I MISSED MY BLOGOVERSARY! Clearly I need something epic to make up for that…

My Life is a Notebook turned three years old on the 14th and I missed it. I MISSED IT.

I guess this is just a testament to how far behind I’ve been on blogging. Getting spit out of your freshmen year of college reminds you just how much time you need to spend blogging to make everything look the way you want it to, and to keep to a schedule. I really fell behind, especially second semester, and for that I’m very sorry.

HOWEVER, I’m back now, with some GREAT things coming at you. There will be all of the reviews, all of the Top Ten Tuesdays and maybe some Stacking the Shelves if I can get my act together. There is also the super-secret thing that I’ve been hinting about all over social media, which is coming at you NEXT WEEK. I’m going to give you a three word clue: Bibliomancy for Beginners. What does that mean? Who knows!

But now we get back to this blogoversary thing. THREE years of book blogging. THREE. Wow. It’s certainly been an adventure. I’m not where I thought I might be after three years, but that’s good because it means that I have a lot more to learn about how this goes. And also time management. However, I’m still further up there then I ever dreamed I’d be when I started, and that’s all because of you guys, so thanks for that so much. Every liked post, every comment means the world to me when it shows up.

In order to thank you all for three great years AND to make up for messing up my own blogoversary, I’m giving away…

A BOX OF BOOKS. 

It’s a medium sized post office box that I brought back stuff from my dorm room in. It’s THAT BIG. I don’t know how many books are going to fit in there, but for the winner of this giveaway I’m going to STUFF IT TIL IT CAN’T TAKE NO MORE!

Kind of like this. Except with books, not a cat.

On my rough estimate, I’d say you’re looking at AT LEAST 8 books. Probably more, but I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep. I’ve got a pile of ARCs, paperbacks, hardcovers and other goodies lying around my bookshelves to give away, and I’m going to put the cream of the crop into this box for one lucky winner.

EXCITED? 

Please be excited, because I’m excited.

Because this giveaway is so huge, it has to be limited to the continental US. Really sorry guys, but shipping this box two houses down is going to break my bank as is. If you live in the US somewhere, you’re in luck – enter below! This giveaway goes until the end of May. For every 50 entries into this giveaway, I’ll release a title of a book that’s going into the box!
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The New Voices Literary Festival, Part 2 – The Giveaway!

This post is part two in a two part series about the New Voices Literary Festival. Don’t forget to check out part one!

Okay, I promise that giveaway is coming! At the end of this post. Do me a favor and don’t scroll down to the bottom just because I told you that.

So, on the second day, there were three panels. In the first one, four authors talked about writing for magazines and jobs in general. (That’s Marie-Helene Bertino, Jane Roper, Eleanor Henderson and Nathaniel Rich.)

In the second, Rebecca Makkai, Sheba Karim, Tim Horvath and Robin Ekiss talked about the writing life.

In the third, Tim Horvath, Rebecca Makkai, Robin Ekiss and Jane Roper talked about writing from research and inspiration.

The reason I’m glossing over those talks so much is because that wasn’t where the real awesomeness was for me. I mean, sure, the panels were really entertaining and wonderful and I could just feel my creative juices moving just from what they were saying. However, the best part for me was talking to the writers in between the panels, when they came out from behind the table and kicked up their heels on the couches. When you just start talking, the most amazing things can happen.

For example, Jane Roper and I got to talking about blogging big time. I ended up telling her about Rafflecopter, which I had never heard before, and she informed me that you can’t change your Facebook page name after you have more than 100 likes. This kind of sharing of information isn’t something that happens during a panel—it’s just organic.

I also found out that Robin Ekiss is afraid of medically needed helmets, and Rebecca Makkai is desperately creeped out by steel wool. I don’t know what I’m going to ever do with this knowledge, but the fact that I know it makes it feel precious. There’s something so fantastic about realizing again and again that people who have published their work are people just like you.

After the panels, the writers went on a trek to some waterfalls nearby. I didn’t go, but I was pleasantly surprised to know that none of the writers fell into the waterfall.

Then there was a reading by the final four authors. Shameless plug for all their wonderfulness!

Tim Horvath, Understories ~ Jane Roper, Eden Lake ~ Eleanor Henderson, Ten Thousand Saints ~ Marie-Helene Bertino, Safe as Houses

After the reading, there was a mass rush to get everyone to sign everything. I now own an autographed copy of Skunk Girl, and my roommate bought Odds Against Tomorrow and The Borrower. I will be stealing those. There was a wonderfully amusing moment where Professor Holmes gave Jane Roper a book to sign, which he had bought used and already had her signature inside it.

Ann, whoever you are, Jane Roper has learned you sold the book she autographed for you and has put a big X through the words she wrote to you.

After the reading, there was a wonderful little barbeque where we all swapped some last stories before saying goodbye. Not only did I make wonderful friends during this opportunity with authors, I also made them with fellow students!

Recently, I’ve been so down on my own writing, but this event has just inspired me to keep going. They shared their creative drives and now I can’t stop typing this blog post is going to get so long oh gosh.

BUT! I PROMISED A GIVEAWAY!

Sheba Karim was my author, and also the young adult author of the panel. For one lucky US citizen, I have a SIGNED copy of her debut album Skunk Girl! Enter below if you want in!

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The New Voices Literary Festival, Part 1!

GET READY! In this series of posts there are amazing authors, amazing stories, and an amazing giveaway. IT’S SO EXCITING!

College, they say, is a great time to try out some new opportunities. This proved to be quite true over the past three days, when I was a Student Guide at Ithaca College’s first annual New Voices Literary Festival.

Conceptualized by Professor Chris Holmes from the English Department and Professor Eleanor Henderson from the Writing Department, these two fantastic people brought together eight emerging writers to talk to students over the course of three days. (List of these authors later, don’t worry.)

Professor Holmes was the one who alerted me to the Student Guide applications. The idea was to have sixteen student guides, two from each year and two for each author, to act as the author’s guide around campus. The job came with perks such as backstage access and non-dining hall food. I applied like a rocket, received the honor, and was assigned to author Sheba Karim. I proceeded to skip 95% of my classes over Thursday and Friday to hang out with these eight wonderful people and leech their knowledge for my own. I wasn’t disappointed.

Sadly, I did miss the first event of the festival, on Wednesday, in which the eight authors all read short bits of their work at a bookstore in town. However, I was there bright and early the next morning to have breakfast with the authors before their first events of the day.

At 10:50 AM on Thursday, instead of going to my honors seminar class, I walked Sheba Karim and fellow New Voices author Marie-Helene Bertino to a class taught by Professor Henderson and sat on a cabinet for the duration. It was a great experience to see not only Sheba and Marie-Helene speak, but also to sit in on a class that I will be taking in my junior year. (See, the trick during these things is to suck them dry for everything they’re worth.)

At 12 PM, all eight writers attended a panel about being a college reader and writer. Since now would be a greatly un-invasive time to name them, the writers in the New Voices Festival, in the order they appear in this picture, are Sheba Karim, Marie-Helene Bertino, Eleanor Henderson, Jane Roper, Rebecca Makkai, Robin Ekiss, Nathaniel Rich and Tim Horvath.

After that, we all moseyed to the library to the Center of Faculty Excellence, where there was a small reception and a music student preformed music that he had written based on three poems by Robin Ekiss. This was followed by a reading at the Handwerker Art Gallery, where four of the eight writers read, and I introduced Sheba Karim. Since it’s Sheba’s book I’m giving away, and I spent so much work on this intro, I’m going to insert what I said here:

They say that to be a writer its best if you’re good at a few different things. Sheba Karim is certainly that. Her novel, Skunk Girl, is young adult fiction, and she is also the editor of a collection of erotic short stories. Her literary fiction has appeared in 580 Split, Asia Literary Review, Barn Owl Review, EGO, Kartika Review, Shenandoah, South Asian Review, Time Out Delhi and in several published and forthcoming anthologies in the United States and India, including Cornered, Electric Feather and Venus Fly Trap. Her current project is a historical fiction novel set in 13^th century India. All this showcases two different things: Sheba Karim gets really grumpy when she isn’t writing, so she writes a lot, and that the drive to show your parents that writing is a viable career option will actually get you far.

When not writing, Sheba Karim likes to dance, sometimes with an ironing board, get kicked out of nightclubs in Bombay and ending up as a 6 AM extra on the set of a Bollywood movie—all at once. She is obsessive about planning trips, so much that she believes she was a travel agent in a past life. Someday, she would love to go diving. No mention if this is to be done with an ironing board, though. Oh, and in case anyone who has ever taken a Catherine Taylor writing class is curious, her spirit animal is a chocolate eating cat. Please welcome Sheba Karim.

After everyone was wowed by my public speaking skills (you know, the nonexistent ones), the day was ended. Please wait as I shamelessly plug the four authors who read that night:

Rebecca Makkai, The Borrower ~ Nathaniel Rich, Odds Against Tomorrow ~ Robin Ekiss, The Mansion of Happiness ~ Sheba Karim, Skunk Girl

WANT MORE DEETS? What happened the next day? What did I teach Jane Roper? What happens when Jane Roper is given a book that was already signed? How many writers did we lose in the gorges? What are Robin Ekiss and Rebecca Makkai’s greatest fears?

WHERE’S THAT GIVEAWAY?

Check back in tomorrow and see!

Blog Tour: “Eyes of Ember” by Rebecca Ethington – Character Teaser + Giveaway!

Welcome to the Eyes of Ember Blog Tour, hosted by Good Choice Readings!

About the Author

Rebecca Ethington has been telling stories since she was small. First, with writing crude scripts, and then in stage with years of theatrical performances. The Imdalind Series is her first stint into the world of literary writing. Rebecca is a mother to two, and wife to her best friend of 14 years. She was born and raised in the mountains of Salt Lake City, and hasn’t found the desire to leave yet. Her days are spent writing, running, and enjoying life with her amazing family.

Amazon Author | Website | Twitter @RebEthington

Eyes of Ember

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

Joclyn is in hiding, hunted by the man she still desperately loves. Ryland is gone, his mind erased; no memory of Joclyn remains, but Joclyn’s heart desperately begs her to hold out hope. Meanwhile the black-eyed monster that possesses him attempts to kill her over and over again.

If it wasn’t for Ilyan, Joclyn would be dead by now.

Ilyan, the man who once stalked her, is now Joclyn’s protector, the only person she has left. He protects Joclyn from the men who seek to end her life, and all the while, she is haunted by dreams where Ryland begs her to break the bond between them.

Ilyan is there. Always there.

Ilyan trains and prepares her, teaching her everything she needs to know in the hope that one day she can avenge Ryland, if not protect herself from him.

And then, there is her father.

The man who has never been there is suddenly responsible for everything. And who he is has made Joclyn into something she never wanted to be:

The Silnỳ.

CHARACTER TEASER!

That Ryland sounds like an interesting guy, huh? Well, here’s a quote of his from the book!

“Stop trying to fight me,” Ryland snarled, slamming my head against the house again. “After all, there is nothing you can do. You are losing, and I am going to watch you die.”

GIVEAWAY!

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Blog Tour: “Broken Wings” by Shannon Dittemore – Promo Post + Giveaway!

Welcome to my stop on the Broken Wings blog tour hosted by YA Bound.  Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!

***

Angel Eyes (Angel Eyes Trilogy #1)

Once you’ve seen, you can’t unsee. Everything changes when you’ve looked at the world through . . .

ANGEL EYES

Brielle’s a ballerina who went to the city to chase her dreams and found tragedy instead. She’s come home to shabby little Stratus, Oregon, to live with her grief and her guilt . . . and the incredible, numbing cold she can’t seem to shake.

Jake’s the new guy at school. The boy next door with burning hands and an unbelievable gift that targets him for corruption.

Something more than fate has brought them together. An evil bigger than both of them lurks in the shadows nearby, hiding in plain sight. Two angels stand guard, unsure what’s going to happen. And a beauty brighter than Jake or Brielle has ever seen is calling them to join the battle in a realm where all human choices start.

A realm that only angels and demons—and Brielle—can perceive.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

 

Broken Wings (Angel Eyes Trilogy #2)

Giant angels with metal wings and visible song. A blind demon restored from the pit of darkness. And a girl who has never felt more broken.

Brielle sees the world as it really is: a place where the Celestial exists side by side with human reality. But in the aftermath of a supernatural showdown, her life begins to crumble. Her boyfriend, Jake, is keeping something from her—something important. Her overprotective father has started drinking again. He’s dating a much younger woman who makes Brielle’s skin crawl, and he’s downright hostile toward Jake. Haunting nightmares keep Brielle from sleeping, and flashes of Celestial vision keep her off kilter.

What she doesn’t know is that she’s been targeted. The Prince of Darkness himself has heard of the boy with healing in his hands and of the girl who sees through the Terrestrial Veil. When he plucks the blind demon, Damien, from the fiery chasm and sends him back to Earth with new eyes, the stage is set for a cataclysmic battle of good versus evil.

Then Brielle unearths the truth about her mother’s death and she must question everything she ever thought was true.

Brielle has no choice. She knows evil forces are converging and will soon rain their terror down upon the town of Stratus. She must master the weapons she’s been given. She must fight.

But can she fly with broken wings?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

 

About the Author

Shannon Dittemore has an overactive imagination and a passion for truth. Her lifelong journey to combine the two is responsible for a stint at Portland Bible College, performances with local theater companies, and a focus on youth and young adult ministry. The daughter of one preacher and the wife of another, she spends her days imagining things unseen and chasing her two children around their home in Northern California. Angel Eyes is her first novel.

Website / Twitter / Goodreads / Facebook / Pinterest

 ***PROMO POST***

An excerpt from Broken Wings…

Silence consumes the assembly now, imposed on them by the sight of an icy white figure dropping into the hall from above. His wings, spread wide, are white save the tips, which retain a char he’s never rid of.

Black-tipped wings for the Prince of Darkness. Healthy wings. Strong wings. His skin shines like polished marble. His hair lies in curls of midnight around his face—still fresh, still bright, still retaining the beauty that seduced a third of the angels. Human eyes would have a hard time distinguishing the Prince from a Warrior like Michael. But the absence of light behind those pale blue eyes hints at the creature’s true nature. And they are pale, so pale the blue seems buried far below, glinting like coins at the bottom of a well.

He’s exquisite. Majestic.

And he’s afraid.

Celestial light has been banned from this place, but even here among the arctic shadows, fear cannot hide. Its blackness swirls in a controlled spin down his right arm, over his well-formed bicep, around his elbow, circling around his forearm and sliding from his palm down his middle finger where it puddles beneath his throne. Tendrils branch out across the stone floor seeking, seeking.

He cups his hand, allowing the fear to pool there. His fingers close around the sticky substance and he prods it, molds it like a human child playing with a handful of clay. All the while, his eyes rip into the demon before him.

After a slow descent, the Prince’s feet touch upon the seat of his throne—the graven dragon behind him. His legs and waist are wrapped in cords of white. His torso and arms are bare. Very little separates him from the other archangels. And yet so much.

Pearla watches the Prince. The Creator gave him beauty—a beauty unrivaled—and he’s taken great pains to preserve it. His time here in Abaddon has kept him from the damage his hordes have suffered in the light of the Celestial. Pearla’s heard stories of the Prince venturing above, but his untarnished appearance alone is proof that his time to heal greatly exceeds that of his minions.

“Sit.” His celestial lips are still, unable to vocalize anything but animalistic rages—like those assembled, like the demon chained to the floor, like every angel he led astray—but they all hear. They all obey. It’s sad, really. His song, like his face, was far superior to all others. Now his mouth is good for nothing.

Wings rustle and talons scratch as countless demons crawl and flap toward rough shelves cut into the cliffs surrounding the hall. The demon chained to the floor drops to his knees.

Humility, even false humility, is appreciated here.

The Prince doesn’t sit, though. No. He stands on his throne, his legs spread wide, looking down at the demon trembling on the floor.

“It’s unfortunate, brother, to see you in chains. Again.”

***GIVEAWAY***
(1) Print copies of Angel Eyes and Broken Wings (US Only)

(5) Print copies of Broken Wings (US only)

CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

Blog Tour: Farsighted by Emlyn Chand – Review + Giveaway!

Hey there everybody! Welcome to the tour for Farsighted and Open Heart by Emlyn Chand! This is going to be part of a special two part post on My Life is a Notebook! For more goodies, check out the tour schedule HERE. Today, we’re giving you our review for Farsighted! There’s also a GREAT giveaway for a KINDLE or a NOOK. That’s right! You heard me! Let’s get this party started!

Farsighted by Emlyn Chand

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

*This review was written by guest reviewer Em from Easy Reading and Damn Hard Writing!*

Maturity Level: Recommended for 13+. Some gore, violence, and kissing, but little to no sexual content.

I’ve been reading a lot of self-pubs on my Kindle app recently, and I have to say that so far, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the selections that I’ve made. Sure, there were a couple of duds, books that I could only stand about a chapter of— the stereotypical “bad” self-pubs, complete with bad formatting, an apparent lack of any sort of editor, and a definite lack of any real sales potential.

Then, there are books like Angelfall and Farsighted—books that you could totally see showing up on a bookstore shelf and actually being better than 75% of their genre. These are books that have been self-published because that is part of the author’s artistic vision (see this post by  Chand) rather than being self-pubbed because there is absolutely NO CHANCE of a major press EVER accepting them. The latter is what self publishing has become (and also, what people tend to think when they sit down to read an indie); the former is what self-publishing was to begin with and what it should continue to be.

That said, on with the review!

Alex Kosmitoras is an abnormal guy in a depressingly normal situation: his parents are struggling financially, and there’s a bully who seems to have it out for him no matter what. On top of that, he’s blind—and, apparently, able to “see” the future. Simmi is the new girl from India, who is not only the friendliest, most accepting person Alex has ever met, but also has powers of her own. Alex is starting to think that this is actually going to be okay—that he has a shot of being friends with Simmi (and maybe more)—when he starts having visions of Simmi dying in various terrible ways and vows to stop it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It paints a lovely tableau of multiculturalism against a small-town background; as someone who lives in a truly tiny town, I can appreciate this. Chand also manages to twine the paranormal element neatly into Alex’s everyday issues with school, parents, etc while drawing on mythological elements that made the 13-year-old-me-who-read-Edith-Wharton’s-Mythology-obsessively-for-about-a-year incredibly happy. There were points where the pacing seemed a little slow, but there were also times when I literally couldn’t put it down. It’s definitely a book that I’d recommend to people who are tired of the vampire/werewolves/angels that tend to overpopulate YA paranormals.

Pros

• Alex’s POV. I have a weakness for blind protagonists, especially those that are still major badasses. Which Alex definitely is.
• Simmi. I kind of fell a bit in love with her right alongside Alex, which made her a wonderful romantic lead for the book.
• Shapri. I might have fallen in love with Simmi, but I would definitely be more like Shapri. I liked how Chand handled her reluctance to admit to her gifts, and I loved that she was not “the bad guy” in Simmi and Alex’s relationship just because she had a bit of a crush on Alex. Nice.
• The runes and how they connect to the story. I’m actually incredibly interested in runes/tarot, so I loved reading the description of each rune and then figuring out how it connected to the chapter I was reading.
• Caffeine-assisted visions! I love explorations of how drugs/chemicals would affect theoretical psychic powers.
• The multicultural viewpoint. <3

Cons

• Some of the transitions were a little choppy.
• Occasionally, Alex fails to take action that moves the plot along and waits for other people to move it along instead. It seems just a little OOC, since he spends the majority of the book being a badass, but it wasn’t enough to disrupt the book entirely, so it’s all good.

Star Rating on Goodreads/Final Grade: 3.75 stars, rounded up for GR. A-. Would reread, will definitely read other books in series.

AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY! You could win a Kindle or a Nook HERE!
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Blog Tour: Talisman of El – Tens List + Giveaway!

Tour Schedule

Talisman of El by Alecia Stone

WHAT IF YOUR WHOLE LIFE WAS A LIE?

One Planet.

Two Worlds.

Population: Human … 7 billion.

Others … unknown.

When 14-year-old Char­lie Blake wakes up sweat­ing and gasp­ing for air in the mid­dle of the night, he knows it is hap­pen­ing again. This time he wit­nesses a bru­tal mur­der. He’s afraid to tell any­one. No one would believe him … because it was a dream. Just like the one he had four years ago – the day before his dad died.

Char­lie doesn’t know why this is hap­pen­ing. He would give any­thing to have an ordi­nary life. The prob­lem: he doesn’t belong in the world he knows as home.

He belongs with the others.
Book Trailer

Purchase

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

 

 

Author Alecia Stone

Alecia Stone is the author of Talisman Of El (Centrinian, 2012), the first book in the Talisman Of El trilogy. She graduated with a BA in Film & TV and has worked in television for a short period of time before branching out into storytelling. Alecia loves anything and everything paranormal. Her fascination with all things supernatural sparked her obsession with books, particularly young adult fantasy fiction, which she has never grown out of. She was inspired to become an author after reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen at the age of fourteen.

In 2008, Alecia started working on Talisman Of El, a contemporary young adult fantasy fiction inspired by people who disappeared mysteriously, including, but not limited to, Amelia Earhart and Percy Harrison Fawcett, who went on an expedition in search of an ancient lost city. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys going to the movies, listening to music, and travelling.

Talisman Of El is her first novel. At present, Alecia lives in England, United Kingdom with her family.

Website * Facebook * Goodreads * Twitter * Website

Blog Tour Giveaway

3 Print copies of Talisman of El

Open Internationally

Ends 2/18/13

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TENS LIST!

Top 10 Books  That Helped Inspire Talisman Of El – From the author

Okay, so I’ve  been reading since … forever, so I’m sure there’s a huge list of books that  have inspired Talisman Of El in one way or another, so how do I choose just ten  books? Oh boy … Okay, so I’ll go through a list of books that I’ve either  re-read or would read again because they are just that great. Here it  goes.

10. Adventures  of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

9. The Bible (Go  on, you know you want to ask by who)

8. To Kill a  Mockingbird by Harper Lee

7. Harry Potter  by J.K. Rowling

6. Oliver Twist  by Charles Dickens

5. Narnia by  C.S. Lewis

4. The Green  Mile by Stephen King

3. Alice In  Wonderland by Lewis Caroll

2. Pride and  Prejudice by Jane Austen

1. Peter Pan by  J.M. Barrie

Blog Tour: Farsighted by Emlyn Chand Book Highlight

Alex Kosmitoras’s life has never been easy. The only other student who will talk to him is the school bully, his parents are dead broke and insanely overprotective, and… oh yeah, he’s blind.

Just when he thinks he’ll never have a shot at a normal life, an enticing new girl comes to their small Midwest town all the way from India. Simmi is smart, nice, and actually wants to be friends with Alex. Plus she smells like an Almond Joy bar. Sophomore year might not be so bad after all.

Alex is in store for another new arrival—an unexpected and often embarrassing ability to “see” the future. Try as he may, Alex is unable to ignore his visions, especially when they suggest Simmi is in mortal danger.

With the help of the mysterious psychic next door and friends who come bearing gifts of their own, Alex embarks on his journey to change the future.

Amazon † BN

Simmi Shergill’s life is a mess. Her powers of psychic feeling are on the fritz, and Grandon Township’s sudden population boom has brought quite a few unsavory characters to town. She also looks like an over-blown balloon in her size 14 pants, but not even starving herself seems to be helping.

At least she has Alex, the boyfriend who loves her so much he’d do anything for her. Last summer, he even risked his life to protect her from the mysterious boy everyone was convinced wanted to kill her.

Just one problem: she’s not so sure she feels the same way. Is Alex really the man of her dreams? Why can’t she stop fixating on her would-be killer, Dax? Part of her wants to run screaming in the other direction whenever Dax is around, while the other part longs to run into his embrace, no matter whom she’d hurt or what she’d risk.

Simmi’s loyalty is on the line. Whom will she choose—the blind seer who loves her, or the charming telekinetic with “bad idea” written all over him? Emotions run high in the tension-packed book two of the Farsighted series.

Amazon † BN

Other books in the series…

About The Author…

 

From an early age, Emlyn Chand has counted books among her best friends. She loves to hear and tell stories and emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in her left hand (true story). Her affinity for the written word extends to absolutely every area of her life: she has published three novels and three children’s books with plans for many more of each, leads a classics book group with almost five-hundred members, and, of course, runs the whole shebang at Novel Publicity.

The book that changed Emlyn’s life is Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crocket Johnson. It opened her eyes to the world that could exist if only she was willing to create it—a lesson she has never forgotten. While she enjoys all types of novels, her greatest loves are literary fiction and YA. She’s best known for her Farsighted series and is developing a slow but steady following for the Bird Brain Books. She’s eager to see how her women’s fiction novel, Torn Together, will be received by the reading masses.

Website† Facebook † GoodReads † Twitter † Blog 

 

Make sure to check out the FARSIGHTED & OPEN HEART blog tour kicking off Monday, February 4th!

http://gcrpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/01/emlynchandtourS.html

GRAND PRIZE: Kindle or Nook — Winners choice!

Blog Tour: “Interred” by Marilyn Almodóvar – Excerpt + Giveaway!

Welcome to my stop on the Interred Blog Tour hosted by YA Bound! Click HEREto check out the rest of the tour schedule!

Interred (Chronicles of the Interred #1)

by Marilyn Almodóvar

Release Date: 01/22/13

Summary from Goodreads:

Time has never been an issue for Baxter Jacobs, but then she never knew she had the ability to Bend it.
As her sixteenth birthday approaches, Baxter inherits a pendant that will change her life. Connected to the pendant is a dark and mysterious young man named Declan Ashdown. Trapped in a Time loop for the past 122 years, Declan needs Baxter’s help to escape. The only problem is, she has no idea how to do it.
To acquire the power she needs to free him, she’ll become one of the Interred, those whose Magical abilities emerge as they come of age. When she does, she’ll discover that Declan isn’t the only one interested in the fact that she’s a Time Bender.
As the Interment arrives, Baxter knows this will be no Sweet Sixteen. A vengeful relative and ruthless Council are determined to control her. Declan’s powerful and charming descendant, Jack Ashdown, claims he can save her. She’ll soon have to decide who she can trust, and how to master her new abilities before Time runs out.

Goodreads link:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13450348-interred

About the Author:

Marilyn Almodóvar is the author of a series of YA paranormal novels. Born in Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, Lyn is a lover of words whose reading tastes range from Victorian novels to the books of Stephen King. Her favorite past-times have always been reading and writing, two activities that let her escape to other worlds.
It was this love that propelled her to choose Theater and French as majors in University, with a minor in English Victorian Literature. Lyn lived for almost a decade in England followed by three years in France before returning home to the States. A self-confessed citizen of the world, she is fluent in English, French and Spanish, with basic knowledge of the Italian language. Lyn could happily exist breathing the clean air of Narnia, trapped in a cupboard under the stairs with Harry, fighting alongside Captain Jack Sparrow, doing an internship in Torchwood, or traveling around time and space with the Doctor…as long as she can have Mr. Spock, Captain Kirk and Captain Mal as companions.
Lyn currently lives in Central Florida with her French husband, English-born eldest son, and French-born youngest son. Her debut YA Novel, Interred, will be published by Iambe books on 01/22/2013.

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Excerpt from Interred by Marilyn Almodóvar

When we reach the front porch, I turn around and try to spot the car while Dickie continues around to the back of the house to check the fuse box. Through the heavy snow, the black sedan continues down the road at a snail’s pace. Something about the slow-moving vehicle inching through the storm strikes me as ominous. I shrug the feeling away, figuring the driver is just lost.

“It’ll be okay,” Dickie assures me as he returns to the front porch. “This is normal for Vermont this time of year.”

I swallow my response. Sure it’ll be okay…easy to say for people who grew up in the North. The only blizzards I’ve witnessed have been through the magic of television. This amount of snow should be illegal.

“Come inside before you really do freeze your butt off.” Dickie opens the door and I pull away from the view.

“Baxter, can you make some tea please?” Mom asks as I walk by the living room.

Nodding, I move to the kitchen where the lights flicker like mad. The storm must be wreaking havoc with the power. As I reach for the kettle, the lights turn off for a few seconds, then back on. It’s unnerving, especially with the wind outside roaring like a wounded animal.

Fighting my unease, I carry the kettle to the sink and glance out the window facing the front garden. My heart stops.

My brain has surely overdosed on scary movies. My hand presses against the window, leaving an imprint. It’s suddenly midnight black outside and I have to glance at the kitchen clock. Four minutes ‘til two in the afternoon, yet the only visible thing on the field is a boy who looks about my age with long black hair, a top hat and a coat. Around him shines a bright, eerie light, as though a permanent spotlight focuses on him. He walks toward the house.

I’m rooted to the spot, unable to move, my body shaking as if I’m under a spell. Even though I can’t see his eyes, I’m convinced he’s looking at me. I’m convinced he knows me.

GIVEAWAY

The giveaway includes:
- One signed paperback of Interred – One autographed Interred tote bag – One onyx pendant inspired by the book – One angel pin inspired by the book – Misc. book swag (magnet, wristband, postcard, phone skin)

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Book Trailer Reveal: “Senshi” by Cole Gibson

This book trailer reveal is hosted by I’m a Reader, Not a Writer!

Have you never heard of this series before? Well, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Let’s learn about the first book, Katana, Senshi itself and author Cole Gibson!

KATANA

Kill Bill meets Buffy in this supernatural samurai taleRileigh Martin would love to believe that adrenaline gave her the uncanny courage and strength to fend off three muggers. But it doesn’t explain her dreams of fifteenth century Japan, the incredible fighting skills she suddenly possesses, or the strange voice giving her battle tips and danger warnings. While worrying that she’s going crazy (always a reputation ruiner), Rileigh gets a visit from Kim, a handsome martial arts instructor, who tells Rileigh she’s harboring the spirit of a five-hundred-year-old samurai warrior.Relentlessly attacked by ninjas, Rileigh has no choice but to master the katana–a deadly Japanese sword that’s also the key to her past. As the spirit grows stronger and her feelings for Kim intensify, Rileigh is torn between continuing as the girl she’s always been and embracing the warrior inside her.
“This action-packed novel has a unique and compelling plot…Fans of Carrie Asai’s Samurai Girl series will be particularly interested, but even readers who dislike supernatural story lines will enjoy this tale of modern samurais.”

~School Library Journal~

“An action packed page-turner tempered with slow-burning romance.”

~Booklist~

Purchase

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SENSHI
Is Rileigh’s only hope for salvation to team up with her sworn enemy?

Rileigh Martin just wants to do normal teenage things, like go on romantic dates with Kim, her boyfriend and past life soul mate. Although that seems impossible when she’s the reincarnation of Senshi, a fifteenth century samurai warrior. After a ninja ambush leaves her unable to control her ki powers, Rileigh vows to get them under control before her friends lose more than their eyebrows. But when Kim leaves her for his past life betrothed and the other samurai stop talking to her, Rileigh realizes she doesn’t have any friends left to worry about.

As the ninja attacks increase, Rileigh learns that the reincarnated kunoichi, a powerful female ninja, wants to kill her in order to reclaim her destructive powers. Alone and with increasingly unstable powers, Rileigh’s only offer of help comes from Whitley, her sworn past life enemy. Rileigh knows she doesn’t stand a chance against the kunoichi by herself, but Whitley’s sudden allegiance might be hiding a much deadlier agenda.

Pre-Order

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Author Cole Gibsen

When Cole Gibsen isn’t writing books for young adults, she can be found rocking out with her band, sewing crazy costumes for the fun of it, picking off her nail polish, or drinking milk straight from the jug — provided no one is looking.

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Trailer Reveal

Senshi Book Trailer from ZFilm on Vimeo.

Giveaway Details

ARC of Senshi + Signed Katana

Signed Katana

3 Mystery Books

Open to US, Canada & Mexico

Ends 2/6/13

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