Cover Reveal - Confessions of a Queen B* by Crista McHugh

Confessions of a Queen B*

(Queen B* #1)

Author: Crista McHugh

Publication Date: July 28th, 2015

Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

Blog Tour Promo - Ash and Ruin series by Shauna Granger

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World of Ash

(Ash and Ruin #1)

Author: Shauna Granger

Release Date: 12/02/13

Summary from Goodreads:

There are two inherent truths in the world: life as we know it is over, and monsters are real.

The Pestas came in the night, spreading their pox, a deadly plague that decimated the population. Kat, one of the unlucky few who survived, is determined to get to her last living relative and find shelter from the pox that continues to devastate the world. When it mutates and becomes airborne, Kat is desperate to avoid people because staying alone might be her only chance to stay alive.

That is, until she meets Dylan. Dylan, with his easy smile and dark, curly hair, has nowhere to go and no one to live for. He convinces Kat there can be safety in numbers, that they can watch out for each other. So the unlikely couple set off together through the barren wasteland to find a new life – if they can survive the roaming Pestas, bands of wild, gun-toting children, and piles of burning, pox-ridden bodies.

Buy Links: 

Amazon│Barnesand Noble│Kobo│Smashwords│iBooks

Book Blitz & Giveaway - Halfway Perfect by Julie Cross and Mark Perini

Halfway Perfect
Author: Julie Cross and Mark Perini
Published by: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: May 5th, 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

Book Description:

Bestselling author Julie Cross teams up with Ford model Mark Perini to pen a poignant and gritty YA novel about love and the dark side of modeling and the fashion industry.

Eve’s time as a fashion model nearly destroyed her-now she’s determined to build a career behind the camera lens. But landing a coveted photography internship brings her face to face with her dark past-and her ex.

While Eve is snapping pictures, up-and-coming male model Alex is launching his career-which, for him, involves maintaining a fake relationship with his (secretly) underage co-star, Elana.

But Alex is falling for Eve, and Eve won’t let herself get hurt again. If Alex can pull off a fake love with Elana, can he convince Eve to risk a secret affair with him?

Buy Links:

Kindle ¦ Paperback ¦ B&N

Blog Tour Interview - Anzard by Christopher Conroy

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Anzard
Author: Christopher Conroy
Publisher: CreateSpace
Pages: 154
Genre: Children’s Fiction
Format: Paperback/Kindle

Book Description:

Author Christopher Conroy has just released a book for kids aged 8-12 called ANZARD. Teachers, parents, producers...take note!  This appealing and well-written book would give Lewis Carroll (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) reason to worry.  As a matter of fact if you mixed in one part Harry Potter, with one part Pinocchio then added a generous helping of Alice in Wonderland…you’d get Anzard! 

ANZARD tells the story of how a young boy named Justin Cavell learns to listen to that voice inside him and trust his instincts.  He also learns how his dreams and wishes can come true:  Justin becomes more aware of himself and his potential to turn his dreams and wishes into reality. 

One dark and stormy night, as Justin is anxiously awaiting the return of his parents and praying for their safe return from a long overdue plane trip, he is visited by Poofy, a tiny, magical pixie who comes from the faraway planet, Spiritainia.  Justin is escorted to this wonderful world of Spiritainia by the Anzard pixie, Poofy.  Aside from Poofy, Justin is joined by his own Tribe of Truth – that include such memorable characters as Regal the Eagle, Turner the Turtle, Chumpah the Chipmunk and Billy the Goat – define Justin’s inner voice and help him in his quest of self-discovery.

Justin also learns to resolve conflict, which arrives in the form of an evil witch named Nosefeen, and captures Poofy as Poofy is guiding Justin to the Path of Possibilities. Through these adventures, Justin grows stronger and develops self-esteem, enabling him to return to Earth, find his parents, and guide them home safely.

ANZARD opens up a world of rewards for kids who learn to develop and trust their inner voice. The book helps them to become more aware and enlightened.

The ANZARD book cover is beautifully illustrated by Peter Green Design of Glendale, California who also designs for film companies, sporting teams and many other businesses including DreamWorks, McDonald’s, The Walt Disney Company, LEGOLAND, The NBA, HBO, FOX Kids Networks, and the “Game of Thrones” fantasy drama television series, to name a few.

“A timeless, yet very modern story of a young boy’s journey to a magical new world, filled with enchanting characters and thrilling adventure.  You owe yourself a trip to Spiritania.”

            -           Victoria Lucas, Producer

“My nephew loved ANZARD so much I had to see what got him so excited.  After the first chapter I was hooked.  I normally don’t read this kind of fiction (fantasy) but the storyline was compelling enough to make me locate the author’s website and post this review. 

Can’t wait to read Mr. Conroy’s next novel!”

            -           D. Butler, Amazon Post

Justin’s story can even appeal to adults.  Says Mr. Conroy, “I want my readers to come away happier, more aware and enlightened…as a child I was aware of many things but I constantly invalidated that awareness.  I shouldn’t have.  Those gifts are precious.  Our inner awareness should be nurtured and cultivated, especially by parents and the child who has those gifts.  Maybe some part of Anzard will awaken those powers.”

Buy Links:

Amazon ¦ Barnes & Noble

Cover Reveal - Patterns of Change by Terri DuLong

Patterns of Change
Author: Terri DuLong
Publisher: Lyrical Press

Blog Tour Excerpt & Giveaway - Ignite The Shadows by Ingrid Seymour

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Ignite The Shadows

(Ignite The Shadows #1)

Author: Ingrid Seymour

Published by: HarperVoyager

Publication Date: April 23rd, 2015

Genres: Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

Book Description:

Sixteen-year-old Marci Guerrero is one of the best teen hackers in Seattle. However, she’d give up all her talents to know she isn’t crazy.

Marci feels possessed by what she perceives as shadowy spectres that take control of her body and make her do crazy things. While spying on the clandestine group known as IgNiTe, she’s confronted by the leader, James McCray. His presence stirs the spectres inside her brain into a maddening frenzy. Her symptoms and ability to control them don’t go unnoticed by James, who soon recruits her and shows her the awful truth.

Half of the world’s population is infected by sentient parasites. They bind themselves to the human brain and replace the pathways for all thoughts and actions. The creatures then morph their hosts into grotesque monsters with extraordinary strengths. Winged, clawed, fanged half-humans become living nightmares. Now Marci wishes she was crazy, because the truth is worse.

She’s infected.

Buy Links:

Amazon ¦ B&N

Blog Tour Excerpt & Giveaway - The Brass Giant by Brooke Johnson

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The Brass Giant
Author: Brooke Johnson 
Publisher: Harper Voyage Impulse 
Genre: Steampunk 
Format: Kindle 

Book Description:

Sometimes, even the most unlikely person can change the world

Seventeen-year-old Petra Wade, self-taught clockwork engineer, wants nothing more than to become a certified member of the Guild, an impossible dream for a lowly shop girl. Still, she refuses to give up, tinkering with any machine she can get her hands on, in between working and babysitting her foster siblings.

When Emmerich Goss–handsome, privileged, and newly recruited into the Guild–needs help designing a new clockwork system for a top-secret automaton, it seems Petra has finally found the opportunity she’s been waiting for. But if her involvement on the project is discovered, Emmerich will be marked for treason, and a far more dire fate would await Petra.

Working together in secret, they build the clockwork giant, but as the deadline for its completion nears, Petra discovers a sinister conspiracy from within the Guild council … and their automaton is just the beginning.

Buy Links:

Amazon ¦ B&N

Blog Tour Spotlight - Dawn of Ages by Mike Phillips

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Dawn of Ages
Author: Mike Phillips
Genre: Science Fiction/Post Apocalyptic
Publisher: Eternal Press
Pages: 291 

Book Description: 

It’s the end of the world, but a new beginning for humanity.

The war has lasted for generations. In this technological age, no longer must humans risk their lives in combat. Fierce robots operated by remote control make up the bulk of the militaries. Satellites in the atmosphere render the heavens a frenzy of violent confrontation. However, the war has little effect on everyday life. The bloodshed is minimal, the disruption to commerce even less. It is a comfortable war. Most of the populace believe they have nothing to fear. Little they know their world is about to come to an end.

Buy Links:

Kindle ¦ Paperback

Book Blitz & Giveaway - In a World Just Right by Jen Brooks

In a World Just Right

Author: Jen Brooks

Release Date: 04/28/15
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Book for Your Readers

Pages: 432

Summary from Goodreads:
Imagination takes on new meaning for a uniquely talented teen in this debut novel that is a breathtaking blend of contemporary, fantasy, and romance.

Sometimes Jonathan Aubrey wishes he could just disappear. And as luck—or fate—would have it, he can. Ever since coming out of a coma as a kid, he has been able to create alternate worlds. Worlds where he is a superhero, or a ladies’ man, or simply a better version of himself. That’s the world he’s been escaping to most since sophomore year, a world where he has everything he doesn’t have in real life: friends, a place of honor on the track team, passing grades, and most importantly, Kylie Simms as his girlfriend.

But when Jonathan confuses his worlds senior year and tries to kiss the real Kylie Simms, everything unravels. The real Kylie actually notices Jonathan…and begins obsessing over him. The fantasy version of Kylie struggles to love Jonathan as she was created to do, and the consequences are disastrous. As his worlds collide, Jonathan must confront the truth of his power and figure out where he actually belongs—before he loses both Kylies forever.

Buy Links:

Amazon Hardcover│Kindle│Barnes& Noble│IndieBound│iTunes

Book Blast & Giveaway - Way to Go by Mandy Colton

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Way to Go

Author: Mandy Colton

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Thurston Howl Publications

Book Description:

Veronica Lane works in the travel industry in her dream job when she experiences a hellish travel day ending in the loss of her job and stranded far from home. To make the situation even worse, she drowns her sorrows in the hotel bar, and wakes the next morning to a big surprise.

Gathering up the remains of her dignity along with her travel bags, she returns to her hometown in Peachtree City, Georgia. A community similar to a progressive Mayberry, except with golf cart paths and carts. A lot of them. Her family is kooky. The parents are sexually free and liberal, her brother is a golf cart cop with more good looks and brawn than brains. Her grandparents, one from each side, live in the same retirement community and maintain a constant battle while entertaining the other senior citizens. The Grandmother on her dad's side is stuck in the 1960’s, and the Grandfather on her mother's side served in WWII and thinks that the Japanese are still trying to kill him.

She calls inquiring about a job in the newspaper, a group escort for a small tour company in Atlanta. She is hired immediately and leaves the next day with her first group to Jamaica. First, she meets a handsome pilot with the charter airline they use, and then there is one unusual group participant that doesn’t seem to belong. He leaves the group for periods of time and when things happen, he uses MacGyver like skills to get them out of the situations. She is aggravated and knows something is fishy and the bad thing is, the man is very charismatic and she’s not just a little attracted to him.

Upon their return, she finds out that the man is friends with her rather unconventional boss and after a second unusual group excursion to Puerto Rico; she knows for sure that the little tour company in Atlanta is not really what it seems on the outside. When the truth is revealed, she finds herself unintentionally dropped into a new career that she can't exactly add to her resume.

Veronica finds herself in uncomfortable and hilarious situations, surrounded by crazy tour participants, family, friends, neighbors, and pets. After a long dry spell, she finds that there is suddenly an overabundance of romance, drama, and intrigue in her life. Her life is now a sometimes very bumpy, yet exciting ride.

Blog Tour Excerpt & Giveaway - Breached by John Hohn

We are bringing John back!!!! This is the sequel to Deadly Portfolio, which we took on a tour just about a month ago. But for those of you who don't remember, here is the Author John Hohn!!!

About the Author
I am a Midwesterner by birth. Yankton, South Dakota, is my hometown. I graduated from high school there in 1957. After four years earning degree in English at St. John’s University (MN), I became a teacher. My first wife, Elaine Finfrock, also of Yankton, and I had five children; four sons and a daughter. We divorced in 1977.

In 1964, I joined The Travelers in Minneapolis, MN and began what turned out to be a 40 year career in the financial services industry. During the that time, in addition to The Travelers, I held positions with Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Minnesota, Wilson Learning Corporation, and Wachovia Bank and Trust. While at Wachovia, I served in many different positions, ending my tenure as a representative of the trust department services in the greater New York City area. I retired at the end of 2007 after 15 years as a Financial Advisor with Merrill Lynch serving over 300 clients in the Winston-Salem, NC area. 

In 1986, Melinda Folger McLeod and I were married and I gained a stepson, Matthew. Currently, we divide our time each year between our cabin New West Jefferson, NC and our cottage in Southport, NC near the Cape Fear River. I enjoy golf, music, and reading history. Since my retiring I have focused on my writing, an avocation throughout my life. In 2010, I completed my first novel, Deadly Portfolio: A Killing Hedge Funds and the sequel, Breached was published August 2014.

Author Links:

Website ¦ Facebook ¦ Twitter ¦ LinkedIn

Book Blitz & Giveaway - Voices by R.E. Rowe

Voices
(The Reincarnation Series, #1) 
Author: R.E. Rowe
Publication Date: February 27th, 2015
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult 

Book Description: 
In a small town in Arkansas, two lives that seemingly have nothing in common will converge and change each other forever. A brilliant but tormented street artist and an ex-track star whose career was cut short by a heart condition.

Aimee DeLuca had a promising athletic career before her heart gave out during a high school track and field contest. Aimee struggles to find her way after spending time with a deceased grandmother during a near death experience. Reizo Rush is a street artist whose torment fuels his desire to add color to the gray walls of the city. But Reizo’s tagging and the two voices only he hears land him in perpetual trouble with both his teachers and the law.

During a chance encounter, the two quickly find out they have much more in common than love. When they stumble upon a century-old storm cellar hidden underground on Aimee’s uncle’s ranch, they unearth a cellar full of artifacts and a hundred-year-old Will. Once the news of the discovery leaks out, a drug-dealing teen and a mysterious soul named General are determined to bury the truth along with anyone who gets in their way.

Buy Links:

Amazon ¦ B&N

Book Blast & Giveaway - Red Sky Dawning by Ian J. Malone

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Red Sky Dawning
Author: Ian J. Malone

Book Description: 
Five years after the historic Battle of Dulaston, Danny Tucker, Lee Summerston, and the Renegades have settled nicely into life on Aura — yet none more so than Tucker. Fueled by a rising career as an ASC staff sergeant and a love unlike any he’s ever known, Danny is in the prime of his life and at last free of the demons that have stalked him for years.

Some demons never die, though, and when an old enemy beckons to settle a personal score, Danny soon finds himself swept up in the backlash of a climaxing civil war, and straight into the crosshairs of a father’s bloodlust for revenge.

RED SKY DAWNING is the much-anticipated sequel to 2013’s MAKO, and the tale of one man’s quest to bury his past and protect those dearest to him as the fate of billions hangs in the balance.

“Thematically speaking, this is very much a story about growing up,” says author Ian J. Malone, a native Floridian who now resides in Durham, North Carolina with his wife and step son. “Whereas book one was this plucky little tale about five bar-flies, rocking through hyperspace on the road trip of a lifetime, book two chronicles a lot of the unforeseen fallout stemming from decisions they made along the way. From an author’s standpoint, it was an intense story to write, but I think readers will really like where it leaves the saga entering the third and final book.”

Among the things readers can expect from RED SKY DAWNING are an array of new characters, a deeper look into the Alystierian Empire, and a healthy dose of political intrigue.

Still, Malone insists that MAKO fans will still find all of the action, humor, and pop-cultural charm that have since become the series’ calling card. “C’mon, guys. What’s a MAKO book without beer jokes and Funyuns?”

RED SKY DAWNING arrives on Amazon April 30, 2015. The audiobook will follow shortly thereafter on Audible and iTunes.

Buy Links: 

Amazon | Ian's Website

May I Suggest ... Giveaway Hop - Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

May I Suggest ... Giveaway Hop
May 3rd - 16th

Hosted by Stuck in Books

Several blogs are taking part, so there's lots of amazing gifts to be won. Check out the rules of the other blogs. I will contact the winner via email within 5 days following the end of the contest. Winner will also be announced on this page.

***Giveaway***

My giveaway is for a $10 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash.

Ends May 16th (midnight GMT).

International.

Contest is void where prohibited. Entrants must be 13 or else have parent or guardian’s permission to enter. Winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be selected. The winner will be posted on this page after the winner responds. Winning entries will be verified for authenticity.

Enter the giveaway and then hop on to the next one.

Thanks and good luck to everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The winner is: Macy Jones
(the widget is broken, I'm afraid)

Book Of The Week {Wattpad}

And the Book Of The Week Nominations are:

Click on the book covers to sample the works.

The Extraordinary Case of Emma Bauer (NA / Adult Horror)

Summer of Boys & Wars (YA Humour)

Let the Colours Out (YA Contemporary / Coming of Age)

At Home Yet Lost (YA Mystery / Thriller / Crime)

Blog Tour Spotlight & Giveaway - Ashes by Sophie H. Morgan

Ashes
The Divided Kingdom
Book One
Sophie H. Morgan 
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd
Date of Publication: 21 April 2015
Number of pages: 318
Word Count: approx. 99540
Cover Artist: Kanaxa

Book Description:

Secrets can burn.

Reared from birth to rule the Phoenix territory, Ana fled her future and her past when her parents were murdered. Now she secretly leads a rebellion to stop the human ruler, Edward, from experimenting on supernaturals.

When she finds herself cornered by an assassin, she knows just what to do: Roast him and toast him. Then recognition sends blue-tipped flames licking through her veins. It’s Cade, the royal bodyguard who once rejected her youthful confession of love.

When Cade regains consciousness from the force of Ana’s punch, he’s still reeling from shock—and fury. He’d loved the princess, and for ten years he thought her dead. Though his inner jackal growls with desire for her, she is the key to completing his mission for Edward—hunt down the rebel known as Liberty.

Ana can’t believe Cade doesn’t know the truth about Edward. If she can convince him of it, his blade could turn the tide of the rebellion. But first they must get beyond their past, or the whole kingdom could go up in smoke.

Product Warnings

Contains incendiary sex between a phoenix princess with a secret identity, and a jackal shifter who can take a lot of heat. Boys from the “hood”, a king jacked up on enhanced DNA, and killer heels. Anybody got a match?

Buy Links:

Samhain ¦ Amazon US ¦ Amazon UK