He may be hot but.....

Sometimes you see that guy, you know the one, tall dark and trouble. He could be blonde. He could be with a girl. He could be looking the other direction but you’d still know he was all kinds of wrong. Still, you’d stare a little longer and wonder….. That’s the character I’m introducing today. His name is Briggs and he represents the worst kind of danger. The duplicitous kind. In the next book of The Secret Keeper series, he appears in Winter’s life at her most vulnerable moment looking by the bad boy, claiming nothing but benevolence. I wanted to introduce Briggs to you today because two weeks from Wednesday it will be cover reveal day for In The Dying Light and Briggs is a critical new character in the saga of Liam and Winter's fight against the secret keeper curse.

I'm so happy. Reviews for The Secret Keeper(the first book in the series)say things like:

A tale of secrets and the mysterious Secret Keeper keeps you glued to the pages

and...."This book is captivating! A refreshingly unique read, and impossible to put down

 and..."Gripping mystery that is hard to put down"

Awwh, thanks guys!




 So do you want to see what I think Briggs might look like? Here he is.

Gorgeous, I know. The thing is, does he really look like that? Secret Keepers have the power to change their appearance. Liam describes them as “Black Widows dressed as butterflies”. Hmmm…. Watch for more information on the soon to be published In The Dying Light and the cover reveal on February 10th! Thanks for stopping by and if you haven't read The Secret Keeper, get caught up before the big pub date for In The Dying Light.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-Keeper-Angela-Carling-ebook/dp/B00X0FZWHS/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

Author James DiBenedetto Guest Posts

What if you could see everyone else's dreams? That's the question at the heart of the Dream Series. Sara Barnes, the heroine of the series, quickly learns that it's often more of a curse than a gift. But as the series goes on, and Sara grows from a shy college student, to a newlywed and medical student, to a mother and practicing doctor, she comes to terms with her ability and the power it gives her to solve the mysteries that keep cropping up in her life.   It’s bad enough that, thanks to her supernatural talent, Sara is learning more than she ever needed to know about her friends and classmates, watching their most secret fantasies whether she wants to or not. Much worse are the other dreams, the ones she sees nearly every night, featuring a strange, terrifying man who commits unspeakable crimes. Now Sara wonders if she’s the only witness to a serial killer – and the only one who knows when and where he’s going to strike next.               Medical school and life as a newlywed would be enough by themselves for anybody to handle. But Sara’s got another problem – her dreams have started up again. Almost everyone at the medical school is dreaming about the death of the school’s least popular teacher, Dr. Morris, and once again, Sara finds herself in the role of unwilling witness to a murder before it happens. But this time, there are too many suspects to count, and it doesn’t help matters that she hates Dr. Morris every bit as much as any of his would-be murderers do.               Sara thought she had made peace with her dreaming talent, but she’s got a surprise coming: her four-year-old daughter has inherited it, too. Unraveling a mystery with lives on the line is difficult enough under the best of circumstances. But when Sara has to view all the evidence through the eyes – and dreams - of a toddler, it may be an impossible task.             Starting Sunday, the first three books will all be on sale, in an eBook box set called DREAM SEQUENCE! You can get all three books together for just $0.99! You can find it on Amazon...     Dr. Sara Alderson didn’t think she had a problem in the world, when she walked into the office for her first day as a partner in her own medical practice. And then the police showed up and arrested her for a crime she couldn’t possibly have committed. Twenty four hours later, after a horrifying day and night in jail, Sara comes home a different – and completely broken – woman. Clearing her name is her first challenge, but that’s nothing compared to the task of rebuilding her shattered psyche. And the only way she can do that is with the help of the supernatural dreams, the same dreams that have nearly cost Sara her sanity – and almost got her killed – in the past.         After nearly a decade of visiting other people’s dreams, Sara Alderson thought she had made peace with her supernatural gift. Until one night, while watching her husband dream, she saw someone else watching him, too: a mysterious woman in a red dress. The woman in red keeps appearing in the dreams of Sara’s husband and his co-workers. Sara doesn’t know if this mystery woman is trying to steal her husband, drive him mad or something even worse. All she does know is that now she has something she never imagined: a nemesis. And the only thing more dangerous than a nemesis who shares her ability to step into other people’s dreams, is one who knows far more about that ability and how to control it than Sara does.         Dr. Sara Alderson is heading back to college for her ten-year class reunion. Her husband and two of her children are coming with her – and so are her supernatural dreams. One of her old classmates is becoming more frantic with every passing night. Sara can’t see his face, but she can see everything else in his dreams, and he’s coming closer and closer to committing a desperate act to try and save his business. Sara’s the only one who can save him, and his family – if she can figure out who he is and what he’s planning in time.           ...and four more books, plus a collection of short stories covering the gaps between the novels!   J.J. DiBenedetto is the author of the Dream Series. He lives in Arlington, Virginia with his lovely wife and Danny, a white cat who’s trained them both. He’s originally from Yonkers, New York. He loves the New York Giants, fondue, photography, travel, the opera and he’s a huge science-fiction and fantasy geek.                 You can follow the Dream Series at the author's website: http://www.writingdreams.net. You can also follow him at: Facebook Twitter Goodreads Soundcloud (free samples of all the books on Audiobook)             The books can be found at: Amazon.com Other eBook retailers (links to Nook, Apple, Kobo, Google Play, etc) Audible.com (Audiobooks) Signed paperback copies direct from the author  

A Time For Healing

In this the first month of the new year we have a chance for new beginnings. Yes, nothing but the calendar has changed but we as human beings have the unique ability (compared to those in the animal kingdom) to change our lives if we don't like the course we are on. We are innovative, creative and most definitely do not have to be defined by anyone or anything past or present.

What an amazing gift this is, that if we don't like the way were were parented, we can do better. If we are unhappy in our jobs we can leave, get more training or if nothing else choose to be happy.

Sometimes I think we forget this, that each of us when moving in the same direction can be a powerful force for change. Taking these truths into consideration, I've thought a lot about last year and some of the things in our societies that are not good, that need to change.

One  that has weighed heavily on me is the separation and aggression between different races and religions. In the news, there has flashed angry scenes on Televisions and computer screen of black against white, faith killing and belittling other faiths and the people in them.

During a TV interview one African-American woman while justifying looting and destroy property  said, "I'm here with my people defending their cause." What bothered me most is how she talked about "her people".

What people? Black people, poor people, people who have faced injustice and heartbreak? As far as I can tell all of us have the same color blood running through our veins and we all feel pain, betrayal and host of other terrible things at some point.

Please don't think for a minute that I don't see differences in our races, religions, sexual orientations  or socioeconomic status. I acknowledge that some groups of people have been mistreated including members of my own faith. Early members of my church were driven out of every place they settled, robbed, raped and mistreated. Yes, I am a part of them but they are not "my people" in an exclusive sense. Just like everyone else I am bigger than a color or religion. I am part of a beautifully diverse group called the Human race.

I doubt a person would look over a stunning field of wildflowers with it's hues of red, purple, green and whatever other color nature could produce and say only red has value, all the others should be abhorred. No, we'd go out and gather not just  diversity of color but shape, some with wide bursting petals, some flowers with conical shapes and others that delicately drooped from their vibrant green stems. We would never say, we should separate the yellow one  and discard the rest because each flower compliments the others with their differences--not to mention they literally need each to propagate and survive.  Most importantly we would never say, lets mow down this field and put in cement because it is uniform.

Well, I guess someone might, but I think it would be tragic.

What I'm saying in this unusually bold post is that in 2016 I hope we can find a way to stop dividing and degrading, separating and slighting. It is my most tender hope that there can have more healing and less anger, more respect and less indigence. We have healing to do but we never begin to mend  until bitterness fades and love for our fellow man takes hold.

My people, your people, the human race we do have this within us and so this is my wish for 2016 and I'll do my best to do my part.