Margo Bond Collins's Blog, page 114
June 3, 2014
Cover Reveal: Taken by Koko Brown
Taken by Koko Brown
Expected publication: July 7th, 2014
The playboy…
Khalid Francois Duïs is a man who isn’t afraid to take what he wants. And what he wants is Olivia Pierce. As his best friend’s sister, she was supposed to be off limits but Olivia quickly becomes a fever in his blood he simply can’t shake. He will do whatever it takes to have her with him and underneath him, even it means kidnapping.
The independent woman…
Olivia Pierce vows to never marry, instead choosing to focus on her career. But a clandestine encounter with Khalid’s threatens her resolve. Though her mind says no, her body screams yes! Her only option is to reject the the arrogant industrialist who believes a woman’s place is in his bed.
When Olivia rejects Khalid’s advances, he takes matters in his own hands and whisks her away to placate his obsession. From the tempestuous passion of their first encounter, across stormy seas, to a beautiful oasis in Africa, Olivia becomes his prisoner and a slave to Khalid’s all-consuming seduction.
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About Koko
Koko Brown is an USA TODAY Bestselling author and romance junkie who once read over 200 Zebra romance Club novels the summer before her senior year in high school.
Her writing career began at the tender age of nine when she self-published and distributed a newspaper for her fellow classmates. Unfortunately, her grade-school principal Mr. Clark didn’t appreciate the competition and put her out of business after one best-selling issue.
Undaunted, Koko continued to write and read everything she could get her hands on. She honed her writing skills as a staff writer on her college’s newspaper, writing obituaries for the local newspaper, and even teaching American Literature.
One day, while daydreaming in bed, she came up with the idea for her first erotic manuscript. Taking a hiatus from teaching, she had enough time on her hands to flesh out the story in two short weeks. A month later, she cleaned it up and sent it to Ellora’s Cave . By January, she received a revision letter from one of their editors and by March she signed a contract for her vampire erotic novel Charmed.
Koko calls the east coast of Florida home. Even though she’s a multipublished author of interracial erotic romance, she has a life. She loves to travel (three continents, 20+ countries and 38 states so far), shop in thrift stores, ride motorcycles, and volunteering.
Goodreads | Website | Facebook
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GIVEAWAY
June 2, 2014
On Her Watch by Rie Warren
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Rie will be awarding a Kindle format ebook of In His Command, In His Sights,and On Her Watch plus a Don’t Tell series swag bag to a randomly drawn winner via the Rafflecopter at the end of this post during the tour (swag bag is US ONLY). Remember, the more stops you visit and comment, the better your chances to win.
The year is 2071 and all hell has broken loose. As the government tries to control the territories that were once the United States, an armed rebellion erupts . . .
AWOL from her military post, Lieutenant Liz Grant will do anything for the rebels she now calls friends. Her latest mission: return to the Beta Corps army and obtain classified information that could turn the battle in the revolutionaries’ favor. There’s only one problem: Commander Linc Cutler.
Strong, coldly handsome, and always in control, Linc is perplexed by the beautiful soldier brought in for questioning. He doesn’t know if he believes her explanation for why she went missing. He only knows his intense sexual desire for her cannot be denied.
Now enjoy an excerpt:
Pulling the mouth of an oven open, I threw the sheaf of papers inside. Orange flames licked the paper, tendrils of heat turning my weakness and words to flame.
At my back, another heat shivered up my spine. Linc hadn’t made a sound but I felt him. Hunched in front of the furnace, not looking back, I asked, “Let me guess, Little Miss Piss tipped you off?”
His footsteps rang while he ranged closer. “Are you having issues with El Tee Burr already? She just returned from a mission.”
Sabine Burr, snitch bitch, a burr in my backside.
“Nah. We’re destined to be best friends.” I closed the iron gate of the furnace and swiveled around to perform a desultory salute. “Commander.”
“Grant.” He ambled closer.
“If Burr didn’t come crying to you then why are you here?”
“I was looking for you, and I could ask the same of you.” Perspiration tracked down my neck and he watched it with avid attention before asking, “What are you burning?”
“My bras.”
A grin lit up his whole face, putting Nate’s pair of dimples to shame. “Maybe I should fish them out.”
“Help yourself.” I stepped aside, hoping to break the strange intensity growing between us.
“I think those were personal records you’d rather not have anyone see.” Tilting his head to the side, he gave some serious attention to my chest before adding, “Not your brassieres.”
“I think the heat’s getting to you, sir.”
His advance brought him against me. “What are you hiding?”
A Yankee transplant via the UK and other wild journeys, Rie happily landed in Charleston, South Carolina, with her English artisan husband and their two small daughters–one an aspiring diva, the other a future punk rocker. After earning her degree in Fine Arts, Rie promptly gave up paintbrushes and canvas for paper and pen (because she decided being a writer was equally as good an idea as being an artist, of course it was). That was fifteen years ago, her writing career started! With a manuscript of super epic proportions! Safely stored under a lace doily in a filing cabinet. Possibly in England . . .
Since then she’s done this and that, here and there, usually in the nonprofit arena, until she returned to her dream of being a writer. Even though Rie basks in the glorious southern sunshine as often as she can, she’s mostly a nocturnal creature adjourning to her writer’s atelier (spare bedroom) in search of her next devious plot twist or delicious passionate tryst.
No matter what genre or gender pairing she’s writing, she combines a sexy southern edge with humor and heart–and a taste of darkness.
https://www.facebook.com/RieWarrenRomance
http://www.pinterest.com/riewarrenwrites
https://www.goodreads.com/Rie_Warren
BUY LINKS:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ECEA4HY
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/on-her-watch/id684463737?mt=11
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/on-her-watch-rie-warren/1116333062?ean=9781455575176
Spotlight On: Just Sing by René Gilley
Just Sing (Seven Oaks
Series #1)
by René Gilley
Release Date: 06/05/14
Summary from Goodreads:
Sixteen-year-old Lily O’Brien has one goal in life—to sing. Her dream is to get into a topnotch college vocal program, but the summer before her junior year, her high school cuts their awarding-winning vocal ensemble. She might as well kiss her dreams goodbye.
When the snobby new neighbors move into their mansion up the hill, Lily is positive summer can’t get any worse, and she’s determined to hate and ignore them—until she meets Aiden.
He’s broken and beautiful, and they become reluctant friends. Through her newfound friendship, she finds the strength to step outside the comfort of her plan and follow her dream.
But when Lily’s family is about to lose their home, she puts her wishes aside and finds the answer to save their generations-old ranch in the last place she expected.
Available from:
Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Kobo
About the Author
I’m René Gilley, a young
adult and new adult author. I’m a mom, wife, and breast cancer survivor. A
portion of every book royalty I receive will go to support breast cancer
patients, awareness, and research for a cure.
JUST SING, my
debut young adult book, will be available in ebook and
paperback, June 5, 2014. Published by The Writer’s Coffee Shop Publishing House TWCS.
Author Links:
***GIVEAWAY***
Beyond the Count ~ Available in Kindle
Beyond the Count is available in Kindle:
Beyond the Count: The Literary Vampire of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
June 1, 2014
Benefits & Rewards of Reviewing: A Guest Post by Mayra Calvani, author of The Luthier’s Apprentice
Benefits & Rewards of Reviewing for Aspiring and Experienced Authors
by Mayra Calvani
If you’re an author or your goal is to become one, the benefits of book reviewing are enormous. If you already review books, you know how true this is.
When you review books…
1.You learn about the craft of writing because you get to identify both the weaknesses and strengths of a book. You learn what works and what doesn’t, and eventually you become more apt in avoiding amateurish mistakes when you write your own books. You can do this because you’re able to look at someone else’s book objectively, something that it’s hard to do with your own writing. In this sense, reviewing can make you a better writer and a better judge of literature. This comes very handy if you belong to a critique group or serve as judge at contests.
2. Your writing becomes easier and better. Reviewing is writing, after all, and the more you write, the better it gets. Reviewing helps to hone your skills as a word builder.
3. Your thinking skills become sharper because you have to ponder and reflect on why you liked or disliked a book. This sometimes takes keen perception.
4. You become familiar with publishers and the type of books they publish. This is especially helpful if you review in the genre that you write in and if you’re looking for places to submit your work.
5. You become familiar with agents and the type of books they like to represent. How do you know this? Most authors thank their agents in the acknowledgements page.
6. You network with other authors who in the future might help you promote your book. Authors are very thankful to reviewers for taking the time to review their books, especially if the reviews are positive.
7. You develop an online presence, a platform. If you have an attractive blog where you post honest, intelligently written reviews, eventually you’ll build a good reputation as a serious reviewer and readers, publishers, authors and publicists will want to become your followers. Having lots of followers will instantly make you more attractive in the eyes of a publisher when you submit your book for consideration.
8. You develop an identity as an expert, especially if you review in the same genre you write in. For example, if you review only young adult novels, and you write reviews often enough, soon you’ll acquire a thorough knowledge of the genre and what’s new out there, and your reviews will become more insightful because you’ll be able to compare works by different authors who write in the same genre. It’s difficult to become an expert in all genres, but this is doable in one genre if you’re dedicated enough.
9. You may land a contract with a publisher. This happened to one of the reviewers at one of the sites I review for. Her reviews were so well and thoughtfully written, they caught the eye of a publisher. They asked if by any chance she had a manuscript around. Well, she did and the publisher ended up offering her a contract!
10. You can build yourself a pretty nice library if you’re one of those reviewers who read and review quickly. I know some reviewers who review several books a week.
11. You’ll discover authors you didn’t even know existed. Review blogs are especially attractive to small press authors and publishers because they usually have trouble getting reviewed by the big publications.
12. You build relationships with publicists who work at major publishing houses. Once they’ve come to trust you as a serious reviewer, you can request those books you’re most interested in.
13. You get to feed your addiction—for free!
14. You can build a resume with publishing credits. They will come very handy when you start sending out those queries to agents and publishers.
15. You can eventually get paid by submitting your reviews to those sites and publications that pay their contributors.
What about the downside of reviewing? Is there one?
For me, at times it has gotten to the point where it has become overwhelming and I’ve had to put aside my own writing in order to keep up with it. It’s important not to get carried away and request more books than we can realistically handle. So, if you’re an author, reviewing can take time away from your own writing and it can give you stress. And when reviewing becomes a chore, it isn’t fun anymore. It becomes a job for which you’re not being paid for (unless, obviously, you’re being monetarily compensated by a publication).
Also, it doesn’t pay well. Take it from James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief of Midwest Book Review. He states that “the only way to make money as a reviewer is to marry rich!”
About The Author
Award-winning author Mayra Calvani has penned over ten books for children and adults in genres ranging from picture books to nonfiction to paranormal fantasy novels. She’s had over 300 articles, short stories, interviews and reviews published in magazines such as The Writer, Writer’s Journal and Bloomsbury Review, among others. A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, she now resides in Brussels, Belgium.
About The Book
The Luthier’s Apprentice is book 1 in this new fantasy series, featuring violin student/luthier/amateur sleuth 16-year-old Emma Braun.
Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840), one of the greatest violinists who ever lived and rumored to have made a pact with the devil, has somehow transferred unique powers to another…
When violinists around the world mysteriously vanish, 16-year-old Emma Braun takes notice. But when her beloved violin teacher disappears… Emma takes charge. With Sherlock Holmes fanatic, not to mention gorgeous Corey Fletcher, Emma discovers a parallel world ruled by an ex-violinist turned evil sorceress who wants to rule the music world on her own terms.
But why are only men violinists captured and not women? What is the connection between Emma’s family, the sorceress, and the infamous Niccolò Paganini?
Emma must unravel the mystery in order to save her teacher from the fatal destiny that awaits him. And undo the curse that torments her family—before evil wins and she becomes the next luthier’s apprentice…
Links
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K93R3OO/
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-luthiers-apprentice-mayra-calvani/1119467189
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Spotlight On: Gypsy, by Trisha Leigh
Gypsy (The Cavy Files #1)
by Trisha Leigh
Release Date: 05/13/14
378 pages
Summary from Goodreads:
Inconsequential: not important or significant.
Synonyms: insignificant, unimportant, nonessential, irrelevant
In the world of genetic mutation, Gypsy’s talent of knowing a person’s age of death is considered a failure. Her peers, the other Cavies, have powers that range from curdling a blood still in the vein to being able to overhear a conversation taking place three miles away, but when they’re taken from the sanctuary where they grew up and forced into the real world, Gypsy, with her all-but-invisible gift, is the one with the advantage.
The only one who’s safe, if the world finds out what they can do.
When the Cavies are attacked and inoculated with an unidentified virus, that illusion is shattered. Whatever was attached to the virus causes their abilities to change. Grow. In some cases, to escape their control.
Gypsy dreamed of normal high school, normal friends, a normal life, for years. Instead, the Cavies are sucked under a sea of government intrigue, weaponized genetic mutation, and crushing secrets that will reframe everything they’ve ever been told about how their “talents” came to be in the first place.
When they find out one of their own has been appropriated by the government, mistreated and forced to run dangerous missions, their desire for information becomes a pressing need. With only a series of guesses about their origins, the path to the truth becomes quickly littered with friends, enemies, and in the end, the Cavies ability to trust anyone at all.
Available from:
Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Kobo * Book Depository
Excerpt:
The door buzzer rings around four thirty, two hours earlier than Maya’s supposed to get here and way earlier than my father has ever come home. Not that he would ring the buzzer.
I haul myself off the bed and out of Gravity’s Rainbow, down the stairs, and peer out the peephole.
“I can see your shadow, you creeper. Open the door.”
A smile twists my lips and I yank on the knob. “You’re early.”
“Obviously. What’s wrong with your hair? It looks like a bird made a nest in it.” Maya steps over the threshold, looking as put together as she had at school except she’s in jeans and a CA T-shirt instead of a uniform.
“Not all of us are lucky enough to be as naturally adorable as you.”
“Yeah, well, don’t knock your long legs and nice chest combo. Short and cute as a button aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.”
Even though it’s my house, I trail Maya into the kitchen and find her with her head stuck in the fridge. She emerges with two apples, a jar of Nutella, and two bottles of water. We perch at the island, in the same spot where Jude and I sat the other afternoon. She slices away while I stop myself from asking why she’s here early, a little afraid that she’ll take it the wrong way, like it’s a problem or something, which it’s not.
“Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m here early?” Her keen eyes sparkle, like she can read my thoughts.
I shrug. “I’m too busy counting my lucky stars.”
“Smartass. Two reasons, actually. The first is that my father got your blood test results back, and since there’s nothing wrong with you, he said I could spill.”
“Nothing?” The relief gushing through my ears makes the words sound far away. Hot on its heels is disappointment—because we need a lead. Something that can tell us what those people know and how they changed our mutations with a single injection. “Nothing’s wrong with me?”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” she laughs. “I mean, I hardly know you and there’s totally something wrong with you.”
“Hilarious.”
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About the Author
Trisha Leigh is a product of the Midwest, which means it’s pop, not soda, garage sales, not tag sales, and you guys as opposed to y’all. Most of the time. She’s been writing seriously for five years now, and has published 4 young adult novels and 4 new adult novels (under her pen name Lyla Payne). Her favorite things, in no particular order, include: reading, Game of Thrones, Hershey’s kisses, reading, her dogs (Yoda and Jilly), summer, movies, reading, Jude Law, coffee, and rewatching WB series from the 90’s-00’s.
Her family is made up of farmers and/or almost rock stars from Iowa, people who numerous, loud, full of love, and the kind of people that make the world better. Trisha tries her best to honor them, and the lessons they’ve taught, through characters and stories—made up, of course, but true enough in their way.
Author Links:
GIVEAWAY:
Spotlight On: RAIN CHECK by GYPSY RAE CHOSZER
For Avery Montgomery, the devastation of losing her parents in a tragic accident has left her completely shattered. As she begins to pick up the pieces of her once perfect life, she uncovers a secret that will forever change her—she’s adopted!
In a search for answers, Avery ventures to Portland where she rents a room from Jonah, a quirky artist who quickly becomes her best friend. His house puts her in close proximity to the metaphysical shop run by her birth mother, the free-spirited Marianna Hutchins. Avery enters The Crystal Moon fully intending to confront Marianna, but instead she chickens out and inquires about a job. She’s hired; yet remains leery about confessing her secret.
As Avery settles into town, she has an embarrassing encounter with Gabe, the incredibly attractive man who works a few doors down. Despite the awkward introduction, there is undeniable chemistry, but after a recent heartbreak all he’s looking for is friendship.
Everyone deserves a second chance. Will Avery get hers with a new family? Will Gabe allow himself a second chance at love? Will they embrace their new relationships, or will they simply decide to take a rain check?
>> ADD TO GOODREADS <<
SNEAK PEEK
I never imagined it could be like this. I couldn’t have dreamed of the way the setting sun paints the nearby river red, lighting the sky on fire. How the breeze makes our seats at the top of the ferris wheel sway. How he pulls me close to him, whispering my name like a prayer, and moves my hair away from my face, brushing his thumb against my lower lip. And how, when he replaces his thumb with his own lips, he tastes of cotton candy, salt, and unspoken promises.
AVAILABLE TODAY!
Amazon † Barnes & Noble
ABOUT GYPSY RAE CHOSZER
Gypsy Rae Choszer grew up in the valley below Mount Timpanogos where she watched the apricot trees in her backyard bloom every spring. When she was eighteen she packed her bags and ran away to the exotic locale of Mesa Arizona to begin the work of being an adult.
Gypsy’s love of reading began as a child when her mom would take her to their local library and let her bring home stacks of whatever she wanted. This often lead to Gypsy reading with a dictionary nearby to explain words she intuitively knew her mother wouldn’t approve of.
In her spare time she likes to explore photography, make jewelry, eat chocolate, and mix magical potions.
When she’s not writing, you can find Gypsy hanging out at home with her husband and best friend, their three children, a neurotic dog, and four chickens. However, Gypsy knows her family will not be complete until she brings home a peacock and a goat.
Website † GoodReads † Facebook † Twitter † Pinterest
May 31, 2014
Sneak Peek Sunday ~ Legally Undead ~ Meet Nick
Welcome to today’s Sneak Peek Sunday Blog Hop/Meme! In the excerpt below, Elle Dupree meets Nick Calvani only moments after she sees her fiancé being drained by a vampire in their New York apartment. After you read this excerpt, be sure to HOP to the rest of the participating blogs!
Excerpt
The lead guy, who looked disconcertingly like a bad cross between Stephen King and Sylvester Stallone, all heavy jaw and protruding brow ridge and muscular torso, was popping out orders while he talked to me.
Nick–that was his name–and his guys said things like “nice job” and “good instincts” and “clean kill,” and I think they would have liked to say “welcome aboard,” but I was too busy vomiting into the kitchen sink to listen to them. At moments like that, you realize that there are things you just don’t want to know. At the top of my list right then were vampires are real and your boyfriend was just eaten by one. Closely followed by when in danger, you go for the heart. With a pointy stick.
But all of those things were pretty quickly shoved down to the bottom of the list by what Nick had to say. “The fact that he’s gone probably means that he was turned.”
My eyes widened. “Turned as in ‘turned into a vampire’?”
Nick nodded curtly. My brain was cloudy and my mouth tasted sour, but the fact that four enormous, muscle-bound guys dressed all in black had just come bursting into my home and interrupted me in a killing frenzy wasn’t entirely lost on me.
Oh, ye gods. My beloved is now a blood-sucking fiend from hell. Go straight to agony, do not pass go, do not collect $200.
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A reluctant vampire hunter, stalking New York City as only a scorned bride can.
Elle Dupree has her life all figured out: first a wedding, then her Ph.D., then swank faculty parties where she’ll serve wine and cheese and introduce people to her husband the lawyer.
But those plans disintegrate when she walks in on a vampire draining the blood from her fiancé Greg. Horrified, she screams and runs–not away from the vampire, but toward it, brandishing a wooden letter opener.
As she slams the improvised stake into the vampire’s heart, a team of black-clad men bursts into the apartment. Turning around to face them, Elle discovers that Greg’s body is gone—and her perfect life falls apart.
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Buy Links
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Legally-Undead-Vampirarchy-Margo-Collins-ebook/dp/B00KKV44BK/
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/legally-undead-margo-bond-collins/1119607989?ean=2940149615803
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/legally-undead
Amazon Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Legally-Undead-Vampirarchy-Volume-1/dp/0692211497/
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Legally Undead Trailer:
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About the Author
Margo Bond Collins is the author of a number of novels, including Waking Up Dead, Fairy, Texas, and Legally Undead. She lives in Texas with her husband, their daughter, and several spoiled pets. She teaches college-level English courses online, though writing fiction is her first love. She enjoys reading urban fantasy and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about vampires, ghosts, zombies, werewolves, and other monsters.
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Connect with Margo
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/margobondcollins
Email: MargoBondCollins@gmail.com
Website: http://www.MargoBondCollins.net
Blog: http://www.MargoBondCollins.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MargoBondCollin @MargoBondCollin
Google+: https://plus.google.com/116484555448104519902
Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/vampirarchy
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MargoBondCollins
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mbondcollins/
Be sure to add Legally Undead to your Goodreads bookshelves: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18366353-legally-undead
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Be sure to HOP to the rest of the participating blogs and check out their sneak peeks!
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Jumping Genres in June Giveaway Blog Hop
Welcome to the Words, Words, Words entry in the Jumping Genres in June Giveaway Blog Hop, hosted by Stuck in Books.
Ever since I signed up to participate in this hop, I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out what kind of book would constitute “jumping genres” for me–because I read, literally, some of everything. So I finally gave up and decided to offer a copy of a book I read recently that is a little (but not much) outside of my comfort zone: a YA Science Fiction Dystopian novel.
So for this giveaway, I will be offering a paperback copy (in the U.S.–if you’re international, I’ll send an ecopy) of Jenna Black’s novel Replica. Check it out below:
Sixteen-year-old Nadia Lake’s marriage has been arranged with the most powerful family in the Corporate States. She lives a life of privilege even if she has to put up with paparazzi tracking her every move, every detail of her private life tabloid fodder. But her future is assured, as long as she can maintain her flawless public image—no easy feat when your betrothed is a notorious playboy.
Nathaniel Hayes is the heir to the company that pioneered human replication: a technology that every state and every country in the world would kill to have. Except he’s more interested in sneaking around the seedy underbelly of the state formerly known as New York than he is in learning to run his future company or courting his bride-to-be. She’s not exactly his type…not that he can tell anyone that.
But then Nate turns up dead, and Nadia was the last person to see him alive.
When the new Nate wakes up in the replication tanks, he knows he must have died, but with a memory that only reaches to his last memory back-up, he doesn’t know what—or rather, who—killed him.
Together, Nadia and Nate must discover what really happened without revealing the secrets that those who run their world would kill to protect.
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I am also offering a challenge: I would love it if you could come up with a category in which I have not read and enjoyed a book. If you can, I will offer an additional surprise prize. And I’m willing to debate categorization, if you wish. I dare you: stump me! :)
So be sure to leave a comment (it’s one of the Rafflecopter entries), then enter the giveaway in the Rafflecopter, and finally, HOP to the rest of the Jumping Genres giveaway entries!
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Hop to the rest of the participating blogs.
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