Saturday, August 31, 2013

Sidekick Showcase [39] - Living Dead


Sidekick Showcase, previously known as Sidekick Saturday, is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! I will post my Sidekicks on Saturday, then whichever day during the week that you would like to post yours, you can put your link in on my page. Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fits in the week's topic
• Share a picture (if you can) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• The day of your post, put your link in below and grab the code for your post so you can see the others that post their's throughout the week as well

September Themes:
September 7th - Spitfire
September 14th - SIDEKICK OF CHOICE (It's my Birthday!!)
September 21st - Love Interest's BFF
September 28th - Mischievous

This week is Living Dead

My choice is M
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

M picture Created by Jaclyn Canada based on the movie character

So sorry I'm behind on commenting and stopping by, this picture took a lot longer to make than expected. I'm crossing my eyes I'm so tired right now LOL. It's not easy making a picture of a zombie!

M is R's best friend in Warm Bodies. A zombie of very few words in the beginning, he's mainly there for comic relief. Then, low-and-behold he starts a revolution! I love this guy. Every character in this story is pretty wonderful. In the movie as well, they went above and beyond and made him even better comic relief was some of the best one-liners.

I will post the topics for September later on Sunday updating this post, my sidekicks page on my blog, Facebook, and Twitter so everyone will know :D

Quotes:


“My friend "M" says the irony of being a zombie is that everything is funny, but you can't smile, because your lips have rotted off.”



Just...ate," M says, frowning at me a little. "Two days...ago."
I grab my stomach again. "Feel empty. Feel...dead."
He nods. "Marr...iage.”



We sit against the tiles of the bathroom wall with our legs sprawled out in front of us, passing the brain back and forth, taking small, leisurely bites and enjoying brief flashes of human experience.




Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Double Cover Reveal: Dark Remnants and Quantum Entanglement by LK Hill

Dark Remnants

In the most dangerous city in the country, one controlled by a sadistic gang called the Sons of Ares, Kyra Roberts is searching the deep places for someone…

Kyra has come to Abstreuse city to find someone she’s lost, but walking the underbelly—a dark alley system residents call the Slip Mire—even in disguise, is rife with dangers. Kyra must stay on her toes if she intends to live. After crossing paths several times with the same detective, she wonders if his work and hers might be connected.

Gabe Nichols has worked homicide in Abstreuse for three years. Dead prostitutes and gang violence are part of the night shift. When a woman who looks like a street junkie but acts like an intellectual saves his life, he’s intrigued. Another woman shows up at his crime scene, and Gabe’s instincts kick into high gear when she clams up. Two cases involving strange women who won’t tell what they know are too coincidental.


If Gabe and Kyra can’t find a way to collaborate, they may not live to see the sunrise. Doomed, like so many others, to become gray, unmarked graves in a forgotten fracture of the Slip Mire.


Quantum Entanglement

Five months after traveling to a post-apocalyptic future where collectives reign supreme and individuals have been hunted to the verge of extinction, Maggie Harper was returned to her own time until the threat to her life could be neutralized. She thought Marcus and the others would return for her within a few weeks, and now she’s beginning to worry.

When travelers from the future finally show up to collect her, it’s not who she expected. With the return of her memories, she wants more than ever to see Marcus again, but a snake-like woman whose abilities are a perfect match for Maggie’s, an injured Traveler, and decades of civil unrest to wade through all stand in the way of their reunion.

Meanwhile, Marcus and Karl traipse through the countryside, trying to neutralize Colin, who’s promised to brutalize and murder Maggie if he can get his hands on her. When a collective woman is left for dead, Marcus heals her, hoping she’ll be the key to killing Colin and bringing Maggie back. But she may prove as much a hindrance as a help.

The team struggles to get their bearings, but things happen faster than they know. The collectives are coalescing, power is shifting, and the one called B is putting sinister plans into action. If the team can’t reunite and get a handle on the situation, their freedom and individuality—perhaps their very identity—will be ripped away before they can catch their breath.



Author Liesel Hill

Her scifi, fantasy and dystopian are written under Liesel K. Hill and her crime drama and historical fiction are written under L.K. Hill. She lives in northern Utah and comes from a large, tight-knit family. Loves to bake, read, and watch plenty of T.V. And plans to keep writing until they nail her coffin shut. Or the Second Coming happens. You know, whichever happens first.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Blog Tour Interview: Vera Nazarian author of Cobweb Bride



Interview by author Vera Nazarian of Cobweb Bride

Welcome to my stop on the tour for Cobweb Bride by Vera Nazarian hosted by Fiction Addiction. I have a special interview for you today and a wonderful giveaway. I would like to thank Vera for taking the time to answer all of my questions in such a thoughtful manner!

Summary
Many are called… She alone can save the world and become Death's bride.

COBWEB BRIDE (Cobweb Bride Trilogy, Book One) is a history-flavored fantasy novel with romantic elements of the Persephone myth, about Death's ultimatum to the world.

What if you killed someone and then fell in love with them?

In an alternate Renaissance world, somewhere in an imaginary "pocket" of Europe called the Kingdom of Lethe, Death comes, in the form of a grim Spaniard, to claim his Bride. Until she is found, in a single time-stopping moment all dying stops. There is no relief for the mortally wounded and the terminally ill....

Covered in white cobwebs of a thousand snow spiders she lies in the darkness... Her skin is cold as snow... Her eyes frozen... Her gaze, fiercely alive...

While kings and emperors send expeditions to search for a suitable Bride for Death, armies of the undead wage an endless war... A black knight roams the forest at the command of his undead father… Spies and political treacheries abound at the imperial Silver Court.... Murdered lovers find themselves locked in the realm of the living...

Look closer — through the cobweb filaments of her hair and along each strand shine stars...

And one small village girl, Percy—an unwanted, ungainly middle daughter—is faced with the responsibility of granting her dying grandmother the desperate release she needs.

As a result, Percy joins the crowds of other young women of the land in a desperate quest to Death's own mysterious holding in the deepest forests of the North…

And everyone is trying to stop her.


Where did you get the inspiration for Cobweb Bride?

First, thank you so much for having me here!

The idea for Cobweb Bride came to me at a time when I was going through a rough period of losing beloved companion animals, dogs and cats, one after another, in a span of a few months in some cases. We lost two dogs and five cats to illness and old age. The last one to go at that point, a black cat named Tasia (or Tanya, officially), really haunted me, and I kept thinking I was seeing her dear shadow everywhere.

Her death shadow…

And then came thoughts of lingering bittersweet sorrow clad in fairytale imagery of winter and snow. Central to it was a Death figure, in the shape of a Renaissance gentleman, a Spaniard in a black doublet and hose.
Other elements started coalescing, and I began to write the story of Persephone, a classic myth retold my own way. What started as a simple linear story became a complex, multi-threaded epic of many lives, wrapped around a mystery of life and death and soaked in history.

You might say, at first it was my way of coping with death. And it progressed into an exploration of life.

If you could describe it with just three words, which would you choose?

Intensity, longing, duty.

Would you tell me a little more about The Kingdom of Lethe?

An interesting question, since the Kingdom of Lethe is only a tiny tip of the iceberg in this epic story arc. While most of the action of book one takes place there, we learn that Lethe (on the north) is one of the three vassal Kingdoms that comprise the greater Realm which is ruled by the Liguon dynasty of emperors. The Realm has a southern neighbor, called the Domain, comprised in turn of four Kingdoms, and ruled by a mysterious Sovereign.

The Realm and the Domain together are located in an imaginary pocket of Renaissance southwestern Europe, a wedge of imaginary land inserted in the middle of the continent. I took liberties with the landmass and moved countries around a bit to accommodate my two fictional countries.

Visualize a cross, with Germany on the top, France on the left, Italy on the right, and Spain on the bottom. In the heart of this cross lie the Realm and the Domain, two very uneasy and hostile neighbors, with only a small part of the southern border of the Domain touching the shores of the Mediterranean.

The action in books two (Cobweb Empire) and three (Cobweb Forest) will be all over the map, and you will get to see much more of the Domain.

Cobweb Bride is a mixture of historical fiction, fantasy, romance, and mythology. Will you tell us which is the most overpowering element to be found in the pages? How do these blend together to get your story across?

This is an excellent but difficult question, because I don’t think in all fairness I can separate the elements. Probably the historical flavor is the most prevalent one. However, I would say it is a framework of history to which have been added elements of fantasy and myth, like exotic flowers to an arrangement of ordinary living greenery. As for romance—this is romance in the old-fashioned sense of medieval chivalry. Yes, there are very important love stories at the center, but they do not make the story what it is—the Persephone myth does, as you will see by the end of the trilogy. Really, there is no way to separate the elements at all. They are all plaits in the braid of story. And the story itself is fantasy.

As an immigrant to the U.S. from the former USSR, do you feel that's had an impact on your writing, or even how you've gone about your career as an author?

Oh, sure! First of all, English is my second language, and as such I have a different sound to my prose. I learned much of my linguistic skills from reading English period classics, so I tend to naturally sound old fashioned, even stodgy. Over the years, I also studied a number of languages (Russian, English, Armenian, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, German), and am profoundly aware of the roots of all words, so that while my spelling can be naturally clean (again, due to the knowledge of linguistic roots), my sentence structure is a little odd, a little different, a little hard to place, and a little more layered and stylistically intense. As a writer, I ride the knife-edge of the Uncanny Valley of English.

I also come “pre-programmed” with a different set of imagery, of definitions of what constitutes fantasy, as Gene Wolfe had once said in his wonderful introduction to my short story collection Salt of the Air. I grew up with Russian fairytales, with ancient Persian and Georgian and Armenian myths and legends, in addition to the Greek and Norse ones that are more common in the West. What naturally scares me is Koschei the Deathless and Baba Yaga and Vyu and Leshii, which might be different from someone who grew up in the USA and is scared by the legend of, say, the Headless Horseman.

The same goes for other elements. Different things stir my imagination than maybe would affect a writer from another background.

I also had the singular luck of starting my life in the artificial and repressive USSR, and then becoming a world refugee. My immigrant family had to be aliens for many years before we knew how things worked here in the West. As such, my perspective is focused and observant of minute descriptive details, and I revel in metaphoric imagery and what is called by some purple prose.

In general, purple prose is a worldview, not merely a stylistic affectation. I actually see the world though a prism of cathedral stained glass, in enhanced living color. And a 3D universe filtered through such heightened senses is what I portray in my writing, and my art.

Congratulations on being nominated twice for the Nebula Award! As a peer-to-peer award Finalist, it truly is something special. Do you have any advice or tidbits to offer writers that are just starting out?

Thank you! My advice to writers is to find your own voice as soon as possible.

What does that mean? It means you first learn the language in which you write—learn it so well that you can knowingly bend the rules. Next, you read endlessly and voraciously all the great works written in that language by the masters, and all the popular modern popcorn too, so that you learn to differentiate and to incorporate elements of both in your craft (because pulp fiction is the virile lifeblood of the day, and classics are the sacrament, and life demands both in equal measure).

And finally, you write not because you think you should or because there’s a hot new market waiting for your submission, or even because someone told you it’s a good idea to put out 1,000 words a day and you are still practicing your skills regardless of true desire to create. No, you write because you have something to say, and it’s screaming inside your head to get out and be shared with the world. I am not talking about ranting popular platitudes on your blog, but expressing your unique worldview. After all, the mixture of logorrhea and opinion is what makes you a natural-born writer.

Have nothing to say? Nonsense. Re-examine your own mindset. Come to have strong opinions worthy of being defended and illustrated through literary metaphor. That’s the secret of your Voice. But, never shout your opinions or pound the reader on the head with them. Instead, demonstrate them inexorably through proper subtle detail and understated elegance.

Last of all, write with the controlled dissonance of both creative freedom and editorial precision. Allow your inner creator and you inner editor to take turns to make your writing the best it can be. There is power in you and what you believe in, and your stories have the ability to change the world. Recognize it and use it, and skill and craft will follow eventually—but only if you never give up.

What current projects are you working on?

I am in the middle of Cobweb Bride Trilogy book two, Cobweb Empire. It should be completed and available in September 2013. Next up, book three, Cobweb Forest, which concludes the trilogy, is due in December 2013, just in time for the holidays. Yes, I am merciful to my readers and don’t want to leave them hanging too long between installments! After the trilogy is done, I switch gears wildly and return to the next book in my hilarious parody novels, the Supernatural Jane Austen Series, which happens to be Pagan Persuasion: All Olympus Descends on Regency. After that, in 2014, I work on Lady of Monochrome, book two of my Rainbow Trilogy and a sequel to the epic fantasy about a world without color, the original “shades of grey,” Lords of Rainbow.

Just for fun:

Coffee or Tea? Tea, all the way! Tea is in my blood, since childhood. My earliest memories are of weak amber-golden tea being given to me in a baby bottle.

Skiing or Swimming? Swimming.

Cookies or Brownies? Brownies… or better yet, fancy cake.

Writing or Painting? Oh dear… now you stumped me. I would say that in my earlier years it would have been Art and Painting, but now I’ve focused all my energies into Writing.

Author Vera Nazarian


Vera Nazarian is a two-time Nebula Award® Finalist and a member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. She immigrated to the USA from the former USSR as a kid, sold her first story at 17, and has been published in numerous anthologies and magazines, honorably mentioned in Year’s Best volumes, and translated into eight languages.

Vera made her novelist debut with the critically acclaimed Dreams of the Compass Rose, followed by Lords of Rainbow. Her novella The Clock King and the Queen of the Hourglass with an introduction by Charles de Lint made the 2005 Locus Recommended Reading List. Her debut collection Salt of the Air with an introduction by Gene Wolfe contains the 2007 Nebula Award-nominated “The Story of Love.”

Other work includes the 2008 Nebula Finalist novella The Duke in His Castle, science fiction collection After the Sundial (2010), The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration (2010), and four Jane Austen parodies, Mansfield Park and Mummies (2009), Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons (2010), Pride and Platypus: Mr. Darcy’s Dreadful Secret (2012), and Pagan Persuasion: All Olympus Descends on Regency (forthcoming), all part of her Supernatural Jane Austen Series.

After many years in Los Angeles, Vera now lives in a small town in Vermont. She uses her Armenian sense of humor and her Russian sense of suffering to bake conflicted pirozhki and make art. In addition to being a writer, philosopher, and award-winning artist, she is also the publisher of Norilana Books.


Find the Author: Goodreads | Facebook | Website | Twitter





a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, August 26, 2013

Cover Reveal: Starchild (Book Two: The City of Souls) by Vacen Taylor

Starchild: The City of Souls

In The Age of Akra, a pilgrimage to the Valley of a Thousand Thoughts brings together four children as an ancient prophecy is set in motion. Having triumphed against dangerous adversaries, Mai, Long, Akra and Sahib are now pursued by the melkarie and must escape to the City of Souls. In the land of Naroan, in a city hidden under a blanket of living green, they are confronted with the challenge to find the Singing Soul.

But the underworld has other plans, and a beast so fierce is conjured to stop the children from finding anything that will add to the power to the prophecy of the seven nations.



Author Vacen Taylor

Vacen Taylor is an author, writer, storyteller, occasional artist and amateur photographer. She describes her writing as a basic prose style with the occasional splash of creative penning. She collects comics and loves superheroes, anime and science.




Giveaway Details
$10 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Open Internationally
Ends 9/8/13

Open only to those 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 enter for you. 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. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the publisher. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

*An additional $10 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash is available to anyone who shares this giveaway on their blog by 9/8/13 See link in the rafflecopter form.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, August 25, 2013

ARC Review: Origin (Lux Series #4) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Published: August 27, 2013 Entangled Publishing
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Fantasy
Format: Kindle
Source: Sent by publisher for honest review
Goodreads Summary 

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.

After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.

All Katy can do is survive.

Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?

Together, they can face anything.

But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on?

And will they even be together?


He said he'd burn down the world to save her. He wasn't kidding.


I was not prepared for this book and all that was in the pages when I read it. I would have had my review up sooner, but I really had to process everything that went on before I'd be able to discuss it without giving away too many spoilers.

The Good


I am so thrilled that Origin was written in dual POV between Daemon and Katy. I love getting to hear Deamon's thoughts on everything. It was very well-done too as the characters are in sync but very much their own. I knew who was speaking at all times.

Armentrout pulled out all the stops for this one. I truly didn't know this series could go in this direction, and turn this heart-pounding. I was mortified in some parts at what Kat was put through, hopeful during some turn of events, biting my nails in anxiety, and completely blown away. When I started this series, it was a fun and often light read filled with witty banter, excellent characters, and a romance that I enjoy rooting for. Origin turns all of that on its head. There is no going back. If this is an idea of what else is to come, I absolutely can't wait.

The characters that I love are still here, and there are great romantic moments, but the plot-line and action revved up 100% over what I saw in the previous books. I learned a lot of secrets about the world in this one and it was fantastic knowing more about the Luxen, the Hybrids, and the government. I was so shocked at the lengths the government would go to and the fact that they honestly believe themselves to be the good guys.

Daemon, Daemon, Daemon. This guy was not lying when he said he would put it all on the line to get his Kitten back. Do I agree with all of his choices? No, but I definitely understand the pain and driving factor behind them so I respect that he is an absolute protector at heart. Daemon and Kat both show their strong sides and put their butt-kicking to the test.

Armentrout creates a lot of fight scenes in Origin and I love that she doesn't have qualms about making her story real and believable since it is such a fantastical world.

The Bad

That ending!! Oh, Armentrout you hurt my heart. Don't get me wrong, it was beautifully written and incredibly surprising which I adore, but it is a mega cliff-hanger. If you thought the ending of Opal was bad, you haven't seen anything yet. With the way she wrote Origin, I immediately wanted the next one to sink my teeth into. I HAVE to know what happens. Oh the wait!! It kills me.

The Romance

I adore the romance in this one. I felt blessed to be inside Daemon's head so I wasn't away from either of these characters for long. Kat and Daemon are meant to be together and their love is such a joy for me to read. Armentrout didn't hold back on the good stuff either. There is plenty of lovey-dovey even though Origin is filled with so much action and pain. It made for a great mix.

Conclusion

I was very lucky to receive an ARC of this one, and will be begging, praying, and pleading to receive an ARC of the next one. I have to know what happens next! Origin is a start of something completely different, everything is turned on its head, and there is no going back from here. The characters are absolutely fantastic, the world amazingly believable, and the action heart-pounding. I actually read this one as slowly as I could to prolong the pleasure. This is Armentrout's best work that I've read so far, and I have always loved her. Origin is a heart-pounding cliff-jump with a bungee cord rebound at the end. Absolutely recommended.


Saturday, August 24, 2013

Sunday Cover Scramble [31]



Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until the next day to let you know if you are right, allowing other to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. If you need hints, I will only post covers of series talked about on my blog previously. Also, let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more throughout the day if no one guesses it correctly. Here we go:







Friday, August 23, 2013

Sidekick Showcase [38] - Law Enforcement


Sidekick Showcase, previously known as Sidekick Saturday, is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! I will post my Sidekicks on Saturday, then whichever day during the week that you would like to post yours, you can put your link in on my page. Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fits in the week's topic
• Share a picture (if you can) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• The day of your post, put your link in below and grab the code for your post so you can see the others that post their's throughout the week as well

August Themes:
August 31st - Living Dead

This week is Law Enforcement

My choice is Falin
Alex Craft Series by Kalayna Price


I've only read the first book in this series so far so I don't know where this character goes fully yet, but I really like him. Falin is a law enforcement officer that helps Alex solve her problems in the first book Grave Witch. I couldn't do a picture of him because I don't have a good enough image of him in my head. I know to me he seems blonde, tall, and good-looking, but that's really all I have. He is really mysterious in the beginning, and Alex isn't sure why he is hanging around or if he is good or bad. He ends up helping after a while so even if he is hiding a lot, he is helpful and she solves a lot due to what he has to offer. I found out some of the secrets that he kept by the end of this story, but I feel like there are more to learn in later books. He is a love interest of Alex's and I'm also wondering which way she'll go with that because he seems like a great book boyfriend as things get pretty steamy with them. I wanted to spotlight him because even though I've only read the first in this series, I think this series will be one of my favorites and this character has a lot of potential. He's proud, loyal, mysterious, strong, good-looking and great at his job.

Quotes:


Grave Witch-
“Well,” he said, “I’m glad to see you’re finally taking some precautions, but you weren’t this tense when I dropped you off last night.” “But you were this annoying. At least one of us is consistent.”



Grave Dance-
I blinked at the haul. "Are you planning to go to war? Sure you don't want to pack an assault riffle as well?"
He looked up from the bag. "You have met yourself, right?"
"So should I get a gun too?"
"I'd fear the day.”



Grave Witch-
“No bit of tail ever comes between you and Prince Charming. He must have entranced you."

"Prince Charming?" Falin asked, the question barely a whisper. "What did you think PC stood for? Politically Correct?”




Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Harry Potter Moment of the Week [7] - Favorite School Subject


This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts.The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/ films/ J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! She is picking a topic within HP for us to focus on each week and then if anyone wants to take part feel free! All she asks is to link back to her blog :). There is now a full list of the topics to come here.

Favorite School Subject:

Monster Book Picture Created by Jaclyn Canada


My favorite school subject at Hogwarts is Care of Magical Creatures. I think it's funny that the students find it to be a blow-off class and finish taking it as soon as possible since they don't keep going with it on their final years in school. This class was taught by Hagrid in its finest moments and they learned about a great number of creatures including hippogriffs to flobberworms to thestrals. I really loved this subject because learning about the creatures in this world was a lot of fun to me, and getting more face time with Hagrid was a blast. 

What about you?

Book Blast: Keeper of Reign by Emma Right

Keeper of Reign copy

keeper
Keeper of Reign Books written in blood. Most are lost, their Keepers with them. A curse that befell a people. A Kingdom with no King. Life couldn’t get more harrowing for the Elfies, a blend of Elves and Fairies. Or for sixteen-year-old Jules Blaze. Or could it? For Jules, the heir of a Keeper, no less, suspects his family hides a forgotten secret. It was bad enough that his people, the Elfies of Reign, triggered a curse which reduced the entire inhabitants to a mere inch centuries ago. All because of one Keeper who failed his purpose. Even the King’s Ancient Books, did not help ward off that anathema. Now, Gehzurolle, the evil lord, and his armies of Scorpents, seem bent on destroying Jules and his family. Why? Gehzurolle’s agents hunt for Jules as he journeys into enemy land to find the truth. Truth that could save him and his family, and possibly even reverse the age-long curse. Provided Jules doesn't get himself killed first.  
 



emma

About Author Emma Right



Emma Right is a happy wife and homeschool mother of five living in the Pacific West Coast of the USA. Besides running a busy home, and looking after their five pets, which includes two cats, two bunnies and a Long-haired dachshund, she also writes stories for her children. She loves the Lord and His Word deeply, and when she doesn't have her nose in a book, she is telling her kids to get theirs in one. Right worked as a copywriter for two major advertising agencies and won several awards, including the prestigious Clio Award for her ads, before she settled down to have children.

Facebook * Twitter * Website * Pinterest

  BookBlast Giveaway $50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 9/5/13 a Rafflecopter giveaway


 Open only to those 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 enter for you. 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. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

Tour Schedule

Monday, August 19, 2013

Guest Post: My Writing Path Part 4 by Robyn Jones

I'd like to thank Robyn for taking the time to write up this guest post. I hope you enjoy. This is Part 4 of the series. You can find Part 1 here.

My Writing Path (part 4)


I started my college career with the mindset I'd be a psychologist. Then my school adviser pointed out I wasn't taking any psych classes. Funny how I missed that small detail when I filled my schedule with art and writing classes. By my glorious senior year, I had the overalls, the paint-encrusted fingernails, and the too-much-exposure-to-turpentine glossy eyes. I found a home in art, but during my senior show I discovered this home wasn't open to the public.

In order to graduate, we had to put on an art show. I came up with this idea. Goodness, I was obsessed with it. We had live nude models come in during class. Each day, I painted a new pose on pieced together sheets of vellum paper. I put five different poses of the same woman together in a near life-size portrait, affixed the painting to a large sheet of plexiglass, then hung it from the ceiling of the gallery. I had three different walk-around paintings. From the front you saw what I wanted you to see. From the back you saw every paint stroke layered on top of the other. You saw mistakes I covered up. You saw this uncontrollable electric piece of art. People kept coming up to me and looking at me as if my work gave them access to my personal world. Each look pushed me further and further away from my brushes and palette. I didn't want to be part of the show.

It took me a decade of living in my head, only tapping into my creativity for new ways to reach my son through his autism, to find a new outlet, one that would let me direct the eye from an invisible podium. I found writing. My paint brushes became the voice in the jumble of words you throw together. The pretty portrait became my plot and cast of characters. The uncontrollable electric piece of art became my audience. 
   
~Robyn

About Robyn Jones:

I laugh when people fall down. It's a glitch in my programming, but even my mom has suffered this quirk. I have a BA in Studio Art from the University of Puget Sound. My boys make me laugh every day. I steal pens; I try real hard not to. I collect those free bookmarks at the checkout counter at libraries. I've had more stitches than anyone I know. I love stories; writing them, reading them, watching them. You can email me at robgirlbooks@gmail.com.

Blog / Twitter / Goodreads


I'd love to hear your story! What made you want to write? What is your process to find the perfect book? Your bookish pet peeves? If you have something to say, send in a guest post to jaclynrcanada@gmail.com.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Sunday Cover Scramble [30]



Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until the next day to let you know if you are right, allowing other to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. If you need hints, I will only post covers of series talked about on my blog previously. Also, let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more throughout the day if no one guesses it correctly. Here we go:






Friday, August 16, 2013

Sidekick Showcase [37] - Not Who They Say They Are


Sidekick Showcase, previously known as Sidekick Saturday, is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! I will post my Sidekicks on Saturday, then whichever day during the week that you would like to post yours, you can put your link in on my page. Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fits in the week's topic
• Share a picture (if you can) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• The day of your post, put your link in below and grab the code for your post so you can see the others that post their's throughout the week as well

August Themes:
August 24th- Law Enforcement
August 31st - Living Dead

This week is Not Who They Say They Are

My choice is Noah
The Warriors of Ankh by Samantha Young



Noah is an immortal Warrior of Ankh, but he doesn't tell Eden that when he meets her at school in the beginning of this series though the reader pretty much knows from jump that he's not what he seems. She is a Soul Eater which is so neat in this series that the main character is really a 'bad' guy. The Warriors of Ankh are destined basically to bring them to heel. I really enjoyed reading about the two of them, the interesting dynamics that played out, and how the story progressed. Noah is strong, big on duty, and exceptionally loyal. 

Quotes:


Blood Will Tell-
“Noah's mom and dad were academics and socially inept, so Noah had never invited her over to his house because his parents wouldn't like it. And Eden had never invited Noah over to her house because she didn't want him to die.”



Blood Will Tell-
“It was Friday tomorrow and still Eden was avoiding him like he was a Bieber fan at a Korn concert.”



Blood Will Tell -
“She would see it as betrayal. Nothing more. Nothing less.”




Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Hyperion and Great Balls of Fire Book Blast

hyperion Hyperion and the Great Balls of Fire (Heroes in Training Book 4) The action heats up for Zeus and his fellow Olympians in this blazing Heroes in Training tale. Phew, it’s hot! Under the titan Hyperion’s rule, the sun is burning even brighter than normal and scorching everything in northern Greece—including the villagers! The Olympians are forced to play a sizzling “game” of Dodge the Sunbursts as Hyperion hurls giant fireballs that could fry them to pieces! Armed with some clues, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades set out to figure out why in the world Hyperion has been making things so hot. They also need to rescue Hera, who is still missing. Battling the extreme heat—and some fantastical and scary creatures, courtesy of their old foe Cronus—the boys are off on another epic adventure…and Zeus is one step closer to discovering his destiny.  
 
  Heroes in Training by Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams Authors Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams deliver fun, adventures, and a few surprises as ten-year-old Olympians go on a journey of a lifetime to discover their true identities and defeat their Titan enemies. Praise for Heroes in Training "Readers will gobble this down and look for more, make no mythtake." ~ Kirkus “This is a fun read, casting Zeus in the role of relatable kid, and there is a nice balance between his primary goal of survival and his sense of destiny and adventure. . . Share this title, and likely more to come, with those still too young for Percy Jackson’s adventures.” ~ School Library Journal The Series #1 Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom #2 Poseidon and the Sea of Fury #3 Hades and the Helm of Darkness #4 Hyperion and the Great Balls of Fire Aladdin Paperbacks (ages 6-9) http://series.simonandschuster.com/Heroes-in-training  

Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom (Book 1) After pulling a magical thunderbolt from a stone, ten-year-old Zeus goes on the adventure of a lifetime in this thrilling start to a brand-new series! The terrible Titans--merciless giants who enjoy snacking on humans--have dominated the earth and put the world into chaos. But their rule is about to be put to the test as a group of young Olympians discover their powers and prepare to righteously rule the universe.... Ten-year-old Zeus is mystified (and super-annoyed) by the fact that he keeps getting hit by lightening. Every. Single. Year. He also longs for adventure, as he has never been far from the cave where he grew up. Zeus gets his wish--and a lot more than he bargained for--when he is kidnapped by dangerous, giant Titans! In self-defense, he grabs the first thing he sees--an actual thunderbolt he pulls from a stone that is covered in mysterious markings. Zeus is the only one who can decipher the markings, and sets off on a quest to rescue his youthful fellow Olympians from the evil Cronus. Armed with his trusty thunderbolt (named Bolt, of course), Zeus is on an adventure of a lifetime--and a journey to fulfill his destiny as King of the Gods.  
 
Poseidon and the Sea of Fury (Book 2) A young Poseidon must triumph over aquatic terrors in this Heroes in Training adventure. The merciless Cronus and his Titan buddies are in hot pursuit of Zeus, Hera, and Poseidon, who plan to travel across the treacherous boiling sea in order to save a fellow Olympian. They have a boat, but they also have a problem: Poseidon can’t swim and is terrified of the water (well, really of the creatures that lurk in its depths). The group faces danger after danger as they battle singing sirens, a fishy and ferocious Titan named Oceanus, and people-eating monsters sent by Cronus himself. Can Poseidon overcome his fears and help his fellow heroes escape Cronus and his cronies?
  Hades and the Helm of Darkness (Heroes in Training Book 3) The Heroes in Training are entering the Underworld—if Hades can conquer his canine fears, that is. The Underworld usually isn’t really meant to be a fun place—but tell that to Hades! He loves the dark and the stinky smell of sulfur. However, there is one thing that Hades is not a fan of: dogs. And when Zeus and his fellow Olympians encounter Cerberus—a snarling, three-headed dog—Hades must conquer his fears and tame the hound so everyone can continue into the Underworld and deposit their Titan prisoner, Oceanus, back where he belongs! But with magical water that causes forgetfulness, hot beds of lava, and another epic battle with two more Titans standing in their way, will Zeus and his heroes make it out of the Underworld with everyone intact?   Amazon * Amazon Kindle * Barnes & Noble

Author Suzanne Williams Suzanne Williams is the award-winning author of nearly 40 books for children, from picture books and easy readers to chapter books and middle grade fiction series. A former elementary school librarian, she lives near Seattle. Her picture book Library Lil (illustrated by Steven Kellogg) won the New Mexico children's choice award in 2000 and was on several other state award lists. She is co-author (with Joan Holub) of the popular Goddess Girls series(for ages 8 - 12) and Heroes in Training (ages 6 - 11). Other series include Fairy Blossoms and Princess Power.  
 
Author Joan Holub I graduated from college in Texas with a fine arts degree, and then freelanced as an art director at a graphic design firm for eight years. I dreamed of working in children's books, so I moved to New York City and became associate art director in Scholastic trade books, where I designed books for children and worked with editors and illustrators. It was a great job. I illustrated my first published children's book in 1992 and soon began illustrating full time. I began completing manuscripts and mailing them out to publishers in the early 1990s. In 1996, I sold my first two manuscripts -- Boo Who? A Spooky Lift-the-Flap Book (Scholastic) and Pen Pals (Grosset & Dunlap). Yippee! Now I write full time and have written and/or illustrated over 130 children's books. Creating books that entertain, inform, and interest children (and me) is a fabulous job that I truly love.  
    Book Blast Giveaway $50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 8/29/13 Open only to those 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 enter for you. 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. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, August 12, 2013

Cover Reveal and Giveaway: Hunted by Jill Kaelin


Hunted by Jill Kaelin


Expected Publication: August 19, 2013, Inkspell Publishing
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Official Blurb:

8
That’s how old I was when I found out I was special. I was given my rose quartz gem and taught about my past.
13
That’s how many times I’ve lived in this world. This is my thirteenth life cycle as a human.
1
That's how many seconds it took to fall in love with Mike. It's also the amount of time I had to say goodbye just before he was killed by Reggie, the hunter that's been after me.
Will Reggie succeed in killing me too, and eradicating the planet of the unicorn race forever?

About Jill Kaelin:

Since elementary school, I remember being in love with words.  Spelling them, writing them, reading them...I even hang them up around my house.  I think I owe my love of language to my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Templeton.  I can recall sitting around in a circle in that old, red-brick school, listening to her read aloud Greek mythology.  The oxymoron there was that she was the most prim and proper teacher I ever knew, right down to the white buttoned up blouse held together at the collar with a cameo pin.  The way she read made words come alive.

I had written a few things here and there throughout my life.  I used to think I'd be good at children's books, and it wasn't a far stretch since I worked with children every day and knew what they liked.  But then I read the series by Stephenie Meyer, maybe you've heard of it...Twilight.  This was the type of story I knew I had to write.  Teenagers were my audience.  It helped I had one at home to learn from.

My idea didn't come in a dream.  No, I wasn't that fortunate.  It happened through research.  And lots of it.  The only criteria I had was that I wanted my story to be different from everything else out there.  I wanted my story to stand out.  No vampires or werewolves.  No witches or wizards.  Unicorns were my choice.  And I think the story that unfolded is definitely unique.



Find Jill:
Website | Twitter | Goodreads



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Sunday Cover Scramble [29]



Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until the next day to let you know if you are right, allowing other to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. If you need hints, I will only post covers of series talked about on my blog previously. Also, let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more throughout the day if no one guesses it correctly. Here we go:









Saturday, August 10, 2013

Sidekick Showcase [36] - One Third of a Love Triangle


Sidekick Showcase, previously known as Sidekick Saturday, is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! I will post my Sidekicks on Saturday, then whichever day during the week that you would like to post yours, you can put your link in on my page. Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fits in the week's topic
• Share a picture (if you can) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• The day of your post, put your link in below and grab the code for your post so you can see the others that post their's throughout the week as well

August Themes:
August 17th - Not who they say they are
August 24th- Law Enforcement
August 31st - Living Dead

This week is One Third of a Love Triangle

My choice is Lucas Parker
The Shadow Falls Series by C.C. Hunter

Lucas picture by Jaclyn Canada

Lucas knew Kylie when she was a younger girl so he has a connection with her that Derek doesn't have. Derek is the other guy in Kylie's life and he's a fae. Lucas is a werewolf. Both guys fight hard for her attention and have good and bad attributes in my opinion. This is actually one series where I am unable to choose who I want her to end up with (I haven't read the newest one in the series so this one may have given a more definitive answer to that question). The reason I'm highlighting Lucas is because I really like his character. He's so hard to read - very mysterious. He's very good-looking, saves Kylie's life on occasion, and shows his good and bad sides equally. I like knowing flawed characters. He may not be the one to end up with Kylie in the end, but I appreciate this love triangle and I understand why Kylie has such a hard time choosing between the two guys.  

Quotes:


Awake at Dawn-
“She leaned into him to soak up his warmth.
"You are so hot," she said.
"It's about time you noticed," he teased.



Whispers at Moonrise -
“Boy trouble, huh?"
"Boy catastrophe is more like it. I'm not sure I can do this."
"Do what?" Concern sounded in Holiday's voice.
"Do Lucas," Kylie said.
Holiday made a funny face and raised one eyebrow.”



Born at Midnight-
“Just because a guy rings your bell, doesn't mean you have to toot his horn.”




Born at Midnight-
“Kylie watched as his shirttail upward, exposing a very hard abdomen. The hem of his shirt inched higher, and she took in the cutest inny belly button she'd ever seen. And then his chest. Solid. Hard. A few drops of water glistened against his skin. Her heart beat to the sound of passion again.”



Taken at Dusk-
“I’d kill for you, Kylie Galen. But more than that, I’d die for you.”

She felt a tear roll down her cheek. “You’d better not die on me, Lucas Parker.”


*I wasn't able to answer any comments yesterday on my Feature and Follow Friday yet, so I will be getting to those on Saturday and visiting everyone's blogs Saturday and well! Sorry everyone, I'm really behind :D Thank you so much for stopping by though, I really appreciate it!


Follow my blog with Bloglovin