Tuesday, October 18, 2016
SONGMICS Black Leather Jewelry Box Ring Case Mini Travel Organizer
Monday, October 17, 2016
NBTM for The Keeper's Vow by Francina Simone
The Keeper’s Vow
by Francina Simone
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GENRE: YA Epic Urban Fantasy
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BLURB:
All Katie Watts wants is to pass her junior-year, at Hamilton Private, with as little effort as possible—devoting time to knitting hats, breeding gerbils, becoming a movie critic, or even just sleeping. No wonder she isn’t ready for a world with vampires, werewolves, and nightmares.
Her life is shattered to pieces when Tristan gets stabbed in her front yard. She has no idea where he came from and worse, he hears her thoughts—and when she can’t take anymore, she starts to hear his. No one is who she thought they were. Her father is keeping secrets and when she searches for the truth, she ends up homeless.
As the truth claws its way to the surface, Katie and Tristan grow closer together and they find themselves connected in more ways than she can believe. But is honesty worth more than the peace blissful, ignorance brings? Especially if it sparks a chain of events that will end the lives of millions? Can she live with the truth that begins with her dead mother and ends with The Keeper’s Vow?
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Excerpt One:
A Mother’s Gift
Could he really read her mind, or was it just a coincidence?
His eyes flashed in her direction.
Not a coincidence.
“Do Will and Lucy know you can read their minds?” she said as he slowed down enough for her to drink and walk at the same time.
“I can’t read their minds,” he said.
“But you can read mine?”
“Yeah,” he said.
“Anyone else’s?”
“Nope,” he said.
“How is that possible? Why is that possible?” she said.
His face was still expressionless. “Gift from your mom.” He stared straight ahead.
Katie knew that wasn’t possible. Her mom died giving birth to her. Not exactly enough time to send gifts—let alone some jacked up ability to read her only daughter’s mind.
“You still believe everything your dad told you? Nothing about yesterday made you question a few things?” he said, making an abrupt left turn.
“What’s that supposed to mean? What do you know about my mom?” It was strange saying that word. Mom. It was something she didn’t have but had always wanted—like a cat, E-Z Bake Oven, a sixty-piece oil pastel set. Something she’d grown out of and would never have. A mom.
Tristan held her gaze for a few steps, then stared ahead for a whole block before making another left turn. He didn’t say anything else.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Francina Simone is a writer of Epic Urban Fantasies brimming with Magic and Moral Ambiguity.
From the time Francina Simone entered kindergarten, she loved to read and share words with her friends. When she was in the fifth-grade, she was scared to read aloud and so the teacher concluded she wasn’t very good at reading—Francina read anyway.
Francina left her middle school book club behind for the daunting and exciting life as a high school freshmen. She was quickly told Young Adult books were childish and she should concern herself with finer literature—Francina read them anyway.
Francina waved good-bye to her high school life and strutted into University with her YA books and graphic paper to take notes. She witnessed the birth of a YA trend where publishers flocked to sell their stories to teens…stories that were underdeveloped and glaring with structural issues. The message she heard as a consumer was simple—common belief is YA readers aren’t good enough readers to discern quality stories or they are too childish to tell the difference.
Francina dropped her degree in chemistry and decided enough was enough—and set out to write the quality* stories her fellow readers deserved.
After her formative years she moved to Japan, with her best-friend and husband, land of some of the worlds best story-tellers and creators of unique manga. There she worked on her stories and the quest to understand what authenticity* in story means.
Now she lives in Boise with her husband, son, cat, and Catahoula. She spends most of her time battling the terrible-twos and puppy-dom. But when things are quiet—you can hear frantically typing away; her mind far away with her characters in their quest to make the right decisions in a world brimming with magic and moral ambiguity.
Links:
Website : www.FrancinaSimone.com
Twitter @FrancinaSimone : http://bit.ly/25QiQur
Youtube Francina Simone : http://bit.ly/1Xdklkp
Facebook Francina Simone :http://bit.ly/1WHwH4z
Mailing List ChitChat’s With Francina Simone :http://eepurl.com/bWnGZj
Amazon
The Keeper’s Vow : http://amzn.to/1Uqcwlr
Interview with Francina Simone
As a kid did you write or make up stories?
I did a lot of interpretive dance as a kid. When the Tarzan soundtrack came out I was the queen of story dancing. I also had Barbie dramas and Lego house dramas. I used the McDonald’s toy action figures to play the love interests of my Kelly dolls. HAHA but you know I think all kids make up stories at one point or another. Some of us are just shamed out of it sooner than others.
Where does most of your Character inspiration come from?
My Daemon. I believe we all have little Daemons/geniuses (the Greek verity) who throw their inspirations at us and we just try to catch on to it and write it down fast enough. There is no other explanation for the way characters come to me. I don’t think them up…they are just there one day—sometimes shouting at me and sometimes (like Tristan) sulking and brooding loudly but not saying much of anything.
Do some qualities of your characters come from real people?
Yes and no. Yes because I strive to make them as real as possible. I feel like they ARE real people and it’s my job to capture them as best as possible to do them justice. No, because I don’t use people I know as a base for my characters. Katie and Tristan are unlike anyone else I know.
What was the inspiration for your book?
I really wanted to read a story that mixed paranormal with real life and balanced romance along the way. I wanted a story that had the tropes I loved without falling into the realm of cliché. I figured it was time to stop complaining about books and just start writing them. In the end I got the story I wanted to read, and I also learned never to complain or think writing was super easy ever again. HAHA.
What is your favorite spot to write?
I don't really have a favorite spot. I can write just about anywhere, the key is for me to be in the world I’m trying to write. As long as I can transport myself there my workstation matters not….so, I guess my favorite place to write is in the world I’m writing. Hahaha I sound like a lunatic.
What advice would you give budding writers?
Learn the difference between story telling and craft writing. Strive to become a master at both and above all, aim for authenticity with your character, world, and plot. You CAN do it. It is not a talent you are born with, it is just a matter of passion. If you have the passion you can do anything.
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
Francina will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour,
Blitz: SciFi/Fantasy Party!
Welcome to the Sci-Fi and Fantasy Book Party!
Welcome to the genreCRAVE Science Fiction and Fantasy $1200 Giveaway! We have something really exciting set up for you. First, some KILLER Science Fiction and Fantasy books at a steal, and after that, a chance to enter our $1200 Gift Card Giveaway! Read on for more information, but first, check out the books from our sponsors at the link below!
VIEW BOOKS FROM THE SPONSORS HERE!
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Here are a couple of sneak peeks!
Ambassador 1: Seeing Red
I had never been on first-name terms with the president, but while I sat there trying hard not to succumb to jet-lag, he chatted about my father, whom I had just visited, and who had finally retired from Lunar Base to his native New Zealand. Sirkonen opened the drawer of his desk and took something out, which he flipped across the gleaming wooden surface. I could do nothing but catch it. A datastick. I turned it over. The black plastic cover reflected the sunlight.
“What’s on it?”I had never been on first-name terms with the president, but while I sat there trying hard not to succumb to jet-lag, he chatted about my father, whom I had just visited, and who had finally retired from Lunar Base to his native New Zealand. Sirkonen opened the drawer of his desk and took something out, which he flipped across the gleaming wooden surface. I could do nothing but catch it. A datastick. I turned it over. The black plastic cover reflected the sunlight.
“You might find it useful. Think of it as some . . . personal advice, from me to you. We’ll talk about it later, when you return for your first briefing.” He shut the drawer with a thud as if closing the subject.
This was highly irregular. “Mr President, can I ask—”
He shook his head, and offered me a drink—Finnish vodka, best in the world, he said. While he poured, his hands trembled.
I should have insisted that he tell me what was wrong, but who was I? An unimportant, sending-out-our-feelers type of diplomat, expendable and twenty years his junior. Not the type of person to draw attention to his problems—with alcohol or otherwise.
We made a toast. The heavy scent of the vodka did nothing to improve my alertness.
“Mr Wilson, when you come back in six month’s time, you must present your report to the general assembly. We need to know in detail what sort of regimes we’re dealing with.”
I didn’t understand why he spoke in such empty generalities; I wondered when he was going to open that folder on his desk and sign the contract. Nicha, my Coldi assistant, was waiting in the foyer. We had a whole heap of work to catch up on. I was annoyed that Sirkonen had changed our meeting time at the last minute—the original meeting had been scheduled for tomorrow morning.
Sirkonen stopped speaking.
I stared at him, realising with embarrassment that I’d been off with the fairies. Was I meant to have said something? Was I breaking rule number one of the diplomatic circle: never show any sign of sleep deprivation?
An attack of dizziness overtook me. My vision wavered, as if the world were painted on a silk flag that flapped in the wind, and all the furniture was rimmed in a red aura. “Mr President, I’m—”
I just managed to put my vodka down. The glass hit the wood with a soft clunk, the only sound in the frozen silence.
There was a small sound from outside, a click.
As if stung, Sirkonen turned to the window; his eyes widened.
“Sir?”
The president opened his mouth, but a sharp crack interrupted his words.
—
Releasing Rage
She stepped into the firewall square. The door behind her closed and she authorized the interior door to open.
A buzz swept over her. No, not simply over her. Into her. She gasped, her inhalation of air drawing more of this unknown presence inside her.She stepped into the firewall square. The door behind her closed and she authorized the interior door to open.
It was too much, almost suffocating. Joan swayed, lightheaded. “Do not faint. Do not faint,” she repeated to herself, closing her eyes.
The rolling under her feet gradually stopped. She opened her eyes and wished she hadn’t. Crimson spray covered everywhere she looked. Gore was splattered into the farthest corners, hanging from the ceiling. Cleaner bots scrubbed the walls and floor.
This was why she felt dizzy, she reasoned. She smelled and sensed this butchery.
C899321, the being she had been told was responsible, stood in his uploading dock, a cable inserted into his nape, his towering form naked, covered with blood, his long black hair dripping with it.
He turned his head, locked his gaze with hers and she sucked in her breath. There were worlds of agony, of rage, in those bright blue eyes. This was no rational, logic-driven cyborg. This was a man, an animal, crazed by bloodlust and pain.
“They thought to pacify me with the use of a human female?” he thundered, his deep gravelly voice clawing across her skin, awakening parts in her she didn’t realize slept. “I’d kill you before I allowed you to touch me.”
This insult didn’t hurt her the way he’d intended. Joan knew she wasn’t the slim tiny female males desired. She was solidly built, good breeding stock, as her mother had once said.
She discarded his words and focused on the torment in his tones. He hurt. Horrifically. Her fingers twitched, the urge to reach out to him, to comfort him, tremendous. Judging by the flex of his powerful biceps and thigh muscles, by the anger radiating from him, he wouldn’t appreciate that response.
He also wouldn’t listen to any command she issued. A reprimand, verbal or physical, would add to his hostility. Some being had already tried to restrain him and failed. The reportedly unbreakable wrist and ankle cuffs attached to the frame of the uploading dock had been shattered, rendered useless.
Joan discarded four solar cycles’ worth of theory on how to handle malfunctioning cyborgs, realizing now that the academy experts knew nothing.
Her late father, however, had taught her how to deal with wild beasts.
“I would never touch you without your permission.” She lowered her gaze, showing submission, recognizing C899321 as the dominant male he was. He’d seek to harm any aggressor, to protect himself and his territory. If she wasn’t female, she suspected she’d already be dead.
“I also would never hurt you.” Joan stuffed a couple of cleaning cloths into her pockets and dropped to her knees, into a puddle of red. The moisture soaked through her flight suit. “I’m here to serve you, to clean you.”
—
GIVEAWAY!
Entering is easy! Directions are on the Rafflecopter, but as an overview:
- Subscribe to genreCRAVE and confirm your subscription when you receive the confirmation. You must confirm via the confirmation email to get entry for the $1200!
- Select what other newsletters you would like to join. Each newsletter = 1 entry. Enter your email to confirm. This email must match the email you used for confirmation in step 1!
- You may unsubscribe at any time, but reporting as Spam will get you disqualified from all future giveaways, and we run some pretty awesome giveaways (in the last 30 days, we’ve given away multiple books as well as a $2000 and $1000 gift card, and now this $1200 one!)
- Winner will be announced at our Facebook Party and contacted via Email. We will have other prizes at the Facebook Party as well!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
cover reveal for Colliding Hearts by Isabel Curtis
Colliding Hearts
Isabel Curtis
Publication date: October 31st 2016
Genres: New Adult, Romance
For Madison Chart Goldbridge, CA, should have been just another quick and random stop in her never-ending road-trip away from her haunting past. But sometimes even the best planned journeys end up detouring.
For Hunter Atkins falling in love was not an option. Until Madison came along and made him question his only certainty. But she wants no part in his life, because her secrets are not supposed to be told. Ever.
Yet, Hunter is determined to bring down every brick of the wall Madison has built around herself, no matter how dangerous it will be. Because her past is about to catch up, and their time together might not last forever.
*** Warning: this is a tough book that deals with mature subjects such as abuse, sexual situations and coarse language. It is not suitable for readers under the age of 18. It is a New Adult Romance with no cliffhanger told from both characters’ POV.
Author Bio:
Isabel Curtis is a full time writer, translator, and English teacher.
She writes mostly young-adult and new-adult genres.
Visit her website at isabelcurtis.weebly.com for more information on her books and future publications, and sign up for her exclusive mailing list to receive updates.
YA Books: the "Before" series, Dissolving, The summer it all changed.
NA Books: the "Unexpected" series, You save me I save you.
Virtual Book Blast Tour for Pale Rider: Zombies vs Dinosaurs by James Livingood
Pale Rider: Zombies vs Dinosaurs
by James Livingood
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GENRE: Science Fiction & Fantasy
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BLURB:
Two worlds collide in this action novelette. Zombies have destroyed civilization. Gasoline fuel is no longer an option, but humanity must find a way to survive. In response to trying to restore our way of life, we engineer franken-monsters. Because of their small brains and massive sizes, these beasts make quick work of farming and clearing land. These large creatures are immune to the zombie virus and perform excellently in loud conditions. They are easy to train. They behave like war horses, prone to help charge in and defend our livelihood.
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Excerpt Two:
Avant was massaging his temples when the plan was thunderously shattered by a panicked dinosaur. Clearing land rarely went to plan, but it was rare that it went off course so soon.
The vegetation deeper in the forest was the first sign of trouble. The commotion started with cracking trees as a large animal thumped out of the nearby forest. As if being saddled in a giant rodeo, the brontosaurus kicked and bucked with its back legs. The beast kept jumping from left to right as if something were riding it. Our simple plan gave way to my bellowing commands between the bleating roar of the long-necked dinosaur.
“Re-group point! Re-group point!” I yelled to my crew, pointing down the fence line. This order would cause a lot of noise, but a quiet operation was no longer an option. We also had to continue the plan. Solomon was still preparing for our sweep, though I couldn’t imagine a better crier than a loud, pained dinosaur. Were there ants on its back? No. Those were zombies. The brontosaurus must have been foolish to stop for vegetation or bed down nearby.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
James was born in Montana, raised with three brothers, and provided trouble for two parents. In his 20's he fell in love with the Pacific Northwest. He then moved out to Seattle after college and started a life. In 2014, he started to write full time.
Author website: http://longtailwriting.com/books/
Author RSS: http://longtailwriting.com/feed/
Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/longtailwriting
Author Google+ : https://plus.google.com/107058260672202172221/about
Author Twitter: http://twitter.com/longtailwriting
Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1592962.James_Livingood
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/James-Livingood/e/B00R39T9M6
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
James will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
The Destined by E.J. Mellow blitz
The Destined
E.J. Mellow
(Dreamland #3)
Publication date: October 17th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult
I searched for you in the stars tonight.
But I found none
that burned as bright as you.—Part of a letter from Dev to Molly
With the loss of Terra’s greatest weapon, the war against darkness escalates rapidly, and time is on no one’s side. While Dev struggles to keep his home and hope alive, Molly and Rae find themselves forced to confront a desperately kept secret and quickly learn that a life-altering sacrifice is the asking price to restore order.
Nightmares, betrayal, the fate of two worlds, and one man’s hunger for vengeance lead Molly down a twisted and dark path she fears she might never come back from. Cornered into making a heart-wrenching decision, Molly teeters between deliverance and damnation. Who is worth saving most—a nation or the one she loves?
From Award Winning author, E.J. Mellow, comes the breathtaking conclusion of The Dreamland Series. A story that will take you on a spine-tingling and gripping ride through self-sacrifice, the true power of love, and the importance of friendship.
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble
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Author Bio:
E.J. Mellow is the Award Winning author behind the NA Contemporary Fantasy trilogy The Dreamland Series. With a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts, E.J. Mellow splits her time between her two loves – visual design and writing. Residing in NYC, E.J. is a member of Romance Writers of America and their Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal Chapter. She has no animals but loves those who do.
GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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