Archive for October, 2013

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Grab your popcorn and cop a seat!

It’s time for Thursday Theatre!

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Happy Halloween.

I have some treats for ya tonight!

Scary Good!

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I haven’t seen this one.

It kind of reminds me of Fear of the Dark.

This movie is from 2003 and to this day I still think about it when I think of scary movies and/or bogeymen. Take a peek.

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Do you have a horror movie that stayed with you? What’s your favorite?

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Tempest Murders Banner copy

I have a great post today!!!

Patricia is here to share with us some fun facts about choosing names for her characters.

I’ve always been curious about that. Is it a relative? Some name that just caught your attention? A loved one? Check out Patricia’s guest post and find out.

I also have an exciting excerpt so make sure to peek inside.

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway.

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Guest Post

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

When you meet someone for the first time, you exchange names; those names become a vital part of his or her identity, the way they’re viewed, and even how close you want to be with them. Though fictional characters are on paper, the same amount of care should go into naming them because they can attract or repel readers.

In The Tempest Murders, Irish Detective Ryan Kelly O’Clery was named after a distant relative who was greatly admired, Constable Rian Kelly. The Irish have always had a habit of naming their children after a family member or friend; I learned that firsthand with my own family, whose males seem to be entirely comprised of Johns, James and Williams.

So when I began the story with Rian Kelly in 1839 Ireland, I knew I would need a name to carry down through the generations. I combed through cemetery records of 19th century Irishmen, particularly near Dublin, which is where the main character originates. Rian later became Anglicized to Ryan, though in some parts of the Emerald Isle it is still pronounced as Ree-an.

Kelly is a common surname, but I didn’t want a character named Rian Kelly and another Ryan Kelly; I thought it would be too confusing. So I made Rian Kelly a great-uncle (five times removed) on his mother’s side, and gave Ryan the very Irish last name of O’Clery. Just the name conjures up the part of the world I tap into in The Tempest Murders.

When I choose a name, I give a lot of thought to whether I want the reader to be attracted or repelled. Uncommon names and very proper names hold a reader at arm’s length, where more common names or shorter nicknames will draw a reader in. When I introduced Ryan’s two precocious preschool nieces and his loving sister Claire, I gave him the nickname of “Re”, which instantly separates his no-nonsense, law enforcement persona from a gentler, more familiar family side.

Rian Kelly was madly in love with Caitlin O’Conor, a lover he lost to a serial killer at the height of a massive storm in 1839. Though she is introduced as Caitlin, she is always known as Cait, a shorter name that draws people in. And when Ryan O’Clery meets Cathleen Reilly, a television reporter who is covering the serial murders in 2011 North Carolina, he learns that she also is called Cait. The two women—one in Ryan’s dreams and one in reality—begin to fuse together when he realizes his dreams are actually the memories of his ancestor.

When he discovers the killer he hunts in North Carolina resembles the serial killer in Rian Kelly’s journal, he realizes history is poised to repeat itself. I chose the name Diallo Delport for the killer; Diallo because it is so similar to Diablo, which means “devil”. And Diallo means “bold” which definitely describes the killer. Both Diallo and Delport are African names, though the killer is an albino Caucasian. The choice of a name from a continent separate from Europe deepens the mystery of the two serial killers, nearly two hundred years apart.

Because Rian Kelly’s lover Cait O’Conor lost her life to the hands of a serial killer at the height of a storm, the question becomes: will history repeat itself as Hurricane Irene barrels toward the North Carolina coast with Rian’s namesake in its path and a modern-day Cait in another killer’s crosshairs?

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The Tempest Murders

by p.m. Terrell

18430725

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BLURB:

A provocative story of a love that spans centuries, of soul mates found, lost and reunited… and the lengths to which one man will go to change their destiny.

Irish Detective Ryan O’Clery is working a series of homicides in America when he discovers a journal written by an uncle, Constable Rian Kelly, five generations earlier. The journal detailed the same type of murders as the worst storm in Ireland’s history slammed into the island in 1839.

As Hurricane Irene barrels toward the North Carolina coastline, Ryan discovers even the killer’s description matches his cases exactly. And as he falls in love with television reporter Cathleen Reilly, he begins to wonder if she is the reincarnation of Caitlin O’Conor, Rian Kelly’s lover—the woman who was lost to the killer as the storm raged in Ireland—and if he is the reincarnation of Constable Rian Kelly.

Now he’s in a race to rescue Cathleen before the killer finds her—or is history destined to repeat itself?

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Tempest Murders Book Cover Banner copy

 

Excerpt

They were bites away from finishing their meal when the sky opened up. There might have been a warning, had he been by himself and able to observe his surroundings; but by the time he noticed the trees bending deeply and the gray clouds roiling, the rain had descended on them in a torrent. Within seconds, their food was floating.

A tiny shriek escaped Cathleen’s lips as she vainly tried to keep the rain off her head.

Ryan jumped up, grabbed her wrist and in one fluid movement, had her on her feet. They raced for the back door, managing to rush inside just as a wicked clap of thunder sounded, followed almost instantly by a white streak of lightning.

Once inside, he closed the door, plunging them both into relative silence. He turned around, an offer to get her a towel on his lips. But when he laid eyes on her, the words froze. She was completely drenched. Her hair was hanging in folds from which water streamed until it formed a puddle on the hardwood floor. Her thin blouse was plastered to her body and seemed to highlight the black lace bra beneath. It further accentuated a slender waist before giving way to jeans that she now appeared to have been poured into. Her feet were soaked and as he took in the petite toes peeking out, he found himself staring at the pink polish and a Celtic toe ring before his eyes moved back up her body.

By the time they reached her eyes, he felt as if he was on automatic pilot. His mind was completely blank, his emotions swept away. He stepped toward her at the exact moment he reached out and pulled her to him, the wet blouse teasing his chest. He didn’t look in her eyes but closed his as his lips locked onto hers.

They were everything he’d dreamed about; full and moist and soft. But she wasn’t kissing him.

He stopped and took a step backward, separating them. She stood perfectly still and stared at him with eyes that had grown round and huge. Her face had lost its color and as she continued staring at him, he realized she was in shock.

Horrified with his own boorish behavior, he stumbled over his words. “I am so sorry. I’ve never done anything like that in my life—”

She rushed at him and for the briefest of moments, he didn’t know if she planned to slap him or pummel him or push him to the side to rush out the door. He staggered backward to get out of her way but when she descended on him her arms encircled his neck, pulling his head down to hers. When their lips met again, hers were slightly open and she met his mouth with a passion he had only dreamed about but had never fully experienced.

Ryan’s arms wrapped around her; pulling her to him so tightly he had to contain himself to keep from bruising her. She tasted sweet and fresh, the raindrops mingling with perspiration and a fragrance that was both soothing and wild and which seemed to envelop them both in a sensual cocoon.

His large hand found her face, the palm cupping her chin while his fingers stroked her jaw. Her skin was as soft as silk and moist from the rain; and as her lips parted further to allow him in, he thought he could never get enough of her. As one hand wandered to her hair, weaving his fingers through the long tresses, a mingled scent of citrus and florals wafted upward, growing in intensity as he fondled her locks.

He pressed his body against her, tightening his hold on her as his other hand explored her back, kneading her skin through the thin, wet blouse. Her breath was coming in short shallow bursts now and he could feel her heart quickening as he pressed ever closer. When she sighed softly, he opened his eyes and when she moaned, he reluctantly drew back from her, his muscled chest rising and falling and yearning.

Her face was flushed, the heat rising in her cheeks in a way that tantalized him. Her plump lips remained slightly parted and as he gazed at them, he realized he might have bruised them despite his efforts to control his passion. As his eyes found hers, he discovered them staring at him in a way that disarmed him. The gold flecks he had seen earlier appeared to have grown and now they nearly glowed as she looked at him. They were tumultuous, the colors dancing under her long, curved black lashes. But it was the raw emotion in them that gripped his soul; he’d seen desire before and had witnessed passion but there was something more—something deeper. It was trust, he realized with a start. As if she was standing before him, naked to the soul and she was entrusting herself to his care.

In his peripheral vision, he could see her chest rising and falling with her jagged breath and each rise threatened to take him closer to the peak of desire.

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

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p.m.terrell is the pen name for Patricia McClelland Terrell, the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of more than eighteen books in four genres: contemporary suspense, historical suspense, computer how-to and non-fiction.

Prior to writing full-time, she founded two computer companies in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area: McClelland Enterprises, Inc. and Continental Software Development Corporation. Among her clients were the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Secret Service, U.S. Information Agency, and Department of Defense. Her specialties were in white collar computer crimes and computer intelligence.

Vicki’s Key was a top five finalist in the 2012 International Book Awards and 2012 USA Book Awards nominee and her historical suspense, River Passage, was a 2010 Best Fiction and Drama Winner. It was determined to be so historically accurate that a copy of the book resides at the Nashville Government Metropolitan Archives in Nashville, Tennessee.

She is also the co-founder of The Book ‘Em Foundation, an organization committed to raising public awareness of the correlation between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. She is the organizer of Book ‘Em North Carolina, an annual event held in Lumberton, North Carolina, to raise funds to increase literacy and reduce crime. For more information on this event and the literacy campaigns funded by it, visit www.bookemnc.org.

She sits on the boards of the Friends of the Robeson County Public Library and the Robeson County Arts Council. She has also served on the boards of Crime Stoppers and Crime Solvers and became the first female president of the Chesterfield County-Colonial Heights Crime Solvers in Virginia.

For more information visit the author’s website at www.pmterrell.com, follow her on Twitter at @pmterrell, her blog at www.pmterrell.blogspot.com, and on Facebook under author.p.m.terrell.

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Look what you can win!

p.m. will be awarding a Celtic bracelet (US only) to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

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Remember to comment! The more you comment, the more chances to win!

Follow the tour for more fun posts by clicking on the Goddess Fish button below.

goddess fish button

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For all of my giveaways click on the voodoo dolls below.
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Portents Banner Tour 450 x 169

Portents: Book Two in the Amanda Ryder V. I. Series is now available!

To celebrate her newest release, Shanyn Hosier is having a blog tour and giveaway.

Check out the sneak peek inside Portents.

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

You could win signed paperback copies of Portents and Brimstone, Books One and Two!

Portents
Amanda Ryder V.I.
Book 2
Shanyn Hosier

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When all signs point to trouble, can Amanda steer clear of disaster?

Amanda Ryder’s determined never to fail her coven again. Next time, she won’t hesitate to pull the trigger to defend her friends. If only they’d trust her enough to let her set foot outside the Academy…

Frustrated and itching to prove herself, Amanda snags her first Academy mission: she and Toby Laboyteaux, fellow teen witch who “kinda sorta sees the future,” must work together to track down a local swamp monster stirring up trouble in the sticks. But overturned suburban garbage cans and blurry tabloid pictures aren’t the only problems—strained relationships with her new colleagues, a growing guilt-complex, and the waxing moon all add to Amanda’s stress. Add to that the pressure of being hunted by a psychic psychopath, and Amanda’s got plenty on her mind.

Meanwhile, Hamilton Nash swears Marian Dupree and her Academy of bumbling do-gooders have thwarted his plans for the last time. Convinced Amanda’s the subject of his mother’s recent prophecy and the key to his future success, he redoubles his efforts to obtain the mystery girl. But when Amanda proves too slippery a quarry, Nash sets his sights on the next best thing. When a valuable member of the Academy coven is kidnapped, Amanda and her friends are in a race against time. Is a tragic future destined to come to pass?

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Excerpt

“Run!” Grady shouted as he moved to intercept their followers.

Jeanine shoved Amanda through the door, then sprinted off, dragging her toward one of

the three white Cherokees parked in a row in the dirt lot.

A gunshot rang out, and Amanda shrieked in terror. Kevin’s firing range scolding came

back to her now—here was a target shooting back at her, and it absolutely made all the

difference in the world.

Jeanine yanked her down behind a car. Crouching, she peeked around the bumper while

Amanda ducked her head down, peering through the gap below the undercarriage. The man and

the woman walked toward them, guns drawn.

“Shit,” Jeanine muttered.

In the next moment, Grady and Lorelei burst through the door of the pool hall, guns

leveled at the pursuers.

“We don’t want any more trouble,” Grady announced calmly.

“Like hell we don’t,” Lorelei snarled.

Amanda pressed her back against the car she and Jeanine crouched behind, her patchwork

heart pounding fit to burst. Jeanine pointed at the nearest Academy Cherokee several yards away,

and the two women began creeping toward it. They’d made it past two cars when more shots

rang out, and the armed man skidded behind a blue Ford F150 parked between them and the

Cherokee.

Lurching to a halt, the two women looked about, searching for an escape. Miraculously,

he didn’t seem to notice them. Yet.

Not far from them loomed a collection of large drums overflowing with garbage. Amanda

grabbed Jeanine’s forearm, then nodded toward the mess. Jeanine’s brow wrinkled with a lack of

confidence, and she shook her head slightly.

Maybe Jeanine misunderstood her intent. Or perhaps object levitation wasn’t her strong

point. Amanda, on the other hand, had plenty of practice.

Amanda gave Jeanine’s arm a reassuring squeeze, then extended her hand toward the

drums. She half-closed her eyes to better focus her attention; imagining an ethereal connection

between her and the inanimate object solidified her will. Then she swung her arm like an

underarm pitch.

Fly!

A garbage can obeyed her command, rushing through the air. The gunman spun around

just as the drum crashed into him, pinning him against the truck. As he went down, aiming

wildly, he pulled the trigger.

Amanda sucked in a breath, clutching at the fiery pain blossoming in her shoulder.

They rushed around the front of the truck toward the downed attacker. Amanda

summoned the gun from his limp hand, then Jeanine grabbed his leg and gave him a zap for good

measure. The man’s body jerked, then lay still once more.

“One down,” Jeanine called out.

“That makes you outnumbered, bitch,” Lorelei shouted at the still-at-large attacker.

Jeanine turned back to face Amanda, then gasped. “He hit you?!”

Already the pain was subsiding into a burning sensation. Amanda gingerly lifted her

fingers to examine her shoulder—her shirt sleeve was ripped and a little bloody, but not

punctured. “Nicked me, I think,” she replied with a shake of her head.

Another shot rang out, followed by glass exploding, then a shriek. Heavy footsteps

pounded toward them, then slid through gravel. Grady skidded around the truck, rolling back up

into a defensive crouch. Amanda was damn impressed by the move and made a mental note to

ask him to teach it to her.

He clamped his hand over Amanda’s mouth, pressing her against the truck with his body.

“Don’t scream. And don’t move,” he rasped in her ear, his breath laboring from exertion.

She nodded. Despite this odd, rough treatment, she instantly felt safer with him around.

He would get them all out of this.

“I’ll cover you,” Grady added in a hoarse whisper as Jeanine nodded and fished her keys

out of her pocket. Amanda tried to hand her the gun but Jeanine refused it, mouthing,

There’s one

in the car

.

Grady spared a glance at the unconscious man. “Keep an eye on him,” he ordered.

Amanda trained the revolver—her least favorite firearm—onto the still motionless attacker with

her good arm.

When Jeanine had the keys in her hand, Grady bid her good luck with a silent wink and a

nod. He shouted, “Get her out of here,” as Jeanine dashed off, his gun held steady and aimed at

the building.

As Grady watched her go, still pinning Amanda against the car, she finally realized the

plan:

Jeanine’s a decoy? Fearing the armed woman would open fire on any vehicle leaving the

lot, Amanda hissed against Grady’s palm, “Wait!”

Her protest was ignored. Silently opening the door, Jeanine slipped into the Cherokee,

slipping into the driver’s seat while keeping as low as possible. The door shut behind her with a

quiet click.

“Now, Jeanie,” Grady roared. He released Amanda and edged forward past the car they’d

hidden behind, firing off several shots.

An answering hail of bullets rang out as Jeanine peeled out of the parking lot in a shower

of gravel and dust. As far as Amanda could see, nothing hit the Cherokee as it skidded onto the

road and barreled away. Her skepticism forgotten in the frantic moment, she offered up a prayer

to a heaven she wasn’t sure existed for protection of her friend.

Please, God, keep her safe!

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About Shanyn Hosier

Born and raised in small-town, rural Indiana, I now live in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona with an intimidatingly smart and devastatingly handsome husband and two hyperactively cute and talented sons who will one day be Earth’s Overlords (never underestimate the power of Legos). I enjoy cooking, traveling, gardening, sewing, quilting, and embroidery but only when I’m in the right mood and seldom concurrently (I’m kind of streaky when it comes to hobbies). I adore reading and writing in the same way that I love breathing and eating, gaining a similar nourishment from each.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Amazon Author Page

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Giveaway Prizes:

 

16270671

Signed  Paperback copies of Portents and Brimstone

Click on the rafflecopter link below to enter.

RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For all of my giveaways click on the ghoul below.
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I’ve been wanting to read these.
I just finished reading D.T. Dyllin’s P.J. Stone Gates series and am so ready for more of her writing.
Now Kat Scratch Fever is on sale and Kat-Napped is Free October 31st! I’m hoppin over to get mine. It’s a TREAT for Halloween!
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Kat Scratch Fever

Kat Scratched Trilogy #1

By- D.T. Dyllin

Genre- Adult Paranormal Romance

Publication Date- October 1st,  2013

It’s tough being a cat in a dog eat dog world. Something that Katrina Walker learned

the hard way being a were-cat raised by a pack of werewolves. And after her taboo

love affair with the future Alpha is discovered, Kat has no choice but to leave the

only home and man she’s ever loved behind for good. Or so she thought…

 

Seven years later Kat is forced to return to pack lands and the man she left behind.

But Jason Benson has changed, and so has she. Will she find her way back into the

arms of her first love, or will James, the mysterious were-cat wriggle his way into

her heart?

 

  

WWW Wednesday

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Hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

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What are you currently reading?

 Something Wicked

by Angela Campbell

18657033

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Psychic medium Alexandra King is sick of being pestered by her boss’s dead mother demanding help to reunite her two estranged sons. Determined to get some peace and quiet again, Alexandra follows a lead in finding the younger Collins brother to Charleston, South Carolina, where she immediately meets the hottest man she’s ever laid eyes on and finds herself a willing participant in seduction. Of course, her one-night-stand turns out to be none other than Dylan Collins — her boss’s younger brother and a homicide detective who believes psychics are a complete waste of time.All Dylan wants is a few hours of pleasure to take his mind off of the case haunting him. A serial killer is stalking the streets of The Holy City — a killer who calls himself The Grim Reaper. When the woman he’d just spent the night with turns up and offers her services as a psychic consultant on the case, his ardor quickly cools. Last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a con artist.It doesn’t take long for Dylan to realize Alexandra is the real deal – and the killer’s next target. Dylan’s protective instincts battle his reluctance to get too involved with a woman he isn’t sure he can trust. As they  get closer to finding the killer, they also grow closer to one another, but will Alexandra’s secret agenda destroy their chance at happiness — if the killer doesn’t strike first?
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What did you recently finish reading?

Cemetery Girl

by Davie Bell

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Synopsis

Four years after Tom and Abby’s 12-year-old daughter vanishes, she is found alive but strangely calm. When the teen refuses to testify against the man connected to her disappearance, Tom decides to investigate the traumatizing case on his own. Nothing can prepare him for what he is about to discover.

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What do you think you’ll read next?

Days With The Undead: Book One

by  Julianne Snow 

13507258

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It’s a journal of survival.Five people set out to escape the Undead who have risen too close to home. Join the emotional and physical struggle as they began on the third day after the awakening of Brooks VanReit, as they are recorded from the point of view of Julie, a former pathologist and part-time survivalist.Each entry is geared toward helping those who want to help themselves and maybe give a few that don’t a swift kick in the ass.Join our group of survivors on their journey through these Days with the Undead.
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So, whatcha readin?

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Murdered people end up as ghosts.

A thriving ghost tour business.

Throw in a possible romance.

What’s not to love.

Phantom Summer sounds like a thrilling, spooky read.

I have a great excerpt for you.

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

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Title: Phantom Summer
Author: Amy Sparling
Publisher: 336Love
Date of Publication: September 5, 2013
Genre: contemporary YA with ghosts
Blurb:
Seventeen-year-old Taylor Gray moves to Sterling Island to get over her dead boyfriend. Mom’s cool with letting her crash on the couch, but Taylor needs to get a job before the lights are cut off again.
When the tall, dark and crazy Raine Tsunami offers her a position at his thriving ghost tour business, she figures it’s an easy way to make some cash. Taylor isn’t afraid of ghosts–that crap is as fake as her mom’s boob job. She loves their adventures on the historic island, especially the secret places he shows her when the crowds go home. So what if all the ghost stories are just legends?
When Taylor comes face to face with a ghost and Raine crosses the line between friend and boyfriend–Taylor’s new life collides with her haunted past. If murdered people end up as ghosts, then that someone she was trying to forget is probably watching her.
Purchase link: Amazon | B&N
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have an exciting excerpt for ya! It was hard to choose just one, they were all so good.
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Half the streetlights are broken. Between tiny bursts of dingy light bulbs, everything is black, black, black. This isn’t what Sterling Island is supposed to be about. The commercials call it a place for tourism and historical richness. What a joke. The only thing I’ve seen for blocks is buildings and parking lots and nothingness.

A rock tumbles across the sidewalk in front of me.

“You aren’t from around here.”

I freeze. The voice came from my right. At least I think it did. It happened so suddenly, and I was lost in a daydream that I hadn’t really known what happened until after I heard it. I squint to see under the bright street lamp overhead. “So?” I shoot back, trying to sound sarcastic and so not intimidated. Footsteps come from the darkness. He’s walking down stairs, one at a time by the sound of it, like he’s placing both feet on each step before he takes the next one. I still can’t see him.

I spit my gum on the ground, all gross and man-like. If I look unattractive then I won’t be kidnapped. But if he even tries, he’ll be sorry when he gets a Ford key in the eyeball. A shadow appears under the glow of the street light. It’s small and thin. It doesn’t look like it belongs to a mass murderer. I breathe a little easier.

“No girl around here would visit The Face by herself.”

“The Face?” I ask. I chance a look around me and see nothing but buildings and a parking lot with one car parked in it. Why hadn’t I noticed that car before?

The shadow takes a few steps closer and stops four feet away from me. He’s about my age, maybe a little older. There’s something weird about him, and it’s not just because his clothes are so black it makes his head appear to be floating in the darkness. He’s really…sharp. His face is unreadable. His features are so sharp and precise they almost scare me. His hair looks like it was just cut, all sharp ended and straight.

“Turn around,” he says, pointing behind me.

I know there’s nothing but a big gray building behind us. It’s several stories tall and has no windows. I have no idea why he tells me to turn around, but I do. And I see it immediately. Dark gray on the gray wall, it’s like a portrait of a man from long ago. He has bushy hair and long sideburns and a stern look on his face.

“Holy shit,” I say. The guy with his crisp shiny leather jacket and silky black hair is suddenly right next to me. I watch him as he looks at the face on the wall. He smirks.

“It’s always here,” he says. “Though sometimes it moves.”

“What, like a movie?” I ask, realizing how stupid I sound.

“No, its position on the wall. You see the upper left corner?” I look where he’s pointing. The wall there is shiny, not textured like the rest of the wall. “Yeah.”

“That’s where he first showed up. They sand blasted it off, and then he appeared over there.” He points to the bottom of the wall to another shiny spot of concrete.

“No way,” I say. The face on the wall is so realistic. It looks like someone spray painted it with a can of primer and a stencil. “Who’s doing it?”

He looks sideways at me, searching my eyes as if he can’t possibly believe that I don’t know the legend of how this painting got on the wall. From this angle he kind of looks like one of those models in fashion magazines. He’s slightly too thin for a guy, entirely too clean and although I can’t believe I’m going to say it, chiseled. Chiseled like some kind of freaky serial killer. I bet he’s an asshole. He’s probably making all of this up just to screw with me.

“No one does it, it just is.”

“So it’s like paranormal?” I snort.

“You really aren’t from around here.”

I pull out my ponytail and redo it. “Well that’s a good thing I guess, since people around here believe in shit that doesn’t exist.”

“It would be terrible to go through life not believing in things that are right in front of your eyes.”

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About Amy Sparling
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Amy Sparling is a native Texan with a fear of cold weather and a coffee addiction that probably needs an intervention. She loves books, sarcasm, nail polish and paid holidays. She lives near the beach with her daughter, one spoiled rotten puppy and a cat who is most likely plotting to take over the world. Amy Sparling is a pen name for YA author Cheyanne Young.
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Giveaway Prize:
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An International Giveaway
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A $50 Amazon Gift Card and a Signed Paperback copy of Phantom Summer!
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Click on the rafflecopter link below to enter.
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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For all of my giveaways, click on the pooch below

Don’t worry. He doesn’t bite.

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Today is my day on the tour for Bad Juju by Dina Rae

Before we get to my review I have a little treat for ya!

I’ll be discussing voodoo dolls and accessorizing them.

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Some people like to use a traditional voodoo doll for their curses. Here’s an example. But always remember to make your doll comfortable before sticking the pins in!

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Lots of people like to create their own special voodoo dolls. I’m not talking just putting somebodies face on the doll.

 Check out these images of some fun ones.

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and a couple more.

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You don’t have to accessorize your voodoo dolls. From what I inderstand, as long as you follow the directions and believe it will work, it will.

Happy pinning!

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Bad Juju

1771e-addtogoodreadsblackTitle: Bad Juju

Author: Dina Rae

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Self Published

Formats Available In: Digital

Release Date: September, 2o12

Blurb:

Two teens turn to a Voodoo bokor to right a wrong. Their curiosity with the dark arts backfires into obsession.

Lucien Nazaire flees his Haitian homeland and settles in a Wisconsin trailer park filled with elderly tenants. He hires sixteen year old Jake for odd household jobs. The boy proves to be the perfect candidate to pass on his Voodoo legacy.
Jake LaRue lives in foster care with his abusive uncle. The Voodoo gives him a sense of power within an otherwise helpless situation. Despite his loner status, he instantly connects with Henry, his only friend in high school.
Henry Novak has Asperger’s Syndrome. He fixates on historical events, most recently the 2010 Haitian earthquake. Like Jake, he becomes passionate about the dark side of Voodoo. They learn how to cast spells on those they hate and lust.
Months after the Haitian earthquake, Henry convinces his family to volunteer for the island’s reconstruction. Their mission turns into a nightmare when he mysteriously walks off of the campsite and returns in a catatonic state.
Bad Juju is a balance of horror, romance, and literary fiction intended for adults and mature teens. The plot uses research involving the Voodoo religion.

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My Review

Tom and Jessica Novak are proud to be doing God’s work. They’ve traveled to Port au-Prince as part of a missionary group with others of their church. They’re going to help with rebuilding the island after the 7.0 earthquake that shook all of  Haiti, causing massive destruction.

Their 15-year-old son Henry’s Asperger’s Syndrome had them questioning their decision. He’s intelligent and quite functional, but changes in routine, surroundings and new faces could cause problems. Henry doesn’t communicate well or understand social interaction.

But Henry’s the one that urged them to go. He’s been obsessed with Haiti. So here they are, the whole family, including Henry’s younger sister Natalie, who’d rather be back home. This is not her idea of a great summer vacation.

Since Henry’s been doing so well, they decide to extend their stay. If they had only left earlier, they wouldn’t be searching for their missing son. Henry has simply vanished and wandering away from the protection of the armed camp is dangerous. There are a lot of bad people out there and he wouldn’t stand a chance against them.

If they had only known the reason Henry wandered away, they never would have brought him there.

My favorite character is Jake. He befriends Henry when they meet in detention class. They aren’t really bad boys, just a couple of kids who got in a little trouble.

Jake is a kind-hearted boy, helping out the elderly residents in his trailer park. He does odd jobs, cleans house and run errands for the less able ones. You wonder how he turned out so well when you learn he suffers violent beatings from his uncle. After losing his parents he came to live with his aunt and uncle and his aunt suffers the same abuse.

Jake brings Henry home with him after school to introduce him to his favorite neighbor, Lucien.

Lucien is a powerful bokor, a voodoo priest, and with his black skin, unruly, long white hair and piercing eyes, he looks every bit the part.

It becomes a regular routine for the boys to visit with Lucien after school and after much pleading, he begins to teach them about Vodun, the voodoo religion, beginning with simple spells and hexes.

Lucien feels death coming for him and can’t bear the thought of all his vast knowledge and power going with him to the grave.

After Jake receives another very brutal and bloody beating, the three decide to create a voodoo doll to rid Jake of his uncle.

This is where it all starts to go weird.

Bad Juju was a surprise. I thought it was going to be all about voodoo, raising the dead, and voodoo dolls. Well, it was. I learned how to do voodoo, what the religion is about, good and dark arts of it, and how to raise someone from the dead. Some of it creeped me out, but a lot of it was really funny.

Having the characters as teen-age boys made this story. Boys will be boys and they had me rocking and  rolling! I can’t wait for you to meet the dead guy.

Getting back to the surprise part, there were several deeper subjects tackled throughout this book and I could tell the author did a lot of research and included that knowledge in the story to make it believable and engaging.

If you’re looking for something different, look no further. Bad Juju has plenty of interesting characters, some tough topics, plenty of laughs, and lots of scary voodoo magic. Oh Yeah, I almost forgot the zombie!

I felt like I got a crash course in voodoo, like voodoo for dummies.

4 Stars

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Amazon UK / Amazon USA

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I’ve also read and reviewed these books in The Halo Trinity

Halo of the Damned

HaloOftheDamned - Book One

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A chain of advertising agencies, a new breed of humans, and a fallen angel to worship… Andel Talistokov is known for his slick advertising agencies across the globe. He is a fallen angel that uses advertising as a weapon for Satan‘s work. His growing power emboldens him to break several of Hell‘s Commandments. Furious with his arrogance, Satan commands him to return to Hell after finding his own replacement. Yezidism, an ancient angel worshiping religion, quietly expands throughout the West. Armaros appears as a guest of honor during their ceremonies. He mates with young women to produce nephilim, a mixed race of humans and angels. They are alone and unprepared for their supernatural power. Joanna Easterhouse, a recovering drug addict, steps out of prison shortly after her mother’s fatal accident. She and her sister, Kim, unravel their mother’s secretive past. Intrigued, they learn their bloodline is part of a celestial legacy. Both worlds collide. Halo of the Damned is a horrifying tale that weaves research together with suspenseful twists and turns.

My Review

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Book Two in the Halo Trinity

Halo of the Nephilim

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Can a fallen angel, his band of broken souls, and his nephilim children change the world?

Armaros the Cursed, Satan’s favorite of the Fallen, falls once again after breaking the rules.  Fearing an eternity of punishment, he desperately attempts to save himself by sending a bird to his island.  The SOS message is received by his beloved congregation.  They prepare the great Armaros’ kingdom for his return.  Can his loyal worshipers rescue him from the pit? Halo of the Nephilim is the sequel to Halo of the Damned.

My Review

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Halo of the Madonna

A short prequel to the Halo Series

Halo of the Madonna

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After leaving her family’s angel cult to start a new life, Lydia Easterhouse’s past comes back to haunt her. Halo of the Madonna is a short prequel to the Halo series (Halo of the Damned and Halo of the Nephilim).

My Review

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About Dina Rae and where to find her

Image of Dina Rae

Dina Rae is a new author here to stay.  As a former teacher, she brings an academic element to her work.  Her three novels, Halo of the Damned, The Last Degree, and Bad Juju weave research and suspense throughout the plots.  Her short story, Be Paranoid Be Prepared, is a prequel of sorts to The Last Degree, focusing on the James Martin character.  Dina also freelances for various entertainment blogs. Dina lives with her husband, two daughters, and two dogs outside of Chicago.  She is a Christian, an avid tennis player, movie buff, and self-proclaimed expert on several conspiracy theories.  She has been interviewed numerous times in e-zines, websites, blogs, newspapers, and radio programs.  When she is not writing she is reading novels from her favorite authors Dan Brown, Anne Rice, Stephen King, Brad Thor, George R.R. Martin, and Preston & Childs.

Blog / Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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Giveaway Prizes:

A Feature Page In Reader’s Shadow

  • PTBT Book Bundle featuring Spark (Karyn Pearson), Memories Of Hel (Jason Dodge), Birth Of An Empire: The Beginning & Consequences (Catrina Taylor) and Bad Juju (Dina Rae)

Click on the rafflecopter link below to enter.

RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For all of my giveaways click on the voodoo dolls below.
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XpressoBannerTours

Have I got a cover to show you.

Check out Wasteland, the second book in The Flight Trilogy!

The way the woman is peering back over her shoulder makes me wonder what she’s thinking, or, did she cause the destruction.

I really like the way the ash and embers seem to be burning into the title.

An excellent cover. It represents the title and the story inside very well.

Plus, it’s visually appealing. It draws my eye.

What do you think?

WastelandCover1 copy

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Wasteland by Lindsay Leggett (Flight #2)

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Synopsis:
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Wasteland, the next book in the FLIGHT trilogy, takes place a few months after the ending of book one.
Trapped in a cell and experimented on, Piper Madden’s only hope is remembering Asher. Then, Elder Corp President Rupert Elder gives her new orders: to be a leader in a war against the Harpies. Without a choice, Piper must obey Rupert’s commands or suffer from paralyzing and painful Nanomachines. But the war is just beginning, and Asher has gone missing. The resistance is slowly building, and the upcoming war will be larger and bloodier than anything seen since the Devastation that ruined the earth. Throughout all of this, Piper remembers the time before she ran to Ichton, when David was alive and her hope in Elder Corp was still strong.
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Lindsay Leggett
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wasteland Lindsay
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Nearly every writer struggles to put together information about themselves, perhaps because we’re so used to detailing the lives and ways of others. For the most part I am a writer, editor, photographer, and all-around artist living in the wilds north of Toronto, Ontario. I thrive on the juxtaposition of beauty and grit, enjoy urban crawls, indie everything, and time well-spent in the woods.
Author Links:
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Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page.
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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My Teaser for today is from Cemetery Girl

by David Bell

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My Tease from page 152

I knew. I knew I knew I knew. I didn’t want to hear it, but I knew.

Synopsis

Four years after Tom and Abby’s 12-year-old daughter vanishes, she is found alive but strangely calm. When the teen refuses to testify against the man connected to her disappearance, Tom decides to investigate the traumatizing case on his own. Nothing can prepare him for what he is about to discover.

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How about you? Got a tease? Tell me!

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Lets Get Hoppin!

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Thank you for joining Gena Showalter’sTrick or Treat Halloween Hop!
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The instructions and rules are easy!
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1)  Every day there will be 3 – 6 participating blogs.
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In order to enter the giveaway you must “Trick or Treat” at the participating blogs, see which candy the blog has posted (see example below) and then enter the name of that candy into the Rafflecopter widget.
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Showalter Halloween Hop_GLOW STICK PUMPKIN POPS Entry Pic
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2)  There is ONE MANDATORY blog PER DAY.

In order to enter the giveaway, you must visit the mandatory blog of the day.

3)  Once you visit the mandatory blog of the day, you then have the choice of gaining extra points by visiting the “Optional” blogs.
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You will get an extra 5 points for each optional blog you visit.
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Once you visit each blog, write down the candy you found at each blog and be sure to enter it Rafflecopter widget to get your points.
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SPOTLIGHT FOR BLACK AND BLUE BY GENA SHOWALTER
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BLACK AND BLUE
Otherworld Assassins, #2
Publisher: Pocket Books
Publication Date:  October 22, 2013
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New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter’s pulse-pounding paranormal series continues with an electrifying story about the ultimate warrior and his prize: a beautiful woman he will do anything to possess.
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HE IS EVERY WOMAN’S FANTASY. . .
Corbin Blue is a man of many talents. One of the most powerful otherworlders ever born, he is wealthy, a professional football star, and a legend in the bedroom. But only a select few know he is also a black ops agent…and there is no better killer. When he and his crew are attacked and separated, he’s forced to turn to his boss’s daughter for help―a woman with even more secrets than Blue.
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. . .SHE BECOMES HIS ONLY OBSESSION
Evangeline Black has always been wary, guarded. No man has ever breeched her walls. Until Blue. He has never been denied something he wants, and now, he’s decided he wants her. As he sweeps her into his double life of seduction, intrigue, and danger, he helps her see beyond the darkness of her past. But as an enemy closes in, Blue will have to let Evie go to keep her safe—even though he’d rather die than live without her…
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Pre-order
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ABOUT GENA SHOWALTER
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Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of the White Rabbit Chronicles, Otherworld Assassins, Angels of the Dark, Lords of the Underworld, and several of other series.  She has written over thirty novels and novellas.  Her books have appeared in Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazine, and have been translated in multiple languages.

Connect with Gena:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

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HALLOWEEN HOP Tour Schedule- 10/18 – 10/31
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OCTOBER 18
Books and Their Seven Deadly Sins (mandatory contest entry)
Curse of the Bibliophile (optional extra points)
Nette’s Bookshelf Reviews (optional extra points)
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OCTOBER 19
Window Seat on A Rainy Day  (mandatory contest entry)
Manga Maniac Café   (optional extra points)
Paranormal Book Club  (optional extra points)
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OCTOBER 20
Eclipse Reviews (mandatory contest entry)
My Book Addiction  (optional extra points)
Book Nerd  (optional extra points)
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OCTOBER 21
Booked & Loaded (mandatory contest entry)
Toot’s Book Reviews   (optional extra points)
Darkest Addictions Reviews (optional extra points)
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OCTOBER 22
Book Monster Reviews (mandatory contest entry)
Victoria’s Gossip  (optional extra points)
Who’s Reviews (optional extra points)
Taking It One Book at a Time (optional extra points)
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OCTOBER 23
Vampires, Werewolves, & Fairies, Oh My (mandatory contest entry)
The Reading Café (optional extra points)
Darker Passions (optional extra points)
Romancing Rakes For The Love of Romance  (optional extra points)
Paranormal Romance Fans for Life (optional extra points)
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OCTOBER 24
Mad Hatter Reads  (mandatory contest entry)
Fundinmental   (optional extra points)
Urban Girl Reader (optional extra points)
Little Read Riding Hood (optional extra points)
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OCTOBER 25
10/25 A_TiffyFit’s Reading Corner (mandatory contest entry)
Tome Tender (optional extra points)
My Secret Romance (optional extra points)
Queen of All She Reads (optional extra points)
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OCTOBER 26
Reading Between the Wines   (mandatory contest entry)
Mythical Books  (optional extra points)
Coffee Talk Writers   (optional extra points)
Rumpled Sheets Blog (optional extra points)
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OCTOBER 27
Books, Books and More Books   (mandatory contest entry)
Close Encounters with the Night Kind   (optional extra points) http://closeencounterswiththenightkind.blogspot.com
Diane’s Book Blog (optional extra points)
Crazy Four Books (optional extra points)
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OCTOBER 28
KT Book Reviews (mandatory contest entry)
New Adult Addiction  (optional extra points)
LilyElement  (optional extra points)
Coffee and Characters  (optional extra points)
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OCTOBER 29
Romance with Flavor (mandatory contest entry)
FUONLYKNEW (optional extra points)
Miscellaneous Thoughts of a Bookaholic (optional extra points)
Same Book, Different Review  (optional extra points)
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OCTOBER 30
Under the Covers (mandatory contest entry)
Literal Addiction (optional extra points)
I Smell Sheep   (optional extra points)
Romance Junkies  (optional extra points)
Wicked Readings by Tawania  (optional extra points)
Where the Night Kind Roam  (optional extra points)
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OCTOBER 31
Books-n-Kisses  (mandatory contest entry)
Babbling about Books and More  (optional extra points)
Inner goddess  (optional extra points)
Snarky Mom Reads… (optional extra points)
Book Bliss (optional extra points)
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SPOTLIGHT/REVIEWS ONLY
(blogs not participating in hop)
10/20 Underworld Love Addiction (Spotlight / Review)
10/22 Book Lovin’ Mamas (Spotlight/Review)
10/23 Night Owl Reviews  (Spotlight)
10/24 Sun Mountain Reviews (Spotlight/Review)
10/25 Eclectic Passions (Spotlight/Review)
10/25 Musings From an Addicted Reader (Spotlight/Review)
10/25 Sassy Book Lovers (Spotlight)
10/27 In Shadows (Spotlight)
10/29 Paranormal Haven  (Spotlight/Review)
10/30 Ramblings From This Chick (Spotlight/Review)
10/31 Shayna Renee’s Spicy Reads  (Spotlight)
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At the end of the tour Gena will pick THREE (3) winners to receive the following prizes:
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GRAND PRIZE:
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$100.00 gift card to Amazon
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RUNNERS-UP:
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TWO (2) winners will each get an autographed copy of BLACK AND BLUE and some SWAG from Gena.
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To enter click on the rafflecopter link below.
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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For all of my giveaways click on the ghoul below.
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