Blog Tour Stops and Final Pre-Launch Excerpt

Not only is March 8th International Women's Day, it's also my mother-in-law Ruth's birthday AND Launch Day for Mental Pause!!!! I'm so excited I can hardly breath.

I invite you to visit the blogs that are reviewing the book on the 8th and the rest of the month, and doing interviews and hosting guest blogs. Tomorrow's stops on the blog tour include:

Adventures in Expatland, Review and Interview

Author Interviews with Jo Parfitt

Book Readers Heaven - Review and Interview

Ravenous Reader - Review

Have you Heard my Book Review? - Meet the Author to be followed by a review 

Arabian Tales and Other Amazing Adventures - Review 

Voracious Reader - Review

Check an earlier posting for the full schedule. I'll post reminders and links each day of the tour. I'll be posting the Amazon links tomorrow (the 8th). If you're planning to buy a copy make sure you do it on launch day as I will be donating part of the proceeds from book sales to Room to Read, a charity that builds libraries and schools, publishes local language children's books and supports girls scholarships in developing countries. The organization believes that literacy is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty and I do too!

Happy Reading!

Here's the final chapter excerpt before launch...


Mental Pause - Chapter 9 (excerpt)
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Abbie and Rachel had no idea where Joan was taking them but she was adamant that she take the lead. Even after she gave the taxi driver the name, Abbie still didn’t have a clue.

“It’s been so long since I’ve been to a dance bar I’m not sure I remember how to act,” said Abbie uncertainly, shifting on the seat and trying to stretch her skirt further down towards her knees. She didn’t remember it being so short when she bought it. If there was anything remotely resembling a hem she would have considered letting it down.

“Stop fidgeting! You look incredible.” Joan playfully slapped Abbie’s hand away from her skirt and clinked her plastic cup against the one she held tightly in her hand. “Don’t worry, you’ll love it!” Joan had insisted they take some ‘roadies’ and had made a pitcher of cosmopolitans just before they walked out the door. A little pre-lubrication to kick start the party, she said.

“I’m so psyched I can’t stand it,” Rachel slung her arm over Joan’s neck. “Take good care of us now. We’re a little out of practice.”

Abbie rested her head on the back of the seat and closed her eyes. She would have to slow down a bit on the drinking or she might not make it to the first stop. Joan launched into a diatribe of advice. 

“Now, the first place we’ll hit is more like a lounge. The dance bars don’t get going until much later. I know the bartender and she makes a mean kamikaze.”

“I don’t even know what that is but it sounds dangerous,” Rachel took another swig of her cosmo.

Abbie opened her eyes and stole a glance at the tattoo on the back of Joan’s neck. She had only just noticed it when they were getting ready earlier. Abbie thought the angel wings on Joan’s ankle was the only tattoo she had. Joan was now shifted a bit sideways facing slightly towards Rachel so Abbie was able to study it without being obvious. It was the first time she had seen it in full as Joan usually wore her hair down. Tonight it was in a flattering upsweep fastened with a multicolored, randomly geometric, tortoise shell clip. 

Even as a fairly new tattoo fan, Abbie could appreciate that this one was a beautiful piece of art. It was a depiction of an angel, with wispy wings and soft edges in hues of blues and pinks with her eyes raised to the sky (or towards the top of Joan’s head). As Abbie studied the intricacies of the tattoo she realized that the sweet, ethereal angel had two sharp horns poking out of her curly golden hair and on closer inspection, she was gripping a squirming serpent in her right hand, from which long, red nails sprung.

Abbie gasped. Rachel and Joan had been in a boisterous conversation, planning the evening’s escapades and stopped and looked at her.