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Friday, May 30, 2014

Ladies and Gentlemen... The Cover Reveal of PRIDE by Rosie Somers

Copy of Pridebanner-1 (2)
 
Today I'm excited to share the cover of Rosie Somer's debut Novel. Pride is a young adult urban fantasy that will release this summer from Anaiah Press.
 
About Pride:
Seventeen-year-old Gabriella Pierce is used to taking care of herself, but she’s about to become responsible for a whole lot more. When she gets a visit from three men claiming to be defenders of fantastical rings imbued with the powers of THE CARDINAL SINS, her life is changed irrevocably.   Gabby is the steward of PRIDE   To make matters worse, she’s falling hard for fellow steward, Grant Barnett, and he hates her guts. Now Gabby has to learn to protect Pride without letting her feelings for Grant get in the way.
Pridedigi1600 (3)
Release Date:
9 September 2014
 
goodreads-badge-add-plus-d700d4d3e3c0b346066731ac07b7fe47
 
 
Rosie (2)
About the Author
Rosie Somers is a YA author who lives in Florida, soaking up the year round sunshine. She can often be found in her favourite spot on her favourite beach, nose-deep in a good book.
 



Wednesday, May 28, 2014

100 Word Wednesday: "... do NOT open your eyes."

 photo Eyeswednesday_zps3edac1ab.jpg
 
As I went to get the rolls out of the oven, he raced in, grabbed me from behind with his hand clamped over my mouth and took me back into the linen closet at the end of the hallway. His breath was swift as he peered around the corner then placed his hand gently on my cheek, "No matter what you hear, no matter how badly you want to, do NOT open your eyes."

I nodded and obeyed, hearing the door shut in front of me.

Then the shouts.

And the gunshots.

I cringed, but didn't open my eyes.

After an eternity, my door opened again. "Lily." his voice shook as he pulled me to him. "It's finally over."
 
~*~*~*~
 
See what the other ladies came up with. :)
 Wendy Knight, Author: www.wendyknightauthor.blogspot.com
Alison Woods (Peering Into. . .): http://alisonmillerwoods.wordpress.com/

 
 
 

Monday, May 26, 2014

Giveaway and your chance to help Active Minds (A non-profit Org. devoted to mental health awareness and suicide prevention in Young Adults)

THANK YOU, EVA POHLER for asking me to be involved in such an awesome cause!! ~Kelly

Twenty-four amazing authors have joined forces with Eva Pohler Books and over a dozen outstanding bloggers to raise money for Active Minds, a non-profit organization devoted to mental health awareness and suicide prevention in young adults. In addition to donating their books, swag, and gift cards, many of these participants have also given cash donations directly to the organization. This coalition of authors and bloggers wants to help eradicate the stigma associated with mental illness and let young adults know there are people who care and to never give up.

You can help, too!

One of the entry options on the rafflecopter giveaway is to donate $1 or more to Active Minds. The link will take you directly to the foundation's website, and it's so easy to do!

Here is the list of prizes you can enter to win! Mercy Amare and K.T. Smith's Legacies Casey Bond's Reap Jacinda Buchmann's Indigo Incite Nely Cab's Creatura Series, Books 0.5-2 Amy Evan's Clicks plus jelly bean kisses C.R. Everett's I Loved That About Her A.M. Hargrove's Tragically Flawed Susan Holmes's Deadly Ties: A Waterside Kennel's Mystery Laura Howard's The Forgotten Ones Amy Jones's A Zebra Like Me Allana Kephart and Melissa Simmons's Uprising Carlyle Labuschagne: Winner's Choice of any of her books Quinn Loftis's Grey Wolves Series Quinn Loftis's Elfin Series Quinn Loftis's Call Me Crazy Kelly Martin's Big Is Beautiful Jo Michaels's Lily (Mystic Vol. 2) Jennifer Miller's Pretty Little Lies J.D. Nelson's Night Aberrations Alison Pensy's Custodian Novels Boxed Set Eva Pohler's The Gatekeeper's Saga C.W. Stokes's Second Chances Felicia Tatum's Intoxicating Passion Boxed Set Becca Vincenza's Damaged K.A. Young's The Nephilum Warrior Boxed Set K.A. Young's The Elise Michaels Series Deausha Kitty's YA Book Blog: $5 Amazon GC Lisa's Book Lair: Swag The Bookworm Blog: $1.99 ebook Supagurl Books: Swag Wicked Women Book Blog $3 Amazon GC Kat's Indie Book Blog: Rachel M Raithby's Lexia The Deadwood Hunter Series, Book 1


GraysDomain3

Along with the rafflecopter for the prizes above is a tour celebrating the release of Gray's Domain, the second book in The Purgatorium Series. If you are need in therapy, this is the series to read! It tells of an island off the coast of California where Dr. Gray and her staff use experimental methods on clinically depressed and suicidal patients sent their by family members who have no other hope. Seventeen-year-old Daphne is their newest patient.  

TOUR SCHEDULE:
Kristi’s Book Readery Blitz June 8th
A Book So Fathomless Interview June 8th
The Power of Three Readers Blitz June 9th
Escaping Life’s Craziness with Books Review June 10th
Literary Redemption Blitz June 10th
Open June 11th
Purple Shadow Hunter Blitz June 12th
Lisa’s Book Lair Review June 13th
Inside Bj’s Head Blitz June 13th
Open June 14th
Book Skater Blitz June 15th
The Book Worm Blog Review June 15th
Deausha Kitty’s YA Book Blog Review June 16th
Supagurl Books Review June 17th
Open June 18th
Open June 19th
Open June 20th
Pure Jonel Review June 21st
Kat’s Indie Book Blog Review June 21st
Wicked Women Book Blog Review June 22nd

Winners will be announced on June 23rd! Please enter the rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway




Tuesday, May 20, 2014

100 Word Wednesday: The Truth About Love Is...




White dress.

Very best.

Heart's desire.

Burning Fire.

Family and friends.

Love never ends.

**~**

Until years passed

at long last,

the love isn't enough anymore.

Bags packed.

Memories sacked.

No good bye.

No sit and cry.

The kids go

Even though

No one knows what will happen or when.

Papers to file.

Full of denial.

Why is this happening?

**~**

A call out of the blue.

I really miss you.

A date

Let's wait...

Please. Go.

**~**

A spark

Still there.

Her lovely blonde hair.

Forgive me. I don't want you to go.

Her head low.

Her hand takes his.

The truth about love is...
 
*****~~~~****

My first book trailer came out YESTERDAY!! I'm so excited. Be sure to watch. :) Thank you Videos by O.!

 
Check out the other blogs participating in 100 Word Wednesday-- remember, comments are always appreciated. ~Kelly

 
 
 

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

100 Word Wednesday: You Find A Box in the Attic That Isn't Yours...

The Box
 
Emma climbed into bed, her husband's back was already turned. Just like always, they were going to bed mad.

Please let him know what it's like to have your heart ripped out.

Finally, she slept and dreamed of a plain wooden box in their attic. A box that didn't belong to her. It thumped and danced across the floor so loudly it woke her with a start.

Just a dream.

The red lights on the clock next to her bed said 2:38. So early.

She rolled on her back and was greeted with a small little imp at the foot of her bed. A grin crossed his lips as he picked red muscle from his razor sharp teeth.

Emma screamed and rolled her husband over to help but found his eyes hollow and a wide hole in his chest where his heart had been.

It had been ripped out.

"Anything else?" The imp asked mischievously.

She paused. "Now that you mention it..."
 
 
~*~*~*~
Check out the other blogs that participate in 100 Word Wednesday...

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Fairy Tale Fortnight Winners Announced!

Thank you all for entering my fairy tale fortnight rafflecopter! I really appreciate it (now on to the winners...)
 
The winner of UnEnchanted and Fairest is
 
KARINA VANCE!!
 
The winner of the $5 Amazon gift card is...
Michelle Willms!!
 
Congratulations!!
 
I'm off to send your prizes now.
 
~Kelly
 


100 Word Wednesday:You Know What They Say...


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I haphazardly threw my last shirt into the suitcase and slammed it shut. There, I was ready.

I looked back to see the disapproving look on his face, but he didn't try to stop me. I didn't expect he would.

I drove to where I wanted to be... where I'd be taken care of.

With suitcase in hand, I knocked on the door. After a few knocks, my mother answered.

"Can I have my old room?" I asked.

"Um... you can have the couch." She said as a moving man with boxes walked by me.

You can't go home again.

~*~*~*~
 
Check out the other blogs that participate in 100 Word Wednesday:
Wendy Knight, Author: www.wendyknightauthor.blogspot.com
Alison Woods (Peering Into. . .): http://alisonmillerwoods.wordpress.com/
Jessica Winn, The Distracted Writer:http://thedistractedwriter.com/

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Warrior Everlasting: "She Gave up Everything to Fight for her Sister's Soul." Out NOW!

I'm so excited to feature Warrior Everlasting on my blog today!! It is by the wonderful Wendy Knight (if you haven't read her YA/fantasy books, you SO should!!)
 
Her new book, Warrior Everlasting, is out now!
 
Read the snippet and the blurb AND click the link for a rafflecopter giveaway!
 
Here's my brand new cover! And on my author page I'm sharing teasers all day :)
 
 
 
Fighting alongside the boy you shouldn't love is hard enough. Doing it while riding a unicorn who would gleefully fly to her death with you on her back is worse. What makes it insane?
 
 Doing it in hell.
 
 Scout and her unicorn, Ashra, risked everything just to make it into Aptavaras. Their plan is to free Scout’s family and the stolen souls, and seek vengeance on the man who took everything Ashra had once lived for. What they hadn’t counted on was Trey and his unicorn, Torz, following them.
 
 It might be the only thing that will save them.
 
Because in Aptavaras, the soul stealers are many and the chances of survival are slim. Even if they can get past the demons, trick the demon master, rescue the souls and escape with their lives, there’s only one person who can open the gate, and he’s on the outside defending the world. But Scout, Trey, Ashra and Torz have one thing the soul stealers don’t—
 
 A reason to live.
 
 
Snippet"You’re mad.”
She sighed. “I’m too tired for this right now, Trey. If you want Kylin, then—”
 
He glared at her. “You lose faith in me that quickly, Scout? I’ve been in love with you since I was eight years old. See these?” He held up his arm with the leather bands tied around his wrist. “Nine of them. One for each year I’ve loved you. I loved you when you hated me. I loved you when you were dancing for some other guy. I loved you when I watched you throw yourself off your unicorn eight billion feet above the ground.” Scout opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Instead, tears trickled down her cheek. Finally, she knew what those leather bands meant. And her heart swelled.
 
“Just because I talk to Kylin doesn’t mean I’m going back to her. What have I ever done to make you doubt me, Scout? And if you say the hospital—” His glare was more fierce than she’d ever seen it. Clearly, he’d heard enough about the hospital.
 
Scout smiled, scrubbing at her tears. “Nothing, Trey. You’ve done nothing to make me doubt you. I’m sorry. I’m just tired and insecure.”
 
His hand shot out, circling her waist, and he pulled her into him, so close she could feel his heart pounding inside his chest, and he kissed her like he would literally die if he didn’t. There was pain and fury and hope and love in that kiss.

Scout rose on her toes and slid her arms around his neck, kissing him back, hoping he could feel that she felt the same way.
 
 
RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY!
 
 
 
BUY LINKS
Barnes and Noble
 
 

Friday, May 2, 2014

Redemption by Heather Gray

 
 
I'm pleased to present....
 
 
Redemption
 

(Ladies of Larkspur #3)
 
Photo: Murder, mayhem, marriage, and a horse named Mutiny… REDEMPTION by Heather Gray  http://www.amazon.com/Redemption-Ladies-Larkspur-Heather-Gray-ebook/dp/B00K031XRQ/

(One of the Prettiest covers I've ever seen... Does he not look like Westley from The Princess Bride? Or Klaus from The Vampire Diaries/The Originals? Leave a comment below and tell me which one you think he favors most.)

Back Cover Blurb:
Murder, mayhem, marriage, and a horse named Mutiny…
Minnie's impulsiveness has been getting her into trouble her whole life.  She never expected it to land her on a suspect list for murder, though.  With nothing left but a few trunks of possessions and her own defeat, Minnie leaves San Francisco behind and returns home.  In an effort to protect her family and friends, she keeps them in the dark about the ongoing investigation and the possibility that danger may have followed her to Larkspur.  When events force her to trust someone with her secrets, she turns to the sheriff and finds both a friend and an ally.

 It may have been four years since he last saw Minnie, but how could he ever forget her?  When Art finds her sneaking through a back alley in town, he knows something's wrong.  The once vivacious Minnie is a mere shadow of her former self, all sparkle gone from her eyes. Art knows that time spent with her will be dangerous to his heart, but he can't turn Minnie away.  Even if it means protecting her from her own impetuous decisions, he vows to keep her safe.

 In her attempt to take responsibility for her own choices, Minnie shut out her friends, family, and God.  An unsolved murder isn't all that's chasing Minnie, though.  Will she find her way back to the heart of her faith before it's too late?

 Excerpt:

August 1882

Minnie needed to get home quickly. It was imperative. William would be displeased if she was away too long. He was not kind when angry.

She rushed around the corner only to be stopped by the familiar sight of police gathered outside the tenement building where she and William rented a room. Given the area they lived in, seeing police was a matter of course. The sheer number of officers present, though, was anything but routine.

At the time she’d married him, Minnie had expected to have a grand life with her husband. She was but the daughter of a small-town mayor, but William, why he was a gifted and recognized journalist. Her dreams of that happy life of travel, investigation, and collaboration had evaporated within their first month of marriage. The wonderful man who had courted her, caressed her with silver-tongued words, and danced into her heart had disappeared.

He'd left in his place a man who was bitter and angry because she, while the daughter of a politician, had no wealth to her name, no grand dowry to finance the illicit habits he had kept from her during their brief courtship. She'd had to adjust to a life far removed from her dreams, a life where the only thing more common than police at their building was the stench of squalor in the air.

Minnie hurried through the gathering of policemen and rushed up the stairs, hoping that William would still be asleep and wouldn't realize she'd been out. As she approached their room, she saw an officer standing in the hallway by the already-open door to the small space she shared with her husband. "Pardon me, ma'am," the officer said, "are you Mrs. Drake?"

Nodding, she craned her neck to see around the officer. He tried to block her view, but she caught a peek inside. A strangled gasp escaped her lips. With strength out of place in her small frame, she shoved past the policeman and dashed into their quarters. Her husband of not quite three years, William Drake, lay in a pool of blood, almost unrecognizable. His corpse lay there beaten – nay, bludgeoned – to death. His lifeless eyes stared off into the distance. "W-what happened?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

"Mrs. Drake." The man speaking wore his somber expression as comfortably as he wore his suit – both were threadbare from too much use. "I need to ask where you've been these past two hours."

Trying desperately to pull her eyes away from her husband's corpse, she fought to speak. "An errand." The words felt as if they were being pulled from her throat. "I had an errand to run."

"Where, Mrs. Drake?"

About a year into their marriage, William had stopped pursuing his journalism career. He was always either deep in his cups or giving up their every possession at the gaming tables. Going to work had become necessary, but she wasn't sure how she felt about exposing that part of her life to the man in the suit, a virtual stranger. It had been easy enough to step into Will's shoes and take over his position at the newspaper. She did her writing in secret, and everything was published under the name Will Drake, the byline her husband had used.

Minnie didn't know how to explain her job to these men without feeling the shame and embarrassment of having to admit both facts – that her husband was a sluggard who'd forced his wife to support him and that most of San Francisco believed her to be a man. Little encouragement was to be found in the stern faces of the officers, and she began to question whether either claim would be believable.

Looking into the eyes of the suited man, she saw something dreadful. Minnie lifted her hand to her throat in foreboding. "You suspect me, then, in my husband's death." It wasn't a question. She could see the truth of it on the detective's face.

"Answer the question, Mrs. Drake. Where have you been?"

"Everywhere but where I should have been, it would seem," she said softly.

Author Bio:
Heather Gray is the author of the Ladies of Larkspur inspirational western romance series, including Mail Order Man, Just Dessert, and Redemption.  Other titles include Ten Million Reasons, His Saving Grace, and Nowhere for Christmas – everything from Regency England to modern-day America.  Aside from a long-standing love affair with coffee, Heather’s greatest joys are her relationships with her Savior and family.  She decided years ago that she'd rather laugh than yell.  This theme is prevalent in her writing where, through the highs and lows of life, her characters find a way to love God, embrace each day, and laugh out loud right along with her.

Buy Links:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
Kobo
iTunes


Where to Find Me:
My Website – http://www.heathergraywriting.com
My Blog – http://www.heathergraywriting.com/blog
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/heathergraywriting
Google+ – https://plus.google.com/+Heathergraywritingnow
Twitter – http://twitter.com/LaughDreamWrite
Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/LaughDreamWrite

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Childhood Memories Shape Setting with author Tracy Krauss

Hi guys! Today, Tracy Krauss is here to talk about how childhood memories shaped the setting in Wind Over Marshdale.

What childhood memories would you love to see in a book? Did you live in a small town or a big city? Be sure to leave a comment.

~Kelly
 

Childhood Memories Shape Setting

 

Of all of my novels, I feel a special connection to WIND OVER MARSHDALE, published by Astraea Press, probably because of the setting. I modeled the town of Marshdale after my own hometown of Mossbank, and those that are familiar with the area will recognize many of the geographical features, even though the names have been changed. For instance, there is a large, shallow, alkaline lake which is considered a prime hunting area for ducks and other water fowl. Old Wives Lake was named after a Cree legend. In the days before the arrival of ‘white men’, there were some warring tribes in the area. In order to save their village, some elderly women stayed behind in the camp near the lake and kept the fires burning. This allowed the rest of the people to escape. When their enemies saw the smoke from the fires, they raided the camp, but found only the ‘old wives’. The rest of the people made it safely away to a new spot where they were no longer threatened by their enemy. I invented a new legend and called the lake ‘Old Man’s Lake’; still there is some similarity. 

 

I remember well the smell of grain dust in the air in the fall during harvest time, the constant chirp of crickets in the evenings, or the way the wind grazing over the tops of the grain fields made me think of a cat’s silky coat being stroked by a giant invisible hand. I loved watching a thunder storm out my front room window, taking in the power and awesomeness from the safety of the indoors while the whole thing played out across the huge expanse of sky that is such an important part of the prairie landscape. These are the memories of my childhood, and even though I no longer live there, there will always be something special about the place where I grew into an adult. I think the openness of the land and sky has a profound effect on those who are connected to it, and sometimes I long still for that sense of freedom that only comes from wide open spaces. 


I wanted to highlight the rich cultural heritage of the area, especially the indigenous aspects, while also bringing about some modern conflict. In my book, a Cree man is heading up an archaeological dig in the area, but is met with a lot of opposition – much of it racially based. Of course, there is also romance, and some other surprises, too. I love writing about interesting characters and this book is full of them. Many of them are what I consider to be ‘types’ that you find in every small town. I’ve moved a lot in my life and most of the time I’ve lived in small towns. Believe it or not, you really do find these same people everywhere – the town drunk, the town ‘crazy’, the town busybody… I know it almost sounds cliché, but these people really do exist in almost every town I’ve been to! I certainly did not base any one character on a particular person, but took characteristics that I’ve noticed are ‘typical’ and created my own cast of very unique individuals. 

 

I hope readers will sense the authenticity of the place. In a way, when you read it, it is like stepping into the world I grew up in.  

Wind Over Marshdale by Tracy Krauss

You can find WIND OVER MARSHDALE at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Astraea Press and wherever ebooks are sold.