Blog Tour: Pool of Crimson by Suzanne M. Sabol - Review & Giveaway

Pool of Crimson
Blushing Death #1

Suzanne M. Sabol

Urban Fantasy
Soul Mate Publishing

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Killing vampires is easy. Trusting one will be the hardest thing Dahlia Sabin has ever done.

Dahlia has lived a lonely existence as a killer of the undead. Known as The Blushing Death to those that fear her, Dahlia uncovers a plot by Columbus's Master Vampire, Ethan. He intends to raise a demon from the depths of hell to destroy the city, cement his power, and take control.

In her pursuit to stop a demon from manifesting, Dahlia sinks deeper into the city's supernatural underworld and discovers that vampires are not only deadly; one in particular could be dangerous to her very soul and her heart. Patrick, the Master vampire's second-in-command with dark penetrating eyes and a cool, deadly sophistication, can't stay away and Dahlia can't tell him no. There's something that neither of them knows, Ethan wants Dahlia's unleashed power for himself and is willing to do anything to get it.

Dahlia is in a race against time to send the demon back to hell, at war with her better judgment, trusting a dark and intriguing vampire with his own agenda, while struggling to save her own neck. As the portal to hell opens, Dahlia has only herself to rely on in order to survive, if she can  . . .  

Also be sure to check out more action in the second book of the series with Dahlia Sabin, MIDNIGHT ASH.

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

Pool of Crimson is a fast-paced urban fantasy full of action and intrigue. Ms. Sabol wastes no time, jumping right into the plot from the first page. It's apparent from the beginning that Dahlia is one tough cookie, and her snarkiness is quite amusing.

The story is filled with paranormal creatures: vampires, werewolves, and demons to name a few. Dahlia is a vampire hunter in a world where few people believe they exist. The story is dark, as is Dahlia's past. I can't really get into it without spoilers, so I think I'll just leave it at that.

The plot was action-packed since Dahlia seemed to find trouble everywhere she goes. There were times when I thought the pacing dragged, typically during long descriptions. But it always picked up again with a new twist or turn to keep me reading.

I always enjoy an intriguing paranormal read, especially around Halloween. If you like kickass heroines with attitude fighting supernatural baddies, then check out Pool of Crimson.

About the Author

Suzanne M. Sabol is the author of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. She has been writing from the age of 16 when she finished her first full-length novel. Suzanne M. Sabol graduated from The Ohio State University, majoring in Criminology, International Studies, Russian, and Political Science. She currently lives in Columbus Ohio with her husband and works as a Human Resources Professional and Fiscal Officer.

Contact Links

Website: http://suzannemsabol.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SuzanneMSabolAuthor

Twitter: @SuzanneMSabol

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Blog Tour: Willows of Fate by Suzanna J Linton - Excerpt & Giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Willows of Fate (Lands of the Sun and Stone series #1) by Suzanna J Linton. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours and runs from October 3-16. You can view the complete tour schedule on the website of Lola’s Blog Tours.

Willows of Fate
Lands of the Sun and Stone series #1

Suzanna J Linton

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Age category: Adult
Release Date: October 3, 2014

Blurb:
Know thyself...

All her life, Desdemona has seen things others haven't. Dragons, knights, dwarves, kids with three eyes. Heeding her mother's advice, she keeps silent about this and struggles through life, pretending everything is normal.

At her mother's death, Desdemona returns to a home haunted with memories but she is determined to not be shaken from what little normalcy she has. However, when her brother is murdered and she uncovers a family secret, Desdemona realizes that there is more to what she sees. Perhaps a whole other world, one that's willing to kill to have her as its own.

You can find Willows of Fate on Goodreads

You can buy Willows of Fate on Smashwords

Excerpt

I pick up the first journal, the one I’d fallen asleep while reading, and flip until I come to place where I’d left off. An image of the teenager in the photograph fills my mind, writing the words in these pages as I read them. Time ticks by as the sun eases through the afternoon, drawing light slowly from the room until Eric is forced to flick on the overhead.

I wince and rub my eyes. Tense shoulder muscles tangle in a snarl and I roll them.

“Maybe we should take a break,” Eric suggests.

“Maybe. Have you come across anything useful?”

He shakes his head. “Just paranoid rantings, as far as I can tell. Sometimes it’s lucid. She talks about childhood memories or things that have gone on at the nursing home.”

“What kind of paranoia?”

“People stealing her things. People watching her. She complains that someone comes into her room every now and again and reorders it or knocks things over.”

My face feels cold as the blood drains away. 

Eric frowns. “What is it?”

I shake my head, looking back down at the journal in my hands. “Nothing.”

“It doesn’t look like nothing.”

I close the book and stand. “I’m going for a walk.” Turning, I stride toward the hallway.

His chair scrapes back as he springs to his feet. “Desdemona, wait.”

I stop in the doorway and face him, crossing my arms. “What?”

“This isn’t going to work if you hide things from me.”

“I’m not hiding anything.”

“Bullshit.” 

Scowling, I glare at him.

He moves to stand in front of me. “Des.” His voice is soft. Soothing. Like I’m a frightened filly and he seeks to calm me. “You can trust me. To get through this, you’re going to need to trust someone.”

His summer-blue eyes plead with me. Maybe there are those who can stand alone in the worst of situations, relying on inner strength and commitment to see them through. I am not one of those. My resolve crumbles beneath those eyes. I step back, his hands slipping away.

“I see things, too,” I tell him.

He frowns. “Things? Like Samantha sees?”

“Not like what she sees. I see and experience the exact same things.”

About the Author:
Suzanna Linton became a writer the first day she picked up a pencil, scribbling happily in magazines and books. Growing up in (very) rural South Carolina, she was steeped in legends and ghost stories and was surrounded by her mother's ever-growing book collection. She graduated from Francis Marion University with a degree in Professional Writing and bounced from job to job until she landed in a library, where she met her now-husband. She lives with him in South Carolina with their two dogs and cat.

You can find and contact Suzanna here:
- Website
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Goodreads

There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Willows of Fate. These are the prizes you can win:

- e-copy of Willows of Fate through Smashwords

- $20 Amazon gift card

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Book Highlight: Return by Skye Malone - Excerpt & Giveaway

Return

Skye Malone

Awakened Fate (Book Three)

Young Adult Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Wildflower Isle

October 6, 2014

Cover Designer: Karri Klawiter 

For Chloe, the ocean was supposed to mean safety and for a time, it almost did. She overcame the Sylphaen’s drugs. She discovered an unforeseen attraction to Zeke, one that he shares for her. A life underwater seemed possible, until she learned that nothing was as it appeared.

After an unspeakable betrayal shattered everything she thought she knew about Zeke’s world, she and Zeke have fled the ocean for the one place Chloe never expected to want to go.

Home.

But the challenge of living as a mermaid over a thousand miles from the ocean isn’t the only problem facing her. Home has changed. Enemies are waiting, ones she never saw coming. Her little Kansas town is full of surprises.

Including Noah, the guy she left behind.

Purchase:

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Other books in the Awakened Fate series

Awaken, book #1

Only 99¢!

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Descend, book #2

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Excerpt

“…do it in Jeri’s old room.”

Earl’s words filtered through the cotton stuffing in my head, barely making sense.

“Yeah, well, seemed fitting.” He paused. “Listen, Richard, I called you as a courtesy, on account of how you said one got away from you yesterday. But it took me an hour after the girl collapsed to get the boy to finally conk out, and with that damn scum-sucker metabolism of theirs, you know I can’t promise either of ‘em will be down for long. You and your boys want any part of this, you better hurry up and get here.”

Alarm struggled through me, weighed down by an exhaustion that wanted to smother my mind back into sleep. Scum-sucker? He…

“Hang on,” Earl said as though interrupting someone. “One of them ain’t breathing the same as they were.”

My heart began to pound harder while I fought to open my eyes. Breathing? He sounded so far away. How could he hear anyone breathing?

Footsteps clunked on the hardwood floor. Light pierced the blackness around me as I managed to lift my eyelids. I was on the bed, facing the doorway. In the window seat, Zeke was slumped, his head resting on the wall. The room was dark around us, though the hall light was on.

Earl came to the door. In one hand, he held a phone to his ear, and at the sight of me, he made an angry noise.

“What’d I tell you? The girl’s awake.”

He dropped the phone onto the window seat as he strode toward me, and all my dull commands to my muscles couldn’t make my body move. Striding past me, he retrieved something from the dresser and then returned with a sports bottle in his hand.

I tried to pull away, but he just reached down and grabbed my head from behind, lifting it toward him. With his teeth, he popped open the top of the bottle and then shoved it into my mouth.

Bitter-tasting liquid flooded my throat. I choked, the drink spewing from my lips, but he just dropped the bottle and clamped an enormous hand over the lower half of my face.

“Swallow,” he ordered.

I stared up at him. His grip tightened on my hair, tugging at my scalp.

“Now.”

Someone shouted angrily from the tiny speaker of the cordless phone, their words indecipherable. Earl’s face darkened and he glanced to the window seat.

Spikes crept from my forearms, finally answering the frantic signals from my brain. As he turned back toward me, I flopped my arm out like the dead weight it was, succeeding in catching his side.

With a pained cry, he lurched away, his hand leaving my mouth.

I spit the liquid out and struggled backward, half-crawling and half-tumbling from the opposite side of the bed.

“Zeke,” I croaked.

He didn’t move.

Earl made a furious noise while he straightened, clutching at his side. Blood darkened his flannel shirt.

But he didn’t look startled. He didn’t look surprised in the least by the tips of the iridescent knives protruding from my skin.

“What…” I tried. “Why are you…”

He glanced from me to Zeke, and then to the phone still laying on the window seat. Annoyance twisted his face. He reached over, retrieving the bottle from the floor, and then he returned his gaze to me.

Clutching the edge of the bed, I trembled. “Please. I’m not your enemy.”

“Tell that to my daughter.”

My brow furrowed.

He started around the bed. I scuttled backward, my legs still refusing to hold me, though the spikes listened and grew longer. Half-sprawled on the floor with my back to the wall, I lifted one of my arms in front of me like a shield.

Earl stopped.

“I don’t…” I managed, breathing hard with the effort of keeping my arm up. “I don’t know your daughter. Please.”

A snarl curled across his mouth. “Please,” he repeated scornfully.

He kicked my legs, toppling me sideways. His hand came down on my wrist, avoiding the spikes, and he twisted it. I shrieked as pain shot through my arm. Dropping the bottle from his other hand, he took my throat.

“Stab me again and I break your neck right now,” he growled.

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About Skye 

Skye Malone is a fantasy and paranormal romance author, which means she spends most of her time not-quite-convinced that the things she imagines couldn't actually exist.

Born and raised in central Illinois, she hopes someday to travel the world – though in the meantime she’ll take any story that whisks her off to a place where the fantastic lives inside the everyday. She loves strong and passionate characters, complex villains, and satisfying endings that stay with you long after the book is done. An inveterate writer, she can’t go a day without getting her hands on a keyboard, and can usually be found typing away while she listens to all the adventures unfolding in her head.

Skye also writes YA urban fantasy as Megan Joel Peterson and is the author of The Children and the Blood trilogy.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest | Tumblr

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Cover Reveal: Fall With Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout

It's time!!! Jennifer L. Armentrout's FALL WITH ME cover is here! And you are going to love it! This New Adult Contemporary Romance in Armentrout's With You Saga is the 4th book in the series, and is being published by Avon Romance, an imprint of HarperCollins. You should definitely add it to your Goodreads now.

FALL WITH ME Goodreads

  About FALL WITH ME: Eleven months ago, bartender and weird-shirt-wearing extraordinaire Roxy and Officer Reece Anders had a one night stand. Well, kind of. She’s been in love with him since she was fifteen, and he wishes that night they shared never happened. She’s sworn him off forever, but the past and future collide, forcing her to rely on the one man who broke her heart not once, but twice. Her best friend since birth has been in a long-term care facility since he became a victim of a hate crime years ago, and the person who put him in there is out of prison and wanting to make amends with him and Roxy. She’s not sure she has room for forgiveness in her and when she begins to receive frightening messages and is on the receiving end of escalating violence, she thinks she knows who is to blame. The man who already destroyed one life already. But Reece isn’t convinced. The threats are too personal, and even if Roxy doesn’t believe him, he’s not willing to let anyone hurt her. Including himself. He’s already messed up more than once when it comes to Roxy and he’s not going to let history repeat itself.

And here's the beautiful new cover!

 

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iBooks ** Kobo

About Jennifer L. Armentrout: # 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.  

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Book Blitz: Krymzyn by BC Powell - Guest Post & Giveaway

Krymzyn

BC Powell

New Adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy
October 4, 2014

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Chase was twelve the first time he arrived in a strange land where dark, ominous clouds never move, ancient trees violently spring to life during Darkness, and people seem to live without emotion. Doctors tell him they’re hallucinations, but he knows his visits are real. She’s there-Sash-and she’s more real than anyone he’s ever known.
His visits stop but, as years pass, the memories haunt Chase. Without warning, the young man suddenly finds himself again in a world called Krymzyn. Arriving during Darkness, he’s rescued from death by the extraordinary, beautiful but terrifying young woman he first met when he was twelve.

When Chase is thrust into the war of balance against vile creatures who threaten all who live there, Sash helps him understand his purpose in Krymzyn. A dark secret from the beginning of time reveals he might be able to stay there forever. To prove he belongs in Krymzyn and be with the only woman he can ever love, Chase will have to risk his own life in the ultimate battle.

Guest Post by BC Powell

A Male Author in a Female-Dominated Genre

If you scan “new adult” and “young adult” novels, the vast majority of titles you come across are penned by female authors. So why am I, a man, writing in this genre?

First, let’s define “new adult” as something more than just a novel with the protagonist in the eighteen-to-twenty-six-year-old age range. Wikipedia says:

“Many themes covered in young adult fiction such as identity, sexuality, depression, suicide, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, familial struggles, and bullying are also covered in new adult fiction, but the various issues that are dealt with in the category hold it separate. Some common examples of issues include: first jobs, starting college, wedding engagements and marriage, starting new families, friendships post-high school, military enlistment, financial independence, living away from home for the first time, empowerment, loss of innocence, fear of failure, and many others.”

The last time I checked, all of those issues are faced by both males and females. So why aren’t more males writing in the genre? It’s important to remember that women buy 58% of all books published and closer to 70% of “new adult” novels. So is this a case of women authors being better able to cater to the audience?

I have three sons ranging in age from sixteen to twenty-three. Raising them in Los Angeles, I’ve experienced firsthand the challenges this age range faces in today’s world. They’ve each had to overcome their own individual struggles and obstacles in life. As a father, I’ve been incredibly proud to watch how they’ve handled those struggles.

The male protagonist in “Krymzyn,” Chase, is full of qualities I admire in my own children. He just happens to face many of the challenges inherent to the new adult age range while in an alternate dimension. No matter what’s thrown at him, he always maintains the “take whatever comes in stride” attitude I admire so much in my sons.

But that brings us back to, “Why do women authors dominate the genre?” I believe the answer is that many male authors, knowingly or not, write from an androcentric point of view:

Androcentrism is the practice, conscious or otherwise, of placing male human beings or the masculine point of view at the center of one's view of the world and its culture and history.

“Conscious or otherwise,” we (men) just can’t help but inject our egocentric male attitude into most of what we do. That POV won’t appeal to most female readers. I felt I had to take steps to break out of that mold to successfully write in this genre.

My first step was to choose a woman for my initial critique who is highly experienced in sci-fi and fantasy. More importantly, she ripped apart any scene or dialogue in the manuscript that slipped into androcentrism. The editor I work with is also a woman who frequently works in the YA and NA genres, a conscious decision on my part. In my notes to her, the first comment I made was, “Please mark anything you see as having an overly male attitude.” And she did. (Thank you, Mickey!)

This doesn’t mean that the book is written simply to cater to a female audience. Chase is the embodiment of wonderful qualities that I hope shine through his character to both male and female readers. He faces certain challenges inherent to males and shares his male perspective on events and emotions, but most of his struggles are those common to both sexes. In his interaction with Sash, the female protagonist, he always lives by the words I spoke to my sons when I had “the talk” with them. “Always show respect for your partner, physically and emotionally, and expect the same in return.” We have to remember that respect goes both ways.

And that brings us to Sash. I listened to comments from every male and female beta-reader as well as my editor about anything that “lessened” her in their eyes. I want her to be extraordinary, strong in the eyes of both men and women, and never in need of rescuing. In fact, most of the time, she’s the one doing the rescuing. In the end, I hope it’s obvious that she doesn’t need Chase to be who she is, and Chase doesn’t need her. But, together, they can be so much more than they would have been apart.

I don’t consider this a “messagey” book. But woven into the story are underlying themes that are important to me: being aware of the world around you, caring for and judging people based on who they are inside, and being true to yourself. These are struggles every one of us has had to face. They’re critical to our human discovery and development during the “new adult” years. In the end, I’m hopeful that a male author can bring a slightly different perspective and fresh understanding to these struggles.

About the Author

BC Powell is a fantasy author from Los Angeles, CA. "Krymzyn" is his debut science fiction fantasy novel, the first book in a series titled "The Journals of Krymzyn."

Powell has a diverse background, having held several creative positions in the entertainment industry, including executive roles at ABC-TV and Technicolor. In recent years, he's authored several non-fiction works, primarily educational books and training programs for trading the financial markets.
He dual majored in journalism and philosophy at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

Writing fiction has been his lifelong passion and goal. "Krymzyn" is his first published novel and represents, in his words, "finally finding the story I want to tell with characters that are able to bring that story to life." He's an avid reader and lists Ernest Hemingway, Frank L. Herbert, Stephen King, Jane Austen, and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. as his favorite authors.

Brad, as he prefers to go by in personal communication, lives with his longtime girlfriend, three sons from a previous marriage, and their rescue dog and cat. He enjoys hiking, ocean kayaking, spending time at Southern California beaches, movies, and reading.

Author links:

http://www.bcpowellauthor.com/

https://www.facebook.com/bcpowellauthor

https://twitter.com/bcpowellauthor

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8312815.B_C_Powell

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Book Blitz: Bound by Duty by Stormy Smith - Guest Post & Giveaway

Bound by Duty
Bound #1

Stormy Smith

New Adult Fantasy
July 24, 2014

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Amelia grew up in a world of half-truths. She knows she’s an Elder but has no idea what that means. Her father reminds her daily that she must maintain control but he refuses to explain why. Even worse, she’s betrothed to the prince of the Immortals and she doesn’t even know his name.

Finally breaking free to live a few normal years at a community college, the last thing Amelia expects is to find her best friend in a cheeky Southern girl and to fall for a self-assured human who sees her for who she is and not what she’ll be.


As she learns more about herself, Amelia realizes the line between love and duty is a thin one. As her power continues to increase exponentially and her questions are slowly answered, Amelia must make the ultimate choice. The question is, will her head or her heart win the battle?

Guest Post by Stormy Smith

Fun facts about me!

1. M&Ms or Skittles? M&M’s all the way. Bonus points if they are the special Christmas mint kind.

2. Fantasy or Horror? Fantasy. I’m a TOTAL scaredy-cat. The one and only time I went to a haunted house I tried to bum rush the emergency exit because I was so terrified and up crying my way through it.

3. Typing or Pen & Paper? For writing the book itself, typing, but for brainstorming I like giant sticky post-its all over my basement so I can scribble and pace while I blare my playlist and talk to myself.

4. Ebooks or Print? E-books for most books but print for the authors I love.

5. Eat in or Eat out? In. Then no one has to worry about who’s driving while I pour glass after glass of wine.

6. Water or Flavored Drink? Water.

7. Apples or Oranges? Apples. With peanut butter, preferably.

8. Laundry or Dishes? Dishes. I HATE LAUNDRY.

9. Shopping or Movies? Shopping, only because I so rarely see my girl friends anymore I’d rather spend time perusing and chatting than just sitting next to them.

10. Comfy clothes or Fashionista? Fashionista! I don’t know that I am one, but I’d love to be.  I just feel better in girly clothes. Like I can conquer the world!

11. Go-to book series? Karen Marie Moning’s Fever Series. I could reread them over and over. And Jericho Barrons…swooooon.

12. Favorite way to unwind? A glass of wine and a date with my husband and our DVR. My brain goes non-stop between work, grad school, marketing one book and writing another. I like the down time!

13. Cats or Dogs: Cats. I like that they are more self-sufficient and have their own personalities. I have one that won’t stop walking across my keyboard right now and I love she wants to purr all over me and lick my hands for attention. 

About the Author

Stormy Smith calls Iowa’s capital home now, but was raised in a tiny town in the Southeast corner of the state. She grew to love books honestly, having a mom that read voraciously and instilled that same love in her. She knew quickly that stories of fantasy were her favorite, and even as an adult gravitates toward paranormal stories in any form.

Writing a book had never been an aspiration, but suddenly the story was there and couldn’t be stopped. When she isn’t working on, or thinking about, her books, Stormy’s favorite places include bar patios, live music shows, her yoga mat or anywhere she can relax with her husband or girlfriends.

Author links:

http://www.stormysmith.com/

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorStormySmith

https://twitter.com/stormysmith

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8159417.Stormy_Smith

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Teaser Tour: Lady Firebird by Orren Merton - Giveaway

Today we have a teaser tour for Lady Firebird to celebrate the release! This is a young adult urban fantasy series and is book two in the Sedumen Chronicles.

Let's see if this news report piques your interest...

News Report from Cambridge, Massachusetts

Carla: This is Carla Hennington from WGBC in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the scene what will no doubt have repercussions far outside the greater Boston area; indeed, this may change everything we know, or think we know, about the universe in which we live.

I'm standing here with Laura Meeks, a junior at John Adams High School. Laura, can you tell me what you saw?

Laura: It was crazy. Some huge guy with, like, two bears or wolves or something grabbed this blond girl—I think she was a sophomore—who was walking home. She started screaming, my buddy Bruce and I were thinking we should do something, when we heard that girl, Lady Firebird, start yelling—

Carla: Can you describe the girl, Laura?

Laura: Oh, yeah. She was off the charts! Her hair and eyes were on fire, her skin was like leather or stone or something, I dunno, hard, you know? And she ran right at the kidnapper and his wolves, swinging her huge curved sword—it had blue flames.

Carla: The man responded?

Laura: Oh man, he sicked his wolves on her. Then Lady Firebird, like, opened up a rip in the air or something—it was crazy—and her wolves started coming out. The wolves fought, she fought the guy, but he cut her open and he and his wolves got away with the girl. It was intense—and really sad.

Carla: And that's when you and your friends aided—

Laura: Lady Firebird, yeah. I walked up, and she talked to us, that's how I know her name. Here, Bruce, why don't you...

Carla: Bruce Williams, ladies and gentleman, another eye witness. Bruce, why don't you tell us what happened from here.

Bruce: Thank you, Ms. Hennington. Yeah, um, we approached Lady Firebird, me first. She was hurt bad, but she could still talk. She told us what to do—we took her blade, and, like, waved it in the air like she said. It made like a slice in the air, and we couldn't see into it or through it, it was all black. I'd never seen—or done—anything like that.

Laura: Some other guys on the scene from John Adams dragged her wolf over, and they all were pulled through the hole in the air by these huge ape hands or something.

Carla: Were you scared?

Laura: Oh my God you have no idea.

Bruce: The whole thing was so intense! We were like...how could this be real? But there it was, in front of us. Some huge monster dude and his wolf kidnapped a girl from my school...it was crazy. But Lady Firebird tried to save her, and said she was going to bring her home.

Laura: Yeah, I hope she's okay, and she can bring that poor girl home. I can't imagine...

Carla: We're all praying for the victim of this horrible crime, absolutely. What a terrifying event. Were you two afraid, not just of the kidnapper, but of the mysterious flaming swordswoman?

Bruce: Were we scared of Lady Firebird?

Laura: I mean, sure, she was scary and all, but I think she was after that kidnapper, you know? She was trying to help.

Carla: We all hope so, that's for sure. Bruce, Laura, thank you both. And I'm Carla Hennington from WGHC, on the scene in Cambridge. For more on this breaking story we return to our Boston studio.

 About Lady Firebird:

Alexandra Gold leads two lives. 

In a universe filled with powerful spirit beings, she is the half human, half-demon Lady Firebird of the House of Keroz. She stopped Dirk Raum from murdering humans whose fresh souls he fed the House of Raum. This won her the respect of some but the enmity of others.

On Earth, she appears to be like every other eighteen-year old girl, but she longs to step forward as Lady Firebird, and let people know that she will protect them—but she worries that once people see her flaming hair, eyes, and long fangs, she will terrify those she wants to help. When Dirk returns and starts a kidnapping spree as part of his plan to conquer both universes, Alex races to the rescue. 

She is ready to meet the challenge; but is the world ready to meet Lady Firebird?

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About the Author:

Orren Merton started writing fantasy and science fiction at an embarrassingly young age, mostly for his own

amusement. In high school, he listened to a lot of dark and moody rock, which inspired him to pick up guitar and start playing up and down California in a few bands, culminating in his Industrial rock group Ember After releasing their debut album, Grasping At Straws, and subsequently The Misery EP.  During that time, magazines, developers, and corporations began to pay him to write and edit music software related articles, manuals, and  books. Since then he has written the urban fantasy novel The Deviant and the science fiction novel Skye Entity before working on his current series of YA novels. He lives in Southern California with his family, pets, collection of sci-fi/fantasy memorabilia, and curiously large stuffed animal collection.

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Giveaway:

5 ebook copies of Lady Firebird by Orren Merton (INT)

a Rafflecopter giveaway