Victoria Simcox's Blog, page 138

Excerpt from The Black Shard ~ Chapter 14 ~ The Hold

Once back on the main deck, Werrien turned to face Kristina. “By the way, how are you feeling?” he asked, his eyes searching hers.
 
I hope he doesn’t notice the dark circles under my eyes, Kristina thought, and she quickly broke eye contact with him and looked out at the sea.
 
Werrien waited patiently for her to answer. She turned to look at him again, and mustering up the little confidence she had left in her, she said, “I feel very well, and I intend on staying this way.”


By the look in her eyes, however, Werrien instantly sensed her
insecurity. He smiled warmly at her. “Come with me,” he said, and he offered his hand to her. Surprised at this gesture, she did a double-take. “It’s just a hand,” he said light-heartedly. She placed her hand in his, and they began walking toward the stern of the ship. This was the first time that she had held a boy’s hand. She found it warm and strong, yet a little rough and even callused. 

Soon they arrived at the base of the poop deck near the stern.
There was a set of stairs attached to it, leading up to a higher deck.
“After you,” Werrien said.
 
Kristina climbed the stairs, and Werrien followed her. When she
reached the top, she was struck with awe, because on the upper deck
was a small table set with a white linen cloth, a couple of candles and
cutlery settings for two.

$100.00 Book Blast Giveaway

About the BookTitle: Blucy Author: Julia Dweck Illustrator: Erika LeBarre Year published: 2013 Publisher: Xist Publishing Number of pages: 21 Recommended age: 3+ Summary (Amazon): Once in a blue moon, a special pet comes along. When Mandy adopts the best cat at the shelter, she doesn't realize it has a big secret and an even bigger personality. Features full screen images and pop-up text.
Blucy Facebook Page * Blucy Pinterest Page * Goodreads 
Purchase & Special Offer Xist Publishing is pleased to offer you a special Buy One Get One FREE (BOGO) offer when you purchase Blucy by Julia Dweck. The Deal? If you purchase Blucy (e-book) through Amazon, you will receive a FREE electronic copy of Julia Dweck's newest book, Mary Had a Sleepy Sheep (released September 5, 2013). All you have to do is forward your purchase confirmation email to sales@xistpublishing.com and Xist Publishing will send you a complimentary copy of Mary Had a Sleepy Sheep . Don't wait to take advantage of this great deal!
Amazon 
The Early Buzz"Julia Dweck scores another winner Blucy ! This book is beautifully illustrated, features solid rhyming verse, has a most unusual main character in Blucy the cat, and will surely be loved and appreciated by all cat-lovers! I would recommend this wonderful picture book to children who love cats and for their grown-ups who will recognize their own cat's behavior in this funny story. ." ~ Mother Daughter Book Reviews"Ms Dweck and Ms Lebarre have created a delightfully humorous read that will no doubt capture the attention of every little mischief maker. The rhythm and rhyme are wonderful and flow so beautifully throughout the book. The illustrations are absolutely exquisite. I honestly wish I could purchase every one of them to put upon my toddlers walls." ~ WhenIgrowupIwannawriteakidsbook"The illustrations are amazing and beautiful and the story pulls you in and had Dino telling Mandy and Blucy what to do and got upset when they didn’t listen to him. He was hysterical with some of Blucy’s antics and wanted to know if Balboa could do that to. Really and truly a cute book and one that Dino will keep reading, especially now that he think he’s a catosaurous." ~ Dinosaur Superhero MommyA blue cat? I love color - lots of color and these illustrations are exactly that. The rythmic method used by Julia is perfect for all ages and the content is entertaining for all - including adults. My daughter loves mood rings so she found this book particularly interesting - what about a "mood cat". I am also a firm believer and supporter of pet adoptions - so another plus for this story...That Blucy is quite a mischievous cat. Blucy has special facts at the end of the story as well as a game for the kids to keep them thinking. I love this book as I have all of Julia's books and so do my kids. ~ The Stuff of SuccessA Phenomenal Children's Classic. Children & Adults will love and cherish this beloved tale. Julia Dweck has always amazed me with her talent at writing children's books and Blucy is by far my favorite one yet. I laughed and giggled my way through the whole book and had to read it again several times for the pure joy of the story. The illustrations are fabulous and very colorful and I found myself staring at each page as I read and just loved the details in the illustrations. This is a RECOMMENDED MUST read story that adults and their children will fall in love with. This book will become the best bedtime story that children will want to hear over and over again. ~ Back Words, White Pages 
About the Author: Julia Dweck Julia Dweck's background in elementary education affords her the opportunity to be in touch with what children want to read and what makes them giggle. She's collaborated with leading artists in the world of children's literature to produce over 20 Amazon eBooks. Her titles have garnered placement on Amazon's bestsellers in children's color picture books multiple times with two #1 bestsellers: PIE-RITS and Zombie-Kids . These titles have been chosen by Amazon Editors for the prestigious "Kindle Daily Deal." Many of Julia's titles have earned placement on Amazon's top ranked lists based on customer review. In her spare time, Julia is a designer of educational adjuncts for children's literature, and has worked with such notable publishing houses as Penguin Young Readers. She presented at the 2011 National Center for Family Literacy for her creative use of technology in the classroom. For more information about Julia Dweck and her books, please visit her website, Jule Loves 2 Write.
Twitter * Facebook Where's Blucy?
Before we get to the $100 Book Blast Giveaway, we have a special treat for you. If you head on over to Julia Dweck's Facebook Fan Page, you will find the "Where's Blucy?" contest. Julia Dweck fans are invited to post suggestions of "blue" places Blucy could be hiding, (e.g., near Elvis' blue suede shoes). The most creative answer will win a print of the Blucy cover by the artist, Erika LeBarre. Head on over to Julia Dweck's Facebook Fan Page to enter and...
Pssssttt... if you enter the contest before August 20th, 2013, you gain 5 entries in the $100 Book Blast Giveaway below!  
* $100 Book Blast Giveaway *Prize: $100 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal cash (winner's choice) Contest runs: August 13 to September 15, 11:59 pm, 2013 Open: Internationally How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Terms and Conditions: A randomly drawn winner will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. If you have any additional questions, feel free to send us an email!
* This giveaway is sponsored by the author, Julia Dweck and by Xist Publishing. *a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt Chapter 22, The Magic Warble

The cat led them out of the very dark alley and across a street. Then it crossed over to another street and jumped over a fence into what seemed to be someone’s backyard.
It trotted over to a gate and rubbed up against it. Taysha followed and pushed the gate open with her muzzle. Then she went into the backyard.
“Why did you lead us here?” Kristina asked the cat.
“This is the prison warden’s backyard, and we need to go through it in order to get to the prison,” the cat said.
There was another gate at the back of the yard, and the cat pranced over to it and squeezed underneath it. Taysha approached the gate, and Kristina noticed that it was chained and locked to the fence.
“How are we supposed to get through this gate when it’s locked?” she asked the cat.
“I told you that I would lead you to the prison, but I didn’t say it would be an easy road,” the cat said, looking back at her with its fiery eyes.

Amazon | GoodReads | Barnes & NobleRyan Zachery lived...

Amazon | GoodReads | Barnes & NobleRyan Zachery lived his life the way all high school teenagers should -carefree.Until he was attacked by an unknown assailer and awoke in the hospital with lycanthropy. Taken by armed guards and dragged away from everything he held dear, Ryan was thrown into a US camp made for those 'suffering' from lycanthropy.
They caged the beast, but now he will show them that he will never be dehumanized.Check out this Dehumanized preview!
Website | Twitter | Facebook | GoodReadsMichael Loring was born in Bristol, Connecticut, but has lived in a variety of places such as Florida and Tennessee. He likes to think of himself as an amateur Lycanthropologist, studying werewolves ever since he was eight years old when he first saw An American Werewolf In London. He spent most of his life switching between home school and public school, always focusing on his passion of writing no matter what. His interest in writing was sparked in the second grade when his teacher encouraged him to write short stories for the class, earning him more than one award at school assemblies for Creative Writing. He currently resides back in his birthplace of Connecticut with a house full of women who like to drive him up the wall until he finishes his chores. Though they seem to avoid him during the night of the full moon for some unexplainable reason... As a present for stopping by here is a Dehumanized screen saver: We hope you have enjoyed this stop on the Dehumanized tour!
Stop by www.MichaelLoring.com to check out the other tour stops;
New guest posts, interviews, excerpts and more!

This book is rated *New Adult*. It has no sexual content and though it does have violence and some gore it may not be suitable for children under the age of 14.

Book Review and Giveaway

  
Website www.mindyhardwick.com
Blog: www.mindyhardwick.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stainedglass...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mindyhardwick
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...


Twelve year old Jasmine admires her father very much; however it is sad that her father doesn’t reciprocate the same feelings toward her, or at least he doesn’t show it. Jasmine wants more than anything to be an award winning artist just like her father and hopefully win his approval, love and affection.  

 When she enters a school art contest and doesn’t even place she becomes very discouraged. She feels even worse when out of the blue; her father up and leaves her mother and her. Life seems bleak until her Uncle Jasper from San Juan Island, WA comes for a surprise visit. When Jasmine hears him talk about the beautiful island she begs him to let her stay with him there for the summer. Uncle Jasper informs her mother that Jasmine could be in a mentoring program,  and that is when her mother finally decides to let her go.
At first Jasmine is not sure if she will fit in on the island or her uncle’s dusty house but that all changes when she finds out there is art there, stained glass art in particular, and to top it off a cute boy her age, named Cole.
Jasmine will experience new things, like learning to work with stained glass, dealing with her first crush, and instead of being mentored; she will become a mentor to a feisty little girl (Sammy) and ultimately come to see a little of Sammy in herself.
Mindy Hardwick’s Stained Glass Summer is a sweet, coming of age story with a timeless message, of hope, perseverance, friendship and becoming stronger through hardships.
 I found this story very well written and easy to follow. The descriptions of the beautiful San Juan Island made me feel like I was right there watching the story unfold. Beside writing, Mindy also teaches writing workshops throughout the Northwest, and she is a mentor to young writers. 

To win an ebook version of Stained Glass Summer please leave a comment and your email below. Giveaway ends  8/7/13



  

E-Book Giveaway!

Iris has a secret. She lost her memory eight years ago and never told a living soul. After an asthma attack one night she finds out that her dreams of a strange house on a snowy island may be a memory resurfacing but the more she learns about the past the more she realizes the life she has been living is a lie. As the façade her father has built starts to crumble around her she will have to decide which means more to her; the truth or her life.


                                                                                       http://www.emmamichaels.com
                                    https://www.facebook.com/emma.michaels

Emma Michaels is a multi-talented bookish girl. Not only is she the designer of beautiful covers, but she has many other accomplishments under her belt. She started book blogging in 2009 and was first published in 2010. She started The Writer's Voice blog in 2011 as a way to help readers get to know authors on another level.
She moved to Washington at seventeen to be with the man that she loves, who asked her what she secretly wanted to be when she grew up. Naturally, she told him that she wanted to be an author, but at the time she thought "it was a pipe dream." He encouraged her to pursue her dreams and taught her that "sometimes reaching for the impossible can make a world of difference in your life." Now she is published and reaching well beyond what most people can imagine.

Emma has offered an ebook version of her newest release Owlet. All you have to do to enter, is leave a comment below. Giveaway ends 7/29/13

Book Review

Aubrie Dionne
Romantic Science Fiction and Fantasy
Get Swept Away to Other Worlds...
http://www.authoraubrie.net
http://authoraubrie.blogspot.com


I’m going to come clean and admit an awkward fact; Aubrie Dionne's "Colonization" is actually the first Sci-fi novel I have ever read. I have never liked this genre because I had stereotyped it as nerdy and boring. All I can say now is, “I was wrong!” Or, maybe, I was right, and it just took someone like Aubrie to crack my stereotypical mold.
From the very first page I read, I was intrigued and drawn to read on. This to me is the first sign of very good writer. The story flowed smoothly and was easy to follow. The elements of the storyline pieced together fluently in a way that I never got confused or had to back track and reread. The plot had adventure, suspense, intrigue and romance all in a perfect bundle.
The New Dawn is a space ship, vast as a large city. It has been home to Andromeda (the protagonist), her family, and her colony for many generations; however this all changes when it lands on the long anticipated planet called Paradise 21.
The new world, Paradise 21, is breathtaking, but with deadly infectious plant life that could potentially infect an entire colony. Andromeda works against the clock to save her colony from being wiped out. Along her journey she will encounter all kinds of strange and unusual things and situations; even communicating with a ghost of a person she once knew as well as alien ghosts.
I am a sucker for teen romance and Aubrie did a fantastic job on incorporating this into the story. First I fell for Sirius and hoped that Andromeda and he would be able to break the ridged rules of being matched for marriage to someone other than each other. But then, as the story continued, I really began to like Corvus. His strength of character, sweet personality, loyalty and good looks were hard to resist. Soon I found myself rooting for him instead of Sirius. Even so, I am hoping that Aubrie will bring Sirius back into the story for some good ole romantic rivalry with Corvus.
This book was so much fun to read and I recommend it to teens, tweens, and adults. I am looking forward to see what will happen in book 2, Reconnaissance.



  

Book Review and Giveaway

http://beverlystowemcclure.wordpress.com/
http://beverlystowemcclure.blogspot.com/

Get ready to set sail with Erik Burks and his new friends, Starry and Stormy, (the twins) as they head out to sea on an unforgettable adventure. 

Erik's parents have split up, and that's why Erik and his mom have gone to live with his aunt in South Carolina. This being the case, all Erik wants to do is go back to Texas and reunite with his crush, Diana, as well as his baseball buddies. When the twins talk him into venturing out in a canoe to check out some strange lights at a lighthouse, little does he know what is in store for him—strange phenomenon—like in ghosts, and not just human ghosts but a cat ghost to boot.

Beverly Stowe McClure has done a superb job in writing this action packed story. It involves entering a spooky lighthouse, encountering the paranormal, sailing on the sea in a dangerous storm, and much more. Mingled in between all of this are teens trying to relate to dead people from centuries ago, as well as Erik having to deal with his concerned mom, who has no idea that he and the twins are without parental supervision (other than the adult ghosts) on the turbulent sea. 

Having a thirteen-year-old son myself, I am very familiar with this age, and all I can say is hats off to Ms. McClure for an awesome job on creating the teen characters and perfecting their age appropriate dialog—definitely current, up to date, and a lot of fun to read. 

I recommend this book to tweens, teens and adults. It is definitely a nonstop page-turner. 

Ms. McClure is generously giving away 2 ebooks! Leave a comment below to win an ebook version of "A Pirate, a Blockade Runner and a Cat" Giveaway ends 7/16/13 Midnight.


 

Book Review Aubrie DionneRomantic Science Fiction and Fa...

Book Review

Aubrie Dionne
Romantic Science Fiction and Fantasy
Get Swept Away to Other Worlds... http://www.authoraubrie.net
http://authoraubrie.blogspot.com

Two words to describe Playing the Maestro: "Classy and Sophisticated". Not only is this novel a love story, but a love story pertaining to two orchestra musicians: a German maestro named Wolf, and the first flutist in his orchestra, Melody. The fact that this story is wrapped around the symphony lifestyle, made this read even more interesting. I found the characters were very well developed, and I could truly picture the sweet, yet beautiful Melody, and the handsome, GQ style Wolf, in my mind. Their on and off romance kept me intrigued, and it made it hard for me to put the book down. I found the storyline well developed and fast paced, with some great twists and turns. In all, it was very refreshing, and the budding love between Wolf and Melody was a perfect mix of intrigue and romance. I commend the author, because great romance stories need not be overly explicit. Aubrie has created a beautiful, well-crafted love story that will pull at your heartstrings until its very end.

 Purchase:

Book Signing

Book Signing for The Magic Warble, Borders Books Tukwila WA, Sun 12/12/10 1pm