Friday, October 4, 2013

GIVEAWAY!~ A Step Away by Jocelyn Stover


Welcome to the A Step Away Tour!

Author Jocelyn Stover has recently finished her latest book in The Wanderer Series and I am very happy to share it with you, along with a chance to win a free copy of this not-yet-released book!

About A Step Away


{BLURB} “Time…such a cruel mistress of fate. What we do with ours can either enrich our lives or destroy them, and we mortals never seem to have enough. The right time, our time, was too little and over much too quickly.”

When Gwen turns her back on a set of smoldering amber eyes in favor of a crystal blue pair, her plan is to sever all ties with the Wanderers. Her goodbye is short lived; however, when the investigation into Preston-Ward Pharmaceuticals reveals a powerful sylph has escaped. When Gwen is drawn back into the Wanderer brotherhood for her own protection she discovers she can no longer bury her feelings for Kade or ignore the growing gulf between her and Ben. As the unrelenting hunt for their ancient enemy heats up, Gwen’s attempt to straddle two worlds becomes tedious. She must choose, but when nephilim mysteriously begin to disappear her time may be up.
 
*A Step Away is officially released and available in starting today and only available online at Amazon!*
 



Previous Titles in The Wanderer Series


Out of Reach
Wanderer Series #1


Gwen Cohen has aspired her whole life to reach her current position of project manager at Preston-Ward Pharmaceuticals, but when she stumbles upon a dirty little secret everything changes. As she struggles with the reality of evil and her own powerful legacy, she gets pulled farther from the world she knows and closer to the one she can’t deny.
Eyes finally open, Gwen struggles to unlock the dormant magic within herself before it’s too late. The lines between love and desire, and duty and commitment become exceedingly blurred and the ultimate choice to be made may not be between right and wrong but the head and the heart.

Meet the Author



I'm a thoughtful, sarcastic, work-o-holic, mother of four. I must thrive on chaos because I've certainly built enough of it into my life already! I write during the stolen mintures of the day when the children are in bed or at school. When I'm not writing you can find me up to no good with my kiddos, or outside soaking up the sunshine.

Connect With Author Jocelyn Stover


WHERE TO PURCHASE A Step Away

* BUY AT: Amazon.com*
 
It's officially released today- 10/4/2013!! :)




~ GIVEAWAY ~

The author, Jocelyn Stover is giving away an ebook copy of her book, A Step Away. 

Simply enter using the Rafflecopter below. There is a new winner at EACH stop, so that means one of my lucky readers will be the winner!



CLICK HERE TO ENTER!






Thursday, October 3, 2013

GIVEAWAY & Guest Post: A Hero Comes to Life

Welcome to the  
Unexpectedly You 
Book Tour & Giveaway!


As part of today's tour stop, Lily Santana author of Unexpectedly You, is sharing a guest post titled A Hero Comes to Life. Lily is also giving away and awesome gift basket to one lucky winner today- on my blog, so be sure to fill out the Rafflecopter below. Also, there is a 2nd giveaway for the entire tour and for a $25.00 gift card so be sure to leave a comment as well. Just think- one of my lucky readers are going to win this awesome gift basket full of beach goodies related to the book Unexpectedly You.


So, to keep you gals from waiting any longer, please welcome author Lily Santana! 

A Hero Comes to Life by Author Lily Santana


Thank you Stephanie for hosting me today on your blog. It is a pleasure to be here.
I get asked a lot by readers about where I find inspiration for my heroes. I’m happy to say, my heroes come from…real life.  Let me tell you a story.
Last week, during a particularly nasty rain storm, the fence around the external perimeter of my home came loose from its post. Four large panels were barely hanging on and I was worried they would fly off onto oncoming traffic and cause an accident. Unfortunately for me, it was 3:00 PM on a Friday afternoon which meant that every single fencing company I called was already closed until the following Monday. I was new to the neighborhood and didn’t know any of my neighbors well enough to ask for help.
Panicked by the potential danger, I grabbed my hammer - to do what with, I wasn’t sure. But other than get completely soaked, I didn’t stand a chance. To say I’m not handy is an astounding understatement.
Thankfully, just when I’m about to cry my eyes out in pure despair, my phone rang. It was a contractor who owned a fencing company in town. He offered to stop by right away and take a look at my fence. To my utter amazement, he not only took a look, he offered to reinforce the fence temporarily using his own supplies until I can get it permanently fixed. He also went ahead and inspected the rest of my fence to make sure that it too could withstand the storm. Did I mention it was pouring rain? After he was done, Hurricane Katrina could have come and my fence wouldn’t have moved an inch.
Naturally, I asked him what I owed. Here was the part where I turned into a sappy heroine in a romance novel and he turned into a genuine hero. He said I owed him nothing. Zero. Zilch. He offered to give me a quote to fix the fence permanently, but he didn’t need payment for what he’d done.
The poor guy doesn’t know I’m a romance writer, so he probably has no idea that he’d just been cast as the hero in my next story. I can see it now…sexy smile, hard edges, and wearing a tool belt that is the envy of all….  

About the Author


Lily Santana is an author of contemporary romance. Her first book, Unexpectedly You will be released August 26, 2013 with Carina Press.

Lily is a native of the Philippines but stewed for twenty-five years in the melting pot of New York City to which she credits her respectable ability to curse in multiple foreign languages. Fortunately, she also discovered the NYC Library where she spent countless hours daydreaming of one day becoming an author.


Like many of her readers, she began reading romance as a tween when she stumbled fortuitously upon her mother's stash of Harlequins and Mills & Boon. She loves sexy alpha heroes with a sense of humor and a little bit o’ grit.


Today Lily lives in the rainy Pacific Northwest with her two adorable puppies. When she's not writing, Lily spends her time splashing into puddles, shucking oysters, and learning to eat ice cream in the rain.

Learn more at www.lilysantana.com or email her at lily@lilysantana.com  Follow her on Twitter @lilyoftheword .

About Unexpectedly You

{BLURB} To save his flailing real estate development project Mitch McKenna knows what he must do: persuade his nemesis and neighbor Emma LeFleur to go to bat for him and convince the town that he’s a sweetheart. Easy as pie, unless you consider he’s threatened to bulldoze her home with her in it.

You can purchase Unexpectedly You at ($2.99):







~ GIVEAWAY ~


Remember, there are two giveaways for this tour!


One is specifically for readers at Stephanie's Book Shelf, and the other is tour wide. The SBS giveaway is being conducted by the Rafflecopter and is for an awesome 'beachy' gift basket full of beach related items such as sand dollars, saltwater taffy and other goodies. 

The 2nd giveaway is tour wide and is for a $25.00 gift card. At the end of the tour, the author will randomly select one comment form all the posts to select a winner. Simply post a comment to enter the drawing for the $25 gift card. (This is also an option through the Rafflecopter so one single comment is actually an entry into both drawings- be sure to list your email!) You can follow the rest of the tour an enter each day by visiting the tour page for a list of all stops.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

COVER REVEAL: Crashing Into You by B. D. Rowe

 Atomr Book Tours

COVER REVEAL

CRASHING INTO YOU

By B.D. Rowe

Crashing Into You by B. D. Rowe Book Cover

Release: November 5, 2013
New Adult Contemporary Romance


About Crashing Into You


{BLURB }Bookish college sophomore Sydney Baker wants Evan Taylor with every ounce of her being. The hottest stud on campus, Evan is six foot four, ripped, stacked with muscles. He's even easy to talk to.

There's just one problem: he's her roommate Melanie's boyfriend.

But when Melanie tragically dies after a night of wild partying, Sydney and Evan turn to each other in a time of intense grief. And it doesn't take long for their close friendship to blossom into something more.

Unfortunately for Sydney, secrets from the past soon put her relationship with Evan to the test. Especially when a sexy blonde freshman makes her way into Evan's life, and tries to rip away everything Sydney holds close to her heart.

**Mature Situations and Sexual Content - Recommended for Ages 17+**


 photo goodreads-badge-add-38px11_zps1ae6e47f.jpg

 About the Author

B.D. Rowe is a writing fiend, book devotee, film fanatic, and constant dreamer. Rowe is currently working toward an MA in English-Writing at the University of Nevada, Reno, and is hard at work on another novel.

Connect with the Author

Monday, September 30, 2013

Giveaway: The Strings of the Violin by Alisse Lee Goldenberg

Welcome to
The Strings of the Violin Giveaway & Book Tour!


 Be sure to scroll down and enter the giveaway!
One lucky reader from my blog will win a physical copy of The Strings of the Violin and an awesome tote bag! You can also follow the rest of the tour for more chances to win on other blogs!

About The Strings of the Violin 

The Strings of The Violin {Blurb} Seventeen-year-old Carrie is lying in her backyard ignoring all the looming responsibilities in her life, when a fox makes a mad dash across the grass in front of her. After she manages to keep her dog from attacking the frightened animal, the fox turns to Carrie and seems to bow in gratitude before he disappears into the bushes. All Carrie knows in that moment is that something has unexpectedly changed in her life.

  Carrie has been best friends with Lindsay Smith and Rebecca Campbell for years. During a summer when they should focus on choosing colleges, the girls suddenly find themselves swept away on the adventure of their lives. The fox reappears three days later and reveals to Carrie that he is Adom, emissary to the king of Hadariah. With his land of music and magic in peril, Adom has been sent to seek help from Carrie and her friends. In the blink of an eye, the three teenage girls go from living an average suburban life to being the champions of a world where they must contend with giants, witches, and magical beings. Will they ever make it home once more?

{Excerpt}

Carrie stared at the small collection of leaves. How could she possibly fit through that? She hesitated, and one of her hands sought her necklace. She gave a small shrug and got down on all fours. As she approached the bush she heard her dog barking hysterically from the house. “Bye, Finn,” she whispered and crawled forward.

Was she shrinking? Was the bush getting larger? Whatever was happening, it was clearly magic. Carrie crawled onward. Branches and leaves caught in her hair, tore at her pack. The tunnel (for she was now sure there was a tunnel in that collection of twigs) seemed to go on forever. Carrie was keenly aware of everything around her. Her eyes sharply saw each leaf in stark detail, the way the light filtered through the holes in the foliage and dappled everything in a mossy green. She heard every breaking branch under her knees and hands with a sharp, resounding crack that seemed to stab the silence in the air around her. She felt their sharp ends scratch her hands through the velvety moss that carpeted the ground she crawled over. Her lungs breathed in the moist air—cleaner than the air of cities and suburbs. More real, more nourishing than anything she was used to. She smelled rain, grass, soil, devoid of all those man-made smells from home. The overabundance of oxygen made her head heavy; her heart felt as if it would burst.

Just as she thought she would never reach the end of her journey, she abruptly found her-self kneeling under a night sky, surrounded by a primeval forest, the likes of which she had never seen before. Carrie stood up on shaky legs, speechless, in another world.

Where to BUY:

The Strings of the Violin is Avilable in Print & Ebook at:




About the Author

Alisse Lee Goldenberg
  
Alisse Lee Goldenberg is an author of Horror and Young Adult fantasy fiction. She has her Bachelors of Education and a Fine Arts degree, and has studied fantasy and folk lore since she was a child. Alisse lives in Toronto with her husband Brian, their triplets Joseph, Phillip, and Hailey, and their rambunctious Goldendoodle Sebastian.


Connect with 

Alisse Lee Goldenberg


~ GIVEAWAY ~

Here's the fun part!
 Author Alisse Lee Goldenberg will be awarding one randomly drawn winner from today's stop an awesome prize-A print copy of The Strings of the Violin and an awesome tote bag! 
{US/Canada Only}
Best of all, it's specifically for this tour stop- *my blog readers*- so one of you lucky readers will be the winner! Giveaway will be open until the last day of the tour, October 13th, 2013. Winners will be announced shortly after! 
To enter simply use the Rafflecopter below.



Each new stop is a new prize and chance to win so be sure to follow the rest of the tour!

Guest Post: Writing for Children: A Challenging Reward

 Please give a warm welcome to author James L. Butler. After a recent interaction with James in regards to his latest children's book, The Cow-Pie Chronicles, I invited him over to share a guest post related to writing. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. So, with out further ado, please welcome author James L. Butler . . .

Writing for Children: A Challenging Reward

The Cow-Pie Chronicles
The Cow-Pie Chronicles
by James Butler
By James Butler - Most of my fiction writing over the past thirty years has been in the sci-fi genre. That was what I enjoyed reading and I have always had a deep interest in the progress of science in all fields. Sci-fi is not the easiest genre to write in as it has some pretty strict rules that the fan base expects an author to follow or they will reject it outright. But writing in sci-fi is almost free-form compared to writing for children.
 When my son turned nine, I decided I wanted to write something with him that he would enjoy to get him more interested in writing. That effort ended with my first middle-grade book, Raptor Ravine. But the journey was long and tenuous at times. I started by reading a few articles by successful authors of middle-grade stories and books. It was immediately apparent I had a lot to learn. There are not set plot and structure rules like there are in sci-fi writing. Instead, there are about a hundred things a writer has to be aware of and cautious about and all of them are a little ambiguous. On the grand scale, there is the basic challenge of working from a child’s viewpoint of the world he is in, using language that is authentic, with emotions that are genuine. For me, that meant one thing; going back to the old writing adage write what you know. I grew up in rural America so that would need to be my setting.
 The specific challenges were not so easily overcome. The writer has to be intimately aware of level of language, complexity of sentences, use of appropriate subject matter, etc. etc. etc.! With so many technical issues, it would be easy to lose sight of the main objective, to be entertaining. One evening I was watching an interview with the director of “BIG” about Tom Hanks’ role playing a thirteen year old boy. He said the reason Tom excelled at the role was because he never gave a clue in his performance he knew he was an adult playing a thirteen year old boy. And his co-actor, who was a thirteen year old boy, said they would pal around as thirteen year old playmates so often between scenes, he would forget Tom was an adult. In short, the key is always staying in character. In order to write for children, I needed to become a child when writing and make sure the readers never saw a hint I knew I was a character created by an adult. Sounds simple, huh? Yeah, right!

 The biggest single challenge in this transition was the dialog. It is not as simple as using small words and short sentences. That approach can make it look like the writer is ‘talking down’ to the readers. And that never works. I had a unique opportunity to learn how kids talk. I did many things with my nine year old son and his friends. I coached them in soccer, officiated at swim meets, helped with their birthday parties and sat and listened to them all day during long, away swim meets. There are some basics about kid’s dialog that appeared consistently in all of the conversations. Kids speak in short, emotional bursts. They respond quickly when other kids speak to them. They are quick to make their point. They use as few words as possible to make a point. They are often simplistic and brutally honest in their opinions of people and situations. They have many conversations with each other they would never share with their parents or any adult. (I spent so much time around them I became invisible to them as long as I was quiet.) And each group has their set of code words which have secret meanings only their group understands.

 Knowing these things and implementing them in my writing was two different things. But I had a secret tool there as well, my son. I would write a chapter of the story, and then ask him to read it. He would tell me things like “My friends would never say that.” Or “That’s not what that word means to us.” Or “That’s how my friends would react if she did that.” Once he was satisfied the chapter was written in his language, we went one step further. We role played the entire chapter. (I could never get him to do any of the girl parts though.)   It took a long time to get through 70,000 words of story, but it was worth it.
 The time my son and I spent together working on the story was enough reward for me. We learned things about each other we never would have learned doing anything else. Having the story published, read and enjoyed by other kids was a big bonus. And the highlight was visiting a small rural school that had read my book. When adults like an author, they may admire him. When kids like an author’s story, they worship him. The best part of that is it gives a person a chance to make a positive influence on a child’s life. My current children’s book, The Cow-Pie Chronicles is bringing a different equally satisfying set of awards. Since it is based on a real child-hood life, I hear from many adult readers about similar, happy times in their young lives. It appears to be the kind of story a parent buys for a child so the parent can read it first! As for the children, it is rewarding to see them enjoy being introduced to a world few of them have experienced and enjoying it. I am looking forward to entering a few classrooms to share some of the real stories the book is based on and answering questions about growing up on a farm.

Meet the Author

  Jim Butler spent his first eleven years on a family dairy farm. Those years were filled with hard work, adventure, and sometimes suffering. He then moved to a town far away from country life where he became an excellent student and a track star setting two school records. All the running he did on the farm really paid off!  Writing always fascinated him, even in grade school. In 1963, in sixth grade he attempted to write a book about traveling to the moon for an English assignment. He got a “C” because the assignment was late and unfinished.
Connect With James L. Butler
To request a review copy or to host author James L. Butler on your blog with a guest post or interview, please leave a comment below with a link to your blog and an email address where he can contact you. You can also find the free Teacher's Guide for The Cow-Pie Chronicles on the publishers site at Publishing Syndicate.

If you would like your post deleted afterwards (due to the email address listed) please notate to 'delete after information is received'. I will copy the info and forward it to him so that your info is not available.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

ATTN: Book Bloggers, Authors & Tour Coordinators!!!


I want to take a moment to invite all you book bloggers, authors and tour coordinators to stop by and check out an awesome promotional opportunity sponsored by Beyond Words Book Tours!

As most of you already know, I operate Beyond Words Book Tours and after taking a short break from touring and blogging I am back and want to get the fall/winter reading season kicked off with a bang! One way I plan on doing so is with the Fall Book Extravaganza Giveaway...Okay- we got to work on the title but you get the idea!:)

Overall, it's going to be a huge giveaway, kinda like a blog hop... each book blogger, author, tour coordinators and similar participants can join in to be included in a Rafflecopter giveaway that will feature a variety of prizes including books, gift cards, swag and hopefully, *fingers crossed* a Kindle Fire HD. (FYI: Since I am hoping for a huge turnout- I think it's worth mentioning that the 'entries' will be rearranged on the Rafflecopter every few days so that everyone gets a chance to be near the top.... for those of you who have participated in huge raffles before, you guys and gals know how important rearranging them is. This way no one is 'at the bottom' and left out! )

If you want to join in on the fun or find out more about it, you can check it out at Beyond Words Book Tours blog. I will be updating the participants list every few days!

I hope you will join in! It's going to be lots of fun!

If you have any questions you can post them in a comment or email via the address listed on the blog link.