Monday, December 30, 2013

Book Highlight: The Forgotten Ones by Laura Howard


Title: The Forgotten Ones
Author: Laura Howard
Genre: New Adult Fantasy
Series: The Danaan Trilogy #1
Published: April 28, 2013

Allison O'Malley's plan is to go to grad school so she can get a good job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She has carefully closed herself off from everything else, including a relationship with Ethan, who she's been in love with for as long as she can remember.

What is definitely not part of the plan is the return of her long-lost father, who claims he can bring Allison's mother back from the dark place her mind has gone. Allison doesn't trust her father, so why would she believe his stories about a long forgotten Irish people, the Tuatha de Danaan? But truths have a way of revealing themselves. Secrets will eventually surface. And Allison must learn to set aside her plan and work with her father if there is even a small chance it could restore her mother's sanity.









Laura Howard lives in New Hampshire with her husband and four children. Her obsession with books began at the age of 6 when she got her first library card. Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High and other girly novels were routinely devoured in single sittings. Books took a backseat to diapers when she had her first child. It wasn’t until the release of a little novel called Twilight, 8 years later, that she rediscovered her love of fiction. Soon after, her own characters began to make themselves known. The Forgotten Ones is her first published novel.






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Friday, December 20, 2013

Book Blitz: Insanity by Cameron Jace

Title: Insanity
Author: Cameron Jace
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Expected publication: December 20, 2013

After accidentally killing everyone in her class, Alice Wonder is now a patient in the Radcliffe Lunatic Asylum. No one doubts her insanity. Only a hookah-smoking professor believes otherwise; that he can prove her sanity by decoding Lewis Carroll's paintings, photographs, and find Wonderland's real whereabouts. Professor Caterpillar persuades the asylum that Alice can save lives and catch the wonderland monsters now reincarnated in modern day criminals. In order to do so, Alice leads a double life: an Oxford university student by day, a mad girl in an asylum by night. The line between sanity and insanity thins when she meets Jack Diamond, an arrogant college student who believes that nonsense is an actual science.





Excerpt from chapter 1

The writing on the wall says it's January 14th. I am not sure what year. I haven't been sure of many things lately, but I’m wondering if it’s my handwriting I’m looking at.
There is an strange key drawn underneath the date. It's carved with a sharp object, probably a broken mirror. I couldn’t have written this. I'm terrified of mirrors. They love to call it Catoptrophobia around here.
Unlike regular patients in the asylum, my room is windowless, stripped down to a single mattress in the middle, a sink, and bucket for peeing--or puking--when necessary. The tiles on the floor are black-and-white squares, like a chessboard. I never step on black. Always white. Again, I'm not sure why.
The walls are smeared with a greasy pale green everywhere. I wonder if it's the previous patient's brains spattered all over from shock therapy. In the Radcliffe Lunatic Asylum, politely known as the Warneford hospital, the doctors have a sweet spot for shock therapy. They love watching patients with bulging eyes and shivering limbs begging for relief from the electricity. It makes me question who is really mad in here.
It's been a while since I was sent to shock therapy myself. Dr. Tom Truckle, my supervising physician, said I don't need it anymore, particularly after I stopped mentioning Wonderland. He told me that I used to talk about it all the time; a dangerous place I claim I have been whisked away to when my elder sister lost me at the age of seven.
Truth is, I don't remember this Wonderland they are talking about. I don't even know why I am here. My oldest vivid memory is from a week ago. Before that, it's all a purple haze.
I have only one friend in this asylum. It's not a doctor or a nurse. And it's not a human. It doesn't hate, envy, or point a finger at you. My friend is an orange flower I keep in a pot; a Tiger Lily I can't live without. I keep it safe next to a small crack in the wall where a single sun ray sneaks through for only ten minutes a day. It might not be enough light to grow a flower, but my Tiger Lily is a tough girl.
Each day, I save half of the water they give me for my flower. As for me, better thirsty than mad.
My orange flower is also my personal rain check for my sanity. If I talk to her and she doesn't reply, I know I am not hallucinating. If it talks back to me, all kinds of nonsense starts to happen. Insanity prevails. There must be a reason why I am here. It doesn’t mean I will easily give in to such a fate.
"Alice Pleasance Wonder. Are you ready?" the nurse knocks with her electric prod on my steel door. Her name is Waltraud Wagner. She is German. Everything she says sounds like a threat and smells like smoke. My fellow mad people say she is a Nazi; that she used to kill her own patients back in Germany. "Get avay vrom za dor. I an coming in," she demands.
Listening to the rattling of her large keychain, my heart pounds in my chest. The turn of the key makes me want to swallow. When the door opens, all I can think of is choking her before she begins to hurt me. Sadly, her neck is too thick for my nimble hands. I stare at her almost-square figure for a moment. Everything about her is four sizes too big, all except her feet, which are as small as mine. My sympathies, little feet.
"Time for your daily ten-minute break," she approaches me with a straitjacket, a devilish grin on her face. I never get out. My ward is underground, and I take my break in another empty ward upstairs, where patients love to play soccer with a hedgehog’s head.
A big muscled warden stands behind Watlraud. Thomas Ogier. He is bald, has an angry-red face and a silver tooth he likes to flash whenever he sees me. His biceps are the size of my head. I have a hard time believing he has ever been a 4-pound baby.
"Slide your arms into the jacket," Waltraud demands in her German accent, a cigarette puckered between her lips. "Slow and easy, Alice," she nods at warden Ogier, in case I misbehave.
I comply obediently and stretch out my arms for her to do whatever she wants. Waltraud twists my right arm slightly and checks the tattoo on my arm. It’s the only tattoo I have. It’s a handwritten sentence that looks like a thin arm band from afar. Waltraud feels the need to read it allowed, “’I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.’” I was told I have written it myself while still believing in Wonderland. “That Alice in Wonderland has really messed with your head.” She puffs smoke into my face as she mocks me.
The tattoo and Waltraud’s mocking is the least of my concerns right now. I let her tie me, and while she does, I close my eyes. I imagine I am a sixteenth century princess, some kind of a lucky Cinderella, being squeezed into a corset by my chain smoking servant in a fairy tale castle above ground, just about to go meet my Prince Charming. Such imagery always helps me breathe. I once heard that it was hope that saves the day, not sanity. I need to cool down before I begin my grand escape.






Things you might want to know:

Cameron writes books that he can't find elsewhere, basically to amuse himself. Everything Cameron does is for fun, so don't take him seriously. Never call him a writer. He hates that. He prefers the word: Storyteller, or the boy next door who claims he can tell stories.

If you like his books, horaaaay! He loves ya too. If ya don't, hoooray! Now we know in advance that this relationship isn't going to work.

Although his books are ordinary on the surface, they hold many secrets that he might reveal one day. What matters the most to him are characters struggling to find their identities and place in the world.

Things you don't need to know:

He celebrates his birthday twice a year, the day he was born and Friday the 13th. He wants to live in a bubble house. He is a damn good guitar player. He is damn good architecture college drop out. He likes boats, beaches, bears, beards, bananas, bars, barfights, beans, bikes, bones, butter, babes, bakery, blizzards, and pirates (he thought it was spelled Birates when he was a kid.)

And honestly, writing in third person sucks! It's so fake. 




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Monday, December 16, 2013

Cover Reveal: Discovering Lucy by Laura Dunaway

Discovering Lucy Cover

Title: Discovering Lucy
Author: Laura Dunaway
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Expected Release Date: February 2014

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18756985-discovering-lucy

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https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/71496-discovering-lucy

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Synopsis
After three long years of living in a hell she never could have imagined, Lucy Jane Simmons courageously escapes to New York City for a fresh start. A new beginning...
When Lucy meets Knox Taylor, the intoxicating man in the business suit, everything she thought she knew about relationships changes. He is strong, seductive and makes her feel safe. But can she open up enough to let him in?
Will Lucy Jane escape the scars of her past? Can Knox give her the future she ultimately deserves? A story of rediscovery...
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About the Author
Laura DunawayLaura Dunaway has been married to her prince for 17 years and together they are raising three amazing kids. While she's always had a passion for reading and writing, it wasn't until this past year that she finally realized she should pursue her dream of writing a book. After many many attempts at starting one, Distorted was finally the one that flowed and before she knew it, she'd written The End. When she's not busy shuttling her kids to lessons and practices and making dinner, she's busy behind her computer writing her next book, Discovering Lucy, which will be out winter of 2014.
Connect with Laura

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Other Books by Laura Dunaway
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Giveaway
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Promo: Dark Universe (The Universe Series #2) by Devon Herrera

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Title: Dark Universe (The Universe Series #2)
Author : Devon Herrera
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 28, 2013

Spotify Playlist:


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Synopsis
What do you do when your whole life is played out as atonement for someone else’s mistakes? Lola has spent her life in the shadow of her older brother, until one day he does the unforgiveable and is disowned from the family. Now her parents are putting pressure on her to get married, have children, and live the perfect life. If she can do all this, maybe it will wash away the guilt they harbor for her brother’s mistakes. She’s completely set against it, and refuses to ever fall in love. Until Drake Thomas knocks on her door. What do you do when the one person you trust the least is yourself? Ever since Drake was a boy he’s been alone. That was the way he wanted it. His father was abusive and he learned at a very young age that he has the same anger living inside of him. Terrified that he’ll one day become the man who ruined his life, he stays away from relationships of any kind. Will they be able to move past their misconceptions about themselves and each other, or will they learn that not only can they love, but together they are stronger? Only the Universe knows.
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Excerpt
My hackles rise and I look him dead in the eyes and plant a finger in his chest. “What exactly do you want with her, Connor? Because these questions, they come with some heavy answers. Nina isn’t going to be easy or normal and it’s going to be rocky, so if she is just a challenge or some passing fling in a small town you’re visiting, you better just cut your losses now. I had no control over her being hurt the first time, and failed at protecting her the second, so I will not allow there to be a third. You get me?” I stab my finger deeper into his chest and glare up into his baby blues, putting every ounce of threat I can muster into my words. “You don’t need to worry about that. I’m more likely to get hurt than she is at this point.” His words completely shock me. Guys don’t ever admit to things like that. “Now, I hate to be rude, but Nina is going to be out of the shower any minute now and I have some things to say to her when she does. If you’re here when she gets out, she’ll use you as an excuse to get out of facing whatever progress I made with her last night.” I smile wide at him and pat him on the shoulder. “It’s about time that girl had someone to care about again.” I walk towards the door and turn around before exiting, to hammer the point home. “Connor, I like you, but if you hurt her, I will not hesitate to nail your balls to my fence post and leave you for the birds, understood?” Connor’s hand instinctively goes to protect the object in question and swallows. “Like I said, unnecessary, but yea… I hear you. You know, you’re sort of scary.” I look up at the hulking man who outweighs me by at least seventy pounds and has a good eight inches on me and smile.

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Book One - Sapphire Universe
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About the Author
319549_209551592514067_1315046232_nI am a wife of a U.S Army Soldier and mother of a beautiful little girl. I work for the Wyoming Department of Revenue in Cheyenne Wyoming, and no we don't still ride horses out here. I've been in love with reading since I first discovered the Harry Potter series in 4th grade. I don't just read a good book I devour it. After reading hundreds of novels I finally bit the bullet and sat down to write one of my own. I had an idea in my head and as soon as I started writing, the story seemed to play out right infront of me. Nothing has ever felt so natural. About 10 chapters into it I decided that I was going to take the plunge and get it self published as an Ebook. "Sapphire Universe" is a Contemporary Romance novel for adults, because lets face it, I'm female. Romance is what I like to read so it's what I'm going to write. Thank you so much for your support, and I can't wait for you to read The Universe Series.

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Saturday, December 14, 2013

Release Event: WILD by Adriane Leigh

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Title: Wild
Author: Adriane Leigh
Expected Release Date: December 13, 2013
Genre: Erotic Romance
 
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Synopsis
Kat Kennedy moved to the rugged coast of Maine to start a new life, but encountered much more than she bargained for in dark, dangerous, and seductive Lane Wild…
Desire and temptation smolder before she succumbs to her darkest fantasies with the captivating stranger. She doesn't expect to see him again after an explosive one-night stand leaves her breathless and craving more, but just like lightning in the darkness, he shows up in her life at the most unpredictable moments.
A sensual game of cat and mouse ensues before the attraction between them reaches a fever pitch—the magnetism combustible, the sexual tension nearly unbearable—and Kat finally abandons inhibition and explores the cunning, selfish, and sexual side of a world she's never known.
They have the perfect non-relationship—passion-fueled nights with no strings attached—until lifegets real and the past and present collide in a dangerous storm of lust and obsession
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Teaser
His arm brushed across my chest. Despite the chunky wool sweater I wore, I felt it as clearly as if I’d been naked. Sparks raced across my body and landed straight between my thighs and all I could think about was his strong arms lifting me up on the counter and taking me. Fucking me like he meant it. Fucking me like he was starved for my body. My breath ratcheted up a notch and I pressed my thighs together, shifting back and forth, trying to get my mind off the sexy man infiltrating my space. “Okay there, Sugar?” his breath whispered across my neck as he stood behind me. When had he gotten there? Where had I been? Lost in my fantasy of him taking me in the kitchen, that’s where. “Fine,” I croaked.
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About the Author
Adriane Leigh Adriane Leigh was born and raised in a snowbank in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and now lives amongst the sand dunes of the Lake Michigan lakeshore. She graduated with a Literature degree but never particularly enjoyed reading Shakespeare or Chaucer. Adriane is married to a tall, dark and handsome guy, plays mama to two sweet baby girls, and is a voracious reader and knitter.

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