Book Blast: The Girl (Guardians #1)

The Girl (Guardians #1) by Lola St.Vil
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: January 9, 2012
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ B & N

Book Description:

Sitting there in the car, a part of me bitterly resented what she was doing to me. I knew it wasn’t her fault. But does she have to be so... alluring? I need to focus on something else besides the spot between her earlobe and neck. It looked so soft. 

Her lips were slightly parted as she looked out the window. I wanted to part them further with mine. I put both my hands on the steering wheel. I could not allow myself to let go until she was out of the car. 

Suddenly she leaned in and kissed me. It was far better than I could even begin to explain to you. I've fought and died a slow and painful death on earth. And nothing, NOTHING can compare to how hard it was for me to pull away from her lips. I don't think any angel could to do it twice in a lifetime...


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Excerpt:

“Your courage is in your tears. Every time you cry, you lose a little bit more of it. That’s why you’re so breakable. Not because you’re human, because you’re always shedding courage from your eyes.”

~~~
Marcus, choose me. Choose the path that is perilous and leads to certain annihilation because it’s also the path that leads to me. They can’t understand that we are powerless to stop what we have for each other. But we know. We know that if we don’t bend to the will of this love, it will break us.

Book Blitz: Double Negative

Double Negative by C. Lee McKenzie
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: July 25, 2014
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ B & N

Book Description:

"My life was going, going, gone, and I hadn't been laid yet. I couldn't go into the slammer before that happened." Hutch McQueen.

Sixteen-year-old Hutchinson McQueen is trapped in a dysfunctional family. Shackled by poor vision and poor reading skills, he squeaks through classes with his talent for eavesdropping and memorizing what he hears.

After another suspension from school and suffering through one of his mother’s violent attacks, he escapes to a friend’s house that turns out to be a meth lab. The lab is raided and Hutch lands in juvenile detention.

When the court sentences him to six months in a new juvenile program, he meets a teacher with Alzheimer’s who will change his life and hers.

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Five Things I’d Do Before I Published My Book

1. Have a professional website and/or blog designed.

Be sure the navigation is easy and the pages are easy to read.
Buy a domain name. Mine’s cleemckenziebooks. I wish it were simply cleemckenzie. The simpler the better.
Don’t use music. People often browse in public places and music isn’t always appreciated.
Be sure people can pull up your site on all their mobile devices.

2. Become visible on the Social Networking Media

Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Shelfari
LinkedIn
Amazon (Especially, become familiar with Authors Central)There are more, but these are ones I’ve chosen to focus on. You’ll have to choose the ones that work best for you.

Cover Reveal: The Understatement of the Year (The Ivy Years #3)

Lola's Blog Tours Promotional Event

The Understatement of the Year (The Ivy Years #3) by Sarina Bowen
Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 15, 2014

Book Description:

What happened in high school stayed in high school. Until now.

Five years ago, Michael Graham betrayed the only person who ever really knew him. Since then, he’s made an art of hiding his sexual preference from everyone. Including himself.

So it’s a shock when his past strolls right into the Harkness College locker room, sporting a bag of hockey gear and the same slow smile that had always rendered Graham defenseless. For Graham, there is only one possible reaction: total, debilitating panic. With one loose word, the team’s new left wing could destroy Graham’s life as he knows it.

John Rikker is stuck being the new guy. Again. And it’s worse than usual, because the media has latched onto the story of the only “out” player in Division One hockey. As the satellite trucks line the sidewalk outside the rink, his new teammates are not amused.

And one player in particular looks sick every time he enters the room.

Review: Crystal Magic (Clearwater Witches #1)

Crystal Magic (Clearwater Witches #1) by Madeline Freeman
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Release Date: March 30, 2014
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ Barnes and Noble

Book Description:

Nothing is safe around Kristyl Barnette. Windows break. Books rocket across the room. Lights flicker. Strange occurrences follow the sixteen-year-old everywhere.

When tragedy forces her to move to the small town of Clearwater, Michigan, with her estranged aunt Jodi, Kristyl tries to leave her past behind. 

But Clearwater has secrets of its own—a mystical history that intersects with Kristyl’s life and might shed light on the inexplicable events that plague her.

When a mysterious illness threatens her aunt’s life, Kristyl will do anything to cure her. Enlisting the help of witches could save Jodi, but is dealing in magic worth the consequences?


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"Crystal Magic" by Madeline Freeman is about a high school student named Krissa, who moves to a new school in a new town and has even more changes than that to deal with. All of her life, Krissa knew she was different. She was always getting in trouble at school because things around her would unaccountably break or other weird things would happen when she got upset. When her mom dies in an accident, she's sent to live with her aunt, Jodi, who lives in the small Michigan town where Jodi and Krissa's father grew up.

The small town history and how it's a part of Krissa's family's past help Krissa realize that the reason why strange things have been happening around her for as long as she could remember is because that she has the ability to do magic. Without the proper training, it kept exploding out of her when she got upset, and with the knowledge of what it is, Krissa wants to learn to use it.

However, Jodi doesn't think that learning and using magic is a good idea (she had some bad experiences in the past, since she's also a witch), and thinks Krissa should just be able to control it and not actively practice it. Things don't necessarily go to plan though, and Krissa needs to take drastic measures in order to protect the ones she loves.

Promotional Event: Truth or Dare (Dare to Love #1)

Truth or Dare (Dare to Love #1) by Mira Lyn Kelly
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: September 16, 2014
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ B & N

Book Description:

In a deliciously sexy twist on the classic game, Mira Lyn Kelly proves that when playing truth or dare—always choose dare.

After her one attempt at commitment ends with the discovery that her fiancé already has a wife and kid, Maggie Lawson vows that the only people she’ll love ’til death do they part will be her friends. Unfortunately that means Maggie letting her bestie rope her into a year-long dating dare: score a new date each month or pay a penalty. Seems doable—until Maggie’s date stands her up, leaving only one option: the sexy stud who just moved in upstairs. The problem? He and Maggie can’t stop fighting—and that’s just the beginning.

His name is Tyler Daniels and the last thing he needs is his neighbor distracting him with her girl-next-door smile and sharp tongue. Tyler’s in Chicago for one reason: to woo back his selfish ex in order to reclaim the child he once thought was his—and that means keeping Maggie out of his bed. A tall order, since Maggie has become a bigger temptation than he ever expected to face. But before they can even consider leaving the past behind, Maggie and Tyler must accept a brand-new dare: real, forever love.

Includes a special message from the editor, as well as excerpts from other Loveswept titles.

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Excerpt:

“Wow, that was— I didn’t really— But I should have—” Maggie stammered breathlessly, trying to force herself to let Tyler go. Step away and put the distance they needed back between them. Only with their eyes locked, breath mingling in the chilled night air, and the kiss she should have known better than to ask for still fresh on her lips, the most she could manage was flexing her fingers enough so her hands were free to coast down the thick column of his neck, over the front of his coat, and when the temptation was too great, back up again.

She didn’t want to let him go—didn’t want their moment to end.

“With your other dates,” Tyler began slowly, his eyes squinting closed. “Do you ever let them kiss you more than once?”

She wanted to laugh, because the idea of willingly letting any of those other guys back at her mouth was beyond ludicrous, something she ought to have had some smart quip about—only in that moment nothing seemed funny.

This was the end.

Cover Reveal: Palace Hills

Xpresso Promotional Event

Palace Hills by S. Briones Lim
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Romance
Release Date: September 9, 2014

Book Description:

Palace Hills. The very name struck shivers down the spine of the affluent city of Goldendale.

Unfortunately, eighteen-year-old Nina Sharman has no choice but to call the poverty-stricken neighborhood her new home.

Life seems bleak until a chance meeting with Conner Hale changes her mind and captures her heart, leading her to believe that maybe Palace Hills wasn’t so bad after all.

However, one tragic case of mistaken identity changes everything and leads to an event so horrifying that Nina believes she could never recover.