Tag Archives: reading

A Children’s Book With A Difference

July 5, 2022 Karina Kantas Leave a comment

There are so many amazing children’s books, that entertain the kids and many carry life lessons within the story. Micki Wescotts’s book is the same apart from one detail. Micki writes these cute stories in a way that will start a conversation with your child.

If your child is quiet and shy, this book could finally get them to open up and get them to talk with you. This isn’t just a storybook for foster children, it’s for all children. These tales will stay with them and may start up a conversation the next day about the story.

You will meet Sara who didn’t go to kindergarten regularly and wanted to make sure her baby brother was safe.

Kittens who learned to forgive.

Billy bear who benefited from therapy.

10 little bugs who took care of moma and popa.

And a flower who realized it’s not so bad to live somewhere else.

And what makes Micki Wescott qualified to write these special books?

With over 22yrs + experience with foster care, wrap around services, mentoring, IEP navigation, trauma- based- behavior, abuse/neglect, holding a Master Life/Master Mindset certificate as well as Para-Social work/ Sign La proficiencies, the author desires to create that safe conversation space so the child can discuss openly what’s on their mind and heart.

Available to download, or buy the paperback book.

https://www.amazon.com/5-SHORT-STORIES-JOURNEY-Conversation-Starter-ebook/dp/B09Y9D7YKQ

Books, personal, wattpad

Day 23 #MarchoftheWriter

March 24, 2022 Karina Kantas 2 Comments

Fav place to read?

I suffer from chronic insomnia. I’m lucky if I get 2/3 hours sleep a night/morn.

I finally switch off and take off my work hat in the early hours of the morning. Then the rest of the time, until I close my eyes, or not is spent reading.
My second pastime, and if you’ve been following my blogs, you know what and where I do my reading.
When I’m in the car when I’m out for coffee (rarely.) I’m not being unsociable and playing games or posting on social media or taking selfies – No, I’m reading.

Any chance I get to have a break from work, I read. Yep, I even take my phone to the toilet. It’s my little 5 min break before I go back to the computer to continue promoting my clients and their books.

I love reading nearly as much as I love writing. Both allow you to escape reality and step into a new world the author has built. Get lost in the dream-like state, get involved in the conflicts and either feel let down or satisfied with the conclusion.

There’s nothing better, after a hard day’s work, to curl up snuggled with a book.

Books

Day 18 #MarchoftheWriters

March 18, 2022 Karina Kantas Leave a comment

Digital or Analog

When I saw a Kindle for the first time I thought, they would never take off. I was adamant I was not going near them. I was never going to buy a Kindle. I loved my paperbacks…. However, I moved and there was only one cabinet for my books and so I had to choose, which books, I was going to give away and which series of paperbacks I was going to keep on my books shelf. And I had a lot of books in boxes ready to go to charity.

So, you can see where I’m going with this now. My first Kindle which was a Christmas prezzie from hubby had over 100 books on it in the first week. and I suddenly became an avid reader again.
My poor paperwhite the original Kindle, sadly died on me last year and I have no intention of getting another as I have the ebook Apps on my laptop.
So, I’m a converted paperback reader. The only paperbacks I read now, are my own… Well, I have got 15 of them. lol

What is your choice, ebooks or paperback?

What I don’t like and I’m pretty pissed off about. Is that ebooks were invented to save the reader and publisher money. No paper, no printing cost, no distribution. But then the authors and publishers got greedy. Can you believe The JK Rowling’s last book, cost more to buy as an ebook, than it did to buy a paperback. That is so wrong and not what ebooks were invented for.

Books, free books, wattpad

Wattpad? What?

March 13, 2022 Karina Kantas Leave a comment

Here’s what you need to know before I start throwing out numbers. It is a fact now that the writers on Wattpad are not kids and that many of the stories on Wattpad are not suitable for kids. That is why Wattpad has a mature label for adult stories.

Yes, Wattpad started as kids writing fan fiction, and even though there is still fan fiction written, ( Yes, I have partaken in this) that is just a tiny percentage now, compared to before.

I’m an avid, well more like addicted reader on Wattpad and I have a pen name for my fan-fiction and I use my own name for my novel work.

The Wattpad app came out in 2008 – 14 years ago.

90 million readers use Wattpad.

Wattpad stories are available in over 50 languages.

Even though most of the stories on there are free to read, their paid book users have spent half a billion minutes reading the paid books. On average there are 30 million minutes of reading every month from these paid books.

I have read stories on Wattpad that can easily rival a bestseller.

Wattpad authors have gone on to receive publishing contacts and many, more every year, get picked up by TV or film producers.

So, back in 2015 many took part in a Wattpad challenge called A to Z of Wattpad. I have decided in recognition of how frigging AWESOME Wattpad is, I would resurrect this challenge. And if any Wattpad readers or writers happen to see this blog, I challenge you to post your A to Z of Wattpad.

LET’S DO THIS!

Books, free books

Day 9 #MarchoftheWriters

March 11, 2022 Karina Kantas Leave a comment

Show off your TBR

If my Kindle still worked I would show you how long that TBR list is, but as I happen to be addicted to Wattpad, where I write and read. Umm I wonder if I can do a screenshot to show you my list of books. Remember I go through genre binges, depending on what I’m working on.

So there is Dark romance, Alpha werewolves, mafia romances, BDSM and DDLG, Ceo bully romance in that mix. There is a total of 36 books on my TBR Wattpad library and some books I’m waiting for the authors to catch up and write the next scenes. Others, I haven’t started and some I’m reading two or three at the same time. There are about 400 in my archive list. See, I said I was addicted.

I’m currently reading a gang romance, I think I’m nearly finished, but so much shit has just gone down I have a sneaky suspicion that there’s gonna be a book two. The standard of writing on Wattpad varies. You have the young kids that are trying to write their first book, you will know from the first page if they can write or not, and then others that had the sense to publish their book. Or some that just don’t realise how good their novel is.

So I’m either writing in one of those genres mentioned above, or I have written a book in one or two of those genres, and I’m still binging on it.

Reply if you have any of my books on your TBR list. (A few of you may get lucky 😉

Books, new release, Promotion, YouTube

A Killer On The Heath – Paranormal thriller.

September 28, 2021 Karina Kantas Leave a comment

Yes, The Killer on the Heath is out now.

A woman is dead, and another is missing. The only person who can save her is Cassie.
With no clues and time running out, her brother, Detective Newbold, desperately needs her help. He is counting on Cassie’s clairvoyant and empathic abilities to locate Chantelle.

When Chantelle’s brother, Pedro, seeks out a psychic for help, he meets and falls for Cassie. Though he wants answers, neither Cassie nor Detective Newbold can give any, which complicates their relationship. To make matters worse, his overbearing mother adds further damage with her meddling.

Meanwhile, the killer has been caught, but he refuses to talk. Now, it’s up to Cassie to read the signs and rescue her lover’s sister.

Will she find the answers in time?

Amazon

Available as a paperback and on Kindle Unlimited

The Killer on the Heath is the first of a forthcoming trilogy.

Meet Cassie, the main protagonist in a character interview on the blog of J. M. Northup

He could be anywhere, I realised. He might be striding down this very street, seemingly normal. That’s what made him even more dangerous. He could be choosing another victim from the crowd while everyone else just thought him to be a regular guy. They wouldn’t know what he’s done, or the life he’s taken for his own gratification.’

I considered how and why people could be so cruel to each other. When I’d asked Seb, he’d said, “Not everyone’s wired the same. Some people think what they’re doing is okay.”“How is that possible?” I’d asked him.

“Take Plinth,” he continued, “being brought up by parents who didn’t give a damn and mistreated him set the stage for the man he’d become. He didn’t have a proper standard to compare to, and the power he enjoyed only reaffirmed his beliefs.”’

“You can stop that right now!” A shrill voice crashed into us, throwing us apart guiltily. His mother stood in the doorway, disapproval written all over her face. For a fraction of a second, her eyes lingered on my chest where my nipple stood erect. Once more she had caught me in a compromising position. I felt like a child being found doing something I shouldn’t. What is it with this woman? Couldn’t she have waited until we returned?!’

‘The original short story was born in 2018. I liked it, and wrote another and another. I soon had a collection of short stories.’

An Apple A Day Keeps Amazon Away!

December 8, 2020 Karina Kantas 1 Comment

So we all know Amazon as the leaders in the marketplace. And it’s we little indie authors that made that happen when they created the Kindle. We sent Amazon up in a rocket. However, we have no legal standing with them. They can remove our books, change book categories, take away our reviews and they don’t even inform us. What we should be doing is using Amazon as a bookshelf only and direct our readers to the many other outlets.

Today it’s all about Apple – the iPad, iBook. Who doesn’t own an iPad or iPhone? I don’t but I know there are millions of you worldwide that do.

So here is a selection of books where you can purchase and read from your iPones and iPads.
Enjoy.

https://books.apple.com/us/book/rough-passages/id1534042375?

Ever since one disastrous night during World War 2, a third of the world’s population has carried the potential to “roll into power.” No one can predict which few will actually go through the change, and there’s only one, tragic certainty: rolling before the age of forty is a death sentence.

Passing into middle age might be uneventful, marked only by extra candles on your birthday cake, but it might lead to becoming a human fireball, drowning a city, or teleporting into outer space.

Rough Passages presents the stories of five people forever changed and con

nected by the powers that disrupt their lives:

https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1514657496T

ales of Crime & Violence are a compilation of many of my short, and not so short stories.

The ideas and inspiration are many and as varied as each of the individual stories themselves.

Although all the tales in these books are about committing crime, or being involved in acts of violence, the real story is that of the people involved, why and how they came to be in this position, whether they were forced or coerced, willing participants or victims themselves.

The stories in this collection of three volumes have underlying factors, deeper meanings, twists and stings to savour and enjoy.

I hope you enjoy reading these tales as much I have enjoyed writing them.

12 chilling and though-provoking tales that will stay with you for nights to come.

Are you ready to delve into the dark side?

A Flash Of Horror is a collection of short and flash fiction from my two collections Heads & Tales and Undressed.

https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1514941727

SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO LEAVE HOME TO FIND YOUR WAY BACK.

One small town. One magical Christmas.

Connor Norton returns to his childhood home for the holidays, still grieving after his mother’s recent death. Tom, her orange tabby cat, is with him.

https://books.apple.com/us/book/coming-home/id1452981688

https://books.apple.com/gr/book/the-pharaohs-destiny/id1135064811

The year is 1477 B.C.E. and history is about to change…

Hatshepsut, the Great King’s Wife, is thrust into a world of intrigue and politics when her husband, Pharaoh Thutmose, dies suddenly, leaving Egypt with an heir who is barely two years old. The Queen must step into the role of leader, and there are few she can trust.

When Hatshepsut is crowned as Pharaoh, she grooms her daughter, Neferure, to take the place of heir, rather than Thutmose’s infant son from another woman. Neferure, though young, is still older than the boy who should by all rights be king.

The future of Egypt rests in the hands of a single woman, the most powerful woman in the ancient world. Can Pharaoh Hatshepsut’s people accept her unorthodox reign, and her plans to usurp the men’s place as rulers of a Kingdom, decreeing that only women are suitable leaders?

https://books.apple.com/us/book/rarity-from-the-hollow/id1383065038

Lacy Dawn’s father relives the never-ending Gulf War, her mother’s teeth are rotting out, and her best friend gets murdered by the meanest daddy on Earth. Life in the hollow is hard. She has one advantage – an android was inserted into her life and is working with her to cure her parents. He wants something in exchange. It’s up to her to save the Universe. Lacy Dawn doesn’t mind saving the universe, but her family and friends come first. Rarity from the Hollow is adult literary science fiction filled with tragedy, comedy and satire.

https://books.apple.com/us/book/dawn-rising/id1520492058

Once upon a time, a girl was born. A hundred years later, she grew up.

Aurianna must rewrite the past in order to save the future. She was supposed to be the answer to an enigmatic prophecy discovered on the night of her birth. But a terrible curse changed her life forever.

That is, until a mysterious stranger arrives to break the spell. He awakens Aurianna to the truth of her past and the powers she never knew she had.

When he sweeps her back in time, she discovers there is more to her life than she ever imagined. The world she encounters is both strange and familiar. But learning to control her newfound elemental powers will be the least of her problems.

She must race against time to uncover the truth about a catastrophe that will leave the world broken, divided, and at war.
Aurianna just wants answers. But the people need a savior.

https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1021285216

She has a power like no other. If she uses it, she’ll die. If she doesn’t, the world is doomed.

Seventeen-year-old Adara is an orphan, an outcast, and a freak. But when a religious cult, name her as a saviour, everybody wants a piece of her.

To escape their bloodthirsty clutches, Adara must fulfil her destiny and destroy a vicious enemy she has no idea how to defeat.

Her supernatural gift is the key.

The only problem is she doesn’t know how to use it.

“If you like action, and science fiction then you’ll appreciate one of the first books EVER that gives you high powered adrenalin with chilling revelations of utter suspense!”

https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1537283107

A late-night swim ends in a drunken bet that puts the gods’ future in jeopardy. Zeus does his best to fix the mess his children have made but his power is threatened by the Fae Court and bureaucracy.

Charon tries to help but gets caught in the fallout – just as he discovers a sense of independence and fishing.

Does the outcome of this bet really rely on the decisions of one mortal emperor, or can the gods swing the rules to their advantage?

The Bet is a whimsical, mythology-based fiction and the prequel to Charon Unguarded.

https://books.apple.com/us/book/toxic/id1459782176

“A sensual, erotic read…Karina dares to figure out the nature of passion…thoughtful and thought-provoking.”

Lexi isn’t your normal Malok. She craves adventure and freedom from the mundane life forced upon her. 100 years ago, the first drop of acid rain fell. Maloks fled to the mountains, building a new way of life—a desolate life—a life Lexi knows all too well.

Lexi has a plan, her ticket out of this miserable existence, becoming a ranger. Aron, her partner, believes she’s not strong enough to fight alongside him. Lexi will stop at nothing, no matter what the danger, to achieve her independence, even if that means defying him.

Amidst everything, Marcus, Lexi’s childhood best friend makes a sudden return. Before she can rejoice in a reunion, her happiness is crushed when she sees Mae, the bully that had terrorized her in her teens. Marcus was aware of the mental abuse Lexi had suffered and yet the person she loved and the person she hated the most, stand before her, together.

A powerful dystopian thriller that captures the heart and imagination.

https://books.apple.com/gr/book/noemies-journey/id1422416214

Love is waiting around the next curve…but trouble is never far behind.

Desperate to shake memories that stalk him like feral beasts, Richard Winters points his motorcycle toward the highway and twists the throttle—destination anywhere but New York. By the time he puts his kickstand down, he’s in Summitville, North Carolina, where, with a few annoying exceptions, one being an outlaw MC, he’s left alone.

Except there’s one woman who catches his notice and resurrects the protective instinct that cost him everything once before. A woman with stunning green eyes that haunt his dreams, and facing prejudice that makes him want to rise to her defense. But that would mean doing the last thing he wants to do—lower his guard.

Noémie Bellerose has heard times are changing, but in 1968 North Carolina, she and her younger brother are second-class citizens. The new bartender in town is temptation on two wheels, but in what world could the two of them connect? Not this one.

Despite their best intentions to avoid trouble, trouble finds them both—and so does an attraction that won’t be denied. But can love bloom where it is planted, or will they be forced to resort to desperate measures…before hate cuts them down?

https://books.apple.com/us/book/hanging-softly-in-the-night-a-detective-nick-larson-novel/id1539440690

A QUESTIONABLE SUICIDE… A DETECTIVE’S SUSPICION… AND A DESPERATE HUNT FOR A SERIAL KILLER BEFORE MORE VICTIMS ARE FOUND.

New York Police Department’s Sixteenth Precinct in Manhattan is under siege by the flu, and Detective Nick Larson and his partner, Detective Victor Sacco, are up to their armpits with work overload. The captain’s cigar is seriously chewed, and everyone is working around the clock. To complicate matters, on a personal level, things aren’t going smoothly, either. Laura Howard, the woman Nick loves, is also having issues with a psycho twin sister who is doing everything to ruin Laura’s business and her life.

Then Nick’s captain assigns a new case, a suicide. From the moment Nick steps on scene, however, something doesn’t feel quite right, especially when, upon investigating the case further, the supposed suicide looks more and more like an actual homicide. Immediately, Nick’s instincts kick into gear, but rev into overdrive when similar, questionable suicides pop up around the area. And with the way things have been going lately, it would just be Nick’s luck to have a serial killer on the loose.

Set in New York City, Hanging Softly in the Night is a story of murder, mental illness, determination, dedication, perseverance, and, ultimately, justice.

https://books.apple.com/gr/book/alpha-tales-2044/id1444696688

Alpha Tales 2044, opens on Beta-Earth when two genetically-enhanced mutants are forced to recover a stolen secret, the cure to the ancient Plague-With-No-Name that defined a planet for millennia.

Then we jump across the multi-verse to our earth, Alpha-Earth, where police Captain Mary Carpenter infiltrates a gang of White Supremacists who want to purify Texas after decades of climate change and weaponized plagues.

Still on Alpha, we leap ahead in time to 40 years in the future where Mary Carpenter joins up with four aliens, two from Beta-Earth, two from Serapin-Earth. All four share the same father, The Blind Alien from Alpha-Earth. They’ve traveled across the multi-verse to tell us about their worlds.

Books, free books, Promotion

A unique fantasy that will allow you a break from this unsettling reality.

November 24, 2020 Karina Kantas Leave a comment

Be quick and download The Duology before it goes back to the normal price.
Clean, epic, fantasy. Get both books for just $0.99

Unique characters and world-building. Go check it out.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Illusional-Reality-2-Book-Series/dp/B089KSMGR8

https://www.amazon.com/Illusional-Reality-2-Book-Series/dp/B089KSMGR8

Get both books for just $0.99

Books, free books, reviews

Two genres that shouldn’t go together but they work!

September 4, 2020 Karina Kantas Leave a comment

That’s right! TOXIC ebook is free to download right now!

“I’ve read several Electric Eclectic Books and these novelettes have provided a vast array of genres and authors. They break the mold once again by presenting the same story in both an adult erotic version that’s steamy hot and a touching, romantic read. I decided to read the adult version first. Written by author Karina Kantas, this is a no holds barred sensual exploration of passion in a dystopian society.

One hundred years in the future after the world has been changed by acid rain, a Malok named Lexi is straining against the rules of the new society. Lexi hungers for action and decides becoming a Ranger is her way out of her dull life. But her live-in boyfriend Aron doesn’t believe she is strong enough to take on the role of a fighter against the Outcasts. That group has been banned from the Malok’s mountain base, Mount Elta.

Aron loves her, but he treats her like a child, and she chafes under his attempts to control her. They have an intense sexual relationship, but Lexi is often distracted by the memory of a young friend who left years earlier, Marcus
When Marcus suddenly reappears, Lexi is thrust back into her feelings for him. But their reunion is spoiled by the simultaneous arrival of a girl who bullied her in her youth, Mae. When it appears Marcus and Mae are a couple Lexi is heartbroken. She resists Marcus’s attempts to speak to her privately because she feels betrayed. It is only when tragedy strikes the Rangers that Lexi is forced to see things the way they truly are.

This is more than a sexy love story; this is a book about a world changed by disaster and people separated by their responses to overwhelming change. There are two societies, each seeking to utilize a resource for their own needs, and willing to fight to the death to remain in control.

Lexi is a strong young woman and represents the courage and independence of today’s women. She is lusty, brave, challenging, and daring. Although she is young, she knows what she wants and despite occasional reservations, she doesn’t hesitate to pursue her dreams.

I recommend this as a quick read that dips into the possible disasters of a future society where our refusal to address negative environmental behaviors leaves the world desolate and poisoned.”