Author Archive

A Zombie Thanksgiving

Posted: November 28, 2014 in apocalypse, Holidays, reviews, Short stories and collections, Zombies
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Happy Thanksgiving ya’ll!

I have just the book for the holiday.

I was visiting my blogging sis Emily and she shared this awesome book on her blog.

Emily is also an author and she does these awesome Pay It Forward Friday posts featuring other authors. Check out her blog HERE.

I just knew I had to read it and was thrilled when she contacted the author and he got in touch with me.

I now have my very own signed print copy.

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There are three stories in this book.

A Zombie Thanksgiving.

A Zombie Christmas.

A Zombie New Year.

Plus a bonus one – A Vampire At Christmas.

I knew immediately how I wanted to review these, each individually to coincide with the holidays.

First up is A Zombie Thanksgiving.

Lets get to it!

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A Zombie Thanksgiving

by Anthony Renfro

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My Review

They say the holidays are no longer celebrated because of the zombie apocalypse.

Try telling that to Dawn. All she wants is to bring a little bit of normalcy into their lives. To remind them they are human, that they are still alive, that there is hope.

Guns and knife in hand, Dawn sets off to the grocery store to see if she can find a turkey. I know, this sounds nuts. But people get desperate for the old days, the easy days.

As Dawn stumbles over dead bodies and crashed, abandoned vehicles, she inevitably runs across some shufflers. She takes care of them coldly, efficiently. This is the new way of life.

Meanwhile, back at the safe place, George is handed a note by another survivor in their group. It appears Dawn has left to get food. Fool girl. Doesn’t she know there are zombies out there. What is so important she’d risk this by herself?

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but somehow the author had me feeling the warmth of Thanksgiving. Even As Dawn and George fought off the ravenous zombies that want them for dinner.

Dawn’s fierce determination has me adding her to my list of top female protagonists. She’s not going to stop until she finds that bird!

And George is just as determined. Determined to find Dawn and get her safely back where she belongs. All limbs attached. I liked how his initial frustration turned to alpha male, to lover, as he set out to find her.

I had my fingers and toes crossed for these two. The ending was not set in stone just because it’s Thanksgiving. Maybe the zombies got a nice dinner. Nobody told them they don’t celebrate the holiday.

5 Stars

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Stay tuned for my other reviews as each holiday approaches.

Synopsis

A short story about a woman who risks life and limb in a Zombie Apocalypse in order to keep the Thanksgiving tradition alive.

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Click on the covers to get your own copies.

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Author Anthony Renfro

Anthony Renfro

Anthony Renfro lives in Apex, North Carolina. He is a reader, writer, runner, husband, father, and stay at home dad – one of the toughest jobs anyone could ever do. He was born in Bristol, Tennessee, and is a graduate of UNC-Greensboro.

You can find him at many spots on the web, but if you really need to find his center in the social media storm it would be at his blog, apoetryjourney.wordpress.com.

Now reach out, just beyond the light, right into that big black space, and let him take your hand on a journey into cold dark places. You will be scared, and you may even be terrified, but in the end you might just find you liked the ride.

 

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

The Clock Strikes Midnight by Joan C. Curtis ~ VBT and Giveaway

Posted: November 27, 2014 in Blog Tour, crime thriller, giveaways, Mystery
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Clock StrikesMidnight_Banner

You have three months to live.

You’re seeking vengeance, a reckoning.

The clock is ticking.

Brace yourself for The Clock Strikes Midnight.

Come on in and see what it’s all about.

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway.

The Clock Strikes Midnight

by Joan C. Curtis

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Synopsis

The Clock Strikes Midnight is a race against time in a quest for revenge and atonement. This is a story about hate, love, betrayal and forgiveness.

If you found out you had only 3 months to live, what would you do? That’s the question Janie Knox faces in this fast-paced mystery full of uncertainty and tension that will surprise you until the very last page.

Hiding behind the façade of a normal life, Janie keeps her family secrets tucked inside a broken heart. Everything changes on the day she learns she’s going to die. With the clock ticking and her time running out, she rushes to finish what she couldn’t do when she was 17—destroy her mother’s killer. But she can’t do it alone.

Janie returns to her childhood home to elicit help from her sister. She faces more than she bargained for when she discovers her sister’s life in shambles. Meanwhile her mother’s convicted killer, her stepfather, recently released from prison, blackmails the sisters and plots to extract millions from the state in retribution. New revelations challenge Janie’s resolve, but she refuses to allow either time or her enemies to her stop her from uncovering the truth she’s held captive for over 20 years.

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EXCERPT:    

“Daddy, when I get my kitty, can I name him Davy?” she had asked, yanking Marlene’s Davy Crockett mug full of M&M’s from her grasp.

The colorful candy spilled all over the backseat of the car.

“Mama, tell Janie to—”

“Janie, behave,” Daddy said, admonishing her for an instant with his eyes from the rearview mirror.

“Malcolm, look out—!” Mom screamed.

Janie slammed into Marlene. Pain. The world tumbled topsy-turvy. The mug flew across the interior of the car, colors of the rainbow falling all around her.

Then, everything went black.

When she opened her eyes, Mom’s blood-streaked face rose in front of her out of the darkness.

“Wrap your arms around my neck, honey.” Mom lifted her from the wreckage.

Janie clutched her doll by the dress while the rain beat her curly hair flat.

Marlene stood on the side of the road.

“Try to walk,” Mom said, toppling her from her arms.

Her head pounded and blood trickled down her leg. She leaned on her good leg and limped in the direction of her sister.

“Mama, where’s Daddy?” Marlene asked between sobs.

Mom took Marlene’s hand and yanked her forward with Janie in tow.

Marlene lurched back toward the smashed Oldsmobile with smoke billowing from its hood and a big tree lying across the roof. The Davy Crockett mug lay shattered by the back tire.

“Daddy! We can’t leave Daddy!” Marlene yelled, picking up pieces of the broken glass.

They had left Daddy that day and piled into an old Chevy pick-up truck with a bashed in headlamp, belonging to a man with carrot-red hair. Mom pushed them inside the truck and ordered the man to get help. But by then it was too late for Daddy.

It was too late for all of them.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Clock Strikes Midnight author

 

 

Joan Curtis authored four business books published by Praeger Press. She is also published numerous stories, including:

 

  • Butterflies in a Strawberry Jar, Sea Oats Review, Winter, 2004
  • A Memoir Of A Friend, Chicken Soup for the Working Woman’s Soul, 2003 and Flint River Review, 1996
  • Jacque’s Story in From Eulogy to Joy, 2002
  • The Roommate, Whispering Willow Mystery Magazine, April 1997
  • A Special Sort of Stubbornness, Reader’s Digest, March 1997,
  • My Father’s Final Gift, Reader Digest, November 1994

 

Her first place writing awards include : Best mystery manuscript in the Malice Domestic Grants competition, best proposal for a nonfiction piece in the Harriette Austin competition, and best story, Butterflies in a Strawberry Jar in the Cassell Network of Freelance Writer’s Association.

 

Other Books:

Hire Smart and Keep ‘Em: How to Interview Strategically Using POINT, Praeger Press, an imprint of ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, CA 2012.

The New Handshake: Sales Meets Social Media, Praeger Press, 2010, an imprint of ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, CA

Managing Sticky Situations at Work: Communication Secrets for Success in the Workplace, 2009, Praeger Press, an imprint of ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, CA.

Strategic Interviewing: Skills for Savvy Executives, 2000 published by Quorum Books, Greenwood Press.

“I write about characters who remind me of myself at times and my sister at times, but never fully so. My stories are told from a woman’s point of view. Characters drive my writing and my reading.”

Having grown up in the South with a mother from Westchester County New York, Joan has a unique take on blending the southern traditions with the eye of a northerner. She spent most of her childhood in North Carolina and now resides in Georgia.

 

Links:

Website ~ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~  MuseItUp Publishing

 

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Tour giveaway

 $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Click on the banner below to follow the tour.

And remember to comment. The more you comment. the more chances to win!

Goddess Fish Promotions

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!

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If a mermaid could be so lucky… Under The Moonlight ~ Tour Giveaway

Posted: November 26, 2014 in Blog Tour, Excerpt, Fantasy, giveaways, Romance
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Under the Moonlight Banner

 Ever since I was a little girl I’ve loved mermaids. There’s something about them, an aura, that is so intriguing. Who wouldn’t want to be able to swim the depths of the ocean, a place more foreign to us than outer space?

Splash into Under The Moonlight. Discover Ashley Nemer’s mythological world of merfolk.

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

Under the Moonlight

Virtual Book Tour Dates: 11/24/14-12/1/14

Genres: Romance, Mythology, Fantasy (Mermaid Story)

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Blurb:

Zara’s fate had been decided thousands of years before her birth. She is now fighting against time and family to reclaim the decisions that will ultimately shape her destiny.

Sentenced to live an existence in the Underworld, mated to a man she despises, Zara must find a way to overcome the Gods and their curses, with love as her only guide.

Can James, a handsome and rugged sailor, help Zara break the bonds of magical spells or will she end up mated to Xander, the Son of Satan?

Take a dive Under the Moonlight to see where love can take you.

 

Excerpt:

Zara couldn’t help staring at the vessels that passed by her cove. Each one contained a different story and a different set of sailors. Her father had warned her that interacting with the humans, or even simply studying them, was an addiction, one she would soon have to learn to overcome. Each mermaid was presented with the same challenge on their twenty-second birthday. They each had to make a choice to stay in the waters and live with their families, or to give up everything they had always known, for love, and join the human race.

For thousands of years, the merpeople had joined the two-legged humans’ culture, going undetected. And it wasn’t as if mermaids could never go into the waters again afterwards. Each full moon they had the opportunity to dive into the

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salty water of the ocean and join their fellow merpeople under the moonlight. However, each full moon that passed made that transition harder and harder for the mermaid to accomplish. The longer they were out of the ocean and away from their mer-form, the harder it was on their body to shift back to their original form.

She knew that her decision was about to be due. She hadn’t told anyone what she was thinking about choosing; she didn’t want the added pressure from King Triton, her father, and his brother, Poseidon, her uncle. Humans always got the lineage wrong in their stories. So many of the gods were intertwined that they all ended up being related to one another in some way or another, but the rules for joining the human race were strict. A merperson could only marry once, and it could only be for love. Any other reason wouldn’t be approved. You had to have King Triton’s blessing in order to make the final conversion into the human world.

“What are you looking at, Zara?”

Her head whipped around to the side to look at Sadie, her mother, who was swimming in the lagoon. “That ship out there. It comes by here every day around this time, like they are just waiting.”

“They are predators. Always remember that.” Her mother’s tone was adamant.

“You only say that because you don’t know them yet. Everyone is a shark to you,” Zara retorted.

“Men are men, Zara. They will kill to get what they want.”

“Is that what you tell Daddy?” Zara valued her mother and knew that she would always be there to support her, but she worried that her mother was constantly trying to sway her against all human men and make her change her mind about the choices she had spinning around in her head.

“Your father is different. Gods know how to treat their women,” she said flatly.

“No, they don’t, Mother. You are just blinded by love.” She watched the curve of her mother’s lips come up and form a smile. It was the truth. Her mother and father were very much in love, even after all these years and hundreds of children. Humans talked about having large families with nine or ten siblings. They should try having two hundred and fifty nine sisters and twice as many brothers.

“And what a blindness to have. You should be so lucky, young lady.”

“One day, Mother, maybe I will be.”

 

Buy Link:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
iTunes
Kobo
Smashwords

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About the Author

 

Me

 

Ashley is married and lives in Houston with her husband Tony. They have two dogs named Toto and Doogie. They have been together for over 10 years and he brings her more joy than she could ever imagine as a child. She loves to read and has been hooked on the romance genre ever since her life long best friend gave her “Ashes to Ashes’ by Tami Hoag to read when they were younger.

Ashley finds her strength through her family, especially her parents. They always support her in life, they push her to strive for greatness. There once was a motto that Ashley heard in her youth through her Taekwondo life ‘Reach for the Stars’ and that is what Ashley has always done. It was through her upbringing that the values Ashley has and display’s came from. With her Parents always cheering her on in life she was able to grow up having faith in herself and her ability to conquer the world.

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Connect With The Author:

The Art of Safkhet 

Ashley’s World

Niki Becker

Ashley Nemer – Author Facebook

Facebook Friend Page

Memories in a Box Blog

Twitter

Ashley Nemer Amazon Author Page

Niki Becker Amazon Author Page

Ashley Nemer Goodreads

Niki Becker Goodreads

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Giveaway:

Enter to win a $15 Amazon GC on the Under The Moonlight: A Mermaid’s Tale by Ashley Nemer Book Tour & Giveaway!

Open Internationally.

This giveaway will run11/24/14-12/1/14.

Click on the link below to enter.

Enter through Rafflecopter.

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!

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Check out Tahlia Newland’s YA Fantasy Series ~ Diamond Peak ~ A Special Sale!

Posted: November 26, 2014 in Blog Tour, Series, YA Fantasy
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I’m excited to share the Diamond Peak Series with you.
Wait until you get a look at the cover art for this wonderful series.
And there’s a special sale too.
Keep reading to find out more!
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Lethal Inheritance
Diamond Peak Series Book #1
By- Tahlia Newland
Genre- YA Fantasy
 
A scream pierces the night. Ariel jolts awake and watches in horror as demons drag her mother into a hidden realm. She finds help and sets off on a rescue mission. But to defeat the demons, who feed on fear and seek to enslave the human race, she must learn a secret esoteric wisdom to awaken the dormant, but potentially explosive, power of her mind.
Walnut, a quirky old wise man, guides her through treacherous inner and outer landscapes, and Nick, the powerful Warrior who travels with them, proves a dangerous attraction. Can Ariel defeat the sadistic demon lord before he kills her and enslaves her mother?
The stakes are high, death a real possibility. Fail now, and she fails humanity.
This book has been awarded the AIA Seal of Excellence in Fiction and the BRAG Medallion for Outstanding Fiction.
 
      

(more…)

The Trouble With Demons ~ Release Day Special Sale!

Posted: November 25, 2014 in Paranormal or fantasy, Release day, Series
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Julie Kenner’s THE TROUBLE WITH DEMONS releases today – you can grab the first five books in this series for just $4.99 for a limited time only!

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About THE TROUBLE WITH DEMONS

Don’t miss the first five books in this series that Warner Brothers Television has optioned for the CW Network with Alloy Entertainment producing!

“Ninety-nine percent of the wives and moms in the country will identify with this heroine. I mean, like who hasn’t had to battle demons between car pools and play dates?” Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling author

“[S]hows you what would happen if Buffy got married and kept her past a secret. It’s a hoot.”—Charlaine Harris, New York Times bestselling author

The Trouble With Demons contains the first five books in Julie Kenner’s Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom Series:

Carpe Demon

California Demon

Demons Are Forever

Deja Demon

Demon Ex Machina

Kate Connor is your average, everyday mom with two kids, a husband, and one very big secret … she used to be a Demon Hunter. Now retired, she’s more interested in the domestic than the demonic. So when she catches sight of a demon in Wal-Mart, she tells herself it’s some other Hunter’s problem. But when that demon attacks her in her kitchen, retirement is no longer an option…

Amazon | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes | Google Play

About Julie Kenner

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Julie Kenner (aka J. Kenner and J.K. Beck) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over forty novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres.

Praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a “flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations,” J.K. writes a range of stories including super sexy romances, paranormal romance, chick lit suspense and paranormal mommy lit. Her foray into the latter, Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner, is in development as a feature film with 1492 Pictures.

Her most recent trilogy of erotic romances, The Stark Trilogy (as J. Kenner), reached as high as #2 on the New York Times list and is published in over twenty countries.

J.K. lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two daughters, and several cats.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew.

Happy Thanksgiving ya’ll!

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Teaser Tuesdays #89 ~ Rehab Is For Witches

Posted: November 25, 2014 in Meme, Paranormal or fantasy, Short stories and collections, Teaser Tuesdays, Uncategorized, Witches
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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

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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 tease is from

Rehab Is For Witches

by Multiple Authors

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There were so many good teasers in this book I couldn’t choose which one to use.

So I’m going to give you this from the very beginning.  I am having so much fun and having a lot of laugh out loud moments.

So here is my tease:

A hint about this book…

This book doesn’t stick to time as though it was Velcro. It moves in the same direction, but it flits back and forth, because this is a journey of six witches aiming to get through magical rehab. So it’ll follow all of them on their journeys…and then the journey they take together.

So, sometimes you’ll go back, and sometimes you’ll go forward. We guess that’s just the nature of magic. You’ll get the hang of it.

We’d also like to note that in the making of this book there were many jokes about names for spells, giggling, epic bouts of brainstorming, and that one brilliant joke about the Kracken…er…well, you’ll see. So we hope you enjoy this book, and we take no responsibility for the swearing, giggles, romance, or unadulterated drama you’ll find. Just don’t drink anything for a few pages. Nobody likes coffee snorted all over a clean table.

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I was given this ARC to review for an upcoming tour. I don’t know what might have been changed since I read this. Hopefully they left this beginning in. It does a great job of preparing you for the fun inside.

Keep an eye out for my review on December 3rd.

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Synopsis

Welcome to Little Raven: an unsullied, beautiful woodland hamlet in the heart of the Midwest. The sort of place where furry creatures romp about and spend their days bursting into song.

Actually, that’s a giant pack of lies.

Little Raven is a town…for witches.

And some of those witches might have bent the rules. A teensy bit. When six magical miscreants dabble with black magic, they end up together at Incantations, the town’s rehab center for witches gone awry. It’s a slap on the wrist for naughty witches. Pretty much a daycare center so they don’t wander off and start turning people into newts on a whim. Each witch must work through her addiction to black magic, and follow the tenets designed to lead them back to the path of the straight and narrow, as boring as that sounds. Even if following the tenets sucks worse than a group round of kum-bay-ya. Which sucks. Horribly.

We will admit we are powerless over magic—that our lives have become unmanageable.

We will make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of the Goddess as we understand Her.

We will make a searching and fearless moral and magical inventory of ourselves.

We will admit to the Goddess, to ourselves, and to another being the exact nature of our magical wrongs.

We will make a list of all persons or beings we have harmed, and become willing to make amends to them all.

We will make direct amends to such beings whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

We are entirely ready to bow before the Goddess and have Her remove all our defect of character, even at the risk of being entirely stripped of our magic.

But this is just the start. There’s something rotten in Little Raven, something that seeks to take all the magic it can, and devour the inhabitants in the process. It will take the strength and power of all the witches to defeat the darkness seeping into their town, beat it back, and be rid of it forever…and maybe just make it through rehab while they’re saving the world.

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How about you? Got a tease? Tell me!

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Devil Music ~ A different kind of demon story by Carly Orosz

Posted: November 24, 2014 in Paranormal or fantasy, reviews
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I was supposed to review this for the tour hosted by Novel Publicity but had blog complications and wasn’t able to post.

Now that I’m up and running again I’d love to share Devil Music with you.

A special thanks goes out to Naomi. She posted my review as a Guest Post on her blog Naimeless during the tour. Stop by and check out her blog and say hi.

Devil Music

by Carly Orosz

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My Review

I’m fascinated by demons. Fascinated and terrified by them. After reading the description for Devil Music, I was intrigued.

Cain is a demon. His master, Warwick, uses dark arts to bind him with a slave collar, and uses him for power and financial gain.

Under Warwick’s thumb, Cain is sent on errands. After which, his memory is wiped clean. He has no memories of the errand he’s been sent or of his previous life.

On his current errand, Cain impulsively buys a guitar and discovers a hidden talent. He skyrockets to rock music fame and breaks free from his master.

I wasn’t too keen on Cain at first. He seemed kind of wimpy for a demon. Then, I put together his wiped memories and the horrible abuse he suffered at the hands of his master, and came to understand the weight of his hopelessness. I was thrilled with his rise to stardom and his freedom. He even got a girlfriend and some solid friends. He had a life of his own.

Then, a serial killer starts stalking the music scene and Cain, along with his friends, must move quickly to discover the killer’s identity as the victim count rises and the killer draws near.

This was a huge book at over 700 pages. The beginning was a fast read as I met the characters and entered the author’s world.

The pace slowed down in the middle. Not much happened and I felt it would have been a great place to give us some background on the secondary characters, flesh them out more so I could connect better.

My curiosity kept me going as I started to get an idea who the killer might me. I needed to know what his motive was and had fun reading how the characters discovered the identity of the killer.

I didn’t get answers to all of my questions at the end. I did get enough to wrap up this plot but was left needing more. I wanted to know more about the other character’s lives. I wanted to know about Cain’s previous life and how the slavery changed him. Perhaps I’ll get those answers in the next book.

I was looking for a different kind of demon story and found one.

4  Stars

Thanks so much to Novel Publicity and Carly Orosz for the opportunity to read and review Devil Music and for being so understanding while my blog was down.

About the book

  Cain Pseudomantis leads a miserable life. Bound to the mortal world by a powerful spell no demon could hope to break, he must obey his human master’s every command or face harsh punishment. He finds solace in the rock music which he listens to when he isn’t running unsavory errands for his master. Then everything changes. While on a mission in a seedy section of 1980s Los Angeles, Cain impulsively buys an electric guitar and discovers an unusual talent for music, a talent that catapults him to hair metal stardom. With three super-powered human band mates and his beautiful girlfriend Michelle by his side, his life starts to look a lot better. But Cain soon finds that even rock stars have troubles. The crusading televangelist Nathaniel Breen—who happens to be Michelle’s father—accuses him of turning the city’s youth to Satan worship. Meanwhile a mysterious killer known only as the Engineer terrorizes the Los Angeles rock scene with a series of brutal murders. When Cain and his friends attempt to unmask the killer, they discover a deadly secret that could cost Cain his hard-won freedom, and possibly his life.

Get Devil Music through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or iTunes.

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About the author

Carly Orosz

Carly Orosz lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan with her husband. She graduated from Kalamazoo College and went on to earn an MFA in poetry from Sarah Lawrence College. Her poetry has been published in Wavelength Journal and SpoutMagazine. In her spare time she enjoys cooking, weaving on a hand loom, and studying the art and cultures of pre-Columbian Mexico.

Connect with Carly on her website, Facebook, Twitter,or GoodReads.

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

What’s New On My Bookshelf #86 and The Sunday Post

Posted: November 23, 2014 in Freebies!, giveaways, Meme, reviews, What's New on My Bookshelf
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This is my own version of a weekly book haul and all things new on fuonlyknew.

Another fun way to share your book news and enjoy others is The Sunday Post hosted by

Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

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I’m back. Those of you who follow my blog probably noticed that WordPress shut me down. I was guilty of violating their Terms Of Service. I admit, I was. But still not too sure what all I did wrong. They don’t go into detail, so I suspect it’s like a form letter they send out when they shut you down.

So, now I’m self-hosted and free to do as I please, at some cost.It was worth it to be able to transfer all of my content. I was horrified when I was shut down. All those lovely posts and reviews, gone! But, I have them back and now I’m looking forward to sharing more with ya’ll. Still trying to figure out how to change to Leave a reply thingie at the bottom. Is it odd for you to comment and does anyone know how I can personalize it? I’ve searched everywhere in my dashboard and can’t find a way to change it.

Last Sunday Post I mentioned rearranging my living room and now having no place for my Christmas tree. I took Katherine’s and Trisha’s advice and moved some things into the guest room and now have the perfect spot! But first, I had to get the new bed for my sons room out of there, so I finally finished his room and everything looks good.

I had a huge dilemma at the grocery store. They were out of my favorite tea, Twinings Irish Breakfast and also the English Breakfast Tea I fall back on. So, I bought some Earl Gray and it tastes odd. There’s a lingering aftertaste, spicy and heavy that I can’t figure out. Not liking it much but since I spent the money on it, I’ll probably drink it.

My oldest brother and my mother came down from Michigan last week and they brought that winter vortex with them. We had some frigid days here on the Gulf Coast and it brought back memories of the ice age we experienced last year. LOL Now it’s blustery and cloudy and humid as hell. Around the 70’s and sticky! Funny how quickly the weather shifts near the water.

I hope you all had a great week and lets get to some of what I’ve been doing book wise. Not as much as I couldn’t post, but I did a lot of reading.

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Here are my new books for review.

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New ones just for me!

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And here are some freebies for ya!

Click on the covers to get yours and remember to make sure they’re still free before you click that buy button.

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Books I reviewed this week.

Click on the covers for my reviews.

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22741384  20737737

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Books I’ll be reviewing next week.

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22576187  16292113

 

I have a few more, just not sure which ones I’ll post about this week. And working on some others.

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What I won this past couple of weeks.

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I won a print copy from the giveaway on Beckie’s blog Bittersweet Enchantment

Thanks so much Beckie and thank you Barbara Holstein

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I won a print copy of this book from a giveaway on Shellie’s blog Layers of Thought

Thanks so much Shellie and thank you Washington Irving.

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I won a print copy of this book from a giveaway on Erin’s blog Jump Into Books

Thanks so much Erin and thank you Kerry Smith

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Other Posts this week. Not too many as I’ve just started up my new blog.

Christmas in Dogtown ~ Blitz Review and Giveaway

M9B Friday Reveal and Giveaway ~ The Perilous Journey of the Not-So-Innocuous Girl

The Friday 56 #45 ~ Torn ~ A Fire Born Novel

The Afterworld Series ~ Recruitz & Alibiz ~ Tour Giveaway

Twinkle by S J Parkinson ~ A Sci Fi Thriller Review

Blitz Giveaway ~ Come celebrate Tony Bertauski’s new release ~ Flury: Journey of the Snowman #3

Christmas, Actually ~ Mistletoe Kisses Grand Finale Blitz Giveaway

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For all of my 2014 reviews go HERE

For a list of free books go HERE

For all of my giveaways go HERE

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So, what did you get to read this week?

Got any recommendations?

I’d love to know and thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew.

Christmas, Actually ~ Mistletoe Kisses Grand Finale Giveaway Blitz

Posted: November 23, 2014 in Book Blast, Contemporary Romance, giveaways, Holidays, Romance
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A themed tour through Prism Book Tours.

It’s the MISTLETOE KISSES TOUR Grand Finale for
Christmas, Actually
By Anna Adams, Anna J. Stewart, and Melinda Curtis
Three Harlequin Heartwarming novellas, where a sweet kiss takes place under the mistletoe.

Did you miss any of the excerpts, guest post, or reviews on the tour?
Feel free to go back and check out all the stops now!

Launch – Intro to the Collection

Christmas, Actually – three holiday stories about three siblings living in Christmas Town, Maine, where tradition has it that a kiss on Christmas Eve in the town square gazebo will lead to wedding bells in the new year!

Christy’s Cozy Corners – An Interview with Anna Adams

How was it decided that the story would take place in Christmas Town, Maine?

We were looking for a setting that spoke of the holidays, and I’d lived in Maine in a town that decorated the green for Christmas. I described it, and someone suggested Christmas Town as a name for our fictional village.

Coffee Books & Art – Excerpt

Snowflakes hit the windshield and splayed into star shapes while Bing Crosby crooned his dreams of a white Christmas. Sophie Palmer tried to sing along, but her mind was already racing up the icy interstate to Christmas Town, Maine, where the father of her unborn child now lived.

The Book Lovers’ Lounge – Christmas Town by Anna Adams

And I imagined my own broken hero, Jack Banning, watching from the sidewalk, there in the town, but watching from the boundaries because he doesn’t belong any more.

Getting Your Read On – Review

“Yeah, I really loved my time in Christmas Town with the Banning family. Each story was unique and romantic. I loved all the characters. They were real and identifiable. It is the perfect book to curl up with as the days get colder and we get closer to Christmas.”

Colorimetry – The Power of a First Kiss by Anna Adams

He’s at her house, killing time because he can’t go home and face his brother’s happiness when another friend calls to offer him an investment opportunity. Mary is leaning against George, also listening on the phone, when finally, he admits to his feelings. He takes her in his arms for a kiss he clearly doesn’t want even as he desires nothing in the whole wide world more than the hometown love of his life.

Southern Chelle – Review

“I don’t think I’ve read anything by any of these authors before, but these novellas have me falling hard for their work! I used to receive the Harlequin Heartwarming books monthly, but I didn’t have room for anymore paperback books in my house and had to give it up. I’m so glad they’ve continued these offerings!”

Kelly P’s Blog – An Interview with Anna J. Stewart

  1. What do you hope readers will take with them after reading your story?

There’s nothing better than a happily ever after–that’s why I write (and read) romance, but that’s kind of the easy answer. I think at its core, the story is about learning how to be open with others, to tell them how you’re really feeling about situations that are emotionally damaging them. Dean, Callie and Eliza all have to do this at some point during the story and once they do, the happily ever after is possible.

My Love for Reading Keeps Growing – Excerpt

“Is this a bad time?” The combination of sympathy and amusement shining in green eyes, along with the tamed Irish lilt, called to mind fields of clover dotting rolling hills. She’d spent many a night and more than a few days dreaming of traveling to the Emerald Isle. Now it seemed as if Ireland had come to her.

Shoulder-length, golden-streaked hair brushed the worn leather of the bomber jacket he wore over snug jeans, the hint of a plain white T-shirt peeking from under the collar.

The Wonderings Of One Person – Dream Cast for The Christmas Wish

There are some actors who just “hit” from the second I lay eyes on them. When looking for images of my Dean, I did not have to look much further than Chris Hemsworth.


Casting my heroines has always been problematic for me. Typically, I use another medium for inspiration (I’m a doll collector), but when I saw this picture of Nina Dobrev (Vampire Diaries), I knew that was Callie.

Christian Chick’s Thoughts – Review

“The Christmas Date: The instant I started reading this story, I knew I was going to love it. There’s just something about those You’ve Got Mail-esque stories that I love. Nick and Gina are both so likeable, and their chemistry lept off the page. This was easily my favorite of the three stories!”

Bookworm Lisa – Review

“Each of the author’s did a great job in telling their story. I liked the descriptions and the characters.

This book is a fun way to get into the holiday season and find a little clean Christmas romance.”

fundinmental – My Top Ten Christmas Traditions by Anna J. Stewart

I LOVE Christmas time. Truly, from about Halloween on, I’m all about the tinsel, the trees and the music (why do they have to stop the Xmas carols on the 26th?!). For years now it’s just been my mom and me during the holiday season, but we’ve got our traditions…and they start early…even before we carve the Thanksgiving turkey.

Beck Valley Books – An Interview with Malinda Curtis

What’s your favorite aspect of the story?

One of my favorite aspects is Gina’s parents. They’ve tried for years to do what they thought was right and it strained their character and their relationship. This year, they rejoin the pageant and the town’s festivities in a very public way. It’s a small part of the story, but a set of vignettes that I love.

Mel’s Shelves – Review

“I loved seeing the siblings in each other’s stories and enjoyed getting to know them. These stories are quick, easy reads which are perfect to get you in the mood for Christmas. I love that they’re all clean so I can recommend it to everyone! Christmas Town was a fun place to visit!”

Painted Words – Review

“But what I truly loved about this book was that it didn’t feel at all repetitive which can be a big hindrance to books like this especially if written by multiple authors. It was an absolutely beautiful story, one that I look forward to reading again next year at this time and it was the perfect way to start off the season.”

I Am A Reader – Melinda Curtis’s Favorite Treat at Christmas Time (with recipe)

My mom is a fan of Jell-o salad. At Christmas, she’d serve us a slice of Jello salad on a leaf of lettuce with a dollop of mayonnaise on top. The first time Mr. Curtis had this dish, he happily took a big bite, expecting it to be whipped cream on top. Kudos to him for keeping his disappointment to himself.

Deal Sharing Aunt – Excerpt

In the wee hours of Christmas Eve morning, Gina stood at the edge of the town square and traced the deep, jagged scar that ran from her left temple to her jawline with the tip of a gloved finger, as if her touch could erase the past. The small ball of worry, the one that hadn’t let her sleep last night, expanded like bread dough in her chest, pressing against her lungs.

I should have told him.

Wishful Endings – Excerpt (4-star review here)

“Are you kidding? You’re beautiful. Why would he do that?

“You have to say that. You’re standing in my kitchen.” With me practically in your arms. Nevertheless, she hugged his words to her heart. No one had ever called her beautiful before.

JoJo’s Corner – 10 Gifts Ideas for Your Teen/Young Adult & Review

I’m a little bit anal about the holidays. I have a basic list I work from that my kids will enjoy or find useful. They’re all in college now, but that doesn’t mean they want a package of socks for Christmas. Here’s a list of 10 suggested gift giving categories for your teen/young adult…

Review: “Christmas, Actually is the perfect collection of stories to cuddle up and enjoy on a cold wintry night!”

Undercover Book Reviews – Review

“Three stories in one book, a great way to start the Christmas season off! Anna Adams takes you on three separate journeys in the life of Jack, Callie, and Gina as each tells their own story. The plot is good in each one.”

Katie’s Clean Book Collection – Review

What a fun story! The reader is taken on a journey through Christmas Town, Maine and we get to see snippets of what makes this town special through the eyes of three different characters.

Christmas, Actually
by Anna Adams, Anna J. Stewart, & Melinda Curtis
Clean Contemporary Romance
Paperback & Ebook, 202 pages
November 1st 2014 by Harlequin Heartwarming

Discover the magic of Christmas Town, Maine!

Three lonely strangers come to Christmas Town, Maine, and find love with three Banning siblings in the town that celebrates the holidays by decorating its square with lights and ribbons and a holiday pageant on Christmas Eve. Tradition has it that a kiss beneath the mistletoe that night means marriage for the couple in the new year.

The Christmas Gift by Anna Adams:
Jack Banning promised to support the mother of his unborn child… But she doesn’t need money, she only needs him.

The Christmas Wish by Anna J. Stewart:
Callie Banning’s student has declared war on Christmas, so it’s up to her to help the little girl—and her widowed father—believe again.

The Christmas Date by Melinda Curtis:
Gina Vernay is about to meet her online mystery date…and she’s in for the surprise of a lifetime!

Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Harlequin – iTunes

About the Authors

Anna Adams wrote her first romance in wet sand. The Atlantic Ocean washed it away, but Anna kept going. Her stories are of love, like the proverbial stone in a lake, making ripples that spread and contract and involve. From Iceland to Hawaii, and points in between, Anna and her own hero share with children and family and friends who’ve become family. All this living and loving gives Anna plenty of fodder for stories of love set in real life. Come along and live them with her!

Website – Goodreads – Facebook – Twitter – Pinterest

Anna J. Stewart can’t remember a time she didn’t have a book in her hand or a story in her head and credits her mother never saying no to a book for turning her into a writer. Anna lives in Northern California with an overly attentive cat named Snickers and is happiest when setting her heroes and heroines on their road to happily ever after amidst family, fun and laughter.

Website – Goodreads – Facebook – Twitter – Pinterest

Melinda Curtis grew up on an isolated sheep ranch, where mountain lions had been seen and yet she roamed unaccompanied. Being a rather optimistic, clueless of danger, sort she took to playing “what if” games that led her to become an author. She spends days trying to figure out new ways to say “He made her heart pound.” That might sound boring, but the challenge keeps her mentally ahead of her 3 kids and college sweetheart husband.

Website – Goodreads – Facebook – Twitter – Tumblr – Pinterest

 

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Tour-Wide Giveaway

– Gift Card Prize Pack: $20 Amazon gift card and ebook of Christmas, Actually (open internationally)
– US Prize Pack: Paperback of Christmas, Actually and three Christmas ornaments (US only)
– 3 ebooks of Christmas, Actually (open internationally)
Ends November 30th

Click on the rafflecopter link below to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!

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It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

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Blitz Giveaway ~ Come celebrate Tony Bertauski’s new release ~ Flury: Journey of a Snowman #3

Posted: November 22, 2014 in Blitz, giveaways, Release day, Science Fiction, YA Fantasy
Tags: , , ,
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Through Prism Book Tours.

We’re celebrating the RELEASE of
Flury: Journey of a Snowman
By Tony Bertauski

An Introduction to Flury

Frosty had a magic hat.

There was no explanation, just a special hat that turned a pile of snow into a walking, talking best friend. Flury is more than that. And doesn’t smoke.

Born on the North Pole, Flury was created by an ancient race of elven that evolved during the Ice Age and continues to live in the polar ice today. Technologically advanced, they sustain themselves with innovation and wisdom. But even the most peaceful settlements encounter danger, such as polar bears. That’s why they invented abominables.

What we call snowmen.

The life of an abominable doesn’t magically spring from a top hat. The heart of an abominable is a metal orb—an intricately carved sphere that generates an electromagnetic field and builds a body of snow around it. Abominables are intimidating and selfless. They run, they fly. Above all else, they protect.

In the late 1800s, Malcolm Toye was part of an arctic voyage that ended in disaster. The survivors of the expedition never saw him again. Malcolm had wandered into the snowy landscape to be saved by a patrolling abominable he would come to know as Flury.

His rescue, however, became more of a curse than a blessing when the elven refused to allow him safe passage back home, insisting they remain secret from humanity. Malcolm was destined to live out his days among the elven, pining for home.

Longing for his wife.

Malcolm escaped by stealing the metal orb of Flury. Quietly, he arrived back in the United States to settle down and resume a normal life. But there was nothing normal about it. As the years went by, his estate becomes shrouded in mystery and rumors.

A hundred years will go by before the mystery is solved.

Oliver Toye, a teenage type 1 diabetic, will discover the magic hidden on his grandmother’s property. He’ll read about Malcolm Toye’s journey when he finds a set of leather bound journals. He’ll see the snowman trapped on the property, and the other things that haunt the forest. Most importantly, he’ll uncover Malcolm Toye’s master plan to harm others. And why he wants to.

Flury will come to Oliver’s rescue more than once.

 

Flury: Journey of a Snowman
(Claus #3)
by Tony Bertauski
YA Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Holiday

Life hasn’t been kind to Oliver Toye.

As if juvenile diabetes isn’t enough, he’s forced to live with his tyrannical grandmother in a snow-bound house. He spends his days doing chores and the nights listening to the forest rumble.

But when he discovers the first leather-bound journal, the family secrets begin to surface. The mystery of his great-grandfather’s voyage to the North Pole is revealed. That’s when the snowman appears.

Magical and mysterious, the snowman will save Oliver more than once. But when the time comes for Oliver to discover the truth, will he have the courage? When Flury needs him, will he have the strength? When believing isn’t enough, will he save the snowman from melting away?

Because sometimes even magic needs a little help.

Amazon – Barnes & Noble

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About Tony Bertauski

During the day, I’m a horticulturist. While I’ve spent much of my career designing landscapes or diagnosing dying plants, I’ve always been a storyteller. My writing career began with magazine columns, landscape design textbooks, and a gardening column at the Post and Courier (Charleston, SC). However, I’ve always fancied fiction.

My grandpa never graduated high school. He retired from a steel mill in the mid-70s. He was uneducated, but he was a voracious reader. I remember going through his bookshelves of paperback sci-fi novels, smelling musty old paper, pulling Piers Anthony and Isaac Asimov off shelf and promising to bring them back. I was fascinated by robots that could think and act like people. What happened when they died?

I’m a cynical reader. I demand the writer sweep me into his/her story and carry me to the end. I’d rather sail a boat than climb a mountain. That’s the sort of stuff I want to write, not the assigned reading we got in school. I want to create stories that kept you up late.

Having a story unfold inside your head is an experience different than reading. You connect with characters in a deeper, more meaningful way. You feel them, empathize with them, cheer for them and even mourn. The challenge is to get the reader to experience the same thing, even if it’s only a fraction of what the writer feels. Not so easy.

In 2008, I won the South Carolina Fiction Open with Four Letter Words, a short story inspired by my grandfather and Alzheimer’s Disease. My first step as a novelist began when I developed a story to encourage my young son to read. This story became The Socket Greeny Saga. Socket tapped into my lifetime fascination with consciousness and identity, but this character does it from a young adult’s struggle with his place in the world.

After Socket, I thought I was done with fiction. But then the ideas kept coming, and I kept writing. Most of my work investigates the human condition and the meaning of life, but not in ordinary fashion. About half of my work is Young Adult (Socket Greeny, Claus, Foreverland) because it speaks to that age of indecision and the struggle with identity. But I like to venture into adult fiction (Halfskin, Drayton) so I can cuss. Either way, I like to be entertaining.

And I’m a big fan of plot twists.

Website – Goodreads – Facebook

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Blitz Giveaway

– $25 Amazon gift card and ebook of Flury: Journey of a Snowman (open internationally)
Ends November 22nd

Click on the link below to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!

horseshoe photo: Horseshoe horseshoe.jpg

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