Cathrina Constantine's Blog, page 24

#IWSG

http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.htmlJoin Alex J. Cavanaugh and a multitude of writer's in this monthly hop to help support one another!
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Alex's awesome co-hosts for the February are Misha Gericke, LK Hill, Juneta Key, Christy and Joylene Buter!

February 1 Question: How has being a writer changed your experience as a reader?

Becoming a writer has changed my experience as a writer quite a bit. I always read for entertainment and enjoyment, and now I also read to hone my own writing. Each writer has their own style and I'm still trying to find mine. I feel reading is absolutely essential if you want to write. 

If I see a typo in an acclaimed NYT Bestseller, I actually smile. Nobody is perfect. So that makes me feel somewhat better. 

But, because I am a writer, I never discredit an author. Even if I dislike the story, I would never write a bad review or publicly state on social media why I didn't like their book. I guess you'd have to be a writer to understand the long hours of hard work that goes into a book, and not only with the first draft, but also with the ceaseless editing. The saying by Ernest Hemingway holds true with many writer's,

“There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.”― Ernest Hemingway

#CTST

Celebrate the Small Things Hop over to Lexa Cain's and join in this fun weekly Celebration. Lexa's wonderful co-hosts are:L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The EdgeTonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog
We went to see "42nd Street" at Shea's Performing Arts on Saturday. The play takes place in 1933 during the depression. It was Fantastic!!!! I haven't seen a play that I enjoyed in a long time.



Our children are taking us out to dinner to a very upscale restaurant in Buffalo as part of their Christmas present to us. I'm so looking forward to it. 

What are you celebrating this week?

New Release: TSUNAMI CRIMES by Chrys Fey

I asked Chrys this question:  Do you ever get discouraged with your writing and marketing process?
With my writing, the only time I get discouraged is when I’m not 
writing or have writer’s block. I absolutely deplore it. When I’m not writing, I don’t feel like a writer. I feel like I’m wasting precious time. I feel like a failure. When I’m writing, I’m truly happy.
Marketing is another story, however. With marketing, I’m constantly discouraged. Last year, I was especially feeling down about my efforts. Seeing other writers’ accomplishments with sales and such didn’t help. I tried things that used to work that don’t seem to work anymore. I also tried new things that didn’t take.
This year, though, I’m feeling a little more encouraged. I have a new marketing plan that I believe will make a difference, such as my perma-free short story, Lightning Crimes (Disaster Crimes Book 2.5). I’ll also be attending a huge book event and signing. My first! If you’re in Florida and can go to the Space Coast Book Lover’s Event on June 3rd in Cocoa, I’ll be there.These are just a couple of things I’ll be trying, and I’m 
excited!
***And here it is***
Beth and Donovan have come a long way from Hurricane Sabrina 
and the San Francisco earthquake. Now they are approaching their wedding day and anxiously waiting to promise each other a lifetime of love. The journey down the aisle isn’t smooth, though, as they receive threats from the followers of the notorious criminal, Jackson Storm. They think they’ll be safe in Hawaii, but distance can’t stop these killers. Not even a tsunami can.This monstrous wave is the most devastating disaster Beth has ever faced. It leaves her beaten, frightened. Is she a widow on her honeymoon? As she struggles to hold herself together and find Donovan, she’s kidnapped by Jackson's men.Fearing her dead, Donovan searches the rubble and shelters with no luck. The thought of her being swept out to sea is almost too much for him to bear, but the reality is much worse. She’s being used as bait to get him to fall into a deadly trap.
If they live through this disaster, they may never be the same again.
On SALE for $2.99!
BUY LINKS:Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon CANOOK / KOBO / The Wild Rose Press
P.S. Hurricane Crimes and Seismic Crimes are on sale for 99 Cents!

BIO:Chrys Fey is the author of the Disaster Crimes Series. She is a blogger, reader, auntie, vegetarian, and cat Lover. Get Lightning Crimes (Disaster Crimes 2.5) for FREE!
FIND CHRYS:
Facebook / Twitter / Blog / Website / Amazon / Goodreadsa Rafflecopter giveaway

#CTST

Celebrate the Small Things Hop over to Lexa Cain's and join in this fun weekly Celebration. Lexa's wonderful co-hosts are:L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The EdgeTonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog
Celebrating my Cover Reveal
INCENSE AND PEPPERMINTSRelease Date: March 10, 2017Genre: YA/Coming of Age in 1969Publisher: Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly
Peace demonstrations, sit-ins, and burning the U.S. flag following the escalation of the Vietnam War are leading to a catalyst known to the world as the Sixties, and a musical revolution, flower power, hippies, marijuana, and drugs are carrying the generations—young and old—into a new decade. All the while sixteen-year-old Mary Monroe is caught between being an innocent good girl and an autumn of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll.
When her brother offers a solution to her dilemma in the form of a little pill, Mary ignores the rumba in her brain and takes a walk on the wild side. Plunged into popularity and a life she’s only imagined, she meets Michael Covington, the hot newcomer, and she’s instantly drawn in by his less than flawless exterior and bad boy sex appeal. Caught up in the danger and excitement as they drift from party to party, into underground fight clubs, and through a series of drug and alcohol fueled adventures, Mary follows her new crush into a world where young girls are never truly safe from the predators lurking in the shadows and young men are hiding from the harsh reality of war.
Feeling buzzed and as if her life is spinning out of control, Mary is assaulted by an unknown man at a party, and she’s left questioning if the enigmatic Michael is truly her hero or if he is the face behind the terrible attack. With every piece of information Mary learns about Michael, her doubts grow deeper, but with every minute she spends in his presence, so does her love.
With the war and her fear threatening to separate Mary and Michael forever, only the death of a friend, a crushing confession, and her own sensibilities can carry her over the threshold between adolescence and adulthood.

If you're so inclined, you can add Incense & Peppermints to your TBR list on Goodreads here.

If you're at all interested, I have sign ups for the book blitz posted here: http://xpressobooktours.com/2017/01/17/blitz-sign-up-incense-and-peppermints-by-cathrina-constantine/

Release Blitz:Right To Silence(Paranormal Detectives Book...

Release Blitz:Right To Silence(Paranormal Detectives Book Four)byLily Luchesi

Jan 17th






The truth can be deadly.
In the first of this two-part novel, we learn the history of hunters Brighton Sands and Mark Evans in their two lifetimes, culminating in their final battle with the insane vampire they have been hunting for centuries.
In the second part, with Angelica Cross still on the run, multiple vampiric murders lead to the kidnapping of a famous vamp. Detective Danny Mancini must drag a mortal into the bowels of Hell in order to rescue her.
But why does Leander Price want her so badly, and what does she have to do with an ancient vampire prophecy?


Release Party Jan 17th 
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Lily Luchesi is a young author/poet born in Chicago, Illinois, now residing in Los Angeles, California. Ever since she was a toddler her mother noticed her tendency for being interested in all things "dark". At two she became infatuated with vampires and ghosts, and that infatuation turned into a lifestyle by the time she was twelve, and, as her family has always been what they now call "Gothic", she doesn't believe she shall ever change. She is also a hopeless romantic and avid music-love who will always associate vampires with love, blood, and rock and roll.
Her interest in poetry came around the same time as when she was given a book of Edgar Allan Poe's complete work. She then realized that she had been writing her own poetry since she could hold a pen, and just had not known the correct terms. She finished her first manuscript at the age of fourteen, and was first published at twenty-one.
Her debut novel, Stake-Out (Paranormal Detectives Series Book One), was published by Vamptasy Publishing on May 19th, 2015. Book two, Miranda's Rights, was released on January 8th, 2016. Book three, Life Sentence, was released on August 2nd, 2016 by Vamptasy Publishing, and book four, Right To Silence, was also just accepted by the publisher and will be released on January 17th, 2017.
She had a short story, "Undead Ever After" in the CHBB Publishing anthology Love Sucks (released on June 13th, 2015). Her first erotic short story, "Have No Fears", was published in the Hot Ink Press anthology Naughty Bedtime Stories: In Three Words on October 10th, 2015. She will also have a short erotic horror story, "The Devil's Dozen", in the Hot Ink Press anthology Death, Love, Lust, which was released on February 4th, 2016. Her horror short "Too Young To Kill" was released in the CHBB Publishing anthology Lurking In The Shadows on June 28th, 2016.
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Hosted by Obsessive Pimpettes Promotions
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Book Review: CROOKED KINGDOM by Leigh BardugoKaz Brekker ...

Book Review: CROOKED KINGDOM by Leigh Bardugo Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and left crippled by the kidnapping of a valuable team member, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of magic in the Grisha world.
Cathrina's Review: Crooked Kingdom is the sequel to Six of Crows which I reviewed on March 7, 2016. You can read that review here: 
http://cathrinaconstantine.blogspot.com/2016/03/cathrinas-review-of-six-of-crows.html
I'm a fan of Six of Crows and was eager to read the sequel. 
And I must say the author Leigh Bardugo didn't disappoint me. 

While reading Crooked Kingdom, I had a chance to fall in love all over again with Kaz Brekker and his thugs. 
In this second installment I felt the compassion grow between them. And their solidarity to accomplish an impossible scheme, a scheme that could get them all killed.

Whereas this action-packed story with significant twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat, the author 
consistently brings the reader back in time with 
each character throughout the book. While the writing is excellent, 
some of the sections had begun to feel slow and drawn out. However, 
the background shaped each character and helped you to 
understand why and how they ended up with the likes of Kaz.

If you like speculative, YA novels full of suspense, action, and twists and turns you'll love CROOKED KINGDOM.

#CTST

Celebrate the Small Things Hop over to Lexa Cain's and join in this fun weekly Celebration. Lexa's wonderful co-hosts are:L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The EdgeTonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog
I'm celebrating~getting my act together and working on my upcoming release, which is March 10th.
I'm trying to figure out a date for my cover reveal for INCENSE & PEPPERMINTS. (It still needs a little tweak) 

I'm planning sometime by the beginning of February. If anyone is willing to post the cover on your blogs please message me or comment below and I'll send you the info. 

My YA/Coming of Age novel
INCENSE & PEPPERMINTS takes you back to the year 1969.








**Everyone have a great weekend**

Prah, Constantine, and Baryeh Reviews: JINGLE BELL HARBOR by Tracy Brogan #romance

We're Baaaack!!!
After our Holiday Break our team picked a sweet novella to review: 
JINGLE BELL HARBORbyTracy Brogan



As assistant buyer for the world’s second-largest Christmas store, Kelsey Parker feels like a holiday harlot. She’s contractually obligated to promote the yuletide season. All. Year. Long. And it’s taking a toll on her spirit. But when her clueless, self-absorbed boyfriend goes on their long-anticipated romantic vacation—without her!—Kelsey is beyond disappointed to find herself tromping through the Bell Harbor snow instead of lounging on a tropical beach.
Drew Hampton is considered quite a catch among the Bell Harbor bachelorettes, but when his high school dream girl, Kelsey Parker, shows up at his grandfather’s Christmas tree lot complaining about her love life, he decides it’s long past time to get her under the mistletoe himself.As things heat up between the two, a surprise visitor arrives, making Kelsey an offer she can’t quite believe. Now she must decide what matters most, and she just may discover the key to her happiness. Cathrina's Review: This is the second book by Tracy Brogan that our team has reviewed, and similar to the first book, CRAZY LITTLE THINGS, the author has a witty sense of humor that I adore.This sweet novella was exactly what I needed at this time of the year. An uplifting read for Christmas. I chuckled at many of the scenes. Especially when it came to Kelsey's old grandmother and her old friend Dody. Here's a sample when Kelsey is going on her first date with Drew: "Don't you have anything a little plungier?" Grandma called from the couch. "You can't very well expect to get his lord a-leaping in that dull outfit."Dody nodded emphatically, her jingle bell earrings causing a ruckus. "Exactly. Not a creature will be stirring, especially in his pants, if you don't make some effort...."Just writing those passages generated a snicker. Like I said before, I love Ms. Brogan's writing style and I look forward to reading more of her books. If you're looking for a sweet, short, easy read, I highly recommend JINGLE BELL HARBOR.
Now hop over to read Nana and Empi's reviews.

#IWSG

http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.htmlJoin Alex J. Cavanaugh and a multitude of writer's in this monthly hop to help support one another!
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Alex's awesome co-hosts are Eva @ Lillicasplace, Crystal Collier, Sheena-kay Graham, Chemist Ken, LG Keltner, and Heather Gardner!
**HAPPY NEW YEAR**

It's the beginning of a new year, a fresh start! It's a time of reflection: 
the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Let's inspire one another. 

Hope for future endeavors. 
Hope for current endeavors. 



Start the Day and the Year with a 
Positive Attitude

**Have a Great Month**

#CTST

Happy New Year to One and All!!!!!