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Tuesday, September 2, 2025

Release Day Blitz- DAY DRINKERS by Kitty Turner With An Excerpt & a #Giveaway!

I am so excited that DAY DRINKERS by Kitty Turner & Daily House is available now and that I get to share the news!

If you haven’t yet heard about this awesome book, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a copy of the paperback courtesy of Kitty & Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, check out the giveaway info below.

 

About The Book:

Title: DAY DRINKERS

Author: Kitty Turner

Pub. Date: September 2, 2025

Publisher: Daily House

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 356

Find it: GoodreadsAmazon

Read for FREE with a Kindle Unlimited membership!

From the author of Zone Trip comes a bold tale of survival, identity, and the price of secrecy.

From her office window on St. Columba, Gemma gazes out at the mysterious pleasure island just beyond the reef. Owned by country music legend Cowboi Rivers, the exclusive retreat lures the world’s wealthy and powerful with promises of secrecy and illicit pleasures. Meanwhile, the locals keep their distance, wary of the wild parties and whispered rumors of drugs and disappearing girls.

Desperate to escape her dead-end job, Gemma seizes a risky opportunity to captain the sailing vessel Mariposa for Cowboi’s shadowy empire. She finds herself swept into a world of corrupt elites. When a cocaine pickup in the Dominican Republic spirals into a deadly double-cross, Gemma and her crew enlist the aid of a Vodou priestess, the ghost of a hard-drinking mariner, and a rumba-loving boat boy to escape. With her enemies closing in, Gemma sails toward Cuba, facing a storm that threatens to push her over the edge.

Day Drinkers is where the American dream washes ashore.

Day Drinkers is a tantalizing medley of Saint X and Don’t Stop the Carnival, seasoned with a dash of The Rum Diary. Drawing from her ten years as a liveaboard sailor and Caribbean travel writer, Kitty Turner, an American Absurdism revivalist, delivers a gripping tale of identity and redemption through her unique talent for rollicking storytelling and deep philosophical inquiry.

 

 

Excerpt:

Chapter 1 Excerpt

Boon held court under a blue FEMA tarp stretched taut by furring strips screwed between two ramshackle sheds. The equatorial sun shone through the plastic roof and flooded the poor excuse for a chandlery with the color of tropical seawater. Greybeards and the occasional sea-hardened woman sat in a circle of mismatched chairs, cast off from luxury vacation rentals and salvaged from the island dump. Boon and only Boon sat behind the workbench, scrutinizing the crowd from his behemoth leather office chair, creaking and patched with a crisscross of duct tape. His orange Croc-covered feet were beacons propped up amid a scatter of carburetors, boat zincs, and wayward projects abandoned in the shop for a day, a week, or forever.

At Boon Dock Marine, the coffee was free, but Heinekens from the jumbo Igloo cooler required a deposit in the ‘honor’ jar, and Boon ensured all remained honorable like a hawk. The industrious ones, those who still had their knees and backs intact, worked for Boon—a bottom paint job here or an outboard repair there. These youths, beers beaded with condensation in hand, waited next to Boon’s open-air desk for assignments, which came infrequently and were executed haphazardly. Most of the harbor’s liveaboards, those either passing through or permanently moored in Sargasso Cove, spent their lazy days earning a few dollars from pickup labor and tending the low flame of a perfect buzz.

Staticky Cowboi Rivers songs romanticizing American life played from the worn speakers of a decades-old radio set sitting on a shelf above Boon’s head. The multiple Grammy-winning country singer got plenty of airplay and cred around Boon Dock Marine, perhaps more than his due, because of his status as an honorary islander and Boon’s friend. Cowboi owned property all over St. Columba, most notably an exclusive resort on a mysterious private island that was swimming distance from the west side.

“I heard Rivers’ wife divorced him because he’s into jailbait,” said one of the sailors. This conjecture about Cowboi’s illicit love life was the first thing Gemma heard as she ducked under the tarp to fill her mug from the crusty Mr. Coffee, its hotplate caked with the sediment of a hundred overflowed pots. Her gold name tag glinted from the lapel of a navy blue blazer, accessorized with yellow flip-flops and a matching vinyl roll-top dry bag. The uniform gave away that she was among the legitimately employed, a rarity around Sargasso Cove.

“Biggest mistake of Cowboi’s life—marrying that Hollywood bitch. She’s got a mouth as big as a barn door. That’s where those rumors come from, and I won’t listen to them around here,” Boon said with irritation.

As Gemma's eyes adjusted to the blue-tinted shade, she greeted the crowd with the customary "mornin'." Her gaze rested on Boon, who nodded in her direction. The color of Boon’s hair could be described as dull blond, if someone were forced to describe its nondescript, salt-stiffened hue. It hung in long clumps around a face that years of island living had etched with a nautical map of broken capillaries and wrinkles, framing blue eyes that could change as fast as the skies from clear to stormy. Boon was substantial in the way that someone becomes when they've thoroughly claimed a space, his faded t-shirt bearing the silhouette of some long-forgotten regatta stretching across a torso that had rounded with age.

Gemma knew from experience that Boon shut down any loose talk about his hero before it could gain momentum. On this island, Cowboi was more legend than man, and legends bred stories. Out of courtesy, Gemma shifted the subject to something of more importance than the alleged sexual activities of a music star.

“Any news on Vaughn?” she asked.

Boon flashed her an indecipherable look.

Some days, especially after post-work drinks, Gemma gossiped and joked with the best of the Heineken crew. But today, she stood somber, speculating about the disappearance of one of their own. Vaughn, a Boon Dock regular, hadn’t shown up at the tarp-covered hangout for over a week. Vaughn had been known to sleep off a particularly nasty hangover for a few days, but he’d never been missing for this long without a word.

“I saw him getting on the airport ferry. It was Vaughn, I swear,” Crab said.

If you could have a first mate on land, then Crab would be Boon’s. Crab reminded Gemma of a Slim Jim wearing a Greek fisherman’s cap. His desiccated arms and legs were permanently tanned and salted. In the leather of his face, pale eyes burned with the fever of a consistent .08 blood alcohol level. Crab, a friendly soul, was always happy and ready to motor out to the lobster traps to feed the crowd from a big steel pot he tended over a propane barbecue. He had the jovial nature and skills of a man born to boats.

“Cheese and bread, Crab, you must have spent your day in a bottle again if you saw Vaughn. That drunk is drowned and rolling at the bottom of the bay, as sure as I am sitting here in front of you.” Boon pursed his lips and scowled at his friend with disdain.

Crab and Boon were always at each other’s throats in a brotherly way. To Boon’s dismay, Crab plucked a pepperoni off a piece of day-old pizza, greasy and gathering flies, and flung it at Boon’s head like a frisbee. Slightly off target, it pucked off the back of Boon’s hand and landed in the bottom-paint-poisoned dust beyond the glowing blue light of the shack. A one-eyed Siamese streaked out from between the dirt foundation and the plank floor to snap up the meaty prize.

Gemma would have to wait until after work to find out if Crab had truly discovered anything new about Vaughn’s disappearance. Her commute across the island took thirty minutes on a good day, and today was not so good. A hangover of the alone-drinking variety parched her palate and sucked the energy from her legs…

 

About Kitty Turner:


Kitty Turner’s circus and showgirl career spanned five years. Until 2017, she toured the Caribbean casino and resort circuit along the Antilles chain with her husband and a rotating cast of international circus performers aboard a 47-foot sailboat. Before moving to the Caribbean in 2007, Kitty co-owned the nightclub 12 Galaxies in the Mission District of San Francisco. After hurricanes Irma and Maria destroyed her sailboat home, Kitty relocated to the Reno area and founded the book marketing company Daily House Media.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube |  Amazon

 


Giveaway Details:

2 winners will receive a finished copy of DAY DRINKERS. US Only.

2 winners will win an eBook DAY DRINKERS, International.

Ends October 15th, midnight EST.

Giveaway

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Blog Tour- PEI'S PINEAPPLE CAKES With An Interview and a #Giveaway!

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the PEI’S PINEAPPLE CAKES by Crystal Z. Lee Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post & enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: PEI’S PINEAPPLE CAKES

Author: Crystal Z. Lee

Pub. Date: May 10, 2025

Publisher: Balestier Press

Formats: Hardcover & Paperback

Pages: 40

Find it: Goodreads,  Amazon, B&N, BAM, Bookshop, Blackwells 

While visiting her grandmother in central Taiwan, Pei finds herself in the middle of a mystery. The pineapple cakes from her grandmother's bakery have disappeared! Soon Pei is collecting clues as she embarks on a quest to find the missing pineapple cakes.

From the traditional Taiwanese artisans' craftsmanship to the picturesque villages of central Taiwan, Pei discovers the beauty of her grandmother's home. This is a story of courage, adventure, and the love between grandchildren and grandparents.

Pei's Pineapple Cakes is an elaborately illustrated picture book that makes an ideal gift:

  • Real locations from central Taiwan make for an inspiring geographical, historical and cultural reading experience
  • Storyline sparks dialogue around kindness, empathy, courage, and resilience
  • Exquisite illustrations of Taiwanese artisans' craftsmanship foster appreciation for heritage and traditions
  • Bilingual text in English and Mandarin encourages learning in both languages

 

 

Author interview with Crystal Z. Lee

 

-Pei's Pineapple Cakes is your fifth book! Looking back, is there a book which you enjoyed writing more than others?

Creating Pei's Pineapple Cakes really brought back memories because I wrote about many elements of my childhood, such as calligraphy, aiyu jelly, glove puppetry, the monkey king, and of course, pineapple cakes!

Writing Mei's Mermaid Mission was also great fun because this is a book that spans mythology, ecology, culture and geography. I really immersed myself in the research process and found it fascinating that cultures all over the globe have mermaid mythologies. 

-Out of all the characters in your children's stories, including non-human ones, which is your favorite?

Pei's Amah in Pei's Pineapple Cakes is a favorite because I wrote this character as a composite of my own grandmas and mom. I'm also fond of the pirate in Mei's Mermaid Mission because he's a teachable character. It's my hope that children can learn that it's okay to make mistakes, even if they are hurtful ones, as long as one can admit to it and be committed to change. 

-Pei's Pineapple Cakes features a myriad of traditional folk arts. What was your thinking behind that?

My children are currently elementary school aged. Their generation is bombarded with devices and the pursuit of the latest technological applications and it sometimes seems like they've forgotten the beauty of traditional, slower-paced endeavors. It takes patience to bake, to make a specialized tea, to learn craftsmanship such as weaving. It's my hope that through this book, young readers can develop an appreciation for traditional artistry and handmade goods, versus things that are on the screen or machine made. 

-All of your children’s books have names in the titles, such as Pei, Mei, Rin and Kai. How do you come up with the character names in your books?

I try to be culturally authentic when choosing names for the characters. For example, in the story of Mei’s Mermaid Mission there are characters from Cambodia, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, etc., so their names are authentic to their cultural heritage. I remember receiving some criticism that some of these names were hard to pronounce. While that may be the case for some, I still think it’s a teachable moment. When we teach our children to learn names authentic to a certain culture, we are imparting virtues of empathy and respect. In this way, we also help our kids to cultivate an international worldview.

-How can your children's books be utilized in a classroom or educational setting?

In Pei's Pineapple Cakes, readers are introduced to some Taiwanese folk arts, so this book can be utilized for Asian cultural studies. Kai the Dancing Butterfly is about the Taiwanese butterfly migration, so it may be useful for a science and geography curriculum. Ocean conservation and animal habitat protection is a primary theme in Mei's Mermaid Mission, so this book is great for marine science and ecological studies. A Unicorn Named Rin takes place in the Tang dynasty so this story can be utilized in history class!

-What was the writing process for Pei's Pineapple Cakes like?

I wrote most of this story during an extended trip in Taiwan. I visited an aunt in Taichung which is in central Taiwan. I learned alot about Indigenous Taiwanese craftsmanship, traditional Hakka art, and I had the chance to see many relatives. I bring my laptop wherever I go so I can write whenever I feel inspired. After the manuscript was completed, Allie Su, who was also in Taiwan at the time, really brought the story to life with her illustrations. 

-Your first book was published five years ago. What are some of the major changes in your life from the past five years? 

Five years and five books ago I was a younger mom who was juggling mothering, writing and pitching while dreaming and praying for a career in writing. All I wanted to do was to write good stories with the hope that someone out there, some reader would be moved. But I'm the one that's been moved by many! I've received letters and messages from children, parents, educators all over the globe about how my books have inspired or affected them. I've been asked to read at schools, festivals and birthday parties. Truly I feel blessed all the time to be able to connect with people through the love of literature.

 

 

About Crystal Z. Lee:

Crystal Z. Lee is a Taiwanese American bilingual writer. She has called many places home, including Taipei, New York, Shanghai, and the San Francisco Bay Area. She was formerly a public relations executive in the fashion, beauty, and technology industries. She now resides in Silicon Valley with her husband and children. She is the author of the novel Love and Other Moods, and the children's books Mei’s Mermaid Mission, A Unicorn Named Rin, and Kai the Dancing Butterfly. Her poetry was included in the 2023 UK anthology, Tabula Rasa.

Website | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon

 

About Allie Su:

Allie Su grew up in Yunlin county, Taiwan. She often finds her illustration inspiration from the great outdoors. One of her favorite places to hike in Taiwan is Sun-Link-Sea Forest in Nantou. She adores Taiwanese cuisine and night market foods, such as stinky tofu, vegetarian noodles and taro pastries from Taichung. Allie also illustrated Mei's Mermaid Mission and Kai the Dancing Butterfly.

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive an autographed copy of Pei's Pineapple Cakes and Mei's Mermaid Mission, US Only.

Giveaway ends September 6th, midnight EST.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Blog Tour- THE EXCHANGE & OTHER CALAMITIES by @MalMcCartney With An Excerpt and a $10 Amazon GC #Giveaway!


I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE EXCHANGE & OTHER CALAMITIES by Mallory McCartney Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: THE EXCHANGE & OTHER CALAMITIES

Author: Mallory McCartney

Pub. Date: July 22, 2025

Publisher: Anuci Press

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Find it: Goodreads,  https://books2read.com/The-Exchange-and-Other-Calamities, Buy from Anuci Press

Read for FREE with a Kindle Unlimited Membership! 

Evil lurks in the darkness, clawing its way towards unsuspecting victims…  

A woman living with fibromyalgia finds an artifact that unleashes a reality she never thought possible… at a steep price.

Two high school seniors take part in a tradition that brings them face to face with the monstrous truth behind a haunting dark urban legend. 

The face behind a popular Youtube ghost hunting show travels to the scene of a horrific event to find fresh horrors await there. 

Fate takes a bite out of a young woman who ventures into the wilderness to grieve her mother.

Best-selling author, Theo Anderson, takes part in a sleep study that turns her into the very thing she fears. 

Hold your breath as you immerse yourself in five harrowing stories written by best-selling author, Mallory McCartney. Fans of her gripping Black Dawn Series will be kept on the edge of their seat by this horror collection inspired by real life events!


"Mrs. McCartney has boldly taken her first foray into horror, and I'm proud to say it's ridiculously fun. I've read my fair share of horror, but McCartney writes in a way that made even my stomach turn at points. It takes a lot of skill to successfully create an atmosphere suitable for the horrific things happening throughout this book, but she does it here and then some, making you feel like you're smackdab in the middle of it all. By the time I turned the last page I felt like I'd been put through the wringer, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next." -Patrick Delaney author of Witch 13, The House that Fell from the Sky 

 

Excerpt:

“I shut the mirror with a click and froze. Fear dripped through me, starting at the crown of my head and dousing my body so completely, my mind went blank. A scream lodged firmly in my throat—I couldn’t utter a sound. Fire and ice raced through my veins, churning my stomach, and bile rose in my throat.

Fingers had appeared from thin air, and they grew and morphed into inky claws. They curled over my shoulder and gripped it hard. Then, with pallid skin, the rest of the intruder appeared.”

 

“The creature’s grip only hardened.

My eyes rolled back. My lungs screamed for oxygen, for release. In our reflection, which I caught in blurred moments, my face was purple, my mouth hanging open in a silent scream. The creature pulled me closer. Its other arm wrapped around my waist. Where before it had no defined eye sockets, there now sat two massive orbs.

And they burned red.”

 

“Something moved to my left. My steps faltered, and my response faded. It was the middle of the day, but in the hallway, the shadows deepened. On the wall in front of me, the painting was of a man wearing a collared shirt and a serious expression. His gaunt cheekbones made his eyes look more sunken. The bland yellow background with nothing in it drew the viewer in, but cast a greenish hue to the whole picture. He looked sick. The whole painting did.

My bottom lip trembled and I bit it so hard, the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

Stepping closer to the painting, I watched as blood—real blood—poured from this man’s eyes, words appearing to write themselves along his chest:

You are mine now.”

 

 

About Mallory:

Mallory McCartney currently lives in Sarnia, Ontario with her husband, their dachshunds Link, and Leonard and their sphynx cats Luna, Legolas, Ivy and Lily. When she isn’t working on her next novel or reading, she can be found day dreaming about fantasy worlds or bingeing her favorite horror movies.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group| Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

 




Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card, International.

Ends August 19th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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