Welcome to the blog tour for WHEN THE WIND CHIMES, an adult contemporary holiday romance, by Mary Ting. See below for information on the book, pre-order links, an exclusive interview with the author, and details on her giveaway.
WHEN THE WIND CHIMES by Mary Ting
About the Book – Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited
Title: WHEN THE WIND CHIMES Author: Mary Ting Publisher: Rosewind Books Release Date: November 17, 2020 Genre: Adult Contemporary Holiday Romance
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | Amazon IT
Synopsis Kaitlyn Summers is heartbroken.
When she receives an invitation to spend Christmas with her family on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, she feels it may be the perfect medicine.
She throws herself into helping her sister’s struggling art gallery, even taking a temporary job for extra money by looking after a little girl from her nephew’s school. She also begins to paint again, something she’s been unable to do since her breakup. It’s tempting to stay on Kauai, but she has obligations back in Los Angeles.
Life gets more complicated when circumstances keep putting her close to Leonardo Medici. Not only is he drop-dead gorgeous, he’s a local celebrity. But Kaitlyn can’t shake the feeling he’s hiding something.
Should she believe the rumors that he’s romancing half the island’s single women?
Or is the random sound of wind chimes when he’s close-by a sign that an angel is near and the secret to her happily ever after?
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Exclusive Interview
WHEN THE WIND CHIMES is quite a departure from your recent young adult fantasy novels. What was it like for you to step outside those fantastical worlds and into contemporary? It’s definitely a change of pacing and descriptions, but I had a lot of fun. I enjoy writing all types of genres.
Also, that last sentence of the book blurb makes me wonder if there isn’t a little supernatural twist in there. Is this something you want to share or would you prefer for readers to discover the magic themselves? Well, I think it will depend on the readers, if they believe in fate or not. ☺
What do you most want readers to take away from WHEN THE WIND CHIMES?
Sometimes you just have to take a chance. When one door closes, another will open.
Hawaii is so beautiful, so magical, so breathtaking; the perfect winter escape. I love that you set it on Kauai instead of Maui or Oahu. Any personal stories about a visit there you’d like to share? I’ve been to Kauai twice. I love how the island is lowkey and small. There are pockets of tourist places but it’s not as busy as the other islands. Kauai feels like a second home to me. Once you’re there, it’s like paradise. All your worries go away.
Switching gears, how are you weathering the fires near where you live? Thanks for asking. It’s been horrible. Fire after fire. It just doesn’t seem to end. I didn’t have to evacuate but some of my friends had. Thank God the fire near our homes were put out quickly … thanks to the hard-working firefighters. God bless them for putting their lives on the line.
I spotted a Funko Pop on your Twitter timeline. I love me some of those big-eyed bobble-headed characters. Who is that peeking over your shoulder as you read ISAN?
Those Funko Pops are Ava and Rhett from ISAN. I love them. ☺
Fantasy, scifi, contemporary, done, done, done. What’s one genre you have yet to tackle that you’d love to sink your teeth into? Those are the three genres I enjoy reading and writing. I think I would like to try adult fantasy instead of YA.
What can we expect next from you?
CODE, ISAN book 4 (April 20, 2021, Ronin Witch (YA fantasy September 14, 2021), and Abby, Kaitlyn’s sister from When the Wind Chimes will get her own story.
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Author Mary Ting
About the Author International Bestselling, Award-Winning Author Mary Ting writes soulful, spellbinding stories that excite the imagination and captivate readers all over the world. Her books run a wide range of genres: science fiction, fantasy, and swoon worthy stories. Her storytelling talents have won her a devoted legion of fans and garnered critical praise.
Mary was born in Seoul Korea and resides in Southern California with her husband, two children, and two dogs—Mochi and Mocha. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Becoming an author was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother. After realizing she wanted to become a full-time author, she retired from teaching after twenty years..
Welcome to the book blitz for IT’S RAINING MEN, a stand-alone adult contemporary romantic comedy, by Rich Amooi. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive interview, and details on his giveaway.
Synopsis On a dare, Faith Daniels tosses a coin into the infamous “Fountain of Love” and wishes for the perfect man, laughing it off as the dumbest thing she’s ever done. Like magic, her quiet life turns upside-down when men begin to appear out of nowhere. There’s a doctor, a lawyer, a firefighter, and a swimwear model, for starters. All of them are kind, generous, successful, and drop-dead gorgeous. All of them are interested in Faith. But who is Mr. Right?
A feel-good romance novel about love, friendship, and living life to the fullest!
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Interview
Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Dark chocolate almonds. Five to six each day after lunch.
Who was your first celebrity crush? Farrah Fawcett. I had a poster of her up in my shag-carpeted fort in the rafters of the garage. I even got in a fight with my brother one day when I caught him making out with the poster. I tried to clean it with Windex and ended up erasing Farrah’s mouth.
First car? Lime green 1970 Chevy Nova with polyester seats that stuck to my legs in the summer.
Is there an idea out there that you wish you’d thought of? Absolutely. These two lines from the movie Airplane!
“Surely, you can’t be serious.”
“I am serious—and don’t call me Shirley.”
Biggest fear?
Living without my wife.
What inspires your book ideas? This may sound crazy but some of my ideas start with just a title. The idea for my fourth novel came to me while in line at Starbucks. A woman reached over and smacked her husband on the arm and said, “Quit being so crotchety.” I smiled and thought Mr. Crotchety would make a great title for a book. Then I brainstormed the story and wrote it.
Caramel, kettle, cheese or regular popcorn? Yes, please.
What’s on your pizza? Pineapple and garlic.
Biggest pet peeve?
People who drive fast through residential neighborhoods.
Nickname as a kid? Stitches. Let’s just say I was on a first name basis with the staff at the emergency department.
First author hero?
Dr. Seuss
Favorite ’80s artist? Hall & Oates.
Favorite dessert?
Betty Crocker super moist yellow cake with chocolate frosting.
What did you want to be when you grew up? A DJ on the radio. I ended up working at some of the top radio stations in Silicon Valley for over thirty-three years. Then my wife encouraged me to take a few creative writing classes at Stanford and here I am writing romantic comedies!
If you were a Disney princess, which one would you be?
Did you really just ask me that? Can’t you see how much testosterone I have? It’s just oozing out my pores. I should be offended! I really should be! But I’m not. The answer is Cinderella.
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Author Rich Amooi
About the Author RichAmooi is a Taleflick Discovery Winner, Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal Recipient, Holt Medallion Finalist, and the Amazon Bestselling author of 15 romantic comedies, including It’s Not PMS, It’s You, Dying to Meet You, There’s Something About a Cowboy, and Madam Love, Actually. Over 500,000 downloads from readers around the world.
A former radio personality and wedding DJ, Rich now writes romantic comedies full-time in San Diego, California, and is happily married to a kiss monster imported from Spain. Rich believes in public displays of affection, silliness, infinite possibilities, donuts, gratitude, laughter, and happily ever after.\
Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Selina Marcille, author of CORPSE ARTISTE, a young adult mystery, releasing October 15, 2020. See below for information on the book, preorder links, my exclusive interview with the author, and a link to add it to your Goodreads TBR.
CORPSE ARTISTE by Selina Marcille
About Book 1 – Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited Title: CORPSE ARTISTE Author: Selina Marcille Publisher: Cypress Canyon Publishing Release Date: October 15, 2020 Genre: Young Adult Mystery Links:Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | Amazon IT | Amazon FR
Synopsis Eunice Griggs does not want to spend the summer working in her family’s mortuary, but her parents give her no other choice. Dead bodies and the smell of formaldehyde is not what she was looking forward to the summer before her senior year.
Despite her hatred at first, she quickly finds her calling as makeup artist for the dead. With the summer coming to a close, she is looking forward to finishing her job and celebrating with friends as she tries to grab the attention of Shawn Linden.
But when a body goes missing on her watch, Eunice is racing against time to get it back, lest a zombie outbreak be her fault.
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Interview
1) I love me a young adult mystery. They’re so much fun. And CORPSE ARTISTE sounds especially entertaining. What is the story behind this book? I think any good story involves some sort of mystery! The origin of this story comes from me sitting on a ping pong table in the middle of winter in the white mountains of New Hampshire. I was at my MFA residency and had just come back from a critique group. A good friend, Ted Flanagan- an amazing writer, had used the word “daguerreotype” in his recent piece. A faculty member didn’t like it but the concept intrigued me. A daguerreotype is a Victorian death portrait- a way for the living to have a physical memory of the dead. And these things are creepy! They would take the dead body, dress it up to look as lifelike as possible, pose it (usually in some semblance of an “action pose”), and then take a photo. Photos then are nothing like digital photos now, so it would take a long time to take… though they didn’t have to worry about their subject moving and causing a blur… most of the time.
After chatting with my friends and getting a bit snarky, the idea for Eunice and her work as a modern daguerreotype architect was born. It started as an elaborate joke piece mostly to try and prove that the word was awesome, but it turned into Corpse Artiste!
2) The setting sounds like a blast. What kind of research did you have to do to get all the details just right? I mean, hanging out in a mortuary isn’t something most people do. Perhaps this is morbid, but I WISH I had taken the time to scope out a real mortuary! I have always found that type of work fascinating and thought it would be one of the least desirable places to be when you’re trying to fit in during high school. The research was a lot of time scoping out Google Images and reading articles and real life accounts of morticians. A colleague connected me with her friend who worked in the business and I was able to develop a basic understanding of some of the work. You’ll note I focus on the make-up… not the science! I didn’t want to get too technical, but just enough to come across as true to the work they do. I did take some liberties for the sake of the story, so I don’t want anyone to assume that the “cremation station” comes standard in every funeral home!
3) I absolutely adore your main character’s name. How did you settle on Eunice? It’s so old-fashionedly hip! It started off as a joke! I tried to think of a really uncommon name that is out of fashion and is seen in a much older generation. It was really an in-joke for myself, but I liked the idea of my Eunice having deceased (very old) Eunices coming across her make-up table. Since her family is in the funeral business, I had this made up story that her father’s first funeral he did himself was for a lady named Eunice and he decided to name his daughter after her. Kind of creepy, right?
4) Based on the description, the book sounds like it has a fair amount of comedy in it. Do you find that writing comedy comes naturally to you? I think so! I am the sort of person who really struggles when something is serious. The struggle comes in my inability to keep it serious- I am always thinking of something to try and lighten the mood. Comedy is tragedy plus time, and I find that it takes me very little time to try and see the humor in something and I think that is reflected in all of my writing. As for being funny myself- I know my dad would say that, at the very least, I look funny! Gotta love those dad jokes…
5) Is CORPSE ARTISTE the first in a series? Because I have a feeling these characters are going to become huge fan favorites. Maybe? I haven’t ruled out the idea of a sequel, but I would want to settle on a really good story. One thing I don’t think there is enough of in YA Lit is older lit… like freshmen in college. Since my primary day job is working directly with college students, I think I could see something playing out for Eunice and company when she goes off to college. Perhaps something Halloween themed this time around?
6) I love that cover SO much. Who designed it? The cover artist(e) is LaSquizzie. The cover is just the perfect combo for this book and definitely has the Scooby Doo vibe I was going for. Look closely and you’ll notice some alignment with those famous characters…
7) I see based on your Twitter profile you’re a fan of the Oxford comma (I mean, who’s not), but please give our readers your best argument for using it. In my day job, I teach writing. My favorite example comes from strippers! I love to show this image when I am teaching my college freshmen about commas. They are always so surprised to hear this silly example, and I hope the oxford comma idea sticks because of it!
8) You’re a mom of small children. Any advice on balancing Mommy time with writing time? Audiobooks. Any good writer knows that in order to become a better writer, you have to read. Carving out time to read is a huge challenge when you have other things to think about- laundry, dishes, daycare drop off and pick-up… So I am an avid audiobooker whenever I am doing something that doesn’t require full critical thinking. From there, I find that I am able to draw inspiration for writing and make sure that I have dedicated writing time. For me, that is keeping a notebook next to my bed and being sure the last thing I do every night is write at least one sentence. Handwriting takes longer than typing, but by committing to writing at least one sentence per day in the notebook, I am finding I write more that way than I ever have on the computer. I promised myself to write every day back on November 1, 2019 and haven’t missed a day yet. Sure- several days where I spew out a 3 word sentence and that is it, but 3 words is better than 0!
9) Instagram tells me you dove head-first into the quarantine baking experiment. How did that go? I have always loved spending time in the kitchen. One of my favorite hobbies is meal planning and reading cookbooks. With quarantine, I opted to focus more on some of the more savory options so that I didn’t gain the covid-15 (that’s a thing, right?). I inherited a sweet tooth from my mother and have passed it down to my daughters. We made a couple of batches of Oatmeal Choco-Scotchies (Oatmeal cookies with butterscotch and chocolate chips) and 6 dozen of those cookies are gone in two days in my house. To avoid this temptation, I, like many others out there, made some sourdough. All good sourdough starters should have a name! The one my daughter and I have kept alive so far is named Jean-RalphiDOUGH in honor of the greatest TV show of all time- Parks and Rec. Unlike Jean-Ralphio in the show, Jean-RalphiDOUGH has matured nicely and makes a killer loaf of bread. Next on the baking list is figuring out something else to do with sourdough starter that isn’t bread. I have a lot of good ideas and am looking forward to the colder weather to make more savory goodness. Any suggestions?
10) So what’s next from you? I have this bad habit of “double booking” myself, in the sense that I work on two projects simultaneously. I think the project I am most serious about right now is a project I started back in 2015 called “The Night Virus.” It was inspired by the board game “Pandemic” and is just too fitting for the world we’re in right now. It is about a group of teens who get locked in the children’s section of the library while everyone else on their island community is infected with “The Night Virus,” a virus that causes anterograde amnesia and evening rage. They have no way of communicating with the outside world apart from the few open children’s websites on the ancient library computer. They have to figure out a way to save themselves and their whole town before the “Night Virus” consumes them all.
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Author Selina Marcille
About the Author Selina Marcille has been getting lost in books since before she could read. It was in 7th grade when an unsuspecting language arts teacher told her that she was a good writer. This bit of encouragement was all she needed to start putting her own adventures to the page.
She currently lives in New Hampshire with her husband, two daughters, and two cats. She teaches writing and listens to audiobooks to an almost obsessive degree and tears out more magazine recipes than she’d ever be able to create.
Welcome to the book blitz for THE LEMERONS, the second book in the young adult dystopian series, The Secret Archives Trilogy, by Valerie Puri. See below for information on the book and series, buy links, an exclusive excerpt, and details on her giveaway.
THE LEMERONS (The Secret Archives Trilogy #2) by Valerie Puri
About the Book – Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited Title: THE LEMERONS Series: The Secret Archives Trilogy #2 Author: Valerie Puri Genre: Young Adult Dystopian Release Date: October 1, 2020 Link: Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon IT
Synopsis Walls are meant to keep the monsters out…
Deep in the forest there is a wall where no wall should be. Behind it live the people of the Commune, the last remnant of human kind.
Jennie Caraway has lived behind the wall her entire life, certain that it protects her and her brother from the lemerons, ravenous undead monsters whose only desire is to kill – and feed.
Jennie’s peaceful existence is shattered when she uncovers a secret organization whose purpose threatens to destroy not only Jennie, but her entire world. The Order has a deadly mission, and they will stop at nothing to see it completed.
Jennie and those closest to her must expose the evil truth before they are killed – or worse.
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Excerpt #2
Marlene She sprung to her feet, drawing her sickle. Slashing the curved blade in front of her, she opened the lemeron’s throat. Congealed brown blood splattered her face. She grimaced, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
Stepping on its corpse, she dashed through the chaos of battle. Ethan swung wildly, cutting down advancing creatures with his sword in one hand and dagger in another.
Marlene gave a nod of approval as she passed him. A blade in each hand was smart. He blinked, confused. There was no time to stop and explain. A lemeron snarled and lunged at Ethan. Brenden stabbed it through the side.
They were being overrun and still didn’t notice the five other monsters running right for them.
She charged past the advancing group, slicing the head off one as she went by. Its head hit the ground with a wet thump. The other four stopped to face her.
These were people once. One still had the tattered remains of a dress hanging limply off boney shoulders. Its slack jaw tightened as it snarled and charged.
Marlene slashed at it, cutting its arm off. The lemeron didn’t even notice. It continued attacking, brandishing dirty fingernails and blackened teeth.
As she reached back, preparing to strike a blow, another seized her from behind. The ragged breath it drew rattled in Marlene’s ear.
Don’t let it bite you!
She squirmed, pulling frantically away from its face as the lemeron opened its mouth.
“Not today,” she yelled, twisting her arm free.
She rammed her elbow back, connecting to its jaw with a wet crack. The monster loosened its grip, giving her enough room to strike. Her blade stabbed the lemeron right through its open mouth. Its limbs went limp and crumpled to the ground.
She charged the one-armed lemeron in the tattered dress, aiming her sickle at its neck.
Marlene roared as she sliced its head clean off. It fell lifeless to the forest floor.
Two more to go.
They charged her at the same time. Marlene crouched. Extending her arm, she adjusted her grip on her sickle. Narrowing her eyes, she waited for them to get closer. When they were almost upon her, she sprung up, spinning in a circle. She felt resistance as her blade made contact two times.
She stopped, her back to the creatures. She glanced over her shoulder in time to see the two headless creatures collapse, dead.
Ethan and Brenden were still fighting off the remaining lemerons. Red blood streamed down the side of Brenden’s face. Three of the monsters backed him against a tree as he tried to fight them off. Ethan was busy with two of his own.
Marlene’s temper flared. No one – living or dead – threatened her family. She charged, swinging wildly, cutting down anything in her path.
Letting out a shrill scream, she cut and slashed with her sickle. The blade cut air and lemeron flesh alike. It felt good. The sound of flesh ripping open was like music to her. Like the song always calling her. The one that was currently calling her back to the wall. She fought it for so long. It was so loud now, welcoming her to oblivion.
About the Authors Valerie Puri is an author of Paranormal, Fantasy, and Young Adult.
As an author of both short stories and novels, she enjoys the flexibility of writing tales of any length. Her favorite aspect of writing is the ability to create something out of nothing. She loves building worlds readers can visualize and filling those worlds with complex characters and storylines. Valerie believes that the experiences we have in life are just stories waiting to be written.
In 2016, she published her debut novel, The Crimson Tree, a thrilling paranormal tale inspired by true events. The main source of inspiration for this story was a number of experiences her sister encountered in her home. She went on to publish The Dociles, book one of The Secret Archives Trilogy, her young adult dystopian series. Valerie’s work can be found in anthologies such as Demonic Anthologies, Thrill of the Hunt, and We Know the Truth, Do You? Readers can look forward to future novels and short stories with paranormal and urban fantasy aspects in the near future, including a trilogy she is co-authoring in the Dark Projects world.
When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, or listening to audio books. She is a Florida transplant, but part of her will always call the Midwest home.
Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Caity Schmidt, author of HUNTERS and ALLIES, the first two books in the fantasy series, The Wanderers’ War. See below for information on the books, buy links, my exclusive interview with the author, and links to add them to your Goodreads TBR.
HUNTERS (The Wanderers’ War Series #1) by Caity Schmidt
Synopsis All Jac Torres wants is to get back to Braora — to the world where she had magic in her hands and purpose in her heart. She wants to be back in a world that was just and good.She wants to go home.Despite what she wants, Jac has accepted that she invented it all during a psychotic break as a pre-teen.
Miserable for the last decade, she welcomes the meds that keep her from thinking about Braora and allows her to ignore the tingle of remembered magic in her veins. She checks off boxes and counts down to the day she can escape from the reminders of the mental illness that has plagued her.
Now, if only her new therapist would stop demanding she talk about what never happened, she could stop fantasizing about breaking probation……And his nose.When Jac finally faces a choice between certain misery on Earth and a possible happiness searching for a home that may not exist, hope has to be enough.
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ALLIES (The Wanderers’ War Series #2) by Caity Schmidt
About Book 2 – Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited Title: ALLIES Series: The Wanderers’ War Series #2 Author: Caity Schmidt Publisher: Cypress Canyon Publishing Release Date: September 30, 2020 Genre: Fantasy Links:Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | Amazon IT | Amazon FR
Synopsis No one can accuse Finn of being a coward, only an idiot.
He wakes to the comfort of a Peregrine healer at his bedside, but that relief is short-lived. His exile stands, the Order holds him responsible for the threat of the Hunters, and he’s all alone. In fact, his last ally stabbed him. For some reason, Finn is still fool enough to want to help her…If he can find her.
But Jac has no intention of being found.Still searching for the only place that feels like home, Jac continues to jump through Gates and chase the dream of returning to Braora. Until she finds it, she refuses to think about what happened or what she did. She refuses to let anyone get close, because wanting someone to be good doesn’t make it so.
That might change when Jac stumbles into a new traveling companion: an ally who could prove her theory wrong. Did she find someone she can trust, someone who could give her purpose and someone who could help her find her home?
Hope is tenacious, and Braora is within reach, assuming she can survive the growing conflict between the Peregrines and the Hunters, and if Finn doesn’t find her first.
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Interview
1) The Wanders’ War sounds like exactly my type of book. Book 1, HUNTERS, launches the reader into this world. Does ALLIES pick up where HUNTERS left off, or can the books be read out of order? Allies picks up almost immediately after the close of Hunters, which is for the best considering how Hunters ends. I’m sure someone will read them out of order, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
2) What is something about this fantastical world you created you want readers to know, but isn’t in either book’s blurb? Well, since I write from a limited pov, and no one on the Map actually knows this, I’ll never manage to include it anywhere else. The ability to travel between worlds is a genetic mutation that can be picked up if a pregnant person gets close to, or passes through a gate during a certain period of the pregnancy. So a lot of worlds believe that it’s passed down by a mother, and the data gets close to that, but it isn’t quite right. Jac’s mother, for instance, can’t leave Earth, but while she was pregnant with Jac, she went for a walk and passed by a gate. There’s also a bit of randomization involved. Not everyone that lives in the Gate region of a Core World is a wanderer after all, but it’s much, much more likely.
3) Give us a one-sentence description of your main characters beyond what’s in the books’ blurbs. Jac Torres lost everything and will crawl through glass to get a scrap of it back.
Finn Kersaht lost everything and won’t admit it’s gone.
4) It looks like HUNTERS is our debut novel. How long did this story marinate in your imagination before you got it all down on paper? I’ve joked before that Jac strolled up, fully formed, in the back of my head. She was the shadowy stranger in the corner of a tavern, and glared until I started writing down the story she told me. I wish it all came that easily, but it took about two and a half years before I understood the universe, the magic, and the characters well enough to send it into the world. Thankfully, my kid brother helped me out by poking holes in the logic of everything so I could create something that held water.
5) If the series was being turned into a TV show, who would you want to play your lead characters? Jade Hassouné has been my face claim for Finn for years now, mostly because he has the smirk, but Riz Ahmed would also be fantastic. For Jac, I changed my answer recently! I’m watching Lovecraft Country, and near the climax of the first episode, I realized that Journee Smollet would be perfect for Jac; her energy and her intensity are amazing. I’m a big fan of casting roles to keep my mental image consistent, so Javica Leslie and Chris Evans are also on the pin board, for Fasavi and Kalrah.
6) Switching gears a bit, 2020 has been tough on everyone, but living in So. Cal. has had its own challenges. How are you coping with the fires up there? LA’s air quality has been much better than it is up north, and I’m grateful for that, since I already have a cough from this. Where I am is safe right now, but I did refill my gas tank, and bought extra gallons of water, just in case. I’ve lived in a couple places that had a fire season, and it makes it really hard to brush aside climate change. You see the proof of it constantly, and you know that turning off the faucet when you brush your teeth isn’t enough to get ahead of the problem. This year is particularly bad, and to be frank, it’s making me a bit of a radical.
7) Scrolling through your Twitter feed, I see you’re just as devastated as I am by the loss of Notorious RBG. She meant everything to me, beyond just what she means to a semi-balanced court. I’ve read her book MY OWN WORDS and it forever changed my views of her, for the better, if that was even possible. Can you give us a few words that capture how you feel about losing this American icon? RBG did so much for women’s rights in this country that it’s hard for me to grasp that it’s one person’s legacy. She seems impossible. She quite literally changed the lives of every American. She did so much, and she did it so well, that I didn’t know until a few years ago that it had happened in the last few decades. As I’ve fought for respect and a place at the table, I was working on a foundation she made; one that was so sturdy it didn’t occur to me how recently it was poured. I know there’s work to be done still, especially in intersectional feminism, but when I saw the news, my reaction, overwhelmingly, was that honoring her legacy meant fighting every bit as hard as she did, to preserve and expand on what she gave us.
8) I also see you’re an artist. Please tell us more! What medium do you like to work with most? Where can we see some of your art? I got my degree in theatrical design and scene painting; when I can, my medium is latex paint by the gallon. I’ve been a designer in themed entertainment for the last few years though (museums, vip lounges, etc), which means I now live and die in digital modelling and rendering. I’ve got some of my art on Instagram, including world art for the books, some designs from other people’s books, but for the most part seeing my art means going to one of the venues, and those are all across the country.
9) Back to the Wanders’ War. Will there be more books in the series? If so, when can we expect to get our hands on Book 3? Assuming the kaiju don’t arrive in December to round out this hellacious year, Book three will be out in late 2021. The whole series has been outlined since last year, to hopefully avoid the car crash so many series seem to hit in their finales. Book three has a couple of moments I’m downright giddy about writing, but four – which will be the last of the series – will let me pull together all the threads I’ve laid down, and that’s my favorite part of writing.
10) What’s next from Caity Schmidt beyond this series? I have a standalone book within the universe of The Wanderers’ War that’s simmering, and an urban fantasy story which I’ve only seen in flashes. Outside of writing, my industry took it on the jaw from Covid, so my future is pretty much wide open. Ideally, I’d find something in political advocacy or awareness, but I don’t know where I’m going.
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Author Caity Schmidt
About the Author As a kid, Caity Schmidt told people she was going to be an artist and was immediately asked what her ‘real job’ would be. It had to be true, that being an artist wasn’t a real job, because adults said it. She then started writing, which prompted the exact same question. To spite those people, she decided to do both.
Caity went to school for theater and took classes in drawing and painting and writing. She then graduated, looked at the economy and immediately decided to take more classes. She followed her education with a career in themed entertainment design, which has turned her casual enjoyment of storytelling into a passion. In particular, she’s fascinated by — and susceptible to — the human need to reach out and pluck a chord that will resonate with others.
When Caity writes, she pulls inspiration from classic novels, niche stories, transformative works, Greek dramas, stage plays, history, and most especially from the surreal millennial experience of coping with a world that has broken every promise. Rather than re-examining the problems of the world in reality, she looks for their brighter reflections in fantasy and fiction, where swords and magic make them more palatable. Dissatisfied with stories that ignore or gloss over mental illness and trauma, Caity explores the realities and pain they cause, paying special attention to the messy road recovery follows. Her themes of home and a sense of place are influenced by the journey she’s taken in her own life, and what she’s lost.
Caity currently lives in Los Angeles at her 18th address, in her eighth state, despite not being a military brat — just unlucky. There she can be found complaining about the lack of weather, sleeping late, baking, futilely attempting to grow something beyond petunias, and drinking what her friends tell her is an unnecessary volume of coffee. She strongly disagrees.
Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Elzabeth A. Seibert, author of THE BRO CODE, a young adult contemporary romance. See below for information on the book, buy links, my exclusive interview with the author, and a link to add it to your Goodreads TBR.
Synopsis As a certified stand-up bro, Nick Maguire knows that some things in life are sacred: Do not skip ab workouts. Never back down from spicy foods. And always accept the outcome of Rock, Paper, Scissors. For these are the revered doctrines of The Bro Code, rules of conduct that have been passed down through the ages from bro to bro.
Heading into his senior year, Cassidy High’s star soccer player has his priorities straight and intends to spend his time playing sports, hanging out, and living by the code. But when his best bro Carter’s sister Eliza returns from studying overseas, the awkward, academic girl Nick remembers is different.
Carter might be Nick’s bro, but Eliza becomes his whole world—and he has to make a choice between them. Is being with the girl of your dreams worth breaking the most important rule: never date your best friend’s sister? Somehow, Nick never expected that following The Bro Code may have even bigger consequences than breaking it.
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Interview
Q. So beyond the blurb, tell us something about THE BRO CODE that would entice a reluctant reader. A. The story is a romantic comedy with deeper social commentary, and also includes a cupcake business, lots of pizza, and cute soccer players.
Q. What about these two characters will hit home with readers? A. Nick and Eliza both love prank wars. They also have a deep understanding of each other and can communicate with each other in ways that they can’t with the other characters.
Q. If you were going to compare your book to another author’s, as in if you like ___, you’ll love THE BRO CODE, what would that be?
A. If you love To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han you’ll love The Bro Code. I hope.
Q. Without giving anything away, what is something you hope readers take away from the book?
A. The message of the story is that rules are made to be broken, but that also means that social norms are meant to be broken. Males and females shouldn’t be forced into social roles based on their gender, which can happen even as teenagers. This book explores that.
Q: You first drafted THE BRO CODE back in 2012. It’s now eight years later and you’re publishing on September 22. What did THAT revision process look like? A. It was long! I had to add about 30k words, and I also wanted to update it to hold up after the #MeToo Movement in 2018. Many of the characters have totally different roles and the second half of the story is completely rewritten. So if you read this book and read the original story on Wattpad, you will read two different stories that happen to have the same characters, kind of like fanfiction.
Q. You’ve had an interesting education and I’m super jealous. How does one go about inventing their own major?
A. Haha I got my Bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where they have a program called the “Bachelor’s Degree with an Individual Concentration.” This is basically for students who have interdisciplinary interests or are already double or triple majoring, which I was (economics, psychology, and communications). I was able to combine the requirements for these majors that I saw value in and genuinely wanted to learn, to create a degree called Behavioral Economics and Media Writing. (Which is a fancy name for studying peoples’ behaviors, learning how to quantify it, and knowing how to write about the results in a variety of media.)
I initially thought I wanted to use this degree for marketing, which I did for a few years, but it has also come in handy with writing characters and being able to synthesize interdisciplinary ideas into my stories.
Q. I want to know more about NO CAPES. What can you tell me about this superhero novel?
A. I know we’re not supposed to pick favorite stories, but NO CAPES is definitely vying for that place in my heart. It is another YA novel, but it is a mystery/adventure where the main character, Madeline Roberts, begins working with a supervillain to save her city. It’s a fun story because instead of having to figure out who the main “bad guy” really is, the readers have to figure out who the real heroes are. I also invented new superheroes.
Q. I saw you visited my fine city of San Diego last year. What was your favorite thing you did while here? A. Oh yes! I loved San Diego, am definitely going to miss it this winter. I especially loved kayaking in La Jolla cove. I’m envious of the people who live there year-round.
Q. As a superhero fan, I have to ask, have you ever been to Comic-Con?
A. Unfortunately I have not! It’s on my bucket list, however.
Q. What else would you like us to know about your books and yourself?
A. My favorite part of writing is discussing stories (mine or otherwise) with other writers and readers. I invite you all to share your stories with me as well!
Q. What is one thing most people don’t know about you?
A. I am a triplet I have two sisters who are the same age as me (and no we are not identical).
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Author Elizabeth A. Seibert
About the Author Elizabeth A. Seibert has been an author, sunscreen-obsessed lifeguard, barbecue-loving waitress, finance reporter, nine-to-five marketer, and aspiring superhero. Her stories on Wattpad have amassed over thirty million reads, and she’s been featured in Imagines: Celebrity Encounters Starring You (Simon & Schuster).
Elizabeth attended the University of Massachusetts Amerst and currently lives in Massachusetts, USA, where she attends Harvard University. Elizabeth loves to cook and play board games and ultimate frisbee. The Bro Code is her debut novel.
Contemporary romance author Elle Greco is joined by her fellow romance authors to talk about writing all the naughty bits in her brand new podcast, STEAM SCENES, launching on September 22! See below for all the details.
STEAM SCENES Podcast
About the Podcast Title: STEAM SCENES Host: Elle Greco Release Date: September 22, 2020
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Links: Website | Apple | Stitcher | Spotify
Synopsis In each episode, Elle will be joined by a fellow romance writer to talk about all things steamy scenes – what makes a good one, what it’s like to write one, where to find inspiration, and even some of their favorite ones in literature. Get ready to look at your favorite steamy scenes in a whole new way!
Upcoming Episodes September 22 – Alex Rosa September 29 – Sara Whitney October 6 – Samantha Chase October 13 – LB Alexander
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Author Elle Greco
About the Host I write fiction about badass women (and the people they love).
Urban Fantasy lovers will know me as Karen Greco, author of the best-selling Hell’s Belle series. My Contemporary Romance books are written under Elle Greco. While the genres are worlds apart, strong female characters are the chain that links all my worlds. These women are magical. They wield wicked weapons. They play a mean drum solo. They fall in love. They rule the boardroom and the bedroom. Whatever they do, they do it with swagger.
My storytelling career began when I forced everyone play “make believe” with me when I was a kid. That eventually morphed into banging out short stories on my mom’s old manual typewriter. As I got older, I graduated to penning bad poetry, then not terrible plays as a teenager. I studied playwright in college but my career took a detour and I ended up working in journalism and then entertainment publicity, which kept me busy for 20 or so years.
My “day job” has taken me from gritty rock clubs in The Bowery to glam red carpets during movie premieres and awards shows. My background working with talent (and the suits) in the industry has served me well with the LA Rock Star Romance series. A few years ago, I decided to pursue my original passion and a few full-length novels later, here we are. I love anything spooky and impossible to explain. If you love hanging out in cemeteries, the older the better, I’d totally go on a road trip with you. I have two rescue dogs, a patient husband, and an awesome kid.
Welcome to the blog tour for DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH, a stand-alone adult contemporary dark romance, by New York Times bestselling author, Skye Warren. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive guest post, and details on her giveaway.
Synopsis I’m on my way to meet my birth parents when it happens. A white van. A dark hood. Every woman’s worst nightmare. Now I’m trapped in an abandoned building. The man who took me says I won’t be hurt. The man in the cell next to me says that’s a lie. I’ll fight with every ounce of strength, but there are secrets in these walls. I’ll need every single one of them to survive.
DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH is a new dark romance from New York Times bestselling author Skye Warren. Finding yourself has never been so dangerous…
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Guest Post Thank you so much for having me on Adventures in Writing!
I’m Skye Warren, the New York Times bestselling author of dangerous romance. I’m excited to be here to talk about my new release…
My new book, DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH, is a dark and sexy and very dangerous romance.
I’ve always loved books that had a happy ending, but I didn’t know there was an entire genre devoted to them. I used to shop in the regular “Fiction & Literature” section and peek to the back of the book to make sure it wouldn’t end in tragic deaths before checking out. Once I found out the romance genre existed, happy ending guaranteed, I found home.
I love that romance novels are mostly written by women, for women. My background is in Computer Science, which is an extremely male dominated field. In fact I rarely had female colleagues. So it’s great to work in a community of women who support each other.
Of course, DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH isn’t a traditional romance novel. It’s a dangerous romance. That means it explores the darker side of fantasy in fiction.
Don’t only take my word for it…
“Diamond in the Rough is masterfully written, sinfully sexy, and utterly addictive! Skye Warren proves why she is the queen of dark and delicious romance.” – Giana Darling, USA Today bestselling author
“A novel full of intrigue, secrets, lies, and a love that won’t be denied, Diamond in the Rough is easily a top read of 2020.” – Celia Aaron, author of The Bad Guy
“Five glowing stars! Diamond in the Rough is the dark and dangerous world that I love from Skye Warren. You will be completely caught up in Elijah and Holly’s story from the first page to the last.” – New York Times bestselling author Aleatha Romig
This is the first book I’ve written where the heroine is also an author, so I was able to draw on some personal experiences since I’ve been writing full time for about 9 years now.
It may seem like computer programming and being a novelist are very different professions. In some ways they are. At their cores, though, in both of them I’m writing, creating something from nothing, and using my creativity to solve problems.
Now I’ve sold over 1.5 million books, and I’m so grateful to my readers.
Thank you for letting me drop by to talk about my path as an author, and my new release. Pick up DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH for a sexy thrill ride that will leave you breathless.
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Author Skye Warren
About the Author Skye Warren is the New York Times bestselling author of dangerous romance. Her new book ESCORT is out now!
“ESCORT is perfection only Skye Warren can deliver—a poetically erotic tale of exquisitely damaged characters, devastating secrets, revenge and redemption.” – Samanthe Beck, USA Today bestselling author
“Hypnotically romantic…this book reads like a sensual dream and I didn’t want to wake up.” – Tessa Bailey, New York Times bestselling author
Welcome to the blog tour for KEEP FOREVER, a standalone adult historical romance/women’s fiction, by award-winning author, Alexa Kingaard. See below for information on the book, buy links, my exclusive interview with the author, and details on her giveaway.
Synopsis “Unlike some war stories that focus on intense, harsh and graphic depictions of post-combat trauma, this tale unfolds gently, like an Edna Ferber novel, spread across many decades, detailing the impact this soldier’s illness has on an entire family, including children and grandchildren. KEEP FOREVER is a wonderful, emotionally satisfying read that I highly recommend. ” GARY SEIGEL, author of “Haskell Himself”
Paul O’Brien’s idyllic childhood in Southern California comes to a halt when his mother dies in the summer before his senior year of high school and a very different persona of his father emerges – isolating himself inside the house, turning to alcohol for comfort, and barely noticing his only child. Simultaneously, the war in Vietnam is sending shock waves around the world and young men from one coast to the other are being called upon to serve. Paul enlists in the Marines before receiving his draft notice.
Elizabeth Sutton is eager to gain some independence from her father’s old fashioned notions and looking forward to her first year in high school. At fifteen years old, tragedy strikes with the loss of both parents in an auto accident, turning her childhood into one of responsibility and worry overnight. The four siblings are scattered when her nine-year-old twin sisters are sent to live with their Aunt and Uncle on Nantucket Island, and Elizabeth is left behind in Boston with their grandmother. Her older brother, Sam, enlists in the Marines, eager to join the conflict a world away as opposed to dealing with the one unfolding at home.
A bond develops between Paul and Sam in Vietnam, and both are injured in a bloody battle that costs Sam his right hand and sets the stage for a lifetime of nightmares and sleepless nights for Paul. Matched by similar tragedies at a young age, Elizabeth and Paul’s first introduction by Sam upon their return from Vietnam is the beginning of friendship and love that survives five decades.
After marrying, welcoming their first child, and inheriting a small beach house, the couple adapts to their new surroundings, but distant memories of Vietnam continue to haunt Paul. In an era when veterans refuse to speak of their pain and the government denies that thousands of soldiers are coming home irreparably damaged, he is left to deal with the challenge of caring for his loved ones amidst his his erratic flashback episodes and moods. As their lives unravel from the lingering effects of PTSD, Elizabeth learns to accept the burden that Paul brought home, and together they make their own memories to keep forever.
Inspired By A True Story
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Interview
Q: I see that KEEP FOREVER is inspired by a true story. Can you tell us a little more about that?
A: Anyone who was a teenager in the 60s’ and 70s’ has Vietnam firmly embedded in their history. It’s the story of my generation, and many of my girlfriends married veterans either right out of high school or when the men returned. Women were a part of this war, mostly as nurses and unsung heroines, but it was mostly a war fought by middle and lower class males, those who were not college bound or who were unable to get a deferment. As with every conflict, combat veterans bring home mental and physical burdens, but none were vilified like the young men and women who fought in Vietnam.
It stained their psyches, and many passed it down to their children – the second generation suffering the effects of this conflict. Wives were kept in the dark, the VA was not established until the late 80s’, and PTSD didn’t have a name. Aftercare was minimal, and many kept their unseen wounds bottled up for decades. I fell in love with a Vietnam veteran in 1969, nine months after he came home. This guy, and many like him, were just kids. Surfing and attending community college one day, picking up a machine gun and participating in a bloody fight for their lives the next. We married almost a decade later, had two children, and divorced after eleven years. But there was always that link that never faded, and a lot of guilt that I carried because I didn’t have the insight to deal with or understand PTSD at the time.
Q: What inspired you to tell this story now?
A: September 27, 2011, my veteran and I had become close again and spent almost all our free time together. His health was failing, he suffered from depression, but not lately, and on this day, he was on the top of his game. We were returning from a coffee date in the Village about a mile away from home. I was the driver – I always drove – and as I waited at the bottom of the hill to make a left turn a half a block away from the house, we were rear-ended by a large vehicle, twice as heavy as mine, going 50 miles an hour. Physically, we were not hurt. My car sustained $6,000 worth of damage, and the impact and collision triggered a PTSD episode in my veteran. Seventeen days later, October 13th, he committed suicide.
Q: What kind of research did you have to do to get all the historical details right?
A: I lived through most of it. People who know me recognize what is true, and what is embellished, but when I sat down to write, I didn’t have to think very hard. It was effortless, even though the first edition may not have been very polished. I was 68 years old and never published, never thought about writing a novel – ever. But shortly after my veteran died, I joined a Veteran’s Writing Group that welcomed me as the collateral damage that was never discussed. Most were Vietnam veterans, and I was a fly on the wall for five years. I was also a mess, but little by little, the story evolved in my head. Every month I listened to stories these men shared, never with their wives and families, and sometimes it felt like they forgot I was even there. Their memories were raw and gut-wrenching, fifty years after they returned. I was compelled, I had to tell this story. It is my mea culpa and tribute to my veteran, and every other service member who fought and was affected for a lifetime by this war.
Q: How do you think this story differs from one that would be told about PTSD today?
A: Thanks to the Vietnam veterans who fought for decades for better care, the younger veterans have a more stream-lined manner in which to apply for benefits. Even though they may need to wait 12-18 months for approval of an application, Vietnam veterans are literally falling apart, and are still getting denied in record numbers. I am grateful that as of five years ago, the Vietnam veteran now has their own day set aside for them, March 29th. But it took fifty years. Today, we also have wonderful non-profits, like the Gary Sinise Foundation, who have brought the struggles of our returning military into the light. But PTSD is the same in every war, just different settings and conflict. It is still a struggle for families and loved ones to watch and understand what their veteran is going through on a daily basis.
Q: What is the most important thing that you want readers to take away from KEEP FOREVER?
A: That the burden brought home is shared by everyone, from family members to government entities. Even if a veteran physically survives, it alters their entire life once they have seen combat. I can’t even imagine, even though I am closer than most to the reality that accompanies a veteran home.
Q: If you had to pick a theme song for the book, what would it be?
A: That was an easy one.. ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ by Paul McCartney.
Q: What are you working on now? And what stage are you in?
A: I write a newsletter every month for my website subscribers, but throughout the quarantine, I have been keeping a journal. The situation and my thoughts change daily, sometimes hourly, and some of my friends suggested I share my unique experience with my readers. I tend to think that we are all in the middle of our own unique experiences, but I started to publish my thoughts every week, blog-style, on my website.
I have also written the first twelve chapters of my third novel, MIRACLE. Don’t hold me to the title, it could change. I’m not sure where these little nuggets of inspiration come from, but after KEEP FOREVER and MY NAME IS ROSE, I noticed that I like writing about nostalgia. I also write about characters that are normal and ordinary, faced with difficult and extraordinary circumstances. It’s the human condition that moves my stories forward.
Q: Switching gears, how are you coping with being quarantined? I see from your Instagram account that you are not riding it out at home. Has that impacted your ability to write?
A: Thank you for noticing! What had started as an extended visit to Oahu to assist my niece and her family with their relocation from the East Coast, has turned into lock-down situation from the first week. Schools were closed almost immediately, resorts and tourist attractions were shuttered, coffee shops and restaurants closed, and all the tourists were sent home. Flights in and out are being closing monitored and if an individual does not have a place to stay when they arrive, either with family or friends, perhaps an Air B&B, they are being given a free, one-way ticket back to where they came from. These strict measures are keeping the number of confirmed cases fairly manageable, but I have now been in total quarantine for over four weeks with my niece, her husband, their daughter , and a German Shepherd. Nothing but walks, but I can’t complain about the weather.
It’s not been easy keeping a kindergartener entertained, but overall, I think my family unit has risen to the occasion and we are doing our part to remain healthy. My stay has been extended to whenever, and I’m anxious to get home to Southern California, but my circumstances are far better than many. As far as writing, I’m more determined than ever to complete the first draft of MIRACLE, whether I decide to publish it or not. I can write almost anywhere, alone or in the midst of others – but I need to be productive. I need to have something tangible to show for my weeks of no excuses that I didn’t have enough time to write or be creative. I’m limping along on a refurbished iPad and my phone, sometimes long-hand, but I’m moving quickly. The whole story is in my head, just have to get it typed out on paper.
Q: Have you seen the meme about picking a house to live in during quarantine? A lot of them are going around, but I’m going to give you a unique one. Pick a house from the list below and tell us why you chose it.
House 1: JK Rowling Ruth Bader Ginsberg Kanye West Jon Stewart
House 2: Stephen King George W. Bush Britney Spears Samantha Bee
House 3: Janet Evanovich Michelle Obama Tom Cruise Jimmy Fallon
House 4: Paulo Coelho Colin Powell Miley Cyrus Ellen DeGeneres
Of course, there are one or two in every house that don’t make my short list of people to socialize with, but the most well-rounded one to me would be House #1. The wisdom of Ruth, the sharp and intelligent humor of Jon, and the persistent, never-give-up attitude of JK would make for an interesting household.
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Author Alexa Kingaard
About the Author ALEXA KINGAARD, a California native, currently resides in Carlsbad and is the mother of a son and daughter who continue to be her biggest fans and cheerleaders.
October 13, 2011, was the day that changed her life forever when her ex-husband, a Vietnam veteran, took his life during a PTSD flashback episode. Inspired to share this tragedy that continues to rob husbands and wives of their spouses, children of their parents, mothers of their children, brothers and sisters of their siblings, and comrades of their friends, Kingaard relied on her own experiences to shed light on this crisis. The burden brought home is not partial to Vietnam, but is an insidious aftershock endured by combat veterans of all conflicts.
Kingaard continues to pursue her literary career, writing about nostalgia and the human condition, the common denominator of our lives.
Welcome to the blog tour for TWO THOUSAND LINES, a stand-alone upper young adult/new adult contemporary, by Michelle Jester. See below for information on the book, buy links, a guest post, and details on her giveaway.
TWO THOUSAND LINES by Michelle Jester
About the Book Title: TWO THOUSAND LINES Author: Michelle Jester Publisher: RopeSwing Press Genre: Upper Young Adult/New Adult Contemporary Release Date: November 21, 2019 Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU
Synopsis Olivia Brooks has been able to keep her life in Sugar Mill, Louisiana held perfectly together, far away from the small town where she grew up. Even though her past still haunts her, she has found a perfect process of surviving, until a string of events brings Luke Plaisance to Sugar Mill and turns her organized life upside down.
While Olivia fights to hold on to the life she’s created, unraveling it may be exactly what it takes for her to truly survive. She must accept her past in order to live, or let it threaten the only future she’s ever wanted. Because some secrets can’t stay buried… and shouldn’t.
An inspiring and heartbreaking tale of abandonment, survival, and purpose. A harrowing journey of self-discovery and perseverance.
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Guest Post How I survived writing emotionally dark subject matter
Writing about emotionally dark subject matter is difficult. I cry a lot. I am truly a joyful person, which makes it difficult for people to understand why I write what I do, but that’s why I write. It’s my safe place. I can express emotions and feelings that I don’t typically express elsewhere. I take a lot of breaks and mentally have to wellness check myself every now and then. My husband helps me and when he sees me really pained, he reminds me that I may need to step away for a bit. Many people don’t realize that authors connect as much as they do to their characters because authors usually write what they know, be it emotions, hurt, pain, humor, love, etc.
For me, being happy doesn’t mean I don’t understand deep pain. I am an emotionally charged, hyperactive person; understanding the pitfalls on dwelling on dark emotions is critical for me. So is writing. Writing is my outlet; my process. I never thought to publish until my daughter found one of my manuscripts and pushed me to do so. All I knew was I loved to write. It is so much my passion I have helped others publish their own works through the years.
A few reviews mention that I talk about too many types of dark issues within one book and they think I should focus on one at a time; however only having one issue at a time, well to be honest, that isn’t real life to me. I am writing to express that. None of us have just one problem or have others in our lives without problems of their own. Truth of it is we have to navigate our own as well as those around us in order to have compassion and live together. Rejection, abuse, neglect, and sorrow are things we all share. So are acceptance, love, consideration, and joy. I think sharing our own pain and stories of overcoming crisis is the main key that helps others start the healing process.
While my novels are fiction, they are all based on real emotion and experiences, which hurt to write about, but also is cleansing. Cathartic.
So, for me, I don’t think I would survive without writing about emotionally dark matter.
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Author Michelle Jester
About the Author Michelle Jester lives in Greenwell Springs, Louisiana with her husband, high school sweetheart and retired Master Sergeant. Together they have a son and daughter. She is a hopeless romantic and has been writing poems and stories for as long as she can remember.
One of her prize possessions is a bracelet with only a yellow, Rubber Duckie charm on it; which she wears every day to remind her to enjoy the fun and happy things of life!
Welcome to the book blitz for A DIVIDED MIND, a stand alone adult psychological thriller, by M. Billiter. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive guest post, and details on her giveaway.
Synopsis Sometimes that little voice in your head isn’t always yours.
What if the only friend you have isn’t real? When the voices in his head begin to make sense, high school senior Branson Kovac turns to the one friend he’s still got… only to discover he’s not really there.
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“This tightly crafted thriller tricks you – it carefully assembles everything you think you know, and then reveals what you didn’t see coming. A smart, searing novel.” -Nina McConigley, author of Cowboys and East Indians, Winner of the Pen Open Book Award
“A Divided Mind is a raw emotional drama about a mother’s worst nightmare…A gripping page-turner I couldn’t put it down until I read the final gasp-inducing line.” -Tiffany Reisz, USA Today Bestselling Author
“An emotional page-turner, A Divided Mind redefines what a “normal” family looks like.” – Angela McQuay, Foreword Reviews
“A haunting psychological thriller that will stick with you long past the final chapter.” – Best Thrillers
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Guest Post: The Stories We Live “A Divided Mind” started with a phone call. It was the day before a major college kickoff event I had helped plan for more than a year. I was crazily finalizing last-minute details when my son, Kyle, called saying he needed to talk. I still remember my exasperation from being bothered at work. What? What could it be now? With four children to support, I was finally getting my boots on the ground as an adjunct professor. My placement on the planning committee was a huge step forward in my career. An interruption at work meant a disruption in what I was trying to build.
When I pressed Kyle for an answer, he started to back away from the conversation. That’s when I knew. I knew it was more than a phone call. And suddenly, I couldn’t breathe or stop my mind from racing – pregnant girlfriend, drugs, failing a class? What I heard in reply wasn’t at all what I expected.
“I’m hearing voices.”
I didn’t understand what was happening to my son. I only knew I wanted it to go away. The campus event no longer mattered. In trying to build “something,” I let what truly matters – family, children, home life – break down. As I sat in the waiting room at the counseling center while my son saw an emergency intake specialist, my only focus was on my little boy. At, 6’1 my 18-year-old was far from little. He was my gentle giant, my brave heart. Together we navigated the world of mental health without any clue what was ahead. During this time, the journalist in me surfaced. I asked a lot of questions, which I wasn’t always sure I wanted to know the answer.
By delving into the darkness, Kyle shared with me demons I never knew he battled. It was heartbreaking and heroic. The story we lived became the story we told – with a twist. What started out as a quest for answers, turned into a fictionalized, chilling story of what could happen if a divided mind was left untreated.
The book wrote itself. Yet, the manuscript for, “A Divided Mind” stayed on my desktop for four years. Kyle wanted the book published the minute we finished, but I wasn’t as brave.
It’s taken me four years to allow this story to be released into the world. I wasn’t about to just place it in anyone’s hands. Every member of the publishing team at Tangled Tree is family to me and my son. They get it. I have been included and have had a voice in every aspect of this process.
So when I considered authors I’d approach for a cover quote, I was equally as selective. Two authors, whose work I have long admired and have met personally, which only heightened my respect for them, topped my wish list.
I knew it was a big ask. But it was one I was willing to make.
Tiffany Reisz and Nina McConigley answered my request with kindness, heart, and professionalism. It’s more than I asked for and nothing short of awesome.
The first person I shared their generous endorsement quotes with was Kyle, who texted back, “Hell yeah!”
Four years later, my son is set to graduate from the University of Wyoming in May. I’ve never known anyone who has worked harder for their future than Kyle. In July, “A Divided Mind,” the story we wrote during the darkest period in our lives will take flight.
I’ll let Tiffany and Nina’s advanced praise do the rest of the talking.
“A Divided Mind is a raw emotional drama about a mother’s worst nightmare… A gripping page-turner, I couldn’t put it down until I read the final gasp-inducing line.” —Tiffany Reisz, USA Today Bestselling Author
“This tightly crafted thriller tricks you – it carefully assembles everything you think you know, and then reveals what you didn’t see coming. Taut and deftly rendered, Billiter delivers a smart, searing novel. This well-paced story skillfully shows a mother’s love and the levels we will go to protect our families. The narrators keeping you reading, and questioning everything we hold true in our own minds. This book is an uncompromising view of the bond between mother and child, and the stories we tell each other in order to survive.” — Nina McConigley, author of Cowboys and East Indians, winner of the PEN Open Book Award
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Author M. Billiter
About Author M. Billiter is the alter ego of contemporary, award-winning romance author, Mary Billliter.
After writing more than a dozen love stories, she is exploring the other side. Best known for her emotional honesty, Mary doesn’t write about well-adjusted people, but rather the wounds in life.
M. Billiter writes with clarity and raw emotion to explore difficult subjects and issues close to her heart.
Welcome to the blog tour for STRANGER RITUALS, the first book in the new adult dark fantasy series, by Kali Rose Schmidt. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive guest post, and details on her giveaway.
Synopsis A fighter with a venomous grudge.
A monster with an immortal curse.
A girl with a terrible gift.
All three out for blood in a land torn apart by harsh gods and holy wars. Each entwined with the other, on their own quests for vengeance, and yet held together by strange links to sinister pasts. As their fates unravel, a dangerous romance blooms, and violent darkness beckons.
At turns both darkly humorous and utterly morbid, STRANGER RITUALS is the startling first novel in Kali Rose Schmidt’s dark new series.
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Guest Post: Creating the Perfect Villain Hi! I’m Kali Rose Schmidt and I am the author of Stranger Rituals, a dark adult fantasy that blends blood magic and religion to create the perfect recipe for horrible people and heartbreak. And that leads me to our topic of Creating the Perfect Villain.
Stranger Rituals is full of villains. Nearly everyone is a villain, and even though I tried to warn my early readers about this, they were still astounded at the end of the book. That’s not a spoiler, just a…warning.
I’m a self-proclaimed villain lover, and I think creating the perfect villain is at once extremely difficult and very easy. It’s difficult because it can be hard to get readers to care for the bad guy/girl, when they’re doing awful things. It’s easy because everyone does awful things. Even you. Yes, you.
And that’s the trick, isn’t it? Humans (or elves or faeries or vampires) are capable of both good and bad, and the trick with a villain is to tip them over the scales to evil, while also remembering they’re still human (even if they’re not, you know what I mean). They still have wants and needs and desires, and even the most confident of villains has moments of self-doubt, which can go a long way in getting your reader to empathize with them.
They might kill an entire town with seemingly no remorse, and that’s awful, of course, but the key to empathizing is asking why? Sometimes you might wish to really hurt someone who has hurt you, and even though you’re a law-abiding citizen so you never would, of course, it’s helpful to dig into your own motives in those moments. Did someone mistreat you as a child? Did someone lie to you in a way that deeply wounded you? Do you feel justified in your thoughts of vengeance?
If so, you’re well on your way to becoming a villain yourself. I’m kidding, kind of, but those are the kinds of things readers will be able to understand (even if they don’t condone it). The villain takes what they want with no regard for laws or humanity because they’re villains, but their hurts are very human and very real.
Hanging on to those human qualities goes a long way in writing an at once despicable and yet somewhat likeable villain.
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Author Kali Rose Schmidt
About the Author Kali Rose Schmidt is an author, mother, and villain lover. She likes bloody tales of monsters, yoga with the lights off, and anything that goes bump in the night.
Welcome to the book blitz for UNEXPECTED COMMANDER, the third book in the adult science fiction romance series, Unexpected, by Layla Stone. See below for information on the book and series, buy links, an exclusive interview, and details on her giveaway.
UNEXPECTED COMMANDER (Unexpected #3) by Layla Stone
About the Book – Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited Title: UNEXPECTEDCOMMANDER Series: Unexpected #3 Author: Layla Stone Release Date: June 24, 2019
Genre: Adult Science Fiction Romance
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU
Synopsis She’s shy and timid. He’s unsocial and arrogant.
Yon’s past hardened him to the point that he speaks the raw truth without thinking about the consequences. He’s always been that way, but if he’s not careful he’s going lose more than the sweetest female he’s ever known, he’s going to lose a potential mate.
Yelena’s past conditioned her to be obedient and silent. She’s always been a loner, but when she meets Yon in the cages of Brica, she’s drawn to him and his strength. If only he’d notice she’s not as weak as he thinks she is.
Yelena has a chance to help find the Numan who turned her skin luminescent. During the mission something goes wrong and she has to rely on Yon once more… or is it Yon who has to rely on her?
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Author Interview: Q: Are there any secrets from the book, you can share with your readers?
A: I don’t want to ruin it for anyone, but I will suggest to pay attention to Ansel in this one.
Q: Can you share a snippet that isn’t in the blurb or excerpt?
A: “Are you always like this?”
Yon placed her on the bed, took a pillow, and handed it to her. “Keep the foot elevated. And, no, I’m not always like this.”
She held up her hand, hoping he wouldn’t leave her yet. She wanted to understand him better. “And when you say, ‘not always like this,’ do you mean you don’t knock people unconscious a lot?”
His head tilted slightly. “No, I meant I don’t usually come down to the planets I hate just to find a specific female and bring her back safely.”
It took a half-second longer than it should have for her to process that. “You came for me?”
“You shouldn’t have been down here in the first place.”
Yelena didn’t know what to say to that.
“Good thing you didn’t like Lotus Adaamas, because it was the last time you’re going to see it.” Yon was still holding out the pillow. His tone didn’t sound angry, more matter-of-fact.
She took the pillow and said, “Is it because of my skin? Or because of something else?”
“All of that and more.”
“What else could there be?”
“I will write you a list.”
Q: Does one of the main characters hold a special place in your heart? If so, why?
A: I’ve meet males like the hero before and I’ve always wanted to see him with a happily ever after, but more often than not, he can’t soften enough to be in a relationship.
Q: What do you hope your readers take away from this book?
A: I hope they are interested in the next book, to be honest.
Q: Can you give us some insight into what makes the hero tick?
A: He’s got a chip on his shoulder a thousand miles high, brought on by upbringing
Q: What were the key challenges you faced when writing this book?
A: It was hard to soften the hero enough to make him a character my readers would enjoy instead of hate. I re-wrote this book three times just to get the romance right.
Q: What was the highlight of writing this book?
A: My favorite part of writing is sending 2-3 chapters to my beta reader and getting her thoughts via marco-polo app.
About the Author LaylaStone is a Sci-Fi Romance author who is passionate about writing and reading romances. Her books are a blend of science fiction, romance and action adventure.
A business coordinator by training and a bookworm at heart, Layla makes her home in Southern California, where she lives with her husband, two children, and a trio of fur babies.
Welcome to the blog tour for IMMERSE, the third book in the young adult fantasy romance series, Mer Chronicles, by Tobie Easton. See below for information on the book and series, buy links, a guest post on the author’s top ten vacation destinations, and details on her giveaway.
Synopsis Immerse is the spellbinding and breathless final installment of the Mer Chronicles series where descendants of the Little Mermaid must face deadly magic, shifting alliances, and the dangers of forbidden love.
Lia can’t wait for her parents’ coronation. Now living in the sparkling palace beneath the waves, she sneaks off to Malibu whenever possible to see Clay. Tucked away in an abandoned seaside mansion, Lia and Clay devise a plan to ensure they can stay together forever.
But when an old enemy resurfaces and Lia is restricted to the palace for the safety of all Merkind, she and Clay are ripped apart once more.
She fears not only for Clay, but for her best friend Caspian, who seems to be swimming down a dangerous path. He has invited the conniving Melusine to the coronation ball, convinced she’s capable of change. And no matter how hard Lia fights it, showing up on Caspian’s arm is just the start of Melusine’s insidious return to her life.
With threats Below growing more ominous by the day and a powerful ancient ritual looming, soon the two girls can’t escape each other. As their fates grow increasingly intertwined, Melusine might be the only one who can help Lia find the answers she desperately needs to save everyone she loves and to achieve her happily ever after. But can Lia trust her?.
About the Author Award-winning author Tobie Easton was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, where she’s grown from a little girl who dreamed about magic to a twenty-something who writes about it. Her debut novel, Emerge, is a Gold Medal Winner (Young Adult – Sci-Fi/Fantasy) of the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards and is Book 1 in the acclaimed Mer Chronicles series. The trilogy follows the descendants of the Little Mermaid and offers fans a peek into a world where Mermaids aren’t just real, but live secretly among us on land.
She and her very kissable husband enjoy traveling the globe and fostering packs of rescue puppies. Tobie loves chocolate chip cookies and Oxford commas. A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Southern California, Tobie splits her time between Los Angeles and Boston..
Welcome to the blog tour for RIGHT GIRL WRONG TIMING, the third book in the young adult contemporary romance series, Offsides, by Natalie Decker. See below for information on the book and series, buy links, and details on her giveaway.
RIGHT GIRL WRONG TIMING (Offsides #3) by Natalie Decker
About the Book – Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Title: RIGHT GIRL WRONG TIMING Series: Offsides #3 Author: Natalie Decker Publisher: Swoon Romance Release Date: March 12, 2019 Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | BAM! | IndiBound | Book Depository
Synopsis Adaline Frost’s life officially sucks. Now that her BFF has found her true love, Addy is constantly stuck being the third wheel. On top of that, she hasn’t started her junior project yet, so her advisor pairs her up with what could only be described as the “Reject Breakfast Club.” Instead of the weirdo and the troublemaker, Addy is forced to work with two stoners, a popular girl, and her crush, Austin Reed, the jock who broke her heart.
Austin Reed is sick of being labeled “dumb jock.” If he doesn’t get an A on this project, he can kiss his future goodbye. Austin thought he’d gotten lucky being partners with the very nerdy Adaline Frost, but boy was he wrong. Addy jumps down his throat about his being late and calls him names like “manwhore” on the daily. She has no idea Austin works before and after school in order to help his mom with the bills. Yeah, he’s made mistakes and has had lots of girlfriends, but he doesn’t need Adaline Frost to remind him of it every time he sees her.
Can Austin and Addy ever be a thing?
Right Girl Wrong Timing is book 3 in the Offsides series by Natalie Decker.
About the Author Natalie Decker is the author of the bestselling YA series RIVAL LOVE and NA Scandalous Boys Series. She loves oceans, sunsets, sand between her toes, and carefree days. Her imagination is always going, which some find odd. But she believes in seeing the world in a different light at all times. Avid reader of everything. She’s a huge Denver Broncos fan, loves football, and fuzzy blankets. She’s a mean cook in the kitchen, loves her family and friends and misses her awesome dog infinity times infinity. If she’s not writing, reading, traveling, hanging out with her family and friends, then she’s off having an adventure. Because Natalie believes in a saying: Your life is your own journey, so make it amazing!
Welcome to the blog tour for THE CRUSH COLLISION, the second book in the young adult contemporary romance series, Southern Charmed, by Danielle Ellison. See below for information on the book and series, buy links, and an exclusive guest post.
THE CRUSH COLLISION (Southern Charmed #2) by Danielle Ellison
About the Book Title: THE CRUSH COLLISION Series: Southern Charmed #2 Author: Danielle Ellison Publisher: Entangled Crush Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance Release Date: February 18, 2019 Link: Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo
Synopsis Haley Howell has had a hopeless crush on her brother’s best friend, Jake Lexington, for as long as she can remember. Too bad to him, she’ll forever be off-limits. But with senior year and acceptance to a college outside their tiny southern town of Culler, South Carolina, comes new confidence. Haley’s ready to get Jake to notice her—whatever it takes.
No one in Culler notices the real Jake anymore—to them, he’s nothing more than the star football player or the kid with the family tragedy. When one mistake lands him in community service, he’s shocked to find his best friend’s little sister there, too, looking cute as hell and threatening all his no-friends-with-benefits rules. But Jake isn’t ready to take a chance, no matter how crafty Haley’s willing to get to prove him otherwise…
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Guest Post
Top 10 Favorite TV shows
I can watch movies, and I have a few that I always turn to, but TV is my favorite past time. I could talk about it for hours. There’s not much I wouldn’t try. So, instead of movies, I’m going to share my favorite TV shows. And this is totally random, not researched, and off the top of my head. I don’t even know what’s going to come out so here we go…
Supernatural Veronica Mars Boys Meets World Parks and Recreation Friday Night Lights This is Us Parenthood Merlin One Tree Hill The 100 Shameless Jane the Virgin Crazy Ex Girlfriend Gossip Girl New Girl Gilmore Girls Friends Orville
…I think that’s more than ten, but who’s counting really?
About the Author Danielle Ellison is a nomad, always on the lookout for an adventure and the next story. In addition to writing, she’s the founder and coordinator of the NoVa TEEN Book Festival. When she’s not busy with books, she’s probably watching her favorite shows, drinking coffee, or fighting her nomadic urges. She is newly settled in Oklahoma (for now) with her cat, Simon, but you can always find her on twitter @DanielleEWrites.
Welcome to the book blitz for WINTER’S HEIST, a standalone adult romantic suspense, by Emily Duvall. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive interview, and details on her giveaway.
WINTER’S HEIST by Emily Duvall
About the Book – Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited Title: WINTER’S HEIST Author: Emily Duvall Release Date: December 6, 2018 Genre: Adult Romantic Suspense Links:Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU
Synopsis Beautiful. Haunting. Rare. The Fabergé Eggs are on display at the Carter Museum of History and Science. Jason Hood, the museum’s pretentious owner, knows their value is bound to attract attention, but the coordinated attack on the exhibit is not something he saw coming. A field trip to the museum for Amara Massey and her students takes a deadly turn. She finds herself at the center of a police investigation with few leads. Convinced Amara is withholding information, Jason pursues her to get the answers he cannot get on his own. The outcome neither of them expect is their surprising need for each other. What must they sacrifice to get everything they want?
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Interview Q: What is the first book that made you cry? A: Not the first book, but a scene from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Harry witnesses Cedric’s death-I think I was just riding on the emotion of the series and then when that scene hit, I just started to cry. The dialogue and actions were beautifully written.
Q: What are some traps aspiring writers should avoid? A: It is important for writers to create the story they want to write. I’ve made the mistake of letting people review manuscripts too early, and then making every little change. Feedback is extremely valuable, but there is a time and a place for incorporating suggestions and building confidence for what must stay and what should go. A writer can lose valuable writing time changing every detail based on each suggestion. Bottom line? Trust your vision.
Q: Have you ever gotten reader’s block? A: Big yes. I was just telling a friend that I’ve been in a reading slump the last few months. I think it’s because I see the story from a writer’s POV now or maybe because there are so many choices for books in every genre, that it can feel overwhelming with what to pick and what to read.
Q: As a writer, what would you choose as your avatar or spirit animal? A: Big Foot. It reminds me of Indie Authors. We’re out there and we’re writing and publishing even if you can’t see us.
Q: What’s the best way to market your books? A: Word-of-mouth is still the most powerful tool, but with social media, I like engaging in readers that I follow on Instagram or Twitter and asking them to beta read. If they like the story, they’ll do these amazing posts with the cover of the book and reach far more readers than I can do on my own.
Q: Do you view writing as a spiritual practice. A: Yes. The heart has so much to say.
Q: How do you select the names of your characters? A: I look up names on baby naming websites. They’re all there with rankings and popularity. Mostly though, I just look to see if a name catches my attention.
Q: Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find? A: Yes, there’s always the occasional inside joke or word choice that is based on someone I know. Whether they pick up on it, I can’t say 😉
Q: What is your favorite childhood book? A: Nothing’s Fair in the Fifth Grade by Barthe DeClements
Q: Do you believe in writer’s block? A: Absolutely. I was at a writing retreat a few years ago and Sylvia Day was the guest speaker. She said that writer’s block means that something is wrong with your story and that point resonated. Now instead of wasting time trying to move forward if I’m stuck, I go back and re-read the chapters before, and that usually unlocks the problem and the solution.
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Author Emily Duvall
About the Author Emily loved reading books as a young girl and filled up her journals with characters (both real and not). Romance is her favorite genre to write. She lives in Maryland with her husband and two children. She loves hearing from fans and readers.
Welcome to the blog tour for THE TELLING, the first book in the young adult fantasy series, The Spinner Sagas, by K.J. Moullen. See below for information on the book, buy links, an exclusive guest post, and details on her giveaway.
THE TELLING (The Spinner Sagas #1) by K.J. Moullen
About the Book Title: THE TELLING Series: The Spinner Sagas #1 Author: K.J. Moullen Publisher: Mascot Books Release Date: May 1, 2018
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Barnes & Noble
Synopsis
Sixteen-year-old Blaine was a normal teenage girl. Sure, she moved around a lot, but that wasn’t completely weird, right? Then her mom tells her she’s actually from another dimension called Renault, whose inhabitants can do magic. Um, what? Suddenly, Blaine is running from an evil she barely understands. Blaine is thrust into the confusing, beautiful, and magical world of Renault with a mysterious boy she just met. There, she begins to discover her own unique abilities and her place in the universe..
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Guest Post – What I Hope Readers Take Away From The Spinner Sagas: The Telling
Before the journey of writing a book begins, I think every author strives to create a story that will intrigue the reader’s imagination and keep them turning the page to find out what happens next. My hopes did not differ from those that had taken pen to paper before me and achieved that goal. When I began writing The Telling, It was not my intention to share it with the world. Writing as well as reading had always been a great escape from everyday life for me.
While I was writing about Blaine and her journey I wanted her to be someone that people could relate to. It is my belief that everyone at some point in their life has felt as if they don’t fit in. We are faced daily with choices and decisions from the trivial all the way to life changing moments. Some of the choices forge a completely different path for us bringing on new challenges and allowing us to grow as a person. At times a decision of another impacts our direction in life and that can make you question who is truly in control. Blaine faces many of these adversities that many of us can relate to.
I hope that when readers finish reading the book, they want to know where Blaine’s pathway ultimately leads her. I hope they can visual the beautiful worlds, fantastic creatures and magical elements in their mind. I hope they long to pick up another book, whether it is mine or that of another author. I also hope that they are able to take away from it a sense of empowerment, a deeper sense that we are all connected at a higher level and we all have a purpose. I hope Blaine’s journey shows that our choices, right or wrong, can and do affect the world around us. Finding our purpose may be more difficult than it seems or maybe it just takes looking deep inside and believing in something that has been there all along. Mostly I hope people understand when they believe in themselves, the key to knowledge is theirs for the taking.
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Author K.J. Moullen
About the Author K.J Moullen started her life as an adventurer. She always loved the outdoors, whether it was playing king of the hill with her pet goat in southern California, playing hockey on the frozen lakes of the Kenai peninsula of Alaska, or snorkeling and surfing off the shores of Maui. Amongst the breathtaking places she lived, her imagination and love for writing knew no limitations, allowing for a lifetime of plotlines and characters to be created and written about. She now shares her life’s adventures with her husband and two children in their home in North Texas..
Welcome to the blog tour for HARDWIRED, the first book in the adult romantic suspense series, Navy SEAL, by Andrea Bills. See below for information on the book, buy links, a guest post on the top ten songs that remind her of the plot, and details on her giveaway.
Synopsis When Navy Seal Operative Luke Kiersey is finally granted leave after five years, he finds himself driving to a house he doesn’t recognize in a town he’s never been to. The house is home to a beautiful woman and a little girl with big blue eyes. Day after day, he drives back only to hide in the shadows and wonder why he can’t seem to walk away from them.
His therapist says is PTSD.
His handler tells him he’s just not cut out to be part of the civilian world.
Luke can’t help but feel like it’s more.
The dog tags that once hung proudly around his neck, now feel like a collar; leashing him to a life that he fears he didn’t choose. After the terrible things he’s done in the name of freedom, could he possibly be worthy of something as precious as the woman and child he continues to watch?
When the two worlds collide, Luke needs his mind to be stronger than the implant the government placed in his back. They’ve told him he can’t survive without the implant they use to control him, but Luke’s wondering if he can survive without the little girl with big blue eyes and the gorgeous woman she calls mamma.
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Guest Post – Top 10 Songs That Remind Me of the Plot Just know that I’m rubbing my hands together with excitement over discussing my playlist for Hardwired. When I was first asked for a playlist for the first book I wrote I had no idea that was a thing. I of course listened to music while I was writing, but I didn’t make a playlist, but now I’m much more in the know so I’m prepared.
First and foremost to the song that gave birth to this entire book. Halsey’s Gasoline. I heard this song while on a road trip, and pulled off the interstate to get my thoughts written down so I wouldn’t lose them. Luke was born on the side of Interstate 70 just outside of Washington, PA.
Taylor Swift- I Know Places– Perfect on the run song.
Eric Church- The Outsiders– This song makes me think of Luke, Dean and Kip as a unit.
Taylor Swift- This Love– I love all the ocean elements of this song, it just fit so perfectly. It’s definitely Luke and Jen’s love song.
Miranda Lambert- Tin Man- This song personifies Jen for me while she grieves.
Kenny Chesney- Wild Child– Bella has to have a song too, coincidentally enough I always think of my own daughter when I hear this song.
Cody Jinks- Loud and Heavy– The opening of this song gave me all the feels when writing Luke’s SEAL scenes. The lyrics are powerful.
Brett Young- Would You Wait for Me– This one just seems to obvious for a military romance
Thank you so much for having me here and helping me celebrate Hardwired!
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Author Andrea Bills
About the Author Andrea is a wife, mother and writer from small town West Virginia. She spends her time while she’s not dreaming up lovers and villains alike chasing after her two kids and husband.
Her overactive imagination and her husband’s wacky dreams attribute to her love of the written word. Guilty pleasures include reading all night and Reese Cups.
Welcome to the blog tour for LOVE AND OTHER SECRETS, a stand-alone young adult contemporary romance, by Christina Mandelski. See below for information on the book, buy links, a guest post on why she loves her book’s cover, and details on her giveaway.
Synopsis Star lacrosse player Alex “Kov” Koviak has it all. Or so everyone thinks. He’s real good at pretending his life is perfect…until he meets Bailey. The girl challenges him and pushes him and makes him laugh like he’s never laughed before. Their friendship is their little secret, and he’s happy to keep her to himself.
Between school, two jobs, and trying to get into NYU film school, Bailey Banfield has zero time for a social life. But then she meets Alex in her express lane at the grocery store, and their secret friendship becomes the only place she can breathe. She refuses to complicate that with more. No matter how charming Alex can be.
When Bailey decides to film outrageous promposals for her NYU application, she enlists Alex’s help to plan an over-the-top, epic promposal to someone else. Too bad the only prom date Alex wants anywhere near Bailey is him.
For a guy who seems to have it all, he’s about to lose the only thing he’s ever wanted.
Disclaimer: This Entangled Crush contains a cocky lacrosse player in over his head with his secret best friend, unexpected midnight kisses, swoon-worthy slow dancing, and movie-night cuddling that’ll make you ache. You’re going to want an Alex of your own!
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Guest Post – Cover Love I love the cover of my newest release, Love and Other Secrets, so much! Entangled does a fantastic job of creating covers that match the stories behind them. In this case, I think the photo of the guy (main character Alex) and the girl (main character Bailey) does a great job of showing the friendship that is the base of their relationship–but also is a bit of foreshadowing (as all good covers are) because obviously, this is NOT how you sit on a couch with someone who is only a friend!
I’m a sucker for aesthetically pleasing colors too, and this palette gives me all the feels. And of course, the discarded Converses on the floor (Alex’s family housekeeper would never allow them on the sofa!) are just a fun extra detail.
I hope this cover makes everyone who sees it want to get to know these two characters much better. Thanks for having me on the blog!
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Author Christina Mandelski
About the Author Christina Mandelski was born in South Florida, where her love of reading was cultivated in a house full of books. Stories like The Little House series, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Island of the Blue Dolphins and The Secret Garden, filled her imagination and fueled her dreams to be a writer. That dream came true when her first young adult novel, THE SWEETEST THING, was published in 2011, and she’s beyond thrilled about her upcoming series for Entangled Crush. Chris lives in Houston with one handsome husband, two beautiful daughters, and two freakshow cats. She has a fondness for the beach, her family and friends, and she still loves to read (especially curled up with a good cup of coffee!) She also enjoys shopping, traveling and eating, especially cake. Always cake. When she’s not doing these things, you can find her holed in a cozy spot with her laptop, writing. Visit her at www.christinamandelski.com.
