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Big DATA by @BHart_man Book Blitz by @RABTBookTours via #thetoiboxofwords #dystopia

 

Fiction / Dystopian / Humor
Date Published: November 2015

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It’s way past 1984.  Your toothbrush, your coffee maker and your Rice Krispies are running your life.  But don’t worry… BIG DATA IS WATCHING YOU!
Welcome to Goozle Earth®, a dystopia where the all-knowing and all-powerful force of Big Data rules humanity through the Internet of Things and the corporate power of Goozle Inc.  Where English® and every possible combination of words has been copyrighted and the only law is the Terms of Service, which has been replaced by the Terms of Servitude.  Where the proudly psychopathic Higgs, Caesar and Emperor Omnipotent (CEO) of Goozle Inc., is determined to launch the Next Big Thing.
Smith, a happy native of this paradise, wanders off the grid and discovers sex®, the knowledge of good and evil, and the pursuit of Happiness. Can he save the human race from the Next Big Thing?


EXCERPT
Smith stared back in confusion when Julia said he was living in a dystopia.
“A dystopia?” he repeated. The word was new to him. “What do you mean?”
They were somewhere in the Green Mountains, walking on a dirt road through a strangely silent woods. That was all Smith knew. He’d lost his way in the hills, his car stopping short where a huge fallen tree blocked the road. The woman who introduced herself as Julia climbed over the fallen tree before he could tell his car to turn around. Surprisingly, she offered to walk him into the nearby village to find something to eat. The eerie silence followed them into the village, swallowing his thoughts. Julia looked different from anyone he’d ever seen, though she had (he soon realized) the same blond hair and blue eyes and the same awkward gait as everyone else in the village. The others—he noticed half a dozen villagers cutting weeds or stacking firewood around a row of decaying frame houses—weren’t nearly so friendly as she was. Most of them turned away or receded into the shadows rather than to look at him. Some of them, he realized with a start, had beards.
“It’s a society where, basically, life sucks,” she explained. “You have no freedom or privacy. You can’t do anything, you can’t say anything, you can’t even think without somebody spying on you or listening in.”
Smith didn’t want to seem condescending, but he couldn’t help feeling superior to the crouching lowlifes he’d noticed slinking away as Julia led him into the village. These were apparently her neighbors. Who was she to cast aspersions on his life in Goozle Earth?
“My life doesn’t suck,” he said, smiling as always. “In fact, I can’t imagine being happier than I am. I have a good job at Celebrity Solutions, a nice condo, hundreds of friends, and two wonderful pets. Everything I want is delivered to my door within thirty minutes by an Amazzond drone.”
Julia laughed. “Guess who drank the Kool Aid!”
“Kool Aid?” Kool Aid® was Smith’s favorite beverage.
“Try thinking an original thought and see what happens.”
He stared back uncomprehendingly.
“You know,” she teased. “Say something more than 140 characters long.”
What was she talking about? Did she seriously expect him to violate the Terms of Service? She spoke fluent English® but used words he’d never heard before, like “freedom” and “privacy.” He’d heard that connectivity could be poor in rural areas, where the inhabitants—known as “Yahoos”—often expressed eccentric, paranoid ideas. Obviously, for whatever reason, he and Julia weren’t connecting. Still, there was something about her that affected him in a surprising, unfamiliar way. He later learned that it was called “sex®.”
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Twitter: @BHart_man
 
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Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords
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Excerpts Virtual Book Tours

Dance Away, Danger by @AlexaBourne- Book Blitz & #Giveaway by @RABTBookTours #romance

Romantic Suspense

Date Published: 1/4/14

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Sensible dance instructor Tessa Gage likes her life organized, risk-free and on her own terms. When her cop brother goes missing, his crooked partner tries to kill her, and a handsome stranger claims he’s come to protect her, she’s forced to leave her comfort zone. With more dance and business sense than survival skills and no idea who to trust, Tessa has no choice but to rely on this man who’d rather be anywhere but by her side.
When carefree carpenter Matt Rylan gets a late night call from an Army buddy who once saved his life, he finds himself where he never again wanted to be—responsible for someone else. Honor demands Matt cooperate, but he never expects his simple babysitting job to test the limits of his self-control. Nor does he expect it to explode into a race against time for his very freedom.
As Tessa and Matt get closer to the truth, and to each other, Tessa learns to step outside the safety of her world to help set the wheels of justice in motion. For Matt, supporting this courageous woman suddenly becomes everything to him.  Yet, his biggest challenge remains sharing his closed-off heart with her before the danger silences them both forever.

EXCERPT

 Tessa cringed. Froze.
The studio remained still. Her brother’s warning sprang into her head; if something didn’t feel right, get the hell out of there.
As quietly as she could, she stepped to the doorway and studied the empty dance floor. Shadows coiled around the lobby furniture to her right, accentuated by the pale moonlight seeping through the window blinds. Everything appeared normal. And yet, it felt wrong.
A blast of frigid winter air barreled from the rear of the building.
Thump…pause…thump.
Tessa scrambled to the desk, grabbed her cell phone.
Thump…pause…thump.
Shadows expanded on the floor behind her. Her fingers shook as she pressed 9…thump…1…thump.
“Tessa.”
The phone slipped from her grasp and clattered on the tile floor. She swung around and came face-to-face with a dark-haired stranger.
“How did you get in here?” How the hell did the man know her name?
He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “The lock on the back door needs to be replaced.”
He took a step toward her.
“Stay away!” She clenched her fists at her sides. Good grief, he blocked her only exit.
“Take it easy.” He raised his hands. They were empty of a weapon, but he had used them to break in when most of Hanover was already in bed. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Why should I believe you?”
They stood still, facing each other. He didn’t look so tough in his brown leather bomber jacket and construction boots—average height, average build, average features.
“Who are you, and what do you want?” She raised her chin, throwing out a fearlessness she didn’t possess. Damn, how many times had Jason tried to teach her self-defense? Why hadn’t she paid more attention?
“My name’s Matt Rylan. I’m a friend of Jason’s.”
She shook her head. “I know my brother’s friends. I’ve never seen you before.”

About the Author

Alexa Bourne is a teacher by day and a romance writer by nights, weekends, and all school holidays. She also teaches online classes for writers throughout the year. She writes romantic suspense and contemporary romance and is thrilled to have the chance to share her stories with readers everywhere.

When she’s not concocting sinister plots and steamy love scenes or traveling and exploring new cultures, Alexa spends her time reading, watching brainless TV, and thinking about exercising. Okay, she also spends way too much time interacting with readers and writers on social media sites. But don’t tell her editors! Find out more about her and her books on her website, www.alexabourne.com.

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Wolf Hunter by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom Book Blitz & #Giveaway by @RABTBookTours #paranormal #romance

Paranormal Romance
Date Published: May 2015

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Sworn enemies fated to be supernatural lovers…
Only a few know about a race of Lycans hidden deep within Miami‘s underground. And those who do not embrace the wolves seek to destroy them. Cameron Mitchell has sought to protect his kind…at any cost. But one beautiful woman may be his undoing.
Born into a family of wolf hunters, Abby Stark has never actually confronted a Lycan. Then Cameron steps out of the shadows and Abby is overcome with the need to be devoured. With her father vowing to destroy all of Cameron’s kind, Abby knows they have no future. Coupling with a were is not her destiny. Yet walking away is proving impossible.

 

About the Author

Linda is the author of contemporary, paranormal romance, and urban fantasy books for Kensington, Amazon Montlake, GothicScapes, Harlequin Nocturne, and Harlequin Desire. She loves more than anything to write, and has a resident Muse who loudly sings all these stories to her.

Linda swears that all of her books come loaded with good karma for the readers, for helping to support her writing dreams.

 

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Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords