Sharon Wray's Blog, page 101

The Hungry {Romance} Writer: Slow Cooker Turkey & Sweet Potato Chili

It’s been a long time since I posted super-easy recipes, but with so many people frazzled by deadlines and the holidays (myself included), I’ve decided to start posting again. Since the weather screams “dinner by the fire”, today’s entry for “The Hungry {Romance} Writer” is Slow Cooker Turkey & Sweet Potato Chili. It’s different than regular chili, but still hot and filling. And it’s great served with fresh cornbread!

Serves 6

Slow Cooker Turkey & Sweet Potato Chili

This is a wonderful mild chili for those (kids) who hate beans. To extend the servings, I offer it over brown rice. Serve with corn bread, chili toppings (sour cream, cheese, etc), and a green salad.

15 minPrep Time

4 hrCook Time

4 hr, 15 Total Time

Author:


Sharon Wray

Save Recipe

Print Recipe




My Recipes
My Lists
My Calendar

Ingredients

20 oz lean ground turkey1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced1/2 cup onion, chopped2 teaspoons minced garlic (I use the minced garlic in a jar)1 1- oz. can Ro-Tel tomatoes with green chilies (original recipe)1 8-oz can tomato sauce3/4 cup water1/2 teaspoon cumin1/4 teaspoon paprika1/4 teaspoon chili powderKosher salt, to taste

Instructions

Brown the ground turkey, onions, and garlic. Drain and add to the slow cooker.Add tomato sauce, Ro-Tel tomatoes, sweet potatoes, cumin, chili powder, salt, and paprika.Cook on low for 3-4 hours, depending on the slow cooker.Recipe Type: Main Dish, Poultry

Notes

If served over brown rice, recipe makes 8-10 servings.

7.6.63http://sharonwray.com/the-hungry-writer/hungry-romance-writer-slow-cooker-turkey-sweet-potato-chili/

The post The Hungry {Romance} Writer: Slow Cooker Turkey & Sweet Potato Chili appeared first on Sharon Wray.

Cover Reveal: Every Deep Desire by Sharon Wray

It’s so hard to believe that this day has finally arrived. After almost fourteen years of writing, ten manuscripts, and more rejections than I want to count, my first romantic suspense novel Every Deep Desire will arrive on March 6, 2018. It will be available in print, e-book, and Audible formats in bookstores and online.

But today is a day to celebrate because this is the day the beautiful cover is revealed. I want to thank my wonderful publisher Sourcebooks Casablanca for all of their help and hard work in bringing this story to the world.

Can’t wait for March 6? It’s also available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes and Noble and iBooks.

And adding it to your Goodreads TBR list is always appreciated!

[image error]

He’s taking it all back

His honor, his freedom, and the woman he loves

Rafe Montfort was a decorated Green Beret, the best of the best, until a disastrous mission and an unforgivable betrayal destroyed his life. Now, this deadly soldier has returned to the sultry Georgia swamps to reunite with his brothers, and take back all he lost. But his wife Juliet must never know the truth behind what he’s done…or the dangerous secret that threatens to take him from her forever.

It took Juliet Capel eight long years to put her life back together after her husband was taken from her. Now Rafe is back, determined to protect her at any cost, and it’s not just her heart that’s in danger. The swamps hold a secret long buried and far deadlier than either of them could have imagined…

EXCERPT:

Juliet took off her hard hat and threw it onto a newly installed iron bench. The man looking for her could’ve been anyone. That hot, panicky sensation returned, making her hands and legs tingle. Despite the sunshine, thunder clapped in the distance again. She gripped the edge of the table and stared at an invoice until the image blurred. She didn’t hate Rafe, she just had no reason to see him again. Their marriage had been a youthful mistake she’d put behind her.

Voices sounded from near the fountain, and she looked up. Bob and the water inspector were arguing again. Sighing, she slipped her phone in her pocket and went toward them…and stopped.

A man over six feet tall had come through the privacy fence and strode toward the fountain. She paused not just because he wore combat boots, low-riding jeans, and a black T-shirt that outlined his ridged stomach, wide shoulders, and tattooed arms. Not just because he reminded her of Michelangelo’s marble male studies exhibit that’d left her with pudding knees. Not just because he carried the aura of carved masculine perfection with ease.

She paused because his gait stole her breath. Elegant, even graceful, he moved with a determined purpose wrapped in fluid weightlessness. She wouldn’t call it eerie so much as powerful. It had to take enormous strength and self-control to move a body as large and muscular as his so…beautifully.

He spoke to Bob, who pointed toward her. The man nodded, shrugged on the leather biker jacket he carried, and turned. Oh God. His long stride ate up the plank walkway while she wiped her palms on her dress and inhaled deeply. In the space of her exhale, he stopped a few feet away. His brown-eyed gaze clasped onto hers with a longing that kept her still. His sheer size and the yearning in his eyes flooded her with the kind of heat that pooled low.

He was larger than she remembered. And the way he studied her, like she was the only thing in this world worth noticing, reminded her of everything they’d been to each other. Everything they’d once had in that forever-and-always kind of way. Which ended up being a total lie.

She had to remember that.

She swallowed. “Hello, Rafe.”

Seriously? The man had abandoned and betrayed her, and that’s all she could say? She couldn’t even keep the tremor out of her voice.

“Juliet.” It sounded like a prayer, and her breath hitched in the back of her throat. After eight years, she still remembered how her name resonated on his lips, how the word ended with his soft drawl instead of a sharp consonant.

She blinked while he took her hands and moved in. He brushed a kiss on her cheek, and his familiar musky scent teased her nose. She closed her eyes, and her eyelids burned. It was like the anger and sadness and disappointment that had lived inside her for so long were so deeply buried they couldn’t find their way out. She could only stand there, feel his lips on her face, and remember what used to be. Part of her—the traitorous part that exhaled when the kiss ended—was even relieved that he was still alive. For a few of the eight years he’d been away, she hadn’t been sure.

Could she be more pathetic? Probably not. Because she considered the possibility that if she kept her eyes shut, time wouldn’t only stop, it would swing back to the last hours they’d spent together. The last moment they’d been happy.

What is wrong with me?

She opened her eyes and used her fingers to wipe her cheeks. Her gaze darted around—to her worktable, the fountain over his shoulder, his dusty boots—until landing on the blue ribbon wrapped around his wrist under his jacket’s sleeve. She was over him. So why was this so hard? What was it about him that made her tremble, made her limbs feel heavy? She should be angry and dismissive, yet all she could do was ask, “What are you doing here?”

There were so many other questions loaded into that one: Why did you leave me? Where did you go? What were you doing? Do your tattoos mean what you said they mean? That prickly feeling rushed through her again, and she fisted her hands until her nails cut her palms.

His relentless gaze shone with unapologetic determination. A trait she remembered. “The army released me from prison.”

“For God’s sake, why?” She hadn’t meant to screech—and had, in fact, never screeched before—yet his flinch testified to her pitch and tone. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear and shook her head. Embarrassment sent a flush from her neck to her face.

“The army dropped the charges and let me go.” His voice was low and melodic. He even reached out to touch the strand that wouldn’t stay put and hung over her forehead. Except she turned until he lowered his hand. “I know seeing me must be…unsettling.”

Unsettling. Yes. That was a word she could support. She took two deep breaths before meeting the heat in his eyes. “I thought you had a life sentence.”

Or was that a lie too?

He shoved his hands in his front pockets. Despite his jacket, the movement only emphasized the width of his muscled chest. He was so much bigger than when he’d left. “One day I was in solitary confinement, the next I was free.”

She frowned. The whole thing sounded sketchy. “Do you know why? Or who orchestrated it?”

“No.”

She studied the handsome face she used to cup with her hands and caress at will. Square jaw framed by firm cheekbones and deep-brown eyes. Shorn hair with slashes for eyebrows. Lips that protected white teeth, one with a small chip from the time he fell out of the tree next to her balcony. The same face she’d once loved now had tiny lines around the eyes, a jagged scar on the forehead, and a darkness in its eyes. “So you came home?”

He stayed still under her visual assault, as if daring her to look at all of him. As if daring her to see the man who had supposedly gone AWOL to work as a gunrunning mercenary. As if daring her to ask the question they both knew she wanted to ask but was too afraid to.

“Yes.” He spoke softly, his words edged with steel. “I came home.”

With his obvious physical strength and don’t-screw-with-me-or-I’ll-kill-you attitude, he seemed capable of working for an arms dealer. Heck, he could even be an arms dealer. Yet he kept a polite distance between them and moved slightly so the shadow he cast kept the sun out of her eyes. Then there was his upper body, which shook as if the act of standing still in a garden, talking to her, required a tremendous amount of self-control.

Frustrated with her all-over-the-place emotions, she tucked back that stray hair again and walked toward the fountain. He fell into step next to her. “When are you leaving?”

“Depends.” The way that word rolled off his tongue, heavy and intense, loaded it with all sorts of meanings.

“On what?”

“On you.”

She stopped near Bob and faced Rafe. “You nuked my life, yet your decision depends on me?”

“Yes.” For the first time, his attention shifted from her to the horse rising out of the fountain four feet away. “Pegasus?” Memories of their childhood were evident in his half smile. “Our winged horse?”

She shrugged. If he wanted to play the deflection game, she would too. Because no matter what he said or did, she wasn’t going to allow him to mess up her life again. She was no longer the wounded bird he’d married. “Classical architecture is still around. Timeless beauty always trumps dead war heroes.”

When he turned to her again, his stare took in her clunky, steel-toed garden clogs and pink linen dress up to her hard hat–mussed hair. “It does indeed.”

She pressed her palms against her skirt. “What do you want.” No question mark. A direct statement requiring a direct answer.

His eyes narrowed. “To see you.”

“Why?” Her question sounded desperate, but she didn’t care. “It’s been eight years.”

He ran a hand over his head and glanced away. “Because it’s been eight years, and I need to make sure you’re okay.”

“I sent our divorce papers to you in Leavenworth.” She grabbed his leather-clad arm and forced him to look at her. “We’re not married anymore. I’m not your wife.”

“Juliet.” His voice was so broken she almost couldn’t hear the words. “No matter what the world says, and regardless of what you believe, you’ll always be my wife. Your safety always trumps everything.”

Thunder hit hard, much closer this time, and she wrapped her arms around herself. “What does that mean?”

“I’m here to protect you. And I’m not leaving until I do.”

Every Deep Desire is the first in the Deadly Force series about a team of ex-Special Forces soldiers, accused of vicious war crimes, determined to prove their innocence, and desperate to find the enemy who wants to destroy them.

Before time runs out and the enemy attacks again.

As these men struggle to rebuild their lives and redeem their honor, it’s the women they love who teach these alpha males that Grace always defeats Reckoning.

[image error]

 

 Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks.

The post Cover Reveal: Every Deep Desire by Sharon Wray appeared first on Sharon Wray.

Writer Wednesdays: An App a Day Keeps the Stress Away

[image error]

Today’s Writer Wednesdays post is about efficiency and organization. It’s about phone apps! And not just apps for authors!!

[image error]

I’m a lucky woman to be surrounded by so many teenagers because, to be honest, if it wasn’t for them I’d probably still be carrying a small pocket calendar and notebook with which to keep myself organized (actually, I still do). Since I have an iPhone with only 16 gig of storage (which my kids mock relentlessly), I don’t have a ton of apps. And I have a bad habit of adding and deleting apps as I need them.

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

Right now these are the top apps (other than the ones that came pre-loaded) on my phone. All of them I use to help keep my family organized, safe while on the move, and in touch.

WeatherBug – my favorite app for all things weather-related. It even sends me alerts so I have time to text the kids and make sure they’re not driving in bad weather. (They’re all new drivers)

Write 2 Lite – it’s a writing app I use to jot down all the random thoughts and ideas I have about all the stories running through my head.

CVS Pharmacy – Let’s me keep track of Minute Clinic hours and wait times and also alerts me to when I have to renew and pick up prescriptions.

Expedia – We are a traveling family and I use Expedia to keep track of our flights and travel plans.

Google Hangouts – I use this app to keep in touch with my 2015 Golden Heart class aka The Dragonflies!

Uber – You never know when you’re going to need a ride.

Pandora – so convenient to have music only a click away.

Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest – because SM is sometimes the only way I can keep up with the kids. I don’t have FB or FB messenger. The kids don’t use FB and the app takes up way to much memory on my phone. Also, the constant alerts are annoying.

There are a few other apps I use when I have the space:

Waze – A GPS app that’s great but eats up my battery and storage.

Smart Traveler – The State Department app for when we travel overseas.

Airline/Amtrak apps –  I load these up whenever I travel.

Prep & Pantry – Kitchen food storage app that I love but requires a lot of memory.

GoodGuide – A very cool app that scans food/cosmetic/household products bar codes and gives a toxicity rating. This is an interesting app, but also kind of depressing when you realize how many chemicals are in all the products we use. Also eats up my battery, so it had to go.

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

I’d love to know what kinds of apps you use. I’m always looking for ways to make life more efficient and fun!

Please join my Golden Heart sisters in our year-long blog party!

[image error]

Contemporary Romance Writers Tamra Baumann – Priscilla Oliveras  | Paranormal Romance Writers Kay Hudson – Pamela Kopfler | Young Adult Romance Writers TL Sumner

All photographs courtesy of Sharon Wray.

The post Writer Wednesdays: An App a Day Keeps the Stress Away appeared first on Sharon Wray.

2017 Mid-Winter Young Adult & Middle Grade Book List

[image error]

Since Valentine’s Day has passed and there’s still snow in the forecast for parts of the country, I’m happy to offer my 2017 Mid-Winter YA/MG Book List. Perfect for winter school breaks and unexpected snow days.

I want to thank my teen readers for their help and suggestions, as well as my blog readers who’ve made this now-forty-page-list such a popular download. You are all awesome!

*Below are a few highlights, but for the entire printable list, click here: 2017 Mid-Winter YA/MG Book List

This bi-annual compilation is not all-inclusive but offers a good cross-section of genres for both teens and tweens.  There were a lot of new YA Fantasy and Science Fiction books released this past fall and into the New Year, with a few YA Contemporary Romances. I’ve also added some new Middle Grade Action/Adventure and Non-fiction stories. There are books on the list for all readers!  

All covers and blurbs below are courtesy of Amazon.

[image error]

What Light by Jay Asher
Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Sierra’s family runs a Christmas tree farm in Oregon—it’s a bucolic setting for a girl to grow up in, except that every year, they pack up and move to California to set up their Christmas tree lot for the season. So Sierra lives two lives: her life in Oregon and her life at Christmas. And leaving one always means missing the other.

Until this particular Christmas, when Sierra meets Caleb, and one life eclipses the other.

By reputation, Caleb is not your perfect guy: years ago, he made an enormous mistake and has been paying for it ever since. But Sierra sees beyond Caleb’s past and becomes determined to help him find forgiveness and, maybe, redemption. As disapproval, misconceptions, and suspicions swirl around them, Caleb and Sierra discover the one thing that transcends all else: true love.

What Light is a love story that’s moving and life-affirming and completely unforgettable.

 

 

[image error]

Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge
Young Adult Fantasy

Sabriel meets Romeo and Juliet in this stunning and atmospheric novel—the first in a duology—from the author of Cruel Beauty and Crimson Bound.

When the mysterious fog of the Ruining crept over the world, the living died and the dead rose. Only the walled city of Viyara was left untouched.

The heirs of the city’s most powerful—and warring—families, Mahyanai Romeo and Juliet Catresou, share a love deeper than duty, honor, even life itself. But the magic laid on the Juliet at birth compels her to punish the enemies of her clan—and Romeo has just killed her cousin Tybalt. Which means he must die.

Paris Catresou has always wanted to serve his family by guarding the Juliet. But when his ward tries to escape her fate, magic goes terribly wrong—killing her and leaving Paris bound to Romeo. If he wants to discover the truth of what happened, Paris must delve deep into the city, ally with his worst enemy . . . and perhaps turn against his own clan.

Mahyanai Runajo only wants to protect her city—but she’s the only one who believes it’s in peril. In her desperate hunt for information, she accidentally pulls Juliet from the mouth of death—and finds herself bound to the bitter, angry girl. Runajo quickly discovers Juliet might be the one person who can help her recover the secret to saving Viyara. Both pairs will find friendship where they least expect it. Both will find that Viyara holds more secrets and dangers than anyone ever expected. And outside the walls, death is waiting. . . .

[image error]

Lifeblood by Gena Showalter
Young Adult Science Fiction

With her last living breath, Tenley “Ten” Lockwood made her choice and picked her realm in the Everlife. Now, as the war between Troika and Myriad rages, she must face the consequences.

Because Ten possesses a rare supernatural ability to absorb and share light, the Powers That Be have the highest expectations for her future—and the enemy wants her neutralized. Fighting to save her Secondlife, she must learn about her realm from the ground up while launching her first mission: convincing a select group of humans to join her side before they die. No pressure, right?

But Ten’s competition is Killian, the boy she can’t forget—the one who gave up everything for her happiness. He has only one shot at redemption: beating Ten at a game she’s never even played. As their throw-downs heat up, so do their undeniable feelings, and soon, Ten will have to make another choice. Love…or victory.

 

 

 

[image error]Carve the Mark by Veronica  Roth
Young Adult Science Fiction

On a planet where violence and vengeance rule, in a galaxy where some are favored by fate, everyone develops a currentgift, a unique power meant to shape the future. While most benefit from their currentgifts, Akos and Cyra do not—their gifts make them vulnerable to others’ control. Can they reclaim their gifts, their fates, and their lives, and reset the balance of power in this world?

Cyra is the sister of the brutal tyrant who rules the Shotet people. Cyra’s currentgift gives her pain and power—something her brother exploits, using her to torture his enemies. But Cyra is much more than just a blade in her brother’s hand: she is resilient, quick on her feet, and smarter than he knows.

Akos is from the peace-loving nation of Thuvhe, and his loyalty to his family is limitless. Though protected by his unusual currentgift, once Akos and his brother are captured by enemy Shotet soldiers, Akos is desperate to get his brother out alive—no matter what the cost. When Akos is thrust into Cyra’s world, the enmity between their countries and families seems insurmountable. They must decide to help each other to survive—or to destroy one another.

 

[image error]

 King’s Cage by Victoria Aveyard
Young Adult Fantasy

In this breathless third installment to Victoria Aveyard’s bestselling Red Queen series, allegiances are tested on every side. And when the Lightning Girl’s spark is gone, who will light the way for the rebellion?

Mare Barrow is a prisoner, powerless without her lightning, tormented by her lethal mistakes. She lives at the mercy of a boy she once loved, a boy made of lies and betrayal. Now a king, Maven Calore continues weaving his dead mother’s web in an attempt to maintain control over his country—and his prisoner.

As Mare bears the weight of Silent Stone in the palace, her once-ragtag band of newbloods and Reds continue organizing, training, and expanding. They prepare for war, no longer able to linger in the shadows. And Cal, the exiled prince with his own claim on Mare’s heart, will stop at nothing to bring her back.

When blood turns on blood, and ability on ability, there may be no one left to put out the fire—leaving Norta as Mare knows it to burn all the way down.

 

[image error]The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry
Young Adult Historical Romance

Dolssa is an upper-crust city girl who’s been branded a heretic, on the run from the friar who condemned her mother to death by fire and wants Dolssa executed, too. Botille is a matchmaker and a tavern-keeper, struggling to keep herself and her sisters on the right side of the law in their seaside town. When their lives collide by a dark riverside, Botille rescues a dying Dolssa and conceals her in the tavern, where an unlikely friendship blooms. Aided by her sisters and Symo, her surly but loyal neighbor, Botille nurses Dolssa back to health and hides her from her pursuers. But all of Botille’s tricks, tales, and cleverness can’t protect them forever, and when the full wrath of the Church bears down upon them, Dolssa’s passion and Botille’s good intentions could destroy the entire village.

From the author of the critically acclaimed and award-winning All the Truth That’s in Me comes a spellbinding thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final page and make you wonder if miracles really are possible.

 

 

 

[image error]

 Before Tomorrow by Pintip Dunn
Young Adult Science Fiction Novella

In a world where all seventeen-year-olds receive a memory from their future selves, Logan Russell’s vision is exactly as he expects–and exactly not. He sees himself achieving his greatest wish of becoming a gold-star swimmer, but strangely enough, the vision also shows him locking eyes with a girl from his past, Callie Stone, and experiencing an overwhelming sense of love and belonging.

Logan’s not sure what the memory means, but soon enough, he learns that his old friend Callie is in trouble. She’s received an atypical memory, one where she commits a crime in the future. According to the law, she must be imprisoned, even though she’s done nothing wrong. Now, Logan must decide if he’ll give up his future as a gold-star swimmer and rescue the literal girl of his dreams. All he’ll have to do is defy Fate.

 

 

 

 

[image error]
Scythe by Neil Shusterman
Young Adult Action/Adventure/Dystopian

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

Scythe is the first novel of a thrilling new series by National Book Award–winning author Neal Shusterman in which Citra and Rowan learn that a perfect world comes only with a heavy price.

 

 

 

[image error]Something in Between by Melissa De La Cruz
Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Young Adult Jasmine de los Santos has always done what’s expected of her. Pretty and popular, she’s studied hard, made her Filipino immigrant parents proud and is ready to reap the rewards in the form of a full college scholarship.

And then everything shatters. A national scholar award invitation compels her parents to reveal the truth: their visas expired years ago. Her entire family is illegal. That means no scholarships, maybe no college at all and the very real threat of deportation.

For the first time, Jasmine rebels, trying all those teen things she never had time for in the past. Even as she’s trying to make sense of her new world, it’s turned upside down by Royce Blakely, the charming son of a high-ranking congressman. Jasmine no longer has any idea where—or if—she fits into the American Dream. All she knows is that she’s not giving up. Because when the rules you lived by no longer apply, the only thing to do is make up your own.

 

 

 

[image error]

 Caraval by Stephanie Garber
Young Adult Fantasy

Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nevertheless becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.

 

[image error]Dangerous Destiny by Suzanne Brockmann and Melanie Brockmann
Young Adult Paranormal Romance Novella

I know her.

Know her from inside the dreams. Inside those terrible, murderous, bloody dreams. I’ve heard her-screaming, her voice mixing in an awful chorus with all those other girls. Little girls.

Please, God.

That’s what one of the little girls keeps saying, in the dream that is not just a dream. Please, God.

But I know better. There’s no escaping this fate. This is destiny.

I must kill Skylar.

Skylar Reid is the new girl at school. Her mom just moved them to Florida—aka The Land of the Living Dead where the average age of her new neighbors was seventy-five—to start over. Skylar is not a fan of the change or her total lack of friends. Until she meets Calvin, a funny, sarcastic boy who doesn’t let being in a wheelchair stop him from verbally shredding their preppy classmates. Skylar’s just about to decide her new school’s not a total loss when an odd girl wearing an oversized trench coat in the murderous Southern heat declares, “You’re one of us.” And then tries to kill her.

[image error]Wayfarer by Alexandra Bracken
Young Adult Science Fiction/Time Travel

I’ve been orphaned by my time.

The timeline has changed.

My future is gone.

Etta Spencer didn’t know she was a traveler until the day she emerged both miles and years from her home. Now, robbed of the powerful object that was her only hope of saving her mother, Etta finds herself stranded once more, cut off from Nicholas-the eighteenth century privateer she loves-and her natural time.

When Etta inadvertently stumbles into the heart of the Thorns, the renegade travelers who stole the astrolabe from her, she vows to finish what she started and destroy the astrolabe once and for all. Instead, she’s blindsided by a bombshell revelation from their leader, Henry Hemlock: he is her father. Suddenly questioning everything she’s been fighting for, Etta must choose a path, one that could transform her future.

Still devastated by Etta’s disappearance, Nicholas has enlisted the unlikely help of Sophia Ironwood and a cheeky mercenary-for-hire to track both her and the missing astrolabe down. But as the tremors of change to the timeline grow stronger and the stakes for recovering the astrolabe mount, they discover an ancient power far more frightening than the rival travelers currently locked in a battle for control. . . a power that threatens to eradicate the timeline altogether.

[image error]Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
Young Adult Fantasy

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don’t.

With her heart sworn to the warrior-prince by her side, and her fealty pledged to the people she is determined to save, Aelin will delve into the depths of her power to protect those she loves. But as monsters emerge from the horrors of the past, and dark forces become poised to claim her world, the only chance for salvation will lie in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

In this breathtaking fifth installment of the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series, Aelin will have to choose what — and who — to sacrifice if she’s to keep the world of Erilea from breaking apart.

 

 

 [image error]Disruption by Jessica Shirvington
Young Adult Science Fiction

What if a microchip could identify your perfect match? What if it could be used against you and the ones you love? Eight years ago, Mercer Corporation’s M-Bands became mandatory. An evolution of the smartphone, the bracelets promised an easier life. Instead, they have come to control it. Two years ago, Maggie Stevens watched helplessly as one of the people she loved most was taken from her, shattering her world as she knew it. Now, Maggie is ready. And Quentin Mercer – heir to the M-Corp empire – has become key to Maggie’s plan. But as the pieces of her dangerous design fall into place, could Quentin’s involvement destroy everything she’s fought for? In a world full of broken promises, the ones Maggie must keep could be the most heartbreaking.

 

 

 

 

 

[image error]

Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team by Steve Sheinkin
Middle Grade Non-Fiction

Jim Thorpe: Super athlete, Olympic gold medalist, Native American

Pop Warner: Indomitable coach, football mastermind, Ivy League grad

Before these men became legends, they met in 1907 at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, where they forged one of the winningest teams in American football history. Called “the team that invented football,” they took on the best opponents of their day, defeating much more privileged schools such as Harvard and the Army in a series of breathtakingly close calls, genius plays, and bone-crushing hard work.

 

 

 

[image error]

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Middle Grade Fiction

Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the Forest, Xan, is kind. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. Xan rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey.

One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. As Luna’s thirteenth birthday approaches, her magic begins to emerge–with dangerous consequences. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Deadly birds with uncertain intentions flock nearby. A volcano, quiet for centuries, rumbles just beneath the earth’s surface. And the woman with the Tiger’s heart is on the prowl . . .

The Newbery Medal winner from the author of the highly acclaimed novel The Witch’s Boy.

 

[image error]

President of the Whole Sixth Grade by Sherri Winston
Middle Grade Fiction

Brianna Justice is determined to raise enough money for the big class trip to Washington, D.C., but she’s up against a lot: classmates who all pretend to be something they’re not, a new nemesis determined to run her out of office, and the sinking feeling she’s about to lose her two best friends for good. But just when she begins to lose hope, she comes to realize that sometimes surprises can turn out even better than the best-laid plans.

Sherri Winston tells a story brimming with humor and heart as Brianna navigates the ins and outs of middle school, discovering that inspiration can come when you least expect it.

 

 

 

[image error]Doll Bones by Holly Black
Middle Grade Fiction

Zach, Poppy, and Alice have been friends forever. And for almost as long, they’ve been playing one continuous, ever-changing game of pirates and thieves, mermaids and warriors. Ruling over all is the Great Queen, a bone-china doll cursing those who displease her.

But they are in middle school now. Zach’s father pushes him to give up make-believe, and Zach quits the game. Their friendship might be over, until Poppy declares she’s been having dreams about the Queen—and the ghost of a girl who will not rest until the bone-china doll is buried in her empty grave.

Zach and Alice and Poppy set off on one last adventure to lay the Queen’s ghost to rest. But nothing goes according to plan, and as their adventure turns into an epic journey, creepy things begin to happen. Is the doll just a doll or something more sinister? And if there really is a ghost, will it let them go now that it has them in its clutches?

Doll Bones is a winner of the Newbery Honor, is the recipient of six starred reviews, was on five Best Book lists, and was called “perfect” by The New York Times.

Now, I’d love to know if you have any books you’d like to add to the 2017 Mid-Winter YA/MG Book List

Disclaimer: Some of these books are (or once were) controversial. Some older YAs have closed-door adult situations, and others (YA & MG) deal with harsh issues such as suicide, bullying, war, poverty, and loss of a parent. As a librarian, reader’s advisor, and mother, I’ve learned that tweens and teens tend to read within their comfort zone, both emotionally and reading-level wise. All of these books offer a chance for parents and kids to discuss which topics are appropriate now and which books are best left for another time. But I hope you all find books that will give your family new adventures and imaginary friends.

See you this summer for the 2017 Summer Young Adult and Middle Grade Book List!

*The books listed in this blog post and on the list are in no particular order, just grouped by general topic or subgenre.

All covers and blurbs courtesy of Amazon. Feature photos courtesy of Sharon Wray.

The post 2017 Mid-Winter Young Adult & Middle Grade Book List appeared first on Sharon Wray.

Abbie Roads, Saving Mercy, and The Fatal Truth Series!

Today I’m so excited to share the cover for Abbie Roads’ upcoming release Saving Mercy.

Abbie is not just a good friend and Golden Heart sister, but a wonderful author of dark romantic thrillers. And her newest cover is the best yet! Congratulations, Abbie. You deserve it!

Saving Mercy by Abbie Roads

Series: Fatal Truth Series

Genre: Dark Romantic Thriller

Publication Date: April 4, 2017



AVAILABLE ON NETGALLEY

PRE-ORDER NOW

Amazon | iBooks | B&N | Google

He’s found her at last…

Cain Killion knows himself to be a damaged man. His only redeeming quality? The extrasensory connection to blood that he uses to catch killers. His latest case takes a macabre turn when he discovers a familiar and haunting symbol linking the crime to his horrific past—and the one woman who might understand what it means.

Only to lose her to a nightmare

Mercy Ledger is brave, resilient, beautiful—and in terrible danger. The moment Cain finds her the line between good and evil blurs and the only thing clear to them is that they belong together. Love is the antidote for blood—but is their bond strong enough to overcome the madness that stalks them?

EXCERPT

His neck itched and his body twitched. He shifted from one foot to the other, unable to stand still. Christ. He felt like an ADHD kid hopped up on sugar, trying to rein in a surplus of energy. Only it wasn’t energy pumping through him. It was anger. Rage. Fury. That’s what this place did to him. Made him into the sullen boy he’d once been who dreamed of wrath and revenge.

“Mercy.” He whispered her name to the moon and some of the anger evaporated. “Mercy. Mercy. Mercy.” He used the word as a mantra, reveling in the taste of those vowels and consonants inside his mouth. Just saying her name calmed him.

From inside the building, a rusty bolt scraped and banged, loud as a cherry bomb. The door swung inward, the squeal of old hinges shrieking through the night. In the woods, the coyote howled as if claiming its territory against the odd sounding intruder.

Liz backed out the door, pulling a wheelchair. Twenty-five years ago, when he’d first met her here at The Institute she’d looked like a mom—a smile on her face, encouraging words on her lips, and a stout don’t-break-the-rules attitude. Now she looked the grandma version with her gray hair and pleasant plumpness.

“Getting her out here was easier than I expected.” Liz didn’t exactly whisper, but didn’t speak at normal volume. “Ward A doesn’t have cameras since everyone is locked down. Thank the angels the night shift are notorious slackers—we didn’t run into anyone.” Liz turned the wheelchair to face him.

The woman in the chair slumped in the corner of the seat, head hanging as if it were too heavy to lift. Her hair dangled in limp, stringy hanks that reminded him of blond worms.

“This isn’t my Mercy.” Shit. The my had just slipped out. He didn’t look at Liz—didn’t want confirmation that she’d heard the slip.

His Mercy had always been strong. Even at ten years old, throat wrapped in a fat wad of bandages, she’d seemed oddly poised and imperturbable during all the media interviews. She had survived something worse than what he had endured and yet retained her strength. She’d inspired him, intrigued him and tied herself to him without ever knowing.

And she’d always been pretty. All strawberry blond hair and turquoise eyes and features that he’d just wanted to stare at because it made him feel all warm and nice on the inside. He’d never gotten close enough to smell her, but he imagined her scent to be a cross between fresh baked cookies and sunshine—not body odor and vomit like this woman.

“It is her. See what he’s done to her?” Liz’s voice snapped like a whip.

“Who?” Cain asked the question to Liz, but his gaze remained locked on Mercy. She hadn’t moved, hadn’t spoken, didn’t even seem alive.

“Dr. Payne. He’s had a sick fascination with her from the first. Probably because she was the only person on Ward B who didn’t deserve to be there. He’s been pretty harmless until three days ago, when he moved her to Ward A.”

“Why the fuck is she even here if she’s not—?” He’d assumed her past—what his father had done to her and her family—had finally caught up with her. He knelt in front of her wheelchair.

“Don’t you curse at me boy.” Liz’s tone was all angry mom, making him feel like a bad kid. “Her official record says Undifferentiated Schizophrenia and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But I’ve seen psychotic—she’s not psychotic and never has been.”

He’d never spoken to Mercy before, never been this close to her, never dared to. He’d been a wuss—too damned scared of her reaction to approach her. She had every right to hate him. It was his father that killed her entire family, his father that slit her throat, and his father’s blood that ran in his veins.

MEET THE AUTHOR


Abbie Roads

Website | Facebook | Dangerously Dark Darlings Facebook Group | Twitter

Abbie Roads is a mental health counselor known for her blunt, honest style of therapy. By night she writes dark, emotional novels always giving her characters the happy ending she wishes for all her clients. SAVING MERCY is the first book in her new Fatal Truth Series of dark, gritty, romantic suspense with a psychological twist.

Hosted by:



Facebook | Website | Twitter

The post Abbie Roads, Saving Mercy, and The Fatal Truth Series! appeared first on Sharon Wray.

YA’LL Fest 2016: Where All the YA Fans and Authors Meet Up!

[image error]

with Renee Ahdieh

Last week my daughter, my mother, and I held fast to one of our favorite traditions: Going to Charleston, SC for YA’LL Fest, the largest annual Young Adult Book Festival and book signing. With over forty authors and their publishers, publicists, and book store owners running the show, the event is geared to thousands of avid YA readers.

[image error]

with Sarah Dessen

[image error]

with Jay Asher

One of the things I love about this festival is that although you run from signing to session to signing, the authors have one goal in mind: to meet and spend time with their fans. The authors are accessible to their readers, showing up at ice cream parlors for chats about Harry Potter and sponsoring cupcake socials where the fans and authors play YA book trivia games. The authors even put on a variety show at the end of the festival where they sing (badly), dance (terribly), and read from their middle school journals (hilarious).

[image error]

with Kiera Cass

[image error]

The event is sponsored by the Blue Bicycle Bookstore in Charleston, SC and Epic Reads. And it takes place in various historic buildings throughout the city. We caught Jay Asher in a tiny brick courtyard that was so quaint it looked like a movie set, then we saw Kiera Cass at the library society in an antebellum mansion south of Broad street.

[image error]

[image error]

with Leigh Bardugo

We dragged a rolling suitcase filled with books everywhere we went and that was in addition to our two backpacks. My mother and I took turns standing in long book signing lines so my daughter could stand in a third. Between texting and begging people to hold our spots, my daughter was able to get over thirty books signed. Not bad considering many authors limited how many books they’d sign. There were even publisher tents set up with famous authors, like David Leviathan, running carnival games and handing out ARCs and cookies.

[image error]

with Sabaa Tahir

[image error]

We spent time with authors such as Veronica Roth, Maggie Stiefvater, Kiera Cass, Victoria Aveyard, Sarah Dessen, Jay Asher, Eoin Colfer, Scott Westerfeld, Alexandra Bracken, Leigh Bardugo, Renee Ahdieh, Lauren Oliver, and many, many others. By the time we were on our way home, we had two suitcases and two backpacks filled with signed books, a dozen ARCs, and a “Library Card” bag covered with autographs.

[image error]

[image error]

YA’LL Fest is a great experience, and it’s hard to tell who’s more excited to be there, the authors or the readers. So next November 10 & 11 we hope you’ll join us in Charleston, SC for YA’LL Fest 2017. It’s sure to be a blast!

The post YA’LL Fest 2016: Where All the YA Fans and Authors Meet Up! appeared first on Sharon Wray.

Author on the Couch: My First Official Author Interview!

[image error]

Today, Abbie Roads, the wonderful and generous author (and my Golden Heart Sister) interviewed me on her popular Author on the Couch blog. We talk about perfectionism, Time, and perseverance. As well as our love of Shakespeare. I’d love to see you there! 

(And there’s a small giveaway!)

The post Author on the Couch: My First Official Author Interview! appeared first on Sharon Wray.

Oatlands Plantation: A Halloween Tea & Haunted History

[image error]

Oatlands Plantation, Leesburg, VA

If you ever find yourself in Leesburg, VA, head south on Route 15. A few miles down the old Algonquin and Iroquois route, turn left into Oatlands Plantation. Oatlands Plantation was founded in 1798 on 3,408 acres. Once owned by the Carter and Eustis families, it’s now operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It’s also listed on the National Register for Historic Places. The mansion, which wasn’t completed until 1804, is one of the best examples of Federal estate architecture in the country.

[image error]

Statue in reflecting pool garden.

Now claiming 417 acres of farmland and gardens, it’s a refuge in one of the fastest growing counties in Virginia. Besides the mansion which can be toured daily, there’s a carriage house with a gift shop and a wonderful open area where they serve weekend teas. The estate also houses one of the country’s oldest, still-in-use greenhouses and a sunken, walled garden in the Colonial Revival style (including a bowling green, rose garden, kitchen and herb garden, reflecting pool, and numerous dependencies) that rivals anything in Charleston or Savannah.

[image error]

Carriage House with the gift shop and tea room.

There’s so much history that I won’t even try to put it into a blog post. But I will say that my favorite things about the property are the interpretive tours and weekend seasonal teas. The annual Witches Brew Tea and the nighttime Paranormal tours are two the things my daughter and niece look forward to every year in the fall.

[image error]

Parterre garden and late autumn hydrangeas.

This year, due to the stress of my book deadline (Dec 1) and my kids’ college application deadlines (Nov. 1), I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to make either of the these events. But this past Sunday, we put away our computers and books and headed west. One of the best decisions I’ve made in months.

So instead of boing you with more history, I’ve included a photographic tour of our weekend at Oatlands. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

[image error]

Oatlands Plantation, back of the house.

[image error]

Memorial garden.

[image error]

Kitchen garden and dependencies.

[image error]

Entrance to the sunken garden.

[image error]

Pump house.

[image error]

Reflecting pool.

[image error]

Reflecting pooi statue.

 

[image error]

Autumn touches.

[image error]

One of the original wells in the parterre garden.

[image error]

One of the many water features found in the sunken gardens.

 

[image error]

Front exterior of the mansion.

[image error]

Entrance to Oatlands Plantation.

[image error]

Late autumn herb garden.

[image error]

Fish pond.

[image error]

Mrs. Eustis’s tea garden.

[image error]

Bachelor’s cottage.

[image error]

Entrance to the kitchen garden.

[image error]

Entrance to sunken gardens.

[image error]

One of the many sets of staircases leading down to the rose gardens and reflecting pool.

[image error]

Witches Brew Tea at Oatlands Plantation.

[image error]

Last of the hydrangeas in the parterre garden.

[image error]

I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween with few tricks and lots of treats! And remember, if you’re ever in Northern, VA, try to make time for Oatlands. You’ll be so grateful you did!

 

The post Oatlands Plantation: A Halloween Tea & Haunted History appeared first on Sharon Wray.

Abbie Roads’ Race the Darkness is Finally Here!

Race the Darkness by Abbie Roads

Series: Fatal Dreams #1

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Publication Date: October 4, 2016



BUY NOW

Amazon | iBooks | Google Play | B&N | Indigo | BAM | Indie Bound

Cursed with a terrible gift…

Criminal investigator Xander Stone doesn’t have to question you—he can hear your thoughts. Scarred by lightning, burdened with a power that gives him no peace, Xander struggles to maintain his sanity against the voice that haunts him day and night—the voice of a woman begging him to save her.

A gift that threatens to engulf them…

Isleen Walker has long since given up hope of escape from the nightmare of captivity and torture that is draining her life, her mind, and her soul. Except…there is the man in her feverish dreams, the strangely beautiful man who beckons her to freedom and wholeness. And when he comes, if he comes, it will take all their combined fury and faith to overcome a madman bent on fulfilling a deadly prophecy.

 

 

 

EXCERPT

They weren’t going to make it.

Not unless he suddenly sprouted blue tights and a red cape. The hope of escape morphed into despair and resignation and finally reckless pissed-off-ness. No fucking way was he going to die running. He stopped, turned, and faced the truck barreling toward them. The tires ate up the ground at an indecent rate. He clutched Isleen tighter to his chest. For her sake, he wanted it to be a quick death. No more lingering. No more pain.

That thought infuriated him. None of this was right. They shouldn’t be on the verge of death. Again.

The truck kept coming—now twenty-five feet away.

Everything slowed, happening as if through the quicksand of time. A white dandelion floaty meandered on the breeze directly between them and the truck. His heart no longer ran a staccato rhythm. Duh…dum. Pause. Duh…dum. Pause.

His life didn’t flash before his eyes. The future did. Isleen’s future. In an ethereal dream beyond time, her skin was gilded by firelight, her eyes devoid of sadness and fear, her body whole and healthy. She smiled, an expression so full of warmth and tenderness and undiluted joy that it plunked itself down inside his heart and wouldn’t leave.

He ached to create that kind of smile on her face, but their lives were over. It all could’ve gone so differently if he’d only listened to her, believed in her, found her years before now.

The air changed, displaced by the truck only a few feet from them. Heat from the engine blasted his face, smelling of burning oil, gasoline, and a scent reminiscent of popped corn. He locked eyes with the bitch behind the wheel. Her pudgy lips ripped back over her teeth in a snarling scream.

Xander knew anger—his best friends were fury and rage—but the look on the bitch’s face went beyond mere anger all the way to unholy.

The truck imploded.

The sound was supersonic, a resonation that rippled through his skin and muscle to rattle his bones and shake the earth underneath his feet. Metal and glass and fire shot outward, skyward, backward, in a near-perfect arc of destruction. Flaming debris rained around them.

He stood there holding Isleen, watching it happen, not believing the message his eyes sent to his brain.

“What the…?” The last of the truck parts hit the ground. The pieces burned. That’s all that was left—pieces. Nothing touched them, like they resided under an invisible dome of protection.

He glanced down at Isleen for an answer, but she was unconscious, her head lolling so limply on her neck that it looked as if he was carrying a corpse.

TRAILER

TEASERS

MEET THE AUTHOR
Abbie Roads



Facebook Author Page | Facebook Profile Page | Twitter | Pinterest





Seven Things about Abbie Roads:

1. She loves Snicker Parfaits. Gotta start with what’s most important, right?

2. She writes dark emotional books featuring damaged characters, but always gives her hero and heroine a happy ending… after torturing them for three hundred pages.

3. By day she’s a mental health counselor known for her blunt, honest style of therapy. At night she burns up the keyboard. Well… Burn might be too strong a word. She at least sits with her hands poised over the keyboard, waiting for inspiration to strike. And when it does—the keyboard might get a little warm.

4. She can’t stand it when people drive slowly in the passing lane. Just saying. That’s major annoying. Right?

5. She loves taking pictures of things she thinks are pretty.

HUNT THE DAWN

Fatal Dreams Series Book 2

Available on NetGalley

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Hosted by:



Facebook | Website | Twitter

The post Abbie Roads’ Race the Darkness is Finally Here! appeared first on Sharon Wray.

Cover Reveal: Before Tomorrow by Pintip Dunn

One of the best things about being an author is having other authors as friends. And one of my Golden Heart sisters, as well as a great friend, has a surprise today. I’m so excited to share with you the cover reveal for BEFORE TOMORROW by New York Times Bestselling author Pintip Dunn, a FORGET TOMORROW novella from Logan’s POV!

[image error]

Title: BEFORE TOMORROW

Publisher: Entangled TEEN

Release Date: Oct. 31, 2016

In a world where all seventeen-year-olds receive a memory from their future selves, Logan Russell’s vision is exactly as he expects—and exactly not. He sees himself achieving his greatest wish of becoming a gold-star swimmer, but strangely enough, the vision also shows him locking eyes with a girl from his past, Callie Stone, and experiencing an overwhelming sense of love and belonging.

Logan’s not sure what the memory means, but soon enough, he learns that his old friend Callie is in trouble. She’s received an atypical memory, one where she commits a crime in the future. According to the law, she must be imprisoned, even though she’s done nothing wrong. Now, Logan must decide if he’ll give up his future as a gold-star swimmer and rescue the literal girl of his dreams. All he’ll have to do is defy Fate.

Add BEFORE TOMORROW on Goodreads!

But what if you don’t want to wait until Oct. 31?

No problem. Pre-order REMEMBER YESTERDAY, book 2 in the FORGET TOMORROW series, and register your receipt here, and you’ll receive a copy of BEFORE TOMORROW to read before anyone else! Plus, U.S. residents will also get a bookplate and bookmark!

Want to learn more about FORGET TOMORROW and REMEMBER YESTERDAY? Click here.

REMEMBER YESTERDAY buy links:

Amazon  Barnes & Noble  iBooks  Kobo
 [image error]
Pintip Dunn is a New York Times bestselling author of YA fiction. She graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in English Literature and Language. She received her J.D. at Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the YALE LAW JOURNAL.

Pintip is represented by literary agent Beth Miller of Writers House. Her debut novel, FORGET TOMORROW, won the RWA RITA® for Best First Book. Her other novels include THE DARKEST LIE and the forthcoming REMEMBER YESTERDAY. She lives with her husband and children in Maryland. You can learn more about Pintip and her books at www.pintipdunn.com.

 

 

The post Cover Reveal: Before Tomorrow by Pintip Dunn appeared first on Sharon Wray.