Margo Bond Collins's Blog, page 80
December 11, 2014
Book Blitz: Under My Skin, by Shawntelle Madison
Under My Skin
(The Immortality Strain, #1)
By Shawntelle Madison
Release Date: 12/09/14
Book Summary:
Everyone wants to either be a member of the Guild or work for them. Little does the populace know that the Guild hides sinister secrets…
For Tate Sullivan, life in her small, coastal town is far from glamorous. The affluent lives of the Guild members and their servants isn’t something she has ever wanted. But all sixteen year-olds must take a simple test, and Tate’s result thrusts her into the Guild’s world, one where they hide horrible plans for those they select. Tate must fight the relentless General Dagon for control of her mind, body, and soul to keep the one precious thing she has always taken for granted: herself.
Her only ally is the same handsome boy she is pitted against in General Dagon’s deadly game. Quinn desires nothing more than to end the life of General Dagon who has taken over Tate’s mind. While romance blooms between Tate and Quinn, General Dagon plots to eventually take over Tate’s body, and love might end before it even begins.
Pre-Order Links:
Amazon│B&N│iBooks│Kobo
Excerpt
I almost didn’t hear when Valentin called my name. I glanced around to see that everyone was gone. I was dead last.
“Here she comes. Now all you reluctant bidders can try for the ultimate prize. We have here Tate Sullivan, item number 23607A. A lovely girl, if I may say so.”
His words drew me toward him. Past the empty seats. Down the rows toward the spotlight. During the whole way, my stomach threaten to purge. I knew what was coming. I knew what words would be said to the crowd, but they would be all about me. A set of stairs to the left was a means to escape, but I ignored them. There was no turning back now.
My hand itched to cover my scar—to keep everyone from seeing my deformity. All I could think about was the ill-formed stitches from the traveling physician who repaired the opening in my face shortly after my birth. If only he had used standard plastic-stitches the rich had available instead of regular stitches.
“We had enough prebids on 23607A to make this an interesting auction. I’m more than pleased to open bidding at 50,000 credits. Can I get a bid at fifty-five?”
I didn’t have to look up from staring at my clenched hands to see the rainbow of lights against the taut muscles. My heart jumped to hear him say that unthinkable number. Who’d want to bid on me? But then I remembered that woman with the black hair, red lips, and pale skin and how she said she couldn’t wait to bid on me.
About the Author
Shawntelle Madison is a web developer who loves to weave words as well as code. She’d never admit it, but if asked she’d say she covets and collects source code. After losing her first summer job detasseling corn, Shawntelle performed various jobs—from fast-food clerk to grunt programmer to university webmaster. Writing eccentric characters is her most favorite job of them all. On any particular day when she’s not surgically attached to her computer, she can be found watching cheesy horror movies or the latest action-packed anime. She lives in Missouri with her husband and children.
Author Links:
GIVEAWAY:Book Blitz Organized by:
December 10, 2014
Spotlight On: Shoalman Immortal by Toni Decker
Title: Shoalman Immortal
Author: Toni Decker
Series: The Shoalman Chronicles #2
Falling in love was never supposed to be part of the picture.
Kyrissa Spears was born with a powerful, and deadly, gift. When she paints, she captures emotions so strong they can kill. Desperate to find a teacher capable of helping her unlock and control her abilities, Kyrissa’s search leads her to an artist who may be able to help her. And he’s the one person she can’t accidentally kill.
After five centuries of pain and loneliness, Robert Shoalman craves release from his immortality. He’s all but given up hope until he meets the beautiful and intriguing Kyrissa. She could paint his death and break the curse, but at the cost of destroying her gift and being lost to him forever—none of which will matter if the demon hunting him finds them first.
Purchase:
Amazon
——————————————————————————–
Book #1
FREE December 8th – 12th!
Goodreads | Amazon
Excerpt
“You
keep telling me to trust my feelings.” Kyrissa ran her finger along his
lower lip. “Trust yours.”
His
mouth sought hers, the taste of her lips more exquisite than the finest wine.
He drank her in, wanting more of her intoxicating apples and mint flavor, as
well as the one that was just her. The one found only in her kiss. Burying his
face in her hair, he pulled her closer, lips trailing down her neck and across
her collarbone.
Pulling
the fitted shirt from his jeans, her hands slid up his back and sides. Each
touch on his skin left him burning. Reclaiming Kyrissa’s mouth with his, Robert
fumbled with the buttons on the front of his shirt, feeling her smile when she
tried to help him, both of them making it worse.
“Damn
it to hell,” Robert broke the kiss, pushing up to his knees to rip the
shirt open. The patter of buttons danced across the floor like rain.
“Robert!”
Kyrissa laughed at his impulsive action.
“What
good is money if I cannot afford to ruin a shirt?” He grinned. “Especially
if it is for the right reasons.” He’d ruin shirts every day if she would
look at him the way she was now.
Kneeling
in front of him, Kyrissa used her hands to push the shirt off his shoulders
while her mouth trailed kisses along his chest. “You could have just
pulled it over your head,” she teased, fingers working to pull open the
cuffs.
“I
thought women expected displays like that,” Robert fumbled, distracted by
her hands and mouth. In his day, affairs were slower, more reserved. He enjoyed
these times better. The women were bolder. More passionate.
“I
could get that male bravado bullshit from any pickup in a bar.” Her eyes
devoured him. “I want you.”
“Good.”
About the Author
Who is Toni Decker?
Two authors telling one sizzling story after another about
twenty-somethings getting along in their own crazy, fantastical worlds. Both
women are wives and mothers, sharing brain cells and characters as if they only
exist with the other.
Toni, one half
of the Toni Decker brain, is an avid reader of all things Young and New Adult
while Kira, the Decker half of Toni Decker brain, devours fantasy for midnight
snacks.
Together, their stories are one part New Adult,
one part fantasy and
three parts of holy hotness.
We leave it up to the readers to decide who writes which
character.
You can follow our journey on:
Twitter: @ToniDeckerBooks and @kiradecker & @ToniPicker
FaceBook: Toni Decker Books, Kira Decker, Toni
Picker
Tumblr: tonideckerbooks
Goodreads: Toni Decker
WordPress: Toni Decker Books
Giveaway
Spotlight On: Satellite, by Lee Davidson
Young Adult Fantasy
Date Published: May 2013
Grant Bradley was never meant to survive cancer or live happily ever after with his fiancée, Tate. Before he was born, his destiny to become a guardian angel was decided by the life-planning Schedulers.
Despite having what his new peers deem as a great position in the afterlife, living in utopia with a merciless mentor and looking after strangers doesn’t change the way Grant feels about losing out on his life with Tate. Refusing to accept his destiny, he finds a way to visit his lost love. However, keeping their connection alive and, most importantly, secret, will end up costing Grant more than he could ever imagine.
Written in a style that appeals to young men and women alike, Satellite, The Satellite Trilogy, Part I has a broad likability that will reach any fans of the sci-fi, fantasy genre’s recent outings. The 2012 ABNA calls this fantasy “captivating” and “an epic love story.” Inspired by the idea that everything happens for a reason and that even the most tragic of deaths can be instrumental in forming the future of the living, this novel delivers surprising depth behind its charming exterior.
Tagline
Grant Bradley has just one thing standing in the way of his happiness: Destiny.
About the Author
Lee Davidson received a bachelor of fine arts degree from Lindenwood University. She lives in Missouri with her husband and three sons. Her ‘on-the-clock’ time is spent as a graphic artist designing great big things. Satellite, Lee’s first novel, was selected as a quarterfinalist in the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest.
Website
Buy Links
Amazon Paperback
Amazon Kindle
CreateSpace
GIVEAWAY
Autographed Copy of the Novel
a Rafflecopter giveaway
December 9, 2014
Guest Post: Playlist for TYBURN by Jessica Cale
Tyburn
The Southwark Saga, Book 1
Author: Jessica Cale
Release Date: December 8th, 2014
Publisher: Liquid Silver Books
Guest Post: Tyburn Playlist
Thanks for having me, Margo! I so enjoyed your playlist for Bound by Blood, that I thought I would make one of my own! Music has always been a huge influence in my life and when I’m plotting out a new book, I make playlists for myself to set the tone.
Here are ten of the songs I would pick for Tyburn’s soundtrack. Enjoy!
***
Tyburn Blurb:
Sally Green is about to die.
She sees Death in the streets. She can taste it in her gin. She can feel it in the very walls of the ramshackle brothel where she is kept to satisfy the perversions of the wealthy. She had come to London as a runaway in search of her Cavalier father. Instead, she found Wrath, a sadistic nobleman determined to use her to fulfill a sinister ambition. As the last of her friends are murdered one by one, survival hinges on escape.
Nick Virtue is a tutor with a secret. By night he operates as a highwayman, relieving nobles of their riches to further his brother’s criminal enterprise. It’s a difficult balance at the best of times, and any day that doesn’t end in a noose is a good one. Saving Sally means risking his reputation, and may end up costing him his life.
As a brutal attack throws them together, Sally finds she has been given a second chance. She is torn between the tutor and the highwayman, but she knows she can have neither. Love is an unwanted complication while Wrath haunts the streets. Nick holds the key to Wrath’s identity, and Sally will risk everything to bring him to justice.
Unless the gallows take her first.
Excerpt:
Darkness had fully settled over the forest and he was in no danger of being seen as they headed for the city. There were no new street lamps so far out of town, and as often as she glanced at his face, all she could see was the outline of his profile by the light of the moon. He moved soundlessly through the night as criminals must, the warmth of his hand in hers the only reassurance she had that he was still beside her.
They reached the edge of Hyde Park and Sally felt Tyburn looming near before she saw it, the residual tragedy of the gallows rippling along the field in a mournful, near perceptible howl. Because she could not look away, she turned toward the evil and saw the fearful silhouette of the triple tree dark against the violet sky.
This is your future, they seemed to whisper.
In her heart, she answered, I know.
She heard the brutal crack of Claude’s strong, young neck reverberate through the darkest corners of her memory, felt his cold lips against hers once more in a terrible promise, and in her bones she felt the stillness of one who is certain they are about to die. She was immediately aware of the unique texture of every breath she drew, the sweet sigh of the breeze whispering through her hair, and the dirt, the calluses, the very fingerprints of the hand in hers.
So little of Sally’s life had been left up to her.
She might have days, hours, mere moments left, but she would be damned if she wasted them.
***
Buy it here:
Liquid Silver: http://www.lsbooks.com/tyburn-p975.php
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tyburn-jessica-cale/1120852744?ean=9781622101740
Bio:
Jessica Cale is a historical romance author and journalist based in North Carolina. Originally from Minnesota, she lived in Wales for several years where she earned a BA in History and an MFA in Creative Writing while climbing castles and photographing mines for history magazines. She kidnapped (“married”) her very own British prince (close enough) and is enjoying her happily ever after with him in a place where no one understands his accent. You can visit her at http://www.authorjessicacale.com.
Links:
Website: http://www.authorjessicacale.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjessicacale
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessicaCale @JessicaCale
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JessicaCaleWrites
Tumblr: http://authorjessicacale.tumblr.com/
Pintrest: http://www.pinterest.com/rainbowcarnage
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Jessica-Cale/e/B00PVDV9EW/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9819997.Jessica_Cale
Happy Release Day! Sleeping Jenny, by Aubrie Dionne
SLEEP JENNY IS NOW AVAILABLE ON ALL BOOK OUTLETS!
ABOUT SLEEPING JENNY…
As the daughter of multimillionaires, Jennifer has everything she’s ever needed, except time. Diagnosed with a form of incurable cancer, she has only months to live, and her dreams of working for National Geographic to save African elephants and polar bears are shattered. Her only hope is an experimental cryogenic freezing program, which will keep her in stasis until doctors can find a cure. The cure comes three hundred years too late, and she wakes to a futuristic world where animals are all but forgotten.
Descendants of her brother adopt her, and she’s thrown back into high school. Exara, the class beauty, calls Jenny the Neanderthal girl, and she becomes more of a sideshow than a member of the senior class. Only Exara’s gorgeous boyfriend, Maxim sympathizes with her. Her developing feelings for Maxim are only the beginning of her problems. There aren’t any more animals to save, so Jenny involves herself with a rebel group called the Timesurfers, explorers searching the galaxy for another planet to inhabit to clone long-dead animal species. Soon, she must choose between her blossoming feelings for Maxim and her lifelong dream.
AMAZON † BARNES & NOBLE † KOBO
ADD TO READ ON GOODREADS
PLEASE READ THE TERMS & CONDITIONS BEFORE ENTERING
Aubrie grew up watching the original Star Wars movies over and over again until she could recite and reenact every single scene in her backyard. She also loved The Goonies, Star Trek the Next Generation-favorite character was Data by far-, and Indiana Jones. But, her all time favorite movie was The Last Unicorn. She still wonders why the unicorn decided to change back to a unicorn in the end.
Aubrie wrote in her junior high yearbook that she wanted to be “A concert flutist” when she grew up. When she made that happen, she decided one career was not enough and embarked as a fantasy, sci fi author. Two careers seems to keep her busy. For now.
Twitter | Goodreads | Blog
December 8, 2014
Hollowed Humusara by J. L. Bond and Val Richards
Hollowed Humusara (Primortus Chronicles #2)
by J.L. Bond and Val Richards
Release Date: 11/26/14
Summary from Goodreads:
It begins again! Skylee Porter thinks the worst is over. She has faced her greatest fear, the monstrous black-eyed Brinfrost and survived with the help of Chrism, her shape-shifting sister. Sky even had the courage to finally admit her true feelings to Will.
But something has changed. The three people she trusts the most are acting strange. Will seems distant. Her talkative sister has clammed up. Even Airon is keeping secrets.
Soon, Sky discovers the leaders of the Primortus have plans for her. Then, to her dismay, they threaten to take away her magical book. The Humusara, the very thing that tethers her to the world she so desperately wants to protect. And now, the earth is trembling again. Could there be another Day of Disaster?
Dark powers are at work. Two prophecies loom on the horizon. One declares she’s the hope of humankind. While the other proclaims she’ll destroy us all.
Sky’s destiny awaits her…
Buy Links:Excerpt
“Come on now, open your eyes.”
“Aaaah,” moaned the teenaged girl as she tilted her head toward the sound of the voice awakening her. “Where—where am I?” she stammered, trying in vain to lift her eyelids.
Skylee Porter was in a large, rectangular room lined with oil paintings and sculptures. Her dust-covered jeans were torn at the knees and her wavy blonde hair was spread around her in a tangled mess. A trickle of dried blood marked a trail from her ear down her neck and her left knee throbbed painfully.
Without warning, the nightmarish image of a mask-like face with black eyes weaved its way into her mind. Brinfrost! She squeezed her eyes shut tighter and struggled against the hands that held her. No, he’s got me! It’s not him, she told herself in relief. As she settled back, she felt the weight of her necklace lying on her chest. My Elementum, thank goodness it’s safe. Skylee couldn’t bear the thought of losing it.
The powerful amulet and an extraordinary book, called the Humusara, were her most precious possessions. They had once belonged to her father, Lee Porter. He had died on the day she was born—the Day of Disaster—the day the necklace went missing, at least until her mother’s wedding day.
That was when she learned the Elementum and Humusara had been decreed to her in her father’s last will and testament to be passed down on her fifteenth birthday. She was surprised when her mom gave them to her early. But the greatest surprise came when she discovered they possessed magical powers.
Book One:
(linked to Goodreads)
Buy Links:
Amazon
About the Authors
J.L. Bond
and Val Richards have much more in common than writing. They are both Army brats, grew up in the hills
of Tennessee, attended the same college and worked the same first job. They share
an obsession for Doctor Who, Harry Potter, and have an enduring love for all
things Tolkien. Since they can’t live in Middle Earth, the call of the ocean eventually
pulled them to Florida where, together, they form the nearly fearless writing
duo of THE PRIMORTUS CHRONICLES.
Their debut
novel, ELEVENTH ELEMENTUM; Book 1, was released in 2012 to excellent reviews. The
second book in the trilogy, HOLLOWED HUMUSARA launched in the fall of 2014.
J.L. and Val are currently working on Plagued Primortus, the final book in the
series…when they aren’t daydreaming of joining a certain wizardy trio for a
ride in the TARDIS to Rivendell.
Author Links:
GIVEAWAY:Book Blitz Organized by:
Playlist: Bound by Blood, by Margo Bond Collins
Bound by Blood
A Night Shift Novella by Margo Bond Collins
Urban Fantasy, Horror
Release Date: November 10, 2014
Bound by Blood Playlist
All of the songs in these playlists represent some element of the characters, setting, or plot of Bound by Blood—and they’re also the songs I listened to when I was writing the book! I wanted songs that highlighted both the relationships among the characters and the horrific situation in which they find themselves.
Bound by Blood
Direct Link: http://open.spotify.com/user/12121922418/playlist/7xFJvz4COf79yNG8X3VwQW
Sometimes the monsters in the dark are real… As a child, Lili Banta ignored her grandmother’s cryptic warnings to avoid children outside their Filipino community in Houston. When many of those other children fell ill, Lili ignored the whispers in her community that a vampiric aswang walked among them.Years later, Lili returns to Houston to work for the Center for Disease Control—but she is plagued by dark, bloody dreams that
consume her nights and haunt her days. When a strange illness attacks the city’s children, Lili is called in to find its source, and maybe even a cure.But in order to save the city, she must first acknowledge the sinister truth: A monster stalks the night—closer than she ever expected….
_____________________________________________
Excerpt
Sitting straight up in bed, I gasped and threw myself back against the headboard, the thud dying away along with the remaining shreds of my dream.
But the word still ricocheted through my mind.
Aswang.
Until yesterday, I hadn’t thought of the term in years—not since I’d left Houston for med school in Maine, determined to get as far away from home as I could.
But this resurgence of the same, odd illness that had swept my city years before was apparently also dredging up the old stories from deep in my subconscious: the aswang, a vampiric woman who lived a quiet life by day and fed on children in the night, flying back home on bat-wings just before dawn.
My unconscious mind had clearly also expanded on the idea, casting me in the role of aswang and adding schizoid conversations with a chorus of internal voices.
Great. I’m insane in my dreams.
And I’m a monster.
Shuddering, I wiped my hand across my gritty, raw eyelids.
_____________________________________________
Buy Links
Only $.99 via Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Bound-Blood-Night-Shift-Novella-ebook/dp/B00PB3AIGC/
Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Bound-Blood-Night-Shift-Novel/dp/0990743365/
_____________________________________________
About the Author
Margo Bond Collins is the author of urban fantasy, contemporary romance, and paranormal mysteries. She has published a number of novels, including Sanguinary, Taming the Country Star, Legally Undead, Waking Up Dead, and Fairy, Texas. She lives in Texas with her husband, their daughter, and several spoiled pets. Although writing fiction is her first love, she also teaches college-level English courses online. She enjoys reading romance and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about heroes, monsters, cowboys, and villains, and the strong women who love them—and sometimes fight them.
_____________________________________________
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/
_____________________________________________
Spotlight On: Five: Out of the Dark, by Holly Anderson
Young Adult Urban Fantasy
Date Published: August 2013
Five teenagers who’ve recently discovered they have magical powers and are living in the Seattle underground feel it’s their responsibility to protect unsuspecting humans from otherworldly foes. Things are going well until Johnathan, their unofficial leader and the boy sixteen year old Paige is in love with, is bitten by a changeling – the venomous saliva causing him to metamorphose into a ravening beast with each full moon. Paige vows that, no matter the cost, she will find a way to cure Johnathan of the evil that has embedded itself in his soul. Johnathan’s monthly transformation and daily personality roller coaster isn’t the only problem they have to deal with. The Five are also gearing up to face their toughest and most dangerous enemy yet-a powerful and ruthless Warlock who will go to any means, including high school, to build his Dark Army.
Excerpt
Little blue sparks of electricity gathered at my fingertips. That should have scared me, or at least aroused my curiosity. But the scene playing out before me pushed away all other emotions except anger. Intense, red-hot anger.
I recognized the three boys from school―future serial killers, to be sure. The trio had Sadie tied to a tree. Her usually silky black coat was covered in dirt and pine needles.
One of the boys―Justin was his name; we had History together―looked up at me. “Hey, look. It’s the preacher’s daughter. Maybe we can try it on her next.” He hocked a loogy and spit at my whimpering dog.
They all laughed.
Sadie yelped as one boy held her tail up while a greasy haired boy knelt behind her holding a flaming lighter. He moved it closer to the firecracker they’d shoved in her behind. I could smell the singe of her fur. A fresh flurry of electric anger pushed its way out through my fingertips. My hair flew about my head, gathering more of the little blue bolts.
Then, I lost it. Completely lost it. I pointed at the boy with the lighter and let loose all of my anger and fear.
“Get Away!” I screamed, and with those two simple words, that fear and anger formed into something tangible and strong. An unseen force rammed into that sadistic boy with the power of an NFL linebacker. He flew into the tree directly behind him. The breath was knocked clean out of him. His brave, dog-torturing friends looked at him, then at me, then they high-tailed it out of there, leaving their fallen friend in a moaning, gasping heap on the forest floor.
About the Author
Holli Anderson has a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing–which has nothing to do with writing, except maybe by adding some pretty descriptive injury and vomit scenes to her books. She discovered her joy of writing during a very trying period in her life when escaping into make-believe saved her. She enjoys reading any book she gets her hands on, but has a particular love for anything fantasy.
Along with her husband, Steve, and their four sons, she lives in Grantsville, Utah–the same small town in which she grew up.
Contact Links
Website
Facebook: Author Holli Anderson
Twitter: @HaAuthor
Buy Links
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Hastings
Book People
Giveaway
eBook Copy of the Book
a Rafflecopter giveaway
December 7, 2014
Cover Reveal: Nightlight, by Heather Hildenbrand & Brina Courtney
Nightlight (The Mosaic Files #1) by Heather Hildenbrand & Brina Courtney
COVER REVEAL
Release Date: Spring 2015
For fans of HEROES and
X-MEN…
Young love can be deadly.
At seventeen, Hadley Grace knows it all too well.
When her boyfriend mysteriously dies in her arms, Hadley’s parents are terrified.
MONSTER, they call her.
CRIMINAL, they whisper behind her back.
Hadley is forced from her home, and her once comfortable life, into the unknown with only one rule from the loving parents who raised her: Never come back.
Heartbroken and alone, Hadley arrives at Little Hearts Orphanage, a place filled with others like her. Through training Hadley learns more about her skills and her protective nature. She is a Mosaic. A scientific anomaly of the human race capable of things most other teenagers only dream of.
Hadley soon discovers this world is much different than the one she left behind. Mosaics are a hot commodity. Someone’s always chasing you, wanting to use what you have. Hadley is never going to let that happen.
But how can she keep herself and her new friends safe, when with one touch, they’re gone?
ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS TBR PILE TODAY: http://bit.ly/NightlightGR
~*~ABOUT HEATHER HILDENBRAND AND BRINA COURTNEY~*~
Author of Across the Galaxy, Whisper, and the Dirty Blood series. I write, read, and fuss at my kids. Oh, and I do laundry, lots of laundry. I’m pretty good at it, too. Sometimes I even read WHILE doing laundry – and fussing at my kids. I’m a multi-tasker.
For more information on my books, release dates, or just general stalker material, um, I mean FAN material, visit my website. http://www.heatherhildenbrand.blogspot.com. I love hearing from readers!
Likes and dislikes? I love vintage tees, hate socks with sandals, and if my house was on fire the one thing I’d grab is my Amazon Fire TV! (oh yeah, I’m a fan of puns.)
Connect with Heather on Facebook
Brina Courtney is a young adult author obsessed with chocolate, crime shows, and fantasy movies. She’s spent the last few years as an elementary teacher and a high school cheering coach. She lives in a small town in Pennsylvania with her husband and two very loud, small dogs.
Connect with Brina on Facebook
