Christina Bauer's Blog, page 53
July 31, 2018
CRADLED Is Here!
Thanks to all the readers who suggested this epilogue novella — it turned out to be a blast to write and I’m super-happy with the results!
TITLE: CRADLED, Epilogue 5 in the Beholder Series
AUTHOR: Me 
July 30, 2018
CRADLED: Save Across the Series
Because if you really mean something, say it with money
July 29, 2018
CRADLED: Early Reviews Are Here!
I’m super-excited about the response to CRADLED, the new epilogue novella for my Beholder Series. Why, you may ask?
This novella went sideways while I was writing it. As in seriously.
Here’s what happened. I had plans for this book. Big plans. One of said schemes was to introduce a crazy time traveling character that I’d wanted to be the original Elea (aka the series heroine.) Then I started writing the book aaaaaaaand…the story changed. The crazy time traveling nut job was a no show. Instead, I started typing about a steampunk planet with a clockwork cat and a small talking mechanical box. WTF? I have no idea. Oh, and a bunch of characters from other series showed up as well. So there’s that.
All of which is why I’m THRILLED that early response has been so positive! Check out some highlights below…
Beholder CRADLED Launches July 31st, 2018
Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/y9d3qh3g
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cradled-1
GooglePlay: https://tinyurl.com/y8w38mlp
iBooks: https://tinyurl.com/y9mg57l7
The post CRADLED: Early Reviews Are Here! appeared first on Monster House Books.
July 27, 2018
CRADLED: Meet the Bloggers!
There are tons of specialty blogs and stuff that I wrote for the tour; check out the list below to find some inside secrets, top ten lists and other cool content.
Thanks for checking out the tour!
WEEK ONE
August 6th
–The Not So Public Library >>Top 10 List
–Declarations of a Fangirl >> Excerpt
–Archaeolibrarian – I Dig Good Books! >> Review
–Indie Wish List >> Excerpt
–Millsy Loves Books >> Excerpt
August 7th
–Lisa Loves Literature >> Interview
–Adventures in Writing >> Excerpt
–Paulette’s Papers >> Excerpt
–Rockin’ Book Reviews >> Review
August 8th
–The Writer’s Inkwell >> Excerpt
–Book Addict >> Review
–Rainy Days and Pajamas >> Excerpt
August 9th
–Stacking My Book Shelves! >> Top 10 List
–A Dream Within A Dream >> Excerpt
–Star-Crossed Book Blog >> Review
August 10th
–Stuck In Books >> Excerpt
–Character Madness and Musings >> Excerpt
–The Book Girl >> Guest post
WEEK TWO
August 13th
–The Cover Contessa >> Interview
–Smada’s Book Smack >> Interview
August 14th
–Silver Dagger Book Tours >> Excerpt
–Ashley’s Bookshelf >> Review
–The Curious Chapter >> Review
August 15th
–Teaser Addicts Book Blog >> Excerpt
–Jazzy Book Reviews >> Guest post
–Just Books >> Excerpt
August 16th
–So Many Books, So Little Time >> Excerpt
–The Avid Reader >> Review
–Daily Waffle >> Excerpt
August 17th
–Books a Plenty Book Reviews >>Top 10 List
–Fiona Reads and FoodSpots >> Review
–K.L. Novotzke – Author >> Excerpt
The post CRADLED: Meet the Bloggers! appeared first on Monster House Books.
July 24, 2018
Tour Schedule: SHIFTERS AND GLYPHS
WHO: Author Christina Bauer
DATES: October 16-28, 2018
WHAT: Author reading, workshop and book signing
– Book signing for SHIFTERS AND GLYPHS
– Workshop on writing strong female heroines
– Extended and illustrated edition of ANGELBOUND available only at events
WHERE: 6+ cities across the US, including:
– Arizona: Phoenix Area (Peoria)
– California: Los Angeles Area (Burbank), San Francisco Area (San Bruno), San Jose
– Illinois: Chicago Area (Naperville)
– Massachusetts: Boston, Framingham
– Pennsylvania: Scranton
– Virginia: Richmond… not just one but two dates... with author Genevieve Iseult Eldredge!
ANGELBOUND ILLUSTRATED EDITION — Available only at signings
PLUS: Don’t miss your chance to get published!
– Workshop attendees get priority review for MONSTER’S BEST, an annual compilation of stories with strong heroines
– To reserve your place, email Arely via azimmermann@monsterhousebooks.com
ABOUT SHIFTERS AND GLYPHS:
“A fun romp for Twilight Fans” – School Library Journal
After being raised by the meanest fairies in the history of ever, Bryar Rose is now free to live her own life. For the first time, she’s attending West Lake Prep, a regular high school. Well, mostly regular. Some students are actually hidden members of the Magicorum. In other words, they’re really wizards, fairies, or shifters. Bry doesn’t mind, though. She’s thrilled to enjoy all the new experiences of being around normal kids her age, from locker pranks to lunchtime mystery meat. Everything is going along great, except for one thing.
Bry’s dreams about the pyramids of Egypt have gotten darker and more sinister. Every night, she sees her new man Knox and her best friend Elle in danger.
“Exciting and well-conceived” – Kirkus
With no other choice, Bry plans to leave school to explore the pyramids on her own. But her new man Knox discovers the scheme and is having none of it. He wants to stay by her side, no matter what. It’s a good thing too, because Bry must solve the mystery of her attraction to the pyramids and soon. Otherwise, it could cost the lives of those she loves most.
And that means not only Knox, but also her best friend Elle.
“Must-read YA paranormal romance!” – USA Today
The post Tour Schedule: SHIFTERS AND GLYPHS appeared first on Monster House Books.
CRADLED EXCERPT – Meet The Lightning Goddess
Dear Readers,
I’m super excited that CRADLED (the epilogue to the Beholder Series) is almost here! To celebrate, I’m sharing a chapter where…
***SPOILER ALERT***
Elea and Rowan from Beholder meet Myla and Lincoln from Angelbound! Ooooooh yeah
July 19, 2018
Meet the Bloggers: Angelbound BETROTHED Cover Reveal
YOU ARE THE BEST!
All the bloggers who registered for the reveal are listed below. Please take a look; you may find your next favorite blog!
3 Degrees of Fiction, Http://www.facebook.com/3degreesoffiction
A Bookaholic’s Utopia, https://bookwonderlandofsubinita.wordpress.com/
A Court of Pages and Words, https://acourtofpagesandwords.wordpress.com
Adventures in Writing, http://thhernandez.com/blog-tours-4/
Angels With Attitude Book Reviews, https://angelswithattitudebookreviews-joelle.blogspot.com
Betwixt the Pages, http://betwixtthesepages.wordpress.com
Book Addict, http://bookaddict.live
Book-Keeping, http://hollymbryan.tumblr.com
BookisBooks, https://bookishbbooks.wordpress.com/
Books a Plenty Book Reviews, https://booksaplentybookreviews.blogspot.com
Bookworm for Kids, https://www.bookwormforkids.blogspot.com
Carey Reads, https://www.facebook.com/CareyReads/
Carries Book Reviews, https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress.com/
Cat’s Guilty Pleasure, http://www.facebook.com/catherinewrightbooks
CBY Book Club, https://cbybookclub.blogspot.com/
Chapter by Chapter, https://chapterbyechapter.blogspot.com
Chapters through life, https://chaptersthroughlife.blogspot.co.uk/
Confessions of an Ex-Ballerina, www.exballerina.com
Crandom, Www.crandomblog.com
Crazy Beautiful Reviews, www.crazybeautifulreviews.blogspot.com
Crossroad Reviews, www.crossroadreviews.com
Dani the Bookaholic, www.danithebookaholic.com
Declarations of a Fangirl, http://www.declarationsofafangirl.blogspot.com
Don’t Judge, Read, http://dontjudgeread.blogspot.ca/
emily the book nerd, emilythebooknerdxo.blogspot.com
Field of Bookish Dreams, http://fieldofbookishdreams.blogspot.com
Haddie’s Haven, https://haddieshaven.blogspot.com
Hurricane Books, hurricanebooks.org
I Heart YA Books, http://iheartyabooks.blogspot.com/
I Smell Sheep, http://www.ismellsheep.com/
Indie Wish List, http://indiewishlist.weebly.com
Indy Book Fairy, http://paranormalbookfairy.blogspot.com/
Jazzy Book Reviews, https://bookreviewsbyjasmine.blogspot.com/
JB The Book Addict, https://jbthebookadict.blogspot.ae/
Just Us Book Blog, http://justusbookblog.blogspot.com/
Karlee Kay, http://karlee-kay.blogspot.com/
LenniLand, http://lenniland.my-free.website
Lucy Turns Pages, https://www.lucyturnspages.co.uk/
MillsyLovesBooks, http://millsylovesbooks.blogspot.com
Mirrigold: Mutterings & Musings, https://mirrigold.com/
Ms. J Mentions…, http://www.msjmentions.com
Musings From An Addicted Reader, https://musingsfromanaddictedreader.wordpress.com/
My Books-My World, https://mybooks-myworld.com
Mythical Books, http://www.mythicalbooks.blogspot.ro/
Nova Book Reviews, https://novabookreviews.blogspot.pt/
Ogitchida Kwe’s Book Blog, http://ogitchidabookblog.blogspot.com
PageHike, http://pagehike.blogspot.in
Rabbit Ears Book Blog, http://rabbitearsbookblog.blogspot.com/
Rabid Readers Book Blog, https://www.facebook.com/RabidReadersBookBlog/
Ramblings of a Book Nerd, http://booknerdramblings2015.blogspot.ca/
Read and Review, www.readandreview.co.za
Red’s Midnight Readers, http://redsmidnightreaders.blogspot.co.uk/
Shooting Stars Reviews, http://shootingstarsreviews.blogspot.com
Silver Dagger Book Tours, http://www.silverdaggertours.com/book-tours
Sincerely Karen Jo, https://sincerelykarenjo.wordpress.com/
Smada’s Book Smack, Http://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com
So Many Books, So Little Time, https://somanybookssolittletimebookgroup.wordpress.com/
Stacking My Book Shelves!, http://stackingmybookshelves.blogspot.com
T’s Stuff, http://www.tsstuff.net
Taking It One Book at a Time, http://takingitonebookatatime.blogspot.com
Tale Out Loud, taleoutloud.wordpress.com
Teatime and Books, http://www.teatimeandbooks76.blogspot.com
The Attic Ghost, theatticghost.com
The Avid Reader, http://the-avidreader.blogspot.com
The Book Addict, http://jbthebookadict.blogspot.ae/
The Book Girl, https://theyounggirlwholovedbooks.blogspot.com
The Book Junkie Reads . . ., https://thebookjunkiereadspromos.blogspot.com
The Half Open Journal, nikitajhanglani.wordpress.com
The Not So Public Library, http://thenotsopubliclibrary.blogspot.ca/
The Reading Diaries, http://www.thereadingdiaries.com/
The Silver Dagger Scriptorium, http://www.silverdaggertours.com/book-tours
The Voluptuous Book Diva, https://www.facebook.com/voluptuousbdiva and http://voluptuousbookdiva.blogspot.com
The Write Kind of Love, https://thewritekindoflove.wordpress.com/
The Writer’s Inkwell, http://thewritersinkwell.com
This and That Book Blog, http://thisandthatbookblog.blogspot.com
Tome Tender, http://tometender.blogspot.com
vithyas blog, https://vithyasblogg.wordpress.com
Wanderer in Neverland, https://wandererinneverland.wordpress.com/
Words, Phrases, Imagination, www.wordsphrasesimagination.weebly.com
Ziggy’s Reading Corner, https://ziggysbooks.blogspot.com/
And here’s the cover…
The post Meet the Bloggers: Angelbound BETROTHED Cover Reveal appeared first on Monster House Books.
July 17, 2018
Betrothed Cover Reveal is LIVE!
And a huge THANK YOU to the bloggers who have or are sharing it!!!
About BETROTHED:
When it comes to fighting demons, Prince Lincoln is the greatest warrior in the history of his people, the thrax. Now Lincoln faces his hardest fight yet…and it’s not on a traditional battlefield.
Lincoln wants nothing more than to marry Myla Lewis, the part-demon girl who has captured his heart. However, an evil thrax noble—the powerful Earl of Acca—is prepared to do anything to stop Lincoln and Myla from having a future.
But Lincoln won’t give up on his Myla. Ever.
To fight Aldred, Lincoln works to create a different kind of marriage—an Alliance of the lesser thrax houses against Acca. Sadly, just as Lincoln starts to makes some progress, the nobles who’ve joined his Alliance begin to vanish. Is Aldred behind the disappearances, or is someone else vying for power? When Lincoln discovers the truth, it upends his entire world, threatening his future with Myla in ways no one could ever have imagined.
Without further ado…
There’s also a Rafflecopter giveaway! Enter using the widget below!
The post Betrothed Cover Reveal is LIVE! appeared first on Monster House Books.
July 6, 2018
CRADLED Chapter One
Hello Readers,
BEHOLDER Book 5 (well, novella technically) is coming later this month! Here’s a preview of Chapter One. Insert disclaimer here that I haven’t finished tweaking and proofing this sucker, but it should give you an idea of what I’m up to!
Enjoy…and CRADLED launches July 31st!
Christina
CRADLED
Chapter One
Tap…tap…tap…
Someone was wearing out their knuckles on my bedroom door. Yanking my covers over my head, I tried to block out this mystery’s person’s knocking. It didn’t work.
Tap…tap…tap…
I stifled a groan. Most days, I’d say this about my life: It’s good to be the queen. Sadly, today wasn’t one of those days. Last night, I’d asked the castle servants not to disturb me until dawn. Now I lay in bed, trying to rest, and yet?
Tap…tap…tap…
Whoever it was, they weren’t giving up.
I opened my eyes a crack, finding myself alone in bed. My husband wasn’t here, but that was no surprise. Rowan knew I wanted to sleep in, so he’d slipped off a while ago. As for my bedchamber, the place looked as it always did. The red stone walls were lined with tapestries of animals being magickally brought to life by mages. My own spell books lay in neat piles on a nearby table.
Peering through the chamber’s window holes, the outside world looked dark. Definitely not morning. There could only be one explanation; the staff must have missed my orders to sleep in.
“Please return later,” I called. “At dawn.”
A muffled voice echoed through the closed door. “It’s long past dawn. The sun came up more than twelve hours ago.”
The speaker was Jicho, my little brother in law. “Are you toying with me?” Jicho loved his practical jokes.
“Not at all. It’s nine o’clock at night. The Fete of the Family has already started. Rowan’s been there for hours.”
Sitting up, I carefully scanned the view from my window. Sure enough, the moon peeped over the sill.
Whoa.
That was unexpected, not to mention concerning. Rowan’s people were Creation Casters who gained magick from life. I’d been trained as a Necromancer, so my powers were drawn from the echoes of life in bones. Together, we ruled both classes of mages. We’d been ruling together for a year now, and I’d learned one thing early on.
Creation Casters loved their festivals. A lot.
Rowan and I tried to attend as many celebrations as passible, and Fete of the Family was one of the biggest. Not one that I wanted to miss. After pushing off my covers, I set my bare feet on the cold marble floor. “I’ll join you soon.”
In this case, soon meant after I had a warm bath and some hot food. Caster parties lasted all night. No doubt, there was still plenty of time to join the fun.
“No, you need to hurry.” Jicho lowered his voice to a hush. “I’ve had a vision.”
My breath caught. Although he was only ten years old, Jicho was a powerful Seer who often had painfully accurate visions of the future. That said, he was also a mischievous imp. For instance, last week Jicho claimed he had a vision that the castle would implode if he had to do his lessons.
Needless to say, Jicho still finished his lessons; the castle did not implode.
I stood up, pulled on a cloak, and opened the door. Jicho stood in the outer hallway, all gangly limbs and knobby knees in his toga-style Seer robes. He didn’t look up as I motioned him inside. Interesting. When it came to Jicho, lack of eye contact was a classic but common sign.
Jicho might be up something.
“Why don’t you come in and explain about your vision?” I asked.
“Uh, no.” Jicho kicked at the floor with his sandal. “I need to get back to the party.” He kept avoiding my line of sight. That settled it.
Jicho was definitely up to something.
I folded my arms over my chest. “Tell me about this vision of yours first.”
“It wasn’t exactly a vision.” Now Jicho stared at the vaulted ceiling as if the cobwebs were beyond fascinating.
A chill crawled up my neck. Not exactly a vision? That could only mean one thing. I set my fists on my hips. “Have you been playing in gateways again?”
Gateways were arches of stone that magickally connected our world to other realms. Rowan and I were unusual in that we shared our Creation Caster and Necromancer magick. It gave our powers an extra boost. Using our hybrid magick, my husband and I had enough power to open gateways. For a while, we were the only mages who could.
Until Jicho.
As the boy grew, Jicho was turning into a Seer who wielded unbelievable levels of magick. About a month ago, he figured out how to open gateways. Not good.
Jicho shot me a gap-toothed smile. “Did I open a gateway? It depends on how you define gateways.”
His big grin always made me melt a little. That said, I worked hard to keep my features stern. Playing around with gateways was serious stuff.
“Don’t try to charm your way out of this one.” I wagged my finger at him. “Answer my question. This new vision of yours—did you get it from a gateway, yes or no?”
“Yes, but only a little bit?” Jicho blinked his big green eyes at me while holding his thumb and forefinger an inch apart. He had long lashes, just like Rowan. It was getting harder not to visibly melt under his charm.
Even so, I kept up my serious stare. “You know it’s forbidden to open random gateways.” I shook my head. “You could let in any kind of monster or disease. Even worse, you could get stuck in another world and then, how would we find you?”
Jicho puffed out his lower lip. “But I only peep into the gateways; I don’t go inside them. Plus, gateways show me totally different futures than my visions do. It’s really important that I learn how to use them.”
“No gateways, Jicho.”
“Well, I already saw this vision in the gateway.” His voice lowered to a hush. “Something big is coming.”
I lifted my brows. Something big? The last time Jicho used those words, he went on to predict a massive Tsunami along our southern coast. Thanks to his warning, we were able to evacuate the local population. Even so, it was an incredibly close call. If we hadn’t acted quickly to transport everyone inland, thousands would have died.
I used Jicho’s own words back at him. “Define big.”
“I’m not sure.” Jicho waved his hands around. “The vision is a little foggy. But I see a lot of metal armor and glint-y swords…And they’re definitely at the Fete of the Family.”
My skin prickled over with gooseflesh. Swords and armor? Rowan and I had no reports of insurrection, so that left only one power with enough resources to mount an army against us. The Royals. But that was unlikely; we’d recently signed a treaty with them. In exchange for us mages providing magickal services, the Royals promised to protect us if we were ever attacked. The fact that the Royals were the only ones with enough resources to attack us wasn’t necessarily spelled out in the treaty, but we all knew why we were signing it.
So who was left to attack us with a professional army? An image of a gateway appeared in my mind. If Jicho somehow left one of those archways open, anyone could pass through one of those archways and cause trouble.
Then there was the matter of my parents. They’d spent eons opening and powering gateways, mostly by draining the power inherent in their own children. Rowan and I sent them into exile. We hadn’t heard anything from them since.
Were they the ones returning with an invading army? My stomach sank. It was certainly possible.
“That does sound rather serious,” I said. “I’ll join the fete right away.”
Jicho exhaled. “Good, I’ll let Rowan know.” As the boy raced off down the hallway, his words echoed through my mind.
Swords. Armor. Something big.
A weight of worry settled onto my shoulders. I may not be a Seer, but my mage senses still said that whatever was coming, it would be far worse than a Tsunami. Taking in a deep breath, I steeled my shoulders. No matter what was about to strike, I had my husband and people to fight at my side. Together, we could face down almost any enemy.
I hoped.
—end of sample—
CRADLED launches July 31, 2018
Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/y9d3qh3g
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cradled-1
GooglePlay: https://tinyurl.com/y8w38mlp
iBooks: https://tinyurl.com/y9mg57l7
The post CRADLED Chapter One appeared first on Monster House Books.
July 5, 2018
New VLOG: Southern Swearing
Hello readers,
So every so often, I get the urge to record a video blog because WHY NOT? For some reason, when vlogging, I tend to do this open-mouthed-slash-closed-eyed-thing that YouTube loves to make the highlight picture. Since I’m too lazy to figure out how to fix that, I’ve decided that I like it…And I hope you like this round-up of all my best vlogs!
Truth time: they are my only vlogs but, hey, watching them is still better than do actual work, right?
Christina
NEW VLOG! Southern Swearing and Other Stuff
Wherein I explain what it’s like to get ‘southern sworn’ at by your nanny.
VLOG 2: Pizza, Pumpkins and Books
In this thrill-packed episode, I talk about some mostly eaten pizza and my current taste in home decor.
VLOG 1: My Living Room And Some Pants
My very first VLOG, where I give you a tour of my fav writing spots as well as some pants. No, I am not kidding.
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