Book Blitz: Stay

Stay by Emily Goodwin
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: May 19, 2014
Buy Links:

Amazon

Book Description:

“I felt like I was walking to the end of a plank precariously hanging over shark-infested water. When I jumped, sharp teeth would rip into me and the cold water would steal my breath away. 

The monsters would take everything from me, leaving me shivering and naked in the water. The only difference was that tonight I would be pulled from the icy darkness and forced to do it again. There would be no release from death, only pain.”

Home after her first year of college, Adeline Miller is looking forward to a stress free summer filled with reading, working on her blog, and spending time with friends. But all that changes in an instant when she is witness to something terrible, something she wasn’t supposed to see.

Beaten, drugged, kidnapped.

Adeline Miller is ripped from her innocent and carefree life and thrust into darkness, into a world full of pain and horror. As a sex slave, she is forced to do horrible things, and have horrible things done to her. One of her captors has a past as dark as the world she is now living in. Will getting close to him mean freedom? Or will he pull her deeper into the shadows?

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Excerpt:

Jackson rolled over, pulling me on top of him. He kissed the top of my head and held me against him for a minute before we got dressed. After using the bathroom, I cuddled back into Jackson’s arms.

“Why did you say ‘one more day?'” I asked, tracing my fingers over the contours of his bare shoulders.

“I was hoping you’d forget.”

“Not a chance.”

Jackson took a breath. “Nate and Zane are gone. This is as good a time as any for you to escape.”

I pushed myself up so I could look him in the eyes. “And you too, right?”

Jackson frowned. “I don’t know the codes right now. You’ll have to go through a window.”

“So?” I asked, feeling panic rising. “You can come with me.” I shook my head. “Windows are quiet anyway. By the time I get out and the alarm goes off, we can be long gone.”

Review: On the Way to Everywhere

On the Way to Everywhere by Kirsten B. Feldman
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: September 8, 2014
Buy Links:

Amazon

Book Description:

Though she’s nicknamed for the magical Harry Potter, six-foot, dreadlocked Harry Kavanaugh doesn’t find any wonder in her daily life at an exclusive girls’ school outside of Washington, DC.

In fact she wants nothing more than to chuck her lot and enter the wilds of public school—too bad she didn’t reckon on a trip to the hospital, a runaway, and a renegade or three, which just might show her a different path to everywhere.







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On the Way to Everywhere by Kristen B. Feldman is fresh and entertaining, definitely one of the best books I’ve read this summer. I absolutely adored Harry. I love that she wasn’t this perfect, popular character who everyone automatically loved. I enjoyed the fact that she was awkward and that there were parts of the story that really showed her coming into her own.

Feldman has a way of writing characters that make you want to root for them. I loved all the insight we got into Harry and how she ticks throughout the story. She’s the kind of character you can relate to and that's another thing I enjoyed about Feldman’s writing. She does a great job of creating a world where you can't help but love and hate characters.

Book Blitz: We Own the Night (Night Songs Collection #3)

We Own the Night (Night Songs Collection #3) by Kristen Strassel
Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: September 1, 2014
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ B & N

Book Description:

Callie Chabot would stop at nothing to save her ex-boyfriend Blade Bennett from the clutches of vampire clan leader Talis de Rancourt, even if means becoming immortal herself. What she doesn’t know is that Blade has already defeated Talis, and he’s waiting for Callie in the afterlife.

Now Callie only has her creator, Tristan Trevosier, to turn to for guidance. But he’s too wrapped up in the debauchery of the Las Vegas rock scene to give a damn about the particulars of being undead. That’s enough to drive Callie crazy on its own, but female vampires are automatic clan leaders.

Not only does Callie have no idea how to wrangle a vampire clan, but her would-be followers have more to gain from her failure. They instead choose to follow Blade—and he’s hell-bent on making Callie pay for her bad decisions. Since he took out the existing clan leader, that automatically puts him at the helm of what should be Callie’s new clan.

That’s when seasoned rogue vampire, Cash Logan, shows up, shrouded in magic and mystery. No one is sure which side Cash is on, but Callie needs to take a chance on the one vampire who is willing to give her the answers she needs, no matter how dark and frightening they may be. Callie must trust her instincts and form alliances that may backfire. Cash shows Callie that playing nice is no longer an option, and that fixing her wrongs won’t always make everything right.

To take control of her clan, Callie must look to her rival to discover exactly what makes her a leader.

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Ten Things That Every Aspiring Writer Should Know

By Kristen Strassel

I’ve recently participated in a contest called Pitch Wars, which writers seeking agency representation submit their queries and first drafts to published/agented authors. I was so humbled to receive so many amazing submissions! The worst part of the contest was I could only pick two to work with. Two. I don’t have any kids, but my motherly instincts seem to scream the loudest in moshpits and Pitch Wars. I wanted to help everyone.

Since I can’t go through and line edit everyone’s manuscript, the next best thing is to share the most common feedback I gave on the submissions.

1. Get in your character’s head. Any character can set things down, sigh, look at things. I want to know what makes your character special on every page. I want her thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Make sure only your characters can tell this story.
2. Stay in the moment. If your character is under attack, she’s not going to notice how her clothes are wrinkling or minute details about her surroundings.

Book Blitz: Charming the Outback

Charming the Outback by Leesa Bow
Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Buy Links:

Amazon

Book Description:

When jaded city girl Maddy McIntyre packs up and leaves Adelaide for a new job in the country, it's not only a chance at a fresh start. Six months ago, the first guy she'd ever loved shattered her heart before moving home to Broken Hill. Deep down inside, Maddy is hoping that living in the same town will give her an opportunity to prove to Luke that she's one temptation he can't resist.

But when she arrives in Broken Hill, Luke White is not the same guy she knew in the city. And it soon seems very clear that he doesn't want her there. Although Maddy settles in quickly, excelling at work and partying with her new friends, she can't understand why Luke is remaining so distant. Particularly when all her instincts are telling her that they're meant to be together – and that he feels the same burning attraction.

As Maddy learns more about Luke's family and background, she begins to understand that his mixed messages are caused by balancing what's expected of him with what he really wants. Maddy gave Luke her heart long ago and, despite their differences, she knows she'll only ever be happy with her hot country boy. But how can she convince him that she's the risk he needs to take?

♥ ♥ ♥



I grew up in Broken Hill a town in far west New South Wales, Australia. Situated in a desert climate where hot dry summers are common, and so are the magical coloured sunsets. Dust storms are simply tolerated. I remember walking home from school in the middle of a dust storm and the red dirt whipping the bare skin of my legs.

During my childhood I also remember the freedom, and the need to explore. As a kid, I would take off on my bike for hours, exploring the outskirts of the town — and searching for Sturt’s Desert Pea — only to return home when hungry or the light was fading into night.

During my teens I played a variety of sport, and developed a sense of community within the sporting bodies.

When I met my future husband, dating became tricky. Small towns are renowned to have a gossip grapevine. The Silver City is a mining town and breeds tough young men, any you could meet at the local pubs on weekends. Despite their rough diamond image, it’s the simplicity of romance that makes many eligible country bachelors happy.

Release Day Blitz: The Empress Chronicles (The Empress Chronicles #1)

The Empress Chronicles (The Empress Chronicles #1) by Suzy Vitello
Age Group: You Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction
Release Date: September 4th, 2014
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ B & N

Book Description:

When city girl Liz is banished to a rural goat farm on the outskirts of Portland, the 15-year-old feels her life spiraling out of control. She can’t connect to her father or his young girlfriend, and past trauma adds to her sense of upheaval. 

 The only person who seems to keep her sane is a troubled boy who is fighting his own demons. But all of this changes in one historical instant.

One-hundred fifty years earlier, Elisabeth of Bavaria has troubles of her own. Her childhood is coming to a crashing end, and her destiny is written in the form of a soothsaying locket that has the ability to predict true love. But evil is afoot in the form of a wicked enchantress who connives to wield the power of the locket for her own destructive ends.

When Liz finds a timeworn diary, and within it a locket, she discovers the secrets and desires of the young Bavarian princess who will one day grow up to be the legendary Empress of Austria. It is in the pages of the diary that these two heroines will meet, and it is through their interwoven story that Liz will discover she has the power to rewrite history—including her own…

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Teaser:

Cover Reveal: Willows of Fate (Lands of Sun and Stone Series, #1)

Lola's Book Tours Promotional Event

Willows of Fate (Lands of Sun and Stone Series, #1) by Suzanna J. Linton
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: October 3, 2014

Book Description:

Know thyself...

All her life, Desdemona has seen things others haven't. Dragons, knights, dwarves, kids with three eyes. Heeding her mother's advice, she keeps silent about this and struggles through life, pretending everything is normal.

At her mother's death, Desdemona returns to a home haunted with memories but she is determined to not be shaken from what little normalcy she has. However, when her brother is murdered and she uncovers a family secret, Desdemona realizes that there is more to what she sees. Perhaps a whole other world, one that's willing to kill to have her as its own.

♥ ♥ ♥ Excerpt:
Mall maintenance halls are creepy. Plain and white, with fluorescent lighting, they evoke images of serial killers, hockey masks, and bloody butcher knives. The figure standing at the end does not help matters. He's wearing a brown hood, pulled low over his face, casting the upper half in shadow and exposing only his beardless chin. A long knife hangs from his side, and a quiver with arrows on his back. Dressed in a green long shirt, black pants, and brown hood, he appears ready to attend a Ren Faire. I can't tell if he's looking at me or past me. I assure myself that he's gazing beyond me because that is the more bearable thought.
A gaggle of girls bursts from the bathroom in a cloud of body spray.  They pay no attention to the man, and they wouldn’t.  I step to the side to let them by and slip into the restroom.
After doing my business, I stand at the mirror and concentrate on what I came to the mall for: yarn for a coworker’s baby blanket, a new sketchbook, and a pair of shoes. I remind myself that I need to get home in time to prepare for this night’s class at the technical school. The steel sink feels cool and wet under my hands, anchoring me more firmly in the moment, in what is real.