THE TRAITOR'S TRAP BY BRENDAN MURPHY - BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY

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The Traitor's Trap by Brendan Murphy

It’s tough being a thirteen-year old schoolboy, especially when you’re a coward and the big brother who stuck up for you is dead. Oh, and you’ve been thrust into a magical realm you’re expected to save single-handedly. Sebastian Duffy has to learn an awful lot of skills in a hurry if he is to defeat Phobitor by stealing the Spear of Lugh from the peace-loving Tuath. He’s been given some help of course–a mercurial sorceress, an orphaned druidess, a taciturn warrior, a snuff-sniffing leprechaun and a lovelorn poet– an outfit known as the Hibernauts, but can he really overcome a psychopathic, warmongering god when half the realm is bent on his destruction? If he is to have the remotest chance he will have to do deal with aiia, cluricaun, brigands, woodwose, undead warriors, speckled bats, spies, hunkypunks, traitors, skeletons and battle-swine first. And are those Tuath really so peaceable? If only he could find his courage.

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Excerpt

“Dilly! Finnog!” he shouted, overjoyed as he rushed to greet them.
“Thought as we should say good-bye,” said Addedilli, tears leaping to her eyes.
“Let’s have no nonsense,” urged Finnog, flicking the lid of his snuffbox. “You’ve got to stay strong for him. Not that he needs it. He’s more pluck than any boy I’ve ever met.”
“What’s it to you if I shed a few tears,” she replied, blowing into her handkerchief discreetly. “You should never have married me if you weren’t prepared to comfort me.”
“I’ve never failed to comfort you since the day we were riveted,” rejoined Finnog, taking his snuff with an insouciant air. “Come, mavourneen, time passes.”
“He’s right,” she conceded, fishing something from her reticule. “The King granted us the briefest of audiences. “Here, this is for you. There are cloaks for you all as well.”
Sebastian picked at the small package he was handed. Inside, carefully wrapped, was what he took to be a magnifying glass, a flat piece of glass encased in gold. It had a swivel handle finished in knotwork, which ended in a loop through which a black ribbon ran.
“It’s a quizzing glass,” said Addedilli, as he peered into the plain glass. “It shows people’s true colors. If you ever want to quiz someone’s motive, take a squint through that. You just pop your finger in the loop, swivel it, and raise it to your eye.”

Praise for The Traitor's Trap

An imaginative epic…an intricate and fully realised fantasy world with a big cast of likeable characters that are charming, well drawn and endearing, with wonderfully apt names. The depth and breadth of the author’s high-voltage imagination, and the richness of the world created is very impressive.
~Sam Mills, author of Blackout, The Boys Who Saved the World, and The Quiddity of Will Self

I cannot say just how much I have enjoyed this book ... a very accomplished writer with a wonderfully rich imagination and an incredibly inventive mind. Readers will come to love the many wonderful creations in this novel, it is jam-packed with the most wonderful and inventive characters; new, exciting and beautifully realized. ~Cherry Mosteshar, author of Unveiled: One Woman's Nightmare in Iran

Author Brendan Murphy

Brendan Murphy was raised in Sheffield, England, with dreams of becoming a writer, and has written every day since he was nine years old. After reading medicine in London and psychiatry in Manchester, he moved to Australia in 1999. He is an Associate Professor at Monash University and has written widely on youth mental health. His nonfiction work on the development of football in Victorian society, From Sheffield with Love, was published in 2007. He is contracted to Assent Publishing for his six-book fantasy series, Sebastian and the Hibernauts. The first adventure, Beyond the Gloaming was published in 2014 and the sequel, The Traitor’s Trap, in 2015. He is a columnist for Aontacht magazine. He lives with his wife, Katrina, and their children, Sebastian and Violette, in a sprawling property built for the composer, Dorian Le Gallienne. They share their garden with a mob of kangaroos, a wombat, two possums, any number of creepy crawlies, and some very feisty kookaburras.

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Blog Tour $25 Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 12/28/15

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.


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CLAWS FOR ALARM BY T.C. LOTEMPIO - BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY

Claws for Alarm by T.C. LoTempio

Since inheriting her mother’s sandwich shop, Nora Charles is more about hot grilled paninis than cold-blooded murder—until her sister Lacey is arrested. The victim, an esteemed art collector and Lacey’s bullying professor, was stabbed in the heart. Apparently, all over a lousy grade.

Off campus, things were just as dicey. The prof had an ex with secrets, a trophy wife set to inherit a fortune in masterworks, and a scorned student mistress. Going undercover, Nora realizes that investigating this crime is the biggest test of her sleuthing career. Because if she fails, even Nick’s animal instinct won’t be enough to rescue Lacey from a perfectly executed framing.

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Praise for the Nick and Nora

“Nick and Nora are a winning team.”—Rebecca Hale, New York Times bestselling author of How to Paint a Cat

“Nick and Nora are the purrfect sleuthy duo!”—*Victoria Laurie, New York Times bestselling author of the Psychic Eye Mystery series

EXCERPT 

The area appeared as deserted as a cemetery on Halloween, and twice as eerie. Nick trotted along beside me as we made our way deeper into the warehouse. Suddenly he froze, tail upright, the hairs puffed and fluffed out like a giant fan.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered, even though I knew he couldn’t answer. We stood in silence for a moment, and suddenly I did hear something. A very faint sound, from far away…like a door closing.
“Come on,” I hissed. I lifted my head, sniffed at the air. It smelled pretty stale, but there was another scent, cigarette smoke. I racked my brain, trying to remember if I’d seen either Julia or Samms smoking.
Nick’s tail swished and he pawed at arrows painted on the ground. He trotted ahead of me at a brisk pace, and I fell into step. We followed the painted arrows along a white-tiled hallway down to a door with a shade pulled all the way down. A sign placed hap-hazardly in the window proclaimed it CLOSED.
I tried the door which seemed to be stuck. I looked at the doorframe, which appeared to be less than sturdy, checked it for alarm wires. Seeing none, I raised my leg and gave the door a swift, hard kick. It clicked open an inch, and I pushed it all the way open. We walked into a tiny office not much bigger than a postage stamp. A large metal desk and battered file cabinet took up the majority of the space. Another door at the far end stood part-way open. Nick suddenly tensed, and I saw the hairs on his back rise. His tail fluffed out, and he started to growl, deep in his throat.
I frowned. “What’s wrong? What do you sense?”
Nick reared up on his hind legs and then shot through the partially open door. I had no choice but to follow. The room I now found myself in appeared to be a slightly larger version of the previous office. Nick crouched in front of a large metal desk and as I entered, he shifted his body slightly. I caught a glimpse of two feet, very still, shod in the pair of eggplant Louboutins I’d admired earlier in the evening.
“Oh, crap,” I cried. “Please tell me that’s not what I think it is.” I walked around Nick and peeped around the edge of the desk. I saw a twisted figure in a white raincoat bunched up around shapely legs, a tumble of black hair covering its face, the neck bent at an unnatural angle.
“Shit,” I said.
“MA-ROW!” Nick yowled.
I heard a sound behind me as Nick dived under a nearby chair. My heart started to beat wildly in my chest. The last time he’d pulled something like that I’d been caught next to a dead body and hauled off to the police station. His fat rear had barely wiggled out of sight before the door slammed back and I found myself looking first down the barrel of a .45 and then, as I raised my gaze, at the grim, unsmiling face of Detective Leroy Samms. He looked at me, then at the feet, then back to me again. He lowered his arm, slipped his gun back into his shoulder holster. “Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in.”
I responded almost automatically. “He didn’t drag me. I walked in on my own.”
One eyebrow quirked. “Pardon? It’s an expression, Nora.”
“Oh, sure. I knew that.” The queasy sensation in my stomach was getting stronger, and I really felt like gagging. I started to push past Samms but his strong fingers reached out and encircled my elbow in a grip of steel.
 “No need to run off.”
I pressed my palm against my cheek. “I – I’m not. I just felt a little…squeamish.”

“Of course you do,” he said, still not cracking a smile. “I’ve got some Pepto back at the station. Fix you right up. Then we’re going to have a chat, you and I.” His grip on my elbow tightened.  “Ms. Charles, you’ve got some explaining to do.”

Author T.C. LoTempio

Born in New York City, T. C. LoTempio is the national bestselling author of Meow If It’s Murder, the first in the Nick and Nora Mystery series. She has been a staff reporter at the young adult magazine Susabella Passengers and Friends for more than a decade. When she isn’t reporting or writing novels, she and her cat Rocco fundraise for Nathan Fillion’s charity, Kids Need to Read.

Website * Blog * Twitter * Facebook

Blog Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 12/4/15

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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LORD FENTON'S FOLLY BY JOSI S. KILPACK - BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY

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Lord Fenton's Folly by Josi Kilpack

Lord Fenton is a gambler, a dandy, and a flirt-and he must marry or else he will be disinherited, stripped of his wealth and his position. He chooses Alice Stanbridge for two simple reasons: he once knew her as a young girl, and she is the least objectionable option available to him. However, Alice has harbored feelings for Fenton since their first meeting ten years ago, and she believes his proposal is real. When she discovers it is not, she is embarrassed and hurt. However, a match with the most-eligible bachelor in London would secure not only her future but that of her family as well. Determined to protect herself from making a fool of herself a second time, Alice matches Lord Fenton wit for wit and insult for insult as they move toward a marriage of convenience that is anything but a happy union. Only when faced with family secrets that have shaped Fenton's life does he let down his guard enough to find room in his heart for Alice.

Amazon * Deseret Book

Excerpt

Fenton groaned and put his saucer back on the tray, making an instantaneous decision that eased his mind quite a lot. To look at every woman he met as a potential wife was irritating, and after only two weeks he was quite tired of it. Perhaps the solution was to orchestrate a match that would not lay all aspects of matrimony at his feet all at once. Perhaps treating it as a business arrangement would help it to be exactly that, thereby freeing him from all the discomfiting realities he was not yet prepared to face. "I leave for Fentonview on Tuesday and shan't be back for a week. Courting is such a boring prospect, and you yourself said that to become infatuated with anyone might become a complication." He paused, considered one last time what he was going to say next, and decided he felt as good about it as could be expected. "You like Alice Stanbridge and feel she would make a good wife for me?"

Lady Chariton looked confused and perhaps a bit concerned. "I do, but-"

"Then that is good enough for me," Fenton said, rising to his feet and smiling broadly at his mother, who stared back at him in surprise. "I do find her appealing and what's more she is not a silly little thing without a practical thought in her head."

His mother's eyes widened and her eyebrows rose upon her forehead. Fenton struck a pose of consternation, with his thumb and forefinger on his chin as he looked toward the window a moment, then nodded crisply and turned back to his mother who still looked shocked by his pronouncement.

"Yes, I think that Alice Stanbridge is exactly what I should like in a wife, and so I shall see to it before I leave for Hampshire-I see no reason to wait until Michaelmas and might as well get it over with." He leaned in and kissed his mother's hand. "Thank you for your help, Mama. I shall let you know how she responds to my proposal."

MY REVIEW

Lord Fenton's Folly by Josi S. Kilpack

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this wonderful book in one night!!
Lord Fenton's Folly it's excellent written, the plot goes in a steady pace, I absolutely adore when our Heroine have this timeless love for the reticent Hero and all the twists and turns that make the Lord be aware of his true feelings.
Super clean, with amazing dialogues and great scenes, this Proper Romance will catch your heart for a long time.
Highly Recommended!!
*I received a Free Copy in exchange for an Honest Review*

View all my reviews

Author Josi Kilpack

Josi S. Kilpack hated to read until her mother handed her a copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond when she was 13. From that day forward, she read everything she could get her hands on and credits her writing “education” to the many novels she has “studied” since then. She began writing her first novel in 1998 and never stopped. Sheep's Clothing won the Whitney award for Mystery/Suspense in 207 and Wedding Cake, book twelve in the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery series won in 2014. Josi was also the Best of State winner in Fiction for 2012. Josi currently lives in Willard, Utah, with her husband, children and super-cute - but not very friendly - cat.

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$25 Blog Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon eGift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 10/29/15

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com eGift Card or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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WICKED BLOG TOUR: JULY 1 - 12 ~ CATCHPENNY PART ONE: WICKED LOVER ~ REVIEW + GIVEAWAY

CATCHPENNY

Part One: WICKED LOVER

By SARAH WATHEN

Synopsis

Have you ever wondered about that girl at the edge of the crowd? The one who has dark, bushy hair that hides her eyes while she's reading, but tight shirts that don't even try to hide the size of her breasts?  You've heard the rumors, you know the rude nicknames, and you wonder what she really does when she's not in school. She never comes to parties and she lives in a neighborhood where nice girls never venture. Everyone tries to ignore her...but there is something about her that's impossible to ignore. Especially for the star quarterback, apparently. Because he just asked her to the Homecoming dance, after dumping the head cheerleader.
Catchpenny tells the story from the eyes of "that girl," and Wicked Lover is just the beginning of this coming of age serial novel.  The small town minds of Shirley County have  underestimated  Meg  Shannon  for  too  long.  She’s even more fun than she is trouble…but maybe she has finally met her match.





Excerpt

I opened up Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, the pages blue after letting my closed eyes bake in the sun. I thumbed a few pages forward to see where the chapter ended, not really in the mood for reading, but always more comfortable to have a book in hand at lunchtime.
“Meg?”
He was standing just behind me, his head cocked to one side, looking over my shoulder at the Tolstoy. I gasped—I couldn’t help it.
“Hi, I’m Tristan.”
He was squinting into the sun, and it was hard to tell if he was smiling or frowning.
“Yeah, I know who you are.”
He shaded his eyes and laughed. Didn’t everyone know who he was? He was on the billboard in front of the football field, for god’s sake, his arm cocked back to throw a winning pass. Go Bobcatts!
“What are you reading?” His voice was soft and curious, with the hint of a Southern drawl that you didn’t hear in my neighborhood. High-class molasses. He squinted to read the pages I held open in my lap.
“Uh…” I faltered. The sun shone through his light irises like glass, shocking against his dark hair. His black polo shirt was gathered loosely around one hip, the hand in his pocket pushing it up casually over the waistband of his jeans. A slice of flesh was made visible. He stood in perfect contrapposto, bookbag slung over his shoulder like Michelangelo’s David holding the slingshot. I closed my book and tossed it onto the table, pretending not to notice how his jeans hung, low and delicious on slender hips. “Just something for English Lit.”
“How can you read out here? It’s so bright.”
Because I’d rather read a book than sit alone with no one talking to me. “I heard that people with light eyes have a harder time adjusting to bright light.”
“Really?”
He stepped closer to me, shifting his weight and putting his back to the sunlight. The color of his eyes reminded me of Halls Mentho-Lyptus cough drops after I’d sucked on one for a while and the zing got too strong to keep it in my mouth—icy blue and transparent.
“I don’t want to bother you or anything,” he said, dropping his voice lower, since we were face to face then. He smelled like soap and clean laundry, with something gritty underneath. Something undeniably male.
“No, I—” I cleared my throat. He was even better looking up close. “I’m not busy.”
He glanced back over his shoulder and the group of girls who had been watching suddenly picked up their conversation again, all of them talking at once and fumbling with their lunches. I was waiting with as much anticipation as they had been—why on earth was he talking to me?
“I’ll let you get back to your book, but I just wanted to ask you something.”
“Sure. What’s up?” Those eyes.
“Would you be my date for Homecoming this weekend?”
“Cough drop—” I spluttered.
“Huh?”
I slapped my chest and choked out a cough. “I mean…uh, the dance?”
“Yeah, the dance.”
 “Wait. Don’t you have a girlfriend?” I wasn’t exactly buddies with anyone in the popular crowd at Andrew Jackson, nowhere close. But everyone knew that the star quarterback and the head cheerleader had been together since freshman year. Sugary sweet.
“No. I don’t have a girlfriend.” That smile again, but with an undercurrent in his voice.
The neighboring table had gone silent once more, the bombshell news of Tristan’s single status freezing them all mid-prattle.
“Absolutely.” I grinned over his shoulder—a present for our shocked audience.
“Absolutely, you’ll go with me?”
Did he really think I would say no? The curiosity itself was enough for me to agree.
“Sure. Why not?” I shrugged, like it was nothing to me. Yeah, right.
“Great. Okay, lemme just get your number...” He handed me his phone and I punched my number in, wondering what kind of psychedelic rabbit hole I had accidentally wandered through. Had somebody drugged my orange juice that morning? He took his phone back and saved, whispering, “Meg…Shannon,” as he typed. “Okay. Well, I’ll see you around, then?”
“Yeah, see ya.” I resisted the urge to bite down on my knuckles.
He winked at me and waved over his shoulder as he turned back to the courtyard entrance. His jeans looked even nicer from behind, snug around his well-shaped glutes and muscular thighs. “Bye, Meg.”
“Bye.”
I picked my book up again, refusing to gaze at his retreating form in concert with the other females. A wink, though. What did that mean? Maybe it was just the bright light on his Mentho-Lyptus eyes. I opened Anna Karenina again and pretended to concentrate for the rest of lunch. But I couldn’t read another word.

MY REVIEW

Catchpenny: Wicked Lover by Sarah Wathen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First, I just want to say that I'm feeling really honored for being able to read this short Part One of the Catchpenny serial novel, because Sarah Wathen is an amazing storyteller.
Regardless of that, I'm so mad with the Author!!!!
How you got me hooked into the story using so few words??!! Please, I just need to know, what happens next?
Also, I'd love to have more info about this love story, what are Tristan's true intentions? Is He hiding something? are his feelings real?
I hate you, Sarah Wathen!!
Highly Recommended to all kind of readers
P.S. This is a really short story, but worth it, look for this scene:



*I received a Free copy in exchange for an Honest Review*

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Author Bio

Sarah Wathen is an artist and an author. A painter at heart, she says, “Writing a book was my obvious next step, once I realized I’d been trying to tell stories with pictures for years. Painting with words is even more fun than painting with oil.”  In  2012, she founded the independent publishing house, LayerCake Productions, specializing in the fun part of creative writing, like original artwork, video trailers, and musical soundtracks.  She lives in Florida with her husband, son, and at least a dozen imaginary friends from her novels.  Her characters are derived from the people and places that have influenced her own life, but the stories they live will take you places you have never imagined and won’t want to leave.

Links

Blog: http://sarahwathen.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahLWathen

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SWathen_Author

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13604308.Sarah_Wathen

Tumblr: http://swathen.tumblr.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/sarah.wathen/

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/103590208791708783087

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sarahwathen/

Ebook 

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Merchandise

On-demand T-shirts: http://www.galloree.com/Sarah-Wathen-Apparel-2790.htm

Wicked Lover on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/5QSzzjhxaboo8cJEEPCnM9

DRAWN BY CHRIS LEDBETTER - BLOG TOUR & REVIEW + GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY

Tour Schedule for DRAWN

DRAWN

By Chris Ledbetter

Book Description

Caught between the sweltering fall landscape of Wilmington, NC beaches and southern illusions and expectations, all sixteen year-old Cameron Shade thinks about is art. That, and for Farrah Spangled to view him as more than just a friend. Cameron longs to win her heart through art.

After several warm interactions with Farrah, including painting together at the beach, Cameron discovers just how complex Farrah’s life is with her boyfriend and her family. Following a tense run-in with Farrah’s father, she forbids Cameron to ever speak to her again, but Cameron’s convinced there’s more behind the request.

To impress Farrah with a last-ditch effort, Cameron sketches her portrait. But the sketchbook he uses hides a dark secret. Farrah’s now in grave danger because the sketch he drew of her siphons her real-life’s soul into the sketchbook. Cameron now has twenty days to extract Farrah. To save her, he must draw himself into the book.

If he fails… they both die.

MY REVIEW

Drawn by Chris  Ledbetter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Original, engaging and fast paced.
This book is amazing! The plot is unique, I enjoyed how the Author was able to entwine two worlds in such a magisterial way. the characters are very complex and credible, Cameron is, by far, the most interesting.
The story is fast paced, it grabs you since page one, full of witty dialogues, twists and turns and romance!
I read somewhere, that Drawn is the first YA book of this Author, Wow! Congratulations, because it's a master piece!!!

Highly Recommended for YA/Sci Fi/Romance readers

*I received a Free copy in exchange for an Honest Review*

View all my reviews

GUEST POST

Blending of Romance and Horror

I think the blend of romance and horror is an intriguing one. Moreover, that blend is something I explore in Drawn, even though I hadn’t completely set out to do so. First, I will admit that I’m not usually one to write a story wherein the sole point of the story is romance. There are for more talented authors in the world who focus on that. But every story I write does have an element of romance in a sub-plot. In Drawn, the romance is actually more than a sub-plot, though. It’s more like a parallel plot, intertwined into the darker suspense and action.

Horror and romance seemingly go together like a sweet and salty mixture. The themes play off one another well. Can’t have too much sweet or you’ll get a cavity. Can’t have too much salty or you’ll get bloat and high blood pressure, right. So, a nice balanced mix is not only intriguing, but also compelling. I don’t actually read horror, so I’m also counting danger, suspense, and dark themes alongside horror for this discussion.

There are some dark themes in Drawn that border on horror. I do deal with death and/ or the threat of it. A year before the story opens, Cameron’s mother had succumbed to cancer. Farrah, Cameron’s love interest, had an uncle who died from cancer. Another character dies during the story. And furthermore, the threat of death is constant once the sketchbook becomes involved. But through all of this, a tender romance struggles to bloom between Cameron and Farrah, despite extenuating circumstances and consistent external pressures.

Author's Bio

Chris Ledbetter grew up in Durham, NC before moving to Charlottesville, VA in 11th grade. After high school, he attended Hampton University where he promptly "walked-on" to the best drum line in the CIAA. And, without any prior percussion experience. He carried the bass drum for four years, something his back is not very happy about now.

After a change of heart and major, he enrolled in Old Dominion University and earned his degree in Business Administration. He's worked in various managerial and marketing capacities throughout his life. While teaching high school for six years in Culpeper, VA, he taught business management, business law, marketing, and sports marketing, and also coached football.

He has walked the streets of Los Angeles and New York City, waded in the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and climbed Diamond Head crater on Hawaii and rang in the New Year in Tokyo, Japan. But he dreams of one day visiting Greece and Italy.

He's a proud member of SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) and a strong supporter of the Need for Diverse Books. As a self-described, young reluctant reader, he writes young adult stories specifically to reach other reluctant readers. As a participant in the prestigious Nevada SCBWI Mentor Program, he was blessed to be mentored by Suzanne Morgan Williams, 2012 SCBWI member of the year.

He now lives in Wilmington, NC with his family, including three cats.

Connect with Chris:  Website  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook 

BUY LINKS
Amazon
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GIVEAWAY

​Prizes: ​ Win one of six ebooks of Drawn or one grand prize of one signed print copy of Drawn, a print copy of Leonardo’s Swans and $30 Amazon gift card (open internationally) Ends June 27

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CASTAWAY IN THE CARIBBEAN BY JANICE HORTON - BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY

Castaway in the Caribbean

More fun than you’ll find in any travel brochure…

   

Vacationing on the beautiful Caribbean island of Antigua, Janey Sinclair is persuaded by her magazine editor boss to do a quick island hop in order to supervise an impromptu photo-shoot for the front cover. With no flights immediately available, Janey is directed to the harbour.

Captain Travis Mathews hates tourists, although he’s not above making a bit of money off a prissy and sharp tongued young British girl when she’s desperate to get to the neighbouring island of Tortola.

After striking a deal, they set off together in Travis’s weather-beaten old boat. When the vessel comes to a sudden full stop in the sea, the mismatched pair end up as castaways on an uninhabited island.

In this fast moving romantic adventure about a vacation that turns into a tropical nightmare there’s more fun than you’ll find in any travel brochure.…

  

Message from the Author

I was incredibly fortunate to spend the summer of 2014 in the Caribbean, writing and researching this novel. I found it challenging only in the respect of being continually distracted from the manuscript by the tropical sunshine, the white sand beaches, the warm aquamarine sea, rum cocktails, and the fabulous social scene on offer. Many of these distractions are well documented on my website, blog and Facebook page, if you are interested in reading the details and seeing the photos!

For the purposes of proper research for Castaway in the Caribbean, I travelled to and explored many Caribbean islands and, despite my tendency for sea sickness, I also spent a lot of time in boats. I even got to sail around Tortola, the larger of the British Virgin Islands, in a restored schooner that had been used in the filming of the original Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

The Virgin Islands inspired me with the modern day setting for Castaway in the Caribbean because, of this chain of around 90 small islands, islets, cays and rocks in the Caribbean Sea, many are uninhabited.

I eventually settled down to write this romantic adventure story on the Caribbean island of Utila, the smaller of the Bay Islands, just off the coast of Honduras. Likened to the Key West of long ago, Utila is a quaint, unspoilt and laid-back little island. Sitting on the largest barrier reef in the western hemisphere, it is also a paradise for scuba diving, which is exactly was what my husband was doing every day while I was busy writing this story.

Research is a valuable tool for a writer, so I do hope all the fun and adventure I had in the Caribbean has found its way into the pages of Castaway in the Caribbean.

Janice  xx

Janice Horton writes contemporary romantic fiction with a dash of humour and a sense of adventure. Look out for Janice’s new release for 2015 ‘Castaway in the Caribbean’ and her Amazon Kindle bestselling books 'Bagpipes and Bullshot' and 'Reaching for the Stars' and her fun ‘Voodoo Romance’ series of novellas. Her nonfiction guide to online promotion 'How To Party Online' is recommended reading for all authors and writers by publishers. Janice is a regular blogger from her website at janicehorton.co.uk and you'll also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Janice Horton - writer of romantic adventure novels

My Author Website & Blog at janicehorton.co.uk

Follow me on Twitter: @JaniceHorton

Friend me on Facebook Page

Link to my Amazon Author Page

Check out my page on Goodreads

My LLm Bookshelf

Senior Editor at: Loveahappyending Lifestyle Mag

COMPETITION

Prizes:

1^st Prize Mermaid Necklace (UK only)

2^nd Prize – ecopy of the book (international)

2^nd Prize Shell box (UK only)

3^rd Prize Caribbean spices Necklace (UK only)

 

4^th  Prize  Purse & pen (UK only)

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THE BOXFORD STORIES BY KRISTEN CARSON - BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY

The Boxford Stories by Kristen Carson

'Welcome to the world of the Runyons and the Feldsteds, two Mormon families in 1970s Maryland. Far from their Western American roots, they cling to each other like exiles clutching a precious box of topsoil from the old country.

"In The Boxford Stories you will meet Ada Runyon who always turns to Ruthalin Feldsted when she needs an ear—sharing her deepest confidences, her everyday musings, and her bits of horrified gossip. Yet Ada dies inside whenever Ruthalin’s country-cousin manners poke out in public.

"Latham Runyon, a history professor, and Erval Feldsted, a hospital engineer, bond every Sunday night over gooey desserts and vigorous religious discussion, a game their children call Stump the Rabbi. Underneath their balding heads and graying temples, each man desperately seeks a sign that God would choose him as a buddy.

"The Feldsted and Runyon children, running breathlessly through each other’s houses and backyards, have long considered each other substitute cousins. However, Ginni Runyon plots to change herself from the girl next door to the girl Marc Feldsted can’t live without.

"And when Boxford’s Mormons mix with the rest of the town, everybody could use a field guide to the other species.

"Laugh, cry, and shake your head with the Runyons and Feldsteds as they make their way through the decade that brought us leisure suits and urban decay."

AMAZON

Praise for the book:

"Standouts include “Gypsy Holiday,” in which Ada’s anxiety over family friends not coming to Thanksgiving devolves into a stark admission of her loneliness and inability to connect with outsiders; “A Little Five-Minute Thrown-Together Something,” which lays bare the squirming insecurities of teenage crushes; and “Flirting Lessons,” which sees Ada’s teenage daughter, Ginni, taking a cross-country road trip with two friends that leads to panic when one goes missing. These stories are unexpected in their subtlety as they explore the reality of what it means to be Mormon—and human."
--Kirkus Reviews

“’In an almost Faulknerian way, Carson finds the pulse of ambition and uses that tick to reveal the inner voices that can haunt us all, if allowed. We should be looking to the eternities, of course, but in the meantime, we have so many other things to worry us onward into the night, or at least until the next priesthood interview."

--Association for Mormon Letters on "'Atta Boy" in The Boxford Stories



Author Kristen Carson

"Kristen Carson was born in Idaho, the caboose baby in a family of six girls. She studied at Brigham Young University.

"Hearing tales of how green the grass was elsewhere, she pledged to move east of the 100th Meridian. Even though she’s never lived in the #1 place on her list (Lexington, Kentucky--have you seen those beautiful bluegrass hills?!), she enjoyed her years in Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania. She currently lives in Indiana.

"Kristen’s stories and articles have appeared in The Indianapolis Star, Chicago Parent, Indianapolis Monthly, Dialogue: a Journal of Mormon Thought and Irreantum.

"She and her husband are the parents of four adult children.

"She loves her two cats for their affection, their paranoia and their sense of entitlement. She takes long walks wherever she goes, because she thinks the best way to see the world is at 3 miles an hour. She loves cooking. All the chopping, stirring and inhaling lend the perfect capstone to her day.

"Kristen is also an avid reader. No doubt she won’t live long enough to finish all the books on her list. Her favorite authors are Herman Wouk, Diana Gabaldon and Tom Wolfe.

"Check out her blog, where she writes about whatever she’s reading and cooking.

Website * Facebook * Twitter

$25 Blog Tour Giveaway

Enter to win an Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 5/25/15

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by readinglight.com. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.


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UNSURPRISINGLY COMPLICATED BY CLAUDIA BURGOA - BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY

 Book Title: Unsurprisingly Complicated 

Author: Claudia Burgoa

Publication Date: May 5, 2015

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Follow the Tour: http://tiny.cc/52wxxx

Synopsis

AJ

The lies between my parents and I came to light and now I’m working on a new life for myself. Along the way, I have my trusty superhero, Mason, to lean on when I have a hard time standing or when my crazy ex-boyfriend continues to feel he has a claim on me.

Porter has trouble understanding that there hasn’t been an ‘us’ for more than three years plus all the issues he had brought upon himself. My father was right, drugs do kill. My other concern is the growing feelings I am having regarding Mason. There’s something between us I want to explore but I keep getting mixed signals. Here, I thought that after telling my parents about my lies and having their full support, things wouldn’t be as complicated as they are.

Mason

My parents divorced before I even made my entrance into this world. My father has been obsessed with that love for years while my mother searches for love in all the wrong places. I don’t want a place to call home or a girl I can claim as mine. Except… Ainsley Janine –better known as ‘Nine’—has some special power that makes me question my preferences. The more I try to stay away from her, the more she pulls me closer.

Exploring the possibilities of having something steady in my life isn’t a problem; it’s the long term that worries me. In addition to that, the scumbag she dated years ago keeps popping up everywhere we go. If I could use my license to kill, maybe I can stop worrying about one thing and concentrate on what to do with the green eyed girl who keeps me awake most nights.

Excerpt

I come out of the shower and head to my closet. The second shower in the past two hours. Our romantic second date was running. Some watch movies, others go to galleries, and a few repeat the dinner scene. We went for a jog. Well, we jogged and chatted at Washington Park Arboretum. A great experience, as we had a regular Mason-Ainsley interaction: work, my plans for the school, why I quit the substitute gigs.

I check myself in the full-size mirror while combing my hair. Today, I’m not trying to impress anyone, not even myself. A white tank top, a black maxi skirt, and a pair of flat sandals will have to serve its purpose. I pull my hair into a bun. Today’s a cleaning house and running errands kind of day. There’s a shopping list on my phone that MJ sent over; those two swear I’m their executive assistant. Maybe later, I can head to the farmers market for some fresh fruit for their place and mine. But before I do any of those, I head to the kitchen to grab a snack. But before I reach the kitchen, the bell rings. I walk to the kitchen and check the monitor above the refrigerator. One of the front porch cameras shows Mason’s grainy face; the other camera, his broad shoulders covered by a dark t-shirt.

“In a minute,” I say pressing the intercom button.

“Forgot something?” I question as I swing the door open.

His eyes sweep over my body, from head to bottom and all the way back. That cocky grin appears, but I only see it for a few seconds as Mason’s lips take possession of mine. It’s only a quick taste that leaves my mouth needing more. “This kissing you whenever I want is better than any video game I’ve ever played.”

“You’re such a geek, Mason Bradley.” My voice comes out dreamy because we both know that video games are one of his passions, and my kisses trump that. “Not that I mind you kissing me senseless, but you left twenty minutes ago saying ‘thank you for the best second date’ and I assumed you called it a day.”

“Date number two is over.” He lifts his arm, and I notice he’s holding a grocery bag. “We’re on date number three, Nine. Breakfast time!” His excited voice resonates through the walls.

My spine straightens, and I tilt my head as I stare into his gray eyes. “Three dates in less than twenty-four hours? That’s cheating the system.” In fact, part of yesterday’s conversation replays in my head. The exact words were, ‘I’m leaving later tonight for a job.’ “What happened to that mission you had last night?” I cross my arms, my eyes become two slits and my foot taps on the floor.

“I delegated.” He lifts a shoulder slightly then slumps his entire back. Not sure if he’s being casual about it or regretting it. “Maybe I wanted to accelerate the process when you mentioned that five date rule. However, after you stopped obsessing with having the perfect date and loosened up, I got to enjoy parts of you I’ve never had before.” He gives me a peck on the lips. “Including the physical portion of a relationship. Today I want to spend more time with you.”

Surprising, yet expected. For a guy who doesn’t believe, he’s wooing with his own style. Yet I’ve always known he’s sweet.

Unsurprisingly Complicated

© Claudia Burgoa 2015

Purchase Links

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Other Books in the Series

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Meet the Author

Born on the mystical day of October 30th in the not so mystical lands of Mexico City, Claudia grew up with a childhood that resembled a caffeine-injected soap opera. Seventeen years ago she ventured to the lands of her techie husband—a.k.a. the U.S.—with their offspring to start a new adventure.



She now lives in Colorado working as a CFO for a small IT company, managing her household filled with three confused dogs, said nerd husband, two daughters wrought with fandoms and a son who thinks he’s the boss of the house. To survive she works continually to find purpose for the voices flitting through her head, plus she consumes high quantities of chocolate to keep the last threads of sanity intact.

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