Christine Rains's Blog, page 74

Teaser Tuesday with The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read Open to a random page Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!This book is pure magic. I was immediately sucked in by Neil Gaiman's storytelling and the wonder of the tale. I can't stop reading!
Your teaser:
"I'm going to tell you something important. Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always know what they're doing. Inside, they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age. The truth is, there aren't any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world." (page 112)

Review for Revenir Intern (Revenir #2)

Blurb:
Sixteen-year-old Caitlin, privileged member (spoiled brat) of a secret society she has no interest in, shares her overly-honest opinion in her junior essay (she doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut), which places her under her queen's scrutiny.

Instead of spending her summer on the beach, she ends up working nights wearing an armored vest, crisscrossing the nation chasing vampire hunters and miscreant kithmen, noshing Nerd candies with her tweener sidekick.

The queen (who loathes the term vampire) leads her clan in a two-front war against rogue Revenirs (immortal shapeshifters), and humans determined to exterminate what they believe is an insidious race. The clan's battle meant nothing to Cait, but becomes personal after she sees another side of her heritage, and learns more of the kith's complicated world.

Hanging out with macho guys draping cannons from their shoulders is less irksome than she expects. She survives a number of deadly scrapes, creating a reputation for herself as she searches for her abducted roommate.

My review:
Caitlin hoped for a summer that every teen wants: shopping, spending the time at the beach, and cuddling with her dog as she watches her favorite DVDs. That dream was ripped away from her when she's chosen to be the Queen's intern. Not the Queen of England, but the Queen to a secret organization of paranormals. The clan is at war and Cait finds herself thrust right into it. Searching for her abducted roommate, Cait gains a reputation that everyone least expected. Especially her. Yet with that notoriety comes with more danger. Will she survive the summer and ever get to go to the beach again?

The book throws the reader right into the story as Cait is escorted from her home by armed men and revenirs. I had no idea what to expect, but at times, I found myself laughing out loud and on the edge of my seat. This was a fun and fast-paced story with a lot of wise-cracking. Loved the banter between the characters!

Cait is a stubborn and strong-willed 16-year-old. I often forgot her age, but she has the frustrating impulsiveness of a teen and her emotions will take you for a grand ride. Zack is my favorite character. A genius 12-year-old who knows everyone's business and loves Nerds. He's the perfect sidekick for Cait. There's a great cast of characters, both human and supernatural, and the plot will take you on quite a few sudden and shocking turns. 

Buy the book here:Amazon * B&N
Find R. Mac Wheeler here:Blog * Site * Twitter * Goodreads 

'Tis More Blessed

With the success of Creepy Freebies in October,Milo James Fowler is hosting 'Tis More Blessed this December!
FREE stories and raffles.'Tis the season for giving.
I'm happy to be taking part.On December 13th, (Friday the 13th) I'll be raffling off a signed copy of The 13th Floor Complete Collection (US only). It's the anniversary of when I released the first book in the series. Can you believe it's been a year already?
Milo is opening up this event to the whole blogosphere.
If you have a book/eBook/short story/collection you'd like to give away or raffle off on Friday December 6th, Friday the 13th, Friday the 20th, or Friday the 27th, just enter your name and the date(s) of your giveaway under Link Title. Next, enter your email (won't be displayed), then enter the URL of your blog so folks can click straight through to your giveaway. 
  

Friday Five for November 22, 2013

1. It's been a slow NaNoWriMo week for me. I've been so busy outside my hermit hole, I haven't had much time to write. Yet I'm still in a good place. As of yesterday, my word count is just over 36,000. I would say I could easily finish that before the end of the month if I had until the end of the month. Which I don't. We leave Wednesday to go visit my in-laws, and so I have to finish on Tuesday. The story won't be finished. I have a feeling this will be a long one, but that's okay. If I ever go back to edit it, it will need a lot of fat trimmed!
2. I've had five rejections over the past few weeks. That's affected my writing too. I've had a lot of leftover Halloween candy therapy. My jeans are a bit tight! Come December, I'll send out my short stories and try other places for them. I also have a few stories whose contracts are up. I can find places willing to take reprints for those.
3. I've baked a lot this past week. Cupcakes decorated as turkeys, banana bread, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I had to make a schedule for it. I never thought I'd be a woman that needed a baking schedule! Funny where life takes us.
4. I won't be going out to do any shopping on Black Friday this year. I haven't in several years. I find myself doing more and more shopping online. It's really so much easier. I still have a rocket ship to buy for my little guy. There are some nifty ones on Amazon. Do you find that you do more shopping online these days?
5. Speaking of my brilliant boy, he is an official reader now. Yes, he's 3.5 year old, but he can read. His preschool class is small enough that his teacher can read with him for about ten minutes each day. He read two new books for me on Wednesday while I was there assisting the teacher, and he even corrects himself when he misses a word or doesn't say it right. Next semester, I'm putting him in an after school literacy program which he got special permission to be registered in. He'll get to work with the teacher he'll have next year for school. I'm one proud mama!

Review for Murder, Madness & Love

Blurb:
Sunlight blazes on an empty canvas.

Arctic winds gather snowflakes on a frosty window ledge as a statuesqueform appears. She moves past a table littered with papers. Headlines splash news of murder, but it’s the photo of another young woman with features mirroring her own that draws her attention.

A different headline peeks from underneath the Anchorage Times.

Wealthy Businessman Dies in Car Crash … BLACK WIDOW SUSPECTED!

Graphic images swirl through her head and a tear rolls down her cheek. She drifts toward an easel and a trembling hand dips a sable brush into a palette of paint.

The Westminster doorbell chimes. The brush slips and blood-red paint stains the floor.

Detective Steven Quaid waits. His Tlingit, Indian features carved from granite, mask his Irish passion …

Will he arrest her this time?

All fingers point to her guilt.

But, is she guilty of this cunning plot? Or, just a victim of circumstantial evidence?

The door opens …

My review:
Having been branded a black widow, Sarah Palmer moves to Alaska where she grew up and hopes she can find the peace she's been seeking. Yet the shadow of her husband's death follows her and darkens are murders of women who look similar to her begin to happen. Detective Steven Quaid always trusts his gut. It has never let him down. At first he distrusts Sarah, but then his feelings for her grow and he finds himself caught in her spell. Maybe his gut was wrong this time. Or could he be the black widow's next victim?

A skillfully crafted crime thriller that has you on the edge of your seat through to the end. Just when you think you might have it figured out, the plot twists again and you're left with new questions. It's difficult to trick me and I don't fall easily for red herrings, but I had no idea how this story would turn out. It was wonderful how all the pieces fit together at the end.

Sarah is a strong protagonist. A woman who you can sympathize with and yet get suspicious of at the same time! I particularly liked Steven Quaid. He played it smart even when his emotions were involved. I can't wait to read more with him in Yolanda Renee's next novel.

Buy Murder, Madness & Love here: Amazon * Amazon UK * B&N
Stalk Yolanda Renee on these sites:Blog * Twitter * Goodreads 

Moonless Blog Tour - excerpt & giveaway

I'm excited to have the wonderful Crystal Collier here with me today sharing an excerpt from her new release, MOONLESS.
Unravel the mystery of the Moonless night! Hidden in each of the 8 blog tour excerpts is a single word. Gather all 8 and figure out the sentence to win a free copy of Moonless. Send your mystery sentence to crystal (AT) crystal-collier.com with the subject MYSTERY SENTENCE before December 10, 2013, and you will be entered to win one of 10 copies of MOONLESS—just in time for Christmas. Happy hunting!
A body dangled from the rafters, several inches above the dirt floor.

Alexia’s scream froze in her throat. 

Soft honeydew tresses spilled loosely over thin shoulders, the child’s eyes heavily-lashed and downturned. Her cheeks were blotched, wide, and white, contrasting with vibrant crimson lips. Scarlet skirts hung about the girl, like the bleeding petals of a rose, still as death. 
Alexia swallowed. A child. She couldn’t be more than thirteen. Great wide irons looped her wrists, cutting wicked lines in the little one’s skin.
It wasn’t right. Disgust bubbled through her chest. She covered her mouth and hurried down the steps, anxious to rescue the body, or at least lay it to rest.
The girl’s eyes turned up. Brown, chocolate, swirling.
Alexia tumbled back. She thunked into the stairs and landed on her rump. Hard. She sucked in a breath. The little face watched her, expressionless, innocent, beautiful. Her stomach twisted. No one should be that perfect—not even in death.
READ MORE EXCERPTS

Blurb:In the English society of 1768 where women are bred to marry, unattractive Alexia, just sixteen, believes she will end up alone. But on the county doorstep of a neighbor’s estate, she meets a man straight out of her nightmares, one whose blue eyes threaten to consume her whole world—especially later when she discovers him standing over her murdered host in the middle of the night.

Among the many things to change for her that evening are: her physical appearance—from ghastly to breathtaking, an epidemic of night terrors predicting the future, and the blue-eyed man’s unexpected infusion into her life. Not only do his appearances precede tragedies, but they are echoed by the arrival of ravenous, black-robed wraiths on moonless nights.

Unable to decide whether he is one of these monsters or protecting her from them, she uncovers what her father has been concealing: truths about her own identity, about the blue-eyed man, and about love. After an attack close to home, Alexia realizes she cannot keep one foot in her old life and one in this new world. To protect her family she must either be sold into a loveless marriage, or escape with the man of her dreams and risk becoming one of the Soulless.
Buy MOONLESS here: Amazon & Smashwords
Author Bio: Crystal, author of MOONLESS, is a former composer/writer for Black Diamond Productions. She can be found practicing her brother-induced ninja skills while teaching children or madly typing about fantastic and impossible creatures. She has lived from coast to coast and now calls Florida home with her creative husband, three littles, and “friend” (a.k.a. the zombie locked in her closet). Secretly, she dreams of world domination and a bottomless supply of cheese. You can find her on her blog and Facebook, or follow her on Twitter.
❀Unleashing the dream world, one book at a time ❀
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Grand prize winner for my Realms Faire event & Review for A Guilty Ghost Surprised

Realms Faire 2013 was a great success!Thank you to everyone who participated. We hope you had lots of fun. A special thank you to all the wonderful authors for hosting the games, and especially to Mary Pax for organizing it all.Cheers and HUZZAH!
The grand prize winner of my Soak-a-bloke / Drench-a-wench event is: Chris Fries
Congratulations to Chris!

Blurb:An Angel Among Us

Paranormal happenings at the Eady household are the norm. Recently, things have become downright peculiar. Childish giggles at odd hours of the night lead Indigo Eady to her little cousin, Bryan, a guileless cherub spirit, complete with Spider Man pajamas and a set of faux angel wings. The problem is that Bryan died nearly three years ago in a hit and run that killed him and his mum. The driver was never found. Now the gang must solve the mystery of his death in order to send him back to heaven. But where to start when the trail is three years cold?

Indigo Eady

Indigo Eady is not clumsy. At least, that’s what she keeps telling everyone. Can she help that the overactive spirit community of Sabrina Shores causes her psychic abilities to short-circuit? It’s unfortunate that her cute friend Badger is often on the receiving end of her mishaps. At times, she is positively hazardous to his health. Even so, sparks fly in more than one direction.
My review:After her father's death, Indigo has had little time to grieve and let go. Especially moving across the ocean to live with her uncle and cousin Simon. Her own sorrows must be pushed back again when they come upon the third anniversary of the death of Simon's mother and little brother. The little angel comes back, and they must find out why. Indigo and the gang investigate a hit-and-run that's been covered up. Yet will the investigation stir up something that will be dangerous to them all?

This second book in the Indigo Eady series is just as fun and quirky as the first. It's a YA cozy mystery, but I have dubbed it a snug mystery after the little room in the pub where Indigo and her friends meet to discuss things. Just when you think you have everything figured out, the tale twists around and keeps you guessing until the end.

I still adore Indigo. A not-so-average nearly seventeen-year-old girl with powers to see ghosts and retrieve powerful memories. She has boy troubles and ghost problems. Sometimes both are so frustrating that I don't know which one I'd prefer! My favorite character is Franny, the ghost of a madam from a century ago. Amazing characterization.

Pick up Gwen Gardner's books if you haven't. You won't be disappointed.
You can buy the book here:Amazon * B&N * Smashwords
Stalk Gwen here:Blog * Twitter * Facebook * Pinterest * Goodreads

NaNoWriMo 2013 - day 16 update

Word count: 28,003
It's been a busy month, but I've surprised myself with how well I'm managing to keep up with the word count. Hopefully I'll reach the 50,000 goal before I have to leave to visit the in-laws for the American Thanksgiving.
The story is a lot of fun. THE UNDERDOGS is a NA urban fantasy. Geeks with magic. And one of them has a goat. Well, the goat was once a cat, but his owner's magic went awry and changed him into a goat.
There's a lot of talking and no romance. It feels weird to me on that level. Yet I did want this to be a buddy story. Except it's focusing on the two friends I didn't expect it would. But it works.
I have my local writers critique group today. So hopefully I'll get a chance to write tonight. I want to make 30,000 before the day is out.
For all those participating in NaNoWriMo, keep writing!YOU CAN DO IT!

Realms Faire 2013 - Drench-a-Wench

Alas, 'tis the final day of Realms Faire 2013.But oh, what a magnificent festival it has been!
One more day of festivities.One more day to soak someone with blog love.

The rules of this event are simple:1. The dunkee is chosen by committee.2. I post a link to the dunkee's blog and you click on it.3. You leave a comment, soaking the person in blog love.4. You're entered into a daily drawing for a chance to win an ebook of your choosing from M. Pax and my ebook, The 13th Floor Complete Collection.
If you participate in three days of this event and two of the others Realms Faire events, you will be entered into a grand prize drawing. This drawing has one amazing prize:A 50 page critique by mePLUS ebooks from M. Pax, Julie Flanders, Laura Eno, Ellie Garratt, and me.
Who's the final wench we get to drench?
 Ready those comments and throw them at the wonderful Clare Dugmore!

Yesterday's lucky winner is Mina Lobo!
Congratulations! An email is on its way.

Visit all the events for your chance to win more prizes this last BIG day of Realms Faire 2013:
Joust ~ Stockade Brigade ~ Dueling Bards ~ Phasers ~ Masquerade Parade ~ Collective Performance ~ Castle Jumble ~ Dragon Hunt

You also have one more day to cheer for the brave Sir Xan at the Joust. He's competed all this week without a shirt. Warm him with your cheers. Remember you can cheer up to three times a day, and you must use at least one of the key words to score points. Xan's key words are:
Xanthus Ehrensvard, 13th, and cutpurse.

 
We need a bunch of cheers to catch up with the knights in the lead. So here are some cheers you simply have to copy and paste!
Three cheers for Xanthus Ehrensvard! The other knights are but brides of trolls!
See brave and shirtless Xanthus Ehrensvard. Not even the most craven cutpurse would dare tangle with him!
Huzzah! Xanthus Ehrensvard is the one true knight. He has killed his 13th dragon and captured a cutpurse as the villain tried to take his lady's purse.

Realms Faire 2013 - Soak-a-Bloke

It's the penultimate day of Realms Faire 2013!
 We will continue to drench our unsuspecting fellows with blog love. It's simple: click on the banner below, leave a comment at the dunkee's blog, and be entered to win a prize.

I'm altering the conditions for entry in the drawing for the grand prize at the end of the week. You must participate in this event at least 3 times, and you get a bonus entry for participating in at least 2 other Realms Faire events at least twice.
 The unsuspecting gentleman we're going to soak today is Chemist Ken! And behold, he has a castle of his own full of magic and wonder.

Yesterday's winner is Susan Gourley.
Congratulations! An email is on its way.

Don't forget to visit the other events of the Realms Faire:
Joust ~ Stockade Brigade ~ Dueling Bards ~ Phasers ~ Masquerade Parade ~ Collective Performance ~ Castle Jumble ~ Dragon Hunt

Have you cheered for Xan yet today? Remember you can cheer up to three times a day for a knight in the Joust. You need to use the key words to score points.

Xan's key words:
Xanthus Ehrensvard, 13th, and cutpurse.