roman Koa knows that to survive, he must be ruthless.
The Slums beneath the floating city of Icaria were never meant to thrive—but they did. A gritty junkyard city of thieves and robot fighters, it’s everything Icaria isn’t.
Roman has grown greedy after clawing his way to the top of the robot fighting hierarchy with his powerful electromagnet robot, taking from anyone who crosses his path. When Icarians come to the Slums for a night of risky entertainment, Roman takes twice as much.
But when he’s offered the chance to steal advanced tech from Icaria, the job is too tempting to resist—even with Oliver Flint offering it, his former best friend who sold their robotics code for a new life in Icaria. Without Roman.
The job is simple: Roman helps Oliver save Icaria’s failing gravity beams, and Roman gains access to technology to build powerful robots to secure his position as King of Ring and King of the Slums.
Roman’s hatred for Icaria is hard to ignore, though and he is tempted to let the city Oliver betrayed him for crash back to Earth, but dooming Icaria means dooming everyone.
As Icaria’s gravity—and Roman’s fragile bond with Oliver—fails, Roman must choose: will he let Icaria crash, or is there a chance for forgiveness, for both his friend and the city?
Failing Gravity is a high-octane, cyberpunk-inspired adventure about friendship, betrayal, and the fight for forgiveness.
Jordan S. Keller is the author of the Ashes Over Avalon superhero trilogy and Failing Gravity. She is a type-one diabetic, a serial dog walker, and is impatiently waiting for her favorite bands to visit. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband and their critters. You can visit her online at JordanSKellerAuthor.com
Jordan is one of the hosts for the Everyday Writing podcast and founder of the Queen City Fiction Writers Workshop.
Fifth grader Rufus is unhappy when he has to attend a Samhain celebration with his mother, Grandma, and Aunt Ruth instead of going Trick or Treating with his friends.
He’s thrilled when, later that night, his Uncle Hector shows up outside his window and offers to take him for a ride in the sky. Rufus’s family have told him that his uncle is evil and he should have nothing to do with Hector, but Rufus is enthralled by his uncle’s fabulous realm that includes a small zoo and a stable of horses.
He’s less interested in learning about his uncle’s businesses that he, as his uncle’s heir apparent, will inherit one day. Then Uncle Hector tells Rufus he has to do something for him, something Rufus finds impossible to do.
Uncle Hector wields his magical powers to force Rufus’s hand, but Rufus’s little sister finds out and encourages him to ask for help. It’s Grandma who decides what they must do, and it’s not something Uncle Hector ever thought would happen.
Excerpt:
Mrs. Brewster poked her head in the room to say it was time to come outside and watch the fireworks. We traipsed through the kitchen and out onto the Brewsters’ patio that faced their enormous backyard.
Many adults were already in their seats, but Mr. Brewster, who wasn’t a witch, led us to the very first row. Then he went to talk to the men who would be setting off the fireworks.
The display was spectacular. We oohed and ahed as multi-colored bursts of light exploded in every conceivable shape. Ten minutes into the show, a band of yellow light more dazzling than any we’d seen so far spanned the sky.
It arced over the Brewsters’ backyard and turned into a rainbow so brilliant I found myself blinking.
Silence fell. The fireworks died away. No one moved. All eyes were glued on the figure gliding through the air who came to stand atop the rainbow.
There could be no doubt he was a witch. He was dressed in black like us, except for his voluminous cape, which was bright red, the color of blood. He spread the cape wide, holding an end in each outstretched hand and bowed.
A communal gasp—half-shock, half-disapproval—rose from the adults behind me. We stared, transfixed, as a young male witch fluttered about before coming to stand beside him.
“Greetings, my fellow sorcerers,” the older witch intoned. “We have come to wish you Good Samhain.”
His keen gaze sliced through the crowd seeking something, someone. A current coursed through me when his eyes met mine. He nodded, and I found myself nodding back.
Suddenly his right leg buckled and he stumbled. The young witch reached out to support him. Angry, the older witch brushed him away. His young companion vanished as awkwardly as he’d arrived.
Alone now, the older witch gave us a mocking smile as he and the rainbow faded from sight.
I was left thrilled, mystified, and frightened. Who was this powerful witch, and what did he want with me?
About The Author:
A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, novels of suspense, and books for kids. Marilyn’s middle grade novel, Rufus and Magic Run Amok, was an International Reading Association-Children’s Book Council “Children’s Choice.”
A new edition, the first book in a series of four, came out in 2023. Rufus and the Witch’s Drudge, the second book in the Rufus series, was released in 2024. Her YA horror, The Devil’s Pawn, came out in a new edition in January, 2024. Soon to be published are new editions of And Don’t Bring Jeremy, which received six state nominees, and Getting Back to Normal.
The dead won’t leave her alone. For Cavilla, it’s one case after another…
Cavilla Ramirez is an average Peruvian teen, tethered to the 1990s rhythm of clarinet rehearsals, dog-eared Agatha Christie novels, and low-stakes schoolyard mysteries.
But when a hit-and-run claims her two best friends, her world implodes—and then restructures itself in a seemingly impossible and unnerving way. Her friends aren’t gone. Their ghosts linger, needing her help in solving their murder so that they can cross over. And it’s not just them. Ghosts are everywhere, and somehow, she’s the only one who can see them.
With a protector in the form of a god-turned-cat, Cavilla becomes a reluctant guide between Peru’s realms of the living and the dead. Solving murders and helping the dead find closure becomes her new normal.
But every answer she uncovers tugs loose something else: long-buried secrets about her own heritage, secrets her aunt Tia Luz would rather keep six feet under.
And as Cavilla finds out, not all ghosts need guidance. One presence stands apart, watching her… waiting.
And he isn’t asking for help. He wants her – or something she has.
Excerpt:
I knew something was wrong when dusk wasn’t followed by night. It was happening again; my third time this year. The sun just set over the hills, but the light froze, as if a greedy hand had seized it and squeezed it.
The motes of ashen light trickled through the violet clouds into my bedroom window. I passed my hand through the dull sunbeam, my brown color paling as it mingled with the dusk. Even my gold leaf bracelet lost its luster and glow. The hoarse calling of Tia Luz Marina for dinner time quieted and softened until her always angry-sounding voice was nothing but a hush.
That time, I held still and breathed slowly, slitting my eyes until my vision doubled. Focus on the intangible, I coaxed myself. The withered light impregnated every corner, every detail of my messy room.
It turned into ghosts the coloring books, the woolen dolls, the half-empty bottles of acrylic paint. When it fell on the spirits of my deceased friends, Niko, and Angelica, sitting on the floor by my bed, it brought them further into focus.
The queer dusk light slipped into my short bathroom hallway and vanished. I stared at that dark entryway, convinced there was something more there. For years, I’d been telling Tia Luz Marina
that there were ghosts in the bathroom, but she tossed the notion aside. She said believing in ghosts was a gringa thing. Yet, when I pressed her on ghosts and gods from stories of our Peruvian culture, she shied away.
Sophie Jupillat Posey has an enriched passion for writing and music that allows her to captivate audiences with her unique style in poetry, novellas and novels.
As she lives her life around the beauty and art and the inspiration from others, Sophie manages to create worlds that her readers will find themselves immersed in.
With her passion for the arts, she has also studied music and writing at Rollins College, which can be found as guiding pieces in her works. She is the author of several pieces, including the YA fantasy “The Four Suitors”, the short story sci-fi collection “The Inside Out Worlds: Visions of Strange,” several bilingual children’s books and a poetry chapbook.
Having lived in the US for many years, Sophie now calls France her home, bringing more of her passion for the arts in her books.
When Dmitri meets Jay on a dating app, their connection is instant—intense, electric, and deeper than either expected. But Jay isn’t who he claims to be, and when his out-of-this-world secret comes to light, it shatters Dmitri’s understanding of reality.
For Jay’s people, love is considered a dangerous defect—a personality disorder to be cured. But he’s already fallen hard for Dmitri, and walking away isn’t so simple. As their lives entwine—through Dmitri’s career struggles and the shifting responsibilities of caring for his younger brother—Jay hides a devastating truth: his time on Earth is running out.
If he stays, he won’t survive for long. If he leaves, he’s gone forever. And if the extent of their relationship is discovered, they will lose everything, including their memories of each other and Jay’s entire sense of identity
As Jay faces a choice that could cost him his very life, Dmitri must decide whether to fight for a love that might not be allowed to exist. Can they hold on to each other in a world determined to erase them? Or will they be forced to forget everything they’ve built—each other, their love, even who they are.
World Enough and Time is a steamy contemporary sci-fi romance that asks: What would you sacrifice for love?
Dmitri spent the rest of the day with his stomach in an anxious knot. He was not the kind of person that enjoyed putting himself out there, and this felt like a big thing to ask of someone he’d only met the day before. But he truly didn’t have another solution, so he was just going to have to throw himself on Jay’s mercy and try not to make it weird.
Just before he left for the day, he texted Jay: Are you up for a phone call? I have a question and it will be easier to have a conversation about it.
As he was settling into the driver’s seat, his phone rang.
“Hey, you.”
“Hi,” Jay said. He sounded nervous, but that could not possibly be true. “How was your day?”
“It was a Monday, and I got some kinda bad news. Not terrible, but I have a problem I need to solve.” Was this the right approach? In terms of not making it weird, Dmitri was not off to a great start.
“How can I help?” Jay replied, and it was exactly what Dmitri needed to hear.
He blew out a breath through his teeth and said, “Ok, here goes… my ex is getting married this weekend, and for complicated reasons I won’t bore you with, she wants me there and is requiring me to bring a plus one. My brother was supposed to go with me, but now his dad wants to take him to Disneyland, so…”
“So, you need a date for the wedding?”
Dmitri groaned. “That’s about the size of it.”
Jay paused, then said, “When is it?”
“This Saturday at three o’clock. In the city. I know this is short notice…”
Jay cleared his throat. “Just so I’m clear about this, you are asking me to go with you?”
Dmitri slapped his hand across his forehead. All of that and he hadn’t even actually extended the invitation. “Yes,” he said. “You would really be saving my life. Well, not my life, per se, but you’d be saving me from embarrassment.”
“Which is a fate worse than death, yeah…” Jay laughed now, and Dmitri realized he quite liked the sound. “I think I can make that work.”
“Oh, Dear God, thank you! I know you just met me and all, and I have no right to expect—”
“Dmitri, it’s fine,” Jay said, interrupting him. “It sounds fun.”
“I’m not sure I can promise fun, exactly, but I’ll try to make it worth your while.”
Jay chuckled again. “I think I might even have time to dry-clean my best suit.”
“Probably? I know a twenty-four-hour place, if not.”
“I’m honored that you thought of me,” Jay said. Dmitri’s gut twisted up for an entirely different reason.
“And just so this isn’t as big of a deal, do you want to get together sometime this week before the wedding?” Dmitri asked him. “There’s a new fusion place I’ve been wanting to try.”
“That sounds nice. Thursday night okay?”
“That’s perfect. I’ll send you the details.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” Jay said.
Dmitri thanked him again, then they disconnected.
Well, that had gone as well as it possibly could have. Jay hadn’t seemed to be put off by the request. Dmitri couldn’t imagine asking this of anyone else he’d ever dated, even if he and Jay weren’t technically dating yet. But for now, his problem was solved, and though he was nervous about it, for the first time, he was actually looking forward to the wedding.
Giveaway
$10 Amazon
Follow the blitz HERE for special content and a giveaway!
Chad Grayson has worn many hats: tech support flunky, gas station philosopher, reluctant middle school wrangler, and, for one unforgettable night, cheese-mold removal specialist.
These days he lives in far Northern California, where he writes hopeful, character-focused sci-fi and fantasy that will break your heart and duct tape it back together.
He can usually be found painting tiny fantasy heroes and monsters, wandering the woods in deep narrative contemplation, or yelling at his plot outlines like they’ve personally betrayed him (they know what they did).
His superpowers include procrastination, dyscalculia, and making emotionally devastating story beats sound like a perfectly reasonable life choice.
Find him at chadgrayson.com (where you can sign up for his bimonthly newsletter full of exclusive posts, previews, book reviews, and updates).
Exiled alien prince Jarren Graf has never encountered a scent like Lissa Reyes.
To Desire the Stars
by Venus Campbell
Genre: SciFi Romance
Exiled alien prince Jarren Graf has never encountered a scent like Lissa Reyes’.
Abducted from Earth by Jarren, high-achiever Lissa Reyes discovered something hunted her scent. Both their scents, that is.
As the key to reclaiming his throne and ending generations of galactic subjugation, Lissa knew Jarren could not let her go.
But as a prince from a world built on olfactory power, Jarren’s passions flared with her close. Every whiff grew their desire. Every touch increased their hunger for each other. By fate or chance, their love would change his civilization.
“And why should I suffer alone?” He frowned. The question burned in his mind. A few moments with the Subduer off couldn’t feasibly produce enough traceable hormones to endanger anyone.
Jarren needed to know she wasn’t a possible mate. Life-mate, true life-mate, no mate at all. It had to be the not knowing that was driving him insane. Jarren pressed his thumb over the Subduer, felt for the little metal catch, and pushed in. Then he stood still a moment. He didn’t feel any different, but something had changed.
He needed to act quickly. Tracing such a small release of his scent from off-planet was impossible, but there was no telling when the mercs would locate Terra and send someone earthside.
Jarren walked out of the bathroom. Melissa stood waiting, itinerary in hand, her gaze expectant. Reaching out, he approached. “I’ll take a look at those now.” His voice shook with controlled tension.
“Yes, sir.” Melissa stepped forward then stopped. The papers in her hand fell with a rustle to the floor as her eyes widened. Her mouth went slack.
Jarren frowned, worried. He hadn’t expected such an abrupt response. “Melissa?”
As if entranced, Melissa walked toward him, her hands reaching until her fingers brushed across his heated skin then under his T-shirt. Jarren shuddered. His body stiffened in anticipation.
Her hands blazed a trail up and over his shoulders as she leaned her body into him, coaxing a gasp of want from his suddenly parched mouth. Her breasts’ warm firmness connected with his chest through the material of their clothes, heating the air around them.
Jarren groaned. She might not have been wearing anything at all. He couldn’t resist. He was starving for her. His arms encircled her waist, pulling her closer as his body tingled with need. Jarren grew ready. One skirted leg brushed against him in invitation as all logical thought vanished.
He claimed her mouth, hungry, desperate. The earthy undertones of her natural fragrance, that Egyptian musk with such sweet papaya, swirled around him. His hand came up, weaving into the falling tendrils of her hair to hold her to him. His lips suckled hers, his tongue darting to taste her mouth’s nectar, stroking the warm insides, lapping at her sweet moistness.
She moaned, her breathing erratic, her mouth searing his lips, tasting, teasing.
She pulled his head closer as her tongue danced with his. She caressed the warm walls of his mouth then drew away, letting the air cool the lingering impression of her lips against his. Her eyes blazed. She wanted him. He could smell her desire; potent, heady. It surrounded him. It taunted him.
A breath of Egyptian musk rose like an embracing cloud to envelop them both. His body vibrated with primitive need as realization struck. On a world light-years away from home, he’d discovered a possible life-mate. Jarren let go all control, reclaiming her mouth ardently.
He pulled her against him, devouring her soft lips to dominate her. His nose filled with the fragrance of blooming papaya. His body craved to possess her, fill her, bind her to him forever.
She belonged to him and he to her. He wanted to thrust them both over the brink of desire. Pulling away, he placed demanding kisses along the curve of her jaw until he found the sensitive skin of her earlobe and drew the honey-sweet softness into his mouth.
She moaned low and pressed closer, her warm breath caressing his skin. In a musk-induced daze, his eyes were drawn to the fullness of her breasts, the arching curve of her hips. He tightened in response, his need rocketing to the hard shaft between his legs.
Her mixture of scents intensified, calling to him, overwhelming him. He ached. His lips moved lower, tracing passion-heated kisses over the curve of her collarbone to her shoulder. Her fingers dug into his skin as her head fell back, the tresses of her hair clinging sensuously to his forearms. She gasped.
He buried his head in the slope of her neck as he was curtained behind the silky locks of her hair. Gods, how he loved her hair. Lifting her up, he inhaled her perfection, nuzzling his face against her full breasts.
His blood pulsed as he absorbed the smell of her sweetness. She did belong to him. He belonged to her. His skin dewed with fever, and instinct took over. He would claim her now.
He’d just reached to push aside her blouse’s collar when her body stiffened.
Fighting his instinct to mate, Jarren loosened his grip until her feet touched the floor; then he pulled away, his breathing jagged. He struggled to create a thought. Her aroma still tugged at him, drew him like the sweetest nectar.
But he was endangering his world and her by revealing his scent. And he could sense she’d refused him. He would never force himself on a woman, not even in the primitive throes of their intermingling essences.
A new awareness crashed into him. The depth of his desire had forced his sanity to temporarily flee. Comprehension slowly re-emerged, and with it, his awareness that the ramifications of his actions could be catastrophic. He looked down at her horrified expression even as the last tendrils of her hair loosed themselves from the static charge between their bodies. discarded itinerary on the floor.
Giveaway
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Venus Campbell is the Principal of the Book of Venus publishing and the Winner of the Kroger Award for Excellence in Creative Writing.
She has finaled in various writing contests such as the Central Ohio Ignite the Flame and the New England Chapter- RWA First Kiss. Campbell is a member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and the Authors Guild.
Campbell has written professionally since 2006 and has completed five single title manuscripts. To Desire the Stars is her second publication.
Campbell focuses on interweaving paranormal elements into romance stories, creating unique worlds which challenge people’s perceptions of self and preconceived notions of human love and relationships.
