Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween!



Yeah, I know, I almost missed it. When you don't have little people in your house anymore, you have a tendency to forget that it isn't just another Wednesday. Or at least, I do. But I wanted to say Happy Halloween to all of my wonderful blogger friends.

My treat to you is a free download of my short story Watched included in Screams of the Night: Tales of Terror. You can download the PDF here for the next 24 hours.

Happy Halloween and be safe!

Monday, October 29, 2012

Healer's Destiny

Welcome to the media blast for Healer's Destiny, the great new novel from author Julee F Page.

Not only are you entered for the chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card, courtesy of Julee F Page, you also have the chance to win a copy of Healer's Destiny, as well as lots of other prizes from other authors and bloggers. In total there are 8 prizes to give away. That means 8 winners!

Enter on the Rafflecopter on this page, then hop on over to the other participating blogs listed beneath the Rafflercopter for more chances to enter.


A war is waged on humanity when the kingdom of Kavorin realizes only male heirs are being born. The curse can only be broken by a young girl brought up in secret. Her heritage protects her from human magic, but in order to break the curse she must leave everything she holds dear and face the most powerful man in the kingdom.

The daughter of a gifted blacksmith and student to the great magician Gethin, Eliana finds her world turned upside down as she leaves her home to fulfill her destiny. Trolls, heartless bandits, and dragons are only a few of the dangers Eliana will face on her journey. What she doesn’t expect to find is an angry god behind the chaos her world has been suffering from for so many years.  
 
About the Author
Julee Page is an RN from SLC, UT. She lives with her husband and two beautiful sons. Reading has always been a passion of hers and writing followed easily behind. While she loves all types of literature, Fantasy and Science Fiction are her favorites. She hopes her works will be enjoyed by many in the years to come.



 You can discover more about Julee at the following links:



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You can purchase Healer's Destiny at the following links:




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Now hop on over to these other blogs for even more chances to enter:

Healer's Destiny
Prose by Design
Sherry Gammon
Cindy C Bennett
Jamie Canosa
Felicia Rogers
The Last Selkie
Queendsheena
Forbidden Reviews
My Devotional Thoughts
Lucky Books
Not Me Did It
Reader Girls
Vamps and Stuff

Maren Dille

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Sheltered Book Review


I had the honor of reading Debra Chapoton's newest book, Sheltered, before she released it. I have to tell you I love this book. The characters were so fascinating that even without the paranormal twist I still would have enjoyed it. Read about the book below, as well as my review and an excerpt from the book.
Synopsis for Sheltered: 

Living together unsupervised, five troubled teens confront demonic forces and are compelled to deal with their problems in distinctly different ways. Paranormal meets psycho meets Goth in this story of a supernatural haunting and budding love.

High school junior, Ben, hacks into his step-father's real estate holdings and provides rooms in an old two-story house to various outcasts: the schizophrenic kid, the angry Goth girl, and the homeless girl who worships him. When Megan needs a place to live she comes to the rooming house with a different set of problems and the ability to confuse and attract Ben.

One by one strange and mysterious occurrences stretch the teens’ beliefs in the supernatural. How they deal with demons, real and imagined, has tragic as well as redeeming consequences.


Excerpt from Sheltered:

Prologue

Next Wednesday

Emily knew the precise moment that Ben returned, she felt him in her scars. She watched him carry some things to the house, heard the door close; she smiled when she heard him call out that Santa was here. He did that once before, in early December, insisting that she accept the gift he held out, not wanting her to wait until Christmas to use the mittens he knew she needed.
She went toward her door now, wondered what he had brought, and then heard Megan’s voice below. Oh no, he probably brought something for her. She scuttled back to her nest by the window and stared outside, was still staring fifteen minutes later when she saw them walk down the street, Ben shouldering a shovel, his other hand knotted with Megan’s.
She touched the skin on her arms, lightly at first, making it tingle. The image of Ben with Megan multiplied across her mind in broken mirrors, a repugnant picture that reflected her own self-loathing. She scratched at her scabs, felt the pricks of pain force away the ticklish sensations. She closed her eyes.
When she opened them she saw a figure standing at her door.
“Who–?” she started, but the figment waned to less than a shadow. Still, though, there was something at her door.
She rose slowly and held her hand out.
Its face was more womanly now, friendly, motherly. Yes, she knew this face. Its pearly white skin so shocking against the ruby lips, the stringy hair a match to her own. Her mother.
She stretched her fingers toward the face. The hallucination faded then sharpened. The eyes began to blaze. She drew her hands back to her own face. What’s wrong with me?  The delusion grieved Emily; all around her fluttered a longing.
And a deadly fear.


My Review:

I was so impressed by the storyline in this book. Completely unique, and filled with engrossing characters who were at once sympathetic and enthralling.

This is the story of teen Ben who's renting a house where he lets other troubled teens live. None of them know it's his house, they believe it's owned by their landlord, the mysterious Mrs. Kremer. The story begins when Megan moves into the house, upsetting the sort of strange balance these teens have found together. Her move-in is particularly upsetting to Emily, who has something of a crush on Ben, especially when Ben quickly develops feelings for Megan.

It would be a good enough story just watching this group of troubled kids dealing with their many, many issues, but something wicked has come into the house and creates new tensions. Each teen deals with one another, their own issues, and the strange new happenings in their own unique ways until finally everything comes to an explosive head.

Debra portrayed each of the kids in such realistic ways that I wanted to reach into the book and pull them out and give them a hug and protect them from the hurts they were going through. This is not a light read, as others have stated, but it's so fascinating I found it very difficult to walk away from, and couldn't wait to get back to it. Great book that you'll find yourself thinking about long after you've finished it.


Debra's Bio:

Debra Chapoton has taught kids of all ages in her main career as a teacher. She has a BA in Spanish and a Master of Arts degree in Teaching English. She started writing in 2002 and was surprised to find out that the characters quickly take over the action and dialogue in the stories.
Her first YA novel, Edge of Escape, was self-published and then discovered by Piper Verlag Publishing and translated into German. Stalking and obsession get a sympathetic twist in this story of physical and psychological survival.
Her second YA novel, Sheltered, detours into a different genre as she writes about five teens who confront supernatural forces. Two boys and three girls all harbor secrets which make some of them susceptible to demon possession. Embracing all things supernatural might protect them, but are they ready for the consequences?
Chapoton has also written eleven chapter books for middle grade kids and a non-fiction work for adults, Crossing theScriptures.
When she’s not writing Chapoton enjoys the quiet of the full log home she designed and built with her husband. They live in the middle of 62 acres of beautiful woods in northern Michigan.
                    www.bigpinelodgebooks.com

Buy Sheltered at:
Amazon



Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Emerald Talisman Book Blast


The Emerald Talisman Audio Book by Brenda Pandos  
Read by Mary Morgan

You can run from your destiny, but you can't hide.

If for no other reason than to help endure the hormonal rush of high school, sixteen-year-old Julia Parker would trade her ability to feel her fellow students' emotions in a heartbeat, especially half the boys in class.

When the beguiling Nicholas uses his superhuman strength to rescue Julia from the edge of a cliff before she's devoured by a bloodthirsty stalker, Julia is suddenly thrust into an underground world where people and animals are often one and the same. Fellow high school students disappear and only Julia and Nicholas know the truth. While Nicholas, a vampire hunter, is out stopping the ever-growing coven, an old friend entices Julia to join him on the dark side and a psychic tells Julia she alone is the key to stopping the madness, problem is it'll require Nicholas' life. 






Author Brenda Pandos:  

Brenda Pandos lives in California with her husband and two boys. She attempts to balance her busy life filled with writing, being a mother and wife, and spending time with friends and family. Working formerly as an I.T. Administrator, she never believed her imagination would be put to good use. After her son was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder her life completely changed. Writing paranormal romance became something she could do at home while tending to the new needs of her family, household, and herself.


Three years later, Brenda now has five books published, The Talisman Trilogy: The Emerald Talisman, The Sapphire Talisman, and The Onyx Talisman, and Mer Tales: Everblue and Evergreen. She is currently working on the third book of Mer Tales, Everlost, coming February 2013.



LINKS:
Website * Blog * Goodreads * Twitter * Facebook 


Audio Book Tour 

Readers are invited to participate in The Emerald Talisman blog tour from 10/26-11/23 hosted by Confessions of a Bookaholic. There will be giveaways, interviews and a scavenger hunt! 





Book Blast Giveaway Details:
$100 Amazon Gift Card or $100 PayPal Cash from Author Brenda Pandos
Ends 10/30/12
*You need not enter your twitter name for each entry.  Simply enter it when you follow Brenda and leave the others blank.
Open to anyone who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent's permission. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.



Sunday, October 21, 2012

I'm Ba-ack!


Well, physically, at least. Had lots of fun on the east coast of the U.S.

Began my trip in New York with 2/3 of my Wigz. What are Wigz, you ask? The name my writing group calls ourselves because of one author, Camelia Miron Skiba, who told us once we were driving her crazy and she was going to pull her hair out because of our intense edits of one of her books. So I sent her a pink wig and the name was born. We were joined by Sherry Gammon, but missed the final spoke of our wheel, Jeffery Moore, who couldn't get away from work.

Randy and his wife, Nikki
From NY, I headed to New Hampshire where my son, Randy, is stationed at Pease Air National Guard Base in Portsmouth (he's full-time Air Force and has been in Germany for almost 4 years, so we figured on American soil we at least had the chance to see him). Spent a few days with him and his wife, then we all headed to Boston.

At Peggy's Cove in Halifax
Left from Boston on a cruise up to Portland, Maine, then rainy, foggy Bar Harbor, Maine, and then to visit our northern neighbors in Canada at both St. John's, New Brunswick and the amazingly beautiful Halifax, Nova Scotia (I kinda want to live here!). Ate waaaay too much all week, saw some cool sights and beautiful leaves, spent time with family and friends, had my room cleaned and meals cooked for me all week (boy am I going to miss that!).

Now I'm back to reality and time to get my butt in gear and write the sequel to Immortal Mine, tentatively called Immortal Yours. Now, someone put a napkin on my lap and feed me!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012


Not really, but I am sort of out of touch . . . with internet access.

This week my hubby, daughter, and I are on a cruise with my son and his wife, and some friends, to tour New England from Boston to Halifax. Totally stoked since I get to see my son and his wife who have been in Germany for the past three-and-a-half years as he served in the US Air Force. They've been reassigned to New Hampshire, which meant the opportunity for us to actually get to see them.

Yay!

I'll be back next week to annoy you with more posts. Until then, bon voyage to me, and happy week to you.



Monday, October 15, 2012

Screams in the Night for Halloween

I have a bit of an interest in this giveaway posted for Halloween by Prose by Design. Not only am I co-owner of Prose by Design, I happen to have a book in this anthology.



Just in time for Halloween, win a copy of Screams in the Night: Tales of Terror! It's a scary . . . I mean simple thing to enter, all you have to boo . . . I mean do is follow (not in a stalker kind of way) any of the authors of the story using the Rafflecopter below.

Go ahead and enter . . . if you dare . . . bwa-ha-ha-ha!

Look below the Rafflecopter for the official book trailer and blurbs from each of the stories.

Begins Monday, October 15, 2012


a Rafflecopter giveaway







 Watched


Sixteen-year-old Stephanie Beasley has it all. She's a top student, head cheerleader, popular, with a great boyfriend. But she also has it.

It stands in the corner of her bedroom in the dark of night, watching, waiting. Always waiting. Until it follows her out of her room for the first time ever, bringing her terror to a new level.

Soon, Steph is losing sleep, unable to function, stressed about when it will make its move. And when it does, she'll be forced to do anything she must to protect those she loves. 

 
 
 
Our Own Worst Enemies
 
 
Zombies suck. Seriously. For the past year they’ve been making Callie’s life a living hell, and things are only getting worse. With the undead population on the rise and supplies becoming scarce something needs to give.
When rumors of an enclave that’s safe and well stocked reach Callie and her neighbor Josh, they decide to brave the dangerous streets in search of some long lost peace.

Will it turn out to be everything they’ve ever dreamed of, or will it be, as Callie fears, too good to be true? 
 
 
 
A Tale of Two Cemeteries
 

It's 2012 in Deadworld, and the ghosts are hungry for a good human haunting. All Charlie Quinn wants to do is keep his cemetery in business and live a normal, honest ghost life. But Julian McNabb, the ruthless owner of the cemetery across the street, always seems to steal his business.
All of that changes when a teenage pop sensation dies and joins Charlie's cemetery, and Charlie discovers that Julian's success has come by some costly means. It's up to Charlie's haunting company and their new employee to keep their business afloat, and stop Julian from taking any more lives. 


 The Seance
 

 Curious fun turns to terror when two young women conjure a playful spirit
from history’s dark side.



 Scarecrows: The Jilted Bride


 Stepping in last minute as best man, because the suit fit, identical twin Jensen faces more than just his recent ex-girlfriend. With anger management issues and parole violations, Jensen lets loose on the straw-stuffed wedding crashers and unavoidably ruins the rented tux. 
 
 
 
Wonderful and Bountiful
 
 
 
All Karen wanted to do was visit her parent's graves, but now she is trapped inside the church, surrounded by ghosts that want her body so they can live again.

Will she escape with her body and see her husband Stan again?
 
 
 
 Simon Says
 
 
Michael comes from a family of serial killers. They kill those on The List because "Simon says" to. However, Michael has had enough. He wants out.
But not doing what Simon Says may have severe consequences.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Bullying Prevention

 
 
In celebration of National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, Lady Reader's Bookstuff is featuring books that in some way spotlight bullying in an effort to bring attention to this problem that is far too prevalent in the world.

Today they highlighted my book, Heart on a Chain, which is about Kate who is bullied not only at school, but at home as well.

Follow this link to enter a drawing for a signed paper copy and an eBook of Heart on a Chain. Then read the rest of the posts for the month of October on Lady Reader's Bookstuff. They're having some great giveaways of some really awesome, touching, sometimes heart-wrenching stories.


 
 

Fractured Soul Review



 I have to begin by telling you I’m a fan of the prequel to this book, Fractured Light, so when Rachel asked me to review Fractured Soul for an endorsement, I jumped at the chance just so I could read it before it was released. Good decision on my part. (You can read my review of Fractured Light here.) 


 It isn’t often that a sequel comes along that’s even better than the original, but Rachel managed to do that with this book. I read the entire book in a couple of days, sneaking it in between when I was supposed to be working. I couldn’t wait to read the next chapter, and was disappointed when it ended. Not because I was disappointed in the ending but because I wanted more pages to read. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

In Fractured Soul, Llona and May decide to attend Lucent Academy, an idea presented to them in the first book by Aunt Sophie. Lucent Academy is supposed to be a safe haven for girls with gifts like Llona and May, but things aren’t always what they seem. Lucent Academy is under attack from some evil forces that desire the destruction of the Auras. In the midst of that, Llona is experiencing some dark feelings that go against the light. What seems like normal teen rebellion turns out to be something that threatens her very soul.

I’m not going to give away any more of the story than that, other than to say that not only do the necessary characters play a part (helllllo, Christian!) but that new characters are also introduced that I hope to see plenty more of in the next book. In fact, I’d like to see an entire book based on Liam and how he came to be.

Fractured Soul is a brilliant sequel, exceeding even the remarkable first book in the series. Fast paced, exciting, and intriguing, it kept me guessing until the very last page what would happen next. The ending was shocking and heartbreaking, but absolutely perfect as a lead-in to the next book. Fractured Soul will haunt your every waking moment between the times you’re reading it, and stay with you long after you’ve finished. It’s an amazingly well written and engrossing story that I highly recommend—after you’ve read the first one, of course.

 Since Rachel was kind enough to interview me and write a review of my upcoming novel Rapunzel Untangled, I returned the favor. (In other words, I totally ripped off her idea.)

Interview:

CCB: Fractured Light (which I love) introduced us to Llona and her specific gift of being an Aura. In the sequel Fractured Soul you take Llona in a completely unexpected direction where she has to deal with the darkness we all fear we have inside. What made you decide to go that direction with her?

RM: In Fractured Light, Llona had to deal with external issues - learning to use Light as a weapon, which she did very well. But in Fractured Soul, I wanted her to learn balance between using light for good purposes vs. using it as a weapon, and this was made even more difficult because of the Vyken who bit her at the end of Fractured Light, which filled her with a power-hungry, contentious poison.

In life, one of the hardest challenges we will ever face is conquering our inner darkness. It's that voice that tells us we're not good enough or tells us not to worry about consequences. Llona is no different, but in her case, if she can't conquer her inner beast, she'll turn into the very monster she's trying to kill.
 
CCB: Sequels can be difficult to pull off when your first book is so loved and successful. And yet, you wrote a sequel that I think is even better than Fractured Light (which, if I didn't mention, I happen to love!). Did you feel a lot of pressure as you were writing it to exceed what you'd created in the first book?
 
RM: For sure. I didn't realize sequels could be so hard. Not only do you have to write a story just as good or better than the first book, but you also have to make sure there are no plot holes from the first to second book, and then you have to make sure they all tie all together.

CCB: The ending of Fractured Soul is a huge cliffhanger. This means, of course, that you have another book in the series to come (right? Please say yes). How many books do you have planned for the series, and did you always intend for it to be a series? 
 
RM: I always knew there would be three books. Llona whispered this to me half way through Fractured Light, even showed me how it's all going to end. The third book is titled FRACTURED TRUTH. Lies have been told and Llona must figure out who and why. 
 
CCB: Where did you come up with the idea of Auras, Furys, Vykens, and Guardians?
 
RM: Aura's came first. I wanted a girl character who could manipulate light for both good and bad, however she decided. And for conflict, I wanted any type of fighting to be forbidden among Auras, which meant they'd need protection, hence the Guardians.

As for Furys, the name came to me right after I wrote a few paragraphs about May. It just fit.

The name Vykens was the hardest to come up with. In fact, even when I was finished with the novel, I still didn't have a name for the creature who hunted Auras for the light in their blood. I changed it three times before finally settling on Vyken.
 
CCB: Are Llona, May, Christian, Sophie, or any of the other characters in your book based on anyone you know personally? (In other words, is there a real Christian out there in the world?)

RM:There is some of me in both Llona and May, but I won't tell you if it's the good or the bad parts. :) As for Christian, he has the hero response, which means he reacts immediately to a crisis no matter the consequences to him. My husband is like this. It's a quality I wish I had.

Sophie and the other characters were entirely themselves. 
 
 

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Gallagher's Hope Book Blast



Gallagher’s Hope Synopsis

She sought a new beginning.
He sought what he didn’t know was missing.
Together they would discover hope in unlikely places.

Isabelle Rousseu must escape New Orleans and the memory of her family’s tragic loss. With her younger brother in tow, she accepts a position as the new schoolteacher in Briarwood, Montana. Desperate to keep what’s left of her family together, Isabelle joins her life with a stranger only to discover that trust and hope go hand in hand.

Gabriel Gallagher lived each day as it came believing he had everything he could possibly want...until a determined woman and her brother arrive with a little luggage and a lot of secrets.

It will take a drastic choice to protect her and give them both, hope for the future.

Teasers

Excerpt One: 
Nothing existed of the life she had known.
      Her slender arm wrapped around the little boy’s shoulder and pulled him closer to his side. She could feel his slight trembling and wished more than anything that she could take away his sadness. They were alone in the world. They had each other, and she prayed that would be enough for them both.
      They stood and listened as the priest gave the final blessing, and two men lowered the caskets into the ground. The few other mourners who had been kind enough to attend the funeral asked her to leave with them, but she needed the closure. She needed her eyes to see what her heart refused to accept. ”An unfortunate affair,” everyone called the incident for it wasn’t every day that a man murdered his wife and then shot himself. Isabelle wished not to think on the possible reasons why, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. She never imagined her family to be anything but happy. Their father’s death, however, revealed the truth. No one spoke of it with them of course, but the lawyer had made the situation quite clear.
      They were penniless.

Excerpt Two: 
“You promised Gabriel, you promised!”
Gabriel wasn’t a light sleeper. In fact it often took a great deal to wake him from a pleasant slumber and last night had been one heck of a night’s sleep. He enjoyed waking with Isabelle in the room. What he didn’t enjoy was being yelled at and falsely accused before he’d even had his first cup of coffee. Her words though, did enough to bring him about.
“Criminy, Isabelle it’s too early for yelling and I didn’t break my promise.” Gabriel moved around the side of the bed until he located his boots and slipped them on. His happy memories of holding her in his arms the night before were quickly replaced by anger and irritation.
“What do you call waking up next to me then Gabriel?”
“If you’ll take a good look at yourself, and me for that matter, you’ll see we’re both fully dressed. More’s the pity.”





   

The Author

McClintock is an entrepreneur, baker, photographer, tour host, reviewer and multi-genre author.

Over the years McClintock has traveled the country and abroad, experiencing the beauty of other lands and cultures. She dreams of a time when life was simpler, the land rougher, and the journey more rewarding. With her heart deeply rooted in the past and her mind always on adventure, McClintock will always call Montana home.

McClintock is a member of Romance Writers of America, Montana Romance Writers, and Women Writing the West.


Connect with the author!
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Gallagher's Hop Book Blast Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card
1 Autographed copy of Gallagher’s Hope (US only)
2 Gallagher’s Hope-Kindle Edition
2 Gallagher’s Pride (Book One)-Kindle Edition


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Open to anyone who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent's permission. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.