Rise Up Volume 2 : Indie Authors Against Cancer
“We all know how fragile life is, especially when faced with a life threatening illness.” ~Nic, Flirty and Dirty Book Blog.
Fiction introduced us. Reality binds us together.
Stephanie Thomas—co-founder of The Indie Bookshelf—has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma. Stephanie isn’t only a blogger; she’s a loving wife, and mother to three young boys.
In the independent author community, we have an extraordinary network of fellow authors, and readers. A special group of people who bridge this gap—helping authors connect with readers—is book bloggers. These men and women dedicate hours upon hours to reading and reviewing our works, and spreading the word to help us reach new readers.
Now, one of these women needs our help.
100% of the proceeds of the Rise Up anthology (volumes one and two) will go directly to Stephanie and her family to help them on this unexpected leg of their journey together.
Inside the pages of this collection, you’ll find amazing works of fiction. But please remember the reality, and help support Stephanie and her family.
Included in Volume Two of this collection are the following novels:
* 1. Always There – Carol Ann Albright-Eastman
* 2. Republic – Charles Sheehan-Miles
* 3. Seeds of Hate – Melissa Perea
* 4. In The Fields – Willow Aster
* 5. Bar Crawl – Andrea Randall
* 6. Totaled – Stacey Grice
* 7. Running from Forever – Ashley Wilcox
* 8. Crossing Paths – Melanie Stinnet
* 9. Going Home – Rhonda Dennis
* 10. Never Goodbye – Kerri Williams
* 11. Without Boundaries – CJ Azevedo
* 12. Binds – Rebecca Espinoza
* 13. The Forgotten Ones – Laura Howard
Buy: Amazon
Author Bios:
Carol Ann Albright-Eastman is a wife and mother of four, crazy, adorable, incorrigible, intelligent, kind, and athletic children. She’s taught high school English for fifteen years. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in English from The Ohio State University, a teaching license and a communications minor from the University of Akron, and holds a Master’s in Education from the University of Akron.
Eastman spends the majority of her time grading papers, reading, but not as voraciously as other “indie” authors and their devout followers, watching her sons play baseball (or whatever seasonal sport they’re in at the time), negotiating futilely with a toddler, and falling deeper in love with her husband every day. Eastman is a motherless and fatherless daughter, but a day doesn’t go by that she doesn’t think of them. She misses her mother and is grateful to her for teaching her about the importance of true love and lasting friendships.
Charles Sheehan-Miles has been a soldier, computer programmer, short-order cook and non-profit executive, and is the author of several fiction and non-fiction books, including the indie bestsellers Just Remember to Breathe and Republic: A Novel of America’s Future. Charles and his partner Andrea Randall live and write together in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
Melissa is completely and utterly ordinary. She was born, raised and currently resides in sunny California. If she told you her life story nothing would really stand out. So she’s gonna keep it simple…
“I get very cranky when I am tired. If getting fat wasn’t a side effect, I would eat freshly baked cookies and milk every day for breakfast. Currently–I have two kids, one husband and one dog. I would like to add more to the kids and possibly the dogs, but definitely keeping the husband to one. I am obsessed with literature. If for some random reason you stumbled upon my high school yearbook you would find a picture of me under “Class Clown”. I have a college degree, but instead of earning dollar bills with my educated mind, I spend my days playing with my offspring. My life is super fun.”
Willow Aster loves nothing more than writing the day away–anywhere will do. Her ideal place to write would be a remote treehouse somewhere, but not just any treehouse. It would need to be more like a fabulous cottage inside and free of bugs. Oh!–and a refrigerator full of Coca-cola, Orangina, and cheese. http://www.willowaster.com
Author of True L̶o̶v̶e̶ Story (USA Today Bestseller), In the Fields, and the upcoming Maybe Maby
“A love story at its core, this intensely emotional novel connects to readers on many levels as it examines the ideas of family, identity and the complicated relationships that grew out of the civil rights movement.” — In the Fields Kirkus Review
Words are beautiful and powerful. The ammunition held in a single word is infinite.
I’ve been writing poetry since I was in first grade. Words have always mattered to me, and it’s fun to combine them into a multitude of masterpieces.
While I’ve written either Romance or General Fiction thus far, you’ll find something unique in each one of my books. I don’t own cookie cutters.
I am a mother, wife, Registered Nurse, avid reader, and most recently have pursued taking my own writing to the next level. Born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, the beach is my happy place.
Being an astute people watcher gives me constant inspiration for my stories. But my characters, like many authors, are conceived from actual people in my life. A hodgepodge of personality traits, real world instances, and conversations that I have directly taken part in are the foundation for my fictional world.
Likes: attending and/or hosting ANY kind of party; dancing (not very well but like no one is watching); jamming out to any and all music that is not in the country genre (especially 80’s); girls’ nights out (preferably with wine); a good cup of strong coffee with enough creamer to make it blonde; painting (also not very well); getting pedicures; comedy movies, shows, and books; a wicked sense of humor; brutal honesty but not cruelty; taking impromptu nature walks with her daughter and husband; people watching (for research purposes, of course); eating good food (especially cheese, bacon, chocolate, and anything with any of those three items in, on top of, or around it); wasting obnoxious amounts of time on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Goodreads; and of course I luuuurrrrvvvveeee to read!
Dislikes: people who are closed-minded; hotdogs, peaches, and cantaloupe; doing the dishes; cleaning the litter box; the smell of fresh cut grass and anything to do with yard work; wearing a bra and/or spanx (especially the combination of wearing them both at the same time); slow internet speed; slow drivers; slow people; slow anything; not being in control; the smell of cigarette smoke; when people spoil books in their reviews; not having lip gloss on at all times; when the toilet paper is not put onto the holder correctly (with the roll coming over the top); and of course that there aren’t more hours in the day to write.
Some may consider me a jack of all trades, but I consider myself well rounded. I’ve waitressed, styled hair, answered phones and, most recently, worked full time as mom to my two beautiful little boys and my precious baby girl.
I discovered my love for writing through my passion for reading. My life is my inspiration. I’ve had many ups and downs throughout my life, but after it all, I found my happily ever after. My husband has shown me light and love like no other, allowing love stories to easily form in my head. Whether they’re light and fluffy, or hot and intense, you will always find love as the underlying force behind my books.
For more information about me and my books, please follow my website at ashleywilcoxauthor.com
Read to love and love to read.
I have enjoyed reading and writing since I was very young. Some of my fondest memories from childhood are of spending time with my mom or grandma reading a good book. Over the years, it never crossed my mind that writing my own novel would be an attainable goal. After reading several independently published novels by Jamie McGuire, Colleen Hoover and others, I decided I needed to give that dream a chance. So, here I am.
My first novel, Crossing Paths, will be released on August 29, 2013.
When I’m not reading and writing, I enjoy spending time with my three favorite guys: my husband and my two little boys.
In addition to being an author, I work as a Speech Language Pathologist to provide therapy to adults who are dealing with speech, language, cognition or voice deficits. My day job is rewarding in many different ways and I love having the opportunity to help others in a time of need.
Rhonda Dennis’ first career was in EMS, but later in life, she attended college as a non-traditional student. After graduating, she felt compelled to write a short story. The words flowed, and the manuscript for “Going Home: A Green Bayou Novel Book One” was drafted. Rhonda has since published six novels and three short stories in The Green Bayou series, and has released a romantic comedy called “Magnolia Blossoms.” Rhonda, who resides in South Louisiana, was a nominee in multiple categories for the 2013 Indie Romance Convention Readers’ Choice Awards, and is also a Nook and Amazon Best Selling Author.
This is where normally people write professional bio’s in the third person. I don’t do normal well, so here is some quick bits off the top of my head.
***
I’m an addict to all things awesome, books, coffee, anything series, coffee, music and lets not forget coffee!
People call me Batman-okay so I started that rumour and once spread means it’s got to be true right.
Proud Australian who wishes there wasn’t such a huge pond between me and my friends and readers- USA especially.
Why I write? Because I love reading and have been extremely lucky in life to experience true love. At 16 I met my now husband and since had our wonderful children known as ‘The Lollies.’
I’m not afraid to say my writing gets better with every book so keep reading and growing with me. I am afraid of sharks, snakes, clowns, spiders or anything that wants to fly at my face or crawl near me…with the exception of maybe a ladybug. They’re pretty innocent until proven otherwise.
I write Young (YA) love novels, New Adult (NA) and contemporary romance because lets face it, I’m a genre whore and if I had the imagination I’d write paranormal and more,
Yes I have a day job and write because I like stuff and stuff costs money. Dang it!
So I keep writing and run this site and An Indie Affair for readers because one day I’ll earn enough to write full time, be able to travel, buy lots of stuff for me and my girls because they love stuff too & provide for hubs who deserves the freaking world for putting up with such a nutty dreamer like me.
A little about me… well, I’m a wife and mother and I have a ton of hobbies! Lots of things catch my interest, which drives my husband nuts! I love, LOVE! Romance is my thing, in any shape or form I can get it! I write contemporary Adult romance and will probably always stick to that genre. I hate angst, even putting my characters through it is a hard concept for me to grasp, I just want them to be happy!! Couple more things… I am about as claustrophobic as they come, I am terrified of mice, Football is like a foreign language to me, my favorite parts of the day are when my 4 yr old son wakes me up with a kiss every morning without fail and reading them their stories just before prayer time at bedtime! I have been with my husband for a million years and wouldn’t trade him for the world! I have BIG plans for 2014 and cant wait to get it started!!
Rebecca Espinoza, an Army wife, has lived in 8 different houses and 5 different states in the past 10 years and she can’t wait for the next move. She is skilled in the arts of basket weaving, origami, and bullshitting. She is a book thief and likely to pilfer any she sees lying around in friends’ houses, so keep an eye out if you invite her in. She currently resides in beautiful Wahiawa, Hawaii (Army wives will get this joke) with her two sons and dog, Tosh.0 (her most favorite person in the world…the dog, not the comedian), and her husband pops in from the field, missions, or deployment every now and then to say hello. She tends towards the sarcastic when referring to herself in third person. Rebecca is a Turtle, are you?
Laura Howard lives in New Hampshire with her husband and four children. Her obsession with books began at the age of 6 when she got her first library card. Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High and other girly novels were routinely devoured in single sittings. Books took a backseat to diapers when she had her first child. It wasn’t until the release of a little novel called Twilight, 8 years later, that she rediscovered her love of fiction. Soon after, her own characters began to make themselves known. The Forgotten Ones is her first published novel.
Saucy Southern Readers 
