Giveaway - Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

I have loved everything that Rainbow Rowell has written up until this point. Now, she has written a fantasy/paranormal novel. Fangirl is my favorite of her books, and in it the main character writes fan fiction based on a series in the story with Simon Snow. Now! He has his own, real life book!

I received my copy this week from Barnes & Noble and in celebration, I thought I'd give away a copy to one of my readers as well.

Characters - His story.

In the post before the last, I shared a little glimpse into my head, into my writing process. Today I’m going to share a little something about where the Mortal Monsters series will be heading.

The first three books are Mackenzie and Eli’s books. It’s their story. Beyond that, there will be several stand alone, offshoot books that are the stories of some of the characters you’ll meet in the first three books.

I’ve been thinking of these characters for a long time. Some of them I’ve even begun their stories. One in particular has my heart. It torments me with want for me to tell it. This one particular character, he has a theme song. A song that puts me in his world, in his story, in his life…

I am not sure if his book will be the first to be released after Mack and Eli’s arc is complete or the second, but he’s in my head, in my veins, this morning and I want to share him with you. So, I thought I’d give you a short, cryptic glimpse and let you know what is to come, what you can expect from the series in the future. So there are no surprises when you pick up book four or five and maybe six.

This particular character’s theme song is: In My Veins by Andrew Belle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vlcrjw1ZISE

Here it is on youtube – I’d use the one from Andrew Belle’s youtube channel, but the image this person used when they posted the video captures the tone in my head perfectly.

I dreamed him and his story up before Eli and Mackenzie came along. When I was weaving him into their story, I had moments when I wanted to rebel against the course his story has already taken. I thought, maybe I could just change it up, but his path is already set, and if I didn’t follow it, his story wouldn’t be the one I have to tell. I wouldn’t be able to tell it, and show you his life, who he is and why I’m completely in love with him.

If I were to change his course, you’d never get to meet the other’s in his story that have stories of their own, ones that also deserve to be told.

I think I love him and his story so much because it’s so personal. There is so much of me in it, of the people who have come into my life and left their mark. One in particular stood out to me this morning. He has shaped parts of this character, and I can’t wait for you all to meet him. I hope you’ll fall as deeply for him as I have… both the character and the one who exists in real life that’s colored parts of him.

 

 

Cover Reveal - Powerless by Monica Millard

BOOK INFO:
Powerless by Monica Millard
(Mortal Monsters #2)
Publication date: October 27th 2015
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal

Synopsis:

Werewolf, shapeshifter, seer. If you’d said these words to me two months ago, I’d have said they were the things of stories and legends. Now, they’re my classmates, my friends and even those closest to me. Best friend, boyfriend and my own mother.

So what does that make me? I’m something different. Something dangerous?

I’ve kept my abilities locked up tight, hidden, even from myself, but the shapeshifter that was after Eli set them free, when he kidnapped and tortured me. With no one left to rescue me, I was forced to accept what I am in order to free myself and save Eli.

Now that my abilities have been awakened, I can’t turn them off. If I can’t get control, they might destroy me, and everyone else with me.

I might just be the strongest supernatural there is, but I feel completely powerless.

 

 

Add it on Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26320125-powerless

 

Cover Reveal - Faceless by Monica Millard

BOOK INFO:

Faceless by Monica Millard
(Mortal Monsters #1)
Publication date: September 1st 2015
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal

Synopsis:

There isn’t a lot of excitement or drama to be had for a teenager in Wasilla, Alaska. This is especially true for students of the charter high school, Lakes Charter. That is until a jock is killed in a brutal attack on school property.

The victim is the instigator of the school’s bullying ring and his biggest target, both literally at six and a half feet tall and in frequency, is Eli Markham, the lead suspect. The only problem with that story is at the time the murder took place, he was in the school parking lot installing a new battery with Mackenzie Carver. Me.

I didn’t really know Eli before I gave him a ride. I don’t think anyone does know him. He’s kind of a loner, but we’ve been thrown together and the more time I spend with him, the more I want to learn. All of that will have to wait though, because something is after us, something that isn’t human, something that keeps trying to frame Eli for crimes he didn’t commit.

The scheme might be more successful if I didn’t keep getting in the way of someone’s plans.

Add it on Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25978819-faceless

 

A New Young Adult Series, News and Updates

I have not been very consistent on this blog lately. I know it’s been a while since you heard from me. The last post was in April and prior to that was December, and that one wasn’t even my words. I apologize for my neglect.

I’ve come to remedy this. To let you in on all the things going on in my life. To share the exiting news and commiserate over the difficulties. I haven’t just mean absent from the blog of late. If you’ve friended or followed me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter or even Pinterest, well I’ve been mostly hiding there as well. I’ve had fits and spurts of activity, and have been trying for more lately, but in the last few months life has dealt me a few personal blows.

I lost three family members in May. One canine and two relatives of the human persuasion. I’ve also had a diagnosis of doggy diabetes for my remaining baby. It’s been a struggle, but I’ve tried to find the positives in all these things. Losing my first baby prepared me for the coming losses. I was lucky enough to be there and have some special time with one of them. I was able to say goodbye. And I was able provide support where it was needed with other family members. The diagnosis of my critter has forced me to get up off my butt, but it’s also made me want to take steps to improve my own health and then do so. As a result, I’ve lost eight pounds in the last two weeks.

In those same few months, as you know I finished a novel and began another. I’ve been writing as feverishly as I can, which initially accounted for my absence. I will be releasing the first in the trilogy sometime in the next month. Novel two is in the final stages of the first draft and I hope to have it finished in the next week or so, but happy events may delay that.

I also attended a wonderful writers conference with and even more wonderful friend, who also happens to be an awesome writer.  It was a treasured experience. I learned a lot in just a few short days and met so many wonderful people. I got out of my comfort zone. I took a bus across state lines. It was beautiful and amazing and I loved every minute of it. (We have city busses, but we don’t really have big bus lines like there are down in the Lower 48.)

All of these events have me revaluating my life, reflecting on where I’m at and where I’d like to be. But it’s easy to fall back into ruts once normal life resumes, losing those magical insights we found during times of struggle or change or even the stepping out from our normal routine.

I watched a Ted Talk yesterday. I love Ted Talks, but this one was the type of special that stands above the rest. In it a little girl was talking about her mission to save enslaved children around the world. She is an inspiration. She has a quote that resonated with me so strongly. “Start with your heart.” What a wise statement from someone so young. The context might be very different, but I stopped and thought long and hard about that statement and what it meant to me.

I would like to apply the idea of starting with your heart to my own life. My heart is with my family, is with meeting people and making connections, it’s with learning and it’s with writing. Knowing where my heart is the first step. Going forward, I’d like to try to put those things above all the rest and see how what changes it causes.

If you’d like to have a look at the Ted Talk which I found so inspirational, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBZc3t4BIhY

The Lebrus Stone by Miriam Khan Book Blitz and Giveaway

Book & Author Details:

 

The Lebrus Stone by Miriam Khan
Publication date: November 28th 2014
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult

Synopsis:

When Eighteen-year-old orphan, Crystal Valdez, accepts an invitation to the small town of Blacksville, West Virginia, she hopes to have a summer to remember and a chance to learn more about her parents, to also get to know the family she never knew existed.

But the Lockes begin to act strange and erratic; eerie movements in the night fuel her vivid and gruesome nightmares. To complicate her summer further, she becomes attracted to the menacing yet handsome Cray Locke: her none blood related cousin who seems determined to keep his distance. The only bonus seems to be the Housekeeper and Gardener.

And when a local informs Crystal of the secrets buried at Thorncrest Manor, the kind consisting of a forbidden relationship and a war between hidden worlds, and witchcraft, she must decide whom to trust. Even if it means leaving behind those she has come to love.

 

 

 

Add on Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

 

AUTHOR BIO:

Miriam is from Cheshire, England and a family of six siblings. Her love for creativity led to acting at her local theatre before being a lead vocalist in rock bands. During those years, she often found solace penning her thoughts and feelings through lyrics or poetry. She chose not to continue singing in 2006, and two years later she woke up with the idea for The Lebrus Stone and began typing. revising and editing it for the next six years. She is now eager to see what readers will think.

Excerpt:

I lay back and tried not to over think things to calm the storm in my head, but a knock on my door moments later interrupted it.

"Come in!" I called out, sitting up to retrieve my book.

Syd entered, carrying in what looked like a sandwich and a glass of her homemade lemonade.

I could have done with a hot soup.

But I blew a sigh of relief it wasn't one of the Lockes.

"Isobel said to make sure you had some lunch by now," she said, placing the tray on my bedside cabinet.

"Thanks, Syd."

"Any reason why you're hiding in here?" she asked as she sat on my bed.

I tensed. Being told I was hiding annoyed me, but I wasn't annoyed at Syd, just at myself. I had come too far in life to start acting like a coward, especially over something clearly in my head.

I fingered the dog-eared cover of my book.

"I think I just need a quiet day to myself. It could be some type of…delayed jet lag." It could be partly true, I thought. It had taken two flights to get from Salt Lake City to Blacksville; six hours in total. I smiled, pleased with the conclusion. Exhaustion could have been why I had such a freakish dream.

"I see," Syd said, seeming unconvinced. "Well, do you think you'll be joining the Lockes for dinner?"

"Do I have to?" No matter how much I was becoming fond of Syd, she worked for the Lockes. They could try and make her tell me what do.

"No." She chuckled. "But I think you should try to interact. Cray's alright, by the way. A little scratch like that won't do a boy like him any harm."

Boy like him?

So, I had hurt him. My chest tightened.

"Oh, don't look so beat up about it, honey. The boy is as tough as old boots." She chuckled again. "And luckily for you, he's not as vain about his looks as you would think. He won't hold what happened against you." She patted my hand.

I gulped. "Has he…said something?"

"No. He left early this morning. He didn't say where he was going, and Isobel never dares ask these days. He's a very private person, as you've probably noticed. She respects that. We all do." She looked lost in thought for a moment, then smiled in her sad little way, and asked, "So, are you ready to talk about what happened last night?"

My mouth felt too clamped to begin

"I have to say, not many girls would have left home to meet so many strangers. I admire your courage."

Her comment only made me sound irresponsible. I gritted my teeth.

"I don't feel very courageous," I admitted. "I feel pretty stupid right now."

Thanks for the added comment to make me feel even more naive, I wanted to add.

"I don't think five months was long enough to think this through," I said.

She nodded. "Maybe. But everything happens for a reason. You followed your heart. It's all you can do in life. It's your only real compass."

I wanted us to keep talking. When Syd wasn't nicely pointing out my flaws, she had a way of calming me until I felt optimistic about my trip again. But she had dinner to prepare, so she reluctantly left me after insisting I get ready to face my evening with the Lockes.

Something about her was becoming familiar. It could have been the warmth in her eyes and how they reminded me of Selma. She had always been as hospitable and over helpful.

I still missed her. Talking to Syd was like getting back something that had been cruelly taken away, too. It wasn't just my parents I'd lost, but my pride, self-worth, my best friend, at times my composure. It had been an uphill struggle this past year or so. But I was finally feeling on top of things…I think.

I sure wasn't going to let it keep me down.

Coming to Blacksville was my new start as the new and improved me. I really had to keep believing that.

 

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Holiday Giveaway - Win 2 YA Paranormal Ebooks

It's the holidays so money is probably tight. Not much left over for your book budget? Love Young Adult fiction? How about Paranormal? Enter below for a chance to win 2 Young Adult Paranormal eBooks from yours truly (Me!) and the fabulous Jolyn Palliata.

Which books, you ask? Take a peek.

ENTERTAINING ANGELS by Monica Millard

As a senior in high school, Samantha Heman’s too busy trying to avoid getting stomped by a moose at the bus stop and keeping her grades up until graduation to put much thought into angels or demons.

That all changes on the day she is kidnapped by notorious serial killer, Christopher Hainsely. It’s a day she finds herself confronted by both evil and good, because her savior appears in the form of an avenging angel come to strike the monster down with a single stroke of his flaming sword.

Though she’s trying to get on with her life, she cannot get the angel out of her head. It isn’t the burning wings, fiery eyes or the flaming sword that keeps her searching the internet for proof one way or another of his existence, though.

The feeling of warmth she experienced when she witnessed that sad smile just before he vanished in a wash of golden light, haunts her nights almost as often as the nightmares.

If angels exist, then demons must too, and they’re about to wage a war for her soul.

Add on Goodreads 

 
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Kobo | iBook | Smashwords

AMBER EYES by Jolyn Palliata

"Eyes are the window to the soul, in a time when souls are ancient."

After an accident, one she shouldn’t have walked away from, Lexi’s life finally begins. She meets Dez, a new student with the most beautiful eyes she’s ever seen. And since gazing into them, Lexi has had vivid waking dreams that pull her back through time, and into the warm embrace of a mysterious stranger—a stranger who becomes all too familiar. When offering an explanation for her detailed visions, Dez changes her world forever with two simple words: Soul mates.

For the first time in her life, Lexi feels safe and complete. But lingering in the shadows is the embodiment of evil, coveting the light within her. He’s a threat to Lexi’s very existence, and to a love that has transcended time.  









Add to Goodreads Purchase: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Smashwords

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Then he still wins

 

Pre-order now! Entertaining Angels is available November 11th.

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Kobo | iBook | Smashwords   

YA Favorites book GIVEAWAY!

Little known fact about me: I’m Mormon. **Stop** Don’t run away. This isn’t a religious post. It is exactly as the title says; a giveaway post. I only tell you that I’m Mormon because it was two sister missionaries who inspired this post. In my area there are these two really awesome sister missionaries who come to visit me at least once a week. They sometimes bring me cookies, but always bring me inspiration and leave with me feeling in better spirits than I was before they arrived.

These two ladies showed up this week to tell me they were leaving, heading home. Their missions were over and they stopped by to say goodbye. I, of course, couldn’t let them get on the plane without a YA book to read. So, I relinquished my personal copies of two of my favorite books: Matched by Allie Condie and 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson.

This got me thinking. With the closure of Borders/Waldenbooks I find myself with an extra copy of a few of my favorite books. I thought, rather than have them sit on my shelf, why not put them to good use. Hence the giveaway!

So, if you would like to win either a copy of Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare or Looking for Alaska by John Green or The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan what you have to do is either spread the word or follow the blog and leave a comment below. Be sure to include your email address so I can contact you if you win.

To spread the word you can either tweet about it, facebook it, or blog about it. Make sure to include the link showing how you spread the word in your comment. Three names will be chosen. The first name picked will have their choice of the three, second will get to choose between the remaining two and the third will get the final book.

Contest ends 8pm AST (Alaska Standard Time – which is four hours later than EST) on Monday December 26th.

(*Sorry, only available to US addresses.)