L.S. Murphy's Blog, page 6

West Texas Relief Auction: Auction Item #4

Here’s a chance to help the people of West, Texas by bidding on a signed copy of Reaper & a 10 page critique.

http://westtexasreliefauction.blogspot.com/2013/04/auction-item-4.html?m=1

Tagged: auction, critique, Reaper, ya lit, ya paranormal tomance, Young Adult

Cover Reveal: Crossroads by Jonathan Lister

Check out this cover for Crossroads!

Doesn’t this sound awesome? 

About Crossroads:

Werewolf. Bar bouncer. Dad. Standard traits for any self-respecting, reformed criminal, living under the radar in Demos City. For Leon Gray, normal is what he wants—for himself and his not-yet-changed teenage daughter.

Playing bodyguard to crusading reporter David Hastings would totally ruin Leon’s peace, especially since Hastings has hired killers on his trail, pros who know how he takes his espresso in the morning, and where Leon lives.

The payoff, though, would fill up Shauna’s empty college fund, and in a battle between opportunity and ordinary, money wins. He just has to keep Hastings alive long enough to cash the check.

If only he didn’t have to save his daughter, too.

As a budding wolf, she’s piqued the interest of a local pack Alpha—one Leon knows will steal Shauna right out from under him the first chance he gets.

Leon isn’t about to give up on his daughter or Hastings, and will fight for both longer than it took Demos City to see werewolves as equals to humans.

He can only hope it doesn’t take a thousand years.

Tagged: 2013, Authors, Books, Cover Reveal, Fiction, Fun, Just for Fun, Musings, Novels, Opinion, Opinions, ramblings, Random, Reading, Writers, Writing

Rockin’ Thursdays: Country Girl Shake it For Me

 

My niece loves Luke Bryan, so she told me to start listening… and I did. So, here’s to rockin’ country style this week. 

Bonus Video: Buzzkill

Tagged: 2013, country music, Fun, Just for Fun, Luke Bryan, Music, Musings, Opinion, Opinions, ramblings, Random, Random Thoughts, Rockin' Thursdays, Videos

Waiting on Wednesday: The Dark Discovery of Jack Dandy

 

I love, love, love… did I mention LOVE Kady Cross’s Steampunk Chronicles. Sneaky me got my hands on

The Girl with the Iron Touch a wee bit early, and I have to tell you IT IS AWESOME!

Naturally, this is a must read on my list! 

A teaser ebook novella will give you a glimpse into events before The Girl with the Iron Touch from the perspective of everyone’s favorite underworld criminal, Jack Dandy. The story will conclude in The Girl with the Iron Touch.

Tagged: 2013, Authors, Books, Fiction, Fun, Just for Fun, Kady Cross, Musings, Novels, Opinion, Opinions, ramblings, Random, Random Thoughts, Reading, Romance, Steampunk, Teens, Waiting on Wednesday, YA, YA books, YA Paranormal Romance, YA Steampunk, Young Adult, Young Adult Books

Rockin’ Thursdays: Thrift Shop

There aren’t a lot of songs that make you laugh, and this just cracks me up.

Bonus LOL type of song: I’m Awesome

Tagged: 2013, Fun, Just for Fun, Music, Musings, Opinion, Opinions, ramblings, Random, Random Thoughts, Rockin' Thursdays, Videos

{Blog Tour} – Interview with J.A. Belfield

Guys, I’m thrilled to have the always wonderful, always witty J.A. Belfield on my blog today. If you haven’t read any of the Holloway Pack books, I highly recommend you stop everything and go do so now…. It’s okay…. We can wait…. *crickets* Okay? Everybody back? Good.

About J.A. Belfield: One day, a character and scene popped into J. A. Belfield’s head, and she started controlling the little people inside her imagination, as though she were the puppet master and they her toys. Questions arose: What would happen if …? How would they react if …? Who would they meet if …? Before she knew it, a singular scene had become an entire movie. The characters she controlled began to hold conversations. Their actions reflected the personalities she bestowed upon them. Within no time, they had a life, a lover, a foe, family … they had Become.

One day, she wrote down her thoughts. She’s yet to stop.

J. A. Belfield lives in Solihull, England, with her husband, two children, three cats and a dog. She writes paranormal romance, with a second love for urban fantasy

Now onto the INTERVIEW!

What made you decide to become a writer?

I’m a writer? Dude, that’s awesome.

Nah, just kidding. It pretty much boils down to the fact that I daydreamed and nightdreamed aaaaaaaaaallllllll the while (what can I say, I was a bored housewife), and one particular daydream just would not leave me alone. A few days later, it was still bugging me, and that’s when I began entertaining the idea of writing it down and making it into a story. It became my first novel.

What inspired you to write about werewolves?

My dreams. I have real funky and off-the-wall dreams. Sometimes they involve werewolves, and I found them fascinating whilst terrifying yet appealable and sexy all at the same time. So my head was—is—happy to venture deeper into what might make them tick and how they’d deal with being members of the ‘real world’.

If tomorrow you woke up and found out that you were turned into werewolf, what would your reaction be?

First reaction: OMG! This is freaking awesome!

Second reaction: F***! This is really gonna hurt.

Which character from the Holloway Pack do you relate to the most? Why?

The pack member who’s spent the most time inside my head is Sean, so I know him on a whole other level than I do the other pack members. However, due to gender and *getting* the female psych a lot more than I do the male, I’d have to say Jem. Because I can be as irritating and tough and as foolishly rash as she’s known to be. But I also value my friends and know how to love.

Okay, fess up. Which Holloway Pack werewolf is most like Mr. B.?

Dayam, what kind of a question is THIS?! I don’t know if I can compare, seeing as one’s 100% real and the others are 100% made up, but if you’re gonna force me to choose, I’d have to say Sean. A lot of how Sean feels toward Jem, as well as the decisions he makes because he believes they’re the best even though they drive her nuts, remind me a lot of what I ‘feel’ from Mr B. That a good enough answer?

Alrighty then. Make sure ya’ll check out Belfield’s latest Holloway Pack tail (get it?) Resonance!

Guilt is a heavy burden for the one carrying it.

Jem Stonehouse is no exception to this rule.

What if she’d acted sooner? What if she’d fully recognised the threat? What if she hadn’t allowed the male pack members to head into the witches’ ambush?

For one, youngest pack member Josh Larsen wouldn’t be trapped in the sleep of the dead.

Now, Jem is convinced it’s her job to bring him back to life no matter what it takes— learning more about her heritage, risking pack exposure, or travelling to places she couldn’t have imagined possible.

Even if the journey endangers her soul.

 

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble |KoboBooks

Tagged: 2013, Authors, Books, Fiction, Fun, Interviews, Just for Fun, Musings, Novels, Paranormal Romance, ramblings, Random, Random Thoughts, Reading, Romance, Writers, Writing

Rockin’ Thursdays: Gone Gone Gone

I’m not ashamed of my love for American Idol winner Phillip Phillips. I’m not. I really enjoyed his coronation song, Home, but Gone, Gone, Gone is by far my favorite on his album. It’s also one of Bean’s favorite songs. You know you’ve got a hit on your hands when a 4-year-old can sing all the words to your song. Keep rockin’ it, Phillip.

Here’s a bonus: Home

Tagged: 2013, Just for Fun, Musings, Opinion, Opinions, ramblings, Random, Random Thoughts, Rockin' Thursdays, Videos

Waiting on Wednesday: Game. Set. Match

I accidentally discovered this novel on Twitter, and I’m glad I did. It sounds like a great read. I love the concept. 

About Game. Set. Match:

Nestled along the coastline of North Carolina, the Outer Banks Tennis Academy is the best elite tennis training facility in the world. Head Coach, Dominic Kingston has assembled some of the finest talent in the sport. From the game’s biggest stars to athletes scraping and clawing to achieve their dreams, OBX is full of ego, drama and romance. Only the strong survive in this pressure cooker of competition, on and off the court.

Penny Harrison, the biggest rising star in tennis, is determined to win the French Open and beat her rival, the world’s number one player, Zina Lutrova. There’s just one problem, the only person who’s ever been able to shake her laser-like focus is her new training partner. Alex Russell, tennis’s resident bad boy, is at OBX recovering from a knee injury suffered after he crashed his motorcycle (with an Aussie supermodel on the back). He’s hoping to regain his former place at the top of men’s tennis and Penny’s heart, while he’s at it.

Tennis is all Jasmine Randazzo has ever known. Her parents have seven Grand Slam championships between them and she’s desperate to live up to their legacy. Her best friend is Teddy Harrison, Penny’s twin brother, and that’s all they’ve ever been, friends. Then one stupid, alcohol-laced kiss makes everything super awkward just as she as she starts prepping for the biggest junior tournament of the year, the Outer Banks Classic.

The Classic is what draws Indiana Gaffney out of the hole she crawled into after her mom’s death. Even though she’s new to OBX, a win at the Classic is definitely possible. She has a big serve and killer forehand, but the rest of her game isn’t quite up to scratch and it doesn’t help that Jasmine Randazzo and her little minions are stuck-up bitches or that Jack Harrison, Penny’s agent and oldest brother, is too hot for words, not to mention way too old for her.

Who will rise? Who will fall?

Told from rotating points of view, GAME. SET. MATCH. is a ‘new adult’ novel about three girls with one goal: to be the best tennis player in the world.

Tagged: 2013, Authors, Books, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Fun, Just for Fun, Musings, Novels, Opinion, Opinions, ramblings, Random, Random Thoughts, Reading, Romance, Waiting on Wednesday, Writers, Writing

Soldier’s Headstone

Cemeteries hold a wealth of inspiration. They aren’t creepy. They aren’t scary. For me, cemeteries are storytellers. Each headstone tells you a bit about the person underneath, but it’s up to you to fill in the details.

The headstone I saw today speaks volumes.

Yes, he died in action during World War I. His family honored him with this amazing sculpture. He was loved and is missed. Isn’t that what we all want?

What stories do you see in a cemetery?

Tagged: cemetery, Photo, stories, WWI

Coming Soon….ONE MORE DAY

It’s good news time……

drum roll…..

My short story “The 13th Month” will be released in One More Day, a YA anthology from J. Taylor Publishing.

Here’s the official press release.

 

So go ahead and add it to your Goodreads list!

 

Tagged: 2013, Anthology, Authors, Books, Coming Soon, Fiction, Fun, J. Taylor Publishing, Just for Fun, Musings, Novels, ramblings, Random, Random Thoughts, Reading, Teens, Writers, Writing, YA, YA books, Young Adult, Young Adult Books