Touching Fate Cover Reveal

Touching Fate
Release Date: 10/13/15
Entangled Teen: Crave

Summary from Goodreads:

Aster Layne believes in physics, not psychics. A tarot card reading on the Ocean City Boardwalk should have been a ridiculous, just-for-fun thing. It wasn’t. Aster discovers she has a veryunscientific gift—with a simple touch of the cards, she can change a person’s fate.

Reese Van Buren is cursed. Like the kind of old-school, centuries-old curse that runs in royal families. Every firstborn son is doomed to die on his eighteenth birthday—and Reese’s is coming up fast. Bummer. He tries to distract himself from his inevitable death…only to find the one person who can save him.

Aster doesn’t know that the hot Dutch guy she’s just met needs her help–or that he’s about to die.

But worst of all…she doesn’t know that her new gift comes with dark, dark consequences that can harm everyone she loves.

About the Author

Brenda Drake, the youngest of three children, grew up an Air Force brat and the continual new kid at schooluntil her family settled in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Brenda’s fondest memories growing up is of hereccentric, Irish grandmother’s animated tales, which gave her a strong love for storytelling. So it was onlyfitting that she would choose to write young adult and middle grade novels with a bend toward thefantastical. When Brenda’s not writing or doing the social media thing, she’s haunting libraries, bookstores,and coffee shops or reading someplace quiet and not at all exotic (much to her disappointment).

 
Author Links:
 photo iconwebsite-32x32_zps1f477f69.png  photo icongoodreads32_zps60f83491.png  photo icontwitter-32x32_zpsae13e2b2.png  photo iconfacebook-32x32_zps64a79d4a.png

Cover Reveal Organized by:
download

Pretty Enough For You Promo

Lone Star Literary Life Blog Tours
presents
 
PRETTY ENOUGH FOR YOU
by Cliff Hudder
 

Ne’er-do-well immigration attorney Harrison Bent can’t imagine why the wealthy and mysterious Maggie Leudecke wants him to solve her eminent domain problem.  If he didn’t have an angry wife to placate, an inscrutable stalker to identify, an obsessed girlfriend to escape, and a murder to solve, a successful outcome to the Leudecke case might revive his career, pay for his autistic son’s special school, and—most important of all—help convince his young paralegal, Chloe, that the afternoon she spent with him in a cheap motel wasn’t an error in judgment, but the beginning of something profound.

If only he had some clue as to what he was doing …  

Praise for PRETTY ENOUGH FOR YOU

I can think of no one writing today who has so beautifully put into vital relationship officious history and literary fiction with such provocative and thoroughly entertaining results. This is a stunning debut by a master storyteller.”  — Wendell Mayo, author of Centaur of the North, In Lithuanian Wood, and B Horror and Other Stories

“I don’t recall many historical novellas or novels abounding in comedy. Another distinctive technique is the pseudo-footnotes. They remind me of Nabokov’s footnotes in Pale Fire.” — Robert Phillips, author of Spinach Days, News About People You Know.


From the book: I know myself. That’s the good news. That’s also the bad news. For example, I knew I was not equipped to deal with the Leudecke case. I also knew I wouldn’t turn it down or hand it off to somebody better suited. But, seriously, what background did I have in eminent domain?  Or with Mexican drug dealers?  Or dead Mexican drug dealers?  None. And I knew it.

 

CLIFF HUDDER earned an MFA in Fiction Writing from the University of Houston. His work has received the Barthelme and Michener Awards, the Peden Prize, and the Short Story Award from the Texas Institute of Letters.  His novella, Splinterville, won the 2007 Texas Review Fiction Award.  He teaches English at Lone Star College-Montgomery and lives in Conroe, Texas.


Author Website: www.cliffhudder.com


Purchase Links: 

Amazon | Texas A&M Press | B&N | Texas Review Press Catalog

The Page Unbound is mainly a YA blog website, however we do participate in promoting non-YA selections by our Texas Authors.  If you are interested in Pretty Enough For You be sure to check out other websites participating in this tour!

Tour Schedule:

July 30 – TexasBookLover – Promo Post

July 31 –  All For the Love of the Word – promo post + giveaway

August 1 – Texas Book-aholic – Promo post special

August 2 – Blogging for the Love of Authors and Their Booksreview

August 3 – The Crazy Bookseller – Promo Post Special

August 4 – A Novel Reality – review

August 5 – Bookishjessp – review

August 6Because This is My Life, Y’all – Promo Post Special

August 7The Page Unbound – Promo Post

August 8Books and Broomsticks – Promo Post + Author Interview


Blog Tour Organized by: 
http://www.lonestarliterary.com
 

 

T4T: Of Breakable Things and Praefatio Book Blitz and Giveaway

unnamed

Welcome to this week’s Two for Thursday Book Blitz #T4T
presented by Month9books/Tantrum Books!

Today, we will be showcasing two titles that may tickle your fancy,
and we’ll share what readers have to say about these titles!

You just might find your next read!

This week, #T4T presents to you:

Of Breakable Things by A. Lynden Rolland and
Praefatio by Georgia McBride

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

cover_V1

A captivating debut about the fragility of life, love, and perspective.

When Chase dies tragically, Alex embraces her own mortality. What she didn’t expect was that she’d have to make a choice: forget the years of pain and suffering once and for all, or linger as a spirit and get another chance at life and love.

Alex doesn’t hesitate to choose; she’d follow Chase anywhere. But the spirit world is nothing like she expected, and Alex finds she’s forced to fight for her life once more. For even in a world where secrets are buried much deeper than six feet under, a legacy can continue to haunt you—and in a place this dangerous, no one is resting in peace.

add to goodreads

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Chapters | BAM | Indiebound | TBD | Google Play | iBooks


WHAT READER’S ARE SAYING:

“The final chapters had me at the edge of my seat!”Victoria – Goodreads Reviewer


“Of Breakable Things is a story of hurt, raw emotions, love, and incredible strength of mind and soul.”
Bèbè – Spiced Latte Reads


“The ending itself was so intense and action packed I really wish there was more of that throughout the book!”
Ang – Ang is Good with Books

About-the-Author

A. Lynden Rolland

A. Lynden Rolland was born and raised in a picturesque town obsessed with boats and blue crabs. She has always been intrigued by the dramatic and the broken, compiling her eccentric tales of tragic characters in a weathered notebook she began to carry in grade school. She is a sports fanatic, a coffee addict, and a lover of Sauvignon Blanc and thunderstorms. When she isn’t hunched behind a laptop at her local bookstore, she can be found chasing her two vivacious children. She resides in Maryland with her husband and young sons.

Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Tumblr | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube

Praefatio-Cover

Seventeen-year-old Grace Ann Miller is no ordinary runaway…

After having been missing for weeks, Grace is found on the estate of international rock star Gavin Vault, half-dressed and yelling for help. Over the course of twenty-four hours Grace holds an entire police force captive with incredulous tales of angels, demons, and war; intent on saving Gavin from lockup and her family from worry over her safety.

Authorities believe that Grace is ill, suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, the victim of assault and a severely fractured mind. Undeterred, Grace reveals the secret existence of dark angels on earth, an ancient prophecy and a wretched curse steeped in Biblical myth. Grace’s claims set into motion an ages-old war, resulting in blood, death and the loss of everything that matters. But are these the delusions of an immensely sick girl, or could Grace’s story actually be true?

Praefatio is Grace’s account of weeks on the run, falling in love and losing everything but her faith. When it’s sister against brother, light versus darkness, corrupt police officers, eager doctors and accusing journalists, against one girl with nothing but her word as proof: who do you believe?

add to goodreads

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Chapters | BAM | Indiebound | TBD | Google Play | iBooks

WHAT READER’S ARE SAYING:

“With Praefatio, Georgia McBride proves that you can take any genre to a higher level. This is teen fantasy at its most entertaining, most heartbreaking, most compelling. Highly recommended.”Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author.


“This story kicks ass. No joke, all nepotism aside, I’m an angel convert after having read Praefatio. This proves my theory, by the way, that if a story is written well it can reach across the aisle and grab even the most cynical or perhaps reluctant reader.”
Caroline – Author


“An intense, but powerful young adult fantasy that you utterly become immersed in from the moment you start reading it.”
– Grace – Books of Love

About-the-Author

Georgia McBride

Georgia loves a good story. Whether it’s writing her own, or publishing someone else’s, story is at the heart of everything Georgia does. Founder of Month9Books, YALITCHAT.ORG and the weekly #yalitchat on Twitter, Georgia spends most of her days writing, editing, or talking about books. That is, of course, when she is not blasting really loud music or reading. She lives in North Carolina with four dogs, a frog, a parrot, 2 kids, parents and a husband. PRAEFATIO is her first novel.


Author Links:
Website | Twitter | Facebook

Giveaway


Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Falling for Shakespeare Cover Reveal

Falling for Shakespeare large
Falling
for Shakespeare by Erin Butler
Published by: Swoon Romance
Publication date: September 8th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Book Summary:

Katie thought she knew where her life was going. She was dating the captain of the football team, had a BFF for life, and everyone at school wanted to be her. But then her pregnant teen sister’s pregnancy changes all that. Everyone dumps her, including her friends and boyfriend.

Hey, Katie, welcome to life at the bottom of the high school food chain. This is how the other half lives.

Then there’s Nick. He’s a straight-A student and self-professed geek who’s had a thing for her since middle school. He needs a date for the winter formal, and Katie needs something to keep her busy. Nick’s plight becomes her personal pet project. She will help him get over his insecurities and get a date. Besides, she was popular once. She knows how to get dates.

But Nick has other plans. He’s going to use these “dating” lessons as a way to win Katie’s heart.

add to goodreads black
About the Author:

Erin Butler is lucky enough to have two jobs she truly loves. As a librarian, she gets to work with books all day long, and as an author, Erin uses her active imagination to write the kinds of books she loves to read. Young Adult and New Adult books are her favorites, but she especially fangirls over a sigh-worthy romance.

She lives in Central New York with her very understanding husband, a stepson, and doggie BFF, Maxie. Preferring to spend her time indoors reading or writing, she’ll only willingly go outside for chocolate and sunshine–in that order.

Erin is the author of BLOOD HEX, a YA paranormal novel, HOW WE LIVED, a contemporary NA novel, and the forthcoming YA contemporary romance title, FINDING MR. DARCY: HIGH SCHOOL EDITION. Find out more about her atwww.erinbutlerbooks.com or @ErinButler on Twitter!

Author Links:

Cover Reveal Organized by:

ButtonXBT

 

Under Different Stars Teaser

19504931

Under Different Stars (Kricket #1)

by Amy A. Bartol (Goodreads Author)

Book Synopsis(Goodreads):

Kricket Hollowell is normally not one to wish upon stars; she believes they’re rarely in her favor. Well versed at dodging caseworkers from Chicago’s foster care system, the past few years on her own have made Kricket an expert at the art of survival and blending in. With her 18th birthday fast approaching, she dreams of the day when she can stop running and find what her heart needs most: a home.

Trey Allairis hates Earth and doubts that anyone from his world can thrive here. What he’s learning of Kricket and her existence away from her true home only confirms his theory. But, when he and Kricket lie together under the stars of Ethar, counting them all may be easier than letting her go.

Kyon Ensin’s secrets number the stars; he knows more about Kricket’s gifts than anyone and plans to possess her because of them. He also knows she’s more valuable than any fire in the night sky. He’ll move the heavens and align them all in order to make her his own.

When everything in their world can be broken, will Kricket rely upon love to save her under different stars?

Quote 1:

“I’m used to holding on to nothing as tight as I can.”
Amy A. Bartol, Under Different Stars

Quote 2:

“You cannot thrive under the wrong stars, Kricket… the stars here are in opposition to you… can’t you feel it?… Let us take you home.”
Amy A. Bartol, Under Different Stars

Quote 3:

“I told him that when we first met… I felt like a butterfly trapped in a net. But… I told him that the more time I spent with him, the more I began to realize how much he means to me I told him that since it seems to be my destiny to dodge raindrops… I was grateful to be dodging them with him. So, I promised him that it would always be his name on my mind when I start my rotation… and when I go to bed each evening… and every quiet moment in between. It will be his name… savored on my lips… stretched across my heart… worshipped by my body… and branded in my mind… until death do us part… and forever after that.”
Amy A. Bartol, Under Different Stars

Silverwood Book Blitz

SilverwoodBlitzBanner2

Silverwood by Betsy Streeter
(Silverwood #1)
Publication date: March 15th 2015
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Synopsis

A story of finding where you belong, even if it involves time travel, shape shifting, and hacking.

Helen Silverwood, fourteen, is sick of life on the run with her mom and her younger brother. Nothing makes sense. She doesn’t understand why she has recurring dreams of shape-shifting creatures, why her mother is always disappearing, and how her brother can draw things that haven’t happened yet. Most of all, Helen longs to know what happened to her dad—is he imprisoned, a fugitive, or gone forever?

When someone blows up the apartment where Helen lives, the stories of the ancient Silverwood clan—and her role in it—begin to unravel. All Helen wants is to feel like there’s someplace she belongs—but getting there will prove very, very complicated.

unnamed

add to goodreads black

Book trailer
new_youtube_logo
Purchase Links

 

Book Excerpt

TROMINDOX

A young couple stumbles out the back door of a nightclub into a narrow alleyway that would look a whole lot worse in the daytime. Distant streetlights reveal a hint of the garbage strewn around, and the shadows mask the dilapidated state of the surrounding buildings. The door itself sits in the mouth of a giant, cartoonlike face spray painted on the wall.

Deafening music and red-orange light shoots out the door while it is open, bouncing off the alley walls, and muffles again as the door closes to just a crack. There is no knob on the outside of the door; someone has wedged in a piece of wood to hold it open.

The couple start out laughing and joking, leaning on each other – their shape is all skinny jeans and mohawks mixed with the glint of jewelry – but shortly their voices turn more argumentative. Maybe someone committed an offense, perhaps there’s a breakup in progress. Soon the young woman breaks away from her date, pries open the door, and storms back into the club. Loud music and lights again, muffled and dark again. The young man leans his back against the wall, his arms crossed in anger. He needs a minute to collect himself.

A lone figure comes down the alley. Unusually tall, dressed in a dark coat, crushing garbage under its motorcycle boots. Lit from behind by the street lights, it resembles a shadow that has come loose from the wall. The young man is too distracted with replaying the conversation of a few minutes ago in his head, trying to figure out what he said wrong, to notice that the figure has come within a few feet of him.

“You know you really ought not to be out here at this late hour,” the figure says.

The young man jumps, then regains himself. “Yeah, whatever.” Who is this guy telling him what to do. The only people who go out back by themselves are the ones who want to be, by themselves.

Before the young man can add anything – like a string of expletives – a needle-like protrusion shoots out from the figure’s forearm and directly into the young man’s abdomen.

The young man freezes, stares straight ahead, then looks his assailant in the face. It’s a pale face, the face of a Tromindox that has not fed in some time. The victim tries to push off from the wall, but the venom deadens his arms and legs. He slides downward into a sitting position. His skin turns black, his spiky hair becomes a mass of tentacles.

Soon there is nothing left of him but a terrified pair of eyes in a puddle of writhing black.

The Tromindox reels in its prey, like a glob of oil pulling in a wayward drop.

Satisfied that it has the upper hand, the creature takes on a more humanlike form, turns and shuffles away. It is already buzzing with energy from all of these new thoughts.

The door scrapes open again, the bright light temporarily blocked by a fat man in an undershirt heaving a huge bag of garbage into the trash bin. He takes a quick look up and down the alley, wipes his hands on his pants, and goes back in.

Later, the young woman will come back out and see that her date has left. She will take this as a sign that they have broken up, and will not call him for a week. It won’t be until he has missed several days at work that someone will unlock his untouched apartment, see that no one has been there, and file a missing persons report.

About the Author

Betsy Streeter grew up on a steady diet of Star Trek, The Muppet Show, Atari, and musical rehearsals in her family’s living room. Her habits of making up stories and drawing and painting on everything within reach eventually led to degrees in art and communication from Stanford University. She has worked in film and video production, design, and video games, and has served as president of a community theatre. She and her family are voracious consumers of books, music, movies, art, action figures, and musical instruments, resulting in inadequate storage space. Betsy has published single-panel cartoons, comics, art, and short fiction in paper, digital, graffiti, and tattoo form. She lives in Northern California with her husband, son, daughter, two peculiar and disruptive cats, and a mellow but hungry tarantula.

Author Links

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Light Messages

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz Organized By

ButtonXBT//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

To Know Me Series Blitz

ToKnowMeBlitzBanner

Book Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Mae is convinced that the consequences of her poor decisions have caused the untimely deaths of three close family members within a year, no matter how ludicrous her thoughts seem to those she loves. The solution? Run away so no one else she cares for gets hurt.

Despite Mae’s efforts to blend in at a new high school just long enough to graduate, she meets Ty, the “perfect guy” with his own secrets and a relentless interest in her. She must decide if she can stop running from the past and still protect those she loves; and if she does return home, whether Ty is really the right person to protect her fragile heart.

Complete 4 Book Series:

To Know Me
To Love Me
To Forgive Me
To Choose Me

**To Know Me is an upper YA-New Adult Romance Series, not intended for younger readers.**

ToKnowMe

To Know Me by Marcy Blesy
(To Know Me #1-4)
Publication date: July 13th 2014
Genres: Romance, Young Adult

add to goodreads black

Purchase:
Book Excerpt:

“Is this for me?” I ask as Ty stands in the center of the clearing with a yellow rose in one hand.

“No. It’s for that grandma who’ll be passing this area in about ten minutes. I’m just practicing my delivery.” He’s so cute when he’s being sarcastic. I take the rose. In an instant I am shocked back to the day of Laura’s funeral. Everyone in her sixth grade glass brought roses to the cemetery to lay upon her grave, yellow ones, her favorite color. “Why aren’t you smiling?” Ty asks. “Did I do something wrong?”

“N…no.”

“Your hand is shaking,” he says coming over to my side. “Sit down.” He points to the picnic table. “Mae, if you don’t tell me anything I won’t ever be able to help you. I want to help you. I know what it’s like to need help. There’s a lot you don’t know about me, too. And I’m willing to tell you. It’s weird because I hardly know anything about you, but I feel like we’re a lot alike.”

“We’re nothing alike,” I say. I want to tell him. But if I do? Then what? He won’t understand. No one does.

“Is yellow not a good color for brunettes?” he jokes. I can’t help but smile. He takes the rose, breaks off the stem, and tucks it behind my ear. He leans in to smell the rose and kisses my cheek. Only the crunching of sticks from the older couple on the path stops him from reaching my lips.

About the Author:

Marcy Blesy is the author of several middle grade and young adult novels and short stories. Her picture book, Am I Like My Daddy?, helps children who experienced the loss of a parent when they were much younger. She has also been published in two Chicken Soup for the Soul books as well as various newspapers and magazines. By day she runs an elementary school library and enjoys spending time with her husband and two boys.

Marcy is a believer in love and enjoys nothing more than making her readers feel a book more than simply reading it. She likes to connect with her readers via email (mablesy(at)yahoo.com).

Author Links:
Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz Organized by

ButtonXBT//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Timekeeper Rising Book Blitz and Giveaway

TimekeeperRisingBlitzBanner

Book Synopsis(Goodreads):

Fifty years ago, the sky cried acid and the earth vomited poison, all due to human destruction. Desperate for a savior, the people called out to the Shunned, a group of Fallen angels on Earth, and allowed them to take over. Now the Shunned rule with unspeakable cruelty, manipulating and torturing the humans in every possible way. Marked for death, Iris Ankea will do anything to end their tyranny and rescue her brother and best friend from their clutches. When she learns that she is God’s chosen Timekeeper and has the power to defeat the Shunned, she sets out with the only man who can help her, the one she thinks just might kill her. With a prophecy about her drawing ever near, Iris must race against time to discover her powers before the world, and her life, end. Can Iris force herself to embrace her role and sacrifice herself to save everyone she loves, or will she lose it all?

25459606
Timekeeper Rising by Allyssa Painter
Publication date: August 1st 2015
Genres: Dystopia, Fantasy, Young Adult

add to goodreads black

Purchase Links
Amazon
| Barnes & Noble
Smashwords | Signed Copies

Book Excerpt:

“Look, if someone can sense your aura, they can trace you. If they can trace you, you’re dead. You cannot be traceable.”

Iris barely flinched as he dropped down beside her, glancing around cautiously, checking for threats. She had held her dagger in her hand, occasionally twirling it through her fingers, since he joined her at the edge of the forest. “I already am, though, aren’t I? You signed my death warrant yourself.”

Once more, Sage Atroxé sighed. “I came because I was ordered to. That doesn’t mean I agree with my orders. Have I killed you yet? I believe you can help us. However, more than likely, if you don’t die, I do. That’s not to say I’ll kill you. I just… It’s not like I just came here to kill you without even batting an eyelash. This isn’t a simple decision.”

Iris nodded. No fear, no worry flooded her features. She smiled. “Let’s make a deal. I’m headed to the Shunned to… Well, to kick some butt and save my loved ones. After I do that, kill me. Let me save the people The Shunned stole from me. Let me help your people. Then save your life.”

Sage shook his head in a melancholy manner. “Unfortunately, even if I did choose to murder you, it would only hurt us. I told you, you are special. We need you.”

She shook her head. “No, I need you to help me save Daniel, among others. You need me to die at your hand. That’s it. Deal?” Iris didn’t know how much Sage knew about her life or her family, but if he didn’t know about Zander, she didn’t want him to. Zander was powerful in his own right, and important. Iris was sure Sage already knew about Daniel, but she wasn’t sure about Zander and she had no interest in giving him any more ammunition against her than he already had.

“Why? Why would you just allow me to kill you?” Sage wondered aloud.

Iris chewed her lip, standing. “Because, I believe in your cause. You need to beat them. You, Sage, no one else. You must beat them.” She paused. He said nothing but appeared slightly sick. “Because Sage, I’ve Seen it,” she said, and started on her way out of town, tossing a bag over her shoulder as she did.

teaser3

Trailer Link

Author Interview – All About That Book

Who inspires you to write?

I don’t know that anyone actually inspires me to write. I write because I love it. But inspirations as far as working so hard on other book-related things: Jennifer Anne Davis (Author of the True Reign Series, The Voice, The Power to See, and her new book, Cage of Deceit); Kiera Cass (Author of the Selection Series and the Siren); and Maggie Stiefvater (Author of the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, Scorpio Races, the Raven Cycle, and more). There are plenty of authors I admire, but these are my main three that inspire me to keep working hard. Outside of authors, my family and my close friends are invaluable. I have a wonderful support system that encourages me every step of the way.

How do you write/plan/develop characters?

I don’t? That sounds crazy, but it’s kind of true. I am not a planner, not with my books. I just… write. A story just appears in my head and I just record it. Most of the time, I learn what’s happening at the same time in the book as a reader. I experience things like a reader would, because I have no idea what’s going to happen. I just write the story as is progresses. And truthfully, this is why I love to write. Writing is just another way for me to discover a story and experience things I otherwise wouldn’t. So, the characters are kind of already developed. Sometimes, I will stop and say, “But why is Iris doing that?” or “Hold up, I’m not clear on how Sage is feeling.” And I guess you could call that character development. But as for having notecards, timelines, binders full of notes, etc. like other authors? Nope. I just don’t use them. I’m sure they’re incredibly helpful. But I can’t write that way. So I don’t.

What’s your take on killing characters? Do we need to be worried reading your book?

I’m going to quote one of my famous authors here. “I don’t kill characters. They just die!” (Kiera Cass). Like I just said, I don’t plan out stories. I just write them the way the characters tell me to. Because of that, I have no control over who dies and who lives. I just record it. So, do you need to be worried? No? I mean, this is a dystopian society with a war brewing. People die. But it’s not like Game of Thrones or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about.

Can you give us an inside look at how your cover came to be?

I irritated the life out of my husband. I had an idea in my head of what I wanted and my husband is an artist (not professionally, but he’s pretty good at art). I looked at cover designers, but I couldn’t find someone I really wanted to work with whose prices I could afford. So I asked (and maybe begged) my husband to make it for me. I explained what I wanted. I wanted a dystopian city background with an hourglass crushing a clock. But not just any clock. A very elaborate, specific looking clock. So, he did the best he could with what we had to work with. And I hated it. It was pretty similar to my vision, but that just showed me how horrible my vision was. I decided I wanted it a little less busy, simpler. So we said, how about an hourglass and some nice outdoorsy background. I think we started with a storm, so we looked and I found plenty I loved, but then I thought, “Wait. Most of this story takes part in forests.” And so he found the background you see in the cover. Then he went through and edited it various ways. He probably emailed me at least 10 different versions with the same basic elements, just little changes. And eventually, he created the one that I fell in love with and chose.

What’s your research process look like?

It looks like the watch list for the FBI and NSA. For the Timekeeper Duo, I researched various types of weapons and fighting, the effects of acid (not drugs, but actual chemical acid) on your skin/clothes/etc. and how to treat it, various herbs, caverns in the eastern US, how quickly a corpse deteriorates with exposure and acid rain, various torture techniques (I think), etc. I’m sure someone out there is now watching me thinking I plan to kill people.

Where did you get the idea for Timekeeper Rising?

A conversation in my high school sociology class with Mr. Throckmorton. We were getting ready to leave and several of us fell into a conversation about what it would be like to watch our lives tick away and to know how every decision we made affected the time we had left. And that became my idea/plot/basis for The Timekeeper, which became The Timekeeper Duo (Timekeeper Rising and Book 2, Timekeeper Falling). It obviously evolved to where that is actually not the main point by any standards, but it is still prevalent. So thanks Throck!

What’s next on your agenda?

Now that Timekeeper Rising has released, I’m turning my focus to Timekeeper Falling, the second in the Duo. I’ve already finished writing it and editing it, but I’m still working on making it perfect. I still need critique partners and beta readers to go through it. And then I need to start working on publishing it. I’m also working on writing a new series, but I’m at the beginning stages of it, so there’s not much I can tell you about it. I don’t even know much about it yet! But if you follow my blog or newsletter, I’ll be sure to let you know about it as soon as I can.

What advice would you give aspiring authors?

Don’t give up. I know it’s kind of cliché, but seriously. Being an author isn’t easy. It’s not just writing a book. You have to edit/revise/etc. that book, design a cover or hire someone to do so, format the book, make a webpage and various social media accounts, organize a blog tour, and more. It’s not easy and, though this is my release week for my first novel, I know it doesn’t stop when the book releases. Not by a long shot. It’s not easy, but if you really want it, don’t give up. Don’t let someone convince you that you’re not good enough, strong enough, old enough, etc. If you really want it, fight for it. It might take some time, but eventually, you’ll make it.

About the Author:

Allyssa Painter is the author of Timekeeper Rising, the first in the Timekeeper Duo. She graduated from Sissonville High School and attends Concord University for elementary and special education. She dreams of becoming an elementary teacher and continuing to touch the world around her through the novels she writes. In her free time, she enjoys reading fantastical adventures, spending time with her family, and capturing the world around her in photography and writing.

Author Links:

Website / Facebook /Twitter /Word Press /Goodreads

GIVEAWAY:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz and Giveaway Organized by:

ButtonXBT//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Friday Reveal: Author Spotlight – Charles Curtis with Giveaway

M9B-Friday-Reveal Banner

Welcome to this week’s M9B Friday Reveal!

This week, we are spotlighting

Charles Curtis

author of

Strange Country Days

a Middle Grade title from Tantrum Books, coming August 2015!

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

Charles Curtis

Twitter or Facebook?
I use both, but I’m plugged into Twitter every day for eight hours (I swear, it’s for my job as a sportswriter! – http://connect.nj.com/staff/CharlesCurtis/posts.html).


Favorite Superhero?

I was hooked on Wolverine as a kid. Who doesn’t love a sarcastic hero with a murky origin tale, claws and all the best one-liners?


Favorite TV show?

Current: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. All-Time: Seinfeld. Guilty Pleasure: Food Network Star


Sweet or Salty?

I will eat something sweet like a peanut butter cup and follow it up with a salty snack. It’s a yin/yang thing I started doing as a teenager.


Coke or Pepsi?

Coke and it’s not even close.


Any Phobias?

Three words: Big hairy spiders.


Song you can’t get enough of right now?

I just discovered an artist named Jacob Collier who does these incredible, mostly a cappella arrangements of songs and I’m hooked on his take on the jazz standard “Fascinating Rhythm.” Amazing! [link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K28H04Y2IdE%5D


What are you reading right now or what’s on your TBR?

I just started “The Maze Runner” and plan on reading Andy Weir’s “The Martian” next.


Fall Movie you’re most looking forward to?

I’ve watched the Star Wars trailers about 80 times each and geek out. Every. Single. Time.

Charles Curtis is a writer and journalist based in New York City. He has reported and written for publications including NJ.com (where he is currently the site’s sports buzz reporter), The Daily, ESPN.com, ESPN the Magazine, Bleacher Report, TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly. Charles has covered the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, golf, tennis and NASCAR. He has also written about television, film and pop culture.
In addition, Curtis has also written, produced and was featured in videos for ESPN.com and The Daily. He has made radio appearances on stations including 92.9 The Ticket in Bangor, Maine, WLIE 540 AM in Long Island and on morning shows across Canada via the CBC.
He can be reached on Twitter: @charlescurtis82.

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

Strange-Country-Day-Cover

Alexander Graham Ptuiac, the son of an inventor, wants to play for the school’s football team. During tryouts, and under the watchful eye of the team’s coach, he suddenly manifests mysterious superhuman powers. Alexander makes the team, but not before the some ill-intended adults take notice, putting his life in danger.

Alex struggles to suppress and control his strange new abilities, worried about exposing his secret and being kicked off the football team. Then he befriends Dex, a diminutive classmate who can somehow jump as high as ten feet in the air. Seems Alex isn’t the only one at school with a secret.

As the school year unfolds, Alex will find himself the target of bullies, holding hands with his first crush and discovering the shocking truth about himself and his parents.

add to goodreads

Amazon | B&N | BAM | Chapters | Kobo | TBD | iBooks

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Button

T4T: Boneseeker and Endless Book Blitz

unnamed

Welcome to this week’s Two for Thursday Book Blitz #T4T
presented by Month9books/Tantrum Books!

Today, we will be showcasing two titles that may tickle your fancy,
and we’ll share what readers have to say about these titles!

You just might find your next read!

This week, #T4T presents to you:

Boneseeker by Brynn Chapman and
Endless by Amanda Gray

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

unnamed (1)

Arabella Holmes was born different and raised different. After it became apparent she wouldn’t fit the role of a proper 1900′s lady, her father, Sherlock, called in some lingering favors, and landed her a position at the Mutter Museum. The museum was Arabella’s dream; she was to become a purveyor of abnormal science. What her father called a BoneSeeker.

Henry Watson arrives at the Mutter Museum with a double assignment–to become a finder of abnormal antiquities and to watch over and keep Arabella Holmes. An easy task, if he could only get her to speak to him instead of throwing knives in his general direction.

But this is no time for child’s play. The two teens are assigned to a most secret exploration, when the hand of a Nephilim is unearthed in upstate New York. Soon, Arabella and Henry are caught in a fight for their lives as scientific debate swirls around them. Are the bones from a Neanderthal … or are they living proof of fallen angels, who supposedly mated with humans according to ancient scrolls?

Sent to recover the skeleton, they discover they are the second team to have been deployed and the entire first team is dead. And now they must trust their instincts and rely on one another in order to survive and uncover the truth.

add to goodreads black

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Chapters | TBD | IndieBound | iBooks | Google Play | BAM

What Reader’s Are Saying:

For the love of all things Sherlock!  I loved this book to bits. I  felt like I was seeing old friends.” – Kristie, Lost in Ever After

 “Boneseeker is one that fans of historical mysteries and a little bit romance along the way will enjoy.”JeneaReviewer

 “A fab idea to take Holmes and Watson to the next generation and to have them on a kind of steampunk/ science adventure” – Nicky Peacock, Author

 

about-the-author

Born and raised in western Pennsylvania, Brynn Chapman is the daughter of two teachers. Her writing reflects her passions: science, history and love—not necessarily in that order. In real life, the geek gene runs strong in her family, as does the Asperger’s syndrome. Her writing reflects her experience as a pediatric therapist and her interactions with society’s downtrodden. In fiction, she’s a strong believer in underdogs and happily-ever-afters. She also writes non-fiction and lectures on the subjects of autism and sensory integration and is a medical contributor to online journal The Age of Autism.

Author Links: 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest

 

Endless_Cover

IN A RACE AGAINST TIME, HOW DO YOU KEEP THOSE YOU LOVE SAFE?

Jenny Kramer knows she isn’t normal. After all, not everybody can see the past lives of people around them. When she befriends Ben Daulton, resident new boy, the pair stumbles on an old music box with instructions for “mesmerization” and discover they may have more in common than they thought.

Like a past life.

Using the instructions in the music box, Ben and Jenny share a dream that transports them to Romanov Russia and leads them to believe they have been there together before. But they weren’t alone. Nikolai, the mysterious young man Jenny has been seeing in her own dreams was there, too. When Nikolai appears next door, Jenny is forced to acknowledge that he has traveled through time and space to find her. Doing so means he has defied the laws of time, and the Order, an ominous organization tasked with keeping people in the correct time, is determined to send him back. While Ben, Jenny and Nikolai race against the clock — and the Order — the trio discovers a link that joins them in life — and beyond death.

add to goodreads black

Chapters | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | TBD | Indiebound | Google Play | BAM | iBooks

What Reader’s Are Saying:

“I thought this book was pretty amazing – the characters, the setting and the adventure all came together to create this romantic yet ultimately dangerous story with a perfect time travel twist!” – Hannah – Lemonade Library

“I started reading this not knowing completely what the story was about but there’s an amazing love story as well as a bit of history thrown into the mix along with some time travel and a soul mate and reincarnation!” – Anna – Bound in Ink Books

“This book is a very interesting twist on time travel, history and romance, something I would love to see adapted on the big screen in the future.” – Lyn – Reading Tsinoy

 

about-the-author

Amanda Gray believes in magic and fantasy and possibilities. She is a team of two bestselling authors who live only miles apart but have never met in person. They talk on the phone and are the best of friends and between them have written more than a dozen novels and novellas and have had their work appear on television.

Giveaway

Complete the Rafflecopter for your chance to win!

a Rafflecoptergiveaway//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Chapter-by-Chapter-blog-tour-button