Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen : June 2021

Friday, June 25, 2021

First Line Fridays

Grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line!

Today I am going to post a line from:

Ink and Shadows

by Ellery Adams

And the first line is...

O'What may men within him hide, though angel on the outward side!

~William Shakespeare~

"Nora Pennington stood on the sidewalk, frowning."

Happy reading and happy Friday!

Let me know your first line in the comments & then head over to

Hoarding Books to see who else is participating!

Thursday, June 24, 2021

Fool's Luck - Spotlight Book Tour

Book: Fool’s Luck

Author: Dave Milbrandt

Genre: Political Fiction

Release date: July 13, 2021

When high school teacher Myles Bradford wins the Powerball lottery, he decides to do something truly unexpected: run for President of the United States. Bradford is eager about the opportunity, but his family clearly is not. With little time to sway them to his side, he’s thrust into running a quarter-billion-dollar nationwide campaign, complete with cross-country flights and road trips, expert staff, and armed security. But like most dreams, Bradford soon finds that what he imagined is completely different from what is real.

Thrust into the spotlight, he faces attacks from newfound political enemies and false accusations while striving to climb the ladder of success. As Bradford gets closer to achieving his dreams, danger lurks on the home front. As his attention is pulled farther away from the things that matter most, Bradford may learn that even success has its price. Will he be able to have it all? Or will his thirst for power come at a tremendous cost?

Four hours later, we were touching down in Salt Lake. At nearly a mile above sea level, getting used to the higher elevation meant that I’d have to pace myself as I got in my daily walk. I had never been to the city, but the first thing I noticed was that for an urban center, it was cleaner than my “little” suburban hamlet.

Yeah, I told people I wasn’t bitter about what Knowles had done in the debate. That it was just politics. But truth be told, it was personal.

Better keep that to yourself when you meet with him.

We were halfway unpacked when we heard a knock at the door. I opened the door to Robbie, who looked better after a thirty-minute nap on the plane than I would after eight hours of sleep. “Limo’s waiting for us.”

Lauren came and gave me a quick kiss. “I’ll unpack the rest. Text me when you can.”

Accompanied by a pair of agents, we quickly got on the elevator and pressed the down button. As the door closed, I began rocking back and forth.

“Amigo.”

“Yeah?”

“Breathe.”

I smiled. “Got it.”

The doors opened, and we saw Knowles campaign manager.

Robbie leaned in. “Showtime, baby.”

More Excerpts:

Excerpt One / Excerpt Two / Excerpt Three / Excerpt Four / Excerpt Five / Excerpt Six / Excerpt Seven

Purchase Link: Amazon

The author of the Jim Mitchell series of novels (Chasing Deception, Undue Pressure and Running), Dave Milbrandt fell in love with writing in junior high and has been a storyteller ever since. A former staff writer for a daily newspaper, the Southern California native spent five years in journalism and public relations before becoming a teacher.

In addition to working at several colleges, Dave has taught high school English and Social Science classes since 2005. Dave and his wife, Renée Lynn Milbrandt, who is also a writer, have been married since 1997.

Find out more about Dave and his latest projects at www.davemilbrandt.com.