Lisa Emme's Blog, page 18

The Jingle Book Blog Hop Continues

Get in the holiday spirit by hopping along with me on the Jingle Book Blog Hop.  Check out my post on Christmas Spirit for all the details.  Don’t forget there is a Grand Prize giveaway for a $25 Amazon Gift Card.  I’m also offering a chance to win one of five digital copies (epub or mobi) of Dead and Kicking.  Just comment on the original post and your name will be entered in the draw. Sign up for my mailing list (here) and get an extra entry to the draw.

Jingle Book Blog Hop – Start Hopping!

I had a bit of a technical glitch yesterday and and suffered from premature publication (don’t you just hate when that happens?). If you visited my post for the hop yesterday and tried the giveaway link and found it didn’t work, I apologize.  The hop is now live. Check out my original post (click the picture below), enter the giveaway and start visiting the other stops!

Don’t forget to leave a comment on my original post and you will be entered to win one of five digital copies of Dead and Kicking.  If you sign up for my newsletter, you’ll get an additional entry to the prize giveaway.

 

Jingle Book Blog Hop and Giveaway

To help get you into the holiday mood, I’m participating in the Jingle Book Blog Hop, hosted by Fire & Ice Book Promos.  Join me on this hop around the internet as fellow writers and bloggers share their ideas on Christmas Spirit.  There is also a Jingle Book Blog Hop Grand Prize giveaway where you can win a $25 Amazon Gift Card (see the ‘Enter to Win’ link below).

Christmas Spirit

Christmas is a great time of year whether you are religious or not. What better time to don the holiday spirit and spend time with friends and family? With our hectic lives and busy schedules, it might not always be easy to get into the swing of things, so here’s a few ways to kick things off.

Watch a Christmas movie. There are plenty to chose from including:

A Christmas Story
The Polar Express
Elf
National Lampoons Christmas Vacation
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Christmas Carol
It’s A Wonderful Life
Miracle on 34th Street (my personal favourite – the original 1947 version)
The Santa Clause
Home Alone
Frosty the Snowman
Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer
White Christmas.

Call a friend or loved one. Say hi to someone you haven’t spoken with for a while. Maybe they need help getting into the spirit too.

Read a Christmas themed book. You can’t go wrong with classics like How the Grinch Stole Christmas or A Christmas Carol, no matter what age you are. For the younger set, one of my favourites is Auntie Claus by Elise Primavera.

Decorate! Ornaments, Christmas cards, popcorn strings, lights, garland. Visit the dollar store if you’re on a budget.

Send out Christmas cards or email greetings. You have to send a letter to get a letter, my Gramma used to say. What better way to get into the holiday spirit than to lift someone else’s? And, who knows? You may just get a card in return.

Buy a countdown/advent calendar. Did you know they have ones with chocolate in them? They even have ones with alcohol (check out this Whiskey Advent Calendar)! I realize it’s already partway through December, but think how much fun it will be to catch up!

Listen to Christmas music. Yes, I know the malls are filled with muzak, but there are a lot of great Christmas songs out there.  Here’s a few to listen for:

Merry Christmas Everybody – Slade
Wonderful Christmastime – Paul McCartney
I Wish it Could be Christmas Everyday – Roy Wood and Wizard
Walking in the Air – Aled Jones
Do They Know it’s Christmas? – Band Aid
I Believe in Father Christmas – Greg Lake
Rocking Around the Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
White Christmas – Bing Crosby
Happy Christmas (War is Over) – John Lennon
Sleigh Ride – Pentatonix
Step into Christmas – Elton John
Mistletoe and Wine – Cliff Richard
Mary’s Boy Child/Oh My Lord – Boney M.
Fairytale of New York – Pogues and Kirsty MacColl
A spaceman came Travelling – Chris De Burgh
Last Christmas – Wham!
All I Want For Christmas is You – Mariah Carey
Jingle Bells – Bing Crosby (other versions exist too)
Christmas Lights – Coldplay

Be generous. Donate time or money to those in need. Volunteer at your local food bank or soup kitchen. Give to a local charity that collects to help make Christmas better for those less fortunate.

Say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays to everyone you meet. Even if they don’t celebrate, they will probably return the greeting with a smile, and you should too!

Bake some treats. We all have a favourite treat that we only make on special occasions. No time like the present to dust that recipe off. In fact, I’ll share one of mine. When I was a kid, we called this “Christmas Slice” because you only ever saw it at Christmas.

Nanaimo Bars recipe

Looking for the perfect gift for the reader in your family?  There’s still time to order them a copy of Dead and Kicking, book one in the Harry Russo Diaries. In fact, there’s no better time than now to read Harry’s first adventure, with book two, Tooth and Claw, set for release on January 5, 2016.

As part of this hop, I am offering a chance to win one of five digital copies (epub or mobi) of  Dead and Kicking just leave a comment below and you are automatically entered.  Sign up to my mailing list (here) during the duration of the hop and get an extra entry. Everyone who signs up will also get a sneak peek at the first chapter of Deadlocked, book three in the Harry Russo Diaries.

Available in all digital formats!

Amazon

Kobo

iTunes

Barnes & Noble

Also available in print!

Chapters

Createspace

Barnes & Noble

Amazon 

What’s a girl to do when her date is D.O.A?

Angharad ‘Harry’ Russo is just your ordinary twenty-something, with one exception – she’s a witch with an out of the ordinary gift.  When her blind date goes sideways and she ends up face to face with a dead body, her life starts to go sideways too.

Harry soon finds herself right in the middle of the mayhem, dealing with Cian Nash, a homicide detective that is as aggravating as he is sexy; the biggest, baddest vampire in town; and a parcel of pesky zombies that keep popping up everywhere.  It’s all connected to her date’s unfortunate demise, or is there more to it than meets the eye?

 What people are saying about Dead and Kicking :

…I can’t wait to read more.

–KaleidoscopeHeart Book Reviews

I have to say, there just aren’t as many new Urban Fantasy series out there as there used to be, so it’s kind of exciting for me to find one that I enjoyed. I read this debut by Lisa Emme in one sitting.

-Jen, Red Hot Books

5 stars….I read the whole thing in one go, I loved her characters and her story line, I was completely engaged…

–Jen Winters

Read an excerpt from Dead and Kicking

Coming Soon!

Available for pre-order Now.  Check your favourite online retailer!

Amazon

Kobo

iTunes

Barnes & Noble

Available in print January 2016

 

 

Jingle Book Blog Hop Grand Prize Giveaway.  

Follow this link to enter the Grand Prize Giveaway and continue on the rest of the hop.

Enter to Win!

 

And don’t forget to check back on December 27th for the Crazy Canuck New Year’s Blog Hop .  Fill your new devices with Canadian authors with a chance to win a fantastic grand prize!

Do You Pin?

Have I mentioned I have a Pinterest account? I’ve created boards for the first two books in the Harry Russo Diaries as well as for my upcoming romantic suspense, Home Again.

There are sneak peeks, some of Harry’s wardrobe choices and other props. Want to know what kind of Harley Nash drives? What does the infamous McQueen dress look like?  There’s even a board for Harry’s store, Contain Yourself.  And let’s not forget some of Harry’s favourite recipes, or at least one’s she hopes to convince Isaac to try!

Stop on by and follow me. I’ll be adding new boards as the series progresses. Visit me on Pinterest!

Cover Reveal – Deadlocked

We’re still counting down the days until the release of Tooth and Claw, book two in Harry’s series, but I just couldn’t wait to reveal the cover of book three, Deadlocked.

Another great job by my cover designer, Scarlett Rugers.

SPOILER ALERT: If you don’t want to ruin the surprise at the end of Tooth and Claw, don’t read the blurb :-)

Indie Author Q & A

S.I.A. – Support Indie Authors

Stop by the SIA page to check out the latest interview with Indie Author April Wilson.  She has four dogs and two cats.  With that menagerie she should add zookeeper to her resumé.

Find out more in An Interview with April Wilson

Tooth and Claw by Lisa Emme

Keep the reviews coming! Tooth and Claw is set for release January 5. Available for pre-order now :-)

Kaleidoscope Heart Book Reviews

Title: Tooth and Claw

Author: Lisa Emme

Series: The Harry Russo Diaries – #2

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release date: January 05, 2016

Pages: 248
Synopsis:

Q: When is a witch, not a witch?
A: When she’s a necromancer.

Angharad ‘Harry’ Russo has had to adjust to some major changes in her life. Her computer is haunted, she accidentally acquired a vampire servant and she’s attracted to the most aggravating alpha male on the planet. Her friend betrayed her, a lunatic tried to sacrifice her to raise a god and she accidentally ‘outed’ herself to the Magister, the most powerful vampire in town. What else could go wrong? Oh yeah, she’s just discovered that her father is a vampire and her dhamphiric powers are emerging prematurely. Poor Harry doesn’t know what weird ability could pop up next.

When werewolves start to go missing, and two young men die suspiciously, not to…

View original post 476 more words

Don’t Like Waiting?

I have a little treat for those who just can’t wait to get their hands on a print copy of Tooth and Claw. It’s now available to purchase on Amazon. Get it before the release date!  You might even be able to order and have it in time for Christmas.

Enjoy!

Indie Author Q & A

S.I.A. – Support Indie Authors

Today Erin Zarro is stopping by.  Or is it Erin Kendall?  There’s a telepathic dog as well.

Find out more in An Interview with Erin Zarro

Review: Tooth and Claw

lisaemme:

An early review for Tooth and Claw! Love it :-)

Originally posted on Veronica Del Rosa:

Pre-order here: Tooth and Claw: The Harry Russo Diaries, #2 by Lisa Emme

5 out of 5 stars

I read the first Harry Russo book and loved it. So when the author, Lisa Emme, asked me if I wanted an ARC, I almost jumped through my computer screen to yell, “Yes! Give it to me now!” I think I was more polite in my response to her, though. ;)

In this book, Harry is learning how to control her powers and some parts are damn amusing. Seriously, I was giggling like a crazy women and my husband would just raise an eyebrow at me like I was crazy. And no, I won’t tell you which ones because that would ruin the enjoyment!

Poor Harry also had to keep with her agreement for dinner dates ones a week for nine weeks with the scary magistrate. Although she didn’t keep the…

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