Friday, May 31, 2013

Wonderstruck Release Party!




Wonderstruck is now available! Get Wonderstruck TODAY from Amazon!




Add Wonderstruck to your Goodreads to be read list:

When you look at a picture, what do you see? We gave authors around the world the challenge to write a story based on a set of five images. More than thirty authors rose to that challenge and created an amazing young adult anthology of drabbles, short stories, novelettes and novellas for you to enjoy. Flip the pages and prepare to be Wonderstruck!

Dive into a world where wind is a power that feeds the flames and love makes everything more complicated. A life where a scorned bride can cause a great deal of trouble and a place where silence as you will find out has a lot to say. Find yourself in a future where a powerful enemy can only be stopped by the most dangerous weapon of all: the truth. All of this and more lies within these very pages... Are you ready?

Wonderstruck is Clean Teen Publishing's first break through Young Adult anthology. All stories within this book have fallen within our YA rating scale, however, not all stories have young adult characters. You will find a great deal of entertainment within Wonderstruck that is appropriate for readers of all ages. To view more information on our official content rating system please visit: www.cleanteenpublishing.com

Winning Novella-
Wind Warrior by Jon Messenger (Clean Teen Publishing Author of Wind Warrior)
The sleepy town of White Halls harbors a dangerous secret. On a picturesque street, two houses down from a lovely little park, in a quaint little home with a wraparound porch, lives a family that seems rather normal. Sure, their twenty year old son, Xander, still lives at home, but he's going to college and dating the leader of the schools top sorority. It's all very... normal.  However, when a man is miraculously saved from being hit by a bus, Xander's life turns in to the living embodiment of the tornadoes he can suddenly create with a flick of his wrist. Whether he wants this gift or not, Xander must learn to use his new 'super power' quickly if he wants to survive.  For his kind is a dying race, and when this sleepy town has a sudden influx of new, blonde, fire wielders, no one is safe, especially Xander. It doesn't help that one of these blondes happens to be the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Xander can't deny the instant connection he feels to her so, when she tries to kill him, it certainly makes things complicated.


Winning Novelette-
Pastiche by Maren Dille  
A punishment far worse than death awaits Alim Hamal. Sylin Incorporated has a particular sentence for their rogue assassins: uncovering the darkest moments in their subconscious, then watching as they relive them through virtual simulation. Only one assassin has ever escaped. Alim plans to be the second.

The simulation demands the truth, something Alim has kept from his employers at all costs. But as his final moments emerge, Sylin will discover that the truth is Alim’s most dangerous weapon.

Winning Short Story-
The Silent Man by Kati Ellis
I thought my time with Silence would be peaceful. Heaven knows I deserve it after all those years of raising babies. Silence, however, had a different plan. If it weren't for Marigold, I don't think I would've seen it. She introduced me to the Silent Man, and Silence, as it turns out, has quite a bit to say.    

Winning Drabble-
A Lady's Revenge by Jennifer Bull
A scorned bride can cause a great deal of trouble...

Wonderstruck Authors (By Last Name)
Radeyah H. Ali       
Drabble~ Magically Fitted

Gabrielle Arrowsmith (Clean Teen Publishing Author of Concealed in the Shadows)
Drabble~ Joah and the Beacon of Light

Beau Barnett          
Short Story~ Into Eternity
Eric, a widowed paralytic, knows he is dreaming when he sees a younger version of his deceased wife, Jessica, by a lake with his old dog. But the joy of seeing them again is replaced by the pain of knowing they won't be there when he wakes up.

Jennifer Bull            
Short Story~ A Wizard's World
When Jack stumbled upon a strange jar in the middle of the forest he found the one thing he had always wanted—a friend, and now he’ll do everything he can to protect her. Born into a world unlike any other, a world within a jar, Lottie longs to explore beyond her glass home. Little does she know that even the smallest adventures can have dangerous consequences…
Drabble~ Life in a Jar
Drabble~ Round and Round I Go
Drabble~ Once In a Blue Moon

Liana Chau  
Drabble~ Ahead and Beyond

MeMe Collier          
Short Story~ The Fairy Jar
Gracie doesn't believe in magic. Disillusioned by their mother's abandonment, she dismisses her younger brother, Brennan's, claim that he's caught a fairy. But as the invisible Ileana works in her family's lives, memories of their mother's fairytales tug at Gracie's mind. They call into question everything she's come to place her faith in, making her wonder if magic really does exist and if love still lives on after loss.

Leah D.W.    
Short Story~ Watery Grave
There is something in the water...something dark...something hungry...
When Ashlynn escapes from a life of abuse she is thrown into the swamplands rumored to harbor a nightmare. She should have listened to the rumors because there is something in the water...and it loves the taste of human flesh

Julie Gilbert 
Drabble~ Keio and the Farsight Fire

Lisa Goldman          
Short Story~ Oafish Me
In Oafish Me, teenager, Misty, considers herself a social outcast—an oaf—as her classmates remind her every opportunity they get. When Drake, a charismatic and gorgeous new student, stays by her side through their constant ridicule, she discovers she not only longs for a friendship with him but for the first time, a relationship. With her raw emotions on the line, she accepts his invitation to go out but when he takes her to a secluded wooded area, she starts to question if he is her knight in shining armor or her worst enemy.

Dominique Goodall           
Drabble~ Fairy Capture
Brenna Harden      
Short Story~ A Warriors Journey

Sandra Havriluk    
Drabble~ Jedidiah

Sacha Hope
Novelette~ Glass Heart
Wolt is a brilliant scientist trying desperately to cure his wife's condition. Doctors suspected she had a type of cancer and their medicines offered little help to the ailing woman. Wolt finds a way to buy time for his wife, but his experiment turns her into something else altogether...

Erin Liles      
Novelette ~ Outside the Walls
Outspoken, seventeen-year-old Jenna hates the settlement she lives in where disagreement is frowned upon. Fed up, she leaves one day, and meets a group of outsiders, only to discover that her home and family are in danger. It is up to Jenna to save them and in doing so, discover what is really important.

B.T. Lyons
Novella~ Heartkeeper Short Story
It only took fifty years for humankind to plummet from the turmoil of a population of ten billion people to a struggling group of two billion trying to figure out how to survive in harmony with the Earth. Under a new, peaceful societal structure, people have relearned their connection with the Land and the spirits of nature that live there. Young Adain has just reached thirteen years of age, and must undertake the dangerous Heart Chase to secure the spirit of an animal that will act as his conscience and companion for the rest of his life. It will be a year of trials and challenges, but the risks to the People may be even higher as someone else binds with an animal spirit that may not have their best interests in mind...

Short Story~ Peace
London in the late 1800's is a dirty, chaotic, and above all, loud place embroiled in a scientific war with neighboring France as each strives to outdo each other with technological wonders. A young married pair of university professionals finds themselves at odds over the benefits of this war: Nigel only wants to see England prevail – preferably through his own inventions – whereas his wife, Christine, dreams of quiet and a natural world that she has only seen in storybooks. Enter a street-side vendor offering “Peace In A Bottle”; this might be the answer to Christine's greatest desires, but it could be the beginning of Nigel's worst nightmare.

Julie Marcinik         
Short Story~ The Executioner
Vivian Fletcher has a gift that’s given her a special place in the kingdom—the King’s personal executioner. Everything and everyone she touches dies. When she finds out that the world she’s living in is full of lies and turmoil, she’ll have to accept her gift and use it to right the wrongs.


Mia Marin    
Drabble~ A Note To My Traveler
Drabble~ A Dear Dalliance

Miranda Maurin    
Short Story~ The Dance of Time
Tabitha and Carter are a little too daring when they run through a tunnel to investigate the mysterious music they heard while running through the woods. The cave is well lit, and the dance looks fun, but they can't seem to stop.

Veronica Morfi       
Drabble~ Shine

Ifeoma Ofuani         
Drabble~ He Would Be Great

Paula Phillips         
Short Story~ Skye in High School Wonderland
It started out just like any normal day for high school Plain Jane Skye Salisbury until tragedy strikes her school and out of nowhere, a glimmering hole appeared. The question on everyone's minds is—what lies at the bottom? Will it be another world or a different dimension?

Jocelyn Sanchez     
Novella~ A World Unlike Mine
What would you do if you could see magical creatures from the early age of five? Well, for seventeen-year-old Tasha it gets pretty difficult when a fairy prince named Thomas appears with news that will change her life forever. But with the help of her best friend and pixie, Seamus, Tasha will find her place in a world so unlike hers. Will she rise to the occasion and become who she was destined to be?
Drabble~ Night
Drabble~ Darkness and Light

Cindy Saunders (Clean Teen Publishing Author of Double Star)
Short Story~ Nirvana
She looked at the picture she’d painted many years ago. It was a magical place—a place inspired by her dreams. Though, tonight it almost seemed... alive, as if it were calling to her.

Clemy W. Thompson         
Drabble~ The Truth

Dana Wright
Drabble~ Fairy Lights



More from Clean Teen Publishing:
Clean Teen Publishing Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cleanteenpublishing
Follow us on Twitter: @CleanTeenPub
Follow the Clean Teen Publishing Blog at: http://cleanteenpublishing.blogspot.com/
Purchase Concealed in the Shadows by Gabrielle Arrowsmith at:
http://www.amazon.com/Concealed-in-the-Shadows-ebook/dp/B00CUJ3QQE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1369954686&sr=1-1&keywords=concealed+in+the+shadows
Double Star is Releasing on June 7, 2013
Wind Warrior (The Full Novel) is Releasing on June 14, 2013


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Praefatio: The Blog Tour




PRAEFATIOby Georgia McBridePublication Date: May 21st, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0-9882513-7-3

ISBN eBook: 978-0-9882513-8-0

Synopsis
Seventeen-year-old Grace Ann Miller is no ordinary runaway. After missing for weeks, Grace is found on the estate of international rock star Gavin Vault, half-dressed and yelling for help. Over the course of twenty-four hours Grace holds an entire police force captive with incredulous tales of angels, demons, and war; intent on saving Gavin from lockup, and her family from worry over her safety. But instead, authorities believe that Grace is ill, and suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, the victim of assault and a severely fractured mind. Undeterred, Grace reveals the secret existence of dark angels on earth, an ancient prophecy and a wretched curse steeped in Biblical myth. Grace’s claims set into motion an ages-old war, resulting in blood, death and the loss of everything that matters. But are these the delusions of an immensely sick girl, or could Grace’s story actually be true? Praefatio is Grace’s account of weeks on the run, falling in love and losing everything but her faith. Who do you believe?



LINKS:
Please include book and author links within your post, formatted however you wish, the rest are optional.
Book Links: Goodreads Barnes And Noble
Author Links: Website - Facebook Page - Twitter - Pinterest
Month9Books: Website - Blogger Central - Facebook - Twitter - Pinterest - Goodreads 

Review:

A book with stunning imagery and choices, Praefatio will shake your view of angels and the choices that were made to stay among humans. This book is a war between Heaven, Hell and the space between. I have only just begun to read, but it has sucked me in and I don't think I will be coming out from under any time soon. Author Georgia McBride has given us a tale of epic proportions with characters that will make you care. Grace is unforgettable and I wonder what I would do if faced with a similar situation. 

Excellent read so far...no sleep for me tonight!

4/5



ABOUT GEORGIA MCBRIDE:

Georgia loves a good story. Whether it’s writing her own, or publishing someone else’s, story is at the heart of everything Georgia does. Founder of Month9Books, YALITCHAT.ORG and the weekly #yalitchat on Twitter, Georgia spends most of her days writing, editing, or talking about books. That is, of course, when she is not blasting really loud music or reading. Born and raised in NYC, she now lives in North Carolina with four dogs, a frog, a parrot, 2 kids, parents and a husband. PRAEFATIO is her first novel.


TOUR WIDE GIVEAWAY:
Grand prize includes a signed copy of PRAEFATIO, nail polish, Halo perfume, postcards,  candy, Garnier Nutrisse hair color, and a PRAEFATIO keychain(US Only). 

TOUR SCHEDULE: 
May 20 - Falling for YA (Guest Post)
May 21 - Dana's YA Bookpile (Review)
May 22 - Mommabears Book Blog (Review)
May 23 - YA Book Central (Interview)
May 24 - Beauty and the Bookshelf (Review)
May 25 - Little Lovely Books (Review)
May 26 - Brenda Drake Writes (Interview or Guest Post)
May 27 - Chapter by Chapter (Guest Post)
May 28 - Cuzinlogic (Review)
May 29 - Dear Teen Me (Feature)
May 30 - Burning Tree Reads (Interview & Review)
May 31 - Bookalicious (Review)
June 1 - Proserpine Craving Book Blog (Interview)
June 2 - Books of Love (Review)
June 3 - Happy Book Lovers (Review)


Sunday, May 19, 2013

Wonderstruck; A Giveaway of Epic Proportions



We are extremely excited to announce an epic giveaway made possible by a certain author who donated his prize for his winning Novella submission to promote this anthology! A huge thank you to Jon Messenger (Author of: Wind Warrior) for donating this gift card to you amazing fans and readers!

About Wonderstruck:

Prepare to be Wonderstruck! Join us in celebrating the launch of Clean Teen Publishing's first Young Adult Anthology: Wonderstruck. Wonderstruck is a YA anthology with works of inspiration based on five images. Authors around the world were invited to submit their interpretation of these five images and compete in a writing competition. The categories for the Wonderstruck anthology include: a Drabble (A story told in 100 words. Not 99, not 101, but exactly 100 words,) a Short Story, a Novelette and a Novella. 


Enter the Rafflecopter below for an opportunity to win a $100 Amazon gift card, a digital copy of Wonderstruck and a Wonderstruck bookmark. 

Congratulate the authors of Wonderstruck:

Winning Novella-
Jon Messenger ~ Wind Warrior

Winning Novelette-
Maren Dille ~ Pastiche

Winning Short Story-
Katie Ellis ~ The Silent Man

Winning Drabble-
Jennifer Bull ~ A Lady's Revenge


Wonderstruck Authors (By Last Name):

Radeyah H. Ali 
Drabble~ Magically Fitted

Gabrielle Arrowsmith 
Drabble~ Joah and the Beacon of Light

Beau Barnett 
Short Story~ Into Eternity

Jennifer Bull
Short Story~ A Wizard's World
Drabble~ Life in a Jar
Drabble~ Round and Round I Go
Drabble~ A Lady's Revenge
Drabble~ Once In a Blue Moon

Liana Chau 
Drabble~ Ahead and Beyond

MeMe Collier 
Short Story~ The Fairy Jar

Leah D.W. 
Short Story~ Watery Grave

Maren Dille 
Novella~ Pastiche

Katie Ellis 
Short Story~ The Silent Man

Julie Gilbert 
Drabble~ Keio and the Farsight Fire

Lisa Goldman 
Short Story~ Oafish Me

Dominique Goodall 
Drabble~ Fairy Capture

Brenna Harden 
Short Story~ A Warriors Journey

Sandra Havriluk 
Drabble~ Jedidiah

Sacha Hope
Novelette~ Glass Heart

Erin Liles 
Novelette ~ Outside the Walls

B.T. Lyons
Novella~ Heartkeeper Short Story~ Peace

Julie Marcinik 
Short Story~ The Executioner

Mia Marin 
Drabble~ A Note To My Traveler
Drabble~ A Dear Dalliance

Miranda Maurin 
Short Story~ The Dance of Time

Jon Messenger 
Novella~ Wind Warrior

Veronica Morfi 
Drabble~ Shine

Ifeoma Ofuani 
Drabble~ He Would Be Great

Paula Phillips 
Short Story~ Skye in High School Wonderland

Jocelyn Sanchez 
Novella~ A World Unlike Mine
Drabble~ Night
Drabble~ Darkness and Light

Clemy W. Thompson 
Drabble~ The Truth

Dana Wright
Drabble~ Fairy Lights

Influential Magic by Deanna Chase: The Blog Tour





Influential Magic
Crescent City Fae Book 1
Deanna Chase
 
Genre: Urban Fantasy 

 
ISBN: 978-0983797876
ASIN: B00BQ3C9PO
 
Number of pages: 318
Word Count: 95,000 words
 
Cover Artist: Art by PhatPuppy
BN   Kobo   Smashwords  
 
Book Description:

It’s tough being a faery in New Orleans, a city fraught with vampires… especially when their very existence drains your life-force.

Willow Rhoswen, owner of The Fated Cupcake and part-time vampire hunter for the Void is having a rough week. Four years after her twin brother’s mysterious death, Willow’s life is threatened and the director saddles her with a new partner—her ex-boyfriend, David. To her horror, he’s turned vamp, which causes her physical pain whenever she touches him… and any other specimen of the undead.

In order to save Willow’s life, David agrees to turn double agent against the most powerful vampire organization in New Orleans. Or so he says. And she’s convinced they know something about her brother’s death. Unsure where David’s loyalties lie, she turns to Talisen, her childhood crush, to help her solve the mystery.

Caught between two gorgeous men and a director who’ll stop at nothing to control Willow’s gifts, she’ll have to follow her instincts and learn who to trust.

Otherwise, she risks losing more than just her life. 

 
 
About the Author 

Deanna is a native Californian, transplanted to the slower paced lifestyle of southeastern Louisiana.

When she isn't writing, she is often goofing off with her husband in New Orleans, playing with her two shih tzu dogs, making glass beads, or out hocking her wares at various bead shows across the country.

For more information and updates on newest releases visit her website at www.deannachase.com
 

Friday, May 17, 2013

When It's Least Expected: Perfect Timing Series #1 by Heather Van Fleet



Moving on after a tragedy can be impossible – especially when you’ve been dealing with those tragedies for over two years. But it’s her senior year, and Harley Anderson is more than ready to do just that, even though the skeletons in her closet can’t exactly be hidden.
Enter Mason Daniel, the egotistical, sexy, surfer boy from California – a boy with his own hidden demons, and even bigger secret agenda.
Mason isn’t right for Harley. He knows this better than anyone. He’s the epitome of a runner–a guy who takes what he can get, only to split a short while later. But he can’t deny the emotions that Harley brings out of him, so he’s going to break his rules for once.
He should have known what it would lead to… Two kindred souls – both lost and then found. Will they fail, once again, in their search for contentment and happiness, or will they finally find true love, when it’s least expected?


Guest Post: 

Music and writing . . . two things that I honestly never put together when I first started out as an author.
For one, I found the combination to be too distracting for this too easily distracted lady. J  Every time I’d sit down and slip in my ear buds, I’d start tapping my toes or even breaking out into song. (Which is actually very normal for me by the way, so no worries) Then the next thing I know, I’d actually be typing the words I was singing out loud, right there in the middle of my books.
Yeah, definitely not a good thing. . .
But one day the two things just started to merge – going hand in hand with one another like they’d always belonged together. And it’s a good thing this happened too because music has seriously influenced me like no other throughout this entire writing process.
I, like many other authors out there, created a playlist while writing WILE – a twenty-three track playlist actually. I would literally listen to these songs on a loop, over and over and over again. Some I’d play more than others of course, especially when I needed my characters to get a little extra mushy. (Which was quite a lot if I’m being honest here J)
So today, for the first time, I’ve decide to share some of that list with you, and talk about when and why I used the songs that stuck with me more than others.
So here goes nothing. . .
1.       I won’t Let Go by Rascal Flatts
This was by far the most important song to me while I wrote When It’s Least Expected. It’s about hope, healing, and never letting someone else fall (emotional wise that is) even when you feel like falling into a sort of darkness yourself.
2.       Disaster by JoJo 
When I first started to write When It’s Least Expected, this song was always on the radio. It really reminded me of my heroine Harley in a lot of ways too. She always fights for the good in life because she’s so fearful of what the bad will be.
3.       Let’s Stay Together by Al Green
Why such an old school artist and song you ask? Well, I guess you could say that I’ve always loved it for one. It’s a classic and it makes me smile and swoon all at the same time. And when I wrote a certain scene in WILE, I had this image of Mason getting goofy while singing it to Harley. But apparently he didn’t want to get goofy – he wanted to get swoony – and that scene actually turned into a pivotal moment for the pair.
And believe it or not, I still get giddy thinking about it.
4.       A Thousand Years by Christina Perry
This song . . . sigh . . . talk about the ultimate love song. I’ve been listening to it on repeat since it first appeared on a certain mega book/movie soundtrack – therefore I now had to add it to my playlist. But let me tell you, it was during the moments where I listened to this song that the tears really flew. Big, mega, sobbing tears. I really didn’t think I could get that emotional over my own book characters, but I did, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
So there you have it, just an inkling of a sample of my super-secret play list. What do you guys think?
Tell me your favorite book, and what song you would pair it with, and I will give one random commenter an e-copy of When It’s Least Expected.

When It’s Least Expected buy Links:
Buy Links:
Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/When-Its-Least-Expected-ebook/dp/B00CHT9SK0/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366763086&sr=1-1&keywords=Heather+Van+Fleet
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-its-least-expected-heather-van-fleet/1115183216?ean=2940016405445
  




About the Author:
Heather Van Fleet currently resides in northern Illinois, with her three daughters, Kelsey, Emma, and Isabella, and her fabulous hubby (and high school sweetheart) Chris, with whom she’s been blissfully married to now for ten plus years. She’s a stay at home mom by day, and an avid and completely obsessive writer and reader by night.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

The Sweet Dead Life: The Blog Tour



"I found out two things today: One, I think I'm dying. And two, my brother is a perv."

So begins the diary of Jenna Samuels, who is having a very bad year. Her mother spends all day in bed. Dad  vanished when she was eight. Her older brother, Casey, tries to hold together what’s left of the family by working two after-school jobs—difficult, as he’s stoned all the time. To make matters worse, Jenna is sick. Really sick. When she collapses one day, Casey tries to race her to the hospital in their beat-up Prius and crashes instead.
 
Jenna wakes up in the ER to find Casey beside her, looking pretty good. Better than ever, in fact. Downright . . . angelic. The flab and zits? Gone. Before long, Jenna figures out that her brother didn’t survive the accident at all, and she isn’t just sick; she’s being poisoned. Casey has been sent back to help Jenna find out who’s got it out for her, a mystery that leads to more questions about their mother’s depression and their father’s disappearance.

THE SWEET DEAD LIFE buy links

GoodReads

Playlist post:


There’s a lot of angst and humor going on all at once in THE SWEET DEAD LIFE. The Booklist review covers that when it says, “ There’s a whole lot going on here: poisonings, blackmail, sibling relationships, romance, and abandonment, in addition to angels, but the unifying thread is Jenna’s clever, bitter, self-aware, and loving voice…” Which I think sort of covers it all quite nicely.
So the playlists for these characters and for the novel as a whole run that emotional range from hopeful to grief-stricken to sassy.
Jenna Samuels, the novel’s narrator has a life that is totally upside down. Her dad has been MIA for five years. Her mom is unemployed and depressed and getting worse. And Jenna is sick and getting sicker, with some undiagnosed illness. And then she collapses and her brother crashes the car taking her to the hospital and she eventually realizes that he didn’t come through fine. He died and now he’s come back as her guardian angel. (This is not the central mystery of the novel, by the way, in case you think it’s a spoiler!) After which they solve a huge mystery that connects everything. Above all, Jenna is a tough Texas girl!

For Jenna, I think the following songs reflect all these aspects:
Scar Tissue—The Red Hot Chili Peppers
How to Save a Life—The Fray
Give Me Novacaine—Green Day
Drive—Incubus
Be Still—The Killers
And Jenna’s hopefulness I think comes across in I Hope You Dance—LeeAnne Wommack

Excellent choices!

Review:

Joy Preble is an author that I am always confident in. Her Dreaming Anastasia series wowed me with it's mythology and legends and now this wonderful book is doing the same. The Sweet Dead Life is a totally different read and I love it! The funny and quirky voice of Jenna Samuels, the main character, is just perfect. She is a kid with problems, just like most of us. Except she has some doozies! Her mom is kind of missing in action, her dad has literally disappeared, her brother is dead and still hanging around and someone is trying to poison her. Life can be really weird sometimes, especially when you are peeing lime green and feeling like you are going to pass out most of the time. 


This book grabbed me right away with the semi dark twisty plot, unusual scenario and I find myself wondering what in the world could make someone pee lime green. Just saying. lol. Joy has done an outstanding job on this book! Jenna is a character I could identify with totally and especially how annoyed she got with her brother. There are some really funny scenes that are full of snark and sheer hilarity.  I am still in the throws of reading it, so if you will excuse me, I have a few pages left to go and I am dying to find out what happens! Awesome read! This is one you are going to want on your summer read list for sure!




5/5 For quirky awesomeness!!!







Joy Preble is the author of the popular and highly acclaimed Dreaming Anastasia series. A former English teacher, Joy grew up in Chicago and is a graduate of Northwestern University. She is now a full time writer and lives with her family in Texas, where she has learned to say "y'all" without any hint of irony. A tireless advocate for literacy and great books, she is at the center of the all-important Texas YA scene.

Joy Preble Social Media and Website





Sunday, May 12, 2013

Blood Hex: Erin Butler Virtual Book Tour



Two girls. Four centuries. One curse.  Isabella started it—all because a boy fell in love with her—but it ends with Sarah. Isabella and Thomas meet in secret during the witching hours while the  rest of the villagers hide behind locked doors. And even though Isabella's scared, she wants Thomas more. He'll protect her from the night, from his father who'll decide her future, and from the paranoia-fueled hunting parties taking away innocents. Centuries later, seventeen-year old Sarah runs away to an aunt she never knew she had. Her dad? Dead. Her mother? A liar. She wants the memories of a father she never got, but instead, discovers her father's death wasn’t innocent. Everyone—the Wiccans, the townies, even her quasi-boyfriend—are hiding something. The secret the history-rich town will kill to keep entangles Sarah into a centuries  old witch curse.





About the author: 
Erin Butler lives in upstate New York where winter is her arch nemesis. She prefers to spend her time indoors reading and writing, but ventures out for chocolate, sunshine, and to perform her librarian duties at a local library. She lives with her very understanding husband, a stepson, and doggie BFF, Maxie. Erin’s dreams of becoming an author started in Kindergarten when she wrote her first story about witches, the eloquently titled, six-sentence page-turner, “The Three Witches”. Now, she likes to write longer works for teens in many different genres.



Excerpt:
The lights around the park dimmed. I twisted toward the makeshift stage again. Forty feet away, a figure stood tall, elevated by the 2x4’s that lay out on the grass only a few hours ago. A hooded black robe disguised the guy, not that I would know who he was anyway. The dark night, the material folding over his head, made him look like a faceless grim reaper. It was dusk and getting darker, the pink deepening to a rose red.

The robed figure lifted his hand, smooth, indifferent, a marionette being played with. His hand made a wide, sweeping horizontal arc, pointing into the faces of everybody.

My stomach twisted and turned into knots. Drake bumped into my shoulder and held out a drink as he sat down. Then, the figure yanked his hands in the air and a big blaze of fire erupted from the space between the stage and the audience. I jumped, deftly managing to spill half my soda. I barely noticed.

Flames shot up, reaching toward the night. The smell of gasoline used for ignition hung in the air. A few people laughed behind me. Drake even joined in. “Gotcha,” he said, leaning over, whispering in my ear. With him so close, the cologne clinging to his long, black robe smothered the wood smoke that had filled my nostrils.

I peered at him. He turned away and pulled his hood up. He was the exact match of the person on stage.

I sat with a wizard. I talked with a wizard.

I made fun of people for things like this.

Still, I inched closer to him. The fire, the reddish sky, the grim reaper, the witches, everything. It got to me. An eerie feeling tangled itself within every thought, like something hidden watched from just beyond sight.

On the stage, the figure in the dark cloak threw back the hood. The fire glow cast the face in shadows, an ever-changing kaleidoscope of orange, red, and black. The speakers thumped, thumped, thumped as the black hooded figure tapped the front of the microphone. The hollow sound echoed throughout the open park and bounced off the surrounding buildings. No one talked. They barely even moved. Only the slight ripple of the crowd as everyone inclined their heads and inched forward, awe-struck.

The wind picked up, fueling the flames. The blazed erupted, flaring up, lighting the figure's face. I gasped.

The grim reaper wasn’t a guy. It was Rose.

Drake peeked over at me, his eyebrows knit together. “You okay?”

“That’s my aunt,” I whispered loud, still trying to comprehend it myself. “What is she doing up there?”

"She's the leader.”

"Huh?" Uneasiness squeezed my chest, like the time I went to see that stupid Ouija board movie with friends. They all laughed through the scary parts while I spent most of the movie with my heart trembling and one second away from closing my eyes. “Leader of what?”

“This.” Drake opened his arms wide and twisted his body, scanning the corners of the five-sided park. “She puts all this together.”

I took it all in. Giant banners announced “Adams Colonization”, eerie witch posters and mannequins with stringy green hair and large, red eyeballs stared back. The guards along the stage dressed in old brown suits and hats I guessed were supposed to be replicas of what the first settlers wore. The costumes reminded me of pilgrims. They stood at attention, faces impassible as they monitored the crowd. The picture sank into my brain, this parallel reality where past met present in a jumbled mesh.

Drake leaned into me again. “Sorry. I should have told you.”

No wonder why she said she was too busy to hang out with me. I snuck forward a little, caught up in the surprise appearance of Rose. The arm that had been touching Drake instantly chilled. He was so nice. And cute. But the reason why I came here was up on that stage.

Rose’s voice rang out, low and seductive. “On this day in 1610, our ancestors inhabited a foreign land. Today, we call that piece of land Adams, Virginia.” Scattered applause swelled through the park. “Our ancestors brought with them superstition…and fear from England. Men and women, children—all terrified of one thing.” Rose's hypnotic voice was mesmerizing and I leaned forward even more. “Witches.” The stare of an old, wise woman lingered over everybody and when her eyes met mine, a pool of black reflected the licking orange flames.

 “They fled here, terrified of the supernatural. They hoped to start a new life. One without the constant paranoia. They failed. Our ancestors lived in complete, maddening, unrelenting fear their entire lives. Are we like them?” Audible no's and descending grunts rose from the crowd. “No. We're not.” Her voice pitched higher, and louder. “Today, we embrace our history. Today, we stare the supernatural in the face and laugh at it.” Loud cheers erupted from every corner of the park and Rose shouted over them, “Today, we celebrate!”

Rose motioned to the side of the reaching flames. Two men in the ugly brown trousers and jackets nodded. “During this opening ceremony, we will conquer fear as they did back in the old days.” The men pulled at ropes, hoisting a cross into the air. Mounted to the cross beam was the body of a woman, her mouth agape in horror.

I drew in a sharp breath. I felt Drake move next to me so I turned my gaze on him. A sly smile graced his face. He put his arm around me, pulling me closer. “Are you scared?” he whispered.

I couldn't speak. These people were freakin' crazy. My eyes darted through the crowd, looking for a policeman—somebody—who might stop this.

“Don't worry. We always do this on opening night,” Drake said, pulling me even closer, rubbing my shoulder with his hand.

I wanted to scream at him to do something, to help the poor woman. He only sat smiling, eyes bright with anticipation. I knocked his hand off me and pulled away, but before I could wiggle free of Drake's arms and run to the fire pit, the cotton clothes the woman wore caught fire from the reaching flames underneath. My breath clogged my throat. I didn't know whether to scream first, or cry.

The flames spread fast. The waistline already edged with black char before the fire incinerated it. Dark gray smoke furled over the helpless woman and puffed up toward the blood red sky.

 Guest Post:
Day in the life of…me!

6am – The alarm goes off and my husband hits snooze about five billion times.

6:30am – We actually get up and we do all those things necessary that don’t make us miscreants of society. Though sometimes I put pajamas back on, but hey, they’re clean.

7am – My husband leaves for work and I start writing. Sometimes I just pretend to write. It depends on how the whole writing thing is going actually. I usually bring up my Word doc, but then also Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, or whatever else I can use to waste time market. (At least, that’s what I tell my husband.)

9am – I have a little chat with myself—a pep talk you might say—and really buckle down and start writing. I can write pretty fast when I’m into a story so all the goofing around doesn’t really hurt me. The most I’ve ever written in a day is 12,000 words, but I would say a good day for me is 5,000 – 6,000. However, there are still some days where I just stare at that stupid blinking cursor and wish I could reach through my laptop and tear its mocking heart out.

11am – noon – I eat lunch somewhere around here. It depends on if I have to work my awesome day job. (Librarian, FTW!)

Noon – If I don’t have to work, I start writing again. And I write, and I write, and I pretend to write some more until my husband gets home.

1pm – If I have to work, I’m off saving the world one reluctant reader at a time.

5pm – We eat dinner. My husband asks how my day went and sometimes I’ll blabber on and on until his eyes glaze over and then other times I just stare and say, “Don’t. Even. Ask.” Sometimes I’ll ask him his opinion when I’m stuck on a plot point and he’ll give it, but then we end up arguing because I think his response is lame or it just won’t work. Then he’ll say, “Why did you ask then?” And I always wonder why I did. I never learn. (Sometimes, he actually says something that makes sense, but shh, that’s our little secret.)

7pm – 10pm – We watch our shows: Bones, The Voice, Ghost Hunters, Trip Flip, Face Off, the History Channel, the Travel Channel, and I make him watch The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, and Chicago Fire. He thinks I’m addicted to TV…and I probably am, but I will never admit it to him.

10pm – I am so not a morning person when I don’t get sleep. 10 is my strict bedtime. Any later and I’ll be a complete moody zombie the next day.

Thanks Erin for stopping by the blog today! I can't wait to start reading Blood Hex!