Thursday, April 28, 2016

Five Favorite Leading Ladies by Stormy Corrin Russell


Welcome to Stormy Corrin Russell, author of The Separation. Here is her list of 5 favorite leading ladies!


Since my protagonist is a super-strong young woman - and I love a strong female character - this is a list of my fave five leading ladies as it stands right now. In no particular order:

1.                Macbeth - Lady Macbeth.Yeah, I know, she’s a psycho. But before all the “Out, out damned spot!” nonsense, she is this amazing take-charge, I-wear-the-pants kind of lady. I can’t help but secretly love that (even though she pretty much killed the king).

2.                  A Song of Ice and Fire  - Arya Stark. This girl is insane. Not only is she a child who completely provides for herself, she DOESN’T NEED NO MAN. In fact, she’d rather kill them all. Man, I am sensing a trend in this list.

3.                  Speak - Melinda Sordino. She doesn’t kill anyone, I swear! She does, however, go through some pretty serious trauma and still prevail. By the end of the book, she is one of the most empowering characters that I’ve read in awhile.

4.                  “A Doll’s House” - Nora Helmer. Nora Helmer is the character that made me become an English major, and even more, she convinced me to read every ounce of women’s lit I could get my hands on. Nora taught me that we are allowed to be selfish once in awhile, and so much more.

5.                  Divergent - Tris Prior. Not gonna lie, this was hard to choose. I had Katniss on the brain, too. But I have to respect Tris for giving up her entire life at Abnegation to seek self-understanding. Although she falls in love, it is only a step in her expedition for understanding herself. That, ladies, is the goal! 



The Separation
Stormy Corrin Russell

Evernight Teen, 83k words
Dystopian, Sci-Fi, Romance


In a world where men and women live on separate sides of a massive wall, seventeen year old misfit Eroyn Fairchild has always been too busy with her broken family to wonder why they live the way they do. When a man from the other side breaks through, Ero holds him hostage, hoping for a ransom large enough to pay for her Elder Grace’s treatment. Things get more complicated as the man is followed by two others who make Ero question everything she’s ever known about her life. As Ero searches for the truth, the lines between right and wrong blur, leaving her to choose between saving her city and saving herself.



Buy Links:    Evernight Teen    Amazon    ARe



Teaser: 

One of the things I love about Grace is that she is the heaviest sleeper I know. So heavy, in fact, she doesn’t hear me dragging a thrashing body through the front door at two in the morning. For the first time in my life, I consider it lucky that we live on the outskirts of the north side. If we didn’t, I would never have been able to get it this far without attracting attention. A loud, confused sound starts to come from the net, so I kick it firmly.
        “Shut up,” I hiss, looking around nervously. I’m not worried about Grace rousing, but I don’t want the neighbors waking up and noticing my noisy cargo. I kick twice more, as hard as I can. Silence, finally. With a sigh, I wipe my arm across my forehead, getting rid of the sweat beading there. I sink down on the couch, staring at the large lump inside the net on my living room floor unblinkingly. Little red flowers are blooming all over the heavy white plastic, and they grow quickly. It’s blood, I realize with a sick feeling. It’s seeping through from the inside and leaking onto the clean white carpet of our house. It can’t be real. It just can’t be.
I see Almond cut across the room and sniff at the lump with caution. With one movement, I scoop him up and press him to my chest in horror. For the first time, I realize the danger of what I've just done. I’ve invited a monster into my house.
        I’ve made a horrible, horrible mistake.
It takes Luna ten minutes to get here five minutes faster than usual but it feels like hours. She lets herself in the back door quietly, but I rush into the kitchen to meet her.
        “Where’s Grace?” she asks with urgency, dropping her medical bag on the kitchen table.
        “What? No, I … this isn’t about Grace,” I stutter. I open my mouth once, then again, but it’s no use. Nothing is coming out, so I turn on my heel and tiptoe into the living room. Luna wordlessly follows, eyeing the netted form. I kneel next to it, holding my breath. With shaking hands, I slide the knife into the plastic and pull it upwards slowly. I know what it’s going to reveal when I pull the plastic away, but it still makes my breath leave my lungs in an audible whoosh. I can’t seem to inhale again once it’s gone. I hear Luna do the same next to me.
        “Is it a…?” She leaves her sentence unfinished, and I nod. The small slit I cut in the plastic shows a thick arm under a rolled-up shirt, far too thin for our recently nasty winter. At the very end of the slit, I glimpse a swollen throat and a jaw covered in a dark shadow of hair. A chill runs down my spine and my stomach turns.
        “Is he alive?” Luna asks, her voice small.
        “I … I think so.” I stare at the floor guiltily. “I kicked him pretty hard to shut him up.” She scoots closer and with trembling fingers folds back the plastic to see his side, where most of the blood is coming from.
        “Cut the rest of it off him,” she tells me quietly. I stare at her in shock.
        “But, he––” She cuts me off with a look.
        “He isn’t dead yet, but he will be if I don’t stop the blood loss.”
        I swallow hard, and comply.



About the author:

Stormy Corrin Russell is from Orwell, Pennsylvania where she first started writing from the moment she could hold a pencil. She still loves to write there and nearly everywhere else. She loves her family, the outdoors, laughing, eating, and her kitten/writing partner, Maya.


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Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Wizard Talk: 10 Magical Phrases for Potterheads Courtesy of Reader's Legacy

Today I am featuring Reader's Legacy, the World's Largest Book Club.


Wizards, Witches, and Muggles, Oh My!

The votes are in, and in a remarkable landslide, J.K. Rowling has been identified as the top author of Reader’s Legacy! To celebrate Ms. Rowling’s literary triumph, we looked into our Goblet of Fire and pulled these out 10 magical phrases; sure to guarantee any Potterhead the Hogwarts acceptance letter they’ve been waiting for!
  1. “It’s no good crying over spilt potion.” – Meaning there is no use in worrying about events that have already taken place, and that cannot be undone.
  2. “In the name of Merlin.” – An expression of bewilderment. EX: “What in the name of Merlin, are you doing?”
  3. “Like bowtuckles on doxy eggs.” – Meaning to stick to someone or something, incredibly close. Used in a sentence, “She took to potions like bowtuckles on doxyeggs.”
  4. “I’ll take Cadogan’s Pony.” – Meaning to make light of a dark situation.
  5. “The fire’s lit but the cauldron’s empty.” – Meaning someone seemingly functions in a proper manner, but is actually socially inept.
  6. “The tip of the dungheap.” – Synonymous to the muggle idiom, ‘Tip of the Iceberg’, it symbolizes a smaller piece of a larger picture.
  7. “To have a hairy heart.” – Meaning, someone bitter. To have a cold and unforgiving way about you.
  8. “Don’t count your owls before they are delivered.” – Meaning to not plan on anything expected to happen in the future, as said to Harry Potter by Dumbledore in ‘The Half-Blood Prince’.
  9. “Hanged for a dragon as an egg.” – A larger punishment for a minor offence in order to bring the point across stronger to the offender.
  10. “Time is Galleons.” – Meaning, time is money.
As an added perk of Reader’s Legacy’s Rowling celebration, we will be holding a special 20% off sale for each of her novels from April 25th to April 30th – ReadersLegacy.com/JKRowling
The sale not only celebrates J.K. Rowling, but was also brings attention for a special grant program we have created in order to give away 1 million physical books in support of literacy programs! Spreading a love of books, and ending illiteracy around the world is 100% possible, and with the help of reader’s on the site, we believe will be one step closer to achieving that goal! Get in on this sale HERE.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

FREE: Bait by Kasi Blake - Excerpt & Giveaway



Bait
Order of the Spirit Realm #1

by Kasi Blake

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Release Date: July 25th 2014

Summary:


After sixteen years on the run, Bay-Lee joins her emotionally distant father at his New Zealand school. On her first night there, he dumps her on the doorstep and walks away. Big surprise. Minutes later, a bag is thrown over her head, and she’s kidnapped for Orientation. The hunter in charge calls her Bait. According to him, that’s all she’s good for, to be used to draw out monsters for experienced hunters to kill. 

Before Bay-Lee can move up to the rank of Hunter, she will have to prove herself, battle wraiths, a reaper in disguise, and a stampeding border monster. With the addition of her classes, she’s going to be way too busy for a social life. Falling in love is not on the agenda. 

Then, she meets Nick Gallos. With the intimidating rank of Warrior, Nick is gorgeous, arrogant, and just plain rude to her. It’s obvious from their first meeting that Nick is hiding a dark past overflowing with secrets, and her father is right smack in the middle of it. Nick seems to be using her to get even with her father, and she won’t tolerate that. What a jerk. 

So, why can’t she stop thinking about him?



Bait is FREE! 

Buy Links:


Excerpt:

The snarling beast prepared to charge.  A clawed foot pawed at the dirt, stirring up a cloud of dust.  Black eyes partially hidden beneath a mass of unruly brown fur stared at her.  Its enormous square head tilted to the side.  The thing looked like a cross between a wooly mammoth and an alien from a scary movie.
Nick jumped to his feet while shouting a warning at her.  Glued to the ground, she couldn’t move.  Cold fear held her in a tight grip.  He caught her arm, hauled her to her feet, and dragged her with him.  The heavy tromp of footsteps thundered behind them.  The border monster was coming.  It would overtake them at any second.
Bay-Lee cringed, expecting to be impaled on sharp horns.
They ran through the forest, dodging trees in a mad dash.  Nick’s hand slipped on her arm and he almost let go.  His grip tightened around her wrist.  She forced her legs to move faster, desperate to keep up with him.  The hairy beast leaped over their heads and slammed down in front of them even though she would have bet the thing was too enormous to jump that high.  The ground shook as if they were caught in an earthquake.  A cloud of dust enveloped them like a post nuclear mushroom cloud.
Nick’s dagger was gone, lost in the hole, so he picked up a broken branch to use as a weapon.  It was thick and long with a sharp pointy end.  His eyes shone with manic excitement.  He shouted at Bay-Lee.  “Stay out of the way!”
The border monster charged them, but Nick darted to the right.  He moved so fast Bay-Lee didn’t have time to think.  Avoiding the shadows, Nick kept to the light so it could see him.  The monster changed course.  Head bent, it tried to flatten Nick.  He leaped into the air at the last second.  The monster’s head scooped him up.  Nick landed on its back.  One of his hands tangled in the long matted hair, using it to hang on, while his other hand brandished the branch like a sword.  He looked like a man riding a rampaging elephant. 
He shouted a warning to her, telling her to hug a tree.  It was the only safe place.  She wanted to help him slay the thing, but she didn’t know anything about border monsters.  They hadn’t gotten to them yet in Maxx’s class.
Bay-Lee wrapped her arms around the nearest tree and held on tight.  If she didn’t move, the thing wouldn’t be able to see her.  She wished she hadn’t left her cell phone in her room.  Nick was going to die, and there wasn’t anything she could do to stop it.  Now she wished she’d gone for help instead of following him into the woods.
Nick drove the sharp tip of the branch into the monster’s back.  Howling in pain and anger, the thing stood on two legs, freaking her out.  Apparently this was another thing she didn’t know about border monsters.  They could stand on four legs or two.  It reached around, grabbed Nick by his ankle, and ripped him free.  The thing lifted him high in the air.  It was going to slap the ground with him, breaking bones and causing massive internal injuries.
Without giving it a thought Bay-Lee ran at the giant monster.  Desperation drove her to action.  She hit it with a flying kick.  Surprised, the monster dropped Nick.  He executed a summersault and rolled away from the fight.  The border monster turned in her direction.  She retreated fast, blending in with the trees.  As long as she wasn’t moving and wasn’t in the light, it couldn’t see her.
The border monster bent forward and sniffed, trying to catch her scent.  When it exhaled, the heavy whoosh of air blew hair around her face, momentarily obstructing her vision.  Her nose itched.  She clenched her fists and fought the urge to scratch.  She remained frozen, refusing to even blink.  The monster was not going to trick her into moving, no matter what it did.  Her fingers dug into the tattered bark of the tree.  A silent scream lodged in her throat, searching for an exit.  If the monster didn’t get out of her face soon, she might lose control and release the scream.
Nick laughed.  The sound seemed to infuriate the monster.  It whipped around, ready to finish crunching Nick to dust.  The monster charged at him.  Nick brought the branch around in an arcing sweep and plunged it into the monster’s gut.  The thing staggered backwards before crashing forward.  It was going to fall on top of Nick.  He lurched to the side, trying to get out of the way, but he wasn’t fast enough.  The monster fell.


About the Author
Born and raised in California, I fell in love with writing while reading The Outsiders. Then I fell in love with Stephen King's writing style. I enjoy reading many types of books, but YA Paranormal is my favorite. I used to write for Harlequin under a different name. So that's my background. Exciting, no?

I have seven books out now: Vampires Rule, Werewolves Rule,Shifters Rule, Crushed, Witch Hunt, Bait, and my only adult novel, a romantic suspense called Pandora's Box. 


Author Links:
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