Saturday, August 16, 2014

Book Blitz: Redeeming Lainey by Kaitlyn Hoyt - Playlist & Giveaway



Redeeming Lainey

Release Date: 07/18/14

Summary from Goodreads:

When Lainey left the little farming town in Iowa on her eighteenth birthday, she thought she was finally free. She didn’t have to live in fear anymore wondering which day was going to be her last. For those two years, she was able to live in peace. She’d made a new friend, was going to a school she loved, and was setting the path for her future career.

That all changed with one phone call from her mother.

With the push of her best friend, Randi, Lainey goes back into the town she once promised was forever in her rear-view mirror. The dark memories of her past loom around every corner, and Lainey can’t seem to conquer the demons inside of her in order to fully move on.

Bryce, on the other hand, had moved on. During middle school and high school, Lainey was his best friend, and it tore him apart when she left with only a note. A simple note saying good-bye and have a great life.

Without his best friend around, Bryce’s life quickly spiraled out of control. He got into drugs, had some trouble with the law, and found himself partying a little too hard. Sweet Annabeth brought him out of that stage in his life, and ultimately saved his life.

With Lainey back in town, Bryce is at a loss at what do. She wants nothing to do with him or the town, but he is the only person who knows her full history and may be able to help her. Knowing that Lainey’s a flight risk, and with one wrong move, she’d pack everything up and leave again, Bryce steps out to help her find the one thing she doesn’t know she needs.

Redemption.




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About the Author

Currently a student at Ball State University, Kaitlyn Hoyt is pursuing her passion for writing while working towards a Wildlife Biology and Conservation degree. Vegetarian. Proud tree-hugger. Lover of comic book movies. Avid Reader. She has an unhealthy obsession for the soothing music of Josh Groban. She discovered her love for writing during the summer of 2012 and hasn’t stopped writing since!

Author Links:
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Friday, August 15, 2014

Book Blitz: The Silver Siren by Chanda Hahn - Excerpt & Giveaway




The Silver Siren
The Iron Butterfly #3

Chanda Hahn

YA Fantasy
May 25, 2014

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Every journey has an end.
Unable to find the answers she sought in Skyfell, Thalia, Joss, and Kael travel to Haven with a prisoner in tow. An attack on the road waylays their plans, and Thalia finds herself traveling alone with Kael to the hidden sanctuary of the SwordBrothers.
But war is on the horizon and the Raven is amassing his army. This time, the target is not Calandry, but the Sirens of Sinnedor. When family ties are revealed, Thalia must choose sides. Desperate to break the final seal on her power and save those she loves, will Thalia willingly taste the bitter pain of the iron butterfly machine one final time?


Excerpt

“Will you stay close?” It sounded crazy coming from my own mouth, but I needed him near.
“I’ll stay as close as you want,” he whispered. Then he sat near me cross-legged. “Is this good?” A small smile played at the corner of his lips.
Nodding my head, I curled up in his bedroll and immediately felt comfortable and safe. I yawned and inhaled the smell of him from his blanket. I was definitely tired.
“Thalia?” Kael leaned over and spoke into my ear.
“Hmmm?” I answered.
“Why don’t you want me to leave?”
“Mmm. ’Cause you keep the bad things away,” I mumbled sleepily.
“What if I am the bad thing?” His thick voice questioned. Was that a hint of fear I heard?
“You’re not,” I answered honestly.
I was almost asleep when I heard shuffling. My eyes flew open, and I reached out to grab Kael’s arm. He looked at me in surprise.
“I’m just getting comfortable,” he smirked.
“Promise you won’t leave me,” I demanded tiredly.
Kael nodded, and I let sleep finally win. But I swore I heard him whisper under his breath. “Never.”

About the Author

Chanda is a bestselling and award winning author of the UnEnchanted: An Unfortunate Fairy Tale series and the Iron Butterfly series. She’s been a bestseller in five countries and was named one of Amazon’s top 100 customer favorite author. She uses her experience as a children’s pastor, children’s librarian and bookseller to write compelling and popular fiction for teens. She was born in Seattle, WA, grew up in Nebraska and currently resides in Portland, Oregon with her husband and their twin children.
Learn more about this author visit her website www.chandahahn.com

Follow her on twitter: www.twitter.com/chandahahn



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Thursday, August 14, 2014

Blog Tour: Not Quite Dead by Lyla Payne - Review & Giveaway



Not Quite Dead
A Lowcountry Ghost Story

Lyla Payne

New Adult Paranormal Mystery
April 1, 2014

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A broken engagement sends Graciela Harper crawling back to Heron Creek with her tail between her legs, but finds the sleepy little town too changed to set her life right. Not even her budding drinking problem can obscure her Gramps’s failing health, or erase the mental picture of her first love happily married to her childhood best friend. To top it all off, she’s having a heck of time convincing the town’s dashing young mayor of her unfit-for-dating status.

When the ghost of 18th century lady pirate Anne Bonny starts insisting on a near daily audience, Graciela has to confront something else she never expected—being certifiably nuts at twenty-five years old.

Her brand new "I don't give a crap" attitude makes it easy to dismiss the mysterious threats that seem to be tied to her search for more information on the long dead pirate, but when her family becomes a target, Gracie knows she needs to find out why the ghost insists on being a constant, reeking companion.

If Graciela can put aside her prejudice against people without a pulse, she may discover that Anne Bonny’s problems are intricately linked with her own. The past harbors answers could help the cantankerous spirit find closure, but she is, after all, already dead. If Graciela doesn’t move fast, she might find herself doing the haunting, instead of the other way around.


My Review: I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review

They say you can't go home, and that's even more true when talking about a small town. Graciela knew that when returning, but that couldn't stop her need to run and escape when her life fell apart. In many ways the paranormal mystery takes a backseat to Graciela recovering and pulling her life back together. Though I really think the ghost helped that more than hurt. Fortunately Graciela was open minded about the paranormal, so rather than the ghost bothering her, she embraces the mystery presented.

Graciela was really hurting. She'd lost her mother, her grandmother, not to mention her broken engagement when she caught the rat cheating on her. She also had to deal with her grandfather's fading health. She spent much of the first third of the book rather depressed as one would expect. Really, the list of crap this woman has had to deal with is long and very sad.

I liked Graciela. She was sassy and fun (when she finally stopped her pity party). She seemed to meet her match in the new mayor Beau, who she loved to call Mr. Mayor to irk him. I enjoyed their budding friendship and relationship. Frankly I was worried she might go after her first love in her despair. Not Quite Dead isn't just a paranormal mystery, it's a story about mending friendships, starting over-- and it really makes one realize how precious life really is.

The mystery surrounding Anne Bonny's ghost is interesting, and I liked the romps back through history. While I really enjoyed the plot, it moved a tad slowly for my taste. I found myself skimming more than I like to. It was also quite sad and a bit of a downer at times. I do not recommend reading this if you're feeling down, save it for a brighter day. The ending is quite intriguing, letting the reader know that Graciela's life will not be boring.

About the Author

Lyla Payne has been publishing New Adult romance novels for a little over a year, starting with Broken at Love and continuing with the rest of the Whitman University series. She loves telling stories, discovering the little reasons people fall in love, and uncovering hidden truths in the world around us - past and present. In her spare time she cuddles her two dogs, pretends to enjoy exercising so that she can eat as much Chipotle as she wants, and harbors a deep and abiding hope that Zac Efron likes older women. She loves reading, of course, along with movies, traveling, and Irish whiskey. Lyla's hard at work, ALWAYS, and hopes to bring you more Whitman University antics and at least one more Lowcountry ghost tale before the end of the year.

Lyla Payne is represented by Kathleen Rushall at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

If you want to know more, please visit her at http://lylapayne.com

If you're a fan of Young Adult fiction--science fiction or otherwise--please check out her work that's published under the name Trisha Leigh. http://trishaleigh.com

Author links:
http://lylapayne.com/


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Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Book Blitz: Stormfront by K.R. Conway - Author Interview & Giveaway




Stormfront
Undertow #2

K.R. Conway

YA Paranormal Romance
August 15, 2014



Not long ago Eila Walker’s choices were limited: death by a bullet to the head, or at the hands of her beloved bodyguard, Raef. Now, five weeks after Raef triggered her power and she nearly leveled a historic mansion, Eila is dealing with the fall-out of her decisions. While she doesn’t remember dying in the arms of the soul thief who loves her, she knows that Raef remembers everything about the night he nearly killed her.

Now on the mend and attempting to keep one step ahead of the FBI, Eila and her team of misfits are desperate for a bit of normal. Eila is trying to navigate high school, while her BFF Ana is cautiously hanging with past-boyfriend and soul thief, Kian. Shape-shifter, MJ, is trying not to piss off his mother, while Raef is coping with his fears that Eila will never be safe.

But just as “normal” seems within their grasp, a powerfully built newcomer arrives. Raef knows the scarred man as a Blacklist Dealer – a soul thief, who peddles the names of humans who deserve to die. Eila, however, knows him as the protective hunter from the woods, who she nicknames Thor. Before long, Raef and Eila realize they’ve met the same killer, and he has one hell of a story to tell the five friends . . . if Raef doesn’t murder him first.


STORMFRONT is the second book in the Bestselling UNDERTOW series.



Interview with K.R. Conway

Q: How did you come up for the idea for the series and how many books are there total?

A: Ah! The idea for the series . . . I get asked that a lot. UNDERTOW is a combination of the war stories of my grandfather (who was a WWII Marine and landed on Iwo Jima), my obsession with Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of Peter Benchley’s novel, JAWS, and my love affair with Cape Cod and its “everybody knows everybody” vibe. As for the number of books, there are 4 main novels, and one novella. Only the first 2 novels are out right now – UNDERTOW and STORMFRONT (as of August 13, 2014). UNDERTOW is now on summer reading lists for high schools.

Q: The local kids from Cape Cod are saying the stuff in the books is REAL! They are messing with me, right?

A: The series is based on a REAL version of Cape Cod. In fact, one of the characters owns an ice cream shop named The Milk Way. While “The Milk Way” is fictitious, it is 100% based on Four Seas Ice Cream in Centerville (a REAL town, were fictional Eila lives). Four Seas knows they are in the book and they host book signings. Other things in the book that are real to Cape Cod (so you can basically visit here and do all the things that Eila and her crew do) are:

1. Eila’s house – The home the main character inherits, and thus sets off the chain of events for UNDERTOW, does exist in the historic area of Centerville, not far from Four Seas Ice Cream. It used to be owned by a friend of mine and we hung out in it all the time when we were young. She now resides in Hong Kong as a pilot, so we catch up on Facebook and she gives me more secrets about how the house was built. FYI – don’t go knocking on the door, because someone else owns the house now.

2. Barnstable High School – Totally real and totally cool public high school that does some crazy thing. The students and faculty know they are in the novels (and even decided to begin building their own book trailer based on the series), so they allow me to come in and walk the halls as needed to make sure I stay true to the story. And yes – it is so huge that I need a GPS to find my way out. 2000+ students go there. Their award winning theater department became part of a major TV network series known as High Drama a few years ago. American Idol contestant Siobhan Magnus was a student there.

3. The Jeep Subculture – Again, totally real. On Cape Cod, Wranglers are the most beloved vehicles of all. Most families have one, and if you drive one, other Wrangler drivers will wave to you when you pass each other – like Harley riders do. And yes – you can drive them out onto some of the beaches (MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHICH ONES!)

4. Witch Balls, The Crimson Moon, and Eila’s Bracelet – All real. Witch Balls are made at any one of our beautiful, glass-blowing shops (and yes – you can watch them actually blow glass, which is so cool). The Crimson Moon was based on The Lavender Moon, which is no longer in business. It was owned by a real coven of witches and when you would go in there, you could buy healing stones, herbs, crystals, oils, etc. Don’t worry – Dalca didn’t work at the real version! Eila’s bracelet is a staple of Cape Cod and there are several variations, though the original is simply called a Cape Cod Bracelet. They come in various sizes, so having a two-year-old with one is not unusual. The ball screws the bangle together, which means that sucker ain’t coming off, so don’t get it caught on anything or your arm may go with it.

5. Town Neck, the Bonfire party, and the infamous bridge – All real, though I did take a few creative liberties. So, Town Neck beach is part of the town of Sandwich. It has the boardwalk, just as described, and the long beach at the end, AND, yes, the river. Kids can jump from the bridge (yup, I’ve done it too, and IT IS FREEZING). However, you cannot drive a car out on Town Neck and you are not supposed to bonfire there – all those things can be done on SANDY NECK or NAUSET (where Raef hunts), so I kinda sorta blended the two beaches.

6. Barnstable Harbor and the Ferry – Totally true and yes, you can sit and people watch. You can also catch a Cape Cod Baseball League game in the nearby field. The Cape Cod League is famous because so many players get called up to the Majors.

More of Cape Cod appears in each new novel in the series and I do blog often about the Cape, writing, and the series on my blog at http://capecodscribe.com


Q: DUDE! I saw Raef at the mall!!! Like – REALLY HIM! I was totally fangirling!! How is that possible?
           
A: Because all the cover models are real kids from Cape Cod and none were professional models. We found them through Facebook (yes – I stalked teenagers on Facebook). They needed to match the characters that were already written and their parents needed to agree to let them become the faces of the characters. I have a fabulous, young photographer named Alex, and a full television studio that we use when we do photoshoots. Each shoot takes about seven hours. It is weird to be there during the shoots as ALL the characters are hanging out, laughing and sharing music. The kids also come to book signings and sign as their characters and pose with fans. They have been on TV, in newspapers, and on blogs.  Their complete profiles and who the real kids are behind the faces can be found on my blog, CapeCodScribe.com.

Q: How can I contact you? Enter to win Swag? Find out when the next book will launch? Meet you in person?

A: My blog is a great place to start (CapeCodScribe.com), but I also have a Facebook Page, Instagram (K_R_Conway), and Twitter. On Amazon, you can sign up to get an email when a new book releases. Fans who post Facebook statuses about the book, tweet, Pinterest, Instagram and what not can win swag from me.


About the Author

K.R. Conway has been a professional writer for most of her adult life.  She has been a journalist since 1999, an editor, graphic designer, critique partner for other writers, novelist, and book reviewer. She teaches the devious art of telling lies for money to various impressionable young people (i.e. she teaches fiction craft classes for teens and adults). She is also on the Board of Directors for the Cape Cod Writers Center, a PAL member of the SCBWI, and the driver of a 16-ton school bus. She tweets her random thoughts @sharkprose and is on Facebook, because even her BFF’s dog is.

K.R. Conway is the author of the UNDERTOW series, which includes last year’s Amazon bestseller, UNDERTOW, and this August’s release, STORMFRONT.She lives on Cape Cod with her two children and husband, two weird dogs, and a cage-defiant lovebird that sleeps in a miniature tent.

Author links:

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Release Blitz: Flawed by J.L. Spelbring - Giveaway




Title: Flawed (Perfection #2)
Author: J.L. Spelbring
Release Date: August 12, 2014
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

In a world where Hitler won the The War, and perfection is constantly sought, Ellyssa has broken free from her austere life and has found another meaning for her existence.

Family, friendship, and love.

But her happiness is short lived. Ellyssa finds herself on the run, again. Her father's work didn't die with him, but lives on in her siblings, Aalexis and Xaver, and they are determined to complete his unfinished dream.












 
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR



J.L. Spelbring lives in Texas, where she wanders out in the middle of the night to look at the big and bright stars. Besides knocking imaginary bad guys in the head with a keyboard, she enjoys being swept away between the pages of a book, running amuck inside in her own head, pretending she is into running, and hanging out with her kids, who are way too cool for her.

Her novel, Perfection, released in July 2013 and the sequel, Flawed, releases August 2014.







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Monday, August 11, 2014

Blog Tour: Thoeba by Donna Milward - Excerpt, Top 10 & Giveaway




Thoeba

Donna Milward

Fantasy
Staccato Publishing

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Thoeba is a creature of light. As all things must be in balance, when the Energy created her kind it also created the darkness.

Thoeba’s world fell to darkness forcing her to flee. She came to Earth to protect the Energy, losing everything in the process.
Darkness has found a way to follow her and threatens to take this world as well.

With only humans as allies, can she succeed?


Excerpt

“Wait a minute.” Peter inched forward, narrowed his eyes. “What are you saying? Did you influence that decision? Are you saying you controlled my thoughts?”

“We are desperate....” She did not like his resonance. It seethed like anger and it fed hers. She would have to answer his questions. She needed him to trust her, but this was not a good start.

“No, I did not. Not intentionally anyways.” She couldn’t help herself as she added, “It would help if you did not think at top volume.”

Peter gripped his head. “Okay, that’s it. I call bullshit.”

“That will not stop me from hearing you,” she said. Thoeba sympathized with the dog. While not as empathic as her, the tension caused him to whine. “I am already sick of you humans. This whole mess is your fault anyway.”


The exhaustion, pain and loneliness caved in on her. She hated this planet. Why did humans insist on being so difficult?

Top Ten List by Donna Milward

My top 10 Movies in no particular order:

1.                Labyrinth
2.                Cloud Atlas
3.                The Star Wars Trilogy (That counts as one!)
4.                Serenity
5.                The Watchmen
6.                The Avengers
7.                Erik the Viking
8.                300
9.                Drag me to Hell
10.            Pitch Black


About the Author

Donna Milward lives in Edmonton, Alberta in a tiny house with a huge yard. She’s been writing all her life, but decided to put writing on hold to get ‘a real job’ as a meatcutter and build a future with her beloved troll, Dan and her cats Freya, and Spartacus Jones.
Twelve years later, an invitation to a Romance Writer’s Conference in Washington D.C. led not only to new friends and new knowledge, but to the inspiration to write again. Thoeba was completed the following year.
Donna likes to mix her fascination with reincarnation and all things paranormal with her love of mythology in her work, and has even written her own myth ‘The Sacred Truth” (on earthtothoeba.blogspot.com) as the lore behind Thoeba and future novels to come.

Donna enjoys fishing, gardening and canning. Despite these hobbies, she much prefers city life.


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