#Excerpt from A LIFE LESS ORDINARY by Victoria Bernadine @VicBernadine #AmReading #ChickLit

The coffee shop wasn’t very busy.  Only a couple of tables were occupied, with several more people standing in line. Manny sat rather nervously at her table sipping her third vanilla latte and wondering if she was as crazy as Rebecca and Daisy claimed. This would be her fourth interview today of a potential travelling companion and she hoped this guy would be more of a possibility than the other three she’d already met. Oh, they all seemed nice enough, but Olive had been jittery and they’d quickly realized their personalities would never mesh well enough to travel together for six months. Isaac had had a predatory, speculative gleam in his eyes as he looked her over–and she hadn’t needed Harvey to tell her to stay as far away from him as possible.

Darius was very sweet and charming, just eighteen, but he couldn’t pay his own way, and Manny wasn’t about to support him for six months. He’d shrugged and accepted her decision with an adorable smile and she offered to call Daisy’s boss, Max, to see if he had any work that Darius could do. Darius had thanked her and even paid for their lattes, and they’d chatted for a good forty-five minutes before he’d finally gone on his way. Yes, he would have been a good choice–and she might change her mind if she didn’t find anyone before she left in two weeks.

You can always go by yourself.

I know. But it would be more fun with someone else.

You’ll have me.

Manny glanced at Harvey sitting in the chair across from her. He was dressed casually in jeans and a button down shirt open at the throat to show the strong lines of his neck and chest.

You’re not real.

Harvey winked at her. Just checking.

She shook her head and Harvey blinked out of existence as the door opened and a darkly handsome man walked in. He paused in the doorway and removed his sunglasses as he glanced around the small room. Securely hidden in her corner, Manny considered him.

Tall; over six feet. Dark. Handsome, with large, dark eyes and full pouty lips. His black, tousled hair and dark stubble on his face gave him a sexy, scruffy appearance. He was slim, with broad shoulders, narrow hips and long legs encased in jeans.

I’ll bet he has a great ass.

I’ll bet you’re right.

He’s like a younger version of me.

Manny blinked at the man standing in the doorway and realized Harvey was right. Oh, they didn’t exactly look alike, but they had similar colouring, and a similar underlying confidence and arrogance in their stance. Probably something natural when you’re that naturally gorgeous, Manny thought ruefully, or, in Harvey’s case, thatunnaturally perfect.

I’d almost be jealous…if I was real.

But you’re not–and he’s quite something. I wonder who he’s here to me…eeet.

Her internal dialogue trailed off as the stranger’s gaze met hers. He gave a half smile and headed towards her.

For the last fifteen years, Rose “Manny” Mankowski has been a very good girl. She turned her back on her youthful fancies and focused on her career. But now, at the age of 45, she’s questioning her choices and feeling more and more disconnected from her own life. When she’s passed over for promotion and her much younger new boss implies Manny’s life will never change, something snaps. In the blink of an eye, she’s quit her job, sold her house and cashed in her pension, and she’s leaving town on a six month road trip.

After placing a personal ad for a travelling companion, she’s joined in her mid-life crisis by Zeke Powell, the cynical, satirical, most-read – and most controversial – blogger for the e-magazine, What Women Want. Zeke’s true goal is to expose Manny’s journey as a pitiful and desperate attempt to reclaim her lost youth – and increase his readership at the same time. Leaving it all behind for six months is just an added bonus.

Now, armed with a bagful of destinations, a fistful of maps, and an out-spoken imaginary friend named Harvey, Manny’s on a quest to rediscover herself – and taking Zeke along for the ride.

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – ChickLit, Contemporary Fiction

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author

 Connect with Victoria Bernadine on Twitter

Blog victoriabernadine.wordpress.com

#Excerpt from TOUCHING MADNESS by K S Ferguson #AmReading #Fantasy #MustRead

We're here today to interview the characters of Touching Madness. Joining me are River Madden, the hero of our story; DPS Talent 'Sammie' Samuels, River's friend and companion; and Smokey, a demon resident of the Dark Place.

River: (cough, cough)

Sorry. And River's nightmare, the soot-ball. River, can you tell us a little about yourself? Who are you? What is your role in the story?

River: I'm just a twenty-something schizophrenic homeless guy trying to find his family. And understand women. And not make any more bargains with demons. I sell sketches to feed myself and spend a lot of time hanging out in libraries. No one minds if you loiter in a library as long as you're reading.

Sammie: River's being modest. He's the man who saves three dimensions.

Smokey: He is a traveler of the multiverse and a clever negotiator. (Smoke streams from Smokey's nostrils, and his thick bull brows pull down.) He also has a talent for destruction and chaos.

River: It wasn't my fault. Destroying the dimension, I mean. Well, it was my fault, but it was for a good cause.

What's the challenge that you're trying to overcome during the story?

River: Sorting out what's real from what I hallucinate. Facing my nightmares.

Soot-ball (swirls around River's face)

River: Um… not that kind of nightmare.

Sammie (frowning at River): Are you sure you aren't hallucinating the soot-ball? Because none of us talents can see it.

River: Smokey sees it.

Smokey (batting at soot-ball while it zooms in circles around his head): Like its creator, the soot-ball is both tenacious and annoying.

Sammie (looking askance at the demon): Maybe Smokey pretends to see it so he can manipulate you.

Don't medications help with your schizophrenia? Wouldn't they stop the hallucinations and make you a 'normal' person, more like a typical hero?

River (shifting in his seat): It's a common misconception that schizophrenia meds make everything better, normal. But they don't always work. They also have a lot of nasty side effects. And how would I get them? I don't have money to pay for prescriptions. Before you ask, have you ever tried to get services at a community mental health clinic? There's always too many people in need and never enough budget to go around. Besides, they might put me in a mental ward again. I'd rather be crazy than incarcerated.

Sammie: You shouldn't dwell on River's mental disorder. He's more than a condition, and he compensates in so many ways. You should thank your lucky stars he was there to save the multiverse instead of questioning why he isn't 'normal.'

If you could make one wish, River, what would it be?

River: To find a home, a place where I'm wanted despite being crazy. If I can't have that, then I wish the light bulbs would stop singing off-key. No, scratch that. I'd like the light bulbs to stop singing, period.

Light bulbs talk to River Madden; God doesn't. When the homeless schizophrenic unintentionally fractures a dimensional barrier and accidentally steals a gym bag containing a million dollars, everyone from the multiverse police to the local crime boss—and an eight-foot tall demon—are after him. Can he dodge them long enough to correct his mistakes and prevent the destruction of three separate dimensions? If he succeeds, will the light bulbs stop singing off-key?

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Contemporary, Urban fantasy

Rating – R

More details about the author

Website http://www.ksferguson.net