May 31, 2013

Book Blitz & Giveaway: Taking Back Forever by Karen Amanda Hooper



Taking Back Forever (Kindrily #2)
Author: Karen Amanda Hooper
Genre: YA Fantasy/ Paranormal Romance
Release Date: May 31, 2013
Publisher: Starry Sky Publishing

Description:

Forever is worth the fight.

Maryah erased all memory of her past lives, but she couldn’t erase her soul mate Nathan, or his undying love. Now, Maryah and Nathan have a second chance at a future together, but first Maryah must remember the person she used to be and embrace her supernatural gifts—more than one kindrily member’s life depends on it.

Maryah’s power is Harmony’s best hope of finding her kidnapped soul mate, Gregory. But Harmony isn’t big on asking anyone for help, and she’s tired of waiting, so she’s taking matters into her own hands. Heaven help anyone who stands in her way.
 


In the short week since Maryah’s momentary remembrance of him, Nate had come alive again. He smiled all the time. His eyes were brighter. I was happy for him, but it left me feeling more alone than ever. He had been my partner in suffering over our lost soul mates. But not anymore.
I gazed at the landscape of Sedona behind him. To myself, I could admit my jealousy of his and Maryah’s reunion, but I’d never say it out loud. “How’s it feel? To have her back after all this time?”
“I don’t have her back. She hardly remembers anything. But I don’t have to hide who and what I am anymore, or that I love her. She knows who she was and where she belongs. I’m patiently waiting for her to figure out who she is now, and what she’s capable of.”
“She loves you. I can see it.”
“I am ecstatically grateful for that. But I still feel the loss of her, of all the time we shared together. It’s like we’re getting to know each other for the first time all over again. We haven’t had to do that for hundreds of years.” His head drooped. “What if she doesn’t like what she discovers?”
“Oh, please. You two light up around each other. That girl is smitten, and so are you.”
His cheeks flushed. “It’s amazing how much more you appreciate someone after you’ve lost them. Her happiness means everything to me. I want to give her the world, the magical and beautiful one she can no longer see, but I worry that’s no longer possible.”
“Give it time. If there’s one thing Mary proved over and over, it’s that anything is possible.”



Karen was born and bred in Baltimore, frolicked and froze in Colorado for a couple of years and is currently sunning and splashing around Florida with her two beloved dogs. She's addicted to coffee, chocolate and complicated happily-ever-afters. 

Karen has been making up stories for as long as she can remember. In high school she discovered her passion for putting her thoughts onto paper, but it wasn't until her late twenties that she wrote her first novel. Due to her strong Disney upbringing, she still believes in fairytales and will forever sprinkle magic throughout all of her novels.




LINKS:
Author Website: www.KarenAmandaHooper.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5044405.Karen_Amanda_Hooper
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKaren
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Karen_Hooper


Giveaway: (1) ebook bundle of Grasping at Eternity (Book #1) and Taking Back Forever (Book #2) - Open Internationally!




Grand Prize: Kindrily prize pack including a signed paperback of Grasping at Eternity and Taking Back Forever with other kindrily themed gifts. (US/Canada Only)


a Rafflecopter giveaway








 

Book Blast & Giveaway: Change of Heart by S.E. Edwards

Persevere.

That's how I've gotten through nineteen years of life. It's what I do every single day—no matter how badly the odds are stacked against me.

Persevere, and survive.

Those are my two guiding words. I never knew either of my parents. I have no family and no home. The only person I could ever rely on was myself. In this cruel world, that's about as much as I could ask for.

Love? Hah. Don't talk to me about love. I stopped believing in it the day my first boyfriend ripped out my heart three years ago.

That's why love is the last thing on my mind when I leave a packed college bar with a captivating stranger. Yet everything changes when I'm awakened in the middle of the night by a pounding at the door. Suddenly, an arrangement meant for just one night threatens to become something much deeper.

All expectations are thrown to the wind as I'm tangled in a dangerous world unlike anything I can believe. The man I met has secrets swirling around him like a dark cape. I'm about to become his biggest one...





Together, we stumble toward the elevator. Rich breaks away for a second to hit the button. The light doesn’t come on.

“Damn,” he growls, “it’s busted again.”

I’m one step ahead of him. I’d spotted the stairs when we entered. I grab his hand and pull him after me with no hesitation. I start up the cement stairwell, determined to get to his room as fast as possible.

“Penny, wait.”

I look back, confused. “What?”

A devilish smile plays on his lips. “Only this.” Without warning his hands wrap around my waist, and I’m being lifted up as easily as if I were a doll. He turns to the side and presses my body against the wall, suspending me between him and the concrete.

His mouth crashes down on mine again. I curl my legs around his torso, locking my ankles together, and kiss him back with the passion reserved for a lover after ten long years apart. I didn’t think it was possible, but I’m getting even more turned on. Rich’s hands move down to grasp the outside of my thighs, and I moan into his kiss as the muscles of my core clench in sinful fashion. I want him so badly. If we don’t get somewhere private soon, I won’t be wholly opposed to jumping him in public.

I gasp as he steps away, freeing me from the wall. I start to fall, but one of his hands darts down to catch me just beneath the knees. The other one cradles my shoulders. Before I know it, I’m slung across his arms like a bride on her wedding night.

“I’ve always wanted to carry a girl up these stairs,” Rich admits.

I laugh, and wrap my arm around his neck. “Oh, you are just the best type of romantic.”

Four flights of stairs later, Rich pushes open the fire door to a dimly-lit hallway. He carries me down the hall and stops in front of an entrance on the right. He sets me down, then fishes around in his jeans for the key. When the door creaks open, he sweeps a hand out in front of him. “Welcome to my humble abode.”

I walk in, curious about his apartment. I tend to side with the camp of people who believe that a person’s living arrangements can reveal a lot about his personality. But, I don’t find much to work with here.

The apartment is sparse and dark. Pale moonlight filters in through the balcony window, shining down on the only piece of furniture present: a queen size mattress lying on the floor of the living room. The red brick walls are totally empty—no girly posters or other things I might expect in a bachelor’s apartment. There are no lamps, no chairs, no couches.

After a moment, I notice a second piece of furniture: a small, old-school CRT TV camped in one corner of the studio apartment.

Rich switches on the light. “So?” he asks, “what do you think?”

I walk past the entrance. There’s one hall leading away from the room. It is filled with brown cardboard boxes. Lots and lots of boxes. “Did you just move in or something?”

Rich laughs behind me. “Yeah, something like that. You want a drink?”

“A drink?” I say. “No, I—”

The words catch in my throat as he grabs my hips and spins me around. I had no idea he’d come so close. He’d moved from the door to me without making a sound. His fingers lock together against my lower back, and he tugs me into him, pressing my belly to his waist. I feel his growing erection right away, and a diabolical excitement builds inside me.

Nothing happens.

For a long moment, Richard just holds me like that, staring into my eyes as I’m left dangling off his arms. His irises are the color of sea mist. I’m hypnotized by the deep intensity I see brewing just beneath the surface. I have no doubt that that type of intensity is mirrored in my eyes.

Then, moving slowly, as if restraining himself, Richard lowers his mouth to cover mine. This time, his kiss is sweet and gentle. Subtle and caring. He explores my upper lip first, then traces the line going to the corner of my mouth. His lips form a perfect mold over mine.

I was wrong before. This is the kiss reserved for a lover you haven’t seen in ten years.



Purchased your copy today:






I'm Scarlett Edwards. I'm a full-time student (2nd year, undergrad) and part-time writer. I hope to switch those around soon!
I'm kind of old fashioned. I write all my stories using paper and ink. At the end of the day, I transcribe them on my laptop. It takes a bit longer, but writing in a notebook really focuses my thoughts.

I love vintage photography. I have an old-school film camera that was my mom's from before I was born. I use it to take pictures almost every day. Yours to Savor is the first full book I worked on. It went through six drafts, and took me ten months to complete. In the two months since getting it done, I finished two drafts of brand new stories. I'm getting faster!

I love hearing from my readers. I love getting feedback about my books. I'm just getting started, and plan on doing this writing gig for a long, long time. I take inspiration from all the indie romance authors. Addison Moore, Samantha Young, Colleen Hoover, Jessica Sorensen, and everyone else…. you girls rock!



I love hearing from readers! If you read my book and want to share your thoughts, good or bad, email me! Scarlett@ScarlettEdwards.com. I'll be sure to reply!!






a Rafflecopter giveaway




 

Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Speak Easy by Melanie Harlow

 


Speak Easy
Author: Melanie Harlow
Expected Release Date: July 22, 2013
Genre: New Adult Historical
Cover Designed by: Tom Barnes Design

 photo goodreads-badge-add-plus_zpsa971cb04.png   

Description:
 
July, 1923. The ‘20s are roaring, and twenty-year-old Tiny O’Mara is desperate for a little anything-goes excitement. But when her father is kidnapped by a mobster in Detroit's exploding organized crime scene, she’s shocked to find herself caught up in the bootlegging wars of Prohibition—and torn between two gorgeous gangsters on opposite sides. To save her father’s life, she’ll have to choose between them. But deciding whom to trust isn’t easy in a world where everyone wants something—be it booze, money, power, or sex—and no one cares what it takes to get it. Temptation is everywhere.    


 photo MelanieHarlow_zpsb336e2d3.jpg Melanie Harlow likes her martinis dry, her lipstick red, and her history with the naughty bits left in. SPEAK EASY was inspired by her cocktail-culture obsession, her affection for good gin, and the view from the end of her street. She lifts her glass to NA readers and writers from her home near Detroit, MI.   






a Rafflecopter giveaway




What do you think of the cover? Leave a comment!


 photo AToMRToursC66a-A00aT03a-Z_mdm_zpsa3cc6896.jpg


 

Cover Reveal: My Life As A Lumberjack (or how I fell for the wrong guy(s)) by Sara V. Olds




My Life As A Lumberjack (or how I fell for the wrong guys(s))
Author: Sara V. Olds
Expected Release Date: May 30, 2013



Description:

Good-looking rangers, fresh mountain air and an avalanche of crazy adventures await unsuspecting Mercedes “Benz” Bennion in her summer job with the US Forest Service.

Sara V. Olds has been telling stories for as long as she can remember. One of her favorite memories is of unfolding a tale for friends while they were all bundled in sleeping bags watching a comet shower in the Uintah Mountains.
Mother of three: Large, Medium and Small, she welcomes her newest role, that of mother-in-law.

Life has taken her from thither to yon and back again—she's moved 22 times during her marriage. She breathes to travel. Longs to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning a horse. Is an addictive reader. Enjoys swimming, skiing, violin and movies. Wonders if she'll ever get to SCUBA dive again. And has found a calling that fulfills her in ways she never could have imagined—teaching history to—wait for it—8th Graders.

Her stories consume her. There's nothing she'd rather do than spend all day, all night and the next day conversing with her latest set of characters. History, adventure, action, romance, humor. Adults, YA and kids. Yep, she does it all. Looking for something to enjoy on a quiet rainy afternoon? Or wanting a pulse-pounding, stay up all night turning pages adventure? Or a you've-GOT-to-be-kidding romp? You'll find them in her pages.

Sara’s Social Media Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/saravolds 
Website: http://www.saravolds.com/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaraVOlds

Buy Links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble



What do you think of the cover? Leave a comment!


 

May 30, 2013

Armchair BEA - Introductions



Hey everyone! I know it's a bit late in the game, but I decided to join in on Armchair BEA. I'm feeling pretty down because I'm supposed to actually be at BEA this year, but things didn't work out and now I'm home. I guess the virtual BEA is better than nothing, right? So, here we go with introductions - about me! :)

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging?  My name is Stephanie and I am currently a graduate student in the process of getting my M.A. in English. I have been blogging for 1 year and 4 months. I got into blogging because I am a book junkie (a.k.a. hoarder) and I wanted to share my thoughts about books with others and to hear what they had to say as well.  

2. Where in the world are you blogging from? Tell a random fact or something special about your current location. Feel free to share pictures. 

I am blogging from the middle of nowhere in Pennsylvania, USA. I live in the country, outside of a teeny tiny rural town in Northwest PA. Random fact? There's nothing! I currently live within a 2 mile radius of most of my family: my parents, my sister & her husband, both sets of my grandparents, 1 aunt, 1 uncle, and 1 cousin & her family. I grew up out here and loved it so much that I swore to move back when I got my own place. Now my husband and I have been living in our house for just over 1 year!
 
3. Have you previously participated in Armchair BEA? What brought you back for another year? If you have not previously participated, what drew you to the event? 

Yep, I participated in Armchair BEA last year. I was a newbie last year, having only been blogging for 3 months or so. I came back because it was a great time and I found a lot of great new book blogs to follow. 

4. What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2013? 

Right now I'm in the middle of reading Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead. It's taking me a bit longer than I thought, mostly because I have to read some books for tours in between. I don't think I have a favorite book so far in 2013 - maybe The Nightmare Affair. 

5. Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you. 

Hmmm..... I'm super boring! My husband tends to call me the "black hole of fun" because I usually just want to stick around the house and chill out - watching movies or TV or READING, instead of actually going out and doing something. Also, I can speak French, German, and some Russian and Spanish. My lifetime goal is to be completely fluent in at least 10 languages. I really need to get working on that! :)

6. Which is your favorite post that you have written that you want everyone to read? 

I would have to say my review of Splintered by A.G. Howard. It's incredibly long and I gush a lot, but the book really blew my mind and is now one of my all time favorites.

7. If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why? 

Anne Rice. Her books introduced me to the paranormal world of fiction at the age of twelve when I read Servant of the Bones. I've been hooked ever since! I own every book ever written by her. 
 
8. What literary location would you most like to visit? Why? 

I have to pick two for this, even if it might be cheating a little. I would pick Harry Potter's magical world (Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc.) because it would be so awesome to do spells and to visit those places! The other would be the Wonderland that A.G. Howard created in Splintered. It's twisted and creepy and dark, but I would LOVE to visit there.



Are you participating in Armchair BEA? Leave me a link to your introductions!

 

Paperback Release Event & Giveaway: The Age of Desire by Jennie Fields

Tuesday marked the paperback release of The Age of Desire: A Novel of Edith Wharton by Jennie Fields! I was given the opportunity to read and review the book before its hardcover release and I absolutely loved it! You can find my review HERE. In celebration of this event, I have a Q & A with the author as well as a giveaway provided by the publisher! Read on and then enter to win a copy of the book!



The Age of Desire: A Novel of Edith Wharton
Author: Jennie Fields
Genre: Historical Fiction/Literary Fiction
Paperback Release Date: May 28, 2013
Publisher: Penguin

Buy Links: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Description:

For fans of The Paris Wife, a sparkling glimpse into the life of Edith Wharton and the scandalous love affair that threatened her closest friendship.

They say that behind every great man is a great woman. Behind Edith Wharton, there was Anna Bahlmann—her governess turned literary secretary and confidante. At the age of forty-five, despite her growing fame, Edith remains unfulfilled in a lonely, sexless marriage. Against all the rules of Gilded Age society, she falls in love with Morton Fullerton, a dashing young journalist. But their scandalous affair threatens everything in Edith’s life—especially her abiding ties to Anna.            

At a moment of regained popularity for Wharton, Jennie Fields brilliantly interweaves Wharton’s real letters and diary entries with her fascinating, untold love story. Told through the points of view of both Edith and Anna, The Age of Desire transports readers to the golden days of Wharton’s turn-of-the century world and—like the recent bestseller The Chaperone—effortlessly re-creates the life of an unforgettable woman. 




The relationship between Edith and Anna is very complex. Did you always plan on making their troubled friendship central to the book, or did it grow out of your research?


It wasn’t until three months into the writing of the book that I decided to add a secondary protagonist, someone who could view Edith objectively. Anna Bahlmann seemed the perfect character as she was with Edith on and off since her days as Edith’s governess until the year Anna died in 1916. To have kept Anna with her so long, I assumed they must be very close, but biographers had hardly mentioned her.

Then after I’d already written many chapters of the book, a miracle occurred. Over 100 letters from Edith to Anna which had been moldering in an attic came up for auction at Christies! Everything I supposed about their relationship was true. They were loving and close since Edith’s childhood, and she trusted Anna with a great deal. I grew more and more intrigued with this shadowy figure.

Questions began to arise. Why, for instance, during the summer after the onset of Edith’s affair with Morton Fullerton, was Anna suddenly sent to Europe on a trip that was considered a gift from Edith? Earlier, in letters to other people, it was clear Edith was upset and even annoyed when Anna wasn’t around to help her, so why was it arranged for them to be suddenly so much apart? Though I have no hard evidence that Anna was disturbed by Edith’s relationship with Fullerton, many events suggested she’d been sent away. I wanted Anna to be the book’s conscience. If Edith was unhappy, disturbed by her splintering relationship to Morton, it made sense she’d send Anna off on a trip.

Another intriguing coincidence is that I had created a warm alliance between Anna and Teddy. After I’d written most of the book, I found letters from Edith to others that said that Anna was a calming influence over Teddy on his worst days, the only one patient enough to sit with him, that he was asking for her—exactly as I had written it.


Anna supports Edith’s writing as a typist, early reader, and—in a way—editor. Did Edith ever include Anna in her Acknowledgements? How did Anna’s involvement in Edith’s work complicate their relationship?
 

Though she never acknowledged Anna publicly as far as I know, in letters directly to Anna, she thanked her. In fact, in one letter early in Edith’s writing career, she sent Anna the check she received for a story saying, “The story is so associated in my mind with the hours that we spent in writing it out together, & I owe its opportune presentment & speedy acceptance largely to the fact that you were here to get it written out at a time when I could not have done so, that I have a peculiar feeling about your having just this special cheque & no other as a souvenir of our work together.”



In her published biography, A Backward Glance, she spoke warmly about her relationship to Anna when she was a child “my beloved German teacher, who saw which way my fancy turned, and fed it with all the wealth of German literature, from the Minnesingers to Heine.”

But in a later autobiographical fragment that was never published she said, “My good little governess was cultivated & conscientious, but she never struck a spark from me, she never threw a new light on any subject, or made me see the relation of things to each other. My childhood & youth were an intellectual desert.”

If she is referring to Anna in this sentence, (I hope she is not) it saddens me a great deal. In any case, I believe Edith saw Anna as something of a servant. She certainly did straddle Edith’s world and the world of the household staff, as beloved and essential as she seemed to be. At the same time, Edith generously took Anna on foreign trips, out to dinner and to the theatre with her. Without Edith, her life might well have been merely that of a teacher.

As I have written Anna, she sees her place in life as a helpmate and accepts that Edith is the chosen one. She is proud of her association with Edith and content with her place in life.



Edith Wharton is one of your favorite writers. How did that influence your writing? 


Well, I must say, I felt very conscious of the language I used. I wanted it to be appropriate to the era, hard-working and beautiful all at once. I could never dream of writing as exquisitely as Edith. I often get chills when I read her writing. If angels could write, they’d write as she did. The music of her language is instructive and breathtaking. But I tried to write in a way that I felt might please her. Also, I often started my writing sessions by reading a few pages of one of her books. I never get tired of her books, no matter how often I read them.



The book follows Edith’s sexual awakening. What was it like writing sex scenes for such a well-known writer? 


Not many people know this, but when Edith died, among her effects, her literary executor found some pornography that she’d penned. There was nothing shy about this work. It was bold, shocking, and also, of course, exquisitely written. While I did not use any of the language of this piece (named Beatrice Palmato, for those who are curious—and yes, it’s on the internet) it did instruct me as to how she viewed sex and passion, and gave me insight into what excited her.



Paris figures heavily into the book. What did the city mean to Edith? What’s your relationship to Paris and did it figure into the writing of the book? 


Edith adored Paris. It was everything that New York wasn’t: culturally oriented, worldly, beautiful. She found New York society closed and stifling. She blossomed when she finally moved to France full-time, and her devotion to France is clear in how she helped the women of France during World War I with her workrooms and charities. (France awarded her the Cross of the Legion of Honor for her work during the war.) She had loved Paris as a child, and even more as an adult. And of course, she fell in love with Morton while in Paris. That would forever insure a place for Paris in her heart.
There was a period where I did not like Paris. I found it jostling and sad. But about the time I began the book, I also began a new relationship to Paris, and fell in love with it all over again.


By the end of the book, Edith’s husband Teddy is not a very sympathetic character. Did you know much about Teddy when you began this project? Did you find yourself taking sides? 


I knew nothing of Teddy when I took on the project, but it wasn’t long before I discovered that he suffered in later life from Manic Depression at a time when people didn’t know what to make of that or how to treat it. Truthfully, I see Teddy as a very sympathetic character who married a woman unsuited to him, and then, distraught, fell victim to mental illness (which seemed to run in his family.) If Teddy could have spent his later years at the Mount with his pigs and horses, he might have been a much happier man. Edith was an intellectual. Teddy was anything but. Yet, he adored Edith. And for a long time, he was a kind and patient husband to her. Thinking of Teddy’s life saddens me.



You were an advertising creative director before becoming a novelist. Both are creative, but in different ways. How did your past career help in your current one? 


My advertising career has affected my fiction writing in myriad ways. For one thing, I am always conscious of trying to tell a story in the least words possible. After years of cramming twenty thoughts into thirty seconds, one gets pretty good at writing minimally! Advertising also taught me to be disciplined, to work well under strict deadlines, and to work every day. What I loved in advertising also interests me in my fiction: to solve puzzles. The tighter the strictures of the assignment, the more intrigued I am. I love being creative in a small box. This came into play with this book. I had to tell a story that already existed but I had to shape it into a book. It was a Rubik’s Cube. The elements were all there, but they needed to be twisted into the right order to create a satisfying pattern. Also, I was forced to read between the lines. Edith kept such clear diaries; her life was mapped out almost daily. But what really happened at the theatre that night? Why did Anna leave at that time for New York? Why did Morton act the way he did? It was a delicious puzzle and I very much enjoyed solving it to my satisfaction. I hope I’ve done Edith’s life justice.



What’s your writing regimen?


Generally, I walk in the mornings and do errands. I write in the afternoons. Usually I read starting at 1 or 2 pm. (While I was working on THE AGE OF DESIRE I always read something by Edith). Then, with a strong cup of tea I get down to work by three. I write in my writing room, a large old sleeping porch with windows on three sides overlooking my backyard. I sit in a comfortable chair with an ottoman, my MacBook Pro on my lap. I rarely write more than three hours at a time, usually less. But it’s extraordinary what three dedicated hours can generate as far as pages. If I get five good pages a day, I’m thrilled. But not every day can be a successful day. I always take weekends off—perhaps a holdover from my years in advertising. My brain needs time to recharge!



What’s next for you? 


I'm working on a new biographical novel about a woman who was world-famous in the 1890's but that few people know about today. She was one of the richest women in the world, accomplished, highly intelligent, beautiful and charming. Because of her power and fame, she was able to go places where most women weren't allowed, and used her access to further the cause of women. She was also an art-lover, and one of the first Americans to purchase Impressionist paintings. She and her husband bought hundreds which now make up the majority of the Art Institute of Chicago's collection. If you can guess her name, you're good! If not, I'm hoping my book will make her far more well known.
 
I love books and longed to start writing them when I was six years old. I wrote my first full- length novel in third grade. It was 365 pages! My teacher didn't have time to read it. As I am less wordy now, I hope you will find the time to read my books.

My new novel, The Age of Desire is based on the life and loves of my favorite novelist: Edith Wharton. Wharton's characters feel as real to me as the people I know. I hope that I've brought Wharton alive on the page, as well as her friend, Anna Bahlmann, her lover, Morton Fullerton, her husband, Teddy Wharton and last but not least, the inimitable Henry James.

You'll see a Book Club tab on my website if you'd like me to meet with your book club. I'm happy to do it in person if possible, or via Skype or phone for those farther away. I look forward to sharing my books with you. Please visit my website, and let me know what you think of my books. (Taken from Goodreads)


Author Links:
Website
Twitter
Facebook
Giveaway: The publisher is generously offering (1) paperback copy of THE AGE OF DESIRE - Open to US only!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



 

Cover Reveal: Hugged By An Angel by Roberta Capizzi

 



Hugged By An Angel
Author: Roberta Capizzi
Expected Release Date: July 22, 2013
Genre: New Adult/Adult Contemporary Romance (with a little angelic theme)
Cover Designed by: Mooney Designs

 photo goodreads-badge-add-plus_zpsa971cb04.png   

Description:

How can you ever love again when tragedy has crushed your heart? Kathleen used to love life. She had plans, dreams, and faith in life; but that was before the accident that took it all away from her in an instant. Now that her beloved brother is dead and she's confined to a wheelchair, her future is but a dark cloud hovering above her head. How can she ever find the will to move on and keep living without him? Even the cares of the happy-go-lucky American physiotherapist who's helping her with her rehab therapies are all in vain. Life seems to have lost its meaning, until one night she receives an unexpected celestial visit… Colin has been working as a physiotherapist in Dublin for almost five years, but he’s never bonded so much with a patient like he is bonding with Kathleen; there's something about those sad blue eyes that makes him want to help her, to take away the pain that reminds him so much of his own. Having lost both his parents in a plane crash when he was only sixteen, Colin knows how it feels to have someone you love taken so abruptly away from you, and he makes it his mission to help Kathleen find her faith in life again. But something changes along the way… Sometimes love can work miracles. If you believe.    


 photo Roberta_zpsee6b42e1.jpg An avid reader since her childhood years and being an only child, Roberta always enjoyed the company of her fictional friends from the children’s books she loved reading, while she dreamed of writing her own stories one day. It was when she discovered novels by authors Rosamunde Pilcher and Maeve Binchy in her teenage years that she realized it was time she put down in words the stories she had kept well hidden in her mind until then. What started as a hobby, soon turned into a real passion and a way of life, until she could no longer keep the stories to herself, and decided to get over her fears and share them with the world. Roberta lives in Italy, but her dream is to move out of her country and live either in a thatched cottage in the Irish countryside or in a country house with a swing on the back porch, somewhere in the United States, where she would love to spend her days writing novels as a full-time job, and maybe one day even get as far as writing a screenplay for a movie. 




What do you think of the cover? Leave a comment!

 
 photo AToMRToursC66a-A00aT03a-Z_mdm_zpsa3cc6896.jpg


 

May 29, 2013

Live For You Blog Tour: Guest Post & Giveaway



Live For You (Boys of the South #1)
Author: Marquita Valentine
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 29, 2013
Blog Tour Organized by AToMR Tours 

Buy Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iTunes 

Description:

On the surface, twenty-two year old Cole Morgan is exactly what any girl would be proud to take home to meet her parents: He’s charming, intensely handsome and goal-oriented...Only he has some secrets of his own, which include provoking bar fights and a former drug-addict of a mother slowly wasting away in a medical facility.

At barely twenty, Violet Lynn is Country Music's hottest star, until one night of partying gets out of control. Violet ends up in jail and on TMZ. Suddenly, she’s the girl least likely to be invited anywhere. Sick of the drama and keeping secrets, she runs away from the prying eyes of the paparazzi to her grandmother’s home in Forrestville, North Carolina.

A chance meeting knocks Cole off his feet, but he doesn’t recognize Violet for who she is. In fact no one does and Violet plans to keep it that way.

Circumstances, however annoying,keep throwing Violet and Cole together. Unable to stop themselves they give into the inevitable.

But when Nashville is ready to forgive and forget, Violet is forced to choose between Cole and claiming her spot as the new and improved Princess of Country Music.

Will Violet and Cole have the courage to live for their dreams...Or their hearts?
  



Facts about Live For You Part 1
By Marquita Valentine


1) The Series Boy of the South was inspired by the song Boys From the South by The Pistol Annies


2) Live For You is heavily dominated by Cole’s POV. Why: Boys of the South Plus, I love writing the hero’s POV.



3) The title (which I did get some cover snark for about the 3 time echo, but hey at least they noticed, right?) actually represents two things for Cole and Violet. One: Live, Live, Live reminded me of a concert, Like LIVE AT THE PURPLEMONKEYHOUSE OF BLUES or something. So I wanted to play off of that. Two: Cole and Violet are both living for very different things. Career for her and just trying to survive for him. Soon they start living for each other, even themselves, instead of other’s expectations.


4) Usually, in the books I write the hero has more financial security than the heroine, but I knew I wanted to write something different. So this Violet, being the country music superstar, actually had the security. However, Cole, like any man secure in his manliness, doesn’t care about her money.
Nationally Bestselling Author, Marquita Valentine, writes small town romances that are anything but small. Lisa Kleypas, Carly Phillips and Rachel Gibson are her favorite contemporary authors. Marquita met her husband aka Hot Builder at Sonic when they were in high school. She suggests this location to all of her single friends in search of a good man -- and if that doesn't work, they can console themselves with cheesy tatertots. She lives in North Carolina in a very, very small town with Hot Builder and their two children. 

Author Social Media Links: 
www.marquitavalentine.com
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMarquitaValentine
https://twitter.com/marquitaval 
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17203683-live-for-you
http://pinterest.com/marquitaval/boards/

Giveaway:
(1) Print copy of Live For You – International
(1) $75 Amazon Gift Card – open to countries able to accept Amazon Gift Cards 



a Rafflecopter giveaway


 


Cover Reveal: True Love's First Kiss by Heidi Garrett




True Love's First Kiss (The Queen of the Realm of Faerie #1-3)
Author: Heidi Garrett



Description:
 
In the Enchanted World, true love’s first kiss is magic.
 
Nandana’s Mark, Book 1: When two half-faeries—Melia and her younger sister—are cursed under dreadful circumstances, true love’s first kiss is the remedy.

The Flower of Isbelline, Book 2: Nothing but true love’s first kiss can save Melia’s younger sister from blind ambition and ruin.

The Dragon Carnivale, Book 3: Melia must choose the freedom she cherishes or true love’s first kiss—and a relationship that promises to secure her place in the Whole.

The Queen of the Realm of Faerie is a fairy tale fantasy series that bridges the Mortal and Enchanted worlds. The main character, Melia, is an eighteen-year-old half-faerie, half-mortal. She lives in Illialei, a country in the Enchanted World, with her two sisters and their mother. Melia’s father has been exiled to the Mortal World, and her best friend is a pixie.

When the story opens in the first book, Melia is troubled by her dark moon visions, gossip she overhears about her parents at the local market, and the trauma of living among full-blooded faeries with wings—she doesn’t have any.

As the series unfolds, the historic and mystical forces that shape Melia’s life are revealed. Each step of her journey—to find the place where she belongs—alters her perceptions about herself, deepens her relationships with others, and enlarges her world view.

True Love’s First Kiss is a compilation of the first three books in this ongoing series.
 
The product of a verbally gifted family, Heidi Garrett is possibly the least loquacious of them all. While her Uncle John created off-the-cuff characters like King Machi-Machi and her Uncle James turned otherwise ordinary moments into O. Henry stories, she would often sit dazzled and silent, thrilled that these were ‘her people,’ as Grandma would say.
Despite the verbal inadequacy that shadowed Heidi whenever she was in her family’s presence, she never stopped writing in secret. Whether it was angsty teen poetry, the personal journals she has since burned (imagine bonfires), passionate letters to the editor, purgative song lyrics, or simply imagined vignettes, Heidi has played with words all of her life.
 
Bottom line: she loves stories and the people who tell them.

Author Links: 
https://www.facebook.com/heidigwrites


What do you think of the cover? Leave a comment!