Sunday, 28 August 2022

The Perils of Passwords by Author C.D. Hersh...

Love them or hate them we have to live with them.

Our lives have come down to passwords. If you can’t remember them you can’t get into any of your social media applications. You can’t pay your bills or access your email and in some cases your smart phone.

Google “passwords” and you get 41M plus hits that encompass anything from password managers to safes to recovery programs and generators. Passwords are big business and if you don’t have them, as mentioned above, you have problems. 

Protection has always been of importance even to the early cave dwellers. If your cave wasn’t high up a cliff anyone could just walk in and take the meat you had killed the day before. As time progressed man became smarter about keeping things safe. Today to keep things safe we have whole home systems that monitor 24/7. However, that still doesn’t cover the ones you need when you want to tweet or get money out of the ATM. 

One solution is to spend big bucks for a password generator and then have a password keeper to store the various passwords you have to maintain. Here is a simple password generator and keeper that only costs a dollar per password. 

You say that can’t be. 

Pull out a George Washington from your purse or wallet. Take a close look at the bill. You can use any denomination but to keep costs down George is the one to go with. Notice the ten digit serial number? That’s the password generator. 

There are two ways to use this generator. One is to use the numbers printed on the bill. Which might not be as secure as the method we’ll explain next. Of course, with systems today you have to use more than numbers and sometimes even special characters. We’ll get to those in a minute. 

To generate the letters from the serial number start with the first letter of the serial number. If the next number is an even number, move forward in the alphabet that many letters and use it as a capital. If the number is odd move backwards and use it as lower case. When the number is zero use the same letter, you just used only different case. Do this for each successive number and you will have a string of randomized letters, ten characters long. 

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 

For example, if the serial number on your bill is K94785309C you come up with the ten characters as KbFyGbyYpC. When you get to A or Z you continue at the beginning or end to continue your count. Your random password is now generated. 


If you need special characters, they usually include the @, #, $ or &. Insert them in order between the upper and lower case letters. Thus, the fourteen-character password we have now generated is K@b#F$y&GbyYpC. 

If the serial number is E54522034B then you get E@z#D$y&ACCzDB. Once the special characters are used, don’t repeat them again in that password. Mix in other special characters that are allowed, as you desire. 

What about the password keeper you ask? That’s the dollar bill you used to generate the password. Use a post-it-note to put the name of the social media or other account name on the bill. Put it in a second wallet in a secure place until it is time to update your password on that account. That dollar is not spendable for you and is why this all costs a dollar per account. 

Of course, once you have all your account passwords set up, the next time you update your password is free as you change the dollars out. Hope this is helpful to you. 

Let us know if this works for you or you have another idea in the comments below. 

If this piques your interest, then the links for our books are on our Amazon Author Page 


C.D. Hersh–Two hearts creating everlasting love stories. Putting words and stories on paper is second nature to co-authors C.D. Hersh. They’ve written separately since they were teenagers and discovered their unique, collaborative abilities in the mid-90s. As high school sweethearts and husband and wife, Catherine and Donald believe in true love and happily ever after. 


They are looking forward to many years of co-authoring and book sales, and a lifetime of happily-ever-after endings on the page and in real life.

Website

Soul Mate Publishing

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Amazon Author Page

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Sunday, 21 August 2022

Cover Reveal: Uncommon by Justine Alley Dowsett and Murandy Damodred...

Mirror World Publishing and Sapphyria's Book Promotions present the cover reveal for 

Uncommon 
by Justine Alley Dowsett & Murandy Damodred


About Uncommon:

Rygal Saline has always stood in his sister’s shadow. As heir to the Clan Chief, Rhea has been trained in the art of leadership and warfare. Rygal is just, well, Rygal.


After several years away at a College in Ismera, Rygal returns to Jaram for his father’s funeral only to find a letter from his sister. She’s gone, she’s sorry, and she expects him to take her place as the next clan chief. Never envisioning a place for himself within the clan, let alone taking on the responsibilities of leadership, Rygal finds himself alone and out of his depth.

Desperate for companionship and for someone he can turn to for help, he writes a letter to every eligible maiden on the continent, hoping to find a wife. The letters travel far and wide. Most are rejected until an accident of fate sends Rygal’s letters into the hands of two women for whom they were never intended, setting in motion a plot that threatens to bring Clan Jaram to the brink of war.


Visit the Tour Hosts:

https://saphsbooks.blogspot.com/2022/08/cover-reveal-host-schedule-uncommon-by.html

Book Details:

ASIN: ‎ B0B9V77GQH
Publisher: ‎ Mirror World Publishing; 1st edition
Publication Date: ‎ September 17, 2022
Print Length: ‎ 339 pages

Pre-Order Links:

Mirror World Publishing ebook: 

Mirror World Publishing paperback: 


Meet the Authors:

Justine Alley Dowsett (right) is the author of more than ten novels and one of the founders of Mirror World Publishing. Her books, which she often co-writes with her sister, Murandy Damodred (left), range from young adult science fiction to dark fantasy/romance. She earned a BA in Drama from the University of Windsor, honed her skills as an entrepreneur by tackling video game production, and now she dedicates her time to writing, publishing, and occasionally roleplaying with her friends.

With a background in Drama and Communications from the University of Windsor, Murandy Damodred enjoys fantasy fiction with strong romantic subplots. She is an avid role-player and is happiest when living vicariously through her characters. Though she'd rather think of herself as the heroine of her next novel, in the real world she is a nurse and a mom of two living in Windsor, Ontario.


Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/mirrorworldpublishing

Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/mirrorworldpub

Amazon:
http://amzn.to/2obPWUL

Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/28439132-mirror-world

Blog:
http://www.mirrorworldpublishing.wordpress.com/

Publisher Website:
http://www.mirrorworldpublishing.com/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-d6tf8fpn4_mjraKjM-hUQ





Sunday, 14 August 2022

Power of the Witch: Curses, Spells, and Love by YA Author Leigh Goff...


The light of Protection, I carry it strong.

No ill wishes or trouble, can come along.

You cannot harm me, or weaken my soul.

My light is my weapon, and peace is my goal.

–Author Unknown

 

What is a witch, but a powerful woman? In my stories what makes her powerful is more than magic. It is the willingness to sacrifice herself for the ones she loves. It is the ability to face her fears with courage she didn’t know she had. It’s also having the heart to tap into her talents when needed, and if that includes spell casting and curse breaking at any cost, so be it.

 

Because of reader interest in the witches’ spells in my books, I compiled a few from Disenchanted and Bewitching Hannah to share. In my latest novel, KOUSH HOLLOW, the magic comes from the women of the bayou–it embodies the mysticism of the Deep South and is equally powerful.


DISENCHANTED


Sixteen-year-old Sophie Goodchild from the wickedly wonderful town of Wethersfield, Connecticut struggles with her magic as she finds forbidden love along with a centuries-old true love curse. Here are a few spells, some spoken in Latin, from Disenchanted.

 

“Ictus.” Sophie hopes for a windstorm when she encounters a boy who should be her family enemy, but she’s love struck and only flower petals rain down on her and Alexavier.

 

“Verum.” Sophie casts this spell on the boy she thinks she must hate, but instead of him speaking the truth, a heart shape appears in the bark of a mulberry tree trunk behind him. The tree is significant in this story as it is in Pyramus and Thisbe. They are the ill-fated couple, like Romeo and Juliet, and they planned to meet under a mulberry tree.

 

Semper memoriam tui delebo Diamond”- She commands Judge Mather to forget about the rare red diamond used as a blood charm that has caused so much trouble.


BEWITCHING HANNAH


When an ancient prophecy reveals the rise of a young, powerful Chesapeake witch and the impending death of another, sixteen-year-old Hannah Fitzgerald realizes she can no longer repress the magic that has taken away so much. There’s also the Grey witch’s Arundell Curse plaguing Hannah and her mysterious love interest, W.

 

“By the power of fire, I do summon and churn, and call thee forth to blaze and burn.” Hannah casts this spell, needing heat from her hands to burn through a seatbelt when she’s trapped in a fiery wreck.

 

Her frenemy, Arora, demonstrates her dark magic when she captures an insect and kills it with this spell, “By my command and desire, your pesky little death I require.”

 

The nefarious Emme using magic to fight with Hannah says, “For the trouble you have inflicted on me, double shall I inflict on you.” She snaps Hannah’s icy doppleganger statue in half and Hannah doubles over in agony.


KOUSH HOLLOW

As Jenna Ashby, the sixteen-year-old eco-warrior, is introduced to the Diamonds & Pearls, her mother’s exclusive New Orleans social club, she comes to the troubling realization that secrets are a way of life in Koush Hollow. She’s also cursed with her cold, narcissistic mother, Rayna, who’s ambitions are limitless.

 

In the excerpt below, Jenna is drawn to Voodoo priestess, Mama Ismay. She watches her create a mystical potion using bayou magic, but then Jenna is left with more questions than answers when she sees what’s in the mysterious aquarium.


EXCERPT


Mama Ismay reached for another bottle. The blue-green liquid within shimmered. “From da horseshoe crab.” She dripped blood into the malevolent liquid. From a bowl, she scooped silver-colored flakes and tossed them into the flames followed by a fistful of fine blue crystals.


I had to know. “Copper chloride?”

 

Feu bleu. Blue fire.” Orange flames flashed to a cerulean blue and burned hot enough to heat my face from a distance. She sprinkled a fine pink powder onto a conch shell and held it over the fire for a few seconds while chanting.

 

“What are you saying?”

 

She raised the shell over her head. “I am summonin’ da magic of my ancestor spirits who came before me.” She dropped the whole shell into the pot and turned to me.

 

I lifted my eyebrows with surprise. Did she really believe she could summon magic from dead people?

 

“How did you find us?” A crease appeared between her brows. “I doubt our location was given readily.”

 

I stared, mesmerized by the mystical concoction, steam rising from its gurgling depths as it reduced over the crackling, blue fire. “I, um, did my research.”

 

“Dat’s what scientists do, no?”

 

I wasn’t sure about her so-called magic, but she was using quite a bit of science herself with that potion. Her expression left me wondering. “I know we don’t know each other that well, but you look like there’s something troubling you.”

 

“You shouldn’t have come here.” She covered the pot with a grassy cloth and headed to another room. I followed.

 

“Why not? I had a lot of questions and I felt you were the only one to answer them.”

 

Next to a chair covered in oyster shells was an antique aquarium with beautiful, brass seahorse legs and brass oyster-shaped lights that illuminated the water. Within the water delicate, glass spheres the size of golf balls in varied pastel hues floated up and down in a slow, rhythmic pattern, never reaching the surface. I stood over it for a better look. An unexpected wave of heat rose up and warmed my cheeks. “What is this?”

 

She snatched a dried, green strip from the table next to her and snapped off a mouthful. “Sea grass jerky. Want a piece?”

 

“No thanks.” My gaze returned to the mysterious floating balls. “I mean, why are there balls in a fish tank and what’s in them?”

 

“Da balls contain somethin’ more precious dan air.” She stepped closer and hovered her hands over the water and when she turned back to me, her cheeks were flushed with color.


AMAZON BUY LINKS

Leigh Goff loves writing young adult fiction with elements of magic and romance because it's also what she liked to read. Born and raised on the East Coast, she now lives in Maryland where she enjoys the area's great history and culture.

Leigh is a graduate of the University of Maryland, University College and a member of the Maryland Writers' Association and Romance Writers of America. She is also an approved artist with the Maryland State Arts Council. Her debut novel, Disenchanted, was inspired by the Wethersfield witches of Connecticut and was released by Mirror World Publishing. Leigh is currently working on her next novel, The Witch's Ring which is set in Annapolis.

Learn more about Leigh Goff on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Sunday, 7 August 2022

Recipe and a Read: Healthy Baked Salmon and a Time Travel Romance by Author Stella May...

Honestly, I don’t like to cook fish, especially salmon, but this recipe almost cooks itself. Yes, it’s that easy. This recipe works great with a whole fillet, individual ones, or steaks. Give it a try.

Baked Salmon in Lemon Juice

1 salmon fillet
1 or 2 lemons
Salt and pepper to taste, optional

Pre-heat oven to 350° F.

Wash and dry salmon. If you use a whole fillet, cut into serving size pieces for easier handling. Lay fish into any ovenproof dish that has a cover or use an aluminum foil lined cookie sheet then cover the salmon with heavy aluminum foil. 

Pour fresh squeezed lemon juice over fish. It must be half covered in liquid. Cover tightly with a lid or aluminum foil.

 Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. 

You can sprinkle salt and pepper on before you bake the fish, but I prefer to cook it without. 

And that’s it. Hope you enjoy this dish as much as my family does.

Here is a peek at Stella’s time travel romance for your reading pleasure. 

One key unlocks the love of a lifetime…but could also break her heart. 

Nika Morris’s sixth sense has helped build a successful business, lovingly restoring and reselling historic homes on Florida’s Amelia Island. But there’s one forlorn, neglected relic that’s pulled at her from the moment she saw it. The century-old Coleman house.  

Quite unexpectedly, the house is handed to her on a silver platter—along with a mysterious letter, postmarked 1909, yet addressed personally to Nika. Its cryptic message: Find the key. You know where it is. Hurry, for goodness sake! 

The message triggers an irresistible drive to find that key. When she does, one twist in an old grandfather clock throws her back in time, straight into the arms of deliciously, devilishly handsome Elijah Coleman. 

Swept up in a journey of a lifetime, Nika finds herself falling in love with Eli—and with the family and friends that inhabit a time not even her vivid imagination could have conjured. But in one desperate moment of homesickness, she makes a decision that will not only alter the course of more than one life, but break her heart. 

’Til Time Do Us Part is available in Kindle and Paperback at AMAZON


Talented author Stella May is the penname for Marina Sardarova who has a fascinating history you should read on her website

Stella writes fantasy romance as well as time travel romance. She is the author of 'Till Time Do Us Part, Book 1 in her Upon a Time series, and the stand-alone book Rhapsody in Dreams. Love and family are two cornerstones of her stories and life. Stella’s books are available in e-book and paperback through all major vendors.

When not writing, Stella enjoys classical music, reading, and long walks along the ocean. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida with her husband Leo of 35 years and their son George. They are her two best friends and are all partners in their family business.

Follow Stella on her website and blog Stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.