Saturday, June 21, 2014

EuphoraYA Scavenger Hunt - Guest post by Anna Silver



I hope you are having a great time with the scavenger hunt, and that you are finding some great reads! Please welcome Anna Silver, author of ASTRAL TIDE

There's a lot of hype these days about twisted, or retold, fairy tales. A prime example of this would be CINDER by Marissa Meyer. And while I'm not the type to jump on the bandwagon, especially when it comes to literary trends--because yesterday's bandwagon quickly becomes today's hearse, I've begun a new novel which I am toying with the notion of weaving into a twisted fairy tale.



Keep in mind, at this time, I'm merely toying. In fact, it may be so unlike the original that I couldn't even pitch it as a retelling, but I could still use the fairy tale I have in mind for the project to guide the plot. And the fairy tale I'm referring to is Sleeping Beauty, which was a childhood favorite of mine.



I know what you're thinking. And no, this was not Maleficent inspired. Okay, maybe it was a little Maleficent inspired.



But my setting would Sci-Fi and the genre is YA. And I have no intention of pulling a CINDER and writing about sleeping androids. In fact, there won't even be a character for the witch as you expect, because as I said, it would almost be more symbolic than a literal retelling.



Anyway, all of this is to say, how do you feel about twisted and retold fairy tales? Are they still in? Are they on their way out already? Is it even worth pitching as a retelling if the correlations are more implied than literal? And, above all, what are your fave twisted or retold fairy tales, so the rest of us can run out and read them?



My top fairy tale retelling is actually Intisar Khanani's THORN, which is a retelling of Grimm's The Goose Girl. Though I've never read the original version, and so cannot compare them much. That said, Khanani's brilliant narration swept me away, making me a lifetime fan. Which brought me into this whole EuphorYA mess. So without further ado, I bring you my special content, the working title and back cover copy for the third and final installment in the Otherborn series, ASTRAL RETURN.



Best of luck to all of you and thanks for reading!!!







Astral Return
Otherborn, #3


London
has been pushed to her limits. She’s lost the people she cares about most, been
forced into a fugitive’s life bouncing from camp to camp in the Outroads beyond
the safety and shelter of the walled cities, and even found herself at the very
edge of the Astral when confronted by Avery and the Tycoons after escaping the
Ward. But nothing has prepared her for waking up in New Eden.






Life in the Tycoons’ settlement is supposed to be paradise,
but for London,
Elias, and the rest of the Otherborn in Tycoon custody, it’s nothing short of
hell. About the only thing going for London is
her reunion with Rye.
But with Zen captured too, her heart is more torn than ever.




In New Eden, the Otherborn are subject to Avery’s deranged
experiments as the Astral Return wreaks havoc in the rest of the world. And the
stronger it grows, the more desperate the Tycoons become. Caught in the middle,
London is
growing less worried about saving the world and more worried about saving
herself and her friends. Will the Astral’s new beginning be their end?
EuphorYA Scavenger Hunt Blog Stops



Here's the schedule for the EuphorYA Scavenger Hunt. Each blog stop features exclusive content from one of our authors as well as a giveaway. Collect the blue / red / pink colored words to make the daily secret phrases. Then enter for your chance to win the Grand Prize Giveaway--$75 Amazon / Nook gift card (first prize only), books and swag (first, second and third prizes).


Day One Stops, Friday ,June 20 - Blue Phrase



Anna Silver | Chloe Jacob's World | Elana Johnson | Books By Intisar | Ali Cross


Day Two Stops, Saturday, June 21 - Red Phrase



Elisabeth Wheatley | T.L. Shreffler | RaShelle Workman | Kelly Walker | Hannah L. Clark |



Christy Dorrity


Day Three Stops, Sunday, June 22 - Pink Phrase



Rhiannon Hart | Natasha Hanova | Tracy E. Banghart | Kaitlyn Deann | Jadie Jones



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Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Torn Canvas by Donna Weaver

Torn Canvas by Donna K. Weaver

I just love presenting new books by favorite authors, especially when the author is a friend of mine. Please welcome on the blog Donna K. Weaver's new TORN CANVAS, the second in the Safe Harbors series. 

When I asked Donna what she likes to eat while reading and writing, here's what she said: 

"Usually chocolate chips. Semi sweet. But I'm probably going to have to give those up since writing is making me so fat. :D" ~Donna

Even a hero needs rescuing sometimes

Modern-day pirates took more than Jori Virtanen’s friends; they stole his face. Not only does the twenty-four-year-old former model have to confront months of reconstructive surgery, he discovers his previous life was as superficial as his looks. Jori struggles to make a new life for himself as an artist while evading the press. They expect a hero, but he knows the truth. His beauty masks a beast.

Olivia Howard’s given up a normal life for her job, and the sacrifices are finally paying off. The twenty-six-year-old talk-show host’s ratings are heading to the top of the charts. Her dream is to make a difference in people’s lives, but the studio wants mind fluff—like interviewing hot model Jori Virtanen. When Olivia learns the guy helped rescue passengers on a cruise excursion from kidnappers, she knows this is the story she needs to make her case. The only problem is the hero was injured, and now he’s disappeared.

The more Olivia learns about the man behind the scar, the more intrigued she becomes. But Jori is no girl’s happily ever after. Once she finds him, Olivia has to free his heart and help heal the beast.

Links:


Trailer on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z07kxkS53Ys





Author of the Safe Harbors series and Second Chances 101, Book 5 in the Ripple Effect series. A wife, mother, grandmother, Harry Potter geek, Army veteran, and karate black belt.

Contact the author: donnakweaver@gmail.com














Find the author on:

Monday, June 16, 2014

New Release - Girls on Fire: A Dauntless Collection only .99!


Girls on Fire A Dauntless Collection

Today is the launch of an amazing collection of books from fantastic authors. I am so thrilled to be rubbing shoulders with these ladies and tickled to tell you that AWAKENING is a part of this new boxed set!

Here's what the boxed set is about: Ten powerful YA heroines kicking butt and fighting for love.


10 novels. 1 buck.



Get your copy today!








Click on each author's name to learn more about them and their individual books.




Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Cover Reveal for Heart & Soul by Lee Strauss

AVAILABLE July 7th! 
Contemporary Romance


I read the first book in this series: Sun & Moon, and I recommend it!

She's heartbroken. He's heartless.


Gabriele
Baumann-Smith is deliriously in love with her young husband Lennon.
Except,
it turns out that Lennon Smith isn't his real name. In fact, he's full of
secrets: a cottage on the southern British coast, an old girlfriend and... an
identical twin brother.

Callum
Jones—not his real name—can't believe his brother's widow came to England. He'd
warned Mick—Lennon—that an inheritance could put the girl's life in danger, and
he was right.
“Mrs.
Smith” is the last thing Callum needs to worry about right now. She's
beautiful, sure, takes his breath away at times. But when she looks at him, who
does she see?

Gabriele's
heart is battered and bruised. Can one brother fix what the other left behind?
And will they live long enough to find out?

About The Minstrel Series:
every love story needs a song

The
Minstrel Series is a collection of contemporary romance novels set in
the singer/songwriter world. The books are companion novels, with shared
settings and characters, but each is a complete stand-alone story with a
HEA (happily ever after) and no cliffhangers!

The books include MP3 links to original music by talented Indie Artists, so you can hear the characters sing!

Books in the Minstrel Series can be read in any order, but are best enjoyed in sequence.

#1 - Sun & Moon (digital versions Free everywhere!)
#2 - Flesh & Bone 
#3 - Heart & Soul (July 7th!)
     - Peace & Goodwill (Christmas Novella coming fall of 2014)

http://theminstrelseries.blogspot.com





https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22052576-heart-soul?from_search=true








Lee
Strauss is the author of The Minstrel Series (contemporary romance),
The Perception Series (young adult dystopian) and young adult historical
fiction. She is the married mother of four grown children, three boys
and a girl, and divides her time between British Columbia, Canada and
Dresden, Germany. When she's not writing or reading she likes to cycle,
hike and do yoga. She enjoys traveling (but not jet lag :0), soy lattes, red wine and dark chocolate.

Lee also writes younger YA fantasy as Elle Strauss.









Monday, June 9, 2014

Cover reveal for Girls on Fire boxed set

What happens when you bring together 10 award-winning, critically acclaimed authors? 





Did you see that Awakening is part of this amazing set! I am so thrilled to be a part of this collaboration with so many wonderful authors! 

The GIRLS ON FIRE boxed set, coming on June 16! And now we'd like to present you with the cover, designed by our very own, Rachel Morgan.



Here's a little about each of the stories included in Girls on Fire:

WITCH FALL – Amber Argyle
High Fantasy

Supreme in their dominion over seasons,
storms, and sea, the witches have forgotten the unmatched
destructiveness of mankind. And among the weapons men seek are the
magical songs of the witches. Born of witches but raised among their
enemies, Lilette searches for a way to heal the rift between mankind
and the witches. But it may be too late to save either. For if there
is one thing Lilette has come to know for certain, it’s that all
things fall.


ETERNAL STARLING – Angela Corbett
Paranormal Romance

For centuries, Alex Night and Emil
Stone have yearned for Evie Starling. When both men claim to be her
soul mate and tell her about an unbelievable past, Evie learns that
she’s not the person she thought she was, and her soul is about to
become the rope in an eternal tug-of-war.


AWAKENING – Christy Dorrity
Fantasy

When an ancient curse threatens McKayla
McCleery's family, she must decide what in her life is real and what
is fantasy. Based in Celtic mythology, Awakening is a gripping young
adult fantasy that is rife with magic, romance, and mystery.


INEVITABLE – Tamara Hart Heiner
Suspense

Visions of death plague Jayne, who
thinks watching her sister die is the worst that could happen to her.
But when she witnesses a murder, Jayne realizes that the next death
she sees might be her own.


WATCHED – Cindy M. Hogan
Romantic Suspense

Change. She longed for it.
A murder. She will never be the same.


THE FORGOTTEN ONES – Laura Howard
Fantasy

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

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



ELEMENTAL HUNGER – Elana Johnson
Futuristic Fantasy

Sixteen-year-old Gabriella Kilpatrick
can shoot fire from her hands, which would be great if she didn’t
get blamed for a blazing inferno that kills 17 schoolmates. Gabby
will have to learn who she can trust, how to control her own power,
and most of all, how to lead a Council of Elementals, most of whom
have more control over their power than she does. If she can’t,
she’ll find herself just like those 17 schoolmates: burned and six
feet under.


THE FAERIE GUARDIAN – Rachel Morgan
Fantasy

Kickbutt faerie Violet is about to
graduate as the top guardian trainee of her class, but when an
assignment goes wrong and the human boy she’s meant to be
protecting follows her back into the fae realm, a dangerous plot is
set in motion.


PERCEPTION – Lee Strauss
Dystopian/Romance

Eternal Life is to Die For.

A spoiled genetically altered girl
needs the help of a jaded “natural” boy to find her missing
brother.


INTRINSICAL – Lani Woodland
Paranormal

The gene that allows the women in
Yara’s family to see and communicate with spirits seems to have
passed her over. Until the night she rescues a local hottie from an
attacking ghost. Her act of heroism attracts the attention of the
evil spirit, and she finds herself entrenched in the middle of a
sixty-year-old curse that haunts the school, threatening her own life
as well as that of her friends.


Publication date: June 16, 2014
Price: 99 cents for 10 amazing
YA novels!


Links:



About the
Authors:

Follow each author’s link to learn
more about them and their books.




Friday, June 6, 2014

Time of Death: Induction by Shana Festa


Time of Death by Shana Festa
A friend of mine has a new release out and I am excited to tell you about it! I haven't read it yet, but it looks like a fun zombie book!

When no one or nowhere is safe, where do you go to escape the monsters?
In a few short days, 37 year old Emma Rossi’s hard work will finally pay off. She will don her cap and gown and graduate with a degree in nursing, but not before she loses her first patient and is confronted with a new reality. In Cape Coral, Florida, a storm approaches.  The dead are coming back to life. 
And they’re hungry. 
Infection ravages the Eastern Seaboard with alarming speed while attempts to contain the spread of infection fail. Within days, a small pocket of panicked survivors are all that remain of civilization. Fighting to survive the zombie apocalypse alongside her husband Jake and their dog Daphne, Emma comes face-to-face with her worst nightmare. 
Relying on snarky wit and sheer determination, she is forced to commit atrocious acts to protect her family and avoid joining the ranks of the undead. 
Time of Death is author Shana Festa's full-length novel debut.




Shana Festa was born in Lincoln, Nebraska on October 17, 1976 and grew up in Northboro, Massachusetts. She currently lives in Cape Coral, Florida with her husband and two dogs, Daphne & Casey.
Shana is a registered nurse with clinical experience in mental health, geriatrics, HIV and substance abuse. In addition to her clinical background, Shana possesses over 15 years of experience with project management and data analytics.
Under her alter ego, The Bookie Monster, Shana reviews horror and paranormal books, with an emphasis on (but not limited to) zombie fiction. With a background in Psych Nursing, Shay brings her unique perspective to the online reading community.
Introducing her own zompoc story to the genre, Shana’s debut novel, Time of Death, is the first in a planned series and is scheduled for release May, 2014.

Website: http://www.shanafesta.com


BUY THE BOOK
AMAZON: http://amzn.com/B00KLLB3V8/?tag=theboomon-20
SMASHWORDS: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/442239
KOBO: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/time-of-death-induction
BARNES & NOBLE: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/time-of-death-shana-festa/1119613162

Cover reveal and Giveaway - A Beauty so Beastly by RaShelle Workman

A Beauty so Beastly
by Rashelle Workman

About A BEAUTY SO BEASTLY: “For your vanity, your cruelty, and your cold unfeeling heart, a curse I leave upon you . . .”

What happens if the beauty is also the beast?

The stunning Beatrice Cavanaugh is considered American royalty. She has everything except the ability to love. Cursed on her eighteenth birthday, she becomes more beastly than ever, having a newfound craving for raw meat, and an undeniable yearning for the night. Bitterness is her only companion.

After accusing a maid of stealing, a disgustingly kind and exquisitely handsome guy named Adam shows up asking Beatrice to drop the charges against his mother.

Infuriated by his goodness, Beatrice vows to break him. Destroy him. Make him hurt the way she hurts. So she agrees. On one condition: Adam must take his mother’s place as a servant in the mansion.

Because Beatrice won’t stop until he’s more beastly than she is.

Genre: Fractured Fairy Tale
Book 1 in the Beastly Series
Release date: July 3, 2014

Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KHZ2F1A 

Special Note: A BEAUTY SO BEASLTY will be available for 99 cents until its release date on July 3rd! Then it'll go up to $2.99. So pre-order now!


About RaShelle Workman: RaShelle Workman is an international bestselling author. She writes fractured fairytales with bite and young adult science fiction that's out of this world. RaShelle likes cherry pie, movies, family adventures, and chocolate. If you want to get on her good side, send chocolate. RaShelle's sold more than 500,000 copies of her books worldwide. Sleeping Roses, Exiled, Beguiled, and Dovetailed have foreign rights contracts with a Turkish publisher. 





Her books include:

Sleeping Roses

Exiled
Beguiled
Dovetailed
Blood and Snow (1-12)

The Cindy Chronicles

Vampire Lies (Blood and Snow Season 2)

Short stories:

Rose, Undercover

Cindy Witch

The Hunter's Tale

Gabriel
After the Kiss
Zaren's Travels


Social Media Links:
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/rashelleworkman
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/RaShelleWorkman
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/shells42/

Blog: http://www.rashelleworkman.com

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