Hell Hound by Kaylie Austen Promo

Synopsis:

Selene is the Hellhound, a powerful and ruthless descendent of the Greek gods. She is bound by tradition and tied by bloodlines to lead her people against the mortals. Although she is arranged to marry Nathanial, she falls for Demetrius, the self-professed Black Angel, and things take a bitter twist. When she stumbles across the corpses of her father and Nathanial, all eyes move in on Demetrius. Selene must take the assignment to hunt down her accused lover. Facing the untrustworthy cerebral chamber, powerful shape-shifting sentinels, superhuman archers, and a deceitful Council, the Hellhound must work quickly to uncover the truth before she is forced to annihilate her lover.

Author Info:

Kaylie Austen was born in India, and raised in Austin, Texas where she attended the University of Texas. Her multi-cultural upbringing fueled her desire for languages, cultures, and travel. Kaylie is perhaps best known for her sudden and infectious laugh. She enjoys anything science fiction and fantasy related, and writes in both genres for adults and young adults.
Kaylie began writing at the tender age of ten, and completed her first novel at the age of sixteen. Throughout her school years, her writing earned trophies, awards, publication in scholastic magazines, and scholarships. Kaylie currently lives in beautiful Washington State with an amazing husband. She loves to hear from readers, so feel free to contact her.

website / blog / twitter / Facebook

Spring Fling Giveaway

May 1st – 7th
Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Eve’s Fan Garden

Our winner will receive both of the following ARC's along with some miscellaneous swag. 

(USA only for this one)

Synopsis:

Trona is a small, foul-smelling, mostly insignificant town in California. Besides a booming chemical plant, the only thing that characterizes this dismal town is dirt, sagebrush, and an enormous abandoned mansion.

Seven years earlier, as Camm herded a pack of little trick-or-treaters past the mansion, her young neighbor, Hugh, disappeared, becoming just one of many children who have vanished from Trona over the years without a trace. Now a senior in high school, Camm is still haunted by the old tragedy and is sure the answer to the mysterious disappearances lies hidden somewhere in the decaying mansion. Joining forces with her best friend, Cal, who also happens to be Hugh’s older brother, Camm naively begins a perilous search for the truth.



Synopsis:

In this full-length novel from Chris Crutcher, his first since the best-selling Deadline, the ultimate bully and the ultimate good guy tangle during Period 8.

Paul Baum tells the truth. No matter what. It was something he learned at Sunday School. But telling the truth can cause problems. And as Paulie discovers, finding the truth can be even more problematic. Period 8 is supposed to be that one period in high school where the truth can shine, a safe haven. Only what Paulie and Hannah (his ex-girlfriend, unfortunately) and his other classmates don't know is that the ultimate bully, the ultimate liar, is in their midst.

Terrifying, thought-provoking, and original, this novel combines all the qualities of a great thriller with the controversy, ethics, and raw emotion of a classic Crutcher story.

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Review - Cerys du Lys - Princess Miri - Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

Princess Miri is a bitch and the heir to the throne and she might have accidentally fallen in love with a monster.

It's common knowledge that everyone hates Miri, which is why it surprises her when her rival gives her a pet troll servant for her eighteenth birthday. Thump, as Miri names the husky monster, will do everything she asks. Or that's what she thinks.

When her demands lead to experimentation and sexual teasing, Miri realizes this isn't quite the case. One disobeyed order ends with a bang, literally, and her and Thump in an unclothed, carnal mess atop her now broken bed.

A troll coupling with a human? Disgusting!

She should be furious! Irate! And maybe she is, but she's curious, too...

She never thought she could open up to anyone before, always believed she needed to act harsh and stern in order to ascend to the throne. Unfortunately for Miri, while she discreetly explores her taboo sexuality with Thump, someone's plotting to exploit her shameful secret and ruin the Princess's reputation...

Alluring, erotic, and playful. This provocative story of a Princess and her troll will delight you, entice you, and keep you excited long after you're done.

This book is intended for mature audiences

Review: OH WOW! Loved it. I now want my own troll! The erotic scenes were hot while still presenting a flowing story and gosh how I could not stand that Fleur! Miri was supposed to be the bad girl or "Big B" to put it nicely but oh my gawd Fleur was three times worse than Miri! I wanted to smack her so bad with her jealous self and in the end I didn't even feel sorry for her but am anxious to see how her story goes from where it was left off!

Excerpt:

Thump, tired from the exertion, collapsed on the floor next to her. His body thudded into the water,
sending up splashes.

"You stupid troll," she shouted at him. "What use are you? I do a nice thing for you, help you clean off,
and you just lay in the water when I need cleaning up? I could use some help here!"

Thump rolled over and stared at her, some glimmering sense of recognition in his eyes. He did that
when she gave him a command and he was about to follow through with it, but the command she'd
given this time, at least by her standards, was very vague.

Thump got to his knees and reached for her. With all the daintiness of a troll, he removed her dress,
which was to say he grabbed at the corset part and ripped it straight in half. He lifted her into the air by
her waist and peeled the dress from her body, the flimsy tatters of cloth falling to the ground. Now he
held her aloft in only her panties and a matching, black and white lacy bra.

"Excuse me," she said, glaring at him as he dangled her about. "What are you doing?"

Author Bio:

Cerys has charted on numerous best sellers and hot new release lists internationally with multiple books.

She lives in the Greater Boston area in a small town in New Hampshire. She spends her days writing, reading, learning, and working. And maybe sometimes she flirts with the mailman. Some of her most favorite activities involve understanding and learning about emotions and relationships.

She adores pondering sexuality and sensualness. Most of her writing delves into this in some way, exploring reactions and relationships between different people. While she enjoys writing erotica and erotic romance, her goal is to also keep a certain literary appeal to the writing instead of something purely pornographic. Every story she writes has a delightful plot along with the more devious and delicious scenes we all want to read.

She prefers romance settings, with the occasional monster or fairytale. Her secret kinks include reluctance, interesting paranormal creatures, romance(even with monsters), and fun. She loves writing about all of these things, though very strongly acknowledges that fantasies are fiction and nothing more.

Contact Info: Contact Info: Email | Website | Goodreads

Buy Links:
Amazon (US) Trade Paperback / Amazon (US) eBook / Amazon (UK) eBook / B&N eBook / Kobo eBook /
Amazon(UK) Trade Paperback -> (10% off promotional discount here)

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Unbreak Me Cover Reveal - Lexi Ryan

Synopsis:

“If you’re broken, I’ll fix you…”

I’m only twenty-one and already damaged goods. A slut. A failure. A disappointment to my picture-perfect family as long as I can remember. I called off my wedding to William Bailey, the only man who thought I was worth fixing. A year later, he’s marrying my sister. Unless I ask him not to…

“If you shatter, I’ll find you…”

But now there’s Asher Logan, a broken man who sees the fractures in my façade and doesn’t want to fix me at all. Asher wants me to stop hiding, to stop pretending. Asher wants to break down my walls. But that means letting him see my ugly secrets and forgiving him for his.

With my past weighing down on me, do I want the man who holds me together or the man who gives me permission to break?

Goodreads

AUTHOR BIO:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Ryan writes romances with humor, heat, and heart. Her books are described as fun, flirty, and wickedly sexy. A lover of learning, Lexi has been in the classroom all her life and currently holds the title of assistant professor of English at her local community college. Lexi is a proud member of Romance Writers of America. She lives in rural Indiana with her husband and two children.

Author links:
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Follow the White Rabbit Cover Reveal - Kellie Sheridan

Synopsis:

For centuries, Wonderland thrived as the domain of beautiful bedlam and unapologetic madness. It was a place like no other. All it took was one girl slipping in through the cracks of the universe to start chaos spiraling toward order. In the 150 years since Alice’s visit, the realm has become tainted—almost normal. Rabbits in waistcoats and playing card minions are little more than creatures of myth, and Wonderland is literally falling to pieces.

For Gwen, Rose, and Lucky, Wonderland is home, and yet they know little of its former glory. When the Alice prophecy resurfaces, they’ll have one chance to use Wonderland’s own legends to bring a little mayhem back into their reality. For she who controls Alice controls the fate of Wonderland.

AUTHOR BIO:

Kellie Sheridan is a Canadian author and book blogger. When not reading books or writing, she also works with books. She is currently working with two small publishers on the marketing/publicity side of things, and is also Joan of ARCs at Spencer Hill Press. In her spare time Kellie watches way too much television and travels whenever she has the opportunity.

Kellie’s first YA novel, Mortality was released in March, and she is currently hard at work on future writing projects.

Author links:
Website / Goodreads / Twitter

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Siege Blitz and Giveaway - Rhiannon Frater

Synopsis:

Siege is the conclusion to Rhiannon Frater’s As the World Dies trilogy, which should appeal to fans of The Walking Dead. Both The First Days and Fighting to Survive won the Dead Letter Award from Mail Order Zombie. The First Days was named one of the Best Zombie Books of the Decade by the Harrisburg Book Examiner.

The zombie illness has shattered civilization. The survivors who have found tenuous safety in Texas defend their fort against the walking dead and living bandits.

Katie has made peace with the death of her wife and is pregnant and married to Travis, who has been elected Mayor. Jenni, her stepson, Jason; and Juan—Travis’s righthand man—are a happy family, though Jenni suffers from PTSD. Both women are deadly zombie killers. In Siege, the people of Ashley Oaks are stunned to discover that the vice president of the United States is alive and commanding the remnants of the US military. What’s left of the US government has plans for this group of determined survivors

Goodreads Book 1 / Goodreads Book 2 / Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Let Me Frighten You Rhiannon Frater
I am inspired and intrigued by what frightens me. Writing about what I fear compels me to step outside my comfort zone and forces me to confront issues and themes that are not always easy to discuss. Creating an imaginary world where terrible things happen to fictional characters is an easier (and safer) way to deal with issues we must all face at some time in our lives such as loss of loved ones, overcoming adversity, and evolving in the face of hardship. But it also allows me as a writer to also delve into much more frightening and rare occurrences such as war, natural disasters, and apocalyptic scenarios.

When I sat down to write the AS THE WORLD DIES zombie trilogy, I wanted to address the zombie apocalypse in a realistic manner. Though the scenario of the dead wandering the earth and eating the living is highly unrealistic, I wanted the characters of the story to be everyday people who somehow manage to live past the first terrifying days of the plague. I didn’t want any Rambos or Ripleys in the mix. I wanted people who would resemble me and the reader.

Within each character in AS THE WORLD DIES there is familiarity. The characters are people we know or maybe even aspect of ourselves. They all have different strengths and weaknesses, personality flaws, and issues to overcome. Because I wanted my characters to be everyday folks, their reactions to their terrible circumstances are grounded in reality.

For example, Jenni is a battered housewife/trophy wife at the beginning of the first book in the trilogy, THE FIRST DAYS. After the devastating death of her children, Jenni is rescued by Katie. At first she is in shock, but slowly evolves throughout the series into a much stronger (yet not always stable) person. To make Jenni realistic, I drew on
the coping mechanisms victims in abusive situations develop. The mind is amazing in its capacity to adapt to dire circumstances in order to ensure survival. Jenni’s ability to basically cut off her emotions and compartmentalize allows her to survive better than people who have yet to develop these coping skills. Also, Jenni is extremely used
to living in a life-threatening situation on a daily basis, so the zombocalypse is not much different in some respects. Though sometimes readers get mad at Jenni for her immaturity (she was married at 17 and isolated from the world by her husband) and her bizarre actions, she remains one of the most popular, if not the most popular, character in the series.

Oftentimes readers of the series tell me how the characters in the book feel like friends. They worry about them, fear for them, and sometimes mourn them. I have also been told how readers feel so attached to the world and the characters they feel like they are in the action. I contribute this to the fact that they characters feel like people we know
in our everyday lives, it is easy to slip into the dangerous world of AS THE WORLD DIES with them.

Though I love superheroes and magical/supernatural characters, in the end they are far removed from me with their abilities. I know I can’t do the things they can do. But I can easily imagine myself on a rescue run with Jenni and Katie, clutching a gun, sweating with anxiety, and feeling sick to my stomach with fear. Somehow this translates to the
reader as well. I’ve heard so many stories of people having to put the book aside so their wildly beating heart could calm down. Honestly, I’ve stopped typing for the same reason.

There is a certain magic that sometimes happens in books that is hard for the author to explain to the reader, but after a lot of thought I do believe the reason why my books can be so terrifying is because the characters are not so far removed from you and me.

So when a zombie is moving relentlessly toward a character in SIEGE, the fast beating of your heart and the tremor of fear flitting through your mind is probably because you could be character facing uncertain outcome.

Now the question is…do you survive?

AUTHOR BIO:

Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of the As the World Dies trilogy (The First Days, Fighting to Survive, Siege,) and the author of three other books: the vampire novels Pretty When She Dies and The Tale of the Vampire Bride and the young-adult zombie novel The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters. Inspired to independently produce her work from the urging of her fans, she published The First Days in late 2008 and quickly gathered a cult following. She won the Dead Letter Award back-to-back for both The First Days and Fighting to Survive, the former of which the Harrisburg Book Examiner called ‘one of the best zombie books of the decade.’ Rhiannon is currently represented by Hannah Gordon of the Foundry + Literary Media agency. You may contact her by sending an email to rhiannonfrater@gmail.com.

Author Links:
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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Review - A Tale of the Other Kind by Leandi Cameron

Synopsis:

Kai Emery likes to be indiscernible; however, his infatuation for his classmate, Sienna Fynn, has made his invisibility status all the more impossible to upkeep. His world spirals out of control when he discovers that he is a shapeshifting were-leopard, and finds himself unable to control his newfound anatomy. An unpredictable vampire enters his life, leading him down a path that soon reveals his destiny, and discloses another world, filled with magic and terrifying darkness. When he finds himself in danger from the god of magic and darkness for disobeying a curse bestowed upon his kind, forbidding him from falling in love with a human, he has to fight for survival, and protect everyone that he loves.

Review: I wish I could say that I fell head over heels in love with this story but I never could quite get into it. The cover and synopsis totally blew me away and "I just knew" I was going to love it but even after I made it through the first quarter nothing was really happening for me. All I could make out was Kai was fighting Sienna's bully of a boyfriend when he caught him abusing her and she told him he should let it alone so he does and it's just a back and forth thing for a big part of the story. It just got a bit frustrating to keep reading where one minute they were supposedly head over heels for one another and then the next pushing one another away.

I did enjoy Kai's character, I thought he was a real sweetie and I can only imagine how he looked in his shifter form but I bet he was beautiful. He was really the only character I had any feelings for other than maybe Astrid who I would have loved to have read more about.

Overall I am giving three stars because the story did have lots of merit towards the end and the cover was beautiful.

About the Author:

Leandi Cameron is an award-winning journalist and assistant editor for the the Boksburg Advertiser, and has now also added the titles "author" and "publisher" on her plaque with the release of her first novel, A Tale of the Other Kind: A Therian Novel. Cameron is from Johannesburg, South Africa, (maiden name Rostoll). At school she wasn't the most popular girl, as she was a victim of bullying, but found comfort in her books, and soon discovered her talent for writing at a tender age.

Amazon Purchase Link

Review - Love Me For Me by Kate Laurens

Synopsis: 

It’s been three years since Serena King learned to say no—no to the boys that were a desperate cry for help, no to the extra weight she put on in self defense, and most of all no to the abuse that has haunted her since she was fifteen. Now a sophomore in college, all she wants is to be normal. The last thing she expects is a guy who can make her want... make her want everything.

Amazon Purchase Link

Review: Very realistic story! Amazing actually as it could have been describing any number of people I know or knew at some point in my life. Selena has a few secrets about her past and the one person she should have been able to trust, (her mom), fails her by not believing in her which caused a drastic measure to take place in Selena that takes years to unwind and she wont trust or let anybody get that close to her to confide in again for fear of being treated same as her mother treated her only she soon learns that life has been tough on some of her new found friends as well and they are harboring secrets and hurts of their own.

I read this book literally start to finish in a matter of hours because it drew me in and I could really feel the pain and angst coming off the characters instead of being told so much how they were feeling. To a certain point even if the circumstances were different I think we all at some point in our life has suffered some of the pains and feelings that could drive one to act out as Selena had.

I was okay with the way it ended but I would enjoy seeing these characters make appearances in future books.

Review - Dead Light by Mike Pace

Synopsis:
…a matter of light and death…

In the sleepy college town of Cumberton, MD, an old cemetery must be moved to make room for a new dormitory, and an ungodly Light, buried for centuries, escapes. A rash of gruesome student suicides rocks the town. Sheriff Estin Booker teams up with former Baltimore homicide detective Anna Tucci to investigate the deaths. What neither expects is to have all roads point to a 2000-year-old legend which, if true, could lead to the destruction of mankind.

The most frightening account of the power of evil breeching our world since The Exorcist, DEAD LIGHT will teach you the most improbable lesson you will ever learn:

FEAR THE LIGHT!

Review: Dead Light is a page turning thriller that will delve you into the depths of hell and back. It was amazing to consider from Dead Light that to some degree whether we openly admit it to ourself or not that each of us has guilt bottled up inside us about something no matter how small and insignificant at the time and this story showed us how Lucifer can take that guilt and expand upon it to make us do his bidding which in this case was to drive one so insane they create the ultimate sin of suicide.

I really can't say I took an interest in any of the characters but heck none of them actually stayed alive long enough to be honest! I did like the story and the idea behind it all but it had it's moments where it was quite draggy and I was like "come on already" and let me see what happened to so and so! I was not thrilled how it kept taking the reader from the past to the present as that got kind of confusing and irritating because it was like you would be reading along and next thing you know a new chapter opens and your back in time and vice versa. I think that could have been handled a bit differently.

I feel like the biggest thing that kept me interested and kept me flipping the pages was the mystery behind the "box" and how it was able to carry out all the things it did.



Excerpt:

With Jill’s help, and using his previous foothold, it didn’t take long for him to crawl out of the grave. He took a couple of deep breaths and tested his ankle. Still hurt, but not as bad. Definitely just a sprain.

She pointed the light beam at the box. Looked about five inches square and maybe three or four inches high. At one time it probably had been painted red, but now was more the shade of rust. Curious. It was made of wood, yet unlike the casket, had remained intact. He shook the box. Nothing.

Jill took the box and shook it. “Empty.”

“Why would they bury a locked empty box?” he asked.

She aimed the light on the headstone, which lay on its side nearby. The letters were barely legible.

Father William Cumber
1645-1713

“The guy they named the town after?” she asked.

“Maybe it’s some religious relic. When we get back, I’ll get a screwdriver and pry it open.”

“What if there’s something valuable inside?” She turned. Momentarily, the flashlight beam moved away from the path. In that instant, Tony tripped again.

“Shit.”

They both fell, sending the flashlight flying out of Jill’s hand.

Pain from his ankle shot up Tony’s leg. “Find the flashlight,” he said through clenched teeth. He rolled over onto his stomach and tried his best to get to his knees.

Jill crawled in a short radius, groped around for the light while still holding tight to the box.

“Got it.” She turned on the flashlight, pointing the beam upwards as she slowly rose to her feet.

Tony thought he felt something brush against his skin; probably a moth. And a sweet odor. Familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Must be from opening all the graves after hundreds of years.

From behind them, a deep, gravelly whisper. “Give me the box.”

Jill’s shriek reverberated throughout the entire cemetery. She turned, and the edge of the light beam caught the face of a wild-haired, crazy-eyed old man. She screamed again and dropped the flashlight; the light went out. Though he was as scared as she was, Tony hobbled back to insert himself between Jill and the old man. The man grabbed for the box. Tony flailed out with his right arm, the box flew out of the old man’s hand, smacking into a headstone. The soft wood cracked, splitting the box open along its seams. Instantly, a searing light from inside the box flashed, then disappeared.

Tony thought, how could that be possible? He must've been seeing stars from hitting his head. Frantic, he looked around but the old man had disappeared. Jill knelt in the soil, her face buried in her arms. She must’ve tripped, too. He helped her to her feet.

“You okay?” she asked, then brushed her arm.

“Moths,” he said. “They’re all over the place.”

“Tony, think I saw a flash of light coming from the box.”

Tony glanced down at the broken box. Of course there was no light inside.

“From hitting your head when you fell, that’s all.”

“But I didn’t—”

The cough interrupted her. They both froze. He was still there.

Author Bio
Mike Pace was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Illinois on an art scholarship, and graduated with a BFA degree. He taught public school in Washington D.C.’s inner city, while attending law school at Georgetown University. As an attorney, he prosecuted numerous cases, including those involving murder and rape. He resigned in order to practice law part time, thereby allowing him the time to devote to his first love, creative writing. He lives on the Chesapeake Bay with his wife and two dogs, Blueberry and Scout. DEAD LIGHT is Mike’s first novel.

Website / Twitter / Amazon Paperback / Amazon Kindle / Nook

UNTOUCHED Cover Reveal / Giveaway - Melody Grace

UNTOUCHED by Melody Grace

Publication date: May 14th

Emerson Ray is trouble. Juliet knows it the minute she lays eyes on Cedar Cove’s resident bad boy. Forced to spend her summer before college in the sleepy beach town, she never expected to crash into the most devastating guy she’s ever met—or for Emerson’s blue eyes to strip through her dark secrets, and make her feel a desire she’s never known. Their connection is undeniable, but Juliet is torn. She knows, once she gives him everything, there’ll be no turning back.



Juliet McKenzie is dangerous. Emerson can tell from the way she blows through all his defences, laying bare the demons he’s carried alone all his life. He’s left a trail of broken hearts and empty beds in his wake, but Juliet is different. Her innocence is intoxicating—and the passion she keeps hidden, just below the surface. He wants to be the only one to set it free, but with every kiss, he’s closer to losing control and doing the one thing he swore he never would: fall in love.



One summer. Two damaged hearts. Their story is only just beginning…



UNTOUCHED is a prequel novella to the USA Today Bestselling UNBROKEN. It also can be read as a stand-alone story.

Find The Author

Facebook author page

Facebook personal page

melodygracebooks.blogspot.com

twitter.com/melody_grace_

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Unspoken Cover Reveal - Camille Dixon

Synopsis:

Jaxon Michaels is every father's worst nightmare for his teenage daughter, but Clarice Gibson knows him better than anyone. Best friends since the sixth grade, Clare and Jax have walked the fine line of friendship for six years.

But when Clarice's friend Jessica starts dating Jax, Clare finds herself starting to notice him in a different way, one she's not entirely prepared to face. As their senior year approaches and her true feelings are unburied, Clare begins asking herself the one question she vowed never to think about: What if she's in love with her best friend? Their friendship is further strained when the captain of the football team - and Jessica's twin brother - sets his eyes on Clare. As loyalties and friendships are tested, Clare and Jax find it harder to keep themselves firmly planted on the friends side of the relationship line.

A line they are getting dangerously close to crossing.

AUTHOR BIO:
I'm a Southern girl who's spent the last few years freezing my toosh off up north. Except for the snow, things are pretty good. I love sunshine, sweet tea, and romances that touch my heart. A lifelong romantic, I found my own prince charming at an online dating site. Six months later, he asked me to marry him. Picture Perfect is my debut novel.

Author links:
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Echo by Alicia Wright Brewster Book Blast & Giveaway

The countdown clock reads ten days until the end of the world. The citizens are organized. Everyone's been notified and assigned a duty. The problem is . . . no one knows for sure how it will end.



Energy-hungry Mages are the most likely culprit. They travel toward a single location from every corner of the continent. Fueled by the two suns, each Mage holds the power of an element: air, earth, fire, metal, water, or ether. They harness their powers to draw energy from the most readily available resource: humans.



Ashara has been assigned to the Ethereal task force, made up of human ether manipulators and directed by Loken, a young man with whom she has a complicated past. Loken and Ashara bond over a common goal: to stop the Mages from occupying their home and gaining more energy than they can contain. But soon, they begin to suspect that the future of the world may depend on Ashara's death.

Purchase

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About Alicia Wright Brewster

Alicia Wright Brewster is a mild-mannered lady of average height and above average paranormal obsession. By day, she works in an office. At night she is an author, an electronics junkie, and a secret superhero. (Please don't ask what her superpower is; that's not very polite.)

In her virtually non-existent free time, she loves to read, watch movies, and eat food. She is particularly fond of the food-eating and makes a point to perform this task at least three times per day, usually more.

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Make sure to check out the blog tour kicking off on Monday! You could win an awesome prize pack!

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SNEAK PEEK of ECHO...

A metal plate occupied the wall to the right of the door. Loken pressed his hand to it. The door slid away and disappeared into the left side of the doorway. Loken stepped through and down the stairs on the other side. His footsteps clanged against the metal steps as he descended.



Unlike in the overly bright training room on the other side of the building, dim lights filled this room with shadows. The team clustered at the bottom of the steps, blocking my view. As they shuffled slowly out of the way, I caught sight of what had stopped everyone else in their tracks.



A glass wall separated us from what looked like a large cell. The only entry point into the cell was another thick metal door with a security pad next to it. Behind the glass, three people stood as far away from one another as they could possibly get within the enclosed space: a hugely tall man, a woman with blond hair that hung past her waist, and a smaller man. All three were nude.



They looked human but . . . wrong somehow. Despite their lack of clothing, they made no effort to cover themselves. The larger man’s muscles bulged in odd places. While the woman wasn’t as massive, her body was more toned than any woman I’d ever met, more so than even Elder Ethereal.



From across the room, their black eyes cut through the darkness. A chill raced up and down my back like icy fingertips.



I stared at the smaller man. His eyes bore through me. I wondered if he saw me at all, or if he just happened to be looking where I was standing. At first glance, I’d thought him to be relatively slight. Although the other man dwarfed him, his thin arms were as tight as a predator’s, coiled to strike. The sharp planes of his face only emphasized the eerie black of his eyes, sunken into their sockets.



Loken’s voice startled me from the man’s hypnotic gaze. “In case you haven’t guessed it, these three are—”



“Mages,” I whispered.

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Guest Post/Giveaway - Fallen Ruler by Eleanor T Beaty

Book Description:

For sixteen years, Lya, has lived as a normal human, until her father, Walter, gets involved with the wrong people and puts Lya’s life at risk. During a visit to Miami, Lya’s older sister is kidnapped, and Lya and her father are subsequently taken hostage by Walter’s associates and forced to board a plane to India.

When the plane lands in Delhi, Lya is rescued by three monks and taken to a Monastery. There her reality is shattered, when she learns the true identity of her rescuers and, even more surprisingly, herself. Lya is now faced with the toughest decision of her life. Can she live up to her ethereal destiny and save her family?

Guest Post

Ray – A planet I would love to live on – Eleanor T Beaty
Tsaen was the ruler of Ray, chosen by the Divine Spirit. She was the third daughter born to poor farmers from the northern province of Lakan. At two, she spoke like a fifty-year-old scholar. The council, chosen for their evolved
spirits, acted as the Rayan ruler’s right hand. They were his buffer, his ears and many times his mouth throughout the land. When Tsaen was brought to the Rayan council members, the ruler, Agrei, was nearing the end of his time and the council had begun its search for his successor. Rayan rulers were usually identified by the age of five. So, when Tsaen’s parents came asking for help, they saved the council a lot of time and trouble.

Ray is a learning planet. When I created it I had that in mind. On Ray three races coexist who complement each other. It’s a planet where internal growth is the most important objective. The power to change is all that matters. A spirit receives the opportunity to reincarnate in Ray due to merit achieved during their past life, where ever that was.

In Ray, it’s what you have inside that counts, therefore the physical characteristics of the Rayans are not one of beauty. They are exotic but not beautiful as per human criteria. They are bald, they have visible veins all over their body and they have goggle-like eyelids. There are three races of different skin color, blue- Mylleans, red- Oticians and gray- Calwens. The Mylleans are the original inhabitant of the planet and are the spiritual leaders, teachers and peacekeepers.

The other two races, the Calwens and Oticians, are transients. Whether they will stay depends on them. The color of their skin will vary in shades and the shade does have significance, but not like on earth. The skin color and tone indicates the path of life that spirit chose. They have a special birthmark - a strip of skin a quarter-inch wide, which runs down from beneath the ear to the base of the neck. This birthmark exposes the person’s true character. It’s an external proof of the internal content. The birthmark is a burden derived from their acts, the better the person the lighter that patch of skin. The birthmark will change according to the person’s attitudes.

I created Ray with what I wish we could have on earth, more transparency between people. When I see someone destroying other’s lives with lies and false promises I get angry and feel so small when nothing can be done to stop such people. The problem is most humans don’t want to change the system because they want to be that person, the one that builds an empire by destroying the gullible, the little guy with the big dream. I think it very hard to have faith in humans when you see what we are capable of doing to each other in the name of gain. Having money is good, but greed destroys everything in its path. I would move to Ray in second. I would, however, chose to be a Myllean, most likely a Lotvian warrior, but I know I’m not that evolved yet.

I am a strong believer in other planets. I can’t imagine such an immense universe with only us, imperfect beings, in it. Anyone who believes that doesn’t see what the human race is, babies still crawling. I believe there are others out there, much more advanced than we are. Some are good and some are bad.

I think we should wonder about why their presence has been reported so much more frequently lately. Is it because of all the wars going on? Perhaps they concerned we might self-destruct. Are they here to stop us from destroying our planet? If so that means the earth and its inhabitant play an important role in the balance of the universe, which unfortunately we don’t seem to take seriously. Our selfish acts might just impact the Universe. Farfetched?
**************************************************
Fallen Ruler Excerpt

From above the hospital bed, with her body imbedded into the ceiling and veiled by shadows, a bald, blue-skinned girl watched, untouched by Carla’s plight. The blue girl’s dark, goggle-like eyelids reflected Carla’s image as she cursed those she felt were responsible for her predicament; not even God was spared.

The hospital nurses behind the desk across the hall continued doing their best to ignore the screaming woman. They believed the moment of birthing to be hours away and Carla’s angry words repulsed them. The blue girl had heard one of
the nurses say such a poisonous woman like that shouldn’t even have a womb, much less be allowed to give birth. They had no intention of being kind to Carla.

Carla’s belly tensed and stayed peaked. The blue girl’s lids split open to reveal concerned human-shaped purple eyes. It was time to bring Tsaen out. She pursed her lips and blew down towards Carla’s head.

Carla closed her eyes and became silent. Her fingers relaxed their vice-like grip on the bed sheet.

The blue girl surfaced from within the ceiling and dropped down. She pressed her index finger against her navel, and just before touching the floor, she took the human form of a young Buddhist monk.

The monk stood next to the bed with his palms over Carla’s belly button. A glow spread throughout the swollen mound.

Carla moaned, turned her head, then settled back down.

The monk slid his hands across the soft skin, until they came to rest between Carla’s legs, just in time to support a tiny body enveloped in a pouch of green mucous. He bent over the baby. His mouth was inches from the green pouch
when he sensed someone in the hall. He looked down and saw a shadow beneath the door, the nurse’s feet. They were small. It was the nurse called Sumana. The doorknob twisted. The monk realized Carla’s silence had caused concern. He placed the baby onto Carla’s stomach and slid towards the head of the bed. He touched his forehead to Carla’s and, using Carla’s voice, let out a loud scream, followed by a curse word. The shadow beneath the door grew small. The nurse had stepped back but she hadn’t left, nor had she released the doorknob. The monk screamed again.

Sumana seemed to hesitate. Her feet changed positions.

The monk waited.

Finally Sumana released the knob and retreated.

The monk pulled away from the sleeping Carla and went back to the baby. He lifted the baby from Carla’s belly and bit into the pouch, ripping off a piece of membrane with his teeth.

The loud sound of tearing disturbed Carla. She tried to open her eyes, but only managed a blink.

The monk swallowed the piece of membrane before ripping off another. A glistening head of thick black hair appeared. The monk continued until the baby was free. With a swipe of his hand, he severed the umbilical cord and carried the
baby to the changing table.

Eleanor T. Beaty is a Young Adult Paranormal author. A worldly person born in beautiful Brazil and spent much of her childhood in several places (Argentina, Switzerland, and the US to name a few). She holds a BA in English Literature
and is published in both Brazil and Turkey.

Eleanor loves spirituality and magic - both have allowed her to gain a strong grip on life and enjoy what it has to offer. She believes that everything has a reason and understanding those reasons help us deal with the difficult moments.
Eleanor currently enjoys life with her husband in Brazil.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |

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Breaking the Reins Cover Reveal - Juliana Haygert

Synopsis:

Horses, mansions, tea parties, and lies are twenty-year-old Hannah Taylor’s life. To others, her family and her relationship with Eric is perfect. But she knows the truth. She lives it.

After a fire takes her grandma’s life and kills her horse, Hannah’s immaculate life spirals out of control. Her father disapproves of her decision to run her grandma’s ranch instead of focusing solely on learning the family business; Animal Control brings her Argus, a mistreated horse that she can’t turn away even though she’s not ready for another horse; and her boyfriend, Eric Bennett, a world famous polo player, becomes possessive and authoritarian. Despite her best efforts to disguise it, Hannah grows wary of him.

Then, Leonardo Fernandes struts onto the polo scene. A cocky rookie with a messy life of his own, he’s drawn to Hannah and isn’t afraid of showing it, even when Eric makes it clear she is his and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep it that way. Hannah suffers for Eric’s jealousy. The abuse only gets worse when Leo steals the title of best polo player in the world from Eric.

But the title isn’t enough for Leo. He wants Hannah too, and she can’t deny her attraction to him either. Somehow, she must find a way to break free from abusive Eric before he breaks every bone in her body. Goodreads

AUTHOR BIO:

While Juliana Haygert dreams of being Wonder Woman, Buffy, or a blood elf shadow priest, she settles for the less exciting—but equally gratifying—life of a wife, mother, and author. Thousands of miles away from her former home in Brazil, she now resides in Connecticut and spends her days writing about kick-ass heroines and the heroes who drive them crazy.

Author links:
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Review/Blog Tour/Giveaway - Twisted Perfection by Abbi Glines

Book Description:

Life outside of her house was a new experience for Della Sloane. The dark secrets of her past weren’t something she ever intended to share with anyone. They would never understand. No one would ever get close enough to find out. There was always a chance she’d go crazy sooner than they expected…

Woods Kerrington had never been one to be attracted to fragile females. They seemed like too much work. He wasn’t in it for the work just the pleasure. A night full of naughty fun had been exactly what was on his mind when he’d laid eyes on the hot little number that didn’t know how to pump gas and needed some help.

What he didn’t know was she was as fragile as they came.
The carefree girl who spoke her mind and didn’t care what the world thought of her was more breakable than he could ever imagine…

Review:This was my first Glines story and oh my GAWD. I am totally hooked and understand all the raves her writing gets! Twisted Perfection was a story that will leave you breathless and yet still yearning for a little bit more....who am I kidding? Yearning for alot more! I need to go back and read the first books in this series though so I can have a more general idea of some things I am missing.

About the Author

Abbi Glines was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She grew up in the small town of Sumiton, Alabama where she left the summer she turned eighteen. She didn’t get far… she chased her high school sweetheart down to the coast and she’s been there ever since.

Abbi now lives in the quaint southern town of Fairhope, Alabama with her three children and husband Keith (the high school sweetheart she chased after). Her life is never dull and Keith always makes sure there is another “experience” for them to explore.

Books published by Abbi include The Vincent Boys and the USA TODAY bestseller The Vincent Brothers, Breathe, Because of Low, the USA TODAY bestsellers While It Lasts and Just For Now, The Existence Trilogy that includes the USA Today Bestseller Ceaseless, and The New York Times bestseller and Wall Street Journal bestseller Fallen Too Far and Never Too Far.

When Abbi isn’t locked away in her office typing away she is hauling her kids to and from their many social activities. You could say her second job is the Glines Kids personal chauffeur. It’s a rather illustrious job.

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Amazon / BN

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Surrender Blitz and Giveaway - Rhiannon Paille

Surrender & Justice will be free April 24, and 25th

Synopsis:

How far would you go to save everything you ever loved?

Kaliel was warned about her love for the Ferryman. One day he will marry the land and leave Avristar forever. She doesn't listen, and because of what she is-- a Flame-- one of nine apocalyptic weapons, she sparks a war. In a desperate attempt to save her home and her love, Kaliel tries to awaken Avred, not knowing she may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Excerpt:

The banks of the river were sloppy and full of muck. Krishani watched as clumps of mud were drenched by more of the murky waters, eventually forcing the clumps to fall into the river entirely. He never knew where he was when he dreamed, but they always began like this, in the dead silence, in the din of places he had never been before. The only place he had ever seen rivers were in his dreams, and the only time he heard about rivers was when the brothers talked about the Lands of Men. This river was no exception. He waited for the other thing he would see, the things he had seen since he woke up a child in a forest, abandoned by the men. He remembered they smelled like sweat and firewood. It was a musky male smell that the elders in Avristar never possessed no matter how blistering hot it got in summer.

Water babbled as it rushed over the rock bed of the river. Little pools of ripples fluttered across the surface. Krishani grew anxious. He hung there, seeing nothing but clumps of mud let go of the banks and follow the ride of the winding river. He peered down-stream and saw it curve and curl as it cut through the tall spruce trees on either side. Part of him wanted to wake up, but part of him hated the reality he would wake up to. Days of careful planning, of menial tasks, nothing like what he endured during the rites; this was much more intense. He was always aware during his dreams, as though he was really there, watching from the shadows. He turned his attention upstream. There was a body floating face down, moving towards him. A white shirt swished around the body and clung to tanned skin underneath. Sandy blond hair covered its head and bare ankles floated up out of the water. Krishani moved instinctively, throwing off his cloak, planning on diving in after the body, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

Krishani looked to his right and saw nothing but the river bank. A tall man with his back turned came into view, plodding along the banks with body language that said he was equally disappointed. The floating body belonged to a child, maybe nine or ten.

Krishani hung his head and watched the body float downstream, knowing there was nothing he could do to help. The boy was already dead.

About the Author:

Rhi is the weird one in the red lipstick. She writes Young Adult Fantasy, Dystopian, Urban Fantasy and sometimes Contemporary. When she's not writing she's reading minds, singing karaoke, and burning cookies. You can find her sipping iced cappucino at www.yafantasyauthor.com

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SURRENDER / LANTERN & POISON / JUSTICE / BLOOD & GOLD

Guest Post - After The Ending by Lindsey Pogue and Lindsey Fairleigh

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Genre – Science Fiction

Rating – R

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Finding Your Voice: Writing in First Person (or Third)
by Lindsey Pogue & Lindsey Fairleigh
Deciding which point-of-view to use when writing our first book, After The Ending, was probably one of the most difficult decisions we had to make…and the most time consuming. The POV is so immensely important to a storyline, allowing the readers to get into the characters’ heads and experience the story along with them, or to be omniscient and know things the characters themselves aren’t aware of. We knew that making the wrong decision would have devastated our goal to engross the reader, to make them care about what happened to Dani and Zoe as the young women learned to survive and thrive in their post-apocalyptic world. Although After The Ending is written in first person, it definitely didn’t start out that way, and making the decision to change it was a trying process.

After The Ending has gone through so many different stages that it’s become a completely different project from the one we initially set out to create. While the concept and storyline has essentially remained the same, the format of our work has gone through multiple revisions, transforming the original online blog version into the nearly 500-page book we finally published.

Because our initial idea was to start a blog where our two characters documented their apocalyptic survival experiences solely conveyed through emails, we started off writing in first person…and only in the format of emails between Zoe and Dani. It didn’t take us too long to realize that we were severely limiting the story that Dani and Zoe could tell. As the After The Ending developed, we were unable to convey the depth, dynamics, and true nature of our characters because we only allowed the reader to see them through their silly, realistic, and sometimes melodramatic emails.

Halfway into the storyline, we found ourselves wanting to share our characters in a way the emails wouldn’t allow, so we did a complete overhaul of everything we’d written, combining the emails with third person narration. The revisions not only allowed us to learn more about our characters, but also enable our readers to see beyond their quirky emails–to see Zoe and Dani as they truly are, including their fears, passions, and even their secrets.

As Zoe and Dani’s Abilities–what we call the extraordinary powers that some survivors develop early on in the book–began to develop during the writing process, we wondered if using the first person POV would be a better way to share what our characters were actually feeling and experiencing. We wanted there to be a personal connection between the reader and Dani and Zoe, and we felt that using first person could establish such a connection far more effectively than using third person. However, we also worried that by limiting the POV to first person, we were taking away from the development of the other important characters, somehow making them seem less important or relatable.

Conflicted, we asked fellow authors how they went about deciding which voice was best for their stories, in hopes they could help us make up our minds. As expected, all their advice was the same…what do the characters want? What does your gut tell you? We knew the answer, and it was then that we made the decision to do another huge overhaul and change everything to first person. Because Dani and Zoe are so essential to the story, we wanted them to be as alive as possible–for the readers to be able to connect with them and grow to love or hate the supporting characters as the women do. Since we made the change, we haven’t looked back.

Even though we decided to write the entire series in first person, we’ve come to realize that we don’t have to limit ourselves to Dani and Zoe’s perspectives. There’s still a lot of story left to tell and the two young women are only part of the world of The Ending.

Giveaway/Release Event for Love Resolution by Michelle Mankin

Book Description:

There’s a storm brewing at Black Cat Records and lead singer Marcus Anthony and guitarist Avery Jones are at the center of it.

Brutal Strength is leaving Vancouver and heading out on a big stadium tour with the reprobate rockers from Tempest as their opening act.

Avery is forced to deal with a troubling figure from her past while being pursued by Tempest’s tatted bad boy, Bryan ‘Bullet’ Jackson.

Meanwhile, Marcus must battle his own internal demons as well as this rival for Avery’s affection.

Can Avery and Marcus keep their fairy tale happily ever after together when the prevailing winds of the real world are against them?

Love Resolution is the third book in the Black Cat Records series.

**A new adult contemporary novel with mature subject matter**

Author note: Each book in the Black Cat Records series can stand alone. The first, Love Evolution is appropriate for all ages. The second, Love Revolution, and the third, Love Resolution, are for mature teens/new adult.

TEASER

Reclining against the back of the garden tub with her eyes closed, she knew the moment he stepped into the room by the way her body reacted, tingling with an awareness that had always been there between the two of them. Even when she’d been disguised as a guy.

Heat that had nothing to do with the temperature of the bath flooded her veins. She opened her eyes to find him leaning back against the door frame looking at her with a heavy lidded gaze. Steam billowed from the white porcelain mug cupped in his masculine hands. Slowly, the focus of his gaze lifted from where her breasts peeked out above the surface of the bubbles to her face. Looking pointedly at the mug, she arched a brow. “Is that for me?”

“The tea you mean?” Marcus asked suggestively, giving her a sexy half smile.

Avery reached out with a soapy arm to take the mug he offered her. “The tea will do… for now,” she said, playing along. Blowing over the top before taking a sip, she sighed with pleasure at the first taste of the rich exotic brew. Warmth from the tea slid down her throat while the passionate expression on Marcus’ face fueled warmth of a different sort.

Purposefully, she sat up further in the water, feeling the bubbles sliding down to her waist. Eyes darkening to deep sapphire followed their path with focused concentration. She started to bring the tea to her mouth again when he abruptly reached for it and removed it from her hands.

The mug clattered as he set it down on the black granite countertop. He grabbed a thick white bath towel off the warming rack. Wordlessly, he unfolded it and held it outstretched for her to step into. “You are so beautiful,” he said watching her rise from the tub.

He wrapped her flushed body in the soft heated towel and swept her off her feet. Cradled tight to his rock-hard chest, she found herself swiftly carried to the bedroom. Her heart hammered excitedly against her ribs as he laid her out on the king sized bed and began to caress her body. With calloused fingertips he expertly stroked her like an instrument that he had mastered. She’d never had a lover like Marcus. Not that there had been many before him. But she could never
have imagined anyone making love to her the way he did. Like it was a physical expression of what he felt inside his soul.

He ran his hands across every inch of her sensitized creamy white skin plucking lightly in certain areas, circling teasingly in others, always seeming to intuitively know where and how to touch in a way that would give her the most pleasure. By the time he covered her body with his own she was trembling and ready. She moaned deep in her throat at the exquisite feeling of completion she felt when he finally brought their bodies together.

Over the past week she’d sensed his lovemaking taking on an even higher level of intensity than usual as if he was savoring each moment. Now he made love to her so tenderly and so patiently that it took only moments before he’d coaxed from her the ultimate crescendo. And as it always was between them, after she cried out his name, he soon followed, dampening her vocal release with his mouth over hers, as if he were drinking in her essence.

About the Author:

Michelle Mankin is a young adult romance writer as well as a self- proclaimed giant... inside of her own mind!

For many years she worked in the insurance industry as an underwriter. Somehow, the boredom didn't kill her but the hour and hours of looking at facts and figures provided ample time for her mind to wander.

Love Evolution is her debut novel. A rock 'n roll romance based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. It is the first in a planned trilogy using the plot underpinnings of Shakespeare combined with the drama, excitement, and indisputable sexiness of the rock 'n roll industry.

When she is not putting her daydreams down on paper, you can find her traveling the world with her family, sometimes for real, and sometimes just for pretend as she takes the children to school and back.

Website

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