Karen Swart's Blog, page 73
April 10, 2014
Sale Alert! Flawed Perfection by @Cgiovanniauthor for just $.99!
Blurb-
Bobby Beckerson was the American All-Star hockey player--he was the spitting image of perfection to his family. Goofy, sweet and undeniably gorgeous, he had everything but the one girl he wanted: River Ahlers.
River Ahlers is successful in everything but love. She's been in love with Adam Beckerson since they were kids. Worst of all she's stuck right in the middle of the brothers dueling over everything and anything, and she doesn't even know she's the ultimate prize.
Adam Beckerson was a boy with a guitar, a smile that sunk girls' hearts and a stone wall around his own. He was anything but perfect, and no matter how hard he tried he was nothing compared to Bobby. Sweet, damaged, with boyish good-looks, no body thought Adam loved anyone but himself.
Bobby loved River, River loved Adam and Adam only loved himself--or so everyone thought. Then one night everything changes, and as it threatens to destroy everyone involved a tragedy strikes that will break them all...
Get it now for just 99c!
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble Kobo ~ Google Play
Book Blast & Giveaway: No Refuge by @annienicholas
No Refuge
Known Universe
Book 1
Annie Nicholas
Genre: Space Opera/Science Fiction Romance
Publisher: Lyrical Press/Kensington
Date of Publication: April 7, 2014
ISBN: 9781616505295
Number of pages: 94
Word Count: 24,000
Cover Artist: Renee Rocco
Book Description:
Hunted to near extinction by an alien race called the Ko, my people have run from Earth and drifted so far among the stars we can’t remember the way back. We live everywhere, but call nowhere home. The Ko want us erased from existence and memory. They don’t even want our DNA in the space dust. Humans disguise themselves as other alien species and hide in plain sight. It’s the only way we can survive.
I believe in the myth of Earth. I’ve even discovered a bona fide book written in the dead language of my people. My man, Brody, dreams of a secret human colony. He’s searched for years, hunting any rumor we’ve run across, and finally he’s made contact. Usually, he’s the one grounding me to station and keeping my head out of the atmosphere. Time for me to return the favor…that is, if I can ditch the Ko who’ve discovered me, thanks to my incessant artifact-hunting. If we don’t make our rendezvous, and the Ko don’t kill me, Brody just might…
CONTENT WARNING: Aliens, cargo ships, and a fast paced race against all odds.
Annie Nicholas writes paranormal romance with a twist. She has courted vampires, hunted with shifters, and slain a dragon’s ego all with the might of her pen. Riding the wind of her imagination, she travels beyond the restraints of reality and shares them with anyone wanting to read her stories. Mother, daughter, and wife are some of the other hats she wears while hiking through the hills and dales of her adopted state of Vermont.
Annie writes for Samhain Publishing, Carina Press, and Lyrical Press.
Website: www.annienicholas.com
Blog: www.annienicholas.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Annie-Nicholas#!/pages/Annie-Nicholas/162716537103705
Twitter: https://twitter.com/annienicholas
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3132972.Annie_Nicholas
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/annienicholas/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/yt8Kv
April 9, 2014
Book Blast & Giveaway: Dark Angel by @christinejpope
DARKANGEL
The Witches of Cleopatra Hill, #1
Publisher: Dark Valentine Press
Publication Date: March 30, 2014
Print Length: 233 pages
ASIN: B00JDSY9UM
Finding the man of your dreams can be a real nightmare….
As the future prima, or head witch of her clan, Angela McAllister is expected to bond with her consort during her twenty-first year, thus ensuring that she will come into her full powers at the appointed time. The clock is ticking down, and her consort has yet to make an appearance. Instead, her dreams are haunted by a man she’s never seen, the one she believes must be her intended match.
But with time running out, and dark forces attempting to seize her powers for their own, Angela is faced with a terrible choice: give up her dreams of the man she may never meet and take the safer path, or risk leaving her clan and everyone in it at the mercy of those who seek their ruin.
Darkangel is the first book in The Witches of Cleopatra Hill, a paranormal romance trilogy set in the haunted town of Jerome, Arizona.
Available at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Darkangel-The-Witches-Cleopatra-Hill-ebook/dp/B00JDSY9UM/
A native of Southern California, Christine Pope has been writing stories ever since she commandeered her family’s Smith-Corona typewriter back in the sixth grade. Her short fiction has appeared in Astonishing Adventures, Luna Station Quarterly, and the journal of dark fiction, Dark Valentine. Two of her short stories have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.
Christine writes as the mood takes her, and her work includes paranormal romance, and fantasy and science fiction/space opera romance. She blames this on being easily distracted by bright, shiny objects, which could also account for the size of her shoe collection. After spending many years in the magazine publishing industry, she now works as a freelance editor and graphic designer in addition to writing fiction. She fell in love with Sedona, Arizona, while researching the Sedona Trilogy and now makes her home there, surrounded by the red rocks. No alien sightings, though...not yet, anyway!
Contact links:
Website: http://christinepope.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristinePopeAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/christinejpope
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4181354.Christine_Pope
Newsletter: https://tinyletter.com/christine-pope
April 8, 2014
Book Blast: Covenant by @sabrinabenulis
Covenant
The Books of Raziel
Book 2
Sabrina Benulis
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Date of Publication: 4/1/2014
ISBN: 9780062069412
Number of pages: 400
Word Count: 98,000
Book Description:
The haunting gothic tale started in Archon continues-a mesmerizing work of the paranormal in which a young woman discovers that she is caught in a labyrinth of intrigue where angels, demons, and all the creatures between Heaven and Hell will stop at nothing to possess her.
A year ago, Angela Mathers, a talented artist with a tortured soul, enrolled at the Westwood Academy and encountered the angels who haunted her dreams. Then she discovered the dark truth … she is the Archon, a being of supreme power who will determine the fate of the universe. But with such power comes great danger, and for every force seeking to aid Angela there is another burning to stop her. After a scheming demon kidnaps the Book of Raziel, Angela must find her way through a nightmarish game and enter the Door to Hell to rescue her only friend before it is too late.
The perilous fate of both Heaven and Hell rests on her success.
Genesis ~ The Story So Far
In the beginning of all things, there was a song, and starlight, and a Garden within eternity's shadows. There, God created three great angels, and they were destined to rule all of Heaven from three majestic thrones.
Israfel, the Creator Supernal, was considered to be the most beautiful of these angels. A vision of bronze feathers and grace, he found favor in the eyes of God and Heaven and soon outstripped his siblings in both popularity and power. His brother Raziel, the Preserver Supernal, became known for the virtues of wisdom and gentleness. And then there was Lucifel, the Destroyer Supernal embodying creation's fathomless darkness and depths, who despite her taciturn personality still managed to snare the hearts of creatures.
The storms and upsets of the universe could not touch these three angels. Sickness and death were beneath them.
But they were not immune to the passions of the heart.
As Israfel's favor grew, so did Lucifel's frightful envy and discontent.
Seeing herself as an equal to her sibling and with a loyal band of angels to support her claim, Lucifel finally broke with the established order and challenged Israfel's position as Heaven's supreme ruler under God. When Raziel--who had always seemingly vacillated in his loyalty between both siblings--took Lucifel as his lover, a bloody revolution exploded. The children of their forbidden union were executed, but in retaliation Lucifel engulfed Heaven in a War that ended in Raziel's suicide, Israfel's abdication, and her own tragic destiny.
Though defeated by both fate and circumstance, Lucifel chose to begin a new regime in lower, darker places. Yet she was swiftly imprisoned in her new kingdom of Hell.
Those who had once worshipped her in her glory were now her fearful jailers. They called themselves demons.
In the darkness below all things, caged and alone, Lucifel's ideals twisted even as her shadow of influence grew. From Hell it then spread like a poison, touching even the mortal world.
Though her true motives remain unknown, she is now suspected of wishing to open Raziel's fabled Book, seeking to use its power to silence the universe and the light within it that mocks her. Lucifel moves quicker by the day to manipulate events in her favor. But Raziel's death was not completely in vain. He has returned as the guardian spirit of a human girl to see that his sister Lucifel fails in her goal. This human girl is called the Archon.
The Archon is the only soul believed to be capable of opening the Book for the power of good. But like all creatures She has a choice, and will either stand against Lucifel and destroy her, or kill her only to take her place on the Throne of Hell and begin a darker era of Ruin.
In either instance, Her decision must be made quickly.
With the ties that once held the universe together brutally severed, an order long teetering on the edge of collapse has started to slide toward complete annihilation. A silence more threatening than Lucifel's looms over all creatures--one without hope of resurrection. The whereabouts of the Lock and Key of Raziel's Book are unknown, and the task of opening it to save what remains of the world verges on the impossible.
The Archon is a soul born in mortal misery, and she has only recently grasped the virtue of friendship. There are many who believe that her dark destiny is--like Lucifel's--unavoidable.
But if Ruin and Death born of three unhappy angels sparked the end, it is also true that covenants broken can be remade, and that the wheels of fate can be turned backwards despite all odds. Hearts call to one another, undoing the knots that have strangled hope, and imprisoned peace. For darkness to exist, there must be a brighter light. The world has always known pain, strife, and wars.
Yet it is the bonds between souls that have moved the stars.
Zero
Many doors begged to be opened in the city of Luz. Kim was certain he'd at last found the only one that mattered.
Like all ominous things, it had materialized in the darkest hour of his life. Now he stood in front of its immense black wood and gasped for breath, cold sweat trickling down the side of his nose. A thousand warnings sounded off in his brain, and his lungs ached as they sucked in the freezing air. His hands had gone numb. Ice shellacked the tips of Kim's hair, and the strands swept punishingly against his neck. The wind strangled him with every breath, searching relentlessly for other lives to snuff out, sighing like a cold song through the alley.
A soft hiss shivered through the bone cold night, and the harsh breeze died for a moment. The damp and stone-filled city had hushed, as if waiting. Flurries drifted serenely to the ground.
Kim glanced over his shoulder, shuddering. Fear throbbed through him in waves.
He would have to move fast. He didn't have much time to make a decision before she caught up to him.
The door beckoned, suspicious and dark. Should he? Shouldn't he?
Kim stared at the door, gasping for breath. He peered at the odd carvings and symbols in the wood. Impulsively, he reached for the snake-shaped iron knob.
Reality twisted and warped like a flash of lightning. Without warning the iron serpent came alive and lunged.
Inch long metal fangs sunk into Kim's palm. Needles of agony wrenched through his arm.
Kim cursed under his breath, tears of pain bunching at the corners of his eyes. He snatched his hand out of the snake's reach, wrapping fingers around his injured palm. Blood seeped hotly between his fingers. The iron snake recoiled back to its original position, glaring into him. Its reptilian eyes glowed with an unnerving yet familiar shade of orange. Try again, they seemed to say.
Frantically, Kim searched every inch of the wood for a keyhole. But there was none, and he realized with a newer shot of panic that he had no key anyway.
Another icy hiss echoed through him, drifting through the alley along with the snow. A soft rattle, like the sound of tiny bones rubbing together, cut through the silence.
Kim peered around again, sweaty bangs screening his vision.
A pair of phosphorescent yellow eyes gleamed back at him from the end of the cobbled road. Sickle-shaped black wings flickered once within the night. The sad glow of a gas lamp brushed the tips of his cousin's nails, and then her devilish form melted back into the darkness.
In a few more breaths, those nails would rip him apart. His hunter was badly hurt, but that wouldn't buy Kim enough time to escape.
He glanced around pathetically and sucked in more horrendously cold air. Silvery ice shellacked the surrounding walls of brick and stone, the hard ground. Snow drifted, fell, tumbled in the renewed gusts of winter wind. He didn't want to die in the cold depths of Luz alone. Too much life awaited him, and possibly love.
He clung to that last hope with fanatical loyalty.
Kim clutched the cross necklace at his chest, and his mind raced and filled with thoughts of Angela Mathers and how much she needed him without even realizing it. He pictured her brave face, deep red hair, and cool blue eyes. He felt her kiss on his mouth and ached for the part of his heart he'd unwillingly left with her in a moment of such irrational anger. He heard an angel's voice say like it had said before that Kim was about to get exactly what he deserved.
A terrible, crushing sensation threatened to stop his heart. The hair stood on the nape of Kim's neck. His veins throbbed with terror. Blood rushed and roared in his ears. He fought off the screams rising up into his throat. Unseen and silent, death's stealthy approach felt keen as a knife in his back.
Kim threw himself at the door, pounding on the wood with his fists.
Seeing Angela's face in his mind one last time, he knew he'd give anything to reach her again. The screams left his mouth at last, reverberating in the icy air. Someone, anyone, for the love of God let him in. He knew footsteps were behind him and ragged breaths and pitiless teeth and the thought was unbearable. He banged harder and harder, ignoring the threat of another bite from the snake because his hands were dead with cold and pain.
He would do anything, if someone would save him.
The world paused. A voice like a snake's touched the edge of his thoughts.
Anything? It sounded amused.
Yes. Yes. ANYTHING.
A tremulous click broke the silence.
Kim jumped backwards and stared, his heart pounding. The immense black door had opened, and a sliver of nothingness peeped at him from the gap between door and wall. Like a man in a trance, he opened the door wider, revealing a worn stone stairway that led down into a dimly lit darkness. A stale but warm breeze wafted upward from the depths. There was no telling what waited for him down there. For a single moment longer, he hesitated.
Pain slammed into him like a thunderbolt.
The door slammed shut. Kim whipped sideways into the bricks, scraping his cheek on bitter ice.
His hunter rolled to the slippery ground next to him, her sparsely feathered wings beating the stone in a frenzy. Ice cracked and split beneath her weight. Cold air rushed over him in merciless waves.
Scabs covered Troy's black pinions, and her entire body had become even leaner with hunger. Growls of rage peppered her almost unintelligible words. Kim stole one more glimpse of his cousin's lethal angelic beauty, the sight of her sharp teeth, the terror of her hypnotic eyes, and he wrenched himself from the slick wall and once again flung open the door.
Troy grabbed his leg, cutting more blood out of him.
Frustrated shrieks sliced into him like her nails. Her broken ankle had cost her time and speed, but it was her other injuries that had brought her close to starvation. Kim screamed a prayer.
Shuddering, she let go.
In a second she was on her hands and feet, preparing to pounce again. Kim swung himself through the doorway.
Troy's bony hand grasped the bloody tatters of his coat and pulled. Kim slammed to the ground. Her wings buffeted him, punishing his legs and waist. She scrabbled for a foothold on the unfamiliar ice, and he fought against sliding into biting range. Troy's hot breath reached his skin. The chain of his necklace threatened to choke him.
Kim pulled with all of his strength.
The coat fabric ripped from between her fingers. The necklace chain snapped. With a cry of triumph he dashed for the stairway again and turned, slamming the door shut.
Troy's feet and hands clanged like a sharp wind against the wood.
Kim staggered back, nearly pitching down the stairs. Grasping blindly, he clung to an iron bar on the door's inside, trying to keep his balance. In a fury of Jinn nails and thundering wings, Troy scratched against the door and rasped his name, screeched out her fury. Her voice was like a song of terror.
The door shivered beneath the onslaught. Kim was sure a mere two inches of wood separated them.
It didn't seem to matter. Something was protecting him and Troy knew it.
Her hisses of defeat continued, cutting through him like poisonous ice. Kim let go of the iron bar and stood at the top of the stairway, keeping his hand on his other bleeding palm, whispering every exorcism prayer in his memory.
Hours passed. Every so often, chalk-white fingers and sharp nails slipped under the door, searching for Kim's skin. Above the howling wind, he heard Troy's hiss or the rattle of the bones in her hair, and sometimes the screech of the crow that haunted her side. So he waited with her, certain that one of them would eventually give up but that, God willing, it wouldn't be him.
Finally, unbelievably, she left.
Kim's sanity returned by degrees. With it came suffocating hunger and thirst. He'd been running from Troy for so long, food and drink had become hasty and disgusting occasions. Now the overwhelming need for both began to overcome his terror at what might be waiting outside the door. He touched it, weighing his fortunes. No, he couldn't bear it anymore--
Kim set his jaw, pushing on the door from the inside.
It wouldn't budge. There was no interior knob either, only the iron bar that had left his arm muscles aching. He was trapped.
A warm breeze rose out of the darkness and brushed against his skin. The ice coating his hair dripped onto the stone.
Kim patted his chest, sensing emptiness. His cross necklace was gone, probably lying on the icy ground where Troy had torn it from his neck. There was no sense in grieving. That memento his foster-father had given him was now long past its usefulness. The memories it symbolized would best stay where Kim had left them, half-buried in snow and ice. Besides, he couldn't return even if he wanted to.
With the most furtive glances, Kim examined the staircase.
He breathed hard, his chest aching. His throat was raw from screaming, and as he stood, every muscle screamed back at him in protest. Carefully, he stepped onto the first set of stairs.
Troy's steady breathing sounded from the door's other side.
She'd never left at all.
With his next step, she breathed louder, as if growing desperate.
Kim knew better than to walk down a mysterious set of stairs, after entering a mysterious door, all because he'd made a desperate promise. Yet he had no other choice, and deep inside, he couldn't help feeling that this was somehow the right one. A whisper at the edge of his memories called from far below. Perhaps this was the moment he'd been waiting for.
Here is your chance, the voice called to him again.
Despite Kim's better judgment he believed it. He needed to believe it. So he left death behind to meet salvation where it waited--darker and darker down.
Sabrina Benulis graduated with a Masters in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She currently resides in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania with her husband Mike, and her spoiled cockatiel Caesar. COVENANT is the follow-up to ARCHON, her first novel.
http://www.sabrinabenulis.com/
April 7, 2014
Book Blast & Giveaway: Plain Jayne by @lauradrewry
Plain Jayne
By Laura Drewry
Publisher: Loveswept Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: April 8, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8041-7773-3
In Laura Drewry’s funny, heartwarming Loveswept debut, a man and a woman learn the hard way that a little bit of love makes staying friends a whole lot harder.
Worn out from the long drive back home, Jayne Morgan can only smirk at the irony: Of course the first person she sees from her old life is Nick Scott. Once best friends, they lost touch when Jayne left town at eighteen, but nothing could keep them apart forever. Jayne has returned to take over her grandmother’s bookstore, determined to put all her bittersweet memories and secret disappointments strictly in the past—until, that is, Nick insists she bunk at his place.
Nick never did care what people thought about having a girl for a best friend—or the “scandal” she caused by showing up to his wife’s funeral four years earlier—so he’s got no problem with the gossips now. Jayne was always the one person he could count on in his life. Now Nick is starting to realize that he never wants her to leave again . . . and that being “just friends” isn’t going to be enough anymore.
Available 4/08/14:
Random House: http://www.randomhouse.ca/search/node/laura%20drewry
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/plain-jayne-laura-drewry/1117135307?ean=9780804177733
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/plain-jayne/id737586209?mt=11
REQUEST TO REVIEW PLAIN JAYNE ON NETGALLEY:
https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/show/id/41115
Laura Drewry had been scribbling things for years before she decided to seriously sit down and write. After spending eight years in the Canadian north, Laura now lives back home in southwestern British Columbia with her husband, three sons, a turtle named Sheldon, and an extremely energetic German Shepherd. She loves old tattered books, good movies, country music, and the New York Yankees.
Website: http://www.lauradrewry.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Laura-Drewry-Author/229599547078623
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lauradrewry
April 6, 2014
Trailer Reveal: Fall from Grace by @RonCNieto
Presented by:
Title: Fall from Grace
Author: Ron C. Nieto
Genre: Urban Fantasy / Paranormal
Audience: New Adult / Adult
Formats: E-book
Publisher: Ron C. Nieto
Cover By: Kris Wagner
Editor: EFC Services
Pages: 310
Expected Date of Publishing: Fall 2014
People believe the world will go out with a bang. People expect it to be crushed under ever-rising waves, to burn in an inferno of all-encompassing flame, to be torn asunder by the same forces that created it. No one ever thought it would be as gentle as a door sliding open. No one suspected the beginning of the end would go unnoticed.
Yesterday, Lee led a normal life. Today he is alone, lost and unable to remember anything but the pain.
Henry remembers too much. He holds recollections of what was, what should have been, what will remain forever lost.
They both want to save the world.
Together, they might destroy it.
Goodreads / Jukepop / Wattpad
Excerpt 1:
It’s ironic, how worried I am about falling to my death when it’ll find me one way or the other. It’s also disturbing, this second-guessing that comes with cold, intangible fingers sliding down my spine and a taste of fear. I made my choice and I will go through with it. I keep climbing, and the white-knuckled hold I have on the railing is the only show of weakness I allow myself. It takes us a few minutes to reach the relative safety of the concrete rooftop, and I put them to good use, schooling my features and body language to resemble a blank slate: an emotionless mask just like Edmund’s. I certainly hope my efforts are successful enough to hide my astonishment when I see the crowd waiting for us. Well. Go figure. Five years of preparation and Edmund didn’t think to mention the audience once in all that time. He told me this wouldn’t be a private affair and that six of his brethren would perform the ritual with him, but the couple dozen people milling about and having no apparent role whatsoever are a surprise. A rather unpleasant one, if I’m honest. They look like sharks, sleek and elegant in their suits. Their polite smiles will turn razor sharp the moment they catch a whiff of weakness. If I were any other person, I would take them for lawyers, CEOs or some other species of corporate predator, but I’m unfortunate enough to know better. Sometimes I swear the only value of truth is to make a task more difficult. A meeting of high-ranking executives who hold age, experience and planning over my head I can handle. A gathering of curious, somewhat amused demons gets under my skin.
Link: http://youtu.be/6h6lJmq6k88 
Ron C. Nieto is a fantasy and romance author who has been writing in her secluded fortress for the longest time. Recently, she had a talk with her cat and decided that she should share her creations, because it was selfish to hoard them all for herself.If you would like to know more about her, please visit her website.
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April 4, 2014
Author Interview with Maggie Mundy, author of Hidden Mortality.
Today on the blog we have author Maggie Mundy over for an interview. Maggie is the author of today’s book blast, Hidden Mortality. I would like to thank Maggie for stopping by today and sharing with us.
About the Maggie
Maggie Mundy lives in Adelaide, Australia and is a member of Romance Writers of Australia, and the local chapter SARA (South Australian Romance Authors). She recently completed a Bachelor of Arts in Drama and English at Flinders University. She had a short story published in the RWA Topaz Anthology Little Gems in 2010 called Sea and Vines. Over the past year she has had stories on line with Alfie dog in the UK and Antipodean SF in Australia. She has also performed for many years in corporate entertainment for which she wrote her own sketches, which probably explains why her head is so full of characters. She loves writing romance but thinks falling in love can be scary, especially in her stories where creatures of the night really exist.
https://twitter.com/MundyMaggie
https://www.facebook.com/MaggieMundyAuthor
http://www.pinterest.com/maggiemundy/
http://www.soulmatepublishing.com/maggie-mundy/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5428101.Maggie_Mundy
Did you always wanted to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?
When I was young I wanted to join the navy. Then I wanted to be a policewoman. Maybe I had a thing about uniforms. I ended up being a nurse. I didn’t always want to be a writer. Ten years ago I said is this it? I went to university and did a degree in Drama and English. I wrote a one person one act play and was hooked. Since then the voices have not stopped saying write this down.
When did you first consider yourself a “writer”?
When I read my first review by someone I didn’t know. I thought oh my goodness. I wrote something that someone really enjoyed. Daft I know. Thank you readers.
How long did it take to get your first book published?
Ten years, but I still feel I am on a journey. The day I received an email saying I was being offered a contract I screamed and jumped up and down. I do believe in happy dancing whenever I can.
What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarize it in less than 20 words what would you say?
Hidden Mortality. Two immortal men are after Cara. Seth wants to love her and Vincent wants to kill her.
Who is your publisher? Or do you self-publish?
My publisher for Hidden Mortality is Soul Mate Publishing. They have been so supportive. Love them. I am also published with Rogue Phoenix Press for my erotic novella Blood Scent and have a book out with them next month called World Change. They are wonderful too.
What can we expect from you in the future? ie More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?
Lots. Next month World Change comes out. It is the first in a time travel vampire trilogy. Later this year I have the first book in an urban fantasy trilogy based in San Francisco. The first book is Unknown Protector. In October the sequel to Blood Scent, called Blood Oath is out. Learn more about my Aussie vampires.
What genre would you place your books into?
I have written an epic fantasy that is still sitting on my computer. I have written an erotic novella and paranormal romance I am trying my hand a hen lit and rom com at the moment too.
Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?
Yes I do. Is that tragic? I am just overawed that people have taken the time to read my work.
Do you choose a title first, or write the book then choose the title?
Sometimes the titles come to me. Blood Scent related to vampire hunters and the smell of blood. Hidden Mortality was about the fact that immortals could be made mortal
How do you come up with characters names and place names in your books?
In the case of Hidden Mortality, Cara was chosen because it means friend. Seth was chosen because he is the appointed one. Vincent is darkness and you will see why when you read Hidden Mortality. In other books I have written the names that came to me and felt right. I have a 1920’s murder mystery I am writing and was about to go to sleep and asked what her name was. It’s Annabel Larch. The name came as if I had been stupid to not realize it. Freaky .
Do you decide on character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?
I am a plotter. I do character outlines. I also like to interview my characters. I have been surprised what some of them have said.
Which format of book do you prefer, eBook, hardback, or paperback?
I love eBooks for when I am travelling. I have been on airplanes in the past with a bag loaded with books. It is so much easier now. At home I like to curl up with a book. Not too fussed about hardbacks.
What is your favorite book and Why? Have you read it more than once?
Pride and Prejudice. I know it’s corny but love Jane Austin. Her books are love stories and statements about the society she lived in and women’s positions. In many ways I think our modern books try to do the same thing.
Your favorite color is?
That’s easy yellow. Don’t know why but it always has been. Does that say something weird about me?
Your favorite Author is?
Sarah Dunant. I love The Birth of Venus. I read a sex scene in her book and just sat back and thought how did you do that? She has so much history in there. The first chapter traps you and you are hooked.
If you would like to find out more about this amazing author and her book check out the book blast below.
Book Blast & Giveaway: Hidden Mortality by @MundyMaggie
Hidden Mortality
Maggie Mundy
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Soulmate Publishing
Date of Publication: 6th February 18, 2014
ISBN:-13:978-1-61935-329-9
ASIN: B00I911NI0
Number of pages:281
Word Count: 85,000
Cover Artist: Fiona Jayde
Purchase at Amazon
Book Description:
A witch is murdered in 1850 in a ritual that will grant longevity to four men. What they are not aware of is that she has bestowed the same power to another called Seth to avenge her death.
Cara lives in present day Bristol, and is a descendant of the witch. Having been unlucky in love she fills her days with food with her Irish themed catering business. Her nights are another matter; they are full of erotic dreams of a mysterious lover, or nightmares with mutilated bodies. So this wasn’t the best time for her Nana to tell her she is coming into her power.
Cara kept searching but couldn’t find the book she wanted. The assistant at the empty counter smiled politely as she approached.
“I’m looking for a book called Immortality and Witchcraft, Fact or Fiction,” Cara said.
The woman typed the title into her computer. As Cara waited, someone walked up to the other counter beside her. She turned to look. Her world stopped as she met the slate grey gaze of the man staring straight at her. This wasn’t possible. He couldn’t exist. He was just a dream lover. Yet there he was, standing next to her as big as life.
She tried to smile, but it probably came out as more of a grin. He didn’t smile back. Her legs turned to jelly. If she didn’t breathe, she would pass out. She reached out and gripped the counter. One of them had to look away but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Someone was talking to her and the moment was broken.
“Excuse me.”
“Sorry.” Cara replied, as she forced herself to look at the salesperson. She was afraid if she glanced back, he would be gone. Her imagination must be playing tricks on her.
“It looks like we should have one copy left,” the woman said.
“I think I’m just about to sell it,” the other shop assistant said coming up to the register. “We could order it in for you. It might take a couple of weeks.”
“Please, take my copy.” The man at the other counter held out the book. His voice was deep, exactly as it was in her dreams. She was caught again in his gaze. The world disappeared and for a moment they were the only two people alive locked in the gaze they shared. Her hand went to her chest. She could feel her heart racing at the thought of him being near.
“Thank you, but no I couldn’t. You had the book first.”
“Please, take it. I have plenty of time to wait for another copy to come in.”
She found it hard to say no. Perhaps, it was the fact he was about six three and wore grey bike leathers. They added to the effect of making him look powerful. The shaved head and the stubble on his face gave a menacing look, but she wasn’t afraid of him. This wasn’t right. Her life was wild enough without dream lovers becoming real.
Plus, she wouldn’t want her other dreams to become real as well. She needed to say something, or he would think she was an idiot standing there with her mouth gaping. He held the book out to her. As she took it, her hand touched his. It was such a tiny touch and yet it meant he was real. She felt the heat rising up her neck as she blushed. She also sensed another heat inside her. It was the same way he had made her feel in her dreams.
“Thanks.” Cara paid for her book and listened as he confirmed his contact details. Seth Scanlon. She had a name. She wasn’t really stalking. Taking another book off a shelf, she flipped through the pages. He glanced her way before he left and caught her gaze once more.
She couldn’t fool herself. The look he gave her was so intense she felt he was seeing inside her soul. Her breath caught. She shivered although the shop was warm. For a split second, she considered following him and saying he must remember all the times they had made love.
She could just imagine the expression he would give her. He didn’t know her. She was a stranger. The shop became suffocating as she pulled at the collar of her jumper. She needed to be outside. There was no sign of him on the street. For a moment, she wanted to cry. At this rate, she would give the silly schoolgirls in the shop a run for their money.
Maggie Mundy lives in Adelaide, Australia and is a member of Romance Writers of Australia, and the local chapter SARA (South Australian Romance Authors). She recently completed a Bachelor of Arts in Drama and English at Flinders University. She had a short story published in the RWA Topaz Anthology Little Gems in 2010 called Sea and Vines. Over the past year she has had stories on line with Alfie dog in the UK and Antipodean SF in Australia. She has also performed for many years in corporate entertainment for which she wrote her own sketches, which probably explains why her head is so full of characters. She loves writing romance but thinks falling in love can be scary, especially in her stories where creatures of the night really exist.
https://twitter.com/MundyMaggie
https://www.facebook.com/MaggieMundyAuthor
http://www.pinterest.com/maggiemundy/
April 3, 2014
Series Blast & Giveaway: Spiritual Discord Series by @authorbnacole
Broken Faith
Spiritual Discord
Book 1
Brandy Nacole
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal/Paranormal Romance
Date of Publication: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 9781300931980
ASIN: B00C4V55LM
Number of pages: 242
Word Count: 85,000
Cover Artist: CCRBookCoverDesign.com
Book Description:
“This was it. The moment Heaven and Hell would clash. But which unearthly being would win, the fallen angel or Hell’s hounds?
Overtaken by fear, I close my eyes.”
Kayson is a Fallen Angel who has spent decades running from the Hell Hounds while searching for something that no one else believes can be so, not even God. Kayson is determined to find a Blood Child. But when a hound finds Kayson first, he is sure his end has come.
Falon, Alpha of the Hell Hounds, destroyer of the blood children, and devoted believer in his master’s plan, is bound and determined to drag Kayson back to Hell with him.
Sabrina is a Vampire, a half-breed created from one of Lucifer’s original blood children. After years of hiding, Sabrina’s fate changes when she finds Kayson barely alive. Against her instincts, Sabrina saves him. Now she and Kayson are both marked by the Hell Hounds.
Emma is an ordinary human, whose only problem is making ends meet, and getting over the hurt caused by her untrustworthy brother. Her everyday problems become supernatural ones when she finds Kayson and Sabrina hiding in her parent’s backyard shed.
Kayson, Sabrina and Emma are unlikely allies, thrown together by chance to fight against the most powerful creatures of the underworld in order to follow their world-changing quest. But will the broken faith of one break the faith of all?
Raging Storm
Spiritual Discord
Book 2
Brandy Nacole
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal/Paranormal Romance
Date of Publication: March 21, 2014
Word Count: 81,000
Cover Artist: CCRBookCoverDesigns.com
Book Description:
After Kayson fell from heaven, his life got complicated. His greatest enemies, the hell hounds, thrived on Earth and hunted not only the fallen but the blood children created by their Master. After being chased and confronted by one of those very creatures, Kayson’s life becomes even more complicated. He never expected to be rescued by a vampire named Sabrina. He also never expected to become her protector after she falls prey to a hell hound’s deadly bite.
Falon, head of the hell hounds, has been desperately trying to hunt down Kayson and Sabrina but with the rain steadily falling—due to interference by the lower-realm Angels, also known as the assemblies—Falon grows irritated. His only option is to threaten those that may know where the fallen can be found.
With the threat of the hounds finding Kayson and the other fallen, Kayson is running out of time. Stille, once a respected Warrior in the assemblies, is pushing Kayson to leave an unconscious Sabrina behind. After all Sabrina has done for him, Kayson refuses to abandon her. But will his decision leave his friends vulnerable to attack?
Sabrina is conscious enough to sense the struggles that Kayson is facing. If he knew the torture she’s been going through, she knows he would suffer even more. Sabrina silently fights the darkness that is seeping into her dreams, while struggling to stay strong for Kayson. But when the pain becomes too much, Sabrina has to make a choice that may cost not only her life, but the lives of others as well.
Brandy Nacole resides in Arkansas where her imagination runs wild. Her obsession is reading but her passion is writing. She put her dream of becoming a writer on the back burner and went to college to become a psychologist. Three years after endless classes in a field she only felt half satisfied with, Brandy picked up her pen once again and wrote the outline to Uniquely Unwelcome. She finished out her degree in psychology, but traded her dream of writing for the degree and put psychology on the back burner. Whenever she's not reading or writing, Brandy is spending time with her family and friends, throwing around crazy ideas, teaching , and singing like a rock star at a concert for no one else but herself. She loves plants, but unfortunately is a killer of anything that requires water but can't voice (scream) their needs.
She is the author of The Shadow World Series and The Spiritual Discord Series.
www.facebook.com/authorbrandynacole
Book Blast & Giveaway: Basic Needs by @LJ_Anderson_
Event Organized by ❤MaE Book Tours❤
Synopsis
In his 17 years of teaching, Dr. Cameron has never had an inappropriate relationship with a student. He’s also never had a student that needed him as badly as Kaitlin does.
After accidentally turning in an erotic diary entry instead of her assigned essay, Kaitlin’s secret desires for Dr. Cameron are revealed.
Her words unleash his dominant nature, making him realize the need he’s kept hidden since the first time Kaitlin set foot in his classroom.
Armed with the knowledge of his naughty student’s elicit thoughts, Dr. Cameron makes a power play for Kaitlin, giving her no choice but to become teacher’s pet.
Genre Erotica
Publication Date February 8th 2014
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About the Author
L.J. Anderson is an American author, and child of the eighties living in Alabama with her supportive husband. She is an avid reader of Erotica, Romance, and Dystopian fiction, and enjoys dabbling in graphic design and photography when she isn’t peddling smut.
Writing was never something she imagined herself doing when she graduated high school in 2002 with the aspirations to become a world class chef. Though L.J. never made it to culinary school, she pushed forward, working various jobs while using her free time to indulge in more creative exploits. She still enjoys cooking, but writing has become her true passion.
Her recent releases include Sweet Temptations Series, Tied to You, and her most recent is Their Little Girl—a Taboo M/F/M Menage.
Connect with L.J. Anderson!
