Sunday, June 30, 2013

I've Signed up! Summer Lovin' Read-a-thon!



The Summer Lovin’ Readathon is a week-long readathon event hosted by seven independent bloggers! (Oh, Chrys!, Tumbling Books, Effortlessly Reading, Love Life Read, Shelf Addiction, Read Sleep Repeat, and Reviewing Wonderland)

Spend the week reading at your own pace, when and how you want too. There will be daily challenges for awesome prizes and opportunities to get points toward the Grand Prize Packs.

As if that weren’t enough – the week will end with a 24-hr marathon readathon! Twitter parties, mini-challenges, games, prizes given EVERY HOUR, and more chances to get points toward the Grand Prize Packs.

Sign-ups will be open through July 6th. I’m in, are you?!


Saturday, June 29, 2013

Free Book! Pancakes on Sunday by Karin Cox

Hannah, Daniel, and Madeline just LOVE pancakes. They love them so much that they eat them every Sunday. Crazy curly ones, round ones, rabbit-shaped ones—all sorts and all shapes of pancakes are on the menu.

This simple rhyming picture book is both fun and engaging, and the bright illustrations are sure to raise a smile. Perfect for kids who love to read, and for parents who love to read with them



On June 29-30th, this wonderful children's book is FREE on Amazon!  Grab your ecopy!  
  
* click the book cover*

Friday, June 28, 2013

Blog Tour: Parallax View

It's spring, 1987, late in the Cold War, and CIA clandestine operations agent Tracie Tanner is tasked with what should be a relatively simple mission: deliver a secret communique from Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

After smuggling the document out of East Germany, Tracie believes she is in the clear. She's wrong. A shadowy cabal is work, people who will stop at nothing to prevent the explosive information contained in the letter from reaching the White House.

Soon, Tanner is knee-deep in airplane crashes and murder, paired up with a young Maine air traffic controller and on the run for their lives, unsure who she can trust at CIA, but committed to completing her mission, no matter the cost...


BUY ONLINE
0022
23



ABOUT ALLAN LEVERONE

Allan Leverone is the author of five novels, including the Amazon Top 25 overall paid bestselling thriller, THE LONELY MILE. He is a 2012 Derringer Award winner for excellence in short mystery fiction, as well as a 2011 Pushcart Prize nominee. Allan lives in Londonderry, NH with his wife and family, and a cat who has used up eight lives.
Visit his website at  www.allanleverone.com.
Follow Allan!
13DDD13DDDD


My Thoughts:
Wow! I kind of figured this would be a fun spy novel, but I didn't expect it to be SO MUCH FUN! Really this would make a great movie! Tracie Tanner is one kick @ss lady that can get shizz done! I liked that although on the back she's described as "a sexy CIA agent" she's shown IN the book as more than just some eye-candy with a gun. 

She's smart, focused, and down right awesome!  There could have been so many eye-roll moments of cheesiness but that never happened. Spy/Thrillers like this have a tendency to get TOO into themselves, but Parallax View is a hold on to your butts, full force, fun ride that has strong characters and great writing! It doesn't always take itself too serious, but it delivers the goods it promises with enough of an impact that you are seriously wanting more at the end!

This is a great thriller set in the 80's, that will keep you greedily flipping the pages and cheering on it's kick butt heroine!


Thursday, June 27, 2013

Blog Tour: (Mis)Fortune


Misfortune
Tour Banner

Our world is being judged and even they remain unaware.

Michelle, another young woman with an unexplainable gift, finds herself surrounded by the previously undiscovered werewolf society. Kept prisoner for the predictions that torment her, she meekly follows orders waiting for her opportunity to run. When her stepfather dies, she takes a chance and escapes.

After witnessing Blake, her captor, grow canines, she knows he will do anything to find her. She needs a place to hide and someone to listen to her predictions so her head doesn’t explode, but knows there’s nowhere she can hide forever, and no one who can protect her… unless she can find someone just like him.

Part of the fur wearing faction wants to use her, another part strives to keep her safe. The second book of the Judgement of the Six series will raise more questions about the purpose of these gifted few and Michelle will need to fight for answers. Will what she discovers be enough to help her keep those she loves safe from an emerging evil?

Misfortune
Cover Image - Large

Friday, June 21, 2013

My Start Thing: Summer Solstice Read-a-Thon

So it begins! My day o' cramming in as much reading in a 24 hour period as humanly possible whilst also maintaining a job, a family, and my sanity! Yes! This is going to be super fun!

why yes i do sammy...a read-a-thon fetish (and apparently a supernatural gif fetish)

Anyhoodles, last night I added another book to my pile! I have a blog tour read for Shadow of the Mark and realized that I needed to refresh my brain on what happened in Carrier of the Mark. So there I go!

Update 1:
ALL DANG DAY!!
Book: Carrier of the Mark (ebook)
Pages Read: FINISHED
 Notes: I will be working during this time, but will squeeze reading in between.

STATUS REPORT: I finished 1 whole book in between working, cleaning, and all the good stuff that I have to do every single day! YAY! 

Blog Tour and Guest Post: Forty Years in a Day

Historical Fiction
Date Published: 2/19/2013

Confession is good for the soul even after the soul has been claimed...

The story begins in Italy, 1900. After years of torment and neglect, Victoria and her four small children immigrate to Hell's Kitchen, New York, to escape her alcoholic, abusive husband. On the day they leave, he tragically dies, but she does not learn of his death for several years—a secret that puts many lives on hold.

Quickly, they realize America's streets are not paved with gold, and the limits of human faith and stamina are tested time and time again. Poverty, illness, death, kidnapping, and the reign of organized crime are just some of the crosses they bear.

Victoria's eldest son, Vincenzo, is the sole surviving member of the family and shares a gut-wrenching account of their lives with his daughter during a visit to Ellis Island on his ninetieth birthday. He explains how the lives of he and his siblings have been secretly intertwined with an infamous Irish mob boss and ends his unsettling disclosure with a monumental request that leaves Clare speechless.​

Forty Years in a Day is layered with the struggles and successes of each family member and defines the character of an era. Follow the Montanaro family through several decades, and stand in the shoes of a past generation.



















Mona Rodriguez and Dianne Vigorito are cousins. Throughout their lives, they had heard many stories from family members that were fascinating, sometimes even unbelievable, and decided to piece together the puzzle of tales. Through research and interviews, their goal was to create a fictional story that follows a family through several decades, providing the reader an opportunity to stand in the shoes of a past generation and walk in search of their hopes and dreams. What they realize in the process is that human emotions have been the same throughout generations - the difference is how people are molded and maneuvered by the times and their situations. Mona and Dianne live with their husbands in New Jersey and they each have two grown sons. This is their first novel together.


Website: http://www.fortyyearsinaday.com
Twitter: @monarodriguez22
 Trailer: http://youtu.be/AfJ5p4qCzmM
  
My Thoughts:
 
There is a lot of history and a lot of raw emotion jammed into this short book! I couldn't stop reading and wanting to know more about this family! I've never been all that into historical fiction, but something about this story just pulled me in. The writing is so good, the characters jump off the page and feel so real. The time jumps and POV shifts were a bit jarring at times, but it reminded me of sitting at my Grandmother's feet and hearing her talk about her past and her family.

This is a wonderful, yet intensely emotional story.



BUY LINKS 
Amazon: HERE
Tate Publishing Bookstore: HERE
Barnes & Noble: HERE



Why Book Covers are So Important

The cover story…
The cover is an essential part of a book. If thought doesn’t go into the cover, what prompts the reader to believe the rest of the product is any different. Especially for a debut author with no following, the book cover is similar to the first impression of an interview. Does this author have the guts to entertain me, to elicit emotion, to teach me something, to take me on a journey to a place I’ve never been before? Unfortunately, not every book with an alluring cover fulfills expectations, but a book that is accurately and interestingly represented by its cover is more likely to catch the eye. If the design seems uninspired, it might be a sign, and the reader will look no further.

I have had the cover image for Forty Years in a Day in my head from the onset of the project. The story begins on Ellis Island where Clare has taken her father as a gift for his ninetieth birthday. After an emotional morning of touring the immigration museum, they sit down to rest on a bench overlooking the Statue of Liberty. Seeing the depth of emotion in her father’s eyes, Clare decides to ask him for the truth about his family, wondering whether he was willing or able to fill in the pieces of their lives.

Something mysterious overcomes him, and the memories seem to flood Vincenzo’s mind. He begins his narrative with why his mother, Victoria, had escaped from Italy into the streets of Hell’s Kitchen, New York. He ends his unsettling disclosure by telling Clare about the soulless incident that had changed the course of his life and the lives of his siblings; a secret so atrocious that it took him ten years to come to terms with the magnitude and the consequences of the crime. In one afternoon, he shares this gut-wrenching account of their lives and imparts the wisdom of a lifetime.

I believe my publisher has captured my vision, and the cover truly represents the gateway to this incredible story.




Thursday, June 20, 2013

I Just Found This!!!!


Created by: Rie of Mission To Read 
and 
Cohosted by: Melissa of Harley Bear Book Blog, Lindsay of The Novel Life, Kathrin of StackedNPainted, Angela of  and Melina of The Pretty Nifty YA Reader


The summer solstice is the longest day of the year.  And you know what that means...


So no matter where you are on the planet we want you to celebrate the first day of summer with us in a 24 hr read-a-thon!  Just think of all those summer reads you've been waiting to start!  



Summer Solstice Read-a-thon is a 24 hr event taking place on the longest day of the year...June 21, 2013.  It was created by Rie @ Mission To Read and is cohosted by Melissa of Harley Bear Book Blog, Lindsay of The Novel Life, Kathrin of StackedNPainted, and Melina of The Pretty Nifty YA Reader.  The goal of this read-a-thon is to take advantage of all the extra daylight and read as much as you can!  Mini challenges and a giveaway will be happening this day so make sure to check out any of the host's blog's the day of for more information.  Don't forget to chat with us at the twitter party 12pm CST #SSRead. 


  this is what i look like when i find a new read-a-thon
 it's my "nuh uh i ain't got NUTHIN better to do today" face...


I have so much work to do today,  but ERMAGHAD peoples! I haven't done a read-a-thon in a HOT sweaty minute! So here I am! I will fit in as much reading as I can!



My Stack o' HopefullyReadBooksByTheEndOfTheDay:

Top to Bottom:
League of Somebodies
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
The Last Policeman
We Have Always Lived in the Castle (I'm currently reading this one)

this will probably be how i end the night. reading and drankin'!


Cruxim Tour Sign Ups are Live!!!!


 Blurb:
Amedeo is Cruxim—a rare, winged supernatural creature who knows neither his purpose nor his past, save but to feed on the vampires that plague the earth. When his one weakness, the girl and novice nun Joslyn, is taken and turned by his enemies, Amedeo vows never to rest until evil is expunged from his world.

On his quest, he meets Sabine: a guardian. Half-woman, half-lioness, she is a Sphinx who has been protecting humans from vampires since the dawn of time. But when she fails in her task of protecting a young boy, she is relentlessly pursued by her evil employer, Dr. Claus Gandler, a scientist collecting a sideshow of freaks, and both she and Amedeo are captured and cruelly paraded in Gandler's Circus of Curiosities. When the stakes are eternity in a cage, what will Amedeo risk to save one or both of the women he loves?

This gothic paranormal novel explores the beast within amid a setting of mythology and forbidden love. Cruxim's dark world and conflicted characters are the antithesis of the sparkly vampire genre.


Details:
Cruxim will be on tour between July 1st and the 2nd week of August. There are many ways to join this tour! You can review, host a giveaway, a guest post, or put up a promo post!



Signing up is easy! You just click the link below and pick your date and type of post! I'll do the rest (unless you sign up for a review! I can't read the book for you!) 

 SIGN UP FOR THE TOUR HERE

Quick Review: The Tech Guy by Lia Fairchild

Blurb:
Emma Barton is a workaholic. Nothing is more important than becoming managing editor of the magazine she works for. And she has the perfect plan to achieve that goal. Then Guy Walker enters her office. Sexy, sweet, and super popular, the new tech guy takes the office by storm. Will he derail every strategy Emma has in place? If he discovers her secret, it could ruin Emma’s career and turn her life upside down.


My Thoughts:
This was a quick read for me. Definitely not a heavy serious book, although it does have it's merits! I enjoyed the story very much. Emma is quite a go getter! I liked that about her. She has a secret (as per the blurb) that she guards at all costs. This secret is what drives the story. You want to know what it is. You get little hints here and there, which is awesome. It keeps you kind of thinking about it and guessing.

I was entertained. There are some good characters here and a good story. I am not a fan of the cover, but I did enjoy the insides very much!


Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Guest Post and Promo: Vampire Elite

Paranormal Romance
Date Published: 6/7/13


Vampire Elite is a new vampire series
The first two parts are released in one volume
Vampire Elite
Part 1. Prophecy
Part 2. Keepers of the Key
What will he do if saving his people means destroying the woman he loves?
A millennia-long war between two immortal races is about to come to an end. Long ago, the Vampire Elite began capturing the immortals called the Amiti, attracted by their unique blood properties. Now most Amiti live in underground cells, forced to serve as vampires’ bloodstock. The few surviving free Amiti, preparing a final strike, have declared their Queen a traitor. Her execution makes possible the rise of a new Queen, her young daughter Arianna, who will inherit her mother's mystical powers. Working with the Keepers of the Key, Arianna may be able to eliminate the vampires, once and for all, from the face of the earth.
The new Queen is the last hope to save her dying race
and she's ready to fight to the last drop of her blood.
 But the King of the Vampires has other plans.
 What neither expects 
is the passion that erupts between them.

Vampire Elite is an epic story of a bitter conflict between two immortal races, and the effect of that conflict on everyone living in its grip. The characters are driven to love and betrayal, vengeance and sacrifice in a world without easy black-and-white answers.
            Based on an ancient Egyptian legend, packed with action and intrigue, Vampire Elite will pull you into the entrancing world of immortals and open new portals into their hidden universe.

Readers’ Favorite reviewers on Vampire Elite:
You’ve managed to restore my hope in the future of vampire books ...
... a fascinating read and definitely a book for anyone who loves fantasy, romance and of course vampires.
… a spellbinding novel of action, suspense, romance, and conscience ...  character development is superb ... the type of book that will make you read all day until you get to the end! It is deliciously addictive!
For more info please visit

Irina Argo

Irina Argo is a combined pen name for two authors, Irina Kardos and Jo-An
Torres.



Irina

Irina’s world is dark. She works as a clinical psychologist in a Juvenile
Correctional Facility dealing with the extremes of human behavior on a
regular basis and takes care of her paralyzed husband who suffered a stroke
several years ago. To bring light into her life she writes. Writing has always
been her passion. She is originally from Russia where she was employed as
a TV journalist.


Jo-An

Jo-An is a Leo, a lioness who has emerged to follow her dream, to someday
write a book of her own. She owned a costume shop for 15 years and was
able to satisfy and excel in her creative nature. She is an over-achiever and
believes that anything is possible if you believe in yourself and ignore the
nay-sayers. Her philosophy is based on Shakespeare "It is not in the stars to
hold our destiny, but in ourselves." She currently resides in California with
her 5 cats and 1 husband.

 www.vampire-elite.com

Facebook.com/VampireEliteSeries
Twitter: @TheVampireElite

 

LINKS TO BUY 
GET IT FROM AMAZON 



Guest Post:

How the Story was Born


From Irina: Vampire Elite began unfolding in my brain four years ago; it just came to
me, at a time when I felt really challenged. My husband had had a stroke and I was doing
everything I could to help him to deal with depression and loss of mobility. At the same
time, I was preparing for my licensing exam in clinical psychology and was working fulltime as a psychologist, counseling people with mental illnesses and problems with drug
and alcohol addiction.



I think it was the intense pressure of that period that worked as a catalyst, compelling my
mind to begin taking me to an alternate world filled with unique and powerful people.
The people in that world were also going through challenges, but their challenges were
so much more spectacular than mine that it made my own feel like a piece of cake in comparison.



The story unfolded as a sequence, like a movie that was constantly playing in my brain:
when I was driving, sitting in boring meetings, or doing mindless things like housework—
and in my dreams. The characters were coming to life, events were happening with lightning speed that I was somehow both creating and just watching as they happened. It
seemed as though I was living in two parallel worlds.



One day the story abruptly stopped, and no matter how hard I tried to push it
forward, it  wouldn’t budge. It had a life of its own, but it was as if the screen had frozen.
My reaction was a constant nagging sense that I had to breathe life into the story by writing it down, making it into a book. I finally gave in to that feeling, sat down with my
laptop and began typing. It wasn’t long at all before the first few chapters of Vampire
Elite were born. I sent them to my dearest friend, Jo-An, and in addition to being thrilled,
she also started adding her own touches, making comments and adding new layers of
description, and that’s how our partnership was born.



Saturday, June 15, 2013

Blog Tour: Death, Dickinson, and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia

Blurb:
Frenchie Garcia can’t come to grips with the death of Andy Cooper. Her friends didn’t
know she had a crush him. And they don’t know she was the last person with him
before he committed suicide. But Frenchie’s biggest concern is how she blindly helped
him die that night.

Frenchie’s already insane obsession with death and Emily Dickinson won’t help her
understand the role she played during Andy’s “one night of adventure.” But when she
meets Colin, she may have found the perfect opportunity to recreate that night. While
exploring the emotional depth of loss and transition to adulthood, Sanchez’s sharp humor and clever observations bring forth a richly developed voice.


    





Jenny Torres Sanchez lives in Florida with her husband and children where she
currently writes full time. Before her debut novel The Downside of Being Charlie she
taught high school for several years, where she credits her eclectic students for
inspiring her to write young adult novels.

 

My Thoughts:
This short book packs a big punch! Frenchie is a character you won't soon forget. Her life was basically changed in one short, but immensely important night. Jenny Torres Sanchez has written a book that deals in a very unique way with life's tough subjects; death, growing up, and all the "what ifs?"

I loved that Frenchie was someone that took things to heart the way she does. Her life and her personality reminded me of so many people I know, and even a little bit about myself. (I think this is proof of Mrs. Sanchez's writing skills..since I could relate so well to Frenchie, even though I've never been through anything like she has..)


I feel like this review isn't doing the right amount of justice that this book deserves! It's hard to put into words the way this story touched me. I do think this book was wonderfully written, the characters are simply some of the best I've read in a while, and Frenchie..well she is just a great character with an amazing story that will linger with me for a long time.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


















Tour Schedule:
  • June 6th Thursday Interview & Review Jean BookNerd
  • June 7th Friday Review & Spotlight Ya-Aholic
  • June 8th Saturday Guest Post & Spotlight Sassy Book Lovers
  • June 8th Saturday Review & Spotlight Eli to the NTH
  • June 9th Sunday Tens List & Spotlight A World of Words
  • June 10th Monday Review & Spotlight Tam’s Book Blog
  • June 10th Monday This or That & Spotlight Magic of Words
  • June 11th Tuesday Review & Spotlight Paranormal Book Club
  • June 11th Tuesday Music Playlist & Spotlight Curling up with a Good Book
  • June 12th Wednesday Review & Spotlight Read-A-HolicZ
  • June 12th Wednesday Excerpt & Spotlight Offbeat Vagabond
  • June 13th Thursday Review & Spotlight Alluring Reads
  • June 14th Friday Review & Spotlight Sabrina’s Paranormal Palace
  • June 14th Friday Favorite Things & Spotlight Fae Books
  • June 15th Saturday Review & Spotlight Must Read Faster
  • June 15th Saturday This or That & Spotlight The Starry-Eyed Revue
  • June 16th Sunday Review & Spotlight Candace’s Book Blog
  • June 17th Monday Review & Spotlight FanGirl Hostess
  • June 17th Monday Tens List & Spotlight Best Books
  • June 18th Tuesday Dream Cast & Spotlight Me, My Shelf and I
  • June 19th Wednesday Review & Spotlight Beneath the Cover
  • June 20th Thursday Review & Spotlight A Dream Within a Dream
  • June 21st Friday Review & Spotlight Moosubi Reviews
  • June 21st Friday Art work & Spotlight with James Vallesteros