Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Cover Reveal: Wasteland
(Flight #2)
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Wasteland, the next book in the FLIGHT trilogy, takes place a few months after the ending of book one.
Trapped in a cell and experimented on, Piper Madden’s only hope is remembering Asher. Then, Elder Corp President Rupert Elder gives her new orders: to be a leader in a war against the Harpies. Without a choice, Piper must obey Rupert’s commands or suffer from paralyzing and painful Nanomachines. But the war is just beginning, and Asher has gone missing. The resistance is slowly building, and the upcoming war will be larger and bloodier than anything seen since the Devastation that ruined the earth. Throughout all of this, Piper remembers the time before she ran to Ichton, when David was alive and her hope in Elder Corp was still strong.
Trapped in a cell and experimented on, Piper Madden’s only hope is remembering Asher. Then, Elder Corp President Rupert Elder gives her new orders: to be a leader in a war against the Harpies. Without a choice, Piper must obey Rupert’s commands or suffer from paralyzing and painful Nanomachines. But the war is just beginning, and Asher has gone missing. The resistance is slowly building, and the upcoming war will be larger and bloodier than anything seen since the Devastation that ruined the earth. Throughout all of this, Piper remembers the time before she ran to Ichton, when David was alive and her hope in Elder Corp was still strong.
AUTHOR BIO:
Nearly every writer struggles to put together
information about themselves, perhaps because we’re so used to
detailing the lives and ways of others. For the most part I am a writer,
editor, photographer, and all-around artist living in the wilds north
of Toronto, Ontario. I thrive on the juxtaposition of beauty and grit,
enjoy urban crawls, indie everything, and time well-spent in the woods.
Author Links:
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Cover Reveal: Fragile Brilliance
Today is the cover reveal for Fragile Brilliance (Shifters and Seers #1) by Tammy Blackwell!
Maggie McCray has worked her whole life for the opportunity to attend Sanders College. It’s her one chance at becoming a world-renowned artist, and she’s determined nothing will get in her way. But when a murder brings Maggie and her powers to the attention of the Alpha Pack and the tragically handsome Charlie Hagan, her carefully planned future hangs in jeopardy.
Charlie Hagan isn’t happy when the Alpha Female assigns him as Maggie McCray’s personal bodyguard. Just being near the Thaumaturgic threatens to unleash the primal instincts he’s been suppressing for so long. Charlie knows if the coyote is uncaged, then the person he’ll most need to protect Maggie from is himself.
Fragile Brilliance is the first book in the Shifters & Seers series by Tammy Blackwell, bestselling author of the Timber Wolves trilogy.
It releases on Tuesday November 26, 2013.
About Tammy Blackwell
Tammy Blackwell is a Young Adult Services Coordinator for a public library system in Kentucky. When she's not reading, writing, cataloging, or talking about books, she's sleeping.
Promo: For Your Heart
YA Paranormal Romance
Date Published: 10/31/2013
It has been seven years since Jeanette Sauderheim followed her best friend into Carver Hall Park...and came out alone. Jeanette has never gotten over his mysterious disappearance nor has she gone back into the park. While that traumatic night still haunts her, Jeanette distracts herself by balancing her time between trying to pass Spanish, hanging out with her friends, and reading the latest manga.
But, when a promise to a friend drives her back into the park, she's forced to re-live the memories of that night. Lost and confused, Jeanette crosses paths with Tamrin, whose violent reaction to her provides yet another reason to avoid the park.
Tamrin, a knight of the Summer Court, has been sent to Earth to guard a garden of roses that hold special meaning to the queen of the Summer faeries. When his distraction at meeting Jeanette leads to her picking one of the Summer Queen’s roses, Tamrin vows to right his failure to do his duty.
However, the equivalent of one of the queen’s roses is a human heart and Tamrin’s reluctance to readily exact the sum from Jeanette sets in motion a spiral of love, betrayal, and magic that could mean damnation for them both.
*This is an Upper YA paranormal romance novel with NA and contemporary fantasy appeal.
A.L. Davroe writes both YA and adult speculative
fiction. Her debut YA paranormal romance
novel, FOR YOUR HEART, releases October 31, 2013. By day, she lives in Connecticut her two feline hench-creatures.
She’s a terrible blusher, has a weak spot for cuddly animals, loves Laffy Taffy
and Cadbury MiniEggs, and she’s a huge advocate of alternative healing
methods. She also wears Vibram
five-finger toe shoes and corsets...Though not always in the same ensemble.
She’s a Capricorn, a Hufflepuff, and a few nuggets short of a Happy Meal.
Website:
www.aldavroe.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ALDavroeFanPage
Twitter: @aldavroe
Blog: www.aldavroe.com
BUY LINKS
Giveaway:
Monday, October 28, 2013
EVENT: All Hallows Eve Indies Blog Tour
Each day there is a new featured post, so make sure you check the All Hallows Eve Indies Authors Facebook Page often!
For my stop, I've been paired with the wonderful Jennifer Blackstream, Author of paranormal romance, erotic paranormal romance, and paranormal erotica and general awesomeness!
She has an intriguing guest post for you all! Enjoy!
Will the Real Snow White Please Stand Up (So We Can Vote)?
All right ladies and gentleman, today is the day we are going to determine once and for all who is the real, bona fide Snow White. We have two lovely contestants with eerily familiar life stories. Only you can decide which is the real Snow White.
Snow White #1: Margarete Von Waldeck (1553-1554)
Margarete Von Waldeck was the daughter of Count Philip IV of Waldeck Wildungen (1493-1574) and his first wife, Margarethe von Ostfiesland (1500-1537). When his first wife passed away, Count Philip married Katharina of Hatzfeld. Katharina was very strict and did not appear to make a secret of the fact that she did not like the exceptionally beautiful young Margarete.
The Von Waldeck family owned several copper mines in the area. The workers of these mines were children, their growth stunted by malnutrition and deplorable working conditions. Due to their small stature, the workers were often called “dwarfs.”
When Margarete was sixteen, her father sent her the court of Maria of Castile, sister of the Emperor Charles V. It was her father’s hope that while Margarete was in Brussels, she would catch the eye of a suitable husband. His plan was a success, Margarete snared the affections of young prince Phillip II of Spain. They became lovers and the smitten prince planned to marry her.
Unfortunately, not everyone was pleased with the distant sound of wedding bells. Margarete’s stepmother was, of course, displeased. But more importantly, so was the prince’s father. The monarch did not feel that the match was politically advantageous.
Margarete wrote her will at the tender age of twenty-one (perhaps not so tender back then, but still too young to die). In it, she revealed her belief that she had been poisoned. Her handwriting lent credence to her suspicions, leading historians to believe she was suffering the tremors indicative of arsenic poisoning.
The mystery of Margarete’s murder was never solved. Her stepmother was already dead by this time, so she was understandably excused from the suspect list. There were rumors of a man from Margarete’s hometown believed children were stealing from him--he dealt with the problem by giving them poisoned apples. Whether or not this bore any connection to Margarete’s death is all speculative.
So, to sum up the Snow White/Margarete Von Waldeck similarities:
1.) Beautiful maiden
2.) Mean stepmother
3.) Dwarves
4.) Prince fell in love with her
5.) Poisoned (possibly with a poisoned apple)
Snow White #2: Maria Sophia Margaretha Catharina von Erthal (1729-?)
Maria was the daughter of Prince Philipp Christoph Von Erthal and his first wife. After Maria’s mother passed away, Prince Philipp married his second wife, Claudia Elisabeth von Reichenstein. The prince gifted his new bride with a “talking mirror.” The mirror, made by the Mirror Manufacture of the Electorate of Mainz in Lohr, was engraved with the maxim “Amour Propre” (“Self-Love”). Mirrors made by the Mirror Manufacture were popular gifts among the aristocracy and royalty, know for being so well crafted that they “always spoke the truth.” The “talking” refers to the acoustic properties of the mirrors, which seemed to echo back words spoken in front of them.
Maria’s father was often away due to his responsibilities at court, which explains the king’s odd absence in the story of Snow White. Her stepmother looked down on Maria, using her husband’s long absences in conjunction with her position as the prince’s wife to elevate her own daughters from her first marriage.
Maria grew up in a castle in Lohr, Germany, surrounded by seven mountains thick with the imposing Spessart forest. Lohr was known as the “Gate of the Spessart” and it is likely that it was this forest that Snow White fled into when she escaped her stepmother. It was possible to get through the forest to the nearby mining town of Bieber. The people of Bieber often commented that only the smallest statured of men (or children) could get through the mining tunnels to the town. These minors often wore bright hoods to work.
The area was also famous for its glass and metal workings. It would have been easy for someone to make the glass coffin that Snow White is said to have rested in. Also, a pair of iron shoes can be viewed alongside the Magic Mirror in Lohr castle (now a museum). These are rumored to be the same iron shoes that the wicked stepmother was forced to dance to death in.
Now, I tried and tried and tried, but for the life of me I could not find one single reference to either the year or the manner in which Maria Sophia died. There are several references that state the wicked stepmother submerged half an apple in belladonna juice. Atropa Belladonna berries are plentiful in the Spessart forest and if Maria Sophia had consumed said poison, its narcotic properties would have induced a rigidity that, if it did not actually kill her, would have at least made her appear dead. No source I could find mentioned how Maria Sophia died, so I do not know if she was poisoned, or if the bit about the stepmother soaking an apple in belladonna juice is just conjecture.
So, to sum up the Snow White/ Maria Sophia Margaretha Catharina von Erthal similarities:
1.) Beautiful maiden
2.) Mean stepmother
3.) Dwarves
4.) Magic Mirror
5.) Presence of apples and poison, possible notes of stepmother soaking an apple in poison
6.) Absent father
7.) Scary forest that leads to dwarves village
8.) Iron shoes
All right, so what is the verdict? Who is the real Snow White?
Speaking of Snow White, check out Jennifer's new book:
Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
After you enter the giveaway, check out the rest of the tour stops!
All Hallows Eve Indies Blog Tour Schedule
October 17th
October 18th
October 19th
October 20th
October 21st
October 22nd
October 23rd
October 24th
October 25th
October 26th
October 27th
October 28th
October 29th
October 30th
October 31st
Cover Reveal: Black Widow
BLACK WIDOW
RELEASE DATE: APRIL 22, 2014
Cover Photo © Kim Pace Photography
Cover Model: Coleen Breslin
Reyna Montoya, a.k.a. Black Widow, is a top assassin. She’s good at what she does and gets the job done with precision. However, the recurring nightmare of seeing her parents murdered when she was sixteen in Cuba is a constant reminder of her ultimate plan… to find the killer and avenge her parents.
Nicolas Vargas fled Cuba with her after the murder, vowing to take care of her and help keep her safe. He is a self-taught computer genius and chemist and her best friend. After more than fifteen years of working closely together, the unrequited sexual tension between them is getting harder and harder to ignore. Would it ruin their friendship or make their bond stronger? However, Reyna is torn. Viper, Black Widow’s handler, is hot as hell and the sparks between them could burn them both.
As Reyna gets closer to her parents’ killer the distraction of two men is dangerous, and the true identity of the murderer could destroy them all.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Marlene Sanchez was born in New York and raised in Miami. Her family and friends are an important part of her life, a constant inspiration, and keep her motivated to succeed in pursuing her dream. She has had a passion for writing since her ninth grade English teacher put it all into perspective for her. “Write how you speak and write what you know.” She credits her teacher every chance she gets for giving her a love of writing!
Marlene writes mystery/suspense with a sprinkle of romance. Her love of crime and legal dramas, and of course The Godfather, has opened her eyes to the wonderful world of mystery/suspense. The action and thrill is what keeps her fingers gliding across the keyboard, as her brain explodes with ideas about the next unfortunate victim.
She is a strong, independent woman because her Cuban mother raised her right. Her main characters embrace that same attitude; strong Cuban American women that take no “caca” from anyone.
Marlene has a couple of books under her belt, with several in the works to release in 2014. She hopes to someday be a household name, at least in her own home if nowhere else. She just wants her sons to be proud of her, that’s reward enough… Yeah right, she wants the fame and fortune too.
FOLLOW MARLENE:
Spotlight and Guest Post: Prevailing Life by Amaris Chapman
Maggie is a teenager with a secret. The strangest part of her life isn’t that she works in a graveyard—it’s the fact that her best friend is an Angel named Dina. They have lived thousands of years together, but as a mortal, Maggie must die, leaving Dina to find her in each new life and start again.
Someone has been setting fires, and the town is ablaze—literally. Someone or something is fueling the flames, and one of the suspects is the devilishly handsome Justin. With the memories of past lives coming back to her and Justin vying for her attention, Maggie may get more than she bargained for.
Author links:
Prevailing Life buy links:
About the author:
Amaris lives in Canberra, Australia. Since a young age she has written Young adult fiction in order to give her characters a voice and ensure her stories end with a bang.
Currently working as a Librarian she enjoys reading fiction about strong heroines with kickass attitudes who don't laydown and surrender in the face of a fight.
Excerpt:
I felt as weightless as if I were made of light. I gasped and felt us drifting, and then the cool salty smell of ocean air washed over me. I looked down. We were sitting on the rail of a lighthouse overlooking the small dots of light, which marked a town nestled in the hills. Then I looked up and gasped. Stretched out above us was a vast expanse of glowing sky, each star as bright as a lamp sweeping across a great black expanse. My mouth fell open as I gazed in wonder at the universe stretching out above me. How was this possible? The sky felt unlimited.
“Where are we?” I asked still gripping her hand and holding on to the rail as tightly as I could with the other my face turned up to the pale moon above us.
“We used to live here. This is the tower you were talking about.”
I looked back at the twinkling lights, which ran from the water’s edge and up what looked to be, in the dark, a hill surrounded by mountain terrain.
“This is the town from the fire painting you are making.” I could make out the main street, which snaked through the hills. The line of lights at the bottom must mark the dock and jetty, which had doubled in size from the time that Dina remembered it in her painting.
“But this is in another country. We came here, my family and I, when I was little. It took us a day to get here by plane.” I looked at her in awe. Knowing she was an angel was one thing; I had even seen the ghostly shape of her wings. But to be at home one minute then, as fast as I could think it, be in another country almost sitting in a sky that seemed to just envelope us was unbelievable.
“I’m light, remember?” she said, her strong voice hushed by the wind that raced up from the waves. “I travel as light and air.”
“But I’m not, how did…no, I don’t care. This is incredible.” My voice trailed off as I took in the true magic of where I was. No lights obscured the sky, and the stars stretched out in a blanket of white light above us. Dina closed my mouth with a finger under my chin. I laughed but didn’t take my eyes from the sky. In all my life I had never seen anything so beautiful. My blocked head and fever forgotten, I sat surrounded by the sounds of the ocean and air crashing together. It was as I shivered that I remembered I was ill.
“I’ll be back in a moment,” Dina said.
Before I could ask what she was doing she had launched herself from the railing. I rocked forwards to catch her in a reflex and almost fell from the narrow rail. As I watched, the light shape of her body rose, the ghostly outline of her wings bright in the night sky. Her light darted to the town so fast she looked like nothing more than a reflection in the lighthouse’s turning lamp. I watched until the town's lights swallowed hers then gazed out over the sea.
From my seat, I could hardly make out the white of the waves breaking on the rocks at the base of the small island the lighthouse stood on.
A wave of fear swelled in my chest as I looked down. My blood left my face and rushed to my heart. I took a deep breath to calm myself, telling my body that it was being silly and that Dina wouldn’t have brought me here if I could have fallen. My body rebelled; my pulse quickened, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I fought to keep breathing, taking deep breaths to try to calm myself. I knew I should just look up or close my eyes, but I was too scared that if I looked away it might somehow make me fall. My hands tightened on the rail, the cold metal biting into my palms. In my head I called out to Dina to hurry up and get back. I couldn’t bring myself to look up and see where she was. My body was rigid, even the cool wind that had been soothing just moments before now threatened to knock me from my perch. My thoughts scrambled, as I imagined myself falling and smashing like porcelain on the rocks. I could see my body lying broken below, the waves knocking me off into the sea.
Guest Post:
The face of a book.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could order a book like a burger. I’ll have a suspense with extra romance and a side of tears thanks. Sadly I don’t believe this will ever happen. But as an author we still need to deliver a menu to our readers. We have to be able to let them know what is in the book before they read it.
Some aspects of this are under the authors control and some are not. You may be surprised to know that we actually have little say in how our cover turns out. We are given the opportunity when the book is contracted to give a paragraph on what we envision for it. Then often we don’t see it until a week before the book is released. As for changes those are only done under extreme circumstances. I had an author friend who was so unhappy with her cover that she begged the publisher to delay her release so it could be re done. The reason for this lack of control? Publishers pay artists to make the covers, any changes or extra time costs extra. That’s money out of their and our pocket. Many authors wait with held breath for that email titled, Cover art. Because aside from minor font changes that’s what will be representing our hard worked stories!
There are areas that we can control though. Websites and blogs are out of our own pocket there for are under the authors control. Marketing material, or swag, is also usually out of our own pocket so we can go for gold in the design (within reason). Thankfully for me my cover looks amazing (phew). The one area the publisher does lets us authors control is the blurb. Or the back cover teaser. This, for many people, is why they will buy a book off the shelf after the cover. I’m in a Facebook group with other authors and I can tell you the most asked question on there is for help writing their blurb. Because we know that this is our menu, this is what we have to hook the reader, just 300words. I know that the old saying is not to judge a book by its cover but let’s face it, if it didn’t matter, why aren’t all covers identical?
You be the judge, how did I do?
Maggie is a teenager with a secret. The strangest part of her life isn’t that she works in a graveyard—it’s the fact that her best friend is an Angel named Dina. They have lived thousands of years together, but as a mortal, Maggie must die, leaving Dina to find her in each new life and start again.
Someone has been setting fires, and the town is ablaze—literally. Someone or something is fueling the flames, and one of the suspects is the devilishly handsome Justin. With the memories of past lives coming back to her and Justin vying for her attention, Maggie may get more than she bargained for.
Someone has been setting fires, and the town is ablaze—literally. Someone or something is fueling the flames, and one of the suspects is the devilishly handsome Justin. With the memories of past lives coming back to her and Justin vying for her attention, Maggie may get more than she bargained for.
Twitter: @Amarischapman
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