Archive for the ‘Romance’ Category

isaura banner

It’s Release Day for Isaura. The third book in Ruth Silver’s Aberrant Series.

This series has everything you could want. A YA, dystopian fantasy with elements of science fiction and some romance.

I’m in!

I have a special treat for you A character interview with Olivia!

Make sure you check out the seriously spectacular cover art, read up on what each book is all about, enjoy the excerpt, and don’t forget to enter the exciting giveaway.

You could win an ARC, the entire series, be named after a character in an upcoming Ruth Silver story or win a gift card!

Thanks so much to Ruth Silver for this epic celebration of the release of Isaura!

*****

Enjoy my character interview with Olivia.

Hi Olivia. It’s so nice to meet you. You’ve been through hell and back so I was thinking we would make this interview light and fun to give you a chance to unwind. Let’s get started shall we?

1)  If you could be a character in a book, which book would it be and which character?

I’d love to be King Arthur from Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur.

2)  Are you a healthy eater or do you munch the junk food?

I suppose the food the government provided everyone in Genesis could be seen as healthy. I didn’t have the opportunity until I reached Haven to experience junk food. It was delicious!

3)  Do you have a current love interest, and if so, what is it that attracts you to him?

Joshua Warren. He’s the most loyal friend anyone could ask for. He’s also got an amazing smile, can make me laugh when I’m down, and he’s easy on the eyes.

4)  What do you feel is your best character trait?

I refuse to give up. I’m definitely not a quitter. Sometimes that can get me into trouble.

5)  Is there a fond memory of when you were young that stands out?

When I was about eight, Joshua was pushing me on the swings at the park. It was just the two of us hanging out together after school. I remember throwing my head back, staring up at the sky and laughing. I wasn’t paying attention and my hand slipped. Next thing I knew, I was falling backwards on the swings. I would have hit the ground but Joshua was behind me. I fell on him, hard. I probably knocked the wind out of him, but he took it like a pro asking if I was okay.

And Four Fun Shorts

1)  Favorite thing you do to pass the time?

I love training with Joshua. Although I don’t need to do it as often, it still helps me relax.

2)  Who would you vote for as the best bad guy, fictional or real?

Craynor, the former Governor. He’s the worst bad guy there is. He kidnapped Joshua! No one is worse than him. He’s unforgivable.

3) What did you want to be when you grew up?

I never had the chance to really consider what I wanted to be when I grew up. In Genesis, food, clothing and shelter was provided to all its citizens. Jobs were assigned after “The Day of the Chosen” when we graduated from our studies. I had hoped I’d be a teacher or a journalist, like my father had been. The choice was never mine though.

4)  What do you want for Christmas?

The word Christmas was foreign to me until Jacqueline mentioned it once in Haven. I had no idea what it was, not until recently. It still puzzles me, the idea of festivities but now that things are settling in, if we did celebrate the holiday, I would want happiness for all my friends and family.

And one more!

Tell us one of your phobias.

I’m afraid I’ll wake up and find it was all a dream. That I’ll still be in Genesis and nothing has changed.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today Olivia. It’s been fun getting to know you and I wish you a safe journey!

*****

Now check out Isaura and the Aberrant Series!

Title: Isaura (Aberrant 3)isaura 3d white

Author: Ruth Silver

Publisher: Patchwork Press/Lazy Day Publishing

Published On: December 4th, 2013

Cover Art: Erica Crouch (paperback), Lazy Day Publishing (eBook)

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Synopsis:

With Joshua’s recent disappearance, Olivia has little choice but to head into the dangerous Gravelands as the new government wrestles with fixing the damage to society. Joining forces with her estranged father and a girl from Haven, they go on a search-and-rescue mission to find Joshua and bring him back alive. If traveling through outlaw territory isn’t frightening enough, Olivia learns she has exposed her secret and is hunted by her allies.

Add to Goodreads

Available for purchase:

Paperback: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

eBook: Kindle | Nook

Excerpt:

“I’m fine!” I pushed harder on the gas. “They can’t be that far ahead of us.” I just hoped we were headed in the right direction.

We drove another twenty minutes north as I moved off the dirt road and onto grass. I glanced back at Rane. “Do you think Craynor could have found a place in Haven to keep Joshua?”

“I don’t know. Not much was left. There could have been a cellar or basement abandoned that didn’t get struck. That’s how I survived,” Rane admitted.

It at least gave me hope. As we drove north, the rain stopped and the clouds parted. Cresting a hill, I slammed the brakes as we jolted to an abrupt halt.

“What the hell?” Gavin’s voice echoed as the seatbelt restrained him and his arm shot up on the dashboard to steady himself. A few feet away, I saw outlaws with weapons pointed in our direction. “Hurry up!” His voice threatened in my ear as I slammed on the gas, but our car wasn’t going anywhere: the tires had blown from spikes in the road.

Locking the doors hadn’t helped. They busted the car window and flipped the lock, opening the door, dragging all three of us out.

Isaura-Final

eBook Cover

moirai 3d white bg

Title: Moirai (Aberrant 2)

Author: Ruth Silver

Published: September 26, 2013 by Patchwork Press & Lazy Day Publishing (eBook)

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis:

Olivia has been on the run from the government of Cabal since the marriage ceremony. Finally settling in and finding herself a place to call home in Shadow, Olivia and Joshua prepare for the uprising that they and the rebel alliance have been planning for months.

With new abilities and special talents from Mindonsiphan, Olivia learns she can do more than most ordinary eighteen year olds. Learning both to hide and perfect her skills will be one of the biggest challenges she’ll be forced to face.

A constant rollercoaster of emotion and adventure await Olivia and Joshua as they embark on a journey to the rebel city of Torv, and what was once home, Genesis.

Add to Goodreads

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

3d aberrant white bg

Title: Aberrant

Author: Ruth Silver

Published: April 28, 2013 by Patchwork Press & Lazy Day Publishing (eBook)

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis:

In the future dystopian society of Cabal, the government instills equality for all and offers its citizens the perfect system. There is food, shelter and jobs for everyone. The one requirement is to follow the rules without question, including the government’s match in marriage and “The Day of the Chosen”, a lottery that randomly selects families to conceive children as natural means hasn’t existed in generations. Following her eighteenth birthday, Olivia Parker accepts her requirement to marry her childhood best friend, Joshua Warren, and is eager to start her work assignment and new life when it all comes abruptly to an end as she’s arrested and thrown in prison. The only crime committed, her existence.

Olivia is unlike the rest of the world born not from “The Day of the Chosen.” The truth haunts the government and puts her life in grave danger as one simple fact would destroy the perfect system. With Joshua’s help, Olivia breaks free of prison and is forced on the run. Together they set out to find the promised rebel town in search of a new home and new life together. Their situation seems less than promising as they reach the town of Haven. New rules and customs must be adhered to in order to stay. Leaving would mean most certain death in the large expanse of the Gravelands. Time is running out as the government mounts an attack to destroy Olivia and bury her secret with her. Thrown into a world unlike their own, they must quickly adapt to survive.

Add to Goodreads

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

*****

Ruth Silver author photoAbout the Author

Ruth Silver attended Northern Illinois University and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Communication in the spring of 2005. While in college, she spent much of her free time writing with friends she met online and penning her first novel, Deuces are Wild, which she self-published in 2004. Her favorite class was Creative Writing senior year where she often handed in assignments longer than the professor required because she loved to write and always wanted to finish her stories. Her love of writing led her on an adventure in 2007 to Melbourne, Australia. Silver enjoys reading, photography, traveling and most of all writing. She loves dystopian and fantasy young adult stories. Her debut novel published by Lazy Day Publishing and Patchwork Press, ABERRANT, was released April 2013. The second novel in the series, MOIRAI, continues the saga. ISAURA, is the final installment in the ABERRANT trilogy. Ruth has been actively writing since she was a teenager. She currently resides in Plainfield, Illinois.

Author Links

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon Author Page

****

giveaway photo: Giveaway Banner for 42nd giveaway.png

A character is named after you in an upcoming novel/novella by Ruth Silver (INTL)

Signed ARC of Aberrant by Ruth Silver (US Only)

Signed paperback ARC of Aberrant Series (US Only)

$10 Amazon Gift Card

Click on the rafflecopter below to enter.

Raffle button

****

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

To see all of my giveaways click on the present below.

christmas present photo: Present Christmas.jpg

*****

NEW Series Alert: The Balmorie Novellas by Kam McKellar {Giveaway}

About the series…

Welcome to Balmorie Estate, owned and run by the MacLaren brothers, retired US soldiers turned Innkeepers. To keep their family legacy going, they’ve moved to Scotland. They’re farming the land, restoring and renting out cottages, and converting the west wing of the five hundred year old Balmorie castle into a guest house. The last thing on their mind is love. But tell that to their first three visitors…

~~~~~

19060748

Mad About Plaid – Add to GoodReads

He’s a sexy Innkeeper out for a good review. She’s a travel writer with a secret.”

*

19060745



A Scot Like You – Add to GoodReads

Skinny-dipping in the loch had seemed like a good idea. Until she got caught…”

*

19060747



The Trouble With Kilts – Add to GoodReads

He’s a wounded Highlander with an attitude. She can’t resist a challenge.”




You can read the full blurb for each novella on Kam McKellar’s website HERE

 

 

Available now on Amazon

 

Good Choice Reading is setting up reviews for Kam McKellar. If you would like the chance to read and review on your blog, amazon and goodreads, SIGN UP HERE

 

 

 

Open INTERNATIONAL.

$25 Amazon Gift Card

Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner will be chosen.

Click on the rafflecopter below to enter.

Raffle button

***

Go Here to vote for Kam’s book cover on Facebook!

Kam McKellar writes fun, sexy, romantic novellas. She has a thing for sweets, accents, kilts, and men in uniform. She hopes to one day inherit her very own castle from a long lost, previously unbeknownst to her, relative. Nothing wrong with dreaming big! 😀

.

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

To see all of my giveaways click on the present below.

christmas present photo: Present Christmas.jpg

WWW Wednesday

looking out a window photo: girl looking out the window girl-looking-out-the-window.jpg

Hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading

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

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

~~~~~

What are you currently reading?

Chameleon

by Kenya Wright

Chameleon 

1771e-addtogoodreadsblack
.
Cameo lives in a caged supernatural city where all species are tagged at birth with silver brands embedded in their foreheads. Her X brand identifies her as a Mixbreed, but she’s so much more. Like a chameleon, she can shift from one person’s image to another.It’s a great way to make money for a habitat street kid, or Cage Punk as most people call them. Wiz, her street partner-in-crime, finds her jobs to use her abilities. Some jobs entail changing into people to take academic tests. Others require more skill and involve higher risk.So when Wiz asks Cameo to stand in for a Were-wolf teenager who doesn’t want to go to her debutante ball, it seems like just another job, until a corpse is discovered and an old friend of Wiz appears.

~~~~~

What did you recently finish reading?

Christmas in Dogtown

by  Suzanne Johnson 

16095703

1771e-addtogoodreadsblack

A woman who spent years escaping her rural past learns that Dogtown, Louisiana, hides more family secrets than just the recipe for boudin blanc.

Resa Madere’s on the verge of losing it all. The boyfriend’s gone. The job’s history. Her beloved house is on the brink of foreclosure. She’ll do anything to save it–even spend a long Christmas holiday working in St. James Parish, Louisiana, helping her uncle run the family meat business. But the community of Dogtown, which has been home for seven generations of the Madere and Caillou families, has deep roots and deeper secrets. For Resa, going home is one thing. Getting out might not be so easy.

~~~~~

What do you think you’ll read next?

Braineater Jones

byStephen Kozeniewski 

18226374

goodreads-badge-add-plus
.
Braineater Jones wakes up face down in a swimming pool with no memory of his former life, how he died, or why he’s now a zombie. With a smart-aleck severed head as a partner, Jones descends into the undead ghetto to solve his own murder.But Jones’s investigation is complicated by his crippling addiction to human flesh. Like all walking corpses, he discovers that only a stiff drink can soothe his cravings. Unfortunately, finding liquor during Prohibition is costly and dangerous. From his Mason jar, the cantankerous Old Man rules the only speakeasy in the city that caters to the postmortem crowd.As the booze, blood, and clues coagulate, Jones gets closer to discovering the identity of his killer and the secrets behind the city’s stranglehold on liquid spirits. Death couldn’t stop him, but if the liquor dries up, the entire city will be plunged into an orgy of cannibalism.Cracking this case is a tall order. Braineater Jones won’t get out alive, but if he plays his cards right, he might manage to salvage the last scraps of his humanity.
.
~~~~~

So, whatcha readin?

question mark photo: Question Mark Question-1.jpg

XpressoBannerTours

Thanks so much to Xpresso Tours and Karina Halle for this awesome cover reveal!

I’ve been wanting to start reading Karina’s Experiment in Terror series. But they may just have to wait.

Check out Donners of the Dead.

Spectacular cover art. I knew it would be something shadowy and disquieting!

Can not wait to read this and February will be here before ya know it.

So what do you think? What does it make you feel?

Okay, I’ll shut up and let you see the cover!

DonnersoftheDead.v6.1

1771e-addtogoodreadsblack

Donners of the Dead by Karina Halle
.
Publication date: February 2014
.
Genres: Horror, Romance
Synopsis
.

***A Standalone Horror Romance coming February 2014***

.
Jake McGraw was unlike anyone I’d ever known. He was brash, rude, unapologetic and arrogant; chauvinistic, close-minded, and terribly stubborn. He was built like a tree, tall with a hard chest and wide shoulders and hands that looked like they could wrestle a bear. He was a cigar-chomping, scruffy-faced, beast of a man. I was pretty sure I hated him. And I know he hated me. But among the flesh-eating monsters in these snow-capped mountains, he was the only thing keeping me alive
The year is 1851 and pioneers in search of California gold are still afraid to travel on the same route as the tragic Donner party did years before. When the last wagon train to go into the Sierra Nevada mountains fails to arrive at their destination, Eve Smith, an 18-year old half-native girl with immense tracking skills is brought along with the search party, headed by an enigmatic former Texas Ranger, Jake McGraw.
What they find deep in the dangerous snow-covered terrain is a terrifying consequence of cannibalism, giving new meaning to the term “monster.” While the search party is slowly picked off, one by one, Eve must learn to trust Jake, who harbors more than a few secrets of his own, in order to survive and prevent the monstrosities from reaching civilization.

.
***This is NOT New Adult***

~~~~
Author Karina Halle
donners of the dead author pic
.
The daughter of a Norwegian Viking and a Finnish Moomin, Karina Halle grew up in Vancouver, Canada with trolls and eternal darkness on the brain. This soon turned into a love of all things that go bump in the night and a rather sadistic appreciation for freaking people out. Like many of the flawed characters she writes, Karina never knew where to find herself and has dabbled in acting, make-up artistry, film production, screenwriting, photography, travel writing and music journalism. She eventually found herself in the pages of the very novels she wrote (if only she had looked there to begin with).
Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse with her fiance and rescue pup.
Author Links
.

****
I couldn’t pass up a chance to feature Tellulah Darling and her Blooming Goddess Series again.
I read My Ex From Hell and had a ‘hell’ of a good time. Can’t wait to read My Date From Hell and see what Sophie is up to now.
Enjoy the fun excerpt and enter the giveaway!
***

Title: My Date From Hell by Tellulah Darling

Genre: Young Adult

Series: The Blooming Goddess Trilogy, #2

Sophie Bloom’s junior year has been a bit of a train wreck. After the world’s greatest kiss re-awakened Sophie’s true identity as Persephone (Goddess of Spring and Savior of Humanity), she fought her dragon-lady guidance counselor to the death, navigated mean girl Bethany’s bitchy troublemaking, and dealt with the betrayal of her backstabbing ex, Kai (sexy Prince of Darkness). You’d think a girl could catch a break.

Yeah, right.

With Zeus stepping things up, it’s vital that Sophie retrieve Persephone’s memories and discover the location of the ritual to stop Zeus and Hades. So when Aphrodite strikes a deal that can unlock Sophie’s pre-mortal past, what choice does the teen goddess have but to accept?

The mission: stop media mogul Hermes from turning Bethany into a global mega-celebrity. The catch? Aphrodite partners Sophie and Kai to work together … and treat this suicide mission as a date. Which could work out for Sophie’s plan to force Kai to admit his feelings for her–if she doesn’t kill him first.

Add to that the fact that BFF Theo’s love life and other BFF Hannah’s actual life are in Sophie’s hands, and suddenly being a teenager—even a godlike one—seems a bit like … well, hell. Whatever happened to dinner and a movie?

The YA romantic comedy/Greek mythology fireworks continue to fly in My Date From Hell. Love meets comedy with a whole lot of sass in book two of this teen fantasy romance series. Breaking up is easy; dating is deadly.

Amazon | iTunes | Kobo

Aphrodite pointed her gun at me again, kind of casually. “Your problem is you’re too hung

up on the past. You gotta move forward with yer life.”

I heard Hannah give a smothered laugh.

“You got this cutie pie in love with ya, and instead of enjoying his company, all you do

is whine.” With a quick flick, Aphrodite opened the cylinder to reload.

“He’s not in love,” I said.

She peered at Kai. “Whattya talkin’ about? Sure he is. Everyone knows Kyrillos loves Persephone.”
“I’m Sophie,” I ground out.

She waved the gun around. “Ya ya. That too.”

That too?

I took a deep breath, folded my fingers over my palms and looked slightly to the

left of her in case I accidentally started blasting. Didn’t want to go down in history

as the girl who killed the Goddess of Love.

“Nope. It’s just desire,” I said with faked calm. “Kai is so resistant to the idea of being

in love with me that your arrows don’t work. Besides which, when he actually does

fall so hard for me that he doesn’t know which way is up, I want him to know he

chose that of his own free will. That he chose me.” I threw him a sweet smile.

“Chose you?”

Kai got this look of “have we had this conversation before?” on his face. My smile

got tight.

Aphrodite scooped up a saclike pink purse laying on the ground. She rooted around in

it. “Desire is part of romantic love, silly,” she said to me.

She pulled out a handful of bullets and dumped them in Festos’ hurriedly outstretched hands

before turning back to Kai. She gestured with the still-open chambered revolver

toward him. “Your body knows what’s what. Stop fighting it.”

Kai glowered at her.

She laughed it off, reloading. “And you,” Aphrodite said to me, as she plucked more bullets

from Festos’ hand to load into the chamber. “Yer just as bad with your own issues.”

She couldn’t know about my insecurities around Persephone could she?

Aphrodite narrowed her eyes at me.

I gulped.

Aphrodite shot me a look of disgust and popped the final bullets into the chambers.

She gestured at each of us in turn with one pink, sparkly manicured finger. “I’m gonna start

gettin’ real mad about how youse is all dealin’ with love.”

“There’s a whole bunch of drags around here where love is concerned,” Festos agreed.

“Thanks so much for inviting him along,” Theo said to me.

I grimaced an apology at Theo, then shot back at Festos, “Seems there’s a whole bunch of dogs

here, too.” I looked between him and Kai.

“Oh don’t forget Pierce,” Festos replied cheerfully. “He’s a total mimbo.” “He is not,” Hannah

defended. “He’s pure love.”

Aphrodite threw her a fond smile. “I like you, girlie.” “Love in name, hormones in game,”

Theo countered. “Look at us all in agreement,” Festos replied.

“No, because you’re talking about lust,” I protested.

“Lust is pretty good too,” Aphrodite said, “but it ain’t nothin’ like the real thing.” She

clicked the cylinder into place and looked at me. “We got a deal? You’ll get Jack

to kill the campaign?”

“You’ll undo the love thing?” I asked.

“Nope. You could do with a little love in your life. Kyrillos is obviously brimming with love

for ya now,” she ignored Kai’s snort, “so you’re gonna enjoy it.”

“Meaning what?” I asked.

“A date,” Kai piped up. “I’d say I’m ready now.” He arched an eyebrow as if to say “ball’s

in your court.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” I slid my arm around his waist and pressed myself up against

his side.

A look of surprise flashed across his face. “Perfect.”

I could outdate him any place, any time. I brightened. This was going to be fun. The touching

part wasn’t a downside either.

“The fate of the world does dee-pend on you loving each other,” Aphrodite said. “So, good.

We’ll start with a date.”

“Still say it’s a euphemism,” Festos burst out. “And Kai doesn’t date.”

Kai snaked his arm around my waist before pressing his fingertips into my hip. “Never wanted

to before. Sophie’s the exception.”

“The euphemistic exception?” Festos asked. “Shut up,” Kai and I fired at him in tandem.

Festos took it in stride, waggling his eyebrows cheerfully at Theo who pretended to    look disapproving but totally wasn’t. Even Hannah didn’t bother to hide her smile.

“Only thing is,” I told Aphrodite, “I have to be back at school by Sunday morning. I have a

meeting I can’t miss. So I’ll have to get this thing with Jack done quickly to have

time for the date.”

“Going together to find Hermes is the date.” Aphrodite looked at me like I was an idiot.

“You two need as much together time as possible.”

No way. I needed all my wits about me to handle Kai. Something that couldn’t happen if I

had to track down Hermes at the same time. I tried a new tactic. “A date involves

dinner and a movie. Something romantic. Finding Hermes hardly counts.”

She pinned me in her gaze. “Had so miny of them, Miz Expert?

All a date is, is two people spendin’ time to deepen their attraction.”

“Or kill it,” Hannah piped up.

Aphrodite scrunched up her nose. “Huh?”

“There are far more first dates than second,” Hannah explained.

“Which means that after spending time, those people realized they were not a match.”

“What she said,” I seconded.

Aphrodite narrowed her eyes at Hannah. “I don’t get ya. You talk like that but you’re so brim

up with love.”

“I’m a confounding enigma,” Hannah replied cheerfully.

Aphrodite threw her hands up. “Enough’a this nonsense. You’ll go together to find Hermes.

And you’ll be date-like doin’ it.”

That sounded like a threat.

“Almost like you planned it that way,” I said to Kai.

His smile grew wider as he gave my waist a squeeze. “Told you I get what I want. Feel

free to let that sink in.”

Tellulah Darling

noun

1. YA romantic comedy author because her first kiss sucked and she’s compensating.

2. Alter ego of former screenwriter.

3. Sassy minx.

Geeks out over: cool tech.

Squees for: great storytelling.

Delights in: fabulous conversation.

Writes about: where love meets comedy. Awkwardness ensues.

Sassy girls. Swoony boys. What could go wrong?

 

$10 Amazon Gift Card

eCopy of My Ex From Hell: Book #1

(ePub or Mobi only)

Click on the rafflecopter below to enter.

Raffle button

Hosted by Good Choice Reading Promotions

Good Choice Reading

****

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

To see all of my giveaways click on the present below.

christmas present photo: Present Christmas.jpg

 

Watcher banner

Check out The Watcher!

Lisa has her book on sale for the next few days.

Enjoy the peek side, remember to enter the giveaway, and get your copy while it’s still on sale!

watcher - cover  lisa voisin

1771e-addtogoodreadsblack

The Watcher

by Lisa Voisin

Release Date: 03/04/13

 

Summary from Goodreads:

Millennia ago, he fell from heaven for her.

Can he face her without falling again?

Fascinated with ancient civilizations, seventeen-year-old Mia Crawford dreams of becoming an archaeologist. She also dreams of wings—soft and silent like snow—and somebody trying to steal them.

When a horrible creature appears out of thin air and attacks her, she knows Michael Fontaine is involved, though he claims to know nothing about it. Secretive and aloof, Michael evokes feelings in Mia that she doesn’t understand. Images of another time and place haunt her. She recognizes them—but not from any textbook.

In search of the truth, Mia discovers a past life of forbidden love, jealousy and revenge that tore an angel from Heaven and sent her to an early grave. Now that her soul has returned, does she have a chance at loving that angel again? Or will an age-old nemesis destroy them both?

Ancient history is only the beginning.

~~~

From November 28th to December 1st The Watcher is on sale for just $1.99!

Download your copy today!!

Buy Links:

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Inkspell Publishing

 

The Book Trailer:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukoCDlW05-Y]

 

Praise for The Watcher:

“Voisin’s THE WATCHER blends paranormal mystery and romance into a book that is sure to keep readers turning the pages late into the night.”

— Eileen Cook, author of THE ALMOST TRUTH

 

“Perfect for fans of angels and demons, Lisa Voisin has created an uplifting tale of redemption, love, and spirituality that gives hope. Never preachy, THE WATCHER is the perfect answer to critics who claim Young Adult literature is too dark.”

— Stephanie Lawton, author of WANT and SHRAPNEL

 

“The Watcher is stunning! A paranormal romance that you won’t want to put down. Voisin will enthrall you until the very last page.”

— Stephanie Keyes, author, THE STAR CHILD series

 

 “Grips the reader, pulls them in and leaves them cheering for good!”

— InD’tale Magazine

 

“The Watcher is my favorite angel fiction tale yet.”

— Katrina @Kindred Dreamheart

 

“This book is phenomenal! I was hooked in right away and didn’t want to stop.”

— Michelle @Michelle’s Paranormal Vault

 

~~~

Excerpt

Michael leaned against a nearby rock, still watching me. With the orange-cast light from the street lamp playing off his skin, shadowing the muscles of his shoulders and arms, and the flickering of golden light his halo cast around him, he looked positively heroic, like a statue of an ancient god.

“Where to now?” I asked, approaching him.

The wind had swept his hair into a tangle of curls splayed in every direction, forming a dark, shadowy crown of their own. I reached over to smooth it, as if doing so was the most natural thing in the world, and he brushed his hand up my spine. Even through my jacket, a burning heat coursed through me. Touching the back of my head, he found my braid and pulled it out. He twisted it between his fingers, examining it, then looked up at me, his gaze open, unguarded, his pupils as wide and black as the night sky. A flush warmed the back of my neck and I stood there mesmerized by him, unable to look away.

Arcing his other arm around me, he pulled me toward him and whispered, “I shouldn’t,” against the side of my face, as though it were a confession. Then, his lips cool and salty from the sea air, he kissed me with such tenderness it made my chest ache.

But I didn’t need tenderness. I needed him. Since the last time we’d kissed, I’d been so careful around him, trying not to cross the invisible line that would either damn him or scare him away. I couldn’t be careful anymore. Gripping the front of his shirt, I pulled him closer, and he locked his arms around me like I’d always wanted him to, like maybe he’d never let me go. Sitting on the rock, he gathered me into him, sliding me onto his lap. My thighs straddled his hips and he let out the softest of moans, his lips grazing my throat, the side of my neck, the line of my jaw, before returning to mine.

With a sharp inhale, he tensed and stopped kissing me. His eyes flashed a warning look—full of fear, as though he’d gone somewhere fathomless inside himself that he’d sworn he’d never go. Standing, he guided me off his lap. When he spoke, his voice took on a deep timbre.

“We’re not alone.”

~~~~

 

About the Author

watcher lisa voisin

A Canadian-born author, Lisa Voisin spent her childhood daydreaming and making up stories, but it was her love of reading and writing in her teens that drew her to Young Adult fiction. In her spare time, she teaches meditation. So when she’s not writing, you’ll find her meditating or hiking in the mountains to counter the side effects of drinking too much coffee. She lives in Vancouver, B.C. with her fiance and their two cats.

***Author Links***

Website / Goodreads / TwitterFacebook / Pinterest

~~~~

giveaway photo: Giveaway Banner for 42nd giveaway.png

$25 gift certificate from Amazon (INT)

Click on the rafflecopter below to enter.

Raffle button

Book Blitz Organized by:

YA Bound Book Tours

YA Bound Book Tours

~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

To see all of my giveaways click on the present below.

christmas present photo: Present Christmas.jpg

Tainted Waters Tour

We may not get snow here on the gulf coast, but we do get some dang cold weather.

What better way to spend a few hours, than to grab a good mystery and roast your toes before a roaring fire. The crackle of the flames as they devour the sweet-smelling teak wood lulls you and frees your mind, allowing you to lose yourself in Tainted Waters.

Pull up a chair, sip some hot cider, and let me tell you about this exciting mystery.

While you’re here, enjoy the character bios and enter the giveaway!

TaintedWatersFINAL

1771e-addtogoodreadsblack

Title- Tainted Waters

By Maggie Thom

Publication Date- April 30th, 2013

Synopsis

He didn’t commit suicide but who’s going to believe her…

Frustrated at being fired from her latest job and overwhelmed by her consolatory family, Sam decides to move to the family’s cabin at the lake. A place she hasn’t been since her dad committed suicide there twenty years before. Or did he? Snooping is something she’s good at but someone seems to be taking offense to her looking too closely at what has been happening at the lake. What she discovers is shocking. Now she must uncover what’s real and what’s not. All that she learned growing up, may be false. Keegan who has recently moved to the area to finish his latest book is also trying to find out if his grandfather, who’d passed away ten years before, died of natural causes or was murdered? The descendants of the four families who own the land around the lagoon are dying off. Since Sam and Keegan are the only ones questioning the deaths, they find themselves working together to seek the truth. Are people being murdered? Who would benefit from their deaths? Why would there be barricades and armed guards at the north end of the lake? To stay alive, Sam and Keegan must find the answers and convince others, before more people are killed… including them.

“This is a book that will have you on the edge of your seat. Just when you think the story is over, think again.” Read Your Writes Book Reviews

Buy Links

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Smashwords

~~

My Review

Samantha, Sam for short, was only seven when her father killed himself. Now, 20 years later, she’s no closer to figuring out what her place in life is.

Flitting from job to job, about fifteen of them, she’s fired from her latest and retreats to the family lake house to lick her wounds and be alone. While there, she begins to question whether her father’s death was a suicide or murder.

Also visiting the lake is Keegan. He’s come to his grandfather’s cabin to get away from everything and try to get some writing done. He’s pulled into the mystery of whether his grandfather truly died of a heart attack or was he murdered. He begins to suspect the latter.

It figures. Sam may have finally found her calling. She’s good at ferreting out information and asking the right questions. Maybe too good as someone tries to kidnap her.

Thrown together, Sam and Keegan continue to dig into their mysteries. They know their getting closer to some answers as more attempts are made to kill them. The race is on to get their answers before someone gets them.

I felt a close connection to Sam. I too flitted from job to job, never really sure what I wanted to do. Some people are lucky and know what they want to do or be. Not me and not Sam.

What endeared me to Keegan was his need to protect Sam. He would be a great older brother and an even better beau.

You’d be right if you thought these two would become romantically entangled. But the romance is just budding and the story is powered more by the danger and intrigue.

I love a good mystery thriller. Each time I thought I had it figured out, I was way off, and back to the drawing board I’d go.

One of the biggest mysteries was what was going on at the end of the lake. I didn’t have a clue and was surprised when I found out.

There are a few mysteries going on in this book but you’ll never lose track of the story. The writing is down to earth and easy to follow and the story flies. Before you know it, you’ve reached the end and gotten your answers. Some of them will set you back on your heels wondering, “How did I not see that coming?”

Tainted Waters has murder, suspense, intrigue, and some well written misdirection that keeps you engrossed and guessing. A really good who, what, where, when, and why.

4 Stars

~~

Character Bios

Samantha gets fired from her latest job as a reporter. She’s not too happy as she was enjoying it and finally felt like she’d found her calling. She’s never been good at holding down a job mainly because she didn’t like the work or those who she had to work with. She’s struggled her whole life with figuring out who she is and what she wants. She’s never been one to back down from a challenge or been someone who takes any guff from others. She’s an in-your-face kind of person and has no problem telling others who she feels or what she thinks of them. As you can imagine this has gotten her into trouble more than once. She`s the middle child of five kids and has a pretty good relationship with her siblings and her mom but since she`s the only one who doesn`t have a profession or a steady job they are a little over the  top protective of her and on her case about it. To get away from her consolatory family, Sam decides to move out to the family cabin that hasn’t been used since her dad had committed suicide when she was seven. She never understood how he could do that, how he could leave her. Especially when they were best buds. She’s just starting to realize how much that has colored her life when she discovers someone wants her dead.

Keegan is an author and has moved out to his great grandfather’s cabin at the lake for quiet so he can write his latest book. He grew up in a professional household, both his parents had phd’s and expected him to follow suit. He tried but realized that University wasn’t for him. So he followed his dream and started to write nonfiction books. He`s the youngest of three – an older brother and older sister, who have both run their own professional businesses. He`s never told his family that he had met his great grandfather at the age of twelve and had spent time getting to know him. He had left the cabin to Keegan along with a lot of boxes. When Keegan finally goes through them he learns that his grandfather may not have died of natural causes. He’s always wanted a close knit family so when he meets Sam and her family, he’s more than willing to help her figure out what’s going on.

~~

Author Maggie Thom

tainted waters author Maggie 3 - 337 x 431

Maggie Thom took the challenge and leapt off, leaving a full time twenty year career in management, to write full time. After her initial panic that she might need a straight jacket,

she published her first book Captured Lies, October 2012. And now is excited to release her

second novel, Tainted Waters, April, 2013. Her third book, Deceitful Truths (sequel to Captured

Lies) available fall of 2013. An avid reader and writer her whole life, she decided to break the

monotony of wishing to be an author by making it happen. Married to her best friend, she is

learning that humor, love and patience help her navigate her way through her twins’ teen years.

Her motto: Escape to read and Read to escape. “Maggie Thom writes a fast paced thriller laced

with romance that keeps the reader interested and on edge!” InDtale Magazine

Author Links

Goodreads / Amazon Author Page / Facebook

Twitter / Website / Pinterest / google +

~~~

giveaway photo: Giveaway Banner for 42nd giveaway.png

Grand prize giveaway
.
$15 Gift Card
.
Winners Choice ~ Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Smashwords
.

Click on the rafflecopter below to enter.

Raffle button

*

Click here to be taken to the Facebook Event

*

girl hearts cover reveal banner

~~~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

To see all of my giveaways click on the present below.

christmas present photo: Present Christmas.jpg

SomethingWickedTourBanner1

A psychic medium and a homicide detective. I’m sold!

Something Wicked sounds ‘wicked’ good.

Check out the yummy excerpt. You’ll be wanting more, just like me.

Also, remember to enter the giveaway!

Something_Wicked_final

1771e-addtogoodreadsblack

Something Wicked by Angela Campbell (The Psychic Detectives Series #2)

Can be read as a stand-alone

Published by: Harper Impulse /  Publication date: October 31st 2013

Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romantic Suspense

Synopsis

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

“It must be your lucky night, hon.” A woman’s voice drew her attention.

Alexandra blinked up at her waitress as the young woman slid a mug of beer in front of her. Did the girl seriously just call her hon?

The redhead nodded over her shoulder. “The hunk at the pool tables bought you a drink.” She winked. “Enjoy.”

Oh, no. Not only were the dead people around here clamoring for her attention, so was some a-hole on the prowl. She bit back a groan and lifted her gaze to give the man a polite shake of her head, a silent thanks but no thanks and –

Hello, Mr. Delicious.

He was hands down the most criminally sexy man she’d ever laid eyes on, and for a woman who worked with some serious man candy these days, that was saying a lot. He studied her from the billiards area as he chalked up one of the cues. He was the only person over there, playing a solitary game while most people congregated at the bar. A slight smile teased his mouth as she managed to lift the mug and nod. So what if she hated beer? She’d gulp the whole thing in one go if that sex god wanted to watch. He nodded back, gestured to the pool table beside him, and—

Oh, yeah. She was tempted to saunter over there and see what happened. Beyond tempted. She’d never had a one-night stand in her life, but maybe this was as good a time as any.

“Well, I’ll be! He sure seems to have struck yer fancy.”

Oh, no. She scrunched her brows and shook her head. She had a bad feeling about this.

The ghost wooted. “Oh, but I think he has.” He glanced toward the billiards. “And I dare say he has taken quite a fancy to you, miss. Comes in here a lot, that one does. Never been able to spook ‘em though.” Derby Hat Guy abruptly stood and started walking toward the other man, saying, “Let’s give ‘em a game. Have a bit of fun with the rascal.” He rubbed his hands together.

“Wait! Uh,” Alexandra jumped to her feet and realized a few seconds later she was practically on top of the pool table when Mr. Delicious said, amused, “Whoa now. I’m guessing you like a good game of pool?”

Among other things.

She bit her lip and tried to ignore the ghost bent over the other end of the table, reaching for two of the balls that had been scattered near a corner pocket. She’d made this poor, delicious man a target of the ghost’s tomfoolery. Oh dear. She needed to fix this.

“Pool?” Her eyes widened when Derby Hat Guy picked up the white ball behind Mr. Delicious and moved it clearway across the table. There was no orange glow to it, which meant the ball had actually moved. Had anyone else seen that? This ghost was an old and smart one. Not many could move objects like that. “Yeah. Yeah, I love pool. Game on.” Leaning over, she slapped the green felt and flicked her fingers a few times toward the wall, trying to convey the message to Derby Hat Guy to get lost.

Mr. Delicious held out a cue stick to her in offering, distracting her from the ghost past his shoulder. “Great. We’ll start a new game. I was getting tired of losing to myself.” He looked her up and down where she still leaned against the table and seemed to like what he saw. His smoldering blue eyes burned with heat so intense, she felt her insides ignite. He wriggled the cue in his hand. “You know how to use this thing?” His smile was kicked up to full charge on the suggestive meter.

Oh, my, he was flirting, and that was a game best played by two. Accepting the wooden pole from him, Alexandra arched a brow and slowly ran a finger along its length. “I can handle a stick pretty good.” She pursed her lips, blew at the chalk on the end, and slowly batted her lashes when she looked at him again. “Besides, what woman doesn’t love to bust some balls every now and then?”

He gave an appreciative chuckle. “All right.” He began setting up a new game and she sighed, watching his taut backside move deliciously against his faded jeans as he bent over. Damn. Levis should pay him a royalty. Who looked that good in jeans, besides Calvin Klein models? No one, except this guy. Maybe he was a Calvin Klein model. He definitely had the face and body for it.

And maybe she should offer to buy him a drink or something—you know, to apologize for making him a target of the resident ghost.

“Can I get you a beer?”

“Nah. I’m good.” His back muscles stretched against his black t-shirt when he rested his elbows on the table, highlighting some serious muscle definition beneath.

“Something else? Whiskey?” She tilted her head at him. Me?

“No thanks.” His eyes twinkled with amusement as he straightened and moved closer. “Girls take advantage of me when I drink. I can see I’ll need to keep my wits around you.”

.
~~~~~
Angela Campbell
.
something wicked AngelaCampbell
Author Angela Campbell is an overachiever with a soft spot for men who dress funny. Superman, Charlie Chaplin, Dracula, Doctor Who, Elvis – those are her kind of heroes. An eclectic reader who loves almost every genre, Angela read her first romance novel at 16 and immediately endeavored to write one, too. Many offbeat attempts (and a couple of decades) later, she published her first novel through Carina Press. Her new romantic suspense series is being published by Harper Impulse. With every story she pens, Angela aims to build in a paranormal element to a contemporary and recognizable world with characters who find love in oftentimes humorous and extraordinary situations.
A mild-mannered reporter with almost 15 years experience as a general assignment reporter, features editor and graphic designer, Angela has also worked as a production assistant in TV and film.
Learn more about her books at www.angelacampbellonline.com.
.
Author links:
.

~~~

giveaway photo: Giveaway Banner for 42nd giveaway.png

Grand prize giveaway
 Open internationally
–$50 gift card to Amazon and a copy of both ebooks in this series (On the Scent and Something Wicked)
.

Click on the rafflecopter below to enter.

Raffle button

I’ve attached the other stops on the tour. Be sure to check them out!

November 18th

deal sharing aunt >> Guest post

Not Everyone’s Mama >>  Excerpt

November 19th

Not Everyone’s Mama >>  Review

Mythical Books >> Interview

Why I Can’t Stop Reading >> Review

Ebook Escapes >> Review

November 20th

The Solitary Bookworm >> Review

The Demon Librarian >> Review

November 21st

Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews >> Review

fuonlyknew >> Excerpt

Snarky Mom Reads… >>  Review

November 22nd

Bookish Things & More >> Guest post

Sassy Book Lovers >> Excerpt

~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

To see all of my giveaways click on the present below.

christmas present photo: Present Christmas.jpg

Just Released!!

Check out Alive by Megan D. Martin

A Crave Novel

Now available!

I know. I’ve been reading a lot of zombie books lately. I can’t help it. My favorite part of this genre is the dynamics of the characters. I like reading about how people degenerate or pull together to survive.

Keep reading to learn more about Alive and watch the exciting book trailer.

Remember to enter the giveaway!

18623781

Title: Alive (Crave, #1)

Author: Megan D. Martin

Genre: New Adult Post-Apocalyptic Interracial Romance

Release Date: November 22, 2013

Amazon

1771e-addtogoodreadsblack

Blurb:

Flesh-eating zombies, dirty sex, and a shattered past…

What’s more dangerous—the man who broke her heart or those trying to eat it?

Fighting to survive, Eve finds herself alone in the world after the Crave—the only parallel of her former life. On the hunt for her sister, she runs into Gage—the first and only boy to have her heart and break it. It’s been four years and he isn’t a boy anymore, nor is he the same person he used to be. Against her better judgment, Eve agrees to stay with him when he divulges information on a safe haven near the small town they grew up in—but that doesn’t mean she has to like it…

Returning home elicits a myriad of emotions that both Eve and Gage thought they had buried. The past and present collide and they are forced to the face bitter deceits that ruined them in the before and threaten to destroy them now…

***

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZD4By_90Lk&feature=youtu.be]

***

About Megan:

Megan D. Martin is a multi-published author, mother, student and editor. In her spare time she enjoys decorating her house with strange things that do not match, playing her old school Nintendo Entertainment System, and buying fish for her many fish tanks. To learn more about Megan, check her out on these social networking sites.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Google+

***

giveaway photo: Giveaway Banner for 42nd giveaway.png

Win a $10 Amazon Gift Card

Click on the rafflecopter below to enter.

Raffle button

***

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

To see all of my giveaways click on the snowglobe  below.

*

christmas zombies photo: Zombie Xmas sheredia_zombiexmas_p3.gif

Penten Legacy Tour Button no date 600 x 425

Vampires in Alabama!

I live on the Gulf Coast and love reading stories that take place in the south.

I’m also a huge fan of vampires, so this series is a must read for me.

Check out the fantastic cover art. These guys will hypnotize you with their lovely eyes.

And join me in welcoming Susannah to my blog. She wrote a lovely guest post for us about choosing the locations for her stories.

15954434

Omega

Penton Vampire Legacy, Book 3

Susannah Sandlin

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Montlake Romance

Date of Publication: February 5, 2013

ISBN: 978-1612183596 / ASIN: B0073XV3L2

Number of pages: 328 / Word Count: approx. 88,000

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Book Depository

Book Description:

 

The bloody war between the Vampire Tribunal and the defiant scathe of Penton, Alabama, rages on, forcing its residents and their bonded humans to retreat into the underground fortress of last resort: Omega. There, Will Ludlam is charged with the care of Penton’s humans, though he longs to fight alongside his vampire brethren. He knows the risks: as the renegade son of the Tribunal’s vicious leader, Will’s capture could doom the resistance.

Yet he is determined to prove his worth to his adopted scathe, to his vengeful father and to former US Army officer Randa Thomas, his beautiful, reluctant partner. Randa has little faith that a former member of the vampire elite has what it takes to fight a war. But as their enemies descend upon Omega, Will’s polished charm and Randa’s guarded heart finally give way to the warrior within.

Fans of Susannah Sandlin’s Penton Legacy are sure to devour this long-awaited third installment of the steamy paranormal series.

 *****

14740130


ABSOLUTION

The Penton Legacy, Book 2

By Susannah Sandlin

 

Release date: October 9, 2012

Publisher: Montlake Romance

 

Book Description:

 

With the vampire world on the brink of civil war over the scarcity of untainted human blood, battle lines are being drawn between the once peaceful vampire and human enclave of Penton, Alabama, and the powerful Vampire Tribunal.

A Scottish gallowglass warrior turned vampire in the early 17th century, Mirren Kincaid once served the Tribunal as its most creative and ruthless executioner—a time when he was known as the Slayer. But when assigned a killing he found questionable, Mirren abandoned the Tribunal’s political machinations and disappeared—only to resurface two centuries later as the protector and second-in-command of Penton. Now the Tribunal wants him back on their side—or dead.

To break their rogue agent, they capture Glory Cummings, the descendant of a shaman, and send her to restore Mirren’s bloodthirsty nature. But instead of a monster, Glory sees a man burdened by the weight of his past. Could her magic touch—meant by the tribunal to bring out a violent killer—actually help Mirren break his bonds and discover the love he doesn’t believe he deserves?

It’s a town under siege, a powerful warrior in a battle with his past, and one woman who can make the earth move—literally—as the Penton Legacy continues.

 

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Book Depository

*****

13631207


REDEMPTION

Book One Penton Legacy series

By Susannah Sandlin

Following a worldwide pandemic whose vaccine left human blood deadly to vampires, the vampire community is on the verge of starvation and panic. Some have fanned into rural areas, where the vaccine was less prevalent, and are taking unsuspecting humans as blood slaves. Others are simply starving, which for a vampire is worse than death—a raging hunger in a creature too weak to feed.

Immune to these struggles—at first—is Penton, a tiny community in rural Chambers County, Alabama, an abandoned cotton mill town that has been repopulated by charismatic vampire Aidan Murphy, his scathe of 50 vampires, and their willingly bonded humans. Aidan has recruited his people carefully, believing in a peaceful community where the humans are respected and the vampires retain a bit of their humanity.
But an unresolved family feud and the paranoia of the Vampire Tribunal descend on Penton in the form of Aidan’s brother, Owen Murphy. Owen has been issued a death warrant that can only be commuted if he destroys Penton—and Aidan, against whom he’s held a grudge since both were turned vampire in 17th-century Ireland.  Owen begins a systematic attack on the town, first killing its doctor, then attacking one of Aidan’s own human familiars
To protect his people, Aidan is forced to go against his principles and kidnap an unvaccinated human doctor—and finds himself falling in love for the first time since the death of his wife in Ireland centuries ago.

Dr. Krystal Harris, forced into a world she never knew existed, must face up to her own abusive past to learn if the feelings she’s developing for her kidnapper are real—or just a warped, supernatural kind of Stockholm Syndrome in which she’s allowing herself to become a victim yet again.

Susannah Sandlin’s REDEMPTION is the first in the Penton Legacy series. Book two, ABSOLUTION, will be out September 18, and book three, OMEGA, on December 18.

Amazon / Barnes and Noble  /Book Depository

~~~

Please welcome Susannah and enjoy her guest post!

**

Penton, Alabama: Ghost Towns and Vampires

 Susannah Sandlin

In the Penton Legacy series, the vampire scathe of “pacifist warrior” Aidan Murphy, a 400-year-old Irish master vampire, lives in an old Alabama cotton mill town called Penton.

Once the cotton mill shut down, the community became a ghost town until a few years ago when Aidan, looking for a place to settle his vampire family and their willingly bonded human familiars, discovered it. He bought up all the property, moved in his big vampire family, and they settled down to live happily ever after and escape the civil unrest and starvation caused when a human pandemic vaccine changed human blood chemistry enough to make it deadly to a vampire who fed on it.

Of course things don’t turn out to be flowers and unicorns. A war comes to Penton, and it becomes the spoke around which the whole discord within the vampire world turns. (And there are lots of sexy vampires and hot romances along the way!)

When I came up with the idea for this paranormal romance series, I needed a location for my vampire town (which was, in early drafts, called Stockholm because the first book, Redemption, dealt with Stockholm Syndrome). I wanted a town in Alabama so it wouldn’t tread too close to my urban fantasy series that’s set in New Orleans, and I’d moved to Alabama about a year before starting the series.

I didn’t have to look far. When I got a population map of the state and began looking for big, empty swaths of land that had very few people in it, I had only to look one county north of mine: Chambers County. So I hopped in the car for a Sunday afternoon drive, and fell in love.

chambers county

The real Penton, Alabama, is an unincorporated community of about 200 people whose primary claim to fame is a stock car racetrack, the Penton Raceways, and a couple of churches. It’s not really a town at all.

A few miles south of it lies the Chambers County seat, LaFayette, which is a town of about 3,000 people very hard hit by the decline of the U.S. textile industry. It sits near the Georgia line, and the whole area was built around West Point Pepperell, a textile manufacturer that has moved most of its operations outside the U.S. and decimated the economy of this area.

lafayette-downtown

LaFayette’s a beautiful little town, with a charming main street that I’d guess is at least 50 percent empty now. The surrounding countryside of rolling hills and pine forest is beautiful. The mayor is a 19-year-old student at the university where I work (how cool is that!?). It reminds me a LOT of the small town of about the same size in which I grew up, as did my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents.

Neither LaFayette nor Penton are cotton mill towns, but I my hometown of Winfield was, up in northwest Alabama, so I know about those big hulking mills and the “mill villages”—small row houses owned by the mill and rented out to millworkers.

mill village

So, in the Penton Legacy books, I used as my setting the real location and name of Penton—out in the wilds of Chambers County—but for the town itself, I used a mashup of LaFayette and my own hometown with its mill and mill village.

old factory ruins

And really, when you think about it, an old abandoned mill town, a rural Southern setting only two hours outside Atlanta…what better place to set a vampire war?

Have you read other books in a rural Southern setting? Have you ever lived in or visited a small Southern town? Leave a comment for a choice of signed book from the Penton Legacy series!

PHOTOS:

–Chambers County, Alabama, rural scene

–Downtown LaFayette, Alabama

–Mill Village

–Old mill

~~~

About the Author:

Susannah Sandlin

Susannah Sandlin is the author of paranormal romance set in the Deep South, where there are always things that go bump in the night. A journalist by day, Susannah grew up in Alabama reading the gothic novels of Susan Howatch and the horror fantasy of Stephen King. (Um…it is fantasy, right?) The combination of Howatch and King probably explains a lot. Currently a resident of Auburn, Alabama, Susannah has also lived in Illinois, Texas, California, and Louisiana.

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Indie Bound

~~~

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

For all of my giveaways click on the image below.

vampire christmas photo: Vampire Christmas gothchristmas.jpg