Emma Michaels's Blog, page 39

January Black Blitz and Giveaway!

January Black

Sixteen-year-old genius Matty Ducayn has never fit in on The Hill, an ordered place seriously lacking a sense of humor. After his school’s headmaster expels him for a small act of mischief, Matty’s future looks grim until King Hadrian comes to his rescue with a challenge: answer a question for a master’s diploma.

More than a second chance, this means freedom. Masters can choose where they work, a rarity among Regents, and the question is simple.

What was January Black?

It’s a ship. Everyone knows that. Hadrian rejects that answer, though, and Matty becomes compelled by curiosity and pride to solve the puzzle. When his search for an answer turns up long-buried state secrets, Matty’s journey becomes a collision course with a deadly royal decree. He's been set up to fail, which forces him to choose. Run for his life with the challenge lost...or call the king’s bluff.


Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Amazon Kindle

Praise
Refreshingly intelligent and loads of fun!
I lost a few hours as I read this book. It's a Young Adult novel that is refreshingly and astonishingly intelligent, and the love story is perfectly played out.
~Christine Ashworth, Amazon Review

The mystery was intriguing - I loved how Wendy Russo weaved in all her secrets throughout the book, how she incorporated just enough to keep you reading, while never actually divulging much of anything. I was guessing for most of it and that's pretty hard to make me do.
~Julie, Clean Teen Reads

Wendy Russo has created a masterpiece.
~Ivan Amberlake, Author


Book Trailer



Author Wendy S. Russo

Wendy S. Russo got her start writing in the sixth grade. That story involved a talisman with crystals that had to be found and assembled before bad things happened, and dialog that read like classroom roll call. Since then, she’s majored in journalism (for one semester), published poetry, taken a course on short novels, and watched most everything ever filmed by Quentin Tarantino. A Wyoming native transplanted in Baton Rouge, Wendy works for Louisiana State University as an IT analyst. She’s a wife, a mom, a Tiger, a Who Dat, and she falls asleep on her couch at 8:30 on weeknights.


FACEBOOK * WEBSITE * TWITTER GOODREADS * AUTHORGRAPH

Tour Schedule

BookBlast Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 5/5/13
Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.


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Dangerous Book Blitz

DANGEROUSSuzannah Daniels Release Day: April 9th, 2013Young Adult Contemprary RomanceBlitz Host: Lady Amber's ToursAmazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords
Stone Hamilton had never known fear...until the accident. Since then, his life has spiraled out of control. He's been kicked out of private school, deemed a disappointment by his father, and forced to endure his own guilt, anger, and grief. The last thing he wants is a relationship with someone who will have expectations of him. But once he's enticed by the shimmering-pink lips of the oh-so-popular, academically-excelling, straitlaced hottie from his new school, he knows he's in trouble.

Seventeen-year-old Dara Golding has one goal for the summer: make enough money to buy a car, so that she can drive to school her senior year. After starting a new job, she realizes that she'll be working with the brooding, motorcycle-riding, bad boy who started attending Quail Mountain High last year. With his less than stellar reputation, he's everything she's afraid of...and that makes him dangerous.

Their undeniable attraction has Stone struggling with his inner demons. As Dara slowly allows Stone to claim her heart, a little white lie to cover an ugly truth could determine whether she's his savior or the final straw that will break his sanity.

Author Bio:Suzannah Daniels has had an affinity for words for as long as she can remember. She grew up in North Georgia with four brothers, so she learned at an early age to admire snakes and motorcycles. When she wasn't pestering her brothers, she could usually be found reading or writing.

She is the author of Viking's Embrace, a historical romance, Ghostly Encounter, Book One of her Ghostly series (young adult paranormal romance), and Dangerous, a young adult contemporary romance.

Currently, she lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee with her husband and her teenage daughter. Her son lives nearby. The family pets include a Lab mix, a Basset Hound, a Shih Tzu, and a sweet, little kitty.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads

April Kindle Fire Giveaway!

Kindle Fire HD 7" Giveaway
The winner will have the option of receiving a 7" Kindle Fire HD (US Only)
  Or $199 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)
  Or $199 in Paypal Cash (International)
Sponsoring Bloggers & Authors
I Am A Reader, Not A WriterAuthor Jennifer LaurensAuthor Lena SledgeKelly's Lucky YouAuthor Lori Verni-FogarsiPhantasmic ReadsAuthor Rebecca TalleyAuthor Ednah WalterAuthor Heather BixlerGirls With BooksMy Life With BooksAuthor Rae Z. RyansAll Fantasy WorldsAuthor Michael YoungBook Angel BooktopiaLori's Reading CornerBooks R UsBooks 4 TomorrowAuthor T. Lynne TollesGood Choice ReadingCurling Up With A Good BookAuggie-TalkA Bookish EscapeParanormal Book ClubReviews by Martha's BookshelfAmethyst DaydreamsPink Fluffy HeartsLove. Without YouBooks, Books, the Magical FruitAuthor Lisa VoisonTasty Book ToursFae BooksAuthor Cindy C. BennettAuthor Emma MichaelsAuthor Lia FairchildFade Into FantasyPieces of WhimsyAuthor Rachael Renee AndersonFeed Your ReaderLovely Reads Giveaway Details
1 winner will receive their choice of a Kindle Fire 7" HD (US Only), $199 Amazon Gift Card or $199 in Paypal Cash (International). Ends 4/30/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the participating authors & bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Prize value $199 US.
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Cover Love Affair Week 7

Yes, alas, while I tried to deny my feelings for covers other than my own they continue to overwhelm me with their gorgeous and alluring ways. Here are my latest cover love affairs!

What eye catching covers currently have you ensnared in a cover love affair?

Book Recommendation: Otherborn Tour!

Otherborn by Anna SilverSeries: Otherborn, #1Publication: April 4th 2013by Sapphire Star PublishingGenre: YA Dystopian
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & NobleLondon and her teenage friends live in a reprocessed world.

Confined within Capital City’s concrete walls, London has done the impossible and the illegal. She’s created something New- a song. But her mentor, club owner Pauly, is not impressed. Since the historic Energy Crisis forced everyone behind walls generations ago, the Tycoons have ensured there is truly nothing new allowed under the sun. Pauly warns London to keep her song to herself, if she knows what’s good for her.

What he doesn’t know, is that London is keeping an even bigger secret: she dreams. And she’s not alone. London’s band-mates and friends have begun dreaming as well, seeing themselves in “night pictures” as beings from another world. As Otherborn, they must piece together the story of their astral avatars, the Others, in order to save their world from a dreamless, hopeless future.

When Pauly is murdered and an Otherborn goes missing, London realizes someone is hunting them down. Escaping along the Outroads, they brave the deserted Houselands with only their dreams to guide them. Can they find their friend before the assassin finds them? Will being Otherborn save their lives, or destroy them?

5 out of 5 stars! London is such a real character. There are so many books out there where the MC conquers the world without even a moment's hesitation or rational fear. What struck me about Otherborn is that all of the characters were so beautifully flawed and real. They weren't going to go into something without fear but they were going to do it anyways, not because they were driven by some impenetrable moral force but because it was what needed to be done and they knew it.  Anther refreshing aspect of this novel was that there was always something going on that kept you thinking and wondering what would happen next. Even if you had an idea of what might be coming you would sit there arguing with yourself ("Nah, she wouldn't do that... OMG... OMG THAT JUST HAPPENED..." *insert look of extreme shock that lead fiancé to ask what on earth I was reading*). I don't normally fan-girl over a novel unless it is an author I have been following since I was very young but Otherborn had me fan-girling and I can hardly wait to see what happens next!  I have a few very select pet peeves when it comes to writing, they are personal and not literary but this dealt with three of them in some of the beginning chapters (abundant smoking, cutting and specific name usage). Now, normally just dealing with one of them with specific phrasing would make me set aside a book and pretend it didn't exist while it slipped away into the nether but with Otherborn I couldn't bring myself to look away from the wonderfully fluid writing quality so decided to keep reading and I am thrilled that I did. I ended up going on an amazing, imaginative and unique thrill ride that has left me waiting breathlessly for the next book in the series and a big fan of Anna Silver. This is an author you will want to be on the lookout for.  I for one plan on reading anything and everything else she releases, which for me is saying a lot. I can without reservations say that she will end up making it onto my top 10 authors of 2013 list.  The Author Anna Silver is an artist and writer living in the greater Houston area with her family, pets, and overactive imagination. Her art, which includes oil paintings, assemblage sculptures, and fairy houses, has been featured in the Houston gallery Las Manos Magicas. She studied English Writing & Rhetoric at St. Edward’s University in Austin. She has written web copy for private clients and freelanced for the Hill Country Current in Texas. Her write-up on a past-life regression experience was chosen to be featured in best-selling author Brian Weiss’ new book. She is a member of the Writer’s League of Texas. OTHERBORN is her first published novel.Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Blog

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Feature and Giveaway: Hell's Hollow

Hell's Hollow by Summer Stone
Publication date:  March 2013
Genre: YA ParanormalGoodReads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble When Seraphina was younger, she healed her best friend's injured hand. Terrified by the inexplicable cure, the girl shunned her. From that day on, Seraphina found herself without friends, a freak and an oddity. And so she obeyed her mother’s rule to refrain from using her innate ability, heeded her mother's warning that its use could land her in the local mental health facility alongside her aunt and grandmother.

But when sixteen-year-old Seraphina finds a mysterious, wounded boy hiding in the hollow in the woods behind her house, she can't hold out against the overpowering urge to help him. She is drawn to him each night, and as they come to know one another, their irresistible attraction blooms.

She longs to uncover his secrets — where he comes from and why he's hiding and how he came to be so wounded — and to share her own, though she knows it's forbidden. And while her healing touch seems to be helping him, it's hurting her. When the symptoms of psychosis — experienced by the women in her bloodline who used their powers — begin to plague Seraphina, she is faced with the unbearable choice of saving her sanity or the boy she’s come to love.

About the AuthorSummer Stone loves immersing herself in the worlds that live inside her mind. When she's in the real world, she likes kicking back on the beach, exploring new places, reading (of course) and eating rich, gooey chocolate. She loves spending time with her husband and kids, which she does as much as she can. Summer writes young adult and women's fiction, both supernatural and contemporary, realistic and looks forward to sharing her novels with you!  Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter a Rafflecopter giveaway

Feature: Arrow of the Mist

Arrow of the Mist & Christina Mercer
Publication date: March 21st 2013
Genre: YA Fantasy
GoodReads | Barnes & Noble | AmazonTerror strikes the Celtic inspired kingdom of Nemetona when barbed roots breach the veil of a forbidden land and poison woodsmen, including 15-year-old Lia’s beloved father. Lia and three others embark on a quest to the forbidden land of Brume to gather ingredients for the cure. But after her elder kinsman is attacked and poisoned, she and her cousin, Wynn, are forced to finish the quest on their own.

Lia relies on her powerful herbal wisdom and the memorized pages of her late grandmother’s Grimoire for guidance through a land of soul-hungry shades, trickster creatures, and uncovered truths about the origin of Brume and her family’s unexpected ties to it. The deeper they trek into the land, the stronger Lia’s untapped gift as a tree mage unfolds. When she discovers the enchanted root’s maker, it forces her to question everything about who she is and what is her destiny. Ultimately she must make a terrible choice: keep fighting to save her father and the people of the lands or join with the power behind the deadly roots to help nature start anew.
 

 Christina Mercer writes fiction in addition to mothering two young adults, a pack of large dogs, and about 100,000 honeybees. She's been an avid reader since she could walk and took her first writing job at age 10 as reporter for her local 4-H group. Her varied interests and ambidextrous skills prompted her to study creative writing in college, earn her official degree in Accounting from California State University at Sacramento, become a CPA., acquire a certificate in Herbal Studies from Clayton College of Natural Health, and become a hobbyist beekeeper. She took Writer’s Best in Show at the 2012 SCBWI CA North/Central Regional Conference and was a semi-finalist in the 2010 Amazon Breakout Novel Award Contest. You can find her at or blogging with the girls over at www.indie-visible.com    / / Twitter

Fool for Books Giveaway Hop

Enter below using the Rafflecopter form for a chance to win a $10 gift card, no joke! a Rafflecopter giveaway

To enter the other giveaways on the hop stop by these sites:

Reaper's Novice by Cecilia Roberts

Reaper's Novice (Soul Collector #1)Author: Cecilia Roberts Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young AdultBlitz Host: Lady Amber's Tours
FREE MARCH 30TH & 31ST!!! 

17- year- old Ana Maria Tei’s life has always been perfect: loving parents, good grades, and a future so bright it outshone the sun. But now words like “separation” and “divorce” are sending her world plummeting to hell. Determined to keep her family intact, Ana plans a family-bonding trip from Vienna to Tuscany. Except fate has other plans. Ana’s parents and siblings are killed in a car accident on their way to pick Ana up from school.

Enter Grim, aka Ernest. He promises to relinquish the four souls if Ana agrees to trade her soul for theirs and serve a lifetime as his novice. In order for Ana to graduate from her Reaper’s Novice station to a Soul Collector graduate, Grim puts her to test. To her horror, she finds out becoming a Reaper’s Novice didn’t happen by chance. It was preordained, and she is forced to make a choice: save her family’s souls or come to terms with who she really is and complete the task set for her.

Author Bio:Cecilia Robert lives in Vienna with her two children, has an incurable obsession with books, anything romantic, TV and medieval architecture. When not working in her full time job, catching up with her two children, writing or reading, she can be found, knitting or crocheting, taking photos of old buildings.

Links:
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5263768
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CeciliaRobertBooks?ref=ts&fref=ts
Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Cecilia-Robert/e/B005X9UR74/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1363650960&sr=8-1
Blog/Web: http://cecereadandwrite.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CeCeMR

I pull Zig inside the Hotel Sacher Confectionery shop, famous for its traditional Sacher torte. Immediately, I’m blasted by the sight of dark chocolate cake and the scent of freshly brewed Viennese coffee, which reminds me of Sunday morning brunch at my house. My stomach grumbles mercilessly.
“Feed that beast in there before it devours us all.” Zig jabs a finger at my belly.
I laugh, and go back to ogling the cakes behind the glass display, picturing Anton smiling and gulping down the dark chocolate cake, apricot jam smeared on his lips. I dig out my savings, hand them to the lady behind the counter, and point at the smallest of the Sacher tortes. A few minutes later, Zig and I exit the shop and join the stream of pedestrians, strolling in and out of shops with bags in hand.
At the corner of Kärntner Strasse and Opernring, we stop to wait for the lights to change. A tram zips by. My gaze automatically drifts to the Vienna State Opera House. This is where magic happens.
When I was thirteen, our class visited the Opera House on an excursion. I remember walking through arched doorways and carpeted hallways, promising myself over and over that one day, this will be my dream.
Funny how life changes, twisting and turning dreams inside out, wringing them dry.
My stomach twists at the memory. I need to get out of here. Fast. I blink quickly, averting my gaze from Zig. Him seeing my face right now is the last thing I want.
“So what do you say?” he asks, oblivious to my current state. The light changes, and we join the crowd of people crossing the street. “Join me?” I give him a sidelong glance. “Do you trust me?” he asks when I don’t answer his questions.
“Would a deer trust a leopard to a cuddle?” I say, eyebrows raised.
He narrows his eyes. “Which one am I? The leopard or the deer?”
“Do you trust me?”
He doesn’t miss a beat. “Completely.”
I miss two beats. “Why? You hardly know me.”
“I just do. Come on, an hour of pure fun won’t kill you.”
I sigh. “Maybe later.” His shoulders sag. “Would you like to join me?”
His eyes light up, giving him a boyish look. “Never thought you’d ask.” He takes my hand. In the next step, we shift to the hospital.
“You’re reckless, you know that?” I say, placing a hand on the door of room 112. “Don’t you care that people notice when you disappear right before their eyes?”
“They’ll have something to talk about.”
I shake my head. “You could at least let me practise my shifting skills.”
“Next time.”
“Be good.”
“Aren’t I always?” He grins.
“Do you even know the meaning of that word?”
He winks. “You’d be surprised.”
I roll my eyes and walk inside the room.

Cover Love Affair Week 6

This week for my book cover fangirling I am looking at series with covers that get progressively more enticing for me. I just LOVE the covers for these three series and the themes that give them their continuity. You look at them and immediately know what series the covers are a part of.

What covers are you having cover love affairs with currently?