Christina Mercer's Blog, page 4
November 13, 2013
Evanescent by Carlyle Labuschagne
Indie books of 2013
Celebrating with some amazing prizes
A pair of shoes!
Ebooks
Swag and more!
Join the event for bonus prizes!
Enter the rafflecopter giveaway below for the grand prize!
“Carlyle’s upped the ante, the action, the suspense, the love – which against all odds is binding, and the overall intensity. Words and passages are written with such feeling, its beyond gripping. Evanescent was all I expected, and more. I’m not only [still] a believer, she’s surpassed my expectations.”
Sandra from SSBookFanatics
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A Broken Novel Two
RELEASES 16 NOVEMBER
Her fall has just begun. Only his touch can save her from the shift that could destroy it all.
Within my blood runs a thing our kind calls the Shadowing Disease. It shadows over, and bends everything to its will. When the first blood- shift came, it tore through flesh and blood, threatening to bend me, break bone, shatter my mind and entrap my heart with its honeyed, seductive poison. It came with vicious intent, moving my thoughts and altering me forever. The shift has caused a rift within me. No one was safe when it entrapped me in its claws of foul lust. But I have the only antidote against the evil that becomes me – his touch alone has the power to release the spurs of sweet darkness that clung on for dear life. I knew what I had to do; the desperation pulled my mind with the deep determination of a hungry predator. By the time the revelation raised me from the dark dungeon of my bounds – it might have been too late
Follow @CarlyleL
Goodluck!
Thank you for celebrating with me
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Carlyle Labuschagne’s books on Goodreads
The Broken Destiny (Broken, #1)
reviews: 46
ratings: 115 (avg rating 4.12)
ratings: 11 (avg rating 4.64)
ratings: 1 (avg rating 5.00)
October 29, 2013
Blog Swap with author Tara Maya
BLOG SWAP DAY! Find me over at Tara Maya’s Blog October 30th
Now (drum roll) allow me to introduce . . .
The Unfinished Song (Book 1): Initiate by Tara Maya
BLURB
DEADLY INITIATION
A DETERMINED GIRL…
Dindi can’t do anything right, maybe because she spends more time dancing with pixies than doing her chores. Her clan hopes to marry her off and settle her down, but she dreams of becoming a Tavaedi, one of the powerful warrior-dancers whose secret magics are revealed only to those who pass a mysterious Test during the Initiation ceremony. The problem? No-one in Dindi’s clan has ever passed the Test. Her grandmother died trying. But Dindi has a plan.
AN EXILED WARRIOR…
Kavio is the most powerful warrior-dancer in Faearth, but when he is exiled from the tribehold for a crime he didn’t commit, he decides to shed his old life. If roving cannibals and hexers don’t kill him first, this is his chance to escape the shadow of his father’s wars and his mother’s curse. But when he rescues a young Initiate girl, he finds himself drawn into as deadly a plot as any he left behind. He must decide whether to walk away or fight for her… assuming she would even accept the help of an exile.
EXCERPT
Blue-skinned rusalki grappled Dindi under the churning surface of the river. She could feel their claws dig into her arms. Their riverweed-like hair entangled her legs when she tried to kick back to the surface. She only managed to gulp a few breaths of air before they pulled her under again.
She hadn’t appreciated how fast and deep the river was. On her second gasp for air, she saw that the current was already dragging her out of sight of the screaming girls on the bank. A whirlpool of froth and fae roiled between two large rocks in the middle of the river. The rusalka and her sisters tugged Dindi toward it. Other water fae joined the rusalki. Long snouted pookas, turtle-like kappas and hairy-armed gwyllions all swam around her, leading her to the whirlpool, where even more fae swirled in the whitewater.
“Join our circle, Dindi!” the fae voices gurgled under the water. “Dance with us forever!”
“No!” She kicked and swam and stole another gasp for air before they snagged her again. There were so many of them now, all pulling her down, all singing to the tune of the rushing river. She tried to shout, “Dispel!” but swallowed water instead. Her head hit a rock, disorienting her. She sank, this time sure she wouldn’t be coming up again.
“Dispel!” It was a man’s voice.
Strong arms encircled her and lifted her until her arms and head broke the surface. Her rescuer swam with her toward the shore. He overpowered the current, he shrugged aside the hands of the water faeries stroking his hair and arms. When he reached the shallows, he scooped Dindi into his arms and carried her the rest of the way to the grassy bank. He set her down gently.
She coughed out some water while he supported her back.
“Better?” he asked.
She nodded. He was young–only a few years older than she. The aura of confidence and competence he radiated made him seem older. Without knowing quite why, she was certain he was a Tavaedi.
“Good.” He had a gorgeous smile. A wisp of his dark bangs dangled over one eye. He brushed his dripping hair back over his head.
Dindi’s hand touched skin–he was not wearing any shirt. Both of them were sopping wet. On him, that meant trickles of water coursed over a bedrock of muscle. As for her, the thin white wrap clung transparently to her body like a wet leaf. She blushed.
“It might have been easier to swim if you had let go of that,” he teased. He touched her hand, which was closed around something. “What were you holding onto so tightly that it mattered more than drowning?”
LINKS
Tara’s blog http://taramayastales.blogspot.com/
Tara’s Twitter http://bit.ly/162sCtE
The Unfinished Song on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheUnfinishedSongEpicFantasy
Amazon http://amzn.to/15ciwYc
Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/13yM5Dr
iTunes http://bit.ly/1baddhN
Smashwords http://bit.ly/17zK8Xn
Initiate is free everywhere except on Barnes and Noble (where it’s $0.99). You can download a free .epub version via Smashwords.
October 21, 2013
Growing Younger
It’s another Tween the Weekend Wednesday! Click on the banner for a list of posts over at the Emblazoners site.
Some called me an old soul as a child. I could be as silly and playful as the next kid, but I also conveyed a grown-up-in-a-kid’s-body attitude starting at a young age. Perhaps it’s the plight of the oldest sibling or maybe because I had super young 60′s era parents that encouraged my swings into being the “serious one” so young. Whatever the reasons, I grew up like a pendulum, moving back and forth between two personas. The pendulum sort of stuck into the adult side once I hit my twenties and stayed there pretty firmly for years. College, motherhood, and day jobs all made heavy demands on me. There were of course moments when my inner child jumped out, but it wasn’t until my later thirties that the pendulum began to swing back toward the child side of me again. And that’s when I really dove into writing for tweens/teens.
I believe every children’s writer (those who write picture books all the way up to young adult novels) are deeply in touch with the child inside themselves. They have to be. How else can they draw out characters rich in age-appropriate outlooks and banter; how else can they tap into situations that a kid is going to relate to on a personal level; how else can they fully engage their readers?
My husband informed me just the other day as we strolled through a theme park full of children, “You are such a kid.” I have to agree with him. It seems the older I grow, the younger I become. I’m still a serious person on many levels (I’m also an accountant, for goodness’ sake), but I find that I’m able to let go and relax a whole lot more these days. Over the past decade, my imagination has soared in ways it hadn’t since I was young. The pendulum swung me from an old soul in a child’s body to a child’s soul in an adult body. And it suited me.
I’m always happy to meet other writers working in this same “space.” I often find myself looking deep into their eyes until I spot my own reflection riding on the back of a dragon, or chit-chatting with a friendly toad, or maybe whizzing through the school halls on the latest hover shoes. Playing with our imaginations is fun. Kids know that, and us big kids could benefit from a little time swinging into that land where we are forever youthful and our creations endless.
September 26, 2013
THE AWESOME INDIES MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR
Today I’m participating in the The Awesome Indies Magical Mystery Tour, hosted by the Awesome Indies. From the 27th to the 30th September you’ll have the chance to pick up some special offers or win some awesome prizes at all the blogs participating in the tour, including mine.
Why is it called the Magical Mystery Tour? Because it highlights the magical and mysterious qualities of some of the books listed on the Awesome Indies. Also, there’s a chapter of a mystery at each blog, and a tour for you to take to read the full story and find the key you need to enter the Giveaway for an Amazon gift card. (First prize is a $25 card, second prize is $15 and third prizes is a $10 card.)
All you have to do is start at the Awesome Indies, follow the links from blog to blog, read the story and pick up the clue to the mystery key to enter the draw when you get back to the Awesome Indies. While you’re at each blog, read about the authors book and enter their giveaway or pick up their special offer.
If you haven’t started the tour, pop over to the Awesome Indies and start now: AWESOME INDIES BLOG
If you’re on the Magical Mystery Tour already, then read on …
What is magical and/or mysterious about my book?
ARROW OF THE MIST is full of mystery and scary creatures. 15-year-old Lia must decipher and create a 13-part elixir to save her father from the poison of enchanted roots. Her quest takes her to a forbidden land where she faces trickster creatures and soul-hungry shades.
Special tour offer:
All Ebook formats are selling at only 99 cents!
And the Awesome Indies mystery story continues …
Ghost Town
Addie
by Christina Mercer
Addie did her best to keep the terror clawing at her insides from showing. It was best to play dumb and not give her aunt another massive anxiety attack. She’d get rid of that haunted comb; bury it with the others, deep in a hole where no hands could ever reach it. How this one had escaped her all these years, she didn’t understand. But the thing had to be dealt with by nightfall.
Her uncle grumbled something under his breath and eased himself into his recliner like he did every other evening. He clicked on the television and the familiar reporter announcing bad weather in some faraway place drew even her aunt from her constant worrying.
“I’m going for a short walk,” Addie said, drawing absent-minded nods from them both. She slipped outside and lit a cigarette. Three long drags relaxed her nerves enough to start walking toward the campsite.
She crossed the old bridge, glancing back several times. The hairs on her neck told her someone was watching her. It was most likely Kevin. He wouldn’t dare approach her, though. The last time he put his sleazy hands on her she pushed her pocketknife against his stomach and told him his long-dead mommy was watching from overhead.
Past the old workers’ cabins, she spotted the two tents on the bluff overlooking the railroad yard. The cozy trio were nowhere to be seen, which might make things a whole lot easier for her. She could take the comb and get rid of it without anyone being the wiser.
“Hello, hello, anyone at home?” Her greeting was met with silence.
She approached the first tent, took a quick look behind her, and then peeked inside it. The man, Rick, stared at her from lifeless eyes. Blood covered his crumpled body. A scream lodged in Addie’s throat and she started to run back toward the cabins. Then she spotted the woman, Mandy, charging out of the second tent and head straight for her.
Now click through to the NEXT BLOG for the next part of the story and another special offer or give away. Don’t forget to find what you need to work out the key to the big draw. Good luck!
September 17, 2013
FALL INTO SAVINGS WITH CLEAN INDIE READS SALE
From September 18 through 25, I’ve joined the Clean Indie Reads Group in a FALL SALE of books. No need to worry about blood, guts, and scenes that might make grandma blush – Find links to buy 25 books for 99 cents or FREE at http://bit.ly/16KkZqi
FREE BOOKS:
“A Measure of Disorder” by Alan Tucker
“Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula” by Elise Stokes
“Closed Doors, A Trilogy” by Rich Weatherly
BOOKS FOR 99 CENTS:
“Andy Smithson: Blast of the Dragon’s Fury” by L. R. W. Lee
“Arrow of the Mist” by Christina Mercer
“Autumn Magic” by Triana Willard
“Alien Invasion of the Zombie Apocalypse” by Ford Forkum
“Bible Stories for Grown-Ups” by Wilson Harp
“The Candle Star” Michelle Isenhoff
“The Forever Stone” by Gloria Repp
“Dragon Defense” by Diane Rapp
“The Havenshire Resistance” by Diane Rapp
“Her Grace in Disgrace” by Claudia Harbaugh
“Julianne” by Rebekah Lyn
“The Lobby” by Jase Rosenburg
“Love Unfeigned” by Nadine C. Keels
“Makai Queen” by Tara Fairfield
“Magian High” by Lia London
“The Movement of Crowns” by Nadine C. Keels
“The Movement of Rings” by Nadine C. Keels
“Murder Caribbean-Style” by Diane Rapp
“Murder on a Ghost Ship” by Diane Rapp
“Sacred Spring” by DiVoran Lites
“Trapped” by Gloria Repp
“Your Gift to Me” by Bonnie Latino & Bob Vale
September 15, 2013
Giveaway for Teachers & Librarians
Attention teachers and librarians! The Emblazoner’s New Catalog – filled with great middle grade and tween titles your students and patrons will love – is coming soon!
To celebrate, we’re holding a giveaway of stuff you can use: gift cards to add books to your collection and swag to hand out to your students and patrons.
Grand Prizes (2): $15 Amazon Gift cards (to add a book to your library) + SWAG Bags
Less Grand But Still Auspicious Prizes (8): SWAG Bags (bookmarks, collector’s cards, etc. to give away to your students/patrons)
Note: Signing up for the catalog is required for entry. Winners must reside in the United States or Canada. You must be a teacher or librarian to win.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
August 27, 2013
The Popular Table
Another “Tween the Weekends” is upon us. Check out all the monthly posts (4th Wed. of every month) related to Tweens over at the Emblazon site.
What do Tween and Writers of Tween fiction have in common? Well, quite a bit actually. They are both prone to daydreaming, they both experiment with different styles and lingo, and they both strive to sit at the popular table.
Ah, yes, the popular table—that shining goal so many wish to reach, but where few get to eat their lunch. It really boils down to being considered cool, right? Coolness is key. Coolness means we are accepted, “in”, extra better than most.
Wait … extra better? Uh, let’s not get hasty.
Nobody is better than anyone else. People can work hard and practice and develop skills in a way that raises them in their particular endeavor. Some may display talent in an area at a young age, which can blossom under the right care. Some “bodies” are built and developed to handle certain feats better than others. But that only makes them more adept at those particular things. And there will ALWAYS be someone with greater skill or someone better at another “thing.”
I was once told, “Don’t compare yourself to OTHERS; compare yourself to YOURSELF.”
Wise words.
If we continue to grow and improve ourselves, then we will always be the truest cool. Likability begins with us. We should give ourselves kudos for every accomplishment, every step up that mountain, every minute spent toward achieving our goals, and never look sideways at how others are progressing when measuring our own success. Being extra better should simply mean knowing more than what our past “selves” knew.
One of the biggest challenges for Tweens and Writers alike is to enjoy the process of growing and learning and overcoming self-doubt, because the process IS the mountain that will take us to new heights. And once we’ve gotten to the first, or maybe seventh plateau and we see a popular table in view … well, we might actually decide to eat lunch on a boulder or near a tree where the view of all we’ve achieved stretches before us. Maybe others enjoying a similar view will come and join us, and we can share our experiences with one another before heading off on that next leg up the mountain.
August 20, 2013
The Awesome Indies Grand Opening Party
You’re invited to the Awesome Indies Grand Opening Party—a sale of 26 top reads at just 99 cents each, plus 5 days of fun. See the new website, meet the authors, join them for games, giveaways and giggles and be in the draw to win the latest generation Kindle.
The Awesome Indies have found a way to take the risk out of buying indie. If it’s Awesome Indies Approved (AIA), a qualified publishing industry professional has determined that it’s as good as anything produced by the mainstream. Readers need no longer wonder if that book is really worth downloading. If a book is listed on the Awesome Indies, then it’s worth your time.
Click on the banner, or this link, to visit the Awesome Indies to browse the huge 99c sale and learn what you have to do to be in the draw for a Kindle Paperwhite.
Check out what will be going on each day below: (note: links will not be active until the actual “day”)
Aug 21st
First day of the event, woot-woot! Get on over there now—->> link
Aug 22nd
Who is the piano playing dog? Visit the Awesome Indies Grand Opening Party today to find out. Watch an amazing video and vote on the best explanation for who the dog is and what he’s doing.
Click here and be ready to laugh! 
Also, don’t forget to check out the 99c sale.
Aug 23rd
Do you enjoy quizzes? Then visit the Awesome Indies for a fun quiz on day three of their Grand Opening Party.
Click here to join the fun.
And while you’re there check out the 99c sale, and see what else the site has to offer.
Aug 24th
Day four of the Awesome Indies Grand Opening party is meet the author day. Pop over and find out the difference between indie and self-publishing, watch a crazy video and read the author’s stories.
Click here to get acquainted with everyone.
Of course, the 99c sale is still on, too!
Aug 25th
Win a Kindle Paperwhite at the Awesome Indies Grand Opening Party. Last day today!!
Tomorrow, the wonderful books in the Awesome Indies Grand Opening sale go back to their usual price at $2 or $3 more than their present 99c. Visit today to grab a bargain, pick up some free booty and be in the draw for a Kindle Paperwhite.
Click here to head over there now.
August 11, 2013
Honey Cake, Medieval Style
Okay, so the wonderful Indie-Visible collective I belong to has prompted its members to make -Pinable posts about FOOD. Yes, because who can resist food, right? But there’s a catch: we have to provide a recipe from one of our books or WIPS (works in progress). So, in light of the fact that all three of my books (1 published, 2 works in progress) contain foods with honey (cuz I’m part honeybee) and my first two books are in a Medieval-like setting, my shared recipe is for a HONEY CAKE. And when I say “cake” think extra flat pancake sweet enough to make your whole body buzzz.
(Modern Translation in Orange)
3 Eggs; 3 Eggs
3/4 filled mug of Honey; 3/4 cup of Honey
Quarter mug of Ground Flour; ¼ cup of Flour
Beat the eggs until extra frothy. Gradually add most of the honey to let mixture thicken. Fold in flour and pour mixture in small greased pan with edges (cake tin). Set pan in hot embers for the time it takes one candle to burn down, checking often to make sure the edges of your cake do not blacken (Heat in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, checking to make sure the edges don’t burn). Remove from heat, drizzle rest of honey on top, and cut into pieces when cooled enough to eat.
This is super sweeeeet. Nibbles are yummy, big bites a sweet-tooth’s delight, and a large helping will have you plowing a field or storming a castle with ease!
August 8, 2013
A Post About Love … An Anniversary Tribute
Love … ahhh the bliss, the red hot flame that changes in color and mood, sometimes rising high and other times burning as a steady ember. Twenty-six years ago I married my husband. It’s hard to believe he was the same age our oldest son is now. And my age still carried the word “teen” on the end of it. We’ve spent our lives together, quite literally, more years with each other than not. We met as friends, but whether it was seeing each other through youthful eyes or something far beyond this world, we had a knowing. It was as if I’d known him for a thousand years. And he told his mother before we were even together that he was going to marry me.
Three months after we were officially a couple he proposed. Two years later we were married. And two years after that, our first son was born. Our twenties were spent working, working, working, me in college, working, being wife and mother; him working days and nights, being husband and father. We struggled and fought and loved each other in that raw and passionate way young adults do.
Then another baby came, the slighter calm of our thirties took over. We had overcome huge obstacles in life, with still more to come; we strove in our own personal growth, in understanding who each of us desired to be in the world, in letting go of patterns that didn’t serve us; our first child became a teenager with new struggles to push and pull at us as parents; we tripped and fumbled, striving to do the right things, and the lessons added new dimensions to our love.
Now, deep into our forties, our children no longer children, our love stronger for all its known, we dwell in the marital years of silver, moving toward those golden years. As young as we started out, we might reach the years of diamonds. We’ve beat the odds, they say. Yes, I guess we have. I also say we’ve known each other for eons, that this life is a blink in our time together, and yet every moment is a special treasure.
