S.M. Boyce's Blog: My Journal, page 29

Christmas Gift Ideas: Twelve Days of Bookmas! Day 4: Rebecca Hamilton’s Forever Girl Series

Christmas gift ideas? I’ve got some for you readers out there. The Twelve Days of Bookmas showcases twelve days of great books by awesome new authors. If you’re looking for Christmas gift ideas for someone else or a treat for yourself, this is the place to start. 

 
Today’s Christmas Gift Ideas:
[image error]The Forever Girl

Rebecca Hamilton

“Whatever you do, fight.”

Sophia’s family has skeletons, but they aren’t in their graves.

At twenty-two, practicing Wiccan Sophia Parsons is scratching out a living waiting tables in her Rocky Mountain hometown, a pariah after a string of unsolved murders with only one thing in common: her.

Sophia can imagine lots of ways to improve her life, but she’d settle for just getting rid of the buzzing noise in her head. When the spell she casts goes wrong, the static turns into voices. Her personal demons get company, and the newcomers are dangerous.

One of them is a man named Charles, who Sophia falls for despite her better judgment. He has connections that might help her unveil the mystery surrounding her ancestor’s hanging, but she gets more than she bargains for when she finally decides to trust him.

Survival in his world, she learns, means not asking questions and staying out of the immortal council’s way. It’s a line she crossed long ago. If Sophia wants to survive the council and save the people she loves, she must accept who she is, perform dark magic, and fight to the death for her freedom.

The Forever Girl is a full-length Paranormal Fantasy novel that will appeal to lovers of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, witches, vampire fiction, ghost stories, paranormal mystery, and paranormal horror.

 

–> Buy Your Copy 

 

 

[image error]Her Sweetest Downfall

Rebecca Hamilton

*Her Sweetest Downfall is a short story/novella of 30,000 words. This is not a novel/full-length read, but works as a companion novel to THE FOREVER GIRL, Rebecca Hamilton’s bestselling paranormal fantasy debut.*

Ophelia’s been successful at hiding her true identity, until the mark of the serpent appears on her neck—a death sentence, should it be seen by anyone in her town. Hiding the mark might save her from falling victim to the witch hunts of her era, but the scorching sensation it carries can’t be ignored.

When the mysterious Ethan is sent to collect her for a life of something more, she learns concealing the mark is the least of her worries. She’s destined to don a new mask—to join a dark, supernatural world and protect the future of people she may never meet.

What she doesn’t know—what she learns too late—is that her initiation won’t be complete until she kills the man she loves.

Set in an alternate Regency England, “Her Sweetest Downfall” is a standalone novella in the “Forever Girl” series, written as a gift to fans of the Forever Girl series.

HER SWEETEST DOWNFALL will appeal to lovers of paranormal romance, fantasy, and vampire fiction.

 

 

–> Buy Your Copy 

 

More Christmas Gift Ideas

Stay tuned! More Chirtmas gift ideas are on the way. A new author will be posted every day in the Twelve Days of Bookmas, so check back tomorrow!

Bloody Christmas ebook Give Away!

[image error]As any true fanged fan knows, vampires are always in season. Enter to win four paranormal sensations and put a splash of red into your holidays. Action, adventure, romance, and entirely new twists on the vampire genre.

One winner will receive all four e-books pictured here. Winner may substitute any of these titles for another by the same author within the same series.

 

Cheer on Team Misfits in ReVamped as they take on rogue vampires in the once peaceful little town of Angel Creek.
Journey to hoodoo influenced Southern Louisiana – an exile for reformed vampires in Amaranth.
Answer the call of the wild in Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter where vampires are flocking towards the dark and cold.
Take a trip into the future in Vaempires: Revolution where continents have collided and humans and vampires have learned to live in peace until vampires begin morphing into vaempires, superior beings whose mission is to dominate the planet.

Redefining what it means to be vampire – Stop by the authors’ sites and get to know them better - Ada, Rachael, Nikki, Tom

Wishing you a Scary Christmas!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas Gift Ideas: Twelve Days of Bookmas! Day 3: The Burning of Isobel Key by Jen McConnel

Christmas gift ideas? I’ve got some for you readers out there. The Twelve Days of Bookmas showcases twelve days of great books by awesome new authors. If you’re looking for Christmas gift ideas for someone else or a treat for yourself, this is the place to start. 

 
Today’s Christmas Gift Idea:

[image error]The Burning of Isobel Key

Jen McConnel

When Lou travels to Scotland, she’s a mess. She’s twenty-six, unemployed, and unsure of herself. It doesn’t help that she’s traveling with Tammy, her best friend, who is everything Lou is not.

At first, the trip pushes Lou towards the brink of depression, but then she meets Brian, a handsome local tour guide. When Brian tells the tourists about the countless witches burned in Scotland, Lou starts to listen. And when she discovers information about Isobel Key, one of the victims of the seventeenth century, Lou finds renewed purpose.

She sets out to learn the truth of the condemned witch, but she isn’t prepared for the knowledge that waits for her. Lou must face her demons if she has any hope of righting the wrongs of the past.

 

 

–> Buy Your Copy 

 

More Christmas Gift Ideas

Stay tuned! More Chirtmas gift ideas are on the way. A new author will be posted every day in the Twelve Days of Bookmas, so check back tomorrow!

Christmas Gift Ideas: Twelve Days of Bookmas! Day 2: Land of No Angels by N.R. Wick

Christmas gift ideas? I’ve got some for you readers out there. The Twelve Days of Bookmas showcases twelve days of great books by awesome new authors. If you’re looking for Christmas gift ideas for someone else or a treat for yourself, this is the place to start. 

 

FYI:

A future Twelve Days of Bookmas book is free today: Vaempires: Zombie Rising by Thomas Winship. Go grab your copy now!

 
Today’s Christmas Gift Idea:
[image error]Land of No Angels

N.R. Wick

The Ascension marked a demon apocalypse that decimated the human race and forced survivors into hiding. Sixteen year old Rebecca Ashford and her younger sister, Errol, have spent the last year hidden in their family’s tornado bunker. When the sound of a screaming baby wakes them in the middle of the night, they attempt to save the infant and Errol is poisoned by a demon.

With only a week until the poison consumes her, Rebecca must trust a mysterious survivor named Fox to help her find a cure. Together, they confront demons and other monsters while Rebecca struggles to learn magic that will help them locate the ingredients needed to save her sister.

 

 

–> Buy Your Copy 

 

More Christmas Gift Ideas

Stay tuned! More Chirtmas gift ideas are on the way. A new author will be posted every day in the Twelve Days of Bookmas, so check back tomorrow!

Christmas Gift Ideas: Twelve Days of Bookmas! Day 1: Embers at Galdrilene by A.D. Trosper

Christmas gift ideas? I’ve got some for you readers out there. The Twelve Days of Bookmas showcases twelve days of great books by awesome new authors. If you’re looking for Christmas gift ideas for someone else or a treat for yourself, this is the place to start. 

 

FYI:

A future Twelve Days of Bookmas book is free today: Vaempires: Zombie Rising by Thomas Winship. Go grab your copy now!

 
Today’s Christmas Gift Idea:
[image error]Embers at Galdrilene

A.D. Trosper

*Newly updated, redesigned and professionally edited. Re-released as of 11/17/2012*

“A ray of light, a stain of shadow, shall endure to breathe life and death into the future”

The war between the Guardians and the Shadow Riders ended in total devastation. The final battle killed all the dragons and left nothing but fields of ash. A small clutch of dragon eggs was all that remained to provide hope for the future.

Five hundred years later, the ability to use magic is a death sentence and dragons are remembered as a curse. But the unhatched dragons sing for their riders…and soon six lives will be changed forever.

The elements of magic are drawn together as the dragons’ call leads them on an epic and dangerous journey of discovery. They soon learn everything they’ve been taught to believe about magic and dragons is wrong.

With the last of the dragons and the world at stake, they will risk everything to heed the call.

But an evil from the past soon threatens their discovery and new found joy. Shadow Dragons ride the dawn once more…

 

–> Buy Your Copy

 

More Christmas Gift Ideas

Stay tuned! More Chirtmas gift ideas are on the way. A new author will be posted every day in the Twelve Days of Bookmas, so check back tomorrow!

A Quick Question: What’s your favorite scifi book?

This is a series I run every Friday. It’s all about sharing those little moments that make life more fun. Each week, I’ll ask a question, answer it, and open the floor to you. You can answer in a blog post and link to it in the comments below, or simply answer below. I’ll update the post later on to feature the best responses—sometimes the funniest, or most original, or sweetest…you get the idea.

 

What’s your favorite sci fi book published this year? How about your favorite science fiction book ever?

I don’t read a lot of sci fi, but I did really enjoy Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. For those who haven’t read it, here’s the back cover copy (from Amazon):

Winner of the Hugo and Nebula AwardsIn order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race’s next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew “Ender” Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn’t make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender’s skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender’s two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

Ender’s Game is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

It’s a great coming of age and a strong lesson in leadership, self-sacrifice, and maturity. Besides that, it’s just a great story about a kid who’s forced into a life he didn’t ask for.  I definitely recommend you check it out if you haven’t already.

 

So clue the rest of us in. What’s your favorite scifi book?

Upload a picture and link us if you can! If you want to blog your answer and link back, make sure you include the link in your comment below. Can’t wait to see your responses.

A Quick Question: What’s your favorite café?

This is a series I run every Friday. It’s all about sharing those little moments that make life more fun. Each week, I’ll ask a question, answer it, and open the floor to you. You can answer in a blog post and link to it in the comments below, or simply answer below. I’ll update the post later on to feature the best responses—sometimes the funniest, or most original, or sweetest…you get the idea.

 

I’ve been looking for a good café in my town, but haven’t had any luck. The closest thing I can find is the Panera bread, and….meh. It has a single power outlet (ONE) and a horde of screaming babies.  I’m convinced the babies live in the back storage room or something because they’re always there.

So clue me in on a question I can’t answer. What’s your favorite café? I’d prefer to hear about locally-owned independent stores, or maybe a regional chain. They don’t have to be in Maryland, either—you can tell me about any café in the world. I know all about Starbucks, so I’m looking for cool places that do something different.

Upload a picture and link us if you can! If you want to blog your answer and link back, make sure you include the link in your comment below. Can’t wait to see your responses.

 

So clue the rest of us in. What’s your favorite café?

Upload a picture and link us if you can! If you want to blog your answer and link back, make sure you include the link in your comment below. Can’t wait to see your responses.

Listen to a recorded excerpt from the paranormal romance/fantasy Treason (Grimoire Trilogy #2) by S. M. Boyce

Paranormal romance fans, unite! I wanted to give you a taste of my latest book with a recorded excerpt from Treason (Grimoire Trilogy #2). Treason, the sequel to Lichgates, is part of the Grimoire Trilogy.

The series is a blend of young adult paranormal romance and paranormal fantasy with a lot of action, all of which takes place in Ourea: a beautiful world full of terrifying things. Check out Lichgates today and get hooked on this trilogy.

This excerpt is part of my blog tour, which runs through the end of the year. You can check out her blog tour calendar to join in the fun (it lasts until Dec 31—can you believe that?), as well as the grand prize giveaway. You can enter the giveaway daily, so make sure you bookmark it to get extra entries.

 

The Excerpt
Listen:

Voice Recorder >>

Read:

Kara pushed herself to her feet. “We should probably make our way back to the mansion, Braeden.”

“Nope,” he said.

“What do you mean, ‘no’?”

“You wanted to learn to fight. We haven’t trained today. We need to spar.”

She groaned. They’d been sparring. She’d healed dozens of bruises and even a broken finger, all evidence to the fact she was barely able to react in time to a sword coming at her face, much less a magical technique. She just wasn’t a very good fighter.

“But—”

He laughed. “You’ll never get better if you don’t practice. Come on.”

He drew his sword.

Her stomach twisted. “Right here? Seriously? On a ledge? Those are rapids!”

“Yes. Today, it’s all about controlling your opponent’s movement and fighting in difficult terrain. Since you aren’t strong in this environment, drive me back up the stairs and to the forest, where you have more room to move. Also, you should never be without a sword.”

“But I don’t have one!”

“That was my point.”

“Shouldn’t I practice one lesson at a time?”

In answer, he swung his sword at her arm. She pressed her back against the cave wall, ducking the blow seconds before the blade cut the air. Goose bumps crawled up her neck.

Braeden laughed. “The best way to learn is baptism by fire. Let’s go!”

Kara ducked another swing and looked around, but she had no tactical advantage. Braeden blocked her way to the stairs. She couldn’t run past him or—she glanced over the ledge at the tumbling river below. Nope, she was not jumping into that. Her only escape was a nearby hole in a ledge that ran above her like a catwalk. If she could—

Braeden shifted his weight onto the balls of his feet, apparently ready to lunge and end this whole bout before it began.

No time to think. Just go.

Kara sprinted away, toward the gap. Braeden followed, and Kara jumped for the ledge seconds before he lunged. She grabbed the walkway, the splinters of rock digging into her arms as her momentum lifted her legs out of Braeden’s passing reach.

His fingers brushed her ankle, sending a shiver up her leg. She resisted the impulse to smile at the tingling sensation his touch left behind. It made her think of his hand on her back, of their kiss—

“Clever!” he said.

Focus, Kara.

She pulled herself onto the ledge and wished she had a witty response, but she’d learned that lesson the hard way during an earlier match. She had distracted herself by talking, instead of distracting him like she’d hoped. Braeden had tripped her and knocked her clean onto her back. Dialogue was yet another weapon, one that required practice. Let the better fighters banter. Lesser fighters focus.

Kara got to her feet and raced along the upper pathway toward the waterfall, her satchel bouncing against her back while she ran as fast as she could. Braeden would be faster, but she had to try.

The ledge curved around a bend in the cave. Her feet pounded against the rock, sending shards of cave wall sprinkling to the ground below. The walkway likely hadn’t seen action like this in its lifetime. She hoped it wouldn’t crumble.

Braeden’s steps echoed from under her as the edge of the catwalk came into view. It would end about ten feet before the stairs, so she picked up her pace. She couldn’t slow down, or Braeden would catch her.

Five feet away, now.

Two feet—

Jump!

Kara kept her eyes where she wanted to go, just as Braeden had taught her the last time they’d sparred. She’d tried to jump from a tree and wound up in a bramble bush.

Instinct and a dozen failed attempts in prior matches told her to tuck her head, to curl onto her shoulder and let the momentum propel her forward.

Rocks dug into her neck and shoulder before pushing against her back, but nothing stung. She rolled back onto her feet and took off again, not daring to look back for Braeden. She would probably trip if she did.

She grinned, adrenaline numbing her fingertips as she ran. She had no earthly idea how she would do it again, but to hell with it. She’d finally rolled!

Kara followed the path as it curved and disappeared behind the waterfall. The water misted along her neck, blocking all light as she passed behind it. She let her feet find the stairs as she bolted up two at a time. Braeden’s light breaths came from somewhere in the darkness behind her.

Green sunlight illuminated the top of the stairs, the light blocked by a thick canopy of trees. Brown blurs came into view—bark. There would be a root right when she rounded the last stair, so she had to be careful not to—

Kara’s foot hooked on the root anyway.

She shot forward and skidded along the dirt path. Sticks left gouges in her arms. Her cheek stung. She wiped her hand over her face, but that just made the stinging worse. Blood stained her fingers when she pulled away.

A sword glinted in Kara’s peripheral vision. She sprung to her feet. Braeden stood a short way off, without a scratch on him. He grinned.

“Falling was an interesting choice,” he said.

“Cute.” Kara rolled her eyes and brushed dust off her clothes.

 

 

Lichgates
Grimoire Trilogy #1

Young Adult Paranormal Romance & Paranormal Fantasy

The Grimoire turns its own pages and can answer any question asked of it…and Kara Magari is its next target.

Kara has no idea what she’s getting herself into when she stumbles across the old book while hiking along a hidden trail. Once she opens it, she’s thrown into Ourea: a beautiful world full of terrifying beings that all want the Grimoire’s secrets. Everyone in this new world is trying to find her, but most just want to control the new-found power the Grimoire bestows upon her.

Braeden Drakonin grew up in Ourea, and all he’s ever known in life is lying. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. He has one question to ask the book—one question that can fix everything in his broken world—and he’s not letting Kara out of his sight until he gets an answer.

There’s no escaping Ourea.

 

Grab Your Copy:

Amazon: USA | UK | Germany |  France | Spain | Italy

Buy the Paperback

Bonus Features

Goodreads | Book Trailer | VIP List 

 Win a guest appearance in Heritage (The Grimoire Trilogy #3)

The Grimoire Store

Real Grimoire Pendant | Blank Grimoire Journals

Treason
Grimoire Trilogy #2

Young Adult Paranormal Romance & Paranormal Fantasy

Ourea has always been a deadly place. The lichgates tying the hidden world to Earth keep its creatures at bay—for now.

Kara Magari ignited a war when she stumbled into Ourea and found the Grimoire: a powerful artifact filled with secrets. To protect the one person she has left, she strikes a deal that goes against everything she believes in. But things don’t go as planned.

Braeden Drakonin can no longer run from who—and what—he is. He has to face the facts. He’s a prince. He’s a murderer. He’s a wanted man. And after a betrayal that leaves him heartbroken, he’s out for blood.

To survive, both Kara and Braeden must become the evil each has grown to hate.

 

Grab Your Copy:

Amazon: USA | UK | Germany |  France | Spain | Italy

Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | Apple iBooks

Buy the Paperback

Bonus Features

Goodreads | Book Trailer | VIP List 

Win a guest appearance in Heritage (The Grimoire Trilogy #3)

The Grimoire Store

Real Grimoire Pendant | Blank Grimoire Journals

 

About S. M. Boyce

Boyce writes fantasy and paranormal fiction with a splash of humor. She’s a sarcastic twit, but she still has friends because some people seem to like that. Her B.A. in Creative Writing qualifies her to serve you french fries. Feel free to connect with her online or check out more about writing on her blog.

 

Connect with Boyce

Website | Blog | Advice for Writers

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Goodreads Page | Amazon Page

Urban Fantasy Books: Cover Reveal for Fractured Soul by Rachel McClellan

I think fans of urban fantasy will really enjoy the Fractured Light series by Rachel McClellan. You can check out my review of the first book in the series, Fractured Light, or head on to see the cover of its sequel, Fractured Soul:

[image error]

Awesome, right? Here’s the Book description:

Fractured Soul, by Rachel McClellan

Llona will do whatever it takes to protect her new found friends and home, but the dark plot that is threatening Lucent Academy, a school that’s supposed to be a safe place for Auras, may be too powerful for even Llona to defeat. This fast-paced tale of love, loyalty, and overcoming the darkness will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page!

Connect with Rachel McClellan

Website | Blog | Facebook

 
Pre-order Your Copy

Goodreads | Amazon

A Quick Question: What’s your favorite Urban Fantasy book?

This is a series I run every Friday. It’s all about sharing those little moments that make life more fun. Each week, I’ll ask a question, answer it, and open the floor to you. You can answer in a blog post and link to it in the comments below, or simply answer below. I’ll update the post later on to feature the best responses—sometimes the funniest, or most original, or sweetest…you get the idea.

 

What’s your favorite Urban Fantasy book published this year? How about your favorite ever?

Favorite Book Ever

Now, this is a growing genre, so it’s hard to pick a favorite. So later on, I’ll post subgenres—like witches, vampires, and other sub-categories that are technically urban fantasy.

I’m a huge Neil Gaiman fan. Of his work, I think Neverwhere is my favorite of his Urban Fantasy novels. Here’s the book description (from Amazon):

Richard Mayhew is a young man with a good heart and an ordinarylife, which is changed forever when he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk. His small act of kindness propels him into a world he never dreamed existed. There are people who fall through the cracks, and Richard has become one of them. And he must learn to survive in this city of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels, if he is ever to return to the London that he knew.

The only hiccup I had about this book was that Gaiman has a thing about adding in dreams that give his main characters important detail or foreshadowing. He does it in American Gods, too. And I guess that’s all right.

The rest of the book was a thrill ride. I loved finding out about this underworld and how, if you get sucked into it, you’re essentially erased from the memories of everyone in your old life. The creatures, magical beings, and world were all painted with vivid detail, and I lost myself to the story. I feel pretty confident that most Urban Fantasy lovers will like this.

Fun story—this book is actually a novelization of a British TV series. Gaiman was commissioned to write it, and I think he did a pretty good job! How about you?

Favorite Book This Year

For now, I want to talk about Four in the Morning. This was one of those books that hooks you from the start and uses a murder mystery undercurrent to pull you through any slower parts. The twists were interesting, the ending made me lean into the book, and the last line nearly made me gasp on the train. It’s good. Here’s my review, or you can check out the book description for yourself (from Amazon):

Kathleen Hayson thinks her biggest problem is her mother. The only runner up—her mouth. With a wit sharper than her mother’s perfectly manicured nails, her clever remarks create more problems than they solve. But it’s not her clever remarks landing her knee-deep in trouble. This time, Josh Colby is to blame. Kathleen’s former childhood friend has become the school’s most stuck up jerk. Before, she’d have told him to piss off and write his own stupid letter to the town slut/minister’s daughter. Now Kathleen’s escalating problems at home force her to reevaluate how flexible her principles are. She agrees to write the controversial letter Josh has requested. Enter Rigel, a smartass magical creature who invades her room one night, promises he has come to help her. When a boy Kathleen hates turns up dead and her mother goes missing, the letter becomes a key piece of police evidence – implicating Kathleen. As she fights her way out of a web of lies, the trust she has in those closest to her shatters. In the end, she’s pushed to a terrible choice: who lives, and who else dies.

 

So clue the rest of us in. What’s your favorite Urban Fantasy book?

Upload a picture and link us if you can! If you want to blog your answer and link back, make sure you include the link in your comment below. Can’t wait to see your responses.