Katie Hamstead's Blog, page 57

Cover Reveal: Descent by L.A. Starkey (Soul Keeper Series #3)

Descent by L.A. Starkey (Soul Keeper Series #3) Publication date: January 2015Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Synopsis:
From the final book in the Soul Keeper Series…

The path of truth lies hidden deep,
To find the light the climb is steep.
But in despair resolve is sound,
What once was lost will now be found.

All is lost and the prophecy seems null and void. Samantha is dead to the living world, and Marcus and Nicolas completely destroyed, but things aren’t always as they seem. To save the one they love, the boys will have to traverse the Descent, a darkness that all will enter and few will ever leave. The interference of gods and goddesses on the chessboard of blood has left the door open for a new player to enter the scene, and she holds the most powerful gift of all—sacrificial love.

Will the exit clause be invoked, dissolving of the chain that binds the trio together?

Will the Descent be the final setting for their love story or will they rise again?

As the curtain draws closed on this tale of old, who will rise and who will fall?

And what if their choice is no choice at all?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23783372-descent
Purchase book 1: http://www.amazon.com/Deceived-Soul-Keeper-L-Starkey/dp/1500927872/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412000252&sr=8-1&keywords=L.A.+Starkey

AUTHOR BIO:
Laurie Starkey is the author of the upcoming Soul Keeper Series, a supernatural young adult series, and The Liarus Detective Series, a supernatural middle grade series. She lives in Houston, Texas with her husband, Jacob and three beautiful kiddos.

She is a CPA by trade, a church planter and entrepreneur at heart; however, writing and reading are passions she just can't help but indulge in. With more ideas than one person should be allowed, she is blessed to have a muse that doesn't seem to take a vacation and more energy that one might consider healthy.
Author links: http://www.lastarkey.com/https://twitter.com/LAStarkeyhttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8504368.L_A_Starkey

Cover Reveal: Devlin UnLeashed by Bethany Bazile

Devlin UnLeashed by Bethany Bazile Publication date: January 12th 2015
Synopsis:Devlin Ward was a ruthless man. A man born amongst violence with a heavily burdened mind.
He wasn’t the sort of man fairy tales were made of, but he was sinfully beautiful, and addictively seductive.
Dark and dangerous, yet utterly alluring.
I’d fooled myself once, only allowing myself to see the beauty in him despite the shadows I’d glimpsed in his eyes.
When that darkness took over, I ran.
And now he’s found me.
He’d trusted me with his love and now he wants it back. And he’s all too willing to crush my heart to make his whole again.

Juliana betrayed me.
Went against everything I believed in and pushed the monster I tried to keep hidden out into the open.
Our love was twisted—and I’d made it that way. But I wasn’t prepared to let it go.
I hunted her for years, picking up traces of her scent as she moved from city to city to escape me.
Now that I’ve found her, I’m not sure even her fiery light can brighten the blackout she left me in when she walked away.
***Mature content warning: This title is intended for Adults 18+ due to language and explicit sexual content. This is an Erotic Romance with dark undertones. ***

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23635913-devlin-unleashed?ac=1
Preorder: http://bit.ly/UnLeashed

AUTHOR BIO:Bethany Bazile reads, writes, and lives in the Northeast with her husband and two amazing kids. Her passion for writing was born from a love affair between books and music. She loves books that draw her in and won't release her until she's inhaled every word, panting with excitement. Then she realizes the sun came up, but the loss of sleep was so worth it. When she isn't reading, she's conjuring up steamy love scenes and hot romance stories to share with fellow romance lovers. She can't function without her cup of coffee and operates on a vampire-like timeframe.

Author links: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Bethany-Bazile/430302450376241http://bethanybazile.blogspot.ca/https://twitter.com/bethanybazile
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6897457.Bethany_Bazile

Cover Reveal: Isla’s Oath (Isla’s Inheritance #2) by Cassandra Page

Genre:Young adult urban fantasyPublisher:Turquoise Morning PressRelease date: 22 January 2014
Summary from Goodreads:Australia is a long way from the Old World and its fae denizens ... but not far enough.Isla is determined to understand her heritage and control her new abilities, but concealing them from those close to her proves difficult. Convincing the local fae she isn’t a threat despite her mixed blood is harder still. When the dazzling Everest arrives with a retinue of servants, Isla gets her first glimpse of why her mother’s people are hated ... and feared.But Isla isn’t the only one with something to hide. Someone she trusts is concealing a dangerous secret. She must seek the truth and stop Everest from killing to get what he wants: Isla’s oath. Goodreads page
Isla’s Inheritance – book one available nowIsla was content to let her father keep his secrets, but now she can’t stand the touch of iron and her dreams are developing a life of their own. She must discover the truth—before it’s too late.

Seventeen-year-old Isla Blackman only agrees to participate in a Halloween party séance because Dominic, an old crush, wants to. She is sure nothing will happen when they try to contact the spirit of her mother. But the séance receives a chilling reply.

SHE IS NOT DEAD

Isla doesn’t want to upset her father by prying into the family history he never discusses. When the mysterious and unearthly Jack offers to help her discover the truth, Isla must master her new abilities to protect her loved ones from enemies she never knew existed.Add on GoodreadsTurquoise Morning Press | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Australia | Barnes & Noble Author bioCassandra Page is a mother, author, editor and geek. She lives in Canberra, Australia’s bush capital, with her son and two Cairn Terriers. She has a serious coffee addiction and a tattoo of a cat — which is ironic, as she’s allergic to cats. When she’s not reading or writing, she engages in geekery, from Doctor Who to AD&D. Because who said you need to grow up?Author links
Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | Pinterest | Goodreads| Amazon

Cover Reveal: Ever Darkening by Janeal Falor

Ever Darkeningby Janeal Falor Release Date: 01/28/15
Summary from Goodreads: Perfection. Goodness. Elimination of evil. It's what seventeen-year-old Kaylyn has trained her entire life to achieve. But no one is prepared for the consequences of her actually defeating all evil people on the planet. Finally successful in her mission, Kaylyn faces an unfamiliar world, full of good people doing good things, in which she no longer has purpose.

When the skies grow dark, and a stranger from another village pleads for her help, her instincts roar to life. It turns out their perfect world isn't exactly what it seems. Kaylyn's new quest, harder than any she's been on before, will rip apart her friendships, her life, and her soul more than any evil man ever managed to.



About the AuthorJaneal Falor lives in Utah where she’s finally managed to live in the same house for more than five years without moving. In her spare time she reads books like they’re nuts covered in caramel and chocolate, cooks whatever strikes her fancy, and enjoys the outdoors. Her husband and three children try to keep up with her overactive imagination. Usually they settle for having dinner on the table, even if she’s still going on about the voices in her head.




Author Links:      

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Walking Shadow by Emma Adams Blog Tour

When you have a connection to the Darkworld, nowhere is truly safe.
Ashlyn has found a new home in Blackstone, but when a spate of grave robberies across the country spark fears that someone is practicing illegal sorcery, she comes under the radar of the Venantium, the protectors of the Barrier between her world and the Darkworld, who are suspicious of any sorcerer unaware of their origins.

The trouble is, what Ash does know might just get her killed.

Sufferers of the dangerous condition known as the vampire’s curse are being brutally killed, and the latest victim is Leo’s guardian, the ex-head of the Venantium. Ash determines to help Leo find out what’s really going on, but it isn’t long before events are spiralling out of control. The dead are rising from their graves, and the barriers around Blackstone are threatened by a demon which looks exactly like Ash herself…

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And here's more information on the first in the series, Darkness Watching  (Darkworld #1)
Amazon   Barnes and Noble  
 Eighteen-year-old Ashlyn is one interview away from her future when she first sees the demons. She thinks she's losing her mind, but the truth is far more frightening: she can see into the Darkworld, the home of spirits– and the darkness is staring back.

Desperate to escape the demons, Ash accepts a place at a university in the small town of Blackstone  - little knowing that it isn't coincidence that led her there but the pull of the Venantium, the sorcerers who maintain the barrier keeping demons from crossing from the Darkworld into our own world.

All-night parties, new friendships and a life without rules or limits are all part of the package of student life - but demons never give up, and their focus on Ash has attracted the attention of every sorcerer in the area. Ash is soon caught between her new life and a group of other students with a connection to the Darkworld, who could offer the answers she's looking for. The demons want something from her, and someone is determined to kill her before she can find out what it is.

In a world where darkness lurks beneath the surface, not everyone is what they appear to be...
 Add on Goodreads
Read Chapter One.
Reviews

“In the vein of Buffy and Supernatural, DARKNESS WATCHING found that perfect balance between the freaky and the fun.” - YA author Jen Estes

"Demons, Sorcerers, evil, and secrets. Could you ask for a better supernatural suspense set-up?...It's full of suspense, danger, evil and dark humor. The plot is original, and completely gripping. From the first page, this book had me hooked." - Rose at  Desert Rose Reviews

"A suspenseful first part to an intriguing new fantasy series." -  Sharon Stevenson , supernatural author

“The story is extremely well-written with effortless, flowing prose, and the original magic-user mythology and Darkworld creatures are very entertaining. The author took what might have been over-done premise and twisted it into something very fresh and exciting.” - Lexa Cain, author of Soul Cutter

"This is a wildly different story than any I have read about demons...I loved it!" - Kathy at Bookmarks, Spoilers, and Happily-Ever-Afters

[image error]Fear's Touch: A Darkworld Novella is also available now!
Amazon
This is a standalone novella, intended as a prequel to the Darkworld series. As it takes place one year before the events of Darkness Watching, it doesn’t contain any spoilers (although it does hint at things which will come into play later in the series).
Freakish powers and staring demon eyes aren’t part of Claudia’s plans for the future – and neither is ending up stuck at the gloomy, isolated University of Blackstone. But bad life decisions are the least of her problems, when a split-second decision to help out another magic-user puts her in the crossfire of both the shadow-beasts and the creepy organisation which hunt them down.
Claudia’s never had to worry about making the right choice before, but every decision matters when you have a Darkworld connection. Soon, she’s going to have to make a choice: turn her back on the crazy and try to live a normal life, or take the monsters down.
But in a world where everyone seems to have secrets, can she really trust her fellow magic-users – or even herself?
Goodreads



Emma spent her childhood creating imaginary worlds to compensate for a disappointingly average reality, so it was probably inevitable that she ended up writing bizarre, fantastical stories. She was born in Birmingham, UK, which she fled at the first opportunity to study English Literature at Lancaster University. In her three years at Lancaster, she hiked up mountains, skydived in Australia, and endured a traumatic episode involving a swarm of bees in the Costa Rican jungle. She also entertained her creative writing group and baffled her tutors by submitting strange fantasy tales featuring dragons and supernatural monsters to workshops. These included her first publication, a rather bleak dystopian piece, and a disturbing story about a homicidal duck (which she hopes will never see the light of day).
Now a reluctant graduate, Emma refuses to settle down and be normal. When not embarking on wild excursions, she edits and proofreads novels for various publishing houses and reads an insane number of books. At the age of 21, she signed a publishing contract with Curiosity Quills Press for the first book in her creepy urban fantasy Darkworld series. DARKNESS WATCHING was published in October 2013, the first in a five-book series. Emma’s books tend to contain monsters, magic, and wildly inappropriate humour.
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Cover Reveal: Eleven Weeks (Crazy in Love #2) by Lauren K. McKellar

Eleven Weeks (Crazy in Love #2)by Lauren K. McKellar Release Date: 01/2015
Summary from Goodreads: Seven shots
Five siblings
Two boys
One heartbeat …
***Stacey is good at pretending.
She pretends that the boy she's in love with doesn't exist.
She pretends that she's happy to live and die in this small town.
She pretends that her life is carefree while her best friend's life crumbles before her very eyes.
But Stacey's got a secret ...
And it's going to ruin everything,

Books in this series:
(cover linked to Goodreads)

Praise for The Problem With Crazy“Heartbreaking, life-affirming—one of my all-time favourites.” Glass Paper Ink Book Blog
“This story is beautiful, heartbreaking and will leave you thinking about it for days to follow.” A.K.A. The Book Harlots Review
The Problem With Heartache will be released in February, 2015, and is the conclusion to Kate’s story.
About the AuthorLauren K. McKellar is a writer and editor of fact and fiction.For more information on her editing services, click  here .For more information on her YA Contemporary (Escape Publishing, Harlequin Australia)  Finding Home , or her NA Contemporary  The Problem With Crazy , please click on the appropriate links.In her spare time, she likes long walks on the beach with her puppies and drinking delicious cocktails prepared by her bar-owning husband.
Author Links:
     

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Cover Reveal: Paper or Plastic by Vivi Barnes

Paper or Plasticby Vivi Barnes Release Date: 2015Entangled Teen
Summary from Goodreads: Welcome to SmartMart, where crime pays minimum wage...
Busted. Alexis Dubois just got caught shoplifting a cheap tube of lipstick at the local SmartMart. She doesn’t know what’s worse—disappointing her overbearing beauty-pageant-obsessed mother for the zillionth time…or her punishment. Because Lex is forced to spend her summer working at the store, where the only things stranger than the staff are the customers.
Now Lex is stuck in the bizarro world of big-box retail. Coupon cutters, jerk customers, and learning exactly what a “Code B” really is (ew). And for added awkwardness, her new supervisor is the totally cute—and adorably geeky—Noah Grayson. Trying to balance her out-of-control mother, her pitching position on the softball team, and her secret crush on the school geek makes for one crazy summer. But ultimately, could the worst job in the world be the best thing that ever happened to her?

Pre-Order Links:Amazon│B&N│Kobo
About the AuthorOriginally from East Texas (the accent comes out more often than not), I now live in the magic and sunshine of Orlando, FL with my very understanding husband and three kids. I’m an extrovert with awkward blogging tendencies. My debut novel, OLIVIA TWISTED, comes out November 5, 2013 from Entangled Teen!
You can connect with me on Facebook,Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest. Or visit the official Olivia Twisted site atwww.oliviatwisted.com.

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Burn Baby Burn Baby by Kevin Craig Blog Tour

I'd like to apologize for not having this up yesterday. I've been pretty sick, so I missed it. So hopefully posting it now will make up for it!

Date of Release­­: December 11, 2014
Cover Artist: Eugene Teplitsky
Goodreads
Description:
Seventeen-year-old Francis Fripp’s confidence is practically non-existent since his abusive father drenched him in accelerant and threw a match at him eight years ago. Now badly scarred, Francis relies on his best friend Trig to protect him from the constant bullying doled out at the hands of his nemesis, Brandon Hayley—the unrelenting boy who gave him the dreaded nickname of Burn Baby.
The new girl at school, Rachel Higgins, is the first to see past Francis’s pariah-inducing scars. If Brandon’s bullying doesn’t destroy him, Francis might experience life as a normal teenager for the first time in his life. He just has to avoid Brandon and convince himself he’s worthy of Rachel’s attentions. Sounds easy enough, but Francis himself has a hard time seeing past his scars. And Brandon is getting violently frustrated, as his attempts to bully Francis are constantly thwarted. Francis is in turmoil as he simultaneously rushes toward his first kiss and a possible violent end.

"They say..." Most writing advice begins with those two insidious words. Quite often, the advice that follows seems specifically designed to clip a writer's wings.When I began Francis Fripp’s story there were many red flags popping up for me. "They say you shouldn't put yourself in your story." "They say you should start right in on the action." "They say..." The warnings were endless with this one. What did I do? I sat. I wrote. I'm one of those writers who simply needs to tell the story. I don't like to have time to breathe. Time to breathe makes me analyze the They Says. Time to breathe stifles me and causes me to not write the story I need to write. "I can't write that...it's not allowed. They say..."I wrote Burn Baby Burn Baby in 72-hours. It was written over the course of one weekend in July of 2012 during the annual Muskoka Novel Marathon in Huntsville, Ontario. I struggled deeply that weekend. The committee of naysayers in my head, made up of all the tidbits of writing advice I had heard over the years, kept trying to stop me in my tracks. This is why I love the writing marathon atmosphere. You don't have time to stop and think, to question what's right and wrong. Your mandate is to write an entire novel in one weekend. You're on a fast paced highway with no rest stops, no exits. This process is so freeing. It calms the negative voices down and allows you to break the rules. I highly recommend it.With Francis, I think I had a good balance of both breaking the rules and following them. I did base a lot of his pain on my own life pain. But I avoided writing about my own pain. Where a lot of Francis's scars were painfully evident, in the form of horrendous burnt flesh, mine are the invisible kind. Like Francis, I dealt with bullies. I created Brandon Hayley not from my own personal high school nemesis, but from an amalgamation of many. Writers are human. We do write from our own personal experiences. It's unavoidable. It's how we deal with the content that matters. Once we allow the advice ninjas to get inside our heads and let them tell us what we can and cannot write about, we're losing.Burn Baby Burn Baby begins with Francis, who narrates his story in first person, setting everything up as a movie. " The movie of my life would probably begin with a close-up of our kitchen window. And inside the kitchen, Mom would be screaming. " I couldn’t help it. Francis made me do it. The writing gods were screaming, "You can't do that! Begin with action!" But I didn’t listen to the writing gods. My allegiance was with Francis. He was the captain of my ship. I had to trust him. He had 72 hours to tell me the whole story. I couldn’t shut him up and tell him how to tell it. Please forgive the opening of Burn Baby Burn Baby . Trust in Francis the way I did. He's a crazy movie buff who wants to be a director when he grows up. He sees everything as a movie. That's why he did what he did. He was just getting into his comfort zone as a storyteller. Give him a chance. Humor him. He was very quick to drop down into his story. Besides, you can't really blame him. In the end, it was me who threw caution to the wind and decided not to listen to those They Says. I did it my way and I hope you forgive my choices and enjoy the ride. Francis matters. I hope he matters to you.  
About The Author: Kevin Craig is the author of three previous novels; Summer on Fire, Sebastian’s Poet, and The Reasons. He is a 4-time winner of the Muskoka Novel Marathon’s Best Novel Award. Kevin is also a playwright and has had eight 10-minute plays produced. His poetry, short stories, memoir and articles have been published internationally. Kevin was a founding member of the Ontario Writers’ Conference and a long-time member of the Writers’ Community of Durham Region (WCDR). He is represented by literary agent Stacey Donaghy of Donaghy Literary Group.Find Kevin Craig Online:
Website | Facebook| Twitter | Goodreads

Dead Jed 2: Dawn of the Jed by Scott Craven Blog Tour @chapterxchapter, @Scott_Craven2 @month9books

From the moment I saw a little girl sink her teeth into her father’s dismembered arm (“Night of the Living Dead”), I was a fan of zombies. I’ve seen dozens of films that offer an interpretation of the undead. Some are humorous (my favorites are “Revenge of the Living Dead” and “Dead Alive”), some are suspenseful, and all are gruesome.
About five years ago, as “The Walking Dead” brought new life to the zombie genre (let the irony sink in), I wondered what zombies would have thought of their new-found fame. Would they be pleased, or would they shake their heads – slowly so as not to come off – and wonder why they were always pictured as unthinking killing machines?
What this world needed was a qualified spokesman for life in death, a bright and articulate person who could supply a voice for the stumbling, mumbling zombies of the world.
My next thought was, “Even the brightest, most articulate zombie would have a hard time fitting in, especially if his arm fell off while shaking hands.”
That’s when Jed began to rise. What if that zombie was in middle school, where kids had only two goals – to fit in, and make fun of those who didn’t fit in? How tough would it be to deal with your undeadness?
I sat down and wrote a terrible, awful, no good, very bad first chapter. But like Jed, that beginning would rise from the grave and become the start of Jed’s middle-school adventures. 



Title: Dead Jed 2: Dawn of the JedPublication date: December 9, 2014Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.Author: Scott Craven
The first part of seventh grade was rough on Jed, but things are looking up now that Christmas is almost here. As with past Christmases, Jed asks for the one thing he’s always wanted–a dog–and again, his parents tell him they’re not ready. But fate has a different plan when Jed sees a dog get run over by a car. Then, it happens. Jed suddenly has a pet, Tread, a zombie dog bearing his namesake–a tire tread down his back. Jed may have gained a dog, but he loses his best friend Luke, who fears the way Jed created his undead pet.
When Jed returns to school, he finds a mysterious group called the No Zombies Now Network spreading rumors of the dangers the undead pose to normal people. Forced to disprove Hollywood stereotypes, Jed has his work cut out for him as stories of a zombie dog begin to circulate. Jed could be expelled if he can’t expose the NZN Network as a fraud. Jed needs help from his kind of girlfriend Anna, especially after he discovers Luke has joined the shadowy group.
Once again navigating the treacherous waters of middle school, Jed does his best to stay in one piece. Only this time he’ll need even more duct tape and staples than usual.
Goodreads
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ABOUT SCOTT CRAVEN:
Proud graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, have one son who will turn 18 in March 2013, now a features writer for The Arizona Republic.

Connect with the Author:   Website  |  Twitter 



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Review of Watch Me Burn

From Goodreads:
David Vandergraff lost his home, his job, and contact with his oldest son, but remains determined to be a good husband and father despite being a dark winter wizard.

His resolve is tested when a flyer for a missing girl--who happens to be a summer witch--begins to haunt him. David believes a spell needs to use him to save her, so he follows the magic's command and looks into her disappearance. His teenage daughter Emmy resents him for caring so much about a random stranger. But when she uncovers some disturbing evidence close to home, she begins an investigation of her own.

David and Emmy quickly learn that the mystery is not only about a missing girl they barely know, but a deeply personal story that impacts everyone they care about. As their world crumbles, they fear the warning may be true—never mess with summer wizards, because the good guys always win. 


**Full Disclosure: I was the Acquiring Editor for this book.**

If you liked Destruction, you're going to love Watch Me Burn. The Vandergraff's are somehow holding together after all the revelations and pain from book 1. Together, they learn and discover more about their powers.
But most significantly, in WMB, we are introduced to summer wizards and the Prescotts, a summer wizard family. When the youngest daughter of the Prescott family goes missing, David feels a magical pull to find her, and soon, so do his children.
Meanwhile, Amanda has secretly been seeing their oldest son who was asked to leave after doing some down right stupid and dangerous things. Amanda is trying to remove the darkness from him, but the side affects are heart wrenching.
The kids are learning more and more about their powers, especially Patrick who finds he has surprisingly powerful abilities. He sees visions of the missing girl, among other things. Emmy goes looking for the missing girl and meets her brother, who she is unsure if she can trust or not since he is a summer wizard, but she is drawn to him anyway.
The plot twists and turns as the family find themselves drawn in, but distracted at the same time. David is desperately fighting to protect his family, while the four kids build stronger bonds and loyalty to one another that could save them.
I couldn't put this baby down! Bayliss takes the December People Series to a new level that you won't want to miss, and leaves you begging for the next installment.


And I'm giving away signed paperback of Destruction! Leave a comment below about the series with an email address, and I'll select using random.org. And I may throw in some extra swag ;-)