Archive for October 7, 2013

Have I got a Cover Reveal for you!

Amy Evan’s upcoming release  Jellybean Kisses!

Isn’t it sweet?!!

18629798

Jellybean Kisses – First love is the sweetest.

Contemporary Romance – upper YA / NA

Cover Design by Regina Wamba

Expected Release Date: October 28th, 2013

Synopses:

In kindergarten, Jax pulled out a chair for Jacey and swept the playdough off so that she would sit down next to him and he’s been carving out ways for them to stick together ever since.  Though everyone in their conservative, small beach town sees them as a couple, except it isn’t true. They’ve never done anything officially coupley,  no dates, no kisses, no sex.  Getting together for real just seemed so huge, and it always felt like they had forever. So they waited.

And then Hurricane Sandy came and life suddenly seemed less sure, more fragile. Jacey’s house was destroyed, Jax’s was damaged and life in their town changed completely. As they rebuild their lives, Jacey     builds up her courage, and finally gets brave enough to tell Jax how she     feels, just as timing slaps her in the face.  Then plans change – Jacey’s for the summer and Jax’s for the fall, and suddenly they’re left with just a few weeks together.  Can they begin forever when time’s run out, or will they have waited a lifetime to never have a beginning at all?

 ~~~~

Add Jellybean Kisses on Goodreads

About the Author:

Amy  Evans

Amy Evans is a young adult / new adult writer who believes that all the best stories get told with kisses. She’s excited to push the boundaries of romance a little further with Jellybean Kisses, and peel back the curtains on love and life without safety nets. Her first novel, CLICKS, is a romantic coming of age story about hot lifeguards and surf competitions with dashes of sci fi and dolphins on the side.

 

Connect with Amy:

|| Twitter || Tumblr || Facebook || Blogger || Website || Pinterest || Amazon ||

HuntedDreams_Banner

I’ve got a lot to show you about Elle Hill and her book, Hunted Dreams.

I want to thank Goddess Fish Promotions for organizing a really fun tour!

Elle Hill is here to answer a couple of questions about writing her book. I have a hook to snag ya and a glimpse inside this exciting story.

And don’t forget to enter the awesome giveaway!

camera and lights photo: lights camera action missinglink.gif

Elle Hill is here to answer a couple of questions about her writing process and her story. Enjoy this quick, fun interview.

hunted dreams AuthorPic

When starting a new book, do the characters come first or the storyline?

Rewind about four years to the genesis of my Hunted Series universe and Hunted, the first novella that would populate it and my thoughts went something like this:

Wouldn’t it be cool if there were a community living under human’s noses that bred women warriors and men magicians? Yeah, that’s cool. And they’d be at war with another supernatural group, one from whom they needed to protect humanity. Maybe that other group would eat humans. Not literally, though, ‘cause that’s kinda gross. At war for centuries, these groups wouldn’t know life without fighting; they can’t imagine life without hatred and death. Children would be trained as soon as they could hold a weapon. The two different groups would probably shove their members under one roof in order to protect them. Heck, I imagine the warriors would even sport names with one syllable, since, during battle, it’s a lot easier to call out “Bren” than “Anastasia.”

 

Now imagine one of those woman warriors. What would she be like? Probably pretty no-nonsense. Even if she cared to, she wouldn’t know anything about dating or nail polish or playing board games. What would happen if this ascetic warrior met a peace-loving, sweet human guy? She’d probably feel as uncomfortable around tenderness as he would feel knowing an entire supernatural war has raged invisibly for centuries.

Throw in a black cat named Picante, and you have the foundation for Hunted.

As you can probably tell from the example above, my plots and characters tend to inform one another. My story ideas usually start out as a small, conceptual seed (“What kind of character development could we explore if the main character remains locked inside her own head throughout the book?”) that blossoms into character sketches and arches, which in turn branches into specific scenes and situations. It’s all very organic.

Did the loop of nightmares lead to psychic vampires or vice versus?

In Hunted Dreams, Katana, the amnesiac main character, remains locked in an endless parade of nightmares. She doesn’t even realize she’s dreaming till a quarter of the way into the book, and only when Reed, the story’s male protagonist, begins visiting her dreamscape.

The pair tries to figure out who she is and why she can’t wake up. They discover the second first: Katana is trapped inside her brain because supernatural beings named Leeches (AKA, the Broschi) subsist on painful human emotions, and they wanted a continuous supply of snacks.

So, in short, the psychic vampires induced Katana’s endless nightmares, since the resulting pain, confusion, and terror benefit them mightily, that is, gustatorily.

Thanks so much for the opportunity to chat with you, Laura. Happy October!

Happy October to you too Elle. Hunted Dreams will be the perfect read for Halloween!

~~~~~

HuntedDreams cover

goodreads-badge-add-plus

Hunted Dreams

by Elle Hill

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB

Her history, her whereabouts, her name: She knows nothing. Nothing but her current reality: a constant stream of horrific, surrealistic scenarios in which she fights not only monsters and unseen attackers but also her own pain and despair.

Reed Jayvyn is an ex-Army vet, penniless and living in his truck. After saving a young man from attackers, he finds himself embroiled in a superhuman drama between the Broschi and the Clan, two groups engaged in a centuries-long war. Worse, he finds he is one of them—a Broschi, a psychic vampire that feeds off the pain of humans. But Reed’s greatest surprise comes each night, when he finds himself dreaming of a fierce, nameless woman.

She is dreaming. So says the handsome man who uses his heretofore latent psychic ability to flicker in and out of her dreamscape. With Reed’s help, she slowly learns more about who she is, why she is here, what trauma in her past keeps her locked inside her mind. Meanwhile, Reed explores his own heritage, discovering enemies and allies in unexpected places.

But most important to Reed is freeing this woman caught in an endless loop of nightmares, someone he considers in every way to be the woman of his dreams.

 ~~~~

Hook

A woman trapped in an endless cycle of nightmares. A handsome hero committed to rescuing her. It’s just like Sleeping Beauty – except the dreaming damsel is the sword wielder and the hero is a psychic vampire feeding off her pain.

~~~~

HuntedDreams_CoverBanner

Enjoy this glimpse inside.

“The Leeches got their nickname from the way they eat.” Reed’s voice was even.

“They drink blood?” she breathed.

He shook his head. “A little less literal. The Broschi are empathic. They can feel and even evoke other people’s feelings, negative ones like fear, pain, horror.”

“Sun and stars,” she breathed. She got it.

She got it.

“They’re eating me,” she said, and laughed, but not humorously. “These superhuman, psychic Leech people are keeping me trapped in nightmares, eating my feelings.” Her chest felt heavy. She pressed her left hand against it and felt its gentle rise and fall.

None of this is real. All this drama, all this fear, all the pain and anger and malice. None of it exists except in the form of juicy brainwaves that these beings sip like mint juleps. No wonder she couldn’t die, couldn’t escape, couldn’t ever wake up.

Reed’s face was flushed, his nostrils wide. Her handsome hero. For a minute, she hated him, hated that he got to wake up, hated this situation, hated everything boxing her in this narrow world.

Katana glared at him for a moment. “I’m trapped in here,” she grated.

His face relaxed into compassion. Hers hardened.

“I know,” he said.

She stared at him for a moment longer. Finally, with a sigh, she leaned her head against the glass. “Who are you, Reed?”

“I’m a Leech, too, Katana.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

hunted dreams AuthorPic

An inveterate fan of fairy tales, particularly the darker ones, Elle pens paranormal romance. Her urban fantasies envision an alternate Los Angeles (or is it?) in which Leeches — scheming psychic vampires — and Hunters and Psychics — the beings that exist to thwart them — fight fierce, primal battles in the land of movie stars, silicone, and sunshine.

Born in Idaho during the height of disco, Elle Hill now chicken-pecks at the keyboard while rocking out to Donna Summer and KC and the Sunshine Band. She worked in Idaho for several years as a secretary and journalist before moving to California and selling her soul to academia. After receiving her PhD in Sociology, Elle Hill became a not-so-mild-mannered college instructor by night and a community activist during the remainder of her waking hours. Always a journalist and writer at heart, one of her favorite pastimes includes publishing commentary on the political and social states of the world; some of her thoughts are posted on her blog at ellehillauthor.blogspot.com.

Elle welcomes visitors to her website at www.ellehill.com. She also urges everyone to become a superhero and adopt their next non-human companion from a local animal shelter.

Links:

Blog: http://ellehillauthor.blogspot.com/

Website: http://www.ellehill.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Elle-Hill/155409064486649?ref=hl

Purchasing the book: http://www.amazon.com/Hunted-Dreams-ebook/dp/B00CHUEIIG

~~~~

giveaway photo: Giveaway Banner for 42nd giveaway.png

Elle will be awarding a $50 Amazon Gift Certificate to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
Click on the rafflecopter link below to enter.

RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

Click on the button below for more fun posts on the tour.

Don’t forget to comment! The more you comment, the more chances to win.

goddess fish button

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For all of my giveaways go HERE.

magnifying glass photo: Magnifying Glass magnifying-glass.jpg

Welcome to My Monday Minis.

This is where I review very short stories and flash fiction.

For today I’ll be telling you about The Haunted House On Wheels

by Dennis E. Yates

18592844

goodreads-badge-add-plus

Brothers Jerry and Mark have taken a long summer trip to visit their cousin Cindy. When Cindy insists that they go see a haunted house at a traveling carnival, the boys are skeptical at first. It’s not until they actually see it for themselves that they begin to change their minds.

Even after hearing the chilling stories Cindy has told them about the man who built the house, they only have an inkling of what awaits them inside.

Little do they know how those stories barely scratch the surface, that there are angry ghosts within who have other plans for them!

And it’s way too late to back out now, never mind a refund.

Because it’s beginning to look like there’s no way out!

My Review

I was first drawn to this book by the title. When I saw the fun cover art, that sealed the deal.

I breezed through this in about an hour, without taking a break.

It’s a fun, fast read with lots to keep you entertained. The characters are lively and genuine and written with individual voices making them easy to tell apart.

You have Cindy and Jerry, kind of pushing each other to be the bravest and go inside the haunted house.

Then you have Mark, younger but maybe wiser in his fear that something bad will happen.

Regardless, they all go inside the creepy house on wheels and sure enough, things go very wrong.

They are trapped in the house, and they aren’t alone in there.

It’s nice to have a story that you can relax with, breeze through, and just have fun with. While it may be written for a young audience, I found it took me back to my younger years and brought back memories of how things looked and felt then.

The characters came forth as speaking and acting as kids their age would, making them real and making you connect. The situations were exciting and scary and there are some twists to keep you engrossed.

Especially the ending. It wasn’t what I expected. A few of the characters surprised me, probably just what the author was going for.

I would recommend this book to all ages. The young will connect to the characters easily and us older readers will step back in time and remember the apprehension and excitement of going on a scary adventure.

4 STARS

~~~

Dennis E. Yates

Dennis Yates

Dennis Yates (born 1963) is an American writer of novels and short stories. He is a native of Portland Oregon, and a fan of long road trips, animals, engaging literature and independent films. He often dreams of escaping the Oregon rain clouds to the scorching sun and red canyons of the American Southwest.

Dennis enjoys writing psychological thrillers and dark comedy. On the lighter side, his quintessential, quirky road-trip novel The Teriyaki Samurai was a quarter-finalist in the 2013 Amazon Breakout Novel Award contest. Dennis draws deeply from his love of nature and the American landscape, which he firmly believes must play an important character in all of his writing.

He is a huge fan of such authors as Daniel Woodrell, Cormac McCarthy, Annie Proulx, William Gay, Frank Bill, John Rector, Blake Crouch and many others.

Dennis can be reached at yates.author@gmail.com and on Twitter at @YatesScribe.

Amazon / Goodreads