Thursday, February 28, 2013
Cat Thursday #4
Wait For You COVER REVEAL!
Are you guys as excited as I am for another amazing book from JLA?!
Well, the cover for her newest novel is here!
What do early readers have to say about WAIT FOR YOU?
“J. Lynn creates a wonderful cast of characters that will make you laugh, swoon, and cry. Cam stole my heart.” – Cora Carmack, NYTimes and USA TODAY Bestselling Author of LOSING IT
“For the love of all that is Cameron without a shirt on! Wait for You will have you laughing out loud, fanning yourself and anxiously waiting to know what will happen next.” – Molly McAdams, NYTimes and USA TODAY Bestselling Author of FROM ASHES and TAKING CHANCES
“I don't think I have ever read a NA Contemporary novel with as much depth as this one. It really moved me and by the end I was just speechless over how inspirational and uplifting it was as well as being sexy and cute and funny and emotional.” - K Books
“Wait For You is uniquely different from anything else J. Lynn's written but it might possibly be her best work yet.” – Jenuine Cupcakes
“For all of you in love with Aiden and Daemon, PREPARE YOURSELVES! Your heart will have to expand a little more for Cam.” Total Bookaholic
“For the love of all things CAM, this book deserves more than 5 stars.” – Mundie Moms
“I cannot even begin to explain how much I adored this perfectly crafted contemporary.” – Shortie Says
Excited? Ready to see the cover for WAIT FOR YOU?
Some things are worth waiting for…
Traveling thousands of miles from home to enter college is the only way nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten can escape what happened at the Halloween party five years ago—an event that forever changed her life. All she needs to do is make it to her classes on time, make sure the bracelet on her left wrist stays in place, not draw any attention to herself, and maybe—please God—make a few friends, because surely that would be a nice change of pace. The one thing she didn’t need and never planned on was capturing the attention of the one guy who could shatter the precarious future she’s building for herself.
Some things are worth experiencing…
Cameron Hamilton is six feet and three inches of swoon-worthy hotness, complete with a pair of striking blue eyes and a remarkable ability to make her want things she believed were irrevocably stolen from her. She knows she needs to stay away from him, but Cam is freaking everywhere, with his charm, his witty banter, and that damn dimple that’s just so… so lickable. Getting involved with him is dangerous, but when ignoring the simmering tension that sparks whenever they are around each other becomes impossible, he brings out a side of her she never knew existed.
Some things should never be kept quiet…
But when Avery starts receiving threatening emails and phone calls forcing her to face a past she wants silenced, she’s has no other choice but to acknowledge that someone is refusing to allow her to let go of that night when everything changed. When the devastating truth comes out, will she resurface this time with one less scar? And can Cam be there to help her or will he be dragged down with her?
And some things are worth fighting for…
WAIT FOR YOU is available now!
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Fields of Elysium Book Blast
Fields of Elysium by A.B. Whelan
How can love mend a heart full of hate?
Small town girl, Molly Bennett, moves to Los Angeles where she becomes an outsider while attending Beverly Hills High School. It seems life cannot be any more dreadful. Then one day after school, something magical happens. On a secluded hike in the Hollywood Hills, Molly chases her disobedient mutt and only friend into a hidden cavern. She stumbles upon a strange glimmering gateway that transports her to Arkana, a planet that is the cradle of an advanced human race. There, teenagers navigate amazing flying vehicles, compete in perilous games for glory, and possess supernatural powers. While Molly tries to wrap her mind around this unbelievable discovery, she meets the alluring and mysterious Victor Sorren. He is a Sentinel Apprentice, whose hatred toward people from Earth is beyond understanding. Yet every time Victor unpredictably saves Molly's life, his heart draws closer to hers, no matter how much he tries to fight against it. It further complicates things that their growing friendship is strictly forbidden. Earth people are prohibited in Arkana, yet Molly continues to cross through the portal to Arkana to see Victor. Torn between their double lives, they go down a dangerous path, from where there is no return and multiple endings.
Fields of Elysium is a suspenseful, romantic tale full of forbidden secrets, unimaginable danger, deception, and the never-ending fight for true love.
Find out more about Fields of Elysium and snag your own copy!
** PRAISE FOR FIELDS OF ELYSIUM **
"The novel's take on otherworldly travel is a compelling one, and the romantic plot will likely appeal to Twilight fans." - Kirkus Reviews
"I expected a good love story with a paranormal twist. I got so much more. I think you should take the chance and read it. Let this book take you on the adventure, fall in love." - Young Adult and Teen Readers
"Fields of Elysium is a fabulous read. ... Whelan paints her faith into the fabric of her story with deft, light brushstrokes, making her work accessible to all, no matter their spiritual beliefs or background." - Readers Favorite
"I escaped into this fantasy world, author, A.B.Whelan, created and I didn’t want Molly to go. From detailed descriptions, to sweet romance, and to all the twist and turns in the story, it had me captivated from page one." - Mary Ting, author of the Crossroads Saga
"Whelan's writing is very vivid and descriptive. It's more formal than the average YA novel, but I enjoyed the lyrical and mesmerizing quality to it. I thought the overall story read like a fairy tale--very sweet." - Megan Thomason, author of Daynight
Author A.B. Whelan
A.B.Whelan is a Hungarian born, American writer. She currently lives with her husband and two children in Southern California.
While growing up in a wealthy Eastern European family, she had a chance to travel Europe. Later as an adult, she visited Africa and the Middle East and lived in Ecuador and in Crete.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Exclusive Glass Frost TEASER!
A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO AN AWESOME AUTHOR,
LIZ DEJESUS!
To help her celebrate, Liz has a special teaser from her upcoming novel, Glass Frost!
Glass Frost is the sequel to her YA Fantasy, First Frost.
You can CLICK HERE to read my review!
I absolutely adored First Frost and I'm sure you will too!
If you haven't had a chance to read it yet,
Fairytales aren’t real...
That’s exactly what Bianca thought. She was wrong.
For generations, the Frost family has run the Museum of Magical and Rare Artifacts, handing down guardianship from mother to daughter, always keeping their secrets to “family only.”
Gathered within museum’s walls is a collection dedicated to the Grimm fairy tales and to the rare items the family has acquired: Cinderella’s glass slipper, Snow White’s poisoned apple, Sleeping Beauty’s enchanted spinning wheel…
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Frost wants none of it, dreaming instead of a career in art or photography or…well, anything except working in the family’s museum. She knows the items in the glass display cases are fakes because, of course, magic doesn’t really exist.
She’s about to find out how wrong she is.
~ EXCLUSIVE excerpt from Glass Frost ~
Bianca turned around, ready to leave the Fairy Realm, defeated and with no answers when
something hit her. What if Fanny could understand her questions regardless of what the queen thought?
What was the harm in asking? Bianca shrugged and turned back toward Fanny. Terrance put a hand on her shoulder and tried to stop her. His eyes widened, with a look he asked her what she was doing. She patted his hand and walked away, convinced that what she was about to do was right.
“What does she think she’s doing?” Titania asked.
Bianca hesitated for a moment, worried about what the queen would do to her. But Titania
remained still, almost as if she was as curious as everyone else to see how Fanny would react to Bianca.
Fanny danced around Bianca as though she were invisible. She just twirled and giggled as
though someone had told a funny joke.
Why won’t she see me? Am I invisible to her?
“Hello,” Bianca cried. She touched Fanny on the elbow, hoping deep inside to make a
connection. A flash of light blinded her momentarily, and she felt an electric current race through her body. The power from that knocked Bianca on the floor on her rear end.
Fanny miraculously stopped. She remained silent at first. Then she turned her dark brown eyes at Bianca. They held so much sorrow and pain.
“Fanny, can you hear me?” Bianca asked.
“Yes,” she replied. Her eyes widened in surprise, as though she was amazed that she was still
able to use her voice.
Fanny then gagged. She got on all fours and heaved until a single white rose passed through her lips. The flower was covered with bile and saliva as it fell heavily on the ground.
Bianca sat beside Fanny, her hand hovering over her shoulder precariously. She was scared of what else would happen should she touch Fanny once more.
“I’m so sorry. I forgot that it would cause you pain to speak.”
Fanny looked into Bianca’s eyes. She shrugged and gave Bianca a sad smile.
“My name is Bianca. Those are my friends over there, Ming, Terrance, and Prince Ferdinand. We’re all here because we need your help.”
© Liz DeJesus 2013
Look for the exciting sequel COMING SOON!
You Can Buy First Frost:
Liz DeJesus was born on the tiny island of Puerto Rico.
She is a novelist and a poet. She has been writing for as long as she was capable of holding a pen.
She is the author of the novel Nina
(Blu Phi'er Publishing, October 2007) and
The Jackets (Arte Publico Press, March 31st 2011).
Liz is currently working on a new novel.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Shadow Eyes Anniversary Tour
Shadow Eyes Blog Tour
I had the pleasure of meeting Dusty in August of last year. I read and reviewed her debut novel, Shadow Eyes, and loved it! (CLICK HERE to read my review)I can't believe it's been almost eight months since then! To celebrate her one-year anniversary, Dusty has put together an awesome tour full of exciting Shadow Eyes related posts and of course and
keep reading for a look behind the scenes!
keep reading for a look behind the scenes!
~ Shadow Eyes Behind the Scenes Excerpt ~
Ever wondered what goes on in an author’s mind while they’re
writing and what all goes into creating the story? I know.
Scary, right? I’m going to give
you a “behind the scenes” look into writing my young adult urban fantasy, Shadow Eyes. First, so that the excerpt makes sense, let
me give you the synopsis. Following the
synopsis is the beginning of Chapter 6 with numbers that correspond to my
comments after the excerpt. Go ahead, my
mind isn’t too scary…I don’t think.
Although
she’s learned to cope, the view of her world begins to shift upon the arrival
of three mysterious characters. First, a
handsome new teacher whose presence scares away shadows; second, a new friend
with an awe-inspiring aura; and third, a mysterious and alluring new student
whom Iris has a hard time resisting despite already having a boyfriend.
As the
shadows invade and terrorize her own life and family, she must ultimately
revisit the most horrific event of her life in order to learn her true identity
and become the hero she was meant to be.
~ Excerpt from Chapter 6 ~
“So,
what did we decide to see again?” Lexi studied the marquee suspiciously. The
air was thick with the smell of greasy popcorn, and the crowds of anxious
moviegoers clustered together in order to hear themselves talk over the loud
chatter. “Please tell me it’s not a horror movie, because I don’t do well with
blood and guts.” (1)
She
looked queasy at just the thought, and Sam moved to stand by her in a show of
chivalry. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure they don’t pick a horror movie.” Lexi
casually tried to move away from him and closer to me without speaking, but he
followed her like a stray dog who had stubbornly chosen an unwilling owner.
“We
could see a romantic comedy,” Josh suggested, peering at me out of the corner
of his eye, obviously trying to earn some brownie points.
Tyler
raised an eyebrow and smirked at him, implying he had just lost his man card,
so Josh hastily added, “I mean, if it’s funny enough, you know. Sometimes they
can be really funny…like Hot Date. I
heard that was really good.” (2)
“Hasn’t
that actress been in rehab recently?” Nicole asked. (3)
“Haven’t
they all?” Tyler replied with a chuckle. We rolled our eyes. “Anyway, she’s
hot, so what does it matter?”
Nicole
smacked his stomach with the back of her hand, her mouth gaping in mock
outrage.
Tyler
didn’t seem phased and held up his pointer finger in an exuberant number one
sign. “One vote for Hot Date!”
“That
sounds fine to me,” I said, not wanting to appear picky or troublesome.
The
rest of them all nodded in agreement except for Nicole, but once she saw she
was outnumbered, all of us staring at her expectantly, she consented. “Whatever.
I’m easy. Hot Date sounds good.”
Tyler
couldn’t help himself. “So, what you’re saying is…you’re easy and you want a hot
date?” He laughed, pointing out her unintentional innuendo as she blushed and
smacked him again. (4)
Tyler
puffed out his chest and gazed down at Nicole, pretending to be sexy with a
suave look and gruff voice. “I think I can comply with that, miss.” (5)
I
wanted to join in on their laughter and lighthearted banter, but I just
couldn’t shake the disconcerting feeling that I was being watched. I can’t
exactly explain how I knew, except that my skin all of a sudden felt cold and
tingly as though someone’s stare was afflicting it with venomous frostbite. (6)
I
did my best to stifle my panic and spread heat throughout my body by taking
Josh’s hand in mine and slowly lacing my fingers through his. He seemed to
appreciate this gesture and rewarded me by putting his arm around my shoulders
in a soft squeeze and letting it linger there for a while. As he did so, he
glanced at me briefly and then gazed forward with a satisfied smile.
The
pride he had for me and our relationship obviously made me feel special, but
his blanket of warmth only did so much for my rapidly spreading frostbite. I
found myself scanning the diminishing ticket line and movie theater’s
surroundings for the culprit.
What
I ultimately found standing, or slightly hovering, immediately to the left of
the ticket booth, sent an intense chill running down my spine. I was left
anxious and confused. A cluster of three suspicious-looking dark figures
huddled together, somewhat hunched over like they were talking. Their eyes were
unmistakably locked on me.
Author Commentary:
(1) For
this scene, I pictured the front of the old movie theater in my hometown -
Ponca City, Oklahoma. We had a newer,
bigger theater, but this old one had some sort of strange charm to it, even
though the inside was kind of disgusting.
Nevertheless, the image of this older theater standing tall in the dark
night with the yummy, but also gross, smell of popcorn in the air set the stage
perfectly for the eerie events about to unfold.
(2) The
first time I heard someone use the term “Man Card,” I knew I had to incorporate
it somehow into my writing. It was just
two funny. Tyler, with his goofy and fun
personality, was the perfect character for the job.
(3) Reference
to Lindsay Lohan…
(4) This
is totally something my husband would say, except he wouldn’t even need me or
someone else to make it that easy for him to come up with such a joke. He’s just that witty. And that’s one of the reasons I love
him. J Actually, a
lot of the funny lines remind me of my husband, and some even came directly from
my asking him what I should have my character say!
(5) Even
though he’s not a major character, Tyler was truly one of my favorite
characters to write. I had a lot of fun
describing his wit and humor in not only his words, but also his facial
expressions and body language.
(6) Being
an English teacher, I LOVE figurative language!
I love it when it’s clever and funny, I love it when it’s deep and
powerful, and I love it when it gives you an amazingly clearer picture of
what’s going on – visually, physically, and emotionally. Fahrenheit
451, which I teach to my freshman, is one of my favorite books, partly
because it is so chalk-full of powerful and poignant figurative language. I do my best to do the same in my own
writing. I use figurative language, but
it’s always for a reason.
Contact Dusty on
Buy
Shadow Eyes at MUSA PUBLISHING
(also
available at all major online bookstores)
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