Showing posts with label excerpt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label excerpt. Show all posts

Book Blitz (Excerpt + Giveaway): Gateway Trilogy by Christina Garner



Gateway (The Gateway Trilogy #1) by Christina Garner

Release Date: 06/2014
Ember has always known she doesn’t belong in this world. But when she tries to correct the mistake, she wakes to find herself in a mental institution.

She’s soon drawn to Taren, the mysterious boy with hazel eyes. He’s not what he seems, but what is he?

When chaos erupts, they are forced to flee the institution together, and the secret that Taren has been keeping brings Ember closer to understanding her own. And leads her to… the Gateway.

Add to Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon (on sale for $.99)


Chasm (The Gateway Trilogy #2) by Christina Garner

Release Date: August 2014
**Description Contains Book 1 Spoilers**  
Two months have passed since Ember Lyons nearly died killing the powerful Root Demon threatening the Los Angeles Gateway. Physically healed, images of the day still haunt her and she can no longer access the power she once wielded. She can't talk about it with anyone at The Institute--not even her handsome, demon-hunting boyfriend, Taren. Besides there are bigger things to worry about: Gateways around the world are weakening, Keepers' Marks are fading, escaped lesser demons are populating Los Angeles, and it looks like the Root Demon wasn't alone.

When the Institute sends Ember and a team to Europe, she hopes to find answers and security on the journey, but another attempt on her life reminds her she's never really safe.

Then she's thrust together with the mysterious Alexander. Ember can't be sure if this charismatic man is her most formidable enemy or greatest ally. Either way, she needs him, because he's the only one who can bring her to... the Chasm.

Add to Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon (on sale for $2.99)


Tether (The Gateway Trilogy Book 3) by Christina Garner

Release Date: 09/23/14

**Description Contains Book 2 Spoilers** 

Ember was only trying to keep a promise when she jumped into the demon world. But instead of saving Cole and his people, she found herself just as trapped as they are. She lives and learns with the Daemon survivors while the demon threat grows every day.

Meanwhile Taren struggles with his guilt for not stopping Ember. He’s desperate to know she’s alive, but there's been no sign of her except in his own vivid dreams.

As they struggle to reconnect, the Gateways around the world weaken, and the demons begin to amass for war. The end is near and Ember must face her fears if she has any hope of saving the world – or herself.

With everything falling apart, her only hope is to find...her Tether.

Add to Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon


From Book One:


“Did she hurt you?" Taren asked. "Your head hit the tile pretty hard.” That explained the spinning, and the pain that was starting to seep through the cracks of my shock.

I reached up to touch the back of my head.

“Ow! Yeah, I guess she got me pretty good. What was that about, anyway? What's her problem with me?”

Before he could answer, one of the nurses approached. “We'll get you checked out now, dear.”

“I was just going to get her some ice,” Taren said, his hand on the small of my back, steering me away from the nurse.

“Don't be silly,” the nurse said. “She could have a concussion. We need to take her to the E.R.”

While she went to confer with an orderly, I stifled a laugh. I had been wanting to get out of there. Maybe if my mother knew I was just as likely to lose my life inside the mental hospital as out, she'd spring me that much sooner.

“Wait.” Taren leaned close, his breath in my ear. My pulse went back to racing. “Do you have any…birthmarks?”

His question was so bizarre that I was heedless of the pain and snapped my head to face him.

“What?”

His eyes were only inches away, boring into mine. He grabbed my wrist and pushed up the sleeve of my hoodie, searching. I tried to pull away, but his grip was too strong.

“Do you?” he asked again, checking the other arm.

“N-no,” I stammered.

Intensity didn't usually unnerve me, but at that moment, his definitely did.

“Taren, enough!” the nurse said, hurrying back to us. “What on earth are you doing?”

She pried his hands from my arm, causing Taren to come back to himself.

“Nothing, sorry.” He dropped his gaze. “Sorry, I hope you feel better.”

He turned abruptly and strode away.





Christina Garner began writing stories at the age of six. Her first–about a young girl who busted up a nefarious ring of furniture thieves–was a huge hit with her mother. At eighteen, her aspirations as an actor had her loading up her Buick and setting off for Hollywood. Since then, she has written and directed 10 short films, including Rewind and Reminder, both of which received acclaim on the festival circuit. In 2006, she began writing screenplays. A year later, she even got paid for one. In May of 2011, her debut novel, Gateway, became an Amazon Bestseller. Chasm, Book 2 in The Gateway Trilogy, did the same.

When she’s not writing novels, Christina spends her time working in the movie business, traveling, watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer reruns, and playing with her dog, Griffin.

Author Links: Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook



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Book Blitz Organized by:

Blog Tour: Prophecy by Julie Anne Lindsey


Who’s Hotter? Vikings or Cowboys?

My heroine has a problem. She’s been best friends with a cowboy since grade school and their relationship is getting those warm, fuzzy grown-up feels.  The only problem? They’ve been friends since grade school.

Callie’s got another problem, too. A family moved into the haunted house next door and the oldest son, Liam, is … something. She’s irrationally, stupidly drawn to him, as if she’s known him forever, but they’ve barely met.

Don’t worry, she’ll figure all that out, but the handsome men in her life started me wondering….Who’s hotter? Cowboys or Vikings?

So, I did what any girl would do. I made lists! Let’s see if I can figure it out.

Cowboys:

1.      Lean, sculpted bodies – hey, farm work isn’t easy, but it surely does pay
2.      Tans – that much time in the sun caramels up the skin real pretty
3.      Southern drawls – those slow, sexy southern drawls can give a girl the vapors.
4.      Respect – Any cowboy worth his rope treats his woman like a precious stone, easily lost and in high demand. He’s no stranger to hard work and he’ll earn your keep.
5.      Charm, bone-deep – and they know how to use it. They’ll make friends with your mama.

Vikings:

1.      Fierce – these guys are born warriors, fearless fighters and unrelenting defenders
2.      Honor – honor is everything to a Viking. They’d die (literally!) to maintain it
3.      Warriors are nice to look at. Have you seen Thor?
4.      Alpha male? Yes, please. –I think girl-swooning pheromones and testosterone seep directly from their pores.
5.      Mystery – The Vikings in Prophecy are demigods, offspring of Bia, Kratos and Zelus, gods of force, strength and zeal. Who doesn’t love a demigod?


I know I left out a ton of reasons to love both - Vikings AND Cowboys. I wrote an entire novel about them and then wrote a sequel! LOL. One book wouldn’t contain their awesome. So, what do you think? Who do you choose? The Viking or the cowboy? What did I leave out that definitely belongs on the list?


Prophecy, book 1, Calypso series, book #1

On the other side of death, is destiny.

Callie Ingram is spending her senior year focused on one thing: swimming. Her skill as a competitive swimmer is going to secure a scholarship and her future, or so she hopes. She has big plans, and Liam Hale, her gorgeous new neighbor, isn’t going to affect them. But when Callie sees Liam beheading someone, she learns his family has a secret that will change everything. The Hales are Vikings, demi-gods who’ve been charged by The Fates to find their new destined leader.

Callie’s caught in the middle of a budding Norse apocalypse, in love with Liam Hale and desperate to protect her best friend—who the Hales believe is marked for transformation. Putting the clues together as fast as she can, Callie discovers she has the power to rewrite destiny, for herself and all humankind.

Amazon           B&N               Kensington                 iTunes


About Julie:

Julie Anne Lindsey is a multi-genre author who writes the stories that keep her up at night. She’s a self-proclaimed nerd with a penchant for words and proclivity for fun. Julie lives in rural Ohio with her husband and three small children. Today, she hopes to make someone smile. One day she plans to change the world.






Book Tour (Excerpt): Guardian by Courtney Cole

Guardian RDL Banner
 

We are excited about the Release Day Launch for Courtney Cole's GUARDIAN! GUARDIAN is a YA Paranormal Romance, and a book close to Courtney’s heart. Not only is this a release day, but it's also Courtney's birthday! To celebrate all the occassion, she is making a few select titles only .99 TODAY ONLY! 

Guardian

Barnes and Noble ** Amazon ** iBooks


Synopsis:


Sometimes, things that go bump in the night are real. My name is Whitney Lane. I’m sixteen years old and at first, I thought I was crazy. I kept seeing shadows move along walls, and hearing whispers around corners, but whenever I looked, there was never anything there. Until one day, there was. Our world isn’t what we think. There are things around us, good things, bad things, scary things. Things that we tell ourselves aren’t real, but they are. They’re very real, and they’re terrifying. I’ve been swept up now, in a battle of good and evil, confused about love and what is supposed to be love, but isn’t. I don’t know what to think anymore. I can’t trust my emotions and I don’t know what is true. There’s only one thing I know for sure. Nothing is what it seems.



Guardian Available now



Excerpt:


Sometimes the things that go bump in the night are real.

          Happy birthday to me. 
          I close my eyes and burrow into my pillow as I try to sleep, as I try to escape this life.
          It’s a life I never thought I’d have, a life I most certainly don’t want.
          I’m still feeling sorry for myself as the blackness of sleep finally overtakes me.
          I don’t know what time it is when I shoot straight upward like a rocket. Something had yanked me from the oblivion of sleep, something loud and shrill scraping my window.
          My room is completely dark and I glanceat my clock in confusion.
          3:00 a.m.
          As my heart pounds hard against my ribcage, I quickly scan every corner of the room.
          In the last few hours, dark shadows had migrated onto my pink walls, but they’re familiar, nothing out of the ordinary, although in the night, they seem twisted and scary.
           I remain motionless as I allow the sleep-induced fog to clear from my brain.
           As I sit, I feel common sense and logic slowly returning.
           Of course nothing had touched my window because my bedroom is on the second floor. Nothing can reach it. And there are no trees near enough to brush against it. It was just a dream.
            It was only a dream. I chant it silently to myself like a mantra as I consciously slow my breathing down, hoping that my racing pulse will soon follow. It was only a dream.
           But just as I’m calming down, I hear it again. A high-pitched shrill shriek, reminiscent of fingernails on a chalkboard, scraping down my window. I gasp and pull my feet up to my chest, which is when I notice the temperature.
            I notice because I can see my breath.
            Timidly, I blow a puff out again, watching the way my breath turns white in the air.
            Holy crap. Oh my God. 
            What the hell?
            The sound stops and stillness surrounds me once again, the silence so loud that it echoes in my ear.
            Nothing moves around me, the shadows are perfectly still as they twist across my wall. They look like mangled fingers and arms and legs, but they don’t move.
            My legs are weak and shaking, but I know I have to move. I have to move off my bed because it feels like something is under it. Something terrifying.
            With a leap, I bound across the room, my feet hitting the floor several feet away from the edge of my bed.
            The floor is ice cold, as though it had been covered in a blanket of snow.
            I’m trembling as I race to the far wall and check the thermostat. Because that’s the only explanation. I must’ve bumped it earlier, I must’ve turned the AC way down.
            But the luminous numbers stare at me in contradiction.
            74 degrees.
            It must be broken. It has to be broken.
            My breath is coming in pants now, terrified, anxious pants.
            My fear isn’t logical. I know there’s nothing here. I’m the only one in this room.
            Or am I? 
            The air seems to push at me from all around, something dark, something heavy, something real. Something unseen.
            My fingers shake, my legs tremble, and then all of a sudden, they can no longer support my weight. I go down like a pile of bricks, collapsing onto the floor. I lie still because I can’t move, because something seems to sit on my chest, holding me down.
            The shadows start to move, to slither across the walls, to reach and pull and dance.
            I struggle to focus, to see what it is. But all I can see are the numbers on the thermostat suddenly moving, rapidly counting down from 74 to 20.
            Twenty degrees?
            The air is frigid as I suck it in, as I try to pull the ice crystals into my mouth so I can breathe.
            All of a sudden, there’s a blackness in front of me. It hovers over me, a shapeless mass, sucking in the cells of the air, the atoms and the molecules. It’s darker than the blackness of my room, blacker than the blackest black.
            Something is here.
            With me. 
            “Dad?” I whisper in a white puff. Because what else could it be?
             I reach out a finger to touch it, and then I can’t see anything else, because the darkness of it surrounds me, bleeding into everything else, even my vision.
             The shriek is back, screaming into my ears, bleeding into my brain. Then there’s nothing.


To celebrate the release of GUARDIAN and Courtney's birthday the following books are on sale for .99, today only!


Birthday book Sale Banner





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ABOUT COURTNEY COLE:



Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. She loves chocolate and roller coasters and hates waiting and rude people. Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo.    


Book Blitz: Tortured Souls by Kimberly Wheaton



Tortured Souls (Orion Circle #1)
Release Date: July 2014

Summary from Goodreads:
Sometimes Rest in Peace isn't an option.

Kacie Ramsey sees ghosts—and it's ruining her life. Her mother left, her father blames her, and no matter how hard she tries, she can't keep the ghosts away. Now a new power has emerged. Nightly visions of grisly murders and a relentless predator draw her to the brink of insanity.

When the phantom appears at a party, Kacie's longtime crush, Logan, saves her. He invites her to join the Orion Circle, a group of supernatural hunters with chapters in schools all over the country. Through the Circle, Kacie learns to embrace her spiritual powers, and for the first time in her life she feels in control rather than a victim.

But the Foxblood Demon will not give up so easily. A demented serial killer in life who trapped the souls of the thirteen children he murdered, imprisoning them within the walls of his mansion. Now in death, he plots his return while drawing power from the pure souls of the children. He recognizes something in Kacie he's never seen before—a medium powerful enough to provide a vessel for his tainted soul.

Kacie can't ignore the tortured souls of the children crying out to her every night. With Logan at her side, she will fight the Foxblood Demon. But can they banish this powerful phantom, or will Kacie lose not only her body, but her eternal soul to the monster.



Available from:

Praise
“Tortured Souls was a wonderful YA read. It was light and enjoyable all the way through. From the romance, to the thrills, this book was fantastic. YA lovers, this is definitely a book you'll want to check out.” ~ Farrah at Imagine a World

“Tortured souls by Kimber Wheaton........ omg!! Great book!!!! This is one you don't want to miss out on.” ~ Paranormal Romance & Authors That Rock

“The plot is wonderfully spooky with just the right amount of suspense and mystery to keep the pages turning.” ~ James Luby– Amazon Reviewer

Blog Tour: Crane (Legends Saga #1) by Stacey Rouke

 



Crane by Stacey Rourke
Legends Saga Book 1










The Horseman is unending,
his presence shan’t lessen.
If you break the curse,
you become the legend.

Washington Irving and Rip Van Winkle had no choice but to cover up the deadly truth behind Ichabod Crane’s disappearance. Centuries later, a Crane returns to Sleepy Hollow awakening macabre secrets once believed to be buried deep.

What if the monster that spawned the legend lived within you?

Now, Ireland Crane, reeling from a break-up and seeking a fresh start, must rely on the newly awakened Rip Van Winkle to discover the key to channeling the darkness swirling within her. Bodies are piling high and Ireland is the only one that can save Sleepy Hollow by embracing her own damning curse.

But is anyone truly safe when the Horseman rides?






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It's starting!!: City of Lost Souls Rereading Day 1 - Prologue




Welcome to the first day of the City of Lost Souls Rereading, a kind of revising for the release of City of Heavenly Fire that I host, and I'm happy you've come. As you are here I suppose, you know what City of Lost Souls (CoLS) and City of Heavenly Fire (CoHF) are, but if you happen to not, I'll tell you. Both are parts of The Mortal Instrument series by Cassandra Clare. This is one of the several series by her featuring Shadowhunters, whose job is to maintain the piece among the supernatural species and even humans, who by the way know nothing about none of the above mentioned, and kill demons. 








Cover Reveal: Innocents (Dusty #1) by Mary and Sarah Elizabeth

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Releasing July 14, 2014





Synopsis




Bliss knows all about bad choices but has yet to make them herself. With an innocent heart, she searches for freedom and finds it in the delinquent down the hall.
Dusty is a foul-mouthed troublemaker, tear-maker and heartbreaker. The boy with summer sky-blue eyes knows to stay away, but he can't resist the girl who made his house a home.
She's his reason, but he might not catch her when she falls.
She loves him. He loves her crazy.
This is what happens when a love made of secrets is kept with rules instead of promises.



Excerpt



 
Chapter Ten



Buried beneath the blankets, I press the phone to my ear. Dusty doesn’t realize I’m back on, so I listen to him smoke: light, inhale, exhale, sigh, laugh. Hearing it is almost as good as actually seeing his lips around the end of a joint.
“I’m back,” I whisper.
"Beautiful, beautiful, baby Bliss. Baby, baby Bliss." He laughs, taking a hit.
My dad’s a juvenile court judge. Our dinner table talk usually consists of him complaining about the kids he sees coming in and out of his courtroom. It’s an epidemic, he says. Children Bliss’ age using drugs. And it always ends with, Bliss, never give into peer pressure. It starts with a little grass.
Maybe it is some kind sweeping epidemic, but weed doesn’t sway Dusty the way my dad claims it does other people. It soothes him. It makes him funny and honest and tolerable.
My dad doesn’t know everything.
"I thought about you all day,” Dusty says softly, lazily. "I miss your face. I miss your candy wrappers all over my room. I miss your cold toes on my legs under the covers."
"Oh, yeah?" I grip the phone tighter, pressing my knees together. The sound of his low voice sends chills up and down my arms. I bite my bottom lip and curl my toes.
“Come over,” he exhales.
I roll onto my side and turn my face into the hoodie’s hood, inhaling the faint sent of vanilla. I’m lit up, full of crazy butterflies and overriding happiness. This boy makes me smile bright.
"I'll take my mom's car. I'll come get you." He's only half-kidding. "Say yes."
"You'll drive high?"
"I'm not high." There's a moment of silence before he chokes on his laughter. "I'm so fucking high."
I revel in his tone, and his voice, and his silly, half-slurred words while I lie in the dark pretending he's close.
"I'm so hungry, Bliss baby. If you were here, I'd probably eat your elbow. I’d eat your—"
"Dusty,” I cut him off. “Tell me a secret."
"I love you," he says.



MeetTheAuthor



Mary Author Pic
     





Mary Elizabeth is an up and coming author who finds words in chaos, writing stories about the skeletons hanging in your closets. Known as The Realist, she is one half of The Elizabeths—a duo brave enough to never hide the truth. Born and raised in Southern California, she’s a wife, mother of four beautiful children, and dog tamer to one enthusiastic Pit Bull and a prissy Chihuahua. She’s a hairstylist by day but contemporary fiction, new adult author by night. Mary can often be found finger twirling her hair and chewing on a stick of licorice while writing and rewriting a sentence over and over until it’s perfect. She discovered her talent for tale-telling accidentally, but literature is in her stranglehold. And she’s not letting go until every story is told.
To follow Mary’s upcoming solo and collaborative projects, she can be found at her website http://www.maryelizabethlit.com/.
Brought together by their love of storytelling, Mary and Sarah Elizabeth are a pair of dedicated writers with complementary strengths who’ve cultivated a literary style that captures a Realist’s brutality with a Poet’s grace, uncovering the self-seeking side of tenderness and the undisguised truth of honesty. Inspired by the lyrics of a song, Dusty was born between emails and long G-chats before a single chapter was ever typed. A short story turned into a monster, and more than four years and several edits later, the first half of their collaboration, Innocents, will be released on July 14, 2014. And its conclusion, Delinquents, is set to release on October 23, 2014.


If you’d like to contact The Elizabeths, they can be located on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheElizabethsDusty?ref=hl.




Sarah Author Pic






Listener, messenger, secret keeper, Elizabeth, and TrueLove, Sarah works two jobs by day so that she's able to really work by night. She's written since she was old enough to hold a marker, and her writing bridges the sacred and profane, from first love to forbidden, with a longing for truth and a passion for hearts. She is currently based in Kansas City where her army is comprised of one little buffalo. Her best friends are girls named Moses and Bunny. Her hero is a boy named Bishop, and the one she loves has ocean eyes. In addition to Dusty, Sarah also has a collaborative novella, Light and Wine, due to be released on June 8th, and her solo work will be featured in the anthology Branded, this August.
Brought together by their love of storytelling, Mary and Sarah Elizabeth are a pair of dedicated writers with complementary strengths who’ve cultivated a literary style that captures a Realist’s brutality with a Poet’s grace, uncovering the self-seeking side of tenderness and the undisguised truth of honesty. Inspired by the lyrics of a song, Dusty was born between emails and long G-chats before a single chapter was ever typed. A short story turned into a monster, and more than four years and several edits later, the first half of their collaboration, Innocents, will be released on July 14, 2014. And its conclusion, Delinquents, is set to release on October 23, 2014.



If you’d like to contact The Elizabeths, they can be located on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheElizabethsDusty?ref=hl.




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THE BEAUTIFUL ASHES excerpt and audio news by Jeaniene Frost

Remember The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost? I've featured it in one of my Sunday Suspense posts. And now, Ms Frost has published news on the audiobook AND we also have gotten an excerpt. It's freakin' exciting, I don't know how I will be able to wait until August, almost September. Though, if I could wait two years for City of Heavenly Fire, I can bear anything at all. So here is the article:



"Hi, everyone! I’ve finally been given the green light to announce that audio rights for the upcoming Broken Destiny series sold at auction to Blackstone Audio in what Publishers Marketplace would classify as a “significant” deal. Blackstone (called Downpour on the consumer end) was the audio publisher for my first eight novels, so I’m thrilled to be working with them again.
I’m also thrilled to announce that Tavia Gilbert, the audio narrator for all my vampire novels, will be narrating the new series, too. Tavia is a genius with accents, emotions and performance, so I can’t wait to hear her rendition of the books.
Speaking of the new series, I’ve been promising you an excerpt from book one, THE BEAUTIFUL ASHES, and now I’m finally putting out ;). This excerpt takes place in Chapter Two, so it’s still early in the story. For a little context, my heroine arrived in town only to be attacked twice and then saved by a stranger, but as you’ll see, that’s just the beginning of her problems.
If you’ve never heard me talk about the new series before, I’m pasting the cover and description below. If you’ve already seen that, just skip to the new stuff after it. Hope you enjoy!"

YA Book Releases Next Week (April 21 - 27)

Publisher: Doherty, Tom Associates, LLC
Publication date: 4/22/2014
Series: Shadow Grail Series, #4
Edition description: First Edition
Pages: 256
Age range: 13 - 17 Years


Synopsis:



Spirit White and her friends Burke, Loch, and Addie have escaped from Oakhurst Academy. But their freedom has come at a terrible cost—a dear friend sacrificed her own life to save theirs. In the wake of Muirin’s death, they are also forced to deal with the terrifying truth behind the facade of Oakhurst Academy: all of the legends are true.
Queen Guinevere, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table really had existed. With the magic of Merlin, they were able to imprison their greatest foe, Mordred, before he could plunge the world back into the Dark Ages. But Mordred is now free, in charge of Oakhurst Academy, and determined to finish what he started so long ago.
Pursued by Shadow Knights, the reincarnated remnants of Mordred’s original army, Spirit’s small band undertakes a quest to recover the Four Hallows, objects of immeasurable power. Memories of a past life have begun to surface, one in which Spirit wields a legendary sword. She comes to realize that these memories are the true key to Mordred’s defeat. Can Spirit and her friends manage to recapture the magic of Camelot in time to save their fellow students and prevent the end of the world?