Archive for October 16, 2013

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?

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 The Twilight Swimmer

by A.C. Kavich

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One year after her beloved sister drowned while swimming in cold New England waters, sixteen-year-old Brandi Vine is still struggling to understand what happened. As she mourns on the rocky beach where her sister’s lifeless body washed ashore, she is unaware that a pair of haunting gray eyes is watching her from beneath rolling ocean waves.

When Brandi attends a party that goes horribly awry, the mysterious owner of the gray eyes emerges from the ocean depths and comes to her rescue. She only sees him for a few brief moments, but that’s all it takes to turn Brandi’s world upside down. What were the strange markings on his neck that seemed to flutter with every breath? How did he possess such inhuman strength and grace? And why did he look at Brandi with such longing?

Brandi’s fascination with the Swimmer grows. She makes it her mission to find him again and learn who – and what – he is. Meanwhile, the Swimmer’s fascination with Brandi compels him to leave the safety of the ocean behind, to be with her at all costs. They are from two different worlds, but neither of the star-crossed romantics can resist the pull of the other.

Ultimately, when her feelings for the Swimmer swell beyond her control, Brandi comes to realize that the strange young man from the sea can unlock the secret of her sister’s final swim

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What did you recently finish reading?

The Thin Veil

The Thin Veil

by Tim Meyer

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Something strange is happening in the small town of Pleasant Plains, New Jersey. People are getting sick. Peculiar noises can be heard from inside their homes. Some of them are acting weird, speaking in unknown languages. Then there are the butterflies. And the green pulsating light coming through the cracks in the walls. Oh, and the hunger. Yes, the people of Pleasant Plains are starving and nothing seems to satisfy their primary desire.

Except for the children. The kids have proven to be quite filling…

The Thin Veil is a 35,000 word novella in the vein of Stephen King and B science-fiction movies of the 1950’s.

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What do you think you’ll read next?

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Evergreen

by David Jester

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Evergreen is the peaceful, idyllic home for a bustling traveler community. It is home to Patrick Ryan, the figurehead of the community; home to Aidan McCleary, Patrick’s mentor and friend; home to scores of youngsters and generations of families. But now Evergreen is also home to a sadistic serial killer, someone who is targeting the youngsters of this once peaceful community.They know the killer lives among them, know that one of their own is tearing this small community apart. They want to deal with it themselves, to track down the killer and deliver their own justice, but can they find him before he rips their home apart?Evergreen is a serial killer thriller/whodunnit with a macabre and sinister slant. A book not for the faint hearted.
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So, whatcha readin?

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Sorrow's point TourBanner

I have another awesome book for your Halloween reading list!

Sorrow’s Point by Danielle DeVor.

I read this and went to bed with the lights on!

I have a special guest post for ya, some details about the book and where you can purchase it, and my review!

Oh, don’t forget to enter the fantastic giveaway too!

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Summary:

Not all exorcists are created equal- especially those that are “marked”.

When defrocked ex-priest, Jimmy Holiday, agrees to help an old friend’s sick daughter, Lucy, he unearths unexpected horrors. Blackmoor, his friend’s new residence, has a dark history that makes it appear almost alive. Jimmy must decide if Lucy is only ill, or if the haunting of the house and her apparent possession are real.

After the house begins affecting him as well; seeing colors of magic and his voice taking on an unusual power, Jimmy discovers that he is apparently “marked”. Whatever being “marked” means, Jimmy doesn’t care. He wants to help Lucy. Helping Lucy means performing the exorcism.

Jimmy knows the ceremony, but it’s belief that matters. And if a demon is using a little girl as a meatsuit, his faith had better be strong enough to kick it back to Hell. Otherwise, he might damn them both.~~~~

My Review

I couldn’t resist Sorrow’s Point when I read the description.

Defrocked ex-priest Jimmy Holiday can’t refuse when his old friend, Will, calls him for help. He suspects his young daughter, Lucy, is possessed by a demon.

Upon his arrival at Blackmoor Hall, Jimmy begins to gather the evidence needed  to prove possession so the church will authorize an exorcism.

The old house has a history. A previous owner, Archibald Black, was  obsessed with the dark arts and one headline in an old newspaper proclaimed, “Cannibal or Misunderstood Millionaire?”

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Whatever is inside Lucy likes to play games. The games soon become life threatening  Now none of them go anywhere in the house alone and they’re forced to all sleep in the only safe room in the house.

As Lucy’s condition worsens and her health declines dangerously, Jimmy fears he doesn’t have time to wait for a church sanctioned exorcism. He just may have to do it himself.

This story made me think of The Exorcist. A little girl is possessed by something evil and is no longer that little girl.

Possessions usually start with strange noises and moving objects, like a poltergeist. Then, as with Lucy, subtle changes begin with the victims personality.

Once the possession is complete, things go from bad to really bad very quickly.

That’s where the similarity ends.

The author deftly wrote in more than one point of view and flashed back to the past throughout the story to get you familiar with the history of the small town, the house, and its previous inhabitants. I easily followed the author as she led me along and built her horror in bits and pieces.

I pictured the before Lucy and the Lucy after her possession and while I felt sorry for her, like those in the house, I was afraid of her too. This was not a little girl, but something ancient, something demonic and it wasn’t going away easily.

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When I went to the theatre to see The Exorcist, I was absolutely horrified. I’ve always been afraid of the unseen and when I got home that night I never slept a wink. I lived in Michigan then and it was the dead of winter. When it gets really cold the house cracks loudly, just like the noises described in this book.

I slept with the lights on for a long time after that, and while I can now watch that movie without any ill affects, I’m still terrified of the unknown. Of what lurks beyond our ability to see.

I read this at night, which is my normal reading time. I was okay in the beginning, was okay as I read further, then I said, “Nope, no more tonight!”

Sorrow’s Point is creepy in all capital letters. Keep a torch handy while reading it and whatever you do, don’t go see what the noise is.

One more thing. The ending was fantastic. I really liked what the author sprung on me.

5 Stars

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A Character Guest Post

A Witch’s Thoughts on Demons by Tabby Settle

I’ll freely admit that demons scare me. They aren’t hot men featured on the covers of romance novels. When you meet one- it isn’t pretty.

I’ve been lucky to have two demonic encounters in my life, and the one thing that is the same with both is the smell. Demons stink.

I’m serious. They smell like the worst rotten crap you can imagine. I don’t know about you, but even if a demon was hot, I wouldn’t go near something that smelled like that.

Not that demons are pretty either. Outside a body, they look like a weird dark cloud. Inside a body, well, Linda Blair doesn’t hold a candle to it.

If you can get beyond the look, then there is the feeling. When you encounter a demon, they feel wrong. Or bad. Or evil. Whatever you want to call it.

Now, I keep my pentacle close. Closer than I did before that’s for sure. With the crap I’ve seen from dealing with Jimmy, anything that you have belief in will help you with a demon, but it still can hurt you.

I’m not sure what it all means, but if there is a demon, there has to be a higher power. The fact that my religious stuff worked, well, that’s proof that my stuff is just as good as anything else to ward off evil.

So, don’t romanticize demons. Or, at least be conscious that what you are reading really is fiction. I’d rather not have to help with another exorcism if I can keep from it.

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Danielle Devor

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Danielle DeVor spent her early years fantasizing about vampires and watching “Salem’s Lot” way too many times.  After living briefly in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she moved back to her hometown to write.  When not writing and reading about weird things, you will find her hanging out at the nearest coffee shop, enjoying a mocha frappuccino.

Social Media Links

Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Blog

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Prizes
1st – $25 Amazon gift card
2nd – T-shirt with Sorrow’s Point cover
3rd – signed bookmark

US only
midnight US eastern October 15 through 11:59 pm October 25

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 mean greenie below!

Careful though. He Bites!

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FearsomeBlitzBanner

Expresso Book Tours has organized a terrific event!

Check out this blitz for Fearsome by S.A. Wolfe

Read on to learn more about Fearsome, check out the authors favorite quotes, and don’t forget to enter the giveaways.

Yep, two giveaways.

I have one ebook copy of Fearsome to giveaway.

And I have a rafflecopter giveaway for three $100 Gift Cards.

But first, feast your peepers on this amazing cover art for Fearsome.

It looks like it could be hung in an art museum!

Fearsome

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Fearsome by S.A. Wolfe

Publication date: October 2013

Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

 Jessica Channing’s big city life should be more exciting than sixty-hour work weeks and popcorn nights with her girlfriends, but it’s not. She has worked hard fulfilling her role as a child prodigy and graduating college years before her peers. She’s the good girl, the brilliant girl. Unfortunately, she’s also the dateless young woman. That all changes with one phone call. Jess’s rigid, predictable life upends when she must visit a small, obscure town to deal with a relative’s death. This isn’t just any little speck of a town, though. Long lost memories come crashing down on Jess’s world when two men, the Blackard brothers, seem to lure her in. Dylan is cover model handsome, and pursues Jess the minute she comes to town. Then there is tall, dark and gorgeous Carson, who hides his own secrets behind his hardened reserve. For someone who has been governed by her own obsessive behaviors and fears, Jess lets her guard down and jumps at the opportunity to have an affair with a man she actually finds attractive for a change. There’s just one problem. Jess discovers that she can’t have a simple romantic fling because true passion does indeed come with some very big strings attached to it. She will have to own up to her own truths about love and face the two extraordinary men; both troubled in their own ways and both determined to have her.

This novel contains graphic sexual content and strong language. It is intended for mature readers.
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Some of the authors Favorite excerpts from Fearsome

“Hey, Bixby,” a deep voice says from behind us. Archie and I both turn to where a man has jumped out of a truck. He looks like he’s in his mid-twenties or older; muscular build, very tall, dark brown, tussled, shoulder length hair and broad shoulders on a trim frame. He is definitely too handsome, too gorgeous and too intimidating for me. He’s the kind of guy any woman would notice. He looks like he walked right out of a truck commercial. He even has the faded jeans, well-worn T-shirt and dusty work boots to complete the picture. I can’t help staring.

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I nod as if I understand the precarious nature of Carson Blackard when the only thing I know about this guy is that he sure knows how to put sexy into a pair of grubby work jeans.

***

“Oh boy, here’s trouble,” Lauren says, looking over my shoulder. I turn around to see a very cute guy walk into the diner. He’s what I’d call a summer boy, the Ralph Lauren ad; a tall, tan, athletic guy who sports sun-bleached light brown curls and a casually confident air. Sure, I can surf. Sure, I play polo, who doesn’t? Sure, I scuba dive, sky dive and ski off cliffs.

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(This one was too funny not to include!) “Just go chop your trees and things,” I repeat, waving him on and putting my sombrero back on to hide my face. He walks off, chuckling. “Hope you don’t lose your pecker,” I mutter so he can’t hear.

***

“I had no idea the country had this kind of entertainment.” I’m mesmerized with Carson’s waist and the muscles flexing just above his jeans. “Wow.”

“Yes, our country boys got it going on,” Imogene says in a country twang.

***

“Stop. Dylan, we have to stop.” I move his hand away.

“Really?” he asks, panting.

“We barely know each other, and I’m not a one-night-stand girl.”

“I don’t want you for one night,” he says, fighting for control of his body back. “I want you for every night.”

***

“What happened to Dylan the playboy? I heard you really got around in college.”

“That was then, this is now. It’s not like I was a criminal or a junkie. I went out with a lot of women. Don’t judge me by what I did in the past, Jess.”

“Fair enough, but don’t expect me to change my mind because you’ve got a party in your pants.”

***

Dylan towers over me, solid, thick muscles, making him look like he has been created to resemble the perfect Romanesque sculpture. He puts his hands on either side of my arms and waits for me. I unfasten the front clasp of my lace bra and wriggle out of it.

***

“Don’t worry. I’ll be gentle, the first time,”

***

Yes, and if you keeping holding my hand and caressing my palm, my body is going to shatter.

***

“I have wanted to kiss you for three hundred and sixty days,” he says between kisses. “How’s that number for you?”

“I’m not sure it’s accurate,” I say through breathless pants.

***

“Are you ready to be a grownup?” Imogene asks, standing over my bed.

“This is a fuckervention,” Lauren says from the other side of the bed. “Stop breaking his heart. And yours.”

***

“Whoa. Where do you think you’re going?” He grabs my arm. “We’re still dancing, Babycakes.”

***

He strides toward me and takes my hand to pull me towards the stairs.

“We’re doing it your way,” he says.

“What’s my way?”

“No talking, no strings.”

He walks me briskly upstairs to his bedroom and closes the door. Before I can say anything, his mouth is on mine, hot and frantic. My whole body responds immediately. I run my fingers through his hair and then his tongue and lips are on my neck. A rush of cool air envelopes my body as I realize Carson has pushed my dress straps off my shoulders and it falls to the floor.

“Keep the shoes on,” he demands, still kissing me and pulling my panties down at the same time.

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S.A. Wolfe

S. A. Wolfe lives with her wonderfully loud, opinionated children and awesome husband. She is a voracious reader and passionate about writing, and when those two activities don’t keep her locked away in her room, she loves hiking mountains as much as she adores all the thrills New York City has to offer.
Author Links:

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I have one ebook copy to give away!

International Giveaway. Open for all my friends!

To enter, please leave your email address and answer this question,

“What’s your favorite movie to watch on Halloween?”

And another GIveaway!

You can win one of THREE $100 Gift Cards!

Click on the rafflecopter image below to enter.

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RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

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Xpresso Book Tours

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For all of my giveaways, click on the mean greenie below.

Careful though. He’s been known to bite!

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Cover Reveal: Sworn To Conflict by Terah Edun + #Giveaway (International)

On Sale on Amazon, iTunes & Barnes & Noble December 6, 2013

                       

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Book Description:

Ciardis Weathervane fought for the living dead and won. But worse than taking on a mass murderer, was her discovery that she had been deceived by her friends. Now she needs to not only fight a war in the North and survive, but also decide where she stands in the midst of competing sides.

A threat to all she holds dear lies in the North and her heart is not the only thing she might lose. A massive army awaits in the mountain pass, surging closer to the gates of the southern lands. Nothing the Algardis army has done so far has dissuaded their march forward and Ciardis finds out that her powers to enhance are needed now more than ever.

As she faces her greatest fears on the battlefields and her heart is torn between her love of Sebastian and loyalty to her family, Ciardis must choose her fate carefully. For in her path, lies the destiny of the empire.

This third novel continues the story of Ciardis Weathervane from Sworn To Transfer.

 

Connect with Terah: Author Site | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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Series Order Links:

Sworn To Raise (Book One)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C9VC7AY/
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/2940016661742
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/sworn-to-raise/id642043648?ls=1

Sworn To Transfer (Book Two)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F8PIH0W
www.barnesandnoble.com/s/2940148397472

 

International Giveaway!

Terah is giving away 1 signed copy of Sworn To Transfer, 1 eARC of Sworn To Conflict, and 1 ebook of Sworn To Raise or Sworn To Transfer.

There are 3 total winners!

CLICK HERE to enter!

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Good Luck!