I loved Angela’s Zombie West series and jumped at the chance to share her newest series release.
Come on in and check out ZIA. Read a teaser from the book.
And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
ZIA, The Teenage Zombie & the Undead Diaries
by Angela Scott
Release date: September 20th 2015
Summary from Goodreads:
Zia would give anything to be a typical teenager… again. Heck, she’d settle for being a vampire or smelly werewolf, but a member of the walking dead? The lowliest of all the monsters? No way! Nothing is worse than being a skin-sloughing, limb-losing, maggot-housing, brain-craving undead girl. Nothing.
It wouldn’t be so bad if humans didn’t insist on “Living Impaireds” wearing bands to keep their insatiable appetites in check. And if LIs want to coexist with humans, then rules must be followed, no matter how ludicrous they might seem. Why do undead teenagers have to go to high school anyway?
Zia does her best to blend in and go unnoticed, but when a new group of LIs are bused in from another school and she finds herself part of a growing horde, all bets are off.
Besides, rules are meant to be broken—especially when an unbeating heart is pulled in two different directions.
I wish I’d been given the casket and burial plot kind of funeral instead of no funeral at all. I even know the type of headstone I’d like. Not the ones that lay flat on the ground. No one sees those. They get mowed over and stepped on. It would be nice to have an upright one in the shape of a heart with a built-in vase for a nice flower or two. Preferably a daisy—my favorite.
My headstone would say my name, Zia Evans, and my birth date—the day I actually came into the world and not my “rebirth,” as many call it: April 16, 1999. And of course, the day I died—July 26, 2015.
Sing a song. Cry a little. Let me go to the great beyond. But no, none of that for me.
The day I died has come and gone and isn’t recorded anywhere. I still walk the earth and do everything the same as before but with a “handicap”—my word for it—and no one cares when I died anymore.
I remember, though.
Because the day I died was also the day I became a part of the walking dead.
And also the day my life totally began to suck.
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Author Angela Scott
I hear voices. Tiny fictional people sit on my shoulders and whisper their stories in my ear. Instead of medicating myself, I decided to pick up a pen, write down everything those voices tell me, and turn it into a book. I’m not crazy. I’m an author.
For the most part, I write contemporary Young Adult novels. However, through a writing exercise that spiraled out of control, I found myself writing about zombies terrorizing the Wild Wild West—and loving it. My zombies don’t sparkle, and they definitely don’t cuddle. At least, I wouldn’t suggest it.
I live on the benches of the beautiful Wasatch Mountains with two lovely children, one teenager, and a very patient husband. I graduated from Utah State University with a B.A. degree in English, not because of my love for the written word, but because it was the only major that didn’t require math. I can’t spell, and grammar is my arch nemesis. But they gave me the degree, and there are no take backs.
As a child, I never sucked on a pacifier; I chewed on a pencil. I’ve been writing that long. It has only been the past few years that I’ve pursued it professionally, forged relationships with other like-minded individuals, and determined to make a career out of it.
Magic or madness? Can your dreams really take over your life?
Falling Awake is the story of a book and the power of imagination to turn two lives upside down.
When Mary Parker finds an unusual book everything in her life changes. As she reads, she dreams, and the quiet, repressed woman is transformed.
She gives the book and the phenomenon a name, ‘falling awake’. The existence of the book seems to make others act out of character too. Joe’s usually dour father gambles with the factory where Mary works, and Joe, the romantic daydreamer, engages in a sexual eternal triangle to keep the dull routine of the accounts department at bay. The dominant partner in the triangle is Clem; dark and dangerous.
Extricating himself from Clem, Joe meets Mary. They fall in love and marry in haste when Mary falls pregnant, but this is no happy ever after tale. Their joy turns to misery when Mary miscarries and she turns inward to her darkening ‘falling awake’ world. Then Joe’s father dies, and he has to fight for control of the factory. He falls into Clem’s clutches again, and to make things worse, he believes Mary is going mad, and the people and places she remembers all just dreams dreamt inside her insanity. But then how can Joe remember them too?
Magic or madness?For Mary and Joe, the impossible – or the deadly – might only be a breath away.
Falling Awake is a brain teaser, an atmospheric mystery, an exposition of madness; an examination of the impossible, a fantasy, a ghost story, a psychological thriller, a love story, and a story of intrigue and sudden death. It will keep you awake at night, wondering, and pausing during the day, questioning …
One editor has already described it as:
“In the best traditions of Audrey Niffenegger and Carlos Ruiz Zafón…”
And others comment:
“…one of the most original, quirky manuscripts I’ve read for a long time…”
“…I especially like the fairy-tale and myth undertones that creep in from time to time throughout the novel: Sleeping Beauty clutching her book with echoes of Snow White in her glass coffin, the transformative red mac with its Red Riding Hood connotations, Mary’s Cinderella transformation from emotionally abused child to confident woman, the mermaid dress, Mariam’s Scheherazade dance, and especially the gambler as Rumpelstiltskin…”
“…a light, authoritative touch with both …story and characters.”
Debrah Martin is a British author writing under three different pen names and in three very different genres. She plots fast-paced thrillers as D.B. Martin, with the first in the Patchwork trilogy, Patchwork Man, having been recently awarded a coveted B.R.A.G. Medallion. Her YA teen detective series is penned as Lily Stuart – THE teen detective; irreverent, blunt, funny and vulnerable. Webs and Magpies are the first two books in the series. And as Debrah Martin she writes literary fiction. Her first literary fiction, Chained Melodies, a startling transgender story to rival The Danish Girl, and described pre-release as “…a beautiful book about love, acceptance and self-discovery…” was also released earlier this month.
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Net Galley reviewers can access an ARC of Falling Awake there from 27th October, and all reviewers can obtain a copy and more information about Debrah’s other works by contacting her at the email address below.
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For the first thirty reviewers to post a review of Falling Awake on Amazon, if you email Debrah with a link to the review, she’ll send you a bumper bundle (digital) of her other adult fiction books, including the award-winning Patchwork People series. Reviewers are also invited to contact Debrah for review copies of any of her books.
But apparently she could. It was the unusual challenge to the premise that had brought him here against the inclination to evade responsibility and slip home to his own dreams. She’d slept continuously for days now, without the need for water or sustenance; her only requirement, seemingly, a book. He peered curiously through the viewing panel as the attendant hovered behind him.
‘That’s her,’ the attendant announced as if pulling a rabbit from a hat. ‘Mary Parker.’
‘She’s very pretty,’ the tall young man declared, deep blue eyes narrowing to slits as he studied her. The woman’s long red hair cascaded over the side of the bed like blood streaming to the floor, her face a marble effigy of life. She reminded him of Millais’ Ophelia as she floated downstream on her layette of wild flowers – except this frozen beauty was merely asleep, not dead. He wondered what she was dreaming about. She seemed very familiar in a strange half-forgotten way.
‘Yeah, she is – and quiet now, but she weren’t once. Blimey – you should have seen her then, screaming and hollering. Wasn’t until we found that old book and gave it back to her that she shut up.’ The attendant picked at his nails and watched the tall young man lean in closer still. The corner of a book poked out from under the tightly clasped hands. ‘Then she just slept,’ the attendant added, shrugging his shoulders.
‘What’s its significance?’ the young man asked. He could just make out a title scrawled longhand across its spine. He wondered if the woman had written it on herself. He could only decipher the first word – ‘Falling’.
‘Not a clue, Mister; it’s just an empty book.’ The attendant shifted impatiently, as if tired of waiting, then asked, ‘How’d you know her again?’ He flipped the visitors’ page back to read the tall young man’s entry.
22nd Sept ’92: Time in – 5.45pm. John Hathorne, Director: Geo. Tooley & Sons.
‘I don’t really. She worked at the factory, that’s all. We have to be seen as caring employers so I’m here to check on her before we sign her off the books.’ He paused. Now he came to think of it he might have met her once. There had been a girl with bright red hair like hers the day he’d been shown round the factory. He’d been surprised by her scarlet mac because of the colour clash. He dragged himself from his reverie.
‘You said she had no family?’
‘Nope, apparently the mother died a while back and the neighbours say she’s been a bit odd ever since. Before they brought her in here she was wandering the graveyard down the road babbling about how she couldn’t find herself any more. Shame – when you got no-one.’
‘How do you think she can do it?’
‘What?’
‘Not eat or drink for so long – just sleep.’
‘Beats me. Maybe she’s not really there and we’re just imagining her.’ The young man stared at him. The attendant laughed. ‘Only joking. You done then?’ The attendant looked expectantly at him, and the young man found himself involuntarily offering his business card before collecting his briefcase and coat.
‘I suppose I could see if I can do something to help her if she comes back to the land of the living.’
The attendant turned the card over and read aloud, ‘Bespoke leisure wear and stage costumiers; themed event supplies a speciality.’ He studied the tall young man. ‘Versions of reality, huh? You’ll be getting a lot of custom soon, then.’ He sniggered. Outside the midweek rush hour traffic distantly hooted on its way home. The light had dimmed to the half-dusk of early autumn, but fallen leaves and skeletal trees said winter was already in the air.
The tall young man had spotted the now redundant leather straps on the side of the bed when he’d been trying to decipher the title of the book. The reddening round her wrists indicated where no doubt they’d been clasped until recently. ‘Halloween does tend to be a busy time,’ he agreed, suddenly uneasy. The place was oppressive and the sight of the comatose and confined woman depressed him. ‘Such a waste. Will she ever recover, do you think?’
‘Don’t know, mister. Not sure if she’s actually ill. Probably just the stresses of life – grief and disappointment. They do strange things to us, don’t they? Perhaps if she had someone to look after her, she’d get well again, but then who knows when anyone recovers from life.’ He laughed mirthlessly. ‘Maybe it’s better to just dream?’ The tall young man considered the idea for a while.
‘No, reality is always better, no matter how hard.’
He went back to the viewing window and studied the young woman for a few minutes more before gathering up the Essex County Gazette he’d brought with him and stuffing it under the arm carrying the briefcase. The pages creased and he made to flatten them, but stopped abruptly and tossed the paper back on the table the attendant had been sitting at when he’d arrived. He peered at his hand as if there was something wrong with it before shaking his head. The attendant cleared his throat meaningfully and opened the unit’s outer door.
‘I hope her dreams are sweet,’ the young man added sadly as the attendant ushered him out. The attendant flicked the light off and the room behind them sank back into shadow.
Neither saw the frozen figure thaw, stir, and open her eyes – deep green pools of luminescence. They fixed on the door and she listened intently to the low rumble of the tall young man’s voice as he made his goodbyes. The marble features creased to a frown and the slack body tensed. The book still clutched in her hand shivered.
‘No!’ she murmured. ‘No, no, no!’
——————————
Two (2) print copies of Falling Awake by Debrah Martin (INT)
Ends November 19th
Prizing is provided by the author, hosts are not responsible.
Welcome to the Blog Tour for Nightscape: Cynopolis
Check out the spectacular cover art.
Intrigued?
Come and and see what it’s all about.
Nightscape: Cynopolis
by David W. Edwards
Synopsis
Detroit’s eastside has seen its share of horrors. Once-proud factories gutted for scrap. Whole neighborhoods burned out and boarded up. Nature drained of color. But nothing like this: a
thought-virus that turns the city’s dogs feral and its underclass into jackal-headed beasts.
The city erupts in chaos and nightmare violence. Communication in or out is impossible. The skies fill with lethal drone copters and airships bristling with heavy-duty cannon. Abandoned to their separate fates among hordes of monsters, the few surviving humans must find a way to elude the military blockade preventing their escape or to defeat the virus at its source—before government forces sacrifice them all.
Breakneck action, rogue science and deft portraiture combine for a grand and gripping tale of urban terror.
Website / Facebook / Twitter
/ Goodreads / YouTube David W. Edwards is the writer, director and
producer of the feature film Nightscape and author of the novels Nightscape:
The Dreams of Devils and Nightscape: Cynopolis. He attended the University of
Southern California’s prestigious screenwriting program and earned bachelor’s
and master’s degrees in English Literature while working for a variety of
Hollywood production companies. He’s the founder and former CEO of a successful
high-tech market research firm, and a former two-term state representative. He
currently lives in Hillsboro, Oregon with his family.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page.
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
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My Teaser for this week is from
Maplecroft
The Borden Dispatches #1
by Cherie Priest
My Teaser from page 53 in the Paperback.
First I would pound a million nails into the house, and do it gladly. First, I would let the whole town think I’m a madwoman and a murderer, let it scorn and reject me, let its children compose hateful rhymes to be sung whilst jumping rope, let the entire Atlantic bubble and boil and storm against our shores – throwing up with the tides a thousand such inhuman, unholy creatures as the one I killed that night.
Read on if you want to know more.
Synopsis
Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks; and when she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one….
The people of Fall River, Massachusetts, fear me. Perhaps rightfully so. I remain a suspect in the brutal deaths of my father and his second wife despite the verdict of innocence at my trial. With our inheritance, my sister, Emma, and I have taken up residence in Maplecroft, a mansion near the sea and far from gossip and scrutiny.
But it is not far enough from the affliction that possessed my parents. Their characters, their very souls, were consumed from within by something that left malevolent entities in their place. It originates from the ocean’s depths, plaguing the populace with tides of nightmares and madness.
This evil cannot hide from me. No matter what guise it assumes, I will be waiting for it. With an axe.
The last time we used it was at the hospital the morning she died.
On that day, all three of us made a silent wish, certain the others had wished the same. Kate died that afternoon and I never thought about it again. It was the last time I believed in magic, in love or… in the existence of God… and then, after three miserable, lonely years… the unthinkable, a second chance… Warwick.
Enjoy the excerpt!
In the middle of the room stood a large machine of some sort. Six large, blue cylinders, with thick cables and several hoses protruding out of their tops, made up the bulk of the apparatus. At the bottom, each narrowed almost to a point, terminating in a black plastic square. A rainbow of braided wire, jutted out of one side of the square before being taped to the side of each cylinder. The wires trailed along the thicker cable until they connected to the back of a dull aluminum box. More cables, attached to a computer, were tied to the opposite side of the aluminum box. Below the cylinders was a flat, slanted table.
Roger stood with his hands in his pockets, shoulders slumped, staring at the contrivance.
“I’m sorry, my friend,” Digby said softly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I fixed it.”
“Got it to work at last then?” Roger asked. His voice held a sorrowful tone.
“I wish it had been in time,” Digby said, patting him.
I didn’t understand what was going on. What was this machine? What did it do?
“It looks… complicated,” I offered trying to think of the right thing to say.
“It was Roger’s design. Digby finished it when Kate went into the hospital for the last time,” Marcie answered, coming to my rescue.
“What does it do?” I asked, running a curious hand over the metal cylinders.
“It doesn’t do anything… it makes,” Digby said, lightly slapping my hand away from the apparatus.
“My mistake… what does it make?”
“Skin,” he returned.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Skin,” he repeated.
“Skin like…” I couldn’t think of the right words to convey my curiosity.
“Yes, skin… people skin… like yours, like mine, like hers,” he said with disinterest, pointing at Marcie.
“Well, not like my skin,” Marcie countered.
“Oh, you’re right. I hadn’t thought about that… wouldn’t that be interesting. Yes?” Digby exclaimed, covering his mouth with his fingers. He stood for a moment looking to the ceiling, his fingers drumming over his half open mouth.
Author Tegan Maus
I was raised pretty much the same as everyone else… devoted mother, strict father and all the imaginary friends I could conjure. Not that I wasn’t friendly, I just wasn’t “people orientated”. Maybe I lived in my head way more than I should have, maybe not. I liked machines more than people, at least I did until I met my wife. The first thing I can remember writing was for her. For the life of me I can’t remember what it was about… something about dust bunnies under the bed and monsters in my closet. It must have been pretty good because she married me shortly after that. I spent a good number of years after inventing games and prototypes for a variety of ideas before I got back to writing. It wasn’t a deliberate conscious thought it was more of a stepping stone. My wife and I had joined a dream interpret group and we were encouraged to write down our dreams as they occurred. “Be as detailed as you can,” we were told. I was thrilled. If there is one thing I enjoy it’s making people believe me and I like to exaggerate. Not a big exaggeration or an outright lie mine you, just a little step out of sync, just enough so you couldn’t be sure if it were true or not. When I write, I always write with the effort of “it could happen” very much in mind and nothing, I guarantee you, nothing, makes me happier.
I couldn’t resist being a part of this tour. These books look spectacular and I really enjoy children’s books.
For today I am featuring Little Boy Gan from Passion-Filled Everland.
Mark your calendar and stop back by on Thursday, October 29th for my feature of Reimburse The Universe!
Title: Little Boy Gan From Passion-Filled Everland Author: Lisa McDonald Publisher: Lisa McDonald Pages: 36 Genre: Children’s Picture Book
My Review
Gan is such a wonderful young lad. He’s filled with joy, compassion, wonder, hope, and a strong belief in do unto others.
Each page features Gan and a creature of nature.
I love how the names of the characters begins with the same letter as their being, and this also carries over into their actions and reactions. Here’s a couple of examples:
“Sammy the squirrel scuffled.”
“Terrence the turtle toddled.”
It was such fun to turn each page and see what the author came up with next.
The pages are large and glossy, with brilliant color.
The story is like an interview. The creatures ask Gan a question and he gives them an answer. Each one is a life lesson and they make you stop and ponder. Make you question how you see the world around you. How you can be a better person. How you can share the joy of life with others.
A tale of being all that you can be, and cherishing and sharing life and all that surrounds you.
My mother read this book and said it’s adorable. She loved the fun Q&A aspect, the colorful pictures, and the life lessons it contains.
A book for all ages, I hope you read this and share it with your children.
5 Stars
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Synopsis
McDonald’s first book, LITTLE BOY GAN FROM PASSION-FILLED EVERLAND, tells the story of ten-year-old Gan. Gan is humble and wise with a loving spirit that he shares with the animals he meets in the magical forest where the story takes place. The curious animals watch Gan and observe his kindness and humility. Soon they seek the boy out to learn the secret of his happiness. The old soul gives his new friends advice on humility, passion, compassion, and paying it forward. The impact Gan has on the animals is life changing. The lessons they learn lead to expressions of gratitude for their individual gifts and embolden them to share their passions with the world.
For More Information
Little Boy Gan From Passion-Filled Everland is available at Amazon.
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Title: Reimburse the Universe Author: Lisa McDonald Publisher: Lisa McDonald Pages: 36 Genre: Children’s Picture Book
I’ll be posting my review on Thursday, October 29th. Please stop back by!
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Synopsis
In REIMBURSE THE UNIVERSE, a diverse cast of characters continue the theme of people sharing their best selves with the world. The message of this book focuses on giving back to the universe by honoring and respecting ourselves and others and understanding that all human beings are part of a collective whole. Each page in the book offers examples of how individuals can give back to the collective out of appreciation for the many gifts that the universe has provided all of us.
Lisa McDonald is an author and radio host. Her children’s books, LITTLE BOY GAN FROM PASSION-FILLED EVERLANDand REIMBURSE THE UNIVERSE, take readers, young and old, on journeys with diverse characters that teach lessons of acceptance, understanding, and sharing. Lisa’s radio program, Carpe Diem, promotes personal empowerment and showcases world-renowned authors, speakers, and musicians.
Writing has been a long-time passion for Lisa. “I have been writing since the age of five. I always wrote poetry, short stories, anthologies, essays. My maternal grandmother foresaw me being a writer/author from a very young age and encouraged me to pursue it. As a result of reinventing myself due to a change in personal/familial circumstances, it became clear to me that writing was not meant to be a hobby but rather my vocation.”
Lisa’s third and fourth books, PLANET POME-GRANITE and KISMET TALES FROM HAPPY TRAILS, are forthcoming in late 2015 and early 2016.
Head on over and leave a link to your Sunday Post and hop around to visits others.
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Some chit chat.
I’m sitting on my couch typing my Sunday Post and fighting the cat and dog for elbow room. LOL They are such hogs and stretch out full length. They’ll start out all curled up and slowly extend their bodies until I’m almost hanging off the end. Boogers!
It’s funny how the change of weather changes their patterns. My dog, Quigley, used to run outside to go to the bathroom and rush back in to get out of the heat. Now he likes to go out in the yard and sleep in the sun since it’s a bit cooler.
My cat, Sheba, used to curl up on a chair or the couch to avoid the cool terra cotta tile floor. Now she chooses a spot in the sun by the back door. The sun is at a lower level in the sky and shines through the glass door, warming the tile.
This got me thinking about how things change with me. I’ve begun pulling out my winter clothes, changing my comforter on my bed to a heavier one, and keeping two changes of clothes in my car since the weather changes so quickly during the day.
So how about you? Do your pets change their habits with the weather? Do you?
Happy Sunday!
I’ll be hopping over to check out your Sunday posts so be sure to leave me your link!
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I’m participating in The Spooktacular Giveaway Hop again this year. I love this event and am offering a print book of your choice (up to $15, International) from Amazon.
Click on the banner above and it will take you to my giveaway page. While you’re there, you might want to enter some of the other giveaways going on!
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Here are my new books for review.
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Books I grabbed up just for fun.
I managed to stay away from Netgalley and Edelweiss, but I did grab this freebie from Amazon. Sounds like a fun one. It ‘s still free, so if you want to check it out, click on the cover.
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And here are some freebies for ya!
Click on the covers to get yours and remember to make sure they’re still free before you click that buy button.
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Books I reviewed. Click on the covers for my reviews.
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Books I’ll be reviewing next week.
I’ll also be reviewing one other book by this author, to be revealed.
And a few more reviews for next week.
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Some books I won.
Huge thanks to the blog hosts, authors, and tour organizers for these wonderful prizes.
If you ask Harry why he went in the store, he’s tell you it’s because he’s always wanted a dog. And the kids would love it too. He figures he can get around his wife’s objections with this dog.
Queenie is a robot. She looks and acts like a dog. The plus is she doesn’t eat or drink, so Pam won’t get stuck having to take care of her. She doesn’t pee or poo so there are no accidents to clean up. And she comes fully programmed so you don’t have to train her.
There’s still a problem though. Queenie doesn’t seem to like Pam. How can that be? And the robot dog comes with a warning. Don’t ever over charge her battery.
Well, you know what happens don’t ya? Queenie is left on the charger too long and has a melt down and starts to act weird. This is where Pam can and does say, I told you so.
A robot dog sounds ideal. Until you start thinking about all of those movies you watched and books you read. Nothing good can come of it.
I really got creeped out by this story. Once Queenie went bad, the horror began.
Imagine this cute little doggie, hiding in the shadows, setting traps, luring you into the dark. And then…..
I could see it. Lured outside by a sound, seeing this tiny dog appear from the shadows. It steps towards you. So little. So cute. So dang scary.
I almost felt sorry for Queenie, Almost. Then the terror began and all I wanted was to run her over with a big piece of farm equipment. Smash her flat. But I had a feeling she’d be too slippery for that to happen.
Queenie is a Baad Dog. If something seems to good to be true, don’t buy it!
There’s plenty of chills and hair raising scenes to make any horror fan a happy camper.
5 Stars
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Synopsis
Don’t let the cute face fool you
Cujo has got nothing on this cute fuzzy faced little mongrel… or should I say fuzzy faced little killer?
Harry wanted a dog. He’d wanted a dog ever since his mother gave away the pup they’d adopted when he was a kid. She gave her away because Harry and his brother, Lenny, wouldn’t take care of her. Now Harry is a grown man with children of his own. He brings home, Queenie, a miracle of modern robotics that looks and behaves just like a real dog. Big Mistake. Harry’s wife, Pam, feels there’s something off about Queenie right from the start. But will Harry see the light before he and his entire family become dog food?
Excerpt
Some dogs are dangerous…
You can’t deny it. Everyone’s heard a story or two about the friendly pit bull, or the loveable Rottweiler who was the treasured family pet until the day he was playing with the kids in the yard and chewed little Liza’s fingers off.
But truth be told, those dogs— Rottweiler’s, Pit Bulls, Dobermans, aren’t born mean, they’re mean because they’ve been mistreated. A mistreated dog is nothing more than ticking time bombs just waiting for the right moment to go Cujo on an unsuspecting public lulled into a false sense of confidence by their giant gentleness.
But my, dog… my dog, the man thought. His dog was loved and cared for right from the start. His was a lap dog, cute and cuddly, and… perfect, which is why he was having the damndest time accepting the bitter truth— that his cute, cuddly, well treated dog was also a murderer.
So he lay there, his legs rendered useless, feeling as if they’d been set on fire like Christmas kindling. His world was spinning, spinning, spinning as if he’d been set down on a runaway merry-go-round. Through the pain and the spinning he heard the dog coming for him, coming to finish him off, her soft, doggie footsteps scratching gently toward him on the dust covered road.
Then she climbed up onto his body as he lay, eyes gazing up at the moon. She stood on his stomach, and teetered for a second before looking into his eyes.
Go get help, he thought. I need help. Of course, he knew better. She was the reason he was in this position in the first place. As the little dog began moving up his torso toward his chest, he thought of all the killer dogs he’d heard about or seen on the news over the years, and as his dog closed in for the kill, he wondered: since when did man’s best friend become his very own worst nightmare?
About the Author
Sal Conte is the horror writing alter ego of Amazon #1 Teen Horror author, E. Van Lowe. As Sal Conte, the author turns his talents to gruesome horror with stunning results. Sal Conte is the author of 80s pulp horror classics “Child’s Play” and “The Power,” as well as recent shorts “The Toothache Man” and “Because We Told Her To.
Mother Daughter Book Reviews is pleased to be coordinating a Blog Tour for the new titles recently released by Lonely Planet Kids (an imprint from Lonely Planet, the world’s leading travel publisher), from October 15 to 31, 2015.
Lonely Planet Kids aims to enhance learning, interaction and appreciation for the planet’s rich
diversity of people, places and cultures. Immersive, engaging and educational, the new Lonely Planet Kids books continue to explore the world and inspire a whole new generation of travelers as only Lonely Planet can.
About Adventures Around the Globe
Title: Adventures Around the Globe Publication Date: September, 2015
Publisher: Lonely Planet Kids
Pages: 60 + 12 pages of stickers
Recommended Ages: 4+
My Review
Adventures Around The Globe is one of several fun activity books in the “Adventures In…” series.
This is a heavy book with large glossy pages. There’s maps, spot the difference games, and pages to color.
There’s also a lot of fun facts about the places you visit in the book. Learn about the native wildlife, about the oceans, about mountains and cities and people.
Solve the maze, find the animals, and then head to the back of the book. There are pages and pages of stickers. You find the corresponding page and start sticking away, creating your own tapestry of adventure.
Three generations of my family, my mother, myself, and my son, had some fun with the Spot The Difference games. We took turns trying to find all of them and whoever did it in the least amount of time won.
I really wanted to get to the stickers and create some fun adventures. But, I have plans to give this book as a gift and let a special someone have all the fun.
The pages are thick and shiny and the colors so vivid the images leap out at you. And when I opened the book, it smelled so good. I love the smell of books.
Even after you do all of the activities, you’ll keep coming back to this wonderful book. There’s always something you missed, some fun fact or something hidden in a picture.
I recommend this to all ages. For the kids, they’ll spend hours immersed in these activities, and for the adults, hey, we are all kids inside.
5 Stars
~~~~~
Description: Come and explore some of the world’s most amazing places with Adventures Around the Globe, a special edition sticker atlas from the ‘Adventures in…’ activity book series. Young explorers (ages 4+) will discover fun facts, interact with maps and puzzles, decorate real-life locations with over 250 reusable stickers–
even create a fold-out 3D model of the globe.
About Lonely Planet Kids
From the world’s leading travel media company comes Lonely Planet Kids, a children’s imprint that brings the world to life for young explorers everywhere. We’re kickstarting the travel bug and showing kids just how amazing our planet can be. We will inspire and delight curious kids, showing them the rich diversity of people, places and cultures that surrounds us. We promise to share our enthusiasm and love of the world, our sense of humour and continual fascination for what it is that makes the world we live in the diverse and magnificent place it is. It’s going to be a big adventure! Come explore.
Prize: One winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card or $25 PayPal cash prize, winner’s choice Giveaway ends: November 8, 11:59 pm, 2015 Open to: Internationally How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE
PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by Lonely Planet Kids and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send an email to
Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.
The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader and find a sentence or a few (no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.
Then go over to Freda’s Voice and leave your link so we can visit your 56!
My 56 for this week is from
Guarded
The Silverton Chronicles
by Carmen Fox
My 56
This is a scene where Florian, Flo for short, was panicked after he couldn’t find Ivy.
“I’m okay. But I could do with a friend.”
“Okay.” He hung up. A few beats later, the phone rang. “Me again,” Flo said. “You do mean me, right?”
“Who else?”
“I’ll be right over.”
I rolled me eyes and smiled. Dork.
Read on if you want to know more.
Synopsis
Ivy’s neighbors have a secret. They aren’t human. But Ivy has a secret, too. She knows. As long as everyone keeps quiet, she’s happy working as a P.I. by day and chillaxing with her BFF Florian, a vampire, by night. When a routine pickup drops her in the middle of a murder, her two worlds collide. While Florian knows how to throw a punch, deep down he’s a softie. His idea of scary? Running out of hair product. It’s time Ivy faced facts. Even with a vampire on stand-by, one gal can only kick so many asses.
For help, she must put her faith in others. A human, who might just be the one. A demon, who will, for a price, open the doors to her heritage. And a werewolf, who wants to protect her from herself.
Torn between these men, Ivy must tread carefully, because one wants her heart, one wants her body, and one wants her dead.
