Tuesday, September 17, 2013

The Girl Next Door Blog Tour and Giveaway

The Girl Next Door Tour
ABOUT THE GIRL NEXT DOOR
eBook Publication Date: May 24, 2013
Two teens are forced to make some very grown-up decisions when one of them is diagnosed with terminal cancer, twisting them into an unpredictable nightmare. Best friends since toddlerhood, Samantha and Jesse grapple with the realization that they are actually in love. What now? Beautifully written while handling a very heavy topic, Castrovilla addresses the universal question: In a world where the worst can strike at any time, how can we ever feel safe?
The Girl Next Door: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes






ABOUT SELENE CASTROVILLA
Selene Castrovilla is an award-winning teen and children’s author who believes that through all trends, humanity remains at the core of literature. She is the author of Saved By the Music and The Girl Next Door, teen novels originally published by WestSide Books and now available digitally through ASD Publishing. Her third children’s book with Calkins Creek Books, Revolutionary Friends, was released in April. She is also a contributing author to UncommonYA.  Selene holds an MFA in creative writing from New School University and a BA in English from New York University. She lives on Long Island with her two sons. Visit her website www.SeleneCastrovilla.com for book excerpts and more information!
Author links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Goodreads






SELENE CASTROVILLA TEAMS UP WITH THE AVM FOUNDATION 

Selene is pleased to team with the Anthony V. Mannino Foundation helping young adults in their fight against cancer. She will donate $1 for each book ordered during THE GIRL NEXT DOOR's Blog Tour!

Selene will send a free autographed copy of THE GIRL NEXT DOOR to anyone who donates $25 or more to the foundation (click here to donate!). For your purchase to count and/or to show proof of donation, just send a screenshot or receipt of your order or donation, along with your shipping address if necessary, through "Drop me a line" in the "Latest News" section of her website, selenecastrovilla.com.

The AVM Foundation Mission:
The Mission of The Anthony V. Mannino Foundation is to financially assist young adults in the age group of 18-26 while they are undergoing their cancer treatment.  We also want to help development support programs to aid this unique age group, with their special needs, as they battle cancer. 

We found that Anthony's age group of 18 plus, doesn't have the emotional or financial support that other age groups do. We are also aware of the unique situations that this age group faces and want to help those adolescents and their families. 


GIVEAWAY

Grand prize is a  Kindle Fire + THE GIRL NEXT DOOR ebook (US only), and 10 second prize winners will receive an ebook copy of THE GIRL NEXT DOOR (International). 








Review:

This book may appeal to readers of mature teen fiction who like books centered on love and loss. Fans of Lurlene McDaniel will find an instant affinity for a girl who is losing the best friend of her life to cancer. In the depth of despair, love blooms, sometimes with thorns. **There are mature situations. The voice of the book captured me at the onset and the emotions evoked are strong. I am actually late in writing this review because I had to mull the book over in my mind before posting it. 

Stories of kids with cancer rip my heart to shreds. Dealing with illness when it comes to someone you love will rip your heart out and stomp it flat. That is kind of the case here. The book does circle around in places, but then again, so does illness. Faith, acceptance, fear, loss... Just when you think you are going one place, often something else happens. Dealing with death and the messiness of life are things to help us all put our own lives in perspective. There are a ton of internal conflicts going on but the spice adds texture to the story and breathes even more life into it. It made me cry. More than once too. These characters get under your skin.


This is a beautiful book and a heart wrenching story.

4/5


TOUR SCHEDULE

September 9th
Katie's Books (Interview & Review)
A Book and a Latte (Excerpt)

September 10th
Books Over Boys (Feature) 

September 11th
Dear Teen Me (Feature)

September 12th
Books, Authors, Blogs (Guest Post )

September 13th
alwaysjoart (Review)

September 16th
Writer's Alley (Interview)

September 17th 

September 18th
YA Reads (Interview) 

September 19th

September 20th
Mythical Books (Review)


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Monday, September 16, 2013

CJ Lyons: The Interview


CJ Lyons:

Describe your book in 5 words:

CJ: Girl dying of broken heart (literally)

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?

CJ: The first. I’ll often return to it over and over again until I’ve sliced and diced and fine-honed it to that perfect combination of intrigue, visceral reaction, and emotional connection with the reader.


What one young adult novel do you wish you had when you were a teen? Why?

CJ: Code Name Verity because it is so emotionally honest and inspiring, empowering, not to mention gut-wrenching. Really brings the era to life as well as the sacrifices made in the name of freedom.

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.

CJ: When I was a kid I worked summer stock theatre and was actually a theatre major undergrad before switching to pre-med. I’ve had two hard landings in helicopters while working as a flight doc. I survived rampaging Cape Horn Buffalo and a pack of wild baboons, not to mention a leopard (he’s already eaten) while hiking in Hells Gate Park in Kenya. I’m a Capricorn. I diagnosed my niece with the heart condition that’s at the center of my YA thriller, BROKEN.

What are you working on now?

CJ: DAMAGED, my next YA thriller, due out in 2014. It deals with the really tough topic of abuse and coercion and is the most difficult book I’ve ever tackled—there have been times while writing when I was literally in tears as I typed.

What is your favorite genre to write in? To Read?

CJ: I created my own genre of Thrillers with Heart—I love writing fast paced stories with raising stakes but centered on the emotional heart of an evolving relationship. As for reading, I read almost every genre but especially love YA, magical realism, and thrillers. As long as a story grabs me by the throat and won’t let me go because I’m too worried about what the characters are going through, I’ll read it and love it.


For more awesomeness, visit: http://yallfest.org/ and twitter @yallfest.


Saturday, September 14, 2013

Dark Shadows: Wolf Moon Rising


The first all-new Dark Shadows novel in years, written by Lara Parker, one of the stars of the cult classic TV show!

When a portrait is lost that has maintained Quentin Collins’s youthful appearance for over a century—and has also kept his werewolf curse at bay—Quentin begins to dread the full moon.

Meanwhile, David, the sixteen-year-old heir to the Collins fortune, has fallen in love with Jacqueline, a young girl living at the Old House who is the reincarnation of Angelique. David and Jacqueline are swept back in time to the prohibition era of the Twenties, where David uncovers the dark secrets of the Collins family history.

Most threatening of all, Dr. Nathanial Blair, an expert in the paranormal, has come to Collinwood because he suspects they are harboring a vampire. Fortunately, Barnabas Collins has returned to his coffin after a disastrous flirtation with life as a human. Nevertheless, what Blair discovers places the entire Collins family in jeopardy.

Amazon

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Gift Card Giveaway!

eGift Card design preview
Kindle Tree

We all love a good giveaway, right? Absolutely! So when I was contacted by the wonderful folks over at 

ao.com
who offered to sponsor a $50 Amazon gift card giveaway, I jumped right in. Who doesn't need a few more books in their digital library, right? So...here is my giveaway question. It is two fold.

1. What books would you buy if you are the winner of the $50 gift card?

2. If you could have any appliance for your kitchen what would it be and why?

Me...I am totally waiting to read the wonderful and exciting new release from Veronica Roth coming up soon. :)

Product Details

I also want...

Product Details

and a million other books...

For my kitchen, I think I would totally love a new dishwasher as mine had died and I have taken it's place. lol. A nice Bosch with a black facade and a silent wash cycle would make my day! 

Make sure you check out the awesome kitchen coolness at http://ao.com. There are lots of giveaways and you can even make your own video to become a product tester. Hmmm. I am so thinking about it. So come on guys...send me your wish lists and let's start dreaming of books and awesome kitchen appliances...I wonder if they have anything that makes a good pizza dough...hmmm.

This giveaway is open to all residents of Canada, the US and the UK. 

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

An Interview With Lauren Oliver


An Interview with Lauren Oliver...

Thanks Lauren for being on the blog today!


What one thing do you need to have when you write?
Coffee!

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?
Honestly, neither. It’s just every single line in between that feels impossible.

Best writing tip you ever received?
Aim for truth and beauty will follow.

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.
I have fourteen tattoos. I can fall asleep any time, any place. I have a phobia of worms. I hate fruit. I wrote my first novel largely on my Blackberry.

Where's your favorite place to write?
In my sunroom in upstate New York.

What are you working on now?
Two different middle grade books and an untitled young adult novel that my agent described as “the most disturbing thing he’s ever read.” Oops!

What is your favorite genre to write in? To Read?
I love realistic books that include just a hint of fantasy.


Thanks to YALLFEST for coordinating the interview. For more about this awesome site:

http://yallfest.org/ and and twitter @yallfest.




Monday, September 9, 2013

Beside Your Heart Blurb Blitz Tour


BESIDE YOUR HEART
By
Mary Whitney

BLURB:  


"It's an emotional story that will take the reader back to those feelings that made the late teen years such a powerful time."

Late one night Nicki Johnson plays with emotional fire and Googles her high school love, only to find his name splashed across the British gossip columns. Back in his native England, Adam Kincaid is successful and dating a woman from an aristocratic family like his own. With a career in politics, Nicki’s no slouch, but she knows Adam is living a world away from her life.

Yet there was a time he was no farther than the next locker. Nicki will never forget their year together in high school—the year of her sister’s death, the year her mother checked out. Adam helped Nicki through suffocating grief, and she led him through a coming of age. Was it just high school, or was it something more?


Excerpt # 2

“No British literature. Isn’t this supposed to be an English class?” Adam asked.

“Uh.” My ancestors would’ve been proud of the jolt of American patriotism that hit me.  “There was a revolution two hundred years ago. We write our own books now.”

He leaned back in his seat with a smile. “I think I heard about that.”

“We still share the same language.”

“Sometimes I’m not too sure.”

“I bet not.” I could imagine what he thought of a Texas accent.

 He picked up the list of books again. “What about Catcher in the Rye?”

“I read it a long time ago when I was, like, eleven.” I laughed a little as I remembered how I’d first come to read it.

“Is there something funny about that?”

“Yeah. My father had suggested I read it then. The book is the classic coming-of-age story. Clearly, he wasn’t really thinking about whether or not it was appropriate for an eleven-year-old.”

“Really? Why?”

“Well, for one thing, the main character is a guy who swears a lot.”

“I suppose I swear a lot.” He cracked a sly smile. “At least compared to you Yankees.”

“Yankees? You’re in the South.” I laughed.

“What else is inappropriate about the book? Now I’m interested. It can’t only be a few swear words.”

“No, it’s not just that. It’s…” I hesitated for a moment as I realized I was about to bring up the topic of sex with Adam Kincaid. What the hell, I thought. I should be matter-of-fact about it. He had a girlfriend and would never want anything with me. I could hide I thought he was hot, so I shrugged. “Holden, the main character…he’s a little sexually frustrated.”

His eyes twinkled, and it felt as if my words hung in the air. I wanted to squirm in my seat. ‘Sexually frustrated’—like me checking out Adam Kincaid.

His proper upbringing showed again as he sidestepped the issue, yet he smirked. “That sounds like an adventurous book to be on an American high school syllabus.”

“Like I said—it’s considered an American classic.” I laughed. “I guess some things are sacred.”

“But of course.” The gleam appeared in his eye again, and he turned toward me in his seat. “Teenage sexual frustration is sort of a rite of passage, if you will.”

There went the good-English-boy manners out the window. His tone, the look in his eye, his body language—was he flirting with or taunting me? I decided the former was impossible, and if the latter, I wasn’t going to back down. With two parents who were lawyers, debate was a family routine.

“A rite of passage? More like a biological fact, isn’t it?” I asked, casually clicking my pen. I raised a brow. “Especially for guys.”

“You’re right about that,” he said with a grin.






AUTHOR INFORMATION:


Even before she graduated from law school, Mary knew she wasn’t cut out to be a real lawyer. Drawn to politics, she’s spent her career as an organizer, lobbyist, and nonprofit executive. Nothing piques her interest more than a good political scandal or romance, and when she stumbled upon writing, she put the two together. A born Midwesterner, naturalized Texan, and transient resident of Washington, D.C., Mary now lives in Northern California with her two daughters and real lawyer husband.


http://twitter.com/wordymary/

Want to win a mega pack of three signed paperbacks? Follow the blog, leave a comment with your email address and good luck! Giveaway is tour wide. Follow the tour: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/08/blurb-blitz-tour-beside-your-heart-by.html

Thursday, August 8, 2013

INK: Fine Lines by Bella Roccaforte


INK: fine Lines by Bella Roccaforte
Blurb:
Shay Baynes is a wanted woman: by the police for a double murder, by two rival suitors, and by the evil specter that haunts her dreams.

It’s her twenty-first birthday and she finally feels like she’s in charge, out on her own and about to hit it big with a new comic series. The ink's not even dry on her breakout first issue but even Shay's twisted imagination can't predict what will happen when the fine line between reality and nightmare is crossed...

She walked away once from the men who want to control her and now they’re back. But can she break away from them and the specter who walks right off the pages of her comic committing gruesome murders.

INK: Fine Lines is a New Adult Paranormal/Urban Fantasy

**This book contains adult language and situations**

What Early Reviewers Have To Say:

“I couldn't read fast enough to find out what was going to happen next.” ~Amy G.

“Roccaforte is focused on witty dialogue and uniquely personal narration. I smiled through a lot of the caustic dialogue.” ~ Author - Nicholas Wilson***Warning this book contains adult language and situations.
Genre: New Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Bella Roccaforte Bio:
Bella’s motto has always been that you can choose to watch life pass you by or your can be the one spinning the world. You have to get out and live, life won’t come to you!
Bella has always seen thing in the world with a different view and has been an avid story-teller. She is enjoying putting her crazy musings into print for others to enjoy.

Writing is just one of her passions. She also loves music, reading, but most of all spending time with her kiddos. She grew up in New England where her brother, sister and many nieces and nephews live. She has lived all over the country. She currently calls Atlanta, GA home.
To her, one of the most exciting parts of writing is getting a chance to interact with readers. It is truly her hope that readers will reach out and tell her what they like and even don’t like about her stories. She’s looking forward to a relationship with the readers to better write stories they will love.
Please feel free to connect with her via Facebook, Twitter, Email or her website!
Social Links:
·         Bella Roccaforte’s Website: http://bellawrites.com
·         Bella’s Facebook: http://facebook.com/bellaroccaforte
·         Bella’s Twitter: http://twitter.com/bellaroccaforte
·         Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/bellaroccaforte/
·         Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/1cekNpH
·         Goodreads:
o   INK: Fine Lines - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18133206-ink
o   Bella Roccaforte: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7151265.Bella_Roccaforte
Buy Links:
INK: Fine Lines Available August 8th.
·         Amazon USA: http://amzn.to/13eGaUw
·         Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/13eI7jN
·         Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/15pcjs2
·         Smashwords: http://bit.ly/13R7nwn

Giveaway
We are thrilled to offer three digital copies of INK: Fine Lines .

Follow the blog and sign up in the form below:



Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Over the Rainbow by Brian Rowe


"Zippy Green never meant to fall in love with a girl, but when she does, her ultra-conservative father tries to send her to anti-gay camp. At the Kansas City airport, however, she hides inside a giant suitcase and sneaks onto an airplane headed not to the camp, but to Seattle, where her online love Mira lives. Halfway through the flight, the plane barrels out of control and crashes into the ground, knocking her unconscious.

When Zippy awakens, she finds that most of the passengers have vanished. She doesn’t know what’s happened, but she’s determined to find out. She begins a quest on foot toward Seattle, and along the way, she meets a teenager with a concussion, a homeless man with a heart condition, a child without a shred of bravery, and a terrier named Judy. Together the group discovers that more than two-thirds of the world's population has mysteriously disappeared. But that's only the beginning...

All Zippy wants is to find her Mira, but before she can she has to contend with two outside forces. The first is her homophobic father, who does everything in his power to keep her from the girl she loves. And the second is extinct creatures of all shapes and sizes, including living, breathing dinosaurs, which have replaced the missing population."



Like an answer to my question, flames exploded out of the house’s kitchen windows, and roared toward the nose of the plane.

We both stopped. I grabbed the young man’s arm and buried my head in his chest. “Oh my God. Oh my God, what do we do?”

“We need to get out of here,” he said.

I peered up at him. We’d just met, but he already felt like a friend. “All right. But where?”

He glanced in every direction. “I don’t know. Should we see what's on the other side of the plane?”

I shook my head and pointed to the left, at the dirt trail with the daffodils. “I say we head that way.”

“You think?”

Before we had to make a decision, a dog started yapping.

“Wow,” I said. “I don’t believe it.” The little dog from the cargo hold came rushing toward us.

The young man bent over a little, and, for the first time, smiled. “I guess we have another survivor, after all.”

“Absolutely.” I leaned down, petted the mutt. “Hi doggie, aren’t you a cute little doggie?” She was a gorgeous white terrier, with the slightest shade of black on her paws. “Which way, girl? Let’s have you decide! Which way should we go?”

The dog barked three times at my face, then started prancing like a little princess toward the dirt trail.

I shrugged. “I guess we’ll go that way.” I put out my hand and said, “I’m Zipporah, by the way. You can call me Zippy.”

He shook it. “Nice to meet you, Zippy. I’m Frankie.”

We followed after the dog, no real destination in sight. I had no idea where the path was going to take us.


Review to come!


Author Web Site: http://brianrowebooks.com
Over the Rainbow on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/16YkcZs

Monday, August 5, 2013

Gold Manor Ghost House Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway


GOLD MANOR GHOST HOUSE
By
Merry Brown

BLURB:  
Anna thought life was going to be awesome.  She was right…and wrong.

Won her dream job acting in a hit TV series.  Check.

Working with her best friend.  Check.

The set’s haunted and she’s in the middle of a supernatural war.  Uh, check?

Anna Rose Ellington is sixteen and living in Hollywood, hoping to be a star. Anna just landed a major role on Ghost House, TeenTV’s new fall drama.  A show promising to be so hot, Meg Sweet (the reigning teenage diva), signed on for the lead, and Adam Lewis (international rock sensation) is a principal player.

Her dreams are falling into place until she gets on set and begins questioning her sanity.  It’s true she has an unusual dream life, where once in a while her dreams literally come true.  But it’s been a while.  On top of her dreams not staying put in her brain, including the guy she’d been dreaming of for years, the house they’re filming in, Gold Manor, might actually be haunted.  But that’s the least of her worries.



Excerpt #3 from Gold Manor Ghost House by Merry Brown

“Keep your hands off her,” Corey yelled as he pulled his fist back for another hit.  A second before Corey’s hand made contact with his face, Adam’s eyes opened and quick as lightning he grabbed his fist.  Forcing it up and throwing Corey off balance, Adam jumped to his feet.

“I’m going to kill you, Lewis,” Corey growled.

I cleared my mind of everything but one thought, please don’t hurt him, please don’t hurt him. Adam instantly moved from retaliation mode to defense only.  Out of nowhere, Dom was standing in front of Adam, hands on Corey, trying to push him back and calm him down.

I was by his side, coaching him, reminding him, “Breathe, Corey.  In and out.  In and out.”

“No,” he spit back and lunged at me.

I barely escaped the blow to my jaw, but my thigh was not so lucky.  Going down with a scream, I wasn’t on the grass long before Corey was beside me, knocked out cold with Adam standing over him.

It didn’t seem possible for Adam to take Corey in a fight.  Corey was bigger, had more muscles, built like a line-backer to Adam’s thinner frame.  But no one could deny the evidence of Corey out by Adam’s fist.

My leg ached from the punch.  I’d have an ugly bruise for weeks.

“You okay?” Adam asked with an indifferent voice, but I wasn’t fooled.  I saw the hatred burning behind his eyes.




AUTHOR INFORMATION:
Born and raised in Bakersfield, California, Merry Brown now lives in the northwest corner of Tennessee with her husband, three boys, and Daisy the cat. She teaches philosophy at the University of Tennessee, Martin, where she counts it a great privilege and joy to introduce students to perennial questions about the nature of the universe, meaning, morality, and the human condition. Merry Brown's love of philosophy and young adult paranormal and dystopian literature inspired her to write THE KNOWERS, the first book in the Exiled Trilogy. GOLD MANOR GOLD HOUSE is her latest YA paranormal romance book.

My contact info:
twitter: @merryebrown
Facebook: Merry Brown
Link to book: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=gold+manor+ghost+house

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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Hidden Virtual Book Tour



HIDDEN
By
M. Lathan

BLURB:  

Sixteen-year-old Leah Grant has given up on being normal. She’d settle for stopping the voices in her head, intrusive visions of the future, and better odds of making it to her seventeenth birthday.

That’s the thing about pretending to be human in a world where magic used to exist – at any moment, her cover could be blown and she’ll be burned to death like the rest of the witches.

Everything changes when she loses control of her powers and flees the orphanage she grew up in. She desperately wants to be invisible but finds her face plastered on every news channel as humans panic over the possible resurgence of her kind. And now the hunters won’t give up until they find her.
Making friends for the first time in her life and falling in love with one of them drives her to discover why she is unlike any being she’s ever met – human or otherwise. The dangerous powers inside of her that would repel Nathan, her new, handsome reason for living, are priceless to some. The locked up forever kind of priceless. And to others, they are too dangerous to allow her to live.

Let’s hope she can stay hidden.


A far second to oranges, the song I sang in the shower every night had a way of soothing me. More than anything, it made me tired enough to fall asleep. With Whitney gone, I didn’t have to whisper it.
The stars are out,
It’s time for bed.
Now close your eyes,
And rest your head.
May angels shield you with their wings,
As you dream your little angel dreams.
I didn’t recall composing that song, but apparently, I used to think I was good and perfect like the angels. I knew better now.
I stepped out of the shower and tugged a brush through my unruly brown tangles. I stared into the mirror over the sink as I started the song again. My skin screamed winter. I should be a warmer tan; I looked less creepy in the summer. Maybe that was why the girls had been digging into me so hard. I looked rather witchy. The unease that made them mock me was probably their souls warning them, urging them to notice I was different and dangerous.
At my worst, it feels like the fire that could easily shoot from my palm is raging inside of me. My heart picks up, more than when I’m scared. It pounds, I can’t hear. My blood dances, taunting me, begging me to hurt whoever’s hurt me. And I know that I can. I feel that I can.
But I don’t. I breathe and pray and let the magic cool.


Review:

Hidden is a classic girl is bullied and comes out strong story. Leah is a witch surrounded by catty girls in a boarding school. She is an orphan in a world that has taken over all forms of magical creatures. She has been forced to hide what she is and suffers from self loathing and depression. Depression is rage turned inward and that is very real in this case. She has been made to feel that the magical parts of her are from the devil. 

The thing that struck me first about this book was the dark bubbling feeling that crept up from Leah. She really believes she is evil and tries to keep her inner demons, so to speak, at bay, even when the horrid girls taunt and tease her to the point of tears. (I think I would have zotted them myself.) When she is at a breaking point and about to flame on and turn them into a pile of ash, a witch steps in and whisks her away into an epic story full of magic, wonder and mystery.

The paranormal elements were enjoyable and I really felt akin to Leah. It is hard being different and knowing that somewhere at the root of what you are is wrong in everyone else's eyes. Being a teen misfit, I can totally get her want to be invisible and the impotent rage that smacks of a Carrie meltdown in the making. (I rooted for Carrie too.) 

The story development was a little slow and I had to re-read a few parts that were a little sudden, but all in all I enjoyed the book and thought it was a good start to a series with a lot of potential. 

3/5




AUTHOR INFORMATION:

M. Lathan lives in San Antonio with her husband and mini-schnauzer. She enjoys writing and has a B.S. in Psych and a Masters in Counseling. Her passion is a blend of her two interests – creating new worlds and stocking them with crazy people. She enjoys reading anything with interesting characters and writing in front of a window while asking rhetorical questions … like her idol Carrie Bradshaw.  

Links
Website: mlathan.com
Twitter: @hiddenseries