Book blurb and excerpt for Unchartered Storms by Jackie Anton

This stop is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jackie will be awarding a paperback edition of Wind River Refuge penned as J.M. Anton (US only) to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. If the winner is international, the author will send a digital copy of Fateful Waters. Click the banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Weather is our constant companion, and when it behaves like a benevolent parent we pay little attention to it. Angry or out of control it becomes terrifying and can change the landscape as well as lives. So I asked my characters to take a ride on the wild side of weather. “Uncharted Storms” takes readers on a journey from a gentle summer rain to raging storms in the cosmos.

What if you were caught up in Uncharted Storms?

What if? Erica’s world didn’t come to an end in 2012 while she was in middle school? She manages to make it through college before an apocalyptic event changes her life forever. The science fiction story Terra Beyond 2012 shares Erica’s voyage.

What if? You and your best friend were traveling down the highway on the way home from an extended trip when you are caught in a blinding thunderstorm, and then are hit by lightning? To make matters worse you are injured, and wake in a strange world. Find out what happens to Chris in the tale Riding Lightning.

What if? You were on your way to meet a friend for dinner and caught in a flash flood? That is exactly what happens to Alexandra in the story Flashflood Texas Style.

What if? A boy you haven’t seen in two decades winds up sitting on your front porch? Find out what Casey comes up with on A Rainy Night.

What if? You were caught out in a winter storm on icy, drifted, walks and streets when a skidding car comes directly at you? Find out what happened to eighteen-year-old Annie when she is hit from behind in the short story A Tumble in the Snow.

About the Author:

Jackie Anton is the mother of two grown children, and grandmother of two. She and her husband, of forty-three years, continue to ride daily. They live on a mini-farm in rural Ohio, and share their little slice of horse heaven with two Quarter Horses, a Haflinger, a rescued dog, and a calico barn cat.

Jackie is an accomplished equestrian, with a life time of experience: as trainer, exhibitor, 4-H and youth club coach, as well as a horse show judge; the author brings many years of experience working with horses and young riders to her award winning Backyard Horse Tales Series.

Uncharted Storms: Short stories are aimed at the Young Adult and older reader. Look for more short tales in the future.

Backyard Horse Tales: Sox 2nd Edition Brings to light the mutual love between a handicapped colt and a lonely child with a learning disability. Find out how this pair team up to triumph over life’s roadblocks, and why their story won the prestigious Mom’s Choice Award of Excellence for Family Friendly Media. (Reading level age 8 thru Adult)

BYHT 2 “Frosty and the Nightstalker” was one of four finalists in the E-Book Fiction category for the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, then the paperback went on to earn the Mom’s Choice Award for Juvenile Historical Fiction.

Jackie is hard at work on BYHT 3 Don’t Call Me Love. You can catch a peek at her beautiful cover on the Backyard Horse Tales Face Book Fan Page.

Author Website | Facebook | FB Adult Novel Fan Page | Blog

E-mail: talesbyjackie@gmail.com
Online Autographed Book Covers: 


Buy Uncharted Storms: Short Stories of Hearts at Risk at Smashwords, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble. Autographed Paperback Copies are available at Jackie’s Author’s Den. U.S. Readers click on the cover of your choice and follow the Signed Book link to order.

J. M. Anton (adult novels) can be purchased at Amazon.

Interview with novelist J.M. Anton

Today’s guest is novelist Jackie Anton. Reviews and Interviews is just one stop in Jackie’s virtual book tour for her novel Fateful Waters.

Jackie is going to be giving away a $25 Barnes and Noble gift card at the end of her tour to a lucky commentor. So if you'd like to be entered for a chance to win, make sure to leave an e-mail address with a comment below.

And if you'd like more chances to win, visit her other blog tour stops and leave comments there.

Welcome, Jackie. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

As an accomplished equestrian with a lifetime of experience: as trainer, exhibitor, 4-H and youth club coach, as well as a horse show judge, I am able bring many years of experience working with horses and young riders to my “Backyard Horse Tales.” Traveling extensively has given me many opportunities to research life in other parts on the country, and get to know their residents.

Please tell us about your current release.

Fateful Waters was my NaNoWriMo 2011 winning competition novel. This writing challenge is sponsored by the Office of Letters and Light. The characters took hold of their direction and after the word count of 50,000 words was reached I had to rein them in. Almost a year later the novel came out in print.

Follow Melinda Potter and Alexandra Parker, across the country, as the friends travel from their home on the shores of Lake Erie to the drought-stricken state of Texas. After graduation from The Ohio State University, Melinda has a date with an online Romeo. Lexie, who is supposed exert a moderating influence on her impulsive friend, winds up in a hospital where she wakes to everyone calling her Mrs. Ross. She doesn’t have a clue how she got there, or who Mr. Ross is.

What inspired you to write this book?

Our family lived in the Texas Panhandle when I was still in elementary school. We still have family there struggling through the draught. That and the current online dating trend sparked the idea of sending two Ohio raised college grads to Texas to meet with an online match.

Excerpt:

“Are you in a hurry to be hamburger? I could have run you over in this blinding rain! Now, look, you’ve killed Mel’s Cadillac.” The beast wouldn’t move out of the road. Pushing on its rump didn’t accomplish anything, nor did smacking it on the hip. That little bout of temper left her with a stinging hand.

The white face was halter-less—it’s not a horse, she reminded herself—and she didn’t have a rope or even a belt. Now nearly knee-deep in slop, she stood there, hands on her hips, glaring at the cow. While she was assessing the situation, the cow let out a bellow. A small echo bounced back from a few feet away. Lexie spotted a small calf stuck in the mud. All that was visible was the head and a small portion of its back. The little one was sinking in a run-off of muck that had flowed from the slightly higher terrain behind it.

She removed her navy jacket that had matched her now trashed slacks. Lexie waded closer to the calf, hoping she didn’t sink along with it. Keeping a wary eye on its watchful mother, she slipped the jacket around the calf’s neck and gave a tug. She managed to raise its head a little higher, but it was stuck and could not get any traction to assist in its rescue attempt. Giving a little stronger tug she lost her own traction. She was sitting on her butt in the mud, propping up the small creature’s head when the ghost riders just appeared from out of the storm.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I am again trying my hand at the writing challenge. My 2012 entry involves a young woman who lost her family and at a young age goes to live with her maternal Grandmother. She finds out that she is an heiress via mail from a Denver law office. Casey discovers that she was not an orphan and sets out to find out why she was abandoned.

Writing life: My writing life is pretty diverse; I author adult romance and adventure novels under the pen of J.M. Anton. As Jackie Anton I author the popular Backyard Horse Tale series. Backyard Horse Tales: Sox 2^nd Edition was awarded the prestigious Mom’s Choice Award of Excellence for Family- Friendly Media. Based on reviews, I have high hopes for Fateful Waters as an entry in 2013 writing competitions.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

It’s only been recently that I was willing to call myself a writer, and now an author. I think my first short stories were written in junior high, and have developed from there.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like?

Some days inspiration takes a holiday. On those occasions I turn to editing, and usually that will usually get the creative juices flowing.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Usually I have several projects going at a time. If one group of characters won’t cooperate, I work with the group willing talk to me on that day.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

As a young child I wanted to be a cowboy! How does that country song go? I wanted to ride with Gene and Roy.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

For fun I usually ride my horse. I love to read, bake, and sketch or paint. I love to hear from readers. They can contact me at talesbyjackie@yahoo.com. I try to answer all fan e-mail.

Also, there’s a 10% discount through my book’s website, and also through the “Backyard Horse Tales” website. The discount code to use at checkout for each is 1DepCart0.

Thanks, J.M. Readers, don't forget about a chance to win a $25 B&N gift card. Leave an e-mail address with a comment below so you can be contacted if you win.