Friday, May 13, 2016

The Fairest Poison by Lauren Skidmore - Excerpt & Giveaway



The Fairest Poison

by Lauren Skidmore

Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: May 10th 2016

Summary from Goodreads:


Princess Bianca returns to her court to find it poisoned from the inside out. Faced with mysterious sicknesses, power disputes, and whispers of impending death, Bianca turns to an unlikely ally—a former assassin—to find the antidote that will save her kingdom. But Bianca quickly realizes that she might not even be able to save her own life in this Snow White story.






Book Trailer:



Chapter One 


My parents were sick.

That was the first news I received when I returned to the palace after nearly six months away. I was Venesia’s princess, and so its ambassador. I was happy to serve . . . but not if it meant coming home to this.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, shedding my cloak and shaking it out before handing it to a servant. It was still damp with seawater from the journey. It hadn’t exactly been a peaceful trip.

“Are they up to visitors now?”

The two handmaidens that had greeted me exchanged glances. “You should rest from your journey first, princess. It’s late, and the details can wait until the morning.”

I frowned. “No. You cannot welcome me back by saying my return may aid my parents’ recovery and then refuse to tell me what’s wrong.”

“We don’t want to worry you, princess,” the other one said, throwing a nervous glance at her companion. She’d been with the palace longer and knew I would not be easily dissuaded from getting what I wanted.

“It’s too late for that.” I sighed. “Where is my brother?”

“Prince Aiden went to speak to the Guard about the successful capture of that Chameleon. He was eager to see the killer in person.”

I braced myself. Aiden was in for a surprise on that front. “Maybe I will go rest after all,” I said, brushing a dark curl behind my ear and adjusting the purple mask I wore across the upper half of my face. I would miss the freedom of not wearing my full Venesian mask while I was away from court. “But don’t think it’s because you dissuaded me from seeing the king and queen tonight. Surely, if they were seriously ill, they’d have ordered you to take me to them right away. I won’t disturb their sleep.”

“Of course, princess.” They both curtseyed.

“Bianca!”

I cringed. Aiden.

“You’re dismissed,” I said quickly to my handmaidens. I didn’t need spectators for this.

They scurried away—though I’m sure to only just around the corner so they could eavesdrop—and I turned to face my elder brother. He came barreling down the dimly lit corridor, his half-cloak billowing out behind him. He wore the emerald green mask he favored when he was out of the palace so no one would bother him as the prince. The pure white masks of the royal family tend to stand out in a sea of blues and green.

“Where is he?” he demanded. The head guard and a young woman in a green mask were just a few steps behind him. Looks like we were going to have an audience after all.

I was tempted to play dumb but knew that would only make him even more upset. And he had good reason to be upset; I couldn’t deny him that.

“Please hear me out,” I began slowly, my voice even and calm.

“You set him free, didn’t you?” He shook his head in disbelief. “Bianca, he killed Evie’s father.” He gestured to the woman behind him, who shifted her weight from foot to foot uncomfortably, a medium-sized brown dog with a fluffy, curled tail at her heels. “He tried to kill me.”

“I know that, but—”

“There is no excuse here! He killed and was willing to kill again. He stole masks and identities. He betrayed the trust of a kingdom who took him in. He is a criminal who needs to pay for his crimes.”

“He saved my life. I owe him,” I explained simply.

That made Aiden pause, but only for the length of a breath before retorting, “One good act does not make up for all the evil he’s done.”

“But it proves there is good in him.”

“Or he is just trying to save his own skin by having you in his debt.”

“He’s not as terrible as you think he is.”

“But you admit he is terrible.”

“Aiden.” I started to truly feel the late hour now and my shoulders drooped. “He deserves a fair trial at the very least.”

“I can’t give him a trial if he is mysteriously set free in the middle of the night.”

“You’re being dramatic.”

“I think I’m being understandably upset. I went from news of my baby sister returning home with the scum I’ve been hunting for the past three months—to finding out that the scum has vanished and has said sister to thank for it! With everything that’s been going on in court, and now with Mother and Father ill—”

“Do you know what’s wrong with them?” I interrupted, both wanting to know and hoping to change the subject. I’d bristled slightly at being called his “baby sister”—there were only two years between us, after all—but was willing to overlook it in the name of the greater good of the moment. His accusations weren’t untrue; he just didn’t know the Chameleon like I did.

I might have been part of the reason he’d been captured, but we had a history. And that history meant that I owed him his freedom.

It seemed Aiden was as tired of arguing as I was. He answered, “The doctors aren’t

sure. It’s not an illness they’re familiar with. Mother and Father are on bed rest now until a cure can be found. They can barely eat and are very weak, and they both have a pink rash all over their bodies. It happened so suddenly, but no one else in court has the same symptoms, so we don’t know where it came from.”

“How long have they been like this? Why did no one tell me?”

“They only just felt sick enough to admit it and seek a doctor, though Father mentioned to me he’d been feeling poorly for several days.”

I sighed. It was just like them to overlook any health problems until they got too serious to ignore. They didn’t want to appear weak in front of the kingdom, and to appear human was to appear weak. In the king’s eyes, at least.

“I’ll go see them first thing in the morning. We all need our rest.” I gave Aiden a meaningful look. “That means you as well.” I was sure his mask hid dark circles under his eyes, one benefit of our country’s tradition. I knew my brother, and he’d been pushing himself too hard. I’d gotten snippets of the unrest that had crept into our court from his letters while I was away, but it was another matter to see him in person.

From what I understood, the court was reluctant to accept him as their next ruler. He had no respect for tradition, they claimed. For generations, the royal family protected themselves behind pure white masks, fine clothes, and strict rules. Aiden wanted to make changes that gave him more personal freedom as well as control over the country.

“We’ll all of us go to sleep, and discuss things again after breakfast.”

“Fine,” he begrudged as he turned, offering his arm to the woman beside him, who looked as tired as I felt, plus awkward after witnessing a royal argument. Evie, he said her name was. He’d written about her. He had proposed marriage to her, and she’d said no.

I was very curious about her.

“I am glad you’re home, though. I missed you,” he said.

I smiled. “I missed you too.” My gaze shifted to Evie, and I opened my mouth to greet her properly.

“Let’s save introductions for a less unconventional time,” he interrupted before I could say anything. He reached for her hand, tucking it in the crook of his arm. “I’d rather your official meeting be a more pleasant one. Or at least one where we’re not arguing.”

She rolled her eyes at him but offered me a shy smile.

“If you insist,” I replied with a smile for her and a raised eyebrow for him. Its effect was somewhat lessened thanks to my mask, but he knew my expressions well enough to spot it.

He chuckled and shook his head with affection in his eyes. “Until tomorrow,” he said, and we parted ways.

The halls were dim and quiet, but I could have found my way to my chambers in the dark. I rarely left the palace growing up, and walking through these halls now felt like slipping into a warm bath. I loved the palace.

Servants had already brought my trunk to my parlor. Normally, I would need help dressing for bed, thanks to the complex finery of the clothing that comes with royalty, but since I was still dressed in a simple traveling dress, I didn’t bother ringing for a handmaiden.

I’d missed my rooms. It had been a long time since I’d been alone, and my rooms were the one place I was granted my privacy.

For six months, I’d been acting as ambassador to Nishima, a neighboring country we had strong ties with. That meant that for nearly six months, I’d been constantly surrounded by people—if not by the dignitaries I was there to see, then by my own guards who never left my side. Even on the journey home, when we’d been sidetracked by the hunt for the Chameleon, I’d never been left on my own.

But in my own palace, in my own rooms, I was alone. And I felt safe.

I fell asleep almost as soon as my head touched my pillow.



The next morning, I’d barely dressed before I heard insistent knocks at the doors to my suite. I knew it was Aiden even before my handmaiden opened the door to reveal him.

“I said after breakfast, Aiden. I’m still—”

“They’ve gotten worse,” he interrupted me, his eyes grim. “Mother and Father. And another doctor, a specialist from Nishima, has examined them.”

He opened and closed his mouth several times, searching for the right words.

“Just say it. What is it?”

“Bianca . . . they’ve been poisoned.”


About the Author
Lauren Skidmore grew up in Kansas, with stints in Ohio and New York, and currently lives in Utah. She attended Brigham Young University where she earned a BA in English Teaching with an emphasis in Teaching English as a Second Language and Japanese. She then spent a year in Japan teaching and travelling. She hasn’t made it to Europe yet, but it’s on the list and has been to 30 states in the U.S. so far. When she’s not exploring new places, you can probably find her on the internet with fifteen windows open and looking at just one more thing before actually getting something done.


Author Links:
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Thursday, May 12, 2016

Q & A with M. Lathan, Author of Everafter + Excerpt & Giveaway



Welcome to M. Lathan, author of the upcoming novel Everafter! She's here with a little Q & A.

Tell us about your new book.

Everafter is about a seventeen year old girl who was sure of her own death. She’s battled cancer since age twelve, and we meet her at the end. But instead of dying, someone turns her into a powerful immortal who can control life and death with a touch. This is the beginning of a paranormal nightmare, and she’s not entirely sure if she wants it to end. It comes with perks like guys she can’t stay away from and the chance to never die again.


What does your writing process look like?

A rollercoaster. I get this cool idea and I start writing like crazy. Everything’s great until I stop to read and see how all over the place I am. That’s when I stop to outline. That keeps me in line and helps me with pacing as well. When the draft is done, the real work begins. I have about four complete and total overhauls in me before the story is ready.

Do you have any strange writing habits (like standing on your head or writing in the shower)?

Yes. I do my best writing when I’m walking, which presents a problem. So I may take my phone on a walk around my neighborhood. When I was in college, I would walk around the creepy part of the library to get my thoughts flowing.

What book do you wish you could have written?

For nostalgic reasons, The Baby-sitter’s Club. I lived and breathed those books.

How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning? Do you have any name choosing resources you recommend?

I think names are extremely important. I always start with baby name websites, and I look for something that sounds like who they are. And I think about what their parents would’ve named them and why. In addition to all of those deep thoughts, I also explore options for nicknames. I never call anyone in my life by their full name, so a character’s name, in my head, has to shorten nicely.

Do you ever get freaked out when you realize that the characters that you've created aren't real?

All the time. These people live in my head. Sometimes, when my husband asks what I’m doing today, I’ll say, “Oh, Sydney’s starting school so I need to get her there, think about what she’ll wear, and … I stop when he looks at me like I’ve lost it and I remember all of this will occur in my head.

What writing advice do you have for other aspiring authors?

Write. I read that when I first decided I wanted to go for it and write a story that I would actually let someone read. I purchased three how-to books from Barnes & Noble, and each of them basically just told me to write. Of course, I rolled my eyes and asked … how? But the truth is, you just put a pen in your hand or your fingers to the keys and try. Write something awful. Write something beautiful. It doesn’t matter. Just write until you’re used to doing it.

Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?

Yes, I read them, but I never respond. I don’t think readers are talking to me, so I don’t feel the need to. Also, it’s not a good idea to say something. Reviewers are just expressing their honest reaction to my work, and that needs to be true to what they feel. I don’t read every review, but in the beginning or when they are coming in slowly, I tend to see most of them. A lot of them are actually helpful and gives me things to work on, and some are just flat out entertaining.
Of course it’s sad when someone hates this thing you’ve poured so much time and love into, but I never expect every reader to like my story. That’s impossible. A review can pop up at 1:00 that says, “Characters are too sappy”. And at 1:30, someone could say, “Characters weren’t sappy enough”. Until you can find a way to write specifically for robots—good, meh, and bad reviews are just a reality. Somewhere after your twentieth bad review or so, the sting should fade. It helps to find your favorite book on Goodreads, the one you think is a flipping masterpiece, and read the bad reviews. You won’t agree, and that’s how it is for everyone. One opinion, or even a percentage of all opinions captured online, doesn’t determine if the work is good or bad. It means … it wasn’t for them. Hang in there.


What is your least favorite part of the writing process?

Editing. I change my stories a lot. There is a good chance that right now as you read, I’m thinking about this one thing in Chapter 23, paragraph four, and how it should be said like this … which leads to me deleting the whole thing. I’m the worst. Editing brings that monster out of me, and my MacBook Pro sees a lot of tears and nearly collides into walls every day during this time.

Is there a certain type of scene that's harder for you to write than others?

Sad scenes. True scenes. I find a way to add my major life moments to every book I write, and even if readers don’t feel it, odds are, I was bawling when I wrote it. I have to get through it though. If I leave something true out, the editing monster in me will add it later (after chopping up the rest of the story).

Is this your first book?

I have four other books, all a part of the Hidden Series. It’s about Leah Grant—an orphan who believes that she is the last witch on Earth after a magical extinction. Needless to say, she finds it hard to get along with humans, and her heart-wrenching story of blossoming from a bullied outcast to who she was meant to be is inspiring and easily my best accomplishment to date. Check out the Hidden Series. All books are available wherever eBooks are sold. The first book is free J

What are you working on now? What is your next project?

Everafter is the first book in the Immortals of Westchester Prep trilogy. I am currently working on Book Two. It has a working title of Nightfall, but I am not to be trusted this early in the process. I’m working on it as fast as I can so readers who fall in love with Sydney’s story can continue it soon.


Thanks for letting me stop by your blog today. Everafter will be released May 15th on Amazon, B&N, Kobo, and Smashwords. I hope you enjoy it, and good luck in the giveaway. J



Everafter
M. Lathan
(The Immortals of Westchester Prep, #1)
Publication date: May 15th 2016
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
After years of battling leukemia, seventeen-year-old Sydney Long has made peace with her impending death. She expected pain, she expected tearful goodbyes, but she never expected to be turned into an immortal monster who can, with the slightest touch, control life and death. 
Now, flowers are stirring when she walks by, she’s oddly drawn to death and the dying, and she must wear gloves to keep her living parents safe. 
While her family toils with this supernatural nightmare and finding a way out of it, Sydney falls for magic and an equally as enticing boy who she can’t seem to stay away from.
But nothing comes without a price. When Sydney is targeted for her illegal magic, she’ll learn a whole new meaning of fighting for her life.


EXCERPT:

Dying hurt as much as I’d thought it would.

My burning lungs begged for relief as air hissed into my nose through a plastic tube. The shallow breaths wheezing out of my mouth somehow tasted like medicine and sweat.

They tasted like my life.

Instead of violins and the somber music that played on movies in moments like this, I was dying to the soundtrack of beeping monitors and the soft shuffling of my parents’ feet. They moved around our suite quietly, like ghosts, as they waited for me to become one and finally lose to leukemia.

I’d spent the last three weeks at an upscale ski resort in Lake Placid, just watching my health fade and my time on Earth dwindle to nothing. The view of the constant snow and the towering mountains in the distance usually distracted me from the pain. I needed that view more than ever tonight.

Everything hurt, but in my mind, if I didn’t mention it, if I didn’t break, I would beat cancer in my own way.

We couldn’t afford to stay in this snowy paradise, but my parents didn’t want me to die in a sterile hospital. We’d moved to Lake Placid five months ago to chase another faint glimmer of hope, but the clinical trial had ended like all of the others—with me getting sicker. This time, we weren’t doing anything about it. After five years of giving cancer all we had, my parents had decided that we’d fought too much, cried too much, and hoped too much to do it again.

And that was okay. It had to be.

My final days were passing in a blur of tearful calls from my grandparents, long stares from my mom and dad, and smiles from my strangely exuberant hospice nurse. Sarah, with her endless energy and joy, was easily my favorite person on the planet. She supplied medicine that stopped me from feeling and long stories that kept me thinking, which made me feel alive.

Tonight, she was so busy gabbing about her ballerina days that she’d forgotten a dose of painkillers. I didn’t mention it. As she adjusted my oxygen tube, I stared at her beautiful, pixie-like face and the bright red hair framing it. Her tiny features and permanent smile made her a living fairy to me. My personal Tinkerbelle.

“It’s going to happen tonight, isn’t it?” She didn’t answer me. She draped another blanket over my legs without making eye contact. “They gave me a week to live … a week ago.”

“Sydney, I don’t want you to be concerned about death. Ever. Only focus on life and the living. Remember that, sweet girl.”

What a weird thing to say to an almost-corpse. I didn’t need to remember anything anymore. I laughed at her, and that disturbed my failing lungs. One cough turned into two, and soon Sarah had to hold me as my chest heaved relentlessly. The awful sound summoned my parents to my room.

They crept in with red eyes and rivers flowing down their cheeks, wearing yesterday’s clothes.
Nothing said that I was dying more than my dad being home. No matter where we moved, he worked, thanks to his special talent of finding a job within a day. He’d emigrated from China with his parents as a kid, and his entire family worked like one day off would mean certain death. So that was what he did—he spent his days toiling at dead-end jobs to barely keep us afloat. Except for today.

He squeezed my mom’s hand as they approached my bed. Her long dreads were down and wild tonight, and she looked beautiful despite her swollen face and runny nose. My mom had four piercings in each ear, an effortlessly cool hippy style, and a thick Trinidadian accent. Once, I’d wanted to be just like her, but now, I didn’t know what being like her meant other than crying a lot and receiving bad news.

“Mr. and Mrs. Long,” Sarah said, “I was just about to give Sydney her medicine. She’ll be asleep soon, and you don’t look like you’ve gotten much rest. I can watch her tonight.”

“Sarah,” I whispered, as my chest finally calmed. “Go home. Your shift is over.”
She pressed her warm hand to my cheek. I could’ve sworn, for a moment, I felt completely okay.


Author Bio:
M. Lathan lives in San Antonio with her husband and mini-schnauzer. She enjoys writing and has a B.S. in Psych and a Masters in Counseling. Her passion is a blend of her two interests - creating new worlds and stocking them with crazy people. She enjoys reading anything with interesting characters and writing in front of a window while asking rhetorical questions ... like her idol Carrie Bradshaw.



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Wednesday, May 11, 2016

New Release: Traitor by Nicole Conway - Character Bio & Giveaway


Please help me welcome Nicole Conway, author of Traitor, to the blog today. She is here to tell us a bit more about the Princess of the Gray Elves, Araxie!

 INSIDE INFO ON ARAXIE, PRINCESS OF THE GRAY ELVES
by Nicole Conway

Let me start by saying that I love Araxie. She’s tough, independent, smart, and utterly fearless. Her first and foremost goal is to do right by her kingdom and its people. She’s as fierce as she is beautiful, working hard to live up to the expectations set before her as the future queen. She’s suffered unbelievable loss, both in losing her family members and in seeing her world literally burn down around her – but she remains strong throughout. But in spite of all that, there is still something distinctly soft and feminine about her. She can be gentle just as easily as she can be brutal. I very much strived to channel that image of a mighty tigress when I wrote for her. And now, since I’m living in South Korea, whenever I see depictions of a dragon battling a tiger, I’m reminded of her relationship with a certain dragonrider.

In essence, she represents who the gray elves are. Through her, I wanted the readers to finally understand who these mysterious jungle warriors were – that they were people of pride, intense dedication to one another, but also with the capability for great compassion. They’ve had to become hardened and lethal to survive both the war and their jungle home, but that hasn’t robbed them of their morality.


 Traitor
Dragonrider Chronicles 3

Nicole Conway

YA Fantasy
Month9Books
May 10, 2016



Purchase Links:



Can anyone survive being lost in Luntharda?

No amount of training has prepared Jaevid Broadfeather for the frontlines of battle. Now facing the true horrors of war, with Luntharda looming on the horizon, Jaevid has begun to question everything he thought about his heritage. The only thing keeping him going is his oath to protect his dragonrider brothers. But in an instant, even that slips through Jaevid’s fingers as he steps from the safety of his dragon’s saddle into the depths of his mother’s wild homeland—the kingdom of the gray elves.

Stranded in Luntharda with his partner, Lieutenant Jace Rordin, Jaevid must finally confront the demons of his own past as he uncovers the truth about a war that began before he was ever born. Armed with a new appreciation for destiny, and flanked by his trusted friends, Jaevid moves to make the final strike against an enemy that has hidden in plain sight for far too long.

One kingdom’s traitor will become the world’s last hope.

About the Author

Nicole is the author of the children’s fantasy series, THE DRAGONRIDER CHRONICLES, about a young boy’s journey into manhood as he trains to become a dragonrider. She has completed the first two books in the series, and is now working on the third and final book.

Originally from a small town in North Alabama, Nicole moves frequently due to her husband’s career as a pilot for the United States Air Force. She received a B.A. in English with a concentration in Classics from Auburn University, and will soon attend graduate school.

 She has previously worked as a freelance and graphic artist for promotional companies, but has now embraced writing as a full-time occupation.

Nicole enjoys hiking, camping, shopping, cooking, and spending time with her family and friends. She also loves watching children’s movies and collecting books. She lives at home with her husband, two cats, and dog. 


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