Mara Valderran's Blog, page 26

Book Spotlight: Come Little Children by D. Melhoff

Come Little Children
D. Melhoff 

Genre: Horror, thriller, supernatural thriller
Publisher: Bellwoods Publishing
Cover Artist: Carl Graves
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/nM0QAA607yo
Book Description:

The Nolan morgue is more than just an ordinary funeral home.

When their newest employee uncovers a supernatural conspiracy connected to a string of child murders, she must use every shred of her intelligence to stop a new breed of serial killer and escape the morgue alive.


About the Author: D. Melhoff was born in a prairie ghost town located an inch above the Canadian-American border. He credits King, Poe, Hitchcock, Harris, Raimi, and his second grade school teacher, Mrs. Lake, for turning him to horror.

www.dmelhoff.com
www.facebook.com/dmelhoffTwitter: @dmelhoff

New Adult Author Spotlight & Giveaway: Lisa Swallow

Ava didn't expect to find terrible secrets about the fate of the souls she takes.
Or fall in love...

Soul-hunter Ava has retrieved hundreds of souls from demons, but has never been assigned the dangerous mission for a Nephilim soul. She must hunt down Keir since she needs his Nephilim soul to trade for her freedom.

When she arrives on campus and meets Keir, she also meets a strange girl, Dahlia, who has an inexplicable hold on him. Unexpectedly Ava discovers Keir holds secrets that are more valuable than his Nephilim soul - secrets she could trade for the life she wants.

When she uncovers the true fate of the souls she takes back to her superiors, Ava's world is turned upside down. She finds herself in the middle of a war where the lines between good and evil are blurred and she only has two choices...
Betray Keir and live or join his battle and risk going to hell.
AUTHOR BIO: Lisa was born in the UK and moved around Europe with her military family as a child before moving to Yorkshire and studying English at Leeds University. She lived for a few years in the UK, working as an advertising copywriter, before emigrating to Australia in 2001. She finds the scenery in Perth a lot less suited to writing paranormal fiction than the moors around Yorkshire but the endless days of sunshine make up for this. She lives in Perth in Western Australia with her husband, children and dog. Lisa is currently working on a series of NA paranormal romance novels, the first book, Soul Ties, is available now. A NA contemporary romance, Because of Lucy, is due for publication in September.
To enter the giveaway, go to each blog and enter the corresponding blog code into the Rafflecopter.
This is Blog #5 and the code is LISAMARA

Blog #1: www.dawnpendleton.com Blog #2: www.StephanieLawton.com
Blog #3: www.chasingemptypavements.com
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Blog #5: http://maravalderran.blogspot.com
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Blog #16: www.lisasanchezromanceauthor.com
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Feature Friday & Giveaway: War of the Wildlands by Lana Axe

War of the WildlandsTales from Nōl’DeronLana Axe

Genre: Epic Fantasy
Publisher: AxeLord Publications
Date of Publication: November 2013Cover Artist: Michael Gauss

Amazon  Barnes & Noble  Kobo  Smashwords

Book Description:

Unrelenting war between humans and elves threatens to destroy the forest forever.

A tyrant king has declared war on the elves and will stop at nothing to see them annihilated. Despite fighting savagely to defend their homes, the elves are outmatched by vicious attacks from highly skilled battle mages. The elven clans must join forces to have any chance of survival against the ruthless king’s army.

Meanwhile, a young half-elf is forced from the human world he has always known and travels into the Wildlands to seek out his elven kin. Along the way, he learns to draw on the magic within himself to craft weapons of tremendous power. When war arrives on his doorstep, he must choose whether to stand with the family he has always known or the elves who share his blood.





About the Author:

Lana Axe lives in Missouri near the edge of the woods. She is inspired by her love of nature to write about elves, magic, and adventure. Growing up in Mark Twain's backyard inspired her love of fiction from an early age. She grew up an avid reader and went on to study literature in college.

After eight years of jotting notes and building a fantasy world, she has finally begun releasing novels in her Tales from Nōl'Deron series. They will feature many of the same characters, but each novel will stand alone.

Website: http://lana-axe.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LanaAxe
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LanaAxe
Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/117096416413847091417/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7102583.Lana_Axe


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Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Broken Pieces by Dawn Pendleton

Today we share a cover reveal for author Dawn Pendleton's third and final book in her BROKEN series, Broken Pieces.

Also, the second book in the series, Broken Dreams has a new look! Check it out below! Make sure to leave a comment with your thoughts on the new covers.

It’s been a rough year for Gabby Peterman. Her best friend’s dad died six months ago, her other best friend has leukemia and isn’t doing well, and her marriage? After three years, it’s more of a joke than a relationships. Despite all the odds, she’s managed to stay strong for the people around her, supporting them through all their trials. But when death strikes again and one of her closest friends disappears, Gabby loses it.

On the verge of a mental breakdown himself, Wolfe Landon will do anything to win Gabby over. But first, he’s going to prove to her just how much he cares and loves her, because losing her will rip out his heart and soul.

Release Date: December 24, 2013







Broken Dreams has a NEW cover!

Rainey Daniels has been keeping a secret since she left her hometown, three years ago. The death of a friend’s father, though, has her questioning whether or not running away from her past is what’s best for her future. Add sexy Chris Baker in the mix and she’s even more unsure. After all, life is short.

Baker is an all-around good guy with a great sense of humor struggling to keep his new bar afloat. And he always thought Rainey was hot, even when she carried a few extra pounds in high school. Hell, he thinks she’s too skinny now. He knows she’s hiding something, too, but when he pushes the issue, she pushes him away. He tries not to care; she only wants a summer fling, right? But when her life is threatened, he realizes he may just be in love with her… and then he learns her secret.

Can they find love together before it’s too late?

Currently on sale for $.99!Amazon † Barnes & Noble







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Feature Friday: Bewitching Book Tours Hot Holiday Giveaway

Normally I only post books for feature Friday, but this giveaway is a worthy exception to the rule! Bewitching Book Tours is having a massive giveaway this holiday season (from November 15 to December 15), with prizes that you do not want to miss. Prizes that include a Kindle Fire HD!


To score some of these awesome prizes, check out the Rafflecopter code below. Here's the complete prize list:

1 Kindle Fire HD 8.9 inch or equivalent value Amazon Gift Card3 Bewitching Prize Packs full of books and book swag goodies- open to US Shipping- prize packs may contain print copies of The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle, Would Be Witch by Kimberly Frost and Earth Angel by E Van Lowe, Paranormal Pleasures by Roxanne Rhoads, Tasty Christmas Treats by Roxanne Rhoads- books will be distributed among the 3 prize packs1  e-book set of the first three books in the Seven Seals Series by Traci Douglass1 Release, book 3 of The Angler series by Annie Nicholas1 ebook copy Murder on Mars A New Orleans Mystery by MM Shelley1 Ebook giveaway Hollow’s End by Marianne Morea1 Ebook copy of Tigress by JE Taylor1 ebook copy of In Flames by Jessica Jayne1 copy of River Road by Suzanne Johnson1 ebook copy of Visionary- Unleashed by N Dunham1 copy of each Bleeding Hearts and Blood Rush by Ash Krafton1 ebook copy of Soul Meaning (Seventeen Book 1) by AD Starrling1 ebook copy of Blaze Ignites by JL Madore1  e-book copy of Operation Earth by Maria Hammarblad1 Earth’s Requiem. Print if in the U.S., an e-copy otherwise.1 ebook copy Silent Oath (Book 2 of the Locked Within Trilogy) by Paul Anthony Shortt1 Ebook: Five Golden Rings by Jeffe Kennedy from the Season of Seduction Carina Press erotic holiday anthology1 eBook: An Unexpected Bride (The Bride Series, Book 1) by Shadonna Richards1 eCopy of Divine Destiny by Joanna Grace1 Ministry Protocol: Thrilling Tales of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences1 Ebook giveaway. "Beautiful Stranger" by Katalina Leon1 ebook copy of Chasing the Star Garden by Melanie Karsak1 ebook copy of Cleaning Up by Jophrael L Avario1 One e-book copy of Haven by Celia Breslin1 one e-book copy of Dragon Fire by Dina Von Lowenkraft1 ebook copy of Hex and the Single Witch by Roxanne Rhoads1 one kindle copy of Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective by Christine Amsden1 One ecopy of Cursed Ever After by AC James1 copy of The Miss Education of Dr. Exeter by Jillian Stone1 ecopy of Catwalk:Messiah by Nick Kelly1 ecopy of Wucaii by Pembroke Sinclair1 ecopy of The Bottom Line by Shelley Munro1 Ebook copy of Dangerous Pursuit by Margaret Daly a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt: Chapter One from The Keeper: Revenge by O.L. Ramos

About the Book:

The Keeper: RevengeThe Keeper Series Book 2O.L. Ramos
Genre: Paranormal RomanceCover Artist: Dane Low
Amazon   
Book Description:
If the world you lived in was someday revealed to be nothing but a lie, would you really want the truth? Elizabeth McBeth did, and she's paid the price for it...
After almost 10 years since Liz's mother was taken from her, Liz finally found her mother, Mary. But Mary has been forever changed, something that Liz will have to accept. The beginning of happier times, one would think...
The conspiracy has been exposed; Liz, Vincent, Mary and Michael had all thought that the vampire plot had been destroyed. They should have never underestimated Klein.
Klein has reinforced his armies, splitting the entire vampire species with the question... is Klein the vampiric messiah? Unfortunately for the heroes and the world itself, Klein has set in motion a plan that will destroy the world and recreate it in his own image.
Will the group be able to defeat Klein and restore the balance to nature? Or are they already doomed?









About the Author:
From what I understand, the first line of this thing is where I say something really interesting that wins you over. After all, they say that you know within seconds of meeting a person whether you like them or not.
So...yeah... I got nothing. But if there is one thing I know, it's that through stories we discover the world, learn about history and traditions; and in doing that, we become who we are as an individual.
Since I was a very young child, my only dream was to become an author one day. I wanted to reach people with my words, maybe even entertain them. I wanted to touch their lives and give them something to think about. After all, I am a loveable blowhard kinda guy... that's gotta be entertaining, right?    In my life, I've done many things; from supervising sales for a retail giant chain to being a Deputy Sheriff. You would think that a person who had been shot at for a living would be brave enough to write a biography without all the sarcastic quips. Unfortunately no, that's one of my main flaws as the above mentioned blowhard.
Anyhoo, please feel free to drop me a line! If you loved the book, I wanna hear about it. If you hated every word of it, please make sure to let me know, but please avoid the CAPS LOCK! The font can be a little... demeaning. Make sure to have fun guys! They say you only live twice; and if that's true, we're at least half done.
FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Keeper-Series-by-OL-Ramos/186250681525531Twitter: https://twitter.com/kpftwinGoodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18373829-the-keeper
Excerpt:
Chapter 1It had been several months since the uproar at the Coronam estate. Klein had been deemed an enemy of the state for the entire vampire nation, the ones that wanted to stay on Vincent’s good side, anyway. In all honesty, the entire time since then had been both frantic and surreal. Vincent’s declaration before the Coronam asserting that he was Cain’s enforcer had caused a massive schism in the entire vampire race.The bloodsuckers had always been a chaotic, selfish bunch. But at least with a strong government like the Coronam reining them in, they were fearful of getting tortured … or worse. The idea that mass executions could be a consequence had never entered their minds, however. Yet now, that’s all anyone could think about. The united stand made by Vincent and Michael had finally broken the camel’s back. Some of the more fearful vampires, the ones prone to paranoia, believed it was an example of what Klein had been warning about for over a thousand years. They believed Klein to be the true messiah of Cain, and Vincent to be a mere false prophet sent to lead them astray. This group of vampires announced themselves as the Hand, a creepy mishmash of politics and skewed religion. They droned on and on about how Klein was the voice of Cain, and they were the ones who would take action on Cain’s behalf. It was all pretty shady, and there wasn’t a thing that we could do about it. Unfortunately, the entire world behind the veil was becoming increasingly unstable. Vincent was forced to allow Algarus to accept the Hand’s request for freedom of religion, even though everyone suspected the whole thing was just a front for a terrorist organization. But nothing could be proven.Even the werewolves had ostracized Michael. Although he was never truly accepted because of his close association with Vincent, Michael could at least always request help in the past. Now, he was cut off from almost all of werewolf society. Almost all of them resented Michael openly, dismissing his claims that a werewolf was to blame for Klein’s success. They saw his actions as the beginning for a total civil war amongst all supers. When dozens of supers were caught acting as willing slaves for openly rebellious vampires, Michael realized that there might be truth to the charges imposed against him. This caused him no shortage of pain. I often found myself staring outside my window wondering how things had worsened so quickly. But then again, I wasn’t the same person I’d been before all this started. I was now hardened by the experiences I’d been made to endure, decisions I’d had to make. Things I truly hoped to repress.In the past months, I had witnessed Mom, I mean, Mary, go through a very thorough and intensive training regimen. The guys had run through everything from battle concepts and strategies to weaknesses of almost every super in existence. I have to say it that way because that was another key point that Michael always stressed to Mary: to be ready for anything and everything. That it was impossible to know of every super in the world. It was crazy, considering Michael had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of thousands of different kinds of supers. But after dealing with the Hela poison, I could definitely see why he was being so cautious. I guess that brings me to Bobby. Poor Bobby. His entire clan was ousted from the slayer community, even the children who had never known combat. This caused many fights to break out … even one Anvil clan member’s death. The majority of Bobby’s clan blamed him for siding with a vampire and a werewolf. I don’t know the specifics of what happened, but I’m positive that the slayers were just trying to evade the wrath of Klein’s Hand and the Coronam, too. It was generally agreed that the Hela poison was a threat to the entire world, both supernatural or otherwise. Still though, an example had to be made. And so Bobby took his entire clan and relocated all 188 of them to the only place they could safely go. About thirty or so miles from Angel’s Retreat.And I guess that’s why I’m keeping this diary. It’s cliché as all get out, but for all my big talk … I’m terrified. Everything has changed. And I’m not even sure it’s for the better either. The reality is—“Hey Vincent,” I say with a bit of a sigh. “How’s it going?”“Same old, same old,” he answers as he walks into the room and heads straight to the balcony. He opens it up and sits on the guardrail. “How about you, Goldilocks? You seem to be brooding on a Michael-esque scale lately. The hell’s wrong with you anyway?”    “What do you think is wrong with me?” I reply angrily, the sharp tone in my voice echoing throughout my room. I give it a chance to linger before I continue. “You know … it’s just that I really thought we won. Seriously. You guys kicked some major bad guy ass. I thought that would be that. My mother could come home and be back with Dad, I could have some semblance of an ordinary life, I don’t know.”“Why be ordinary, though?” he asks with a brief turn to me before he returns to browsing the outside scenery. “You were special before, you were special during. You’re special now. Why all the teenage angst? So everything didn’t end up roses … it sucks. We’re working on it, though. Besides, is this the way you treat me after not seeing me for two days? That’s hurtful.”    He pretends to get stabbed in the back, does a horrible silent death scene and then throws himself off the balcony. I merely shake my head.“Wow, tough crowd,” Vincent says as he floats up and hovers in the air a little above my balcony. Such a strange sight, but I’m completely desensitized to it. “You really are on a bummer aren’t you? What really gives?”“Oh, I don’t even know …” I admit reluctantly with a deep sigh. “I decided to keep this stupid diary. I thought it would make me feel better if I could just write out my thoughts. Maybe keep them here, and the negativity would only be here. In secret. Then I could go and live my life as if nothing ever happened. But it didn’t work out like that at all. I wrote everything down and it just upset me more. What good have we done? Everything is just so much worse now. And this stupid diary is just a reminder of how much we’ve failed.”“If it’s so bad, why not just throw it out?” He asks, as if the issue was a simple one. “Besides, you know that things have to get worse before they can truly get better.”“If it exists, someone can find it,” I explain, already defeated. I know there is little sense in what I am saying. But it’s the way I feel. “Maybe someone can know the truth about what we really tried to do. If the world ends, I mean.”“What?” Vincent straggles his question with a chuckle. He stops his silly flying and lands on the balcony. “Seriously, what happened in the two days I was gone? This is the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever said to me. And lady, you’ve had your fill.”I shake my head slowly. I know he’s right. But what a person thinks and feels aren’t always on the same page. I know I’m not helping things. But I can’t just press a switch and change the way I feel.“While you were gone, Bobby had to make an example again,” I explain as I inhale deeply, hoping to forget about the trauma. “Three slayers came in and tried to kidnap me, or kill me. I don’t know what they were going to do. Before they even had a chance to touch me, Michael was on top of all three of them and was carrying them out like a bunch of … I don’t know, rabbits or something.”He looks at me in disbelief. He’s clearly angry, but my strangely odd word choice has him a little off balance.“Michael manhandled them, Vincent,” I say, irritated. “It just looked weird. They were kicking and screaming and they just never stood a chance.”“And how are you?” Vincent asks as he walks around the room examining it. “The place seems to be all right, so I guess Mikey didn’t wreck the place too badly. By your kinda crazy word choice I’m guessing he didn’t hurt them at all, huh? Knowing him, he probably just dragged them back to Bobby by the nape of their necks. Oh, I get it now; rabbits. Heh, pretty good.”“Yeah, it was still mildly terrifying, though,” I answer as I start to feel myself chuckle as well. The image in my head about the incident is pretty funny, if you can get past the three guys trying to hurt me part. “I’m sure it was,” Vincent says as he switches his attention and walks towards me slowly with a warm smile on his face. “But you do know that between Mary, Michael and I, there’s really no chance anyone can harm you, right? I mean come on sweetheart, you’re stacked.”    I laugh a little more before shrugging my shoulders.“So what kind of example did Bobby make?”“He killed the one who made the plan. Skyles was his name,” I report, once again feeling the burden of the tragedy. “Did you know him? He expelled the other two.”“Skyles … never heard of him. Did they at least find out why or what they were trying to do?”“More or less,” I say as I look down at the ground and inhale deeply again. “They were trying to take me to the slayer leadership and barter for their family to live within their community again. Bobby came by and apologized … he explained that no matter what, what happened had to happen. He said that almost all of the slayer leaders know it had to be done. This was just—”“Damage control,” Vincent says, finishing my sentence. “Yeah, politics will kill you every time. I knew that something must have rained on your parade, though. Want to go downstairs and get a drink?”I chuckle. I don’t know if Vincent remembers it, but he drank the entire house dry before he left.“How are we going to do that, smart guy?” I ask playfully. It was good to see him. Every time anyone leaves the house, I feel vulnerable and lonely … and it was only getting worse. “You drank everything in the house before you left on your little excursion.”“A, it was not an excursion,” Vincent says with a mischievous smile. “It was a fact-finding mission. Unfortunately, not much of said facts were to be found. I’m kinda in a mood myself, now that I think of it. I did find out that some of the smaller islands of the Dodecanese was hosting a Klein party … the jerk. He’s even got Greek critters siding with him.”“But why would he be doing that?” I ask, puzzled.“Not done yet,” Vincent says as he raises a finger to hush me. “And B, you should know better than to think I wouldn’t be prepared. I stocked everything back up and even ordered an underground cellar to be constructed to house our reserves.”It takes me a moment to understand what he means.“You’re talking about the booze?!” I say in shock. “Why wouldn’t you just gloss over that and continue talking about what you found in Greece?”“Far be it for me to allow my reputation to be sullied,” Vincent answers sarcastically before stifling a laugh. “Besides, Greece has been there forever; it’s not going anywhere. Booze has to be maintained and regulated around here. It’s like an endangered species. And besides again, it’s a part of Greece, but if you want to be technical it’s really a series of islands off the coast of Greece. So I didn’t find it in Greece, I found it near Greece.”I grunt in frustration before slapping him. I examine him to see his reaction but he just turns his gaze up to me and smiles.    “Feeling better, are you?” He asks knowingly. How I hate him and his sneakiness. “That’s more like it. To thy own self be true. Silly, down on her luck Izzy. That isn’t Izzy at all. Wow, say that five times fast. Anyhoo, stop being such a hard luck case and focus on the task ahead.”I continue analyzing his smile before I sit down again. He’s right. I shake my head because I know that telling him that he’s right is about as painful as a root canal. But not telling him he’s right becomes much, much worse.“I know,” I say as I admit my lack of options. “You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s been hard. This last month we haven’t sat down as a family, or whatever you want to call our group. Not even one Sunday dinner. We’re not running this like a home. We’re running this like a prison.”“Well, this is the first I’ve heard of it,” Vincent says as he straightens out his dress shirt. “But have you told the furry boy scout anything about how you feel?”“No, I haven’t,” I answer with yet another sigh. I suppose it’s not fair to be bothered if I haven’t even given the guys a chance to fix things. But I just felt restricted.  I shrug those feelings off before continuing. “I know you both have your reasons to do what you do. Klein needs to be found. The supers are all scared and getting desperate. Everyone is afraid that the humans will find out the truth of the world because the vampires all seem to be getting ready for a civil war. Mary needs to be in fighting shape, my father needs to be watched and guarded, and I need to be protected.”“All while keeping the balance,” Vincent points out in a matter-of-fact tone. “As you can see, it’s more than a day’s work. You gotta have more faith. This guy had a ton of failsafe tools, people, and secrets to work on. It’s a thousand years of this guy thinking that I was coming to kill him and take his seat of power in the Coronam. He was ready before we ever even thought about going. As much as I hate to say it, the guy’s smart. He was prepared.”Vincent leans back and stretches his arms; he lets out a yawn. It’s the worst fake yawn in the history of fake yawns. I suppose when you haven’t slept or felt exhaustion in 1600 years, you forget these things.“Man, this is boring,” he finally says as he snaps to attention. “I feel like I should be asleep. I guess it’s been too damn long … Anyhoo, where was I? Oh yeah, the Dodecanese. Thing about Greece is that it’s relatively close to Romania and it holds a very important position in Europe. It’s a brilliant strategic choice. If Klein wants to hit the Coronam, he can, rather easily. On top of that, there are so many islands out there, not many are gonna find him. I found him because I figure he has vastly underestimated my information network.” Vincent smiles proudly before poking me softly in my right upper arm.“Come on,” he suggests with a nod of his head. “Let’s have a drink, you could use one. I’ll tell you all about it. We also have to talk about what we’re going to do to liven this personality of yours permanently. I can’t have you slapping me every time you feel down in the dumps.”I stand up slowly and look at his incredible, deep blue eyes.“I don’t know why you say that,” I say slowly. “I have no problem slapping you all day long if that’s what needs to happen. You gotta do what you gotta do, right?”“I suppose so,” Vincent agrees with several short nods of his head. “Of course, you’re just going to end up breaking your hand.”I laugh a little before I end up pushing Vincent’s chest. We walk out of my bedroom and take the obscenely long journey to the common area of Angel’s Retreat. The place is still as beautiful as ever. The décor is a very classy blending of old European castle with modern Hollywood flair, but all of it seems gray and blurred to me. It has become my prison over these last few months. And I am really sick of it. When we finally make it to the bar, Vincent urges me to sit. A change, and a rather drastic one, from me playing bartender to Vincent’s regular drunk roles.“Wow ... What a treat!” I exclaim as I sit on the barstool, something I had become increasingly familiar with in times of stress. “I can’t believe we’re having a drink and I’m on this side of the counter. Feels pretty different. It’s nice. If I get Vincent-drunk, will you help me make it to my bed like I always help you?”Vincent clears his throat before raising his finger again. Oh geez, here he goes again.    “Two things I have to point out again. Apparently I’m gonna be doing this all day here,” he says as he puts down the bottle of vodka he was opening. “A, again, is that you should never make suggestive statements like that to me unless you want sarcasm as a reply. You should know better than that. I.e. you want me to help you to bed, don’t you?”I slap him in midsentence just for the sake of slapping him. I have to admit, it’s a strange relationship we share.“And B, again,” Vincent says as he shakes the strike away from his face and continues his rant. “Saying that someone is Vincent-drunk implies that I’m nothing but a no-good drunk. That’s also very hurtful. Besides, you’re the minor here. You should just be glad I’m even allowing you to drink.”“You? Allowing me? That’s hysterical,” I say as I pick up the vodka cocktail Vincent has slid over to me. “Admit it Vincent, you just love the company. Michael doesn’t drink much anymore and you just want a drinking buddy.”“Yeah, well, it’s all a part of my nefariously genius plan to get into your barstool,” Vincent says as he raises his own cocktail to me. “And before you think about it, I’m not gonna let you slap me again. You’ve used up your limit for today. Now, as is customary we will follow the beautiful tradition of—”“Yeah, I know,” I say as I raise my glass and tap his with it. I answer his smile with one of my own. “The beautiful tradition of blessing our drink. It is a beautiful tradition. Salud, Vincent.”“And to you, Izzy,” he says as he brings his glass to his mouth. “Cent’anni.”“One hundred years to you,” I say. Knowing him, this is probably a test.“Very good, you’ve been keeping to your studies.”“No,” I point out a little sharply. “You just say it so often it’s hard to forget.”Vincent scratches his head and chugs down his drink. He grabs the vodka bottle and drags it along the counter until it’s in between the two of us. He looks at me longingly, licking his lips suggestively. It was good to see at least one of us behaving normally.“So, I was thinking about this anyway, before you even brought it up; so was Michael,” he says as he opens the bottle and begins to pour himself another round. “We both feel that a lot has happened in such a short amount of time, we should probably reopen the discussion about what you should be doing with your life in the meantime. I’m not going to say that what’s been happening lately is normal for us, but it has happened several dozens of times in our lives. But we can’t expect you, in your short nineteen years, to be dealing with it anywhere near as easily as we have been. I’m surprised you haven’t snapped like you just did before.”“Well thanks a lot,” I say before chugging down my own drink and snatching the bottle from Vincent’s hands. He only looks at me and shakes his head. “If you knew I wouldn’t react well, why keep me here?”“I don’t really know what you expected us to do,” Vincent admits almost in frustration. “You yourself said you were never much of a social butterfly.”“More like a social spider.”“Yeah, no kidding,” Vincent agrees before taking the bottle away from me as I was helping myself to another drink. “Everything in moderation there, drunko. What I was getting at was that we didn’t really have a lot of choices here. We could have sent you back to the campus, and you could have kept working, but for what? You never really mentioned liking it there. Besides, everyone in town doesn’t even know you exist anymore. I could try to screw around with their heads again and give them back their memories of you, but that’s a real loose option. I don’t wanna do that if I can help it. It’s too dangerous, even with my newfound powers.”“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” I answer in more evident frustration. The whole thing sucks. He’s right and I know it. But that doesn’t really matter. It was different when I was still searching for my mother. I had a plan and a goal. We had achieved that goal and my mother was back and safe. Now all I did was take alternating courses of education by the guys … that was losing its fun, to say the least. “It was easy for me to not appreciate everything in my old life while I had it, but it’s all I think about now. I even miss the shrink visits. Don’t misunderstand me, I know what you’re saying, but there has to be something better to do with my life. I love you guys, I always will. You both have saved my life, you saved my mother’s, I mean … there’s no repaying any of that. But when are we going to get off of terror alert red here?”“I was just getting to that,” he continues as he pours himself another drink. Wow, I never noticed he drank the one he had. Lush. “Michael and I have been thinking about what we could do to make your time pass by a little easier. Michael wants you to be protected and watched over at all times. I disagree with that because you do need some level of freedom, or else you’ll end up resenting the both of us.”“I would never,” I argue in almost a scream. “I just want some fun. I’ve watched everything I can on TV; I’m caught up on all my reading. I would go back to studying all the supers that you guys know about, but what’s the point? Michael is a rolodex of information on the subject. Maybe if I could get my job back at Jack’s Place? Go back to the university, have a normal life? I’m not going to do anything crazy.”“You say that, but you don’t know what you’ll do,” he contends firmly. “I don’t have you on a leash. None of us do. But what I’m saying is don’t take this temporary phase of you being down in the dumps for more than what it is. It’ll pass. Deep down you know what the right thing to do is. You can’t really risk too much crazy behavior right now. I bet Klein thinks we aren’t anywhere near here, especially with all the false information and dead ends we’ve been leading him on with. But we can’t risk lives with that type of hunch. Jack’s wouldn’t be so bad, because why would you have a job if you were with us? But on the other hand, there’s nothing to do around here but visit Jack’s. Same deal with the university. We gotta take this slow.”“How slow?”“Not very,” he assures me before pouring me a little more vodka. “But reasonably slow. So why don’t you start thinking about what you want to do when you grow up, huh? The choice is still yours, eventually. If you wanna walk away from all of this when Klein’s dead, then you have that option open. It’s just not open to you right now because we can’t in good conscience let you get yourself killed.”“So what are you saying, Vincent? Stop with the theatre and spit it out.”He grasps his glass and stares me in the eyes before presenting his glass to mine again. “What I’m saying is, give us some ideas,” Vincent says with a smile as he raises his glass. “And you’re free to go do whatever you want. Just don’t skip town, huh?”I smile back at him and I can’t help hugging him over the counter. He was obviously not expecting this as I sense him almost jerk in place. Now what should I do?   

Announcing my Birthday Blowout Giveaway!

In case you haven't already heard me grumbling about this on social media, I am turning thirty next week. On Black Friday. So, I figured the best way to ring in my thirties and what feels like my official adulthood (Your twenties are just a test run anyway, right?) is to give you guys a bunch of stuff.

I have a bunch of awesome writerly friends who have agreed to donate the following prize packs (check out the blurbs and cover art for each book after the Rafflecopter code):

Wayzgoose Press Prize Pack: 
One The Curse of Malenfer Manor e-book by Iain McChesney
One The Devil's Concubine e-book by Jill Braden
One Trial & Terror e-book by Adam Penenberg 

Writers Are Winners Prize Pack:
One banner design or critique from Leigh Statham
One button design from Mystic Reviews
One five page critique from Mara

Curiosity Quills Prize Pack:

One Theocracide e-book by James Wymore 
One Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh e-book by Katie Hamstead 
One Kiya: Mother of a King e-book by Katie Hamstead*Note: The authors donated these books, not the publisher. Curiosity Quills is in no way affiliated with this giveaway except as publisher to the gifted books.*

Sci-fi/Fantasy Prize Pack:
One Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc. e-book by PK Hrezo 
One Ruby's Fire e-book by Catherine Stine
One First of Her Kind e-book by K.L. Schwengel
And because it's my birthday, I'm also adding an e-book of Heirs of War to each prize pack. If you're looking to win a signed physical copy, there's still time to enter my Goodreads giveaway below!
So how do you get a chance to win? Use the Rafflecopter options below to follow these amazing writerly people, and also be sure to leave a comment letting me know what prize pack you prefer. I can't guarantee you will get it, but I will take it into consideration if your name is drawn. Happy birthday to me Black Friday Gifting Day! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Goodreads Book Giveaway Heirs of War by Mara Valderran Giveaway ends November 29, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win

Those in line to the Malenfer estate are succumbing to terrible ends - but is it a supernatural legacy at work, or something entirely more human and evil?

Young Irish mercenary Dermot Ward headed to Paris at the close of World War I, where he drinks to forget his experiences, especially the death of his comrade, Arthur Malenfer. But Arthur has not forgotten Dermot. Dead but not departed, Arthur has unfinished business and needs the help of the living.

Upon his arrival at Malenfer Manor, Dermot finds himself embroiled in a mystery of murder, succession, and ambition. Dermot falls in love with the youngest Malenfer, the beautiful fey Simonne, but in his way are Simonne’s mismatched fiancé, her own connections to the spirit world, Dermot’s overwhelming guilt over the circumstances of Arthur’s death… and the curse.



QuiTai, ruthless concubine of Levapur’s mysterious crime lord, the Devil, receives an unexpected invitation to cocktails with disgraced Thampurian Kyam Zul. She doesn’t trust Kyam enough to drink anything he pours, and won’t help him no matter how hard he begs – or threatens. But when QuiTai’s ex-lover is murdered, Kyam is the only one who knows the name of the killer, and he won’t tell QuiTai unless she helps him first.

The torpid back alleyways of Levapur’s tropical colony hide more than lovers. There are things with claws, beings with venomous fangs, and spies lurking in the jungle.

Most of them want to keep their secrets.

One wants QuiTai dead.




The good news is that public defender Summer Neuwirth just won her first case, which involved a brutal rape and kidnapping.

The bad news? Her client was guilty.

What's more, he knows all about Summer's past.

As Summer pursues her next case, this time to keep an innocent woman off death row, elements of that past--a mysterious case of childhood amnesia, her police officer father's involvement with a serial killer, a terrifying attack she survived just months earlier--entwine with her present legal work, her missing mother, and her rocky relationship with a private investigator, all of which culminate in a thrilling trial... and terror.




Aliens bent on conquering the world are closing in on a weakened America. Epidemic alien-flu leaves people afraid to go outside their homes. The Undying Emperor is drafting Americans of all ages despite the plummeting population.

Nobody really cares.

Jason, like everyone else, lives in a fantasy facilitated by computer glasses that project images right over the parts of the world he doesn't like. With a sports scholarship and an amazing new girlfriend, he leads his college team from one victory to another. As long as they ignore the constant barrage of terrible news, their lives would turn out to be perfect.

Until the government discovers his father's secret. Until his artificially perfect world comes crashing down. Will Jason and his allies survive the manhunt long enough to finish his father's work - to commit theocracide and set the world right?



When Naomi’s sisters are snatched up to be taken to be wives of the erratic Pharaoh, Akhenaten, she knows they won’t survive the palace, so she offers herself in their place. The fearsome Commander Horemheb sees her courage, and knows she is exactly what he is looking for…

The Great Queen Nefertiti despises Naomi instantly, and strips her of her Hebrew lineage, including her name, which is changed to Kiya. Kiya allies herself with Horemheb, who pushes her to greatness and encourages her to make the Pharaoh fall in love with her. When Akhenaten declares Kiya will be the mother of his heir, Nefertiti, furious with jealousy, schemes to destroy Kiya.

Kiya must play the deadly game carefully. She is in a silent battle of wills, and a struggle for who will one day inherit the crown. If she does bear an heir, she knows she will need to fight to protect him, as well as herself, from Nefertiti who is out for blood.



Nefertiti has forced Naomi to flee Amarna with Malachi and the three children. But even under the protection of Naomi’s family in Thebes, Nefertiti still hunts her and Tut. Nefertiti sends assassins to kill them, and while Naomi fights to protect the children, Malachi fights to keep her safe.

With three children in tow, one of which isn’t her own, she is labeled the harlot outcast wife of the pharaoh and is shunned. She isn’t safe among her own people, and flees from being stoned to death. Although her family protects her, she must find a way to survive.

While Naomi struggles to keep herself and Tut alive, old adversaries return as Smenkhkare takes advantage of Akhenaten’s ailing health. Naomi must rely on Horemheb’s promise to protect Tut’s birthright, but her feelings for Malachi could cause more problems with Horemheb than she expects.



One part science fiction + One part romance + One part rock-n-roll = One heckuva good time.

Welcome to Butterman Travel, Incorporated; a full service agency designed to meet all your exclusive time travel needs. We’re a family owned and operated business with one hundred years of experience. A place where you can rest assured, safety and reliability always come first.

Anxious to attend some special event from the past? Or for a glimpse of what the future holds?

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Use our Web conferencing to contact our frontline reservation specialist, Bianca Butterman, who will handle all your inquiries in a professional and efficient manner, offering a tentative itinerary and free fare quote, so you can make the most of your time trip.

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If everything about you changes, what remains?

Seventeen year-old Ruby, long-pledged to the much older Stiles from the Fireseed desert cult, escapes with only a change of clothes, a pouch of Oblivion Powder and her mute little brother, Thorn. Arriving at The Greening, a boarding school for orphaned teens, she can finally stop running. Or can she? The Greening is not what it seems. Students are rampaging out of control and as she cares for the secret Fireseed crop, she experiences frightening physical changes. She’s ashamed of her attraction to burly, hard-talking Blane, the resident bodyguard, and wonders why she can’t be happy with the gentler Armonk. She’s long considered her great beauty a liability, a thing she’s misused in order to survive. And how is she to stop her dependence on Oblivion to find a real beauty within, using her talent as a maker of salves, when she has nightmares of Stiles without it?

When George Axiom, wealthy mogul of Vegas-by-the-Sea offers a huge cash prize for the winner of a student contest, Ruby is hopeful she might collect the prize to rescue her family and friends from what she now knows is a dangerous cult. But when Stiles comes to reclaim her, and Thorn sickens after creating the most astonishing contest project of all, the world Ruby knows is changed forever. This romantic fantasy set in 2099 on earth has a crafty heroine in Ruby, and a swoonworthy cast, which will surely appeal to the YA and new adult audience.


Everyone, it seems, wants to dictate what Ciara does with her life: Serve the Goddess, destroy the Goddess, do as you promised your aunt. All Ciara wants is to keep the two magics she possesses from ripping her apart.

And that won’t be easy.

Not only are they in complete opposition to each other, blood ties pull her in divergent directions as well. And then there’s Bolin, the man sworn to protect her. There’s no denying the growing attraction between them, but is it Ciara he wants? Or her power?

None of which will matter if Ciara can’t overcome her fear and learn to use her gifts.No one knows the depths of the ancient power she possesses, or what will happen if it manages to escape her control.

Will she lose herself entirely? Or be forever trapped between darkness & light?

Excerpt & Giveaway: Firebolt by Adrienne Woods

  

Firebolt
The Dragonian SeriesBook One
Adrienne Woods 

Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: GMTA  Publishing – Mythos Press Date of Publication: 20th November 2013Cover Artist: Mary Park and Kitty Bullard  

Book Description: Dragons. Right. Teenage girls don't believe in fairy tales, and sixteen-year-old Elena Watkins was no different. 

Until the night a fairy tale killed her father.

Now Elena is in a new world, and a new school. The cutest guy around may be an evil dragon, a prince wants Elena's heart, and a long dead sorcerer may be waking up to kill her. Oh and the only way Elena's going to graduate is on the back of a dragon of her own.

Teenage girls don't believe in fairy tales. Now it's time for Elena to believe in...herself.

About the Author: I was born and raised in South Africa, where I still live with my husband, and two beautiful little girls. I always knew that I was going to be a writer but it only started to happen about four years ago, now I can’t stop writing. 

In my free time, If I get any because Moms don’t really have free time, I love to spend time with friends, if it’s a girls night out, or just a movie, I’m a very chilled person.

My writing career is starting with Firebolt, book one with the Dragonian Series, there will be four books in total and two to three books that is about the stories taking place inside The Dragonian Series.

I do write in different Genres, I have a woman’s fiction called the Pregnancy Diaries, but it would be published under another name. And then I have a paranormal series, called the Watercress series. There are about ten novels in that one.

So, plenty of novels to come out, so little time.

I hope you are going to embrace the Dragonian Series as much as I loved writing them.

Blog http://woodsadrienne.wordpress.comhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Dragonian-Series/301375039891281
Twitter: erichb3 Goodreads: Adrienne WoodsGoogle+: Adrienne Woods

Excerpt:
Chapter One A girl singing her heart out about a miracle boomed inside my ear. A miracle would get me what I needed: a chance at a semi-normal life.    The bedroom door hitting the wall expelled the thought from my mind. With his hand tangled up in his copper hair and with huge brown eyes, Dad's figure filled the entire doorway. “Pack your bags.” He had that set to his jaw, the one that meant there was no way out of this. He bolted out of the room just as suddenly as he had appeared.    My teeth ground hard against each other, and the sharp pain behind my eyes, I guessed from the lack of sleep, grew stronger. Every fibre of my being wanted to explode.    Ever since I could remember my name, Dad and I had been on the run. From what? Beats me.                       For the last two weeks, I'd been pacing up and down through the house, struggling to fall asleep at night, waiting for this day.    For the love of blue berries, no sixteen-year old should live this way!                   I climbed off my bed, and the first step I took left my toe tangled in the wide leg of my jeans.  I tried to regain my balance as the closet inched closer, but with wildly flailing arms, I came crashing down. The thud reverberated across the wooden floor, and it sounded as if I'd broken something.    Dad darted back into my room. "Are you okay?" He lifted me back onto my feet as if I weighed nothing.    Tears lurked in the corners of my eyes, threatening to burst, as I stared up at him.    "Don't give me that look, Elena. Please, we need to hurry.” He pulled my suitcase from the top shelf and chucked it haphazardly onto my bed. “We need to go. Now.”    "Dad…"    He started to grab my clothes from the shelf and tossed them messily inside my small suitcase. Then he paused, sighed, and looked up with soft eyes. He stroked the side of my cheek with his hand gently. “This wasn't the right place, Bear. Please, you’ve got to trust me.”    His hand reached back to pull everything off my shelf, while my hands curled up into balls of fury. My heart pounded fast as those two words bounced inside my skull. “Trust you, Dad?”    "Elena, we don't have much time,” he yelled. “Pack your bags! You can ask questions later." He left, and the hollow “doof” sound from his footsteps stomped loudly as he made his way into the hall.    Ask questions? Yeah right! I’ll only get answers that don’t reveal why we are on the run for the gazillionth time.' “Trust me” and “I'll tell you when the time is right” were the only two answers Dad gave. Guess time with him will never be right.    It was no use arguing with him anyway. Once, he threw me over his shoulder and carried me out without any of my things.    So I grabbed the stuff I needed: my mp3 player, a photo of Mom that Dad didn't know I had, and my journal from underneath my bed. I tossed them into my backpack. It wasn't much, but it was the stuff that made my miserable life felt less pathetic. I zipped up my suitcase and took a deep breath. Looking around my bedroom for the last time, I said goodbye to my sixtieth-something room.    Dad almost ran me over in the hall with his army bag slung over his shoulder. He grumbled, which I assumed was an apology, took my suitcase, and ran down the stairs. He always rented these huge old houses, pre-furnished and near the countryside, and we always left after three months.    The pickup's horn honked as I shut the front door. I closed my eyes and took another deep breath. Just two more years, then I'll be eighteen and free from this freak show. Huge raindrops fell hard onto the ground. The smell of wet dirt filled the air. It was my favorite smell.    The water that pooled on the ground covered all the gaps in the driveway, forcing me to hopscotch around all of them. My shoe got caught in one of the gaps and I smacked down hard in a huge puddle. By the time I reached the truck, my jeans and shoes were soaking wet.      Warm heat from the vents inside the truck hit me full blast as I jumped in; a million goose pimples erupted across my skin.  As soon as I shut the rusty door, Dad floored the gas pedal. Tires screeched and the truck spun away as if the Devil chased us.  My lower lip quivered softly as he swerved onto the road. The streetlights flew by in a blur as I plugged in my earpieces. The same stupid song about a miracle boomed from my mp3, drowning the sound of the engine and the hard dribbles on the roof, a percussion that became the perpetual soundtrack to my misery.    A feeling of utter loneliness consumed my heart as I stared out the window. Homes with white picket fences and the convenient store whizzed by in a flash. A tear rolled down my cheek as I said goodbye, and my breath on the glass created a foggy condensation. Reaching out my index finger, I drew a small heart. These were the reasons why Mom had left. She couldn't handle his paranoia, but why she’d left her daughter to deal with it was a mystery. Dad constantly reminded me of the latter, and that was the only time he ever spoke of her. If he ever discovered I had that picture, he would kill me. That was how much he hated her for leaving us.    The lights of a vehicle in the upcoming lane shone directly into my face. I shut my eyes, waiting for it to disappear. As a little girl, I used to watch Dad as we drove away from yet another house. He would glare into his rearview mirror every five seconds, every muscle in his face clenched, and his knuckles white on the steering wheel. I hadn’t been able to force myself to peek out the window then, as it used to scare the living crap out of me to consider the possible reasons he was fleeing from, or who might be following us. Now, I didn't look at him or care much for what he was going through. He created this problem. With me becoming the luggage. It was a ritual I endured every three months, and nothing over the past sixteen years had ever changed that.    The “Interstate 40” sign flew by in a whirl, and the pickup slowly moved onto the turnoff lane.    My eyes started to burn as I stared at the rain running down my window. Each rivet resembled another town, another place I would never again call home. Exhaustion consumed me and my eyelids felt heavy. I laid my head against the window and struggled to stay awake.    Suddenly, a dark and huge figure flew past me. Dad swerved to the left, which made me crushed into the side of the passenger’s door. My entire body pumped with adrenaline. I jumped straight in my seat and wrenched the seatbelt over my shoulder to buckle myself in. I tore out my earpieces as I tried to process what had just happened.    “What was that?” I looked at Dad.    He stared straight ahead with huge eyes. Beads of sweat rolled from his hairline down to the side of his temple. He looked terrified, something that conflicted with his personality. I'd never seen Dad look that scared in my entire life.    “Dad!”    “Did you see where it went?” he asked, attempting to inject calm into his voice, but I could hear the fear lacing each syllable.    “See where what went? Dad what was that!”    “You wouldn't believe me if I told you.”    “For once in your life, just tell me!” I screamed. Sixteen years of frustration exploded from my lungs. I couldn't take the unknown anymore.    “Fine.” He mumbled something else that I didn't catch. "Do you remember the stories I used to tell you?"    “Stories? What stories?”    “The ones about Paegeia, Elena.” He looked in his rearview mirror again with huge, unblinking eyes.    Vaguely, but I didn't tell him that. "What does that have to do with this?"    “They're real.”    I froze and I stared at him.    “All of it, it’s real. The dragons, the magic, the wall, everything is real.”

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

What's Up Wednesday

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, allowing us to touch base with blog friends and let them know what’s up. Should you wish to join us, you will find the link widget at the bottom of Jaime’s post. We really hope you will take part!

What I'm Reading:
I finished The Curse of Malenfer Manor by Iain McChesney. It was really good. Gothic mystery isn't my usual genre, but the ghost story and the way the mystery unfolded really drew me in. You can find my review here. I haven't picked anything up yet, but I am going to be starting a WIP from one of my critique partners this week, and then reading Kiya: Mother of a King (book 2 in the Kiya series) by Katie Hamstead for my birthday. I'm really excited because this is a series I'm addicted to.

What I'm Writing:
I just finished chapter 21 of the rewrite of Altar of Reality and am really excited! Not just because I'm wrapping it up and am this close to 60k for a novel I feared would be too short, or because 40k of that is for NaNoWriMo. Okay, well those reasons too. But I'm really enjoying how this is turning out. There's definitely a sequel in this story, maybe even a third book. I'm going to traditionally query it, so I'm looking for CPs and betas now.



I'm still working on my short story submission for The Borderlands anthology set in the Actuator universe. The deadline is creeping up on me, which means I really need to go add the snark. It's almost done, all it needs is a dash of snark, possibly a rewrite to first person. But I've been busy and trying to push through AoR, so I haven't worked on it yet. My in-laws are coming into town this week, and next week we are going to visit my family, so it is seriously crunch time right now. I've pulled off 10k days before on a regular basis. Here's hoping I can get there again so I can get both projects done in the handful of days I have free!


What Inspires Me Right Now:
The Catching Fire soundtrack. My favorites: "Silhouettes" by Of Monsters and Men, "Elastic Heart" by Sia, The Weeknd, and Diplo, "We Remain" by Christina Aguilera (this one is on repeat a lot--a very good song to write a dystopian to), "Mirror" by Ellie Goulding, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Lorde, and "Place for Us" by Mikky Ekko. So...pretty much the entire soundtrack. I still haven't listened to the entire Hunger Games soundtrack, but this one is just awesome.

I'm also really inspired by my sister right now. She's gotten back into writing, which is awesome. She's so talented. She makes me want to tell her my story ideas and let her write them because prose just comes so natural to her (and does not to me). There's this elegance to her style. She inspires me to try harder and really try to find beauty in words, because she does that with so little effort. 

What Else I'm Up To:
I am all about organizing social media this week. I finally broke down and made my Twitter lists because I have felt sadly out of touch with so many of my writer friends who use Twitter more than Facebook. I also read an article talking about how to better use Google+ and discussing Google+ Communities, which I knew nothing about until reading the article. So I joined about 20 of them today. =D Now all I need to do is find a good RSS feeder since Google got rid of theirs and start following blogs better. I'm also organizing my blog hosting dates to host specific stop types on specific days. Monday will be the Weekend Review (because I couldn't think of a better title and need a date to post reviews), then Teaser Tuesdays, What's Up Wednesdays, Thursday Takeover, and Feature Fridays. I host enough stops now that this became necessary. Or so says my OCD.

I donated an e-book of Heirs of War to T.K. Leigh for her 5000 (seriously? 5k??) likes giveaway, so I've been basking in the follows I've been getting for that. I don't know if they will stick, but I hit 200 on my Facebook page today. Yay! I have my own end of the month giveaway planned to celebrate my birthday (30--eep!), and have some great prize backs from the donations I've collected so far. I think I am going to cut off the donation offers on Friday so I can start the giveaway then.

As I mentioned earlier, my personal life is about to get really demanding. That happens with the holidays, right? Hubby and I are going to be spending the next two days cleaning up even more than we did for the Halloween party for when his parents come visit. They are staying with us, and this is the first time we'll be hosting anyone since I put the guest bedroom together. I'm both excited and nervous.

I won't be around next week (or much of this week--heck, I'm still reading WUW posts from last week), but I can't wait to catch up with you guys after Thanksgiving!

New Adult Author Spotlight & Giveaway: Tawdra Kandle

Sometimes revenge is your only choice. . .
Julia worked for weeks planning the perfect surprise birthday party for her boyfriend, Liam, but that night, she was the one who got the biggest shock. He broke up with her in front of all their friends, humiliating her in the process.

Clearly revenge was in order.

The plan is simple. Make him jealous, win him back, and then crush his heart. Fair is fair. However, there is one little hiccup, and he has curly brown hair and dimples.

Jesse is everything she wants. With him, she could almost forget her bruised heart. Almost. Julia has one choice: let Liam walk away after everything he did, or lose a chance at love in pursuit of payback.

Tawdra Kandle has been a writer since the invention of the pen. Her first published work appeared in Child's Life magazine when she was 13. After a brief, thirty year hiatus, she published a young adult quartet, The King Series. More recently, she has delved into contemporary romance and New Adult romance. Tawdra lives in central Florida with her husband and children, of both skin and fur types. And yes, she has purple hair.
To enter the giveaway, go to each blog and enter the corresponding code into the Rafflecopter.

This is Blog #5 and the code is TAWDRAMARA

Blog #1: www.dawnpendleton.com
Blog #2: www.StephanieLawton.com
Blog #3: www.chasingemptypavements.com
Blog #4: http://lisaswallow.net
Blog #5: http://maravalderran.blogspot.com
Blog #6: http://www.lgcastillo.com
Blog #7: http://naughtylittlekisses.blogspot.com
Blog #8: http://danielelanzarotta.blogspot.com/
Blog #9: http://authoryolandaallen.blogspot.com/
Blog #10: http://dawnaraver.com/
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