Friday, July 15, 2016

Books, Chocolate and Wine with Sandy Bruney

The week is almost over. The summer is whishing past quickly. This week, Sandy Bruney, a longtime friend, is my guest author.
Books, Chocolate, and Wine…my favorite three things! Thank you, Ruth, for allowing me to visit today. I am excited to share some good news: my paranormal, A Question of Time, is a RONE finalist!
This was so unexpected I didn’t believe it at first when I saw the announcement on Facebook. It was a long and winding road (yes, the Beatles are another favorite).
Here is how it happened. I submitted a book that I had slaved over (and is still unpublished, alas). While working on it, I took a break and wrote a story for my own amusement. I hadn’t tried the paranormal genre and thought it would be fun to experiment. I tossed in time travel, telekinesis, shape shifting, and oh, yes, an alternate history. In my book, the United States is totally isolated from the world and ruled by the Jeffersonian dynasty and a Parliament.
The publisher, CleanReads, passed on the submission, but asked if I had anything else ready. Gulp. I sent in the book I never thought would see the light of day, and it was accepted!
To finish this story, I wrote a sequel, “A Question of Loyalty” and then a third to end the trilogy, A Question of Time.
Throughout the books, Caroline and Nathan use their paranormal gifts while serving their county and king. The story takes them from their initial romance to honeymooners (book 2) and finally, a family. The last book was the hardest to write, because in it Nathan questions the morality of his gift and almost loses his life when he is accused of kidnapping and possibly murdering King Thomas IV. And yes, I also reveal how and why the first Thomas Jefferson accepted the crown.
Sort of.
I submitted the book to InD’tale magazine for a review and was delighted with the result. As if that wasn’t enough, it garnered a nomination for the RONE, and much to my astonishment, it got enough votes from readers to become a finalist. The results will be announced in October.
In time, there are infinite places to hide a king.
When The Great Manzini kidnaps King Thomas IV during a magic show at the Ford Theater, Nathan recognizes his old enemy Rasmussen. He confronts the villain, who sends him sixty years into the future. On his return, Nathan is arrested as an accomplice to kidnapping and possible murder. Caroline must rescue the king to prove her husband’s innocence…but where in time is he?
4.5 Star Review:
A  Question  of  Time Sandy  Bruney
This is a refreshing and original take on everything from time travel to shape-shifting creatures. The author’s deft prose is perfectly suited to the narrative and the settings she creates with subtle nuances of tone and mood.
A Question of Time is not a typical book by any means. Fast-paced and intelligent, it is a fantastic read in any universe.   ….Gwenellen Tarbet  InD’tale Magazine
Buy Links: An e-book available at:
Excerpt from A Question of Time:
Caroline shut the door to her room and sagged against it for a moment. She hadn’t slept in nights. Day had followed day with no word, and each day her despair grew—a despair she was careful to keep hidden. Her cheerful optimism came with a price, and she felt that her inner strength had reached its limit.
Where, or when, was Nathan?
She didn’t want to get into her lonely bed, so she sat in her chair, feet tucked under her, hands clasped loosely in her lap. She let her head fall back and shut her eyes, remembering the first time she had seen him, annoyed at her pestering and not bothering to hide it. She knew now she had been naïve to request his help in finding Father, who turned out not to have been kidnapped after all, but Nathan had been kind enough to go along with her search, only to realize others were also searching for the inventor, and not with benign intentions.
As they faced danger together, she had felt herself fall hopelessly in love with the handsome, auburn-haired man with intense green eyes.
She had never expected to find love. She was too tall, too gawky. Moreover, while nursing her mother during her final illness, she had missed the parties and dances, the outings where young men and women learned to flirt with each other. She hadn’t learned to be coy, but blurted out what she was thinking. She rushed into situations without heeding the consequences.
Nathan hadn’t seemed to notice her awkwardness. He occasionally got angry with her, but only because he feared for her safety. He respected her opinions, as if he thought she had a brain and could use it.
Then Father came home and all went back to the way it had been. She ran his household, obeyed his whims, and kept her dreams to herself.
 Until Matilda. After his marriage, Father had declared he would find Caroline a husband. Horrified at the thought, she had run to Nathan and begged him to take her to Washington with him as his clerk.
Instead, he had proposed. And they had married that same day, much to Father’s astonishment.
She laughed even as a tear trailed down her cheek.
And suddenly she felt his presence. She opened her eyes.
And he was there.
About the Author:
Sandy Bruney is a native of New York State, but has lived in North Carolina for half her life. When not at the keyboard inventing new stories, she enjoys reading, working in the yard, and visiting with her three adult sons and their families, including three grandchildren. She is the organizer and past president of her local writing group, and is active in her church. She also volunteers at the animal shelter and has two rescue cats.






1 comment:

  1. I loved "A Question of Boundaries" and am not surprised with your RONE nomination! Best wishes for continued success!

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