Thursday, January 31, 2013

Cover Reveal: ETERNAL by Kristi Cook + Giveaway

 I am so super excited to be a part of today's cover reveal. It is stunning! I love everything about it.

 *****

THERE’S NO HIDING FROM DESTINY…



In the final book of the Winterhaven trilogy, Violet McKenna and her friends find themselves right in the middle of a vampire war. The stakes have been raised, the danger unavoidable now. As the Warriors’ senior year draws to a close, not everyone makes it out alive. Who will be left standing at the end of it all? Will Aidan be a part of Violet’s future, or is he just a specter of the past?










About The Author



YA author Kristi Cook is a transplanted southern gal who lives in New York City with her husband and two kids. Her YA debut, HAVEN, was released in Feb. 2011 by Simon Pulse.



WebsiteFacebookTwitterGoodReads










  • US ONLY
  • Must be 13 or older to enter
  • Winner has 48 hours to respond to email claiming their prize or a new winner will be chosen.
  • Enter via Rafflecopter below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Monday, January 28, 2013

LEOPARD MOON Book Blast & Guest Post



To help spread the word about the fact that Jeanette Battista's LEOPARD MOON, the first book in the Moon series, is available for free at Amazon for the Kindle until the end of the month we've invited the author to the blog to share a guest post about her experience writing the book.


The Moon series consists of four books - LEOPARD MOON, JACKAL MOON, HYENA MOON and HUNTER MOON - and is a series author Melissa Marr says, "... is filled with action and romance, shape shifters and strong heroines."


To check out all the books in the series on Goodreads, CLICK HERE.


The guest post follows below, but first here's some information about the awesome book and author and places you can find them both online!



About the Book



Title: LEOPARD MOON (Moon Series #1)

Author: Jeanette Battista

Publisher: CreateSpace

Release date: March 7, 2012

Pages: 204

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble



***Kindle format free at Amazon - HERE***



Description:


How do you disappear when you come from a family of predators?

A wereleopard, Kess is forced to flee her home and family in Miami once her brother's obsession with her turns violent. She runs from city to city, trying to stay one step ahead of the investigators her family has dispatched to bring her home. Kess ends up in the mountains of North Carolina and attracts the attention of Cormac, a young man with a secret of his own. As she attempts to live as normal a life as her were-nature allows, her brother Sek continues to hunt for her. He believes she is the key to revitalizing their weakened clan and is driven to extreme measures to ensure their continued existence. As Kess' relationship with Cormac deepens, Sek closes in, threatening Cormac's life and Kess' freedom.

When the moon rises, the hunt is on….




Dimitri Williams Photography
Source: Author's website
About the Author


Jeanette Battista graduated with an English degree with a concentration in medieval literature which explains her possibly unhealthy fixation on edged weapons and cathedral architecture. She spent a summer in England and Scotland studying the historical King Arthur, which did nothing to curb her obsession. To satisfy her adrenaline cravings—since sword fighting is not widely accepted in these modern times—she rode a motorcycle at ridiculously high speeds, got some tattoos, and took kickboxing and boxing classes. She gave up the bike when her daughter came along, although she still gets pummeled at the gym on a regular basis.


When she’s not writing or working, Jeanette spends time with family, hikes, reads, makes decadent brownies, buys killer boots, and plays Pocket Frogs. She wishes there were more hours in the day so she could actually do more of these things. She lives with her daughter and their ancient, ill-tempered cat in North Carolina.


Find her: Goodreads | Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook





I'll be honest--I wasn't planning to write a book like Leopard Moon. I had an entirely different story in my head at the time, but it just wasn't coming into clear focus. That's the funny way writing works though: there I am, sitting at a red light on my way to meet my friends for a birthday martini and pedicure, listening to Florence + the Machine and WHAM! The song Howl comes on and this whole lovely scene just starts unfolding in my head. There was Kess, running through the woods, ripping off of her clothes as she triggered a change into a black leopard. And there was Cormac, standing in a different part of the woods being beaten mercilessly by the villain. I didn't know Sek was going to turn out to be Kess' brother, but I did know who he was as a character and what he wanted.


It was truly a gift: the entire final fight scene just unspooled itself along with the song lyrics. Each beat of the song matched a key point in the fight. The more I listened, the more I realized that the lyrics could apply to all of the characters in the main triangle at some point in the story I suddenly wanted to tell. And I wanted that story to be more than just boy meeting girl--I wanted that story to be about girl saving boy, but more importantly about girl saving herself. The song Howl gave me Kess first and Sekhmet second, so a lot of what I tried to do with them was to show them as two halves of a whole, two sides of a coin. Howl, at least to me, wasn't a love song at all--it was a song about possession and obsession and all of those things that show up in our animal drives. that we'd like to forget exists.


So when I began to craft Kess and Sek, Howl played on a continuous loop. And though the song speaks of wolves, I knew these two had to be cats. Wolves have a more social nature and are more easily understood by us--I think it comes from them being a a precursor to our beloved dogs. Cats are an unknown quantity, strange and separate, even if they choose to share space with us. I wanted real darkness there, not just a brief bit of danger that would be easily resolved. Obsession and mental illness gave Sek that scariness, but also--I hope--a bit of sympathy. He really does love his sister and wants what is best for her and his clan. I never intended to excuse his behavior, but I did want to try and understand it.


Just like the song made me understand that narrator of that story. I can only hope I did half so well.


***

To meet Kess, Cormac and Sek in this first book in the Moon series, head over to Amazon to download the Kindle eBook for free until January 31st.


It can be found HERE!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Joining the: 2013 TBR PILE Reading Challenge

I have been meaning to write this post ever since I first read about this challenge on Rachel's blog fiktshun in early December, but somehow, time just flew by me without noticing, and we are now more than halfway through January already. Having said that, it's never too late to join a challenge, right? So, here I am, finally joining the


The purpose of this challenge is to read as many books from your TBR pile as possible during the year of 2013. None of the books can be from 2013 though. For all the rules and more info about the challenge, simply click on the banner above and it will take you to Rachel's post which has all the details you need to know.

I had originally planned on setting my goal for the "A Friendly Hug" challenge, meaning I would have to read 11 - 20 books, but since I can never be sure how much actual reading time I'm going get, I will only go for the "A Firm Handshake" level. If I read more than 10 books from my TBR pile, I will be even happier to move up a level.

While I don't have a specific list time wise yet, I do have some books I would like get off my reading pile during this challenge:


Unbound series by Rachel Vincent

The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa

Queen of the Dead by Stacey Kade

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Arson by Estevan Vega

If I Stay by Gayle Forman


Well, I think those will keep me busy for a while, anyway.

Okay, enough with the blabbering, off to read I go. Let the fun beging!

*****

Have any of you joined this challenge? How have you been making out so far? I would love to hear from you.


Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Cover Reveal: THE FORGOTTEN ONES by Laura Howard






The Forgotten Ones
Author: Laura Howard
Genre: NA Paranormal Fantasy Romance
Expected release date: May 15, 2013
Age Group: New Adult
Cover Designer: Stephanie Mooney 









Book Description:




Allison O'Malley just graduated from college. Her life's plan is to get a job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She doesn't have room for friends or even Ethan, who clearly wants more. 






When Allison's long-lost father shows up, he claims he can bring her mother back from the dark place her mind has sent her. He reveals legends of a race of people long forgotten, the Tuatha de Danaan, along with the truth about why he abandoned her mother.














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Thursday, January 10, 2013

Triple Cover Reveal: CRYPTID TALES by Brina Courtney

 
REVEAL (Cryptid Tales #1) 
 
eBook Version Free on Amazon and Barnes & Noble!!!!!!
 
 
 BLURB:

Shay could be the key to ending a war that humans don't know exist. Of a race of beings that aren't real, or are they?

Shay Tafford's childhood has been fatherless, filled instead with memories of speaking to the dead. She is forced to hide her unique ability from those living around her. That's why it's been comforting to have Jeremy, a child ghost, as her confidante. But recently he's been absent, perhaps lost as her father is. When Shay meets Hugh, the guy she's had a crush on for weeks, and finds he can speak to ghosts too she's just starting to find a normalcy in her life.

But as Hugh reveals the truth to Shay, about who she really is and about what it is she can do, he erases all chances she had at a normal existence. Turns out talking to ghosts is just scratching the surface of her genetically engineered gifts. Shay learns she may be part of an age old prophecy that could save the entire race of cryptids. But can she?


Amazon               Barnes & Noble               iBooks


*****


CAPTURE (Cryptid Tales #2)

eBook only $2.99!


 BLURB:

One this is for sure, Shay is in for the fight of her life.

Shay is finally learning who she is, and who it is she will become. But for now escaping the clutches of the evil Malsumis will have to be enough. Or is it?
In Capture Shay embraces other cryptids in order to defeat their common enemy.
She is willing to die trying to save her father and the love of her life, Hugh.
But can Hugh, her cryptid mate, protect her from the evil Malsumis? Or will she fall victim to his horrible plans?

       Amazon               Barnes & Noble

 
*****


SETTLE (Cryptid Tales #3)

Release Date: Late January/Early February


 BLURB:

Betrayal leaves nasty scars. A soul departs. Love must conquer all, or be lost forever.

Shay's life has once again fallen into mystery as she discovers her father's whereabouts. On a mission to locate him and bring him home she learns more about who to trust than she thought possible. Her group of cryptids will be forced to rise again and defeat their common enemy, but they will also discover another hidden threat. As thier queen, Shay's discoveries in Settle, the final installment of the Cryptid Tales series, will shake the cryptid world forever.


*****



ABOUT BRINA:

Brina Courtney is a young adult author obsessed with chocolate, crime shows, and fantasy movies. She's spent the last few years as an elementary teacher and a high school cheering coach. She lives in a small town in Pennsylvania with her husband and two very loud, small dogs. 

Places you can find her:

Website          Facebook          Twitter          Goodreads