Cover reveal - Byronic by Sandi Beth Jones #ya

Byronic - a supernatural YA by Sandi Beth Jones  

When the creatures in her dark drawings come to life, Chelsea finds that the mysterious Geoff is  the only person she can confide in. But she can't help wondering who she’s kissing: her tender  confidant or the dangerous Byronic rebel bent on shocking his detached father. 

Starting over in the South Carolina Lowcountry is just  what sixteen-­year-old Chelsea needs. Unfortunately, moving also means living with her mom's snobbish British novelist
employer and his moody son Geoffrey. Knowing that her new home likely
used to be a slave  holding plantation doesn't make her feel any more at  home.

Troubled and reckless after his brother's mysterious death, Geoff often mimics his father’s literary
favorite,  Lord Byron, acting "mad, bad, and dangerous to know." 
She's determined to keep her distance and buries herself in her art, though the darkness of her
drawings  troubles her and others who see them. When people in the Gullah and Geechee community point out that she has been drawing Boo Hags and
paints ­powerful and  terrifying creatures of local legend and superstition­ she  starts to wonder about her own heritage and her connection to the Sea Islands. She begins to question  her own grasp on reality when it seems those creatures start making their way out of her  drawings and into real life.   

It's clear that Geoff has some secrets of his own, but he might be the only person she can  confide in. Chelsea must decide who she can trust, when nothing in the Lowcountry is what it  seems.       

Author: Sandi Beth Jones  Title: Byronic (Book One)  Genre: YA Supernatural

ISBN: 9781623421335  Release Date: June 24th, 2014  Available in Paperback and eBook    Goodreads Link |   Author Website |   Twitter  

Author Bio:  Born and raised in the American South, Sandi spent her youth reading Edgar Allen Poe, Stephen King,
and Agatha Christie. She spent many vacations traveling to Low Country South Carolina where she fell
in love  with the local ghost stories and folklore.   

Sandi currently lives in Arkansas with her husband, where she works as a high school teacher. She's  reviewed many YA novels for school library journals and has also published adult romance novels.

Guest post - Write Club by DL Hammons

Today we have a guest post by DL Hammons, founder of WRiTE CLUB. This is the time for submissions - check out the details below. Take it away, DL.
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First off, I’d like to thank Marlene for the opportunity to talk to you today about something near and dear to my heart…WRiTE CLUB. My modest writing contest has proven so popular that the DFW Writers Conference is now considering incorporating it into their agenda for 2015. 

For the newbies out there, let me explain what WRiTE CLUB is? It’s a modest writing competition whose inspiration was derived from the movie FIGHT CLUB. There are numerous versions of this concept around the internet, but nothing like we do it. Its essence embodies simple, good-natured competition, with lots and lots of fun sprinkled on top. 

Over the course of eight weeks I hold twice-weekly bouts in which the winners advance to the play-offs, which will ultimately lead to a single champion. Bouts between who…or what…you ask? Anonymous 500 word writing samples, submitted under a pen name by anyone who wishes to take part, that’s who. The writing can be any genre, any style (even poetry) with the word count being the only restriction. It’s a way to get your writing in front of a lot of readers, without having to suffer the agony of exposure. 

And the winners are determined by WRiTE CLUB readers!

To find out how to become part of the fun just head on over to DLHammons.com and click on the WRiTE CLUB tab. 

Submissions are open until May 31st. After that date a panel of a dozen judges will read all of the entries we received and pre-select 32 of the best writing samples to climb into the ring. Those 32 participants will then be randomly matched to compete over the next eight weeks, each of them hoping to make it into the play-off rounds and moving towards the ultimate goal – WRiTE CLUB Champion. No one (other than my wife)…not even the judges being used to pre-select the 32 contestants, will see the true identity of any sample. Unless you win, of course.

Again this year, the most exciting part is the winner of the final round will be chosen by a panel of publishing industry professionals! Judges include New York Times best-selling and multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning horror and thriller author Jonathan Maberry, Agents Katie Grim of Don Congdon Associates, Margaret Bail of the Andrea Hurst Agency, Sarah Negovetich of the Corvisiero Literary Agency, Brittany Booker of The Booker Albert Literary Agency. Also included is Candace Havens, Editorial Director of Entangled Publishing Covet line, Authors Les Edgerton and Lydia Kang, and previous WRiTE CLUB winners Tiana Smith (2011), Mark Hough (2012) and Tex Thompson (2013).

Are you willing to WRiTE for what you want? Then crack those knuckles and get ready to flex that imagination. And whatever you do, tell your friends!

WRiTE CLUB – The contest where the audience gets clobbered!

Cover Reveal – PREDATOR by Janice Gable Bashman and Giveaway

Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

PREDATOR by Janice Gable Bashman

presented by Month9Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

"Predator is a fast-paced, creepy page-turner! Bashman had me at the opening sentence and she's still got me. I want more!"

Nancy Holder, New York Times Bestselling Author, The Rules

The hunt is on!

Sixteen-year-old Bree Sunderland must inject herself with an untested version of her father’s gene therapy to become a werewolf in order to stop a corrupt group of mercenaries from creating a team of unstoppable lycanthrope soldiers.

When Bree went with her scientist father to Ireland, she thought it would be a vacation to study bog bodies. She never expected to fall in love with a mysterious young Irishman and certainly never expected to become the kind of monster her father said only existed in nightmares. Dr. Sunderland discovers that lycanthropy was not a supernatural curse but rather a genetic mutation. When they return home, her dad continues his research, but the military wants to turn that research into a bio weapons program and rogue soldiers want to steal the research to turn themselves into unstoppable killing machines.

Bree’s boyfriend Liam surprises her with a visit to the United States, but there are darker surprises in store for both of them. As evil forces hunt those she loves, Bree must become an even more dangerous hunter to save them all.

Predator gives the werewolf legend a couple of new spins by introducing the Benandanti (an actual folkloric belief that certain families of Italy and Livonia were werewolves who fought against evil), as well as a modern scientific approach to mutation and the science of transgenics.

Title: PREDATOR
Publication date: October 14 , 2014
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Janice Gable Bashman

Janice Gable Bashman is the Bram Stoker nominated author of Wanted Undead or Alive and Predator. She is managing editor of the The Big Thrill (International Thriller Writers' ezine). Janice lives with her family in the Philadelphia area, where she at work on her next novel. Visit her at janicegablebashman.com.

 

 

 

 

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

(Winners will receive their book on release day)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review of Beautiful Stranger by Alicia Kat Vancil

Beautiful Stranger

The Marked Ones Trilogy Book 0.5

Patrick Connolly is about to get the one thing he has always wanted…kinda.

 

We all have that one thing—that one thing we wish for on every first star of the night. Wealth. Fame. Love. For geeky artist Patrick Connolly, it is the attention of his beautiful and seemingly unattainable classmate Nualla Galathea. There’s just one problem—he’s got less than a snowball’s chance in hell, and that’s being generous.

 

However, when a heated argument erupts in the halls of Bayside Academy forcing Patrick and Nualla’s paths to collide, Nualla surprisingly jumps at the opportunity to be his date. Patrick may think his wish has just come true, but this gentle boy will need more than artistic talent to combat the deadly secrets lurking behind his dream girl’s veil of normality. Like the fact that she isn’t even human.

 

Beautiful Stranger is a Marked Ones novella that is approximately 20,000 words long.

I give this 5 stars (rare for me!) Beautiful Stranger is short, but still, I absolutely devoured it in less than half an hour. It's the perfect introduction to Nualla and her daemon-kind and I must, must, must learn more about her accidental relationship with Patrick.

Kat's writing is crisp and beautifully descriptive. Her characters each shine with their own personality.

I definitely recommend reading this novella and expect that you will be buying book one in the Marked Ones trilogy, Daemons in the Mist as I just did.

Amazon | Kobo

About the Author

Alicia Kat Vancil grew up in the heart of Silicon Valley where she amused herself by telling stories to anyone around her—her family, her friends...random strangers. Eventually she actually started writing those stories down instead of just spending hours hanging out in fake Ikea living rooms and telling her friends about them. Somewhere amongst all the character-torturing and epic explosions she managed to get a BFA in Illustration from the Academy of Art University and open a graphics studio (Multi-tasking for the win!).

Kat still lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two very crazy studio cats, and nine overfull bookcases. And when not running a muck in the imaginary worlds within her head, Kat can usually be found performing, watching anime, or hanging out in Twitter chats.

Twitter | G+ | Pinterest | Wattpad | Goodreads | Amazon | Website

Quote from Vicki Leigh's CATCH ME WHEN I FALL

Catch Me When I Fall - coming October 2014




Learn more about Vicki here.

Who doesn't love chocolate? Heehee - any other good foods to use for a facial description? Leave me a comment below!

Happy Release Day, Mortal Enchantment! On Sale NOW for $2.99!!!

“Mortal Enchantment spins a unique twist on elemental mythology. This series is not to be missed.” Jennifer L. Armentrout, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author

 

In Kalin Matthew's world, elementals control the forces of nature. They are divided into four courts: air, woodland, fire, and water. At sixteen she will leave the life she's built with her mortal mother. Kalin will move to Avalon to rule with her father—the elemental king of the air court. Along the way, she's attacked by a fire court assassin and saved by Rowan, a swoon-worthy elemental with a questionable past.

 

Worst of all, she learns her father is missing.

 

To rescue him, Kalin will have to work with a judgmental council and a system of courts too busy accusing each other of deceit to actually be able to help her. But, they aren’t her biggest challenge. With the Midwinter’s Ball only five days away, Kalin must take over her father’s duties, which includes shifting control of the elements—power Kalin has yet to realize.

 

As Rowan attempts to train her, a war looms between the four courts. If Kalin fails, her father will die and the courts will fall, but the betrayal she’s about to uncover may cost her even more...

 

Available Exclusively at Amazon eBook for $2.99 and Paperback for $8.99

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sneak Peek of FERAL, by Holly Schindler

Check out this reading of Holly Schindler's Feral, coming soon!



Sounds awesome, huh? Want to pre-order? Click here. Here's my post for her trailer.

It’s too late for you. You’re dead. Those words continue to haunt Claire Cain months after she barely survived a brutal beating in Chicago. So when her father is offered a job in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out will offer her a way to start anew.

But the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to realizing a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley….

Holly Schindler’s gripping story is filled with heart-stopping twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very last page.
But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire feels an overwhelming sense of danger, and her fears are confirmed when she discovers the body of a popular high school student in the icy woods behind the school, surrounded by the town’s feral cats. While everyone is quick to say it was an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it, and vows to learn the truth about what happened.

Double Cover Reveal and trailer - Raine Thomas

Double Cover Reveal!!!

Titles: Rout of the Dem-Shyr and Rise of the Faire-Amanti

Series: The Ascendant Series, Books 2 and 3

Author: Raine Thomas

Publisher: Iambe Books, LLC

Cover Designer: Regina Wamba of Mae I Design

Genre: New Adult Sci-Fi Romance

Recommended Audience: Readers 17+

Projected Release Dates: Rout of the Dem-Shyr (July, 2014) and Rise of the Faire-Amanti (Nov, 2014)

~     ~     ~

On to the big reveals!

Rout of the Dem-Shyr (Ascendant Series, Book 2)

Rise of the Faire-Amanti (Ascendant Series, Book 3)

Check out the covers all together. Don't they look amazing??

Did you miss the first book in the series, Return of the Ascendant? Grab your copy today!

Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ Barnes and Noble ~ iBooks ~ Kobo

~     ~     ~

And now, it's Trailer Reveal Time! Turn those speakers up!!!

Trailer created by Flatline Films

Cover Reveal for BEAUTIFUL STRANGER by Alicia Kat Vancil

Beautiful Stranger

The Marked Ones Trilogy Book 0.5


Patrick Connolly is about to get the one thing he has always wanted…kinda.

We all have that one thing—that one thing we wish for on every first star of the night. Wealth. Fame. Love. For geeky artist Patrick Connolly, it is the attention of his beautiful and seemingly unattainable classmate Nualla Galathea. There’s just one problem—he’s got less than a snowball’s chance in hell, and that’s being generous.

However, when a heated argument erupts in the halls of Bayside Academy forcing Patrick and Nualla’s paths to collide, Nualla surprisingly jumps at the opportunity to be his date. Patrick may think his wish has just come true, but this gentle boy will need more than artistic talent to combat the deadly secrets lurking behind his dream girl’s veil of normality. Like the fact that she isn’t even human.

Beautiful Stranger is a Marked Ones novella that is approximately 20,000 words long.

Please comment below and share what you think about this awesome cover!

 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22059563-beautiful-stranger

Beautiful Stranger releasing May 21st!

About the Author

Alicia Kat Vancil grew up in the heart of Silicon Valley where she amused herself by telling stories to anyone around her—her family, her friends...random strangers. Eventually she actually started writing those stories down instead of just spending hours hanging out in fake Ikea living rooms and telling her friends about them. Somewhere amongst all the character-torturing and epic explosions she managed to get a BFA in Illustration from the Academy of Art University and open a graphics studio (Multi-tasking for the win!).

Kat still lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two very crazy studio cats, and nine overfull bookcases. And when not running amuck in the imaginary worlds within her head, Kat can usually be found performing, watching anime, or hanging out in Twitter chats.

Twitter | G+ | Pinterest | Wattpad | Goodreads | Amazon | Website

Cover Reveal – Curse of the Granville Fortune by Kelly Hashway and Giveaway

Ready for this week's Month9 Books reveal? We've got another MG book for you. Definitely a story I'll be picking up when it's available! Want your reveal, launch, or an author interview featured here? Just email me!

 

 

Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

Curse of the Granville Fortune by Kelly Hashway

presented by Month9Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Find the fortune, break the curse!

The hunt is on for an ancient treasure tied to nine-year-old J.B.'s family history. He's been having visions that make him sweaty, lightheaded, and certain he’s turning into some kind of freak—or worse, going insane. But things are worse than he imagined. The visions stem from a family curse. An ancient ancestor was accused of stealing the massive Granville fortune, and now J.B.’s entire family will suffer.

To break the curse, J.B. must find and return the Granville’s stolen property. But he's not the only one searching for the treasure. As he sets out on his journey through a dark and foreboding forest, he'll battle his worst fears and fight terrifying creatures along the way. And when he meets two others who share the missing pieces of his visions and suffer from the same curse, the three soon realize they need to work together to break the curse before it's too late.

Reading is a thing of magic. It has allowed me to enter into worlds I never would have known. I’ve cried, laughed, and been scared right alongside my favorite characters. And my hope is that one day kids will do the same for my characters. I want kids to see that reading is one of the greatest gifts. Luckily, my daughter already agrees with me!

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

 

 

 

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

(Winners will receive their book on release day)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#WritingProcessBlogTour- a blog hop plus #AtoZChallenge Reflections

Today is part of a blog hop. This tour shares an author's writing process and you can follow it back or forward, wherever your heart takes you. My new friend Samantha, whom I met during the Blogging A to Z Challenge last month tagged me. You can visit her blog and Writing Process post here. 

My first thought regarding A to Z is how many new friends I've made. Not only was I tapped by an A to Z contact to participate in this blog hop, I asked a couple people I met during A to Z to continue the discussion. I did follow mostly writing related blogs, but not all. I think I read about ten blogs every single day, tried to do another ten random ones, plus visited and commented on the blogs of every person who commented on mine.

The only way I had time to do that (and I know a few people visited hundreds) was because I pre-wrote most of my posts in 2-3 marathon sessions. That way I could focus on visiting during my available free time.

My last comment is on how much I learned. I learned writing my own grammar posts (and got to reminisce as I dug through old photos too!) But I learned so much on other people's posts. One I loved was on phobias. And serial killers. I also got to read several complete stories that followed the A to Z theme in different ways. Awesome fun! Most of all, a huge thank you to everyone who visited and commented. You made this worth it!

I will definitely participate next year. For now, back to the other purpose of today's post - a blog hop on my writing process. Here are my answers to the questions.

What am I working on?My main focus is on writing the second book in a Middle Grade series. The first book is titled MIGHTY MIKE AND THE INTERGALACTIC CANDY DISPENSER, which I'm querying now. The second book is MIGHTY MIKE SAVES MARS. It's nearly complete, but then, knowing me, I'll spend many months polishing.

I'm also preparing to unshelve my very first manuscript. I shelved it because 1) that's what you do with your first, 2) I needed to improve my writing skills, and 3) the idea grew into a 5 book series that was definitely beyond my writing both technically and from a storytelling ability. I hope now I've improved enough to continue.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?Although I write Fantasy and Science Fiction, I ground things in our current world. I know they're not popular, but I've always loved portal fantasies. Not surprising that's where my first book took me (yes, I'm a panster). But, as I've been told by authors and a couple agent who sadly saw early, awful versions, they were intrigued because our world remains part of the story and actions in the fantasy world affect ours.

My MG sci-fi might be a bit out there, but the world is what you see around you, just with a little alien technology thrown in.

Why do I write what I do?Why? Otherwise I'd lay awake at night imagining the stories and probably not get beyond the first few scenes. This way I get to see how they end!

How does your writing process work? As I mentioned, I'm a panster, but I am trying to do a little planning beforehand on future books. At least a beat sheet type approach to make sure I remember conflict and motivation and stakes. My first book was just an adventure and I showed up at a conference ready for the gushing and found I didn't even have a story!

I do my most consistent writing in the winter. There's just too much to do during the summer. I have horses, I train and compete in endurance. It takes time and I never want to give it up (they'll have to lift me from a wheel chair when I'm 95!) So I've taken advantage of NaNoWriMo to put a lot of words down (oh yes, they are edited, I can't shut my editor off) and then I meet weekly with my in person critique group to go over ten pages at a time. Wonderful experience.

On a more detailed level, I sit with a bottle of water nearby, music blaring (alternative and rock), and a cat draped around my neck. I think she's affecting my posture.  

NEXT WEEK on the blog hop
Eliza Tilton is a YA fantasy and contemporary author published by Curisity Quills. We met at bksp.org when I asked if she wanted to swap critiques. I've enjoyed reading her books and gotten valuable feedback from her, both in critiques and her publishing and marketing experiences. She's got a great blog title Girls PWN.
Amazon / Barnes&Noble / KOBO / Goodreads

Alex Hurst writes primarily character-driven fantasy, in such sub-genres as urban, Gothic, uncanny, and regional fantasy. Sometimes, she dapples in science fiction, horror, and LGBT literature. She also freelances as an editor for the Writers’ Anarchy anthology series, designs book interiors at Country Mouse Design, and admins on the Fiction Writers community on Facebook, assisting emerging writers.

Katie Doyle is an avid reader, writer of Young Adult fiction, a mom to two tornadoes that resemble an eight and five year old, and pet to a tuxedo cat named Oz. If she's not reading, writing, or getting Oz out of a tree, she's staring out the window daydreaming about magic and mythical creatures.
Facebook | Twitter

Beckie Kagan is a fantasy writer and a member of my in-person critique group. I can't say enough about the value of in-person critique groups. She founded ours and also finds those little insights I write right past. She's working on a nicely complex epic fantasy about a woman who doesn't fit in our world finds her place and challenges she loves in another world, including a hot, hot love interest who needs her talents to save his (now her) people. Beckie also designs and creates unique jewelry which you can see on her site.

Endurance ride in Santa Fe New Mexico

As promised, here are some pictures from our last horse event. This is an endurance ride in Santa Fe, NM, held at the Listening Horse Therapeutic Riding Center. It's a fabulous facility that helps riders with disabilities improve balance and other skills by riding horses. They do great work with wounded veterans and are worth supporting if you've got a few extra $$.

We signed up for the 25 mile ride and took our youngsters for their first ride. We also introduced an author friend to the sport on a horse she bought from me, Bahzra (from B day on the A to Z challenge).

I rode Csavannah (day C) and my husband rode Topper (day T). We started last because we didn't want our youngsters to get a taste of race brain with the front runners. That way we could start slow and they never realized the other horses were ahead.



They all did really well handling rocky terrain and a few rutty roads, but otherwise beautiful western, desert scenery. Csavannah got a little excited by the sprinklers making a pst, pst sound on the polo fields and she didn't appreciate having to stand still waiting her turn for the vet. But we made it with about ten minutes to spare. We have 6 hours to complete 25 miles plus a 45 minute hold to let the horses rest and eat in the middle.

We all had a blast! Next we're getting two other horses ready for a 100 miler - which we'll have 24 hours to complete in the beautiful mountains of Colorado.

How do you find time to enjoy your pets? We take our dog on rides when we can, but her hips don't allow her to do as much as she used to. I try to balance Writing and Riding (although I do spend more blog time on the Writing side!)

Cover Reveal - Tracy Tam: Santa Command by Krystalyn Drown and Giveaway

Cute cover and cute story! Let me know what you think! Love seeing an MG book. Want your book featured here, either for a cover reveal or book launch? Just let me know.

 

 

Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

Tracy Tam: Santa Command by Krystalyn Drown

presented by Month9Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Tracy doesn’t believe that Santa can deliver all of those presents in one night with out a little help from science. A flying sleigh can only be powered by jet engines, and Santa’s magical abilities can only be the result of altered DNA. In order to test her theories, she sneaks onto Santa’s sleigh and ends up at Santa Command, the place where a team of humans monitors Santa’s big night. When Tracy attempts to hack into their computers, she accidentally introduces a virus to their system. As a result, three states get knocked out of sync with the rest of the world. Before the night is over, Tracy has to fix time and help Santa finish his deliveries. And she has to do it all with Santa’s magic, which she doesn’t believe exists.

Title: TRACY TAM: SANTA COMMAND
Publication date: October 22, 2014
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Krystalyn Drown

Krystalyn spent thirteen years working at Walt Disney World in a variety of roles: entertainer, talent coordinator, and character captain. Her degree in theatre as well as many, many hours spent in a dance studio, helped with her job there. Her various other day jobs have included working in zoology at Sea World, as an elementary teacher, and currently as a support technician for a website. In the evenings, she does mad writing challenges with her sister, who is also an author. Krystalyn lives near Orlando, Florida with her husband, son, a were cat, and a Yorkie with a Napoleon complex.

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

(Winners will receive their book on release day)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

After #AtoZChallenge - looking for writers!

I completed the A to Z Challenge. This was mostly because I spent 4-5 days crunching them all out (I'd chosen a theme and almost every topic ahead of time). I was out of town two weekend for horse events (pics coming soon!) and in between was spent catching up on everything else. I'd have never made it writing posts one day at a time.

Writing posts ahead also enabled me to spend time visiting and commenting on other posts. I only missed two days, but I still went back and read all my regular blog visits and replied to comments on mine. I had a grand time and made some awesome new friends.

For those of you new to my blog - what do I normally do? This is the first year I've committed to regularly posting, so I'm still developing that, but I love supporting other authors. I've posted author interviews (would love to do more, indie, self-pub and traditional welcome!), cover reveals, and book launches. So if you would like me to post anything about your writing career, just email or comment and we'll go from there.

Congrats to everyone who finished or even gave A to Z the old college try. I hope you all had as much fun as I did.