Heather Self's Blog, page 7

Cover Reveal: the Dark by Heather Self (that's me)

Yay! It's finally here! Time to reveal the cover (and title) of the novella with the blurb. I hope you love this cover as much as I do. It's particularly special to me as the background was image was taken by the hubby on our "honeymoon" to Ireland last year. Thanks so much to the AMAZING Stephanie Mooney for the gorgeous cover.


the Dark (A Kin Series novella) Mary Anne Moore doesn’t know what she is. She can’t explain why she has lived so long.
Or why she never gets sick.
Or why the dreams she has come true.
She has hidden herself as a lowly servant to the households of Dublin's English elite for decades, until the night that changes her life. Now her sole purpose is the child she never expected to have. She will do anything in her power to keep the black-eyed monsters from discovering him and turning him into one of them.
For Kieran Moore the dark is an ever-present parasite, waiting to devour his humanity. His mother’s love and the girl in his dreams has kept it at bay for years, but the more time that passes—the longer he has to wait for her—the  more it grows. When tragedy strikes, it is all he can do to keep from being consumed by the darkness that infects him. He must continue to hold on to the hope of peace her presence will bring him, because it’s not just his fate on the line, but that of the entire world.
**Note** This novella takes place both before, and concurrently  with events that happen in the One. It is highly recommended it be read first.

Mini Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Ths continues my mini-reviews of fantasy books. Y'all this one was superb. Fantastic world building, amazing characters, and a twist that surprised me. Check it:


Courtesy of Goodreads

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.
Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.
Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

Leigh Bardugo makes her YA debut with a bang! In a world broken by darkness, and broken into castes based on special abilities, Bardugo offers a fresh take on a world full of magic. Set in the world of Ravka, our heroine Alina has been keeping a secret her whole life in order to stay with the only family she's ever known. When that secret is revealed she is thrust into the world of the magic-weilding Grisha, a societal structure far outside her norm, and under the watchful eye of the head Grisha. When mysteries come to light Alina is forced to make extreme choices. Choices that could end up killing the one she loves the most.

Shadow and Bone will leave you both satisfied, and wanting more.

Giveaway Winners

Win Some Hella Awesome Books Adoption Fundraiser

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eCopy of Ten Tiny Breaths by K. A. Tucker

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Both winners have been contacted and responded with great jubilation! Thanks to everyone who participated and donated.

NEW RELEASE/GIVEAWAY: Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker

TEN TINY BREATHS by KA Tucker

Kacey Cleary’s whole life imploded four years ago in a drunk-driving accident. Now she’s working hard to bury the pieces left behind—all but one. Her little sister, Livie. Kacey can swallow the constant disapproval from her born-again aunt Darla over her self-destructive lifestyle; she can stop herself from going kick-boxer crazy on Uncle Raymond when he loses the girls’ college funds at a blackjack table. She just needs to keep it together until Livie is no longer a minor, and then they can get the hell out of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
But when Uncle Raymond slides into bed next to Livie one night, Kacey decides it’s time to run. Armed with two bus tickets and dreams of living near the coast, Kacey and Livie start their new lives in a Miami apartment complex, complete with a grumpy landlord, a pervert upstairs, and a neighbor with a stage name perfectly matched to her chosen “profession.” But Kacey’s not worried. She can handle all of them. What she can’t handle is Trent Emerson in apartment 1D.
Kacey doesn’t want to feel. She doesn’t. It’s safer that way. For everyone. But sexy Trent finds a way into her numb heart, reigniting her ability to love again. She starts to believe that maybe she can leave the past where it belongs and start over. Maybe she’s not beyond repair.
But Kacey isn’t the only one who’s broken. Seemingly perfect Trent has an unforgiveable past of his own; one that, when discovered, will shatter Kacey’s newly constructed life and send her back into suffocating darkness.

**Warning - This is a Mature YA/New Adult book. Contains sex and violence**

Oh my goodness, y'all! I have been waiting for this day for what seems like forever! Why? Because this book is amazing!!  I don't really know how to review this book without giving away the intricacies of the plot. I'm one of those people who would rather leave you guessing then give too much away. So here is the main take away. This is a BEAUTIFUL story of forgiveness, redemption, and learning to truly live again. At turns, both sarcastically witty and heart-wrenchingly sad, Ten Tiny Breaths, will have you feeling all the feels. You will fall in love with the characters, both main and secondary (who are given surprising amounts of depth), and will be so happy that there is a companion novel in the works. GO.GET.THIS. And then go stalk Kathleen so you know when the next one comes out.




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About K.A. Tucker:
Born in small-town Ontario, Kathleen published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She is a voracious reader and the farthest thing from a genre-snob, loving everything from High Fantasy to Chick Lit. Kathleen currently resides in a quaint small town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.

Blog: http://www.katucker.blogspot.ca/
Website: http://www.katuckerbooks.com/
Author Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/K.A.Tucker.Author?fref=ts
Novel Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/TenTinyBreaths
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kathleenatucker
Novel Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15990969-ten-tiny-breaths
Author Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4866520.K_A_Tucker

Review: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Courtesy of Goodreads

New soul
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.
No soul
Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?
Heart
Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Category: YA Fantasy
My take: Loved it!

So I've been on a big fantasy kick recently and figure I'd review some of the ones I really enjoy. Since Jodi is running a contest for an ARC of Asunder (book 2--which comes out January 2013) I figured I'd start with Incarnate.

The book starts off with Ana leaving home and right away her troubles start. Actually I guess her troubles started at her birth when she became the first new soul to be born into a world where the same souls were recycled over and over. Her mother..grrrr....deliberately sends her into danger but she ends up rescued by Sam who chooses to befriend her. Her first friend ever. Ana is skeptical at first, who wouldn't be with the crazypants mom that she had, but eventually she comes to trust him.

Sam. Oh Sam. He is such a complete sweetheart. While he doesn't know why Ana is the first new soul in forever, he doesn't believe she is evil, and helps her to try and find her place in Heart.

Music plays a big part in Ana's self-discovery which I can totally relate to. Then there is the masquerade scene. LOVE! That's all I'm going to say about that.

But when Ana's mother shows up in Heart...man. Just get ready for a whirlwind of an ending. Also, there are dragons. Mean, people-eating dragons. Awesome.

So if you enjoy fantasy and a story-teller who can spin a good yarn, go pick up Incarnate before Asunder hits shelves.

EXTENDED:Win Some Hella Awesome Books Adoption Fundraiser

Ok so i mentioned this in my weekly update that I had extended the date of the fundraiser to add some really cool stuff to it. Here's the link for the original post so you can see all the awesomeness and READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. NOW here's the additional stuff!

So there is this:


pretty nice right?
But the really awesome thing is THIS:

And y'all. I AM GOING TO THE DAEMON INVASION IN HOUSTON AND WILL GET IT PERSONALIZED and SIGNED  for you! So you have until  midnight central NEXT Friday. Then I will announce the winner that morning! Rafflecopter is below. If the donate link there doesn't work go here and use the "Join us & Donate" button. GOOD LUCK!
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Cover Reveal: The Witch's Curse by David James

WOOOOO cover reveal time!! You may have seen this already as D to the J posted it earlier this week on his blog (among others) but when given a choice (tyvm David) I will be a lazy blogger and wait til last minute to get something up. Or maybe I just want to keep the pretty to myself as long as possible. Enjoy!

Before Kate met Calum in Light of the Moon, Magda met Samuel. Magda cannot stop her heart from running rampant with the beating drum of love. Whenever her eyes find Samuel, she can feel the pull of strings so vividly alive against her heart. But for Magda, love goes against fate; her destiny as a witch forbids her to need anything but the dark binds of magic. Soon, the witch's curse begins to call to Magda. To deny her love for Samuel would be unthinkable, but to defy her destiny would be impossible. Before the curse can consume her, Magda must decide between Samuel and destiny, and her heart may beat too savagely for anyone to stop.

GORGEOUS, right?! THE WITCH'S CURSE (A Legend of the Dreamer Story) is a prequel novella for the series that will be available in e-format on 12/18/12. Dark of the Moon can be purchased on Amazon, and B&N.

You can find David at Twitter: DJamesAuthor
Facebook: http://facebook.com/davidjamesauthor
Blogger: http://djamesauthor.blogspot.com

Weekly Update!

Goooooood Mooooooorning, all of y'all!!!! It's a super long time since my last weekly update and I have stuffs to tell y'all so here we go!
First up: I'm a big fat loser! I did NOT win NaNoWrimo this year (I only wrote about 12K words for it) and I'm surprisingly ok with that. I got a good start on a contemp YA and managed to get a really fun Chase POV scene up on Stuck In Books & K-Books. I won't make you search through their posts to find it. It's up on the extras page. :)
And speaking of Chase this leads me to news on the Key. So as many of you know, I've been having difficulties with this book. It just wasn't working. I have lots of disconnected scenes of things that need to happen, but getting to the scenes...makes me want to beat the muse. However, I didn't have to resort to violence since the answer came to me while writing my Nano project. Drumroll.....the Key will be written from Evy's AND CHASE'S pov. Yup you read that right. Now you're probably thinking wooohooo, but what does that mean for release? Excellent question that I have absolutely no answer for. Ha! There are some scenes that I will now have to go back and rewrite as they'll work better from his POV. I'm super excited about this as it will give a bigger picture since first person is such a limited viewpoint. Also, I'll be starting back with the Tuesday Teasers.
In case you hadn't notice, I extended the adoption fundraiser. Why? Because one of my favs EVER , Jennifer Arementrout, will be in Houston next week to celebrate the release of Opal and I'm bringing back a copy signed by her AND the cover model, Pepe Toth, to include in the stack of ginormous awesome. I'll be doing a post on Tuesday about all the awesomeness that's been added to the giveaway along with the link to the original post.
Finally, because y'all have been so patient and amazing, I'm going to reveal the cover/title/blurb to Kieran's novella on Monday!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!! Anyone who'd like to participate in revealing can shoot me an email at authorheatherself @ gmail, and you can post it anytime next week starting midnight eastern. 
Thinks that it for now! I love y'all and thanks for sticking with me while i figure out how to do this author thing. ;)
Peace!~h

Trailer Reveal/Mini-Review: Gravity by Melissa West

Howdy folks! After a month long NaNoWriMo induced hiatus I'm BACK! And with a bang too because this is the first time I've done a trailer reveal. What makes this really cool, besides the fact that the book left me breathless, is I also did the cover reveal for this book earlier this year. So here's the cover again, and the trailer below! 

In the future, only one rule will matter:
Don’t. Ever. Peek.
Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed — arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die.
Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know — especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war.

So if neither of those convinces you here's what I thought about the book:
This was an amazing story of a young girl who is trying to do the right thing by working with someone deemed less than human in the midst of a hate-mongering society. As a history major I've always found WWII to be an incredibly fascinating, and horrible, part of our history. The parallels that were drawn between Ari's world and Word War II were subtle, yet recognizable and well done. There were some unexpected, and unpredictable, twists that kept the book moving at a quick pace. It was a gut-wrenching, and beautiful tale of self-sacrifice and learning what it truly means to be "human."

Win Some Hella Awesome Books Adoption Fundraiser

Howdy, y'all! So if you've been following me on twitter for a while you know I have some awesome friends who are adopting--that would be a baby and not of the four-legged variety. If you don't know anything about the adoption process let me tell you it takes some bank and unlike giving birth, there is no health insurance to cover the cost. If you'd like to read about their story you can find it here

So to help my friends, because I love them dearly, I decided to use my phenomenal cosmic powers (and my killer collection of signed books + some wicked awesome author friends) to bring you the

WIN SOME HELLA AWESOME BOOKS ADOPTION FUNDRAISER*
YAAAAAAAAY!
So how does this work? Easy! A $5 donation gets you entered into the drawing (each additional $5 donation earns you an additional entry so $20=1 initial entry + 3 additional entries). The link is in the Rafflecopter or you can donate here. Make sure you update your total before entering any info and hang on to that confirmation number! You'll need it for the "copter".
But what, pray tell Mrs. Self, is up for grabs? I'm SO glad you asked! I have raided my collection of non-personalized signed goodies and this is what we have to date (I'm hoping to add more!!) 
So these are the six signed Indie (all original covers!) that I have--and heck I'll even throw in one of mine.
                                          

I also have this one which recently released--and YES!--it's signed too!

And some "older" ones as well--all signed:


THEN ALL these ebooks:
Significance Series by Shelly Crane:
The Causal Enhancement Series by K.A.Tucker

The Dirty Blood Series by Heather Hildenbrand

Songs of Magic Series by JL Bryan
Young Adult Contemporary by Tiffany King Flukes by Nichole Chase
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Awaken by Sarah Ross

Reader's Choice from the Raine Thomas collection

OTHER COOL SWAG:
Addison Moore signed poster
Assortment of Jennifer L. Armentrout Swag & other goodies
Jar of Spearmint/Lavendar bathsalts (If you've read the One you should understand this seemingly bizarre swag)
Questions? Leave them in the comments below!

*This IS international. Please make sure you can accept ecopies of the above books. I believe most of them are available through Smashwords. Good Luck!





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