Sophia Henry's Blog, page 3

#NewASH Winners Have Been Drawn

Winners will be announced on the New Adult Scavenger Hunt website.
Thanks for participating!!

New Adult Scavenger Hunt!! #NewASH

Welcome to New Adult Scavenger Hunt! This bi-annual event was created as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors…and a chance to win some awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize–one lucky winner will receive one book from each author on the hunt in my team! 
​But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!
Go to the New Adult Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are TWO contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the TEAM BLUE–but there is also a green team for a chance to win a whole different set of books! If you’d like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to 
the New Adult Scavenger Hunt page.

***Remember to read all the way down because I have a GIVEAWAY!!*** ***THE SCAVENGER HUNT*** Directions: Below, you’ll notice that I’ve listed my lucky book number. Collect the lucky book numbers of all the authors on Team Blue, and then add them up (don’t worry, you can use a calculator).
Entry Form: Once you’ve added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.
Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian’s permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by Nov 1st, at noon Eastern Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered. LET THE HUNT BEGIN! YOU’VE FOUND A TEAM BLUE AUTHOR! ***MEET EMBER SHANE, AUTHOR of OF ROYAL DESCENT*** Ember Shane is the author of the new adult, paranormal romances included in The Doyle Hawthorne Series. She's currently working on her fourth book, title pending, which follows Jenny Hawthorne's story, tentatively scheduled to be released autumn 2016. 

When she's not writing about things that go bump in the night, Ember can be found practicing her hot glue gun skills or searching for the holy grail of banana pudding recipes. You can find Ember on the following social media sites:

//  Facebook Author Page  //  Twitter  // They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. But sometimes, under extreme circumstances, it's exactly that which kills you that makes you stronger. And faster. And a member to a new, elite race of zombies.

Armed with a current address for his biological grandfather and a slightly unusual, yet loyal best friend, Doyle Hawthorne sets out to discover the truth about his past. But answers don't come easily, and the closer Doyle arrives to his destination, the more confusing things become. Disturbing alterations to his physical appearance as well as to his personality flicker on and off as Doyle searches for a logical explanation.

​Despite the increasing severity of these uncontrolled flare-ups, Doyle is determined to keep his first date with Addy - a beautiful, young woman he has met upon his arrival into town. After narrowly subduing his raging impulses, Doyle quickly decides not even death itself can keep him from her. Unfortunately, he is about to test that theory.

Once initiated, nothing can alter the process of shading - the term given to the three distinct phases of becoming a higher classification of zombie, commonly referred to as "royals". Doyle must learn to control his tendency toward violence as well as his newfound royal powers if there is any chance of protecting those he loves from a mad scientist, the government, the colony of royals, and most importantly... himself. AMAZON //  Exclusive Content  // Bonus Scene: OF ROYAL DESCENT *Unlike the other books in The Doyle Hawthorne Series, Of Royal Descent is told only from Doyle’s POV.  Therefore not all exchanges that occurred between Chuck and Kai made the final edit. Having Doyle narrate private scenes would have been a little awkward.  =)  The following scene takes place the morning after Chuck and Kai’s double-date with Doyle and Addy.
              

“Hey, you okay?” Chuck’s voice called from the other side of the door.  
Dammit.  Had my crying woke him?  I thought I’d been quiet.  I swiped the back of my hands across my cheeks and checked the damage in the mirror.  Great.  Bloodshot, raccoon eyes stared back at me.  Turning the faucet on high blast, I hurried to freshen up.  There was no way I was going to let Chuck see me like this.
“Why wouldn’t I be?’ I shot back, shoving the residual gloominess away and slipping back inside my sarcastic, bulletproof armor.  It fit so well.
“I don’t know.”  His words were soft and he hesitated before continuing.  “But you’re obviously upset.”
“You’re wrong.  Imagine that.  Now can I please have five minutes to myself, Stalker?”
I could hear him sigh from the other side of the door.  “Did I do something wrong?”
A spark of guilt ignited in the pit of my stomach.  Something wrong?  I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall.  I swallowed hard as I thought about the night we’d just shared.  No, Chuck Johnson had done nothing wrong.  That was the problem.
And trust me, I’d been searching for some defect… for one single reason to lump him with all the other disappointments from my past.  It had been a pointless endeavor.  Chuck was not like the others.  I mentally checked off each item I’d learned about him from the previous night.  
He was loyal.  Clearly.  I’d been on my worst behavior, determined to get a rise out of either Chuck or Doyle so I could show Addy these weren’t the right guys for us.  Long distance relationships never worked out.  And how had Chuck reacted?  I frowned.  He’d practically performed backflips trying to entertain and please me so his friend could have a civil date.
He was patient.  See reasoning above.  Although not too patient.  He wasn’t a doormat.  When I’d finally pressed him past his limits, he’d threatened to spank me.  Which brought me to item number three.  He knew how to please a girl.  I shuddered, the memory fresh in my mind.
“Kai?”
My name on his lips slammed me back into the present.  “Five minutes!” I shouted.  I did my best to make myself presentable in the following moments of silence he granted me.  This not only included my appearance, but also my wall of defense.  Just because I hadn’t found any glaring defects in either his personality or appearance did not mean they weren’t there.  They were always there if a person had enough time to wait it out.  Which is exactly why I preferred to remain unattached.  I squared my shoulders and opened the door.
He’d been waiting just outside.  Squinting, he let his eyes sweep the length of my body before returning to my own.  Under such intense scrutiny, I felt myself blush.  
“You didn’t answer my question,” he said.
“No, you didn’t do anything wrong.  That would imply there’s something wrong to begin with.  And there’s not.”
He closed the small gap between us, his hands coming to rest on my hips, and I stumbled backward.  “No,” I said, a little too forcefully.  I knew all too well the bliss those hands were capable of giving.  If I allowed him to touch me, to have his hands on my body, then my wall of defense would crumble to my feet.  I kept my palms in front of me in an effort to fend off his approach, although he did not advance forward. 
“Ok.  No touching.  Will you just talk to me?”
I side-stepped him to sit on the edge of the bed and pull on a combat boot.  “Can you just take me to Addy’s?  That would be great.”  I worked the laces as if they required my full attention.
“You don’t have to do this,” he answered.
“Do what?”  My fingers knotted the silver shoestrings in a bow before reaching for the second boot.
“Act like this.  If I did something wrong, tell me.  I’ll fix it.”  
I glanced up to meet his gaze.  You can’t fix it.  You can’t fix me.  “You wanna’ fix it?  Take me to Addy’s,” I said, tightening the final bow of my laces.  
“Ok, fine.  You want me to take you to Addy’s?  I will.  First, will you please just tell me what happened?  The last time we were both awake, you seemed to be enjoying my company quite immensely.  In fact, if I may quote you, your exact words were–”
“Seriously?  I’m well aware of what I said.”  I scowled, hoping it would distract him from the redness I could feel working its way up my cheeks.  “It’s called pillow talk, Chuck.  That’s what people do.  They say things during the heat of a moment, okay?  You’re a guy.  You should already be aware of the concept.”
The vein in his neck visibly pulsed.  His eyes darkened.  “Oh, I think you meant it.”  His stare was hard and I was afraid he could read my very thoughts.  Because I had meant it.  I’d meant every last word when I’d begged him to never stop touching me.  He took a step toward me and my skin tingled in anticipation.  My own body was a traitor.  
“In fact, I bet I can make you say it again.”  His voice was low and smooth.
The temperature in the room suddenly spiked.  I wanted to fan myself, but somehow found the power to resist.  I bet you could, I thought.  
“Are you going to take me to Addy’s, or am I walking?”  I grabbed my bag from the bedside table.
I watched his jaw flex involuntarily before he turned and shoved his feet into his sneakers.  He grabbed the keys to his El Camino and flung open the door.  “After you, Sweetheart.”  His smile was saccharin as he gestured with a wide sweep of his arm.
Chuck followed me out the door and down to the parking lot in silence.  It was only when I was seated next to him and the car was in drive that he attempted conversation again.  I suppose he felt fairly certain I wouldn’t risk a dive from a moving vehicle in order to get away from him.  I was less certain.
“Are you regretting last night?  Is that why you’re upset?”  His voice had softened.
I huffed.  He wasn’t going to let it go.  “No.  It was mutually beneficial.  So why would I?”
A half-smile graced his lips.  “Mutually beneficial?  I guess that’s one way of saying it.”  The smile faded.  “I just don’t want you to feel ashamed of anything.”
I glared at him, stunned.  “Ashamed?” I repeated.
“You know.  Because we only met last night.”  He glanced in my direction as we stopped for a red light.
A small burst of laughter escaped my mouth when I understood his meaning.  His eyebrows drew up in question, causing me to snicker again.  “Do you feel ashamed, Chuck?”  
He shook his head slowly, trying to understand my amusement.  
“But you think I might be, because I’m a girl, right?  The fifties called.  They’d like their chauvinistic ideals back.”  
“I just meant–”
“Yeah, I know what you meant.  And I hate to break this to you, but you’re not my first random hook-up.  You’re not even the second.”  
At his answering expression, my amusement vanished.  Judging by the near-rage that shimmered over his countenance, I’d pushed him exceedingly close to his limit.  I checked out the window to see how far we were from Addy’s apartment.  I needed out of this car before I said something I really would regret.
After a minute, his breathing regulated and he’d calmed enough to ask his next question.  “Were you upset because I kept you from spending time with Addy last night?  You did drive all the way up here and your plans got cancelled.”
“Are you implying I display co-dependent behaviors?”
Chuck’s grip on the steering wheel tightened.  Uh-oh.  Maybe that had been the line.  I wasn’t deliberately trying to goad him.  I just wanted him off the subject of why I’d been crying.  And I was using the sharpest tool in my armory in an attempt to distract him.  Sarcasm.
“Fine,” he spoke through clenched teeth.  “You’re not ashamed and you could care less about your friends.  Guess that just leaves one option left as to why you were bawling your eyes out.”
I felt my eyes narrow as I turned to stare at him.  “Please, I must know.”  The smirk on his face enraged me before he even spoke.  
“The only possible reason left is because you’re afraid I’ll lose interest now that we’ve already ‘hooked up’?”
“What?!” I screamed, causing him to swerve the vehicle.  He placed his palm over his right ear, straightened the wheel, and glared at me.  
“I know you had a good time last night, Kai.  I was there, making sure of it.  And there’s no question whether or not you’re attracted to me.  You are, Sweetheart.”
My jaw hung loose as I gaped at him.
“But it’s okay, Sweetness,” he continued, his words slightly less acidic.  “You play your cards right and we might could work out a deal.”  He winked at me and my vision blurred.
I don’t remember my exact words at that point in time, but I can confirm the proper placement of colorful language interjected between reasons we would not be seeing each other again.  There was at least one, “And I would never,” and a, “Not in a million years!”  
The moment Chuck pulled into Addy’s driveway I reached for the door handle.
“Don’t forget your eight movie collector cups, Princess,” Chuck sneered as he handed me the tower of plastic cups he’d bought for me on our date the night before.
“Yes, I wouldn’t want to forget those!” I said, accepting them eagerly.  “Now I have something to serve my random hook-ups a beverage in when they spend the night at my house.”  I pushed open the door and withdrew from the car, but not before I saw the glimmer of crazy sparkle in Chuck’s eye.
“You’re psychotic!  You know that, right?”  He spat out the words like they’d offended his mouth.  Oh yeah, he was well past his threshold.  
I took the path that led to Addy’s door as Chuck followed behind me.  “Just because I don’t want to date you doesn’t make me psychotic.  However, your calling me psychotic because I won’t date you does make you a megalomaniac,” I shot back. Awesome!! I’m adding OF ROYAL DESCENT to my TBR, now. How about you?
​And don’t forget to enter the contest at New Adult Scavenger Hunt for a chance to win a ton of signed books by me, ​SOPHIA HENRY, and more! To enter, you need to know that my lucky book number is 9  Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on Team Blue and you’ll have the secret code to enter for the grand prize! ***CONTINUE THE HUNT*** To keep continue the hunt, check out Stacey Mosteller's site HERE!
​
GOOD LUCK!! ****Sophia's GIVEAWAY #1*** Leave a comment below to be entered in a drawing to win a
​$25 Amazon Gift Card!!
Question: What Team Blue book are you most looking forward to reading? //  BONUS //
Sophia's GIVEAWAY #2!!! Sign up for my newsletter to be entered in a drawing for:
$15 Amazon Gift Card
and a
$15 iTunes Gift Card
(Winner gets both!!)
Sign up on my CONNECT page! :)

AN UNEXPECTED WISH by Eileen Richards ~ RELEASE DAY!

THE BOOK:  AN UNEXPECTED WISH LOVE IS IN THE AIR
 
Anne Townsend doesn’t ask for much. Plain and poor, she’d settle for the funds to put food on the table. Making a wish on the fabled Fairy Steps is hardly a solid solution, but to see her two sisters taken care of, Anne’s willing to try anything. Yet when she finds herself suddenly surrounded with suitors, romance is now a possibility for the spinster everyone always ignored—except with the one man who will never want her…     

Nathaniel Matthews has no time for courting. As the eldest, he has his family’s lost fortune to rebuild, and his reckless brother to manage before he gambles his future away.
 Odd that Nathaniel can think of little but kissing bright-eyed Anne, who seems to be fighting off admirers from all sides. Is it the country air, or is Nathaniel ready to discover that love has a magic all its own? BUY AN UNEXPECTED WISH THE AUTHOR: Eileen Richards has been writing for most of her life. Poetry, totally inappropriate answers to essay questions in school, and interesting error codes during her 30 year IT career has prepared for the manic world of publishing.

She writes sassy regency romps set in the small villages of England where the rules are bent a little and gossip rules the day.

Eileen resides with her husband and their diva of a greyhound in North Carolina.
CONNECT: Website  // Facebook  //  Twitter

New Adult Scavenger Hunt!

Hiya!! Hope you are excited as I am, because we have less than two weeks until the Fall edition of the New Adult Scavenger Hunt begins!

​Here are the #NewASH teams: Team Blue
Team Green
The Fall New Adult Scavenger Hunt begins at Noon Eastern Time on Thursday, October 29th and runs through
Sunday, November 1st.​
Winners will be announced on Wednesday, November 3rd 
on the NewASH website.

​Leave a comment below to tell me which team you are
the most interested in checking out!

Charity for INTERFERENCE: Pilots Hockey #3

If you've been following my posts, you know... I made a vow to donate the FIRST $500 I make from each book in the Detroit Pilots series to a featured charity. 
DELAYED PENALTY >> Open Arms Grief Support Program
POWER PLAY >> Rainn.org AND Earthworks Urban Farm A few months ago, I participated in a Facebook party with some Sports Romance author friends. In one of my posts, I asked for readers help me to choose the organization I will donate to for INTERFERENCE: Pilots Hockey #3. //  Winner  // ANNE G.  Special Olympics Shout out to the kind hearted readers for these amazing suggestions:
//  Click on the charity name to be taken to a donation page  //
CJ D. >> Cathy M. >> American Cancer Society and Wounded Warrior Project
Fedora C. >> Second Harvest Food Bank (Feeding America)
Catherine M. >> The Hope Centre
Chris B. >> Ronald McDonald House THANK YOU! THANK YOU! for making it possible!! Be Kind. Change OUR World. Together.

It's International Hockey Romance Month!!!

It's the MOST wonderful time of the year! HOCKEY SEASON! GO WINGS!!! And for the month of October, a ton of fabulous
hockey romance writers
have teamed up to bring you:
International Hockey Romance Month!
A pucking awesome month-long celebration with
​tons giveaways and hockey-filled interaction.

 Join the International Hockey Romance Month Facebook Group
​to interact with hockey romance writers and hockey fans and win prizes! Looking for a new read?
Or maybe you just want to interact with some awesome hockey fans ?
Here's a list of some my favorite hockey people 
​WHO ALSO WRITE HOCKEY ROMANCE!! Stacey Agdern 
Twitter // Facebook

Linda Aicher
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Sawyer Bennett
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Cassandra Carr
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Cherylanne Corneille
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Jami Davenport
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Aven Ellis
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Catherine Gayle
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Melody Heck Gatto
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Avon Gale
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Jaymee Jacobs
Website // Twitter // Facebook 

Kelly Jamieson
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Lisa B. Kamps
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Katie Kenyhercz
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Jennifer Lazaris 
​Twitter // Facebook 
​
Stina Lindenblatt
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Heather Lire
Website // Twitter // Facebook

V.L. Locey 
Twitter // Facebook

Jennifer Loring
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Jeannie Moon
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Lindsay Paige
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Mary Smith
 Website // Twitter // Facebook

Bianca Sommerand
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Melanie Ting
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Samantha Wayland
Website // Twitter // Facebook
​
Sarina White-Bowen
Website // Twitter // Facebook

Kate Willoughby
Website  // Twitter // Facebook

NO REGRETS by Kate L. Mary ~ Release Day!!

Today is Release Day for 
NO REGRETS (College of Charleston #2)
​by Kate L. Mary!!  
​
College is supposed to be fun.

Go to parties.

Pick up guys.

Maybe get in a little trouble . . .

On the surface Cami is your average, wild teenager out to have a good time, but inside she’s struggling. Almost a year ago her best friend was in a car accident, an accident Cami feels responsible for. Since then, she’s made it her personal mission to experience everything life has to offer, both for herself and for Julie, who will never have fun again.​ Then she meets Liam, her cousin’s sexy roommate. Hooking up with a hot British dude seems like the perfect way to start off the school year, but the more time she spends with him, the more she finds herself actually liking the guy. Which totally screws up her plans to live life with no regrets . . . Buy no regrets

Cover Reveal - INCONCEIVABLE by Tegan Wren

INCONCEIVABLE: A popular, young royal couple can't produce an heir? INCONCEIVABLE!

When Ozarks native Hatty goes "whole hog" during karaoke, she catches the eye of Prince John. He isn't what she expects the heir to a small European nation to be: he's affable, witty, and isn't put off by her tell-it-like-it-is demeanor. Their flirtation should be short lived, but a force stronger than fate--Hatty's newspaper editor--assigns her to cover the royals. After spending time together, she and John soon begin dating, and Hatty finds herself making headlines instead of writing them.

But challenges loom that are even more complicated than figuring out how to mesh Hatty's journalism career with life at Belvoir Palace. Hatty and John soon find themselves embroiled in an unusual sex scandal: they can't produce an heir. Tabloids dub Hatty a "Barren-ess," and the royals become irate. Hatty politely tells them to shove it. But beneath her confident exterior, she struggles to cope with a heartbreak that invades her most intimate moments with John.

Pressured to choose between invasive medical procedures and abandoning John's claim to the throne, the couple feels trapped until a trip to Ethiopia shows them happy endings sometimes arrive long after saying "I do." THE GORGEOUS COVER: PRE-ORDER: AMAZON US AMAZON UK AUTHOR: The best compliment Tegan Wren ever received came from her sixth grade teacher: “You always have a book in your hand!”

Guided by her love of the creative process, Tegan grew up acting in theatre productions and writing poetry, short stories, and plays. She turned her eye to 
writing about real life when she worked as a journalist, producing reports for various radio and television stations in medium and large markets in the Midwest and also filing some stories for a major national news network.  Wren has both a Bachelor’s of Journalism and a Master of Arts in Communications. After completing her graduate degree, Tegan had the opportunity to teach journalism courses at a major state university. She absolutely loved training the next generation of journalists.

Tegan’s thankful that she’s had the opportunity to travel overseas, and uses those adventures to inform her writing. She also draws inspiration from her own struggles, joys, and life experiences. Tegan and her husband, Patrick, experienced infertility for five years before becoming parents through adoption. CONNECT: Blog // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Goodreads 

The last week of the DELAYED PENALTY Blog Tour!!

Picture It: Detroit 2015 The Pilots players are flying in from all over the world 
to start training camp soon. 
But first, they stop in North Carolina 
to visit these blogs with me...

Monday, Sept 14th
Romance Between the Sheets
The Bookwhore Diaries
Born to Read Books
Author Amanda Heger 
 Tegan Wren Writes
Crystal's Chaotic Confessions 

Tuesday, Sept 15th
Southern Yankee Book Review
 Rookie Scrivener 
Annika Sharma 
Hines and Bigham's Literary Tryst
 Fictitious Delicious 

Wednesday, Sept 16th
Pages of Comfort
Keeleys Book Nook 
Wicked Reads 

Thursday, Sept 17th
abibliophobia anonymous book reviews
Falling in Fall Book Blog 
LeAnn's Book Reviews

Friday, Sept 18th
My Secret Romance
 Escape Reality with Book 

Mission Accomplished!

This is for YOU!!! You may have bought Delayed Penalty for the Russian Hockey Hottie - but you also supported hundreds of grieving kids.  Because of YOU, I'm donating $500 to St. John Providence 
Open Arms Grief Support in Detroit, MI 
at the end of September.
Even though I am the one making the donation, 
this is not only MY donation, it's OURS. 
Every single person who bought Delayed Penalty, who read it and recommended it to friends, or who Tweeted or Blogged or Facebook-ed about the book. 
~ Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! ~

How OUR Support Will Help Open Arms:
$500 provides 8-weeks of transportation for families who would not otherwise attend 
$200 provides supplies for a 10-week session in the schools 
$75 purchases books/materials for our resource library 
$50 provides education materials for community outreach
More Information on Open Arms THANK YOU!! I will do the same thing with profits from POWER PLAY: Pilots Hockey #2. 

Organizations who will benefit:
RAINN.org : Helping victims of sexual assault
 Earthworks Urban Farm : An Urban Farm that helps feed the hungry
YOU guys inspire me. So I made up this cool hashtag we can use:
#HockeyRomanceHelps
Did I say THANK YOU?
THANK YOU!