Meradeth Houston's Blog, page 31
June 18, 2015
After Reading: BELL WEATHER by Dennis Mahoney
When Tom Orange rescues a mysterious young woman from the flooded Antler River, he senses that their fates will deeply intertwine.At first, she claims to remember nothing, and rumor animates Root—an isolated settlement in the strange wilderness of colonial Floria. Benjamin Knox, the town doctor, attends to her recovery and learns her name is Molly. As the town inspects its spirited new inhabitant, she encounters a world teeming with wonders and oddities. She also hears of the Maimers, masked thieves who terrorize the surrounding woods.
As dark forces encircle the town, the truth of Molly's past spills into the present: a desperate voyage; a genius brother; a tragedy she hasn't fully escaped. Molly and Tom must then decide between surviving apart or risking everything together. Dennis Mahoney's Bell Weather is an otherworldly and kinetic story that blends history and fantasy, mystery and adventure to mesmerizing effect. (Goodreads)
I haven't read anything in the magical realism genre in quite a while, and this felt pretty close. I reflected several times that this novel had a One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez feel to it. The characters were well fleshed out and interesting, though I'll admit to not feeling terribly connected to them. Molly kind of irked me, as some of her behavior felt over the top. Tom was interesting, and I would have probably enjoyed reading the entire novel about just him. It's funny how that happens--being drawn to one character and not the rest. Otherwise, the novel was well written and set up, though there were some slow parts and I did feel as drawn into it as I would have liked. I guess I would say it's just not my kind of book.
Do you enjoy magical realism? Read anything in the genre lately?
June 16, 2015
Summertime Book Giveaway!!
Summertime is here! That means beaches, free time, traveling...what is awesome to have with you for all three??
BOOKS!
Ready to win some free reading topped off with two awesome gift cards?Let's do this.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
June 15, 2015
Cover Reveal: REDEMPTION (Children of the Gods #3) by Jessica Therrien
REDEMPTION (Children of the Gods #3) is ready and waiting! Along with it, Jessica Therrien will be re-releasing the first two books in her series. All of them have wonderful new covers designed by Carrie Butler, and OPPRESSION will even include a bonus chapter. Here is what you need to know:
OPPRESSION(Children of the Gods #1)September 2, 2015
There are others like her. Many of them. And they have been waiting for her for a long time.
Elyse knows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her whole life. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than average people, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's well over eighty. Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal.
For Elyse, these things don't make her special. They make life dangerous. After the death of her parents, she's been careful to keep her secret as closely guarded as possible. Now, only one other person in the world knows about her age and ability.
Or so she thinks.
Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets. There are others like her all over the world, descendants of the very people the Greeks considered gods. She is one of them, and they have been waiting for her for a long time. Some are waiting for her to put an end to centuries of traditions that have oppressed their people under the guise of safeguarding them. Others are determined to keep her from doing just that. But for Elyse, the game is just beginning-and she's not entirely willing to play by their rules.
UPRISING(Children of the Gods #2)October 2, 2015
The Descendants have waited long enough for freedom.
Elyse has done everything she can to protect her friends from The Council's reach. As long as they believe she's dead, she has time to rest and train for war. And war is inevitable.
When Kara arrives with the news that Anna and Chloe have been captured, Elyse is faced with the realization that no one is safe until The Council is stopped and Christoph is destroyed. She doesn't need a prophecy to tell her to lead an army. Christoph has done the one thing that ensures she'll fight to the death. He's threatened the people she loves.
It will take more than the words of an oracle to help them fight against the most powerful Descendant alive. To break The Council's oppression and rise up against a plot so many years in the making, Elyse will need to get dangerously close to her enemy. So close, in fact, she may not survive.
REDEMPTION(Children of the Gods #3)November 2, 2015
Nobody promised freedom would be peaceful.
Lead Council member, Christoph, is dead by Elyse’s hand, and Descendants have begun to emerge, exposing their secret to the world. Some see this as the prophecy come to fruition, but the prophecy caries a heavy consequence. It was never meant to be as peaceful as most had hoped.
Humans and Descendants struggle to live together in a world that isn’t ready for such a change. America is divided. Those who glorify the supernatural race believe Descendants truly are the gods they claim relation to. Others see them as a threat.
When Elyse gives birth to the next generation oracle, she sees one final vision—war. The destruction of the country’s major cities, and the end of America as we know it.
After her daughter is born, Elyse finds herself without the ability she needs to predict the future. Desperate to save the world from such conflict, she puts her faith in the hope that Descendants are the key to survival. After all, they have the power to supply a broken society with the means to survive.
Only from the ashes can a new world be born.
Don't forget to steal one or all of the countdown widgets below! Just click "embed" and copy the code for your own website or blog :)
OPPRESSION(Children of the Gods #1)September 2, 2015
There are others like her. Many of them. And they have been waiting for her for a long time.
Elyse knows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her whole life. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than average people, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's well over eighty. Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal.For Elyse, these things don't make her special. They make life dangerous. After the death of her parents, she's been careful to keep her secret as closely guarded as possible. Now, only one other person in the world knows about her age and ability.
Or so she thinks.
Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets. There are others like her all over the world, descendants of the very people the Greeks considered gods. She is one of them, and they have been waiting for her for a long time. Some are waiting for her to put an end to centuries of traditions that have oppressed their people under the guise of safeguarding them. Others are determined to keep her from doing just that. But for Elyse, the game is just beginning-and she's not entirely willing to play by their rules.
UPRISING(Children of the Gods #2)October 2, 2015
The Descendants have waited long enough for freedom.
Elyse has done everything she can to protect her friends from The Council's reach. As long as they believe she's dead, she has time to rest and train for war. And war is inevitable. When Kara arrives with the news that Anna and Chloe have been captured, Elyse is faced with the realization that no one is safe until The Council is stopped and Christoph is destroyed. She doesn't need a prophecy to tell her to lead an army. Christoph has done the one thing that ensures she'll fight to the death. He's threatened the people she loves.
It will take more than the words of an oracle to help them fight against the most powerful Descendant alive. To break The Council's oppression and rise up against a plot so many years in the making, Elyse will need to get dangerously close to her enemy. So close, in fact, she may not survive.
REDEMPTION(Children of the Gods #3)November 2, 2015
Nobody promised freedom would be peaceful.
Lead Council member, Christoph, is dead by Elyse’s hand, and Descendants have begun to emerge, exposing their secret to the world. Some see this as the prophecy come to fruition, but the prophecy caries a heavy consequence. It was never meant to be as peaceful as most had hoped.Humans and Descendants struggle to live together in a world that isn’t ready for such a change. America is divided. Those who glorify the supernatural race believe Descendants truly are the gods they claim relation to. Others see them as a threat.
When Elyse gives birth to the next generation oracle, she sees one final vision—war. The destruction of the country’s major cities, and the end of America as we know it.
After her daughter is born, Elyse finds herself without the ability she needs to predict the future. Desperate to save the world from such conflict, she puts her faith in the hope that Descendants are the key to survival. After all, they have the power to supply a broken society with the means to survive.
Only from the ashes can a new world be born.
Don't forget to steal one or all of the countdown widgets below! Just click "embed" and copy the code for your own website or blog :)
June 10, 2015
Blog Tour for AN ABSENCE OF LIGHT and #Giveaway
This week I've been pretty awesomely busy around the web :) My blog tour is going on, and I have had some amazing reviews for Absence. Thanks a million to all those who are taking part, and to Xpresso Tours for being so wonderful in putting it all together!
ICYMI, Absence is on sale for just $0.99, so be sure to grab a copy while you can.
Then there's Query Kombat agent round, which has been a blast! Add to that my family visiting and putting in an offer on a condo, and I've been whirling around in a very dervish-like manner. It's been great! I love summer and being able to do so many fun things :)
So, for the whole giveaway thing, there's copies of my books up for grabs at each of the following blogs. Feel free to leave a comments on my post to be chosen. And thanks again to all the hosts!!
June 8th
–The Bookish Angel
–Girls With Books
–Abby J Reed
–Lindea on Books & Writing
–I Feel the Need, the Need to Read
June 9th
–Twisted Book Junkie
–Captain Swan Bookishhh
–Lisa Loves Literature
–Jeni’s Bookshelf, Reviews, Swag, & More!
–The Best Books Ever
June 10th
–Nerd Girl Files
–Dreams Come True Through Reading
–Swords and Stilettos
–We Do Write
–A Thousand Words A Million Books
June 11th
–Adventures in Bookland
–Mia in Narnia
–Mom With A Kindle
–Reader Girls
–Us Girls & A Book
–Word to Dreams
June 12th
–Movies, Shows & Books
–Stephanie Faris
–Beauty Brite
–Author Tracker: YA and Adult Books
–The MissPhyre Library
–Coffee & All Things Random
–Books Can Take You There
June 13th
–Head in the Clouds, Heart in the Books
–My Bookshelf is yours !
–A British Bookworm’s Blog
–Livre It To Me
–Weezled
June 8, 2015
#FlashFiction: The Whispering Grove: a camp for extraordinary children
It's that time again: another Flash Fiction piece is up over on Lightening Quick Reads :) This month's theme is At Camp, and well, I decided to have a little fun with that!
AND, if you know, you're feeling like getting to see an awesome book cover before anyone else, and want to help share, there's a sign up down below for Travelers :) It comes with eternal debt and appreciation!
SourceThis year was different. Even the trees seemed to murmur this as we arrived. I knew the instant the bus doors opened with their wailing screech that something was off. The place smelled different. Felt different. Whispered different.
It hasn’t taken long for the rest to notice. The counselors were new. Every last one of the older leaders we’d grown to rely on over the years had been replaced. New people, with unwavering grins and boundless camp songs, guided us to our cabins, repeated the same rules as every year (boys and girls in separate cabins, no wandering off, don’t go near the House).
Roger had always been a little clueless. Or maybe he was brave? But he was the first to “show off” as the counselors called it when they thought we weren’t listening. The snake was harmless, only a gopher should have been afraid of its five feet, and Roger knew how to control it. It was his talent. The snake coiled up his arm and plunked its head down in his hair, its forked tongue slipping out at anyone who watched.
We all laughed, used to this kind of spectacle—he’d called three owls to our campfire two years ago and they’d munched on mice while we ate s’mores.
The too-tight-ponytail counselor didn’t think it was funny at all. She shrieked and Roger realized the adults watched, round-eyed and exchanging glances.
Roger didn’t return to camp for almost a week.
The rest of us started to talk, too.
“There’s no flight lessons,” Jeremy groaned. He had a hold of the edge of my mattress to keep himself grounded. My heart ached for him—this was the only month of the year he got to ‘taste the air,’ as he called it.
“Stacy was hired last minute from some college recruitment event,” Evelyn pitched in about her counselor. Her eyes flashed, reflecting the dark like a cat’s.
“I needed them this summer,” Sara whispered. A crackle of electricity lit her face for an instant. “And they’re not here.”
“We need to do something.” I hated to be the one to say it. I didn’t want the responsibility. Or the questioning looks people exchanged when I suggested plans. “I’ll do it, but help me come up with what we could do,” I added.
Jeremy dropped onto my bed and reached for me. His hand was too warm against my own, but I leaned into him. This was our last year before we graduated, but both of us knew we’d return here to work. Too many kids arrived without knowing what was wrong with them, and at least we could help.
But we were also almost adults, and that fact raced along my skin as surely as Sara’s electrical change. We’d be able to see each other outside of this remote shelter.
One missing face made us all the most concerned. Not that we saw her often during the summers—nothing more than a brief visit or two every year, but she was a part of this place as surely as we were. And now she’d disappeared.
“She’s gotta be at the House,” Roger said. A tiny bird nestled into his neck, chattering in bird-speak in its sleep.
“I have to get up there then,” I said, doing my best to hide the shiver of fear that lifted the hairs on the back of my neck.
“It would be easier for me,” Jeremy spoke up.
I pulled my hand from his and shook my head. “No. If I get caught, that’s one thing, but the rest of you have to stay here. To fix this.”
We all knew the rules: the House was off limits. Get caught going there? No more camp. For always. I’d hate that, but I’d hate it even more if the others thought I’d sent them, thought that maybe they hadn’t gone of their own free will.
Swallowing hard, I forced myself to pay attention. To plan. To keep from jumping in and controlling anything.
To pretend I wasn’t as afraid as I was.
Jeremy wasn’t fooled. As the boys slipped out before the counselors returned, he lingered. I leaned forward, touching my forehead to his chest. His arms circled me and the threat of tears forced me to hold my breath and squeeze my eyes shut.
“Let me come with you.”
I shook my head and had to gulp air to keep my voice even, “No. It’s not worth the risk.”
“The risk of you getting caught is worse.”
“If I can’t come back, it wont be much of a loss.” Sometimes the truth felt too sharp, and this cut.
“It would be. For me.”
But I shook my head. No more words. And then footsteps outside and Jeremy had to go, though no footfalls accompanied his retreat.
The wind whispered all night, telling stories in the dark, all of them filled with flames and memories I didn’t want. All of them reminders of what it had been like before the camp found me. I’d arrive two years after everyone else my age had been contacted. They hadn’t detected me before and by that time my parents, my teachers, my classmates, and especially me, thought I’d lost my mind.
I still remembered them explaining the truth; the way a weight lifted from me. And the extra concern on everyone’s faces. Because I could be dangerous. I didn’t want to be. I just wanted to be me, to not get funny glances from my classmates, to find a nice little place to live with Jeremy.
At breakfast, Sara smiled at me. The younger girl’s hair was as static filled as ever and I reached over to braid it down her back.
“Please bring them back,” she whispered to me, grabbing my hand. “I can’t hold on.” As if to illustrate her point, an arc of electricity snapped between us, tingling down to my toes.
***Curious what happens next? Be sure to hop over to the rest on the Lightening Quick Reads post! I'd love to hear what you think!
Also, I'm looking for some help with my next cover, so if you are at all able to help me out I'll love ya forever! And I'm always up for returning favors, or offering ice cream :)
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AND, if you know, you're feeling like getting to see an awesome book cover before anyone else, and want to help share, there's a sign up down below for Travelers :) It comes with eternal debt and appreciation!
SourceThis year was different. Even the trees seemed to murmur this as we arrived. I knew the instant the bus doors opened with their wailing screech that something was off. The place smelled different. Felt different. Whispered different.It hasn’t taken long for the rest to notice. The counselors were new. Every last one of the older leaders we’d grown to rely on over the years had been replaced. New people, with unwavering grins and boundless camp songs, guided us to our cabins, repeated the same rules as every year (boys and girls in separate cabins, no wandering off, don’t go near the House).
Roger had always been a little clueless. Or maybe he was brave? But he was the first to “show off” as the counselors called it when they thought we weren’t listening. The snake was harmless, only a gopher should have been afraid of its five feet, and Roger knew how to control it. It was his talent. The snake coiled up his arm and plunked its head down in his hair, its forked tongue slipping out at anyone who watched.
We all laughed, used to this kind of spectacle—he’d called three owls to our campfire two years ago and they’d munched on mice while we ate s’mores.
The too-tight-ponytail counselor didn’t think it was funny at all. She shrieked and Roger realized the adults watched, round-eyed and exchanging glances.
Roger didn’t return to camp for almost a week.
The rest of us started to talk, too.
“There’s no flight lessons,” Jeremy groaned. He had a hold of the edge of my mattress to keep himself grounded. My heart ached for him—this was the only month of the year he got to ‘taste the air,’ as he called it.
“Stacy was hired last minute from some college recruitment event,” Evelyn pitched in about her counselor. Her eyes flashed, reflecting the dark like a cat’s.
“I needed them this summer,” Sara whispered. A crackle of electricity lit her face for an instant. “And they’re not here.”
“We need to do something.” I hated to be the one to say it. I didn’t want the responsibility. Or the questioning looks people exchanged when I suggested plans. “I’ll do it, but help me come up with what we could do,” I added.
Jeremy dropped onto my bed and reached for me. His hand was too warm against my own, but I leaned into him. This was our last year before we graduated, but both of us knew we’d return here to work. Too many kids arrived without knowing what was wrong with them, and at least we could help.
But we were also almost adults, and that fact raced along my skin as surely as Sara’s electrical change. We’d be able to see each other outside of this remote shelter.
One missing face made us all the most concerned. Not that we saw her often during the summers—nothing more than a brief visit or two every year, but she was a part of this place as surely as we were. And now she’d disappeared.
“She’s gotta be at the House,” Roger said. A tiny bird nestled into his neck, chattering in bird-speak in its sleep.
“I have to get up there then,” I said, doing my best to hide the shiver of fear that lifted the hairs on the back of my neck.
“It would be easier for me,” Jeremy spoke up.
I pulled my hand from his and shook my head. “No. If I get caught, that’s one thing, but the rest of you have to stay here. To fix this.”
We all knew the rules: the House was off limits. Get caught going there? No more camp. For always. I’d hate that, but I’d hate it even more if the others thought I’d sent them, thought that maybe they hadn’t gone of their own free will.
Swallowing hard, I forced myself to pay attention. To plan. To keep from jumping in and controlling anything.
To pretend I wasn’t as afraid as I was.
Jeremy wasn’t fooled. As the boys slipped out before the counselors returned, he lingered. I leaned forward, touching my forehead to his chest. His arms circled me and the threat of tears forced me to hold my breath and squeeze my eyes shut.
“Let me come with you.”
I shook my head and had to gulp air to keep my voice even, “No. It’s not worth the risk.”
“The risk of you getting caught is worse.”
“If I can’t come back, it wont be much of a loss.” Sometimes the truth felt too sharp, and this cut.
“It would be. For me.”
But I shook my head. No more words. And then footsteps outside and Jeremy had to go, though no footfalls accompanied his retreat.
The wind whispered all night, telling stories in the dark, all of them filled with flames and memories I didn’t want. All of them reminders of what it had been like before the camp found me. I’d arrive two years after everyone else my age had been contacted. They hadn’t detected me before and by that time my parents, my teachers, my classmates, and especially me, thought I’d lost my mind.
I still remembered them explaining the truth; the way a weight lifted from me. And the extra concern on everyone’s faces. Because I could be dangerous. I didn’t want to be. I just wanted to be me, to not get funny glances from my classmates, to find a nice little place to live with Jeremy.
At breakfast, Sara smiled at me. The younger girl’s hair was as static filled as ever and I reached over to braid it down her back.
“Please bring them back,” she whispered to me, grabbing my hand. “I can’t hold on.” As if to illustrate her point, an arc of electricity snapped between us, tingling down to my toes.
***Curious what happens next? Be sure to hop over to the rest on the Lightening Quick Reads post! I'd love to hear what you think!
Also, I'm looking for some help with my next cover, so if you are at all able to help me out I'll love ya forever! And I'm always up for returning favors, or offering ice cream :)
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June 4, 2015
The Darkness Within by @kellyhashway Blog Tour and #giveaway
Be sure to give a shout-out to Kelly for her next awesome release!! And if you have a second and don't mind maybe helping me out with the cover for TRAVELERS, check this out? :)
After dying of cancer at seventeen and being brought back to life by an evil witch who turned her into a monster, Samantha Thompson thinks she's finally gotten past all the tragedy in her life. Now she's part of a coven of good witches who are helping her and her boyfriend, Ethan Anderson, learn to use the powers they received from other witches. Aside from the fact that Sam and Ethan are still in hiding from their old lives--the ones they had before Sam was brought back to life--things couldn't be better. Sam and Ethan are inseparable. What could go wrong?
Magic.
Ethan's magic came from a witch who'd turned as evil as possible, and though his coven thought he'd be fine, the more he uses his magic, the stranger he starts acting. The magic inside him is changing who he is. One minute he's Sam's sweet, perfect Ethan and the next, he's a complete stranger. Even with all her witchy power, Sam is helpless against the magic corrupting Ethan. Can Sam find out what's wrong with him before she loses him to dark magic forever?
Goodreads: Amazon: Barnes and Noble
Release date: 6/2/15
Kelly Hashway grew up reading R.L. Stein’s Fear Street novels and writing stories of her own, so it was no surprise to her family when she majored in English and later obtained a masters degree in English Secondary Education from East Stroudsburg University. After teaching middle school language arts for seven years, Hashway went back to school and focused specifically on writing. She is now the author of three young adult series, one middle grade series, and several picture books. She also writes contemporary romance under the pen name Ashelyn Drake. When she isn’t writing, Hashway works as an editor for Leap Books as well as for her own list of clients. In her spare time, she enjoys running, traveling, and volunteering with the PTO. Hashway currently resides in Pennsylvania with her husband, daughter, and two pets. Hashway is represented by Sarah Negovetich of Corvisiero Literary Agency.
Social Media Links:Website: Blog: Facebook: Twitter: Google+: Pinterest: Amazon Author Page: Goodreads: YouTube
Praise:In this exciting continuation of THE MONSTER WITHIN, a teenage coven deals with the highs and lows of their magic. Within the pages of this suspenseful page-turner is a sweet romance, friendship, and witchy intrigue. Hashway is a master of paranormal tales. ~ Medeia Sharif, author of 52 Likes
Book Trailer:
Giveaway:a Rafflecopter giveaway
After dying of cancer at seventeen and being brought back to life by an evil witch who turned her into a monster, Samantha Thompson thinks she's finally gotten past all the tragedy in her life. Now she's part of a coven of good witches who are helping her and her boyfriend, Ethan Anderson, learn to use the powers they received from other witches. Aside from the fact that Sam and Ethan are still in hiding from their old lives--the ones they had before Sam was brought back to life--things couldn't be better. Sam and Ethan are inseparable. What could go wrong?
Magic.
Ethan's magic came from a witch who'd turned as evil as possible, and though his coven thought he'd be fine, the more he uses his magic, the stranger he starts acting. The magic inside him is changing who he is. One minute he's Sam's sweet, perfect Ethan and the next, he's a complete stranger. Even with all her witchy power, Sam is helpless against the magic corrupting Ethan. Can Sam find out what's wrong with him before she loses him to dark magic forever?
Goodreads: Amazon: Barnes and Noble
Release date: 6/2/15
Kelly Hashway grew up reading R.L. Stein’s Fear Street novels and writing stories of her own, so it was no surprise to her family when she majored in English and later obtained a masters degree in English Secondary Education from East Stroudsburg University. After teaching middle school language arts for seven years, Hashway went back to school and focused specifically on writing. She is now the author of three young adult series, one middle grade series, and several picture books. She also writes contemporary romance under the pen name Ashelyn Drake. When she isn’t writing, Hashway works as an editor for Leap Books as well as for her own list of clients. In her spare time, she enjoys running, traveling, and volunteering with the PTO. Hashway currently resides in Pennsylvania with her husband, daughter, and two pets. Hashway is represented by Sarah Negovetich of Corvisiero Literary Agency.
Social Media Links:Website: Blog: Facebook: Twitter: Google+: Pinterest: Amazon Author Page: Goodreads: YouTube
Praise:In this exciting continuation of THE MONSTER WITHIN, a teenage coven deals with the highs and lows of their magic. Within the pages of this suspenseful page-turner is a sweet romance, friendship, and witchy intrigue. Hashway is a master of paranormal tales. ~ Medeia Sharif, author of 52 Likes
Book Trailer:
Giveaway:a Rafflecopter giveaway
June 1, 2015
Query Kombat entries--come read some awesome entries!
Happy Monday everyone! This week is getting kicked off with some incredible awesomeness: I made it through to the first round of Query Kombat! 245 entries and 62 chosen and COINCIDENCES was one of them. Seriously, I totally screamed and muppet-flailed when I found out :) Anyhow, you can check out my entry here, and if you feel like weighing in, that would be much appreciated! Mine is "no such thing as a coincidence" and I'm up against the awesome "beast(ary) western".Okay, and now back to my regularly scheduled programming of edits for Travelers. The end is almost in sight! And seriously I am *so* happy how this book is shaping up. My editor, Jen Reilly, is friggin' amazing!
May 29, 2015
Pausing to Remember Things I Am Grateful For
I try to live my life remembering to be grateful every day. I'm not always very good at this, but I try :) But sometimes it helps to write it down and remember the good, especially in the face of difficulties and so many other things going on. So, today, here are some of the things I've been amazingly blessed by:My mom and my sister will be visiting next week. Need I say more? I can't wait! Girl time in excess FTW!Summer!! I get to work on my own research, and I get to set my own hours (which means I don't feel so guilty about my natural night-owl tendencies). But it's also warm and beautiful and the river is amazing, and gah, I just love this season :)My job. Spring semester did try to throw me down a flight of stairs and laugh about it, but that over, and in the fall I'll start my tenure-track line. This bump is like winning the academic lottery. And I am both humbled beyond belief to be here, and totally excited. (And I get my own lab!! It's so exciting I can't even begin to tell you!!)Summer concerts. A friend and I went and saw The Decemberists last Sunday and it was just amazing. I didn't want it to end and wanted to be swallowed by the music. If you get a chance to see them live, they really put on an amazing show! And there are several more bands planning on stopping in Missoula this summer and it's going to be great :)
These are my major moments of gratitude right now, though there are a ton more little things (like, thank heavens for indoor plumbing--something I really don't think gets enough love ;), but obviously I can't write them all down. But I like to remind myself of those things I'm really luck for :)
What are you grateful for today?
May 28, 2015
Cover Reveal: LIBRARY JUMPERS by Brenda Drake
Library Jumpersby Brenda DrakeRelease Date: January 2016Entangled TeenSummary from Goodreads:Gia Kearns would rather fight with boys than kiss them. That is, until Arik, a leather clad hottie in the Boston Athenaeum, suddenly disappears. While examining the book of world libraries he abandoned, Gia unwittingly speaks the key that sucks her and her friends into a photograph and transports them into a Paris library, where Arik and his Sentinels—magical knights charged with protecting humans from the creatures traveling across the gateway books—rescue them from a demonic hound.
Jumping into some of the world's most beautiful libraries would be a dream come true for Gia, if she weren’t busy resisting her heart or dodging an exiled wizard seeking revenge on both the Mystik and human worlds. Add a French flirt obsessed with Arik and a fling with a young wizard, and Gia must choose between her heart and her head, between Arik's world and her own, before both are destroyed.
Pre-Order Links:Amazon│Barnes & Noble
Get your own countdown widget here!
About the Author
Brenda Drake, the youngest of three children, grew up an Air Force brat and the continual new kid at school until her family settled in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Brenda’s fondest memories growing up is of her eccentric, Irish grandmother’s animated tales, which gave her a strong love for storytelling. So it was only fitting that she would choose to write young adult and middle grade novels with a bend toward the fantastical. When Brenda’s not writing or doing the social media thing, she’s haunting libraries, bookstores,and coffee shops or reading someplace quiet and not at all exotic (much to her disappointment).Author Links:
Cover Reveal Organized by:
May 26, 2015
Teaser Tuesday: TRAVELERS Cover Art! #teaserTuesday #timetravel
I have a tiny little teaser for the cover of my August release, TRAVELERS, to share today. It's just a tiny bit, but I have to say that of all my covers this one is just utterly amazing and I can't wait to share it all!!
TRAVELERS is a time-travel mystery and romance, full of tons and twists and turns (along with some romps through time). The awesome editors at BookFish Books and I are working hard at getting everything ready, and I hope people enjoy it!
Okay, enough procrastinating. Here's a little hint on the full cover:
The rest of the cover is sooooo fun! I hope to share it soon!
TRAVELERS is a time-travel mystery and romance, full of tons and twists and turns (along with some romps through time). The awesome editors at BookFish Books and I are working hard at getting everything ready, and I hope people enjoy it!
Okay, enough procrastinating. Here's a little hint on the full cover:
The rest of the cover is sooooo fun! I hope to share it soon!
