Book Blitz: The Dead Days Journal (Volume 1)

The Dead Days Journal (Volume 1) by Sandra R. Campbell
Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Dystopia
Release Date: March 30, 2015
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ B & N

Book Description:

The daughter of a radical doomsday prepper, Leo Marrok spent her entire life preparing for the end. A skilled fighter and perfect marksman, Leo is her father’s second-in-command when Armageddon comes to pass. Together, they lead a group of survivors to a secure bunker deep in the Appalachian Mountains.

Vincent Marrok is willing to take extreme measures to repopulate their broken world. Leo’s refusal marks her as a traitor. With father and daughter at odds for the first time, their frail community is thrust into turmoil. Until the unthinkable happens, a blood-thirsty horde arrives. The impending attack will destroy all that they have worked for.

To protect her home and everything she believes in, Leo puts her faith in the arms of the enemy—a creature only rumored to exist—the one she calls Halloween. An alliance born out of necessity evolves into feelings Leo is ill-equipped to handle.

The Dead Days Journal is a post-apocalyptic story of love and family told through Leo Marrok’s first-hand account and the pages of Vincent’s personal journal, giving two very different perspectives on what it takes to survive.

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Excerpt:

Ben watched as I finished getting dressed, his eyes glistening in the dark. “I’m so sorry. Please don’t go, Leo.” His whispered pleas were growing louder. I knew he was sorry, just as I knew it wasn’t his fault. Eventually this was going to happen. I had known it. How could we continue to be together and not be together? He couldn’t. I couldn’t.

“Stop saying you’re sorry.”

When I stood to go, Ben grabbed my arm. I didn’t pull away but just looked at him with a horrible sadness ripping through my heart. “Let go.” Ben released his grip as a single tear escaped his eye and fell. “I love you.”

Not only did I not say it, I never even looked back. I simply walked away. But my emotions wouldn’t let me stay quiet for long. As soon as I exited the back door, I ran through the cave opening into the early dawn and down to the spring-fed river. Not bothering to take off my mother’s treasured dress, I plunged into the icy-cold river and screamed through the pain under the water.

I tried to ignore the throbbing ache in my extremities and swam to the middle where I couldn’t touch bottom and the current was strong. I floated on my back and let the river take me away. Above me, the pink hues of dawn were brightening, and I watched the brilliant night stars dissolve into nothing.

Blog Tour: Absolution

Absolution by Amanda Dick
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 6, 2015
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ B & N

Book Description:

Jack McKenna is a man with two very distinct pasts.

One ended with a car accident involving his girlfriend, Ally, and a split-second decision with horrific consequences. Desperate to escape the guilt, he carved out a new life for himself. 

Four years spent hiding in the shadows, punishing himself for not having the courage to go back to her. Then, out of the blue, a phone call forces him to face up to everything and everyone he left behind.

Ally Connor’s life was split in two - before the car accident that shattered her spine, and after Jack’s sudden disappearance. Abandoning her when she needed him most, she fought hard to make it back from the brink. The face she shows to the world is strong and courageous, but behind the mask, the pain is burrowing deeper.

But fate had more in store for these two broken souls than either could have imagined. A funeral, a homecoming and a journey of self-discovery that would change both their lives - if they let it.

Suddenly, the secrets they want to hide from each other are the very secrets that could make them whole again.

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Book Blast: The Calm After the Storm

The Calm After the Storm by Mya O'Malley
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: February 23, 2015
Buy Links:

Amazon

Book Description:

Can true love shine through the darkest storm?

The storm of the century raged through the northeast, causing destruction and despair, millions were left without power and hope. Weeks later, countless people were still devastated by the destruction of Hurricane Sandy, Emma Riley among them.

Determined she didn’t need the help of a man, Emma was convinced that she could brave the aftermath of the storm on her own. That is, until Jake came into her life.

After having suffered heartbreak and embarrassment, Jake Mack, a utility foreman, volunteered to travel north from small town, Georgia to assist with the aftermath of the storm. Jake was decidedly done with women. But he didn’t count on meeting Emma or falling in love so quickly. Can he trust this woman or will his past get in the way and ruin the relationship with the one woman he truly loves?


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Excerpt:

Jake and his crew had now been in the suburbs of New York for a few days. His first thought upon entering this area was his surprise at the devastation. Sure, he had heard about the destruction on the news and had seen footage of the aftermath of Sandy, but it still hadn’t prepared him for the actual sight of Sandy’s rage.

Telephone poles were down, trees were snapped in two, and houses were completed destroyed by the storm. Seeing all the destruction only strengthened Jake’s resolve that it had been the right thing to come. He felt proud to be able to help out and be a part of the solution to the horrible aftermath of this disaster.

As the day was wrapping up. Jake and Chris met up with some of their crew in the next town to finish one more area before calling it quits. The chill in the air was something that Jake had prepared for, but was not accustomed to. Clutching the new flannel he had purchased right before his trip, he put it on over his thermal shirt. Thankful for his thermos filled with hot coffee, Jake grabbed it but quickly tossed it aside.

“Come on, Chris! I asked you to stop drinking my coffee. Now there’s none left,” he said as he shook his head, irritated at his friend.

Chris looked up at his boss sheepishly. “Sorry, man. I didn’t sleep well last night. I needed some caffeine.”

Book Blitz: Bittersweet (Faerie Song Trilogy, #2)

Bittersweet (Faerie Song Trilogy, #2) by Michele Barrow-Belisle
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Release Date: March 24, 2015
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ B & N

Book Description:

To save the Faery world and her mother’s life, Lorelei sacrificed everything, and the dangerous bargain she made in Nevermore had lasting repercussions. Now safely back in her own world, Lorelei seems the same to her highschool friends and her supernatural boyfriend. 

Yet love across dimensions is complicated, especially when an invisible Veil between the two worlds—the only bridge that links the pair, is sealing, threatening to separate Lorelei and Adrius forever.

Determined to find a solution, Lorelei resorts to using her new found powers. But when her friends succumb to the same mysterious illness that nearly took her mother’s life, Lorelei can’t help but wonder if her own dark magic is responsible. Still, the nightmares from Nevermore continue their icy hold. 

Someone from Adrius’s past arrives, determined to destroy Lorelei’s world starting with those closest to her, and Lorelei is forced to choose between her family and friends and a love that was ill-fated from the start.

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Excerpt:

My music teacher had described my voice as a beautiful, clear soprano with a haunting lilt. While my mother and others agreed— none of them knew it was because of Zanthiel. My dark faerie of music. He no longer controlled my voice. Yet here I was, on stage sweating at the possibility that I’d been wrong.

The pianist played the intro and I waited for my cue. My hands began to sweat and my heartbeat accelerated. Finally it arrived, and despite my reservations and the nausea that accompanied every stage performance, I began to sing. As the notes swelled the music inside me took hold and for a time I forgot where I was. The melody of “Think of Me” filled my soul, pushing all thoughts of Adrius and the veil and Venus aside. There was only me and the music. Each note in perfect pitch and every lyric remembered.

Mr. Smythe nodded his approval repeatedly, gesturing for me to expand and give even more.

I pushed myself further, and as I did, I felt another presence. As sure as I felt my own. The music took on a shape, a form, and though no one else could tell, I knew that I was no longer alone on stage. Zanthiel was here with me... inside me, adding his touch to my performance, and a depth to my voice. The back door of the auditorium opened and swung closed. Venus strolled in, and slid into a seat in the back row. Immediately, I stopped singing.

Book Blitz: Orenda (Orenda #1)

Orenda (Orenda #1) by Ruth Silver
Age Group: December 5, 2014
Genre: Young Adult
Release Date: Fantasy
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ B & N

Book Description:

Join forces with a parallel universe.

Dark forces, magical creatures, and the world Lil thought she knew collide when a dream transports her to the strange world of Orenda. 

Stunned and terrified, Lil comes face to face with her doppelganger, Willow, who possesses the ability to travel between the two worlds. 

Everything Lil knows logically says that Orenda can’t exist, but a small clue may be proof that it was more than an ordinary dream. 

With the threat of her sister in danger, Lil crosses dimensions but it may cost her even more than she bargained for.

A sword wielding girl, the eternal suit, and a parallel universe come together in this action-packed Young Adult fantasy adventure that will keep readers of all ages turning the pages.


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Swearing in YA Fiction

Teens swear. I think it’s naive to write a YA novel and use “dang”, “heck”, “shut the front door”, unless you are catering to an audience that’s twelve and you’re looking to capture that tween market.

I don’t believe every words needs to be a swear word but I do feel like if it’s natural for the character to say, they shouldn’t avoid it either. Reading the Shadow Falls series, I was constantly annoyed by constant use of polite words for swearing (heck or dang).

There were so many I felt pulled out of the story like I could be sitting there counting them. That series happens to be one of my favorites but I felt like the amount of “polite swear words” made the book geared towards twelve and up, instead of fourteen or fifteen and up.

Book Blitz: Dragon Marked (Supernatural Prison #1)

Dragon Marked (Supernatural Prison #1) by Jaymin Eve
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: January 27, 2015
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ B & N

Book Description:

There are supernatural prisons hidden across the globe. Contained within these fortresses are some of the deadliest criminals from the five supernatural races: vampire, shifter, fey, magic users and demi-fey.

Jessa Lebron, twenty-two, has spent her entire life in Stratford, Connecticut, one of the gateway towns adjoining these prisons which protect the fortified borders. 

She’s a wolf shifter, and her father leads the town council. She learns that much of her life has been hidden from her, secrets which threaten to tear apart the very fabric of her world. Especially the biggest secret of them all.

She is dragon marked.

Jessa only knows what she’s been told about the dragon marked, that they are dangerous and must be eliminated to prevent the rise of the dragon king, the powerful warmonger who had his head removed a thousand years ago. So now Jessa's on the biggest hit list of all. Dragon mark hunters are lethal and her only hope to evade detection is to keep the energy contained.

As more secrets unfold she finds herself locked up in Vanguard, the notorious American supernatural prison. Thankfully she’s not alone. Braxton, the dragon-shifter has her back. Together they must survive long enough to free themselves and the other dragon marked.

Because it’s time for the dragon marked to rise.

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Excerpt:

I glared at the deadly but visually stunning dragon. He was massive; he’d had to tuck his wings in at his side to have room for movement. The black and blue of his scales shone even in the dying light.

The bright yellow eyes surveyed the room, before locking me in his gaze. He roared again and I decided to take a stand. In general I didn’t think much before I acted, and my plans were often considered to be brave or stupid. Usually both.

“Braxton Compass,” I scolded him, moving right up into his strike zone, my hands on my hips. “Your scaled dragon ass is blocking the doorway.”