Monday, June 30, 2014

Win an eARC of Purrfect Mating by Sheryl Winters! #PNR


Roane Publishing is giving away THREE ARCs of Purr-fect Mating!



Purr-fect Mating
A Lil Genie Series Novella

Genre: Paranormal / Romance
By Sheryl Winters
Release Date: July 21, 2014

Keywords: Paranormal, Romance, Shifters

Description:  Fhina and Wulfar have a little problem.


On their wedding night, at the stroke of midnight, Wulfar changes into his shifted wolf form and cannot shift back. Not even to communicate with the woman he loves.

Fhina, upon waking the day after their mating, no longer recognizes her mate. Pregnant and confused, she’s convinced herself her mate has run away and left her to live alone. With his dog.

Can the cursed pair find a counter charm before Fhina gives birth? Will Wulfar be able to curb his inclination to run?

Or will their mutual curses break up their love affair before it’s really even started.







Roane Publishing is giving away THREE ARC copies to three lucky winners!


You don’t even have to be a blogger.


If you are willing to leave an honest review between the dates July 21st and August 15th, you are eligible to enter.

How? Simply fill out the form!


You have until Midnight of July 5th when three winners will be chosen by random drawing.



Thanks so much for participating & best of luck!

Friday, June 27, 2014

What's your favorite love & murder movie? Brenda Whiteside's The Art of Love and Murder

Thank you so much for having me today, Terri. I hope all your readers will take the time to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for a $25 Amazon Gift Card. There are several ways to win.

The Art of Love and Murder is the first book in my Love and Murder Series.

Blurb:

Lacy Dahl never questioned her past until the deaths of her adoptive parents and her husband. A husband who wasn't what he seemed. Her research uncovers secrets about the mother she never knew; secrets that dispute the identity of her father and threaten her life.

Sheriff Chance Meadowlark is still haunted by the murder of his wife and the revenge he unleashed in the name of justice. When he meets Lacy he is determined not to become involved, but their pasts may make that impossible. As they move closer to the truth, saving Lacy may be his only salvation.

Lacy begins to think the present is more important than her past...until Chance's connection to her mother and a murder spin her deeper into danger and further from love. Will the truth destroy Lacy and Chance or will it be the answer that frees them?

So with love and murder in mind, here are my Top Ten Love and Murder Movies. I might be stretching on some of them, and they aren’t equal for love and murder, but hey – at least some of both:

10        Leaving Las Vegas
9          Nortorious
8          Casino
7          Braveheart
6          The African Queen
5          Good Will Hunting
4          Dr. Zhivago
3          Casablanca
2          Scent of a Woman
1          West Side Story

~~~oOo~~~


About Brenda:


Brenda spends most of her time writing stories of discovery and love. The rest of her time is spent tending vegetables on the small family farm she shares with her husband, son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Together, they’ve embraced an age-old lifestyle that has been mostly lost in the United States - multiple generations living under one roof, who share the workload, follow their individual dreams and reap the benefits of combined talents.

Although she didn’t start out to write romance, she’s found all good stories involve complicated human relationships. She’s also found no matter a person’s age, a new discovery is right around every corner. Whether humorous or serious, straight contemporary or mystery, all her books revolve around those two facts.

Visit Brenda at www.brendawhiteside.com.
She blogs on the 9th and 24th of every month at http://rosesofprose.blogspot.com
She blogs about writing and prairie life at http://brendawhiteside.blogspot.com/


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, June 23, 2014

The Grimoire Saga by @ thesmboyce #BundleofSoulsTour! Win amazing prizes and visit great blogs!

Bundle of Souls Tour

Want to go on a virtual adventure? Maybe win some awesome prizes and find some great blogs along the way? Then buckle in, my friend.

S. M. Boyce is taking her new Grimoire Saga Box Set on tour, and she's going to some of the BEST blogs on the internet (besides mine, of course). These blogs look like a great place to visit, and I can't wait to see the Grimoire Saga on them.

This tour is going to be different and really fun. I hope you join us for this twist on typical blog tours.



The Hosts:

From June 16th to 30th Boyce will also be featuring her host blogs so that you can get to know the bloggers who made this tour possible. The stops are spread out so that you can hop to each one and enjoy it before feeling like you have to head to the next one. I encourage you to get to know the hosts while you take the tour, because they are all awesome and love to meet readers like us! Here is the tour schedule:




The Prizes:

I mentioned prizes before, didn't I? Well, this tour has prizes galore. There's a different prize being given away on each blog!

That means you have more chances to win and a variety of prizes to go for. So make sure you visit each post and enter all the Rafflecopters. I know I will!



The Box Set:

Grimoire Saga Box Set

The Bundle of Souls tour celebrates the release of the box set, which features the first three books of the Grimoire Saga AND a discount code for 25% off the preorder of Illusion, the fourth and final book of the series.

(Psst! plus the set will be on sale for only 99 cents during the tour!)

Hell yeah! If you want to go ahead and preorder Illusion (Grimoire Saga #4), you can order here and get your copy before the rest of the world.

The Book Description:

This collection contains the first three novels in the Grimoire Saga, as well as a special preorder discount for the series finale, Illusion.

Experience the haunting world of Ourea from the beginning as Kara Magari uncovers a secret door in the middle of the forest—a portal that transports her to Ourea, the hidden world full of terrifying things. This epic series challenges traditional notions of good and evil, pits monsters against each other, unravels the secrets of magic, and showcases the power buried within us all.

From betrayal to seduction, romance to murder—the Grimoire Saga has it all.

This set includes:
Lichgates: Grimoire Saga #1
Treason: Grimoire Saga #2
Heritage: Grimoire Saga #3

Also included:
An exclusive preorder discount code for the final book, Illusion: Grimoire Saga #4. Illusion releases November 3, 2014. Sign up here for release notifications for Boyce’s work.
Only available at these retailers:

Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Kobo





Share the Fun

So what are you waiting for? Grab your copy of the Grimoire Saga Box Set now and follow along for what's gearing up to be an incredibly fun tour.

Invite your friends on the adventure as well. Click below to share.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Midsummer's Eve #Giveaway Hop: Eye of the Soul #Fantasy


Another giveaway?

Why yes. Of course!

This time up for grabs, an ecopy of...




Eye of the Soul 
Pool of Souls #1
Release Date: October 7, 2013
Format:  Paperback / ebook
Publisher:  J. Taylor Publishing
Keywords: Adult Fantasy
Escape. 

That should be Hyla’s first thought as her people are chained and imprisoned for no imaginable reason.

Instead, Hyla finds herself traveling through a land void of Natives, with human soldiers pillaging in desperate pursuit of her, and in search of the mystical Pool of Souls—home to the one man who can save her people.

Or so she believes.

Led by her faith in the deity Fadir, Hyla is met along her journey by Jadon—a human male and fierce King’s warrior, and his childhood best friend Conlin—one of the few Natives aware of his Fadir-given Talents.

Protected by Jadon, guided by Conlin, and with an unfailing belief in the purpose of her pilgrimage, Hyla carries on.

Like her, though, another searches for the Pool, and should he gain access first, everyone she loves, and everything she knows, could be lost.

Forever.

~~~oOo~~~


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, June 20, 2014

Summer Lovin' #Giveaway Hop! Love's Sorrow #Historical #Romance #HopswithHeart


It's giveaway time over at Romance Blog Hops!!!

The GRAND PRIZES up for grabs...

One $75 Amazon Gift Card
One $25 Starbucks Gift Card 
One $25 Amazon (or Barnes and Noble) Gift Card

You can enter for the grand prizes on this rafflecopter form. Best of luck!

~~~oOo~~~

Here on Scribbler's, I'm offering an ecopy of Love's Sorrow!



Love's Sorrow
Means of Mercy #1

Release Date: April 21, 2014
Publisher: Roane Publishing
Keywords: Sweet, Historical Romance, Series
Hired as a nanny for her cousin’s children, Anne Tearle finds security and a loving family. The children are a dream, but London society is a world of its own, one where a displaced farm girl has no business being. But, wealthy rake, Gavin MacKay, helps her to see associating with the upper class might not be as horrid as she first assumed.

Like all things worthwhile, love comes at a price, and the cost soon bestows more anguish than joy. Lost, but not undone, Anne must find the courage to begin life anew, or succumb to sorrow's unrelenting waves of grief.
~~~oOo~~~
What people are saying about Love's Sorrow!
5 Harleys!! - Harlie's Book Reviews
"Do yourself a favor and buy this book.  Put it on the top of your TBR pile and spend a day with Anne and Gavin.  You will feel gutted, stunned and just plain open-mouthed in the end.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you but this book is not to be ignored.  Ms. Rochenski has written a brilliantly, in some ways brutal, book that everyone must read and then come back and cry with me.  Only 7 months until the next book."

 5 Stars! - Amazon Review
"This is not a cookie cutter romance that can be found in every bookstore. I applaud Terri Rochenski for writing the truth about Love. It can be faked, and people learn everyday in all walks of life that they have been used by people that they thought loved them.

I’m excited to see Anne’s journey continues with Love’s Revenge. It is a book I'll definitely read."

5 Stars! - Amazon Review
"I have to admit when I read the blurb and first started reading Love's Sorrow I though it was a very well written but run of the mill historical romance, but don't be mistaken I do not at all regret reading this book in fact I am avidly awaiting the next installment and believe me if I could help Terri Rochenski in any way for it to be out earlier I would."

4 Stars! - Amazon Review
"If you want a feel-good, not-too-realistic romance, don’t read this book. If you want a realistic depiction of London in the 1800s, society’s prejudices, people’s selfishness and love and all its agony, this is the book for you."

5 Stars! - The Talent Cave Reviews
"Five well deserved stars for Ms. Rochenski for writing such a memorable book."

~~~oOo~~~

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Thursday, June 19, 2014

Nibbling on those nails...it's time to gear up for Secret of the Souls blog tour!!

I'm not sure about the rest of you authors, but every time I'm ready to start organizing a blog tour for an upcoming release, I get nervous.

How's come??

The fear of no one wanting to help out / everyone's too busy to participate creeps in, making me nibble my nails - never mind the dirt beneath them from spending time in the garden. I gave up biting these nasty things when I got braces in high school & couldn't 'reach' them any more. 

Becoming an author brought back the disgusting habit because of all the...

Waiting on beta readers.

Querying. 

Submitting. 

Waiting on that rejection email.

You know how it goes. But I digress...

Today ARCs of Secret of the Souls (Pool of Souls #2) released. Gulp. That means the blog tour sign ups have begun. Double gulp. What IS the Pool of Souls series? 

Check it out...



Eye of the Soul 
Pool of Souls #1
Publisher:  J. Taylor Publishing
Target Reader: Adult
Keywords: Fantasy

Escape. 
That should be Hyla’s first thought as her people are chained and imprisoned for no imaginable reason. 
Instead, Hyla finds herself traveling through a land void of Natives, with human soldiers pillaging in desperate pursuit of her, and in search of the mystical Pool of Souls—home to the one man who can save her people.

Or so she believes.

Led by her faith in the deity Fadir, Hyla is met along her journey by Jadon—a human male and fierce King’s warrior, and his childhood best friend Conlin—one of the few Natives aware of his Fadir-given Talents.

Protected by Jadon, guided by Conlin, and with an unfailing belief in the purpose of her pilgrimage, Hyla carries on.

Like her, though, another searches for the Pool, and should he gain access first, everyone she loves, and everything she knows, could be lost.

Forever.
~~~oOo~~~

Secret of the Souls
Pool of Souls #2
Target Reader: Adult
Keywords: Fantasy
Thrust out of their homes by a human High Priest on a vengeful mission, the Natives of Derlund no longer have a place to call their own. One escaped capture, however, and now she, Hyla, is the only one who can save her people.

For, Hyla, though, saving her nation isn’t her ultimate goal—returning to the Pool of Souls is. Becoming its Guardian and preserving their faith is her heart’s desire. The perils of her current journey, though, could leave her unable to fulfill that dream.

To find her way back to the Pool, Hyla must live among dangerous, powerful humans willing to defend the Natives, and must submit herself—her Talents—to them. While her protection is paramount, plots to end Hyla’s life will push her to her physical and emotional limits.

On the edge of sanity, her courage tested, and convictions nearly broken, Hyla’s final test of loyalty to her faith comes with the death of one she could have loved.

~~~oOo~~~

So ...

Interested in participating?? Check out the sign up form and please forgive me as I sneak away once more to nibble.


Wednesday, June 18, 2014

What's your favorite urban fantasy? Bullet: a Demos City Novel #UF #Giveaway


As part of Mr. Lister's Bullet blog tour, I asked him to share his favorite UF  books. 

Think he missed any?

Urban fantasy is a massive genre. Authors housed in its categories find room to create myriad tales ranging from bustling cities to backwater hamlets. All of them, of course, house one or more aspects of the supernatural. Some are so dense; it's hard to tell if there are any normal humans left. Regardless of the backdrop, some titles rise above their brethren in both sales and popularity. Here's my list of the best urban fantasy books out there, both old and new.

10. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
Not urban fantasy you say? While that may be true of further books in the series, consider the setting of the inaugural novel. Children sent to live in the English countryside to escape the atrocious bombing of London at the hands of the Nazis during World War II. It doesn't get much more urban, or eminently real, than The Blitz. Can anyone else think of a better reason to escape to a magical world filled with talking beavers and dithering satyrs?

9. The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Sorry, can't pick just one novel out of Butcher's series. They're all engaging in their own way, though the 'power creep' of Harry's magical abilities tends to lessen the true stakes as time goes on. What could be more interesting than the books themselves is how hard Butcher had to work to get them in print in the first place.

8. The Last Werewolf - Glen Duncan
Existential crisis meets lycanthropy meets finding a reason to live if only to die well. Duncan's singular wit propels this book from one page to the next giving the reader something literary and contradictory to chew on at just about every turn. As the protagonist, Jake, often says: God being dead, irony still rip-roaringly alive. 

7. The Hum and The Shiver - Alex Bledsoe
Hooked from the first sentence, Bledsoe takes Appalachian mysticism and molds it into a modern tale of xenophobia and reaching out into the wide world. Seriously people, go pick this book up now and put its pages inside your brain. Go now!

6. A Dirty Job - Christopher Moore
So, your child is a reaper, and you're a beta male. Oh, and your wife just died. Doesn't sound like the backdrop for an entertaining read, but that's why our author here is such a damn genius. Moore is hilarious and his insightful takes on the urban fantasy genre, as in all his novels, could've easily filled this list. Had to pick just one since I used my 'entire series' card earlier. Curses!

5. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
Everything this man touches turns into a standard bearer for the genre, and usually spawns a movie, television rights...or at least a successful radio play. This novel brings our disparate mythologies and systems of belief and melds them into a cohesive tale that spans the United States.

4. Fevre Dream - George R.R. Martin
That's right kids. It's not all Game of Thrones . Martin's vampire novel tends to fly under the radar in the face of his enormously successful fantasy series, but it's not to be missed. Its pages are dense with suspense and the same kind of rich history that makes Westeros so engaging.

3. Dead Witch Walking - Kim Harrison
The novel that opened the floodgates on reading in the genre for many of us, Harrison embodies the protagonist like a demon possessing a fleshy mortal. Admit it: you always knew Cincinnati was some kind of den of evil where all manner of supernatural creatures roam. 

2. Dracula - Bram Stoker
Call it gothic, if you want, but you can't escape the urban and the fantastical elements that provide the template for every other novel in the same *ahem* vein.

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Yeah, I said it, Harry Potter is urban fantasy. Wanna fight about it? This is Rowling's 'Empire Strikes Back' of the series, where we see the bad guys gain a sizable upper hand. The emotional turmoil, the torn relationships and the very adult circumstances the main characters deal with is well above any 'children's book' moniker the uninitiated might attach to it. 

~~~oOo~~~

Bullet

by Jonathan Lister
Release Date: June 16, 2014
Target Reader: Adult
Keywords: Urban Fantasy, Werewolf

A father’s love doesn’t bend, so what happens when it breaks?

Corruption, dark truths, and a new Alpha mean Leon Gray’s days of running without a pack are over. At least, that’s what everyone but him believes.

He’d rather be helping his teenage daughter navigate the landmine life of a full werewolf, finish out his servitude as bodyguard to a former Demos City reporter and, in all honesty, not be taken advantage of by a beautiful woman who really only wants him for his body—figuratively and metaphorically.

Of course, the only way any of that might happen is if he’s dead. That’s likely given the information the reporter has unearthed and the territorial battles already underway between packs. If only Demos City's corruption didn’t have such deep roots—older than the bones of the city or any of the werewolves who’ve decided to claim it. A city can only take so many power hungry mongrels invading it at one time, and Leon can only take so much knowing his daughter lives within its boundaries.

War has come to Demos City.

It’s up to Leon to fix ... what's most important to him.

Purchase Links:


~~~oOo~~~


About Jonathan Lister


Jonathan Lister is a full-time writer with work appearing in outlets of USA Today, The Houston Chronicle and many others. A graduate of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University, he’s waited an unspeakable amount of tables en route to having the career he wants, and the ability to the tell stories he loves. Bullet, a Demos City Novel is Jonathan’s second book-length work of fiction. He currently lives in the Philadelphia area and continues to drink too much coffee.







 QUOTES FROM MR. LISTER'S PRESS RELEASE



“The uniqueness in the Demos City stories is that the supernatural and humans know of one another,” says J. Taylor Publishing. “It’s just part of life in Demos City, but what happens when one infringes on the other or turf wars impede progress? Therein lies the fundamental problems with a society that knows about supernaturals and Jonathan is poised to tell the story for many books to come.”
“What are werewolves? Animals or people? Why do we believe the answer that pops into our head?” asks J. Taylor Publishing. “Readers expect certain things from characters and supernaturals specifically because they’ve been taught with other books to believe ‘x’ when in the Demos City case, Jonathan totally turns those preconceived notions on the head.”

Monday, June 16, 2014

Let's compare favorite #fantasy books - Portals @RoanePublishing #Giveaway

Tour Schedule

Thrilled to take part in Roane Publishing's first fantasy title blog tour!!! I asked the six authors what their favorite five fantasy books were since I LURVE comparing. Here's what they had to say...

Michael Siciliano:

1. A Storm of Swords, Book 3 of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
2. The Tyrant's Law, Book 3 of The Dagger and the Coin by Daniel Abraham
3.  The Stone of Farewell, Book 2 of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams
4. Camber the Heretic, Book 3 of The Legends of Camber of Culdi by Katherine Kurtz
5. A Game of Thrones, Book 1 of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin

Havva Murat:

1) Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth
2) Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr (Wicked Lovely Series)
3) Soulless by Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate Series)
4) The Steampunk Trilogy by Paul Di Filippo
5) The Celtic Twilight by WB Yeats

Echo Shea:

The Hollows Series by Kim Harrison
The Skinwalker Series by Faith Hunter
The Alpha and Omega Series by Patricia Briggs
The Morganville Vampire Series by Rachel Caine
The Legend of Beka Cooper Series by Tamora Pierce

Anna Simpson:

For me fantasy is all about the world the writers create. The atmosphere can be therapeutic and I count myself lucky that I get to visit incredible places whenever the mood strikes. Not all of us can afford a few weeks on a warm beach or a ski trip in the alps. Knowing these gems are in my library, I’m assured my escape is only a page away.
   
    1. The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien – I discovered these books back in high school. As a teenager, I lived in that world where it was dangerous, but so meaningful.

    2. Mordant's Need by Stephen Donaldson – This is actually two books,  The Mirror of Her Dreams & A Man Rides Through. The main character feels so insignificant that she feels herself slowly disappear, but what she really does is pass through a mirror to a completely different world where it turns out she is very important. I related to her on so many levels.

    3. Harry Potter series by JK Rowling – I don’t think there is much to say, but dragons, magic and castles. I’m in.

    4. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson – I haven’t read all of them. Not yet. The last book came out last year and snuck passed me, but I’ll get to it this year. Again I’m seeing a theme of insignificant main character that becomes a hero in the fantastical world in trouble.

    5. The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini – It took me awhile to forgive him when he changed his mind about his series being a trilogy. I was pretty choked, but when I finished the last book it all made sense. Now, I’m glad he took the time to do it right.

You see five series above. Once a world feeds my soul and can touches me, I need more, and more, and more.

Christy Thomas:

I enjoy Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Sword and Sorceress. There are 28 volumes, so I’ll pick them for my 2nd thru 5th favorite. My number one favorite fantasy novel is The Hobbit. My Uncle gave me a copy when I was ten. I hated the cover, and avoided reading it for years. That’s when I learned not to judge a book by its cover.

Laurie Treacy:

Hmm, choosing five is practically impossible, especially since “fantasy” is simply a genre with numerous categories underneath it including my favorites: high, contemporary, and urban.

My High Fantasy favorites (all series):
1.      Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings
2.      C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia
3.      Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials
4.      Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising
5.      J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter

My YA contemporary fantasy faves (all series):
1.      The Green Rider series by Kristen Britain
2.      Widdershins Adventures by Ari Marmell
3.      The Grisha series by Leigh Bardugo
4.      Graceling series by Kristin Cashore
5.      The Winner’s Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski

As for urban and paranormal fantasy, I can’t make a list of titles since there are so many authors whose works I adore. Rachel Caine, Richelle Mead, Cassandra Clare, Julie Kagawa, Cornelia Funke, Jocelynn Drake,  Karen Marie Moning, J.R. Ward, Stacia Kane, and more.

~~~oOo~~~

Click on image to add on Goodreads
Portals
Genre: Fantasy Anthology (mixed sub genres)

Publisher:  Roane Publishing


Release Date: June 5, 2014

Keywords: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Urban Fantasy, Steampunk, Short Stories, Picture Prompt

Description: No matter what world you call home, or what your station in life, there are just some paths that weren't meant to be tread.

Maronda’s Quest by 
Christy Thomas

Mexmur, the Huntress by 
Anna Simpson

Entrance of Lost Souls by 
Echo Shea

Where Once were Hearts by Havva Murat

Ordinary World by 
Laurie Treacy

The Lunatic Queen by 
Michael Siciliano


Purchase Links:


~~~oOo~~~


To celebrate the Portals release, Roane Publishing is giving away a $10 Amazon Gift Card & paperback copy of Portals.

Thanks for stopping by, & best of luck!!




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