Welcome to my tour stop for The Originals: The Rise created by Julie Plec.
From the creator of The Originals, the hit spin-off television show of The Vampire Diaries, come three never-before-released prequel stories featuring The Original vampire family.
This tour runs January 12th-30th and it will consist of reviews, special content and spotlights. Check out the tour page for the full schedule.
Title: The Originals: The Rise
Author: Julie Plec
Series: The Originals, book 1/3
Release date: Tuesday, January 27
Format: Trade
Price: $12.95 U.S. / $14.95 CAN.
Pages: 352
ISBN: 9780373788897
eISBN: 9781460349731
Imprint: Harlequin HQN
Book Description:
Family is power. The Original vampire family swore it to each other a thousand years ago. They pledged to remain together always and forever. But even when you’re immortal, promises are hard to keep.
Arriving in New Orleans in 1722, Original vampire siblings Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah Mikaelson believe they’ve escaped their dangerous past. But the city is lawless, a haven for witches and werewolves unwilling to share territory. The siblings are at their mercy…especially after Klaus meets the beautiful and mysterious Vivianne. Her impending marriage is key to ending the war between the supernatural factions—and Klaus’s attraction to her could destroy the uneasy alliance. As Elijah works toward securing a piece of the city for his family, and Rebekah fights her unexpected feelings for a French captain, will Klaus’s volatile desires bring their world crashing down—and tear them apart for good?
Julie Plec is the co-creator & executive producer of The Vampire Diaries & the creator of The Vampire Diaries spin-off, The Originals. Plec got her start as a writer and producer on the ABC Family series Kyle XY. She also collaborated on the CW drama The Tomorrow People. Her screenplay adaptation The Tiger’s Curse is in development at Paramount, and she will produce the feature @emma with Darko Entertainment. Past feature production credits include Scream 2 and Scream 3.
Giveaway:
15 prize packs including: A copy of The Originals: The Rise and a copy of The Originals season 1 on DVD.
As children, haven’t we all wished our imaginary worlds were real?
Run with Linda. Run as fast and as far as you can and perhaps you’ll find that world.
Please enjoy the guest post by Author S.S. Dudley.
Catch a glimpse inside Elf Hills.
And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
~~~
Guest Post by Author S.S. Dudley
The Genesis of “Elf Hills”
Preschool. I opened the heavy glass door and entered the colorfully decorated room. A reading area, books and cushions, occupied a corner off to my left. Miniature tables for miniature people filled the center of the room, the chairs neatly organized. Around the tables, shelves overflowed with paper, crayons and other arts and crafts materials. It was quiet. The happy, busy preschoolers were outside in the play yard, scampering hither-thither.
An easel stood in the entryway. It presented the day’s activities to parents coming to reclaim their small people. On it hung a chart entitled, “If I had a superpower, I would…” Below, next to names, was the list of superpowers. Be super strong. Be invisible. Fly. My eyes stopped on one: run really fast. I smiled at the name next to it. Sofia.
That’s my girl.
A disclaimer—I am 95% certain we had not yet seen the Pixar film The Incredibles (in which the boy’s superpower is to run fast). I had, though, been running my daughter around in a jogging stroller since she was three months. We routinely did sprint workouts together in a grassy area near her preschool. I am no pro runner, very amateur, but I do enjoy running very much. It made me smile to think that this was rubbing off in some small dose.
And it gave me an idea.
Recently I had begun to think about writing a book. I wanted to write something for Sofia, something novel sized, but also fun and engaging for her and me.
I began to think about a girl who could run really, really fast. But I didn’t have a story. Yet.
That came while I was on a run in a nature preserve near our house. I began to wonder what a young girl who, like my daughter, still believed in fairies, but who also could run incredibly well, would discover if she were to wander the mostly wild mountains of the Coastal Range in Northern California. Might she not come across something magical out there?
I shan’t disclose too much. Read the book if you’re curious. Elf Hills is about a girl with a prodigious talent for running who begins to suspect that there is something magical about the hills behind her home. And she is determined to discover what it is and who lives there.
I will say that I can see the hills of the book from my office window. I have to stand in just the right place to see them, but I know they are there. My family and I have gone for numerous hikes in those hills (small mountains, really) and it always astounds me how remote they can feel—only 60 miles from the bustle of the Bay, with its millions of inhabitants (San Francisco, Berkeley, etc.).
Elf Hills was born from my desire to know this girl, Linda, who could run so well. Why? Why did she love running so much? Was she just talented, or was it something else? The story grew the more I wondered about the mysteriously uninhabited hills. What magic could hide there? Who might hide there? And why? As I wrote, new characters appeared. Nugu, Linda’s cousin, for one. He loves all things reptilian and fantasizes about having his own dragon. But he is skeptical of Linda’s stories. Might he change his mind? He should, but he is getting into science. And other characters—like Biergo, the impish gnome intent on tripping Linda—joined the narrative, taking it in directions I never initially expected.
I recall that C. S. Lewis started on Narnia with only an image of Aslan, the lion, in mind. He wanted to know more about him. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was born from this desire. The mustard seed for me was a girl who runs fast, planted in some dry, dusty, lonely hills. It was a long, hard, arduous process bringing Elf Hills to fruition. The story became too big for a single book, so I had to split it up and rework it numerous times. Fortunately, this means the sequel, Fairy Trees, is well on its way to being finished. And there will be more to follow.
It amazes me how something so small, so simple, can grow so much. Elf Hills started from a couple of simple notions, which grew as I folded in elements from my own interests and from the geography around our home. All the time driven to discover the story and share it with Sofia. Bringing a book to life is a process—not unlike raising children. It reminds me to enjoy the ride.
~~~~~
Elf Hills
by S.S. Dudley
BLURB:
Something strange, something magical, is going on in the dusty hills behind the small town of Villaloma. Yet each time Linda Peters puts on her running shoes and sets out to find the enchanted kingdom she imagines—full of dancing elves, unicorns, and more—something stops her. And with school starting soon, she only has a few more chances to really search the hills.
While Linda’s frustration and doubt grow, her cousin, Nugu, looks for answers in his books and wonders if maybe, just maybe, Linda’s stories are for real.
The day finally arrives when Linda can run far, the day she is sure she will find her magic city. But when she and Nugu feel their goal must lie just beyond the next hill, they only find more hill.
Is it all a figment of an over-active imagination; a wistful fantasy?
Or is there truly something magical in those hills that only the strong of heart—and leg—can discover?
This fairy tale, as you might have guessed already, takes place on a hill. Or, rather, on many hills and a mountain or two in Northern California, near what people call the Great Valley. One hill in particular stands out, though, because that is where everything started. It was a nice hill; well rounded, not too high, not too low. It was distinctly a hill, snuggled up against a mountain like a nursing cub to its resting mother. For the most part this hill was well-dressed with dark green oak trees and tall grasses, usually yellowed and dry except for the four or five wet months of the year. Along one side, a seasonal creek slipped out and down into the plain. Here the vegetation—red-stemmed manzanita, prickly blackberry bushes, and other shrubs—was thick and difficult to move through.
From afar, the hill was not remarkable; it had many siblings stretching to the north and south as far as the eye could see. This hill was special, though. For one, a strange—some said magical—copse of trees stood near the base of the hill where the creek emerged. These trees were short, had long, dark-green leaves, and bore bright yellow fruit that, if eaten, were said to imbue a person with the strength of ten men. For another, the hill was haunted. On certain nights of the year a white light would shine from the very top of the hill. It was brighter than the brightest star; brighter even than a full moon, perhaps, and it cast long shadows across the plain. The first people that lived in the area told many stories about that hill, the light, and the spirits that lived there.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
S. Dudley grew up in Wyoming, USA, an avid reader and lover of the outdoors. He studied at the University of Wyoming and the University of Illinois. He started his first book (an epic fantasy hand-written in with a blue fountain pen…) when he was 13, but never finished it. At some point (as his mother recently reminded him), he decided that he needed to go do something (like get a job) for a while before he could, or should, write. He did, and spent time in Colombia, Panamá, Antarctica and the dark recesses of large science buildings on college campuses. That done, he now writes, lives and runs in Northern California with his wife and two children.
He can be found at http://www.ssdudley.com, http://www.facebook.com/author.ssdudley and on twitter at @SS_dudley.
The ebook price is $0.99, paperback $8.99.
Kindle version and paperback are available from Amazon HERE.
ePub, PDF, Kindle and other versions are available from Smashwords here: Smashwords
Folks who sign up for the author’s newsletter at my web-site can have the ebook free.
Folks who purchase through the author’s web-site (Kindle, ePub, PDF; viapayhip.com) and share their purchase via social media can have it 50% off.
I love cozy mysteries. The colorful covers. The quirky titles.
Each series has a theme, culinary, artistic, needlework, cats, dogs…
Obviously this series is all about the cats.
Check out the covers.
Meet the cast of characters.
Enjoy the excerpt.
And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
~~~
The Cats that Played the Market
The Cats that . . .
Cozy Mystery Series
Book 4
Karen Anne Golden
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Date of Publication: November 25, 2014
ISBN: 13:978-1503033276 / ASIN: B00Q71LBYA
Number of pages: 296 / Word Count: 37,384
Cover Artist: Christy Carlyle of Gilded Heart Design
Book Description:
They’re back! Scout, Abra, Iris, Lilac and Abby — the cats you’ve grown to love — are once again caught up in intrigue and mayhem.
A blizzard blows into Indiana, bringing gifts, gala events, and a ghastly murder to heiress Katherine “Katz” Kendall. It’s Katherine’s birthday, and she gets more than she bargains for when Colleen and her mum visit the Victorian mansion to celebrate. Handsome boyfriend Jake adds to the joys of the season.
After all hell breaks loose at the Erie Museum’s opening, Katherine and her five cats unwittingly stumble upon clues that help solve a mystery. But has Scout lost her special abilities? Or will Katz find that another one of her amazing felines is a super-sleuth? With the cats providing clues, it’s up to Katherine and her friends to piece together the murderous puzzle . . . before the town goes bust!
Katherine ran to her car, opened the door, and jumped in. Nervously fumbling with the clasp on her crossover bag, she extracted her cell and called Jake. “I’ve got an emergency,” she said breathlessly. “Chief London wants me out of town.”
“Why?” Jake asked in disbelief.
Katherine turned the ignition, floored the accelerator, and peeled out on Main Street. “I’m heading to the pink mansion now. I don’t have time to explain.”
“Katz, I’m not far. I’ll meet you there and help corral the cats. We’ll decide later where to go.”
“Colleen’s with Daryl, but her mum’s home. Park in back and use your key to the basement. I’ll see you in a few.”
Driving in front of the house, she was shocked to see a red pickup blocking her parking spot. Surely that’s not the stolen vehicle, she thought.
Quickly getting out of the car, she rushed up the steps to the front porch landing. She was startled when Colleen’s mum opened the door.
“Hello, Katz. I was just headin’ to the kitchen to make a bit of tea,” she slurred.
Katherine took one whiff of Mum’s breath and knew she’d been drinking. “Is everything okay?” she asked worriedly.
“Why do you ask, dear? You look like you’ve been touched by a banshee!”
“Whose truck is that?”
“I’ve been talkin’ a bit of treason with your friend from the library. They’re waitin’ for you in the living room. I’ll fix some tea.”
Katherine took Mum by the arm. “Come with me,” she insisted. She directed her to the stairwell.
Mum resisted. “Whatever ‘tis the matter?”
Katherine said firmly, “Shhh! Lower your voice. Go to your room and lock the door. I only have one friend from the library, and Michelle doesn’t drive a red pickup with out of state plates.”
“Oh, it’s somebody else. I didn’t catch their name. What’s goin’ on?”
“I beg of you. Just do as I ask,” Katherine implored. “When you get to your room, call Colleen and tell her to not come back to the house until she hears from me.”
“In the name of all the saints,” Mum said, as she staggered upstairs.
Katherine sprinted past Mum to her back hallway bedroom. She was alarmed to see the door standing wide-open. She had specifically shut the door so the cats wouldn’t bother Colleen’s mum while she was away.
“Dammit,” she said, surveying the room. The cats were not there. She pulled the Glock out of the gun safe and joined Mum outside her door.
“You’re not goin’ to use that thing, are you?” Mum said frantically. “Why don’t we call the police?”
“I’m going to call the police! Please relax,” Katherine reassured and then, with rising alarm in her voice, “Where are the cats?”
“The last time I saw them, they were toastin’ their buns on the kitchen register.”
“Hurry! Get in your room.”
Mum finally went in and locked the door.
Katherine yanked her cell out of her bag and called Chief London. “I think the stolen vehicle is parked in front of my house,” she said anxiously. “It’s a red pickup.”
“Katz, stay in your vehicle. Do NOT go inside,” the chief ordered. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“That’s a problem because I’m already inside.” She disconnected the call and tapped Jake’s number. It rang and rang, then went into voice mail. “Don’t come. Chief’s on his way.” She put the cell in her back pocket.
Gripping the Glock with both hands, she cautiously walked downstairs. Suspecting the person in the living room was armed, Katherine swiftly searched downstairs, leaving the living room for last. She had to get to the cats in the kitchen, and shut that door so they wouldn’t run into the living room. Entering the kitchen, she was shocked to find the cats weren’t on the register or on the window valance. Oh, my God. They’re in the living room with a murderer.
About the Author:
Karen Anne Golden released her first book, “The Cats that Surfed the Web,” in December 2013. In one year, she added three other books to The Cats that …Cozy Animal Mystery series. “The Cats That Played the Market” is the fourth book.
Karen received a bachelor’s degree in History/Education from Columbus College, Columbus, Georgia. She obtained a master’s degree in anthropology at Purdue University, and then conducted ethnographic field research (all-but-the Ph.D. dissertation) in Brighton Beach, New York.
When she decided that an academic career wasn’t for her, she worked for a major computer company, riding the subway from Brooklyn to mid-town Manhattan. But her heart wasn’t in the big city. Karen saved for years until she was able to buy a Victorian house in Indiana.
Now she lives in a Queen Anne built in 1897; it’s a “painted lady” with four colors in the paint scheme. She’s spent many hours restoring her beloved house. With the house finished, she has time to do what she’s passionate about — writing. She has opened her house to many cats, mostly “rescues.”
You can read a bit about the books and enjoy the special glimpse inside Mel Goes To Hell.
Welcome To Hell
“Good morning. Welcome to HELL.”
Mel hates job interviews – and this one’s shaping up to be the interview from Hell.
From the grumpy receptionist to the disturbingly demonic interview panel and the sleazy CEO, it seems landing her first job is the least of Mel’s worries.
Can she make it out of the office alive without selling her soul?
A devilishly hot CEO. The angelic new office temp. A match made in Heaven or Hell?
Melody Angel takes a job as a temp at the HELL Corporation. Surrounded by eternal bureaucracy gone mad, demons who love making life miserable, and dying for a decent coffee, it may take a miracle for Mel’s mission to succeed. She must find out what evil plans Lucifer and his minions have in store and stop them, using any means necessary.
Adding trouble and temptation to Mel’s job is Luce Iblis, the damnably hot CEO, who has set his smouldering eyes on the new office angel and he’s determined to claim her, body and soul.
Can ultimate evil and angelic perfection escape a limbo of desire and find a paradise of their own?
The ultimate forbidden love – when Lucifer falls for an angel.
Luce and Mel unearth an age-old conspiracy behind his fall from Heaven which could doom their love for eternity. Yet in the deepest levels of Hell lies a secret that could hold their salvation.
Eternal damnation awaits any angel who descends into the Pit of Despair, but Mel will move Heaven and Earth to save Lucifer’s soul. Armed with little more than the fury of a righteous angel, Mel will raise Hell in the name of love.
From the heights of Heaven to the depths of Hell, can love truly conquer all?
She wore white – an angel in the kitchen, contrasting with the honey-coloured timber cabinets. Her hair was pinned up as it usually was in the office, baring her neck so that it fairly begged him for a kiss. He couldn’t refuse her, so he moved as quietly as he could until she was close enough to touch. Maybe he hadn’t used up all his oyster influence last night…
“What is it about white that makes you look so angelic?” he murmured as he kissed her neck.
Mel jumped and gave a yelp. Liquid splattered on the bench.
Luce lifted his head and realised she’d been handling hot tea. She moved quickly to the sink, running her red hands under the cold tap.
“I’m sorry, Mel. I didn’t realise…” he began, wishing he’d thought to announce himself more safely. She was hurting because of him and he couldn’t stand it. He’d give anything to be able to heal her as she had him.
“It’s all right,” she said breathlessly. She nodded at the half-full cups. “You drink yours. I’ll get to mine in a minute, if I get time.”
“What’s the hurry?” Luce asked, slurping the steaming liquid. He hadn’t had a cup of tea in centuries until arriving at Mel’s place and now it seemed perfectly natural to drink several a day. He wondered if there was anything she couldn’t persuade him to do.
“Raphael called. He said he can get permission for you to enter Heaven again, but you’ll have to go through judgement, like any mortal. I said it was ridiculous and I fully intend to argue your case in person. Raphael evidently didn’t make it clear…” For the first time, Mel looked annoyed. No, like an angel filled with righteous anger, or at least indignation. He pitied whoever she’d be arguing with; they hadn’t a hope in Hell against her.
“Are you sure it’s worth the trouble?” he asked. “I mean, it’s been so long, I barely remember what it’s like up there. It’s not like I need to go in – the place is full of righteous angels, being sickeningly kind to each other with no idea of the reality down here. You know I have no patience for them, with their snowy-white reputations and ideals. I don’t belong there.”
“I’m one of them and so are you. You have every right to be there, just like they do. I have the same ideals, Luce, and you seem to like me just fine,” Mel said through gritted teeth as she shut off the tap, shaking her fingers dry in the sink.
Now he felt bad. She seemed so different to all the other angels he knew. None of them knew the conditions down here as well as she did. Delusional, living in their cloudy paradise…they’d never believe her, unless they saw him bleed for themselves. He’d spill his lifeblood for Mel, but not a drop for any of them, he swore. And they’d turn on her like they’d turned on him all those centuries ago. For doing what was necessary – stating the truth.
“I’m coming with you,” he announced.
She shook her head. “No, Luce. They’d…react differently to you. I’ll go on my own and smooth the way for you. It’s better this way.”
He snorted. “You expect me to sit here, like some damsel in distress, while you fight my battles for me? Why don’t I just wear one of your dresses and you can call me Lucia, too? Even then you’d have to chain me up here to keep me from coming with you. Oh Hell, that brings back memories…” He couldn’t help laughing.
“What memories? Do you have a torture room with chains somewhere that you haven’t showed me yet?” Mel asked. “Or did you just forget about it until now?”
Luce did his best to regain control of himself. “No, not any more. I did have a fun couple of decades as Madam Lucia, though, and we had a couple in the Lair. The things those girls could do…”
Mel’s face turned blank, almost deliberately, Luce decided. “You worked as a brothel madam? Why doesn’t that surprise me? I bet you could’ve filled up Hell with the people in your whorehouse…”
Luce sobered. “The customers, yes, but most of the girls were absolute saints. The things they put up with from the clients, the pay, the conditions…actually, I never saw their souls again, once they left my employ. Of course, there were a few…the ones who thought it was a fun idea to rob the customers and leave them in an alley somewhere, sometimes still breathing…well, Hell always needs a few more demons.”
“You…I’m sorry, Luce, I’m just trying to imagine you in a dress, let alone running a brothel…” Mel shook her head, as if trying to shake the image out of her ears.
Luce tried to smother his grin. “You know, I could show you,” he offered eagerly. “There was a lot of leather involved, but I believe some of my favourite designs are still in vogue in modern adult shops. I think they’d suit you better than they ever did me, though.”
“Luce.” Mel’s piercing gaze brought him out of his fantasy. “We weren’t discussing your fetish for leather. We were discussing how you should stay here while I’m in Heaven, at least for the moment.”
He met her eyes without flinching. “The only way you’ll get me to stay here while you’re fighting on my behalf is with a strong set of restraints – which brings us nicely back to leather.” He let his grin break free. “I fight my own battles in person, Mel. Later, we can celebrate with leather, if you like.”
Demelza Carlton has always loved the ocean, but on her first snorkelling trip she found she was afraid of fish. She has since swum with sea lions, sharks and sea cucumbers and stood on spray-drenched cliffs over a seething sea as a seven-metre cyclonic swell surged in, shattering a shipwreck below.
Sensationalist spin? No – Demelza tends to take a camera with her so she can capture and share the moment later; shipwrecks, sharks and all.
Demelza now lives in Perth, Western Australia, the shark attack capital of the world.
The Ocean’s Gift series was her first foray into fiction, followed by her suspense thriller Nightmares trilogy. She swears the Mel Goes to Hell series ambushed her on a crowded train and wouldn’t leave her alone.
I studied the cover, read the book, then studied it some more.
The cover tells the story.
Now, come on in and learn all about it.
And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
~~~
Title: Missing in Paradise
Publication date: November 3, 2014
Publisher: Rebelight Publishing Inc.
Author: Larry Verstraete
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My Review
Before I start taling about the book, I want to talk a bit about the cover art.
I’m assuming you read the book description. Now look at the cover. It tells the story. You’ll see after you read it.
Bravo to the author for his fun, whimsical, telling cover!
Now to the story.
Nate thinks his Gramp’s death was mysterious. And that is confirmed when he’s drawn to a cardboard box. It contains clues and a map to a hidden treasure, the long missing “Shipment #35 – Gold.”
Nate quickly grabs the box, rescuing it from the garage sale and the creepy clutches of his neighbor, old man Fortier.
Sure that his Gramps was onto something, Nate enlists the help of his friend, Simon, to seek out the treasure.
They make their plans, jump on a bus, and set off on the adventure of all adventures.
But someone else knows about the treasure, and the race is on.
This book is like a blast to the past. I remember some wild adventures I went on when I was young. I never found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, never found cans of money buried in my back yard(got in trouble for those holes, LOL) and never found a treasure, but I had a grand time looking.
I felt that same excitement while reading this book. I was a part of the adventure. I also felt the fear, the doubt, and the hope.
While this is recommended for middle grade readers, some of the characters are kids and some are older adults, so I’d recommend this to anyone with a sense of adventure. It’s good, clean fun.
Here’s looking at you, kid.
5 Stars
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Synopsis
Four months after Gramp’s mysterious death, Nate helps out at Gram’s garage sale. An eerie feeling, as if Gramps were reaching beyond the grave to send Nate a message, leads Nate to a box full of clues. A missing plane. A secret to keep. A map highlighting the route where Gramps died and the message, “Shipment #35-Gold.” Nate and his best friend, Simon, are convinced that Gramps was on a treasure hunt when he died. They’re just as convinced that Gram’s shifty next door neighbour, Fortier, is after the gold too. Nate and Simon sneak away on a Greyhound bus for the small town of Paradise where Nate is sure treasure awaits. Can they find the gold before Fortier gets his thieving hands on a treasure that rightfully belongs to Gramps?
Larry Verstraete is an award winning author of 13 non-fiction books for young people. This is his first work of fiction.
ABOUT LARRY VERSTRAETE:
Larry Verstraete, a retired teacher, has authored thirteen non-fiction books for young people and won multiple awards including the 2012 McNally Robinson Book for Young People Award and the 2010 Silver Birch Non-fiction Award. Missing in Paradise is his first work of fiction.
Today is the official release day for the paranormal/horror/suspense/thriller Growl!
Did you hear it? There! Now did you hear it?
I thought I heard a growl!
Come on in and celebrate the release of Growl.
Check out the creeptastic cover.
Read my review.
And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
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My Review
Growl starts with a rumble, low and sinister. The rumble becomes a snarl, louder now and closer. The snarl becomes an ear splitting roar as the end rushes towards you.
At the tender age of 9, when her world should be one of innocence and wonder, Sheryl Ilene Newcomb (did you catch her initials- SIN) does something unspeakable. And she spends the second half of her life in fear. Fear of being found out. And fear of doing it again.
Any chance at a normal life, of happily ever after with the love of her life, is shattered by a voice. A voice in her head. When she finally meets the owner of that voice, she’s pulled, kicking and screaming, into her heritage. Her destiny.
But, someone else is out there. Someone like her, but not like her. And they won’t stop coming after her until she’s dead.
By the title, you are probably thinking werewolves, but you’d be wrong. This is something new in the paranormal genre, something steeped in Native American lore.
The author chose Mississippi as the setting for this story and it worked well. The southern dialect and culture were a perfect foil for this tale.
Part mysticism, part faith and family, and part horror, Growl kept me engrossed until the battery ran out on my Kindle. As soon as it was recharged, I jumped back into the story, not stopping until I finished.
You’re going to like the ending. And you’re going to want more.
5 Stars
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Synopsis:
My name is Sheryl Ilene Newcomb. And yes, my initials are
S.I.N. A funny little piece of whimsical humor my parents found amusing when I
arrived. Mom and Dad were two high school sweethearts who adored their guns,
their beer and their self-appointed titles of King and Queen of the Rebellious
Rednecks. The day I arrived, they didn’t think anyone in the town would have
the mental acuity to put two and two together to discover their little inside
joke. Shame on the pathetic excuses who called themselves teachers in this
dreary city, because Mom and Dad had been right: no one caught on to their
little attempt at humor.
Then, it turned out to be true. Looking back with wiser eyes
now, my family and I concluded that the events leading up to my transformation
started the summer I turned nine. But the day we realized there was a problem,
and no turning back, was a week before I started my senior year at Junction City
High. The day the fangs and claws appeared and the monster inside of me
emerged. When mutilated corpses appeared near a pile of brush down by Caney
Creek, everything changed.
That day, I changed, forever. Because evil woke up and
growled, its ominous rumblings heard by every living thing in Locasia County,
Mississippi.
Click the link above to get the book from Amazon.
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PLUS!
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The following prizes are available:
2 winners will receive a free code for the following audio
books:
Accountable to None; Zero Balance; Adjusting Journal
Entries; Number Seventy-Five; The Lie; Empty Shell
2 winners will receive signed paperbacks of the following
books:
Accountable to None; Zero Balance; Adjusting Journal
Entries; Number Seventy-Five; The Lie; Empty Shell
2 winners will receive ebooks of the following:
Accountable to None; Zero Balance; Adjusting Journal
Entries; Number Seventy-Five; The Lie; Empty Shell
written and illustrated by Brent LeVasseur
Category: Middle-Grade,
94 pages
Genre: Science-fiction and Fantasy
Publisher: Aoléon Press
Release date: January 31, 2015
Available for review in: pdf
Will send books: Internationally
Tour dates: Dec and Jan
Content Rating: G
This story is so fast paced I was dragged along like the flying cows. When you read it you’ll get the thing about those cows.
Gilbert is woken up from another weird dream . This one about killer robots. In no hurry to return to that dream, he goes over to look at the night outside through his telescope.
Spotting strange lights in his neighbors farm, the one where the strange crop circles kept appearing, he slips out to investigate and literally bumps into adventure, in the form of Aoleon, a martian girl
The bright lights also catch the farmers eye and he discovers Gilbert and Aoleon, the martian girl, chasing them to her ship where they take off to the skies.
It’s a laugh riot as Aoleon pilots her baby blue space craft around the world, giving Gilbert the ride of his life while she dodges the USAF fighter jets that pursue them.
I received this book in my dropbox and chose to read it there. The illustrations are black and white on my kindle and don't do them justice.
Excellent descriptions compliment the exciting illustrations, so brilliant in colors they explode off the pages.
Young and older readers alike will be enchanted by Gilbert and Aoleon and this authors world.
I understand there are four more adventures in this saga and an iTunes album.
I plan to follow these adventures. You’ll wish you had a friend like Aoleon, and envy Gilbert as he explores his dreams of space.
An out of this world delight.
<strong>5 Stars</strong>
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Book Description
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Crop circles magically appear in Farmer Johnson’s field. A mysterious light sweeps over the night sky and awakens Farmer Johnson and Gilbert, the boy next door.Curious, Gilbert ventures out to discover the source of the light and stumbles into a beautiful Martian girl sitting in a crop circle. Farmer Johnson also investigates the strange light, and thinking that Gilbert and Aoléon are vandals, he chases them. But they sprint to Aoléon’s saucer and escape only to be pursued by the U.S. Air Force.Gilbert has never been attacked by swarms of giant killer robots. Never met strange aliens from other worlds. Never skyboarded across a megalopolis hidden deep inside an extinct volcano. Never trekked across a vast Martian desert. And never been eaten alive by a gigantic slor (well, almost never, unless you count Billy the fat bully at school).And luckily, he has never ever confronted an evil ruler of Mars bent on conquering the Earth to steal its cows.Never…until now!This may be the adventure Gilbert always wished for.If only he can survive.
Mr. LeVasseur enjoys crafting good stories based on lovable characters designed to translate well to multiple media formats such as books, games, movies, and toys. He lives in New York when he is not commuting between Southern California and Olympus Mons, Mars. His hobbies include writing, 3D animation, musical composition, and intergalactic space travel. He also enjoys various sports such as skiing, running, and exospheric skydiving.
There aren’t a lot of gargoyles books out there and most of those are about shifters. They can be human or gargoyle. This gargoyle is all gargoyle.
Zoe Faust has finally found a place to settle down, tired of her Airstream trailer and moving from place to place. Portland seems to touch something inside her. So she finds a fixer upper and moves into her new home.
Let me introduce you to Zoe. She’s an alchemist, specifically Spagyrics, plant alchemy, albeit a non practicing one now. She’s lived well over 300 years due to accidentally applying The Elixir of Life to herself. That’s why she has to move a lot, as she doesn’t really age, though she can die like normal people.
While unpacking in her new home she notices some things appear to have been broken and there’s a gargoyle statue clutching a book that she knows she didn’t put there.
When it moves, she’s startled to discover it’s a real living gargoyle. His name is Dorian Robert-Houdin and he’s French.
As the two are becoming acquainted they discover a spy. Brixton is a 14 year old neighbor boy who had to see who was moving into the old, supposedly haunted house. The pickle is, he heard and saw it all, so now a bargain must be struck to keep Dorian’s and Zoe’s secrets.
Things get more complicated when Zoe arrives home from a walk to discover her construction contractor dead by her porch. Working with herbs and plants, she smells the taint of poison but is hard pressed to say how she does when questioned by Detective Max Liu.
It becomes harder to keep secrets when she’s thrust into the murder investigation and another person falls victim to the poison, lingering in a coma.
Zoe will have to practice her alchemy again. Get up to speed quick. The killer must be stopped and Dorian’s book, Not True Alchemy, must be decoded to find some answers. Otherwise, more people will be poisoned, Dorian will slowly turn to stone and be trapped in that form for eternity.
Zoe won me over quickly. She’s sassy, smart, brave, loyal, and often inept. She gets herself into some funny situations and can laugh at herself. Her concern and caring for Dorian is so sweet. She’s become fond of him and his gourmet cooking. Yes, gargoyles can cook.
Her friendship and fostering of Brixton brings out the best in him. He’s well on his way to becoming a delinquent, and his new friends are a steady hand and guidance to help him find his way.
And something is just starting to ignite between Max Liu and Zoe Faust. They both feel stirrings of attraction, yet both are keeping some huge secrets.
There’s so much to entertain in this book.
The characters are well written. You’ll come to know them quickly.
The alchemy is very well researched and fascinating. I always thought it was magic but that’s really not so. It’s more of a practice, a trade.
The mystery keeps you guessing. The villain will catch you by surprise. And the suspense will make you crazy, worrying about everything and how it will get resolved.
And Kudos to the author for the cover art. It’s perfect for this story.
Also, check out the yummy recipes at the end. They sound delicious.
I urge you to read The Accidental Alchemist. And I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
5 Stars
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Synopsis
From USA Today bestselling author Gigi Pandian comes a modern tale of ancient intrigue.
Unpacking her belongings in her new hometown of Portland, Oregon, herbalist and reformed alchemist Zoe Faust can’t help but notice she’s picked up a stowaway. Dorian Robert-Houdin is a living, breathing three-and-a-half-foot gargoyle—not to mention a master of French cuisine—and he needs Zoe’s expertise to decipher a centuries-old text. Zoe, who’s trying to put her old life behind her, isn’t so sure she wants to reopen her alchemical past… until the dead man on her porch leaves her no choice.
Includes recipes!
Zoe is a fun character with a witty and great personality. This book will put a spell on you to keep reading until the end. ~Shelley’s Book Case
About This Author
Gigi Pandian lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with an overgrown organic vegetable garden in her backyard. A cancer diagnosis in her 30s taught her two important life lessons: healing foods can taste amazing, and life’s too short to waste a single moment. Therefore she writes the Accidental Alchemist mystery series while drinking delectable green smoothies and eating decadent home-cooked meals. Gigi was awarded the Malice Domestic Grant for her debut mystery novel. She does not apologize for loving kale. Find her online at www.gigipandian.com.
I’ve read his Zombie Holiday Trilology and loved it.
And I’m now working through his other stories.
Come on in.
Check out AWOL.
A Character Lost.
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.My Review
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The story begins when the character finds himself in a dark, empty room. Not knowing how he got there, who he is, or where he is, he finally gets the courage to call out for help.
He’s answered, but not by a voice. Words light up on a wall. It’s worse than he imagined.
He’s a character in a book and it appears he’s wandered out of his story and ended up in the room. The author writes his answers and they appear on the wall.
The really bad thing is, the author didn’t write any notes and has no idea which story the character came from, so he needs his help.
This is a story of show and tell and the author guides the character, instructing him and supplying him with scant info on what he should do.
The room has ten doors, each labeled. The character must go through each door in order to find his home story. The author cautions him before entering that what lies behind each door could kill him and he’s not sure if the character will really die or return to the room. It’s an enter at your own risk thing and the character has no choice.
The character approaches the first door labeled Zombies and dives in, as did I.
After the first adventure I didn’t blame the characters hesitancy to go through another. Yet he must and he does. This continues through several more and I was with the character when he got good and mad at the author.
Between each new door, the character returns to the empty room, learns more from the author and goes through the next door. These interludes between each chapter are labeled Interlude.
He encounters many other characters in each story. After a while he learns not to become attached to them. The author’s monsters dispatch them in horrendous fashion.
As for the monsters, the character runs into some werewolves like nothing you could imagine. The werewolves are 8 feet tall, six feet long, with red eyes like lamps and drooling acid. Must not forget the tail of a scorpion that electrocutes you.
The vampires are brown and black spotted things riding black horses. Their eyes gleam yellow, they have no hair and only two fangs, no other teeth. And they have these really wicked whips.
There’s serial killers and these really gross wormy snake things, aliens, and many others. All of them are out to get ya too.
While you know the character goes through all ten doors, otherwise there wouldn’t be that many chapters, that doesn’t mean he finds his home story. It doesn’t mean he survives. The author gives no guarantees.
Half way through, the character is fed up, yet he continues. He must and the author needs him to. Otherwise the character will languish in the room and so will the story.
What kind of author doesn’t keep notes? And what’s with the stories? All of them are horrific. Is the author lying? Does he know which door will lead the character to his home story? Is that what the story really is, him having to jump through the hoops? If so, the author must be a sadist.
Unlike anything I’ve ever read before, the author pulled out all the stops. Monsters beyond imagination. A character lost and guided by his author. An author, frustrated at his own lack of foresight.
This is Anthony Renfro’s best work yet!
5 Stars
Blurb
Imagine that you are a character in a story.
You have a home.
You have a life.
You have it all.
Then suddenly you wake up alone and afraid in a cold, dark place. Somehow you find your courage and your voice. When you ask for help, words light up on a wall in the darkness. You read them and realize you are in the creative center of your author’s mind. Instead of rescuing you, the author asks you for help.
This book is about the journey of that character, as he moves from story to story desperately trying to find his home.
Screwpulp has created a new ebook marketplace that gives authors a better way to reach an audience and earn more revenue. We are at the forefront of a publishing renaissance. Not since the screw press has there been so much change in the industry. Change in the way we write, change in the way we read, change in the way we acquire books; what hasn’t changed is the way that many publishers feel that they are the sole guardians at the gate. Thousands of great books are only in existence thanks to authors who had the courage to keep pushing, after tens, hundreds, of rejection letters. What good is writing the next great novel if nobody gets to read it? We created Screwpulp to get books into the hands of readers and let their voices be heard. Everybody has a voice, the author wants to be heard, and if the reader likes it they’ll want to tell their friends.
How Screwpulp works
At Screwpulp, we publish everybody. By giving away the initial copies of the book for free, in exchange for a mention on social media and a star rating, we quickly get your book into the hands of readers. This builds a fan base for the author quickly and this exchange creates buzz around your work. As demand for the book goes up so does the price in one dollar increments. Now new readers have a rating system to show the quality of the work before anyone buys it. Authors keep all of the rights to their works and retain 75 percent of the profit. The only thing we ask of the author is to keep their book on Screwpulp for a minimum of ninety days. We are partnering with different organizations to help authors with cover design, editing and formatting. We will unveil more tools over time.
About our name
Screwpulp? How did you get the name? We get asked this question a lot, so let us explain. The screw press was the first printing method that allowed for books to be made with moveable type in mass. Now that we’re in the digital age, the move away from paper, or pulp, is becoming the new normal. A merging of these two ideas led us to the name we have today, Screwpulp.
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Author 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.
I really enjoyed Rosemary & Crime, the first book in the Spice Shop Mystery Series so I knew I had to return to Brandwine Creek and see what Piper Prescott and her gang were up to now.
Piper’s been very busy at her shop, Spice It Up, and now she’ll be even busier. It’s time for the yearly Brandywine Creek BBQ Festival and the town will be filled with strangers coming to compete. Many of the locals will be competing too.
You can sense trouble brewing when Becca and Maybelle both enter the contest. These too have no fondness for each other and have been bitter enemies since back in middle school.
Trouble boils over when Becca is found dead and Maybelle becomes suspect number 1.
There are many things I look for in a cozy mystery. A fun title. Colorful cover art. Loveable, laughable characters. A well developed location for the story. A dastardly, elusive villain. And sweet, teasing romance.
I wasn’t disappointed with this book.
Kill ’em with Cayenne. How could I resist that title and it connects to Piper and her shop, Spice It Up.
The cover art is simple, yet charming and I’m wondering if the spilled spice represents the murder. Quite creative. I’d pick it up if I happened to spot it on a shelf.
The characters are many, with colorful names, and their personalities are easily distinguished. You have the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The villain is not who you’d expect so the mystery is sustained til the end.
The town of Brandywine Creek is just what you’d expect in a small town. I live in one and felt quite at home. We have a lot of festivals and BBQ and chili cook offs are huge here in the south.
The romance is sweet and just becoming teasing. I do wonder whether Piper and Sheriff Wyatt McBride will spice it up in the next book.
This is a cozy mystery series for all fans of the genre. You’ll love the characters, boo the villain, and become enchanted with the colorful town. It’s all good, clean fun. And there are some yummy recipes included at the end of this book that you might want to try for yourself.
4 Stars
If you found this review helpful, please like it on Amazon HERE.
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Synopsis
A brand new finger-lickin’ good mystery featuring small-town Georgia spice shop owner Piper Prescott, a smart and spunky amateur sleuth…
Spices are flying off the shelves of Spice It Up!, and Piper Prescott couldn’t be happier. It’s that time of year again—time for the annual Brandywine Creek Barbecue Festival. Soon contestants and BBQ aficionados from all over the Southeast will converge on the town. Many of Brandywine Creek’s citizens plan to participate in the week-long festivities and are busily concocting savory rubs and sassy sauces. Among the locals vying for the grand prize are Becca Dapkins and Maybelle Humphries. The women have been arch enemies ever since Buzz Oliver dumped Maybelle after a thirteen-year courtship and started seeing Becca.
When Becca’s body is found near one of the festival booths, bludgeoned by a brisket, Maybelle becomes one of Chief Wyatt McBride’s top suspects. Determined to help clear her friend’s name, Piper begins her own investigation, much to McBride’s consternation. As the festival draws closer, will Piper and Reba Mae be able to find the real killer and clear Maybelle’s name? Will Piper make it to the annual shag contest with Doug Winters, the mild-mannered vet she’s been seeing? And, who will win the BBQ cook-off?
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About This Author
Friends accuse Gail Oust of flunking retirement. While working as a nurse/vascular technologist, Gail penned nine historical romances under the pseudonym of Elizabeth Turner. It wasn’t until after she and her husband retired to South Carolina that inspiration struck for a mystery. Hearing the words “maybe it’s a dead body” while golfing with friends fired her imagination for the Bunco Babe Mystery series published by NAL. Gail is currently writing the Spice Shop Mysteries published by Minotaur/St. Martin’s Press. Kill ‘em with Cayenne, the second in the series, was released December 2014. Her interests include reading, travel, golf, and spending time with friends and family.
Fresh out of a divorce, Piper decides to go into business for herself, opening a spice shop. When Mario, the chef who was supposed to do a cooking demonstration for her grand opening is murdered, Piper becomes the prime suspect.
She discovered the body. She handled the murder weapon. And she was seen arguing with the victim earlier.
The fun begins when Piper and her best friend Reba Mae, a delightfully colorful gal, decide to do their own sleuthing. They are caught doing a stake out by the hunky Chief of Police, Wyatt.
I’m all for character driven stories. These characters are all flawed, all trying to make their way. This leads to lots of hi-jinx and laughs.
Piper is down to earth but also vulnerable. CJ, her jerk of a husband, dumped her for a woman almost as young as her daughter. Starting over at middle age is never easy and she has to contend with a daughter who is acting out, her butinsky ex, and a sexy policeman, while trying to prove her innocence and get her new business off the ground.
The author sets the stage, introduces her characters, drops in the crime, and sets you off to read and discover the clues, while adding in a budding romance and some very believable life situations.
Trying to solve this mystery was vexing. Each time I thought I had my suspect, I was wrong and had to continue sorting out the clues.
When I reached the end it was just what I wanted.
Anyone looking for a new cozy mystery series with an easy flowing writing style, colorful characters, and a crime to solve, should give Rosemary and Crime a go.
Title: The Originals: The Rise
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Author Bio:
