D

D
As many of you may know, our beloved sister hostess SHARON DONOVAN, tragically passed away on 11th April 2012. We who knew her, loved her, and were inspired by her courage and determination to face head on whatever life threw at her. When she could no longer see to paint she turned to writing and showed her amazing talent in the Inspirational Romance and Romantic Suspense genres, and her story 'Charade Of Hearts' was awarded the coveted Predators and Editors Award in January 2011.

This Blog was a source of great delight to her, she was one of the founder hostesses and she contributed to the fun and silliness in her own original way, and was kind enough to let her unique creation, the hunky butler 'Oliver' join us for our Friday romp and prepare 'virtual breakfast' for the guests on the following morning. It's beyond hard to have to go on without her, but we know that she would have been the first to insist that 'the show must go on.' She is, and will always be with us in spirit.
Sharon, dear friend, we will never forget you.
The Author Roast and Toast is part of the legacy you left us. Let's raise a Toast to you as well as all our guests.
***********************************************************

Friday, September 26, 2014

THE HOSTESSES' 'DROP IN' DAY

 Hi everyone, sorry there's no Roast today.  But the hostesses may pop in and out, if their busy lifestyles and writing commitments permit, to tell you a little bit about themselves that you might not know, and answer any questions.

And of course there's virtual food - I' ve brought some chicken fingers and dip, and various chocolate cakes and puddings and chocolate Martini (can you tell I have a sweet tooth)

 I love Science Fiction and Fantasy romance and am an avid reader of both as well as a writer (one little known fact about me - I  hate the term Sci-Fi. not sure why, it's one of my little quirks.  Call my stories Space Opera and I'm fine but 'Sci-Fi' makes me cringe.)  Apart from that I'm fairly laid back I think.
I have two Science Fiction Romance novels published with The Wild Rose Press 'Starquest' and the follow up, 'Children Of The Mist' and am about to submit the third in the series.  I also have a romantic fantasy set in 5th century Wales, entitled 'Dancing With Fate'.

  I love all animals (and my sister hostesses.)  I have two horses, a Paint/Quarterhorse mare with attitude, called 'Flying T'pau' and a black Welsh Cob gelding affectionately known as 'Harri' although his proper name is 'Pentrepiod Sovereign'.  Nearly two months ago I had to say goodbye to my beloved rescue Jack Russell, Bouncer, but we have now adopted a black Lhasa Apso we have named Pipkin.  Another rescue, he has some issues with his toys,being very possessive of them, but we're hoping we can work through these, because in all other ways he is a little sweetheart.

OK, that's enough about me.  Please ask any questions you wish and I'll do my best to answer them.  And I hope my hostess sisters will join me soon - otherwise I'll have to eat all this virtual food myself!

Friday, September 19, 2014

A trip into space with A J Maguire, author of Deviation


“Lilly, why are you wearing that space suit? This is a Terraformed planet, the likes of which you have never seen.” Lyn asks. Mac, LaVerne, Lyn and Mary gaze at Lilly in her bulky suit. They are dressed in lovely shimmering gowns, simple, yet flattering.  
                                                                                                        
 Lilly shakes her ample booty and grabs the dress Mac hands her. “I’ll be ready in a jiffy. Oh, heck, wait! I can’t undo this thing. Help!

After all the hostesses give it their best shot. Lilly is still stuck in the space suit and it’s time to go to the party. 

“Sorry, I didn’t know that Mars was so…alive.” Lilly awkwardly makes her way from the space shuttle that took them to the purple planet. “I always thought Mars was the red planet. It’s my favorite color.”

"Purple's mine, Lyn says, gazing around admiringly.

“Has she been drinking?” Mary glances at Lilly again and elbows LaVerne who nods and shakes her head as she shrugs her shoulders.

“Not yet, but when she does, we’ll have to carry her out of here and that suit weighs a ton.” LaVerne shivers. “Ouch, Lyn, watch where you step with those boats you have for shoes. You nearly crushed my toes.


“Well if Mary would stop shoving those ballast things she has on her chest into me, I wouldn’t have stepped on your foot.” Lyn snickers.

“I think we should act more professional.” Mac adds to the conversation as she twirls in her dress.

“Professional?” Mary chuckles. They all look at one another and crack up laughing. “Not on your life.” Mary twirls with Mac. 

“Uh, ladies," Lyn interrupts,  A J Maguire  author of Deviation stands in the doorway to the huge room where partiers are already mingling. “If you wouldn’t mind. I’d like us to do the toast now if we could.” 

Aimee Jean looks lovely in her voluminous, floor length, exotic, dress. 
The girls follow her into the party. 

“The women here seem different. Did you notice?” Lyn wonders.

“Yes, they’re cyber something enhanced. Not like us at all.” Mary adds as she scans the room for Oliver.  

“There’s Oliver, let’s all get one of those Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters. I know they are kinda green, but I hear they pack a punch. And I ain’t eatin’ no rat, I don’t care if it tastes like steak. I’ll eat the brownie rat shaped thing. But, that’s my limit.”

“Since when have you ever had a limit?” Lyn laughs.

Mac holds Mary off of Lyn as they approach the drink table. Lyn with great ceremony raises her glass. “To A J , may your sales be in the millions.” Cheers fill the room and strange music echoes through the large chamber. 

Mac a little shocked at how strong the drink tastes, then points to Mary as she downs the cosmic blend in one large gulp. “Uh, 
Aimee Jean warned us. You were only supposed to sip that Mary.”

The hostesses look at Mary as the drink hits her. With a winsome smile she collapses into a chair and is out like a light.
“Well,” Mac sighs. “She always was a cheap date. She can’t cause trouble if she’s passed out. 

Anyhow, let’s welcome everyone to A J Maguire’s roast and toast.” She raises her glass, “To a wonderful book and its author!”
From the Back Cover
PURCHASE LINK
 The female race as we know it is extinct.  In a last ditch effort for human survival, scientists altered the female genome, creating the mutated Novo Femina race.  These deformed and cybernetic-enhanced women have been placed into tight subjugation by the religiously fanatic Makeem Loyalists.  High Priestess Celeocia Prosser finds herself in the ultimate showdown of male versus female and sends her son careening through time to locate the one person in Earth’s history who might be able to tip the balance of war; Reesa Zimms.

 Reesa, a science fiction novelist of some renown, is ill-prepared for her sudden appearance in the future.  Accused of being either a prophet or a murderer, she comes face to face with the deformities she thrust onto the female race, and is forced to confront her own motivations for writing the atrocities in her books.



DEVIATION - EXCERPT
“This is your last book tour, Reesa Zimms.” The woman holding the gun said with such authority that Reesa’s stomach knotted in reaction. “I need to know who Patient Zero is and I need to know now.”

 There were several different kinds of heroes, Reesa thought numbly as she stared at the gun.  John Wayne’s no-nonsense, hit-‘em-with-the-butt of your weapon came to mind, but she had very little in common with the heroes he portrayed and she’d be the first to admit it.

 Clinging to Jake’s belt, Reesa tried to work up the courage to at least think straight.  Because if she didn’t think of something very quickly, her publicist of eight years was going to be shot right in the middle of Brady’s Belfue Bookstore.  Her immediate instinct to run was curtailed by the chest-high bookshelves boxing them in and her legs refused to move.

Jake’s shoulder blocked part of her view, shielding her from the gun.  He stood poised and unmoving, his six foot frame a solid presence in the store front.  His attention never wavered from the threat in front of them.  Reesa’s chest went tight;who would’ve thought Jake had it in him? Her mind ticked off several reasons why he’d place himself in danger for her, most of them dealing with their business relationship.  She was his client, after all, but a publicist was a far cry from a bodyguard.

When Reesa still hadn’t answered, Jake shifted just-so, bringing more of his body between her and the gun.  He hesitated, but finally managed to speak; “She already told you she doesn’t know.”
Reesa heard the slight waver in his usually self-assured tone – even if the woman couldn’t – and felt the muscles in his back coil.  He almost sounded normal, as though there was nothing strange about a woman with a tattoo in her eyeball pointing a gun at them.

Hero, Reesa thought, her fingers tightening on his belt so hard she could feel the leather edge bite into her skin; maybe not John Wayne, but a hero just the same.

“In the first book, Martian Tribulation, page eighty-five, you wrote that the Mavirus had a starting point, a Patient Zero, but that scientists never found her.” Tattoo woman continued to speak to Reesa, ignoring Jake’s presence completely. “But that doesn’t mean you don’t know who she is.”

Internally, Reesa decided she was going to try her hand at the young adult market.  She doubted J.K. Rowling had ever been held up by a fan demanding to know where Diagon Alley really was.  For that matter, Reesa had never known her fan base included the cult-like insane until two minutes ago.
The blonde woman was dressed in an overly plush jacket that seemed to swallow her in cadet-blue, stained fabric.  Her face, however, was clearly visible – all smooth contours and elegant features, and Reesa was struck with a strange sense of recognition.  She was familiar, even with the tattooed eyeball, but Reesa couldn’t place her in her memory.  She was beautiful like a diamond, Reesa thought; pretty to look at but cold and hard to touch.

 For half a heartbeat Reesa hoped she saw conflict in Tattoo Woman’s gray-green eyes.  And then those eyes hardened, slitting into a glare that froze Reesa’s blood.  Tattoo depressed the trigger and the shot cracked into the little bookstore, echoed by the barely stifled screams of those unfortunate customers who’d come in for Reesa’s autograph.  Jake grunted in painful surprise, slamming back against her.

Scrambling to catch him, Reesa released his belt and wrapped her arms around his lean torso.  But he was three inches taller than she was and at least fifty pounds heavier.  They toppled backward, crashing into the book signing table, which promptly slid into the nearest bookshelf.  Reesa’s head connected with the hardwood floor an instant later, sharp lights bursting into her vision on impact.  Jake landed heavily on top of her, his head smacking into her shoulder so hard that her fingers went numb.

Books showered around them, paperbacks plunking to the ground, their titles reflecting the halogen lights in a strangely innocuous way.  Shocked out of the present, Reesa blinked at one cover in particular.  Ender’s Game, it read, Orson Scott Card’s novel.  Next to it was a copy of her third novel: The Jupiter Invasion, a Tale of the Lothogy. Its copper lettering taunted her from the floor just before Tattoo stepped back into view.

Tattoo’s perfect mouth twisted into a scowl. “I tried to avoid this.”



                    Author Bio: 

A.J. (Aimee Jean) Maguire is a mountain-climbing, martial arts loving, published author with one child and one cat and a borderline unhealthy fixation with the written word.

Currently she has five books out for sale.  The first two books are Sedition and Saboteur, which are a part of a series and were published through Wings ePress.  Witch-Born and it’s sequel Dead Magic  are published by Double Dragon Publishing.  Her very first science fiction, Deviation, hit virtual shelves in August 2014.                                                                                                                                                      




 
***GIVEAWAY***
To win a copy of A J Maguire's book, all you have to do is just leave a comment and your e-mail address.
Contest ends on Sunday and everyone who comments is eligible.
(We reserve the right to waive the prize in any week when there are not enough contestants for a draw to be deemed fair and unbiased)

Friday, September 5, 2014

A Hollywood Premier celebration for 'Paper Doll' by Joe Cosentino

The hostesses walk down the red carpet, flashes from the cameras exploding in their faces.
Mac, Lilly and Mary, dressed in gorgeous creations of mint green, blue and deep violet respectively, sashay down the runway, wide smiles on their faces as they wave at the public who wait patiently ten-deep for a glimpse of their favourite stars. 

“Oh, my gosh, Lyn,” LaVerne whispers out the corner of her mouth as they follow their fellow hostesses, her normally pale skin drained of all colour. “When you mentioned we were hosting a movie premiere for Joe Cosentino and his stunning heroine, Jana Lane, you failed to mention it was a Hollywood premiere. Look at the gorgeousness around us.” She gestures around then glances down at her own snug jeans and heels and winces. “I’m underdressed!”

 
Lyn grins and links their arms, propelling them in a stately march to the entrance. “Silly girl. This is Hollywood. Anything goes. You’re rocking the casual-cool look. Besides,” she nods towards Mary who’s stopped to have a selfie taken with a fan. “Everyone will be too distracted by Mary’s girls in that dress to take any notice.”

“I heard that.” Mary waves goodbye to her adoring public and matches stride with Lyn and LaVerne, adjusting the front of her dress in a futile tug. “What I wouldn’t give for a safety pin.”

“Oh, no,” LaVerne grins and links her free arm with Mary’s. “Flaunt it, girlfriend. I would if I could.”
Without warning, Lyn picks up speed and drags the other hostesses along making them trip over her feet. “The party has started and the special guests are here, hurry up girls!”

They join Mac and Lilly at the entrance where Oliver waits for them all before dispensing glasses of champagne and flattery. They float inside, blushing and giggling like schoolgirls. A man, resplendent in a tuxedo turns at their noisy entrance, a smile lighting his face and murmurs to the stunning woman at his side, her strawberry-blonde hair glinting under the chandeliers.

“Joe! Jana!” Lilly steps forward and kisses them each on the cheek. “How lovely to see you both. I can’t wait to hear more about your story. It sounds intriguing!”

“Thank you,” Jana replies, the musical quality to her voice matching the beauty of her appearance. “And thank you for hosting the premiere. This spread is amazing.”


Chocolate popcorn, pesto pizza, star shaped ginger cookies, tuxedo
brownie cookies, chocolate covered strawberries, strawberry shortcake, and strawberry ice cream sundaes. 

“No one does a party like the Roast girls, that’s for sure,” agrees Mac then sidles closer to the banquet table. “Hmm. Chicken Fingers With Caviar or Red Carpet Rollups.” Unable to decide, she plucks up both and bites into the rollup first, closing her eyes in delight. "Dig in guys. Oliver has really upped his game tonight!"


Not needing any further encouragement, they crowd the table, oohing and ahhing over the centrepiece, an Oscar-shaped fruit jello mold before piling their plates high.

Lilly taps her glass for attention. “Before we start, let’s raise our glasses to Joe Cosentino and his new novel, Paper Doll. With Jana center-stage, it is sure to be a hit!”

They hold their glasses aloft and clink, the sound of merriment filling the air. 

 
 PAPER DOLL
Picture
Purchase at Amazon

After a short ride into the center of town, Jana parked her car and walked to a dress shop on Carriage House Court. Once inside, she tried on her new dress for the evening—a pretty rayon print. Both the encouraging saleswoman and Jana agreed the dress was the most beautiful creation in Dutchess County, New York.

Moments later, Jana hurried out of the store with box-in-hand—totally convinced that the dress was not right for her. As she ran across the lamppost-lined street, the ex-child star noticed an odd-looking boy with a turned up nose and a full red mouth. She realized that he was dressed in light blue from head-to-toe. As he grew closer in her view, he transformed into a thirty-eight-year-old man sporting the beginnings of a receded hairline and an intense gleam of desire in his big brown eyes.

“Jana, it’s you!”

“Have we met?” She took a step backward and perused the small town shops for lit windows.

“Pardon me. I feel like I’ve known you all my life!” he said ecstatically. When for some reason she seemed perplexed, he added, “I watch your movies!”

“Still?”

“Sure. All the time.”

Ah, a fan. “I’m flattered.” Let’s see, is there a working pen in my purse to sign an autograph? “That’s quite noble.”

“You’d be surprised the parts you can forget. Like when you were seven years old in Surf’s Up, and you saved your little friend, Timmy, from that shark. Then you swam him on your back to your father’s boat. And when Timmy asked if you would ride with him back to shore you said, ‘Don’t worry . . . I won’t leave you. We’ll be friends . . . always.’ I almost forgot that part until I replayed you on tape yesterday, and there it was. It still puts a lump in my throat.”

“Thank you.” Is there any mace in my purse?

“My name is Mark Leonard. I’m your biggest fan!” His eyes grew bulbous.

“Nice to meet you, Mark.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” He bowed grandly.

Not knowing if she should pat him on the head or lift her ring to his lips, she said, “I’d better go.” Jana placed one foot in front of the other, hoping the man would not follow her. Once at a safe distance, she called out over her shoulder, “Take care,” and kept walking—rapidly.

He stood on the curb, wiped the perspiration from his hands onto his vest, and called out, “I’m so happy to have finally met you. I’ve been searching for quite a while. I even tracked down your father. I phoned him to try to find you. You mean a great deal to me. I wake up each morning thinking about your movies. If I’m having a bad day . . . which is most of the time . . . I remember something encouraging you said in one of your films, and I feel better.”

Jana waved and walked faster.

“And don’t worry, Jana. Other people may have stopped watching, but not me. I promise! I’ll always be your fan.”


Fifteen minutes later, Jana’s sports car rounded a curve overlooking New York’s picturesque Hudson Valley. She was lost in thought about the strange mix of people in her little hometown—not so unlike the people she had once encountered in Hollywood’s motion picture industry. Jana spotted a small black car growing larger behind her. She strained to see the driver’s face in her rear view mirror, but instead noticed a black tinted front window—now a few inches away from her back fender. Feeling the sweat drip down her leg, Jana pressed harder on the gas pedal. Rapidly approaching a zigzag in the road, she noticed the upcoming stretch of non shouldered highway was under construction and had no guard-rail. Suddenly, the black car was an inch away and then just a heart palpitation away! As Jana flashed her lights, she pleaded with God to save her—for the sake of her children, to reconcile with Brian, to watch over her father and Tamara. Just as the black monstrosity was about to run her tiny sports car off the road, Jana veered right—into a patch of mud and briar. With a growl, the black car sped along the open highway.

“Joe Cosentino has utilized his keen knowledge of show business through shrewd celluloid eyes with tight twists, wicked turns, and one stunning surprise after another!”
            ̶  Jeff Walt, author of “Hex”

“Paper Doll is a delicious concoction of suspense and nostalgia with all the trash of the tabloids and all the style of classic film noir.  Romance, glamour, lust, and murder, make a page turning mystery. I can’t wait for the sequel; I can’t wait for the movie!”
            ̶  Gerald Fierst, storyteller and author of “The Heart of the Wedding”
Joe Cosentino has appeared in principal acting roles in film, television, and theatre, opposite stars such as Bruce Willis, Rosie O’Donnell, Nathan Lane, Holland Taylor, and Jason Robards. He has written and directed many musical plays for family audiences (toured through Encore Performing Arts of NY, and one published through Eldridge Plays and Musicals). His one-act plays, Infatuation and Neighbor were performed in New York City. Another one-act, Swing, was performed by Stageworks of NY and published in the Marquee Literary Journal. He wrote The Perils of Pauline, available on CDROM (through Prentice Hall Publishers). Joe received his MFA from Goddard College in Vermont, and MA from SUNY New Paltz. He is currently Head of the Department/Professor at a college in upstate New York. His upcoming novels include An Infatuation (Dreamspinner Press),Drama Queen, and Nick the Nerd (for children). JoeCosentino.weebly.com.


***GIVEAWAY***
To win a copy of Joe 's book, all you have to do is just leave a comment and your e-mail address.
Contest ends on Sunday and everyone who comments is eligible.
(We reserve the right to waive the prize in any week when there are not enough contestants for a draw to be deemed fair and unbiased)

AUTHOR ROAST AND TOAST

AUTHOR ROAST AND TOAST
authorroast@btinternet.com
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE OUR GUEST? DO YOU WANT TO PROMOTE YOUR NEW RELEASE OR EVEN AN OLDER ONE?IF YOU FANCY BEING GUEST OF HONOUR AT ONE OF OUR PARTIES JUST EMAIL US AT THE ADDRESS in 'OLIVER'S RULES'!(PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A 'G' RATED BLOG SO NOTHING HIGHER THAN THIS RATING, PLEASE.)