Friday, December 18, 2015

The Traitor's Trap

Traitor's Trap


traitors trapThe Traitor's Trap by Brendan Murphy It’s tough being a thirteen-year old schoolboy, especially when you’re a coward and the big brother who stuck up for you is dead. Oh, and you’ve been thrust into a magical realm you’re expected to save single-handedly. Sebastian Duffy has to learn an awful lot of skills in a hurry if he is to defeat Phobitor by stealing the Spear of Lugh from the peace-loving Tuath. He’s been given some help of course–a mercurial sorceress, an orphaned druidess, a taciturn warrior, a snuff-sniffing leprechaun and a lovelorn poet– an outfit known as the Hibernauts, but can he really overcome a psychopathic, warmongering god when half the realm is bent on his destruction? If he is to have the remotest chance he will have to do deal with aiia, cluricaun, brigands, woodwose, undead warriors, speckled bats, spies, hunkypunks, traitors, skeletons and battle-swine first. And are those Tuath really so peaceable? If only he could find his courage.


Excerpt:
Gobbleratches had arrived in droves and the sky was filled with twisting, plummeting forms. He sank to his knees. 
“I could have prevented this,” he wailed, curling into a ball. “Why did they do this to me? How could they expect me to kill thousands to save more? I’m just a boy.” 
He screwed his eyes shut and pressed his palms against his ears, trying to zone out. It did no good. The battle consumed his senses. He could taste it. 
“Are you alright?” asked Blodwyn, her voice appearing to come at him down a tunnel. 
“Why did you bring me here?” he cried angrily, his hands trembling uncontrollably. 
“I’m so sorry,” sobbed Blodwyn, dropping beside him. “I’m so, so sorry.” 
“I can’t get away,” he screamed. “I’m scared. I want to go away. I want to go home.” 
Feeling her hands on him, he pushed her roughly away, but when she persisted he found he had no fight left and he let her fold herself around him, opening his eyes to her hypnotic gaze. He saw her raise her arm and bring it toward him, felt the branch touch his brow, and as her lips brushed his lobes and her tears kissed his face, heard the words she whispered in his ear, knew, even as he dissolved into sleep, that he had never heard anything so wonderful in all his life. 
“Child of my heart,” she murmured. “Child of my heart.” 


Praise for The Traitor's Trap An imaginative epic…an intricate and fully realised fantasy world with a big cast of likeable characters that are charming, well drawn and endearing, with wonderfully apt names. The depth and breadth of the author’s high-voltage imagination, and the richness of the world created is very impressive. ~Sam Mills, author of Blackout, The Boys Who Saved the World, and The Quiddity of Will Self I cannot say just how much I have enjoyed this book ... a very accomplished writer with a wonderfully rich imagination and an incredibly inventive mind. Readers will come to love the many wonderful creations in this novel, it is jam-packed with the most wonderful and inventive characters; new, exciting and beautifully realized. ~Cherry Mosteshar, author of Unveiled: One Woman's Nightmare in Iran

  amazon get it  

Brendan  Author Brendan Murphy Brendan Murphy was raised in Sheffield, England, with dreams of becoming a writer, and has written every day since he was nine years old. After reading medicine in London and psychiatry in Manchester, he moved to Australia in 1999. He is an Associate Professor at Monash University and has written widely on youth mental health. His nonfiction work on the development of football in Victorian society, From Sheffield with Love, was published in 2007. He is contracted to Assent Publishing for his six-book fantasy series, Sebastian and the Hibernauts. The first adventure, Beyond the Gloaming was published in 2014 and the sequel, The Traitor’s Trap, in 2015. He is a columnist for Aontacht magazine. He lives with his wife, Katrina, and their children, Sebastian and Violette, in a sprawling property built for the composer, Dorian Le Gallienne. They share their garden with a mob of kangaroos, a wombat, two possums, any number of creepy crawlies, and some very feisty kookaburras.


    Blog Tour $25 Giveaway $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 12/28/15 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Looking for Signs

A while back an author by the name of Sharon Shabinaw contacted me about the best way to go about publishing a book she was writing. We emailed back and forth a few times and soon she became one of what I call my "phantom author friends" (authors who I admire/like but have never met). She eventually decided to go with self-publishing and hired me to both edit and format her book.

Turns out the book isn't just Sharon's. It also belongs to her mother, Arlene Garrett. Their quest is to share stories, both their own and those given to them by others, about signs from God they've received. Do I believe in signs from God? Absolutely. Always have. In fact I'll share with you one that came to me within the past year or so.

I was thinking of selling my house and moving. I'd been separated over a year and felt like I needed a change from the house I was living in. It hadn't ever really felt like home so I decided that meant I should move. I went out house hunting, and eventually put a down payment on one. Almost as soon as I did I began to have really bad feelings about it. The more I thought of it, the more I felt like it was a crushing burden. So I finally did what I should have from the beginning and prayed about it. A little while later while standing in the shower I heard someone say, "You need to stay here for now." Yeah. Freaky, right? Someone was in my house? Nope, I looked, and no one was there. 

So I said it aloud myself. "I need to stay here for now." Immediately the burden lifted and I knew I had my answer. I called my realtor, who informed me I'd likely lose my deposit, but I didn't care. I couldn't afford to lose it but figured it was a small price to pay for the relief I felt at my decision. (Note: the contractor was very understanding and did refund my deposit.)

At the time my dad was quite sick. He had heart disease, and had been going downhill steadily for a while. Still, I didn't expect him to actually die anytime soon. Three days after I made the decision not to move, he died. Three days. I can't even begin to fathom what it would have been like to be trying to sell my house and complete the new house with not only my grief at losing my dad, but also in the craziness that follows something like that as I helped my mom to get everything organized. Not to mention that about a month after he died I was presented with the divorce papers which, while expected at some point, I didn't expect while I was swathed in my grieving process. 

Several months later, when life had resettled a bit, I found another home and it felt right, more right than the previous one had. I put my house up for sale, it sold in 4 days, and a month later I moved. A couple of months after that I was in my new home, where I am now, and I feel completely content and happy where I am. I'm near my children, near my mom, and near all of the things that currently occupy my life. If I'd ignored that sign, I'd be in the wrong house again, I'd probably have had a nervous breakdown last fall, and I wouldn't be in a place where my life is so complete.

Sharon and Arlene have compiled many, many stories about people, just like you and me, who have heeded the signs they're given and who've been grateful they have. If you're interested in the book, there are links below for you to find a copy for yourself.


"It was the summer of 1990.  I don’t remember the exact date, but I do remember the moment I received my first sign from GOD.  It’s a moment that I believe everyone remembers because it is an awakening on the inside of you.  A feeling of pure peace, love, astonishment, and a life-altering moment!  My boys were three and four years of age at the time and I was going through a very difficult time in my life.  My marriage was in turmoil.  My husband, at the time, was very controlling and at times verbally and mentally abusive to me and our boys.  One day sitting in my office depressed, distraught and simply not able to concentrate on anything, I had mindlessly dropped onto a sticky pad a drop or two of whiteout and folded the paper in half.  My mind was everywhere, thinking what should I do?  What can I do to make a difference? Would we be better off without him in our lives?  Or, do I take a leap of faith for the sake of all of us?  It was then that I opened this piece of paper and saw a cross appear in the seam where I had dropped the whiteout.  I was simply amazed.  Was this a sign from GOD?  I knew it had to be; because, when I held that piece of paper up to the light, I could see the figure of Jesus on that cross.  He paid for our sins so that we can live on.  I was immediately overcome with peace knowing that GOD was in control and from that point forward, I believed everything happens for a reason and I took one day at a time doing what I needed to do for my children and myself."

Purchase at:


Monday, December 7, 2015

The Traitor's Trap

The Traitor's Trap  The Traitor's Trap by Brendan Murphy

It’s tough being a thirteen-year old schoolboy, especially when you’re a coward and the big brother who stuck up for you is dead. Oh, and you’ve been thrust into a magical realm you’re expected to save single-handedly. Sebastian Duffy has to learn an awful lot of skills in a hurry if he is to defeat Phobitor by stealing the Spear of Lugh from the peace-loving Tuath. He’s been given some help of course–a mercurial sorceress, an orphaned druidess, a taciturn warrior, a snuff-sniffing leprechaun and a lovelorn poet– an outfit known as the Hibernauts, but can he really overcome a psychopathic, warmongering god when half the realm is bent on his destruction? If he is to have the remotest chance he will have to do deal with aiia, cluricaun, brigands, woodwose, undead warriors, speckled bats, spies, hunkypunks, traitors, skeletons and battle-swine first. And are those Tuath really so peaceable? If only he could find his courage.


Praise for The Traitor's Trap An imaginative epic…an intricate and fully realised fantasy world with a big cast of likeable characters that are charming, well drawn and endearing, with wonderfully apt names. The depth and breadth of the author’s high-voltage imagination, and the richness of the world created is very impressive. ~Sam Mills, author of Blackout, The Boys Who Saved the World, and The Quiddity of Will Self I cannot say just how much I have enjoyed this book ... a very accomplished writer with a wonderfully rich imagination and an incredibly inventive mind. Readers will come to love the many wonderful creations in this novel, it is jam-packed with the most wonderful and inventive characters; new, exciting and beautifully realized. ~Cherry Mosteshar, author of Unveiled: One Woman's Nightmare in Iran
  amazon get it

Brendan  Author Brendan Murphy was raised in Sheffield, England, with dreams of becoming a writer, and has written every day since he was nine years old. After reading medicine in London and psychiatry in Manchester, he moved to Australia in 1999. He is an Associate Professor at Monash University and has written widely on youth mental health. His nonfiction work on the development of football in Victorian society, From Sheffield with Love, was published in 2007. He is contracted to Assent Publishing for his six-book fantasy series, Sebastian and the Hibernauts. The first adventure, Beyond the Gloaming was published in 2014 and the sequel, The Traitor’s Trap, in 2015. He is a columnist for Aontacht magazine. He lives with his wife, Katrina, and their children, Sebastian and Violette, in a sprawling property built for the composer, Dorian Le Gallienne. They share their garden with a mob of kangaroos, a wombat, two possums, any number of creepy crawlies, and some very feisty kookaburras.


50_Amazon_Paypal BookBlast Giveaway $50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 12/20/15 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.  

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Saturday, December 5, 2015

Need Some Christmas Money? Here's Your Chance!

Just in the Nick of Time 
 An Awesome Group of Authors & Bloggers have joined with me to bring you 1 fabulous prize!! The winner will be selected on December 23rd making it just in the nick of time to help with last minute Christmas shopping! We’re giving away $250 in Paypal Cash! Or alternately you can choose a $250 Amazon.com eGift Code!

Sponsor List – Thanks to these awesome bloggers & authors for sponsoring this giveaway!!
I Am A Reader Taking Time for Mommy The Discerning Reader Raven Haired Girl Unshelfish Literary Winner Nicole Tone Here We Go Again...Ready? Simple Wyrdings Coupons and Freebies Mom Author Devon Ashley Julie Antonovich Reece Author Mary Ting/M. Clarke Nikki Jefford Heather Gray, Author Simply Sherryl The HomeSchool Village Jennifer Bardsley Author Ednah Walters The Page Unbound Confessions of a Frugal Mind Once Upon a Twilight Krysten Lindsay Hager author Books R Us Author Cindy C Bennett Lori's Reading Corner Laurie Treacy, Author Heather @ Townsend House Author Erin Richards Lise McClendon, Author D'Ann Burrow Heather Boyd, author Cynthia Luhrs Author Echo Ridge Books Rachelle J. Christensen Dorine White Lucy McConnell Taylor Hart Patricia B. Tighe Author Jeanette Lewis Heather Justesen Babs Book Bistro Glistering Bs Blog A Leisure Moment: A Casual Conversation about our Love for Literature JL Weil

Giveaway Details $250 in Paypal Cash or a $250 Amazon.com eGift Card Ends 12/22/15 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use money sent via Paypal or who can redeem an Amazon.com Gift Code. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the authors, bloggers and publishers on the sponsor list. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

a Rafflecopter giveaway