'Tis the Season...for Cocoa and Reading!

’Tis the Season for Cocoa and Reading: Holiday Stories and More is a collection of short stories by Vanilla Heart Publishing Authors Tamara Philip, Chelle Cordero, Malcolm R. Campbell, Gwendolyn Jensen-Woodard, Neva Squires-Rodriguez, Charmaine Gordon, and Lauren Shiro.

That Christmas Feeling - Tamara Philip

A Date With Mistletoe - Chelle Cordero

Jock Stewart’s Holiday Hilarity - Malcolm R. Campbell

Dead for a Night - Gwendolyn Jensen-Woodard

Esperanza-The Holiday that Wasn’t - Neva Squires-Rodriguez

Surprise in August - Charmaine Gordon

The Gift - Lauren Shiro

DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY FOR FREE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://books.noisetrade.com/vhpmain/tis-the-season-for-cocoa-and

Pianissimo in Italian - coming soon!

Pianissimo, my paranormal story, is coming soon in Italiano! ;)

Copertura Reveal!

Pianissimo di Lauren Shiro

Darryl e Corinne Richards comprano la loro prima casa. La carriera nell’esercito di Darryl sta giungendo al termine, e la coppia si sente pronta a sistemarsi a Louisville, nel Kentucky. Con impeccabile tempismo, Darryl viene inviato nella sua ultima missione, e Corinne deve vivere nella nuova casa e nella nuova città da sola.

Sopraffatta, Corinne si isola e conduce una vita tranquilla e noiosa con le sue gatte, adattandosi alla nuova città. Il problema è che qualcuno o qualcosa non vuole che la sua vita sia né tranquilla né noiosa. E poi c’è quell’inquietante pianoforte in cantina…

C’è qualcosa dietro all’inquietante pianoforte sgangherato e alla nuova casa, più di quanto Corinne possa immaginare. Tra alti e bassi, colpi di scena e risvolti inaspettati, comincia a capire che anche una melodia suonata con dolcezza è potente – e anche anche le dolci rivelazioni e i minimi cambiamenti possono avere effetti profondi.

http://books.noisetrade.com/laurenshiro/preview-pianissimo-italian

The Holiday Season is here!!!

The holiday season is here. And I have the perfect follow up to Pianissimo! It's called First Christmas.

Check this out:

https://vhpbooktours.com/2016/10/30/first-christmas-a-holiday-short-story-by-lauren-shiro-now-available-in-all-ebook-editions/

Halloween 2016!!!

Happy Halloween, kids!

To celebrate the spookiest of days, we have to talk about my paranormal story, Pianissimo.

Here's a little excerpt sure to put a chill in your spine:

The outside world was morphed and swirled around through the old leaded glass. Corinne stole an extra glance at the warped view as she vacuumed the cat hair off the area rug and then the couch. She smiled at the quirkiness of the old windows. Sweat raced down her face as she cleaned diligently despite the horrid hot, humid weather. After several minutes, she finally stopped the vacuum.
   As soon as the whirl of the motor died down, Corinne thought she heard something. She strained to hear it. After concentrating for a few silent moments, she could finally make out the faint sound of a woman crying.
   Why was there a woman crying? Was someone hurt? Did something happen? Corinne hoped whoever it was was alright.
   Panic stricken for the other person, Corinne ran through the house looking in every room, opening every door. What was going on? Who was that? There was no one in the house. She ran out through the back door to see if any of her neighbors were hurt. Not one sign of life. What in the world?   Something had to be happening.
   She could still hear the cries.
   Corinne walked briskly back into the house. As she came in, she felt drawn to the inside basement door.
   Corinne went to slide back the lock, but it was so hot, it singed her hand. Corinne immediately removed her hand from the door. She looked at her palm which was blazing red. She blew gently on it to try to ease the scorch. The crying was clearer now.
   Braving the lock once again, Corinne quickly undid the latch. She pushed the door open with all her
might. The darkness rose up the stairs like billowing clouds of smoke. There it was. The crying was clear and loud now. A woman wept down in dark, dank basement.
   “Hello?” Corinne’s voice trembled with fear. “Hello? Who are you? Are you ok? Do you need help?”
   Her voice echoed mildly down the stairs.
   The crying continued.
   “Who are you? Are you okay? Do you need help?” Corinne repeated herself.
   Still no response, only sobs.
   Corinne stood at the stop of the stairs, frozen with fear. The burn on her hand began to throb. She looked at her hand. Her palm was red and beginning to blister. Yet, there were no signs of fire. No smoke, there was no scent of anything burning, no crackling or visible flames. Was it possible the fire had only just begun? Why was the door so hot that she couldn’t touch it? If she were to go down there to help this woman, would she end up hurt herself? She was truly torn: unsure of whether to brave the basement stairs or tend to her hand.
   After a perceived eternity, the sobbing suddenly began to fade away. Just as when it began, Corinne found herself straining to hear this woman once again. Eventually, there was utter silence.
   Now paralyzed by both fear and confusion, Corinne stood in place and looked back at her hand. The blister was gone and her palm looked completely normal. No longer red, no longer painful. As if nothing had happened, life in the house was still and peaceful again.


There's plenty more where that came from! For more hauntingly good stories, check out Pianissimo (as well as my other books):

https://www.amazon.com/Pianissimo-Lauren-Shiro-ebook/dp/B00OEOTZMC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1477920352&sr=8-1&keywords=pianissimo+lauren+shiro

Happy Halloween!

My absence

Hello reader, writers, and everyone in between!

I apologize for the absence. Between some personal issues and an injury, I've been MIA.

Fear not, though, dear reader! For I am hard at work! Writing a story that will touch your heart like no other story can! Stay tuned! ;)

Pianissimo...en Espanol?!

Pianissimo va a llegar en espanol!

Say what?

It's true, folks! Pianissimo has been translated into Spanish and the Spanish edition is coming soon! I am VERY excited about this, and am hoping that this will be the first of many translated versions of all of my books. For now, check this out:

Con carrera de Darryl ejército llegando a su fin, él y su esposa, Corinne, se sienten listos para instalarse en Louisville, Kentucky. Darryl es enviado en una gira final, dejando solo Corinne a vivir en esta nueva casa y nueva ciudad. Pero alguien o algo no quiere que ella tiene una vida tranquila o aburrida. Y luego está el piano espeluznante en el sótano…

REVIEWS (English Editions)

Imagine a piano, once beautiful now old, that holds a secret to change a young woman’s life.

A fascinating concept revealed through letters and an ancient much abused piano. A young couple buys an old house . The man goes off to his last tour in a war zone and left alone, the wife discovers more than she expected when she enters the basement.

Secrets, an exquisite love story from another era are revealed as the young woman struggles to remove paint from the piano where beneath the ugly green lies mahogany. Pianissimo is a story of growth, understanding and love to capture the reader’s heart.

~~Don Thorkelson

I loved reading all the history of the family, house and piano…

What a great idea! I loved reading all the history of the family, house and piano..and tying it in to the present day. I found the book to be very interesting and I was totally invested in what happened to the characters.

~~Suecup

She just gets better and better with her details

Lauren has outdone herself with [Painissimo]! She just gets better and better with her details, adjectives and story lines. This is a MUST READ!

She can capture your mind right into the book. You will see yourself in the midst of the drama. Don’t forget to read her other classics as well!

~~Lisa Cogar

¡Próximamente! ¡En Español!

https://vhpbooktours.com/2016/08/24/cover-reveal-pianissimo-lauren-shiro-spanish/

It's June!

Hi gang!

Are ya all tuckered out from 2 months of A to Z? I am! LOL.

It's June. So...now what?

Well, during all the A to Z alphabet-ness, Keystone Alliance Gaylife Newsletter had their annual Readers' Choice Awards. For the third time since 2012, Vick and I were named LGBT Couple of the Year. That was very exciting, and humbling.

I figure that if we won that (and now have won that a few times), I must know what I'm writing about. Maybe my stories of love without boundaries have some merit after all! ;)

Maybe you should find out for yourself, and then you could let me know for certain. ;)

Happy reading!!!

A to Z II - Z is for Zoism

Holy cannoli, kids!

It's the 31st! It's the last day in May. The last day, which means it's the last letter in my own personal A to Z challenge. The letter z. Z stands for zoism.

I know you're probably wondering what the heck zoism is.

Zoism is a reverence for animal life, or even a belief in magical animal powers. It's also a doctrine that life is due to a certain vital force, but I want to focus on the reverence for animal life.

How does a reverence for animal life correlate with Trajectory?

Simple: Gertrude.

Despite what Joe does, he actually respects all life. Animals, though, especially Gertrude, he reveres

.

Gertrude is Joe's companion. He loves her. She doesn't judge him, she doesn't nag him. She is quiet, always happy. There is something calm, gentle, and serene about her. She is sacred. Joe knows that, and respects it greatly.

Joe admires Gertrude for her simplistic and peaceful approach to life. He finds her wisdom inspiring. He has a tremendous reverence for animals and animal life.

So yes, zoism and Trajectory do go hand-in-hand.

There you have it. That's it. Both of our A to Z challenges are over! Thank you so much for coming along these adventures with me.

I hope you enjoyed learning about both of these books, and that you're excited about them. I'm very excited about both of them as I continue to work on them. I will certainly keep you posted on their progress.

Once again, thanks for joining me. I hope you had fun. As always, happy reading!

A to Z II - Y is for You/Yours

Holy crow, kids! It's May 30th! Do you know what that means? It means we're up to the letter y in my personal A to Z challenge! Y is for you or yours.

Huh?

Trajectory is for you. It's yours. I wrote it for you. Trajectory is yours.

This is your story.

This is my gift to you.

A story of love.

A story of fear.

A story of adrenaline and action.

A story of identity.

A story of friendship.

A story of solitude.

A story of camaraderie.

A story of betrayal.

A story of selfishness.

A story of selflessness and giving.

A story of personal growth.

A story of death.

A story of life - Joe's life.

Trajectory is for you.

Trajectory is yours.

A to Z II - X is for Xenial

Today is day 24 of my personal A to Z challenge, which means that X is our letter today. X is for xenial.

To be xenial is to be hospitable. Now that may seem contradictory considering Joe's reclusiveness, but in actuality, he's very xenial with Michael.


He comes out to him when Michael is still a complete stranger to him. Joe makes himself completely vulnerable to someone he doesn't know or trust. But he comes out as a way to extend his hand out to Michael when Michael says that he is gay. He's clearly nervous, and he just explained to Joe how he moved to Detroit from Phoenix to be with a man who was married to a woman. So he's scared and lonely. Joe admits he's bi so that Michael doesn't feel judged. He uses it as a way to reach out to Michael, to make him feel more comfortable and accepted.

Further still, Joe opens his home and his life to Michael. He spends quite a bit of time with him, which Joe doesn't normally do. Whether they go out, or just relax in Joe's apartment, the two men spend quite a bit of time together. For Joe to allow someone other than Claudette into his home, or to spend his free time with someone other than Pete or Claudette is as xenial as he can get. It may not rival southern hospitality, but it is quite hospitable nonetheless.

Keeping things relative, you can see that Joe is actually very hospitable with Michael. He opens himself and his home as much as he can. Joe, by nature, is a loner, but he is a xenial loner.